#prod 1x06
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In preparation for season 5 coming out in July, could I be directed to one or multiple (however many is fine with me lol) of your analysis on Callum's arc being shown and not told in season 4? I remember back when that season came out that you were planning on writing an analysis about that but I think I missed it in the grand scheme of things, though I'm still curious all these months later! Thank you in advance! (And also my apologies if you have like, a specific tag for this already that would have been easy to me to look up and I just didn't know about it)
I know I for sure had something like that planned, but it might've been part 2 of my "Why S4 is Good, Actually" series that would've focused on both Callum (individually) and Rayla (as a couple) and we'll see if I get around to it. Part 1 about Rayla here.
But there's basically three layers stacked on top of each other when it comes to Callum's arc being shown > spelled out. Not that prior seasons do spell things out (or that spelling things out is bad) but that S4 definitely, understandably, relies on the fact that we have characterization context and therefore contrast with the previous three seasons to help us along. So let's talk about it
1) Previous characterization
In previous seasons, Callum hardly ever has to be prodded to open up. If anything, he gives heartfelt speeches or talks about how he's feeling quite often with very little prompting or even sometimes segue. He's goofy and more excited and deeply curious. Now, some of his changes in S4 is due to age and maturity (re: how much more mellowed out he is in Xadia compared to the googly-eyed amazement in most of S3, even in the new regions they travel to in S4). We also see that he's far less impatient, far more irritable regarding a lack of answers (1x06 with Rayla in a high stakes situation vs 4x01 with Soren in a possibly high stakes situation) and that a lack of answers is specifically triggering to him (4x02's book outburst). Callum's triggers - being unable to speak (1x02) / breathe (2x08-2x09) / choking (3x09) - are also important to keep in mind as to why the possession scene, which leaves him gasping for breath like he's being choked and then being literally deprived of his voice, affects him quite so deeply (beyond the obvious).
He is also, as previously noted, a lot more emotionally shut down about Rayla, but also just in general. He's still feeling like an awkward fit in his position at court, but this time it's as high mage rather than as prince ( "All that high mage stuff is so stuffy-" "Let's go talk about it in the high mage's office, that is, my office"). All of this is compounded particularly in the way he cannot say either Viren or Rayla's names until, well, she shows up:
2) Viren parallels
Now, I think there are two layers to the Viren parallels (many of which I am still dissecting and wanting to dissect). There are the more overt ones when it comes to magic and their dynamics with Aaravos: being obsessed with the mirror, Viren asking to be allowed to let go / die while Callum asks for Rayla to kill him, with both Claudia and Rayla refusing. (More on that hot mess of a squad's dynamic in S4 here.)
Then there are their more personality / dynamic parallels. Viren and Callum both asking someone to kill Callum (and Ezran in S1) while knowing it's the last thing they'd want to do. The aforementioned Claudia and Rayla parallel. However, it goes deeper than that, I think, with Viren showing what Callum could become if Rayla hadn't shown back up, and to a certain degree, what Callum has become in order to try and cope.
But Rayla does come back (literally pulling him away from Aaravos) and so Callum is forced to confront what he's feeling or not feeling ("I know it's silly, but I'm not sure how to feel about Rayla, either").
Yet the Callum-Viren parallels persist until the very final moments of the season, and seemingly even into S5.
Why?
S4 emphasizes quite heavily the lengths Claudia and Viren are willing to go to for their family, and to save/protect them. Viren fears being unable to protect Claudia from Aaravos and his own failures (4x01, 4x07) and Claudia is desperate to save her father. They are two instruments (4x04) of Aaravos' Song of Love and Loss (4x03). Thus, Callum is quite overtly the third. Rayla's "Dear Callum" letter also specifically highlights protection as a key undercurrent of the show's dark and light theme:
They said that, sometimes, we make sacrifices so that the ones we love don’t have to. It’s part of protecting them—part of protecting you. Taking on hard choices and going to dark places is an act of love. It’s a gift. So, please let me give you this gift, Callum. Stay safe, and stay in the light.
This would already be noteworthy even if the show didn't take the, until S4, subtle light and darkness theme with Rayla and Callum and make it into an overt part of Callum's (and her adjacent) arc to the max. In darkness, gaze upon a fallen star. What if I'm on a path of darkness? and she shows up haloed in moonlight? Come on.
Basically: I think the Callum and Viren parallels are there to help get the audience on the page of being horrified/saddened, maybe, but not surprised at Callum doing something risky and batshit in the next couple of seasons to protect the people he loves. "However vile, however dangerous," Viren says. "In the name of love..." With S5 looking like this point for Viren will be emphasized further in his history with Soren, and Callum and Terry both poised to see what they're willing to do to protect Rayla and Claudia as they attempt to save their loved ones (Viren and Callum as mages; Viren and Runaan and co. as parents/fathers) and what they're not.
But yeah, I think the Viren-Callum stuff is definitely a show not tell, continually highlighting their growing list of similarities (and differences) in more overt ways than prior seasons, because the thematic reasoning for that foil dynamic is going to steadily come more and more to a head. To me, it's a great example of "show don't tell" in regards to both the ways Viren could get better, and Callum could get worse, tbh.
3) Magic crutch
Callum uses magical objects as a crutch in which to avoid looking at (aka confronting his feelings for) Rayla throughout the season.
It's widely implied that Callum has only thrown himself into magic so heavily in show because he needed a distraction from Rayla, and he continues using magic as a distraction even once she's returned. He uses the staff to literally look away when he lets her walk away from him (again) in 4x05 even though he's also clearly upset by it, and can't bring himself to even watch her leave. Then we have it being his gift of sacrifice in 4x08 - "It was given to me, in spite of everything wrong humans have done with magic. It means a lot" - only for him to drop it an episode later in order to pick up her sword, because his walls are crumbling at the possibility of her being dead. So he abandons the staff, cradles her sword to his chest like it's precious to him (and it is, as his last piece of her), and then tosses that away too in order to run to her. More on this scene and its importance specifically here <3
There is also Callum's (and the show's in general, but specifically his and specifically in S4) looking away motif, which I do have a tag but have not written a proper meta for, so hopefully sometime within the next couple of weeks I'll finally get to that <3
And I think that's the bulk of it, at least for now! Thank you for asking & I hope you enjoy all the messy Callum thoughts
#queenofthearchipelago#tdp#tdp callum#the dragon prince#callum#thanks for asking#mage boy#requests#analysis series#arc 2#s4#s4 is my best friend#analysis#wrote this listening to a celine dion playlist so im truly living my best life#unsurprisingly this got longer than expected#tdp meta
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QOTS Rewatch - 1x08 - Billete de Magia
Another excellent season 1 episode. I think this episode--in which Teresa has a critical role to play in pulling off Camila’s robbery of unsuspecting dealers from Florida--is a bit of a turning point for her: she’s confronted with the lengths she’ll go to to stay alive. It makes her double down on wanting to get out, and I don’t blame her. She knows that if she stays in, she’ll only keep facing that part of herself that’s willing to do whatever it takes to stay alive. And the compromises won’t get any easier.
Meanwhile, James is going through a bit of a reverse journey. While this episode speeds up Teresa’s descent into the cave, we see a softer, more transparent James here than we have yet. Dimez said in her 1x06 recap that that was the episode in which we finally met James, and it’s in this one that we really see the stark contrast between the cartel lieutenant James--the one we mostly saw the first few episodes--and the “real” James, the perhaps buried James, the one we were first really introduced to in 1x06.
So anyway, in that way, it feels kinda like this episode is Teresa and James passing each other in the night. Maybe meeting somewhere in the middle. Or at least starting to orient themselves towards that middle where they will eventually meet. And “passing each other in the night” is actually a kind of fitting metaphor BECAUSE the opening scene is James startling a sleeping Teresa awake at 4am. MY FAVE. I love these 5 seconds soooo much. James again watching Teresa sleep. And you can tell he doesn’t really relish waking her. The gentle prod. The way his hand snaps back but still hovers near her after she startles. His little head flip, almost in acknowledgment that it felt shitty to wake her. JAMES. Pull yourself together.
And then Camila’s spiel as they’re pulling away. In which she essentially tells Teresa that the only value she has to her is the leverage she has against Epifanio, but that if they fail in their mission today, she won’t need leverage against Epifanio anymore, so Teresa will be worthless to her, and BY THE WAY don’t forget Epifanio wants you dead. And all the while James sits there looking agitated.
And then he looks really conflicted as he explains to Teresa what her role’s going to be, and hands her a gun. Like he somehow can’t handle corrupting her. It makes him feel things. And he’s not really trying as hard not to feel them.
Then by the end, when he picks her up after she killed the Florida guy, his concern for her is just leaking out of him and it’s so gentle. So human and kind. We saw the earliest trace of this version of James in 1x02 after she finally throws up the last of the baggies of coke, and again in the taxi back from the airport after, when he just looks at her with this expression of awe and almost gravitational pull. But it’s not quite the same as the sheer concern and compassion he exhibits in 1x08.
Meanwhile, Teresa’s on a journey deeper into the gory guts of the cartel world. First with the stop-by at a maid’s house where James interrogates her for information about her job at the hotel, all while other sicarios are torturing one of her family members in the adjacent room. Then, she has to hold another maid hostage herself, steal her clothes, plant a tracker on the Florida guys (heyo! tracker!), and ultimately hold up and kill one of them so that he can’t get away. At the beginning, while watching the scene at the first maid’s house unfold, she turns away--she can’t look, she can’t stomach it. Both times she points her own gun at someone, she shakes, in some combination of fear for her safety and fear for her soul. Both times, she tries to hold onto the little agency she feels she has and rebels against what she was told to do; in the case of the maid promising her she won’t be hurt, and in the case of the Florida guy, telling him to leave now and never be heard from again (in that case, directly disobeying James).
And by the end, after killing the Florida guy, and riding back to the warehouse with James, she refuses to look at James again. A sort of mirror to the beginning of the episode when she turns away from the scene in the first maid’s house. She doesn’t want to look at him because doing that would be to actually look at the path she’s on, as much as she doesn’t want to think it and as much as she’s struggling mightily to find a way out. Perhaps the circumstances that brought her and James to Camila were different, and perhaps she had a lot less choice in the matter, but he wasn’t wrong when, in 1x06, he tried to bridge the gap between them and show her that in some way they were alike (when he said, “I know you know what I’m talking about” in reference to the darkness when you close your eyes). He hasn’t yet said “we’re in this together,” but it’s clear he thinks it by now. And it’s equally clear she’s trying as hard as she can to not be in it together, because that would mean accepting that perhaps she’s capable of doing the things James does too.
Other thoughts:
Brenda’s reaching her limit for a different reason: her experiment in cooking meth went horribly (and, for us anyway, hilariously) awry. The fact that she and Teresa are best friends, when they clearly have very different moral compasses, is sort of interesting.
Camila FINALLY realizing that zomg maybe Batman actually did tattle on her to Epifanio?!?!?!!!!!! It feels so uncharacteristic of her savviness that it took her four whole episodes to figure that out.
We also get Teo realizing wtf was he thinking in letting Camila manipulate him into working for her. She can be so deliciously evil.
