#but definitely. uh. at least in a werewolf sense.

[gaydryad]

I think I've realized that my approach to writing short stories is just, "think of a kind of average metaphor or visual image, and then keep going with it so far that it gets weird"

[nemisuki]

Trick or Treat

Third Year AU | Halloween was known to be a free pass to dress up in costumes and live out your candy fantasies. But since when was the spooky factor replaced with romance? A girl interested in the notorious blonde is determined to beat the clock before they all go their separate ways at graduation. Maybe matching costumes will do the trick…. or will that earn you a treat?

᧔o᧓ || katsuki bakugo x f!reader, no manga spoilers, no nsfw, first kiss, confession scene, werewolf bakugo for the simps, kirishima best wingman, 3k word count

When they first entered UA as freshman, it wasn’t often they spoke despite always being in close proximity to one another. She was from another world then him. Soft spoken and friendly. It was only expected of her to avoid the angry blonde and his wrath. 

It stayed that way until they entered their second year at UA. Everyone was affected by the war both physically and mentally. But the most noticeable change in character was Bakugo.

He was already making progress before the incident but this pushed him further. He wasn’t that same hot head from the first day of school. Bakugo matured in a way that made herself want to know him all over again. 

To be frank she was a little scared of him at first. But seeing him interact with his classmates made her realize he’s more than just your hot headed guy. 

So in an attempt to build a friendship with him, she started speaking to him during class (with the help of Kirishima of course). Hoping to catch a glimpse of what he’s really like. Throughout the school year different opinions circulated around him, causing her curiosity to increase with every rumor.

She doesn't remember a time when the two had a one on one conversation with each other. Honestly she doesn't even think he knows her name. Which isn't so shocking, given that Bakugo calls everyone by random nicknames. She tends to blend into the background a lot, it's in her nature. 

But today she is feeling a bit bold. 

With that in mind she manages to gain the courage to ask Kirishima for help to which he happily agrees. If she were to approach him by herself, she would definitely freeze up. Good thing Kiri somehow managed to befriend their grumpy classmate. By some miracle. 

“Hey Bakubro! You know that Y/N plays that game too?!” the red haired says with a toothy grin. Attempting to push her to initiate some conversation with the blonde. 

Quite literally.

He physically nudges her in front of Bakugos desk. 

Gee real smooth Kiri. 

She stumbles a bit but thankfully catches her balance as soon as her eyes meet Bakugos. A wave of shyness comes over her whole body as he stares her down for a moment. It was a moment of awkward silence until he broke it first. 

“Hah? You play pvp games?” Bakugo huffs out while furrowing his eyebrows in her direction. Seemingly to not quite believe Kirishima's statement. 

“U-Uh yes! I do!” she manages to squeak out but that's all she can say due to her nerves. 

With a keen eye Kirishima senses her nervousness and decides to come to the rescue, “Hey Y/N! You should play with us when we get back to the dorms. What do you say?”

Kirishima you saint! 

“Ah sure! But is that okay with you guys?” she says hesitantly while glancing at Bakugo for any sign of disapproval at the suggestion. 

The blonde catches her stare almost immediately, causing her to avert her gaze just as quick. He ponders for a moment but then sighs. Speaking in a grumble as he looks to the side “tch it doesn't matter to me.” 

“Alright then!” Kirishima says cheerfully while giving a thumbs up to Y/N to which she gives a thankful smile back. 

Spending time with Bakugo was definitely not listed on her bingo card months ago, yet here she is. A year soon has gone by and they’ve gone from mere classmates to friends. Well… at least Y/N hopes Bakugo sees her as so. It's still difficult for her to understand what he's thinking. Has she truly earned his trust yet? 

It started off with admiration. 

She doesn’t know when it happened. When her heart started racing whenever he spoke a single word to her. When she felt her eyes constantly drift to him unknowingly during class. When her fingers subconsciously itched to touch his own. 

The way he vigorously trained to improve on whatever he was doing was captivating. His will of never giving up inspired her. She thought that he was amazing. And soon… even she believed he could be number one hero in the near future. 

This feeling only grew into a small crush when she started realizing how much he’s changed in a mere few months. More patient and understanding. Though he may act distant, he was an active listener to whoever was speaking. It was cute. 

Of course his personality growth wasn't the only thing worth mentioning. He grew taller and put on more muscle in all the right areas. It was especially noticeable whenever he wore those tank tops around the dorm, she couldn't stop herself from staring. Bakugo was beautifully sculpted in every way. He was stunning to look at. 

As time passed she came to the realization that now is the best time if anything. In a few months they’ll graduate and be off working in agencies as hero trainees. They'll no longer be able to talk everyday like now. 

She didn't want to let this relationship fade back to nothing. To mere strangers again. 

So she decided that today she'll confess to him. 

Class 3A will be hosting a party tonight in celebration of Halloween. A gathering with all the third year classes given that it’s their last few months here at UA. They’re running on limited time now.

Y/N spends the majority of her time trying to look her best before it's time to head down to the common area. Given that it’s a Halloween party, she’ll be dressing up. But not just any costume. 

Thanks to Kirishima (her savior) she already knows what Bakugo will show up as. To no surprise he was completely against the idea of dressing up. But Kiri took it upon himself to buy the blonde a costume without Bakugos knowledge. 

A werewolf costume.

She doesn't know how exactly Kirishima will convince Bakugo to wear it but she’ll just have to trust him. Y/N took it upon herself to match his future look. I mean she didn't have anything else in mind anyways. Or maybe.. just maybe… this will send some sort of sign to Bakugo. 

Once she gets all dolled up, putting on extra perfume for good luck, she takes a deep breath and walks out of her room. Her hands slightly shake with nerves as she descends down the stairs to the common room where everyone is. 

Halloween decor scatters all over the place in spooky banners and themed snacks. Students in different costumes dance with one another as they sing along to the music. Everything seems so lively and Y/N smiles thanking everyone who passes by and gives her compliments on her werewolf attire. 

Her eyes look all over the dance floor as she walks towards the beverage table to pour herself some fruit punch. No sign of him. Is he not going to show after all? 

Many ideas swirl around her head causing Y/N to get lost in thought. So much so that when another hand touches her own, her heart nearly stops at the sudden warm sensation.

“That’s not juice. Don't drink that” he mumbles as he lifts his hand from hers to grab an empty red cup for himself. Her head snaps up to look at him, only to see Bakugo already looking at her with those piercing red eyes. A neutral expression on his face, not breaking eye contact whatsoever.

Suddenly every plan she could think of, went out the window. Like his eyes pulled her into a trance. He's wearing the werewolf costume after all. A navy green jacket, a red collar with a chain leash and wolf ears…. plus a tail?! 

Yeah she's definitely gonna thank and ask Kirishima about this later.

He looks good. 

Really good.

“Woah! You two are matching! How funny!” the red head says as he suddenly appears beside them.

Ah, speaking of him.

Her cheeks heat up at Kirishima's comment and obvious sarcastic tone. She tries to act oblivious in hopes Bakugo won't catch on “oh i guess we do.”

Slowly she attempts to peek at Bakugos face for some sort of reaction. But to her disappointment, he’s simply filling up his cup with soda. Not paying either of them any mind. 

Though she notices his pink tinted ears… hm? 

Kirishima interrupts her thoughts as he suddenly latches onto Bakugo, “C'mon you two lets get out there and dance!” 

“Hmph as if!” the blonde barks back as he tries shoving Kirishima off him.

This was gonna be a long night. 

✦ ⎯⎯ㅤִㅤ୭ ୨♡୧ ৎㅤִ  ⎯⎯ ✦

Hours pass by and no luck. There was so much dancing and activities going on that Y/N had no time to talk with Bakugo at all. Either she was being pulled away by her classmates or he was. 

All of a sudden while on the dance floor, she spots him walking upstairs alone. Huh? Was he leaving already? 

Quickly, she excuses herself and rushes to follow him. Her legs swiftly move up the steps as she attempts to reach him. Assuming he went back to his room, she makes it to his floor and looks down the hallway. Spotting the blonde as he unlocks the door and starts walking inside.

“Bakugo!” 

She sees the way he pauses and looks in her direction. Now feeling embarrassed, she slows down to not look like she ran after him. But before she can say anything else, he beats her to it. 

“Don't even think about convincing me to go back. It's time for bed and I’m exhausted” he says, narrowing his eyes slightly. 

“No that's not why I….” she squeezes her hands behind her back and looks to the side to avoid eye contact, “I just have something to tell you.”

The sound of fumbling footsteps and talking was heard down the hall. Probably some drunk students trying to find the bathroom. Her head turned in that direction as she heard slurred words and sloppy sentences from someone. 

“hey werewolf girl c'mere for a sec-” 

She was about to respond until she felt a hand on her waist and it takes all her willpower to not melt right then and there. The grip was tighter then it should be but not painful. 

“Tell me inside, too many drunk idiots around” he grumbles under his breath as he pulls her inside his room with ease. His hand was so warm that she would've believed that it left a mark, it was likely due to his quirk. 

“O-Oh okay…” she says as he locks the door behind her then unfortunately lets go of her waist. 

Oh my god. She's in his room. No one in the class has ever been in his room before. No one even knows what it looks like! 

And she's the first..

ﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ♡ﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ

She sees him staring down at her and quickly her eyes shut. His brows furrowed in confusion, “what the hell are you doing?” 

“Huh? Oh well… I just closed my eyes since I assumed you didn't want anyone seeing your room so-”

“You can look.”

“...sorry?”

“I said you can look. It's fine you dummy.” 

Hesitantly she opens her eyes again, blinking twice to adjust to the new surroundings. The light wasn't on but the curtains were open, letting moonlight fill the room. 

It was exactly like how she imagined. The room was incredibly clean and organized, but with hints of personality regarding the rare all might collectables scattered around and band posters on the wall. 

“Your room is really nice Bakugo” she says as he opens the balcony door and beckons her to follow with a wave of his hand. Simply grunting in acknowledgment to her words. She walks with him outside, while attempting to cool her nerves on the way.

The two of them lean against the balcony railing in silence as they stare at the starry night sky above. Alright it's now or never…

“Um Bakugo about earlier. I just wanted to say that..” she takes a deep breath and looks at him. Her face feels like it's on fire. His eyes stare back down at her and he tilts his head slightly to the side, giving her a surprisingly calm expression.

ﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ♡ﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ

“I-I really like-” 

In an instant his hand gently covers her mouth, stopping her from continuing. Her eyes widened at his action but also at his face. His cheeks are tinted in pink and his brows are now furrowed in thought. Those red eyes look in every direction as he attempts to regain his senses. Then fall back on her face after a short moment.

“You idiot. You were gonna confess right now, seriously?” he huffs out with what looks to be a shy yet serious expression. 

Wait. What? 

Almost like he could read your mind, he rolls his eyes and continues looking at you. 

“I knew you liked me since last year stupid” he says, almost having the urge to smirk at the look of embarrassment and disbelief on your face, “and no shitty hair didn't tell me. You guys are such horrible liars it made me wanna end it all.” 

Agh how embarrassing!? Though she shouldn't be shocked given his perceptiveness. His hand that was covering her mouth fell down, allowing her to speak. 

“But then… why didn't you say anything this whole time?!” she says in complete disbelief. 

“I… didn't know how to feel about you or whatever” he mumbles now going back to his rare soft voice. 

“But now I do,” he says while stepping closer to her. His body is such in close proximity she is sure that he can hear her heartbeat if he just paid attention.

ﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ♡ﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ

“Was waiting for your confession. Didn't expect it today though but when I saw you copied my costume… that shocked me I admit” he says as he leans his head down. His hand reached out to touch her collar around her neck. Fumbling with the material. 

His eyes bore into hers as his lips barely curl up into the faintest smug grin, “A bit possessive aren't we? I didn’t think you'd be like that.”

Her whole body feels as if it's on fire. She never really thought about it like that. All she wanted to do was match with him…. right? 

Now that she thinks about it, maybe unknowingly she was being a bit possessive. Trying to drive away his fangirls that he's gained these past years. Her heart thumps wildly at the realization. 

“Though I don't mind. After all, I don't share either” he states with no shame as his hand goes from touching her collar to sliding up her neck to cradle her cheek. 

 ﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ♡ﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ

“You mean….” her breath wavers at the implication of his words. 

He hums and nods at her unspoken question, “I was getting a bit impatient here ya know? Was gonna talk to you in a week or so if you haven't confessed today. Tch damn nerd making me wait.”

“Gonna kiss you now. Ready?” he says casually, already leaning in zoning onto her plush lips. A look of desire seen in his red orbs, almost hypnotic. 

“H-huh?!” she says quickly already on the verge of fainting from the sudden statement. 

“What? You dont wanna?” he immediately pauses looking into her eyes for a response or signs of disgust. 

“That's not it! I want to! But it's… my first” she says quickly leaning her cheek into his palm to hide her nervousness. She doesn't want to mess this up. 

“It's my first too. I'll be gentle I promise” he whispers back to her with care.

