I See You - Tara Carpenter

Part 2 of I Dare You

Summary: At one of Amber's infamous parties, Tara's feelings get more and more complicated as she starts getting to know you.

Warnings: Fem!Painter!Reader, slow burn, mentions of sex, alcohol and partying, minor angst, non canon/high school

w.c: 6.9k

So, the glitch in the matrix seemed to be lasting much longer than you anticipated.

You did your best to forget the interaction you'd had with Tara and, honestly, that hadn't been such a difficult task. You still had a life, after all, and the rest of your day was divided into making preparations for the volunteering you'd be doing at the hospital during the weekend, studying and trying to make any progress on your painting.

“so why not be nice and talk to Tara for a few minutes? Who cares if minutes became hours, right” nothing between these two from the very beginning has been casual istg💀

also I forgot to ask this about the first chapter but this part of the story;

“What happened was that the girl had called Amber a bitch for cheating on Mindy with her girlfriend at the time, causing a rift that was never repaired.”

Bear with me for a second because I’ve got a smooth brain… so that tells me Mindy and Amber broke up because Amber cheated on Mindy, did Amber cheat on her with Anika? Or?

I know there’s already an established friendship thing going on with all of R’s group but do we ever get to know how long they’ve all been friends?

“At least this time she didn't turn red. That was progress.”

Thank god Tara is progressively losing her crush on Amber because why are you putting yourself through that kinda torture? I’m assuming she fell for Amber back when she was a good friend and was never able to let go of that Amber, despite the fact that she’s anything but a good friend now.

Also can I just personally thank you for not being very descriptive about R’s outfit? Not that it’s a problem of course! I understand sometimes it necessary for the story or based off an author’s preference and that’s completely fine, honest. I just think it’s nice that you were able to let the reader pick their choice of clothing. I’m more on the masculine side so whenever there’s something about the reader wearing a dress and high heels, I just make a mental switch in my head to what I’d normally wear and move on to the next sentence. But yeah, cheers!

“She reached into the pocket of her jacket, slowly pulling out her phone. “Can I take a picture of the constellation?” Tara asked, mentally kicking herself when she heard how vulnerable her voice sounded.

Her tone didn’t go unnoticed by you, and you looked at her with a bit of confusion, but soon after, your eyes softened, shining with kindness—almost as bright as the stars above your heads. “You don’t have to ask me to take pictures of the sky, but do you want me to point it out again?””

And then she says sorry old habit???? Amber what have you done to this poor girl! When somebody’s made you feel as if being yourself is a bad thing, I don’t think it’s something you really take note of until you spend time with someone (platonic or not) you feel safe being yourself around. So that part made me feel bad for Tara.

“Hi, I’m interested in volunteering! Would you need a photographer?”

This girl is so whipped 💀

Rambling about the second amazing chapter is over from here on out!

I’m gonna put all of those in my ‘comics to read’ list(and all of the animated series and movies in my personal watch list). Where do you normally read your DC comics by the way? got any websites or subscriptions you’d recommend where I can find all these?

Immaculate taste, although I can’t say I’ve ever seen any of the last three. I’ve been debating on watching Cobra Kai because I can definitely appreciate good fighting choreography and I wanted to see what the martial arts fighting sequences they have look like. I oddly enough went through a phase in middle school where I would constantly look up fight scenes from some of my favorite movies. My top three are The Walking Dead, Bojack Horseman and Game of Thrones!

Mexico is such a beautiful place, you should definitely go. I’ve only been there twice but I went to Cancun which is considered a tourist location, my mom is from Michoacán so once I get the chance I plan to visit Morelia. I’m waiting for the opportunity to go with my mom once she gets her papers because I want her there with me when I visit for the first time, so she can tell me all about what it was like growing up and being a little girl there. You thought right, I can understand and read Spanish more than I can speak it though.

“Tragic little wet cats” 😂😂 but I’ll pray with you, cause goddamn it we need something that doesn’t end up with one of them dead or heading off to who fucking knows where. Hope I get tickets to the 2025 SDCC so I can meet Ella Purnell✨

Welcome back!!

