(pines) no. i was evolving. something you'll never do.

[engender]

PLAYER

NAME: Brandon
CONTACT: manipulative, PM
OTHER CHARACTERS IN THE PINES: Damon Salvatore unforgivably

CHARACTER

NAME: Derek Hale
CANON: Teen Wolf
CANON-POINT: Season 4, Episode 12 "Smoke and Mirrors"

DOSSIER

HISTORY: @WIKIA

WHAT ARE YOUR CHARACTER'S STRENGTHS?:

Derek is a decisive person. He doesn't waffle between options. He chooses a or b and he goes for it. And he does what needs to be done. When Lydia is suspected to be a kanima (a paralyzing lizard), he doesn't hesitate to round up the troops and take care of her. He steps up when the going gets tough because that's what Hale's do. He has a high pain tolerance. He fights until he has nothing left.

He's knowledgeable. He's smart. He's situationally aware. Scott questions why he doesn't use his gun and Derek very obviously replies: "You're covered in gasoline." Conveniently, when the writers need it, Derek knows about lore, werewolf or not. It's confirmed he was interested in history. He's smart tactically, despite periodically doing the impulsive thing (when he has to, when lives are on the line, when it's his sister on a rampage.)

He is responsible. Derek finally confirms that the building he's lived in for two seasons (it's better to forget the abandoned subway train) is owned by Derek. He lives within his means (despite the existence of family money.)

Derek adapts. The fourth season involves a gradual loss of powers but Derek doesn't worry on the outside, or flail around. He doesn't even look for a cure. What he does do is take Braedan (a bounty hunter) up on her offer to teach him marksmanship. When Peter is no longer an adversary he makes his own pack. When he realizes pushing everyone away isn't beneficial, he learns to change course. Where Derek once resisted change, he welcomes it now. He's not afraid of it.

Finally, Derek is loyal. He returns to protect Satomi's pack. He stays loyal to his betas he turns and only sends Isaac away because he believes Isaac is better off. Being in his pack got Boyd and Erica killed. But, Derek sticks by those he trusts and loves.

WHAT ARE YOUR CHARACTER'S WEAKNESSES?:

While a stranger might think Derek Hale is unfeeling, the exact opposite is true. He's made a lot of mistakes and a majority of them stem from how he feels. Deeply. Both a sense of loneliness and duty as a werewolf drives him to turn Erica, Boyd, and Isaac - ne-er-do-well's with dark backstories. He wants to help. He cares.

While Derek Hale can be charming, that charm tends to tip in the direction of cockiness. He's seen charming the woman on duty at the sheriff's station. He basically seduces Erica into wanting the bite. He's vain in that he knows what he looks like in the mirror and he can use it to his advantage.

Derek Hale isn't humorless, but it's not a driving force in him. His humor lands dryly when he bothers with it and he doesn't respond the best to humor.

When he wants to be, when driven, Derek Hale can be ruthless. Whether that be in the lessons he teaches or the scores he needs to settle. This tendency has been dialed way back because he's in a good place now. But, the capacity is still there. He's still violent when he needs to be. With the help of Scott and Chris, he defends Satomi's pack from hunters.

Derek Hale doesn't trust easily. Granted, he was betrayed by several people close to them, one of them flesh and blood. And, with a lack of trust comes a hesitancy for human contact. He's not a touchy-feely person and this stems from Kate Argent taking advantage of him from a young age.

Derek uses intimidation when he believes it can be useful, but in doing so he usually neglects the obvious thing he should do, like tell Scott he didn't bite him, instead of kicking his ass.

Derek Hale is self-sacrificing. He gives up being an alpha for his sister. He plans to go it alone against the Alpha Pack. He sacrifices Isaac's loyalty when he throws a glass at the young beta, all to keep Isaac safe in the end. He would die for his pack, for his family, and for the people he loves. (It's safe to say, if he could turn back time or exchange his life for Laura's or his mother's or any one of his family members, he would.)

