#THAT WORKED OUT GREAT. 🫠😫

[merelyafigment]

Work on finishing up the silly and taking forever Miguel/Chico (Oz) Hanky Code fic*, OR write down some bits of the new** and completely different Post-Parole AU snippet with the same two idiots (/affectionate) which is currently just swirling in my head, waiting to be forgotten?

Or decide nothing and scrollcrastinate.

[adore-gregor]

ugh there it goes

[norrisainz33]

field hockey || GR63

☆ summary: george russell’s girlfriend, y/n, is an olympic (field) hockey player and he’s obsessed with her

☆ pairing: george russell x olympic!reader

☆ fc & warning: lily owsley and slightly suggestive. you are responsible for the content you consume

☆ requested: yes!! apologies for the delay - thank you sm for taking the time to request 🤍

ﾟ. ✿ ୨❤︎୧⠀✿ . ﾟ

georgerussell63 has added to his private story

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alex_albon: when is y/n/n’s next match?

georgerussell63: 2 days! same day as race day🥹

alex_albon: 💔 man i wanted to watch

georgerussell63: you still can! briefly! i will have it on in my garage

ynuser: georgie 😫 i miss you more!!!! also why don’t YOU hurry up and finish racing so you can come to paris????

georgerussell63: i’m working on it baby girl

ynuser: well work harder 😉

georgerussell63: yes ma’am 😍

lilymhe: you can’t rush greatness

georgerussell63: i know you’re right but im going to try anyway

lewishamilton: don’t stress her out mate 😂😂

georgerussell63: oops

yourbff: that’s my girl actually ☝🏻

georgerussell63: not this again 🫠

georgerussell63 has made a post

liked by yourbff, mercedesamgf1, teamgb, lewishamilton, ynuser, alex_albon, lilymhe, and 874,234 others

georgerussell63: everyone stop what you’re doing - y/n is playing in the olympics today

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user1: george’s account is becoming a fan account for y/n

user2: george aren’t you racing today ??

mercedesamgf1: let’s go y/n! (george please pay attention in the drivers meeting)

georgerussell63: i am paying attention

alex_albon: y/n y/n y/n!!! let’s go!!!

lilymhe: lets gooooooo that’s my best friend!!

ynuser: i 🫶🏻 you both

user3: i thought this was y/n’s post but it’s just george reminding us how much he loves his girl

landonorris: 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧

ynuser: 🤍🇬🇧🤍🇬🇧🤍

user4: rooting for you both today!!!

user5: y/ngeorge for the win!!

mercedesamgf1: it’s race day here in SPA! Join George as he talks race day updates and aspirations and y/n’s olympic campaign.

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user4: george not talking abt y/n challenge failed

user5: i love how much he loves her

georgerussell63: my girl’s about to win!! you all should tune in!!

user16: shouldn’t you be in the car rn george

user63: he’s live tweeting from the garage apparently

mercedesamgf1: george give me your phone now - toto

user7: loving that all this mercedes and george promo is bringing the love the field hockey world deserves

yourbff: yesss georgie educate the masses on the olympic schedule!!!!

georgerussell63: watch 🗣️ gb field hockey 🗣️ now 🗣️

user9: get you a man like george who cares more about talking about your success than his own

user10: i want them to be my mom and dad

ynuser has posted to their story

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user6: girl did you even step off the field yet ?

georgerussell63: my woman my woman my woman. i fcking love you

ynuser: i love you more my race winner

georgerussell63: simply not possible my olympic field hockey game winner

ynuser: i can’t wait to kiss your cute face

georgerussell63: sprinting away from media duties and to the jet to get to paris rn

ynuser: literally counting down the minutes

user56: a winning day for y/n/n and georgie

yourbff: a couple who wins together stays together

ynuser: 😭😭 winning on the same day hit like nothing else

yourbff: so proud of you both bb 🤍

mercedesamgf1: absolutely amazing result for you both. so so so happy for you y/n ❤️

ynuser: thank you admin ily

georgerussell63 posts to his private story

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landonorris: gross

georgerussell63: if you think this is gross you should’ve seen what we did after

landonorris: i hate you

alex_albon: now you can finally stop crying about missing her!

georgerussell63: yes! until the next time we are apart that is

llyzneimer: my baby girl, give her back to me

georgerussell63: never! she is mine!

lilyzneimer: didn’t anyone ever teach you to share?

georgerussell63: nope!

ynuser: hot

georgerussell63: oh yea 😏

lewishamilton: send her my best

georgerussell63: she sends it right back and she says she wants to see roscoe asap

lewishamilton: roscoe would love a play date 🤍

yourbff: stop distracting her from playing hockey

georgerussell63: i am NOT distracting her ☝🏻

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ynuser: not the way i would have hoped our time at the olympics would have ended. we gave it everything we had and for that i am so incredibly proud. there’s always next time!! thank you to everyone for the outpouring of support and love - i hope you’ve been inspired to keep watching field hockey!! thank you to my friends, my coaches, my teammates, my family and most of all george for enabling this dream to come true. see you next time paris 🤍🇬🇧

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user23: 4th is still impressive you gorgeous hockey queen

user44: thanks for introducing us to the incredible game of field hockey y/n

user54: no like fr i had no idea how fun the sport was!!! everyone say thank you y/n!

user64: thank you y/n

user74: thanks y/n/n

ynuser: you are so welcome 🫶🏻

georgerussell63: you’re an olympian y/n/n and no one can take that away from you, medal or not. you have inspired me and so many others. i love you y/n ❤️

ynuser: i love you mr russell 🥹

user45: we are proud of you mother

landonorris: great effort y/n! proud that you’re out there representing team 🇬🇧

ynuser: thank you lan

user33: still my favorite olympian

roscoelovescoco: prouds of yous my friends 😘

ynuser: i needed this thank you 😭

user35: can’t wait for the next olympics for you to eat it up and win gold

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user46: hoping you both enjoy your break!!

user87: are you guys just gonna get married yet or what

yourbff: enjoy italy!! love you both 🤍

ynuser: 🤍🤍pasta🤍🤍

mercedesamgf1: much needed rest and recovery time 🫶🏻

teamgb: until next time 🏑🇬🇧

georgerussell63: blue is your color

ynuser: so is gold 😏

georgerussell63: oh i know 💍

user78: that dress is to die for tf

roscoelovescoco: stops by and sees me pls

ynuser: will do ❤️

lilyzneimer: enjoy pretty girl

ynuser: can’t wait to see you and osc 🤍

ﾟ. ✿ ୨❤︎୧⠀✿ . ﾟ

a/n: thanks for reading!! likes and reblogs appreciated!! this concludes my olympic reader series. appreciate all of you reading 🥹

ﾟ. ✿ ୨❤︎୧⠀✿ . ﾟ

disclaimer: pictures are not mine and everything i write is fiction

© norrisainz33 || please do not rewrite, translate, or copy any of my works posted here on to any other platform

[maidragoste]

mmm yo pienso 'Rosa Pastel' por Belanova tambien puede servir con la relacion de Sea Dragon y Harwin!!,,, pero eeeh problamente no tambien 🫠;;;

+CASUAL ALSO WORKS REALLY WELL!! holy shit thank u for making me realize that too,, im also well!! how are you? i hope you're having a great morning!! (🇸🇻!!)

Bestie me había olvidado que conocía esa canción jajaj. La verdad puedo ver las vibras de Sea Dragon y Harwin. La canción diciendo que ambos se terminaron destruyendo y que son solo extraños es tan cierto 😫

Siento que el engaño de Harwin con Rhaenyra empeoró la inseguridad de Sea Dragon. Y ella sin querer también lo hizo sentir inseguro cuando antes decidio irse a luchar a Stepstones con Daemon en vez de quedarse con él en Kings Landing

Rhaenyra @Sea Dragon: Was it casual when we dressed up as brides and posed as Aegon and Rhaenys? Was it casual when we exchanged rings? Was it casual when we said we'd go out into the world together?

Sea Dragon @Harwin: Was it casual that we got married? Was it casual that you learned a little high valyrian to have our wedding with my customs? Was it casual the times we talked about having children?

Alicent @Sea Dragon: Was it casual when you held my hand when I was giving birth? Was it casual that you helped me raise my children? Was it casual that you wanted to kill my husband for seeing how he treated me?

Daemon and Sea Dragon: WAS IT CASUAL WHAT WE DID AT LAENA'S FUNERAL? Was it casual that we talked about staying together in Driftmark?

sorry, I'm obsessed with this song. I'm also sorry for the delay in responding, I was busy yesterday

Thanks for writing, Anon, and I hope you're doing well 💖💖

[arianadetails]

have you ever thought about triangle love between pedri, gavi, and ferran? idk, but i have visions for them lol. the thoughts sit inside my head for a while, long-but-not-long ago.

i just went to search it and found one work, yeah, just one work! not to mention i was struggling to get into it, but i have to and i’m still on it. 🫠

idk if i am biased because of english is my second language, too, but your english is much easier to understand and beautifully written. the language, the structures, and the chosen words are chef’s kiss. order and neat!

anyway, about the love triangle, i thought it would be interesting if there was ferran as an antagonist or a third person in their relationship. and since you are gavi bottom gang, which i’m grateful so much, i can say pedri and ferran are the top and gavi is the bottom. so, if ferran being antagonist, then the end game should be pedri and gavi. if ferran being the third person, then the end game should be a polyamorous relationship where they could have 3s. ughh, just imagining it, it would be so great! 😫🙂‍↕️🥵😵‍💫

i’m asking isn’t that i want you to write about them, but i want to just talk about it and hype them up with you! because honestly i have no one to talk about this—a little scared what if i talked to a wrong person—and finding bottom gavi gang is kinda difficult.

long asks hehe i love that!

first of all, hello! glad to have you here x

actually yes, i've thought of that before! me and one of my close friends (she usually helps me out with plot ideas and beta reads a few of the stuff i write) suggested me something like this once and i kinda see the vision. but idk since i've started writing fics a few years ago i've never written something of this kind and i don't have much experience with this kind of plot. it would be definitely be an adventure, though! so i might write something like that in the future. :)

thank you so much! english is not my first language as well and i struggle a bit with my writing sometimes (tbh i set a lot of expectations upon myself lol), so it's so rewarding to know somebody appreciates my work like that ❤️

if u have any more ideas u can always ask me or send a message if u prefer, i'd be so excited to exchange ideas with you! i sometimes feel like that too (not having people to talk about my interests) and i promise my blog is a safe space for you 🫶🏼

[evilmenenjoyer]

Hiii

So I guess the exhaustion caught up to me, and I have been sick for the past couple of days 😫 (doesn't help that I am anemic), spent the last couple of days watching wlgyt

A fellow Whiplash lover!!!!!! I love that movie, like obsessively love the movie (no one around me understands 🫠) , like Andrew, so tortured, obsessed, ambitious, ready to burn himself trying to fly close to the sun, because nothing matters more than his goal of greatness.

Honestly I can't wait to know the oc more, although I know nothing about ballet but the tortured artist trope in whatever form just does it for me.

Also on the tortured artist part, one thing I have always wondered is that how much of it is driven by sunk cost fallacy, it's incredibly hard to give up somethings midway (even though you should) because you have already sacrificed too much for it. How can one suddenly stop their journey, when they have spent their childhoods, their social life, basically everything over it.

AHHHHH

Also pas de trois, I looked it up and it increased my anticipation for the fic lol.

Also very curious on how the dynamic between Chishiya and Niragi will work

Hope you have a easy time with the editing you are doing

Dara it is <3

omg I really hope you feel better soon, please get lots of rest and take care of yourself!!

I DO LOVE IT the ending just blew me away completely. I think I expected things to crash and burn at some point and Andrew would end up quitting, but then.... nope, he achieves his goal. He lost himself completely in the process, but he got what he wanted!! I love endings where you can't really tell if they're happy or sad, they just leave you feeling weird and thinking about it for days. I don't know if you've watched Black Swan, but it's got a similar vibe within the ballet world and it's also a major source of inspiration for me. They're very different movies but they deal with similar tropes and a lot of people have drawn parallels between them

Knowing when to stop is sooo difficult when you've already put so much effort into something. When really sometimes giving up is the best thing you could do for yourself. Angelica herself is someone who doesn't even consider that; she's been dancing since before she can even remember, and it's her whole life. It's kinda fun to toss her into the Borderland 'cause now she has to take a break and figure out who she is without it.

As for Chishiya and Niragi, the fic is told from Angelica's perspective in a 1st person POV (I admire people who can write 50k words in 2nd person but could never be me). For that reason we can't see how they interact when she's not around, we see them through her eyes. But we see hints of attraction beyond their antagonism (because of course all three people in this love triangle have to hate each other in some capacity), for instance in how both of them are overly interested in Angelica's relationship with the other. Jealousy? Could be, but there's definitely something deeper there

Thank you again for being interested in the fic, getting to babble about it keeps me interested and pumped to write too <3

[oddinary4bts]

You open a request?

YASSS!!! Makes me want a tough scary Mafia Boss or CEO San (Ateez) being obsessively loyal, possessive and softie to us 🫣 imagining him seeing you with someone he work before or rival who's been too friendly to you. His glare at him then you 🫠San walking to us and put his arm around you being possessive and overprotective he is over you. Now you and San are in the hotel room or his place... *Cough cough* you know. Him kissing every part of your body saying "all of you is mine, mine and only mine alone" seeing you as his goddess, his whole universe and every heartbeat of his soul, he can be scared and insecure as he wasn't enough for you and being openly vulnerable to you seeing the good, bad and ugly part of him. He is scared that he doesn't deserve someone like you but you love and choose him always. Imagine he says you're too cute I can't get enough of you, gets kiss attack by him and doesn't want to let you go with a pout when you tried to get out of bed 😫 then you show him how much you love him, you love his eyes, smile, dimples, his voice, his hands and all every part of him, his whole existence is a gift to you 🫠 sorry I'm too weak and soft for San.

