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lag1995-fics · 3 years

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Hiii! Can i request a dadneto where Peter has a secondary mutation that also makes him metallokinetic like Erik? And then when he finally shows the X-men, Erik finally connects the dots? 😳😳

Of course you can love I’ll never say no to dadneto ❤️❤️❤️ sorry for the wait I just started a new job. I hope you enjoy the story ❤️

Forks

Pairing: none

Warning: I drop the f-bomb a bit

Words:1480

Summary: When Peter and Scott get into an argument, Peter loses his temper revealing his secondary mutation.

Masterlist

///::::///

Peter had always been really careful about hiding his secondary mutation. If people saw him moving metal it wouldn’t be hard to jump to the correct conclusion about his and Erik’s familial bond. It was just easier to keep that bit to himself. He wanted to tell Erik but he also didn’t want to be a 27 year old man trying to take the place of his dead 8 year old sister. He wanted to naturally build a relationship with his father, maybe then he could tell him.

They were supposed to be having a team building dinner that night. Peter knew why as well, he and Scott had been bickering constantly. It was obvious that Scott blamed Peter for his brother's tragic death. Scott had no way of knowing that the flames had already engulfed Alex. Peter also didn’t want to harp on that but too much Scott needed to grieve lord know he lashed out like an asshole when Wanda disappeared. If Scott needed to blame someone Peter didn’t mind being that person.

Everyone else thought it was obvious that Scott was being a major jerk wad and would often try to come to Peter’s defense. Scott rarely saw it but Peter would always wave off the defenders, often with comments of “let him have this” or “it’s okay, he needs to get these emotions out.” He could be the bigger person he was ten years older than Scott, it was just part of being a grown up.

***

The time came for the team building dinner and Peter’s mouth was already watering at the prospect of delicious ooey, gooey pizza. His mother had often told him his stomach was like a bottomless pit. Peter burned a hell of a lot of calories though and he had to constantly eat to make up for that.

He took his seat between Raven and Hank rubbing his hands together in anticipation. They looked at him with various looks of both disgust and amusement. Peter could care less pizza was the food of gods right behind twinkies.

It was no time before everyone had a seat at the table and Peter immediately started inhaling the Pizza. He was halfway through his 8th slice when Scott decided to open his mouth.

“That’s disgusting” he sneered and Peter could only grin at him.

“I burn a lotta calories plus Pizza is delicious!” Peter exclaimed brightly he was unbothered by Scott’s half hearted insult.

“Can you lay off for once this is supposed to be about team building,” Jean groaned, fed up with her boyfriend's childish behavior. Peter remained unbothered though, he knew what Scott was going through. It had been the same for him after Wanda disappeared.

“It’s fine Jean he’s just a kid, he doesn’t bother me,” Peter told the red haired girl light heartedly.

“Well it bothers me. Scott, what happened to Alex was not Peter’s fault, Alex was closest to the blast,” Jean shot out to her boyfriend obviously fed up with his shit.

“What bothers me is how nonchalant he is about the whole thing, it’s like he doesn’t even care” Scott was starting to get worked up and Peter wished that Jean could have just left it alone. He managed a glance at Erik who was ignoring everyone in favor of his newspaper. Charles who was beside him looked like he had a migraine starting. It was Charles idea for team building after all and Erik had the look of I told you so without even saying a word.

“You think I don’t care?” Peter asked, he didn’t want Scott to think he didn’t care. It weighed heavily on his mind that he hadn’t gotten there in time to save Scott’s brother. He was always too late for someone with super speed.

“I know you don’t fucking care!” Scott’s face was inflamed and red.

“Scott! Language!” Charles snapped.

“Well you’re wrong Scott I do care. I’m always too late and I’m sorry I didn’t get to Alex in time.” Peter was sincerely sorry that he hadn’t been in time. He would never wish the pain of losing a sibling on anyone.

“Well fuck you! You don’t know what it’s like to lose a sibiling! Alex was all that I had!” Scott screamed and Peter felt a trill of Anger run down his spine his fork started to vibrate subtly and Raven looked at it with wide eyes before looking at him sharply. Peter didn’t notice his mind was full of images of his sister.

“Don’t act like you know me Scott, the only reason I’ve let you go on and on like you have is because I know exactly what you’re going through.” Peter seethed and he knew he should be embarrassed that he let a seventeen year old goad him like this.

“Fuck You! Alex died, you didn’t save him. You don’t know what it’s like to lose a brother” Scott spat. By now Erik had lowered his paper watching the interaction with veiled interest. Charles had a look of anger at the boys for ruining his team building dinner.

“Oh I might not know what it’s like to lose a brother but I lost my twin sister when we were your age! She just disappeared. I have no clue if she’s alive or dead and I promise you that’s worse!” Peter spat and the silverware began rising into the air with his skyrocketing temper. If he had been looking he would have seen the color drain from Erik’s face.

“Erik you’re only making it worse!” Charles snapped thinking it was Magneto getting irritated and wanting to silence the boys. Peter realizing what he had done let the silverware drop with a metallic clatter. The anger drained rapidly.

“Charles it’s not me.” His tone was choked as he stared at the silver haired mutant with new eyes. Peter unsure of what to do in the rising tension decided the logical answer was to bolt from the room.

He was by the fountain in second trying to calm his ragged breathing and approaching panic attack. The cat was truly out of the bag now. He placed his head between his knees, tears streaming down his cheeks.

Inside Erik was still staring at the spot Peter had just disappeared from. His mind was trying to catch up. He had another child, a living child. Peter was clearly Magda’s son, he had her sunny disposition, he obviously hadn’t inherited that from him. Then his stomach sank again. He had twins and one of them was missing for over ten years. Peter had been dealing with this pain on his own.

“Fountain,” Charles' voice whispered in his head, “go to him he needs you. He’s afraid you’ll reject him.”

Erik wondered how such a brilliant person like Peter could ever think that he would reject him. If anything Erik wasn’t worthy of the boy, he was such a bright beacon in the dark miserable world. He began to walk to the fountain, his mind replaying a very specific memory. Almost ten years ago a silver haired teenager had broken him out of his prison with a grin and a sharp wit. He had also made an off hand comment.

“So you can control metal?” Peter had asked and Erik who was still disoriented had only nodded.

“That cool my mom knew a guy who could do that,” the statement had been so off handed and nonchalant. Erik should have known then but he had been distracted by a walking Charles who promptly punched him square in the jaw. The off hand comment had been pushed to the back of his mind.

He found Peter with his head between his knees close to a panic attack. He sat next to the boy and laid a hand on his shoulder. Peter jerked looking at him in surprise.

“Your mother was Magda,” it was a statement not a question. Peter only nodded with wide brown eyes. His mother’s eyes, it felt like a punch to the gut.

“I’m not trying to replace Nina, I swear!” Peter choked out, “I wouldn’t want someone to try and replace Wanda.”

“You’re not replacing anyone my boy, you are your own person. A good person that I don’t deserve. You’re my son and I love you. I may not have known you for very long but family is forever,” Erik declared and Peter sniffles before throwing himself into his fathers arms like he was five and not twenty seven. Erik hugged his son back as they both fought back their tears.

“Forever” Peter agreed and one of the cracks in his heart healed. He wasn’t whole but he had one more person to add to his list of loved ones. He only hoped he could find Wanda one day. Erik would love her; they were both so much alike.

Thank you for reading feel free to drop a request.

#evan peters #peter maximoff #ralph bohner #quicksilver #xmen #dadneto #fanfiction #wanda and pietro #dadneto fanfic #erik lehnsherr is a good dad #erik lehnsherr fanfiction #erik lehnsherr #peter maximoff fanfiction

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portsidewonderland · 3 years

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Okay, I’ve been wanting to write this for the last three weeks, but I’m finally - finally - sitting down to do just that.

First, I’m a Rogan shipper. I’ve been a Rogan shipper for the last 20 years, but in that time, I’ve grown, I’ve experienced my own sense of love, and I’m a writer so I’d like to think I’m familiar with structure, characterization, and the like.

Second, I’m focused on the film franchise, strictly speaking. Just wanted to make sure that is clear.

Having said that, when I discuss how utterly wrong the X-Men franchise is, I’m talking about from a story standpoint. When I speak of Logan and Rogue, if that ship isn’t your jam, fine, but the points I make still stand.

Finally, spoiler alert for all of the movies.

Okay, I think we’re ready to jump in.

1. After the first movie, everyone forgot the heart of what made the first movie so special: Wolverine & Rogue

I don’t necessarily mean together. I mean, the movie focused primarily on Logan’s story and Rogue’s story. It was told through THEIR POV. This is important because, essentially, we’re asked to connect with these two characters AND WE DO.

The dialogue, the acting, and their stories (which reflect each other’s as well as stand on their own) draw us in and we are hooked.

Even the critics thought some of the best scenes are the ones Logan and Marie share together. Multiple critics discuss chemistry, how they add to the scene, etc.

Regardless of whether you ship them or not, there’s a compelling story between the two. This vulnerable, slip of a girl is the most powerful X-men out there (or one of) and this growly, fierce angry, broken man who’s been alone for so long that out of everyone he’s met and seen, THIS girl brings him to his knees.

And it’s because she isn’t scared of him.

Even after watching him beat the shit out of his opponent, even after seeing the claws threaten humans and slice through a barrel of a gun, she still thinks, I can trust him.

And when he catches her in his trailer, she STILL isn’t afraid of him. She gives him lip. She calls him out on his shit.

That’s how she manages to slide through the cracks.

And that is BEAUTIFUL.

I’m not here to talk about the performances, but Jesus Christ, I love this scene so damn much. The chemistry RADIATES. The glances, the confusion, the curiosity, and the attraction. (Sorry not sorry, it’s there on both parts, I’ll die on this hill.)

Anyway, the first movie is about how this girl brings the savage, feral Wolverine to his knees. How she gets him to STAY. How she gets him to open up.

Yes, Logan wants info on his past, but he’s staying for Marie. We all know it.

When he threatens Jean after first waking up, Jean is scared. And for good reason, obviously.

But Logan STABS Marie with his claws, and guess what? She’s still not scared of him. She’s worried about him.

This is THEIR story.

Do you really think Wolverine is going to go running around in leather for anyone but Marie? Yeah, I don’t think so. I mean, he literally STABS HIMSELF IN THE CHEST to free himself and get to her.

He PROMISES her that he’d take care of her. Do you think Wolverine bullshits? Hell no, he doesn’t.

And that’s why....

2. The whole Jean thing was just not great.

Okay, can I tell you something?

I don’t see Jean as a sympathetic character. She’s engaged to Scott and suddenly, Wolverine comes strolling in and she can’t get her shit together?

I mean, okay, I get it, let’s be real.

But Scott isn’t a bad guy. He nay be a dick, but he treats Jean well. Because we’re not in Cyclops’ or Jean’s head, we as the audience don’t see any marital/romantic issues between them. Hence, when Jean gets flustered by Wolverine to the point where she lets him goad her into reading his mind, she knows what she’s doing. She likes it. She likes Logan’s attention.

Not because she likes Logan.

(I read this fic where basically Jean tells Logan he could have been anybody, and I thought that was so perfect)

But because he’s giving her attention. He makes her feel desired.

And she leads him on.

Right there, I don’t like her, and I think that’s why a lot of Rogan shippers don��t like her is that she has no problem toying not only with Logan’s feelings, but with Scott’s.

But that’s not even the worst part of this.

At the end, when Logan asks for Marie and Jean makes her comment, she adds, “I think she’s taken with you.”

Like - why would Jean say that? Why mention it?

That’s petty ass shit right there.

To me, what she’s trying to do is align herself with Logan as adults and belittle Marie for having a little crush on him. Like it’s so juvenile.

And the worst line of this whole movie is when he says, “Tell her my heart belongs to another.”

Want to know why?

Because the writers/director haven’t SHOWN this. This line is forced here to TELL the audience that we should be shipping Jean and Wolverine. It’s sloppy writing. It tells me they think the audience are idiots.

Really, Logan?

Jean has your heart even though you completely go against Tall Dark and Feral to pick up a girl, then stay at the school with her, leave a fucking mansion to bring her back, make a promise to her, go after her after she’s kidnapped, stab yourself in the chest, fling yourself on the Statue of Liberty AND RISK YOUR FUCKING LIFE TO SAVE ROGUE’S JUST BY TOUCHING HER and you want me to believe your heart belongs to Jean????

Please, tell me, why the FUCK should I buy that?

Oh, because they’re the same age?

LOL no.

Anyway, I didn’t like Jean’s characterization because of that. Because she’s leading people on, because she needs to put down Marie’s feelings after her ordeal because of her insecurity, because of it all.

Which is why I’ll never ship them together.

Logan is at his worst when he’s around Jean.

Anyway.

And Jean is just the worst.

3. They took something meaningful and they fucked it

Logan promises to take care of Rogue. Do you know important that is for both of them as individuals and their relationship?

Rogue only goes back because of Logan. Not for anyone else. Not even Bobby. She comes back, she stays, for Logan.

Where do we see that after the second movie?

He’s so goddamned focused on Jean, on everything about her, that he barely notices that Rogue is ready to get the cure.

I’m GLAD they got a scene together. Because of their looks.

I am.

But shit.

It’s like Logan has completely forgotten all about Rogue, and I’m sorry, but after that first movie, I just can’t buy that.

I can buy that he leaves to check out his past. The dog tag scene is one of my absolute favorites. That’s perfect. Makes sense.

(Also, side note: Fic is so beautiful about this but he isn’t afraid to touch her. Like, he doesn’t HAVE to play with her hair but he does. It’s playful and flirty. It IS. He could have just said he liked her hair BUT HE HAD TO TOUCH IT. And this is HUGE for Rogue because honestly SHE’S afraid to touch and of herself but if Logan isn’t afraid, she stops being afraid - if that makes sense.)

But seriously? He’s not calling the mansion, not writing to Rogue?

I don’t believe that for one second.

This is why I will never watch The Wolverine after that first time (I refuse especially after the director said he was contemplating adding Rogue at the end and didn’t and FUCK EVERYTHING.) because he just leaves because he’s upset about fucking JEAN

I’m sorry but the Wolverine isn’t ABOUT Jean.

If that was the case, we should have had point of views between Logan and Jean in the first movie, not Rogue.

We should have SEEN their development, but we didn’t.

We’re TOLD it.

I’m sorry, but how do you want me to believe that the big bad Wolverine runs off to Japan because he’s sad about Jean? Like, so he’s just going to leave Rogue alone with all of those threats? Are you fucking kidding me?

Show them keeping in touch or SOMETHING. You can’t expect me to see such a huge transformation arc in Logan in the first movie that just gets shit on in every other movie (besides the second). Because that makes Wolverine look like a big, gigantic ASSHOLE and I get that he’s supposed to be that way, but NOT with Rogue.

Which is why Days of Future Past pisses me off as much of the rest them (I’m only discussing the Rogue Cut because I refuse to acknowledge that Bryan Singer - who gave us the first movies - regulated Rogue to such a fucking small cameo.) because Rogue was treated as garbage.

Now, I’m going to assume Logan doesn’t know about what really happened to Rogue because no one told him. But honestly? If he cares about Rogue the way I know he does, he should be asking about her every single time he and Xavier talk.

I love that Logan can sense Rogue when she steps in to help. I love that Rogue refuses to let go of Logan’s mind even in the heart of danger (@bigfrogbestfrogs has an awesome breakdown of these scenes). But I’m appalled at how Kitty is chosen before Rogue? Like, even when coming up with the idea for this movie, why not involve Rogue more?

I refuse to discuss Bobby and her together at the end.

Fuck that.

4. The timelines

Look, I’m not even going to go into the shit that is the timelines.

But honestly?

Fuck everything about that.

I get Singer wanted to retcon X3, but I don’t care.

Based on Apocalypse, the future still sucks so everything failed and then the movie LOGAN takes that shit and amplifies it.

5. LOGAN (the movie)

I’m sorry, but this movie is amazing in some ways and sucks in others.

Want to know why?

Because it takes everything about what made the first movie great and emphasized it.

Laura is too young to be a love interest, so clearly, it’s paternal, and I’m here for it.

But there are so many parallels between logan and Laura and Logan and Rogue that for Logan not to say anything or feel anything in a way tgat tells the audience he’s feeling something just boggles my mind.

Even if he carried HER picture or played with the dog tags and thought of her, something that shows the audience he remembers her, dammit, and she MEANT something to him.

But FUCK how could he NOT?

And that’s why the scene where he’s reading that comic book and he sees himself saving Rogue is so poignant.

Because his gaze lingers.

I mean, obviously I’m assuming she’s dead (which is bullshit but whatever). But still.

And then when he’s dying and Laura is holding his hands and you get that prophecy of him dying with his heart in his hand and I loved how they paired it with the Logan and Rogue song. I loved that callback.

And if the films in between them weren’t such shit, it would be enough.

But it’s not enough for me.

There was so much potential and everything got shit on and it angers me soooo much.

Anyway.

That’s me venting.

Luckily we have so many talented Rogan fic writers and that our ship has survived 20 years.

But still.

What could have been...

Shit.

#logan x marie #wolverine x rogue #Logan x rogue #Wolverine x Marie #Anna Marie #wolverine

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stereksecretsanta · 3 years

Text

Merry Christmas, jimtremor!

For @jimtremor, who asked for basically anything. I did my best with that.

Read On AO3

*****

Useful Information

“Mr. McCall will be in the North Dorm and you Mr. Stillinski will go to the East.” The director of student affairs passes them Welcome packets, across his desk. Hn,

They both start to protest but Deaton holds up a quieting hand and stands, quickly moving them both out of his office. “I’m sure you’ll both adjust just fine. If there’s anything you need, my office hours are Monday and Friday 8am to 2pm.” He closes the door in their faces

****

“This is the stupidest idea ever,” Stiles says dropping his pack just inside the door to his new dorm. Stiles notices right away that the room is painfully neat for a college dorm.

“You can’t just throw people together and expect them to form proper pack bonds.”

He flops onto the empty bed across the room from what he assumes is his assigned Alpha and waits what he’s told is the appropriate amount of time for his new roommate to respond but the wolf just flicks hazel eyes at him, before going back to reading his novel.

“Scott— my best friend Scott, we applied to this place together. He’s going to be an Alpha and I’m going to be his bad-ass Emissary.” The wolf continues to ignore him and after a few minutes, Stiles huffs and starts unpacking.

It takes him a few minutes more to realize that his dorm is amazing. There’s a fridge. Not a mini fridge. A full-sized fridge in what might serve as a very quaint breakfast nook. The open area has a desk, a TV and closets next to the beds. When he opens the door to his, he finds a dresser and plenty of room for his meager belongings. His dad had been very proud of the fact that he entered college with a change of clothes, a martial arts trophy, and a six-pack (abs not beer). So Stiles was carrying on the family tradition. Sort of.

There’s a bathroom and if Stiles didn’t know any better a tub big enough to house jacuzzi jets.

“This place is amaaa—"

His roommate reaches over and clicks on a small iPhone dock that looks like a radio. It starts blasting some sort of German metal. Stiles stares at him for a moment before pulling out his grimoires ‘fine be that way then.’ he thinks, flipping through the pages to a spell he needs for his next class.

Scott is so going to hear about this dick.

****

“—a serious neat freak, and he acts like he can’t be bothered to answer even the simplest of questions. I swear Scotty we need to go over somebody’s head. It has to be a mistake that they split us up.”

“Derek Hale!?” Scott suddenly shouts sitting up from Allison’s lap. Stiles glances around hoping his best friend’s dorky exclamations aren’t drawing attention annnd yep people are staring.

“As in Hale Observatory? As in Hale Hall? AS IN THE HALE EXPLORATORY MEDICAL DEPARTMENT FOR THE SUPERNATURALLY INCLINED? The people who might be able to find a way to cure me?”

He says the last part much quieter. He’d worked harder than he ever had at anything to get into this private college. Hoping against hope that they’d somehow turn him back human. It wasn’t that Scott didn’t love every minute of being a wolf, it just came with a lot of baggage, including possibly outliving everyone important to you. Every human anyway.

“There’s no known cure for lycanthropy,” Allison says quietly.

Stiles glances up at the heavens, his ears burning. “Yeah my roommate is Derek Hale. Geez Scotty it’s not that big of a deal.” Scott stares at him as if he’s grown a second head.

“You—you’ve lived your whole life here and you think rooming with a Hale is not a big deal? The Hales own half the town and probably your house Stiles!” Scott’s volume is going up again and Stiles tries not to roll his eyes.

“Having a rich family doesn’t make you a big deal Scotty.”

Scott sputters his eyes going to Allison in a desperate plea for back-up. She just shrugs. Right. She just moved to Beacon hills so she wouldn’t know.

“HaAVing A RIcH FaMILY dOEsn’t maKe You a bIG DeAL.” Scott says half snidely, half mockingly under his breath.

Stiles cocks his head to the side, like he’s trying figure out who the crazy person was possessing his best friend and they begin one of their famous silent conversations.

‘I’m not an idiot’ Scott thinks at him

‘I know Scott but really it’s no big deal. He’s like a totally normal asshole. A painfully neat asshole.’

‘Think you can maybe talk to him about the whole *my best friend is a werewolf who didn’t ask to be a werewolf thing*? Maybe mention that your best friend is desperate for some guidance as to where to find a cure’

‘There’s no cure for werewolf-ism Scott! And Scotty. Friend. Buddy. Pal. I can’t even talk to him about where to put my toothbrush in the bathroom. Apparently it’s important to keep your toothbrush as far away from the toilet as possible. He even has this little protective cover on his.’

“Huh. I just thought of something.” Allison says breaking into the silent conversation. “Maybe they want you to be the new Hale emissary.”

Stiles and Scott both turn to stare at her.

“Huh” they both say

She pretends to study, but Stiles can totally see the dimple at her cheek deepen.

****

Derek is particular about his space, and his things. It’s normal for a wolf. Even at boarding school they hadn’t made him share a room, although maybe that had more to do with the hefty donation his mother had made and less to do with his werewolf sensibilities.

Stiles is in his space for less than a day and he’s somehow everywhere. He smells woodsy- like wet leaves and rain when he finally decides to shower off the cheap body spray. He puts his toothbrush in the wrong spot on the sink and unpacks his one box of belongings.

There’s a pile of spell books on the floor under his bed and pots of herbs line the windows. He doesn’t know what’s in the jars in his fridge and he doesn’t want to know. Instead, he politely tries to tidy Stiles’ things, but it seems like they just gravitate back to where Stiles left them. He does his best not to growl whenever the emissary walks into the room.

His annoyance level is already high. The welcome packet was clear that he was meant to start a pack with this kid. That they should spend their time working together and bonding for the sake of their future pack.

Everything about him was a mess, and Derek didn’t do messy. Not anymore. He’s half asleep when the scent of arousal teases at his senses. He wants to growl but he’s done that for the last several hours. This was definitely not happening.

****

‘Use your finger. Just one. You should be able to find it pretty easily.’

Stiles groaned into his pillow. He was on a dry spell. And when he was on a dry spell he always thought of Lydia. His other best friend, the girl who helped him find his G-spot. He’d flirted with every big dark-haired wolf he came across, but they’d all turned him down. It was strange. It was almost like they were actively trying to avoid even talking to him.

