lupus factus est

With a slow exhale, Erica looked up at the taller male, shrugging her shoulders, her eyes darting from his, to a random point next to his head, only to avoid further eye contact.

"I— My parents," she whispered, bowing her head down as she spoke softly, her shoulders hunched, and her posture not what it had been like since the bite. 

your characters don’t need love interests. they need therapy. 

sincerely, 

It does matter though, especially when we are supposed to hold Scott to the higher moral standard of a hero. Scott used Derek’s body as a weapon when Derek was literally begging him not to, then revealed he never gave a shit about Derek, his pack, or the trust that he keeps harping on and then betraying. Sure Scott cares about the knowledge and help Derek can provide, but he has yet to show he cares about Derek as a person. So yeah, Scott is partially on my shit list until he actually realizes the full impact of his flaws and the horrible things he’s done to others.

For more info/meta, check out some of these links (far from a comprehensive list, but it’s what I was able to throw together quickly)

Derek & PTSD

An Arc in Shadow: Derek Hale and Assault

Derek Hale: Love, PTSD, and Maladaptive Daydreaming

Symptoms of victimization (PTSD) and Derek Hale

Scott and Derek (various topics)

From Alpha to Alpha (Scott and Derek on ends justifying the means)

flower-of-the-desert.tumblr.com/post/76267891106/ionaonie-mech-bull-lycantrophies (making a tough call, Scott’s decision, treatment of Derek)

epic meta reaction post: with visual and film theory (2x12)

athenadark.tumblr.com/post/86209010128/theladyandthewolves-athenadark (Scott removing Derek’s agency, the difference between Scott and Captain America)

madamdoesnothing.tumblr.com/post/86514186970 (wanting Scott & Derek to be brothers vs the reality)

Scott and Betrayal (this post has a few important threads/continuations, so I’m putting it in it’s own section; starts with Derek and goes through other characters and examples)

ionaonie.tumblr.com/post/83251527196/kaerya-ionaonie-lunaswondrousworld-scott

j2asndh.tumblr.com/post/83308081843

athenadark.tumblr.com/post/83211880393/flower-of-the-desert-scott-and-betrayal

athenadark.tumblr.com/post/83253205905

technologykilledrealityxxxxx.tumblr.com/post/83261731817

Scott’s character flaws and what his overall character arc might be

cupidsbower.tumblr.com/post/81648468176/i-think-the-thing-is-derek-sees-so-much-of (a discussion spawned from a quote, the end has a brilliant revelation of Scott’s tragic flaw coming from his father; yes this could be a Star Wars reference)

cupidsbower.tumblr.com/post/82124486324 (more on Scott’s tragic flaw/coming of age character arc)

Here’s the thing, right. If he had been established in the very beginning as the darker sort of “hero” - the way we see Derek now; the way I’ve seen him in since the very beginning (but apparently was gone because they meant him to be a legitimate villain??) - that’d be one thing. His actions still wouldn’t have been okay but it would’ve been within his character to do such a thing.

He was not established as that hero. Scott was established as the softer kind of hero, the one who is too kind and too caring and too merciful to kill his villain. He was established as the hero who finds another way.

They’ve told us this numerous times in canon with words but the actions of the S2 finale completely negate those words. They’re trying to tell us two different stories about the same character.

Now, if the S2 finale had been the beginning of a narrative that showed us Scott transitioning from kind-hearted hero to the hero that does what it takes, that would also be fine. Again, it wasn’t. We are to believe that Scott is the same caring hero he’s always been.

If Scott is going to be that kind of hero, that’s completely fine. People will still like him and enjoy his character that way but the writers need to decide because this back and forth gives everyone whiplash.

The problem here is simple. Scott did a thing. There was no consequence for that thing. There was nothing in the narrative that said, “listen, yeah it worked - a little bit - but that wasn’t a good thing you did.”

If there was no consequence, how will Scott learn? If there’s no consequence, what development did that bring his character? And how do we, as an audience, know that the situation has been resolved between the characters? How do we know that the characters have learned from their experiences?

Character development is essential to the narrative. It’s not just about getting the story from Point A to Point B; it’s about getting the characters there, too.

Character does a thing, there is a consequence (good or bad) for the thing, character learns something from thing. Character develops. Without that second step, the character is stuck at Point A; they haven’t even begun their journey.

The S2 finale is still being talked about because they puts the characters at Point A and then didn’t move them towards the conclusion. There was no aftermath, no resolve. It’s a loose thread still hanging out there, a moment in time that has no closure.

"I luh u puppy"

This is for sophielostandfound who needed a cheer me up! So why not puppies + derek hale?? :D