And the rest of the James and the Florida Guys action is deliciously funny. He gets some amazing one-liners, and the Florida guys are really great sacrifices to the butt of the jokes. Here’s smarmy James again and while truly funny, you also, as I said above, see the stark contrast between the act he puts on for his job and the softer side of himself that Teresa is starting to unknowingly pull out of him.
James doesn’t show it, but the fact that he references having hung out with these guys in the past and seeing them again in the future (and the line about the redhead “with that ass”) means he must have had some compunction about ripping them off and killing them.
Charger, “the chemist,” lmao.
Poor Tonto :( James IS clearly worried about him, at least, even if he might not spare any grief for his Florida friend.
The way James is all “wipe your face” to Teresa at the end after looking at her like he’s going to melt with concern. Ok bud. You had to find something gruff to say to mask the depth of your concern I guess because you’re missing your sunglasses, your typical mask?
Queenpin Visions:
She shows up at the very end, in the backseat of the car Teresa’s riding in with James at the end of the day. She doesn’t say anything, just sits there looking calm and dare I say smug?
#queen of the south#qots#qots s1#1x08#2021 rewatch#txt post#qots reaction post#qots meta#it's kind of funny tbh to imagine James and this John guy having hung out in the past#via a mutual friend 'Lorenzo' whose 'next bash' James promises to see John at#I've previously overlooked this little factoid about James's prior life#wonder who this Lorenzo is lol
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what do you think are some of the most underrated ryan and marissa moments? i think there are a lot of little things people forget from season 3, cos it's so bad as a whole
Ahh, okay, I’ll get emo over this for u
1x06 when Caleb’s girlfriend tells Ryan "I’d give anything to be that miserable. [...] That’s what it feels like to be in love”
1x07 Maybe this isn’t underrated but “Did you ever wonder why I came to the poolhouse to find you?” “Every day”
Their interactions in 1x12. They’re very sweet and very ‘together’ amid Luke’s heavy storyline. Even with their fight, and Ryan accusing Marissa of breaking his trust (oof), they’re in a nice place. I love the two seconds we see of Marissa’s habit of driving both Ryan and Seth to school. Love that they did that for months.
1x22 “You can be the beauty” I DIE
2x04 Seth says, right in front of them I may add, “Ryan and Marissa, that’s an epic tale right there”
2x05 “The penguin likes Marissa”
2x06 Two moments that are blink and you miss it. First in the poolhouse Marissa knows Ryan is sitting far away from her on purpose so she says something like “hey, I don’t bite” and the fact that he purposefully added distance between them always said something to me. The other moment is at the end of the ep in the left hand corner I believe. When Marissa is holding a tray of eggnog, Ryan puts a yamaclaus on her head. Maybe it was just Ben and Mischa fooling around but it’s super cute.
2x07 When he puts his arm around her in the Cohen kitchen. They already had bagels, but she brought some over as a peace offering for her behavior the night before. How Seth and Ryan both say their old ones were stale and Ryan says, “Almost chipped a tooth” it’s SO charming and sweet and the more I think about it, that’s one of my absolute favorite scenes of the show.
2x17 “I thought ugly hats were your thing”
2x21 they actually do have a phone call during this ep where he says he wishes he was home and she says the same and the way they can never fully say what they mean is VERY them lol
2x23 When he asks her to prom
3x01 Sandy says “You have a hell of a girlfriend. And if you two get married, you’ll have one hell of a mother-in-law.” I get chills from this line. This is what I DESERVED.
3x02 This is also probably not underrated but their scene on the ferris wheel. Love my reminiscent babes. “We’ve just got to find our moments” OH and earlier in that ep when Ryan apologizes to her at the lifeguard stand and plays with her fingers. It’s one of the few times in s3 I feel like we see them being fluid with one another. The way they talk with their hands held, talking about getting through this year together. Damn, that closeness was right there, and then it’s just thrown away. Another addition in this ep is when Sandy and Julie meet with the dean and Sandy remarks, “One Montague, one Capulet” referencing RM being Romeo and Juliet. A small moment but cute.
3x04 Before Forever Young, Marissa talks about the dance “I spent the whole time wishing you were there”
3x05 Marissa comparing Ryan leaving to Jimmy leaving and calling him a coward, and also when Ryan shows up to have lunch with Marissa at Newport Union. It’s very couple-y.
3x06 Summer says Marissa is busy and Ryan says “Is she studying? Because I’ve been known to get her to blow off some schoolwork”
3x07 Not sure these are underrated but the hug on the beach is perfect and their scene at the end in front of the fire is really nice too. There’s also a moment at the Bait Shop with Johnny when Marissa is saying something and she slaps Ryan’s arm (really lightly) to get him to say something too. It’s really subtle but cute.
3x08 When Ryan surprises Marissa at NU and they kiss. Also the end scene where they’ve basically made plans to go to Berkeley together talking to SS “We’ll be in Northern California, you’ll be in Rhode Island”
3x09 “You got a lap dance?” is really cute and I LOVE the talk they have at the end where Marissa is on the bed in the poolhouse and Ryan is in her room. You’d think the Johnny story would’ve been kaput at this point but no
3x11 When Marissa says she hasn’t seen Johnny in weeks and says she, Ryan, Seth, and Summer spent like a whole month hanging out, and later Summer tells Ryan about Marissa’s weird penchant for befriending strange dudes “It’s the way she’s wired. You wouldn't love her if she wasn’t” which says a LOT
3x12 In Marissa’s closet “I do have a great boyfriend” “You have a great boyfriend”
3x13 Kaitlin prods Ryan about Marissa and picks up a framed photo of them at the beach from 3x01. What was this doing in his room. On his bedside table. Did Marissa give it to him? Did he frame it???? Alright also when Kaitlin prods Marissa about Ryan she says “Yeah, you guys are soulmates, blah, blah, blah” as if she’s heard those words from her sister’s mouth a million times before
3x14 When they’re making out in the poolhouse and Marissa answers Kaitlin’s call “I’m busy” and Ryan says “Gettin’ busy” into her neck it’s very practiced and fluid in a way we never got to see them that season and I will rage forever. Also Kaitlin’s metaphor about Baskin Robbins ice cream basically saying Marissa was afraid of her love for Ryan and found other avenues to run away from the one thing she loved most. Very intense and never brought up again, so yeah.
3x17 I love the angst of this episode. They finally feel like teenagers again, awkwardly avoiding each other in the halls at school. The model home stuff is not underrated, but I love the angst of the moment Marissa turns away at the end of the episode, fully convinced she shouldn’t be in Ryan’s life. It’s sad and parallels to 1x02 so much. I love that she made him a copy of The Model Home Mix. I love the details they added that Ryan had always wanted another copy. Summer mentioning the romantic feel of the gesture. I love that Ryan was able to sit in her trailer and listen to it without her knowing. That tether of theirs still holding them together somehow. He’ll never tell her he listened to it and she’ll never tell him she made it. My babes.
3x18 This scene is more annoying than anything because of what we didn’t get to see or be aware of. When Marissa and Summer are at the Bait Shop talking about sex and Marissa basically says she and Ryan never had a problem with it, and that they were pretty heavily involved even during the Johnny era. What the hell, right
3x19 Ryan very clearly waiting for Marissa at her lifeguard stand
3x22 Every single scene of theirs is great but things I loved were Marissa asking about Ryan’s architecture lecture (ugh), their banter and awkwardness, and of course Marissa telling Ryan that she could see his happiness at Berkeley “I could see it on your face” and knowing he belonged there.
3x23 When he puts his arm around her at prom
3x24 “Can I buy you breakfast?” and their SMILES. The growth, the maturity, the clean slate. God, I love this scene SO much.
I’m gonna stop now because it’s 1:30am and I typed this gibberish 95% from memory in one sitting which means I know way too much about this show and this couple. Also you were probably expecting like 5 moments not 29 sorry!!
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derry girls episode ranking that no one asked for bc i miss it and i’m procrastinating (also s1 episodes have no titles?? so i made up my own) also watch this show pls
1. 1x02 The Chippy
I can’t explain why this is my favorite episode but it just is. I’ve rewatched it so many times and I think the whole Fionnula subplot is absolutely HILARIOUS plus any episode with Uncle Colm is a delight. The chippy scenes make me extremely nostalgic for my summers in Ireland and I think the humor is top notch this episode with a batshit crazy ending.
2. 2x06 The President
The perfect mix of humor and heartfelt imo. The ending with James makes me cry everytime and I feel like this episode shows the friend group’s love for each other so well. The Colm/Joe/Gerry subplot is one of the funniest bits ever on the show too.
3. 2x04 The Curse
Literally not a single moment of this episode that is not hysterically funny. You got Sarah’s dresses, Colm’s stories, Rock the Boat, drug scones, high Granda Joe, “who put 50p in the eejit?”, “am I dead? is this my wake?”, and probably even more that I’m forgetting but I think it’s a strong contender for the overall funniest episode.
4. 2x05 The Prom
This episode makes me SOFT between James taking Erin to the dance, Orla taking Joe, and the final scene. Mae was a really fun one-off character and this episode just has a lot of really funny scenes and great quotes (ex. “is this where all the gays hang out?” and “there’s just nothing that doesn’t suit me!”)
5. 1x06 The School Paper
The wee lesbian episode!! Clare’s coming out feels very realistic and sweet and the final scene of the episode is one of if not the best scenes the show has ever done. There are also just some great little subplots like Mary’s laundry troubles, the wee docket, and Erin’s terrible article ideas.
6. 2x01 Friends Across the Barricade
Oh my god this episode is so good and it’s a testament to how good this show is that it’s not higher up. My mom grew up in Ireland as a Catholic and this is her favorite episode because of how realistic it is with the Catholic/Protestant divide. Every single character has a hilarious plot trying to connect w the Prod boys and Mary’s big bowl??? A flawless episode.
7. 1x04 Children of Chernobyl
Erin and Katya’s interactions are the highlight of the episode by far and the way the girls are so shocked that Katya fancies James lmaooo. I love this episode and Erin’s dramatic ass. Plus Orla and the chocolate fountain.
8. 1x01 Pilot
Feels wrong putting this so low!!!!!!!! It’s such a great introduction to all the characters and their dynamics, plus the setting of 90s Ireland. The Sister Declan scene is perfect chaos.
9. 1x05 The Orange Order
I love how the show portrays very realistic parts of Ireland during the Troubles not only when it comes to the violence and fear but also just things like the Orange Marches. This episode has some of my favorite Joe/Gerry interactions and the whole Michelle subplot w the IRA man is amazing.
10. 1x03 Father Peter
Okay so this episode is hilarious but the reason it is lower than it should be is because the Erin/Peter scenes are sooo painfully cringeworthy to watch lmao. But the whole Mary smirking scene is so good.
11. 2x02 Mrs. De Brun and the Child of Prague
Idk how this ended up so low on my list considering Dead Poets Society is my all time favorite movie but here it is, I still adore this episode. Drunk Clare is excellent and it has one of my all time favorite scenes where Clare’s mum tells her to not even breathe and she just holds her breath all scared LOL I can’t even describe it but it’s so good. Great secondary plot with Kaiser Soze too.
12. 2x03 The Concert
I truly do not think there is a single bad or even subpar episode of this show, every episode is hilarious and insanely rewatchable, this episode probably just has less standout moments for me. The whole suitcase of vodka scene is an all-time great though.
