Stiles had placed Liam in charge of following Theo around after they had gotten caught in the preserve, thinking that one werewolf would be better equipped to stalk another wolf. Despite having a perfectly innocent reason, and a rather depressing one at that, for being in the woods, Stiles refused to believe that Theo was anything other than “a problem.” Liam disagreed, which was how he found himself rather unsubtly sitting at a bench by the skatepark while Theo amused himself doing kickflips. He would do what Stiles asked, but he wasn’t prepared to put in enough effort to be sneaky about it.

Theo was laughing as he stacked it, his board skittering away and landing near Liam. He retrieved it, winking at him, before getting straight back onto the board. Liam sighed, eyes drifting over Theo’s body, from the black back-to-front snapback down over the long-sleeved blue shirt, to the ripped skinny jeans that hugged his ass perfectly and topped off by a pair of pristine white converse. He looked sinfully hot, completely in his element.

Liam felt wildly out of place by comparison with his grey sweatpants and maroon Beacon Hills hoodie. He played lacrosse and was generally considered to be the typical jock who worked out in his spare time and was a little bit full of himself. Both of which were true, but Liam liked to think he was more than that. He also liked history, and cared deeply about his friends and family, and obviously there was the whole IED thing, but that was something that he had left behind him at Devenford Prep, hopefully. He was pretty straightlaced, really, he didn’t drink, he didn’t go to parties, and he wasn’t dating anyone either.

Skaters, on the other hand, were rebels, or at least these ones were. The people that Theo was currently hanging around with were handing around a flask and chain smoking as they lounged around watching Theo. Liam wrinkled up his sensitive nose at the smell, eyes dragging back over to Theo, who was dropping into the bowl with a determined look on his face. Liam rolled his eyes.

Everytime Theo had attempted this trick so far, he had hurt himself. And this time was no exception. His board flew out from underneath him, sending him sprawling down to the bottom with a pained grunt. His so-called friends laughed, but Liam rose slowly to his feet as he smelled blood.

“You okay?” He asked under his breath.

“I think I broke my fucking leg,” Theo muttered, cursing as he examined it. One of his friends rose to their feet but Theo waved them away, pretending to be fine.

“Want a hand?”

“I’m fine,” Theo growled, clenching his hands into fists. Liam slowly sat back down and waited to see what Theo would do.

Theo turned away from his friends, hiding his face as he dug his fingers into his leg, twisting it. Liam could just hear him snarling quietly over the sickening sound of a bone being pushed back into place and winced in sympathy. Even with accelerated healing, breaking bones wasn’t fun.

The other boy remained hunched over, panting, for another minute, sucking in air as his flesh started to knit back together. Eventually, he huffed, turning to look at Liam.

“Will you help me back to my truck, please?” He asked, hazel eyes dull with pain.

“Sure,” Liam said, getting up and sliding down to help Theo to his feet. Theo wrapped his arm around his shoulders while Liam placed his around his waist, holding him steady as he began to hobble forwards. He was almost immediately overwhelmed by that same clean, crisp scent from the other night in the woods, his wolf rumbling in his chest, wanting to press its nose into Theo’s neck and breathe it in. His eyes dropped to Theo’s neck, fixated on his pulse, and he licked his lips.

“You alright there?” Theo asked, sounding bemused. Liam startled, realising that they had reached the truck.

“Fine,” Liam said, blushing as he let his gaze drop. “How’s your leg?”

“I’ll probably live,” Theo said cheerfully. He pulled his keys out of his pocket and unlocked his truck. Liam stepped back as he opened the door and climbed in with a groan. “Do me a favour though?”

“What?” Liam asked.

“Make sure you bring my board with you when you watch me sleep tonight,” Theo said. He smirked as Liam’s eyes widened, spluttering a denial, red in the face. All Liam could hear as Theo sped off was the squeal of tires and his peals of laughter.

Now, that we’ve gotten to know you, ready to jump into your writing? If your creative process was a person, what type would they be? What would they do? Wear? Listen to? How do they handle conflict?

