#this is nick dad they alike

[veone]

weed vs coke

[space-matt]

dad!matt or dad!chris fic

a day with daddy

dad!matt.sturniolo x fem.reader

summary: what do you want more from life when you can spend a whole day with your favorites girls?

author’s note: I really hope that you’ll like it! if you all want I can make a Chris’s version ♡

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English is not my first language, if you see grammar and typing mistakes, I apologize in advance! I just ask you not to be rude to me ♡

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revised

The long-awaited moment had finally arrived: a day with dad

Matt has decided to dedicate a day every week to spend with his two daughters, whom he considers his little princesses. When he received the news of their birth from the gynecologist, he was so ecstatic that he jumped all over the room. He immediately shared the news with his brothers, Chris and Nick, and even shed a few tears of joy.

When they were born, he was so enchanted by their presence that he didn't leave them alone for a single moment. He wanted to be with them as much as possible, which led to the idea of dedicating a day to them so that you could rest.

In the morning, he woke up early to prepare breakfast for everyone.

After finishing his morning routine, the man heads to the twin room to wake up his daughters. He sits on the bed and admires them, still in disbelief that they are his own flesh and blood. Slowly, Lola, the older twin by 20 seconds, opens her eyes and sees her father in front of her. She jumps into his arms, screaming "Daddy!" loudly enough to wake up her little sister Daisy. Daisy then wakes up and greets her father with a cheerful "Good morning, Daddy!"

He held both in his arms and gave each of them a kiss on the cheek before enter into your room. As he whispered, "Mom is still sleeping, are we going to wake her?" in a joking manner, they immediately understood with a nod and stepped out of his arms, and then screamed as they ran towards your room.

''Mummy, wake up! It's morning!!" with one click, you take them both and start tickling them, their weak point, causing the room to fill with their laughter. In the meantime, you look up and notice Matt standing on the door frame with a broad smile on his face, all thirty-two teeth showing as he looks at you. "Okay, okay, we've bothered Mom enough, now everyone has to have breakfast" he says, attracting the attention of the girls who immediately follow him like a train.

After finishing, you change into comfortable clothes and settle down on the sofa to continue watching your favorite series, which you had paused for a couple of weeks while Matt was occupied with dressing the two young ones. Suddenly, all three of them appear in front of you dressed alike, thanks to Matt's idea. You couldn't resist taking a picture to capture the adorable moment.

The morning continued after greeting you. Despite the cold, the sun sprang up, allowing you to enjoy the day as they headed towards the park.

As they walked, Matt held the hands of the little ones firmly in his own. When they reached their destination, the children spotted their cousins near the slide and ran towards them. Meanwhile, Matt approached his brother Chris.

"Did they drag you out of bed?" asked Matt with a sarcastic smile, as Chris glared at him. "Yes... I wanted to sleep a bit more, but I would do anything for them" Chris replied, turning his head towards the direction of the people who woke him up.

It was lunchtime, so they decided to walk home and then drive to McDonald's, which was the girls' favorite place. After placing their order, they enjoyed their meal at a leisurely pace, and finished it off with some ice cream.

In the meantime, you finished watching a series with an unexpected ending. Not wanting to get bored, you decided to tidy up the house, so that you could later take a nice warm bath with music in the background.

This was something you needed, as you had neglected your mental health due to all the paperwork you had to do. Thanks to these days designed by Matt, you had the opportunity to recharge your energy.

Matt and his daughters were back in the car, with their favorite songs playing at full volume. Thanks to your musical recommendations, your daughters had become obsessed with your favorite singer. Even Matt, who was initially skeptical, began to appreciate the music so much that he started humming some of the refrains and tapping his fingers on the steering wheel.

Upon arriving home, the twins eagerly ran towards you, showering you with hugs. Meanwhile, Matt collapsed onto the sofa to rest for a moment. However, a couple of hours later, he was awakened by a delightful aroma wafting from the kitchen.

"Hey babe, why didn't you wake me up? You know you don't have to do anything" Matt says with a sleepy look as he approaches you to give you a kiss. "You seemed more tired than me" you laugh, "So I let you rest a little." you continue to stir the ladle in the pan and he asks "Where are the girls?" to which you reply, "They're in their room coloring."

Matt decided to take a quick shower before dinner so that he could freshen up. Dinner ended early because the girls were excited to see the new Disney movie.

The evening ended in the best way possible - the four of you huddled together in bed with smiles on your faces.

[thankchaosforspellcheck]

Rise/2012 crossover where Leon & Donnie get transported to the 2012 dimension (thanks Donnie) & have to survive there for a bit until they can get back home.

Donnie obviously has to focus on the actual "getting home" bit, so it's up to Leon assure the whole "survival" thing.

At first he's just doing odd-jobs under the table thanks to the use of a cloaking broach he nicked off of Big Mama a while back, but eventually he stumbles upon a movie shoot for the "Chris Bradford" action movie franchise.

It isn't going particularly well, since the look-alike the director hired in place of the mysteriously vanished Bradford just isn't up to snuff martial arts-wise. In the end, the look-alike storms off set after declaring his intent to quit which sends the crew into a panic.

Leon, ever hankering for his 5 minutes of fame, is quick to introduce himself & assure his experience as a martial artist (slightly exaggerated, but he's been mimicking his dad's movies for years, if there's anything he knows how to do, it's how to make his moves look good for the camera).

The director only really gives him a chance out of desperation, but once he sees Leon's demonstrations on film, he's instantly hooked.

The movie changes from being about "Chris Bradford" to being about his "disciple" though the movie itself is really only using that as a loose tie-in to draw a bigger crowd.

Leon brags to Donnie about his new-found stardom, but he's not actually expecting anything to come from it.

In fact, he & Donnie only stay in the dimension long enough for him to finish filming before he bids the case & crew adieu.

So he completely missed the fact that it's an INSTANT SMASH-HIT

The Director & crew (who were NOT expecting this, the just wanted to milk what they could from a dying movie franchise) are desperate to find their new golden goose, the gossip rags are fighting for information about this mysterious up-and-coming star...

and the original, very much still alive Chris Bradford (currently known has Rahzar)?

Yeah, he is NOT happy about someone stealing his legacy out from under him.

and he's out for blood.

[fucksurass]

Redraw of my oc look look look hes so so DUMB

Lines to no lines. Stubby to less stubby. Circles to fingers. I love how my art just randomly changed one day bc I was experimenting with my style. L-look at it please.

More about Norman Nick Nasher under the fucking cut⬇⬇

Norman is a totally normal boy with a completely normal family. Hes an only child so its just him, his mom and dad. They love him dearly and try their best to raise him correctly. Normal right? The only thing not normal about his family is him which is weird because his name is "Normal" with an N instead of an L. Yeah I lied when I said he was normal.

Norman has a little frog under his hat named Froggo. He loves reptiles a lot but loves frogs the most which is why his hat resembles a lilly pad. He will not believe frogs are not reptiles and no matter how many facts you throw at him he will likely call you gay at the end of it. If he likes you he will talk endlessly about frogs and/or reptiles and he wont stop unless something trivial catches his attention. If he doesnt like you he quite literally will not speak to you at all.

Craig. Doesnt he look like Craig? He doesnt know who Craig is. He has no idea who the guy is which makes you wonder why Craig doesnt like him. They met each other one day and Norman would not stop asking who Craig was. It was- Just imagine this:

"Hey."

"Hi. Who are you?"

"Im Craig."

"Who?"

"Craig."

"Whos Craig."

"Me? I just told-"

"Craig... I have no idea who Craig is."

"Craig is ME."

"My name is Norman. Whos Craig?"

"Dude. Im Craig..."

"Oh. Wanna see my frog?"

"Not really."

"What?! Frogs are cool what-"

"Look I just need you to understand who Craig is. I am Cra-"

"No I dont. Could you tell me who he is? People keep saying I look like him."

"We look nothing alike. Look my name is-"

"Anyway about frogs did you know that [insert very long paragraph on frogs]?"

"Shut up, Norman. Stop talking."

"You must not like frogs... Weirdo."

"No I dont have anything against frogs I- Im leaving."

Would you hate Norman too?

Norman knows he is gay. He is fully aware and uses that to his advantage. He will call anything gay and anyone a fag. He will not stop. Oh youre on your phone too much? Thats gay. You like men? Thats gay. You study for an exam? Thats gay. Youre depressed and in need of a hug? Fag. Why he does this? Scientists have yet to figure it out. Now Norman is in fact in a relationship. Who is he dating? Some kid named Chris. To see gay art of them look into their blog @normris wanna see me cry of yippe? Follow it peas. (And thats how you sell a product)

What is Normans favorite food? Oh its just the most delicious meal ever. Broccoli. Just loves it so so much. Why? No one knows. As far as his parents know they accidentally deprived him vegetables trying to keep him happy. Norman was a quiet baby and they thought he was sad so they spoiled him. He was not sad. He just had beef with his parents because he was shaken up in the womb. Anyway about broccoli!!!! He loves the stuff. He eats it as a snack, for every meal, even just randomly takes some out of his pocket and chows down. His boyfriend recalls the time he pulled out a pack of frozen broccoli while they were coloring together.

Our last unsettling fact about Norman is that he doesnt like the bible. No this is not because his parents are atheists. Its because they encourage him to believe in anything he wants. Because of his he believes in a frog god. Why does he hate the bible? Because it, and I quote, "made the snake a bad guy. Snakes are cool maybe he just wanted eve to be healthy. The bible is gay."

The end. (If you got this far I have a lollipop for you 🍭)

[destinygoldenstar]

☀️The Brunch Of Trauma☀️ - Total Drama Viewer Reacts to Disventure Camp Season 1 Episode 5 “Baking My Heart”

...last time on Disventure Camp I screwed over Nick and caused his elimination because I put him in the heading.

DON'T WORRY, I'M NOT CAUSING JAKE'S ELIMINATION THIS EPISODE. (I hope)

I'm pretty certain it's not him this episode. He's not a target for anybody, at least for now. That and I think it's gonna be Lilly this episode, so...

Yeah. I'm playing my heading card smart this time. King deserves it from last episode.

...oh god what if I DID cause his elimination?

"Goddammit Golden! Why'd you put me in the heading, huh?!"

Alright, let us continue with our journey!

OMG THE PHONE! I FORGOT

PLEEEAAASSEE tell me they take advantage of this!

ALSO, not even a second into the episode and I already caught the fruity boy staring at a certain someone.

YES THEY'RE CALLING! I'm excited!

"Dad! It's me! How are you?"

"Fine, I guess... what do you want?"

Oh he does not sound thrilled.

"Are you taking care of my plants? How are my cats my little birds my fireflies my spiders my iguanas my fish and my crabs?"

GEEZ THAT'S A LOT

I mean I'm not surprised Gabby has a whole zoo at her house. Sounds in character.

Girl has more pets than my own partner.

"Yes... everything you just said is fine... no need to rush home."

Okay, so Gabby having a neglectful family that is annoyed by her existence is canon.

"Do you want to meet my new friends?"

"I have to go attend some business. Bye."

YOU DON'T DESERVE GABBY SIR

Girlie, here you go

"Hi Gretchen! How's it going out there?"

Gretchen? I mean I guess it makes sense she has a nickname, but I just liked saying Grett.

"Did you know that your brother won the football championship? I'm so proud of him sweetie!"

"Guess what's happening today? Your brother's getting a certificate of honor for his high grades in university."

"What does that matter?!"

"I'm just so happy that someone in this family is actually successful!"

OH MY GOD.

I'm actually hurt for Grett.

I would say "Yes, Grett characterization, let's go queen!" But my gosh I feel so bad for her.

I'm so happy we actually get a motive for her now. I knew I could stan her!

'Grett: Overthrow family disappointment'

Add that to the list of motives I made in Episode 4.

"You making a call Tom?"

"Oh... I don't think so, my family isn't home."

Tom... do you have a family? Cause it sounds like you don't.

And that's really sad to hear.

"Is mom home?"

"Oh, they're not here, they went shopping."

WHAT ARE ALL THESE PHONE CALLS?!

Why does everyone have such neglectful families?!

"I'm just... I'm fed up."

Aw, Grett...

"From what?"

"My mom can't go a single day without mentioning my stupid brother!"

"Well, you're not the only one who feels left out in your family..."

Bonding?

I'm loving this scene.

"SHUT UP! You and I are nothing alike! Don't call me friend. We are not friends, and we never will be!"

"Okay, calm down!"

"Just leave me alone!"

Ouch... I do see Grett's POV though. Yeah she's awful, but I guess in her mind she's so inferior to her sibling that she feels the need to be dirty with her tactics.

"We should've listened to Will."

YA THINK?!

If Lilly really is the one gone this episode, you're all alone Ashley. You gotta step up for them!

"Don't give up Lill! It's not over till the rooster crows!"

I like her, she's such an optomist.

"Do you want to go first?"

"I have no one to call."

...what?

No one?

You don't have a spouse? Kids? Grandkids? No one?

"Quit being a nosy brat!"

Lady, he was being a gentlemen and offering you to go first!

Where you pulling this 'brat' shit from?

"Fine, I'll go!"

And right after I say that he gives attitude.

Go call your grandma Jake. Tell her how you love her and you're gonna help her with the money.

Maybe this one will be a bit wholesome.

"Hey Shawn!"

"Hey... Jake..."

...

What...?

"What's up? Is everything alright?"

"I'm sorry..."

*I covered my mouth to hold back a gasp*

"A couple of days ago... grandma passed away..."

OH MY GOD NOOOOOOO

*I'm actually upset for him*

Oh my god...

OH MY GOD HE'S CRYING. OH MY GOD.

"Mom told me not to tell you till you came back... but I had to..."

He's still going. Oh my god...

"You're lying..."

"She was conscious for a few hours before she got worse..."

JUST STOP. JUST STOP TALKING.

"She wrote a letter... I'll give it to you when you get back... I'm sorry man..."

JAKE, I'M SO SORRY. THAT'S AWFUL!!

I'm actually hurt as well!

AND THEN TOM COMFORTS HIM?!??! AWWWWW 😢

I thought he was here to help her! I didn't think she was gonna die before he can even get back! That's horrible!

YOU ALL BETTER GIVE HIM VIRTUAL HUGS.

FOR HIM AND FOR HIS GRANDMA.

Okay, okay, I'm calming down, I'm calming down...

GOD. DAMN. IT. ME.

I SHOULDN'T HAVE PUT JAKE IN THE HEADING!

I KILLED HIS GRANDMA!!

I'M SORRY I DIDN'T MEAN TO!!

Jake, if you hate me for this, I understand. I deserve it.

"Why won't you take the slay pass?!"

"Because slaying killed my grandma, okay?!"

(I'm sorry)

"Teal Team I hope you enjoyed your call home!"

BRUH. NO. DON'T EVEN.

"We made sure the ingredients are... what's the word... DISGUSTING."

Knew it.

I'm calling this reaction the Brunch of Trauma. As a callback to Total Drama's 'The Brunch Of Disgustingness'

"How are we supposed to get chicken guts?"

By killing a chicken. Duh.

"I can't eat cockroaches! They have feelings!"

No they don't Gabby. No they don't.

"I don't think Jake's in the mood to run around looking for ingredients."

Thank you Tom. Thank you for being so supportive of him and understanding his situation.

"Does anyone know how to cook?"

No.

"Do I have to?!"

"Do you want to win?"

"Fine."

Why is Fiore so grumpy all of a sudden?

"The winning team will send a representative from their team to tonight's elimination ceremony! Where they will get the sole vote to pick an extra person from the losing team."