I just added more and did some corrections. Suit San and the photoshoots is just 🥵

I don't mind my request is not picked. Just sharing it with you and others. We all can imagine in our heads 👥👥👥👥🫶🏻🤭 take care 😘

Hiiii✨ I’ve chosen this request as my fourth request for the follower milestone celebration😌

There’s a loooot of details in this and I don’t know if I’ll be able to hit them all but I will for sure write something inspired from it✨ you’ll just have to wait a little bc I haven’t started writing yet haha (but I’m expecting the comeback MV to be a great source of inspiration🤭)

In the meantime, here’s the banner😎

[thelasttime]

how do u get over someone when you’ve known them for six years and everytime you see them the feelings come back? i’ve seen other people, he’s seen other people, etc etc. it’s literally olivia’s lyric “i’m sure i’ve seen much hotter men but i really can’t remember when” like i just get all 🫠😫🤩🤪😙🥹 around him which is DUMB we’ve never even been a thing like !!!!!!!!! wish my brain would get over him! i can see other people and it not bother me but as soon as i see him or hang out with him again (he’s part of my friend group) the feelings all come rushing back taylor was spitting facts when she said everyone has that one person they wouldn’t be mad if they interrupted their wedding

i have to admit that there isn’t really a perfect solution to this as in .. i am also sort of figuring this out because i get mildly upset even to this day when i think about my ex 2 and probably still some residual feelings for other people!! but i feel like the big thing with this is that it’s okay to still feel things for someone

you are not a robot you are not someone who can turn off their feelings with the flick of a switch ! you are a human being and feelings are crazy like that ! give yourself the grace to feel what you feel and try to not be too critical of yourself when you catch yourself feeling these things or thinking about them

the more you try to push down these feelings, the harder it gets because you’re just ignoring something that still exists very deeply in your mind

rather than pushing it away, i just try to rationalize it out like maybe it didn’t work but there are reasons why this didn’t work. sometimes people aren’t meant for us and i will find someone who will be the right person at the right time ! the universe is big and there are great people out there, this one person isn’t my only chance at love

i hope this helps anon!

[thatsatricky1]

So the person is someone who has been mentioned before🤔 I wonder who that could be? But you know what I’m not gonna go back and try and figure it out and instead let it be a shock when it’s revealed😌

I’ve never dropped a bottle when dying my hair but me and my mom once let purple hair dye sit in my hair for too long so instead of the like dark purple that looks similar to burgundy red I ended up with almost black hair😖

Ahhhh the tournament… it went well but me and my colleague who was closing the cafe had to work overtime 1 hour because of how much the others left for us to take care of😭 (it took me 3 hours to get through the mountain of dishes they left us🥲) and I had yesterday off so while I’m tired it’s okay! Plus I only got like 7 more days before I have my last day at this job! They haven’t treated me all that well and imo royally screwed me over a few months back (it’s a whole story and sounds unbelievable when I tell people the whole truth of what happened🫠🥲)

But I’m kinda excited to quit and while I’m still job hunting I get to take some jobs as an extra on film sets and apply for more acting jobs! (I don’t got a bachelor degree in drama and an acting background from school for nothing!) so I’m taking this as an opportunity to get more experience in that field that I really wanna work in while searching for a full time job so I can move out❣️

Hope everything has been going well for you with school and work and life in general? - 🌻 anon

Sounds like a good idea, you won’t have to wait long for the next chapter.

Oh now 😫 A lot of people think it’ll help make the colour sit in better but it either doesn’t change anything, fry your hair or it goes darker.

What! That’s so unfair of them to leave you and the other staff to clean up like that. I’m sorry they did that to you hun. It good that you got to have a little rest yesterday and I’m glad you choose to look after yourself by leaving the job soon.

That’s so exciting! I’m glad you’ll be getting to do something you truly like. I’m glad you’re taking this path and working in something you enjoy and studied for. Just keep going and im sure in no time you’ll have a great job opportunity coming your way and enough income to move out 🩷

Life is going alright for me, I’m resting well during my two weeks off work. I’ve been continuing with my hobbies that I haven’t time for recently so that’s nice and also studying for my finals that are this year.

[tmwcs]

ik i said i was going to read se7en but i couldn’t resist checking out mgr… and oh my god 😭😭😭 lemme just say ik why ppl go crazy over heethsn bc damn 😫🤭 i literally cannot choose a favourite heelead 😭 but ahhhhh i binged mgr and mge AND hhp and lemme just say 🫠🫠🫠 also random but i love how go chapter 18?? i think it was that — but the way heethan realised that readen loved him the whole time 😭 like i cried when i read it not even joking bc it was so touching and like it must have been so hurtful on readen’s end when he said she didn’t know what it felt like to love someone who loved someone else 🤧 but the way he apologised 🤩🤩🤩 tho slightly concerned for myself bc now that heethan knows this new info i feel like he’s gonna be way more obsessed with me than before (if that was even possible) 🤭🤭🤭 especially when there was that line about “how could anyone look so… insane” (idk if that’s accurate but smth like that) 😫 but then again- when did that ever stop me from falling head over heels 🤷‍♀️

don’t be mistake tho- i may love heethan… but heebros are still the no.1 loml tho 🥰

… i think 👀🤭

— 💋

oh so you just read MGR/MRE/ and HHP? Omg aren’t those chapters great? I’m working on chapter 20 (or is it 21 now?) for HHP. And my sweet 💋 anon…..it’s goood….if you thought you’re in love with heethan rn…just wait. Heebros are good, they truly are….but heethan isn’t even done yet. He about to drop panties and hearts like it’s cool in a very shocking, scary but dashing way.

but this next chapter of heebros is 👍 if I say so myself. Let’s just say…there are some steamy scenes in that one.

[mypoisonedvine]

Just read meet the Munsons it’s absolutely amazing 😫. Currently bingeing on all your work and having a great time 🫠

So upset it’s not Sunday tho I have no patience 😭

You’re such a good writer btw like seriously I’m fully immersed ✨💕

y'all are being so nice to me today 🥹 thank you babe I'm so happy you liked it so far, sunday will be here soon and we'll all find out what happens next!!

[mrs-starkgaryen]

Maggie I'm sorry I didn't write this essay, as you know I was not impressed with how the last chapter went 😭😂

Me as I read chapter 5:

This is a long one so get comfy, have a drink and listen- 📖

1. When Baela wanders out of the bathroom in a fuzzy purple robe and a gale of steam, she finds you dressed in your grey work uniform and sprinkling a packet of flower food you got from the Rite Aid down the street into the vase of sunflowers. You are smiling to yourself; you can’t seem to stop.

A) she just sounds as if she's on an advert for something 😫 or modelling on the cat walk, amongst the smoke machines. Like effortlessly cool, you what I mean?

B) like she's always model ready and glam. Like she's always camera ready 📷📸

C) whereas sunshine is in grey and buying things from a cheap shop (I presume?)

D) aw she's cock drunk in love, cute

2. “Heyyyyy!” Baela says, slow and salacious, hoping for interesting stories. You very rarely have any to share. “How’d the Maroon 5 shoot go? Not so bad, right?”

A) I'm getting vibes from B, she sounds okay sometimes but totally fake the other times- Hollywood baby, gotta be careful who u trust

B) and it went absolutely great

3. “It was good.” You rearrange the sunflowers, pruning any leaves that have begun to wilt. Daylight streams in through the windows; outside you can see power lines, palm trees, a shopping center featuring—among other things—a Starbucks, World Star Vape, and Carl’s Jr.

A) Sunshine is trying to keep a dying thing alive- like her dreams? Her need to be constantly happy? Her ‘cursed’ relationship with Aegon?

B) Everything Is sunny & happy & lively … for now

C) 3 places with addicting things or quick fixes… like a certain relationship? For both parties?

4. “And you survived the bathtub thing, I see.” Her tone implies that you were ridiculous to ever fear you wouldn’t, childish, ignorant, histrionic.

A) How condescending

B) Some people are different and Sunshine shouldn't have to go through that to get famous

C) It's sad to think some actors/actresses would have had to

5. “What?” She reaches into the refrigerator and removes a plastic bowl full of raspberries, sets it down on the kitchen counter, eats absentmindedly as she stares at you. “Really? Why not?”

A) What a healthy choice

B) is She just programmed To eat healthy like for HW aesthetic? (Couldnt be me)

C) Rather have doughnuts

6. You shrug, a little shy but desperately wanting to tell somebody, because that will make it real. Blood burns in your face. “Aegon saved me.”

A) Don't tell B

B) Aw Sunshine is so cute, she thinks of Aegon as her Prince or Knight in shining armour

C) But will he just remove the helmet and show that hes not the hero she thought he was

7. Baela’s eyes narrow and her brow crinkles. You find yourself—as you often do—casually in awe of the smoothness of her skin, the perfect arches of her eyebrows, her expressiveness that is never inelegant. She chews her raspberries very slowly. “Seriously?”

A) She always seem perfect, HW ready

B) Drop the skincare Routine girl

C) Shes angry chewing 😭

8. Her jaw drops open; there’s berry juice on her teeth like blood. “How? Where?!”

A) She Sounds like a predator animal with Sunshine in her sights

B) More untrustworthy vibes

C) I reckon she might screw Sunshine over by telling the tabloids about her Relationship with Aegon, to level uo her career. Or does it out of anger when ss gets more famous than her? Sabotage?

D) pretends to be a friend but is a villain in the end, like Scream

9. “No, remember, he’s not married. He’s just engaged.”

A) Yeah!😠…😶… yeah🫠…

B) I love you SS, but that's not the hair that we should be splitting…

10. “It’s the same thing!” Baela exclaims, and she has completely forgotten about her raspberries. “You’re a cheater, how does that make you feel?”

A) Can't argue with B on this, still bad

B) Lets be a bit nicer to SS please, she's just a baby (but she does need telling)

11. You shake your head; she doesn’t understand. “I know it sounds bad, but when I’m with Aegon…he’s just so…he’s so protective and he’s smart and he’s brave and he actually believes in me, he’s the only person who doesn’t think I’m hopeless and delusional, and he’s always trying to help me, and there’s something about when we’re together that just feels…magical!”

A) Girl, SS, write some fanfic, geez 😅

B) She in love love

C) She in love love (like me)

D) Also me when I try to excuse men's behaviours on dating sites 🙄

12. “Of course it’s magical!” Baela bursts out, and now Jace is peeking blearily out of her bedroom, his dark curls in disarray. “He’s a fuckboy, that’s what they do! He gives you some otherworldly encapsulated experience that leaves you dickmatized but it’s not real, because then he goes home and he does the same thing with his soon-to-be-wife, and then the next day he’s probably hooking up with some other impressionable starstruck client, and you’re standing here thinking you have something special with him when he’s already onto the next girl!”

A) You've woken the baby (Jace), B

B) Dickmatized- don't we all want that to be that

C) So… weird thought but has something Like that happened to B with a manager or dare I say it, Aegon?

D) Or does she know him better than we think?

13. You can’t imagine that being true, and yet you wonder without wanting to: why did he have condoms in his desk drawer? “I don’t think he’s happy with Becca.”

A) i asked about the condoms!! It was sus

B) Me with all my celebrity crushes- “I don't think he's happy with [ ]

C) also what condoms does he use? 👀

14. You look down at your shoes, uninspired white Skechers for work, ashamed. “I guess not.”

A) Woah I wear white sketchers Mags

B) They're comfy lol

15. “Who talks shit about Jace?” Jace asks from the doorway of her bedroom.

A) poor Jace

B) But also maggie does- I've seen what she does to your in fanfics… 👀

16. “—They say he’s a hobosexual and lazy and jobless and whatever, but that man is loyal, he doesn’t even look at other women, and I wouldn’t trade him for anybody. Because apparently it’s extremely fucking rare to find someone who won’t get naked for the first stranger who promises to make all their wildest dreams come true.”

A) Jace just standing there like-

B) It's okay Jace, I know you're better than that (Im actually looking forward to your future fic)

17. .. you remember years ago finding the emails between your father and that hospital intern, and you marvel at how easy it is to fixate on one star and lose sight of the constellation.

A) The last line 😘👌

B) We all make mistakes but she's only done it the once… but will it stay like that? 👀

C) It's easy to judge until you're in that position..

18. Baela tosses the empty plastic bowl into the kitchen sink—it rattles harshly there—and casts you a hard glare as she stalks towards her bedroom in her purple bathrobe. “I am so disappointed in you.”

A) Plastic, plastic, plastic- v much like HW

B) Easy to throw away… Careless of what she does and who she hurts (my tabloid theory)

C) Alright mum sheesh

19. Baela stops and turns around, and now her face is all pity, like you’re too pathetic to stay mad at, like you aren’t cognizant enough to be held responsible. “Yeah. We’re still going to see the fireworks.”

A) Me with my dog, can't stay mad at my baby

20. “Jace can stay here when I’m in Paris, right?” Baela asks. “He swears he’ll vacuum and take the garbage out and stuff. And you know he won’t fill up the sink with dirty dishes, he basically only eats takeout.”

A) Oh so he is capable of looking after himself..

B) SS please make him a proper meal, he needs nutrition

C) I hope SS and Jace bond whilst B ain't there, like best besties but will that only upset Aegon more if he finds out?

21. All afternoon as you are bent low scraping scoops of ice cream out of the freezer and mashing in mix-ins on the chilled countertop, each time the glass door opens and the string of bells jangle you look up to see if it’s Aegon, because maybe he’s found you another job or maybe he just misses you, and he’s daydreaming of you now in the sweltering sunshine that rains down golden and cloudless. But your only customers are strangers: flocks of influencers in yoga pants who pick at Like It-sized sorbets, flustered mothers trying to relay their lisping children’s orders, giggling couples on dates who you love watching, the way their eyes are alight and their fingers forever ache to intertwine.

A) Even as she's in hell at work, her Salve is Aegon (even if he dont show up)

B) Aw she misses Aegon (me too)

C) I hate couples too gorl, how dare they be happy, rubbing it in our faces

22. … your breathing still labored from the hike and guzzling cans of La Croix that Baela packed, awful as always but not so bad when you feel like you’re dying of thirst. As you wait for the fireworks to start, you take a few selfies with the distant incandescent mirage of Downtown to the northeast, towards Chinatown and Elysian Park, towards Apple Valley, Minnesota if you drove far enough.

