#theo had to kill a guy and now YEARS LATER it’s surfacing all again

[banancrumbs]

my girlfriend @wingsaloof (!!!) saw That Swann Arlaud/Cillian Murphy post during the oscars and took it as a challenge to create a story with them.

three weeks later, 5k words and arts its all we can talk about (EXTREMELY POSITIVE)

[jadedxrealityw]

-Chapstick- Pansy Parkinson x Female Reader

    ☼-☪-☼

   Kody: the lesbians have risen

  Request: pansy x reader where they are friends & reader loves chapsticks very much because chapped lips also the taste and the smell are cute ?? and then she has different variants of it. Pans could smell it sometimes when she purposely gets closer, got curious one time and asked for it and she casually gave it. One time Pans asked what flavour was the one on her lips right now because it's different from the usual??? and reader was like see for yourself and then they ki- IM SO GAY FOR PANSY PARKINSON - 💐

  House: Slytherin

  Possible Triggers / Warnings: lesbian power couple baby, cursing, y/n being a bottom, making out. 

    ☼-☪-☼

   since day one you had been best friends with Pansy Parkinson. Even in your small little friend group that consisted of Draco Malfoy, Blaise Zabini, and Theodore Nott, you just gravitated towards Pansy more. Maybe it was because you were both girls or the fact that you had met her first.

   throughout your school years you and Pansy were like a power duo. Some were scared, some wanted your title, and the rest despised you both. Even with all the popularity you weren’t mean or cude to people who didn’t deserve it. Kill them with kindness is what you’d always say.

   around your 6th year is when you enveloped your slight chapstick addiction. You had noticed your lips become more flaking and chapped as you grew up so over the summer when you visited america you bought a pack with a variety of different flavors. 

   Pansy made fun of you at first because of how quickly you had started to buy more and more until you had a collection. After all the teasing you two developed a sort of game you could say. Anytime Pansy could smell the chapstick on you she would try and guess what scent it was.

   at first it was cute and friendly, but out of nowhere she would grab your face and bring it close to hers so she could smell the chapstick. It would be so sudden and make your stomach twist in a way you had never felt before, especially when she would send you a wink after she backed away. 

   after a lot of thinking and ‘therapy’ sessions with Theo you had come to the conclusion that you had fell for your best friend. It was very cheesy, but it was true. Pansy Parkinson had stolen your heart and you terrified at the power she held over you.

    ☼-☪-☼

   7th year

   you were practically running towards the field, hoping the outfit you chose would keep you warm enough in the nippy weather. You did not want to be late to Draco and Blaises quidditch match against Gryffindor. Of course you cheered on your friends, who wouldn’t?

   you began to climb up the stairs to make your way into the stands. Once you make it to the top you gaze through the crowd and spot the familiar black haired female leaning back to look up at the sky. She looked very focused on something in the sky.

   Pansy was wearing a large black sweater with some kind of white t-shirt sticking out from the bottom with matching black pants and shoes. She looked in casual clothes- in anything really. You make your way through the crowd, pushing past a couple people while mumbling ‘excuse me’ and such.

   you take a seat next to Pansy who looks back down to face you “Thought you weren’t gonna show. You look nice by the way” she comments and you shake your head. You were wearing a black crop with matching pants and a oversized navy blue hoodie. 

   your stomach twist like many times before. “Thanks” you reply before suddenly realizing you were missing a friend “Where’s Theo?” you ask. Pansy lifts up her hand to point in front of her. You follow her finger until you spot the back of Theos head “He wanted to be closer to watch Blaise”

   you nod once before you heard Lee Jordan begin the announcements.

    ☼-☪-☼

   while watching a breeze blew past you and towards Pansy. The Slytherin girls nose scrunched up as she smelled something, something fruity? (because your gay duh) She turns to look at you, brown eyes narrowed. You felt her eyes on you and face her “What?-” 

   Pansy grabs your face with both of her hands. You could feel the cold metal of the rings she wore against your cheek. Pansy leans in close, her nose centimeters from your mouth. You could hear her sniff as your face began to feel hot. 

   she was so close. The smell of hrt minty breath from her gum she had been chewing made everything in your body flare up. It was only a second, but felt like hours before she pulled away “Your wearing strawberry” Pansy had a cocky smirk on her face as she spoke, her hands slowly falling from your face

   you blink mindlessly as you reach into the packet of your jacket. You pull out the tube of strawberry chapstick. Pansy’s smirk only grows wider “Knew it, what's my prize?” she asked. Your face twist a bit. A prize? She had never asked for one before.

   “What do you want?”

   “A Kiss”

   your mouth opens a bit to speak, but you choke on your words instead. Pansy lets out a chuckle and turns to face forward again “I’m only kidding”

    ☼-☪-☼

   you were walking alongside Pansy, Theo, Draco and Blaise. You were all leaving the quidditch field and head back to the common room. Slytherin had won and the team was going out for butterbeer at the three broomsticks. Draco and Blaise had opted out saying they wanted to celebrate with close friends.

   just you guys, how sweet.

   “So- did Y/n and Pans. I flew past you guys and for a brief second and i swore i saw you guys making out” Draco spoke making Blaise and Theo laugh. “You guys were what now? I knew you were close, but no that close damn” Draco adds were made the boys laugh even harder.

   you roll your eyes playfully and walk behind behind Draco. He doesn’t see you as you wack the back of his head “Ow!” he exclaimed. Pansy chuckles “We were not making out by the way. I was smelling her chapstick” she explains. The boys nod and silence consumes you all after that.

   that is until Theo speaks up “That’s still gay”

    ☼-☪-☼

   you all spent the night together, talking, goofing around, and drinking firewhiskey. It was a fun idea at the time, but you all got wasted more than you’d like to admit. Your E/c eyes open slowly and your met with skin? You lift your head up, you were laying on top of Pansy.

   Y/n.exe has stopped working

   she was wearing her black flannel pants as well as her matching sports bra. Your heart might have stopped right then and there. You look down at what you were wearing and noticed you only had your undergarments and Pansy’s sweater that she had worn at the game. 

   before having time to freak the hell out you heard the black haired girl mumble under you “morning” she mumbles, her eyes opening slowly. You give her a half smile before sitting up “Um- how did- how did i end up here?” you ask. Pansy uses her elbows to prop herself up.

   she pushes her bangs from her face. They had began to grow over her eyes, but refused to cut them after you said you liked them longer. “You got a bit tipsy so i brought you here to rest. As well as those three” she says and points to the floor. You raise a brow and crawl to the edge of the bed.

   on the floor was Blaise and Theo cuddling on the ground. Cute. Draco was laying next to Blaise curled up in a ball with a blanket over him. Also cute. “Damn, i guess you played mom for a bit huh?” you joke, sitting back down on the bed. 

   Pansy shrugs her shoulders “You could say that. Your hug things in your sleep, did you know that?”

   “I’m sorry what?”

    ☼-☪-☼

   later in the day you were in your own dorm room studying for an exam in charms you had the next day. While writing down a few notes you heard your door open. You place the quill down and turn in your chair to see Pansy at the door. 

   she had on a black t-shirt with a sheer long sleeve one underneath, black pants with a white dragon that stopped above her ankles and black socks with checkered vans. Pansy had a plate of food in each hand “Theo told me you hadn’t eaten lunch yet so i brought you some.”

   “You look cute by the way” she adds with a wink

   you smile lightly and pat the chair next to yours “I’m guessing you came to eat with me as well?” you ask and she nods, taking a seat. She places the plate of food in front of you and places her down as well. Pansy began to move your textbooks around as you reached into the pocket off your black jeans.

   you pulled out your new chapstick ‘fruit punch’ and took off the cap. You smear it on your bottom lip before popping the cap back on and into your pocket while rubbing both your lips together to apply it evenly. Pansy smells something fruity again and smiles lightly.

   except for this smelt different. Way different. Nothing you had worn before.

   Pansy looks at you as you grab a fork with a amused smirk “New chapstick?” she asked. You noticed her playful tone. Turning in your sea you face Pansy “Maybe, maybe not” you say vaguely, shrugging your shoulders. Pansy rolls her eyes and faces you too.

   like last time she reaches up and grabs your face, pulling it close to hers. You hear her sniff just like before, but this time her eyebrows furrow “What the fuck is that?” she asks, making you laugh quietly “Can’t figure it out?” you tease. Her brown eyes narrow into a glare “Shut up” she hisses.

   what a baby

   Pansy stays like that for a couple seconds before exhaling loudly “What the hell is it” she grumbles. A risky idea popped into your mind in an instant. It was dumb, but you were so tired of just being friends with her. You were willing to risk it all in one question.

   “See for yourself then”

   you couldn’t really remember much between the the couple seconds of silence. All you remember is Pansy’s lips on your feverishly. She leaned into kiss you deeper, making you almost fall out the chair. She was not taking it slow in the slightest.

   As Pansy’s mouth moves against yours she leans down and uses her hands to scoop up your thighs. She lifts you up and you wrap your arms around her waist tightly, making Pansy let out a muffled noise. You felt a hard surface hit your back and assumed Pansy had leant you against the wall.

   Pansy ran her tongue against your bottom lip. You open your mouth slightly for her and Pansy’s tongue slipped into your mouth instantly. You felt a cold piece of metal on your tongue that connected to hers. It took you a second to process what it was.

   she had a tongue piercing

   “You have a tongue piercing?” you ask between hot kisses. You feel her smirk against your lips as one hand traces circles on your exposed stomach. She pulls away for a moment “Yeah. Problem?” she questions, panting slightly. You shake your head quickly “Nope- it’s just really hot”

    ☼-☪-☼

   an hour later

   “You owe me ten galleons” Draco spoke.

   Blaise groans and reaches into his pocket to dig out the money and place it in his hands “Yeah, yeah whatever” he grumbles.

   Theo smiles happily “I’m so happy for them!”

   Draco nods slowly “I’m pretty sure the whole house heard them though”

    ☼-☪-☼

   Taglist: @the--queen-of-hell @sonbelleame @dracosathenaeum @pxroxide-prinxcesss 

    ☼-☪-☼

   Kody- lesbian things lesbian things. Anyways request are open, peace.

[jq37]

The Royal Report– A Crown of Candy Ep 15 The Two Balls

A Hard Knock Life

Welcome back to A Crown of Candy as we march ever closer to the finale which is good because I can only take so much more chocolate coated drama. The party has just killed the SPF and, as Rina and her crew start to exit the temple, she enters a flashback that’s intense enough that they used a CW so, for that reason, I’m going to put it under the cut.

It’s the year 1196 and it’s almost High Frosting’s Eve (read: Bulb Christmas). A five-year-old Rina is being kept at the Abbey of the Shimmering Cream in the Dairy Seas but she’s not being kept well. As she looks out over the sea, waiting for the day her mom will sail back in and realize she made a mistake in abandoning her as she is wont to do, a nun shows up to bring her to the Mother Superior who’s sent for her. 

On the way there, she catches a glimpse of Lazuli in a mirror who comforts her and says that she’s not bad or wrong for being able to do the things she can do and that, “The world is dark and dangerous but there are forces other than wickedness in this world.” Lazuli starts to say that she’s been trying to help but--and she’s cut off as Rina walks into the next room and loses sight of the mirror.

The Mother Superior is waiting for Rina, switch in hand, and says that she’s heard kids talking about some crazy magic stuff Rina can do. Rina lies and says the kids are making it up and the Mother Superior switches her across the face saying that lying is a sin. She straps Rina to a chair and asks if she sees eyes in the mirror. Rina (who is still being played by Emily even though she is five) says, “Doesn’t everyone?” The Mother Superior doesn’t appreciate the line as much as I do because she smacks her again. She says that all she wishes for Rina is obedience and silence and asks what the woman in the mirror says to her. Rina, knowing that whatever she says is gonna get her smacked, says that the woman says that there’s nothing wrong with her and she doesn’t have to hide the way she is. In response, the Mother Superior takes out a holy symbol of the Bulb and starts heating it up in the fire. 

The box the symbol came out of has enough of a reflective surface inside that Lazuli is able to tell Rina that there are people in her corner and she’s suffering now but it won’t be forever but she’s again cut off by the Mother Superior who says that this self acceptance nonsense sounds like Hungry One talk. Rina says she’s not scared of anything physical the Mother Superior can do to her but, unfortunately, she’s not here to do anything to her body. She’s here for her soul. She presses the now heated holy symbol into Rina’s chest, causing her blinding pain and cutting her off from Lazuli who desperately tries to keep the connection open.

When she comes back to herself, devastated and tearful, the Mother Superior pledges to burn the Hungry One out of her as many times as it takes and send her to her room without sans morning breakfast privileges. Before she can go however, the Mother Superior stops her and asks why she’s always staring across the sea. Does she really think her dad is Prince Amethar? Not only is that obviously false but, even if it was true, he clearly doesn’t want her. Not even her mom wanted her. Rina (sounding like she’s trying to convince herself) says that her mom did want her. She was just scared and wanted to protect her. The Mother Superior says that her mom was trying to protect the world from her because she’s dangerous and her father isn’t Amether, he’s nothing. Rina shoots back that if her father is no one, then how come she can speak to the winds and command the waves? And why is she so scared of her? The Mother Superior doesn’t have an answer for that. She sends Rina to her room.

In the present day, Rina descends the mountain, dragon around her neck, followers by her side, and crown on her head. She will never be hurt like that again.

Ruby watches them go (Theo and Cumulus going with her and talking strategy) and then goes to find her dad who is still on the ledge. She asks Amethar how peace happens? How do you keep living once you’ve been through something like this? He answers that he’s the wrong person to ask. He’s just been going through the motions since the Ravening War ended. But they reaffirm that they love each other and hug before realizing they can’t see Liam anymore. And, speaking of Liam…

Gastronomy and Cosmology

Liam feels himself falling through endless fire and he can smell cinnamon and it hurts terribly but almost in a good way because, as we can recognize by the way Brennan describes it, he is essentially experiencing the sensation of being eaten and he knows that he tastes good.

As we heard last week, Liam felt a hand grab him but it’s actually less of a hand, more of a paw--a little chocolate rabbit’s paw. Lapin! He and Lapin are in this weird kinda semi disintegrated part of the Ice Cream Temple that’s continuing to break apart. Lapin is also disintegrating but not fully. It’s like the pieces that are coming off of him flaking off and cycling back continually, like Thanos is trying to snap him over and over. Additionally, the middle part of him is translucent and there are three foil-wrapped, chocolate egg-wishes in his chest. 

Anyway, we learn that Lapin is essentially there to pack up because the party killing the SPF means he and all the other residents of Candy Heaven have been evicted (which, yeah, checks out--you destroy a load bearing boss, her heaven implodes) and have to go to the Hungry One. Liam asks if that’s a bad thing and Lapin says not necessarily but it does mean they won’t be able to communicate with them anymore. But, on a happier note, Preston is there! He’s apparently not stopped following around Lapin since he was told to.

Liam tells Lapin that they’re super screwed and asks what they should do. Lapin in response takes Liam up to a viewing balcony so he can better see the state of the weird extraplanar space they’re in. The illusion-castle is in the middle of the two titular balls--one red, swirling and consuming, the other bright and shining. The Hungry One and the Bulb. And Lapin gets to fully explain his pre-death realization. The Hungry One and the Bulb have no agency. They’re simple light and dark. Creation and destruction. Two sides of the same coin. Cosmic constants. They’re not really gods and neither are beings like the SPF--(spirits like her are more like living spells). Liam confirms that there’s no way to get back the people they’ve lost and asks if there’s any point in killing more people. Should he just be a seed guy again?

Lapin says there’s nothing wrong with being a seed guy and the three eggs in his chest meld with the three peppermint heart seeds Preston coughs up and float in front of him--one is glowing red, one is glowing gold, and the third is shimmering like Lapin’s robes. They represent the power to destroy, create, and change. Lapin offers him one and Liam--unsurprisingly to anyone who’s watched Ally play D&D for any length of time--picks the change one instantly. Lapin says it’s good to see Liam again and he wakes up in the dragon’s nest, Ruby and Amethar above him. He tells them everything he learned and shows them the egg/wish/seed. None of them can tell exactly how it works or what it does so Liam stashes it for safekeeping.

The gang checks out the section of the temple that had the illusion and conjuration magic. The illusion magic has faded and all that’s left is the conjuration so it seems like whatever they see will be true and what they see is scenes of the past in ice crystals on the walls (before they’re whisked away by Lapin from the other side). Everyone rolls to see what they see--and Ruby rolls a Nat 20. Liam sees memories of dragons past, huge and terrifying. He also sees Lapin in his youth as a street urchin, breaking into a druid monastery, stealing a spell meant to summon the SPF and force her to give you three wishes, and having it Fullmetal Alchemist backfire on him so that he instead had to serve her and give her three wishes. Ruby wants to see who’s loyal and who’s not. She sees that there are people in Rina’s camp, Jawbreaker’s crew, and back home who aren’t on the level but no named characters. Cara’s all good. Joren is and the four sisters were all good. Rina and her closest confidants are all sincere in what they’ve been saying. Amethar sees memories of him and his four sisters. Then (on Ruby’s passed on Nat 20) he sees a memory from when he was about 16 of his sisters having an argument with their mom who they did *not* get along with about the war which hasn’t fully broken out yet. King Jadain is in the middle trying to keep the peace but really trying to just escape the conflict. He says he has to use the bathroom and peaces out to sit on the steps where Amethar happens to be.   

Amethar asks if he’s alright and Jadain tries to play it off like he wasn’t shaking and near tears. He says he wishes he was as strong willed and decisive as his wife/daughters. Amethar asks for assurance that he’s going to fight but Jadain says that their motto is In Sweetness There is Strength and fighting wouldn’t be very sweet. He asks Amethar if he’d ever want the crown because he could have it if he did. Amethar says he doesn’t. He’s a war guy like Joren. Jadain says that there may be a time for war guys soon. He then says that he never wanted to be king. It’s too much responsibility and it’s not fair. Young Amethar says that, regardless, he’s king. He has to be king. Words that echo in his head in the present.

Parties and Planning

Rina and crew gather enough weapons to outfit maybe 100 guys and then Rina blows up the entrance to the Temple so the Sanctus Putris (or whoever else) can’t get in but they can come back later to get the rest of the loot.

They go back to Manylicks which has been retaken and is now flying House Rocks and House Jawbreaker flags. One of Liam’s dick older brothers makes the mistake of trying to mess with the newly minted war guy and gets fully shot on sight. 

There’s a lot of partying for them and, at the end of the week, it’s Liam’s 18th birthday. His dad gives him Chillguard--a breastplate that raises his AC to 16. Joren says that since they’re out of the Concord, he doesn’t have to be a ward anymore and he can come back home but Liam says he doesn’t really want to. He says that he’s asexual, he’s gonna find himself a romance partner someone to settle down with, go back to being a seed guy, and move out because Castle Manylicks kinda sucks for him. His dad says he’s super valid and they hug (and also talk about polyamory because when Brennan gets into it, he gets *into it*).

War updates! There are still crusaders in the South but they’ve been driven out of the Mountains. The Imperial force backed out--Ceresian forces along with them--because Primsy wrote a letter saying, “Uh, hey, remember that Concord thing we’re all a part of? That’s still on and you’re breaking it. There’s another heir.” The crusade is still on though and Cruller is still letting it happen. 

Rina has her coronation which envoys from both the Dairy Islands and Meatlands attend. It’s a fully pagan ceremony but there’s just enough of a veneer or Bulbian propriety that they can stamp their approval on it and call it legit. Post ceremony there’s more partying which at a certain point devolves into a Bulb Bible Bonfire which Cara is super not about because she is an actual, practicing Bulbian. 