It was the slay pass I gave Jake that he threw away.

Who wants it? It was sent by me.

"The team that attends the elimination will lose TWO people tonight!"

OH SHIT.

...it's gotta be Teal that loses then, right? Purple's already down a member, and that'll make numbers REALLY uneven.

Oh god did I cause Jake's elimination by putting him in the heading?!

Look, Purple, if you get this marker, even if your name is Fiore, you leave Gabby Grett and Jake out of this. You have my permission to use this marker, but ONLY to use it on Dan.

Dan's the only one on that team I wouldn't really care gets sent home.

Dan and I guess Miriam. I'm sorry Miriam.

Cause there's no way they're gonna make Purple lose here and make the team HALF the size of the other. Right? There's no way.

"Ever since I heard from home this morning, I've been wondering if there's even a point in being here. Should I leave?"

I feel so bad for Jake.

What did this precious bean do to you writers?! Why'd you have to break his heart like this?!

But yeah, what even is his motive now? It's down the drain now that she's gone.

"Jake, are you okay?"

Oh, so now you care.

"Since when do you care?"

And he said the same thing I said.

"You're always telling me to shut up and leave."

Facts.

"You don't need to pity me."

"I know it's hard, but remember that she'll always be in your heart and in your memories. We can always honor our loves ones by keeping their legacy alive. By lovingly remembering them."

...guys, I didn't start watching this show to cry. I'm gonna be honest.

"I'm saying this because I've been there before."

Oh?

*cuts away*

GOSH DARN IT NO I WANTED TO HEAR THAT! COME ON!

"'The hillbilly girl and wrinkles have no idea what I did' I can't believe it. She's been plotting against us this whole time."

I'm not surprised.

"How could a little girl do this?"

Demon child. CLEAR upbringing issues.

"We have to tell Ellie and Alec!"

"Are they going to believe us?"

They already do!

Though, you can probably get through to Ellie. I can hear her screaming on the inside about her being roped into a villain alliance.

"Do you even cook for your family?"

"Not recently to tell you the truth. Hard to make meals when we're going through a rough patch right now."

You're broke?

The Bucket family?

"I haven't told anyone about this..."

"You can talk to me."

Please talk. We're already eating up a lot of trauma for dinner tonight.

"A couple of years ago, on my husband's birthday, I wanted to surprise him with a cheesecake..."

Oh no from the other episode... I know where this is going.

He died from the cake, didn't he?

"So I told my son to take him to the mall, maybe buy his dad a gift while I baked... but when I had the desert ready, I called them to come back but they never did."

They both died?!

"Apparently a drunk driver hit their car... a head collision... no survivors."

Shit... that's awful.

Why is there so much trauma in this episode?!

"It took me to a dark place for a long time, those two were the only ones I had..."

"I'm so sorry, Miriam."

"It's never easy to lose someone you love. When I heard what happened to your grandmother, it all came flooding back..."

YES. HUG. PLEASE.

PLEEEAASSE WE NEED SOMETHING COMFORTING IN THE MIDST OF THIS HEARTBEAK

Okay how many virtual hugs can we get by the end of this episode?

Is Miriam gonna be nicer to Jake from here on out? I hope so.

"Don't worry. Everything is under control."

I am so bloody confused by these hosts plotline, I'm gonna be honest.

What are you talking about?

I know Tom stole the dude's ID, but why? Is he a criminal?

"Let's say... they didn't send the smartest spy they had."

Oh they ARE talking about Tom.

So Tom does know stuff and he's sus as shit.

So he's not a ninja... I was thinking it would be spy too.

So he's not on the show to win. He's here to stop... whatever these guys are doing.

Also YEAH, they DIDN'T send the smartest spy.

Cause hum diddly hum, I wonder which one among the cast is the impostor? Maybe it's the one guy who never shows his face.

ALSO, he SAW Tom running.

"He didn't see me! I was wearing black! And I was out in the night! I was practically Batman!"

"Yeah but you stick out like a sore thumb during the day and in the sun."

"BUT IT'S THE SUUUUUUUUUUUNNNNN"

"Jake thinks it was Dan and Dan thinks it was Jake."

That's not what they said. I distinctly remember that's not what they said.

"Grett won't let me talk to you."

Yeah it really sucks they're on different teams, cause they seem to get along well.

"Why? She shouldn't get to control you like that."

Thank you Ellie.

She's a good bean and she'll do the right thing when time comes. I'm sure.

"I know, but it's the only way to save myself."

Yeah, being outcasted SUCKS.

I mean, I get it, I've been there in my past. Everyone found me annoying and hated me and would say it to my face. But also, you can't get people walk all over you Gabby.

As a Grett stan, you have permission to leave her behind.

"Let me know if you need someone to talk about it with."

Yes, confide in Ellie. She's a good person too.

Despite, you know, the alliance she's in not being the best choice.

Side with the heroes. You can side with Lilly and Ashley and get rid of Fiore. You'll be one happy family and they'll take you in.

"I like you Gabby. You aren't afraid to speak your mind."

Is that a platonic compliment, or...?

Actually, I can see it.

"Here's an idea, if my team wins, I can offer myself as the representative to make sure you're not in danger."

That sounds like a great plan actually! Do it!

But Ellie I swear to god you leave Jake out of this. Use the pen on Dan!

That pen is the slay pass I granted in the game, and I tell you how you use it!

"And if your team wins, you can do the same."

"You can save me from Fiore using the pen! And I'll be free! It'll be a glorious victory!"

In dream land where everything works out perfectly, that's what happens.

They're actually really sweet. I love that Gabby has a friend to confide with.

I love that Gabby gets to be happy in this miserable world where everyone is traumatized beyond belief!

NO NOT THE CHICKEN

I'm sorry Ashley, but you need to get clotheslined by a clothesline.

Even the birds are bullying Dan.

Awww their little chef wear, that's so cute on them!

"You've done this before?"

"Thank you... I used to cook with my grandmother a lot."

I'm glad he's staying strong for her.

Even Fiore is like "I'm glad I'm not your child!"

"I think we screwed up."

What are you talking about? It's supposed to be screwed up.

You're doing it perfectly.

Idk how fair this is considering one team has more members eating.

Yeah Teal's gotta lose here, right? They have more members...

It also might come at the expense of Miriam if I'm being honest. Just when I was starting to like her.

But that happens. Once you start to like a character on Total Drama, they get eliminated.

"I can't believe what I'm about to say, but... this is delicious!"

Alright, who put DJ's Mama Spice in the mix?!

This face XD

Aaaaaannnnddd we get vomit rockets...

I'm not showing that.

SO... my prediction was completely wrong.

That ended a lot faster than I thought it would.

How are that team gonna function with just three?

"Cooking is my passion. And when Jake and I cooked, I haven't felt that normal in a long time. I guess I judged the boy too soon."

I'm glad Miriam is coming around.

Gabby's the representative, as we established.

"I wanted to use the slay pass you gave me last episode, Golden!"

I'll give it to you sweetie. Use it for whoever. If you want to slay Fiore with it, go right ahead.

"It was convenient for everyone that Gabby volunteered. No one wants to make enemies right now."

You guys all blew your chance of making her an ally a long time ago.

Lilly and Ashley are being very blunt about this. I like it.

"Fiore has been sabotaging our team! And she can't get away with it!"

"Wow..."

What do you mean wow? You know this already.

"Well, who cares?!"

"Not me."

BRUH

"Ellie, you have to help us!"

YES ELLIE! JOIN THEM! GET HER OUT!

"They're just saying that cause they're desperate. Did they reach out to you when they were making their original alliance?"

What's it matter now? Ellie was desperate too back then.

"How did this happen? I went from being in the worst position to deciding the vote! It feels good to have this power."

Ellie... this is gonna sound really bad, but... I can't trust you with a slay pass.

"What do you mean Golden isn't on my side?!"

"SURPRISE BITCHES!!"

QUEEN 👑

"Remember when you vote me out at the first day?!"

"AND HERE I AM. REVENGE IS MINE."

"Gabby has a red marker. She will write the name of one of you and when I read the name of that one unlucky contestant, that person is immediately out!"

"It was a slay pass granted from Golden to Gabby because whoever Gabby hates probably deserves it."

I know how these shows work.

I have the gut feeling...

Ellie's not gonna side with the good guys.

Yep. I was right from the start of this. They're voting Lilly.

"I'm voting for you so you can crawl back to whatever Disney movie your wrinkled which face came from."

Why does she look so evil?

"See, that's why you have bad taste Golden. All the favs you picked are evil and/or have serious issues!"

'LILL'

Yep. We know.

'FIORE'

I feel like it would be hilarious if Gabby wrote Fiore's name.

Ellie would be like, "See, that's what makes me the swing vote! Good or Evil? I choose NEITHER."

'LILL'

'FIORE'

It's Lilly.

RIP.

Ashley, it's up to you cowgirlie! You gotta take up the mantle and survive!

...WELP, YOU SURVIVED FOR TWO SECONDS.

GODDAMMIT.

I had a feeling she was gonna do that.

ELLIE. WHYYYYYYYYYYYY

And why did Gabby use the slay pass on Ashley! I specifically told you to use it on Fiore!!

"I'll give it to you sweetie. Use it for whoever."

I feel like I should blame myself for this happening.

SLAY PASS MISFIRE

"Ellie, why did you do that?"

"I'm sorry Lill, we were getting down to the wire and Fiore could be helpful if we reached the merge."

How would she help you in the merge exactly?! She's a KID. She has limitations! She's not exactly a good alliance member to have.

And who's to say she's not just gonna ditch you after this?

I'm sorry Ellie, but I'm calling you out cause I do not see your logic there.

"Not to throw a hissy fit, but this is seriously unfair!"

I feel like Ashley is saying that to ME specifically.

"GOLDEN YOU LUNATIC REACTIONARY! WHY WOULD YOU GIVE ANYONE A SLAY PASS WILLY NILLY?! AND IT CAME AT THE EXPENSE OF ME!"

"There's three of us and only two of you. Even a six year old can do better math than you."

Fiore secretly takes Algebra. The highest level. And she's a straight A honor roll student.

"Y'all WILL regret this decision!"

Specifically Ellie. She's gonna regret this, I can already tell.

Honestly, Ashley was robbed. I get it, limited episodes, but really? That's how she's eliminated?

Awwwwwwww 💗

At least they're besties till the end.

"Okay, Fiore tricked us. But if she managed to do that with us, she can do the same with the other team."

AND she can do the same to YOU.

"Luckily Ellie and Alec didn't fall for their desperate attempt to throw me under the bus."

They DO know. Alec just doesn't care, and Ellie apparently knows what she's doing.

Honestly, I still feel like Ellie can redeem herself from this, especially if she's merging. She can be the swing vote, see the light, and join the good guys. I don't think she's a bad person at all, she's just playing the cards she's dealt.

I don't have to approve of her plan, but I understand why she has to do it.

I don't blame Gabby either. That was my fault. I'll take the blame for her. I forgive her.

Plus it's also, you know, karma for that alliance.

I was expecting that alliance to lose like, two members before the merge, but DAMN, it COMPLETELY collapsed pre-merge!

Reality TV's Stupidest Alliance everyone!

I was thinking Ashley would lose Lilly, her last ally, and be the outlier of her team trying to survive. Even if she wouldn't last long merge-wise. But when the Tribal Council started I realized, "Nah, Ashley's screwed."

I do feel like she was robbed though and they could do more with her. If she's in Season 3. The red marker is kind of a bullshit move to boot someone, ngl. But I get it, there's only 13 episodes so they had to do a double elimination. The TD Reboot had to do that as well. But really? That's how Ashley gets booted?

I liked her. She was the one reasonable fellow of that alliance.

Lilly... Well, I predicted her pre-merge boot from the very beginning, and I was completely right. And I think she works as plainly that. A pre-merge boot, AKA, an early elimination, with a one note personality that wasn't bitchy. She was also kinda the mom of that group.

I feel like they have to scramble up the teams now, right? Cause Purple has 3 and Teal has 6. It's not really fair that one team has DOUBLE the amount of teammates.

Or maybe because of that they throw someone from Teal to put them on Purple. My bet would be Gabby.

"Gabby, congrats, you're on the Purple Team now."

4-5, and it's a little better.

That would really screw Grett over though. I love her and I love the characterization given to her this episode, but also, I don't expect her to win at all.

If you guys want me to continue these reactions, be sure to let me know.

[bearsinpotatosacks]

Something That Does Right by You - Prologue

In 1982, Carole Edwards celebrates graduates from university by going out and ends up in bed with one Nick Bradshaw. The morning after, she remembers nothing but his moustache and something to do with birds. Nine months later, Bradley Edwards is born.

Now in 2019, Bradley is called back to Top Gun for a mysterious mission where he meets Admiral Bradshaw. Funny how they look alike, right?

Words: 1016

Now that the hectic crowd had gone, it was just her and the baby. It didn't really seem real, apart from the tense fatigue resonating from her bones. For so long she'd plodded on, the idea of her baby still a far off dream, something she knew was going to happen as her tummy grew and grew. But now he was here, she felt underprepared. 

The baby gurgled in his cot by her bed. Everything had gone smoothly. He was a healthy six pounds four ounces of joy, although she hadn't been getting up every few hours to feed him yet, so she might retract that statement in a month or too, and he needed a name.

When the midwife had asked if she wanted to know the sex, she'd said no, she wanted it to be a surprise. She thought that it would be easier if it was just her choosing a name, she’d been wrong. Through a lot of confusion and almost pulling a name out of a hat, she'd narrowed it down to two names. Barbara, for a girl, or Bradley for a boy, after her father. Looking down at the blue hat and soft white swaddle, she guessed this was Bradley. 

Bradley Edwards.

He gurgled a little more, she'd fed him earlier so didn't expect him to be hungry again just an hour later. Not that she really knew what to expect. Whoever put her in charge of another person’s life must really have faith in her. 

She lent over to pick him up and there he was. A tiny bundle of cosy materials and that talcum powder baby smell that she was loving right there in her arms. An angel sent just for her. His eyes were still closed as he wiggled in her arms, getting comfy. She stroked his cheek, his big brown eyes blinking up at her. Huh, she thought, brown, must be from his dad, because her eyes were a clear blue, not that she had many memories of his dad going spare.

"Hey baby boy." Not very imaginative but descriptive enough. "Welcome to the world."

His eyes looked her over from her head, down to her hand as it lay on his face. He gurgled again. She guessed she underestimated how tiny babies were when they came out of the womb. Bradley could fit in one arm, his head nestled in the crook of her armpit as she took in the squish of his cheeks and soft strands of hair under his hat.

"I'm Momma, and I'm really happy to meet you." It felt weird being nervous about this, it was his first impression of her and she'd always been taught to make a good first impression, even if he wouldn’t remember this when he was older, she would though. "I reckon I should tell you a few things to get you started."

"First, my name's Carole Edwards, making you Bradley Edwards, that's also the name of you grandpa, your nana's name is Anna and your aunt is Jenny." She said.

His eyes had focused on her now. "And I bet you're wondering about your daddy, well so am I." She said. "I don't really remember him, I got a little drunk, you don't know what that is yet, met your dad and that’s when you were made, and the morning after I completely forgot who he was. Just a moustache and something about birds, that's it."

"So it's just you and me, I hope that's enough."

