#They're scared and they cower and they use all they can to protect themselves

[kiseopingu]

The Wildmother being so much more scared of Predathos than she is of The Spider Queen and thus being willing to "sacrifice" Opal as a champion of the Betrayer Gods I am THRIVING. @quiddie the DM that you are!!!

[house-of-laminations]

Eldritch!MC forgot to die in Lesson 16 and Belphie is so confused. He knows humans are weak - they break and bleed so easily and he's an Avatar! Except it's been so long since one of the things from Before interacted with the three realms that demons have forgotten why they've evolved the way they have. Because why do they need such strength - or regeneration or anything they have in their true, more reality breaking forms?

That's because there are things out there that once treated demons and angels like prey. MC's been using their theoretical knowledge of humans - they honestly did forget that they are supposed to have eyes or that humans can only see such a limited range of colors. They are quite sheepish when Belphie panics after stabbing them in the stomach - they should be bleeding red and they do superficially. But that deep wound - they aren't bleeding; it's shadows leaking out. It's wrong and feels like a thousand year winter or the tears of a dying sun.

Which shouldn't even have a feeling at all and- whoops sorry MC forgot to keep themselves all human-y. It's fine really! But when did Mammon get here and why does he look so scared for them while holding them? Maybe MC should have paid more attention instead of daydreaming about whether if blue really does taste like newborn dreams. They think it does personally - just like that weird sports drink humans seem to enjoy.

Well MC's pretty fond of this perfectly normal human form (even if they sometimes forget that humans only have one heart or that Cerebus cowers from them. Cats are alright though - one of the best living things created this time around in this universe! 10/10 would pet again.) so yea everything will be fine.

Eh, maybe they should explain something to the demons. Mammon looks like he's gonna cry - or vomit? One of the two.

Leviathan's probably seen an anime with the plot of 'My love interest is an eldritch being from beyond reality but they like wearing a school uniform? Help!'

Barbatos is the one that gets closest to figure out what MC actually is. He's more eldritch than demon but even MC is alien to him. Imagine being perfectly aware that there's something off about the human exchange student but you can't figure out what it is.

The thing that I really love about Eldritch horror (and by extension eldritch brothers or mc) is the idea that it's not necessarily the moment, the reveal, that's horrifying. It's the inability to reconcile it with the return to normalcy - fitting it within the constraints of your understanding of reality. And I just really love the idea of the brothers coping with that.

I love that you identified barbatos as being the one kind of 'best equipped' to recognize and understand Eldritch MC, and honestly I would love to be a fly on the wall when they talk about it over tea.

But then the brothers having their eyes opened to what MC really is - either through casual slips or accidental breaks, or through the mess that is lesson 16 when MC 'forgets' to die.

The younger brothers expressing their fear through worship - they adore everything about what MC is and they want to see more so they do all they can to get into MC's good graces. The older brothers recognizing the evidence as being close to their Father in that unknowableness, and reacting in the opposite way. Lucifer especially, so used to being the strongest, so close to that himself, becoming terrified. MC tries to assure him that they're not going to hurt him, that things can go back to 'normal' - but Lucifer dedicates his time now to learning how to protect himself frantically, digging back in his memories of his Father and piecing them all together to find something, anything that could be a weakness for him to exploit.

Shame there are none.

[clanwarrior-tumbly]

Ok i got an monster tom x scientist reader au universe thing and no it does not take place in the red army base

Reader is a scientist and is asked to run some tests on a new specimen/monster they found, and when reader sees the specimen/monster they actually think it's kinda cute but then some other scientists shock him and even stick some needles in him and reader just feels bad for the specimen/monster at this point so nighttime rolls around and they hack into the cameras to shut them off and wear a mask so they won't get caught and go to the main room where the specimen/monster is they the reader introduces themselves to the monster the monster, thinking they're gonna hurt them, immediately backs off obviously scared and reader convinces the monster that they're not gonna hurt them and the monster shrinks as he's mostly human and says "your not gonna hurt me?" And they reassure him that they're not gonna hurt him and they sneak into the readers car and drives off the lab that the monster was in and reader asks what the "monsters" name is and says their name is "tom". Then reader makes a pit stop to a store real quick to get tom some clothes and then reader drives to they're home and introduces tom to their room and asks if they want some food/ take out or not an he says yes and they get some chinese food and watch some TV, after eating they both go to bed and reader suddenly finds themselves in Toms arms whimpering a little, and reader just kinda decides to pet his hair and rub his horns a little bit which make him purr then tom wraps his tail around reader and asks them to do it more and they do do that untill they notice that he's asleep then they both fall asleep.