A) Me and Sunshine are the same? Both hating walks? Damn

B) That drink, she only likes it when it's her last resort. Like any products of HW- she will do anything but that but uses it when she has no other choice? like plastic surgery, etc

C) Shes being pulled in so many directions. What will she choose? Hw & fame or Minnesota, home?

23. In the two minutes you spend debating whether to watch it, he has seen yours, liked it, and replied: Miss America 2025.

A) Alright babe, a bit of a stalker

B) He can calm Down too lmao- so flirty & thirsty (it should be me 😫)

24. “What are you grinning about?” Baela asks from where she is sitting in Jace’s lap, his arms around her waist, and you can’t tell her because you don’t want to make her mad again.

A) Stalker 2

B) Leave Ss to be happy

C) Unless B is sus and has an idea of who SS is talking to…

25. “Just something my sister sent me.” You click on Aegon’s story; he is standing beside a massive grill covered with hotdogs and hamburger patties, wielding a pair of tongs, and wearing his aviator sunglasses and a green apron with seemingly nothing underneath. You like it and reply: I have literally never wanted a hotdog so bad in my life.

A) Bl**dy hell, she's thirsty too

B) But Mags, that image was too hot

C) Like was he naked? 👀

D) I'm a vegetarian but I'd break it for his sausage

26. “You better post the picture we took together,” Baela tells you. “We looked cute as fuck!”

A) Alright B, calm down

B) Why don't you post it?

C) Sort of controlling? Like she never asks, just sort of demands?

27. “You were okay,” Baela says, and they both laugh.

A) i know couples joke but she's never very complimentary with him

B) He deserves better

C) I reckon she could drop him to up her career cuz he's not famous, and seems like a waste

28. “It’s a really good photo,” you agree. And it proves that you have friends to do activities with, that you aren’t quite as pathetic and alone in Los Angeles as your parents and Clara and Tripp and Mason might think. You post it as a story: you and Baela smiling together, Jace in the background brandishing a peace sign. You add a bunch of red, white, and blue hearts for decoration. Aegon watches your new story within a few minutes, but he doesn’t reply. He doesn’t even like it. You frown down at your screen, confused.

A) She needs some friends (please Jace)

B) As an instagram story so its not around forever (like B's presence will Not be)

C) Ooh why he mad? I hate men lmao

29. “Oh look, it’s starting, it’s starting!” Baela says excitedly, and now there are booming explosions in the darkening sky and threads of shimmering remnants descending like falling stars.

A) Yes it's starting… the drama & explosions start now

30. You are early for your appointment because you want to see Aegon again, and you don’t even try to tell yourself it’s for any other reason. It’s Tuesday, July 8th, and there are still charred firework wrappers and singed sparklers strewn on the sidewalk. You find a parking spot a ways down the street from Aegon’s half-duplex and trot to the front door. You are wearing your tan TOMS wedges, a top the color of dark fertile earth, a green maxi skirt, and swampy verdant eyeshadow to match: matte brown Rewind and sparkly emerald Damaged, both by Urban Decay.

A) Atleast she ain't delusional, that helps

B) He's in such a dump - shows that LA ain't all the glitz and glam- will Sunshine see that?

C) Very dark, earthy tones… calm before the storm?

D) ‘Rewind’ she wants to go back to that night, ‘Damaged’ she will be after this conversation

31. "Aegon must be hella stressed lately because he’s always mixing things up and forgetting appointments, then he yells at me but feels bad about it afterwards and pays me overtime. Well worth it! I think it’s the wedding. Becca’s constantly showing up asking for his opinion about cakes and decorations and whatever and it’s just a lot.”

A) Oh he's always mixing things up… hopefully he'll mix up his fiance soon

B) Becca stresses him out! SS doesn't.. see how that could work

32. Mario is traversing a narrow stone pathway surrounded by a sea of blood-red lava. Aegon’s tank top is the color of the pine trees back in Minnesota; the unbuttoned short-sleeve Oxford shirt he’s thrown overtop is white and wrinkled. The room has been tidied up... Honeycrisp apples filling up a bowl that is blue china instead of plain bone-colored ceramic.

A) Mario again… reflecting Aegon’s medical journey/ life

B) Narrow- meaning he can only go one way in life (get married, give up LA and whatever else)

C) Blood-red lava- either Mario is the disease in his body/ bloodstream (narrow- vein)

D) His tank is the colour of the trees from her home? He's her home?

E) Also earthy colour, they're matching. Both each other’s home

F) Wrinkled white top- he's a disgruntled angel (he's trying his best to help SS) (or dying soon lmao)

G) He's still got a piece of her around, the apples (highlighted in colour, not the plain white of LA)

33. “Hey,” Aegon says, glancing at you but still clicking buttons and swiveling the joystick on his transluscent orange controller.

A) He's paying half attention to her.. whilst he also concentrates on the game (his medical issues taking over his life whilst he tries to be there for her?)

34. “Are you winning?” you ask, meaning the game. Mario veers off the precarious walkway and into the lava, screams and tries to leap to safety, sails over a stone island, hits the lava again and dies.

A) she cares about his interests and him 😭

B) Does she distract him? And is there bad repercussions? (Becca leaving?)

C) Aegon/ Mario is struggling to get back to safety?

35. Aegon chuckles; he sounds tired. His bruised knuckles, five days gone, have sickened to a ghastly green and plumes of opaque violet. “I guess not.” He turns off the Nintendo 64. “How was your 4th of July?”

36. Aegon gives you a disapproving look like he doesn’t quite believe you. You can’t fathom why. “I might have another job for you.”

A) He's tired 😫

A) He's jealous girl

B) We love to see it

37. “Really? Great!” But despite the good news, you’re beginning to feel like you’re sinking. You keep waiting for Aegon to acknowledge what happened here, what you both did, what you were to each other even if only for a few hours under the cover of darkness.

A) Sinking… like the Titantic reference from the first chapter in this office

B) I feel bad vibes about to happen

38. “There’s a casting call for a very minor part in a new Marvel movie. I’m sure that’s not exactly your dream role, and it’s not really what I see you doing either, but you said you’d take anything and it’s an opportunity to get you in front of some big-name people. So I booked you a spot.”

A) We love Marvel (just watched Marvel today actually lmao)

B) SS would be cute as a superhero or sidekick

C) Aegons so clever

39. “I’m keeping an eye on the indie projects that make it to pre-production. I can imagine you shining in a niche little thriller, maybe a romantic drama…you do angry really well, you know. Which is strange, because you’re never angry in real life. But that’s what makes you an actress. You become other kinds of people.”

A) He doesn't see her angry… I feel like he just needs to wait lmao

B) also he might also underestimate her himself? Cuz she seems nice all the time?

C) A romantic drama? No need babe, she's already in one

40. Aegon studies you, his Nike Killshots still resting lazily on his desk. His blonde hair is slicked back from his face; his eyes are a remote somber blue like the ocean through an airplane window. “You alright, sunshine?”

A) What is it about these shoes??

B) He's so beautiful ugh

C) And he cares 😭

41. Slowly, Aegon smiles, and there’s something about his voice that strikes you as smug, maybe taunting, maybe even cruel. “It was that good for you, huh?”

A) Nevermind, jackass

B) But I'd still swoon 😅

C) After punching him

D) is this the real him or an act?

42. Aegon is stunned. He scrambles to his feet. “What—?”

A) Well done, you've made her upset

B) Me too

C) be nicer with your words, you know she's sensitive

43. “Then come back here.”

A) Me skipping my way back after that demand

B) Anything for you King

C) I need higher standards lmao but I blame it on him

44. Aegon sits down too, places his elbows on his desk, laces his fingers together and presses them against his lips as he gazes at you, his large blue eyes glossy and pained. After a while, he says quietly: “This is exactly what I didn’t want. For you to be hurt, for you to be sad.”

A) Ooh he serious

B) Stop with the eyes 😫🥰 ill forgive him too easily 🙈 I won't look

C) He throws my emotions everywhere, I know he cares but stop fucking around lmao

45. On the way here, Aegon stopped at an In-N-Out Burger. You said you didn’t want anything when he asked—you have no appetite whatsoever—but at the drive-thru window he ordered two cheeseburger combos: Cherry Cokes, grilled onions on the burgers, Animal-Style fries. He paid in cash, because he is full of deceit, or at least that is what you told yourself.

A) Idk what to think Of him ordering her food when she didn't want anything?

B) Was he doing it cuz he worries she might not be able to afford a lot of food? Or to remind her not to fall for the fame fad diets?

C) Like someone else said, does he pay in cash so he knows how much he Spent that day due to forgetting?

D) Or is he given an allowance by family or Becca?

E) He loves his Cherry cokes in your fanfic… Do you like cherry Coke by any chance maggie? 😂

46. “Do you want to get skin cancer? Are you trying to look like Clint Eastwood when you’re forty?”

A) Wear that sunscreen bitch

B) Does he think it's useless as he's dying anyway?

47. He gives you an irritated smirk but takes the sunscreen and halfheartedly mists himself with it… Aegon takes large, sloppy bites of his burger, grease dribbling down his fingers; you can only manage queasy nibbles at your own. In the waves, surfers are paddling far out and then riding swells back in, skittering to a stop in shallow water or being dragged under by the gleaming sapphire currents. California gulls squawk overhead and dive greedily when Aegon throws them some of his fries. To the north is a jetty of stones to mark the territorial boundary between the surfers and the swimmers; to the south is a long wooden pier for fishing.

C) He might not make it to 40 😫😭

D) just googled CE, he's 94 damn. Also he did have skin cancer, bless him

A) He does anything for SS 🥹

B) Hes so messy, i find it hot- imagine him eating you out like that 🥵

C) Also how he eats without a care in the world, whereas she nibbles, cuz she has to be cautious? But he's already made his money

D) The surfers are riding high on waves just to be brought down by the same thing?- Fame

E) Gulls are the paparazzi and not leaving u alone and eating the scraps they can get

F) There's a clear divide between the surfers and the swimmers (hmmm)

A) zodiac Calendar, fate. Is fate gonna intervene between them soon?

48. Aegon sighs and slurps his Cherry Coke, ice clinking around in the cardboard cup, red and white and reminding you of those zodiac calendars at Chinese restaurants. “I guess. I don’t know.”

B) He's confused. She's different to the other girls

C) But they shouldn't have done it cuz they're just gonna get hurt

A) Ooh slay? 😔

49. “It wasn’t the first time. I’m sure it’ll happen again at some point. It doesn’t change what I have with Becca.”

B) He truly isn't in love with Becca if he's doing this

50. “Never long-term,” Aegon amends.

C) Can I be the next time? 👀

51. “Marry me, girl, be my fairy to the world, be my very own constellation,

A) Cuz he can't do long-term, he won't be around for long enough so he just takes what care he can get from Becca- an easy marriage

A teenage bride with a baby inside getting high on information”

B) Teenager with a baby… like Becca who wanted more (a life with him)

A) Will he finally propose to SS later? just before it's too late? She's a Salve for him as much as he is For her

C) is Becca sneaky? Like is she gonna do something with all this information she has on him and his family as Revenge for being taken a mug of? - it's a Hollywood story, someone has to go to the tabloids lmao

A) Uh yes- this is how fanfics work

52. “You honestly believe I’d rip up the life I’ve have planned out for years for someone I met a month ago?”

B) Only one month??

A) Don't patronise her Aegon

53. “That’s adorable,” Aegon says, like you’re an idiot. After a moment he adds, rather combatively: “And if you’re such a one-dude kind of girl, who was that guy in your Instagram story?”

B) Oh and don't be jealous, you have no right lmao

54. “That’s his name? Jace? That’s not even a real name. That’s like James or Jason, but make it the trailer park remix.”

A) Sorry babe, forgot Aegon was in the the modern baby book of names 🙄

B) If you look in the Targaryen name book, Aegon means "a little bitch"

C) If you don't change your attitude, you'll be A(e)Gon(er) soon

55. Aegon rolls his eyes and shoves a handful of Animal-Style fries into his mouth, sopping with melted yellow cheese and grilled onions and secret-recipe spread that tastes suspiciously like Thousand Island salad dressing. “Right.”

A) That boy needs manners lmao

B) that's like another portion of food with more cheese 🧀- baby doesn't care about his health at all

C) He's distracting himself with food? Emotional eating?

A) Someone he trusts enough, he won't ever trust anyone with her

56. “Sure,” Aegon says, like he is being deliberately stoic. “But I need more time to find someone I trust enough.”

B) Hes putting on an act of nonchalance to not show the hurt he's feeling with her just asking for someone else

C) He will probably try and delay it as much as he can

A) He's calling her bluff

57. Aegon looks at you, a challenge, a dare. “Do you really want to never see me again?”

58. Aegon scoffs. “Oh, come on.”

B) And she doesn't babe

A) Don't be a baby- answer the question

59. “Are you twelve years old?” Aegon says, then slurps forcefully on his Cherry Coke. “Life is more complicated than that.”

B) he doesnt want to say cuz he doesn't love Becca

A) Says the baby

B) it is true. Life is complicated

C) He's the grumpy realist and she's the optiminist. They balance each other- life isn't hard when they're together (ish)

D) Back to consuming to delay his answers

A) He' sparkles ✨️

60. Aegon gazes blankly out over the Pacific Ocean for a while, the breeze in his hair and the Coppertone Sport shimmering on his face, and then at last he turns to you. “Okay, listen,” Aegon begins. “About a year ago, Becca got pregnant.”

61. “Right. And I didn’t then either. So I told her I’d have absolutely nothing to do with it if she kept the baby, and that my preference was for her to terminate. And that’s what she did.”

B) And I oop-

C) I wonder if his final resting place will be the beach, he seems at peace here

B) He's a Bit rough

A) it must be something hereditary to not want to pass it on to his Kids cuz hes know how bad it is to deal with. He doesn't care about legacy whereas his dad did- but at what cost

C) I wonder if he would want the baby if it was Sunshine’s? - que baby? As a last piece of aegon?

