lp writes

everything lmao

but seriously though, his kindness. he is shit upon at every turn and he still picks himself up and works towards GOOD. he's not a superhero, he's not A Chosen One (contrary to fandom ideas); he's a kid who's been forced into a shitty situation, and what he decides to do with it is help others DESPITE what other people tell him. he's going to help people until the very last, and it's a shame that fandom seems to think that's a bad thing because he's willing to look for other solutions outside of what he is told. resourceful and clever and kind and loyal and just?

(The return of the early morning meta post before work.)

It’s been hard to put into words what is so odd about fandom’s reaction to Stiles and Scott and the concept of being a werewolf in Teen Wolf, but a recent comment I saw mentioned something that maybe puts things into better perspective.

The comment boiled down to the idea that being a werewolf and having powers was wasted on Scott. I don’t recall having seen comments like that before, but it makes sense if people are looking at it in that way. He’s wasting his powers, he’s not using them to their full potential and therefore he’s not a good werewolf.

The thing that clicked for me with that comment is that people are treating Scott’s werewolf powers the same way Stiles did in early Season 1: with excitement, like it’s something cool that should be used always to solve every problem, including using it to murder people (but only the Right people, of course).

That in itself isn’t too weird to me: we see the same kind of suspension of disbelief in all sorts of media, especially those involving kids or teenagers. If you give a kid a sword in order to go on a question (Percy Jackson, for example), it’s not a bad thing, it’s part of the story. You obviously wouldn’t give an actual 11-year old a weapon, because they could hurt themselves or someone else, but for the sake of the story? Hell yeah, go around waving that thing, no problem.

Teenager has superpowers that could very easily be used to do bad things if so inclined? Yeah, that sounds about right, as long as an adult figure reminds them that they need to be responsible with their newfound abilities. (Uncle Ben’s only line in any Spiderman project comes to mind, obviously.) There is a lack of weight behind the statement, though, until something bad happens and our teenage hero realizes they have a real responsibility to be good or save lives or whatever, but the real consequences of those powers are never really touched on unless it’s a specific plot beat.

Teen Wolf doesn’t do that. 

From the very beginning, the bite is framed like a horror movie. A kid is attacked in the woods in the middle of the night by a monster and he’s left to walk home alone in the dark. He tells his best friend about it the next day and the very real, very terrifying attack is treated like a joke. (And in his defense, Stiles didn’t know, so I don’t actually hold it against him too much at this point.)

He starts experiencing weird changes in his body, hearing and seeing things he’s not used to, and while some are benefits -- no asthma is a plus -- he’s clearly shown to be unnerved by it. He snaps at Jackson and spills almost everything because he’s scared, and that’s completely reasonable. Scott doesn’t get a cool little montage set to catchy music where he gets to practice his Cool New Abilities in his room while his mom calls out from another room asking if he’s okay. He’s immediately thrust into a situation where he is being manipulated by the Alpha, thrust into a world he doesn’t fully understand, and is intimidated and threatened by the only other werewolf around.

Derek calls the bite a gift, and I partially blame that scene for fandom’s idea of it, but you wouldn’t have to change much to make Scott’s werewolf origins into a full-blown horror series. He’s been given a weapon he can’t control, that he knows he needs to control, while there’s an active threat of death and violence hanging over his head. The Sheriff gets injured peripherally to what’s happening to him, and Stiles loses it and hurts him because in his teenage brain that’s all he can do, and fandom thinks Scott’s in the wrong? He’s living a nightmare and all people can focus on is the fact that he’s not following the trope, so obviously having these powers is wasted on him.

Even in later seasons, fandom holds Scott’s reluctance to embrace his powers to the fullest against him. He doesn’t want to be a killing machine, he never wanted the powers in the first place, and even if he had been asked I don’t think Scott would have agreed. He was fine being normal, and all he’s gotten since the bite is death and violence and threats against the people he loves. Peter gave a teenager a gun and set people after him, and fandom is angry that the teenager isn’t going full John Wick on his enemies so it’s a waste.