That comment suddenly made her feel all giddy. Being each other's first kiss. She knows Bakugo, he wouldn't break his promises so carelessly. She trusts him. So she nods for him to continue.

“Use your words Y/N” he says as his finger traces circles on her cheek. In a somewhat teasing yet genuine tone. 

  ﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ♡ﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ

“I want you to kiss me Bakugo-”

“Katsuki. We're dating now. Got that? It's Katsuki to you” he says, correcting her immediately as if he's been waiting for this forever. Like he imagined this scene many times in his head. 

“Please kiss me Katsuki” she whispers to him as she sees him lean closer. A pleading look on her face. 

His hands gently hold her by the waist, pulling her to him to close the distance. 

“About damn time” he says as her eyes quickly close with anticipation. She could have sworn she heard a chuckle right after she did. 

It didn't take much longer for him to close his eyes. 

He tilts his head as his lips press onto hers. It was gentle as if he was scared he could break her given his strength. A warm sensation passes through them both, as they savor this moment under the stars.

It was only for a few seconds but when they broke apart, it felt as if neither of them were breathing at that moment. 

Despite his confident words and attitude, she notices how red the tips of his ears are. A warm smile appears on her face and she keeps quiet about that discovery. He may act all cocky yet he's secretly a softie. 

He shines a small smile back at her and it feels as if she's been kissed all over again. His smile is breathtaking. And she's so happy to have seen it. 

“You look… beautiful when you smile” she manages to say in a softer tone just for him. Only for him. 

She doesn't miss the way he tenses and how he averts his eyes. Looking just about everywhere else but her. He still isn't used to receiving such compliments yet it seems. But that's okay. She thinks it's adorable. 

“So do you…” Bakugo says in the gentleness tone he can muster. But honestly it's not much of a challenge given how dazed he is at the moment.

Agh damn it. Her confidence suddenly goes away at his rare tender demeanor.  

Both of them don't dare to look at one another. Not wanting the other to see just how effective words can be. Guess you both settled for a treat tonight. And the rest of your lives. 

Happy Halloween Indeed.

[satureja13]

It's Samhain 🎃 The Boys don't have much time to prepare or decorate. They don't even have time to sleep in these busy times here in space. But at least Jack and Jeb are placing some grass mats for the goats, so they don't have to live on the sad gray metal floor 🐐

Sai and Kiyoshi are unboxing the cooler Rubyn had packed for them for their first days. Sai: "I could swear this plate wasn't empty when I checked just a few hours ago..." Kiyoshi: "Maybe Jack couldn't wait for dinner?" Sai: "He's always hungry ^^' " Kiyoshi: "It's still enough for everyone, let's set the table."

Since the bridge needs to be staffed at any time, they chose to celebrate right here, so no one is left out. Jack thought it would be 'nice' to watch a horror movie on the big screen ö.ö

Sai doesn't think this is a good idea. Jack barely can sleep alone after they'd been kidnapped and tortured years ago: "Yeah - and like always you'll toss and turn and you won't be able sleep then - because you're so afraid..." he hissed. Jack just laughed: "No one is as scary as our Captain ^^' But don't you worry, my mate here will take good care of me. I sleep so much better when he's by my side." Sai: "Did you just take a photo of me hissing?" Jack: "For our Halloween greeting card!"

Huh, this movie is really scary ö.ö Jack is glad that Kiyoshi will stay by his side tonight... Same for Kioyshi, as it seems ^^'

Aouwww - they finished and decorated the Little Goats' meadow before dinner! And there is even Malfoy and Sai's bunny friend! All summoned by the Little Goats.

Skully prepared a halloween playlist and it starts with The Time Warp:

'It's astounding Time is fleeting Madness takes its toll But listen closely Not for very much longer I've got to keep control

I remember doing the Time Warp Drinking those moments when The blackness would hit me And the void would be calling

Let's do the Time Warp again Let's do the Time Warp again'

And the Little Goats were jumping to the left and then they took a step to the ri - hi - hi - hi -hi -ight... Since they aren't able to put their hooves to their hips, they just jumped and bounced around a little more ^^'

After the party, Jack and Kiyoshi went to their quarters. And look who's already waiting: Skully! (Jack hadn't even noticed him in the cargo bay before...) Jack: "Oh no..." Skully: "Right, you forgot me! I would still sit sad and alone beyond the Veil if my little friends hadn't taken me with them!" Just that Jack didn't 'forget' Skully. He left him behind on purpose...

And, besides Jack's menagerie, there is also the magic guitar of Toru, which witnessed Jack and Kiyoshi's first kiss, and the first woohoos of Kiyoshi and Jack and Ji Ho and Vlad!

Kiyoshi and Jack are checking out the quarters they are going to share for the upcoming weeks. It's a long time ago since only the two of them had shared a room (except for the nights after they decided to be mates, just mates). They had to keep their relationship a secret so they couldn't openly sleep together. (The only times I remember were at the Tandoori Palace, the one night they shared at Tartosa and when Jack stayed at the Temple at Mount Komorebi after Vlad's death.)

Kiyoshi: "Hm, I sense something familiar - but I can't quite put my finger on it... Can't you sense it too?" Jack, who can definitely smell better - since he's a werewolf and the Super Soldier - but really sucks at paying attention when he's distracted (and he's distracted a lot!): "Uh, not really?" Jack is much too exited about being here in his quarters - on a spaceship at that! And he wouldn't admit that be he's also excited that Kiyoshi is here - alone with him. An odd feeling for being just mates...

Seems that the Romantium is slowly starting to spread across the ship through the AC units. One of them is right behind Jack.

Skully: "Good night! Don't you do anything I wouldn't do!" Jack: "Would you throw an annoying, endless babbling skull into the trash compactor if he wouldn't shut up already? I totally would!" Skully: "Eh..."

Usually it isn't Kiyoshi's sleeping time yet, but Jack asked him to accompany him. Kiyoshi: "I'm not here because you can't sleep alone after that scary movie, ain't I?" Jack: "What? No! Of course not. I'm the Super Soldier and a scary werewolf, after all." Kiyoshi: "Right, how could I forget."

Jack, whispering after some time of tossing and turning around on his side of the bed: "Kiyoshi? ... Are you sleeping?" Kiyoshi, grumbling: "How am I supposed to sleep with you jostling and kicking me all the time?" Jack: "I would - maybe - stop if you'd hold me?" Kiyoshi laughed: "Ah right, my bad. Come 'ere" And Kiyoshi held Jack tight. And Jack held still. For a while.

And then Jack wanted to be honest with Kiyoshi about his feelings. He told him that he wanted to be together with Kiyoshi again. That he felt more for him. That he wanted more from him. But also how scared he was. And that his heart wanted more, but his head couldn't let go of the things that happened in the past. Jack: "What am I supposed to do, Kiyoshi?"

Kioyshi: "Don't do anything. We can't force it anyway, hm? Fate had a plan by mating us. Give it time. It will all be well." Kiyoshi has faith for the two of them. As always. Jack: "And what do you want?" Kiyoshi: "I already have more than I ever could have asked for. ... And I will gladly cherish anything you are willing to give me." Kiyoshi doesn't want to push Jack. He missed him so much, he can't loose him again. (It was Halloween last year when Kiyoshi left his heart - and Jack -behind and went back into the tree again. For years that seemed endless.)

Outtakes

Skully's playlist just started to blare out Jump by Van Halen. It's one of Little Goats favourite songs!

'Ah, can't you see me standin' here? I've got my back against the record machine I ain't the worst that you've seen Ah, can't you see what I mean?

Ah, might as well jump (jump) Might as well jump Go ahead and jump (jump) Go ahead and jump Hello, hey you Who said that? Baby, how you been? You say you don't know You won't know until you begin'

Little Goat: 'What a party!'

From the Beginning 🔱 Underwater Love 🔱 Latest

Current Chapter: starts ▶️ here Last Chapter: 'Here comes the Sun' from the beginning ▶️ here

📚 Previous Chapters: Chapters: 1-6 ~ 7-12 ~ 13-16 ~ 23-29

[curio-queries]

Run BTS: 047 | Protect the BTS Village part 1

Original Air Date: 03 APR 2018 Episode Length: 29:49 Total Parts: 2 YouTube English Subtitles: No Title Song: Blood Sweat & Tears

Synopsis: The iconic debute of the Blue Village saga. Think scavenger hunt meets a social deduction game (think werewolf/mafia for some, Among Us for others). I am completely biased by this concept. The best birthday party ever has was when my mom set up a scavenger hunt. When escape rooms became popular, i was so excited. so it's impossible for me to be objective with this episode. When I started watching Run BTS for the first time, i honestly didn't think there would be an episode that topped these.

Production: They do a great job with the location and getting coverage. the map graphic is a great piece of storytelling as well, it's a shame that it comes out a little stagnant with how little movement it's actually conveying so a more dynamic version would have helped with the pacing. The explanation screens are pretty excessive. i get that this concept is a little more complex and they are trying to avoid staff just rambling the setup, but this is definitely a crutch in these kind of eps. The art dep does a good job with what they need to do, but overall I'm not a fan. The one before the meeting is even more superfluous. I think we'd all rather have had more footage in the time consumed by that 'summary'. We just watched the scenes that it summarizes and we're about to listen to the members share it all with each other. The one after the meeting is quotes of what we just heard the members say...

Endearment: Call me crazy but I think these episodes have some of the best glimpses into authentic personality traits for the guys. They're honestly so bad at these types of elaborate setups that they have to spend the whole time focusing on that and less on being entertaining. so it feels a little more genuine.

Winner/Loser: see final part

Best Cheater: Jin, for that fake hint

Member Moments:

RM: Mechanic RM, doing such a good job trying to unravel the hints and figure out a meta of who is on his team.

JN: Bank President Jin, first instinct: make up a clue to point to Yoongi.

YG: Flower Shop Owner.... wait you can hear the intro to give it to me during his introduction?? i never noticed that before. Yoongi is so great in these kind of episodes, i don't know how to describe it, he's just the most chill version of dedication to the role playing and strategy

JH: Supermarket owner! I'm loving the irony of his description, "a social person with all the villager's info'... uh, with happens later with Jimin, Hobi clearly did not keep up with that trait! lol Hobi actually is pretty good at the searching aspect of these games, but you can tell he thrives in a team mentality. he knows how to point out what may be important and then brings it to someone else to get it to the finish line.

JM: Delivery man... i adore Jimin but you can tell that he struggled with the act. they clearly cut away from him every time something points to him being guilty. y'all i wasn't expecting to have any feels during this episode. the Jm/jk salute in the police station... i just wanted to watch a silly run ep, not be reminded of the ms.

V: Patisserie V! We didn't get much V coverage this episode, but we find out more about what he was up to in the next one.

JK: The least observant Police Officer in history. He literally picks up the hint and doesn't see it. Now it's obvious the guys were not given any direction regarding what they should be looking for, but the edit kindly points it out to the audience. bless poor JK's heart

Bonus Content: Much shorter than expected for this episode, and it's mostly the same scenes we had. does anyone know when the bonus content was released? it makes sense if it was before the final part, and they were trying to keep the reveal secret.

CQ Rank: 5

(CQ Eval Date: 04 FEB 2024)

Check out this post for my Masterlist of all episodes and descriptions of how I'm evaluating these.

Previous Episode: 046

Next Episode: 048

[coraniaid]

Top 5 parents? (in Buffy and/or Angel)

(Top 5 anything.)

Hmm.  I'm not sure there are as many as five unambiguously good parents in Buffy.  But, uh, let's see.

5) Joyce Summers [from Season 1's Welcome To The Hellmouth until ... well, you know.]

Cons: Famously doesn't react well to finding out that her only daughter is metaphorically bisexual.

Pros: Reacts a lot better to finding out her other daughter is metaphorically adopted.  Did lie to the police for Buffy at least once, and used an ax to protect her from a vampire.  Brought Buffy a nice dress to fight the Master in, and later bonded over a mutual dislike of Principal Snyder.

I've said before -- and will continue to say -- that I think Joyce is treated very unfairly by the fandom (particularly compared to how the fandom talks about Giles, who you'll note is not on this list for any number of reasons).  That said, while I think the show is actually very consistent about the fact that Buffy loves her mother and wants her mother's approval (it's not an inconsistency just because you personally don't like Joyce!), it's pretty inarguable that Joyce does and says a number of terrible things.  Which if she were a real person would matter a lot more than it actually does.

Ultimately, I think Joyce Summers tried to march in the Slayer Pride parade but did a pretty lousy job of it. Even when she wasn't being possessed or magically mind-controlled by a demon or a warlock or an evil robot (which … happens a lot, doesn’t it?).  The fact she's on this list at all is more of an indictment of the other options than it is an endorsement of her as a parent.

(Obviously I'm ignoring the big Normal Again retcon here, which I just don't think makes sense with what we see of Buffy and Joyce in the first five seasons of the show.  But yeah, if I accepted that as canon obviously Joyce wouldn't be anywhere near the list, even by Sunnydale's abysmally low standards.)

