#losing her parents losing her brother losing vision losing her other family

[woulddieforloki]

if one more person tells me Wanda has never faced consequences in the MCU I'm gonna do something illegal

[artemismoorea03]

DPxDC Prompt: I Got You Brother

Danny has been in Gotham for a while after things went south with his parents. But that's what happens when one's parents are convinced by the G.I.W. that Phantom killed "Real Danny" and took his place as a way to fill his sick obsession of "being alive" which - they couldn't be further from the truth - but his parents were so convinced by the evidence that they refused to listen. Vlad expected Danny to go with him and when Danny refused it made part of him snap.

Danny fled from his parents, the GIW and Vlad in the dead of the night. No family, no friends, nobody knew where he was and that was how he liked it.

He lived at the cave with the bats but refused their offer to come upstairs. He knew who they were and that they were safe but he also knew that if he took one step onto that elevator they would be his family. They would be his family and he couldn't risk losing another family.

He thought that living in the cave would prevent any of them from getting attached. So quickly his schedule turned into a cycle of patrols. Start patrols, stop in for lunch, patrol until dinner, patrol until breakfast, patrol again until lunch. Repeat day in and day out.

He told the team he didn't need to sleep and told them that he was fully a 'Ghost' from another dimension. As many details as he could keep from them the better.

Or so he thought.

Until after nearly a week of these endless patrol things changed. A fight with a particularly powerful ghost had wiped him out and while he managed to stay on his feet when he tried to continue patrol his vision blurred and his transformation dropped.

And so did Danny.

Danny wasn't even aware somebody was tailing him until a thick rope wrapped around his wrist and stopped his fall. Danny swung, hitting the side of a building with a tired grunt as he looked up.

Orphan.

"New brother! Got you!" Orphan called down to him as Danny tried to get his powers to respond, desperate to do anything to protect Orphan who was sliding closer to the edge.

Spoiler showed up within seconds, grabbing Orphan's ankles just as Orphan went over the edge and Red Robin grabbed Spoiler around her ankles. Frantic shouting echoed as Nightwing grabbed Red Robin around his ribs, the weight threatening to pull them all over before Red Hood grabbed Nightwing.

Danny reached up, trying to grab the rope when another wrapped around his free wrist from next to them. Batman was there and by his side was Robin, also there to help Danny and the others up.

He hadn't wanted a family.

He had run from who he was and the ones he loved.

But he found more people to love him.

It wasn't until Signal showed up - having been alerted to the situation and called to the scene - that Danny let the tears drip down his face.

He was home.

[cobaltperun]

Lost (9) - Lost

Tara Carpenter x female Reader

Summary: To anyone on the outside, and to Tara’s friends, you were Tara’s fierce protector, the MMA fighter who’d take anyone on for Tara. The Guard Dog, as Amber called you. You had no idea you’d have to protect her from people who claimed they loved her. It didn’t matter. As long as you and Tara had one another there was nothing you wouldn’t be able to survive.

Story warnings: Scream violence, family issues, trauma, angst, certain sensitive topics

Word count: 6.5k

Story masterlist / First part / Previous part / Next part

-I'm lost in these memories living behind my own illusion. Lost all my dignity living inside my own confusion-

You were ten and your entire world fell apart. It wasn’t fair, it just wasn’t fair. Zack wasn’t dead, he couldn’t be dead! Your father had to be lying!

“He’s dead,” he repeated, looking like he was talking about spilled milk, and you felt sick, you felt lightheaded, your legs couldn’t hold your weight and you dropped to your hands and knees. “Stop crying, Y/N,” he ordered, his tone harsh and unforgiving, and it made you flinch as you covered you mouth to stop the sobs, but you couldn’t stop the tears, they just kept falling.

Your mother grabbed your shoulders and pulled you to your feet. “Go to your room, your father is expecting important guests,” she ushered you to go upstairs, to be the obedient daughter. And you did just that, climbing up the stairs to your room.

Once inside you stumbled to your bed and pulled a small toy boxer from behind your pillow. The only gift Zack gave you that you managed to keep, to smuggle into your room without your parents noticing. Anything else they took and you never saw it again, photos, toys, books, it didn’t matter what Zack got for you, it was gone. So, aside from the toy boxer, he gave you his time, as much as he could, and he gave you the basics of martial arts, he taught them to you, he taught you discipline better than anything your parents ever signed you up for.

Even now, at ten years old, you felt the room you were in wasn’t who you were. It was, as your mother described it, a girl’s room, flowery and colorful, filled with clothes appropriate for your parents’ wealth and a customary violin they wanted you to learn how to play. You were meant to grow into a young lady that scoffed at anything even mildly violent, someone who relied on other people to cook and clean for you, and if you really wanted to, you would get the education needed to take over your father’s company.

That’s who you were supposed to be, but meeting Zack changed that.

And you found your passion in martial arts and the vision your parents had of you would never come true.

But, just like you took away their vision of their perfect daughter, they took the toy boxer away, taking the only remaining physical reminders of your brother away. And to completely remove you from those memories they chose to move, hoping that maybe, leaving the city you spent so much time with Zack in, would made those memories fade away. At the start of 2012, two months after Zack’s death you and your parents moved to Woodsboro.

Woodsboro was a strange experience at first, a small town, with people suspicious of anyone new. You didn't care, you were still shaken by the loss, shaken by being torn from the life you had. Looking back now, there wasn't much of a life there, but to a ten-year-old you that was all you had. Especially after losing Zack.

Two weeks into your time in Woodsboro you just walked around, figuring out where what was when you noticed a tiny girl pushing a bicycle and carrying a bag. She was alone, and she seemed to be struggling. Why was a girl who didn't look older than seven all on her own with a bicycle that looked like it would be too big even for you?

The girl your parents raised would have minded your own business and avoided any attention. Zack taught you to be better than that.

"Uh, hey," you approached her awkwardly. She raised her head when she figured out you were talking to her. The first thing you noticed upon a closer look were her expressive brown eyes and freckles on her face. "Need help?"

She seemed genuinely surprised, but at the same time looked weary. You couldn't blame her, this was the first time she had seen you. "No, but thanks for offering help," she gave you a small, shy smile and walked by you.

Well, you weren't about to force her into accepting help. You offered, she didn't accept it, so you shrugged. But then she began coughing and dropped to her knees, her bicycle falling to the side as some of the content from her bag spilled out. You ran up to her since there was no one nearby to do it instead.

"Hey, are you sick or something?" you had no idea what to do, you were ten and confused and not used to situations like this one.

The girl nodded, pulling out something and taking a breath. Something that helped her breathe? "Asthma," she muttered. "I'm fine now, I'm sorry," you didn't understand why she was apologizing, but you began picking her things up. You noticed it was mostly food that was quick to make and cheap, but you didn't comment on that.

"Hey! Stay away from Tara!" health complications weren't something you were used to reacting to, but sudden fights definitely were. You jumped to your feet, grabbing the fist before it could reach your face. The girl that attacked you was a few inches taller than you, and she was definitely stronger as she pushed you back hard enough to make you stumble and fall.

"No, Sammy, she was helping," the smaller girl quickly hugged this ‘Sammy’ from behind.

"Oh. Sorry, I didn't recognize you, so," she trailed off, looking uncomfortable all of a sudden.

You frowned and huffed as you got up, really not liking that she went with the 'swing first, ask questions later' approach. "Right, I'll be leaving now," you just backed away and left the two. Hopefully, you won't run into them that often, because this was not a good first impression.

~X~

Something really seemed to push you and the girl together, because it only took a week at school to see her again. Or, well, she bumped into you.

"I'm sorry! I'm late for class!" she ran off before you could even comprehend what just happened.

"Huh, her again," you mumbled to yourself and then realized what she said. "I'm late!" there was no time to think about another chance meeting.

Ever since then, there have been small encounters, seeing each other in the hall, and coming across each other on the street. Never a conversation though, you still didn't exchange names, though the girl that attacked you said 'Tara' so maybe that was the girl's name.

The first time you spoke it was actually December of that year. So, nearly a year went by with occasional glances here and there, simply acknowledging that the other existed. The school had kinda awful karate class, but it was the only martial arts they had, so you went. Which was why you stayed at school after classes. It was a downpour outside, and you were not eager to leave, but, there was no telling if the rain would slow down. So, you pulled your hood over your head and stepped outside.

That was when you noticed her, trembling at the entrance, soaked from head to toe from the rain, alone. Again.

"You'll get sick, at least get inside the school," you tilted your head to the side as you spoke to the girl.

She looked up. "Mom won't see me if I'm inside and she'll leave," the girl said as if it was the most obvious reason in the history of reasons.

"Since when are you waiting?" you asked, honestly hoping she also had some after-class activities because the alternative was her freezing in this rain for an hour and a half.

"Since school ended," yeah, you doubted her mother was coming. What kind of parent would make their child wait like this? At least your parents made it clear they wouldn’t pick you up from school, regardless of the weather.

You frowned, wondering if there were any alternative solutions. The school bus was long gone. You didn't know if the local bus went near the girl's house, and you didn't have a phone. "Can you walk?"

She shook her head. "I'm tired," now that you paid a bit more attention to her you figured you were wrong. She wasn't going to get sick. She already was. Her face was red, and her voice was a bit raspy. And she just spent an hour and a half standing in the rain. "Mom isn't coming, is she?" she asked, her eyes brimming with unshed tears, but she tried to stay strong.

"Probably not. Come on, I'll take you home," you took your bag off and turned your back to her. "Get on," when she didn't you figured she maybe couldn't climb on your back as sick as she was, so you crouched down. "Sorry, I wasn't thinking."

"N-No, it's okay, I, I'm fine," she stammered, and you only held your umbrella out to her.

"You're light, I won't even feel you," well, you would, after some time, but you could handle it. Hey, it would be a good exercise. "I'm Y/N, in case that was weird because you didn't know my name."

You turned your head around and saw she had the same expression she had when you offered to help her when you first saw each other.

"Please, I wouldn't be able to sleep well if I just left you here," you tried, offering her your hand. Reluctantly she took it and took that step closer to you. Seeing that she agreed with your idea you went back to the previous position and waited.

"Thanks. I'm Tara," she sounded really shy all of a sudden. "I'm sorry Sam pushed you before," you wondered why she still remembered that when you felt her get on your back and put her hands on your shoulders. You got up as if she wasn't even there. Just how light was this girl? Definitely too light. Even for her age. You wondered for a moment if she had proper meals. Given her mother didn’t come to pick her up you weren’t so sure she was being properly taken care of.

"Don't worry, as long as she doesn't do it again," you chuckled and handed her the umbrella. "Uh, my hands are kinda full, so if you don't mind?"

Tara nodded, taking the umbrella and opening it just as you stepped into the rain. It didn't shield you much, but it helped. "How old are you?" you figured you might as well pass some time while you were walking to Tara's house.

"I'll turn ten in a week," she said. "You?"

Ten? She was about to turn ten?! This girl? How?! She was tiny! You thought she was eight at best!

"Uh, Y/N," she squeezed your shoulder a bit.

You cleared your throat awkwardly. "Sorry, I thought you were younger. I'm eleven," you finally replied.

"Mean," oh, she definitely understood what you were implying.

"Sorry, sorry, look at it from the brighter side, if you were bigger I wouldn't be able to carry you home," you tried to cheer her up a bit.