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06. Lessons of Control
Anchor
Stiles Stilinski x Original Character (Reader)
Episode: 1x06; Heart Monitor
Word Count: 5,848
Warning(s): Mature language, cannon violence, blood
Author’s Note: Olivia helps Stiles teach Scott control. I hope you enjoy! Reblog and like!
Masterlist in Profile Description!
"So, you're teaching Scott control?" Olivia asked Derek, leaning her head against the window of his Camaro. "How is that coming along?"
"It would be better if he actually listened to me," Derek huffed, turning down the road that led to the high school. "I told him to stay away from Allison until after the full moon and the first thing he did was go to Allison's house."
"He's an idiot."
"Yeah, and he saw the alpha there."
Olivia whipped her head toward her cousin, her eyebrows raised. "Did he really? What happened?"
"He said that the alpha drew a spiral on his window," Derek glanced at Olivia, watching as her mouth slowly opened in shock. "I'm gonna look into it, all right?"
"But, Der, the spiral!" Olivia exclaimed.
The Hale family—and some of the werewolf packs that used to live around Beacon Hills—had always used the spiral to signal vengeance.
Did they know who the alpha was? Did anyone else survive the fire that they didn't know about?
"I know, Ollie, all right? I know," Derek sighed, pulling into the school parking lot. "Don't worry about it, okay? I'm looking into it."
"All right," Olivia sighed, unbuckling her seatbelt. "Just be careful, okay? For my sake."
"I'll be careful," Derek confirmed with a small smile. "I'm glad you're okay, Ollie."
Olivia gave him a bright smile and shut the passenger door. As she walked away, Derek couldn't help but be glad he didn't tell her about his run-in with Kate Argent.
As she walked into school, Olivia dropped her smile into a calm, stoic mask. Like always, she didn't want anyone to see through her. It made some of the people she went to school with think she was a stuck-up bitch, but she didn't really care what those people thought of her. She had Lydia, Jackson, Allison, and Danny—she didn't need anyone else.
She walked into her history class and corrected herself when she saw him sitting at the back of the room—maybe she had Stiles too.
Olivia caught Stiles' eye and smiled sympathetically—she had been worried about him. The night of the parent-teacher conferences, a mountain lion—a real one—attacked the school as all the parents were leaving. In the chaos, Sheriff Stilinski had been hit by a car.
She knew from the text messages she received from Stiles that Sheriff Stilinski was okay, earning only a couple of bruises. She was relieved about his dad but also kind of annoyed that the messages gave Stiles the go-ahead to rant to her about Scott McCall.
Apparently, they were in a little fight.
"Hey," Olivia greeted him, taking the seat to his right. "Feeling any better?"
"You mean am I still seething with impotent rage at my best friend?" Stiles asked bitterly. "Then no. I'm not feeling any better."
"Okay," Olivia sighed. "Well, have you talked to him?"
"No."
"Have you had any contact at all?" she prodded. "Did you play Call of Duty or something with him? Text him? Send him a message in a bottle?"
"No, no, no, and really?" Stiles raised an eyebrow at her. "A message in a bottle would never arrive at his house. It's nowhere near the ocean or any river."
"Okay, smartass," Olivia rolled her eyes, causing Stiles' lips to twitch. "Honestly, Stiles, I don't—"
"No, no," Stiles interrupted her, pointing at her. "You can't take his side, okay? I need someone on my side."
"I'm not on anyone's side."
"You were going to say that it wasn't Scott's fault."
"Well—"
"Nope, I'm not listening to you anymore," Stiles shook his head. "You're cut off."
"Oh, no," Olivia griped sarcastically. "What will I ever do without Stiles Stilinski in my life?"
"Die probably."
Stiles stopped speaking then because Scott walked into the room. Olivia watched as his eyes immediately fell on Stiles; she turned back to the spastic boy next to her as Scott sat down behind him. Stiles looked aggravated and uncomfortable, sitting straight in his seat and staring at the board at the front of the room.
"Still not talking to me?" Scott asked him quietly, though it was loud enough that Olivia could still hear.
She tried not to eavesdrop, but she couldn't resist looking at Stiles to see his reaction.
Scott sighed when he got no response. "Can you at least tell me if your dad's okay?" he asked. "It's just a bruise right? Some soft tissue damage? Nothing that big..."
Stiles narrowed his eyes, irritated, and clenched his jaw, poking the inside of his cheek with his tongue so he wouldn't lash out at his best friend.
"You know I feel really bad about it, right?" Scott continued. With no response, he sighed again. "Okay, what if I told you that I'm trying to figure this whole thing out and that I went to Derek for help?"
Stiles looked at Olivia to see if Scott was telling the truth. When she nodded in confirmation, he exhaled heavily.
"If I was talking to you, I'd say that you're an idiot for trusting him," he grumbled, ignoring the glare Olivia sent him. "but obviously, I'm not talking to you."
Olivia rolled her eyes, knowing what Scott told him was enough to pique his interest. Stiles didn't trust Derek, that much was clear, so there was no way he'd allow his best friend to get help from the older werewolf.
As if proving her right, Stiles turned around to face Scott. "What'd he say?"
The bell rang, so Scott couldn't give Stiles details about Derek's lessons. As soon as class was over, though, he told Stiles and Olivia—which surprised him—what Derek was planning.
"What?" Stiles exclaimed as the three of them walked out of class together. "He wants you to tap into your animal side and get angry?"
"Yeah," Scott confirmed.
"All right, well, correct me if I'm wrong, but every time you do that, you try to kill someone," Stiles reminded his best friend. "and that someone's usually me."
"I know," Scott agreed. "That's what he means when he says he doesn't know if he can teach me. I have to be able to control it."
"Well, how's he gonna teach you to do that?"
"I don't know," Scott shook his head.
"Derek uses anger as an anchor," Olivia spoke up, causing the boys to jump in shock.
They might have forgotten she was walking with them.
"An anchor?" Stiles gave her a confused look.
"Yeah, it's something or someone that anchors you to yourself," Olivia informed them. "Something that keeps you human. Anger is Derek's anchor. That's why he wants you to get angry, Scott."
"But how is Scott gonna control himself when he's so angry?" Stiles asked, trying to wrap his mind around Derek's thinking. "He changes when he's angry."
Olivia shrugged; she had no idea how to calm down an out-of-control werewolf. She didn't exactly have experience, being human and all.
"Okay," Stiles sighed, turning to Scott. "when are you seeing him again?"
Scott shrugged. "He told me not to talk about it. I have to act normal and get through the day."
Stiles held out his arm in front of Scott, stopping him in his tracks. "When?"
"He's picking me up at the animal clinic after work."
"After work," Stiles repeated under his breath. "Well, that gives me to the end of the school day, then."
"To do what?" Olivia gave him a curious look.
"To teach Scott myself."
-
"The what of who?" Lydia asked Allison, piercing a blueberry with her fork.
Allison, who had been telling Olivia and Lydia about something her aunt showed her on the internet, looked back up from her old book that gave details about her family history.
"The Beast of Gevaudan. Listen," Allison said, starting to read a passage from the book. "A quadruped wolf-like monster, prowling the Auvergne and South Dordogne areas of France during the year 1764 to 1767. La Bete killed over a hundred people, becoming so infamous that King Louis the 15th sent one of his best hunters to try to kill it."
Olivia shivered and rested her head on her propped-up hand. Did this mean that Kate was trying to tell Allison about the family business? If so, this wasn't good...
"Boring," Lydia drawled, plopping another blueberry in her mouth.
"Even the church eventually declared the monster a messenger of Satan—" Allison started reading again but was interrupted by Lydia.
"Still boring."
"Lydia," Olivia nudged her cousin with her elbow before nodding at Allison to continue.
Allison gave her a thankful smile. "Cryptozoologists believe it may have been a subspecies of a hoofed predator, possibly a mesonychid."
"Slipping-into-a-coma bored," Lydia groaned.
"While others believed it was a powerful sorcerer who could shape-shift into a man-eating monster."
Olivia winced and asked, "Does any of this have anything to do with your family?"
Allison nodded and continued reading, "It is believed that La Bete was finally trapped and killed by a renown hunter who claimed his wife and four children were the first to fall prey to the creature," she looked at Olivia and Lydia with a smile. "His name was Argent."
Lydia was unimpressed. "Your ancestors killed a big wolf. So what?"
"Not just a big wolf. Take a look at this picture," Allison corrected the redhead. She held up the page she turned to, allowing the girls to see the drawing of La Bete. "What does it look like to you?"
Olivia was surprised by the drawing, which looked exactly like the alpha she had seen the other day. It was almost as if the author of the book was there in the video store with her and took the time to snap a photo.
"Olivia? Lydia?" Allison called her friends' names, seeing the almost-dazed looks they were giving the picture.
Olivia shook her head as Lydia snapped, "It looks like a big wolf," she grinned and stood up. "See you in history."
As she walked away, her heels clicking against the linoleum tiles, Allison turned to Olivia. "Do you think she's okay?"
"Yeah," Olivia nodded, trying to hide how freaked out she was becoming. Allison finding out about her family's history was not good, especially when her freaking boyfriend was a newly turned werewolf. "She's probably just stressed."
Allison nodded, accepting Olivia's excuse and went back to reading about her family history.
A few rows away from them, Stiles and Scott sat at their usual table. Stiles was eating like every other day they sat in the cafeteria, but Scott was hiding. He used Stiles' history book so hide his face so Allison couldn't see him. He was supposed to be staying away from her for right now—at least until he could control his shift.
Stiles glanced back at Olivia's table and then looked to Scott, annoyed.
"I think the book's making it more obvious," he quipped, rolling his eyes. "Besides, she's reading, anyway."
Scott peeked over the top of the orange textbook and saw that Stiles was telling the truth; Allison looked fully engrossed in the book she was reading.
"Did you come up with a plan yet?" he asked Stiles.
"I think so," Stiles took a bite of his apple.
"Does that mean you don't hate me now?" Scott smiled hopefully.
"No," Stiles grumbled with his mouth full. "but your crap has infiltrated my life, so now I have to do something about it," he paused before adding, "Plus, I'm definitely a better Yoda than Derek."
"Okay, yeah, you teach me," Scott agreed, his eyes back on Allison.
"Yeah, I'll be your Yoda."
"Yeah," Scott nodded, having no idea what Stiles was talking about. "You be my Yoda..."
Stiles snickered and imitated the small, ancient, Jedi Master, "Your Yoda I will be," he laughed and informed Scott, "I said it backward—"
"Yeah, I know," Scott gave him an unimpressed look.
Stiles pursed his lips, annoyed yet again. "All right, you know what? I definitely still hate you," he declared, ripping his textbook from Scott's grasp as he stood up. "Uh-huh, yep."
-
Olivia didn't want to be out here.
She definitely didn't want to be skipping her Calculus class so that she could hang out at the lacrosse field with Dumb and Dumber—also known as Stiles and Scott. But, alas, she had been dragged away from Mr. Baker's room by Stiles, who declared that they needed her expertise to help Scott control his change.
Of course, she suggested going to Derek for help but Stiles just glared at her.
"Okay," Stiles dropped his lacrosse bag and net on the bench as he sat down. To Scott, he held out a black strap with a small monitor attached. "put this on."
