found footage, werewolf!markus, trans!aiden, dubious consent, pseudo-bestiality, eventual smut
Aiden is holding the camera, filming himself, and the shot judders a little as he adjusts his grip and fixes the framing. He looks directly into the camcorder and grins.
“Hi again. Did you miss me?”
A few unframed pieces of art poke out from behind him, various portraits and sketches made on unlined paper and taped up to the wall.
“For anyone who doesn’t know me, I’m Aiden”—he waves—“and I’m kind of a werewolf aficionado.”
Adam Towers' latest video upload, a compilation of footage he found while hiking in Denmark, might be his most shocking yet.
Read Chapters 1-3 Here!
Fic is complete and updates regularly
Written for @folieadeuxserver's Monster Match challenge
Excerpt Below ⬇️
The video opens on a curly-haired young man sporting a broad, self-assured grin. He waves at the camera. “Hello, everyone. Adam Towers here.”
He pauses, smirks, and cocks his head to the side, which sends his curls bouncing over his forehead. Only once they’ve settled does he resume speaking.
“I’ve got something a little different for you today—a little…unusual.”
Another pause, ostensibly for effect. The ploy is obvious, but it’s effective; clearly, Adam has perfected his game of cat and mouse. It’s no surprise that he’s maintained the viewer base he acquired.
He backs up and extends his arm with a flourish. In his hand is an old DVD camcorder that’s clearly seen better days—dirt stains its silver surface, and a jagged crack splits the lens. Adam holds it up to the camera so the viewer can get a closer look.
“Yes, ladies and gents, that is indeed a handheld video camera.” He pulls the camcorder back from the camera and drums his fingers over it, keeping it within the frame. “Arguably the last thing I expected to find on my hike, but, well—Mother Nature provides.” He grins conspiratorially and cocks an eyebrow, then looks down at the camcorder and turns it over in his hands.
“I scrounged up a battery charger for it”—Adam looks up long enough to flash the viewer a grateful smile—“thank you, lennylovesfilm99, for your help on that front—and lo and behold, all this beautiful lady needed was a little juice.” He powers the camcorder on and flips open the LCD viewfinder screen, which flickers to life with remarkably little effort. Adam slides closer and holds the viewfinder screen up to the camera as he scrubs through the footage. The images jump around too quickly for the viewer to make sense of them, but when Adam stops, the picture he lands on is unmistakable.
He holds it up beside his face. Even on the tiny LCD screen, the resemblance is shocking. “Uncanny, isn’t it? Now, before you Negative Nancies out there start crying ‘wolf,’ take a look at that timestamp in the corner.” He lowers the camcorder and sticks it out in front of the camera again, holding it so close that only the lower right corner, with its pixellated all-caps timestamp, is visible. “October 23rd,” Adam recites. “2007.”
I randomly got the urge to write some heu fanfiction (Nigel x Will) and I’m horrible at writing but my brain loves the concept I came up with— of young-adult them meeting in a small town and having an indie movie plot where they just do random shit.
Like Ive planned so many things out, made a Spotify playlist, and created a map for the made up town to keep the destinations in specific locations in my head. ..
At first it was gonna be a Spacedogs thing, then I thought it could be a hannigram type of thing but yk, I’m so indecisive so like ??
I also wanna incorporate some side plot of crime or something? Things that drive more conflict and plot I suppose
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the
Organization for Transformative Works
Nigel has lived his life believing two things with all of his heart.
The first, everyone has a price. And some people are way cheaper than you (or they) think they are.
The second is that every good feeling must be chased. Held onto. Captured, if necessary. Life is a series of highs that make the lows worth it, so if you don't stop to smell the fucking flowers once in a while, what's the fucking point?
It's Halloween which means it's time for Sacramento's annual mating run! For their first Halloween together, Galen and Grigg dress up as moral support for Jyn.
***
The quiet rattling of the children’s roller coaster is audible from down three roads, the general hum of many people coming together low underneath it. The closer they get to the fair, the thicker the air gets. Smells of roasted almonds and candy and grilled meat mingle with the cloying excitement of young adults ready to mate, jittery nerves of the young teens ready for their first run, expectant onlookers only driving the emotions higher.