Primsy, who arrived with the Dairy peeps, swears to Rina and then goes to see Liam who she has a little bit of a flirtatious conversation with. She’s already been married once so she’ll probably end up in a political marriage with a minor noble like a count (what a coincidence, Liam happens to be a count!) and she’s not interested in being slammed down big style. They go to hold hands and take a walk.

Ruby and Amethar get Jack to give them Jet tattoos over their hearts. 

A lot of espionage happens. Rina uses two artifacts from the temple to help here--a crystal milkshake pool and flock of white chocolate ravens--while Liam (who got a Nat 20 +12) is leading a team of rangers to ambush messengers and intercept messages. Cumulus and his order are also getting a lot done now that their magic is coming back online. 

In the Southern Great Stone Candy Mountains, the above group ends up in a burning town where everyone except Bulbians have been killed by crusaders. Jon Bon pulls a bleeding priest out of the church and demands that he produce a letter and he does--it’s from the Pontifex. As Rina is about to read it, Cinnamon clocks the Bulbian holy symbol he’s wearing and snarls. Rina grabs the symbol and Creates Bonfire on it. As she does that, the spot above his heart on his chest starts to glow just as Cinnamon’s eyes do. Rina takes a moment and then says, “Go for it baby.” Cinnamon leaps off of her neck and starts ripping into this guy and all of her men start killing the other priests. The villagers start to run and the marauders are about to chase them but Rina orders they spare them and her men obey. Cinnamon finishes up the priest by eating his heart and Rina swears, he looks just a little bigger. I hear Feed Me Seymour playing faintly in the distance and I don’t like it.

Rina casts Cone of Cold with Winterscoop to put out the fires and looks at the villagers--the villagers who must be having a roller coaster of a week because they are Bulbian but got conquered by Bulbians and then saw a bunch of other Bulbians get absolutely viciously slaughtered. She says that many of them probably went to the Bulb for salvation, but hopefully today, they’ll see who really saved them.

Cinnamon looks at all the dead priests and looks to Rina for permission. Emily, who also clearly hears the Little Shop of Horror music playing, takes a moment and then Rina allows him to feed and feed and feed.

Oh, and the letter! It’s from the Pontifex to Kerradin and it says that the meeting with all their enemies will be in about 2 weeks. 

Gooey heard news that there are Bulbian crusaders hiding in Port Syrup waiting for the church to save them. Rina sends Gooey to go take care of it and, with some hesitation (and with the help of some dragon-puppy dog eyes), also sends Cinnamon who is now the size of a horse (mmm, don’t love that).

All this info gathered, there is a war council. The attitude seems to be that Primsy’s letter is helping for now but they really need an emperor/empress on the throne or else people will be coming for Candia again. The group talks about going to Castle Candy as a small assassination team (with a small contingent of soldiers) and sneaking in the way Theo snuck out with Cara. They can’t teleport there though because the crusaders destroyed all the standing stones close-by. But they can hitch a ride with Annabelle if it’s just a few people. Rina sends her ravens to look at Castle Candy and sees that there are lot of guys surrounding it but they’re un-unified crusaders so as long as they move really fast, retaking the castle is doable. 

They also plan to send some troops to Castle Candy from the North so it seems like that’s the real invasion force while they sneak in from the Cola River (on Annabelle’s ships). Primsy says that she can write to Cruller to say that she’ll finally recognize him as legit so that when three Dairy Island ships arrive, it won’t be suspicious. 

They go to Port Syrup to meet with Annabelle and see that the town has been wrecked. The Bulbian churches are totally destroyed. People are scared. Everything smells like ash and war. Cinnamon, now the size of a house (!!!), finds Rina to beg for pets like a dog.

Amethar, while wandering the city, finds the corpse of Sir Morris Brie who they left in charge of Port Syrup and, as a Bulbian, was caught up in the sacking of the city. Amethar sadly sits with his dead friend’s body, fused into his armor.

Rina goes to Theo and tells him that she loves Cinnamon so much because he’s the only one who’s ever loved her with the unconditional family kind of love but she knows that, for that reason, she can’t be trusted to be rational about him so he needs to tell her if she’s going to far. Theo says that if they’re going to use Cinnamon, they need to be careful and not just send him off. He also says she needs to discipline him which makes her remember all the ways she was disciplined as a child. 

Ruby goes to find Annabelle to try and get some life advice because things are so crazy. Annabelle assures her that things are really bad--she’s not just overreacting--and tells her that when she was stripped of her titles and land, it was a choice she made for freedom over responsibility. She doesn’t know if it was the right choice but it’s what she had to do to be free. Even so, she recognizes that she did turn her back on responsibility. Then she says she has to talk to Amethar.

Annabelle finds Amethar and tells him they found Catherine Ghee’s gravestone. She died in 1196 on the 12th of Harvestdusk. She got really sick after she sent Rina to the Abbey and was really scared of the Rocks family coming after her (or maybe became really religious). Amethar thanks her and goes to tell Rina. Rina accepts the news and asks who sent all the people to threaten her. When Amethar reacts with confusion, Rina explains that when she was a kid, her mom was scared all the time because Candian messengers threatened her. Amethar says that he only sent people to find her which Rina confirms with a Detect Thoughts. He loved her and just wanted to see her again which is news to Rina. Amethar says he’s sorry about the life she’s had and he’s sorry he screwed this up too and Rina says that it means a lot to her that he even tried to find Ghee. Rina also asks if she detected any love for her in Amethar thoughts and is told that there’s a very small part of Amethar that wants to love her. 

Amethar goes back to his quarters and tells Cara the news (and I have to imagine she’s like, join the club buddy). She asks when she died and he says twenty years. Her eyes go wild. When exactly. What’s the exact date? 12th of Harvestdusk, 1196. That’s five days BEFORE he married Cara. Which means he’s NOT an oathbreaker. Which means their wedding was LEGIT. Which means the Pontifex had NO GROUNDS to kick him out of the Concord. He is the RIGHTFUL KING OF CANDIA.     

(”Bastard no more!” Siobhan crows.)

And that’s it for the week!

Things I’m Concerned About

Mmm, ok so Cinnamon. It’s hard for me to imagine a scenario where this doesn’t end in disaster for someone. Like, as the eating and growing was starting, I felt this deep rooted sense of dread and I couldn’t remember exactly what was pinging until the next day and it was, as I’ve referenced twice previously in this recap, Little Shop of Horrors. This is clearly a full Audrey 2 situation except Cinnamon is a lot more ambulatory than a plant. He at least seems like he still recognizes Rina as his mother, which is good but I *really* don’t like where this seems to be going. And listen. If Cinnamon has to go down, you *know* who the person best positioned to do it is. Rina is the most major magic user, she has ice magic which he’s vulnerable to, and he trusts her enough to let his guard down around her. And, most importantly, it’s exactly the kind of mean choice Brennan, “All the Bad Guys” Lee Mulligan would love to foist upon a PC in a season like this. Bad!

And, connected to this, I don’t love how the marauders are handling the whole reverse crusade. Like, not that there’s a perfect way to do this--if someone were trying to genocide me and I had a dragon, I would for sure be deploying the dragon. And Rina did tell them to not kill the people who just happened to be Bulbian in the village but weren’t participating in the crusades so that’s at least some level of care. But what happens when she’s not there to rein them in? Well, we know what happens. Sir Morris Brie. Which is so messed up. You’re a good guy. You stay behind to help with the war effort and protect the town, and then a couple of weeks later you get torched alive by your own team in your armor because it has the wrong symbol on it. It’s messed up. Like, I don’t have the answers on how to wage an ethical war--which sounds like a full oxymoron. I just don’t love what’s happening.

Also, when Brennan said the guy’s chest was glowing before Rina had Cinnamon eat him, I thought it might be that he was unwillingly branded as a child like Rina, but lol guess we’ll never know.

And, addendum, Cara is a devout Bulbian--but obviously a relatively chill one because she’s down with Sweetening Path stuff too because of Lazuli. If she gets caught in the crossfire...like if you’re Ruby and your life just went to hell and your sister is dead and you have a new sister and you’re trying to accept her but you can’t and then her pet kills your mom who you never even really got to make up with? You’re not my queen *or* my sister at that point and it’s instant PvP. I killed a god, what makes you think I won’t fight you? So anyway, hope that doesn’t happen. lol.

So, we now know that the grounds under which Amethar was kicked from the Concord are false which means he is king still and the invasion is unlawful--even without Rina’s existence. But like, a lot of this season has been about political reality, right? So how much utility does this revelation serve? Everyone’s already rallied behind Rina and she has a contingent of very loyal and skilled soldiers who I don’t think would be happy to hear this news (and may think to try and make the problem go away in a stabby way). So if they go out with this info, it calls into question all the work they’ve already built up, forces them to get this new game plan to all their allies, potentially pisses off Rina’s people (and possibly Rina herself depending on how much she’s willing to go with them as allies and without being the lynchpin), and doesn’t give them much more than they’re already getting with Rina on the throne since their goals are mostly aligned as far as we know. And, anyway, Amethar was named emperor which will stand whether or not he’s king. They just need to get his hand on the Book of Leaves and that should be good to go. Rina gets the Candian throne, Amethar gets to be (or has to be depending on your view) emperor. Of course, clearing his name might be important to him and it probably bolsters his position in other ways but I’m just thinking about the big picture politics of the matter. 

Does Ruby keep her Shadow Sorc levels now that Jet is gone? How does that work?

Five More Things

Lol, love how the big twist of CoC is that there are actually no bastards. Only legit children in the eyes of the Bulb. 

Rina as a 5 year old was like that Matilda kind of 5. She was dropping some *intense* lines. Also, imagine having to have your scene right after that one. Yeesh. I recapped that flashback separately from the rest of the episode because it was so much and it was only 14 minutes. Everything else I did in basically one shot!

What did Jadain mean about Amethar getting the crown if he wanted it? What was that about? Brennan gave Lou the Jadain flashback on Siobhan’s Nat 20 so I wonder if that’s a relevant piece of info. Also, the voice for him caught me so off guard. I was like, huh. OK, yeah, checks out. 

Zac, low key king of comedy, in response to Emily/Rina explaining the concept of movie popcorn salad: Are we joining the Ceresians?

Lapin! Oh man, I was so shocked and overjoyed for Lapin to get another scene. I missed that bunny. And to have him kinda allowed out and joking out with Liam (“Are you in pain?”/“All the time.”) was so good. His, “I’m not mad at you,” was so funny and also genuinely emotional? And also, I’m so happy Liam got some closure for Preston. What a banger of a scene. Big props to Ally and esp Zac who also had to give the once per season, “Here is how the universe works,” talk to Ally’s character. 

One More Thing!

Oh man you gotta check out this AMAZING Crown of Candy animatic by @kindlespark. What a killer use of Glitter and Gold. And so comprehensive of the season so far, even recent stuff. So much obvious talent and hard work on display here! 

[ellewritesathing]

So Close - S.S. XXXV

Summary: The universe has a funny way of putting the things you want right in front of you, but just out of reach. Stiles and Y/N have been best friends ever since Scott brought him home, but when Stiles realizes that he might want to be something other than best friends, she leaves to go to some fancy private school up North. Now that she’s back though … maybe he’s got a shot? A Teen Wolf AU in which the reader has always been so close to Stiles and yet so far.

Masterlist    Prev. | Part 35

Word-count: 2.9k+

A/N: so it’s a little short but we’re building to some important stuff!! hope you like it

Stiles Stilinski inherited many things from his father, one of which being his love of a good surface to map out his thoughts and clues. Stiles used the clear dry-erase board in his room; Noah used the cork board in his office at the police station. It currently sported a few pages from police reports and photos of Tracy and Lucas. 

“Chimeras,” Noah said. 

“Two dead chimeras,” Stiles said. “Plus eight new ones. So, ten in all.” 

“I’m thinking maybe eleven,” Noah said, pinning a new photo to his current array. A photo of Donovan. 

Stiles' heart rate spiked and you gripped his hand a little tighter.

“Our station tech guys confirmed something for me,” Noah went on as he turned around to face you. “They said both the holding cell lock and cameras could have malfunctioned because of something electromagnetic.” He picked up the book Malia and Kira found in Tracy’s room. “You said that, uh, that’s how these guys got into Eichen?” 

“So you think that makes Donovan one of their chimeras?” you asked. You walked towards Noah and the board to take any attention off Stiles. “But no one’s seen him since that night-” You picked up his red marker that he used to cross out Tracy’s photo “-so they probably killed him just like they killed Tracy.”

Noah caught your hand before you could cross out Donovan’s photo. “We don’t cross him out until I’ve seen a body,” he said. 

“Your board,” you said with a smile. You wanted to fix this but you weren’t sure how, so you settled for trying to get Stiles out of the precinct before he combusted. “Listen, we should probably get going if we’re going to make it to school before the first bell.”

“Of course,” Noah said with a smile. He turned and looked over at Stiles a few feet away; he was looking out the window, biting his nails, and with tense shoulders. “Hey, Stiles, you’re uncharacteristically quiet. What do you think about all this?” 

“Well, these are all teenagers, right?” Stiles said. He turned away from the window and let go of his hands. “So shouldn’t we be trying to figure out why these teenagers? If the Dread Doctors- if they went through all that … burying them, killing them, breaking one of them out of jail … They couldn’t have been chosen at random.”

“So they had to have something in common that made them right for this experiment,” Noah said. 

“Something that made them special,” Stiles said. He caught your eye and took a breath. 

“Well, uh, I’ve kept you kids long enough,” Noah said. “You should get going if you’re gonna make it to school on time.” 

“School,” you repeated, running a hand through your hair. “What a concept.” 

The school day dragged on once you and Stiles split up to go to your classes. The most exciting part of the day was when you tried to print a paper at the library and it was out of ink, and when you looked up you saw Kira slipping out with about a million copies in her arms. 

Those copies came in handy when all your friends gathered in your living room to read Valeck’s book about the Dread Doctors. 

“My mom’s book club usually has more wine,” Lydia said.

“Well, they also probably didn’t read books that cause violent hallucinations,” Stiles said. 

“I’m guessing that’s what the wine’s for,” you said, leaning down to pick up one of the copies. 

“Maybe I should have my mother read it,” Lydia said. She picked up the book and flipped through the pages. “She might remember a girl with a tail leaping off the ceiling and attacking everyone.”

“Yeah, if it works,” Stiles said. 

Lydia’s voice was much smaller when she spoke again. “It has to.”

“What do you mean, Lyd?” you asked, touching her arm lightly. 

She straightened back up and spoke clearly again. “I mean I think I saw them during my surgery. And when I look at the cover of the book … it’s almost like …” 

“A memory trying to surface,” Theo said. 

You still didn’t like having him around but Scott was insistent you trust him, at least for now, so he was here for book club. Even if no one wanted him here.

“Isn’t that what Valeck wanted when he wrote the book?” Kira asked. 

“If they did anything to me,” Lydia said. “I want to know what it is.”

Lydia stormed off, book in hand, to find a place to read while everyone else grabbed a copy off the coffee table. You touched Stiles’ lower back lightly to get his attention as he squinted at the title page and nodded at one of the nearby armchairs. 

The two of you settled in, your head resting on Stiles’ upper bicep and your legs tangled up over the coffee table. Every now and then, Stiles would reach up and run a hand through your hair in an attempt to keep himself focused. Your efforts, on the other hand, weren’t so valiant and you fell asleep somewhere around chapter ten. 

When you woke up again, Stiles coaxed you into helping him make coffee for everyone. You sat on the kitchen island as he worked, making each cup the way each friend preferred - it was sweet. The lack of words made things feel familiar and secret. 

And Theo strolled in. 

“Need any help with that?” he asked. 

“No, we’re, uh- we’re all good, man,” Stiles said, nodding at him over his shoulder. 

Theo nodded and reached his hand out. He said something about understanding and then patted the top of Stiles’ shoulder twice, a bit roughly, before you had the chance to intervene. “Woah, you okay, dude?” he asked when Stiles tensed and muffled a groan. 

“Yeah, I just pulled a muscle,” Stiles lied easily. His heart didn’t falter for a second. “You know how it is with the back-to-school rush.” 

“Right,” Theo said, drawing out the word. It was clear he didn’t believe him but he dropped it, opting to talk to you instead. He turned to you with an attempt at a friendly smile. “So what do you think of the book?” 

“I think if it helps me find the people hurting my friends, then it’s worth it,” you said, sliding off the island and not breaking eye contact. “Because if there’s one thing you should know about me, it’s that I don’t let anyone hurt my friends.” 

Theo’s smile changed in a way that unsettled you. He dropped his eyes for a second before looking back up at you with a low laugh. “Yeah, I know. That’s why I’m trying so hard to be one of your friends.” 

“Right,” you said. 

“Coffee’s up,” Stiles said, breaking through the tension. “Hey, Theo, if you wanna help, you can go get everyone.”

“Yeah, sure,” Theo said, looking over to give Stiles a smile before heading out of the kitchen. 

Stiles turned to you and mouthed the words ‘what the hell do you think you’re doing’ and you gave him a noncommittal shrug that said you’d do better next time. He rolled his eyes and handed you a mug. “Just drink your coffee and don’t punch anyone,” he said. “Alright? Please.” 

“No promises,” you hummed over the rim of your mug. You took a sip of the coffee and relaxed slightly. “Okay, let’s finish that book.” 

---

School felt more like a dream the next day than anything else, especially with Stiles and Lydia going to the hospital to investigate her repressed memory. You were just going through the motions until someone rushed into your English class asking if anyone had an inhaler. The shock of it grounded you in the real world and you dug through your bag to get Scott’s old inhaler before running for it. 

“Scott?” You pushed through the crowd of students that formed around the door to the biology class. “Scott!” He was leaned up against the desk and wheezing but Scott turned his head to look at you. You dropped to your knees and pressed the inhaler into his hands and up to his lips. “Scotty, you gotta breathe, okay? On three I need you to take a big breath, you understand?” 

Scott nodded and you counted down. When he breathed in, you pressed down on the inhaler and hoped for the best. 

“There we go,” you said gently, pushing back some of the hair on his forehead. “Welcome back to the land of the living. Well, you know what I mean.” 

“Where did you get an inhaler?” Scott asked, deep frown lines still on his forehead. “Wait, is this ... my inhaler?” 

“Someone had to keep it around when you started leaving it at home,” you said, sliding your hand up to his face while the other held onto his neck. It was an asthma attack, not the flu so you weren’t sure why you were checking for a fever but it made you feel better. 

“But I haven’t had an asthma attack in like two years,” Scott said. 

“Yeah, and today you did.” 

“Are you two okay here?” Ms. Finch asked. You looked over at her and forced a smile, hoping that it conveyed your desire to be left alone. “Okay, the rest of you, clear out!”

Even though Scott insisted he was fine, you didn’t want to leave him alone, and when the lights went out later in the day you rushed over to find him. You found him with Theo, both of them coming out of the stairwell that led to the basement. 

Scott explained how Theo came to check on him when the lights went out and they went down to the generator to investigate - the wires were ripped out by another chimera - and now they were trying to get a hold of Malia and Kira. 

“Hey, you okay?” you asked when you saw Malia coming down the stairs. 

“Yeah, we both are. Kira’s still at the library,” she said, nodding over at Theo and Scott. “Where’s the others?”

“Stiles and Lydia are still at the hospital trying to figure out what happened during her surgery,” you said, running your hand through your hair. You’d feel a lot better if they were with you. 

“How long are they gonna be there?” Malia asked. 

“They said they’re just waiting for the power to come back on,” Scott said. 

“Which is why we’re heading there now,” you finished as Theo pushed open the doors to the parking lot. You mumbled a thank you and pushed ahead to the car,

Turns out that wouldn’t be the last interaction you and Theo had; Scott’s plan was for him to find your mom, Malia to find Lydia, and you and Theo to find Stiles. He ignored your protests about splitting up but Theo grabbed your arm and started pulling you towards the elevator. 

“What the hell are you doing?” you asked, yanking your hand back to your body. 

