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Fanfic / Here Be Monsters

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An angelic general...
A serpentine heroine...
A fiery naturalist...
A cursed huntress...
An auspicious cadet...
A reborn master...
A feline peacemaker...
And a magical princess...
All brought together under circumstances beyond any of their comprehension...
Called into action by forces unknown, eight young heroes are tasked with stopping a mysterious threat to the multiverse that has transformed countless innocents into fantastical beasts of myth and legend — including themselves! Without any idea of what to expect and with a limited set of certainties and conditions to work with, their only recourse is to scope out the many worlds beyond their homes in search of a lead, and maybe establish a few cross-universal alliances while they're at it.
Little do these polymorphed champions of fur, feather, and scale realize, however, that they're about to become involved in affairs far grander — and older — than any of them could've anticipated. New friends, new enemies, and new adventures await as the Fated Eight work to set things right... for both the cosmos, and for each other.

Here Be Monsters is a Massive Multiplayer Crossover fanfic written by SkarmorySilver, also known as Troper Geosternbergia. After one of his previous attempts at a Mega Crossover fell through, this fic strives to be far better researched with the intent of keeping everyone involved as in-character as possible, along with providing informative and insightful looks into all of the mythical and fantastic creatures presented.

Eons ago, before the beginning of all things, the primordial chaos goddess, Tiamat, was defeated by Marduk, the protector deity of the earliest human civilization, and sealed away in a place beyond the far reaches of The Multiverse. Even from within her confines, however, she was still discontent, plotting and scheming for her return to power. From her cosmic essence was birthed a legion of mythical creatures and monsters of every variety, sent forth to ravage the Earth with their terrible might, but this was not nearly enough to stem the tide of humanity as it colonized every iteration of Planet Earth across space and time, and many worlds beyond. And so the multiverse existed, unaware of Tiamat's intentions.

Until one day, when her daughter, Lahamu, was ordered to investigate the goings-on in the modern era. Rather violently.

Her very entrance into the multiverse bought chaos with it, disrupting the mystic forces that ensured that each fictional realm confided to its own rules of existence. Across the board, every man, woman, and child was transformed into a mythical creature, civilization was thrown into complete pandemonium, and many, many, many people simply vanished without a trace. Those who had survived Lahamu's breach into the modern era were left to pick up the pieces, and try and make sense of what was going on, unaware that those responsible were far greater in scope and scale than anyone could have imagined.

The first appearance of Lahamu in any world of mortal comprehension was witnessed by only eight people, each from a different world, home, and upbringing. But together, they may just be the key to piecing together what The Old Gods have planned for the multiverse of the modern era, and should they make it that far, they might just be able to bring things back to how they used to be.

The party set to confront Tiamat and her family, also known as the "Fated Eight", consists of the following:

  • Pit, a cherubim (depicted as a centaurian, four-winged, four-headed creature not unlike the cherubs from the Bible) and the first of the Fated Eight to witness Lahamu's multiversal break-in. With a new form finally capable of Flight and the abilities to scope out people of importance and create portals to anywhere in the multiverse, he serves as the team's navigator and primary aerial scout.
  • Violet Parr, a gorgon, an avid reader, and the team's lorekeeper and investigator. Aside from keeping her invisibility and force fields, she now has the ability to turn creatures to stone with her gaze, but struggles to suppress it and is deathly scared of using it.
  • Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, a Fiery Salamander and a Viking chief who one day found himself several times smaller than he used to be. Nonetheless a Pint-Sized Powerhouse with a potent Breath Weapon, his knowledge of biology has expanded from just dragons to most other mythical fauna. He is the primary steward of the team's handy Great Big Book of Everything, A Book Of Creatures (based on the website of the same name).
  • Ruby Rose, the team's mechanic/weapons expert and a werewolf who is rightly terrified of her Superpowered Evil Side. Already struggling with a lot of personal troubles in her home world of Remnant, Ruby now has to also worry about a new set of killer instincts that emerge with the rising of the moon. She brings the rest of her team along with her, but how can she continue serving as The Leader of Team RWBY if she puts their lives in danger every night?
  • Izuku Midoriya, a Kirin. Though primarily The Big Guy of the group thanks to the brute strength offered by his One for All quirk, Izuku is still as observant and insightful as ever and never misses even the slightest detail. He is the team's combat tactician, and aside from keeping his teammates safe from danger, he has also taken it upon himself to console them and keep the hope alive that they will see their homes and loved ones eventually restored.
  • Avatar Korra, an akhlut, part Noble Wolf and part heroic orca. Having witnessed the plight of many others who have lost those they care about, she is determined to reunite as many families and groups of friends as possible. She and Asami (an Eastern dragon) are the ranged casters of the group, bringing a range of Elemental Powers to bear.
  • Steven Universe, a sphinx cub and the party's field medic. He shares his ability to sense other important characters with Pit, but his covers much more than merely their identities, and also covers their states of health and well-being. Empathetic and kind, he refuses to waste any opportunity to help those in need. Together with the Crystal Gems, he is determined to fix the damage The Old Gods have inflicted upon the multiverse and help set things right.
  • Princess Twilight Sparkle, a Winged Unicorn and the brains of the bunch, as well as The Leader overall. She offered sanctuary for the other members of The Fated Eight and would eventually bear witness to Lahamu's power alongside the rest of them; knowing that all of the multiverse is in danger, she has placed herself at the head of the team and hopes to use the magic of friendship to keep everyone together just enough to send Tiamat packing.