62. “I’m not convinced it was unintentional,” Aegon is saying; you are only half-hearing him… “Becca told me that she moved out here to be an actress and a model, but I never saw her really pursuing that. Once we met, she jumped right into being the perfect caretaker, and some people are like that. They need someone to need them. She was great at it, it was all she wanted to do, looking after me and the house and the Targaryen family Hollywood bullshit that I can’t stand. And eventually Becca started dropping hints about getting married, and I ignored them. I think…maybe she thought having a baby would speed up the timeline. But now she knows how serious I am about not having children. And I’m a lot more careful.”

A) What girls have to do to feel secure in a relationship

B) but it also shows that's she manipulative? So what else can she do?

E) So Becca knows stuff about the family? Interesting..

C) Becca started out like SS? Does he help SS more because she actually has passion for it whereas Becca didn't?

D) I want to know about the Targs, they defo had an effect on him and why he hates HW

F) A lot more careful- as in he's stay away from Becca lmao

A) But you need To have to want her too, thats marriage aegon

63. “No,” Aegon says, exasperated that you don’t understand. “I’m marrying her because I’m who she wants, and she would do anything for me. And being with me is a sacrifice, right? So the least I can do is give her the official title. It works for both of us. It’s good for both of us.”

B) Both of you and ss want each other?

C) and he's sacrificing his own happiness by not being with SS

D) He's a curse to be with? Cuz he knows he's gonna go down a slippery slope later with his deteriorating health and he thinks ss wont stay/ doesn't need to see it in her happy world

A) She wants you to be the perfect guy she thought you were but everyone has their flaws

64. “I know,” Aegon snaps. “What do you want me to say? That I’m a fucking terrible person, that I’m a curse to everyone who cares about me? Sure, fine, okay, you got it. But to my knowledge I’m the only person in your corner, so let me help you for as long as I can.”

B) He's gonna be a curse to Sunshine? When he dies, she'll always remember him, like a lost love like Jack & Rose from Titantic (that you like to reference in this & aegon survived the last series of his)

C) He still wants to help and be close to her

A) See- whereas becca didn't Want to do it for the right reasons?

65. “Because you’re kind, and you’re gentle, and you’re real, and you want this for the right reasons, and I’m not going to let anybody beat that out of you.”

B) He's sick of fake people and she's real omg

C) Has she reopened his passion for being an agent?

A) He wants to be there

66. Aegon sighs, defeated. “Do you want to ride with me to the Marvel audition or do you want to drive yourself? It’s on Friday.”

B) But he also respects her choice

A) He's still upset over the Maroon 5 script

67. “In case something happens, obviously,” Aegon flares. “In case a director or an actor is a creep, in case they want you to do a dangerous stunt, it case they try to tell you to get surgery, in case they lie to you about the terms, in case a million other things go wrong. No one is going to listen to you, but because I’m a Targaryen they’ll listen to me.”

B) I love his protective energy.. cuz its “his job”... 😏

C) Whos gonna look after after he's gone 😭

D) How big are the Targs In this industry?

E) also it's v likely someone is a creep in any HW studio

68. “I’m the best you’ve got,” Aegon pitches back, and you sit with him in heavy silence under the sizzling afternoon sun for a long time, neither of you speaking, neither of you moving to leave.

A) Not just the heat being brutal, the angry tension too

B) They don't want to talk but they don't want to leave each other either

A) Not how they ended things last time..

69. An hour later, back in Elysian Park, Aegon parks his Sebring curbside and says Brandon will text you the address for the Marvel audition. You thank him briskly and impersonally. Aegon jogs up the concrete steps and into his half-duplex; you begin walking down the sidewalk towards where you parked your 2003 Honda Accord this morning. You are most of the way there when you see her approaching: long dark hair, wide-leg jeans, bridal white crop top, carrying a massive bakery box. Becca is beaming and humming to herself, but when she spots you she jolts to a halt.

B) bride white top- she wants you to know shes getting married lmao

C) Aw she was in a good mood 😂

70. “Always trying to break us up,” she seethes hatefully, defiantly. “Always trying to tear us apart. You think you matter enough to jeopardize what Aegon and I have? He comes home to me, always, and no one can change that. You think I don’t know loving a man like that means having to share him with the world? I know it. But you should know you’ll never get to keep him.”

D) SS is ruining Beccas dream of domesticity so will Becca ruin hers?

E) Does becca have access to Aegon's files and with him mixing things up, he might forget to lock the computer. Plus plus- he's using folders ( is that another sign of his decorating state cuz he can't remember his computer password)?

B) Does he not sleep with her? Does he not trust her after the baby thing?

A) She says that like just to Ss but she probably means all the girls Aegon has slept with

C) I wonder if Becca Will snap and tell Sunshine why she couldnt handle Aegon (his disease). I bet she knows what his dad dies of.

D) Imagine Becca killed Vis and is slowly killing Aegon for the money lmao idk I'm tired

A) Baela cussing her out, Aegon not being lovey, Becca tripping her over- I get you babe. You deserve a treat

71. “This day fucking sucks,” you mutter to nobody. Then you turn on your laptop and open Spotify in one tab. You recall seeing a lot of Alanis Morissette in Aegon’s playlist, and you find one of the few songs of hers you already know because it’s your mom’s favorite: You Learn.

B) I had to Google the song!

C) The song is about how the lows of life Still add to it, you learn and grow from the lessons

D) Like after this fic is done, she wouldn't change a thing cuz it's toughened her up but also allowed to love more openly (like maybe she stands up for herself and tells aegon to learn to let himself be happy and be with her before he goes)

E) It might help put more substance into her acting?

72. Wikipedia once told you that Viserys Targaryen passed away at his Malibu home after a long illness. Was it bad? It had to be, right? A disease that was torturously slow and horrific for the whole family. An experience that wounded Aegon somewhere deep and immutable.

A) Hmm was it an illness or did the family say that just to cover something up? And did aegon get caught in the crossfire?

73. Viserys Targaryen Alzheimer’s

74. You roll over and stare up at your bedroom ceiling, listening to Alanis Morissette’s serrated mezzo-soprano twang, and whatever is required to be taken seriously as an artist—to make people see you, to make people listen, to earn the privilege of not spending forty years impersonating someone who never feels the siren call of other lives—she has it.

A) Not alzheimers but maybe another thing related to it… like Dementia

B) Does something need to break in her to finally be sharp enough to cut and catch someone's attention?

A) SS isn't taken seriously cuz she's naive? Like she's a pushover in a way?

75. Maybe there’s no profound explanation for why Aegon is marrying Becca. Maybe he really is a fuckboy like Baela said.

C) And will it be cuz of aegon or something else?

B) But we all know that's not it

A) Yeah possibly

76. Maybe he just doesn’t like you enough.

C) He might not want anyone else to see him go like his dad? And he doesn't mind Becca cuz he doesn't care about her enough?

B) youre his favourite.

A) Lies. He does.

C) His precious sunshine.

A Curse [Chapter 5: Venice]

Series summary: You are an aspiring actress. Aegon is a washed-up and disenchanted agent…at least until he sees something special in you. But within paradisical seaside Los Angeles you find terrible dangers and temptations, secrets and lies. Maybe Aegon’s right; maybe the City of Angels really is a curse.

Chapter warnings: Language, mentions of sexual content (18+ readers only), age-gap situationship, In-N-Out Burger, accidental fake dating, discussions of pregnancy and abortion (not who you think), a wild Becca appears!

Word count: 6k

💜 All my writing can be found HERE! 💜

Tagging: @lauraneedstochill @mrs-starkgaryen @chattylurker @neithriddle @ecstaticactus, more in comments! 🥰

🏝️ Let me know if you’d like to be added to the taglist 🏝️

You sleep deep but wake up early. When Baela wanders out of the bathroom in a fuzzy purple robe and a gale of steam, she finds you dressed in your grey work uniform and sprinkling a packet of flower food you got from the Rite Aid down the street into the vase of sunflowers. You are smiling to yourself; you can’t seem to stop.

“Heyyyyy!” Baela says, slow and salacious, hoping for interesting stories. You very rarely have any to share. “How’d the Maroon 5 shoot go? Not so bad, right?”

“It was good.” You rearrange the sunflowers, pruning any leaves that have begun to wilt. Daylight streams in through the windows; outside you can see power lines, palm trees, a shopping center featuring—among other things—a Starbucks, World Star Vape, and Carl’s Jr.

“Did you meet Adam Levine?”

“Briefly and uneventfully. But he seemed nice!”

“And you survived the bathtub thing, I see.” Her tone implies that you were ridiculous to ever fear you wouldn’t, childish, ignorant, histrionic.

“Well…I actually didn’t have to do it.”

“What?” She reaches into the refrigerator and removes a plastic bowl full of raspberries, sets it down on the kitchen counter, eats absentmindedly as she stares at you. “Really? Why not?”

You shrug, a little shy but desperately wanting to tell somebody, because that will make it real. Blood burns in your face. “Aegon saved me.”

Baela’s eyes narrow and her brow crinkles. You find yourself—as you often do—casually in awe of the smoothness of her skin, the perfect arches of her eyebrows, her expressiveness that is never inelegant. She chews her raspberries very slowly. “Seriously?”

“Yeah, so…I didn’t have to film that scene. But I did the rest of them and it went fine.”

Baela’s gaze drops to your shoes and travels northbound, examining you with skepticism and dread, as if she is afraid to ask. “Did something else happen?”

You can feel yourself glowing, flushing, beaming helplessly. “Kind of.”

Her jaw drops open; there’s berry juice on her teeth like blood. “How? Where?!”

“We went back to his office after the shoot. I mean, he drove us back to his office. But I wanted to go too.”

“And you did…what, exactly? How many bases?”

“Um…all of them?”

“All of them?!”

“Twice.”

Baela looks horrified. “Oh my God, you really fucked a married guy.”

“No, remember, he’s not married. He’s just engaged.”

“It’s the same thing!” Baela exclaims, and she has completely forgotten about her raspberries. “You’re a cheater, how does that make you feel?”

You shake your head; she doesn’t understand. “I know it sounds bad, but when I’m with Aegon…he’s just so…he’s so protective and he’s smart and he’s brave and he actually believes in me, he’s the only person who doesn’t think I’m hopeless and delusional, and he’s always trying to help me, and there’s something about when we’re together that just feels…magical!”

“Of course it’s magical!” Baela bursts out, and now Jace is peeking blearily out of her bedroom, his dark curls in disarray. “He’s a fuckboy, that’s what they do! He gives you some otherworldly encapsulated experience that leaves you dickmatized but it’s not real, because then he goes home and he does the same thing with his soon-to-be-wife, and then the next day he’s probably hooking up with some other impressionable starstruck client, and you’re standing here thinking you have something special with him when he’s already onto the next girl!”

You can’t imagine that being true, and yet you wonder without wanting to: why did he have condoms in his desk drawer? “I don’t think he’s happy with Becca.”

Baela groans as if she’s in physical pain. “I knew this would happen! I knew somebody was going to take advantage of you. You’re too idealistic, you’re too naïve.”

“I started it,” you object feebly.

“You think you seduced him? You think you were calling the shots with a middle-aged man whose family is Hollywood royalty?”

You look down at your shoes, uninspired white Skechers for work, ashamed. “I guess not.”

Baela huffs a sardonic sigh and scarfs down the last of the raspberries, chewing them aggressively. “You know, people talk shit about Jace—”

“Who talks shit about Jace?” Jace asks from the doorway of her bedroom.

“—They say he’s a hobosexual and lazy and jobless and whatever, but that man is loyal, he doesn’t even look at other women, and I wouldn’t trade him for anybody. Because apparently it’s extremely fucking rare to find someone who won’t get naked for the first stranger who promises to make all their wildest dreams come true.”

You are collapsing in on yourself, a wilting flower, a crushed spider, and you remember years ago finding the emails between your father and that hospital intern, and you marvel at how easy it is to fixate on one star and lose sight of the constellation. Jace slinks back into Baela’s bedroom and closes the door. “Yeah, you’re right, Baela,” you say softly. “I was wrong. I don’t know why I did that.”

Now Baela frowns at you with a nauseating combination of judgment and pity. “Look, are you sure you wouldn’t be happier back home on the horse farm? This place…you’re too nice for it, you know? You’re too trusting. You’re going to keep getting hurt.” You don’t have what it takes.

You steel yourself. “I’m staying here.”

“Okay, and are you going to find a new agent? Maybe somebody who isn’t trying to sleep with you, or at the very least isn’t in a committed relationship while doing it?”

You are thunderstruck by the question; you haven’t even considered this. “No one else wants me.”

Baela tosses the empty plastic bowl into the kitchen sink—it rattles harshly there—and casts you a hard glare as she stalks towards her bedroom in her purple bathrobe. “I am so disappointed in you.”

You turn to watch her leave, crestfallen and deserted. “Are we still going to see the fireworks later when I get done at Cold Stone?”

Baela stops and turns around, and now her face is all pity, like you’re too pathetic to stay mad at, like you aren’t cognizant enough to be held responsible. “Yeah. We’re still going to see the fireworks.”

“Yay!” you reply, a strained little squeak.

“Jace can stay here when I’m in Paris, right?” Baela asks. “He swears he’ll vacuum and take the garbage out and stuff. And you know he won’t fill up the sink with dirty dishes, he basically only eats takeout.”

“Yeah, of course, no problem! He can stay.”

“Thanks.” Baela gives you a small smile—a charitable you’re a dumbass but we’re still friends sort of gesture—and disappears into her bedroom. Then you go find your phone and purse so you won’t be late for work.

All afternoon as you are bent low scraping scoops of ice cream out of the freezer and mashing in mix-ins on the chilled countertop, each time the glass door opens and the string of bells jangle you look up to see if it’s Aegon, because maybe he’s found you another job or maybe he just misses you, and he’s daydreaming of you now in the sweltering sunshine that rains down golden and cloudless. But your only customers are strangers: flocks of influencers in yoga pants who pick at Like It-sized sorbets, flustered mothers trying to relay their lisping children’s orders, giggling couples on dates who you love watching, the way their eyes are alight and their fingers forever ache to intertwine.