“Can’t you smell that?” Theo asked. He took a breath when you stared at him. “Chemo-signals. Stiles’ chemo-signals, specifically. He was here and he was anxious.” 

“He’s always anxious,” you said quietly as Theo punched the button on the elevator. It bothered you that you hadn’t noticed it before. 

You got off at the same floor that Stiles did and followed the smell of his anxiety all the way to the roof. The last time you were up here was when the alpha pack was still terrorizing your friends - you never thought you’d miss that experience. But in that instant you couldn’t miss anything, you were too overwhelmed by the sight of one of the kids in your homeroom class trying to rip off Stiles’ face. 

“Josh?” 

Either Theo didn’t go through the same shock that you did or he just recovered faster. He rushed forward, pulled Josh off of Stiles, and then threw him across the roof. They started fighting amidst all the sparks from the ripped up generator but you didn’t pay any attention as you rushed to check on Stiles. 

“Hey, hey, you okay?” You held his face in yours but he was still staring at Theo and Josh. How many times were you going to find him delirious and covered in blood? “Stiles, can you hear me?” 

“Yeah. Yeah, I-” Stiles blinked over your shoulder and looked back over at you. He lifted his hand to your face for a second before pointing over your shoulder. “I think you should go help him.” 

Sparks flew and you lunged over to cover Stiles. They burned your back but you’d heal. By the time it was over and you were back on your feet, Theo was holding onto Josh by the neck. He tore out his throat before you got a chance to stop him. Josh fell to the ground and choked on his blood. 

“Stiles …” Theo took a step forward and you pulled Stiles behind you. Theo looked hurt by the action. “You guys can’t say anything. Please- please, don’t say anything.”

“Why the hell not?” you asked, doing your best to maintain eye contact and not look at the body of your dying classmate. 

“Because I never said anything about Donovan,” Theo said. 

You let go of Stiles’ hand and marched closer, wrapping your other hand around Theo’s neck and pushing him back against the generator. Another mini-explosion of sparks went off as his body collided with the fence, but your hold on his neck didn’t falter. Stiles was right behind you, ducking slightly when the sparks flew but right behind you a second later.

“What did you just say?” you asked. 

Stiles called out your name and started to say something but he got cut off. He put a hand on your lower back, but he was still focused on Theo.

“I know what happened to Donovan,” Theo said. “I know everything.” 

“You don’t know anything,” Stiles told him.  

Theo started struggling under your hand but you gripped tighter, claws coming out to keep him in place. After a shallow laugh he looked over at Stiles. “I was there- at the library.” Stiles nodded at you and you loosened your grip ever so slightly. “Malia found the book. She was texting us to see where you guys were because she said she left the two of you at the library and she hadn’t heard from you since then. I told her I was close by. When I got there, I heard the scaffolding come down.”

Your blood ran cold. That was why she tried to call the other night. If you answered your phone, would you still be in this position now? Would Stiles?

“You saw him?” Stiles asked. 

“Just the body,” Theo said. Stiles rubbed your lower back, a signal to let go, but you couldn’t bring yourself to do it. Theo looked down at your hands for a second before continuing, “I watched you come out. I was gonna say something but then I saw the cop car.” He paused and looked down at where Stiles was holding onto you. “And then the body was gone.” Theo’s eyes drifted back to meet Stiles’. “I don’t know who took him. I only saw what you saw, and I didn’t say anything because you didn’t.” 

You looked over to see what Stiles was thinking but then you heard the sirens. The very familiar sirens of cruisers that belonged to the Beacon Hills Sheriff Department. 

“That’s not an ambulance, is it?” Theo asked. 

Stiles shook his head and started walking away. He needed the movement to think clearly. 

“We need to get out of here,” Theo said, moving against your grip. You pushed him back again and he held out his hands in surrender. 

“I’m not leaving Josh,” you said. 

“Fine, then let’s take him,” Theo said. Stiles spun around to face him. “Someone’s stealing the bodies anyway, right? Here’s our chance to find out who.”

“Stiles, I-” you shifted uncomfortably. “He’s got a point.”

“He killed him,” Stiles said, looking between you and Josh’s body. 

“In self-defense,” Theo said. He looked close to crying. But his heartbeat was steady under your hand. “He was going to kill you and he was going to kill me.” 

“You didn’t even wait for me-” 

“If we stay-” Theo talked over you “-We’re either going to have to tell the truth or we’re going to need a pretty convincing story. It’s your choice.” He looked down at the floor for a second. “I’m not going to ask you to lie to your dad.”

You tried to get Stiles’ attention without saying anything. It was time to come clean. He looked at you for a second but you could see he’d already made up his plan.

“Don’t worry,” Stiles said. “I’ve had plenty of practice.”

“Stiles-” 

He walked over to Josh and was already pulling him up by his jacket. It was jarring to see your boyfriend picking up the dead body of the goofy kid in the back of the class. The blood that ran down his cheeks made you feel sick. 

“If you wanna leave-” Stiles was quieter when he spoke to you but he was still very clearly on edge “-I’m not gonna judge you.”

Reluctantly, you let go of Theo so that you could walk over and pick up Josh’s other side. You caught Stiles’ eye before saying, “I’m not going to leave you.” You hooked Josh’s arm around your shoulders and held him up by his waist.  

Theo took hold of Josh’s other side from Stiles. 

Whether you trusted him or not, you were in this together now.

Part 36

[exorciseyourspirit]

Night Rituals|| Amnon and Theo

Love lost and not found.

Theodora languished at the foot of her grave at Hambry Park, asking the heavens to tell her what she had done to deserve becoming a ghost. She had been asking for nearly two years and the heavens, if their ears still heard her at all, said nothing. She was beyond longing for tears, beyond craving for true speech that might turn a head or worry a heart. Memory was her company, and so was the topography of the cemetery: every roll of the ground, every cluster of weeds and rocky patch of soil; the shallow crevices where too many living lay to kiss and shag under the moon and where vampires pressed their prey into the ground before taking the kill. Tonight was lonely and quiet. Even the death creatures seemed to be taking their pause. Except, strangely, for a familiar silhouette. Theodora drifted down the path in search of a better look. She did not know if ghosts could grow mad, or if the world had begun to turn kindly towards her at long last, but-- “Rebecca.” Had she discovered a way out? Had she broken free of her cursed bargain? Had she-- no. There was no kindness left in God’s grace for Theodora. She could tell just by the gait as the creature drew near. It was him. “What in god’s name brings you here?” She hissed.

 He needed a scoop of dirt. Not any scoop of dirt, a scoop of dirt from the grave of a loved one. Not just any loved one-- Rebecca’s loved one. Amnon had brought a little shovel and baggy to collect it in, tucked away in Rebecca’s favorite jacket pocket. He was surprised to learn she hadn’t visited the grave since coming back. Maybe the pain was “just too much”. He had to laugh at the thought. Except his internal chuckle was interrupted by a voice-- a very familiar voice. “Theo!” he said excitedly, making sure he kept Rebecca’s same intonation when she got excited. “Hashem! This is amazing! I can’t believe it.” He stood back, admiring her, hands on his hips, a large, smug grin on Rebecca’s face. “You’re a ghost! Oh, the irony!” Couldn’t help but laugh. “Oh, this is just-- oh, I don’t even know what this is. This is, you know--” he waggled a finger, “this might just be the best day of my un-life. Or, well, second best. Nothing beats getting a new body, especially one so powerful and perfect. Am I right?”

 Theodora recoiled, drawing back several feet in the space of a moment. This was cruel, borrowing not just her voice but the markers of her speech, as if she hadn’t imagined what it would be like to hear her voice again, to see her just one more time and know it had all been for something. She was glad, then, to be beyond weeping. The dybbuk could see her, flaunting the power Rebecca so coveted, but he need not get anymore satisfaction from breaking her now as he had when he broke her body. It had happened in an instant. No gasping for breath, no tearful farewells. She had been running, blade ready and aimed for his neck, and then the world cracked into darkness, faster than a clap of thunder. And then, some indeterminate time later, there was this. Theodora still wasn’t certain that this wasn’t a kind of damnation. “Shut up,” she hissed. “She’s not your plaything. If you didn’t come here to gloat, then what are you doing with her here in the first place? Don’t you have anything better to do?” 

“Oh, c’mon!” Amnon said, giving a shake of his head as if disappointed in the spirit floating in front of him. “Let me have this! It’s a big moment! Oh, man-- you, you should be really glad she’s not conscious for this. Oh, hashem-- could you imagine how upset she would be? To know that her “true love” has come back as a ghost? One she can’t even see? Please, please, this is all just too good,” he said, smiling at her as he walked up to the grave and started digging up some of the grass, not bothering to explain what he was doing. “You know, you ought to be thanking me. Now, you get to live forever! It’s gonna be great!” He pointed at her. “Have you learned how to use electronics yet? How long’s it been? A year and a half? Two? I don’t remember when it all happened, sorry. So many murders, so little time,” he shrugged, before continuing to dig.

 Theodora rolled her eyes in disgust and hovered nearer. The impulse to turn away was strong; Rebecca wouldn’t have minded her like this, she would understand (or would she?), but seeing this cruelty ventriloquized through her was something else altogether. “You don’t get to ask the questions here,” she protested. “You tell me what you’re doing with her, damn you.” She reached for the shovel and threw the force of her strength into taking it from him, not with a pull, but making it a part of her, invisible and thin as air. She only took it a few feet before she had to let go, but it was something. “You tell me,” she snarled. “You’re so fond of your blasted deals and your plans. What is it this time? Why make her do this?”

 Amnon frowned, Rebecca’s brow furrowing in that curious way it always did when her face scrunched. “I see you’ve been learning,” he pointed out, standing up and heading for the shovel again. “What I’m doing with her? The same thing I was doing with the last guy, picking up where I left off while finding a way to permanently get rid of them. I want this body forever,” he said simply, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “And you know, you should let me. That way she can actually come join you in whatever pitiful afterlife you seem to be wallowing in.” Reached again for the shovel, purposefully pushing Rebecca’s hand through Theo’s specter to grab it. “And I’m not making her do anything, because she’s not here right now. It’s all me, baby. Yours truly.”

 Theodora dispelled at the touch, backing up to the stone cross that marked her grave. The face alone the creature inside her made was too familiar, tearing at the walls of coldness she had built up around--could she even call it her heart anymore if there was no organ to beat? Could she call it her soul when, for all she knew, she was wearing it bare in the open? Whatever remained of her to feel, to yearn and regret and care, the very flint of her soul that remained beyond even her power--she felt that piece burn with vengeance that was almost as warm as life. God in heaven, how she missed her. And even without her, even if Rebecca could never lay eyes on her in turn until they were safe beyond this world, she needed to exist here a little longer. No other arrangement seemed right to Theodora. And this blasted dybbuk was not her, however much it had mastered her mannerisms and delighted in mocking her joy and vibrance. “She’s strong,” Thedodora said. “She won’t let you snuff her out forever. She’ll surface, and she’ll find a way to stop you. And even if she doesn’t, I will make it my eternity’s business to thwart your every plan. Whatever it takes to make you regret taking her, to give her back, I swear I will do it. She will not be yours to keep!”

 “Or maybe she’s already all gone. Did you know she got scratched by a Wraith and didn’t get it properly cleaned? That smells of a death wish to me,” Amnon said, fudging the truth just a little. “I had to go get it healed for us. A tad disappointing.” He rubbed his ribs where they still hurt with a dull ache, reminding him of his tangible body as he turned with his shovel to head back to the grave, continuing his quest for the dirt. “”Uugh, sounds boring. You have free reign over everything now. You can go anywhere, do most anything and you really wanna waste your time chasing me around? And for what, her?” He motioned to himself-- well, to Rebecca’s body. “How sad.”

 Theodora’s face fell. She had seen Rebecca in such states before. There were times when she would have foregone sleep or washing had Theodora not guided her body through the motions herself. What had she even But wait-- “So she is in there,” she said. Rebecca had surfaced--and she hadn’t come to see her. Theodora went cold at the realisation. But Rebecca at all, Rebecca strong enough to fight, and get in trouble, even if she was damned reckless and tired, that had to be reason for hope. “She’s fighting you now, isn’t she?” Theodora said, convincing herself as much as the creature. “She surfaced before and she’ll surface again. You haven’t got a prayer against her strength. We’ll stop you like we should have done in the first place.”

 Amnon sighed, taking a shovel full of dirt and dumping it into the special bag he’d brought to keep it in. “She’s somewhere in here, alright,” he said, “for now.” Because wasn’t that his ultimate plan? Wasn’t that why he was here, gathering this dirt, in the first place? To secure this body. Not just for now, but forever. He stood, wiping off his hands, as he mussied the rest of the grave. “Lucky you, nice headstone,” he said, tapping it with his foot. “Haven’t you learned by now, Theodora?” he said, making sure to lilt Rebecca’s voice when he said her dead lover’s name, knowing it would sting. “You can’t stop me.”

 A lightning strike of rage shot through Theodora and she reached out for the creature’s neck as if she could wring it out of Rebecca’s body herself. She passed through her skin, useless, and dispelled herself away from him. “Just you watch me,” she said. “We made you miserable before. We can do it again. And you and I have all the time in the bloody world.” 

[selfignitingimagines]

Theo- Forgiven

Request- I’m not sure if I already requested this but can I get a Theo x reader where (kind of like the scene with Derek and stiles escaping Kanima in pool) where reader is paralyzed from kanima and Theo is like holding her up and they have to jump in the pool to escape and Theo has to like get out of the water to grab something so reader sinks and then Theo pulls her back up. Theo and reader aren’t dating yet but they confess feeling during this situation. LOTS OF FLUFF. Sorry if this don’t make sense!

A/N: It makes sense to me! Hope you like it!

“This way!” Theo hissed, grabbing you by the arm and jerking you to the right.

He shoved through the wooden doors that led to the school pool, and you took the opportunity to yank your arm from his grasp.

“I thought you killed Tracy,” you said breathlessly.

“I thought that too,” he snapped. “But apparently not.”

You suppressed the urge to reach out and smack him. Theo coming back from the dead had been a surprise, but it was nothing like finding out Tracy was alive. Especially because that had only happened fifteen minutes ago when she popped out from behind a library shelf while you were studying.

“You know this is your fault right?” you demanded.

“You’re the one who wanted to stay late to study in this hellhole.”

“You’re the one who insisted on staying with me!”

“I wasn’t going to let you be here alone at night. I might be an asshole, but I’m not stupid.”

“Cute.”

You stopped short as Tracy appeared in front of you, materializing from behind the bleachers. She was in a half kanima state, with scales speckling her skin and her tail slithering behind her. She was sort of glowing in the lights of the pool, and you thought to yourself that if there was such a thing as an avenging angel, it would look like Tracy. If she wasn’t there to kill Theo, you might have even thought she was beautiful.

Theo darted into front of you and let out a growl.

“Dying once wasn’t enough for you?”

“If I remember correctly, you never killed me,” she hissed.

“No, but I will this time.”

Theo stalked forward and swiped at Tracy with a clawed hand. She ducked, her tail whipping around in the process as she smacked him in the back with it. He fell forward and clawed at her, causing her to shriek.

She lashed out at him, grabbing him by the throat and slamming him into the cold floor. He hit the tile with a thud, and you watched with horrific fascination as her eyes became slitted and yellow.

Theo let out a snarl, but his eyes flickered to you for a split second. He mouthed “Run.”.

You nodded and took off toward the doors, but Tracy whipped her head around. She growled, and by the sickening snap and Theo’s scream, you knew she had broken something.

You heard a crash, and you glanced behind you just in time to see Theo lying in a pile of kickboards and flippers, groaning. Tracy quickly caught up to you with supernatural speed, and she yanked you back by your shirt. It tore as she shoved you to the cold floor, and you hit the ground on your back.

She leaned over you and placed a hand on your chest, pinning you into the floor.

“No offense,” she began. “But you’ve got terrible taste in guys.”

“Can you just spare me the boy talk and kill me?” you snapped.

She rolled her eyes. “Fine.”

She grabbed you by your torn shirt and yanked you to your feet, pressing her claws against your throat.

“Oh, Theo!” she sing-songed.

He lifted his head up from the ground, looking slightly dazed. When his eyes landed on the two of you, he jerked forward, only to scream out in pain. That was when you noticed that his left leg was bent at an unnatural angle, and there was a bone sticking out of it.

You felt the urge to bend over and vomit, but Tracy was holding you too tightly.

“No,” he snarled, crawling forward. “Tracy this isn’t about her. This is about us.”

“I know that,” she spat. “But you were the one who told us, Theo, remember? You told us that if you want to hurt someone, you need to hurt someone they love.”

Before you could unpack all of what she was saying, she suddenly dug her claws into your throat. You braced for the sharp pain, for the gush of blood, but it never came. She was only poking you, but the venom from her claws was enough to paralyze every muscle in your body.

You fell to your knees as the rest of you slowly became numb. Tracy grinned down at you and dragged your limp body toward the pool. You could hear Theo grunting, maybe trying to pull himself up, or put his leg back into place. You never had time to figure it out, because Tracy shoved you into the water.

Panic flood your senses, but all you could do was try to hold your breath. You had been paralyzed by kanima venom before, that night you had gone to get Stiles’ jeep fixed your sophomore year. He had begged you to come along, and you remembered that the douchebag mechanic had been hitting on you half the time you were there.

It only go weirder from there, and you and Stiles had both been paralyzed by the sticky goo on the door handle. From the floor of the waiting area, you were able to hear the mechanic get crushed by his own lift. You would later learn that his name had been Tucker.

That wasn’t exactly an experience you wanted to replicate, but you would rather go through that again than drown in the school pool. Just as your vision started to go black, you felt a hand grasp your forearm, yanking you up and above the water.

You gasped for air, but as Theo pulled you back against his chest, you could see he was struggling too.

“What happened?” you gasped. “Where’s Tracy?”

“She left,” he croaked. “She figured I wouldn’t be able to get to you.”

“Well thank god she was wrong.”

“We have another problem,” Theo said grimly.

You could see that his face was bright red with the strain of holding you, and you could feel that his muscles were straining.

“Your leg,” you remembered suddenly. “You can’t swim either.”

“The bone is still sticking out. I can’t get you out while it’s like this.”

“Well you can’t let me go,” you snapped.

“I might have to.”

“Where’s your phone?”

“In my pocket, which is soaked through right now.”

“So you’re going to do what? Just let me drown?”

Theo rolled his eyes. “No. I’m going to let you go, hop out, put my leg back into place and come get you.”

“If I don’t drown at the bottom of the pool first!”

Your yell echoed through the huge space of the room, and you knew how scared you must have sounded, but you weren’t going to back down.

“You seriously can’t just trust me?” Theo asked.

“Trust you?” you demanded. “You lied to me and tried to kill my friends.”

“I don’t know if you’ve noticed,” Theo informed you. “But I’m the one keeping you alive right now.”

“That must be a weird feeling for you, huh?”

“Y/n, I swear to god! I’m trying to save your life.”

“Find another way!”

Theo thought for a minute, and then shook his head angrily. “Hold your breath.”

“What?!”

“Hold your breath!”

“No, are you-!”

Before you could protest anymore, he was letting you slide back into the water. You sucked in a deep breath at the last minute, closing your eyes as you slipped back under.

As you tried to fight the panic building in your mind, you thought back to what Tracy had said earlier. She mentioned hurting something Theo loved, but she couldn’t possibly think he cared about you.

What you and Theo had wasn’t exactly what you would call a relationship. Making out in the janitor’s closet and sneaking behind Stiles’ back was less than ideal, even though it had been fun. At least it had been fun until he tried to kill everyone else.

You had been guilty about that for months, and you were still working on letting go of that guilt when Liam and Hayden pulled Theo out of the ground. Once everything had blown over with the Ghost Riders, you were left wondering how you were supposed to avoid him.

