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buckybarnesss · 9 months

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Bro, the noise I just made. I literally cannot stand the fanon for Stiles or Derek. It is so so soooo bad, I think these people literally have only seen the 2 hour sterek compilation. Every day I am like "who fucking told you people that Derek never smiles and has no sense of humor?"

Stiles gets turned into this big eyed, kitten twink who wouldn't dare to misbehave because he's the sheriff's son (the kid who gets drunk in the WOODS, and gets his dad drunk so he can steal casefiles!!)

Derek like... He is either completely useless and cannot dress himself for a date without fanon!Laura (do not get me started) telling him what to do, or he is so emotionally repressed and damage that he can barely handle someone kissing him without him falling to pieces.

LIKE. Derek smiles. Derek makes jokes!! Derek laughed at Stiles right before the pool scene. Derek knows how to use a cellphone and a laptop. Derek is a goddamn millenial, he knows what grumpy cat is. He knows he's hot, he has a mirror!!

Also... the man lived in New York fucking City. He's not afraid of crowds or talking to people or making out, he uses sex to get his way (Erica and the deputy at the front desk!!)

i know.

like, there's a period of fics that are usually from the s1-2 period that lean pretty hard on derek's dark, brooding and grumpiness from season 1 but of course he was like that. he was going through The Horrors during season 1. he was grieving laura, he was being retraumatized by kate and dealing with scott, stiles and fucking jackson.

he wasn't one dimensional though. his anger was a mask for all the fear, confusion and trying to be in control.

do you know how many fics i've read where people have stiles think about all the apparent physical violence derek has done to stiles as if he's always slamming him into surfaces? way too many to count and it's incorrect. off the top of my head i can count 3 times derek did something like that to stiles. the shove into the wall and slam into the steering wheel in wolf's bane both of which had a point to them. whether or not it was a good emotional response doesn't matter. what matters is that they were not random or part of derek's personality. he didn't just shove stiles into things every time he saw him. the wall shove in s4 with de-aged derek was a deliberate call back to that very instance in wolf's bane. it was literally coupled with the whole cousin miguel bit.

fandom doesn't like to acknowledge that derek hale isn't particularly violent over the course of the show. he hardly even wins the fights he engages in and he is often forced into fights knowing he cannot win.

our boy mostly ends up on the fucking floor.

derek also does make jokes. dry ones usually he thinks they are hilarious too. he thinks he's a funny guy. his dad joke game must've been off the charts, sorry eli.

he and stiles trade barbs a lot and he thinks stiles is funny. stiles amuses him and he indulges it a few times. he shows off to stiles too like a loser.

he likes to fuck with scott and stiles and enjoys taking the piss out of peter. he genuinely enjoyed fucking with liam in s4.

he's not a luddite either. he has a cellphone and we see him use it. i bet he plays games on it. i bet he plays candy crush and words with friends.

and fanon evolved to strip away that stiles is an asshole. he a violent little freak. he threatens people, he expresses regularly his desire to kill people or have them die, he cares about a very small selection of people in his life and if you're not in that circle than god be with your ass because stiles most definitely won't.

he loves and respects his father but this doesn't mean stiles respects the law which is why i don't know why the law enforcement route was chosen for him. stiles hates rules and boundaries. he chafes at them.

stiles casually helps kira and scott break into evidence to get her cell phone. he tells scott's fbi agent father to fuck himself. he got his dad drunk to get access to case files. he copies people's keys. he's a nosy shit.

the whole show started because stiles was a nosy punk kid who wanted to see a dead body.

but i digress.

fanon stiles had a lot of scott's characteristics projected onto him so they could bash scott. i know there's a lot of people who don't like scott which is fine or whatever but there are so many that do it so they can make a pinata out of a character they've extracted all the good points from and give to their favorite little white boy fav.

stiles "i will beat you with a bat" stilinski is a freaky little shit who will bite you.

do you know how hard i laughed when in s3 stiles and isaac genuinely just like could not stand each other? they couldn't be in the same room with out insulting one another and it was the complete opposite of stiles being oh so sensitive to isaac's past and history than straight up in 3b stiles the epitome of insensitive says to isaac something about still milking it (his abuse). stiles is a dick.

i also genuinely have umbrage with the pack mom trope that stiles gets saddled with. the way fandom has oft feminized stiles leaves a bad taste in my mouth too.

derek and stiles are both assholes and i love them very much.

#my blog #teen wolf #thoughts on teen wolf #sterek #derek hale

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wlwgif · 2 years

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KATIE McGRATH as KATE | Dates – 1.04 “Erica and Kate”

#tvedit #wlwedit #dates #userbbelcher #userstream #filmtv #chewieblog #useroptional #usertelevision #dailyflicks #tvandfilm #katie mcgrath #tv #*#riah

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battyaboutbooksreviews · 6 months

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🌈 Good morning and happy Wednesday, my bookish bats! You didn't think that tiny "queer books coming out this fall" guide was ALL there was, did you? Here are a FEW of the stunning, diverse queer books you can add to your TBR this month. Happy reading!

