#or tasteful werewolf undertones

[kyngsnake]

yeah. one consequence of Avery’s mutation is a slightly higher average body temp. 101-103f sort of range. Sleeping next to him in the desert probably sucks actually.

[blooming-violets]

CREATURE LIKE ME || CHAPTER SIX: KRAVEN THE HUNTER

[TASM Peter Parker!Werewolf AU]

Story Summary: Kraven and his guild of hunters have been tracking and quelling the werewolf population for centuries. The time has come for Aylin to complete her first solo hunt to prove herself to the guild. It was supposed to be simple. One wolf, one death, one victory. She never expected to end up with a secret hostage on her hands.

Chapter Six Warnings (spoilers but important to read anyway for this chapter!!): childhood grooming, abuse of power with sexual intent, nonconsensual touching, major age gap, talk of forced pregnancy through grooming behaviors, being forced by circumstances to act in a sexual that they otherwise would not chose to do, descriptions of heavy dissociation, mild descriptions of torture wounds from chapter 5, heavy descriptions of branding with a hot iron, death talk/murder of father and brother, this chapter is full of dark creepy sexual predator undertones meant to make you feel uncomfortable - this is your warning

[link to chapter index]

“Give ‘em hell.”

The wolf girl’s words rang in her ears as the gears to the bookcase alerted them to Calypso’s impending return. 

She watched the girl sink back to the bottom of her cage and curl into a ball to not draw any further attention to herself. Talking as much as she had clearly worn her out. Whether or not Aylin took her life, she probably wouldn’t make it until morning in her condition. 

Give them hell. 

Aylin couldn’t move. She couldn’t hold her own head up. If there weren’t chains attached to her wrists, she’d be laid out flat on the floor. She was too weak. Too broken. Too tired. There was no hell to give when she couldn’t ignite the fire in her chest. It had burned out to nothing but simmering coals. She couldn’t even stop the silent tears openly flowing down her cheeks. 

She didn’t want to kill the wolf girl. 

She didn’t want to kill anyone. 

That’s all everyone ever wanted from her. Her life was spent training to be the best. The fastest, the stealthiest, the deadliest. Train, fight, kill. Three things she was supposed to do better than anyone else. She’d never once stopped to question if there were any other options for her until she stole Peter from his captors. Going against everything she was ever taught, her every instinct, allowed her to grab a tiny morsel of what free will tasted like.

Now that she had it, she didn’t want to let it go.  

Aylin closed her eyes, listening to Calypso’s slow descent down the creaking wooden stairs, and imagined that she was standing at the edge of the forest pond. She tried to imagine the sound of croaking bullfrogs as the morning mist was pushed across the still waters by the rising sun. The light breeze rustled through her hair and tickled her nose. She felt no pain here. Her body was healed and she was happy. Peter was behind her, splayed out on the old hammock, rocking lazily back and forth as he tried to befriend a curious chipmunk with a scraps of bread. Mourning doves cooed in the trees above them. Peace. True peace. She let the warmth of the daydream envelop her. 

When she had first found Peter, he had been tortured for months. He had been beaten, broken, and abused. He had endured so much and there he was, tucked into her memories, beside her at the pond. It wasn’t a fantasy or a far-fetched dream. It had been real. It had happened. Peter survived through his torment to make it to the pond with her. He’d survived long enough to find a new moment of serenity. He made it out of his chains and got to taste freedom once more. 

Aylin focused on the warm coals in her chest. They weren’t completely doused cold. Not yet. She could still grow this fire. If Peter could break free after all that time then she could survive a few hours. His strength could give her strength. She would find her way back to him. 

Give them hell. 

A tiny spark of hope ignited. 

She opened her eyes with a new found sense of determination. There would be no more tears. She would feel no more pity. She would do what she had to get herself out of this basement. She was the daughter of Samuel and Nesrin. She was the sister of Emir. She was a fierce warrior with the soul of a raging sun. 

She was Aylin the Hunter and she would not be broken by her people. 

She would not let her own guild take her down. 

“Give ‘em hell,” she whispered under her breath. 

“What was that, dear?” Calypso quipped as she stepped into the light with a tote bag draped over her shoulder. She had finally tied her robe back together to cover herself. Not that Aylin cared anymore what the woman looked like. She stunk of evil regardless of what she was wearing. 

Aylin stared her down, putting her emotionless mask onto her face, ready to play along with the sick games. She would say and do anything she had to make them trust her. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of the wolf girl smirk before she quickly hid her face in the crook of her arm. She knew her words had hit home with Aylin. 

“Nothing,” Aylin gave her a tight, closed lip smile.  

Calypso crooked her brow but shook it off, “Sergei will be down soon. He has some words to have with you. Let’s get you cleaned up before he arrives.” She dropped her bag to the ground and, with one sweeping motion, pushed the scattering of tools off the table onto the floor. A bone saw slid towards Aylin’s feet and she was thankful it was one tool that hadn’t been used on her. 

“I’m going to let you down and lay you on your stomach on top of the table to tend to your back first,” Calypso said. “I’ll stop the bleeding and wrap you up.” 

She pulled a little brass key from her robe pocket and stepped over the saw to reach up towards the chain cuffs. With a quiet click, Aylin’s wrists were sprung free. Her legs immediately gave out and she tumbled backwards. Calypso caught her in her strong grasp, slinging Aylin’s arm over her shoulder, and dragged her towards the table. 

Everything hurt. 

Her head was dizzy from the fog of the pain. Pins and needles spread throughout her arms as the blood rushed down to her fingers after being denied it for so long. The torn up skin on her back cried in agony with every flex of her muscles. She forced herself to think about her and Peter’s pond. She desperately tried to remember the sound of the doves in the trees and the smell of the crisp morning breeze after a night of rain. She willed her brain to focus on the memory of Peter in the hammock instead of on the torment of her body. His shaggy, wet hair from laying under dripping leaves…the white scars across his pale, sun deprived chest…the way he nuzzled his cheek against the strong swell of his shoulder muscle as his long lashes fluttered closed… 

She couldn’t recall the exact moment Peter had grown into her source of comfort down here but he was becoming all she could think about. Maybe it was her lack of sleep and waning sanity? Maybe it was because being with him at the pond was her last brief moment of happiness before she ended up in this basement? Maybe it was the fact that she actually was starting to appreciate everything he had given her in that short amount of time since knowing him? Her entire world view shifted the moment they met. Her path switched its course. Her life changed. Was it worse? Better? She didn’t know. All she knew was that the longer she was away from him, the greater her heart began to ache to have him back.

Her body felt like a floating feather as Calypso hoisted her with ease onto the table.

The wood was warm under her shivering skin. The burning fire against the back wall had done well to heat the surface. She let her eyes close and allowed the warmth to absorb straight into her aching bones. Between the memories of the pond and finally being horizontal, she was certain she could fall asleep within seconds. She could already feel herself drifting. 

A glass cup being placed against her lips jarred her from the clutches of her inevitable sleep. Aylin’s eyes shot open and she instinctively jerked away from it, sending shooting pain down her back, as she shoved it away. The last time something was unexpectedly pressed against her mouth, she had lost a tooth. Her body was on high alert, ready to fight with whatever little it had left to give. 

The smell of fresh herbs filled her nostrils. The amber liquid was hot and steaming. Despite the enticing smell, she had fallen for this trap before. Drinks from this woman could not be trusted.

Calypso grabbed the back of Aylin’s head and shoved the cup towards her again, “Don’t be so dramatic. I only drugged you to get you down here and, since you’re already here, I have no more use for that tea. This is a different concoction. It will take the edge off the pain. Not a lot but enough so that you won’t keep passing out whenever you move. Sergei needs you awake and able to stand.” 

She tipped the contents down Aylin’s throat to little resistance. Whatever fight she thought she had moments ago, disappeared faster than it arrived. She was too tired. It had been a few hours since she last had anything to drink. Her throat was dry and her tongue felt like rough sandpaper. She gave in and greedily gulped down the entire cup. It felt instantly numbing as it slid over her sore gums. She welcomed the feeling.

“Good, good. I’m glad to see you’re finally starting to cooperate,” Calypso remarked as she gathered up Aylin’s sticky, blood soaked hair off her back and draped it off to the side. “Maybe there’s hope for you after all.” 

A mason jar with filled honey colored salve was placed next to her head. The jar popped open and Calypso dug some out onto her long, slim fingers. She gently smeared it across Aylin’s back with precise, soft strokes. She had been expecting it to sting or cause pain like everything else Calypso did, instead, she felt a cooling sensation spread throughout the wounds. Her pain was beginning to fade the more salve covered. She closed her eyes and let herself enjoy the brief moment of peace. She imagined herself back in the hammock with Peter as their gentle rocking lulled her into a state of bliss. 

A Silver Colt and a Lycan, squished together in a single hammock. What a strange pair they made. 

The ghost of a smile tugged at the corner of her lips. 

“Feels good, doesn’t it?” Calypso stated. The sound of her grating voice put a damper on Aylin’s daydreams. “I use this on Sergei whenever he returns from a nasty fight. It clots the blood and soothes out the pain for a bit. Now, if you had just behaved in the first place, we wouldn’t need to be using this. You could be home with your mother, enjoying the benefits of being a proper hunter. Instead, you’re covered in blood, and in need of repair. You made a real mess of yourself down here, kid. I’ve seen men torn apart by wolves look better than you.” 

Like Aylin had a choice in what happened to her. At least she hadn’t given up Peter. He was still safe. That’s what mattered. 

If he was even still at their camp. He could have been long gone by now for all she knew. If he had any wits about him, he would have fled the moment she left him alone. That’s what she would have done if the roles were reversed. 

Except that wasn’t true. 

She was lying to herself. 

She would have stayed. She would have waited for him in the hopes that he returned. Because, despite their heated arguments, she would want to see him again. To make sure that he was okay. To look him in the eyes and know that he was safe. 

She prayed he was doing just that. She wanted to see him again. She needed to. She needed this torture to be worth something. 

He had to be the light at the end of her tunnel for any of this to make sense. 

Calypso wiped her hands off and reached back into her bag for some clean dressing just as heavy footsteps descended down the stairs. Aylin turned her head to watch Kraven’s hulking form emerge from the shadows. Every time she saw him, he looked bigger. 

Or maybe it was her confidence shrinking. 

Calypso sighed, “She's not ready yet. I’ve barely started.” 

Kraven’s eyes widened as he stepped closer, taking in the sight of his captive, “What in the Helios have you done to her, Cal? I told you to shake her up and scare her. Not mutilate her. She’s a Colt, not a wolf.” 

Calypso gave a satisfied smile, admiring her work, “She was a tough one to break. Strong willed. It needed to be done. I think she got the message, though.” 

He placed a hand over the top of Aylin’s head, patting her hair like his favorite dog, as he looked around the room, “I’ll hose down the blood while you get her wrapped up. And reset her broken fingers. They’ve turned blue.” 

Aylin’s shredded bra had been discarded but the bandages tending to her back had been wrapped around her chest to keep her somewhat decent. Kraven had insisted to his wife that she give Aylin back some of her dignity by covering her breasts with the wrap. As if she wasn’t still laid out on a table in nothing but her blood soaked underwear. She knew it was another play to present himself as a kind hearted gentleman. The good cop, bad cop routine was blatantly obvious.

When Calypso had finished caring for Aylin’s back, she set her broken bones and bound them together in a tight splint. Kraven had placed a heavy hand over Aylin’s mouth, as his wife snapped the bones back into place, to stifle her shriek of pain. His murmurs of attempted comfort in her ear did little to soften the blow. 

She was now resting with her cheek pressed against the table, eyes closed, and dozing in and out of consciousness while the other two spoke softly in the corner. Their low voices were lulling her into a trance and beckoning her towards sleep. With the worst of the pain being dulled by the medicine, Aylin decided to let herself drift off until they called on her. Her body was exhausted. 

She allowed the sleep to take her.

“Have a nice rest?” 

Kraven’s voice jared through her hazy dreams. She struggled to open her eyes and saw him lounging in a wooden chair at her side. Calypso was no longer in the room. Alyin felt a breath of relief to be rid of her dominating presence. Kraven scared her but she still felt more familiar with him than his wife. He was more predictable and easier for her to get a read on. He was less likely to strike without baring his teeth first. She tried to push herself up, feeling stiff and achy. Some of the drugs must be starting to wear off because there was pain radiating across her wounded back whenever she moved. 

He quickly stood up, putting a hand under her armpit, to hoist her into a sitting position, “There you go. Nice and slow. Cal really did a number on you. I had a talk with her about it. I didn’t realize she would go that hard.” 

A statement. Not an apology. She kept her face placid with a hint of affection towards him. She needed to play this game to perfection. He was the weaker of the two when it came to her. If she was going to win anyone over with her feigned charm, it would be him. He was going to become her well loved, revered leader once again. She would worship at his feet if it got him to trust her. All she had to do was play along enough to get out of here. 

Whatever it takes. 

Kraven grabbed a jug of ice cold water by his feet and lifted it to her lips, “Drink. Get hydrated. You’ve been asleep for a couple hours. It’s about two in the morning now. I’d let you sleep through the night but I don’t think the bitch will make it that long.” He jerked his head back to the wolf girl who’s shallow breaths were slow and few between. Her time on this Earth was almost complete. “How are you feeling?”

She shrugged, flinching at the pain following that movement, “Been better.” 

He nodded as if he truly understood the depravity she’d been through. His dark eyes studied her face. She could feel dried blood caked to her cheeks and she shivered a bit under his watchful gaze, wishing she had a blanket wrapped around her to shrink into. She wondered where they were keeping her clothes and if they’d ever return them back to her. 

“Are you cold?” He asked. “Would you like to sit closer to the fire?” 

Without waiting for her answer, Kraven stood up and helped her to her feet. He kept her steady with one arm and grabbed the chair with the other. He walked them closer to the open, wood burning stove. The orange glow danced over her bare skin and encircled her legs with warmth. It felt nice. Not as nice as being clothed would feel but it was better than nothing. Kraven placed the chair on the ground and sunk into it. He wrapped a restraining arm around her waist and pulled her onto his lap. Aylin stifled a yelp of shock and quickly forced her widening eyes to relax. Her thumping heart did nothing to help her growing panic. She had not expected that move. 

She felt his chest rumbling with amusement as he chuckled to himself under her. 

“Something the matter?” He asked with an air of innocence. He was purposely pushing her past her comfort zone. He knew exactly what he was doing. 

But so did she. 

Whatever it takes. 

Aylin shook her head, “No. It’s warm over here. Thank you.”

“Good.” He relaxed into the back of the chair and draped both her legs over his so her side was cradled against his chest. “Is that comfortable? I don’t want to disturb your back too much. She really ripped you up back there.” 

She swallowed, willing her heart to steady, “Yes. It’s fine.” 

It was not fine. 

Kraven’s hands wandered over her muscular thighs, his nails picking at the dried blood crusting there, “You could use a long shower. Cal might have dealt with your injuries but she sure as shit didn’t do much to clean you. You’re a dirty, little mess.” 

Showers and Kraven in the same sentence made her body want to physically revolt. Her jaw tightened at the thought. She tried to force herself to relax. She wasn’t a physically affectionate person before she was brutally tortured and she definitely never wanted to be sitting on this man’s lap while practically nude. 

But, if this was what he wanted, then it was what she would give him. She only begged that it go no further than this. 

At least the fire felt nice. She tried to imagine what it would be like to sit in Peter’s lap, instead. She replaced Kraven’s face with her Lycan. She’d been dissociating for hours. This would be no different. 

She just simply…wasn’t here. 

The real Aylin was gone. Lost inside the winding labyrinth of her mind. Snuggled in a warm hammock with her friend. Her body could do the acting for her. Her true self was locked up somewhere safe. 

Far away. 

Someplace where freedom and fear of the unknown walked hand in hand. Someplace kind and soft. 

She wasn’t here. Everything would be okay as long as she wasn’t here. 

Whatever it takes.   

Aylin placed a soft smile on her face and leaned into him like he was her long time lover, “I’m hoping this can all be over soon. I’d like to get back to how things used to be as soon as possible.” 

Kraven patted her leg, “I don’t think we can go back to before. I don’t want to. I’d like things to be different. They need to keep moving forwards. To keep evolving. I had plans for you, you know? Important plans. Plans that involve the delicate future of this guild with you at that center. You see, Aylin, you're more important than you even know. I chose you. The moment you were born, I chose you. I knew you would be the one to save us from extinction.” 

She had no idea what he was talking about but she played along by softly nodding as he spoke.

He paused, lifting his hand to gently grasp her chin between his fingers, and brushed his thumb across her cheek,  “Would you like to know why?” 

It was too soft of a gesture. Too loving. Everything felt wrong. 

Her stomach ached and she felt nauseous. 

Aylin put a soft, confused look over her features to make herself look more innocent and forgivable than she felt, “Of course, Sergei. You know I’d do anything to help our people.” 

He gave her a warm smile and leaned down to kiss the tip of her nose. 

Her breath caught in her throat. 

Her father used to kiss her like that when she was a child.  

The grief filled memory crashed through the fragile walls of her labyrinth. She had forgotten that memory. Once it was lost to time but now it was back with vengeance, ready to plague through her delicately crafted daydreams. It flooded her vulnerable mind like a broken dam unable to hold back the building pressure.  

She had to fight back the lump in her throat in an attempt to survive as the memory came crashing down around her until it was all she could feel. She was no longer exposed, broken, and forced to be affectionate with a man she despised. Instead, she was small and tucked away safely into the warmth of her childhood bed. 

She was five years old again. Her father was climbing the steep stairs up to her bedroom loft. He had to hunch over to stop from hitting his head on the slanted, wooden ceiling. The smell of sweat, cigars, and the fresh, night air clinging to his thick flannel appeared before he did. He had missed bedtime but he never went to sleep without kissing his children goodnight. 

Kraven was speaking behind the wall of memory. He was stroking her blood hardened hair. His arm was wrapped tightly around her waist and the calloused pad of his thumb was rubbing circles into her thigh. He was too close. Too touchy. His hands roamed freely over her body like he owned every inch of her flesh.

Maybe he did. 

Maybe she was nothing but his property down in this basement. She had no right to her own body. 

His words sounded far away like he was speaking through the opposite end of a long tunnel, “I knew before I married Calypso that she could not bear children. We both knew it but I married her anyway because I loved her. She was my soulmate. The woman of my dreams. The only trait she lacked was the one thing that would keep the Kravinoff line going. Despite my elderly father’s warnings, I didn’t care at the time, because I was young and reckless. I didn’t realize the weight of what it meant to be a leader. This guild has been passed down for generations to the eldest son or daughter. We are raised to take charge. We have much pride in becoming the leader the Silver Colt’s deserve. It is our destiny from being born a Kravinoff but I didn’t realize exactly what that meant until years later.” 

Could not bear children. 

Bear. 

Bears. She was reading about bears. 

She wasn’t listening. She wasn’t here.

She was still awake, hidden under her covers with a flashlight, and flipping through her Zoobooks magazine about bears. When she heard her father coming, she quickly tossed the magazine out from under the covers and shoved the flashlight under her pillow, plopping down on top of it and fake snoring. 

Samuel had chuckled as he peeled back the covers to expose her face. She remembered trying so hard not to smile but the reign of tickles that he attacked her with caused her sleeping facade to drop in a fit of giggles. 

“There came a time when I started to realize that I truly would not have an heir. I began to panic. I knew I had not made a mistake in marrying Calypso. She was everything I could have ever wanted and more. But there would always be one thing missing from my destiny. Something that was integral to the guild’s survival. I needed a child of my own. It was Cal’s idea for what I had to do next. I needed to find someone who would give themselves over to us and let us create the future together.” 

Kraven’s sour words blended in behind the smooth words of her dead father. 

“You’re supposed to be asleep, Linny. Your mother is not going to be happy with you,” he whispered with a teasing smile. “Don’t worry. Your secret's safe with me.”

Safe with me. 

She wasn’t safe. Not here. 

“We searched through the women of the guild. Most were married off already. No one satisfied the needs we had when choosing a mother to bear the future leader. She had to be of good stock. Someone strong. Someone capable. Someone who could pass on their strength to our child. When we couldn’t find that woman, Cal suggested we wait. We train up someone from scratch. We could make someone perfect.” 

Perfect like her father. 

He perched on the edge of her bed and glanced down at the crumpled magazine on the floor, “What were you reading?” 

Alyin rolled onto her back and smiled up at Sam, “It’s about bears. Emir was reading it to me earlier. He said he’s a better reader than me and that I take too slow and only know a couple of words and that I keep making up all the rest.” 

Samuel rolled onto his side beside her, propping his head in his hand as he scratched at the stubble dotting his chin, “I don’t think Em is wrong. You only know how to read about ten words so far.”

She gasped in indignant shock, “That’s lies! I know thirteen words! I counted them.” 

