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writingsbychlo · 7 months

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LAST NIGHT | mattheo riddle

summary; on again, off again, you and mattheo have always gone round and round in circles, but this is the last time.

word count; 3962

notes; based on this song! my first ever mattheo fic, or even slytherin boy fic, so hope you enjoy, sorry if it sucks lmao <3

“I’m done, Mattheo!” Your voice bounced off the walls, giving the half-arsed silencing spell you’d cast two hours ago a run for its money. “I’m fed up of this. I’m fed up of your attitude, and your bullshit, and the way you just don’t seem to care about anything!”

“Oh, you’re done?” He mocks, bringing the cigarette back to his lips as he sits on the windowsill, rolling his eyes and blowing smoke out into the night air.

“Yes, I’m done.”

“Bullshit. You say that every other week. What is this, our fourth breakup this year? Fifth?” Stubbing out what was left on the stone wall, he flicked the butt out into the darkness, finally swinging his legs back to the floor and turning to face you. “You had no problem with my carefree attitude and my bullshit and my laidback nature when we started dating. Why are you throwing a hissy fit now, what’s this really about, huh?”

Your jaw clenched, clenched so hard it hurt. He smirked at that, wider when your fists balled by your sides, and he took an arrogant swig of the firewhiskey the two of you had been splitting. The very drink that had given you the courage to do this in the first place.

“Nothing to say, then? That’s what I thought.”

“Mattheo—”

“Storm your pretty arse out the door, love. Slam it, like you always do. You’ll come back in the middle of the night, like you always do, and I’ll be here waiting for you.” A lump caught in your throat, and the fiery anger in your body settled into a cool rage.

“It’s different this time, Mattheo. When we started dating in the fifth year, nothing but having a date to Yule Ball mattered, but we’re two months from graduation, and you— you’re hopeless. We’re hopeless.” His brows pinched, a snarl taking over his features at your harsh words and the small seed of victory was squashed by the tension building in the air. “You won’t tell me anything about our future, about your own and if I even have a place in it. You won’t make plans, you’re barely even passing your classes and you don’t care. It’s been years, Matt, and you still treat me like I’m just some fun.”

“Exclusive fun. At least I’m not sleeping with anyone else.” He smirked again around the words, throat bobbing as he swigged at the whiskey, a golden drop leaking down his chin and your hands itched to wipe it away. “You knew who I was when we met.”

“Yes, I did.” Your voice cracked, and just like that, a gaping cavern seemed to split through all those emotions, leaving a feeling of hollow, cold numbness to fill your chest in its place. So wide it was dark, echoes of feelings bouncing on stone walls, and you rubbed over your chest. “But I wish you were someone I never met.”

Silence filled the space between you both, airtight like the oxygen was starting to thin. “You wish I was someone you never met?”

“Yes.” Your voice shook even as you said it, the glass bottle clinked on the stone ledge as he set the bottle down. His shoes scuffed on the floor, as he made his way over to you, long strides that you matched backwards, until your back was pressed to the door. “Mattheo.”

His hands slammed onto the wood on either side of you, crowding you until your noses were brushing, the warmth of his body seeping into you. His voice was like a growl, skittering along your body like a reverberation as he spoke, “You wish you never met me?”

“I didn’t—”

“No. You didn’t.” He cut you off, your shoulders slumping in defeat as that red in his gaze took over. There was no sentience now, nothing to be said, not as your hand slipped across the wood towards the doorknob behind you. The time for talking was over, there was nothing left to be said now.

He was right.

He knew you far too well. Just like every other time, you wanted to storm out, slamming the door and cursing his name, promising you’d never go back. Just like every other time, you’d end up coming back to him, over and over again, a vicious circle where you crawl back into his bed, and he whispers sweet things in your ear that never come true, and you go on like it never happened.

Over and over and over.

You released the doorknob, his eyes searching your own, and instead, you gripped his jaw. He startled, even more when you yanked his mouth down to yours, hands sliding around until you were pulling yourself up to his height. He groaned, a deep sound as his mouth opened against your own, wet and needy with desperate kisses.

His body collapsed against yours, pinning you to the door, only interrupted by his own arms sliding around your waist, bodies flush and racing hearts pounding together through your chests.

“See, isn’t this so much better?” He muttered, nipping at your lower lip as your head tipped back to rest on the wood, his mouth beginning to make tracks along your jaw instead. “When you just shut up and stop overthinking, and let things go how they work, huh?”

That same hot mouth continued its path, your breath shallowing as he kissed down and down, wet tongue licking across your collarbones and the swell of your tits. Rough hands pushed up at your shirt, bunching the fabric up as your shaky hands attempted to undo the buttons, falling into every touch and lie that came from his mouth.

Just like always, you fell into his trap, like a bee to honey, he knew every weakness. Dropping to his knees before you, pretty brown eyes all but sparkled as he smirked up, glittering with victory. His tongue laved over the soft skin below your belly button, tracing the edge of your skirt, fingers toying with the hem line when your own laced into the soft brown curls, pushing them back.

“Matty…”

“That’s right, baby.” Another wet kiss to your stomach, one sensual enough to leave your back arching against the wood, pushing closer to him as his hands dipped under the skirt to find the sides of your panties. Peeling them slowly down your legs, he propped his chin on the soft pudge of your stomach, peering up. “The only thing that mouth should be screaming at me is prayers to God and begs of my name.”

Your scoff was lost to a moan as he slapped the tender back of one thigh, skin stinging, the welts that would be left by the cold rings decorating his fingers only made you tremble with further excitement, further need. Need for him, desperation for the man who knew you so well, like the back of his hand. Every touch, every tell, every weakness exploited was by design and knowledge.

“You want my mouth, baby? Say it. Tell me what you want.” A nip to the inside of one thigh, delicate skin abused by teeth and lips, a bruise there he would leave so proudly.

“I want your mouth.”

“Yeah, I bet you do. Tell me, who would make you come like I can if you left me, huh?”

A retort sat on the tip of your tongue, stinging words with a bitter bite, ready to chew his head off once more for his arrogance, but it all died away as your head thumped back on the door. His tongue swept through your folds, head hidden under the pleats of your skirt as he lapped from your entrance to your clit, hot breath fanning across your sensitive skin as he moaned.

He wasn’t gentle, nor was he patient, not as he set to work on something he enjoyed just as much as you did. His tongue worked you over, your thighs trembling on either side of his head as he licked and swirled, fingers sliding up the sides of your legs. You didn’t want to speak, to give him the satisfaction of rewarding him for his effort, teeth sinking into your lower lip in a desperate attempt to keep quiet.

He took it as the challenge it was, growling against your core, the vibrations shaking along your spine and lighting you up like fireworks in the crisp night air, sparking you to life like a fuse. He doubled down on his efforts, wet and messy, pulling on every trick he knew you loved, tongue sinking into your hole just to pull back as you clenched, teasing and taunting until you were dizzy.

Sucking on your clit until your knees shook, almost threatening to give way, he sank one finger into your dripping cunt, and your pledge for silence gave way, a loud cry slipping from you and bouncing around the room. He nipped at your sensitive clit to celebrate his own victory, a squeaky sound escaping at the sensation, and your nails scratched into the wood of the door, doubtless leaving claw-marks he’d never let you live down.

That one finger became two, scissoring and curling until you could no longer take it, exploding around his digits with frantic rolls of your hips into his hand. He let you ride it out, never letting up, never stopping his assault, your body spasming under his hold until he was pulling back, other hand pinning your hips to the door.

Your legs finally gave way, only held up by the support of his body as he kept you locked where you were, slamming those fingers in and out of you until you were begging. Begging for another release, begging for reprieve, begging for anything at all, as he barrelled you towards another orgasm.

When this one struck it was with a scream, with a burning heat so intense you thought your clothes might turn to ash on your very skin, melt away into nothing the same way every thought in your head had managed to do.

He finally pulled back, slick and shining fingers going straight to his mouth as his body supported your own, one hand slipping to your hip and holding you tight, steadying you against the door until your shaking breaths evened out.

The taste of yourself was still on his tongue as his mouth crashed into your own, your shaking hands nothing like his steady ones as the two of you tore at one another’s clothing, stumbling together in a tangle of limbs and kisses towards the bed. Stripping on another of clothes in rough movements and angry tugs and rips, until you were bare, his hot cock pressing to your stomach, smearing precum over your skin and letting you know just how much he wanted you.

He may have you fucked stupid, wrapped around his little finger, but at least you knew you had him in that same helpless grip.

Reaching between your bodies and taking his hard cock in hand, he let out a stuttered moan at the first pump, the drag of his flesh in your hand, precum spilling out over your fingers in a sticky trail. His need tasted like sin on your lips, your name a mumbled praise that sounded like a curse as you pumped him slowly, his hands flexing so tightly on your hips they’d no doubt leave tainted marks.

