#and then donovan telling him that he would make the world fair for him??? im not ok

[carbootsoul]

LEO i finished red strings club and. man. that was INCREDIBLE thank you so much for recommending it!!! i Did cry at the end tyvm. it really made me Think. i dunno. i tried to go through the first run with what would match up the most with my own opinions and i think? i got an okay ending? anyway i want to replay it and see other routes. the characters are all so unique & i always adore The Power Of Love and this did not disappoint. that last scene killed me :') anyway. thanks for the rec ily <3

!! im so glad u liked it omg :) i did the same thing on my first playthrough and now i’m like. mustering the emotional strength to replay it lol. im really curious how branching the paths are, honestly? i know that you can’t change the ending because when you go to the little menu that shows all the choices you made it always ends with [spoiler if anyone’s planning on playing the game!!] brandies falling from the building which honestly i think is probably thematically significant but i do not know how. like you make all your game-influencing choices as donovan (with the exception of the one scene mid game that you play as brandeis, but even that scene was chosen by donovan) and none of that can save the people u love?

also because i’m curious at the very end did u tell him about akara or did u tell him u loved him? that choice completely fucked me up i was just kinda sitting and staring at my computer screen for a while and then i cried

anyway i’m really glad u liked it and ily too :D

[jsteneil]

Neil Josten’s Birthday Bash

in which the foxes don’t get anything done, ever

 *

Nicky added Dan, Kevin, Aaron and three others to “Neil Josten's Birthday Bash Organization Committee”.

Nicky: can't add Andrew because he still owns a FLIP PHONE but here we go

Dan: hell yeah B-)

Nicky: kevin can fill him in with the details anyway

Kevin: why me?

Allison: because you live with him?

Matt: you're practically attached at the hip

Dan: omg ur roomm8s

Matt: ^^^ what allison said

Dan: yeah

Nicky: OR aaron can do it on wednesdays so that there's no chance of neil finding out :D

Aaron: no.

Aaron left the chat.

Nicky: what

Nicky: the

Kevin: just add him back

Nicky: fuck

Kevin: ffs

Kevin: some ppl are in class

Nicky added Aaron to the chat.

Aaron: im muting you all

Allison: just embrace the fact that you've lived in SC for years and say y'all

Nicky: y'all!!!

Nicky: yeah

Matt: dude don't how are u gonna know when to buy your coordinated outfit and rehearse the choreography if you mute us

Dan: Aaron?

Renee: I do think he muted us

Allison: fuck a crybaby

Nicky: hey

Allison: what's he gonna do? Unmute us?

Dan: asdhskfjdl ALLI

Matt: lmfao

Nicky: moving ON

Nicky: the important thing here is my boy neil's birthday

Kevin: and you wonder why Aaron left

Nicky: what?

Kevin: maybe Neil doesn't want to celebrate his bday

Nicky: no that's too sad

Nicky: next person?

Allison: not to be that bitch

Matt: oh?

Allison: but do we even know when his birthday is?

Allison: fuck you matthew donovan boyd

Matt: sorry i love you

Dan: it was easy

Dan: matt ur easy

Matt: ily babe

Dan: <3

Kevin: jan 19th

Renee: March 31st?

Allison: wait

Dan: uhhhh

Matt: Neil Josten deserves 2 bdayz

Kevin: no jan 19th

Renee: oh i thought we were using the one he chose for himself

Matt: Renee add a smiley face

Renee: :)

Renee: ?

Dan: babe ur mind,,,, im crying

Matt: ikr

Allison: stop using mygf so

Kevin: is it me or does it sound really passive aggressive bitchy with a smiley face

Dan: ye that's the point

Renee: I really wasn't trying to be

Matt: oh no we know, sorry

Matt: i feel bad now

Matt: it was just funny

Matt: sorry

Dan: :(

Renee: It's okay, don’t worry

Renee: :)

Dan: renee STOP i feel like ur going 2 murder me in my sleep

Renee: I could, but I won't

Nicky: im shaking and im not even in your dorm

Allison: and we daily thank god for that

Nicky: hey im an excellent roommate

Nicky: i always leave so cap and matt can have sexy times

Dan: yeah but then u call it sexy time

Allison: ive seen the bathroom nicky

Nicky: that's aaron

Matt: l o l

Kevin: aaron's a neat freak

Allison: exposed

Nicky: erik come get me the people here are mean

Renee: So when's Neil's actual birthday?