He chuckled, “My deepest apologies. How could I ever have been so far from the truth?” He cupped his daughter’s chubby cheek in his large, warm palm and leaned down to plant a kiss on the tip of her nose. “Do you forgive me?” 

Far from the truth. 

Through the pull of her memories, she tried to piece together what Kraven was implying. Everything was jumbled. His words and the words of her father blended together into one weaving web of confusion. She was struggling to separate the two scenes playing simultaneously. There was a dull ringing in her ears. Her vision couldn’t focus. 

Her heart was crying but her eyes remained dry. 

“I looked for the strongest, most dedicated member of our guild. I knew exactly who it would be. My oldest and dearest friend. At the time he only had a son. I remember him telling me once that he only wanted one child. But I took him out hunting. I talked to him all about his love for Emir. That man raved about this little toddler like the sun shown straight out of his ass. It didn’t take much convincing on my part. All it took was a little nudge to push him in the right direction. ‘Have another kid, Sammy. Look how happy you are with the one. Add one more to the mix. Grow that happiness to one more.’” Kraven huffed with amusement. “It was easy. He had no idea what I was after. Cal and I both waited, hoping that he would give us a daughter. And, sure enough, there you were. A perfect little ball of feisty energy. Cal and I worked it out. I would train you to become the best of the best. You would grow to outrank your father in skill. You would be the best hunter the guild had to offer. And, when you turned 21, I would claim you as my protégé and lay down my offer for you to take. In return for my years of hard work making you who you are today, you would repay the debt by bearing my children for the guild. I would require, at the very least, two. It’s always best to have backup options should one heir not make it to adulthood. Although, if you’re enjoying yourself too much, we could have as many as you’d like. I could give you an entire brood if you wished. Cal and I would treat you like royalty during that time. You would never want for anything again. After two children, the deal would be up, if you’d desire it. You could be free to marry whoever you please and continue on with your life. The deal would be complete. You would have completed your duty to the Silver Colt’s and to the Kravinoff lineage.” 

The fire in her soul flared with a burning heat of anger. She willed her mind to focus on what he was saying. She needed to take it in. She had to understand to unravel the mess of lies that was her entire existence. How could she have ever been so far from the truth?

He wanted her to…to…

But with every heightened jolt of emotion, she was tugged straight back into her childhood bedroom with her beloved father, like a knight swooping in to protect the vulnerable princess. 

Aylin gave in, grinning at her father with a gap toothed smile,“Yes, I do forgive you, but only for right now. Tomorrow I might not because tomorrow I might know fifteen hundred words and then you’ll look silly for thinking I only knew ten.”

“That’s a lot of words,” he nodded in admiration at her willful determination. “If you suddenly know how to read fifteen hundred words by tomorrow then I will buy you an entire library full of books about bears. Promise.” 

She held out a tiny pinky finger to lock with his, “Deal.”

Deal. Deal. Deal. 

That word meant nothing to her anymore. 

Her mind was reeling. It couldn’t stay focused. It was drifting. She was both lost in her labyrinth and stuck in the present. One foot clinging to the miserable reality of her life and the other in the grave beside her dismembered father. 

Nothing was real. 

Her body was betraying her with the sting of tears pressing at her eyes. She had to lean her head against Kraven’s chest, the fur of his Lycan pelt shall obscuring her from view, as she willed the tears not to fall. They weren’t tears of sadness but of unadulterated rage.

He could claim her? He made her who she was? Repaying her debt?

Her eyes landed on the fire poker sticking out the flames of the open oven. A potential weapon. She needed to locate all the weapons close at hand. He would stop her before she was able to lunge forward to reach it but, if she could somehow break free from his hold, it could be a viable option. Kraven always had his signature curved dagger holstered to his thigh, too. That one was much closer but she would need to distract him before she could snake it out of its sheath without him noticing. 

She could be that distraction. She just had to shed herself of the fear clutching at her throat. He scared her. He was stronger than she was. She was so weak compared to him. The realization of what she would have to do to distract him was becoming clearer and she hated her options. 

Whatever it takes. 

Whatever it takes. 

Whatever it fucking takes. 

Get out of this basement, no matter the cost. That was the goal. She’d sell her soul if it meant getting to taste her freedom once more. She could lose one part of herself in order to gain another. 

She knew exactly what she had to do. 

Samuel gave her another quick kiss on the forehead and pushed himself off the bed, “Alright. I have to get to sleep myself. No more reading for tonight, little lady. I don’t want you being a cranky kid for your mom tomorrow.” He ducked back out towards the stairs. 

“Baba,” Aylin whispered back to him before his head could disappear down the steps. “Did you know that black bears are omy-whores? That means they can eat everything. Even trash.” 

Samuel gave a booming belly laugh that filled the quiet house with his joy, “Omnivores, Linny. Omnivores. And that’s why we have to be really careful where we keep our trash. We don’t want any bears wandering into camp.”

She didn’t know what was so funny but she always liked the feeling of making her father laugh. She beamed at him, pleased with herself, “Sergei will kill them if they get too close. He’ll keep us safe.” 

Samuel winked, “Not if I get to them first. Don’t forget, I beat him in every contest we’ve ever been in. Don’t doubt your old pops. You and I, baby girl, we’re stronger than anyone can ever imagine. Don’t count us out.” 

“Then why is he in charge instead of you?” She questioned, too young to grasp the weight of his response. 

“Because,” Samuel stated with simplicity. “His father was the leader and his father before that and so on and so forth. Sometimes a leader is born instead of earned. Being named a leader doesn’t make you worthy. He’s no better than you or I. He’s just a man.” 

He’s just a man. 

Sergei Kravinoff was just a man. 

And men can be manipulated. 

A wicked smile grew across Aylin’s lips. Her fire had consumed her. She was nothing but blinding light and passion ready to burn down anything in her path. 

Don’t count her out. 

She would not dissociate anymore. She would not let herself disappear. She was getting out. She was getting back to Peter. 

Aylin softened her brows to appear with a mild curiosity as she sat up straighter and angled her body to face Kraven the Hunter head on. She would not fear him. 

Whatever it takes. 

“Did you really choose me for that kind of honor? I would have thought you’d want someone more inviting like your wife. I’m nowhere near as attractive as her,” her voice remained soft and sweet like a young girl vying for her teacher's approval. 

A smile tugged at Kraven’s lips, “You’re more alike than you think. And I told you. You were born for this role, Aylin.” 

No.

She was born to be his downfall. She was born to destroy his dynasty. She was born to be the last face he ever saw before his life was cut short. This was her story. Not his. She was no one’s puppet. Not anymore. Her strings were cut free and there was no one that could stop her now. 

Her fire would never be snuffed out again. She may stumble but she refused to fall. 

“And my father never knew?” She quipped. “You never told him? I would think he’d be thrilled to allow me to have such a high ranking place in our guild.” 

Bullshit. 

He would have murdered Kraven without hesitation if he knew. He would have never allowed this to happen. Anyone who dared to prey on Samuel’s children would be slaughtered. He was stronger than his friend. He would have won the fight had he found out what Kraven was planning. He never would have stood for such an ominous scheme involving anyone in the guild, nevermind, his own daughter. There was no way he could have ever known. 

If Sam knew, he would have attacked Kraven. He would have won the fight.

Unless…

Kraven’s silence was damning.

Aylin faltered, “Wait…did my father find out?” 

Kraven shrugged as if it was nothing but a mild annoyance. He was watching her expression carefully. She wouldn’t let her mask slip no matter what he told her. She had to be strong.  

This was not the story she was told. 

Samuel and Emir were killed by Lycan not by Kraven. 

They were killed by wolves. They were ripped apart so badly that her and her mother weren’t allowed to see the bodies. It was Lycan. It was always Lycan that caused their death. 

“He may have found out, yes, but he wasn’t, as you put it, thrilled. It doesn’t matter, though. It wasn’t up to him. He had no power over my ruling.” 

Samuel knew. 

He had found out what Kraven was planning to do to her. 

And then he was dead. 

He had gone on hundreds of hunts and came back without so much as a scratch. Yet, the one hunt he goes on with no one else but her brother and Kraven, they both end up slaughtered with Kraven as the only survivor. 

Something wasn’t adding up.

Kraven’s hand wandered up and down her side, hesitating just under the swell of her breast, before traveling back towards her ass. He was becoming more bold with his movements. He was testing the limits to see how far she would let him willingly go.  

She couldn’t even feel what he was doing to her body anymore as the puzzle pieces began to fall together. She didn’t give a shit where his hands went. They could claw up inside of her and she wouldn’t budge. Her mind was too busy reeling with all this new, damning information. 

“Why would he be upset? I’m shocked. Why wouldn’t he want such a bright future for me?” The words felt acidic in her mouth as she forced herself to say them. She teased her unbroken hand up to tangle into Kraven’s beard and trace a sly finger along his jaw. She had to gain control or else she’d spiral into the oppressive fear crouching just below the surface of her mind. She needed that dagger at his hip. “I would think he would feel nothing but pride by getting to see his child be given over to such a strong and affluent man.” 

Aylin leaned in closer, flashing her best attempt at bedroom eyes at him. He raised his scruffy brows with an enticing curiosity in her pursuit to seduce him. She carefully pulled her leg back to stand up, wrapping it around his thighs instead, to straddle his lap and face him. Her arms snaked around his neck to pull him closer. 

Distract and steal. That was the new goal. She had to push her family's death to the back of her mind so she could focus on what was currently important. Her father and brother would still be dead. She couldn’t allow herself to follow them, yet. 

Get out of the basement.

Whatever it takes. 

“I wish you had told me about your plans for me sooner,” she purred in his ear. “I wish we had skipped over this bullshit and gotten straight to the truth. I kept no secrets about this Peter Parker wolf from you, Sergei. Calypso saw to that. I had nothing but the truth to feed her. I’d never heard of him before you mentioned his name. I’m sorry I couldn’t be of more help to you there in that regard. It is true that I lied about why I ran from my ceremony, though.” Her lips grazed over his hairy cheek and hovered over his parted mouth. “I was scared to kill the girl because I had never seen a wolf presented like that before. It startled me. I panicked and I ran when I should have stuck to my training. I should have trusted you and the Colts. I had a lapse of judgment where I saw her as a young girl instead of a mutt. I know that she wouldn’t hesitate to slaughter everyone in our camp if she had the chance and I hesitated in ending her. It’s my biggest regret. I was embarrassed and so afraid to tell you because I knew I had let you down. I failed you and I’m so sorry. I never meant for that to happen. Let me make it up to you. You’re the most important man in my life.” She brushed her lips softly against his, cutting off a part of her soul in the hopes that something new could grow from the bleeding wound. She would give up little parts of herself until she could shed herself free. She would burst from this basement half the woman she once was but she would live. Remove the infected limb to stop the infection from spreading. Do what she had to in order to stay alive. “I worship you as my leader, Sergei. Let me prove it to you.” 

A low growl rumbled in the back of Kraven’s throat to let her know that her plan was on the right track. His eyes slipped closed at her erotic touch. She could feel a thick tightness twitch in his pants below her and she subtly ground her hips against it to keep it growing. 

It was working. 

She was gaining the upper hand. Horny men were weak men. 

Her eyes dared to glance down at the curved dagger sheathed against his right hip. It was held snugly in place by a brown, leather strap wrapped around the hilt. She’d have to be stealthy and precise with her every move to not alert him to her deceit. 

She trailed her fingertips down his chest, inching closer to her prize. His eyes opened with heavy lids to gaze down at her and she halted her descent. He needed more. 

Aylin released a soft whimper to imitate someone who was in need of being ravished, “Please, Sergei. Let me serve my guild. Let me serve you. I accept your deal.” 

A devilish smile spread across his lips. He grabbed at her hips to roll her against his bulge.

“Do you feel that?” He murmured. “That’s what a real man feels like. I can do things to your body that you never even thought possible.” 

She forced back a gag of disgust. 

Whatever it takes.

“If you accept my offer,” he continued, “then you have to be a full member of the Silver Colts. Your ritual isn’t complete just yet.” 

Aylin’s eyes flashed over to the wolf girl. She was half expecting to find her staring back but the girl was practically gone. Kraven followed her line of sight then tilted her head back to face him, not wanting to share her looks with anyone else. 

“Yes, she’ll need to be dealt with, but there is one more matter to settle first.” The moment he finished speaking, he crashed his lips on top of hers, hungrily grasping at her hips to push her tighter against his cock. 

Her entire body physically revolted. Vomit burned up her throat. She could feel her nerves desperately attempting to claw away from his grasp. Her brain was screaming at her to fight back. It went against every nature in her being but Aylin leaned into the kiss with a ferocity. She pried her tongue into his mouth despite the repugnant taste. She tangled her broken hand into his hair. She angled her body to perfectly grind against his bulge to give him exactly what he wanted.

All so her left hand could sneak down to his hip unnoticed. 

With a blind silence, she slipped open the leather strap. Her fingers curled around the hilt of the dagger. She felt the cool weight of it in her palm. 

Whip it out. Lunge back. Slice it across his neck. 

Three simple steps was all it would take. 

Her heart was racing. Her mind was nothing but static. Her body was playing the part she had casted for it to perfection. He was distracted. He was vulnerable. All she had to do was follow through. 

One…two…thr-

Kraven’s eyes snapped open before she could even attempt to move. They burned into her with a predatory lust. She genuinely couldn’t tell if he wanted to fuck her or murder her. The sight frightened her, making her feel like a tiny rabbit backed into a corner by a hungry wolf. Her hand instinctively slipped from the dagger as he suddenly stood without warning. 

Aylin tumbled off his lap. She was being slammed back down onto the wooden seat. Her back howled in pain as the slats of the chair rubbed against her bandages. Her breath was knocked from her lungs as confusion clouded her thoughts. 

Had he felt what she was doing? 

Kraven gave a nasty smirk. He sank down in front of her and forced her knees wide apart, grinning as he gained a shocked gasp from his captive. His imposing body pushed between her thighs to keep her spread open. 

No. He hadn’t felt her stealing his possession, he was just switching to new positions before she had a chance to remove the dagger. 

The panic flooding her body was becoming too much. Her arms felt numb as tingles of lightheadedness spread across her skin. She wasn’t getting enough oxygen. Her brain was suffocating itself. She didn’t have the upper hand from this position. She wasn’t in control. The dagger was too far away.

She was too late. He was going further than she was comfortable with. Her shifting reality was becoming undeniable. She didn’t want this. 

“Wait,” she breathed through shaky gasps. 

“Hush, little one. Don’t fret.” His breath trailed over her inner thighs as his beard tickled her skin, leaving trails of kisses down her leg. “This isn’t what you think. Not yet, at least. We’ll have time to discover each other later. We don’t want to rush things. Don’t worry. No, no. You have something else in store for you.” 

Aylin watched his every move with a careful intensity, doing her best to keep her rapid breathing steady, as he leaned back towards the fire. Her brows knitted together in confusion when he grabbed the long metal poker sticking out from the depths of the flames. 

For a brief moment she felt an overwhelming relief at being spared the horror of having him eat her out. She could handle kissing and grinding as long as she felt like she commanded the situation. As long as she was able to focus her mind on her ulterior motives then she was able to keep calm. The second he flipped the script, her resolve failed her. She would have had zero control in the position he had placed her in. She would have had to endure his desecration of her body without anything to show for it. The thought was enough to break her. It had become too real. She was flying too close to the sun and her wings were bound to get singed. 

But she would not break down. Not yet. Not here. 

Aylin forced that ‘what ifs’ from her mind and instead geared her attention to what he was holding.

What she originally assumed was fire poker was something else. The end that had been sitting in the flames all this time was formed into a shape she couldn't quite make out at this angle. Though she didn’t need to make out the shape to understand the implications of what Kraven was planning on doing with it.

He was holding a branding iron. 

She vaguely remembered seeing a scarred sun against Kraven’s forearm once but she never thought much of how he acquired it.

Kraven looked towards the iron with admiration, “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” He turned the front towards her so she could get a full picture of the design. 

Through the bright yellow halo and sizzling white smoke, a semi circle stared back at her. Along the circular arch were about ten straight lines sticking outwards to signify the rays of the sun. The ends of the rays were already starting to turn into a deep, glowing orange. The entire design was roughly four inches wide and modeled after the Silver Colt’s sun emblem. She could feel the intense heat radiating off the iron and melting her forehead into beads of sweat.  

Kraven tugged up his shirt sleeve with his teeth and showed her his forearm where a fully healed, white, scarred sun was etched into his skin, “Got this when I turned 18. Every one of the Kravinoff’s get branded to prove our loyalty to this family. The night we got married, I branded Calypso before we made love. She claims it was the most erotic and sensual experience of her life. She has hers right about here.” He held the iron away from Aylin’s face as he leaned forward, still pushed between her thighs, and slipped a finger into the top hem of her underwear next to the dip in her pelvis. “She wanted it tucked away where only my eyes could find it.” 

He smiled and flicked his finger back out, letting the elastic waist snap against her skin, “If you’re serious about our offer like you claim to be then you need to prove it. You join our familia ranks and then finish out your ceremony by cutting the heart of the wolf and tossing it into the fire. Two easy steps to prove to me that you can be reformed. This is your test of loyalty. Cal warmed you up but these are the end steps. By branding you with this sun, you are becoming a part of the Kravinoff family. You will give me children. You will become a full fledged hunter. You will be one of us. Forever. So, I ask you now…do you fully accept?” 

Aylin swallowed. Whatever relief she had felt about not being sexually assaulted had only been replaced by a heavy feeling of dread. This was going to have to happen. In order for her to keep playing along, she would have to say yes. More pain would only push her closer to her end goal of escaping. She would do it.

She just had to know one thing first. 

“Did you kill my father?” Aylin asked, her voice unwavering, as she held perfect eye contact.

A lopsided, proud smile tugged at the corner of his lips, “Not…directly.” 

She could feel the blood draining from her face, “But it was your fault? He found out about your plan and then what? How did they really die?” 

“I told you the day it happened,” he stated. “A wolf ripped him and Emir apart limb by limb.” 

Aylin shook her head in disbelief. A single Lycan wouldn’t have been able to overtake both her brother and father without there being more to the story. 

“The whole story, Sergei,” she demanded. “I want the whole story. Tell me and then I will say yes. I will take your deal. I will let you brand my flesh. I will kill the girl. I will give you children. Whatever you want. But not until I know the truth.” 

Kraven sighed, rolling his eyes. He scooted out from between her legs and tossed the sun end of the iron back into the flames to reheat as he stood.

“Like I said before, you and Cal are more similar than you think. Both stubborn as they come and refuse to do what I ask of them before I give you something in return,” he chuckled quietly to himself. “I clearly have a type for admiring strong willed women. You’re not going to like what I tell you, Aylin. You cared for your family. Their deaths are not as noble as you were led to believe.” 

“I don’t care,” she replied, telling him everything she knew he wanted to hear. “I want the truth. No matter what you tell me, I’ll still comply with whatever you want. I’m still a Silver Colt. This guild is my home. It’s in my blood. You’re my family. I belong here. Now tell me what happened to my father and brother.” 

She held her breath in anticipation for the truth. 

“Emir must have overheard me speaking to Cal about you. It was around the time I saw you with Leah Rivera. Every part of our plan was going perfectly until that moment. While you could still give me children if you were gay, it wouldn’t be the same. I wanted you to enjoy the process, not be forced into it. You were meant to be a willing participant. We had to make some fast changes to get you back on the right track.”

Aylin bit down on the inside of her cheek to refrain from showing any emotion. Had he killed Leah, too? Is that what really happened to people who “left” the guild? Did everyone’s death fall back on her shoulders?

She didn’t want to be herself anymore. She wanted to be anyone else but Aylin. 

“Emir had stopped by to pick up extra crossbow bolts and must have overheard the conversation. I’m sure he ran straight back to daddy to tell him all about his newly found gossip. Anyway, that night we had a small, planned hunt. A few months prior, we had wiped out a pack.” Kraven stopped to give a scowl in her direction. “Peter Parker’s pack. He was the only one who managed to escape and I needed him dead. I couldn’t live with myself knowing that I had let one get away. I had received some intel that Parker had been spotted with a woman and young boy about thirty miles out. They were not a part of his original pack. We didn't know if they were already wolves he joined up with or if he was turning new people to grow his ranks. Either way, they were compromised and would be taken care of, as well. Women and children don’t matter when it comes to werewolves. A wolf is a wolf and they all need to be wiped out. 

“I had previously planned to take just Sam and Emir to eliminate the wolves. We wouldn’t need any more than three hunters to deal with them. Too many of us would have been too obvious. Sam had said nothing to me the night we left but I could tell Emir had already told him what he heard. They were both simmering with a silent hatred the entire ride out. Everything had changed so quickly between us. I knew it wouldn’t just be a fight between Parker and I that night.”

Aylin watched as he leaned back against the stone wall and crossed his arms, waiting for the ball to drop, and the truth to be revealed. 