At dusk, you and Baela and Jace are lounging on a blanket at the Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook, your breathing still labored from the hike and guzzling cans of La Croix that Baela packed, awful as always but not so bad when you feel like you’re dying of thirst. As you wait for the fireworks to start, you take a few selfies with the distant incandescent mirage of Downtown to the northeast, towards Chinatown and Elysian Park, towards Apple Valley, Minnesota if you drove far enough.

You post the most flattering selfie to your Instagram story with a caption of patriotic emojis: an American flag, the Statue of Liberty, a bald eagle, an exploding pink firework. In the row of circles at the top of your screen, you observe that Aegon—a.k.a. superstargaryen—has also posted a story today. In the two minutes you spend debating whether to watch it, he has seen yours, liked it, and replied: Miss America 2025.

“What are you grinning about?” Baela asks from where she is sitting in Jace’s lap, his arms around her waist, and you can’t tell her because you don’t want to make her mad again.

“Just something my sister sent me.” You click on Aegon’s story; he is standing beside a massive grill covered with hotdogs and hamburger patties, wielding a pair of tongs, and wearing his aviator sunglasses and a green apron with seemingly nothing underneath. You like it and reply: I have literally never wanted a hotdog so bad in my life.

Aegon reacts with a laughing emoji and types: Come and get it. But of course you can’t, because Becca is probably there too.

“You better post the picture we took together,” Baela tells you. “We looked cute as fuck!”

“What about me?” Jace asks playfully, nuzzling the side of her face. “Was I cute as fuck too?”

“You were okay,” Baela says, and they both laugh.

“It’s a really good photo,” you agree. And it proves that you have friends to do activities with, that you aren’t quite as pathetic and alone in Los Angeles as your parents and Clara and Tripp and Mason might think. You post it as a story: you and Baela smiling together, Jace in the background brandishing a peace sign. You add a bunch of red, white, and blue hearts for decoration. Aegon watches your new story within a few minutes, but he doesn’t reply. He doesn’t even like it. You frown down at your screen, confused.

“Oh look, it’s starting, it’s starting!” Baela says excitedly, and now there are booming explosions in the darkening sky and threads of shimmering remnants descending like falling stars.

~~~~~~~~~~

You are early for your appointment because you want to see Aegon again, and you don’t even try to tell yourself it’s for any other reason. It’s Tuesday, July 8th, and there are still charred firework wrappers and singed sparklers strewn on the sidewalk. You find a parking spot a ways down the street from Aegon’s half-duplex and trot to the front door. You are wearing your tan TOMS wedges, a top the color of dark fertile earth, a green maxi skirt, and swampy verdant eyeshadow to match: matte brown Rewind and sparkly emerald Damaged, both by Urban Decay.

Behind the reception desk, Brandon is squinting at the computer screen and scrawling notes in his planner with his flower pen. “Hey girl!” he greets you, and although he is preoccupied he still gets a bottle of Perrier out of the minifridge and sets it on the edge of the desk.

“Thanks!” you say as you take it. “I’m really sorry about what happened last week with the address thing. I hope you weren’t too freaked out. I didn’t want to ruin your holiday.”

Brandon laughs and waves a hand dismissively. “It’s totally cool, I wasn’t worried at all. Aegon must be hella stressed lately because he’s always mixing things up and forgetting appointments, then he yells at me but feels bad about it afterwards and pays me overtime. Well worth it! I think it’s the wedding. Becca’s constantly showing up asking for his opinion about cakes and decorations and whatever and it’s just a lot.”

You smile politely; it takes some effort. “Yeah, weddings are nerve-racking. My sister Clara is planning hers right now.”

“Oh for cute! Are you going to be her maid of honor?”

“Actually, I don’t know. I hope not. Sounds like a ton of work.”

“You’d be marvelous at it,” Brandon assures you, then snatches up the phone when it rings. “Targaryen Talent Agency, this is Brandon, how can I help you?” You say goodbye and continue to Aegon’s office.

Inside, he is wearing the same green Nike Killshots he had on the day you first met and has them propped up on his desk as he plays his Nintendo 64. Mario is traversing a narrow stone pathway surrounded by a sea of blood-red lava. Aegon’s tank top is the color of the pine trees back in Minnesota; the unbuttoned short-sleeve Oxford shirt he’s thrown overtop is white and wrinkled. The room has been tidied up, all signs of your transgression erased: debris swept off the scratched wood floor, his desk once again littered with folders and papers and Juicy Fruit gum wrappers, new frames for the photographs, Honeycrisp apples filling up a bowl that is blue china instead of plain bone-colored ceramic.

“Hey,” Aegon says, glancing at you but still clicking buttons and swiveling the joystick on his transluscent orange controller.

“Hi!” You are grinning as you sit down in the chair in front of his desk. “Your office is back to normal.”

“Yeah, I have cleaning people that come in a few days a week.”

“Are you winning?” you ask, meaning the game. Mario veers off the precarious walkway and into the lava, screams and tries to leap to safety, sails over a stone island, hits the lava again and dies.

Aegon chuckles; he sounds tired. His bruised knuckles, five days gone, have sickened to a ghastly green and plumes of opaque violet. “I guess not.” He turns off the Nintendo 64. “How was your 4th of July?”

“It was awesome! I hung out with my roommate.”

Aegon gives you a disapproving look like he doesn’t quite believe you. You can’t fathom why. “I might have another job for you.”

“Really? Great!” But despite the good news, you’re beginning to feel like you’re sinking. You keep waiting for Aegon to acknowledge what happened here, what you both did, what you were to each other even if only for a few hours under the cover of darkness.

“There’s a casting call for a very minor part in a new Mavel movie. I’m sure that’s not exactly your dream role, and it’s not really what I see you doing either, but you said you’d take anything and it’s an opportunity to get you in front of some big-name people. So I booked you a spot.”

“I accept.” Is he going to pretend it never happened?

“I’m keeping an eye on the indie projects that make it to pre-production. I can imagine you shining in a niche little thriller, maybe a romantic drama…you do angry really well, you know. Which is strange, because you’re never angry in real life. But that’s what makes you an actress. You become other kinds of people.”

Does he think it was a mistake? Does he think it didn’t matter? “Okay,” you hear yourself say uncertainly.

Aegon studies you, his Nike Killshots still resting lazily on his desk. His blonde hair is slicked back from his face; his eyes are a remote somber blue like the ocean through an airplane window. “You alright, sunshine?”

“Yeah, I just…um…I mean…” You glance uneasily around the small plain office, scuffed wooden floorboards and cracked paint on mint green walls and glaring daylight that pours in through the windows that face the east. “What happened Thursday night…was that a one-time thing, or…?”

Slowly, Aegon smiles, and there’s something about his voice that strikes you as smug, maybe taunting, maybe even cruel. “It was that good for you, huh?”

You are suddenly reminded of every doubt, every warning, every belittling comment you thought you had convinced yourself not to absorb: from Mom, Dad, Clara, Tripp, Mason, Baela, Jace, agents and directors and surgeons. You thump your cold glass bottle of Perrier onto Aegon’s desk, clutch your purse, and bolt for the door. “Sorry, I have to go.”

Aegon is stunned. He scrambles to his feet. “What—?”

“Sorry, bye. Please don’t follow me.” You don’t want him to see you crying. You’re already humiliated enough.

You run awkwardly in your wedges through the lobby—Brandon watches you from behind his desk, baffled—and burst out into the hot late-morning sunlight. You almost tumble down the concrete steps but regain your balance, then flee towards your Honda. Window air conditioning units whir, dogs bark, car engines rev, a radio in an open garage is blaring Domino by Jessie J. Now your phone is ringing.

You yank it out of your purse and, through the tears that blur your vision, see that the name on the screen is Aegon’s. “Hello?” you answer stupidly, as if you don’t know who it is.

Aegon’s voice is equal parts defensive and resigned. “Do you want a new agent?”

“No,” you sob.

“Then come back here.”

“I just…I just feel like I really messed up, I mean I’ve never cheated on or with anybody and I can’t believe I did that, and now you’re pretending it never even happened, and it feels weird, it feels wrong, and I ruined everything, and maybe people were right when they said I couldn’t handle being out here—”

“Come back to my office,” Aegon says calmly. “And we will talk about it. Okay?”

“Okay,” you whimper, and turn around.

You clop into the lobby and give Brandon an embarrassed wave. He nods, puzzled. Then you return to Aegon’s office and take your place in your chair, slumped, red-eyed, ashamed.

Aegon sits down too, places his elbows on his desk, laces his fingers together and presses them against his lips as he gazes at you, his large blue eyes glossy and pained. After a while, he says quietly: “This is exactly what I didn’t want. For you to be hurt, for you to be sad.”

So you won’t start crying again, you distract yourself by rotating the green glass bottle you left on Aegon’s desk, slippery with condensation. “I don’t even like Perrier.”

“Then why do you drink one every time you’re here?”

“I thought it would be the easiest thing for Brandon to get me.”

Aegon shakes his head; and for a long time he just watches you. Then an idea strikes him. “Do you want to go to the beach?”

~~~~~~~~~~

He takes the 110 south to the 10, then the 10 west towards the coast, then Venice Boulevard until you hit the canals. Aegon parks his Sebring in a tight spot on the street; he has to cut it half a dozen times to squeeze between a BMW X5 and a Volkswagen Tiguan. When he rests his bruised hand on the back of your seat so he can twist around and look behind him, you feel a disorienting sort of loss. Is he never going to touch me again? Then you both get out and walk towards the towering palm trees and beckoning open blue that peeks out from between hotels and surf shops, the genesis of the Pacific Ocean that continues uninterrupted for over five thousand miles to the shores of Japan.

On the way here, Aegon stopped at an In-N-Out Burger. You said you didn’t want anything when he asked—you have no appetite whatsoever—but at the drive-thru window he ordered two cheeseburger combos: Cherry Cokes, grilled onions on the burgers, Animal-Style fries. He paid in cash, because he is full of deceit, or at least that is what you told yourself. And so now you are carrying the Cherry Cokes, condensation sweating out of the cardboard cups as midday heat radiates up from the sidewalk and teenagers on bicycles and skateboards weave around you. You pop into one of the surf shops and Aegon waits outside, bemused, until you emerge with a blue can of Coppertone Sport tucked under your arm.

When Aegon finds a spot he likes on the beach and sits cross-legged in loose warm sand, you set down the Cherry Cokes—ice jingling in the dripping cups—and spray yourself with the Coppertone Sport until all of your exposed skin is glistening with SPF 50. Then you try to pass the can to Aegon.

“I’m good,” he says, opening the paper In-N-Out Burger bag to distribute the contents.

“Do you want to get skin cancer? Are you trying to look like Clint Eastwood when you’re forty?”

He gives you an irritated smirk but takes the sunscreen and halfheartedly mists himself with it. Then he flings the can aside and passes you your burger and fries when you sit down beside him. Aegon takes large, sloppy bites of his burger, grease dribbling down his fingers; you can only manage queasy nibbles at your own. In the waves, surfers are paddling far out and then riding swells back in, skittering to a stop in shallow water or being dragged under by the gleaming sapphire currents. California gulls squawk overhead and dive greedily when Aegon throws them some of his fries. To the north is a jetty of stones to mark the territorial boundary between the surfers and the swimmers; to the south is a long wooden pier for fishing. A group of people are playing volleyball nearby. From their boombox drifts a Red Hot Chili Peppers song; you feel like you’re being haunted by them.

“It’s the edge of the world and all of Western civilization,

The sun may rise in the East, at least it settled in a final location

It’s understood that Hollywood sells Californication…”

“It’s not your fault,” Aegon says. “I’m the one who’s engaged, I’m a decade older than you, I’m sort of your boss. It was my responsibility to put the brakes on, and I didn’t because…” He gestures helplessly. “Because I really like you. And I didn’t want to stop. But you’re not to blame for it and you shouldn’t feel guilty and you didn’t do anything wrong. I did.”

You stare out into the waves, glittering with sharp lacerations of sunlight. “So you wish you’d stopped it.”

Aegon sighs and slurps his Cherry Coke, ice clinking around in the cardboard cup, red and white and reminding you of those zodiac calendars at Chinese restaurants. “I guess. I don’t know.”

“You don’t feel guilty?”

“It wasn’t the first time. I’m sure it’ll happen again at some point. It doesn’t change what I have with Becca.”

You turn to him, revolted. “You just cheat constantly? That’s how you live?”

“Not constantly,” Aegon says, annoyed. “Not even that often. Maybe once or twice a year. I bump into someone at a party or a club, or on a film set, or on a plane…you know. Things happen. But it doesn’t go any further than that and it’s never serious.”

“Never serious,” you echo morosely.

“Never long-term,” Aegon amends.

“Marry me, girl, be my fairy to the world, be my very own constellation,

A teenage bride with a baby inside getting high on information,

And buy me a star on the boulevard, it’s Californication…”

Aegon taps the mostly-untouched burger in your hand. “Eat.”

“I’m not hungry.”

“You said you’d listen to me. I’m telling you to eat.”

His logic is sound. You make more of an effort, washing each bite down with Cherry Coke that you usually never drink, empty calories, fleeting forbidden sweetness.

Aegon is watching you closely, the creases around his eyes deep and thoughtful. “Could you tell me…like, specifically…what exactly you’re upset about?”

“I guess I thought it meant something.”

“I’m not pretending it didn’t. I just said I really like you.”

“But you’re still getting married in September.”

“You honestly believe I’d rip up the life I’ve have planned out for years for someone I met a month ago?”

“I don’t understand how you can have feelings for me and be marrying somebody else. That doesn’t make any sense. When I’m really into someone, I don’t want other people.”

“That’s adorable,” Aegon says, like you’re an idiot. After a moment he adds, rather combatively: “And if you’re such a one-dude kind of girl, who was that guy in your Instagram story?”

You have no idea what he’s talking about. “What guy?”

“The guy on the 4th of July. Young gym bro curly hair guy.”

It takes you a few seconds to realize who he means. “Jace?”

