#which is funny because before this i watched twilight vampire diaries (a little bit) only lovers left alive nosferatu dracula van helsing

[will-ruadh]

I don't really care about the concept of vampires <- me before I watched iwtv

[batsplat]

what would u get each of the aliens for Christmas :)

a therapy voucher :) one of those ten uses cards you can stamp off after every session

oof idk what do you get rich people... I mean let's not go too wild with the fantasy and accept I'm broke as shit. giving legendary motogp riders christmas presents sounds plausible but money is a step too far. so no rich people gifts, at most middle class gifts to be #aspirational. also my rule is nothing racing or bike-related because that's boring and lame

first off jorge. I would give jorge a speech before this one, a gentle one but still one I need him to take seriously. I need to sit this man down and explain to him that 'only reads shitty non fiction because you doesn't believe fiction is your thing but has also watched and enjoyed the vampire diaries' is a philosophically untenable position. this cannot be an approach you take in life. I think I can talk him out of this one, and if I can get away with it I would also use the opportunity to burn all the books he currently has. but yeah I would get him a dvd boxset of something with a similar enough vibe to vampire diaries where I think I could get into it. buffy is superficially similar but is tonally different, but if I thought I could swing buffy!! maybe something like pretty little liars, I bet he'd enjoy that. and then I'd get him some ya monster romance novels of dubious quality, not tvd because they are pretty different from the show, also not twilight because everyone's kinda made up their minds on that. my knowledge of monster romance is outdated and also kinda hazy but I'd find something suitably fun and trashy

okay that was the easy one. um. Uhh. valentino I think you get with something personalised and just funny, an in joke or whatever, which is tricky because I don't know the guy. some trashy shit from a novelty store that you know would make him laugh, just something silly. he also has super tacky tastes... again novelty store, something massively tacky. you live in britain and stumble across an inexplicably neon yellow mug with a portrait of the queen (surely they still sell merch with her) on it, idk!! failing that I reckon the easy way is to just adopt the oxley approach and get him some super obscure music records he wouldn't have otherwise come across. my music taste is not refined enough to make suggestions off the top of my head but I'm sure I'd come up with something

casey...... have you ever noticed how heavily the australian flag features in all of casey's branding? all this stuff vaguely commemorating a non specific patriotic attachment (flags and kangaroo, quite generic) to a country he hadn't lived in since age fourteen... I am NOT taking the christmas present post in a sad direction just because we've gotten to casey I PROMISE but also I wonder if something kitschy still works on him now, or if it's TOO easy, like you could get him with that circa 2007 I reckon. also i think I would be a bit scared casey would hate my present so I'd put a lot of thought into it. I mean the way to his heart is probably getting his daughters something cute, or you could get on his bad side 4 lyfe by getting them neon yellow shirts or something. Casey does have a sense of humour but you are dancing a very fine line with him.... if I had valentino's charm I'd get him something stereotypically australian-themed in a really dumb way where everyone involved knows it's useless like a book about taming kangaroos or something massively stupid like that, but I do NOT have valentino's charm and it falls flat if you don't get the execution right. I'd also steer clear of anything illness related because surely it must be annoying to get a superficially thoughtful gift based on a ten minute google search for conditions you've spent years of your life figuring out how best to manage. I now have a worryingly long list of things I would not get casey. I think maybe I'm overthinking this, like casey doesn't think of himself as particularly materialistic and I'm unconvinced he's massively into gift giving. to some extent it shouldn't be that serious with him.... depends on your relationship with him and how likely he is to regard you with suspicion. I'm better at joke gifts so I'm thinking of a guide to all European countries but that's another suggestion I'm throwing on the unhelpful pile. tourist guide to portugal. no. oh god casey is so neurotic it might actually be contagious.... I also have such a good working knowledge of what he gets up to in a way I don't have for any of these other guys and it's STILL not helping, like I know he got into indoor climbing about a decade ago but the fuck do you buy someone for that?? a wall?? I'd end up chickening out and doing something boring like trying to get him into bread baking or getting barbecue related stuff, or like a family board game. yeah that last one actually, something fun he can do with his daughters

marc is another one where you get him with something really stupid. a joke shirt, something deeply lame. you go into a tourist trap in a major city and you stumble across a joke printed on a shirt about being short, so terrible that it doesn't exist off facebook any more but is still regularly a major hit there. idk what joke, I would let facebook inspire me. maybe I'd even print one myself, make the extra effort, all for a godawful boomer meme. marc would eat it up. BUT he's also such a loner who both isolates himself and gets :(( about that isolation sometimes that you could get him with something surprisingly thoughtful. again this is the kind of thing that depends on a personal relationship!! something like a nice fancy headrest pillow thingy for flights that helps him not put too much pressure on his arm or something (not inspired by anything specific currently happening in my life right now). not THAT exactly because you'd assume all riders have their flight situation perfectly customised by now, but that general vibe

dani... again unfortunately the valentino principle where there's certain dumb gifts you can probably only pull off with a dani type if you are maxxed out in your charisma stats. uhh I think dani is one of those guys who's easy in one sense to get presents because he would be nice about the present but also tough because it'd be tricky because it'd be hard to get him to be particularly enthusiastic. getting him something samurai themed feels kind of lame, very much the present of not knowing what else to get someone. which, well.... I'd go a different route here and go less for a momentary gift and more something that's like. a fun day out. a voucher for a mini golf course, that kind of thing. take him out to go bowling. idk if dani likes either of those things but idk,, you're less likely to get the worst present opening look (politely confused) and instead go for something more active and fun. dealer's choice if you do it with him or invite anyone else or whatever

[ellewritesathing]

So Close - S.S. XLIII

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 43

Word-count: 7k+

A/N: and that’s 5b!! it’s been crazy but thank you all for reading 💕

Considering how quickly he got you home, you were pretty sure Stiles broke about a dozen traffic laws in the process, but you were too relieved to crash on your living room couch to care very much. Noah would void any speeding tickets he got anyway.

You settled into the living room couch and Stiles disappeared into the kitchen. He came back with a blood bag and you started pushing yourself up as you argued that you didn't need it. Blood might speed up the process, but it was sickening to drink (and that was when you were alone). It might take a little while, but you’d heal on your own.

“No, listen to me, okay?” Stiles said, kneeling next to the couch to look you in the eye. “You almost bled out in my Jeep. I know you’ll heal on your own, but this’ll make it go faster. And I- I need you to heal.”

Your eyes dropped from his and to the blood bag that he was trying to put in your hand. Mumbling, you curled your hand around the bag. “You fight dirty, Stilinski.”

“You know it, sunshine,” Stiles said with a wink and barely-there smile.

“Can I at least get a straw?”

“What are you gonna do? Drink it like a juice box?”

“Not if you don’t bring me a straw.”

Stiles laughed but disappeared into the kitchen anyway. His laugh was the only thing from this entire night that felt right. It made almost dying feel worth it. But any trace of that laugh was gone when he came back from the kitchen with your straw in one hand and his phone in the other. Scott had texted him.

Mason was the Beast, and he was missing.

You set the bag down on the couch and got to your feet, closing your eyes for a second when you started seeing stars. “Oh my god, we’ve gotta looking for him-”

“Malia’s on it,” Stiles said, guiding you back onto the couch. “So is everyone who’s not on the verge of dying. Plus, Kira’s bringing Scott home now, so we can talk it through with them.”

Annoyingly, his logic checked out; if you went out there now, you could get killed. So instead, you sighed and laid back down on the couch. It hurt too much to keep fighting anyway. “Stiles … will you stay with me until they get back?”

“Of course.”

You made space for him and Stiles sat on the couch with you, very politely ignoring your bloody juice box. As weird as the situation was, it was made weirder by the fact that Stiles reached over and put the tv on. It felt wrong to watch tv when you were drinking blood and the world was ending outside. You guys managed to watch an entire episode of New Girl when Scott and Kira got home and tried to sneak up the stairs to his room.

