#future alyssa are we okay

[bleue-flora]

Brilliant point moot. I hate how a lot men treated women on the dsmp, you had sapnap and jack making your mom jokes and constantly going on about being a man and saying 'man up' especially in the petwars, all of jacks misogyny in general, tommys misogyny being excused because he was a kid especially how he treated alyssa and niki. I saw someone other day complaining that more men should treat women like men more often as in its unfair that women are excluded from a lot of the shipping jokes and roasting jokes but I mean there's a reason why they avoid it now because it often falls into misogynistic territory. If a man insults another man for being bad at pvp and calls him a bitch, its fine but if he does that to a woman, due to the history of how women are treated it then it is sexist. Same goes for if a man jokingly flirted with a woman on an smp the same joke way men do gay rp with each other. Women do get excluded from a lot of jokes but it can't be fixed until men change this. Until then, many women ccs are going to feel uncomfortable being who they are. I know that's was one of the reasons why I transitioned, just so i could be respected.

-date: Nov 25, 2024-

[context]

Yeah… there is a lot of misogyny in the gaming community and the dsmp is no different. And while I would agree to some extent that being more inclusive does involve treating people like everyone else. (Like I think you can write a superhero and their personality doesn’t have to be so focused on being a woman. You can take Tony Stark’s character and make it a girl, like stop making all the girl characters so freaking dull, why can’t they be quippy too :/…)

However, I will also say, that being inclusive means treating people differently too. Because we are different both physically but also historically and societally. A male gamer doesn’t need to be good looking to be successful and yet, there is definitely a standard of beauty for woman. The expectations from society are different and that’s just how it is, a reality that I hope in the future can change but we aren’t there yet. And historically women have been excluded from video games, dnd, Lego, and STEM fields... etc. (when I was growing up they didn’t even have pink Lego) In media, even if we are included it’s like we are either girly or nerdy, girly or more sporty and masculine, as if a woman can’t be feminine and those other things. Ridiculous. All that to say, unfortunately there is a difference and so you can’t treat a woman like a boy and vice versa because of history, because of society, but also because we are literally different.

So, there are jokes and roasts that are not okay and comments made between men that are not okay to say to women. And part of this is the history involved. Making fun of a guy’s skill might be funny but it’s less funny for a girl as we’ve been historically made fun of for that and seen as inferior. But then again, there are probably boys who feel insecure about those comments too, perhaps because they’ve been made fun of in the past. That’s just how it is. Not all jokes are funny or okay in different settings or to different people. Clearly, Dream and his friends have fun making gay jokes and such, but there are plenty of guys that would not be okay with that. It’s not only a gender thing that make things appropriate or not. And I’d say, that if you are making jokes that could be seen as sexist if said to a woman then maybe you shouldn’t be saying those jokes. If you’re making penis jokes, sex jokes, roasts or your mommas jokes that’s aren’t appropriate in front of or with women, maybe you shouldn’t be saying them at all…

Humor doesn’t have to be exclusive. I think Techno is a good example of this, I don’t particularly remember him making any jokes that weren’t inclusive, or made me uncomfortable like some of the other dsmp members. And even if he called a girl a “nerd” in skybattle or something as she fell to her death, I don’t think people would see it as sexist because the way he says it, what is said, and the context is important.

Furthermore, I don’t think the problem is men not including women in jokes because they are afraid they’ll be seen as sexist or would by nature be sexist, the problem is the lack of respect. It’s the talking over women, not including them in lore, not listening to them, being demeaning or pushing stereotypes onto them. That’s what needs to change. That in addition to the weird remarks about women was the problem. Tommy not caring or listening to Alyssa as she tried to call out how Tommy stole her diamonds, instead calling her the “ghost in his head”. Tommy joining Sapnap’s side just to kill a woman. Like over and over women are used as like a bit - “who is your favorite woman” - is seen as funny and yet if someone asked- “who’s your favorite man?” It’d just be dumb… the way being a woman or highlighting women even if not in a negative is still kinda sexist. It’s the highlight of the gender that makes it weird, not - “just killed Dream, feelin’ good” but “just killed a woman, feelin’ good.” If it was “just killed Puffy, feelin’ good” it’d be fine but that’s not what’s said. You don’t have to not do jokes because of someone being a woman but them being a woman should not be the joke.

Then there’s like the fact that it was noticeable to many people how Techno would always make space and be quiet when Niki talked, so she was heard. That shouldn’t be a big deal or noticeable and yet, it was because so many other server members would just talk over her. A lot of people didn’t notice or make a big deal that Niki burned down the L’mantree. Her very important lore was glossed over. Niki despite being a member of the Syndicate and the bad ass she is in her netherite armor and stuff is often reduced to the cute little baker who brings over cookies and is just so sweet. And Puffy despite her gear and importance in taking down the Egg is reduced to Tommy’s motherly figure and Dream’s ex-mom. Like are we forgetting these girls also fought in wars? And yet, their characters are reduced so far to such female stereotypes…

Anyways…. I could probably ramble about this for awhile so I’ll leave it there for now before I get fully derailed lol. And if this sounded agressive it was not intentional and not toward you, but just my frustration with this in general…

[atopvisenyashill]

Please tell me more of your thoughts on maegelle, maybe it’s cause I’m new to the Fire and Blood side of the fandom but I’ve never seen anything deeper about her maybe being negative. Especially in regards to her mother/family. I’m quickly becoming Saera girlie and I wonder if Magelle’s role in the church might’ve contributed to her sister’s “”rehabilitation”” being bad enough to have her leave the continent.

Okay so the thing here is that she does to Alysanne what Jaehaerys does to Alyssa, which is force/cajole their mother into taking back and living with a man who has publicly humiliated her and made incredibly clear he has no respect for her, but we only really whack Jaehaerys for this. The first quarrel is more personally egregious to me because it's only Alysanne who must bite her tongue here and not Jaehaerys - she is not asking for anything extreme here! Her daughter committed the heinous crime of fucking before marriage, it's been like three years, and three of their daughters have subsequently died, but he hasn't calmed down at all about Saera. Alysanne even tries to compromise by just asking to fly to Lys to visit her and he forbids her from seeing her own fucking daughter. That's an insane level of abuse. And what does Maegelle do? Well she tells her parents that they need to keep up appearances and be seen in public together. Reminds me a lot of show alicent's "you may slap him about as you like at home but out in public we must be united" comment - essentially, Maegelle is telling Alysanne she has to cope with being barred from seeing her daughter and grieving her losses properly to keep up appearances. I mean fuck, maybe Alysanne genuinely wanted a divorce from Jaehaerys. Maybe at that point she was so distraught she wanted Jaehaerys to take a lover, and replace her, and leave her the hell alone so she could be with Gael or otherwise just go to Lys anyways. But Maegelle puts a stop to all of this by invoking Rhaenys' wedding and how they need to look united. Ghastly behavior.

BUT THEN. Less than two years later, Aemon dies and Jaehaerys names Baelon heir. And look, Alysanne is 100% right to be pissed the fuck off at Jaehaerys for naming Baelon - from our several comments about Rhaenys being called "our future queen", the fact that Aemon and Jocelyn never have any other kids, I think the fact that Rhaenys has a dragon as well, all of that makes very clear that everyone is sort of expecting Rhaenys to carry on the Targaryen line in some form or another. Beyond that, Jaehaerys knows damn well that Alysanne has historically been touchy about this - see her comments about little Daenerys. Jaehaerys, with this move, makes it clear that he had never planned for Rhaenys to be queen at all and was misleading everyone. This one is on par with Rogar's nonsense imo because it's so public and everyone knows how Alysanne feels about the succession. He doesn't talk it over with her after she's lost a son btw, he just announces it and takes everyone by surprise.

AND THEN ONCE AGAIN. HERE COMES MAEGELLE. "mom just get over it." And again, what does Jaehaerys give up here? Nothing. He's either sending Maegelle or he's just straight up leaving Alysanne alone and assuming she'll come back to him? It's just nasty. She's losing the ability to walk, to ride her dragon, to remember people's names, she's barred from seeing Saera, she's got a daughter the age of her grandchildren because Jaehaerys forced her to have another child, and she's not even allowed to just spend her last years on Dragonstone being left to age with what dignity she has left. No, she has to be at court, she has to be by her husband's side, because That's Her Place. It's just as smug, just as cruel as Jaehaerys forcing Alyssa to Rogar's side - and the cruelty, in my opinion, is the point here. "You made your bed now lie in it" type behavior, towards a woman who has just been publicly disrespected, who is grieving her dead children.

So anyways, do I believe Maegelle was just as viciously cruel to Saera and that's part of why Saera ran away? I can absolutely believe that yes. I think we see that a lot with Septas to be honest - women who get a thrill out of torturing other women who don't conform properly. Mordane actively eggs on the gap between Arya and Sansa until it becomes a gaping chasm, Moelle and Unella are happy to take orders that involve them sexually humiliating Margaery, her cousins, and Cersei and take a sort of sick glee out of doing it, so I don't think it's exactly far off to say Maegelle had a cruel streak in her that came out when it came to the women in her family not conforming properly. I think we can also take into account George's general distate for religion and Catholocism specifically and the way the Septas work as nuns, and the way nuns were like, insane at various catholic schools. I think there's an interesting play here right - that Jaehaerys can look a mother who put her own life on the line to make him king and hand her right back to the husband who hates her to die having his kids, because he's being vindictive and cruel about her having the audacity to remarry without his permission, and Maegelle looking the mother who has ruled capably and given her the space to be what she wanted to be, and hand her right back to the husband who clearly has no respect for her whatsoever, because she's cruel and believes a woman is not allowed to have differing opinions from the man who currently owns her. It doesn't matter what Alyssa or Alysanne personally did for the two of them; they're women, and they have no right to disagree with the men around them.

[destinedfordiaperstories]

Sammy's Little Problem, Chapter 18

Read Chapter 17 here.

As they walked out of Littles’R’Us, Alyssa stopped and kneeled in front of Sammy. “Thank you for handling this like such a big girl, Sammy. I know it was difficult for you, but I’m really proud of you!”

A proud smile crept across Sammy’s face, “thank you, Allie. It was a lot to take it, but I’m glad I did it with you! I’d be so scared if you weren’t my Caregiver…”

Alyssa leaned in to hug Sammy. As she did, she remembered her favorite ice cream parlor was next door to Littles’R’Us. “I’m glad you’re my Little, Sammy. I want you to always remember that. Even when you get mad or yell at me, I’ll always love you. And, since you’ve been so good today, what do you think about getting some ice cream before we take the shuttle home?”

Ice cream did sound amazing to Sammy. “Yes, I love ice cream!”

Alyssa held out her hand. To her surprise, Sammy grabbed it without hesitation. Alyssa beamed.

“What flavor do you want, Sammy?” Alyssa asks.

“Ummmm....pink bubble gum!” Sammy bubbled.

“Cone or cup?” the man at the counter asks.

“Cone!” Sammy responds immediately.

“Are you sure, Sammy? I don’t want you to drop it!” Alyssa added.

“I can use cones! I won’t spill, Allie!” Sammy assured Alyssa.

“Well, okay, Sammy, but you need to be careful!” Alyssa entreated.

The man handed the ice cream to Alyssa, and they went to find a table. Alyssa hesitantly gives Sammy her ice cream

“Mmmmm, I love bubble gum, it’s so yummy and pink!” Sammy chirps happily. She greedily licks it. Ice cream smudges on her cheeks.

Alyssa watches on, taking it all in. Sammy looks so cute right now. Not even realizing how childish she looks or the mess she’s making. She couldn’t resist another picture. “Sammy, can you smile for me?”

Sammy does, pink ice cream smeared on her cheeks. Alyssa’s heart flutters as she sends it to her Mom and Lindsay.

“I wanna see!” Sammy demands.

Alyssa shows it to her. Sammy snapped out of her Little haze. “W-why didn’t you tell me I had ice cream on me, Allie? It’s so embarrassing!”

“Oh Sammy, stop, you looked so cute! You’re doing such a great job with your cone!” Alyssa gushed, wiping Sammy’s face with a napkin.

Sammy huffed but went back to her ice cream cone. Two licks later, Sammy knocks the ice cream off the cone, hitting the ground with a splat.

Sammy immediately reacted. Tears welling in her eyes. “I-I s-s-sorry, Allie,” Sammy blubbered, “I didn’t mean to!”

“It’s okay, Sammy, that’s why I think you should use cups in the future.” Alyssa tried to say over Sammy’s sobs.

Suddenly, the man working the counter appears with another scoop of ice cream and a rag. He kneels in front of Sammy. “Don’t worry, little one! We all drop our ice cream every once in a while! But know what fixes it? A new scoop!” he said showing Sammy the new cup.

Alyssa gives him a massive smile, “what do you say to him, Sammy!”

“T-thank you!” Sammy says, composing herself as she grabs the cup.

“You’re very welcome,” Sammy replies.

Alyssa gets up to pay for the additional scoop. “No need, ma’am,” he says, “I opened up next to a Littles’R’Us so I can make Littles happy, dropped ice cream is part of the job!”

“Well, I appreciate it!” Alyssa responds as he walks away to help another customer.