"Yeah, that really makes up for being short," ooh, sarcasm, you liked that.

"Exactly!" you chuckled as if you thought she was serious.

Tara groaned and hid her face behind your shoulder, but you heard a tiny giggle despite the rain.

And that was the start. The actual start.

~X~

Tomorrow you didn’t see Tara in the halls, you expected as much, but yesterday she told you what class she was in so you went and asked one of the kids in her class if she came to school. That’s how you confirmed she didn’t come to school, so, without bothering to tell your parents, because they wouldn’t notice anyway, you made your way to her house.

Boldy and without a hint of hesitation you walked up to her front doors and knocked a few times. No one answered, so you tried again, and again until finally you heard someone yelling they were coming. The woman that opened the doors looked somewhat like Tara, with dark hair and eyes, but she didn’t exactly look sober.

“What do you want runt?” the woman asked, confused by your presence.

“Good afternoon. I’m sorry if I’m bothering you, I’m here to see Tara,” you went for the polite approach, not really sure what else would work.

The woman nodded. “She’s a bit sick, but sure, go upstairs, you’ll hear her,” you raised an eyebrow at that. You’ll hear Tara?

“Thank you,” you quickly thanked the woman and slipped your shoes off before going up the stairs. You did hear Tara, as the woman said you would, because she was coughing. ��Shit,” you cursed under your breath. Just how sick was she? You approached the doors and knocked.

“Come in,” came raspy and confused voice.

You opened the doors and waved at the girl. “Hey, you, uh, didn’t come to school, so I figured I could drop by to check on you,” you smiled sheepishly at her astonished face, but she didn’t sit up, she was too sick.

“Y/N?” she rubbed her eyes as if she couldn’t believe what she was seeing.

“One and only,” you grinned.

Tara giggled a bit, but that made her start coughing again.

“Easy,” you were reminded of Zack a bit before he died, and you remembered he would sleep while half-sitting up when it became too difficult to breathe. He said his body was exhausted fighting the heart issues, and because of that he easily got sick near the end of his life, only making his life even shorter. So, remembering that you went up to Tara and lifted her upper body up, much to her confusion, but it stopped her coughing for a bit while you looked around for something to prop the pillow up with. Eventually, you noticed a smaller pillow next to her and used it to lift her pillow higher. “This should help a bit, I think,” you lowered her back to the pillow and she smiled weakly.

“Thanks, it’s easier to breathe now,” she whispered and patted the spot next to her. “Stay with me for a bit?”

You nodded, and the two of you just sat there in silence, already strangely comfortable in each other’s presence. Half an hour later the doors opened again and you turned to see Sam standing there, baffled and confused.

“You’re… the one from that day? The girl I pushed? Y/N?” she asked, not sure how to react to you being there, but then she looked at Tara and visibly relaxed.

“Yeah, nice to meet you, properly I mean,” you grinned a bit and Sam just nodded.

~X~

After that the chance meetings turned into quick chats between classes or at least a high-five and a smile as you passed by one another. By the end of the month, you sometimes walked Tara home, carrying her if she was too tired and just chatting and joking on your way home. It didn’t matter your house was in the opposite direction, because you enjoyed her company way more than whatever was waiting for you at home.

Before you knew it, sometime after the holidays were over, she was tugging on your sleeve to meet a group of kids that were a bit younger than her.

“This is Y/N, my best friend!” she introduced you and you couldn’t hide your surprise. You were her best friend?

“Hey! We heard you like karate!” one of the boys, Chad greeted you cheerily.

You could work with that. “Martial arts in general, but sure I like karate as well,” you grinned, though your grin dropped when he rushed at you. You just pulled Tara to the side and let him run by you. “Uh, what were you trying to do?” you asked, chuckling uncomfortably as he tripped and fell into the snow, causing the other three kids to laugh.

“I was trying to tackle you! You like martial arts so I wanted to see if you were any good at it,” he got up and brushed the snow off his pants and jacket.

“So, don’t rushed at her like Pikachu?” the girl that looked a lot like him, his twin Mindy, from what Tara told you, teased him, causing another round of laughter.

That was how it was back then. Chad had Wes, and Mindy had Amber, so, before you came along Tara was the kid with asthma they met because Sam used to babysit them that was now in their grade because she had to repeat a year. Amber took liking to Tara and pulled her into the group, but Tara didn’t have her own best friend at the moment. So, you filled that gap. You were her best friend.

That being said, Amber was still the one who gave name to the role you played in Tara's life.

About half a year into the newfound friendship Tara invited you to go to a picnic with her and her friends. It wasn't even going to be much of a picnic since there wouldn't be anything to eat other than some snacks, but it was a chance to get out of home, so you accepted.

You joined the group at the park and high-fived Tara before waving to the other four. "Mindy, Chad, Wes, Amber," you grinned and sat down next to Tara as the four greeted you back.

The day was going the same way it usually did, usual banter, usual jokes, Amber trying to keep Tara's attention on her, Mindy teasing Wes, Chad trying to get into a joke scuffle with you and you, of course, not backing down from said competition, all the while Tara caught you up with what happened to her over the past few days.

Eventually, Chad, bored and mischievous as he was, grabbed Tara's bottle just as she was about to take it.

Tara was still tiny, and Chad didn't have to try to keep the bottle away from her. "Just say please Tara," Chad teased her by waving the bottle just out of her reach.

Tara smirked a bit. "Please, right?" she asked and Chad, now slightly confused nodded. She glanced at you, smiling as she saw you looking right at her while you lay down on the grass. "Y/N."

You couldn't help but snicker as you sat up, really impressed by how bold she got when you were with her. Chad caved in before you had the chance to get to your feet and you all shared a laugh.

Amber shook her head. "I'm telling you all, Y/N is Tara's guard dog," Amber laughed to cover it up as a joke, but there was a bit of malice behind those words.

You turned to Chad as soon as the laughter settled down. "Woof, woof?" and the six of you were once again laughing.

It became a bit of a running joke, really, that Tara only had to say your name in some situations, and you'd be right by her side. 'Tara calls and you bark,' was the original joke. The guard dog never bites though because it was always with friends. It was always small things that couldn't lead to violence. Guarding Tara from a stray ball in the park, or keeping her from falling if she tripped next to you, small things like that were why Amber began calling you the guard dog and others accepted the nickname.

And then the joke changed into 'Tara barks and you bite', because the guard dog bit. You got into a fight.

~X~

You were a couple of months away from turning fourteen and you just found out your parents chose not to help Zack. Your father wouldn't help to pay for the medicine and Susan had no way of getting enough money. She was already in debt for medical bills and couldn't even sell the house. Your father came from money, not old, old money, but his parents were rich enough to help him get very rich. To the point where he wouldn't even feel the medical bills.

He and your mother, plain and simple, didn't want to do it. 'Good riddance,' your father said. 'No son of his was a barbaric, violent no-good fighter.'

Your temper was short, you could feel anger rising within you in less time than it took to snap fingers. That's how short your fuse was. Somehow, the only exception to that anger was Tara.

Woodsboro was usually quiet, but a new Stab movie had just released, and some tourists were bound to come by. One of them got you to snap.

Tara had begged you to go see The Babadook with her when it finally came to your local cinema. So, you, of course, went with her. It was a good movie, though you probably wouldn't go to see it if it wasn't for Tara. Tara loved it though, it was her new favorite thing, and from the looks of it that wouldn't change any time soon.

"Man, that movie sucked!" someone complained as you were getting out and Tara turned around.

"No, it didn't!" she immediately argued, being with you gave Tara more confidence, the girl that was startled and timid when you met and when you finally spoke again that day in the rain was nowhere to be found. She was getting bolder, more confident in herself, and you being with her gave her that sense of safety that allowed her to act like that.

"What?" the guy that said The Babadook sucked was maybe two or three years older than you.

"It's a great movie," Tara declared boldly.

The guy laughed and was probably about to dismiss her, but then he raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you Samantha's sister? Tell your sister to get me my money for she'll know what," he suddenly got really serious and you stepped between him and Tara.

"Back off," you firmly stated.

"Yeah? Or what?" he challenged.

"Sam doesn't owe you anything," Tara said as she stepped next to you.

That, apparently made him angry. "Really now? She doesn't? So maybe you can give me my money?" he reached forward, and you just went and did it. You slammed a right uppercut into his jaw, and he fell on the ground. Security got called, he didn't want to call the police, for his own sake, and you got off with a warning from security and a year-long ban from the cinema. What a tragedy that was.

Perhaps it was because she could tell how tense you were, but that was the first time Tara held your hand as you walked to her house. It was a loose hold, but it was a hold, nonetheless.

"Sorry, I lost control there," could the guy get violent? Maybe. Would he? Perhaps. He still didn't exactly do anything that warranted a punch like that.

"It's okay, thanks for having my back there," she whispered and tightened her hold on your hand.

"Well, Amber does say I'm your guard dog," you chuckled, gradually calming down now that you were sure everything was okay. Rumors spread eventually and by the end of it, the tale of punching a slightly older guy turned into getting into a fight with two adults. Well, at least it got the message across as you officially became her guard dog that day, Don't mess with Tara.

~X~

Sam left about a year later, you and Tara kept spending time together, you made a deal with your parents that you’d be free once you turned eighteen, that you could leave and that you would play your role of a good daughter until then. And you did, for two and a half years you did just that, only breaking that deal once, a few months before you turned eighteen.

Tara came over to your place for once. You’d watch a movie in your room, eat a lunch, and then you’d do some homework together. You had an assignment about movies and Tara could easily help you with that and you would help her with some homework she was struggling with at the moment. The day was going great, until it was time to eat lunch, and since it was Sunday both of your parents were home.

You were getting better and better when it came to cooking, and today you were making a risotto for Tara and you. In a way you were lucky that Tara didn’t question why you didn’t make any for your parents as you set the two plates down.

Your father came into the kitchen to make himself a tea, it was one thing he always made for himself, because he had a very specific amount of milk he wanted added to it. And he came in with his cigar freshly lit and you saw red.

“Get out,” you warned, already getting up to open the window.

“No,” yet he refused, exhaling a long puff of smoke as he poured water into the kettle.

You didn’t want to even spare the time to argue, he knew Tara had asthma, you made it clear several times that you wouldn’t let anyone smoke near her. So, you just briskly walked over to him, grabbed the cigar before he could react, put it out and chucked it through the window.

Tara gasped, seeing the anger flash in your father’s eyes as the two of you glared at each other, you weren’t backing down.

“I told you to get out. I told you I don’t want anyone smoking near Tara,” you reminded him as he bared his teeth.

“Insolent child,” his tone was low, but you’ve learnt a long time ago that it was more of a bluff than anything, a tough act of a coward.

Tara didn’t learn that. She just saw you and your father being tense, as if you would start arguing any moment now. And she got up, running up to you and pulling you back. “Y/N, please, let’s just go to your room. Or to my place, please Baby,” she tried to get you to look at her, but you just made sure she was behind you, and not between you and your father.

“Baby?” your father’s eyes widened. “Baby?!” he yelled and Tara flinched, hiding behind you. “You are going to stop associating with this girl, Y/N!” he ordered.

“I’m sorry,” Tara whispered just loud enough for you to hear.

You just took her hand, squeezing it gently while glaring at your father. “Try to stop me, see what happens,” you warned, daring him to try and do anything, to raise his hand, to even try to hit you. He wasn’t stupid, by that point you’ve already spent over half your life training martial arts.

