BCE!Billy Au

I’M SORRY I’M JUST SWEATING FROM MY EYES

Thinking more about a childhood friends Tim and Billy AU that’s also a Tim joins the Batfamily late AU, and it’s just occurred to me that were Jason still to die in that AU we’d have a perfect setup for a Orpheus situation. Billy could use his favour with the gods to get them to the underworld and convince Hades to let them try, Tim of course would be the one to actually bring Jason back, and he has to listen as Robin demands to know who he is and what’s going on and begs him to turn around and explain and threatens to leave and Tim just has to keep going because Batman needs a Robin and Gotham needs a Batman.

reblog to give warm bread to your mutuals

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My toothies hurt 😔

Bones cool :3

A Curated List Of My Favorite Skeletons (and Skulls!)

We shall start, of course, with the obvious: Stringray!

Followed neatly by pufferfish!

gila monster skull (shh they are sleeping)

moving on to flamingos bc they have so little to work with but they stretch it so far

veiled chameleon skull (plus art by Elena Barbieri so you comprehend the importance of the sclerotic ring bone!) (bc some eyes have bones! some eyes have bones and that is so so valid)

love us a good old-fashioned mole

the tucan, always a fun classic

in conclusion, a few dainty gibbon skeletons to calm you soul, bc why the heck not <3

(yes the last one is a real vintage postcard sold in real Natural History Museum gift shops, before for some reason they reconsidered this marketing decision)

If like, Steve was a demo-dog werewolf type thing 👉👈

(Just a preface, nothing happens to Eddie in this au and they defeat Vecna.)

-also TW his transformation is a bit graphic, and Steve eats a bad guy. (or two)

Steve remembered when he got bit by those damn demodogs. They were leaving the upside down after killing that motherfucker Vecna and they all of a sudden came rushing out of nowhere and latched onto him. One of them in particular was different. It was larger and didn’t look quite like the rest. When he felt it’s toothed petal-like mouthpieces pierce into his leg, it hurt the most.

He gasped as he felt them all be torn away, the others desperately getting them off of him. Nancy blew them off with her shotgun and Robin took his bat, smacking them away. When they were all dead or retreated, the two girls lifted him up, carrying his injured body back up to the surface. They laid him on a bed and bandaged him up, cleaning his wounds.

He had actually healed remarkably quickly. It was slow for the first few days, him being stuck in bed all day, people bringing him food and water. Dustin was practically stuck to him like glue the entire time. But he was already out of bed and ready to get back to work by the time the week was even over. The others wanted to make sure he was completely okay, but he insisted that he felt fine. He still had a few scars, but he was otherwise okay.

Now he was back to working at Family Video. It was only him and Robin in the store, which was closed by now. They wound up having to stay late because they had to rewind a bunch of tapes. He hated it when people didn’t do it themselves. They even had an entire slogan for it! But some people just didn’t care.

They’d finished almost all the tapes, only one or two left and Steve said he was going to the back room to get ready to leave. He hadn’t been feeling well all day, his body hot and sweaty, his joints aching and his stomach in knots. He looked out the window to see the moon, bright and full in the sky.

His body began to sweat even more, the stuff pouring down his face like a waterfall. He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth, gripping his shirt.

He felt his joints begin to do more than ache, like they were being pulled apart. He fell onto his knees, his body shaking and shivering. He felt simultaneously like he was freezing yet burning up. There was a sickening crack as his arm twisted, bones snapping apart at the joint. It didn’t hurt as much as it should’ve, and Steve didn’t see it, but could still hear the series of terrible snaps and cracks. He could also feel every single thing happening to him, but for some reason, there was almost no pain.

His arms began to stretch, his fingers as well, thick black claws growing out the ends. His legs followed suit, as well as his feet. He reached up to his clothes, ripping into his shirt and tearing it off. His clothes were hot and restricting, he had to get them off. He tore at his pants, shreds of fabric falling off his legs. His feet had already made quick work of his shoes, so they took little effort. He felt his jaw split in half, the sound of bones cracking and flesh tearing filled his ears. Then, as soon as it started, it all stopped. He sat there, shivering and confused.

His mind was fuzzy, not knowing what the hell he was doing. Throughout all this, he realized he’d never opened his eyes. He tried to open them up, but there were no eyes to open. He whipped his head around frantically, only seeing blocks of color. It was more like he could sense and feel the heat signatures coming off of things, yellows and oranges where it was hottest, blues and purples for cold.

He looked around the back room. Why was he here? He wanted to be outside, running through the woods, not cooped up in this tiny space. He looked behind him and saw the door, using his nose to push it open. He saw someone standing there. He knew her! She was always nice to him, wasn’t she? He recognized her more from her smell than from what she looked like, but knew her nonetheless!

“Hey Steve, I just finished the last ta…pe HOLY SHIT!”

Her words were cut off by a high pitched scream, the girl having turned around and looked at him. He tilted his head, stepping forward towards her. She, in turn, flew backwards, falling down. Her back was pinned against the sales counter and she stared at him, eyes wide and terrified, focusing on the tattered green vest draped across his back.

He didn’t understand why he was afraid, so he stepped closer, sniffing as he did so. Eventually he was almost right on top of the girl, taking in her scent as he got ever-closer. She stretched her neck back, head tilting to the side as his nose nearly pressed against her face. He tilted his head once more, tongue reaching out of his mouth and swiping across her face. She whimpered, squeezing her eyes tight. He then jumped up onto the counter, off of his friend and surveyed the store. He hopped down, padding around and sniffing at everything in sight.

Robin had no fucking clue what was going on. One minute Steve was heading into the back room and the next this thing was crawling out of it, her co-worker's vest ripped up and draped around it. It stalked towards her, and she was sure she was a goner as she felt its tongue on her cheek, but then it suddenly hopped onto the counter and into the rest of the store.