“I thought this was supposed to be a mating run.” Galen looks around curiously, taking in the many food stalls, the game booths, the roller coaster. An area is fenced in, two pillars supporting the massive ‘START’ sign that marks the starting point of the runs. A gaggle of teenagers, omegas and betas alike, stand around it. “I didn’t expect it to be such a spectacle.”
So, about a million years ago (well, two and a half) I was writing a Basic Chickens fic about Adam coaching Elias on the art of dating, while secretly falling for him. I’d be very, very surprised if anyone remembers it but, just in case, here’s the long-delayed penultimate chapter (and the final one will be posting on Friday).
Hope y’all enjoy!
Also on AO3
Green Scarf to a Bull - Chapter 5: Wanna Get Out of Here?
It took everything Adam had not to run screaming when Elias returned from the barber. Terrible, terrible things had occurred while Adam was drinking away his sorrows, clearly.
“You should close your mouth, you look very silly with it hanging open like that.”
Adam snapped his jaw shut and surveyed Elias’ face with horror.
He looked fucking gorgeous.
Though true to his word not to do anything drastic to Elias’ “signature look,” the barber had still somehow worked wonders. Elias’ moustache had been trimmed and shaped into something almost rakish looking, and his hair had been tamed and tousled, the curls now defined and swept flatteringly back from his face. And, just to make matters worse, he’d traded his own top for one of the new ones they’d bought earlier, a dark blue waffle knit that pulled teasingly across his shoulders and chest.
Adam made a small, dismayed noise and dropped his head back to the bar.
“Adam? Does it look bad?”
Adam raised his head minutely and gaped at Elias. “Bad? No, not bad, Elias. Definitely not bad.”
“Oh.” Somehow Elias managed to fill that syllable with shy pride and Adam couldn’t help but smile at him. Then he groaned and laid his head back down. Jesus, did he have even one iota of cool left?
“Are you in pain? Did you fall down again?” Elias asked, taking a seat next to Adam.
“If I recall correctly, you fell. I was just dragged down with you,” Adam snarked, turning his head towards Elias so his cheek lay against the bar. He saw Elias open his mouth to protest and quickly cut him off. “I’m just a bit drunk, Curly, nothing to worry about. Shouldn’t have been boozing on an empty stomach.”
“The staff should not have let you get into such a state. Show me which of them served you and I will tell them so.” Elias was already getting back to his feet, looking around to see where all the staff had run off to.
Adam yanked him back down, trying not to notice how firm the bicep he’d got his hand around was. “Don’t you dare, Elias. That barmaid was very sweet to me just now, I’m not letting you headbutt her for doing her job.”
Elias sat back down easily enough, but the frown was still present. “You think she is sweet?” he asked, fiddling with a bar mat.
“Jealous, Curly?” Adam asked, because an impending hangover wasn’t enough pain, apparently.
“Don’t be silly, Adam,” Elias sniffed, breaking Adam’s heart just a little bit more. “I only wondered if perhaps you would ask her out. Then we both could have girlfriends.”
Adam smiled, too tired to do anything else. “Sure, Elias, maybe. I’ll think about it.”
And he did think about it. He thought about it often over the next few days, as he helped Elias procure his date. He thought about whether flirting with someone pretty would take his mind off Elias practicing how to ask someone out without coming off as insane. He thought about whether a quick, no-strings fuck would ease the ache of seeing Elias’ smile when his waitress said yes. He thought about whether having someone else’s arms around him could make him forget how it felt when Elias brushed their hands together, or stood too close, or gathered Adam in one of his too-tight hugs that made him want to burrow into Elias’ sturdy chest and never leave.
The conclusion was the same every time: You’re fucked, Towers.
Those same words were running havoc in his head right now, even as he nodded and made approving noises during the pauses in Elias’ excited babbling. Fucked, you’re fucked, so very, very fucked, they went, on repeat like the world’s worst earworm. He really, really hadn’t wanted to be here for this, somehow stuck in a room with Elias changing into decent clothes again, but Elias had insisted Adam should come over as he got ready for his date. It was only right, he had said, that Adam should be there for every part of the night, to see the culmination of all his hard work.