He snarled, but seeing he couldn’t intimidate you he just backed away, leaving the kitchen as the kettle whistled.

With him gone you pulled Tara into your arms and the sixteen-year-old girl clung to you as if she was afraid you’d vanish if she let go of you. You held her just as tightly before tucking a stray strand of hair back to its place. “I don’t care what he says,” you assured her gently and felt her relaxing a bit at that, but she still held onto you and you, honestly, didn’t mind. And as you held her in your arms, as her presence alone calmed you down from your anger, as you felt how wildly your heart was beating at her proximity, you realized you were in love with Tara.

~X~

Half a year later you had your first fight, you won, but you came back to Woodsboro a day later with bruises all over your body and several nasty swellings. Your lower lip was busted, and not just a bit. There were a few small cuts on your face, from punches and the one on your forehead nearly cost you the fight. Overall, you were in awful shape and just wanted to get into your apartment and sleep through the pain. You didn’t expect to see Tara outside your doors, chewing on her lower lip as she waited for you.

“Hey,” you spoke softly, trying to smile, but it kinda hurt to do that, so you winced instead and Tara turned to you with an unreadable expression on her face. You could see the worry and hurt in her eyes, but you struggled to identify anything else. “You should see the other woman,” you tried to joke lamely, but she just grabbed the keys you prepared and unlocked your apartment before dragging you inside.

You figured just behaving would be your best option, so you let her silently take care of you. She placed several ice packs on you, one over your eye, the other on your hurt left wrist, and the third she just applied on whatever bruise she could see for a few minutes at a time.

“Thanks,” you eventually said as you lowered the ice pack so you could properly look at Tara.

“Please don’t fight again,” she looked like she couldn’t take it, she was shaking, and frankly you were worried her asthma might get triggered.

You never wanted to get into this position, to basically choose between the memory of Zack and Tara. To chose between the only family that ever cared for you and the girl you loved and at the end of the day that was exactly what this choice was. It was painful, and you’d forever remember the look of utter rejection and even a hint of betrayal on Tara’s face when you finally replied

But… you couldn’t give up, even if Tara asked you to. You had to give it a shot, for Zack. “I can’t, Tara. This is what I chose to do, I just love fighting too much to stop after one fight,” you could only hope that she would understand, that this decision wouldn’t cost you your friendship with Tara. Given the look in her eyes, it wouldn’t go that far, and even as she nursed you back to health she still looked unhappy, because you chose fighting.

Because you didn’t choose her.

~X~

You were Tara’s guard dog, you were her protector, you were a skilled, almost ridiculously trained MMA fighter, but you couldn't keep her safe. Not from Amber and Richie, or their sick plan, not from the trauma, not from what she was feeling. You couldn't punch her way out of this problem. It made you feel weak and helpless, it was like an overwhelming weight you couldn't shake off, and a part of it was your fault. Because you betrayed her trust by not telling her about your troubles sooner, and now she couldn't believe you.

You glanced at Tara, knowing full well she was still awake. You were fairly certain she spent some of the night crying, but she never called out to you, and you weren't about to push her into contact she didn't want. Her pushing your arm away, even if you understood to an extent, hurt no matter how hard you tried to reason with that choice.

~X~

Tara thought everything was getting better, or as good as it could get, but it just felt like every time she felt things were about to get better something happened and made it worse. Sam was back, her mother couldn't help herself and screamed at Sam almost any chance she got. Tara's wounds healed, for the most part, her left hand was damaged beyond repair. Your heart was healthy, you were fine, you were forced to retire from MMA. It all came back to her. Sam would have left by now, or rather she wouldn't have returned in the first place if it wasn't for Tara. Her hand was self-explanatory. You would still have your career if you didn't choose to get involved with Tara.

A voice in her head kept telling her she was the one to blame. That she couldn't get her father to love her enough to stay. That she couldn't be there for Sam. That she wasn't there when you needed her. That Amber maybe wouldn't have done everything she did if Tara was a better friend and then a better girlfriend. That so many people died and maybe there was something she could have done to prevent it. That you nearly died and that she shot you and that she had no right to say anything about your mark being the only one she'll ever wear.

She curled up as much as her leg allowed her to and clenched the sides of her head, thankful that you were getting ready in the bathroom. She pulled the blanket over her head, fearing that she really pushed you too far this time. You didn't even sleep in your own bed last night. She curled the fingers of her right hand around the collar of the shirt she wore that night, your shirt.

Your apartment, your bed, your shirt, your mark around her neck. You were her safe space, yet ever since she finally had a bit of time to think about it, she ended up convincing herself she wasn't giving you anything in return. Or if she was giving you something back, it wasn't enough.

"Tara?" she didn't even notice you coming back. She wished you would just reach out and touch her, but as touchy as the two of you were you never initiated contact unless Tara saw it coming. It wasn't just since Tara was first attacked, that's how it's always been. She didn't move, she didn't want you to see her face right now.

She heard a sigh and then what sounded like you just dropping to the floor. Scared you somehow got hurt, Tara turned around and saw you sitting on the floor with your back pressed against the side of the bed. She could see how tense your muscles were even with the shirt you had on; she could see how exhausted you were.

You needed rest and Tara was convinced she was the reason you needed it.

You sighed and she couldn't remember ever hearing you sigh like that, like you were just about to reach your limit. "Tara, what do you want from me?" no, you were at your limit.

Tara, unsure of what exactly to tell you now, just went with the first thing that came to mind. "The truth. I want you to be honest," she only now realized how raspy her voice was. She reached for the water bottle on the nightstand only to see you already grabbing it and handing it to her, all without turning to look at her.

Your laugh was humorless, hollow, she hated it. "Well, there's our issue right there. You'll only trust a lie," you curled up, letting your forehead rest against your knees as your arms just dropped at your sides.

For a moment Tara thought that maybe, just maybe you were honest last night. That you really were fine with retiring. But she realized MMA wasn't just something you loved. She realized you did it as a way to remember your brother. "There's no way that can be the truth," she knew how protective of her you were, how you would keep what was bothering you inside just so she wouldn't be worried.

Your reaction was instantaneous. You got up so abruptly and forcefully that Tara felt the bed hitting the wall. "Why can't you just accept that I'm fine with retiring?" you still wouldn't look at her, but you began pacing around in what little space the apartment offered. Your movement was rigid, eyes clamped shut as you ran your hand through your hair, more frustrated than Tara ever saw you before.

"Y/N, please," Tara wanted, needed you to calm down. She wouldn't be able to reach you if you were this frustrated.

"Y/N, please," you repeated dejectedly. "Please what exactly? Please say you aren't fine?" you finally looked at her, your jaw clenching so hard Tara was surprised you didn't crack a tooth. And the way you looked at her. Frustrated, exhausted, pleading for her to trust you.

Tara met your eyes as much as it hurt to see you like that. "You said you were fine before. You weren't." she choked out.

You turned your head to the side, blinking rapidly. "So what? Now you'll think I'm going to fall apart every time something doesn't go my way?" you asked incredulously, there was clear accusation in your eyes, anger directed right at Tara, caused by what she just said.

It wasn't that! You were strong, you weren't going to, fall apart, as you put it! She just wanted you to rely on her enough to trust her with how you felt. "It's not that!" she had no idea what she was thinking as she, without her crutches, stumbled to her feet.

You froze only for a moment and then rushed to hold her. "What are you doing?" you hissed, holding her up. You didn't lift her, but almost all her weight was on you.

Despite the warmth of your skin seeping through the shirt she was wearing she still felt cold. This wasn't the usual way you touched her, there was restraint, anger, reluctance, behind the way you held her. She hated that you felt all that and still went to hold her. That's what frightened her the most. That you'd keep doing it like this, that you'd hold her and love her despite blaming her for what was happening to you.

So, she made a split-second decision. "Y/N, if you really are fine," the words got stuck in her throat.

"What?" the question came out harsh, impatient, pushing the words she struggled to say out.

"Leave me."

You froze, your hold on her loosening enough for her to pull back and stumble to her crutches. This was the best option. You'd either be honest with her, or you'd continue the lie and leave. Both would be good for you, Tara figured. She's been nothing but the reason for all your pain lately. She's been that way before she was attacked. She's been that since she got together with Amber. So, this was what it was. The lost MMA career was the last drop. Your wounds healed, your time apart could be made up for, but she couldn't fix this. "I'll call Sam to pick me up," she reassured you, frankly, surprised at how shell-shocked and still you were.

You didn't say a single word and from the corner of Tara's tear-filled eye she saw you just taking a deep breath and nodding to yourself as if thinking: 'Yeah, should have seen this coming,'

You asked her what she wanted, and she told you to leave her. Those words immediately hurt her, yet it would take two days for those words to start haunting her.

[dreamlandcreations]

Twisted fate

Aemond Targaryen x Targaryen!Reader (eventually)

Summary: After the death of her sister, the twin of Daenerys meddles with magic, trying to change the past and ends up in the era of the Dance as Rhaenyra's daughter...

Warnings: this is like a note for the idea of a series (so basically a teaser) 🤷🏻‍♀️, canon-typical stuff, Reader is on a mission, fix it fic?, it's probably a mess as I am... writing at 1-2am with no idea where I wanna go with this

You were born after the storm... for the first time. While your twin was called Stormborn, you were given the not-so-catchy name of the Flame of Dawn after the red skies that could be seen at the time you had drawn your first breath.

Life was difficult for your sister, it seemed she had to bear all the burdens but you were always eager to learn. Dragons and Valyria being your favourite subjects but as soon as you were free to do so, you started to learn other things too. Your knowledge came useful when the dragons were born but flying them was seemingly not meant for you. You found solace in fighting and learning to use the magic in your blood.

After the war you asked Bran to teach you to see. First, it was just curiosity, as you wanted.. no, needed to see history with your own eyes. However, you soon found out that you can connect and perhaps shape the past through your visions. Bran warned you against it but you didn't listen.

You became obsessed with fixing the events that lead to the demise of your house and family. You have spent a lot of time observing, especially the Dance of the Dragons. Those events were the true end for the House of the Dragon, however, you wanted even more than they had and ventured back to Aegon then tried to see what you were most curious about. Valyria.

As you went further back, you found that some members of your family had stronger magic and could sense your presence. Although none like the dragonlord you came across in your first glimpse of your ancient home.

He lectured you and punished you by trapping you in the past.

You were born during the storm... for the second time.

Your memories of your old life surfaced as you re-learned things. It was a struggle until your adult years, keeping them. The memories and your old self came and went like waves of the ocean your not-blood-related father loved so much.

It didn't take long to realise you were not your father's daughter and that your mother's uncle, who mostly stayed at Driftmark but spent a lot of time with you whenever he could, was the one who fathered you.

When you could surface from the waters of oblivion, you were even prouder than otherwise. As a child, in both lifetimes, you idolized Daemon.

You were still a small child when your memories surfaced for a while, and you started to make plans to somehow avoid the Dance and make your new parents king and queen. In the gardens, you discovered a poisonous flower and decided to eliminate one major key for the war to come. Killing off all your villains was tempting, however, there were several problems with that idea.

You knew that would be too suspicious, even f no one would suspect a child. But for one cleverly timed murder, the innocent look of your current form would be a perfect disguise.

It was also the time your realised Rhaenyra having your Strong brothers was putting everything at risk and you had no good solution for that mess either.