4) Amy Madison's dad [from Season 1's Witch]

Cons: Left his pre-teen daughter to be raised by a abusive mother who would go on to learn witchcraft and steal her daughter's body using evil magic. Never actually appeared on screen in the show.  Or given a name.

Pros: Don't think he knew about the witch part.  Definitely guilty about the whole thing afterwards anyway.  Amy seems pretty happy that he's back in her life at the end of the episode. Not involved in the whole witch-burning thing in Gingerbread, for some reason (well, okay, it’s because nobody bothered to cast an actor to play him or even remembered that Amy had a father, I guess).

A deleted scene from Season 6 suggests Amy's dad goes back to being a terrible parent later on, and even ignoring that he is kind of conspicuous by his absence after this one episode.  Letting your teenage daughter eat brownies whenever she wants: good parenting!  Letting your teenage daughter visit magical crack dens whenever she wants: significantly less good parenting!

3) Oz's Aunt Maureen [from Season 2's Phases]

Cons: Literally only exists on the show for a single five second phone call where we don't hear her or see her on screen.

Pros: Seems pretty relaxed about the fact that her son is a werewolf (that's not a pro for Oz, sure, but hey, we're not ranking how good an aunt she is).  Trumps Amy's dad by virtue of having a name.

I hope things worked out okay for little Jordy and the many, many werewolves he unwittingly sired by biting people when he was a kid.

2) Buffy Summers [from Season 5's Forever onwards] 

Look, she's Dawn legal guardian, so she counts.

Cons: Not as good with Dawn's social worker as a literal sex robot was. Tried to kill Dawn one time when she was possessed (... hey, I guess at least Joyce would be proud?).  Managed to miss the fact Dawn was skipping school … and dating a vampire … and stealing from the magic shop.  (She had a difficult year, okay?)

Pros: Made up for the social worker stuff by ... uh, turning invisible and ruining said social worker's life.  Literally died to protect Dawn from being murdered by a god in Season 5. Then worked incredibly hard for two years to protect Dawn from an even more terrible fate (having to go back to LA to live with Hank Summers).  

For somebody who was terrified by the thought of becoming her mother (whether played for laughs as in Season 2's Bad Eggs, or for real in Season 5), I think Buffy does a pretty good job with Dawn.

1) Nikki Wood [first seen in Season 5's Fool For Love flashbacks]

Cons: None.

Pros: She's perfect.

Lies My Parents Told Me can fuck right off.

[chasseurdeloup]

Lovely Night for a Walk || Sofie and Kaden

TIMING: Before The Sound of Silence LOCATION: Mistwood Park PARTIES: @sofiedupont and @chasseurdeloup SUMMARY: Kaden runs into Sofie while definitely not out hunting.

Usually, Sofie hated silence. But sometimes she simply needed to get as far away from everything as she possibly could. She couldn’t explain why, but the answer for her had always been cemeteries. 

She supposed it was the peace that they promised. The eternal resting place for those who had slipped off their mortal coil. There was usually nothing to disturb her other than the occasional song of a nightingale. Sofie sat beneath a tree near someone’s headstone who was only a few years younger than she was. She supposed that was also part of it- the irony of it. She belonged in a place like this. It was easier to remember that now that the grand party that had been the Fleur de Sang was over. She belonged beneath a tree thousands of miles away from this town. But she had thumbed her nose at death, and had been running from it for centuries now.

Sofie sighed, letting the night air fill her lungs. Then a scent caught the breeze. Someone was there. She plucked a rock from the ground and placed it atop the headstone as she stood up. Goodbye for now, friend. She forced herself to jump when she heard a twig snap nearby. “You startled me, I didn’t think anyone else was here.”

___________________

Kaden didn’t typically frequent cemeteries, at least not if he didn't have to. The perks of not being a slayer. Most of them were dark and old and musty, not a place he really enjoyed. Still, he helped out with a few necrophages now and then. More hellhounds and gwyllgi had died by his hand than he could count at this point. On his way home from a “walk” (hunt) in the woods, he had every intention of passing right by the cemetery and ignoring it.

Instead, he turned and walked inside the gates. He sensed something in the area, though he couldn’t say what. Then again, in this town it felt like the hairs on the back of his arms were permanently standing on edge. There were so many monsters and shapeshifters, his hunter sense all got muddled and blurred. Not to mention living with a werewolf sure threw him off balance. So in all likelihood, there was no supernatural beast waiting for him in the cemetery, but it didn’t hurt to check. 

The place was huge, definitely not some old rundown graveyard that he was used to seeing. This almost felt like a park built around the memorials and tombstones lining the paths. A sensation shot down his spine and Kaden pivoted towards it. Knowing his luck, it was only going to be an agropelter. Even so, he tried to be as quiet as possible. Turning the corner, he took a sharp breath when he saw he wasn’t alone. Merde. Kaden started to back away – go finish his hunt elsewhere – when a twig snapped beneath his shoe. Shit. 

So much for walking away. “Uh, yeah, sorry,” he said, stumbling over his words. “I didn’t think anyone else was here, either. Kind of late and all.” He still had half a mind to walk away then, but what if the monster he sensed was something much more dangerous than a little chickcharney? Putain. He couldn’t just leave her here to fend for herself. Guess the hunt was over before it started. “What brings you out here this time of night?”

___________________

“I suppose I just lost track of the time.” A shrug of the shoulders and she all but dismissed how late it was. Sofie had to imagine there were people doing stranger things than hanging out in cemeteries after hours. After all, this one was practically a park that had a dual purpose as people’s final resting place. 

“It’s quiet.” She explained simply with a smile. It was a rare thing, for Sofie to crave a moment of solitude. She almost always preferred the company of others. It was easy to get lost in the stories and lives of others and let any of her own worries slip away. But sometimes the noise didn’t help. On those rare occasions, she’d slip off someplace quiet, and she had found cemeteries offered the peace she needed. “It’s easier to think out here. They’re not going to judge me.” She said, waving to the headstone she’d been sat next to. “What are you doing out here so late?” She asked, turning the question back on the stranger. 

___________________

Her voice sounded like she had money, or at least grew up around people who did. Or maybe she just had manners, Kaden couldn’t say one way or the other beyond the fact that it sounded proper. “Guess that can happen,” he said, trying to feel if whatever set off his hunter senses was still around. It was about the same as it was when he’d stepped into this part of the cemetery. Good. Granted, he’d lost the trail a little, hard to say what direction it was going in. By all accounts, he should go follow it, leave this whole weird interaction behind. Right, how was he going to explain that? And keep her from following and out of the cemetery? Putain.

“I can’t argue with that,” Kaden said with a nod. He was turning his head, trying to look for any sign of any supernatural creatures or necrophages lurking around in addition to trying to spot the fastest way out of there. “Huh?” her question caught him off guard. Merde. How was he going to explain running around a cemetery at night with knives, a pistol, and a machete hanging from his belt. “Oh, uh, I’m… out for a walk. Here. Because…” Putain, he should have stopped talking while he was ahead. “Fastest way home. Cutting through here just saves some time.” He had no idea if that was even remotely true but it sounded like it could be, right?

___________________

He was a bit rough around the edges, wasn’t he? Sofie supposed that it might also just be that she’d startled him by being in a cemetery in the evening. She supposed there were a great number of scary stories that began in such a fashion. He smelled normal enough- probably just some human out late in the evening. Nothing really to worry about. Except for the veritable artillery he had strapped about his waist. Now that could present a problem. But given the fact that he hadn’t simply attacked her and politely attempted to remove her head so she would become a very old pile of dust, she had to assume she was safe from that sharp looking machete. For now. 

She glanced over her shoulder further into the cemetery. It might not be a lie, she supposed. It wasn’t as though she’d scoped every inch of the cemetery, so she wasn’t sure if there were homes surrounding the property. It was a strange enough town that Sofie supposed it was possible- probably, even. She let the thought go as she nodded. “Fair enough. The shortest distance between two points being a straight line, and all that.” Except it probably wouldn’t be a straight line if he had to move around headstones and mausoleums. “That for cutting your way through the bushes?” She teased, nodding to the machete. She knew she shouldn’t bring attention to it, but she figured any sane person would. Or anyone who would be voted most likely to die first in one of those horror films today's youth seemed so keen on watching in the cinemas.

___________________

“What?” Kaden had to look down to follow the path of her eye line, straight to the machete. “Putain de merde,” he mumbled under his breath. “Right, that. I…” He reached up to rub the nape of his neck, trying to pull some sort of excuse out of thin air. “I mentioned I was animal control, right? Sometimes I need to get to some pretty strange places. Gotta cut through. Branches and bushes. And things.” Kaden wasn’t too sure how plausible that was considering that, in his experience, the weapon was a lot handier with monsters than animals. 

“Not to mention, you never know when you’re going to run into trouble in this town,” he added, “Doesn’t hurt to be prepared.” He watched her, wondering if she was aware of all the strange going-ons in town and to what extent. Most people seemed to handwave it all easily enough. If he hadn’t grown up seeing the same reactions time and time again, it’d be nearly unbelievable the sheer amount of denial one place could harbor. A familiar chill ran down his spine again and his hand went to the handle of his weapon as he glanced around them, looking for the source. Merde. He’d forgotten he wasn’t alone, instincts had taken over. He managed to redirect his hand to his front pocket, trying to make it look natural enough. “So, uh, anyway, which way are you headed?”

___________________

Sofie’s eyebrows shot up at the expression, and she failed to conceal an amused snort. “Manners, Monsieur.” The vampire chided, amusement still hanging in her voice. “The dead will roll over in their graves with talk like that.” She shook her head at his explanation. “No, you neglected to mention that part.” She supposed that made sense. Some people let their property get turned into tangles of vines and thorns, and something that sharp would probably be the easiest way to get past. 

And then of course there was the fact that this was Wicked’s Rest. Sofie shuddered to think of what sort of creature might require a knife that large. At least she was armed with Cassius’s knife now. It was a comfort to know she wouldn’t be relying solely on running any longer. So long as she followed through on taking lessons from Metzli. Her eyebrow raised a quarter of an inch as she watched his hand float onto the handle of the blade. She didn’t smell anything off. Perhaps he was just skittish? She hoped as much. While she did have a knife tucked safely away in the pocket of her skirt, she did not want to use it. She looked around at his question, and the corners of her mouth were towed downward as if by tiny anchors. “That is a marvelous question. The exit? I don’t quite remember the way I came in, and I’m a bit turned around in the dark.” It was a half truth- she could see just fine in the darkness, but she truly couldn’t remember which direction she’d come from. “Do you know which direction the nearest way out is?”

___________________

Kaden’s face scrunched in confusion as she scolded him. “Right, uh, je suis désolé, mademoiselle.” Did that just really happen? Did he just get scolded like a child? “I think they’ll recover. Probably not the worst they heard.” He had to wonder where she learned French swear words. He’d only been in town for so long, they couldn’t have caught on that fast. “I’m actually a little shocked you knew what I was saying. Most around here don’t.” Which was fine by him. As strange as it was to not speak his native language as often as he used to, he didn’t mind when people had no idea he was cursing (and sometimes insulting them) under his breath. At least most people had no idea he was swearing. 

His focus fell from his lingering hunter senses as she spoke. “I guess that’s what happens when you wander into cemeteries at night.” Whatever it was that was out there, he wasn’t about to leave her here to find out by herself. Kaden had to wonder if this was how a lot of residents of Wicked’s Rest died – lost in the cemeteries at night. It was hard to see at times, even for him and seeing in darkness wasn’t a huge issue for him. “It should be this way,” he said pointing towards the left. “I can pretend I have some manners and walk you out. If you want.” 

___________________

A delighted laugh left her at another sound of the place she called home for so long. “Ne t'inquiète pas mon ami, ne t'inquiète pas.” She chirped, happy to speak the language once again. “I lived in France for many years. You pick up a thing or two after a while.” Sofie explained. And after a few centuries, you picked up even more. 

Her smile grew sheepish and she shrugged as if to say what can you do?  “You may have a point there.” She wasn’t scared to be alone in the night, but she supposed someone with a beating heart would be, so she made sure to play the part. Her mind wandered back to previous evenings, and that was enough to make her shiver. “Yes please,” Sofie said gratefully. If that slayer came back, he likely wouldn’t finish the job if it looked as though he were attacking an innocent young woman. “And I was only teasing.” She grinned. “My brother had a far worse mouth on him than you- nearly every other word out of him was a swear.”

___________________

“That explains it,” Kaden replied in French. “I’m from Lyon, just moved here pretty recently. It’s definitely been an adjustment.” He hadn’t let himself think much about home or change or let himself miss anything, at least as much as he could. It wasn’t worth dwelling on, it would only dredge up too many other things with it. He didn’t have time for that. 

“Ladies first,” he said, holding his hand out in a gesture allowing her to take the lead, exaggerating his movements. If she was going to tease, he could follow suit. “That so?” he asked as they walked along the path towards the– well, one of the exits. He didn’t actually know if where they were headed was actually closer to the cabin or farther away. Guess he’d have to figure that out later. “See I try to make a good impression when I can. Have to keep the cursing to every other sentence at first, you know?” Thankfully his hunter senses weren’t getting any stronger. They weren’t letting up exactly, either. Putain. The wind whistled through the trees, the only break in the lingering silence. “So, where’s your brother now? He in town?” That was how small talk worked, right? 