She was confused, but was not going to take this opportunity for granted. She rushed to pick up the phone, thinking for a moment about who to call. Definitely not the cops. Then she remembered the story Steve told her about Dustin trying to keep a demo-dog as a pet. She hurriedly punched in his number, waiting nervously for the kid to pick up.

“Hello? Who is this?” A female voice over the phone.

“Hi! Hello, um… can I speak to Dustin please?”

“It’s awfully late to be calling, isn’t it?”

“Uh, it’s an emergency! I really need to talk to him.”

“Ok, let me see if he’s still awake. Dustin? Sweetie, there's someone on the phone for you!”

She waited for a few seconds as the phone changed hands, hearing the kid’s confused muffled voice on the other end.

“Hello?”

“Dustin!”

“Robin? What happened, my mom said it was an emergency.”

“Yeah, well you know those demo-dog thingies?”

“Yeah…” his voice was starting to get nervous.

“Uhm, there’s kind of an issue here at the store…”

“Why are you guys still at the store? And where’s Steve?!”

“I don’t know… just get over here! Quickly please! And bring a weapon or something!”

The kid sighed.

“Ok, fine. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

The phone clicked as Dustin hung up, and Robin put the phone down, crouching behind the counter. She could hear the thing sniffing around the store, letting out soft growls and occasional clicking sounds. She covered her mouth with her hand, shutting her eyes tight and waiting for Dustin to get there.

It took about ten minutes, Robin cowering, curled up in the corner. The back door slammed open, Dustin yelling as he charged in, makeshift spear in his hand as he waved it around. There was the scrambling of claws against tile and a disgruntled dog-like sound. Robin peeked her head out from behind the counter, looking at the scene. The demo-thing had scrambled away from the kid, but now got up, shaking himself. Dustin was staring at it, spear pointed towards the creature. It looked over at the kid, then immediately ran at him, dodging the spear and jumping onto him, the kid screaming in response.

Well shit, she just got a kid killed, didn’t she. Not wanting to see the carnage, she closed her eyes, the initial scream echoing in her head. But there were no more screams. That was quick. Then she heard the last thing she would’ve ever expected. Laughter. Her eyes shot open as she heard the kid laughing. The demo-whatever was on top of him, mouth open and repeatedly licking his face. Its skinny tail was wagging fast, and it was making excited puppy-like sounds as it lapped at the kid. Dustin was giggling like crazy, trying to playfully push it away.

“What the hell is going on?!” She yelled.

“This isn’t a demo-dog!” He replied between

giggles.

She looked at him, absolutely baffled. Dustin was about the only person she could imagine being happy about this horrifying creature licking his face like a dog.

“Then what the hell is it?”

“I have no idea.” He said, finally pushing it off and sitting up.

“What do you mean you have no idea?”

“I mean, he kinda looks like a demo-dog, but his head is different. His jaw only splits into three parts, and he actually has a head. The tail is longer too, and the claws are different. He’s a lot more dog-like than an actual demo-dog.”

“Oh, so it’s a he now?”

The creature kept sniffing at him, then it turned to Robin and made a distorted yipping sound. It sounded like a cross between a dog and a demo-creature.

“Also, why is he wearing this vest?” He asked, pinching the fabric between two fingers and lifting it up.

“I don’t know. Steve went into the back to get ready to leave, and the next thing I know, that comes barging out. I thought it ate him or something…”

Dustin took in the information. Then he looked from the creature to the room, then back at the creature. He lifted the side of the vest, looking to where the name tag would be printed, then his eyes went wide.

“Robin… I think this is Steve…”

The creature made another distorted yip, looking at Dustin when he said Steve’s name. The two looked at each other, then back to the dog thing.

“Steve…?” Robin said hesitantly.

The creature hopped up, looking at her and sort of barking at the name, trotting up to her and pressing his nose to her hand. She nervously stroked her hand across his head, and he purred, leaning into the touch.

“It-it is Steve! But how!?”

“It’s the full moon!”

“What?”

“He’s like a werewolf, but a weird upside-down version of a werewolf. I guess it happened when he was bitten by those demo-dogs.”

“Huh. I guess…”

Steve sat on the floor, tail still wagging and looking from Robin to Dustin.

“Man, he’s ugly.”

“Robin!”

“What?!”

In the end, Dustin agreed to take Steve back to his house, allowing Robin to go home. He was glad it was nighttime, because it made it so much easier to sneak Steve around. He went in the back door to his house, though he was pretty certain his mom was asleep. He hushed the werewolf as he led him to his bedroom, sitting in the bed.

“Okay, some rules if you’re gonna be staying here for the night.”

Steve sat down and tilted his head. Dustin took that as a sign he was listening.

“First of all, you need to be quiet. My mom can not find out about you. And second, you can not eat my cat.”

Steve just kept staring at him, not responding or showing any signs at all that he knew what Dustin said.

“You know what? I’m just gonna do this.”

He got up and walked over to his door, turning the lock, then closed the window. He double checked his room to make sure Tews wasn’t in there, and sighed in relief when she wasn’t. He then looked at Steve, who’d been watching him the whole time, and put his finger to his lips, making a shushing sound.

The kid then sat back onto his bed, sighing and falling over on his back. Steve jumped up on the bed as well, curling up at the end and looking at Dustin. At least he thought he was looking at him, it was pretty hard to tell because of his lack of eyes. Dustin flipped over on his side, closing his eyes to go to sleep, which came pretty quickly.

Dustin woke up with a stretch, yawning widely. Damn, that was a weird dream.

“Henderson!”