And he would be. Oh would he ever, after Elias’ oh-so-clever suggestion that Adam should actually be in the damn restaurant while Elias conquered the art of dating. He’d fought tooth and nail against that little idea but… well, Elias had begged, had literally got down on his knees to plead with Adam that he couldn’t do it without him, that Adam was his strength, his rock, looking up at him with those golden-brown eyes wide and needy…
Frankly, Adam had been forced to agree just so that he could get his rapidly bulging trousers out of Elias’ eye-line. And so now here he was, pulling on his second-least-favourite suit (bloody-mindedness certainly was not a good enough reason to warrant his least-favourite, a horrifying white linen affair he’d bought during his short-lived Merchant Ivory phase) and trying not to stare as Elias buttoned his shirt, thereby committing the cardinal sin of covering up his chest.
The second they were dressed, Elias dragged Adam over and positioned him slightly in front and nestled into his side, taking in the sight of them together, all dressed up and looking, respectively, completely delighted (Elias) and like their cat had just been run over (Adam). Elias, having apparently noticed Adam’s total lack of excitement, nudged him none-too-gently in the side.
“You should smile, Adam. We are going on an adventure!”
Adam plastered a smile onto his face, though he couldn’t find it in himself to make it in any way convincing. Elias didn’t seem to mind, though, nodding with satisfaction and grinning proudly at their reflections.
“We are handsome, aren’t we? Nobody could be able to resist us.”
Inside himself, Adam screamed. Outside, he gave Elias a wan smile and said, “Yeah, we’re pretty hot, big guy.”
And they were, Adam wasn’t lying. They looked great together, Elias’ rugged, rustic looks now tamed into something approaching suaveness, the perfect foil for Adam’s pretty, slick aesthetic. It hurt, in a way Adam could hardly process, to think how easily this could be them getting ready for date night together, standing close and flirting easily, maybe deciding that a night in would be more fun and ripping all their fine threads off each other. He turned away from the mirror and his phantom happy life, muttering something about finding his coat. He heard Elias stepping up behind him, his hand on his shoulder, his voice asking, suddenly worried, “Is everything all right, Adam?”
One deep breath, that was all Adam allowed himself before he turned back to Elias with a bright, carefree smile. “Fine, Curly, not a problem in the world. Now,” he said, passing Elias his coat so he couldn’t grab his parka and ruin the look, “let’s get this show on the road.”
They stepped out into the cool evening air, heading in the direction of the café where Elias’ waitress had requested he meet her. Silence hung between them, Adam finding himself unable to conjure his usual stream of meaningless but entertaining babble. He doubted Elias would even notice anyway, let alone care. He was probably caught up in thoughts about his waitress, about how pretty she looked in her stupid, frumpy aprons.
Jealous, are we?
“You’re very quiet,” Elias said, his voice unusually soft in the darkness.
“What? Oh, yes, suppose I am. Just distracted. Thinking,” he added, cringing as he knew what would come next.
“Thinking of what?” Elias asked, right on cue.
About how much prettier you’d look in an apron, isn’t that right, Adam? Because you’d wear one if he asked you to. You wouldn’t even hesitate. Pathetic.
“About the future, I suppose.”
“What about the future?”
“Oh, wondering what I’m going to do after this,” Adam said, waving a hand as if to suggest some grand plan just forming on the horizon. “I’ll need something to do that isn’t coaching you on the art of seduction, big guy. You won’t be needing me anymore.”
“Oh,” Elias said, quiet and apparently surprised. It prickled at Adam a little.
“What, did you think I’d just stick around and spend all my time on you?”
I would.
“Of course not!” Elias spluttered the words out, startled but indignant. “I will do very well without you, I never really needed your help at all, it was you who kept turning up and poking your nose into my private business!”
Oh.
The silence returned and Adam was of half a mind to dump Elias right here and let him see just how well he did get on by himself.