I wanted to give another quick update because it was made jarringly obvious to me why I also haven't been updating very often/posting more meta than fic.

This year, for whatever reason, has been out to get me (:

In the past 8? months, I have:

bled profusely from a slightly botched wisdom tooth removal surgery, necessitating extra time off for recovery

followed by immediately getting hurt at work, straining my whole upper back and shoulders, keeping me out of commission from Feb to May

got food poisoning so bad it knocked me out for two weeks

went to my specialist only to be told my cholesterol is out of control even tho i'm on a specialized diet and have cut a good portion of bad foods out

hyperextended my knee at my OTHER job, putting me out for two weeks

and today, after recovering from my hyperextended knee, somehow locked? popped? extended it again while carrying a broken down shelf, falling and dropping the shelf on my arm

this is mostly meant to complain, but also to remind myself that this year has been a little rough. if anyone wants to send good vibes my way, or wants to donate towards my safety hamster ball fund, i do have a kofi button on my page too

I'm Miyo, they/them, and I write for a little of everything! Most recently it's Teen Wolf and TW adjacent meta, but I do have a few masterlists available on my page if you wanted to take a look! I really enjoy chatting with everyone, but I'm usually pretty shy about reaching out, so I don't engage very much. I do read every tag and comment though, and I love hearing your thoughts!

My ask box is always open for any questions, and I love talking meta. If you don't see something on my masterlist or my AO3, let me know! I'm very bad about crossposting, but I do my best.

@msginnymalfoy

So to be honest, this isn't very high on the list of Scott McCall Fandom War Crimes to me, because it's not wrong necessarily? But it's really important to look at it in context.

This is an MTV show, aimed at teens and young adults, about teenagers in high school.

Teenagers, especially teenage boys in a competitive sport, tend to get hyper-competitive.

Off the top of my head, there ARE a few instances of what anon calls ~dick measuring contests~ and I'd be happy to discuss them more in-depth when I'm not on my way to work, but the thing I want to point out before anything is that AA always seems to imply by wording or otherwise that like....Scott's at fault for these. Maybe it's just me, but the phrasing has always come off like Jackson (or whoever) is the passive victim of Scott's RAGING need to one-up everyone around him.

But anyways, if anyone could remind me of episodes/exact scenes that'd be super

S1x01? I think? When Coach puts Scott in goal and he does great. He's not doing it with the active intent of riling up Jackson, but Jackson, iirc, cuts the line in what's supposed to be just a practice/warm-up to try and Get Scott. I'd call that a dick measuring started by Jackson. He's so rankled by this kid one-upping him that he takes it personal and makes it his mission to show him his place, if you will. This also has the unintended consequence of putting Scott in Jackson's sights, which snowballs into Jackson trying to get Scott to get him the bite

I would also consider the infamous 'Where are you getting your juice?' scene to be some form of posturing/jealousy, but again, that's JACKSON instigating it. He's literally so BESIDE himself that a sophomore could POSSIBLY be better than him that he has to corner Scott and pressure him into telling him where he's getting his edge. It's not coming from Jackson being self-righteous or like....believing in justice. He wants that edge for himself, it's entirely selfish. This one's a little more of a reach tho.

The scene where Jackson tells the team to not pass to Scott, and Scott overhears I would probably mark down at least a little? Because Scott /does/ take it personally and he does make it a point to push himself to do better to score, but I'd also put that as a reactionary move instead of like...instigating it. Jackson puts it into motion, and Scott /could/ have let it go, but also like. This is a show about teenagers. I don't fault him for behaving like one.

Dick measuring/insecurity/jealousy in? s4 when Liam shows up I would definitely count against Scott. He gets caught up in it the same way I assume Jackson did in s1 -- how is this newbie showing me up like this -- but that's such a cornerstone of sports/team/teen show dramas that again, it's expected. Scott started it.