“Fucking hell, baby. Gonna’ fuck you so good, gonna’ fuck you ‘til you remember some sense, ‘til you’re screaming the way only I can make you.” With one rough shove, you were spilling out across his mattress, gripping the sheets with your fingertips as he crawled up and over you.

A quick movement and you were flipped, finding yourself face down into the bedsheets, his weight pressing into you at every angle from above, and then—

Then the stretch, the slow drag as he sank into you, joint moans as he gave you no time to adjust. The burning rage in his veins drove him into you until your hips sat snugly together, his throbbing cock stretching out every wall within you to that delicious brink between pleasure and pain.

“Fuck, Mattheo…”

“Don’t say my name again tonight unless you’re fucking screaming it.” He pulled back, snapping his hips into your own with such brutality that the sound echoed around the room, your fingers screwed into the sheets practically turning white-knuckled with how your body tensed and shuddered. He did it again and again, slamming into you with a force that knocked the breath from your lungs every time. “I’m still so goddamn mad at you, but you’re just too hot when you yell at me.”

“Fuck you.” Your words didn’t have nearly as much vitriol as you wanted, not when they were muttered out into the sheets as your face pressed into them, drool on your lips from every slam of his cock into you. He caught them though, fingers lacing into your hair and yanking your head up, the pace never slowing, even as his body covered your own, lips brushing the shell of your ear.

“I already am, sweetheart. You just can’t help yourself, giving yourself over to me even when you’re mad. My pretty little slut.”

A particularly sharp thrust, your eyes rolling to the back of your head as every other feeling seemed to melt away until only the pound of his hips into your own was left. You could feel him everywhere, outside and inside, as he filled your every thought and every cell. It had always been like this, utterly intoxicating with him since that very first kiss, the moment those captivating eyes had locked on your own and you’d been tangled in the web that was Mattheo Riddle.

The first scream slipped free from your lips as his hand came down across your arse with a slap, a condescending chuckle followed it and he rewarded you with an extra hard squeeze. Driving into you with renewed force, he left a matching handprint on the other side, and you cried out his name with cracked voice. “That’s right, fucking take what I give you.”

“Mattheo!”

His name was like a chant now, unstoppable as pleasure swelled and built inside of you, brain going foggy and his name the only thing that was clear, His touch was grounding but his kisses were like a drug, trailed along your shoulder and spine as he smothered you into the mattress, tears building in your eyes with the delicious overwhelm of it all.

Trembling, shaking, your body was hardly your own as you squirmed beneath him, pushed down into the bed as tears wet the sheets from your eyes, used like a whore and loving every second of it.

Another peak was building, the tangling in your stomach a telltale sign as your body tensed under his touch, like an instrument he knew just how to play as his fingers skated along your body, tweaking nipples and travelling down to your clit, harsh circles rubbed into the swollen bud.

With only a couple of unsteady circles, you exploded, screaming his name just as he promised you would heat flaring through you, sweat slick between your bodies.

His lips left sloppy kisses along your neck as he never let up, only stopping enough to pull back, and leave you for just a second as a trembling mess on the sheets. Long enough to flip you over, to push your knees up until they were almost to your chest, hooked over his shoulders as he sank back into your wetness.

Your hands were shaking, coming up to grip at his biceps, half-lidded gaze locked on that fiery stare of his own, even when his forehead came down to press to your own. Your nails tore welts into his arm, a pleasured hiss on his lips and his hips stuttered, lips tugging up at the edges in a pain-fuelled smirk of sheer bliss.

“God, look at you. My perfect girl, and this perfect pussy grippin’ me so good. I fucking love you, and you love me.” You could only muster a whine in reply, arching your back until your nipples brushed his chest, the added stimulation making your eyes roll back in your head, shuddering right down to every last nerve you had.

“Mattheo…” Your voice was raw, unable to scream anymore, and a sick gratification flashed over his features, open mouth brushing yours, letting you swallow every moan he let out.

His hips rolled, the fluttering and spasming of your inner walls sending him toppling over the edge, and with one last rough stutter of his hips into you he stilled. Bracketed between your thighs his weight collapsed atop you, heat flooding your core as he spilled into you, pump after pump, the aftershocks of your orgasm reigniting a little at the feeling, drawing out until you tingled right down to your fingertips.

If you’d had any strength at all, any ability to even move, you’d shove him off of you, roll away from him out of his grip. Instead, he lay against you, panting, tracing his fingertips softly up and down your ribs in that way he knew you loved, until he’d gained enough of his own strength to push himself up.

A whimper slipped free from your lips as he pulled out, wetness leaking from you immediately in his absence, goosebumps covering your skin as his body peeled away from your own. Kneeling back between your aching thighs, Mattheo’s lips twisted in a cruel smirk as he eyed the mess he’d left between your thighs, only growling at the embarrassed flush that covered your body as you attempted to snap your legs shut.

That burning look of anger and passion still flared somewhat in his eyes, no longer a blazing inferno but lingering enough like smouldering ashes, and he barely bothered to reach over the side of the bed and snatch up his abandoned shirt, tossing it onto your chest for you to clean yourself up. He collapsed down onto the bed beside you, a satisfied sigh escaping him as he propped one bent arm behind his head, rolling onto his side and watching you mop between your thighs with amusement, snickering at the sensitive gasps that occasionally slipped free.

When you were done, his arm snaked over your waist, tugging you closer to face him as you tossed the ruined shirt down onto the floor somewhere to be cared for later. Sometimes he’d light up a cigarette at this moment, in others, he’d pull the hidden bottle of firewhiskey from under his mattress and take a mouthful. Today was one of the rare occasions when he did neither, settling into your side with a smile on his face, eyes slipping closed and he nuzzled half of his face into the pillow on your side.

Your eyes remained open, though. Studying him. It was no wonder you had caved so many times, no wonder it had been so easy every other time to fall into his arms, to believe all his embellished promises and pretty words. So easy to stay, when he looked like an angel, innocent and sweet and kind, with half a smile on his face and an adorably possessive arm over your waist as you cuddled into him. It was just like every other time you’d caved to him.

But not this time.

No, for once, you’d be strong. You’d endure the pain of leaving him, endure the suffering of being without him if it meant being happy, being healthy, being the kind of woman a daughter could look up to one day. You would never let your own child, your friends or family endure this kind of toxicity, so why did you continue to allow it for yourself?

No more handsome smiles and golden eyes drawing you back in.

It was as you were making this decision, taking a bracing, deep breath, that his eyes cracked back open, focusing on where you lay mere centimetres from him. Staring at you from a shared spot on the same pillow, he gave a hint of a smile in the dim lighting of the room, eyes sparkling, like things might really be different this time.

You’d fallen for it one too many times.

His lips puckered slightly, expectant for a kiss, and your own lips pressed together, resisting the urge to find his. Instead, you rolled over, throat stinging and eyes burning as you faced away from him, sliding out of the bed. The stone was cold under your feet as they hit the floor, every step from the comforting warmth of the sheets was like stepping into the Arctic.

“Why are you not in bed right now?” Mattheo groaned, and you heard the sheets rustle as you gathered your clothes. He rolled in the bed, clutching a pillow to his chest instead, an amused look on his face. “You don’t need clothes, I’ll keep you plenty warm.”

Tugging on your shirt, you only bothered with two buttons, his brows rising and smile beginning to dim, as you tugged on your skirt and yanked up the zip. Socks didn’t matter, nor did your tie, shoving them into the pockets of your robe, and he propped himself up among the pillows.

“What are you doing?”

“Leaving.”

“This again?” He said, still not taking you seriously. His messy hair, swollen lips, those pretty brown eyes, it was all so hard to resist. The frown on his face, the disbelief in your conviction, less so. “Stop being ridiculous and come back here. You’ve made your point, I’m sorry. I’ll do better. Whatever.”

“No, Mattheo. That’s just it.” Finding your shoes and scooping them up, your toes flexed on the cold floor, a protest at the cold, but you’d make it back to your room before they got frostbite. “You won’t change. You never change. I’m not doing this again.”

“We’ve been over this.”

“Yes, and you were right.” His eyes narrowed, confusion flashing over his face at your concession. “I always leave, and right about this time, I always come back, and crawl into your bed, and I’m not doing this again. This time it’s different. This time it’s over, Mattheo.”

“It can’t be over.”

“But it is. This is the best decision for us both, really.”

“I think I should have been part of a decision that's in my interests, then!” He burst, scrambling across the sheets and standing himself, beginning to tug on his own clothes. “We’re not over. We can’t be, you don’t mean that.”

“Mattheo, stop.” He did, pants sitting low on his hips, unbuttoned as his hands fell slack to his sides instead. “Just, give it some thought. You’ll see, I’m right.”

“You’re not right.”

“Sleep on it.” You couldn't do it anymore, any longer and you’d give in like always, fall into his arms and let him temporarily kiss it better.