After Sammy finishes, she yawns deeply. Alyssa realizes it's getting close to nap time for Sammy. They should probably head home soon or Sammy will have another tantrum.

“You ready to head home?”

“Yeah.”

They get back to Littles’R’Us as the shuttle arrives.

“Perfect timing!” Alyssa says to the driver. She provides him with her address, and they get into the shuttle.

Sammy’s heart sinks when she sees the car seat. “Do I have to use it, Allie?”

“Yes, Sammy, but it’s not too far of a drive!”

“…okay,” Sammy whines.

Alyssa lifts Sammy into the seat and places her down. She pulls the straps over Sammy’s shoulders, clicking them into the buckle pulled over Sammy’s diaper. “Is it too tight, Sammy?” she asks, adjusting the straps.

Sammy just shakes her head no. Being strapped in like this, diaper exposed, is overwhelming. She hates that this is how she will sit in every car from now on—trapped like a baby, waiting for their Caregiver to release them.

Tears well up in her eyes again. She’s about to cry when Alyssa leans over and puts her pacifier in Sammy’s mouth. Sammy immediately calms down. Still on the verge of tears but significantly less emotionally volatile.

“Don’t worry, Sammy, you’re okay,” Alyssa says, stroking Sammy’s hair.

The last thing Sammy remembers before falling asleep is looking into Alyssa’s eyes, happy.

Alyssa carries Sammy back into the house, putting Sammy down to nap in Alyssa’s room. With any luck, Sammy will sleep the entire time they install everything in Sammy’s nursery. She checks Sammy’s diaper, noting that it should last another hour or two, perfect timing to try out the new changing table.

Alyssa directed the installers on where to place all the furniture, realizing that Littles’R’Us were highly competent and thorough. Four men were sent, each effectively handling their tasks. Two men went to work removing the old bed and building Sammy’s crib (though Alyssa knows not to call it that yet), another man went to work on the changing table.

The fourth man went around the house, babyproofing anything dangerous. Plastic covers were placed on every socket. Any sharp edges of tables or counters received a small plastic covering. Once he finished, he brought in the boxes of diapers and clothes, unpacking them.

Within an hour and a half, they were finished.

After Alyssa thanked them for everything, she went into Sammy’s nursery. It looked better than she ever imagined. Sammy’s crib looked so cute. The changing table was ready for Sammy, diapers expertly stacked for easy access, and changing supplies ready to go. She went through the dresser, looking at all Sammy’s clothes.

Alyssa sat on the rocking chair, tears in her eyes. She had finally gotten everything she dreamed about. Sammy was the perfect Little. She felt needed. Whole.

She Facetimed her Mom and Lindsay, wanting to show them the nursery.

“Oh my gosh, Allie, it looks AMAZING!” her mom congratulates her.

“I love it, too!” Lindsay added, “and Sammy looked so cute eating ice cream! I can’t wait to see her again!”

“Where is Sammy?” her Mom asks.

“She’s taking a nap,” Allie responds, “I wanted to show you guys before she woke up.”

“If there is one thing Sammy will like, it’s all the naps she can take. I swear she took more naps than anyone I ever met,” Lindsay jokes.

“Well, now they’re necessary, if she goes past naptime she has the cutest tantrums,” Allie jokes, “oh, and speaking of the cutest, look at these diapers! I can’t even.” Allie turns the camera to Sammy’s diapers with rocket ships and astronaut teddy bears.

Both her Mom and Lindsay squeal in delight.

“Those are so cute, Allie!” Lindsay says.

“She threw a tantrum when I suggested them, but she eventually came around.”

“Well, I’m glad she did, they’re perfect for her!” Lindsay said.

“Oh, that reminds me, Linds. I need to run some errands tomorrow. I planned to take Sammy, but I had a better idea. What if you “hang out” with her tomorrow while I’m gone?”

“What do you mean “hang out?” Lindsay asks, “why did you say it like that?”

“Well, I don’t consider it hanging out anymore. You’ll be here as her babysitter, not her best friend. But we don’t need to call it that just yet.”

“Ohhh, I get it,” Lindsay replied, “but sure, I’d love to!”

“Great,” Allie responds, “but you will be responsible for her diapers. And, hard as it will be for you, you will be in charge of her as a Little. I don’t want you treating her like your old best friend. You can have fun and talk, but she can only do Little appropriate things. I don’t want you watching adult movies or TV shows, okay?”

Lindsay frowned a bit, understanding what this meant. “Well, she is your Little, Allie. I guess I knew this day would come eventually. When I went from Linds, Sam’s best friend, to Lindsay, Sammy’s babysitter.”

“Do you know how to change a diaper, dear?” her mom chimes in.

“Of course I do, Mom,” Lindsay snaps back, “I’m a Caregiver. It’s instinctual.”

“I’ll show you anyway,” Allie responds, “why don’t you come around one tomorrow after Sammy’s nap?”

“Sounds good!”

Finished with the call, Alyssa heads to wake up Sammy, wondering how she’d react to her new nursery.

Go to Chapter Nineteen.

[torialefay]

☀️ Everyday Idol 🌙 (Chapter 5)

✨ possible bangchan x reader (f), possible jungkook x reader (f)

✨ head on over to my masterlist if you haven’t checked out the previous chapters!

✨wc: ~6.6k

✨ friends to lovers? possible love triangle? obsession? angst and future smut??? a little fluff.

✨ summary: JYP Entertainment launches a new show and y/n somehow gets recruited. Even though she doesn’t particularly care about the outcome of the show, she does particularly care about one of the artists she met: Chris from Stray Kids. Does Chris feel the same or will a potential relationship with one of his friends overcome what y/n feels for him?

✨ author’s notes: pls pls pls let me know if you’d prefer shorter, more frequent chapters like this one, OR longer chapters posted about once per week. i’m heavily debating lol

✨ warnings: cursing from time to time.

Previous Chapter Recap:

“No need, I already told him!” Felix winked down at you, nudging his elbow into your side. What the hell?

“Oh really? I didn’t know you two were close like that.” Literally not once had you seen any sign that they’d spoken to each other, let alone were good enough friends to keep in touch about girls they were taking to lunch.

“With Chan-hyung? We’re about as close as two people can get,” he laughed. “No way. I knew all along. And you’re welcome by the way. I may or may not have encouraged it hehe.” You watched as his eyes sparkled while they smiled. It would have been adorable if you had any clue what he was talking about.

All you could do was stare blankly at him. A confused expression must have been on your face long enough for Felix to notice.

“We are talking about Chan-hyung, right?”

“No… I got the flowers from Jungkook,” you said sheepishly.

You could see Felix’s eyes shoot open, going into panic mode. Fight or flight, I guess.

“Wait, are you talking about? OHHH those flowers! The ones from today. Ohhh okay, nevermind. Sorry, I was thinking about something completely different,” he rapidly mumbled out. He looked like he could start sweating at any minute, waiting to get your eye of approval.

‘Okay, so 2 possibilities. #1: Felix needs a lot more sleep. Or #2: Chan was going to give me flowers?!?!’

Note: Character relations you can refer back to if needed.

Y/n- Changbin’s mentee

Anna- best friend, Felix’s mentee

Kara- Seungmin’s mentee

Sunnie- Han’s mentee

Mindi- Hyunjin’s mentee

Nisha- Lee Know’s mentee

Alyssa- Jeongin’s mentee

Jenna- Chan’s mentee

——————————————————————————

Y/N’s POV:

You settled back into your usual sphere of friends in the filming room. Just you, Anna, Kara, and Sunnie. Of course some of the boys jumped in on the discourse.

“Alright Hannie, be honest,” Sunnie questioned, still standing in the group. “Who out of us,” she motioned to the rest of the girls in the group’s circle, “do you think will mess up the most during our shoots?” She put a big grin on her face.

“Uhhh, I mean I think you’ll all do really great to be honest so-“ Han tried, but got cut off.

“Kara obviously,” Seungmin interrupted. “As her mentor, I can confidently say that I have trained her to be a menace.” He was joking, of course but GOD he never looked like it. “Well, not as good as me, but she will learn.”

Kara laughed and fake smacked him on the arm.

“No, but really, be honest. What do we need to worry about? You are literally our mentors so you can’t let us look lame,” Sunnie started again. You knew that Changbin proceeded to give a sarcastic response, but the hint of a figure passing by caught your attention instead.

Chan had arrived. He looked so good, but so out of his normal. You realized then that it wasn’t just Changbin who surprised you, but you’d never seen any of the boys dress up before. You and Changbin looked killer- all black, and honestly kinda sexy. You surprised yourself even.

But not Chan. No, he was in soft colors. Pastels. You didn’t know if you’d ever seen him in something like that- just so NOT like him. You silently wondered if he would come to your group to converse with everyone else. You weren’t sure if you wanted him to or not.

You made sure not to turn your head too far in his direction. You didn’t want him to see you glancing over, but you definitely didn’t want any of your friends in the group to notice you looking either. You tried to focus your eyes back on Han who seemed to be the only one who would give actual advice.

Out of the corner of your eye, you noticed Felix shift slightly, lifting his head up. You saw him look in Chan’s direction, then look down to see if you had noticed. You quickly darted your eyes away. Satisfied that you were paying attention elsewhere, he directed his head toward Chan across the room and open his eyes wide. Somehow he had a look of both questioning and embarrassment on his face. You didn’t dare move to look at Chan’s reactions.

After a minute or two of trying to zone in on Han, you gave up. You shifted your weight and crossed your arms, shrugging your shoulders up and rolling your neck around to “try to get a kink out”… if that meant trying to get a secret look at Chan of course.

You found him in your periphery on the other side of the room. He was standing with Jenna and Alyssa, making small talk or prepping them for the filming, you guessed. You could see Jenna’s almost-matching pastel outfit and it made you want to vomit with how sweet it was. And you’d be lying if you said you weren’t a tiny bit jealous that she was matching so well with Chan. You’d be lying even more if you said it didn’t bother you that he’d momentarily rested his hand on her shoulder while talking with them. You’d be lying even more if you said she was too pretty for him. ‘FML.’

Chan had such a wild smile on his face, staring down with his big dimples. You couldn’t believe he was actually getting along with the both of them. They were literally like talking to a wall… Maybe the wall opens up and changes its appearance a little for a cute guy though.

Damn, if this was the shove you needed to move you in Jungkook’s direction, it was definitely working.

Kara, standing a couple people over from you in the circle, must have noticed Chan coming through in his displaced pastels as well. He was a magnet, what could you say?

You noticed her scoffing over. Everyone else noticed as well.

“Kara, everything okay?” Anna asked, being the last to notice but the first to call her out.

“I was just observing,” she smirked, nodding her head in Chan’s direction. Everyone turned to look as Chan lightly nudged an elbow into Jenna’s side.

‘God, please kill me.’

Sunnie fired back with a smug look. “Oooo so *that’s what Felix was talking aboutttt,” she dragged on.

… The guys, including you and Anna, looked around, staring blankly at each other.

“What do you all know that I don’t?” Seungmin asked, staring down both of the girls.

‘Agreed,’ you thought.

“Did you literally not hear Felix at lunch?” Kara looked up at him. All the Stray Kids members looked confused.

Felix looked defensive all of a sudden. “No, no, no, that’s not what I meant! I was just joking I swear!” He tried to force a laugh. “I swear it was just a joke!”

“Yeah rightttt,” Kara scoffed. “It’s so obvious that she’d be that way. It makes so much sense.”

“Okay, what are you guys talking about?” you finally piped up.

“Seriously, what’s going on?” Changbin backed you up.

Felix looked off, like he would just ignore the question forever. Kara ran her eyes across his face, then rolled them back into her head.

“Oh so NOW you are shy?!” she threw at him. “Well Felix kinda let it slip that Chris was crushing on someone who was already accounted for, but that it would all work out.”

The boys all looked at him, wide-eyed.

“Oh my gosh, that’s not how I meant it! I mean I was just joking around!” Felix plead, acting fake hurt. “Literally we were just talking about who YOU ALL found cute, and then yeah, I said that Chris was wanting someone who was already accounted for but, but-“ he started to fumble his words. “I mean I was just messing around! I meant that Chris was into me, but I’m accounted for of course,” he let out a nervous laugh.

“Accounted for? By who? And your mom doesn’t count.” Seungmin smirked.

“No, with Binnie!” Felix put on a fake pout again, grabbing Changbin by the arm. “And don’t you talk about us that way!” Everyone got to laughing, and I guess Felix’s explanation was good enough to put everyone’s mind at rest.

‘Nice cover, Felix.’

Kara wasn’t completely sold though. She motioned for everyone to scoot in closer before leaned her head down and began to whisper. “Listen, I’m serious though. I don’t mean to step on any toes, I swear I don’t… But the rumor going around really is that Chan’s got his eye on one of the mentees,” she looked up to see everyone’s reaction. “Now, if you guys say that it isn’t true, then it isn’t true, but that’s what’s been going around. AND word on the street is that she is also fucking Jungkook.”

‘GODDAMN IT. I AM NOT FUCKING JUNGKOOK! HOW IN THE HELL DOES ONE DATE EQUATE TO FUCKING THIS MAN?!’

