Image isn't quite what I envision him as, but it's the closest I could get to a male version. They are mostly portrayed as female, so you can google to get better images if you wish.

///////

Blood curdling screams can be heard throughout the jungle of the island, though no one could hear them. Men and women strung up in the air, hanging by thorned vines, some around the ankles, hanging upside down and waiting for their turn to be devoured by some sort of vegetation.

In the center of the slivering vines, is a giant flower with a man like figure sitting in the middle, taking the humans, and breaking them apart to eat. Arms are ripped off the body then the legs, basically keeping them alive whilst munching on them piece by piece.

It was an expedition they were sent on; it was supposed to be simple explore and come back deal, but things don't always work out that way. Now, even though it was only going to be a simple version of recon does not mean that they came unprepared. They had guns of plenty and blades for the jungle exploration, cutting down any undergrowth blocking their path.

But what did them in? A sweet sugary scent.

They were originally led by a sweet smell. As though in a trance, it brought them to an open clearing that held a giant flower bud. The team approaches the plant, some poking at the petals, which caused the thing to ripple like water. It began to unfurl, and a masculine body emerged from the center and just like the plant, the body that emerged was just as big. The things hips merged into the plant that had some sort of liquid surrounding him, and that is where the strong sweet smell is coming from.

It looked down on the team and in an instant, vines shot out from the ground, sharp and tight, they wrapped around near everyone there surrounding it. Everywhere the binding grabbed caused wounds from the thorns, making anyone caught bleed. They are quickly disarmed, though in their state of mind at the time, fighting was the last thing on their mind.

Luckily, there are a few people that are out of this things reach....

///////

"What the hell is that?" You couldn't help but gawk at the flora beyond the thick glass dome. You seriously don't even know what you are looking at. It looks like a flower of some sort, but it is huge, like the size of a house, huge. The flower part though, or rather the bud at least, is closed with sharp thorned vines wrapped all around it. And the colors, you can't help but be entranced with all the pretty blues, purples, and pinks at the tips.

"Seriously, what am I looking at exactly? And how in the world did anyone transport this thing?" You inquire again, side eyeing your coworker that brought you in to look at the new study. See, you work in a lab, testing plants and trying to figure out which can be helpful in any medication or treatments and cures for diseases. This is something beyond your expertise, though, it is exciting.

Your coworker, Sasha, grins excitedly at you. "It's a new species of plant! They found it on this island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. It was off the map until the expedition was sent out. They want us to study it and record anything we discover." The enthusiasm is dripping in her voice, though if you know Sasha, this will wear off in a day or two.

Ok cool, we get to study this thing, only problem is, is that it's in the biodome. Where the other plant you study are located. It will be hard to run fresh samples without going in the dome and collecting them with a large new species in there. Now, you've gotten to work with other new species of plants before, though on a smaller scale. Some had to be moved around the room as some that sit too close together caused a toxic gas that was especially protenant. There is no telling what kind of mixing with this plant could do to any of the other plants.

An intercom comes on, breaking you of your pondering and informing all staff in your department to report to the meeting room immediately.

"Oh, I bet it's about our new study!" Sasha all but runs to the meeting room. You make your way to the door, albeit sluggishly when the hairs on the back of your neck stand. There was a sound, almost similar to the sound of tree branches snapping. You glance behind you to see the middle of the bud had shifted, vines moving to open slightly and a glowing yellow light shining through the petals.

Your eyes widen at the movement and before you could comprehend your actions, you move back towards the glass window. You can't help but be entranced at the glow and pretty soon you smell something sweet. You reach the dome and press your hands on the glass and stare real hard at the light.

"Y/n! come on, we have to go!" you hear another coworker, Dylan, shout out. He broke the trance like state and when you blinked, the plant is closed back up again.

You give a shake to your head and follow him out the door. The two of you made it to the room where you see about four military looking people in the front of the room. You find a seat in the back with your friend and wait for the meeting to start.

Your boss finally walks through the door, file folder full of papers. He makes his way to the front of the room and addresses your department.

"As most of you know, we have a new species of flora in the biodome. These men and women went to a secluded island that the government had discovered. They were kind enough to co-cooperate with us and sent an expedition out to the island and brought back any new plants that were non-recognizable. There were unfortunate circumstances that have rendered this new species to be, uh, dangerous."

