#and don't get me started on how they handled allison

[chasing-posts]

Allison should have had a villain and redemption arc in the last season.

Now first of all let me say I do like Allison and think she's cool...but I also believe she had some negative character traits that were explored since season one and were really divulged in season 3, and could have/ should have been resolved by the forth season.

For one she did kill Harlan for stopping her child from existing, even though it was an accident and he was basically Victor's foster son. This showed the only children she tends to care for is her own.

Second, we never fully got an answer to one of her most famous Rumors, "I heard a rumor that you loved me." This one has always been speculated to be directed at either her husband, daughter or Luthor. And with how she sexually assaulted Luthor in season 3 before he got married and how he could never get over her, I think it was him.

Third, can we address that she assaulted Luthor?

Forth, she made a pack with Reginald and as such got to redesign the universe so Clair was back, and Ray was alive and possibly her father, which means she erased her last husband from existence and rearranged time and space to get what she wanted in her perfect life.

And all of this is bad stuff, add to the fact that Sloan is missing when Ben is here, and it does not paint a nice picture. In fact I always thought that the reason Sloan was missing, was because Allison could not handle Luthor moving past her, and being happy with another woman. Even if she didn't want him anymore. As such, she erased Sloan to keep her back up, even after getting married (twice) and having sexual/ romantic relationships of her own. She STILL could not handle not having a hold on Luthor.

So if I could change things, I would say let her have EVERYTHING she always wanted at the start of the season. Her daughter, the love of her life, her powers and even her carreer... and absolutely none of it bringing her joy due to the cost she had to pay to make it happen, and how BADLY it screwed over her siblings, especially Victor and Luthor, to make it happen.

Have her repent by actions. Actually have it so the siblings are a little slow to let her back into the group and only do so to protect their own (like when Victor got kidnapped and all 6 were needed to save him.). Have Luthor confront her about their AWEFUL relationship and most inportantly, what she knows about Sloan. What she did to her when she rebooted the universe, and why she's gone when cranky Ben is still here.

Finally, change the rest of her story make her face consequences for her actions. Maybe have both Ray AND Claire leave her after she went too far with her Rumors again only do it ON SCREEN so it's actually impactful and have her be all alone. Maybe have her reconnect with Klaus to help him get off the drugs the first time after her family leaves her (because honestly, I like their relationship a lot this season and her helping him stay on track was good) and that being her foot in the door with the rest of them through Klaus, before she rejoins them all against Reginald/ the Cleanse/ whatever is the true big boss this season. Finally, before she makes things as right with her siblings, try and help THEM get their powers back while she still has hers.

Because while I don't think Allison is a bad person, i think she has done bad things. And I think actually addressing it all instead of sweeping EVERYTHING under the rug like they did in season four, would be great.

FINALLY, PLEASE RESOLVE THAT WEIRD INCEST PLOTLINE WITH LUTHOR. IF IT WAS GOING TO BE SUCH A BIG PART OF THEIR RELATIONSHIP AND CHARACTER ARCS, I WOULD HAVE PREFERED TO SEE IT RESOLVED INSTEAD OF JUST... IGNORED. IF THERE'S NO RESOLUTION WHY EVEN HAVE IT IN THE FIRST THREE SEASONS! COME ON!

[ilovewriting06]

Always Been His

A/N: This is part two of this fic and it was requested by @allisonargent144.

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Everyone was sitting around Derek's loft for pack night, a new tradition to build up everyone's connection and trust with the others of the pack. Originally, Chris and I weren't going to be a part of it but Allison started dating Scott and joined the pack so Chris and I decided to join too. The pack is mostly teenagers who got the bite for different reasons, except for Scott, Allison, and Stiles. Maybe, Lydia, but she hasn't officially joined the pack yet, but I have a feeling she will soon enough.

Scott was forced to take the bite, Allison joined for love, and Stiles, sweet baby Stiles did it out of loyalty. Out of everyone in the pack, other than Allison, Stiles has to be my favorite. I'm sarcastic by nature and Chris isn't so it's fun to be able to banter with someone. I feel like I've adopted him and Scott as my sons since they're at my house more than they are their own.

Scott and Allison are always, 'studying,' or watching movies and Stiles is dragged along because Scott doesn't have a car to drive. After realizing Stiles literally sat at our dining room table and did schoolwork or research while his two best friends did fun stuff I took pity on the boy and kept him company, that's how I figured out he's the brains of the pack.

I'm also trying to set him up with Lydia, his long term crush, and it's become my mission to get them together so Stiles is no longer the third wheel and actually has some happiness. He's also surprisingly good with children. After I gave birth to Aria, he was a huge help, he won't change diapers but that's about the only thing he won't do. Even Chris likes him and Scott, he just won't admit it.

In my opinion Scott and Allison are absolutely adorable. He adores her and treats her like a princess and Allison loves him more than most people would think possible at her age. In some ways they remind me of Chris and I when we were in high school.

The first time Chris met Scott as Allison's boyfriend it was a bit rocky and Scott looked like he was going to shit himself at any given moment, I have to hand it to him though, I was impressed at how well he handled it.

Chris pulled every page out of every book he's got and was impressed but also annoyed that Scott handled it all so well. Do you want a drink? Oh no sir, I don't drink. You want a smoke? No thank you, I never want to smoke, the smell makes me sick. Do you want to have sex with my daughter? Uh, I feel like that's a trick question, sir. I say yes, I'm dead, I say no and you'll think I don't want her or something. I'll just say that at the moment no, in the future, probably.

I almost jumped across the table to give him a hug but I was too busy gloating to Chris about how I was right and the boy really was a sweetheart. After Scott left and Allison had went to bed I asked Chris what he thought, he answered by saying, and I quote, "She could do worse." In Chris talk that means, 'I like him, he's a good kid'.

Similar to Stiles, Scott isn't afraid to help with Aria, in fact he adores her. I think him and Stiles both secretly wanted a younger sibling and when Aria was born they adopted her as their sister. I can't complain because between the armory in our garage, Scott's fangs and claws, and Stiles' bat, Aria is one safe little girl.

I hum and rock Aria to sleep as I watch the kids play a game of Monopoly, a little worried a fight's about to break loose because Isaac is convinced Stiles is cheating and Stiles keeps responding with, "Dude! If I was cheating I'd be in charge of the money because I could skim off of it without anyone noticing." Or, my personal favorite, "Oh my god, stop acting like a little bitch because you can't manage your money. There's a reason I have cool flannels and a jeep and you have ugly ass scarves and a bike. Suck it up and pay up, you're on Boardwalk and I own that shit, gimme."

I snort at the last one as Chris bites back a laugh and leans over, "I see why you like him, he's sassy. Do you want anything to drink?"

I nod, "Yeah, a water please." He nods and heads towards the kitchen as I smirk when I notice the small, yet noticeable look Lydia throws Stiles when the latter rips the money out of Isaac's hand with a, "Thank you! Now, go back to Baltic Avenue. Bastard. I swear those scarves stop your brain from functioning sometimes."

I look up in confusion when the door to the loft open's but before I can turn around a voice I wished I'd never hear again speaks, "Nephew, I didn't know you were having friend's over."

Derek roles his eyes from his spot on the couch, "Makes sense since you weren't invited."

I bite back a noise of amusement hoping he doesn't notice me but my luck sucks and he's standing in front of me before Chris can get back to me, "Well, hello Darling, it's good to see you."

I roll my eyes as Chris comes to stand by me, "Wish I could say the same."

He rolls his eyes before sneering at Chris and looking back at me, "I see you still associate with the enemy."

I scowl and tuck Aria closer to my chest feeling the need to protect her, "He's only the enemy because he got what you wanted, and I have to say, I am so glad I never wasted a second on you."

He growls and Chris steps a little closer and I notice Derek stand from the corner of my eye. I glance at Aria when she makes a discontented noise and I glare at Peter, "I swear, if you wake her up..." I leave the threat hang in the air which makes Peter growl louder, and that one does wake Aria, and boy does she wake up with a start.

I get off the couch as Aria starts screaming throwing one last glare at Peter before walking away so I have enough space to walk around. However, once again I'm cut off by Peter materializing out of fucking nowhere. I groan as Aria keeps crying, "Peter, leave me and my family alone. I have two kids, four if you count the two stragglers Allison brought home, and I'd really like for them to remain safe, and to be honest, I'm terrified you'll hurt one of them to get to me. So, please leave."

Aria seems to start crying louder and I can faintly hear Peter ranting and raving but I'm to busy trying to soothe my baby to pay attention but I do hear the word divorce, which makes me roll my eyes. I finally zone in when Derek roars at him, "Get out, Peter! You aren't welcome here when they're here. You have an unhealthy obsession with her and it has to stop! She's married, with kids!"

Chris comes to stand in front of me as Peter's eyes glow blue before he growls at Derek, "I can make them all disappear, and I'll do it too if it means I get her!"

I squeeze Aria even tighter to me as Chris pushes me back slightly but it's all for nothing when Derek swings and knocks Peter out with one punch. He stands above his mentally deranged uncle as his eyes remain red, "You guys should go. I don't know what I'm going to do with him but I don't want to take the chance that he'll wake up when you guys are still here."

I nod before grabbing Chris's hand, "Come on Chris. Let's get the kid's home. At that Allison jumps up followed by Scott and Stiles. I glance at them before sighing, "Boys, you should probably go home."

Stiles scoffs, "Hell no Mrs. A. He just threatened you and Aria, besides Scott will be able to sense him if he's close to the house."

I glance at Chris and he nods and I smile, "Okay, you two can come stay over but Scott, you don't go into Allison's room unless Stiles is with you or the door is open."

They all nod in agreement before following us out the door.

----------------------------------------------------------

It's well past midnight when Derek texts that Peter won't be an issue anymore and I'm not interested in what that means but I trust Derek enough to believe we've seen the last of Peter. I slowly get off the couch and tiptoe over the bodies on the floor that accumulated throughout the evening.

As I grab a glass of water I feel arms circle my waist as I look at the mass of teenagers sprawled across the living room floor. I lean into the solid chest behind me as I whisper, "I feel like we've adopted six extra kids, and I can't really be mad about it. They're all good kids, they all just have a few flaws, but hey, so do we."

Chris chuckles as he places a kiss on the top of my head, "Yeah, they're good kids. I can't believe I'm saying this but I feel safer with all of them around." I nod in agreement before excitedly whispering, "Did you see Stiles and Lydia?"

He shakes his head and buries his head in my neck, "You're ridiculous."

I roll my eyes continuing to smile, "But Chris, they're cuddling!"

[fishfingersalad]

oughhh i am feeling so normal about Ct <- lying

She got done so dirty in the show... her entire character arc was her setting up Tex and Wash's arcs and dying... and even in the fan space people tend to take her and South and make them background lesbians rather than giving them attention (I have a whole rant about the background lesbians trope in fanspaces, it sucks.)

Anyway I think we need to make Ct weirder. She should get to be unsettling. I've already talked about her and Florida being friends, I think they should be weird together. Florida teaches her how to get blood out of clothes and pin bugs and in return she teaches him how the internet works and how to hack into peoples accounts. She should hang out in the vents. She knows all the gossip and has blackmail on just about everyone on the moi. Too many people make Ct Wash's responsible best friend/sister figure and I'm like no! Shes just very very good at pretending she's not a part of whatever silly schemes they get into!

I think her and York and Wash are pranksters and troublemakers. York is the only one who gets in trouble though because the second an alarm trips or a door handle starts turning Ct and Wash just split. Both of them are good at climbing and hiding so they can 'disappear' within seconds. York has awful perception skills and will not notice they're gone until hes alone in a room he shouldn't have access to with Carolina.

Ct much like Florida is also an intel specialist to me. I think she can pick locks better than York. I think all of alpha team has skillsets that aren't utilised bc pfl sucks and makes them focus on one skillset each.

And don't even get me started on her boyfriend guy. Her and Allison are so fucking detective movie dead wife movie montage its ridiculous ToT

[therantsofawriterrr]

The Umbrella Academy Final Season: My Version

Part Seven: The Side Effects Of A Smelly Kombucha

Overview: During the road trip, the gang encounters problems. Five gets to know Clementine a little bit more.

TW: mature language, throwing up but it's not shown explicitly for the amount of time the show showed it, idek if it's that explicit tbh. Anyway also some body pain and all that stuff is mentioned i think, do tell me if i missed anything! Pairings in the chapter: Mostly Five x OC A/N: hello, I'm back with another part, I'm really sorry that i added the throwing up part, but at least it's not as bad as it was in the show??? Or maybe it was, but like. I needed to like, show that reaction to the marigold, other than the ones alr mentioned. Coz it's literally like, changing their bodies. So. Um. Anyway. Sorry.

Masterlist

It was only a matter of time before the song Baby Shark started grating on people's ears.

"God!" Viktor said, holding his head in his hands. "Will you please turn that song off?"

I can't, it's stuck," Diego replied.

Allison rolled her eyes as Klaus vibed to the song. Clementine's head was lolling a bit as she slept and she laid her head back in the seat, closing her eyes and finally getting the sleep she needed.

One hour later, the car rolled down the highway, Five looked at Diego, wondering how he was so calm with the song playing in the background like that, as Ben's stomach started gurgling again.

Three hours later, Luther, trying really hard not to move one muscle because it made his whole body ache snapped, "Diego, will you change that song?"

Allison was in a deep slumber, Clementine was going in and out of sleep, Viktor had his hands on his ears, Five, Ben and Lila were clutching at their stomachs.

"I can't!" Diego said exasperatedly.

Klaus took out a bottle from his bag and it woke Clementine up from her slumber , making her groan and she slapped a hand to her mouth and nose as Lila said, "Oh my god, that smells rancid."

"What?" Klaus asked in disbelief. "You don't like my kale-kiwi-carrot-cabbage kombucha?"

"Don't get me wrong, man," Clementine said, her words muffled behind her hand. "I love all of those but separately."

"Yeah, well, it's good for the soul and great for the bowels," Klaus explained.

"Diego?" Five called out softly. "Maybe, uh, maybe pull over."

"Can't," Diego replied straightforwardly, turning to him. "We're making good time."

"Um. Please listen to him," Clementine agreed meekly. "Don't wanna get your vehicle dirty."

"Yeah. I'm gonna hurl," Five said weakly.

"Can you pull over? I need to pee," Lila said.

Diego looked at her reflection in the rear view mirror, "All right. Heads up. Here."

He held out the pee bottle for Lila to use, making Klaus retract, sipping on his kombucha.

"You know what it is," Diego said as Lila disgustingly exclaimed, "Not the pee bottle!"

"Right," Diego agreed. "Use it."

He threw it back, making everyone protest in disgust.

"Pull over, man," Five pleaded.

"We are sticking to the itinerary," Diego announced.

"Five, open the window," Luther requested, his stomach rumbling. Ben seconded the notion and Five weakly turned to open it.

Just as he was cranking the window handle, it broke in his hand, and stared at it in surprise.

"What the- Did you just break the window, man!?" Diego yelled, taking the handle in his hand and causing the van to swerve.

"Hey, you spilled my kombucha!" Klaus yelled back angrily.

"Ok, I'm really sorry for this!" Clementine shouted and lifted a hand.

Diego returned his eyes to the road to see a horde of pedestrians crossing the street and stepped on the brake, screeching the vehicle to a stop.

Five, Lila, Ben, Luther and Clementine exited the vehicle and went to different spots to retch out the contents of their stomach. Diego soon followed, trying to support his wife, as well as do his own thing.

Allison woke up from her deep sleep to see the vehicle empty except for Klaus. "What happened?"

"Oh, yeah, I think it's the reappearance of the marigold in their bloods. Causing some reactions in their bodies, I guess."

"Well, why isn't anything happening to us, then?" She asked.

Klaus shrugged and got out another bottle of his kombucha, and opening it triggered Allison's gag reflex.

"Oh, Christ it's not the marigold, you idiot," she muttered before exiting.

Klaus just gave another shrug and continued to drink his healthy drink, not understanding the fact that it was in fact, the drink that was making them retch.

About fifteen minutes later, all of them returned to the vehicle and the first thing Luther did upon doing so, was to snatch Klaus's bag and throw away his kombuchas.

"Hey, what are you doing!?" He asked.

"No more kombuchas, Klaus, please," Ben pleaded and Klaus agreed.

Many hours later, at night, Clementine was the one sitting awake in the passenger seat at night, as everyone took turns to sleep behind the backseat.

Diego slapped himself to keep himself awake, turning back to look at everyone sleeping. He stared at Lila for a split second, before turning back to look at the road.

"I'm sorry about earlier," Clementine said softly, sounding truly apologetic.

Diego gave her a side glance, to see her lent back in her seat with her feet on the dashboard, that too after asking for permission. "What do you mean?"

She turned her head to the side to look at him. "The pedestrians. They weren't real."

He only gave her a confused look before she said, "My power is making up illusions. It's actually way more complicated than that, but, in short, yeah."

"So if I'd hit them, I'd just have gone through them?"

"Well, not exactly. See, I make illusions in a more... physical state. Like, um. It would've been a physical hit for you, but it still wouldn't have been real."

"Huh. That's weird," Diego said.

"Tell me about it," Clementine replied with a sigh.

"What year were you born in?" He asked inquisitively.

"1989. Just like the rest of you."

"You should be in your thirties then. Like the rest of us."

"Five's not in his thirties."

"He's a special case, so to speak."

"Well, if you put it like that," Clementine said, sitting up straight. "I'm a special case too."

Diego gave her a surprised look filled with curiosity, making her chuckle.

"Yeah, I'm a 63 year old soul stuck in a 22 year old body."

"Fuck," he said, setting his elbow on the car windowsill and rubbing at his forehead. "So, what, were you stuck in the future with Five? Wait. Are you Delores?"

"What? No. Delores was just someone he imagined because of his desperation. I was stuck in a... a different apocalypse, so to speak. Stuck in it for 13 years, and then the Commission found me. Worked there for about 31 years."

"Damn. Can't believe you managed to work in that shithole for that long," Diego murmured. "I couldn't even sit through their beginning presentation."

She chuckled again, cracking her neck. "Yeah, it got boring for me too. After about... two years."

He scoffed in disbelief as they fell silent, Diego thinking about what he heard Clementine just trying not to sleep, her eyes fluttering close.

One hour later, Clementine woke to see the sky streaked in beautiful sunrise colors. She stretched and turned to the side, blinking in surprise after seeing Five at the wheel.

"Diego wanted a break," he said.

She nodded in understanding, stretching her arms with a soft groan when Five asked, "So, did you remember everything or...?"

"Oh, yeah," she affirmed.