His eyes focused and unfocused. As she retracted her finger, he reached out with his tiny hand and grasped it tight in a fist. All the air left her lungs as he met her eyes for a moment before closing them again as he blinked heavier. Was that recognition? Did he mean to do that or just felt like it? It was difficult to decipher, whether or not he was aware of what he was doing yet. In fact, because she couldn’t just ask him what he meant, everything about him was an enigma. How wonderful, she reminded herself, to be able to learn everything about a person from day one, to watch them learn and grow and do it with them.

“Yeah, I’m tired too, we’ve both had a really busy day,” she said, settling backwards against the propped up cushions. “And I hope you don’t mind if I hold onto you for a second, I know hospitals are safe places but I don’t trust the world to not take you away yet.”

She watched him as his body relaxed into sleep. Now he was here, she could easily understand how you could slip into anxiety. There was no certainty with children. Anything could happen and the compulsion to never let them go, wrap them in cotton wool so the world couldn’t get to them was strong. She guessed that’s how depression kicked in too. Always having to be there without breaks could break someone. It was a hard line to walk.

“This all still feels like a dream, baby boy, I can’t believe you’re real yet, so maybe if I hold onto you for a little while longer then it will be.”

Her body slumped a little as it gave in. The lights were low and blinds drawn so the outside world was shut out for a ffew hours more. She knew that when she woke up, the nurses would’ve moved Bradley back into his cot, perhaps even to the nursery, an idea that made her chest go tight. 

That was for tomorrow, though, not now. Sure, she could worry about all the different ways she could mess up. Or how delicate kids were or all the things that could go wrong for Bradley, a car crash, bullying, a fire. Yet, opening one eye, she saw that he was still sleeping soundly in her arms still, even wheezing a tad, and she realised it would all be fine. Married or single parent household, dad or no dad, this kid was going to go far, she could feel it.

So, single mother Carole AU. I wasn't sure if this should just be a one shot with another fic of Rooster and Goose meeting but decided to make this a whole fic with Bradley's birth being the prologue. Shout out to @pollyna for being encouraging! Hope you all enjoyed this!

[starlightshadowsworld]

Casey who kills the Shredder and while the others think it's all over.

He knows better.

Casey knows this city like the back of his hand. When one evil is destroyed another takes it place.

And he won't have it.

Casey who brings the leaders of the purple dragons, every crime leader in New York.

And Karai.

And makes his terms clear.

All traces off his happy go lucky self are gone.

Casey was the kid people warned you about.

He had blood on his knuckles more often than not. Flew off the handle and could reduce even the most toughened folk to tears.

When Casey walked through the hallways, people didn't dare make eye contact with him.

But there was always those who wanted a fight, and Casey was more than happy to deliver one.

If you even managed to land a hit on Casey, his bright smile as he punched the lights out of you would haunt you.

Casey knew who he was.

And who knew that same principle applied to the criminal underworld?

Casey smiles like he didn't just delivered each of the leaders the heads of their most prized fighter.

Normally he'd never go this far. Even for him, this was a lot.

But the thing about Casey was that among being a violent force of nature, he cared.

He cared so damn much it hurt. And he cared for his friends, he'd do anything for them.

He'd kill for them, die for them, burn the city down if it meant they'd be safe and warm.

Casey cared so much he wanted to beat someone up.

It was why Nick left him, his once best friend who couldn't bare seeing Casey's protective rage.

He called him a monster.

And Casey was fine with that.

If it took being a monster to make sure these clowns didn't mess with his friends again, he'd gladly take the role.

If it meant Leo could sleep soundly, Raph could breathe easier, Donnie could work on what he loved, Mikey could watch cartoons without fear, April could reunite with her father.

Than Casey would do it.

He never told them that Splinter wasn't the only one he buried that day. He'd found his dad and sister, or what remained off them.

He grieved alone, gritting his teeth and breaking bones of whoever crossed his path.

They were all he had now.

And he wouldn't let them fall.

If they found out and hated him, he would bare it. He'd grit his teeth and feel like he was being lit ablaze.

But he'd go on, and he'd never stop caring about them.

Never.

Karai eyed him, the new leader of the Foot clan nodded once in respect before declaring a truce.

Casey agreed, they shook hands so hard, that had they been any one else would've broke in several places.

He thought she'd be more broken up about losing her father but she only asked one question.

"Did hurt?"

"Yeah"

"Good."

He suppose it should scare him how alike they seemed to be. But all it did now was make him sigh with relief.

He'd bare the weight of his actions another day, for now he had a family to get back to.

[zoeysdamn]

Bark, Bite & Break Bones - Tyler Galpin x Van Helsing!reader | Part.3

Summary: The therapy sessions goes well – as well as it can – and you learn why Tyler is so willing to get help from Dr.Fern. His desire to leave Jericho is highly relatable to you, maybe the two of you are starting to bond beside the flirting? New and old foes are coming back to taunt you with past mistakes, making Tyler wonder what you could  have possibly done at your last stay at Nevermore. 

Warnings: swearing, sexist and homophobic comment from one of the character, physical assault, mention of blood, bad flirting A/N: Okay this is such a long-ass chapter, but I really wanted to finish it and post it before starting to write the next one! The besties know what’s coming uhuhuh  👀 I apologize in advance if anyone reading this is named Cindy; you’ll understand krkrkr.

[Masterlist] [Prologue] [Part.1] [Part.2] 

You sat on the edge of Dr.Fern’s office window, like you were twice a week now. If the therapy sessions weren’t useful to Tyler, at least you could use them as a break from the school and from your duties. But Tyler really seemed to enjoy those sessions, which meant he wouldn’t try to attack the therapist; after the first session, you were already sure of it. 

“How do you feel about being back at Jericho, Tyler?” asked Dr.Fern, wearing a long-sleeved green dress that gave a heavy Stevie Nicks vibe. 

“It’s not comfortable, but I don’t have much choice,” he admitted. “The sooner I get out of here, the sooner I can start something new.”

The therapist hummed, sensing something deeper than that, “What do you want to do, if you leave Jericho? Got any plans, anything you want to do?”

Out of reflex, Tyler glanced at you briefly; you weren’t looking at them, acting laid back and uninterested, but he knew you were listening. Or at least, a part of him hoped that you did. 

“I want to free myself from here. Everyone at Jericho had always tried to restrain me or manipulate me, I’m sick of it. They're the reason I turned into a Hyde and got violent in the first place," he gritted, more for himself. 

“Are you referring to Laurel Gates? Or is there someone else you’re thinking about too?” 

Tyler pursed his lips, looking rather upset by the question. Still, after a few seconds he finally answered, “My dad too,” he admitted quietly. 

Behind him, you raised an eyebrow. You vaguely remembered reading that Tyler and his dad didn’t get quite along, especially after the whole ordeal from last year, and him having to hide from his son her mother had been an outcast. The only time you had met sheriff Galpin had been a little more than two years ago, when he had arrested you at Nevermore academy. Since then, you haven't had the pleasure yet. 

“Have you talked to him since you came back?” wanted to know the fae. 

“No,” he snapped curtly, trying to not let his anger for his dad slip away too much – which was useless with the empath fae. Sensing this, the therapist decided to lead him on another subject. 

“What would change if you left Jericho?" asked Dr.Fern, and at Tyler's dumbfounded expression she tried to re-formulate her question, "How would you change if you left Jericho?" 

Again, Tyler took his time to answer; the question had a subliminal interrogation of course, but he understood what she was meaning. "Not much I think," he finally admitted. "I won't be so different that I am now, I'll be the same. Good and bad sides alike." 

His words made you slightly turn your head to him, intrigued; meanwhile, a twinkle of interest lit up in Dr.Fern's eyes. "This," she noted out loud, "this is interesting. Go on, what are those 'good' and 'bad' sides you're referring to?" 

Tyler cleared his throat nervously, "Well I…I can't deny there's still a violent side in me. The Hyde will always be a part of me, always will be me, I can't change that."

"Do you want to change that?" argued the therapist. 

This time, his answer was immediate, "No. There's no need to lie, a part of me actually enjoys violence. I think…I think it was already here before Laurel told me who I was." 

The mention of his first stay in a disciplinarian center in his file flashed in your mind. It was true, he had attacked a Nevermore student around a year before the whole Hyde ordeal. Maybe the sheriff's son indeed had a knack for violence for quite a time. 

The kind face of Dr.Fern didn't change at his confession, instead silently encouraging him to carry on. 

"I'm not anymore the monster Laurel made me," he said with a bitter tone at the woman's mention, "but I'm not a Saint either. I want to leave this town with too many preconceived ideas and unrealistic expectations about me, and be my own person. I just want to find a place where I can be myself." 

"Good and bad?" asked the therapist. 

Tyler nodded and repeated, "Good and bad." 

The weight of his words echoed in you, more than you would have thought. He had exactly pinpointed something you hadn't figured out yourself. Deep down, you wanted to free yourself from the Van Helsing suffocating straitjacket and what bound you to Jericho. That didn't mean you wanted to stop hunting monsters, only that you wanted to do your own thing; to do you, according to what you believed and what you were. 

Tyler and you might not be so different after all. 

From her seat, Dr.Fern sensed the mix of surprise, confusion and warm feeling of understanding coming from you. She looked at you and smiled kindly. 

"You know you're always welcomed to join us on the sessions, Y/N."

Immediately you closed yourself with a scowl, "Not a chance." 

The therapist kept her soft smile, "Like you want, the offer will still stand on the next time."

You huffed, and Dr.Fern announced the end of the hour to Tyler, who got up to shake her hand. You grabbed your jacket to put it on, nodding to the therapist on your way out of her office. The knowing look in her eyes was worse than a slap on the face by reality itself. Despite knowing that she had touched a nerve, you stubbornly decided to ignore it, and instead followed Tyler out of the building. You'll be damned if you actually recognized those therapy sessions were perhaps useful to you, too. 

Once outside, you exhaled loudly, not noticing how deep in thoughts Tyler seemed to be. When you glanced at him and saw how upset he looked, you nudged him with your elbow – probably stronger than it should have been for a friendly action. 

“You okay?”

He jumped a little at your gruff and unexpected gesture, “Uh- yeah, yeah I’m fine. Thanks.”

An inner voice would have snickered that he was acting up again; but somehow, you truly believed that he was honest in his reactions here. The more you spent time together, even as your strange warden-convinced dynamic, the more you were beginning to be sure he was honest with you. Even if he was an honest asshole, an honest flirt or an honest confused young adult. 

“Perfect then. Let’s go, I’m craving for some coffee.”

Tyler’s eyes widened as you made your way to the car, “Aren’t we supposed to go back to Nevermore?”

“For once we’re allowed to get out of the school, I’ll be damned if I didn’t take time to get an acceptable coffee,” you groaned, “The insipid shit at the cafeteria should be exorcized, I swear it could kill someone. Is the Weathervane still open?” you asked him as you turned on the engine. 

“Yeah it is,” he muttered quietly. 

The trip to downtown Jericho was silent, and you parked just across the entrance of the coffeeshop. When you both got out of the car, Tyler looked mortified and you noticed him pulling his hood up nervously. 

You raised an eyebrow at him, “What’s up?” 

“Go ahead, I- I’m not really comfortable going in there.” 

At first you scoffed but then the shifty and frightened looks he gave all around him made you frown. Glancing behind you over your shoulder, you noticed two older ladies whispering among themselves a few feet away, and not so discreetly pointing at your pair. Now that you looked at them, you also noticed a man passing by, giving you a disgusted snare. Pulling the hood further down to cover his scared cheek, Tyler looked down in shame. Seeing him being so vulnerable and self-conscious about himself, while he had appeared all confident and cocky to you before took you off-guard. Suddenly you realized that maybe, the tough insolent asshole side of him might have been an act too; at least part of it. 

Still, the professional part of you was reluctant. 

“I can’t leave you unsupervised outside,” you frowned, but instead of the witty comeback you expected, Tyler’s eyes stayed fixed on the ground. 

“I’m not going anywhere I swear, I’ll stay near the car just– just be quick, please,” he mumbled. 

Okay, his voice almost breaking really made you pity him now. “Fine,” you conceded, “but you stay right here. If you ever move away from that car, I’ll kill you.” 

He nodded silently, and you made your way to the coffee shop; not without glaring at the two old tattletales on your way. Pushing the door open you entered the Weathervane, glancing back at Tyler, only to see him leaning against the car nervously, not moving. Good.

“Welcome to the Weathervane, what can I get you?” greeted the young barista behind the counter.

“A large Americano to go, with two shots of espresso please.” 

“Coming right up!” she chirped excitedly. 

While the barista started to make your drink ready, you glanced once again behind your shoulder to check on Tyler. The poor guy seemed to be mortified by his sole presence downtown. 

“That’s the delinquent sheriff’s son,” whispered the barista to you, noticing your gaze, “he’s up to no good, I’ll tell you.”

“Is he now?” you asked with false surprise, which seemed to thrill her and her gossip thirst. 

“It’s been said that he’s a monster, like, not metaphorically, but one of those Nevermore freaks! Can you imagine?!”

“No way,” you gasped in an over-exaggerated manner she didn’t notice. Instead, the barista nodded energetically. 

“I swear! Shouldn’t even be allowed to live after what he did if you ask me.”

I didn’t ask you anything Cindy, you thought internally, glancing at her name on the badge she wore. “What did he do?” 

“He lied to all of us!” she said with a huff. “Had the nerve to lie to all those good innocent people of Jericho, can you believe that! I even heard he had kind of assaulted a Nevermore student or whatever.”

The voice in your head snorted loudly. So all that mattered to that girl was that Tyler lied to them about his nature? Murders were no big deal apparently to the ‘good innocent people’ of Jericho. 

“A deranged freak who manipulated all of the town to make us believe he was normal, that’s what he is!” she snickered, pouring coffee in a large cup. 

“I bet he didn’t even drink coffee, uh?” you joked knowingly, to which she giggled. 

“No, he wasn’t even that manly! Drank only soft girly drinks like Caramel macchiato and hazelnut shots, what a pussy!” 

“Yeah,” you snickered dryly, then she handed you your drink. “Oh, can I borrow you for one more minute and order you another drink to go? I’ve forgotten I have to get one for my friend.”

“Sure thing girl! What will it be?” 

“A large caramel macchiato with a hazelnut shot,” you said looking at her dead in the eye. The mocking expression she had morphed into a bewildered one, so you smiled darkly at her. “To go. Please.”

She nodded nervously, your intense gaze bruning holes behind her head making her anxious as she prepared the other drink. Now she wasn’t so chatty and bitchy, was she? 

“H-here, that’ll be 10$,” she stuttered. 

Putting the money on the counter you grabbed the two cups and gave the barista a smirk. “Next time you decide to spill sexist comments over someone’s drink choice, you better remember that person killed five people before you speak,” you snickered at the now terrified barista. “Next time I hear you pulling that bullshit at anyone else, I’ll be using your teeth as lucky charms for my next stay in juvie, is that clear Cindy?”. The barista paled instantly and nodded vigorously. You smiled at him, “Great. See you then.” 

Then you turned back, leaving the barista livid and crossed the coffee shop door before returning to the car with a satisfied smile. 

“Here,” you said flatly to Tyler, handing him his drink. 

He looked at it eyes wide in surprise, “Thanks? What’s the honor?”

Looking back at the Weathervane you caught Cindy’s gaze and made sure that she had seen everything, “Let’s just say it’s been my personal satisfaction of the day. And you kinda needed that. C’mon let’s go.”

As Tyler didn’t need to be asked twice to get in the car you smiled sweetly at the barista from your spot, and gave her a clear and proud middle finger. Her offended face was everything. 

“They really hire anybody in there,” you grumbled as you got in the driver’s seat, “Homophobic bitch.” 