___________________

The location clicked in her mind. Hadn’t she recently chatted with someone online from Lyon? “I lived in the Val de Loire. Near Amboise.” It had been like something out of a fairytale, and it lived on as such in her memory. The name of the town brought a wistful smile to Sofie’s face. “It is lovely here, but it’s definitely a change of pace.” 

She laughed, tilting in a half-curtsy before continuing on the path. “Merci,” Sofie walked along, hopefully in the direction of an exit. She didn’t particularly care which. The wistfulness left her smile at the question, but she managed to keep it from dissolving entirely. “Ah,” she cleared her throat and shook her head. “No. No, it is just me here. I almost miss all his swearing. ” I miss it constantly. She didn’t offer an explanation, but didn’t close off the line of questioning  either. “And what about you? Any family in town?”

___________________

Val de Loire? Wait a minute, someone else mentioned there. And Amboise. Kaden narrowed his eyes, working to piece the puzzle together. “Wait, are you the one with the crabs?” Huh, maybe that wasn’t the best way to phrase it. “I mean, in your vase. I think we talked earlier. About those. And coffee.” Putain, he didn’t need to make himself look like more of an idiot than he was. “Anyway, yeah, pretty different here than France. Some parts are nicer.” Like the distance from his sister. “Some parts, less so.” Like the cheese.

Kaden nodded. “I know the feeling.” Sort of. As much as he hated Keira, he missed her. Or at least the version of her that would make silly masks for them both every Purim. He wasn’t sure she existed anymore. “My sister, she’s still in France. But, uh, my cousins are here. That’s why I came.” Not that he knew them as well as he felt like he should to be the guy crashing on their couch. Even so, something was still there, something shared that he couldn’t name that bound them together. It was enough. “You been here long?”

___________________

Sofie blinked a minute, before it clicked into place in her mind. “Yes! That is me!” She exclaimed. Every day that passed over the years had taught her the world was an incredibly small place. She had figured it would be only a matter of time until she came across the person she’d spoken to online. “That can be said of anywhere I believe. I do miss it from time to time. Especially the coffee.”

It must have been nice, she thought, to have people nearby. Even cousins. To have familiar people. She supposed she was slowly collecting something akin to it. The more undead she came across and befriended, the more she felt less alone. And that was they key, she’d found, to making immortality worthwhile. Companionship. Sofie shook her head. “In town? No, not terribly long. I only arrived a little under a month ago. I’ve been in the country for a few years though.” It wasn’t entirely a lie. A little under a century wasn’t a terribly long time in the grand scheme of things. 

___________________

“The coffee and pastries are on top of the list of things I miss,” Kaden agreed with a small smile. Maybe he would get used to the absurd amount of sugar used on this side of the pond. Yeah, probably not. Still, there was something a little comforting about having someone else in town who was also new and had lived in the same part of the world, even if there was a gap in time there. 

They turned a corner and Kaden could see the pathway that led to the exit just ahead but as soon as they faced it, a chill swept down his spine. It was here, whatever monster he had been tracking. Had to be. He paused and held his hand out to let her know to slow down. “I think we might not be al–” 

The hunter barely got the sentence out when a black flash of fur launched itself at his head, screeching on the way down. “Putain! Fucking hell, merde!” he shouted while flailing to get the creature, whatever it was off of him. He felt tiny teeth on his ear and smacked at the source, missing as it slinked away and slapped his head instead. Kaden was about to grab hold of the thing when it leapt off him and towards his current companion. Shit. 

___________________

She slowed, confused as he held a hand out. The sentence hadn’t finished before a squirrel from hell flew onto his head. Sofie yelped in surprise. Wide eyed surprise allowed her to take in the situation. Her initial instinct upon seeing the flying ball of black fuzz had been that it was a squirrel. Watching as it scrambled around the man’s head, it was evident that it was no such thing. “Merde-“ 

Sofie bent to snatch a stray stick off the ground, hoping she could use it to poke the little beast off. This had been the wrong decision apparently, as her fingers had just closed around the stick when the screeching and chittering got closer, and she felt fur and little paws on her head, moving down onto her back.

The vampire shrieked, a string of swears leaving her mouth as the not-squirrel crawled around to her front. Sofie tried to whack it off with the stick, but it’s little hands grabbed it with a strength that didn’t match its small stature, yanking the improvised weapon from her hands. “What the hell?!”

___________________

Fucking agropelter. This little piece of shit wasn’t even what set off his senses. He could still feel them ringing out but he sure as shit couldn’t focus on them while the fucking fae squirrel was fucking there. “Putain de merde!” Kaden turned to his current companion to see if she was okay and saw the stick she’d been using flying to the side. She was lucky that wasn’t her entire hand. 

What a fucking time to be without any iron weapons. Sure, he should be prepared for anything, but he still wasn’t a fucking warden and an iron knife took space away from carrying something else that was usually more useful. Kaden grabbed a plain-old knife from his belt and reached out with his free hand to try and yank the creature away from her. Piece of shit was fast and leapt away from the hunter’s grip onto his arm. He tried to shake it away and it only crawled onto his other shoulder. “Goddamnit!” He couldn’t stab it like this, all he’d do was stab himself. Kaden looked to his left and tried to shrug the argopelter to his other shoulder before slamming it into the tree next to him. 

That was going to fucking hurt in the morning. Hell, it hurt now. “Did I get it?” 

___________________

Sofie didn’t like that a creature a fraction of her size could wrench something from her hands like it was nothing. The fact that it was scrabbling all over her companion was worse. If it could do that to a stick, what would it do to a limb?

She looked around for something to throw at the little bastard when the man pulled out a knife. But how was he going to stab something that was on his back? Her question was answered quickly enough as the man launched himself into a tree. There was a little squeak from the creature, but silence followed. “I think so,” Sofie said softly, creeping her way around to catch a glimpse. “It looks like you knocked it out… Are you alright?”

___________________

Kaden rubbed his shoulder as he looked down at the limp body of the agropelter sprawled on the ground. The hunter crouched down, leaning over to try and listen, check if he could hear a heartbeat. He had learned to filter sound and was usually able to ignore most things his enhanced hearing picked up, but now he was concentrating. He could hear the wind through the branches, crickets chirping, and a small, faint heartbeat coming from the small creature. Alive. But knocked out, like she said.

That wasn’t what made his brows knit together. It was what he didn’t hear that surprised him. Kaden wanted to shoot a glance up at the woman standing next to him, but he refrained, keeping his eyes on the monster on the ground. He wasn’t listening for its pulse anymore. He was hoping that he was mistaken. He was hoping that if he listened a little harder, he would hear a thumping sound coming from her chest.

Only, there was nothing. 

Putain de merde.

Kaden stood up and nodded. “Yeah, I’m alright. I’ve had worse. At least nothing dislocated.” He didn’t know what to do now. He didn’t even know what sort of undead he was dealing with, if he was even correct in his assumption. There was no point in making any move. Not now. He just had to keep acting normal. Like nothing had changed. He could do that. He could definitely do that. “Uh, what about you? Did it, uh, bite you or anything?”

___________________

Sofie watched and waited as the man stooped over the creature that was decidedly not a squirrel. She didn’t quite know what he was waiting for. Perhaps he was looking for the tiny rise and fall of the little thing’s chest to verify it still lived. 

“Oh good,” she was relieved to hear it. If only so the scent of blood wouldn’t catch her nose. She wasn’t particularly hungry, but she didn’t want to have to explain a sudden inhuman hue in her eyes. She paused at his question, frowning a little. She inspected her arms quickly, but nothing seemed wrong. And she’d felt no teeth carve into her flesh. She’d managed to emerge unscathed from the little beast’s ambush. “I’m alright… I think it just crawled around and… grabbed that stick- what is that little thing?” Sofie peered at it curiously. It was far too small to be as strong as it was. 

___________________

“Good. That’s good,” Kaden said, reaching up to rub the back of his neck. He could feel his pulse picking up. Putain, he had to get it together. Nothing had changed, nothing had happened. Only everything had changed about the situation. She was dead. Well, undead. But they were in a cemetery and he was escorting a dead woman home. It was hard to push aside the instincts that had been drilled into him for years, the ones that told him not to trust a monster, to not let them live. Kaden wasn’t sure if he was more afraid of Sofie or the thoughts that had invaded his mind.

Wait. Merde, she’d asked him a question. “Oh, uh, that?” Putain, what was he going to say? It sure as hell wasn’t going to be the truth. “Uh, looks like a kind of squirrel. Aggressive variant. They show up in town sometimes. I’ve had to deal with them often enough.” Kaden took a deep breath and looked around to get his bearings. “Exit should be right over there. Almost out of here,” he said offering a small smile as he gestured towards the path out. 

___________________

She could smell it, when his pulse picked up. Thankfully, she wasn’t particularly hungry. Brown eyes remained brown, no hint of the inhuman red to be seen. It made sense, of course. The poor man had just been fighting off a-… well Sofie didn’t really buy the line that it was a squirrel. Squirrels didn’t look like that. She had seen hundreds of thousands of squirrels in her lifetime. That was not a squirrel. 

“That is the ugliest squirrel I have ever seen.” She muttered. Better to let him think she believed his lie than to raise more questions. She looked over to where he gestured and smiled. She could just barely see the exit from where she stood. “Ah! Lovely! Thank you so much again.” She said as she resumed walking. 

___________________

Kaden huffed out a nervous laugh. “Yeah, well, genetics can do weird shit.” That was the best he had as far as an explanation. He followed behind her as they both walked towards the exit. Every branch or twig that they walked past on the short walk to the open gate was like walking past a knife on the ground, moonlight glinting off the metal, calling out to him to pick one up. If for no other reason than for safety. 

Not that he knew for sure that she was a vampire, fair enough. She could just as easily be a zombie. But she looked too pretty, too put together to be a zombie, even if he knew that they could look just like normal people. Something about zombies, he just always assumed they were a little more dead somehow then the rest. Couldn’t explain it. 

His hand hovered near the hilt of his machete all the same. Regardless of what she was, beheading killed most things. He was still on edge with every step towards the exit. Sure, she had been nice and cordial and if she was going to drain his blood or eat his organs or anything else terrible, she’d had plenty of chances to do it before. And she hadn’t. But he was a hunter, he knew that things weren’t always as they seemed. 

Before he could finish debating himself in his own mind, they were at the gates. “Well, here we are,” he said, gesturing towards the entrance, acting like he hadn’t been ready to pull a knife out on her at any moment just then. “I take it you can make it the rest of the way home all by yourself.” The smile he flashed her was shallower than any of his earlier had been. “Kaden, by the way,” he added. “In case you were wondering.” Stupid, he shouldn’t have given her his name. There was no fucking reason beyond being polite. Putain. “Nice to meet you. Get home safe.”

___________________

Sofie happily walked along toward the exit, blissfully unaware of any further danger that could befall her that evening. And from the looks of it, they were almost to the exit. She’d be on her way home and curled up with a pot of tea in no time at all. 

She smiled and looked back to the kind young man who’d shown her the way to the exit. A kindness that not many people would extend in this town, for fear of what might happen in the shadows. “So we are.” Sofie sighed, looking back down the path. She’d have to remember the way if she came back to this particular cemetery. 

“I know the way from here.” Sofie nodded, pointing at a street sign. “I have my bearings now.” Kaden. That was a nice name. It suited him. “It was a pleasure to meet you, Kaden. I’m Sofie. Sofie DuPont.” With a little wave, she started on her way down the street. “Have a nice evening, Kaden.” She called over her shoulder before disappearing into the night. 

[space-sweetheart]

new neighbors

pairing(s): dean x vampire!john seed/self insert x canon character (gift for @derelictdumbass)

summary: dean gets notified they have new neighbors by the youngest brother of the vampire coven.

warning(s): werewolf slander 😔 bc of john smh

a/n: AU that doesn't have a name yet my beloved <3 ajsjsjsjsj I might write more for this AU bc I actually enjoy it tbh. also ooooo who are the new werewolf neighbors? 👀 uh oh 😳 I sense possible trouble ajsjshshsh

dean cursed under their breath as part of their pant leg got caught on the branch of a fallen tree. sure, exploring the woods at night with nothing but a faulty flashlight(the damn thing had already flickered off once or twice) and a phone with cell service that went in and out constantly might not be the smartest or safest idea.

but it definitely beat sitting in their cabin with no internet connection. hopefully, they'd be able to get that fixed by sometime tomorrow.

"I wouldn't go that way if I were you. a pack of flea ridden mongrels just moved in."

the unexpected voice gave dean a momentary fright before they let out a long suffering sigh when they realized they recognized the voice. dean swung their flashlight around before shining it right into the face of the voice's perpetrator.

john seed.

a vampire who lived in the woods behind dean's cabin. oh yeah, not only did he live there, apparently his entire vampire coven did too. when dean had bought the cabin they hadn't expected such... undead neighbors. they hadn't expected neighbors at all actually.

and wait a second, did he just say "a pack of flea ridden mongrels"?... werewolves???