If all of this sounds like a setup for a Campaign Comic in literary form... well, it isn't that precisely, but quite close. No gameplay mechanics or dice rolls are mentioned, but the general feel of the story and how it progresses does sound like the kind of madness worthy of an eight-player campaign in a Tabletop RPG... if the players were controlling characters from existing media who had all just undergone a multiverse-wide Forced Transformation.

The fic is available for reading here. It is currently ongoing; while no new updates happened after Chapter 7 was posted in 2019, the author added some retcons and an additional scene to the first few chapters to better set up some overarching plot threads in 2023, and then went on to finally add a new chapter shortly afterward. The ninth chapter was posted on December that year.

Not to be confused with Shazam! fanfiction Here There Be Monsters.

This Fanfic provides examples of:

  • Anger Born of Worry: The Big Damn Reunion between Pit and Link in Chapter 9 becomes soured by Pit expressing this trope, courtesy of several miscommunications leading to him believing that Link had died during the multiversal disruption. When the two of them cross paths, Pit calls Link out on failing to notify him that he was alive after all, only to learn that Twilight (whom Link was working with) had ordered Link to keep quiet about his identity. Pit quickly drops his animosity, but it's implied that he's decided to save his fury for Twilight the next time they talk to each other.
  • Ascended Extra: In canon, Crackle has no gender given and appears only for a few seconds as a visual gag, but their unique design was still enough to propel them to Ensemble Dark Horse status. As such, this fic has Crackle (who is female here) in a supporting role in Chapter 8 as the one who helps Yang out of her depressed state, and acts as Ember's attendant and confidant.
  • Ass Shove: Happens to poor Pit in the 2023 update of the first chapter, when his arrival at the realm containing the thrones of the Fated Eight, coupled with having not yet been transformed and thus unable to fly on his own, results in a crash landing which, among other Slapstick, gets one of the horns of his Taurus Arm painfully stuck where the sun doesn't shine.
  • Big "SHUT UP!": In the meeting at the start of Chapter 9, Pit brings up that the team has to recover Ruby (who fled into Everfree Forest and whose werewolf form is a danger to everyone), causing everyone to start protesting. Twilight has to use her Royal Canterlot Voice to restore order: "SIT DOWN, ALL OF YOU!!!"
  • Butt-Monkey: Poor Pit. Be it from a crash-landing that gets him hit by a whole bunch of his own weapons, fainting in shock during a public meeting, or being attacked by bite-acudas before getting swept down a waterfall, the poor cherubim just can't catch a break.
  • Call-Back:
  • Carnivore Confusion: Despite the characters' monster forms being an even mix of carnivores and herbivores, nobody deigns to eat each other since they were all previously human, and even around characters who were Talking Animals to begin with, Sapient Eat Sapient is defied (and Ruby's werewolf form attempting it is portrayed as a Horror Hunger). Still, this trope gets a lampshade anyway during Violet and Applejack's first meeting in Chapter 8, which sneaks in an Ascended Meme to darkly hilarious effect.
    [Violet] heard her stomach growl. "By the way, do you have any food? I only just realized that I didn't get any and man, I'm so hungry."
    Applejack stood up a little straighter, glancing at the serpent-girl's huge, scaly coils and then back at her face with a look of alarm. "Uh... how hungry?"
  • The Chosen Many: The concept of the Fated Eight plays with this a little. The Voice in the first chapter states that the current Fated Eight were chosen by it, but only because they had specific skills useful for the specific unknown enemy that caused the crisis. If it had been anyone else that was presenting a multiversal threat, a different group of characters would've been selected.
  • Cliffhanger: Chapter 9 ends with the Friendship Express being attacked by the unknown attacker that destroyed Appleloosa, who ambushes and captures Violet while introducing himself as Ruber. All the poor girl can do is scream in terror.
  • Crisis Crossover: The overall gist of this fic is that The Multiverse is under threat by an unseen force, and that heroes from eight different universes are what's standing between it and the multiverse's destruction. The 2023 remake added a scene that makes this clearer, with an unseen entity elaborating on what's in store for the heroes and what needs to be done.
  • Feathered Fiend: The Stymphalian birds that serve as a Random Encounter in Chapter 2, complete with acidic droppings and Feather Flechettes.
