On Peter and Malia you just reblogged. Derek recognized Cora because he remembered her but how Peter could recognise Malia if his memories were taken away? Just because she is Hale? On his werewolf abilities? But Derek didn’t recognize Peter in s.1 too. And we don’t know if D knew about Malia on s4, most likely he didn’t know for a while. As for Peter never doing something to harm Derek - I wouldn’t say bringing P back to the life was harmless, it looked like kind of dangerous ritual for Derek.
The post these questions/observations refer to is this one by @athenadark that I recently reblogged for those who want to know the background.
Athena addressed a lot in her post, some of it with regards to how Hales seem to instantly recognize each other plus a section on how Malia is a conundrum that might or might not be Peter’s daughter. I’m in complete agreement with Athena on the part about Malia and how Lydia might have heard wrong when she listened to Talia’s claws - at the time we didn’t know any Liam. But we did know a Malia, the names are quite similar when you speak them out loud. Even when you write them they seamlessly blend together. MaLIAM
Our minds are wired to connected the dots we already know. Lydia could’ve heard it wrong and jumped to conclusions. And Malia might genuinely believe she is Peter’s daughter. I don’t think she’s that good a liar. And on that note Liam did show signs of control issues (IED, anger issues, smashing his coach’s car) and superb skills at lacrosse (Stiles even asks if he’s a were-cheetah - get it? a were-cheeta— cheeter - which might be a clue that Liam is a chimera (I fell in a hole).) We know from the flashback with young Derek and young Peter that Derek had control issues when he was manifesting in high school. It’s not such a stretch to think that these things could be little signs of either a werewolf manifesting or a chimera awakening in Liam. Scott’s bite could’ve been the catalyst needed to get it into full mode. Like Peter’s bite did with Lydia back in the day.
but I’m rambling now. sorry….
Athena also linked to a video of the scene where Peter meets Malia for the first time, and he’s all eager until he’s inspected her and questioned her about her eyes. After that he’s almost indifferent and detached and uses her like a pawn in his plan that season. He displays no signs of being a doting father, which is in contrast to his initial interest, both when he meets Malia and when Lydia tells her about him being “not just an uncle”. Peter’s memories of his kid was taken from him, that is true. So yes, he wouldn’t be able to recognize his child by looks alone. But he was all eager puppy with Malia until he’d inspected her, that is a fact. Why has never been explicitly explained. Hence all the speculations :)
As for whether Derek felt or didn’t feel a family connection to Malia, that is neither confirmed nor debunked in canon. Like you point out Derek might not even know that she’s supposedly his cousin for all we know. It’s never addressed. Athena proposes an interesting interpretation of the material. And with regards to recognizing Cora vs Malia, I took it to mean that Derek instantly felt a connection or a bond when he saw Cora. There was possibly also a recognition based on her looks, but we need to remember that the fire was six years prior, making Cora 10 the last time Derek saw her. People change a lot in 6 or 7 years, and especially at that age with puberty and all that jazz. And his first look at her she was all wolfed out as well. We have enough hints in canon to believe that the wolfy powers manifests during the teenage years, so Cora probably hadn’t wolfed out by the age of 10. And yet Derek instantly recognized her even with fangs and glowy eyes. So yeah, she might look familiar, but it’s quite plausible it was more gut feeling rather than visual confirmation. Or perhaps a mix of the two.
I’m not sure what you mean about Derek not recognizing Peter in season 1? He visited him several times at the hospital, so I’m guessing you mean in his wolf form? We need to take into account that Peter turned into a beast alpha, which is not all common. It is probably miles away from how Peter’s wolfy form used to be. We also know from canon that alpha’s can hide their scent, so he wouldn’t have recognized him that way either. (I’m still say it’s a good chance Peter was experimented on back then but that is another meta).
What I think athena means when she says that Peter has never hurt Derek is that he in his very warped way does seem to protect his family. And yes, he used Derek in season 2 to be resurrected. I still think Deaton had a finger in that to be honest. And like Deaton said to Derek when he woke up, he needn’t worry he was still an alpha. Peter only used enough juice from Derek to get resurrected, but his life or alphaness was not hurt. The same when he encouraged Derek to save Cora’s life. He was very adamant that Derek not take it too far, reminding him that it could kill him. Peter is an odd cookie - he’s such an obvious villain, it’s worth looking closer at him. He’s got a warped sense of family pride and protectiveness that few if none seem to get.
Not sure I made any sense at all, and athena might want to expand on stuff as well since the original post was hers.
(forgive the ramblings. I’m slightly out of meta practice and high on Christmas candy)
