#bonus points if they HAVE to settle on werewolf

[canongayermo]

give me a later wwdits season when nandermo is canon and guillermo is getting a bit older and nandor worriedly rants to the others about what to do because. they’ve wasted so much time. his lifetime is so small compared to theirs, and nandor doesn’t think he’ll ever be ready to lose guillermo. the others echo the sentiment

so they go through a magical creature glossary trying to figure out what else guillermo can be turned into where he wouldn’t have to kill people so he could stay with them- his family- forever

[seetangus]

I have been summoned by the call for Azula x Reader asks! How about Azula with an S/O who is a werewolf? They lock themselves into a room every full moon but dont tell anybody why and at this point Azula has become to fed up with their behaviour that she ends up bursting into their room on a full moon to confront them about it, and instead of her S/O theres just a huge ass humanoid wolf. This would probably lead to a freak out and a possible fight scene until Azula manages to figure out that this wolf thing is her S/O, and when Azula stops attacking wolf cuddles ensue! Bonus points if S/O frets over her in the morning thinking they attacked her or something.

Full Moon Secrecy - Azula x reader

[masterlist]

Azula x gn werewolf reader, warnings: fighting, body transformation

1.281 words

Hi! Thank you for your request. I must say writing this was challenging. I honestly don’t know if I will accept werewolf reader or any kind of non-human reader requests in the future because I don’t think I’m good at writing them and I’m generally more comfortable with “normal” reader types. However feel free to request again (with a human reader tho lmao) I hope you like it, I really tried my best! :)

- Seetang

Azula and you had been in a happy relationship for a few months now. Well, it was mostly happy; her bossy demeanor and your rebellious reactions sometimes caused problems, but you always quickly settled to peace. You loved each other, after all.

However there was one thing that upset Azula: every full moon you went to a room alone and locked yourself in.

That was because you are a werewolf. You did not have the courage to tell Azula, because even if you knew she loved you, you did not know if she would love you as a werewolf - if she would accept it. You doubted she would. So locking yourself away from her was the only possible solution for you to keep the secret for yourself and to keep her safe - you knew she was a good fighter, but you simply were too dangerous when you transformed. You wouldn’t forgive yourself if you hurt her.

Month after month you locked yourself away without Azula finding out your secret, but it was obvious she slowly was losing her patience. She knew everything about her subordinates, she knew everything that happened in the fire nation and she knew everything about you - except for why you locked yourself away, and as much as she respected your wish to keep it a secret and trusted you, it made her furious to not know what you did every month in the room you locked yourself in.

Full moon came, and you had to go to your room again. You wished Azula a relaxing night and good dreams and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Normally she would give you one too, but today she did not. She simply wished you a good night, but her voice also sounded different than usual. This unsettled you a bit, but you couldn’t ask her about it as you had to hurry to reach your chamber before the full moon came.

Having arrived in your room, you locked the door. The only furniture in this windowless room was a mattress. The straw filling was spilling out of it through cuts you had torn into it in your werewolf state.

Now began the waiting. You sighed, laying down on the mattress. It would be over tomorrow morning, you told yourself.

< • ◇ • >

Azula waited a few minutes. Until she was sure you had reached your room and locked yourself inside it. Then she stood up, walking to your room. She had inspected it before, but there was nothing but a lousy mattress inside it - she would never lay down on something like that! And she wondered why you did, you lived in the royal palace after all! Why would you sleep anywhere else in the first place when you had the option to share a bed with her, Azula?! She loved you and understood most of your thoughts, but she could not make sense of this, no matter how hard she tried. Also, the walls were littered with scratches. It was a very unpleasant room.

Well, today she would listen to whatever it was you did in there. She wouldn’t look inside, after all she respected your wish to be left alone in the room, but you hadn’t said she couldn’t at least listen to make sure you didn’t do anything foolish in there.

Having reached her destination, she pressed her ear against the door and began listening. She heard weird sounds. She heard you grunting with a very dark voice… Did you feel pain? Were you throwing up? She had never heard you make such sounds. Or was there anyone - or anything - in there with you? The voice increasingly sounded like that of an animal. A big dog, or a wolf.

Now she heard what sounded like wolf calls, and she heard things scratching over the walls.

“Y/N, what are you doing in there?”, Azula asked in the demanding tone she used when there was something she wanted. It always ensured she got exactly what she asked for. But not this time. The scratching continued and no answer could be heard.

This was enough. No one could simply not answer her, Azula, without serious consequences. She would not be kept in the dark about what happened in there any longer!

She summoned her energy and sent a ball of fire at the door, burning it almost completely down in an instant. Light flooded the previously dark room you were in, unveiling the thing that was inside it.

Azula could not believe her eyes. There was a wolf standing on two legs staring at her. A wolf. On two legs. With claws as big as her forearm.

This was no time for asking how that wolf got here. For asking where you had gone. The only thing that mattered was that this wolf was dangerous and had to be defeated.

So she did not hesitate and attacked.

< • ◇ • >

Blue flame lightened up the room and the howling of your wolfish mouth filled it with sound as you dodged her fire to the best of your abilities.

Her attacks were relentless, but so was the instinctive defense your changed body had to offer. In the (literal) heat of the battle for one single moment, you looked each other in the face. Eye to eye, you suddenly froze. Azula noticed something. The eyes of the wolf before her were human. Your wolven mind also knew it had seen Azula before. You stood there, Azula full of disbelief and both of you slowly realising who you were fighting.

After a short moment of silence, Azula got the courage to speak out what she was thinking, even if it seemed impossible: “Y/n… is that you?” Hearing her voice, fractions of memories from your normal state of being entered the consciousness of the werewolf that was you, so, reluctantly and as good as your bodily features allowed, you nodded your head.

You shyly reached out with your massive paws to touch Azula. Instead of defending herself, she took your paw in her hand and caressed your arm with her other hand. Slowly, she approached you and carefully put her arms around you. You did the same to her.

You both sank on your knees, holding eachother tight.

< • ◇ • >

The next morning, you woke up. You were a normal human again. Looking up, you gasped; the door open! In fact, it had been burnt almost entirely down… what did this mean?

Looking down, you were even more surprised and worried; Azula laid there with you! Wait… had she burnt the door? Had you fought? Had you attacked and hurt her??

You began shaking her in the hope of waking her up, you didn’t even want to imagine what had happened here last night!

To your great relief, Azula slowly opened your eyes and looked at you sleepily. You hugged her and asked if everything was alright.

“Thank you for your worries, y/n, but I am always alright.”, she answered, “You should really know that by now.” Hearing her voice and her usual condescending tone you somehow loved made you feel great.

“I am so happy I didn’t hurt you, Azula, just imagine what could have happened! I could have hurt you!”

Azula looked at you almost in an amused way: “You hurting me? Y/n, you never fail to lighten my mood.”, Azula said, standing up. “It’s also nice you’re looking normal again. However, you could have told me you were that wolf-thing. No need for all that secrecy.”

With that she stood up. “You better hurry y/n, or we’ll miss breakfast.”

You really loved her.

[sleepingdeath-light]

relationship hcs ; werewolf cookie

requested by ; anonymous (08/05/23)

fandom(s) ; cookie run

fandom masterlist(s) ; hub | specific

character(s) ; werewolf cookie

outline ; “Can i please request some werewolf cookie relationship hcs? thanks!”

warning(s) ; none, just fluff!

while his fears of rejection and accidentally hurting others because of his lycanthropy do make it incredibly difficult to get close to him, once you’re together you’ll werewolf cookie to be an incredibly attentive and gentle spouse — the sort that would light himself on fire to keep you warm, if only you asked him to do so

werewolf cookie is extremely protective and becomes something of a guard dog for you, doing whatever he can to keep you mentally and physically safe as best he can — whether that means glaring at anyone who seems to be making you uncomfortable until they get the message and leave you be, or making it clear in an array of barely-subtle ways that he could make them seriously regret what they were doing until they catch on and finally go away

(he doesn’t want to actually have to resort to causing anyone physical harm — he’s spent long enough being perceived as a monster and the last thing he wants is to prove all of those people right — but if it came down to it, he would do whatever it took to keep you safe)

he’s incredibly soft spoken with you and, even during disagreements and bickering, he flat out refuses to raise his voice or shout — he’s keenly aware of how frightening he can get and the last thing he wants is for you to fear him

he doesn’t really use any pet names for you, but will respond to any terms of endearment you opt to use for him — bonus points if you combine your nicknames with praise and physical affection (e.g. calling him ‘honey’ whilst combing your fingers through his hair, reassuring him that you could never be afraid of him until he finally accepts what you‘re saying)

it takes him a while to adjust to accepting and initiating displays of physical affection because of how long he spent in isolation — going from freezing up at the smallest touches early on in your relationship to not being able to sleep soundly unless you’re curled up against his side or on top of his chest the longer you’ve been together

once he has settled into your relationship he does find a few displays of affection that he prefers the most: the casual interlocking of hands when you’re walking out and about in the kingdom (it’s nice to be casually and publicly claimed as your partner and vice versa), you running your fingers through his hair and detangling all of the knots (it’s very difficult for him to stay awake when you’re doing this), and cuddling in bed until you both drift off to sleep (he hadn’t realised just how little sleep he’d been getting until he first nodded off in your arms and now he can’t possibly fathom going back)

his kisses are always sweet, chaste, and gentle — a string of feather-light pecks against your lips that start off with his hands gently stroking your cheek and sides, and ends with the two of you embracing and softly smiling (bonus points if you start playing with his hair or rubbing his shoulders when you’re kissing)

whenever you’re the slightest bit unwell he panics and starts to get almost overbearing in how intensely attentive he is: bringing you fresh meals and watching you to make sure you eat them, making sure you take all of your medicine and/or the potions your friends made to help you, keeping a close watch of your temperature so that you’re never too hot or too cold, sticking close by to ensure you’re never overexerting yourself, and so on…

and if you find his wolf form to be extremely comforting then, when he’s not busy attending to your other needs, he may just transform and lounge beside your bed so that you can indulge in the ‘fluffy dog’ experience — just don’t ask him to lay on you as he doesn’t actually want to crush you (he’s a lot heavier than he looks and no amount of puppy dog eyes is going to make him compromise your well-being)

(granted this takes a while for him to be comfortable doing around you because of how he perceives that side of himself, but if you’re patient and understanding enough then you’ll get to see and know all of werewolf cookie — even if he’s always going to be a bit reluctant to let you watch him transform… but, hey, progress is progress!)

though he does love you dearly, there are still times when he wants or needs to be alone — don’t take it to heart, he just needs his space sometimes and it’s really nothing personal

on the days when his scar aches the most, the best thing you can do is just sit with him, hold him close, and try to help distract from the pain — a soothing touch or kiss to the area here and there is also helpful and reassures him that you don’t see him the way his old friends did, but just be mindful of how much pressure you’re putting on it as you could exacerbate his pain if you’re not careful

[the-darkness-does-not-bargain]

oh forgot to say but was thinking (in the scenario where beatrice is a runaway from her coven) that beatrice joins a pack w shannon shortly after she’s settled in w ava & lilith and is friends w both of em

thinking for comedic purposes beatrice probably already knew of shannon b4 beatrice was turned, and probably their mutual friends were very unsubtle about shannon being a werewolf, but beatrice thought they were a larping furry group or something, (tbf that’s actually a semi common thing) and anyway when beatrice meets shannoj she’s jusy like *spiderman pointing meme* you’re the same shannon as mary’s gf shannon???

i’m thinking pre werewolfification, beatrice was in a friend group with camila, mary, yasmine & dora, probably met in college, but they initially weren’t that close (either because beatrice was closed off, general Life stuff preventing em from being able to grow closer, and then later on when the werewolf stuff popped in none of them were werewolves save for bea obviously which is obviously a pretty good gap in the ‘trying to connect w friends’ thing)

they’re probably all supernatural tho idk what they’d be (though i have been picturing as like, a comedically small fairy, like just the size of *half* a thimb)

Imagine if they were all in the same college study group or something, and Bea was the only human at the time. It's an episode of Community waiting to happen.

I think Shannon and Mary are wolves. Bonus points if they knew about Bea's family and tried to warn Bea before it was too late, only to be left picking up the pieces in the aftermath. Dora could be a wolf too, or maybe another kind of shapeshifter. Camila gives off strong fae vibes, and her predisposition towards ranged combat is serving Wild Hunt energy. Yasmine might be a wizard in training, taking magic classes in addition to her normal university classes (the most chaotic double major imaginable, pray for her).

And of course, none of this is news to Ava or Lil, who have been around the supernatural block more than once, and may even know more about their respective species than the girls do themselves. Maybe Yasmine mentions some crazy important ancient tome or spellbook that's been lost for centuries, and Ava's like "oh that? We've been using it as a coffee table book for the past 200 years."

What's Mama S? A fae? A vampire? A really powerful witch? Any could work.

[writingutensilthief]

(Original template found here)

A fun little thing I've been working on this past week. Decided to try and find which TV Tropes can be used to best summarize my Gravedale High/Drak Pack fan characters, as a thought exercise of sorts.

Under the cut is the explanation for the 6 tropes you see listed on the image proper, plus a few extra ones, for each character.

Moonbeam

Big Sister Instinct - Moonbeam is very protective of her younger brothers, in particularly her youngest brother Howler. If there's a situation where her anger shifts from passive to direct, it's likely because she felt that her brothers were being threatened. This instinct also shows in Moonbeam's desire to still baby her youngest brother, despite him living away from home with a new pack and having a successful superhero career. To a lesser extent she feels this way to the older two of her brothers as well, often checking in on them and wanting to stay together as a pack.

Enthusiastic Newbie Teacher - Moonbeam is the new assistant gym coach at Gravedale High. This excites her, partially because this is first ever profession, but mostly because she wants to encourage students to enjoy being physically active, an experience most of them have not gotten under Coach Cadaver. Moonbeam also fully expects that her experience with her younger brothers will make it easy for her to work with the students, so she gets flustered at first when they (especially the kids in Mr. Schneider's class) didn't instantly listen to her without issue.

Flowers of Femininity - Moonbeam always has flowers in her hair. Even in her werewolf form when she's more rough-and-tumble she keeps at least one flower in her hair, showing that she still maintains some level of softness and femininity. The dress she wears in her human form also has flowers on the belt, further pushing this connection.

Girly Bruiser - Moonbeam may not have fighting as her preferred method of conflict resolution, but she can snarl, claw, and bite just as well as any werewolf. In her werewolf form she prefers to wear a knee-length skirt to for ease of running and fighting if needed, but if she needs to let her calf-length dress tear during a transformation to protect someone than so be it.