❤️ A Vision of Air by Nicole Silver 🧡 Eli Over Easy by Phil Stamper 💛 How to Get Over the End of the World by Hal Schrieve 💚 Kween by Vichet Chum 💙 The Forest Demands its Due by Kosoko Jackson 💜 The B-Side of Daniel Garneau by David Kingston Yeh ❤️ Midnight Companion by Kit Barrie 🧡 Let the Waters Roars by Geonn Cannon 💛 Into the Glittering Dark by Kelley York 💙 When the Rain Begins to Burn by A.L. Davidson 💜 Been Outside by Amber Wendler & Shaz Zamore 🌈 The Forest Demands Its Due by Kosoko Jackson

❤️ A Necessary Chaos by Brent Lambert 🧡 The Spells We Cast by Jason June 💛 Pluralities by Avi Silver 💚 Salt the Water by Candice Iloh 💙 Beholder by Ryan La Sala 💜 This Pact is Not Ours by Zachary Sergi ❤️ Dragging Mason County by Curtis Campbell 🧡 Menewood by Nicola Griffith 💛 Mary and the Birth of Frankenstein by Anne Eekhout 💚 The Dead Take the A Train by Cassandra Khaw & Richard Kadrey 💙 Bloom by Delilah S. Dawson 💜 Let Me Out by Emmett Nahil and George Williams

🌈 In the Form of a Question: the Joys and Rewards of a Curious Life by Amy Schneider ❤️ Songs of Irie by Asha Ashanti Bromfield 🧡 A Haunting on the Hill by Elizabeth Hand 💛 Being Ace by Madeline Dyer 💚 Charming Young Man by Eliot Schrefer 💙 The Glass Scientists by S.H. Cotugno 💜 The Fall of Whit Rivera by Crystal Maldonado ❤️ By Any Other Name by Erin Cotter 🧡 Brooms by Jasmine Walls and Teo DuVall 💛 Stars in Your Eyes by Kacen Callender 💚 Shoot the Moon by Isa Arsen 💙 The Bell in the Fog by Lev A.C. Rosen

🌈 Brainwyrms by Alison Rumfitt ❤️ Family Meal by Bryan Washington 🧡 A Murder of Crows by Dharma Kelleher 💛 A Light Most Hateful by Hailey Piper 💚 Love at 350° by Lisa Peers 💙 Greasepaint by Hannah Levene 💜 The Christmas Swap by Talia Samuels ❤️ Mate of Her Own by Elena Abbott 🧡 Mistletoe and Mishigas by M.A. Wardell 💛 Elle Campbell Wins Their Weekend by Ben Kahn 💚 All That Consumes Us by Erica Waters 💙 If You’ll Have Me by Eunnie

❤️ Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Lillah Lawson and Lauren Emily Whalen 🧡 10 Things That Never Happened by Alexis Hall 💛 It’s a Fabulous Life by Kelly Farmer 💚 Let the Dead Bury the Dead by Allison Epstein 💙 These Burning Stars by Bethany Jacobs 💜 The Goth House Experiment by SJ Sindu ❤️ Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant by Curtis Chin 🧡 Mudflowers by Aley Waterman 💛 Here Lies Olive by Kate Anderson 💚 Fire From the Sky by Moa Backe Åstot, trans. by Eva Apelqvist 💙 Iris Kelly Doesn’t Date by Ashley Herring Blake 💜 On the Same Page by Haley Cass

❤️ A Dish Best Served Hot by Natalie Caña 🧡 Art of the Chase by Jennifer Giacalone 💛 The Haunting of Adrian Yates by Markus Harwood-Jones 💚 The Sword: Xcian by Elle Arroyo 💙 The Complete Carlisle Series by Roslyn Sinclair 💜 300,000 Kisses by Sean Hewitt and Luke Edward Hall ❤️ Just a Pinch of Magic by Alechia Dow 🧡 Blackouts by Justin Torres 💛 Wrath Becomes Her by Aden Polydoros 💚 Let the Woods Keep Our Bodies by E.M. Roy 💙 Everything Under the Moon: Fairy Tales in a Queerer Light edited by Michael Earp ❤️ Frost Bite by Angela Sylvaine

🧡 We Met in a Bar by Claire Forsythe 💛 Sweat Equity Aurora Rey 💚 Pumpkin Spice by Tagan Shepard 💙 The Misfit Mage & His Dashing Devil by M.N. Bennet 💜 Love and Other Risky Business by Sarah Brenton ❤️ Enough by Kimia Eslah 🧡 A Fire Born of Exile by Aliette de Bodard 💛 Twelve Bones by Rosie Talbot 💚 Wild Wishes and Windswept Kisses by Maya Prasad 💙 Dragged to the Wedding by Andrew Grey 💜 Fox Snare by Yoon Ha Lee ❤️ Murder and Manon by Mia P. Manansala

#queer book recs #queer fiction #queer books #queer #books #book list #books to read #lgbt writers #batty about books #battyaboutbooks

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noyzinerd · 10 months

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I guess we're all just over here posting Sterek snippets-(Part 1)

So, I guess here's one of mine, not that anyone was asking 😅 (with more snippets to come soon, after some polishing).