He heard a familiar voice whisper-shout, then looked to the source. A very flustered and confused looking Steve was in the corner of his room, a blanket wrapped around him. Oh. It wasn’t a dream.

“What the hell is going on?!”

“Uhh, I- why are you wrapped in a blanket?”

“Because, I was in the back room of Family Video, and then the next thing I know, I’m curled up at the bottom of your bed wearing nothing but my ripped-up vest from work!” He said through gritted teeth.

“Okay, I can explain, but let me get you some clothes first.”

“What clothes do you have that are gonna fit me?”

He shuffled around in his closet, pulling out a hoodie that was too big for him, and some very loose and stretchy sweatpants. He turned around and tossed them to Steve.

“Try these.”

He turned around as the man got dressed, and only looked when he said it was safe. The hoodie was a bit tight, but the sweatpants seemed to fit a little better.

“Okay, now you owe me a damn good explanation.”

So Dustin sat there, explaining everything that happened from last night, Steve’s eyes growing wider and wider, looking on in disbelief.

“I arrived after you were like that, so you’ll have to get the rest from Robin.”

Steve sat there, hand on his head as he processed the information. He then got up, thanked Dustin for what he did, and told him he would be heading off back to his own house. Dustin nodded, agreeing that that was probably a good idea, waving at the man as he left.

—————————————————

Steve was freaking out. Tonight was the full moon, and after last time, he had no idea if he was going to transform again. He’d called Dustin to his house, asking if he’d be willing to be there again when it happened. The kid agreed and was on his way, biking over to the house. When Dustin arrived, Steve was pacing back and forth, mumbling to himself.

“You okay Steve?”

He nodded.

“Just a bit shaky. I have no idea what happens when I transform, but I’ve been feeling like shit all day.”

Night was already falling, the full moon rising up in the dark sky. Steve tensed as he felt a tightening in his chest, falling to the ground. He gripped his shirt once again, this time taking it off, tossing it across the room.

“Steve? Are you okay?”

“Yeah, yeah. I think it’s starting now…”

He gritted his teeth, closing his eyes. The first snap echoed throughout the room, and Dustin’s eyes widened, his face going a bit green.

“Y-you can go into another room. It’s fine.”

Steve’s words were strained, and the next snap rang out, the sound of flesh tearing accompanying it. Dustin took his offer and left the living room, rushing quickly upstairs so he wouldn’t have to witness the transformation. He waited up there for a good ten minutes, slowly creeping downstairs afterwards.

“Steve?” He asked hesitantly.

The aforementioned man-now-werewolf padded out from the living room, standing at the bottom of the stairs. His tail wagged as he spotted Dustin, letting out a creepy yet oddly endearing bark. He walked down the rest of the stairs, placing his hand on the wolf’s head and scratching it lightly. The feeling was weird, it was like petting a hairless cat. Steve seemed to enjoy it, however, and began purring.

“So are you a dog, or a cat?” Dustin asked jokingly.

Steve padded off to the living room, hopping up on the couch. Dustin followed him, sitting next to him.

“You wanna watch something?”

Steve just looked at him. It was beginning to get kind of creepy. Mostly because he didn’t have any eyes. Dustin realized Steve probably couldn’t understand him, and picked up the remote. He turned in the TV, flicking through the channels. Then Steve’s stomach rumbled, and Dustin turned to him.

“You hungry big guy?” He asked. “I can get some snacks.”

Steve tilted his head, looking at him.

“Wait here, I’ll be right back.” He put his hand out as a sign for him to stay.

Steve seemed to listen, staying in the living room and watching Dustin leave. The kid rifled through the kitchen, looking around to see what there was to eat. He had no idea what to feed Steve, but eventually settled on some leftover chicken he found in the fridge.

He turned back to the living room, walking in with chicken in hand.

“Hey Steve, you want some chick…en?”

The plate along with the chicken clattered to the floor, ceramic breaking into pieces as it landed. Steve was still on the couch, looking at Dustin. The only problem was that instead of being the size of a demo-dog, Steve was now fifteen feet long, nearly crushing the couch with his weight. His tongue was out, panting as he sniffed the air, clearly smelling the food because a second later, the thing was padding up to him.

He walked directly up to Dustin, sniffing the kid’s face. His mouth opened and his tongue slipped out, Steve dragging the wet muscle across Dustin’s entire body. He stumbled back, trying to push the tongue off of him, failing miserably. Then Dustin watched in horror as Steve’s mouth opened, bottom jaw splitting in two and engulfing his entire head inside. Dustin screamed, squirming and trying to escape as Steve’s jaws closed gently around his middle, lifting him into the air and letting gravity aid him.

Dustin was terrified as he felt the first swallow, the throat muscles taking hold of him and pulling him down. The second swallow left only his legs in the maw, kicking wildly around. Dustin felt as the tight, wet esophagus pressed into him on all sides, rippling around him as he was slowly worked down. Steve took one last gulp, sealing the kid’s fate as the rest of him was sent into the throat. Dustin tried to squirm but couldn’t do much, arms pinned to his sides and legs pushed together. His head popped into a larger space, the kid immediately recognizing it as Steve’s stomach. The rest of him soon followed suit, his entire body pooling into the organ. There were no acids or anything, but that didn’t do much to soothe Dustin, who was freaking the hell out.

He felt it as the werewolf walked over to the couch, laying down on the comfy fabric. Dustin sat still in the stomach, shivering slightly. He thought Steve was nice like this… did he just think of Dustin as food when he got hungry? He felt the stomach walls rumble, and he thought that this was it. It was starting, wasn’t it? But then he realized Steve was purring. The calming sound mixed with the heartbeat above him.

“S-Steve…?”

The giant werewolf let out a gentle yip, and he felt a part of the stomach wall press in on him gently.