"So, you were just pulling my leg when you were always teasing me about being a step ahead of me?"

"Yup," she replied cheerfully. "It was revenge for the time back at the Commission. God, you were an egoistic asshole back then."

He scoffed, running a hand through his hair to pull the strands off his eyes. "I heard you went rogue back then."

"I did," she confirmed. "It was around the time you got your folks to the 60s. I kind of got the motivation to save one of my people."

"Did you?"

"I don't know. Don't think so."

"Why?"

She turned back to look out the window, a faraway look in her eyes.

"She didn't really want to be saved."

Five heaved a heavy sigh at that, as a numbing memory flashed in Clementine's mind.

"Mom. You'll be able to grow old, away from all this," Clementine said, with an encouraging smile.

"And what, make a life for myself again? No, thanks. You kill your father, and then you vanish for 13 years-"

"31," Clementine interjected softly.

"What?" Her mother asked with a confused look on her face.

"It's been 31 years since I left," she repeated, her knuckles pale because of her grip on the handle of her briefcase.

"So, what are you saying that you're 58?"

"Yes. I work for this company that's based on time, alright? That's how I'm here right now. Now, can you please just open the suitcase and get to a safe timeline?"

"I would rather die," was the answering snarl.

"Oh my god, don't you get it? You did die, Mom! I was stuck in the aftermath of this for 13 years! And then I came back, 27 years ago to stop it, but nobody believed me. I've watched you die once. Don't make me watch it again."

"Well, then, get out! Nobody's asking you to stay!"

Clementine scoffed as tears welled in her eyes, placing the second briefcase on the floor.

"What're you keeping that here for?"

"I don't have any use for it. Plus, you might change your mind. Just put a random year, and a random number beside it. You'll be safe, then."

And with that Clementine opened the briefcase and blipped out, leaving her mother to her own.

Clementine sighed as she shook her head, looking at the road. "How much time till we reach?"

"About two hours, give or take," Five answered.

She let out another tired groan. "God, we better get something in this town or else I'm gonna kill Sy myself."

"What's the deal with this guy, anyway? Why're you so worried about him?" Five asked.

"He's just this... sweet, sad man whose daughter went missing years ago. He's very gullible when it comes to that, so... I don't know. I've just been helping him. Kinda."

"I thought you didn't like old people," Five pointed out from the conversation they'd had years ago when they were partnered up on a mission.

"Okay, again. I don't like the vast majority of the d people because they're assholes. They keep bringing up their times and how they lived life back in the old ages when it clearly doesn't apply to the modern one. That said, there are a few badass old people who move on with the times. Those old people, I like," Clementine concluded. "Also, Sy's like 52. So, he's not old."

"How's 52 not old?" He asked incredulously.

"Dude old is, in corporate terms, 60s, but according to me old is when a person starts their old age. 50 to 70 is middle aged."

"Huh. Guess we're middle aged then."

"Yeah, I guess," Clementine said, before laughing softly. "God, that's weird. In people's eyes we're just young people who've just started adulting, whereas we've literally lived half our lives."

"Half of our shitty lives," Five corrected.

"What are you guys yapping about?" Lila asked sleepily, turning around into another uncomfortable position. "Shut up."

They promptly did, choosing to stay silent for the rest of the ride. Five couldn't help but feel nice about finally knowing that his only acquaintance at the Commission actually knew who he was since the start.

He'd almost forgotten about her, but then, the moment he'd seen her in the CIA building, he had known that other than his family, she would be another one of the known people that he could rely on. He'd smiled with glee the first time she'd made a snarky remark regarding the number of cases he'd solved.

Even now, he was happy that she was here travelling with them. Oddly enough, he knew that she'd get along perfectly with his family.

Likes, comments and reblogs are highly appreciated!!! Tysm for reading❤️🩷💜

TUA taglist: @auxiliarydetective if anyone wants to be added, do lemme know!!!

[theslowestpoke]

Appreciation Post for Noah Stilinski and Chris Argent

Teen Wolf is accidentally a show about shitty parents. In all of Beacon Hills, Noah and Chris are the exceptions to the rule of bad dads.

Rafe McCall

Alcoholism

Domestic violence

Abandoned his family

Bullies his son's best friend re: his own father's alcoholism, aka

Superiority complex

Actively endangers multiple people because he can't listen to his son for five minutes

Derek's Dad

Does he exist?

If he existed at some point, he fumbled Talia, so

Mr. Martin

Shows up to Lydia's parent-teacher conference and immediately assumes she's making trouble and has bad grades, indicating he has never bothered to get to know her

He does come to the hospital after Peter mauls her, but the risk of nearly losing her doesn't change his behavior, so this is performative at best and manipulative at worst

Coach Lahey

I mean, do I need to explain?

Physically and verbally abusive to at least one of his sons

Threatened a kid who nearly drowned at his house because

He let a bunch of teenagers drink underage at his house

I have a feeling Isaac getting a job at the graveyard wasn't a choice or a paying gig, but it's definitely not OSHA compliant to have one person under 18 on the night shift by himself and operating heavy machinery for the exact reason that we see happen in Omega

Peter Hale

He can be forgiven for not knowing about his kid for 16 years because that knowledge was literally stolen from him (a point against Talia Hale, don't come for me) but

Once they both know about it, he continues doing his creepy villain bullshit and nearly gets said kid killed multiple times

Gerard Argent

Seriously

Not even touching his bad grandparenting,

Militarized his children with dangerous, xenophobic rhetoric which he has deliberately misconstrued to serve his own means

Could not give a single shit if either of his kids die in the line of duty, whether it is avoidable or not

Manipulated his daughter to such extremes that she groomed and sexually assaulted a child in order to murder his entire family

Decided it was fine for his son's first solo mission to be an arms deal with the literal Yakuza, supernatural elements aside

His big endgame plan was a betrayal of every ideal he ruined his children with and he was going to just carry on acting like that was fine

Elias Stilinski

Guess what, another asshole

Verbally and physically abusive to his wife and son

Continues to be verbally abusive and emotionally manipulative during moments of lucidity from his dementia

Chris and Noah are not perfect fathers, but they are <b>good</b>, which is what matters.

Noah has been dealt a bad hand in life, losing his wife while their son was so young, and he's tried very hard to break the cycle of violence while learning how to be a single father. He did have issues with alcoholism in the past, although we only hear about that from other people talking shit or when Stiles is poisoned with wolfsbane, so the true extent may be exaggerated. He almost always handles Stiles' neurodivergence and propensity to get himself (and others) into trouble with patience and understanding, unless it puts someone in danger.

Chris also broke the cycle of violence, trying his best to shield his daughter from the dangers of the hunter lifestyle until she was old enough to make a choice for herself. When that protection was forcibly removed and she was manipulated by everyone else in her family, he never stopped trying to help her see reason, including joining forces with his lifelong enemies to bring her back home. He also recognizes the missing pieces Isaac needs when he starts hanging around, so he pulls that kid under his wing, too, a remarkable show of character growth from his handling of Allison's last boyfriend. He did kind of forget that Isaac isn't legally his and then abduct him across international waters, but everyone grieves differently, I guess. Unless we find out explicitly what happens to Isaac in France, I'm going to assume the best and that Chris didn't just abandon him there with no resources.

Anyway, fandom talks a lot about Melissa McCall and, obviously, she's doing an amazing job, but she's not the only one.

[taeswolfie]

𝑱𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒂 𝑭𝒆𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 : 𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝑻𝒉𝒓𝒆𝒆

☽︎𝑷𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝑴𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚☾︎

Ch.02 - Ch.04

Series Masterlist

Pairing: Stiles Stilinski x fem!Reader

Word count: 4.4k

Y/n lays asleep in her bed, hair splayed across her pillow and lips slightly parted as slow and steady breaths move her chest. Her sleep is peaceful until a distant howl is heard. Her brows furrow and her breathing picks up a bit as she starts to shift in her sleep. Her hands clench and her legs move, her sheets quickly becoming wrapped around them as her head moves to the side. Another howl rips through the air. Her skin is coated with a thin layer of sweat as she starts to pant, her face conveying the fear from her dream.

Screams.

The color yellow.

Bloody claws.

Red eyes.

She sits bolt upright with a gasp, her eyes wide and glowing their violet hue, hands grasping at her chest. She looks down and holds her hands in front of her face. When she sees they're clean she sighs in relief. She rakes a hand through her hair as she takes deep breaths to calm herself. In through the nose, out through the mouth. As she calms down her irises dim to their normal e/c hue. The details from her dream instantly start slipping from her mind and she can't remember anything that happened. All she remembers is the fear when she saw them. The red eyes. They were angry, power hungry, a fire of rage flickering within their depths. She had a feeling she wouldn't be getting back to sleep tonight so she grabbed a blanket and went to the living room to watch TV until it was time for her to get ready for school.

...

"So you killed her?" Stiles asks as he opens the school door, letting Y/n and Scott through before following himself. Scott had been telling them about his nightmare where he wolfed out and killed Allison on a school bus.

"I don't know." Scott shrugged. "I just woke up. And I was sweating like crazy, and I couldn't breathe. I've never had a dream where I woke up like that before."

"Really? I have. Usually ends a little differently."

"TMI, Stiles." Y/n gave him a slightly disgusted look, but still chuckled at his blunt delivery.

"A) I meant I've never had a dream that felt that real, and B) never give me that much detail about you in bed again." Scott continued.

"Noted." Stiles nodded. "Let me take a guess here."

"No, I know, you think it has something to do with me going out with Allison tomorrow, like I'm gonna lose control and rip her throat out."

"No, of course not." Scott looked at Stiles for a moment before he caved. "Yeah, that's totally it. Hey, come on, it's gonna be fine, all right?"

"You know, dreams have a way of showing us our own stresses and desires. We process things through our dreams. That particular one could be your own worries and fears about hurting her." Y/n shared.

"Personally I think you're handling this pretty freakin' amazingly." Stiles complimented. "You know, it's not like there's a Lycanthropy for Beginners class you can take."

"Yeah, not a class, but maybe a teacher." Scott hinted.

"Who, Derek?" Stiles smacks the back of Scott's head and Y/n promptly returned the gesture to Stiles. He looked at her in offense, rubbing the back of his head.

"Don't hit him. He has a point." She scolded.

"You forgetting the part where we got him tossed in jail?"

"Yeah, I know, but chasing her, dragging her to the back of the bus, it felt so real." Scott said.

"How real?" Y/n asked.

"Like it actually happened." The boys open each door and Y/n trails behind Stiles as they walk out only to take a few steps and pause at the sight of a bloody and damaged school bus.

"I think it did." Scott looked at Stiles shocked.

"She's fine, Scott." Y/n assured as she and Stiles followed the now panicked boy.

"She's not answering my texts, Y/n." He fretted.

"It could just be a coincidence, all right?" Stiles tried to reassure.

"A seriously amazing coincidence. Just help me find her, okay?" Scott frantically looked front and back for any sign of Allison. "Do you see her?"

"No."

Y/n could hear his rapidly increasing heartbeat. "Scott, you need to calm down. Allison is just fine." Her words fell on deaf ears as he anxiously raked a hand through his hair and turned a corner. Y/n and Stiles fell back when he leaned against a locker. He gripped it as he breathed harshly before yelling out and punching the locker so hard the door dented and swung crookedly on one hinge. Stiles went to go to him but Y/n stopped him. "Just wait. I've got a good feeling."

"How can you have a good feeling about that?" He flailed an arm loosely in Scott's direction.

She turned to look at him. "Just trust me." He looked between her eyes, his own showing hesitation, before he nodded. They watched as Scott backed away from the locker and into the adjacent hall where he bumped right into Allison, accidentally making her drop her books. Allison smiled and said something they couldn't hear and Y/n could practically see the relief on Scott when he realized it was her. "See? I told you." Y/n smiled at Stiles in triumph and he just huffed a laugh at her. Everyone's attention was then drawn to the PA system as an announcement was made.

"Attention, students, this is your principal. I know you're all wondering about the incident that occurred last night to one of our buses. While the police work to determine what happened, classes will proceed as scheduled."

There's a collective groan from the students and Y/n chuckles at their reactions. "Come on, let's get to class." Y/n grabbed Stiles hand and led them down the hall.

In Chemistry, Mr. Harris writes on the chalkboard. Y/n sits in the farthest back corner away from the teacher due to the fact that she wasn't a big fan of him and sitting there, there was less chance of her being called, him being a douche, and her responding in kind resulting in detention. No matter how much she tried to hold her tongue something in her blood made her snark back at him.

"Maybe it was my blood on the door." Y/n's writing pauses as she hears Scott quietly talk to Stiles who was sitting right behind him.

"Could have been animal blood. You know, maybe you caught a rabbit or something." Stiles speculated.

"And did what?"

"Ate it."

"Raw?"

"No, you stopped to bake it in a little werewolf oven. I don't know, you're the one who can't remember anything."

"Mr. Stilinski, if that's your idea of a hushed whisper, you might want to pull the headphones out every once in a while." Mr. Harris said snidely. Y/n had to clench her teeth and close her eyes at the ass of a teacher. "I think you and Mr. McCall would benefit from a little distance, yes?"

"No." Stiles denied but his mind was set. Mr. Harris gestured to different seats farther apart and the boys obliged.

"Let me know if the separation anxiety gets to be too much." Stiles scoffs a laugh and settles in the empty space next to Y/n.

"You guys need to learn how to whisper better." Y/n actually whispered with a teasing smile. Stiles nudged her with a small smile and she quietly snickered until a gasp rang through the room.

"Hey, I think they found something." A girl jumped from her seat and everyone followed her to the window to see a group of EMT's wheeling an injured man on a gurney to an ambulance.

"That's not a rabbit." Scott pointed out. The man sat up and screamed, making everyone in the class jump back and scream. Scott backed up more than others in shock.

"Hey, this is good, right?" Y/n asked when she noticed Scott and followed him, Stiles coming a moment later.

"Yeah," Stiles agreed, "this is good. He got up, he's not dead. Dead guys can't do that."

"Guys..." Scott called. "I did that."

...

The trio grabs their lunch in the cafeteria and goes to an empty table. "But dreams aren't memories." Stiles said.

"Some people dream about their memories." Y/n pointed out.

"Then it wasn't a dream." Scott reasoned as they sat down. "Something happened last night. And I can't remember what."

"What makes you so sure that Derek even has all the answers?" Stiles asked.

"Because during the full moon he wasn't changed. Ask Y/n, she saw him." Stiles looked at the girl who shrugged and nodded. "He was in total control while I was running around in the middle of the night attacking some totally innocent guy."

"You don't know that." Y/n denied.

"I don't not know it. I can't go out with Allison. I have to cancel."

"No, you're not canceling, all right?"

"You can't just cancel your entire life." Stiles agreed. "We'll figure it out."

"Figure what out?" Lydia's voice appeared with her sitting her tray down next to Scott and across from Y/n.

Stiles practically choked on a laugh and Scott was caught off guard at the sudden appearance so Y/n rolled her eyes and spoke up. "Just homework." Y/n smiled at her friend.

"Yeah." Stiles agreed and then whispered to his friends. "Why is she sitting with us?" Scott gave him a look that said he didn't know while Danny sat next to Y/n, Allison sat next to Scott, and another boy and girl took the empty spots on either end of the table.

"Hey, Danny boy."

"Hi, Y/n." He smiled in greeting. While Y/n didn't get along with Jackson, his friend Danny wasn't so bad.

"Get up." Jackson ordered the boy sitting at the end next to Lydia and Danny.

"How come you never ask Danny to get up?" The boy complained.

"Because I don't stare at his girlfriend's coin slot." Danny sassed back. Jackson practically shoved the boy off the chair and sat down himself. Y/n grimaced at the new addition to the table. "So I hear they're saying it's some type of animal attack. Probably a cougar."

"I heard mountain lion." Jackson said.

"A cougar is a mountain lion." Lydia smartly corrected. Jackson gave her a weird look and she smoothly backpedaled into an unsure look. "Isn't it?" Y/n raised her brow at Lydia's act, shaking her head with a small huffed laugh.

"Who cares? The guy's probably some homeless tweaker who's gonna die anyway."

"Literally no one asked for your thoughts on that, Jack-ass." Y/n glared at Jackson who returned the gesture, but before he could retort Stiles piped up.

"Actually, I just found out who it is. Check it out." He held out his phone so everyone could see the news report being played.

"The Sheriff's department won't speculate on details of the incident but confirmed the victim, Garrison Meyers, did survive the attack. Meyers was taken to a local hospital where he remains in critical condition."

"I know this guy." Scott realized.

"You do?" Allison asked.

"Yeah, when I used to take the bus, back when I lived with my dad. He was the driver." Scott, Stiles and Y/n were slightly stunned by this revelation but it didn't really mean much to anyone else.

"Can we talk about something slightly more fun, please?" Lydia asked. "Like, oh, where are we going tomorrow night?" Allison looked at Lydia, chewing her food in a surprised manner. "You said you and Scott were hanging out tomorrow night, right?"

Scott looked at Allison and she swallowed. "Um, we were thinking of what we were gonna do."

"Well, I am not sitting at home again watching lacrosse videos, so if the four of us are hanging out, we are doing something fun. Y/n, are you coming?"

The h/c raised her brows at Lydia. "Uh, no, I'm not. There'll be enough estrogen with you, Allison, and Jackson there so I'm good." Lydia playfully glared at her while Jackson rolled his eyes.

"Hanging out?" Scott questioned and Allison looked like a fish out of water. "Like, the four of us?" Stiles put a hand over his mouth and squeezed his eyes shut to block out the horror going on. Scott looked at Allison again. "Do you wanna hang out, like us and them?"

"Yeah, I guess. Sounds fun." Y/n watched this exchange in utter amusement, sipping on her drink to hide her grin.

"You know what else sounds fun?" Jackson asked and picked up a fork. "Stabbing myself in the face with this fork." Stiles rolled his eyes as he drank some of his water.

"That does sound fun! Let me do the honors for you." Y/n brandished her own fork with a sickly sweet smile.

Lydia reached over and snatched both of their utensils. Then she gasped. "How 'bout bowling? You love to bowl." Lydia looked at Jackson. Stiles munched on a fry and desperately tried to signal to Scott with his eyes to get out of this situation.

"Yeah, with actual competition."

"How do you know we're not actual competition?" Allison challenged. "You can bowl, right?" She asked Scott.

"Sort of." He replied not-so convincingly.

"Is it sort of, or yes?" Jackson dogged down Scott.

"Yes." This time Scott sounded more sure. "In fact, I'm a great bowler."

"You're a terrible bowler." Y/n laughed as she and Stiles followed Scott through the halls.