“I’m still gonna’ wake up wanting you and me.”

You sighed, hand closing around the door handle again. This time, you had the strength to open it. For once, you truly felt like he was listening to you, like the threat of leaving was at last finding its home within him. He was hearing it.

“Don’t leave.” He whispered as you stepped into the hall, the silencing spell crumbling around you as you left the bubble, and the sounds of the world came crashing back in. The howl of the wind outside, the shuffle of midnight wanderers in the common room, and owls hooting to the moon, all fill the empty space. “Don’t leave me. I love you.”

“Become something worth staying for, and I’ll keep loving you too.”

#mattheo riddle #mattheo riddle x reader #mattheo riddle/reader #mattheo riddle x reader smut #mattheo riddle/reader smut #slytherin boys #harry potter #benjamin wadsworth x reader #benjamin wadsworth/reader

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cautuscoralcoast · 2 months

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The Flesh, Blood, Bone, Heart and Soul : There once was a knight who wished to be the wicked dragon

Laios Touden x Monster! reader

Synopsis - In which the lion tempts Laios into giving into his darkest, false desires. You are none the wiser as you laid on the dinner table in a daze—as the apple, the lion tempts Laios to take a bite.

Word Count: 7k.

Tw. Mentions of cannibalism, minor suggestive sexual themes (dubcon), descriptive imagery of eating the reader, lots of blood, major depictions of violence, spoilers for the manga (especially the ending), viewer's discretion is advised

Prev.

The lion has plans for the both of you: Gluttony.

You, who refused to reside in lavish and were repulsed by the sight and taste of flesh.

Laios, who fed into his greed to consume the flesh of monsters for his own satisfaction.

He who couldn't understand the most basics of non-verbal communication; You communicating through the language barrier with the mermaids, often with just non-verbal communication.

You were far from human, and you possessed more humanity than most sinful humans—that's why the lion couldn't call you perfect: Simply just a mockery

What the lion wants is to consume Laios' desires. For Laios, his desires were so potent and much more unique than any other person to have entered the dungeon that the lion just wanted to see that desire bear fruit. It would be something magnificent, so savory, and rejuvenating: The lion wanted it.

And you were part of that.

Canaries, that boy from Utaya, and Yaad, they all posed a threat to his plans.

If the lion could get you to follow along, then perhaps things could flow much better. You and Laios could vow to stay together, and in doing so, the demon gets what it wants.

The only thing is, you were far from human. A monster by nature and an abomination by creation. Though, that never stopped Laios.

The problem was that you wanted nothing more but cry in your own lamentations.

Lonely and devastated from facing your cruel reality, you asked, "Why have you forsaken me with sentience?"

"You desired to desire, and so I granted your wish. Are you not satisfied?"

"I never desired to desire. I had no thought, no mind, no heart or soul: I was epidermis, mesoglea, and gastrodermis. No blood, no bones, no flesh—I was a plant once. Then I flowered into a jellyfish. Jellyfish don't have souls to want. What am I?"

"What you are is something far from logic."

"What am I?"

"You are a jellyfish who became the monstrous sea leviathan of the dungeon."

"What am I?"

"You are the one who is blessed with the water's loving embrace."

"What am I?"

"You are the monarch of mermaids."

"What am I?"

"You are (y/n)."

"What am I?"

"You are my child."

"What am I?"

"I am unable to answer that."

"What am I?"

𓆞𓆝 𓆟

Laios didn't know what to think of you at first.

He was excited at the prospect of discovering a new monster; But alas, that was all he thought of you: A Monster. Just another monster that tried to kill him, and another monster he ate the flesh of. There was nothing more to it.

But then it saved him.

"My name is (y/n), I am the monarch of the mermaids and arbitor of the dungeon's waters. Just who might you be?"

A monster capable of communicating and is able to distinguish itself from others. A sapient monster that is able to communicate with those like him, but the fact that it's in the dungeon is evidence that it is a monster.

Yet, when Laios kept prodding at its body and tampering with its tentacles, the monster never once grew angered by his actions. Even when he supposedly did something horrible to mermaids, the monster still remained patient with him. When Laios told it that it ate its flesh, the monster, instead of becoming enraged, it stayed indifferent about the situation. The monster never tried to harm him.

Rather, it helped him find his friends. When the monster proposed to bring him underwater, he wasn't sure if it were a trap: If this monster was a succubus, a manifestation of his desires. However, the monster did not lie.

When Laios told the monster about the boundless oceans and seas, the look in its eyes was so normal. This monster was able to see right through his soul. It knew how to respond and what to say to keep him calm. It was far more human than he ever could.

It was an odd thought. A monster was more understanding of emotion and feelings while he, a human, struggles with even the most basic forms of communication.

Now that they part, Laios couldn't help but turn around one last time, and he saw the melancholic monarch.

"I promise."

They would never be human like he was. They were far too monstrous to be an elf or a dwarf. But somehow, they were so alive.

Laios doesn't regret eating their tentacles. It was something he ate before meeting the lovely monarch. He can't blame himself for doing so, and likewise, he doesn't blame you for almost drowning him. So they're even in horrible things done to each other.

"LAIOS!"

"It wasn't a monster."

It was a statement he said that even he was in disbelief. You were a monster, and yet you understood more than he ever could. Laios couldn't see your discomfort when he prodded at you or when he told you that he ate your flesh. Yet, you were able to realize the faintest sign of doubt and understanding of his thoughts.

You were definitely a monster.

"Did you know that mermaids can and will have a monarchy if a leader is seen as capable? Mermaids tend to travel in small groups, but the monster we saw was the monarch of the mermaids. It isn't just a few—it's all the mermaids in the dungeon! There also were so many species that were thought to have gone extinct in the dungeon water! They glow in the dark! This monster is named (y/n), and it was able to cast a spell of some sort to allow me to breathe underwater, and that's how I'm here. I made a page here in my book! With the bottom of jellyfish and the top of 'mermaid', they're able to hold a conversation with me! This means that there are monsters that can think like tall-men, elves, dwarves, and those alike!."

Senshi was too busy cooking, and Marcille and Chilchuck stopped listening at the "glow in the dark" part to stare at Laios as if he had gone mad.

"You get taken by mermaids, and you're happy!?!" Chilchuck grabbed the book and looked at the sketch. "Isn't this the monster that tried to kill you the other day?"

"Not trying to kill me!" Laios looked rather proud at the statement. "It didn't say why it picked me up, but it—they apologized for scaring us."

Marcille gripped her staff tightly as she opened her mouth to say something but stopped. She sighed and said, "As long as you're alive, it's alright, I guess. There's no saving Falin if you're gone."

"Oh–yeah."

"You didn't forget, did you?"

"First, you say you're glad, and now this? I can't believe you, Laios."

Senshi just shook his head in disappointment.

"I—I didn't mean it like that!"

𓆞𓆝 𓆟

Laios is Laios. Falin is Falin. Marcille is Marcille. Chilchuck is Chilchuck. Senshi is Senshi. Izutsumi is Izutsumi.

They all were so similar despite their different backgrounds and race. Even then, among family and those of the same race, they were very different. With hobbies, interests, dislikes, stories, and soul is what made them, them.

So what about monsters?

They all were of the same species with the same instincts and appearance. There were little differences, and there was little true free will for them to differentiate themselves from each other.

So where did you stand?

To Laios, the answer was clear.

You were you.

You were a monster, yet you were far from one. You weren't a species similar to the eight he was familiar with, yet you were more sensible than he ever could be. You were a jellyfish, yet the only thing that resembled one were your tentacles. You weren't a mermaid, yet you shared many similarities.

It's these distinctions that made you: you.

There was nothing more enchanting than you. With the tentacles of a jellyfish, ears of a sea serpent, the appearance of a mermaid, you were truly something magnificent.

Laios wanted to become dungeon master in order to make a world safe for you and monsters alike: that was his wish. For Falin and the others to meet you and recognize your beauty the same way he did.

Desperate to save his sister from her monstrous state and his desire to live alongside monsters, he ignored the dangers of temptation the lion gave.

It was only Marcille, out of desperation, made a deal with the winged lion and became lord of dungeon, did Laios truly grasp the meaning of "dungeon master."

Nothing but a trap and prey for the lion go devour.

There was no love greater than what the demon could provide.

The winged lion was creature capable of drawing out the purest of desire: Raw instinct and pure desire as its core.

"Make me lord of the dungeon!"

To save Marcille and everyone else—to defeat the demon, Laios saw no other choice but fall into temptation.

"What a splendid person you have become; However, deep down inside, you haven't changed in the slightest. You are sick and tired of the human world."

As if in a trance, Laios found it difficult to find words to refute the demons claim. Feeling paranoid and agitated, Laios had no idea what to say. That confidence and sense of safety dissipated the moment the lion placed a finger on his chest. As if unraveling open his heart, the lion continued.