The plan was to destroy the Greens but as you grow the memories of your past life become more like dreams than your reality and slowly, and ironically when they finally seem to settle for good, they don't feel like yours anymore. Of course, it's useful to know all that but you have a different life and you've become a different person too, loving people in this life and fearing losing them.

And that's the problem with the plan. You can't lose them. You can't lose him. Aemond, the only person in your childhood who understood you, besides your father of course. And even after the loss of his eye, and becoming distant, your uncle remained your best friend, who you couldn't give up on, hurt or even betray.

His sister was certainly not to blame for anything and you were fond of her too. After getting to know the Green Queen, you couldn't even blame her at times.

So, you put yourself in an even more difficult position, abandoning the plan and trying to make peace between these idiots of yours.

[miladysproblems]

What if Neteyam was alive?

A/n: First Neteyam fic y'all. It's more of a sully family fic that neteyam x y/n. Just the Sully family gushing over neteyam. Idk if I want to make a part 2 with neteyam x y/n. What do you guys think?

Neteyam slowly woke up, groaning loudly at pain that was spreading from his forehead to his entire body.His unclear vision started to fade to a person staring right at his face.

"Grandma" he mumbled gruffly, realising how thirsty and tired he was. Last thing he could remember was blacking out on his father's arms.

"HE IS AWAKE! NEYTIRI, JAKE. NETEYAM IS AWAKE!" Mo'at suddenly yelled, screaming on his face. He groaned again at the scream, it wasn't exactly lovely to wake up and the first thing you find is to see your grandma yelling right at your face. He slowly sat up when Mo'at slapped his arm and told him to lay down.

"Grandma, I'm fine." Neteyam smiled at her concern though it came as more of a grimace, Mo'at was more tensed now. She was about give her grandson a good scolding but she was cut off by someone barging in the tent.

"Neteyam..." His mother, Neytiri mumbled softly look awestruck at him as if a miracle had occured. His father, Jake followed her and then the rest of his siblings.

"Ma" Neteyam called for his mother.His heart broke for his mother, she looked so upset. Neytiri slowly walked near his bed and sat down, still looking at him, she cupped her son's face with the uttermost care and then slapped him.

"Ma!" Kiri yelled in exasperation. Yes, his mother slapped him but not before hugging the literal guts out of him. His mother had never raised a hand on him but today he realised how much he had hurt his mother.

"Stupid. Stupid boy. How could you be this reckless? You Skwxaang." And then Neytiri continued to swear at her son in na'vi while hugging him fiercely. Neteyam leaned into his mother's embrace, hugging her back as if this was the first time he had held her. Suddenly, a large body embraced him and Neytiri.

Neteyam gave a sheepish smile to his father through the hug, making him sigh tiredly. Jake hugged his son and wife tightly as if he was afraid that we would disappear if he let go.

"You are grounded. " His mother uttered to him.

"Will you slap me again if I ask you how long? " Neteyam asked playfully to make the situation light but his father lightly slapped him in the head instead.

"Forever you skxaang" Neytiri hugged him tighter than ever. Not awhile later, his siblings joined. Lo'ak put Neteyam in a head lock and tuk cuddled him, Kiri hugged him more tightly that his mother was. Good eywa, he was being suffocated. he loved it.

"Who's the mighty warrior? Say it" Neteyam playfully asked his brother, Lo'ak.

"Shut up you skxaang." Neteyam was not put into a tighter head lock by Lo'ak.

"Missed you brother." Kiri hugged her brother tightly, neteyam always had her back and even the thought about losing neteyam made her teary. Besides who else would she complain to about lo'ak if he wasn't there?

"You too sister." He chuckled at her antics. Kiri wasn't much of a affectionate person but he knew that she was truly scared when he was unconscious so hugged her tighter to comfort her.

"I missed you too." His little sister, tuk spoke adoringly still cuddling him.

"I missed you too little warrior." Neteyam replied back, hugging her tightly. All of them stayed in their family's embrace, too afraid to let go. Mo'at broke the moment so she could let her poor grandson breathe.

"Ok, everyone out. Let the poor boy breathe. Come in one by one not in huddles. Now out" She shooed everyone out. But no one moved, they let go of each other but refused to go out. Who would blame them, they had just witnessed Neteyam almost leave them.

His parents went near the conner of the tent to get some herbs ready for Neteyam and give their children a moment.

Lo'ak looked at his brother brokenly.

"I'm sorry" Lo'ak looked at his brother guiltily, tears gathered at the corner of his eyes.

"Hey, hey it's not your fault. It's not your fault." Neteyam leaned his forehead against him and kept repeating the same words to make him believe that it was truly not his fault.

"It was my fault, I should've been more careful. I'm sorry brother." Neteyam softly told his brother not to startle him.

"Stop it with the sorrys both of you. What hapenned. Happened. What matters is Neteyam is alive." Kiri butted in between to end her brothers' reslove.

"But-"

"Kiri's right, besides its weird to see you both getting sappy." Tuk cut Lo'ak off. Wow little Tuk taking inspo from kiri.

"You said your sorrys now Neteyam. Lo'ak. Hug."She looked at neteyam and Lo'ak sternly, putting her hands on her hips.

She looked so much like Neytiri right now, the brother couldn't help but gulp in fear and look at each other to convey the same thing.

'Kiri has turned into mom. There is no saving us now.' But embraced each other anyways, letting out a little laugh at the end. They let each other go when they saw Ronal, Tonowari, Tsireya(cue lo'ak's staring problem) , Ao'nung, Roxto entering the tent.

But there was one more person who was hesitant to come in the tent. She kept looking through the little gap in the tent, trying to get a glimpse of neteyam. When Neteyam caught her staring and looked at her mesmerizingly. But it only lasted for a moment when she looked away, putting a hand on her heart to calm it down.

Looking at her now, Neteyam mind, soul and heart was only filled with one name. 'Y/n'. Neteyam had longed for you, he had seen you after weeks? months? He couldn't imagine the pain you had went through for him but now he was going to make that right. He remembered every detail of the fight he had before he pushed himself to protect his brother. His only hope now was that you could forgive him.

[azulasmommyissues]

Fire Nation Royal Family Analysis: The Archetypes. (Part 1)

Delving into how Sozin and Zeisan are like Azula and Zuko.

Within the Fire Nation Royal Family, two main archetypes can be noticed. The Golden Child and the Hated Child, both of which are victims in the cycle of abuse. Who fits where, and how can we recognise these archetypes?

Azula and Sozin obviously belong in the same archetype—that of the golden child. Meanwhile, Zuko shares many parallels with Zeisan. But in Iroh's and Ozai's generation, things *really* switch up.

To better understand the royal family, let's examine them all from the beginning.

[GEN. 1] SOZIN/ZEISAN

Sozin was the:

-powerful firebending sibling

-had prestige due to his position

-golden child

-not a Very Good Best Friend

-obsessed with said best friend (Roku) due to deeming he was betrayed by him, spent all of his elderly years searching for Roku's reincarnation

-influenced by his father's nationalistic beliefs, yet wanted to outdo him and appear more fearsome than him

-“his relationship with Zeisan was always poor, although this was the result of their parents' influence”

-perfectionist that becomes "sloppy when angry"

“Sozin and Zeisan's teachers and family always pitted them against each other, with the two siblings fighting for as long as they could remember. The competitions were meant to drive Sozin to greater heights and to draw firebending abilities out of Zeisan, though his sister never proved to be a firebender, with their teachers thus focusing their attention entirely upon Sozin.”

“During Sozin's early life, the Fire Nation experienced an era of industrialization and great prosperity, and trade flourished. While Zeisan sensed the corruption growing within their family, Sozin was influenced by his father's beliefs, according to which a nation's worldly power and landmass corresponded to greatness”

At the end of his life, Sozin expressed regret for his actions. That, believe it or not, did not bring back the airbender, or the dragons, and certainly didn't decolonise the earth kingdom.

_____________________________________________

ON THE OTHER HAND, ZEISAN:

-struggled to keep up, not gifted, NOT a firebender or prodigy like her brother

-despite the increased focus on Sozin, Zeisan refused to stop competing, studying, and growing, striving to prove herself worthy of her family legacy. honor!

-she studied and embraced air nomad philosophy and redeemed herself, realising the legacy of the fire nation wasn't one she wanted to take part in

-Instead of running away from her responsibilities, Zeisan wished to dismantle her family's legacy of corruption, eventually joining the air nomads, becoming allies to stop the fire nation nobility.

“Zeisan shared the intensity of her brother Sozin and doubted her own ability to be good, but she was focused on dismantling her family's corruption, demonstrating an indomitable will and desire to better the world. Zeisan was active and driven, constantly pursuing her own goals. She was very ambitious and sought to undermine her brother's rule.”

_____________________________________________

Now, this dynamic, to me, SCREAMS Azula and Zuko. Azula quite obviously being Sozin and Zuko quite obviously being Zeisan.

More specifically, Azula being the prodigy, the holden child, who grows obsessive, eith visions of her mother—(reminiscent of Sozin's own paranoia regarding Roku) While also feeling like she was betrayed by Mai and Ty Lee, her best friends, her “Roku” figures—a betrayal which was absolutely caused by her own behaviour, but caused her to spiral into the worst version of herself. Paranoid and destructive, much like what became of Sozin. She was also a perfectionist who, upon losing her mind, obviously lacked focus—and her relationship with Zuko was strained because they were always pinned against each other.

Zuko, on the other hand, is the disliked—abandoned child. Much like Zeisan, he seeked honor and appreciation within the royal family. He was no natural talent, but he had drive and ambition and he never gave up. Upon realising his family's corruption, he wanted to take no part in it. So he redeemed himself in joining the Avatar. The last of the air nomads. Just like Zeisan joined them, back then. So, parallels.

_____________________________________________

Something to notice is that, out of the two siblings, the one who takes (or is meant to take the throne) always has just ONE child. Sozin only had Azulon. Iroh only had Lu Ten. Zuko only had Izumi.

Each of them probably wanted to avoid the repetition of the cycle. They wanted to avoid their children having a relationship so strained like the one they had with their siblings. With that being said—let's examine Azulon.

_____________________________________________

[theteabush]

Cookies|Adam Stanheight x fem!reader

Warnings:Adam not having a great past

Genre: romance

Summary: Christmas with his roommate turned out to be the night of their first kiss

A/N: SINCE CHRISTMAS IS COMING I THOUGHT ABOUT MAKING A FANFIC WITH ADAM ABOUT THIS. But I also have an announcement. If you want to change the storyline of this story, I made a Character.AI bot with him! Enjoy!! And by the way, I used "make your choice" line from Jigsaw's tapes to incorporate Saw in this story. Ugh this is so bad 😭 im sorry

♡♡♡

A shared apartment with cheap utilities and expensive rent. Water sometimes running cold, the power sometimes going off, leaving both Adam and his roommate in complete darkness. Tonight was different. They were both hanging Christmas lights up, up on the wall and sorts of decorations on the ceiling, and around the house. A cold December night was coming upon them, but they wanted to feel the Christmas mood even in this shithole place.

"I think we did good. It screams 'broke people'"

Adam's voice was faintly soft, ragged almost,like he's been having a sore throat for a few days without any treatment. But he didn't. He was just tired and out of breath after spending half of his day thinking about how to rearrange their apartment and another half of day actually doing so. Of course, with the help of Y/N, who had more vision about designing.