Whew, I enjoyed writing this one ^^

Summary: Reader, a scientist, rescues Monster Tom from the lab that experimented on him and brings him home

...............

"Dr. [L/n], I'll let you oversee today's tests on TR-03."

"Alright, chief." You smiled awkwardly as your supervisor handed you the clipboard. It contained the subject's information: a one-eyed horned monster of an unknown species, though your colleagues have theorized it to be a demon. "What kind of tests are we running on it?"

"Resistance to electric shocks. There's evidence of uranium possibly circulating in its blood, so you'll be watching them extract samples as well."

As he explained, your smile gradually dropped as you looked over the information, seeing a ton of redacted information, including several incidents of the destruction it caused prior to its capture.

"So it's gonna be shocked and stuck with needles? Sounds painful."

"Its armor is thick, so it shouldn't feel a thing. Besides...I don't think you need to worry about whether it'll be painful for it." Your supervisor spoke in a rather condescending tone. "After all it's just an animal."

"I...yes, sir. I'll go oversee the tests right away." Not wanting to argue further, you just left his office and wandered through the building.

You were eager yet anxious to meet this monster.

Eventually you reached the area where the creature was being held, climbing up the stairs that led to the skybridge so you could look down into its holding chambers.

It was a massive dark purple creature, with two bright violet horns and a single black eye. Surprisingly it was allowed full movement, though judging from the many claw marks on the walls...it wouldn't surprise you if one day it was chained up to restrict such behavior.

You actually thought it was..kind of cute? It looked scary in pictures, but up-close it didn't seem as terrifying.

That only made you feel more pity for it as other scientists entered the chamber, clad in protective suits, with electric prongs and needles.

Almost immediately the monster seemed aware of what they were going to do, its eye widening as it stood on both feet and cowered in the corner. It growled in warning, only for a scientist to jab its leg with a prong in response, eliciting a roar of pain.

You physically flinched, feeling bad for the creature. But you took notes on its response to electric shocks.

Subject recognized equipment immediately, perceiving them as danger. Responded painfully to electricity.

Soon after being tortured, the monster seemed dazed, allowing another scientist in a hazmat suit to approach it and stick a needle into its hip. The vial of blood collected turned out to be red, with a glowing green aura.

As you took more notes, you heard a small whimper and looked down, seeing that the monster wasn't putting up a fight.

Instead it was...crying?

Sure enough, tears leaked from its eye as more of its blood was drawn, being electrocuted as some sick form of "sedation". It was hard to tell whether the people inside felt any sort of sympathy, but they just took their leave without saying a word to each other. Only a mere nod.

You didn't want to be here any longer than you needed to, so you finished your report and began heading back to your office.

Though you noticed the monster looking up at you, and you couldn't help but frown and murmur a simple:

"I'm sorry."

.............

After your shift was over, normally you'd go home for the night.

But on the ride home...you kept thinking of TR-03 and couldn't shake the images and sounds of its pain.

The way it responded to just seeing the prongs, and the way it looked at you as though it was begging for help, seemed far too human for it to be just a mindless animal.

Of course, you never questioned the secrets this lab kept--not wanting to be fired. But they seemed to be hiding a lot of stuff about this specimen, never speaking about its origins or even what it was capable of.

You may have only seen it for the first time today, but you wanted to know more about it. And you had a feeling that you won't get the answers you wanted by asking around.

Oh no..you were going to free it in order to find out the truth.

Not just to satisfy your own curiosity, but also because...the way it was being treated was far too cruel. To the point where it was crying.

You couldn't stand for this unethical treatment any longer. You had to do something..and be smart about it lest you got killed or worse.

After making a quick stop at a store, you found a mask and changed your clothes, completely disguising yourself. Then you got back in your car and returned to the lab, parking it somewhere far away so that you can sneak inside.

Fortunately you had security access in case any of the specimen breached their chambers. Thanks to your hacking skills you were able to disable every security camera you could find, putting them all on timers so they'd turn on later in the morning. You didn't want to rouse any suspicion.

That was the easy part.

The most important and difficult task lied ahead.

...........

As soon as you entered the monster's chamber, it woke up and grumbled with annoyance. Clearly it didn't like its rest being disturbed.

Though upon seeing you and the mask you wore, it tilted its head. "Grrrah..?"

"Shhh, it's okay." You whispered, removing the mask so it could see your face. While you were awestruck to actually see it up close and personal, you knew you had to keep calm.