"So long as your friends are safe, you don't care if everyone else gets caught up in the dungeon's collapse."

That's a lie.

Laios isn't—couldn't be the only one to feel that way. Everyone else is just as selfish, right? There's no way that not one person doesn't feel the same way as him!

"You despise other humans; That's why you admire monsters so much. Monsters kill humans: They take forms that they can use to terrorize and slaughter humans. 'So cool,' you thought. 'How beautiful they are' I've seen you think. Why want a peaceful world when, in a peaceful world, dungeons and monsters disappear."

The lion walked farther and deeper into the void. Nearing towards what appeared to be a dinner table, the demon beckoned Laios to follow.

"If monsters disappear, you'll lose everything of interest: Your livelihood and passion. Do you really want that?"

The lion picked up a fork and knife and handed it to Laios.

"Falin will be safe, and Marcille won't have to die alone, that young jellyfish won't ever have to starve ever again: Everyone could be happy. Do you really want to choose a superficial and peaceful world over this?"

The lion turned Laios' attention to the dinner table. Laios gasped as he saw a monster not quite a mermaid, and far too similar to jellyfish: It was you. Laying on the table in a daze, covered in a variety of dishes and desserts, the monarch of mermaids remained paralyzed.

"The reason you were so intrigued by the dungeon was a rumor. 'The dungeon is able to turn people into monsters.' You want to be a monster, don't you?"

The lion grabbed Laios' hand with the fork and brought towards the monarch's stomach. Lightly pressing against the soft jelly‐like flesh, the lion continued to tempt Laios on. "You admire the monarch of sea because they had what you wanted. The ability to transform into something much more horrific than the damnest thing man has ever seen."

The lion pushed his hand; The fork piercing the skin and drawing a faint amount of water and blood out. "You want to eat, don't you? You want to taste the actual flesh and not just the flavorless tentacles."

Laios suddenly realized what was happening and tried to get away. "No! I can't eat (y/n)! They aren't a—"

"— a monster? What does it matter if the jellyfish is a monster? You ate plenty of monsters before. What makes this any different?"

"I—I don't..."

As Laios tried to move the fork away from your stomach, the lion chuckled and stopped Laios from moving the fork. Taking advantage of the situation, the demon further pushed in the fork all the way into the stomach of the monarch.

"You won't, even if I say you can become the monster you so desire?" This got Laios to halt all movement, and the lion let out a bellowed laugh. "Just eat the jellyfish, and everything can be yours."

The lion let go of Laios as it watched him pull out a bit of flesh. It looked bland but resembled more of actual meat with the blood oozing out and muscle strewn in deeper below. Laios put it in his mouth and swallowed. Uncooked and cold, it tasted bitter and sweet: It was delicious.

"Feast on flesh, and I'll make sure all your friends remain happy until their deaths."

Laios tore as far he could into the dense flesh and directly took a bite. Blood and water covered his face—clothes soaked in blood.

"Drink all the blood, I'll make so humans and monsters are able to co-exist without any harm towards monsters."

Laios climbed onto the table, grabbed your hand, and placed a finger in his mouth. Pushing your sharp nail onto his tongue, he forcefully drew out blood. He licked and sucked on your finger as he tasted his own blood. Biting down, he drank your blood.

"Chew on the bones, and the young monarch will be able to eat without regret."

You began to gain consciousness to see Laios on top of you. You tried to get up and ask Laios what he was doing. You felt liquid trickle done your chest and to your side. You fell back onto the table as Laios sat up and looked you. You saw blood running down his mouth; You felt as if you were missing something.

"Laios?" You were hardly auditable, but he heard you. Pushing your shoulders down, he went to gently bite your neck. "Ah—ah, what are you doing?"

"Trust me, alright?"

There was no need to ask. You already decided to trust Laios with everything you had the moment he remained truthful to you. You reached out and held onto his arms.

You noticed that the blood wasn't his, but rather yours. You looked at the wounds and missing skin and muscle. It wasn't something you weren't used to. Unable to feel pain, you aren't surprised you didn't notice. The thing that surprised you was the sensation of teeth and hands all over your body. Laios held you close at it was feeling you never felt. You didn't quite like it, nor did you hate it. You'd rather live without ever experiencing it.

"—and devour the heart."

Laios reached out and held your neck. He leaned closer and whispered, "Will you let me eat your heart?"

You brought a hand up and covered your face. With your other hand, you caressed his face. "I—I'm too tired to want to...."

With the winged lion looming over, Laios hastily went in to kiss you. Feeling blood seep into your mouth, you wondered for a moment if it was his or yours. Not that it mattered as the more you drank, the more drunk you felt tasting the metallic flavor.

Moving a hand up to your chest, Laios felt around, trying to find a heartbeat. You held and pulled on his hair as you continued to taste your own blood mixed with his. When you got enough, you pulled away and asked him, "Laios, what am I?"

Laios just gave you a saddened expression when he saw how lethargic you looked. Letting go of you, he hugged you tight.

"I don't know what you are, but all I need to know is that you are you: You are (y/n)."

You didn't say anything as you closed your eyes. That wasn't something you had never heard before; However, hearing him say it, it felt sincere.

Jellyfish don't have hearts. A jellyfish pretending to be a sea serpent don't have hearts. Sea serpents pretending to be a mermaid don't have hearts. You don't have heart.

Despite that fact, the time you spent with the mermaids: Them raising you and eventually making you their monarch—you felt as if you did have one. Even now, as Laios embraced you in his warmth, you felt as if that heart was real.

You gladly gave him your heart if it meant he'll use and protect it well.

You were fine.

You were you.

𓆟 𓆞𓆝

The hunger and gluttonous nature of all living things was what animal, monster, and man were so similar. No matter the differences in blood, flesh, bone, and hearts—the souls remain true. Do plants have souls? Do animals have souls? Do insects have souls? Do monsters have souls? Do we have souls?

Desire was what made the demon: Desire was something created from the need of the soul.

There was no need to know the answer at this moment—not as Laios got the first taste of desire.

Laios wondered how you lived before you met the mermaids. He wanted to know why you desired to know who you are. Even as he ate your heart, he still couldn't understand.

He wanted to know why you despised yourself and why you looked at him in such admiration. The same admiration he held for monsters. What was their to hate about your body? As a monster, Laios felt greater gods and above the world.

As he ate and ate away at the demon—eating its desire and existence—it cursed him.

Angered by the loss of its greatest desire and drive for life, the lion cursed him out of pure loathing.

"Laios Touden, I curse thee."

As the winged lion began to dissolve, it held Laios up by the shoulders and glared.

"Thy greatest desire shall never be granted."

Before Laios could understand what the meant, the lion spoke once again. "My goodness, what pathetic little creatures you are. Surely your kind exists for no other reason than to starve."

When all was left was the face, Laios swore he saw the lion smile. "I was mistaken about that child. That monarch alone was the greatest thing I have ever created. How I wish to tell them one last story."

"If I may desire just one last thing, I wish to grant one last blessing for that child."

Just one blessing to make that child happy.

The demon wished it could have loved you more.

𓆟 𓆞𓆝

When you woke up, you found yourself in the middle of a forest. You struggled to sit up with all the weight of your body. It felt uncomfortably dry and cold. At the same time, you were in absolute awe as this was the first time you saw flora and an endless sky out of the dungeon.

The sun was warm.

The sun was bright.

The wind was cold, as was the ground.

You wondered if this was what humans saw every morning.

Looking in front of you, you saw a human girl encased in crystal. With the appearance of a human, she resembled more of a dragon. She was just like you, wasn't she?

"(y/n)!"

You heard Laios call for you. Hearing him run towards you, he began to apologize profusely for what happened. You wanted to chuckle, but the lack of moisture was quite literally killing you.

"Laios, I need water."

Panicking, Laios struggled to pick you up. You were just too heavy. With your urging, he sat you near a tree.

"I'm sorry."

'It's fine. I'm quite very happy even if the events could be deemed as unfortunate." You found yourself wondering about the demon. "What ever happened to the lion?"

Laios tensed up as he sheepishly scratched the back of his ear. "About that...."

"Oh!"

You were quite surprised to hear that Laios ate the lion and, therefore, defeated it. Despite what the lion put you through, it was the one to raise you. You can't help but feel deeply upset at the news—not that you could blame Laios.

"So why aren't you with your friends?"

Laios looked down in shame. "They wouldn't want me around after all that happened."

"I don't believe that to be true."

And you were right.

As he and the others made amends, they (some) reluctantly helped pull you back into the ocean.

"Thank you for helping me."

Marcille seemed somewhat still disturbed at the fact you were the monster they had attacked. She apologized for everyone in the party and especially for Laios for eating your lappet.

"Did you apologize to them?!"

"This is why I told you not to eat demi-humans!"

