#3b 2x12

[dailytalesofarcadia]

TOP 5 EPISODES OF SEASON 2 OF 3BELOW AS VOTED BY OUR FOLLOWERS

↳ 4th Place: A Glorious End, Part 1

[walviemort]

hidden blessing (13/?)

Summary: Killian thought the only thing he was left with after Milah’s death was a broken heart and a thirst for vengeance. It’s not until he gets to Storybrooke, after so many years spent in stasis, that he discovers something else: he’s carrying her child. How does this new, tiny blessing change his path? (Canon-divergent from 2x12.) rated T | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | part 12 | AO3 | 3.9k a/n: And we're back! I still have the next few chapters done, and the rest of 3B plotted. Thanks for not giving up on this!

Killian was surprised at how much relief he felt when the Storybrooke harbor came into sight. Being safely out of Neverland was certainly part of it, but seeing that quaint little town that was apparently working its way into his heart was its own kind of soothing. 

If he had to guess, the gentle but persistent kicking he was feeling from his baby echoed his own joy. 

That said—he did have to bite back a pang of loneliness at watching the reception his allies were given upon disembarking the ship; even Regina was hailed as a hero by the townsfolk that, he had thought, were generally distrustful of her. He stood on the gangplank watching the reunions and feeling very much like an outsider again. 

It wasn’t that he wanted attention or gratitude; he had just apparently come to enjoy the feeling of being included. 

(He was at least assuaged by the fact that Emma looked equally uncomfortable with all eyes on her and her family; the somewhat panicked look she shot his way once he eventually disembarked was met with a knowing nod.)

After confirming that the waters of Neverland were working on David for the moment, everyone began to dissipate and move back toward the center of town. He hung back, though, citing a need to fully secure the ship—and, frankly, he needed a moment alone to continue to convince himself that the babe was all he needed; that they were family enough (and more than he’d had in decades). 

(He did, however, miss the longing glance Emma gave him as she was ushered back into town by her parents and son. But as long as he wasn’t going anywhere, she’d have time to talk to him later. And maybe more.)

—---------------------

Later that day, after wrapping up on the ship and running another errand, he found himself with the rest of the crowd in Granny’s. As soon as he’d walked in the door, every single craving he’d had on the island came back to him at full force; he didn’t even know what to order. Granny chuckled when he explained the situation and told him she’d take care of it. He honestly didn’t recognize half the foods she gave him—some kind of fish, and perhaps some bacon?—but it was divine. (He couldn’t blame the sudden snugness of his vest on the babe alone.)

He was sipping on some ginger tea afterwards (lest that amazing meal come back up) when he cast a glance across the diner—and noticed Emma sitting there, with Henry. Much as he longed to join them, it was a stark reminder, as had been everything since they landed: his focus needed to be on his child, and nothing else, much as hers was likely on getting Henry settled back into his life here.

A presence was suddenly in his space, and Neal was sliding onto the stool next to him.

“Didn’t know you drank anything but rum,” he teased, nodding at the mug and then taking a sip of his own ale.

“As I understand, that wouldn’t be ideal for a fetus,” he replied. “And don't worry, I'm not here to pursue the Lady Swan.”

“Yeah, you're just here to enjoy Granny’s excellent cooking.”

“I am, actually. And I've made a decision when it comes to Emma: I'm gonna back off.

“Back off?” Neal sounded surprised.

“I have enough to focus on with impending parenthood; I don’t need to actively be throwing romance into that equation. Which I suppose lets you have a fair shot at her, without a devilishly handsome pirate standing in the way,” he winked, then finished his tea.

“You're serious?” He seemed genuinely touched.

“Yeah. I am devilishly handsome.”

Neal at least chuckled at that, and offered his glass in cheers. Killian obliged, but didn’t add on what he was really thinking: even if he wasn’t actively going to seek Emma out, he had no plans on going anywhere or leaving her presence. His priorities might lay elsewhere, but he was in this for the long haul; given the previous demise of Emma and Bae’s relationship, he wasn’t optimistic about a reunion.

But that was for the future. At present, he looked up to check the time on the clock—and cursed. “Damn; I’ve got to get to an appointment.”

“What, like a doctor appointment?” 

“Yeah; is that odd?” He’d gone to Doc’s office earlier to enquire if he had any availability to see Killian and was told to come back later—not long from now.

“You just don’t strike me as the type to seek out professionals.”

“No, not usually, but it’s not for me—it’s for this one,” he said, nodding at his belly. “Can’t be too careful when Neverland is involved.”

Neal winced. “Yeah, good plan. Hope it goes well, then,” he said, surprisingly sincere. 

“Thanks,” Killian replied as he hopped off the stool and threw some gold on the counter. “Until later.”

He’d hardly gotten outside Granny’s front gate and down the sidewalk when a familiar voice was calling for him. 

“Hook!” Emma shouted, then jogged to keep up when he paused. “Where are you going?”

“Nowhere exciting,” he answered. “Just the obstetrician.”

“Oh!” she exclaimed. “Oh, okay, then; just wanted to make sure you weren’t skipping town or anything.”

“What, afraid I’d leave without saying goodbye?” He felt slightly guilty for flirting after the conversation he’d just had with Bae, but he couldn’t help it if Emma was the one seeking him out. “Don’t worry—I would never.”

“You better not,” she said, and held his gaze. She wasn’t saying it verbally, but he understood the subtext clearly: she wanted him to stay—here, near her. And that meant more than he could express.

Her eyes darted to his lips, despite there being several feet between them; gods how he wanted to follow that train of thought, but perhaps making out in front of the diner where her ex (and the rest of her family) still sat wasn’t the greatest idea, especially since he still had somewhere to be.  

“Right, well, I don’t want to be late,” he finally said to break the silence and took a step in the direction of the doctor’s office, if only to break the tension between them. 

“Yeah, yeah,” she said quickly, shaking her head as if to clear it. “Uh, wait—do you want some company? At your appointment?”

He blinked; now he was truly surprised. “Why would you want to go to that?” he blurted out. 

“I mean, most people usually have someone with them at those—their partner, y’know, or a friend.”

Unable to resist the setup, he asked, “And which do you consider yourself, Swan?”

The subsequent eye roll was expected, but her sincerity wasn’t. “Look, I had to go through all of that with Henry on my own, and I always wished I had someone there with me. So, if you want someone, I’ll gladly go with you.”

He opened his mouth to reply, but he simply didn’t have one. But the way he was suddenly holding back tears probably said enough. “I, uh,” he stammered. “I’d like that, if—if you’re sure.”

She gave him a small smile, then walked forward. “Well, come on; we don’t wanna be late.”

He watched her walk past him, still in awe, but finally came back to his senses when she yelled at him to hurry up. 

The entire concept of the “waiting room” at the doctor’s office was foreign to him, and frankly seemed unnecessary; it just gave him more time to worry about what the doctor might find. It was all he could do not to bounce his leg nervously as he sat in an uncomfortable chair next to Emma, who seemed to be reading a periodical.

But when he glanced over at her, her eyes were anything but focused on the pages. “Not a fan of the physician, eh?” he said, trying to refocus his nervous energy elsewhere.

She blinked and looked up at him, then chuckled half-heartedly. “No, it’s not that—although, yes,” she conceded. “I’m just worried about Henry.”

That, he understood. “He’s been through something traumatic; it likely takes some time to settle after that.”

She huffed a bit. “That’s what everyone keeps saying, but it’s not that. There’s something else…off, I guess.” Then she shrugged. “Or maybe I’m just imagining it.”

“Or maybe you’re not,” he countered. “Your instincts tend to be fairly solid, Swan; don’t ignore them if you think something is truly wrong.”

“Thanks,” she answered, giving him a small smile in return. “I just don’t know what it could be.”

“Perhaps—” he started, trying to help her brainstorm, but then his name was called out to go back to the exam room. Alas; they’d have to continue that train of thought later.

Having someone with him in the exam room was a completely different experience than his last couple of visits, and definitely for the better. If Doc was surprised by the change, he didn’t comment on it, and even though Emma politely averted her gaze during certain parts of the checkup, she was able to help answer some questions—like just how long they’d been in Neverland. 

“Just shy of three weeks,” she was answered confidently. “And you were at 16 when we left, right?”

“Yeah,” he confirmed, astonished she remembered. “But I think Pan may have accelerated it a bit, at one point.”

“You didn’t tell me that!” she hissed, but still sat next to him during the sonogram; she’d already seen his belly at the lagoon, so he didn’t mind that exposure, but he wondered if she might get weirded out seeing the image of his insides. 

But then Doc said “huh” while he was scanning, and Killians heart stuttered. 

“What?”

“I can’t—find—“ Doc said while continuing to move the probe around. 

Killians breath hitched as he stared at the screen, waiting for something to appear. The babe couldn’t be gone—he could feel them still—no, please, no—

Then he jumped a mile when something touched his hand; he turned his head to see Emma slipping her hand around his and giving an encouraging smile. He couldn’t return it, but he took hold of hers and squeezed. 