"I know! I'm such an idiot."

"God, it was like watching a car wreck." Stiles observed. "I mean, first it turned into the whole group date thing. And then out of nowhere comes that phrase." Stiles gripped his head in remorse at the dreaded phrase.

"Hang out."

"You don't hang out with hot girls, okay? It's like death."

"You guys hang out with me. Am I not as pretty as Allison?"

"No." She raised a brow at Stiles like you really just, and he quickly backpedaled. "That- that's not what I mean. It's different with you."

"How?"

"It just is." She scoffed and rolled her eyes, picking up her pace because now she has to go to the Clinic with Scott today because Stiles kept her from it the other day.

Stiles turned back to Scott. "But once it's hanging out, you might as well be her gay best friend. You and Danny can start hanging out."

"How is this happening? I either killed a guy or I didn't."

"I don't think Danny likes me very much." The two boys now having very different conversations.

"I ask Allison on a date, and now we're hanging out."

"Am I not attractive to gay guys?"

"I make first line, and the Team Captain wants to destroy me, and now-" Scott looks at the time on his phone, "now I'm gonna be late for work." Scott caught up with Y/n as they left the school.

"Wait, Scott, you didn't- am I attractive to gay guy-" he tried yelling out but stopped himself, "you didn't answer my question." He muttered and walked the other way.

...

"Don't worry, Scott. It's just a couple minutes." Y/n assured as she and Scott dismounted their bikes outside the Animal Clinic. Scott rushed in while Y/n went at a normal pace.

"Sorry. Sorry." She heard Scott say once he got to the back room.

"You're all of two minutes late." Alan said.

"Told you." Y/n smiled once she also got into the back room.

"I just don't want you to think I'm slacking." Scott explained.

"Scott, I guarantee you, you're one of the least slacking kids in this town." Scott smiled.

"I hope I'm one of the others?" Y/n looked at Alan.

"Of course. When you actually make it in, that is." He joked.

"I said I was sorry for the other day! I can't help Stiles dragging me this way and that." Y/n helped move a box around and Scott smiled at the exchange, but it faded when he saw the Sheriff at the door. He became anxious until the door opened and he saw one of the K-9 police dogs with him. Y/n looked over at the noise and instantly went into doggy voice mode. "Hi there, buddy. Are you ready to get your stitches out? Huh?" She kneeled down to the German Shepherd and petted his fur. "Hiya, Sheriff." Her voice was normal when talking to the humans.

"Hi, Y/n. Hey there, Scott. You staying out of trouble?"

"Yeah." Scott said simply. Alan helped Y/n lift the dog onto the exam table. He whimpers as his bandaged front leg is moved but settles down onto the metal surface.

"Oh, you're such a trooper." Y/n cooed and stroked the dog's fur to calm him more.

"Hey, listen, while I'm here, you mind taking a look at those pictures I was telling you about? Sacramento still can't determine an animal." Noah handed an evidence envelope to Alan.

"I'm not exactly an expert." Alan pulled out the photos and looked at them. "This is the guy who was attacked in the bus?" Scott's head picked up at this and Y/n glanced at him.

"Yeah. And we found wolf hairs on Laura Hale's body."

"A wolf?" Scott asked. "I mean, I think I read somewhere that wolves haven't been in California for, like, 60 years."

"True enough, but wolves are highly migratory. They could have wandered in from another state driven by impulse or strong enough memory."

"Wolves have memories?"

"Long-term ones, yeah." Y/n informed.

"If associated with a primal drive." Alan added. "See this one here?" Alan showed a picture to Noah.

"Yeah."

"Those are claw marks. A wolf would have gone for the throat or the spinal cord with it's teeth." He curled his fingers in front of his neck for demonstration.

"So what do you think, it's a mountain lion?"

"I don't know. A wolf could chase down it's prey, hobbling it by tearing at the ankles. And then the throat."

...

In the evening it was only Y/n and Alan left in the Clinic. They had finished closing up and they now stood in the back room, Y/n had just told Alan about Scott's 'dream'. "And the weirdest part is I had a dream too. I can't remember what it was but I remember red eyes. And I think I heard howling, but I'm not sure."

"You think it was the Alpha that attacked that man?" Alan asked.

"Yes. Scott isn't like that, he wouldn't attack someone like that. But the Alpha... I feel like he definitely would. And the eyes... It's not a coincidence."

"He must have at least been there to have a dream or memory like that."

"He can't remember. If I wasn't hiding I could try and help him remember but..." Her brows furrow and she frowns.

"It's okay. You're not ready to share who you are and that's perfectly understandable considering your past."

Before she can respond she gets a message from Stiles saying that he was picking her up with Scott. "Looks like I'm going out." She sighs as she puts her phone away and gathers her things.

"I know you're capable, but just be careful, all right?"

She gave him a smile. "Always." She gives him a hug before they part ways, him going home and her waiting for Stiles. Once they arrive she hops in the back and they fill her in on where they're going. Derek had told Scott to go back to the bus and let his senses remember for him.

Stiles pulls up near the closed fence of the school. The three get out, Y/n leaning against the front of the Jeep while the boys walk off. "Hey, no, just me." Scott said to Stiles. "Someone needs to keep watch."

"Y/n's doing that."

"Stiles."

"How come I'm always the guy keeping watch?"

"Because there's only three of us and the more eyes watching out, the better."

"Okay, why's it starting to feel like you're Batman and I'm Robin? I don't want to be Robin all the time."

"Nobody's Batman and Robin any of the time."

"Not even some of the time?"

"Just stay here."

"Oh, my God!" Stiles groaned and trudged back to the Jeep. He gets into the driver's side and she gets back into the back.

"What's wrong, Stilinski? You don't like keeping an eye out with me?"

"No, I just don't want to be on the side lines." He pouted.

"You're not. This is just... This is something he needs to do alone. He needs to be absolutely focused on his senses so he can remember." They lapse into silence for a while, watching Scott's figure inside the bus as a light rain started. She glances over at Stiles after a minute and noticed he was still pouting. "Don't pout." She chucked him under the chin. "You're too cute to pout." She smiled and winked. His eyes slightly widened at her actions, and before he can even think of responding lights caught their attention, drawing their eyes away from each other and towards the bus. "Crap." She reached over and started honking to get Scott's attention.

Scott scrambled out of the bus and clambered on top of a red car, somersaulting over the fence. "Come on, come on." Stiles urged as Scott hurried into the Jeep.

"Go! Go! Go! Go!" He yelled and Stiles peeled away from the school.

"Did it work? Did you remember?" Stiles asked frantically.

"Yeah, I was there last night. And the blood- a lot of it was mine."

"So you did attack him?"

"No. I saw glowing eyes in the bus, but they weren't mine. It was Derek."

Y/n perked up at this. "What color were the eyes?"

"Why does that matter?"

"What about the driver?" Stiles cut in.

"I think I was actually trying to protect him."

"Why would Derek help you remember that he attacked the driver?" Y/n tried to reason.

Scott sighed. "That's what I don't get."

"It's got to be a pack thing." Stiles theorized.

"What do you mean?"

"Like an initiation. You do the kill together."

"Because ripping someone's throat out is a real bonding experience?"

"Could be, who knows? But the point is you didn't do it, which means you're not a killer!" Y/n gave him a smile.

"And it also means that-" Scott cut Stiles off.

"I can go out with Allison." Scott smiles with relief.

"I was gonna say it means you won't kill us." Stiles gestured to himself and Y/n.

"Oh, yeah. That too."

...

Y/n sits in the corner of her room, the corner she has dedicated purely to art. Not many people would guess but Y/n loves to paint. Granted she doesn't do it that often but when she does it's either because she had muse to or because she just needs to get her thoughts and feelings out and a great way to do that is through art. When she's in these moods it usually takes a lot to drag her away from her easel.

With everything going on lately she definitely needed a night to use her favorite outlet. She set up a large-ish canvas, about 18" by 26", on her easel and set her paints on a black card table, speckled with paint from previous works. She has a tall Mason jar filled with water and paper towels to dry and clean her brushes. She ties her hair up, rolls up her sleeves, turns up her music, and gets to work. She goes into a type of trance, the kind where you're so focused on what you're doing the outside world is faded and you don't even really notice what you're doing either. She lays a foundation of black, scarring the inky surface with angry reds and blazing oranges. She pours everything she's been feeling lately into this piece. Her frustrations, her fears, her worries, her nightmares. Everything.

She finally takes a break after a while when her phone starts to ring. She glanced at it and saw it was Lydia. She sighs and puts the brush into the cloudy water, turning down the music before answering. "Hey, Lydie."

"Hey, N/n."

"What's up?" She sat on her bed.

"Oh, nothing. I'm just with Allison getting ready to go out. Are you sure you don't want to come? It'll be fuuun." She added in a sing-song voice.

"I'm sure it will, but as much as I love being a pain in Jackson's ass, I don't really feel like being the fifth wheel tonight."

"Aw, boo." Y/n could practically see Lydia's playful pout now and smiled. "Alright, well if I can't convince you I'll let you go to do whatever weird things you like to do."

"Why, how gracious of you!"

Lydia sighed. "I know. You're so lucky to have me as a friend."

The two laughed. "I sure am. Bye, Lydia. Say hi to Allison for me."

"Will do. Toodles." Y/n laughed to herself again as she hung up with the red head. She set her phone aside and turned her music back up to finish her painting. It would be another few hours before she decided she was done. She put the brush in the jar and stepped back to really see what she had painted.

A black sky was dotted with glowing embers that rose from a raging fire that was taller than a man. A pile of wood was set ablaze and in the middle a woman was tied to a stake. Face tilted to the sky, hair flying upwards from the heat of the flames and slightly obscuring her features. Her eyes are specks of amethyst in the ruby inferno. Her flowing white dress is billowing and charred at the ends. Behind the fire, barely hidden by the flames, are a pair of red eyes, glinting sinisterly in the firelight. The edges of everything were a bit blurred, giving the whole picture a dreamy haze.

She jumped slightly when her phone went off, but this time it was a text from Stiles.

The bus driver succumbed to his injuries.

She frowned at the news and glanced back at the painting, the scarlet orbs holding an extra layer of blood in their depths.

Ch.04

[buckybarnesss]

I was thinking the other day, Stiles has really gone through so much with his mom. There's being with her when she died (and the rush of relief/guilt that must have brought), dealing with her forgetting him and attacking him, and then having to fend off a magical clone of her in season 6.

It's interesting to me because no one else really has this level of parental trauma, and it's reoccurring in Stiles' narrative even though he never really talks about it. It's like it really is too personal for him to talk about with anyone, maybe not even Scott.

stiles as a character only makes sense when viewed from the lens of the trauma left by his mother's condition and death. claudia died when stiles was 8 years old and by that point she had gone through severe deterioration both mentally and physically.

we don't know when claudia started exhibiting over symptoms of dementia but i would hazard a guess of maybe 2-3 years seeing as she had a child within the last eight years of her life and stiles has memory of claudia before she was ill. still. it's way too young for him to fully understand what is happening.

like he internalized claudia's delusions that he was trying to kill her to the point of believing it on some level and believed that he was going to kill his father too. like jesus fucking christ.

his anxiety and obsessiveness surrounding his father's health and safety stems directly back to losing claudia. it's why he's so terrified of losing his friends.

hot take here i think his infatuation with lydia is wrapped up in feelings about claudia. he says he's been in love with her since the 3rd grade which would've been around the same time claudia passed. he latched onto lydia martin as a concept and didn't start seeing her as a real person until season 3.

his speech to her in master plan wasn't stiles talking to lydia it was talking to the lydia that was the stand in for his mother.

"you see, death doesn't happen to you, lydia. it happens to everyone around you, to all the people left standing at your funeral, trying to figure out how they're going to now live the rest of their lives without you in it."

it's why their relationship cannot progress romantically until the ghost of his mother is exorcised, but i haven't fully watched 6a yet and i still don't really view a romantic relationship between them as necessarily healthy.

but speaking of 6a, jesus christ the level of trauma of stiles has due to having to endure people forgetting about him. especially his father. his mother already forgot him once and died now his dad too? plus his closest friends. stiles's greatest fear come to life.

like with derek the trauma stiles endures isn't really talked about. stiles witnessed the mechanic get crushed by his jeep in abomination while being rendered helpless to do anything but watch and that's just glossed the fuck over.

this doesn't get into the relationship stiles has with his dad because that's all kinds of tangled. noah stilinski isn't a perfect father. there's definitely a level of stiles being both treated as a child and as an adult by his dad.

and you're right stiles resolutely doesn't discuss it with anyone. it's like he's taken it as his burden to bear and that's it. stiles keeps people emotionally at arms length as some measure of protection for himself. he's not really willing to crack himself open and share. emotionally vulnerability scares him.

one of the few times we see him really open and raw in front of others is when he's trying to talk scott down in motel california and holy shit stiles was fully prepared to just die with scott. you could say he was bluffing but was he? was he really?

the kids ain't alright in teen wolf. allison was never more right when she broke down saying "we're just a bunch of teenagers. we can't handle this."

they all need therapy.

[strangerstilinski]

𝐒𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐍𝐎𝐏𝐇𝐈𝐋𝐄𝐒 𝐕𝐎𝐋𝐔𝐌𝐄 𝐈𝐈 ✶ Teen Wolf Rewrite

Stiles Stilinksi/Original Female Character

TW | S2

chapter two

summary; as if the last month and a half hadn't been stressful enough — now there were a few more werewolves, a kanima, and a seriously disturbed old man added into the mix. but amber, stiles, and scott could totally handle this. it would be fine. everything was great.

word count; 7,965

chapter notes; pack recruitment doesn’t go quite as smoothly as derek had hoped. the whole gang tries to help when isaac finds himself in a tight spot on the night of his first full moon.

masterlist

c h a p t e r   t w o

shape shifted

"Are you sure you guys have to lock me up? I mean, I feel like things are gonna be a lot easier tonight." Scott repeated optimistically for the third time.

Stiles rolled his eyes as the two of them headed down the hallway toward the locker room to get ready for their morning practice, tugging the strap of his backpack more firmly over his shoulder.

"Yeah.. I, uh- I'd love to believe you, Scott. But-"

"I'm serious." Scott insisted, "It's not like the last full moon. I don't feel the same."

"Oh? No wolfy urges?" Stiles started, "You're not feeling any urges to kiss your unbelievably attractive and now, might I remind you, ridiculously unavailable best friends?" He asked pointedly, wincing at the mere thought of the way Scott had made a move on Amber the month before. Flashes of pink lipgloss smeared over Scott’s lips, Amber’s wide hazel eyes and bruised knuckles, the angry words that had been shouted back and forth between Scott and himself, all still fresh in his mind.

"Are you describing Amber or yourself?" Scott asked with a grin, amused with his own joke.

"I'm not going to respond to that. Because it wasn't funny." Stiles stated before continuing, "How about the urge to maim and kill people? Like us? Your best friends?"

"I swear I don't have the urge to kiss and/or kill either of you." Scott promised as they walked through the door into the locker room.

"Y'know, you say that now-" Stiles disagreed quietly, "But then the full moon goes up and out come the fangs and the claws and there's a lot of howling and screaming and running everywhere, okay?" He rambled off quickly, gesturing emphatically with his hands as they approached his locker, "And it's very stressful on me. So, yes. We're still going to be locking you up."

"Okay, fine," Scott conceded, leaning against the end of the lockers, "But I do think I'm more in control now. Especially since things are so good with Allison-"

Stiles' face pinched up in annoyance, "Yeah, I'm aware of how good things are with Allison."

"They're really good." Scott repeated suggestively.

"I- Thank you. I know." Stiles muttered.

Scott grinned and raised his eyebrows in insinuation, "I mean like.. Really good.."

"Alright! I get it!" Stiles snapped, "Just, please. Shut the hell up before I get the urge to maim and kill myself."

Scott looked at his best friend in amusement, "Why're you so bitter, anyway? I texted Amber last night. So I know you were planning on sleeping at her place. Alone.." He hinted, "I mean, didn't you guys-"

"No, we didn't." Stiles told him, readjusting his backpack over his shoulder again agitatedly, "I- Which is fine. I've been in love with this girl for nine years. Waiting a little bit longer isn't gonna kill me, I just. It doesn't mean I don't want to. Really bad."

He sighed as his mind unhelpfully supplied him with the same image he'd thought back to a million times in the last 12 hours — Amber, in nothing but the thin lace of her underwear, shivering, smooth skin pebbled with goosebumps, the muscles in her stomach clenched from the cold-

"-Like, all I think about doing every second of every day, bad." He rambled on, huffing angrily when his eyes caught on Scott's smug face again, "And it would just be a whole lot easier if I weren't listening to you brag about your incredible sex life, alright?"

"Okay, okay." Scott raised his hands in surrender and changed the topic, "Do you guys at least have a better plan than handcuffing me in my bedroom this time?"

Stiles nodded and moved to pull his locker open, "Yeah, much better-"

As the door to his lacrosse locker swung open, the sturdy metal chains that he'd stuffed in there haphazardly in preparation for the full moon slipped from the top shelf. They slowly and forcefully slid out to the tile floor of the locker room, clinking loudly as the long link of chains began to coil in a pile at their feet. Stiles made a few aborted motions to catch the mess but they were made in vain, the chains slipping through his hands as they fell until he simply dropped his arms to his sides with a wince.

Coach Finstock stepped up beside him and smacked his gum loudly in Stiles' ear, peering over his shoulder as the chains slowly fell and gathered in a heap. Stiles risked a glance back at the man and then around the locker room, shrinking back awkwardly under the judgemental gazes of the guys around them as the chains continued to fall, seconds stretching painfully slowly to prolong the embarrassment.

When the long chain finally finished piling up on the floor, the changing room was thrust into a stunned silence.

"Part of me wants to ask," Coach Finstock told him, eyes glued to the large pile of chains on the floor at his feet, "But the other part says that knowing will be more disturbing than anything I could ever imagine." He confessed, taking a few steps and backing up slowly, "So, I'm gonna walk away."

"That's good," Stiles choked out, a pink flush on his cheeks, "That's a wise choice, Coach."

He quickly knelt down onto the ground to attempt to collect the mess so that he could stuff it back into his locker and Scott squatted down beside him.

Stiles' hands fumbled with the chains for a moment, his gaze drifting up toward his friend and pausing when he noticed Scott looking around the room distractedly. His friend's eyes raked over their teammates in a slow trail as he searched for something.

"You okay?" Stiles questioned after a few moments, watching his friend continue his survey of the room, "Scott?"