“We tracked them to a small cabin in the woods. The woman and her kid tried to flee. I remember seeing Emir chase after them but they weren’t my target. I knew exactly who I was there for. I managed to single out Peter. Our fight was long and difficult. At one point, I lost my balance and tumbled down a hill with him bounding after me,” Kraven gave a long, low sigh. “Then he was on top of me. He was stronger than I anticipated. I don’t like admitting that. He was the strongest wolf I’d ever encountered, the first time we met, and now he was driven with his need for revenge. Apparently, me slaughtering his minions was his driving force behind killing me. I may have started to lose my upper hand. Parker was winning the fight. I was pinned under him. I was going to lose my life. And then I saw him. Samuel was standing at the crest of the hill looking down at us. He could see that I was losing and he wasn’t doing a damn thing to stop it. He was directly betraying his leader and his oldest friend all because of something his stupid kid overheard. I let the rage consume me. In one last attempt to get out from under Parker, I grabbed at the dagger by my side. I stabbed it into his neck. As I laid under him, his wolf blood poured from the wound. It got in my mouth. I could taste him on my tongue. And then…” 

Kraven paused to relish in the memory, “And then I felt amazing. I felt a power like I had never felt before. It was new. Beautiful. Addicting. Parker’s blood coursed through mine and suddenly I could wield a strength I never knew possible. I was a God with that kind of power. Parker was wounded. I was able to kick him off me. I was able to walk away from a fight that was meant to claim my life thanks to this glorious new drug coursing through my veins. 

“I walked straight towards Sam. That bastard had left me to die. I shoved passed him as Emir stood by his father’s side. They looked between Parker bleeding out and myself. I had waited so long to kill the mutt but something changed when his blood entered me. I couldn’t finish the job. Like having his blood in my system was a mental block. Like it wouldn’t allow me to hurt him any further. So, I walked away. 

“But Sam wasn’t done. He didn’t care about Parker. He cared about me. He shouted after me. He asked if it was true. I could see that hatred in his eyes. Nothing I could have said would have mattered. He’d already made up his mind. He was ready to fight to the death for your honor. He started after me. He managed to get me to the ground but I was too strong with my newly found power and easily got a hold of him. I could feel his neck starting to snap under my grip. I was so fucking strong. When Emir tried to step in to help, I shot him in the stomach with my colt. That was all it took for Samuel to cease the fight to run to his side. I could hear everything in that moment. I could hear the quick heartbeat of a wolf rapidly approaching us. I may have stabbed Parker in the neck but never underestimate a wolf. What would kill a human, would only slow a mutt down. I’m sure he was clawing his way over to extract revenge but, by then, I was already on my way back to the truck. I could hear Samuel sobbing over Emir as he gargled on his own blood. I could hear both their final screams as the wolf reached them. I don’t even think Sam fought back.

“And I never once looked behind me to check. Not once. I got in my truck and drove to the nearest gas station. I waited until morning before driving back to collect their bodies. I was very careful about who I let see them. Those who did, never dared to question the obvious bullet hole in your brother’s stomach. The silver bullet hiding there mysteriously disappeared.” He gave a quick wink in her direction. “Their bodies were so mutilated by Parker that it was easy to have them covered when it was time to burn them. I wouldn’t want your poor, grieving mother to have to witness such horrors.” He took a long, drawn out breath to finish his tale. “So, to answer your question, no, I did not kill your father. The bullet wound would have killed your brother eventually but, I think, Parker finished them both off before that played out.”

Aylin stared at him in silence. Her eyes were dry and cold. Her limbs were numb. The ringing in her ears was getting louder. 

The truth was finally out. 

But it didn’t match with what Peter had told her in the camper. 

I killed your brother and father just as much as you killed the people I love. Don’t blame me for your family’s death when I had nothing to do with it. 

He told her he never touched her family. Not that he knew what they looked like or who they were but he still made it sound like was innocent. According to Kraven, Peter was the one who stole their lives. They were two conflicting statements of the supposed truth. 

Her trust in Peter was stronger than that of Kraven. There had to be more to this story. 

He may have taken the final bite but Kraven had been the one to pull the trigger. 

Kraven the Hunter was the one to blame. 

“Brand me,” she stated through her impassive tone. 

Aylin held her legs apart to give him easy access to her inner thigh where he was clearly aiming to mark her. 

Kraven raised his brows, impressed with her response, and silently reached for the iron. He knelt down at her knees and aimed the glowing sun towards her inner thigh. She didn’t stop to think about how unsanitary the entire process was going to be or how much it was going to hurt. She didn’t care what the outcome would be. She only wanted to welcome the pain with open arms to push away the growing numbness threatening to steal what was left of her severed soul. 

Aylin closed her eyes as the metal touched her skin. The faces of her father and brother flashed across her vision. They were followed by the haunting face of Peter. For a blinding moment, the metal almost felt frozen against her until her brain registered it as heat. Lava seared into her flesh. Kraven clamped down on her leg to keep her from instinctively jerking it away from the source of pain. A scream got caught in the back of her tightening throat but she choked it down. She would not scream for this man. She would not scream for the one who murdered her family. He didn’t deserve the honor of hearing her cries. 

The horrid stench of burned flesh filled her nose and made her gag. It was a putrid, sickly sweet and sour, nauseating smell. Leather tanning over an open flame mixed with a burning metallic and corrugating blood. She could see through her half open lids that Kraven had already removed the iron but the fire still felt like it was engulfing her leg. Her nails dug into the palms of her hand deep enough to draw crescents of blood. She felt faint. Dizzy. She tried to gasp for air. She could taste the smell of burned flesh in her mouth. It was all consuming. 

Kraven was pouring the jug of cold water she drank out of earlier over her burned skin. A tiny waterfall of coolness helped soothe the angry mark. She bit down on her bottom lip and leaned her head back against the chair as she focused on her breathing. Her entire left leg was trembling uncontrollably from the pain. 

At least her numbness was being replaced with the familiar feeling of blinding hatred.

“You did good,” he said. The sound of his voice pushed away the pain and fueled her fiery rage even more. “I’ll put some of the special salve Cal brought down on it. I probably should have properly cleaned the area first. I just got a bit turned on with how you demanded it. You sounded just like Cal.” 

She wasn’t listening to his words. Her jaw was clenched together in determination.

Step one of what he wanted was done. Step two…kill the wolf girl. 

The taste of her inevitable freedom was nearly as sweet as the sickly smell of her burning flesh. 

[CHAPTER SEVEN]

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tell me more about poison mushroom please please please

you have NO idea what you've brought upon yourself.

let me preface this with the fact that i am not a mycologist, but i AM autistic, and that DID culminate in my buying of an honest to god mycology textbook which i then read for fun.

let me start with some cookie run headcanons and thoughts.

My thoughts follow as thus: all intentionally made cookies (read: all witch-made cookies) were made to be edible, OR to be aesthetically pleasing to the eye. If not, they were made on accident (candlelight, werewolf), or they became a cookie through other means (sorbet shark, kumiho), OR they were wizard-made or cookie-born (descended from other cookies, which doesn't apply here). For witch-made cookies, its either food or something that can be appreciated aesthetically.

((And, cookies pride themselves on tasting good, by the way. "Their sweet bodies and crunchy goodness", to quote Pure Vanilla. Scent and taste and texture are all traits considered when deciding if a cookie is attractive or not, which is probably a religious undertone when you remember a certain prevalent cult considers the witches to be gods.))

A poisonous mushroom does not fit the bill for any of that. So it can be reasoned that either Poison Mushroom Cookie was accidentally made, or underwent some kind of transformation to become who they were. I believe its the latter because of a line in their story that mentions that PM had eaten a poisonous mushroom bc they were hungry, so my theory here is that Poison Mushroom wasn't always poisonous. They became poisonous because they ate a poisonous mushroom.

So why would Poison Mushroom Cookie exist, and not only exist, but be happy about resembling a toxic mushroom? Why would they eat a poisonous mushroom in the first place?

Their story says they "were hungry", but I refuse to believe they ate a poisonous mushroom unknowingly; a mushroom would know better than anyone else what other mushrooms are capable of! Not even WE humans know what fungi are or all of their capabilities!

My headcanon: They intentionally poisoned themself to avoid being eaten by the witches.

Hear Me Out, because this also ties into why they're allied with Dark Enchantress. Descend into even more headcanon territory below.

SOME MORE MUSHROOM KNOWLEDGE!

There are quite a lot of edible mushrooms out there, and quite a lot of deadly ones that resemble edible ones. It takes a knowledgeable mushroom hunter to be able to tell the difference between some of the most delicious species and some of the most toxic deadly species of mushrooms we know of.

For EXAMPLE, one of the most common edible mushrooms we eat (Portobello/Button mushrooms) look nearly identical to Destroying Angel mushrooms, one of the most toxic species of mushrooms we know of. They're also called Death Caps, from the Amanita genus of mushrooms.

So the first point here is dont eat wild mushrooms unless you know FOR SURE without a doubt that they're safe. The second point is that Poison Mushroom poisoned themself doing this. The third point is, there's a lot of edible mushrooms out there despite the poisonous ones, and what goes hand in hand better than witches and mushroom hunting?

Another thought I had was, well, since there are a ton of mushrooms out there that are edible, how come there's next to no mushroom cookies, and the one mushroom cookie we do have is inedible? ((Note: I discovered Truffle Cookie in ovenbreak later, but still. Mushrooms are a pretty widespread food ingredient. Why are there no mushroom cookies?))

My thought was... there used to be. My thought was, perhaps there WERE Mushroom Tribes, and they were wiped out by mushroom hunter witches. And perhaps a sole survivor of the wipeout only survived because they had intentionally changed their biology with poison?

So, who did Poison Mushroom used to be before they poisoned themself? Their costumes tell an interesting story!

Fragrant Shiitake

"Mmm, the fragrance of a freshly baked Shiitake Coo... Poison Mushroom Cookie! Do not get tricked by the aroma, the poison is as potent as ever!"

This is the Shiitake Mushroom, and it is one of the most eaten mushrooms in the world next to the portobello. If eaten raw, it can cause a non-lethal allergic rash, but it is not poisonous. This costume is a cooked/meant to be eaten shiitake mushroom. This is who I believe Poison Mushroom was before, and if this is who they were, they were definitely a target for mushroom hunting witches.

Sprung Up

"Poison Mushroom Cookie must have used a special mushroom elixir to grow into a large colorful spotted mushroom! One thing that such vibrant appearance signified a high content of poison, yet... Cookies seem even more attracted to it! All to Poison Mushroom Cookie's delight."

This is the Fly Agaric, or the Amanita Muscaria, one of the most recognized mushrooms in the world and part of the Amanita genus, which is responsible for 95% of fatalities caused by mushroom poisonings. Remember the Destroying Angel and the Death Cap I mentioned? They're Amanita species too.

Sprung Up's description lends credit to the idea that Poison Mushroom wants to be poisonous. And if that's the case, then why are they so insistent that they're not poisonous, and that they hate poison, all the while encouraging the cookies around them to eat poisonous mushrooms?

Here's my reasoning:

If we go with the idea that Poison Mushroom poisoned themself to save themself from being eaten by the witches, then the idea "become poisonous via eat mushroom" becomes associated with being safe.

Dark Enchantress opposes the witches, and we all know why, and she's RIGHT to! She's right to oppose the witches! They eat cookies! They're not benevolent gods, they're more like how we humans might act towards ants if ants were suddenly made of candy.

Her methods are wrong but her intentions and motives are right. But cookies like Gingerbrave's party and the Ancients who oppose her don't believe the truth she told them; they do not believe the witches were meant to eat cookies (end of world 8), despite Gingerbrave literally running out of the oven he was baked in at the beginning of the game!

So, back to Poison Mushroom. They vividly know why they should oppose the witches. These other cookies do not. PM was able to become poisonous and escape the mushroom hunters, so why not poison these cookies so the witches will avoid them too? It will save them from being eaten, like it saved PM!

Dark Enchantress killed several witches the night of her transformation. She brings with her the power to protect Earthbread from the tyranny of the witches. This power and her desire to kill the witches is precisely why Poison Mushroom, with all the things they've experienced in the past regarding the mushroom hunting witches (as per my headcanons...), would follow her.

Of course, I can't leave out my general headcanons for Poison Mushroom either.

What use would Dark Enchantress have for someone like Poison Mushroom? Well, I took the whole "looks like an edible mushroom but can actually kill you" thing and applied it to their personality. They act innocent and naive, but this is to make you let your guard down so they can gather information. They're like a little spy for Dark Enchantress, and their real personality is really dry and sarcastic. They're very secretive and because a lot of mushroom knowledge is straight up unknown, they tend to act pretty eldritch in nature too. I think we all tend to forget Poison Mushroom is able to teleport, too (end of world 14, and i could swear they did it in world 10 at some point too).

A mycorrhizal network is a connected network of fungi that have formed symbiosis with the plants surrounding them. It connects individual plants together; often they'll be in forests, connecting trees and redistributing resources from trees who have too much of something to trees who have too little of something.

This is what I figure PM uses to spy on the other cookies of darkness within DE's castle, and why they're an asset in forested areas; they can tap into the mycorrhizal network and suddenly all the resources and power in that forested area are theirs to control.

It's also why I'm kind of interested in dropping them on the Millennial Tree, and why I headcanon they were able to take over Pure Vanilla (a vanilla orchid, a plant) so easily. (I have headcanons for the mushroom tribes too. Truffle's from one of them and meeting her would be so emotionally good for Poison Mushroom. Too bad neither of them knows the other exists.)

Anyways, all that explained, I tried to find what mushroom PM is right now, and look at the Viscid Violet Cort (Cortinarius iodes). Not many purple mushrooms exist (that I could find), but Cortinarius has a few, and they are NOT edible!

Some mushrooms are good for you, and some are not. Take the Purple Cap Mushroom, for example. Looks so chunky and yummy! That is why that hungry Cookie ate it. Why yes, that was Poison Mushroom Cookie. Always peaceful, always daydreaming. Poison Mushroom Cookie would be mistaken for an actual mushroom in the past, but they were never angry, never at all! Poison Mushroom Cookie greeted and hugged these mistaken Cookies like dear old friends, that's right! They offered every one of them a mushroom of their own— so sweet, so colorful. Just one bite, just one... After all, such big friendly eyes mean no harm. No harm at all...

So anyways, that's why they're my scrunkly and I catfished the HELL out of them but I'm not sorry <3

[wangxianficfinder]

I'm in the mood for...

~*~

1. Hey, do you know any fics where Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian make up post canon? Thanks 💕

Yunmeng Bros Reconciliation/JC Friendly Comp might have some

~*~

2. A) Hi <33, thank you for all the work you do. For itmf, can you give me some recs for fics where wangxian are in a relationship but are hiding it from everyone, preferably during the Cloud Recess arc but anytime is fine. Thank you in advance!

B) Hi again!!. For ITMF do you have any recs where wangxian are vampires, angels/demons or witches? Thank you for all you do for this fandom <33 @maromace

2A)

A Perspective Through Ink by AshEclipse_Playz (G, 9k, WangXian, Junior Quartet, Junior Quartet Dynamics, Dead WWX, Soft LWJ, Secret Relationship, Established Relationship, Relationship Reveal, Golden Core Reveal, Canon Divergence, Protective LSZ, Protective JL, Protective LJY, Fix-It of Sorts, Fluff, Light Angst, Protective OYZZ, LWJ Protection Squad) in both wx get together during cr days, but the fic is not set during

intents and in tents by mexicantt (E, 12k, WangXian, Explicit sexual material, Canon Divergence - War Time, Dubious Consent, two fucking idiots fucking a fucking lot, Rimming, Fingering, Oral Sex, Anal Sex, wwx's canonical self-lubing asshole, Dual Cultivation, fucking a new golden core into wwx As A Treat, Exhibitionism) in both wx get together during cr days, but the fic is not set during

2B)

if you go chasing rabbits by occultings (microcomets) (T, 23k, WangXian, Modern AU, Witches, Familiars, Witchcraft, Animal Transformation, Sharing a Bed, Fluff, Magical Bond, Getting Together, Makeovers, [Podfic of] if you go chasing rabbits by exmanhater)

Turn by bavariansugarcookie (E, 6k, WangXian, College/University, (grad school technically), Vampire LWJ, Vampire WQ, Werewolf WWX, Dysfunctional Family, Minor Injuries, Blood, and they were ROOMMATES, Mutual Pining, First Kiss, Hand Jobs, Blow Jobs, Love Confessions, Mating Bites, Vampire Bites)

Free to Face the Life That's Ahead of Me by through_shadows_falling (T, 2k, WangXian, Vampire LWJ, Werewolf WWX, Supernatural Elements, POV LWJ, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Angst with a Happy Ending, Soulmates)

Your Blood on My Lips (tastes like a kiss) by scarletwanlian (E, 12k, WangXian, Modern AU, Vampires, Blood Drinking, Roommates, Multiple Orgasms, Hand Jobs, Anal Fingering, Dom/sub Undertones, Biting, Coming Untouched, Sexual Tension, Resolved Sexual Tension, Humor, (or at least attempts lol), PWP, Vampire Sex, Vampire Bites)

His Moon Made Manifest by Kaytla (E, 28k, WangXian, vampire!wwx, Vampire Bites, Humor, Human!LWJ, staking, Virgin Sacrifice, Eventual Smut, Eventual Happy Ending, Jealousy, Bite Fetish, Drunken Shenanigans, Vampire, Bottom LWJ)

Power Over Me | 欢迎 by GravityWinsAgain (E, 4k, WangXian, vampire!lwj, faerie!wwx, Fantasy, Blood Drinking, Anal Sex, Consent Play, (sort of? see notes), Light BDSM, Top LWJ/Bottom WWX, Dom WWX/Sub LWJ)

Sanguine by MajiLovePrincess (E, 7k, WangXian, Human/Vampire Relationship, First Meetings, First Time, Snowed In, Hand Jobs, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Porn with Feelings, Porn With Plot, LXC for best meddlesome sibling, Vampire LWJ, Blood Drinking, Flirting via Lan Doctrine)

hear the monsters calling home by sundiscus (M, 8k, WangXian, Modern AU, Vampires, Misunderstandings, Angst with a Happy Ending, Modern Cultivation, blood drinking (romantic), cross-posted threadfic)

What is this? Doordash for rabbits?? By todesesser (M, 4k, WangXian, Modern AU, Vampire, Crack, Comphet WWX shenanigans, vampire lwj, Silly, Was a threadfic, handjob)

#2 on this post this is the post that has a long witch fic list but it's only witch Wei ying tho however it can be helpful for this weekends IITMF post 💞

The Devil's Deal by howclassy (T, 11k, WangXian, Angst, Witchcraft, BAMF LWJ, BAMF WWX, Father-Son Relationship, Curses, Dark Magic, Strangers to Lovers, Dad LWJ)

Of Love, Death and other Fickle Things by Nyatci (E, 4k, WIP, WangXian, Near Death Experiences, Angel/Human Relationships, Falling In Love, there's a bunny, Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Eventual Smut, Rimming, Anal Sex, Temporary Character Death, Reincarnation, Happy Ending, Hopeful Ending) Angel of Death! WWX

Under a Blanket of Black Wings by ChaoticAndrogynous (T, 18k, WangXian, LSZ & LWJ, Vampire, wwx is a vampire, social justice necromancy, social justice vampirism, erotic vampirism in later chapters, offstage sex, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Gothic Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Suicidal Thoughts, Angst with a Happy Ending, Grief/Mourning) LWJ, recuperating from the 33 lashes, tells A-Yuan a series of fairytales about a heroic monster and the brave little boy he befriended

~*~

3. may i ask for fics where yzy gets to a better relationship with wwx, but has to work REALLY HARD for it? like struggling to realize she was wrong, and/or struggling to not fall back to old patterns? that would be amazing thank you 🌸

heavy is the head that wears the crown by izukillme (T, 41k, YZY/JFM, YZY/CSSR, XuanLi, Canon Divergence, Not Canon Compliant, Pre-Canon, BAMF YZY, YZY-centric, Good Parent YZY, Bad Parent JFM, Jiang Family Fix-It, Fix-It, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Canon-Typical Violence, Canonical Child Abuse, Child Abuse, note: the suicide itself is offscreen, but is referenced multiple times through the story, Lesbian YZY) has Yu Ziyuan working on her relationship with both Wei Wuxian and her own children following Jiang Fengmian's death, though it happens about 2/3rds in

🧡 Heaven Has No Rage by flipfloppandas (M, 51k, YZY & WWX, WangXian, WC/WWX, Modern AU, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Hurt/Comfort, Angst, Protective YZY, Good Parent YZY, she's trying, Medical Procedures, Hospitals, Trauma, Vomiting, Mother-Son Relationship, of a sort) BIG warning for rape aftermath. Yzy has to come to terms with their relationship in only one night here, so not a slow development with many relapses. But a fantastic take on her thoughts, and her coming to really open up to wwx.

