𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑏𝑎𝑛𝑠ℎ𝑒𝑒 ,

— 𝑇𝐻𝐸 𝐵𝐴𝑁𝑆𝐻𝐸𝐸 ; a female spirit, omen of death. a messenger of the otherworld. the wailing woman. ©

true love is an idea that lydia has always struggled with. ever since she was a child she was plagued with the reality of being a banshee, of having an otherness that simply controls her entire being. it's why in seasons one and two of teen wolf we see a lydia who is hiding behind the facade of the bitchy popular girl with the jock boyfriend: masking her true identity deep down because she's terrified that people will fear her or view her as some kind of freak. she hides her intelligence, her wit, everything that makes her lydia. jackson was hardly the poster boy for true romance back then, not just because of his popularity but because he was closeted and gay. that would never have worked for obvious reasons. when lydia finds comfort in the pack, comfort in knowing that she's not the only one with a supernatural skeleton in her closet, she's much more in tune with her true self: including romantic feelings. aiden was more company than anything else, lydia cared for him but it was more of a physical connection that anything truly romantic. over time lydia just watched as her friends found and lost love over and over, and became very disillusioned with the idea that she could find someone who could look at her and truly love her for who she is. over the years, in university and post university she still had more physical relations than emotional. her walls are still very much up. lydia loves the idea of love and craves it, but doesn't know if it's something she'll ever find. all she can think about is that death seems to love her more than any person ever will. she believes in true love and cherishes it, sees it in her friends and their relationships, but does not know if it'll ever be attainable for her personally.

❛ if i have to think about one more thing today, my head will explode. ❜

there's a pause to arthur's gait when he sees lydia approach him in the heart of the underground, standing at the top of the stairs where he was going to go down in order to speak with john and the rest of the mutants about what to do moving forward now that they have more and more mutants to move. there are several that are in need of going across the border, somewhere where the mutant laws are looser, more forgiving. arthur can't ignore the pang that tugs at his heart at the yearning of lydia to stay; curious if it would be selfish of him to convince her of such, to hide day to day rather than move on to enjoy the rest of her life. he swallows thickly against the damning thoughts, and offers her a nod with a personable smile. "no problem. we mutants gotta look out for each other, right?"

even making it to the underground was a feat in itself, an accomplishment that not every mutant could achieve. there's a feeling of melancholy that slips its way into her heart at the thought of how many of their people had gotten themselves killed in the desperation to reach such a safe haven. and yet it still isn't the rainbow at the end of the bridge --- there's still a ways to go when it comes to complete safety. lydia offers him a smile but it seems her slight frown betrays the sentiment, soft sigh leaving her lips. "yeah, that's true. listen- i, um, i was thinking about a few things and i think it would be in our best interests for me to stick with you, and you with me. our powers have incredible synergy and you can withstand my scream, something that not just anyone can do, you know? we make an incredible team and i'd rather be with you than a bunch of randomers."

Olivia Cooke photographed by Charlie Clift for the EEBAFTAs 2023

over-worrying and overthinking everything, your mind is always a whirling storm. no matter how you try, the fears overwhelm all else. you need someone trusted to press a kiss to your forehead, helping to quiet the thoughts that just refuse to settle.

you need to be held as though you're going to break. you need someone to trace your scars like cracks in a wall, crumbling. their touch is almost painful; you've been without it for too long, without someone to hold you. but, you cannot bring yourself to pull away.

you are your own truth, and you define your own destiny. you can shape your world, create it as you desire. how do you use this power? selfishly, or altruistically? what kind of universe will you become?

❝ can we order a pizza? ❞

"duh, what toppings are you thinking?"

a   deep   breath   and   he   glances   back   over   his   shoulder   ,   letting   his   arm   fall   and   his   hand   find   hers.      grabbing   on   like   his   life         (         or   more   so   hers         )         depended   on   it   ,   and   in   this   case   it   did.         "         we   just   gotta   wait   ,      when   i   say   so   ..      run.         "      

lydia winced as his hand took hers, panic strewn features contorting in a grimace at his words. "and where are we going to run to? this place doesn't exactly have a lot of options! i... i think i can take it." the redhead lets go of his hand, jumping out of their cover to face the creature. she takes a deep breath as her hand finds the wall beside her, absorbing in all the negative energy that the old building contains and allowing it to build up within her body before she emits a sonic scream that sends it hurtling back.