Promotion to Parent - Moonbeam first got this experience when her father passed away, leaving her to help her grieving her mother raised her younger brothers, especially her youngest, then-infant brother. However, she got the full "promotion" soon after she turned 18 when her mother left her and her brothers behind to start a new family in Transylvania. This meant that she had to put her life on hold to become her brothers' legal guardian, up to and including to make tough decisions like letting her youngest brother leave home to live in a better environment for him. Moonbeam still resents her mother for her leaving, though now that things have settled into a new normal for her and her brothers, a small part of her can acknowledge that her mother does genuinely seem happier now.

Wonderful Werewolf - Moonbeam is a nurturing person who prefers to keep the order instead of jumping into conflict. She has a firm belief that stronger monsters should use their abilities to protect others, so even when she does have to fight, it is in a protective manner. Due to her own experience of living as a human, Moonbeam is also much more pro-human than most monsters (though she does still understand why most monsters are hesitant around them).

Bonus tropes:

Cool Big Sis - Moonbeam's youth and sisterly instincts leads her to be respected by the students of Gravedale High a lot more than Coach Cadaver is. In particular by the non-athletic students like Reggie and Cleo as she actually tries to reach out and help them during gym class.

Pointy Ears - Moonbeam's ears are pointed in her human form.

Werewolf Theme Naming - Moonbeam's name references the moon.

Working-Class Werewolves - Moonbeam is the lowest paid teacher at Gravedale High and has less familial wealth than most of the students there. She also currently lives in her brother's apartment, downsizing from the already small house she grew up. (Not that she would complain, of course, she's very grateful that her brother lets her and their other brother live with him.)

-

Rita

Aloof Dark-Haired Girl - Rita is quiet and tends to keep to herself, and is easily the maturest out of her small friend group. In her human form, she has long, black hair that she sensibly keeps tied back with a classy ribbon. These factors combined leads others to praise her sophistication and intelligence, viewing her as fitting into the high-class lifestyle her family leads. Rita is also taller than a lot of her peers at 5'11".

Captain Fishman - Rita is descendent of the original Creature from the Black Lagoon, so her monster abilities are what one would expect from an amphibious humanoid - enhanced strength, breathing underwater, super swimming. While not treated as a joke character, she does have notably less abilities than other monster heroes like the Drak Pack and her powers are much more limited in scope (she can't even access her monster form without water for instance). This makes Rita secretly wonder if she really is useless in fighting situations and that people do really view her as a joke.

Iconic Item - Rita's seashell bracelet. This was a gift Franky gave to her when they were children and she hasn't stopped wearing it since. She always has it on her, human or monster form. This trope can also somewhat apply to her red lipstick, something else she purposefully wears in both her human form and monster form.

Old Money - Rita's family is very wealthy. Her relatives from generations back were early adopters of the monster story and later movie crazes, which not only gave them entertainment money but also greatly increased their networking opportunities by allowing them to mingle with the likes of the Draculas and other rich families. Because of this wealth, Rita grew up attending parties with other wealthy kids like Drak Jr. and her family can easily afford to send her to a private schools like Gravedale High.

Please Keep Your Hat On - Rita is always covering her head in her monster form. This is for two reasons: One, it psychologically helps her transition from having very long hair in her mammalian human form to having no hair at all in her amphibious monster form. Two, and more importantly to her, Rita has no top fin in her monster form, which she believes other monsters would mock her for. This has never happened to her before (and in fact her parents like to brag that she lacks a top fin just like the original Creature did, and that physical feature is what separates them from the other, more distant relatives in their family), but it is something that truly worries her. Thus, this trope is more internal for Rita then anything literally being hidden by her hat. (This is arguably an overlap with Vanity is Feminine then.)

True Blue Femininity - Rita's favorite color is light blue and she wears it in all of her outfits, both for her human clothes and her monster ones. In a more symbolic/meta sense, the light blue in her outfit represents water, so it's an important color for her in that way too.

Bonus tropes:

Ear Fins - In her monster form Rita has external gills/fins where her ears are in her human form.

Fish People - Rita's monster form is an amphibious humanoid a la her ancestor the Creature from the Black Lagoon. (Since she is specifically a girl descendent of the creature, this overlaps a little with Water is Womanly.)

Lonely Rich Kid - To an extent. She does have a couple close friends and an overall positive relationship with her parents, but her relationship with them is somewhat strained due to their constant working and she has difficultly making friends due to her closed-off nature. This does weigh on her, at least a small amount.

Shout-Out - Both Rita's first and last names are a direct reference to Creature from the Black Lagoon. Her red lipstick is a nod to the Creature's red lips, and likewise the white part of her superhero uniform is a nod to the famous swimsuit from the film.

-

Strawna

Girl Next Door - Strawna is considered a lovely but average girl: She's cute but doesn't have many admirers. She's shy but friendly to the people she does talk with. She's not One Of The Boys but she can still get along with her all-guy classmates. She overall the kind of girl who won't put herself out there, but would get a good response from her peers if she did.

Overalls and Gingham - Strawna grew up on a farm, so her wardrobe consists of outfits that can be worked in - practical coverings like overalls with nice-but-not-fancy shirts with gingham patterns for a little flair. This wardrobe was taken with her when she started attending Gravedale High, with the only "not farm work appropriate" clothing she has being her sandals, bought especially for school.

Raised by Grandparents - Strawna has been raised by her grandfather on his small farm ever since she was little. He is the only family member of hers that she knows of, leading to them being incredibly close and her having a strong respect for her elders. Coming from this home environment did give her a good amount of culture shock and homesickness when she started attending Gravedale High (especially during the "meet the parents" events like the school talent show), but it does help her get along with her teacher Mr. Tutnor, another elder figure in her life.

Scary Stitches - Strawna's main monstrous physical trait is the stitches on her body. The stitches around her neck, wrists, and ankles are the most visible ones, keeping the sacks around her head, hands, and feet in place. She also has visible stitches on the corners of her mouth.

Scholarship Student - Strawna is attending Gravedale High on scholarship as part of the school's attempt to reach a wider swath of the monster community. She, in turn, is significantly less wealthy than her classmates. This is something that intimidates her and makes her even shyer than she usually is.

The Unblinking - Strawna has no eyelids and is incapable of blinking, so she's always wide-eyed and staring at everyone. Because of this her eyes look painted onto her face. However, she is able to move her pupils around so her eyes aren't completely frozen.

Bonus tropes:

Cute Monster Girl - While all four of these characters are Cute Monster Girls, Strawna fits the description best because, in an out-of-universe sense, she was literally designed to resemble a cute human girl.

Childish Bangs + Girlish Pigtails - These two play together to help make Strawna look extra cute, playing into her being a Cute Monster Girl. These two also combine together to make a youthful-looking hair style, ymbolically playing into Strawna's status as the (mostly) naive new kid at Gravedale High.

Zombie Gait - Strawna, out of concern of accidentally ripping her stitches and letting her straw/stuffing out, walks very slowly and deliberately, in a zombie/Frankenstein's Monster-like manner.

-

Maddie

The Corruptible - Maddie, due to playing both the lackey to her mother's evil plans and the sidekick to Rita's heroic plans to stop her, is always teetering on the edge of becoming fully evil. Her belief in the inherent nature of good and evil also makes it more likely for her to stay under her mother's control, as she does believe her mother when she says that some people are simply destined to be involved in evil. Maddie's gullible nature and tendency to be a follower further plays into this, making it more likely for her mother to corrupt her, but also increasing Rita (and others') chances of pulling her away from her mother's influence.

Friendly Zombie - Maddie is easy-going and much more open to idea of humans and monsters co-existing than other monsters are. (She gets along well enough with her mom's human boyfriend, after all.) She also does not have a desire to attack or eat humans, and in fact tends not to eat much meat in general. (Though, this is less due to trying to avoid any unsavory parts of her zombie nature and more because her mother mainly feeds her vegetable-centered dishes at home.)

Fluffy Tamer - Maddie fascination with living creatures leads her to having a lot of pets. These pets include "scary" animals like a snake and a tarantula, one of her mother's carnivorous plants, and a Purple People Eater. Maddie also makes sure to give each of these pets a cute name to show her affection for them. (The Purple People Eater's name is Mr. Grape, for instance.)

Labcoat of Science and Medicine - Maddie almost always has a white lab coat on. Her mother insists on her wearing it whenever she's in public or helping her in her lab, to better present herself as underling to a proper villainous scientist. Maddie does take off the jacket when she's alone, however.

Long Hair is Feminine - Maddie's long hair is the main physical trait of hers that makes her look feminine. Due to being a zombie she lacks most of the other physical characteristics that would make people read her as feminine, so her hair is notable in that regard.

Mad Scientist's Beautiful Daughter - Maddie is the only child of villainous scientist Eve L. Scientist. Her mother keeps her under her control as much as possible, often taking her out of school whenever she needs an assistant for one of her evil schemes. Despite this, however, Maddie genuinely loves her mother and is more often than not happy to help her take care of her plants and perform other lackey duties. This trope is mildly subverted by Maddie having more monstrous features (and thus being "less beautiful") than her mother, who is considered an attractive Plant Person.

Bonus tropes:

The Dead Have Eyes - Maddie can see out of her empty eye socket just as well as she can her human eye.

Messy Hair- Maddie's hair is thin and stringy, with strands usually sticking out/falling in front of her face.

Undeathly Pallor - Maddie's skin is pale with a strong gray tint to it due to being a zombie.

Voodoo Zombie - To an extent. While she wasn't resurrected with magic and not under full mind control, Maddie was still raised from the dead to act as her mom's lackey and is still under her control in a sense.

[pixie-skull]

Ten Characters * Ten Fandoms * Ten Tags

Before I list the most impactful fandoms in my list, a huge shoutout and thank you too @confettipetticoats for tagging me. =D Please go watch her (Non)-Disney crossovers on Youtube as she both so talented and such an awesome pal of mine. :D So I am ranking from 10 to 0 as why not my list, so why not include zero. >:D I tried to choose fandoms I can say I am still a part of, yet not just like, but either been a fan for a long time or the given product means a lot to me.

10. Universal Studios Monsters: Now this a confusing entry as I am not someone who seen all the monster movies, but the impact and the handful of films I have seen from original to remakes, I am a huge fan of. I mean if it was not for my special interest in Mythology as is, this fandom adds to it. Does not hurt most of the bigger or well known monsters have roots in Victorian gothic literature. Favorite monster is hard, as all of them are fun their own way, but I guess my inner psychologist would choose Wolfman/Werewolf.

9. The Simpsons: Yes I agree it dragging on but still one of few shows that my full family and I bonded over, next to select shows that some family members all liked (Bones was very close to being on this list, but I never finished it). It along with other animated shows plus movies made me really want to consider voice acting for a future job. As well, I am not sure why Lisa not featured in the gif below. XD Favorite character though is Apu, plus in the video games, The Simpsons: Hit& Run and The Simpsons: Road Rage.

8. The Addams Family: I only watch the 90's movies and plan watch the original show and animated movies too, but from what I can tell of this fandom, very creepy, spooky, and kooky . XD Sorry too obvious to reference. Favorite characters are tied for the love birds (or bats would that be more in character) Morticia and Gomez. I try to avoid looking up to other people's relationships as everyone is so different, but I can deny these two are what I hope for in a relationship. If not that at least, I adore the just what the two stand for in a couple that is rarely depicted, friends and lovers, who do not settle and hate each other. Sorry but so many relationships especially parents seem to hate each other but stay nice for wanting a family. At a young age this trope I hated.

7. Avatar: The Last Airbender: Such a great show, from world building, character arches, animation, voice acting, and much more. I rarely find myself wishing if I could voice act in something, but this a show that and overall franchise I would be so happy to be a part of. Plus Aang such a well done character and often I do not relate to a character's personality as much I had with him. If from his trying to best to see in others but grows to be selective of who to open up to, being seen as both so young but an old Soul, awkward but willing to laugh at himself, and wants to hear a different point of view or at least learn more of life are few of other traits I can relate to in him. That being said I also can relate to Iroh for similar but in his own way, traits prior. He the supportive, fun, but heartfelt uncle I hope I can be. Yes I am tied between Aang and Iroh. XD

6. Owl House: Yes, a newer product on my list, but can anyone blame me? XD I am still so sad it was short as was, but hopefully come back. It had so much to offer, my newest comfort character is Eda and I am so picky of my comfort characters*, but dang this show you can tell had so much thought and carefully planned, and more. Eda the character I like most from the show too. Yes my biggest ship if Eda x Raine :P .

5. Hellboy: I need to read more these comics, as the movies ugh such a great twist of fantasy, a hero who really wants to do the right thing, but you do not blame him for feeling outcasted by those he protects, and more. Bonus introduced me to my current favorite director, Guillermo del Toro. As well one of my favorite hero quotes of all time. However favorite character goes, Red/H-e-l-lboy.

4. X-Men: I know the movies' timeline is all over the place, the X-Men Evolution Wolverine seems so hated (even though a guilty pleasure of mine), the first two are the best in the full series along a few standouts, but dang it this movie series was and still holds so much meaning to me. I mean the not so subtle message of being yourself and use what makes you different as a power felt even more powerful as when younger I was diagnosed with ASD in elementary school and only found by high school from being told, but prior I felt like a mutant, like I felt so pity (yes I had former friends who only became pals because pity), teased for things like special interests, and more, but these movies made me felt there was at least somewhat others like me. Lastly, for a kid, I respect the beliefs of the leader of the "good" and "bad" were so complex, as simple narratives on morality felt so demeaning as a kid. I mean as I get older (@little-bloodied-angel and I talked about this recently) I really consider Magneto one of the best 'villains' I have watched and read (I need read more comics in general). Bonus this franchise seems so awesome the earlier films had so many people who are in the LGBTQ Community: Anna Paquin (bi woman), Ian McKellen (gay man), Elliot Page (trans man), Alan Cumming (bi man). To be fair the Mutants being a metaphor for those wanting more civil rights or equal rights is well known. Favorite character goes, of late again Magento again just the appeal he more complex and even though violence if can be avoided please do that.