“There they are!” His eyes darted back to the screen and he sighed; there it was—his babe. “They were hiding on us!” Doc said, chuckling, “but everything is looking good.”

What Pan said he’d done was accurate—he was around 18 weeks now—but they were there and they were healthy and that was all that mattered. 

He felt somewhat drained as he and Emma left the office, but ultimately relieved. “Thank you for coming, Emma; I’m...I can’t say how much it means that you were there,” he told her outside the office. 

“Like I said—no one should have to do that alone,” she said. “And honestly, it’s the least I can do. I’m glad I was there, too.”

“Would, uh,” he started, not sure how to ask the question he wanted to ask. “Do you want to…” How on earth did one ask the object of their affections to join them at the rest of their appointments to track the growth of the child they were having as a product of his relationship with said love interest’s would-be-mother-in-law?

“I will gladly go to the rest of them, if you want me there,” she said, smiling. 

Thank gods she figured it out. “Yeah, I would. Please.”

She just laughed at him and started to lead the way back into town. They were silent, but it was a comfortable quiet—although he did keep stealing glances her way, something she was apparently doing as well because they broke into a fit of juvenile giggles when they caught the other’s eye. 

The turnoff came to head to the marina, and sleep was calling his name again. “I’m afraid this is where we part,” he said. “Seriously—thank you.”

She waved it off. “It was my pleasure. But now that I’ve seen that kid, I’m gonna be making sure you’re taking care of them.”

“With my life.”

“That’s what worries me,” she teased, albeit with a serious edge. “Especially after Dark Hollow. Take care of yourself, too.”

“You have my word.” (She could have whatever of his words she wanted, if he was being honest.)

“Well, I’d like to make sure you are. Like, tomorrow, around lunch time, at Granny’s.”

“Why, Swan, are you asking me on a date?”

“No. I’m making sure you get decent food. Especially now that I know you’ve been craving grilled cheese.”

She had him there. “Alright, I will see you then. And maybe we can continue the earlier conversation, about Henry?”

“Yeah,” she said softly. “See you then,” she farewelled with a grin. 

He started to walk away, but a crazy idea came over him. “Wait, Emma,” he called out, then jogged over to her as he fished out the envelope Doc had given him from his jacket. “Do, ah, do you want one?” he offered, holding it out to her. 

Now was her turn to be speechless; she blinked and stared at it in awe for a second. “An ultrasound picture? You’re asking if I want one?”

“Aye.”

She stared in shock for another moment, until a smile that was usually reserved for Henry took over. “Sure.”

He let her pick which of the few she wanted; she chose one with the baby’s fist extended. “Looks like they want to party,” she giggled. 

“Well, they’re all pirate,” he agreed, grinning. 

They parted for real then, with a promise to meet the next day. Apologies to Neal, but he couldn’t deny Emma anything. 

(He didn’t see it, but when Emma got in her Bug, she smiled at the sonogram, even giving it a little fist bump. “You’re gonna have a great daddy, kiddo,” she told it, “and I hope I’m a part of your life, too.”)

—-------------------------------------------

The next day, right around the time Emma had requested his presence, he slipped in the back door at Granny’s to meet her in the diner. But before he got that far, he ran into someone else—almost literally. “Oof—sorry; my apologies, Lady Bell,” he said, steadying her with his hand and hook. 

The fairy didn’t seem too bothered, though. “I’m alright; are you?”

“I’m fine, love,” he assured her. “Just need to pay more attention to what’s in front of me, apparently.”

“Daydreaming, huh?” she assessed, crossing her arms and smirking. “About the little one…or about Emma?”

How was she always able to read him so well? Was that a fairy thing? “Bit of both, I suppose,” he acknowledged, and told her about the appointment yesterday—both Emma’s presence at it, and the reassuring news he received. 

“That’s fantastic!” Tink gushed. “So do you think you’ll stay on the ship, or try to find some place to stay in town?”

The vision of Emma’s family’s flat swam into his mind; the Jolly Roger had long been his home, but he had to admit it wasn’t always the safest (or warmest) place. Perhaps he did need to find a more permanent mooring? (Maybe even in proximity to Emma’s home?) “I suppose I should start looking—”

He was interrupted by a most blood-curdling scream coming from outside. Bloody hell—they’d hardly been back a day; were crises this common here? “Then again, maybe not,” he quipped, and they quickly ran outside to see what was happening. 

Emma and her father were getting out of the prince’s truck (who, he had heard, was successfully cured of the dreamshade; Gold had held to his word, incredibly) as he and Tink emerged from the diner. 

“The hell was that?” she exclaimed as she walked over; he didn’t miss her glance between them, a curious look on her face, but hopefully she noticed the subtle shake of his head. 

“I have the same question,” he did add, though. 

The screaming occurred again, only louder.

“There,” David shouted, pointing in the direction of the sound, and took off running; the rest of them immediately followed (even though Killian had a feeling that exertion on an empty stomach was not going to be great for his nausea).

The sight that followed certainly didn’t help: near the steps of the convent, the mother superior was making a mad dash to get away from Pan’s Shadow. She nearly got inside, but the Shadow got there first—and wasted no time in tearing away her own shadow. 

Immediately, the nun collapsed on the sidewalk. David knelt down, looking for a pulse, but— “She's gone,” he said, aghast. (Killian began searching for the nearest bush to retch into; Doc said the nausea should be ending soon, but apparently not yet.)

“Why would the Shadow kill her?” Tink wondered aloud for all of them. 

“No idea, love,” he answered. “But I do know the Shadow only takes orders from one person.” That fact was also causing the twist in his gut. 

Emma found his eyes; her own were wide in shock. “Pan,” she said, confidently and horrified. 

While he was busy losing what little remained of his breakfast in the shrubbery, the rest of their little band arrived, no doubt also noticing the ruckus. Regina was understandably confused as to how the shadow could have broken free; Henry looked downright terrified. Neal was at least being pragmatic.

“Look, let's go back to the ship and get the candle. If it strikes again, we need to be able to capture it,” he said authoritatively, then turned to Killian. “Where’d you stash it?”

“I’ll show you,” he said, and threw an apologetic look at Emma as he left; he didn’t dare mention their abandoned date in front of Neal.

Tink tagged along as well. “Didn’t we just do all this?” she complained.

“From what I’ve gathered, Storybrooke is just…like this,” he supplied.

“Sounds exhausting. Are you sure about staying, then?”

“Do you know of anywhere better?” he quipped back.

“You’re staying?” Neal asked as they approached the marina.

“Aye; is that so surprising?”

If he wasn’t mistaken, Neal was pouting. “I just figured it’d be back to the high seas.”

“With an infant on the way?” Tink interjected. “Are you daft?”

“I mean, houseboats are a thing,” he said quietly, but it was clear he wasn’t enthused by that news. Ah well—that was his issue to deal with, not Killian’s. Just because he wasn’t going to actively pursue Emma didn’t mean he was going to stop talking to her altogether. (And it really wasn’t his fault if that fact alone was threatening to Neal.)

It was both a comfort and a worry that the previously dark sail was back to its normal crisp white. All the more reason to track the shadow down again. 

“I know where the coconut is below deck; cover for me?” Tink asked. They obviously obliged. 

Both paced the deck, keeping an awkwardly safe distance between them. Killian took a moment to stop at the dockside railing, scanning both the sky and the skyline. 

As much as she’d been teasing, Tink’s comment was lingering. Did he truly want to settle down and raise a child in a place that seemed to attract danger?

Or did he want to fight to make it a safe place not just for his babe, but for everyone else here?

“When’d you do this?” Neal’s voice pulled him from his meditation; he stood on the quarterdeck, running his fingers along the wood behind the helm. 

Killian moved closer, ascending the steps. Neal was tracing the well-worn indentation behind the wheel—particularly, the lines he’d angrily dashed through the port and starboard symbols he drew for Bae all those years ago. 

“Right after the Lost Boys took you,” he said solemnly. 

“Trying to erase what you did?” There was an edge of venom in his voice. 

“Trying to erase my own hope,” he confessed. “Nothing excuses what I did—you suffered the most from my brash action—but I had been sincere in my desire to keep you here. I was angry at myself for destroying it; thus…” He waved his hook over the carvings. 

“I know,” Neal said, tracing the P. “I probably would have calmed down eventually, you know; I was an irrational teenager,” he chuckled. “But you were the adult.”

“Aye; right on all counts.”

“At least you get a second chance now. Don’t mess it up.”

“I don’t intend to.”

A look of understanding passed between them, despite the tension just a bit ago, and they nodded at each other. 

A moment later, Tink emerged with the coconut, just as Neal’s talking device went off. (Perhaps Killian needed to get his hands on one of those? They seemed to be rather useful.)

“Okay; we’ll be right there,” Neal said, then pocketed the object. “Everyone’s meeting at Regina’s vault. We good to go?”

“I certainly am,” Tink said, raising the coconut. 

“Aye; let’s get this over with once and for all,” Killian agreed, and they set back off across town. (He’d read that continued activity was good for the baby; with the number of times he’d traversed the town, they were sure to be in good health.)