Scott grabbed it and studied it with narrowed eyes. "Isn't this one of the heart rate monitors for the track team?"
"Yeah," Stiles confirmed. "I borrowed it."
"Stole it," Olivia corrected him, crossing her arms over her chest.
She felt a little antsy about missing her math class, to be honest.
Stiles glared at her. "Temporarily misappropriated," Olivia rolled her eyes while he continued, "Coach uses it to monitor his heart rate with his phone while he jogs. You're gonna wear it for the rest of the day."
He emphasized his statement by pulling Coach Finstock's phone out of his pocket.
"Are you serious?" Olivia muttered. "Is that Coach's phone, Stiles?"
"That, I stole," Stiles admitted, giving her a sheepish grin.
"Why?" Scott asked curiously, looking between Stiles and Olivia.
"All right, well, your heart rate goes up when you go wolf, right?" Stiles stated; Scott nodded. "When you're playing lacrosse, when you're with Allison, whenever you get angry. Maybe learning to control it is tied to learning to control your heart rate."
Olivia had to admit that she was pretty impressed with Stiles' thinking. For not knowing about the supernatural until a couple of weeks ago, he picked up things quickly.
"Like the Incredible Hulk," Scott grinned, looking down at the monitor in his hands.
Stiles shrugged. "Kind of like the Incredible Hulk, yeah."
"No, I'm like the Incredible Hulk," Scott insisted.
Olivia rolled her eyes. "The only thing you have in common with Dr. Bruce Banner is that you hulk-out when you can't control your heart rate," she snapped, ignoring Stiles' amused smile. "Now would you shut up and put the stupid strap on?"
"Fine," Scott grumped, hiking up his shirt to put the heart monitor around his torso. "This isn't exactly how I wanted to spend my free period."
Olivia pursed her lips; she was missing calculus, so she didn't know why he was complaining.
Once Scott had the strap placed around him correctly, Stiles wrapped up his wrists with duct tape behind his back so he couldn't catch any of the balls that Stiles was going to whip at him. Stiles walked across the field where Olivia was standing with the bag of lacrosse balls, his net held firmly in his hands.
"All right, you ready?" he called to his best friend.
"No."
"Remember, don't get angry," Stiles reminded him. "Livvy, the monitor, please."
Olivia glared at him—she was really tired of him calling her that—and opened up the monitor app on Coach's phone.
"I'm starting to think this was a really bad idea!" Scott called out to them.
Stiles ignored him and scooped up the ball that Olivia set on the ground, flinging his net back and throwing it at Scott. The ball hit him right in the stomach, causing him to groan and bend over from the pain.
Stiles laughed in glee as Scott's heart rate rose to one hundred and fifteen. He scooped up another ball and whipped it at Scott, hitting him in the chin.
Olivia winced; that one looked painful.
"Okay, that one kind of hurt," Scott groaned.
"Quiet," Stiles commanded. "Remember, you're supposed to be thinking about your heart rate, all right? About staying calm."
"Stay calm," Scott muttered as a ball hit him in the shoulder. "Staying calm. Staying totally calm. There's no balls flying in my face—" he groaned as another ball hit him in the jaw.
Olivia watched the rapidly-climbing heart monitor as Stiles threw another ball at Scott, hitting him in the chest.
"Ow, son of a bitch!"
"You know what?" Stiles smirked. "I think my aim is actually improving!"
"Wonder why?" Scott spat angrily.
"Uh, uh, uh," Stiles clicked his tongue mockingly, the heart monitor raising to one hundred and thirty. "don't get angry."
"I'm not getting angry."
Stiles continued throwing balls at Scott, hitting him over and over again. Scott's heart rate continued rising as Olivia watched, growing bored.
Why exactly am I supposed to be here? She thought to herself.
"Wait, wait," Scott begged. "Just—can we just hold—"
Another ball hit Scott in the groin area, making a painful groan escape from his lips. He fell to his knees and grunted while the heart monitor started to beep. His heart rate was at one hundred and sixty and rising, which Olivia and Stiles knew couldn't be good.
"Scott?" Stiles called wearily.
Scott didn't answer, grunting again as he ripped the duct tape around his wrists and gripped at the grass underneath him. The beeping from the monitor started to slow down as his heart rate lowered and he resisted his change.
Stiles approached him hesitantly. "Scott?" he said softly. "Scott, you started to change."
"From anger," Scott said, looking up at Stiles and Olivia, who had walked toward him. "But it was more than that. It was like the angrier I got, the stronger I felt."
"So, it is anger, then," Stiles confirmed. "Derek's right."
Olivia made a satisfied noise, causing Stiles to glare at her.
"I can't be around Allison," Scott declared.
"Just because she makes you happy?" Olivia spoke up, confused.
What did Allison have to do with Scott's anger?
"No," Scott shook his head. "because she makes me weak."
-
-
"All right, so you stay away from her for a few days, you can do that," Stiles encouraged Scott as they walked to Stiles' game locker.
Olivia had refused to step foot in the boys' locker room, so she had told them she'd meet them in Economics class.
"But is it a few days or is it forever?" Scott replied hopelessly as Stiles put his lacrosse things back in his locker.
"You know, this whole women-make-you-weak thing is a little too Spartan warrior for me," Stiles complained honestly. "It's probably just a part of the learning process."
Sure, Allison made Scott's heart race, but didn't everyone say that love gives you power? Did that not apply in werewolf cases or something?
"Yeah, but you've seen Derek," Scott reminded him. "I mean, the guy's totally alone."
"He's got Olivia," Stiles pointed out.
"I mean romantically," Scott corrected himself. "What if I can, like, never be around Allison again?"
"Well, if you're not dead, that could be a good thing."
Scott shook his head. "I'd rather be dead."
Stiles rolled his eyes; he knew that Scott liked Allison and she was a nice girl and all but was it really that serious? Her family were werewolf hunters that would literally kill him and all he cared about was the fact that he couldn't be with Allison.
It was a little too Romeo and Juliet for Stiles' taste. And he really didn't like Shakespeare.
"All right," Stiles sighed. "you're not gonna end up like Derek, okay? We'll figure it out."
"Okay."
"Come on," Stiles urged, looking at his watch. They had class in a few minutes. "Let's get out of here."
"Yeah," Scott agreed, following Stiles out of the locker room. "Something smells terrible in here, anyway."
"Really?" Stiles asked sarcastically. "In a boys' locker room? That doesn't make any sense at all."
-
-
Olivia was checking her Instagram feed as Coach walked into his classroom. He set a pile of worksheets on his desk as the bell rang and other students started filing into the room.
"Let's go," he urged loudly. "Sit, sit, sit. We've got a lot to cover today."
Olivia looked away from her phone as someone tapped her desk. She looked up to see Stiles grinning at her as he placed his things at the desk in front of her. No matter how much she wanted to not give him the satisfaction of smiling at him, she couldn't help it.
Stiles' grin grew larger, if that was possible.
"Let's go!" Coach exclaimed. "Quicker."
"Hey, Stiles," Scott called from an aisle over. "sit behind me, dude."
Stiles gave Olivia a reluctant look but nodded, heaving his things off his chosen desk to the one behind Scott. Unfortunately, Allison beat him to the seat and gave him a triumphant smile.
Stiles didn't seem too put out as he sat back at the desk in front of Olivia.
"Hey, so, is Derek involved?" Stiles turned around and asked Olivia, clearing his throat. "You know, like, romantically?"
He wanted to know if werewolves were doomed to be alone forever. He didn't want that for Scott.
Olivia raised an eyebrow. "Why do you want to know?"
"Um, well, it's funny," he scratched the back of his neck. "Uh, Scott and I, were—it's not like that, honestly. I mean, I like girls, so..."
"Okay..."
"It's just—"
"Stilinski, shut it!" Coach called from the front of the room. "All right, let's settle down. Let's start with a quick summary of last night's reading."
Greenberg, who was sitting in front of Stiles, put his hand up to volunteer for the summary.
"Greenberg put your hand down," Coach snapped. "Everybody knows you did the reading," he looked around the room, his gaze falling on Scott. "How about you, McCall?"
Scott looked up, having not paid attention. "What?"
"The reading," Coach said simply, walking around his desk to lean against it.
"Last night's reading?"
"No, how about, uh, the reading of the Gettysburg Address?" Coach muttered sarcastically.
Some of the students chuckled, including Olivia. She couldn't help it, she liked Coach's wit sometimes.
"What?"
"That's sarcasm," Coach informed Scott. "Are you familiar with the term sarcasm, McCall?"
Scott glanced at Stiles, who smirked. "Very."
Olivia rolled her eyes—from the brief time she had started to talk to Stiles Stilinski, she knew he was very versed in the ways of sarcasm.
"Did you do the reading or not?" Coach asked Scott bluntly.
"Uh, I think I forgot," Scott admitted.
"Nice work, McCall," Coach frowned. "It's not like you're not averaging a 'D' in this class. Come on, buddy, you know I can't keep you on the team if you have a 'D'."
Scott ducked his head, embarrassed by Coach's attention.
"How about you summarize the previous night's reading?" Coach prompted; Scott shook his head. "No? How about the night before that? How about you summarize anything you've ever read in your entire life?"
"I—uh—"
Olivia frowned, sympathizing with Scott. Coach was practically bullying him in front of the whole class—it was like Coach had been replaced by Severus Snape. Usually she liked Coach but he did have his bad moments sometimes.
"No?" Coach continued and Stiles turned around, subtly showing Olivia the heart monitor that Scott still wore, freaking out. "A blog? How about the back of a cereal box? No? How about the adults-only warning from your favorite website you visit every night? Anything?"
Scott shook his head.
"Thank you, McCall, thank you!" Coach shouted, banging his desk. "Thank you for extinguishing any last flicker of hope I have for your generation. You just blew it for everybody. Thanks. Next practice you can start with suicide runs."
And then, as the heart monitor reached one hundred and sixty, it started lowering. Olivia, astonished that Scott calmed down so quickly, studied the new werewolf. With a start, she noticed that he and Allison were holding hands under their desks—she nudged Stiles, showing him.
It looked like Scott found his anchor.
When Economics class ended, Stiles waited outside for Scott after Olivia took off to the library for her free period. He dragged Scott halfway down the hallway in case Coach needed to yell at him some more.
"It's her," he told his best friend.
Scott looked at him, confused. "What do you mean?"
"It's Allison," Stiles said. "Remember what you told me about the night of the full moon? You were thinking about her, right? About wanting to protect her."
"Okay."
"Remember the night of the first lacrosse game? You said that you could hear her voice out on the field."
"Yeah, I did."
"Well, so that's what brought you back so you could score," Stiles explained. "And then after the game in the locker room, you didn't kill her—at least, not like how you were trying to kill me. She brings you back, is what I'm saying."
"No, no, no," Scott disagreed, remembering the times that he lost control while making out with Allison. "but it's not always true because literally every time I'm kissing her or touching her—"
"No," Stiles interrupted him. "that's not the same. When you're doing that, you're just another hormonal teenager thinking about sex, you know?"
Scott smiled, looking dazed.
Stiles sighed. "You're thinking about sex right now, aren't you?"
"Yeah," Scott apologized. "sorry."