“We should probably go check on them,” Stiles said, still massaging the one side of your head to make up for when he tried to run a hand through your hair and accidentally got stuck in some of the matted bits. His cheek rested on the top of your head.

You stretched out with a sigh. The blood had kicked in by then, and you were healed enough that moving didn’t hurt or pop open any of the wounds. “Probably.”

“After another episode?” Stiles asked.

You laughed and started untangling yourself from him. “As much as I’d love that, I need to take a shower.”

“Yeah, I didn’t want to mention that but … you kinda smell.” Stiles faked being oblivious as he stretched out and you hit him lightly with one of the throw pillows. He burst out laughing. “What? It’s true.”

You rolled your eyes but went upstairs with him anyway, parting ways in the hallway outside of the bathroom.

Seeing yourself in the mirror, you looked rough. Your clothes were shredded and stained, your arms were scraped up, and there was some blood on the corners of your mouth from when Stiles tried to save you. Kind of scary, but nothing a shower and change of clothes couldn’t fix.

It took longer than expected, but once you were finished and dressed, you looked like yourself again. You were still drying out your hair when you met Stiles in your room. He was sprawled out on your bed, reading through one of the library books you’d taken out when you guys were still trying to figure out who and what the Beast was. He had dark circles around his eyes.

Until that moment, it hadn't registered how difficult this night must have been for him. He'd had to play lacrosse before all hell broke loose and pretend everything was fine. He pretended when you woke up too. You wondered how many times he tried to wake you up before trying to feed you, or how it felt to find you and Liam in a bloody heap in the parking lot.

“Hey, how is your back healing?” you asked as you made your way over to him. Stiles lifted his arm and you ducked underneath to lie down on his chest. “Still sore?”

Stiles shrugged and moved the book so you could get comfortable. “Sometimes. None of them got me deeply,” he said casually. You might have believed him if you couldn’t hear his heart. “What about you?”

“I’ll be back to normal by morning,” you said, placing your hand on his chest. “Do you need me to take some of your pain so you can sleep?”

“Nah, I’ll just take an Advil if it flares up,” Stiles said. Again, his heart jumped ever so slightly, but you didn’t want to push it. This night was stressful for him.  

Stiles laid the book down on his stomach and put his hand over yours on his chest. The bandage on his wrist brushed your arm as he moved and your heart lurched. He shouldn’t get hurt so much for you.

“You know, it wasn’t supposed to be like this,” you said.

“Be like what?” Stiles asked.

You tapped his chest uncertainly and took a deep breath. “Deaton said the blood was supposed to be temporary because I died,” you said quietly. “But it’s been like three months and if I don’t drink it then it’s like my body shuts down. I’m supposed to be like Scott but I’m like something out of the freaking Vampire Diaries.”

“Hey, it could be worse. You could be from Twilight,” Stiles pointed out. You rolled your eyes, but he laughed and squeezed your hand slightly. “No, I know it’s not supposed to be like this but it has to be for something, right? Like if you stayed at your fancy private school then everything would be different. Or if Scott hadn’t been bitten then we'd have Derek trying to alpha his way out of a paper bag." That made you smile. "It’s like … as much as this sucks sometimes, it has to be for something.”

It was quiet for a moment, so still that you could hear Stiles’ heartbeat without your super hearing.

“Right?”

You didn’t answer right away. Instead, you moved to prop yourself up on your elbow, your other hand still on his chest. You smiled at him and looked down at his lips for a second before meeting his eyes. “I think you’re my something.”

Stiles’ mouth curled up at the corners and he took his hand off yours to move some hair behind your ear. “I’d like that.”

“Yeah, me too,” you said with a smile. Your hand snaked up from his chest to cup his jaw and you leaned in to kiss him as he tilted his head up. The result was a slightly clumsy kiss at first, but neither of you minded.

---

Seeing as Scott barely survived his fight with the Beast, you all decided to let him sleep in while you met in the kitchen to discuss what to do. Noah had already put an APB out on Mason in case he showed up, and Liam and Malia had been searching through most of the night. Scott didn't need to be there right then, he just needed to heal.

“It still might not be him,” Liam said from the barstool next to you. He’d been so upset the whole morning, understandably so, but it hurt to see him like this. Your other friends must have felt the same because they didn’t say anything. Liam untangled his arm from yours as he said, “But Hayden’s at the school looking anyway.”

“I can keep checking the woods,” Malia offered.

“And my mom can check all the hospitals in the county,” Scott said as he walked in. He didn’t have a scratch on him this morning, but he still needed to rest. “We can find him.”

“What happens then?” Liam asked.

“We figure out a way to save him,” Scott said.

“Okay, where else could we look?” Lydia asked.

“Let’s ask Corey,” Scott said. He put his hand out and grabbed something from the shelf behind him, and Corey materialized a moment later.

All your friends jumped. Liam pulled you behind him as he got to his feet did. It was almost cute enough to distract from Corey's eavesdropping.

“Wait, wait, wait! It’s not my fault,” Corey stammered. “They took him and I couldn’t do anything.”

“They took him? Who?” Scott asked.

“The Dread Doctors,” Corey said. It only took a second of Scott glaring at him for Corey to crack and launch into an explanation of what happened when they left the school the night before. “See, so it wasn’t my fault! I- I was trying to protect him.”

You touched Liam’s arm lightly before he could snap at Corey for not doing a very good job. “We know you tried,” you said. “But it looks like we’re going to need a new plan. Can you tell us anything else?”

Corey looked away from Scott and thought about it for a second. You hoped that some part of him trusted you like Josh did. Eventually, he nodded. “I can tell you everything.”

---

It was decided that the best way to find Mason was to split up. Stiles and Lydia went to talk to Noah, Kira was trying to get her sword back from her dad, Malia gave up on the woods to deal with her mom, and you, Scott, and Liam were going to deal with Theo.

If there was one thing you hated more than your friends splitting up, it was meeting with Theo in the Dread Doctors old operating theatre.

The place gave you the creeps; it was dark, filthy, abandoned, and to top it all off, Theo was there. He stood with his back to you, staring at one of the empty pods. It looked haunted.

“They called him Der Soldat,” Theo said, still looking at the pod. “That’s German for ‘The Soldier.’ I’m pretty sure he fought in World War II.” He turned to face you guys and sighed.

“And he was a Nazi,” Scott guessed.

“And an alpha werewolf,” Theo said. “The Dread Doctors were using him to prolong their lives. They’ve been doing it for decades. Actually, probably longer.”

“Wait, how old are these guys?” Liam asked.

“Who knows,” Theo said. He didn’t add ‘and who cares’ but you knew he was thinking it. He didn’t care about anything other than his own survival. “But wherever they go, he goes, too.”

“So we find him and we find Mason,” you said, arms crossed over your chest. Theo nodded. “How do we find him?”

Theo took a breath and looked down at the ground for a second. “Keeping him alive requires a pretty unique set of conditions: there’s got to be a power source, it has to be underground-”

“And on a telluric current,” Scott said. He took out a copy of the telluric current map from his jacket sleeve and handed it to Theo. It hung in the air for a second - with you not thinking this was a good idea and Theo probably not believing this was happening.

He took the map from Scott and smiled as he unfolded it. Almost all the currents intersected in the Beacon Hills Preserve. “Looks like we’re going for a hike,�� Theo said.

Scott looked over at you and Liam, asking what you thought without talking. Liam shrugged, all he wanted to do was find his best friend. You weren’t so sure about it but you nodded anyway. It was better to have Theo in your sights than lurking around in the dark on his own.

That’s the only reason why you sat with him on the drive out and why you walked behind him when you got there. Working with him to find Mason was one thing, but trusting him was something you weren’t prepared to do.