So, your brain is definitely not smooth, but rather my brain is, because the way I worded it was totally confusing 😭 what happened was that Amber had a thing with Mindy's ex (who was her girlfriend at the time) and so Amber cheated on her friend.

I don't think this will be mentioned in the story so basically the original group used to be childhood friends up until freshman year, when Amber did what she did. My hc is that R was best friends with Anika and Mindy joined their friendship when Anika noticed she was kind of lonely. Ethan came in during sophomore to junior year so he's the one with the least time in the group.

And thank you for noticing! I did leave the description vague enough so you could imagine anything you want about R's appearance. I'm not writing an oc, so i wanna make sure everyone can picture what they want without feeling restricted (the only exception being the female pronouns, but i always put it on the warning)

For comics I usually either use Google Drive (some twitter users post compilations with certain comics sometimes, thank God twitter is back in Brazil again 🙏) or this site called batcave.biz. It is really good quality, there are so many comics available (even marvel ones) and even recent ones.

Can't see I've watched any of your favorites, mb 😭 but if you like fighting sequences, I think you'll enjoy Cobra Kai (even if the writing isn't the best at time)

Also just a general heads up, part 3 is probably gonna take a bit longer to come out compared to part 2 because my college exams are kicking my ass. Biomedical sciences are crazy work guys 😭

I Dare You - Tara Carpenter

Summary: When Amber Freeman, Tara's best friend (and secret crush) dares her to win a random person over, she thinks it's gonna be an easy task. What she wasn't expecting, however, was that y/n y/l was far more interesting than she thought.

Warnings: Painter!Fem!Reader, very small mentions of sex and alcohol, non-canon/high school!AU, angst? ish?

W.C: 6.0k

a/n: She's back! This is probably not my best one but i was desperate to write something again and end my awful writers block. Anyways, i do think this will be a small series so stay tuned for that!

Tara’s head was pounding.

The school day had barely started and she couldn't stand being there any longer. Contrary to what many might think, her discomfort didn't come from the noise of lockers banging or the loud chatter and laughter of the students in the hallways. In fact, the reason had a first and last name: Amber Freeman, her best friend and secret crush, who seemed very intent on recounting every detail of her hookup with a girl last night.

welcome back honey! the kids missed you

I’ll be looking forward to your next chapter, I think the first one is a perfect setup for what’s to come. Some of my thoughts about this so far is;

1. To me it’s already looking like reader falls first but Tara falls harder. The reader is weary but she’s still under the impression that Tara could be genuine, while Tara is intrigued she’s trying to pass it off as ‘it being awhile’ and considering the situation this girl is probably hoping that’s the case. Cause Tara’s worst case scenario really is falling for the reader and having the truth about what she originally intended to do be revealed as compared to just getting the dare over with and feeling guilty about what she’s doing.

2. I’m incredibly disappointed in Tara and Chad. More so Chad than Tara because how are you gonna betray your twin like that? My best friend is a twin and I can assure you this woman would never pull some shit like Chad. I’m also a firm believer of the concept that the company someone chooses to keep around them says a lot about who they are as a person. But when I factor in their age/life experience I suppose it makes sense? Actually makes me realize only Tara has that excuse cause this man is dating Liv and sided with Amber.

- Tara gets a pass because I’m especially putting her home life situation into consideration, father abandoned her when she was young, her mother is not really around so she’s essentially a stranger who provides Tara with basic necessities. Im not too sure about Sam because this is non-canon, nonetheless if she didn’t leave that means Tara had to see her older sister develop a bad habit and then leave in order to get help. Or Sam did leave before she picked up the habit, went to rehab then came back. Either which way, Tara felt abandoned. Amber is a childhood friend, probably wasn’t always a cunt (if she’s always been like this I fail to see why they kept her around). So I imagine in Tara’s eyes, bad company is still company...plus that midget has a crush on Amber.