Scott's attention finally snapped over to Stiles with a frown, "There's another," He said vaguely, "In here. Right now."

Stiles blinked in confusion, "Another what?"

"Another werewolf."

Even though they'd skipped both first and second period to get coffee in an attempt to settle some of Lydia's nerves, the redhead still hesitated nervously outside the school building, both Amber and Allison watching her apprehensively out of the corners of their eyes.

"You okay, Lyds?" Amber asked softly, "If you don't wanna do this today, I'll take you home right now. I can just borrow Stiles' Chemistry notes and I'll go to classes after lunch-"

"I'm fine. I can do this." Lydia assured her, "I am not some emotionally scarred little girl who got lost on a hike, okay? I’m better than that. And I don't even remember it, so."

"You seriously don't remember anything?" Allison asked from the redhead's other side.

Lydia looked between her two friends with a sigh before delving back into the explanation she'd already given Amber that morning when she'd first picked her up and asked about her visit to the hospital the night before.

"They called it a 'Fugue State'. Which is basically their way of saying 'we have no idea why you can't remember running around the woods naked for two days.'" Lydia shrugged, "But personally, I don't care. I lost nine pounds."

Amber's hand went to Lydia's shoulder protectively, "Oh, cut it out, will you? You're gorgeous. Always."

Lydia rolled her eyes but didn't deem the compliment worthy of a response, hesitation seemingly gone as she reached out to wrap a hand around the door handle.

"Are you ready for this?" Allison checked again.

"Please," Lydia scoffed, "It's not like my aunt's a serial killer."

Without waiting for a response, Lydia pulled the door open and stepped into the building. Amber shot Allison a small grimace of sympathy and the other girl smiled weakly in response as they followed Lydia inside.

The hallways were crowded at the tail end of the fifteen minute morning break and it seemed as if every one of the students froze in their movements, all of the eyes in the busy hallway suddenly drawn to the reappearance of the girl they'd all been gossiping about since Winter Formal.

The heavy weight of the stares of their classmates had Lydia faltering in her steps once again and Amber stepped up beside her, hand settling on her friend’s back reassuringly.

"Maybe it's the nine pounds." Allison suggested slyly from Lydia's other side.

The comment seemed to jolt Lydia back into action and she tilted her head thoughtfully before stepping away from Amber's outstretched hand and strutting confidently down the hallway toward her locker. Amber scrambled to follow behind her, tugging her backpack straps tighter over her shoulders as she regained her footing and matched her friend's steps.

"Hey, I'm gonna head to Chem, but I'll talk to you later, okay?" Amber checked in quickly, watching as Lydia waved her hand dismissively and hummed, "Text me if you need anything, Lyds. I mean it."

"Honestly. You're worse than my mother, Amber." Lydia commented, flipping her hair over her shoulder as the three split apart at the intersection of the hallways, "If I suddenly have some life threatening emergency, you'll be my first call!" The redhead promised over her shoulder, waving her arm above her head without turning around and disappearing down the hall.

When she could no longer see her head of strawberry blonde hair amidst the throng of students, Amber finally turned only to flinch embarrassingly in surprise when she spun directly into Allison.

"Sorry!" Allison apologized quickly, "I thought you knew I was right behind you."

Amber's heart rate slowed after the sudden spike and she shook her head with an uneasy laugh, "It's fine, no worries."

They looked at one another in uncomfortable silence for a few seconds before Amber took a small step to go, Allison's hand snapping out quickly to wrap around her wrist in a gentle grip.

"Wait!" Allison pleaded, "I just- I wanted to talk to you for a minute. Y'know, without Lydia."

"Oh. Yeah, sure," Amber agreed easily, assuming the other girl wanted to talk to her about their red headed friend, "What's up?"

Allison released her wrist to rub her hand along her own arm uncomfortably, "I just- I know there's no real way to apologize for everything that happened.." She started slowly, "But, I still wanted to tell you that I'm sorry. Like, so unbelievably, ridiculously, and absurdly sorry. For everything."

Amber sighed, pulling at her backpack straps awkwardly, "Thanks, Allison." She said honestly, "I- That- It means a lot."

Allison's stiff posture slumped in what looked like relief, "Does that mean I'm kinda, sorta, a little bit forgiven?" She questioned hopefully with a dazzling smile.

"Kinda, sorta." Amber laughed quietly despite herself, holding up her hand to pinch her thumb and forefinger together and showing her the small gap of space between them, "A little."

Allison's smile widened, "I'll take it!" She laughed excitedly, bouncing on her toes and throwing her arms around the other girl in a hug. Amber laughed and hugged her back for a moment before Allison stepped back with a wide smile. "I'll let you get to class, now." Allison told her, smiling and giving her a wave before darting down the hallway toward her locker.

With an amused shake of her head, Amber turned back to head to the west stairwell and made her way toward Mr. Harris' room on the second floor.

The Chemistry classroom was nearly empty, so she settled in at one of the slightly larger tables near the back of the room and took the center stool out of the three that were squeezed in at the table, dropping her backpack to the ground at her feet. She hummed a tune under her breath and began to bounce her leg absentmindedly, her foot propped up on the lower rung of her seat as she waited for her best friends to join her.

When Scott and Stiles walked through the doorway together, they both seemed to stumble over their own feet at the mere sight of her and they picked up their pace as they rushed toward the table she'd claimed at the back of the room.

"Dude! Where have you been?" Scott asked immediately, settling into the stool on her left.

Her eyebrows furrowed at the tinge of anxiety in her friend's voice and she turned her head toward Stiles when he came around the table on her other side. He hugged her head to his chest in greeting and she reached a hand up to pat his back, nuzzling her nose into his shirt for only a second before she turned her head to speak.

"Allison and I took Lydia out for coffee before we came in-" She explained slowly, cheek still pressed against the soft material of Stiles' shirt. As he released her and sat down, she looked between the two boys on either side of her curiously, "Why, what's going on? Did something-"

"There's another werewolf." Scott told her in a harsh whisper.

"Isaac Lahey." Stiles cut in quickly.

Amber's foot slipped from the rung on her stool and she managed to catch herself with her hands, slapping them down on the tabletop loudly as he continued.

"And it gets better. He was pulled out of practice this morning and is gonna be taken in for questioning because, drumroll please-" Stiles tapped his fingertips on the surface of the table dramatically, "His dad's dead. They're thinking it might be murder and if Isaac's a suspect, we're all seriously screwed because somehow, I doubt the cells at the station are up to code for holding the supernatural."

Her eyes were wide. Derek had assured her everything would be fine. This was decidedly not fine.

"His dad's dead?" She squeaked.

"That's the part that got you?" Stiles asked in disbelief, "Not the sudden appearance of another teenage werewolf?"

"Wh- I.." She stuttered with a wince, pulling her pencil from the spiral of her notebook, desperate to have something between her fingers to fidget with, "I mean, it's just-"

"You knew didn't you?" Stiles interrupted, narrowing his eyes at her suspiciously.

"You knew Derek turned someone?" Scott whispered frantically.

She made a face, tapping her pencil eraser in a fast rhythm against the tabletop, "Technically, I knew he was planning to turn someone-"

"What!" Scott said a touch too loudly, looking around them sheepishly before training a harsh glare on Amber.

Stiles reached out to wrap his fingers around hers, pinning her fidgeting hand down against the table, "Amber. What the hell?" He said seriously.

"I'm sorry!" She apologized in distress, looking over at Stiles with wide eyes, "Derek promised everything would be fine because he was sure that Isaac-"

"If you three are finished, I'm going to start class now." Mr. Harris' voice cut out sharply.

Their attention snapped to the front of the classroom where their teacher was standing at the blackboard, a loathing look of annoyance on his face as he scowled at the three teens through his glasses.

Amber blinked in surprise and looked around the now full classroom. She hadn't even noticed the final bell ring.

"Sorry, sir." She apologized quietly as she felt Stiles' fingers retreat from where they'd been wrapped around her hand.

Mr. Harris glared for another few seconds in silence before he turned to the blackboard, grabbing a piece of chalk and beginning to write, the loud clacking filling the room every time the chalk tapped back down against the board.

"Why would Derek choose Isaac?" Scott asked in a hushed whisper, turning back to look down the table at his friends.

Amber bit down on her lower lip, eyebrows drawing together, hesitant to tell her best friends about herself being Derek's first choice, but equally reluctant to broadcast Isaac's abusive home situation.

Stiles watched her hesitation and he sighed quietly, leaning forward on the table to peer around her toward Scott as he spoke softly, "Peter told me that if the bite doesn't turn you, it could kill you," He said quietly, "Maybe teenagers have a better chance of surviving."

Amber reached out under the table to squeeze his knee in silent thanks for covering for her and he gave her a small, tight smile in response.

"Well, he is a teenager. So, your dad can't hold him, right?" She asked Stiles quietly, smoothing her thumb along the outside of his knee.

He frowned in thought for only a fraction of a second, "Well, not unless they have solid evidence," He whispered in response, "Or a witness.. Wait-" His eyes narrowed and he whipped around, scanning the classroom for a moment before turning to the table beside them, "Danny." He hissed at the boy sitting a few feet away, "Where's Jackson."

Amber's eyes locked on the empty stool beside Danny that was usually occupied by the boy in question, her eyebrows furrowing.

"In the principal's office," Danny told Stiles, the look of confusion on his face revealing that he was surprised the three of them didn't already know, "Talking to your dad."

"What?" Amber whispered frantically at Danny.

"Why?" Stiles asked immediately after.

Danny shrugged, "Maybe because he lives across the street from Isaac."

Stiles turned slowly on his stool, looking at Amber and Scott, jaw agape.

"Witness." Scott supplied quietly.

"Shit, fuck." Amber hissed under her breath, her hand abandoning Stiles' knee so that she could tangle her fingers agitatedly in her hair, elbows on the table in front of her.

"We gotta get to the principal's office." Stiles said quietly.

Amber looked up again with a frown, "How?" She and Scott questioned at the same time.

"Everyone please turn to page seventy-three." Mr. Harris announced as he finished up writing his notes on the board.

Stiles was quick to reach out for Amber's notebook and rip out a blank page, tongue pinched between his lips in concentration as he rolled it into a tight ball. She frowned at the messily torn paper in the notebook in front of her and was about to question him when her eyes were drawn to the small white bundle soaring through the air toward the front of the room. She watched with wide fearful eyes as the ball of paper bounced against the back of their teacher's head with a quiet smack before dropping softly to the ground.

Mr. Harris turned around sharply, furious eyes raking over the students behind him, "Who in the hell did that?" He asked angrily.

A few student's laughed and Amber balked, heart pounding with nerves in her chest. Her accusing finger came up to sell out Stiles in a flash, hyper-aware of the haphazardly torn notebook page sitting in front of her. Stiles pointed his own index finger over her head toward Scott, and the third boy gestured vaguely to his right in the direction of both of his friends.

Mr. Harris took an enraged breath, his jaw clenching as he gestured toward the classroom door, "Principal's office. All three of you. Now."

Amber swallowed nervously and nodded, attempting to quickly collect her books into a pile in her arms with fumbling hands and tripping over her stool as she stood to leave. Stiles reached out to steady her with a hand on her waist as she stumbled and the three of them rushed out of the classroom hurriedly.

When they stepped into the hallway, Amber reached up with her free hand to smack Stiles in the chest.

"Are you out of your mind?" She hissed as they fast walked toward the office.

"Sorry." He apologized weakly, tightening his hand around her waist and squeezing her hip in a way that brought infuriating tingles to her stomach, "Desperate times and all that."

Her face scrunched up and she huffed a sigh, knowing that he was right and they'd needed some way to know what Jackson was telling his dad. But it didn't mean she had to like it.

When they got to the hallway just outside of the principal's office, the boys quickly settled into the two chairs outside of the open door, all three of the teens dropping their books to the ground beneath them.

The secretary narrowed her eyes disapprovingly at the trio as they settled in, clearly having already gotten a call from Mr. Harris while they'd made their way to the office. Amber gave the woman a sheepish smile as she sat back against the armrests between the two seats, tilting her head as the three of them listened in on the voices coming from the office behind them.

"Listen to me," Sheriff Stilinski's voice said from the other side of the wall, "You're telling me you knew Isaac's father was hitting him?"

"Hitting him?" Jackson scoffed, "He was kicking the crap out of him."

Amber frowned at his words, finding herself angry on Isaac Lahey's behalf despite barely knowing him. As if he could sense the moral need for justice flaring up inside of her, Stiles reached up to rest a hand on her thigh where she was propped on the arm of the chair.

"Did- did you ever say anything to anyone?" The Sheriff asked, "A uh, a teacher? Parents? Anyone?"

"Nope." Jackson said easily, "It's not my problem."

"No, no. Of course not." The Sheriff agreed quietly, "Y'know. It's funny. That the kids getting beaten up are never the ones that deserve it."

"Yeah." Jackson agreed immediately, "Wait, what?"

Amber snorted a laugh.

"I think we're done here." Sheriff Stilinski announced.

The sound of footsteps approaching against the tile floor alerted them as the Sheriff and a deputy moved to exit the office and Amber was yanked roughly from her perch between the two chairs. She yelped quietly in surprise as Stiles hauled her down onto his lap and wrenched a magazine open in front of her face. Her hands reflexively came up to hold the edges of the glossy booklet and she raised it up to cover their faces just as his father stepped out into the hallway.

"Hi, Scott." Mr. Stilinski greeted slowly, his eyes flicking over to the seat beside the boy with an unimpressed look, "Amber." He added pointedly.

She peered around the side of the magazine, resolutely keeping it held up in front of Stiles over her shoulder, "Good morning, Mr. Stilinski." She greeted with a nervous smile, keeping her body determinedly still as she acted as a wall between Stiles and his father.

The man continued to look at her in disbelief for a few seconds before shaking his head and disappearing down the hallway without another word.

"Dude. You know he definitely saw you, right?" Scott asked Stiles quietly after a moment.

"Boys. Young lady." A voice addressed them from the door of the office, causing Amber to flinch from her perch on Stiles' lap as they all looked up at the old man who was decidedly not thirty year old Principal Thomas whom they'd been expecting, "Come on in." The old man summoned.

Amber scrambled to her feet and the boys followed suit, the three of them looking between one another in confusion as they followed behind the man and stepped into the principal's office.

There were three chairs waiting for them in the small room and Amber settled into the center seat with a nervous breath, looking around the office and frowning at the absence of their usual principal's things.

The older man settled into the seat behind the desk and picked up a small folder, peering inside for a moment before his gaze rose to examine Scott.

"Scott McCall," He drawled in a slow rasp, "Academically not the most accomplished.. But I see you have become quite the star athlete." He said, soundly mildly impressed.

Amber peeked over at her friend and watched Scott nod just before the old man picked up a new folder and spoke again, addressing her this time.

"Amber Callisto," He read off the top of the page, eyes lifting up to look at her with an indiscernible expression, "A 4.0 GPA and first line on the girl's soccer team." He commended in approval.

She nodded nervously at his assessment, picking anxiously at her thumbnail in her lap. She slumped in relief when he dropped her folder atop Scott's and moved on to another. She watched the old man squint at the page silently for a few seconds, undoubtedly trying to figure out how to pronounce the name at the top of the page.

"Mieczysław." She supplied quietly after a moment, unaware of the way Stiles' eyes snapped over to her in awe at the easy way the pronunciation slipped past her lips.

The old man behind the principal's desk looked between the girl and the folder in his hands for only a second before he turned his attention toward Stiles.

"Mr. Stilinski," The man addressed him finally, eyes dropping to look down the page, "Oh. Perfect grades," He assessed with an impressed eyebrow raise, "But little to no extracurriculars.. Maybe you should try lacrosse."

Stiles leaned forward in his chair, "Oh, um. Actually, I'm alr-"

"Hold on-" The older man interrupted, turning his attention back toward Scott, "McCall.. You're the Scott that was dating my granddaughter."

"Granddaughter?" Amber repeated quietly, sitting up straighter in her seat as she looked between her two best friends in surprise.

"We were dating," Scott told Allison's grandfather quickly, "But not anymore. Not dating. Not seeing any of each other, or doing anything with each other.. At all." He rambled nervously.

"Relax, Scott. You look like you're about to crack a cyanide pill with your teeth." The older Argent observed amusedly.

Scott took a nervous breath, "Just, a hard breakup."

"Oh, that's too bad. You seem like a pretty nice kid to me." The old man commented, pausing for a moment before turning his head to look between the three teens, "Now, listen guys. Yes, I am the principal. But I don't really want you to think of me as the enemy."

"Heh," Stiles huffed sarcastically, "Is that so?"

Amber reached across the small gap between them to smack his arm anxiously, glaring at his lack of verbal self-control.

The old man raised his eyebrows before continuing on as if nothing had happened, "However, this being my first day, I do need to support my teachers, so.. Unfortunately, someone will have to take the fall and stay behind today for detention." Principal Argent looked between them slowly, pursing his lips as he waited for someone to speak up.

Amber turned her head between her two friends slowly. Scott was giving her a look in silent objection to doing it himself, which she supposed made sense since he was the werewolf of the three of them and thus slightly better equipped to deal with the Isaac situation. Her gaze drifted to her other side and she watched Stiles distractedly picking at a hangnail on his thumb and making no move to speak up himself.

His attention snapped up, however, when she finally sighed and turned to face the principal in slow reluctance.

"I-" She started.

"It was me." Stiles announced quickly, "Yeah, I'll stay for detention."

At the end of the school day, Amber ran down the hall when she saw Scott take off down the stairs.

"No, no," She muttered to herself, pushing past a few students with mumbled apologies as she ran after her best friend, "Scott, wait up!" She yelled with the hope he'd be paying enough attention to hear her.

She stumbled down the staircase near the school's side entrance, nearly losing her footing a couple of times. When she got to the end of the hallway, she pushed through the metal doors and toppled outside, running straight into Scott's back and catching herself with her hands on his shoulders.

She spotted the Sheriff's cruiser finally pulling away from the school, Isaac Lahey looking out the back window at them worriedly.

"Oh, shit." She muttered, "I guess they think he might've done it?" She questioned, not really expecting an answer.

Scott looked down at her with wide eyes and she grimaced, unsure what to do next.

There was a sudden squeal of tires against the pavement as a familiar black Camaro skidded to a stop in front of the building.

Derek leaned toward the open passenger window and called out to them, "Get in. Both of you."

"Funny. I could've sworn you didn't need my help." Amber reminded him snarkily.

"This is your fault!" Scott snapped at Derek from beside her, pointing at the police cruiser that was pulling out onto the main road, "You did that."

"I know." Derek said generically to the both of them, "Now get in the car and help me."