  • Forced Transformation: Applies to everyone in all of the universes affected. While the majority of those hit by this trope are now mythical creatures of various kinds, Word of God says that those from Mons games will be turned into specific species of Mons from their home franchise.
  • Gorgeous Gorgon: Even as a gorgon, Violet's beauty remains untouched... at least until she puts on her Nightmare Game Face when turning things to stone.
  • Growling Gut: Happens twice in Chapter 8, first with Violet and then with Steven. Since the chapter takes place in Equestria and since both cases involve characters whose monster forms have traits of meat-eating animals, what ensues each time is a panic response from the pony characters nearby.
  • Great Big Book of Everything: The Book of Creatures, which is used as an all-purpose guide to all the mythical creatures shown in the story, and which is based on the website of the same name.
  • Kirin: What Izuku's monster form is: a both scaly and furry hybrid of deer and reptile with a catfish-like barbels and a single antler on his head. This is coincidentally similar to how kirins look in Equestria as well, allowing him to mingle with the pony populace with fewer issues than most, under the name "Greenvale Flare"note .
  • Kraken and Leviathan: A kraken appears in Chapter 3, wherein Hiccup, Astrid, and Toothless accidentally land on its back, and have to be bailed out by Pit, Violet, and Dash. It has lobster claws on the ends of its longest tentacles rather than sucker-lined pads, possibly because early descriptions of the kraken were more crustacean-like.
  • Massive Multiplayer Crossover: By way of The Multiverse. The various worlds shown throughout the story so far are all separate, but it's implied that various characters have been displaced by the "disturbance" alluded to by The Voice in the first chapter, and chances are they're stranded in worlds elsewhere at random (as has already been proven by Link ending up in Equestria). Time will tell as to whether or not these lost characters will be returned to their proper universes.
  • The Old Gods: Tiamat and Lahamu, both from Sumerian mythology. Tiamat's description in the first chapter wouldn't look out of place in a Cosmic Horror Story, while Lahamu is described as a "fiery flying serpent" in a clear reference to a similar line from The Bible.
  • Our Angels Are Different: Pit is transformed into a depiction of a cherubim more akin to the Book of Ezekiel, a centaur-like being with a lion's lower body, back legs like those of a cow, four wings, and the heads of a calf, lion cub, and an eagle as well as his human head. Dark Pit, meanwhile, remains a Palette Swap of Pit, with his animal heads being darker counterparts of Pit's (a goat kid, leopard cub, and vulture).
  • Our Dragons Are Different:
    • Aside from Toothless, Hiccup has been turned into a silion, a Fiery Salamander with draconic traits (which some depictions of the mythical salamander also have), though he is described as looking more like a hornless Terrible Terror with star-like markings.
    • Yang Xiao Long was transformed into a yazi, one of the nine children of the dragon. Unlike most Eastern dragons, however, she is built like a mix of bear and dinosaur rather than a serpentine creature, with massive clawed limbs and huge, saber-toothed jaws. Her prosthetic arm is also represented by much thicker and heavier armor on her right forelimb.
    • As an homage to what is implied to be his dragon form in the fantasy AU third ending of the My Hero Academia anime, Eijiro Kirishima has been turned into a classical European dragon, with four legs, bat-like wings, and a long serpentine neck and tail. He's also covered in razor-sharp spikes and scales from snout to tail, with a hook-like nose horn similar to that of the Welsh Dragon.
    • Asami's dragon form is identical to the dragons from the universe of both Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra, resembling East-Asian dragons but with the bat-like wings of western dragons. However, she does not breathe fire (at least as of the latest chapter), but her taser-glove has turned into a lightning-channeling pearl, based on the Flaming Pearl that Eastern dragons are often seen chasing after in traditional artwork.
  • Our Gryphons Are Different: Link, and specifically the version from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (who also appears in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate), has been turned into a griffon (the fic uses the spelling given in My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic). He's more or less a classic griffon. but with golden head feathers resembling his hair, brown talons for front feet, tawny fur for his feline back half, and a sky-blue color to his wings, tail feather tuft, and breast plumage. Unlike Equestrian griffons, he has pony-like ears — a reference to not only his original form's Pointy Ears, but also the obscure notion in folklore and art that the gryphon has the ears of a horse.