Motherly Love by iluvnaruto1412 (M, 5k, WIP, JFM/YZY, Time Travel Fix-It, Golden core, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Angst, Dysfunctional Family, Family Feels, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Character Study) it's the premise of the story, but the fic seems to be discontinued sadly

💖 Teen Project to Change the World animeloverhomura (Not rated, 657k, wangxian, watching the series, fix-it of sorts, bamf!wwx, WIP) it's one element in the story, but not a very small one?

~*~

4. Hello, darlings, I appreciate what you're doing here so much!! For your next "I'm in the mood for", could I get some fics where WWX/WX are protective/parental toward the junior quartet? Like, "those are MY CHILDREN" and just them being generally the best? I don't wanna be difficult, but I'd also like it to be novel canon dynamics (like no "good guy JC", he's such a good antagonist!) Thanks in advance~♡

~*~

5. *slides an overly specific itmf request* I just want fics where either wwx or lwj wear glasses. It doesn't have to be a fic about that specifically just like let me have that wonderful visual while I read please.

Words from the heart by MusicMe_tc (G, 6k, WangXian, Modern AU, College/University, Secret Identity, Love Letters, Epistolary (kind of), Wei Ying has a secret admirer, Fluff, First Love, First Kiss, Asexual WWX, Demisexual LWJ, Love Confessions, Getting Together, Happy Ending)

new messages from Lit 1011 by yellowcarnations (G,36k, WangXian, LSZ & WWX & LWJ, Modern AU, POV Outsider)

Glasses by Suspicious_Popsicle (G, 2k, WangXian, Fluff, College/University, Love Confessions)

a lan never starts a fight - but they can FINISH one by lazulisong (G, 1k, WangXian, Modern AU, Protectiveness)

Found: Extremely Friendly Fox by wanderingflame (T, 22k, WangXian, Modern AU, mild animal injury, Curses, Fluff, Reunions, Fox WWX, POV Alternating, Modern With Cultivation, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, LWJ wears reading glasses because it's sexy)

~*~

6. Female lan zhan

there's the M/F & F/F comp

~*~

7. Heyy! So these are the requests @utxqia :

a) any Nie MingJue x Wei WuXian fics?

exclusively them as a couple. ( nor like 'Better Things to Do with a Flute in Wartime' )

one sided WangXian if possible

b) Wen Xu x Wei WuXian fics?

I've read one about abusive relationship; definitely not like that.

c) Wen Qing x Wei WuXian fics?

not just marriage of convenience, but they're an actual couple.

endgame QingXian.Thanks for your precious time!!

7A)

If you’re in the mood for pure smut and not necessarily romance, librarysrestrictedsection has several MingXian fics

Fanning the Flames by MajiLovePrincess (E, 2k, MingXian, Modern AU, Firefighters, Doctor WWX, Neighbors, Porn With Plot, Uniform Kink, Mirror Sex, Anal Sex)

~*~

8. Do you have any fic recs for teacher wangxian?

Professor Lan's Private Life by annaenjolras (M, 4k, WangXian, Modern AU, College/University, Fluff and Humor, Eventual Smut)

in my heart and on my mind by sophiahelix (M, 8k, WangXian, Modern AU, High School Teachers, Misunderstandings, Mutual Pining, includes an art collaboration!)

looking through a window by glitteringmoonlight (T, 5k, WangXian, Modern AU, POV Outsider, College/University, Fluff and Humor)

new messages from Lit 1011 by yellowcarnations (G,36k, WangXian, LSZ & WWX & LWJ, Modern AU, POV Outsider) (link in #5)

Over and out by baxia (G, 4k, WangXian, Junior Quartet Centric, Modern AU, High School, Junior Ensemble Shenanigans, Teacher WWX, Teacher LWJ, Married WangXian, Established Relationship, POV LJY, Future zhuiyi)

hot for teacher by attackofthezee (noxlunate) (M, 8k, WangXian, Modern AU, Kid Fic, Getting Together, Mutual Pining, Teacher LWJ, Single Parent WWX, Fluff)

No Need to Change a Tune by yeolinski (T, 9k, WangXian, Modern AU, Single Parent LWJ, Chemistry Teacher!WWX, Music Teacher!LWJ, Kid Fic, Getting to Know Each Other, Getting Together, Fluff, Family Fluff)

my little love by mellowflicker (T, 54k, WangXian, Modern AU, Single Parent WWX, kindergarten teacher!lwj, Kid Fic, Hurt/Comfort, Domestic Fluff, Pining)

Uncle-Teacher Conference by diamondbruise (T, 5k, WangXian, Modern AU, Teacher LWJ, Good uncle WWX, objectively good, Bad Flirting, Getting Together, Reunions??, Fluff and Humor, and bribery, in that order, Happy Ending)

Dad's Got a Date With a Vampire! By PaPaYa_Bites (T, 7k, WangXian, Modern AU, Half-Vampires, Supernatural Elements, Teacher!LWJ, Vampire!LWJ, Humor, Getting Together, Family Feels, Cute Kids, Meet-Cute)

Disapproving Rabbit by jadztone (E, 14k, WangXian, NieLan, Modern AU, Shapeshifting, Rabbit LWJ, Supernatural Elements, Bunji, POV Alternating, First Kiss)

Something Yet to Learn by Glitterbombshell (T, 16k, WangXian, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Fluff)

And Yet Here You Are by cosmicmilktea (T, 10k, WangXian, Post-Canon, Domestic Fluff, Cloud Recesses, settling down, Separation Anxiety, Teacher WWX, very light angst, Chief Cultivator LWJ)

wherever the chaos is by wearing_tearing (T, 1k, WangXian, Post-Canon, Humor, Curtain Fic, Established Relationship, Married WangXian, Teacher WWX)

I don't know why I come back (I do every time) by Leahelisabeth (fortheloveofcamelot) (T, 2k, WangXian, Blind Date, Music Teacher LWJ, Music Teacher WWX, Meeting Again, Coffee Shops, Surprise Kissing)

Sweet Refreshments by westiec (G, 2k, WangXian, Modern AU, Meet-Cute, Teacher WWX, baker LWJ, POV Outsider, Fluff, Dessert & Sweets)

A Small Love by JTHM_Michi (G, 1k, WangXian, Puppy Love, Teacher WWX)

someone like you by Basingstoke (G, 905, WangXian, Future Fic, Cloud Recesses, Teacher WWX)

paint smears on sunny days by SnowshadowAO3 (E, 53k, WangXian, Modern AU, Comfort, Fluff and Smut, Everyone Is Alive, Dadji, Mutual Pining, Happy Ending, Brief Alcohol Mention, Masturbation, Blow Jobs, Hand Jobs, Accidentally co-parenting with your son's art teacher, Fatherhood)

~*~

9. Fic Finder! I am going (on a road trip) into battle and I need your (best fics with Lan Wangji and Wen Ning being friends, teaming up, defending and protecting each other, really anything that explores their dynamic positively, bonus points for sworn brotherhood or implied future poly WangNingXian but honestly I’ll take anything that celebrates these two) strongest potions @lewiscarrolatemybrain​

💖 WWWWXD (What would Wei Wuxian Do?) Series by deliciousblizzardshark (T, 55k, wangxian, modern, high school and forward, fluff, panic attacks, angst w/ happy ending, autistic lwj, grief/mourning) is nice. Lwj and wn interaction is most prominent in the second fic I think, but they have a very nice interplay throughout! Maybe slightly too in the background for asker

~*~

10. may i ask for fics with wwx being friends with civilians or being loved by the people of lotus pier or something to that effect?

Flowers Blooming by Ilona22 (M, 35k, WangXian, Adoption, Prostitution, Family Fluff, Family Drama, Growing Up)

Away from Trouble by Ilona22 (M, 15k, WangXian, Not Jiang Family Friendly, WangXian gets a happy ending)

the river brought you here by chilianxianzi (Not Rated, 11k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, POV Outsider, Amnesia, not JC friendly, Past abuse, Strangulation, Found Family)

~*~

11. id love some fics with wwx being the one to fix nmj's cultivation (plus minus wq) ❤️ or else maybe wwx&nmj friendship?

Bring Your Honor, Bring Your Shame by Terri Botta (Isilwath) (M, 94k, WangXian, YL WWX, Burial Mounds Settlement Days, Burial Mounds Ensemble as Family, Canon Divergence, Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Original Character(s), Romance, Drama, Qiongqi Path Divergence, NMJ Qi Deviation)

Lynchpin by ShanaStoryteller (Not Rated, 103k, WangXian, JC & WWX, Time Travel, Fix-It, Lynchpin [PODFIC] by Opalsong, [PODFIC] Lynchpin by Gwogobo)

Talking to Strangers by thetrickisnotminding (G, 4k, NMJ & WWX, NMJ & LSZ, Canon Divergence, Cute Kids, Age Regression/De-Aging, Curses, Burial Mounds Settlement Days) has wwx&nmj (& maybe implied wwx fixing stuff in the future

everyone has a braincell of their very own Series by MarbleGlove (T, 22k, WangXian, Medical Procedures, Demonic Cultivation, Canon Divergence, Fix-It, Self-Indulgent, WWX Has a New Golden Core, Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies)

❤️ Tragedy is Not the End by Hobbsy3 (T, 358k, wangxian, Time Travel, Torture, Hurt/Comfort, Golden Core Reveal, Canon Divergence from Qiongqi Pass, Angst with a Happy Ending, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Yunmeng sibling bonding, good dad wwx, good dad lwj, JZX Lives, JYL Lives, Junior Quartet Dynamics) takes a while to get to the nie issue in this but they get there

The Core Issue by Hauntcats (T, 21k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending, Not JC Friendly)

~*~

12. but chance, are there fics where 'mxy' (wwx) becomes the jin sect leader after jiggy dies? to spare jin ling or other reasons? or maybe just his jin blood/looks come into play somehow? thank you! 🥰

~*~

13. ITMF establish relationship fics? Preferably ones that are long and feature lots of cute and squeal worth moments from our favorite couple. The can be canon or au, both are good!

your love is sunlight by doodlebutt (T, 41k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Fix-It, Fluff fluff and more fluff, Everybody Lives, WWX Has a New Golden Core, Slow Burn, Established Relationship, everyone gets a happy ending)

~*~

14. Hello, This is for “I’m In The Mood For”: Are there any fics that are canon compliant or at least in universe and mostly cc that either includes or focuses on what it might have been like for Wangxian to be together as cut-sleeves in their universe? How they would be treated, stuff like that.

Thank you for all you do. @themisfithuman

~*~

15. Hello! Any fics where wwx is turned into a girl temporarily and then wangxian experiments with wwx's new body parts? Thank you!

~*~

16. Hi, in the mood for some BAMF Wen Ning 😊

A Dire Place by LtLJ (T, 29k, WangXian, CQL canon, Post-Canon, Canon-Typical Violence, Hurt/Comfort, Spoilers for The Living Dead, BAMF WWX, YL WWX, Angst, Kidnapping, Trauma, Happy Ending, References to WWX's Canon Character Death, Canon Temporary Character Death, BAMF WN, Case Fic)

break by justdoityoufucker (T, 3k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, LXC Critical, JC Critical, Canonical Character Death, Guānyīn Temple Scene, BAMF WN, Protective WN)

Sect Leader Wen Qionglin by maya_brainstormed (mayachain) (T, 2k, LSZ & WN, Time Travel Fix-It, Crack Treated Seriously, POV Multiple, BAMF WN, Protective Siblings, Cousins, No Sunshot Campaign, Capital Punishment, Rebuilding)

The Return Series by LtLJ (G, 63k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Yunmeng Brothers Reconciliation, Angst with a Happy Ending, BAMF WWX, BAMF JC, breaks from canon during the time skip, YL WWX, CQL Canon, BAMF LWJ, BAMF NHS, Hurt/Comfort, WQ Lives) there’s a more subtle running thread of bamf!ning’er throughout this series too

~*~

17. Hey! Can i get your best recs for mulan au wangxian fics? ❤️

~*~

If you didn’t get an answer to your ask here, don’t forget to make use of @mdzs-kinkmeme and MDZS KINK MEME on Dreamwidth. Authors actually do use them for ideas. You may get what you order!***Your prompt doesn’t have to be kink! Fluff, crack, whatever - it’s all good!***

[satanwritesfanfiction]

Farkas •°• Blooded △SMUT△

Title: Blooded

Ship: Farkas x f!reader, fellow companion 

Characters: Farkas, Reader

Rating: Mature, smut

Category: f/m

Fandom: Skyrim

Wordcount: 

Tags/ triggers: blood mention, and forgotton, oral(female receiving), some would say werewolf undertones, on the bar, overestimulation but like barely 

The wind carried the lifeless leaves from place to place, the colour stretched in the rising sun, echoing the secrets of the night. The world seemed peaceful in the sanctity of morning, of the stillness in the moments before the world woke.  

Red, however, caked and glistened on skin, the dirt sticking to his body in places he hadn't even bothered to survey, all coming together in a painting of rust and skin. The adrenaline still echoed accompanied by his laboured breathing with the scent of the kill not too far off as he walked up the steps to Jorrvaskr.  

He got the odd glance from a passer-by or two, but no one would dare comment when looking at the scowl on his face, a snarling emotion on the tip of his tongue. It wasn't the first time he had marched through Whiterun in this state, adrenaline sticking to his skin and clawing to be released, his work as a companion a good veil to hide behind at the moment, although he rarely did the walk of shame in only a tattered pair of trousers that left little of his physique hidden from view.  

Jorrvaskr seemed mostly empty, lone body basked in the light of the fire as you flipped through a page of the book in your lap, unbeknownst to the man watching the fire dance over your face. He felt the warmth bubbling beneath his skin at the familiarity, that clawing emotion as he watched heartbeat after heartbeat until you sighed audibly, neck craning and by chance catching his gaze.  

A smile flashed across your face at the sight of his return even in the state that he was in, a feeling simmering under the surface at that very state, and you stood, making the quick journey to where he stood planted to the floor, book forgotten as you wrapped your arms around his hulking form.  

His head craned at the display, face pressed into your hair and inhaling the comforting scent that lingered. Your body felt soft and warm pressed to him, despite the crimson bleeding onto your clothes from his body.  

You pulled away ever so slightly to look up at his face, gold still swirling in his irises, and you felt the rush within your veins as your fingers pressed against his heated chest, pressing your body to your toes to reach his lips and kissed him.  

He tasted of something tangy, something bitter between the notes of pine and dirt. He tasted of promise, of familiarity, of home. You sighed against his lips, body angled towards him, his hands firmly on your hips.  

Your body retracted, fingers slipping across his arms and resting around his wrist before pulling away and then pulling him behind you. He allowed you to lead him away, sweet scent lingering in your sway, the perfect motion of your hips as you walked down the familiar hallway towards his room within Jorrvaskr.  

The sticky adrenaline sat on his skin, slight haze still lingering at the edge of his vision, but he watched you, angel in the mist, clear as day in the center of his vision until you reached his room and swiftly closed the door. 

He found the image of you grounding, the scratching at the pit of his stomach just under the surface as his eyes travelled across the lines of your face, travelling down the length of you, fingers twitching in need of you, of something more primal, and he balled his hand into fists, the picture of patience as your fingers pressed against his marred chest and reached for his lips.  

The kiss wasn't meant to be soft, wasn't meant for the niceties or display, it was meant to get a message across, body pressed to his, a sloppy wet thing that had you sighing into his own, body malleable and wanton under his firm grip.  

He caged your body against the bar, breaking contact for a moment to regard you, fingers wrapping around the tunic that hung over your body with little care and ripped a slit down your chest with a powerful tug.  

A gasp slipped past at the sudden action, feeling it feed the need growing between your legs and quickly pulling the tatters from your shoulders and letting it pool around your feet.  

His hands pressed into your skin, the rough texture running across your stomach as he got reacquainted with your body, eyes following the movement before curling around your hips and pulling you into him. He breathed in deeply, pressing his nose into your hair. Perfection within his grasp, such a perfect little creature, so pliant and alluring.  

It took some debating within himself to retract from your body and sink down to his knees, eyes trained in front of him when he was eye level to your clothed core, slight smirk at the scent of you so heady and needy. His fingers ran up your legs and pressed into the skin just above the pants, so soft beneath his touch. He dragged the material down along with your underwear, eyes shifting to your own. He held the contact, gratified in the tension and the light dusting on your cheek as he unwrapped you until the pieces of clothing joined the other on the floor.  

Home, he mused again as he breathed in your arousal, teeth barred as his fingers pressed into your bare skin, pulling you towards his wanton lips, tongue aching for a taste as it pressed to your clit, quickly finding its way down your slit. The feeling that washed over him at the contact was not one he could accurately give name to, but it was one that strengthened with each time he found himself in this position and one that strengthened when you cried out to him, hand buried into his hair, nails scratching his scalp. It was the very same when his teeth would sink into you and your body would arch into him.  

You tried keeping your thoughts to yourself, keep some form of decency in regards to the others in Jorrvaskr but with him between your legs it was hard to think straight when the pleasure would wash over you time after time and all you could do was take it, especially with how your sounds would encourage his actions.  

He took hold of your thigh, slinging it over his shoulder as he devoured you, a desperate action as you held onto the bar for support. It felt all encompassing, the way his tongue worked you over, fingers pressing into your skin so hard it might leave a reminder. The coil in your lower abdomen tightened despite yourself, ready to lay it all on him in a moments notice and that you did, limbs shaking as your body tensed, moaning out into the air as he drank you in, drop after drop echoing down his throat and once again he thanked the gods for the day you walked up those steps and stepped into his life.  

Your grip on him slacked once he let your leg down from his shoulder, careful to keep you standing once he rose, content expression on his features while your high glistened in the bristles of his beard.  

"So good for me." He murmured as he took your face into his grasp and pressed a kiss to your lips, a silent moment as you sighed into his warmth.  

His hands were impatient as they slipped across your skin, over your ass, over your ribs, cupping over your breast before curling into the material, flimsy little thing that he could tear with a mere thought, but he refrained, almost delicate in how he loosened it from your body before haphazardly throwing it across the room.  

"You will be the most delicious thing I have tonight." He breathed, hands reach for your hips and promptly flipping you around so your back was to him. He was quick to press against you, warm chest against your back, kiss pressed to the side of your neck, something firm against your backside as he ground his hips into yours with increased will and desperation.  

"Farkas… Please…" Your voice so sickeningly sweet against his heated skin, your want written on the walls even when he could taste it on the surface of your skin. A growl emitted deep from within his chest that you felt as it travelled to your core.  

Your hands pressed to the bar, legs shifting slightly to take in a comfortable stance, body bending slightly as you presented yourself to him in a way that wouldn't leave much room for teasing.   

You were a dream, a vision that called to him, haunted him, and here you were, warmth beneath his fingertips. He never wanted to wake from this. His fingers ran up the length of your spine and back again, feeling the soft skin beneath his touch until his hand curled around your hip, shifting your position slightly as he reaches for his cock with the other, groaning as he pressed to your warmth with his pants shifted barely out of the way.  

Your fingers wrapped around the edge of the bar when you felt his cock probe your entrance, eyes shifting closed as your chest pressed to the wooden surface, waiting for him to breach.  

He ran his cock through your slick folds a few times before he pressed to your cunt, feeding the head and feeling your body give way to the intrusion. Soft sound slipping past your soft lips as your body adjusted to him, feeling more and more of him slip into you as time passed. He stilled once he was pressed to the hilt, hand smoothing over your back comfortingly as you adjusted.  

"That's it." He grunted, wanting nothing more to fuck his shape into you but pressed the words through clenched teeth, focussing on your breathing and not the twitch of your body under him until you moved first. "Taking my cock so well."  

You held onto the words as they slipped from his lips, his voice feeding into your lower abdomen and the pulse you felt there. A few moments passed until you moved your hips, signalling that he could move. His hands wrapped around your hips, eyes glued to where you were connected when he retracted some and then harshly slipped back in.  

The feeling washed over you as he moved, sound falling from your lips at the feeling of him filling you up so perfectly. His hand slipped under your body, hand wrapping around your breast, and just felt the fat in his palm as he thrusted into you.  

Your hips slammed against the wooden surface each time he slipped back into you, sure to leave some bruising in the next few days as a reminder of the ecstasy you felt in this very moment, of his grunts as he filled you up to your skull. You moaned, your hand wrapping over his as it held onto your breast, his name on the tip of your tongue as you clenched your eyes shut, feeling your high coil in your lower abdomen.  

"Close already?" His voice roughly echoed against your skin, shifting his hand to curl into yours.  

"Farkas… Please… I…" You whimpered, body feeling so hot and lingering right on the edge.  

"I'll take care of you." He untangled his hand from yours, reaching to the front of your body and pressed to your clit, rubbing tight circles against it. A few moments before your cry of his name echoed in the room, body shaking beneath him and walls clenching around his cock.  

He didn't let up the motions as you cried, only stopping when you had physically pushed his hand away from you as your body shook.  