Next to you, Tyler smiled a bit, looking back and forth to the coffee and to you, slowly realizing what had happened. 

“Wait, you actually…took my defense?” he said out loud after a few seconds, as you had already started the engines and drove away from the Weathervane. 

“Called you a pussy for drinking caramel macchiatos,” you explained flatly, “Sexist comments get me out my hinges. Even to murderers.”

He cleared his throat, the murderer comment not making him uncomfortable for once, “Well–  thank you then.”

“Don’t mention it,” you shrugged, taking a big gulp of your coffee.

The rest of the road to Nevermore was spent in silence, but Tyler couldn’t help but have a small smile sipping his macchiato. Maybe you definitely had a soft spot after all. 

Once you arrived at the school and parked the car, Tyler started a random discussion, asking about something that you saw in yesterday’s class. It carried on as you dropped the car keys at the stewardship and you debated about the possible upcoming class subject for outcasts History. This rare anger-free moment wasn’t so bad; it reminded you that no matter your family's heritage, you were both teenagers.  

Deep in conversation you and Tyler strolled in the quad, not noticing the group of students sitting on one of the tables not too far, chatting among themselves too. Until you heard a snare, then a growl coming from them. Normally you wouldn’t have paid much mind to it, but when Tyler stopped dead in his tracks you turned your head in their direction. It was the same group of students you had caught a glimpse of the day before through Tyler’s room window; Ajax’s friends you believed. Indeed, the Gorgon stood there, nervously fidgeting as soon as he noticed you both. The long-haired boy next to him – Xavier from what you had come to understand, Ajax’s best friend – glanced between the two groups, looking uneasy; then you remembered that he and Tyler hadn’t been on the best terms, no wonder why he was like this. In front of them, the blonde girl who had seemed so joyful the night before was baring her teeth, growling angrily with murder in her eyes. The petite raven-haired girl beside her had a protective hand on her shoulder, restraining the werewolf – her behavior had given it away, really, just as the way she stood protectively before the black and white girl. Although this one didn’t seem too helpless either, given the daggers her eyes threw at Tyler. The whole bunch glaring at you wasn’t unusual, but there was something different about it. 

“Old friends of yours?” you muttered to Tyler. 

“Could say that. Not really my biggest fans.”

“Yeah figured. What’s with little miss sunshine?” you asked, discreetly nodding to the blonde werewolf. 

“She uh…she fought me in the woods before I got arrested.” 

Eyes widening, you glance back and forth between the two of them; that’s when you noticed the scars on her cheeks, smaller than the one Tyler had, partly covered with cute pink bandages. 

You cackled softly, “No way, she’s the one who had beat the shit out of you? Wow,” you whistled lowly, “can’t lie, I’m impressed. Hey! Well done Wolfie!” you called her out with a mocking raise of your cup. 

Your comment made her freeze, a bright shade of pink rising on her cheeks in surprise. Although it immediately made the pigtailed-girl look even more angry, like a dark murderous aura rose around her; it took Xavier and the werewolf – Enid if you now remembered the files – to restrain her from jumping on you and skin you alive. 

A slight wince took place on your face, “Aouch, who’s the potential serial killer here? Looks like she hates me almost as much as she hates you.”

Tyler scratched his neck nervously “That’s Wednesday Addams she’s uh…kind of my ex I guess?”

This time a laugh escaped your throat, unable to be contained. “No shit??”

“Yeah…also, she might have been the one who framed me, too,” he said nervously. 

You couldn’t help but continue to laugh, snorting at the absurdity of the situation. Tyler looked even more awkward than he already was, and even the other students seemed taken aback by your reaction. 

“Phew,” you sighed between two laughs, “thanks for that, I really needed a good joke.” 

A scoff coming from the angry students cut short your delight, “I thought potential victims of serial killers had more brain than that,” snapped the murderous Addams. 

Her harsh comment definitely stopped your joyful mood, and the threat-like tone she used didn’t fit right with you; oh no. 

“Excuse me Addams, I didn’t quite hear you from here; I don’t receive frequencies emitted at low altitudes.” 

Ajax let out a snort, unable to restrain himself, Enid giving him a harsh glare. 

“What was that, future corpse?” growled the girl. 

“Y/N don’t,” said Tyler in a low voice, but you didn’t listen to him and walked to Wednesday. But you were far too intrigued to let it slide now; this was too tempting. 

“If anyone’s close to being murdered, it definitely ain’t me shortcake,” you snickered, facing her with a smirk. 

She narrowed her eyes at you, “I’d like to take you up on that.”

“Mmmh, shame there’s no bounty on your head Addams, I’m sure the hunt would have been thrilling,” you wondered out loud, before your face briefly lit up with a smile to the werewolf and the Gorgon, “Not on you two though, you’re actually really sweet!” 

“T-thanks?” stuttered Enid. 

“You’re the Van Helsing hunter,” deduced the Addams with a slight raise of her brow, “strange how you went from hunting the most famous vampire in the world to vulgar bodyguard duty.” 

“You actually know your classics, I might even feel honored.” 

“So it’s you I have to bribe if I want to have a take in Tyler’s murder,” she clarified, glaring at him, “good to know.” 

“Ah,” you snorted, “I work alone Addams, pretty boy over there is all mine to take.”

Tyler’s ears turned red but you didn’t notice it; Enid, Ajax and Xavier looked among themselves with wide eyes, the Gorgon shaking his head to the other like ‘no way’. 

“Fair enough,” finally let out Wednesday, “you seem cruel enough to make an acceptable job. But if I have the slightest window of opportunity, know that I’ll make him pay for what he did to mi querida.” 

Enid blushed with a blissful smile, not expecting such a public display of affection – and confirming your suspicion about them being together. Behind you, you heard Tyler whisper a quiet “yeah, get in line.”

“Don’t get used to it,” muttered Wednesday to her girlfriend. 

“Well, if we’re done with the promises of threats, this is our cue,” you said with a smirk. “It’s really been a displeasure.”

“Wouldn’t have put that more eloquently,” said a dry voice from behind you. 

All of you turned around to face the disgusted and sneering faces of Bianca and Yoko, who had just arrived at the quad. 

“Oh shit,” you let out. 

“Your friends?” whispered Tyler, half in irony, half actually frightened by their icy glares.

“My ex this time. The creepy one with glasses.” 

The ‘oh damn’ he let out was almost inaudible. Yoko eyed you and Tyler, sneering at your pair. 

“You two look awfully cozy,” she noted, gesturing to your coffee cups, “getting on dates already?” 

Rolling your eyes, you repressed the urge to flip her off, “Therapy session,” you corrected, “you should actually try it, maybe it’ll help with the raging daddy issues you got.” 

“You little–”

Bianca grabbed the vampire’s arm before she could attack you, “Enough with this childish bickering. You’re not welcomed here, Van Helsing.” 

This made Tyler frown slightly; if anything, he would have thought that he was the first person framed as their archenemy. What did you do to deserve this place? But as usual, you responded with an insolent snort instead of focusing on the matter at hand.

“Maybe not by you, your royal highness, but by the school board and that’s enough for little ol’ me. Perhaps you’re the one being not mature enough to actually move on? So much for your lectures about being the bigger person, miss bully.” 

Smoke coming out from her ears could almost be seen as she growled through gritted teeth, “Take this filthy son of a bitch with you and get the fuck out of my sight.”

“Don’t mind if I do,” you winked at her, casually strolling away from them. 

While you walked away from the quad and the murderous looks, Tyler eyed you on the corner of his eye, watching you sipping your coffee with a relaxed expression, like nothing actually happened. Despite this all exchange being as funny as it had been awkward, there was something he still didn’t get. 

“Why are you acting like that?” 

“Like what? If you want to complain about my charming personality, sorry lover boy the return date had expired,” you ironized.

“Like that,” said Tyler, and the lack of teasing tone made you look at him; he was serious, even looking slightly concerned. “Why do you always use sarcasm and dark humor to answer to anyone, instead of facing the addressed matters?”

“Okay first of all,” you said pointing a finger at him, “my humor is impeccable. Second of all, fuck off, I’ll do what I want.”

As you began to walk faster to put some distance between the two of you Tyler spoke up again, “See? That’s exactly what I’m talking about. Why can’t you talk about something seriously?” 

“Because it’s fun,” you groaned irritably.

“I don’t think that’s the only reason.”

“What,” you snapped whipping in his direction, “you’re gonna play the therapist too, now? I don’t fucking need your help.” 

“I’m not offering any,” he said carefully, “I’m just trying to understand.” 

Narrowing your eyes at him, you pondered whether or not you should flip him off for this nosy behavior. But he genuinely seemed to care; you weren’t used to that. So you sighed and asked, “If I answer your question, will you drop it?” 

He nodded and you motionned him to follow you; there was no way you were talking about yourself in the middle of a Nevermore corridor, might as well continue to walk to the dorms. 

“I don’t really do this on purpose,” you tried to explain, playing with the now empty to-go cup, “it’s more like a reflex or something. Defensive mechanism or whatever bullshit name it’s given.” 

“To defend yourself against what?” said Tyler, surprised that you actually opened up about it. 

“Everything,” you muttered. “It’s easier to get away from discussions you’d rather not have by deflecting everything with sarcasm, I learned that early.”

“Parents?” he asked. 

“Grandparents. Both. Everyone, really. I didn’t have many friends growing up anyway, always too weird to blend in. So being witty was a way to shield myself from the family bullshit and the other kids’ intimidation. After it just stuck I guess.” 

Tyler nodded pensively; he was sometimes acting like a dick too, but it was more for fun than anything else. Laurel Gates had awoken a sinister and violent side in him, he guessed that it was some remains of his violence craving that had almost disappeared with her. He still wanted to kill deep down, but he also wanted to get his shit together and do something right. Acting like a cocky bastard was the result of both of those sides in him fighting for dominance. Maybe he’ll talk further about that to Dr.Fern in their next session.

“Useful in juvie too,” you noted out loud, the sarcasm returning quickly.

Tyler scoffed in amusement, “Didn’t that make you the public enemy?”

“Having a big mouth is a problem-bringer only if you’re not the smartest,” you said casually. “No matter the situation, I’ve sass my way in, and I’ll sass my way out.”

He let out an honest, light laugh, “You should put that on a shirt.”. That made you grin. 

“Maybe I will pretty boy, maybe I will.” 

Later that day, around the time of dinner, you tossed and turned on your bed, groaning in frustration. After the interaction with Wednesday, Bianca, Yoko and the others, you didn’t feel like doing anything but that also bored you out of your mind. 

The ding of a notification made you grab your phone and open the incoming text from the unknown number. 

Ditching me for dinner, Van Helsing? How am I supposed to have dessert without my favorite eye-candy? 

For a second you frown, then grinned realizing who it was. Seemed like the flirting match was never over. 

Look who’s the stalker now, you answered. Got any hacker skills I don’t know about? 

Got your number by Ajax, texted Tyler back.

You snorted, Poor guy, hope you didn’t frightened him too much

Don’t worry I’ve been nice, even said “please”

Texting back “good boy” was so fucking tempting, but before you could, you received another text from Tyler. 

But seriously, Ajax told me you weren’t coming for dinner, u good? 

His concern was kind, really. To be honest you weren’t really hungry and under all the sarcasm and laid-back attitude you gave this afternoon, the confrontation with other students had drained you physically; you weren’t really hungry. So you had texted Tyler’s roommate, asking him if he was okay to be his supervisor for dinner this time. Tyler had behaved well all day, and he even seemed to warm up to his roommate; maybe they could be friends one day.

Not really hungry that’s all, you quickly texted, gonna take a walk outside instead 

Careful, I heard there’s some dangerous things in those woods, teased Tyler in his next text, wouldn’t want to ruin a pretty thing

Yeah, I’m that dangerous thing, and you’re wrong 

About? 

You grinned to yourself before tipping, I wouldn’t mind ruining you, pretty boy

On the other side of Nevermore, Tyler chuckled at his phone in the dining hall. A few minutes later, you finally got up from your bed and slipped on your shoes, resigned to go on that walk. It could do you some good. 

Slipping away from the empty corridors was easy, given everyone was at the dinner hall. At this hour, the night began to fall and the woods of the academy were rather pleasant. No students, no drama, no hunting business. Just a peaceful walk, and honestly that’s all you needed right now. 

The crack of a twig made you whip your head around; if the upcoming darkness could hide something, the glimpse of a jacket behind some tree wasn’t so subtle. 

“I can see you, you know,” you called out to whoever was following you. 

An awkward silence answered you, before three students came out from behind the trees. You narrowed your eyes at their familiar faces; they were all students you had known from your previous stay at Nevermore. And they didn’t look like their presence here was a coincidence. Maybe the baseball bats were a hint. 

“Lovely meeting you there, but I’m done with the babysitting duty for the day,” you joked bitterly. 

“Shut your mouth Van Helsing,” snapped one of the sirens – Divina or something? Yoko’s roommate. “It’s time for you to learn your place.”

Cocking your head to the side you eyed them up and down, “Mmmh, and the baseball bats are here for educational purposes I guess? Or are you three trying to build a sports team now?” 

“They’re not only three,” interjected a voice behind you. You turned around, seeing two more students emerging from god-knows-where. 

“Ah Kent,” you greeted the male siren, “not tired of playing Bianca’s lapdog yet?”

The scowl on his face told you that you had pushed the right button, “Shut up.”

Looking at the whole bunch surrounding you, you let out a snort, “So the plan here is to play the heroic outcasts who beat up the big bad Van Helsing? Five against one, very courageous really.”

One of the students – a vampire from what you saw – growled at you, “After all the shit you pulled, no way we’re playing fair, you fucking murderer.” 

“Have you talked to your buddy about that?” you snarled at him, “what was this fucker name again? Jeremiah?”

“Shut up,” snapped the vampire, blood boiling. But you weren’t finished with him. 

“Did you ask him if he had been fair? Or was he too busy counting his remaining teeth to answer you?” 

A cry of rage erupted from behind you, and if it hadn’t been for it you wouldn’t have been able to duck down to avoid the swing of the heavy log of wood thrown at your head. Snapping your head above your shoulder, you crossed the hateful gaze of Kent who was struggling to regain his balance with the weight of his make-shift weapon. Then all hell broke loose. The five students jumped on you and started to throw hits at you with ferocious screams. You tried to avoid their attack the best you could, counting on their rage and untrained moves to dodge their bats or punches. But there was only so much you could do against five students – especially when trying to not hurt them too much or fight back at the same time. If you only do as lay a finger on one of them, they would run straight to Weems’ office, cry a little and you would be sent back to juvie. 

A millisecond of inattention was all it took; you were dodging another punch when a violent swing crashed on your lower back, cutting your breath short. Your legs buckled under you and you collapsed on your knees, barely catching yourself with your hand before someone else punched you on the jaw. A sharp cry escaped your lips and blood filled your mouth, the burning pain making your ears ring for what felt like an eternity. 

Feeling bolder seeing you on the ground the rageful students threw themselves on you, and the punches rained on you again. You tried your best to protect your head from their bats, punches and kicks, which dig deep into your ribs and back. To try to defend yourself you kicked your legs blindly, trying to reach at least one of their tibias. A wail of pain coming from above you made you realize you had succeeded and with an unexpected surge of energy you flipped on your back and pushed yourself harshly backward, helping yourself with your hand on the ground. None of your attackers had seen this coming, and the one you back bumped to their legs lost their balance, tumbling on the ground with a grunt. 