Kevin: jan 19th

Nicky: who's gonna ask andrew?

Kevin: HE HAS REAL PAPERS NOW

Kevin: JUST GO CHECK AND LET ME BE IN CLASS IN PEACE

Allison: well okay drama queen

Dan: kevin: *is on the chat as much as us*

Dan: also kevin: guys why r u dragging me here

Matt: it's okay kevin we can talk about it during practice

Renee: Don't goad him, Matt

Dan: lmfao babe u thought

Matt: uh oh

Allison: lol

Dan: we need 2 trounce the ravens nxt wk

Nicky: do we have to

Dan: y'all r hauling ass @ practice or god help me

Nicky: id settle for a close victory

Matt: nicky if you don't help us close the goal next friday im telling neil about his surprise

Nicky: noooooo :'(

Allison: ye renee has enough to do without having to face stuff y'all should have blocked

Renee: Andrew is also a goalkeeper

Allison: yeah but he doesn't give a fuck

Renee: That's neither true nor fair

Dan: i want bragging rights over this vctry, end of the question

Matt: are we just gonna ignore the fact that the fbi chose neil's old bday

Matt: even tho they made him a new identity

Allison: wonder how this conversation went

Nicky: are we ignoring the fact that neil is a goddamn CAPRICORN

Allison: "in my left hand is your birthday date. In my right hand is your other birthday" *shuffles behind his back*

Matt: idk about astrology but I checked and he tried to pass for an aries so what does that tell us?

Dan: shut up adfhskdjs

Nicky: im dying

Kevin: [attached picture]

Matt: did u steal neil's ID

Allison: i thought you were in class

Kevin: he sent it to me

Nicky: his phone can take pics??

Dan: RLY crappy 1s but yeah

Nicky: so all those times andrew refused to send me pics of his Eden’s Twilight's outfits so i could coordinate neil's…

Matt: :/

Kevin: he just doesn't like you

Allison: i would have laughed but you two have been fighting the good fight since last year, dressing neil up

Nicky: hey

Renee: Kevin, that was mean

Nicky: but thanx allison, I think so too

Kevin: sorry

Kevin: he's just difficult?

Nicky: yeah :(

Dan: omg u guys rmr when neil was on k ferdinand's show n he looked like a bite-sized snack in that shirt

Kevin: not exactly what I remember from this interview

Dan: u were pretty 2 <3

Kevin: oh my god

Renee: Didn't Neil keep the clothes?

Nicky: i've never seen him wear them again

Nicky: maybe he STUFFED THEM DOWN THE TOILET

Matt: uh okay

Allison: weird emphasis

Kevin: are you still stuck on that

Dan: what

Kevin: it's what happened with the clothes he wore the first time we went to columbia

Nicky: do you know how expensive that plumber was?

Matt: just a thought but maybe that wouldn't have happened if you didn't force him to come with you and drugged him against his will

Allison: don't tell me someone actually peed on them and tried to flush

Nicky: take it up with andrew

Matt: you literally drove the car

Kevin: what happened in columbia stays in columbia

Allison: omg oh my god

Dan: IM SCREAMING

Nicky: what was i supposed to do, get knifed?

Nicky: also ^^^^ yeah.

Nicky: ANYWAY

Nicky: now that Kevin got us proof that the FBI officially made neil a capricorn again,,

Dan: the fbi be like "oh u thought u could escape ur traumatic past? That's nice buddy

Matt: yeah I don't think beating last year's party is gonna be hard

Dan: here's ur bday n trauma back"

Nicky: HAPPY THOUGHTS

Nicky: :(

Nicky: anyway it's the big 21st, so the first thing in order is BOOZE

Kevin: uh nicky

Renee: He's turning 20?