"That's fine. Look, back in the classroom when she was holding your hand, that was different, okay?" Stiles declared. "I don't think she makes you weak. I think she actually gives you control. Remember what Olivia was saying about anchors? Allison's yours."
"You mean because I love her?"
Stiles nodded. "Exactly."
Scott stopped, surprised by his casual statement. "Did I just say that?"
"Yes, you just said that."
Scott laughed happily. "I love her."
"That's great," Stiles placated him. "Now, moving on—"
"No, no, really," Scott cut him off. "I think I'm totally in love with her."
"And that's beautiful," Stiles agreed, slightly annoyed. He was trying to help, here. "Now, before you go off and write a sonnet, can we figure this out, please? You obviously can't be around her all the time."
"Yeah, yeah, sorry," Scott focused. "So, what do I do?"
Stiles sighed, aggravated that he didn't have a plan already. "I don't know yet."
He paced back and forth for a couple of seconds before grinning in realization.
"Oh, no," Scott groaned, recognizing that famous look. Stiles had an idea. "You're getting an idea, aren't you?"
"Yeah."
"Is this idea gonna get me in trouble?"
"Maybe."
"Is this idea gonna cause me physical pain?"
Stiles nodded, smirking. "Oh, yeah. Definitely."
-
An hour later, Stiles and Scott sat in Mr. Harris' classroom, serving their hour-long detention.
After Stiles led a group of guys to believe that Scott had keyed their truck, the guys started beating the new werewolf up. Luckily, Scott controlled his change, but unfortunately, Mr. Harris caught them. Instead of giving the people beating up Scott detention, Mr. Harris decided to give Scott and Stiles an hour for their trouble.
What a great teacher.
"Excuse me, sir?" Scott piped up, looking at Mr. Harris. "Uh, I know it's detention and all but I'm supposed to be at work and I don't want to get fired."
Mr. Harris simply stared at him, not at all bothered by Scott's problem.
Scott sighed and turned to Stiles, whispering, "You knew I would heal."
"Yep," Stiles replied shortly, tapping his fingers on the lab table they sat at.
"So you did that to help me learn?"
"Yep."
"But partially to punish me."
"Yeah, well that one's obvious," Stiles sighed.
"Dude," Scott gave him a serious look. "you're my best friend and I can't have you being angry with me."
"I'm not angry anymore," Stiles admitted. "Look, you have something, Scott, okay? Whether you want it or not, you can do things that nobody else can do. So, that means you don't have a choice anymore. It means you have to do something."
To be honest, Stiles felt like Peter Parker's Uncle Ben. Here he was, giving Scott a speech about responsibility.
But it was true. Stiles, being the human he was, couldn't help out the way Scott could. The rest of Beacon Hills didn't have that privilege, either. It was down to Scott to do the things they couldn't.
Sort of like an Avenger, but Stiles was definitely not telling Scott that.
"I know," Scott nodded seriously. "and I will."
Stiles smiled at him, glad that Scott was going to start taking his powers—and what he could do with them—seriously.
"All right," Mr. Harris spoke up. "both of you, get out of here."
Stiles and Scott grinned at each other, grabbing their things off the table and rushing out of the lab.
-
"Do you know what your cousin is doing?" Stiles asked into his phone, frustrated and a little angry. He glanced at Scott in the passenger seat as they headed to the school, looking just as irritated at him.
"No," Olivia replied, sounding confused. "Am I supposed to?"
"I don't know, are you?"
"I'm not his keeper, Stiles!" she exclaimed. "Tell me what's going on or I'm hanging up."
"Derek kidnapped Scott's boss," Stiles informed her.
"Dr. Deaton?"
"Yeah," Scott confirmed, glad that the call was on speakerphone. "He thinks that Deaton's the alpha."
"Really?"
"Yes," Scott grunted. "What do you know about it?"
"Nothing," Olivia answered. "Derek said he was looking into something today, but he never contacted me about Dr. Deaton. I don't know what's going on. He really thinks Dr. Deaton's the alpha?"
"Yep."
"Well, he must have a reason, then," Olivia maintained.
"Are you serious?" Scott and Stiles asked at the same time, both in disbelief.
"Well, Derek wouldn't beat up an innocent man," Olivia insisted. "Do you want me to meet up with you guys? Where are you headed?"
"No, we're going to the school," Stiles told her. "Scott's going to call the alpha."
"Wait, are you serious?"
"Yep, bye now."
"No, Stiles, wait—"
Stiles hung up his phone as he swung into the school parking lot, parking haphazardly. He and Scott got out of the vehicle, walking around the back. Stiles opened the trunk, pulling out a pair of bolt cutters.
"This is a terrible idea," he told Scott bluntly.
"Yeah," Scott agreed. "I know."
"But we're still gonna do it?"
"Can you think of something better?" Scott asked, looking around the empty parking lot.
The school seemed much creepier in the dark.
"Well, personally, I'm a fan of ignoring a problem until eventually, it goes away," Stiles quipped.
Scott rolled his eyes. "Just make sure we can get inside," as Stiles held up the bolt cutters for Scott to see, Derek pulled into the parking lot. "He's here."
Derek parked his Camaro a few spots away and got out, slamming his door shut. He approached Stiles and Scott, an irritated look on his face.
"Did you seriously tell Olivia about this?" he asked sharply, having gotten a phone call from his cousin just before he pulled up.
"Yeah," Scott shrugged, unbothered. "Where's my boss?"
"He's in the back," Derek pointed to the backseat of his car.
Stiles and Scott peaked into the window, seeing Dr. Deaton tied up and gagged, still unconscious from Derek's earlier blows.
"Well, he looks comfortable," Stiles commented, glaring at Derek.
Scott glared at Derek and then nudged Stiles, gesturing toward the school. They both started walking up to the bolted doors but stopped as Derek called out to them.
"Wait, what are you doing?" he asked them, his hands stuffed in the pockets of his leather jacket.
"You said I was linked with the alpha," Scott reminded him. "I'm gonna see if you're right."
Derek didn't object—though the boys wouldn't listen if he did—and they walked to the door. Stiles snipped through the chains around the handles, and they walked in, heading to the main office so that Scott could use the intercom.
"Okay, one question," Stiles spoke up as they entered the office. "What are you gonna do if the alpha doesn't show up?"
Scott shrugged. "I don't know."
Stiles rounded the secretary's desk and located the intercom microphone. "And what are you gonna do if he does show up?"
He turned the microphone on as Scott said, "I don't know."
Stiles pursed his lips. "Good plan."
"All right," Scott sighed. "You said that a wolf howls to signal his position to the rest of the pack, right?"
"Right," Stiles confirmed. "but if you bring him here, does that make you part of his pack?"
Scott grimaced at the thought. "I hope not."
"Yeah, me too," Stiles said, placing the microphone in front of Scott. "All right, all you."
Scott cleared his throat and let out a horrendous wail that had Stiles covering his ears. It sounded absolutely horrible.
Scott stopped making whatever noise he was making and looked at Stiles. "Was that okay? I mean, that was a howl, right?"
Stiles bowed his head, cringing at the memory of Scott trying to howl. God, it was horrific. "I—yeah, technically."
No, it wasn't.
"Well, what did it sound like to you?"
"Like a cat being choked to death, Scott," Stiles said honestly.
Scott panicked instantly, throwing his arms around in a way that reminded Stiles of himself. "What do I do? How am I supposed to do this?"
Seeing his best friend freak out wasn't fun, so Stiles walked from the desk to behind Scott, resting his hands on his shoulders. "Hey, listen to me," he said encouragingly. "You're calling the alpha, all right? Be a man. Be a werewolf, not a teen wolf. Be a werewolf."
"Okay."
Scott took a deep breath and let out a mighty roar. It was amazing and it was so loud, Stiles wouldn't be surprised if all the windows in the building shook from the intensity.
They celebrated all the way out of the school until they came face-to-face with Derek again.
"I'm gonna kill the both of you," he declared angrily. "What the fuck was that? What are you trying to do, attract the entire state to the school?"
"Sorry, I didn't know it would be that loud," Scott apologized.
"Yeah, it was loud," Stiles agreed happily, chuckling. "and it was awesome!"
Derek glared at him. "Shut up."
Stiles rolled his eyes. "Don't be such a sour wolf."
Scott shuffled over to Derek's car, peeking into the back seat again. To his surprise, Dr. Deaton was nowhere to be found.
"What'd you do with him?" he asked Derek sharply.
"What?" Derek looked at the empty seat. "I didn't do anything."
There was low growling behind Derek and, before he could move, the alpha appeared, piercing through Derek's chest with his claws. Blood spurted out of Derek's mouth as Scott and Stiles looked on, horrified.
As the alpha threw Derek to the side, Stiles and Scott ran to the school, hoping they'd live to see the next day.
(Gif is not mine)
#teen wolf rewrite#stiles stilinski x oc#stiles stilinksi x reader#teen wolf#stiles stilinski#stiles stilinski fanfiction#teen wolf fanfiction#stiles stilinski x original character
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Best Underrated Scene: Gilmore Girls - 1x06 Rory’s Birthday Parties
This is the sweet spot. This is where season one starts to pick up...in as much as Gilmore Girls “picks up.” I think in general the characters are fleshing out and as such we can enjoy their scenes even more as we progress through the story. Particularly, and always, the scenes between Lorelai and Emily. They have a good chunk of my favorite scenes throughout the series, but in general their scenes together are much revered and lauded(I think)...so I don’t think their scenes are really “underrated” a lot of the time. But I think an argument could be made that the scene I chose could rate as such.
Lorelai and Emily talk in Lorelai’s Bedroom
I think this may be the only time Emily is shown in Lorelai’s room? It makes sense that we don’t see Emily in this room very often (if ever again). As evidenced by this episode and Lorelai’s comment that her parents have “never been to [her] house,” Lorelai likes to keep her world separated from her parents in very stark and literal ways. After this first trip over, Emily and Richard make a few more visits to Lorelai’s house, but it is always a rather odd jolt to see them in this small (by their standards), cozy house and Lauren Graham always plays up her discomfort whenever the two enter Lorelai’s turf.
In this scene, however, I’d say that Lorelai’s general anxiety regarding her parents’ visit is somewhat assuaged even though Emily is in her room. Earlier in the episode we saw Lorelai and Rory in Lorelai’s old bedroom at her parents’ house. It was frilly, light pinks and creams, a large number of porcelain dolls, and impressionistic paintings. There are elements of Lorelai, but for the most part it is cold and removed - more of a room in a bed and breakfast than anything reflecting the Lorelai we have come to know. Lorelai’s room that she’s cultivated as an adult is obviously a closer approximation to who she is. There are still floral patterns (Lorelai loves a certain type of “girly”), bathrobes with silly prints hanging on the closet, clothes flung over her bed and armchair, haphazard sewing materials, a stack of magazines. It is lived in, warm, and maybe slightly adolescent, but purposefully so.
Lorelai sees her mother leaving the festivities and follows her up to her bedroom. Emily is looking at Lorelai’s blanket contemplatively when Lorelai interrupts her thoughts. “I made that,” she says, “from Rory’s old baby clothes.” Lorelai is always proud of her ability to make something from the scraps of something else. This is her life. Emily responds, “Hope you washed them first.” This is also the heart of Emily. It is partially a jab, partially an element of her controlling behavior, but it’s also meant to be constructive and helpful. Her controlling is always meant to be helpful. Lorelai makes a quick joke and lets this one slide off her back. She doesn’t always, but this isn’t a particularly pointed remark and Lorelai can, at times, pick her battles with her mom.