“Please… I really don’t want to die… especially not by one of my friends…”

Steve let out a sad whine, and Dustin felt the walls close in on him. He squeezed his eyes shut tightly, starting to cry. He felt it as the stomach pushed on him, and he entered the same fleshy tube he had just left moments ago. He slowly opened his eyes, confused as to why he was moving up the throat. He saw the light above him, and was slowly pushed up and out Steve’s mouth, landing softly on the couch below.

He was completely soaked with saliva, but he looked up at Steve, eyes wide. The werewolf looked at him with an expression Dustin had to guess was sadness, because he was whimpering slightly. He slowly moved his massive head closer to the boy, gently licking him to clean him off.

“Steve? You- you’re not gonna hurt me?”

He kept licking, then put his tongue back into his mouth and nuzzled the kid with his snout, purring once more. Dustin, though he was still a little scared, stayed sitting on the couch, gently petting the top of his head. He had to reach up to touch it, but could still barely reach. The werewolf kept purring, nuzzling him in what was seemingly an apology.

“Okayyy… you, uh, you want the chicken now instead?“

He got up from the couch, walking over to the broken plate and picking up the food, making sure there weren’t any shards stuck in it. He brought it over to Steve, gently holding it out.

“Here, here you go.”

Steve happily ate the meat out of Dustin’s hands, lapping at them when it was gone. He let out a rumble, hopping down from the couch and stretching. Dustin watched in awe as the wolf shrank, little by little getting back down to the more manageable size of a demo-dog. He padded over to the back door, scratching at it lightly and looking over to Dustin.

“You wanna go outside? I don’t know if that’s a good idea…”

Steve whined, continuing to scratch, looking pleadingly at the boy.

“Okay, I guess if you don’t run off…”

His tail wagged rapidly as Dustin moved towards the door, turning the knob and opening it up. As soon as he got a glimpse of the outside, Steve took off running, sprinting into the woods.

“God dammit Steve! What did I say?!”

Dustin ran after the wolf, cursing the whole way. Steve, however, was much too fast for him to try and catch up, and he realized he never would. That’s what led him to call Robin, explaining the situation and asking if she could help him find Steve. She reluctantly agreed, saying she would start near her house and meet him in the middle of the woods.

Robin sighed, a little peeved that the kid managed to lose Steve. She knew he was staying with him for the night so he wouldn’t be alone while transformed. She’d been walking for a little bit, flashlight in hand.

“Steeeeve! Steve, where are you?” She whisper-shouted, not wanting to draw too much attention to herself but wanting to find her friend.

A twig snapped behind her, and she whipped around, hoping to god it was Steve. It was not, in fact, Steve, and instead she was met with a figure dressed in all black. She stepped backwards, leaves crunching beneath her feet.

“H-hello?”

The figure was silent, stepping towards her slowly. Her eyes widened as she saw him pull something out of his pocket, metal glinting in the moonlight. She turned around and bolted, trying to get away from the situation. She heard the sound of rapid footsteps behind her, and she realized he was chasing her! Robin picked up the pace, running as fast as she possibly could.

A hand gripped her arm and she screamed, falling to the ground when he pushed her. She looked up in horror, the figure standing over her, knife raised. Then, all of the sudden, he was gone. A wolf-sized blur slammed into the man with full force, pushing him to the ground. Robin snapped her head to the side, scrambling back. She saw what she assumed was Steve baring over the man, snapping and growling. His jaw split apart, and he plunged his many, many teeth into the man’s chest, ripping backwards. The man let out a blood-curdling scream as he was torn apart, the demo-wolf repeatedly going back in for more. The knife lay to the side, spattered with the very blood of the one that wielded it.

Robin watched in horror as Steve devoured the man. It was like a trainwreck, a terrible, horrible thing and yet you were unable to look away. The ground was soaked in blood by the time he was finished, Steve licking the last of the blood off of his jaws. He then looked over at Robin, who was cowering against a tree, his tail wagging. He stepped towards her, causing her to let out a yelp.

“S-Steve…?”

He let out a distorted bark, padding up to her and nuzzling her hand with his now blood-free snout.

“Robin? Robin, did you find him?!”

Dustin came rushing out of the trees, looking at the both of them. His eyes widened as he saw the red caking Steve’s claws and chest.

“W-what happened?!”

“Umm, I think he was saving me… but he just totally ate a guy.”

“He what?!”

“The guy was gonna stab me, but then Steve knocked him over and, well…”

Dustin looked over and saw the mess of blood, bones, and torn up black clothes. He then ran into a bush, face pale and hand over his mouth. He heaved into the leaves, but managed to keep it down. He then turned to Steve.

“You are getting a bath.” He said.

He said bye to Robin after making sure she would be okay. She said she was fine, just a little shaken, but they walked her back to her house anyway. After that, Dustin turned and began walking back to Steve’s house, the aforementioned werewolf following close behind. He growled at every little rustle of a bush or snap of a twig, but nothing came out to get Dustin.

They got to the house, and Dustin made Steve follow him upstairs and into the master bathroom, since it had a larger bathtub. He shoved Steve inside and locked the door behind them, walking over to the tub and starting to fill it up. Steve watched, or he was facing Dustin, at least. Could he actually see? The tub filled up soon, Dustin only having it half full, and he started to contemplate how he was going to get the demo-wolf inside.

“Hey buddy, you think you can get in here?” He asked hopefully, gesturing from Steve to the tub.

The wolf wrinkled his nose, stepping back a bit. Dustin sighed, realizing this was going to take a lot more effort than he thought.