"No, I've got a better idea," Scott said as the two of them walked closer to the idling car, "I'm gonna call a lawyer, because a lawyer might actually have a chance of getting him out before the full moon."

Amber raised her eyebrows at the decent suggestion from her best friend, lifting a thumb to point at Scott while sending Derek a nod of agreement.

Derek shook his head, "Not once they do real search of the house."

"What d'you mean?" Amber questioned.

He sighed, "Whatever Jackson said to the cops, what's in the house is worse. A lot worse."

Her stomach turned uncomfortably, mind racing as Derek threw the passenger door open and looked at them expectantly. She met Scott's gaze and he sighed with a frown, dropping a hand between her shoulder blades to guide her into the backseat of the car.

It didn't take long for nightfall to set in beneath the early winter sunset once they pulled up to the Lahey house. Under the cover of the darkness, they crept into the house, their path dimly lit by the flashlight Derek had handed off to Scott.

"I thought Isaac was supposed to be a safe bet?" Amber asked Derek quietly as they moved through the dark front hallway, "What happened to that, huh? He's a werewolf for less than a day and he kills his dad?"

"Isaac didn't kill him. He told me he didn't." Derek said assuredly.

"Well if he didn't, then who did?" Scott asked, turning back toward them in the dark as he walked.

Derek frowned, eyebrows furrowing in frustration, "I don't know yet."

"Well then how d'you know he's telling the truth?" Scott questioned disbelievingly.

"Because I trust my senses," Derek said easily, "It's a combination of them, not just your.. Sense of smell." He emphasized with a knowing look.

"Huh?" Amber asked in confusion, looking between Derek's raised eyebrows and Scott's ashamed grimace, "What did you do? What'd I miss?"

"You.. Saw the lacrosse thing today." Scott realized quietly, focused on Derek.

"What lacrosse thing?"

"Yeah." Derek told Scott, unimpressed.

"Did it look that bad?" Scott questioned.

"Yeah." Derek repeated.

"Wh- What lacrosse thing?" Amber asked again desperately.

Scott winced, "Stiles got me in goal, so I could sniff some of the guys on the team, so that I could-" He caught her incredulous look and continued dejectedly, "So I could figure out who the new werewolf was. By scent."

"Dear God, Scott." She breathed, patting his shoulder.

"I was surprised you didn't tell them about Isaac." Derek commented to the girl as they approached a closed door off of the kitchen and slowed to a stop.

"Yeah, well. I trusted that you knew what you were doing," She scowled at him in the dark, "Evidently that was a mistake." She said pointedly.

Derek shook his head, resting on hand on her shoulder as he pulled open the door in front of them, revealing a dark stairwell that led down into the basement. He turned his attention toward Scott, grabbing the flashlight and nodding toward the open doorway.

"You wanna learn?" Derek prompted, "Let's start now."

"What's down there?" Amber asked nervously, following behind Scott as he began to descend the stairs.

"Motive." Derek said simply.

"And what am I looking for?" Scott asked as he got to the bottom of the stairs and looked around.

"Follow your senses." Derek told him.

Amber examined the dark cellar with slow steps, squinting at the mess of old furniture and stored junk. She fought the urge to run her finger through the dust on the worktop along the wall, turning in a slow spin as she looked around. Her eyes caught on a large chest freezer that was unplugged from the wall and she frowned at it in confusion.

"What happened down here?" Scott asked.

"The kind of thing that leaves an impression." Derek answered ominously.

Amber felt the warmth of Scott's body when he came to stand beside her in the cool basement. He too frowned as he looked down at the freezer in front of them. Her hand trailed over the top of it, fingers toying gently at the open padlock secured to the front. Scott pulled the lock into his own hand and he let out a shaky breath as his fingers came into contact with the metal.

Just as she was about to question his reaction, Derek shined the flashlight in their direction and spoke up from behind them.

"Open it."

Scott unhooked the padlock from the staple and flipped the hatch before slowly lifting the lid to the freezer. Derek helpfully shined the flashlight around the inside of the chest and Amber gasped, her stomach twisting sickeningly as her eyes took in the sight in front of them.

The inside of the freezer was covered in small, shallow, very human, claw marks. Someone had raked their fingernails along the walls and the top of the freezer in deep scratches. There was red caked into some of the gouges where fingertips had bled as they'd scratched painfully against the hard plastic.

"God." Amber whispered, reaching out to touch one of the marks gently, her fingertip running over the indents on the inside of the lid. She turned to Derek with a horrified look, "Isaac's dad locked him in here?"

Derek nodded, "Among other things."

"This is why he said yes to you." Scott stated, turning to look at Derek.

"Everyone wants power." Derek told him.

"If- If we help you, then you have to stop," Scott demanded, "You can't just go around turning people into werewolves."

Derek looked at him incredulously, "I can if they're willing."

"Did you tell Isaac about the Argents? About being hunted?" Scott questioned.

"Yes," Derek replied, "And he still asked."

"Then he's an idiot!" Scott snapped.

"And you're the idiot dating Argent's daughter." Derek raised his eyebrows when Scott looked at him in surprise, "Yeah. I know your little secret. And if I know, how long do you think it's gonna take for them to find out?" He asked, "You saw what happens to an Omega."

"Wait, what Omega?" Amber interjected, "There was an Omega? What happened to them?"

"The Argents cut him in half." Derek explained quickly. He moved to speak again and Amber gaped, looking between the two werewolves.

"What!" She squeaked, "Th- They.. When- Who-"

"The Omega was the one stealing and eating the organs. At the graveyard, the ambulance-"

"We- We desperately need to work on your information redistribution skills." Amber told Scott in disbelief.

"Enough." Derek interrupted before focusing on Scott, "With me, you learn how to use all your senses. With me, you learn control." He stepped closer to them and grabbed Scott's hand, lifting it as the boy's claws emerged with his budding anger, "Even on a full moon."

Scott pulled his hand from Derek's grip, "If I'm with you, I lose Allison."

"You're gonna lose her anyway." Derek told him, "You know that."

A moment of silence passed before Scott spoke, "I'm not part of your pack. But I want Isaac out. He's my responsibility too."

"Why?" Derek questioned, "Because he's one of us?"

Scott shook his head, "No. Because he's innocent."

"So, what do we do?" Amber asked after another few moments of silence between the two boys.

"We need to break Isaac out." Derek said simply.

"But Stiles and I were gonna lock Scott up at the school." She stated, looking over at her best friend worriedly, "How are we gonna get Isaac out of a cell and get you taken care of?"

"I'll have Alison lock me up." Scott told her easily. She frowned and he continued, "It'll be fine, I promise. I can have her lock me up down here."

Her eyes drifted back down to the freezer and her stomach churned nauseatingly at the thought of her best friend locked inside, "I don't know, Scott-"

"Look, there's no time to come up with anything else. We have to do this." Scott reached out to squeeze her shoulder reassuringly, "You and Stiles help Derek get Isaac out. I'll be here. And when the moon goes back down, Allison will let me out."

She frowned but nodded at him, even as her eyes drifted back down to the freezer, "Okay."

She reached into her pocket to pull out her phone, sending a few texts to Stiles to explain the plan and telling him to meet them at the Sheriff's Station. When she was finished, Derek gestured for her to follow him back upstairs and she looked between the two boys hesitantly before throwing her arms around her best friend in a quick hug.

"I love you." She told Scott softly, hand ruffling the fluffy hair on the back of his head, "I'm sorry we can't be here with you."

She pulled back and Scott released her with a small reassuring smile, "Dude, I'll be fine." He promised, "It's just one full moon."

She frowned as she recalled the last two full moons they'd experienced and Scott grimaced.

"This time will be different. I'm sure of it." He said.

Derek reached out to grab her shoulder and she let out a long-suffering sigh, "Alright, yes. I'm coming." She said, taking a step back toward the stairs with the older werewolf.

"Good luck." Scott called out in a hopeful tone.

"You too." She replied, shooting him one last look before she climbed the stairs back up to the main floor.

Stiles threw the Jeep into park outside the Sheriff's Station and Amber climbed into the vehicle quickly, Derek following close behind. As soon as she was settled into the center seat, Stiles reached out to take her hand in his, already angled toward them in his own seat with an elbow propped up on the steering wheel.

"What's the plan?" She asked him automatically.

"Okay, well. The keys to every cell are in a password protected lock box in my father's office," He explained, looking between Derek and the girl sitting between them, "The problem is getting past the front desk."

They all turned to peer out the passenger window at the young female deputy behind the desk who was typing away at a computer.

Amber chewed on her lip in thought, "Well, I could-"

"I'll distract her." Derek said easily, already reaching for the door handle.

"Woah, woah, woah! You?" Stiles asked incredulously, reaching across the cab of the vehicle to pull Derek back, "You're not going in there-"

Derek scowled at the hand Stiles still had stretched across Amber's chest to hold the werewolf's shoulder.

"I'm taking my hand off-" Stiles conceded quickly, dropping it to land in Amber's lap.

She let Stiles rest his hand palm down over her denim-clad thigh and rubbed her own hand over the backs of his fingers soothingly as Derek continued to glare at the boy. The werewolf's narrowed eyes dropped to where Stiles' hand was now draped over the girl's leg before he looked back up to address them.

"I was exonerated." He reminded them.

"You're still technically a person of interest." Amber shrugged with a wince.

"An innocent person." Derek reiterated.

"An inno- You?" Stiles scoffed, laughing sarcastically, "Yeah, right!"

Derek's jaw clenched as he looked between them, thoroughly unimpressed.

"Okay, fine," Stiles sighed, "What's your plan?"

Derek looked genuinely stunned at the question, "To distract her." He said slowly.

Amber snorted, "Okay, but how?"

Stiles looked at Derek in disbelief, "Uh huh. How?" He questioned, "By.. Punching her in the face?"

"Ha." Derek said sarcastically, "By talking to her."

"Oh! Gimme a sample." Amber suggested excitedly, turning toward Derek, "Pretend I'm her. What're you gonna say?"

Derek tightened his jaw silently and looked between them with his eyebrows raised and a long moment passed before Stiles spoke.

"Dead silence.. That should work beautifully." He observed sarcastically, "Any other ideas?"

Derek looked up at the roof of the Jeep and tilted his head in thought with a small shrug, "I'm thinking about punching you in the face." He admitted.

"Okay, alright. No one is punching anyone in the face." Amber interrupted, turning and pushing her hands up against Stiles' chest to urge him out the driver's side door, "Let's just.. Get inside. I'm sure Derek will figure something out."

"Yeah, we better hope so." Stiles muttered under his breath as he opened the door of the Jeep.

The three of them snuck in quietly through the front entrance and while Derek went through the main doors and up to the front desk, Amber and Stiles peered around the doorway to wait for an opportunity to pass through the without being seen.

"Hi, how can I help-" The deputy looked up from the folder in her hands and caught sight of where Derek was leaning up against the desk with a charming smile, "-You?" She finished weakly.

"Hi." Derek smiled, teeth on display and pulling his handsome features into an open, friendly expression.

"Hi." The woman breathed, stunned.

Stiles rolled his eyes in annoyance at how easily Derek's plan seemed to be working due to his good looks alone, and Amber reached up to pat him on the back consolingly.

"Um. I had a question," Derek said in feigned distraction, "Uh, sorry. I'm a little- A little thrown."

Amber urged Stiles forward with her hand on his back and they took slow, careful steps through the main entrance toward the back hall as Derek continued.

"I wasn't really expecting someone-"

"Like me?" The deputy asked softly.

"Well, I was gonna say, 'someone so incredibly beautiful' but I guess that'd mean the same thing." Derek flirted just as Amber and Stiles disappeared down the hall.

Stiles took her hand and led her down the hall toward his father's office, leaving the lights off as they crept into the room. When they got to a small lockbox hanging on the wall behind his dad's desk, Stiles dropped her hand to flip the cover up and reveal the keypad, his thumb quickly moving to type in the code, a quiet clicking filling the room with the press of each button.

2 - 6 - 1 - 9 - 9 - 1

The tiny door on the box opened with the release of the lock, but the space inside was decidedly empty.

"Isn't there supposed to be a set of keys in there?" Amber questioned obviously.

"Yeah." Stiles murmured, looking at the empty box in disbelief, "Oh, no. Allison was supposed to- Oh, no."

Amber dashed back toward the door and Stiles followed only half a second behind her. They stumbled out into the hallway and moved in the direction of the holding cells at the back of the building.

When they rounded one of the final turns, Amber tripped over her own feet in surprise and froze as they came face to face with another uniformed deputy. Stiles nearly rammed into her back when he stopped abruptly behind her and she took another cautious step forward, laughing awkwardly and feigning innocence.

"Uh, we were just looking for, uh-" Stiles trailed off.

Amber followed his eyeline down to the small syringe in the man's hand and their eyes widened in realization.

Not a deputy. A hunter.

Upon further inspection, the man was also bleeding badly from a small arrow wound in his upper thigh.

"Oh, shit." Amber and Stiles both muttered, the latter pulling on her shoulder as he started to step away.

As they spun the hunter managed to grab Stiles around his chest, knocking the boy from his feet so that he dragged along the ground backwards. In the same quick moment, the man caught a handful of Amber's hair and yanked her back with them.

Still on her feet, she yelped and stumbled backwards as she followed the painful tugging of the hunter's fist in her hair and she could hear Stiles struggling against the man's tight, one armed grip around his chest as he tried in vain to get his own feet back underneath him.

Amber whined quietly as they were dragged around a corner and her eyes caught on the fire alarm on the wall. They moved further down the hall and she flailed her arms, her fingers managing to catch on the small red lever and pulling on it roughly just as she was yanked away.

A shrill alarm sounded out through the building as the hunter threw them into the back room of holding cells and he released them carelessly. Amber gasped as her hair was finally freed and she instinctively reached up toward the sore spot on her scalp as Stiles fell to the ground.

The hunter fiddled with the syringe of wolfsbane in his hand and Amber caught the moment that the man's eyes drifted up to where the holding cell's door was already broken and swung open.

"Shit-" She exclaimed just as Isaac growled loudly and tackled the hunter beside her down against the desk at the front of the room.

She stumbled back a step where she tripped over Stiles' feet and tumbled to the ground beside him, landing painfully on her backside. He grabbed onto her arm and pulled her back along the floor as Isaac threw the hunter against a wall.

The hunter went to thrust the syringe into Isaac's shoulder but his arm was caught by the werewolf with another angry growl.

As soon as she was close enough, Stiles wrapped an arm around her stomach from behind, pulling her between his legs as he continued to scramble backwards. She fell back against his chest and they finally came to a stop when they thumped against the wall on the opposite side of the room.

They watched with wide eyes as Isaac gripped the hunter's head in his hand, slamming it back with a loud crack and dropping the hunter in a heap onto the ground.

Derek finally ran into the back room and stopped in the center of the space, stomping down on the forgotten vial of poison on the ground and causing it to shatter loudly beneath his foot. At the sound, the younger werewolf turned suddenly and Isaac's attention was drawn to the two teens on the floor as he growled again.

Amber pressed herself back against Stiles more firmly and her heart raced violently in her chest in fear. Isaac's clawed hands twitched at his sides and he stepped toward them with a low rumbling sound in his throat, eyes still glowing bright gold.

Derek side-stepped in a quick movement to block the path to them and he growled loudly in Isaac's direction, the sound rumbling and furious. The younger werewolf whined, falling to the ground on the other side of the room as his arms came up above his head to protect himself from an anticipated blow. After a second, Isaac looked back up from behind his shaking arms to he peek out at them, his face distinctly human once again.

Stiles was breathing heavily against the back of Amber's neck, arm still wrapped tightly around her stomach as he held her against his chest.

"H- How did you do that?" He asked Derek.

The older werewolf turned slowly to look down at them, "I'm the Alpha." He supplied as explanation.

Isaac flinched when Derek went over and held out a hand in offering to help him to his feet. Without a word of goodbye, Derek led Isaac out of the back room and the two were gone.

Amber scrambled to get to her feet in their absence, pulling Stiles up with her before spinning around to face him.

"Are you okay?" They asked each other at the same time with worried expressions.

She laughed quietly and Stiles brought a hand up to the back of her head, gently smoothing down the mess where the hunter's hand had been fisted in her hair.

She placed a hand on his cheek and stroked her thumb over his mouth softly, "How exactly are we gonna explain this?" She asked suddenly.

He dropped his hand from the back of her head and tangled their fingers together with a frown, "Shit. I actually hadn't thought that far ahead yet."

"That's okay. We'll uh, we'll just say that we came to see your dad.. And we'll explain that, y'know.." Her eyes drifted over to the hunter, "That guy must've broken in disguised as a deputy, attacked us, and let Isaac out." She said quickly, "I mean.. That- That's somewhat believable, right?"

She looked up at Stiles with wide eyes and he made a face as he very clearly tried to think of something better. His fingers tightened around hers and suddenly the fire alarm cut off, plunging the building into a silence that left their ears ringing.

Stiles opened his mouth to say something but didn't get a chance to speak before his father stepped into the back room. The Sheriff looked between them, the uniformed man sprawled beside the wall, and the empty holding cell at the back of the room. His eyes narrowed in an angry glare of disbelief as he took in the scene in front of him.

"Uh," Stiles swallowed heavily, pointing toward the unconscious hunter in a deputies uniform, "He did it."

[merrilark]

Not to add to the sea of negativity around the finale, but I slept and. I think maybe some of my blasé feelings last night were numbness. I still feel a bit numb but the more I think about how so many aspects of the finale were handled, the worse it gets.

Don't get me wrong, I had fun. I loved not knowing what was going to happen next bc it was just that weird. I loved aspects of it. There were some good scenes and fun moments between characters. But I think the pointlessness of it all just really sours everything.

Like even the parts I liked? Meaningless. It doesn't matter if Klaus and Diego stood up for themselves, or Klaus learned to want to get better for himself rather than for Dave, because the message at the end is literally that the world would have been better off without them.

And I don't even mind the idea that they'll always cause the apocalypse. I don't mind if they're always at risk of causing it as long as they have the marigolds, but I would have preferred it if they found a way around it, even if it meant losing their powers again. Or, if they all DID have to die, then at least take Reginald down with them. The fact he gets to live and they die? I thought that the weird line at the end about Reginald being a good man all along was supposed to be words from an unreliable narrator bc it was coming from Abigail, but I think that Blackman actually believes that. I think that was the writing trying very hard to say that Reginald IS a good man. And I am always going to support the idea that fiction can be wrong and it can say things that aren't true and it can be just unapologetically tragic and unfair if it wants... But I think for it to be good writing, it has to make sense. This ending felt like the antithesis of what it was at the core, which was that the Umbrellas were dysfunctional assholes who loved each other and their journey in trying to learn how to behave like family.