A snippet from "Pseudology"

Understandably, Derek hadn't even thought twice about how Stiles had known, at the time, that Jennifer was the 'second psychotic, mass-murdering girlfriend Derek had ever dated'.

Because of course Stiles had found out about his relationship with Kate. That wasn't a surprise. He was Stiles. The boy was as curious as they came.

Derek had always just assumed Stiles had snooped through his records or something else highly invasive.

If that had been the case, Derek didn't think he would've even been that upset at Stiles for prying where he had no business prying.

If that had been the case, he would've just been grateful Stiles was able to keep his secret to himself for as long as he had.

If only that had been the case.

As Stiles' memory manifested all around Derek, building itself brick by brick in a swirl of clouds before his eyes, the scene laid out to him left his pulse pounding hot in his ears.

Boyd had long since fell unconscious under the unrelenting bite of the electric current. Erica was still able to watch through lidded eyes, however, as she had always had a higher tolerance for pain.

The crack of Gerard's fist against Stiles' face over and over again was loud enough to drown out the overworked whirring of the generator. A breathless cry slammed out of the boy in a wheeze as the Argent patriarch's fists began laying into his thin chest and stomach. Each impact landed with the devastating power of a military-trained veteran against a kid literally half his size.

The moment Gerard had thrown that first punch, Derek's body had instantly reacted. He had immediately grabbed at the old man in an effort to throw him off, only for his clawed hands to slip through the memory as if he were gripping smoke.

Three more frantic tries proved just as ineffective as the first.

Derek could only watch uselessly as Stiles attempted to curl in on himself to soften the blows, trying his best to shield his face with his only free hand.

"Today's youth could do to learn some manners. Back in my day, you would address a man by 'sir.' 'Old geezer' would've gotten you the belt, no matter if you were at home or in the middle of the market. Seems that father of yours never took the time to properly discipline you."

He could hear the moment Stiles' ribs cracked, the snap of his bones under the skin, the plump lips that Stiles always worried between his teeth when he thought too hard were suddenly split open under the force of one of Gerard’s punches and it was awful. The more he saw, the worse it felt, and the tighter his chest got. As he watched, it was as if the knife he felt in his guts twisted deeper and deeper. The softer Stiles' grunts and whimpers got—the boy's will dropping farther and farther as the abuse continued—the more Derek wanted to do just about anything to make it all stop. He wanted to be there, not just watch, but really be there. To nuzzle up against the bloodied cheek, hold and comfort the boy, hold his hands over the blackening eye and draw away as much pain as he could into himself until the simpering cries faded into his shoulder where he would hold Stiles gently to him. Derek would rub his back and apologize for anything and everything and promise that everything would be alright. But as he stood, shifted with all the power in the world, watching the person he cared for more than anything hurting, being tortured by the psychotic father of the psychotic bitch that had left nothing but a husk of what was once Derek, he couldn't help but clench his claws tightly into fists. The pain of his claws sinking into his own palms grounded him.

He had to focus. This Stiles was long passed. Present-Day Stiles, the Stiles of now, his Stiles needed him. If Derek managed to miss the secret of this memory, then the both of them would be subjected to this senseless beating all over again. He wouldn't be the one to do this to Stiles again. So as difficult as it was, Derek held himself back.

And Derek watched.

"The Argents will always be the last to stand amongst the filth as it washes away. We are the mighty pillars of the Coliseums while the creatures, the monsters of this world, the werewolves, are nothing more than the mindless lions. Even as the spectators sit cozy, in their stands, unaware of the protection we provide, we will prevail against the test of time. While they and all of their treacherous collaborators hide in the shadows we will do anything and everything to draw out the darkness and purge them all. Just as my daughter did, just as my granddaughter will. You will never understand the lengths our family will sink to for our cause. Why, even if she had to sink to the depths of fornicating with the beasts, that was Kate's loyalty, her devotion." Gerard took that moment to straighten up with a crack to his back. The seasoned hunter let out a relieved sigh as he stretched out his arms and wiped his sweaty brow, like he had finished putting in a long day's work tending to his farm rather than physically breaking someone apart. There was no move to continue his attack once the old man was satisfied in knowing that Stiles wasn't going to uncurl from his huddled position on the floor anytime soon. However, that didn't stop the venomous words from continuing to spill into the air like a toxic vapor. "Not that that mindless thing would have any understanding of that. With nothing more than a few honeyed words and a wink, Kate single-handedly was able to reveal the beast beneath. So barbaric and dimwitted, he couldn't even think beyond his carnal urge to breed, spilling his secrets like a little songbird at the drop of a hat. The thing was too stupid to even look after his own kind. Led her straight to his den! See, that is what makes the difference between man and animal. Loyalty and devotion. It's what I like in you, Stiles. Here you are, beaten black and blue, yet still unwilling to rat out your so-called friends. That kind of devotion keeps you human. But tell me, young man, when the next pretty little thing tosses her hair at your 'pack', where do you think their loyalties are going to lie? Do you honestly think Scott would ever pick to save you over Allison? We already know Derek wouldn't, seeing as he would rather see his family burn in favor of any warm body he can find. What about these two? Or any other members of the Hale pack for that matter? If I were to cut them down right now, do you think either of them would rescue you? Because I'd be willing to bet they'd run with their tails tucked between their legs straight to their Alpha. They are driven solely by their instincts to feed, fuck, and flee. Face it, boy. Your loyalties are ill-founded. It would probably be in your best interest to stick with your own kind in the future."