“Quite an assortment of characters you’ve assembled down there,” Emily continues. This seems to only be a means to segue into asking about Luke (”this man with the ice”). Something that is always fun is Emily’s immediate perceptiveness of Lorelai and Luke’s feelings for each other. She ain’t no dummy. “How long have you been seeing him?” she asks Lorelai, who immediately giggles like a school girl and denies that Luke is anything other than a friend. Emily continues, “He seems to like you.” Lorelai asks how she’s judging this and Emily says that Luke looked at Lorelai, “Like you were about to give him a lap dance.” Ah HA! Emily is funny. Lorelai seems to think her humor sprang from nothing, but this is exactly where she gets it. Lorelai continues to giggle sheepishly and insist that Luke did not look at her like that (I mean, c’mon girl, yes he did). Graham of course nails the discomfort with being confronted with feelings that she’s not ready for, along with maybe some excitement or flush at thinking that maybe Luke did look at her that way. Lorelai stays in deep denial of her feelings for Luke for SO long. Which is something people do, especially with someone they are friends with or who they see as possibly complicating things. At a certain point this becomes pretty unbelievable for these two, but for now it works.
Emily remains unconvinced (as she should) and again reads her daughter perfectly, “You’re pleased...you’re pleased that the Ice Man looked at you like a porterhouse steak.” Emily is definitely judging her daughter’s taste in men (as she will continue to do), but she doesn’t let that really seep into this conversation. She’s mostly just finding out the information that she can and saving her judgements for herself (a rare occurrence for Emily). Lorelai diffuses the conversation with a joke again and Emily smiles knowingly and moves on to a picture on Lorelai’s night stand.
The conceit that Lorelai would keep a photo of herself in a leg cast on her night stand is...odd, but we roll with it. Her room is cluttered enough that it doesn’t really feel out of place. I can almost hear some discussion between Rory and Lorelai wherein to prove some point about the day some random thing happened she pulls out this picture and just never put it back. So we move on to why it’s here for the scene. “What’s this...you’re wearing a cast,” Emily says with surprise. “Yeah, that’s when I broke my leg,” Lorelai says casually. It happened three years ago during a yoga class in which Lorelai tried to out-yoga a blond “pretzel chick” and took some kind of a fall. Emily continues past this rather silly story, “I never knew you broke your leg.” She is clearly hurt. You can almost feel her motherly desire to nurse her child back to health. But of course she doesn’t have to, because Lorelai never told her about it.
“If I had been really sick you would have known,” Lorelai assures Emily. But it’s not much assurance. What does “really sick” mean if a full leg cast doesn’t prompt a phone call to your mother? The women take a beat and in this moment and the glances to the floor so much is said. Perhaps Lorelai feels a bit guilty for having kept this information to herself. She can certainly sense the hurt and disbelief radiating from Emily. This episode saw the two getting along better than ever before. Emily shopping for Rory’s present with Lorelai and listening to her advice, as well as serving pudding at Friday Night Dinner, instilled a hope in Lorelai for the future of their relationship. Maybe she feels a bit wrong for denying this possibility of reconciliation for so long. But she won’t admit to it - not now and probably not ever. She’s too stubborn to admit that she kept her parents at bay longer than necessary and Emily’s too stubborn to say that she is hurt in this moment. They are, again, more similar than either of them admits.
“Well,” Emily changes the subject yet again as she puts the picture down, “you know you could get a maid in here once a week to at least tidy the place up.” Her defenses are back up as she goes into her helpful nag mode and Lorelai responds, “I like it cluttered.” Of course she does. Emily drops it with a smile again. She is probably annoyed, but it also reads as amused by Lorelai’s antics. She doesn’t understand it, but she’s not going to fight it now. Emily excuses herself to check on Richard and Lorelai calls her back briefly to let her know (with a sincerity that is rare for Lorelai) that it was nice that she came to the party. “It meant a lot to...Rory, really,” Lorelai says. You can see that she wants to say “to me,” but she’s not quite ready to own up to the fact that she wants her parents to be in her life in some capacity. So she uses Rory as the excuse, as she does for many of her interactions with her parents. “Well she is my granddaughter after all, I should be here,” Emily says. “I totally agree,” Lorelai responds. The same could be said of a mother and daughter and is being said subtexually. Rory is a stand in for Lorelai. The whole deal that was struck at the beginning of the season was not only for Rory, but for Lorelai. Emily wants Lorelai in her life and you can see that clearly here. She will never have the daughter she envisioned, but she never fully gives up on Lorelai either. Lorelai is often more willing to give up on her parents, but in this scene you see her reach out with a rare sincerity and vulnerability and let Emily know that she is welcome and wanted (of course not always, but in this moment at least).
On her way out Emily begins to straighten the bed, but she leaves it when Lorelai asks her to. She’ll always have the impulse to straighten up and change Lorelai’s decisions, but at least in this moment she respects her daughter’s wishes and attempts to let go of her urges.
Emily takes away from this conversation that she doesn’t “know her daughter at all,” as she tells Richard later. She says this because of all Lorelai has kept from her over the last several years, but as Emily’s keen observations regarding Luke indicate, in some ways she will always know Lorelai better than Lorelai knows herself. Of course it is painful to feel excluded from your daughters life and history, her house and her heart, but all is not lost.
I feel this scene is slightly underrated because it’s not one of Lorelai and Emily’s big fights, nor is it particularly funny, nor is it a moment of complete bonding between the two (like the shopping earlier in the episode). It is a quieter scene the pulls and prods and slightly pushes the two back into each other’s orbits while also bringing up a new type of pain for Emily (the particularlities of what she has missed in her daughter’s life probably sting even more than the vagueness of loss she felt before). There is so much time to recover between the two and so much for them to learn about each other. It’s a bittersweetness as they mend the fight that occurred earlier without directly addressing it by simply agreeing that Emily deserves to be in Rory’s (and subsequently Lorelai’s) life. These two have so much to go through together.
#lorelai gilmore#rory gilmore#Emily Gilmore#richard gilmore#luke danes#season 1#gilmore girls#gg#1x06#rory's birthday parties#106
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Listen to the Words 1x04 & 1x05
Not much at all going on in ep 4, although a lot of cracking tunes. Just a couple of apt choices, rather than insight into their minds.
1x04
Labour of Love - Hue and Cry (Beyonce dance)
Get on Up - Five (Janine and Elsie fight)
Mmmbop - Hanson (carwash)
Bump and Grind - R Kelly (Golden Hour/Ted2)
How Bizarre - OMC (Dave Thompson is a knob)
If Only I could - Sydney Youngblood (sponsored animals)
Everybody Wants to Rule the World - Tears for Fears (losing virginity)
1) Mmmbop - This is a song about friendship and the fact you don’t know which ones will flourish and be around for you in the darker times in your life. And fittingly the lyrics tell us to hold on to the ones who really care... as John and Kayleigh grip hands as John helps her through her panic attack.
You have so many relationships in this life
Only one or two will last
You go through all the pain and strife
Then you turn your back and they're gone so fast
Oh yeah
And they're gone so fast, yeah
Oh
So hold on the ones who really care
In the end they'll be the only ones there
And when you get old and start losing your hair
Can you tell me who will still care
Can you tell me who will still care?
Oh care
2) If Only I Could - Just a little aside that this song about making the world a better place plays while Kayleigh is telling us about the animals she’s adopted.
1x05
Episode 5 is MUCH more interesting with song choices, as we start to really see their relationship shift form friendship to something more.
When Smokey Sings - ABC (running to the postbox)
Put Yourself in My Place - Kylie (dropping the kids off)
New Sensation - INXS (Kayleigh driving them to work)
Have a Nice Day - Stereophonics (wedding song discussion)
Hero - Enrique Iglesias (Golden Hour/Ted2)
Picture of You - Boyzone (Rachel jealousy)
Devil Woman - Cliff Richard (Rachel)
Drive - Cars (Kayleigh is going to have to move)
I Knew You Were Waiting - George Michael/Aretha Franklin (Playing Who am I?)
Somewhere In My Heart - Aztec Camera (Who am I? cont)
This Time I Know It's for Real - Donna Summer (mechanic’s arrival)
Stronger Than Love - Johnny Cash (shit for brains)
1) Hero - Although this song doesn’t have any deep meaning in this episode - it’s used to show the saintly Ted is also good with children - it does give us an interesting parallel in the future. In this episode when Hero plays, and they watch Ted2 in action, Kayleigh says “he can lift me up like that anytime he likes.” She’s looking at Ted2 as a heroic figure. He can be her hero. Yet, fast forward to 2x04 and Kayleigh’s fantasies are John as her hero, and she lets him know. “John to the rescue. My hero.” Ted2 is nothing but eye-candy, John is the hero of her heart.
2) Picture of You - This is an interesting song lyrically as at first it sounds like someone who’s made a bad choice romantically, with someone who will break their heart. But as the song goes on, it shows that in fact that person was there for them through it all, despite what they thought of them.
Didn't they say that I would make a mistake
Didn't they say you were gonna be trouble
People told me you were too much to take
I couldn't see it I didn't want to know
I let you in and you let me down
You messed me up and you turned my life around
You left me feeling I had nowhere to go
I was alone how was I to know that
You'd be there when I needed somebody
You'd be there the only one who could help me
I had a picture of you in my mind
Never knew it could be so wrong
Why'd it take me so long just to find
The friend that was there all along
Who'd believe that after all we've been through
I'd be able to put my trust in you
Goes to show you can forgive and forget
Looking back I have no regrets 'causeYou'd be there, when I needed somebody
You'd be there, the only one who could help me
I had a picture of you in my mind
Never knew it could be so wrong
Why'd it take me so long just to find?
The friend that was there all along
You'd be there, when I needed somebody
You'd be there, the only one who could help me
If you focus on the chorus, it’s Kayleigh’s thoughts on John - she thought he was someone but there he is flirting with Rachel, and so it’s proving her mental image of him wrong. Although this is the opposite meaning to the song itself (an image of someone who was trouble but was there through it all). Of course, the overall theme is one that does relate to John and Kayleigh whichever way you take it - the friend that was there all along. Why’d it take me so long just to find?
3) Devil Woman - Glaringly obvious what this one’s about from the video - Rachel is the “devil woman” leading him astray. The question is, is John’s smugness because he’s enjoying the attention of Rachel? Or because he’s sparked some very obvious jealousy in Kayleigh? Given that in 1x06 he says he’s not actually interested in Rachel, I think we can be sure it’s the latter.
4) Drive - Oh how I love this. Utterly perfect matching of song and scene, as Kayleigh reveals she’s going to have to move to Bury and they both decide John can no longer drive her to work. “Who’s gonna drive you home tonight?” indeed.
Who's gonna tell you when it's too late
Who's gonna tell you things aren't so great
You can't go on thinking nothing's wrong, but bye
Who's gonna drive you home tonight?
Who's gonna pick you up when you fall
Who's gonna hang it up when you call
Who's gonna pay attention to your dreams
Who's gonna plug their ears when you scream
You can't go on thinking nothing's wrong, but bye
Who's gonna drive you home tonight?