A couple of murmurs began amongst the group and some concerns were thrown about. 'How is it dangerous? How do we study it safely? What happened for it to get that label?' There are many fears being bounced around the room before one of the military people spoke up.

"This thing is not harmless. It is a carnivorous plant and has torn apart many of my comrades. I would have personally loved to eradicate it, but our superior demanded we bring it back to this place. Said that you all would study it and find a use for it." Photos of the opened plant are shown on a big screen. The pictures of massacred bodies follow.

It was horrific at what this thing could do.

"We found that it doesn't like smoke bombs. It was the only thing we could throw at it without getting close to it as bullets didn't seem to bother it. We suggest installing vents into the room to fill with smoke should you need a way to keep it submissive."

/////

At first you would have jumped at the chance to examine and study to new addition, but now you would love nothing more than to quit and let the next unlucky worker pick up your slack. You all but stormed out of the meeting when no one else would volunteer to study the thing, not that you could blame them as the photos of all the gore made it impossible for you to volunteer, but it left you to be voluntold to study it.

You had to feed it, using the new meat hook that will be installed on the fourth floor, you get to go INTO the dome and prune back the weeds. You, in no way, wanted to feed the thing, much less go into grabbing reach. You tried to ask Sasha if she wanted to keep an eye on it instead, or at least work the area with you, but she turned you down.

You had been watching this thing for about a week now and there was no change. It wasn't eating any of the meat placed in the dome, it wasn't opening up the bud, nothing. And as you look back at all the photos, trying to make sense of the blurred picture of the opened bud, all you could think about is how you are supposed to go into the encloser and trim up the foliage around it.

What if it decided to eat you?

The team before stated it would be best for others to observe you when you go in for that task, especially since you become vulnerable if you smell anything sweet. At first you think Sasha would be a great help but then you think back to all the things that distract her. You would need someone who could focus and have your back. Your mind scrambles through all the people in your department and only one trustworthy person comes to mind. Dylan. Unfortunately, he wasn't assigned to your responsibilities like Sasha. She all but jumped at the chance to take on the task with you, even though you would have preferred him.

"Now look, all you have to do is press that button if it looks like it's going to be aggressive." You explain as you slip on a suit over your clothes to protect your skin. The suit is big and bulky, think a bomb defuser suit. It was a very unflattering outfit, but it does its job. You throw on a doctor's mask to add to your protection against any smell the thing will produce before throwing on the helmet.

"You look like a marshmallow."

"Please don't patronize me, Sasha." You groan out as you walk towards the door of the dome. You grab your pruners and hold them tight. The nervousness is getting ready to make you back out but take a breath and open the door. You need this job to support you. It pays really well, and you can't really afford to go too long without a job, so if you survive this encounter, you may look for another job before you have to go back in here with this thing.

"You'll be fine, I'll make sure you come back before it turns you into a s'more." She jokes before the door closes behind you, sealing you in with the giant plant.

Your feet felt like lead as you walk toward the plant, images of the mangled bodies flash through your brain. What went through their minds when they approached this thing? Were they scared like you are now? Though before, they didn't know what kind of carnage it was capable of. And sure, bullets don't do anything to harm the creature aside from pissing it off, but you bet they felt safer than you do with your puny pruners.

You look up at the looming plant, not realizing how close you got while lost in thought. You took a moment to admire the anomaly. 'So far, so good.' You think to yourself and grab at a weed that had started making it way around the base of the plant. You slowly snip and pull until you have a small handful of weeds, keeping your gaze locked with the plant for the most part.

Still, it did not move.

Feeling more at ease, you begin to move a little faster, trimming and cutting, moving all around the base until you make a full circle. You stand up and look back at the clock that hangs in the biodome; you have been in here for about an hour now. Thinking you've done your job well enough; you decide it's time to get the heck out of dodge.

You get about halfway across the dome when the familiar sounds of braking branches ring through the silence. You freeze in fear until the sounds finally stop. It felt like hours that you stood there, waiting for either death or the smoke that Sasha was supposed to release. You look at the clock, seeing that you have been standing there stark still for a solid five minutes.