3. 90's Sailor Moon: I am aware such a case of nostalgia goggles on tightly, as I have heard the recent new version more closer to the manga. However the 90's one felt so more fleshed out and bonus the titular character herself one of FEW characters I have ever related to as a kid that was not just comedic relief or a side character. XD Yes I related the awkwardness of Thief from The Thief and the Cobbler, Flower from Bambi (if anything as a trans guy it feels so telling I wanted to liked a guy character who just happens to be comfortable being mistaken as a girl XD). Bonus one of my friends who sees me as found family, we bonded over adoring the 90's version. Favorite character the "protector of love and justice" herself.

2. Disney, mostly the villains fandom: I do adore the heroes/heroines, yet the campy nature of the former hand-drawn villains so great. As well, yes I am not sorry I have a shirt with this design below. >:D In regards which one is my favorite, Maleficent.

1. The Last Unicorn: The animated feature and the book (to be fair I have the graphic novel) both hold such introduction to Mythology for me and the writing (Peter S. Begeal I hope read more of his work) so similar to J.R.R.Tolkien in ways, that it also helped me love the fantasy genre too. Plus the sequel Two Hearts is not required reading but it does add more too. Favorite character is maybe a surprise Schmendrick. I just appreciate his confidence and overall character arch most of the main cast.

0. The Lord of the Rings: Besides the 2001-2003 live action movies, the extended cut too, the books, and the animated movies, this franchise I can not explain enough the impact it has had on me since as far I can remember. As well yes, The Hobbit book, films (including animated movie too) are worth their thanks too. Now in regards of The Rings of Power show on Amazon, I am unsure to watch, yet that is if The Hobbit is a C at best, I worry what that show is at best. Favorite character is so hard to say, but if I had to really choose Pippin (fun fact met the actor Billy Boyd at a comicon once) as he most audience surrogate I had related to growing up.

*= My other comfort characters: Eda and King

Thief:

Psyduck

Cubone

Flower:

I am curious of what: @little-bloodied-angel @impossiblepeggy @airasora @geebs96 @0chaotic-queer0 @thenamelessdoll @jujubee-edits @theevilsquirrelqueen @animagix101and @wardisahi would say are themes in my choices. Plus, your ten fandoms and ten characters you peeps like. Also was unsure mythology counted as a fandom, as if it does that definitely my biggest favorite fandom.

[cozy-frog-legacy-simmer]

10th Anniversary Legacy Challenge Part 4

GENERATION NINE - 2022 It's not fair. Your parent got to live an exciting life before deciding to settle down and all you got was the farm life. So when you get the opportunity to go away to High School instead of staying on the farm, you jump at it. Time to have some excitement of your own. Packs: High School Years, Werewolves, My Wedding Stories Traits: Overachiever, Party Animal, Socially Awkward *I hate weddings and wedding gameplay. On top of that My Wedding Stories still contains numerous bugs despite repeated "fixes". I chose to ignore it, but if you enjoy that gameplay and don't mind the bugs go for it and enjoy* -Move to Copperdale as a teen and attend high school every day -Choose one teen aspiration and complete it -Join at least one activity and/or teen job -Move to Moonwood Mill as a Young Adult -Become or marry a werewolf and complete the aspiration -If you choose to be a werewolf yourself, careers are not available to you and you will need to make money in other ways. If you chose to marry one, you can work a regular career if you choose. -Have a "litter" (at least 3 kids) -Find and decipher all of the Moonwood Relics -Catch the luna fish and harvest the moon petal flower GENERATION TEN - 2023 You have had about enough of werewolves even IF you are one. You want out of this creepy dead logging town and you want out yesterday. Packs: Growing Together, Horse Ranch, Home Chef Hustle, and For Rent Traits: Rancher, Horse Lover, Nosy, Generous, Cringe, Child of the Village (pick any three) *Due to persistent bugs, I will be ignoring the residential rental gameplay. You can choose to include this if you want, but I don't think that it is worth it at this time* -Before beginning, create a vacation rental property in Tomarang. -Live in Chestnut Ridge on a ranch of your choosing with at least one horse, one goat, and one sheep. -Have a greenhouse to grow produce for nectar making and general cooking -Get married or have a live in partner -One of you will complete Championship Rider AND Expert Nectar Maker aspirations -The other will complete Appliance Whiz and Market Magnate -Chef sim will have food sales on the weekends in San Sequoia during fall, winter, and spring in front of the Recreation Center. Bring the kids and let them have fun while you work. -Summer weekends will be spent vacationing in Tomarang and having food sales at the night market -Make sure to hire a ranch hand to help out -Have at least three children -JUSTICE FOR INFANTS!!! Finally infants actually exist and you can (and MUST) treat them right for the last two generations. Make sure that they have a happy infancy. -Complete at least one of the new childhood aspirations with your heir (bonus points if you have four children and have each one complete one aspiration)

[greyborn2]

Ok so I've been rotating this now for a few hours and I have

thoughts

on alternate monster forms for all the princes that currently just have a human one. Most of them pretty easy/obvious but there are some neat ones in there. Azura: This one was... hard. Maybe the hardest. Best I could come up with was basically a giant starfish monster thing embedded and bedazzled with countless thousands of shiny things. Like Tamatoa and Starro made out sloppy style for a few hours and this was the result. Boethia: easy one. Her statues/symbols have associated him with serpents. Like, a fuck ton, honestly. So thinking for her some giant hydra creature is an easy slot in. Maybe give him a set of tails that all look like swords for bonus points. But yea. Easy enough, makes sense. Clavicus Vile: Horned hound with the tongue of a snake. Not explaining this one, feels obvious enough. Hircine: Including here because most people just know his form of Alrabeg, the Hunter. But he already has four fun other forms. Take your pick. Giant deer-skulled werewolf, Moder (from the Ritual) style deer monster, a seemingly innocent fox, or a giant fucking bear monster. Easy peasy. Jyggalag: Ramiel from Evangelion. Not explaining myself. Next question. Malacath: Ok feel like I'm kinda cheating with this one because its still semi-humanoid but its really what I'm most strongly imagining. Ashpit-come-alive. A giant fucking skeleton just billowing out smoke and ash and cinder. A choking, walking, sandstorm of soot and smog billowing out around a skyscraper sized giant bone-dude. Mehrunes Dagon: Really struggled with this one because he's my favourite boy and wanted to do him justice. After much MUCH thinking I've finally settled on a form that ticks all the boxes for me. A giant, angry, four armed monkey with the head of a cat. Still all red and fiery of course, but yea. That's... the gist. Putting my vision into a small amount of words is hard. Mephala: Giant spider. NEXT! Meridia: Get full on biblical be-not-afraid angel with it. Rings of eyes and glowing, blinding, light. Horrifying-holy. Speaks in the voice of a chorus. Etc etc etc. Molag Bal: Giant, uncomfortably phalic, worm monster. Lower part of it trails off into thousands of 'tails' that each end in grabbing hands. This is all. Best not to dwell on him. Nocturnal: Some kinda giant horrific crow creature swathed in a cloak of shadow. Sanguine: If you've ever seen one of those fractal video things where it just constantly zooms in forever and ever and makes your brain hurt? That, but a rose. Petals ever unfolding and folding and folding and folding. Hypnotizing you in with almost painful motions as it just keeps blooming. Bonus points if its also just weeping out rivers of blood. Sheogorath: Two options. His more 'butterfly with the face of a screaming man' form OR get real horrific with it. Big ol' flesh monster of torn sinew and stretched muscle. Beautiful and horrific at once. Get real cenobite-y with it. Vaermina: Honestly shouldnt have any one form. She looks like whatever you fear most, given physical shape, and is different for everyone.

not enough daedric princes are like "not going to occupy a disgusting little humanoid form for you. I'm some fucking Thing and you're gonna like it" I tjink more daedric princes should just be some fucking Thing

[diaphragmjellyfish]

Careful

So after I wrote that last Paul fic involving vaginismus, I got quite a few messages saying how much it meant to some of you and I just want to say how much it warms my heart to bring others joy or comfort through my writing. Like I’ve been telling a lot of you, fan fictions are amazing. I love them. But they’re not always realistic, and that can be damaging to people who think sex is supposed to go a certain way and then blame themselves when it’s not like that. We’re all different, and everyone deserves to have a partner that cares about your well-being and pleasure. Don’t settle for less. 

Seth Clearwater x vaginismus!reader smut 

(Seth is 18+ in this)

Being with Seth Clearwater was, in a word, magical. He truly was the best boyfriend you could ever ask for. He was always there for you when you were upset or having anxiety, always made you smile and laugh, got you cute little presents or sometimes cool rocks that he found on patrol, and was super physically affectionate. Hugs, kisses, cuddles, hickeys, hand-holding. Y’all were the poster children for PDA. It made you nervous when you first started dating, because you thought he would want to get intimate right away. You knew that if you told him you didn’t want to have sex right away, he would be more than understanding. That’s just the kind of person he was. But you feared that holding off on intimacy would damage your relationship. Seth’s love language was physical touch. Yours was too, so stopping things every time it got too heated was a big roadblock in the relationship. Or so you thought. 

The day came where you had to tell Seth about your vaginismus. He had asked tons of questions before letting you know how he felt about it all. What causes it? What does it feel like? How does the physical therapy work? Is there anything I can do to help? Once you explained the logistics of it all, you guys could start to be more open and honest about what you were comfortable with doing. It turns out, he thought you just didn’t want to be intimate with him. He thought you were only sticking around because of the imprint bond. Once you explained that yes, you definitely really really want to have sex with him, you just can’t right now, he was all smiles and wanted to try all kinds of stuff that didn’t involve penetration. You guys would have super open conversations about what he could and couldn’t do to you, and started experimenting with the things you were comfortable with. Let’s just say, Seth became an absolute master in the art of oral sex. For a while, it was all he could do, so he did it. A lot. I mean, you’d have to physically pull him away sometimes when it got too sensitive. He loved knowing that he could make you feel so much pleasure. It made him feel needed. Wanted. And of course you returned the favor. 

You guys definitely have the foreplay routine down pat. Seth was almost always there when it came time for you to dilate every day. He would sit next to you, hold your hand, kiss you, or just talk to you about his day. Whatever you wanted, and whatever would distract you. He was so supportive, that when the day finally came that you wanted to try having penetrative sex with him, he said no. He didn’t think you had been using the biggest dilator long enough. What if he hurt you? What if you just didn’t like it? What if what if what if….. 

But you had been waiting long enough. His support honestly turned you on. Every day when he would sit there while you did your therapy, you wanted to jump his bones for being so. Damn. sweet. No guy had ever cared about you to the point of withholding from sex for you. They always just let you put up with the pain. Not Seth. 

“But baby, what if it hurts you?” he voiced. 

“Then we can stop and try again another time.” 

“But what if-”

“Seth,” you cut him off. “I know my body. Believe me, I’ve had to pay attention to it every day for the past year and a half while I did my exercises. I’m ready. If you don’t want to, that’s fine, but don’t say no because of me. I want to try.” You sounded so soft and adorable while you said the last part that he nearly melted through the floor. Here he was, with the most beautiful girl on the planet all but begging him to have sex with her, and he was hesitating. That’s what love made you do. 

“Ok, we can try. But you have to promise, I mean really promise, that the second it starts to feel anything but good, you’ll tell me.” His voice was laced with concern. 

“I promise,” you said with so much confidence that he had to believe you. 

“Alright. So we’re doing this. Did you want to… try it like, now?” The poor boy was a blushing mess right now. You just nodded your head and smiled. “Okay. Cool. Yeah, that’s cool. We can do it now. I’m totally down with that.” You knew based off of the way he was acting that you were going to have to make the first move, so you walked up, grabbed his face between your hands, and kissed him.

 He seemed stiff, so you pulled away and said, “Everything ok?”

“Yeah! Yeah, yeah. Everything is perfect. I just… do you want to go to my room?” Again, you just nodded, and let him take your hand and lead you into his bedroom, closing the door behind you guys. Jeez, he seemed more nervous than you were. You sat down on the middle of his bed, and reached your arms out and did grabby-hands until he laughed and joined you, lying you down and hovering over you. He kissed you sweetly, giving you every opportunity to say stop. You didn’t, but instead threaded your fingers up through his inky hair and pulled him closer to you. He took this as a green light to deepen the kiss, and brush his tongue up against your own. You guys continued kissing for a while since this was comfortable territory for you both. He eventually started moving his hands under your shirt, first massaging your stomach with his thumb and then moving up. He pulled back from you suddenly, eyes wide. “No bra?” 

“Nope. I didn’t want anything to get in the way today,” you smirked and slid your hands over his shoulders. He had a look of awe on his face as he pulled the hem of your shirt up. You sat up and took it off, throwing it to the floor. Okay, yeah, so you were eager. You’d never enjoyed sex before and you thought you actually might for the first time. It was exciting. 

As you laid back down, his eyes never left yours. He came back down for another kiss before trailing his mouth down your jaw, suckling at your neck for a few minutes before it was covered in faint red marks, and moved down to your breasts. Seth had always worshipped your chest. It was one of his favorite parts of your body. The size, the shape, the feel, were all beyond perfect to him. You gasped as he took a nipple into his mouth, your back arching up into him. He brought his hand up to massage your other breast while his tongue continued swirling around the first one. You closed your eyes and tipped your head back, just relaxing into the feeling and letting your muscles be at ease. He sat up for a second, which was far too long, to take his shirt off, and you opened your eyes to admire his sculpted body. You would have loved him even if he wasn’t a shapeshifting beast, but damn, the muscles that came with were such a nice bonus. And they weren’t just for show. You never told him this, but whenever he picked you up so easily or carried you around or pushed you up against a wall, you got beyond turned on. You always wondered what it would be like to have him actually get rough with you, but that would be for another time. 

Once Seth thought your boobs had been shown enough attention, he slid his hand back down to your stomach, and then lower. He fiddled with the waistband of your jeans before popping the button at the front and dragging the zipper down torturously slow. You felt so hot at this point that you thought you would climb out of your skin if he didn’t touch you properly soon. You raised your hips in a silent signal for him to take them off, but he was too distracted by the feeling of your soft skin to notice. 

“Seth,” you whispered. He looked up at you, hand already stilling in case you wanted to stop. 

“What’s wrong?” he panicked. 

“Nothing is wrong. Can you help me take these off?” His eyes widened at this, and then he smiled. He sat up on his knees, gripping the waistband of your jeans on either side of you, and you raised your hips as he pulled them down slowly, admiring your legs as each inch of them was revealed. His breath caught in his throat as he took in the lacey g-string you were wearing, which you had bought specially for this moment. You never really cared about wearing cute underwear before since it would always end up on the floor anyways, but this was a big day. At least you hoped it would be. So you wanted to wear something cute, and boy did Seth appreciate it. 