His blood nearly froze in his veins, though—despite the exertion—once they reached the cemetery. He expected to see the usual band of heroes, and the Crocodile, but—what the bloody hell was Pan doing there?

And, even worse—why was Neal running towards him?

Killian’s hand instinctively drifted to his sword, convinced they were running headlong into a trap.

“Is it really you?” he heard Neal say from afar.

“Dad,” Pan said—though, it evidently was not the demon child. Killian looked towards Emma, hoping she could read the look of confusion that was surely on his face. Her mouth was a thin line but she nodded; they were good enough at nonverbal communication at this point that he could tell: somehow, Pan and Henry had switched bodies. 

(He could wait until later to congratulate her on knowing something was off; but first, they had to get through this.)

David asked if they’d found the Shadow; they showed him the empty coconut in response. The fact that it was still on the loose—paired with the realization that Regina’s vault was magically locked, with both her and Pan-as-Henry inside—was more than his uneasy stomach could take, and he had to step aside to retch again, though little came up.

As he was hunched over behind a random headstone, he felt a caress on his back; Emma gave him a consolatory rub, before seeking her own solitude further away (though her parents were quick to follow).

Everyone’s nerves were palpable as they waited for the Dark One to gain entrance to the vault—then even more on edge once he got through and headed in, with Emma and her parents in tow. He tried to give her an encouraging nod when she looked back over her shoulder at him before descending, but doubted it was convincing.

He paced; Tink perched on a stone; and Neal looked after Henry-as-Pan while they waited for news.

Finally, the others returned, Regina in tow, with the worst news possible:

Pan had escaped—and he’d taken the Dark Curse with him.

Fear like he hadn’t known yet immediately ran through Killian’s body, and his hand rushed to cover the spot where he could feel his babe’s equally nervous wiggles. For the first time, he was genuinely frightened they might fail. Gods above, what was happening?

—------------------------------------

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[princeescaluswords]

I know your blog is Scott centric but, I also see you talk about race. And, I really want to share my frustrations with someone that may get it. When I first started Teen Wolf I hated Stiles. I got into it right before they started 3b so I binged the first two and half seasons straight. And, at every turn I want to know him upside the head. And, it stemmed from him being THE white guy. The guy that felt he did nothing wrong, the guy who could get away with anything, the guy that got everyone else in trouble but, walked away with maybe just a momentary inconvenience if not just as fine as he walked in. I hated him all the way up to the end of 3b where it looked he finally saw his actions severe consequences. And then s4 started and we were right back to where we were.

I say that to say it was a jaring shock to get into the fandom and see that every one loved for the exact reasons I hated him. They wrote fics highlighting the things I despised. And it was then I heard the turn "white man power trip" . And, I finally understood. Stiles was unintentionally\intentionally written to be a light version him, with Scott as his magical colored friend. Except of course the colored friend was the main character. And the fandom practically said "no we're gonna turn that light version up ten fold" .

I've seen many people point it out across mediums but, the Stiles stans where my first conscious instruction to how much media, and fandom don't care about how folks of color are treated just as long as the white characters shines.

I have some thoughts about why certain people dislike Stiles, and I'd like to take the opportunity of your interesting ask to explore them.

To start off, I want to separate the actions taken by the production from the actions taken by the fandom. The fandom's overwhelming need to try to make everything about Stiles (and the Hales) is riddled with racist influence, about which I have talked and will continue to talk, but this post will focus on the production's presentation of Stiles.

Now, I don't actually hate Stiles because, while he would never be my favorite character, I recognize the role he played in the show. He is one of Scott's foils. His character, placed in similar situations alongside Scott, is meant to illustrate Scott's qualities and growth as the protagonist. Scott and Stiles start out in pretty much the same level in Season 1 but by Season 5, they are vastly different people. Scott has overcome mistakes and trauma to become a True Alpha while Stiles has remained pretty much the same: plagued by insecurity about his own nature, distrustful of others (even the people he's supposed to love), violently emotional, and unable to tell the difference between love and possession. Scott has grown and Stiles hasn't. The writing is both amazingly internally consistent and insightful in addition to being brilliantly portrayed by Dylan O'Brien. Stiles is painfully aware of his limitations, which is why during the fight in Lies of Omission, he complains: "Yeah, well, I can't do what you can, Scott. I know you wouldn't have done it. You probably would've just figured something out, right?"

And that's where my problem begins, and I suspect that is where your problem begins as well.

Stiles starts out in Season 1 constantly insulting Scott, from "pathetically unrealistic dreams" in the first episode to "Still want him in your pack?" in episode 12. Now, I've complained before that only Hollywood writers think that a friendship can be portrayed by one side constantly bitching about the other, but it's clear from their writing that Stiles thinks he's better than Scott as much as he loves him. But the ongoing seasons will prove that he's not better. Stiles will slowly come to realize that himself in a scene from Battlefield (2x11) "I want to help, you know but I can't do the things that you do" to Master Plan (2x12) "I'm not a hero" to The Overlooked (3x10) "I used to be the one with the plan" all the way to Creatures of the Night (5x01) "And I hope they don't want to lose me either." Stiles is painfully aware of the deficiencies of his own nature and it sometimes drives him to act in negative ways. This is good writing, and it's a joy to watch.

So how is that a problem?

When during the narrative, Scott makes a mistake or loses focus or even exhibits a weakness (such as the start of Season 3B), there is always another character who comes along to scold him or demand that he get better or literally beat him until he does, whether that be Derek or his mother or Deaton or the Sheriff or even Stiles himself. This is part of being a protagonist, of course. But I've noticed, and I suspect you've noticed, that the narrative permits no one to act similarly toward Stiles. People make him feel bad by yelling at him (and great attention is always put on him feeling bad), but he's never expected to change his behavior. He's entitled to those deficiencies. He's entitled to lie to his father and Scott; he's entitled to emotionally lash out at Scott and Lydia and Malia; he's entitled to physically attack Scott.

Conversely, think about how many times that Stiles is told in the narrative how special, clever, or important he is, but there's never any expectation for him to do anything with any of those qualities. Again, he does use them, but there's no consequence for him when he doesn't. Whenever anyone is disappointed in his behavior, such as Noah in The Girl Who Knew Too Much (3x09), Malia in Monstrous (4x10), or Scott in Lies of Omission, that disappointment is always ultimately shown as illegitimate, and those same people turn around and praise him for simply showing up. There's no greater example of this than in Apotheosis (5x20) when the Sheriff tells Stiles that he saved "Mason and half of Beacon Hills" when Stiles contributions weren't particularly significant while at the exact same time Scott's resolution reduces him to being saved by his dead white girlfriend and losing his present one.

And I think that's what bothers people like you and me. When it comes to the emotional payoff moments, Stiles is treated almost as a deuteragonist, but when it comes to narrative responsibility, suddenly he's a sidekick again. I feel that if Scott had been a traditional white male protagonist, there would have been a scene where someone, anyone, would have demanded growth from Stiles. But there wasn't. I watch Stiles's behavior and by the end of 6A, I'm pretty sure that if any of these same situations happened again, he would behave the same way. He could demonstrate no faith in Scott or anybody yet demand that they have perfect faith in him; he could lie to the people he loves and expect them to believe him; he'd could scream at them and hit them, and they would be expected to love him without condition.

Yes, while this fits in with his character 100%, it's not satisfying to certain viewers when Stiles's mistakes are treated as tragedies in which he can wallow and from which he is required to learn nothing while the protagonist of color is expected to internalize pain and indignities with zero sympathy. Imagine replacing Scott with Stiles in that scene in Heartless (6x07) where Scott comes home to find that Liam has freed Theo, Scott's murderer, from imprisonment and brought Theo to Scott's house. When Scott objects, Liam bleats "you made mistakes!" as if this makes Scott's emotional reaction some sort of failure. Can you imagine Stiles in the same situation? Can you imagine Stiles not losing his shit, screaming at and hitting Liam, instead controlling his emotions and telling Liam to 'Convince me.' I can't; I don't think anyone reasonably can. But the problem is, the show acted not only as if that was the way things are, but that is the way things should be.

In summary, I think people often dislike Stiles not because he was flawed, but because the production treated Stiles as if he were entitled to those flaws. The protagonist of color from the very first season was told "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." and the white foil/sidekick/deuteragonist -- the person who literally said those words -- was never told he had to do anything.

[mwagneto]

I'm having such a good time following your sh rewatch kjfghkdfg

i think you just passed the last bit i watched so i just went from "yeah i remember that, so nostalgic" to "oh shit! did that happen?!" very fun!

KDMKSJFJDF glad it's entertaining lmfaoo and oh man i almost said "you should watch the rest" but like. should you?💀 i enjoy it ngl but I'm pretty sure this show is unwatchable to anyone who wasn't insane about it while it was airing idk

[banedaily]

Countdown to season 3b premiere with Magnus Bane - 19 days

2x12 you are not your own

[stydiamccall]

You just gotta listen.

insp.