Derek lives with an unhealthy dose of survivor's guilt, having been partially responsible for feeding Kate argent information. The guilt from what happened to his family drove him out into the empty Hale house, the one that burned down. He believed he didn't deserve more. He didn't want or deserve contact. Add to those deaths the deaths of Erica and Boyd, two of his beta werewolves.

WHAT EVENTS OR CIRCUMSTANCES IN YOUR CHARACTER'S PAST HAVE IMPACTED THEM THE MOST?:

At a young age, Derek Hale fell in love with a young cellist named Paige. Believing that the only way they could be together would be if she were like him, he makes a deal with an Alpha. But, werewolf bites don't always take and her body fights it. Unfortunately, he has to end her life and her suffering. His first kill shapes him immeasurably. It's a stepping stone to Derek falling prey to an older hunter's psychotic machinations, Kate Argent. Because he fell under her spell, he fed her information that led to his family's home being set ablaze. He drowned in this tragedy, immersing himself in his pain. It sent him away from Beacon Hills, and back, when his sister went missing. His issues with trust, with personal contact, and his brusk nature can all be traced back to the Hale house fire.

After being rejected by Scott after spending a few months trying to teach the young werewolf how to be a werewolf tnd then turning three others, the biggest significant event in Derek's life is learning that his sister Cora is alive. It triggers a course-correction in how he deals with Scott, and ultimately, it leads Derek to give up his spark from being an alpha, in order to save her life. However, even before then, Derek changes how he speaks to Scott and how he works with Scott. His methods shift from intimidation and practice to the Socratic method.

Knowing Cora is safe sends Derek into his last year on the series as a Beta to Scott's true alpha. Finally, Derek confronts his abuser Kate after literally evolving and gaining the ability to completely transform into a wolf.

WHAT MOTIVATES YOUR CHARACTER?:

His motivation has changed drastically since we first meet him in the first season. Cora's safety is his biggest motivation. He wouldn't stick around Beacon Hills if she weren't safe (off screen, in South America.) Were he onscreen, his remaining family's safety (Malia's) would be a priority. At one time, family meant everything to Derek Hale. He wants live up to his mother, Talia's, legacy.

Additionally, the safety of Scott McCall, his alpha, and Scott's pack motivates him as well, but more from a mentor standpoint, as Scott now looks up to him and takes his (admittedly better) advice. He also knows Scott has to learn to be a leader and stand on his own. So, were he called in to help, he'd assist if he could, but to what extent is not clear.

WHAT IMPRESSION DO OTHERS TEND TO HAVE OF YOUR CHARACTER?:

While at an earlier canon point, the answer would be different, the fundamentals remain. Derek is still enigmatic, almost silent from afar. He speaks when he feels he needs to speak. He keeps to himself and may never shed the 'loner' aspect of his personality, not really. He's there when he needs to be, or when he needs help, but he doesn't overstay his welcome. Nowadays, he may not mean to but he does still come off as gruff. Essentially, he comes off as a mysterious loner who's getting used to smiling more.

IN WHAT WAYS DOES THAT IMPRESSION DIFFER FROM WHO YOUR CHARACTER REALLY IS?:

Derek is damaged. Derek Hale has endured more hell in his twenty-five years on Earth than most do in a lifetime. He lives with the pain of falling for a psychopath's charms and losing his family because of it, but the difference is now he copes now. (In healthy ways.) With Derek, still waters run deep. He's also smarter than he gives himself credit for, having dropped out of college. And, he knows how to joke. He doesn't joke often. Derek has learned to care, and to respect. He's learned that power isn't what he should be after. He's come to the realization that just because he's a predator, that doesn't mean he needs to kill. Against all the odds, he's come out from the other side evolved in more ways than one.

Detailed below, Derek is also a born werewolf, which is a part of what defines who he is. Obviously, this isn't apparent upon first impressions.

HOW DOES YOUR CHARACTER HANDLE CRISIS OR ADVERSITY?:

Not in healthy ways! That isn't true. That used to be true. Thanks to growing as a person, Derek handles diversity in different ways. First and foremost, he still handles it alone for the most part, not wanting to burden others i.e. his slow march toward mortal death. But, when it comes to bigger threats, he accepts help and he works with others. How does he handle adversity? With help from people he trusts.