"That's a good girl." He whispered, pressing a soft kiss to the back of your neck in a moment of tranquillity before his hips snapped back into you, chasing his own release within the warmth of your body, fucking you like he hated you until his body stilled, growled out your name as he filled your cunt with ribbon after ribbon of his warm seed, watched it leak out of you too before he fucked it back into you until he slowly came back to the moment.  

He breathed heavy once he slipped from you, committing the sight of you like this to memory before he turned you to face him, pushing your hair from your face before laying a chaste kiss on your lips, he lingered a moment, grey eyes looking down at you before he picked you up, carrying your body to his bed, placing you softly upon it before getting in behind you.  

His hand stretched around your warm torso and pulled you into his chest, holding you close as he closed his eyes, thanking the gods for whatever divine source had put you in his path.  

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Masterlist

[cowboycannibalism]

I am constantly scared of horror movies to the point that I make an effort to not watch them but the passion you have for them makes me want to watch one and expand my horizons. Any horror recommendations for someone who gets spooked easily? I’m fine with gore btw it’s more like realistic anxiety situations scare me like stuff that has to do with being kidnapping/feeling trapped. Have a wonderful night <3

Aw this is so sweet, I'm glad you're wanting to expand your horizons and I'm honored to be your guide! I think you'd enjoy more comedy horror, cheesy horror and horror that is more monster based. I can recommend some horror you could handle but I'd definitely stay away from movies like Saw, Hostel, The Black Phone and others like those.

I'd also recommend watching the trailers for these recommendations just so you can get a taste of them before you dive right in. I hope you enjoy trying out some horror! 🖤

Little Shop of Horrors (1986) its a musical! Rick Moranis is amazing as a guy who gets an alien plant that has an unusual appetite

The Monster Squad (1987) some nerdy horror fans have to save their town from classic monsters that show up

Night of the Living Dead (1968) a zombie movie with minimal scares and an important marker in horror history!

They Live (1988) An alien movie with reflections on society

The Lost Boys (1987) California vampires. that's pretty much it

Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) another musical! campy, fun and queer as hell. one of my favorite movies in the whole world.

Re-Animator (1985) a lil science dude gets his roommate to help him bring people back to life [there is a sexual assault scene towards the end just fyi]

Evil Dead 2 & Army of Darkness (1987 & 1992) Bruce Campbell as a dude who can't catch a break. possessions, time travel, chainsaws, and catchphrases you'll be saying forever

Ginger Snaps (2000) a girl werewolf movie!! sisterhood, puberty, and some awesome special effects

Trick 'r Treat (2007) follow the rules of halloween or a cute lil guy will come and kill you. love this one so so much! also fun intertwined stories

Killer Klowns from Outer Space (1988) one of my favorite movies! clowns, cotton candy, 2 dudes and 1 girl with a whole lot of chemistry flowing between then and a giant clown boss

Elvira: Mistress of the Dark (1988) Elvira's her usual beautiful campy self in a movie where she deals with a small town, an old wizard dude and a show in Vegas

Scream (1996) a slightly realistic slasher movie that pokes fun at horror movies and fans. a great cast and ofc the iconic costume

Beetlejuice [and honestly a lot of Tim Burton movies]

Any/All of the Universal Monster movies [Frankenstein, Dracula, The Invisible Man, The Creature from the Black Lagoon, The Wolf Man]

Jennifer's Body (2009) A girl gets possessed and hunts down boys while her best friend tries to stop her. queer undertones, awesome leads and iconic lines

Zombieland (2009) a fun silly zombie movie with an awesome cast

Willy's Wonderland (2021) starring Nicholas Cage as a stranger who comes to town and has to deal with some silly possessed animatronics [big five nights at Freddy's vibes]

Dave Made A Maze (2017) a guy who's lost in life builds an insane labyrinth in his living room and it comes to life. such a good movie mixing horror, comedy and life lessons

Feel free to message me/send an ask for more recommendations, your thoughts on ones you watch, or anything else!

[hp-fruit-fest]

Another month down, one that provided more yummy fruitiness!

FIC. Draco/Harry. Rated: T. Words: 749. Werewolf Draco. Established relationship.

Long fingers pluck a blackberry from the bramble bush, and place it onto a pink tongue. Rolling it around his mouth, savouring the sweet-sour taste, before biting it with white, sharp teeth, and it goes pop in his mouth. 

🧺 Read on AO3 🧺

FIC. Draco/Hermione. Rated: E. Words: 4,294. Underage. Rape/non-con. Age difference. Professor Draco. Student/teacher. Dom/sub undertones. Extreme dub-con. Orgasm delay/denial. Praise kink. No Voldemort AU. PWP. Unhealthy relationship. Grooming.

Hermione wanted to writhe and bounce and grind her hips into his until her vision went white and spots formed in her periphery. She wanted to pant and gasp and moan as she combusted, shattering into a million little pieces of bliss while he kept her upright, supporting her always. She wanted to pulse and clench around him, walls fluttering frantically until he painted them white, mixing his fluids with hers and joining her explosive, carnal state of pleasure. She watched it all play out in her mind’s eye, all too tempting and enticing. Professor Malfoy wanted her to sit still. Hermione was enamored by him. She would do anything for him. And right now, he wanted her to warm his cock while he graded essays. She could do that.

🍏 Read on AO3 🍏

FIC. Hermione/Severus. Rated: M. Words: 2,030. Professor Hermione. Fluff. Pining. Meet cute. Seduction by fruit.

Professor Hermione Granger stumbles upon a secret grove of fruit trees on the grounds of Hogwarts and ends up learning more about her former professor (and current colleague) than she ever thought possible.

🥃 Read on AO3 🥃

FIC. Sirius/Remus. Sirius/Remus/Severus. Rated: E. Words: 3,911. Secret relationship. Trans Remus. Humor & smut.

Severus grumbled as he marched to the Portkey Office for his next Order assignment: checking up on Sirius Black. Of course, the bastard had to hide on a tropical island, and Professor Lupin was nowhere to be found, so the task fell to him. He knew Albus was having a little laugh back in his cozy office at Severus' expense. Albus had claimed it would be a lovely holiday with an infuriating sparkle in his eye, making Severus want to hex the imbecilic glasses off his face. However, by the end of the weekend, Severus was considering sending the man an extra large batch of lemon sherbets.

🌴 Read on AO3 🌴

FIC. Sirius/Remus. Rated: E. Words: WIP. AU. PWP.

Remus finds Sirius hiding and working in the coffee belt in South America. Though siesta time is usually meant for rest, these two find something else to do instead.

☕️ Read on AO3 ☕️

[deancasbigbang]

Title: Huntercorp’s Rehabilitation Clinic for the Supernaturally Afflicted

Author: Diminuel

Artist: LamiaSage

Rating: Explicit

Pairings: Dean/Castiel

Length: 60000

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Tags: Meet cute at the monster rehab clinic, Huntercorp AU, mostly comedic with some heavier undertones, social media and fandom, werewolf!Dean, vampire!Cas, Werepire lovestory

Posting Date: October 18, 2022

Summary: Huntercorp’s Rehabilitation Clinic for the Supernaturally Afflicted was a project Dean launched almost 10 years ago, when faced with criticism that Huntercorp might be doing a lot of “Killing Things” but very little actual “Saving People”. The aim: to make monster cures accessible to regular people. When Dean gets bitten by a tween wolf he expects to do the brutal but quick hunter cure. However, Huntercorp decides that publicly announcing his stay at the clinic might encourage others to seek out the cure as well instead of hiding in the shadows. Dean’s not thrilled that his lycanthropy is debated all over social media (his fans are going wild in the comment sections), but once he meets Cas – a vampire who didn’t know there was a cure – he is starting to reconsider.

Excerpt: John Winchester looked severe as he stood by the foot of the hospital bed, listening to the doctor’s assessment. He seemed overdressed in his expensive suit for the high security ward and Dean had heard from Sam that they had been on another Whiskey tasting tour in Ireland when the news of Dean’s… misfortune had reached them. They had left their – probably very illustrious, possibly even royal - hosts in a very apologetic hurry and taken their private plane back to the US. Dean knew that his dad probably still had way more alcohol in his blood stream than was advisable for such a sensitive time, but somehow Dean found it amusing despite himself. Here Dean was, an absolute PR catastrophe in the making, and his dad was probably trying his best to appear sober. “The bloodline was definitely alpha though we have not yet traced the exact line. The blood of the girl has been recovered and we’re still waiting for her parents to sign everything.” “Treatment, for sure,” John mused. The doctor nodded. “Knowing my son, he has already made his intention not to sue her known.” “He has, though the family wants to hear it from Huntercorp as well. A formality.” John snorted in annoyance, one little crack in his otherwise controlled demeanor. “I will have Talbot on it,” he said then he looked at Dean. “Are you alright, son?” “I guess I’ll live,” Dean answered as unperturbed as he could. No point in freaking out. They would lock him up, administer the speed run cure, Dean would probably make an appearance covered in make up to signal that everything was alright and then take some weeks off while he recovered from the consequences of the cure. Because surely, Dean Winchester, the son of John Winchester and heir of Huntercorp, could not be turned into a werewolf. “Alright. I’ll talk to Singer about what to do. Just keep him…” John made a vague gesture with his hands in Dean’s general direction, but it was clear what he meant: contained. Dean took his moment to lift his hands, rattling the silver handcuffs that fixed him to the bed. The silver didn’t hurt yet, though there definitely was some discomfort. John made a grimace, then he sent the doctor a weighed stare, before he turned around to leave. Probably to make sure they could brush this under the rug.

DCBB 2022 Posting Schedule

[searenbound]

Werewolf kiri hcs?

Hello, you reached monster fucker with a thing for abo dynamics. Let’s get into this yeah?

Warnings: monster fucking, knotting, swearing, primal play, breeding kink

Pairing: Eijirou Kirishima x reader

-There’s something thrilling about the feeling of being hunted by him

-Of course he insist that’s not the case especially since they know him and that he’s watching them

-But it doesn’t change the fact that he treats them like pray

-That every time they set foot into the woods when the full moon was overhead he couldn’t ever just greet them

-No, that be too simple, to boring for for him and his little mate

-His usually kind and caring personality, so carful to make sure that he’s not crossing lines or being too rough, wavering ever so slightly when transformed

-Going from a handsome gentle giant of a man to nearly 7 foot tall when stood up straight black with red undertones furred wolfman more inclined to listen to his instincts

-Instinct that once again, treated them as prey to be caught then mounted on breed thoroughly until daybreak when they’re darling boyfriend returned and would happily take care of the overstimulated mess that’s his partner

-The thought always excited which of course drove them crazy from scent they give off

-They’ve asked him once before why that was

-Flustered and awkward, he explained how they smelled like, well like a bitch in heat and it drove his other half insane because it recognize them as his

-Then he immediately apologized for how he said it because they gave him a shocked look, but that’s Kiri for you

-Always so gentlemanly to them, even when they tell him he’s done nothing wrong they were just caught off guard

-Something they’d always adore about him, but sometimes what his more wolf like side had to offer was exactly what they needed

-And the farther they got into the woods and away from any possible human interference, the more excited they got and slip more and more into the prey mindset

-Running when they hear him approach with a low rumbling growl

-The game never last long though, he always catches them quickly

-Pouncing and pinning them in place while they go limp and accept his gesture of pressing his face into their neck

-Something they’ve learned to be his way of establishing consent from them

-Now he can happily tear through clothes that block him from accessing their body

-Making sure he takes the time to properly enjoy his fresh caught meal before mating them

-Taking the noises they make and the way the grind back against his long tongue as a positive sign

-He loves the cute little whimpering and whining they do and gets drunk on the taste of them

-He always gets so carried away, eating them completely stupid and twitching from shot nerves

-Looking so cute and perfect for breeding

-A little part of his humanity always slips in, being so gentle and taking it slow at first

-But it goes out the window they whine

-Mumbling for a little pup fucked into them and begging for the knot

-And who is he it deny his precious mate?

[oneoftheprettynerds]

Worth The Eternity: Dark! Bucky x Reader (Vampire AU + Mob AU + Soulmate AU)

This is for @cherienymphe’s 5K Twilight Renaissance Writing Challenge. Congratulations, keep slaying! I wrote this instead of studying, so pray for my paper please lmao.

A/N: This tired girl tried. 

WARNINGS: something between dubcon and noncon present. Triggering, darkish themes.

Summary of sorts: Ever seen Hotel Transylvania 1/2/3? In this AU, mythical creatures exist and have soulmates and you feel a zing if you are blessed enough to encounter them.

"Boss, we narrowed it down to these core three suspects.” A husky voice, slightly muffled by the sack on your head, entered your ears and you had a hard time being calm.

You had been picked up from your office, specifically the basement of Oscorp Industries while entering your sleek silver car. A pinch in your neck and everything comically blurred. Next thing you know, you are waking up with your entire body sore, your muscles and joints screaming and begging for freedom from tight restraints. Your vision is black, as if you are staring into an abyss and your vision is filled with white and red dancing spots forming patterns, maybe from the hours of inactivity.

Muffled noises of protest and scraping of metal against the concrete floor entered your ears and you realized you are not the only one here held captive. You racked your mind for possible explanations but couldn’t come up with one.

You lived a very simple life, even as the vice president of Oscorp industries. No messing around, no rivalries with other employees, no butting heads with the seniors on the Director’s board. Was this a ploy against the company? Or a domination statement against the weaker species, the humans?

Lucky enough for you, you realized you would soon find out as the sound of a shutter opening and metal clanking noisily filled your ears.

“Took you long enough, Scott. Fill me in.” Another brooding voice reprimanded jokingly and a million goosebumps traveled the path of your skin as you involuntarily shuddered.

“Yes Boss. We tracked the missing sum to the account of this man on the left. He has fourteen other accounts under different names and nationalities, pretty hard to trace but not impossible luckily. This proved he is shady so he’s most definitely involved.”

“This ginger on the right, he made the suspicious call with weird words so we believe he pretty much passed the verdict, calling the shots with the codewords. He has had several surgeries, his face is fucking silicon at this point but his DNA showed us his true identity, Mr. Rumlow here is the Consigliere of The Midnight Moon.”

You sat and listened, piecing together whatever you understood. The pack/mob name more than rung a bell, it scared you shitless. You were quick to catch on, realising that you were caught in an inter species scruffle.

“This shit just got interesting folks. Alright, where does Miss Sexy Legs fit in all this?”

The pencil skirt you wore wasn’t the most modest piece of clothing to exist and the spaghetti straps blouse was a bad choice considering the sheer coldness in this warehouse, the temperature only seemed to go down with the entry of your kidnappers but it’s not like you knew this was going to happen.

You could only assume with your legs on display that you were the one being sexualised and talked about.

“We are not sure about her though, that’s why I said suspects. We have proof the call was made from her phone but the videos show her lending it to a creepy stranger at a café. It might be really good acting but it’s highly unlikely. We brought her in because in the transfer of the stolen cash, her account was an intermediary but it’s a good chance that she was tricked when her phone was borrowed by Mr. Rumlow. Also, she’s a human, you see?”

If it was you being talked about, you felt a jot of relief, just a smudge because at least they were aware you weren’t involved in whatever game they were playing. That didn’t necessarily ensure your freedom, but hey, you were willing to take anything at that point.

“That’s the sweet fucking scent I keep on smelling!” The leader exclaimed as if he made a great discovery, a cure for a pandemic or cancer you’d think. His gruff voice almost had a light, cheery undertone to it, too unlike of a man who was wronged and cheated and was close to murdering someone no doubt. These mobsters are always maniacs like The Joker.

“It sucks that you brought her here. She might not be guilty, but now she knows too much. She’d make a good blood bag though. Maybe I’ll just have a taste, who knows?” The ‘boss’ made a disturbing slurping noise and your heart stopped at his words, a tear almost escaping your eye.

Discussion about drinking blood? You were most definitely in The Vamps territory, your assumption about the inter-species conflict true. You had no doubt you were the weakest in this creepy space, the frailest here, most probably the only human.

“Show me the bastards’ faces.” Like the flip of a switch, the joking man swapped his personality and all but growled. You heard the ripping of cloth and a man gagging, his shrieks muffled. Another flurry of movements and another man retching on the fabric could be heard.

“Well, hello Mr. Rumlow. I must say, brown suited you better.” A horde of chuckles made you widen your eyes, even though only black still filled your vision, as you realised there were at least a dozen twisted, sick men in the room. The fact that they were silent as fuck till now only showed you how disciplined and regimented these soldiers were.

“This one has a pretty face, boss.” You felt the sack ripped off you, and your eyes closed with the sudden flooding of the lights. Your eyes sealed due to hours of inactivity and you kept them shut, afraid to face your tormenter.

A cold hand cupped your cheek and straightened your face that was trying to hide itself in your silky locks by curling in your own neck, the cool metal of rings and insanely icy fingers chilling you literally.

“Open your eyes sweetheart.” A voice called out behind you and you gathered enough courage to face your impending doom, the air as silent as the calm before a storm.

Your orbs opened and gazed into piercing sapphire blue eyes and everything behind this chiseled face blurred. You could swear a ring of pink and red passed over his eyes and you shuddered again, getting overwhelmed due to the eye contact yourself. This wasn’t the usual anxiety you felt while meeting new people, it was somehow both a pull and a push. An inviting comforting pull and a terrifying, ‘stay cautious' push.

You, a self-sufficient woman, who had been independent for as long as you could remember, suddenly felt half; incomplete in a way that you couldn’t fathom. You felt an attraction, a tug towards the man in front of you, and the absurdity of the thoughts and emotions that popped in your brain made you heave on the gag.

Your intellect couldn’t find a reason, your view on love and romance until now completely conflicted. You believed soulmates to be separate pieces of art that complemented each other when together; then what was this broken jigsaw puzzle sentiment you were having now?

Your wide eyes somehow managed to break free of his stare, panicking and looking around to observe, which wasn’t comforting in the least as men with guns and gadgets filled your vision. You were relatively unharmed in comparison to the beaten lads beside you, one with a bruised face and the other with a bloody one.

The handsome man, the Boss’s stare didn’t leave you through the entirety of your searching around, you were sure they saw you as a scared little rabbit, waiting out its inevitable death.

“Lost in her eyes, Boss?” The sideman cracked what he believed to be the funniest joke in existence, earning laughs of the horde of the soldiers around.

 Your eyes went to the Boss’s face, surprisingly when his left your face to glare a nasty stare on his trusted man. His muscular form raised the forelimb, his hand signaling to stop, that effectively quietened the room to a pin drop silence.

With gentle fingers, the man took off your gag and yours lips quivered, throat too dry to make a noise though. You greedily gulped the air through your mouth for whatever reason, maybe just to move your jaw after hours of inactivity.

Maintaining eye contact was challenging, arduous to say the least. It seemed as if he could read you, find everything about you there is to find by studying the flecks in your orbs. His delicate hands, loosened the ties and you were now more so confused, along with the trepidation.

Just what the fuck was going on?

Bucky had almost lost hope, centuries on this planet and no one to love and cherish, no personal confidante, no soulmate. But good things take time, right? And in his opinion, best things take an eternity. He knows this now.

Expect the unexpected was the truest phrase, idiom whatever it was, in this moment. He had spent countless nights wondering about his soulmate, was she pretty? Ugly? Was she even a she or not? Dumb or witty? He made a lot of scenarios of how they’d meet, the kids, reigning together. He entertained the idea of her being from a different species, a nymph, an orc, maybe a werewolf?

And now that he found her, it was a revelation, a surprise honestly. After all optimism got evaporated, after traveling the dark tunnel for centuries literally, there she was, his beacon of light. Finding her was a wonder, and her being a human was astonishing, a possibility he somehow failed to consider, but he was over the moon cause there she was, right in front of him now. A beautiful, stunning lady in flesh and blood, human flesh and blood, with the prettiest eyes he had ever seen. His zing.

He always liked humans, apart from the similar appearances the vampires shared with them, they were always docile and accommodating. In the last few millenniums, after the mythical creatures showed themselves to the world, the humans understood their place and tier pretty early.

They were smart to surrender and be peaceful as all the species came to light, clever to know that even with less numbers they could be overpowered and bloodshed was detrimental to all involved.

He knew he would convert you soon though, your lifespan far too short for his liking, and obviously, now that he found you, you were to rule together. For Centuries.

His happiness was over taken by the realisation that you were not in the most hospitable settings, you were tied and strapped, being preyed on by his men. He made quick work of the restraints, allowing you to breathe by loosening them first. Your scared, trembling form plucked his unbeating heart’s strings, but strangely enough, his brain found amusement and he felt smug. Seeing you tied up and trembling was definitely a turn on for him, noted.

After commanding his foolish men to stop giggling, he leaned closer to you, your aura comforting and intoxicating as he smelled your hair. A divine scent, an addictive one for sure. The goosebumps on your skin confirmed the reciprocation of his connection.

