Archived fic rec - Prince Among Wolves

[sakura_no_miko]

Title: Prince Among Wolves

Author: tylerfucklin

Fandom: Teen Wolf

Rating: NC-17

Pairing: Derek/Stiles, past Derek/Kate

Warnings: child endangerment, discussion of transphobia, abusive parenting, child neglect (intentional and unintentional), discussion of abortion, blackmail

Other notes: kid fic, babysitting, trans character, bad parenting

Length: 101k

Summary: Looking for full day/evening sitter. 2 twin boys age 4.  Must have exp. w/werewolves. Must be human. No pedophiles. No teenage girls. Pay negotiable.

 

I have to admit to my own biases here: When I saw that summary, my first instinct was a big fat NOPE. I just–falling for the babysitter or the hot kindergarten teacher. Not my thing. Most kid fics aren’t my thing. I’ve done my fair share of babysitting, and I know for a fact it is not the life for me. I am sworn to be the old spinster aunt who occasionally shows up to spoil my friends’ kids, and I’m content with that. 

Also it’s 100k+ words, which is quite a commitment.

So I don’t know why I opened this fic up, but I’m glad I did. I feel kind of odd about my Teen Wolf kick. I don’t watch the show. I see a lot of posts about it. My girlfriend swears to me that most of the fic is completely out of character and that everyone ignores the characters who aren’t Derek and/or Stiles. (Speaking of which, did you know neither Derek nor Stiles is even the lead character of the show? I didn’t. It’s as surprising as telling me that Sam and Dean and Castiel weren’t the lead characters of Supernatural (actually Castiel wasn’t, initially, but now he is.)) Which, yeah, given the sheer amount of fic I’ve seen, I can believe. (I swear, pick any tag in AO3 and you will find Teen Wolf, Supernatural, and One Direction on the first page of results. Always.)

And yet. There are just so many fics I’ve enjoyed. There are good writers throwing their hat into this pairing. 

This fic–wow at times it is painful to read. Derek is the classic trying-his-best-but-utterly-failing parent. Just the paradigm of terrible fatherhood. Reminds me of my own father, actually. Just trying and trying to do what he thinks is best, but completely lacking in, well, emotional sensitivity. Some people take naturally to parenthood. Other people are like me–what do I do with these strange little creatures who can’t communicate with words and demand constant attention and are really noisy? And the worst part is, though Derek is trying to be a good father, he is making everything much worse. He’s abusive–not intentionally, but he’s neglectful, and he just doesn’t know how to care for his kids’ emotional and physical needs.

Compounding that, one of his children is trans, and he again has no idea what to do. And even when he does start to educate himself, there are still a ton of people around him who are transphobic–strangers at the park, family members. It’s pretty brutal to read. And that’s one of the best things about fic–you come in for some romcom shenanigans or hot sex and get a powerful narrative about a parent learning to bond with his children, and make a safe space for his trans child. (I suppose you could make an argument that it occasionally comes off as “very special episode”-esque, but I thought it was well-handled, overall.)

I’m not a fan of hating on female characters, but Kate Argent might be an exception. I mean, she is a villain. In this fic she’s pretty damn vile. Not really any redeeming features to her. She’s just a terrifying presence.

The ending is–well, typical romcom. The guys get emotionally entangled, freak out, try to break apart, get back together. We know those notes. I honestly like the beginning a bit better, but, hey. Happy endings all around. I dunno. The ending chapters feel like the pacing is just a touch off? There are a lot of emotional chapters in a row. Fight and break up / reunite / get rid of Kate / consummation sex / one last emotional tribulation. I mean, it’s good that everything is resolved. Just a bit turbulent. That’s a small criticism, though. Sometimes I get nervous when I rec fic that are already highly praised. I don’t want to come off as sycophantic or overly critical. I liked this fic. It was not what I was expecting, and while this trope usually bored me, I enjoyed this fic.

(Looking for more fic recs?)
Originally posted on tumblr on 03/10/15