‘And now, if anyone does see us together, I’m royally fucked… May even get kicked off the show for the bad publicity. I’ve got to find a way to shut that shit down.’

You secretly watched Felix’s face drop. In that moment, he had confirmed his previous theory that you had been seeing Jungkook and rejected Chan.

‘Welp, this is awkward.’

“Alright well if someone’s fucking Jungkook, then they’re fucking Jungkook. None of my business. But if Chan was into someone, he would have told us by now,” Changbin chimed in.

Felix looked to the ground.

“I mean maybe... Unless he was embarrassed. Sure doesn’t seem like it now though,” she glanced back over. You let your eyes follow in that direction. Chan was now propped up with one hand against the wall, smiling down towards Jenna with a smirk on his face.

‘I don’t even care,’ you thought.

But you did. You knew you did.

———————————————————————

Felix’s POV:

Filming was about to start. The directors had each of you pair up into your mentor couples and wait for more instructions.

“Hold on, I have to go find Chan real quick!” Felix told Anna.

“Alright, you know where to find me,” she smiled back.

Felix quickly made his way over to where Chan stood. Next to Jenna of course.

“Hey, can you come here for a second? I have a question,” Felix directed toward Chan, offering a polite smile when Jenna looked his way too.

“Yeah sure,” Chan said, letting Felix lead him toward the back of the room away from everyone else.

Chan was totally on edge. Felix could tell.

“What the fuck happened?” Felix questioned.

“What happened with what?” Chan retorted, pretending he didn’t know what Felix was getting at.

Felix just stared at him, rolling his eyes up. Annoyed. He stood there in silence, not letting himself be the one to give in. Finally Chan did.

“Look, I saw her with Jungkook, bro. He gave her flowers and she looked happy. End of story. Nothing else to talk about,” he huffed, ready to walk back. He was holding it back well, but Felix knew him well enough to know he was hurt.

Chan looked down and shook his head, imagining what Felix must be thinking. Felix had encouraged him early on to message you… but he just never did. Not until he was scared someone else was interested in you that is.

“Whatever mate, but just know this whole look-“ Felix pointed a finger, dragging it across the path to Chan and Jenna, “isn’t a cute one. Almost every other contestant has something bad to say about her.”

“Come on man, she’s not that bad.”

“Literally look at her face right now,” Felix motioned over.

A look of pure boredom and disdain was washed over her. She glanced down to her nails, then back up to her surroundings, almost as if she was trying to size anyone and everyone up. She was off on her own, not attempting to strike up a conversation with any of the 40+ people in the room.

“So she has a hard exterior,” Chan tried to cover. “But she’s actually really nice once you start talking to her.”

“Tell me one nice thing she’s had to say.”

“Well she was talking about how excited she was to see me.”

“That doesn’t count.”

“She was also talking about how I looked good in pastels. Told me that they suited me more than black and that I should switch it up.”

“That doesn’t count either. What is ONE nice thing she’s said that wasn’t about you?”

Chan stood for a moment. “Well, I mean,” he grabbed his neck and looked down. “Like I said, she’s a hard one to crack.”

“Do what you want, but going after your own mentee isn’t a good look. I’ll tell you that if no one else will.”

Felix turned to walk away, but spun right back around on his toes. “By the way, someone is now spreading a rumor that whoever you’re into is fucking Jungkook. Just thought you should know before you made anyone look bad.”

With that, he briskly walked off.

—————————————————————

Y/n’s POV:

Shooting actually went really well. Way better than you’d expected. It wasn’t nearly as scary as you thought it’d be, and you think you actually got some great takes.

They had let you talk about medical school, and what it was like to train in today’s world post-COVID. You got to talk about the reason you were interested in medicine in the first place, and how the 7-year-old you would be so proud to see you now, living out your biggest dream. They asked all the right questions, and you gave all the right answers. You were starting to feel hopeful that you could make a connection with the audience of the show.

Of course, all of the scenes with Changbin were perfect too. You silently thanked the heavens that you got paired with the coolest guy to be your mentor. The banter between the two of you was perfect. One moment that specifically stood out was when they shot a scene of Changbin trying to give you tips and that, as his mentee, you were gonna have to be tough and do some of the heavy lifting to make him proud. He made you practice an example, as he bent himself face-down at his hips and pulled on your arms to rotate your body into the air and land on the other side of his.

“See, easy! Now you try,” he had instructed.

And try you did… But FAIL you also did. You tried your best to keep your legs firmly planted on the ground, but with the weight of Binnie directly over top of you, you couldn’t help but fall to the ground, letting him fall along on top of you. Neither of you got hurt, but you both almost died of laughter, holding onto each other on the floor. You laughed so hard you thought you’d cry.

It may have hurt your ego a little, but damn if it wasn’t gonna make for some cute content for the show.

You felt a quiz buzz coming from your pocket. You took it out to check the screen, showing a text from JK. After the date, you had decided that exchanging numbers was way better than having to talk through instagram.

You smiled at how interested he was in your life.

You shoved your phone back in your pocket, warm feeling still coming on.

“Are you coming to the dinner later?” you turned to Changbin.

His eyes lit up. “I mean I hadn’t really planned on it, but are you going?”

“Honestly, I think it’s mandatory for us to go. But I’m excited anyways. Everyone should be there. Have you been to the restaurant?”

“Which one is it?”

“Nine Mile.”

“Damn, that’s a pretty nice restaurant. Especially if the company is paying.”

“Then you’d *better come with me,” you laughed, nodding your head his way.

“Alright, alright. It’s a date,” he smiled. “Only for the food though.”

“Well of course.”

—————————————--

After a quick trip back to the hotel with Anna to freshen up and get caught up on all of the day’s happenings, you felt exhausted. I mean, today was probably the most eventful day of your life. You went on a date with Jungkook, got blown off by Chan and then had to watch him flirt with another girl, and then get through 3-ish hours of filming for a TV show you didn’t even think you belonged on. You really just wanted to lie in bed and talk with Anna, then pass out for the night.

But you couldn’t. The night must go on. You reminded yourself that you should be grateful for every opportunity, no matter how tired you were.

JK had texted you back, letting you know he also had plans for the night, but to have fun at the dinner with Changbin. The emotions you felt were still extremely mixed, but you decided to just take each moment as it came. Otherwise, you’d be too overwhelmed to even think.

Once you had finished freshening up, you and Anna set out to the restaurant in your normal, everyday clothes. You couldn’t lie, being in medical school made you adopt a new sense of fashion. Corporate baddie? You realized this quickly when you came to Korea and saw the street style that most others wore. You and Anna couldn’t help it though- your closet now consistent of only 2 things: (1) scrubs, (2) trendy oversized blazers. Out of the 2 options, the only one you deemed appropriate to bring was the latter.

You didn’t mind standing out a bit though. Some people in Korea even had similar styles, just a bit more muted than the two of you. It was obvious from the looks you got while walking the street- not bad looks, the reverse actually.

You looked down to examine your black heels and matching black oversized blazer. You made sure to pair it with dark jeans and lots of jewelry to set a more casual tone… and also to stop yourself from looking like you could pull out a reflex hammer and give a full-on neurological exam at any moment. But it was night time after all, and it was freezing. You had to cover up as best you could.

You couldn’t lie, you also had to make sure you spritzed on a couple sprays of your favorite sensual perfume. Just for good measure. You never knew who you would see.

There was a reason you and Anna were besties, you thought as you looked to your bestfriend walking next to you. She complimented both you and your style so well. Business casual, but make it hot.

You finally arrived at the restaurant two minutes early. But to your surprise, the huge reserved section in the back was already almost completely full. Everyone was really making sure they were on time, you guessed.

You both meandered your way in, stopping to say “hi” to some of the other new trainees that you recognized. From a distance, Changbin flagged you down. He motioned for you to come to where he was sat.

“I figured you and Anna would come together. I saved you both a seat!,” he said, standing up out of his chair. He grabbed the chair seated next to his and pulled it out for you to sit down.

‘Too sweet,’ you thought as you took your place. “Thanks Binnie!”

The other seat next to you was presumably for Anna, so you waited for Changbin to pass you and pull it out for her as well.

“Anna,” he caught her attention, instead turning the other way to take his seat. “That seat is for you!,” he smiled, pointing down to it.

It was hard to hear with the loud noises coming from the crowd around you, but she understood what he was saying and took her spot.

Sitting in front of you were a few other trainees that you had met a couple of times before. Both girls and guys- all super nice. You exchanged formal “hello’s” and “how are you doing?”.

You scanned the room to look for the other boys, but only Felix was in sight, standing far in the other corner of the room and talking with some of the new male trainees.

“Binnie, did none of the kids come except Felix?” you looked at him.

“Nah, they were all working on stuff. But don’t worry, I’ll always make time for you!” He spread a loving smile across his face.

You couldn’t believe you were so lucky to get Changbin as your mentor. Hardly any of the mentors were here. You had made sure to carefully check for any sight of Chris, but to your relief, he was nowhere to be found.

———————————————

The rest of the night was filled with plenty of amazing food, fun conversations, and new deep connections made with other contestants.

But if you were being honest, you definitely knew you had a few too many drinks. You were feeling good, yes. But almost past the point of feeling good. You could feel your stomach start to get the tiniest bit queasy and the world around you started to blur the tiniest bit. Your head felt like it was floating.

‘Okay y/n, you are cut off,’ the last ounce of soberness in your brain thought. But that is where the final sober thought ended.

“Binnie, can I be honest?” you leaned into him, almost letting your face touch his chest.

He looked down at you with big eyes. “Of course, what’s up?”

“I’m just…” you trailed off, beginning to look at his lips and then back up to his face. “I’m just really happy you’re here with me.” You smiled.

“I’m happy too. Thank you for inviting me to come.”

“Well you are always invited to come anywhere with me. I want you to know that.”

He blushed.

That should have been your signal. That should have been your warning to stop yourself. In your drunken state, you couldn’t sense that your words would come across as flirty. You didn’t mean it in that way- not in the slightest. You just wanted to express your love and appreciation to your friend. It was innocent, honestly. But Bin couldn’t tell that.

“You’re so sweet, y/n.” He leaned down further into you until his lips were hovering just above your head. “And if I’m honest, I’m really glad that I’m getting to know you better.” He let out a soft smile.

You went in for a hug, burying your face into his chest in the process. His chest was so strong and warm. “I needed to hear that… I wish everyone else felt the same,” you accidentally let slip out. Again, you didn’t even realize what you were saying. You were too far gone and you needed to go home.

“Like who? Is anyone giving you a hard time?” Changbin asked.

“No, it’s- well maybe. I don’t know. It’s nothing…” you paused. “Binnie, I think I’ve done all I can do tonight,” you accidentally leaned over into him. “I think I need to go home.”

“Yeah of course. Stay here for just a second. Let me get Anna.”

He gently got up from his chair, so as not to startle you too much, and walked a few steps toward Anna who had moved into a group of people who were stood chit-chatting.

He returned to you a few seconds later. “Anna is going to stay around for a while. Is it okay if I walk you to your hotel?” He reached his hand out for you to take it.

You happily obliged, using his hand to lift up all your weight in your stupor state. You felt a little unbalanced, but nothing that you couldn’t manage. Nothing that you couldn’t walk off on the way back to the hotel anyway.

Bin swiftly moved behind you, using one arm to stabilize around your waist and the other to reach out in front of you to continue to give your hand the needed stability. This way, he could see you right in front of him as you walked and make sure you didn’t trip over.

You both took slow steps toward the exit, breezily waving goodbye on your way out.

Your eyes caught Felix’s on your way out. You tried to wave, just a simple acknowledgment.

You may have been drunk, but not drunk enough to make out the the panic on Felix’s face. You couldn’t ponder on it for too long though, as a slight step up past the doorframe caught your foot.

You felt yourself lose balance, about to topple over, but Changbin felt your change in positioning and clung onto your tighter. As suddenly as you felt yourself begin to fall, you felt yourself stay stationary in the air.

“Ahhh,” you mumbled.

“Alright, come on. Up, up, up,” Changbin said lowly while pulling your body back to standing.

You giggled once he got you up. “I didn’t know you were that strong!” you said, excitedly, as you collected yourself enough to step forward again and out of the restaurant.

He moved his arm now to link up with yours. “This is why I train up! So I can catch you apparently,” he laughed.

You let out a giggle as you stepped into the cold wind. It caught you off guard, not remembering how cold it had been when you’d arrived. One more step and one huge gust of wind almost knocked you off balance again. You felt your leg start to teeter.

“Woah, woah!” Changbin laughed, catching your body from the side this time. “Be careful or you’re gonna take us both down!”

You couldn’t help but laugh at how ridiculous this was. Was it funny because of the alcohol? Absolutely. Without it, you’d be humiliated beyond belief. But now, you were more amused than you had been in the last week. You couldn’t stop giggling, cueing Changbin to start chuckling back at you.

“Come on, let’s get you home,” he said, once you stabilized.

“Okay, okay,” you took a deep breath in and then snapped your fingers. “I’m good. I’m good! Okay, I’ve got this. Let’s go,” you smiled.