You were under the impression that Theo never really cared, but judging by the way he had started following you around, you could have been wrong. It was a little hard to stay away from him when he started showing up wherever you were, but, god, you had tried. He wasn’t even supposed to be there in the school with you in the first place. He had only followed you in an effort to make sure you weren’t alone. As misguided as the whole situation was, maybe Tracy was on to something.

These were the thoughts flitting through your mind as you sank down into the water, your head pounding. Air bubbled up through your mouth against your will, and suddenly all you could think about was the explosive pain in your temples.

After the assassins made their way through Beacon Hills, you had stopped counting the amount of near-death experiences. You had imagined the way you would die over and over, yet the thought of drowning never cross your mind. You figured there would be pain, but this? This was agony.

Your body was starved for air. It was screaming for it.  If you could have twisted and writhed, you would have, but Tracy’s venom had left you paralyzed and helpless. The only thing you could do as the water rushed in was pray that Scott wouldn’t blame Theo for your death.

If you could have scoffed at yourself, you would have. There you were, drowning in the school pool, and still worrying about Theo. But you didn’t have time to think of the irony, because the pain was suddenly gone, and you were fading away.

-----

All Theo could hear as he dragged himself out of the pool was the sound of his own ragged breathing. He pulled himself up onto the edge, straightened out his leg the best he could, and pushed on his misshapen bone.

His hands were slippery with blood and chlorinated water as he frantically tried to put the bone back into place. He didn’t get it on the first few tries, and he looked back toward the pool, but you had already disappeared under the surface.

He sucked in a deep breath, clenched his teeth, and shoved the bone back in. His agonizing scream echoed through the room, but he wasted no time on his own pain. He could feel his leg healing already, the fibers of bone and skin knitting themselves back together under the surface. If he had time, he would have waited and made sure. Now he couldn’t afford to.

He dove into the water and surged toward the bottom of the pool. You were floating there, eyes closed, and Theo could tell you weren’t breathing.

He wrapped an arm around your waist and pulled you against him, kicking desperately to boost the two of you up to the surface. After he broke through and made it to the edge, he hoisted you onto the side of the pool.

Theo dragged himself up onto the ledge, which was already soaked with water. He brushed sopping wet strands of hair from your face, and tilted your chin up in an attempt to open your airway.

“Come on,” he begged as he leaned over you, dripping water across your already soaked body. “Wake up, Y/n.”

He was surprised at how frantic his voice sounded, but he was terrified.

Before Liam brought him back to the surface, Theo had been living a nightmare. In what he could only guess was purgatory, he would wake up in the hospital morgue, only to come face to face with his dead sister. She would reach into his chest with an icy hand and rip out his heart, bloody and still, holding it up for him to see. Then he would wake up in that cold drawer, and she would find him all over again.

During those moments, Theo’s one escape was thinking of you. Maybe you hated him, but at one point you hadn’t, and that was what he chose to remember. Now that he was back, he had been determined to make up for his mistakes.

He had sworn to himself that he would protect you, but there you were, lying on the floor, cold, wet, and not breathing.

With shaking hands, he leaned in and pinched off your nose, blowing one breath into your mouth. Almost immediately, you jerked forward and coughed up water right into Theo’s face. He was so relieved he didn’t even care.

His hands were immediately on your back, guiding you onto your side so you could cough up the rest of the water in your lungs. You were gasping and shaking, but Theo kept his arms around you as you trembled.

“Oh god,” he kept murmuring. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

Once you stopped spitting up pool water, you leaned back against Theo. He was just as wet as you were, but at least he was warm.

“Okay,” you whispered weakly, glancing up at him through half-lidded eyes. “I trust you.”

His chest heaved with relief, and before he could stop himself, he pulled you tightly against him. Your head was tucked under his chin, and his arms rested tightly around your back as he held you.

“Does this mean you forgive me?” he whispered softly.

You pulled away slightly to glance up at him. His green eyes were watering and desperate, and it occurred to you that you had never seen Theo look so pitiful, not even as his sister had dragged him into that pit. This time, he actually looked sorry. Still, you couldn’t help but fire back.

“Does this mean you care?”

Theo looked down in shame.

You let out a tired sighed, and wrapped your arms around him, burying your face into his chest.

“You were already forgiven.”

“Y/n, I’m in love with you.”

You looked up in shock. Theo must have seen the skepticism on your face, because he looked down in shame.

“I know what I’ve done,” his whispered hoarsely. “I know I was a monster. But I never wanted to hurt you. And I know that doesn’t mean much. What I went through when I was down there...I deserved everything. I deserved all of it.”

He took a deep breath, then looked into your eyes. “Someone gave me a second chance. And the whole time I was down there, the one thing I kept thinking about was you. And how if I could make it up you, I would. I would have my sister rip my heart out a thousand times if I could just...If I could just fix things.”

Your breath caught in your throat, making it nearly impossible to get your words out. They were thick and stuck in your throat, but you needed to say them.

“I’ve tried so hard to not care about you,” you told him. “I grieved for you, even when I probably shouldn’t have. And I wondered, maybe, if you had the chance, if you would have changed.”

Theo closed his eyes briefly. “I wouldn’t have. Scott was right to let me fall. I didn’t realize before, what they had turned me into. Now I know I was a monster. Maybe I still am, I don’t know.”

You reached up, placing a wet hand on his cheek. “I don’t think so.”

He placed his hand over yours. “How do you know?”

“I don’t,” you admitted. “But I’m willing to stick around and find out.”

Theo brushed a wet strand of hair out of your face and pulled you closer. He kissed you fiercely, as if he was trying to make up for all the time he had lost. He still had a long way to go, but for you, he was willing to change.

[sunlitroom]

Thoughts on ‘The Beginning’

So - as with The Trial of Jim Gordon, I'm going to regard this episode as an extra, and do some meta as opposed to a full recap.   My rationale is pretty much the same: this is an optional easter egg, and one that can easily be regarded as outside canon if desired.  

Also - I found the deeper message, like that in The Trial of Jim Gordon, was so unpalatable it strained the show’s broader ideas and themes.  So I’ve decided it’s not part of canon, for me.

Thoughts after the cut.  Same disclaimer as with The Trial of Jim Gordon.  I love the show.  I tweeted like a maniac as episodes were airing, and got booted from Twitter.  I want another network to pick it up.

However, my idea of meta is the old fandom one, which is critical analysis.  If that’s not your thing, fine - but that’s what I’ll be doing here.

So, first things first.

I understand the rationale behind the time-jump, to an extent.  The two extra episodes were just that - extra.  One was spent on The Trial of Jim Gordon, which I have already been salty about in another post.  This one was a sort of nod to the fans - offering Batman as a sort of reward.  I’ve always been more interested in the story Gotham actually set out to tell, though, the story before Batman.  The story of the city and its inhabitants.  As such, I was always going to be less taken with an episode which was fundamentally mostly interested in giving us Batman. 

But there were a couple of other issues that confused me.  Gotham has always presented its own vision of the city, the characters.  It’s shown it can be creative with canon, as well as adding its own ideas.  Not only, for example, is their take on Oswald unique, but Fish Mooney – so pivotal in his development – only exists within Gotham’s universe.  We got the Executioner and Cyrus Gold – yes, but we also got Nathaniel Barnes and Butch Gilzean, who had character and stories and lives all of their own.

I like that it thumbed its nose at Jim’s moustache.  But go all the way with it.  Yes, we know Batman’s coming.  But if you want to continue to focus on Jim, and his wrestling with the notion of heroism – then just do that.  Have the courage of your convictions.  You can draw inspiration from the 60s series if you want, but you’re not shackled to it: Oswald doesn’t have to don a top hat and become 60s Penguin if you don’t want him to.  The city doesn’t have to morph aesthetically into something we saw in the movies.  You’ve told your own story. See it through.

That aside - the details.

The flash-forward was also a difficult ask because the story has been unnaturally cut short.  Characters who were still wrestling with huge issues didn’t really get to address them in a truncated season and - as such - it’s sort of hard to accept where we find them now.  

For example

We’ve seen Jim deal with several demons over the years.  He has major issues with authority.  His relationship with his father looms large.  He wants to be a hero, but gets on better with the villains.  He compartmentalises like crazy.  He’s emotionally dishonest with others and himself.  He enjoys playing dangerous games.  He can’t resist a pissing match. 

Am I to honestly believe that Jim has been entirely clean and pure in the interim?  Why?  Because the city was saved after near destruction?  That’s happened before – he didn’t change.  If anything, he’s more likely to have reverted to old habits once the crisis was over.  Is he reformed because he’s a father now?  Didn’t stop him killing Theo Galavan while Lee was pregnant.  

Jim’s development was still very much in progress.  As such, he feels unsatisfying here and - given what we know about him - you can’t help but feel he’s probably been up to his old tricks, but we’re just getting to see the sanitised surface of his life.

Lee likewise generally suffered quite a bit from the truncated season, and is  good example of how the flash-forward doesn’t serve characters well.

In season 4, we saw her explore a darker side to her personality that the show has strongly and consistently hinted at since way back in season one, explicitly – when she says that Jerome’s confession of matricide thrilled her, and implicitly, when we wondered why the hell she was working in Arkham.  We also saw her enjoy power in season 4.  We saw her deeply committed to improving the lot of the residents in the Narrows, even if her way of going about it was short-sighted. We saw her shoot Sofia Falcone point-blank in the head in cold blood.  We saw her, although many hated it, form an intense romantic relationship with Ed, where she seemed to find a fulfilment and recognition that she never found with Jim or Mario.

However, in season 5, the show clearly needed her to quickly step into the role of Mrs Jim and stepmother to Barbara.  This meant becoming the angel at the hearth again, so it essentially erased those experiences, all that new characterisation.  

As such, like Jim, she feels flat here – like we’re only getting to see a facade.  She’s back in her old post of intermittently saying supportive things to Jim, and apparently quietly looking forward to him quitting his job.  When she's bizarrely given the task of defusing the bomb, as Lucius the tech specialist stands by the side - it really only underlined that stripping her of all that history and characterisation meant that she doesn't really have a real role of her own in the wider workings of the city.

Now to the heart of my problem with this episode.

We’re told, without any explanation, that Oswald was sent to Blackgate shortly after reunification, and Ed to Arkham.  

Now, to be honest, I find this fairly implausible.  In all the rebuilding efforts, I doubt the authorities would have the will or energy to go back and rake over who committed what crime when the city had been abandoned by the government. And even if they did, both their actions – willingly manning the barricades (Oswald sustaining an injury when doing so), would have likely gone some way to mitigating everything else.  

You could argue that it's for some nameless crime they committed later - but the show could easily have indicated that by throwing in a line about some heist or scheme they tried to pull off that ended up with them being put away.

Mayor James - ‘Oswald Cobblepot is getting released tomorrow’

Harvey - ‘Should have got 20 years for that stunt he pulled after reunification - not 10.  So should Nygma.’

It didn't take the trouble to do that - so I'm left assuming they were sent away on the basis of crimes committed during the split.

However, this poses us with some problems both in terms of the plot, and more deeply in terms of narrative repercussions.  Because if we are going to start to get persnickety about charging people with crimes they’ve committed, and then having them face actual consequences – well, we saw Barbara shoot loads of randoms in season 5.  Going back not too far, Lee shot Sofia Falcone in the head.  Going back further still, Jim murdered Ogden Barker and Theo Galavan, and was indirectly responsible for several deaths by inviting Sofia Falcone to town.

So – then – if we’ve decided that actually charging people and sending them to prison is now the done thing, why are we so selective with who’s punished? Gotham is a show with a million shades of grey.  It gives its villains humanising back stories and motivations – but it ultimately still wants to punish a select few like it’s a black and white universe.  You can’t do that when your good guys are equally tainted. Not unless you want to give off an unfortunate stench of hypocrisy, anyway.  

Oswald flat-out asks Jim on the pier.  I could have escaped this city.  I chose to stand shoulder to shoulder with you and defend it.  Why was I punished?

It’s telling that Jim never actually furnishes Oswald with any good answer to his question on the pier.  Because - over the years - the show itself has never quite figured out how to answer this one.   He can’t answer.  What could he possibly say?

Why then, do some get away scot-free, while others are punished?  Why, as Ed observes, do some get to make choices - while others never get the chance?

Jim and Lee are ‘heroes’ (arguably wandering into designated hero territory, at points).  They're never going to face consequences for anything.  Jim going on a self-pitying drinking binge doesn’t count - not compared to a ten-year stint in Blackgate or Arkham.  Lee never expressed any remorse for Sofia.

As for Barbara, well Barbara is brought back into the heroic fold, too.  

First and foremost, she’s offered moral redemption by bearing Jim’s child.  Becoming a mother meant all previous sins were forgiven.  

When we meet her here, we see now that she’s wealthy and powerful – playing a serious role in the city.  It’s empowering in a way – but it’s also a means of re-affirming the established order and putting her back in her box.  Remember that Barbara is from one of Gotham's elite families - and she's finally behaving like someone from an elite and wealthy family would do.  To make her position clear - she’s explicitly placed in the same category as Bruce here in terms of her wealth and control of the city.  I’m assuming that pregnancy also made magically clean whatever money she used to buy up the city when it was on its knees.  She didn’t seem to have access to her parents’ cash before now - so she must have used her ill-gotten gains.  

(I would argue that strategically buying up parts of the city post-reunification is screamingly Oswald, but like other chunks of his characterisation and storyline, it got sent Barbara’s way in season 5 in a bid to flesh out her character)

Last up, she’s not demanding a romantic relationship with Jim anymore, but they’re now forever safely tied in that context due to their daughter - there’s no mention of Tabitha, or casual mention of a new partner.   Troublesome, restless Barbara, poor little rich girl – demanding of Jim’s time and attention, namelessly unhappy, and with a murky ‘past’ is now ‘fixed’ and neutralised.

Thinking about those brought into the fold necessarily asks you to think about those who were excluded.

Oswald might have roots in an elite family, like Barbara, but - crucially - he’s also one part poor immigrant (as well as all his many other markers of 'otherness').   He can’t escape this - we got his jangling east European music as soon as we saw him in this episode, and we were reminded of Gertrud when he said he would lay flowers on her grave as his first act after his release.  

Ed’s background is unknown, but we can safely hazard a guess that there’s no moneyed upper-class upbringing there.  He was also willing to step up when it counted, and was even used by those in power for their own ends during the break – but none of that counts for anything, apparently, and he finds himself in Arkham.  You could argue that Ed is unwell, and needs to be in a hospital – but Arkham is not shown as a hospital in any meaningful sense in the show.  It’s an oubliette, where you send those you just can’t be bothered dealing with.  It doesn’t look any better here than we’ve seen it before.  Why hasn’t anyone tried to improve it? Again, they don’t have to succeed - if you’re determined to stick to canon, but why not suggest that Jim or Lee or Lucius has at least tried to have conditions improved or an official review launched into treatment of inmates?  It would go a long way to nodding to the long and complex histories these characters have.  However things ended – Lee and Ed had a pretty intense relationship.  They cared about each other.  She can sleep at nights knowing he’s in Arkham?  

Jeremiah might have been clever enough to win himself a scholarship and a way out of the circus – but it’s not enough to enable him to escape his past – either explicitly, when he was hunted down by his resentful brother, or implicitly – when he winds up in a similar situation to the other outsiders.  Yes, Jeremiah might have been manipulating the situation – but he was still sent to Arkham and left vulnerable to casual abuse.  Whether it’s intended or not, Jeremiah’s accusation of abandonment can be read more deeply.  Bruce left town - but, just like Oswald and Ed, the city in general abandoned him.

Selina’s an example who, I would argue, reinforces that this moral order of the universe.  She's always been depicted more ambiguously - capable of villainous acts, but tied to the heroes through her bond with Bruce.  This is reflected in what we learn about her here.  Like Jeremiah, she's been punished by Bruce's abandonment, but her grey heroic status means that she doesn't lose her freedom, despite living a life of crime.

So what picture are we painted of the city?

Aubrey James is back in charge - corrupt as Oswald ever was as mayor, but less competent.  The city’s remains were picked clean by Barbara - it’s now seemingly largely owned and controlled by two scions of the city’s elite. The commissioner’s got more than one murder to his name.  His wife has one attempted murder to hers - giving her the benefit of the doubt and assuming that Sofia’s still in her coma.  Arkham’s still a hellhole.

What does all that say?  Like I said before, you can argue that this was the inevitable endpoint – but you’ve changed the story already, so that doesn’t wash.

What you’re left with is the outsiders comprehensively punished.  You can sacrifice your chance at escape and an easy life in favour of standing shoulder to shoulder to defend the city, you can be unwell, you can be a victim – doesn’t count.  No matter what you do – you’ll always be an outsider anyway.  You can’t win for losing.  Some are chosen, some aren’t. And if you’re not, tough luck.  

So in this universe, why the hell not don a showy suit and your best hat and commit yourself to villainy?  Go for it, I say.

(Yes - I’m aware this is more analysis than it warranted, and it really just wanted to say ‘look Oswald has a monocle and Batman’s here now!’ - but I felt the need for venting meta)

[babyleclerc]

Mimi’s 1K+ story a day! {Challenge}

For those of you that are newer to me & my blog - I’ve had this blog for seven years (!!!), but just began bringing it back a few weeks ago. Since I began posting Tom/Seb fics over the past few weeks, I’ve gained over 700+ of you, breaking me well into the thousand follower mark, and I would like to say THANK YOU!

As a way of thanks, and also for some more inspiration :), I’d like to give back to you guys by posting one fanfiction a day during the week of Christmas. I’m starting this now because I want enough time to both accept requests & also to write!

Details are below, hit up my askbox or this post with questions!!

DETAILS:

From December 19th through December 25th, I will be posting one fanfic story a day, totaling in seven stories for the week.

The last day for requests is Friday, December 15th.

This is seriously all for YOU GUYS! My wonderful followers. :) Please, please make requests, as I’m doing this for you! Don’t be shy!

For examples of my previous fics and/or to get ideas, see my masterlist here. (Honesty Hour part II is already in the making, so no need to request that).

RULES:

You can make as many requests as you like.

The last day to make a request is Friday, December 15th.

All requests MUST be made through my ask box. Do not comment on this post or another one of my fics with a request, it will be too hard to track and will not be counted.

I will not confirm or deny your fic request once you have made it, so don’t think I’m ignoring you! I want it to be a surprise which prompts I take - plus, it’ll be more fun that way. :)

I, under no circumstances, write fics with themes of rape.

I do write smut, but do not participate in writing dom/sub relationships. I think that those relationships are very unique and take a lot of love, respect, and care, that, as a writer, I don’t feel like I would be able to do justice. There are lots of amazing other writers on this site that do that if that’s what you’re looking for!

Given that it’s the week of Christmas, I would like some wintery/Christmas themes & prompts! I know they’re cliche, but they’re so fun. :) So don’t be surprised if the 24th is a Christmas Eve fic and the 25th is a Christmas Day fic ;). I’ll still need prompts for them, though, so check out the masterlist below!

Mimi (me!) must write seven stories, and they must be from requests. All other inspiration will just be considered extra content ;) Otherwise all of the seven fics must come from your requests!

Obviously there are many of you, and only one of me. :) So it will be naturally impossible for me to complete every single request that I get. BUT, if your request doesn’t get completed during my challenge week, just please message me or follow-up with me and I will do my best to write it afterwards!

PAIRINGS (x Reader):

Tom Hiddleston (lol obviously)

Chris Evans

Sebastian Stan

(I’m also open to writing all of the MCU folks in a group setting, but those three are the ones that I will write specific x reader/imagine stories for.)

THEMES:

Fluff/Angst/Smut/Best!Friends/Enemies. You name it, I’ll take a stab at writing it. :)

PROMPTS & WRITING IDEAS:

See below for a massive list of prompts and writing ideas. Of course, these are just suggestions - if you have a different request, send away! If you do pick a prompt, just please be specific as to which one.