The three remaining bullies stood tall in front of you, a lingering look of dumbfoundedness behind the hatred in their eyes. You knew this was your shot; so before they could even realize what just happened you sprung into action. 

Grabbing a handful of dirt and you threw it in the eyes of the closest two attackers, making them scream in surprise and pain. They dropped their makeshift weapons to clutch on their faces, trying to rub off the dirt irritating their eyes. You didn’t wait a single more second and jumped on your feet, before dashing toward Kent, last remaining of your attackers. Before the siren could even react you tackled him down with all of your force, and you both crashed on the ground loudly. If Kent found himself out of breath with the shock, you had rolled on your shoulder before touching the ground, landed on your feets and sprinted the fuck away from here. 

You didn’t even check if your attackers had gotten up and followed you, you just ran mindlessly toward the school. The wind slashed on your cheeks, prickling as your lungs burned but you didn’t care. For now, the only thing that mattered was to reach the dorms the quickest way possible. Finally, the walls of the school appeared and your legs didn’t falter. You dashed into the quad, almost crashing into a wall on a harsh turn. The entrance to the Ophelia wing was at arm’s reach when suddenly you slammed into something. And this something groaned. 

The strength of the collision made you stumble and a loud curse left your lips, as you gripped your throbbing head. 

“Motherfucker!” 

“Y/N?” 

The familiar voice made you snap your head up, meeting the stupefied face of none other than Tyler Galpin. 

“What are you doing here?” he urged, checking your general disheveled appearance, clothes coated with dirt and breath erratic, before frowning at the busted lips, bruises already forming on your left cheek and bloody nose. 

Out of reflex you scowled, “What are you doing here?”

A shout coming from behind made you whip around, and the sharp turn made your ribs burn in pain. Clutching your side while trying to hide it the best you could, facing the five assholes you had left in the forest. They all looked even more angry than before, the little stunt you had pulled must definitely not have pleased them. Their rush was cut short when they saw Tyler, and they stopped dead in their tracks for a moment. Even if none of them had seen him in his Hyde form, they knew what he was capable of. 

“What’s happening?” muttered Tyler to you, as the previously feral students seemed to start being nervous. 

“Run away,” you seethed, wincing at the pain on your rib. Those fuckers probably had bruised your ribs.

“What?”

“Go back to your room,” you articulated slowly, “run away, this doesn’t concern you.” 

“Get the fuck away Galpin,” shouted Kent before Tyler could protest again. You both returned your attention to the siren, whose voice was slightly wavering. “W-we only have a business with her, step away!” 

You grunted, taking a step in the group’s direction, trying to stand tall despite the soreness starting to sink in. All of your body ached but you couldn’t let this show. 

“None of you grew some balls on the way?” you snarled provocatively, which seemed to anger them even more. 

“Shut up! None of you want to hear anything from you, you fucking murderer!” 

Tyler frowned even more, glancing back and forth between you and the group of angry students. 

“Less talking, more action,” you retorted, “if you’re not afraid of getting your asses handed to you again.” 

Divina snorted, “Ah, look who’s talking. Not so courageous now that you’ve been beaten up, Van Helsing?”

You bared your teeth at her, murder in your eyes. But at the same time, you couldn’t hide the veil of shame draping over your traits. That’s when it clicked in Tyler’s mind. The bats and wooden sticks in the students’ hands, your general appearance, seeing you running away from something…those guys had cornered and attacked you? Five against one? 

Before even thinking about this, he grabbed your wrist; with an unexpected gentleness and care. 

“Did they do this to you?” he whispered slowly. 

Instead of snapping at him, like you would have done even a few weeks ago, you glanced up at him. Your eyes were glossy, no matter how hard you tried to push it away, “It’s nothing; please, don’t do anything.” 

Tyler felt his throat becoming tight. Please. He didn’t know what you had done, but he knew you weren’t one to beg. Even less letting yourself be beaten up by a group of five students you could have handled without a sweat. Something in him erupted, a flaming fury and blinding anger raging in his guts. A sensation of deep injustice and anger overtook him, fueled by the teary gaze and beaten face in front of him. For the first time since he got free of Laurel Gates’ influence, he had this unstoppable urge to kill. 

Before you could add anything, Tyler stepped up, placing himself protectively in front of you standing tall and menacing. Not only because of his height, towering in front of the now shivering students, but also because of the dark look in his eyes. 

“You did this to her?” he growled, his mouth turning into a menacing snarl. 

A wave of anxiety emanated from your attackers, “S-stay back! We don’t have a-anything against you!” 

“Oooh, you don’t?” cooed Tyler, but his tone didn’t have anything reassuring or joyful. It was cold, menacing, and it sent a shiver to everyone’s spine – even yours. “I’ve killed five people, but you don’t have anything to fear from me? Tell me, how many are you again?” 

This time the shivering students exchanged terrified looks among themselves, as they understood the implication. Their fear only fuelled Tyler’s delight, his hands starting to morph into the skinny and sharp claws of his Hyde under the rage raging inside him. An animalistic growl crawled out of his throat, only answered by a terrified shriek from the students. 

That’s when your mind reconnected and you sprung into action. 

Almost throwing yourself in front of Tyler, just in time before he jumped on the screaming students, you pressed your hand on his chest, a bit harshly to make sure he stopped. 

“Stop,” you breathed out in a yet firm voice, “don’t intervene. It won’t do anything good for either of us, trust me.” 

He growled, baring his teeth to the students. Nothing but pure hate filled his eyes, and you had to call him out to make him look at you. His animalistic gaze met your serious eyes, with a lingering silent plea. 

“Stop,” you repeated. 

He held your gaze for a moment, flickering to the terrified attackers; then, after agonizing long seconds, he backed down slightly. His hands turned back to normal, but the murderous look still burned in his eyes. 

You let out a breath you didn’t even know you were holding, and turned to the students’ who were close to crying. 

“Get the fuck out of here,” you snapped at them, “you’re fucking lucky I was here, next time I’ll let him tear your sorry asses to shreds.”

“I- we-we didn’t ask you any–” started to mumble Kent, trying to play brave. 

“GO THE FUCK AWAY!” you wailed, patience finally breaking, and they ran away without asking for more. 

“You’ll pay for what you did to Jeremiah!” shouted Kent in the distance before disappearing in a corridor. 

A whimper left your lips and you feel your legs buckle under you, the pain finally crashing in. One of Tyler’s hands immediately came around your back to support you. 

“You’re okay?”

A faint nod from you didn’t convince him the slightest, “ ‘gonna be fine,” you mumbled, “just need some bandages and sleep.” 

You knew you were going to need more than that; but you still had your pride. Reluctantly, you tugged yourself out of Tyler’s arms, no matter how comfortable and warm they had felt. Taking in your slumping figure, the curly-haired teenager suddenly had an idea. 

“Come,” he said softly, “better not to stay here.”

You seconded that. “I’m going back to my room.”

“To find Weems in front of your door?” he retorted, “nah, bad move. Come with me, I know just the place.” 

Too tired to protest, you followed him without a word through the corridors. Tyler led the way, passing in front of the dinning hall and then to the cooking workshops. Surprisingly the door wasn’t locked and you both entered the pristine clean room. Tyler flickered the light open and you climbed on the edge of one the workbenches, sighing in pain and glancing around skeptically. 

“Any first aid kit in that magical place of yours?” you mumbled in a semblance of a joke – which failed pathetically. 

Tyler nodded and retrieved a small bag and tossed it to you, “Here. Every room with a cooking fire is required to have one. Need help with that?”

You scoffed, rolling up your shirt to inspect your ribs, “Don’t be ridiculous, I’m not a cripple yet.” 

Tyler eyed you for a second – a lingering look on the glimpse of your naked skin – before turning away and rummaging through the cupboards. 

“So, what happened to 'sassing your way out’?” he teased, but his joke was only met with a bitter laugh. 

“Turned out baseball bats outwitted my sarcasm, who could have guessed.”

He snorted. “What did those assholes want?” he then asked more seriously while grabbing a pot and pouring some water in it. 

Snickering, you tried to refrain a hiss when you carefully poked at your painful rib, “Boring things really, getting me out of the school, calling me names, y’know the usual.”

“I didn’t think ‘the usual’ included beating the shit out of you.”

You exhaled loudly in annoyance, “It’s no big deal I said, drop it.”

“One of them called you a murderer,” insisted Tyler, glancing at you over his shoulder. 

His stubbornness was starting to get on your nerves, “Big fucking news, I’m kinda one in everyone’s eyes here.”. But Tyler didn’t get the hint and he leaned against the ledge of the hob, crossing his arms over his chest. 

“Does it have something to do with the Jeremiah guy they talked about?”

“Ugh! You really want to know?” you growled loudly, snapping at him, “fine! Jeremiah was a vampire student at Nevermore and I assaulted him, happy?” 

Tyler’s eyebrows rose high in surprise. For the second time this evening he had witnessed you losing your temper; you had always such a cool and collected behavior, it was definitely not something he had expected. 

“Send the fucker to the hospital for a month, and in return I was sent in juvie and that’s it, end of the story. Happy now?” you finished with a bitter snarl. 

But the freckled boy didn’t seem over with that yet. His dumbfounded expression still held to many questions. “Wait, they sent you to juvie because you fought with a student? That’s insane, no one goes that far for a teenager fight.”

A dark chuckle escaped you and you glanced up to him menacingly, “You think I fought with him? I fucking destroyed him, that’s what I did. That’s right,” you continued to the puzzled expression on his face, “tore that son of a bitch apart and burned the vampire out of him like the big bad Van Helsing I am.” 

Only a loud gulp answered you, and you went back to a closed-off silence, mulling over your bitterness – and shame. Even if you were untimely convinced that what you did had to be done, you weren’t overly fond of that memory either. 

“How many students know about that?” asked carefully Tyler, trying to catch your gaze but you avoided him purposefully. 

“All of them,” you muttered, “officially it was an accident. But they all know who to blame.”

Despite your elusive explanations, Tyler could feel that there was more to it but couldn’t yet picture what. “What aren’t you telling me?”

You scoffed, “I’m telling you what I want. I’m the bad guy in that story and I’m not more welcomed here than you are, that’s all.”. Tyler opened his mouth, ready to ask you why you were pushing him away again, but you cut him, “Your water’s boiling.”

He whipped his head around and swore under his breath at the forgotten pot. You took the opportunity to make a check of your physical state. Although it wasn’t so glorious, the extent of your injuries didn’t feel so bad. Without a mirror it was hard to tell how much of your face was bruised; but you definitely took a hell of a beating. At least you got the confirmation that your ribs weren’t broken, or else it would have hurt a lot more. After dabbing some alcohol on your bloody knuckles, palms and forearms you had scratch when falling, you tried to dress the wound on your forehead the best you could. A bag of frozen peas landed next to you. 

“For your cheek,” said Tyler from where he stood.

 You nodded your head in thanks as you pressed the bag against your bruised cheek, wincing at the cold against the bruise. Tyler returned a few moments after, two smoking cups in his hand. When he handed you one, you looked at him in disbelief. 

“What’s that?” 

“Coffee. Looked like you could use some.” 

Sniffing tentatively over the cup, rich aromas filled your nose like a blessing. After an experimental sip you couldn’t hold back a long moan. 

“Jesus fuck, did you make that?” you asked in disbelief, and he nodded sheepishly. 

“Might not be as good as the ones from the Weathervane, but at least it’s edible.”

Drinking eagerly like you were the thirstiest woman on hearth, you let out an appreciative whimper, “This is heaven, how did you pull that trick?”

Tyler gave you a timid smile, “Got a few barista tricks when I was working at the coffee shop. Made more coffee than I can count.”

The last drops of the warm drink rolled down your throat, and you hummed in delight. Then you looked up to Tyler, who was watching you closely; the concern hadn’t disappeared from his face, and somehow, that felt comforting too. 

“Thank you,” you muttered softly. “For the coffee and for…earlier. You didn’t have to intervene.” And you didn’t have to ask about Jeremiah and the accident, you added internally. Even if you would never admit it out loud, it didn't feel so bad to talk about your side of the story to someone actually listening – even if you had presented things roughly. 

He offered you a kind smile; a real, non-sarcastic, kind smile, “Couldn’t let my favorite bodyguard in a sticky situation.”

“Except you could have,” you countered in a tired tone, “you could have let those students beat the shit out of me, could have been your opportunity to run away from Nevermore.” 

Heavy silence filled the room for a moment; then, Tyler approached closer until his legs touched your knees, gaze boring into yours. You found yourself face barely inches from his once again, detailing every freckles and red angry stretches of his scars. 

“Hey,” he breathed out in a whisper, “I’m not letting you down okay?”

“Why?” you whispered in confusion, “I’m an obstacle to you, I could kill you if I’m forced to…why are you so keen on helping me?” 

Raising one of his hands slowly, Tyler stroked the edge of the clumsily-put bandaid above your eyebrow, careful not to hurt you, “Because you’re the only one who had come to my defense,” he said softly. “And under that thick shell of yours, I think you understand me.”

His words made your throat feel tight; yeah, maybe you and Tyler weren’t so different after all. Even in a place full of outcasts, you stood aside awkwardly. Little by little, Tyler had come to be perhaps your only friend in that place. 

Still, you knew you had to continue to push him away. Not from you necessarily, but from your heart. 

The mission at hand was to protect him, but more than anything, you had to protect yourself. No matter how nice and cocky Tyler was, you knew the shell of sarcasm and laid-back attitude you had built for yourself could crumble if you weren’t paying enough attention. But the temptation of letting him in was becoming so, oh so strong. So you allowed yourself to let your defenses down slightly just tonight, and leaned your forehead against Tyler’s chest. 

“Yeah,” you whispered, “maybe we’re equally fucked up you and me.”

[Part.4] 

A/N: Wenclair? WENCLAIR.  When editing I’ve noticed that I didn’t mention Xavier so much in this fic so far; this is not about shadowbanning the character due to the Percy affair going on, I legit just didn’t give much place to his character yet, it’ll come with time (but I legit think he won’t have much place in this fic, I’d rather write about him with him as a main character :DD) (maybe once this fic is over I’ll write for him, I have some ideas for one shots!)

Thanks everyone for reading, I hope you enjoyed this part ♥ Hope you’re all doing okay, take care of you ♥

Taglist: 

@igotanidea​ @officerrrfriendly​ @beggingforxavierthorpe​ @aliciahlewis​ @stresseyzesty​ @katiemrty​ @leightonsteele​ @black-swan-blog27​ @mooniesthings​

Usernames unfound by Tumblr: 

@spiceyhotsherbet

Plz tell me if I’ve forgotten you in the taglist (or if you wanna join!)