This finale instead said it would rather rip them apart and elevate their abuser, who cares how we get there or how we chew up the original narrative.

And that hurts a lot more than I wanted this show to hurt me.

I can overlook continuity issues. I can maybe get behind parts of Five/Lila if I squint and reason away some of it, and ignore it really didn't serve a purpose beyond hurting Diego. I can even ignore that a lot of the subplots didn't really matter that much and that, again, Klaus was given nothing much to do of consequence, and that Allison's whole thing with Claire felt really forced. I can ignore how the Jennifer Incident and Abigail's plan make very little sense. I can even possibly make myself bend over backwards to understand why Five would give up to the point of letting himself and his siblings die. Whatever. But I cannot get behind the idea that Reginald and Abigail were right and the only thing stopping the timeline from being a utopia is that eight abused kids turned traumatized adults wanted to stay alive and be something more than what their abuser made them.

It cheapens everything starting from S1 out. I want to understand why Blackman thought this was a solid idea.

[maria021015]

SPOILERS AHEAD FOR CHAPTER 33!

“Are you sure you wanna go through with this, Scotty?” Stiles whispered in a questioning tone as the wolf pushed open the front door to a dingy little tattoo parlour downtown. The neon sign in the window was the main source of light in the dark alleyway.

“I don’t think his answer has changed from the other three times you asked him on the drive over here,” Zaida pointed out with a roll of her eyes as she followed closely behind Scott. She was starting to get good at handling her feelings around Stiles now, even though it did nothing to calm the way her heart raced or how her cheeks flushed whenever he brushed past her. There was nothing much else she could do about that though, save for waiting for her affections to pass. As the werewolf spoke to the man at the front counter, her eyes roved over the stencils on display on the walls, catching on some beautiful fine-line floral designs.

“Why are you even here?” Stiles shot back at her. She’d sort of showed up at Stiles’ house and invited herself as an excuse to avoid going with Allison and Lydia tonight. It was the Argents’ first day back in Beacon Hills and Zaida was not looking forward to the awkwardness between her and Allison resuming right where they left off.

“My other option was to go with the girls to a ‘hang-out’ Lydia organised that she claims was definitely not a triple date. Though she’s kind of right. It’s not a date so much as a hook-up.” Zaida shrugged and Stiles let out a choked sound. “Needless to say, I’m not interested.”

“Boy, it's a good thing you drew me a picture…” The burly tattoo artist looked down at the scrawled visualisation Scott handed him as he sat in the chair with Stiles and Zaida standing around him. It was a scribbled sketch of two lines of varying thickness - not exactly the most informative design.

“Hey, Scott! You sure you don't want something like this?” Stiles snickered and held up a sample folder, which opened to a page with a black ink creature that looked eerily akin to the Kanima. Scott stared at his friend with a raised brow. “...Too soon? Yeah…”

As the tattoo artist prepared his ink and sterilised his tools, Stiles grimaced once more. “I don't know, man. Are you sure about this? I mean, these things are pretty permanent, you know?”

“I'm not changing my mind.” Scott insisted, evidently excited about it.

“Okay, but why two bands?” The boy asked his friend, not quite understanding the purpose of something so seemingly unimportant.

“I just like it.” Scott shrugged, and honestly, that reasoning checked out for him. He wasn’t the kind of guy to think too deeply about anything and it was something Zaida had grown fond of.

“But don't you think your first tattoo should have some sort of meaning?” Stiles tried to make sense of it. “You know, or something?”

“Getting a tattoo means something.” The werewolf pointed out eagerly.

“I don't think that's-” Stiles began sceptically, but the tattoo artist nodded in support of Scott and scooted his wheely chair closer, preparing to start.

“He's right. Tattooing goes back thousands of years. The Tahitian word ‘tatua’ means "to leave a mark," like a rite of passage.” The man explained.

“Yeah, see? He gets it!” Scott nodded enthusiastically.

He's covered in tattoos, Scott-” Stiles scoffed, eyeing the man’s inked skin stretching down both of his arms in completed sleeves. “Literally.”

“God, I wish Xander was as cool as Melissa,” Zaida shook her head, watching on longingly as the artist hovered the needle over Scott’s left bicep. Scott’s Mom had signed the permission slip for Scott to get his tattoo, and she’d even allowed him to buy a motorcycle with the money he’d saved up from working at Deaton’s.

“Okay, you ready?” The man double-checked. “You ain't got any problems with needles, do you?”

“Nope!” Scott answered excitedly, raring to go, and the tattoo gun hummed to life.

“I tend to get a little squeamish, though, so…” Stiles said weakly, scratching his face as he peered at the needle puncturing Scott’s skin again and again at rapid speed. Within seconds, Stiles was on the floor with a loud thud, and Zaida’s head snapped towards where the boy had only just been standing.

“Oh God, what do we do?” She asked in concern, rushing to his side to check him for any injuries, but he seemed fine.

“Just leave him there. Carlos will get him.” The tattoo artist answered her casually, not so much as batting an eyelid.

Surely enough, a younger guy who looked to be in his early twenties came over from one of the back rooms, nodding to her before pulling Stiles’ limp form up and half-carrying, half-dragging him over to a small couch by the front window, just a few feet away from where Scott was being tattooed. “It happens more often than you’d think. He’ll be awake in no time.” He smirked at her, looking her up and down with grey eyes. His tousled black hair brushed the top of his eyes. “See?” He added when Stiles shifted and groaned, starting to come back into the land of consciousness.

“You look a bit young to be a tattoo artist,” She struck up a conversation with the guy, noting the lack of ink on his body. He had a few small, tasteful tattoos along his forearms and a tooth hanging from one ear, but that was all.

“I’m still an apprentice.” The boy - Carlos - gave her a lazy half-shrug. “I noticed you looking at my sample book when you came in. My work is at a discounted price, but for a pretty girl like you…I could hook you up with something on the house, if you want?”

“You do fine-line?” She raised a brow, her curiosity piqued. He must have thought she was of age, and she wasn’t about to correct him if she could get a free tattoo out of it. She’d always wanted one. “I’ve heard it’s a difficult style.”

“Yeah, it is. But I’m great with my hands,” He winked at her and Stiles scowled at him as he clutched the top of the couch to haul himself into a seated position.

“Hey, buddy? She’s sixteen.” Stiles warned threateningly and Carlos’ grin dropped from his face. “Oh, and did I mention, my dad’s the Sheriff?”

The boy immediately left without so much as another glance in her direction, and Zaida glared at Stiles, crossing her arms over her chest. “You just cost me a free tattoo.”

“Yeah, and I just saved him from a court case.” He snorted and pulled himself to his wobbly feet.

“You’re as pale as a sheet, Stilinski. Sit back down.” She rolled her eyes and pushed his shoulder, forcing him back onto the couch as she sank into the seat beside him. “I can’t believe you actually fainted.”

“And I can’t believe you were actually letting that guy flirt with you to get a free tattoo. Seriously, his lines were awful. ‘I’m great with my hands’? What was that? That’s disgusting.” Stiles gagged. “You know as the oldest of this particular trio it’s my responsibility to make sure you two make good decisions, and neither of you is making it easy for me!” He called out purposefully so that Scott would hear him, turning to look back at the boy who was still under the needle and immediately regretting it when he felt queasy again.

“We’re all the same age, you bozo.” She shook her head, not counting the months that were undoubtedly between their birthdays.

“Nope, think again little-Xander,” He smirked. “I’m seventeen.”

“Little-Xander?” She repeated the nickname with an upturned nose. “Also, since when? I could have sworn you were sixteen.”

“Yeah, you’re exactly like him. You’re both stubborn smart-asses with a mean right hook and a temper. And I was sixteen. Until I turned seventeen.” Stiles shot back with infuriating smugness and she narrowed her eyes at him, forcing him to yield. “Okay fine, my birthday was April eighth.”

“Shut up, there's no way!” Her jaw dropped open in surprise, but she could tell he wasn’t lying. “But that was ages ago! Why didn’t you tell me? Did you guys do something for your birthday without me?”

“No, we…uh, we didn't do anything for my birthday.” His playful mood died down and she could tell she’d struck a nerve. April eighth, why did that date ring a bell?

“Oh,” She realised. That was why. It was the night of the Lacrosse grand final, when he’d been kidnapped and beaten by Gerard Argent, and she’d been worried out of her mind.

“Yeah,” Stiles nodded somberly, knowing she’d figured it out. Thankfully, the morose atmosphere was cleared when Stiles picked up a sample folder and pointed out a fine-line tattoo design of a long-stemmed rose. “That would look nice on you.”

“I thought you didn’t like tattoos?” She asked him with a raised brow.

“Doesn’t matter what I like, it’s your body and you like them.” He shrugged genuinely and her heart warmed at his sentiments. “Plus, you could make anything look pretty.”

Zaida suddenly regretted her choice of hairstyle for today as she found herself unable to hide her blush behind her hair as she usually did. Instead, she fanned herself, pretending it was due to the temperature of the shop. “Phew, is it hot in here?”

“Nope, just you.” Stiles winked and she knew it was a joke, but her heart stopped.

“Oh, man…” Scott groaned from the passenger seat of the Jeep, pulling up his shirt sleeve to inspect the bandaged tattoo.

“You okay?” Stiles asked him, eyes flickering off the road for only a second before he refocused.

“Kinda burns…” Scott winced, gripping his bicep tightly.

“Yes, you just had your skin stabbed about one hundred thousand times with a needle…” Stiles’ words were dripping with sarcasm.

“Yeah, but I don't think it's supposed to feel like this.” Scott reasoned and groaned in pain. “No, it's definitely not supposed to feel like this! Oh, I gotta take this thing off!”

“No, no, no, no, Scott!” Stiles pleaded with a horrified expression as his best friend tore the bandage off to reveal his fresh wound. Zaida, on the other hand, peered over the seat for a better look. “Oh, Scott, please stop!”

“Oh, no! What? No, no, come on!” Scott sighed in disappointment as the ink faded away back to his normal tanned skin tone. “It healed.”

“Aw, thank God. I hated it.” Stiles wrinkled his nose and blurted out in relief. Scott frowned at him. “...Sorry.”

“What happened to ‘it’s your body’?” Zaida snorted and the boy ignored her jab.

“I can’t believe summer break is already over.” He changed the subject instead.

“Tell me about it, I was grounded for the whole thing.” Zaida huffed. “I am absolutely dreading school tomorrow.”

“Hey, at least Allison will be back.” Stiles nudged Scott with his elbow, trying to cheer up the boy who was now moping about wasting his money on a tattoo that lasted like ten minutes.

“That’s if she’s even gonna show up,” Scott mumbled back, not having heard Zaida and Stiles’ conversation at the shop earlier.

“You haven’t spoken to her at all?” Zaida questioned. She’d have thought they’d at least have messaged each other a few times, but Scott had clearly not talked with the girl, otherwise, he’d know she was returning to Beacon Hills High.

“Nah, we agreed to give each other the summer - no texts, no calls,” Scott explained. “And after everything that happened, I'm not sure she's coming back at all…”

“I think she is,” Stiles said as they pulled up at a red light beside a much smaller car. The road was completely empty at this time of night. The boy turned his attention to that black car next to them. “I'd say it's pretty definite, you know...Like, one-hundred-percent…”

Zaida instantly recognised it, and though Scott might not have noticed whose car it was, he certainly recognised the two girls inside of it. “What are the chances?” She shook her head with a snort.

“Oh, my God! Oh-” The werewolf panicked, his dark eyes going wide as he sank in his seat. “Can we just drive, please? Stiles?”

“Scott, it's a red light!” Stiles exclaimed in exasperation.

“It’s not like that’s stopped you before,” Zaida reached over the seat to lightly slap the boy’s shoulder. “Come on, have a bit of mercy for your best friend.”

“I think we should talk to her. I just think we should say something.” Stiles leaned over Scott to roll down his window as the werewolf began to lose his shit.

“No! No, no, Stiles! Come on! Oh, my God, dude, no!” The wolf floundered, but Stiles ignored him and plastered a broad smile onto his face.

“Hey!” He called out but the black Beetle beside them simply sped off in response, straight through the red light. Stiles pulled back from Scott’s window with a casual shrug. “...You know, they probably didn't see us.”

“I think they saw you, Stiles.” Zaida scoffed and shook her head. “Hence the dramatic exit.”

“What are you doing?” Scott freaked out as the light turned green and Stiles resumed along the same road, pulling up behind the girls’ car.

“I'm driving...?” His brows furrowed, not quite getting what Scott didn’t understand about that.

“We're right behind them.” The wolf whined, gesturing at the black Beetle in front of them.

“Okay, well, do you see any turns?” The boy pointed out with a huff.

“I don't want it to look like we're following them…” Scott explained his thought process.

“It’s not like we have a whole lot of options right now, Scotty boy. It’s either we keep going like any normal person would, or we just break in the middle of the road like crazy people and wait for them to get far enough ahead before continuing.” Zaida rose to Stiles’ defence.

“Is that what you want me to do? I can stop.” The boy offered and Scott looked at them both with his mouth opening and shutting like a goldfish, not being able to decide which option was better right now. “What do you want me to do?”

“I don't know - anything?” Scott exclaimed in frustration and Stiles slammed on the brakes, throwing Zaida forwards so her rib cage went barrelling into the seat she was currently leaning over, effectively knocking the air flat out of her lungs.

“So you chose the crazy people option?” She wheezed out through laboured breathing, clutching her chest as it ached.

“Wait, they just stopped too.” Scott peered through the darkness, and he was right. The black Beetle had come to a pretty sudden stop too.

A sudden wave of sickening anxiety washed over Zaida, and she held up her hand for both of the boys to see how violently her body was shaking. “Something’s wrong.”

Stiles immediately flipped the gear shift into park and threw his door open, pulling his seat forward for her to clamber out of the back. He offered her his hand to help her jump down, and she accepted it, too busy worrying about Allison and Lydia to allow herself to blush at his touch as she now usually would. A loud smashing of glass echoed through the silence, snapping all three of their heads towards the Beetle. None of them wasted time, sprinting over as both girls got out of the car.

“Are you okay?” Scott got there first, and Stiles was next, going straight to Lydia.

“It came out of nowhere!” The redhead cried out and Zaida averted her eyes as Stiles checked her over for any injuries. She turned her head instead towards the windshield where the largest buck she’d ever seen had apparently crashed straight through the centre of the windshield - its neck lacerated by broken glass and its pelt soaked in blood.

“It ran right into us!” The redhead reported in a shaky voice.

“Are you okay?” Scott asked Allison tenderly, and the taller girl nodded her head.

“Well, I'm not okay! I am totally freaking out!” Lydia interrupted hysterically. “How the hell does it just run into us? I saw its eyes right before it hit us, and it was like it...It was like it was crazy.”

“Animals don’t just commit suicide,” Zaida murmured, walking around the bonnet with the shattered windshield crunching beneath her shoes. She reached out for the buck, her fingertips just barely grazing its fur before Stiles lunged forward and pulled her away.

“Careful, there’s glass everywhere.” He said with concern etched into his furrowed brows.

“It was scared,” Scott corrected Lydia’s assessment of the creature.

“...Actually, terrified.” Zaida agreed, holding up her still-shaking hand to the moonlight. She and Stiles exchanged worried glances. Her mother had warned them something was coming to Beacon Hills. Maybe it would arrive sooner than they’d thought.

[adnrewminyard]

aftg skateshop au

ok ok so i actually JUST started another fic but i can't get the idea of the foxes in my old workplace out of my head. so just the rough beginnings of a skateshop au bc i think the foxes would definitely have a place in the skateboarding community

neil josten as the amateur newbie that 'doesn't even skate!' he just wants to get his paycheck and leave. refuses to get on a board but sits there with his mouth wide open on training nights.

andrew minyard as the shop security guard, who claims he has no interest in skating at all but kevin claims he saw him skating home from work one day and that he's amazing.

dan wilds as the store manager that no one takes seriously bc she's a woman, even though she's won several skate competitions and the shop is performing better than it ever has under her leadership

seth gordon as the assistant manager that isn't misogynistic but definitely isn't happy that his manager is a woman that knows more than him. he listens to podcasts and does push ups in the backroom on his break.

kevin day as the 3ic (assistant assistant manager) that USED to be a pro skateboarder sponsored by another skateshop but since his injury he just lectures everyone that comes into the store on correct posture and tries to land new tricks on the shop floor. most of the time he's clearly hungover.

matt boyd as the guy that's only really there to make friends and follow dan around like a lost puppy. customers love him but he feels too bad to upsell to them so he never really brings in a lot of sales.

aaron minyard as that one employee who you're never really sure what they do? he clocks in then disappears off, only to find out they're somehow one of the top sellers at the end of the day.

nicky hemmick as the over-excitable, over sharing employee that tells every customer his life problems and gets too involved in company drama

allison reynolds as the visual merchandiser who quit her internship with a successful designer brand store to shuffle skate brands and boards around the store aimlessly

renee walker as the melt-in-your-mouth employee that handles a board like no-ones business and somehow keeps everyone in line - she runs a workshop training grommets (kids) on her days off

i honestly don't know if this is going to entertain anyone besides me tbh but this job was honestly the most absurd place i have EVER worked and i'm really interested in writing the foxes into it and seeing how they go!!!

[caryn-mixx]

Cosmopolitan Magazine Exclusive Interview w/Caryn MiXX

Interview conducted by Peter Laughlin

Standing all of 5 foot 9, wearing stilettos a white blouse and pink leather shorts, Caryn MiXX is a gamble. A risk you take by looking at such an entrancing woman. I had a chance to interview Cary. About her clothing line, her world tour, and those milkshakes.

pl : Caryn, how are u?

CM: im great? Ami I great? I FEEL great ..(laughs)

Pl: cool. So has the world tour been stressful so far?

CM: yea, I had to catch a "red-eye" flight 2 days ago to get from Paris to London, to do my Glastonbury sets. I was kinda nervous, but I think it went well.

Pl: where's the next big concert?

CM: where? Yikes! Let me check my planner.....well looks like it might be back to the states, im performing at the stratosphere in Vegas, I haven't been to Vegas since 2013, right after "classifieds on Earth" was released. I'm stoked.

Pl: do u usually stay at the same hotel u perform at?

CM: no, a friend of mine has a residency at Wynn and everytime I go, I either stay there or at Aria.

Pl: must be nice having those sort of connections. So will there be another album brewing after the tour?