In a whorl of misty fog, the Argent basement slowly faded away to a different setting.

The werewolf found himself now sitting beside Stiles in his Jeep as he drove himself home in silence, presumably only minutes after the beating that had occurred. Derek placed his hand carefully on top of this young Stiles' incorporeal one resting on the gear shift. It was all pointless, he knew, but at least this way he could pretend that he could do anything to soothe the pain. Derek could trick himself, for just a second, into believing that maybe, in some way, this past version could feel even the tiniest bit of comfort from him.

God, it hurt.

Stiles hadn't said a word or shed a single tear during the entire drive. The silence was the eerie photo-negative of the chattering Stiles he knew. Even when he was furious or upset, Derek was so used to the constant stream of words occasionally mixed with tears and frustrated cries that seeing this quiet boy—gazing through his windshield with the blank stare of a prisoner of war—scared him. It was like watching an echo of Stiles clicking on his right turn-signal to go home as if he hadn't been beaten into the ground and was now bleeding from his face. This Stiles felt wrong.

He felt wrong and hurt inside in a way Derek didn't know how to fix.

If they had been outside of the memory right then, the wolf wasn't sure he would know how to fix present Stiles either.

[Part 2 of snippets]

#sterek #teen wolf #derek hale #tyler hoechlin #stiles stilinski #dylan o'brien #mieczysław stiles stilinski #tw describing when Gerard Argent beat Stiles #snippet #wip #fanfic #Whenever I post writings it's always from this fic #I'm probably never going to finish it #Pseudology #Pseudologoi

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sterek-ao3feed-archive · 6 months

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Good Boy Bad Boy = Problems

https://archiveofourown.org/works/50862421 by DaoOfGay "It's Hale. H-A-L-E, cutie." Stiles felt his whole body freeze as a voice whispered behind him. He felt a shiver go down his spine as his little buddy suddenly came to life, much to his embarrassment. He got caught looking up the guy's name. --- "You're kidding me, right?" Derek grinned, his arms full with other girls who looked really beautiful in their makeups: "You're just another one of my little conquests, eager little slutty bitch. I just fucked you because I wanted your dad to know that the guy he hates most took his little son's virginity." "O-oh..." Stiles felt humiliated. He was fucking kicking himself mentally for being a stupid guy. He should've been smarter. "I see..." But if there's something Stiles knows how to do, is to take punches and keep rolling: "Well, it was fun... Thanks for the date." He left soon after, pretending his heart didn't break. Words: 4113, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English Series: Part 74 of (Maybe) One Shots Fandoms: Teen Wolf (TV) Rating: Explicit Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Categories: M/M Characters: Derek Hale, Stiles Stilinski, Sheriff Stilinski (Teen Wolf), Peter Hale, Cora Hale, Laura Hale, Talia Hale, Vernon Boyd, Erica Reyes, Isaac Lahey, Lydia Martin, Jackson Whittemore, Original Gajos Character(s) (Teen Wolf), Stiles Stilinski's Grandmother, Stiles Stilinski's Grandfather Relationships: Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski Additional Tags: Bad Boy Derek Hale, Nerd Stiles Stilinski, Stiles Stilinski Doesn't Know About Werewolves, Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Stiles Stilinski Has a Crush on Derek Hale, Derek Hale is a Tease, Cocky Derek Hale, Shy Stiles Stilinski, Derek Hale Flirts, Smart Stiles Stilinski, Sheriff Stilinski Knows About Werewolves (Teen Wolf), Derek Hale's Pack is Nosy, Derek Hale's Pack Ships Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski, Derek Hale's Wolf Loves Stiles Stilinski, Protective Derek Hale, Teasing, Derek Hale Being an Asshole, Derek Hale Feels Guilty, Insecure Stiles Stilinski, Stiles Stilinski Has Self-Esteem Issues, Derek Hale is Bad at Feelings, Derek Hale Has Issues, Derek Hale Has a Big Dick, Mates Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski, Werewolf Mates, Regret, Redemption, Second Chances, Accidental rejection, Derek Hale & Stiles Stilinski are the Same Age, Past Kate Argent/Derek Hale, Magical Stiles Stilinski, Lonely Stiles Stilinski, Loner Stiles Stilinski, Consequences, Alternate Hale Fire (Teen Wolf) read it on AO3 at https://archiveofourown.org/works/50862421