Once your jeans were all the way off, he gave a low whistle and said, “damn. My girlfriend is the most beautiful woman alive. How did I get so lucky?” 

You hit his shoulder and looked away blushing at this. And then… oh, then. 

Your sexy werewolf boyfriend lay down on his stomach in between your thighs, lifting your legs onto his shoulders, and gave you a smirk that could only be described as savagely canine. He kissed the insides of your thighs, nipping here and there before soothing with his tongue, inching closer and closer to where you really wanted him to be. He liked to take his time with this part. He flattened his tongue and gave your center a broad lick over your panties, eliciting a small gasp. He did this several more times until your hips were writhing and grinding, desperate for more friction. He reached under you, gripping the fabric of your underwear before all but ripping them off you. 

“Hey, easy. Those were expensive,” you haphazardly pointed, too lost in the moment to really care. 

“I’ll buy you new ones,” he spoke lowly into your center right before diving in and wrapping his lips around you, sucking and kneading with his tongue. You gave a small moan, fingers once again tangling in his hair. He kept this up, alternating between firm licks and small sucks, his tongue constantly flicking that perfect spot. Seth heard in Paul’s head through the mind link once that porn wasn’t accurate at all to what women actually got off on. You were supposed to pick 2, maybe 3 key moves and do those until she was close, and then just keep doing exactly that until she came. Women are about consistency and rhythm, so if you change it up, they have to start all over. This advice had not failed him yet. Had not failed either of you, and you could have kissed Paul if you found out that that’s where Seth had gotten this tip. Fifteen delicious minutes later and you were teetering on the edge. You used to be insecure about how long you took to finish, but Seth had always reassured you that he just wanted you to feel good, and he would spend all day between your legs if he could. You were right there, legs shaking and eyes screwed shut, but couldn’t quite get that knot in your stomach to unravel. Seth pulled away, sensing your impatience, and knew you needed a little push. He got up and opened your bedside table, pulling out the large bottle of lube that you used for dilating, slathering his middle finger in it, and laid back down between your legs. 

You knew what he was going to do, and trusted him enough to be careful, so you lie back and relax, knowing he would get you there no matter what. He dove back in with his lips, tongue flicking and rubbing for another few seconds before positioning his finger at your entrance, swirling it around to distribute the lube. He looked up at you, knowing you liked to guide his hand at first to make sure you were comfortable. You grabbed his hand, sliding his finger in slowly, inch by inch. You were pretty worked up at this point, so it didn’t take very long before his finger way fully inside you. He stilled his hand, waiting for you to give the all-clear, still sucking at your clit like a starving man. You tugged at his hair, shifting your hips against his hand, which he knew to be the cue to start moving. You didn’t much like the in-out feeling of being fingered. You preferred the pressure of him pressing on certain spots. He twisted his finger slowly so that his palm was facing upward, and began to stroke your top wall, making you shudder. 

This was going to push you over that edge. Several minutes of consistency, pressure, and suction had you cumming hard, grinding on his face and moaning his name loudly. When you came down, Seth was still going, though more gently since he knew how sensitive you got post-orgasm. You had to whine and tug on his hair to get him to take his mouth off you, his finger stilling but remaining inside. 

“Wow,” you breathed, eyes closed in a haze.

“Wow yourself, Gorgeous,” he winked at you. You made a move to reach down and grab him through his sweatpants, but Seth was quick to pull your hand away. “This is about you tonight,” he said with total sincerity. You wanted to argue that it was about both of you, but you knew he had his mind set on taking care of you, so you decided to let him. “You ready to try, baby?” 

“Hell yes,” you laughed, sitting up. “Maybe I could start on top? That’s how I dilate and I could control it better that way.” 

“I was just about to say the same thing,” he teased back. He moved to lie back against the headboard after taking his pants off as you kneeled on the edge of the bed, grabbing the bottle of lube. While you were turned away from him, he brought his hand to a cheeky slap on your ass, catching you by surprise. 

“Hey!” You squealed and then giggled, turning to give him a playful glare. 

“I couldn’t resist! It was right there,” He said, holding his hands up in surrender. 

You simply rolled your eyes at this, grabbing a condom from the bedside table as well. You turned to him, still kneeling, and handed him the condom, which he ripped open with his teeth (and it was so hot). He slowly rolled it onto his rock hard dick, keeping a hand around the base as he looked up at you. “You absolutely sure about this?” he questioned. 

“Yes Seth. I really want to.” 

With this, you climbed up to straddle his lap, squirting generous amounts of lube onto him and spreading it around with your hand. You knelt up, positioning him at your entrance after throwing the lube on the floor. He sat straight up, hands going around your waist, one reaching up behind you to cradle your head. He gave you a passionate kiss as you lowered slightly, letting the tip of him find its way in. You stopped here, doing some deep breathing as Seth stared intently at your face, looking for any signs of discomfort. Seth was slightly smaller than your largest dilator, but what had you slightly concerned was the friction. The in-out-in-out factor usually caused you pain when you tried bouncing on your dilators. You would just have to keep the lube on stand-by and remember to breathe with your stomach. 

When you were sure you would be ok, you lowered more, sinking down an inch with every exhale. Seth lovingly rubbed your back, hand petting your hair as he waited patiently for you to adjust. You felt unbelievable around him, but he didn’t want to express too much pleasure, fearful that you would put up with any pain for his benefit. He settled for nuzzling his nose into the crook of your neck, holding you as close as he physically could. You lightly scratched at his shoulders, holding on for dear life. You had to stop for a moment at the half-way point, trying your best to control your pelvic muscles and picturing a flower bud opening in your mind. Slowly, you lowered another inch, and then another, and another, until you could feel his thighs touch you. At this, you sat down fully on his lap, his cock sheathed fully inside of you. 

I need a minute you thought. This was a lot. Silicone dilators were one thing, but to have your boyfriend inside you like this was completely different. He was warm, hot even, and you could feel his pulse, feel the throb in his veins. The twitch of him deep inside you. 

“Fuck,” Seth gasped quietly, as if he didn’t want you to hear. 

“Feels good?” you questioned. 

“Mm-hmm. Are you okay?” He asked right back, face still buried in your neck. 

“I think so. Just give me a second.” 

“Take all the time you need, baby. Do you want me to touch you?” His hand came over from your back and he grazed your lower stomach with his knuckles. 

“No. Too much,” was all the answer he needed before he wrapped his arm around your back once again, massaging your skin soothingly. This was going on too long, you thought. Seth was probably dying right now. You didn’t want him to suffer, so you lifted your hips a couple inches, sinking back down on him. You felt a stinging sensation at your entrance, but ignored it. Before you could lift your hips again, Seth grabbed your waist in a vice-like grip, still holding you against him but stopping all movement. 

“Don’t you dare,” he spoke softly yet firmly. “I can feel how tense your muscles are right now. Relax and then you can try again.” You wanted to cry at this. He was getting frustrated. He was going to break up with you! But you silenced those negative comments and realized he was right. So you took some deep breaths again, focusing on the pressure of his tip deep in your walls, the feel of his fingers grazing your back, his other hand playing with your hair. You closed your eyes and focused only on the sensations. “There you go, Sweetheart,” he said as he felt you relax around him. Instead of going straight up and down this time, you ground your hips against his, making circles on top of him. And it felt… good? Jesus. For the first time in your life, sex wasn’t hurting. It still felt a little tight and stiff, but it didn’t hurt. So you kept at it. Your breathing picked up at the sensation, along with the exertion of kneeling for so long. Seth pulled his face out of your neck and used the hand that was petting your hair to pull you into a passionate kiss. You guys made out as you continued to circle your hips, both of your breathing labored. Seth gripped your ass in one of his hands, helping control your movements as your legs began to shake. 

“You getting tired, baby?” he questioned, even though he could see that you were. You just nodded, slowing down a little. “Do you want to try a different position? Maybe one where I could do some work?” You wanted to, but were nervous. The trust you had for Seth was absolute, but what other position could work? 

“Like what?” you questioned hesitantly.

He thought for a moment, hands stilling your hips, before he cracked a smile. “I have an idea. Here,” he spoke as he shifted you both further down the bed and laid back so he was flat on his back, you still on top of him. He brought you down so you were stomach to stomach, hands going to the small of your back, and planted his feet on the bed. He held you close as he lightly thrusted up into you. 

“Oh,” you breathed a moan. This felt really good. Being on top and controlling the movement had been good to adjust, but having Seth fuck up into you like this was another level of pleasure. He barely thrusted, but still hit the right spots. And you could still easily lift your hips to pull away if it started to hurt. 

“Good?” he whispered.

“Mm-hmm. Oh my God,” you whispered to yourself, reaching up with one hand to grab the headboard. You thought you heard him breath a laugh, but were too lost in the moment to pay much attention to anything but Seth’s movements. He kept a steady pace of small thrusts, going slowly, never questioning the pace or pushing your limits. After a while, you started to push your hips back against his as he went into you. 

“You want to try going a little faster, Sweetheart?” he questioned gently. 

“Yes,” you said with half-lidded eyes as you looked right into Seth’s coffee-colored irises. 

He brought himself out a little further at this, pushing back into you slightly faster than before, and hitting that perfect soft spot inside you that had your toes curl. You released a real moan this time, and Seth swore he could have cum from that sound alone. He kept this pace up, not daring to go any faster since you both were already enjoying it so much and he didn’t want to risk ruining the moment with pain. For the first time in your life, you felt actual pleasure from penetration, and you wanted more. You wanted to cum, and you felt like you actually could. With this realization, you brought one of your hands down to your swollen clit, rubbing tight circles on it that had your moans go up in pitch. 

Seth grabbed your hand, putting it back on his chest as he reached down and began rubbing you with his own fingers and cockily stating, “That’s my job.” You felt your eyes roll back in your head at this, and it was the hottest thing Seth had ever seen. You felt a knot begin to form in your stomach, tightening faster than it ever had before. After just a couple more minutes of this, you moan “Oh, Seth. I think I’m gonna cum.” Of course this only spurred him on to keep going. Consistency, he reminded himself. Don’t change a thing. And he didn’t, not until you were seeing stars, trembling on top of him and screaming his name as your climax crashed into you like a wave. You had to rip his hand off your dripping center when the sensations became too much, and he stilled inside of you. 

“Did you finish?” you questioned him once you came down, confused. If he had, it had sure been subtle. 

“No, but I didn’t know if you were okay to keep going. You seem pretty sensitive right now.” 

“Seth, I want you to cum too. Just… do you think you could like, not take a while? Like, could you finish in the next couple minutes? I’m okay now but I don’t want to push it.” 

“Baby, I can finish in the next 30 seconds after looking at your face while you came like that.” You blushed deeply at this, breath picking back up again as he continued to gently thrust into you. He screwed his eyes shut after a couple thrusts, losing rhythm in his hips as he spilled into the condom with a growl and relaxed underneath you. “Fuck,” was all he said. 

You laughed. “Yeah, fuck.” 

He let you sit up and pull off of him at your own pace before dismounting and moving to walk to the bathroom. 

“Wait! Wait,” he almost yelled, startling you half to death as he sat up, removed and tied off the condom, and hopped off the bed to throw it away. “This is the part where you let me clean you up and take care of you.” 

“You just did take care of me, Seth,” which made him giggle. 

“Not like that silly goose! Just stay there.” He joked as he made his way into the bathroom, coming out with a damp towel. “Spread ‘em,” he motioned towards your legs. You laughed deeply, obliging. He was ultra gentle as he wiped the lube off the insides of your thighs, kissing your knees as he finished. Then, he threw the towel into the hamper and retrieved his softest sweatshirt and placed it over your head as you moved your arms into the sleeves. “And now, we cuddle.” He looked so damn pleased with himself. 

You laid your head on Seth’s warm chest, his arms coming to wrap around your waist. You two stayed like this for a while, just soaking in the details of what just happened. You did it. You had sex with your boyfriend. Actual penetrative sex, and it didn’t hurt. 

As if reading your mind, Seth spoke. “I’m so proud of you.” 

[wheredidhiseyebrowsgo]

hi guys!! Super super trope-y but I love when characters are like “I love you it’s always been you”, do you have any recommendations? Preferably sterek (and extra bonus points if they’re in a heated discussion and it gets blurted out) thanks so much!!

I gotchoo.

A Californian Werewolf in New York by dancinbutterfly, knight_tracer

(1/1 I 16,311 I Explicit)

When Derek finally realizes that there's nothing left for him in Beacon Hills, he goes back to New York, gets a life, falls in love and finds his home.

its derek hale wtf by bleep0bleep

(16/16 I 38,683 I Explicit)

Stiles doesn’t buy the whole magical, transcendent soulmate reveal story, snickers at all those movies where the couple touches each others marks for the first time, eyes glimmering over in emotion when they feel the bond surge through their bodies (who comes up with this stuff?), shakes his head at all those dreamy-eyed people willing to shell out money to track down their other half. Stiles is just really ambivalent about the whole thing. He meets his other half in his lifetime? Cool. If not? It’s just fine; he’s happy where he is. At least that’s what he keeps telling himself.

~

You know how this story ends, but how does it begin?

Settle Down by wearing_tearing, whatthehale

(19/19 I 151,181 I Explicit)

Stiles is a struggling author barely making ends meet.

Derek is a successful architect whose biological clock is ticking.

Enter a surrogacy agency, two packs, and a particularly sticky and toe curling heat week and you get a match made in heaven.

Off Limits by halcyon1993

(40/40 I 155,974 I Explicit)

A story in two parts:

When Stiles tags along to one of his dad's basketball games, he's instantly drawn to one of his dad's friends, a man named Derek Hale. Derek is over twice his age, but Stiles can't stop himself from wanting him.

Jackson has hidden his sexuality and obeyed his parents' orders for years, but when the pressure finally becomes too much, he can't do either of those things anymore. As his best friend Danny helps him to pick up the pieces of his life and discover who he truly is, Jackson realises there might be more between them than he thought.

Nature and Nurture: Finding the Perfect Blend by WaideING

(28/28 I 181,696 I Explicit)

Set at the end of Season 5, Stiles faces some challenges which make things more difficult than he'd like them to be. This includes being in love, being abducted, and the supernatural taking a personal interest in him. If he could deal with one problem at a time, maybe he could work things out. But that isn't going to happen.