Stiles reached into his pajama bottoms, the memory of Lydia’s very thorough instruction all those years ago is still his favorite, although watching Derek workout was a close second.

“If you’re gonna jerk it, at least have the courtesy to do it when I’m not here. Stiles jerked his hand from his underwear at the miserable tone in Derek’s voice.

“Um..”

“Yeah, I can smell it. For days.”

Stiles groaned and dragged his pillow over his head.

‘who thought the human/werewolf hybrid dorm was a good idea anyway?’

****

Derek keeps his face neutral as he listens to Dr Deaton’s analysis of werewolf mating practices. He’s a little more accurate than the usual crowd but there were still things he’s getting wrong. The emissaries were always considered some kind of authority but human experts on werewolf mating rituals tended to start off wondering if human werewolves really grew knots whenever there was a full moon.

Deaton is at least trying to debunk a lot of the weird lore humans tended to apply to werewolves and it sort of gives Derek hope. Maybe this year he *won’t* have to listen to a half assed lecture on werewolf anatomy and moon cycles. Derek’s hope deflates when he hears the words Transitory Bite.

The last time he put a temporary mark on someone it almost started a war between hunters and humans and gotten him shipped off to boarding school. His mother had kept him out of Beacon Hills for three years. It had taken joining forces with his uncle to convince her he wouldn’t make the same mistakes. Now he was being told to mark some random dorky kid like it wasn’t a total imposition. He had a right to choose or not choose to mark someone and his mother needed to understand that he wasn’t interested in his life spinning out of control a second time.

“I’m not doing it.” Derek gets up to leave but Deaton steps in front of him hands raised. “I assure you Mr. Hale this is necessary. Starting a pack and choosing a mate can be extremely difficult. A transitory bite will allow you to test your compatibility with the mate you were matched with.”

“It won’t work” he growls eyeing Stiles

Stiles’ face is bright red, and he keeps his eyes on the toe of his sneakers. He’d been wearing them since high school. They were his favorite pair. He wishes he’d thought to clean them sometime in the last six years.

So that’s why everyone had been treating him so strangely. He was probably Derek Hale’s mate. He really should have read the welcome packet. He tunes out the rest of the conversation and tries to ignore the hot twist of humiliation in his stomach.

Derek tries to focus on what Deaton is saying but Stiles scent is rapidly changing. The burnt ash flavor of Distress and Despair fills up his senses and it’s all he can do not to gather the entire boy into his arms and run away with him.

“I don’t need this there are—there are plenty of wolves who would love—love to have me for a mate.” Stiles gathers his things as he tries to save face. It’s bad enough this is happening, but he can’t bring himself to look at the other pairs.

“Fine”

Stiles is almost to the door when that single word freezes him in place. He swallows and waits.

Derek moves him back against the nearest wall, with just a few intimidating steps. His hand lands on Stiles’ shoulder, his fingers brushing against the skin at the base of his neck. Derek’s hand slides up the side of his throat, and Stiles sways toward him. He growls at his traitorous body and forces every muscle to stay stiff as a board. The corner of Derek’s mouth kicks up and then he’s leaning in, letting his teeth scrape across the smooth skin at the base of Stiles’ neck.

Stiles gives an unmanly squeak when Derek’s teeth skin in, the pain just barely registering before he feels the brief swipe of Derek’s tongue across the wound. Derek stares at the mark for a long time before turning and leaving.

***

Stiles only has two classes with Scott, but he and Derek share the exact same itinerary. Even though Derek can’t really do the magic part, they’re expected to show a united front, so he sits off to the side and glares at everything and everyone.

Stiles spends his time doodling the different angles of Derek’s head during each class into the margins of his grimoire. When there’s wolf lore he flicks his eyes across the room to Derek. His can almost tell by the set of Derek’s brows whether the stuff being taught is accurate or total bullshit.

He tries to connect with the other students in his classes, but they tended to cut the conversations short or avoid him altogether. He’s pretty certain this only happens when Derek is around. He starts to feel boxed in, like the only reason he was there was to be slotted into the Hale pack, like everything about his future had already been decided. His whole week had been classes more about pack politics and somewhat less about exploring his abilities as an emissary.

Lydia listened patiently while he complained. It was a call that had lasted all the way across campus, and back to his dorm. She wanted to roll her eyes. For a kid who was curious about everything, Stiles hadn’t shown the slightest interest in learning about the alpha he’d been assigned to.

Stiles complained constantly that he was always around. Which was technically exactly how he was supposed to behave toward his potential mate. Lydia was testing herbal mixtures. Hopefully the small satchels would give Stiles some semblance of privacy or at least get Derek to give Stiles some space.

“You need to read the welcome packet Stiles. It’ll help you adjust to living with a wolf. And come to the party tonight.” Lydia says flipping through her notes. “I’ll introduce you to some guys who definitely won’t say no.”

He keeps glancing at Derek, but Derek’s attention stays on his novel, his thumb, sliding to leisurely turn pages. Derek’s pretending not to listen again, so he decides to be that guy. He refused to stay trapped in whatever game Derek was playing.

“Yeah. I’ll be there. I’m really looking forward to getting dicked down again” Derek doesn’t look up, but Stiles can practically feel the way he pauses in the middle of a page turn.

He hides a smile and goes to brush his teeth.

****

Lydia flits through the party commiserating with her numerous slightly-better-than-facebook acquaintances. They make it to the kitchen with Stiles only being handed three phone numbers and groped four times. He briefly wonders if other potential alpha mates are treated this way and then he remembers that he kinda wants to be treated this way.

Stiles is wearing his best button-up and his sluttiest pair of jeans. He fully intends to end the night with his legs wrapped around someone, anyone. It’s a surprise when they leave the kitchen with their drinks and Stiles is brought up short by the feeling of eyes on him. It only takes him a minute to spot his alpha across the room.

Derek is slouched onto the frat house’s well-worn couch like some kind of artist’s dream. He’s wearing tight black jeans ripped in all the right places and a leather jacket. His gaze starts to heat up as Stiles’ eyes hungrily catalogue every inch of him. Stiles eyes settle on the bulge in the tight jeans and Derek just lets his legs relax open. Stiles’ mouth goes dry and his dick gives a hard twitch.

Stiles does his best to ignore the feeling of the wolf’s eyes on him. It’s annoying that Derek can’t seem to make up his mind about ignoring him.

***

Stiles loses count of how many drinks he’s had and that’s when he gets the best idea. He can feel the wolf’s eyes on him as he moves across the room and one of the frat brothers steps into his space. Price or Preston something. He doesn’t even bother listening to whatever the guy is saying, just steps close and bites his lip.

Preston’s eyes drop to them and immediately his tone changes and he wraps an arm around Stiles’ waist. Stiles grins and runs his hands up Preston’s chest. Preston draws him close.

“I love the way emissaries smell,” he says leaning down and taking a deep breath against the side of his neck. Stiles laughs, because at best he smells like Axe shampoo mixed with a litany of the various herbs they have to learn to mix. It’s not a great combination. He tries to put some distance between him and the wolf, but Preston keeps, pulling him close and grinding against him.

Stiles thinks blearily that he’d like to get laid but not in the middle of a werewolf frat party and definitely not with the guy who thinks Axe and sage are a great combination. He tries to tell Preston this but Preston just keeps rambling on and Stiles’ alcohol soaked brain reminds him in his fourth grade teacher’s voice that it’s important to be polite and listen when people are talking.

This was a bad idea.

He suddenly feels Derek is next to him, and he wants to tell him that he has the prettiest eyes, but Preston is still talking, and he has to keep pretending to listen.

“I need to have a word with my roommate” Derek’s eyes flash as he glances at Stiles before stepping between him and Preston. Stiles watches as Preston stutters and stumbles, like a fan meeting their idol. He tilts his head and drops his shoulders in some parody of submissive behavior. Stiles scoffs and glances around the room. None of the humans are paying attention but all of the wolves are watching them closely.

He watches Derek tilt up Preston’s chin with one wicked black claw. “A Beta should know better” He pulls back his lips in a parody of a smile and shows his long sharp teeth. Preston swallows and raises his hands as if he only just realized he’d been flirting with an Alpha’s future mate. He moves as slowly as he can and backs out of the room one step at a time. Derek watches him until he’s certain the other wolf is gone and turns back to Stiles.

Red begins to seep from behind his irises and his smile turns hard. “I’ll kill anyone who touches you.”

He says it softly, but he’s still showing Stiles his teeth.

Stiles holds his gaze ignoring the little thrill he gets from the way Derek is looking at him. “I’m not your property wolf.”

“You are” Derek responds his eyes fully red. Derek’s hand settles around the back of Stiles’ neck, his thumb just barely brushing against the still-tender mark.

Stiles takes a shuddery breath, unable to break the hold Derek’s possessive gaze has on him. He relaxes his shoulders tilts his head back just slightly. It’s enough of an invitation but Derek doesn’t move to kiss him. Instead, he leans in until his lips against Stiles’ ear.

“Careful who you tease,” he breathes

Stiles shivers, wanting to call out to his alpha. Derek is long gone when he’s finally able to catch his breath.

****

Stiles doesn’t light the herbs Lydia mixed. He was tired of living like some reclusive monk.

He knows that Derek will probably know immediately. He knows the smell of sex could linger but he doesn’t care. He wants Derek to know and he wants Derek to come for him. He imagines the wolf coming home right when he’s just about there. He knows he’d probably run not because of embarrassment if Derek saw him.

He’d run because he knew Derek would chase. He’d run because he wanted to be caught. Stiles lets his imagination free. It’s been a week and he’s tired of caring about Derek’s sensibilities.

It would be a real hunt. Derek would simply stay on his heels nipping at him playfully, claws tearing off bits of his clothes. Stiles would run until he couldn’t breathe and then Derek would show himself. The wolf first. Its sleek black fur would glow under the moon and Stiles would lie back and tilt his chin up.

“Alpha.” He’d whisper, and Derek would take his human form naked and proud under the moon, he’d stare down at Stiles with a cocky grin. He’d enjoy watching Stiles submit to him.

“Stiles,” he’d growl and Stiles’ cock would stand up.

Stile bit into his palm, his fist flying over his cock, the sweet-smelling lotion he used as lube squishing between his fingers and making a lewd sound with every movement of his hand.

Derek’s teeth would sink into him properly this time and claim him, claim him, claim him…

Stiles gasped and came all over his fist.

Fuck. He needed to get laid before this got out of control. Before it got more out of control.

****

“So. Uhhh, about yesterday…”

Stiles is standing awkwardly in front of Derek’s bed. It’s all he’s been able to say for a good five minutes. That and some version of ‘Huuhmn. mn.’ Because Derek is currently shirtless. His feet are hooked into the openings between the bars on the baseboard of his bed and he’s burning through crunches like there’s a delicious zero calorie chocolate cake waiting for him if he hits a thousand.

His eyes skitter around the room because he knows if he keeps his eyes on Derek Hale for more than a few seconds he’ll end up embarrassing himself. He drags his palm from his chest down, just barely remembering to stop before he hits the waist of his jeans. Even he can still smell the lingering scent of sex in the room. He’s almost certain Derek’s lip curls up slightly at this but it’s hard to tell, what with all the sweat and muscles flexing.

It’s another ten minutes before Derek finishes his workout. Stiles completely forgot what he wanted to talk about. He just stands quietly watching Derek’s tight abs. When he manages to meet Derek’s eyes the wolf is glaring at him, and Stiles tries to open a hole in the floor with his mind. He doesn’t try too hard. The power of his will had been known to surprise him from time to time.

The wolf moves around him with a disgusted sniff and heads for the bathroom.

He looks even more annoyed when he exits the shower. It’s a full 3 minutes of Derek staring at the back of his neck before he finally lets himself meet the wolf’s eyes.

“What?” he asks. It’s easy enough to pretend he doesn’t already know. Derek’s kind deeply respects druids, just not Stiles shaped Druids apparently.

“You’re an Alpha-Mate”

Stiles blinks. This is first time since he was marked that Derek brought up the subject. And he sounded kinda… Pissed.

“Sooo….?” Stiles draws the word out to emphasize his confusion.

You. Are. An Alpha's. Mate.” Derek’s words come out a harsh growl that makes Stiles feel cold everywhere. Cold and Embarrassed.

“I’m not the one…”

“I’m not the one throwing myself at every wolf I come across!” Derek snarls.

Stiles cheeks pinken, but he hold’s Derek’s terrible gaze.

“I’m not the one denying my mate.” He says the words as quietly as he can, but they seem to echo loudly in the room once he’s said them.

It’s Derek’s turn to take on color.

Stiles doesn’t regret saying it.

He regrets not following when Derek walks out.

****

Allison and Scott both tell him he’s an idiot. For an hour. And then they make him read the welcome packet. He realizes after his third read-through he might owe Derek an apology.

When he gets back to their room Derek is organizing his herb garden. He keeps arranging them first by name, then color. He clears his throat and Derek pauses but doesn’t turn around.

“Did you know that wolves get really territorial about people they live with? That they only like certain people in their personal space?”

Derek moves from arranging plants to slotting his books into the low bookshelf next to his bed.

“And did you know that a wolf’s mate should probably never throw themselves at other wolves?”

He hears a quiet scoff and Derek finally looks at him over his shoulder.

“You’re asking me, a wolf if I know about wolves?”

Stiles shrugs and continues “Because I didn’t know.” He says stepping up behind him and wrapping his arms around Derek’s waist.

“You should have read the welcome packet Stiles”

Stiles lets out a choked laugh and presses his mouth to the back of Derek’s neck.

“Yeah. I know. It really is full of useful information.”

#jimtremor #stereksanta20 #*fic20 #*gifts20

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stilesxeveryone · 3 years

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The Rewatch, pt2

Feel free to message me about any of my dot points! Ultimately this is just for me, so I can remember all my thoughts the next time I do a season or episode specific fics, but I greatly encourage discussion!! None of my friends watch teen wolf so I can’t discuss things with them :(

Season 1, episode 7

Stiles: I’m not scared of you!

Peter: and I took that personally

To be honest I don’t think I’d ever take a werewolf fight to my high school, like everything is gonna be locked and oh god there are so many stairs and nowhere to hide

I will still never understand why Scott threw Derek under the bus in this episode? Like I feel like saying Derek is the murderer that’s behind everything just raises way more questions than answers and would cause more problems than solutions

Stiles punching Jackson? Valid and wonderful

Okay I’m gonna be honest here, there was a big old chunk of this episode that was just dramatic tension and no dialogue so I did not follow a single part of that because I’m also drawing dinosaurs at the moment

Also I find it interesting that Peter (the big bad alpha) seems to want Scott to kill his friends and join him as pack member. Why does he decide that one pack member is better than turning the others and forcing them to join as well? Maybe he believes it will create stronger loyalty, but in my opinion I feel like numbers are more important at this point in time

Season 1, episode 8

Oh no I hate this episode

Scott and Lydia kissing is actually one of the worst things I’ve ever seen (and why I hate this episode), and wow asshole move from both of them

Watching this episode makes me feel less bad about the fic I half-finished where Scott major attacks Stiles on a full moon because uhhh, it’s kinda accurate to the asshole ways of early Scott

Werewolf - now with added visual hallucinations? (Also I still hate their beta shift faces so much, especially Derek’s)

Okay but yes to a canon divergence AU where Chris and Kate Argent think that Stiles is the second beta werewolf instead of Jackson

Season 1, episode 9

I really wish they put in like any effort at all to make the photos that Scott sends to Allison actual photos? Instead of just screenshots from previous episodes? Like where are my cute couples selfies or sneaky candid photos during study dates and shit

Jackson dos a really good job at being absolutely creepy, like I hate it but also good shit

Stiles, at literally every interaction with Derek, saying he’s not afraid of him and being confident and then immediately being frightened by him (and the same happening with Peter in the high school) is character consistency and I appreciate that

I wish people wrote more Stiles and Danny friendships tbh (as well as relationships to be fair), I just really enjoy all their scenes together

“You must be Stiles” yes bitch!!! I always find it funny how fucking soft Peter says that line, like his voice is so gentle even though he’s meant to be the big bad wolf and all that

I’ve been meaning to say this since episode one but I love the music they use, as in the actual songs and such, but I literally hate the instrumental stuff they use. Very rarely does it build tension the right way and it almost never sounds nice

Season 1, episode 10

I still continue to not at all understand why Peter needs Scott

“You’re way too pretty to be out here all by yourself”

Okay but Allison/Lydia power couple (Lydia looks so good with red lipstick)

The whole scene of Stiles’ father being drunk and saying “I miss talking to you, and I miss your mum” is so soft and sad and personal and I love it

Oh my god I totally forgot about the part where Peter takes Scott’s mum on a date, that’s so weird

Also “you have incredible skin” is so serial killer-y, I can’t believe Melissa let him get away with that

Jackson really needs to listen to his gut more, like stop trusting the scary wolf men and go do some homework (also wow Derek really ripped into him about the fact that no one cares about him)

Season 1, episode 11

My god, Derek deserves to kill Kate. She’s so gross and he deserves a little revenge

Allison getting Lydia to go with Stiles to the dance! I forgot about that! As always, give me Allison/Stiles sibling/best friend relationship or give me death! Also Stiles/Lydia friendship is very good as well

Did Peter just say that Allison should go for a lighter dress? While she’s holding a black and white dress? Sir this makes no sense (also Allison looks great in dark outfits)

Also there’s no way teachers don’t immediately notice Jackson giving alcohol to some of the other kids, they’d be watching the drinks like hawks dude

Jackson goes through so much this season (and the next), it makes me feel so sorry for him

The CGI for Peter’s fangs extending is honestly so gross and I hate it

“Because you’re the clever one, aren’t you” if only more people understood this

Season 1, episode 12

Peter making a period joke is so,, absolutely unnecessary and weird and I hate it

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Allison’s mum is a snake and I hate her

Also Allison basically has to decide on whether her boyfriend is a monster or if her aunt (and family in general) are monsters and that is a tough decision, especially with how manipulative Kate is. I don’t remember what exactly she does in season 2 but idk how much I can blame her for it

Parking garage scene!! My favourite to read canon divergent scenes about

In defense of Scott, some of my passwords do in fact involve the name of my significant other, but in argument against Scott, I’m a little more creative than just his first name

I wish this show gave me the classic wolf howls instead of the weird, low, grumbly sound that makes no sense to me

I tried writing a parking garage AU once and it went horribly, but I think I’ll be coming back to it soon! Having some very fun ideas right now

Stiles and Chris scene! God bless Stiles just straight up not taking any of his shit and putting him in his place about the Hale fire

Also I don’t think it gets mentioned enough that Jackson witnesses this entire scene of Stiles standing up against the big bad hunter

I honestly really like that the code is “we hunt those who hunt us”, I think it’s valid and it’s more about self defense, even if Kate and the others don’t treat it like that

They really set Peter on fire again, huh, definitely not adding to his trauma and major pain or anything

Overall I do enjoy this season, I mean there’s a reason I continued watching it and am back here again for another rewatch. I think there are definitely some issues with the writing, of character morals and motivations not always aligning with their actions and that kind of thing. I really hope that as the show continues I see improvement in Tyler Posey’s acting, because until now I’ve never really paid too much attention to him honestly (which is a concern since he’s the main character).

I do really wish that they didn’t set Peter on fire, and I find it interesting that Stiles and Jackson were more involved with Peter’s death than Scott was. Although if Scott (or anyone other than Derek) killed Peter we would have avoided like all of season 2, but I do enjoy season 2.

I really enjoy seeing the characters interacting with each other honestly, especially Stiles interacting with any of the “bad guys” and the bad guys (Chris, Derek, Peter) and I really wish we got to see him talk with Kate, honestly.

#teen wolf #please message me #i miss teen wolf and the fandom #alex rewatches teen wolf #the rewatch

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asterekmess · 3 years

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S3A-E6

Oh boy, here we go, Motel California is just full of absolute bullshit. *sigh* let’s get started then.

Read More’s are good for the environment (or so i’ve heard)

Before we start, I wanna let you guys know that I’m just not gonna comment on the Jennifer/Derek scenes. I just. I really honestly cannot do it. I don’t care. No. Also as this is well, this episode, please be advised that there will be extensive suicide mentions.

Thoughts:

I know this is random as hell, but that truck looks like mine. Oh, and look at the date, it’s only like nine years older than mine. nice.

why does it look like he’s nursing an arrow wound on his leg? Is it just me? That doesn’t look like a claw mark.

Can...can I just point out (god, i already need the tag) that....that they’re drawing a DIRECT parallel between this ARGENT HUNTER and Scott with the whole “lifting up the shirt to reveal the bite on their side’ thing? Like, it’s a perfect replica of when scott does it in the first episode. And they don’t do that with the others. Jackson’s bite was just Visible when he got out of the water and we never see Isaac, and Erica’s bites. Boyd’s was a whole sitting down thing on the Zamboni with his hoodie. They didn’t even do the same thing with Victoria ARGENT’s bite. OH and he’s wearing the heirloom necklace from season 1.

Wait, hold up. So, he just got bitten that night, but he’s already gonna shift? What? The bite works that fast?

....he’s from MA? Why tf is he in california? Also, he’s 27 apparently, oof.

Finstock...honey...you ran out of keys when you have like 6 students behind you still.

why is Finstock paying for Allison and Lydia’s room as well? He’s just that nice, or did he honestly forget they aren’t on the track team?

Maybe it’s just the Sterek shipper in me talking, but someone wanna explain why the fuck Stiles would put Derek on the suspect list for HUMAN SACRIFICES? Let alone TWICE? He literally just helped Derek get his pack back and has been working with them the whole time? Why???Would??He???Suspect???DEREK??? OR his sister???

I totally forgot that Scott promised Stiles he would watch Star Wars after they got back to Beacon Hills. SCOTT YOU ASSHOLE COME ON.

yeouch. You’re putting a huge damper on my Stydia brotp here Stiles. jeez.

*Movie trailer voice* He’s a hunter whose family has been torn apart by a human/werewolf war, who refuses to give up the fight against a species his clan has persecuted for centuries. He does weird detective work that makes no sense and looks like a Dark Souls ghost repeat of someone’s death. He insists on ‘staying out of things’ but then follows people around getting mad when things go wrong. Coming this summer, Chris Argent must actually learn.....to get off his ass and help.

WHY DO THEY ALL DO THE CLAW THING??? Yes, they are obviously claw marks. Why the fuck do you need to put your fingers on it?

Honestly, it makes me so sad because STiles is trying okay? Like, Boyd was pissed that Stiles acted like his friend when they never hung out, and STiles is trying to do the chill smalltalk thing, trying to point out things they have in common. He’s trying to MAKE FRIENDS and Boyd is just....uh...possessed? And still getting candy?? Huh?

Honestly, I’d do the same thing Stiles. Get that candy.

Allison, why’d you get in the shower if Lydia wasn’t back with the towels yet? How’re you planning on getting to them? You expect Lydia to come into the bathroom while you’re showering to put one there? #allydia confirmed.

WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS? I ALWAYS FORGET THIS HAPPENED. WHAT THE FUCK?