You glance down from the clock, at the clear door that you entered the dome through, the hope that Sasha is in the process of pushing that damn button. Your blood runs cold when you notice that she isn't at her post. She is nowhere to be seen. Your mind goes wild with anxiety. 'Where did she go? Why did she go? What's going to happen to me?!'

The creaking begins again, and a shadow soon falls over you, reminding you of the position you're in and why you froze in fear. You slowly turn around, terrified of what horror awaits you. And horrific it is.

The bud of the flower had opened and revealed a humanoid looking creature, at least from the waist up, looming over you and casting that spine chilling shadow. It leans down, hands touching the ground on either side of your body to keep its balance while it looks you over.

You, however, lose your stability and fall to the ground in abject terror. You and this monster share unwavering eye contact for a good thirty seconds just studying each other. He's green, plenty green, with a touch of color in his hair, the pinks, blues and purples that surround the flower he's in. Vines with thorns and leaves are all wrapped around his body in a protective style. You nearly refuse to take your eyes off of him, but movement in your peripheral vision causes you to side glance away.

'I'm going to die, I'm going to die, I'm going to die.' Repeats in your head as you watch vines creep along the ground like snakes slithering towards you. You can't move, you can't even so much as twitch when they reach you, curling around your body in a gentle embrace. They wrap around your arms making you drop the pruners as the same vine drags down your body and forms a seat and lifts you off the ground. You basically felt like you were tied to a chair hanging in midair.

It lifts you to his face and you watch as he studies you. He almost looks confused, and you are unsure why. He's seen people already, what could he...oh. You still have on the bulky suit! Maybe he doesn't understand what you are because of it!

You almost feel a spark of joy thinking it might let you be when it isn't sure if your worth eating. Almost, at least. No, a smaller vine finds the latch to your head gear and unlocks it, slowly pulling it off your head, with your facemask also falling off. His eyes crinkle in what seems to be satisfaction upon seeing your face.

Tears form in your eyes knowing that your death will surely come now that it has figured out that your human, that must be why he's so happy! Then the same vine falls along your neck and finds the zipper to your suit and begins to pull it down. It makes you feel like a piece of candy being unwrapped.

You can't keep your waterworks from falling now and burst out crying, your breathing becoming shallow as you think what's to come next. You're about to be torn limb from limb before you're brutally devoured. Why the f*ck couldn't Sasha just do her damn job for once?

What is that sweet smell?

It's almost warm and homey, like sugar cookies, but sweet and springy like flowers. Your fear has you taking deep breaths of the stuff and the next thing you know, or rather don't know because your mind becomes muddled. Your vision starts swimming and you become dizzy.

Is this what it feels like to be high?

Your body becomes limp, your crying has stopped, and your head lolls to the side; the fast pace beating of your heart slowed and you had become calm so fast. What was happening to you?

The vines around your body loosened for you lay limp in the plant man's hands, which was just big enough to wrap around the top half of your body, whilst the other hand supported the hips down. You could feel him shift you from his hands so you're lying on his arm like a kitten being tempted to sleep in the owner's embrace. And all the while, you go with it, no fighting, no struggling...why would you? You weren't in any danger.

It touches your face with a finger, a gentle petting to your head before he leans his head down to nudge you with his nose. Was he smelling you? Oh, who cares, you just want to sleep. Time feels like a blur, all the while you enjoy the impromptu cuddling session.

Your almost upset when your released on the ground, legs wabbling as you tried to walk straight. Where are you going? Vines held on to you and helped you get back to the door and finally let you slowly sit on the tiled floor before slithering their way back inside the dome. You're not sure how long you sat there, but it was long enough for you to get your bearing back and tears silently slide down your face.

You reach up to your face and feel your cheeks, wiping your face with your hand's seconds later. You're not sure why you're crying, scared, happy, relief, you can't stop shaking and the next thing you know you're having a full-on meltdown.

"Yeah, I'll call you after my shift and we can discuss matters then....look I have to go, I have a job to do and I- oh my god! I gotta go!" A voice rings through the air, but you can't pinpoint who. "Y/n?! Are you alright? What happened to you?" warmth, like a jacket, is wrapped around your body as you're helped to stand and immediately you latch on to the person, your arms wrap around their shoulders, and you sob into their chest.