“That’s his name? Jace? That’s not even a real name. That’s like James or Jason, but make it the trailer park remix.”

“I think his parents have money,” you say absently, fascinated by Aegon’s reaction, trying to decide if you want to divulge that Jace is in no way available or romantically interested in you.

“That’s not the point.”

“He’s a friend.”

Aegon rolls his eyes and shoves a handful of Animal-Style fries into his mouth, sopping with melted yellow cheese and grilled onions and secret-recipe spread that tastes suspiciously like Thousand Island salad dressing. “Right.”

“Where are you going after you get married?”

“Becca’s family is in Houston.”

“What’s there for you?”

He laughs, a curt little cackle. “Segway tours, rodeos. The Space Center.”

“What about your family? What about Aemond and the others?”

“If they want to see me, they can catch a flight.”

“If you’re so hellbent on leaving Los Angeles, then what’s the point of this? Just ditch me now. Just give me to some other agent and we can both move on.”

“Sure,” Aegon says, like he is being deliberately stoic. “But I need more time to find someone I trust enough.”

“You can’t think of a single person who isn’t going to try to make me get naked or leap off a building?”

“No, I can, but I need someone who actually believes in you too. And you haven’t done much work out here yet. So it would be better if I had more to show them.”

“Can’t you just forge me another resume?”

Aegon looks at you, a challenge, a dare. “Do you really want to never see me again?”

The truth is humiliatingly simple. “No.”

“Then why are you arguing?”

You toss a few fries to the seagulls; they wrestle over them when they fall to the ground, kicking up golden sand and pecking murderously at each other. “Do you love Becca?”

Aegon scoffs. “Oh, come on.”

“What?”

“It’s a stupid question.”

“It’s an extremely relevant question.”

“Are you twelve years old?” Aegon says, then slurps forcefully on his Cherry Coke. “Life is more complicated than that.”

“More complicated than marrying people you’re actually in love with…?”

Aegon gazes blankly out over the Pacific Ocean for a while, the breeze in his hair and the Coppertone Sport shimmering on his face, and then at last he turns to you. “Okay, listen,” Aegon begins. “About a year ago, Becca got pregnant.”

You’re so startled you accidentally knock over your Cherry Coke, scrabbling for the cup as dark reddish liquid spills into the sand. “You have a baby?!”

He watches you, severe, grim, maybe a little afraid of what you’ll think. “No.”

Then you remember. “You don’t want kids,” you say softly.

“Right. And I didn’t then either. So I told her I’d have absolutely nothing to do with it if she kept the baby, and that my preference was for her to terminate. And that’s what she did.”

You are speechless, you are horrified, you are staring at him and struggling to imagine it.

“I’m not convinced it was unintentional,” Aegon is saying; you are only half-hearing him. Your skull is full of rumbling waves and the shrieks of seagulls. “Becca told me that she moved out here to be an actress and a model, but I never saw her really pursuing that. Once we met, she jumped right into being the perfect caretaker, and some people are like that. They need someone to need them. She was great at it, it was all she wanted to do, looking after me and the house and the Targaryen family Hollywood bullshit that I can’t stand. And eventually Becca started dropping hints about getting married, and I ignored them. I think…maybe she thought having a baby would speed up the timeline. But now she knows how serious I am about not having children. And I’m a lot more careful.”

“So…you’re marrying Becca…out of guilt?”

“No,” Aegon says, exasperated that you don’t understand. “I’m marrying her because I’m who she wants, and she would do anything for me. And being with me is a sacrifice, right? So the least I can do is give her the official title. It works for both of us. It’s good for both of us.”

You still can’t comprehend it. It seems so incongruous with who you know him to be: protective, warm, unconventionally noble. “You pressured Becca into getting an abortion?”

“It was her choice,” Aegon says weakly, knowing that he’d put an insurmountable weight on the scale.

“That’s a horrible thing to do.”

“I know,” Aegon snaps. “What do you want me to say? That I’m a fucking terrible person, that I’m a curse to everyone who cares about me? Sure, fine, okay, you got it. But to my knowledge I’m the only person in your corner, so let me help you for as long as I can.”

You shake your head; none of it makes sense. All of it is awful. They were right. I don’t belong here. “Why do you care about what happens to me?”

“Because you’re kind, and you’re gentle, and you’re real, and you want this for the right reasons, and I’m not going to let anybody beat that out of you.”

You swallow noisily. “I feel really guilty.”

“I’m sorry,” Aegon says, and he seems to mean it.

“I don’t think it’s fair to let Becca go through with the wedding without knowing that we just hooked up in your office.”

Aegon raises his eyebrows and shrugs uneasily. “Look, I’m not going to tell you what to do, but Becca wouldn’t want to know.”

“Why? Do you have some kind of arrangement?” Like my parents do. “She doesn’t concern herself with your cheating as long as she doesn’t have to see the evidence?”

“I mean, has she ever used those exact words? No. But I think that’s pretty close to how she feels.”

You nibble on a fry. Your eyes are downcast, your words hushed. With one index finger, you draw stars in the sand. “That’s so sad.”

Aegon sighs, defeated. “Do you want to ride with me to the Marvel audition or do you want to drive yourself? It’s on Friday.”

“I don’t want you there at all.”

“Well, I’m going to be there. But I can try to stay out of your way.”

You’re sulking. “Why do you have to go?”

“In case something happens, obviously,” Aegon flares. “In case a director or an actor is a creep, in case they want you to do a dangerous stunt, it case they try to tell you to get surgery, in case they lie to you about the terms, in case a million other things go wrong. No one is going to listen to you, but because I’m a Targaryen they’ll listen to me.”

“You’re my hero,” you say sarcastically; it comes out more miserable than mean. You’ve never been good at cruelty. It’s not a language you speak.

“I’m the best you’ve got,” Aegon pitches back, and you sit with him in heavy silence under the sizzling afternoon sun for a long time, neither of you speaking, neither of you moving to leave.

An hour later, back in Elysian Park, Aegon parks his Sebring curbside and says Brandon will text you the address for the Marvel audition. You thank him briskly and impersonally. Aegon jogs up the concrete steps and into his half-duplex; you begin walking down the sidewalk towards where you parked your 2003 Honda Accord this morning. You are most of the way there when you see her approaching: long dark hair, wide-leg jeans, bridal white crop top, carrying a massive bakery box. Becca is beaming and humming to herself, but when she spots you she jolts to a halt.

“Hi, Becca!” you say very cheerfully, overcompensating.

“Hey,” she replies flatly, then goes to pass you, heading towards Aegon’s office.

“Wait, sorry, can I talk to you for a minute?”

Reluctantly, Becca stops and peers at you, agitated, guarded, unwelcoming. “What? I’m busy. I have wedding cake samples for Aegon to taste.”

“Oh neat, that’s so fun!”

She glares at you, waiting.

“Okay,” you start. “Um….well…I just wanted to…um…Becca, there’s something I feel like I need to confess to you, and I want to profusely apologize because even though it wasn’t planned, I still knew better and I should never have—”

“You people,” Becca hisses, and you gape at her, bewildered.

“Sorry, what?”

“Always trying to break us up,” she seethes hatefully, defiantly. “Always trying to tear us apart. You think you matter enough to jeopardize what Aegon and I have? He comes home to me, always, and no one can change that. You think I don’t know loving a man like that means having to share him with the world? I know it. But you should know you’ll never get to keep him.”

“No, Becca, that’s not—”

“And if he was going to leave me, he has better options than you.”

Her hands are full, but she lowers a shoulder and shoves you hard with it, and you go stumbling backwards, your feet twisting out of your wedges. Pain bolts up through your left ankle and you yelp as you collapse onto the front lawn of a small yellow house. When you look up at Becca, staggered and appalled, she is sashaying swiftly up the sidewalk and is already halfway to Aegon’s office. You grab your wedges and limp to your Honda on bare feet, the concrete beneath them searing under the arid southwest sun.

The apartment is empty, Baela getting drinks with her L.A. friends before jetting off to Paris next week, Jace at one of his infrequent PhD classes. You grab an ice pack from the freezer and shuffle clumsily to your room, flop down onto your bed, apply the ice pack to your throbbing, swollen ankle.

“This day fucking sucks,” you mutter to nobody. Then you turn on your laptop and open Spotify in one tab. You recall seeing a lot of Alanis Morissette in Aegon’s playlist, and you find one of the few songs of hers you already know because it’s your mom’s favorite: You Learn.

As you listen, mulling over Aegon and his mazelike contradictions, it occurs to you that maybe losing his father at such a young age did something to him, scarred him, traumatized him, made him terrified of letting people get too close. Perhaps that is a baseless assumption. Perhaps you are desperate to make excuses for him, to believe that there’s still hope for the two of you.

How old did Aegon say he was when his dad died? In college? That could mess someone up.

Wikipedia once told you that Viserys Targaryen passed away at his Malibu home after a long illness. Was it bad? It had to be, right? A disease that was torturously slow and horrific for the whole family. An experience that wounded Aegon somewhere deep and immutable.

You Google: Viserys Targaryen cancer. There are no relevant results. You try again.

Viserys Targaryen Alzheimer’s

Viserys Targaryen ALS

Viserys Targaryen multiple sclerosis

Nothing, nothing, nothing.

You roll over and stare up at your bedroom ceiling, listening to Alanis Morissette’s serrated mezzo-soprano twang, and whatever is required to be taken seriously as an artist—to make people see you, to make people listen, to earn the privilege of not spending forty years impersonating someone who never feels the siren call of other lives—she has it.

Maybe there’s no profound explanation for why Aegon is marrying Becca. Maybe he really is a fuckboy like Baela said.

Maybe he just doesn’t like you enough.

[m1ckeyb3rry]

ahhh i understand what you mean! the winter is intolerable when you have things to do outside😫

i remember reading that part colt talking about his parents but it’s been a while since i’d read that so now seeing what he said about them broke my heart… thanks for reminding me🥲🥲🥲 and he was younger when he said that so he probably grew up thinking he is just their “warrior” child… it’s really sad, honestly.

usually in fiction, characters who goes through traumatic experiences end up also having had a even more traumatic past so one of my favorite things about sith is how much of a normal life y/n led until she was chosen as a candidate (as much as normal an eldian’s life can be). therefore i love reading bits about her “former” life and how it contrasts what is going on currently. her parents, especially her dad, are so normal and reading them struggle to navigate their daughter’s new reality is interesting🤔

friedrich being so smug about colt’s crush got me thinking like does colt know about friedrich’s feelings towards y/n? i can’t believe that i haven’t wondered about this until now?? like i get that colt was jealous after thinking that they ran away together but that doesn’t necessarily mean that he KNOWS that friedrich has feelings for her.

i also think that colt would be a great father😭 isayama did him so dirty. i agree that angst hits harder when it’s balanced with lighter parts! even though i love reading angst so much, i also love reading chapters that build to that angst. we get to connect to the story more, know the characters better, appreciate their relationships and when things go downhill, it makes you even sadder at the end😭😭 btw, 65 chapters causing trauma for the trio… i won’t probably survive that🫠

i CAN’T stand reading stuff that are too poetic. like i physically can’t. i know it sounds dramatic but if you have a good plot in your hands and characters that can drive that plot, why would you make it harder to read that comprehensive work with unnecessary fancy words?? unless it is done for figurative reasons and it has a purpose, i can’t stand reading too “flowery” fiction. but sith is perfectly balanced for me in that sense. you’ve done a great job in my opinion!

btw i’m so sorry if my asks are too long to read🫠 but i enjoy talking about the things i read!

I’m just a big hater of dreary cold gross weather…like maybe I wouldn’t mind as much if it was nice winter?? But all we get where I live is cold rain and grey skies :(

Yes I think he’s always kind of been resigned to the fact that he’s a ticket to safety first and their child second. I don’t think he ever really resented it because that’s what he knows and what he’s used to but seeing how y/n’s parents are with her definitely makes him sad because he realized he kind of missed out

MY FAVORITE THING ABT MR. L/N IS THAT HE’S TRULY JUST SOME GUY 😭 like y/n’s mother has ties to the restorationists and a sad backstory because of her relationship w Colt’s uncle but y/n’s father is truly just a regular person 🥹 he loves his daughter and his wife and nothing would make him happier than sitting by the fire and doing the crossword with y/n while Mrs. L/N reads a book and that’s all really ☹️

And I agree w what you said about y/n’s backstory!! While colt and friedrich didn’t really have any say in signing up for the candidacy program (colt needed to save his family and friedrich needed money for wilhelm) y/n is the poster child for how one choice can completely alter your life. If she hadn’t signed up for the candidacy she ofc never would’ve gone to war and as far as eldians in liberio go she probably would’ve been quite happy! The juxtaposition of her new self and her old life is so tragic because of that and because of how hard it is for her parents to adjust.

HAHAHA I’m going to be honest I can’t remember if I’ve explicitly mentioned in the fic whether colt knows or not so I’m going to go with no but if you see somewhere that colt does know then take that as canon. In my mind rn he definitely suspects it but I don’t think friedrich would tell him — he’s very selfless which is why he’s such a colt x y/n shipper!! he knows that that way he’s the only one who gets hurt and he’s willing to live with that as long as his best friends are happy

I think a balance is key!! I saw an analogy once that if you start with the lights on (aka fluffy or sweet chapters) it’s easy to show a contrast by “turning the lights off” and making it darker (aka angstier) but if you start out dark it’s incredibly difficult to make it darker because like darkness is darkness lol. I think giving characters hope and then taking it away is much more painful for the readers than just grimdark sadness and death all of the time.

I COMPLETELY UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU’RE SAYING AND AGREE!! I think a lot of the times people try to cover up weaker plot points of characters with fancy words and superfluously flowery writing but it ends up just feeling hollow and shoved in for the sake of it. While it’s important to have varied vocabulary, it should make sense and not be too heavy because that detracts from the story — in my opinion ofc!! I know some people feel differently haha. But I’m glad to hear you think SitH is working well 😊 it means a lot!!