[ryqoshay]

Putting on Hairs - Post Production: Nico is Cold

Primary Pairing: NicoMaki Rating: G Words: 526 AU: Theater, Monsters, Cryptids Fandom: Love Live Parent Fic: Putting on Hairs - Post Production Time Frame: Sometime after the main story Event: Promptober 2022 Event Source: Idol Fanfic Heaven channel on Discord Prompt: Jacket

---------

Author’s Note: Bonus 2nd entry for Oct 7th

Sumary: Nico is cold

---------

Nozomi shivered. Eli removed her jacket and draped it around her girlfriend’s shoulders. Nozomi leaned in closer. Eli wrapped an arm around her shoulders as well.

This gave Nico an idea.

Nico shivered and glanced at her girlfriend. No response.

“Maki-chan, Nico is cold.” Nico gave voice to her actions, even intentionally exaggerating her shivering.

“Yeah, well I can’t exactly control the weather, Nico-chan.” Maki responded. “Where is your jacket?”

“I didn’t think I’d need one. Where is yours?”

“I don’t need one.”

Ah. Of course Maki didn’t need a jacket. Being a Char… salamander, Maki was able control her internal temp… wait…

“I thought salamanders were cold blooded?” Nico thought aloud.

“They are.” Maki confirmed.

“So…?”

“In which case a jacket wouldn’t help, as they do not generate body heat of their own to be trapped by the garment. In fact, a jacket could potentially be detrimental as it would also prevent the transfer of heat in from the environment.”

Nico pursed her lips. “But it’s cold out, so why isn’t Maki-chan cold?”

“I’m not cold blooded.”

“Maki-chan says that, but won’t give her girlfriend her jacket…”

“Well you could transform and use your fur to keep you warm.” Maki pointed out. “However I didn’t bring a leash…”

Nico growled at the weredog implication.

“Maybe a partial transformation, like the hybrid forms our costumes were supposed to represent?” Maki suggested, making mention of the werewolf outfits they had both worn for the theater’s first production.

“I’m not gonna do that in public.” Nico stated decisively.

“It’s close enough to Halloween, I doubt anyone would notice.” Maki pointed out. “And we’re in the theater district, it wouldn’t be the strangest thing anyone might see.”

“I…”

“Mm?”

“I don’t know how to take a hybrid form…” Nico admitted. “If I did, I wouldn’t have needed the costume.”

“Ah.”

“And… all joking aside, I am actually kinda cold.”

“…”

“…”

“…”

“?!” Nico startled as she felt Maki’s hand land on her shoulder and pull her in to her side.

Wait. Wait. Wait. Woah. Hold on. Maki-chan is initiating affection? In public?!

Nico glanced up to see scarlet painted across her girlfriend’s face. Cute.

A moment later, warmth radiated off Maki.

Did she light herself on fire? Nico pondered. No, I’d’ve smelled that. I guess Maki-chan really can regulate her internal temperature.

For all of half a second, Nico considered pushing herself up to peck a kiss on Maki’s cheek as thanks for the warmth. However, just as quickly, she dismissed the idea as she realized it would most likely embarrass Maki past her breaking point and cause her to pull away, which would deprive Nico of this newly found heat source that had immediately become her favorite.

“I thought Maki-chan couldn’t control the weather.” Nico decided to tease instead.

“I… can’t…” Maki’s tone made it clear she was still working through her embarrassment. “At least… not on a scale that could be considered weather. But… locally… uhm, extremely locally, I can do this.”

Nico hummed happily and nuzzled in closer. “Thanks Maki-chan.”

The couple settled into a comfortable quiet as they continued to wait for their train.

---------

Author’s Note Continued: Not the first time I’ve written Nico seeking Maki’s warmth, and it definitely won’t be the last.

[you-cant-spell-subtext-without]

Continuing my dissertation on why Supernatural is about Destiel even when Cas is not in the episode, and here is my analysis of 11x18 - The Chitters.

I initially had this episode on a “never watching again” because the monster grossed me out so much, but then I realized that the writers were giving us a literal Dean/Cas as husbands mirror story by doing this

and hiding it in an episode with the most grotesque MOTW imaginable (seriously, name a worse monster than underground creatures who impregnate humans with their eggs via orgy and leave them in a damn cave; oh and cause them to shake, chitter, and have glowy green eyes.  BRB, puking).

A little trickster moment in the beginning starting this episode with two brothers, and the eldest - Matt - dying in a *shocker* supernatural way, and the youngest - Jesse - then going on to dedicate his life to avenging his brother’s death.  A lot of reviewers consider this intro to mean we are supposed to be looking for Sam/Dean parallels in the following narrative bEcAusE tHAt is WhAT thE boYS wOuLD dO, but I POSIT TO YOU IT IS NOT ONLY A 10000000 percent DESTIEL STORY, BUT ALSO THAT this is established in the very first scene - the conversation between Jesse and Matt in the flashback:

JESSE

It finally happened.

MATT

What? You didn’t get detention this week?

JESSE

Me and Jackie, we kissed.

MATT:

Okay, can I stop hearing about him every two minutes now? “You think he likes me?”, “Jackie looked at me. I-I think he looked at me.”

JESSE

He definitely likes me.

***I mean Matt’s comment -  does this not immediately remind you of Sam “I am in constant Destiel super hell” Winchester?

For reference, here is Sam’s “I am in super hell please stop now” face:

**Also he LOOKED AT HIM?! What is 80% of Destiel if not subtextual pining and LOOKING.  I don’t make the rules.  Jesse is Dean.  And Matt is dead.  Matt’s death ENDS the “brother portion” of this story insofar as the parallel is concerned. (**please note I am not advocating for Sam to die.  the parallel is just NOT about the brother storyline in this episode - there are plenty of other “mirrors” for the brother storyline, but this is NOT one of them).

We cut to the real Dean continuing in FULL RESEARCH MODE ACTIVATED because Amara has Cas at this point and he is panicking.  

Was the red and black flannel an intentional wardrobe choice to mirror Jesse’s jacket?  We will never know. (Yes.  Everything is intentional.  This is Supernatural. We hate it here. Also Cesar is in a KHAKI vest because KHAKI means THINGS in Supernatural for REASONS). 

Also I love FULL RESEARCH MODE ACTIVATED desperately trying to get Cas back Dean.  It’s real “I just started studying for my final the night before at 10 p.m.” energy.  He’s refusing to stop to even look at Sam here:

Anyway, a few gross scenes of green eyed people, orgies, and a hilarious conversation about weed (or was it oregano?- 

Jensen Ackles you slay me) later -

Jesse and Cesar save Dean’s bacon and the four of them end up in a bar chatting over beers.  Here is where it is INCREDIBLY apparent that Jesse is a mirror for Dean (also I’d watch a bottle episode of these four hanging out doing regular every day stuff a la How I Met Your Mother or Friends).  

JESSE

One of them took my brother 27 years ago.

[Sam and Dean look surprised. Sam turns to Dean, and Dean is speechless.

DEAN

[looks to Jesse] I’m sorry to hear that.

JESSE

I’ve been waiting years to come back and have this shot at them. So, I hope you understand, I’m gonna ask you two to take a step back from this one.

DEAN

[nods] Well, catch us up. Where have you guys been?

JESSE

In the woods, where the action is, looking for their burrow and saving your ass.

[Sam is slightly taken aback, but he gives a look of approval. Cesar scoffs.]

JESSE

What?

CESAR

Well, one of the reasons we’ve been holed up in the trees is because Jesse hates the town and everyone in it.

JESSE

Because they’re ignorant and useless. [turns to Cesar] They didn’t believe me 27 years ago, they’re not gonna start now.

CESAR

[sternly] It’s boneheaded not to be following leads in town.

JESSE

Hey, nobody stopping you from talking to the whole box of crackers.

[Cesar sighs and looks away.]

***You could replace “Jesse” with “Dean” and the lines wouldn’t need to change an iota to stay in the character.  Cesar’s scoffing, the stern response, calling Jesse boneheaded, sighing, looking away exasperatedly - 100% Cas energy.  I really don’t make the rules. Cesar isn’t anything like Sam, and he isn’t meant to be.  This is not a brother story.  THIS IS A STORY ABOUT TRUE LOVE DAMMIT.

Dean makes that red herring comment about them bickering just like brothers , then:

Which by the way is EXACTLY how Dean and Cas bicker.  Hence why Sam is always in super hell.  

I can’t find a better quality image of this montage, but I really wanted to bring attention to the EXPRESSION on Dean’s face:

***Sure, Dean. You’re curious about what it’s like to live with a hunter.  Okay. 

Also, whoever made this, you get it.

They start arguing on the next step - questioning a former sheriff, or going back to the woods to search for the creepy crawlies’ hidey hole.

JESSE

[sternly] We need to find the burrow.

CESAR

[patiently] Jess, we’ve been beating around the woods for two days.

JESSE

[stubbornly] That’s where they are. You saw the tracks.

CESAR

I can keep searching on my own. We’re losing.

****sternly-patiently-stubbornly <- it’s like a never-ending Destiel refrain.  Cesar’s willingness to continue on what is purely Jesse’s quest for revenge so Jesse can move on is also so very Cas-adjacent.  I LOVE A SUBTEXTUAL PARALLEL.

Anyway, then they split into twos, pairing Sam with Jesse and Cesar with Dean for the next few scenes.  Lots of reviewers tracked this as a brother-brother (i.e. Sam is paired with the version of himself and Dean is paired with the version of himself) parallel, but THIS scene with Sam, Jesse, and the old sheriff SCREAMS otherwise:

JESSE

[angrily pushed Cochran down the chair] You son of a bitch.

[Sam moves forward to get Jesse back.]

JESSE

You knew the whole time! You knew where they were when everybody was suffering.

COCHRAN

[pushes Jesse off him] I was suffering too!

SAM

[pulls Jesse away from Cochran and tries to calm him down] Jesse. Hey, hey. Hold on. Hold on.

***EXCUSE ME, did he just say DEAN’S CATCHPHRASE.  And how many times has Sam done this exact thing to Dean when he is in a rage?!?   I DO NOT MAKE THE RULES.  

ALSO something about THE JUXTAPOSITION of Cesar and Jesse in the following scene.  This is very Dean with Cas quietly waiting for him to me.

A lot of creepy monster montage scenes and dead bodies later, the day is saved.  Cue adorable husband exchange, and the news that Jesse and Cesar are going to retire.  

SAM

So, uh, what’s freedom look like?

JESSE

Nice little spread in New Mexico. We’ve been paying on it for years. Set foot on it about … twice?

CESAR

Gonna raise horses. And if that goes bust, Jesse used to be an EMT.

JESSE

Oh, so now I’m supporting your ass?

[Cesar chuckles and looks at Jesse lovingly, before both men turns to the Winchesters. Sam follows the laugh.]

CESAR

 It’s time to start living.

Also this SHOULDER touch.  And it’s the left shoulder.  (there is a great Casifer post out there about how Dean was thrown off specifically because Casifer touched his RIGHT shoulder, and Cas always touches his LEFT).  

All I really need now is a FACE CUP, tbh.  

You want more parallels?  Recall that CESAR (aka Cas-adjacent) is the one who saves Dean’s bacon in the beginning.  

Then he helps him get up off the ground. You know, as in he RAISES him from -

(JENSEN YOUR ACTING CHOICES WITH THAT LOOK ON YOUR FACE ILYSM)

Dean, realizing that he is watching an AU version of himself and his boyfriend/future husband:

Yes, hi, we are the same character.

Anyway, I will always and forever love this episode for showing us the ending Dean and Cas deserved (WHAT WAS THE REASONNNN) - settling down on a small ranch together in New Mexico.  At least these two got their happily ever after.

ALSO, MANIFESTING

Maybe then Sam can finally leave super hell.

BONUS:  

Sam: Couldn’t do it, huh?

Dean: [shakes head] No, didn’t feel right.

Sam: Yeah. I know what you mean. Two hunters who make it to the finish line?

Dean: Yeah, you leave that alone.

Saving this to my box of INCONSISTENCY TRASH DUMP FOR 15x20.

P.S. I am starting to develop a theory that the episodes we all like LEAST, and therefore tend to skip [or that have off putting plotlines/ don’t go with the general myth arc/creepy monsters/bizarre or even boring scenarios] are the ones with potentially the most subtext, and therefore the best underlying story line (so likely no Cas in the episode, random stuff like Red Meat, the creepy chitters monster that makes you want to cringe). 

So at the end of the day, the subtext was always the real story anyway.

(OMG I JUST REMEMBERED THAT THE GIRL WEREWOLF IN BLOODLINES WEARS A FUCKING KHAKI TRENCH COAT THE ENTIRE TIME.  AM I GOING TO HAVE TO REWATCH THE ALWAYS SKIPPABLE BLOODLINES NOW?  And that definitely means I am DOOMED to rewatch the worst episode that ever was when I get to season 15.  Dammit.  What have I done?!?!??!?!)

[professionalqueerbookworm]

Queer Reviews: E.J. Russell, "Witch under Wraps" (Mythmatched World #8).

CW: explicit sexual content, mention's of past genocide, genocide related trauma, survivor's guilt, blood and sickness

Plot: When Ky Hernández bonded with his familiar, Zuri, his life changed forever. Their connection turned him into a practicing witch and led him to his calling as a medimagical professional. However, it totally tanked his love life—what guy would settle for eternal second place behind a parrot? So Ky keeps his witchy nature under wraps and sticks to hookups with humans, which can never go anywhere. But the mouthwatering barista at the coffee shop next door makes him thirst for more than a caffeine fix.

The charms Ewan Jones uses to appear human are inconvenient, disorienting, and . . . necessary. Ewan and his siblings are achubyddion, metaphysical healers whose powers are coveted by unscrupulous supernatural beings. And let’s face it: all supes are unscrupulous, given the right incentive. He’s grateful for the protections that hide his little family, and for the barista job that keeps them housed and fed. He’s just so lonely. And his regular, Ky, the super-hot, commitment-averse EMT, seems like the perfect candidate for a one-night shot at intimacy. After all, humans are no threat.

It takes a clumsy coffee shop intern, a mysterious werewolf epidemic, and one snarky parrot to unravel their pasts—and give them a chance at a future.

10/10 on the Rainbow Scale™ 🌈: don't you guys hate miscommunication as a trope? BECAUSE I DO 😭😭😭 so much shit could be avoided if people just TALKED TO EACH OTHER. Jokes aside, I understand that Ewan and his family cut themselves off from the supe community when they went into hiding, but hearing them talk about Alun like he's a monster and the fact that they were still living in fear because they didn't know they didn't have to anymore was heartbreaking. Bonus points for my babies Jonathan and David being there.