"Shhh, it's ok, it's alright. Come on, let's get you a coffee or tea, something warm, yeah?" you nod and are led out of the lab to the sleeping quarters for late night workers.

Dylan passes you a warm drink as you sit on the bed, still shaken by the event. You still couldn't believe you left that dome unscathed. It is carnivorous, a meat eater, how did you get out of that room without a single scratch.

"And when I looked at the door, Sasha was nowhere to be seen. She left me alone in that garden of evil with no way to defend myself." You explain to your friend.

Dylan doesn't look too surprised at the disappearance of Sasha. How you wished that she didn't get assigned on this project with you, especially since you knew that she wouldn't be there for you.

"What time did you say you went in there?" Dylan inquires.

"Um, it was about one o'clock. Last time I looked at the clock was after the thing moved and it was one fifty." You explain as you think back to when you last looked at the time.

A look of shock crosses his face as he checks his watch. "What?" you ask.

"I saw Sasha in the cafeteria at one thirty, figured y'all were done with the pruning. I was going to see you earlier, but something came up. I walked in the lab to see if you wanted to grab dinner tonight when I found you on the floor. That was four. You had to have been in there for about two hours."

Your eyes widen. Two hours? It felt like only two minutes. What did that thing do to you for you to not know you had been two hours? You racked your brain for anything, any kind of memory but nothing came forth, but then you remember that there is a security camera, in the lab and at the door of the dome. The security camera, surely it caught everything that happened, you'll just rewatch it and-

The sound of the door opening and the clicking of heels interrupted your thoughts and you look up to see....Sasha.

"Oh Y/n I am so sorry! I was just going to get some lunch really quick, I didn't mean to be gone for so long." She begins as she comes to hug you. You shove her off though and glare at her with such hatred you didn't even know you could have.

"You left me alone for a solid two hours, give or take. I could have died because you left me!" you scream at her. "You saw what it could do, and you still abandoned me? Really?"

Sasha recoiled at your outburst and Dylan grabbed your shoulders to keep you from busting her face up. He steered you away from her and out the door. You muttered about how you want to go back to the lab, to view the video footage.

He helps you get back to the lab, but someone else is already in there, watching the video. Its your boss and one of the military men, Sean; upon your entrance, they both look at you. Your boss shows excitement, but Sean doesn't seem too keen to see you.

"Hello sirs, is there something wrong?" You ask, though all you want is to explain to your boss how if he wants you to keep working here, he switches your partner out with someone else.

"Wrong? How could there be anything wrong? You were in that room and left unharmed! This is phenomenal, a breakthrough with our discovery! What is it you did to make it so calm??"

"Excuse me?!" How did you what?! He saw the footage; you were in danger and all he wants to know is why it didn't kill you? "Sir, I was abandoned by my partner, I could have died and all you want to know is why it didn't hurt me? I haven't the faintest idea, and we won't find out because I refuse to even go in there again!"

"But Y/n, you're the only one it hasn't hurt, and we could use you to help further our investigation. You could go back in there and see if he remembers you and -" The audacity of what your boss wants you to do is incredible. You were willing to stay at first but after seeing what occurred he still wants you to go in there.

"No, I refuse to work on this anymore. I was excited at first, but after the stunt today, I can't trust my partner to watch out for me and I don't trust the thing to not hurt me the next time I go in."

"What are you saying?" your boss asks.

"That you either take me off this project, or I quit." You state. You're still frazzled, and you probably aren't making the smartest choice, especially since there isn't any plan B for you, but you refuse to die for a job that doesn't care if you live or die.

Your boss grins though, a little sadistically. Your gut twists for a third time today. "Y/n aren't we forgetting something? You signed a contract and until that agreement is up, you can't quit. You would go to jail otherwise."

Sh*t, you forgot all about that contract. But surely, he can't do that, you could have been harmed and there must be something about endangering the welfare of the employees being a deal breaker. You didn't want to go to jail, but you also didn't want to die.

"Now sir, you must understand, everything that has happened, it has her frightened. She isn't thinking clearly. I'll take care of her and even take Sasha's place. Y/n needs someone she can count on, and that girl isn't going to work well here." Dylan cuts in, trying to diffuse the situation.