One that isn't ever really mentioned but I feel is along the same vein of dick-measuring/posturing: Erica's scene in the rock candy lab vs Allison, and the continuation/confrontation where Erica says she's always wanted to steal someone's boyfriend. That's definitely what I would consider dick-measuring. Emotionally, but, y'know. Same vibe.

These are just a few examples, there's a ton more I'm sure of it, but the point I'm trying to make is that it's expected (to me) from a teen show. If a show didn't have any of this, I'd consider it to be very OOC, because this is how they build up drama between teenagers. Also, it's a pretty common trope in drama shows regardless, so I don't see why it's so egregious for some people in the fandom.

I was going to be mean, because that's the easy thing to do, but I'm not going to because I'm going to actively practice what I wrote about, if that's okay with you.

Instead, I'd like to emphasize this paragraph in the meta I just wrote.

Perfection is not possible, much less for a teenage character. We have seen Scott fuck up, multiple times, for several different reasons, most coming down to the fact he's an inexperienced teenage boy thrust into a situation he never wanted to be in the first place. He's afraid, he's experiencing things no one could have braced him for, and further affected by the fact that no one explained anything after the fact either.

I reread my meta, just to double check, but I don't see where I called him a saint, or inaccurate. Scott is Kind! Always? No of course not. But when given the choice, where he has option to Not be kind? He is, for the most part.

Scott IS hopeful! Time and again, sometimes to the point of folly, where it does cause him problems. That is a fault but it's not wrong, you know?

Did he make mistakes along the way? Sure, as a kid then young adult navigating a whole new world that actively wanted him dead, he made mistakes.

I'm not and never will say Scott never messed up, and I made it a point several times in that post itself. The fact that you're coming onto my page and accusing me of woobifying him and making inaccurate assessments is? Firstly uncalled for, and secondly, I hope you do the same for all of those fandom creators who go above and beyond to woobify the villains in Teen Wolf.

Why am I not allowed to talk about the positives of this character without having to caveat Every Terrible Thing he's done? Why can't I just expound on this one part of his character that is, objectively, fascinating to see from a teenage boy without having to assure everyone and hold their hands and remind them explicitly that oh WAIT! sCOTT ISN'T A SAINT THOUGH DON'T FORGET!

I know that. You know that. Anyone who has watched the show knows that. Because we have seen the consequences of him lashing out and having dick measuring contests. Why do I have to bring it up every time I want to write something remotely positive about a character on a show I like?

So tell me, Kit. Why do I have to jump through hoops to satisfy you when no one else needs that clarification?

Today's meta, brought to you by a tumblr post:

In case of tl;dr or tumblr not opening links, it boils down to: Hope is a skill you work, not something inherent. I'd like to add (as some people in the tags have, that so is optimism and faith). I personally would tag on kindness as well.

All these traits are seen as soft and naive, but to actually use them and nurture them properly, it takes time and an active involvement. You're not just hopeful, especially in these times. You have to work at it, and it's hard. You're not just kind because you are, you have to actively work to be kind, moreso when the world says you shouldn't.

How does this tie to Teen Wolf?

Obviously, it comes down to Scott.

Many, many multiple complaints about Scott being a boring character or a perfect character or an undeveloped character come from the fact that people (incorrectly) believe that Scott has no flaws. Scott's perfect, they say! He's so boring and Neurotypical! (which is another can of worms to open another day)

Perfection is not possible, much less for a teenage character. We have seen Scott fuck up, multiple times, for several different reasons, most coming down to the fact he's an inexperienced teenage boy thrust into a situation he never wanted to be in the first place. He's afraid, he's experiencing things no one could have braced him for, and further affected by the fact that no one explained anything after the fact either.