[groovinrightalong]

Back again with more!!!

Here is another bonus story for you lovelies from my Rocks Wolves and the Moon AU! This one is set within the og fic, Desperate Times!

Synopsis: Quirin said he’d always be there for his son.

All he’s seemed to do is fail him.

There was a soft crying coming from upstairs.

Quirin looked up from what he’d been doing, glancing toward the ceiling. Immediately, he set aside the letter and stood, hurrying up the stairs. The crying grew louder as he drew closer, until he was outside his bedroom. He opened the door carefully, peering into the room.

The high pitched cries were coming from the bassinet.

Clicking his tongue, he crossed the room, reaching in to collect the wriggling child. The baby settled some in his hold, cries fading into sniffles, and large, sad blue eyes stared up at him.

“Oh, it’s okay,” he cooed, bouncing the two-month old gently. “Papa’s here. Your dad’s got you.” He sat down on the edge of his bed, cradling the boy to his chest. “Where’s your smile, little one?”

The baby wiggled in his grasp, blinking up at him. Quirin brushed his thumb against his soft cheek, running his fingers back through the thick tufts of black hair, and that small patch of blue. The infant leaned into the touch, cooing and wrapping his tiny arms around the man’s hand. His lips quirked up in a gummy smile.

“There’s my happy boy!” Quirin laughed, leaning down to nuzzle the baby’s nose. The child squealed, squeezing his hand. The father pressed a kiss to his forehead, drawing back with a soft smile. “There’s that Varian smile.” His son squirmed some more, excited now that he was in his father’s arms. A chubby hand reached for his chin, brushing against the scruff he’d let grow.

The man sighed, pulling back enough that he could glance about the room. The letter from a few days ago was still on the bedside table, signed in his wife’s friend’s script.

“Dad’s here,” he mumbled, staring sorrowfully at the paper he’d crinkled, after reading over and over again. “Your dad’s right here.” The infant cooed, hand brushing against the fuzzy vest he wore. Quirin’s eyes returned to his son, to his only living family.

He cupped that chubby little face with his free hand, wiping away the remaining tears.

“I’ll always be right here, son,” he whispered. “Your dad’s never gonna leave you. He’ll always be here for you. Always.”

—

The room was dark. It had been a while since anyone had come in or out, the last being the princess’s boyfriend. It had been… hours, and Quirin hadn’t moved a muscle.

How could he leave, when his own son was laid up in an infirmary bed?

The boy looked so small under all those bandages and covers. So gaunt and frail, skin clammy from blood loss. A large bed, and a tiny child.

His baby.

Quirin buried his face in his hands, feeling twice his age. The events of the night weighed heavy on his mind, replaying every time he closed his eyes. His son, his only child… he’d nearly died tonight.

And it was all his fault.

How long had he let this go on? How long had Varian been hurting, and he’d failed to notice? His boy had been a monster- no, a werewolf, for over a month now. How could he have missed the changes in behavior? How could he have ignored all the signs?

How could he have driven his son to such a desperate point as to take on a curse?

What kind of father was that? His fourteen year old son had seen his situation, and he’d seen a solution that no sane person would ever even consider, and he’d decided it was the better option. Fourteen- he was still so young. And if the princess and her friends were to be believed, this was a permanent thing. He’d be stuck with this forever. Fourteen was far too young to make such a life altering decision.

His baby boy was cursed for the rest of his life, and the only one to blame was himself. He’d left Varian on his own for so long that the boy had clung to any out he could find. He’d known, apparently, that there was no backing out of it. He’d known before he agreed.

And he still agreed.

And now look at him. Only hours out of an emergency surgery to remove a crossbow bolt out of his shoulder. His breaths were shallow, hardly audible over the silence of the room. His bangs were stuck to his forehead, greasy with sweat and tears. His shirt was gone, torso nearly covered in bandages. His arms lay limp against the covers, the rest of his body swallowed in them.

The physician didn’t even know where his health would go. They claimed he’d begun to heal around the bolt before it had even been removed. He could be like this for a few mere hours, or days, or even weeks. Because of his… condition, it was unpredictable. None of the staff had ever seen anything like it.

Quirin rubbed at his eyes, staring forlornly at the fragile body in the bed. A large hand reached for the small one, bare for once. Without his apron and those leather gloves, he looked even tinier. He looked breakable. Like all Quirin had to do was touch him, and he’d shatter.

The hand retracted, hovering in the air.

From within the bed, the boy shifted, eyes squeezing tighter. He moaned in his sleep, head falling to the side. Reflexively, Quirin reached to brush the hair out of his eyes.

When he pulled away, bleary blue eyes were staring up at him.

“Dad?” Varian mumbled, squinting. Quirin felt his heart stutter.

“Varian,” he whispered, hand falling to his lap. “Sorry, son. I- I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“Daddy,” the boy whimpered, eyes misting over with tears again. Panic struck the large man, immediately leaning over his hurting child. A trembling hand reached up from the covers, and he took it, squeezing gently. The boy choked on a sob, squeezing his eyes shut.

“Shh.” Quirin ran his free hand through his greasy black locks, smoothing them out. “It’s okay. I’m here.”

“I- I’m so sorry,” Varian cried, curling into the hand. “I’m so sorry.”

“No,” Quirin hushed. “No, you don’t need to apologize. Remember? You’re not in any trouble. None of this… none of this was your fault.”

“Yes it is!” His child sobbed, tears dribbling down his pale cheeks. “It is! I- I hurt people! I almost killed people. I’m a- a- a monster.”

“No,” Quirin said a little more sternly, cupping Varian’s face with his free hand. “I know tonight was scary, and we all did things we regret. But listen to me.” He waited a moment, making certain Varian was paying attention. “You are not a monster. You are my son. And- and you are loved. You’re so loved. No one here thinks you’re a monster. The princess and her friends- they’ve done everything they can to make sure you’re okay. They care about you, Varian. I care about you.”

Varian cried out as though his words hurt him, squeezing his dad’s hand. It was shockingly strong, considering his physical state, but Quirin didn’t flinch. The boy dissolved into hysterics, openly sobbing, and he just sat there, hand gripping his son’s tightly.

“I’m the one who should be sorry,” he said softly, rubbing his thumb against the back of the boy’s hand. “This is my fault. It’s all my fault. You’re only a boy, and I’ve left you to fend for yourself for far too long. I’m the one who didn’t trust you with the black rocks. I didn’t listen to you. You… you were only trying to help.” He squeezed his eyes shut, willing away his own tears. “You were only ever trying to help. Everything you’ve ever done, it was with noble intent. You have such a big heart. You’re always trying to help everybody, and I’ve always just cast you aside. Every failed experiment, I should have been there to support you. But all I ever did was criticize you and make you feel unappreciated.”

“I’ve failed you as a father,” he continued, words tumbling out of him. “I swore I’d always be there for you, but I’ve only ever pushed you away. I’ve hurt you so many times, and yet you always come back to me. You’re always right there. Every night, I come home and you have dinner set and ready. Every morning, I wake up and you’ve already cleaned my clothes for me. I’m supposed to take care of you, and you’ve been the one taking care of me. And I’ve never even thanked you.”

“And now- and now I’ve hurt you irreversibly. I made you feel so alone, so desperate, and now you’re- you’re-“ He blinked up at the ceiling, tears welling in his eyes. “And now you’re stuck like this, and it’s all my fault. I’m sorry, son. I’m so, so sorry.” He squeezed his child’s hand, pressing his forehead against the clammy skin.

Another hand rose and patted his head. He blinked, looking back up at the boy. His eyes were still swimming with tears, but there was a small smile on his face. It was a sad one, but it was one nonetheless.

“I-“ Varian inhaled shakily, sinking further into his pillow. “I forgive you, Dad.”

“What?” He asked, voice hoarse and hushed. Varian smiled a little more, squeezing his hand.

“I forgive you,” he repeated. “And I- I’ve never minded, helping you out. I love you.”

“I love you too, son,” Quirin near sobbed, pressing a kiss to the boy’s knuckles. “I love you so much. More than you could ever know.” Varian tried to sit up and hissed, sinking back into the bed. Bottom lip quivering, he reached out with both arms, a longing look in his eyes.

Carefully, Quirin leaned down and embraced his son, cradling him against his chest. He pressed a kiss to the top of his head, feeling the small body shiver against him.

“I’ll- I’ll always be here,” he swore, holding his baby close. “I swear. I’ll never leave you again.”

And this time, he was going to stick to that promise.

[bubbyleh]

trick or treat!

Needless to say, when Darnold gives them all their Illusion Charms, Gordon is shocked. With the power of magic, he suddenly looks just as he did on his last night alive, like there’s blood in his veins and air in his lungs. Looking at his reflection when he wears the charm almost makes his head spin.

Joshua, meanwhile, has the exact opposite reaction. He gets all giddy, grabbing onto his face and giggling as he stomps his feet. And his happy little shouting of, “Look, Daddy! Look!” pretty much yanked Gordon right out of his shock.

And an idea plants itself in his mind. An idea that means, unfortunately, he’s going to have to get used to looking like a human again.

†††

Gordon finds Joshua sitting on the floor of the den, playing with his cowboy toys with Bubby and Coomer. Joshua mimes the sound of an explosion and launches his cowboy right into the air, causing his two grandparents to laugh.

“Hey there,” Gordon sits with the rest of them. “What’s going on here?”

Joshua gasps, immediately rushing to begin climbing all over Gordon. “Daddy! Daddy! The cowboy is going to space! He’s going to the moon!”

“The moon?” Gordon asks.

“It’s the best place to go,” Bubby explains. Coomer nods sagely beside him.

Suddenly realizing the time, Gordon addresses Bubby and Coomer. “You guys are usually asleep by now. Joshie isn’t keeping you up, is he?”

Bubby rubs their arm. “Oh, well, actually-”

Coomer interjects, raising a finger as he speaks. “Since Darnold’s Illusion Charm has the added bonus of protecting me from the sunlight, I thought it would be a great idea to try and get on the same schedule as the rest of you!”

“It’s kind of lonely when you’re the only two awake,” Bubby mumbles, crossing their arms.

Gordon chuckles. “Well, since you aren’t sleeping…” He wraps an arm around Joshua, pulling him in close. “I thought of something we could do, now.”

†††

Joshua loves Gordon’s idea. The kid is technically two-hundred and seven years old, but only now is he finally going to get to go trick or treating for the first time! Not only that, everyone is on board with going costume shopping today. It quickly becomes a family trip to Spirit Halloween, rest in peace to the poor retail worker.

They end up finding about a million different cowboy costumes for Joshua to try on, but the second Joshua points out an adult cowboy costume, Gordon and Benrey decide they need to dress up with their son.

It takes a while, but eventually, everyone makes their purchases and heads back to the crypt. Upon seeing the sheer volume of shopping bags, Joshua’s eyes light up.

“Let’s do a fashion show!” Joshua shouts, jumping up and down. “We can show off all our fun costumes before we dress up!”

Bubby is almost too excited.

†††

Gordon knew he should have expected something dorky and cute after Tommy and Darnold disappeared into the realm of couple’s costumes. But somehow they managed to blow his expectations right out of the water with matching carrot and peas costumes. They even somehow managed to find Sunkist a matching pumpkin costume.

“Wow,” Gordon states as Joshua gives the best applause he can. He feels a little silly, being one in an audience of three cowboys, but Benrey nudges him into clapping as well.

“So, what do you think?” Darnold asks. The green of the peas costume provides an interesting contrast to his literally orange glowing eyes.

“Me ‘n Feetman in a year,” Benrey comments.

“I’m not wearing their hand-me-down costumes next year,” Gordon deadpans.

Benrey rolls his eyes. “Ugh.”

Taking that as a compliment, Tommy and Darnold join the audience on the floor. Sunkist flops down next to them, lazily wagging her tail.

Forzen comes out of the door to the kitchen next, wearing a striped shirt, suspenders, and a black beret. Honestly, he’d look like the perfect mime if it wasn’t for his lack of makeup.

“I, uh, only have so much paint,” he sheepishly explains. “And it’s bad for my gills, so I wanna wear it with the illusion.”

Joshua nods understandingly, offering a few polite claps of his hands as Forzen settles on the couch behind him.

A hand forces Coomer, dressed as a turtle, out of the kitchen next, and he offers a small wave. “Hello, Gordon!”

“Hi.” Gordon waves back.

“Bubby wanted me to go next so I would cheer for them in the audience!”

“Turtle!” Joshua shouts.

“Excellent animal identification skills, Joshua,” Coomer notes as he sits down besides Gordon and the child. “Now can you guess this next one?”

And with a great flourish, throwing down firecrackers that Gordon’s very sure they all agreed not to set off in the house, Bubby appears. They have their hands on their hips as they flaunt their frog costume.

“Oh! Frog?” Joshua looks to Coomer for confirmation, who nods.

Once they’re satisfied with their voguing, Bubby settles down next to Coomer.

“Wait,” Gordon says. “I thought you were the last-”

He’s interrupted by Gman exiting the kitchen, wearing a sheet with holes cut into it over his head.

Gordon pauses for a moment. He blinks.

Then, Joshua starts laughing. And he can’t help but join in. Soon enough, all of them are laughing with each other, at the sheer ridiculousness of a sheet ghost werewolf.

†††

“Trick or treat!”

The old lady who answers the door for Joshua smiles at him, glancing back at the group of disguising monsters standing on the sidewalk in front of her house. Gordon politely ignores the crappy zombie decorations littering the lawn. Benrey, meanwhile, keeps bugging Bubby about their frog costume, while Coomer grins between them. Tommy and Darnold seem more focused on stopping Sunkist from running off to introduce herself to every other trick or treater on the sleep, and Gman’s just happy to be there.

“Goodness!” she grins. “You have quite a lot of adults with you, don’t you, cowboy?”

Joshua nods excitedly. “They were all so excited to come with! I’m gonna share my candy with them!”

And though it’s a heartwarming scene, a terrible realization settles in Gordon’s stomach. One that, maybe, he should have taken into account earlier.

Joshua can’t eat candy.

[stereksecretsanta]

Merry Christmas, saundrasays!

For @saundrasays <3

Rating: Mature (For Implied Violence, Implied Sexual Content, Off Screen OC Deaths)

Read On AO3

*****

Fault Line

The night it happened had been horrifying. They’d been outnumbered. Almost the entirety of the pack had been injured. With Scott busying fighting off two werewolves, the Alpha of the invading pack had set his sights on Derek. When the Alpha had died it was with a look of shock frozen on his sharp features. The moment Derek’s eyes had flared blood red the battle was won. They’d sent the broken pack out of Beacon Hills with their metaphorical tail between their legs. All of them had scattered sluggishly afterward, determined to tend to their wounds and to ignore the new problem of having two Alphas. 