He roped his arm back around yours to give you an anchor as you both walked, now both stepping out past the side of the restaurant, no worries in the world.

——————————————————————

Chan’s POV:

He sat on the couch of his studio for a moment, taking in his surroundings.

He didn’t know why he’d done it. He didn’t know why he’d done any of this. Why he canceled on you, why he brushed you off when you clearly wanted to speak with him, why he tried to make you jealous earlier.

After all, Felix told him that you had something with Jungkook. What did he expect? That it was just a rumor? That if he texted you right then, any plans you had with JK would just magically disappear?

Did he expect you to just drop everything and fall in love with him?

The only reason he got the balls to message you in the first place was because Felix told him you were going to see someone else. So why was he backing out now?

He guessed the stress of ACTUALLY seeing the two of you together- physically present in front of him- set him off. He didn’t even want to think about you being that close to another man, let alone see it.

It should have been him doing that with you. But, like always, he blew his own fucking chance.

He freaked out. He shut himself down and shut you out. He wanted to make you feel the same way he felt seeing you with someone else.

He sat and pondered for a moment.

‘It’s all in your head anyways, Chris. She’s not jealous over what you’re doing. She probably hasn’t even thought twice about you since. All you’re doing is making yourself look like a dick who goes after their own mentee…’

‘And Felix is right, it’s not a good look. Jenna objectively sucks. You don’t want to be associated with that. Hell, the conversations you had today were bone dry. You still have to support her, but from a distance will be fine.’

‘It’s just… ahhh,’ he threw his elbows down to rest over his knees, bringing his head down to his hands and letting them trace through his hair. He started pulling harshly at the strands of hair sliding through his fingers.

‘Why is it so fucking hard for you? Why can’t you just forget about her? You’re not going to, are you?’

‘But it doesn’t matter, you’re too much of a pussy to do anything anyways. You had her literally coming to your studio, and then you backed out like a fucking coward because of what? Because you saw someone else has a crush on her?’

‘Damn right Jungkook has a crush on her- he’d be crazy not to. But she only likes him because she doesn’t know how good YOU could be to her. You haven’t said or done shit!’

‘So why in the fuck are you sitting here moping, when you could actually apologize for being shitty and weird? You’re literally gonna just watch and do nothing and hope that nothing comes of this so you can have your chance?’

‘No, you’ve got to talk to her. So what, she’s been on a date or two with JK? It’s not like they were official or anything- if they were, you would have definitely heard about it.’

‘She could be way more into you than she is into him if you just TRY. Just do it. COME ON.’

Chris jumped up off the couch. This was probably the best timing he was going to get, and it was now or never. He had already checked with Felix, so what was he waiting for?

He looked at his reflection in the camera app on his phone.

He’d looked worse, he thought. He was just grateful to be changed out of those god-awful pastels.

He threw his black fluffy jacket on and grabbed the flowers he had purchased for you this morning, silently thanking himself that he didn’t throw them away earlier in a jealous rage.

Heading out of the company building, he kept the pep talk going in his mind as he quickly dashed toward the Nine Mile restaurant. He silently thanked god that it was only a few minutes away.

‘You’ve got this, Chris.’

‘It’s nothing, it’s nothing! It’s literally nothing.’

‘All you have to say is what you feel. It’s that simple. You want to get to know her more and you’d like to see her sometime, not at the company.’

‘She doesn’t have to know everything else. She doesn’t have to know you saw her earlier. She doesn’t have to know that’s why you canceled on her.’

‘But damn you may have some explaining to do if she brings something up about you and Jenna.’

‘No, she probably didn’t even notice or care.’

‘All you can do is lay it out on the table. If she doesn’t want you, then she doesn’t want you. But at least you can say you tried. You can live with no regrets.’

‘Come on, don’t back out. You can do this. You can do this,’ he repeated to himself as he saw the glow of the restaurant’s sign quickly approaching.

He quickly looked down to check his phone and get the time. He was hoping you hadn’t left yet by the time he got there.

As he went to put the phone away, he heard a familiar voice.

“Chan! Hey, what are you doing?”

Fuck. It couldn’t be.

The voice was recognizable, but the outline, not so much. All black outfit with a black mask. If Chan hadn’t heard him speak, he’d have no clue it was Jungkook. He was just standing there, leaning against the wall of the business directly next to the restaurant. It was a little ominous really, hidden away in the shadow of a street sign- the light of the moon not even able to hit him.

“Hey man, what’s up?” Chan tried to play it off like he wasn’t internally freaking out.

“Ah, I was just about to meet a friend. What about you? Are you headed to the JYP party in there?” He motioned to the restaurant.

‘Okay great, so he’s here to meet a “friend” and just so happened to know that YOU would be here… a SECOND date with him in one goddamn day?!’

Chris got extremely flustered. All of the confidence he once held was now leaving his body entirely.

Did he want to be brave? Yes.

Did he want to prove that he could be better for you? Yes.

Did he idealize in his head how this night was going to go and now that’s all going to shit? Yes.

Chan was officially in panic mode.

“Ah you know what, I was going to head in for a bit, but damn, you just reminded me! I ran off and left my wallet. I’m gonna have to go find it before someone else does. Ah fuck,” he lied through his teeth.

“I’m sorry man, that’s the worst! Do you need me to hold your stuff for you til you get back?” JK said, looking down to the flowers in Chan’s hands.

“Oh these? Yeah, it’s a ... friend’s birthday! So I had picked these up. But uhm… Actually, if you want them you can have them! By the time I walk back and turn everything upside down to find my wallet, I don’t know that I’ll actually make it back here. The flowers are probably gonna die tonight without water anyway, so I’ll have to buy another batch tomorrow. Please feel free to take them off my hands if you think you or someone else could use them. Seriously."

Chris didn’t really know why he said this. He didn’t know why he had lied about so much. He owed NOTHING to JK. Were they friends? Sure, but not close enough to feel bad about liking the same person.

He just needed to be out of this moment quick.

There he was again- a coward. Running away from his feelings, he knew. He knew he was ruining it yet again. But he couldn’t confront this reality. Not now. Not so openly and in front of everyone. He needed to get out fast.

“I mean sure man, I’ll take them if you don’t want them. I’ll find someone to give them to at least,” JK smiled down and took the bouquet into his hands. “Be careful going back in this cold! It’s getting ridiculous.”

All of a sudden, Chan heard it. It was unmistakable. His favorite sound in the world. Your laugh was coming closer.

He looked off a few yards away to see you stumbling out of the restaurant, holding tightly to Changbin.

In that moment, he was cursing his luck that Changbin got to have you as a mentee instead of him.

He knew you'd be searching for Jungkook at any moment. He needed to get out fast.

“Yeah, you too man. I’ll see you soon, yeah?”

Chan turned on his heels with his head down and sped away. He didn't dare look back for fear of what he might see. He knew he couldn't take it again.

In that moment, he was thankful for the strong wind chill hitting his face, drying out the singular tear rolling down his cheek.

At least he knew his flowers would get to you somehow.

----------------------------------------

Y/n's POV:

You held on to Binnie for dear life, making small strides so as not to lose the little bit of balance you had.

"I've still got to have a mentee for the show, so we have to get you back in one piece! If not, I'll kill you," Changbin said, letting out a chuckle.

In your drunken state, it made you cackle.

"You couldn't kill anyone Binnnnnnieee. You're too sweet," you smiled and booped him on the nose. You felt yourself lose your footing the slightest bit, but quickly moved your hand back to your side to stabilize.

"I'm sweet, but that doesn't mean I couldn't crush you in two seconds," he teased. "One squeeze while I've got you in a headlock and you're a goner."

"Oh yeah? I'd like to see you try!" you challenged him, stopping mid-stride and taking one step back.

"Oh you're on!" he made quick work to pull your arm around to your side, moving your whole body along with it until you were turned away from him. One swift movement had his bicep around the side of your neck, arm extended around the other half, until his hand reached your opposite shoulder.

Suddenly, you felt yourself working harder to breathe.

He took his other hand and harshly rubbed it as fast as he could on the top of your head. "Noogies just for good measure!" he yelled.

"Okay, OKAY, you win! I give up!" you choked out as best as your could.

Suddenly, he released the pressure off of your neck and you took a deep breath in, your red face trying to tame itself.

As you panted, Changbin teased you. "So what were you saying about me not being able to absolutely destroy you?"

You playfully, lightly shoved into him. "Shut up. Knowing that, I don't know if I want you to walk me back now! Wouldn't want to risk anything, ya know?"

"I promise to not use my skills anymore tonight. Deal?" he laughed and held his extended arm out for you to loop your own into.

"Deal," you smiled and wrapped your arm around his, starting back on the journey to your original destination.

As you went to turn your head, you noticed something in the corner of your eye. A dark figure gently shifted in the shadow behind the restaurant. Fully black clothed, mask on his face. But the shoes- the shoes were a dead giveaway.

'Aren't those the shoes Jungkook was wearing earlier?'

You'd never forget them. Black, but with golden laces and a bit of golden detailing on the slight platform. You'd made a mental note earlier of how nice they were. You could barely make them out in the darkness, but there was no mistaking that they were the same pair.

You were looking back now, trying to make full eye contact. Why wasn't he coming to say hi to you?

His body shifted back further into the unlit cove.

An overwhelming feeling of uneasiness washed over you. You snapped your head back around to the front, focusing now on your walking. You started to pick up the pace as best you could.

"Woahhh, you okay?" Changbin said, noticing the shift.

You honestly didn't know.

'Why would Jungkook be here? Let alone be lurking in the shadows instead of coming to talk to you?'

'He knew you'd be here,' you told yourself. 'And he knew you'd be here with Bin. Is that what this is about? He's jealous already? Jealous enough to freaking follow you around all night? How could he not "trust you" if you weren't even together?'

You felt your heart begin to race inside your chest. Looking down at the ground, you whispered, "Binnie... I may be paranoid but think I might be getting followed."

Your strides were even wider now, as Changbin tried to follow suit.

"Why? Did you see something?!"

"There's this guy I know standing back there at the corner of the building where it was totally dark. I told him earlier that I'd be here with you. He didn't even acknowledge that I was here. Please just get me home!"

You both started moving as quickly as you could toward the end of the street, rounding a corner. You looked back to see if Jungkook was still in site. You didn't see anything, but that didn't mean he wasn't still following.

Changbin flagged down a cab and pushed the both of you inside.

"The JYP Building, please. Quickly." he instructed the cab driver.

"That's the opposite direction of my hotel! Here, it's actually-" you tried to chime in until Changbin cut you off.

"If someone is following you, do you really want them to know which direction to take for your hotel?"

'Good point.'

"JYP Building please!" you yelled toward the cab driver. You clung tight to Changbin's arm, swerving your head frantically to get a view through all of the windows.

--------------------------------------

✨ Continue to ➡️ Chapter 6

✨If you enjoyed, please consider liking, commenting, and/or re-blogging <3

✨author's note: i know the past few chapters have been a bit tough, but i promise the next chapter starts to look up :)

[horizon-verizon]

Every year that passes, Dany/Jon feels like a relationship we’re told to believe in rather than one we could truly feel. I just don’t see it happening. I’m okay with the idea of them achieving a common goal and then going their separate ways, Dany prioritizing Essos and Jon focusing on the North/Beyond the North. That might be one of the bittersweet endings George has in mind. But I can’t even picture a meeting between them that feels genuine or meaningful. Most marriages or romantic relationships in ASoIaF aren’t exactly happy. Even the ones considered great loves, like Jaehaerys and Alysanne, Duncan and Jenny of Oldstones, or Naerys and Aemon, are steeped in dysfunction or tragedy, often coming at great personal or political cost. If that’s the standard, I’d honestly prefer Jon and Dany not to have a romantic relationship at all. Given how little emotional groundwork exists between them, it would just feel hollow. Jon/Dany feels even weaker when compared to Jon and Arya’s connection. Arya matters greatly to Jon, and he matters just as much to her. Their shared history, emotional bond, and mutual understanding make their future/possible reunion feel meaningful. Jon breaking vows for her, or Arya returning to Jon, feels earned because their connection has been present from the beginning. Even if it was foreshadowed, Dany/Jon feels distant or maybe even forced? For Dany, Jon is little more than an abstract idea, a potential ally or obstacle. For Jon, she’s even less. Add to that, there doesn’t seem to be a clear pattern with resurrections, except that people seem to come back with an obsession, so who knows what FrankenJon’s will be? It’s hard to imagine how their dynamic could develop into something believable, let alone romantic, especially when Jon’s interest in Dany seems tied more to her dragons and army than to her as a person. * maybe Baelon and Alyssa could be the exception? But she dies quite young

Most marriages or romantic relationships in ASoIaF aren’t exactly happy. Even the ones considered great loves, like Jaehaerys and Alysanne, Duncan and Jenny of Oldstones, or Naerys and Aemon, are steeped in dysfunction or tragedy, often coming at great personal or political cost. If that’s the standard, I’d honestly prefer Jon and Dany not to have a romantic relationship at all.