After an eternity of walking through the woods in the dark, Scott asked, “So where is he?”

“I thought we were looking for him,” Theo asked, pretending to sound confused.

“You know who I’m talking about,” Scott said.

“Deucalion?” Theo asked. You rolled your eyes.

“You shouldn’t trust him,” Scott said.

“You’re the one who let him live,” Theo said.

“I’m not a murderer,” Scott said.

“You still think you’re gonna get through all this without killing anyone?” Theo asked. He threw a look over his shoulder at you and Liam. “I guess that’s why you have them.”

“Yeah, so don’t push your luck,” you snapped. Theo laughed and looked ready to say something equally snippy but then Liam stopped. He looked like someone punched him.

“We’re close,” he said, looking at the ground. Scott asked if he had Mason’s scent and Liam nodded, but he didn't move.

“Great. Which way?” Theo asked.

Liam looked at you out of the corner of his eye before flicking his eyes over to Scott. He didn’t trust that Theo wouldn’t kill Mason as soon as you found him.

“Oh, you think you’re going to leave me behind?” Theo asked, laughing slightly. Man, the longer this went on, the more unhinged Theo got.

“Liam …” Scott started.

“Look, he wants to kill him,” Liam argued.

“I just want his power,” Theo argued. Like that was any better. “You want to fight someone that actually wants to kill Mason? Go fight Parrish.”

“Who did you see when you put on the mask?” Liam asked.

“I already told you - it wasn’t Mason,” Theo said.

“You want us to trust you?” you asked. You jutted your chin at him. “Then tell us who you saw.”

Theo sighed exasperatedly and looked over at Scott for a second. “I saw a man dying in the snow,” he confessed. “He was impaled on a spear.”

“It’s called a pike,” Scott said. “Lydia told us the story.”

“Then you guys know what it means,” Theo said, surprisingly unbothered by not knowing something. “Time’s running out. Where is he, Liam? What direction?”

Liam still didn’t seem convinced that he could trust Theo, but he was right about time running out. “I can stay here with him,” you offered quietly, touching his sleeve lightly.

“No, it’s-” Liam shook his head. He sighed and started storming past Theo and Scott. “He’s this way.”

The four of you went back to walking in moody silence but Liam picked up the pace as you got closer. He was getting impatient. He didn’t say anything as you guys reached an old wooden structure in the woods - calling it a cabin would be generous, it just looked like a wooden box with overgrown trees around it - or as he reached out to grab the handle, but Scott caught his hand just before he touched it.

“Listen,” Scott said.

There was a heart beating somewhere beyond the wooden frame.

“It’s him.” Liam threw the creaky door open and raced inside.

Scott followed behind him fairly quickly, probably to make sure Liam wouldn’t get lost, which left you with Theo. He looked at you, you glared at him, he laughed under his breath, and then he went inside. You cast one last look at the woods before going inside.

It reminded you of the root cellar that Blake had kept everyone’s parents in; surprisingly built up and covered in dust and decaying roots. The stairs were so old that they groaned with every step and you hoped that none of them were rotted. All you needed was to get a broken ankle.

When you finally reached the bottom, you got goosebumps. It was freezing and only lit by dim green light. This place was haunted by the ghosts of all the failed experiments and violent deaths of the woods. Suddenly, you were glad your friends had decided to split up and that most of them didn’t have to see this.

Liam found Mason collapsed against the big pod that emitted the green light. As happy as you were to find Mason, you couldn’t take your eyes off the decaying body inside the pod. Der Soldat.

Reflexively, you reached out for the person next to you only to find yourself holding onto Theo’s wrist. You let go with a scowl and nodded at Der Soldat. Theo’s eyes landed on him and you could see how hard he was working to not show any emotion on his face.

“It’s connected to him,” Scott said, spotting the tube that ran from Der Soldat’s stomach, up the pod and out again, and into the back of Mason’s neck. He crouched next to Liam to see if he could help Mason.

“What is this thing?” Mason asked. You didn’t even realize he was awake.

“I don’t know,” Theo answered. His eyes met yours for a second and it felt like he meant it.

“Liam, I can feel it,” Mason said. He sounded like he was close to crying, which was understandable considering everything he’d been through these past few weeks, let alone these past few hours. He took a shaky breath. “It- It’s in my skull.”

“Don’t move,” Liam said, looking up at Der Soldat. He was trying to figure out how to disconnect them without ripping out parts of Mason's skull.

“Careful,” Scott warned.

Liam turned to Theo. “What are they doing to him?”

“I don’t know,” Theo said. He sounded too harsh for your liking, even if he was fed up with no one believing him the whole night.

“Guys, let’s focus,” Scott said. Always the alpha. All Scott’s attention was on Mason, and if you were him you wouldn’t want anyone other than Scott on your side. “Mason, we’re gonna get you out of here.” He turned to Liam very slowly and added, “Hold him still. I’m going to try to pull it out. Mason, let me know if it hurts you.”

“Scott, wouldn’t it be easier to sever the tube?” you asked, trying not to sound like you thought the current course of action would kill Mason.

“We’ll try that next,” Scott said. He wrapped his hand around the bit of glass that encased a part of the tube and started pulling.

Immediately, Mason started screaming. Scott let go. “It hurts!” Mason groaned. “It definitely hurts.”

“I barely moved it,” Scott said to Liam.

The clicking started before Liam could respond, coupled with the heavy breathing and low hum of their suits. You looked at Theo out of the corner of your eye before you both turned to face the Dread Doctor. If this was a trap, he didn't know about it.

You moved, slowly, in front of Liam and Mason as Scott stood up.

“They wanted us here,” Theo said in a low voice. He didn’t take his eyes off the Dread Doctor, but they snapped to the other side of the room when the clicking started again. Another Dread Doctor. You just needed one more to complete the set.

“Help Liam get that thing out of Mason’s neck,” Scott told you quietly.

You crouched down and nodded at Liam as one of the Dread Doctors hissed from the back of the room. It called Theo a failure. As much as you agreed, you had other problems you needed to focus on.

You looked for the part where the tubes connected. If there was a weak spot, that was bound to be it. There wasn’t one. But if you could cut the tube, then you might be able to make a run for it, even if someone had to support Mason and the thing attached to his head.

“Liam,” you whispered. You nodded at the tube and reached for your knife. He nodded and held onto Mason. The two of you just had to trust that Scott and Theo could hold off the Dread Doctors while they verbally destroyed what was left of Theo’s self-esteem.

“From you, we learned that true evil only comes from corrupting something truly good,” the Dread Doctor hissed. Theo threw a punch at him.

You forced the knife through the tube as all hell broke loose. Scott jumped into action and Liam dove forward to protect you from the other Dread Doctor, but Mason was groaning. The fluid was leaking out of the broken tube. He yelled for Liam, and you tried to help but it was like he couldn’t even see you there. You thought you’d killed him when he screamed and got to his feet.

“Transformation without frequency,” the Dread Doctor said.

Mason’s eyes started glowing and you backed away as quickly as you could. Liam called out his name as the shadows started engulfing Mason. “That’s not my name,” Mason said in a deep and distorted voice. The shadows wrapped around him and he transformed into the Beast.

You ducked as it swung its arm at you and heard it crack one of the Dread Doctors’ masks. You crawled over to Liam and Scott in an attempt to get away, lungs burning from the memory of being torn out the last time you got close to this thing.

The Beast lifted one of the Dread Doctors into the air by their neck and literally squeezed their head off. The body fell with a deafening thud. And then it threw Theo to the ground and grabbed the other Dread Doctor, dragging it up the stairs.

By the time you guys got up there with it, Parrish was there and Chris and Gerard were unloading shotgun bullets into The Beast’s back as it tried to get away. It started transforming on the other side of the bridge, but you weren’t looking at Mason when it was done.