[obsxssedwithstuff]

Phoebe Green's "Maniac" is THE Trick song because the lyrics are them hear me out

You play girls like a man, (Nick)

but your eyes are like a child (either of them, but especially Nick's eyes are sad and puppy all the time)

(Especially in this scene)

Your face is cool and calm, but your hair is wrecked and wild (very obviously nick)

You hide behind your metaphors and pray that no one sees the fare behind your poker face: (consider Troy's "you stayed at the ranch because you love me" and children of violence speech)

Your dark and twisted needs (Nick's drug addiction, Troy's mommy issues, his experiments)

The girls all think you love them, but they make you feel sick (possibly Troy's not being straight and toxic Madison thing)

You smile and whisper in their ear but drop them just as quick (far fetched but Nick staying when Luciana left)

The bottles 'round the back all contain the hearts of lovers (Troy killing Mike, I don't believe they had anything besides friendship but still)

Lipstick stains on the pillow and lies under the covers (I literally don't believe in Nick and Luci)

Let me in, wear me out

Let me in, wear me out

Let me in, wear me out

Let me in, wear me out

(the push and pull Nick and Troy have going on, constantly pointing guns @ eachother)

Your fragile heart and your paper skin (Troy ft. trauma, basement, spoon, and hammer)

Such a beautiful boy filled with so much sin (LITERALLY TROY. and also Nick, but especially Troy, self-explanatory)

Your reflection is your very worst enemy ("you and me are more alike than you think," -Troy @ Nick

"you share the same self-destruction," -Alicia @ Nick

"maybe I'm as sick as he is." "He's a murderer." "Just don't forget what he is" - Nick @ Alicia/Madison)

Behind the glass is an angel, but the devil's beneath (the scene where Troy warns Nick of the horde (with the broken window) and overall the lines of who the 'bad guy' is being blurred(who is behind and who beneath the glass = angel/devil)

You smile at the moon even though it's haunting you (Nick's insomnia/sleeplessness)

You wonder if it ever feels as lonely as you do (literally Troy.)

Your nose is always bleeding but it's fine 'cause it looks pretty (Nick constantly being covered in blood)

It doesn't scare you like it did before the angel city (Los Angeles being Nick's starting point and all (self-explanatory))

(Goofy ahh pic I know)

You maniac, you tortured artist, do you crave attention? (Troy, self-explanatory)

Your shaking hands a consequence of how much you don't mention (both of them prob. Being reluctant to talk about the past, still being affected a lot by it, though(sort of headcanon/sort of canon))

Your mind was made of magic, now its ugly and diseased (Alicia talks about how she used to look up to Nick (this land is your land) and then the drug use. Also, Nick being like his dad and suicidal. Troy being twisted like he is)

Hell is in your head, and your head's between your knees (most definitely both of them, again a headcanon but self-explanatory)

Let me in, wear me out

Let me in, wear me out

Your fragile heart and your paper skin

Such a beautiful boy filled with so much sin

Your reflection is your very worst enemy

Behind the glass is an angel, but the devil's beneath

(See the first time these appear)

You're so lonely, choked on money (not sure about this one as money doesn't play any role here)

Do you ever feel like you completely? ("You'll never feel freer or more yourself than when it's five in the morning and the sun's about to rise and you're out of your mind")

You're so quiet, eyes look tired (Nick fr)

You look like you're barely alive (them 24/7)

You're unreal, I can feel every single bone by your spine (had they gotten together properly :\ )

You're so pretty when you're spitting in the sink, but you can't think straight (Troy after getting beat up, probably)

[elena-oc-blog]

Just in the nick of time for smaugust, here are the hydra brothers Morder, Kashmir and Koel! I was hoping to finish their parents today too but Im feeling a lil too tired to give those pieces the polish they deserve so I guess ill finish those tomorrow hopefully. Also I don't know what the background is, I was completely clueless on what to do and so I just turned my brain off and eventually landed on this which works i guess- A friend of mine mentioned it reminded her of a pokemon battle which i can see. Better throw a pokeball now that they are distracted.

Anyway about the hydrabrothers All hydras are born with two heads, the two original heads were Morder and Koel. Koel admiring his father's many heads and his most idolised dad being a center head and leader, wanted to become a center head himself. So he voluntarily got himself decapitated by morder. However to his horror, instead of regrowing in the middle with a new sibling on the side, the new derpy sibling Kashmir became the middle head instead. Kashmir is friendly, happy go lucky and always willing to make new friends eventhough his brothers are trying to be menacing to uphold the family reputation. Their dad is a mob boss and leads a gang of greek monsters and creatures. The brothers are the heir to his business though he isnt too happy about kashmir having popped up. He is very proud and fond of morder and koel though. More about the individual brothers: Koel: Sees himself as the leader. He has a very hot temper and a very toxic relationship with masculinity. He will insist that he is the manliest man that ever was and refuses to do anything that would make him look "soft" including crying or showing love to his brothers and also disapproves of morder's bisexuality. He idolises his dad don, who encourages his toxic behaviour and attitude.

Morder: Levelheaded and often the one to get him and his brothers out of trouble. He is a lot more laid back and though he is a tough guy, he also has no issue with flirting with guys and girls alike and does have a bit of a dramatic theatrical flair to him. He doesn't really care all that much what either of his parents think of him but still he goes along with the flow, not really interested in kicking up a fuss. He is very extroverted and enjoys going to parties Kashmir: innocent, friendly and oblivious, kashmir is the newest addition to the family. He is what hydra dad would call "a defect" as in his opinion, hydras should be strong and aggressive and always ready to fight. Hydra mom however, has quite the soft spot for him and spoils him (and hydradad's own mute soft head) like crazy. The brothers' room is largely overtaken by kashmir's plushie hoard and whenever they watch tv at home, kashy is the one who gets to pick what they will watch which most often is sailor moon, ghibli movies and other feel good anime series. Kashmir is fascinated by japanese culture, especially the kawaii aspect, and has appropriated it for himself. Yep he is a cringe weeaboo who uses random japanese phrases and words into his vocabulary sometimes. Hydramoms will import all the cute merch and fun snacks their baby boy asks for, and his brothers get none of it. It's another reason morder and koel aren't the fondest of kashy. Kashy is oblivious tho and still loves his brothers. Okay thats all time to make myself dinner

[greylight32]

So, lets ignore everything that happened yesterday! (For now atleast, don't y'all think I'll spare you from my angst)

Lets talk more Nick and Nicholas AUs! I've got a new one and I'm wondering if you guys might like it!

So it's based in a apocalyptic-medieval world where, elves, humans, dwarfs, etc, all lived in relative peace. Until one day demons and angels decided to move their fight to the mortal plain.

But the story takes place after that shit has happened, around 20 years into the future, at the sacrifice for the local Demon overlord. He refused to take kids but obviously doesn't want them staying in town to make their revenge plots easier. So when Glenn gets chosen to be the sacrifice only a few days after Morgan's death, Nick has some disagreements with it. But the demons laugh as they separate the two of them, Nick yelling for his dad as he's dragged back to his home to collect his final things, Glenn yelling for him to take his lock box.

Nick takes the lock box from under the floor boards and finds a note and a map, telling him that if something had happened to him to go to a camp called the Odyssey. That people would take care of him there. He grabs the rest of his things and when he was thrown out swears to the demon overlord that he'll come back and kill him, when he least expects it and that he would bring the rage of the ten hells with him. The demon then looks at him with a look Nick can’t decipher. And then Nick gets thrown out of the town, meets the other dad and their kids, and learns that his mom was "other worldly" (she was an angel he learned it by the fact he started growing wings). Over the years he learns, he trains, he loves, and he's prepared to make Jodie lose everything. Him and the Oak boys make elaborate plans on how they would burn the place to the ground with holy fire.

But when the day comes, no one comes with him. Not because they didn't want to, the kids all begged Nick to let them come with, to help him, to make sure he didn't lose himself out there. But Nick stood firm, he was the only one to avenge his father's death. No one else could come (because he didn't want them to see him take pleasure as he watch life leave each man's eyes as he puts a sword through their gut)

Now here comes Nicholas's side of the narrative

His Mom died when he was really young, and he was raised as the prince of the east, by his Dad with the help of his Uncle Glenn. They've spent 10 years (1 year less then how long he's been gone) looking for Nick. And currently Nicholas in running away, it's not like this isn't a common occurrence. But he's gotten pretty far this time, and his dad might actually ground him this time! But Nicholas bumps into an interesting looking guy! An angel with a gun on his hip, white wings on his back, and a halo tipping a bit father then it should. And hey! He has his face!

Nicholas decides that he's gonna start following Nick around, especially after finding out that he's gonna kill a guy to avenge his dad, because now he plans on helping!

Nick got a new unwanted travel mate, one that only brings trouble wherever he goes, seriously how important could this guy be that demon and angel alike are trying to kidnap/kill him? And no! He does not enjoy the company of this Narc, even if when he makes a joke it's the first time Nick has given a real genuine smile to anything in months. But he letting stick around because he promised he'd help kill Jodie, well he didn't ask for the name but he said he'd help in any way he could.

But when will Nicholas realize that the man he agreed to help kill is his own father?

And when will Nick realize that he's trying to avenge a man who's not even dead?

[the-delta-42]

Series

My Multi-chaptered Fics/Series

War Circle AU - Miraculous Ladybug - Marinette has an older brother who has the Wolf Miraculous, the head of the War Circle.

The Pirate Prince - Legend of Zelda - Link was orphaned at 3 months old and taken in by the King of the Gerudo, Ganondorf. Fast-forward seventeen years later, a disagreement results in Link leaving and start sailing the seas as the captain of The Fierce Deity, a Pirate ship that is known for hunting down various Criminals and pirates alike, But the winds of destiny throw Link back to his family. Zelink.

To Find Hyrule -  Legend of Zelda - Link never expected to find a home on the waves. Tetra never expected to find a home in a person. A Series of non-chronological One-Shots that'll vary in length that'll follow Link and Tetra, and their growing relationship, as they look for New Hyrule. Set after Phantom Hourglass. I decided there wasn't enough of Tetra and Link, so here's a series of one shots around them. Telink.

To Find Hyrule Reblogged - The To Find Hyrule series in Chronological Order

Agents Like Us -  Zootopia - Before Nick was hustling with Finnick, he was a secret agent with Mammal Military Intelligence 5 and FBI. Now, ten years after Nick left, his old partner has come to call. After all, Nick can't run from Jack, not again. This story will contain Ships. Featuring Nick Wilde, Judy Hopps, Jack Savage and Others.

Rewrite History - Miraculous Ladybug - Bunnyx changing history of Ladybug’s orders, in an attempt to advert a disastrous event.

To the Final Frontier - Miraculous/Star Trek -

Valentine’s Prompts - Miraculous Ladybug - The Prompts from DeviantArt’s Valentine’s day

Bridges AU - Miraculous Ladybug - Adrien and Marinette have a falling out and Marinette is forced through the pain of losing her family. Started out as salt, future parts will retcon things

Marivenger - Miraculous Ladybug/Marvel - Marinette teaming up with the Avengers

Critical - Miraculous Ladybug - Marinette is injured in an Akuma attack and is left fighting for her life

Armed AU - Miraculous Ladybug - While fighting an Akuma, Ladybug is disarmed and exposed to the city of Paris

Hush AU - Miraculous Ladybug - Marinette’s parents discover her secret

Rules of Precinct One - Zootopia - The rules that all Officers in Precinct One have to follow. Zootopia.

Revealed - Miraculous Ladybug - Marinette has a terrible secret revealed after Rose is Akumatized

New Car AU -  Miraculous Ladybug/Transformers Prime - Marinette thought she had a normal car, after her last one was stolen and torched, but it opened her world up for a whole lot of insanity.

Maribat -  Miraculous Ladybug/DC - Genetics are a wonderful thing, unless the substitute Science teacher is an arsehole. Bio Dad Bruce Wayne.

Miraculous Transformers - All MLB-TF cross over fics

In Plain Sight -  Miraculous Ladybug/Transformers - LB-14 and CN-15 were dispatched to Paris under orders from Optimus Prime. Nowhere in those orders was the recommendation for them to crash into a building and reveal themselves to a group of locals.

Autobot City - Transformers: Prime, Rescue Bots & Robots in Disguise 2015 AU

Grief -  Miraculous Ladybug - WARNING! THIS STORY HAS MAJOR CHARACTER DEATH, VIOLENCE AND SOMEONE TAKING THEIR OWN LIFE! IF THIS IS LIKELY TO SET YOU OFF IN ANY WAY DO NOT READ! A moment is all it took. A moment is the cost of a battle. A moment that starts a whole domino effect that leads to the end for so many.

Too Far AU - Miraculous Ladybug - This series has implied and referenced rape/non-con elements. If this is likely to trigger, offend or otherwise make you react in a negative way DO NOT READ! A group from another class believe Lila's lies too well and believe Marinette is working with Hawkmoth. The group decide to take the law into their own hands, only for them to go too far in their 'interrogation' techniques.

Winged Mirabel AU - Encanto - An Encanto AU where Mirabel has wings

Know Better AU -  My parts for Tumblr's Fake Apology AU, but I'm going to remove as much of the salt from it as possible. - Miraculous Ladybug - Marinette hears Nino and Adrien talking and gets the wrong end of the stick, which creates a domino effect that causes a dark secret to be revealed. TW: contains mentions of abuse, past non-con and Gabriel Agreste being a shit person

Family - The Walking Dead -Alvin and Rebecca reluctantly agree to foster Clementine, a troubled child they've fostered before, after her latest foster family send her back into care.

TWDG Wing AU - The Walking Dead - If you were fortunate enough, you were born with wings. If you weren’t, you’d hope a child in your family would born with wings. Lee and his younger brother fell into the former camp, their parents were in the camp with them. Centuries ago, people with wings were once treated as deities, then were hunted, and then treated with the utmost respect. After an apocalypse interrupts Lee's journey to prison, he suddenly finds himself acting as a guardian for a little girl called Clementine. While doing his best to care for, and protect, her, he finds himself on the long road to redemption.

TWDG Reunions AU - After Clementine and AJ are exiled from the school, they make their way to New Richmond and the New Frontier. After reuniting with some old friends and a couple of accidents, the pair forge a new life in the community. Ten years later, they experience a tragedy and an unexpected reunion.

The Black Order - Harry Potter - The Order of the Phoenix wasn't the only secret group that stood against Voldemort and his Death Eaters. But no one wants to talk about the Black Order.

Why? - Miraculous Ladybug/Incredibles/Marvel/DC - In a misguided attempt to help his friend, Adrien takes her sketchbook and shows it to his father. The actions Gabriel takes draw world wide condemnation and causes two families to band together to bring him down.

Hindsight - Miraculous Ladybug - Lila doesn't agree to Adrien's deal, so Damocles never goes back on his decision to expel Marinette. Soon, Mdm. Bustier is in an interview at another school and finds that there are more differences between her previous and current workplace than she expected. A few days later, Marinette is offered a place at another school, while her previous class realise the truth about Lila. After an incident during an Akuma attack, everyone starts to understand that hindsight is 20/20.

Your Royal Highness - Miraculous Ladybug/Assassin's Creed AU - For over 2000 years, three kingdoms, known as Eden, Elysium and Babylon, appeared. For 2000 years, the Assassin's have protected those kingdoms, as well as the vaults that are hidden within them. With the Prince of Elysium in Paris, two Novices are placed as his body guards in a bid to expediate their training. Unfortunately, Hawkmoth appears, leading to one of the Novices to being given a Miraculous. Soon Hawkmoth will understand the meaning of Nothing in True, Everything in Permitted.

Full Moon - Miraculous Ladybug/Harry Potter - At three years old a werewolf, by the name of Fenrir Greyback, bit Marinette during a full moon. Being a werewolf is Marinette's biggest and greatly guarded secret, even more than her identity as Ladybug. And Lila, in an attempt to turn everyone against Marinette, accidentally tells the truth.

The Truth - Miraculous Ladybug - Marinette trying to tell Adrien the truth leads to a series of unexpected events.

Fall of Order - Miraculous Ladybug/Star Wars - On the cusp of starting her Jedi Trials, Padawan Marinette Dupain-Cheng was on her last mission with her Master Wang Fu attempting to gain Mandalorian support in the final days of the Clone War, when Order 66 was broadcast and the Republic became the Empire.

Returns - Lee is confused after waking up in the middle of a forest with Carley and Ben, meanwhile at Ericson's, Clementine is trying to wrap her head around dead friends coming back to life and her unexpected condition.