Okay, okay, look at that adaptation we got going on here. Remember, okay, the last time Allison was harassed sexually (which, holy shit I can’t believe this has happened twice) it was by Jackson, who was possessed by Matt. So when Scott gets super fucking creepy, instead of freaking out, her FIRST instinct is to check if he’s still himself, if he’s okay. She jumps to ‘possessed’ and tries to take care of him WHILE SHE”S NAKED IN THE SHOWER AND BEING CREEPED ON. Which, while absolutely horrendously terrifying, is also an interesting character growth. We get to see how Allison responds to the same situation, but a season later.

Really not a fan of the weird-ass focus they put on this woman’s stoma ( think that’s the word) like...are you seriously trying to make that a part of the ‘horror’ aspect of this episode? For real? what is wrong with you?

So I did the research, and actually, hotels aren’t required to tell anyone about deaths in their rooms. But they also renovate the entire room basically to clean that kind of thing up. Replacing walls and anything that can absorb liquid and even electronics. Oh, the things I google for this research. *sigh*

So, she says “since opening.” So...why does it even matter that an Argent was here? ALSO...why does the wolfsbane whistle matter? Clearly the whistle wasn’t the cause of the last howevermany (apparently 40) years of deaths, so why would it be the cause of these ones?? They gave like fifty different answers to the question of why the wolves (and only the wolves) tried to kill themselves and none of them make sense?

Hey, so...what the fuck even is this possession thing going on? What is it actually doing to these wolves? Why are they getting affected at different times? or did they all get affected at the same time, and the scene with Ethan and Danny is supposed to have been happening at the same time as the bit with Scott and Stiles? Is it supposed to like, make them more impulsive, or just drive them to do what they want to do? Boyd wants some candy, and he will get some candy. Isaac wants to watch tv so he just sits there and clicks through static endlessly. Scott wants to......fuck Allison?

Honestly? Good dad moment here. Chris. Good Dad Moment. I just, feel so bad for Allison. That when it comes down to it, she will always end up lying to her family to save Scott’s ass. Either when they’re dating and her dad wants to kill him for it, or when Scott shows up in her bathroom and grabs her and she can’t possibly tell her dad about it without Scott getting shot.

WHY do they treat that moment like it’s a big shocker that Allison was there? She TOLD her dad she would be going to help them. This shouldn’t be a surprise to him???

....wait how was allison on the phone with her dad, fully dressed and outside, but now she’s in her bra and drying her hair in the bathroom? TIMELINES. TW doesn’t HAVE them.

OKay, so Lydia says it’s only been 40 years, which would mean that the motel was only 6 years old when Alexander Argent died in it. Plus...Lydia literally says that approx. 4 deaths a year is a reasonable number? So...either this place has a lot of suicides, or it doesn’t. WHich one? Also, just because you have the warning at the beginning of the episode doesn’t mean you need to go into such callous detail about the different kinds of suicides that took place. God, that’s so tasteless.

As horrific as this moment is, I feel like I should point out that the behavior/conversation that Lydia hears...it’s nothing like what happened with the wolves. They’re talking about it, clearly nervous. But the wolves are stoic and silent. What? WHAT IS THIS PLOTLINE? IS THE MOTEL causing these suicides somehow, or are the werewolves poisoned by wolfsbane?? THESE ARE TWO DIFFERENT PLOTS. WHICH ONE IS IT?

god, I just..I can’t not point out the contrast here! Lydia is saying she heard two people die in a room across the hall, and after leading Allison there they find an empty room going through renovation. All she has to say is “they were here” and Allison believes her. No hesitation. Stiles’ childhood best friend literally shows up dead and Scott refused to believe a word he said about human sacrifice until Deaton confirmed it. Yet Lydia and Allison have known each other less than a year, and Scott and Stiles are supposed to have been friends for ages.

I just...I hate fisheye lenses. they don’t give me any horror vibes at all, they just look stupid. Personal preference.

Boyd, honey, those things are supposed to have bags in them so they can be reused.

WHAT THE FUCK WAS THIS SCENE? WHAT THE FUCK? WHY WOULD THEY EVER BRING THIS UP JUST TO KILL BOYD OFF LATER? WHY?

Lydia is actually very correct, remember what I said about the renovating?

God, this episode has so much...just horrible shit. I’m gonna fucking ignore it for my own sanity and just focus on how wolfy it is that Isaac wouldn’t want to sleep under the covers at a hotel because it would probably smell. Plus, bare feets. Also, why’d he go to bed so early? Did Boyd go get the ice for him, since he’s sweating so much?

I love that they are roommates.

Okay, I don’t understand. Three more suicides are about to happen. Boyd, Ethan, and I guesss...Scott? So what the fuck was up with Isaac? I just...they’re supposed to like. give into their their worst thoughts or something? Boyd’s guilt about his sister. Ethan’s....something. Scott’s...uh...self-hatred? Or, I think it’s more his lack of self-confidence? He doesn’t hate himself, he just doesn’t think he can keep going. And Isaac’s ingrained guilt of doing the wrong thing? His fear of being useless...I guess? So is it supposed to make them suicidal and Isaac’s a weird case, or does it only do that sometimes, and the rest of the time it just leaves you paralyzed with fear? This makes literally no sense.

Where has Stiles been this entire time?

Uh...that’s not how Alphas work? Just because Derek died, it wouldn’t make Scott an Alpha. Scott didn’t kill him. Even if Derek Was dead, it would’ve been from impact or from the wounds Ennis gave him. In no universe would Scott become an alpha. If it was the impact, Cora would become Alpha, as the next blood relation. If it was Ennis, the Hale Alpha spark would be gone/soaked up by Ennis.

Okay...so, Stiles was in the bathroom brushing his teeth, and he didn’t hear Scott talking to the phone?

*snort* Stiles has a Nokia phone. How much do you wanna bet his dad bought that for him after the Pool Scene because he was trying to make sure Stiles didn’t break another phone?

Did...did Stiles just leave the room with the toothbrush in his mouth?

Okay, I get that this is a teen drama...but why does it have to be so obsessed with 16 and 17 year olds having sex? Seriously? It’s not the common occurrence people think it is? Now, if these were college age people...or, hell, even then it wouldn’t be this fucking common. Seriously. I don’t want eye-candy from someone who’s supposed to be 17 at MOST. Teenagers watching this might like the eye candy, but when I watched this at 17 I STILL was sick of the sexy scenes. Knock it off.

Also. Ethan IS STILL A FUCKING MURDERER.

.....uh....Ethan...do you not understand human anatomy? Giving Danny the bite wouldn’t remove the metal bars in his chest. It might heal the cartilage or whatever, but it wouldn’t REmove the BARS. Oh see that’s just creepy. Wait. OKay, are you telling me that Ethan’s thing that he wants, with this possession thing, is to bite Danny? AND HOW DOES DANNY NOT RESPOND TO THAT? HE’s supposed to know about werewolves, which means he HAS to be getting what Ethan’s going for. WTF?

...what the FUCk kind of voldemort “love and monsters” kinda bullshit was that? What does that have to do with Ethan’s deepest fear/insecurity?

I am...so confused. FIrst off, I love having Allison, Lydia, and Stiles all chillin’ trying to figure things out. THat’s amazing. But how do they know something’s up with Isaac? Also, it contradicts what I was theorizing before when Allison says the last time she saw Scott like that it was a full moon. Now I’m even more creeped out? WHy would they have her fully believe that it’s Scott, and just...let him be a fucking creep? Why would they openly admit that he’s been that terrifying with her before and then just...be chill about it? Also, when did she actually see Scott act like that? When he did it on his second moon Allison never saw him bc Derek tackled him into the woods. When did Scott go all creeper on her? Is this a REgular OCCUrREncE?

I know it was wasn’t intentional, but it’s such an adhd mood for Stiles to see the paper sticking out of the bible and just snatch at it. most people would call that ‘attention to detail’ but like...I just see it as ‘wtf is this, gotta know gotta know” mooood.

Why does Stiles go running to the next room like it’s an emergency, and what is the relevance of these articles in the bibles? LIke, yeah, you knew there were a ton of suicides. How does this help?? God, it’s like they were trying to make it a mini-horror film, but they just suck at understanding what the right order is to put things. FInding those articles should’ve been something that happened at the beginningin order to create a sense of unease, not in the middle of figuring things out!

how exactly did Stiles get the damn door open if it was locked? For that matter, how did Ethan know the handsaw was there? Was he on his way to talk to Lydia and Allison, or was he heading for Scott and Stiles’ room to get help? WHat’s going on???

Thank you Allison for not just Standing There. And Lydia for having a BRAIN. <3

HOW DID STILES HOLD BACK ETHAN? Ethan IS AN ALPHA? HOW?

OKay. I know I said I wouldn’t comment on these scenes with Jennifer, but this is just a general observation. DEREK. YOU HAVE A CELL PHONE. YOU ARE PERFECTLY CAPABLE OF CALLING PEOPLE FROM THE BED.

What...what does that mean Ethan? “You probably shouldn’t have.” WHat?

I know it’s supposed to be for the Allison/Scott angle, but I just love Lydia and Stiles heading to save the pack. *sigh*

I gotta say, I actually really respect Stiles for straight up telling Lydia about the parallels he’s seeing. Rather than hide it from her, he’s trying to get to the root of the problem, point blank and he’s being honest with her about his worries that she might be involved without even knowing it. And she listens and doesn’t get immediately defensive. This communication is SO GOOD. Stydia BROTP.

I’m fucking on the verge of tears. Sinqua, your acting is just...like, you barely speak in this scene and yet your face is just??So pained?

Bare feets. I know I point it out a lot, but like, compared to kali, who keeps her claws out all the time even in like a fucking hospital. It’s so cute to see Boyd and Isaac wandering barefoot in their hotel room. Just, the level of calm it implies, despite the situation. They feel so safe with each other.

ALSO did Boyd go through all of that while Isaac was under the bed?

WAIT WHAT? WHy is Lydia suddenly all pissed off? WHAT? That makes no sense! But then when she says his name, she doesn’t sound upset at all?? WHAT?

ALSO, I thought this was supposed to be about suicides? Why did they add this totally random (and horrific) thing? It has nothing to do with BoYD! JUST BECAUSE YOU PUT A TRIGGER WARNING DOESN”T MEAN YOU NEED TO MUSH AS MUCH FUCKED UP SHIT AS POSSIBLE INTO ONE EPISODE. GOD. It’s like those people who assume just because they’re allowed to do R rated shit, they have to have random sex scenes in their tv show.

where did Scott get gasoline? Like...where?

God fucking damn it, how fucking demonizing can you get, fucking juxtapositioning Scott’s suicidal monologue about Derek suffering and being dead, then jumping to Derek fucking someone instead of telling anyone he’s alive? What the fuck is wrong with these people? Why is it literally ANY TIME Stiles or Derek are in some way happy (NOT that I’m considering Derek at that moment in time Happy or in any way okay) they always make it out to be the most horrible thing ever? It’s like I said before, Stiles smiling on the field because he actually gets to play lacrosse? Jackson’s about to die. Stiles happy because he’s going to play a game in class? His best friend is missing. Derek....I’m not even going to give what’s going on a name. But then they just layer that over Scott...what even is he doing? Everyone else actually tried to kill themselves. Why is he just...standing there? Are they seriously trying to make the claim that his strength of will is so strong he’s the only one could can hold out against the...whatever the fuck is causing this? Jesus fucking christ do you have to turn him into Jesus every time? SERIOUSLY?

YOU DIDN”T THOUGH. SCOTT YOU LITERALLY REFUSED TO FIGHT BACK. YOU PLANNED A RENDEVOUS WITH DEUCALION BEHIND EVERYONE’S BACK BECAUSE YOU INSISTED FIGHTING BACK WAS WRONG. YOU WOULD HAVE BEEN MURDERED IN COLD BLOOD IF DEREK AND THE OTHERS HADN”T COME TO FIND YOU.

...I get that this is supposed to be an emotional moment, but why the fuck does Scott’s monologue about how much he sucks have to drag Stiles down with him? Stiles was literally always good at lacrosse. He never got ‘better’ before being put on the field. You saying that the both of you were ‘nothing’ is a terrible, horrible thing to say because you’re implying that because Stiles didn’t get the bite like you did, the only thing that makes him more than nothing is being your friend. How does Scott manage to be a total asshole even when he’s in the middle of explaining why he wants to die?

AGAIN WITH THE RANDOM PLOTLINES. DAVIS WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU? IS THE HOTEL HAUNTED, OR IS THE WHISTLE FULL OF WOLFSBANE OR IS THE DARACH ACTIVELY MAKING THEM KILL THEMSELVES? WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON? ANd why would the Darach be making them kill themselves?? THey don’t match any of her sacrifice requirements! This makes no sense with the plotline you follow for the rest of the season!

WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS SCENE? Scott was NOWHERE NEAR Ethan? WHY THE FUCK DID HE GIVE SCOTT THE CREDIT FOR SAVING HIS LIFE? And why would he thank him for it, when he told Stiles he shouldn’t have been saved? WHAT IS GOING ON?

Also, why does Ethan have like, a bruise thing on his cheek? Is that...is that a skin thing, or like, a show thing?

This doesn’t solve the problem of Allison’s car being stuck with an empty tank at the side of the road halfway to Beacon Hills.

dude. you realize that was literally 34 years ago? Deucalion would have to be like 50. and even then he would’ve been a fucking 16 year old Alpha. So that makes Deucalion more likely in his 60s. Also, why the fuck do you care Chris? This is such a random fucking thing. It makes no sense. What the fuck does it matter now?

Last Thoughts: What the fuck even is this episode? It’s like this steaming dumpster fire of half-assed ideas and loose ends to plots we’ll never see and really shitty horror movie vibes. We’re talking D List or maybe E list horror movies. I’m honestly disgusted? I can’t remember the last time I had to watch something so tasteless and cruel and insensitive in every single way?

.....on to the next episode, I guess. God, I need to change all of this in the rewrite, and I don’t know if I can actually make it good?

#personal #anti-scott mccall #TeenWolf-Rewatch

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malepresentingleg · 3 years

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is it 2013 again? cause i have a rant about teen wolf coming and i feel 16 y/o.

so due to dome heavy procrastination I've consumed a lot of teen wolf content, i skipped a bunch of episodes and a lot of scenes in the ones i haven't but i still have some Thoughts TM

it's good??? i had a Good Time watching, it was funny but intense and dark and i felt Feelings watching, some of the plotlines were meh (or maybe i just skipped them heh) but a lot were interesting and i loved the characters and their interaction

scott. my sweetheart. my baby. such a cutiepie, such a great protagonist 10/10 i love him and would die for him. he's so pure and cute and his little smile melts my heart. i love how he's fundamentally Human no matter how non human he is. he's a great character all around and i kinda wish they didn't do that shit to him at the end (imma get there) or treated him like he ISN'T the protagonist for such big parts of the shows

people KNOW. Stiles knows from day one, allison finds out soon, his mom finds out in season 2! the sheriff in 3, and they just become part of the gang and can help them with stuff bc they UNDERSTAND. shows like that get really tiring when the teens constantly lie to everyone around them and it was very refreshing. the running gag with the coach ruining things tho was funny and I'm ok with it.

Ok this is mellisa appreciation time. she's SUCH a great, complex and unusual mom-of-hero character. i absolutely love her and her attitude, i love how she's not simply being used as a tool to cause scott pain (just.. sometimes) and their relationship is parenting goals.

also isn't it fucking hilarious how she's a nurse but she just knows everything medical. she's also a surgeon and a mortician and a doctor. ik it's for plot reasons but it funny af.

in general women on the show.. had a lot of potential, i love them, but i hate how they were treated.

allison was all around great imo, her and scott's relationship was built very well and was two sided from the start (unlike... yeah), she has emotions, she's smart and brave, but also human and scared, she kicks ass and, again, exists outside of Scott's GF status (mostly). andddd they killed her. idk if the actress had to/wanted to leave or it was a pure writers decision bc they needed to keep just her father or something, but that would have been ok if not for all the other things

we have 3 main kickass ladies with powers- lydia, kira and malia. lydia spent close to FIVE whole seasons not knowing anything about her abilities/not knowing how to control them. cmon, it gets old. scott masters his powers after a season or two (and had control a lot sooner), parrish finds out what he is like half a season after it becomes relevant etc.

malia- do i need to explain? she was CONSTANTLY struggling controlling her abilities, no matter how badass she supposedly was. and kira oh boy, they did her dirty, didn't they?

kira was such a cute adorable character. i loved her and her little crush on scott and wanting to make friends and being freaked out about relationships, i love her discovering her past and heritage and learning to fight and gaining control and becoming a badass. but. what? they just undid all this? oh no the fox is taking over she has no control no agency of her own she needs to disappear for years now bye :( again, idk if the actress needed to leave but it was so unsatisfying and was insulting to the character. she wasn't even mentioned later a bunch like allison was, just they needed her mom for a plot tool and didn't even acknowledge it was her sword they were breaking. uhm rude?

LET WOMEN HAVE POWERS AND BE AWESOME WITH THEM. and not just minor/bad characters thanks.

i love the concept of a pack on the show and how you don't have to be a werewolf to be a part of it, how scott becomes a true alpha and how he cares about his friends. i kinda feel like in later seasons him being an alpha was more talk than show which like /: meh. like i said, he stopped BEING the main character, just talked about as if he was.

i love how friendship is valued, but i think it could be more.. i mean the scene in the motel, all season 3b, scott and lydia, all the girls with each other.. i love it. too many times tho it "wasn't enough" and only romantic love worked which SUCKS. in 6a i was so happy scott went in to try and remember stiles and the memories hit me right in the heart. then when it "wasn't enough" i was SO pissed and frustrated goddammit. i guess that leads me to the next point-

ships, should i talk about ships? i don't want hate in my asks but oh well it's been a few years maybe there's no fandom to care. I'll start with the end

malia and scott. what. the. fuck. when, out of fucking no where, they had like a lingering look or something i was just "nope. no thanks". and then every scene they had together i had to cover my eyes bc it felt so wrong and bad and awkward. jesus. no build up at ALL, they're like family, i just. ew. no. it felt way too much like "oh we gotta pair off the leftovers" or "the main character can't end up single" well guess what, he fucking can. it was. god. i can't even explain the disgust. when he needed to heal and all she had to do was kiss him ugh. it felt so fake and empty of meaning. i would 100% prefer for it to be stiles (I'll get there) or his mom who snapped him out of it.

melissa and chris, i could get aboard with that. def cute, def weird af since his dead daughter was dating her son but, well.

stiles and lydia is a ship i have conflicting feelings about. i absolutely hate the concept of "the nerd" is in love with the popular girl since freshman year and he's borderline being a creep ("oh but it's stiles! he's a dork and he's harmless" no.), completely obsessed with her and she ignores him but then they end up getting together.. i mean, it sends a bad msg to obsessed boys about how it's worth it in the end, and it makes the whole relationship feel unbalanced from the start, makes her reciprocation feel unatural. BUT, i have to admit the show did kinda make me warm up to this ship by the end, curse them. it was kinda cute. i wish there was more mutualness before it became such an important part in 6a tho.

just gonna put it out there: malia/kira and lydia/allison. i wish we saw more girl on girl interactions in general but the ones we had were very good, great dynamics.

i won't get too much into it but i.. i don't ship st*rek. i understand why they're the biggest ship (two white hot boys that interact with each other, i mean.), and i see the couple of fan service-y moments the show throws at us but just. they don't have my heart, i don't really care about them. not the characters, the characters i absolutely love! (tho this watch i skipped most of season 1 and 2 and 3a and i think that's where derek is the most asshole.. didn't he do really bad things? idr) idk if you want a bad character on the way to redemption with someone you should ship liam and theo who had way better shippy chemistry imo, even tho their ship probably wouldn't be healthy given their dynamic history, huh.

the ship that does owns my heart? scilies. I'm a softy when it comes to best friends to lovers, and their bond and relationship is just. so. pure. don't get me wrong, i love me a good platonic relationship, but there was just one to many homoerotic interactions between them for me not to ship it, hard. (not to be that person but my guess is that if Scott was white it would have been a way bigger ship, but who knows?) i love their love, i love they would do anything for each other, and i feel like there were a bunch of very missed opportunities for them in later seasons :(

so representation. this feels like a show that is trying to be Woke TM but it's not going so well. the main character is supposedly latino but it's never ever addressed. idc about "oh we want a world without prejudice" you can still fucking address it. i mean they went to Mexico a couple of times, stiles keeps saying "Mexican cousin" i mean. god. give us something. did i mention scott was told he'd make a great "nazi youth" ..

and you don't need to be a genius to see the most characters are very white or at least very white passing. and when you don't address their non whiteness they might as well be..

i already mentioned how poorly i feel kira was treated, but also mason, who is a wonderful character, gets no depth? we know nothing about him other than being gay and smart pretty much.

i also spoke about the women already but, they were really really great women characters, but not enough of them, not enough that lasted.

there's not much to talk about disability bc it just wasn't on the show. the only blind character was healed which. /: same with epilepsy and asthma..

i think the show is probably very proud (ha) with their LGBTQ+ rep bc they're like "oh let's make this insignificant couple gay bc hey nbg". examples are lydia's grandma, La Bete and marcel, i think nolan and jiang were exes and then nolan and gabe were a thing? idr if it was explicit. the couple of girls in the tent.. probably a couple more. it's nice, def better than all random couples being straight but that's not satisfying as rep.

Danny was great. i think he and ethan were.. cute? i think he was awesome, i loved danny so much and was very excited to learn he KNOWS at the end of season 3 and was waiting to see him join the pack. instead he fucking disappeared?! wtf. #WhereDidDannyGo

brett was cute rep, especially being bi but i feel like it could go into the insignificant pool which, again, is better than nothing.

mason and corey i just don't have strong feelings about. they were definitely cute and I'm glad they were together, i love mason A Lot. i think this relationship could be explored more, or at least the characters could be explored more to give this relationship more depth.

very interesting how there's no wlw canon couple, not even hinted. just fan servicey hot malia kira dance which /:

not to mention transgenderness. god can you imagine the interesting plotline of transitioning while being a werewolf 0:

i think the rep i was most happy about was ethan and Jackson. even tho i don't think there was build up or clues in the first couple of seasons, I'm happy for the actor who i know was struggling with coming out publicly, and it was very fun and refreshing for the ending. even if we got very few scenes with them the dynamic was 10/10

the biggest problem is obviously stiles. i just don't understand why, if they're so supposedly progressive, they went to that length to queerbait without following through. the whole gag of wanting to be attractive to danny and to gay guys, the whole "aww danny want to have sex with me that's so nice", the whole "do you like guys too?". it's a gag. his alleged bisexuality is the butt of a joke, and it pisses me the fuck off. they don't have to make it a big deal or have him get a bf for it to be official. it wasn't subtle subtext. it was a CHOICE. to put a spotlight on his sexuality but not deliver. -100/10 would not recommend.

also they could talk about his mental health more.

and about Scott's, please and thank you.

and everyone's.

i had some more feelings, like villains changing sides without getting a proper redemption and having no consequences, the wholesomeness of the sherriff and mellisa being each other's kids second parent eichen house (wtf??), and more, but i think i wrote enough for now.

tl;dr- good show with A Lot of problems, will always have a place in my heart bc I'm a nostalgic gal.