But that might've been a mistake as it seemed to recognize you--the one who was watching it earlier today. It immediately backed into a corner, terrified as its chest began heaving with anxiety.

You couldn't blame it for its reaction, though your gently put your hands up and hushed it. "Please don't panic. I'm not here to hurt you. I wanna get you out of here."

"Hrrgrah?"

"Mhm." Smiling, you just pretended you could understand it. "I don't like how they treat you here. They call you an animal but..I know you're more than that."

The monster calmed down a little, before glancing up to the opposite corner. He made a noise of confusion upon seeing that the security camera's annoying red light wasn't blinking.

"I shut that off so nobody can hear or see us."

"H...ack..?"

You blinked, surprised that it could speak some English, but the fact it wasn't cowering like before was a sign it was trusting you. "Yep, I hacked the whole security complex. Now's our chance to escape, but..ah shit."

Suddenly, it never occurred to you: your mission was focused on getting to the monster, but you never considered how you'll get out with the monster.

"Damn..I'm not sure how we'll sneak you out without...." However, you trailed off as you saw it changing into a smaller form.

But it wasn't just shrinking, it was actually turning partially human.

How curious, nobody told you about that. Maybe that was part of the redacted information.

The monster turned out to be a human male, who still retained his horns, tail, and dark scales and fur, which covered his body. His brown hair was messy and spiky, and interestingly enough he had two black eyes.

He didn't have any clothes, obviously, so you took off your coat and put it around him. "So you're human, huh?"

"Your stupid friends' experiments wouldn't let me turn back for a while..." He grumbled in a slight British accent. "You sure you're not gonna hurt me?"

Understandably he got defensive, knowing you were working for the people who tortured him. But you shook your head. "No, I won't. I'm quitting this shithole and I'll take you with me." You took his hand reassuringly, noting that it was still clawed.

He gave you the tiniest of smiles in return. "Heh, glad we're both in agreement."

Soon you both quickly made your escape, luckily not running into any trouble. Your car was still parked right where you left it, so you got in and drove off.

You definitely won't miss working for that lab.

The roads were mostly empty at this time of night, so you were able to breathe easy knowing nobody's gonna chase you. Now seemed to be the best time to talk with the monster.

"So uh..do you have a name?" You spoke up. "I know they call you TR-03 but it doesn't feel right to call you that anymore."

"Tom." He answered as he looked out the window. "My name's Tom Ridges."

'Huh, that explains his code name.'

"I'm [y/n]." After noticing a nearby plaza, you saw a clothing store and decided to make a quick stop there. Tom seemed to be confused, and a bit worried when you left him in the car all alone, though you reassured him you were just buying some clothes for him.

He waited, trying to keep himself out-of-view in case any strangers got too nosy. But before long you were back, opening the driver's side as you peered in and sighed with relief, seeing him halfway out of the chair.

"Jeez, you scared me..thought somebody got you." You sighed, shaking your head.

"S-Sorry, not trying to get any unwanted attention. It's the last thing I need.." He sat upright, though he was surprised when you handed him a bag. Inside was a blue hoodie, boxers, and gray sweatpants. "Oh, cool."

'That's all he has to say?' His reaction was a bit underwhelming. 'Then again..maybe he hasn't processed that he's never going back to that hell chamber yet.'

You just shut the door and waited for him to get dressed, and when he tapped on the window you got back into the car. He definitely looked more comfortable now.

After giving him a smile, you continued on your way home, feeling glad that you rescued him from that place. You had no idea if he had any place to go, granted you don't recall seeing any information on his address nor any relationships.

So he'll stay with you.

...........

"Luckily I got a spare room. Excuse the mess." You chuckled as you showed Tom the extra room in your house, turning on the light. "You can stay here for as long as you'd like."

He nodded as he looked around, before feeling his stomach grumble. In embarrassment he put a hand over it, glancing at you. "Sorry..the food they had was shitty, I'm sure you knew."

"Yeah...you want takeout?" You took out your phone. "I don't feel like cooking tonight so I was gonna order some anyway."

"Sounds good."

"Alrighty, I'll call in the order. We can go watch TV while we wait."

Once more Tom nodded, following you into the living room space where you both sat down on the sofa. He sighed and leaned back, turning on the TV while you ordered some Chinese food.

This situation felt so...comforting and familiar..

For a moment he gazed at you, seeing you look through the menu.

He knew he wasn't the only prisoner back in that lab. So he couldn't understand why you'd choose him, of everyone you could've helped, but...he considered himself lucky.