[niallloverontheloose]

“What Scott did to Derek in Master Plan was poetic justice and a well deserved comeuppance. Derek abused the Bite and was abused by it”

Take a look at what kind of victim blaming/abuse apologism garbage Scott/Posey Stans put in the Derek Hale tag

https://princeescaluswords.tumblr.com/post/644378147526164481/hey-princeescaluswords-remember-when-you-said#notes

https://rhyslahey.tumblr.com/post/644379010533638144/hey-princeescaluswords-remember-when-you-said#notes

Anonymous: Hey @princeescaluswords remember when you said that Scott hit and abused Isaac because “the Nemeton and lycanthropy made him do it!” and that Scott violating Derek was “poetic justice” and “a well deserved comeuppance”?

@princeescaluswords:

I do remember saying those things (though not those precise words), and I will most definitely say them again!

Scott didn’t hit Isaac in just any episode of Teen Wolf. The scene you are talking about happened in Anchors (3x13), the season opener of 3B. In this episode, Scott, Stiles and Allison were dealing with the debilitating aftereffects of the Nemeton sacrifice. This is not arguable. It is the entire point of the episode.

Scott’s specific consequence took the form of hallucinations where his shadow transformed without his control and uncontrollable transformations into a werewolf, a creature that from the beginning of the series came with increased aggression. The term Stiles used was bloodlust. There was also a scene – in the same episode where Scott started transforming in the middle of school, Stiles and Scott went into a classroom and Scott warned Stiles away because he didn’t know what would happen. Scott was in an unstable mental state due to the influence sacrifice and it took the form of violence and aggression because that’s an established trait of lycanthropy.

See how context is important?

Trying to pretend that Scott wasn’t influenced by the Nemeton ritual in that episode is like trying to pretend that Allison really meant to shoot Lydia in the face with an arrow or that Stiles was actually not paying attention in Coach’s class. It’s absurd, and I think 99 people out of 100 who actually watched the episode would agree, that we were meant to understand that they were suffering from psychological horror that caused them to act differently than they normally would.

And yes, what happened to Derek Hale, one of the villains of Season Two, in Master Plan (2x12) was poetic justice and a well-deserved comeuppance.

Yes, Scott deceived Derek on joining his pack, didn’t tell him about his plan to replace Gerard’s cancer medication with mountain ash to stop Gerard’s plan to force Derek to give him the Bite, and rejected his position as alpha. This was well deserved. Derek had been lying to Scott and concealing information since the first time they met back in Season 1. Derek concealed the existence of the alpha from Scott for three episodes while trying to use a sixteen-year-old boy as bait to find his sister’s killer and in return Scott concealed Gerard’s cancer from Derek. Derek manipulated Scott by promising to help him try for the cure by killing the alpha who bit him and then again by promising to get the cure for Jackson, and in return Scott manipulated Derek by pretending to join his pack. Derek betrayed Scott to Peter in Co-Captain by accepting Peter as his alpha, and in return Scott rejected Derek as his alpha. This is a well-deserved comeuppance.

Derek’s humiliation by Gerard and Gerard forcing the Bite on him was directly caused by Derek’s abuse of the Bite. Derek Bit Jackson – a person he knew was a dangerously unstable narcissist and then abandoned him, and Jackson became the weapon by which Gerard brought Derek to his knees. Derek transformed “teenagers into killers,” tried to murder Allison’s friends, and Bit Victoria, and that helped drive Allison into being the instrument that gave Gerard the upper hand. Derek had been using the Bite to get what he wanted, and in the end he was forced to Bite Gerard by Gerard so the old hunter could get what he wanted. He abused the Bite and was abused by it. This is poetic justice.

See how that works?

//

Scott AND Gerard humiliating, dehumanizing and violating Derek was directly caused by Scott AND Gerard being abusive scumbags.

Scott lied to Allison, patronized Allison, yelled at Allison, manipulated Allison, concealed the truth about her mother’s death from Allison, controlled Allison, and threw Derek and his Pack under the bus just to look “heroic” in Allison’s eyes; Scott’s abusive tendencies/behavior drove Allison away and made her vulnerable to Gerard’s gaslighting and machinations.

Scott’s the one who told his buddy Gerard that Jackson was the Kanima and that Matt was his Master. Not only did Scott conspire with Gerard behind everyone’s back, but he also sold Derek and his Pack out to the hunters and told Gerard everything he wanted to know about them:

Teen Wolf 02x10, “Fury”

SCOTT: What are you doing here?! It wasn’t supposed to happen like this!

GERARD: Trust me, I’m aware of that.

SCOTT: I’ve done everything that you’ve asked of me! I’m part of Derek’s pack! I’ve given you all the information that you wanted! I told you Matt is controlling Jackson!

Scott didn’t hit Isaac because “Lycanthropy and the Nemeton made him do it!” Scott repeatedly hit Isaac because Scott is a jealous, obsessive, possessiveness piece of shit who sees women (and Stiles) as an exclusive property of his. Even Tyler Posey acknowledged it:

https://collider.com/teen-wolf-season-4-tyler-posey-interview/

https://ew.com/article/2016/07/05/teen-wolf-tyler-posey-season-6-scott/

POSEY: Kira is definitely a good distraction for Scott. He was probably a little bit bitter around Isaac because that was Scott’s girl. Allison was the love of Scott’s life, and it’s hard to let that go, especially when she’s with the kid that you’re living with. It’s definitely over-stepping some boundaries. But Kira is a great distraction for Scott. You will not see Isaac thrown into anymore walls *laughs*

What Scott “They Had A Reason” McCall did to Derek Hale in Master Plan was neither poetic justice nor a well deserved comeuppance. It’s dehumanization and a disgusting violation of someone’s boundaries, autonomy and consent

All I’ve to say is,

Tyler Posey....

[firelxdykatara]

hello!! i just wanted to ask- i wanna do an ouat rewatch bc CAPTAIN SWANN but its pretty long and i honestly dont care for the other characters/how badly the overall writing was handled.. which are your favourite captain swan eps? anything them centered and i think ill just skip around to rewatch their romance as they did invent romance 😭😭 ty in advance <3

they absolutely did invent romance, you are right about that and i love them so much

UHMMMM as far as my favorite CS eps, here’s a roadmap of what I personally consider key eps in their journey (some of this is from memory but I haven’t done a full rewatch in a while so i’m going through the episode list as a refresher)

2x06: Tallahassee--this is a must-watch ep for any CS fan, and I really think this is the episode that sparked the fire that CS would become as a fandom. It has everything--flirtatious banter, all kinds of tension, deliberate parallels drawn between Emma and Killian’s pasts, as well as their first meeting being intercut with her relationship with Neal (which serves, especially in hindsight, to highlight just how sketchy that relationship was, and why she couldn’t bring herself to trust Killian--because the last time she felt this way about anyone, it ended horribly)

2x08 and 2x09: Into the Deep and Queen of Hearts--these episodes cover the race to the portal between Emma&co and Hook/Cora and while they don’t do a ton for CS as a relationship since they’re still enemies at this point, it lays great foundation for their future relationship development. Plus, sexy swordfight, Hook going out of his way to save Aurora’s heart--he may be a pirate, but he has standards ok--and Emma realizing Cora can’t remove her heart without her permission? Poetic Cinema

2x11: The Outsider--more of a Killian-centric episode, it shows a lot of Killian at his worst but it’s necessary for his overall character arc and I genuinely love looking back and seeing just how far he managed to come, to the point of eventually even letting go of his (very understandable) grudge against Rumplestiltskin.

2x12: In the Name of the Brother--am I including this purely for Emma&Hook banter in the hospital, and Killian saying ‘hey beautiful’ when he’s lying on the road because he just got hit by a fucking car? You bet I am. Also, go to youtube and look up ‘ouat season two deleted scene jello’, because it’s beautiful and there was a tremendous outcry in the fandom when we realized it had been cut from the episode lmao (It’s also the episode that made me start shipping Frankenwolf, which I’m still sad never went anywhere, but they had a lot of potential and great chemistry.)

2x22: And Straight On Till Morning--A few of the episodes in between have some fun minor interactions and flashbacks (and I always approve of episodes where Killian gets one up on Rumple, so 2x15 is fun for me if i ignore all the Neal bits) but the finale is where we finally get a glimpse of who Killian could be beyond his need for revenge. He didn’t have to come back, he didn’t have to bring back the bean and help the town--but he did.

Season 3a: there’s a lot of really good stuff here for Hook and Emma that is interwoven between the A plots of other episodes. I think, as far as half-season arcs go, it’s one of the best (and everything after 4a bombed hard, but I digress) But there are a few episodes that stand out if you don’t want to watch the whole season. (I recommend starting with the premier though, it was a really solid season starter overall.)

3x05: Good Form--this is the culmination of David’s poisoned-by-dreamshade arc, and is also Peak Captain Charming Bromance. Hook not only keeping David’s secret, but doing everything he can to help save him??? Poetic cinema. It also provides some crucial Killian backstory, showing how he lost his brother to the very same dreamshade. Plus, the character development--Pan offers Killian a chance to escape the island with Emma if he kills David, and instead, he saves him, refusing the deal and damn the consequences. Also also? The first CS kiss which drove the fandom WILD.