  • Our Minotaurs Are Different: Katsuki Bakugou is turned into what Dark Pit refers to as a "minotaur" after the one from Classical Mythology, though he more closely resembles a combination of a monstrous bull and a Killer Gorilla. The author notes that what he had in mind for Bakugou's monster form was more akin to Ox-Head, the underworld guardian from Chinese folklore.
  • Our Werewolves Are Different: Ruby's werewolf form is referred to by Violet as a Rougarou. It is a Beast Man-like creature that's largely wolf but also has arms like a Killer Gorilla, walking on the knuckles of her hands with sharp finger claws. She also transforms every night, rather than only during the full moon, and succumbs to violent instincts that she can't control, posing a hazard for friends and putting a wedge between her and them.
  • Palette Swap: Dark Pit's cherubim form is almost a recolor of Pit's own, with animal heads that are only slightly different (a black leopard, goat, and vulture compared to a lion, ox, and eagle). This is due to both Rule of Funny and the fact that according to their original game, Pit and Dark Pit are very closely connected (not to mention that Dark Pit was originally a Palette Swap of Pit in Super Smash Bros. Brawl).
  • Roc Birds: No giant bird-like monsters have been shown just yet, but Ochako Uraraka is a simurgh, a peacock with the paws of a lion and a dog's head. Where this trope comes in is the fact that in mythology, the simurgh is big enough to carry off elephants, but Uraraka's monster form itself averts it by remaining smaller than Deku's Kirin body (though since she's still a teenager, it could just be that simurghs as portrayed in this fic start small and only reach their massive size during adulthood).
  • Rump Roast: What happens to Pit in Chapter 1 when Lahamu's multiversal break-in causes a worldwide tremor, throwing him off-balance with the stove he was using right behind him - and still running. He puts out the fire in a washing basin full of cutlery.
  • Savage Wolves: Aside from Ruby's werewolf form, the update to Chapter 4 introduces Rose, a Superpowered Evil Side of Ruby's that takes on the form of a giant, shadowy wolf with glowing white eyes. She attempts to cut a deal with her to ditch her friends in exchange for learning about why she was transformed, only to react viciously when Ruby rejects the offer, as this would put the lives of her friends and loved ones at risk.
    • A flashback sequence in Chapter 9 at one point involes Pit getting chased through Everfree Forest by a pack of its series of origin's timberwolves.
  • Shout-Out:
    • In the 2023 update of Chapter 1, Pit complains about the unfortunate incident where he took his bow right through his "personal hole", saying it "went right up Main Street". Later, upon being catapulted by the Throne of Air into the portal leading to the next world, he lets out the Goofy Holler.
    • From Chapter 3, there's this line:
      "And then, with a great upheaval turning the seas from blue to white, the ocean released the kraken."
    • Ruby's Painful Transformation into her werewolf form in Chapter 4 calls to mind An American Werewolf in London.
    • A throwaway gag from Chapter 5 has an Offscreen Crash be punctuated with someone yelling "MY CABBAGES!" From the same chapter, an illustration of a karkadann in the Book of Creatures is noted by Violet to be based on a famous 1515 print of an Indian rhinoceros by Albrecht Dürer.
    • The Book of Creatures itself is named after A Book of Creatures website, which the author has stated to have used as a reference for the creatures shown in this fic more than once.
    • A brief gag in Chapter 6 with Korra, an orca/wolf hybrid, briefly scaring away a small shark/squid hybrid doubles as both a Mythology Gag to a creature briefly mentioned in one episode of her show of origin and a reference to Sharktopus vs. Whalewolf. From the same chapter, the fight with the nine-headed serpent, particularly the way Asami kills it with a jolt of electricity while yelling "CLEAR!", is one big homage to Night at the Museum: Secret Of The Tomb.
    • In Chapter 8, there's a brief mention in passing of a nobleman's attempt to overthrow the princesses shortly after the Changeling invasion. From the same chapter, when Twilight walks in on Dash and Pinkie making a mess of Sugarcube Corner, the latter two are singing part of the song that plays throughout Boundin', the Pixar short that played before The Incredibles during the latter's theatrical release.