He was working himself up into a proper tantrum when Elias asked, again in that soft, sad voice, “I will still see you though? You won’t go away too far, will you?”
Adam felt his heart break. Why couldn’t it be enough that Elias so wanted his friendship? Why did he always have to be greedy, never satisfied until he’d wrung everything from every person, every experience.
He sighed and patted Elias on the arm. “No, Curly,” he said, his own voice gentle even as it lied, “I won’t go too far off, I promise.”
Elias smiled, relief making his face glow in the dimness. “That’s good, because I would miss you, even if I don’t need your help anymore.”
Adam just smiled back at him and bumped their shoulders together. He couldn’t have formed words in that moment for all the fame and all the front-page bylines in the world.
It was only a couple of minutes more when they reached the street with the café and Adam parted ways with Elias, leaving him to stroll with his waitress towards the restaurant, while Adam rushed ahead in order to secrete himself before they arrived. And if he paused briefly to duck into a quiet alleyway and sob for the hated ache in his heart, that was no one’s business but his own, and there certainly were no signs of it by the time the helpful hostess was showing him to his seat.
They had deliberately chosen this restaurant for its seating. While most of the place was filled with standard tables, the corners were lined with booths, all of them given extra privacy by the artfully arranged plants surrounding them. From within one, it was impossible to see the person in the booths on either side, which meant that if, say, a rather anxious gentleman needed the secret support of his best and truest friend during a date, that friend could be secreted within the adjoining booth without the gentleman’s companion being any the wiser.
Avoiding the glances from the other patrons – clearly he was a pathetic creature to be pitied, coming to a place like this to eat alone – Adam pulled his notebook and phone from an inner pocket. He carefully, deliberately lined them up, trying like hell to project an image of a terribly important food critic here to frighten the life out of the staff with his mere presence. The way the hostess had beamed at him and ushered him ever so solicitously to his seat had probably helped with that impression but, even so, Adam was certain it was easy to see he was a fraud. Still, he opened the notebook and began fastidiously writing, looking around every now and then as if taking references for his description of the place’s ambience.
You look ridiculous.
Probably true but at least it gave him something to do while waiting for Elias to turn up. Not that he was actually writing anything of any value – of course not, it was him doing the writing – but it was better than staring around the room at all the happy couples, knowing that Elias was soon to join their ranks.
He had just ordered his second stiff drink and an appetiser he planned on picking at but not really eating (he didn’t feel much like eating right now – for that matter, he didn’t really feel like staying, or helping, or doing anything except getting blind drunk in the dark of his apartment, but eating was definitely off the table, at least) when Elias’ voice blared across the restaurant, proudly announcing that he and his date had a reservation. If Adam had still been the same man he was before he met Elias, he’d have laughed himself stupid over the weirdo with the loud voice who’d clearly never been in a restaurant before, let alone on a date. He’d probably have made some cruel, cutting remark dressed up as wit to whichever poor soul he’d managed to coerce into dining with him. And he’d never have known that the kindest, gentlest, most weirdly charming man he could ever meet was walking past him. He probably wouldn’t have even cared.
Adam wished, for just a second, as he ducked his head and raised his menu to hide his face, that he still was that man. He might have been awful, arrogant and delusional but at least he’d had no idea his heart could hurt like this. He’d had no idea that the way Elias briefly touched his shoulder as he passed could make Adam want to grab him by the hand and beg him to stay with him, to be on a date with him, to love him.
Ignorance is bliss and Adam was in hell.
Or, at least, he thought he was. As it turned out, though, he had deeper yet to fall.
Elias had suggested, when they were planning this terrible scheme, that he should wear a microphone and Adam an earpiece, so that he could hear what was being said. Adam, turning a shudder into a laugh, had patted him on the arm and assured him that wouldn’t be necessary, he didn’t need to eavesdrop on the conversation. As it turned out, he’d been right about that but not for the reason he had thought. Adam didn’t need technological assistance to hear at least half of what was happening in the next booth, because Elias’ voice carried with crystal clarity all by itself. He could, without straining an inch, hear every single thing Elias talked about.
And what Elias talked about, it turned out, was Adam.