It was quite an entertaining sight. Especially when you saw the worry on Laios' wash away with the wind.

It was then that the dwarf asked, "Are you hungry?"

You smiled as you admitted it true. You were always on the verge of starvation. Unwilling to eat anything until you absolutely had to, you starved for days and weeks. Now that you were out of the dungeon, you felt extremely hungry, despite always feeling this hunger.

It was painful

"I'll cook something for you!"

You never thought you would get along with surface dwellers.

"Thank you for the meal."

𓆟 𓆞𓆝

You sat at the seaside, watching as the mermaids swam around the ocean looking at the sun and catching fish never seen before.

Never did you think you and the mermaids would be able to leave the dungeon. Never did you think they would be able to speak the language of man.

In your hands were plants from the sea that Senshi had requested you to forage. Senshi wanted to cook or assemble raw forms of dishes made from Falin due to you and the mermaids' inability to eat cooked food. The first time you ate a sandwich, you vomited it in the ocean and floated around as the foreign pain made you sick. Never again did Senshi want his cooking to make someone that sick.

"Young (y/n)!"

You turned around as you heard Senshi himself shout at you.

"Senshi! I got them right here!"

Senshi thanked you and handed a dish sample. You wanted to ask him about Laios, but he left before you could do so. He and the others were quite busy with everything going on, so you couldn't be upset.

It was one of the things that made you slightly upset. The fact you were tied to the water meant that you couldn't walk on land and help them.

You sighed as you slumped back into the water.

You looked at the castle that arose from the ocean. The metals and wet stone glistened under the sunset. The water painted in the same shades as the sky. It was truly something beautiful that you had never seen in the dungeon. The water wasn't full of magic, light not obscured by darkness and stone.

It was boundless.

The mermaids all came to your side and took a seat on land, all looking at the same sight.

One of the mermaids swam towards you with a troubled look. She placed her head on your lap and spoke. "What now, your majesty? We can't stay here for long. The land is rising at an unstable rate—any day now, we could end stuck on land, unable to reach the water."

You closed your eyes as you thought. You wanted to see Laios at least one more time before departuring. However, if you delay your departure any longer, it could end up dangerous for you and the mermaids.

"We'll leave tomorrow morning."

"Alright."

There was a chance you would never see Laios again after today: Yet, you felt at ease. Laios fulfilled his promise to you, and that was enough for you. The fact you wouldn't have to worry about food and the long-term survival of the mermaids.

You laid back on the sand as you felt each grain cling onto your form.

"There once was a jellyfish who lived for one hundred centuries. Small, naive, unknowing: It had nothing remarkable about it. Then, one day, a lion decided to lend out a hand and guide the jellyfish among fire and brimstone. It told the jellyfish stories of the world and life beyond the dungeon. Held and chained to the water, the jellyfish wanted nothing more but to desire.

Then, one day, there came a knight who lent out a hand and sliced the jellyfish's bubble, showing curiosity beyond the dungeon.

Lost and desiring, the jellyfish took the knight's hand."

As you recounted the story of the jellyfish, the waves drummed, the winds whistled, and the mermaids sung their song.

"No longer bound by self-hatred and loathing, the jellyfish wanted nothing more but to follow the knight."

You wished you were a human just as Laios was. You wanted to see him grow and prosper with the Melini. You wanted to see him with all his friends and family together, dining and feasting on delicious food. You wanted to hear him sing his horrible song. You wanted to see dance with others. You wanted to see him on the throne.

When you wanted to see him, never was it with you by his side. There was no place for a monster next to the king.

With the blessing of the water, you and the mermaids were able to, for the first time, sing a new song together: a song best fit for the Monarch to chant their Lament.

The sound of crunching sand made you halt. Turning around, you saw Laios; Adorned in the same armor you first saw him in and wrapped in the now deceased demon. Despite all that happened, you still harbor gratitude for the winged lion. After all, It was the one to raise you all those centuries ago.

"You're singing with the mermaids." Laios stopped walking when he noticed the mermaids cower in disgust. "—and I see that you all settled well."

The mermaids ignored him as they swam away towards the castle.

"Yes, the mermaids are taking this situation rather well. Some of the tall-men and half-foots came by earlier, and the mermaids quite enjoyed the company."

Laios sat next to you in the sand. Gazing upon the castle with the lion's pelt, he truly looked like a king. You're glad you were able to see him in all his glory.

"I was rather surprised when they chose to converse with surface dwellers."

Laios leaned forward and ran his fingers through the sand. You remained still in the water, lappets fluttering.

"I remember you told me how important the mermaids song were to them. The song you guys just sung, it wasn't yours or the mermaids, was it?"

You felt yourself relax as you heard him speak. "No, that song was the first time we sang it. It was the first time we were able to sing the same song together."

"Why was it so sad sounding?"

"Ah, it—well....the song was a reflection of the monarch's melancholy."

"....the monarch; Are you sad?"

You remained quiet as the waves and oceans crashed onto shore.

"That I am for quite a variety of reasons that remain out of my control." You threw yourself at the sand and covered your head with your hands. "But alas, I will remain just fine. So, I ask that you don't burden yourself with my troubles."

Laios didn't pester you any further, and so, you two watched as the sun began to begin its descent. The waves were gentle, the wind was soft, the sand was silky, and the sky remained its brilliant magnificence.

Soon enough, Senshi and the others came by: Setting up tables and seats by the sea side. You are forever thankful for the few who were so kind as to dine alongside the mermaids despite their monstrous history.

Especially so you're glad Marcille and Chilchuck were able to forgive and apologize to you for your very first meeting.

When the mermaids came back, you all sat by the seaside and the surface dwellers on land. Even with this difference in anatomy and history, the tall-men, elves, orcs, dwarves, and mermaids were able to eat and converse with one another with familiarity. Exchanging tales of different cultures and species, it was a sight you'd never thought to desire.

You couldn't help but smile as you watched the mermaids enthusiastically talk with the others about the different songs around the world. You smiled even more when you saw a few of the mermaids awkwardly converse with Laios.

And you, you weren't like any of them, but neither were they. May it be selfish, you truly are glad that these differences exist among all races. Any one of them could be called a monster. The only difference between a sapient being and a monster was the willingness and power to deny instinct.

With a coral crown embellishing your head and the lion's pelt decorating Laios' figure—you two were the first beloved monarchs of the future united Kingdom of land and sea.

"May this be the union between the citizens of Melini and the mermaids of the Sea Monarch!"

With everyone silent and watching, you, the true monarch of sea, and Laios, the devourer of all things horrible, each go to take the final bites of the lions remains.

"With this shared meal, I hope against all adversaries and conflict that this union lasts a millennia. I thank you all for attending this dinner with the mermaids and I."

With that, everyone went back to feasting on the monstrous parts of Falin's flesh. Quite an odd predicament, but after what you and Laios did, it was much more tame.

"Aren't you going to eat?" Laios asked you, holding a plate of raw sushi towards you.

"I—it's a habit I have yet to forget."

Holding the raw flesh wrapped in rice and kelp, you hesitated for a moment before taking a small bite.

It tasted wonderful.

You ate more and more to the point the mermaids told you to slow down.

"Your majesty! Careful now!"

Laughing, you said, "Please forgive my impudent behavior, but how shall I behave when I can eat without this melancholic heart of mine?"

You wished this night could last for centuries without no end. However, you knew that was only a hopeless dream.

As the night progressed, more and more people would leave. The mermaids swam deep in the water for rest, those of land, going to their shelters, and warm beds. Eventually, it was just you and Laios.

Once again, you two sat by the seaside—it was the only place you two could be together. In silence, you two watched as the moon overtook the sun's position.

"(y/n)," Laios spoke suddenly. He turned to your direction and reached to hold both your hands. "I thought about this for a while, and I—I..."

Laios struggled to get his words out without making a complete fool of himself. Blushing and flustered, he held your hands tighter. "—Will you marry me!"

You were frozen in place.

You didn't know what to say. Marriage was something the lion told you about in only stories, never as something that may happen to you one day. Marriage was a concept foreign to mermaids, and you in turn. All you knew in that moment was that when you saw how red Laios was, that marriage must be something with great importance and the ultimate bond of love for humans.

"Laios! I—I.....I am unable to accept your proposal." You were leaving tomorrow morning. You two were separated by biology and land. He shouldn't marry someone like you. "We are leaving Melini tomorrow. The land is rising at an unsteady pace; We could be stranded at any moment in the night, and we need to wary of these conditions."

Laios grabbed your wrist when he saw you pull away. "Is that the only reason?"

You were melancholic, gentle soul.

Despite your feelings of affection towards Laios, you didn't want to bond with him on such an intimate level when you only had met him a little less than six times. You wish you could stay him just a bit longer to know him enough to accept.