3X06: Ariel--not only to I love OUaT’s take on Ariel, but this episode has the infamous Echo Cave scene, which involves a lot of feelsy confessions and Killian being the one to tell everyone that Neal is alive and helping Emma save him despite his own growing feelings for her.....IT’S JUST A LOT AND I LOVE IT.

3x07: Dark Hallow--oh man, I’d forgotten about this episode, but it has Killian and Neal fighting over Emma, which may sound eye-roll worthy, but Emma is allowed to tear them a new one about it and it’s one of the few times she’s allowed to actually???? put her own feelings first so I have to include it here on spec

3x11 and 3x12: Going Home and New York City Serenade--these mark the end of 3a and start of 3b respectively, and it has some amazing shit like Killian vowing never to forget Emma and Emma smiling as she replies, “Good.” And then she and Henry are in New York with their memories completely altered, but Killian shows up because Storybrooke is back and in jeopardy, and he helps Emma get back to her family and her home and, much later, Emma finds out he sold the Jolly Roger to be able to do it and it’s just. It’s beautiful ok.

3x17: The Jolly Roger--there’s honestly not a whole lot in the back half of season 3 (until the CS movie) but of course anything named for Hook is a must-watch, and this is where we get the iconic line I swear on Emma Swan--which is Killian saying he’s in love with her before he even realizes it. We also find out just what he did to Ariel, and his attempts to make amends are what lead to Zelena being able to curse him, so it’s great from a character perspective as well.

The next four episodes round out the end of the season, and there’s a lot of great stuff in them--Hook refusing to get Emma to kiss him, but Emma feeling like she can’t trust him because he didn’t tell her about the curse to begin with, and then kissing him anyway to save his life regardless of the consequences.... but the only ones that are absolutely necessary are the final two episodes.

They are colloquially termed ‘The Captain Swan Movie’ for a reason, after all.

Killian and Emma essentially have an entire Time Travel adventure all to themselves, where they accidentally ruin her parents first meeting and have to fix it so that she’ll even be born, Emma finally getting into the storybook, the pair of them dancing at a ball, Killian rushing to save Emma only for her to get out of the cell herself, because “The only one who saves me is me.” Killian saying “I would go to the ends of the world for her... or time.” Finally fixing the timeline and making it back to Storybrooke and Killian feeling like he doesn’t deserve a place at the table so he doesn’t go inside, but Emma comes out to him anyway and finds out he gave up the Jolly Roger for her, the true start to their relationship...... IM CRYING JUST THINKING ABOUT IT I’M SORRY.

I personally really enjoyed 4a, the Frozen arc was one of the last good half-season arcs of the show, but a lot of people disliked it so it’s really up to interpretation. I don’t have as many Intense Opinions on this season (except hating almost everything about 4b and the queens of darkness arc), but I will say the episodes with good Killian/CS moments are 4x02 (Emma nearly freezes to death, Killian is desperate to save her, Captain Charming teamwork, my heart hurts), 4x04 (Emma asks Killian out on a real date, he tries to get his real hand back from Gold, things go massively awry and he winds up back under Gold’s thumb), 4x08 (Killian tries to save Emma from Gold’s plans), 4x11 (the 4a finale is just great in general), and then..... it cannot be overstated how much I hate season 4b, but 4x15 is the Killian-centric ep where his past with Ursula is revealed and he makes amends to her in order to get her to leave the QoD alliance and it’s great character stuff for him, and then there’s the season 4 finale.

Both parts are worth watching, if only because Deckhand Coward Hook still being a braver, more heroic man than ‘Hero Rumplestiltskin’ warms the very cockles of my heart, and of course the second part of the finale has him helping Henry to save Emma and it’s beautiful and also Emma watches him die for her and it is angsty as FUCK but gods I love it. Here’s where it gets tricky, though--my recommendation is, turn the episode off right after Emma finds Killian back in the present day of Storybrooke and they reunite.

Just turn off the episode there and skip right ahead to the s6 musical episode (Emma and Killian’s wedding ep) and pretend they got married and none of seasons 5 or 6 ever happened. >.> (Although I will say certain parts of the Underworld arc were incredibly feelsy despite how much I overall hated the season: 5x11 (the 5a finale, Killian as the dark one STILL being a better man than rumple, we love to see it), 5x15 (I am not immune to Brothers Jones feelings ok), 5x20 (emma literally takes a True Love Test trying to find a way to save killian, you don’t get more romantic than that--also Killian telling Emma to promise she won’t put her armor back up just because she lost him again??? my HEART), 5x21 (Hook does what he can from the Underworld anyway and zeus sends him back to Emma, they really just said ‘today I will invent romance’ and then Did That)

And then, yeah, just skip to the wedding. It’s beautiful, I enjoyed the music, personally, though I know musical episodes are hit or miss with most people. And if you turn it off when the last musical number starts (after the wedding ceremony, I believe) you can pretend it was the end of the show! =DDD

.....Oh my god I just rambled for years. I HOPE YOU FIND THIS USEFUL, ANON. I 100% support a CS-centered rewatch, their episodes were consistently some of the best across the entire series, and they are truly one of my favorite romances of all time.

[prettygraceful]

magnus & the main characters interaction count: a study

an interaction counts as magnus talking specifically to 1 main and that main character responding, or vice versa. (you know like alec does with jace/ clary/ izzy in 95% of the episodes throughout the whole series and luke/ simon in half of s1 and s3.) an interaction is NOT where magnus addresses the group in general with no one responding to him directly, or him being in the same room with all of them, but they only talk to alec or to each other.

this count starts from 2b. s1/ 2a did NOT have anywhere close to an adequate amount, but at least there wasn’t so little that it was total joke like after that. the sad truth of this is so glaringly obvious when it’s listed.

plz take note this post is about magnus/ MAIN character interaction ONLY

and obviously this count is about the 6 mains other than alec

SEASON 2B

2x11: NONE

altho clary/ jace are in the room, they only talk to alec

2x12: NONE

2x13: NONE

2x14: 1 scene with luke

2x15: NONE

altho jace/ izzy are in the room, they don’t talk to him

2x16: NONE

he was not in the episode. he also was not in some episodes in s1. luke and maia have also not been in some.

clary, jace, alec, izzy, and simon have been in every episode. just saying.

2x17: 2 scenes with luke

2x18: 1 scene with luke

2x19: NONE

altho the shadowhunters/ luke are in the room, they don’t talk to him

side note: making literally everyone be against magnus/ glaring at him/ shading him behind his back after all he’s literally done for every single one of them was… a choice. they all didn’t seem to care that he was hurting.

2x20: 1 scene with izzy

final count:

6 episodes (over half the season) with NONE

2 episodes of only 1 scene interaction

only 1 episode where he interacts throughout, yet still only with 1 other main

only 3 scenes where he gets to talk to another main without alec there

no scene where he talks to another main and alec isn’t mentioned

SEASON 3A

3x01: NONE

3X02: NONE

altho shadowhunters/ luke are in the room, they only talk to alec

3X03: 1 scene with izzy

3x04: NONE

altho clary is in room, she only talks to alec

3x05: NONE

3x06: multiple scenes with clary

3x07: NONE

altho clary/ izzy/ simon are in the room, they only talk to alec

3x08: multiple scenes with izzy

no, owl!jace saying alec would chose jace over him doesn’t count

altho luke/ simon are in the room, they only talk to alec

3x09: 1 scene with izzy

3x10: 1 scene with jace

altho should a scene of him telling the parabatai he gave up his magic for them and them not saying anything count?

final count:

5 episodes (half the season) with NONE

3 episodes of only 1 scene interaction

only 2 episodes where he interacts throughout, yet only with 1 other main

only 1 episode where he gets to talk to another main without alec there

no episodes where he talks to another main and alec isn’t mentioned

SEASON 3B

3x11: 1 scene with izzy

altho jace is in the room, he only to talks alec

3x12: NONE

altho jace/ luke are in the room, they only talk to alec

3x13: 1 scene with izzy

and 1 single line to clary, i guess

3x14: NONE

3x15: NONE

aside from 1 single line to simon, i guess

no, clary/ jace/ izzy unkindly questioning him being there doesn’t count

side note: making magnus be surrounded by a room full of racist-coded shadowhunters in s3 was… a choice. what was the point of that? it showed that apparently only laws have changed but not societal sentiment- outside of the main foursome- since s1 in their mindset towards downworlders. and then they had malec get married amongst these racists a few weeks later?? to show him being treated so disrespectfully (again in s3, so nobody’s mindset progressed outside of the 4) and be made so uncomfortable and then never have them show him any love or treat him as an equal later on (as an individual and not just as half of malec) was… a choice. a bad choice.