Ironically, these are the type of relationships (not Jae and Aly--I acknowlede they loved each other in a particular way, I just dislike Jae) I am most attracted to under the right circumstances & for te most part ASoIaF brings up tose "right" circumstances for me. Ironic bc I don't disagree with you when it comes to Dany. Precisely bc of te sort of story se has, wat sort of power/authority se's creating for herself or is capable of. And i also would be okay and kinda prefer a little they go their separate ways just to preserve Dany's trajectory.

[backjustforberena]

Quick question. Why do you think Rhaenys and corlys "waited" so long for children? And why stop at 2. My HC is they travel/enjoyed their marriage for the first years, going together to the end of the world

Side note, I believe there are so many parallels between Rhaenys and Alyssa, both married by choice at 16, having her first baby at 18/19, Meleys, personality. Is there another character you picture similar to Rhaenys?

Hello! I assume this is based on the book, rather than the show? Given that the show doesn't give us any timeline at all for Rhaenys and Corlys's marriage, other than what we see on-screen, so we don't know what age they were when they got married in this version of events, or when they had their children in relation to that, especially with the evident alterations to pretty much all ages involved: especially ageing Laenor and Laena down.

I would love to believe that in the show idea of canon: that Rhaenys spread her wings (dragon-riding pun intended) and travelled alongside her husband for a time, before settling down back to their island and their (assumed) future. Even the romantic notion of a honeymoon voyage! I'm not sure if Westeros has honeymoons, but if anyone had the time, inclination and resources for it, it'd be them! I think it's safe to say that Corlys still frequently travelled during this time and if Rhaenys expressed the desire, I'd imagine he'd absolutely want to take her away.

In the case of the book, I don't believe that's they do this. Corlys has, basically, retired when he married (at least, that's my interpretation) and whilst he could still travel, he's also a part of the Small Council as Master of Ships. His presence and service is required in Westeros. But, of course, I suppose I'm looking at your suggestion as something exotic and time-consuming, reminiscent of a Voyage. They could simply go a progress of sorts around Westeros and that would meet the criteria. But we have no mention of it. Whilst this doesn't rule it out, it makes me wary of committing to the idea of anything but Rhaenys and Corlys splitting their time between Driftmark and King's Landing.

However, in both instances, I don't believe they actively put off children. Children are too important for both of them, not just in the creation of a family but the creation of a legacy. In the book, Rhaenys was of age, it was expected. Corlys wasn't getting any younger and would need an heir as much as she did. He came home with the intention of a family. When it comes to the show version, whilst we don't have similar information or confirmation, we have the importance of family being central to both of them. They want kids. To put that off would almost be to put aside a duty as well, and neither of them seems the sort.

But my main point about all this would be the reliability on the confidence of your statement in the first place. We've got no indication that they made a conscious choice to "wait" for children or that there was any reason to, coupled with no information on any special behaviour during this period of their marriage.

They could have been trying for the entire two years and it simply didn't happen. Rhaenys's mother gave birth to her only child 4 years into her marriage, aged 20. To be honest, they could also be trying for a child whilst travelling. Any trip could be cut short if Rhaenys fell pregnant, for example. Similarly, we can't be certain that they made a conscious choice to "stop" having kids after having 2.

There are no external reasons as to why that would be a decision they made. Nothing political, nothing that threatens them. No word that Rhaenys had particularly tricky births, or that she's too old. It doesn't even particularly adhere to the social expectations or be an okay move in terms of securing legacy, especially when you contrast it to Jaehaerys and Alysanne at the time, who just seem to keep outliving kids.

I'm rambling but the main thing to keep in mind is, when it comes to the book, it's done in such a way that there are no personal insights, perspectives or absolute truths when it comes to motivation. We are working from unreliable and incomplete sources. We can't be certain of anything - we can't be certain what the truth is on this: what took place, what happened, and why.

We can go from a scenario that was they were trying for two straight years without success or even an inkling of a pregnancy, to a scenario where they toured Braavos for 6 months and Rhaenys had an early miscarriage. Or a scenario in which they decided to not try for children at all and employed some sort of contraceptive measure whilst they turned their attention to various other duties like Corlys's job or Rhaenys's integration as Driftmark's lady.

Corlys could fear for Rhaenys's youth and Rhaenys could reluctantly agree. Or Corlys could be the unwilling party to a stay of two years. That could be the truth! Or it could be totally rubbish! It could be one of these or it could be none of these! But the lack of information leaves it open: we have no confirmation but nothing contradicting it either, other than what we suppose. So, I'll leave that there.

In terms of your second question: is there another character you picture similar to Rhaenys? Not really. I must say I'm not wholly read up or as knowledgeable as some, but whilst there are poetic comparisons to make or ways to lump characters together due to fate or something in common, I don't think I really picture anyone as similar to Rhaenys.

Something that does play on my mind, however, is the significance and symbolism behind naming her "Rhaenys" in the first place. I doubt we could say that Rhaenys has the same personality as Rhaenys the Conqueror, but there's something in that being the name that Aemon and Jocelyn choose - the name of a conqueror and one isn't derivative. And that it's the one of the most beloved - I infer a lot of hope there and a surety of her place as Aemon's heir. There's love and tragedy in that name. That tracks in all three Rhaenys's, as much as there is a curse on Visenya's name and a legacy to live up to with Aegon's.

Put that together with the relationship she has with her dragon (both "M" dragons; Meraxes and Meleys), and then that they have very similar deaths (falling to their deaths alongside their dragons, in battle) - and, indeed, their deaths represent a turning point in both conflicts that they fall in: the Blacks choose to take King's Landing then and there and, certainly, Corlys's motivations seem to be directly about his wife's death, and dragons are fully unleashed onto the battlefield causing mass death and destruction, vs Aegon and Visenya burning the heck out of Dorne during "The Dragon's Wroth". I find that interesting.

[maidragoste]

Hi love! Just my 5 cents in

I feel like there’s going to be a shift in their relationship when maybe Aelor gets accused of something and Baelon stands up for him, that can definitely be a bridge to start a new stronger relationship with each other. And it also surprises the reader because she realizes the duality of him instead of seeing the Daemon side of him. Like with the way Baelon starts to stand up for Aelor (even threatening using dragonfire) he sees HER Jace and it just breaks her cause one of her more haunting gut wrenching ghosts FINALLY shows up and she sees that Baelon is not the Rhaenyra/Daemon thing that angered her all of those years ago and also with this realizes she’s been putting the anger that she had towards them onto Baelon.

The mental breakdown the reader would have when she’s pondering and she sees Baelon walking the hallways and within the gaps of shade and sun by the collum foundations of the castle as he walks in the shadows she would see Daemon and in the light she would see Jace, would be INSANE.

I wonder what Aemond would think if Baelon and Alyssa were to say that they will go with thier dragons and be never seen again and also the readers reaction to Aemond being like “They’re going to do what we couldn’t, why can’t you accept they fell in love like we did? I’m not losing my son and daughter Y/N, I won’t have it”

And when Aemond gives dark sister to Baelon OOOFF

OKAY ANON, THIS IS INSANE. THE ONE WHO IS HAVING A MENTAL BREAKDOWN IS ME. "HER JACE" DESTROYED ME 😭😭

Jacaerys is the one Reader loved the most, he is the one she misses the most and continues to cry for him. Honestly I always thought that Reader saw traces of Jace in Aemon but then she sees Baelon defending Aelor and suddenly she realizes that he has Jace stuff too. As you say, she has a breakdown and she doesn't quite know what to think. She begins to see Baelon with different eyes, she tries to give him the benefit of the doubt instead of getting angry at any problem. She sometimes still sees the Daemon in him but she forces herself to focus on the good parts, on Jace.

About Baelon and Alyssa, I can see they try to defend themself from Reader's fury by saying "Father and you got married in secret too. You can't be mad at us for doing the same. Uncle Egg and Aunt Jaehaera did too and you didn't make this scandal "

Aemond wouldn't let his children go, he would definitely have the dragons chained in Dragon's Pit so they couldn't leave. In this fight he is on the side of his children so he confronts Reader.

"They are right. You can't be mad at them, you would be a hypocrite because we did the same"

"Can't you see it? That's exactly the problem. We raise them expecting them to be better than us and they make the same mistakes we do."

Your words were like a slap to Aemond.

"Was our marriage a mistake?" he questioned, still unable to believe what you just said. All these years together, and you always thought that way about the two of you?

"Aemond, I love you and you know it, if I didn't love you then I wouldn't have married you." Aemond knew that you weren't lying to him, he could see the love in your eyes, it was impossible to fake that kind of love but even so your words hurt him. "But we were selfish doing it. We knew that sooner or later there would be a war, we knew that our marriages were important because we could get allies for our families but we didn't care… Just like Baelon and Alyssa didn't care about putting at risk our relationship with the North. Now my sweet girl has to pay the consequences!" you burst into tears and Aemond hugged you tightly, it also hurt him to think of Daella going to the North. He sensed that your anger was also related to the future departure of your baby. "We should have sent Alyssa North as soon as she was born!"

Reader and Egg having Daemon's flashbacks when they see Baelon using the sword 😭😭

Anyway anon, I really loved reading your thoughts. I hope to hear from you again soon and that you are well 🥰🥰💖💖

btw, next time you can choose an emoji so I know who you are

[augment-techs]

FINALLY finished Wild Force and, really, Disc 5 was the best disc.

I am honestly SO okay that Merrick got dumped by Shayla and ended up wandering the earth, hooking up with Zen-Aku as an end to their story. She's a professional virgin and he's a bisexual furry. This...fits. Even if Zen-Aku appearing doesn't make a lot of sense.

DANNY X MAX CONFIRMED GAY!! No way you travel the world, probably constantly riding coach, with "just a friend" at this age after saving the world. Also, the picture they took in robes was...kind of telling (the size difference is truly unreal).

Yaaay, Cole got a dog and Taylor got her Eagle Zord. A perfect peace out for these two if there ever was. And no heteronormative romance entanglements in sight!

Alyssa becoming a teacher of small children feels like a cop-out. But damn she fine.

Yes, I cheered for the death of Kite/Animus much like Bret Easton Ellis cheered for the death of J.D. Salinger. And I am not ashamed.

Forever Red!!! FOREVER RED. But especially seeing my favorite duo in the beginning of the episode with Tommy getting ROASTED at the end of it. No I do not care about the Machine Empire or Serpentera, just Reds interacting and trying to one-up other Reds. Still mad about no Rocky, but you can't have everything. *kisses T.J., Carter, Wes, Eric, and Leo on the head* babiiiiiies~

Jindrax being wholesome even while trying to be an actual Org was so endearing I think he's on par with a kitten. He did good deeds, he protected the princess, he slept in garbage, he actually paid for his fishing gear, he rolled off a hill after using another monster as bait, HE PRINCESS CARRIED TOXICA. Jindrax is valid and deserves rights.

Jindrax and Toxica helped the Rangers in the most badass way and they literally ended their character arc WALKING OFF INTO THE SUNSET TOGETHER. Best kind of redemption. I sincerely hope they happily settled down to watch Rangers further down the line just to endlessly be bitchy and heckle them.

There is so much to pick apart from this series, but mostly I am contented by three things: redeemed villain duo, weird bait and switch furry Enemies to Whatever, and Blue/Black Ranger besties that allows me to drag out wholesome tropes for future fic ideas.

[naerys-arryn]

Evil Twin AU Relationship Guide

Naerys & Aemon, the adults in the room. Technically Naerys is older than everyone in the room except Jaehaerys and Alysanne. Aemon is chill for her since she’s surprisingly the least problem inducing of the siblings he’s in charge of. She stays on Dragonstone, she helps him, he keeps her from being thrown into a betrothal she hates, and gives her Viserra happily and they both have the same taste in cocktails. All is good between them.

Baelon & Naerys, we live in the same house. They don’t interact much or at all really. They can sit in silence for two to three hours and consider that the deepest moment they’ve ever shared together which is true.

Naerys & Alyssa, gender role violence. Naerys wants Alyssa to be more ambitious and have more fun, Alyssa wants Naerys to find a husband and have a happily ever after like she will. This im causes problems.

Naerys & Maegelle, the twins themselves. They don’t get along. Naerys hates Maegelle’s lack of ambition and drive, Maegelle hates Naerys’s ambition and drive. They have a constant shadow war going on over who can influence their younger siblings and Maegelle would let Naerys die while Naerys would not let Maegelle if that helps.

Naerys & Vaegon, the smarties. They also fucking hate each other. Vaegon calls Naerys slurs when they take lessons together and she proves to be smarter than him and Naerys wants him dead for constantly insulting her, Daella, Saera, and Aemon. He gets better when he goes to the Citadel and is given what he wants but Naerys will never forget.

Naerys & Daella, my darling girl. Naerys adores herrrrr, Daella is precious and loved and incredibly ignorant of social cues of politeness when it relates to something she doesn’t like and doesn’t want to pretend to like but that’s okay because Naerys will make a big mess to distract from Daella’s rudeness.

Naerys & Saera, please for the love of god don’t do that. Saera admires Naerys and wants to be just like her. However she thinks Naerys used force and threats and screws everyone over to be chill and independent. This backfires. Naerys arranges instead of Saera being sent to a motherhouse or killed to stay with some friends in Lys and then Volantis where Saera is treated well, lives well, and doesn’t have to prostitute herself to survive.