#teen wolf #scilies #scott mccall #stiles stilinski #allison argent #kira yukimura #malia hale #lydia martin #rant #fandom #werewolves #I'm sorry i couldn't add a read more thing on mobile but I'll edit it when i get the chance

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bigskydreaming · 4 years

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Here's a random question for you: I know you're a big (the biggest) proponent of Scanny, but if you had to pick someone else for Danny to have a relationship with, who would it be?

I actually have thought about this! Honestly, my go to after Scott for Danny is Mason, because the younger characters are literally only two years younger than the original characters even if it seemed otherwise a lot of the time. And so given that we never saw Danny and Mason interact due to the whole ‘oh sure, he totally graduated offscreen a year early just in time to not be around for the season that revolved entirely around his specific expertise aka hacking’ nonsense....I can easily imagine a few years in the future, Danny and Mason meet in college or grad school or somewhere they’re on even footing and learn they have mutual friends/experiences/knowledge in common and from there grow into a friendship and also maybe then they’re boyfriends and then husbands and then dads and then grandpas and happily ever after yada yada.

Meanwhile, if Danny encountered Liam at any age, I feel like he would just be like: “No.” And then wave his hand around in Liam’s direction in a circle like to encompass all of him, as he’s all. “All of this is just exhausting, whatever it is. I am too old and too tired to deal with this....vibe you’re emitting.”

LOL I can’t explain it, like Liam and Mason have entirely different energies and I feel that age isn’t even a factor as to why Danny would just not at all have patience for Liam. Like, I don’t think he’d DISLIKE him exactly, so much as just....’I’m going to be over here, and you’re going to stay over there, and I just think that’ll be best for everyone and we’ll all get along great that way.”

Hmm, who else. Controversial I guess, but I actually did kinda like Dethan, waaaay back at the very beginning of it, before that very same season crapped all over any real potential it or even the twins at all had in the show. Given that I’m fine with them and even like them in AUs or fics that diverge before they had anything to do with Boyd’s death, but if that’s at all in canon for a story, I have no interest in them as anything other than cannon fodder. Which let’s be real, you always kinda have a need for in TW stories.

But initially, I REALLY REALLY liked the fact that there was this (at the time) mysterious new character that was there for DANNY, like, deliberately seeking him out because of real or suspected significance....I was all for that, because I was like yes, excellent, clearly this means they have plans to focus more on Danny and bring him into the core group eventually and also obviously Danny’s gonna turn this guy away from the Dark Side and make him betray his pack of overcompensating losers for Danny and the power of LOVE because who doesn’t love that trope, am I right? Its all so clearly laid out!

Ahhh, to be that dumb again.

Anyway, so in AUs or early canon-divergent fics, I can be all for Danny and a better, more fleshed out and non-jackass depiction of Ethan. But by the time Ethan returns in actual canon, the fact that he’s with Jackson just irritates me in a ‘hooking up with your ex’s best friend is a jerk move and we get it, show, you don’t consider Danny important and never did, jfc’ kinda way. Beyond that though, I’m just like, Jackson can have him at that point, they deserve each other, go Team Jerkwad.

I don’t see Theo and Danny ever happening because I like to think that Danny’s view on scheming, ambitious and boundary-breaking friends with possible homicidal inclinations has changed since Jackson and Ethan’s presences in his life, and he’s like.....”Nah, I’m not doing that again. Two of that type are enough for me, and I’m kinda always gonna put up with Jackson at this point because...look, I had my reasons probably, just because I can’t remember the basis of our friendship now, like....just back off, okay?”

Just saying, I don’t think he’d inherently hate Theo if Theo’s story happens in an AU kinda way where he doesn’t murder and betray his way through the show’s social hierarchy, lol, but Danny would still just be like “Look, whatever your issues are dude, I’m not trying to judge you for them if you don’t make me, but like, go put in some you-time offstage and then maybe we can talk. I am not emotionally equipped to put up with the schemes of yet another person whose whole thing seems to be ‘am I good or bad, you decide, because I sure as hell can’t.’ I don’t care how big your biceps are, that is not going to be a deciding factor for me, not this time, no sir, I have learned from my mistakes, I have had hashtag Growth, and you need to go now, and also please put on a shirt. I SAID GOOD DAY, SIR!”

Danny and Stiles is Lol That’s A No For Me, of course, Danny and Boyd I would be totally down for and can picture them being like, a snark queen power couple who hang back and watch all the drama unfold around them while providing entertaining commentary back and forth to each other but otherwise act like they’re not even there, and when someone annoyed by their running commentary finally snaps and goes “Why are you two even here?” like, I can so picture Danny and Boyd just blinking slowly and looking at them, then at each other, then back at them as if confused by the question.

“It’s Date Night,” Danny says slowly, in the tone reserved for being asked to solve the equation on the board that’s already got the answer written out right there.

“Okay, fine. But why are you HERE, then? If its your Date Night, like.....go have your date then. Catch a movie. Its all good, we don’t need you guys here at the moment.”

Boyd squints at them. “This IS our date. Whoppers?”

The latter is directed to Danny, as Boyd extends the box of candy towards him.

“Yes please,” Danny says, reaching for a handful.

Exasperated sighs are heard all around the room.

LOL anyway....who else....Jackson tends to be a no for me too, not for any real reason beyond like....I’ve read too many fics where they’re essentially treated as the Mirror Universe version of S/ciles, and you KNOW how I feel about that ship, so like, all even dubiously associated ships are by mere proxy also noped by me. *Shrugs*

Which mostly just leaves Isaac, and....idk, tbh. I’m not inherently opposed to them, and I’ve actually even read a couple of fairly long-ish and pretty enjoyable Danny/Isaac fics. But enjoyable in the sense of like....just as their own thing, a fun romance set in the TW setting/universe, between Danny and an Isaac-shaped woobiewolf. As the few Danny/Isaac fics I’ve found over the years tend to suffer from the exact same thing that’s always kept me from really ever getting into Scott and Isaac as a couple in anything other than theory...

Like, in the fics I’ve tried, I always tend to run into the same tendency to just....sand down all of Isaac’s rough edges and make him this shy, insecure, soft boy who is withdrawn until Danny or Scott bring him out of his shell....even when its based on the events of the show and Isaac’s already been turned into his leather jacket-wearing, snark-wielding, deliberately apathetic werewolfsona.

And that’s just...not Isaac to me? So if I treat him as an original character basically, I can enjoy those stories, and do, just because there’s sooooo little Danny-centric fic that awhile back, I absolutely spent a good year or so making sure like, I found every last scrap of it, lol. I went spelunking in some deep, dark places in search of even a little spotlight time for Danny, because He Deserved Better and I was willing to put up with a lot to see him get even a little (except for like, blatant and unavoidable Scott hate being front and center in the fic as well. Then I exited with rapidity. I love Danny, but not even for him can I stomach that).

But yeah, otherwise, I very very rarely found a lot of Isaac fics, no matter who he was paired with, where he wasn’t like....constantly soft and vulnerable and the focus of Scott or Danny or whomever else’s regular attempts to comfort and protect him. Which I mean, I love Isaac, and I’m always projecting onto abuse survivors in fiction even if just a little bit, so its not that I object to the comfort and desire to protect him parts, just the sheer unevenness that tends to be present in his dynamics as well. I’ve always said that for me, the true theme of TW was survivor empowerment, that all of these kids had been hurt and exploited and traumatized in various ways and they all struggled individually and together to find ways to cope and to heal, and also to feel empowered enough to protect THEMSELVES from whatever or whomever tried to hurt them again in the future.

And that’s the element that so often is missing from Isaac’s arc in fics, IMO...any hint of the character who he spent a lot of time and effort growing into on the show. Evolving first into a character who reveled in the power he’d been given and that made him feel safe and strong for the first time in his life, to the point where he was quite frankly an asshole a lot of the time.

But then from there he grew into a character who came to terms with the reality that as his own power grew, so did the power of the new tormentors he was now often in conflict with, due to the source of his newfound strength...and his strength and brutality and apathy were not at all the tools able to help him find true protection and recovery in his new world. They just weren’t going to get the job done, and that’s when he started to let Scott’s example sink in and take his lead from that, finding the power and strength in committing himself more to others, becoming more of an active participant rather than just a spectator or a henchman who needed orders before acting.....allowing himself to be vulnerable in exchange for the benefits being more open to others afforded him.

Isaac’s growth onscreen from season to season was the very thing that made him so interesting and enjoyable to me....as well as how his bond with Scott did the same thing....so when the former isn’t really present in fics, even the presence of the latter doesn’t really do a whole lot for me. And its the same thing in the Danny/Isaac fics I read, so yeah. There for it in theory, but the execution I’ve found has never done anything to make it any more compelling a ship possibility than any other random ship.

I think that’s pretty much everyone though? Well I mean like, there’s Corey, but I don’t have strong feelings about that possibility one way or another. And there’s Derek, given the whole ‘Miguel’ thing in S1, but you know me, even in future/aged-up settings, I still tend to be ‘what if Derek dated people his own damn age tho, like just for the sheer novelty, let’s explore that some more’.....not to mention that as the show progressed, the more fandom hated on Braeden and her relationship with Derek, the more I spite-shipped them. To the extent that now I find it hard to picture even AUs where they’re not endgame, or if Derek HAS to be in another ship for some reason, then they still were a super serious relationship before the fic and there’s always that hint of her being the one that got away, kinda.

*Shrugs* What can I say? The enemy ship of my enemy is my OTP. The Art of War, fandom style. I have no problem admitting it, lolol.

But yeah, that’s all of them I think now.

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enchantingkittengaditor · 4 years

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The Third Maximoff | Chapter 16

Summary: What if the Avengers didn’t find the last HYDRA base? What if Pietro and Wanda weren’t the only enhanced? Or Maximoff’s? What if the Avengers were going to take on their greatest challenge yet? What if she was a 13-year-old girl who had to live with them? What if she once tried to kill Clint and Nat, and nobody knew but them?

Warnings: Mentions of Violence, Slight mentions Torture and Swearing, Infinity War and Endgame Spoilers, VORMIR

“Fine, Yulia. It's that bad,” Bruce said.

“Yeah,” Val told him, “I’ll look after Yulia for you, I know Nat is terrifying to you.”

After a few minutes of catching up with each other, I asked her to tell Banner and Rocket I was going and jumped until I was on Nat’s quinjet.

“So, Clint went insane and is now a serial killer?” I asked as I took a seat next to her.

“So glad you could join me. And no, well yes but he has his reasons, like any of us.”

“OK, so not a serial killer, just a killer who kills other killers. Because that makes everything OK,” I told her, raising an eyebrow.

“If you kill a killer the number of killers in the world remains the same. If you kill more than one the number goes down,” she said landing the plane.

“But revenge isn't a path well travelled by anyone.”

“We need a better hobby than finding random sayings on the internet.”

“Or we could do this mission and save the world, my world,” I said thinking back to the last time I spoke to Wanda on our girls night before she disappeared.

“I get it, you want your sister back. But we need my friend back to get her and the others back.”

“Why can’t life be easy?”

“Because a life worth living is a life hard fought.”

“Yeah yeah yeah, I get it Nat. Fight for what you believe in, don’t trust the government and stark is an idiot. Any other life lessons you want to teach me or can we catch us a serial killer?” I asked her.

“Not today. And for the last time he’s not a serial killer.”

“He has killed multiple people that he had no connection with, correct?”

“Yes?”

“He’s a serial killer. That’s the definition of a serial killer.”

“Then I’m one too, little Maximoff.”

“So am I and your point is?” Then I came to a realization, “Was that meant to scare me?”

“Why do I get stuck on watching duty?” I whined to Tony and Steve.

“Because we don’t know what this will do to your developing brain,” Steve told me as I glared at him.

“Plus, we don’t like you,” Tony said to me when Steve walked away.

“Steve! Natasha! Tony’s being mean to me!” I screamed, acting like a child.

“Tony play nice, she’s just a kid,” Nat told him.

“Why do they side with you?” he asked me.

“I’m sweet, nice and I make cookies for them,” I told him, “The way to the captain’s heart is through chocolate chip cookies.”

“Steve, she’s a bitch,” Tony said, moving away from me.

“Language!” I yelled back going to the briefing room ready for the briefing.

“Okay, so the "how" works. Now we gotta figure out the when and the where. Almost all of us has had an encounter with at least one of the six Infinity Stones,” Steve told the team.

“Well I'd substitute the word encounter for damn well near been killed by one of the six Infinity Stones,” Tony spoke up.

“I nearly destroyed one,” I said, shrugging.

“We only have enough Pym Particles for one round trip each, and these stones have been in a lot of different places throughout history,” Bruce said.

“Our history. So, not a lot of convenient spots to just drop in,” Tony added.

“Which means we have to pick our targets,” Clint told the room.

“Correct,” Tony replied.

“Let's start with the Aether. Thor, what do you know?” Steve said as all of our heads turned to Thor in the corner, with his sunglasses on it was impossible to tell if he was asleep or not.

“Is he asleep?” Nat asked.

“No I think he’s dead,” Rhodey replied.

“I’ll find out,” I told them, picking up a pen and throwing it across the room at him, hitting him square on the head.

He woke up straight after and I could feel him glaring at me, “Where to start? Umm... The Aether, first, is not a stone, someone called it a stone before. It's more of a... an angry sludge thing, so... someones gonna need to amend that. Here's an interesting story though, many years ago... My grandfather had to hide the stones from the Dark Elves…” He wiggles his fingers to imitate a spooky ghost, “Wooooh, scary beings. So Jane, oh, there she is. That's Jane... She's... an old flame of mine... She... she stuck her hand inside a rock this one time... and then the Aether stuck itself inside her... And, she became very, very sick. So I had to take her to Asgard, which is where I'm from. And we had to try and fix her. We were dating at the time, you see. I got to introduce her to my Mother... who's dead,” he started to look broken, and seemed on the verge of tears, “and oh you know, Jane and I aren't even dating anymore, these things happen though you know, nothing last forever,” Tony started to push him back to his chair in an attempt to quieten him, “I'm not done yet, the only thing permanent in life is impermanence.”

“Awesome. Eggs? Breakfast?” Tony asked the group.

“I'd like a Bloody Mary, thank you,” Thor said as I scoffed.

“And I’d like my family to be alive and yet here we are,” I told him getting up to go to the kitchen, “So do it yourself, asshole.”

“Quill said he stole the Power Stone from Morag,” Rocket said, pacing on the table.

“Is that a person?” Scott said while I played on my phone.

“Morag's a planet. Quill was a person,” Rocket snapped out.

“A planet? Like in outer space?” Scott looked like a small boy going to go to the museum for the first time.

“Oh, look. It's like a little puppy, all happy and everything. [Imitating talking to a puppy] Do you wanna go to space? You wanna go to space, puppy? I'll get you to space,” Rocket said to Scott as I raised my hand and he high five me.

“Oh god why were you two introduced,” Nat muttered into her fork.

“Thanos found the Soul Stone on Vormir,” Nebula informed us back in the meeting room.

“What is Vormir?” Natasha asked seriously, taking notes with me.

“A dominion of death, at the very center of Celestial existence. It's where... Thanos murdered my sister,” Nebula told her. Nat looked up, and an awkward silence fell upon the room. She writes what Nebula has just said.

“Not it,” Scott tried to joke to the crowd.

Nat and Tony were laying on the table with all of their papers scattered around them, while Bruce was on the floor and I was lounging in the desk chair, braiding Nat’s hair. When the time stone popped up on the monitor.

“That Time Stone guy…” Nat started.

“Doctor Strange,” Bruce spoke.

“Yeah, what kind of doctor was he?” I asked the group.

“Ear-nose-throat meets rabbit from a hat,” Tony told me.

“Nice place in the village, though,” Bruce said awkwardly.

“Yeah. Sullivan Street,” Tony said.

“Hmm... Bleecker,” Bruce corrected him.

“Wait, he lived in New York?” Nat asked looking up at me seeing if I connected the dots.

“No. He lived in Toronto,” Tony said.

“Guys, if you pick the right year, there are three stones in New York,” Me and Natasha said in unison.

“Shut the front door,” Bruce said, sitting up faster than I ever could.

“How many Phd.s do you have between you again? Because it sure seems like a teenage girl and a former ballerina outsmarted two of the smartest people in the world,” I said cheekily.

“So you guys have a plan?” Steve asked standing in the doorway.

“We sure do,” I told him, there was a gnawing thought at the back of my mind but I wasn’t sure what it was.

As they all walked into the hanger I had to yell at them, the urge was not something I couldn’t overcome.

“STOP BEING SO DRAMATIC!” I screeched at them, “You’re not models your superheros who have to go and save my sister and everyone else who went snap. OK this is not the time for drama this is the time for action and if I can’t come with you, you’re going to do this as though I’m hunting you down until you get the stones. Kapeesh?”

“Yes ma’am,” Steve told me, while some of the others looked at me scared.

“I like you,” Nebula told me.

“So do I,” said Rocket.

“Love you little one, I’ll see you real soon,” Nat said to me as they all climbed the stairs to their doom.

“Wait!” I said causing everyone to stop, “Can I have a hug, Nat?”

“Sure, come here,” She said as I ran up to her, giving her a hug that I hoped conveyed how much I love her and look up to her, “I love you, Yulia. If anything happens to me you know where everything is buried and I want you to find Yelena and Melina and give them the boxes marked for them. And you and Wanda get my apartment in little Odessa. Everything will be OK. I’ll be OK. But if I’m not you have to move on and be brave for me. I love you Yulia, you're like my little sister.” She spoke to me softly in Russian.

“OK, but if anything happens to you, I’m killing whoever is responsible or guiltiest,” I told her going down the steps.

“Yulia, go to the control room and flick the switch, we’ve got it from there,” Bruce told her as she walked away.

“Cool. I love you Nat, Steve, little raccoon thing! Nebula, keep being a badass!” I yelled, flicking the switch as Steve gave the team a pep talk.

When they arrived back a minute later, I stood up. I then noticed something. Nat. Where was Natasha?

“W...W...Nat?” I screamed at Clint trying to calm my breath, “She said you would protect her, that you would make sure her fate changed! She knew she was going to her doom and she thought you would stop it! That’s why we came to find you! YOU BASTARD! YOU WERE MEANT TO KEEP HER SAFE!! AND WHERE IS SHE ASSHOLE! WHERE IS NAT! WHERE IS MY MENTOR,” I kept yelling at him while Steve ran up to me to calm me down.

“It’s OK Yulia, she might be late and anyway I’m sure Clint tried his hardest,” He tried to sooth me as I cried into his shoulder giving up on yelling at Clint.

“I don’t think he did, I really don’t think he did, Steve,” I cried.

“It’s OK, just breathe. It’ll be OK, it’ll be OK. We can bring her back. And Wanda and maybe Pietro,” Tony told me.

“Kid, I’m sorry,” Clint said as I tried to grab Nebula’s sword to stab him but Steve stopped me.

“Violence isn’t the answer, Yulia. What would Nat do?” Steve asked me.

“She’d get revenge, Steve. She’d forgive and then stab him like Brutus did to Caesar,” I said looking up at him hurt. Natasha was my only family left, none of these other people had become family. So what was I meant to do now? My parents are dead. My sister’s gone. Pietro’s gone. Kat, Ruby both gone. Now Nat. Who do I have left in this world? Steve? Not really, sure he’s kinda like a brother but he doesn’t know russian and he doesn’t know what the experiments feel like when not done in safe american labs. Tony? No he hates my guts. Carol? She’s in space too much. Kate. I still have Kate, though currently I don’t know where she is or if she’s alive since the last time I spoke to her.

I have no one. SO I have nothing to lose. If this doesn’t work I can find Kate and hope she and Steve can become my family, but if it does I might have everyone back except my parents. I have to make that happen, I just can’t have ghost Nat appear otherwise she’s actually dead, well as dead as Pietro which isn’t very dead. I mean it’s deader than Wanda but still not that dead.

Death’s confusing truly.

I was spiralling at this point, on the floor of the hanger just waiting for it all to dissolve into the stream of consciousness when Steve spoke to me, “Yulia why don’t I take you to Nat’s room and you can have a nap while we discuss this as adults?” All I could do was nod in response and try to push myself off the ground unsuccessfully. “Don’t worry I can carry you,” Steve told me as he picked me up, my brain still whirling at the thought of Nat being dead.

Once I was in her room and Steve was sure that I was safe I got up and walked over to her closet to see the message she told me to look at in a situation like this, it brought a smile to my face: “A Widow Never Really Dies Yulia, and I will always be with you in your heart. I love you little M.”

“A widow never really dies,” I muttered to myself curling up in her old winter coats for a nap. It smelt of her that’s the only reason I did it truly. I miss her so much.

Tags: @hollandroos, @hollandarling

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imagitory · 5 years

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Tory Reviews Aladdin (2019)! [SPOILERS]

Yes, people, I finally got around to seeing this thing! And now it’s time to talk about it. For those of you who want a spoiler-free review, I will say that as Disney live action remakes go, this is one of the better ones. It doesn’t disrespect the original, and it brings in some new ideas of varying quality -- but hey, at least some of those ideas are good! It still follows the original film’s structure a little too closely for my taste (unsurprising, given that it uses a good chunk of the same music and similar characters), but there were enough differences that it didn’t feel like a beat-for-beat rehash like the Beauty and the Beast remake did. I wouldn’t go so far as to say it’s a great movie, but if you’re not difficult to please like I am and you aren’t jaded by the idea of Disney live action remakes in general, I wager there is a lot here that you could enjoy.

For those of you who don’t fear spoilers, feel free to read on! Come on...don’t you trust me?

The Good!

+I love the idea of Jasmine actively wanting to rule Agrabah. It makes for a very different Jasmine from the original animated version, one who is likable in her own way and stands apart as her own distinct character. In the original, Jasmine just wants to be free to make her own choices, and honestly, that is enough on its own. She already has been raised with large expectations on her shoulders, so it makes sense that she would envy Aladdin for having no chains or responsibilities, and therefore why she would run away from home. This remake plays Jasmine a little differently, though -- she wants to be free too, but in a way that helps people. She knows she’s been given power, but she hasn’t been free to use it, and she sees plenty of people with power, like Jafar, who misuse it. How identifiable is that struggle, for so many women with privilege! It’s a struggle that men of all stripes don’t entirely understand, and it’s a nice conflict for our secondary protagonist. It also puts a cherry on top of the Sultan’s gesture from the first film where he changes the law and lets Jasmine choose who she wants to marry -- now she can not only make that choice, but whatever other choices she wishes, too.

+Mena Massoud and Naomi Scott were good casting choices for Aladdin and Jasmine. Mena has this wonderful boyish quality that reminds me a lot of Scott Weinger’s Aladdin, while Naomi brings a wonderful class to Jasmine’s part.

+Involving Jasmine in the One Jump Ahead sequence was an interesting way to tie Aladdin’s introduction and the scene where Aladdin saves Jasmine together, which further emphasizes that the film will focus around these two as dual protagonists, rather than mainly around Aladdin with Jasmine as a deutragonist.

+Aladdin sneaking into the palace to give Jasmine back her bracelet was a great idea. Gone is Jafar’s weird wheel machine that tells him who his Diamond in the Rough is -- now he knows because he sees Aladdin break in just to return something to the princess. Added is more development for Aladdin and Jasmine’s relationship -- not only does Jasmine get to see where Aladdin lives, but she gets to see the grayness of him from the get-go. And really, more scenes for our two love interests to interact together is always a good thing, when it comes to us identifying with their relationship.