CM: don't know. I have no clue at the very moment. I write, compose and produce, when I'm inspired. My clothing line , BOFE COUTURE is the next major thing on my mind. BOFE COUTURE BRIDAL BOUTIQUE JUST opened on rodeo Dr. recently, so I'm focused on running and managing my business ventures, next.

Pl: are u able to manage the stores yourself?

CM: I'm not alone. My business partners (music producer) Caren Moda, and my cousin (performing artist) Allison Z handle the hiring process for our locations.

PL: Any desire to discuss your personal life?

CM: regarding what?

PL: from what the other articles and interviews we've read over the last 10 yrs, you've been married and divorced quite a few times.

.

CM: well, basically I'm hard working. But u know Peter, not everyone is. My work and need to notarize every relationship I'm in, gets in the way of the ACTUAL relationship. I've been married 3 times. Honestly, I very well could have moved to Utah to become a female polygamist. (Laughs).

PL: gotcha, so that's it, no family endeavors?

CM: I don't know Peter, if that becomes a real thing, God will let me and that other person know what's good I guess, at that very point.

PL: any final thoughts on this cosmopolitan celebrity interview with "caryn MiXX"?

CM: yea Peter, I asked a few people about what kind of effort it takes to start a food business. Juice business to be exact. So I pulled together my business reg funds and I'm now the proud owner of a fresh juice business. "Rinse juice bar" is coming soon to Austin tx,, Arizona, new Mexico and certain parts of northern and southern California.

PL: sounds yummy, can't wait to try it! Thanks for chatting with cosmopolitan magazine, Caryn!

CM: awww, thanks for having me Peter! Hope all is well...

.

[kitkatwinchester]

GUYS I DON'T EVEN NEED TO SEE THE REST THAT SEASON WAS PERFECT!

I mean, obviously I need to see the rest, because I want to see the rest, but GUYS THAT ENDING WAS SO PERFECT OMGGGGG.

Like, okay, am I sad that Stiles didn't end up with Lydia (...yet?)? Yes. But am I SOOO freaking happy that Jackson is alive? Absolutely. And, like, as much as I want Stiles to be happy, and as much as we can clearly tell he appreciates the real her more than anyone else, that scene between Jackson and Lydia was freaking BEAUTIFUL OMG.

And then the scene with Allison and Scott was so amazing. Like, obviously, I'm sad that they're not together right now, but I also totally get it, and Scott totally does too, and the fact that they both love each other enough to trust that they'll maybe end up together again someday is so cute.

And then don't even get me STARTED on the ending scene with Stiles and Scott. OMG STOP MY HEART CAN'T HANDLE THEIR FRIENDSHIP AHHHH!!!

THEY'RE SO STINKING CUTE AND HILARIOUS AND ADORABLE TOGETHER I'M SO GLAD THEY'RE STILL BESTIES I LOVE THEM SO MUCH AHHHH!!!! <3 <3 <3

Anyways. I think choosing to finish the season tonight was a good idea. It ended beautifully, and with JUST enough of a season three set-up (pack of alphas?? That's a thing?? Also did we ever actually figure out what Alan Deaton and counselor lady ACTUALLY are? Cause we seem to keep glossing over that....) to keep me intrigued, BUT enough wrap-up that I can maybe get myself to focus on school for the rest of the week and save the episode watching for the weekend.

...maybe.

We'll see how long I last. XD

All I'm saying is, if the show had ended there, I'd be happy.

However, I am even MORE happy that it did not, 'cause then I GET MORE OF MY BOYS AND AHHHHH!!!

This show is quite easily a 10/10 for me already. WHO LET ME GET OBSESSED AND INVOLVED IN ANOTHER FANDOM GOSH DARNAT! XD

You know what? I regret nothing. I welcome Teen Wolf with open arms lol.

Okay okay. I'm actually done now. Will I make it more than 24 hours without starting the next episode? I guess we'll find out tomorrow. XD

(UGHHHHH I LOVE THESE TWO SO MUCH!! <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3)

[bamby0304]

She Howls III: Alpha

Summary: Angela had spent the last year growing as a person and a werewolf, learning how to control herself and manage both her ordinary and supernatural life. Finally, it seemed as if things were settling down, allowing her to have a moment to breathe. That is until a pack made entirely of alphas, and a mass-murdering stranger came to town and start tearing everything apart.

Ch.6 Plan B

Story Masterlist

A/N: It's my birthday! :):)

Bamby

By the time Isaac and I got to the bank it was too late. Sure, Derek and Scott were still alive, but things had still gone wrong.

Turns out they'd been locked in the vault by mountain ash. I'm not sure why, but Allison had been inside the bank and had saved Derek and Scott by breaking the line, but that also meant she realised Boyd and Cora- the girl who'd been with him. Now there were two wild and uncontrollable werewolves running around. But that's not all. When we got to the bank we found Derek… carrying Erica's body.

She was dead. I hadn't wanted to believe it, but now that I'd seen her body with my own eyes there was no denying the truth.

Mourning her death would have to come later, though. Right now, we needed to find Boyd and Cora before they killed someone innocent.

We'd all split up in the hopes of finding the faster. But in the end Scott and I were both drawn to the growls and roars of Boyd.

It didn't take much longer before we both found him, right before he was about to attack two little kids. Fortunately, a swarm of fireflies began buzzing around his head, distracting him long enough for Scott and me to grab a kid each and run.

There was no way we stood a chance against him, especially not with two kids at risk as well.

…

"You lost them?" I heard Derek through Scott's phone as my brother spoke to him while I took care of the kids.

"Yeah, I kind of had to," Scott answered.

"Wasn't exactly the plan," Derek commented.

"I know, which is why I think that we should stick together. Trust me, he's too strong, too fast, and way too angry for one person to handle. We've got to do this together," Scott told him.

Derek sighed, "Look, I'm at the trails by the entrance to the preserve. Can you meet me here?"

"Yeah." Scott nodded. "We just got to drop something off first." He looked to me as I stood between the boy and girl, both of them clinging to me, shaking with fear.

…

Running through the reserve with Scott and Derek, we came to a stop as Derek found some tracks. Not just the one set we'd been following… now there were two sets.

"Is it them?" Scott asked.

"We're not the only ones that decided to stick together," Derek noted.

Scott sighed. "Is that gonna make it easier or harder to catch them?"

"I don't know," Derek said, telling the truth.

Glancing at me, Scott looked worried as he spoke again, "Derek, we saw Boyd try to rip two little kids apart… are they gonna do that to everyone they find?"

Looking to each of us, Derek answered honestly yet again. "Everyone and anyone."

…

The sound of scream had Scott, Derek and I running faster. By the time we reached the screaming young woman we found Cora already there. But, luckily, Isaac had beaten us there and had stopped her from attacking the woman.

Cora attacked Isaac instead, throwing him away from her with insane strength.

Scott didn't hesitate as he pounced towards her, kicking her down and away as I hurried over to make sure Isaac was alright. Once he was back on his feet we moved to stand with Scott, Derek doing the same, the four of us creating a border between Cora and the woman.

Knowing she wouldn't be able to get through us, Cora growled and roared before turning and running off. Derek and Isaac were right behind her. Scott and I stayed behind though, needing to make sure the woman was okay.

Turning to her, Scott moved gentle and carefully, so as not to spook her more than she already was. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"What?" Her voice shook with fear and confusion as she backed away.

"Are you all right?" Scott repeated.

When she nodded, letting us know she hadn't been hurt or anything, I relaxed a little. "You need to get out of here, okay?"

"Get out of the woods," Scott added. "Get out of here as fast as you can."

Not having the time to see if she would listen, the two of us turned and ran after the others, hoping we could catch them in time before they ran into any more trouble.

…

Derek and Isaac had lost Cora. They couldn't find any more tracks. Boyd was nowhere to be seen. Things were just getting worse with each passing second. Now, to top it off, Scott was on the phone to Stiles, who was with Lydia… who apparently found a dead body.

"Are you sure?" Scott asked. If Stiles was right Boyd or Cora had already killed someone, and we were too late.

"Yep," Stiles answered shortly. "Throat ripped out, blood everywhere. It's like the freakin' Shining over here. Two little twin girls come out of the woods, start asking me to play with them forever and ever, I'm not gonna be surprised."

"Can you get a little closer to make sure it was them?"

"Make sure it was them? Scott, who else is going around ripping throats out?"

"Please just do it," Scott told him.

Stiles sighed on the other end as he did as my brother asked.

I stood with Derek and Isaac, behind Scott, waiting and listening. I was really hoping he had it wrong and it was just a random dead body. I didn't want to think about what we might have to do if Boyd or Cora had killed someone.

"Scott… it was them."

"Okay," Scott nodded as he turned to us. "Thanks Stiles." He hung up then.

Derek shook his head. "This doesn't make any sense. The public pool is all the way on the other side of the woods. We haven't tracked them anywhere near there."

"Derek, they killed someone," Scott noted.

But Derek wasn't listening. "How are they moving so fast?"

"Derek."

"But they can't be that fast on foot!" Derek exclaimed.

"They killed someone!" Scott snapped. "Some totally innocent kid is dead. And it's our fault."

Arms folded over his chest, Derek shook his head again. "It's my fault."

"Hey, no." I turned to him. "It's no one's fault, okay? We can't start all that crap. What's done is done. Now, can we focus on the task, please?"

"We need help," Scott noted.

"We have Isaac now." Derek gestured to the Beta in question.

But that wasn't enough for Scott. "I mean real help." When Isaac looked to him, slightly offended, Scott went on, "They're too fast for us, for all of us. They're too strong, too rabid."

"We'll catch 'em," Derek insisted.

"What happens if we do?" Isaac asked, having a good point. "We just gonna hold them down until the sun comes up?"

Sighing, Derek looked down at the ground with a guilty shrug. "Maybe it would be easier just to kill 'em."

"That is out of the question," I told them all, voice stern. I needed to get the through each of their heads. We weren't killing anyone tonight.

"Killing them isn't the right thing to do," Scott agreed.

"What if it's the only thing to do? If we can't even catch them, what else do we do?" Another good point from Isaac.

"Find someone who knows what they're doing," Scott suggested.

"Who?" Derek asked.

"Someone who knows how to hunt werewolves."

…

I sat in the front seat of Derek's car, he was behind the wheel, while Isaac was in the back. We were currently parked in the local supermarket's parking lot, watching and waiting as Scott confronted Mr Argent in the hopes he might help us.

"Do you think this is gonna work?" Isaac asked, his head popping into the front from between Derek's and my seats.

"Nope," Derek and I answered at the same time.

"Me neither." Sighing, Isaac moved back into his seat. There was a moment's pause before he spoke up again. "So, your, uh… your sister…" he started, talking about Cora.

Derek had filled the two of us in on the way here. Apparently, Cora was his long-lost sister. He thought she'd died in the fire all those years ago, but here she was, in beacon Hills. It was just one more reason to make sure neither her nor Boyd died tonight.

At the mention of his sister, and the tone in Isaac's voice, Derek turned to give his Beta a warning glare.

"Sorry, yeah, it's- it's bad timing, I'm sorry." Isaac cleared his throat. "I'll ask later. It's fine." But Derek just glared again. "Or never. Yeah, yeah, I'm good with never."

Nodding, Derek turned back to watch Scott and Mr Argent again.

I reached over to rest my hand over his as it sat on the gear stick. His eyes fell to our hands before he turned his over, intertwining our fingers.

Despite all the issues with Boyd and Cora, I couldn't deny the fact that I was grateful. If Allison hadn't been in the bank Scott and Derek probably wouldn't have made it out of there alive. I owed her everything for that.

When we both turned back to Scott and Mr Argent we saw them heading into the latter car.

Isaac shifted in his seat as Derek turned on his car "What is your brother doing?" Isaac asked me.

"Plan B," I answered. "If Scott can't convince Mr Argent we needed his help… then he's going to show him."

…

We'd followed Chris Argent and Scott around town. The plan was for Scott to ask to be dropped off somewhere, which Mr Argent would of course agree to. Little did he know, my brother had led him straight to the crime scene of the boy Cora and Boyd had killed.

That had been enough to convince him to help.

Mr Argent dropped a bag of supplies on to the dirt ground of the reserve. "You're tracking them by print?"

"Trying to," Scott answered.

"Well, then, you've been wasting your time." Chris crouched down by two sets of tracks we'd found. "There's only one creature on earth that can visually track footprints, and that's man. And if you're not trained like me, you have no idea that this print is Boyd's," he gestured to one set of tracks before pointing to the other's next to them, "and these-"

"Are Cora's," Isaac finished for him.

"Nope," Chris sighed. "They're yours. You trampled Cora's as soon as you walked over here." He stood again, looking to each of us. "Listen, I know the four of you are focusing half your energy on resisting your own urges under the full moon, but that puts you at a severe disadvantage to Boyd and Cora, who have fully given in. They put the pedal to the floor where you three are barely hitting the speed limit."

"So, what do we do?" Derek asked, his arms folded over his chest. I could hear the annoyed tone in his voice. He hated the fact he was getting help from an Argent.

"Focus on your sense of smell," Mr Argent told him. "Actual wolves are known to track their prey by up to a hundred Miles a day by scent. A trained hunter can use scent to track them. If the wind is with them, wolves can track a scent by a distance of two Miles, which means we can draw them to us. Or into a trap."

Reaching into his bag, he started to pull some things out. Ropes, hooks, cables, things we could use to make traps. He handed them to the rest of us as he continued to talk.

"Full moon does give us one advantage. They'll have a higher heat signature, which makes them easier to spot with infrared." Pulling more stuff out of his bag, he handed each of us infrared goggles.

"Thanks," Derek handed his back, "but I've got my own." He flashed his ruby red Alpha eyes at the former hunter.

"Just remember, we're not hunting wild animals." Chris looked to each of us. "Underneath those impulses are two intelligent human beings. Don't think they can't rely on that human side. It's suppressed, but it's there, reminding them how to mask their scent, how to cover their tracks, how to survive."

…

The five of us walked up to edge of the reserve cliff, from here we had the best vantage point of the whole town. We could see it all.

"When's the last time you saw your sister?" Chris asked Derek.

"Nine years," Derek answered. "I thought she died in the fire."

"Do you feel like you have a lock on her scent?" Derek shook his head at Chris' question. "Scott, Angela," Chris looked over his shoulder to us, "how confident are you in your skills?"

Scott and I shared a look before he spoke, "Honestly, most of the time, I'm trying not to think about all the things I can smell."

"Same here," I added.

"All right." Chris turned back to town then. "The problem is when they breach the woods and hit the residential area. Once they're past the high school, they're right in the middle of beacon hills."

"They're not gonna kill everything they see, are they?" Isaac asked, genuinely worried and concerned.

"No." Chris shook his head. "But there is an important difference to recognise. Wolves hunt for food. At a certain point, they get full. But Boyd and Cora are hunting for the pleasure of the kill, for some primal apex predatory satisfaction that comes from the ripping of warm bodies to bloody shreds. And who knows when that need gets satiated?"

"We're not killing them." I needed to make that clear.

Derek looked to me, unsure. "What if we can't catch 'em?"

"Then maybe we just need to contain them," Chris suggested. "There's no one in the school at night, is there?"

Looking away from me, Derek turned to Chris. "You want to trap them inside?"

Chris gave a short shrug. "If there's somewhere with a strong enough door, no windows or access to the outside."

"What about the boiler room? It's just one big steel door," Isaac noted.

Pausing a moment, Chris thought about the options and risks of what we were about to do. There was a big chance one or some of us could get hurt doing this Hell, we could get killed.

But innocent people were in danger. People who couldn't take care of themselves were at risk of crossing Boyd and Cora's path. They needed us.

"You're sure the school's empty?" Chris asked, needing to be sure.

"It has to be." Scott looked to each of us for confirmation. "There can't be anyone there this late, right?" His eyes landed on me then.

Honestly, I had no idea. But I hoped it was empty…

…

Crouching, Mr Argent stabbed a stainless-steel stake into the ground. "These are ultrasonic emitters. It's one of the tools we use to corral werewolves, pushing them into a direction we want them to run." He pressed the button on the top of the stake, turning on a light and emitting a high-pitched noise. "Gives off a high-pitched frequency that only they can hear." He grinned.

Derek, Isaac, Scott and myself had our hands covering our ears as the noise surrounded us. It was a painfully high noise, one that was ringing my eardrums to the point I could feel them vibrating.

"God, no kidding!" Isaac exclaimed.

"Turn it off!" I snapped. "Turn it off!"

Doing as I said, Chris turned the emitter off before he stood and moved to the trunk of his car which was just a few feet away. Opening his trunk, he showed us the other dozen emitters he had with him, before he started to hand them out

"These are gonna drive them to the school?" Derek asked, sounding a little doubtful.

"And then it's up to you to get them into the basement," Chris told him, handing the last few emitters to me.

Isaac looked to the emitters he was holding, not too sure about the plan either. "Does anyone else want to rethink the plan where we just, uh, kill 'em?"

Turning to him, I gave a pointed look. "We're not killing them."

"It's going to work," Scott assured us. "It'll work."

…

After scattering the emitters around the reserve in a way that would lead Boyd and Cora to the school, we opened the place up before moving to get ready for their arrival. Derek was inside, the rest of us out, standing in areas where Boyd and Cora were luckily to come through.

It didn't take long.

We heard their howl first. Then we saw them. I was close to Isaac, keeping watch, waiting, when we both felt them near.

"Oh, great," Isaac sighed.

Turning, we saw both Boyd and Cora standing there, claws and fangs extended, the look in their yellow eyes telling us exactly what was coming next.

Despite the fact that they could very well kill us in an instant with very little effort, we stayed where we were. Getting into a stance that might help us fight back or run away, our own claws extending as our eyes began to growl, we waited.

A car came speeding around the corner, the horn honking, the bright lights shinning on the two rabid wolves. The turned to it and growled before making a break for it, heading towards the school building. Heading straight for the door we had open for them.

So far, it was all going according to plan.

Suddenly, as they reached the door and looked in, they stopped. They didn't enter the building, instead they spotted Derek and jumped. Before any of us could react, they started to climb the wall of the building…

Guess I spoke too soon.

"They're not going through the school," Scott noted. "They're going over it."

Derek came rushing out as the rest of us hurried towards him and the open door.

"The red doors, someone has to get them open," Chris started. Derek turned and ran off to go do exactly that.

Scott looked to the rest of us, panicked. "Someone has to drive them inside."

"I'll go," Chris offered, but Isaac quickly stopped him.

"No. I'm faster."

I nodded. "We'll go. You two just make sure you can actually get them into the boiler room," I told them before both Isaac and I hurried off in an effort to catch up with the other two werewolves.