"I think we did great actually! And on time, too. Before Christmas Eve is a new record in my book"

Their house was lit with the basic green and red pigments, blue and yellow and sometimes even orange mixing through the other hanged wires on their walls. Some cotton scattered around the living room, imitating snow, because they couldn't afford any fake snow supplies and a small, flowerpot-sized tree resting on top of the coffee table.

The TV was broadcasting 'Home Alone' in the background at a low volume enough to catch their awareness from time to time and lose their attention at the scenes while embracing the Christmas spirit with their home, and end up yelling at each other for misplacing the socks or almost burning the place down after using a lighter to wake up old, half melted candles.

"Where's the snow globe?"

Y/N asked, moving her head left and right looking for the one thing she still holds dear from her family. It was special, in her own way. Although she owned a few more in her parent's house, this was the only one she took from there in case she won't make it until Christmas to their house.

Y/N would often spend Christmas with her family,but after she moved in, for being 'independent', there were days when phone calls and text messages were less and less due to busy days and lack of time. And she called before Christmas, asked if they want to spend Christmas with her, but this time Y/N's family decided on a trip to other relatives. Y/N declined the offer, and assured that she's going to spend Christmas in her apartment with her dear roommate, Adam.

"It's in the box. We still have a few lights in there, too. And a mistletoe. Where do I put those?"

Adam, on the other hand, did not communicate with his family that much. Barely any messages, calls almost none at all. Their relationship was different from Y/N and her parents. After the age of 20,he tried to make a living on his own, running away from so called 'family' that was not so kind to him in his childhood years. He ran away from every single problem, and never looked back. And even after so much time, there's still a hole in his chest, wishing he could fix everything with his relatives and go back in his mother's arms for one more hug. His flip phone would get voice mails from his brother as well, but he cut off any contact with them whatsoever. Never replied back, but always listened to them.

"I'll take care of them. Can you check the cookies?"

Y/N says, grabbing the snow globe and mistletoe, stealing a look for a few seconds at Adam. He gave her a quick nod, muffling a 'mhm' and went straight to the kitchen. The smell of fresh baked cookies flooded his lungs, almost as intoxicating as the smell of cigarettes he was smoking from time to time.

The little kid in him was inpatient to taste those goodies that him and Y/N prepared through the midday just to have something to snack on during the nights of December. A plate was already filled with the baked dough, but they were still cooling down, so Adam couldn't put his hands on them even if he wanted to. Which, surely, he would've if he could.

Both Adam and Y/N were surprised to learn that they had enough money for ingredients, but they weren't complaining. It was heartwarming, even.

"I think they're almost done"

He says from the kitchen, making Y/N's ears twitch at the thought of another plate full of chocolate chip cookies that they will munch on later in the evening.

"Hold on a second!"

She replies, struggling to keep the mistletoe straight.

Y/N was a very bad hider of secrets, especially secret feelings for a person, but she was certain that Adam had absolutely zero idea of her liking the way his hair sat on his forehead, or how his voice was cutting her breath whenever he was around. She was certain, because Adam wasn't the smartest being either. Sure,he was smart, but romance was never his thing. That's why most of his relationships failed. He had a hard time controlling his anger.

So he found himself alone, in a silent apartment, taking pictures of strangers and living off of his client's money. That until Y/N showed up and helped him with rent and loneliness. Especially loneliness. Now the empty fridge was somehow not so empty whenever his money ran out. Nor the sad living room that was now filled with laughter most of the times of the day. He had someone to complain about broken tapes and rude customers and someone who actually listened while he did so.

So, as much as an anger issued person he was, someone found good in him and was there for him. And vice versa, of course.

♡♡♡

"Man, these cookies? They're the best. I never tasted such sugary treats before. The ones from the supermarket are shit"

Both of them laughed at Adam's statement, which wasn't false at all. Supermarket cookies were tasteless and most likely out of date too.

"I'm glad you like them. To be honest, I was skeptical about baking them. My mom taught me how to do so, but I failed almost all my attempts. Except once or twice when I actually got the recipe right"

"Nah, they're perfect. Soft and crunchy at the same time? And so much flavour. Mixed with warm milk is just the cherry on top, really"

Y/N giggled as she took another cookie and dipped it in her own mug of milk and swallowed the snack, happily. Her cheeks were now crimson red at Adam's compliments, but she chose to ignore it and continue the movie they were watching.

'Home Alone' was a classic, but almost too boring for them. It was cold too. The outside was covered in white snow, and the windows were now losing their purpose after being covered by tiny snowflakes that were constantly falling from the sky. Twilight was not helping either, and the street lights were now just shiny, smudged dots on the glass.

But It was cold. The heater wasn't exactly the best either,but the couch was cozy. So slowly, both of them found themselves shifting closer and closer to each other. It was like a magnetic experience going on.

"Where did you put the mistletoe?"

Adam asked, his gaze following Y/N's lips and eyes, right after. She turned around and faced him, then pointed at the gap between kitchen and living room. And there it was, a tiny mistletoe, hanging with the other shiny lights, waiting for its purpose to be met.

"Why? Do you want to kiss someone tonight?"

Y/N's joke caught Adam in full act. She continued to dip her cookies in milk after speaking those words, which forced Adam to fall in a small silence while rolling his eyes. He smiled, moving his eyes back to the movie and the food.

"Maybe. Maybe I had in plan to take it with me on a date tonight"

This time, Y/N felt her heart cracking at his words. He never mentioned anything about a date, and was sure that they would spend Christmas together... Like two broke rats in a cage,eating cookies until they're full and laugh at cliché scenes in Christmas movies.

"You're not going anywhere, Adam. Otherwise I'd know about this 'mysterious date'. You can't keep a darn secret"

The room fell into silence again. Adam was gripping onto the couch's material while anxiously chewing on his cookie, trying to decide whether he spills whatever he has to say, or stay silent like a coward. The candles were burning across the room, the sound of melting wax tickling Adam's ears and pressured him even more, while the Christmas lights were pulsing over his hands. He started feeling hot out of sudden.

'Make your choice' was silently pushing him in his mind.

"Or maybe...I wanted to kiss you"

He whispered, turning his head to Y/N and completely losing interest in the other two activities, such as eating or watching the movie. Y/N blinked at Adam as her heart starts booming in her chest. His eyes met hers and, somehow, Y/N felt herself floating.

"I'm so done with your jokes, Adam. They cause me a heart attack"

She answers, her side smile showing off in the corner of her lips. But Adam stayed serious, his eyes desperately searching for a place to rest, but instead they were roaming around Y/N's features. He was begging with his eyes for one kiss. He was pleading.

"Adam..."

That's when Y/N realises that he's serious about his words, and without a minute more, she closed her eyes and took his lips on hers. The sweet remainings from the cookies were tasting on their tongues, as well as the cigarette Adam smoked a while before he joined Y/N on the couch.

And even without a mistletoe, Adam's plan was coming true.

Because he fell in love with a girl that was never meant to mean anything in the first place, just a simple roommate that helped him with groceries and rent. But he fell in love hard. It was almost uncontrollable. And she did the same.

[riotcat103]

BACKSTORY OF MY TOUCHSTARVED OC

(TRIGGER WARNING!: Faul Language + Abuse)

Name: Alon Briar

Age: 3000+

Species: ???(def not human)

Pronouns: he/him

Height: 5'11

Sexuality: Pansexual

A child born between war and chaos, He is the third and youngest son of a sketchy and mysterious family. He was born with a curse, A curse that can alter the mind of whomever he touched with his bare hands,it wont affect anyone if its covered though. He grew up with wealth and was pampered, only when his mother was around. Growing up he was always compared to his older brother, "why aren't you as good as him?" "Don't disappoint me." " Why has god cursed me with a monster like you? just look at your hands! disgusting" as said by his 'Father', His mother isn't any better either, she took good care of him, to the point she wouldn't let him out of the house, interact with the other kids, heck even his siblings, although they do talk just not as much, he was always just inside the house, he was forced to read books and learn from them, He couldn't care less about those ,he would forget about them anytime soon. He played all the rules and did things right, just not in the vision of his father. After being full of his father's constant insults and abuse he ran, he ran and never looked back, leaving his sister and brother under the control of his father. He was going to die out there until a Senobium mage took him in and raised him as her own, teaching him how to be an Alchemist, He was a good student, He became what his mentor envisioned him, A TEST SUBJECT. After finding out, He was lost in rage and anger he touched her, with his bare hands, He watched as his mentor was dying of insanity, Did he care? of course he did, she was the closest thing he ever had as a parent figure. He watched her as blood started to drip and there was silence, no more screaming, laughter and the words "you bitch!" "freak" "monster!" was no where to be heard anymore, He left the scene and packed his bags, taking the money that was left and burned down the place, "No one has to know" He says as he left, ashes falling from the sky as tears rolled down his cheeks. He was all alone again, That was the first time he had ever seen his curse do such a thing, He wanted to know more as curiosity shot him, So he did it again, again...and again driven from the intension of 'seeing how far it'll go and how do I cure it?', He wanted to find a cure, he had enough being called a 'monster', He used his knowledge and wondered for years, trying to seek help. The number of people that suffered because of him was increasing, He can't help it if he loses his temper, Until he heard of the place called Senobium, a place of knowledge. So with best efforts he went, surely he'll find a cure. Right?

( His character design is still on development lmao)

[dwobbitfromtheshire]

From Hell to Home to Back Again

Summary: At the talent show, Chrissy Cunningham is so hungry that she nearly collapses. When she's found by Hopper, her parents ended up losing custody of her. She ends up being placed in the care of the Hendersons, and she finally finds the family she so desperately needed. She also ends up falling in love. What other changes are made in this alternate universe?

@emen-98

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chrissy gasped for breath as the creature dragged her into the opening and into the other side. It was still Steve’s pool, but it was void of water, and there were slimy vines covering it. She clutched her side. Only the tips of its claws scraped against her stomach, but it was enough to make it bleed. She grabbed Barb's hand and ran to the ladder. Barb quickly pushed her up before following her. She was almost out of the pool when the creature grabbed a hold of Barb. Chrissy grabbed Barb's hand.

"Chrissy!" Barb screamed.

"Hold on, just hold on!" Chrissy screamed.

"Don't let go! Don't let go!" Barb cried. "CHRISSY!"

The creature ripped Barb from her grasp, causing Chrissy to fall back against the ground. Her side caused her to scream in pain, and as quickly as she could, she got up. Chrissy peered into the pool and cried out. Vines wrapped around Barb, one of them entering her mouth. Her lifeless eyes stared blankly ahead.

"No! NO! BARB!" Chrissy sobbed.

The creature screamed at her, its face blooming open like a flower. Chrissy didn't hesitate to take off, heading towards Steve’s vine covered house. She made it through the front door and turned to slam it when the creature managed to wedge a clawed hand inside. It struck out, it's hand striking out hard against her face. Her head swam, and her vision blurred as blood dripped into her eye. Chrissy took off as the creature made it through the house. She ran off out the back door and towards the woods. The Byers's house was nearby. All she had to do was get there and patch herself up. She had to stop the bleeding. She locked herself into the house, pulling the couch in front of the door.