Master and Padawan - Star Wars: Rebels A.U. The Jedi and the Republic never fell, Anakin didn't fall and Palpatine is dead. After Obi-Wan and Luke bring back a prisoner from Malachor, the Council must decide what they must do with Maul’s captured Apprentice.

Home - In the final year of the Clone War, four years after being forced to leave her home, Jedi Clementine Marsh is forced to take four Jedi and their troops to her home world, after the Wildfire Virus is accidentally released while sparring with Anakin Skywalker's apprentice. Forced to confront her past, Clementine must ensure her men survive while waiting for Republic aid.

The Walking Dead Game What Ifs - Inspired by the works done by @thecrusadercomrade and @bourbonificould. A set on disconnected oneshots based on Telltales The Walking Dead Game with elements from The Walking Dead TV Show.

Ripples - How much of the future would change, if one small detail is changed? Ariana is saved from being attacked, little near a century later her great-great grandson enters Hogwarts at the start of his first year. Ariana never actually thought Harry would be in danger though. (I forgot to post the Chapters here.)

Abused and Broken - An unexpected miracle results in people lost during the first Wizarding war returning to the land of the living. No one knows who brought them back, nor do they know how or why. They just have to fix the broken parts of their families as best as they can.

Harry Potter What Ifs - Coming Soon

Star Wars What Ifs - Coming Soon

[timexticksxby]

Prompt 004 - Offering a Tithe to Time

A memory. Would that really be enough, for something as greedy as time and it's ruler? Would he truly be willing to give up a memory capable of satiating that yawning abyss of possibilities and path? It was those thoughts plaguing his head after his chatter with his fellow demigods during the night. Losing himself in something more light hearted, while the echoes of it shifted in the back of his head.

Under that cover of darkness, he trod his way toward the temple. It didn't look in the best shape, but he figured an open sky view wasn't the worst thing. Hoping for silence. Hoping for the quiet, aside from that constant noise he practically felt in his veins. Tick, tock, like a clock keeping an eternal measure of time passing.

Borrowed time.

"I guess none of it was ever an offering to you, was it? Can't just say time hasn't already taken plenty from me, and asking for more just feels greedy. Like you don't owe me for rising up to this call, for being willing to put myself in danger, but I guess that's on me, too. Us. Him."

A pocket knife drawn, a nick to his ring finger, and the brazier in front of Cronus statue was fed blood from a clenched fist. Crimson slipping free in droplets.

"I give you this blood, Cronus. This blood, that is proof of me still living on borrowed time. My time was meant to be cut short, but he stepped in. This heart is his, and I offer you what could have been. A future with him, a short but happy life. All those possibilities are yours to take. Maybe they'd have found some way to repair what was wrong in me before the end, maybe I'd already be just something in the past for him already, maybe I'd have died instead. Maybe, maybe, maybe.

I give you those moments. Those precious few minutes, of him in my arms. Of blood, staining my fingers. I give you the memory of my tears, and of the time taken from him, too. He was so good, Dad. He was... I don't know how he did it. Why. If anything ever happened to him, that it was mine. That he'd keep me breathing if he ever stopped.

If all of those possibilities aren't enough to satiate you today, then my future is still all yours in turn. I agreed to be here, to fight, in your name, and in his memory. I offer you what was, what could have been, and what will be."

The scar still felt heavy on his chest, a thin white line from the base of his throat, down to below his ribs. The rhythm in his chest was never just his own. Not any more. The heart wasn't his, it was Noah's. The blood in his veins was partly his, the song in it came from Cronus and Calvin alike, but that would have stopped without him.

And the future he swore to live was now the God of Times.

[cyberphuck]

So, about the story of how I met my dad and why I love him so much

@qthewhatever asked me to talk about my dad, how he became my dad, and our relationship. I thought this was going to be a fun jaunt through good memories, with maybe a few grateful tears along the way. But the story of why my dad is so special to me can't be told without the context of why my mother *isn't* special to me, and the stark difference between how he treats me, and how I was treated by her. The cliff's notes version (do they even have those anymore?): Dad became my dad kind of by accident, when Seb and I started "pretending" to be siblings in order to be able to rent a room together. Dad is Seb's dad, so it follows that since I'm Seb's sibling, Dad is my dad too. Then he just... fell into the role, because dads gotta dad. He is always proud of me, no matter what, and no matter how badly I fuck something up he could never, ever stop loving me. He cares about me and doesn't get annoyed by the ups and downs of my moods. He lets me cry when I need to. He lets me take a break when I need to. He loves me, *really* loves me, so totally and completely that even though we look absolutely nothing alike, no one who has ever seen us together doubts that he's raised me from birth. That's not what it was like with my mom. I only got so far through recounting her decades of abuse before I found that I couldn't do it anymore. I'm still going to post what I have, because I think other people should read it and maybe become comfortable talking about their abuse *as* abuse and not "I'm sure I was doing something wrong somehow, and it was my fault they were always so angry at me." Also, I spent a long time working on it. This is not a happy story. trigger warnings: child abuse, emotional abuse, verbal abuse, mental illness, mentions of suicide, mentions of self harm, mentions of various serial killers, mentions of psychiatric hospitals, autism portrayed in a negative tone, fatphobia, and brief mentions of drugs and drug use. (this story is also not complete; it stops when I'm around 27, but I added an epilogue.)

My family had been in various financial situations throughout my childhood, but I was raised upper middle class, which was the same tax bracket that my mom had been raised in. My biodad, Ichiro (Dave) left when I was three, and I saw him once ten years later and then never again. So mom raised my older brother Nick and I by herself (except for a 3 year stint with Chris the Coke Addict Who's Dead Now) up until I was thirteen.

I'll admit I was not an easy kid to raise. I was (and still am) weird and awkward and autistic and prone to oversharing with strangers as well as long crying spells over seemingly low-importance things. Nick was also sensitive and somewhere on the spectrum, but it was me who was the loud one, the hyper one, the one who people politely said was a "late bloomer" and "marched to the beat of their own drummer" (at one point my mom told me I was "marching backwards.") I refused or forgot to eat so often that at six I became malnourished enough to warrant a visit by CPS. I was always being called into the principal's office for doing weird shit at school, like making potions out of shampoo and throwing them at passing cars or lion-roaring at boys I didn't like or whatever. When I got sick, I got VERY sick, like the time I straight up got Scarlet Fever and almost died, or the time I had a fever so high I started convulsing, or the lots of times that I had to do fasting blood draws every month because I had a very low red blood cell count and no one could figure out why.

Bottom line I was very weird. Mom was weird too, my grandparents were weird, but they knew how to "show" in public. I didn't. Nick's nickname for me was "The Spaz." Worse, I constantly craved attention and had absolutely no concept of Stranger Danger (I still kind of don't), and the year I was born, Richard Ramirez was active and killing in Southern California where my mom and Dave lived. In 1992, Jeffrey Dahmer was arrested and his apartment full of chunks of Milwaukee's queer community was broadcasted all over the news. In 1978, when my mom was a young woman, Mary Vincent was attacked by a man who picked her up while hitchhiking. He assaulted her and then attacked her with a hatchet, cutting both her arms off above the elbow. She has hooks for hands now. 

To keep me by her side and not wandering around out in the open, mom told me about all this. Everything-- that Dahmer was killing and eating people, that Ramirez tortured and murdered people, and how Mary Vincent had asked a strange man for a ride and now she had no arms. There's a scene in the beginning of *A Time to Kill* by John Grisham where a young black girl is being raped and tortured by two white men. It's a page or two long, but very graphic, and when I was eight my mom sat me down and made me read it to show me what could happen to me if I went anywhere alone.

At the time, we lived in Lausanne, Switzerland, which is not exactly a hotbed of violent crime.

All that aside, I was a cute kid and a good-looking teenager. I was adorably freckly with never-neat red hair, and then grew into a curvy teen with long red hair and wore cute clothes. Mom bragged to people that I was an author and an artist, and she would often tell me that she loved how 'cool' I was. (cool, in this sense, meant wearing the clothes she bought me and not styling my hair in any way she found ugly. She often pointed out ugly people on TV or on the street, and say something like 'I'm glad YOU don't dress like that.') 

I was smart-- I didn't get good grades because I could never get around to doing my homework, but I scored high on tests and most teachers liked me. I wasn't one of the popular kids, but I was always the leader of whatever little gang I was in, deciding where we went and what we did, and mom loved that, too. And she really, *really* wanted me to go into medicine.

Junior and senior year was where it all started to fall apart. 

Mom's husband is a veteran with severe PTSD. 2001 - 2005 were the worst years with him; he was overbearing at the best of times and the fact that he was a boomer from Brooklyn and I was a millenial from LA really didn't help us see eye to eye. But he had a hair trigger and would back me against a wall to loom over you  and scream in your face. Nick, who was taller and angrier than me, would scream back. Once, Nick was sent to the store for parmesan cheese and came home with the powder kind in the green can instead of the tub of the fancy grated cheese, and the resulting shouting match almost ended in a fist fight.

My depression started getting really bad when I was 17. By 18, I started self-harming, and for the first time had the thought that if I died, if I was gone and were nothing, everything would be better. I also had my first hospitalization.

I'm at 21 inpatient psychiatric stays now.

Worse, I was an adult now and had not transferred gracefully from high school to college (to go into medicine, nothing else was enough for her). I didn't even have a graduation-- I tested out of school in early 2003 and the only pomp and circumstance I got was a half-sheet of paper with 'CALIFORNIA HIGH SCHOOL PROFICIENCY EXAMINATION' printed on it. I had gained a lot of weight, partly due to meds and partly from depression and post-school downtime. She told me my hair looked like a rat's nest and once remarked to her husband, 'look at the size of her!' I no longer wore cute clothes and was not actively trying to turn my art or writing into a profitable career. 

Mom and her husband told me that I absolutely had to go back to school again, or they'd kick me out. The closest community college was two counties away (counties in California are really big). They told me they'd only take me to the nearest bus stop (still an hours' drive) and then I'd have to take a three-hour bus ride to the campus. The absolute earliest bus left at six am, which meant that I could only take classes starting at 10 am, and then had to leave by 2 pm to take the bus back home (the return bus did go all the way back to my area, but didn't run as often). 

They treated my trek back and forth to campus every day not with pride or pity, but contempt, as in "this is what you get for not succeeding." I had two more hospital stays.

After a particularly bad episode with mom's husband where he tried to force his way through a door and I had to climb out a window to get to neighbor's house and call 911, I moved out to stay with Nick, who had left about a year earlier. I was determined to be an adult and build a life for myself, but my depression and self-harming got steadily worse, and though I had several jobs and tried to go to college, every few months I'd do some serious damage to myself and end up back in the psych ward, pushing all my plans back to zero.

Nick moved in with his girlfriend, leaving me to shoulder the rent on our room on my own. I managed for about six months, but I couldn't stay at any job for long. I went to live with Skittle, where my depression took such a nosedive that a lot of nights were just spent huddled in a ball and sobbing. I felt worthless. I felt like I was nothing. 

Skittle and I broke up, and with nowhere to go, I moved back in with my mom. There were short periods thereafter that I would move out again, but basically, after I turned 23, I didn't get away from her again for five years.

Mom was never really happy with me again. I helped out wherever I could, going with her to the ranch where her horses were and volunteering to do all the dirty or hard tasks so she could have more time to ride. I did not and still do not like horses and have no interest in riding them. I went to make her happy. I wanted to do whatever I could to make her like me.

(Mom's ranch friends loved me, because I had been taught to show well in public. With them, I was witty and hard-working, and so sweet to come there to help my mom. Didn't I want to get on a horse, just once? No?)

I brought my mom breakfast and her meds when she woke up, so she could lay in bed while they took effect instead of having to hobble to the kitchen. I did chores around the house. I took the laundry to the laundromat twice a week, and brought them home clean and folded. I walked the dogs and took them to the park. 

My mom told me that I was a draw on finances. I started cleaning houses, and eventually lucked into a job cleaning weed for a hefty sum of money. I made enough money in one three-day weekend to buy my own car, which was a good thing since mom's truck was repossessed not long after. I'd gotten the trimming job in November. I sometimes stayed over at the weed guy's house so I could do two or three days of trimming in a row. In December mom told me that all I cared about was money.

Early the next year, my boss was between sales, so he was late paying me. I owed my mom two hundred dollars (I can't remember for what), and she treated me with open hatred for every day I didn't have it. Bitter and upset, I posted something on facebook to the effect of "does anyone know where I can find two hundred dollars so my mom will love me again?" Mom saw it and sent me a message: 

"you want to play this game? better not call for a while I better not see you for a while. a person must learn to keep family business private [Jaydee]."

I also got:

“Just sit there and pretend you’re not here.”

“I’m trying to reminisce about happier times, before all this.”

“You know you think it’s all about you, but I had your brother first.”

“If you don’t like the things I say to you, leave and find someplace with someone nicer.”

“Go get a shrink and figure out why you’re like this all the time.”

[epilogue: the next year, I was planning to commit suicide because I saw no other way out. Seb offered to let me stay with him in Texas; my options were Texas, or death. I pondered that for a while. A few weeks later, I got a refund of a Pell Grant from my college that they'd mistakenly taken two years earlier. Mom and her husband made it expressly clear that as soon as the money hit my account, I was to hand it over to them. Instead, I bought a plane ticket, pulled out the rest of the money in cash, wiped my ass with her husband's face towel, and snuck out with two suitcases in the middle of the night. I had left a note for mom saying I didn't want to be abused anymore and told her I was going to stay with a friend in Central California to throw her off my trail. I also told her that if she ever tried to find me, or bothered any of my friends to get information, I would put all of her secrets and records of her abuse on facebook for all her friends and relatives to read.

I didn't see her or speak to her again for nearly ten years, until this May. Then I flipped her off.]

[mrsfrecklesmarauders]

My headcanon is that Dorcas' mum and Mulciber's dad got married, so they became step siblings. Dorcas met another side of Nicolai Mulciber. He is different with them. They learned to care for each other like real siblings. And Nick became Dorcas' first friend when they were thirteen. It is because of this marriage that Dorcas got to Hogwarts and became part of The Slytherin Popular Gang.

***********************

Dorcas hadn't officially met Marlene's family. Marcus McKinnon used to be a big rugby star. And now Marlene's brother Adam was getting big in rugby as well. Everyone talked about how he was so talented and handsome. The next star, so they said.

Dorcas had heard plenty of things about Marlene's family, though. Marlene loved talking about them. Even if she complained a lot, it was pretty obvious for Dorcas that she cared a lot about them.

And now, Dorcas was going to meet the people Marlene had told stories about. Not on purpose. But Adam had had a terrible accident on field. And Dorcas was there. At the hospital. Kind of by surprise. They wanted to be there for Marlene. They thought they needed to.

But as Dorcas walked in, their mind went to what Nick had told them. Dorcas' mum, Daisy Zivai, one of the most famous ballet dancers and Marlene's dad, McKinnon the Rugby Star, used to date. One of the most famous couples in the showbiz.

It didn't change anything. What Dorcas felt for Marlene. How happy she made them. Everything they lived through. Their parents' relationship had nothing to do with them.

But knowing Marlene, Dorcas didn't know if it was a good idea to tell her.

When Dorcas spotted Cole, Marlene's other brother in the hall, they put their thoughts to the side.

"Hey..." Dorcas spoke.

Cole looked up from his phone. All the McKinnons were very alike. Blond, freckles, green eyes. Cole's blond was a bit darker but there was no doubt he was Marlene's brother.