Naerys & Viserra, my child actually. Naerys basically adopts Viserra once she turns twenty and feels capable of taking care of her younger sister who has a burgeoning alcohol addiction and is used to acting out for attention. Viserra hates her for the first two years of being away from her friends and her usual sycophants but Naerys gives her attention, love, and useful skills for the future while respecting Viserra’s autonomy. It’s not perfect, but it’s certainly better than whatever the fuck Alysanne had against 15 year old Viserra.

Naerys & Gael, my sister (niece?). Naerys is not letting Alysanne stay in Dragonstone often mostly because as she points out the Realm needs a queen shouldn’t Alysanne be doing that instead of wallowing over all her mistakes in this island? Gael however is always welcome and she’s able to unwind more under Viserra and Naerys and still becomes enamoured with Brynden Bracken and lives happily. This Gael is more confident although still struggles with her self worth issues.

[countrymusiclover]

26 - Blasts From The Past

Part 27

Family is More than Blood

@secretdreamlandmentality @icefrye19

Salvatore School - current timeline

"I can't believe mom did this to us. Does she not believe we are strong enough to handle this?" Alina snapped, laying back on the couch in front of the fireplace.

Missy was standing by the fireplace. "She had a valid point with you being pregnant."

"Since when has being pregnant in this family ever stopped mom from kicking ass!" She snapped to her twin.

Hope huffed. "Enough both of you. We can be angry with our parents after we rescue them and the Saltzman’s from the prison world."

"How are we even supposed to get there though? Mom took the Ascendant with her, didn't she?" Missy shrugged her shoulders with a questionable look.

The oldest Mikaelson daughter spoke up again. "I took the one that Alyssa created so we’ll just use that one.”

Footsteps came into the room quickly to show the three Mikaelson that it was Andrea. “Hey, Henrik keeps asking what is going on and my parents just saw me checking on Rapunzel and Charming.” She said pointing over her shoulder with her thumb.

“We can’t keep a secret from them I guess. But they’ll have to have us help if they want to know what has happened.” Hope crossed her arms over her chest not backing down.

Suddenly they heard the wind blow into the room and Jaocb and Hayley were standing beside their daughter now. Hayley put a hand on her hip eyeing the future Tribrid. “Oh we believe you, Hope. Now what exactly happened to your Heretic mother and Hybrid father.”

“You don’t know what Kai was like, Hayley. Rae showed me what he did at Jo and Alaric’s wedding. He didn’t care that he stabbed his sister with a knife. He just wanted to be the leader no matter the consequences to others. He’s ruthless.” Our Uncle J explained to his wife.

Missy walked over to the three. “Okay, so let’s do the prison world spell and rescue them.” The front door of the school opened and everyone turned their heads not expecting to have anybody else coming into the room at that moment. Dorian came inside and had someone wearing a light gray suit and tie following behind him.

"Fam, meet - Joshua. Old friend of Ric's. And drumroll, please. He's also an expert on prison worlds. I told him about our problem." Dorian explained with the three Mikaelson’s trying not to give him a concerned face.

The man that had dark almost black hair stepped to Hope who was holding the Ascendant asking and she reluctantly gave it over. "Do you mind if I? Thank you so much. Wow. Wow, wow, wow. It is in pieces. Oh, my…"

He gasped hearing a faint sound from inside. "There's a linking spell on this. It produces a, a faint hum, like a, like a melody, if you, if you know what to listen for."

Andrea leaned in to listen but was confused when he snatched it away from her ear. "You clearly don't. When the Saltzmans performed their spell on-on this ascendant, they were being tied to another. Hold this." But he tossed it towards her chest.

Alina grunted, raising herself from the couch. "So what exactly does that mean we need to do, Mr. Joshua?"

"That witch of yours didn't send them to, you know, a new, empty prison world. She sent them somewhere, somewhere far older and much more dangerous. And you're going to need my help to get them out." Kai turns his head towards the pregnant werewitch clasping his hands together.

Hayley could feel the unspoken tension in the room so she looped her arm through Kai's and began leading him away with Dorian. "Dorian, why don't you show Ric's old friend around a bit while we gather what we need, yeah."

"Sounds good." The clearly compelled human said leading the pair away from the group.

Jacob waited until they weren't in ear shot whispering to his three nieces. "How the hell did he get out but they didn't. We have to tell your mother somehow before things get out of hand here."

"It's not good if he's here." Andrea added on shoving her hands inside the pockets of her jacket. "Do you think he knows that we know?"

Missy gulped nervously. "I hope not. Otherwise we're screwed."

"Look we all know Kai is here and that he's a threat to the school sp this is what we are going to do. Uncle Jacob, you and Hayley make sure he doesn’t do anything to destroy the school. Andrea, we're gonna need your help with the Ascendant and that leaves the rest of us to break the spell and bring everyone home." Hope declared to the group who were all in agreement.

An innocent voice met their ears. "What about me?" Henrik was peeking his head around the corner.

"You little brother have the most important job of all…staying out of trouble and watching your baby brother and sister for us." Alina moved in between her sisters picking up her brother in her arms even though her belly was making it more of a challenge now. "Can you do that for us, Hen?"

He nodded with a smile. "Yeah."

"To bringing the family back." Jacob stuck his hand out and everyone placed their hands on top of his declaring back to him.

"To bringing the family back!"

Raelyn’s pov - prison world

Klaus and I had headed back to the Salvatore house and Josie had gone off to find her father. Kicking opened the front door I stomped through the house not caring if we were being loud. Throwing my hands up in the air I grumbled. "I can't believe I let him get away with the Ascendant. Stupid, stupid, Raelyn. I let my gut down just a wee bit and he double crossed us again!"

"Rae, there's nothing we can do about it now. But I agree that he will get what he deserves when we get out of here." Klaus told me lifting his chin up hearing something in the distance. "Someone else is here."

Whipping my head around I throw some of my hair in my view seeing someone run around the corner revealing Alaric and Josie. Yet Josie was dressed in all black clothing and her eyes were darker than normal. Rushing over to the pair I noticed the familiar dark veins growing on her forehead and her body. "Josie, what the hell happened to you!"

"Someone told me the only way to get us out of here without the Ascendant was to take the black magic." She responded dryly.

"Kai Parker you son of a bitch!" I cursed under my breath until I noticed who was missing. "Wait Where's Lizzie?"

Alaric dropped his shoulders. "We found her on the side of the road in a crashed police car with Sebastian. I patched her wounds but she's resting now."

"Sebastian?" Klaus raised a brow at the former vampire hunter.

Turning my head slightly to my husband I answered. "Has dark hair like Damon but an accent like yours and-"

"And he's a bad boy." Alaric interrupted me.

Klaus nodded. "Ah I see now."

"Someone's here." Josie informed us before I spun around on my feet and saw my eldest daughters standing in front of us.

My daughter asked. "What happened to you?"

Josie told her. "I broke the Sandclock."

She gasped in regret. "Oh, my God, I'm so sorry."

Alaric and Klaus both shared the same confused look seeing us talking to a wall. "Honey, who are you talking to?"

Josie replied. "Hope she's astral-projecting."

Alaric warned her. "Listen, you have to warn her about Kai."

Hope knitted her brows. "Why? What happened?"

"Kai went into the Malivore pit, and we think he's trying to get to the real world." Josie explains.

My daughter bites her lip admitting my worst fear. "Actually, I think he's already here, pretending to be someone else. Kai's at the school….and just to point out mom this wouldn’t have happened if you let us help in the first place."

"Hope Andrea Mikaelson we're not talking about that right now and I stand by the decision I made-"

Alaric cut me off. "Hope? Listen to me, Kai's incredibly dangerous. You have to get him away from the school now."

Josie waved her hand, sending her off, turning back to our group. "Good luck, Hope. We need to do whatever it takes to get out of here."

"Josie, let me take the black magic from you and do the spell." I take her hands in mine eyeing the black veins that were visible, remembering all the trauma that was created when I had the same thing happen to me.

Klaus raised his voice at the mention. "Absolutely not, Raelyn. It could kill you!"

"And it will kill her if I let her do this. I'm not the weak siphon I used to be anymore." Flashing my fangs to my husband I focused my attention back to the girl. "Josie, please. I don't what I would do if I did nothing when I have lived through this myself."

She squeezed my hands walking away to get the things for the spell. "I'm stronger than you think Aunt Raelyn."

"We do the spell." Alaric nodded following after his daughter to check on Lizzie. "And I'll stay behind."

Nik placed a hand on my lower back sensing that I didn’t like the way the plan was going. Slumping my shoulders I ran my fingers through my hair feeling my stomach twisting in knots. “Rae, she’s young and like Josette. She will be able to do this.”

“I know, Nik. I still don’t have to like the idea.” I mumbled reaching down for his hand and he looped his fingers through mine. He squeezed my fingers before we vamped off to find the others and get out of this prison world once and for all.

Missy’s pov - Mystic Falls current timeline

Hope, Alina and I had met back up with Kai leading him into somewhere he believes there was a magical device we needed at. But it was just to keep him away from everyone else. Hope stared at him when he questionably looked around the storage area. “This doesn't seem like much of a spot for a powerful magical artifact.”

I snapped remembering the story of what Bonnie did to him when we were kids. “Neither does a stuffed teddy bear.”

“That's very good.” He chuckled.

Hope explains going over to a crate in search. “Dr. Saltzman hid what we need in one of these crates, so Look for the Salvatore logo.”

“It's a good thing there's not, like, 400 crates in here. Eeny, meeny, miny, crate. When you say Salvatore logo, you mean, like, that thing with the "S" and the squiggle?” Kai chuckles, turning his back to the three of us. Hope raised her hand using her magic, launching a piece of wood toward his back but he stopped it. “And so it begins.”

“Ascendo.” I raised a hand throwing a crate at him but he raised his hand smashing it with magic.

He got to his feet running towards me. “Nice try.” I vamped him against the wall where he grunted until he kicked me in the stomach harshly.

Alina growled, running head toward him and throwing punches at him. He blocked a few of them until she grabbed his wrist chanting a spell to block his powers even though he was a heretic like me. “Phasmatos tribum, exum sue, redem su pas quo-“

“I thought your mother would have taught you better and remember I don’t fight fair.” He grabs her wrist siphoning from her where she lowered herself onto her knees and he pushed her down onto the floor.

Hope snapped her fingers and managed to break one of his knees for a second. “Errox femus.” She then took the chance and kicked his other leg out.

Kai swiped her leg out from under her through. She fell on her knees and kicked his leg again but it was clear that he could have moved away from her advance. “You could have blocked that.” Hope pointed out when he sat upright from the wooden ground.

The psychopath dryly laughed at us. “Yeah, you're right. I-I just wanted you to think you were doing a good job.”

Hope stepped a few steps away from him. “You're not trying to beat me.”

Kai grunted getting to his feet, smirking at the triplets proudly. “Oh, no. No, not for a a few more minutes. Because right now, Alyssa Chang is performing a spell that will sever my connection to the prison world.”

“She can’t do that. She’s not strong enough on her own.” I attempted to remain calm.

He tilted his head to the side. “Yeah you make a good point. Unless I brought over an extra source of magic that would make her have the power of a thousand year old witch.”

“The Hollow….we sent the stake into his prison world, not a new one.” Alina smacked her forehead in regret and I could hear Hope’s heartbeat increasing in fear just the same.

Raising my hand I choked Kai where he grabs his neck even though I couldn’t kill him. “You really are a psychopath if you’re willing to let our mother die. And for what just because you find enjoyment in it. You already took away Josie and Lizzie’s mom.”

“Nobody’s been on my team my whole life, Meli. So forgive me if I don’t see the whole desire to feel bad for what I’ve done.” He clasped his hands together pushing through the pain that I was causing him. “But you should be more concerned with the fate of your mommy since that place was created for me, once she's done…”

“The world will disappear. Along with everyone inside of it.” Hope put the pieces together through a sharp gasp and her heart skipped a beat.

“Oops.” Kai just simply smiled.

Alina waved her hands and shoved him against one of the wooden posts trapping him there with large metal chains. “Remember this Kai Parker. If my mother doesn’t kill you for what you did to our family then mark my word I certainly will!” She stomps up to him grabbing his chin in her freehand flashing her werewolf eyes sounding just like our father.

The three of us quickly rushed back to the school as fast as possible, finding Alyssa sitting in the center of a candle circle and a spell book at the end of her knees. Hope ran forward but she smacked into a barrier spell. “You really are a basic witch.”

I begged the witch not wanting to see our family die because of Kai Parker. “Alyssa, please.”

“I don't want them back. Not now, not ever.” She scoffed.

Alina snapped at her. “If you finish that spell, you'll kill them all. Are you that stupid to believe that nobody would get hurt!”

She mumbled looking away from us. “He didn't say anything about that.”

“Well, think about it. If you sever the connection, the prison world collapses. Everyone in it will die.” Hope lowers herself on a knee trying to talk her out of this idea. “Look, I know that you're angry, and I know that you want to hurt them.But you're not a murder. Trust me, you don't want to be responsible for someone's death. It stays with you. You carry it forever.”