#Sterek #Stiles Stilinski/Derek Hale #Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski #IFTTT #ao3feed #ao3feed Sterek #fanfic

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dread-doctors-apologist · 1 year

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reasons sterek doesn't make sense to me

1. Derek and Stiles don't have that many scenes together, Derek tends to have more scenes with, Ethan and Aiden, Peter and Cora, Scott, Argent, or Boyd, Erica and Isaac while Stiles tens to have scenes with Scott, Lydia, Malia or his dad more

2. in these scenes they don't really get along, Derek often threatens Stiles, insults Stiles, injures Stiles or Stiles insults Derek, or there was the weird one where Stiles was gonna cut his arm off.

3. Derek dating history includes, Kate Argent, Jenifer Blake and Braeden. two of the three have attempted to kill him or people he loves, all of them are strong enough and smart enough to kill him, and potentially all of them have canonically killed people. Derek's type is dangerous women. why would he date someone he describes and 'skinny', 'defenceless' and not 'smart' enough to frame him for murder.

4. he definitely has some lasting trauma from Kate dating him as a teenager and manipulating him, chances are he's not gonna want to put anyone else in a similar position. is season two when Erica kisses him he he is shown pushing her away. and he doesn't seem okay with it, he obviously isn't comfortable with a large age gap when one of them is a literally teenager. let's not even mention the homophobic implications of having a man in his 20s dating a teenager

...

I don't mind rare pairs or shipping without chemistry, I actually encourage it but when people say that it should have been canon I have a problem

if you want to say Stiles should have a boyfriend there are characters his age who he has more chemistry with (danny, scott) or even just other character his age (Jackson, Boyd, Isaac) and same with derek.

#anti sterek #teen wolf #i dont know if this makes sense but i just had to chip in my two pence

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oliveoomph · 11 months

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Katie McGrath

Dates (Episode 4, Erica and Kate)

Reversed Gif

#katie mcgrath #katie mcrawr #dates #s01e04 #erica and kate #erica x kate #reversed gif #gif reversed #gifs by olive

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bettyweir · 4 months

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Most Popular VS My Favorite Gifsets from 2023!

JAN: Popular, Debbie Dazzle PicMix! Favorite, Vampire Waiter!

FEB: Popular, BTS Stunts from MBAV! Favorite, Scene Sory Picmix!

MARCH: Popular, Ethory Behind the scenes! Favorite, Matthew knight in Skating to new york!

APRIL: Popular, Villians of MBAV s1! Favorite, Kate todd in Life with Derek!

MAY: Popular, Ethorys Date! Favorite, Well hello handsome!

JUNE: Popular, Jane and Ethan! Favorite, Emo Ethan!

JULY: Popular, at least I can have fun with you! Favorite, Erica Jones ♡ Halloweird!

AUG: Popular + Favorite, Pan Pride Sarah Fox!

SEP: Popular, Does a gay little dance that pisses you off, Favorite, Betty weir stimboard!

OCT: Popular, Ethory LGBT?! Favorite, Hottie + Sarah!

NOV: Popular, Rory Keaner! Favorite, Matthew Knight!

DEC: Popular, Rory Keaner! Favorite, Etharah picmix!

Thank you so much for an amazing year of gif making! Heres to 2024!!

#bettys gifs #gifs #gif warning #my rory gifs always blow up huh

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myulalie · 6 months

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Worthy of Love

Erica sets Stiles up on a blind date but the mysterious beau never shows up. Butthurt about it and definitely insecure about himself; Stiles absolutely refuses to talk to the infamous Derek Hale when they meet by chance at a party some time later. They keep running into each other afterwards, and it slowly becomes clear that Derek never meant to hurt Stiles' feelings. He simply needs to deal with his own issues, namely: his older sister moving out of their family home to start a life with her partner, the suspicious Lydia Martin. Against all odds, they might get to know each other after all and maybe, figure out whether they’re meant to be together or too messed up to find their special someone (read on AO3).