This is when Sean cuts in with a growl, "Oh, she is staying. I want to know why the b*tch gets a free pass with this thing and my team gets the privilege of being ripped apart."

"I said I don't know why! Please I just want to go home and sleep." You nearly cried. Today has been overwhelming and this is just adding to it.

"Oh no, you're a flight risk at this point. You'll be staying here and working just like normal, you understand." Sean says jabbing you in the chest at the last part.

"You can't do this." Dylan starts but Sean pulls out his gun.

"I won't lose the one person that it didn't tear apart. You did something and until you tell me what, you can just stay here. If you fight me on this, you find yourself out on that meat hook."

You stayed. You wouldn't be leaving here alive anyway, may as well do what you can to survive. Luckily, they switched Sasha out with Dylan and now you two are doing research on the plant. You hate it. You never hated this job until now. You nor Dylan has left the lab in the past five days. Your boss and Sean have eyes on the two of you everywhere you go, making sure you're still doing your job.

The whole thing is hushed throughout the facility. No one knows what is fully going on between the boss and Sean, just that extreme testing is going on with the plant and that tensions are high. You hadn't seen nor heard from Sasha; you wonder if she's been fired for her incompetence with teamwork.

The plant has finally started to eat the meat that gets dropped in the biodome, though you think it's only because it is the only source of meat around. You're sure it would prefer humans over the cow carcasses that get thrown down. Movement is near existent aside from slight twitching from the vines.

You look back at the base of the plant, knowing that they will have you prune the creature again soon. With how fertile the soil is, everything flourishes in the biodome, even the pesky weeds. You don't want to go back in there, you don't care that it didn't hurt you this time.

You watched back over the video and all it did in those two hours was cuddle you, cooing at you like a beloved pet. It traced your body with its free hand, stroking you like one would a cat. It nuzzled you for a good while and you could see his mouth moving. You don't recall hearing him speak to you, then again, you couldn't remember all the snuggling either.

"Hey, Y/n. How's it going?" Dylan starts, trying to make small talk. That's all the two of you have been doing. Small talk. It's hard to hold any form of happy conversation with the situation your stuck in.

"As good as any other day." You dryly comment. You get off your seat and walk over to the control pad. It's feeding time again and even though you don't see it eat, you can't help but shudder at the thought. You're just glad they use dead cows rather than live ones.

"Look, you've barely slept these past few days. Let me take care of this thing for a while and you go get some rest." Dylan suggests. How could you sleep? Sean's threat of how you better find out why it didn't kill you in the first-place hangs over your head. You theorize that maybe it was a trick. Make everyone think that it's friendly then mass murder when more people came in.

"You'll feed it?" you ask him, which he nods to you.

You give him a hug before you start to head for the door, you almost make it out of the room when you hear Dylan curse. You turn your head thinking the hook was having issues again until you see what, or rather who is lying where the meat slabs usually land.

It was Sasha....and she isn't moving.

"F*ck!" You scream and run to the door, you had to get her out of there before it realizes she's in there. Just as you make it to the domes entrance, you are snagged back by Dylan. You're fighting him left and right, just trying to get in there and get your coworker out. You don't care what happened that day, you won't leave someone to die.

"Let me go! I have to get her out of there!" you shout, but Dylan wouldn't hear it.

"I'll go and get her, ok? You stay here, press the smoke button." A plan, he had a plan.

You go back to the control panel and press the button. You watch as smoke pours down from the vents, it isn't thick, it looks almost like steam.

Dylan gives you a thumbs up and makes his way inside the dome. You look at the room using the glass windows and the security cameras, watching for any signs of movement. He successfully makes it to Sasha and bends down, trying to grip her to pick her up. He was able to get her to her feet, but she couldn't stand. You can't even tell if she is alive or not, it was such a far drop.

You're watching intently and sure enough movement was spotted. Vines that were lying dormant on the ground started to slide across the ground towards your coworkers, towards Dylan. You pressed the smoke button again, but unlike before, nothing came out. No smoke to be seen.

F*ck! F*ck, F*ck, F*ck, F*ck, Sh*t!!! you slam your hands down and rapidly press that button but still nothing! You jump out of your seat and run for the door in time to see thorned vines have Dylan and Sasha by their ankles and dangling in the air, unconscious. The bud of the flower opens up to reveal the humanoid center. Something tells you that he won't be friendly with them if you're going by the way they're hanging, especially since it's the same way the expedition team was strung up judging from the photos.