3. I know I’m really late on asking about this cause I just checked your profile and the questions/responses you asked about a criminal minds!AU was in February but are you still doing that? I recently started rewatching Criminal Minds! What season are you on? Or did you finish the whole series? I need to know what I can and can’t say 🧐.

4. Also would you ever consider writing for any other women in the MCU? Side note on that I really hope Hailey Steinfeld reprises her role as Kate Bishop!

Okay, i see your thoughts 👀 i don't wanna say too much but you may have got some things right 🤭

I'm only missing the newest season of criminal minds, but I'm postponing it since forever because I don't really vibe with Evolution 😭 But yeah, the Sam AU is actually completely outlined and i have written some parts of it, but I'll focus on it once IDY is finished.

I don't know if i'd write for other women from MCU, mostly because my obsession era is over? Besides Kate, i don't really consume as much MCU content as before. But yes, i also really really want to see Kate Bishop back 😭 i miss my girl sm.

And never apologize for rambling! I loved reading your thoughts and it honestly feels so heartwarming to see that my little fic has made you think so much 🫶

I can’t remember what season I stopped watching Criminal Minds (currently burning through the 7th season) but my sister was watching Evolution around me and it caught me off guard because I didn’t like the camerawork and the editing process made the whole vibe of the show different.

That makes sense, I was just curious about it because I’ve recently falling deeper into a Marvel obsession. Since Thunderbolts is coming out in May next year, plus the recent release of X-Men ‘97 and the fact that I’ve gotten a friend of mine into the MCU recently, I decided to read the comics and get a subscription to Marvel Unlimited. I’m hoping they make another season of Hawkeye, only because I can’t really imagine them getting very far with the Young Avengers team. Who knows maybe that won’t be the case with the Russo brothers returning to Marvel, I hope it’s for more projects than just Doomsday and Secret Wars. I’ll never forgive Stephan McFeely for what he did to Natasha in Endgame, I love the man but it should’ve been Clint.

I also noticed you’ve seen Yellowjackets! I haven’t seen the last episode of the second season because I’m waiting to see it with my best friend but are you looking forward to the next season? I already know they’re in the production process and other articles said all that could be confirmed is that season 3 of Yellowjackets would be coming out sometime in 2025+they’ll be revisiting the vibes of season 1.

Okay now this was actual rambling from topic to topic so sorry about that 😂

Yeah, absolutely! I just think that it's way darker (both the editing and the characters personalities) and it kind of changed the essence of the show. Plus, the whole thing of having one big bad guy just didn't vibe with me.

It's so cool that you're diving into the comics! I'm reading a lot of DC lately, mostly because the batfamily has been my latest obsession and I'm trying to collect some physical copies (although most of my readings are still gonna be online because it would be incredibly expensive otherwise)

I've seen, slept and breathed Yellowjackets, it's my absolute favorite TV show! I'm so looking forward for season 3 and I've actually convinced 12 people around me to also watch the show, so I have plenty of people to talk about it and keep me fed until it actually drops.

And stop apologizing!! 😡 You're so cool to talk to! I really appreciate the rambling 🫶

Perfectly said! And I didn’t even realize they were focusing on only one unsub… a whole season? Really? I’m still gonna watch an episode because I got a fat crush on JJ and Emily but I’m already predicting I won’t get very attached to the reboot seasons.

Oh! Any particular comics, authors or artists for DC that you’d recommend I check out? I vaguely know of the batfamily because my older sister would talk to me about it, is there like an animated series about them too by chance? The earliest memory that I have of anything DC related is Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight trilogy, I absolutely adored them. My dad ended up letting me get this Batman belt that I’d wear all the time, my mom hated it so much because she liked dressing me in girly outfits and she’d have to let me wear the belt as a compromise or I refused to go outside.