"are you telling me there's now a pack of werewolves living in the woods behind my cabin as well?" the question fell from dean's mouth in shock and slight irritation.

"Yep!" john happily replied, popping the p at the end. though dean was sure he wasn't as happy about that information as he was pretending to be, especially if the "flea ridden mongrels" comment just a few moments ago was anything to go by. nope, he wasn't happy at all he was just trying to annoy dean. it was working.

"they moved in not too long ago. pissing all over the trees, marking their territory. all that good stuff."

"do werewolves actually pee on trees?" dean doesn't even know why they asked. of course werewolves don't pee on trees(...most likely anyway). john was just being his typical asshole self.

the smirk never left john's face as he simply shrugged. "I dunno," he did know, the liar. he just didn't want to give dean an answer. "but it reeks of wet dog over here. so why don't I walk you home? wouldn't want the big bad wolf to get ya." his smile widened, showing off a pair of sharp fangs as he held out a clawed hand in invitation.

dean huffed but accepted his offer anyway. "you're worse than any big bad wolf out there." they mumbled, john's hand was cold to the touch, but the way it gently wrapped around theirs, careful not to nick them with his sharp nails, made their heart beat a little bit faster. they were sure the bastard could hear it. screw him and his supernatural senses.

"awwww, sweetheart, if I could blush my face would surely be blood red right now." john's grin then turned wicked, ha when was the man's grin not wicked? dean thought grumpily as they mentally prepared themselves for whatever john was going to say next. "but then again, I suppose you're blushing enough for the both of us, and I must say red is a lovely color on you." he practically purred near dean's ear.

the reaction was immediate, dean raised the hand that wasn't held in john's careful grip and smacked him repeatedly on the shoulder. and john cackled through the rest of the walk.

at least dean's neighbors would never be boring.

[huntunderironskies]

For W:tF 2ed, whats your opinion of Primal Urge? do you feel its overpriced for what it offers or is it alright? would it benefit from a primal beats system to increase the levels?

Hey there, thanks for the question! I'm always excited to talk game design stuff especially when werewolves are involved. :>

Firstly, my opinion of Primal Urge may be influenced in part by 1e, in which it was one of the most punishing power stats to increase. 2e's Primal Urge is miles better and even offers some minor bonuses aside from just being tacked onto your resistance rolls. The Curse was one of my least favorite weird holdovers from Apocalypse and I can't be happier to see it gone. Dietary restrictions tend to not come up that much, but I've never had a player go higher than [POWER STAT] 5 yet. I think the Hard Rage one is definitely the worst out of them, but my players generally work pretty hard to actively avoid being in situations where it'll come up with either the Chain Rage rite or Directed Rage as a merit.

For positive effects: That damage regen really adds up fast, and is probably one of the best benefits. Like a lot of power stats you don't really feel the effects hard until Primal Urge 4, where the big bump in power comes in.

With that said...

Yeah, werewolves have a lot of XP sinks. More than most other splats I think, I've done two crossover games at this point and the werewolf in the long-running one I did a while back (my other crossover game has just started) always seemed to be the one who was struggling to hold onto XP for any long period of time, especially given that raising Renown can feel pretty urgent since it's bound to specific actions. I used the system where you can effectively go in XP debt but immediately get a dot of the relevant Renown.

From a game design perspective, I think there was an attempt to offset this with how extremely beneficial being on the Sacred Hunt is to getting beats very quickly. Exceptional successes happen a lot with werewolf dice pools. We'd pretty regularly get enough beats from a single Sacred Hunt for everyone to get an XP (important note, I use group beats in all of my games) without factoring in players achieving Aspirations et al.

Werewolf would have really, really benefited from having maybe not a Primal Beats system per se, but a sort of...let's call them Hunting Beats? I'd need to have a good think about what the specific trigger conditions would be for gaining beats for them, but obviously the Sacred Hunt beats would primarily feed into that. Acts that align with a specific Renown would also do it since we're trying to make getting Renown a bit easier, and if I were feeling spicy I'd also pull the hunting styles list from Shunned by the Moon and say that if you act in accordance with those, it would also give you Hunting Beats.

(Yes, I know that The Pack gives you Pack Beats as a secondary beats system but, uh, it's...not quite as refined as the krewe/cult beats in later games. Rehauling that is one of my "maybe one day" goals since there's very good ideas in there but it needs some refinement.)

I think playing into the hunting styles subsection specifically would have an interesting effect in the sense that increasing your Tribal Renown wouldn't necessarily be actively beneficial (...which is one reason that I've been trying to shove in the specific Tribal Renown into the Tribe-specific Merits I'm working on, that's your positive reinforcement for acting in ways that your Firstborn would) but it would be indirectly encouraged. One of my problems with 2e is that Tribes still feel like they're not a part of a werewolf's life mechanically and a function of that is your Tribe's Renown, which should act as a secondary influence on your behavior, is just sorta. There.

I went a bit off topic, oops. I think that Primal Urge in and of itself is fine and I don't feel the need to tweak it, it's more the issue of werewolves having a lot of things they need to buy into and Renown being...somehow at once both extremely useful (in terms of a cost-benefit analysis, think of it as a trait that costs 1 XP to increase plus a free Shadow Gift Facet with it, unless it's your Auspice Renown in which case you get both a Shadow Gift Facet and a new Moon Gift Facet) but also kind of a pain to get. That ends up making everything feel overcosted, Primal Urge included.

Hopefully this makes sense! I just got back from night classes so I'm a bit scattered, haha.

[philosophicalparadox]

Werewolves are strongly correlated with Berserkers. They are the province of the god Loki in their original form - Wargs - which can be either were-wolf or were-bear.

There's not a lot of information about how or where they came from definitively - like vampires there are a thousand different origins for werewolves, but in all renditions they are beasts which are borne of human darkness. They represent the hunter, the predator, the killer we all possess encoded into our DNA, but which peaceful society denies. Wargs and were-men were originally concepts meant to explain where and why we have those seemingly contradictory things - why men feel bloodlust sufficient to murder, absent other opportunities, why we instinctively chase and stalk "prey". Why predatory people exist within our own societies, and why that only seems to affect some people and not others.

My favorite werewolf origin story is about a wanna-be berserker praying to the God Loki for the strength and ferocity of a wolf or bear (a very common, ordinary Viking occurrence) and Loki, being Loki, decided on a whim to just. Turn the guy into a bear.

Like "There ya go buddy. You wanted the strength of a bear? You got it. Oh, but uh, my magic? Yeah, kinda has a catch to it. Yeah, yeah, your family - they're kinda cursed now. Sorry about that. Yeah, you won't recognise them in your animal form and might kill them, so they're gonna like, shun you? Yeah, and your children? Yeah they're gonna inherit your little gift too. Unless you do this one really specific thing you need a really specific amulet for from a dude who, like, hates bears. Yeah. Seriosly, you didn't think you would get granted a blessing from the gods for free, did you? Least of all from ME, right?"

I've also heard that Wargs are the children of Fenrir, Loki's giant wolf child, or Garm, his evil, Cerberus-with-one-head counterpart, among many other, Christian-flavored reasonings, ranging from demonic possession, God cursing men for their rage, which is a sin, (dont forget he has canonically turned people into bears), being the children of the devil, or the result of pacts with the devil, etc.

Aaaaaanyway werewolves (or were bears) are supposed to be batshit crazy. They're creations of the God of Chaos and curses, of course they're insane. They're berserkers, unable to tell friend from foe, flying into a savage, panicked rage on the drop of a hat. That is what werewolves are.

But, A) this history, like that of the unicorn, has been perverted over the years and B) werewolves do actually experience periods of lucidity periodically in their mythos.

Also - I feel a need to point out that while deliberate berserkir were a thing among the Norse, the term berserker equally applies to men having severe mental and emotional breakdowns, usually as a result of PTSD. Which could be why and how werewolves came to be associated with the full moon in later centuries - because night raids were usually conducted under the light of full moon, preferably, and everyone knew it. Those who had fought or been attacked during full moons never knew if the next one would bring about the same calamity. Thus full moons became synonymous with both berserkers as well as general unease and insanity - hence the term Lunatic.

Yes wolves (and most predators) are also more active during a full moon, which contributes to the idea, and added to people's fears, which just reinforced the lunacy, which fed more fear - it's no wonder then that werewolves and their ilk were so, so severely feared in central Europe.

Vampires make sense. Vampires are literally just slavic fair folk originally, gradually mixing with Germanic and Frankish fair folk in later times that had a similar theme.

But werewolves. Werewolves are specific to a fundamental aspect of humanity, the manifestation of a set of fundamental fears of humanity.

They are the Fear of loss of control. Fear of Chaos and disorder. Fear of war and violence. The fear of ourselves. Fear of savagery. Fear of our darkest impulses. The very Fear of fear itself.

A werewolf without fear is like a vampire that doesn't drink blood. You've kinda missed the whole point of it if its not there.

Take your shape shifting puppies and call them what they are - skin changers, shape shifters, etc. But don't you dare call them werewolves if they aren't terrified of themselves and scare people around them. Or they're just not a werewolf.

I hate the dog-ification of werewolves >:( I by making them happy dumbos it misses the best part of transformative monstrosity: repression. If you aren’t afraid of the beast within what’s the fucking point. It’s the big bad wolf lurking on moonlit nights it’s not your golden retriever in the park at noon. Justice for repression!! Justice for the beast within!! Justice for the fear of who you could be if you really let loose! Is the monster your true self? Does the thrill of the wild outweigh the guilt that comes in the light of day, when there’s mud on your feet and blood on your hands? What does it mean that you crave that which disgusts you, that the wolf isn’t just something you become, it’s something you always were

[ghost-wolf34]

Werewolf Bucky Barnes.

Chapter 16. Girl talk. The past comes back with vengeance part two:

Shauna's pov.

I was getting ready to go on my date with my now mate, when I got a text from fury telling me that I had a mission with Wanda. I sighed and shook my head, before asking him when I had to leave and he said now. I quickly grabbed my uniform and got changed, before going to meet up with Wanda for the mission. 

When I went to meet up with Wanda I saw Steve talking to Peggy, I over heard them talking about the mission but I decided to ignore them as I walked to where Wanda was waiting. "You ready to go? Steve said that Peggy is coming along." Wanda told me, as she turned to face me. 

"Yeah I'm ready, but I don't like going without telling Buck bye. It feels wrong and odd, I always get to tell him bye as he does with me." I told her, as I then sighed and shook my head not happy that fury had to ruin my date with my mate. 

"We should get moving before fury grills us out for that, I know you don't like not telling him bye and I don't either.  But Steve said that he was busy with something, the two of you will be able to catch up later I promise." Peggy told me knowing that I felt bad for leaving without telling him by.  

End of pov, skip to third. 

Shauna and the girls soon left on their mission, she soon started to mess with ring on her right pointer as she thought about Bucky and why could or would be in store for them up ahead. "You know, Steve told me that you've that a lot lately and I've been your right long enough to know that you do that when your thinking or when something is bothering you. So...what is it?" Peggy asked her friend softly but yet kindly. 

Shauna looked up at her friend, before going back to playing with the ring on her finger. "Yeah, sorry about that. I uh...I have had a lot on my mind, and I haven't exactly been feeling well lately." She told her friend honestly and truthfully. "And I've been staying more to myself again, because my wolf side is just acting more moody then normal but of course no one knew about expect for Buck and of course Steve. 

I just know that bucks been worried for me a bit, because I haven't been myself lately. But I haven't exactly been feeling well and I'm scared because I don't know what's wrong, and I don't want to worry him especially since he's already up most of the night from nightmares." Shauna told her friend, as she sighed and looked down at her lap. 

"I don't like to see you like this, if you haven't been feeling well. You should've said something and I would've told fury to have you sit this one out, you shouldn't have to force yourself to go on a mission just to make fury happy. 

As much as I know you don't like to sit things out, but I really think you should've told me or at the very least your partner. He deserves to know how your feeling-." Peggy said, before looking at Wanda since the jet was in auto pilot. "What is it?" 

Wanda was looking over at her friends as they talked, she tilted her head at them as she sensed something coming from inside Shadow. "There's something off with you, not in a bad way but I can sense something." Wanda told her two friends. 

"What do you sense?" Peggy asked her, she wondered what her friend was sensing and if it was good or bad. "Is it good or bad?" 

"I can't tell yet, but I can definitely sense something within you Shadow. It's..." Wanda's eyes went wide as she realized now why Shauna didn't want to come into the mission but fury wouldn't have none of it, she now realized why Shadow actually wanted to talk to her mate before they left. 

"Please don't say Wanda." Shadow thought knowing her friend could read her mind, she didn't want it to come out at the moment when they had a mission to focus on so they could get back home. 