“Fine, then. Just come here…”

He walked over to Steve, trying to pick him up. He was glad he was only the size of a demo-dog at this point, because there was no way he could’ve picked him up if he was larger, let alone fit him in the tub. Steve squirmed, kicking his legs out as Dustin wrapped his arms around his middle, lifting him into the air. He struggled to carry him to the water, finally dropping him inside, causing water to splash out. He held the wolf down as he struggled, trying to get out of the tub. Dustin was reminded of the time he tried to give Tews a bath, the cat scrambling to get out at every chance she had.

Steve finally calmed down after a few minutes of trying to get out, slumping down, clearly upset. Dustin then took a rag, wiping it across his skin, getting the nearly dried blood off of him. He repeatedly dipped it into the water, the blood mixing with it and dripping off.

“It’s only for a little bit, okay? I just need to get the blood off, it shouldn’t take too long.”

Steve just growled slightly, holding still while the kid washed off the blood. He certainly wasn't happy with the situation, but he knew Dustin wasn’t going to let up. It didn’t take too long, the blood actually washing off pretty easily, and soon enough Dustin was draining the now dark pink water. Steve hopped out, and Dustin covered him with a towel, rubbing it into his skin to dry off.

By now the night was almost over, so Dustin quickly took Steve into his bedroom and had him stay there. He closed the door, sitting just outside and waiting for Steve to turn back. He sat out there for a good twenty minutes, slowly starting to drift off to sleep. Man, he was tired.

He was suddenly woken up by a hand on his shoulder. He opened his eyes to see a grateful looking Steve, waking him up.

“Hey Henderson. Thanks for staying with me.”

“Oh, hey Steve.” He said groggily.

“Sooo, how was I? I don’t really remember anything.”

It took a moment for Dustin to process the question. He was about to respond when he really thought about it, remembering how he ate Dustin, spat him out and then actually ate ate a guy.

“Uhh, you might want to sit down for this… last night was kind of insane.”

“Oh, god what’d I do?”

——————————————————

It had been a few months now, Steve starting to get used to the transformation. Only Dustin and Robin knew about it, him begging them to keep it a secret. Apparently he’d taken to eating Dustin as well, both of them figuring out it was safe and that he only did it when trying to protect the kid or as a sign of affection. He had also taken to eating wild animals in the woods, chasing down pretty much anything that moved. He also hadn’t mauled anyone else, which he was grateful for.

He’d gotten so used to it, in fact, that he forgot it was the full moon one night. This had happened because the particular month they were in had two full moons. Another issue was that the sick feeling he usually had for the whole day had faded over time.

He had Eddie over, the two deciding to watch some movies and order takeout. His name had been cleared, so they didn’t need to hide. They were both sitting on the couch, food already eaten, when a familiar feeling washed over Steve and he tensed.

“Hey, you okay Steve?” Eddie asked, looking up at him.

“No, no, not now! Not now!”

He jumped off the couch, trying to get to another room, but quickly fell to the ground, sweating and shaking.

“Steve!” Eddie shouted, rushing to his side.

He placed his hand on his friend’s back, feeling the damp fabric. He also felt Steve shivering, and looked over him worriedly. Then the first crack sounded out. He jumped back, recognizing the sound as bones breaking. Snap after snap echoed throughout the room, Eddie watching in horror as Steve’s arms bent and rearranged unnaturally.

He watched as Steve ripped through his clothes with the new claws growing out of his fingers, watched as his jaw elongated and split in half at the bottom, opening in a roar. His eyes were sucked back into his head, leaving empty black sockets in their place. His mind was immediately taken to that night with Chrissy, and he screamed in terror, shutting his eyes tight.

Moments later, the noises stopped, Eddie still curled up in on himself, eyes squeezed together. He tensed as he felt something sniffing at his face, tears beginning to form in his eyes. Then something warm and wet swiped across his face, leaving a trail of something. It came again, and again, and Eddie realized something was licking him. But the only other person, or animal, for that matter, was…

He opened his eyes, looking at the thing in front of him and screamed, scrambling backwards until he hid the wall. The thing followed him, head tilting like a fucking dog. It’s body looked like one of those demo-dog things, but it’s head… god it’s face… It looked almost like a dog’s head, but shaved down to its skin. The ears were long and a bit crinkled, some chunks missing from them. Its eyes just weren’t there, deep black holes where they used to be. The nose was merely two slits, and the whole face was wrinkly.

He gasped as it opened its mouth to lick him again, impossibly sharp teeth becoming exposed. It’s bottom jaw split apart slightly, tongue moving closer to his face. He flinched as it reached him, pressing lightly on his cheek. It stepped back, sitting down and looking at him. He noticed its tail was wagging, the limb moving side to side. Another thing he noticed was that Steve was no longer in the room. He- he saw him. Wait, what had been happening to him… he looked back at the creature, which was hard to read, but from what he could tell looked happy.

“S-Stevie?”

The creature hopped up, tail wagging with extra vigor and he let out a messed-up bark. He bounded towards Eddie, tail wagging the whole time. Eddie sat up, looking at the thing in disbelief. He remembered what was happening to Steve, his limbs were bending at stretching, he had watched as his face changed, and he realized that this was, in fact, Steve.

Eddie hesitantly stuck his hand out, Steve immediately bounding forward to meet it. He brushed it across his head, gently patting between his ears. Steve leaned into him, purring at the touch. Eddie laughed a bit, nervously.

“You a dog or a cat now?”

Steve just looked at him happily, moving his head up and licking Eddie’s hand. The man finally got the courage to stand, slowly making his way back to the couch.

“So you wanna finish watching the movie or what?”

He turned back to Steve, immediately dropping the remote that had been in his hand. Where before there was a creature the size of a medium dog, there was a fifteen foot long behemoth, looking down at him, saliva dripping from his mouth.