Chrissy moved quickly and quietly through the house, moving to the bathroom. She locked the door and grabbed some towels before pressing them to her wounds. She held them there with a sigh, hoping that the creature lost sign of her. She shoved a towel into her mouth as her body began to shake with sobs. This isn't happening. This couldn't be happening. Once the bleeding was stopped, she searched under the sink and was happy to find a first aid kit. She used alcohol to clean the wounds before putting medicine and bandages on them. She didn't hear the sound of the creature anymore, and that's when she realized where she was. She wondered if this place was where Will was dragged to. She wondered if he was still alive. She had to look for him. Where would he go to hide?

"Castle Byers," she muttered. "Don't worry, Will, I'm coming for you."

She grabbed a backpack from Will's room and dumped out the contents. Chrissy put the first aid kit inside before heading to the kitchen, where she discovered bottles of water. She stuck as many as she could in the bag before grabbing a couple of cans of food and sticking them in there as well. She found a flashlight and some batteries. Okay, she couldn't fit anymore in there. Chrissy changed out of her bloody shirt and pants before pulling on some of Joyce's. She slipped on one of her jackets and found some bandanas to wear on her face. She wasn't sure how safe it was to breathe in these particles.

"What the fuck is this place?" she muttered.

She grabbed the axe from the shed and started walking towards Castle Byers, keeping a look out for the creature that killed Barb. It hit her heart so hard that she was never going to see her again or talk to her. Oh, God, how was Nancy going to take it? What if Chrissy never saw her again to tell her how hard she tried to save Barb? What if she never saw her mother or her brother again? She wasn't sure why she thought this next one. What if she never got a chance to learn more about Eddie Munson? Chrissy shook her head and tried to focus on her task ahead, hoping that she found Will. The castle wasn't that far from his house. Gripping the axe, she moved the curtain back and sighed in relief when she found Will, curled up on the bed. He was shutting his eyes tightly. Chrissy set the axe down and pulled the bandana away from her face.

"Will?" she called out softly and his eyes snapped open.

"Chrissy?" he asked. "How did you get here?"

"A weird looking creature dragged me here," she said. "What about you?"

"Yeah," Will said. "Is that what happened to your face?"

"Yeah, it got me pretty good and Barb. . .," Chrissy stopped and tried to come up with a lie but apparently her face said it all.

"Barb didn't make it," he whispered.

"No," she said thickly. "I'm not sure we're safe here. Although, I'm not sure we're safe anywhere in this place."

"I know, it's just the first place that I thought of," Will whispered.

"We need to go back to your house," she said. "At least for now. I could have sworn that I heard your mother's voice at one point so maybe going back to the place where you were taken is going to help get us out of here."

"I'm scared," he whispered.

"So am I," she replied. "I'm going to protect you as much as possible though and I have my trusty axe with me so if anything attacks, I'll swing with all my might."

"Are you sure about this?" Will whispered.

"Honestly? No, but the house is more stable than these sticks, plus there's more places to hide," she replied.

"That's true," he replied, and she handed him a bandana.

"I'm not sure how safe it is to breath in these particles or whatever they are, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to wear these," she told him.

Chrissy took his hand and then the axe before walking out of the fort. They were on alert the entire trip back to the house, and she should have known her plan would fail. They were almost there, and Chrissy quickly pushed Will out of the way when the creature pounced on them. She swung the axe at it, slicing into its chest. She was pleased when it roared in pain. Its claws swiped towards Will again, but she slammed the axe on its hand, cutting off two of its fingers. It howled again, and it tilted its head to the side before running off again. Chrissy frowned. She knew that it didn't run off because of her. Was the thing following orders? Lightning flashed in the dark clouds above them, and for a moment, she thought she saw a large dark shadow figure in the sky. Was it moving toward them? Chrissy grabbed Will's hand again and hurried towards the house.

When they made it safely inside, Chrissy moved the couch in front of the front door again and with the help of Will, she moved the fridge in front of the back door before the moved to sit in his room. Chrissy pulled Will close to her, putting her arm around him.

"How are we going to get out of here?" Will asked.

"I don't know," she whispered. "I'm sorry."

"That was awesome, by the way, when you faced the monster," Will said. "Like you were a knight facing a dragon."

"Or a paladin," she said teasingly.

"You could totally play with us if you wanted," Will muttered.

"I thought you guys had a no girls rule," she said.

"That was Mike, and he was mad at Nancy then," he replied.

"I would feel like I'm intruding beside I like that me and my brother each have our own thing," she shrugged. "I like being a cheerleader and playing softball. I do like watching you guys play though. You guys are great."

"Maybe we should all go watch you play softball sometime," Will said. "I'll twist their arm if I have to."

"Gonna have to put a lot of sunscreen on Mike," Chrissy quipped and Will laughed.

After a while, they fell into silence to listen to the sounds outside. Occasionally, they heard the sounds of growling outside like the creature knew they were in there but were unable to get to them. Maybe whoever was controlling it told the thing not to attack. Maybe whoever was talking to it had plans for them. Chrissy shuddered at the thought. Suddenly, Chrissy heard another little growl, but it wasn't the creature. It was Will's stomach.

"Are you hungry?" Chrissy asked.

"Yeah," Will said.

Chrissy took off the backpack and pulled a couple of cans out of the bag. She opened it with the can opener she packed and handed it off to Will with a fork.

"Is this safe?" He asked.

"I don't know, but I figure it's better than starving to death," Chrissy said.

"That's true," Will said.

They ate their ravioli and took sips out of a water bottle before securing it back in Chrissy's bag. They settled back down into silence, waiting for the inevitable. Will was struggling to keep his eyes open, his head bobbing every so often.

"Hey, you can go to sleep if you want to," Chrissy said softly. "I'll keep watch."

"Are you sure?" He asked.

"Yeah."

Chrissy wrapped her arm around him and pulled him to her side. Will rested his head on her shoulder and sighed before shutting his eyes.

"Thank you."

Neither one of them was sure of how much time had passed, but they both figured out how to communicate with Joyce. It was a long waiting game, and their doubts of being saved kept growing. They managed to pass some of the time with the books and paper that Will had in the room. They both were growing more tired the longer they stayed there, and she figured that they couldn't stay here for long before. . .she shook her head and focused on drawing.

"I didn't know you could draw," Will said as he scribbled alongside her.

"Well, my birth mom really didn't approve, so I get shy about it sometimes," Chrissy said.

"You're really good," Will said.

"Thanks, so are you," Chrissy muttered.

"Is that me?" Will asked.

"Yep," she said. "Is that me?"

"Yep."

Chrissy looked at Will and couldn't help but think of her own brother. She sighed, and Will looked at her questioningly.

"I just - I'm missing my brother," she said.

"Yeah, me too," Will said softly and yawned. "I'm getting tired again. I just slept, and I'm cold."

Chrissy pulled him into her arms again and held him tightly, rubbing his arms. She could feel herself getting sleepy and the cold settling into her bones.

"You need to rest as much as possible, I'll be here," Chrissy said and kissed the top of his head before falling asleep with him.

"Thanks for being my friend."

"Don't let go! Don't let go!"

"CHRISSY!"

"BARB!"

Chrissy woke up with a start, and her eyes widened when she heard the sound of the creature at the back door. It was trying to get in. Chrissy shook Will, but he wouldn't wake up. She cursed. She would have to carry him, which meant leaving her axe and bag behind. She picked up Will, struggling as she did so. Chrissy had made it out the front door when she heard the creature burst through the back door. She didn't hesitate, she started running. She was much slower with Will in her arms, but she managed to keep ahead of the creature. It was still pretty close with its nails grazing her pants, cutting open her jeans and her skin slightly. Why did she feel like this creature was holding back? Shouldn't it have killed them by now? Maybe it was toying with them. Limping, she lost track of it and hurried to lay Will back in Castle Byers. She collapsed next to him, and everything turned black. The last thing she heard was a young girl's voice telling them to hold on. When she woke up, she was in the hospital, and her mother's worried face was looking at her.

"Mommy?!" Chrissy croaked. "I'm alive?"

"Yes, baby, you're alive," Claudia wept.

Chrissy raised her arms, and Claudia went to her immediately, letting Chrissy hug her as tightly as she could. She sobbed into her mother's neck.

"Will?" Chrissy asked after a moment.

"I'm here," Will said and she looked to her left.

Will was laying in the bed next to her with Joyce and Jonathan beside him. Joyce walked around the bed and took Chrissy's hand in hers.

"Will told me what you did for him. You saved my boy. Thank you so much. I'm so glad you're okay," Joyce sniffled.

"It's no problem. I'm glad we're both okay," Chrissy said.

Her eyes landed on the bedside table where the drawing Chrissy and Will did.

"Oh, we found that in the woods where the bear attacked you," Joyce said and gave her a pleading look.

Chrissy guessed that was the cover story because who would believe the real story?

"Right," Chrissy said.

"I'm going to tell Dusty you're awake, and then I'm going to talk to the doctor," Claudia said and burst into tears again before placing a kiss on Chrissy's head.

She squeezed Joyce's shoulder on the way out. A moment later, Dustin came running into the room. He wept at the sight of her and went to throw himself into her arms but was stopped by Joyce.

"Carefully," she said.

Chrissy smiled and pulled Dustin gently into her arms. He sobbed into her neck.

"I'm okay, Dusty," Chrissy said. "I didn't even lose an eye."

"I happen to like having a sister," Dustin said as he pulled back and wiped his eyes. "I don't want to ever go back to not having one."

"Aww, Dusty, I love you too," Chrissy said softly.

"You're probably wondering what happened," Dustin said. "How you made it out of the Upside Down."

"The Upside Down?" She asked.

"That's what we've been calling the place the Demogorgon took you," Dustin replied. "That's what we've been calling the monster."

"Yeah, you're going to have to tell me everything," Chrissy said.

Dustin launched into the story with gusto. Apparently, the night Dustin snuck out him and his friends found a girl named El with powers who escaped from Hawkins Lab where she had been kept and experimented on by a man who forced her to call him Papa. She accidentally opened a gate to the Upside Down, and then she escaped. A monster ended up escaping, too, which was when it took Will and Chrissy. Hopper's investigation led to the finding of Hawkins Lab and the gate. Nancy got involved when she insisted on looking for Barb and Chrissy when Argyle witnessed their abduction. He had been in the woods looking for Will when he ran into Jonathan. Steve ended up joining them as well when he went with Nancy to his house to look for Barb. Later, Jonathan, Argyle, Steve, and Nancy went to draw the Demogorgon away while Hopper and Joyce went to rescue them. That's when Robin showed up at the Byers's looking for her sister. So, now in place of Tommy and Carol, Steve had made a new friend in Robin as well as Argyle and Jonathan. El ended up sacrificing herself to destroy the Demogorgon when it came back for them.

"Holy shit," Chrissy said.

"Yeah. It's a lot," Dustin said and paused. "They're saying the bear killed Barb but dragged her body away."

"I tried to - I tried to save her," Chrissy said, her bottom lip trembling. "I couldn't."

"Oh, honey, you were facing something, well, out of this world. You did everything you could possibly do," Joyce said and paused. "You can't save everyone, sweetheart."

"I know," Chrissy sobbed. "She was my friend."

Suddenly, Nancy was pushing past Joyce. When did she get here? Did she hear all of that? She must have because suddenly, Nancy was crawling into bed with her and holding her tightly. She was crying, too. She wondered for a moment if she would be able to get through this, but as Nancy held her and Dustin took her hand, she had family to help her with all of it.