+The visuals, both in the backgrounds and costumes, were well done. I still don’t entirely get the fusion of Indian and Arabian styles (this film REALLY played up the Bollywood influence in this story set in the Arabian desert), but it looks rather nice. I’ve been saying for a long while that I want Disney to make an animated movie set in India and inspired by Bollywood, and this film makes me want one all the more. No halfsies on the Bollywood stuff -- I want it ALL over the movie, and I wanted it beautifully animated and scored. Disney, get on it.

+I’ll be honest -- Will Smith is no Robin Williams and I’ll get to some issues I had with his characterization in a minute, but he really did give the role his all and he made the part his own. He played to his strengths rather than try to imitate Robin and by doing so portrayed a very distinctive, memorable, and rather likable Genie. The idea of being clever with one’s words when making a wish also harks back to folk tales about Djinn where they’re more like tricksters, and I thought that was clever.

+The Arabian Nights opening number was EXCELLENTLY handled. I actually got super excited listening to it, just like with the original’s sequence, and I wasn’t expecting that. The use of the musical number to introduce the key players in the story, including Jafar’s interest in retrieving the lamp from the Cave of Wonders, also was very good.

+Friend Like Me wasn’t half-bad, either! Will put a lot of energy into the number and even though it started off way too slowly in the beginning, once it got going, the song itself and the visuals were pretty fun.

+Genie wishing to become human reminded me a bit of DuckTales the Movie: The Treasure of the Lost Lamp, but I still liked it. Admittedly it feels as though there should’ve been a way for Genie to stay a Genie and just be free to use his powers the way he wanted...but hey, the transformation into a human makes for good visual symbolism.

+Although overall the Cave of Wonders sequence wasn’t anything impressive, I liked the little homage to the final battle in Return of Jafar where Aladdin has to jump from rock fragment to rock fragment while floating in a sea of lava.

+This remake did capture one of the central tenants of the original film -- that Aladdin, Jasmine, and Genie (and, in this story, even Jafar) have their own cages, but in the end what unlocks all of their cages is empathy. Genie befriends Aladdin and it’s through that friendship that he earns his freedom. Jasmine falls in love with Aladdin and stands up for him and her kingdom, and it is through that compassion that she becomes Sultan Sultana (goddamn it, film, she’d be a Sultana, just call her that). Aladdin comes to see Genie’s and Jasmine’s prisons as clearly as his own and in doing so is able to outwit Jafar and save the kingdom. And Jafar, by only wallowing in his own pain and refusing to acknowledge the pain of others, just keeps trying to take what others have until he loses what he had to begin with: his freedom.

The Not-So-Good...

+Jafar. *dodges knives* OKAY, HOLD ON. Before I go into what I didn’t like, I will be kind first. I truly do understand the rationale behind this characterization -- namely, that Jafar is supposed to now be a foil for Aladdin, as in “Be careful, or you could end up like this guy.” And that idea by itself isn’t a bad one. The problem is the film hammers in that point a liiiittle too much in scripted dialogue, and in trying to make Jafar more “sympathetic” (I don’t know if I’d say he actually was, but the film seems to be trying to make him that way), it actually makes him much less interesting, in my opinion. In the Aladdin TV series, there was another “foil” to Aladdin in the form of Mozenrath the sorcerer, but Mozenrath was still egocentric, charismatic, cocky, clever, ruthless, and threatening. Throughout the entire film, this Jafar just seems way less confident and powerful than he should be. While in the original film, Jafar moving slowly and purposefully made him this dark cloud over the proceedings, highlighting the contrasts between him and the rest of the jovial cast, in this version, it only served to make the character look boring and lacking in energy. If the filmmakers had wanted to make Jafar like Aladdin, make him like Aladdin! Make him charming. Make him witty. Make him fun to watch. And then also make him a selfish, pig-headed, sexist asshole. Have him sing the Prince Ali reprise. Have him smirk and sneer. Have him enjoy putting Jasmine down. Have his confrontations with Aladdin be like looking through a cracked mirror -- have there be this terrible, electric charge of hatred between them whenever they stare each other down, for they are each what the other would despise being, and yet they’ll smirk at each other through their hatred because they won’t let the other see that they got to them. In other words, HAVE MORE FUN WRITING YOUR VILLAIN, DISNEY. Character development is good and all, but if your villain isn’t interesting and fun to watch, then why bother writing one at all?

+Dahlia really was as pointless as I’d feared. All she really serves to be is Jasmine’s friend (wasn’t Rajah already that?) and a love interest for Genie (did we really need that?) -- she never really steps out of the other characters’ shadows and becomes her own person. Why couldn’t she have her own cage to escape from, her own story arc, her own personality that wasn’t there to just be a foil to Jasmine’s? If Jasmine is disdainful of someone, Dahlia likes them. If Jasmine isn’t impressed by something, Dahlia is. If Jasmine trusts someone, Dahlia expresses doubts. That basically is the start and end of her character, and it’s such a shame, as we certainly could use more female characters in male-dominated stories like this, where we can see multiple, but still equally useful and interesting ways to be a woman. But putting in another female character just for her to be a sidekick and a love interest is not the way to do that.

+The CGI really did stick out like a sore thumb in places. It could sometimes look aesthetically nice, like in the Friend Like Me sequence, but it still rarely looked real, and in the case of things that were supposed to be real like Rajah, Abu, and Carpet, it got uncomfortable. And yeah, Abu and Carpet were therefore also much less likable than in the original film, with Abu having nearly no comedic potential and Carpet losing a lot of its extroversion and energy. Rajah ended up the most like his original self out of all of them, but he still rarely looked real, to me.

+Iago should have either been just a normal parrot or more like his regular, energized, animated self. The way they portrayed him, sitting in that murky middle ground of being like a real parrot but not just repeating whatever he heard, made for a very uninteresting character. If he’s going to have his own mind, give him his own personality that sets him apart from Jafar -- if he’s going to be more like an animal, use his repeating of standard phrases in clever ways to make that clear.

+As much as I liked Jasmine’s new motivation, her story arc would’ve been much stronger if she hadn’t been as strong at the start and she’d discovered the power inside herself along the way. At one point, Aladdin says sometimes you just have to take risks, as if Jasmine has been playing things too safe -- well, was sneaking out into town under the noses of her guards not a risk? Was giving bread to starving children without a thought about the cost not a risk? Was hiding a thief who bust into the palace in your room not a risk? Was pursuing a romance with that same thief not a risk? When do we see that’s something this Jasmine needs to learn? Jasmine’s supposed “arc” about standing up for herself and others is the whole driving force behind Jasmine’s new song Speechless, but it falls flat for me because we don’t see Jasmine holding her tongue and staying silent. She still speaks out against the princes seeking her hand and she still tries to argue with the Sultan and Jafar. And on the note of Speechless, the way that number is staged really didn’t give the song its proper justice. The sequence is all in her head, making everything go in slow motion and making people appear and disappear when it’s convenient -- how much stronger would that scene have been if the song had accompanied her storming back into the palace and standing up to Jafar, singing loudly right into his face that she has no interest in staying silent the way he told her to?

+The Captain of the Guard was an absolute nothing character in the story until Jafar takes over Agrabah near the climax, at which point everyone seems to want him on their side all of a sudden. He says he’ll obey the Sultan and it seems like the film wants him to be the script’s version of Okoye from Black Panther, but unlike Okoye, he got no focus or development beforehand, so we don’t care when he decides to stand by Jafar when he becomes Sultan or when Jasmine convinces him to stand up to him in the very next scene. And for all the words Jasmine cries at the Captain that he has a choice, she also says that the guards will follow him if he does the right thing -- what, do those guards not also have a choice to do the right thing? Do they have to follow their Captain?

+The addition of Jasmine’s mother’s kingdom does give some reason for Jasmine’s fashion sense being a mix of Indian and Arabian influences (you know, as in she’s biracial and her mother’s country is more India-inspired compared to Agrabah, which is more Arabia-inspired), but otherwise the kingdom’s addition really didn’t add much in the script. Jafar keeps talking about invading it, presumably because he wants to become a dictator and have an empire and blah, but we never see it and never learn much about it except that it was Jasmine’s mother’s country. And as much as the biracial influences could explain Jasmine’s wardrobe, it doesn’t justify the Bollywood dance sequence in the palace -- I mean, Genie was controlling Aladdin’s limbs the whole time, but how did everyone else know that dance sequence? It’d be one thing if it was supposed to be non-deigetic, as in it’s representative of Aladdin as Ali interacting with Jasmine and so it doesn’t matter that everyone knows the dance, but it can’t be non-deigetic if Genie has to control Aladdin so that he can dance like everyone else is.

+On that note, Genie says that “Ali got [Aladdin] in the door, but Aladdin has to be the one to open it” when he’s trying to encourage Aladdin to be himself when interacting with Jasmine...but then, literally, a few minutes later, he’s controlling Aladdin’s limbs and making him break-dance in the ballroom. WTH, Genie? I thought you understood that Aladdin just had to be himself, why are you suddenly so confused about why your tricks aren’t impressing Jasmine?!

+The Cave of Wonders was such a let-down. Not only was the treasure kind of measly and unremarkable compared to the room piled high with various kind of treasures from all over the globe in the original, but we get such emphasis on Aladdin not touching any of it, but Aladdin has to step all over it in order to get at the lamp. And I guess touching the Magic Carpet also doesn’t count. If the idea is not to take it, that’d be one thing, but even Abu only picks up the gem, he makes no movement to hide it or take it away with him. Plus the wonderful build-up for the cave in the original, where Aladdin walks slowly down this long trek of the stairs, only to arrive in a room full to the brim with treasure, is instead replaced with just -- plop! Landing in a heap in the middle of an actual cave with some treasure littered here and there, until la-dee-da, you end up in the main room where the lamp is and more treasure is tossed haphazardly around. Yawn.

+As much as I will give Will Smith credit for clearly doing his best, the friendship between Genie and Aladdin really didn’t work that well for me. The scene where Aladdin breaks Genie’s heart and goes back on his word was just so utterly hollow in how it was scripted and directed -- rather than giving the actors a spring board to allow them to express raw emotion, whether by yelling, going abruptly quiet, lashing out, expressing vulnerability, anything, it hampered any sincerity from shining through. Genie told us how he felt, but he didn’t show it. He said his heart was breaking, but he didn’t express it and I didn’t feel it. And unfortunately part of that comes back to how Genie is written. In the original movie, we love Genie and Aladdin’s friendship because of the genuine affection between them and because of Genie’s vulnerability when he admits that he wants his freedom more than anything else in the world. Aladdin asking Genie what he would wish for is what opens Genie up, and Aladdin promising to set Genie free is what makes him hope. At that point, he's solidly in Aladdin’s corner and does everything he can to help Aladdin like a true friend would. In this version, Genie is more reluctant to trust Aladdin, which makes it so their friendship has less time to develop, at which point the betrayal of trust doesn’t mean as much. Another wrinkle that is lost from Robin Williams’s portrayal is that Genie’s humor is in some ways a cover for Genie’s more vulnerable, sad feelings. Will uses it more like a front, something to puff himself up, but Robin uses it the way someone uses humor to hide their depression -- namely, despite his crummy circumstances, he resolves to be happy and make others happy. It’s a sign of resilience, rather than pride, and as relatable as the pride rationale is, using humor as a means to mask one’s unhappiness I think made for a very sweet, compassionate, admirable, dare I say heroic character. That character admittedly does play more to Robin’s strengths than Will’s, so I understand the change, but that doesn’t mean I don’t still prefer Robin’s characterization of Genie.

+The new “rubbing the lamp and saying ‘I wish’“ rule wasn’t a bad idea, but then Genie circumvents it to save Aladdin’s life anyway, at which point, why have it in the first place? To make it all the more essential to be holding the lamp? Well, holding it makes you the Genie’s master anyway -- it was that way in the original film already -- so why use the semantics? And on that note, why didn’t Aladdin or Jasmine just friggin’ make a wish when they first snatched the lamp back from Jafar, during that whole chase scene? They had the lamp in their friggin’ hands a good chunk of the time -- if you don’t want to waste your last wish, Aladdin, have Jasmine do it, rather than just keep trying to play keep-away with the crazy big Roc that Jafar turned Iago into? (As a side, that thing wasn’t even half as scary as Snake!Jafar. Just sayin’.)

+The ending’s pacing felt much clunkier compared to the original. As interesting as you would think a chase scene through Agrabah on a Magic Carpet would be, it served to only be a long detour, as at the end everyone just ended up right back where they started. At least in the original, Jafar still held the lamp, so Aladdin was still fighting to get it the entire time, and the stakes were raised a little bit more over time, when Jasmine was trapped in an hour glass, Abu was turned into a wind-up toy, Carpet was magically unwoven, Jafar blew fire around Aladdin and turned into a giant snake, and right before Aladdin could save Jasmine, Jafar snatched him up in his coils. In the original climax, Aladdin is chasing the same goal, only for more and more of his options to be ripped away from him and things to get worse and worse by the minute. In the remake, the first half of the climax is a lot of sound and fury signifying nothing.

+The music -- OOOH, this irritated me. There was so much potential in a lot of it, really -- as mentioned, Arabian Nights and Friend Like Me were actually pretty good, and even Prince Ali was better than I expected and Speechless, although badly staged and not as musically memorable as the other songs, worked all right. But A Whole New World and especially One Jump Ahead and its reprises made me really, really mad. One Jump Ahead started off so promising, with a much more Arabian sound to its backing track -- then Mena Massoud starts singing, and boom, there’s the autotune, and suddenly the backing track sounds like something out of a Disney Channel Original Movie. Then we get Aladdin’s sad reprises of the number, which were frankly pathetic. Brad Kane was so good at bringing such softness and pathos into the short tune -- when he sang “Riffraff -- street rat! I don’t buy that! If only they’d look closer...!”, you feel this empathetic clenching in your heart -- you feel his pain, you understand it. But Massoud, as good of an actor as he is, sounds flat, disinterested, and cold when singing, no doubt because he lacks the confidence in it, and the autotune only serves to dull any emotion in his voice further. Then there’s A Whole New World, which didn’t make me as angry as even if it is autotuned, Naomi Scott does bring some energy to the song where Massoud does not, but for how good of a song it is, the performance and the sequence surrounding it were kind of embarrassing. Massoud and Scott sounded like two amateurs doing some lifeless Disney karaoke, and the scene accompanying the song was monochromatic and lacking in scope or excitement. I understand if you don’t want Aladdin and Jasmine to go on “the fastest World Tour ever” again, but at the very least, give us some scenery that isn’t just one of five shades of blue! We don’t see any color until after the song is over and the two watch this festival in the town square. A Whole New World is easily one of the most romantic songs in the Disney library if not the most romantic, and it deserved better than this.

+They gave Aladdin this quasi-inventor aspect where he had jerry-rigged special stairs to appear and hoisted a canopy into existence in his hide-out. I immediately remembered the same quirk being needlessly added onto Belle in the Beauty and the Beast remake and Clara in The Nutcracker and the Four Realms and got really irritated -- seriously, Disney, does EVERYONE need to be an inventor of some sort in your LA movies now?? -- and sure enough, just like with Belle, that quality of Aladdin’s is never brought up again, and like with Clara, the trait doesn’t add any depth or interest to the character. It could’ve been cool if the filmmakers had modified it slightly, making it more like Quasimodo’s artistic creativity in how he sees the world and/or the Phantom of the Opera’s love of magic transforming his dreary, lonely world into something beautiful. Jasmine even cites that Aladdin can do “magic,” as in, “hey, maybe that can be referenced again, like his resourcefulness and creativity are the true magic, not what the Genie can give him,” but yeah, it’s never brought up again, so there was no point to those additions.

+Although the film got the tenant of people having different cages that can be unlocked by empathy down, it also added a moral that in my opinion not only contradicts the story, but could also be interpreted very badly. At the beginning of the movie, Genie and Dahlia’s kids look enviously at a boat larger than theirs and dream of having a boat like that, and Genie tells them the story of Aladdin, Jasmine, and the lamp supposedly to teach them to be happy with what you have. Not a horrible lesson, really...but here’s the problem -- THE FILM DOESN’T TEACH YOU THAT. If Aladdin had just been happy with what he’d had, he never would’ve met the Genie, fallen in love with Jasmine, and lived happily ever after. If Jasmine had just been happy with what she’d had, she would’ve married a terrible prince she didn’t love and never been Sultana. If Genie had just been happy with what he’d had, he would’ve never befriended Aladdin and earned his freedom. And I’m sorry, but trying to tell people like this -- a poor man struggling to survive on the streets, a woman being locked out of her birth right because of her gender, and a literal slave -- that they shouldn’t seek what others have that they don’t? I mean...are you serious?? Really?? THAT is the moral you want to add onto this story?? In the original, the moral was “it’s not what is outside, but what is inside that counts,” which ties into the tenant of empathy I mentioned earlier. I know that the filmmakers were trying to make a point about greed, and it is a good point to make, not to just mindlessly chase after what you don’t have and forget what you do have...but at the same time, all of these characters had a good reason to chase something they didn’t have and they were happier when they earned it.

As Disney remakes go, Aladdin (2019) in my opinion is better than the predecessors I have seen. Unlike Maleficent, it didn’t take pot-shots at the original movie or its characters. Unlike Cinderella (2015), its feminist themes were central to the female character’s arc and fit with the story being told. Unlike Beauty and the Beast (2017), it didn’t just take the original movie and pile a bunch of superfluous stuff on top of it so as to make it look different. It also took good ideas from those three movies as well. Like Maleficent, this film tried to tell an old story from a new angle. Like Cinderella (2015), it reinterpreted the characters and their relationships. Like Beauty and the Beast (2017), it tried to respect what people loved about the original. Admittedly this film is still not even half as good as the original in my mind, because even the fresh ideas were added onto a pre-existing structure from another movie that had been full of new ideas, but it’s still much better than I had been expecting. I wasn’t impressed, exactly, but I got a few laughs and felt some positive feelings while watching this. Let’s hope that the Lion King remake learns some lessons from this movie and only improves on the formula -- and finally does their original’s classic soundtrack some JUSTICE this time!!

Overall Grade: C

#reviews #aladdin (2019)#disney #aladdin #opinion #oh boy here i go #analysis #live action remakes #remakes #disney remakes #aladdin spoilers #spoilers #disney spoilers

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hobrerek · 5 years

Text

Realizations: Writing Prompt

“Brotherly love between Derek and Scott!! Always upset me we never got to see more of them... 😫” - @veseyz

Here you go my dear, Derek and Scott brotherly love as requested! This story took a bit of a turn from where I had originally started with it, but hopefully you enjoy all 2.4K of it all the same. Let me know what you think!

Much love, Jessa

Realizations

Scott was sure in this moment, that if it came down to it, he may actually murder Stiles in cold blood if he didn't stop talking.

"Can werewolves menstruate?" Stiles was asking as he angled his body back towards the screen, typing in almost the exact phrase. "I mean, obviously there's not going to be an exact hit or anything like that, duh, but maybe we can learn something from a history book or like...a fanfiction or something that gives us an idea, you know? Scott? Buddy?"

"I swear to God," Scott muttered under his breath as he walked down the street, ignoring Stiles' shouts from the window behind him when he clued in that his best friend had slipped out, gliding down the street quietly as he cracked his neck in irritation.

Scott was...itchy. Not physically, not as in something he could scratch, but his insides felt itchy, like his body couldn't decide if it was supposed to be human or werewolf and kept slipping back and forth between the two causing an incessant 'feeling,' like a source of friction that was driving Scott absolutely mad. Originally Scott had gone to Stiles to see if he had ever read anything about this sort of issue in werewolves, but when his best friend diverted into theories about werewolf mating rituals, Scott had decided he should probably find his answers elsewhere.

Without realizing or really intending for it, Scott found himself in front of a familiar beaten-up door, raising his hand with a sigh before letting his knuckles rap across the wooden surface, hearing no motion inside indicating someone was home, though he could also tell that Derek was standing directly on the other side of the door and was pretending to not be doing so.

"I feel like you are forgetting something," Scott said with a huff into the cold air, watching the condensed air that slipped from his lips drift away into little wisps, still sensing no movement from within. "As in the 'I am also a werewolf and know you are on the other side of the door' kind of something, Derek. It's weird, stop lurking."

"I wasn't lurking," Derek said with a grimace as he pulled the door open to reveal himself standing in dark jeans and a well worn henley. "I was waiting."

"Behind the door? While you held your breath?" Scott asked incredulously, raising a brow in judgement as he stepped into Derek's home. "You have a functioning door now. That's new."

"Mmm," Derek grunted in acknowledgement, walking back into the house and through the long hallway with the multiple offshoots, entering into the kitchen with Scott close behind him, the latter having followed the smells emanating from the large pot on the stove.

"You can cook?" Scott spoke in surprise, phrasing his words as both a statement and a question simultaneously. "I assumed you lived on rabbits."

"Why on Earth would I eat rabbits, Scott?" Derek asked in annoyance, visibly scowling and drawing attention to his own bunny teeth which Scott could just 'hear' Stiles making fun of in his head. "Oh shut up, not you too."

"You have to admit," Scott said with a laugh as he made himself at home at Derek's dinner table (also new) and eyed the delicious smelling pot on the stove, "that for a werewolf, your teeth are decidedly bunny like."

Casting him a sharp look that Scott was accustomed to and ignoring the younger man's comment, Derek reached up into his cupboard (new shelves I see, thought Scott) and pulled out two bowls, keeping the most recent one in his hand as he pulled off the top of the pot and ladled a few scoops of the stew into a bowl, before repeating the motions with the other one as Scott watched on intently.

"Dude, that smells fucking delicious," Scott said excitedly as he salivated, missing the look from Derek as he shook his head at the younger man.

"Dude," Derek retorted, grabbing his own bowl and sinking down before tilting his head with a frown when he realized he had forgotten the bread on the counter for dunking.

"Bread," Derek motioned, tilting his head back towards the offending item across the kitchen and staring Scott down until he relented, standing from his seat to bring it over, though he stopped to grab the butter on the way.

"Is there a reason you are in my house eating my food?" Derek asked after some time had passed and both men were well on their way to finishing their second bowl of stew.

"How do you know I didn't just come for a visit?" Scott rebutted, though he at least had the foresight to look down into his bowl instead of making eye contact, knowing full well what Derek was about to say.

"Hm, not sure," Derek hummed, tone dripping in sarcasm. "Maybe all the times you told me you hated me, preferred if I didn't exist or asked me to leave. And to think, somehow you managed to get that all into one sentence last time you said it."

"I'm sorry, okay?" Scott replied, clenching his eyes shut as his mouth formed into a straight line. "I was in a weird place last time."

"And the times before that?"

"I'm pretty sure that was just me being an asshole."

Derek didn't respond to Scott's latest statement, Scott more than aware that meant that the older man was agreeing without having to directly vocalize his thoughts, though frankly he had to admit that he had been pretty harsh on Derek last time, especially since he had actually been the one to save the day in place of Scott.

"You are decidedly less hostile lately," Derek tacked on after a few more moments of silence had passed, though the quiet wasn't uncomfortable. A moment later, as Scott finished his own bowl, he realized that Derek had left the question hanging in the air for him to grab onto.