Snaeken the Creator is a soft and squishy character who’s easily discouraged, but is slowly and surely thickening their skin. They procrastinate a lot. Like, a lot a lot. They’ll spend longer picking music to write to than they will actually writing, it’s a bit of a problem, really. They could be likened to a kid in a candy store, so overwhelmed by all the amazing choices that they struggle to settle on anything. Or even a crow, always trailing after the next shiny, new thing instead of nurturing the pile of shiny things they already have.

Haha, you are not alone in the music-selection process. Besides music, how do you get into the headspace for writing, whether it be angst, fluff, etc?

Up until now, writing has been a very sporadic thing for me (although I really want to change this), so I don’t really have a specific method. I do spend a lot of time in my head though, so it can just be a case of delving deeper and seeing if I can dig up any ideas that fit together.

It’s no secret Empty Hands, Closed Doors is an Angst masterpiece. What’s the saddest, most-gut wrenching thing you’ve seen or written?

Yep, there were more than a few upset readers when I finally posted ‘Empty Hands, Closed Doors.’ That’s definitely the saddest thing I’ve published. I may have a probably abandoned WIP that beats it in terms of pure, unadulterated angst though; a while back I plotted out and started writing a Matteusz-centric Class AU, in which Charlie and Quill aren’t around to help him so he ends up homeless. Basically one awful thing after another happens to him and I still feel horrible about it because it just became angst for the sake of angst. Basically I want to give Matteusz the biggest hug and protect him from the world.

Feel up to showing off those skills? I’m gonna give you a completely joyous, totally pure moment and I challenge you to make it as angsty as you can? (*Rubs palms together*) 

Scenario: A child getting a puppy for the Holidays

Liam and Theo stood side by side with exceptionally fond smiles on their faces, watching as their kids tore into their Christmas presents. The boy moved on to a decent-sized cardboard box, giving it an inquisitive shake before moving to untie the ribbon that sealed it shut.

“Li,” Theo whispered, “Where’s the thing?”

“The what?” Liam asked, eyebrows furrowed.

“The puppy. Where is it?”

“It’s right there, he’s opening it.”

“What? It can’t be. Where are the air holes?”

Their daughter has joined their son now, intrigued by the mystery box addressed to both of them. 

Liam’s eyes widen in horror. “Oh shit.”

“Jesus, tell me you fucking didn’t.”

They share a horrified look and lunge for the box, trying to get it away from their son. They’re too late. The ribbon untied, their son removes the lid from the box, and he and his sister look inside. Then they start to scream.

Bwahahahaha. Perfect! Hold up. Let me stop cackling...So, even though you’re famous for your angst, your story, “We’re Not Kings of Anything,” actually has a John Hughes-esque, Coming of Age Romantic feel to it. With all the supernatural terrors running through Beacon Hills, it’s easy to forget these are just kids, trying to enjoy their teenage, pre-adulting years. How would you insert that same youthful energy into these few scenarios?

1. A Puppy Pack TW Spin-Off. What would be your very first and last scene of the pilot episode?

The opening scene could be Corey and Mason, my precious beans, away at college together and generally trying to enjoy life. They’re on a date, nothing fancy, maybe just having dinner somewhere. Then a supernatural creature attacks and Mason just yells an exasperated, “Every single time we try and go on a date, this shit happens!”

The final scene could be the pack, new and old, reuniting in Beacon Hills to try and work out what’s getting the other supernatural creatures riled up this time.

2. A Thiam Double date with any other ship from the show. Which couple would you choose as their counterparts? What would they do?

Mini golf with Sterek would be pretty hilarious, because it would start out amicably but you know it wouldn’t take long before punches start getting thrown. Stiles would definitely claim the others are using their supernatural powers to cheat, even though they’re all doing just as badly as him. 

3. Why not throw yourself in the plot too? A Breakfast Club detention situation with five characters who would give you the wildest, most satisfying day. Also, who’d be your teacher?