“La Bete du Gevudian, I know your name!” Gerard said. The man turned to look at Gerard over his shoulder. “Do you remember mine?”

He grimaced slightly. “Argent.” The man took off into the forest and Parrish raced after him.

“Who the hell was that?” Scott asked.

“You’ve seen the Beast of Gevaudan,” Gerard said. He nodded in the direction where the man and Parrish went running. “That was the Man.”

“Sebastien Valet,” Chris said, much more helpfully.

“But if that was Sebastien then … what happened to Mason?” you asked.

“I don’t know,” Chris said, taking his eyes off the woods to look at you. His heartbeat jumped. “We’ll follow Parrish. You kids see if he’s still alive and take him to the animal clinic.”

“Theo will be fine,” you said.

“Not him,” Gerard said with that creepy smile of his. “The Surgeon.”

As if in response, the Dread Doctor on the floor’s suit let out its familiar clicking sound. You only had a second to look at Scott before he dove to pick up the Dread Doctor. With your brother carrying the almost lifeless body of your enemy, you and Liam led the way back to the car.

At least with Scott keeping the Dread Doctor together, you got to drive. You made it to Deaton’s in record time with minimal curse words.

You threw open the back door for Scott and Liam to carry the Dread Doctor, but paused when you got inside and saw Stiles with Deaton and a case file. They knew something.

“He’s still alive,” Scott said, snapping you out of your thoughts. He and Liam pushed past Stiles and Deaton to put the Dread Doctor on the exam table. The suit was still clicking, but not humming. “Can you keep him alive?” Scott asked as Deaton started feeling where the Dread Doctor’s organs should have been.

“I’m not sure he technically is alive,” Deaton said.

“Screw keeping him alive. How do we get him to talk?” Liam asked.

“Personally, I don’t think we utilize torture nearly enough,” Stiles said. God, you missed him a disgusting amount for only being separated for a day.

You were about to say that the Dread Doctor needed to be alive to talk when a man’s voice echoed in your head. “Come.” You blinked in an attempt to focus.

“Did you hear that?” Liam asked.

“Come to me,” the man said. It had to be Sebastien. You looked towards the back door to try and figure out where he was. “To me.”

The Dread Doctor bolted up, his suit clicking and making a high-pitched vibrating noise. It was almost as good at scrambling your brain as one of Lydia’s screams. You clutched your ears and collapsed to the ground as everything in the clinic shuddered. You and Stiles crouched together, and you barely saw Liam jumping into action before Scott started yelling.

“Liam, wait!”

The Dread Doctor sent out a blast that knocked Liam into a wall and walked out. He sent off another one when he was outside, frying the electrical circuit and magnetizing the door. You barely had enough time to pull Stiles out of the way before one of the tables tried to decapitate him.

You didn’t have time to check on Stiles before Liam ran towards the exit and another set of sparks went flying.

“Stop!” Deaton yelled. You and Stiles got to your feet, holding shaky hands. “It’s electrified.”

You stood deathly still as you tried to drown out the electricity and focus on what Sebastian and the Dread Doctor were saying. He wanted the pike but the Dread Doctor said the Argents had it.

“The cane,” Scott whispered.

“But they took it,” Liam said. “They took the cane.”

And then the Dread Doctor fell to the ground. You jumped at the sound his skull made as it met the pavement. He was dead. All the Dread Doctors were dead.

---

“Maybe there’s something in here,” Scott said as he flipped through the pages in the case file that Stiles had brought. “Something about how he was a genetic chimera.”

“Mason had a vanishing twin,” Deaton said.

“Now we’ve got a vanishing Mason,” Stiles said.

“Wait, he ate his twin in the womb?” you asked. It wasn’t the weirdest thing to ever happen but you couldn’t help your reaction. Deaton nodded but Liam started talking before he could say anything.

“What does that have to do with him turning into a 250-year-old French guy?” Liam asked. “How does that even happen?”

Deaton touched Liam’s arm gently. “Hold on, Scott might have something.” He paused for a second to breathe and gather his thoughts. “Mason’s twin wasn’t entirely gone. That’s what made him a genetic chimera.”

A moment of silence passed and then Scott said, “The DNA was still there.”

“Metaphorically speaking, the DNA of Mason could still be inside Sebastien as well,” Deaton said with a nod.

“How?” Stiles asked.

“Life is energy. Energy doesn’t just disappear,” Deaton said. He looked down at the mask on the exam table. “The Dread Doctors may have found a way to break the rules of the supernatural world, but there are some rules that simply won’t break.”

“So Mason can’t just be gone?” Liam asked, sounding more hopeful than he'd been all day.

“Somewhere in Sebastien, Mason has to still exist in some form,” Deaton said. Stiles picked up the mask as Deaton spoke. You half expected it to start clicking. “A spark of energy, a flicker of memory.”

Stiles looked up. “Hang on … Liam, you said Mason said something right before he turned.”

“He said, ‘That’s not my name,’” Liam said.

“He finally remembered his name,” Scott said, looking at Stiles.

“Damnatio Memoriae,” Stiles said.

“That’s what they wanted!” Liam said. “They wanted Sebastien to remember his name.”

“So all we need to do is get Mason to remember who he is,” you said.

“How do we do that?” Liam asked. “Walk up to the Beast, yell Mason’s name and turn him back?”

“Not us,” Scott said. “Lydia.”

---

Either Sebastien remembered Lydia from Mason’s memories or he got lucky at the police station. Thankfully, she was still alive - Noah got her to the hospital in time - but you and Liam had to wait in the waiting room while Stiles and Scott spoke to her.

You stood up when Scott started walking closer. “Is Lydia okay?”

“She’s gonna be fine, but …” Scott took a breath and looked over your shoulder at Liam. “She can’t really talk.”

“Then it’s over, isn’t it?” Liam asked. He was so upset when you turned to look at him that he looked ready to punch a wall. But he kept himself still. “There’s nothing we can do to save him.”

Scott’s phone vibrated and you frowned at him. “What’s wrong?” you asked.

“I’ve got two voicemails from Kira,” Scott mumbled. “Give me a second.”

He walked away to take his call and you turned back to Liam. “I’m sorry, biscuit,” you said gently. As you sat down next to him, you took his hand in yours. “We’ll figure something out. You know we’re not going to give up on him.”

“Thanks,” Liam said with a small smile. It was probably all he could muster up at the time. You didn’t want to pretend that you knew what he was going through, so you just held his hand.

When Scott turned back around, he walked over quickly. “Get up,” he said.

“Why?” Liam asked.

“Because I’ve got an idea,” Scott said. “And because this isn’t over.”

“What’s your idea?” you asked. Scott got his goofy smile on his face like he knew what you were going to say when he was done explaining. Rightfully so, because as soon as he was done, you said, “This is the dumbest idea I’ve ever heard.”

“I know,” Scott said with a smile. “Come on.”

You and Liam followed Scott to Lydia’s room where you waited for Melissa to bring the cortisone shot. It was an awful wait but you were glad to see Lydia again. She couldn’t talk but you braided her into a bad replica of one of her signature braids. You’d just finished when your mom came in with Stiles behind her.

“Lydia, this is going to have to be just between us, since I can get fired for it,” Mel said in her gentlest voice.

“It’s a cortisone shot,” Scott explained in his alpha voice. It made you wonder if you had a voice like they did. “It’s gonna bring the inflammation down.”

Lydia nodded and Mel prepped the shot. She took the bandage off Lydia’s neck and you dropped your gaze. You weren’t the only one who was squeamish.

“Oh, yeah, okay. I’m gonna need to leave,” Stiles said awkwardly. You grabbed his hand to keep him in place and gave him a look. “Okay, fine. I’m not leaving, but I still might faint.”

“I’ll catch you,” you teased quietly. You squeezed his hand and reached for Lydia’s hand with your other. And then Liam fainted.