OMG PLEASE DON’T APOLOGIZE I LOVEEEE TALKING TO READERS AND LONG ASKS LITERALLY MAKE MY DAY!! It takes me a second to respond to them sometimes because I get so excited and end up writing so much in response but I literally love getting the little tumblr notifications and seeing I got an ask!! and ofc I love asks no matter what but the super long ones are so nice because it shows that people really enjoy what I’m writing and are thinking about it and whatnot 🙏🏼 which as a writer is super validating!!

[hema-stu]

#3 done and dusted!!! This #floralarrangement was a little more complicated than the others. This is the #bouquet that I had to make my own #stems and made #paperleaves. The #leaves came out looking way better with my #woodflowers than I thought they would. I will have to work on the stem making tho. I tried a couple of different ways, some not as successfully as I’d like. Also trying to get the #goldleaf yo stick was such a pain🫠😫😭 it would go great in the beginning and then it was all down hill from there😢 Add to that I could not find #gold #spraypaint anywhere😵‍💫 I had to fill in the holes with #golddust and #glossmedium. The red is a mix of different red spray paints that I had. It didn’t really give the layered effect that I wanted but it’s still a really pretty #red (my favorite color but I don’t really tend to work with it a lot 🫤). #mixedmediaart #mixedmedia #wallsconce #wallsculpture #wallhanging #walldecor #black #green #flowers #floral #burlap #MyArt #art https://www.instagram.com/p/CiYmu7ipQMS/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[candied-boys]

Too many thoughts

ALL OF THE ABOVE!!!!!!!

In one au I'm writing I own the cafe and there's lots of honey desserts (because it's not modern so that's the main sweetener). So naturally Luke just ends up there all the time and eventually starts helping out as an excuse to escape the foreign faction work at the palace.

But THEN THERE IS THIS GREAT ART BY OZ THAT LIVES RENT FREE IN MY HEAD AT ALL TIMES

Luke runs a teddy cafe and makes pancakes and I would be there every fucking day trying to woo him 😫🫠😭🥹😍

Question Of The Day

Time to play with AUs! Let's imagine that you're meeting your fave in a different universe- for today let's say it's a cafe/barista au! Is he the worker and you're the frequent customer, or is it the other way around? Is it a cute local cafe that one of you own, and the other tries to be the first customer of the day? Does he not even like coffee or the main beverage served there and just likes to see you? Tell us!

╰❧ Daily Q’s can be answered with your voice- or your OC’s!

If you’d like to suggest a question, send me an ask! || About This Blog

Divider by @/enchanthings

[marvelwoman-sugarbaby]

Part 2 of this mini series finally came out so I thought now was better than ever to give my reaction. I cannot wait and I’m excited to start reading 😆 (Like my last reaction I’m writing it down as I go.) Sorry it’s taken so long to finally give my reaction 😅

Starting off strong with Natasha as the best friend 😄 I’m so excited for what comes of her because knowing how you write she’s going to be an amazing best friend. I already love the dynamic Natasha and Reader has 😂 On one had there’s Natasha who’s laid back and chill then you look at Reader and she’s bouncing off walls 🤣 And the fact that Reader has talked about Fury so much to the point that Natasha’s memorized what Readers said about him is gold 👌🏼

Honestly Tony and Vision were last people I thought you’d make friends with Reader 😅 But I’m liking the competitive dynamic Tony and Reader have going. I also like what’s going on with Vision and Reader, but I’m a bit sceptical about what there friendship will be like by the end of this series 🧐 I don’t trust that Visions not gonna have a crush on Wanda too so he’s on very thin ice with me 🤨

Ahhh Wanda has finally joined as the one who has to fill in for Fury for a month and I toootally didn’t see that one coming 😂 The fact that there’s a hot teacher having to take the place of a man and all the students and most of the students were upset 😂 That’s new and I never thought I’d see the day 🤣 OMG EVEN READERS DISAPPOINTED 🤣🤣🤣 SHE'S SO DISAPPOINTED THAT SHES NOT ACKNOWLEDGING THAT SHE FINDS HER ATTRACTIVE 🤣🤣🤣🤣

Tony did not just get us to ask that question- wha- you shouldn’t ask a teacher that type of question. That question is on par with taking candy from a baby 🤦🏻‍♀️

😦😧😲Reader did not jus- why wou- that’s so- WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH HER I- Boi if she ends up in the hospital that’s her own damn fault and I don’t know anything 🤐 I’d have second hand embarrassment but I’m just too shocked to have any 😶 DAMN WANDA CLAPPED BACK AND RIGHTFULLY SO 🙌🏻 YOU GO GIRL!!!

HA Reader has a crush but Wanda is completely unimpressed 😗 Now I’m not saying I believe in karma but if it exists that was karma slapping Reader in the face 😂 Haha yes it is ganging up on Y/N day because it’s the least of what you deserve 😛

Seriously- she can disrespect someone who has done nothing wrong in the front of their class but can’t give an apology the same way 😒 I’m unimpressed 🤦🏻‍♀️ -it’s not even an apology but a love note… I’m mad. I mean I’m happy that she’s acknowledging her feeling and giving little notes cause that’s cute BUT I mean she could start with a simple I’m sorry I didn’t mean to be disrespectful to you.

OMG READER JUST SHUT UP 🫠 THE SECOND HAND EMBARRASSMENT IS HERE AND I DON'T LIKE IT 😫 YOU DON'T NEED TO BE A NOW IT ALL 😩 If I were Natasha I would have put my arm around reader and use that hand to cover her mouth. Then bring her down so no one could see her face just to get the embarrassment to stop 🫠 This will be the only time I will ever say this but… THANK YOU VISION YOU HAVE SAVED SO MUCH EMBARRASSMENT 😭

HAHAHA READERS KARMA JUST SMACKED HER IN THE FACE AGAIN 🤣🤣🤣 I’d say that, that should teach her to stop disrespecting her teacher but I don’t think it will. Readers bad karma aside, I don’t think Wanda gave her extra work as “you wanted to fuck with me so I’ll fuck with you” type thing. I think it’s because she want a to push her to better because like it said Wanda thinks Reader has potential 😌 It’s nice to know that even though Reader aggravates her she can still recognize it.

Anyway, I loved reading this so much. If the fact that it got me up and moving from everything that was happening is any indicator. You are such an amazing writer and I’m so happy I found your account. Have a great day and night. Also don’t stress yourself out and take breaks when you need to.

See Ya ✌🏼

Lessons Learned (W.M) Pt.1

Wanda Maximoff x Fem!Reader.

Pairing: Professor!Wanda Maximoff x Student!FemReader (College AU)

Summary: Y/n has been looking forward to this particular class but something unexpected happened on the first day.

Warning: 18+ Fluff, angst and maybe a little humor, with smut in future chapter.

Requested: Yes by @mizzgay

A/n: Hello peeps! Here it is! The new mini series is here! It's still in the process but as I announced before, here is Pt. 1. Thank you @stonemags and @silver-lotus for the idea and helping me brainstorming. I also want to thank @thatpersonthatisgenderfluid for helping me with cool information of Marine Biology that they are expert with. I'm excited and I hope you enjoy this series! Happy reading!

Series Masterlist

Ah, fall semester. It’s finally here! This is your second year in college. You are really glad to be back at your dorm and to see your room mate again but mostly, you are thrilled for this semester because of one particular class you are taking. You are as excited as a kid who finally goes to Disneyland. Well, that’s what your roommate a.k.a best friend, Natasha, said. Maybe, she is right. 

You have been dreaming to be a marine biologist since you were a kid, hence the major you are taking. This semester, you are finally able to take Mr. Fury’s class. He is one of the famous marine biologists there is. You love his books. So when you know that he will teach a class here, you feel like you just won a jackpot and of course you register to his class as soon as you can.

“Nat, are you almost ready?” You ask impatiently as you sit on her bed, looking at your red-haired best friend getting ready. “Oh my god. Yes I am, y/n. Geez. I know you have been waiting for this class but be patient with me, will ya?” Nat rolls her eyes playfully as she answers you and puts some books into her bag.

“Well, can you blame me? It’s Mr. Furry’s class. Don’t you know that he is—” You reply but Nat quickly finishes your sentence “--one of the best marine biologists and his books are masterpieces? Yes, y/n, I know.. Because you haven’t stopped talking about him and this class in the last few months. So trust me, I know.” She teases as she finally lays the strap of her backpack on her shoulder and signs you that she’s ready to go. “Let’s go.”

You get up and walk with her. “You will be glad that you take his class this semester.” You excitedly give her assurance. “I actually don’t have to take this class yet and I was going to take Mrs. Harkness’ class. You made me take this class.” She complains but you know she was just joking. You and Nat quicken your steps to where both of you should be.

“Well, isn’t that the best idea? We always try to take the same classes together. I will always help you with homeworks. You know that I didn’t tell you not to take Mrs. Harkness’ class, right?” You winked confidently right after you answered her. Both of you swift your steps into the building.

“Yeah but I already have two other classes. I can’t juggle four classes at once. I’m not as smart as you are.” She quickly pitched back a response to your statement as both of you finally walked into the class and picked the back row seats. “Aw, you are so humble. You are smart too, Nat.” You nudge her arms and she rolls her eyes once more.

You love the front row seats but Nat doesn’t, neither do your other friends so majority rules. Some more students walk into the class and slowly fill the class, you quickly raise your hand as soon as you see Tony and Vision walk in. “Guys, over here!”

Both of them quickly walk towards you and Nat and take the seats shortly after both of you remove your bags off the chairs you saved for them.

“I can’t believe y/n also made you boys take this class too.” The redhead teases with a smirk. “Well, I always love competing with Y/n.” Tony answers nonchalantly. “Even though I always beat your grades?” You try to poke fun out of Tony’s competitive traits.

“Shussh you two. We all know who is smarter.” The Russian interrupts as she moves both of her hands as if she is a referee for the competition between you and Tony. “Me!” Both you and Tony answer right away at the same time, making Nat and Vision laugh. “Well, to be honest the subject of this class intrigued me, so why not? Plus, I'm a big fan of Mr. Fury’s books.” The tall British exchange student lets out his thoughts as he shrugs his shoulders followed with a smile.

“And to watch me beat Tony’s grades.” You tease Tony one more time. “That too.” Vision plays along with your joke.

The class is filled with the sounds of students talking to each other for a little while more until the door is opened followed by sounds of steps from what seems like a pair of high heels. The class went full on silent as soon as a fairly tall dirty blonde haired woman walked in carrying a briefcase-like handbag, then without hesitation, she took her seat in front of the class. “Good morning everybody.” Her broad accent and words echo in the room and the students answer.

You are in deep confusion, so is almost the rest of the class. You look at your friends with furrowed eyebrows then bring your sight back to the woman who is busy taking out some papers and a book. From what you see, she is preparing herself to start a lecture.

“Hmmm.” The only thing the class could hear from her since the greetings. She clicks her tongue a few times as she is reading what it seems the list of the students’ name list.

Your brain is still trying to process what is going on. You even think that the young professor is in the wrong class and doesn’t realize it. The sunlight that penetrates the window from her right hand side brings up the color of her flawless wavy hair. Her nude makeup colors perfectly shows her angelic face’s features.

You lock your gaze on her and plan on not looking somewhere else until you find out what on earth is she doing here. Your eyes follow her movement as she stands up, walks to the front of her desk and lean her lower body on it. Natasha and Tony notice that you are looking at her from head to toe, as if you are studying what she is wearing.

The navy blue blazer jacket and pants with white swallow bird prints all over them pair nicely with her white shirt under it and her black and white high heels. To say that you are astonished with her beauty and perfect figure is somewhat of an understatement.

You would wish that she is your professor if it’s another class she is teaching, not in this class. Despite how attractive she is, you hope she is not here to teach Mr. Fury’s class. Your stomach starts to churn, your face probably turns pale. Nat nudges your arm to bring your back from your daze. “You okay?” She whispers.

As you turn your head to your best friend to answer her question, your head quickly follow back to the next voice that you hear. “Hello everybody. My name is Wanda Maximoff. I’m here to cover Mr. Fury’s class for a month or a month and a half. Some voices of disappointment quickly made their way to be heard. Wanda waits for a few seconds until the students realize and focus back on her. As soon as the class is back in silence, Wanda continues her words. “I know, I know most of you were excited for Mr. Fury’s class but he has an emergency but before you know it, he will be standing here teaching all of you.”

"So, let's start with the names, shall we?" Her thick accent and her raspy voice tickle your ears and perhaps wake up the butterflies in your stomach without you realizing it. Your mind is far too occupied with your disappointment that it is not the professor you expected yet you want to know how much experience she has in this field. Your guess is she is not that much older than you. That's another thing, you are being skeptical.

While Wanda calls the students' names one by one and tries to remember it at the same time, Nat whispers to you. "Stop staring, y/n. Already have a crush on your professor?" Nat teases you, of course.

"What? No!" You deny as quickly as you can. "How old is she, do you think?" You whisper but this you didn't turn your head too much, with your eyes focused on Wanda.

"She is definitely older than you but not that much." Tony jumps into the conversation. "Ouh I never knew that you are into older women." Nat smirks and Tony tries hard not to laugh.

"I just want to know how good she is at this subject." You defend yourself. "She looks very smart. It seems like it's not her first time teaching a class and knows what she's doing." Vision expresses his opinion.

"Why don't you ask her?" Tony casually challenges you. "What? No! No student asks that of their professor!" Nat yells in whispers, trying to stop you because she knows that you would do that. "Oh she will." Tony comments, a laugh almost slips out of his lips.

Nat glares at Tony and before she tells you not to do it, you raise your hand. "Uh-excuse me? I have a question." Some students turn their head to you in the back.

"Yes? And, your name?" Wanda answers you with another question and one raising eyebrow.

"Oh, my name is Y/N Y/L/N." You answered. "Yes, miss y/l/n, what's your question?" Wanda lays her hands on her thighs while still holding the name list.

"Do you know Prof. Fury? If you do, how do you know him?" You pitch your question.

Wanda nods softly before she answers you. "Yes, I know him. I'm actually his assistant and also his student from his other class in another university."