Realizing how uncomfortable you must be from his sudden proposal, Laios let you go.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to—"

"It's alright, Laios."

Laios stood up as he bowed in shame.

"I still apologize for being so forceful,"

"Laios—"

Before you could call out to him, he was already gone.

Even with your own feelings of insecurities, you couldn't help but let out a laugh as you thought about how "Laios" Laios was.

You do hope he sees you off tomorrow.

𓆞𓆝 𓆟

The winds bellowed, and the ocean danced, and still no sight of Laios. You held your head up for the sake of the mermaids. You refuse for them to have a melancholic monarch!

"It's time for us to leave, Your Highness."

"I am well aware. Go on before me, I wish to remain just a bit longer."

Watching as the sun changed from a dark blue to red and yellow, then blue, you wanted to see many other things on land. Things you'll never see while bound by water.

Desire was the greatest curse of them all.

When you heard familiar rapid footsteps in the sand, you turned around to see a figure throw themselves on you. You nearly fell in the water when you picked your assailant.

"Laios?!"

Placing him down, you saw him breathe heavily.

"I tried to come as soon as possible but they kept talking and talking! I had Kabru and Marcille distract them as I ran!"

"Laios...." You leaped forward and hugged him as the two of you fell onto the sand. "You're quite the amusing one, aren't you?"

"Yes!"

You two just laughed as you both laid in the sand to catch your composure. With bright sun lighting his face up, Laios really looked gentle as he sounded.

"Laios?" You turned on your side and reached out to hold one of his hands. "When you proposed to me yesterday and after I rejected you, I wanted to elaborate further on my reasoning for doing so."

You sat up and pulled yourself in the water. Still holding Laios' hand, you gently pulled on his hand as if to pull him into the water: He reflexively resisted.

"I can not leave the water nor can I force you in, even with the water's blessing. How could you wish to marry someone like me? Despite that, you are now king of Melini. You have the responsibility to rebuild the fallen kingdom and to guide the future of the people. As you have the citizens of Melini, I have my own people to care for. The mermaids still have need for my protection from this foreign sea and humans that wish to capture them. To marry in time as now is irresponsible and quite foolish."

Laios let go of your hand as he looked away in shame. "I'm so sorry for—"

"—'In a time like this.' Things may change in the future. The future of Melini won't always be in turmoil." You reached out and held Laios' face in your hands. "This is not to say that things aren't able to change. There's no telling how I'll accept your proposal in the near future."

Letting go Laios, you fell back into the water. No longer bound by the size and limit of food in the dungeon, there was no need to restrict yourself to this sapient form. Soaking in all you can, you became more of the jellyfish you once were. Abandoning most of your sapient features, you embraced your jellyfish nature.

"I'll be departing now, Laios. If you so decide to take me as your spouse even as I take this form, then meet me on the west coast once all of Melini shows itself. Perhaps then I'll be able to bring myself to accept."

Laios stood still, amazed at the sight of something as enchanting as you. Even as a mess of jelly, you still remained the lovable you—for Laios, that was enough.

"I'll make sure to bring Falin. She would love to someone as beautiful as you." Laios stepped forward and kneeled before you. "(y/n), no matter what form you take, my feelings will never change."

"Then, if you must, serenade me with a song of yours. The mermaids spoke once of it, and I wish to hear it."

"Of course."

You wished you could walk on land: To live without the restrictions of your gelatinous body. Was it so selfish to want to be with the one you desire?

No matter how strong that desire was. Your love and loyalty to the mermaids were stronger.

However, no matter how apart you two were, the bond made in a short period of time would prove to live throughout the testament of time.

𓆟 𓆞𓆝

"There once was a jellyfish who wished to be human; There once was a knight who wished to be the evil dragon.

There once was a jellyfish who fell in love with a knight.

With every flower, tree, coral, and grain of sand, the jellyfish loved everything around the knight.

With every fiber, lappet, flesh, blood, bone, and soul, the knight loved everything jellyfish consumed and breathed.

Separated by land and sea, once a year, they met at the coast of Melini and the edge of Thalassa. As if a dream, they sing the song of water and dance to their heart's content.

'Thus this dream never end'

'Thou these hearts dance and bond under the sun.'

'How I wish dearly for our union to remain true.'

These were the wishes of the King of Melini and the Monarch of Thalassa.

Blessed by the water of the world, birthed from both land and sea, I, Queen Levia, hereby declare Melini and Thalassa one nation sharing the same flesh, blood, bone, heart and soul."

Thank you for reading!

#dunmeshi x reader #delicious in dungeon x reader #delicious in dungeon #dungeon meshi #laios touden x reader #laios touden #laius thorden x reader #there once was a jellyfish....#there once was a knight....

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batfambrainrotbeloved · 17 days

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Batfam Incorrect Quotes as quotes from my dnd group (pt 2)

Jason:"Consent is for sex, not murder"

Tim:"I know I gave you words, and I didn't follow them myself- but that's because I'm better than you" Dick:“I'm Nightwing, I have boundaries now”!

Damian:"Truly what greater thrill is there than to fear for ones life"? Steph:"You refer to yourself in 3rd person ALOT-" Tim:"Oh yeah its a problem, and Bob Dolan did as well and that's probably why he lost the election against Bill Clinton" Jason:"Listen when I was in the pit- when it was swirling around in my mouth, it never occurred to me that I should be dead" Tim:“Bart, would you still like me if I wasn't… me” Bart:“..Like if you were a worm”? Steph:"Cold water" Jason:"Artist"? Duke:"Justin Beiber" Damian:"..who"? Jason:"Aw fuck man do I give off Justin Beiber vibes"? Tim:"Bart is every 7 year old boy in the world" Deathstroke:"I do not look for charm or cunning in my protoge's, only spirit- which you have plenty" Baby Dick:"Well thanks-" Duke:“I gave them sentience and therefore, a crisis”

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nellasbookplanet · 4 months

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Book recs: alien intelligences

Intelligent spiders, octupi, plants, bacteria, and even entire oceans, intelligence without sentience, extra terrestrials and strange intelligences evolved right here on Earth - alien minds can take many forms. Allow me to share with you some books featuring the most alien and fascinating ones.

Previous book rec posts:

Really cool fantasy worldbuilding, really cool sci-fi worldbuilding, dark sapphic romances, mermaid books, vampire books, many worlds: portal fantasies, many worlds: alternate timelines, robots and artificial intelligences, post- and transhumanism

For more details on the books, continue under the readmore. Titles marked with * are my personal favorites. And as always, feel free to share your own recs in the notes!

The Doors of Eden by Adrian Tchaikovsky*

The Doors of Eden is something of an experiment in speculative biology, featuring versions of Earth in which various different species were the one to rise to sentience, from dinosaurs to neanderthals. Now, something is threatening the existence of all timelines, dragging multiple different people and species into the struggle, among those a pair of cryptid hunting girlfriends and a transgender scientist.

Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky*

Millenia and generation spanning scifi. After the collapse of an empire, a planet once part of a project to uplift other species to sentience is left to develop on its own, resulting not in the intelligent monkeys once intended but in sentient giant spiders. Millenia later, what remains of humanity arrives looking for a new home, only to be met by the artificial remains of the ancient woman who once led the uplift project - and she is not willing to let them on her planet.

Semiosis (Semiosis duology) by Sue Burke

A generational story following a group of humans trying to survive on a new planet, where a strange and unkowable intelligence is finding ways to use them to its whims. As the humans come across an abandoned city wrapped in the roots of a strange plant, they slowly come to the realization that mutual communication is the only path to peace and survival.

The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu

While I felt the characters could’ve been better developed, this is undeniably a well-written novel featuring an alien race and culture developed on a planet vastly different from ours. Firmly in the realm of hard scifi, this is a realistic, fascinating and slightly terrifying look at how first contact may look.

Brain Plague (The Elysium Cycle) by Joan Sloncewski*

Chrys, a struggling artist, agrees to become a carrier for a sentient strain of microbes. With their help, Chrys breathes new life into her career. But every microbe society is different - some function as friends and brain enhancers to their carrier, while others become a literal brain plague, a living addiction taking over the life of their carrier. And like every society, the microbe community is in constant flux - inluding the one inside Chrys's head.

Rosewater (The Wormwood trilogy) by Tade Thompson

In Nigeria lies Rosewater, a city bordering on a strange, alien biodome. Its motives are unknown, but it’s having an undeniable effect on the surrounding life. Kaaro, former criminal and current psychic agent for the government, is one of the people changed by it. When other psychics like him begin getting killed, Kaaro must take it upon himself to find out the truth about the biodome and its intentions.

Dawn (Xenogenesis trilogy) by Octavia E. Butler*

After a devestating war leaves humanity on the brink of extinction, survivor Lilith finds herself waking up naked and alone in a strange room. She’s been rescued by the Oankali, who have arrived just in time to save the human race. But there’s a price to survival, and it might be humanity itself. Absolutely fucked up I love it I once had to drop the book mid read to stare at the ceiling and exclaim in horror at what was going on.