Oh, he tried to stick to the rules Adam had given him, to ask polite questions and not interrupt but listen attentively. Adam could hear the slightly stiff noises of interest Elias carefully made at intervals of about thirty seconds, which Adam had told him were not “stupid and pointless” but an important signal that you were actually paying attention and not just waiting for your turn to speak. The problem was that every time the waitress asked a question or made an observation of her own, Elias responded with a tale about “My friend Adam.”
“My friend Adam says…”
“My friend Adam thinks…”
“Adam, he is my friend you know, once…”
The enormous fool was going to ruin the whole enterprise by going on and on about his “kind” and “funny” and “handsome” friend Adam, as if he were more interested in him than the woman sitting opposite. Adam dropped his face into his hands and groaned softly. Maybe it should have been him with the microphone so that he could Cyrano de Bergerac this bitch. Or maybe just yell at Elias to stop being such an idiot and woo the damn girl.
Wait. Handsome?
Did Elias think he was handsome?
Adam felt the blush rising up his neck, heating the skin beneath his palms. Oh god, this was ludicrous, this was too much. He’d done his duty, he’d made sure Elias got here with his date in tow and had sat here like a stealth gooseberry while Elias got comfortable with conversing like a human being and actually kind of succeeded at it. Nobody could say he hadn’t given it the old college try but sitting through any more of this was too much to ask. Elias probably wouldn’t even notice that he was gone, and Adam wasn’t planning on sticking around after this so he wouldn’t even have to come up with an awkward explanation.
He pocketed his phone and was just looking round for a waiter to ask for the bill when he caught the words Elias’ waitress was saying behind him.
“You must really care about Adam.”
“Yes, Adam is my very good friend.”
“Friend.” Her voice was flat, unimpressed maybe?
“Yes, Adam is my friend. My best friend. And I am his best friend too, of course.” Elias said this in the kind of voice usually reserved for announcing that you’d once won a Nobel Prize, and it was followed by the kind of silence that usually came when one conversational partner was trying to figure out if the other one was playing some massive yet obscure prank on them.
Finally, Adam heard the waitress blow out a long breath. “He’s very kind to you, Adam, isn’t he?”
“Oh yes, he is always doing things for me, did I tell you about-”
“And he spends all his time with you?”
“Not all, and it is rude to interr-”
“And he touches you a lot, have you noticed?”
“He is just…” Elias sounded totally bewildered but rallied quickly. “Adam is just a friendly person.”
“Mmm. And how do you feel when Adam’s being ‘friendly’ with you.”
Oh, Adam did not like the tone of that “friendly” at all.
“Ah, well, I always feel happy when Adam is with me. Adam is exciting and brave and wonderful. He is my friend for now and that is enough.”
“Just for now?”
“Oh yes. I would like him to stay forever but Adam is not a forever sort of person, I think. One day he will fly away, because he is like a bird, he needs to fly. And I am just a bull who must stay on the ground, so off he will go and I will be glad to have known him.”
Not a forever sort of person. The words rang in Adam’s head as his stomach plunged painfully. Adam is not a forever sort of person. So that was all Elias thought of him. Just some flighty, fairweather type, not worth counting on for more.
The waitress was speaking again, surprisingly sounding not irritated but somehow… sad, almost yearning. “I think you’re too harsh on him, Elias. You should give him a chance.”
Tears sprang into Adam’s eyes. The only person who believed in him was a woman who had barely met him. Not his best friend. Not the man he’d confided his hopes and dreams in. Not the man he… No, just some random almost-stranger who knew nothing about him, who was being kind because she had no reason to be cruel.
“What do you mean, give him a chance? I am a very good friend to him, I have given him many chances.”
Adam could practically feel the waitress’ eyes roll.
“I mean, Elias, that I think Adam is in love with you and I think you should give him a chance to prove he would stay if you asked him.”
Oh no. Oh no no no no no no no.
Adam froze in panic. How the hell had she worked that out? She’d met him all of twice and he hadn’t even known how he felt himself the first time. Damn Elias, why couldn’t he have talked about something normal? Hell, even something abnormal would have been better than painting a very clear picture of sad little Adam who followed him round like a besotted puppy desperate for a treat.