I’d have to go with Stiles, Jackson, Danny, Liam and Theo, purely because the sass levels would be absolutely insane. Danny would try to be the voice of reason, but you just know all the pretty boys around him could manipulate him into messing with the IT system. As for the teacher, Coach Finstock would definitely be the easiest to rile up, but I think it’d be more satisfying to stress out Mr Harris.

Lol, those are hilarious. Poor Morey. They really can’t get a break to be adorable and cute!  Since we’ve started veering towards tropes and situations, is there one trope you love to read that the Thiam fandom hasn’t produced yet? 

I read a lot of fantasy and sci-fi novels, so I’d absolutely love to see a well-executed fic like this. Bonus points if homophobia isn’t involved whatsoever, since more often than not it tends to be a theme, if non-cishet characters are included at all. If this sort of thing already exists then someone should totally link me!

Hmm, we’ll have to be on the lookout for one! Do you also create art or write outside of the Thiam fandom? Original Fiction? Original Artwork? Other Fandoms?

So writing is the only art form that I have any modicum of talent in, and it’s definitely a dream of mine to become a published author one day. I’ve got a bad habit of being embarrassed by -and therefore deleting- my old writing, but I’ve got fics uploaded for the Class and Skam fandoms on my ao3. As far as any of my lengthier WIPs are concerned, they all tend to be AUs anyway. For those I tend to use the characters as visual bases, rather than them necessarily being the same character in a different setting. For example, Theo in Safety of the Dark is a completely different person to Theo in the show.

Ok, last question before our last question, haha! One surprising opportunity to come from this segment is the chance to grow from the life experience and perspectives of someone different than us. Let’s pretend this is Karate Kid. You are our sensei and us your pupils, can you impart any life/writing wisdom? 

If you get enjoyment from something that doesn’t hurt others, then try to enjoy it without embarrassment or shame. Despite how simple it sounds, it can be such a difficult thing to do; I’m more than willing to admit it’s something I struggle with. It’s so easy to get caught up in the comments and judgements other people make about your interests, whether they’re passive or malicious. It can be scary to open yourself to that, but I promise you will be so much happier if you can allow yourself to like things both privately and publicly.

Writing-wise, the best piece of advice I can offer is to write for yourself first. Write because the plot interests you, because you want to see how the characters and their relationships develop, because it’s something you would want to read. Accepting prompts and taking suggestions is great; hopefully, it doesn’t sound like I’m bashing that. However, if you’re trying to people-please, or if you’re not fully invested in what you’re writing, it shows. This is pretty similar to the life advice, but again, do it for yourself. You’ll enjoy it so much more if you do.

Dude, I don’t know about anyone else, but I needed that. Thank you. It was a perfect note to wrap on. Before we go, what’s next for you? Do you have any major plans? Life or Creating-wise? And, is there anything else you’d like to add? The podium is yours. 

I’m not sure about life, that seems to be relatively static at the moment. As for creatively though, I want to try and get serious about writing. For a long time (literally years) I’ve been falling victim to the ‘perfect first draft’ and getting discouraged when something doesn’t turn out exactly how I pictured it first try. The main goal for this year is to finish a multi-chaptered fic, even if it kills me.

I would just like to again commend the parts of the fandom I’ve seen for being so inclusive and accepting of people, and that hopefully we’ll all be able to keep it up!

Perfect! Thanks Callum! And with that, Behind the Screens presents Callum to you. If you haven’t already, definitely check out his AO3 and Tumblr for your daily dose of Fluff and Angst, all linked below. You can always keep the conversation going: respond to his thoughts, ask more questions, or just swing by for a chat with him at anytime. (He, as well as most of the BTS artists, also frequent Discord, if that’s more your pace!) 

Tumblr: Snaeken

AO3: Snaeken

Ask Box: Snaeken Ask

Finally, a colossal thank you goes out to him for being so open to share his life and creative talent with us! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I hope everyone is staying warm and Thiam-filled today. We will see you next week!

Have a Thiam Creator you fan over, from any platform (AO3, Tumblr, Wattpad, Instagram, FFN, etc)? Definitely drop us their names. Bonus points if you include any questions you’re dying to ask them.