Holiday Prompts (not mine, these belong to @theo-stilinski!):

“It’s almost midnight!”

“Yeah, uh, alcohol doesn’t go in hot chocolate.”

“FINE. You can put the topper on the tree.”

“It’s snowing!”

“That’s not how Santa Claus works…”

“Christmas doesn’t have to be about family, ya know?”

“Awwww look at my little elf.”

“You can be Santa’s helper.”

“How did you manage to the burn the cookies?”

“Why does the house smell like a cinnamon roll threw up?”

“Okay, but hear me out, these ornaments are way better.” -“They don’t even match.”

“You’re covered in flour.”

“Ho ho ho, bitch.”

“My gingerbread house is prettier than yours.”

“If you throw a snowball at my face so help me.”

“Christmas is lame.” -“You’re lame! You, you, you grinch!” -“Oh. Ow.”

“Open your present!”

“Wanna get shit-faced instead?”

“Why is there mistletoe everywhere?”

“So, I didn’t actually get you anything.”

“I’m still sad you won’t be home for Christmas.”

“Holy shit, you know Santa!”

“Aren’t you afraid of setting the house on fire with all the lights?”

“I hope you break your ass on that ice.”

“Wait, no one got you anything?”

“Oh, were those cookies for Santa?” -“Yes!” -“Well, what’re you gonna do about it?”

“Are you trying to find your present?”

“Oh my gosh, actual reindeer!”

“Not on Christmas.”

“We’re kind of tangled in lights.”

“So, we’re kind of snowed in.”

“I thought candy canes were supposed to be hung on trees? Not popcorn…”

“Don’t make me pour my hot chocolate over your head.”

“How much tape did you use?!”

“It looks like the North Pole threw up.”

“Are you sure it’s illegal to kill carolers?”

“You didn’t think I’d let you spend Christmas alone, did you?”

“Why is the floor covered in tinsel?”

“Wait. We’re really doing Secret Santa?”

“I told you you were going to get sick if you stayed in the snow all day.”

“Does that stocking have my name on it?”

“And now the power’s out.”

“Hey, um, why is the bottom of the tree decorated and not the top?”

“You’ve never had a New Year’s kiss?”

“You’re kind of cute when you look like Rudolph.” -“The reindeer?” -“No, my dentist. Yes, the reindeer.”

More Prompts (courtesy of @writersblockbecomesunblocked):

“Would You stop eating all the popcorn? It’s supposed to go on the tree!” “But I’m hungry!”

“So….. you wanna….hot chocolate and chill?” “If you ask me that one more time, I will dump hot chocolate on you.”

“How much eggnog have you had tonight?” “A f-few glassesss, why?” “Because I’m prettyyyy sure it’s spiked.”

“My mom got me that ornament! Stop breaking them!” “It’s not like I’m trying to break them.”

“We aren’t going to have anything left to build the house with if you keep eating all the gingerbread.”

“You’re making a mess.” “Shut up and pass me the tape.” “There’s more tape on that present than wrapping paper.”

“Why doesn’t our place look as good as that?” “Do you know how high our electricity bill would be? Christmas lights are expensive.”

“Can we please watch something else? This is the 4th time today we’ve watched elf. And it’s November 1st.”

“Are you sure your family can eat that many cookies?” “What? No. These are just for us!”

“You know, the idea of Santa Claus is pretty messed up. It’s a fat man who breaks into your house with presents made by tiny people who know if you’re bad or good. How do they know?” “You’re ruining Christmas for me. Stop.”

More Holiday AUs (credit to @berrybird):

we’re going ice skating for the first time this year and it’s pretty obvious that you’re secretly an olympic figure skater or something how the hell are you so graceful you’re literally twirling around on one foot on a frictionless surface and i can barely make a left turn

what no i totally have no idea how mistletoe got under every doorway in our house… *cough cough* …but since it’s there we should really honor the tradition right

STOP TRYING TO PUT CANDLES ON THE CHRISTMAS TREE YOU DUMB FUCK, I DON’T CARE ABOUT HOW AESTHETICALLY PLEASING IT IS TREES ARE FLAMMABLE

we’ve been just cuddling here watching movies for like six hours and this is officially the most cozy and comfortable we’ve ever been so we’re not getting up until new year’s

yes you look like a movie star with your tinsel boa but the i think it suits me better so ha

i love you but your christmas ornaments are weird we’re not putting those on the tree

you put a santa hat on my head this morning and i thought i took it off but it turns out i didn’t so i’ve been walking around all day wearing a santa hat i hate you

yes i know it’s almost christmas no that doesn’t mean you should watch every movie with snow in it seriously i can hear you singing along to love is an open door in front of my room and this needs to stop

i didn’t know that this holiday party was a dress-up thing and when i came to get you, you answered the door in your full-on GRINCH COSTUME and i almost had a fucking heart attack

you’re jewish so we’re celebrating hanukkah and most of this stuff is really new to me so you’re teaching me how to say the names of everything and so far all i can pronounc is menorah

you’re gonna fall off the roof if you try hanging lights with that ladder

WHAT DO YOU MEAN THERE’S EIGHT DAYS OF HANUKKAH yeah i know we have the 12 days of christmas song BUT IT’S JUST A SONG

come cuddle with me there’s this movie called “love actually” and it looks really cute i wanna watch it (a few hours later) W H Y

you asked me what i wanted for christmas and i was feeling really sarcastic so i said “a unicorn” and you actually went out and got me a stuffed unicorn i hate you so much but actually it’s really cute and i might sort of love it

i already told you i don’t like ugly christmas sweater parties because everyone just wears one that’s vaguely cute anyways so what’s the point and wHAT THE FUCK IS THAT I’VE ACTUALLY NEVER SEEN A SWEATER THAT UGLY WAIT WHAT DO YOU MEAN IT’S PART OF A MATCHING SET

we spent christmas with my family and now we’re going to spend kwanzaa with your family we’re gonna need a vacation after all this

let’s go walk around and look at all the lights and stuff

stop eating the popcorn you little shit, i can’t make caramel popcorn balls with just caramel

i’m making christmas cookies sTOP SNEAKING IN HERE TO EAT THE DOUGH OR I’LL SMACK YOU WITH A SPOON

if you try stealing the whipped cream off of my hot chocolate again i swear i will stab you with a candy cane

it’s new years’ eve and i am so determined to kiss you when the ball drops

you know i think getting engaged on chrismas it’s the most cliche thing ever but you fucking proposed anyway

^ but you proposed in the most amazing unexpected way and i’m actually getting really emotional about it aND I’M NOT CRYING YOU’RE CRYING SHUT UP)

[formerprincess]

A tale written with fangs and claws || Chapter 14

Chapters: 14/? Fandom: Teen Wolf (TV) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Liam Dunbar/Theo Raeken Characters: Liam Dunbar, Theo Raeken Additional Tags: Alpha Liam Dunbar, Slow Build, Friends to Lovers, Dunbar Pack, Bisexual Liam Dunbar, Werewolf Theo Raeken, Alpha Theo Raeken, Canon-Typical Violence Series: Part 1 of Morning Dew Pack

The fight continues and we see the aftermath of it.

The Alphas struggled with each other, snapped and growled. The noise from the party next door almost swallowed it but for those who were there and watched the fight, it was terrifying to see two angry werewolves attacking each other without any mercy. 

Liam growled. The guy had come into his town and had touched his pack, harming all of them. But what was even worse and fueled Liam’s anger even better was that the guy had touched Theo several times and almost killed him. And the way he hurt Theo? Liam knew Theo’s nightmares were about Tara ripping his heart out and this rogue had almost done the same. He would pay for that, even if Liam had to drag him to hell himself!

The rogue Alpha snarled into Liam’s face. “You’re no match for me, kid!“ He mocked and Liam snapped at him, freeing one hand and raking his claws right over the guy’s face. It left some nasty claw marks but Liam could not dwell on that because the Alpha roared and his claws pierced Liam‘s shoulder before pulling them down and ripping the skin on Liam‘s arm open.  Liam yelped and struggled back, holding the large gash leading from his shoulder to his elbow. “See?“ The Alpha still mocked him. “I will enjoy ripping you apart limb after limb.“

Liam just growled. “We will see about that, asshole!“ He barked back and went for attacking the other again. His main goal was to get him away from the rest of the pack first. They had all gathered and were watching the fight, all in various states of being injured and so they could not interfere. Theo was still on the floor, clutching his still bleeding chest even though Sadie and Nolan tried to stop the bleeding. It took one look at all of them for Liam’s anger to spike again and attack with new ferocity.

But even with his wolf so close to the surface and his anger completely acting out, Liam had to realize the other was stronger. He was an Alpha for a longer time than Liam and he was older, Liam wasn’t as strong currently as him. It didn’t mean he would give up, no he intended to fight til the end but never had his vision of dying tonight been closer than now. One wrong move and Liam could be dead and they both knew it. And yet Liam also knew luck could be on his side and he maybe managed to land a fatal blow himself. Everything was possible and as long as his Betas came out of this fight alive, Liam would do whatever it took to ensure this.

“Liam!“ Ever screeched when the rogue scratched his claws all over the younger Alpha’s cheek and his chin. Blood poured from the wounds and Liam roared in pain, ducking from yet another swing and landed one himself on the Alpha’s hip, ripping his shirt and scratching the skin open. “Help him!“ Theo instructed the others through gritted teeth,. He had sat up with Nolan’s help but was still tending to his wounds and too weak to interfere himself. “For fuck’s sake, help Liam!“

“STAY!“ Liam yelled, his voice lower like always when he slipped into Alpha mode. Sadie and Maya and even Ever had been about to go up and help him but now they hesitated. Their Alpha had ordered them to stay and no one dared to argue with him or disrespect that. Theo pressed his lips shut, trembling while he watched the fight between the two Alphas, the fear of Liam getting killed evidently on his face. Next moment he screamed loudly when the Alpha’s claws dug into Liam’s abdomen. Liam groaned in pain and grabbed the other‘s wrist. “You’re tougher than I expected but even like this you are not able to stop me!“ The Alpha hissed into his ear and Liam trembled, focusing all his anger and rage into his hands, effectively twisting the rogue’s wrist and breaking it. He howled and his claws withdrew from Liam’s flesh. The nineteen-year-old gasped and pressed a hand against his abdomen, feeling the blood coat it. That would be a bitch to heal. He struggled to breathe, black spots dancing in front of his eyes, and he swayed on his feet, pressing one hand against the wall to keep himself standing.

The other Alpha took some time to snap his bones right back but then he lunged at Liam and the Alphas collided against each other again, wrapped around each other, biting, scratching and trying to cause as much damage as possible. The pack could only watch and take a breath when Liam landed a blow, and watch helplessly when the other landed one and injured Liam. The fight took everything from Liam, his muscles were strained and the only thing keeping him going down was the adrenaline pumping through his veins. But the longer the fight went on, the more it wore him down. The other was also worn down but the two Alphas would only stop if one of them was dead, that was for sure.

Liam groaned in pain when his back collided with the concrete wall. The Alphas were still once more measuring their strengths and kept their death holds on each other. He saw the twitching in the other’s muscles and fear spiked inside him because the other took the last bit of energy he had left and was ready to go for the final blow. If Liam made one wrong move now, he was dead. The rogue werewolf seemed to know what he was thinking because he smirked darkly, very sure about his victory. “Any last words, kid?“ Liam growled, face twisting in an angry snarl, still grabbing the Alpha’s arms and not intending on letting go. He would put this off as long as he could, but another shove from the other and his back, as well as the back of his head, hit the wall and Liam tasted blood in his mouth; he obviously had bit his tongue in the momentum. His red eyes stared in the cold ones of the older Alpha and he growled once more but the pressure the other was putting on him was wearing away the last bit of energy he had.

A gunshot rang out and blood splattered on Liam’s face when the bullet hit the Alpha right in the head. The death grip on Liam‘s loosened, empty eyes stared back at him, and then the Alpha fell to the side. Liam turned his head and there was Chris Argent, gun still pointed at the dead Alpha and seriously, Liam had never been happier to see a hunter. He looked back at the dead Alpha and back at Argent where Isaac stood next to. “I thought you could use some firepower.“ He explained and Liam nodded dumbly and then looked over to his Betas. In his haste to get to them, especially to Theo, he almost fell flat on his face but he managed to keep himself upright and fall to his knees only when he reached them.

“Theo! Are you okay? Are all of you okay?“ He asked worriedly, hands coming up to grip Theo‘s shoulder and Ever’s hand. He needed to see, needed to feel they were still alive.His voice was shaking, partly because he was so shaken up from the fight and partly because he had been scared.  Theo grasped his face with bloodied hands. “It‘s over, Liam. He’s dead. I’m okay. We are okay.“ He said, eyes glistening with tears.

Liam nodded and then wrapped his arms around Theo as tight as his exhausted state let him. Theo winced slightly when he moved too much, his chest was still injured after all, but then he hugged Liam back. It was bloody and gross but they didn’t care at this very moment. And then the rest of the pack was around them, hugging and crying and being happy they all survived.

Liam looked over his shoulder at Argent after a while. “I have never been more happy to see your face.“ He told him and Argent barked out a laugh. “Should have called from the beginning; this Alpha was dangerous.“ He eyed Liam and the rest of the pack. “I have a first aid kit in my car. You all look like you need it.“ It was when Liam looked around, taking in his pack’s appearance. “Everybody okay? Still all limbs intact?“ “Alive and kicking.“ Ever, one of the two who had not enhanced healing, said with a tired smile and rubbed over the claw marks on her throat. Nolan put an arm around her and nodded tiredly. “Nothing some sleeping and a hot shower can’t fix.“ Maya said. Liam nodded and looked at Theo who also nodded. “We will be fine, Lee.“ The chimera promised.

Argent had watched the exchange and pointed two fingers at his own eyes. “I guess, Scott has no idea of the sudden change in your eye color.“ Liam bit his lip. Argent was dating Scott’s mother, he had totally forgotten that. “Will you tell him?“ “Should I tell him?“ The hunter asked back. Liam shook his head. “Please, no.“ “Then I won’t. This is something you have to do yourself.“ “He didn’t kill anyone. He became an Alpha by ritual.“ Theo said and Argent glanced at him, “Is that right? I heard about this way of becoming an Alpha but never met a pack who practiced it. I would lie if I said I’m not interested in that. It’s a different take on the whole killing for the Alpha spark twist.“

“I can answer you some questions later if you want.” Liam slowly got to his feet and helped Theo up. The rest followed, attempting to follow Argent’s offer with the first aid kit. “After we patched us up we go home and sleep. Sleep is what we need the mo….“ Liam stopped mid-sentence and paused to listen. “Liam?“ Sadie asked with a frown, just like Theo who looked around to see any other danger. “Lee?“ He also asked. But Liam didn’t reply, instead kept on listening. “Don‘t you hear that?“ He asked finally and followed whatever he was hearing. It was faint and since the party was still taking part next door it was easy to overhear but now that Liam noticed it, he filtered it out and followed the faint sound. One beat. Two beats. Three beats. Liam reached a pile of boxes from big to small. The beats got louder again and he narrowed it down to one large box with a loose lid. He pulled it aside and when he glanced inside, he heard a curse over his shoulder. Not because he cursed, but Sadie, who had followed him and was looking over his shoulder, did. Liam had to agree. Inside the box were two young men, not older than Liam himself, unconscious but alive (it were their heartbeats that had lured Liam here after all). Both had cuts on their forehead, showing the Alpha had brutally knocked them out and tossed them into the box. And that it had been the Alpha was easy to find out because both men spotted bloody bite marks on their arms.

“Isaac, help me!“ Liam said and the older werewolf quickly moved over to help get one of the two out of the box while Argent and Nolan took the other. They leaned the still unconscious bodies against the box and Liam kneeled down to check on them. The rest of the pack had gathered around them, Maya and Ever still steadying Theo. “He bit them? Why? I thought he didn’t want a new pack.“ Ever phrased her confusion. “It was his plan B.“ Theo said. “In case he didn’t manage to kill Liam tonight. He would have escaped and if those two survived the bite, we would have two wild werewolves running around. An Alpha can have some kind of telepathic connection to their Betas and so he can control them. What do you think would have happened?“ “Chaos.“ Maya and Liam said matter-of-factly and in unison. Liam growled and watched the two boys with a pitiful look on his face. They were both dark blonde haired, the one on the left with paler skin and skinnier than the one on the right. Liam could only guess but he would say they were the same height as him and Theo. Their clothing style was completely different. The one on the right was wearing a black leather jacket with a dark red shirt underneath and black skinny pants, the other was wearing a crisp blue shirt and a sleeveless pullover a creamy color, paired with some more loose fitting blue jeans. But no matter how different they might be, they both were in the same position Liam had been years ago. They would wake up and their life would be completely different.

“Can we get them into your car?“ He asked Argent and the hunter nodded. “Where do you want to go?“ “Theo found an old stable a few weeks ago. We use it on the full moons. We’ll bring them there.“

That’s how they all found themselves a good time later at the stable. It was a big building with several horseboxes. Theo had found it one day while being out for a run and had suggested it to the others. Maya’s shed had gotten too small for two out of control werewolves who wanted to kill each other during the full moons and the walls here were sturdy enough and had enough haltering for the chains. It also wasn‘t surrounded by buildings and stood on an empty field so nobody would hear the howling and snarling. It was the perfect solution.

Now they were all there, waiting for the two freshly bitten wolves to wake up again. Liam stood a few feet away, arms crossed, and looking at them while thinking about his own bite.

“I don’t like the look on your face.“ Theo said and stepped next to him. Liam frowned and looked at him, one questioning eyebrow raised. “The look on your face, that’s the I-will-help-them-no-matter-what-look. And no. Liam, no!“ “They were probably bitten against their will! We have to help them!“ “We already have two werewolves who have no control and lose the little bit they have every full moon. Now you want to add two more? Make it four untamed werewolves against us, perfect math! That‘s a recipe for disaster.“ "We can’t leave them by themselves!” Liam insisted. “I didn't say we should. But send them to the Morning Dew Pack or to Scott, they can teach them control. We already have enough problems with two wild wolves.“ Theo argued back. Liam glared at him.  “Sending them away would mean ripping them out of their lives. They already had something happen to them against their will because I don’t think the Alpha asked nicely, you want to unroot them now too?“ He kept on insisting, voice rising with every word. The night was taking its toll on Liam, his IED was twitching under the surface and since the adrenaline was still in his blood, he was prone to explode.  “Liam, they need to learn control!  Don’t you think you’re putting too much on your plate? Just because you are an Alpha that doesn’t mean you have to become some sort of werewolf guru. That’s Scott’s job!” The had gotten louder too and now the two friends stood facing each other, glaring holes into each other’s heads and neither planned on backing down. 

“Shouldn't you understand it somehow? You were manipulated and had things happening to your body you surely didn’t want. Shouldn’t you be able to relate?” Liam snapped. “That’s different and you know it! You have no idea if they willingly accepted the bite or not, and just because you have this weird melancholic feeling because you were also bitten doesn’t mean you have to collect werewolves. They are not Pokemon, sweetheart! You don’t have to catch them all!”

Liam grunted at the nickname and huffed out an angry breath. “I need fresh air!” He then announced, spun around and marched outside. He would have loved to slam the door but he refrained from doing so.

Outside the cold air hit him like a soothing washcloth or whatever and Liam took some deep breaths, trying to calm down. They all were tensed, worn out by the events from prior that night, and a part of him knew Theo was just worried Liam was overdoing it.  But the bigger part of him was just too riled up to listen. He took some steps away from the door and then tilted his head back, looked at the night sky and just...looked at it. His thoughts were racing and just standing there, doing nothing, was good. It helped clear the fog in his mind a little bit.