"I may or may not have had some sense knocked into me recently?" Scott stated slowly, choosing his words carefully, brows furrowing as he recalled the conversation in question. "There was some other stuff mentioned too, but it got weird at that point so I tuned it out."

"What kind of weird? Stiles I am presuming?"

"Of course," Scott replied with a roll of his eyes, much to the amusement of Derek who barely kept a grin from spreading across his features. The general annoyance that was Stiles Stilinski was something everyone could agree on, regardless of their differences.

"What did he say?" Derek pushed, his gaze focusing and for the first time in as long as Scott had known him, he could see right through the older man.

"Oh ew," Scott said with genuine disgust, as Derek looked around trying to gauge what Scott's words had been in reaction to, coming up blank, eyebrow raised in a silent question. "You like him."

"Like who?" Derek questioned, though Scott could see his cheeks colouring and could smell the change in the older werewolf's hormones which only caused his disgust to deepen.

"Ew, you like Stiles," Scott said with a grimace, nose scrunched up as he suddenly got a very detailed mental image of Stiles and Derek kissing. "Jesus, please don't tell me you plan on waxing poetic about him too, I already get it enough from him."

"I, no, erm, I mean, I wouldn't, because you see, I mean, with you and him, and you know, it's just, the timing and, it's um, wait what?" Derek finally settled on asking, eyes scrunching together in confusion. "Say that again."

"You like him," Scott repeated, smiling to himself at the look of contempt Derek shot his way.

"Not what I meant," Derek grumbled, though he apparently decided not to push Scott further.

"Look," Scott said with another grimace, still trying to scrub out the mental image of Stiles and Derek making out from inside his brain, but knowing he had a real opportunity to do his best friend a solid after all the years of the roles being reversed. "I'm just saying, you should probably talk to Stiles sometime soon, like...just the two of you. If you know what I mean."

"Oh," Derek said simply, eyes blown wide leaving his face looking incredibly vulnerable as he digested Scott's words, clearing his throat awkwardly after a moment and trying to rearrange his facial features. "Good to know."

"Also, please don't make out in front of me," Scott added on after a moment, getting another flash of the pair locked in a heated embrace and willing himself to think of Kira's breasts or the way she had kissed him when he had left the night before or anything that wasn't his best friend and older brother making out.

"Oh, huh," Scott said aloud, tone coloured with surprise. "That's interesting."

"I'm really not following," Derek said with only a hint of exasperation in his tone, feeling like he was pulling teeth as he 'patiently' waited for Scott to tell him what the hell was going on in his head.

"Sorry," Scott started, still mulling something over in his head. "Stiles was just saying to me the other day that I needed to be nicer to you because you were all I had of my kind and I thought that was dumb since I knew he just wanted to make out with you and have me be okay with it."

Looking up, Scott rolled his eyes once more when he noted the pleased expression that had crossed Derek's face before he continued.

"And I was just thinking how fucking weird it is to think of you and Stiles kissing. Not like, cause you're gay or anything."

"Bisexual," Derek interrupted, waving Scott's protests away and motioning for him to continue, cheeks having gone a darker colour when he realized his words.

"But like, that's my best friend. And you're my like, Derek."

"I'm your like Derek?" the older man replied sarcastically, hands spread as he waited for Scott to explain. "Meaning?"

"I d-don't know," Scott stammered, still trying to make sense of his thoughts. "It's just like, you're not so bad anymore you know? And you help a lot with the pack and answering questions and things. And you don't try and boss me around as much anymore and you're good in fights which is handy, especially the other night."

Both men stopped briefly as they considered the wounded werewolf they had encountered on the outskirts of their territory a few nights previous, the feral nature of the wound having taken over not long after they had found the young woman.

"And like," Scott continued, shaking off the images from that night and plowing forward. "You put up with Stiles. And that's not easy. And you're friends with the Sheriff and he's like my dad so I love him, but that's also not easy. And you get all weird around Stiles and say embarrassing stuff and I've literally just realized you like him and oh my god, would you stop making out with him in my head?!"

"I-" Derek started to speak, mouth closing with an audible click as he stared on at Scott as if he had two heads growing from his neck. "Are you okay?"

"Dude, you're like a big brother figure in my life," Scott said in shock, finally coming to a conclusion in his head as Derek looked on with wide eyes and a thoughtful expression. "Dude, when the fuck did that happen?"

"I-"

"I need to go tell Stiles!" Scott cut off, standing abruptly and turning towards the door, stopping after a few steps to look back at Derek and humming aloud to himself. "You're okay with that, right?"

"Erm, sure?" Derek replied, his voice suggesting otherwise, though it was apparently enough for Scott who nodded happily to himself and continued down the hall, Derek leaning back in his chair so he could watch as the younger man got further and further away.

"Thanks Derek!" Scott shouted as he opened the door, pushing his feet into his shoes and twisting until they slipped in. "This helped a lot!"

"I-" Derek started yet again, looking back at the two empty bowls and crumbs strewn across the table as the door closed behind the younger man. "What the fuck just happened?"

"Stiles!" Scott shouted as he climbed through his best friends window some 25 minutes later. "I figured out what was wrong!"

"Hello to you too, Scott. Thank you for knocking and not just sliding through my window and scaring the living shit out of me," Stiles responded with a hand clutched over his heart from the floor as he flailed dramatically out of his bed. "Nice of you to return."

"Yeah, yeah," Scott waved off absentmindedly, going to sit at the head of Stiles' bed. "So I went to talk to Derek."

"Willingly?" Stiles asked, face frowning as he looked on at Scott questioningly. "Literally like ten minutes before you left you were going on about how annoying he was."

"Yes, but I realized that wasn't the problem!" Scott replied happily, missing the 'what the fuck' expression that Stiles was continuously shooting his way. "I was feeling all weird BECAUSE of Derek, but not BY Derek, you see?"

"Nope," Stiles said with a little head shake and with pursed lips. "I really don't see Scott, since that wasn't even English and you usually hate Derek."

"But that's the thing!" Scott exclaimed, turning to look at Stiles directly. "I don't hate him, I just realized that I'm not actually competing with him anymore because he's like an older brother right? Like, we are going to fight and stuff and he's annoying, but like, he's still family, you know?"

"That's awfully big of you," Stiles said cautiously after a long moment, eyes widening in a calculated manner as he stared curiously at his best friend. "Any particular reason why all of a sudden you don't hate the big mean bad wolf you always complain about?"

"I told him you liked him and he started blushing and then I realized that he'll probably be around a lot more if you two start dating and then I realized that he's actually not so bad when I was trying to avoid thinking of the two of you kissing and now that I realized that I thought I should come and tell you that he's not so bad," Scott replied simply, totally oblivious to the flailing and increasingly concerning colour of purple that Stiles was turning beside him on the bed. "Cool, huh?"

"YOU TOLD HIM WHAT?!"

#Scott McCall #Stiles Stilinski #Derek Hale #Sterek #Brother Relationship #Realizations #Teen Wolf #Scott McCall being...Scott McCall #Writing Prompt #Teen Wolf Prompt #Teen Wolf Imagine #Send me more prompts #See original post #Multi-Fandom Writing #Enjoying Writing Again

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bereft-of-frogs · 5 years

Note

If you are ever so inclined - I'd be very interested in your horror recommendations.

This got…probably more involved than you intended. :D It was a good procrastination tool/distraction from A Thing I didn’t want to do though, and I had fun revisiting some of these old trailers.

This ended up really long. I’m sorry. I don’t know why I’m like this.

“The New Golden Age”

[These are what I’m talking about when I talk about us entering in a new golden age - really genre bending, specifically out to subvert tropes, make social statements, and empower people who have been shut out by horror in the past.]

Jordan Peele - Get Out (2017) and Us (2019)

Ah, Jordan Peele. The master of the comedy to horror turn. Get Out was the most fun I’ve had watching a horror movie in a long time. I love how it really fits itself to classic tropes but subverts them by flipping the genre and race dynamics. (Daniel Kaluuya’s character embodies the ‘Final Girl’ trope.)

Us fucked me up. Like, woke up at 3am thinking about it, couldn’t really look at Lupita Nyong’o for a while. The remix of the song that plays over the trailer literally gives me goosebumps. It freaked me out, so much. That one is a genre bender - you think you’re watching one thing (a classic home-invasion type trope with some weird mystery to it) and then the final scene basically upends everything you thought you were watching. Fucked. Me. Up.

Ari Aster - Hereditary (2018) and Midsommar (2019)

I’ve been talking a bunch about how much I loved Midsommar. It’s gorgeous visually, Ari Aster is so great at just letting things hang and letting tension build and build - and it was the first horror movie I think I’ve ever felt weirdly empowered by. Like, similar to when I saw Captain Marvel, I walked out of the theater like “is this how men feel all the time?” Hereditary is probably a better movie overall, not counting the fact that it was practically made for me. At its core it’s a grief drama, a phenomenal portrait of mourning…and it’s also really fucking scary. Those slow-tension building scenes are really used effectively in Hereditary.

I also think it’s interesting because Ari Aster is keeping pace with Jordan Peele, but did it in the opposite order. Hereditary is the genre-bender - you kind of think it’s a family drama/psychological horror for most of it, and then it takes a hard turn and makes you question everything you were watching. Midsommar is more on-genre norms - it’s essentially the classic ‘bunch of terrible people getting picked off one by one’ trope (I don’t know if there’s a better name for that), but by applying folk horror and really centering female characters as both pro- and an- tagonist, it does a lot of unexpected things.

Robin Aubert - Les Affamés (”The Ravenous”) (2017)

It’s a zombie movie, but it’s more than that. This movie is so layered. I saw it at a festival when it first came out and then we watched it again this year on St. Jean-Baptiste (Québec national holiday) because we wanted to be #OnTheme. (And to celebrate St. Jean-Baptiste without having to interact with crowds) and it kind of clicked what it was doing. It’s really about the absorbing of difference into the dominant, hegemonic culture and the struggle for marginalized individuals to survive. Robin Aubert has a couple others I haven’t seen yet, but have heard good things about and are on my list. I saw a critic call his main brand ‘pastoral terror’ (terreur pastorale) which I absolutely love as a concept.

Alex Garland - Annihilation (2018)

Some people might argue with me if this is horror or not, if it’s sci-fi, but I think it’s body horror. And it’s beautiful body horror! See this is what I’m here for. Body horror is not just gore - there’s not a lot of blood in this movie. Body horror is about distortion and the grotesque. There’s this one scene that still gives me chills when I think about it and Tessa Thompson’s final scene is beautiful body horror at its finest. (There was also a really similar scene in Midsommar, so I clearly know what I like.) The soundtrack is also phenomenal.

[I had a whole rant about the book series, which I hated, here, but it was getting long and derailing so I cut it out. the tldr is I hated the book.]

“Classics I actually Enjoy”

[I don’t always love what appears at the top of the like ‘essential horror’ lists, but these are the ones I think are worth it.]

Dario Argento - Deep Red (1975)

I really, really wanted to like Suspiria more, because the concept and Goblin’s score for Suspiria both appeal to me a lot more. But I had a lot more fun watching Deep Red. So far it’s my favorite of the giallos.

Richard Donner - The Omen (1976)

Classic. It’s so good. “It’s all for you, Damian!” Plus, I love any movie that comes with rumors of a curse.

Alfred Hitchcock - Psycho (1960)

I would classify most of Hitchcock as ‘thriller’ rather than horror, but Psycho is firmly psychological horror, and The Classic.

Stuart Gordon - Re-animator (1985)

I couldn’t really decide if I wanted to put this one. Especially because on a long drive my friend and we basically covered how this was really ripe for a remake because it’s flaws…did not age particularly well, especially re: gender and race. (But it could be so, so good. It could be an amazing commentary about consent and the use of marginalized bodies…but the original …is…not.) But I’m putting this on here because of body horror. They clearly hired dancers or choreographers to do the reanimated movements because they really lean into it and it’s great. It gets…heavily derailed at the end by an absolutely ridiculous gore climax and missing the opportunity to actually have a coherent storyline or a message of any kind…but they got the grotesque movements down.

Honorable Mentions: The Amityville Horror, The Exorcist, Rosemary’s Baby, *sigh* Cannibal Holocaust (like…I don’t actually recommend anyone watch it. I’m glad I did, because it’s really important for how the ‘found footage’ genre developed, so it’s a piece of film history but like. Don’t actually watch it.), The House on Haunted Hill

“Random Others In Between”

Adrian Lyne - Jacob’s Ladder (1990)

You might recognize Jacob’s Ladder as the movie that more heavily inspired the first chapter of ‘dark underground//violent sky’ more than I had originally thought. I had originally been basing a lot of the tone and style on current trends in horror TV, but then I happened to watch Jacob’s Ladder while I was in the middle of writing the second half and was like…oh. Like, I knew I had been heavily influenced by Jacob’s Ladder and the ending, but I had forgotten about how the film differentiates between ‘reality’ and ‘dream’ - in that it doesn’t! And that was an effect I was specifically striving for when I was writing ‘dark underground’. It’s also just a really weird, trippy late-80s/early-90s movie set in New York when New York was still really dirty and that’s fun.

Hideo Nakata - Dark Water (2002)

This is my favorite Japanese horror film. I think it gets a little bit looked over in favor of some others (Ringu, Ju-on, Audition), but it’s my favorite. (Has a terrible American remake, so be sure to avoid that one. It comes up first when you google. -_-)

James Wan - The Conjuring (2013)

I did really like this first entry - the sequels are kind of aggressively meh.

Scott Derrickson - Sinister (2012)

THE DANGER IS IN THE VIEWING!

Honorable Mentions: Session 9, Se7en, The Ritual, It Follows, The Descent, The Hills Have Eyes (I just really like bright horror movies), The Exorcism of Emily Rose (for fun bonus pretension, you can also watch Requiem, and then when people ask you if you’ve seen The Exorcism of Emily Rose, you get to be like “Yeah, have you seen the German original?” though, technically, it’s that they’re both based off of the same true-story. it’s still fun to say), Hard Candy, Ils (Them), THE VVITCH (should only ever be pronounced ‘The Va-Vitch’ lol)

“The Parody Films”

[What is there to say? They’re great, so much fun.]

Joss Whedon - Cabin in the Woods (2012)

Remember back in 2012 when Avengers 1 came out, and then Cabin in the Woods came out, like, immediately afterwards, and we all loved Joss Whedon? We were so innocent back then.

Eli Craig - Tucker and Dale vs. Evil (2010)

This movie is so pure. I love how they both play into and subvert the rural hillbilly tropes with the two main characters. They just want a vacation home! These kids keep killing themselves on their property!

Honorable Mentions: Shaun of the Dead, I was googling to confirm the year of Tucker and Dale vs. Evil and I saw What We Do In The Shadows listed as horror paraody, but I would count that more as a Gothic mockumentary, but I listed it here because I love it so much.

“Documentaries”

Xavier Burgin - Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror (2019)

This movie was so interesting! Highly recommend. I think Shudder is planning on producing more of these documentaries, about marginalized groups in horror, and I am Here For It.

Honorable Mentions: Cropsey/Killer Legends, Best Worst Movie

I think I’ll stop here and maybe someday do a separate one for books. And maybe TV series, but I’m having a hard time teasing out the line between mystery and horror because of how popular and kind of unique Nordic Noir is right now. It’s just hard to draw the line for TV.

But I’ll end by summarizing reading thoughts (in a more disorganized manner):

-I have two separate ‘complete tales and poems’ editions of Edgar Allen Poe - one to look pretty and one to annotate.

-If you come for my girl Mary Shelley I will come @ you. Once a kind of asshole-y friend once was like ‘Frankenstein is terrible because it was written by a teenage girl’ and, I swear to God, I almost fought him right there in the bar. The Last Man is also great.

-I also almost forgot how much I loved Dracula. The Harkers especially. (I once tried to read League of Extraordinary Gentleman and gave up with a rage-headache 15 pages in because of what they did to Mina.) (Ah yes, let’s make her a “Strong Female Character ™” by having her divorce Jonathan and almost be raped in the first 15 pages.) (Couldn’t deal with it.) (I’m sure I would in general like that series but I just had too much attachment to Mina Harker to get over it.)

-I physically cannot get through Lovecraft. I can’t do it. I’ve tried so many times, I know how important it is but I just. Can’t. Don’t want to. Won’t. Sorry.

-A lot of adapted books I tend to prefer the books they were based on. Some are kind of obvious, like I Am Legend by Richard Matheson, which is a way, way better book than the movie. (They changed the ending which undercut the actual message.) But others are still decent movies, I just tend to prefer the book. Like, everyone always puts Let the Right One In on ‘essential horror’ lists, but I actually liked the book by John Ajvide Lindqvist a lot better.

-Similarly, you may have noticed I put no Stephen King movies on this list - there are a few I really like, but I think they work better as complements to the novels. Misery and the original Pet Sematary (haven’t seen the new one yet) are my two favorite movies-based-on-king. The Shining is visually stunning by character-wise, wildly disappointing, so point to the novel for this one. (King also hated the adaptation for what Kubrick did to Wendy.) My general King recommendations are: Carrie, Misery, The Shining, The Mist, Insomnia

I’m having a bit of an issue with how male-dominated this list is. It’s partially my problem that I’m working on correcting (I’m at the point where I’m actively trying not to read horror books by white men anymore) and partially a general problem in the industry. It’s hard to get into an industry that for a long time unquestioningly based itself on violence against women and other marginalized peoples’ bodies. -_- But yeah, I have a list of contemporary horror novels by women that I’m working my way through, and I’m trying to catch up on some older staples like Shirley Jackson, Angela Carter, and Octavia Butler.

UPDATE: After I finished compiling this list, I googled ‘Horror movies directed by women’ and there are a couple that I would recommend, I think they’re just not as visible. (Did not realize they’d been directed by women until this Google.):

Mary Lambert - Pet Sematary (1989)

Karen Kusama - Jennifer’s Body (2009)

Mary Harron - American Psycho (2000)

Lynne Ramsay - We Need To Talk About Kevin (2011) (though I liked the book better)

This list was probably incomplete and I’ve probably forgotten a bunch of things I really like! It’s also only made up of things I’ve already seen/read (though it’s not comprehensive). If something’s not on here and you think it should be, lmk! It may be that I haven’t seen it yet and I’ll add it to my to-watch list. Always taking suggestions, especially for more horror (films or books) from underrepresented groups.

#veliseraptor #horror movies #fright night #this took a long time i need to go eat lunch now #ha i meant to break this off at a normal point but #alas

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24stiles920 · 6 years

Text

Magic Bullet

Teen Wolf Rewrite

Pairing: Stiles x Reader

Warnings: Ages 16+, swearing, blood, wounds

Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Wolf or Harry Potter. I am just borrowing the spells and potions from the wonderful Harry Potter Universe, not stealing them.

Words: 4895

A/N: Poor Stiles, y’all don’t like him right now, but he’ll be better. I promise! Also, when you’re reading this keep in mind that this is me rewriting my old rewrite, so some parts will be the same, while some parts will be brand new. Hope you enjoy😊

Season 1 Masterlist

Stiles didn’t give me space.

He constantly contacted me over the next week, texting and calling me, showing up at my house, and cornering me at school. My parents, who had come back the day after the whole argument, had to kick him out of the house when he wouldn’t leave one time.

Scott knew what had happened, and because he was friends with both of us, he didn’t take sides. Instead, he would spend alone time with each of us. Time with Scott included watching Grey’s Anatomy; crying at the sad parts and yearning over Alex Karev, whilst eating greasy pizza.

I pulled on my navy boot socks and placed my feet into the knee-high boots that went with the navy, bird-covered dress. I paired it with a jean jacket, and some mauve lipstick, before grabbing my leather purse. I had to look put together today, as I would see Stiles for the first time since he rejected me.

Scott had asked me to hang out with him today, and as he gave me his puppy dog face, I couldn’t resist him. I had been hanging out with Allison and Lydia for the past week and had told Allison what happened. She kept me out of Stiles’ line of vision and I was incredibly grateful for a friend like her.

“Good morning, sweetheart.” Mom said as I entered the kitchen. She was drinking a cup of coffee and was reading on her iPad while dad was at the stove making eggs.

“Morning, Mom.” I sighed as I slid an everything bagel into the toaster. “Morning, dad. Do you guys work late tonight?”

Mom and dad had their own law firm, which was actually pretty busy for a small city like Beacon Hills. Some nights they had to work over time on a case, and wouldn’t be back until early the next morning.

“Yeah, so I left a twenty-dollar bill on the counter for pizza. I know how much you love it.” Mom said before taking a sip of her coffee.

The bagel popped up and I swiped it from the toaster, spreading cream cheese on it in even layers. “Thanks.”

I took a bite of the yummy goodness that was my breakfast and took my set of car keys off the hook.

“See you later, guys.” I waved at her. “Love you.”

“Love you, Y/N.” They chorused as I stepped into the garage.

I got into the driver’s seat of my jeep and put the keys into the starter, turning over the engine as soon as I closed my door. I pulled out of the garage and drove to school, singing along to my favorite songs off my iPhone.

When I got to History class Scott and Stiles were already sitting in the back of the classroom. I walked to the aisle to the right of them and shuffled to the empty seat next to Scott.

“Y/N!” Stiles beamed at me, his entire face lighting up.

I didn’t acknowledge him, instead turning to face Scott and crossing my legs.

“So, if Derek isn’t the Alpha, if he’s not the one who bit you, then who did?” I asked him bluntly, ignoring Stiles’ crestfallen expression.

Scott sighed as the teacher started handing back our graded tests. “I don’t know.”

“Did the Alpha kill the bus driver?” Stiles questioned Scott, leaning forward onto his desk.

Scott shrugged and repeated, “I don’t know.”

“Does Allison’s dad know about the Alpha?” Stiles persisted.

“I don’t know!” Scott exclaimed loudly, causing several heads of nearby students to look back at us.

I ducked my head, embarrassed, as Stiles muttered a sheepish, “Jeez.” The teacher handed me back my test and I sighed as I noticed the ‘B- ‘written in blotchy, red ink on the top. Scott was passed his test and I looked over his shoulder to see that he had a ‘D- ‘.

Stiles had a satisfied smile on his face as he looked at mine and Scott’s test scores. “You guys need to study more.”

I glared at him while Scott slumped in his seat and sighed.

“That was a joke.” Stiles deadpanned. “Guys, it’s one test. You’re gonna make it up. Do you guys want help studying?”

“No.” I said, pursing my lips and turning away from him.

Stiles sighed in frustration as Scott shook his head. “No, I’m studying with Allison after school today.”

Stiles smirked. “That’s my boy!”

“We’re just studying.” Scott insisted.

“Uh, no, you’re not.” Stiles argued.

“No, I’m not?” Scott repeated, turning around to face Stiles.

“Not if I’m forced to live vicariously through you.” Stiles declared. I rolled my eyes at him, he didn’t have to vicariously live through anyone if he just got over his obsession over Lydia.

“If you go to her house today and squander that colossal opportunity, I swear to God, I’ll have you de-balled.” Stiles continued.

“Okay!” I interrupted loudly, sending Stiles a stern look. “Please, just stop talking.”

“And stop with the questions, too.” Scott added.

“Done.” Stiles sighed. “No more questions. No more talk about the Alpha or Derek. Especially Derek—who still scares me.”