“S-someone had a growth… spurt…”

Steve just stared at him, continuing to drool. He licked his chops, and Eddie couldn’t help but be reminded of a dog anticipating a treat their owner was holding right in front of them, just waiting to snatch it up. Eddie gulped.

“You wanna, umm, you wanna watch the- the movie…?” He asked slowly.

Steve lowered his head, making it level with Eddie’s face. The man stepped back a tiny bit, beginning to sweat, looking from side to side. Then Steve lunged. His jaws split open and engulfed half of Eddie’s entire body, licking over it. He was gentle, but that didn’t make it any better for the metalhead, who was currently freaking the hell out. He thrashed around, his arms reaching up to the sides of Steve’s face, trying to pull himself out of the mouth. But the demo-wolf just pushed his head closer to the ground, causing Eddie to sink deeper in. Steve purred as he tasted the man, pushing him deeper and deeper into his throat.

The slimy walls moved around him, tight muscles pulling him towards the stomach. He tried to struggle, but couldn’t move much. He felt as the last of his body entered the warm mouth, tongue licking over his feet before swallowing once more, sealing Eddie inside. By now Steve was purring heavily, and Eddie could feel it. He heard the heartbeat loud in his ears, the noise softening as he went down farther. He pooled into the demo-wolf's stomach, feeling the plush walls pulse around him. Now having the space, he wildly moved and kicked and punched around, trying to get Steve to let him out.

Steve on the other hand, layed down on the ground, curling up on his side. He pressed his nose into his belly, whining softly at the fear he could sense from the man inside. Why was he afraid? Dustin wasn’t afraid when Steve ate him… speaking of Dustin, he could smell the kid coming close. The door burst open, a small, curly-haired child rushing inside.

“Hey! Hey Eddie! There’s something you should know about… Steve…”

He spotted the werewolf almost immediately, it was hard not to. He was in his larger form, lounging in the middle of the living room floor. He perked up when he saw Dustin, letting out an excited noise.

“Hey big guy… uhm. Where’s Eddie?”

That’s when he spotted movement from inside Steve’s stomach. A muffled shout came from his gut, and Dustin got closer to hear him.

“Henderson! Henderson, he ate me! Get me the fuck out of here!”

“Hey, uh, Eddie? It’s completely safe… uhm I know it’s kinda freaky, but he’s not gonna hurt you!”

It was silent for a moment.

“What the hell do you mean it’s safe?! I’m in a fucking stomach!”

“I know. He’s eaten me too, but it’s sorta like a sign of affection for him. He doesn’t realize we don’t see it that way! On the plus side, it means he really likes you!”

“That doesn’t help!”

“I know! But you just have to accept it! I promise he’s only doing it to show he likes you! Plus it’s not bad in there, is it?”

Another beat of silence.

“I guess not…”

“Well great! Now that you’re all good, I’m heading back home so I can sleep!”

“Wait! Henderson, don't leave me here!”

He heard the door slam shut. Well shit. He was stuck in here, wasn’t he. But the kid did say it was safe, and that he’d also been eaten by Steve before…

“Hey big guy, you really like me that much, huh?”

He pressed his hand against the stomach wall, lightly stroking it. Steve purred in response, pushing up against where his hand was. Eddie relaxed a bit, sighing in relief. He rubbed up against the warm flesh. Dogs like belly rubs, right? Why not from the inside? His theory proved right as Steve practically melted, purring intensifying and him flopping over.

He stopped rubbing, just sitting down in the organ, feeling it move around him. Steve whined and sat back up, wondering why he’d stopped. He could still sense a small bit of fear from inside, and Steve was upset by it. He began the process of spitting him back out, feeling the smaller man enter his esophagus. He slowly moved up, Eddie entering his mouth. He spit the metalhead out onto the couch, licking over him to get the excess saliva off.

Eddie greatly appreciated Steve spitting him out. He knew there wasn’t any danger, but he’d certainly never been eaten before, so it freaked him out. He was fine with the demo-wolf licking him, though. It was just like a dog. He watched as Steve shrank back down, continuing to lick his face as his tail wagged.

“Okay, okay! Down, boy, down.”

Steve got off of him, sitting down on the couch. Eddie picked the remote back up, clicking on the TV. He resumed the movie they’d been watching, sitting on the cushion to the left. Steve slowly scooched closer to him, another inch every minute. Eventually the wolf curled right up next to him, resting his head on his lap. Eddie chuckled, placing his hand on his head, scratching between his ears, causing Steve to purr. This, combined with the movie he’d already seen playing on the TV, caused Eddie to quickly fall asleep, hand going slack on the demo-wolf's head. It didn’t really matter, however, since Steve was already asleep.

Steve’s eyes slowly opened up, blinking the sleek out of them. What had happened last night? He looked over and quickly realized he was on his couch. And he was on Eddie Munson. He jumped back, covering his mouth so he wouldn’t scream. Then he looked down and realized he was naked?! He was so confused, but then he remembered that feeling. He remembered the feeling he got when he transformed. Eddie started to stir. Shit. He quickly grabbed the blanket hanging over the couch and wrapped it around him. Eddie looked up just in time to see a very naked Steve with a blanket thankfully over his crotch area. His eyes widened.

“Dude! Are you naked!?”

“I-uh…”

“At least you’re not a demo-werewolf thing anymore.”

“Oh, god, you saw that?”

“Yeah, but you do make a pretty great dog.” He said with a smirk.

Steve groaned.

“I didn’t really want anyone finding out.”

“Henderson came over and tried to warn me about it, but it was already kinda too late.”

“Oh.”

“He did, however, convince me that you weren’t gonna kill me when I was in your stomach.”

Steve’s face went white.

“I- god damnit I don’t know why I do that…”

“It’s fine,” he said with a laugh, “just go get some clothes on, yeah?”