But with that came also the realization of everything that happened tonight. The adrenaline that priory cursed through his body was now leaving and made room for exhausting and panic.  Liam leaned against the wall, trying to remember how to breathe properly. His legs were shaking and the impressions of the fight flashed in front of his eyes. Ever and Nolan almost getting strangled, Maya falling from the gallery, Sadie getting thrown away, Theo’s chest getting sliced open by the Alpha, the Alpha’s dead eyes when the bullet hit. Theo. The Alpha’s grim smile. Theo. Nolan. Ever. Theo. Chris Argent killing the Alpha. Theo. Sadie. The bitten men. Theo. He had almost not survived the fight. The Alpha had almost been stronger than Liam. He could have been dead by now if it weren’t for Chris Argent.The images spun faster and faster in front of his eyes until it was all a blur, his breath was getting more labored by the second and he felt dizzy. 

“Breathe, Liam!” Two strong hands pressed on his shoulders and grounded him and Liam blinked. “Just breathe.” A soft voice said again and he tried to follow the instructions, tried to make sense of it in his fogged up brain. “In and out, just like that. Keep breathing.”

Liam blinked again and slowly his senses returned to where he currently was, leaned against the stable and breathing still faster than usual. But he also felt the soft pressure on his shoulders and when he blinked again the blurry figure of Theo became sharp again. The chimera was watching him with a shocked look on his face, softly massaging Liam’s shoulders to ground him even more.

“Are you with me again?” He asked and Liam nodded, not trusting his voice in this moment. He knew he felt tired and shaky and then his legs gave up and he slid down on the wall to the ground. Theo followed him, gently wrapping his hands around Liam’s wrists.

“I am sorry I started a fight with you. Sometimes...” Theo’s thumbs stroke over Liam’s pulse points and he sighed. “Sometimes it’s very hard for me to understand how big your heart is. Because mine isn’t that big and I struggle with understanding how you can be so willing to help people without them actually asking you to. How you can switch to the caring mode so easily. But then I remember that it’s this big heart that gave me a roof over my head and a family to love and protect. And then I’m thinking if you can see the good in me, it must be even easier when it comes to other people. And I feel like the biggest jerk ever for giving you a hard time.” He tried a hesitant smile and Liam softly returned it before Theo leaned forward and put his forehead against Liam’s, closing his eyes in the progress. Liam closed his eyes too, just bathing in the closeness of his anchor. It meant a lot that Theo had sought him out to apologize in his own way and that he helped him through his panic attack. 

“You have a good heart too, just look at you. You help me with all these pack things, you are always there when I need you. You are supportive as it can be and you are always there for me.” Liam said softly. “Because you are important to me, Lee...And if you want to take them in, help them learn about their new abilities, I will be on your side and help you.” He agreed and Liam chuckled softly. He raised his hand and softly stroke over Theo’s cheek. “I know, Dore. I am sorry too. Didn’t mean to get so harsh.” “Forget it. We have more important things to worry about now.” Theo reminded him, just when Ever stepped up to them. “Not to disturb you but they are waking up.” She told them and Liam and Theo moved away from each other. Theo pulled him to his feet and kept his hold a little bit longer, gently squeezing Liam’s hand. Liam gave him a soft and grateful smile and then they walked inside again. 

Ever had been right, the two were stirring awake. Liam kneeled down to be on the same eye-level as them and the pack gathered behind him. The one with the leather jacket was the first one to blink his eyes open and when he spotted everyone, he immediately startled awake and pressed himself against the wall behind him. “What the hell?” He asked and looked at them, dark brown eyes narrowed suspiciously. That increased when he looked around. “Where the fuck am I?”

The other bitten one whimpered when he woke up and held his head. When he saw everyone he also startled but different than the first one, he was more scared than angry. Liam could relate to both of it.

“Relax, both of you, please. We are not here to harm you, we want to help you.” “Says every psychopath in every movie!” The first snarled and ran a hand through his gelled hair. It was messed up but still more styled than the others who had a very nice and clean way to wear his hair. A little bit longer but not as long as Liam’s had been before he recently cut it. The second one had also lighter hair than the other Liam realized now.  “We are not psychopaths. Look, I know you are scared and confused by everything that happened tonight. You probably just wanted to enjoy the party and then suddenly this guy was there and everything went down the drain. Am I right?” Liam tried to at least start explaining what happened.

The second one, the one who still looked scared shitless, nodded. “Yes. He ju...jumped me!” He whimpered again, completely traumatized by what happened. “There were teeth and..” He shook his head as if he wanted to delete the pictures in his mind. he looked at his arm and gasped at the bandage the pack had put there. “Yes, there were teeth. Fangs to be exact. The guy who bit you, he was a werewolf and I know how crazy this sounds right now but it is the truth. He was a werewolf and he bit you which means you will turn into werewolves too. We all are werewolves too.” Liam pointed at the pack and Ever raised her hand. “Witch!” Liam sighed. “We’re all werewolves and she’s a witch. And Nolan over there is a hunter but we all are one pack and we want to help you.” He had straightened up again and the two others also had gotten to their feet also. The darker haired one scoffed. “Yeah, werewolves sure.”  “It is true and trust me, I was in your shoes once and I know how crazy that sounds. But....”

“No, you have no idea because you either took way too many drugs or you just think this is funny. Is this some sort of sick joke? Capturing two poor souls and the pulling a prank on them? This is not even remotely funny and if you think that, you all deserve to be locked up you sick freaks!” He yelled and then ripped the bandage off his arm. “You even bit us? God, you’re really sick! And you know what? I’m not having it! Werewolves, witches, hunters, really, funny. Not! And I’m not one you can play jokes on just because I don’t hang out with the popular crowd!”

“No, please, listen!” Liam appealed urgently to him. “It is the truth. Werewolves and other things exist and you were pulled into this world without wanting it, I get it makes you angry, but you are about to turn into werewolves and you need to learn control before you hurt somebody!” The guy in the creme sleeveless pullover gasped. “I don’t want to hurt anybody!” Leatherjacket guy sighed. “They are messing with you.” “No, we’re not. We’re all on the same university, right? You heard about the dead janitor? The guy who bit you also killed him. And just because the Alpha who bit you is dead now doesn’t mean you are alone. Our pack can help you, you just need to trust us!”

“I give a rat’s ass! This is a sick joke and I’m not having it. And I’m taking the whimpering mess there with me because I’m not a fan of picking on the weak ones. You took the wrong guy, assholes!” The one in the leather jacket grabbed the other by his arm and brushed past Liam, making sure to shoulder check the Alpha while doing so. Liam let him go but he addressed the softer one once more. “You don’t have to go with him. You can stay and we can talk. I’m Liam. Those are Theo, Sadie, Maya, Ever, Nolan, Isaac, and the guy over there is Chris Argent. Not part of the pack but still a friend.” He seemed unsure but the other pulled him along with him. “Don’t listen to him. And who says that you didn't kill the janitor? You seem to have quite a psychotic vibe going on!” He yelled into Liam’s face. “Say that again!” Sadie and Theo said at the same time and stepped forward to give him a piece of their mind; only to be pulled back by Maya and Ever. “No!”

Liam watched the two leave the stable and sighed. Sadie pointed at the door after a while. “Maya and I are fast, we can overtake them and bring them back.”  “No. Let them leave.” Liam said with a shake of his head.  “Excuse me?” Sadie looked put off. “We waited hours for them to wake up, you had a fight with Theo, just to let them leave now?” “Well, what do you want me to do? Chain them up here and force them to listen? That would be kidnapping and that’s a crime!” His tone was cutting, he already had one fight tonight, he didn’t need another one “But...” Sadie tried but then Maya touched her elbow and gently shook her head. “So what now? They don’t want to listen. Are we watching them?” The dark-haired wolf then asked and Liam nodded.  “That’s exactly what we're going to do. We watch them and maybe they come around when they notice the changes in their bodies. If they don’t, we make sure they don’t hurt anybody on the full moon.” “Hm.” Ever said with a grimace. “I get why they didn’t want to listen now. We all look like the Night of the Living Dead. I wouldn’t trust us either.”  Liam had to chuckle. weakly. “We go home now. Now we really need a hot shower and sleep.”

****** After they had made sure all their Betas were home safe, Theo and Liam had returned to their apartment. Liam had let Theo have the shower and typed a text for the rest of the pack to let them know everyone was still alive. On their side at least. He promised to explain everything after he slept because now his brain felt like mush and he rarely could keep himself on his feet. When Theo was done in the shower Liam grabbed fresh PJs and then went for a quick shower. Washing off all the blood and the dirt felt good and Liam stayed under the warm water until it turned cold before he dried himself off. 

After his panic attack earlier, he felt his whole body ache and walked into the kitchen to fill a glass with water and drop a magnesium pill into it. “Should I be worried about you?” Theo asked.  Liam shook his head. “Just something I learned from my dad. I did it when my muscles were all sore from training and before I got turned. But maybe it still works.” He downed the drink in one go and when he was finished grimaced. “Time for bed.” It was already morning but Liam couldn’t care less. Right now, he could sleep the whole day.  “Are you okay?” He inquired and stopped walking by Theo. The chimera smiled softly. “My scratches take some time to heal but I am fine.” He assured Liam and the young Alpha smiled. “Good.” Theo looked at him as if he was pending on something and then he took Liam’s hand in his, turned around and softly tugged him towards Liam’s room. “Come on, let’s go to bed.”

“What are you doing?” Liam asked irritated and surprised by Theo’s antics when the chimera led him into his own room but made no move to leave.  “Guess we both went through a lot tonight so maybe sleeping in the same bed would be good? We’re anchoring each other and I can just talk for me  but I would like to have you close.”

Liam could get behind that and nodded. He yawned and crawled under the covers. Theo followed his example on the other side and they both curled under Liam’s warm blanket. Liam turned the light off and was grateful for his thick curtains which would keep out the light of the day while they slept. He rolled onto his side, facing Theo, and smiled. “Night, Dore.” “Night, Lee.” 

Liam closed his eyes and intended to fall asleep but soon slowly moved closer to Theo. He needed to know the other was there because every time he closed his eyes, the scene where the Alpha almost killed Theo was prominent in front of his eyes and he tensed. Theo obviously noticed and reached out to take Liam’s hand in his. The room became quite while both tried to fall asleep but then Theo whispered. “Liam?” “Hm?” Liam grunted without opening his eyes. “Never say again that you fear you will die and then really almost die, okay?” Theo’s voice sounded strange and Liam opened his eyes to see the chimera on his back, staring at the ceiling with tears in his hazel eyes. He raised Liam’s hand to his lips and pressed a kiss against the Alpha’s wrist, right where their pack symbol was tattooed. It was a sweet gesture and Liam had to smile.

“I’m sorry for scaring you.” He said lovingly and Theo turned his head to look at him. “And I’m sorry for scaring you.” He replied.

They looked at each other for a while then Liam moved as close as possible while Theo rolled on his other side. They ended spooning which was the best position for Theo’s still injured chest. Liam could wrap his arms around the chimera and press himself against Theo’s back. That way he felt the other’s warmth and knew Theo was still here. 

They settled into a comfortable spooning position, Liam’s arms wrapped around Theo and Theo still holding his hand, and they slowly drifted off. Liam concentrated on Theo’s breathing, the way he felt his heartbeat and heard the steady drum of Theo’s heart. Usually it was very calming but tonight it reminded him once more of how he almost saw the Alpha rip it out of Theo’s chest. He hid his face in the crook of Theo’s neck, trying to will down the unwanted scenes but without any luck. He bit his lip to stop himself from whimpering but he could not help himself when he started crying, drenching his cheek and Theo’s neck as well.

“Puppy!” Theo called out, voice sounding surprised and shocked, and he turned into Liam’s arms. Screw his scratches and bruises, he wanted to console his best friend. Now he hugged Liam close and let Liam cling to him, bury his face in the crook of his neck, and just cry it all out.

“I almost lost you! I can’t lose you!” Liam sobbed and Theo hugged him tighter.

“I’m here, puppy, right here. I’m not dead and you aren’t either.  We are both alive, Lee. We made it.” He stroked over Liam’s back and held him and Liam actually tried to get it together but then Theo hugged him even tighter and suddenly Liam felt tears drop on his skin too. Theo was also crying.

“I was so scared I would lose you tonight, Liam. I...I just can’t without you...” He sobbed brokenly and Liam wrapped his arms around Theo as tight as possible. “Let’s promise each other, we will be more careful from now on.” It would literally do nothing with their lifestyle but right now it would help them to hear the other say it.

“Yes. We will be more careful.” Theo immediately agreed and Liam held him. He raised his head to wipe his tears and Theo did the same. They shared a private smile, still watery, and then Theo wiped some tears Liam had missed. His hand lingered on Liam’s cheek and Liam turned his head to press a soft kiss in the palm of Theo’s hand. Theo chuckled at that and stroke through Liam’s hair before pulling him closer again. A soft kiss was pressed on Liam’s nose and then on his forehead and then they snuggled into a comfortable sleeping position without having to unwrap their arms from around each other. 

When Liam woke up the next day or rather several hours later, he was still curled up with Theo in the dark room. It was warm under the blankets and he smiled at the thought how comfy it was here in his bed. 

“I like your smile, you know?” 

Liam opened one eye and peeked at Theo who had his head propped up on one elbow and watched him with a smile. Liam chuckled and opened his other eye too. “How’s your chest?” He wanted to know.  “Good. It feels better. want to check?”

Liam nodded and carefully removed the patch on Theo’s skin. Since the wounds were from an Alpha they took longer to heal but they weren’t bleeding anymore and now just angry scratches, skin slowly knitting together.  “How’s your stomach?” Theo asked and Liam slowly sat up to pull up his shirt and remove his own patch. His skin was still scratched but it was way better than hours before. He smiled at that. The only remains on their bodies of the rough night they had. That and the freshly bitten werewolves running around.

“Do you think the newly turned wolves will come around?” Theo asked at this very moment and Liam sighed, crawling under the blankets again and pulling it higher around himself again. It was nice, laying in bed and talking to Theo about the challenges their pack was facing. 

“I sure hope so. It would our life easier if they came on their own but I’m afraid the luck won’t be on our side in that case.” He shrugged. “I bet it was all a bit too much for them as well. I figure the Alpha wasn’t very nice when he overpowered and bit them. Maybe they just need time to clear their heads. Sooner or later they need our help.” “Yeah, on the next full moon to be exact.”  Theo nodded. 

****** Liam was browsing the shelves in the campus library in search for a special book he needed for his next assignment. He had checked the computer, the book wasn’t checked out, so it had to be here. Going back to his classes after defeating the Alpha had felt strange in the beginning. He had looked out for the two new weres but had not caught any sign of them, just like his Betas.But it was the first day after the fight, so they still had time before the next full moon came up. 

Liam surely hoped the two would listen after they cooled down for a few days. For now, all he could do was be a normal college student and this student had just spotted the book he was looking for. He let out a triumphant sigh and reached to grab it from the shelf. 

“I looked up some things about wolves. You’re the Alpha, right? They listen to you.”

Liam spun around, the book slowly slipping from the shelf. He caught it without taking his eyes from the dark blonde guy, the scared one out of the newly turned werewolves. The newcomer shyly raised his shoulders. “Did I startle you? I’m sorry, that wasn’t my intention.” “It’s okay.” Liam said and then remembered the question. “I am, yes.” “I am...Well, where should I start? Oh, right, My name is Timothy. Uhm, you can call me Tim.” “Nice to meet you, Tim. For real this time.” Liam smiled.  “You said you’re Liam, right? I think I saw you playing lacrosse once or twice.” “That would be me.” Liam agreed with the statement.  “So, uhm you’re the Alpha werewolf and the others are Beta werewolves?” “Shh.” Liam said. They were still in the middle of the library and not everyone knew about the supernatural. Tim made a face. “I’m sorry!” “Nah, just be a bit careful what you say when strangers can hear you. Don’t want to risk exposing us.” He wasn’t really mad. “Do you drink coffee, Tim? And if so, can I invite you for a coffee?” Tim nodded. “I do drink coffee. And if you want. I would like to hear more about uhm, you know....”

****** Liam had brought Tim to the campus café and they had grabbed a coffee each before deciding to go for a walk. Tim, Liam learned that very fast, was shy and very insecure. But he was also very interested in knowing about werewolves. “Tim, mind telling me what happened at the party?” “I went there to have a bit fun. I usually don’t go to parties very often but this one was free and I decided why not. I didn’t have other plans. I went there and it was so crowded and sticky so I soon went out to get fresh air. I heard a noise and when I turned around I saw this huge guy leaning over the other one. I think his name is Mike, I’m not sure. I don't stick around when he appears somewhere, he scares me. The guy looked at me after he was done with Mike and then ran towards me. I saw his fangs and then nothing.” He swallowed and Liam reached out to squeeze his shoulder. Tim flinched and Liam pulled his hand back. 

“I’m sorry you made this experience but let me tell you, I’m not like that. I don’t bite people against their will and I don’t hurt innocent people. I only hurt people who hurt my pack.” “Like the Alpha?” “Like the Alpha. He’s dead now, by the way. You should know that.” “Oh.” Tim looked down at his coffee and played with it. Liam watched him. There had to be a reason Tim came to him.  “Tim, why did you talk to me all of sudden?”

Tim was silent for a good few minutes but then he blurted it out. “Because I was talking to my brother on the phone and he made fun of me, called me unpopular and a loser and all kind of things. I have five siblings, all older, and they all are more popular than me and prettier and more athletic. They always make fun of me but I usually ignore it. But this time I....” “You got angry.” Liam could relate. “I broke my phone just from holding it too tight. I was just so angry all of sudden.” “That’s your wolf. You can be the sweetest and softest person on earth, your wolf is still a wild animal and you need to tame it. That’s where we can help you. To get control over your wolf. You need to learn it or full moons will get dangerous for you and others.”

“What happens on full moons? Do we turn into real wolves?” Liam chuckled. “No, we don’t. Well, Theo can do a full shift but it’s rare. But we shift. Flashing eyes, claws extracting, fangs growing. We get stronger and we want to break free and it can get violent. That’s why control is so important.” Tim shook his head. “I don’t want to hurt anyone.” He said sadly.  “I know, Tim. But you don’t have to hurt anyone. Just let us help you. See, two of us are still learning control on their own so you would not be the only one struggling. It’s okay to struggle and we help each other as a pack.”

Tim looked at him. “Why are you so nice to me? You don’t know me.” “I was like you once. I got bitten and had no idea what was going on. It seemed all like a big cosmical joke to me. Until it suddenly became serious but that’s a story for another day. The thing is, I was you years ago. I can relate what you’re going through, so let me and my pack help you.” Tim considered that then he nodded. “If you want to help me, I will gladly accept your help.” 

Liam beamed at him and then checked his watch. “There is a pack hangout at my place. Come on, I’ll invite you. You can meet the others too. You will like them.”

Tim followed him eagerly. He was still shy and a bit distant but Liam felt him slowly opening up. And when they stepped into the apartment, Liam was greeted happily by his pack.  “There you are, Ever and Maya brought so much food, I’m sure we will eat until Thanksgiving from that.” Nolan told him the minute he opened the door. “Great, then it’s enough for yet another person.” Liam replied and Tim followed him into the apartment. The pack looked stunned for a moment, then they all got up to greet the newcomer. Ever, in her usual open way, even hugged him and he turned beet red. “You all look so gorgeous. Is this a werewolf thing?” “No, I was gorgeous since birth.” Sadie joked and Maya sighed in fake-annoyance. “Because you are a born werewolf, honey.” “Yeah, well....”Sadie huffed. “So are you. Means you were gorgeous since birth too.” She then retaliated. “I’m not a werewolf.” Nolan corrected amusedly. “So I don’t know if I am gorgeous.” “You are.” Ever said and winked at him, making Nolan laugh awkwardly and rubbed his neck while he blushed. 