After the bell rang I gathered up my stuff and shot out of the classroom, not wanting to get slowed down by Stiles. The coast was clear so far, but as I opened up my locker, his voice startled me.

“You can’t avoid me forever, you know.”

I scoffed. “I think I can, actually.”

Stiles heaved a deep breath. “Look, I know I hurt you, but can’t you forgive me, so we can move on?”

I stared at him in disbelief, my mouth held slightly open. “You’re an asshole.”

I grabbed my textbook for my next class and slammed my locker shut before stomping off. Stiles quickly grabbed my arm and pulled me to a stop on the side of the hallway.

“Look, obviously that was the wrong thing to say, but—I need you, Y/N. You’re my best friend, and I—”

“Please stop.” I whispered, my eyes sparkling with tears. “Don’t say things you don’t mean.”

“I do mean them!” Stiles exclaimed in a frustrated tone. “Just tell me what I can do, Y/N. Please. I need you to forgive me.”

I was mad at him, that was the problem. I couldn’t just forgive him, when every time I saw him, I wanted to gauge his eyeballs out with a serrated spoon. Okay, maybe that was a bit dramatic, but I couldn’t forgive that he knew about us being soulmates for a whole nine months before I figured it out.

“I’m mad at you.” I said finally. “And I don’t know how to forgive you.”

“I didn’t mean to hurt you, Y/N.” Stiles admitted. “I didn’t know you had feelings for me—”

“Don’t talk about that!” I exclaimed, looking around at people as they passed by us. “Just—I told you to give me space. And you haven’t.”

“I did!” Stiles protested. “I haven’t seen you or hung out with you in a week—”

“You called and texted me about a thousand times.” I interrupted him. “How is that giving me space?”

Stiles grimaced and scratched the back of his neck. “Err.”

“Exactly.” I pointed out, turning around and walking away to class.

By lunch time, I was feeling pretty lonely. Stiles and Scott were having an intense discussion at our usual lunch table, so I didn’t want to interrupt. The last thing I wanted to do was hang around Lydia when I was this down about myself, so I couldn’t sit with Allison. I looked around the cafeteria, searching for a seat, when I saw a cute guy with sandy blonde hair sitting by himself.

I walked over to him with purpose and placed my lunch tray across from him. He looked up and his eye’s widened at the sight of me. I saw that he had a dark bruise around his eye.

“That looks pretty bad.” I started casually, pointing my fork at his black eye. “How’d you get it?”

“Uh, lacrosse.” The boy said uncomfortably. “You’re Y/N, right?”

“Yep, and you’re—” I trailed off, realizing with shame that I didn’t know his name.

“Isaac Lahey.” Isaac offered. “We have history together.”

I looked down, slightly embarrassed. “I’m sorry, I get distracted by my friends.”

“It’s okay, Y/N, really.” Isaac smiled at me.

“If you’re sure.” I replied doubtfully. “So, are you first or second line for the lacrosse team?”

“Second.” Isaac said, looking down at his sandwich. “It’s kind of lame—”

“No, it’s not.” I protested. “One of my best friend’s is second line as well.”

My face fell as I thought about Stiles. My best friend. That’s all he’ll ever be.

“Stiles, right?” Isaac assumed. I nodded. “He broke your heart, didn’t he?”

I looked at Isaac intrigued. “How did you know?”

Isaac took a bite of his sandwich, chewing thoughtfully. “Your face fell when you mentioned him, and you haven’t been hanging around him recently.”

My lips twisted into a smile. “You’re very observant, aren’t you?”

Isaac shrugged. “Maybe. I like to people watch.”

“Interesting.” I said as I bit into my slice of pepperoni pizza.

“So, why’d you sit with me? Other than your obvious heartbreak?” Isaac wondered, taking another bite of his sandwich.

“I was lonely, and you looked as lonely as I felt.” I told him honestly. “So I just sat down.”

“Well,” Isaac grinned. “I’m glad you did.”

At the end of the day I was rummaging through my purse at my locker when Allison and Lydia startled me.

“Y/N! I haven’t seen you all day!” Allison exclaimed, pulling me into a warm hug. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” I breathed, giving her a slight smile. I thought about the new friend I made. “It’s been a good day.”

“Good.”

“So, Scott told me he’s coming over to your house tonight.” I said to Allison, raising an eyebrow.

“Scott’s coming over?” Lydia repeated. “Tonight?”

“We’re just studying together.” Allison smiled giddily.

“’Just studying’ never ends with just studying.” Lydia sighed wistfully. “It’s like—getting into a hot tub—Somebody eventually cops a feel.”

“Well, so what are you saying?” Allison said with a confused expression on her face.

“I’m just saying, you know, make sure he covers up.” Lydia advised, grinning at the disgusted look on my face. Allison didn’t reply, still looking confused. Poor, innocent Allison.

“Hello, Snow White! Do it with him with a condom.” Lydia exclaimed.

Allison laughed in disbelief. “Are you kidding? After one date?”

“Don’t be a total prude. Give him a little taste.” Lydia said.

“Well, I-I mean, how much is ‘a little taste’?” Allison asked in a low voice.

“You really like him, don’t you?” I said, smiling at Allison. I’m really glad she likes Scott as much as she does. I didn’t want Scott to get hurt.

“Well—He’s just different.” Allison explained. “When I first moved here, I had a plan—no boyfriends till college. I just move too much. But—then I met him, and—he was different. I-I don’t know. I can’t explain it.”

“I can.” Lydia clasped her hands together. “It’s your brain flooding with phenylethylamine.”

“What?” Allison said, giving the red head a look of confusion.

“It’s a nervous system stimulant.” I told Allison.

Lydia nodded and pointed at me. “She gets me. And don’t worry, Allison, I’ll tell you what to do. When’s he coming over?”

“Now.” Allison said. “After school.”

Lydia hummed while a dark figure caught my attention as it walked gloomily down the hall.

“I’ll see you later, guys.” I bid them, walking towards Derek with purpose.

“What are you doing here?” I hissed at him. He was really pale and was sweating profusely.

“I was shot.” Derek wheezed. “I need Scott’s help. I can’t find him.”

I sighed in sympathy. No matter how little I trusted Derek, I didn’t want him to die.

“Come on.” I took his arm in my hand and turned him around. “He’s probably in the parking lot. I told him that I’d take him to Allison’s.”

We slowly walked out to the parking lot, passing cars until we were only an aisle away from my jeep. We stepped in front of Stiles’ jeep as it backed out of a parking spot. Stiles slammed on the breaks, and as he did so, Derek collapsed onto the ground.

I crouched down next to him, gently slapping his pale, stubbly cheeks.

“I’m awake.” Derek grumped. “You can stop hitting me now.”

“Sorry.” I grimaced at him as Scott and Stiles ran up to us.

“What are you doing here?” Scott spit at Derek, crouching down next to me.

“He was shot.” I told Scott.

“He’s not looking so good, dude.” Stiles observed, looking at Derek carefully.

“No shit, sherlock.” I quipped.

“Well, excuse me for making an observation.” Stiles said hotly.

“Guys!” Scott interrupted our feud before turning back to Derek. “Why aren’t you healing?”

“I can’t.” Derek spoke slowly, pausing between each breath. “It was—it was a different kind of bullet.”

“A silver bullet?” Stiles asked excitedly.

Derek glared up at him. “No, you idiot.”

“Wait, wait.” Scott said quickly. “That’s what she meant when she said you had forty-eight hours.”

All three of us looked at Scott confused.

“What?” Derek asked. “Who—who said forty-eight hours?”

“The one who shot you.” Scott told him in an obvious tone.

Derek hissed in pain and his eyes flashed an icy blue, showing off his werewolf status.

“What are you doing?” Scott hissed. “Stop that!”

“I’m trying to tell you, I can’t!” Derek protested.

“Derek, get up.” I told him, looking around as cars honked their horns at us for holding up the line.

Scott heaved Derek up to his feet and looked at Stiles. “Help me put him in your car.”

Stiles sighed annoyed, but nevertheless helped Scott drag Derek into the jeep.

“I need you to find out what kind of bullet they used.” Derek said to Scott.

Scott looked to the older werewolf in disbelief. “How the fuck am I supposed to do that?”

“’Cause she’s an Argent. She’s with them.” Derek toned.

“Why should I help you?” Scott asked a very good question.

“Because you need me.” Derek replied.

“Fine.” Scott sighed. “I’ll try.”

Stiles turned to me, a pleading look on his face. “Hey, you’re going with us, right?”

I shook my head, thinking it probably wasn’t a good idea.

“That’s probably not a good idea.” I voiced my thoughts aloud.

“Please.” Stiles begged. “We can talk, and you can help with Derek.”

“I do have a healing potion I can give him.” I said without thinking. I walked around to the other side of the jeep and slipped into the backseat, Stiles following me.

“Hey, get him out of here.” Scott ordered Stiles.

Stiles sighed and started the ignition. “I hate you so much for this.”

An hour later we had already stopped at my house for bandages and a healing potion for Derek’s gunshot wound, and I had cleaned him and patched him up. The potion worked for a second, healing the wound, until eventually, the skin opened back up. Now, we were driving around town, probably heading to Derek’s house.

Stiles threw down his phone on the dash board after another missed call to Scott.

“Hey, try not to bleed out on my seats, okay?” Stiles sighed angrily. “We’re almost there.”

“Almost where?” Derek panted, sweat dripping off his forehead.

“Your house.” Stiles eyed him, annoyed.

“What? No, you can’t take me there.” Derek protested.

“I can’t take you to your own house?” Stiles laughed in disbelief.

“Not when I can’t protect myself.” Derek said in a palpable tone.

Stiles slammed his hand on the steering wheel angrily, before pulling off to the side of the road.

“All right.” Stiles snapped. “What happens if Scott doesn’t find your little magic bullet, hmm? Are you dying?”

“Not yet.” Derek breathed heavily. “I have a last resort.”

“What do you mean?” I asked, popping my head in between the seats. “What last resort?”

He wasn’t going to chop his arm off, was he?

Derek didn’t respond, instead pulling up the sleeve on the injured arm and ripping off the gauze I taped to his skin. The bullet wound was nastier than before, like the potion irritated it, with blood dripping down his arm as soon as he took off the bandage.

Stiles gagged loudly, “Oh, my God. What is that? Oh, is that contagious? You know what, you should probably just get out.”

“Start. The. Car.” Derek exhaled. He glared over at Stiles menacingly. “Now.”

“I don’t think you should be barking orders with the way you look, okay?” Stiles yelled. “In fact, I think if I wanted to, I could probably drag your little werewolf ass out into the middle of the road and leave you for dead.”

It was silent for a moment, and while I thought about how hot Stiles was in that moment, Derek looked like he was going to murder him.

“Start the car, of I’m gonna rip her throat out—with my teeth.”

Stiles stared at Derek in silence for a moment, wondering if his threat was real. Before I could say anything, Stiles turned the engine over and pulled away from the curb.

Two hours later, I was munching on some curly fries that Stiles picked up from Otto’s and Derek looked on the verge of death. He even started to smell strange, but I wasn’t going to say anything, afraid that I’d get my head ripped off.

Stiles was on the phone with Scott was had been tricked into eating dinner with the Argent’s by Allison’s aunt, Kate.

“What am I supposed to do with him?” Stiles whined into the phone. “And, by the way, he’s starting to smell.”

There was silence as Scott replied.

“Like death.” Stiles answered, looking over at Derek with disdain. “What about your boss?”

Stiles suddenly groaned as Scott told him what to do, before handing the phone over to Derek. “You’re not going to believe where he’s telling me to take you.”

Derek breathed into the phone, “Did you find it?”

“How am I supposed to find one bullet? They have a million.” Scott said from the phone. Apparently, Derek had hit the speaker button when he took the phone from Stiles.

“This house is like—the fuckin’ Walmart of guns.” Scott continued.

“Look, if you don’t find it, then I’m dead, all right?” Derek wheezed.

“I’m starting to think that wouldn’t be such a bad thing.” Scott quipped, causing me to giggle. Derek glared back at me before turning back to the phone.

“Then think about this.” Derek proposed. “The Alpha called you out against your will. He’s gonna do it again. Next time you either kill with him or you get killed. So, if you wanna stay alive, then you need me. Find the bullet.”

Derek hung up the phone and tossed it back to Stiles.

“Where did Scott tell you to take him?” I asked Stiles, leaning forward in between the driver and passenger seats.

Stiles grinned at me, “The animal clinic.”

When we got to the clinic, I took out my wand a whispered a quick, ‘Alohomora,’ while Stiles held Derek up. The spell efficiently unlocked the door, so I opened it, ushering Stiles and Derek inside. Derek collapsed onto a pile of dog food bags while Stiles’ phone dinged.

“Does Northern blue monkshood mean anything to you?” Stiles read off his phone, looking to Derek for an answer.

Derek sighed. “He has to bring me the bullet.”

“Why?” I asked, grabbing his arm to help him stand up off the dog food.

“’Cause I’m gonna die without it.”

“Okay, then.” I drawled out.

Stiles sighed while replying to Scott before rushing towards Derek and I. Together, we pulled Derek into the exam room. Derek pushed away from us, ripping off his long-sleeved shirt, and revealing his toned torso and back.

“Damn.” I muttered quietly, but somehow both boys heard me, each sending me a glare.

“You know, that really doesn’t look like anything some echinacea and a good night of sleep couldn’t take care of.” Stiles quipped, pointing to Derek’s wound.

The bullet hole never stopped bleeding, dripping onto the floor as Derek walked around the exam room, searching the drawers and cupboards for something. There were black veins crawling up Derek’s arm to his shoulder.

“When the infection reaches my heart, it’ll kill me.” Derek said slowly.

“’Positivity’ just isn’t in your vocabulary, is it?” Stiles joked.

Derek ignored him. “If he doesn’t get here with the bullet in time—last resort.”

“Which is?” I toned.

Derek turned around and slammed a bone saw onto the steel table. “One of you are gonna cut off my arm.”

Stiles picked the saw off the table and revved it, the blade moving back and forth rapidly.

“Oh, my God.” He squeaked. “What if you bleed to death?”

Derek tied a blue tourniquet around his upper arm, just above the black veins.

“It’ll heal if it works.” Derek mumbled.

“Ugh.” Stiles grimaced. “Look—I don’t know if I can do this.”

“Why not?”

“Well, because of the cutting through the flesh, the sawing of the bone, and especially the blood!” Stiles exclaimed, flailing his arms dramatically.

Derek slammed his hand down on the table, fed up. “You faint at the sight of blood?”

“No, but I might at the sight of a chopped-off arm!” Stiles retorted.

Derek sighed. “All right, fine. How about this? One of you cuts off my arm, or I’m gonna cut of her head!”

“Okay, you know what, I’m so not buying your threats any—”

Before Stiles could finish his sentence, Derek grabbed my dress, pulling my head closer to him so he had easier access to rip it off.

“Stiles!” I squealed in fright.

“Oh, my God!” Stiles panicked. “Okay. All right, bought, sold. Totally, I’ll do it. Just let go of her.”

Derek slowly let go of the front of my dress before gagging.

“What? What are you doing?” I asked as he leaned to the side of the table and started puking up black goo. It splattered onto the floor and sprinkled the bottom of my boots.

“My boots!” I yelled, as Stiles groaned, “Holy God, what the hell is that?”

Derek collapsed against the table, breathing heavily. “It’s my body—trying to heal itself.”

“Well, it’s not doing a very good job of it.” I spoke bluntly, inching away from the black blood.

“Now.” Derek looked at Stiles. “You gotta do it now.”

“Look, honestly, I don’t think I can.” Stiles said.

“Just do it!” Derek yelled loudly.

“Oh, my God.” Stiles said, quickly grabbing the bone saw and placing it on Derek’s gross arm. “Okay, okay. Oh, my God. All right, here we go!”

“Stiles, Y/N!” Scott called, slamming the lobby door shut as he walked through the building.

“Scott?” I called.

Scott walked into the exam room, took one look at the three of us and yelled, “What the fuck are you doing?”

“Oh, you just prevented a lifetime of nightmares.” Stiles sighed in relief.

I crossed the room and helped Derek stand up straight, as it looked like he had little strength left.

“Did you get it?” Derek exhaled.

Scott nodded and pulled a large, golden bullet out of his pocket. Derek grabbed it and held it in front of his face.

“What are you going to do with it?” I asked the older werewolf.

“I’m gonna—I’m gonna—” Derek repeated airily, before passing out altogether, dropping down on the floor with a splat.

The bullet went flying across the room and dropped down into the grate in the floor.

“No.” Scott yelled, running over to the grate. “No, no, no, no.”

Stiles and I kneeled by Derek’s head.

“Derek.” I said, cupping his handsome face in my hands. “Derek, come on, wake up.”

“Scott, what the fuck are we gonna do?” Stiles called out to Scott.

“I don’t know!” Scott exclaimed. “I can’t reach it.”

I shook Derek again, hoping that it would help wake him up, but it didn’t work. He stayed unconscious.

“He’s not waking up!” I shrieked, frightened that Derek was dead.

“I think he’s dying.” Stiles said unhelpfully. “I think he’s dead!”

“Just hold on!” Scott shouted.

Stiles and I looked at each other worriedly, but kept silent, allowing Scott to focus on what he was doing.

But he was taking too long to get the bullet, and Derek was going to die.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake!” I swore, pulling out my wand again. “Accio bullet!”

The bullet zoomed out of the grate and landed in Scott’s awaiting hands.

“I got it! I got it!” Scott chanted.

Stiles positioned himself over Derek, ready for a last resort. “Please don’t kill me for this.” He muttered, before raising his fist and punching Derek in the face.

Derek shot up, while Stiles held his fist, exclaiming in pain. I stood up while Scott and Stiles heaved Derek to his feet and handed the bullet to him.

Derek leaned against the table, bringing the bullet up to his mouth and biting off the top with his teeth. He tapped the bullet on the table and purple powder fell out of the casing, making a pile of the table. Derek took a random lighter from nowhere and lit the powder, causing it to spark and quickly burn out. He then took the ashes and hesitated before shoving them into his wound.

Derek fell onto the floor, screaming in pain as he arched his back. The wound slowly disappeared, along with the blood and black veins. He laid on the floor, gasping for air as the pain faded.

“That—was—awesome!” Stiles yelled, pumping his fist in the air. “Yes!”

Scott and I exchanged annoyed looks, before each of us gave Stiles a glare.

I turned to Derek. “Are you okay?”

“Well, except for the agonizing pain.” Derek quipped sarcastically, getting up to his feet.

“I’m guessing the ability to use sarcasm is a good sign of health.” Stiles said.

Derek glared ferociously at Stiles.

“Okay, we saved your life, which means you’re gonna leave us alone, you got that?” Scott said angrily. “And if you don’t, I’m gonna go back to Allison’s dad, and I’m gonna tell him everything—”

“You’re gonna trust them?” Derek interrupted Scott fiercely. “You think they can help you?”

“Well, why not?” Scott spluttered. “They’re a lot fucking nicer than you are!”

“I can show you exactly how nice they are.” Derek sneered, grabbing Scott’s arm.

“What do you mean?” Scott asked as Derek pulled him out of the clinic.

“I guess we’ll just stay to clean up!” I yelled after them and rolling my eyes.

I sighed as I picked up the mop and bucket that were in the corner, putting water into the bucket, and started mopping. Stiles shuffled awkwardly, causing me to roll my eyes.

“Straighten out the cabinets and drawers.” I ordered, pointing to the counter where Derek messed everything up.

After a few silent minutes of cleaning, Stiles spoke up, “Y/N?”

I closed my eyes and exhaled, knowing what he was going to bring up. “Stiles.”

“I’m really sorry.” He turned to me and looked at me with earnest eyes. “I really am.”

“Stiles—”

“No,” Stiles interrupted me. “Please just let me say something.”

“Okay…” I stopped mopping, since I was finished anyway, and straightened my back to look at him properly.

“I love you.” Stiles said. “You’re my best friend. You’re the one who helped me when my mom died, and you saved me from myself. Remember the other day? When you told me that I was your hero? Well, you’re mine, Y/N.”

He took a deep breath before continuing, “You’re like a breath of fresh air. And I can’t—I can’t lose you. I’m sorry I can’t love you the way you want, but I do love you. And we can’t let our friendship be ruined.”

I stared at him, speechless. I certainly did not expect for him to say that, and I felt myself slowly begin to break down and forgive him. He was right. I didn’t want to lose his friendship just because of a silly mark on our wrists.

I could move on, right? I mean, I had too. I couldn’t wait around forever for Stiles to decide he was in love with me. Plus, I didn’t want to be without friends, and I knew Scott would eventually side with Stiles.

“Okay.” I said, my voice quiet.

Stiles beamed at me, his beautiful, brown eyes lighting up. “Okay?”

I nodded. “Okay, but I’m still mad at you.”

Tag List

@julzdec @karamelcoveredolicity @thegirlalmighty01 @avadakedabitch @belleknows @supernaturallover2002 @dontstopxx @feelingsareharddd @brien-odylan @shewritesshedraws @dylnobrien1911 @kaleyana @mad-hatter-021

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takaraphoenix · 7 years

Text

My Relationship with Teen Wolf

“It’s complicated” doesn’t even begin to cover it.

I discovered the show when it was roughly a three months wait until season 3 would start.

I binge-watched all there was - the first two seasons. And then I, right away, watched it again because it was that good. And then I literally watched it for a third time in a row.

I just completely fell in love with it. Sterek fast became my OTP, I loved the fandom because it was a warm, beautiful place filled with the most amazing headcanons.

I even liked the canon straight couples. Jackson and Lydia were just so beautifully perfect. And Scott and Allison were probably the best example of “soulmates” - because literally nothing else would ever justify the shit they went through for each other.

Even the smaller roles like Danny and the Sheriff and the Coach were just so cool.

I loved it. I loved everything about it. And I was so ready for season 3.

I mean, Derek had Boyd, Erica and Isaac now. Jackson was now finally a wolf and could join the pack. The pack was growning.

Everything went downhill starting with season 3. Now, season 3 in itself wasn’t bad, but it was definitely the start of “bad”.

Writing Jackson, Erica and Boyd out just like that was displeasing at first - it became a bigger issue the more the show went on.

What is the key-element of why season 3 started to be bad however is the True Alpha crap they came up with.

Part of what I enjoyed about the show was the fact that Scott was just this average teen wolf, a little bumbling and awkward but with a good heart. He didn’t have to be the leader. I expect an Alpha to be a leader, a fatherly figure, someone older. Not an awkward newbie wolf who literally learned how to control his wolfiness from a human boy.

That they had to force not just “Scott is main character. Scott needs to be Alpha”, but also “Oh shit, we made it so you gotta kill to become Alpha but Scott is main character, so Scott can’t kill. Hurry up, writers, invent a creative way for him to still become Alpha”.

It’s a load of horse-crap is what it is.

The show would have worked so much better if they had cut that crap. Kept Derek around - as the Alpha - and allowed Scott to slowly learn what it even means to be a werewolf and to then, through character development, become Derek’s second-in-command.

Now. They wrote all those characters out of the show, but they started establishing the twins as potential new pack-mates. And okay. They slowly started to become... interesting characters, the more we learned about them.

And then they were written out of the show too. And that was when it became a real problem with this show.