Chapters: 1/7

Words: 33k

Rating: Explicit

Archive Warning: None

Fandom: Teen Wolf

Relationship: Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski

Characters: Derek Hale, Stiles Stilinski, Hale Family, Lydia Martin, Erica Reyes, Kira Yukimura, Isaac Lahey

Additional tags: Blind Dates, Meet-Ugly, Misunderstandings, Werewolf Reveal, Strangers to Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, First Kiss, (Mutual) Pining, Healthy Communication, Scent-Marking, Cuddling, Blowjob, Dirty Talking, Consensual Choking, Alternative Universe - No Hale Fire, Alternative Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Stiles is Insecure, Derek Needs a Hug, Trust Issues, Past Theo/Stiles, Past Kate/Derek, Mention of Past Abuse

Notes: This work is part of Fandom Trumps Hate 2023 and specifically a gift to Kali in thanks for your donation to a nonprofit: DigDeep/The Navajo Water Project.

Complimentary playlist: Spotify

#sterek #teen wolf #stiles stilinski #derek hale #fandom trumps hate #fth2023 #autopromo #fanfic #by pearl

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thegayhimbo · 6 months

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Stranger Things Rebel Robin (Book and Podcast) Review (Part 2 of 2)

WARNING: The following review contains MAJOR SPOILERS from the book and podcast!

If you haven’t yet, be sure to check out my other Stranger Things Reviews. Like, Reblog, and let me know what your thoughts are regarding the show or the upcoming season! :)

Stranger Things Comics/Graphic Novels:

Stranger Things Six

Stranger Things Halloween Special

Stranger Things The Other Side

Stranger Things Zombie Boys

Stranger Things The Bully

Stranger Things Winter Special

Stranger Things Tomb of Ybwen

Stranger Things Into The Fire

Stranger Things Science Camp

Stranger Things “The Game Master” and “Erica’s Quest”

Stranger Things and Dungeons and Dragons

Stranger Things Kamchatka

Stranger Things Erica The Great

Stranger Things “Creature Feature” and “Summer Special”

Stranger Things Tie-In Books:

Stranger Things Suspicious Minds

Stranger Things Runaway Max (Part 1 of 3)

Stranger Things Runaway Max (Part 2 of 3)

Stranger Things Runaway Max (Part 3 of 3)

Stranger Things Darkness On The Edge Of Town (Part 1 of 3)

Stranger Things Darkness On The Edge Of Town (Part 2 of 3)

Stranger Things Darkness On The Edge Of Town (Part 3 of 3)

NOTE: If you would like to listen to "Surviving Hawkins," the companion podcast to Rebel Robin, you can find all 6 episodes here.

Part 3: Dash Montague (and people like him)

I wanted to do a separate post talking specifically about Dash's character. It's not just about how Dash relates to Robin's story, but how he's representative of certain types of people I've seen for a while now: Those who claim to fight against social injustices and for people who face discrimination, only for these so-called advocates to reveal themselves to be just as hateful, cruel, condescending, self-serving, contemptuous, and hypocritical as those they criticize. It's a trend that's been around for a while, but started spiking again in recent months due to a number of different factors and world events, and it's caused me (and other mutuals I know) to become deeply distrustful of others currently.

As I noted earlier, Dash is the kind of person who frames himself as a geek/nerd who's unfairly an outcast and deserves better because of how "intelligent" he is. In reality, he is a small-minded prick, and a contender alongside Billy and Angela for one of the most unpleasant and loathsome characters in the series. On the surface, Dash presents himself as a friend to Robin and other members of the Odd Squad (the nickname for Robin's friends). He eventually shows his true colors when cheats on Kate (his girlfriend at the time) and tries to force a kiss on Robin without her consent. When Robin expresses her disgust, this is how Dash responds:

And we later find out that this wasn't a one time thing or a lapse of judgment on his part: He is a serial cheater who had multiple flings with other girls when he was supposed to be dating Kate.

Now, sleazy womanizing creeps are nothing new. Nor is the concept of entitled "Nice Guys" who pretend to be decent people on the surface before showing a nastier side to themselves when they don't get what they want. Dash isn't unique in those departments, and most of us probably know at least one person out there who behaves like this. It's gross, but that isn't what got under my skin.

What made Dash truly revolting to me, aside from how callously he throws away friendships like used condoms, are these observations Robin makes about Dash after he reveals himself to be a Wolf in Sheep's Clothing:

People minimizing evil in their own minds.

Inverting the Social Pyramid.

Pretending to want to change things when it's really about coming out on top and looking like the underdog while doing it.

Using intelligence as a means to justify putting others down.

Becoming obsessed with fighting monsters without realizing (or caring) that you've also become one.

Like I said, I have constantly seen these aspects from people who champion themselves on social media as an ally to the oppressed, who love to virtue-signal for everyone to see as if to say "Look at what a great person I am!", who claim to be against cruelty and unfairness, who position themselves as being empathetic and understanding.........and yet constantly reveal their hypocrisy and demonstrate they are the kind of people I want nothing to do with.