Adam shrank down in his seat, wanting desperately to disappear, or suddenly go deaf, or possibly be struck by lightning. This was Norse country, right? Close enough, anyway. Maybe Thor would be passing and take pity on him.
The silence that had been coming from the next booth while Adam wished for godly intervention was suddenly broken by a loud snort. Elias, evidently amused by the waitress’ suggestion, was laughing heartily at it. “That is silly, Adam isn’t in love with me,” he said, as if such a thing was about as likely as their waiter serving them human flesh. “I think he would quite like to have sex with me-”
He thinks?! I literally propositioned him at least twice!
“-but Adam would never be in love with me. No, I think you are mistaken, though I am sure it is not your fault and waitresses don’t need to be clever in any case so that is fine.”
Adam paused in the middle of his despair to wonder how the hell he had come to fall in love with such a rude asshole.
Takes one to love one, his mind helpfully supplied.
“I don’t think it’s me who’s being stupid just now,” he heard the waitress say, and mentally applauded her for putting Elias in his place.
Not that he would stay there, of course.
“Oh really? You’re calling me stupid? Well, I can prove I am not the stupid one.”
Oh no.
“Just wait a moment and I will prove to you how silly you are.”
Oh please no.
Adam considered, in the five seconds that followed, the shape of the knife lying still-unused at the side of his plate. Specifically, he considered whether its point was sharp enough to penetrate all the way through to his jugular vein and therefore let him bleed out before what was about to happen, happened. Probably not, he decided, but before he could turn his attention to any more potential weapons of self-destruction, Elias was beside him, dragging him out of his booth by the elbow and standing him in front of the waitress. Who was giving him a look part-way between fury and pity that Adam hoped never to have turned on him again, lest he shrivel under the shame of it. He could only imagine what their fellow diners thought of him now.
“Now, here is Adam,” Elias began, as if he was a particularly interesting specimen Elias had brought along to school for show and tell. “He will tell you that he’s not in love with me and that you are being silly.” He gave Adam a bright, foolish, heartbreakingly trusting smile. “Go ahead, Adam.”
Adam found he couldn’t meet Elias’ eyes, nor those of the waitress. He just stood there, head down, eyes pricking with tears, like some naughty schoolboy brought before the headmaster and finding himself not so uncaring and cocksure as he’d thought.
But you love being the centre of attention, Towers. Look at all the people, rapt with anticipation for your little performance. Spotlight burning a bit, is it?
“Adam?” Elias looked at the waitress, his grin wobbling a little now, and then quickly back to Adam. “Adam, tell her. Tell her you are not in love with me.”
Adam thought about the plan. About how, if he just stuck to it, he could be out of this mess, free and clear. How he could, with a few short sentences, make his friend happy. How playing along would be best for everyone, especially himself.
And then Adam thought, Fuck it.
“No, Elias.”
He watched Elias’ face fall and twist in confusion, and then turned on his heel and strode out of the restaurant before Elias could make any sort of attempt to stop him. If he even would have.
Running again, Towers? Do you ever do anything else?
Adam felt the cold pit open within him and gladly flung himself in. What had trying ever gotten him anyway?
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the
Organization for Transformative Works
Ooooh this one was fun, and effort has clearly gone into it - imaginative and entertaining, with no jarring 'out of character' behaviour that turned pissed me off and made me quit reading.
Recommended! Hopefully the next one in the series is in the same vein 😊 [edit: ahhh the next installment looks unfinished & hasn't been updated since 2017. I don't like reading incomplete works, they just leave me hanging. Ah well.]
When bodies start turning up all over Bucharest in a series of violent and gruesome displays an old friend of Jack's calls in a favor to borrow the FBI agents best profiler. A less than pleased Will Graham is soon shipped off to Bucharest in the hopes of helping local Police track down the killer bloodying Romanians streets with a litter of corpses.
While there Will stumbles across a rather unexpected surprise when he meets Hannibal's previously unmentioned twin; a man who's design Will is chasing and who has no intention of letting him go.