Wanda read her friends thoughts but she didn't know what to say, as she agreed with keeping it a secret but she was definitely going to have her back now during this mission. "I won't, but you are going to have to tell her if something goes wrong." She thought to her friend. 

Shadow nodded her head at Wanda when she told her that she wouldn't say anything and she told her to tell Peggy if the mission went sideways. "It's something good, I just don't want to say it." She told Peggy since she didn't want her to worry, as she watched her friend smile and nod before getting a happy but yet stern look on her face. 

"If it's what I think it is, then I'm going to have a word with Director fury when we get back." Peggy told her friend, she had her assumptions but she was definitely also going to have her back through the the mission til she knew for sure. Accept none of them knew that the mission was actually about to go wrong very wrong.

[liopleurodean]

Season 8, Episode 3: Heartache

Blech. Jogging. I'll walk, but jogging is lame

Rip this guy

Weird

Don't try to race him

Uh oh

That's one way to put it

Werewolf?

Mm, apples

Sam.

Sure

Good question

I love farmer's markets

Multitasking!

Dean wins

Something indeed

Great

They're really throwing shade at this guy for being overweight 😭

What was that look?

Good for you, I guess

Right

Sure it does

Sam

Dean!

At least he wasn't insulted

Dean's face 😭

What?

Breaking patterns

So, where's next?

Weird

Testifying for what?

That's really helpful, actually

Sounds like some kind of spell

I don't think he's possessed

Why is he yelling

Uh oh

Is he gonna kill himself?

Yup

Really?

That's not gonna work

Dean.

He's still alive!

That could be a lead

It's definitely possible

Heart transplant?

Fair enough

HAUNTED ORGANS

Where's that haunted kidney post?

Ew, that guy

That's what I've been saying!

Whoa. Yikes

Chick hicks?

He's gonna kill her

Or vice versa!

Aw, Dean's excited

No kidding

Oh, Dean

Sam.

He's got a point, Sam

Called it

Did... did Dean just make a science joke? About neurons???? He's such a nerd I love him so much

Who?

Makes sense, I guess

Yikes

Fair enough, I guess

This is strange

Ew

Whaaat is happening

It's giving Gozer

Really? Sam watched football?

Sam. Stop talking. She doesn't want to hear it

Perfection?

That sounds about right

Dean. Think about that

Possessed?

Yikes

That sounds kind of sad

Et cetera

Right...

No one ever does

She's suspicious

What does that mean?

That's so weird

Wow, Sam

Ooh, nice!

Like chocolate?

Or corn, I guess

Oh, he wanted to go back to school

Yeah

And who knows if she'll leave early

No kidding

Yikes

Those are her clothes

Freaky, but okay

Ew, Dean!

Interesting

Ooh, hidden trophy room

Wow, that's actually awesome

Sugar Ray? Like from We Didn't Start The Fire? (For legal reasons this is a joke)

This is weird

They look similar

Who is this dude?

Well that tracks

It's not out of the question

Maybe

Similar pattern, too

It's all falling together

Yeah...

Sam.

There's Betsy

I almost feel bad for her

Wow

All that time will do that to you

And a new sport

Yeah, that's sad

It was a suicide

No, not really

It's all Randa. She's been framing everyone else

She knows. Will she tell?

Pfft. I bet Dean wants to see Angel Fire

Of course!

Maybe he hoped

Lots of neon

I guess the place wouldn't be active during the day

Dean.

Spooky

Is that a light-up stripper pole?

We?

Yikes

They're superpowered

Good for you

OH THIS SCENE

JENSEN DIRECTED THIS EPISODE

Why did he do that 😭

That's even worse

ASDFGHJKL IT KEEPS GETTING WORSE

Well mark Dean down as scared and horny

That's freaky

Ouch

Sam to the rescue!

There we go

So are they all dead now?

You okay, Dean?

Yeah

Case closed!

Really, Sam?

Hah! That's what you think

Believe it or not, so does Dean

It's not a phase, mom!

Whoa! Bright!

Doggo

Sam. What does it look like?

Okay

[chaos--mode]

there's that same sense of panic that tries to claw it's way up ren's throat when he makes eye contact with her. her breath catches in her throat, but that's as far as the moment extends. the nerves fizzle out at the tips of her fingers and her heart only skips a couple beats before it evens out again.

she laughs a little at his answer, half true myth. offers him a half smile.

his question doesn't surprise her, not really. it's probably weird as hell that she isn't having a full blown panic attack or like, running for her life right now. that would be the normal reaction in a situation like this, right?

❝um, no, not really.❞ not really is a lie. she totally, definitely, 100% has not met a werewolf before. or, well, maybe she has, but she was never aware of it, at least.

she shakes her head then, shuffles on her feet and kicks at a couple rocks on the ground. she's not really sure how to answer, now that she's thinking about it though, cause what if he's never met any other supernatural creatures? what if he thinks werewolves are like, it?

no time like the present, though, she figures. ❝i, uh, i have met some witches before, though. family friends, actually.❞

"afraid of it? i mean, it's not really like... that scary on it's own. but i am allergic. so it's like... a half true myth." he allows himself to make eye contact with her once again, though, he is trying to be a bit more careful. she's warming up to him, and that means his shoulders can relax a little bit, now.

and he can't help but ask a question of his own. "you don't seem... that shocked by the fact that werewolves exist." not the question part. "have you uh... met one before?" he would never actually audibly admit to being able to smell that she was human out loud, but he could. (he has experience here. girls hate when you say that kind of thing.)

[fizzydrink698]

i've been trying to get into 1st gen kpop but most spotify playlists include only the same 4 groups. you don't have some recs by any chance? perhaps even something cunty sung by women

god I love talking about kpop. my kpop tastes are strange and varied and i will talk at length about it 😅

so, 1st gen kpop is buckwild and i love it. it’s very unpolished, experimental stuff bc obviously there are no formulas yet. people are just trying shoot their shot in the dark, and seeing what sticks 😊

the hits hit, and the misses miss. dramatically.

i’m a terrible judge for cunty music, but i’ll lean towards girl groups for these specific recommendations:

baby vox (specifically their third album, “come come come baby” and onwards. the first two albums are full of member changes and struggling to find a marketable style that works for them, but there are no member changes from the third album onwards and they have absolutely found their groove. the two lead singles on that album are great, and i have “killer” saved on my favourite kpop songs playlist)

s.e.s (their early stuff is very fairy-cute concept, but they get into more mature stuff as they grow into their career. i have “U” on my playlist from their fifth album)

fin.k.l (same as s.e.s, they start off quite cute and cuddly and then grow into maturer stuff. their song “now” is on my playlist)

boa. (my fucking girl boa. great music. every lead single is fuckin great. love her. highlights for me include “ID;Peace B”, “No. 1”, “Atlantis Princess”, “My Name” and “Girls On Top” which fucking rules)

park jiyoon (“coming of age ceremony” hits so hard. this record was so popular that it was jype’s best-selling album until a twice ep (the one with “TT” overtook it. 20 years later. and also fun fact, technically makes the tiniest of cameos in my ‘consort’ fic bc i’m a nerd for kpop history)

and for boys

h.o.t (the only song I out-and-out love is “candy”. but their debut is pretty good - and fun fact, SKZ cover it in the first episode of their survival show way back in 2017, it’s adorable. be prepared for…like, weird shit in their songs. they have a werewolf song on their second album and they howl on it and on stages and it’s just campy fun. the og template for exo’s “Wolf”, i’d put money on it)

shinhwa (“perfect man”. fuck me, “perfect man”. SO good. one of my favourite 1st gen songs. one of the very few songs that still feels timeless. SO GOOD. “twinkling of paradise” is also fucking weird, it’s a hip-hop track that samples fucking swan lake. but from what i remember, the original 90s version has the n-word in it which is a massive turn-off for me. the downside of 1st gen kpop, they’re blinding grasping at a lot of hip-hop elements without understanding them.)

rain (you can really feel the jyp fingerprints on this guy, for better and for worse. i enjoy his songs, but definitely with at least a little sense of irony. his debut song is all about him being a ~bad guy~, like come on. the dude is still a teenager here, it’s more cute than anything else)

seo taiji and boys (FUCKING “I Know”. the song that literally started kpop as we know it now. SO SOOO GOOD. it was my most-played song of 2020. my favourite 1st gen kpop song. it still holds up, and it was released in 1992. thirty years ago. also, shout out to “hayeoga” for the best guitar solo in kpop (not including k-bands, ofc, but even then it’s up there) and “come back home” which, while i’m personally ‘eh’ on it, is a lot of people’s favourite. also also shout-out to “classroom idea” for being the only kpop song i know of with fucking death growls in it. like i said 1st gen is wild, they are doing so much experimental shit.)

there are other groups i know of but haven’t yet explored (off the top of head: jewelry, chakra, m.i.l.k, sechskies, epik high - who i only really know for their 2nd gen stuff - turbo, deux) but uh…yeah. this list was long enough as it is 😅😅

[roryzhang]

Howl You doing? || Rory & Rio

TIMING: A week or so after Rory arrived in White Crest.  LOCATION: Ulf’s farm house.  PARTIES: @roryzhang @genienotinabottle SUMMARY: Rory and Rio bond a little.  CONTENT WARNINGS: N/A 

Rory still had a hard time with the farm. Not because it was a kindness she didn’t think she deserved, though, that could definitely be a category of why her skin crawled. It was the voices. The steady heartbeats. The fear that she could end it all just by losing control. Ulf had insisted that it would never happen, that she was safe, that they were safe. The thought of being subdued had once scared her, but not if it was necessary, and as long as it was done with the intent to not kill. It was a funny thing, hating yourself, but being too afraid to actually die. Therapy could solve that, but that was the last thing on their mind.

So they did what they did best: they isolated themself. At least that’d been the plan until Rio showed up. Rory could tell it was him almost immediately. The distinct human smell was loud against that of the wolves who lived in the house, or the barn, in Aavyan’s case. 

“Sorry, I can go.” Despite being there first, they were new here, and stepping on toes was the last thing they wanted to do. Rory got to her feet from the chair she’d been curled in and stretched out slightly before she started towards her bedroom door. 

Rio didn’t feel welcome here. It was nothing that anybody had said directly, but instead the constant skin crawling sensation that made the hair’s on Rio’s neck and limbs stand up straight. Every part of his body was yelling at him. Werewolf. Werewolf. Werewolf. Being a hunter was in his blood whether he liked it or not, and if his family wasn’t around to remind him his genetics sure as hell would. 

It went beyond that though. More than just his own body fighting against the constant sensation of his werewolf senses, Rio felt out of place because he knew he truly didn’t belong. Every person here had a reason to hate hunters, but he was the only one not actively targeted by them. Inside this house he was a wolf in sheep’s clothing, or maybe the reverse. He wasn’t sure that same analogy worked in the situation he had found himself in. Aavyan and Rory both seemed nice if not a bit apprehensive. Obviously Rio trusted Ari with his life. But Ulf… Rio knew that if Ulf knew the truth he’d be torn to shreds with no chance for an explanation. Rio wasn’t sure he could even blame the wolf. Rio didn’t belong here, he knew that and he battled with it all day, every day.

Rio wished he could blame that for the lack of sleep, but he had always been a night owl. Maybe it was the all the nightmares that woke him in a cold sweat in the middle of the night. Or maybe it was because he had eventually learned that the night was the only peaceful time of the day away from his family. The reason hardly mattered at this point. 

This night was one of those nights. He sat up in his bed in the dark, reading a Scribe book when he heard the noises out in the hallway. Someone else up and about. He needed a drink anyways, so he decided to risk the trip out. If he was lucky, it would be Ari. He tucked the book under his arm and pulled the door open as quietly as possible. On a farm full of super hearing, every sound felt like a minefield. Instead, it was Rory. The newest member on the farm, Rio hadn’t talked to them much. But he still offered a small grin and a raised hand meant as a wave. “Oh no, no, no. Don’t worry about it. I’m just grabbing a drink. You can stay here.” Rio turned frantic immediately. He was already the odd man out here, the last thing he needed was to cause anymore divide. He slipped through the living room to grab a soda from the fridge before heading back. The closer he got to Rory the stronger the tingling sensation across his skin became, but he had gotten pretty good at ignoring it. “You uh- settling into town all right?”

The two stumbled over one another as if they’d never spoken a day in their lives. Rory wasn’t sure what to do with her hands now, so she opted to fold her arms against her chest, fingers twitching incessantly at the hem of her sleeves, picking at the frayed fabric. Lavender curled around her nose closely followed by hints of vanilla. It wasn’t an offensive smell, but it was strong. It was still something she wasn’t quite used to. “I wasn’t sure–” She glanced over her shoulder at the chair. She was sure that if either Ulf or Ari were awake, they would be able to hear the exchange. She felt guilt immediately. 