They want a pack. But they keep writing any character who has the potential of becoming pack out ASAP.

The whole... Isaac/Allison romance, I am still wondering where they pulled that from. Like? She literally tried to kill you an literally all your friends before and she’s basically the big love of your new Alpha? What is wrong with you, Isaac? Do you need therapy? Oh, right, you do. Yeah.

Setting it up that Danny knew all along what was going on just to write him out too.

Killing off Allison. Writing Isaac out of the show.

Basically. We had the “Alpha”, his human best friend, a banshee, a kitsune and a coyote. In a fucking show called Teen Wolf. I mean. Yeah, they kept true to the name and stuck with only ONE Teen Wolf. Because who wants to see an actual pack in a show about werewolves? Oh. Right. Everyone.

Season 4 was just bad. It was lame, it was weird and it had zero pay-off when Peter was suddenly the bad guy again. I had been a hundred percent sure that Gerard was behind this and that this was the reason they kept him alive.

Gerard, other reason for why it became bad. How did no one make sure to kill him? And then, when it’s revealed that he’s alive and basically dying slowly which is cruel, no one finishes him off either. You can not argue the “The good guys don’t kill” thing because keeping him alive while he is slowly dying from the black goo is so much worse than just a mercy-kill. And if you’re setting your good guys up to be cruel assholes who torture their enemies like that... you don’t get to play the “He has True Alpha potential because he’s such a goodie-two-shoes” card. And I am terrified to see what he does in season 6.

Kira was a cool addition, mainly. She... didn’t really get much personality development beyond the point of Scott’s New Love-Interest, but the mere concept of her was cool.

I dislike Malia and will always hate how they shoehorned her in. “Hey, look! Another living Hale! And it’s Peter’s daughter! Wow!”. That she spent basically a decade in the forest as a wild animal but they just pretend that it’s possible to re-introduce her not just into society but high school - whereas she is completely lacking all middle school and half of elementary school education, honestly, can she even read and write? Because she shouldn’t be able to. Even if she learned that ten years ago, she’d have forgotten simply by growing up as a wild animal in the forest. Granted, her behavior is at the very least well-written and animalistic, but that just makes me question the weirdness of Stiles going “Oh, she’s basically a wild animal. Let’s start dating”. Right. Away. If they had taken the time to, you know, re-introduce her to society properly and learn things and her and Stiles falling for each other along the way, okay sure. But this “We just met. Let’s have sex in the basement of the asylum” thing was so weird and so forced.

Season 5 might just be one of the - if not THE - worst thing I’ve ever witnessed on television. If something has that crappy level of quality, I normally turn it off and stop watching.

But the masochistic part of me kept whispering how much I loved season 1 and 2 and that 3 wasn’t so bad and, sure, since season 3 it’s been declining, but they did so well in the first two seasons, maybe they’ll turn it around again.

They did not turn it around.

Season 5 was just... really, really, really awful.

The over-loaded plotlines that kept getting entangled.

The fucking awful new characters. Like. Liam was always and will always be only Scott 2.0, a very, very cheap rip-off of their own main character - and who even does that? But in season 5, he was just awful. That he threw his temper-tantrums and turned his back on Scott and was just generally a pain in the ass.

Allison 2.0 was even worse though. I legit do not bother remembering the name of Liam’s girlfriend, because she is so flat and... unlikeable. Her only reason for being in this was to create the tension between Scott and Liam.

And Liam’s best friend made them feel like “Oh boy, we cut out the jock and his lovable gay best friend. Let’s replace Jackson and Danny with those two!”. Honestly, they really gave up trying to come up with individual, interesting characters.

And casting showed that too. At least Liam’s best friend is black. But literally everyone else they cast after season 3 was two things - white and brunette. This show started out with such an individual, diverse cast - black male Boyd, blonde female Erica, blonde male Isaac, redheaded female Lydia, polynesian male Danny. And now they basically just cast dark-haired whites and the guys even all look the same. This Theo-guy and that... other... wolf... guy... thing... I honestly don’t remember but the guy who had something with Liam’s best friend, they basically looked the same to me.

The decline in character development and design, as well as the decline in story-telling was only topped off by the dreadfulness.

This show used to be bright. And funny.

As in: It took place during the day too. There used to be colors. In season 5, in many episodes, I could barely tell what was going on because it mainly took place during the night and in total darkness.

And I didn’t laugh once in season 5. Absolutely nothing was funny. It didn’t help that comic relief guy Stiles got kicked in the balls by the writers when they decided they also needed tension between Scott and Stiles.

No, fuck you, you don’t.

The friendship between Scott and Stiles has been the backbone of this show since the very first scene of the first episode. And now you decide that Scott should be stupid, shallow and trustful enough to trust Theo instead of Stiles? Really? That... That’s so OoC. Those are your characters, don’t write them OoC.

The fact that Derek and Peter too became characters who just... disappeared for long periods of time was just ridiculous too. It’s like this show is deliberately trying to sabotage itself and to remove good characters.

Lydia, Stiles and Scott are essentially the only characters left from the... bigger ones. Derek, Peter, Isaac, Boyd, Erica, Jackson, Allison, Aiden, Ethan, Kira, Danny.

Instead we get to keep Malia around who, sure, ist still the best of those new additions. Liam. Liam’s girlfriend. Liam’s best friend. Fucking Theo gets to stay?

And Parrish, who... honestly just gives me the creeps because the dude is old enough to have been to war and to now work at a police station as a deputy, which I really hope for the sake of the safety of the people does require some years of training before you get handed a gun and a badge too, but thinks it’s in any way or shape appropriate to date a high school student? Like, sure, it may be legal but that doesn’t mean you have to do that. Especially not if you’re a police deputy. And I don’t care if that sounds like a hypocrite thing to say because I ship Sterek and that might be the same age-difference. I ship Sterek in fanfiction and fanarts. If fans go ahead and ship Lydia and Parrish sure, cool. Everything goes in the fandom. Not everything should go in canon, because there should be some kind of... moral... behind decisions made. Do not romantize adults dating teens.

So. Yeah.

If they hadn’t announced that season 6 is the final season, I would have turned my back after how bad season 5 was. But... cue in the voice in my head that’s still whispering how much I loved season 1 and 2. And this is the grand finale. It’ll be over after this. Just 20 more episodes, I can watch that. And then it’ll be finally over and they can’t ruin it any more.

The grand finale airs in four days. So I’ll be rewatching the first five seasons now and then I will start watching the final season. I’m terrified of it.

And am I the only one who felt like many decisions made were just made to snuff out Sterek? I mean. Stiles who didn’t have any romantic plotline before, all of a sudden having sex with basically a random stranger in a basement and Derek literally fucking the enemy while he’s half-bleeding to death, but let’s just hurry up and make sure they have female love interests...?

#Teen Wolf #Time to rewatch #Please be good #I beg you #Sterek #I really miss my Sterek #TV Rants #Fandom Rants #Phoe Rewatching Teen Wolf #part 1

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racingtoaredlight · 6 years

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degenerate’s guide to 2017 confidence points pick’em games TV watch ‘em ups, eleventh brutal day of bowl season

We’re in the straightaway now but there’s really only one good game today. And it’s not kicking off ‘til that good West Coast night time kick.

If you are unaware, late night (there are no real late night bowl games but stick with me here) football is my favorite form of football. If Khalil Tate is a legitimate RTARLsman candidate next year he’s going to make his run almost all the way through the magical Pac-12 After Dark series. That’s the way it should be. If East Coast babies aren’t complaining about falling asleep before the game is over it only sort of counts in my mind.

Strap it on. These are the games that are pegged for today. All of the gambling motion is provided by Vegas Insider and the scheduling lube is courtesy of FBSchedules. They are unaware that they provide me these services but I’m thankful for them all the same.

Friday, Dec. 29, 2017

(Away vs. Home)

Location Time TV

Wake Forest vs. Texas A&M

Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, NC 1:00pm ET ESPN

This is the kind of bowl game that would exist during the 80s but it’s also somehow the mountain top of who gives a shit. Wake Forest isn’t exactly fun to watch but Duke Ejiofor is an awesome player (#53, he usually lines up at end but he’ll probably play off the ball more in the pros) and he should get in a few splash plays against the aTm transitional offense. I’m still puzzled about what Jimbo Fisher is going to do to earn that $75M guaranteed over the next 10 years since the Aggies big problem was getting results from recruits more than getting recruits in the first place and that’s also been Jimbo’s struggle at FSU but it’s not my money. I don’t think. How much federal funding winds up paying for a contract like that? This looks like another one of those games where the confidence points look more like I forgot to re-arrange them than any actual confidence in the result. At least I’m sort of in harmony with the sports books that have Wake listed as a 3-point favorite.

CONFIDENCE POINTS: 36, for Wake Forest

(24) NC State vs. Arizona State

Sun Bowl Stadium, El Paso, TX 3:00pm ET CBS

Now this is a bowl game I almost actually feel confident about! Arizona State had a few good weeks in the middle of the season but my god are they a trash team. There are some guys on the roster with NFL aspirations that don’t even look like they should be playing major college football most of the time (looking at you, Kalen Ballage.) NC State on the other hand has one of the best defensive lines in the country, a competent QB, some real talent at RB, and currently has a head coach that is actually aware of what his team’s mascot is. Roll Pack. This is a very spiffy logo for the second longest running bowl game.

CONFIDENCE POINTS: 34, for NC State

Kentucky vs. (21) Northwestern

Nissan Stadium, Nashville, TN 4:30pm ET ESPN

Hell of a name you’ve got there, Bowlie. Franklin Amer Mort actually sounds better than Franklin American Mortgage in my humble opinion. Like some guy with a funny name and a bunch of money bought naming rights as an alternative to going on Tinder or whatever. I’ve already written about Northwestern once this bowl season because I forgot NIU exists. I’m just going to stick with that. Kentucky has an OK offense with a potential star at RB in Benjamin Snell. What I’ve seen of him seems like Rashaad Penny, which is good. Stephen Johnson at QB is also pretty good as a dual-threat. I don’t think they do a lot of designed QB runs but I could be wrong about that. I don’t want to step outside of myself and declare a game between an SEC East also-ran and a B1G dreg potentially fun so I’ll just stop writing about it now.

CONFIDENCE POINTS: 33, for Kentucky

Utah State vs. New Mexico State

Arizona Stadium, Tucson, AZ 5:30pm ET CBSSN

This is an actual degenerate bowl game and I feel proud, like I had something to do with this coming to fruition. Two shitty programs from Western States playing on CBS Sports Network? This is the gospel I’ve been preaching to you for years. Now, as for the game, there is really only one guy that you should expect to be interested in. New Mexico State has a giant wide receiver named Jaleel Scott who had one of the best catches of the year back in week 1 (see header image.) They throw a lot as a team and he’s the main target. I don’t know how much of a pro prospect he really is but when you’re 6′6″ and can actually run without tripping over your shoes somebody is going to give you a chance. I used to love Larry Rose III but he hasn’t actually done much to repay my hype the last few years and NMSU didn’t even bother using him much this year even though he was mostly healthy. Utah State is pretty bad all around but they are theoretically built to stop the pass? Just enjoy it being weird football and shut up.

CONFIDENCE POINTS: 15, for... Utah State. Sure, why not?

(5) Ohio State vs. (8) USC

AT&T Stadium, Arlington, TX 8:30pm ET ESPN

The great thing about this start time is that I can listen to the game on the radio while I drive to San Diego. The true meaning of bowl season is laughing at good teams that don’t show up for a big game or lose a heartbreaker and I’m counting on Ohio State being the collapsing punchline for some reason. I don’t know why since they have the better head coach and that’s usually the deciding factor for these things but USC has a whole bunch of assistants looking to move up in the world. Both teams have egregious blowout losses on the resume and Ohio State has a great backfield (as per usual) that should be able to take advantage of Sam Darnold’s 5 or more potential interceptions. But here’s the funny thing about this game - other than Nick Bosa I think USC is actually better along the line on both sides of the ball. Don’t take that to the bank because I’m wrong with incredible frequency but we’re going with the ‘ol gut here. Best defensive line of all time my asshole. Both teams have about 20 guys who will play in the NFL, including each having a potential #1 overall for 2019 if Sam Darnold actually returns for next season. Ohio State is a 7.5-point favorite and that seems kind of dumb to me. 3 points would be fine but any time a team has been exposed to their core the way the Buckeyes were against Iowa it’s hard to really count on them again. Also, I think they’ve got more guys trying to decide if they’re going to the NFL now or later but that’s just a guess.

CONFIDENCE POINTS: 8, for USC

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#bowl season #confidence points #gambling #football #college football #tv watch em ups #degenerate football #jaleel scott #fbschedules #vegas insider

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shadowrx · 6 years

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Kendra - Lv 00, Ch 01 by ShadowRx

Kendra - Chapter 01 - HFBP! (c) 2017 by Shadowriter (that's right, I wrote something this year!) ShadowRx.DeviantArt.com www.patreon.com/ShadowRx CONTENT WARNING: I don't need to give you content warnings, if you're in my gallery and bookshelf you have a pretty good idea what to expect. --- LEVEL: 00 --- She was really starting to hate mirrors. But in truth she wasn't sure whether it was the reflection or the tape measure that disgusted her more. "Happy fucking birthday, pig.", she said to the short, somewhat chubby girl staring back at her. '18 years old and I look exactly the same as I did at 15... maybe a little fatter, if that's even possible.', she thought shaking her head. Kendra screamed in frustration as she threw the tape on her dresser... she didn't even bother writing the numbers, they were the same as last year (with yet another inch on her waist!). "Why!?", she bellowed to the universe as she slammed her bedroom door and got into the shower. Why couldn't she be more like her characters? She was an Amazonian Warrior Goddess trapped in the body of a Dwarven Couch-Potato! She couldn't understand it. She watched her intake vigorously, taking in only half the recommended calories; she ran 2-3 miles twice a week; she had even tried more extreme measures and nothing worked. "Kendra...? What the fuck?!", she heard half-conscious whining from down the hall as she was undressing, "you know daddy needs his sleep after working graveyards at the warehouse!" "Sorry, Papa.", she shouted back, unable to stop from chuckling a little at accidentally waking him. Unlike her father, Kendra's accent was barely noticeable; she was a third generation Indian-American, but didn't grow up in a tight Indian community, so she never picked up his thick British-Indian vocal patterns. Probably a good thing, as it was one less thing she got teased for growing up; not that Scott Willoughby didn't try... cost him a trip to the ER and her a week suspension. Later on, when her father gently tried to scold her with, "Kendra, you know you aren't supposed to get into fights at school..."; she promptly retorted, "but Papa, its not a fight if its over in one punch", and an eight year old smile that evaporated what little anger he felt. He had a hard time believing its been 10 years already. "Happy birthday, sweetheart, we'll do something tonight when you get back from school." "I thought you worked at the store tonight", she replied. "Are you kidding? I told them it was a family emergency, I wouldn't miss your 18th birthday... my little girl's all grown up." 'If only', she thought to herself as she pulled the curtain closed and started the water. Her father worked two jobs to support them ever since... she wished she could remember her mother, she was so young when it happened and now she can't even recall her face. Did she struggle with her figure too, Kendra wondered. "Why don't we have any pictures of mother, P'pa?", she asked as she turned off the water. There was no answer, he must have fallen back asleep; she would have to ask him again later. . . . School was, well, school... she didn't like or hate it, though she felt quite awkward around most of her peers. She both loved and hated gym; loved that she was pretty good at it, hated the way her body looked as her belly jiggled and the other kids stared. Still, she had a bit of a reputation as someone you did not piss off, so no one dared tease her about it. She had gotten smarter since elementary... instead of getting caught on campus, she'd wait and catch them alone after school. It's been almost two years since anyone was dumb enough to try her, a fact she was quite proud of. Kendra couldn't quite figure out which was more boring, English or Math. Perhaps it was the fact that they required both for 12 years but only taught new material for 3 of them. Perhaps it was her teachers this year, both of them older and way too serious; she actually missed her kooky math teacher from the year before. He was both odd and off-putting until you got to know him, but he had an interesting way of problem solving and would engage the whole class. The possibly eighty year old Mrs. Olguin, on the other hand, well... she couldn't get mad at you for napping in class when she did the same. Or maybe, its the fact that she had both back to back right after gym, while her body still wanted to move. Science classes were always interesting, but that would have to wait till after lunch; for the next hour she'd have to sit through Electronics. Why did she take electronics? Well, with late registration the only electives open were that or Drama... and while she loves being dramatic, the idea of being on stage in front of everyone and looking like she did now- in third grade her school did Charlotte's Web, and she got to be the spider... if they did that in High School, she was pretty sure she'd get the *other* role. Anyway, that's enough drama for now, Kendra thought, as she turned her focus back to this stupid breadboard that wasn't working. She followed the lesson exactly, but she couldn't get power through the circuit... its like something was eating it. No other kid had that problem, but every time she connected a battery it was instantly dead. The professor couldn't figure it out either, so he just wrote "pass" in the gradebook. Though lunch can be a terrible reminder of exactly how outcast one is, it never really phased her, she was a loner anyways and since joining the club she could usually find at least one of her teammates to eat with. That is when they weren't hiding out in some other building or classroom to avoid bullies; of course that's been happening less and less since she joined them- Sheila the Barbarian would never let a squishy mage face the hordes alone! As usual, Kendra spent the first 10 minutes on her phone, looking up all the items on her tray... then ate about half of them and let her fellow party members pick at the rest. Its funny, she didn't really get into role playing at first, but after watching a few sessions she went ahead and made a character. It wasn't the best day to join, frankly, as all the other players had been seriously pissing off Mark, the DM, for the past couple of sessions. The group was already above level 10, so he had her start there; she read the book carefully and thus made "Sheila the Barbarian!" ( the ! is on her sheet, its officially part of her name ) Tired of the party going off the rails, Mark threw a Cave Troll at them, which not only regenerated, but had been blessed by the dark god of the abyss with resistance to all forms of magic. The party was all casters with pretty good DPR, and Mark even expected the new girl to roll a cleric, something the others badly needed. So when she handed him her completed character sheet after he'd already introduced her as arriving just as the fight began, he was quite surprised, but didn't think it would affect the outcome. Mark was actually kind of annoyed that she didn't roll what he asked her to, but whatever, the group is about to wipe anyway. This wasn't his first TPK, in fact he was kind of notorious for it, but as the only Dungeon Master on campus, he could do whatever he wanted and still have plenty of players; where else were these nerds gonna go, the football field? Having rolled initiative with advantage, Sheila went just before the troll. On her first turn she stunned it. On her second she knocked it prone and finished it; the others stared on in disbelief, not least of which being Mark. He tried to argue that it didn't happen, but she pointed out her math and her characters abilities and feats. Ugh, a rule-monger, he thought, alright... I can work with that. "Well, as the troll dies he spasms on the ground, his club knocking loose a keystone in the archway supporting the cavern", he quickly recovered. "Oh, not again", Chuck said, knowing where this was going. "Rocks fall-" "Damn it!", Chris screams. "everyone" "What the HELL, Mark? Crushing damage isn't even in the rules anymore", Tim shouts as he throws down his pencil. "die-" "Not so fast", Kendra announces, "Sheila braces the collapsing roof allowing the others time to escape!" "She can't do that!", Mark objects. Kendra wondered for a second if she had overstepped. But no, like Tim said, there is no insta-kill crushing damage, the DM was clearly writing his own rules. Looking around the table she knew she needed to act, all the other players were ready to quit. "Prove to me why she can't." "Because... its- look, I'm the DM, she can't cause I said so", Mark stammers out, feeling emboldened by his own troll logic. "Oh. Really.", Kendra said as she stalked closer to him, murder in her eyes. She didn't make Sheila to have some asshole tell her she failed and died on her very first adventure. "If you don't like it you can-", Mark suddenly felt the need to swallow mid sentence. "I. Can. What. Mark?", she began reaching for his shirt as he backed into the wall. "Roll... uhm, roll a natural 20 on a strength save with dis-", he felt her eyes burrow into him and paused to correct himself. "...er, I mean, with advantage", he weakly finished. "Okay!", Kendra said with entirely too much enthusiasm. She knew the odds were still terrible, but there was a chance. And as fate would have it, Sheila not only saved the party, but she managed to wedge the ceiling back into place and walk out unscathed. (though she did have to remind him that she also crits on a natural 19) Thus the legend of Sheila was born... and continued until the end of the semester, when Mark started a new campaign. Kendra didn't like leaving her first character behind, but accepted rolling a new hero as part of the game. So began "Captain Lucinda Killjoy", a veteran human fighter with no sense of humor; "Grace, the Amazing", a Psion who specialized in Psychosomatry- able to transform her own body at will; "Lilandra le Morrigan", a Tiefling Warlock who by the end of the campaign had forced a pact with every demon in the nine hells to grant her their infernal might; and her current character "Helga Hammerfist", a Dwarven/Giant Monk with a chip on her shoulder the size of the Lonely Mountain, and a right cross to match it... especially if its a comment about her height. Kendra loved every one of them, and wished she could be like them... more than anything. The bell rang signalling the end of lunch, and Kendra had no idea what Tim had been saying while she was daydreaming about past games. Anyway, she would see him after school for D&D Club. Maybe this school wasn't so bad, she recently learned that it was one of the test schools for Wizard's pilot program (to sell more merchandise through public schools). As she wandered the halls to Physics, she couldn't wait to play Helga again. Class flew by as her thoughts kept wandering back to the game... she vaguely heard something about a quiz. Oh well, she wasn't worried, Kendra always tested well. She'd been giving a lot of thought to LARPing, what she'd seen of it on YouTube looked like fun. "So, the Cat is... Ms Singh?", Mrs. Collins, Kendra's Physics teacher, suddenly inquired noticing her daze. "I've no idea", she replied coming out of her stupor. In truth she didn't quite hear the question. "And if you were paying attention, would you know then?", Mrs. Collins challenged with a playful smile and a raised eyebrow. "Likely not", she confessed. "Correct", the teacher laughed, chalking it up to luck, "until opened there would be no way to know for certain." Just then the bell rang, marking time for the dreaded history exam. It wasn't that she didn't know the material, its that she knew the US History book was full of omissions (was that an oxymoron?) and half-truths. There was what she was expected to put in the blanks, and what she knew from documentaries she had watched on Netflix. The book expects her to say the A-Bomb ended WWII, not the looming Russian threat approaching from the Northwest, and certainly not that the bomb wasn't necessary at all and had absolutely no effect on the war or surrender; what's more, should she feel the need to mention the war being primarily against CIVILIAN TARGETS and population centers, it would likely result in another trip to the Dean's office. God forbid anyone mention the US Government and War-crimes in the same sentence. (The school considered themselves above Principals, therefore they had Deans... they may also have thought themselves above Principles, given their refusal to acknowledge the errors in the textbooks and desire to make problems go away without open debate.) In the end, she gave them the answers THEY wanted, but she felt dirty as she handed in the test and left early for her next class. Health class went quickly, though Kendra did pick up another few ideas for nutrition; clearly cutting calories wasn't doing a damned thing for her except making her moody. (er, more moody... downright crotchety heading fast toward surly with an option on ornery) And, at last it was Club-time. Helga Hammerfist rides again! NEXT: CHAPTER 02 >

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