Matt: what???

Kevin: yeah he aged himself up on his fake papers

Matt: oh my god

Dan: lmfao only neil

Nicky: he is baby

Matt: does. Does he know though. Like did he check when they made him the papers.

Kevin: I'm guessing so

Matt: imagine filling a form or smth and you get the day right but not the year

Renee: Wait Kevin, how did you get neil to send you the pic without telling him about the surprise party?

Nicky: DON'T YOU DARE HAVE TOLD HIM ABOUT THE NJBB

Allison: njbb?

Dan: neil josten's bday bash, im guessing

Nicky: Neil Josten's

Nicky: BIRTHDAY BASH

Nicky: yes

Allison: it doesn’t sound right

Allison: like, something’s missing in the name

Matt: alli we play a sport named after what you get when you take the s from sexy

Dan: 10 bux kevin wishes he didn't have such a stick up his butt so he could reply with exy is sexy

Allison: im not taking that

Kevin: i actually don't know why she named it that

Kevin: she never told the press and she didn't write it anywhere so

Nicky: :(

Allison: oh

Dan: sorry :(

Renee: Maybe coach knows?

Matt: maybe each letter has a meaning

Kevin: how?

Allison: endangering xylophones yearly?

Matt: EXceptional daY

Matt: and then, boom, it's about your name

Renee: Matt, I like that idea!

Dan: allison, no

Kevin: I'll have to ask coach, renee

Kevin: anyway it was always going to be her name, she invented it

Nicky: someone bring neil in so he can say something super serious about how kevin is a legendary striker whose name is already associated with exy and make us choke with emotion

Kevin: nicky….

Nicky: look it's working and he's not even there

Allison: it's the josten effect

Dan: changing your entire life's beliefs one extremely tragic remark at a time

Matt:...

Matt: someone change the subject im sad

Nicky: BIRTHDAY BASH

Kevin: oh yeah nicky asked me how i got neil's ID

Allison: and?

Kevin: i told him i signed him up for his own exynews account so he could stop hogging mine for streaming

Kevin: so i needed his name and birthday

Kevin: and then we got into an argument about date formats

Nicky: dd/mm/yy 4ever

Allison: eww

Kevin: so he sent me a pic instead of writing the date

Dan: it's the european propaganda getting to him

Kevin: i guess i really have to get him an account now

Dan: kevin i know you're entirely serious but that's so funny

Nicky: THE REST OF THE WORLD USES IT

Matt: admit it, you can't wait to go back to Germany because you secretly like the metric system

Nicky: yeah dicks sound bigger if you use centimeters

Dan: didn't need 2 know that

Nicky: not that erik needs that :)

Dan: I DON'T WANNA KNOW

Renee: ….

Matt: honestly im glad i don't understand german or i would never live down all the skyping

Dan: renee's like "can't relate" lmfao

Renee: No indeed

Allison: hell yeah that's my girlfriend

Renee: <3

Allison: hey minyard if you're secretly lurking now is the time to leave

Allison: …

Renee: No, he truly muted us earlier

Dan: are we surprised?

Renee: we'll catch him up on what we decide to do later

Renee: Nicky?

Nicky: oh, yeah!!!

Nicky: BIRTHDAY BASH

Matt: here we go again

Dan: mamma mia

[demonzdust]

I think you’ve really missed the point in what I was trying to get across in our discussion. You keep bringing this back to some kind of claim about how it isn’t within Stiles “personality” to do XYZ things, but my complaints are that:

1) It’s odd that Stiles freaks out so hard about Donovon, given the level of bloodshed they see regularly. Its odd because he didn’t orchestrate it happening he didn’t even stab him in self defense, Donovan went after him and as a result of his own actions got himself killed. What happened looked more like an accident that Donovan caused more than anything else.