“I wasn’t sure if you wanted to come out here.” The rooms were nice. Big– Bigger than the one they had with… no, they chided themselves, it’s best not to remember. Rory cleared her throat, watching Rio in the dim lighting easily as he crossed the space to the fridge. At his question, Rory shrugged lightly, teeth gnawing at the inside of their cheek. “It’s.. I’m not sure if it’s so much… as settling as it is existing.” Floating, drowning, succumbing. “It could be worse. You just came back, right? I think I heard that somewhere.” If Ari could trust Rio, then maybe they could too. Even though they weren’t quite sure they trusted Ari. The urge to, to find something to believe in was strong, even if she did at least have Ulf. 

The two struggled to communicate with each other, sometimes in their hesitant or stumbled words and other times in their shared silence as neither knew what to say. They needed someone social like Ari to help break the silence and get a conversation flowing. Despite them both having night vision, it felt like they were fumbling in the dark. To add to the unease, Rio knew that he wasn’t the right person to talk to Rory. He knew nothing about her past, but he could take a pretty good guess at what caused the werewolf their anguish. If anything, the kindest thing Rio could probably do was leave Rory alone. He didn’t know what the right answer was here.

“No, you’re good.” Rio offered, making sure Rory knew that they were welcome to this space just as much as anybody else was. “You should feel just as welcome here as the rest of us. No such thing as like, seniority or whatever.” Plus, Rio hadn’t been back long himself. He wasn’t sure that Rory meant it as a joke, but he still laughed when she mentioned existing in white crest. “Yeah, good point. I was born and raised here and still not really sure where I fit in, honestly.” How else could one explain a hunter living on a werewolf farm? For whatever reason, every minor noise set him on edge, like this conversation was some sort of secret. In an old farm with animals surrounding it, those sort of noises were entirely too common. It kept him tense at all times. “Yeah, I was out of town for about a year, just got back to town a month or so ago. It was my first time ever leaving Maine before. Honestly, I'm still not sure if I missed this place or not.”

Even with Rio’s insistence that she wasn’t infringing upon him, or his time, Rory still felt guilty. It gnawed at her, digging its way to the pit of her stomach. Suddenly, she felt queasy. “Seniority… right.” The wolf did her best to push past the nerves that skittered at the back of her throat. It felt like she would fall prey to the feeling at any moment. “Born and raised?” She wondered what it felt like for him, being back home. He spoke like he wasn’t all too happy about it, but home was where the heart was, right? It pained her, knowing she would never be able to go back to Washington. She refused to grant herself that peace of mind. 

“I guess you’ll find out?” The words had no real tone to them, and Rory quickly cleared their throat. “If you missed it, or if you were better off… not here.” They were too tired to smile, especially to even try and fake it. Really, they just wanted to go to bed, but if they were going to live under the same roof as these people, then shouldn’t she at least try? “I’m not… sure coming here was the right choice, but Ulf told me that I’d be safe here.” She had put a great deal of trust in the older wolf, and whether or not that’d been the right choice was still a minor worry. “I hope it will be safe for you, too.” 

It was so pathetic for Rio to keep wishing he had Ari by his side right now. She always knew what to say. He should be able to speak for himself. Carry a simple conversation by himself. Though he wasn’t sure this conversation counted as simple in the slightest. On the surface it should be, but there were more layers to it than either one of them probably realized. He mustered a small chuckle. “Yeah. Something like that at least.” He wasn’t sure how to elaborate on that. He supposed his parents did raise him, though it wasn’t worth much in the long run. “I don’t have family left in town though. So I guess in some ways it’s sort of a fresh start. If those are actually a thing.”

Rio was pretty sure he already knew the answer to Rory’s statement. He was pretty sure nobody in this town was better off by being here. That hardly seemed like the right thing to say to someone new to town. Especially one that seemed to have gotten here after running from something. Took one to know one, maybe. Rory said it for him though, questioning whether coming here was the right choice too. “I can’t promise that White Crest is the right place to be. We’re both trying to figure that out for ourselves, I guess. But I do know that you’re safe here. They’ll all keep you safe.” Rio looked off towards the occupied bedrooms. He had studied werewolves his entire life and he never understood how the pack mentality worked. But he had gotten close a couple years ago. He wanted to find that feeling again. “And I’ll do what I can to make you feel safe too.” He hoped that it would be safe for him here too. He knew that everyone on this farm would risk their lives to keep Rory safe. He wasn’t sure he could say the same about himself. He couldn’t blame them if they wouldn’t. “I’m more a guest than a real resident I think. For uh- obvious reasons. Ari just offered me a place to stay while I got settled back in.”

Rory easily picked up on the slight increase to the beat of Rio’s heart. She wondered what had him anxious, and if it was the same thing as herself; having to exist alongside somebody whose intentions were unknown. They tried to remind themselves that Ari trusted Rio, and she didn’t figure if he were any real threat that Ulf would let him stick around. “Oh.” Rory briefly wondered if Rio had lost like she had, or if it was a direct choice based on the way he had clearly left White Crest in search of something better. “Got it.” Rory wasn’t the type to implore, to ask questions and slip over boundaries. If she wanted him to respect her in the same way, she would keep any questions she had beneath her tongue. 

Rio’s words should have done something to calm Rory. A part of them did, but she felt there was a deeper meaning. The kind that could reveal a harsher truth to White Crest’s woes. “That’s what Ulf said, too.” The wolf wanted to believe it, they truly did. After everything, they wanted some place to feel safe. They’d done so much running, and now they were clear across the United States with nothing to really show for it. Rory nervously wrung her hands together, pinky finger pressing gently into the palm of the opposite hand over and over. Small crescent moons scattered its surface, the repetition a guiding force so that she could focus on the way Rio assured her, too. “Thanks, Rio.” She smiled at him, though it took great effort, it still looked sad. “I feel like that, too. A guest.” Even in my own skin. “I’m glad that you’re here, though, for what it’s worth.” It felt easier, not being the only person out of place. It was clear that the others who resided on the farm were far more in step with the balance of things. At least she and Rio could gasp for air together. They wanted to offer him safety in return, but really, they weren’t sure how much of it they could offer, after everything. “I’ll… keep an eye out for you too.” The nervous buzz in the back of her head continued on. “Not in a weird way, just like what you said– about keeping um, me safe. Thanks, Rio.” 

Even with the darkness as a mask, Rio could read the pain on Rory’s face. The smile looked the same as his always did. He had no doubt that their pasts were different. But at least the two could hopefully find some solid ground to relate to each other. He couldn’t look long in their direction. The dim lighting in the cabin would be nearly pitch black to a normal human’s sight. And as much as he should come clean to the werewolves on this farm, Ari had told him not to mention his hunter lineage. That it would bring more harm than good. He knew she was right, but it still felt wrong to deceive people. Especially someone like Rory, who he felt he had a real chance to connect with. But for now, he would stay quiet. 

Rio had long since finished his drink, now holding the empty cup in his hands awkwardly and unsure what to do with it. Despite the sullen nature, Rio was pretty sure he was enjoying the conversation he was sharing with Rory. Once he broke the frozen nature the two had found themselves in, he knew that the moment would be buried again in the darkness, even if it was something as simple as discarding a can of soda. This conversation was just as fragile as Rory themselves seemed to be. “I hope you don’t feel like a guest for much longer,” Rio pointed out, “I think once you get the chance to befriend Ari and the others they’ll hope you feel more at home. Ari sort of has that effect on people.” Chuckling at Rory’s statement, he waved away the words through darkness. “Trust me, I’m like an expert of accidentally saying things in a weird way. I know what you mean.” He continued a quiet laugh, mostly under his breath. “Thanks, seriously. As borderline pathetic as it is, it’s almost comforting to know that I’m not the only one here that just feels sorta out of place. So uh- anytime you need to talk about that… I’m here.” 

“Yeah, I wasn’t really sure what to expect. Ulf told me he had pups or something on the farm. I thought he meant literal puppies.” Rory laughed gently as she looked down at her bare feet. “Ari is very kind though.” Maybe too kind. She wondered what kind of pain the younger girl had to endure in order to see the world through the gaze she did. Really, Rory felt as though Ari extended a kindness that she didn’t deserve. “But yeah, me, too. Even if I’m not really sure how long I’ll stick around.” Longing filled Rory’s chest as she thought about settling down somewhere. It had been so long, and then again, not long at all. 

Rory could see Rio just fine, but there were still shadows that pooled in certain places. His smile, however, seemed genuine. “Alright, I’ll try my best not to give you a run for your money.” It was clear that Rio was young, too, even if he was a little bit taller than her. He had a kind face, but he looked tired. All of these people had stories, just like her, so what gave her the right to feel so sorry for herself? “I don’t think it’s pathetic. I think it’s…” Rory searched for the word. “Never mind, I think you might be right.” There was a certain frustration that she felt with herself over either allowing people to be kind, or by trusting that others had good intentions, but hadn’t she already jumped that ship by arriving in White Crest? “I’m sure it’ll be pretty obvious for a while, feeling too new and not knowing where to even look most days.” Rory cleared her throat and nodded, “but yeah, no, I’d… we can figure it out. R&R, right?” The wolf let the joke slip before she could stop herself and she shook her head at herself. “Shit, sorry.” 

“Oh man, wouldn’t that be awesome if there were actual puppies too?” Rio felt a genuine laugh escape, cutting himself off almost immediately in fear that he had just woken up every single person in the house. “I guess there are the cats that hang out around the barn? They will have to do.” He had never been allowed to have pets growing up, so he still felt like he was adjusting to all the sounds and smell of having animals around the farm. But he didn’t mind because watching them trot around all day brought him way too much joy. “Yeah, I get that. Well I’m sure you’ll be welcome here as long as you want to stay.” Personally, Rio hoped they would stay. Giving the town a chance was a harder sell, but he knew if Rory gave the people a chance they would start to feel more welcome here. “And if there’s anything I can do just like, let me know. I know I look busy all the time with my head buried in all these old books, but I actually have way too much free time.” 

It would be worrying if Rory could manage to be more awkward than Rio, but hopefully the two would just balance each other out instead. Another small smile broke across his face when Rory tried to defend him but eventually settled on pathetic, “Yeah, yeah. Sounds mean but it’s the best way to describe it.” He laughed again, quieter this time, at her seemingly unintentional joke and nodded, “Yeah. We’ll figure it out.”

“It would have made a lot more sense than pulling up to see a woman in her early twenties, that’s for sure.” Rory remembered how confused she’d been, but she realized soon after that that was just how Ulfric spoke about the younger wolves, whether in actual age, or in relation to when they had first shifted, or been bit, or whatever route their wolf-like nature had taken. “They do, yeah. I was surprised to find out that they’re… not really afraid of us. I thought that maybe I’d hate cats after being turn–” She swallowed the words and shrugged before continuing, “I just thought that I’d hate them. I guess that’s a stereotype.” She remembered the way Steph had begged to get a kitten, but Rory had been too afraid that she would traumatize it. Rory brushed the thought off before inhaling sharply through her nose, a smile easing across her features. 

“I don’t want to be a bother or anything, but if I need anything I’ll… keep that in mind.” Rory hoped that they wouldn’t, just so that they wouldn’t take up any of Rio’s precious time. He could have been sleeping if she hadn’t kept him there in the living room. Then again, couldn’t he have just left if he really wanted to? “I think we’re both pathetic, if that’s the case.” Rory knocked their heel against the wood floor boards before letting out a small breath. “Thanks… um, for the talk and everything.” Rory did feel better than before they had run into Rio, even if a lot of their conversation had been slightly on the more awkward side. “It was nice.” 

As much as Rio had learned about werewolves growing up, there were a lot of small things he had never learned either. His parents never would have taught them anything about werewolves that could be perceived as human. Little quirks like whether or not cats hated werewolves or not had never been part of their curriculum. “Yeah, they don’t exactly have welcome guides ready for you, huh?” Rio at least had the luxury of knowing what he was since birth. The hunter's life might have been forced onto him, but he had been able to see it coming. How did someone prepare to be bitten? To have their lives changed forever? “I’m not sure how much help it will be now obviously, but I have a ton of books on uh- werewolf..ness.” Rio suggested, trying to offer it up as nonchalantly as possible, “If you ever want to look through. You might find some answers to questions if you ever have them.” It wasn’t much in terms of comfort, but Rio had always considered knowledge power.

“Please do. I promise you’re never a bother.” Typically, Rio veered away from using the word, surviving trauma from being promise bound usually silenced him. But in this case where he knew the opposing party was clearly not a fae he felt more comfortable throwing it around more casually. It didn’t stop it from leaving a sour taste in his mouth. “If that’s the case at least we’re not alone.” Rio shrugged, hoping this made her feel even a tiny bit better. He truly enjoyed their chat, but knew that it was time to wrap up and give Rory their space back. “Same here. Maybe we will run into each other for another late night chat again. But uh- for now I guess, good night. And I’ll see you in the morning?”

“No, they don’t. It’d be easy if they did, wouldn’t it?” Or would it have made everything worse? Rory let out a laugh that sounded more pathetic than they intended to let out. Rio’s suggestion that they go through his texts wasn’t a surprise to Rory. He had already offered to help her in a number of ways, what was one more? She was disappointed that she couldn’t offer parts of herself, but seeing as she was as useless as she was, it was hard to convince herself that she could offer him anything of use. “That would be cool. I’ll let you know if I want to take a look at it.” Would she be afraid of what she found, or would she be grateful? That was the question. 