Despite being actively tormented by several adults (and some teenagers, lookin' at you, Matt and Jackson), Scott doesn't stop being, at his core, kind. He's hopeful! He has HOPE that Jackson can be cured from the Kanima situation in s2, he has HOPE that they can save Stiles from the Nogitsune in s3B.

Out of everyone in Teen Wolf, given the release date and the sentiment surrounding the world when it first came out, I would have not been surprised if Scott had gone from a bright hopeful kid to a cynical, bitter ~adult~, because that was expected. Cynicism was The Thing, the corruption of the innocence of youth or whatever would have fit well, I'm sure, in this niche MTV was trying to carve out.

That's what made Scott so extraordinary, I think. Despite the punches, despite ever reason he had to be bitter and mean and cruel because the world WAS bitter and mean and cruel to him, Scott continued being good. He had hope for people, and gave countless opportunities that would not have been afforded to him by others, because Scott was able to look at things as they were, and hope for something better.

Did he make mistakes along the way? Sure, as a kid then young adult navigating a whole new world that actively wanted him dead, he made mistakes. But even thinking about his choices now, how painfully difficult must it have been for Scott to look at all these people who hurt him, who hurt his friends and his family and his community, and still look for good? To offer kindness to strangers and enemies alike, to ease their pain and give people who were in the same position he was the opportunity to say 'I can't. This isn't for me.'

How many times did Scott have to fight the pain and injustice and anger that would be more than deserved, and swallowed it down because pain and anger and violence are easy! It's an easy reaction and an easy excuse, and likely people (in show) wouldn't have really blamed him because no one ever blamed Stiles for being angry and lashing out because that's what people /do/.

But Scott didn't. He swallowed all of that (a monumental effort on its own) and he returned kindness. He returned hope and optimism and faith that I know he didn't really feel, but what he really felt doesn't affect his actions because his actions speak much louder.

For a teenager with suicidal ideation, who has been constantly beat down by a life he never chose? Scott has tremendous self control, and an enormous capacity for kindness in his heart. It would have been so easy to make him an asshole, we've seen assholes countless of times in media. But strength of character in the face of all that, to say no to the cycle of violence? That is something that is not innate. Scott had to absolutely fight for that every day, and that alone is so endlessly fascinating.

You’re Still Only Human

Scott's attempt to have a hobby :)

Stiles is out for a doctor's appointment, everyone else is busy with something, and it's fine because it happens, so Scott finds himself with a lot of sudden free time

He's a little anxious at first because it's been a while since he hasn't had SOMEONE or SOMETHING come up, so he's at a loss. Does he go to work? Probably not, Deaton would boot him to get him to enjoy his day off

Instinct would say to reach out to his friends, check in on them and make sure they're all okay, but most are doing their own thing so there's reassurances and promises to meet up later but that still leaves all the time for himself

(Realistically I don't think Scott knows how to have downtime anymore, not since all of this shit happened to him)

So he does his school assignments (can't let those grades drop again), some chores, maybe he'll run errands or take his mom lunch at work

We know in canon he's a big reader, so maybe making time to read books that aren't school assignments but that caught his eye at some point

He sees his guitar on its stand in the corner of his room, a little dusty from lack of use and he just feels a little sad. He had silly ideas of forming a band with Stiles when they were younger, and they tried to write songs but it's not something everyone just knows how to do

He cleans the dust off and tunes the strings, wincing at how out of tune they've become, and like a lot of things from Before the Bite, he's kind of let it fall to the wayside.