“Okay, Lydia, this is going to hurt like a bitch,” Mel said, ignoring the passed out teenage boy at her feet. She held Lydia’s chin in her hand and put the needle in her neck before anyone could change their minds.

Lydia started gasping and squeezing your hand. It was over quickly but she winced with every movement she made. Still, she managed to get dressed and stand through the elevator ride without complaint.

“Okay, I’ll get Malia,” Stiles said when you all stepped off the elevator. “Text me when you guys find Parrish.”

Scott handed Lydia off to you and rushed behind Stiles. “Hold on,” he said, pulling something out of his jacket and handing it to Stiles. The talons.

Lydia mumbled something and you tried to zone out of Scott and Stiles’ conversation to focus on her. You asked if she was okay as you and Liam kept walking with her to the parking lot. You hadn’t gotten much further by the time Scott and Stiles finished, but when they were done Stiles came rushing up to you guys. He pressed a quick kiss to your temple and you made him promise to be safe.

You couldn’t help but laugh as he dashed off again, and you caught Lydia smiling at you when you were done. “What?”

“I told you when you got back that he was crazy about you,” she said, voice barely there.

You rolled your eyes and nudged her lightly as you walked. “Let’s get through tonight and then you can tell me you told me so all you want, okay?”

---

The electricity crackled through the tunnels as the four of you raced around trying to find the Beast. It was concerning, but everything in these tunnels was concerning. And wet. One of the pipes must have burst but you couldn’t hear a leak anywhere.

“Scott?” Liam whispered as he came to a stop. “Do you hear that?”

“I heard that,” Lydia said.

“Lydia, save your voice,” Scott told her.

Liam looked down at the ground. He lifted his foot and the water sloshed around him. “Hey … Lydia, get out of here!” He shoved Lydia out of the puddle as electricity coursed through the water.

Up until then, you’d never been electrocuted. It felt like something was eating away at your insides, burning you up from the inside out. And if that wasn't enough, Liam and Scott were screaming which made it impossible to focus on anything.

Theo stepped out of the shadows, said sorry to Lydia, and then picked her up and threw her down one of the shafts in the tunnel. You scrambled to get closer but it was like there were needles in each of your muscles. Scott barely got there in time to catch her. Then Theo sank his claws into Scott.

“Feel that, Scott?” Theo asked. “Kanima venom.” He killed Tracy. There’s no other way he could have her power. And if he was the one that electrocuted you, then Josh was dead too. “Just let it happen. Let it go.”

You reached down to get Lydia but your arm was too short. You were half hanging down the empty shaft to reach her. Theo kicked you out of the way and you almost fell in.

“Let everything go.”  

“No!” Scott yelled. His grip had to be fading by now. Lydia was screaming as she struggled.

And then she fell.

The Beast growled in the distance as Theo straightened himself out. “You hear that?” he asked. “That’s the sound of real power.”

Your heart raced as Theo left. You couldn’t think. Lydia wasn’t supposed to get hurt. You scrambled over to Scott to make sure he was okay but it didn’t feel right.

“Scott, I need to find her,” you said. “She- she’s not like us. She could be dead.”

“Go,” Scott said. “Liam and I will handle Theo. You need to go find Lydia, alright?”

You mustered up a nod as you got to your feet. “Alright.”

You started running but everything in the tunnels looked the same. Frustratingly, you realized you might have had a better chance at finding Lydia if you’d jumped down the damn grate that Theo pushed her down. You were about to give up and your search and give that plan a try when you caught her scent. It was mingled with fear, but that only made it stronger.

You had to be right on top of Lydia when you saw someone coming out of the shadows. You threw them against the wall without thinking, and then they pinned you and pressed a blade to your throat.

“Nice sword,” you said a little breathlessly.

Kira smiled as she let go of you. “Thanks. Sorry, I’m a little late.”

“You’re right on time.” Something pounded a little further down the tunnel and you shared a look. “I’m saving Lydia. Do you want to help or find Scott?”

“Help first. Boyfriend later,” Kira said with a nod. The two of you ran to the door that Lydia was hitting and Kira cut it straight off the hinges before you had the chance to do anything. She smiled at a very freaked out looking Lydia. “Sorry, I’m late.”

“I’m just glad you made it,” Lydia said. Her voice was getting stronger. It gave you hope.

With renewed energy, you grabbed Lydia’s hand and the three of you started running through the tunnels. It was easier to find the others this time; you were stronger when you had your friends with you. Plus, once you were close enough, it was easier to track them by sound than by scent. The others could hear them too so you didn’t have to stop as much to pull them in the right direction.

You got there just as Scott fell to the floor, blood dripping down his neck.

It took Lydia a moment to catch her breath. The cortisone shot must have been wearing off by now. “Mason?” Her voice was stronger than before but all it did was get Sebastien’s attention.

Sebastien turned to face her and scowled. He started walking closer, each step echoing off the tunnel walls.

“I think you’re gonna need to try it a little louder,” Kira said, reaching for Lydia's hand and backing up slightly.

Sebastien’s eyes started glowing as he stalked closer. The shadows wrapped around him, and he started transforming into the Beast when Lydia took a breath and steadied herself.

When she opened her mouth again, it didn't sound like her banshee scream. It ricocheted in your skull all the same, but this was focused. Under the weight of her voice, the Beast started to crumble. The shadows appeared once more and then Mason fell through. The only reason he didn’t hit the floor was that Corey materialized to catch him at the last second.

But there were still shadows.

The Beast wasn’t materializing like it used to. Instead, it was wailing as it drifted through the tunnels. You thought it was going to disappear when Parrish managed to grab hold of it.

Scott got himself together and threw the cane at the Beast like a javelin.

The second the metal pierced the shadows, the shrieking got louder. The Beast was engulfed in blue-white light, being torn apart from the inside out, until Parrish stood alone in the tunnel. His flames went out.

“Is everyone okay?” Scott asked as everyone caught their breath.

“Not everyone!” Theo growled. He was covered in electricity, and he was pissed.

“Jesus Christ, what is it gonna take for you to die?” you asked, storming closer and shifting. There was no way you were going to let another one of your friends get hurt because of him.

Theo had other plans. He gathered all his electricity in his hand and shot a bolt of lightning at you. It probably would have killed you if Kira hadn’t jumped in front of you and used her sword to absorb the power.

“The Skinwalkers have a message for you, Theo,” she said, sounding more sure of herself than you'd ever heard before. The electricity stopped as Theo faltered. “Your sister wants to see you.”

Kira shoved her sword - still glowing from the lightning - into the ground. The concrete cracked in harsh lines towards Theo before opening up at his feet. Two very demonic looking hands clawed their way out of the hole and Tara stood up.

It was eerily silent as she grabbed at him and started pulling him down. The silence was broken by Theo’s screams.

“Scott, help me!” He grabbed at the concrete as his sister pulled him under. “No! No! Scott, help me! Please!”

And then he disappeared. The ground closed up behind him.  

“Woah,” you whispered. Sure, you were ready to kill him a minute ago, but now that he was gone … your heart broke a little bit. He sounded so scared at the end. You forced yourself to remember all the awful things he’d done and the fact that he was going to kill you, too, to keep from crying. Instead of unpacking all those emotions, you said. “I hate this place. Can someone give me a ride to check on Malia and Stiles?”

---

“It’s not that bad.”

“You had glass in your chest.”

“I got better.”

“You’re lucky we’re in a hospital so I can’t kick your ass.”

“Oh, I’d like to see you try,” Stiles said, throwing his empty jello cup in the trash can a few feet away. “Physically, yeah, you could totally kick my ass. But emotionally? That’ll wreck you.”

“You might have a point,” you said begrudgingly as you fixed his blankets. There was a bandage just above his heart, poking out of the hospital gown. You forced yourself to stop staring at it and look him in the eye. “Plus, then I’d have to break in another boyfriend and that would be a real hassle.”