I am no stranger to being on the receiving end of belittlement and condescension from these kinds of people. Last year, I had an extremely unpleasant encounter with a Hughie Campbell Stan from The Boys fandom because I said something about the character they didn't like, and they got condescending about it. I proceeded to block them, only for them to use another account to send me a nasty reply accusing me of being "triggered" along with a snide suggestion to leave social media. All of this was followed by a separate post from them where they tried to make it sound like I was unreasonable for blocking them for their behavior and called me "weak." In other words, someone didn't like what I had to say, belittled me about it, got mad when I blocked them over their attitude, used another account to continue harassing me, and then called me weak for not putting up with their bullying. This was over a fictional character from a TV show no less. 🙄 And it was also from a user who not only claims to be against people who use that kind of Trump-like language (i.e. calling people "triggered" and "weak"), but also posts disingenuous messages about caring for other people's self-esteem. She sure as hell didn't care about being unkind to me as long as she could get away with it.

Sadly, she isn't the only person on the Left who acts like this.

There is this idea from people that if you have certain attributes, like serving in the military, or being a part of the Democratic party, or supporting left leaning causes, or NOT voting for people like Trump, or even if you are a part of a minority that faces discrimination for who you are (i.e. being a POC, or LGBT+, or a woman, or a nerd, or whatever is supposed to make you an "outcast" by today's standards), it somehow means you're automatically a good person and your actions are above criticism. I've seen this mentality REPEATEDLY used by people like this to justify being cruel and unkind to others, or saying the type of heinous rhetoric I expect from the Alt-Right as opposed to someone who claims to denounce that kind of behavior (like the Hughie Campbell stan who called me triggered and weak because I wouldn't put up with her patronizing behavior).

At the beginning of this year, there was a Tumblr post that came out which got a lot of traction and controversy.

Now for me, this post was a pretty straight-foward message from the OP about not treating 12 year old boys like they're inherently monstrous before they've actually done anything, and then later acting surprised when people from the Alt-Right swoop in and begin to groom them with their hateful ideologies because the Left demonized them first. Unfortunately, while some people took that message to heart, others..........did not. A post that could be summed up as "Be kind and empathetic" got twisted by other users with their own personal agendas into "YOU'RE PROMOTING MISOGYNY, RACISM, FACISM........" These people not only became the very strawmen the OP was calling out, but also validated the OP's point about the Left's obsession with identity politics, being intelligent over being kind, and demonizing boys:

I find the last two comments ironic considering this is the EXACT mentality Dash has in Rebel Robin: He believes he's smarter than "the popular kids," and uses intelligence (and his insistence that he's an underdog in the social pyramid) to justify his nasty, contemptuous behavior, and then pass it off as him being "morally correct."

Also, speaking as a gay man and someone who's been on the receiving end of bullying and abuse, I'm not impressed with the attempts by these people to justify their thinly-veiled hatred, most of which can be summed up as "I was abused, so it's okay for me to be abusive to others." Disgusted isn't even a good word to express my feelings about this. I don't give a damn who you are, what experiences you've had, what your political affiliations is, or what minority you belong to: If you're going out of your way to be vicious to others and then try to justify it like it's okay, you're a terrible person, and no amount of "intelligence" on your part changes that.

I knew someone like this named Daze_Confuse, a Redditor who was on the site for 10 years before his account got permanently suspended this year. He is someone who identified himself as gay (like me), was against Donald Trump and the Republicans, claimed to speak on behalf of the LGBT+ community and other minorities, and served in a branch of the military.

He is also one of the most vile people I had the unfortunate displeasure of encountering.

This is the kind of person who put other people down out of a sense of moral superiority. This is a person who was repeatedly condescending, contemptuous of people he disagreed with, smug, coasting on self-righteousness, petty, deeply insecure, and cruel to others when he could get away with it. This is the kind of person who made comments designed to shrink others, and then would later try to pass off his comments as "jokes" when he was called out on them by the moderators (which happened frequently). This is the kind of person who, in order to "win" an argument, would go through a person's entire Reddit history and cherry-pick certain comments or posts and take them out-of-context so he could metaphorically beat them into the ground and feel justified in doing so.

This is the kind of person who railed against "toxic masculinity," but never once looked at his own behavior even though it had elements of that.

This is the kind of person who pretended to be against "Nice Guyism" and yet defended people who behaved like that (both fictional characters and real people).

This is the kind of person who acted like he was against bullying (similar to the homophobic troll I dealt with years ago) and yet was one of the most vicious bullies you could run across.

This is the type of person who intentionally went out of his way to provoke fights with people and make others feel bad for having opinions he didn't like or agree with. He did this over fictional characters and TV shows, and he did this with his real life political and social opinions.

I remember coming across him. I wish I hadn't. He made things personal with me in a way I will never forget, or forgive.