3x16: NONE

3x17: NONE

3x18: NONE

altho clary/ jace are in the room, they only talk to alec (and then when he’s sad over something that their 3a choices caused, they leave. in the same episode the writers have maryse say “we’re all here for you”…what a joke.)

3x19: NONE

3x20: NONE

altho izzy/ clary/ jace are in the room, they only talk to alec

3x21: NONE

aside from 1 single line to simon, i guess

no, saying only biscuit doesn’t count

3x22: NONE

altho it’s his wedding day, they don’t let jace/ izzy welcome him into the family but instead irrelevant max.

and altho it’s literally the finale, the ONLY person he gets to talk to is his rival. (side note, but lorenzo and underhill should NOT have been at the wedding after their awful treatment towards him. such two-faced people.)

final count:

10 episodes (the length of a normal half season) with NONE

2 episodes of only 1 scene interaction

0 episodes where he interacts throughout

1 scene where he get to talk to another main without alec there

in his 1 scene in 3x13, he talks to another main and alec isn’t mentioned

i think the point i’m making is obvious: the 3 white showrunners and mostly white writers almost never ever let magnus even talk to any of the other main characters. (he also goes three seasons without a single story arc with another main that lasts more than 1 episode. (no, the writers using luke as a mouthpiece to justify alec’s mistake in 2b does not count.) you know, like how alec had big long arcs with both clary and jace in s1, 2a, and 3a and izzy here and there. even maia, the most neglected character on this show, still got to regularly interact with simon and luke- 2 mains. even luke with his limited screentime, still got to regularly at least talk to literally all of the mains in all his group scenes.

and what about the 3 downworlder mains and alec?

well, altho alec and maia only had 2 scenes together, that’s still twice what magnus/ maia got, seeing as they only had the 1 scene together in 2a.

alec and luke had at least 3 scenes together in s1 that i can remember vs magnus/ luke only having 2 lines in 1x06. both duos had about equal in 2b.

in 3a alec/luke had 5 scenes together. magnus/ luke had none where they actually spoke to each other. in group scenes magnus only talked to alec.

in 3b alec/ luke had 3 scenes. magnus/ luke had none. plus luke told alec that he couldn’t go to his wedding, instead of telling magnus.

in s1 magnus/ simon had maybe 1 line. alec/ simon were interacting constantly throughout, i don’t remember how many scenes it was.

in 2a magnus/ simon had 2 episodes together. in 2b they had 1 scene but i don’t really count it since it was only to have it be literally everyone vs magnus. alec/ simon had 1 scene in 2b and none in 2a.

in 3a alec/ simon had 3 scenes interacting together. magnus/ simon had none where they actually spoke to each other.

in 3b all the fans complaining really paid off! 2 scenes in 3x15. 1 scene each in 3x17, 3x19, 3x20, and 3x21 for a grand total of 6 scenes. plus no talking- yet still in a scene together- in 1 other scene in 3x15, 3x17, 3x18, and 2 others in 3x19, for a grand total of 5, not counting the edom finale scenes. magnus/ simon only said 2 lines to each other in 3b.

not to mention alec stood next to simon in a nice two-shot in 4 separate scenes. it really reminded me of what they do with clary/ alec in group scenes. the writers don’t always give them a lot of dialogue together, but they’re sure to get that dynamic in at least visually. alec always has at least crumbs vs magnus getting nothing. where is that energy from the writers, directors, or fans with magnus and literally any main? really, where is it?

i mean, there was no reason for alec/ simon not to have scenes, but i’m so truly disappointed that this is where the fan effort was spent instead of lobbying for magnus to get to interact with even one main character other than alec, seeing as alec always already get to constantly have many, many, many duo and group scenes and big arcs with the 3 other shadowhunters. and now he gets to be more bonded with all of the main downworlders too instead of magnus with his own people. the writers are so so so wack.

also obviously magnus interacts with alec on a regular basis. the point is that’s it. malec is the main reason why i watch the show, so it matters a great deal, but when every other main is getting vastly more interactions, it’s a problem. also in nearly all of the episodes when alec has scenes with other mains- and magnus is not there- magnus is not mentioned. not so when it’s vice versa.

why not count any supporting characters you may be saying? because that’s not what i hear everyone demanding for alec or the others, is it? because he didn’t interact with raphael, his supposed son, in s1, or at all after 3x01 to the actual finale. because aside from her bringing madzie over in 3x11, catatrina and and him didn’t speak in 3b. she wasn’t even introduced until 3a (so 2 seasons w/o any friends.) they only spoke in 4 scenes total in all of s3. she was his best man, yet that’s not important enough to show on screen. ragnor was literally only 1 episode. who’s left- his jealous, bitter pathetic rival or his father who has obvious gross, creepy incestuous, jealous feelings for him. or alec’s mother, who only had scenes with him for the same reason maia/ jordan had all those scenes- to give them something to do away from the group/ main plotlines. why couldn’t magnus and maia had scenes together also or instead? and being bffs with his bf’s mom but not getting to even TALK to his parabatai, the person alec’s closest to platonically, let alone be friends, is truly beyond words. and also harry and matt are only 5 years apart (kat/ dom have more of an age difference) so i’m tired of the writers/ fans keeping alec in the playpen with his younger co-stars while magnus is separated to only older ones.

and also i just really don’t care about supporting characters. i see them as just taking screentime away from the mains, specifically the downworlder mains, who are already running on limited time. look at 3x13 when they want to do a whole heidi arc, who gets cut- magnus. or in 3x17 when they want to introduce helen and aline, i resented them right off the bat for getting twice as much screentime than magnus, a main character, in that important episode for him. throughout the whole show, whenever supporting characters are getting screentime, it always means magnus, maia, and luke are not. that’s not good.

some final thoughts, nearly every single malec fan spent the entire 9 month hiatus from 3a to 3b relentlessly saying alec needs interactions. as if he didn’t get huge bonding arcs with clary and jace in s1 and 2a and 3a. as if he doesn’t talk to and go places and do things with clary, jace, and izzy nearly every single episode, every single season since the beginning. mighty handy to not count the 3 of them when you want to cry “alec has no friends” every single day, as if he hasn’t had an enemy to friendship arc with clary 3 times in 3 seasons. as if he hasn’t had a dying, can’t live without you arc with jace 3 times in 3 seasons. as if he doesn’t hug jace twice more than magnus per half season. as if he doesn’t have izzy there to lean on and talk to. funny how siblings don’t count as friends when it’s mighty convenient that’s they’re the only mains to have siblings. i would kill, KILL, for magnus to be even talk to jace and izzy let alone be real friends, yet fans are taking their friendships with alec for granted, while simultaneously saying they’re robbed of the parabatai dynamic. that’s rich.

if alec having scenes every other ep, and melodramatic arcs every other half season, wasn’t such a guarantee the fans have learned they could count on, nobody would say that his siblings and clary don’t count. but everyone knew they could say that because we know it wouldn’t be taken away. i mean, look at the stark siblings in game of thrones. they never interacted, and the entire fandom cried about that being the most important friendships to show, but it wasn’t shown. this fandom needs to put things in perspective and stop taking the lightwoods sibs and the shadowhunters squad dyamic for granted and realize that magnus and maia don’t get even a minuscule fraction of that. also want to add that simon got plenty of constant sturdy dynamics too, with clary, jace, luke, maia, and izzy. and fans got their alec/ simon content and yet still so ungrateful. i beg the malecs to compare what magnus gets before complaining.

[enkelimagnus]

Favorite izzy outfits?

Season 1: the 1x06/1x07 “wise” look, the 1x12 purple dress she has at the very beginning, and the 1x12 wedding dress. 

Season 2A: 2x04 red tshirt and black jacket with the black pants look, 2x05 black sports bra look, 2x06 khaki pants and black crop top, 2x06 Adamant Citadel look, 2x08 party dress with the less cutouts (drool), 2x08 blue lace rune ceremony dress, 2x09 black perforated tank, 2x09/2x10 red bandage dress with the cold shoulders

Season 2B: 2x11 blue Alexander Wang mini dress with the Maia jacket, the 2x11/2x12 sweater she wore at Sebastian’s, 2x13 black dress with the metallic silver jacket, 2x14 gym clothing, 2x14 green dress, 2x15 jumpsuit, 2x16 dress (i love Izzy’s simple dresses in 2B) , 2x20 outfit with the plum jacket and the mesh cold shoulder top

Season 3A: 3x01 dress in the armory  and 3x01 blue jacket look, 3x02 long vest + red top look, 3x03 club look with the red/pink dress, 3x05 red dress (the one she’s wearing while on the phone with Clary), 3x06/3x07 black dress with the hooks, 

Season 3B: 3x11 ponytail field look with the longer coat, 3x15 field outfit with the cold elbow tshirt, 3x17 dinner dress with the cleavage..... 3x19 smith look,  3x19 leather jacket and ponytail look,  3x20 black tshirt/bra and ponytail look, 

as a whole I love Izzy’s 2B looks. I think it’s the one I prefer as a whole for her in the entire show, because they are simple and practical but still very stylish and sexy and that’s really what I see Izzy being the most comfortable in? like dont gt me wrongn her season 1 looks are very sexy but I always felt bad for how uncomfortable Emeraude looked walking behind everyone else, and I generally think that the season 1 looks are way more stereotypical? like “ooh she’s the sexy girl who speaks spanish, exotic, alluring, seductive.....” while season 2B especially is “I like being sexy, showing off my legs/cleavage, but I work hard and need clothing that will not hinder me hunting”. 