“Please, you could have house trained Liam in the time it took for us to go out on a date,” Stiles said as he rolled his eyes. He smiled as you laughed at his bad joke, taking your hand in his and holding it against his chest. You’d have given anything to know exactly what he was thinking.

But telepathy wasn’t one of your powers, and that look on his face was making you irrationally nervous. You’d known that face all your life. You’d been dating that face for almost a year. That face had no business making you nervous.

“You know, the winter formal is coming up,” you blurted out. You had near-instantaneous regrets, but you couldn’t stop yourself. “Your back and chest should be healed by then and even if they’re not-”

Stiles made no attempt to hide the annoyingly smug grin on his face. “Are you asking me to the winter formal?”

“No,” you said defensively. You pulled your hand back and started picking at your nails. After having Stiles watch you squirm for an uncomfortable amount of time, you added, “I mean … do you want to go? To the formal, I mean.”

“God, no. I hate parties,” Stiles said. You felt ready to crawl into a hole and die. Of course, he didn’t want to go - school dances were a socially anxious nightmare. “But-” Stiles reached out for your hands and pulled them away from your face “-I would love to go to the dance with you. Assuming you’re asking me to go with you.”

You were quiet as you looked at him. While Stiles was still riding the high of making you nervous, he was being sincere. He’d go to the dance if you wanted to. “Really?” you asked quietly.

“Really,” Stiles repeated with a smile. He ran his thumbs across your hands gently. “You wanna go to the winter formal?”

“With you?”

“With me.”

You pretended to think about it for a moment. “You’ll get me a corsage that matches the flower in your lapel?”

Stiles leaned in as much as he could without hurting his chest. “I’ll even wear a tie,” he said.

You leaned in and gave him a quick kiss. “Then it’s a date.”

Tagged: @ietss​  @used-avocado​

[uncloseted]

Back again with the costume designer talk -- Yes, I agree with the mischaracterization of all the characters in s6. It felt like last series' plots and endings had been thrown out the window. While watching s6, it felt like a different show all together. Everything that made every character unique was gone. Was there any reason as to why Edward was gone? Also, you stated that Matty likes Victorian and gothic culture. What are other characters' interests? I know Alo's are nature/punk; Rich: metal

Totally.  I think series 5 got a lot of backlash from older fans who no longer felt like the characters were relatable and were very vocal about that fact on Twitter, and so they decided to go completely in the opposite direction because maybe people would like that instead.  And I think that’s a real shame, because like I’ve said before, I think series 5 is some of the best, tightest writing that Skins ever did.  As far as Edward goes, I think he left to work on Secret Diary of a Call Girl. My impression is that he was trying to balance both jobs in 2010 and then felt like it was too much.  Katie Newham, who took over, was Edward’s assistant costumer, so I think he assumed that she would be able to just pick up where he left off, which ended up totally not being the case (and which is what makes me think she comes from a styling/costume construction background as opposed to a costume design one). 

Canonically in terms of interests, here’s what the characters like:

Franky likes “making stuff,” The Catcher in the Rye, The Little Prince, Clockwork Orange, Graphic Novels – Dark Knight, Manga - The Rose of Versailles, Arcade Fire, Burial, Crystal Castles, Nirvana, Corpse Bride, Seven Samurai, Let Me In, Bad Santa, Spirited Away, Vertigo, Harold Lloyd!,  Dexter, The Walking Dead, Battlestar Galactica, and taking photos.  

Alo likes his weed, his van, his dog, Youth in Revolt, The Dharma Bums, The Velveteen Rabbit, Blitzen Trapper, Wolf Parade, Dog is Dead, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zero's, Fruit Bats AND Filthy filthy filthy filthy filth. Borgore, Excision, DatSikk, Funtcase, 16 Bit, Into the Wild, Grizzly Man, Where the Wild Things Are, East of Eden, The Jungle Book, Backdoor Sluts 9, The Hangover, Ninja Warrior, Party Down. Summer Heights High. Babestation. South Park. Family Guy, Lookwell, porn, and Victorian porn.

Rich is mostly defined by what he doesn’t like: he doesn’t like pop music, Simon Cowell, beautiful people, Radio 1, ITV, rapping, beatboxing, middle-class wankers, racism, sexism, Death Cab For Cutie, The Smiths, religion, Downton Abby, Tracy Chevalier, nu-metal, Empire magazine, Kerrang (wankers), drum machines (except when carefully used in Grindcore or Cybergrind – see Cutting Pink With Knives and Noism), synthesizers, Beth Ditto, public displays of affection, the city centre at the weekend, trance, techno, house, dubstep or any music made by skinny white people with computers, Kanye West, JLS, any show about fucking cooking or cooks, townies, chavs, narcissistic politicians, teachers, the song ‘Wait and Bleed’, the second solo on ‘Master Of Puppets’, artichokes, JK Rowling, any film or tv show with fucking vampires or zombies made after 1986, Glee, Glee, Glee, Glee, Glee, Glee, Glee. He does like metal (”ugly, angry music which you’d probably hate because you don’t understand it”), Atlas Shrugged, American Psycho, The Illuminatus Trilogy, Slayer, Napalm Death, Black Sabbath, Raging Speedhorn, Noism, Atari Teenage Riot, Venetian Snares, Behold The Arctopus, Godflesh, Cathedral, Sleep, Sepultura, Pantera, Soul Fly, Slipknot (2nd album only), PPK, Anal Cunt, Pig Destroyer, Jesu, Sunn 0))), James Plotkin, Earth, Brain Donor, Chrome Hoof, Hair Police, Mayhem, Wolves In The Throne Room, Burzum, Wolf Eyes, Ec8or, Dark City, Split Second, Blade Runner, Near Dark, Braindead, Halloween, The Thing, The Fly, and Alien.

Mini likes “Shopping. Shoes. Sushi. Sex. (”yes, always in that order.”) Sour apple martinis, putting effort into her appearance, Diana, Princess of Wales, Marilyn Monroe, Madonna, yoga, Pilates, fashion, fragrances, dubstep, Katy Perry, Harry Potter, Twilight, Dreamgirls, Grease, Dirty Dancing, Pretty Woman, The Hot Chick, Legally Blonde, Clueless, Mean Girls, Crossroads, Inbetweeners, Misfits, Come Dine With Me, Party Wars, True Blood, Gossip Girl, 90210, The Hills, and ANTM.

Liv likes dancing, HST, Philip K Dick, The Animals of Farthing Wood, Only Forward, Dubstep, Hard DnB, Die Antwoord, Kids, A Scanner Darkly, Dazed and Confused, Bright Young Things, Anchorman, Blades of Glory, The Other Guys, anything in which Mel Gibson dies, Banged Up Abroad, BSG, Firefly, South Park, Twin Peaks, Hollyoaks, The Gilmore Girls. 

Nick likes Rugby, Sex, Winning, Drinking, being awesome, “all sorts” of music, R’n’B, Mumford and Sons, Rocky, Bourne, Borat, and anything with action or the funny, Sport and Friday Night Lights.

Matty likes absurdity, Friedrich Nietzsche, William S. Burroughs, Clive Barker, Hakim Bey, Splatterpunk, Maurice G. Dantec, Anton LaVey, Robert Walser, H.P. Lovecraft, Antonin Artaud, Raymond Abellio, The Art of War, everything Edgar Allen Poe would have listened to if the synthesizer was created before 1964, David Lynch, My Own Private Idaho, What's Eating Gilbert Grape, and Shortbus.