“You don’t know how long I’ve waited for you.” His husky voice, calming but imposing resonated in your ears, his hand tapping your cheek on the other side. Even though the private statement was whispered for you, the deafening silence made every person witness it.

He leaned back, his hands behind his back as he grinned, tone again light like earlier and commanded, “Get her out of here and cleaned up, tell Nat and Wanda, they’ll know what I mean. Then we’ll deal with these guys here, after the lady leaves of course. No scratch on her from this point forward or you’ll lose a limb. Proceed.”  

All three of you, the hostages were going to get ‘taken care of’ but in different ways.

It had been over twenty hours for sure, you were abducted in the early hours of the morning and now the moon was out again, like one endless night. You remember being escorted to a sleek black car; your limbs ached but you managed to keep up. You tried to keep up with the car’s turns, trying to memorize the streets but your head was pounding and eyes were blurry.

You remembered being led to a suite in an expensive hotel like ones where your conferences were held, being taken to room and given towels to clean up. You didn’t change the dress when given another, the attire being a summer dress even shorter.  A woman came a while later named Wanda who checked the forming light contusions and scuffed skin with hands so delicate, as if you were precious cargo. You were, you just didn’t know.

You didn’t eat anything they provided and after hours of conspiring and overthinking, you heard sturdy footsteps. Since your arrival, only women bothered with you, probably the ones the leader sent. But these were heavier, harder.

The door opened and you glanced up to find the leader who demanded your locking up in this fancy place, his eyes travelling on your form sat up on bed, as you mindfully pulled your skirt down. You were anxious the entire day, dreading your future but nothing was like the restlessness that ran through you in this person’s presence.

Maybe it was the fact he was a vampire, or the leader of a Mob or maybe both, but whatever it was he intimidated you, alarmed you, even though you’ve had only two encounters including the present one. You were smart to be scared, he looked at you like, like you were something to eat, your mind told you.

“Hey.” His raspy voice caught you off guard, not having heard a single syllable out of the women the entire day, your questions being ignored the entire time.

You stared at him warily. Your mind having a myriad of emotions and thoughts. You didn’t want to trigger him, besides the place being armed well, he was a vampire, a beefy one at that and you would be stupid to try anything. Shouting and making a scene was no good either, your best option being the lamest one: to talk it out. You refused to become a willing blood bag.

You let out a long sigh, surprising him somehow, “Look, I have money, resources in the business sphere, information, what do you want? I know I got caught in this by accident, but I’m willing to do a lot of things to get out. Name it and I’ll do my best.” You said with your ‘business deal’ voice, the wise, guiding leader voice from your office.

For some reason though, the man found it hilarious. He slapped his hand on his chest, his boisterous laugh echoing. It wasn’t that good a joke if he believed it to be one. Men, ever so condescending.

“Humans, ever so gluttonous. I don’t want your money, precious.” His term of endearment didn’t fall short to your ears, but you had larger things in play here than a sweet nothing.  

“I have other things to offer, name it.” Within your moral sphere, of course.

“You still don’t get it, do you? And you humans boast you have everything figured about us.”

He neared you and you leaned to the inner area of the bed, refusing to get cornered to the wall if things escalate and wanting to have the option of running away, probably in vain though. With each step he took, a new shudder ran through you because of the closing distance between your bodies, it getting triggered in unexplainable ways.

You didn’t need to say words to prompt him to explain, your scrunched eyebrows already doing that mission. “You should feel it too, you know? The goosebumps, the bewilderment in your insides, you’re intoxicated by my very presence too, aren’t you?”

The more he neared, your breaths quickened visibly, his words becoming truer. Your skin heating, mind losing a bit of consciousness. His presence didn’t affect you to this extent in the warehouse, but now? You were putty, almost incapable to think. You tried to roll over to the other side but your plan failed because he caged you with his bulky hands on your shoulder, body diagonal across yours. With how slow and out of it you were, he didn’t even need his heightened speed to trap you.

“Oh, it’s kicking in, isn’t it? The realization, the surge of love and lust? To be held and cherished and be full of me?” He smirked at your trembling form, your chest heaving and weak arms trying to push him off.

“I’ve read humans feel flushed, hot, so let’s get you out of these scraps, yes?” He slid off the thin straps while you mumbled a very unconvincing ‘stop’. Both actions were pretty pointless because he wouldn’t stop, you both knew that and also, he ended up taking the top off over your torso the normal way.

Your hands barely managed to land themselves on his wrist to pull them off, but the foolish limbs ravished in the feel of his cold skin instead. It was like a high you had never experienced and your body wanted more. It was already addicted to the feel of this stranger whose name you didn’t even know.

He unzipped the skirt, your pathetic body no longer even fighting him as he rambled on. “Among us vampires, well not much to tell but we’re all freezing cold when we find our ‘zing’. Like every normal day. Except for the inability to think and the need for their mate’s blood, of course.”

He came back up to kiss you, his body now in line with yours as one hand held your cheek and the other groped your breast. You had an out of body experience, feeling disgusted for reciprocating the kiss but also wanting more of that, more of him.

He trailed down your neck to your collarbone and you gasped for air, your thoughts incoherent. He kissed between the valley of your breasts, removing the bra sometime in between as you heaved. He wanted nothing more than to rest in those swells for an eternity.

As soon as cold air hit your nipples, one was being sucked while other was being pinched. The nameless stranger alternated between licking like a kitten and sucking like a baby on the breasts. Your rational part felt gross but the dominating side was the one experiencing delight.

He kissed down the sternum, to your bellybutton and then hovered above the thin, flimsy underwear. His hands slid down your sides, down the curve of your waist and hooked themselves at the cloth’s side, pulling them down in a swift motion.

Your legs quaked, trying to close themselves but one muscular arm on your thigh was able to hold them off, throw one away from the other. He leaned down and you were pathetically still under his muscles, your lower limbs either not daring to move or not wanting to.

You wrapped your hands around your torso to hide a bit of yourself, but did that really matter in the larger picture of the events unfolding right now?

You closed your eyes, tears already escaping since minutes ago as you tried to accept the reality of what was happening. A cold sensation on your little button caught you off guard; an infinitesimal fraction of time later, an inhale reached your ears.

You looked down, opening your eyes to find the man smelling you, his Grecian nose poking through your folds and taking in sniffs of your intimate part.

“Please sto-”      

“The scent at its source, so fucking divine. I want a taste.” With that, your sentence got interrupted by his words and then by his action as his tongue licked away. It sucked on the bead, delving in the cavity there pretty fucking deep and he slurped away like he pretended to do when you were blindfolded.

Your back arched like a gymnast, hands that were folded across your chest clawing at your own skin, leaving marks behind. His hands were hooked around your thighs and they threw your legs on his shoulder some point in between. When he thrusted three fingers at once, an audible wheeze left your lips, your noiseless gasps now hoarse ‘Aah’s and you could feel him smirk.

There a also a lot of teeth involved with his razor sharp canines that appeared out of nowhere during this and when he thrusted his fingers particularly hard with his teeth nibbling on your sensitive bud, you shamelessly let go of the inside flow.

It felt humiliating and mortifying, your body glowing with the aftereffects of descending into bliss while your mind wanted to cry. Your soul was surprisingly content with what unfolded, at peace. You hated the diversity of emotions you felt, revolted to find even a bit of positive sentiment at your assaulter’s actions.

While your inner monologue happened, the man got up and out of his clothes painfully quick. You tried to sit your up, feebly trying to escape but ineffectively so. Your eyes couldn’t meet the handsome stranger’s nor did you want to see him naked and removed him form your eyeline, making you get caught off guard when his hands wrapped around your ankles and pulled you down, finishing the small distance you managed to crawl up.

His hands left their place as he kissed his way back up your flushed skin, from the swell of your ankle to the swell of your stomach. He licked away the drops of blood around the crescent scratches left by your nails under the intense ecstasy he forced upon you. Then he continued his journey from the swells of your chest to the swell of your cheek, taking you in a fiery, needy yet affectionate kiss.

Your surroundings blurred a second into the kiss, mouth and skin hungry for his touch alike. A thrust had you painfully gasp as you were stretched unlike ever before, impaled to a depth unlike ever before. He kissed away your tears that continued to spill on command of your ashamed mind and leaned back to look into your eyes, a pretty pink passing over them for a fleeting second.

His blue orbs bore into yours and you almost believed he loved you by the intensity of his gaze. At this moment in time, nothing but you two mattered, connected and finally together. How you got here didn’t matter, how unwilling you were didn’t matter. This felt right, felt necessary and was worthy of everything you went through. The rational part seemed to die the instant you two physically connected and somehow, everything and nothing made sense.

But you felt complete.

Your lips captured his of their own accord, and you both smiled into the caress of your lips while he began thrusting, one hand on your waist, the other supporting his weight. Out of breath, he leaned back, still thrusting though, and gazed at you. “Scott back there, he called you pretty, that’s practically an insult. The way you look right now, you’re much more than beautiful. You’re ethereal, my Zing, the loveliest in existence.”

His genuine words tugged at your heart. For some reason you believed him, had confidence in his feelings. Your foreheads connected as he quickened, his hand caressing your skin, the cool against your warm skin soothing. It didn’t take long for you to let go again this time; your previous resolution already dissolved. He neared your ears and whispered, “I want you to scream my name. It’s Bucky.” You nodded absentmindedly, chasing the high.

One particular thrust paired with his canines piercing your skin made you cry out “Bucky!” and you felt him smirking in your neck, lapping the blood. You wilted in bliss and your eyes closed, warmth filling you minutes after. Your eyes were dazed and you felt ‘Bucky’ shift, removing his towering frame from you, a goofy smile on the chiseled face.

With mind free of the aforementioned disapproving thoughts, you checked out his handsome face. It was like you saw him in an entirely different light now.

He gave you a quick peck, his hands cradling your face and he spoke with the utmost sincerity. “You are worth the wait, precious. No measure of time with you will be long enough. But we’ll start with forever to compensate. I’m never letting you go.”

[theartistknownaslymond]

OH also I’d love to know about Will Scott’s music interests (I say because I think interest probably transcends ‘taste’ into the realm of Will being very !!!! about stuff he likes, bless him).

Reasonable Proof

A playlist for running away from your comfortable, if sectarian, upbringing to join a blacklisted rock star accused of supporting terrorism. It makes a good soundtrack to strip poker, too.

1) Bay City Rollers - Shang-a-Lang 2) Alice Cooper - I Like Girls 3) T. Rex - Children of the Revolution 4) Warren Zevon - Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner 5) The Boomtown Rats - Rat Trap 6) Blondie - Rip Her To Shreds 7) Tom Robinson Band - 2-4-6-8 Motorway 8) The Clash - Should I Stay or Should I Go? 9) David Bowie - Rebel Rebel 10) Adam & the Ants - Prince Charming 11) The Undertones - Teenage Kicks 12) Queen - I Want to Break Free 13) Mott the Hoople - All the Young Dudes 14) Elton John - Breaking Down Barriers 15) Quiet Riot - Love's a Bitch 16) Feargal Sharkey - A Good Heart 17) Patti Smith - Gloria: In Excelsis Deo 18) Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel - Here Comes the Sun 19) The Clash - I Fought the Law

Please forgive me, there may not be much nuance here because I’m worried my idea of Will lacks nuance these days...but I have tried to be fair. Harsh, but fair.

Will Scott likes glam.

Faceclaims: Dave Mustaine and Ewan McGregor, though both are sorely lacking in visible freckles.

We've talked about Will having very dogmatic ideas on what is cool and what is not. The thing is, like you say, I don't think Will's actual tastes are at all cool, except occasionally, by accident. He's just very good/loud at claiming they are - and no one in his vast family knows anything about popular music so they let him win the arguments. Step-mum Janet would really prefer it if he put one of his nice demo tracks (they're not NICE, ma!! they’re about smashing the system!) on in the car instead of the hair metal though, dear (it just makes your father angry because he's losing his!). Francis, not giving a fig about what other people think is cool or tasteful, finds Will's hang-up on this to be both hilarious and deeply frustrating.

So the vibe of the Will playlist is…obliviously tasteless/just as obliviously excellent meets defiantly bitchy.

Sorry, I don't make the rules, but the oblivious tastelessness comes largely from Will's enthusiasm for glam and the fledgling hair metal movement. Hence Alice Cooper (for I Like Girls, imagine Will is Compensating For Something and r63-verse Willa is just going 'no, but it's a good song that's all!'), T-Rex, Mott the Hoople, and Quiet Riot. Additionally, Adam and the Ants might be considered a bit naff by some of the trendsetters - but 'ridicule is nothing to be scared of'! They're a natural progression from the glam scene, too. Bob Geldof has always been a bit cringe, and Rat Trap is no exception, but it's so earnest!! So insistent! IT'S A RAT TRAP, JUDY! AND WE'VE BEEN….CAUGHT! Very Will.

Oblivious excellence comes from Warren Zevon (Francis is genuinely impressed by this one, Zevon's not brilliantly well known, especially not on this side of the pond. Will never admits it was the werewolf song that got him into it), Blondie, the Tom Robinson Band (Will does get a bit flustered if you ask whether he knows Glad to be Gay though), The Clash, Bowie, Patti Smith, Steve Harley…

One of those weird crossovers that Will doesn't quite get is why, when Teenage Kicks is objectively considered cool by people, he's mocked for liking Feargal Sharkey's solo stuff? He's also not really sure where Queen and Elton John stand. They have been considered cool, but seem to have become uncool now they're 'mainstream', but the songs are still good? Does not compute. He has no shame about listening to the Bay City Rollers either because they're one of the biggest, best known local bands, why wouldn't he think they were amazing??

More to follow when I get round to answering your other ask about Will/a :) and while I keep writing about Will here, I think some tracks probably fit even better for Willa!

Key lyrics/reasoning:

1) Edinburgh’s 1970s teen sensations! Though the decade ended in splits and unpopularity, Will is fiercely loyal to when he first heard of them (probably in the wake of his mum’s death) and won’t hear anyone say it’s childish to like them. Anyone who says so is probably just jealous of how successful they were, right? 2) “Quit my job, quit my school / Quit this place / My mother cried / My father was fried / Hey, I've got no time, man / I wanna say goodbye to my babes / I like girls.” 3) Seems self-explanatory: You won’t fool the children of the revolution! 4) Yeah, he heard the werewolf one first, but Will likes the globe-trotting romance of this song about a Norwegian mercenary killed by the CIA for being too good at helping rebellions out. It’s kind of how he imagines the international touring life to be? Poor thing never gets to experience it, though. 5) “Billy don't like it living here in this town / He says the traps have been sprung long before he was born / He says 'Hope bites the dust behind all the closed doors / And pus and grime ooze from its scab crusted sores' / There's screaming and crying in the high rise blocks / It's a rat trap, Billy, but you're already caught / But you can make it if you want to or you need it bad enough / You're young and good looking and you're acting kind of tough...” Just. Will Scott vibes off the charts here. 6) I can just see Will humming this under his breath every time he looks at Francis like it’s enough to convince him he hates the lead singer really. “She looks like the Sunday comics / She thinks she's Brenda Starr / Her nose job is real atomic / All she needs is an old knife scar / Ew, she's so dull, come on / Rip her to shreds...” 7) It is, on the one hand, a simple rocking tune. On the other hand, the Tom Robinson Band is otherwise best known for the song ‘Glad to be Gay’ (which is on the Thatcher downfall playlist...). “Well, there ain't no route you could choose to lose the two of us / Ain't nobody know when you're acting right or wrong / No one knows if a roadway's leading nowhere / Gonna keep on driving home on the road I'm on...” 8) Don Luis scene, anyone? “This indecision's bugging me (Esta indecisión me molesta) / If you don't want me, set me free (Si no me quieres, librarme) / Exactly whom I'm supposed to be (Dígame que tengo ser) / Don't you know which clothes even fit me? (Sabes que ropa me "quedrá"?) / Come on and let me know (Me tienes que decir) / Should I cool it or should I blow? (Me debo ir o quedarme?).” 9) Truly, there is a Bowie song for everyone. “You've got your mother in a whirl / 'Cause she's not sure if you're a boy or a girl / Hey, babe, your hair's alright / Hey, babe, let's stay out tonight / You like me and I like it all / We like dancing and we look divine / You love bands when they're playing hard / You want more and you want it fast.” 10) I like this idea of this as a bit of a redemption arc soundtrack for Will :’) finding himself again and reminding himself to do the right thing even if it means making a tit of himself/admitting he was wrong. 11) Just - all that sweet, earnest enthusiasm again! “I'm gonna call her on the telephone / Have her over 'cause I'm all alone / I need excitement, oh, I need it bad / And it's the best I've ever had / I wanna hold her, wanna hold her tight / Get teenage kicks right through the night.” 12) More Will obliviousness...he hears it and loves it and relates to it long before he sees the video with the band in drag and is all ‘??? what??? no?’ when he sees that. But not enough to stop loving the song. Don’t worry, Francis has him on stage in a dress by DK, all gangly and gorgeous like Nicky Wire:

13) Another British glam staple, with Bowie connections: “Now Lucy looks sweet cause he dresses like a queen / But he can kick like a mule, it's a real mean team / But we can love / Oh yes, we can love / And my brother's back at home with his Beatles and his Stones / We never got it off on that revolution stuff / What a drag, too many snags / Now I've drunk a lot of wine and I'm feeling fine / Got to race some cat to bed / Oh is that concrete all around / Or is it in my head? / Yeah / I'm a dude, dad.” 14) If you’re down with Elton, Francis is down with you. “I guess you know you were not the first / You may not be the last / But you have shown me a better way / And now I'm learning fast / You gotta go where the feeling flows / I take it while it's hot / You gotta give if you wanna to get / And I want all you've got / I'm breaking down the barriers / Making up my mind / I'm breaking down the barriers of time / I'm taking down the barriers / And loving what I find / I'm breaking down the barriers that lie / Between your love and mine.” 15) Hair metal scene! Will is all for opaque lyrics and imagery. Plus this makes me think of the night in jail he’s going to have to spend as a Threave equivalent. Thank about what you’ve done, boy! “Like a cat with diamond eyes / Love's power it can hypnotize / Done me in more than twice / She'll make you think that it's overnight / You’re all alone in a room that's wrong / Your body shakes, your feet are cold / Love's a bitch, baby.” 16) The lead singer from the Undertones, all grown up into contemplative, heart-string-pulling pop: “My expectations may be high / I blamed it on my youth / Soon enough, I'll learned the painful truth / I'll face it like a fighter / Then boast of how I've grown / Anything is better than being alone / I know, 'cause I learn a little every day / I know, 'cause I listen when the experts say / That a good heart, these days, is hard to find (a good heart) / True love, the lasting kind...” 17) Mainly I just love this version of this song and it’s sheer triumphalism and I think when he’s redeeming himself Will deserves the triumphalism. It’s a little skeevy, but not quite as skeevy as My Sharona, which I really thought was such a Will song, then looked it up and thought it was too gross to go on the playlist. Perils of researching this, alas. But Gloria is a million times better anyway: “Jesus died for somebody's sins but not mine / Melting in a pot of thieves, wild card up my sleeve / Thick, heart of stone; my sins, my own / They belong to me / Me / People said beware but I don't care / Their words are just rules and regulations to me / Me / I walk in a room you know I look so proud / I move in this here atmosphere where anything's allowed / Then I go to this here party and I just get bored...” 18) Steve Harley covering George Harrison’s finest moment, and making it sound like an ice cream truck? I’m not sure how Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel link to the glam scene, but apparently they do, and this has such a cheery, cathartic, but odd vibe that I think Will and Francis would enjoy it a lot 19) I mean...*gestures at the lyrics* I think ‘I fought the law but the law won’ is a fairly accurate summary of Will’s attempt at becoming a mercenary.

[solis3clipse]

well now I’m super curious about your ranking!! everyone’s opinions are so different but Dylan being both of our faves is pure taste 😌🤌🏼 also i love reading your tags hehe 💖

OHHHH MY you read my tags!! 🥺 <333 ALRIGHT ALRIGHT I’m so excited to talk to you about this :D I genuinely enjoyed reading through your reviews of the characters and it was so so fun hearing about your perspective and opinions, much much love.

Let’s go :D

11. Chris Hackett

• I’ll be forever mad at the fact that all of this would be avoided if he just talked to the counselors. Which ultimately brings me to the Controversial Hill Of An Opinion that I will DIE on: The fact that all of this happened is Chris’ fault, not Jacob’s. Considering that Jacob ruined the van with a more of an innocent intention to stay just another night, while Chris refused to give them an explanation that made sense and recklessly took off, thinking bunch of teens alone in a camp would actually take his advice and stay in. LOL

10. Abigail

• I can find at least 3 vague similarities between us, but I don’t like how the creators overdid the “socially awkward quirky” personality of hers in the game. The way she struggles to choose someone to dare in the game for 3 minutes, never takes compliments, and is sliiightly a coward ticks all my instant dislike checkboxes. However, I seem to LOVE the way she’s portrayed in fics! So much sweeter, bold and fun.