[anthony-kate]

Do you consider the writing for simon and izzy good in general? Not only as a couple but as individual characters as well? I think they have made a lot of mistakes with these two and quite frankly the whole writing on almost everyone has a lot of holes and inconsistencies in it that hurts their characters.

Hm, I am kinda torn about Sizzy. I still love them and therefore ship them but I feel like I ship more the version of them I created in my head and I read about in fanfics than what we saw on the actual show?

Because... and that leads me to your question: The writing for Sizzy, as well as Simon and Izzy is... I don’t wanna say terrible but... let’s call it developable. Though the problems pretty much started with season 2.

When season 1 ended, Sizzy’s relationship status could be defined as “slow burn”. They have chemistry. They had their scenes. But you could see that they needed more time to actually get from the first infatuation to actual love at one point. Like I said, Sizzy was there, if not prominent but... one could get on board with it over time. Same goes with Izzy’s and Simon’s individual storylines apart from the Sizzy relationship. Izzy served as the forensic scientist, the big sister, a tough fighter, a friend for Clary, ... She didn’t have this big individual storyline but her role played its part in season 1. Simon had way more to do. He got turned into a vampire, had to deal with this new situation, went from the crush on Clary, to “crushing” on Izzy and sex with Maureen. I am not getting into the timeline here because we all know what a mess that is, but yeah... a lot happened in Simon’s life.

But then... season 2 happened. And the problems started. Big time.

All of a sudden the small flames of the Sizzy relationship (which is an endgame ship in the books after all!) were completely gone---even more so, the Sizzy relationship got completely ignored. Which is... kinda hilarious because the biggest problem of season 2 was that Simon had absolutely nothing to do. He had no individual storyline. Which goes for Izzy, too, but while the writers decided to shove Simon to Clary so that he had a right to exist in some way, and later on from Clary to Maia, Izzy got the absolutely terrible plot of the yin fen addiction. And to top it all, the writers came up with the awful R/izzy ship. Which all... makes no sense! All because they had no idea what to do with these 2 characters. Which is the reason why there was suddenly no Sizzy. And while the Sizzy fans went all ????, Todd ran around like “but Sizzy is a slow burn, be patient.” Which... okay, fine. But even as a slow burn relationship, you gotta give your characters moments so that the audience see “ah, I get it, look at that foreshadowing, oh look they are spending time, oh those looks, ...”, you know what I mean? But there was absolutely nothing in 2a.

And the most annoying thing was, that the writers could have easily fixed this from the beginning. They still could have done the yin fen story but instead of Raphael, they could have put Simon in his shoes. Simon who would be the friend in that situation Izzy needed. That way they could have done the yin fen plot but also work on Izzy and Simon getting closer. Instead, we ended up with this complete mess and hating C/limon and R/izzy and that yin fen plot because it was written terribly.

In 2b there was again another change because apparently, the writers started to remember that Sizzy is an endgame ship. But instead of now finally working on it and giving them scenes/moments, they gave Sizzy first this terrible 2x12 scene with Raphael’s sister and Simon being awful the whole ep. Yes, the end of 2x12 was cute when Izzy opened up and Simon helped her with the meeting such but overall it was awful. After that... again, Sizzy completely disappeared once again. Because Simon was basically useless was again so they shoved him to Maia and made S/aia this big thing which still leaves me ??? You all know that Sizzy was the end, why are you pushing S/aia so hard now? (No judging here, I find them cute, too, but I am still so ??? @ the writers.) Izzy was into recovering but her role aside from that was also... why is she here, you know? You can see this pretty well in the Malec battle scene in 2x20 when she accompanied them both at the beach like... she was now there why? To make Alec look like an idiot because she told him that it was blood? Please... And to top it all, it also seemed like the writers tried to still go with R/izzy. Which... jfc...

Anyway, 3a is not really an improvement here but Todd won’t get tired of saying “but Sizzy is happening, it is a slow burn, blahblablah...”. I think the first real Sizzy moment aside from 1x02 maybe was the hug and Izzy being there for Simon in 3x10. Which... this is not a slow burn, this is terrible writing. And while Izzy got basically shoved again to the side because again, what was her role again in 3a? Except for becoming weapons master and having this terrible scene with Raphael? Simon got stories for 2 seasons put into 2 eps once again so... yeah. 

We don’t know what happens now in 3b but I am kinda scared of the mess with Maia coming back and how they are doing Sizzy now because seems like they finally are on board with it and pursue it. lmao 

tldr; What I am trying to say: You don’t have to like Sizzy. But I think it is important to understand that a big part of why people are not on board with it is thanks to the writers who completely were/are unable to give Izzy and Simon proper and good individual storylines and also give them scenes to connect with them as a couple so that at one point, when Sizzy finally happens, you are like... “finally! these two... awwww”. Instead, we ended up with awful plots for both of them and their relationship that got shoved to the sidelines and instead they did everything but work on this couple. And now we have this big mess and yeah... good luck with solving this in a decent way in 3b. Because Sizzy deserves better. Maia, too. But like I pointed out, this mess started long before she first appeared so yeah... I love Sizzy but when I see the mess on the show I am sometimes not sure why. lmao

[couragehopelovefaith]

I would like to hear your opinions about your favorite Shadowhunter-episodes (tough question, I know). There might be more, but these are the first ones that come into my mind:

- Season 1: 1x05, 1x08, 1x12

Season 2: 2x04, 2x05, 2x08, 2x10, 2x12, 2x15, 2x17, 2x18, 2x20

Season 3A: 3x03, 3x07, 3x09, 3x10

Season 3B: basically all of them, but three last episodes have been my favorites (even though they are heartbreaking in many ways).

[princeescaluswords]

Dunno if you've gotten a question like this before, friend. But if you could do one thing differently in each season of Teen Wolf such as storyline what would they be?

I don't recall a question like this before, either, but it's a great question! I'm sure, after interacting with the fandom for so long, that my answers may have changed from the first time I watched the show.

Season 1: This is a tough one. The writing during this season was very solid and many of the things that I like about the show spring from this foundation. BUT, I would have really appreciated one scene where Stiles defends Scott to someone, whether it be Derek, Peter, Jackson, or even the Sheriff. The writers wanted to demonstrate how strong Scott and Stiles's friendship was by having Stiles be a lovable asshole, but with the way Stiles constantly insults Scott, even to others, ("Still want him in your pack?) and takes abusive actions against Scott (keying the truck, the dog bowl) I would have liked one scene where Stiles explains the good he sees in Scott, other than he's wiling to be Stiles's punching bag.

Season 2: This one is the easiest. The Teen Wolf writers were allergic to having Scott talk about his feelings (to the point that his Party Guessed (2x09) hallucination was the only one of the four with no dialogue), but I wanted him to have at least one monologue. If Stiles got a monologue to explain his feelings to Lydia, Scott should have got one to explain his feelings to Derek in Master Plan (2x12):

Derek: Why didn't you tell me?

Scott: Because when we met you used me as bait for the alpha who killed your sister. Because you could help me, but it wasn't going to come for free. Because you broke my hand and you broke my phone. Because you hated Allison for something she had nothing to do with. Because you might have killed Deaton. Because you sold me out to Peter. Because you lied about the cure. Because you bit the idiot who tried to blackmail me into getting the Bite and then abandoned him, and we see how that turned out. Because you stepped on my neck to prove a point. Because you tried to kill Lydia in my house. Because you got me to bring you Jackson because you had a way to save him, but then decided not to bother. I wasn't going to let Gerard win but I wasn't going to trust you either, because you're not trustworthy. You may be an alpha, but you're not mine.

Season 3A: Surprisingly, this has nothing to do with Scott. Ever notice that we never get any reason why Boyd or Isaac fight for Derek this season? They risk their lives in the mall fight and Kali's assault in Currents (3x07), but there is no reason given explaining why. Why the loyalty? Was it the mystical alpha beta bond? Was Boyd grateful that Derek never stopped looking for them? Was it out of Boyd's feelings of friendship with Cora? Even Isaac's frustratingly undermined rant in Alpha Pact (3x11) -- love how they made sure Isaac could only be mad at Derek with his dying sister constantly in the frame and then Uncle Peter there to explain it away -- didn't address why, after the fiasco of Season 2, they gave two shits about Derek.

Season 3B: I would have scrapped the Danny breaks up with Ethan scene. Danny could have left Beacon Hills with Ethan rather than just vanish into the Hollywood haze, and there could have been a scene where Scott and Isaac talk about Allison, instead of Deaton essentially telling Scott to get over it, 10 seconds of silent crying with his mom, and Isaac never having had a conversation with Scott since Riddled (3x18).