Grace likes so many things. Jane Austen, ballet, theater, lucid dreaming, not having to wear a school uniform, collecting pennies, making wishes on things, animals, vanilla ice cream, The Big Book of Fairytales, Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Wuthering Heights, Northanger Abby, Mansfield Park, Persuasion, Emma, Lolita, Jane Eyre, Little Women, Ballet Shoes, Alice Through the Looking Glass, Great Expectations, Tess of The D’Urbervilles, A Little Princess, The Secret Garden, Tom’s Midnight Garden. The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe, The Wizard of Oz, Tales From The Brothers Grimm, Matilda, Alice's Adventures In Wonderland, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Romeo and Juliet, Much Ado About Nothing, Death of a Salesman, Cyrano de Bergerac, Macbeth, Cat On A Hot Tin Roof, A Streetcar Named Desire, Cymbeline, Twelfth Night, The Tempest, The Winter's Tale, music that moves her, Casablanca. Sabrina. 42nd Street. Meet Me In St. Louis. A Star Is Born. The Wizard of Oz. An American In Paris. Mary Poppins. The Sound of Music. Annie. Singing In The Rain. Top Hat. The Gay Divorce. My Fair Lady. West Side Story. The Red Shoes. Grease. Fame. Dirty Dancing. Moulin Rouge. Chicago. Cleopatra. The Philadelphia Story. The Shop Around The Corner. An Affair To Remember. Some Like It Hot. Roman Holiday. Meet John Doe. La Belle Et La Bete. Breakfast At Tiffany’s. Romeo and Juliet. Disney films, Jeeves and Wooster. The One Show. Strictly Come Dancing. Anything on the Disney Channel. So You Think You Can Dance. Downton Abbey. Agatha Christie’s Poirot. The Forsythe Saga. Any Human Heart. Upstairs, Downstairs.

[lovemesomesurveys]

What is something that is so awful it gives you pain in your teeth? I’m not sure exactly what you mean by this. Like, literally, or...? I mean, cold stuff and something really sweet can do that to me. Also, if it’s really cold outside. I have issues with my teeth, so. Like beyond just needed sensitive toothpaste. I need some work done. Have you ever been interested in vampires? (No, Twilight doesn’t count) lol. Well, I’m still gonna count it anyway cause I was into Twilight once upon a time. As cheesy as it is, they were still vampires. I also liked The Vampire Diaries and I loveeeeed True Blood. If so, what about them fascinates you? They’re always portrayed as being badass, rockin’ their leather jackets, and gorgeous. lol. They’re flawless and in perfect health. Plus the whole immortality thing. What is something you would like to teach someone? I don’t know what I’d be able to teach someone else. What is something people tend to come to you about? I was always the one friends came to for advice. Funny enough, it was often about relationships, which I had very little (like none) experience with. I felt I still was able to give good advice, though. I’m definitely not the one to come to now about anything.

What is something you would be willing to gamble? Nothing. What’s something you’re absolutely 100% sure about yourself? I’m a mess. How often do you self-reflect? I’d say pretty often. When was the last time you realized that you were the problem, if ever? I always feel like I’m the problem. I’m in this situation because of me. ^How did you change yourself or your behaviour? I’m trying to do some things now that I should have been doing all along, but there’s still a lot of work to do. Have you ever owned a pair of suede shoes? If so, what colour were they? Yeah, some boots. Do you own a season pass to anything or any place? No. If you wear makeup, where do you look for new ideas? I watch some YouTubers who do makeup videos and it sometimes makes me want to start wearing makeup more, but then that bit of inspiration diminishes pretty quickly. I just don’t have the energy or motivation for it anymore. Plus it’s like, what for? I’m at home majority of the time and when I’m not at home, I’m at the doctor. I don’t see the point. Have you had a bag or an umbrella that changed a feature when it got wet? No. Are you a restless person? Yes. I’ve really felt that way these past couple months. If applicable, what’s the furthest you’ve travelled because of a hobby? I haven’t traveled for that reason. What are some sights around the world you would like to see some day? There’s many. What’s something that is guaranteed to make you laugh? My dog. Do you have souvenirs from other countries? If so, what and from where? No. What was a movie you absolutely hated? Hmm. What’s a dish you would like to learn to make next? I don’t cook. Apart from sleeping, name something you enjoy doing in bed: I do everything in bed. I’m doing this in bed. Did they teach you colour theory in elementary school art classes? I think so. Did your class also have your own red, blue and yellow paint palettes? Yeah. Did you also have those special arts wax crayons, that smelled really nice? I don’t think so. Have you ever won a competition? If so, what was it and what did you win? No. Do you, or anyone you know, have trypophobia (fear of little holes)? YES. Can you recognize certain people just from seeing their hands or feet? Yes. Are you better with names or faces? Faces. Do you ever just look at people and wonder whether you’ve seen them before? The only time I do that is when watching a TV show or movie and thinking where I’ve seen a particular actor somewhere else before.

[lucy-ashton]

1. Funny thing, I began working on my series of novels about 9 years ago after reading Brian Lumley's Necroscope series which inspired me a lot. I had my first novel half finished when I suddenly realised that I was no longer passionate or inspired by what I was writing. Besides, my style of writing had completely changed in the meantime. So I decided to put it on hiatus and start the story anew… that was 3 months ago. 😅

2. Around 30k words. Thanks to my writing app!

3. It depends I guess. I'm an overwriter when it comes to novel, an underwriter when it comes to fanfiction. I have a very different style of writing depending on what I write, it's not always easy to describe it.

4. Dark-fantasy, supernatural, bit of horror.

5. Spoiler alert? 😏 Let’s say romance is not exactly my cup of tea, but relationships are always unpredictable so you never know!

6. In terms of story? Words? Chapters? When I started my story, it was a big foggy mess and I was only driven by my inspiration. Today, I'm a little more organised. I haven't planned the action in every chapter per se, but I have the backdrop, I've written the entire biographies of each of my characters to fully grasp their personalities, etc… I also know that it will be a novel of 22 chapters (the first at least) for about 110k words in total.

7. Like I said, Brian Lumley's Necrospose is definitely what gave me the idea and made me want to write it instead of just keeping it in the back of my mind. Then different things added themselves; a few other supernatural stories I read, some TV shows I watched, but more importantly, the joy I feel writing it and my wish to give readers something they've never seen before. Toss away your Twilight, Vampire Diaries, and other tacky fantasy books! I want to revolutionise the genre! 🤩 (Just kiddin', Vampire Diaries is not that bad— talking about the books of course!)

8. Hmm… old-fashioned, original, mythological, Romantic, Creation-like… it might sound weak but that’s the best I can say at the moment.

9. I'm a very stubborn person, I just can't leave something unfinished. However I'm also quite the perfectionist, the type to never be satisfied enough, you see. So I can't be certain, but I do hope I will push through and finish it.

10. Hahaha! This is both my greatest quality and my worst flaw. I always manage to imagine the beginning and the end of a story superbly, but I always get stuck in the middle! So, yes, I kinda know how it's going to end. I even already wrote a paragraph of the epilogue.

11. Procrastination much? 😂 Also, I'm writing like a dozens of other things at the same time and I have my work, and my kitties to take care of… can't say I'm not busy!

12. A little of both I'd say. We follow the journey of a particular character all the while discovering the universe in which they lives and what has become of it over time. The more we discover, the less important the character becomes, and suddenly everything revolves around the universe and no longer around the character themselves. As said previously, my style is pretty versatile, but in terms of novels, it's quite usual, yes.

13. Interesting question. As an editor myself, I'm really fond of traditional editing. I love books, real books with pages and covers that you can feel with your fingers, that clutter your bag and that you can open without consequences (unlike online books which require a phone/tablet and therefore can be harmful to the eyes due to blue light, etc.). I also hate audiobooks because I can't stand someone narrating me a story. I need quietness or some background music, a cup of tea and just my imagination running wild as the words imprint themselves in my mind. But the question is… would I like my story to be published? And the answer is…yes and no. If I'm ever lucky enough to receive one day an email or review from professionals like me who find my story worthy enough to be published, I would definitely accept. If not, that's fine too. I'll just be glad I wrote it. For the moment I am happy to publish my writings on AO3 or Inkitt style platforms for free.