****** “Okay, so you are a bitten werewolf.” After they ate Tim had learned some things about the pack members and was now trying to recreate it. He pointed at Liam and Liam nodded. “You two are born werewolves.” He pointed at Maya and Sadie and both nodded.  “You are human, you are a witch.” He pointed at Nolan first who gave him a thumbs up and then at Ever who smiled happily and nodded. “And you are a what again?” “Chimera.” Theo filled in the blank when Tim looked at him.  “What does that entail?” “I am part wolf, part coyote. I was made in a laboratory.” “Wait, that actually can happen?”

“Not anymore. The Dread Doctors are dead.” Liam cut in. “But Theo’s the first chimera. He’s our special snowflake.” He teased his friend who looked at him.  “Asshole!”  Tim frowned. “You call each other’s asshole?” “Yeah.” Theo said nonchalantly. “Don’t you have any friends who call you that too?” “No.” Tim shook his head. “Do you have any friends at all?” Theo inquired further. “Theodore!” Liam called out in shock but then he had to laugh.  Tim, on the other hand, looked down and shrugged. “I had a few at home but they went to other colleges. And here, yes, I sometimes meet with a few people.” “How can someone as nice as you not have any friends?” Ever asked. “Aw, that was sweet, witch babe.” Maya grinned but she actually meant it very honestly. It had been sweet. 

****** “The scratches are completely healed by now.” Theo announced while he opened the door to the bathroom. He had taken a shower while Liam played Tomb Raider in the living room. The chimera now padded into the living room to show what he was talking about. The combination of him being a chimera and an Alpha injuring him had caused his chest to be scratched for days and now it was finally healed.

Liam glanced at his friend and Lara died a very painful death on the screen when Liam made her jump from a cliff because he pressed the wrong button, too caught up with the display in front of him.

Don’t get him wrong, Liam had seen Theo shirtless countless of time. But somehow it now seemed better than ever before. Theo’s chest was completely healed and his pendant was a striking resemblance to his lightly tanned skin. Liam’s eyes wandered over the defined chest and abs and his mouth went dry. Was he supposed to talk anytime soon? Not when Theo stood in front of him with just a towel wrapped around his waist.

“That’s...uhm, that’s nice. I’m happy for you. Good thing.” he cleared his throat and then returned his attention to Miss Croft. Better than drooling because his crush was such a good-looking guy. Fuck, it was really getting harder to ignore his feelings. 

Theo now wandered into the kitchen and grabbed himself a bottle of water. “Mind getting dressed?” Liam mumbled, eyes glued to the tv screen. Theo chortled. “Why? Am I distracting...Percival?” “No. To both.” “Harry?” “Expellia-No!” “Ron, Ronald.” “Nope.” “Hermine?” Theo mocked.  “It would be an honor but sadly no.” “Severus.” “Are you planning on asking all Harry Potter names? What’s next? The Hobbit? And no.” “James.”  Liam shook his head. Theo groaned. “Can I get another hint? This is driving me nuts.” “Ah, good, then it does the trick.”

“Idiot.” Theo muttered and wandered into his room to get dressed again. When he came back he jumped on the couch next to Liam. “John.” “No.” “Abraham.” “Nope.” “Isaac.” Liam grinned and shook his head again.  “Newton?” “Wasn’t there a cartoon with an amphibian named Newton? I’m not called Newton.” “Bummer. Liam Newton Dunbar sounds nice.” “I’ll tell my mom. She should do better with her next son.” “Jeez, when did you become so cocky?” “What do you mean became? I always have been cocky.”

Theo just rolled his eyes. “Speaking off becoming, the full moon is coming closer.” “Yeah, I know.” Liam said seriously. “We have to find Mike and talk to him.” “I saw him once or twice on the campus but every time he spots me, he runs away.” Liam sighed and paused the game to lean against the couch. “Then we have to corner him.”

I hope you all are still with me after the cliffhanger from the last chapter?  Anyway, this chapter was in my mind for so long and yet it turned out differently than I expected.  How did you like the Thiam scenes? Seeing Theo almost getting killed is something Liam won't forget that easily. And how do you like Tim?

[thedegenerateasexual]

this used to be on my main, but i wanted it here instead so i could be honest about my rarepair. now with 6B in the ranking here we go:

3B - nogitsune is a truly terrifying villain, the “darkness” in the first few episodes was genuinely frightening, kira and malia, two of my favorite babes, get introduced (THEY SHOULDA BEEN GIRLFRIENDS), derek and chris touch each other like a lot this season and also get handcuffed to a bench together (i could list all their interactios but that'd take awhile...), peter hale gets his finger hacked off, and the end reveal with kate had me fucking #shook (if you didn't watch live you missed out), if we pretend nothing bad happened to allison this season it would be BASICALLY flawless.

4 - my son derek hale got himself a beautiful girlfriend who did not kill anyone later, he got to turn into a real wolf, and he got to scare the hell out of kate argent for once instead of the other way around. bonus combo points: peter gets to be an actual villain again (i hate Good Guy Peter) and also parrish in general Ha Ha lights up my life, and OH YEAH SCOTT MCCALL KICKS SO MUCH ASS IN THE FINALE derek hale is president of the scott mccall fanclub in season 4 and honestly has anything ever been more relatable?? shoutout too to this season for having the second-most derek & chris content after 3B.

6A - every time i remember this season exists and it is like it is i weep a little. you couldn’t have paid me enough to ship stiles and lydia before i watched this because it invoked the creepy nice guy tropes but after watching it they remind me so, so, SO MUCH of claire and ben from @cambionverse i have completely reversed my decision. the running themes of grief and letting go were A+, the villains were fascinating and scary, and this season even made peter hale interesting for thirty entire seconds when he did One Good Thing, everything in it is just so unexpectedly well-done. it’s the only worthwhile season of teen wolf that doesn’t have derek hale in it.

1 - my beautiful son scott mccall is at peak floppy-haired adorableness, the introduction of all the plotlines were tight, there wasn’t a lot of loose material (almost none in fact), everything came together really well, and kate argent, one of the villains of the season, is my absolute favorite teen wolf villain ever she is TERRIFYING and completely steals whatever screen she’s on

3A - this one is okay on the surface, but frankly there were too many killed and written out side-characters to really enjoy it (cora came out of nowhere and i STILL have more questions than answers, erica and boyd deserved better, and derek got screwed over, AGAIN, JUST because he tried to make a genuine emotional connection with someone. does include a few iconic moments tho such as stiles talking scott down from hale-ing himself, lydia finding out what she is, and oh yeah MY SON SCOTT MCCALL BECOMING AN ALPHA I’M SO PROUD OF HIM 10/10 FOR THAT PLOTLINE but overall it's a collection of cool moments where the overarching plot is like :/

2 - while this season IS largely “technically” flawless, tightly plotted, introducing many perfect sidecharacters whom i will forever be missing bitterly after their untimely demises, a villain somehow scarier than kate (even if he is less fun), and the blurring of the battle lines when everyone started realizing just how fucked up the hunters code was…it just kinda goes below the others because a). it always bugged me that they key to saving jackson was his humanity but it got pulled out of nowhere at the last second and we never saw him be even a little nice to anyone he wasn't trying to manipulate b). i don’t think my son derek had a very nice time this season. no. he got kicked around a lot. held the idiot ball for a little while. i love him but he was bad at being an alpha and so not very many good things happened to him. great season but lacked that very specific hale content i always long for. c) lydia didn't get much justice in this season either she spent most of it being terrorized s m h

6B - so the concept of 6B on paper is great - fear is the enemy, we must all learn to be brave - but instead of going that way we used 10000 dumb logic leaps to have everyone turn on the people who've been saving their lives for years. and no one ever pushed back or reminded us of all the good they've done, they just...went with it. this season should have been a tribute to scott mccall and how far he's come and how great he is, but instead it takes away the pack's future by denying them college to have them continue fighting in a war that makes no sense. (also, the scott malia was pushed on us way too hard and absolutely uninspired. like, jesus.) that said i'd still watch it before most of 5 because a lot of old favorites came back for the curtain call and that was admittedly pretty cool, but 6A had WAY more nostalgia. this season just about ties with 5B (ranked directly below it) but in the end the tiebreaker for me is derek hale + his comebaack episode being ENTIRELY spent with chris argent. like, i could not have ASKED for more - not only does his comeback not get ruined with st*rek queerbait but my rarepair gets in one last moment instead. i was not even for a second hoping they'd get to interact AND THEY DID. so, this one, just barely, goes above 5B.

5B - only barely watchable. on paper la bete is a great villain but the CGI is so bad it kind of cancels out how scary it could have been. i’m glad mason is OK and that everybody more or less got their shit together after the shitshow that was 5A but it was mostly just bad. lydia in the asylum with the rapey needle guy is bad, bringing back gerard was really bad, writing out kira is SUPER HORRIBLE and also the skinwalker thing was RACIST, it’s mostly just passable because you’re so fucking glad to be done with 5A. crystal reed’s reappearance as the first argent was nice but i'm too bitter about allison being dead to enjoy it

5A - easily the worst one. the dread doctors are scary but they’re more gross than scary and they’re not FUN villains, you know - they introduced and quickly killed a lot of characters in this season and 5B combined (i know some people don’t separate the halves of 5 since they’re so intertwined but god do they both drag), so by the time we actually started caring about them and wanted to know more about them (and we never get to know more) they were gone, every member of the cast holds the idiot ball in at least one crucial moment, including scott, who would never in his life do such a thing. the only good plotline was the stiles and donovan one and it didn’t get half the time it could have for being the only compelling part of the entire fucking season. also, theo is the fictional character i hate more than any other fictional character. i’m talking dolores umbridge levels of hated. he is VILE. every moment he spends on my screen i hate him more. very glad i saw him getting tortured in 6B. he could have been so great - someone smart enough to manipulate such a tight-knit pack - but instead they made the pack stupid, which TOTALLY ruins the suspension of disbelief. revealing he was evil to us, the viewers, right off the bat, was also a dumb move because it takes away the suspense. what a trainwreck of a season

[imaginingcriminalminds]

To Build a Family (minor S11 spoilers/mention)

HEADER FORM (General) Title: To Build a Family Author: souloutside-xx Rating: K+ Prompt/Summary: Could you do a Drabble on Prentiss and Hotch having a family with some other details around that?!? http://imaginingcriminalminds.tumblr.com/post/157115313287/imaginingcriminalminds-could-you-do-a-drabble-on Main Character(s): Aaron Hotchner/Emily Prentiss Trigger Warning: Nope Word Count: 1,098 Beta/Editor: me Multishot: I can be convinced Author’s Notes: more fluff because I love writing hotchniss (though there are only a few drabble requests about them *insert sad face here*); I’m sorry for any typos, I was sleepy. Morgan arc spoilers?: A bit, yes

2011

 Build a family was definitely the last thing they expected, put aside a big one. They both had jobs that would never allow them to spend time enough with the kids and acceptance seemed their only way to move on. Besides, they had fraternization rules which they were already fearlessly breaking. They even made mental notes to scold Rossi someday for not keeping his pants in place.

 After a long conversation – one of those you run away from – the Unit Chief and his dearest subordinate decided it was time to give up on the idea of giving Jack a brother or a sister. It was not meant to be, they could stop it and that was that. No more precious spare time wasted on the matter.

 Still, when Emily walked in with a killing headache and morning nausea just two months later, Aaron Hotchner realized he was going to be a father again. He didn’t mean to make her uncomfortable with the whole situation, since he was more than elated to watch her glowing with their child. Therefore, he waited until they were at his place, post dinner and right after she tucked Jack into bed – she did so, because the little boy always said that making voices was definitely not one of his dad’s abilities.

 The older agent was reading another report, head resting on the headboard, pen swirling his awful handwriting. Although she hated how he worked near sleeping time, he couldn’t help it and was more than grateful when she actually gave up and joined him in such activity. Two had always been better than one.

“We need to talk” he startled the ambassador’s daughter, whose files now were down the mattress “You are pregnant”

 Her doe eyes opened in utter shock, mouth agape as she had never given this option a chance, “No”.

“I’m not asking, actually” his reading glasses were left upon his nightstand – his, yes, for she had her own on her side of the bed.

 Some minutes later, time enough to drive to the nearest drugstore and buy the pregnancy test, her phone rang loudly, filling the silence between them. He reassured her, told her he was there for them, one warm palm fondling her raven silky hair while his fingers interlaced with hers. Hotch pressed butterfly kisses to her cheeks, lips brushing her temple as he rose to his bare feet and headed towards the bathroom.

 Their future was in there, painting two sticks small sticks.

                                                                                                              ~***~

2017

“When I said you should give Jack some siblings, I never meant you should have your own BAU at home” his goateed friend joked as Aaron placed a large circular creamy birthday cake decorated with light yellow whipped cream forming small lilies upon the due surface.

“Tell me about it” the father of five quipped, eyeing an older Emily Prentiss talking enthusiastically with her blonde friends; the woman had a power to look every time more beautiful, it never failed to amaze him “I must admit, the twins were a surprise”

“You old dog” Morgan tapped his ex-boss’ back, carrying the young Hank on his shoulders and complimenting him “Congratulations man, you have one beautiful family”

“Thanks for coming, Morgan” he smiled, flashing dimples as he proudly watched how they all found happiness in their different ways, even with all the evil they had faced throughout the years. It was just… gratifying.

 “Let’s be honest gumdrop, how come you and Mr ‘super serious’ failed at keeping birth control? I mean-” Penelope uttered as they approached a main table, where they set two identical cakes and surrounded them with some colored candies – mostly light yellow -. A white floral lace tablecloth only contributed to such delicate looks.

“Garcia!” JJ squealed by their brunette friend’s side, cocking her head in order to point out the one-year old Eileen in Emily’s arms “But it’s a good point, you and Hotch are like…”

“‘Responsibility is my surname’” the techno analyst blunted, loud enough for Derek to listen and immediately quit his chit chat with the boys.

 He shot a playful grin as soon as the three women joined them, “Whoa, are we coming up with nicknames to bossman and princess here?”

“No, we are getting ready to sing happy birthday, pretty please?” the mother of four stood beside her partner, receiving a quick peck while he cradled Eileen’s twin, Lori, in his own arms.

“My bet is ‘guys, we have news to you’ is a good one” her ex-co-worker ignored in order to continue taunting both of his friends.

“I’m joining this game too” Rossi stepped closer, entertainment written all over his face “I’ll go with ‘you won’t believe what happened’, and add a fake surprised face here”

“Ooh, I have one” their petite blonde glanced at Prentiss with a secretive hint in her eyes “It was me, not you, that heard Emily saying ‘it’s not my fault, it’s all on Hotch and-’”

“Jayje!” brown eyes widened open in utter shock whilst they managed to get Jack, Rosie and three-years old Theo by their sides. It was a great mess, but they were joyful to live like that.

 Their friends were right, though. Announce they were having a baby when the team had not a clue they were even together was a very hard moment. But after that, they took in the benefits of playing around with them.

 The first time, it was an accident – not at all because they were more than thankful - and Rosie dazed all of them, including her parents. Their firstborn helped her mother healing from the hollow, the scars Doyle left her. She allowed Emily to start again and discover a new side she had intentionally avoided for so long.

 Two years later, Theo was on the way. Back to that time, they could enjoy every stage and a tad of intern jokes were born along with her pregnancy course. The little boy was a bundle of joy, also a great companion for Jack. He was a missing piece of their puzzle.

 A whiff of hope and uttermost surprise. Those were the right words to describe Aaron and Emily’s feelings last year when her annual check-up became a further examination and, later, it became them discovering not one, but two Hotchners were growing within her. They were not young anymore – they hadn’t been from the first one – so Eileen and Lori made them learn everything anew.

“Guys” Spencer reluctantly murmured, lost in his musings whilst his colleagues turned towards him, making the boy genius somehow nervous “I think I have a better one…”

[asagimeta]

Teen Wolf Episode 6x06- “Ghosted”- Observations And Predictions

Ohhh my God... guys.... this episode was so heavy in Q&As, so many answers!! But also... so... so many questions...... I can promise you all, right now, that I absolutely cannot scratch the surface of all these questions, but that doesn't mean I won't atleast mention a few <3

Ok ok ok let's start with the biggest reveal of the season.... MIRRORVERSE. IS. REAL! And it could not BE more obvious because Lydia literally went through a mirror, the cool thing about Mirrorverse is that there really are no set rules for it, it's very Wonderlandish that way, there's no real way to stare at something implied to be mirrorverse and say "No that can't be mirrorverse it has to be something else" because mirrorverse is very.. well... diverse... and it could be a portal to anywhere really, like the doors in Atem's mind in Yu-Gi-Oh, any given door could lead to any given place, one door could lead to the past, one to an alternate universe, one to a different side to the same universe, etc etc, so MIRRORVERSE CONFIRMED

So the year is 1987, wich doesn't mean much right now but it probably will later, our flashback introduces us to the obvious vibes of the 80s- including Duran Duran's "Hungry Like The Wolf", wich was very clever of Teen Wolf- and biggest of all right now is that we have images of the carousel from the opening credits, I'm sure there's more to the carousel imagery than just the horses, and I'm sure it'll be brought up again later, given that they found it was important enough to put into the opening credits

Speaking of Mirrorverse, Lenore actually saw Lydia when she traveled through the mirror, and there's evidence that it could have possibly been Lydia that awoke Lenore's banshee scream to begin with, meaning that this wasn't just Lydia peering through the mirror (ha... puns...) but actually, actively, INTERACTING with the world she saw, this wasn't a vision, it was a legitimate travel to another dimension- in this case, to another time

Man oh man Fake!Claudia's claws are in deep, and the sheriff's refusal to believe anything slightly outside of what he wants to believe are stronger than ever (Sheriff you would NOT do well in the X-Files) and this entire scene hurt my soul on a level that I just do not deserve, I hope that Stiles isn't somehow veiwing this from the other realm or something... anyway, if there is any- and I do mean ANY- bright side to this pain, it's that Scott is finally experiencing what Stiles usually goes through, Scott has a very warped veiw of the sheriff because he and the sheriff work very much in a toxic tango, Scott lacks a father figure and the only one he's ever come close to having is the sheriff- who is like his dad in some ways, he's in law enforcement, he's no-nonsense, etc- but he's also very very different in enough ways that Scott would never compare them, he respects the sheriff and craves his approval as a father figure, likewise Scott is- in the sheriff's own words- "the son he should have had", he's the golden boy who's a goody-two-shoes and always tries to follow the moral AND legal codes, who, in the sheriff's opinion, doesn't get in trouble, who works hard and wants to make an honest living and have the All American Boy Lifestyle of college and a family and whatever, and that is NOT a slam against Stiles in any way, parents often get along better with their child's best freind, in some ways my ex-best freind's mom got along better with me than with my freind, but here's the big thing: The relationship is only part-time, and that's what makes it ideal, if Scott screws somethig up the sheriff  doesn't have to deal with it or even know about it because he's Melissa's kid, and likewise if the sheriff gets mad about something Scott isn't there for him to take it out on, Stiles is, because Stiles lives there and is subjected to it weather he likes it or not, so tldr, my point is, the sheriff and Scott only ever see the best in eachother, and usually Scott is apt to be on the sheriff's side, sweet talk him, preen at his approval, whatever, and generally kind of has an air around him of not understanding- or believing- Stiles when he says or reacts in any negative fashion about his dad, he doesn't see that he's impacting Stiles in a negative way when the sheriff approves of or believes him over Stiles because in Scott's mind if Stiles doesn't get that approval/beleif then there's a reason for it, you can see the dynamic really well with the scene in 5A where Sheriff's "Thank you, son I should have had" line is said, Scott grins and blinks like he doesn't know Stiles was just deeply insulted, and Stiles looks like he's been slapped in the face, because Scott has likely never seen the sheriff at his worst or had to be on the recieving end of his SEVERE lack of beleif, even in season five when Kira was arrested it was KIRA who was on the recieving end of the sheriff's problematic attitude, Scott was only a bystander, now that he's been on the recieving end himself, personally, with no one else around, I wonder if it's going to impact how he sees Stiles and inreacts with him in terms of this stuff in the future, I mean I doubt it, because that isn't really the history of how the show works, especially with Scott, but in a perfect world the next time Stiles presents his father's lack of trust in him towards Scott- in any way- Scott would actually be very compassionate towards him and offer a Stiles-freindly way of helping rather than showing him up (intentionally or not) or, you know, not believing Stiles himself

So why is Chris only infected and not just plain gone? Why is he the only one who the Hunt's weapons didn't kill or abduct? Unfortunately there really isn't any way to speculate on that until we get another example of this happening to someone, until then, sadly, there are just too many variables- too many to speculate over- but it's still a point that needs to be mentioned because... well... it's weird....