The Batman belt stays on 😎

So for your top 3 tv shows, Yellowjackets is first pick? (What about the other two??) I started the series when I went to Mexico for vacation with some friends, my best friend and I were hooked immediately! It was on my watchlist because I absolutely adored Ella Purnell’s performance in Fallout plus since the series was inspired by the Uruguayan rugby team that crashed in the Andes mountain back in the 70’s and I watched La Sociedad de la Nieve at the start of this year so all the more reason to watch it.

!YELLOWJACKETS SPOILERS BELOW BE CAREFUL!!

My favorite characters were Jackie Taylor and Natalie Scatorccio! I already know Natalie dies in the season 2 finale and I’m not ready for it. I came across that information accidentally and I wanted to commit arson after the fact because what! That woman has been through hell even before the crash, give her a break y’all😭. Then the way Jackie died in the first season finale broke my freaking heart, out in the cold all by herself after that fight she had with Shauna. I got 2 of my friends to start watching the show and they both also got the gayest of vibes off of Jackie and Shauna in the beginning. I figure it largely has to do with Karyn Kusama but damn it they should have made it cannon.

Okay, so now I'm gonna be the one rambling.

Comics wise, I'd recommend the Wayne Family Adventures (even though it's not really canon) to get a feel of the characters, and it's very comedy based so it's an easy and enjoyable entrance to the batfamily world. Then, I'd recommend reading some of the newest comics (Nightwing 2021, Tim Drake: Robin 2022 and Batgirls 2021) just so you can really check if their stories are your cup of tea. If they are, then I'd recommend reading the chronological order from the start (the important ones, at least, because the Batman universe has a shit ton of editions)

There's a lot of different animated series and movies. I think the most classic one is Batman: the animated series (yep, that's the name) but movies like The Long Halloween, Death in the Family, Injustice and Bad Blood are also insanely good. There are more than just these ones, but they're my favorites.

Also, I absolutely adore the idea of the Batman belt. You fashioned too fashionable, I fear.

My top two TV shows are Yellowjackets and Criminal Minds, but top three keeps changing between Cobra Kai, Teen Wolf and Glee. It really depends on which one i want to rewatch the most at the moment. What would be your top three?

Also, it's so cool you've been to Mexico! It's one of the countries I've been dying to meet! Do you speak Spanish? (i think you can because of the movie title but alas) because I've been trying to learn spanish for so long and i just think it's such a lovely language.

Lottie and Jackie are my favorites because I just love tragic little wet cats who seem very dangerous and mean but are just little cinnamon rolls. And yeah, JackieShauna tricked us ALL because I'd see the tiktoks about them before i watched the show and i was so sure they would be a thing 😭 plz God make at least one homoerotic complicated sapphic friendship happen in media🙏

I Dare You - Tara Carpenter

Summary: When Amber Freeman, Tara's best friend (and secret crush) dares her to win a random person over, she thinks it's gonna be an easy task. What she wasn't expecting, however, was that y/n y/l was far more interesting than she thought.

Warnings: Painter!Fem!Reader, very small mentions of sex and alcohol, non-canon/high school!AU, angst? ish?

W.C: 6.0k

a/n: She's back! This is probably not my best one but i was desperate to write something again and end my awful writers block. Anyways, i do think this will be a small series so stay tuned for that!

Tara’s head was pounding.

The school day had barely started and she couldn't stand being there any longer. Contrary to what many might think, her discomfort didn't come from the noise of lockers banging or the loud chatter and laughter of the students in the hallways. In fact, the reason had a first and last name: Amber Freeman, her best friend and secret crush, who seemed very intent on recounting every detail of her hookup with a girl last night.

welcome back honey! the kids missed you

I’ll be looking forward to your next chapter, I think the first one is a perfect setup for what’s to come. Some of my thoughts about this so far is;

1. To me it’s already looking like reader falls first but Tara falls harder. The reader is weary but she’s still under the impression that Tara could be genuine, while Tara is intrigued she’s trying to pass it off as ‘it being awhile’ and considering the situation this girl is probably hoping that’s the case. Cause Tara’s worst case scenario really is falling for the reader and having the truth about what she originally intended to do be revealed as compared to just getting the dare over with and feeling guilty about what she’s doing.