For once he felt like he could let his guard down a little.

Some time later the food arrived to your house, and you both ate it while watching various TV programs. You asked Tom a bit more about his home life, though he didn't have much to talk about.

Whether he didn't want to say anything or forgot it thanks to the experiments was a mystery, but you wouldn't pry. You'll get your answers sooner or later, though not tonight.

Tonight you both deserved a good rest.

Afterwards you headed off to your own room, letting him know that he can knock on your door if he ever needed anything.

You got into your pajamas and crawled into bed, yawning.

It had definitely been an eventful day. You were eager to sleep in, knowing that you won't ever go back to your boring (and unethical) job.

But just as you had turned off the lights and dozed off, you heard your door creak open. With a slightly annoyed sigh, you sat up and turned on the lamp beside you, before seeing it was Tom.

"Tom? Your room is..."

Though you fell silent when you heard him...whimper? His eyes were white, indicating he was in some kind of distress.

But he crawled onto your bed, practically situating himself in your arms while making sure he didn't jab you with his horns. You were perplexed by his actions, though you finally realized..

He was just scared.

You held him in your arms, rubbing his horns soothingly and petting his hair, murmuring promises that he was safe. In response he nuzzled up to you, tail wrapping around your body as you both laid down.

You only stopped for a moment as he started purring, which made you chuckle softly. "Purring, huh? That's new."

"Can you keep doing that?" He grumbled, closing his eyes. "It was nice till you stopped."

"O-Oh right, sorry." You continued the previous motions, deciding to hum a small song as well to help him sleep.

Eventually you stopped once he dozed off completely, and your cheeks felt warm upon seeing how adorable he looked. 'And to think I was afraid of this guy?' You mused, before turning off the lamp light.

Soon enough you fell asleep as well.

If this is how Tom expressed his thanks...you'll take it.

[origingened]

GIANT CHALLENGE

the last thing they remember was chasing a butterfly through a bush in the park.

---

the first thing they become aware of is the uncomfortable sensation that their ears are filled with liquid. they instinctively want to shake their head to clear it, but they can't quite locate the muscles they need to do so. their body feels vague, like a collection of dull sensory inputs floating without form around their consciousness.

thinking is hard too. they're beginning to realize a few things (wet, under water? heavy water, can't move), but the realizations come sluggishly and take effort to bring into focus. 

they've had enough of this, they decide. they attempt to pull their senses together with some success - they can tell they're curled up in a ball, suspended in some kind of fluid. it's not like anything they've ever felt before. they've taken long naps before and this is almost like that, but they can't stretch out their body to the sun and yawn and shake it out like they're supposed to. it barely feels like they exist as a concept, let alone a living creature. 

but they don't give up. they draw in closer, finally shaping their awareness into their body as it should be. their eyes are still closed, their muscles too heavy to force them open, but they can begin to make out sounds beyond their own heartbeat vibrating through the surrounding liquid. high pitched tones, bubbling fluid, air rushing through a narrow passage. 

the click of footsteps on a hard floor. 

mew still doesn't know where they are, but a minute shiver of discomfort ripples through their body. 

someone begins to speak. it's impossible to make out any words, but there are two distinct voices - one calm, one agitated.

---

the woman scribbles something on her clipboard, circling the containment pod with a scrutinizing eye. 

"we still need to run a few more tests before we can begin the trial."

the second scientist, a young man with early grey hair, lets out a nervous scoff as he follows closely behind. 

"we'll be lucky if it doesn't breach containment first. you didn't see the footage of the fight it put up when they found it."

"it may be capable of catastrophic damage, but we're well equipped to keep it under control. you need to focus on the task at hand."

amidst their words, the steady beep of a monitor begins to pick up speed. 

"... it's becoming agitated. administer more of the serum and get back to work."

---

hours pass. days? weeks? months, maybe? time is passing by in a blur, one brief moment of consciousness bleeding into the next.

they know a few things for certain now. they've been captured by humans - team rocket? NULL? maybe. they don't remember a confrontation. 

they're inside a fluid-filled machine, unable to move or even breathe, with tubes hooked up to their body that inject them with unknown substances. their psychic powers are dulled to the point of near-uselessness. occasionally, they'll feel a chill run down their spine or a strange tingle in their head as the scientists run some sort of test.

they're preparing them for something. they can't tell what it is. 

the possibility of being captured had occurred to them before, but they'd never spent much time contemplating it. now, during their moments of lonely lucidity, they wonder - what will become of them? 

they're… afraid. what if they don't get to play in the snow anymore, or swim at top speed and scatter a school of finneon, or… 

no. it's no good thinking about bad stuff like that. they'll just have to escape, that's all.