This episode also really makes me want all of the Supernatural General AUs .. for... reasons..... *Cough*

You know, I'm wondering if Caanan isn't actually in another dimension by now? The scenes in the town have a different coloring tone from most of reality, wich is what we often see in things like flashbacks, hallucinations, time travel, other dimensions, etc, there are other reasons I think Caanan could be in a different dimension and Lydia being able to travel to the past and be seen by Lenore is one of the main ones, but another is the hallucinations Scott and Malia have- notice that Lydia doesn't have any- supposedly this is caused by "The energy in the town" but that doesn't make any sense, why would energy cause Scott and Malia to have hallucinations? Vivid ones, at that, possibly even premonitions (Theo DID come back to life the same day, he could shoot Malia- or try to- later on and Melissa could easily become an almost-victim of Dug's) If this is an alternate universe/dimension however, then the rules of life change, and suddenly pretty much anything is possible, this is a ghost town, it might be an ACTUAL ghost town- IE: It doesn't exist on our plain anymore and manifested because someone was looking for it, like the Room Of Requirement in Harry Potter- and that means that if this is in fact the case, then pretty much everything goes, a pig could go flying across the screen and it could be perfectly within the rules of the realm simply by it being a different dimension *Wile we're talking about those hallucinations, I just want to say they were really good, very creepy, nice going Teen Wolf

So Dug was implied to be making a tazer, but somehow I just... don't buy that, that seems way too simplistic for someone who's encountered the Hunt before, I think, personally, that he was making something stronger, MUCH stronger... I'm just not quite sure what... but speaking of our old pal Dug, I wonder how much exactly Liam and Hayden told him? About werewolves? Or just about the Hunt? About the fact that people go missing and are forgotten- that they're looking for one of those missing people- or just that they hurt/kidnap people? And why is it that they so easily and willingly told him anything instead of leaving him in the dark? The baby pack DOES certainly have alot of differences in how they handle things from the main crew, and on the one hand, it's a good thing to share as much knowledge as you can with a potential victim... but on the other hand they didn't hesitate at all to share what could have been dire information, they could have spilled a secret that could get them all killed (what if they said "So look here's the thing we're werewolves and..." and Dug was a hunter, for example?) they didn't bother trying to get any other information out of him or see how accepting he might be to the thought of the supernatural, the original pack and the baby pack are very much polar opposites when it comes to sharing information, the original pack (and by this I mean Derek's and early!Scott's) was secretive to a fault to protect themselves, but the baby pack is informative to a fault to protect others, and there HAS to be a balance before someone pulls a //REALLY// unnecessary trigger...

Nine herbs to counteract nine venoms, thanks to @Athenadark - thank you SO much Athena!- we actually have the list of herbs!! According to this https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nine_Herbs_Charm Argent's medicine isn't just a thing made up by Teen Wolf, the herbs involved are the following (in English, because eh...):

-Mugwort -Cockspur grass -Lamb's cress -Plantain -Mayweed -Nettle -Crab Apple -Thyme -Fennel

In the actual charm the binding agent isn't honey, it's soap, apple juice, water, ashes, and beaten egg... I can see why Teen Wolf would want to save time and just say honey ;) Anyway if anyone wants to define the actual effects most of these ingredients have- and/or the historical/mythological significance about them- please go ahead and PLEASE let me know (message me because I rarely check my notes) because it's four in the morning and I have too much to do on the rest of this list ^^;

So if the Nine Venom thing works... does that mean that Ghost Rider Juice is a venom by technicality or are we just calling it that for lack of anything cooler to call it? There's a Kill Bill joke in here but ... I'm tired, anyway, it makes me REALLY EXCITED to get a little breath more from the beastiary though, nine venoms huh? So that would probably include kanima toxins, the scorpion toxins, and... actually I think that's all we know of in canon that actually has toxins/venoms..?? Makes me wonder where it's been all this time though... with the influx of kanima and whatnot... but anyway I just always get excited about canon lowkey exploring more mythology, like introducing wendigos without focusing an entire season on them and all? I'm a monster-of-the-week girl, what can I say?

So Caleb is a Tulpa, what that means, for those of you not brushed up on your cryptozoology, is that he's essentially a manifestation of beleif, here, basically, the idea is that if you believe in something strongly enough, it'll manifest and become real, let me use Bigfoot as our star Tulpa analogy:

So many-a-time ago people saw some unexplained animal in the woods that was large and human like and they decided "Omg Bigfoot" right? Well the legends about Bigfoot grew.... and grew..... and grew..... and by the time that original unexplained animal was long since identified, there were... still people reporting sightings of Bigfoot with increasingly detailed reports? Why? Because people believed in Bigfoot, so much at that point, that the energy put into beleif LITERALLY manifested a Bigfoot and allowed it to be an actual creature that roams around so it can photo bomb people and get selfies posted on the internet, but because Bigfoot was not quite real to begin with and is only a manifestation of the pooled energy put into beleif, he isn't *QUITE* a living creature the same way, say, a deer is, a deer has to SURVIVE, eat, avoid predators, breed, and you know, one day, die of old age (and I'm being generous) except... Bigfoot doesn't have to do all of that, he can just spend all of his time wandering around leaving footprints and shaking cameras that amatuer hunters put in trees, because, although he may be REAL*, he isn't really ALIVE, there's no biology there, sort of like a sock puppet that moves around of it's own free will, Bigfoot's sole purpose is to be spotted and keep the legend alive, because he's a spiritual manifestation, he doesn't NEED to eat or avoid predators or ever die, there's nothing biological about him to make all of that necessary, additionally, Tulpas operate on something of a different plain than the rest of us, they live in another dimension just like all other spiritual beings do, so just like a ghost can be perfectly visible if it wants to be, can tip over furniture and turn out lights, it exists SOLELY in a *SPIRITUAL REALM*, so things like eating and sleeping and, you know, dieing, again are unnecessary, this is also why you can't catch Bigfoot, he literally lives in another dimension, when people see Bigfoot, they're looking through "The Veil"- the thin sheet that seperates one world from another, the ghost world from this world, this world from the faery world, etc, for most people the veil is too thick to see through but for people who are blessed with The Sight, or when the veil is weak or the creature on the otherside REALLY wants to wave at you, normal people can see through it too

*This is where the argument of what consitutes "reality" comes into play and things like surrealism and philosophy are present, but it's not edging closer to five in the morning and I just don't have the raspberries to go into all of that right now

Bigfoot is admittedly a poor argument because, although he's a very famous example of a Tulpa, there's a really big question of if he's a Tulpa or not, the sheer amount of Bigfoots out there- presented in all kinds of shapes and colors and forms such as the Yeti or Abominable Snowman, presented in all kinds of other cultures that had Bigfoot stories WAY before they ever interacted with eachother- makes it hard to reason that Bigfoot is a Tulpa and not a real species, the Loch Ness Monster is one singular entity living in one singular place and is a much, much better example of a Tulpa, people have been spotting Nessie for well over a century if I believe, no one living creature can live that long, but I'm getting off topic

See, the power of beleif really is a real thing, I mean that in a way that's totally outside of anime freindship speeches and Tinkerbell, the power of beleif is what fuels the placebo effect- in other words, you believe something strongly enough that you make it real, imagine the power of beleif to be like water, everyone has a cup of beleif in them right? If over a billion people pour all of that water into a ditch, that water is going to turn into a lake, and THAT is the short end concept of a Tulpa

The Hunt never gave Lenore her son back, she believed that she made that deal with them as a way of processing what happened, think of it like supernatural surivor's guilt, she had to find a way to reason with herself "Why did they only leave me?" without knowing anything about her powers, at around the same time her increased psychic energy formed a Tulpa- Caleb- to keep her from going insane with greif and loneliness (more than she already had) so in her mind she reasoned that the two were connected, that she sold everyone else out in exchange for her son, it's what kept her in that town- the guilt over doing that- and what kept her from losing her mind more than she did, Caleb is an incredibly weak Tulpa, who can only stay in one place, obeys the wims of his creator, and often fades in and out with the raw psychic power Lenore possesses (IE why you can hear her voice underlying his on several occassions) Caleb was only created by ONE person's beleif- one GALLON of water (Lenore, being a banshee, has much more oomph to her little cup) so enough to make a puddle sure but... not a lake, wich is why Nessie and Bigfoot act so severely differently than Caleb, they're lakes, he's a puddle, moving on

Today on: Teen Wolf Has Potentially Taught Me More About My Mental Health Issues Than Actual Professionals... MUGWORT, wich, thanks again to @Athenadark, is actually in fact an anti-anxiety herb (fun fact, I started using Lydia's advice about holding your breath during a panic attack as of a couple of years ago and it really does work wonders... thanks mental health professionals who never suggested that when I asked, repeatedly, how to calm/stop a panic attack...) it does alot of other stuff too, helping with depression, stomach problems, and menustral issues are the main components, but also it's responsible for lucid dreaming, vivid and even prophetic dreams, and can be used as a hallucinagen depending on how it's broken down, so herein lies my question.... why did they focus on this? Mugwort is the only herb they even mentioned out of the nine possibilities but it isn't like they only mentioned it once, they mentioned it by name atleast two or three times, and Melissa even went to the trouble of looking it up and making note that it controls anxiety.... wich is really, REALLY odd for three reasons: 1. Why bother? You have a limited amount of time here to do the thing and you're going to make the effort to read up and remark on the fact that it helps with anxiety? From a filming perspective this has to be significant or she would have never said anything 2. What does it matter? Again, dire situation here but even aside from that it isn't like she or Argent actually have problems with anxiety in canon (that we know of) in fact, the only one Melissa knows intimately who DOES have anxiety issues is Stiles......... you don't say...... 3. Anxiety is NOT the first thing it's listed as helping with, Melissa' little trip to Google only took a matter of seconds and all she reported back was help with anxiety... but when I looked it up it's been much more advertised as helping with DEPRESSION, and lists help with anxiety as one of the OTHER things it does, the websites I visited listed the main reason for taking Mugwort as a supplement as helping with depression, and helping anxiety is usually listed secondary, there are even websites that list it's help for periods and/or stomach issues before it lists help with mental disorders, and ofcourse, again, that's only as a SUPPLEMENT, when you just Google Mugswort you're much more likely to get the hallucinagen version wich talks mostly about lucid dreaming and alternatives to weed, so what I'm saying here is, Melissa was really unlikely to be able to punch Mugwort into Google and find the FIRST result as "Oh hey this is an anti-anxiety herb" so why...? Well, besides the fact that Teen Wolf actually DOES seem to care about how they treat mental illness (atleast some mental illnesses, like anxiety and PTSD) it's highly possible that this is going to come up again later... maybe in relation to Stiles? I mean I don't know who else it would be related to unless they introduce a new charector with pretty much the sole purpose of whatever... this... is... wich seems really, really rediculous at this point, so if you're wondering why they would suddenly give Stiles something to calm his jitters, why they would make a POINT of it, remember, I DID say there was a secondary, non-health related purpose for taking mugswort.... lucid dreaming and prophetic dreams, sleep and dreaming is a very big thing in Teen Wolf mythology, alot of the seasons feature it to some degree with 3B, five, and six, featuring it most heavily, so what if Stiles needs to have a dream about something specific? Maybe to recall a certain memory that he just can't grasp when he's awake? Or to have a vision of the future? I can see it now, Stiles curled up with anxiety, Melissa off-handedly saying he should try Mugswort because it's supposed to help with that, Lydia popping in with "Interestingly it also causes lucid and prophetic dreams- .... heeeeeey....." ... yep this show practically writes it's self

I would like to take this moment to say that I'm just really glad that everyone still remembers Kira, I was wondering if they were going to somehow try to pawn her off on the Hunt too so that's good that they didn't but... still... sucks that she's gone....

Quick question here... how does Lenore even get food there? I mean she doesn't leave town, obviously, and as per the ancient lemonade she clearly doesn't have some magically stocked kitchen... this is just more evidence that Caanan is in a different dimension, in my opinion

Ok folks it's officially time to talk about Lenore's name, I bet there are alot of Edgar Allan Poe fans out there who are about to eat their computers right now because that's mainly what we'll be talking about- though not entirely, the name "Lenore" is Greek, like alot of names in Teen Wolf, a short form of the name Eleanor, it means "Light", but I'm guessing that isn't the reason why Teen Wolf decided to pursue this name, "Lenore" is popular in Edgar Allan Poe's works, coming up twice in poems about dead beauties, the first is titled "Lenore", wich tells of a beautifull girl who died young, the poem is about her husband at her funeral telling everyone that they should not mourn her death but celebrate her life, and believing that one day they'll be reunited in paradise- a sharp turn from Poe's usual tragedies, Lenore is described as wealthy, young, and beautifull, and is "The queenliest dead that ever died so young", we know Lydia is The Queen in the same way Derek is The King- Lydia is shown as the queen on Parrish's playing card and in Hunt related mythos the banshees usually lead the hunt- and there is also a QUEEN of the Hunt in some legends, aka.... The Morrigan, in addition to all of this, Lenore comes about again in "The Raven"- another tragic tale of a dead beauty and without a doubt Poe's most famous work, this one tells of a man mourning his wife who is visited by a talkative raven who brings memories of Lenore, thus upsetting her husband and having him believe that the raven is an omen of evil, let me repeat that a second... RAVEN.... it's about a raven, it's CALLED "The Raven"... you see where I'm going with this right? We've been looking for our raven for ages and most assume it's Stiles but what if the raven is LYDIA- The Morrigan IS represented often by ravens-? Stiles, as the other side of Lydia's coin, would be something to match, what exacty I'm not sure, it would depend on how they work in the Morrigan + raven + banshee mythologies to blend together and such, but it certainly is food for thought, especially when you start pondering how the "Lenore" poem fits into this, maybe Lydia IS left in Beacon Hills for a short time wile everyone else battles the Hunt/rescues people from the station? This would represent a happy reunion once they're all back, or maybe Stiles dies for a short time and wile everyone else is panicking Lydia just "Hey don't worry I got this" and does something Banshee-y to bring him back, wich not only represents being reunited but also nods to "Don't mourn the dead, celebrate the living"... there's just... ALOT to go on, and I haven't even MENTIONED yet that Lenore comes up in "Dracula", something the meta pack has compared Teen Wolf to for a long time now...

It's so nice having Noshiko back... if only she had Kira with her...... I'm really so confused though about how that sword works, I thought it had to be Kitsune-powered but if Liam can just jam it anywhere he wants...?? Speaking of this scene, I wonder where exactly Theo has been all this time, I mean it looks like he was just literally underground for three months (my scratch pad's note "HAS HE LEGIT BEEN UNDER GROUND ALL THIS TIME? He's filthy, clean him") but that obviously isn't .. you know... really true... I know Teen Wolf IMPLIED hell but it's odd to me that Theo hasn't, you know, mentioned that... or anything about where he was.... I don't know, I don't trust any of this, the one GOOD thing though is that we do finally have someone who legit remembers Stiles (I can hear the Steo fans crying happily in the background) and when he's not being a porchdick, he maybe can help with that, as a general thing, he clearly wants nothing to do with going back to.... wherever.... or being taken by the Hunt, so I'm betting he'll be willing to help in his own twisted little way, speaking of Stiles and Theo.. I get the feeling their reunion is going to be something like this:

Stiles: I'm so happy to be back in Beacon Hills oh my God Theo: Hi Stiles: PUT ME BACK, PUT ME BACK

Anyway, speaking of Theo, it's odd to me that, although his memories of Stiles weren't altered, he had a moment of memory loss about... like... everything else...? He had forgotten that he killed his sister, apparently, wich really makes me wonder where he went and what happened to him, even stranger though is that he acted like he actually CARED about his sister, wich he hasn't since he was a small child- if then even- so I just...???? Why??? Atleast the Doctors came in handy for SOMETHING though by filling Theo in (ish) about the Hunt, wich is apparently worse to be held captive by than Hell ... or... wherever the hell Theo was

Speaking of The Hunt.... I have to admit, this entire "stuck" shennanigan throws me for a big loop, so does the idea that all of their captives are being turned into more riders, there are so... SO many questions here... besides the obvious of how, why, and when, the sticking happened, there are others: Why is only one section of the Hunt stuck? We know there are others going around to other places right now doing this to other towns so why just this one? They obviously don't turn everyone they get so where do the leftovers go? Like, you know, THE ENTIRE LACROSSE TEAM? What's their criteria for choosing someone? Are they being controlled by someone? Is super-charging banshees a side effect or is that the intention to begin with? Is it possible that the people like the lacrosse team are being turned into riders and Stiles and the others in the waiting room are there to be used for something else, like... a position of power maybe? No matter how you slice this orange thoug, you're going to get a big ball of confusion

Back with Scott and the gang, he and Malia seem to be drowning in a basement full of water, wich, ironically, has nothing to do with WHY they're drowning considering that the water seems to be coming from inside their lungs, remember, in Teen Wolf water is tainted/damned/bad, "There's something in the water", I wonder if Caanan has something in the water too or if this is just a manifestation of Teen Wolf's general philosophy on water...? And SPEAKING of water, you didn't think I'd let you go this entire time without mentioning drowning did you? Drowning seems to be a very popular trope in Teen Wolf, a mother drowned her baby according to Lydia in Motel California, wherein Boyd tries to drown himself, Stiles describes drowning with almost an experienced level of detail to Morrel in season two, Jackson rose out of the water as a kanima, Scott was seen drowning in the 3A promos, now there's Caleb and I'm sure I haven't mentioned every instance yet, there's also a popular meta theory that Claudia tried to drown Stiles at one point, remember, she HAS phyiscally attacked him for believing he was killing her, could this be why he knows what it's like to drown? I almost wonder- and by "almost" I mean certainly do- if Lenore is the one who drowned Caleb, maybe by accident or her powers taking over? Interesting that they never said HOW or WHY he drowned, just that he did....

Hey you know how we were just talking about water? Fun fact! The Morrigan prosides over fresh water, particuarly rivers and lakes (there's something about that lake in Beacon Hills I tell you...) She also sees over fate, war, prophecy, and all kinds of other topics, she's represented by/associated with ravens, and is a Tripple Goddess, something we see Lenore represented by in the show (Maiden, mother, crone, Lydia sees her young first, then old in a quick flash, and the majority of the time she's in the middle, this represents the three states of being or  the Triple Goddess) I could honestly do an entire meta on The Morrigan but ya'll.... ya'll... it's almost seven in the morning and I still have things I have to do... so maybe another time, though I have a feeling @Athenadark is going to get there first ;)

FINALLY, can I just say how relieved I am that the Sheriff FINALLY finds Stiles' room? I'm thinking he started having a flicker of Stiles when he touched the keys to the jeep

I will return next week bunnies, until then I have... crap to do... and eventually maybe I can sleep.... TTFN- Ta Ta For Now!