Blindsight by Peter Watts*

Vampires and aliens and questions of the nature of consciousnesses, oh my. A ship is sent to investigate the sudden appearance of an alien vessel at the edge of the solar system, but the crew, a group of various level of transhumanism, isn’t prepared for the horrors awaiting them. No, seriously, this book will fuck you up, highly recommend if you’re okay with a lot of techno babble and existential horror.

Midnight Robber by Nalo Hopkinson*

Utterly unique in world-building, story, and prose, Midnight Robber follows young Tan-Tan and her father, inhabitants of the Carribean-colonized planet of Toussaint. When her father commits a terrible crime, he’s exiled to a parallel version of the same planet, home to strange aliens and other human exiles. Tan-Tan, not wanting to lose her father, follows with him. Trapped on this new planet, he becomes her worst nightmare. Enter this book with caution, as it contains graphic child sexual abuse.

Fragment (Fragment duology) by Warren Fahy*

The reality TV show Sealife is having a rough time - as it turns out, a ship full of scientist doesn’t make for the kind of drama they hoped for. Hoping for some excitement, they reach Hender's Island, a fragment of a lost continent that may contain an interesting new ecosystem. But as they step foot on the island, they quickly come to realize the ecosystem isn’t just new, it’s highly dangerous and very hungry. Among all this life is one single species that may be more dangerous than any other, but which may also be the salvation of the scientists on the island. A bit wonky, but genuinely one of the most fun books I have read, I love it so much.

Axiom's End (Noumena trilogy) by Lindsay Ellis

It’s 2007, and a leak has just confirmed that the US has reached alien contact. Cora wants nothing to do with it, but as her absent father is the whistleblower who dropped the news the media won’t leave her alone. Even worse, she soon finds herself meeting and being pursued by the alien presence itself as it tries to remain in hiding - and discovering that there is a much larger threat on the horizon.

The Road to Roswell by Connie Willis*

Francie has just traveled to Roswell to attend her college friend's wedding to a UFO conspirasist. Not a believer herself, Francie is shocked when she finds herself abducted by an alien. Her abductor is not much what popular media would have you believe, looking more like a tumbleweed than a grey alien, and is clearly on some kind of mission it isn’t willing to put on hold for the sake of Francie attending to her duties as a bridesmaid. As more people get roped along - among those a conman, an old lady, a ufo conspirasist, and a retiree with an RV - Francie finds herself getting closer to the alien and wanting to help it succeed.

Bonus rec: if you like this book, you may also enjoy the movie Paul, which has a similarly humorous tone and similar plot.

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir*

Ryland Grace just woke up up from a coma, unable to remember anything. He finds himself alone on a space ship, and as his memories slowly trickle back, he realizes he's been sent on a mission: to find a solution to the impending doom of the earth. Still struggling with holes in his memories, Ryland tries to fulfill his mission, but as he gets closer to his goal, he discovers someone else got there first. And they aren't anything close to human. Funny, heartfelt, and heavy on the science.

Survival by Julie E. Czerneda

Mac, a biologist studying salmon on Earth, has little interest in life beyond her own planet. Despite this, she’s sought out by Brymn, an alien archaeologist hoping her expertise as a biologist can help him solve the secret behind the Chasm, a region of space completely devoid of life. Trying as she might not to get incolved, Mac has little choice as she and her colleagues come under attack by the mysterious Ro, the species Brymn's people suspect to be the cause of the Chasm.

Translation State by Ann Leckie*

An exploration of the alien as filtered through the human. At what point does the human become something else? When does something else become human? Is it a question of biology or culture, nature or nurture? Can we choose it? Can it be forced upon us? Set in the Imperial Radch universe, Translation State follows three different characters embroiled in the question of what makes a human. The alien Presger can only communicate with humans using their translators - people they’ve created that are not quite human and not quite alien. But as news of a translator fugitive arises, conflict brews regarding what right they have to choose their own identity and home.

Exo (Exo duology) by Fonda Lee*

Young adult. Earth has long since been under the control of an alien presence. Donovan Reyes is an exo, a human enhanced with alien technology, working to keep the colony and its people safe. The biggest enemy is Sapience, a terrorist organisation opposing alien rule by any means necessary. When a mission goes awry, Donovan finds himself abducted by Sapiance, something that risks a war. While it took until the second book for me to be fully sold on this series, it features a genuinely nuanced take on oppression and resistance rarely seen in YA genre.

Needle by Hal Clement

1950s classic. A small island in the pacific ocean and a fourteen-year-old boy have just become the center of an interstellar chase between an alien Hunter and the criminal he's pursuing. Robert is a regular boy, but he has a very special passenger: an alien symbiont hiding inside his body. The alien became stranded on Earth as he pursued a criminal of his own species, and now they are both trapped on the same island, playing a game of cat and mouse as Robert and the Hunter struggle to find their prey before it finds them.

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Wayfarers series) by Becky Chambers

Rosemary Harper just got a job on the motley crew of the Wayfarer, a spaceship that works with tunneling new wormholes through space. With a past she wants to leave behind, Rosemary is happy to travel the far reaches of the universe with the chaotic crew, but when they land the job of a life time, things suddenly get a lot more dangerous. A bit of a tumblr classic in its day, this is a cozy space opera with an episodic feel and vividly realized characters and cultures.

Under the Skin by Michel Faber

A dark allegory of alienation and dehumanization, Under the Skin follows Isserley, a woman traveling along the roads of England and picking up hitchhikers. Little does her passengers know, she’s an alien hiding her true self, and they are her prey and a delicacy for her species.

Solaris by Stanislaw Lem

1960s Polish classic. Arriving on a station orbiting the planet Solaris, Kris Kelvin is meant to study the strange, possibly sentient ocean that covers its entire surface. But the effects of the ocean are far reaching - Kelvin finds the crew of the station secretive and unstable, and is shocked to wake one day to the embodiement of a long dead lover. Was it created by the brain-like ocean, and if so, why?

West of Eden (West of Eden trilogy) by Harry Harrison

65 million years ago, the meteor that killed the dinosaurs never arrived. Without it, the dinosaurs lived and thrived, allowing a the complex society of the matriarchal Yilanè to arise. Meanwhile, in the new world, humans still evolve, and when an impending ice age forces the Yilanè across the ocean in search for a new home, the two are destined to clash. A bleak story of the cycle of violence and hate leading to war, West of Eden is a marvel of world-building.

Bonus AKA I haven't read these yet but they seem really cool

Triptych by J.M. Frey

Kalp is a widower and alien refugee newly arrived on Earth; Gwen is a language expert secretly recruited by the United Nations to help integrate a ship of alien refugees; Basil is an engineer who loves them both. Together they must defend their relationship against a violently intolerant world.

The Sparrow (The Sparrow duology) by Mary Doria Russell

When proof of alien life is found, the United Nations are too slow in their plans for a first contact mission. Instead, the Society of Jesus overtake them and send their own ship, but the crew could never have been prepared for what they will find.

Lagoon by Nnedi Okorafor

Something massive and alien crashes into the ocean off the coast of Nigeria. Three people, a marine biologist, a rapper, and a soldier, find themselves encountering this presence, and have to race to save humanity before it's too late.

Honorary mentions AKA these didn't really work for me but maybe you guys will like them: Salvaged by Madeleine Roux, Exodus by Nicky Drayden, The Lesson by Cadwell Turnbull, Embassytown by China Miéville

#nella talks books #the doors of eden #children of time #semiosis #the three-body problem #brain plague #rosewater #xenogenesis #blindsight #midnight robber #fragment #axioms end #the road to roswell #project hail mary #species imperative #translation state #exo #needle #the long way to a small angry planet #under the skin #solaris #west of eden #there are more alien centric books that I love #but this list is pretty focused on books where the truly alien unkowable and inhuman is central #so anything featuring human looking or acting aliens got disqualified #same as books where the aliens themselves weren’t very central #also i need you all to know that i have had official art of the 'alien' from Fragment as my screensaver for a decade #that book is so silly goofy dialogue and absolute gory slaughter i love it so much #i still have one of these rec posts in my drafts but! will soon post a new poll in preparation for more

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glade-constellation · 4 months

Text

One last Eclipse thing before I go to bed.

I don’t currently have my notes with me, but I remember Moon mentioning that when he left the kill code in Sun, he put up some sort of containment wall around it. At first, I thought he put the wall up because he knew the code would evolve and was trying to keep it hidden. Don’t really know how I came to that conclusion, it feels far fetched and Moon didn’t even know the code could gain sentience yet. I’ve realized that it was probably just as an extra precaution so that the code wouldn’t infect Sun somehow. (That’s probably why Eclipse couldn’t use the “mind cube” without being burned, it was almost quite literally a firewall.)