—————————————————

Dustin, Robin, and Eddie were the only three who knew about Steve. And two of the three finding out were kind of a disaster. So, Dustin decided (and finally convinced Steve) to tell some other people about it.

So, when the next full moon came, Dustin brought an excited demo-werewolf to the Byers house. The others were supposed to get there soon, but right now it was just Will and his mom and brother. Dustin didn’t tell Will exactly what he was bringing, though, so Will apparently failed to mention anything to his mother other than the fact that he was coming over. He knocked on the door, Steve in tow, and opened it up after hearing Joyce yell that he could come in.

Steve was already excited, clearly smelling the Byers inside and knowing who it was. So, as soon as he opened the door, the werewolf dashed inside against Dustin’s efforts to keep him from doing so. He shouted for him to come back but it was too late. There were multiple screams and shouts from in the living room, and Dustin ran after Steve.

What he saw when he got there was Will cowering and screaming on the couch, Steve standing over him and sniffing at him excitedly, tail wagging. Johnathan was contemplating, walking forwards and backwards from the scene, not sure if he could help. Then Joyce came barging into the room with a gun, shouting and pointing it directly at the werewolf.

“Wait! Don’t shoot it’s Steve! It’s just Steve!” Dustin screamed, jumping in front of the demo-wolf.

Joyce faltered for a second, gun shaking in her hand.

“What- what do you mean it’s Steve?”

“When he got bit by the demo-dogs, he got turned into this. He’s like a werewolf. He transforms during the full moon.”

Joyce looked over at him, watching as his tail wagged and he repeatedly licked her son’s face. She lowered her gun, sighing in relief before walking over to them, gently placing her hand on Steve’s back.

“Steve, sweetie? You’re scaring Will, can you get off?”

He turned around, pointing his face towards Joyce, before getting off of Will and jumping up to lick her face instead. Will sat up, looking over at him, still a bit afraid, but realizing that it was, in fact, Steve.

“S-Steve?”

The demo-wolf turned around, going in circles, not knowing which person to pay attention to. He yipped, finally deciding to sit down in front of Will, sniffing at him. He tentatively reached his hand out, gently placing it on Steve’s head. He started purring in response, which earned an odd look from all three Byers.

“Yeah, I have no idea what that’s about. I asked him if he was a dog or cat, but he doesn’t really understand human speech right now.” Said Dustin.

There was a knock at the door, and Joyce went to answer it while the three boys plus Steve sat in the living room. They heard Joyce talking to someone before a stampede of children came rushing into the living room. Joyce must’ve said something about him but Dustin was pretty sure the only words they caught were ‘Steve’ and ‘werewolf’ because that’s all they were shouting about.

As soon as they caught a glimpse of him, they either screamed, stumbled backwards, or both. El had her hand out just in case, but wasn’t using her powers. Mike and Lucas both stepped forwards a bit, getting a better look at him, and Max stayed behind El, peeking out from behind her. Steve was clearly overloaded, not being able to contain himself. His tail was going crazy, knocking things over left and right. He was very audibly purring, and occasionally making yipping and growling sounds. His feet wouldn’t stay still, and eventually he began running around, going to each of his kids and sniffing and licking at them. El lowered her hand, and the other kids followed him with their eyes.

“He doesn’t have a connection to the upside down.”

They all looked at El, sighing a bit in relief.

“So, that really is Steve?” Asked Mike.

El nodded.

Everyone relaxed a bit. Not fully, Steve was still scary as hell, but he didn’t seem like he would hurt any of them. El slowly crouched and put her hand out, Max, Lucas, and Mike following her lead. Steve went to each and every one of them, first sniffing at them, then licking their hands. When he checked everyone out thoroughly, he was confused. He didn’t know which kid he wanted to stay with and pay more attention to. It was all too much.

Then, he seemed to have an idea. Dustin’s face paled as he saw Steve start to grow. Soon enough, he was at his fifteen foot length and the kid knew exactly what that meant.

“Steve, I don’t think now is a very good time for this.” He tried to talk to the demo-wolf, but it didn’t seem like he was listening.

The others looked up in shock at the size he was now. He looked back down at them, seemingly deciding which one he wanted first. They, of course, had no idea what was about to happen. They were just confused as to why he was so big.

“Uh, Dustin? Do you know why he got so big?”

“He, uh… he wants to eat you guys… but it’s completely safe! He does it as a sign of affection. My guess is that he’s overwhelmed by how many of us are there, and he wants a way to keep us all close to him at the same time.”

“He wants to eat us?!”

There were shouts and complaints as to how it was safe and why Steve would do that, but the demo-wolf had apparently found his first target. He walked up to Will, looking down at him. The boy looked up at him, nervous as the giant wolf drooled over him. He then opened his mouth, bottom jaw splitting apart and gently closing over Will’s entire upper half. He squirmed a bit, but Steve kept pushing him farther in. Joyce’s eyes went wide and she shouted, yelling at Steve to spit him out. Steve whined, letting go of Will and cowering on the couch. Dustin stepped forward, placing his hand on Steve.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay Steve, just- not everyone wants you to eat them, okay?” He pet his side, looking up at him.

Apparently Steve took the gentle voice and the pets as an invitation, because he reached down and grabbed him in his mouth. He used his claws to push him in farther, taking his first swallow. The kids outside were freaking out, watching Dustin disappear into Steve’s mouth and down his throat. It was too fast for anyone to do anything about it, and within seconds, Dustin was fully inside of him, Steve licking his lips. They all looked at him in horror, but he just wagged his tail and looked back at them happily.

“Guys, it’s fine! I promise, he’s done this before!”

A muffled voice came from Steve’s stomach and he purred.

