application for deerington

[engender]

IN CHARACTER

Character Name: Derek Hale
Canon: Teen Wolf
Canon Point: 3x10 "The Overlooked"

In-Game Tattoo Placement: Over his left hand.
Current Health/Status: Though he was involved in a full-on escape plan, he's only a bit sore by the time he gets to Rapture. Emotionally, he learned that trusting another person was a mistake and that he was manipulated into sleeping with her/believing she was an ally. He's not in a good place.
Age: 24
Species: Born Werewolf

Content Warnings: Child abuse, statutory rape, kidnapping, assault, parental death, murder, psychological trauma, family death.

History: Here.

CRAU History and Impact: N/A
Personality:

First and foremost, deep down, Derek Hale is a good person. He's been seen as a loner, an alleged criminal, and an all around, well, for lack of better terms, ass - he means well. He always has. It's just, he doesn't always know how to go about it the right way. He lost his family (the best influence on him) at a young age in a fire. They were outwardly murdered. A lot of his life has been trial and error and the same is true now. Unfortunately, in the past, he's been known to not try at all, because things frequently failed. (People died, sometimes by his hand.) For a long time, he believed that if he got close to a person, they'd die - whether because of him or by proxy, adjacent to him. So, he tried on being a loner for size, being an ass, being gruff - and it blows up on him again because Jennifer Blake, the teacher he'd slept with, turned out to be a dark druid. But, again, he means well. When he tries to open up Scott's eyes about Allison (how it's not real love) he's trying to help. His sarcastic and somewhat mean-spirited efforts in the first season come from a place of wanting to help and not wanting Scott to have to make the same sacrifices he did.

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. 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. But, he doesn't know how to lead and he loses them all. (Isaac, he kicks out when he believes he can't keep him safe.) All he saw as a kid was a power struggle between packs, between hunters - he wrongly thought that being an alpha meant having power, having betas. For the entirety of the second season, he tries to bring Scott back around but he goes about it all wrong. He understands that. In 3A, when I'm taking him from, unfortunately, he regresses, helping Scott when asked but mostly leaving him out of it until Scott has no choice but to be brought into it. When Scott says 'Because you're not my alpha,' Derek is genuinely hurt. He tried. He tries. He worries. He feels deeply.

Fortunately, try, fail, and try again is a mantra Derek has come to embody - with hindsight. Derek Hale is capable of change. Season 4 proves that. Derek doesn't give up, even when the odds are stacked against him. He "dies" in 3A, in a suicide mission. He can hold full conversations. He can smile and he can laugh. But, this is also because he sees that the narrative can change and that history doesn't have to repeat itself. For all intents and purposes, Scott McCall is a success story - but not because of him.

This also ties into how 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. He is able to adapt when needed. When the going gets tough.

When it comes to tough love, Derek is the worst teacher but what he's learned is that the Socratic method works best. He listens, he asks. And when need be, he just - tells them do. In Season 4 he lies and says his family had this magic thingamajig and it helps curb a case of full moon aggression.

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 fights the inevitable until he can't fight anymore. Specifically, between the alpha pack and Boyd. But, that's who Derek is. He doesn't stand down.

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, because he was raised around it and is used to researching. It's confirmed he was interested in history. He's also bilingual, though that's not a part of himself he shares almost at all. 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.)

Derek's humor tends to fall on the dry side. He'll joke (he doesn't use a gun because maybe he's been shot repeatedly). He'll side-eye, he'll make commentary. He judges. He's a little bit of a smug ass. (For example, he knows he's good looking and uses it to his advantage at the police station. Also, he scares kids in Halloween costumes just because.) He has a playful side, but that's usually reserved for people he's interested in or trusts.

Even if something you're saying is true, he won't cower and apologize. He knows he signed Allison's mother's death warrant but she died because of an outdated code and he says as much. He'll say the hard thing. Give him the blame, he's the first to do that, but recognize that there are multiple parties involved.

He also will not hesitate to let you know that he doesn't like you. But, when push comes to shove, he'll also work with you if need be. He can play well with others, now. To a point. But, he does not trust easily. Eventually, he gains that extra ability to let himself try.

Sex, for Derek, is tricky. It's good when it's good. But he was taken advantage of at a young age and the last person he had sex with poisoned a lot of people and kidnapped parents. In his life, sex was used as a power play. His abuser kidnaps him as an adult and assaults him again, electrocuting and baiting him. She even licks his face at one point.

Derek Hale is self-sacrificing. in 3B 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.)

Because, at his heart, Derek has spent his entire life blaming himself. For Paige, for his family, for Scott (Peter bit him), for Erica, for Boyd, for Jennifer, for Cora.

He still feels responsible, however. I don't think he'd up and leave Beacon Hills without checking up on Scott or telling the kid that he can call him any time he needs him. He's a protector as well, especially when it comes to his sister. The discovery that Cora survived is a huge one for Derek. Again, he's responsible for someone and he doesn't want to fuck it up. Cora's poisoning hits Derek hard and he gives everything up for her. He tries to be there for her and ultimately, he travels with her where she'll be safe.

Speaking of responsibility, 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. His family left him money and he doesn't squander it. He lives frugally. He dresses acceptably. (Henley's, v-necks, skinny jeans. Usually muted or earthy colors) But, he's not extravagant. He lives within his means. (This also shows that the guilt from what happened to his family drove him out into the empty Hale house, the one that burned down.) He didn't deserve more. He didn't want or deserve contact. He's making his way at this point. And he's moved into a loft.

Make no mistake, there is a lot of darkness in Derek's heart but he's living with it. He lives his life at a seven (on a pain scale up to ten, to borrow from Grey's Anatomy.) There are still sides to Derek that will never go away. He has a temper. If you steal his loft for a rave, he will bust your friends' (let's be honest, they were strangers, Scott) shit up. He's still impatient. He's still perfected his "really, you said that" face. He thinks he was born a predator and a killer. (Eventually, he comes to terms with being a predator and not a killer. He's capable of reaching this conclusion.) He will kill when necessary.

But, he knows he's not a monster.

Abilities/Powers/Weaknesses & Warping:

Derek Hale is a werewolf,

He has enhanced speed, strength, and agility. His acrobatics resemble a violent parkour.
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. They're lie detectors, able to hear 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.

When wolfing out, his nails elongate, becoming sharper.
Extra hair grows around his sideburns
His eyes glow red.

*nullified almost completely in Rapture

Inventory:

+1 Toyota FJ Cruiser (with a full gas can in the trunk, jumper cables, spare tire)
+1 black duffel (containing sets of clothes, tight henleys and pants and boots, a few wife beaters)
+1 set of keys (the camaro, his loft)
+1 small toiletries kit (toothbrush, nail clippers, hair gel, electric razor)
+1 framed picture of him and cora
+1 tied sack of mountain ash

Writing Samples: TDM 1 . TDM 2 + top level

OUT OF CHARACTER

Player Name: Brandon
Player Age: 31
Player Contact: manipulative or PM

Other Characters In Game: Elena Gilbert rehashing
In-Game Tag If Accepted: Derek Hale: Brandon
Permissions for Character: Here.
Are you comfortable with prominent elements of fourth-walling?: Yes

What themes of horror/psychological thrillers do you enjoy the most?: For Derek, torture, how guilt can really manifest, especially physically or paranormally, disorientation and believing one thing to be true when it may not be. And betrayal, the ultimate betrayal and revenge. Trauma...
Is there anything in particular you absolutely need specific content warnings for?: Sexual assault or physical abuse or the graphic description of killing an animal.