Alyssa stepped away from the Ascendent until the pieces started turning without her doing anything. I gasped seeing a bright flash covering my eyes before I saw Lizzie and Alaric sitting on the floor. “Oh my god. You guys are alright.” Bolting forward I tackled the pair in a bear hug each.

Another flash occurred and we saw our father come back next. He got to his feet rushing to Alina who hugged him tightly. “I’m here, Lina.” He whispered hearing another flash of magic and we saw our mother snap upright with a gasp crying happy tears when she saw we were all there.

“Mom!” Hope flung her arms around her crying for a moment hearing a final flash noticing that it was Josie. The Saltzman girl rose to her feet smiling at our group until all of us embraced each other in a family hug.

Raelyn’s pov

Sliding on one of Nik’s sweatshirt over my head I was so tired from the day we had. Tying my hair up in a messy bun walking through the old storage facility where Alina had informed us they had trapped Kai Parker. “Are you ready to do this, Alaric?”

“It’s time to put an end to our suffering. He took too much from the both of us.” He responded by showing me a metal tall pickaxe in his right hand. He let the end of the blade slide across the ground creating sparks until we reached where Kai was chained up.

Kai sent me a puppy face. “Awe Rae Rae, great I was hoping to see you.”

“You tried to get one of our students to kill us all, you psychopath.” I got in his face harshly grabbing his shoulders and he winced when I used his blood boiling spell against him one final time. “Phasmatos navaro pulsus sanguinox….any last words, cousin?”

Kai gasped when I removed my hands, sighing in relief. “We could have been a good team, you and I…And you won’t be safe after I’m gone.”

“Ric, get it over with.” I stepped backwards, shoving my hands in the loops of my jeans glaring at my cousin. “You are finally getting what you deserve!”

Kai chuckled at Alaric. “Given all we've been through, this feels a little anticlimactic. Don't you think?”

“Not to me. This is for Jo.” Alairc raised the blade behind his head and he swung it, cutting his head off.

Laying on the bed alone in our bedroom I was just resting with my eyes closed. Klaus was downstairs reading to Rapenzal and Charming like he had done with all of our kids when they were babies. Someone knocked on the door and then I opened my eyes seeing it was Alyssa and she closed the door secretly locking it behind her. “Hi Mrs. Mikaelson, I just thought I’d come by and apologize for what I almost did tonight.”

“Uh thanks Alyssa. But it’s really not necessary. It was Kai just being his usual self. Thankfully we won’t have to deal with him anymore.” Sliding to the edge of the bed with my legs hanging over the side.

She crossed the room holding something behind her back until she was standing so close I could almost fall back onto the mattress. “Speaking of Kai he asked me to give you a message with this…” She revealed the white oak stake from behind her back pushing me down onto the bed.

“Urgh Alyssa!” I groaned holding the tip of the stake with my hands while she tightly held the top end just to the side of my heart. “What are you doing?”

The young witch pushed the tip of the stake into my chest where I grunted in some pain. She gripped her nails into the stake and I gasped for air seeing her eyes turn bright blue reminding me of the Hollow. “The Hollow wants you to suffer. Louvre, louvre animo. Pemet you accesses…Dedisco.”

I kicked the witch in the gut and she fell onto the floor giving me the chance to grab the stake in my hands. Standing above her I gasped feeling my wound healing slowly still in shock. “What the hell was that for, Alyssa!”

“It doesn’t matter. I just want you to answer one question.” She scrambled to her feet standing away from me and her eyes returned to their normal color. “Who is Klaus Mikaelson?”

Knitting my brows I started to answer her but paused thinking really hard about that name. Yet nothing was coming back to my memory so I had no choice but to reply with the response. “I’ve never heard that name before in my life. I don’t remember anyone named Klaus Mikaelson.”

Comments really appreciated ❤️

[booksrbetterthanpeople]

Everything is the same except Marc’s the antichrist. The donor Alyssa and Penny found for Marc turned out to be… You guessed it! The Devil

Strange events seemed to happen around Marc when he was born

The lights flickered, he projectile vomited on the Doctor, he’s got a 666 birthmark on the back of his head, thirteen birds fell out of the sky all at once, and a nurse spilled a blood bag that formed a skull and crossbones

The nurses practically begged Alyssa and Penny to take Marc home after looking him over to make sure everything was okay

Then the hospital burned down a week later

Alyssa/Penny: …

Penny: … So, we maybe should have met the father before we made our final decision.

Alyssa: *Gestures to two y/o Marc crawling on the ceiling* You think?

They still love their little demon baby. They just sleep with one eye open at all times

All of Marc’s homeroom teachers died of mysterious circumstances

Mme. Mendeleiv is the only one to survive

When Marc gets angry, his skin catches on fire and birds suddenly fall out of the sky

No, he’s not going into politics. He just wants to create horrifying comics with his boyfriend and eat souls

—

Marc: *Head rotates as he talks in reverse* slatrom eid, epoh lla esol, gniyd si esrevinu eht!

Nathaniel: He’s so pretty.

Alix: 😨

—

Kim: There’s only one way to prove Marc is the antichrist!

Max: How?

Kim: Through science! *Pulls out a crossbow* If I shoot him, and he lives, he’s the antichrist.

—

Louis: *Talking shit about Nathaniel*

Marc: *Horns spurt from his head* Speak such a way of my boyfriend and I will devour your mortal soul!

*Later*

Nathaniel: Rainbow, have you noticed Louis has been quiet?

Marc: Gosh, I wonder why. *Wipes some blood off of his cheek*

—

Simon: Did it just get colder in here?

Marc: *Walks into the classroom* Morning.

Simon: That explains it.

—

Marc: You… Are by far the most evil creature I have ever met.

Austin A: Aaw! Thank you.

Marc: Give me your soul.

Austin A: I want your soul.

Marc: No! You can’t have my soul! *Tries to suck out Austin A’s soul, but he slaps him across the face* Keep your stupid soul!

Marc and Simon get along well, actually. Yes, he’s Catholic and his friend/classmate is the literal spawn of Satan, but they’re still tight

Nathaniel is one of the very few people able to reign Marc in when he tries to steal someone’s soul out of the blue

Marc: *Sucking out Lila’s soul*

Nathaniel: Marc…

Marc: But-

Nathaniel: No.

Marc: Fine.

Kiran is fully humanly because Alyssa and Penny found a new donor because one demon child is enough

*Marc meeting his dad for the first time*

Devil: *Rides up to DuPont on a motorcycle and chugs some soda before tossing it behind him, resulting in an explosion* Come to your father, Damian! *Makes a ring of fire appear around Marc*

Marc: Uh… Who?

Devil: Huh. Not getting a Damian vibe.

Nathaniel: Rainbow, who is this?

Devil: This your boyfriend? *Marc nods* The future is here and queer! I support and believe in you.

[floralovebot]

Ok I’m sorry if you’ve already answered this before but I saw some of your older posts talking about your headcanons regarding Helia’s Dynamic with Miele as well as Flora’s dynamic with Saladin and they were just so wholesome! I’m just a sucker for wholesome (future) in-law dynamics. So anyway, it made me wonder if you had any thoughts or headcanons on Helia’s dynamic/relationship with Flora’s parents, Rhodos and Alyssa. Its already a crime that we don’t get to see Flora’s family that much in canon (not to mention her parents don’t get introduced until season 6/7 of all things). Its an even bigger crime that we get practically zero interactions between Helia and Flora’s parents in canon (from what I remember). Like at least between him and Miele, we get a little something in the comics, but NOTHING with Rhodos and Alyssa! So yeah, I’d like to hear your thoughts

AHHHHHHHHHH OBSESSED

i have mentioned this before (teehee)! but it's not suuuper fleshed out so i'm taking advantage of your ask to talk about helia more ajdgkdag

you're so right it's an Absolute Crime that we didn't get to see her parents till the later seasons (and we don't even know if they're what rainbow/iginio originally intended her parents to be like either), but i actually really like her parents! rhodos being So Goofy and making a bunch of puns?? AMAZING also fully obsessed with both flora and her mother having strangling vines that grab everyone like we really see where flora gets it from aldhgjlg

anyway, with how friendly they both are, i think they would fully adore helia! especially since flora probably talks about him a lot or at the very least doesn't hide that she's in a relationship, i think they would end up knowing a lot more about him than he realizes ajhdgl i definitely don't think it would take till s7 for them to properly meet though! i can see flora officially introducing him near the end of s3 or sometime in s5 (considering the earth gap year)!

but Anyway, headcanons!!

rhodos and alyssa are absolutely devasted that helia has next to zero knowledge about plants and plant care, so rhodos takes it upon himself to teach helia every single time he visits

rhodos is also very excited to say every single pun/joke about plants he knows since he figures helia hasn't heard them yet (helia: takes one step outside - rhodos: well, I can't WHEAT to see you again ;;;;))

in ep6 it shows them taking care of the magiwolves and since i also hc that helia has some good medical knowledge, i like to think that he'd be able to impress them with that! i can see them comparing notes and maybe even asking for help with other animals!

in the comics, they mention that flora and helia played together when they were kids and i hc that it was actually alyssa who remembered him and told them!

rhodos is way too friendly and cheerfully tells helia that he can call him dad if he wants to. helia's too nervous to tell him he thinks that's weird as hell ajdgl

helia still calls them mr. rhodos and mrs. alyssa decades after meeting them aladhg

i mentioned in the miele post that she would eventually ask to know when he's going on missions, and i think after a couple years (probably around s7 time), rhodos and alyssa would also ask for that information. timmy helps him make a little timetable that he can just fill out and they can access whenever

i think i mentioned it in the first post but they absolutely try to subtly drop hints that they're okay with florelia getting married aldghl (they're not subtle At All but they're trying okay alhdgl)

helia would definitely be a little awkward and nervous around them at first, even more so after experiencing how nice they are to him. i can see him feeling like he doesn't deserve it or like he needs to earn their respect. that would last for a couple of years but eventually he would have a moment where it just kind of clicks that they literally don't care what he does as long as he treats flora with respect and love.

after that, he would randomly get a lot more comfortable with them and they get excited because they think it means florelia are getting married or something ajdhgl

[destinedfordiaperstories]

Sammy's Little Problem, Chapter 15

Chapter Fourteen here.

It took a second for Sammy to comprehend how huge Littles’R’Us actually was when they pulled into the parking lot. It made Costco seem small by comparison. This wasn’t going to be a quick trip.

Sammy took a deep breath, trying to not feel so overwhelmed. She couldn’t help but notice Allie was treating her much more like a Little than ever before. Movie night now felt like a lifetime ago. She still didn’t feel like a Little. She felt the same as she did the day she received the news.

Just…with much less bathroom control. And did get a bit sleepier around midday and around 8 PM, and, she had to admit, did have to work harder than usual to not be emotionally overwhelmed. But still, adjusting to being treated like a Little was harder than she expected.

“You ready, Sammy?”

“Do I have a choice?”

Alyssa laughed, “well I guess not, no. But I want you to stay close to me, this store is huge and I don’t want you getting lost, okay? I want you to hold my hand or the cart at all times.”

“I’m not a baby,” Sammy huffed.

“I never said you were, Sammy. I just don’t want you getting lost. What would you do if you got lost? You don’t have the keys to the car. You don’t have a cellphone to call me. What would you do?”

“Well, I would have my cell phone if you didn’t take it away!” Sammy retorted.

“We went over this, Sammy,” Alyssa said sternly, “you don’t need a cellphone like you had. We can get you one designed for Littles in the future, but I don’t want you surfing the web and getting into trouble.”

Sammy stuck her tongue out Allie before she realized she was doing it. Her face flushed with embarrassment.

“Well, that is a great point there, Sammy!” Allie laughed, “now can you hold my hand?”

Sammy did. They walked into the store. It was hard to fathom how large it was. There seemed to be endless rows of Little’s products of all levels. It was so big, Alyssa grabbed a map before heading to the counter.

“Hello,” the woman at the counter said nicely, “how can I help you today?”

“We’re here to get everything set up for my new Little, Sammy,” Alyssa responded.

“What a cutie!” the woman said looking down at Sammy, “the first trip is always so exciting! You get to pick out everything your heart desires, little one!”

Sammy couldn’t bring herself to respond. Instead, she hid behind Alyssa in embarrassment.

“She’s still a bit shy,” Alyssa acknowledged.

“Well, that’s perfectly fine!,” she said to Sammy before turning back to Alyssa, “I can get you set up, did you bring the paperwork from the Littles Registration Office?”

“Yep, right here.”

“Perfect. Okay. So I see Sammy here is a Level Two Little. Most of the L2 supplies are down towards the back. Just head straight down and you can’t miss it. You’ll find the diaper aisle on the way, as well as any of the products that are appropriate for both L1s and L2s, such as bottles, sippy cups, and diaper bags.”

“Great,” Alyssa replied, “but these shopping carts don’t seem big enough to carry everything, though.”