And it's easy for Scott to lose track of time, playing little tunes to get his fingers used to the movements along the frets. Maybe he tries to write something new, or just plays whatever comes to mind, letting the stress and the thoughts that are constantly buzzing in his head fade away into something calmer

The Hottest Girl

I've been sitting on this idea since Scottuary, but heaven help me I am too much of a cog in the capitalism machine to have time

It's pretty straightforward though: everyone (except Scott) is in a competition to see who can make him blush/flustered the most

Stiles starts it, because someone makes a comment about how easily flustered Scott gets, and how he does that little happy bounce that just brightens up the room

Allison says she could beat Stiles, and that just gets everyone else in the competitive spirit

A lot of fluffy compliments, a lot of little touchy stuff

(I'm picturing all of them sitting at the tables outside making up the rules and setting up a system to make sure no one cheats or adds points because there has to be a process to it)

They see Scott coming and Kira just! bounces up (they haven't even really started yet but she got excited because she saw Scott), and she pulls out a sheaf of papers from her bag, explaining that she saw his guitar and she had asked her dad for his old music because maybe it could be of some use to him?

And Scott is a little taken aback because someone thought of him selflessly and he gets a little red as he takes the music sheets even though he's barely touched his guitar since he got the Bite, but the fact that she even thought about him makes him feel all warm and fuzzy and he blushes a little as he thanks her

The table is Furious she got him so fast lmao

Stiles is a lot of over the top compliments, which mostly make Scott laugh because he's being silly, but he gives Scott a big hug when they get their tests back and he's passing, and Stiles looks so damn proud of him that Scott flushes and scrunches up a little with his ears burning red

Lydia sits with his homework at lunch and goes through it with a red pen, and Scott feels his heart sink because why would she be marking it up so badly unless he's completely fucked up, but when she hands it back it's just comments of how well written certain paragraphs are, or what a good analogy he made based off the reading, praising him for his work and how much he's improved and coming from Lydia that's high praise, so he beams as he puts his paper away to print clean later

(oops I might have given Scott a praise kink now oh well)

Allison leaves him little notes in his stuff, and it's a game within a game because Scott can't even catch her when she leaves them, but it's little doodles with silly affirmations and observations that make him smile fondly and it doesn't matter that they're not dating anymore because even if they're not Together she still means the world to him, and he tucks them all into his binder to keep them safe. (And don't think about him finding them after she dies, little reminders that he can do it, and that he should smile because someone could be falling in love with him, reminders that he's loved that get a little smudged with water :) )

Isaac is at a loss throughout the day because he's not really an affectionate guy and he doesn't have good Role Models when it comes to positive interactions much less Affection. Stiles is probably making fun of him, until someone (maybe a team member? or just someone being shitty) makes a comment about Scott that rankles Isaac just enough and he's ready to go teach them a lesson about talking Shit about his Boy

Scott swoops in and eases him back, concerned at first because if it got Isaac pissed enough to fight it must have been pretty serious right? But Isaac just says they were talking shit about Scott and he looks a little startled at first

"Hey, it's fine, it's not worth getting in a fight about." He says, his hands still on Isaac's arms, like he thinks Isaac's still gonna shoot past him.

"It's worth it to me," Isaac huffs.

Scott takes a second to process what he said, and blushes bright red, because Isaac's always been punch first ask later, but the fact that he thinks Scott matters enough to be worth the trouble and punishment that would come with it? For something as silly as someone talking shit? He's not ENCOURAGING violence but it does make a feel guy feel a little warm inside

For funsies, Malia's in on the game (because fuck continuity) and decides she's gonna win, so she corners Scott and just. Stares him down. Face an inch away from his, staring very intently making Scott feel really confused because all day has just been Strange

"What are you doing?"

"Trying to make you blush," Malia says, matter-of-fact. "Is it working?"

Scott sputters, and hears a chorus of groans nearby. "Wh-- make me blush? Why?"

"Because I want to win the game." The duh is unsaid.

(The Malia part doesn't have to be included, I just think its silly.)

But yeah! end of the day Scott is warm and fuzzy but confused because everyone's been so nice to him and it's not something he's used to

He catches them at the same table tallying up points and arguing about semantics and he basically catches them red-handed. Everyone's a little bit embarrassed at being caught, but Stiles is defensive like "No! You deserve it anyways! It doesn't matter who won or if it was a competition because we all won in the end."