The next day he’d gone to see Derek only to discover him packing. When he’d confronted the werewolf about his abrupt departure, it had gotten him what he’d expected. They’d tried this before. It didn’t work. Instead of causing the pack problems, Derek was determined to remove himself to eliminate any potential complications. They’d just started dating at that point. When he’d brought it up, the other man had looked guilty. What he couldn’t help noticing though was the look of determination also stayed. As much as Derek didn’t want to lose what they were building, he wouldn’t ask him to abandon Scott at the same time. 

He’d called him an idiot and had texted his best friend. It had Scott immediately coming to the loft. This led to a four-hour discussion that eventually had Derek folding like a house of cards. That night he’d “accidentally” fallen asleep on the couch at the loft. When he’d woken up to the smell of breakfast and an apology the fear that Derek would sneak off faded. The following days were tense. Over the years, Derek had sort of fallen into the role of a mentor. It was a role he’d confessed one quiet evening to liking very much. 

Once again having the pressure of a pack on his shoulders wasn’t something he wanted. The responsibility was something he’d never wanted. At the time of Peter’s defeat though, he’d believed it was a role he needed to step into. When it was clear that Scott could handle it, that he wasn’t needed, letting go of the authority had come naturally. The confession had prompted him to tell Derek that wasn’t true. No matter what Scott thought at the time, Derek had been needed. He always had been. That hadn’t changed. Although the other man hadn’t looked convinced, he’d kissed his boyfriend sweetly until the look of doubt disappeared. 

As the days slipped into months, things got easier. The two Alphas found a way to restore their balance despite their instincts. It helped for Derek to remember that Scott was younger, that the other man was still learning. With this in mind, his new stronger territorial instincts were willing to give the “cub” more leeway. The mentor relationship they’d established morphed slightly. At its core, it became something more familial. Instead of seeing Scott as a fellow wolf, he’d taken on the role of a younger brother. Considering Derek had never had a brother before it was a little humbling to witness. 

There wasn’t also a rush or a strong need to build a pack. The danger Derek faced years ago wasn’t present this time around. For the most part, the McCall pack was strong. It was big enough to protect the town. As more time passed, they’d also made allies in other territories. When the need to follow Monroe surfaced, the traveling had produced the unexpected bonus. It’s funny how that necessity had fostered such a positive change. All of this meant that Derek could take his time to expand his fledgling pack. 

For the longest time, it was just the three of them. Although it shouldn’t be possible, he’d assured his boyfriend that he was in both packs. This meant that, by proxy, his father was in the Hale pack too. That was something Derek wasn’t convinced of either. Instead of acknowledging that, however, he’d only stubbornly change the subject. The first betas to join them were two orphans. They’d been in Kansas chasing after a Monroe offshoot of new hunters. There was a tiny pack in a small town to the northwest. It was a pack that had been building a legacy despite its size. 

The minimal head start was all the hunters needed. In one swift strike, they’d taken down the Bridges pack completely. Of the small group, only a young boy and his younger sister had been left standing. When Derek looked at the Stone siblings there was a painful sort of recognition in his gaze. The boy had been holding the small girl protectively, the minimal weight of the toddler barely keeping him steady. He'd been the one to gently question the older boy. It was enough to identify them as family as well as to get their names. The boy was Lucas and his sister was Avery. They’d later discovered they were seven and three respectively. 

Immediately Lucas had taken to Derek and Avery had clung to him like a limpet. During the drive home, his boyfriend had been subtly trying to promote Scott’s pack. It hadn’t worked. The two young werewolves had already become attached. When he hadn’t accepted them, it hadn’t gone over well. It was seen as a rejection and Lucas wanted to leave Beacon Hills entirely. After a long, tearful discussion, he’d been convinced to stay. At the same time, Derek had wavered enough to accept them into his pack. 

In a lot of ways, their youth had plagued Derek at first. If he couldn’t even protect teenagers, how was he supposed to protect two children? It had taken time to get him to relax even slightly. The reassurance from him as well as his Dad didn’t hurt. They could get hurt, yes. What made it less likely was Derek, him, his Dad, an entire established pack, two cops and an FBI Agent looking out for them. Although it wasn’t infallible, that certainly helped. The next beta to join them was a young man, about a year younger than Derek from Washington. 

As was common with Scott now, Brendon Mathias had come to them seeking a pack. After arriving it was Derek who he’d connected with the easiest. It had the omega choosing to join the rebuilding Hale pack. The next few betas arrived in the same way. At first it was Scott’s reputation alone that drew them to town. This only morphed over time. It wasn’t long before omegas started to randomly mention them all by name. Surprisingly, even he'd gained a few admirers. When his reputation, his exploits really, had managed to draw in an omega he'd been baffled. It was strange to think he could attract something other than trouble. 

The first omega to mention him by name, Darius Caden, had traveled to Beacon Hills from New York. He was about five years his junior, had jet black hair, a solid frame and a wicked mouth. It was often settled into a crooked grin, holding back kind humor or ready to lob out a bitingly sarcastic comment. They'd become thick as thieves pretty much right away. In the end though, he'd joined Scott's pack as they'd also developed a quick kinship. The fact that Darius was almost as wild as he used to be had probably fostered a sense of familiarity. So maybe what he'd initially thought wasn't true. Maybe he <i>was</i> still attracting trouble. 

What all of this boiled down to was that the Hale pack was rapidly expanding. With its size increasing, Derek had started to wear his confidence like a shield. To outside observers it seemed solid. He wasn’t fooled. Over the years, he’d become adept at reading his boyfriend’s state of mind. The confidence Derek was exuding was brittle. All it would take was one hard blow for it to shatter. In anticipation of this happening, he’d been trying for months to build up the other man’s confidence. He’d hoped that when it did inevitably happen that Derek would still be left standing. 

Unfortunately, all of the preparation hadn’t helped. When the metaphorical blow had come, as he knew it would, the insecurity on Derek’s features had been plain. In an effort to save face he’d retreated. The pack had wanted to follow but he’d encouraged them to hang back. They wouldn’t return to the loft until they got his leeway. It left the younger members with nowhere to stay. That problem was resolved by Scott stepping in to invite them to the McCall pack house. Although he could tell they didn’t want to be away from Derek, over time they’d come to grow close to Scott as well. He’d assured all of them that everything would be fine. 

With an encouraging smile in place, he’d left the Preserve to seek out his wayward boyfriend in his chosen place of seclusion. The door to the loft had come open with the normal level of ear-piercing noise. It did nothing to garner Derek’s attention. Instead, he stayed where he was by the large bay of windows, his face turned away from the room and his shoulders tight with tension. After closing the door, he moved further into the room. The noise of his quiet footfalls stopped when they stood inches apart. He didn’t say anything at first, his squinted gaze simply examining the other man’s blank expression. 

All he could see was the right side of Derek’s face. It was enough to tell him that the normally intense gaze was sightless. When the silence stretched on without pause, he spoke up in a low soothing murmur. “What happened tonight wasn’t your fault.” The tension in Derek’s shoulders seemed to flood into the rest of his body. There was a tremble in his jaw which hinted at him clenching his teeth. “You know that’s not true.” He paused a moment. It wasn’t so much to think on the words. Nothing in him believed that he’d been mistaken. 

At the same time, too quick of a response would have Derek dismissing his rebuttal. It would lead his boyfriend to believe that he was brushing off his valid concern. “You’re wrong. None of us could have anticipated what happened. It wasn’t your fault.” As soon as the words were out, the other man looked toward him with an angered expression. “Yes, it was. That attack…it almost got Brendon killed.” There was a pause then as his boyfriend internally scrambled. He waited. The expression on Derek’s face was angered as well as frustrated. Underneath the look was a measure of helplessness as though he wasn’t sure how to voice what he needed to say. That alone kept him silent. 

It was important that Derek felt heard. He knew what it was like to feel invisible, unimportant. Until they’d gotten together, he’d never realized how often the other man had felt the same way. A hard inward breath preceded Derek continuing in a biting tone. “I’m the Alpha. It’s <i>my job</i> to anticipate an attack. The protection of the pack is my responsibility. What happened tonight…it was stupid. It should have never happened.” He crossed his arms loosely, gripping his biceps with his hands. They itched to reach out, to pull his boyfriend into a comforting embrace. The time for that hadn’t arrived yet. It didn’t stop the other man’s agitation from making him jittery. 

“We did our research. There was nothing in the lore about that <i>thing</i> being able to spit venom. You couldn’t have known.” When Derek continued, it was almost as though he hadn’t spoken. “I wasn’t prepared. That was bad enough but then…” The pause nearly had him closing his eyes. He knew what was coming next. “If it wasn’t for Scott then Brendon would be dead right now. Another Alpha had to do what I couldn’t.” At the words Derek’s head dipped down. 

His eyebrows pinched together at the look that settled on the much-loved face. As unlikely as it was, the other man looked like he was going to be ill. They met gazes briefly when his boyfriend continued. “I can’t do this. It was a mistake.” The words were barely out before Derek’s gaze returned to the floor. A second later, he turned away from the window and quickly moved further into the interior of the loft. At the retreat he called out gently. “Hey.” It didn’t garner a response. His gaze followed Derek as he moved toward a dresser. The top drawer was yanked open roughly. Once that was done, his boyfriend abandoned it to move toward the closet. 

This is when he moved as well, making his way briskly across the room. “Derek.” When his boyfriend turned back toward the dresser there was a duffle in his hand. As disappointing as it was to see, he couldn’t really say that he was surprised. A few shirts were hastily shoved in the dark interior. He’d just reached the other man’s side when he delved back into the open drawer. With a quick tug, he yanked the bag out of Derek’s hand. “What are you doing? Stop.” The hand that shot out for the bag was easily evaded. He held the duffle away for a moment only to toss it toward the bed. As soon as it landed, Derek moved to walk toward the bed. 

Immediately he stepped in his path with a hand unraised. It pressed lightly into his boyfriend’s chest to keep him in place. The fact that Derek didn’t earnestly try to escape said a lot. What also said a lot was the way that the other man wouldn’t meet his gaze. “I need to leave.” He shot the words down as soon as they were out. “No, you don’t. You’re a good Alpha, Derek.” At that, his boyfriend tried to sidestep his location. When he countered, his hands landed lightly on Derek’s upper arms. “Stop it. Do you hear me? This is crazy.” 

There was a tremulous quality to the other man’s voice when he responded on a sigh. “Stiles.” Lifting his hands, he used them to cradle Derek’s face. The slight pressure he implemented encouraged his boyfriend to meet his gaze. “Hey, look at me.” In Derek’s face, in his frame, was an unmistakable hesitation. Trying to encourage the connection, he slid both of his thumbs soothingly over the defined jawline. “Come on, big guy. You don’t ever have to hide from me. You know that.” The gaze did connect with his at that, although a heavy dose of hesitation remained. “I’m not hiding. I just…I’m…” 

When the words trailed off, he spoke up in a soothing tone. “You’re what, honey?” Instead of maintaining their gaze, Derek looked off to the side. “I’m ashamed.” It took everything he had not to sigh. It was only knowing that his boyfriend would take it wrong that kept the sound at bay. He wasn’t frustrated with Derek so much as feeling a little heartbroken. “You have nothing to be ashamed of.” At that the eyes returned. They were blazing with anger, the thick eyebrows now pulled together tightly. 

His hands tightened their grip before the other man could try to shake off the hold. When he quickly spoke again it was firmly, his voice leaded with determination. “We are in this together. All of us. There is no reason for you to be ashamed. It doesn’t matter if Scott saved Brendon.” The declaration had Derek’s mouth coming open. He quickly cut him off. “He wouldn’t even be here to save Brendon if it wasn’t for you. I’m quickly losing count of the number of times you’ve saved all of us. We are a team, Derek. That’s what we do. We save each other. 

Tonight, when Brendon was attacked Scott was closer. It could have been you who stepped in. It could have been anyone. The packs might be split in two but we’re one pack in spirit. If one of use goes down, it affects us all. As hard as it is to say, even then it might not be anyone’s fault. Tonight was a win.” There was a look of disbelief on Derek’s face, both of his wrists being taken into a slightly rough grip. “How can you say that?” He leaned forward abruptly until their foreheads rested together. The air in his lungs escaped on a soft gust of breath. 

When he spoke it was softly, his eyes falling closed. “All of us walked away from it in one piece. That’s enough.” There was a trembling in the hands wrapped around his wrists. It was there and gone in an instant. He knew why a moment later when he was pulled into an embrace. The movement had him melting into a strong chest, his hands falling to allow him to wrap his arms around Derek’s neck. When he felt a brush against his cheek, all he did was tilt his head up into the movement. It was a heavy touch. This had the other man’s stubble scraping heavily against his skin. All he felt was a deep abiding tenderness. 

The urgent presses gave way to a kiss. It seemed as natural as breathing. One moment Derek was rubbing against his cheek and the next their lips were slotted together in a desperate kiss. He tightened his grip on his boyfriend’s neck even as he was pushed backward. The movement of his feet was awkward. If Derek didn’t have a firm grip on his waist, he didn’t doubt that he would have tripped. When his feet did eventually leave the floor, it was for his back to collide gently with the bed. They went down together, his boyfriend draped over him fully. 

The kiss ended only for Derek to lean away a little. In his gaze was some hesitance, hedged with a slight desperation that made his heart ache. “Is this okay? Can we…do you want…?” At the words, he loosened his grip a little and lightly touched his fingertips to his lover’s lips. It was his touch that had the words fading away. The look he leveled Derek with was open. He tried to put everything he was feeling into the soft gaze. “Of course. Always.” There was a look like pain that creased the other man’s features. It had him stroking from his lips up over his cheek with his fingertips. “I love you, Derek. Nothing is going to change that. I promise.” 

Immediately Derek shook his head. “You don’t know that. What if I hurt you or we grow apart? What if you…change your mind?” He could see what had been left unsaid. What if he was disappointed? What if he fell out of love? They were on their way to mating. Although Derek didn’t know he knew that, it had been revealed early on by Peter. In a rare show of concern, Peter had warned him that Derek was already heavily invested. It wouldn’t take much for Derek to want to solidify their relationship. He knew what that meant. In his research mating had come up often. The fact that it was so serious was likely why. 

