[Early Access] Algae Monster x Reader (Patreon)

content: gender neutral reader, ft. the monster adopt I got from natansiik!

Cottage life was supposed to be idyllic: curious critters, the chirping of birds, the shuffle of vegetation after a soft breeze passes by. What you’d gotten instead was utter silence and emptiness.

This was ridiculous. You stared incredulously at the bird feeder you’d eagerly installed outside, untouched and filled to the brim still. Where was everything? The place should’ve been pulsing with life. Even the flowers you so carefully planted along the little cobblestone path had been afraid to come out of the barren soil.

Frustrated and confused, you reached for your bag and scurried ahead, in no particular direction, hoping to find some answers or at least clear your mind of that suffocating feeling of dread.

Something was deeply wrong with the forest.

As you made your way around the overgrown roots, you began to notice thick clumps of cattails – the only real greenery around there – contouring something beyond your sight. You hadn’t been told of any lake or pond when you moved in, so what were they doing here? Your step became heavier, sinking into muddy ground the closer you got to the wetland.

“Well, I’ll be damned,” you mumbled to yourself, kneeling before the murky water.

You waited a moment, expectantly, yet nothing happened. The damned puddle was just as dead as the rest of the area, devoid of any animals. Right as you were about to turn around, your reflection jolted in waves across the surface, skewing and trembling under the pull of a foreign movement coming from the depths. A fish?

The creature coming out of the pond caused you to fall on your back in terror. It almost resembled a human, tall and slender, with glowing eyes and long claws, its body tangled in a web of seaweed.

“I didn’t think I’d ever see movement around here,” it mused, visibly surprised by your presence. “What are you doing in this graveyard?”

Still taken aback by the monstrosity that had just crawled its way to you, you could only nod and point towards your home. Your voice seemed to be stuck somewhere within your throat.

The idea that you’d been living there seemed to be an even greater shock to the beast. It marveled at you, hesitantly extending a finger and dragging it across your face. Unbelievable. Unconceivable.

You later learned that your unexpected encounter was the main and only inhabitant of the forest, for the very simple reason that everything else wilted in his presence. A spirit of death, meant to lead a solitary existence until time itself came to a halt. Or, as he now discovered, until you’d show up.

By the time you arrive at the pond, he’s already waiting for you. His hollow orbs are narrowed in a smile, flaunting a wide slit across his face. Your eyes involuntarily rest on the sharp rows of teeth protruding from the opening.

“You’re in a good mood today,” you comment as you throw a blanket over the grass.

“Why, of course I am. You’re here.”

He swiftly snatches your wrist and pulls you in a greedy embrace, inhaling your scent. You are indeed here, and you’d better stay here. He’s never known such bliss before. To think someone out there could withstand his ghastly, deadly essence, what a bold dream! Yet here you are, thriving under his touch. For once, his cursed hands bring more than demise.

You’re his precious gift, his most prized treasure. Oh, he’s never letting you go.