Who's gonna hold you down when you shake
Who's gonna come around when you break
You can't go on thinking nothing's wrong, but bye
Who's gonna drive you home tonight?
But more than just that line, the whole song sums up what their relationship has become. They are they to hear each others dreams and fears, pick each other up - literally and emotionally, they have become THAT PERSON to each other. And perhaps at this point neither of them realise just how much. Kayleigh’s tears reflect the lyric “you can’t go on thinking nothing’s wrong”, because it seems like Kayleigh is the one to realise not having John drive her to work means more than simply who’s gonna drive her home tonight... it’s something much deeper than that.
5) I Knew You Were Waiting/Somewhere In My Heart - I’m grouping both of these together because we only hear brief snatches of them during the scenes waiting in the car for roadside rescue. Both can be seen as about finally finding the person in your life who has made all the pain and misery worthwhile cos now you’ll see it all through together.
Like a warrior that fights
And wins the battle
I know the taste of victory
Though I went through some nights
Consumed by shadows
I was crippled emotionally
Somehow I made it through the heartache
Yes I did. I escaped.
I found my way out of the darkness
I kept my faith (I know you did), kept my faith
When the river was deep I didn't falter
When the mountain was high I still believed
When the valley was low it didn't stop me, no no
I knew you were waiting.
I knew you were waiting for me
So we were drawn together through destiny (oh, boy)
I know this love we shared was meant to be
**********
Who cares what people say
We walk down love's motorway
Ambition and love wearing boxing gloves
And singing hearts and flowers
Somewhere in my heart
There is a star that shines for you
Silver splits the blue
Love will see it through
6) This Time I Know It’s For Real - Never was there such a perfect song for Kayleigh’s feelings at this point, and frankly throughout season 2.
I'm going crazy just to let you know
You'd be amazed how much I love you so baby
When I get my hands on you I won't let go
This time I know it's for real
Should I write or call your home
Shout it out with a megaphone
Radio, TV news
Got to find a way
To get my message to you
To say I love you with a neon sign
Anything to make you mine
I'm going crazy just to let you know
If I wait too long for you I might explode baby
I've been around the block enough to know
That this time I know it's for real
She’s desperate to bring up Rachel again, and ask if John is going to go out with her. Rachel’s interference has made her face up to her feelings for John and she’s prodding around trying to find out what he feels. This song signposts what Kayleigh’s going to do next - pushed on by the end of their car sharing time, and the looming Rachel, Kayleigh needs to let John know how she feels. How will she do it? Write I love you in a neon sign? Or get him to “listen to the words” of Pure and Simple?
7) Stronger Than Love - speaking of neon signs... Peter and co couldn’t have made it ANY CLEARER what is driving the emotions and relationship between John and Kayleigh when they use this song.
Six foot six he stood on the ground,
He weighed two hundred and thirty-five pounds,
But I saw that giant of a man brought down to his knees by love.
He was the kind of a man that would gamble on luck,
Look you in the eye and never back up,
But I saw him crying like a little whipped pup because of love.
You can't see it with your eyes,
Hold it in your hand.
But like the wind, it covers our land,
Strong enough to move the heart of any man,
This thing called love.
It can lift you up,
Never let you down,
Take your world and turn it all around,
Ever since time, nothing's ever been found,
That's stronger than love.
(interestingly the second verse deals with non-romantic love, but it’s the verse about a man brought to his knees that they chose to use)
It’s utterly clear what’s happening here, that despite the anger in this scene, these two are fools for each other, and John will forgive it all (even though it was his fault!) because he’s in love. I mean there’s signposting and then there’s literally telling the audience in a song HE IS IN LOVE!
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Crime Shows Whump Catalogue (WIP)
Crime/Cop/Detective/Investigative dramas/whodunnits/Murder mysteries/whatever you want to call them. Incomplete and will be updated as I write it all up.
NCIS - DiNozzo:
Found this halfway through making this list. Goes as far as 8x15. Has every little thing [x]
1x20 – Drugged, kidnapped
2x22 – Plague
2x23 – Still lowkey weak from Plague, gets almost blown up and ‘collapses’, continues to need rest
3x08 – Tied to a chair (w/ Ziva) and punched
3x12 – ‘Shot’ (scratched) in arm
3x16 – Injures ankle
3x23 – Bloody nose
4x04 – Knocked out
6x24 – Fight, breaks arm
6x25 – Still has broken arm, gets tackled by Ziva
9x01 – Shot in head, amnesia
10x21/22 – Car crash, unconscious, cut nose (Ziva hurt more these eps)
NCIS: LA – G. Callen:
[NCIS 6x23] – Shot multiple times
1x08 - Hit over head/‘concussion’
4x01 – Captured, beaten
4x20 - Poisoned
5x04 – Thrown/knocked out by explosion
6x12 – Exposed to ‘deadly’ virus
7x01- Tased (tasered? Shot with a Taser? ...Mildly electrocuted)
8x24 - Shot in vest
NCIS: NOLA – Christopher Lasalle
1x15 – Gassed/high
1x22 – Shocky (emotionally)
2x02 – Shot in Kevlar
JAG – Harmon Rabb:
1x20 – Captured, tied up, drugged, interrogated
2x03 – Head injury, blinded
2x13 – Hit by car, nasty gash, ligament damage, slight concussion
2x14 – Knocked out, hits head again
3x01 – Deteriorating concussion
4x01 – [After ejecting from plane, wakes up in a tree] Knocked out
7x01 – Head injury, severely hypothermic, amnesia
9x01 – Knocked out in plane crash, head injury
Criminal Minds – Spencer Reid:
An in-depth breakdown [x]
1x06 – Hostage, kicked
2x15 – Kidnap, torture, drugged (begins drug addiction arc)
4x24 – Anthrax
5x01 – Shot in leg (covers actor’s own injury) on crutches in further episodes
6x12 – Headaches (storyarc that sort of fizzles out)
9x23 – Shot in neck
Derek Morgan:
4x18 – Tackled through window, knocked out
5x23 – Knocked out, tied up
9x23 – Shot in arm
11x16 – [11x15, drugged and kidnapped] drugged, tortured, chemical burns
Chicago PD – Antonio Dawson:
[Chicago Fire 1x13 – shot. 1x14 – Shooting aftermath]
1x13 – Shot
1x14 – Shooting aftermath, hospital
Jay Halstead:
3x01 - Torture
CSI:NY – Don Flack
2x24 – Explosion
6x08 - Beaten up
Mac Taylor:
4x10 - Knocked out, drugged, kidnapped
8x18 - Shot
Danny Messer:
6x01 - Shot
CSI (Las Vegas) – Nick Stokes:
2x19 – Pushed out window
5x25 – Buried alive
Greg Sanders:
3x22 - Caught in explosion, hospital
7x04 – Beaten up
Numb3rs - Don Eppes
1x02 - Shot
2x24 - Drugged
5x20 - Stabbed
Hawaii 5-0 – Steve McGarrett:
1x01 - Fight
1x20 – Falls off cliff, head injury, broken arm
2x01 – Stabbed, collapses off-screen
2x10 – Captured, tortured
2x16 – Hit by car
4x08 – Shot in arm
4x19 – Trapped in building collapse
4x21 – Captured, beaten, tortured
5x01 – Shot in leg
5x07 – Gassed, drugged, tortured
5x13 – Car crash
6x06 – Fight
6x17 - Gassed
6x25 – Shot on a plane
7x01 – Continuing issues from liver transplant
7x04 – Stabbed (but apaaaarently he’s too tough for being stabbed in the back with a kitchen knife to do more than be momentarily inconvenienced)
7x25 - Peaky, turns out he has radiation poisoning
Danny Williams:
1x01 – Bullet grazed arm
1x23 – Sarin poisoning
3x10 - Shot
4x19 – Trapped in building collapse, impaled
5x16 - Stabbed
6x17 - Gassed
6x25 – Donates some liver
Lethal Weapon – Martin Riggs:
[Emotional whump like every episode especially the first half of the season]
1x01 – Shot twice, shoulder + foot
1x02 – Bar fight, black eye, crashes through window from building across street,
1x03 – Cattle prod-ed
1x04 – Fight
1x07 – Hit by car door, tortured,
1x10 - Drugged
1x12 – Almost drowns
1x13 - Shot with nail gun
1x16 – Angsty, smashes head into mirror
Quantico – Ryan Booth:
1x01? - Shot
1x07 – Shot
1x08 – Continued from shooting
1x09 – Tortured
Bones – Seeley Booth:
1x15 – Explosion
2x18 – Knocked out, tied to chair, beaten
3x05 – Shot in leg
3x08 – Car crash/explosion (Bones in car too)
3x14 – Shot and ‘dies’
4x13 – Breaks his hand punching someone, knocked out, concussion
4x14 – Kidnapped, trapped in box then on ship, hallucinating, explosion
4x25 – Hallucinations
4x26 – Brain surgery, coma
5x10 – Explosion
9x24 – Shot
11x01 – Shot
Graceland – Mike:
1x09 – Stabbed
1x10 – Continued stab wound, attacked
2x01 – Tortured
2x13 – Shot, suffocated
3x01 – Continued shooting injuries (drug addiction arc begins)
3x07 – Drug withdrawal, sweats, vomiting, delirious, ice bath
Rush – Michael:
1x09 – Car crash, knocked out
1x10 – Head injury
2x10 – Captured
3x07 – MMA fight, nasty fight later (attempted eye-gouging involved)
3x15 – Tumbles down hillside
3x22 – Speared
4x06 – Knocked out (beginning of story arc to 4x08)
4x07 – Kidnapped, head injury, shot
4x08 – Coma hospital scenes
Josh:
1x04 – Hit on head, collapses
1x06 – Smoke inhalation
2x08 – Shot in leg
2x11 – Kneed by suspect
3x09 – Fight, stabbed, injures arm/shoulder, hospitalised
3x14 – Falls through ceiling, dazed for a second, shot (in vest)
4x06 – Fight
4x11 – Comes to on a boat, shot, falls overboard
Lawson:
2x01 – Caught near explosion, minor head injury
3x17 – Hit by a car
4x12 – Hit on head
Christian:
3x19 – Knocked out
Dom:
1x10 – Caught in explosion, hospitalised for head trauma
2x18 – Glass in face
Grace:
1x04 – Hit in face
1x10 – Caught in explosion, collapses, hospitalised
Stella:
1x03 – Shot in vest
New Blood: Stefan –
1x02 (Case 1, Part 2) – Drugged
1x03 – Caught in explosion
1x04 (Case 2, Part 1) – Dog bite, drunk, punched
1x05 - Knocked out, strung up
1x06 (Case 3, Part 1) – Car crash (tbc)
1x07 – Fight, car crash, thrown by explosion
Arrash:
1x03 – Caught in explosion
1x04 – Kicked in the nads, drunk
1x05 - Knocked out, strung up, punched
1x06 – Car crash (tbc), hit, thrown to ground
1x07 – Fight, car crash, thrown by explosion
The Glades – Jim Longworth:
1x01 – Alligator bite
2x01 – Dog bite
2x08 – Snake bite
2x11 – Fight – sand in eyes, knocked out, attempted drowning
4x13 – Shot (cliffhanger, last episode)
The Finder – Walter Sherman:
1z12 – Shot (fine, later complications: subdural hematoma)
Brooklyn Nine-Nine – Jake Peralta:
1x06 – Concussion from falling from ceiling
2x13 - Exercises, flops to the ground
2x19 - Kidnapped
2x20 – Falls through car sunroof, various broken and bruised bones, later hit by car, hospitalised
3x10 - Knocked out
3x16 - Knocked out
4x01 - Run over by go-kart
4x02 - Fight
4x03 - Hostage, shot in leg
4x04 - cont. shooting recovery (cane)
4x17 – Hungover, mentions that he might have injured his ribs
Psych – Shawn Spencer:
3x11 – Knocked out
4x09 – Shot
5x04 – Barely poisoned
6x13 – Appendix burst
7x08 – Head injury, concussion
Endeavour – Morse:
0x01 – Faints
1x02 – Stabbed
1x04 – Shot
2x01 – Knocked out, tied up, beaten up
2x02 – Falls through floor
4x02 – Drugged
4x04 – Head/ear injury from grenade
Lewis – James Hathaway:
2x03 – Drugged, trapped in fire, caught in explosion
4x01 - Shot
5x04 – Mild arsenic poisoning
7x01 – Whiplash
Midsomer Murders – Ben Jones:
15x02 – Knocked out, tied up, concussion
19x03 – Knocked out, tied up
Grimm – Nick Burkhardt:
1x01 - Injected with a toxin, collapses
1x08 – Brutal fight
2x13 – Drinks a potion, stomach pains, collapse
2x15 - Blinded
3x01 – Zombified, enraged and gets into fights
3x02 – Continued ‘zombification’, fights as his pals try to capture him, injected with painful cure
4x02 – Sudden headache
4x06 – Sudden headache develops into general weakness gets worse over time
5x21/22 – Fight, torture, hallucination, shot
6x04 – Lightheaded for a moment
#whump#whump catalogue#NCIS#Criminal Minds#Chicago PD#CSI#Numb3rs#H50#Lethal Weapon#Quantico#Bones#Graceland#Rush#New Blood#The Glades#The Finder#Brooklyn Nine-Nine#Psych#Endeavour#Lewis#Midsomer Murders#Grimm#NCIS New Orleans#NCIS Los Angeles#Original#there are so many more I have drafted to go in this section#like white collar and hannibal and flashpoint and haven#and don't worry a lot of other things that belong in different genres#CRIME
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I always though that Harrow was more like Callum's foil, especially re: chains of history and vulnerability (this is even more clear in the novel where Callum does have a clear problem showing his vulnerable side and initially thinks crying is weakness). Rayla seems more like a foil to the moonfam (Runaan, Lain, Tiadrin).