2. I’m incredibly disappointed in Tara and Chad. More so Chad than Tara because how are you gonna betray your twin like that? My best friend is a twin and I can assure you this woman would never pull some shit like Chad. I’m also a firm believer of the concept that the company someone chooses to keep around them says a lot about who they are as a person. But when I factor in their age/life experience I suppose it makes sense? Actually makes me realize only Tara has that excuse cause this man is dating Liv and sided with Amber.

- Tara gets a pass because I’m especially putting her home life situation into consideration, father abandoned her when she was young, her mother is not really around so she’s essentially a stranger who provides Tara with basic necessities. Im not too sure about Sam because this is non-canon, nonetheless if she didn’t leave that means Tara had to see her older sister develop a bad habit and then leave in order to get help. Or Sam did leave before she picked up the habit, went to rehab then came back. Either which way, Tara felt abandoned. Amber is a childhood friend, probably wasn’t always a cunt (if she’s always been like this I fail to see why they kept her around). So I imagine in Tara’s eyes, bad company is still company...plus that midget has a crush on Amber.

3. I know I’m really late on asking about this cause I just checked your profile and the questions/responses you asked about a criminal minds!AU was in February but are you still doing that? I recently started rewatching Criminal Minds! What season are you on? Or did you finish the whole series? I need to know what I can and can’t say 🧐.

4. Also would you ever consider writing for any other women in the MCU? Side note on that I really hope Hailey Steinfeld reprises her role as Kate Bishop!

Okay, i see your thoughts 👀 i don't wanna say too much but you may have got some things right 🤭

I'm only missing the newest season of criminal minds, but I'm postponing it since forever because I don't really vibe with Evolution 😭 But yeah, the Sam AU is actually completely outlined and i have written some parts of it, but I'll focus on it once IDY is finished.

I don't know if i'd write for other women from MCU, mostly because my obsession era is over? Besides Kate, i don't really consume as much MCU content as before. But yes, i also really really want to see Kate Bishop back 😭 i miss my girl sm.

And never apologize for rambling! I loved reading your thoughts and it honestly feels so heartwarming to see that my little fic has made you think so much 🫶

I can’t remember what season I stopped watching Criminal Minds (currently burning through the 7th season) but my sister was watching Evolution around me and it caught me off guard because I didn’t like the camerawork and the editing process made the whole vibe of the show different.

That makes sense, I was just curious about it because I’ve recently falling deeper into a Marvel obsession. Since Thunderbolts is coming out in May next year, plus the recent release of X-Men ‘97 and the fact that I’ve gotten a friend of mine into the MCU recently, I decided to read the comics and get a subscription to Marvel Unlimited. I’m hoping they make another season of Hawkeye, only because I can’t really imagine them getting very far with the Young Avengers team. Who knows maybe that won’t be the case with the Russo brothers returning to Marvel, I hope it’s for more projects than just Doomsday and Secret Wars. I’ll never forgive Stephan McFeely for what he did to Natasha in Endgame, I love the man but it should’ve been Clint.

I also noticed you’ve seen Yellowjackets! I haven’t seen the last episode of the second season because I’m waiting to see it with my best friend but are you looking forward to the next season? I already know they’re in the production process and other articles said all that could be confirmed is that season 3 of Yellowjackets would be coming out sometime in 2025+they’ll be revisiting the vibes of season 1.

Okay now this was actual rambling from topic to topic so sorry about that 😂

Yeah, absolutely! I just think that it's way darker (both the editing and the characters personalities) and it kind of changed the essence of the show. Plus, the whole thing of having one big bad guy just didn't vibe with me.