Once a mating happened, it was a life-long commitment. If this was going to end, he’d likely be the one to cut ties. What this meant was that it wasn’t going to end. This was something he’d wanted for a long time. When they were both ready, he would happily take Derek as a mate. For now, he didn’t say as much. They were still finding their way and both of them needed the time. In the interim, if Derek tried to take off, he’d simply follow. One way or another his lover would come to understand he wasn’t in this alone. With conviction, he spoke again. “I promise.” 

There was a moment of seeming instability before Derek leaned down to resume their kiss. The touch had only just started when he felt frantic hands pulling at his clothes. He wiggled on the bed to help the process along. When it was needed, he leaned up or moved his arms. It was clumsy and awkward. Truthfully, the scattered touches weren’t all that successful. Long minutes later, they’d only managed to remove his jacket and his flannel overshirt. The fabric was thrown off the side of bed. At the sound of it hitting the floor, Derek pulled out of the kiss with a slow outward breath. 

He looked up as the other man hovered over his upper body with his eyes closed. When Derek’s eyes came open the irises were bright red. “Stiles, can I…?” The question ended with his boyfriend tugging down the collar of his shirt. It exposed a large section of his shoulder. He wasn’t really sure what Derek wanted. Thankfully, it didn’t really matter. “Whatever you need, honey.” At first Derek didn’t move or speak, all he did was search his gaze. It was just as he was getting ready to question the delay when his boyfriend spoke again. “I don’t want to take anything, Stiles. I want you to give it.” 

He knew right away that the distinction was important. At the same time, the offer he’d given had basically covered all of the bases. The smile that came to his face was gentle. “Then it’s yours, love.” With a heady groan, his boyfriend leaned down to bury his face against the join of his neck. That was where Derek settled. There was a nuzzle into the space and the feeling of deep inhales against his skin. The passion between them hadn’t lessened. They were close enough that he could feel that Derek was as affected as he was from their activities. Even so, this moment felt different. 

What it hinted at was a need for reassurance, for comfort and for acceptance. He settled his hand on the back on his boyfriend’s head lightly. Turning slightly against the pillow, he placed a tiny kiss in the dark hair. When he spoke, he did so in a whisper. He didn’t worry for a second that the words wouldn’t be heard clearly. “I love you, Derek. I’m yours and your mine. You’re not alone anymore. You haven’t been for a very long time.” Although it was soft, he knew he heard a whimper. All he did was stroke his hands up and down the strong back in warm soothing strokes. 

The gentle nuzzling eventually turned heated. He tipped his head back at the change and bared his throat in a blatant show of submission. They were equals. From the beginning, that’s how it had been. He wasn’t about to be beholden to pack dynamics. Although he’d never outright said it, Derek had never tried to box him into a mold either. That was how it was between mates. It was a marriage of equals. Whether Derek viewed them this way from the beginning or he'd simply picked up on his preferences, he didn’t know. All he did know was that sometimes his boyfriend needed to feel in control. 

There were nights when he needed that too. Where there was a need, they both provided. After what had happened, he knew that Derek felt like things were completely out of his control. If he could ground the other man a little, that was something he was happy to do. As expected, the show of trust had his boyfriend’s instincts flaring to life. The still soft touches became frantic once again. All he did was smile gently, sliding his hands slowly over Derek’s back and letting his lover lead them in a now familiar dance.

When they woke up the next morning, things were better. They weren’t great but they were better. The pack stayed away most of the day. He’d advised against any immediate interaction. Instead, he’d spent the day keeping Derek close and showering him with praise. When the pack did visit it was late in the day. It was also brief. A few days later, things were getting back to normal. They younger pack members were no longer staying with Scott and had returned to occupy the spare room upstairs. The arrangement wasn’t ideal. 

It left them little time for intimacy. This lack of privacy was actually the main reason that Derek was house hunting. Trying to rebuild a pack house had been put off for now. Whenever his boyfriend really thought about it, the pain he still carried would always surface. He’d encouraged Derek to explore other avenues for now. The land would always be there. After a full week, things were as back to normal as they ever were. It was a Saturday, so he was spending the day at the loft. The sun was high overhead outside, filling the wide-open space with golden light. 

In front of him were the two children. They were running around the living room and laughing joyfully as they played a made-up game. To his right Derek was wedged into the corner of the sofa. The space between them was minimal, his upper torso leaning in his boyfriend’s direction and his right arm resting behind Derek’s shoulders on the couch. With winter fast approaching, it was quickly decided that they’d stay indoors today. Even with the sun brightly shining there was still a distinct chill in the air. He laughed lightly at the children’s antics. 

“Stiles.” The sound of his name had him looking in the other man’s direction. “Yeah.” At first Derek didn’t say anything. All he did was look deeply into his eyes. It left him slightly concerned, wondering if his boyfriend needed some reassurance. In a subtle smooth motion, he lifted his hand until he could brush over the back of Derek’s head. “What is it, honey?” There was a shift that indicated his boyfriend was going to speak. It was at that exact moment that there was a knock at the door. Both of them looked in that direction. When Lucas spoke, it had both of them looking toward the children. “Apa?” 

He couldn’t resist smiling at the name. The new title had been coined by Avery. It was the young girl’s attempt at calling Derek her Alpha. The affection behind it, however, radiated with father. In short order, the nickname had also been picked up by Lucas. Whenever either of them said the word, he couldn’t help feeling a wash of affection. Its issuance was something that left Derek flustered and him delighted. That was all he said but it was all that was needed. The nod Derek sent him was gently encouraging. It was enough to have Lucas sprinting toward the door. About a second later Avery toddled after her older brother. 

They watched as the excited boy pulled open the door expertly. When it revealed Brendon, Lucas was greeted with a wide smile. “Hey there, sport! How are you doing?” The young boy answered easily with a big smile in return. “Good.” Even as the conversation commenced, Brendon moved inside only for more pack members to filter in. He climbed to his feet at seeing all of their guest. When he got close enough, he scooped up Avery who squealed delightedly at all of the company. The Hale pack quickly gave way to the McCall pack. This surprised him enough to show. 

That earned him a laugh from Scott that sounded humorous. They got close enough to share a one-armed hug. When they withdrew, his best friend held up the pack of hot dog buns he’d been holding. “It seemed like a good day for an indoor barbeque. Surprise!” There was a look of mild hesitation on Scott’s face when he stopped speaking. It was obvious that he wasn’t one hundred percent sure that Derek wouldn’t toss them all out of their ear. He smiled easily at the announcement. This was just what the doctor ordered. 

Looking toward his boyfriend, he was happy to see that he looked amicable to the idea. After an exuberant greeting by everyone, the two conjoined packs quickly spread out in the loft. A few minutes later, there were too many werewolves in the kitchen. This translated to some of the group branching off to set the table. The adults not occupied with paper plates, napkins, solo cups and plastic cutlery organized their edible haul. Within a few minutes the surface of the wood table was barely visible. 

Instead of being able to help, they’d quickly been redirected back to the living room. It had them retaking their seat. As soon as he was settled, Avery had wiggled to be set down. He put her down without a fuss. The previous game was resuming, so it was understandable she wouldn’t want to miss out. This time around the two youngest pack members had a few adults roped into their game. He smiled as he watched them, the expression only widening when his Dad was pulled into the fray. When he looked toward Derek, he was sent a small smile. 

The connection was broken a moment later in order for them to watch the kids. This had him lifting his hand again to resume his previous interrupted touch. They couldn’t talk currently but he could still offer up some support. The food being finished had a new sort of chaos breaking out in the room. Considering they were a little short on space, they divided up slightly to eat. The children were placed at the table. This meant that both him and Derek were seated close by to assist. Although Lucas didn’t need much help, having him close to his sister was common. 

The food was traditional Barbeque fare with a choice of either Hot Dogs, Hamburgers or Cheeseburgers as a main course. He’d opted for a Cheeseburger and a Hot Dog. It was delicious. As he’d happily stuffed his face, he’d eyed the two Cheeseburgers on his Dad’s plate. In the end he didn’t say anything. It was a special occasion. The two young werewolves wolfed down their food with all the enthusiasm one would expect from growing children. They enjoyed their food but finished quickly. This wasn’t surprising considering they had a game in progress. 

At first, they played on their own but managed to snag a few of their packmates once they were finished eating. He went back for seconds. It was pretty much the only reason he wasn’t currently playing in the living room. Once everyone was done eating, the food was left for the moment to allow everyone to settle in. They quickly fell into conversation. The left-overs were picked at slowly as time wore on. This pretty much happened the entire time they spoke. With the exception of refrigerated items, the rest of it was always within reach. 

At one point, Derek quietly excused himself and made his escape from the room. His eyes tracked the movement, only falling away when his boyfriend went out onto the balcony. For the moment, he didn’t follow. The chances were good that the other man needed an escape from all of the noise. It was something Derek had grown up with, he’d been used to it a long time ago. Now that wasn’t the case. Although he knew the other man enjoyed having the pack close, being surrounded for a continuous chunk of time could also inspire anxiety. 

He gave it about twenty minutes before making his retreat as well. The path he took to the balcony door was purposefully meandering. It led him through the living room to check in on the children. Although he knew he could trust the pack, he wanted to gage their energy levels. They could easily get too wound up. It was harder for other pack members to notice the almost imperceptible shift. When all seemed well, he moved off with parting kisses. 

The door to the balcony came open quietly but the noise from inside followed him out. It drew Derek’s gaze. Honestly, his mere presence probably would have been enough. Even if his werewolf hearing wasn't a factor, no doubt Derek’s instincts would have come into play. He was sent a smile that was warm. The smile he sent his boyfriend in return came easy. “Hey. How are you doing?” As he spoke, he moved closer. That meant that he had Derek in his grip by the time he finished speaking. One of his hands settled on his boyfriend’s forearm and the other was rubbing his lower back in slow circles. 

The question earned him a nod. “I’m doing good. How about you?” He nodded as well, his lips pulling up into a soft smile. “I’m doing good too. Today has been a great day.” Now that he’d established that Derek was alright, he took in the view. It was getting late at this point. The sun had already started to set, painting the sky in shades of orange, pink and gold. Despite the chill in the air, it looked warm. “Stiles.” He looked toward Derek questioningly. A moment later, he understood the new prompting. It was clear in the other man’s gaze that he wanted to pick up where they’d left off earlier. 

Leaning a little closer, he looked at his boyfriend intently. This was enough to have Derek continuing. “I wanted to tell you that I’m grateful.” He let a little of his confusion surface. What this could be in reference to, he couldn’t say. That was enough to have his boyfriend smiling gently. “You’ve never given up on me. Not once.” With the understanding came a warm smile. He griped the arm under his hand comfortingly. “Why would I, love? I’ve never had any doubt that you can do anything you set your mind to.” 

The uncertainty he expected surfaced. It had his chest tightening with pain but he kept his expression warm. At the same time, he firmed his touch on the other man’s back. When Derek’s gaze flicked downward, he wasn’t surprised. What did surprise him was that it returned a moment later to meet his gaze. “I don’t feel the same way. I never have. All I can see are my failures. It’s gotten better but I’m still struggling.” With that, his boyfriend’s gaze took another slightly longer dip downward. The surprise he felt at the admission couldn’t be masked. This much vulnerability from Derek was rare. 

He didn’t have a hope of responding before his boyfriend continued with a determined tone. “You’ve helped me, so much Stiles. There’s no way I could have done this on my own. I wouldn’t be half the Alpha I am without you by my side.” The declaration had his eyebrows pinching together. “That’s not true. Who you are, what you do, is more than enough. I’m not denying that I contribute but you’re giving me too much credit. You’re a wonderful Alpha, Derek.” As was common, his reassurance was immediately shot down. 

"No, I'm not. The first time around, I was pretty terrible at it. I was never...meant to be an Alpha. I had no training. I only had lore and Peter to guide my actions. I let my fear, my mistrust dictate how I ran the pack. It was never a family. That guaranteed failure from the start. I made a lot of mistakes. I still do. I just think that I'm finally learning from them." He tightened his grip on Derek’s arm and gave it a little jostle. The movement had the other man giving him all of his attention. “That is what makes you a wonderful Alpha. You try. It’s enough.” 

A hand settled over his only to squeeze his hand gently. “Okay. If you say it’s enough then I’ll believe that.” There was a pause then as his boyfriend leaned closer. In his eyes was a look that was weighted. “I’ll believe it, as long as <i>you believe</i> your importance to me. This pack isn’t mine. It’s ours. If we never got together, who knows, maybe I would still be an Alpha. It may even have been to this pack. I don’t know. What I do know is things would have been vastly different.” 

The hand on his shifted enough to pull his hand into Derek’s chest. “Things wouldn’t have been as good as they are now. I wouldn’t have been this happy.” It was at this point that his boyfriend’s eyes fell down to his hand. There was a shyness in Derek’s posture that emphasized just how vulnerable he was feeling. “I wouldn’t have felt like I had a family again.” The words had a bolt of shock traveling through his body. In all of their progress, in the relationship as well as the pack flourishing, he’d have never expected this. He still hadn’t recovered when Derek lifted his hand enough to give it a kiss. 

“I love you, Stiles. I can’t tell you how much. Whatever I say feels…inadequate. The thing is, I need you to understand, how important you are.” When the other man looked up there was a look on concentration on his face. It was a little blurred due to the tears lining his eyes but he saw it well enough despite the distortion. “You’re always telling me how important I am to the pack. I deny it only for you to say I’m wonderful. If I shouldn’t brush off my importance then neither should you.” The smile that tugged at Derek’s lips was playful. “I don’t think that’s really fair, do you?” 

He chuckled a little. At the slight movement, twin trails of tears streaked down his face. A moment later, Derek lifted his free hand to brush over his cheek. “No, I guess not.” The hand stroked over his face twice more and another kiss was given to his hand. It was only then that his lover continued. “It’s getting a little cold. What do you think about heading back in?” He nodded slightly. The movement was enough to have Derek leaning away from the railing. In an abrupt motion, he quickly leaned forward to give the other man a kiss. 

An arm wrapped around his waist pulling him into his boyfriend’s chest automatically. When he pulled back a moment later, it was only enough to speak in a whisper. “I love you too, Derek.” The words immediately preceded another kiss. As they fell back into the gentle moment, his hands lifted to cradle his boyfriend’s face delicately. In counter another arm looped around his waist to draw him closer. In the other man’s embrace the chill in the night air felt negated by Derek’s warmth. It felt comforting, safe. Perfect. What he felt was loved.

The End