"I am Dorcas Meadowes..." they said "I am Marlene's... Friend?"

"Are you sure?"

"What?"

Cole giggled "You don't sound sure about that"

"I am her..." Dorcas didn't know why they couldn't tell Cole, Marlene and them were dating "Yeah I am sure"

Cole raised an eyebrow, but before he could say anything, his phone rang.

"Sorry" he picked up "Hello? George!! What's up, mate?"

Cole pointed to a door, gesturing Dorcas to get Inside. Then he walked away talking and laughing through his phone.

Dorcas stared at the door. Perhaps Marlene was in that room. So Dorcas knocked.

"Yeah, come in" a voice said from inside.

When Dorcas entered the room, they spotted none other than Adam McKinnon. He was sitting in bed with his leg lifted up with bandages. He looked sleepy and tired.

"Hey Adam"

"New nurse?"

"No" Dorcas chuckled as they came inside "I am Marlene's friend. Dorcas..."

"I didn't know Marlene had Slytherin friends" Adam raised an eyebrow as he stared at Dorcas' Slytherin Hoodie.

"You say that as if it is a bad thing"

Adam blinked.

"No Sorry!" he exclaimed "I didn't mean it like that... I am just..."

"A proud Gryffindor?"

Adam chuckled.

"Yeah"

"I know all The McKinnons had been Gryffindors"

Dorcas' mum hadn't been to Hogwarts. So the house dilemma wasn't a big deal for her. But Nick was a Slytherin. Zion, his father, had been Slytherin. All of Dorcas' friends were Slytherins. And ever since Dorcas came to Hogwarts when they were thirteen, they had been bombarded with the idea that Gryffindors were the enemy. Dorcas was a bit tired of the two houses enmity.

"I have nothing against Slytherins" Adam rubbed his neck nervously "I guess not all of you are bad..." he snorted "When my friend Ted and I were at Hogwarts, there was just this group of Slytherins that made our lives miserable... They were called the..."

"The Knights" Dorcas finished. Nick. Nick and his friends were Knights.

Adam nodded "Marlene told me that group still existed" he tutted "They should be banned"

Dorcas thought about how important it had been for their step brother to get into the Knights. Because his father was one. And this year he became their new leader.

Dorcas felt the need to ask Adam what did The Knights used to do to him and his friend. But they didn't. They didn't want to know.

Dorcas smiled instead.

"Speaking of Marlene... Where is she?"

"Went with mum and dad to grab some stuff from home" Adam explained "Looks like I am staying for a few days"

"Oh!" Dorcas played with their hoodie's sleveees.

"You can wait for her here..." Adam smiled "There is no problem" then he pointed to the chair next to his bed "Take a seat"

Dorcas wasn't sure about it but they were here already. And they wanted to see Marlene. Besides, it would be interesting to get to know Adam.

"Adam is the perfect little rugby boy" Marlene used to say about him "Daddy's favorite. Mummy's boy. Good student, excellent player. Handsome. Popular with the girls... What a wanker! Such an attention seeker"

"OK" Dorcas said as they took a seat nervously.

Adam looked at them.

"You're really pretty, Dorcas"

Dorcas smiled embarrassed.

"Sorry!" Adam exclaimed, blushing a little "Awkward comment, right?"

Dorcas shook their head.

"Thanks" they smiled.

"I mean I think you are cool... That's it. That's all" Adam stuttered.

Dorcas was amused.

"Cool purple hair"

"Marlene dyed it for me" Dorcas giggled as they touch it. Dorcas had never dared to change their hair. Marlene had been convincing them about stuff like that.

"Marlene changes her hair all the time" Adam tutted.

"I know" Dorcas laughed.

"Are you in Marlene's year?"

"Actually a year below"

"Oh... Cool.. Cool"

Adam looked away uncomfortably. There was a brief silence between them. Dorcas thought Adam was actually nice and cool. They wanted to like him. He was Marlene's brother. The girl Dorcas was in love with. It felt like love, at least. It truly did.

"How's your leg?"

"How long have you been Marlene's friend?"

They spoke at the same time out of the sudden. Then they laughed about it.

"Oh my leg is fine" Adam said "It hurts only when I move it. So I won't be able to walk, dance..." he smiled and Dorcas giggled "or play Rugby..." he hissed "Dad is not gonna like that"

"I am sure you will get better soon" Dorcas said "Back in the field in no time"

Adam's expression changed.

"I kind of hope I don't" he whispered.

"What do you mean?"

Marlene had told Dorcas that Adam had played rugby since he was six. He loved it. All the McKinnons did. They breathed rugby. But Adam was especially good. He was especially trained by his father.

Adam didn't answer. He swallowed instead. Then he shrugged.

"Never mind"

Adam was uncomfortable, so Dorcas thought it was best not to ask anymore.

"I've known Marlene since I was thirteen...." Dorcas noticed Marlene since she defended them when an older boy laughed at their braids. The ones their mum used to do even when Dorcas was younger. Dorcas had never seen anyone more cool. Marlene was too short and skinny to be able to insult someone like that. Dorcas thought she was so pretty. And Dorcas had been noticing Marlene ever since.

"But we've been... closer for a few months now"

"Okay..." Adam nodded.

And Dorcas was thinking maybe they should tell Adam the truth. He was Marlene's brother. And he deserved to know about his sister's partner.

"Actually, Adam..." they added "Marlene and I..."

"Okay dumbass..." And suddenly they were interrupted by none other than Marlene entering the room. Dorcas smiled immediately. She was so pretty. Blue tight leggings, a gray sweater, no makeup and the blue locks of hair mixing with her blond hair. Yes, they had dyed their hair together. So adorable.

"I brought you your..." Marlene stopped when she noticed Dorcas there.

"Dorcas!"

She was surprised. But apparently not in a good way. Marlene's eyes flickered between Dorcas and her brother.

"What are you doing here?"

Dorcas stood up, willing to explain. But Adam spoke first.

"Marly..." he smiled "Your friend Dorcas is really cool... I mean for a Slytherin" and he winked at Dorcas when he said that.

Dorcas gave him a quick smile.

Marlene didn't seem happy.

"You're not happy to see me..." Dorcas concluded. Mostly to themself.

"No! Of course I am" Marlene came closer giving Dorcas a hug.

Dorcas giggled as she squeezed.

Then Marlene faced them. And Dorcas leaned in for a kiss. But Marlene moved to kiss their cheek instead.

Then she turned to Adam, showing him a bag.

"Here bro! I brought you your things"

Marlene dropped it on Adam's belly so hard he made an "Oof" sound, probably getting out of breath.

"Thanks Marlene" Adam said. .

"Anything for you, big bro!" Marlene patted his broken leg a little bit too hard. Adam whined in pain.

"Ouch! Marlene"

"Oh! Uups. Sorry!" Marlene said sarcastically, crossing her arms.

Dorcas observed how Adam rolled his eyes.

"So you two are really good friends now, ha? Gossiping about me?"

"Not really no" Adam said "You're not that interesting, right Dorcas?"

Marlene moved her hand to touch Adam's leg again.

"No! Sorry Marly! Please don't!"

Marlene hesitated for a second. But then she patted Adam's leg anyway.

"Aaah!" Adam complained about his pain again.

Dorcas smiled when the door opened again and Marlene's parents walked through the door.

"You should have let me talk to them, Fiona"

"You're not telling the press lies"

"They are not lies! Adam is getting better!"

Marcus McKinnon was a very handsome sculpted man with gray hair and a stylished beard. Fiona McKinnon was a shorter and skinner dirty blond woman. She dressed more elegantly. With a tight ponytail on her head. And dark red lips.

Dorcas thought about their mum dating Mr. McKinnon. He was probably very handsome when he was younger. And yeah, Dorcas' mum was beautiful as well. Dorcas wondered what happened between them. Were they in love? Like perhaps Marlene and Dorcas were now. Dorcas thought about relationships and how they didn't last. They feared for theirs.

It was Fiona who noticed Dorcas first.

"Hello! Who are you?"

Dorcas was frozen for a second. But then Marlene cleared her throat.

"Mum! Dad!" she said "This is Dorcas Meadowes....She is a friend from school" the last part, she added quickly. Like she was too embarrassed to speak. And looking at the floor. So not Marlene.

Dorcas was disappointed. It wasn't the fact that Marlene didn't use the correct pronouns. Dorcas was still figuring things out about their gender and identity. It was maybe the fact that Marlene said they were friends. She sounded so embarrassed of them.

But Dorcas did their best to smile.

"Nice to meet you Mr. and Mrs. McKinnon"

Fiona gave Dorcas a really fake smile. And Marcus was looking at Dorcas suspiciously. Dorcas kind of looked like their mum. Perhaps Mr. McKinnon was remembering about his ex. Dorcas hoped he didn't say anything. It would be awkward.

"Nice to meet you, Dorcas" he said instead.

There was a long moment of awkward silence until Adam said:

"Don't let the hoodie trick you. Dorcas is cool and she seems to be very close to Marlene..."

"Don't make me pat your leg again, Adam" Marlene groaned.

"Marlene, don't bother your brother" Fiona tutted "He needs to get better"

"Come on! He is perfectly fine, aren't you?" Marcus added.

Adam sighed in defeat. Like he was uncomfortable with the whole situation. How his parents cornered his bed. How Fiona was stroking his hair gently. And how Marcus was checking him out as if he was gonna heal any time.

And Marlene was angry.

"Yeah we are going out" Marlene said as she grabbed Dorcas' hand. She dragged them to the door. But no one seemed to notice. But when they opened the door, Cole was there. And his eyes spotted Marlene and Dorcas' hands intertwined. He smirked.

"Where were you, Cole?" Marlene practically shouted.

"Talking over the phone" he shrugged.

Marlene pushed him away.

"Get out! Let us through!" Marlene exclaimed "Asshole!"

Cole laughed as if he was used to being insulted by his baby sister.

"Thank you for visiting us, Dorea" Cole said as Marlene dragged Dorcas away.

"It is Dorcas"

But Cole probably didn't listen.

Marlene took Dorcas outside to a nice patio by a fountain. It was beautiful and sunny outside.

Marlene wrapped her arms around Dorcas' neck the minute they arrived.

"Oh I am so happy you are here!!"

Then Marlene faced them with a smile and grabbed their face to give them a kiss. Dorcas pulled away.

"You're angry with me" Marlene pouted.

"No" Dorcas shook their head. But they sounded angry.

Dorcas sighed.

"Marlene, we've been dating for four months..."

Marlene smiled about that fact and she began playing with Dorcas' hair.

"Yeah I know..."

"Why doesn't your family know me? Know me as your partner?"

Marlene sighed. Then she shrugged.

"They don't care" Marlene shook her head "They would think you, us... That it is just a phase that I will sure get over. Because Marlene is always doing dumb stuff and dragging attention to herself..." she rolled her eyes.

"Are they homophobic?"

Marlene shrugged again.

"I don't think so" she said "They care too much about their precious son to care. And right now, they would think I am driving the attention away from Adam. Because he is the important one now..."

Dorcas didn't know what to say to that.

Marlene touched their chin gently.

"Please don't get mad at me"

"Marlene" Dorcas sighed as if her name caused them pain "I've taken risks for you. I told my mum about us. I've been telling her what I think about ballet and my routine. And I gave up on my training just to go to the beach with you. You know I got in trouble for that, right?"

Marlene didn't answer. She looked down embarrassed. And Dorcas continued.

"And I told Nick about us. I even told Zion! Even if he is not my father and even if he is homophobic" they said "And I keep dating you even if none of my friends like you"

Marlene rolled her eyes.

"Of course they don't"

Dorcas decided to ignore that.

"You got it easier, Marlene" Dorcas continued "Your family is cool"

Marlene snorted.

"You just spend a few minutes with them and you think they are cool? You don't know them" Marlene spat "All my friends know. Because they actually care about me. And they respect the fact that I am into girls.... My family wouldn't! They would take it as a joke! Another of my stupid phases. They think I am a stupid rebel kid that does things for attention. Everything I do! So I don't bother...."

Dorcas crossed their arms and nodded.

"It is what everyone on my side think" they said "That I am going through a phase. That the fact that I am dating you is changing me. That you are making me more of a rebel, that I am not actually nonbinary or whatever. That all of them are stupid ideas you put in my head. That one day I will go back to my old self. But I don't care, Marlene. Because I haven't felt this great. I feel incredible when I am with you! I am discovering myself and doing risky things. And giving my opinions more. And trying things and making mistakes and actually living... " Dorcas snorted "Of course I am going to shout it to the rooftops how much I like you! I don't care if they don't like it"

Marlene's eyes got watery.

"I like you so much as well. I love us together" Marlene sniffed "I would tell them if you want" she shrugged "But it won't be different. You saw them in there. Everything is about Adam and Adam only!"

"Your brother is not that bad. He is really nice"

"Not you too" Marlene sighed "Now that you met him, you are also mesmerized by him"

Dorcas liked Adam. But they loved Marlene. They loved her. Dorcas wished they could shout it out. But they were a coward.

"Marlene, he is your brother. And he cares about you"

"Oh great!" Marlene's temper was raising. Usually it raised quickly "Let's talk about brothers, shall we? Because mine is great but yours, oh, he is an example!"

"Don't bring Nick into this" Dorcas whispered.

"Nicolai Mulciber is a bloody idiot!" Marlene exclaimed "He hurt Mary. And he keeps insulting my friends"

Dorcas felt a knot on their throat. Nick wasn't perfect but he wasn't bad either. He never showed his true self. Always pretending. Always acting like the wanker of his father. Maybe for approval.

But now Dorcas was thinking that Marlene and them came from different worlds. From opposite worlds actually. Not only because of their houses. Because of their families. Because of their friends. Everything. How would Marlene's parents react when they knew their daughter was dating a Slytherin nonbinary person. Someone related to the Mulcibers. Daisy's child. Marcus McKinnon's ex girlfriend. Nothing fitted anymore.

"If you are so interested in describing my brother, I will describe yours too!" Marlene spat "What about that, ha? Or maybe you should shut up and we shouldn't bring our families into this...."

Dorcas' eyes filled with tears.

"Your dad used to date my mum" they whispered.

But loud enough for Marlene to hear. Because she went pale.

"What?"

Dorcas nodded. They were trying so hard not to cry.

"No" Marlene shook her head "That's not true. Who told you?"

Marlene was accusing Dorcas of being an insane wanker or something. Dorcas would ruin things by telling her it had been Nick.

"I found it online"

Partially true. Dorcas had read part of an article about them online after Nick gave them the news. But they stopped because they were getting nauseous.

Dorcas sighed because Marlene was too shocked to say anything..

"Marlene, I love you" There it was. They said it "But we are too complicated to exist"

Marlene shook her head as tears run down her cheeks. That's all she did.

Dorcas leaned in and gave her a peek on the lips.

"I shouldn't have come" they said.

And then they started walking away. All they wanted to do was cry far away from there.

"I don't want to fight!" Marlene said desperately.

Dorcas stopped and turned.

"I... Love you too" Marlene added.

Dorcas smiled sadly.

"I know you care about Adam a lot more than you say. You love him..." Dorcas said "So just be there for him. Something tells me he really needs you right now. And it is not only because his broken leg"

"Dorcas..." Marlene begged. But if Dorcas didn't get away from there now, they would not be able to do it ever again.

"Dorcas!"

Maybe the two of them needed some time. Dorcas didn't know. All they knew was that their heart was breaking into a million pieces. And that hurt a lot.

[themovieblogonline]

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