    • Chapter 9 contains a bunch:
      • When Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Pinkie get into an argument over the events of "The Mysterious Mare-Do-Well", Hiccup wonders aloud how get them to quiet down:
        Hiccup: Maybe if I could scrape together a homemade megaphone with some string, a squirrel, and a megaphone—
      • Upon hearing about how ponies were injured during the attack on Appleloosa, Violet briefly imagines a "pony hospital" where the doctors are carrying rifles, complete a link in the fanfic's text to a cartoon from The Far Side depicting exactly that.
      • Pit's Anger Born of Worry moment towards Link when they reunite is directly based on Alex and Marty's reunion-turned-sour when they wash up on the shores of Madagascar, complete with Pit's angry death-threat-filled rant ending with "AND THEN, I'M NEVER TALKING TO YOU AGAIN!!!"
      • The story Spike tells of how Everfree Forest was formed, namely it formerly being Everfree City, its founders stealing the Tree of Harmony after massacring its guardians, and the forest taking over after the thousand-year anniversary festival celebrating its founding went horribly wrong, is stated by Word of God to be based on the H. P. Lovecraft story, "The Doom That Came To Sarnath", though with enchanted, vengeful plant life in place of Bokrug the Water Lizard.
      • In a flashback sequence, Pit gets swept over an Inevitable Waterfall, with his dialogue partly referencing the famous scene in The Emperor's New Groove where the same thing happens to Kuzco and Pacha.
  • Snake People: Violet's gorgon form has the lower body of a rattlesnake, in an homage to the Clash of the Titans (2010) version of Medusa.
  • Superpowered Evil Side: Ruby transforms into a ferocious wolf-woman when exposed to moonlight, with brutal and violent instincts that urge her to attack any living thing in sight, even close friends.
  • Taken for Granite: What Violet's gaze does to people, which she is rightly scared of. It also turns out that her venom does the same thing over a longer period of time, though luckily for Ruby, it's only temporary.
  • Tempting Fate:
  • Two Lines, No Waiting: Chapters 5 through 7 shift the spotlight to a B-team party consisting of Dark Pit, Katsuki Bakugou, Eijiro Kirishima, and Denki Kaminari, who recruit two of the Fated Eight (Korra and Steven) along with their allies. This party splits up between Chapters 7 and 8, with Korra, Asami, Steven, and the Crystal Gems save Amethyst heading off to Equestria, and the others finding their own way.
  • The Voice: The 2023 update introduces a mysterious entity that Pit hears in his mind after being chosen by the Throne of Air, which he refers to as "Major". It is this voice that provides exposition on the nature of the Fated Eight and the multiversal crisis that warranted their being summoned.
  • "Well Done, Son" Guy: Gender-inverted with Lahamu and Tiamat, as shown in the first chapter. When Lahamu brings up the last time her mother tried to conquer the mortal world (i.e. the Sumerian take on the Chaoskampf myth), Tiamat cuts her off and orders her to proceed with their plan, adding that she will never forget if Lahamu fails her. It's implied that Lahamu dreads the thought of disappointing her mother and is going along with her plans to make her proud of her.
  • Wham Line: Two from Chapter 9:
    • Twilight frantically relays a message to Rainbow, Applejack, and Pinkie about the unknown threat:
      Twilight: It's on the Friendship Express! It's in there with you!!
    • And then, at the very end of the chapter, Violet is caught by a giant, one-eyed humanoid who managed to sneak on board the train:
      Giant: Hello, Miss Parr. Call me Ruber. It's so nice to beat you!
  • What the Hell, Hero?: In Chapter 9, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie, and Applejack get into an argument over the events of "The Mysterious Mare Do Well" within earshot of Violet. Rainbow abruptly raising her voice, followed by the other mares doing the same, proves to be the final straw for the teenage super, who cuts in to tell them how angry she is with them all for both cruelly mistreating each other and especially failing to understand what it truly means to be a hero, bringing up the Super Relocation Act to make a point that superheroes in her world helped others because it was the right thing to do rather than to make themselves look better. This leaves the ponies shocked and ashamed enough to apologize to each other, with Pinkie in particular vowing to help Rainbow win back the acclaim she deserves.

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