Season 4: Araya Calavera would have cut Peter Hale in half with a chainsaw for the ten people he murdered while Scott is prevented from interfering by Derek, by Argent, and by his pack. Finité.

Season 5A: The only change would be in A Novel Approach (5x05). Instead of the business with the scaffolding, Stiles would have got the drop on Donovan in the library and in a desperate frenzy actually beaten the chimera's head in with the wrench. Still self-defense, still emotionally charged, still the same potential for Theo to rip Scott and Stiles apart, but it would have made Stiles's reluctance to tell anyone more genuine and made the conflict in Lies of Omission (5x09) more valid, since as written all it would have taken for Stiles to destroy Theo's plan was use the word 'scaffolding.'

Season 5B: While Season 1 was difficult because I didn't want to change much of anything, this has the exact opposite problem. If I had to choose just one: get rid of the damn non-healing chest wound. Symbolism be damned, just this once. It would be easy, since no other character gave a frick about it anyway. Instead of being forced by things outside of his control to get the "friends" who lied, betrayed, abandoned, and attempted to murder him back, Scott would work to get them back because he wanted them back.

Season 6A: Instead of Garrett Douglas being there to twirl his non-existent moustache or eating brains just so the writers could keep the pack split up, have him just trying to survive and adapt to this new world after spending 70 years in a test tube. Make the crisis of the season this -- Douglas is the key to getting Stiles back, but doing so would condemn the repentant Nazi to an eternity of Riding the Storm and the Wild Hunt would take all the people they've already taken. That would be a lot more interesting than what we had.

Season 6B: No Anuk-Ite. History shows us that you don't need a supernatural fear creature to turn normal people into a mob. Demonstrate how an evil, selfish monster like Gerard can manipulate normal people like Monroe, Gabe and Nolan into people capable of doing terrible things. Allow Scott a way to break the cycle of violence through direct leadership rather than defeating a particular goal.

[singingwordwright]

How do you feel about malec this season? I personally think they feel off. Their writing has been pretty weak these past episodes. Actually, even though this season started off strong, as a whole I feel like it’s been pretty weak. I had my issues with 2b but I never felt the desire then that I feel now for the season to just be over so we can be done with what’s going on and we can move on to something else. Really hoping 3b is all around better.

Sorry, nonny, can’t agree with you. I think they’ve been great and I’m loving it.

I think the show clearly laid out two arcs for the season in the Valentine’s promo (sacrifice) and then in 3x01 (communication.) And they’ve stuck by that. We have seen Malec trying–and sometimes failing, but still trying–to work on their communication. And I believe with the finale, we’re going to see where the “sacrifice” portion comes into play.

And honestly I’m pretty impressed by the way they handled the structure of Malec’s story this season.

In season 2b, we saw just how shaky Malec’s foundation was. They had only been together a couple weeks by the time 2x12 happened and by the time 2x17 happened, it was obvious they weren’t stable enough as a couple yet to deal with that sort of difficulty. Which I think was intentional.

This season, what we saw in 3x01-3x04 is Malec working on establishing a VERY firm foundation. The communication talk, Alec’s support through the Asmodeus reveal and Magnus losing his position, Magnus’s support as Alec begins to spiral a bit trying to help Jace and being unable to help Maryse, and so forth. Their house was on sand in season 2b and now it’s on bedrock.

Which means we’re in a REALLY GOOD PLACE when the immortality angst and the self-recrimination over their perceived failures begins. THIS IS THE GOOD ANGST. This is the stuff I live for, BRING IT ON. Have them face it and struggle with it and deal with it and then come back down to rest on that firm foundation. YES. Run them through the wringer, but run them through it TOGETHER (as a couple, though not necessarily simultaneously or with the pair of them in immediate physical proximity all the time.) I’m here for it.

The only issue I have with Malec (and it’s relatively minor) is that it has become obvious that I was right in what I said not long after 2b ended. The physicality of their relationship is being kept sanitized and artificially chaste, as though it’s dirty. Whereas the het couples are allowed to get rated PG or even PG-13, Malec is kept strictly rated G because they are perceived as being more risque by default. And that’s a problem. That shows a latent homophobic bias on the part of the people behind the camera.

They seem to be trying to compensate with giving Malec emotional exposure in spades and…that…kind of works? Certainly Malec is getting more of the good stuff in terms of emotional development and intimacy than the het couples, and that’s incredibly AWESOME. I would just rather see it all balanced on every front. They shouldn’t have to compensate for anything, because there shouldn’t be anything to compensate for. They regard these couples as inherent imbalanced.

But it’s not a dealbreaker, at least not for me. I’ll grumble about it, because I believe a show that is being recognized by GLAAD for its handling of representation of a queer couple shouldn’t have that sort of inherent imbalance in the way its queer couple is portrayed compared to its het couples, but in the grand scheme of things, it’s a relatively minor annoyance compared to all the really good stuff going on.

So, really? The only thing turning me off this season has been the fandom being hysterical about ever single damn thing and usually the wrong things.

[horsefreckledgirl]

Hi I know Alec has been written as if he is too ok with gambling with Magnus's wellbeing for the sake of others. Book Malec split cuz Alec considered for a moment making Magnus mortal. They won't use that plot now, i don't think but Alec has done far worse in the show so what will it take for Magnus to say "I deserve to be put first sometimes". Or will they continue making him annoyingly self-sacrificial+self-loathing+ exist just to be the bailout for everyone else? Thoughts? Theories?

Hi! If I blame someone/something for the plot or characters’ decisions are the writers, not the characters themselves. It’s poor writing ): They’re losing the consistency of their development. Back in 2x12 when Alec didn’t trust Magnus (in Valentine’s body) that was a big OOC, even Matt said it in interviews. It didn’t make sense at all -_-

And now with Alec seeing himself like “nothing” without Jace? After all his progress: he came out, has this commited relationship with Magnus, he is the Head of the NY Institute, had  this offering as Delegate in Alicante. I think we would understand more this POV if the Parabatai bond were more added in the show, but it is just a plot device. And I think the words could’ve had been different: “He’s my Parabatai”/“He’s my family.” That wraps up all the things that Jace means to Alec.

I really hope in the future Magnus says this aloud ): (when he talked with Alec in 2x20, the way it happened was a totally mess too IMO). Maybe in a tense scenario? At least not with the ones closer to him, because that would be, again, OOC. Because that’s what Magnus is, he is loyal, careful for others, and does everything in his power to keep them safe. I hope it’s him recognicing his value, that he’s worth doing the same sacrifices, or even more. 

A discussion with Asmodeus? or any other villain, where they try to put all the “worst” of him out, and Magnus realices that nothing of that is true, that he is as much valuable as the others, and that he knows they would to the same for him. That Alec would do the same for him. It’s like “City of Heavenly Fire” when he’s in that cell and then Alec appears to save him, or once he summoned Asmodeus, Alec and the others were willing to stay with him in hell rather than let him alone. He’s been so used to be “too much” or “not enough”, I think he hasn’t realiced yet that with Alec it’s completely different. That’s why he avoids the immortality talk, because he’s been there before, and he’s so scared to experience it again with Alec.

About Alec considering making Magnus mortal, I don’t think that either. It’s been pretty clear that Alec’s concern it’s not about making Magnus like him, but the curse that one day he will get old and die and be a burden to Magnus. So no, they already broke up, and the circunstances were by far too better than the books’. Tho I hope see Camille again in the future, and if there’s a scene with Alec talking about Magnus and his immortality, Alec would let very clear that she has no word in this. That she lost a great opportunity of happiness when she treated Magnus the way she did.

And for Alec making mistakes and being the one mostly of the time apologizing… in this case I would say it is 50/50 thing: writers’ mistakes and the fact that Alec has never ever experiencied this before. I pray that with Magnus going to Edom (and the fact that probably he will return until 3B) Alec realices what would it be a life without Magnus, all the despair and anxiety for not knowing anything about him ): It will be painful, but once they are reunited they could talk about this, about the immortality thing, and the writers could give to the fandom (myself included) their engagement, wedding and immortal!Alec.

TBH I think I didn’t answer your questions at all and this is me just rambling. Hope I could’ve said something coherent ; __ ; english isn’t my first language 3

[eternallymalec]

Unrelated note. I saw a gifset where Alec told Magnus he could loose everything. Magnus literally lost everything in 3A. Alec’s worldview is privileged and narrow minded in shadowhunting form. Magnus loss Ragnor right before the wedding. I hope the show continues to bring up these situations like in 2B during the racial conflict. I still want follow up from 2x12. The Seelie Queen was messy, manipulative and used his relationship against him but she spoke no lies on the Clave or Shadowhunters.

God yes, I feel so sorry for Magnus :( They never adressed Ragnos death and I will never not be salty about that tbh. And yes, they absolutely should continue with the eyploration of racism in the shadowhunters world.

And yeah, the clave and shadowhunters in general are pretty selfish but she was 100% wrong about Alec and I’m sure we’ll see more about that in 3B :)