"Oh, so a student teaches students." You arrogantly replied. Gasping from some students sounds clear in the air, including from Nat who pinches the bridge of her nose having the second embarrassment from what you just said.

Wanda didn't expect your harsh comment, her lips pressed into a smile. "Well, I'm doing my master in marine biology and I'm almost done with my final paper. So I'm sure I know a LOT more than you do. I assume you know that it's not easy to be hired as his assistant. Plus, despite all of that, so far I can remember in this class I'm your professor and you are my student." the blonde woman tilted her head as she finished her answer followed by a victorious smile.

"Oooohhhh" some students react to Wanda's answer that feels like a right jab to your jaw and it catches your tongue. Few seconds of silence and Wanda takes it as the conversation with you is done. She turns her face away and looks around the class. "Okay, so let's continue the name list and we'll start the class. We'll learn The Study of Characteristics of Species." Wanda tells the class and proceeds.

The whole time of the class with Wanda, regardless of what happened earlier, you still pay attention to everything she teaches. How she walks around the front of the class or how her hands swing a bit while she explains things are so mesmerizing to you for some reason.

Maybe Vision was right? She looks like she knows what she's doing. Also, she looks smart and it intrigues you to see how much she knows her field. You love to compete or call out when someone makes a mistake. Yes, you admit that calling out people’s mistakes is your worst trait and you are working on it. Your best friend keeps reminding you about that.

Her voice and her accent when she teaches, sounds passionate in the same major you are very interested in. Your mind starts to think it must be nice to discuss some of your Marine Biology related topics with her.

Uh oh wait, there's no way you have a crush on your professor. Not in the very first class. Your eyes blink as you come back from your daze when Tony secretly kicks your legs under the table. He waggled his eyebrows up and down with a knowing smirk. "You like her, y/n?

"What? No, Tony." You quickly tackle his assumption yet a shade of red blush slowly shows on your cheeks.

"Okay, that's it for today's class. We'll talk about this more in the next class. Don't forget to read page 10 to 15 for our next meeting. Have a good day everyone." said the blonde professor as she realized that her class is over for today.

All the students stand up and leave the class. You and your friends are slowly walking away from the back of the class. As four of you get closer to pass Wanda's desk, you hear your name beautifully wrapped in her voice. "Y/n, can I talk with you for a second, please?" With that, the three of your friends walk out and wait for you outside.

"Yes, Mrs. Maximoff?" You ask as soon as you stand in front of her desk. Wanda puts the pen down and she looks up at you as she entwines her own hand with her others, a few inches away from her face. “That was quite a way of introducing yourself to me, Y/n.” Her unamused piercing green eyes look straight to yours. To Wanda’s surprise, you patch a smile on your face for her prior to answering her. “I always aim to make an impression.”

Her eyebrows rose. She is bewildered with how confident you are, too confident in a bad way. It exasperates her. “Oh? So you always aim to make a bad impression?” she asks in sarcasm as she collects her things, getting ready to leave.

“Of course not. Not at all.” You answer casually. She took a deep breath. “Well, too bad, y/n, because it wasn’t a good impression at all.” Her answer quickly ripped your smile off your face. Your forehead puckered in surprise and confusion. The unexpected answer from Wanda froze your tongue for a good few seconds. Wanda gives you a quick glance and pulls back her focus on getting ready to leave. “But… I didn’t–” The slightly older woman didn’t even let you finish your sentence as she stood up and says “I think we are done here, y/n. See you in the next class.”

With that, she leaves her desk and walks towards the door, leaving you perplexed. You turn around and you walk out the class to find your friends, still with your brain trying to comprehend Wanda’s words.

“Y/n, what happened?” Nat asks as soon as she sees you. “Yeah, what did she say?” Tony added another question.

“She just told me that I gave her a bad impression. She looked upset too.” Your eyes blink a few times. “Well, d’uh? Of course, you dumbass.” Your Russian classmate raises one of her open palms, giving you a dirty look.

“I couldn’t agree more with Nat here, y/n.” Vision adds in his agreement. “Come on, y/n. For someone who keep bragging that you beat my grades, you can’t be this dumb.” The Stark company’s only heir comments.

“Y/n, you pretty much insulted her in front of the class. Of course she got upset. I’m surprised that she didn’t kick you out after what you said about her being a student and teaching us.” Nat expresses her thoughts as four of you walk.

“Well, I was right, weren’t I?” Your stubbornness makes you disagree with Nat even though deep down your heart telling you that Nat was right. “Yes but it wasn’t really wise that you said it out loud.” Vision adds. “Yeah, y/n. Nobody says that to their professor in front of the class.” Tony backs up both Vision and Nat as he playfully punches your arm.

“Okay okay. What day is it today? Ganging up on Y/n day, or something?” You joke in sarcasm. “Aw such a cry baby.” Tony baby-talk at you with a fake pout. You roll your eyes at him and the four of you move on with your day.

_____

You toss and turn a lot. It’s hard for you to fall asleep. All you can see when you close your eyes is Wanda. How her hair sways following the rhythm of her movement when we teach. How she looks from behind when she writes on the board, the blazer wraps the curve of her body perfectly. The way her friendly smile showed up when a student or two asked questions to her before she gladly answered them. The difference in her voice can turn when she was teaching and when she was talking to you. Why was she even mad at you? Oh well, that’s right. You upset her.

Now your brain switches lanes from adoring her subconsciously to feeling bad for her for what you said. You think and think hard, debating on what you should do. Part of you thinks you didn't do anything wrong but the other part encourages you to do something to redeem yourself. Then a thought popped in.

_____

“Seriously, y/n? You are joking, right?” The redhead’s annoyed surprise tone. “Oh my god, you rush me and the boys to come early just to hang out here at the library before Mrs. Maximoff class and now you gotta leave?” Nat continues her protest. “Sorry, Nat. I forgot to bring my book. I gotta grab it. I’ll be fast.” You lied and you walked away in a rush.

As you are gone, Nat's mind is going, sensing that something is unusual. "Hey, did you guys notice that?" Nat curiously asks Vision and Tony.

“You meant, y/n forgot her book? It’s a bit odd, yes.” Vision’s examining tones sound clear as he thinks about it more after she mentions it. Meanwhile for Tony, he thinks there’s always a first time for everything. “Eh, I meant, yeah it never happened to her before but I don’t think it’s something big or anything. Unless she gets nervous with Mrs. Maximoff class and then forget to bring her book.” Tony shrugs his shoulders after he lays out his theory.

“Something fishy.” Nat says under her breath that the two men didn’t hear it.

_____

You rush your step and check your surroundings to make sure that Nat is not following you. Both of you have been best friends for years now and you know well that she knows you like the back of her hands. One of your hands holds a note tightly inside the pocket of your jacket. Your eyes are anchored on the classroom door as soon as you get closer and closer. You look around once more before you open the door and sneak in. Your heart races. Your eyes rapidly jump back and forth from the door to the desk and back to the door again. You carefully put the note on the desk then rush yourself out of the class and definitely need to hurry back to your friends before they notice anything.

“Hey. Sorry, I tried to get back here as soon as I could.” You take your seat back with your friends. “It’s okay. You okay y/n?” Nat asks you as if she is a detective who is trying to find a clue. “Yeah, why?” You try hard to keep your cool. “Nothing, just making sure.” Nat replies.

“Uh, I think we better go now so we won’t be late.” Vision suggests and the four of you walk together to the class.

_____

Once the four of you got to the class, you were quiet. You are restless and can’t focus on the conversations with your friends. Everything sounds as if you are under water. Subconsciously, you can’t wait for Wanda to come yet anxious at the same time. You are too occupied to notice that Nat is examining your body language and what is going on.

As she was going to ask you, Wanda walked into the class. “Hello, everybody.” She glances a little bit at her class and her eyes make a brief stop at you then she puts her bag on her desk.

You notice that her eyebrows furrow as she finds a little note on her desk. She takes a seat and grabs the note to check it secretly enough that nobody notices it.

“The second you walked into this room, I lost control over myself. My eyes voluntarily anchored on your beauty and your voice is the most addictive melody to my ears.” the simple sweet note fluttered her and she tried to suppress her smile as she put the note down.

You caught how a smile almost formed on her beautiful face and you know that she likes the note you put earlier. It makes you feel better after how you were to her in the first class. You lower your head and try to hide your own smile. You feel bad that you didn’t tell your bestfriend about this. As much as you know that she won’t stop poking fun out of this for a while but you are planning on telling her about this, just not right now.

You were almost lost in our deep thought about her until you heard her clear her throat to get the class’ attention as she starts her lecture today.

The lecture goes well, the more you pay attention to Wanda’s lecture and how she teaches, the more you subconsciously can’t take your eyes off of her. You take notes on anything important that she said in her lecture. You try your best not to let your “know-it-all” side take the best of you. Deep down you get nervous sometimes when you catch her gaze glance at you every now and then. Her gaze sometimes feels sharp even if it was only for a few seconds.

Wanda walks around a bit close to the front row seats of the class. “This is mantis shrimp. They look cute, don't they? Their colors are interesting.” Wanda pauses her lecture as she shows some pictures through the projector. She raises her arms pointing at the pictures. You think she looks adorable as excitement shows on her face as she talks about one of the little sea creatures.

Unfortunately, it starts to bother you when Wanda is talking more about the mantis shrimp. The wrong fact, to be precise. “Another interesting fact about them is that they punch, you know, like the karate punch.” She explains as both her fists demonstrate a punching move playfully and some students laugh a little. “Yes, they do. Unfortunately, due to their size and they don’t have springs, levers and latches like humans do, their punch isn’t that powerful and they don’t have a regular way of punching.” She adds as she smiles.

As she is going to proceed with her lecture, you raise your hand and surely it halts her lecture. She quickly turns her head to you. Her smile slowly curves down to almost a frown. “Yes, y/n?” her tone clearly swift to a serious tone or perhaps, unimpressed tone from your interruption.

She lifts her chin up a little and her shoulders tensed up as her way to remind you of her dominance in this class shortly after her mind instantly remembers how you were to her on the first day of class.

“Uh, actually, what you just said was incorrect.” You criticized her. Natasha’s heart jumps up to her throat as she hears what you just said. She clears her throat nervously that it caught Wanda’s attention. Her gaze jumps to Nat and bounces back to you. If her gaze could cut, it would cut your desk right now easily like butter. “Excuse me?” Her broad accent suddenly sounds way more clearer than before as if it’s cooperating with her irritated tone.

“Yes, mantis shrimps are small but unlike humans they actually have biological springs, levers and latches that in fact, help power their punches and make them the fastest punch in the animal kingdom. Their punches can go as fast as a 22-caliber bullet and can produce an underwater shockwave.” You explain the fact you know about the ocean version of mantis confidently.

Wanda’s annoyance flares and is visible on her face. “And what’s this “fact” based on?” The Sokovian professor does the air quote gesture on the word fact as she responds to you. “It’s based on the books I read including Mr. Fury’s book. I’m sure you have read it too.” You smile. In your defense, you didn’t want to be a pain in the butt for her. It’s just you being yourself. You can’t help yourself to correct her because you know and you are sure that what she said was not the right one.

As soon as you mention Fury’s book, it hits her. Internally, Wanda realizes that she is wrong and she hates it that you are right and not just that, she hates it that you call out her mistake. She knows better to keep it professional and play along with what you want at this moment, by feeding your ego with her way.

“Good job, Y/n. I was wondering how fast you would notice the mistake because you sound like you know it all since the first time we talked in this class.” Wanda “compliments” you in sarcasm followed by a fake smile as she tilts her head.. You know what she meant from the way she looks at you and says the know-it-all word, even your friends know.

“Well, it was pretty easy–” Your words are interrupted by a vague nudge from Nat’s elbow. You smile once more but it’s an awkward smile this time. Wanda takes your smile differently especially after the words that just slipped out of your lips. She clenches her jaws and fists secretly. “Oh, really?” She asks in such suppressed irritation and covered in another fake smile.

Vision notices what is really going on and he quickly raises his hand to pitch a question before the tension grows. “Uh pardon me, Ms. Maximoff. What is the average size of Mantis Shrimps? I think I missed it.”

Wanda seems to finally loosen up as she answers Vision’s questions and just like that she jumps back into her lecture. Everytime Wanda glances at you, she feels irritation but as someone who has experience in teaching she actually sees that you have a lot of potential.

After Wanda gives essay homework to her students, she dismisses the class right on time. You and your friends walk past Wanda’s desk and as if you are having a deja vu, The blonde woman calls your name and tells you that she needs a minute with you. Just like last time, your friends wait for you outside.

You took a soft deep breath as you asked “Yes, Ms. Maximoff?”

“Special for you, instead of 1500 words,I want you to do 2500 words for the essay homework.” Wanda instructs in a stern tone yet calm as her piercing green eyes look at you.

Surprised, you instantly ask and complain at the same time. “Wait, what?” Your eyebrows snapped together and you squeeze your backpack’s strap that comfortably lays on on of your shoulders.

“You heard me. 2500 words for the essay with the same deadline date. Do you have a problem with it?” Wanda responds without even looking at you as she casually checks some papers, her tone was flat and cold.

“Well, it’s almost double the work with the same amount of time.” You fuss.

“Well, don’t you know it all? I’m sure you can get it done easily in no time.” She answers without leaving any space for you to bargain. You are upset but you don’t know what else to say. Silence rises up quickly and it makes Wanda avert her eyes from the papers she was reading then look at you. “Is there anything else you want to say, y/n?”

“No, Ma’am.” You answer in defeat.

“That’s what I thought. See you in the next class.” Wanda doesn’t even show any interest in giving you eye contact as she ends the conversation with you then back to focus on some papers to sign.

A/n: Welp, that's all. I hope you enjoy this first part. Let me know what you think. I appreciate your reblog and comments. See you in next!

A few minutes after you left and a few paperwork later, Wanda gathers her things but she stops when the little lovely note on her desk calls for her attention. She reads the notes once again and this time a smile appears on her face. Her mind starts to wonder who wrote it and her heart skitters from the lovely words.

Pt. 2

Cheerio!

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