WHICH 5 THINGS WILL YOUR CHARACTER REMEMBER UPON ARRIVAL, AND WHY DID YOU CHOOSE THEM?:

- His family was killed in a fire he was partially responsible for.
- He has a sister named Cora who's alive.
- He was betrayed by his uncle, Peter.
- He was born a werewolf.
- As a teenager, he was seduced by a woman named Kate Argent.

Being a werewolf is a defining characteristic of Derek Hale, as is the loss of his family in the fire. His sister is the most important person in his life. Kate's betrayal leaves an indelible mark on his psyche.

IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE YOU FEEL WE NEED TO KNOW ABOUT YOUR CHARACTER?:

He has the triskelion tattooed on his back, this harkens back to his anchor, alpha, beta, omega, this mantra kept him in control as a child, because he reminds him a wolf can be a beta, an alpha, and an omega

SKILLS, ABILITIES, & PHYSICAL WEAKNESSES:

He's bilingual. He speaks Spanish, though, that's not a part of himself he shares. Thanks to his girlfriend, a former US Marshall, he's now adept at fire-arm management and marksmanship.

Derek Hale is a born werewolf. While most werewolves struggle, he was born into a family of werewolves. He also learned to master the full moon. Derek's eyes are blue which indicates two things, that he's taken an innocent life and that he's a beta werewolf. Betas serve under alpha's. After killing his uncle he became an alpha (or a failpha if you ask anyone), but gave up the spark that made him an alpha in order to save his dying sister.

.. He has enhanced speed, strength, and agility. His acrobatics resemble a violent parkour.
.. He has accelerated healing, and because of this he can't get drunk. The alcohol metabolizes too fast.
.. It's been shown that on all fours, werewolves can run even faster.
.. His hearing is amplified, able to hear a conversation going on across the room. He can detect lies by listening to a jump in heart rhythm.
.. He can jump ridiculously high, much like Mario.
.. He has an intense sense of smell, werewolves can smell emotion: fear, etc.
.. His howl can alert other wolves to where he is.
.. He can absorb a living, breathing organism's pain (human or animal)
.. If he tries, he could possibly draw memories out of another werewolf using his claws - or even transport someone into their mind (thanks, Peter)
.. He can also use the claws of a dead werewolf to commune with them (Talia)
.. This is more cultural, but clawing a spiral into the side of a building is tantamount to declaring war.
.. If he takes the life of an Alpha werewolf, he'll become an Alpha. As an alpha, he can bite a human, and depending on how they take to that bite, they would become like him.

It's not shown in canon if this is still true, but...
.. When wolfing out, his nails elongate, becoming sharper.
.. Extra hair grows around his sideburns
.. His eyes glow blue.

And, thanks to his evolution, he can now fully shapeshift into a black wolf.

With perks come drawbacks, of course, borrowed from cramped.

.. If dosed with wolfsbane he can hallucinate, fall unconscious or even die.
.. Mistletoe is poisonous
.. A substance called Mountain Ash can keep any supernatural creatures out
.. A lunar eclipse renders a werewolf powerless
.. Hecatolite is a mineral that can block the effects of the moon and therefore disrupt or impair their transformation
.. Electricity can keep werewolves in a weakened state when applied steadily at a low amperage
.. Wounds inflicted by an Alpha will not heal as quickly or as cleanly

INVENTORY:

- one royal blue blue henley
- one pair of form-fitting black jeans
- one pair of black shoes
- one pair of socks
- one pair of boxer briefs
- one shoulder bag containing a bloody change of clothes, one cylinder of hair gel, one grooming kit (razor, clippers), and one black leather jacket
- one ring of keys (his Silver FJ Cruiser, his car for the third and fourth season, to the building his family owns,
- one useless phone from the mid aughts
- one wallet (complete with ID, useless cash, useless credit cards)
- one handgun, sig sauer p2269mm, one magazine

SAMPLES

PROSE-HEAVY: Here.
DIALOGUE-HEAVY: Here and here.