He is the embodiment of Dash from the books (with a little bit of Billy Hargrove and Angela sprinkled in there). He was the kind of person who would use intelligence to justify his awful behavior because he constantly believed he was in the right. He is the kind of person who positioned himself as an underdog in society (much like Dash), but was more interested in "inverting the social pyramid" (as Robin would put it). If you saw how many times this guy projected his issues onto others, or went out of his way to paint himself as the smartest person on the site, or expressed jealousy at men who (as he put it) "got pussy" or were conventionally attractive, you'd be able to peg pretty quickly that, for all of his posturing and virtue-signaling and claims about how he was against injustices, he was a worm who only cared about social issues when it was convenient for him.

I won't claim to know the circumstances behind what happened to him, but given that Reddit is a site where incels like this still have their accounts up despite the bile they spew, whatever u/Daze_Confuse did to get permanently suspended must have been egregious enough that the Sitewide Administration wasn't willing to ignore it. Considering how he acted, I'm not surprised. It's gotta sting to lose access to 10 years of posts and comments though.

And if it sounds like I'm being judgmental of him, just know he behaved much worse with multiple people besides me. You reap what you sow: He chose to be a smug asshole, and paid the price for it. The world is better off without him.

My overall point is I'm tired of these types of people. I'm tired of people like Dash who frame themselves as outcasts who are better than the popular crowd, and then reveal themselves to be just as heinous as the people they criticize. I'm tired of seeing people on the Left, who claim to be against injustices and bigotry, engage in the same level of hatred they condemn the Alt-Right for. I'm tired of people who claim to fight for my rights, but would gleefully turn on me in a heartbeat and throw me to the wolves the moment I said or did something that constituted "stepping out of line" in their eyes. I'm tired of people who talk a big game about caring for other people's self-esteem, but will bully others when it's convenient for them (looking at the Hughie Campbell Stan who is still active on this hellsite). I'm tired of seeing people who put on a big show of advocating for social causes, and then use their political ideologies and philosophies to justify being cruel and contemptuous to others. I'm tired of seeing people act like bigots and then trying to pretend they aren't doing that.

I'm not going to claim I'm a paragon of virtue when it comes to doing things right. I've had my moments of being unkind. I've said things before that I look back on with regret and wish I hadn't said. I've acted in ways I'm not proud of. I am not even going to say I'm the most intelligent person on this site. For all of my flaws though, I am consciously making an effort to be better than I was before.

The roughest thing I've seen so far as I've gotten older, aside from people looking for any excuse to be nasty to others because reasons, is how we as a culture have started defining others in extremes, or love digging up other people's history and then flinging it at them as if to say "This is who you are," like there's no way to change it and you will forever be defined by it.

This post put it best: We are so obsessed these days with "gold-star activism" and "purity culture" and looking like the smartest person in the room that a lot of us have abandoned empathy and compassion and refuse to acknowledge when other people grow and attempt to become a better person. There's a difference between someone who continues to behave badly (which is why I am calling out people like u/Daze_Confuse, the Hughie Campbell stan, the homophobic Reddit troll who is unfortunately still active and engaging in the same behavior from years ago, and the users who responded to the post I linked to earlier who justify being vicious to 12 year old boys) vs someone who recognizes that their behavior was bad and makes an effort to grow from it.

In one of the many conversations I've had with my friend @stillhidden, she told me something I haven't ever forgotten: Truly stupid people are the ones who think they're right about everything. They are people who are so calcified in their beliefs that they refuse to change them or consider the idea that they could be in the wrong, even if there's overwhelming evidence to show their thinking is flawed. They lack the self-awareness to realize how awful their behavior is, which leads them to falling down the pipeline of smug superiority, self-righteousness, and hypocrisy.

I see this as the biggest difference between Dash Montague and Steve Harrington: For all of his flaws, or even how he started out at the beginning of the show, Steve isn't stupid like he gets treated by some fans. He's someone who's willing to grow, own up to his actions, and learn from his mistakes. He's someone who's willing to change his thinking and perspective on things, and be the kind of ally and friend that other characters need. It's why I find it annoying whenever Steve-Antis come out of their caves to continue bringing up the same tiresome arguments about Steve's behavior in season 1 to say "THIS IS WHO HE REALLY IS" while ignoring any character development he had later on.

Dash, for all of his talk about being intelligent, is one of the dumbest characters in the series. It takes a special kind of stupidity to throw a friendship with one person (Robin) and a relationship with your girlfriend (Kate) into the trash because you think you know better, and act like your so-called intelligence gives you carte blanche to act however you want to.

If Dash continues behaving like this into adulthood, it's gonna be a rough ride for him, and there's a very real chance he will end up friendless, alone, and bitter. I know plenty of people out there on social media (Reddit, Twitter/X, Tumblr, TikTok, etc) who are still trudging through life with Dash's self-serving mentality, and I can 100% say from what I've seen that it's going poorly for them. They brought it on themselves.

#stranger things #stranger things rebel robin #robin buckley #dash montague #angela stranger things #steve harrington #tgh opinions #tgh reviews #homophobia #bullying #purity culture #lgbt+ books #lgbt+ media #nice guyism #u/Daze_Confuse

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