Imagine Eclipse having that same thought process though. He sees that Moon has already contained him, and he starts questioning. If he was just supposed to be dormant coding, why did Moon feel the need to contain him? Why would Moon already have defense measures in place if he didn’t know about Eclipse? The only logical answer to Eclipse is that Moon knew about him and he left him there. He knew that the code would evolve so he went ahead and locked it away. That way it would never be a problem when it gained its own autonomy.

It might not be the truth, but we all know that TSAMS is constantly seen through the lens of unreliable narrators. To Eclipse, this is what happened. Moon not only purposely left him behind, he locked him away so he wouldn’t be a problem. Eclipse was rejected before he was even created.

There’s something about the fact that Eclipse has built his entire person upon what he believes are truths. That Sun and Moon, Moon especially, always hated him. But all of it is emotional bias based on flimsy evidence. To heal from that, he not only has to come to terms with the fact that it happened. He has to come to terms with that fact that none of it was actually real in the first place. Some of it was real, some of it was true, but some of the biggest pillars supporting his hatred are based on his own want to prove something. It was a fantasy he created to prove a point no one would even ever believe.

#🌟 Ten Talks #tsams #sams #the sun and moon show #sun and moon show #tsams eclipse

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itshype · 1 year

Text

Navigate any storm, with nothing but the stars to guide you (DC x DP)

Hello! My other dc x dp notfic blew up overnight so here’s another one (this is not a part 2 but here is the link to Kingmaker, Kingbreaker, Crowntaker, Realmshaker where Danny is an important political ghost figure)

So, there are only a few Astronaut!Danny fics and most of them don’t quite land with me. They’re really good, but a lot of them have Danny getting his job at NASA because of his ghost powers. And like, nothing about Danny’s arc/s ever hints to me that he would show up to a government agency and give them a full rundown of his abilities – even for his dream job.

So instead of a protection-obsessed Danny, his Obsession develops as wanting to go to space. So, he’ll still fight the ghosts because he’s not a psycho with no regard for human life, but these fights aren’t a priority to him the same way in canon. Instead, Danny fights a lot dirtier, goes to 10 a lot faster – instead of it being a rarely used ability, his go-to is the Ghostly Wail in round one of a fight because it’ll get everything over nice and quick. He needs great grades to even enter the space program let alone astronaut training.

Because of this, Danny isn’t getting involved in problems just because ghosts are involved.

Did he turn the portal on for the first time? Yes.

Is it his responsibility because his parents refuse to add security or even just turn it off when not in use? Absolutely not!

There’ll definitely be a short-term dip in Danny’s grades but he plays up the “I was in a lab accident” thing to his school (actually more like he just didn’t cover it up) and can get extra credit or whatever (in Australia they’d just ignore the assignments you missed/failed and make your average from everything else but Teen Wolf fics often go on about extra credit so lets whack that in for Cultural Authenticity). But after that, Danny only gets involved if it’s getting really dangerous out there because he can’t skip this test/miss this homework etc.

Because of this, Phantom would probably be a lot more popular. Instead of running around and chasing ghosts and causing damage, he shows up like a Deus ex Machina when people are terrified, and lives are at risk. Downside is probably that Amity calls him Invis-o-bill for a while longer – he still wants to go by Phantom but correcting people isn’t his priority.

Also, his obsession makes his crush for Paulina turn off because I never found that a fun storyline. Also, when he gets in trouble for Dash’s bad behaviour he fights back against Dash and/or the teachers because “There’s a new documentary about theoretical White Holes tonight and our DVR gained sentience and ran off, so I have to watch it live.”

Downside of all these great changes? Jazz. In canon it takes ages for Danny to find out she saw his death-event. But in this, Danny’s personality changes are a lot more evident and drastic. I still don’t think the parents would suspect anything because my opinion of them is so far down it popped out of the other side of the Earth and spun off into the cosmos.

Jazz wants to be a psychologist. ‘Drastic changes in behaviour and personality’ are the early warning signs for hundreds of things from bipolar disorder, to drugs, to schizophrenia, sexual assault or joining a gang. She would be less likely to blow this off I think than in canon where his personality changes can be explained a lot more easily with “moody teen being taught by teachers who are on the bully’s side.” She figures out what’s happening a lot earlier. She doesn’t love that her baby brother is a ghostly hero, but his grades are great and it’s pretty hard to say “No you should let the town be destroyed and get a part-time job instead.”

So then, when the GIW come to town to try and set up, everyone is like “oh yeah, sure, go for it, except for Phantom, he’s our little meow meow.”

The GIW try to attack him anyway and the responding retaliation from Casper high students and most adults is so violent and extreme that the GIW mark the town as being completely 100% possessed with the hopes that they’ll get carte blanche to attack anyone they want in Amity (mostly because they’re petty manchildren).

However, declaring open season on an entire town is a bit much and all this ecto-nonsense is pretty new so the fear hasn’t 100% set into the administration. So instead, the President contacts the Justice League who call in the Justice League Dark (the magic department of the Justice League).

They’re probably freaked out but then Oracle finds footage of the ‘Possession attack on government agents’ from a security camera or something and Constantine is immediately like “None of those people are possessed, hope that helps, I have to go I’m late for a booty call with Beelzebub.”

MEANWHILE!!! Jazz has started coming to fights when she can (dressed like a real Fenton ghosthunter – Dad is so proud) and loudly announcing their insecurities because we know that psychic damage can actually cause ghosts to physically change (i.e. when Cujo is threatened he goes Big, when Spectra is satiated she appears more human, Amorpho’s whole thing). Within weeks, the less-evil ghosts want to make deals. I mean skulker and walker probably won’t want to concede, but the others get day-passes from the ghost zone like:

Ember can throw a concert and hypnotise everyone attending or streaming online but she has to let them go when the show is over.

Maybe Kitty can possess Jazz for a few hours for a date, or Tucker can build her a robot body assuming ghosts that aren’t Technus, master of all technology can possess electronics if they want to.

Eventually, Danny goes “Why is coming here so important, why do you go to so much effort and constraints to leave the Ghost Zone?”

And that’s when he finds out that the Ghost Zone is a ruthless, desolate place that’s awful and dangerous.

So, he calls the Justice League (Tucker gets him the number and he dials right into the Watchtower PA). And he essentially goes:

“I am Phantom, bridge between worlds. The ghosts of Amity Park were interfering with my Ghostly Dream and I have recently discovered that this is because the Infinite Realms is a sucky place to be. Can you fix it?”

The Justice League are thinking ‘wow two birds one stone and we get free amazing publicity!’ Then they talk to Constantine for two-point-five seconds, and he is all “It’s infinite, you morons, you can’t patch it up one villain at a time. Anyways I have to go sell my soul to a sixth party to prevent a magical demon war, peace out.”

So then, the Justice League are in Amity and tell Phantom that they’re very sorry but what he asked isn’t really feasible. And immediately they figure out that something is slightly off.

Now I stand by my headcanon that the Justice League wouldn’t immediately figure out Danny’s secret because there’s no real reason to think a ghost would have a secret identity. But just speaking to any of the halfas you can tell they’re different. Less obsessive, don’t go violent as fast etc.

Now, just because they don’t realise Danny is 50% human, does not mean they did no research. They looked him up and came across historical records made during his time travel jaunts and immediately reach the fairly reasonable conclusion that he’s special, more powerful and more human because he’s just that old. So they ask him why the ghost zone is like that and if it could be changed or fixed – even just a small portion of it for use by less aggressive ghosts.

Danny admits he has no idea, but they could all go find out because it was Sunday. None of the Justice League know why the day is relevant but through the combined powers of Sam, Tucker and Jazz, they manage to get his parents onto the other side of town while they enter the ghost zone.

They quickly find Ghost Writer, because he’s an under-utilised character. He explains that long, long ago the ghost zone was a much brighter place with a golden sunrise sky and an overflowing font of ectoplasm under the rule of the powerful King of the Infinite Realms – Inferna the Bright. But he was brutally overtaken by the disgusting Pariah Dark. Inferna never recovered and the entire zone changed, becoming dark and harsh like her master whose obsession was subjugation. Pariah was sealed away, but by a large group instead of in single combat. So technically he was still at the helm of the entire dimension.

If only there was another ghost, brave and powerful enough to defeat Pariah Dark. One strong enough to bear the helm of the Crown of Fire. One with an obsession that would transform the ghost realm into a place of wonder once more.

If only…

(TBC??)

(IN CASE IT WASN’T OBVIOUS, each King makes one artifact: Inferna was obsessed with the Sun but expressed it healthily, Pariah Dark was obsessed with winning and beating other people and expressed it terribly)

Also, fyi Inferna doesn’t just sound like Inferno but is also Latin for the Underworld, so the implication is that they were king for FOREVER before Pariah.

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