“Whoops, I almost forgot! You’ll use this scanner here to select any of the bigger items you’d want. We offer same day delivery and installation if you finish before noon, which gives you three and a half hours, plenty of time. For things like diapers, you can put some in your cart, but the rest you can scan in and we’ll delivery them along with any furniture. And everything you scan will be added up and once you get to the checkout, the government rebate will automatically deduct from the total and you can pay the difference, if any, there.”

“Thank you so much,” Alyssa says as the woman gives her the scanner, “I think we can figure it out from here!”

Alyssa grabs a cart. “Okay, Sammy, you ready to start?”

“I-I guess,” Sammy whimpers.

Unsurprisingly, the diaper section is huge. There are diapers of every size, thickness, color, interest.

“It look’s like the L2 diapers are a few rows down,” Allie says, consulting the map.

“What’s the difference between L1 and L2 diapers, Allie?”

“Well, L1s and L2s have different needs. Remember, L1s aren’t able to walk or talk, so their diapers need to be different than for L2s. L1 diapers are way thicker since they don’t need to worry about walking. They’re so cute though. I’m sure we could get you some!”

“Sammy laughs nervously, “I think that’s okay, Allie.”

“Well, if you change your mind, let me know!”

They get to the L2 diaper aisles. Sammy sees there are three sections: Daytime Diapers, Nighttime Diapers, and Swim Diapers. Each design had a diaper on display, to let the Littles get a better idea of each design.

“Okay, lets start with daytime diapers,” Allie says, “which ones do you like best, Sammy?”

Sammy’s stomach sank at the question. This made it feel so real. She was going to pick out the diapers she’d wear for the rest of her life.

“I-I don’t know,” Sammy whispers.

Allie pulls Sammy in for a hug. “It’s a lot, I understand, Sammy. But would you rather have me pick out boring, ugly diapers? If you’re going to wear them anyway, you might as choose the ones that match your style!”

Sammy doubted diapers would ever match anyone’s “style,” especially not hers. As she looked around, she definitely didn’t think anyone of these diapers would do that. All of them were in sickening pastel colors or complete with babyish cartoon patterns on them. She started walking down the aisle, seeing her options.

“Look at this one, Sammy!” Allie encouraged, “these one’s have astronauts and these one’s have rockets on them!”

Alyssa knew it was a mistake as soon as she said it. Sure, they did make the most sense for Sammy, but maybe it was still a bit too soon for Sammy to want them.

Sammy teared up almost immediately. It was one thing to go from an adult to a Little, but going from potentially being a rocket scientist, to wearing rockets on her diaper was just too much. Tears welled in Sammy’s eyes.

“I’m sorry, Sammy, I should have known that was a stupid suggestion! I didn’t mean to upset you!”

“It’s not fair!” Sammy whined, “I don’t want to wear diapers with rockets on them, I want to work on rockets! I want to go home!”

Alyssa kicked herself. She should know how to not set off her own Little’s tantrums, even if this was so new. “Sammy, please, everything is okay. Come here.”

“No!” Sammy shrilled defiantly, stomping her feet, “I won’t do it! I won’t choose a diaper! I won’t be a Little! I won’t I won’t I won’t!”

Sammy’s screams echoed across the store, drawing sympathetic looks from other Caregivers. Alyssa stood there, unsure how to help Sammy.

“It’s okay you’re upset, Sammy. It’s okay to be angry. I know you don’t want to be wearing diapers. These are big emotions, it’s perfectly fine to feel them. But right now you need to choose some, okay? It’s not up for debate.”

Sammy looked mutinous. “I’m not a baby! You can’t make me!”

Alyssa sighed. “Sammy, now is not the time for screaming. I understand you’re frustrated, honey. But you need to calm down and explain to me how you’re feeling, alright? You cannot scream like this in public. Can you take a deep breath for me, Sammy?”

It took a few more stomps, but eventually Sammy gave in and took a deep breath.

“Thank you, Sammy. You’re doing great. Now let all your anger and frustration out as you breathe out, okay? Nice job. One more time. Good girl, Sammy. Now, can you tell me how you’re feeling?”

Sammy took a few steadying breaths. As she did, she felt herself calm down, regaining the clarity she had before. “I-I’m sorry, Allie! Sometimes it feels like I lose control and just want to cry and scream, I don’t know w-what’s happening to me.”

“I understand, Sammy, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed, isn’t it?”

“Yeah.”

“But we can’t yell and scream when that happens, can we? We need to talk about our feelings before they explode, okay?”

“Y-you’re right, Allie.”

“You have nothing to apologize for, Sammy. Just promise when you start to feel overwhelmed, you’ll tell me, okay?”

“Okay…”

“Thank you, Sammy. That’s very mature of you. Now, can you help me choose some diapers?”

“Yeah, I can, Allie,” Sammy says, looking back at the rocket ship diapers, “I actually do want them, Allie. I want to see them so I’ll always remember my goal, to be the first Little rocket scientist ever!"

Go to Chapter Sixteen.

[dream-beyond-the-fantasy]

Prompt-oween Day 13

@occreatorexchange

Prompt:  “Why did you buy so many pumpkins?” “So I can practice carving! It has to be perfect this year!”

Fandom: The Karate Kid/Cobra Kai

Characters: Jimmy, OC Alyssa Morgan-Parker

Rating: G

Word Count: 453

Summary: Alyssa walks in on Jimmy preparing to carve pumpkins.

@far-shores

Alyssa walks into the kitchen, planning to grab something to drink.  She sees rows of mid-sized to large pumpkins on the island countertop.  She stops and stares.

“Hey, sweetheart,” Jimmy comes up behind her.  “Can I help you with anything?”

She ignores his question.  Alyssa gestures to the pumpkins.  “Why did you buy so many pumpkins?  Surely, we’re not going to be eating pumpkins for every meal this fall.  We’ll get sick of them.  And I don’t even think they’ll be good after a few days.”

Jimmy sits down on one of the island’s barstools.  “Oh, these pumpkins aren’t for eating.  Well, I’m sure we can salvage the pulp for a few recipes.  But I bought these so I can practice carving!”  He picks up some carving tools for emphasis.

Alyssa scrunches her nose.  “I still don’t see why you need so many.  I mean, you’ve got two or three times as many pumpkins as there are people in this house.”

Jimmy glances at her.  “Oh, that’s right.  You don’t know about our neighborhood Halloween bash.”

She raises her eyebrow.

“Every Halloween we have a neighborhood block party.  We can keep the kids in the neighborhood, so we know they are safe when trick-or-treating.  There are costume contests, games, and a pumpkin carving competition.”

“Okay, so that’s what this is about.”

Jimmy nods.  “I need to work on my technique.  I’ve been reading up and looking at different designs in preparation.  It has to be perfect this year!  I’m tired of coming in second or third.”

Alyssa walks over to the fridge, shaking her head.  She grabs a protein drink out then returns to Jimmy.  “Aren’t you, the parent, supposed to tell me that winning isn’t everything?  And that perfection isn’t real, so why keep trying to achieve it?”  Alyssa opens the bottle, taking a sip.

Jimmy twists on the stool to face her.  His eyes are narrowed in suspicion.  “Have you been talking to Bobby?”

Alyssa chokes.

Jimmy’s expression morphs into concern.  He jumps off the stool, rounding the corner of the island.  “Alyssa?”

She continues to cough.  Alyssa’s eyes water.  Her free hand fans her face.

Jimmy takes the bottle from her, setting it on the countertop.  He guides her to lean against the countertop.  “You’re going to be okay.  Keep coughing.  It’s the body’s way of clearing your airway.  You’re going to be fine.  I’m here.  And if it comes to it, I know how to do the Heimlich.”

Alyssa recovers, taking deep breaths.  Jimmy strokes her hair.

“Better?”

She nods.  “For future reference,” she rasps, “if I’m drinking something, don’t make me laugh.”

“Noted,” Jimmy says.  “Now, why don’t you sit down and help me decide what to carve?”

[addamvelaryon]

What are your fave House Velaryon headcanons? or some things you wish to see in the books?

Ohmygod, I keep forgetting to answer this ask.

I have A LOT of favourite headcanons, some are extrapolated from canon and others are just things I want to be true. Tbh, some of these ideas I’ve thought about for too long, in this past decade of being a house Velaryon fan, so you might have to do some mental gymnastics to keep up. 😂😂

- House Velaryon was founded by a bastard. This the ultimate truth to me. Bastardy is so deeply ingrained into their family tree, with 8 bastards being associated with them (so far!), that if the family founder turns out to be anything but a bastard, I will be both surprised and disappointed.

- Speaking of the family founder, this person was a twin. Both Alyn & Laena have twins, and these two are integral to the theme of family legacy that’s relevant to house Velaryon, so I feel that it should apply to the og Velaryon as well. Either a twin or had twin children.

- Regarding this twin sibling, that person founded house Lowther in the Reach. Their house colours completely match house Velaryon + sea themed sigil (dolphin). Of Laena’s twins, Baela resided at Driftmark in the Crownlands but Rhaena went to the Reach. Of Alyn’s twins, we don’t know what happened to Jeyne (my guess is she relocated to the Reach) but Jon founded a new house in the Crownlands. Since GRRM has a tendency to “recycle” the core details for these Westerosi families, I’m just combining these ideas to come to this conclusion.

- There is a whole venn diagram that exists only in my mind of the narrative parallels in the relationships between Corlys/Daemon/Alyn & the various women in their lives. It’s all connected. GRRM told me so himself.

- The Velaryon seat was said to be given to them by the Merling King. As far as I’m concerned, the og Velaryon either fucked the Merling King, a child of the Merling King, or is a child of the Merling King. Any of these scenarios is okay with me.

- Speaking of the Merling King, he is said to have green hair. So I like to imagine that some Velaryons, along with other people living around the Narrow Sea, have a tendency to dye their hair green to some degree.

- All Velaryons have ear piercings. It’s a rite of passage in the family to do this. I love this headcanon because sailors in the real world were also known for piercing their ears.

- Monford’s wife is a lady of house Celtigar. So Ardrian Celtigar is actually his father in law. 🦀

- Alyssa & Daemon had a contentious sibling relationship.

- All of Corlys’ children are lgbt. 🤗

- Alyn died/went missing after he ventured into the Shivering Sea (the one place even Corlys dared not visit).

- Addam didn’t actually die at Tumbleton. That was just a lie Benji told the world. Instead, Addam was at the Isle of Faces for those 8 years his body was missing.

- Going off the official art, Alyn originally had short hair but then started growing it out longer. Whereas, Addam has hair below shoulder length. So I like to believe that Alyn grew his hair long in memory of his brother.

- Daemon was married to a Corbray and his son, Corwyn, was married to a Blackwood.

- Aurane is going to fight Euron in a sea battle in TWOW. This is the reason why GRRM never went through with the Alyn vs Dalton battle, in Fire & Blood, since their descendants are meant to fulfill that.

- Alyn’s flagship for the Second Conquest of Dorne is named for Daenaera (since she is the mother of Daeron the Young Dragon).

- The last of Alyn’s 6 flagships was named for Princess Elaena.

- Laena (daughter of Alyn) is the namesake of Laena Penrose (daughter of Elaena).

- This Laena became the future Lady of Driftmark after her brother(s) died (see below) and also raised her half-siblings, Jon & Jeyne.

- The second child born to Alyn & Baela was a boy and he was named after Corlys. He eventually dies without leaving behind any children (unlike the man he was named for who was very concerned with having descendants).

- Alyn & Baela named their youngest son Addam (after his uncle 🥰). This Addam died in the Second Conquest of Dorne just like the og Addam died in the Second Battle of Tumbleton.

- Alyn’s bastard son with Elaena was named Jon for his maternal grandfather (just like Alyn wanted to name his son with Baela after his paternal grandfather, Corlys). And then Jon’s twin sister is named Jeyne to match.

- House Velaryon supported Daemon Blackfyre.

[umichenginabroad]

Week 12: Sevilla Weekend and Program Perks

Greetings! After a couple of months of seemingly endless cold and surprisingly rainy weather here in Madrid, summer is beginning to show in the city. It's been such a nice change: I spent a lot more time outside the past couple of weeks, and this week is looking even warmer (around 70 and sunny!).

This past weekend, CEA Capa, the study abroad program Michigan works through for UC3M, hosted one of their "Sevilla weekends". They paid for transportation there, housing, and several tours.

Although, we spent some time exploring the city and in the Alcazar, we mostly took advantage of the incredibly nice weather to walk around, swim, and spend time outside.

CEA Capa actually provides a wide range of activities that are included in the program cost. Already, I've taken a flamenco class and seen a flamenco show, and taken cooking lessons on traditional Spanish cuisine. In addition to this, they provide day trips to Segovia and Toledo, cities just outside of Madrid. I've had a lot of fun doing these activities so far, and would definitely encourage any future students to take advantage of these opportunities to go.

What's next:

I have an exam tomorrow morning for my Aerospace Controls class. I feel pretty okay on the material, but definitely need to study more tonight. Additionally, I spent this weekend in Mallorca for a friend's birthday. Stay tuned for the next blog to hear all about it!

Alyssa Cheslek

Aerospace Engineering

IPE Universidad Carlos III de Madrid

Madrid, Spain