Chapter Four

[emblazons]

so I posted about how the mlvn breakup + Max talking to her mom leading into a Vecna vision making to clear the scenes were at the very least thematic parallels (while mentioning 2 other scenes where the track was used) but I got a couple of asks requesting clarity about what I thought the connection was, so!

Here's a video with all 4 uses of the alt-Eulogy included, with notes demarcating elements that make it clear they're the same.

the scenes are:

El losing her connection to Terry Ives in the Void in 'Will the Wise'

Hopper reaching out to El via radio when she's gone in 'The Spy'

The Mlvn Fight in 'The Monster and The Superhero'

Max's time with her mom turning into a Vecna vision in 'Dear Billy'

Each of these scenes has a familial love undertone (including the mlvn fight if you take all of my other 'parentified mike' commentary at value) while also carrying some element of loss of connection or emotional distance—aka an relational loss to the "actual" loss of death we see for the uses of actual Eulogy (which plays when Nancy cries over Barb while at dinner with her parents, and when Mike is talking about how a recently-dead Bob started the AV club).

TL;DR: when you look at all the other times this track has been used in the show, it becomes clear that its use for the mlvn fight is a coded signifier of the fact that Mike's "care" (and later 'love') for El is platonic-familial, rather than romantic—which is why he struggles to say it to her when she wants him to say it romantically.

Given the fact that in S1 we started with "will you be like my brother," them giving S5 being like 'S4 & S1 had a baby," it is clear with this (along with 4899273 other bits of evidence) that rounding back to the start with these two means we're getting breakup-meets-familial vibes from mvln come S5. Which, if you know El's arc is about found family rather than romance, makes complete sense! lmao

[prettyinpurplelights]

I.

It was your brother’s 14th birthday, the first time you and his friends had been allowed to have a party unattended. Well unattended was a bit of a stretch, all your parents were downstairs, probably on their second glasses of wine, chatting amongst themselves, while you had all snuck upstairs to Elliot’s room with snacks and fizzy pop. You were all currently in a circle on the floor, a cup of Coca-Cola in the middle of the gathering, looking sickening with bits of chips, sweets and chocolate submerged or floating in the dark coloured liquid. Daphne, a friend of your brother’s had suggested you all play truth or dare, anyone who completed their task was allowed to put something in the bright blue plastic cup, and anyone who didn’t want to do theirs would have to forfeit and drink it. So far, 8 people had played and no one was yet to forfeit so the cup of Coca-Cola looked a lot less like fizzy pop and more like the something fetched from the murkiest swamp.

It was now Kylian’s turn, he was your brother’s best friend, and sort of your friend too. You and your brother were very close in age, barely 13 months, so as much as he hated it, you found yourself in similar friendship circles in school. Kylian was your oldest friend though, he had moved next door when you were 5, he and your brother 6, so you’d grown up together, your families becoming close. Kylian basically lived at your house and you and your brother at his, you were in each other’s spaces all the time. The crush you’d subsequently developed on him was therefore inevitable, it had been almost 2 years now, and not a single soul knew about it. It was something you’d take to the grave, firstly, there’s no way Kylian would like you back, and secondly, you loved him so much, you didn’t know how he would react if you were to tell him, and you didn’t want to lose him as a friend.

“Kylian,” Frida, a girl from your brother’s class said as she scanned the room. Her eyes landed on Daphne as she smirked. “I dare you to kiss the prettiest girl in the room.” The room suddenly filled with “ouuuuu”s, as the game suddenly got interesting. No one had been dared to kiss anyone yet. There were 5 girls in room, outnumbered by the 8 boys, and you were all watching Kylian closely, wondering what he was going to do. He couldn’t kiss Frida, she was dating a boy from the class above you. Genevieve and Olivia were the two other girls, but everyone knew Genevieve had a big crush on your brother, so you doubted he would kiss her and Olivia was Kylian’s cousin so he definitely wasn’t kissing her. That left you, and Daphne. Kylian’s eyes darted between the two of you, meeting yours for a moment. You face suddenly grew hot and you dipped your head to stare your pink and purple tie dye socks, breaking the eye contact. You couldn’t look at him, afraid your face would give you and your true feelings away. After what felt like an eternity you saw Kylian rise from your peripheral vision, heading straight for Daphne. You still couldn’t look, now afraid you’d do something stupid like let out a cry or wail or yell NO! like some lovesick puppy. Everyone in the room laughed and clapped after the kiss that felt like it had lasted forever, the boys patting Kylian on the back and the other girls crowding Daphne and gushing over her as though she’d just revealed she was from a royal bloodline or her parents owned the moon. You mumbled something about going to get more snacks as you uncrossed your legs and got up from the floor, bolting as quickly as you could. The first tear dropped as you hurried down the steps and rushed into the downstairs bathroom.

Of course Kylian wouldn’t kiss you, why would he, Daphne was clearly the prettier girl. Hell, the other girls were prettier than you, if it wasn’t for their circumstances, he could’ve easily chosen either of them, just not you. You were silent as you returned to the room later on, a bag of chips under your arm. The game was now over and everyone was doing their own thing, chatting amongst themselves in groups. You could feel Kylian’s eyes on you as you sat in the corner of the room, the bag of chips at your feet as you scratched at the already chipped baby blue varnish on your thumb. You couldn’t bare to look at him, Daphne had been on his arm since you’d returned, and she hadn’t left neither had Kylian made any effort to leave her. You could hear her laughing, probably at jokes he was making, and it made your stomach twist and turn, until you could no longer stand it, leaving Elliot’s room and retreating to yours, collapsing onto your bed as the tears began again.

You didn’t even realise you’d fallen asleep until you heard knocking on your door and someone calling your name softly. You opened your eyes, and sat up slowly, looking out of the window: the sun had disappeared, the moon now illuminating the small path leading up to the front of your house. It was probably well past 8pm now, and the house was deathly quiet, everyone had most likely gone home.

“Y/N?”

“Come in.” You said, immediately regretting it when Kylian’s figure emerged into view as he opened the door.

“I came to say bye, mama wants us to get an early night because we have to get up early to see yemma.”

“Okay.” You replied, not bothering to get up from your position on the bed.

“Um…yeah, so bye.”

“I said okay.” You repeated, with a bit more venom than intended because you thought you saw Kylian wince a little bit at your words. He turned to leave, before pausing and entering your room fully, closing the door behind him.

“Y/N, did I do something to upset you?”

“Ky-.”

“You’ve been acting weird ever since the truth or dare game.”

“Have I?”

“Y/N, I’m being serious.” He stepped closer to you, his right palm reaching out to touch your forehead. “You’ve been in your room all evening, you feeling okay?” His eyes glistened with worry and it annoyed you even more.

You grabbed his hand and pulled it away from your face.

“I’m not a baby Ky, I’m fine.”

“I was just worried-“

“Well don’t be. Don’t you have other people to worry about? Daphne maybe.” You muttered the last part under your breath, but unfortunately for you, he was close enough to hear.

“Daphne? Why would I..” Then it dawned on him. “Is this about the kiss Y/N?”

“What kiss?” You decided to play aloof, if you pretended to not know what he’s talking about, perhaps he’d leave you alone and you could continue to feel sorry for yourself in peace.

“Y/N…are you upset I kissed Daphne?”

“What? Who cares if you kissed Daphne??” You laughed, hoping it was convincing enough. Maybe you could convince yourself too. “I certainly don’t.”

“I looked at you first, but you looked away so I thought…” He shrugged, not finishing his sentence.

“Maybe I was feeling shy.” You mumbled.

“So you wanted me to kiss you?” You looked up at him, and there was a strange expression on his face, one you couldn’t quite place. But you shook your head, you had to snap out of it. He clearly didn’t like you, it was about time you stopped being so childish and got over him.

“It doesn’t matter Kylian, you kissed someone else.”

“But. I wanted…I couldn’t…I can’t…” Kylian started, his voice trailing off.

“Can’t what?” You pushed.

“You’re Elliot’s little sister Y/N, I can’t kiss my best friend’s little sister.”

And there it was. He was never going to see you as anything else but. You were kidding yourself, this crush was always going to be one sided.

“Right.” You scoffed, rolling your eyes. “So I’m no longer your best friend too? I’m suddenly Elliot’s little sister now?”

“That’s not what I meant-“

“But it’s what you said Ky. And you know what it’s fine, have fun with Daphne. I didn’t even want to kiss you anyway.”

“Y/N, I want-“

“Kylian.” You interrupted him again, you didn’t want to hear anything else from him, anything else that you break your heart even more, it was already shattered into a million pieces, lying at the bottom of your stomach. “Go home.” You lay back down on your bed and rolled over, so your back was to him, away from his piercing gaze. He stood over you, not saying a word, not sure what to say.

“Go home Kylian. I don’t want to ask you again, please, get out of my room.”

You finally heard the door close a few moments later, before tears fell down your face for the third time that day.

You didn’t get up till 12 the next afternoon, having not fallen asleep until sometime in the am. Your head was pounding as you grabbed your phone to check the time. The first thing you saw was a text from Kylian; “sorry” with a gif of a cat pouting holding a card saying “please forgive me?” and you couldn’t help but laugh, damnit he knew your weakness for the feline cuties.

You sent him laughing emojis.

“So we’re good? I don’t like fighting with you gummy.”

You rolled your eyes at the stupid nickname, something he’d come up with after your first meeting when you’d tried to introduce yourself to him but it came out garbled because your mouth was full of gummy bears.

“We’re good Kyks. Say hi to yemma for me.”

You loved Kylian’s grandmother as if she was your real biological grandparent, having never met yours; they’d died before you were born. She had always had a soft spot for you, spoiling you with treats and kisses whenever you saw her.

“Good.” He replied after a while. “And yemma says hi, she misses you and Elliot, you especially.”

———

LINK TO MAIN POST

Thank u guys as always for interacting and stuff <3 pls let me know what you think, feel free to drop anything in my inbox or the comments ♥️

[gulnarsultan]

Modern Reader The Saviour and faithful loyal friend of House Targaryen is Daenys’s best friend, her knight in shining armour, the one who saved her from two Valyrians who wanted to hurt her. Modern Reader is the only one who saw Valyria, before the Doom.

Remember that two Valyrians said “You’ll pay for this” to Modern Reader, after she beat their asses? Yep, they wanted to punish her. Two Valyrians accused Modern Reader for attacking them, meanwhile Daenys tells everyone in the court that Modern Reader saved her from them. These two Valyrians are from a very powerful families and it’s possible for them to hurt Modern Reader. In result: Modern Reader was sent to prison cell, or working in mines next to Volcanoes. You probably know how horrible were conditions in mines. Those who were working, were praying for death. Daenys, Gaemon and Lord Aenar knew this as well. Daenys was terrified, she didn’t want to lose her friend.

Modern Reader was in prison cell, where it was super hot, but luckily or unfortunately she was immortal. One day Daenys visited her friend, she noticed burns and scars on Modern Reader, which resulted her to cry. Modern Reader wiped her tears away and comforted her, saying “Don’t cry, Daenys. I’ll get out soon.” Daenys told Modern Reader her vision the Doom of Valyria. Modern Reader warned that the vision is true, she told her she needs to leave the Valyria with her family, to save their lives. Daenys didn’t want to leave Y/N, which Y/N replies “I’ll be fine, I promise you. We will meet again soon.” That’s when Targaryens left the Valyria.