“You sure you’re okay in there sweetie?” Asked Joyce, stepping forward a bit.

“Yeah, like I said, he’s done it before and it just means that he likes you!”

Steve began sniffing at Mike this time, who backed up a bit, looking up at him in horror. The other kids had much of the same reactions, which made Steve visibly upset. He pouted, licking his lips and whining a bit, tail motionless. That’s when Will stepped forward.

“H-hey Steve. Um… I’m glad you really like being with us… do you wanna… uh…”

Will placed his hand on Steve’s snout, petting it gently which made his tail start to wag again. He licked at Will’s face before pausing, looking back at Joyce, ears falling flat and whining.

“It’s okay,” she reassured Steve, “are you sure, Will?”

“Yeah, it’s fine.”

Steve was happy at the soft voice used by Joyce, and began lapping at Will once more, covering the boy in saliva.

“That’s kinda gross, dude.” He said with a grossed-out face.

But then Steve opened his mouth further, gently closing it around Will’s chest. He worked him into his maw, watching Joyce the whole time to gauge her reaction. When she didn’t yell at him, he took his first gulp, sending Will partially into his throat. Joyce gasped, and Steve froze, looking to her worriedly, but she didn’t do anything else, just eyed her son's legs sticking out of his mouth wearily. He continued to swallow, licking over the kids legs and pushing him farther in. Soon enough, all of Will was inside his esophagus, a small bump slowly moving down and into his belly.

“Will, sweetie? Are you okay in there?”

“Yeah, mom. It’s… actually not bad in here.”

Steve panted happily, purring loudly and wagging his tail. He looked over the other kids, tilting his head at each of them in a silent question. None of them seemed to want to go in either, until El stepped up. She smiled a bit at him, and did what Will did, placing her hand on his snout. Steve stepped forward and began licking her face, causing her to giggle. He slowly opened his mouth, placing it around her middle.

She went down much in the same way the boys did, Steve swallowing her all the way down and into his stomach to join the two. He then went and laid down on the ground, licking his paws and idly wagging his tail. The others crowded around him, though none of them wanted him to eat them. He was fine with that, though, because he already felt pretty full. The rest of the kids sat next to him, petting him and trying to talk to the three inside, asking what it was like. Joyce also sat next to him, letting him rest his head on her lap. Steve couldn’t be happier at the moment. He was with all of his kids, three of them tucked away inside him, the other three giving him all the attention.

They hung out with him for a little bit, but eventually the kids inside wanted to come out. Steve begrudgingly brought them up one by one, spitting them out onto the soft couch and grooming them until the excess saliva was cleaned off. Joyce went over to Will and asked him about what happened and what it was like, the kid explaining the experience to his mom.

The others talked amongst themselves, still petting and talking to Steve, who was back to his smaller demo-dig size. He was lounging on the couch, but then suddenly whipped his head up, facing the door. He got up, sniffing at the air and walking slowly towards the front door. He jumped back as Eddie barged in, running towards the group, looking scared.

“Eddie?! What’s wrong, dude?” Asked Dustin worriedly.

Eddie just stared at the door, legs shaky and knees buckling. He looked horrified, face white. He went and hid behind Steve, the demo-wolf sniffing at him and licking his face, trying to reassure him. Then he growled. He slowly turned around, snarling at the front door, hackles raised. They heard footsteps approaching the house, and Steve just got more and more angry, saliva dripping from his mouth, sharp teeth on full display as he growled loudly. He crouched low to the floor, seemingly ready to pounce. Someone barged in and Steve sprang into the air, causing the figure to scream as they were tackled to the ground.

“Oh my god!” Screeched Joyce, looking to Eddie for answers.

“I-it uh, it was Jason! He chased me, said I was the devil or some shit. He-he has a gun!”

“Not anymore.”

They looked to the floor at Dustin’s words, seeing the gun go gliding across the hardwood. Steve had bitten into Jason’s arm, causing him to drop it. Steve then grabbed his leg in his mouth, shaking it from side to side and dragging the screaming man out the door.

The others looked into the outside, hearing bones snap, flesh tear, and blood-curdling screams as the jock was mauled to death. Eventually the screams stopped, and all that could be heard was flesh being ripped off of bones, accompanied by gulping sounds. Some of the kids looked like they were going to be sick, and Joyce actually rushed into the kitchen, bringing it to them and passing it around. No one actually threw up, but they kept the trash can near just in case. The noises stopped, and they watched as Steve padded back into the house, panting. Blood leaked from his maw, dripping onto the floor. It covered his chest and front paws, once black claws now stained a deep red.

“Well someone’s getting another bath.” Said Dustin.

Joyce got on the phone, calling Hopper and telling him to come over. He could probably cover it up after everything was explained to him, and after the blood and whatever was left of Jason was cleaned up. Steve just sat there, licking his snout, Dustin rushing off to get a wet towel.

Hopper showed up soon after, waiting outside as Joyce explained. The man stormed into the bathroom, looking on as Dustin wiped the werewolf clean with a wet towel in the bathtub. He tilted his head at the man, sniffing the air as he walked in.

“Got damnit, kid. You really did it this time.”

Dustin looked at him, worried.

“Is Steve in trouble?“

“No, we’re not exactly going to tell the town he’s whatever the hell this is. We’re just going to say he was mauled by some animal.”

Dustin visibly relaxed, thanking Hopper.

“It’s fine, that kid always seemed off to me…”

It seemed everything was going to be alright, and hopefully it would continue to be. They had no idea if they could cure him, but for now, it seemed they would just have to manage with the terrifying but sweet demo-wolf that appeared during full moons.

Fantastic art!!

STORY OF A VARIANT - COMIC FAN ART / LOKI (2021)

Art by: “Keiidakamya”

Awareness