Rory nodded, trying her best to absorb his words. If he meant it, then she would need to take it for what it was; honesty. What good would it do her to throw his words back in his face, or to insist that she truly was a bother? “Thanks again, Rio.” She glanced over her shoulder towards her room, then back to Rio. “That sounds nice. Yeah, for sure.” Rory raised her hand in a wave to Rio before letting it fall back to her side, stepping around the couch to find solitude in the silence of her room, though she could still hear their heartbeats and light breathing. She wouldn’t ever be alone again, despite the heavy feeling in her chest. 

[beastbitten]

"M... Miðgarðr?" The man tried on the tip of his tongue, hoping that his thick Texan accent hadn't butchered the pronunciation too much. "No, it's... it's fine, jus'... jus' need a minute to let it all sink, y'know?" He admitted with another shy smile, lifting a skinny hand to gesture at his head. "Only got so much space in there." At least he still had his sense of humour, even if he was still a little nervous. Not because he thought Hel would harm him in anyway, but because he couldn't imagine what it must be like to talk to humans, or mortals, at least, when she was a literal God. He didn't want to bore her or even just annoy her with his -- - mortal-ness? Werewolf thing aside.

"'tween me 'n' him, I, uh... I think I'm the brooder in the family." Ethan couldn't quite stop himself from laughing a little as he ducked his head down, almost embarrassed by the fact that he was laughing, even if it did amuse him to some degree. He supposed in the grand scheme of things it wasn't all that amusing, most of his time was spent worrying about the people around him, desperately trying to hide himself away for their safety, so terrified of something going wrong. But he was off the farm and talking to a stranger which was definitely a step in the right direction.

"D'you ever get time off? I mean, you're here right now, is... is this a sorta vacation for you? Or you, uh... still kinda workin' while you're here? Like bein' two places at once, or somethin'?" Again, Ethan wasn't about to pretend that he knew anything about her or how it all worked, but he was still listening intently.

"Um... I was wonderin', if it's not, uh... rude to ask or nothin', how... how old are you?" He was definitely hoping that it wasn't an insult to ask a god how old they were, it wasn't as if her face gave him much of a real answer, she had to be far older than she looked, right?

"Mhm! The Miðgarðr Serpent. Miðgarðr is what we call earth. He is the earth snake!" Maybe a little slower than she should have, Hel began to realise she was overloading him with the history of her self, her people and her worlds. Between her brows wrinkled as she thoughtfully watched him, wondering whether or not it was time to get him a chair to sit down. "It is a lot of information. You're right," she spoke very gently, setting her excitement down, "I think we should stop talking about it now. If you are curious later, when it's set in, you're more than welcome to seek me out."

"That's perfectly reasonable." She chuckled sweetly and shook her head, "You're doing far better than some Miðgarðians. Some found the truth of the worlds and simply lost the ability to learn at all. Too overwhelmed, I think."

Hearing him explain, even briefly, why his parents and he didn't keep in touch left Hel feeling incredibly protective of this perfect stranger. If they could not accept him -presumably for the wolf thing- why not the sister of wolves herself? And if it was for some other reason? Well, she wasn't one to judge. At least not openly. ...Most times..

"That's.." She felt the excitement swell in her chest once more and purposefully kept it in check, her expression even and her words slow. "Really nice. I think I am the chatty sibling. All my brothers do is brood."

"I do." She nodded, "It is rewarding and you are right, it is a lot. Of pressure, of work, stress and anguish. But.. It is literally what I was made for. The complexities of personal emotion put a damper on that but.. I was the one who chose to be born."

[nat-20s]

what’s poppin everyone please have this fun lil writing warmup/short story inspired by me thinking “Dancing in the Moonlight” was definitely 100% about werewolves

~*~

“So, this your first transformation?”

The counselor? Leader? Tour guide? Asked this with a perfectly jovial tone, as if the typical social mores surrounding, ugh, lycanthropy, didn’t apply to her. They didn’t know what exact title to call her, and her name tag just said “Luna”, which, reflecting on it, either was a joke on her part or a reflection of her parents’ sense of humor.

Picking at the scabs from last month, they cringed and replied, “No. Uh. Second.”

Luna lets out a low whistle. “Oof. That sucks. Guessing you got bitten rather than inherited the ol’ wolfman gene?”

“That’s...kind of personal?”

Unlocking the front door of the log cabin that served as King Harvest’s Headquarters, Luna shrugs and says, “Shit, sorry. Forgot the whole weird stigma around your source of the once monthly nightmare, as if it fuckin matters. Also, I know, I know, ass out of you and me. Hey, you got any dietary restrictions? Gluten, peanut allergies, the like?”

Voice flat, they tell her, “I’m vegetarian,” and waits for the obvious response.

As they wander through the cabin towards the kitchen, Luna flipping on the light switches, generic club music starts to filter in. Instead of the obvious response, Luna asks, “You like veggie burgers? Or maybe pasta? I’d offer salad, but that’s really not gonna cut it for tonight.”

“I ate before I came.”

With a snort, she tells them, “Oh yeah? Did you have about 4000 calories?”

“No? Why would I have?”

Sweeping out her arm, she gestures at the food laying out on the counter and tells them, “Then eat up! 4000 is really a minimum for the night if you don’t want to feel like someone physically beat out all of your energy in the morning. 6000 is more the target area, but we got, hmm, about 15 minutes before things get uncomfortable, and half an hour max before things get dire.”

They glance down to the food, and, admittedly, the broccoli alfredo does look pretty appealing. Still, they have to ask, “Is this a cult?”

Luna lets out a bark of a laugh that has nothing to do with her (maybe) being a werewolf. “Okay, first of all, what kind of cult is like ‘fuck yeah, we’re a cult’? Secondly, despite the first thing, I can say that we’re not a cult. I know how “King Harvest: Center for Movement Therapy” sounds, both clinical and vague enough to be suspicious as hell, but I didn’t come up with the title, blame my long deceased dad for that one. Plus, ‘King Harvest: Bitchin’ Wolf Dance House’ probably wouldn’t look good on the grant applications.”

“Grants?”

“Oh yeah. This bad boy’s been publicly funded since its opening in 1972. Hence no membership fees.”

“Is that why animal control is giving out your business card? Are they one of your sponsors?”

“Nah, that’s just Jack. Me ‘n’ him go way back, hell, to his park ranger days.  I mean, yeah, I think he’ll campaign for us, but mostly I think he just hates capturing a wolf in the night only to have a naked, trembling human in the morning, and he knows that our program significantly reduces the odds of that happening, at least in this neck of the woods.”

They let out a hum, then glance back down to the food. As appealing as it down look, they’re still about..30% convinced this is an elaborate organ harvesting operation. Or sketchy sex thing.

Apparently sensing their hesitation, Luna says, “You got a favorite chip?”

“Salt and vinegar.”

Grabbing a sealed family sized bag from the overhead cabinets, Luna tosses it to them. “If you come back next full moon, either eat enough in advance or have a real meal here. That being said, excuse the turn of phrase, you should wolf that down. It’s sure as hell better than nothing.”

They catch it, and the bag opens with a puff of air that speaks to a reassuring lack of tampering. As they toss a chip into their mouth, Luna grabs a water bottle from the fridge and places it down next to them. “So? Any questions for me? We’ve still got about ten minutes before we have to go out there.”

Rolling their eyes, they tell her, “No. None at all.”

“Great! Soon as you’re done eating we’ll get you started.”

“I was being sarcastic.”

“Yeah, no shit, smart-ass. Seriously, what are your, we haven’t got much time.”

“I don’t know? The whole..thing? I mean, how is it supposed to..work? Like? At all?”

“You ever see Amok Time?”

“Is that relevant?”

“It’s a yes or no question babe.”

“And if I say no?”

“Then the explanation is going to be a lot more technical and take a lot longer, ultimately to likely make less sense.”

“...I’ve seen it.”

“Great! So, Pon Farr is basically this chemical blood imbalance that results in fuck or die disorder, yeah? But then Spock neither fucks nor dies, and eventually the vulcans get their shit together and find out that an intense fight can serve the same function, and the blood fever chills out. Lycanthropy operates on a similar enough basis for comparison. You’re compelled to act out on energetically heavy base instincts, returning to the ways of the wolf or whatever. Traditionally, that’s done through running and hunting, which has, historically, been a crapshoot at best. Theoretically, sex can also get the job done, but I’m sure you can imagine how that gets extremely dicey extremely quickly. Either restraints or isolation has been implemented for a while, but, c’mon, they’re bandaid solutions, and they’re far from foolproof. Luckily for us all, my grandmother decided to connect back with her ancestors, and there was a handful of stories having huge festivals to deal with ‘moon violence’. She tried it out, and, yeah, dancing works.”

“That sounds…”

They don’t know how that sounds. Made up, mostly.

“Like a bunch of hippie bullshit? Yeah, it kind of is, Grandma Josephine was a huge hippie, but it’s hippie bullshit that works. In fact, let’s go see the others, it almost always makes things clearer.”

Figuring that whatever they’re about to see can’t be worse than their transformation last month. They head through the sliding glass door out the back, the thump of the music suddenly loud enough to be felt in their chest. The sight that awaits them makes them drop their chips and let out a gasp. Barely able to speak, they exhale out, “None of them...they’re not wolves. How..how??”

Indeed, the roughly forty people jumping to the pulse of whatever they’re listening to (some to the in house DJ, some, apparently, to what’s playing over the large headphones they have adorned), resemble the image of a wolfman much more accurately. They bare claws, fangs, elongated snouts, upright ears, and  serious amounts of hair, but they’re on two legs, and moving like humans. Some of them are even singing along to the lyrics, which really shouldn’t be possible.

Luna grins, making it obvious that she’s used to this level of shell shocks. “Ultimately, you do have to give into some damn rigorous instincts. But dancing is a human instinct, not a canine one, so you end up, well, humanoid. Pretty nifty, huh?”

“And they all..they all keep their minds? I didn’t...they don’t blackout?”

“Not since we banned alcohol in the 90s! Here, watch this.”

Luna nods her head at the DJ, and the DJ, obligingly, turns down the music for a moment. The members of the crowd not listening to their own music pause, then look towards the door. She cries out, “Hey gang! HOW WE ALL DOIN’ TONIGHT?”, and gets a mix between a howl and “WOO!” cried back. The DJ then turns the music back up, and the general movement of the crowd resumes.

They should be more skeptical. They want to be more skeptical, they were just minutes before, but it’s hard to disagree with something right in front of you. “This will work for me? I just..have to dance?”

“Well, it’s not guaranteed. Few things are. But we have yet to have someone turn violent on us. If you start to fell yourself slipping from consciousness, though, I do ask that you start heading further into the woods, as to not hurt other guest. If you find yourself just getting tired, there’s beds inside, and a fair amount of pillows around the edge of the quote unquote dance floor, if you end up in more of a nesting mood. Also, I recommend taking off your shoes before you start.”

“What? Why?”

Luna gives a pointed glance at the dancers’ feet, which, ah. They’re about twice as large as normal and at least twice as sharp. The converse on their feet would be no match. “Ah.”

“Ready?”

They shove off their shoes and place the remainder of their chips aside. “As I’ll ever be.”

Good thing, too, as they’re starting to feel an uncomfortable pressure in their chest that was the prelude to disaster last month.

Luna strides to the center of the dance floor, which is really a plush lawn surrounded by forest. The crowd naturally moves around her, and she yells out, “Aiyana! Play my song!”

Aiyana gives a nod, and the opening notes of “Dancing in the Moonlight” start to sound out. “Seriously?”

Luna shrugs, grinning like a fool, and says, “It’s a classic!”

“It’s cliché at best.”

Luna shrugs, and then begins dancing. She’s hardly elegant, but she is dazzlingly joyful in her uncoordinated movements. As the song reaches the first chorus, she gives a twirl, and in the split second it takes, she’s transformed. They blink in shock, not knowing you could transform that seamlessly, that quickly, that painlessly. Luna in half wolf form is just as expressive as the human Luna, and she gives a nod over her shoulder as if to say Come on.

Feeling somewhat foolish, they start to bop their head to the tune. Luna lets out a huff and grabs their hands, spinning them around and forcing them to get moving. At first, it’s them indulging Luna, but as they let themselves get lost in rhythm, they feel a stretching sensation in their face and limbs. It’s not unpleasant, more like when you wake up and work out the tension in your spine. They open their eyes and look down at their hands, now covered in fur in and made for slashing. It didn’t hurt. It didn’t hurt, and they’re still themselves, and they had no idea that full moons could be like this, maybe for the rest of their lives.

They turn their head to the night sky, and their body can’t help but continue to dance. Despite all their fear, all their dread, “movement therapy” worked, and they can admit, at least to themselves, that they feel warm and bright.