As for Modern Reader she was released, then she warned others about the Doom. Some didn’t believe it, others laughed at her, but there were those who believed: House Qoherys, Celtigar and Velaryon. Modern Reader left Valyria with Velaryons. They managed to leave as fast as they could, they probably used air magic, because there were few hours before the Doom. They were escaped the Doom. After travelling, they managed to get to Dragonstone. Daenys was waiting for Y/N because she got the vision of her return. Once they saw each other, they ran towards one another. Daenys engulf Y/N in tight hug, crying happy tears, the same does Modern Reader. It’s wholesome scenery to see two best friends meet each other after a long time. There were scars on Modern Reader’s body, but soon they healed. After some time later a family portrait was painted: Daenys the Dreamer, her brother-husband Gaemon Targaryen, her father Aenar Targaryen and her children, next to them was Y/N L/N The Saviour and faithful loyal friend with a scar on her cheek.

That’s what Visenya, Aegon and Rhaenys were told about Modern Reader, when their parents were reading the books about Modern Reader to them.

I think it’s a wonderful script. Modern Reader The Saviour and faithful loyal friend went so much in Valyria, a dramatic and fascinating story. And now here she is, Modern Reader who’s dealing with her beloved Conquerors who want to marry her.

So, your thoughts about it?

Also how would Yandere Conquerors react to what Modern Reader went through in Valyria (scenario I wrote above)? How would they react to the scars on Modern Reader’s body? Of course they’re healed, but some of them are noticeable and they look badly.

P.S.: I think I would call Modern Reader The Saviour and faithful loyal friend- Immortal Modern Reader. Because it’s short and understandable. Immortal Modern Reader is the only one who saw Valyria, before the Doom. And now to think about that she disappeared in there, when she was looking for Aerea and Balerion during Jaehaerys’s reign is kinda…sad. Valyria is the place where Immortal Modern Reader met Targaryens, the place where she suffered and the place where she never returned from, all because she was protecting House Targaryen, like she was always doing that.

It's a great scenario. 🤩 Daenerys and the modern reader scenes are very sweet.😍 I think if the reader is insecure about scars, the conquerors will support the reader in this matter. They will delight the reader greatly. The ending of the story made me a little sad. The Targaryens never forget the reader. All Targaryens have information about the reader. Who knows, maybe the reader's grandchildren will meet the Targaryens.

[glitterobsessive]

going insane about paranatural again, this time thanks to the theory i’ve seen floating around that shrike is cody’s mom.

anyway davy jones brain rot below. tldr mans is going though it.

taking both the shrike theory and the theory that pj is davy’s deceased first child or brother or something (personally i’m team pj is his first son but whatever), and his path from normal man to manipulative vampire overlord makes a lot more sense.

pj and shrike were both lost in presumably freak accidents and/or targeted attacks. we don’t know what caused either, but man if those aren’t both horrific things to suddenly happen to loved ones.

so davy copes incredibly normally to repeatedly being unable to save his family from the worst fates imaginable by becoming a massive power/control freak. if everything is under his thumb then he can finally keep his remaining family safe. cody is legitimately all he has left. everything he does is with the goal of keeping him safe and giving him the best possible future.

and cody? cody *hates* him for it. turns out obsessively demanding to be in charge of everything doesn’t make for great parent-child relationships

anyway compare davy to mayview’s other pun loving single father businessman — peter. who despite also losing the love of his life is still a normal person and has a healthy relationship with his kids.

I can only hope the wallet stealing incident spirals into a davy vs peter rivalry which spirals into a full on davy breakdown because why. who do you think you are. we’re the same except i have more than you ever will. why do you get to be happy. i deserve it more than you. why don’t i get to be happy. i miss my wife peter, i miss her a lot, i’ll be back.

anyway do you see it. do you see my vision.

[raayllum]

S5 is shaping up to be so good, I think, because of the way everything is compounding onto each other in the basis of theme

Rayla becoming more like Runaan - obsessive, rigid, driven, independent - more like an assassin in both the best and worst ways during the same season she’ll likely have to confront possibly killing a possessed Callum. Her and Callum continuing to foil each other for better or for worse - asking the question of what are you willing to do to free the people you love?

And then you have Callum and Viren’s foil parallels coming to a head in regards to Viren’s dream visions that will shed light on his history with Soren, which will also nicely drive forward their shared question of what are you willing to sacrifice / do to save the people you love?

And Viren’s dream visions also nicely complements S5 letting Soren deal with some of his own emotions regarding his father being alive as well as providing a traumatic reminder for Claudia of what it was like when he was gone, perfectly opening up a place for more elaboration for both her (and Rayla’s) time during the timeskip - once again asking what are you willing to put yourself through for the sake of those you love? What pieces of yourself are you willing to destroy?

And Claudia and Soren being driven even further apart also naturally complements Karim and Janai’s escalated political and personal estrangement and disagreement, possibly losing her kingdom (a rising sun) to her brother (a fallen star) just as the Fallen Star himself is released - showing what pieces of yourself you must hold onto for the sake of duty and righteousness, rather than forsaking them for family

Which then just comes right back around in Claudia and Rayla trying to do anything to save their parents/fathers and Terry and Callum being poised, respectively, to see what they are or are not willing to do in that endeavour, and how freedom and salvation isn’t always a good thing, and when it is, and

Rayla being unwilling to entirely take up Runaan’s mantle (re: refusing to kill Callum), while Callum has to confront Harrow’s (in passing down the cube) and Claudia fully takes on Viren’s as Aaravos’ right hand and

y’know?

[w98pops]

["Wow, hold your horses, boy! I still need these ribs."

"TOMMYYYYYYYYYY..."]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALETUS!!!

Thomas took a leave just to visit Eric's birthday party. The little guy never been happier.

Some annual rambling, this time regarding Aletus' family, all under the cut.

Eric comes from a family of honest to god Followers of the Apocalypse. Dina and Jonah were childhood friends, growing in the vault, and quickly fell in love with each other. Dina was a nurse and Jonah was a software engineer, their respectable professions earned them a place amongst the Followers after they left their vault.

Their first child was Thomas Williams. A humble sweet boy with a heart of gold. He wasn't a smarty type, so he felt much out of place growing among the Followers. That particular fact was the reason of constant bickering and arguing with his parents

When Tommy reached the enlistment age, he ran away and joined the NCR military force, which was met extremely negatively with his parents, but they softened up after awhile. Dina and Jonah love all their children despite all the difficulties and differences. After the attack on Eric's caravan, and Eric's "death", Thomas mourned harded than the others.

His and his younger sibling's relationship was really really deep, in fact, Thomas' only real reason for fighting was to make the world a better place for his little brother. Which is a damn shame, because after a few years he got the news saying that Eric actually SURVIVED and lived in prosperity as a legionary. Thomas was angry, shameful and really fucking sad. Type of sadness and shame that leave you helpless. He changed his last name to his mom's — Yau — to never be associated with the person his brother has become. After his battle injury, which led to him losing almost all of his vision, he retired from active duty and became a secretary for a high ranking NCR general. He sends money to his sister in Boneyard and thanks god every day that their parents died without the knowledge that their child became a fascist slaver.

Edna is the youngest child in the family. She was born a year after Eric and 6 years after Tommy. She's a bit of a silly girlie, blue hair and pronouns type, and she took a lot from her father. Edna is an extremely talented engineer, like, insanely good. While Thomas was slaughting minorities in the name of freedom and Eric was studying homoerotic fanfiction instead of working on his history major, she was doing STUFF. She mastered computers before she learned how to tie her shoes. After her parents death, she stayed in the Boneyard and practically became a leader of the engineer team. Her straightforward personality and brains earned her a very high place of authority in the Followers community and very justifiable at that. In the year of 2281 Edna is working on her little project "Hippocrates", which is aimed to start mass production of autodocs from scratch. She's super pro-NCR because without her brother's money her project fated to fail, and she can't allow that. Her motivations are not so much as to help people, but to show off her sick programming skills, but as long as she's doing good work I say pop off girlie. General public doesn't know how she feels about her other brother's affilation with the Legion, but she never changed her last name like Thomas did, and there's even rumors spreading that she was contacting him from time to time. Before he died, at least.

That's uhmm 😭😭 kinda all. I'm not feeling good but still wanted to drop some Aletus lore on his birthday, because people love the guy, and I love when people love my guys.

CARD SWAP SPOILER. My little pelican king is a four of clubs. Sharky is a joker.

[valyalyon]

July, 2024

July 5, 2024. He told me not to lose his number. I’ll call him.

I was sitting in my car on the side of the interstate leaving Kansas City going West. In the back seat, an 11 month old Theo sits, babbling a series of nonsensical stories while playing with his stuffed animal. His life is always so innocent and full of hope. I keep glancing in the rearview to see him, each time smiling at the endless joy he was born with.

The ringing from the car speakers stopped, and for a moment I thought I’d hear the voicemail.

“Hey,” his voice said on the other end.

“Hi,” I said, my voice not giving too much emotion away.

“Want to tell me what happened?” He asked, although his voice didn’t give anything up either.

I never knew what to do with that Scorpio man.

“Julius,” I sighed, “The short of it? I got married, I had a son, my husband is abusive, he’s cheating on me, I need to go back to Arizona and get my own place to stay. I’m bringing my son with me. I need to be closer to my family.”

Julius let out a sigh, a deep one, and went quiet for a second.

“You there?” I asked sheepishly after a minute.

“Stay with me until you get your place, I need you to be safe.”

July 7, 2024. Phoenix, Arizona.

I arrived at J’s house after around 7pm. The house was not the same he had lived in when I was with him, but Julius looked just the same as he did when I left. I was holding a sleeping Theo in my arms as he led us into the house. Julius had only texted me to check on an ETA, he didn’t catch me up on his life at all.

His house wasn’t the only new thing.

“Sara, this is Dolores and Theo. Dolores is my brother’s wife, and Theo is my nephew… Unfortunately for them, my brother’s a piece of shit,” Julius stood between me and another woman. Sara was his wife, and in her arms was a son about the same age as Theo.

“Nice to meet you! Please stay as long as you need,” Sara was smiling at me.

“I will help around the house and with your son whenever you need me to,” I quickly said, stepping closer to Julius and more in a direct line of vision for Sara, “I really don’t want to be a disturbance, and we’ll try to be out as soon as you three need.”

July 8, 2024.

After Sara had left for work, I sat down to speak with Julius in the living area. We sat down on the floor with Theo and Anthony, letting the them play together on a playmat.

“Life has changed so much,” my voice was trembling.

“It has,” he looked over at me, and then turned his attention to the boys.

“I don’t want anything from you, Julius… I just want us to be friends, and I want to get out of your space as soon as possible,” I told him quietly.

“Look, there’s no rush for you to do anything. I don’t hold anything against you anymore, I’ve recovered from that. I just don’t know what’s going to happen to you and I.”

“I want your marriage to succeed. I don’t want to be the reason Anthony’s parents split. If you think the best thing is for us to talk very little, that’s alright. I don’t want to cause any friction in this house,” I tried to explain to him. I had no intention of ruining what he had built there.

“Maybe the space is for the best,” he agreed.

Note from Valya

Looks like Julius is back!!! Remember to favorite and reblog! See below for more of Dreams, Ink and Embers.

DIE MASTER LIST OR #LYONDIE