9. Kaitlyn

Kaitlyn’s a badass and i still like her a lot, but i’m afraid to admit that the love i have for her stemmed from her and Dylan’s friendship sequences where she’s being genuine. I just don’t get along with people who speak and act with massive sarcastic undertones at all times, therefore i feel like she often outdoes the facade she constantly plays of “The Boss Of The Group” which makes her less authentic for me. I often can’t take her seriously even though she’s supposed to be a fan favorite. Other than that, love her bravery, courage and protectiveness.

8. Laura

Honestly I don’t have strong opinions about her other than how badly she handles situations that would undoubtedly bring her towards ultimate doom. Like how she goes to investigate a forest after potentially running into (and over) a strange scary looking blob of a body and how she insists that someone in that basement needed help without staying for a second to look further or listen closely. Plot armor, i get it, but still! She’s a sweetie otherwise tho.

7. Emma

Very iconic, very relatable (especially referring to her interpretation of “faking it”, i feel like that whole conversation gave her so much more depth.), i just do not feel comfortable at all with how ruthless she gets with people. I understand being annoyed with Jacob, but the lines she throws at him for someone who’s just a softie that’s hung up on her are worryingly mean; I also don’t think she kissed Nick in order to “help him and abi out” but, eh. Love her apart from all that.

6. Jacob

He’s a dumbass. I believe he is quite literally THAT childish and silly, also almost the one that never had vile intentions and spent the entire game trying to save his friends (Abi, Emma) before he got caught with wolfie nick. I know if only he’d known this would have happened, he’d drop the idea and think of other alternatives to bother Emma, bahaha

5. Nick

My man dies when he’s supposed to die in-game. There is no more Nick after he turns into a werewolf, which is a pity, considering that there was quite a bit to unpack. Starting from his australian accent.

Beeeeeeuuuurrnnnnnn…

haha, now we beuuuurnnnnn….

4. Ryan

Don’t like how bland and dry he gets at times. Yes, i’m talking about the man that answers back with “smOoOoOth” to Dylan’s pick-up lines TWICE. LMAO. I’m also forever bitter about the fact that he tells Laura that he doesn’t really like Kaitlyn or Dylan more while being clearly interested, what was that about??

Man, i still love this boy, but does he make me mad from time to time😭 Obviously he holds a special place in my heart, but I wish he’d been more gentle with Dylan. I suppose we’re asking for too much here

3. Travis

Poor man is just trying his best. I might be just a TINY bit biased because of Ted Raimi’s BAFFLING performance, but i think Travis is just iconic, start to finish.

2. Max

One of the funniest characters hands down. I admire how patient and respectful he is to Laura throughout the game, he’s genuinely funny and cares for her a whole lot; doesn’t give up easily and doesn’t guilt trip her once for the mess they got into. Idk i adore him.

1. DYLAN

Love love love LOVE love LOVE HIM. Funny and charismatic, easy to get along with, friendly with a bit of sass and FIERCELY protective of his friends (just observe the amount of times he puts himself in front of Kaitlyn to protect her). Doesn’t bother anyone with whatever he’s dealing with, has interesting hobbies and is absolutely wiser than he seems at first glance. Honestly i can’t find one thing wrong with him; I’ll go as far as to say that he’s one of the best written characters in Videogame history to me. Very good boy.

Thank you so much for the ask :D Hope you enjoyed this enormous analysis haha <3

[hollyhomburg]

Alpha Goes First  (KSJ)

(Seokjin x Reader) (Omegaverse au!) (werewolf au!) 

Summary: Each pack has its own set of traditions and standards and as the newest omega in bangtan’s pack- you have more than a few things to learn. things come to a head when the youngest alpha tries to bed you before your pack alpha does and he doesn't like that one bit. 

Tags: Pack Alpha! Seokjin x Omega! Reader, Implied OT7 x Reader, Brief alpha! Jungkook x Reader, Alpha! Namjoon, Alpha! yoongi, Beta! hoseok, Omega! Taehyung, Pack Omega! Jimin

Smut tags: Exhibitionism, Voyeurism, Jin shows the others how to “breed” the reader, breeding kink, pregnancy kink, knotting, very rough sex, Biting, (Maybe) cockslapping, dacryphilia, Kinda yandere behavior from Seokjin, dom/sub undertones, oral (m. receiving), Punishments, lowkey feral sex, mentions of omega mistreatment. 

W/c: 12k (aprox)

Sneak peak: 

“Fuck- I can’t wait- I want you so bad baby” Jungkook is warm and welcoming, surprisingly hard when your hands hit his chest. Making a little happy noise in the back of his throat as he kisses you with an easy seductive rhythm. He steps forward, further pinning you against the brick wall. Growling a little when you shift- even to move an inch away from him. 

You giggle at his possessive behavior. but it makes you flush all the way down to your toes when you hear him say that- words of the like you’ve never heard coming from his mouth- never heard any indication that he wanted to bed you at all. 

He’s more riled up then you though, Though you should have guessed as much with the miles of his chest bare, muscles all coiled like they are ready to spring and snatch you up again. His hands run down your sides to feel the contrast of the silk and gauzy chiffon, and snatch you up he does. Lifting you by your thighs to pin you in mid air. 

You let out a little oomf- but Jungkook doesn't take notice, fully preoccupied with kissing you like this is the last chance he might have. his hands are Hot and needy where they touch your skin. Hands roaming your thighs and digging into your supple swells there. groaning when he feels your ass in his hands. Sweat beads on the back of his neck when you bring your hands up to hold around your neck. 

You wonder if Jungkook can feel you trembling as he kisses you, his mouth so hot on yours. Maybe he’s in rut? his desperate little whines certainly foretell that as a possibility. But it’s more than that. Almost like his ability to resist has been broke. Like now that he’s got you where he wants you- he can’t even think of letting you go. 

if he can feel the whimpers building in your chest, the way that that you’re almost purring with every needy nip of his mouth under your jaw it doesn't stop him. The need for him shoots straight through to his mating bite, and maybe- just maybe- to the 6 other bites on your body. He’s not holding back at all, not like all the other times when he seemed almost too shy to want you. Kissing you just as harsh and as deep as you need it. He bites your lip and you bite back- even though it has you both wincing. Its hungry and its hard- and not at all gentle. 

The back of your neck burns before you see him. Eyes widening just a moment before it happens and the scent of your pack alpha is upon you. seokjin's feral snarl punctures the heady moment, so different from the usual delicate and protective behavior of your pack alpha. jungkook lifts his head from where he’d been peppering kisses down your chest, a firm ‘oh shit’ expression on his face before he’s upon both of you. 

The second Seokjin’s hand falls on Jungkook’s neck, right over his own mating bite; the other alpha in your arms goes completely limp. You know what that feels like- to have your mating bite pulled at by the very person who left it there- how utterly disarming it is. As pleasurable as it is painful. Jin Scuffs him, Pulling him off of you like a ragdoll dangling in his hold. 

“A-alpha” he stutters out, looking as wrecked as you feel. His strong body falling pliant and limp underneath Seokjin’s will  exerted in full force making the other alpha nearly keen. “I wasn’t- we weren’t-” 

Seokjin runs a nose along jungkook’s cheek, his growl menacing cautioning Jungkook against his lie. Jungkook knows better than to continue his sentence. 

“No I think I know exactly what you were doing” Seokjin spits. it's only then that his eyes meet yours where you’re shivering without the weight and heat of Jungkook’s body. His eyes are lust blown, pupils black seas that you could ride for ages. his mouth is angry, lips pulled up to show his canines- a little longer than they should be.

 And you think this time you aren’t actually imagining in when his eyes flash blood red, if its blood lust or just plain lust- you don’t know. Maybe for wolves like you the difference between those two things matters less then it should. 

“It looks like you were about to have a taste of our sweetest thing without letting me have one first.” 

Coming November 30th @ 4pm EST (9pm GMT) (6am KST)

[werewolfinthelivingroom]

Rating Different Versions of Will Blake

Because Fever Swamp Brain is real

Official

OG Book: Not much to say, he was clearly just a dude. A guy alright. Twist is there just because we need a twist, but you can feel a good chunk of personality whenever Cassie antagonizes him.

8 R.L. Stines/10

Graphix: Great design since the art style is killer, and absolutely love the way it’s more obvious here that he’s actively interested in Grady for some reason. The gay undertones are slowly becoming apparent.

10/10

OG TV Show: Will’s actor has to take on both Will and Cassie’s roles in the story since Cassie got cut, but he really does bring Will to life as a character. He’s a more active threat, even if he canonically dies in this version. The eclipse scene though? * Chef’s kiss * absolutely gay as hell, if Will Blake was in Twilight (and the actors were all the same age) he would’ve bagged Bella AND Edward. 

11/10

Movies: My personal headcanon is that the monsters in the Manuscripts are beta versions of the characters in the official books, and this is why almost none of them match their book versions in either personality and design. The design is absolutely killer, but it’s obviously not the twelve-year-old if his six pack and tattoo weren’t obvious enough. Even the branding makes it clear that this is “The Werewolf of Fever Swamp” as a character, rather than Will Blake.

If he was a character in the book I can totally see him as like, Will’s cooler older brother who’s also a Werewolf and maybe Will would have less trauma in my fic.

0/10 as a Will, but 10/10 as a Design.

Horrortown: Just like Bart.

IDK maybe the designers just saw the word “flat-top” and went buck wild, I would believe his character design belonged to CONAN before Will Blake (ToT). Personality wise, he’s straight ;^; also if he wants Marty to leave Courtney alone, he should just date him - boom, problem solved. When he isn’t being the “Am Am Werewolf” in Courtney King’s General direction he’s pretty fun since he’s basically a Dogboy.

6/10

- IDK if Will cameos or even gets a mention in the Fever Swamp comics besides sharing the name “Blake” with a main character. Hit me up if he ever appears in anything else. Fanfic Will’s in the Readmore.

Non-Canon

The Werewolves of Fever Swamp by Monokuma_memes(X): My own Will and I’m not deluded enough to rate my own writing, so read it yourself and make your voice heard. He’s gay and has trauma and that’s all I’m spoiling now.

?/10

You Never Grow Out of Your Goosebumps Phase by bluemandycat(X): Kickstarted me actually sitting down to write my fic, mostly because I wanted to put my own fucked up Will out there. Beware because Grady and Will aren’t really healthy at the point the protags of this fic find them, but you do feel a little bad for Will when he’s not being a dick. For what little we see of him, very interesting.

6 bullets from Cassie/10

Goosebumps United... (2014) by Lord Candycane(X): Aw yes, the Infinity War of Goosebumps/j. Not much for Will to do in this fic besides cameo every once in a while, since there are like...100 characters here. Though I do like the idea that Grady and Cassie just keep him in check like it’s their job. He also gets to be emo about being a Werewolf here! No gay undertones, since Grady holds most of them in that one chase scene.

5/10

Goosebumps United (2021) by Sweetiebuttons(Ao3:X and FFN:X): Okay, so SB made a fic based on Candycane’s fic(basically their own take on the idea) and just went hamwild. It’s crossposted on FFN and Ao3 but for some reason under different names and also FFN has more chapters uploaded(maybe they’re retooling the fic for ao3??). SB portrays him much more sympathetically, sometimes to a kinda cheesy degree? Honestly. it’s pretty endearing in a “webkinz milk cat” kind of way. Absolutely love him becoming friends with people that did this to him:

Not to expose myself for having terrible taste as a kid, but I like the touch of comparing Will to another gay-coded werewolf. Will gets to meet other werewolves and it’s definitely fascinating to think how he’s the only lycanphobic werewolf in GB canon - there’s even some more Fever Swamp lore based on what little we had in the first United fic. I do like how Will is now the straight man and just has to deal with constant BS from his fellow werewolves, and I especially like the idea of Will not being comfortable with how gung-ho Grady is about being a werewolf. 

The dialogue is kinda confusing, and Will just goes all over the place and never finishes the interactions so we don’t get much. But I do like the ideas that are presented here.

6/10

Werewolf of Fever Swamp by sweetie buttons(X): Okay this fic is a revisionist piece on Grady having a Father/Son relationship with the Swamp Hermit, and Grady doesn’t become a Werewolf. Will is irrelevant in SB’s sequel to this fic, but for what was shone he sticks closely to his book counterpart. Except for the reveal, because like...Will did not even feel like he wanted to eat Grady. Like every description of him felt like Will wanted to cry and throw-up over how beautiful his boyfriend is. This Will would’ve bit Grady on purpose 100% and the Hermit and [REDACTED] were homophobic to get in the way of that/j.

5/10

Welcome to Goosebumps High by DanielDaponte(X): Not much to say, its Monster High but Goosebumps and it got put on permanent hiatus. But Will shows up for one chapter, now an adult and the school’s gym teacher(C.E. Teacher??), which is honestly the funniest thing that has happened with the character. I also forgot about the main character thirsting after him, which is doubly funny.

10 Werewolf Thirst Traps/10

The Goosebumps School(and it’s many sequels) by SquadMemberK17(X): This series is so fascinating, I could go on about how bonkers the sequels get and how weirdly engaging this self-ship fic about the hat guy from the Dead House live action episode. Like, a bunch of Goosebumps protags are brutally murdered in this fic it is so mindboggling. BUT we are here for Will and he’s a side character in the MC’s friendgroup, in fact, he’s the first person she meets. Will is weird because the author has a bunch of weird ships besides the main one with her self-insert, but Will gets paired with Hannah Stoneman from Werewolf Skin in what I can only call...Monster race shipping? Will honestly had more chemistry with the main character and Grady. Speaking of Grady!

The plot has Sarabeth doing weird shit to destroy the main character for some reason and it would take forever to explain, but one of her plans include getting the Swamp Hermit to kill the MC and Will. You see, in this canon the Swamp hermit killed Grady when he got turned and reveals Will’s past to the MC. Will then saves MC and kills the hermit, and after this traumatizing event it’s never talked about again?? Also, Grady’s cameo just involves his severed head so have fun with that (ToT). Will still had better chemistry with a Dead Grady than he did with HANNAH. 

Goosebumps Adventure by Stone-Man85(X): It took me too long to realize this fic plagiarized the Haunting Hour movie, and even a more embarrassing amount of time to realize Grady and Will don’t show up (even in the Fever Swamp chapter). This led to a rabbithole that decimated one of my non-GB discords, but as for the Fever Swamp chapter I did not expect that much homophobia to be thrown into my face. Also, RL Stine is a real person in this fic and dies in the first chapter.

-85/10 a plague upon the Author’s house.

- I’m not talking about the fic where a dude’s fursona has a yaoi moment with the Movie version of Will. Or the Wattpad selfship fics. 

[allwaswell16]

This is a fic rec of One Direction vampire fics organized by pairing and wordcount as requested by @hazza-boo28-blog​. You can find my other fic recs here. If you like the fics, please leave kudos and comments for the writers! Happy reading!

Larry

🩸 Love Endless (series), @wubwubnparmaham​ (E, 741k, historical au, 1970s, vampire au, human Louis, vampire Harry, ancient Roman Harry, dom/sub, dom Harry, sub Louis, homophobia, bullying, identity crisis, blood drinking, smut, violence, road trips, angst, reincarnation)

🩸 domestic monsters (series), @g-uttertrash​ / g_uttertrash (E, 234k, supernatural au, vampire Louis, witch Harry, magic, werewolves, sirens, monsters, domestic fluff, blood drinking, light angst, smut, holidays)

🩸 Among the Humans, @the-cheshire-pussy-cat​ / thecheshirepussycat (E, 129k, vampire au, vampire and gentleman Harry, human Louis, gothic romance, blood drinking, werewolves, romance, smut)

🩸 From What I've Tasted of Desire, @evilovesyou​ / 4ureyesonly28 (T, 71k, Twillight au, vampires, werewolves, shapeshifters, slow burn, Scotland, high school au, college au, vampire Harry, human Louis, football, violence)

🩸we should open up (before it's all too much), @disgruntledkittenface​ (M, 43k, vampire au, vampire Louis, baker Harry, angst, grief/mourning, depressed Harry, hurt/comfort, strangers to lovers, falling in love, flirting, banter, smut)

🩸 Soaked In The Blood Of Angels, @crazyupsetter​ / whoknows (E, 40k, creatures au, vampires, vampire Harry, incubus, dub con, smut, blood, violence)

🩸The Devil You Know, @a-writerwrites​ / Awriterwrites (M, 35k, vampire au, slow burn, blood drinking, implied smut, vampire Louis)

🩸 love bites (ongoing series), @falsegoodnight​ & @soldouthaz (E, 26k,  vampire au, pwp, smut, dom/sub, vampire Harry, neighbors, blood drinking, bl)

🩸 Forever And Always, @jacaranda-bloom​​ / jacaranda_bloom (E, 25k, vampire au, bodyswap, vampire Harry, witches, yelk Louis, ot5, blood, smut)

🩸 Campus Creatures, @kingsofeverything​ & @louandhazaf​ / YesIsAWorld (E, 25k, vampire Harry, werewolf Louis, uni au, fae/faeries, smut, knotting, alternating pov)

🩸 Darkest Night Hour, @louandhazaf​ / YesIsAWorld (E, 24k, vampire au, vampire Louis, human Harry, NYC, blood drinking, technological inconveniences, smut)

🩸 Can I just be the same?, @tommosgun​ / Star_Henderson (M, 17k, vampire au, vampire Harry, law worker Louis, flashbacks, light angst, smut, verse, Harry’s a two hundred year old vampire, kind Louis)

🩸 Just a Little Taste, @daggerandrose​ / amomentoflove (E, 13k, vampire au, vampire bar, bartender Louis, vampire Harry, biting, blood drinking, dom/sub undertones, smut)

🩸 A Long Way From The Top, @jaerie​ (E, 11k, vampire au, Mt. Everest, climbing, mountaineering, blood, death, masturbation, vampire Harry)

🩸 The Lion Man, @canonlarry​ / iwillpaintasongforlou (E, 12k, vampire Louis, tattoos, vampire bar, blood, smut)

🩸 Withdrawal Was the Weeping, @becomeawendybird​ / QuickedWeen (E, 11k, vampire au, girl direction, historical, Edwardian era, pwp, smut, blood, senses)

🩸 love isn't brains, children, it's blood, @briannamarguerite​ / BriaMaria (E, 11k, vampire au, Buffy the Vampire Slayer au, flashbacks, angst, smut, fluff, humor)

🩸 Strangers In The Night, @kingsofeverything​ (E, 9k, vampire au, soulmates, human Harry, vampire Louis, blood drinking, humor, smut)

🩸 I Picked My Poison, And It’s You, @alarriefantasy​ / AFangirlFantasy (NR, 5k, vampire au, vampire Harry, high school, small town, dare, age difference, no smut, suspense, abandoned mansion, misunderstandings, fluff)

🩸The Sun Doesn't Shine, The World Doesn't Turn, @londonfoginacup​ / LadyLondonderry (T, 5k, vampire au, crossdressing, based on Steal My Girl, established relationship, kidnapping, minor character death, blood, seer, songfic)

🩸 no tomorrow without a yesterday, @nightwideopen​ (NR, 4k, vampire au, vampire Louis, witch Harry, werewolf Nick Grimshaw, jealousy, light angst, getting together, friends to lovers, no smut)

🩸 For You I'd Bleed Myself Dry, @allwaswell16​ (E, 3k, vampire au, travel, St. Lucia, tropics, five senses, vampire Harry, smut)

Tomlinshaw

🩸 if this is it, @nightwideopen​ (T, 2k, Louis/Nick Grimshaw, supernatural elements, witch, vampire, suicidal thoughts)

Zarry

🩸 Between the Devil and the Danger, @zqua1d / mmaree (E, 79k, Zayn/Harry, vampire au, Scotland, uni, vampire Zayn, human Harry, friends to lovers, fluff and angst, smut, slow burn, mystery, blood, mutual pining)

🩸 like a sledgehammer, colourexplosion (E, 5k, Zayn/Harry, vampire au, roommates, blood drinking, smut)

Ziam

🩸Lover Dearest, scottmcniceass (E, 43k, Liam/Zayn, vampire au, vampire Zayn, human Liam, blood drinking, past slavery, minor violence, smut)

Zouis

🩸 Stay The Night, I Promise That I Won't Bite, @astorytotellyourfriends​ / justyrae (T, 19k, Zayn/Louis, vampire au, drug use, vampire Harry, human Louis, neighbors, Lilo friendship)

🩸 If Only You Saw What I Can See, @slashter​ (M, 2k, Louis/Zayn, vampire au, vampire Zayn, vampire Louis, fluff, admiration, pining)

[juleswolverton-hyde]

Not by the Moon | 03

Genre: Smut, Romance, Strangers to Lovers, Drama, Tragedy, Werewolf AU, Supernatural AU, Bookshop AU

Pairing: Bookshop keeper!/Werewolf!JB x Reader

Warnings: Mild angst, a sprinkle of jealous werewolf!Jaebeom.