There are three main instances in the novelization where Callum tries to hide his emotions.
“He was just as worried about being sent away as Ezran, but the couldn’t let the younger boy see his fear” in which he wants to protect his baby brother - a motivation that consistently emboldens Callum - and lines up with what we see in the corresponding scene in canon.
“Don’t cry, don’t cry, he told himself. He couldn’t cry here in the throne room; he had to show the king he was brave and strong. He paused before the door to collect himself. Don’t look back, don’t cry. Suddenly, Callum felt the king’s strong arms wrap around him. He closed his eyes and let his whole body relax into the embrace. A sob escaped his mouth.”
Is a different hug scene than what we see in 1x02 (as Callum originally pulls Harrow into it) but the core message is the same: Harrow and Callum have a hard time being vulnerable and expressing themselves around each other, not that Callum has a hard time being vulnerable in general. And in spite of the way Callum is very emotionally open consistently and willfully (1x04, 1x06, 1x08, an instance in at least every episode of season two, basically every episode in season three) he’s not actually a crier the way Ezran and Rayla are. Ezran cries out of empathy (1x09) and grief (2x08, 2x09), and Rayla cries out of frustration, grief, guilt, fear, and happiness. Callum cries while reading Harrow’s letter out of both sadness and happiness, and he cries over his father’s death in general, and... Callum doesn’t cry at any other times. But none of that is because he thinks crying is a weakness, it’s just that crying most of the time is not an enjoyable experience. I am a crier but unless I’m crying from happiness and even then, I’m not usually thrilled to be in tears and am going to wipe them away the way 90% of people would.
And in terms of admitting his weaknesses and expressing his emotions in other ways, Callum will do so without any prodding and then just Talk until he’s done. The one thing he stumbles in is his mother back in S1 when Rayla enters the cave in 1x07, which is why I predicted in season three we’d get a parallel scene of him opening up about Sarai (and it happened in 3x06).
“Callum knew it was his responsibility to talk to Ezran about their mother’s death, to help him get through it, since he was the older brother. But so often, the subject was simply too difficult to broach.”
The novelization also makes a very clear, pointed parallel between Harrow’s choices and Callum’s counselling to Rayla, which is:
Callum desperately wanted to reassure the king, whose shoulders bore the burden of whatever past choices he had made. But how could he tell this man, a king, that it was time to move on? [...] He knew King Harrow was the most stubborn king in the history of Katolis. If he believed he deserved some terrible fate, there was no changing his mind.
Do not let the past define your future, as I did. Free yourself from the past. Learn from it, understand it, then let it go.
I think the main thing of getting into the weeds is that what you’re referencing is the show’s overall Main Theme, which means that it plays into the arc of every character in the show of the first three seasons. Moreover, the princes - particularly Callum in the first two seasons and Ezran in the third - are the harbingers of the wisdom Harrow learned too late, even before they have access to it (in 2x06 through Harrow’s letter).
Rayla does parallel the Moon Fam, but just like with any tightly written show, everyone foils everyone. Runaan foils Harrow and Viren, just as Callum foils Viren and Runaan and Harrow (and Callum and Rayla also foil each other, and Claudia, and Soren, who also foil Ezran, etc). Rayla breaks free of some of the cycles of Moonshadow culture that Runaan succumbed to, like revenge equalling justice, but she also gets sucked right back in TTM. Runaan too, foils and contrasts Callum (and Callum also foils Ethari in their romantic relationships with Rayla and Runaan, respectively).
Callum is also paralleled with Lain and Tiadrin, as they only have one scene. Tiadrin is shown to be quick thinking, just like Callum (1x04, TTM) although she succeeds where he fails, and Lain and Callum experience subsets of the same spell from Viren (stealing breath / voice). The largest parallel between Rayla and her biological parents is framing even the 3x09 previously on makes blatant.
Ezran had to learn how to be a better king than his father and did so. Callum had to learn to not give into the temptation of Dark Magic the way Harrow (and Viren) did. But Rayla, steadfast and stubborn in her morals and ethics and concepts of paying the price, is Harrow’s primary generational foil, at least from a narrative standpoint. (From an interpersonal relationship one, Harrow’s primary foil is Ezran.) If you’re interested in learning more about why I think Viren is Callum’s primary generational and narrative foil, you can check out my tag for their foil relationship here.
#king harrow#rayla#1x02#tdp meta#the dragon prince#thanks for asking#book one: moon#moon fam#the royal family of katolis#parallels#analysis series#analysis#Anonymous#through the moon#paying the price
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I've always found it interesting how both Callum and Rayla are highly emotional people, but with her she's been raised to hide emotions but she's bad at at it, while he's been raised to be more open but is better at hiding emotions. And how that may contradict what one might expect, except for the fact that Rayla hiding her emotions seems to be out of fear or shame, whereas Callum does it out of love (to protect Ezran, for example). That's how I see it anyway, but I may well be missing the point
Nah, you’re dead on. When Rayla first corners him, he flounders, she speaks, and then he has her looking at tapestries and coming up with an escape plan for what he knows he can do (which at that point isn’t much, but he is thinking things through at least a couple steps head). Like when it matters and comes down to the wire, Callum is an amazing, calm and collected liar.
The only reason his lie doesn’t work is because Ezran interrupts and confirms otherwise. Callum doesn’t falter and Rayla doesn’t question why he’s being so forthcoming considering the circumstances in the first place.
When Rayla is openly emotional, it’s usually 1) not by choice and 2) a bit of a mess. She cries and get desperate and starts breaking down to various degrees in situations where she’s upset (not angry).
When she doesn’t follow this pattern, it’s usually because someone has prompted her to open up and she’s decided to listen. This happens in 1x05 with Callum and the boys after a lot of prodding, 1x08 with Ezran, 1x09 with Callum very briefly, 2x06 with Villads, 2x07 with Callum, and 3x08 with Callum.
She is comparatively a horrible liar with obvious clues written all over. Just look at the way she awkwardly covers her tracks with Runaan and he sees through her stalling, the way Callum can know that she’s hiding something despite hardly knowing her at all, Claudia knowing that “the elf is onto” them about Harrow, the human Rayla impression she tries to pull off even when it’s comparatively serious. The way she’ll say this even when it is blatantly not true and nobody would be in her sitution.
There are only two times in the entire show that Rayla opens up with zero prompting from anyone, and both are to Callum: in 1x02 when she’s apologizing for having to take his life (“I don’t want to do this but I have to”) and in the beginning of 3x03. Meanwhile Callum opens up to people with zero prompting all the time (1x04 with Rayla, 1x06 with Ezran, 1x07 with Ezran, 2x04 with Rayla, 2x07 with Rayla, 3x06 with Rayla). Like, entire speeches and conversations, with no prelude. Or hell, sometimes he goes from talking about one topic to another with nothing in between.
Great segue, bby.
And it shows in their relationship in the pining stage, too. Rayla gets very flustered almost twice as often, but it’s not like his feelings are less obvious. They’re just expressed, ironically enough, more privately than hers are, ie. Callum drawing in his sketchbook and not making the first move. Which is also how Callum conducted things with Claudia without too many exceptions. He only really does anything remotely indicating romantic interest with either of them when they’re alone, she initiates, or other people aren’t paying attention.
Meanwhile, this is how Callum processes his emotions.
The main emotion he doesn’t process well is anger, which is more explosive, and is what Rayla uses to try and hide her emotions behind; meanwhile when Callum is angry, he’s usually genuinely angry or frustrated. It can be mixed with other emotions (worry, grief, etc.) but he’s not hiding behind it.
The way I see it, because Callum knows how to healthily process his emotions, there’s no real self loathing when it comes to experiencing negative ones. But Rayla hasn’t had that same form of processing, so when negative ones do happen, she has less grounds of dealing with them at all.
Ezran is actually this very interesting combination of both of them in some ways, because he’s simultaneously very open and heartfelt in his support of others more so than his own feelings (ie. “I’m not scared, Bait was scared” in 1x01 VS “It’s okay to be afraid of things” to Rayla in 1x05), can be quite fierce when he’s angry, and doesn’t always open up either (although he mostly does), a mixture of personality and maturity, I think.
I feel like I’ve rambled enough that I’m just on the verge of not making sense anymore, but yeah: Rayla can’t really hide her emotions to save her life, and although it’s much more rare, when Callum does decide to hide his emotions, he’s way better at doing so successfully.
#king-of-bullshit#rayllum#sort of??#platonic rayllum#thanks for asking#analysis series#analysis#parallels#impromptu meta is always interesting lol#every separation is a link
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