You don't think, you open the door and run out screaming, crying, and begging. "Stop!! Please let them go! Please don't eat them!"

You don't get very far in before you're scooped up in vines as well, though yours has you bound as the first time it caught you. The attention that the monster had on your friends is shifted to you and its facial expression changed from predatory to excited.

He deposits you into his hands and hugs you to his chest and holds you there. It almost feels like he's missed you, in a sick sense. He cradles you like before and coos to you in a language you can't place and you're a little afraid to try and decipher it.

A sudden scream startles both you and the plant man, reminding you both that you are not alone in the biodome. His attention shifts back to a bleeding, broken looking Sasha. She had to have broken near every bone in her body. His eyes shift to slits as he brings her closer to him, his jaws opening and lowering half of her body in his mouth.

No amount of your own screaming or struggling would deter him from biting down around her waist and severing her in half. He quickly shoved the rest of her body in his mouth, chewing and swallowing the flesh. A rumbling sound formed from his chest, a purr kind of sound.

You feel sick looking at the sight of its happy expression. This is the food it was wanting, the human kind. Dylan is soon swinging close to the plant, next on the menu.

"Please, please don't kill him, I'll take his place, but please let him go." Even though your cries and pleas for Sasha didn't save her, you were still going to try and save your friend. You even started hitting the plant man, trying to hurt it.

That seemed to get his attention. Your fussing seemed to distress it a bit and then that same sweet smell started to filter the room. Last time that happened, you went out for two hours. You take off your jacket and shove it in your face and shake your head 'No'.

He tried to remove your makeshift mask, but your grip did not relent. He wasn't tugging hard, if he was, you wouldn't have it anymore. Warning tugs maybe. You still shake your head 'no' though.

"I'll take it off, but you have to let Dylan go first." Your statement muffled by the jacket, but he stops tugging after that. It looks as though he's considering the offer and the next thing you know; Dylan is being placed inside the lab room by the vines. He looks at you, eyes wide with expectancy at having done its end of the bargain.

Once he was safe, you allowed the creature to remove the cloth covering your face, the sweet smell filling your lungs. Before you know it, you back to the dizzy swimming feeling like before. You're put under its influence, but not before your boss calls over the intercom.

"Get comfortable Y/n, you'll be in there a while."

///////////////////////

Part 2?

I like giant monsters; they just seem so cuddly!

I was playing a quick round of D&D with a group of friends and our DM wanted us to go against this monster....Yeah...guess the rest.

Alraune Information

An alraune resembles an attractive humanoid sitting in the depths of an enormous, sweet-smelling flower. It relies on its supernaturally soothing odor to render enemies incapable of making hostile acts against it-even if the alraune attacks a foe, its calming scent can wipe away any thoughts of violence from its prey. At rest, an alraune appears to be merely a large thorny plant with a single enormous and brightly colored flower at its center.

When an alraune attacks, its thorny vines lash out and its flower blooms, revealing the verdant humanoid torso within. An alraune's apparent gender can vary even from encounter to encounter, for the plant can reshape its humanoid portions as it desires to increase the likelihood of setting its victims at ease. Regardless of the plant's apparent gender, it is itself asexual and reproduces (typically once or twice per decade) by budding a single offspring over the course of a spring season.

Despite their appearance, alraunes are quite mobile (capable of walking almost like a spider upon their numerous long roots and thorny vines). They hunt by using commune with nature to locate potential prey, preferring humanoid flesh over all others. When an alraune needs prey, it uses its mind-affecting abilities to convince foes to dig their own graves and bury themselves-once a foe is helplessly buried in the soil, the alraune can feed from it via its flesh-burrowing roots, converting the victim's blood and memories into the strange nutrients it so craves.

Alraune - 5th Edition SRD (5esrd.com)

These beautiful men and women, humanoid from the waist up but veiled by large petals are known as alraune. Vines sprout out of the base of their bulb, which they use to absorb nutrients out of the soil. These vines are strong enough to allow for movement should the alraune uproot him- or herself. (Alraune (5e Race) - D&D Wiki)