It’s especially odd that he thinks Scott will judge him for it. If Stiles had actually stabbed donovon then sure - but the way it was set up was really not something that he could be blamed for at all. I’m not sure he could have even prevented it if he tried.

Now you can write 1000 meta posts about why Stiles would feel guilty even in this situation, and I’m sure you can come up with reasons to make it feel more plausible, but that won’t ever make it probable.

This is basic (lazy) tv writing. They want to push a plotline, they come up with some thin justification for it working, and then run with it.

All of that has nothing to do with Stiles character - it’s about consistency / inconsistency in the world that the writers have built.

2) You keep trying to mak make some claim that I’m saying that Stiles behavior isn’t like himself at all - but that’s not what I’m saying.

Looking at the scene in the hospital where Stiles attacks Scott (your favorite example):

Would Stiles unjustly blame Scott for not being able to protect his Dad? - yes, we see him do that in Heart Monitor in season 1. Is that a real problem in their relations and a character flaw? Yes. Do I personally think this is excusable in any way? No.

I think it sucks that the Teen Wolf writers never addressed this aspect of the conflict directly. It seems like a really important one that they overlooked in favor of just rushing a resolution.

But my issue is in how you look at the behavior in S5 (lashing out in the hospital). You basically act as if this is just another Tuesday for Stiles - and not him completely losing his shit, pushed to his lowest low.

You take his deepest flaw as a character, and assume that this is his most dominant characteristic, this is what drives him on a daily basis, and that this is what all of his actions are about.

I don’t think that’s an accurate read of him as a character. I think that because these flaws are worse in your eyes than any potential positive qualities Stiels has you have overwritten any other driving factors (such as love and compassion) and rewritten them as selfishness and insecurity. Please note that I am not saying this in the hospital scene Stiles is acting from a place of love - he’s not. What I’m saying is that his feelings about Scott (and others) don’t just boil down to some selfish possessive need.

Im also not saying that stiles doesn’t have selfish and possessive qualities - he obviously does.

I’m saying that you can’t fairly use this one character flaw and say that ALL of his actions are based off it.

Stiles is not that one dimensional. He he selfish and posessessive qualities AND ALSO loving and compassionate qualities. My issue is that your meta on him seems determined to prove he is just possessive and selfish - that the love and compassion are merely lies that he tells himself and others to cover up selfishness and insecurity.

Looking at the scene with the flares in Motel California, you would read it as “Stiles is afraid to be alone and therefore willing to risk his life” not “Stiles loves Scott and would risk his life to save him.”

That is what I think is not fair, and what is a serious departure from what the Teen Wolf writers believe are Stiles motivating factors.

The Unchanging Behavior of Stiles Stilinski

I was in another powerful discussion on the Teen Wolf Discord Chat Server, and we were talking about Stiles’ behavior in 5A.   My colleague was bemoaning the writing in 5A as forced, because Stiles would never do what he did.   I gave that some thought, and I have to disagree.  Stiles would absolutely do what he did. In fact, he’s done it before.

If you look back to Season 1, every controversial action Stiles will take in Season 5A is hauntingly similar to an action that he takes in this season.  The behaviors are the same even though the context has changed.   Why Stiles does what he does hasn’t changed, how Stiles does what he does hasn’t changed, and, to my mind unfortunately, the consequences to him of what he does hasn’t changed.  Let’s look at the three main complaints of ‘OOC behavior.’

Stiles doesn’t tell anyone about Donovan.  Stiles, even though he knew that the actions he took were clearly self-defense, doesn’t tell anyone in the pack or his family about the death of Donovan Donati. When his father and Scott confront him about why he didn’t say anything, his response indicates that he didn’t want Scott and father to think badly of him “It was just the way you were looking at me that night …”  and “What if it wasn’t? What if I told you I wanted him dead?”   Stiles isn’t concerned with right and wrong, but only what is important to Stiles – in these cases, Scott and Noah’s image of him.   So he acts on what is important to him, and ignores everything else.

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