It's so cool that you're diving into the comics! I'm reading a lot of DC lately, mostly because the batfamily has been my latest obsession and I'm trying to collect some physical copies (although most of my readings are still gonna be online because it would be incredibly expensive otherwise)

I've seen, slept and breathed Yellowjackets, it's my absolute favorite TV show! I'm so looking forward for season 3 and I've actually convinced 12 people around me to also watch the show, so I have plenty of people to talk about it and keep me fed until it actually drops.

And stop apologizing!! 😡 You're so cool to talk to! I really appreciate the rambling 🫶

I Dare You - Tara Carpenter

Summary: When Amber Freeman, Tara's best friend (and secret crush) dares her to win a random person over, she thinks it's gonna be an easy task. What she wasn't expecting, however, was that y/n y/l was far more interesting than she thought.

Warnings: Painter!Fem!Reader, very small mentions of sex and alcohol, non-canon/high school!AU, angst? ish?

W.C: 6.0k

a/n: She's back! This is probably not my best one but i was desperate to write something again and end my awful writers block. Anyways, i do think this will be a small series so stay tuned for that!

Tara’s head was pounding.

The school day had barely started and she couldn't stand being there any longer. Contrary to what many might think, her discomfort didn't come from the noise of lockers banging or the loud chatter and laughter of the students in the hallways. In fact, the reason had a first and last name: Amber Freeman, her best friend and secret crush, who seemed very intent on recounting every detail of her hookup with a girl last night.

welcome back honey! the kids missed you

I’ll be looking forward to your next chapter, I think the first one is a perfect setup for what’s to come. Some of my thoughts about this so far is;

1. To me it’s already looking like reader falls first but Tara falls harder. The reader is weary but she’s still under the impression that Tara could be genuine, while Tara is intrigued she’s trying to pass it off as ‘it being awhile’ and considering the situation this girl is probably hoping that’s the case. Cause Tara’s worst case scenario really is falling for the reader and having the truth about what she originally intended to do be revealed as compared to just getting the dare over with and feeling guilty about what she’s doing.

2. I’m incredibly disappointed in Tara and Chad. More so Chad than Tara because how are you gonna betray your twin like that? My best friend is a twin and I can assure you this woman would never pull some shit like Chad. I’m also a firm believer of the concept that the company someone chooses to keep around them says a lot about who they are as a person. But when I factor in their age/life experience I suppose it makes sense? Actually makes me realize only Tara has that excuse cause this man is dating Liv and sided with Amber.

- Tara gets a pass because I’m especially putting her home life situation into consideration, father abandoned her when she was young, her mother is not really around so she’s essentially a stranger who provides Tara with basic necessities. Im not too sure about Sam because this is non-canon, nonetheless if she didn’t leave that means Tara had to see her older sister develop a bad habit and then leave in order to get help. Or Sam did leave before she picked up the habit, went to rehab then came back. Either which way, Tara felt abandoned. Amber is a childhood friend, probably wasn’t always a cunt (if she’s always been like this I fail to see why they kept her around). So I imagine in Tara’s eyes, bad company is still company...plus that midget has a crush on Amber.

3. I know I’m really late on asking about this cause I just checked your profile and the questions/responses you asked about a criminal minds!AU was in February but are you still doing that? I recently started rewatching Criminal Minds! What season are you on? Or did you finish the whole series? I need to know what I can and can’t say 🧐.

4. Also would you ever consider writing for any other women in the MCU? Side note on that I really hope Hailey Steinfeld reprises her role as Kate Bishop!

Okay, i see your thoughts 👀 i don't wanna say too much but you may have got some things right 🤭

I'm only missing the newest season of criminal minds, but I'm postponing it since forever because I don't really vibe with Evolution 😭 But yeah, the Sam AU is actually completely outlined and i have written some parts of it, but I'll focus on it once IDY is finished.

I don't know if i'd write for other women from MCU, mostly because my obsession era is over? Besides Kate, i don't really consume as much MCU content as before. But yes, i also really really want to see Kate Bishop back 😭 i miss my girl sm.

And never apologize for rambling! I loved reading your thoughts and it honestly feels so heartwarming to see that my little fic has made you think so much 🫶