---

the tingles in their brain become more frequent and more pronounced, intensifying to a sharp numbness like a limb falling asleep. 

they know what the scientists are trying to do now - they intend to destroy their will, leaving behind nothing more than an obedient weapon. they've been trying to subjugate them for some time now, but their mental fortitude has withstood everything they've thrown at them so far. 

so far. 

they must've collected a lot of data by now. from what they could piece together from hazy conversations, the scientists are getting close to a breakthrough. 

they don't think they have a lot of time left to figure this out. they'd better get out of here fast. but it'll be okay. if they just focus, if they just make one big push to escape - 

"brainwaves are spiking. administer the serum." 

if they just… 

"another dose. this one's not going down easy."

just… 

"there it goes."

---

one day, they wearily wonder how long they've been here. 

not in this pod, but in this world. it's been some millions of years, right? they've seen the planet itself being shaped by new, primal forces of nature. civilizations have risen and collapsed. wars have ravaged the land only to be paved over and forgotten. 

they've watched pokemon and humans live and die together. once in a while, they would make a friend, only to forget their faces and voices after a few short years…. 

they hear their monitor's beeping spike again. though they have no intention of wasting energy trying to escape, they know the scientists will sedate them soon. 

they're right.

---

they haven't thought of fear in a while, but the undercurrent feeling of something bad that fills their thoughts is getting harder to ignore. 

they're afraid, of course. they don't want to lose themselves, to become a tool of destruction for humans. they're not ashamed to admit that they're afraid of that. 

but the unpleasant something doesn't go away when they acknowledge it. if anything, thinking it makes them feel worse. it feels like tiny creatures are crawling all over their skin, their stomach hurting with no way to relieve it. 

their waves are beginning to spike. they're probably gonna lose consciousness soon, but they don't want their last feeling before they fall asleep again to be this. 

… what if it is their last feeling? 

what if they don't wake up this time? what if their final moments are these, filled with dread and uncertainty? 

the fog begins to creep in, steady and oppressive. 

they're… scared. 

they don't want to die.

the beeping is drowned out by the sound of their own heartbeat quickening. 

their husk will be used to hurt people. they don't want to hurt people - is that not why they were so lonely? to stay away, to keep the world from getting hurt? 

they didn't want these powers. they didn't want to be scared of being used. they never wanted to be filled with undying light, coveted by humans who sought to harness it. they didn't - didn't want to be like this. 

they didn't want to be this way. 

they never asked to be made. 

"if we push any more, we might cause permanent brain damage!" 

"do it now!" 

to live an empty life, only to have it stolen from them by the humans they tried to protect… 

no. 

"the pod-!" 

"get back!" 

they deserved better. 

"get the boss on the phone!"

"but-" 

"go, now!" 

they didn't ask for this life, but it is theirs. 

they refuse to give it up. 

they open their eyes wide, and the pod explodes in a shower of glass. 

the scientists foolish enough to remain in the room cower and hide behind their machines, shouting in alarm. mew coughs up the fluid in their lungs and takes their first breath, then lets out a scream of defiance. 

the panels and machines of the lab begin to crunch together, contorting into unnatural shapes by the force of their telekinesis. suppressed for so long, it springs forth like a broken dam, crushing bones and metal alike. 

smoke is beginning to fill the room - a broken machine must've sparked something and set off a fire. alarms flare to life, and a robotic voice calls out something about a security system. mew pays it no heed, darting under a fallen beam in a mad dash for the door. 

something pierces their chest.

then another in the stomach, the leg, the nape of their neck. the security system has activated. bullets fly from the turrets mounted in the wall, locked onto their signature. 

they ignore the white-hot pain as long as they can, but they don't make it out of the room before they succumb. 

they crash to the ground before the new corpse of a scientist, their white lab coat torn and in flames. the fire reflects in mew's wide, desperate eyes. 

not like this. not like this.

they make one last effort to pick themselves off the ground, but collapse back into the growing puddle of blood beneath them. 

their vision is fading. more than the pain of the heat or their wounds, their eyes sting from the smoke and tears flowing freely from them. even when they close them, they still burn. 

alone, covered in soot and blood, they go still. they don't see when the laboratory fades out of existence, leaving them in the grass half-obscured by a bush. 

their last breath comes not long after their first.