…

When Isaac and I ran around the corner we found both Boyd and Cora there, stuck. They were being cornered as something continuously exploded with bright flashes… bright flashes I recognised.

Moving towards the wild werewolves, I didn't waste the moment. Using their distraction as an advantage, I managed to push them in the direction of the doors as Isaac opened them. With the bright flashes and new threats, they didn't bother putting up a fight. Instead, they took the bait, and ran inside.

Isaac and I threw the doors closed, pressing ourselves against them just in case they tried to get out again. After a moment of nothing we both turned and looked up to the roof of one of the busses. Standing there, bow in hand, was none other than Allison Argent.

To say I was surprised would be an understatement. But before any of us could say anything she was already turning and dashing off, disappearing without a sound. As much as I wanted to go after her, to make sure she was okay, to ask what the hell she was doing, I knew there were more pressing things to deal with in that moment.

Things like the two wild werewolves that were still on the loose.

…

I ran. I ran so hard and fast everything was a blur. I'd left Isaac behind. I felt an urgency deep in my gut. There was a foreign panic there, like something somewhere knew I would hate whatever was going on. I had no idea what was wrong, I just knew the circumstances had changed.

Running around the corner, I spotted the next doorway up ahead. I could see the decent of the stairs, the light, I could sense my brother, Derek, the other werewolves. I could sense the tension in the air. It was thick and suffocating… it was wrong.

When I reached the stairs and started down them, my heart sunk with each step. The lower I got the lower my heart sunk.

Scott was alone.

I came to a stop at the bottom of the stairs, breathing heavily, my eyes wide, the panic in my stomach and chest rising to the surface. "Where is he? Where's Derek?"

All Scott did was look to the locked boiler room door.

No. No… no, no, no, no. No. No. No. No!

Acting out of pure instinct, I reached for the door. But Scott was right there, stopping me.

"Someone else is in there," he tried to explain. "He had to go in. He did it to save them."

None of that mattered to me though. "They're going to kill him!" I could feel the tears brimming, my throat clenching, my heart shrivelling up into nothing. "Scott, you have to let me through. Please. I can't- I can't lose him!"

He stayed strong though, not letting me pass. "If I let you go, they'll kill you."

"If you don't let me go and he dies… I'll die, too."

Nothing in that moment felt more true than that. Derek meant so much to me. He meant more than I could comprehend. There was something between us, something more than what anyone could see. There was a connection that ran deeper than the bond we had with our own wolf sides.

The words couldn't be said… but the feelings were there.

"Scott? Angela?" Isaac's voice rang through the school. "The sun's coming up. Guys! The sun's coming up!"

With one more look at Scott, an understanding being passed between us, we both then moved.

The door was thrown open before I hurried in first, Scott right behind me, Isaac following closely. We rushed through the boiler room, down a few stairs, around a couple of corners, before we found them.

Derek was kneeling on the ground, torn and cut up. Cora and Boyd lay by his sides, both passed out and back to normal.

Once again, I reacted out of instinct. It pushed me forward.

Running up to Derek, I fell to my knees and threw my arms around him, holding him close. He was out of breath, tired, sore, but he still managed to wrap his arm around me as he turned his face into my hair and neck before he breathed in.

Pulling back a little, Derek looked to Scott and Isaac. "There's a teacher. I'll take care of her. Get them out of here." He gestured to Cora and Boyd.

They got to work, doing as he said, leaving Derek and I to turn to each other once more. There were things to do, but in that moment, we needed the reassurance of this embrace.

We scented each other without really thinking about it. The panic melted away as relief washed over us.

He was okay. We were all okay.

Bamby

[super-unpredictable98]

The Eiffel Tower Incident | The Umbrella Academy AU

Pairing: Klaus x Vicky (OC - The Eighth Child’ Verse)

Word Count: 2 k

Warning: Strong language, mention of death and a little gore

(Masterlist)

"That's really not how I pictured my first time in Paris," I sighed, looking back at father who simply gestured with his hand for us to go closer to the commotion. 

A gigantic group of tourists and locals gathered around the Eiffel Tower. Every time someone tried to get to the top, they would be pushed by an invisible force and fall to their death, the pile of corpses was getting so big that soon the next person to fall would end up surviving using the others as a human pillow. 

It was a classic case of mass hysteria, not exactly the safest or happiest scenario for a group of six 14-year-olds, even the ones with superpowers.

"Do not worry, France!" Luther stopped in front of one of the many cameras documenting the weird events. "The Umbrella Academy is here!"

"Oh, you dick..." Klaus rolled his eyes.

"I heard a rumor that nobody climbed the tower," Allison screamed guiding us closer. "I heard a rumor that you cleared the way for us. I heard a rumor that you backed off from the tower."

Meanwhile Ben was using his tentacles to grab the people mid-fall and stop them from dying, and Klaus was terrified by all the ghosts roaming around trying to tell him what happened at the same time.

"The tower is pushing you? The tower itself? Not someone up there?" He cried, holding my hand.

"The tower is doing what?" I asked confused.

"They say the Eiffel Tower killed them... go away, leave me alone! I'm not giving any messages to any lover or family member, back off!" He hid against my chest. "Please stop, please please stop!"

"Let go of her, we need Die Hard for the mission," Luther scolded. "If you can't handle yourself then you shouldn't have come, Séanse!"

"First of all, it's not like I had an option. Second of all, I DIDN'T KNOW IT WOULD BE FUCKING CADAVER TOWN OVER HERE! This is supposed to be the City of Light, not the City of Fright!" Klaus freaked out.

Okay, so let me explain how that whole mess started. That morning we got a call from the French security representative asking for help because of a mysterious phenomenon killing dozens, maybe hundreds of people in Paris. 

Dad, of course, said we would be there in no time and shoved the six of us into one of his supersonic jets without even knowing what we would be fighting against.

"This is what you kids have been preparing for your entire lives. This is your moment, your chance to save millions of lives, so don't you dare back off or give in to fear," he instructed as we arrived. "Whatever it is that you find up there, end it."

"Can't I stay with Klaus?" I asked once we assessed the situation.

"Duh, no! You're the only one of us who can actually get up there and not die, I need to throw you," Luther countered. "I throw you to the top, you inspect the premises and check what it is that's pushing people off. If you fall, we start over."

"Okay, I guess that's the best plan we have at the moment, I can handle the ghosts," Klaus nodded, letting go of me. "But be careful!"

"As if she needs it," Diego laughed as he handed me one of his knives. "In case you find that fucker up there before I do."

I nodded and held the knife between my teeth as Luther lifted me in his arms like I was some sort of cheerleader. With his enhanced strength, he easily launched me to the top of the tower. 

"-to the top of the Eiffel Tower, what seems to be... a young teenage girl flying across the square to check on the situation," my walkie-talkie bracelet picked up the radio frequency and I couldn't help but laugh. "It's America's sweetheart! Number Eight, Die Hard from the superhero team, Umbrella Academy!"

"411, Die Hard!" Luther demanded, his loud voice coming through my bracelet speakers. "Repeating, 411, over!"

"Everything seems normal," I looked around, hoping a creature would try to push me, but there was no one there. "I'm the only one here, over."

"Go inside, over," he asked while Allison and Ben handled the whole crowd and the dead bodies. 

"Roger that, Spaceboy," I replied, but before I could open the door, one of the pieces of the tower's structure pushed me. 

I held onto it, watching as it tried to shake me out and drop me, almost like each piece had its own free will and they didn't want me there. 

"OH SHIT!" Klaus' voice came through this time. "Hang in there, Schnucki!" 

"She's not getting hurt, dumbass!" Deigo groaned, but who could blame my future lover? It had only been two years since my power manifested, I didn't have nearly enough training to use it as the others did and my stamina was way lower back then. If I got tired, I was toast.

Fighting the creaking metal, I climbed back, risking raising my vulnerability, but it was the only way to get to the center of the issue. The more the tower tried to get rid of me, the more I insisted on staying until I reached the entrance that gave access to the room at the very top. 

"Stop fighting you stupid piece of junk!" I screamed, opening the door and as soon as I did, it was like everything stopped for a moment. "OH MY GOD!"

"What? What's in there?" Luther asked. "Die Hard, talk to us! Over!"

"There's a weird zombie guy in here!" I cried. 

"Zombie guy? What do you mean? Over!"

"Wait, I know him... It's zombie Gustave Eiffel?" I could barely believe the words coming out of my mouth. "I saw him in a history book last week."

"Vicky, did take one of my gummies or something?" Klaus asked. 

"No, I'm serious, this is a control room and there's a zombie pressing buttons and pulling levers!"

This is the sort of thing that used to happen when we were part of the team. I came to the conclusion that heroes don't appear to defend the world from villains, villains appear because they want to antagonize heroes. Notice how after the academy was over, not many crazy attacks like this happened, they want someone to stop them.

Not much was able to surprise me. I grew up in a glorified orphanage for peculiar children, raised by a sadistic bastard (who I would end up finding out is an alien), a robot, and a talking chimpanzee. Life was already weird enough, but something about that reanimated corpse right in front of me was deeply disturbing, I was used to dead bodies standing very still while we mopped the blood.

"You didn't say over," Luther's voice came through once again. "Over."

"Oh go fuck yourself!" I shouted. "Over."

"Can you kill him?" Diego asked.

"I can try... but he's already dead, I don't know what else I can do."

"Casse-toi!" Gustave groaned when he noticed my presence.

I gasped, taken aback by the disrespect, and immediately attacked, going straight for the head like they did in movies. I pulled it out and smashed it on the floor, stabbing it several times with the knife, but the body kept on working, still programming some sort of computer I was not familiar with.

"Target neutralized? Over," Luther asked.

"Negative, he won't die."

"Just like you," Klaus let out a high-pitched laugh. "Now you know how the rest of the world feels."

It was definitely not the time for jokes, I was starting to get tired and I was absolutely disgusting. Covered in blood, rotten skin, brains, and dead body goo (I never really knew what the goo was, but it was somehow always there whenever someone died). 

I pushed the head aside and went for the hands instead, ripping them off easily like a loose cork, but it was too late already. The tower was making weird noises, almost like there was an engine revving inside, wheels were turning and the metal shifting places was almost deafening. I couldn't even hear my siblings through the bracelet.

"Get out! Repeat, get out of there, Die Hard! The tower is taking flight! Over!" Luther was trying to warn me, but I could barely listen.

The message only became clear when I saw smoke coming out from the outside, like the smoke a rocket releases when being sent to space. 

"Qu'est-ce qui se passe?" I asked to understand what exactly was going on with the tower.

"Je m'en vais," Gustave's head uttered.

I didn't stick around to ask where he was going once I felt the entire room shake and knock me to the floor as the massive metal structure lifted into the air. 

We were taking flight and the best I could do was to get out of there like Luther instructed. So I jumped, I closed my eyes and let my body fall head first. It didn't take long for me to hit the ground, completely smashing the concrete beneath me. 

"Oh my God, are you okay?" Klaus rushed to help me up. "You're bleeding?"

"I'm fine, the blood is not mine," I said, dusting my uniform sleeves. "What the hell happened, dad? Do you have any idea?"

"The Eiffel Tower was a spaceship, clearly. I am greatly disappointed in you, Number Eight. You had such an easy job and you still managed to fail spectacularly. How could you not kill someone who was already dead?" Reginald scolded. 

"I tried, dad! I stabbed him, I pulled his head out, I pulled his hands out, I did all I could do," I murmured, beyond embarrassed. That sort of comment molded my brain in ways I only understood when I was older. "He said he was leaving."

"When we arrive back home, that mistake will cost you four extra hours of endurance training. You need to get better if you want to reach the level of your siblings, prove to me you are not some ordinary girl like Number Seven."

"Yes, father."

Before I could say anything else, a swarm of reporters came closer to interview us, but luckily none of them could see I was crying under my mask. They were all too busy interviewing our father and our leader, Luther, even though I was the one up there fighting an undead civil engineer.

"Don't listen to what he says, you are amazing," Ben whispered. "And I think you did great."

"That silly tower was overrated anyway. That old bastard has us fighting his battles and still wants to criticize our performance... you are more than extraordinary, you are megaordinary!" Klaus wrapped his arms around me, but he grimaced. "No wait, that made it sound bad, I just meant to say you are incredible and we love you."

"I love you too," I leaned against him. "Are you sure you wanna hug me right now? I'm covered in dead body fluids."

"Eh, nothing new," he chuckled. "Pain au chocolat? Would that make you feel better?"

"Pain au chocolat," I nodded with a grin. "Fighting a zombie made me really hungry."

Tag List: @elliethesuperfruitlover @seanfalco @salvador-daley @firstpersonnarrator

[asexual-hugger]

Woman booked on assault charges after fight with fellow mother at elementary school

Allison McFly, 40, was taken into custody on Friday after throwing a punch at a fellow mother at her daughter’s elementary school. She fought hard, stating that she and her daughter “will not be punished today,” since they both are apparently victims of bullying. McFly’s daughter Imtura, 10, started the chain of events after throwing a hard hit at her classmate, [REDACTED], after spending months of torment on the school playground and not doing anything to stop it. She finally snapped last week and punched the girl straight in the face, knocking out three of her front teeth and breaking her nose. [REDACTED] is currently in the hospital suffering from her injuries.

“This girl has been bullying Imtura for months,” Mrs. McFly explained in her statement. “My daughter was simply defending herself. Their entire family is made up of bullies, and someone needs to put them in their place. I don’t understand why the school always has to attack the victim just because they stand up for themselves. The only person they need to discipline is [REDACTED]. She deserved what she got.”

According to Imtura’s statement with the school principal, [REDACTED] had started tormenting her for no reason since the first week of school, making fun of her clothing, her school supplies, and even her creative imagination.

“Imtura lost it,” Mrs. McFly explained. “She’d been bottling it up inside for the longest time, and she reached her breaking point. We will not apologize. [REDACTED] deserved it. I taught my daughter what I was unable to do at her age: stand up for herself. My parents always told me to ‘just ignore it.’ Well, not today. That stops with my child.”

When [REDACTED]’s mother showed up at the school, she threatened to sue the school and Mrs. McFly for allowing the attack on her daughter. That was when Mrs. McFly threw the punch.

“Yeah, call your LAWYER!” she shouted at her. “Call your ATTORNEY! Better yet, call the cops! I'll just explain everything your little ‘princess’ did to my child in excruciating detail! I am sick and tired of bullies getting off scot-free from punishment! That ends today! You need to teach your daughter to take accountability for her behavior!”

Mrs. McFly was charged for assault and taken into custody by police. She will not go down without a fight, however. She believes that the people that should be in her place at the moment are the [REDACTED].

McFly’s husband, Marty, made the following statement during his interview with the police: “I have nothing to say in protest. My wife and daughter are all that matter to me. If anyone bullies or threatens my family in any way, you can bet we will defend ourselves. I'm standing by Allison and Immy all the way.”

Call the McFly family advocates against bullying, or whatever else you wish, and although I don't agree with or care for the way the situation was handled, even I can admit that they have guts.

Encounter of how things went down:

Principal: Mrs. McFly, thanks for coming in. Please take a seat.

Allison McFly: What is this about, Mr. [REDACTED]?

Principal: There was an incident on the playground today. Your daughter Imtura hit another student.

Allison: …I see. And you’re telling me this because…?

Principal: It’s your daughter, Mrs. McFly. She physically attacked another student. It’s concerning and grounds for suspension. We do not condone violence at this school.

Allison: Do you condone bullying? Maybe Immy was defending herself. Who was the student she hit?

Principal: A fellow classmate named [REDACTED].

Allison: Oh. Her.

Principal: Mrs. McFly, is everything all right with Imtura? Anything going on at home that needs to be addressed?

Allison: Why do you always assume that there is something going on at home just because Immy threw a punch at someone? Everything is fine. Ms. [REDACTED] must’ve egged her on somehow, so she probably snapped. What else is new?

Principal: It wasn’t just ‘a punch,’ Mrs. McFly. It was a direct hit straight to the face. Ms. [REDACTED] is in the hospital with missing front teeth and a broken nose. Imtura assaulted her. I'm going to have to suspend her for two weeks until she can think about what she’s done. This is a serious issue, and you need to be more aware of it. This is your daughter.

Allison: I am well aware. What do you want me to say? That I'll discipline her? I won't be doing that. And you won't be suspending her, either. [REDACTED] will be getting suspended for pissing my daughter off. You school administrators are all the same. Going after the victim for simply defending themselves against hate and bullying while the actual bully gets off free!

Principal: Excuse me?

Allison: You heard me.

Principal: Mrs. McFly, I can assure you that we do not tolerate bullying of any kind at this school, and every student receives equal punishment and discipline. We don't pick favorites here…

Allison: No no no no no, you listen to me here. [REDACTED] started this mess. [REDACTED] pissed Immy off and Immy struck her. [REDACTED] and her mother should be sitting in this chair right now, but instead, you call ME in to discipline MY kid. It isn’t her fault. Of course you assume there are problems at home, which there aren't!

Principal: Mrs. McFly, children’s actions at school are generally a reflection on their environment at home. I have to ask these questions because it is my duty as principal to look out for the well-being of all students. If Imtura is being bullied, she should have either come to me or her teacher. We don’t throw punches to get our way.

Allison: Come to you? And said what? ‘Oh, Principal [REDACTED], I'm being bullied. Can you help me?’ Sure. All you people would have done was tell her to suck it up and deal with it. Haters gonna hate, amirite? Small children should be seen and not heard, amirite? No one takes a kid’s word for anything.

Principal: I would have done something, Mrs. McFly. If Imtura had given me a chance, I would have done something. She didn't say anything. We can't read children’s minds. They need to speak up if something is bothering them. All this could have been avoided if Imtura had just used her words. Now we could have a lawsuit on our hands. I'm sorry, but I have to suspend Imtura until further notice.

Allison: And there it is. The big L word. I sensed that was coming at some point. I knew it. You’re worried about losing your job. You don't want to suspend [REDACTED] because her mother is rich and has you in her back pocket. Your career is more important than my daughter. How typical. This administration is pathetic. I bet Mrs. [REDACTED] is a lawyer and is threatening to sue because Immy laid a hand on her precious little princess. I am not standing by and letting this happen. If I’m taken to court over this, I’m not going, and if I did, I'm representing myself. I hate lawyers, and I hate rich moms who look at the world through rose-colored glasses about their children like they can do no wrong! [REDACTED] and her rich, entitled snob of a mother can kiss my ass and burn in hell. The world would be a much better place without people like them in it. Immy and I are leaving, and we are not getting any punishment put on us!