Summary: Every story has a purpose or goal it is dedicated to, their authors at times going to great lengths to see the project they once started to completion. Nevertheless, the things the writers swore on to see their latest art piece to completion are static.

Unchanging.

None of them swore by the Moon nor Love because they can solely genuinely swear on all that changes like themselves.

And yet, a wolf in love foolishly swore by the moon.

That is when Time truly started ticking.

Author’s Note: This chapter is from Jaebeom’s POV.

Previous Chapter / Next chapter

Masterlist

I like being with you.

The phrase vividly repeats itself as I blindly lead us to the park, my head in the clouds. So much so, in fact, she has to stop in her tracks and pull me back because we have walked past the entrance.

“Jaebeom,” she struggles to draw me in, firming her grip on my arm and weakly pulling on it, “we’re here already.”

It takes a second to register what Y/N says, but after a few haphazard glances around to see where we are, it does. “Ah, right.”

“What were you thinking about?”

“Nobody’s ever told me that.’’ Like a lovesick puppy, I bite down on my bottom lip. ‘’That they like to be with me, I mean.”

“Surely I’m not the first.”

“I think Jinyoung, a friend, might have said it.” I shrug, resigned in the fact loneliness has been a steady companion.

The packs in the woods rejected me if I didn’t refuse to join them. Too savage, too beastly, too ambitious, too bloodthirsty. Those are the prime reasons I have been on my own, although one in particular resonates in the blurry mess of vague memories. 

I am too monstrous.

“But I,” halted in the middle of the gravel path, I turn to her and rest my forehead against hers, “like being with you too.”

Her heartbeat speeds up as her scent gains a floral, roseate undertone. A flush stains her cheeks, the temperature of her body heightened. In a moment’s notice, she has turned into a beautiful spring flower. No, not a flower. Y/N is more than that.

Like a she-wolf in spring. 

In season. 

That’s what she looks like.

So pretty. Mine.

I have to pull away before I sweep her off her feet and mate her against the first tree we come across. We don’t even need a tree, a simple bed of grass will suffice. After all, I still want her to be comfortable.

“Did... Did you dye your hair?” Flustered, looking like a lobster, the pretty lady pulls away. However, the growl that erupts from the throat as she moves away brings an interesting change to her scent.

A thick heady tone creeps into it, which definitely puts the girl in the other role the other ego wishes her to play.

A bitch in heat.

An image of her looking as she does now but on my bed flashes by. Tears are brimming on her lashes like crystalline raindrops as pearly teeth bite down on a finger in the futile attempt to mute meek high-pitched squeals of pleasure. She’s lying sideways, the soft skin of her leg on my shoulder while my hips lose control in her warmth.

“J- Jaebeom?”

I suck in a sharp breath, though it does not prevent a pleased growl from escaping. My sight grows hazy with the fantasies of instinct as the world falls away. “Yeah?”

“Your hair... Did you dye it? It was blonde before.”

“My... my hair?” The weird question pulls me out of my reverie, blinking in wonder as to where it comes from. Nevertheless, the senses quickly sharpen as I tighten my grip on the reality of my temporary humanity again. “Right, my hair. I did! I did dye it because... because I thought the blonde didn’t suit me.”

“For what it’s worth,” like a shy schoolgirl, Y/N fumbles with her fingers, “I like this better. This is going to sound weird, but it makes you look more like- I mean, it suits you better.”

“Thank you. But what does it make me look like?”

“Never mind.” A dismissive hand brushes the half-finished remark off as a mere mistake.

“What? What do I look like?” I lean forward, barely holding in the chuckle at her crumbling composure. Notwithstanding, apparently this is the most effective way to get her to talk. “Don’t be shy.”

“Like a- You know, a- You’ll think me stuck in some emo or late teenager phase.”

“Just say it, Y/N. I won’t stop pushing until you tell me. I won’t judge you either. So, tell me.”

The word takes my breath away.

“Wolf,” she finally answers. “It makes you look like a wolf.”

I can’t suppress a smile at the compliment, buzzing with excitement and tail swishing back and forth. Wait, it isn’t my tail that’s causing the low sweeping noises. 

It’s merely the wind.

Human. Gent... Gentleman. For her. Her gentleman.

“Please say something.” The pretty lady’s heart rate picks up, her scent growing alarmingly anxious like when we had our second meeting on the street.

No. No, don’t be like this!

“Good. I am.” 

“What do you mean?” Brows furrowed in confusion, she looks at me blankly. 

“What... oh, uhm, I- I think it’s a good ex- mirror. Likeness! It’s a good likeness. Me and a wolf.” I stick up a thumb in confirmation. Hopefully, it won’t come across as ridiculous as I feel I look.

Her eyes light up with the amber sunlight, her voice as bright when she answers with an adorable giggle. “I think you mean a good comparison.” 

“I do,” I mutter, ashamed at the faulty imitation of human behaviour and tired of the storm of words wreaking havoc in my head. “That’s what I meant.”

“Shall we go find somewhere to sit?’’ Her hair dances on the light breeze as she looks around. ‘’I’m kinda overdue for a cup of coffee.”

“And food. You have to eat, Y/N.”

“Jaebeom...”

‘’Let me take care of you.” I lean in, gaze focused on her lips as I run my tongue over them. The taste of honey and peaches is reminiscent of spring, when the bees in the forest get busy and the trees in the orchards on the outskirts of the town are ripe with blossom. 

If I’m still here by then, I’ll take you there.

Of course, the thought is translated horribly. “Taste nice.”

“I- I’m glad you like my lip balm.” Cheeks as ruby red as the leaves beneath our feet, she carefully traces her mouth, fingers shaking.

Then she clears her throat and tries to steady her composure, but I’ve evidently caught her off-guard. Which is also noticeable in the small tug on my sleeve. “Let’s go.”

“Are you upset?” I ask, keeping a close eye on her as we walk down the lane towards a big open field of grass.

“No, it’s just that... when you licked me earlier, it wasn’t on,” she lowers her voice to a barely audible and unintelligible murmur though my hearing allows me to still hear her as clear as day, “the lips. It’s almost as if, you know, you kiss... kissed me.”

Kiss?

Just then we pass a couple with their lips pressed against each other. The contact lingers for a brief second, as fast as lightning.

And just as fast the meaning of it for humans dawns on me, rising from the ever-diminishing pocket of humanity inside my brain.

“Would you mind if I did?”

Face pale, she rapidly turns to me. Y/N parts her lips to say something yet decides against it and settle for something else. “Let’s start slowly. Get to know each other first.”

I’d kiss you. You only have to ask.

But we barely know each other. Humans who don’t have a close bond don’t kiss. At least that piece of information has stuck.

We take a right onto the big field and settle down in the grass beneath a tall willow. I’d rather have we sit huddled together or that she sits on my lap so I can keep her warm, but Y/N sits next to me yet far enough away to not touch at all. The displeased whimper and whine get lost in the unpacking of the sandwiches, ignored under the ruckus of unfolding paper.

Notwithstanding, the dissatisfaction evaporates like snow before the sun when a small hand gives me the two venison sandwiches. Restraining myself to not give into the hunger pangs, I accept the food as if she were handing me a weapon. A long metal blade. A sword, I believe it’s called.

However,  the careful control doesn’t last long since the first taste of the spiced meat encourages the ravenous part of me to devour the sandwich in one gulp, if possible. And I would have tried had it not been for the breathless giggle at my side.

Nibbling on the straw, Y/N has a strangely tender look on her face as she watches me eat. A wonderful expression that colours a rosy shade of pink when she notices I’m staring right back at her. “Sorry. It’s just... just that I like seeing you eat. You literally wolf your food down with such a happy expression I can’t help but feel happy.”

Don’t talk with your mouth full. Jinyoung’s told you that more than once.

Like this morning, when he sighed in exasperation like a tired father during breakfast. Henceforth, I chew the food with my mouth closed, swallow and wipe my mouth on a napkin before answering. “I’m a messy eater, though. I don’t think it’s- What’s the word? Ap- Appetizing? It’s appetizing, right? Right, appetizing to watch.”

“I don’t mind.” Like a rabbit, she holds her vegetable sandwich between her tiny paws and takes a small bite out of it. “Just be careful. You don’t want meat juice and sauce on your clothes.”

Eats like a bunny. Cute. So cute.

“I won’t make a mess,” I murmur, taking care to actually keep my word while sneaking glances at the way she eats. It’s controlled, more nibbling than biting. All the same, relief and contentment mix in a calming way that’s visible in her relaxed composure. Even her scent loses more of the sourness of anxiety. But I’m just glad she’s eating.

We watch other humans as we eat, sitting in comfortable silence. A little ways away, two old people, a male and a female, sit on a bench and feed the pigeons together. Once there is no more bread left - multigrain, judging by the scent - their fingers entwine as they close their eyes to soak up the sunlight.

A soft whine unintentionally rises in my throat, longing after the dream of experiencing that very same moment myself together with Y/N someday.

‘’Are you-?’’ The question doesn’t register, hardly penetrating the dullness washing over me. Ears gloomily drooped down, I continue staring at the old couple.

Can that be us one day? How long is the road before we get there?

‘’JB?’’

‘’Hm?’’ Slowed down by the heaviness making a numb statue out of this body, I turn my head.

She holds the unfinished sandwich up I had in my hand a second ago. ‘’What’s on your mind?’’

‘’Nothing.’’ I take the food from her little paw. ‘’Thank you.’’

She doesn’t believe me, but resigns in the face of the unspoken message I don’t want to talk. Instead, she sighs and sips on the straw of her coffee.

“What do you do?” I ask by the time I’m finished with the first of the two sandwiches. Y/N knows what I do for a living and it’s the best question I can think of to try and get to know her better. Also, it might lift the heavy silence that fell over us until the elderly mates left. 

“I’m a journalist for Pack. It’s a travel magazine and a great way to see the world. It’s amazing how much is out there, how many cultures and perspectives exist. However,” hands tucked between her thighs, lashes avert to the ground, “as you may have noticed, I’m not the spontaneous sort, which is why I don’t like working alone.”

Pack? As in, a pack? Although, you said travel so it’s likely... pack stuff? Packing up! That’s it! Putting stuff in bags and going somewhere.

If only it was possible to travel with her someplace far away. Go see the world together so she doesn’t have to be alone. Then again, there is no way to run from myself nor guarantee any form of safety on strange grounds. 

I’ve become too unstable.

Despite trying to hide it, the jealousy I have for who she works with shows in the unintentionally venomous ring in my voice. “Who do you work with?”

“A colleague of mine named Kunpimook, but he prefers going by BamBam. He’s the social and truly adventurous one, so basically I just always happily tag along. Plus, his photos are superb. We’ll be leaving for Bruges the day after tomorrow to take a look at the local chocolate business.”

‘’Is there anything between you two? More than work?” There is no way I’m letting another male anywhere near her because he could take advantage of her. Especially after all this time, working together and thus winning her trust.

I don’t care if we barely know each other. I won’t have it.

I have to keep her safe.

As Y/N’s gentleman.

Her wolf. 

“There’s nothing between us. He’s more like a brother than anything else and he thinks the same about me.” Her breath quickens as she notices the blazing distrust in my gaze. “W- Why are you looking at me like that?”

Instead of giving an answer, I sniff her to make absolutely certain this other male doesn’t have or has tried already to create the bond with her that I want despite what she said. 

Nothing.

Nothing but summer citrus, autumnal blackberries and juicy peaches.

Good.

To calm her down, I lean in to nuzzle the scent glands in her neck while purring and manipulating my own scent to put her at ease. The tenseness in the palms on my shoulders relaxes, her breaths come at a more regular interval and the rigidity flows from her body.

You’re safe with me.

A gentle force pushes me back, growing stronger as I fight it by wrapping my arms around her waist. A low growl erupts as the resistance persists, though it dies down at the sound. I’m not letting her go.

Not now. 

Not yet.

Until a voice like a shy robin stammers in discomfort. “Jaebeom, can- can you let go?”

“Have you calmed down?” It’s an unnecessary question. 

There’s a better word for it. Sup... supper? No, that’s not it. Super... something with an ‘f’. 

Superfluous! 

It’s a superfluous question because the nervous shivers have stopped. All the same, I don’t want to let go.

I can’t.

I won’t.

Yet I do as something blurry flashes by in my peripheral vision. Almost bumping my head against her jaw, I jolt up and stare ahead in tender awe.

Free of the troubles of the world, a brightly smiling pup runs by with outstretched chubby paws. A bit ahead, there’s another giddy pup. The two must be chasing each other.

A child.

A child is chasing another child.

“What are you looking at?” She follows my gaze, which is fixated on the two children giggling and play-fighting with each other. They stop when hearing their mother call, rise to their little hind legs and run to her.

“One day, I want pups of my own.” The dreamy words roll off the tongue without a thought nor consideration for reality. What they see is what could be. 

A dream of someday. 

“Pups?” The word sounds like a puzzle piece that doesn’t quite fit even though she struggles to make it fit regardless. 

“Yeah, pups. You know,” I nod in the direction of the two siblings, “like those over there.”

A frown mars her lovely face, but it fades into gentle correction. “Children, JB. They’re called children.”

I tilt my head to the side, struggling to understand and make my own puzzle piece fit. “I’m certain someone’s offspring are called pups.”

“Humans,” she gestures from me to her, “like us, call them children. Babies when they’re younger than those toddlers you were watching.”

“I still think pups sounds better.”

I let go of her. Nevertheless, sust to be sure Y/N stays warm, I hook my arm through hers and keep her against my side. Instinctively, she snuggles up to me like on the way here.  

The content sigh goes accompanied with an ironic remark. “Are you really a wolf or something?”

“Yes!” I exclaim, until I check my body and see no paws nor a tail. “No! I mean, no, I’m not. It sounds adorable, though, don’t you think?” I bite my lip, growing warm with another cheesy yet affectionate remark. “But you did say I look like one.”

“I stand by what I said, especially now.” She giggles, murmuring something under her breath I’ll only tolerate when she says it. “Weirdo.”

Yours. Your weirdo. Your wolf man.

“Have you ever thought about getting them?”

“I actually don’t want children. I’m not too keen on the idea of raising a child and I don’t think that will ever change.” Unaware of the gravity of her statement, she sits up a bit, takes a sip of coffee and finishes her half-eaten vegetable sandwich. 

Not... not even with me? Then again, you barely know me and I will likely forget you even though I don’t want to. Would you change your mind if the pup might be the only trace of me before I disappear?

“How about you?”

“I’d like to one day, but...” I trail off, choking on the truth. Her words have created a stone in my stomach which makes me nauseous and unable to think. 

“But what?” She places a bunny-like paw on my back, rubbing gently as she averts her gaze and speaks in a remorseful tone. “I shouldn’t have asked. I’m sorry.”

“I have this...” Fumbling with my fingers, I speak up despite the paralyzing speechlessness. No word seems to accurately describe what’s going on nor is it credible enough to describe the truth. Nevertheless, she has to know what’s going on. 

I want her to.

I trust her. 

So I try and tell her my story. “I have this condition. I have trouble remembering things and it’s been getting worse.”

“Is it something like dementia?” Out of a lack of a better explanation for this side-effect of lycanthropy, I merely nod in confirmation. A grim paleness colours her attitude, lips pulling into a straight line as she’s now suffocating with words too. “Do you have medication? Anything to help fight it?”

I fish the small bottle of pills Jinyoung gave me this morning out of my pocket. With a thumb over the ingredients, I show it to her. “My friend’s a doctor at the university. He’s put me on these, but I have a feeling they’re not as effective anymore as they once were.” I put the bottle back. “I do want them, though not with the way I am. They deserve better than a father who’d forget them eventually if he even remembers them at all in the first place. Moreover, my partner would have to take care of me as well as the pups. I just… I don’t want to be a burden.”

“I’m sure,” our gazes meet as our fingers entwine, naturally weaving together like beds of moss on the bark of a tree, “they would gladly care if they know about your condition.”

I rest my forehead against hers and lower my voice to a hopeful whimper. “You know about it.”

A mistake. 

“We’ve just met.”

“Right,” I murmur and withdraw though I hold on to her paw a little tighter. 

She’s right. We’ve just met.

I’m still a stranger. A stranger in a world strange to him.

“Yet,” Y/N takes in a shaky breath before she continues and transforms the burden of loneliness into a storm of butterflies, “I’d stay. For now, can I stay by your side like this?”

“Of course.” In an impulse, I pull her into my arms and on my lap. Her hair smells like argan oil, sweet yet pleasant like summer. “Never doubt that. Never think I don’t want you to.”

Despite the joy, tears sting in my eyes at the realization I’m no longer alone, surviving like a floating ship in unknown waters. Of course, there’s Jinyoung, but he can’t be there in ways the pretty lady can. 

Y/N is my anchor now. 

“Don’t go.” I can’t suppress an ugly sob, gripped by fear at the vision of ending up alone in spite of the promise. To go back to the way I was, on the brink of being lost forever. “Don’t leave me.”

“I won’t,” she murmurs into my hair, lovingly running her fingers through it to calm me down. “I’m here, Jaebeom. I’m here. Until I can’t anymore.”

For a little while, we sit like this beneath the willow. The world shrinks and fades into a blur of autumn shades in October, its sounds gradually becoming nothing more than indistinguishable white noise. 

They rise in volume again when I’ve stopped crying, the reality filtering in by sharpening the song of robins and nature dressed in warm tones of red and gold.

We exchange numbers. As she types hers into my phone, she promises to send me daily reminders to take my medicine and threatens to spam me with them until I send a confirmation. Guess I finally have something to look forward to aside from Jinyoung’s cooking.

Coming back was a good decision after all. I want to try for you. Until I can’t anymore.

“And you can call me whenever you like too,” she shyly remarks as we switch back our devices.

My ears perk up as a delighted buzz leaves me trembling. “Really?” I yelp, my tail quickly swishing back and forth. My nerves are on edge with delight, limbs ready to pounce on her. But I don’t.

Because I am human.

And I don’t want to give off the wrong impression.

But your body tells me something else. No! Not without your consent.

“Yes, because I... well, aside from being with you, I like... your... your voice.”

“I like yours.” I lean in and run my tongue over her lips like before. Does that count as a kiss? 

“And I like your scent,” I add, purring as I trace my fingers over her arm to her wrist. 

“Uhm, Jaebeom, what- what are you doing?”

I press it against my nose, drunkenly nuzzling it while trying to conceal my panting. “I’m scenting you so they’ll know you’re mine.” To strengthen the claim, I leave a stronger imprint of my own scent on her by giving it a firm lick. Even her skin tastes of spring. “You smell really nice.”

“I’m glad you, ah, like my perfume, but,” a strange panic creeps into her voice after a pained squeak when I sink my teeth into her flesh, “JB, I think you should stop. People are watching.”

“Let them.’’ The taste of iron floods the senses, raising the beast within further to the surface. Notwithstanding, I fight the urge to pin her to the ground for a proper mating. So all I do is help the healing by licking the ridged skin of the shallow wound. A wolf’s saliva works as a disinfectant and anti- ant- health advancer. ‘’I want them to know I’m your mate.”

Besides, how else am I supposed to mark you?

“Mate? What? JB, are you okay? You’re starting to make less and less sense.” A small warm palm cups my cheek, initiating a lock of gazes. Frantic with concern, she searches for a reason as to what I’m going through in my gaze though I doubt if she will. “You’re burning up.”

I weave my fingers through those on the side of my face, a wistful smile on my lips. “I’m forgetting myself again. You wouldn’t understand when I’d say I’m slowly fading and not just forgetting as I told you. And it’s gotten worse because of you.”

“Be- Because of me?”

“It’s not a bad thing.” To assure her it’s not as grave as she thinks, I close my eyes and hum in pure content. After all, I could lose my humanity a lot faster in a less pleasant way. At least it’ll be slower now that I have something to fight, to live for. “You don’t understand the significance of it and I don’t want you to.”

“You’re talking nonsense. You’re not going anywhere soon. Let’s go home before your fever gets any worse.”

Our fingers disentangle, mine gliding over the indentation I’ve left behind on her wrist before I wrap my arms around her waist. Her heart races in my ear when I rest my head on the softness of her breasts, her breath falling still in an instant when I place her hand on my head. Hopefully, Y/N will catch on to what I mean by it. “Yeah, it’s definitely getting worse, but I looked forward to this. This park outing. So can we please stay like this for a little longer? A nap might make me feel... bet... ter.”

The wish is granted, because she runs her hand through my hair. Hesitantly at first, but quickly setting a pace for herself that lets me rest tranquilly.  

In the sky above, the moon looks down on us. If I wasn’t sleepy, I would howl to it and sing a wolf song. Instead, I purr and bask in my mate’s presence until I lose conscience. “Hm, nice.”

I love you and always will. My love will never change. I swear so by the moon.