14. “The night was slowly setting, the sunlight fading over the treetops in a canvas of dark and pale colours. Main Character looked up at the sky apprehensively, his teeth digging into the flesh of his lower lip like crunching in a ripe fruit whose juice would run in a thin, warm trickle down his chin. It seemed to him that he had been walking for hours, searching in vain for the exit, trapped in this immense labyrinth of vegetation. Around him, the air was soflty starting to cool, the place becoming less and less welcoming as the stars remained invisible. It was a new moon night, shrouded in the purest of darknesses and filled with monsters his racing mind could no longer put a name on. Taking a deep breath, he took a few steps and finally dropped onto a large moss-covered rock. He lacked ideas to find his way back… Without being an expert, he had always had a good sense of orientation and he knew perfectly how to locate north from south. Despite this, he had only gone around in circles, passing through the same corners several times, playing Hop-o'-My-Thumb sowing stones on his way to avoid getting lost... It was to the point where he was wondering if these woods were not cursed!

But as he was complaining on his fate, the soothing quiet of nature got suddenly replaced by the sharp crack of a branch soon followed by its noisy fall. Main Character straightened up at once, now fully alert. He felt like a fragile, defenceless squirrel ready to be torn apart by whoever or whatever was lurking into these woods. With clumsy steps and hurting himself several times, he began reaching a safe distance, his back leaning against a young sapling. In the distance, he could suddenly hear the familiar howls and growls of forest animals. Then, almost laughably, Main Character shook his head and tried to calm the erratic beating of his frantic heart and his jerky breath. His determination returned, he began looking for his way again when peals of laughter suddenly echoed all around him, the blood in his veins freezing with dread. His eyelids closed on their own, his mind sucking in these voices seeming to come from beyond the grave. They were the laughter of children frolicking together, hopping in a circle around him, hands clasped and humming a macabre nursery rhyme harbinger of a bad omen. Their amused chants bewitched him and plunged him little by little into a deadly Illusion, their faces taking on those of old hags desperately wishing to bleed him dry before turning him into food for their pets... That was it. There would come his impending death in the blind blackness of the moon and the pain of the swan song. Only one thought came to him as he fell into the obscurity: Where did it all started?”

Did I get carried away? Yes, I think so. 😂

15. Romance and fight scenes! I always compare my work to cinema, which is stupid because the two are completely different and it's easier to describe something with pictures than with words, but I can't help it.

16. Not really. I find it difficult to juggle between emulating an author and not ending up plagiarising. I have my own style and my readers are happy with it, the same for me.

17. Without blowing my own horn, I'm actually pretty good at description. But dialogues can be more complex as I'm not always sure how to write according to my character’s personality rather than mine.

18. If I had to use a well-known D&D personality test to describe my main character, I’d say they’re chaotic good. They have their flaws like everybody but they strive to follow their own moral compass which is usually kind and benevolent. They’re not looking to save the world and all, they only want to do what they think is best for themselves first and foremost, and then for others if their help is required and only so.

19. Shhh… big spoiler alert! 🤭

20. It's actually something I already did as part of my new organised way of doing things, so don’t mind me for using my cheat notes. 💗

“The same drab decor was going by past him as he walked through corridor after corridor. A cold, disused apartment block, a building with no personality with brick walls and high ceilings, in which had been built freight elevators now out of order for decades. Yet the bright rays of the sun shining through the big windows were enough to warm this quaint refuge, making him even appreciate his creaky old bed and his wardrobe more filled with junk than clothes. The artificial neon light blinded him as he finally reached the living room. The latter, empty of any presence, seemed to strangely continue to exist through the controlled disorder that usually reigned there, as if using the elements inhabiting it to simulate a semblance of life. Stacks of books littered the floor below useless shelves, a rectangular wooden table on which were scattered yellowed newspapers and sheets of files occupying the dusty back. In the center, a brown leather sofa rested desperately on its own, the black plasma television screen facing it taciturnly.”

21. No, not really. Although I'm not exactly fond of crude descriptions of sexual intercourse, that— to be frank— serve no purpose in the story, I can with a bit of efforts write some light scenes of sex. But solely to describe something peculiar about the relationship of the two characters involved!

22. It would be utterly ridiculous to say anything based on my own perception because I really think everything about my writing sucks. So, based only my readers' reviews: some find me too descriptive (while others do like it 🤷🏻‍♀️) or slightly messy. I tend to forget that my readers, unlike me, don’t know what’s going to happen next, therefore I shouldn’t be so stingy when it comes to details about something. (To my defence, I’m desperately trying to create mystery and suspens but I’m failing lamentably! 😅)

23. My story is ranked M for mature so I guess 18+ and more. I suppose I could lower it to 16+ but I’m trying not to upset people if anything where to be too 'anything' for such a target audience.

24. VERY! But also proud of what I’ve accomplished so far. Does that make sense?

25. Since it’s a supernatural genre, I find it hard to convey real emotions to the readers all the while writing how these emotions have a very different impact on each characters depending on their nature/powers.

26. Quite often lately, to be honest. I find myself writing about things that would have completely escaped me a few years ago. And it’s great cause they were things that I loved but didn't feel comfortable enough with to write about them. If I can now, that means I'm getting better at what I'm doing, and that makes me happy.

27. I do write fanfiction! And I think it's safe to say that more often than ever it's easier to write them than to write original fiction. Sure, some people will disagree with me because properly capturing a character's personality and conveying it in your writing, or respecting the context of the support you're using for your fanfiction can be difficult, but for me it's the opposite. It's much easier to use a support that already exists and has been entirely built rather than creating my own. Fewer headaches and plot holes! 😂 Creating a universe from scratch, characters from nothing and transforming them into real-like people is so difficult and exhausting... it's worth it of course! But the pleasure is more easily felt when I write a fanfiction than when I write an original fiction.

28. Self-indulgent? What’s that? Remember? Perfectionist! I hate myself! 😂

29. That's probably the only thing I really like about it. I have an almost vital need for my writing to sound very lyrical and poetic, somehow like a melody. Each word should mirror the other perfectly, reading my stories should feel like velvet on your tongue, soft and delicate. Am I exaggerating? Absolutely not, I grew up surrounded by classic literature, plays and poems (English and French), I can't help it.

30. I think I am an average writer. Better than some but never to the level of grand names like Lovecraft, King, or Horowitz.

30 book development/ author questions

because we all want to talk about the things we’re writing. also this is geared specifically towards new and aspiring original fiction writers, but it could probably work for fanfic writers and more established authors too :)

how long have you been working on your story?

what’s your current word count?

are you an overwriter or an underwriter?

what genre is it? 

is there a romance? why do they fall in love?

how long did you/ have you been planning?

what are some things that inspired this story? 

what are some words to describe the aesthetic?

do you think you’ll ever finish it?

do you know how it will end?

what’s your biggest roadblock? 

is it more plot or character driven? is that your usual style?

do you want to get it traditionally published? do you think you’ll publish it at all or are you just writing for the sake of it?

your main character is lost in the woods, write a paragraph about it (i want to hear your style :D):

what scenes are hardest for you to write?

are there any authors who’s style you wan to emulate in your work? 

do you find description or dialog more difficult?

what are your main characters flaws? are they a good person?

what is the conflict?

write a paragraph describing one of the locations, get as in-depth as you can:

is there anything you refuse to write?

be honest, what sucks about your writing (no one’s perfect so if you can’t think of anything go back and reread)?

who is the target audience?

are you insecure about your writing?

what thing are you finding hardest to convey in your story?

how often do you step outside your writing comfort zone?

do you or did you ever write fanfiction? if so do you find it easier to write it or original fiction (or even non-fiction)?

how self-indulgent are you with your writing?

how stylized is your writing?

do you think you’re a good writer?