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inthedayswhenlandswerefew · 8 days ago

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A Curse [Chapter 1: Chinatown]

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, references to sexual content (18+ readers only), a lil age gap, entertainment industry misogyny, some body dissatisfaction/dysmorphia, big doomed situationship energy, erotic apple eating, Minnesota.

Word count: 5.6k

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He takes your hand without looking at you. He had been lounging with his green Nike Killshots up on the desk when Brandon, the receptionist, brought you in. He had also been playing a translucent orange Nintendo 64; now the game is paused and Mario is frozen on the screen of the 24-inch television, deep underwater and in pursuit of a gold star affixed to the tail of a giant eel.

“Nice to meet you,” Aegon says without much interest. You’re smiling, not that he notices. Then he nods at the receptionist. “Thanks, Brando.”

“Oh, no problem at all!” Brandon trills buoyantly, pulling out your chair for you as Aegon flops back into his own. “Can I bring anything? Iced coffee, matcha latte, Perrier?”

“I’m good,” Aegon says, glancing at your resume where it rests on the desk amongst framed photographs, manilla folders, takeout menus, gum wrappers rolled into tiny balls. You have the impression he hasn’t read it. Nonetheless, you are still smiling.

“How about you, hon?” Brandon asks you.

You don’t want to make him run to a Starbucks or anything. “Um…I’ll take a Perrier, please. That’s easy for you, right? You can just grab it out of the minifridge in the lobby?”

“You betcha!” Brandon darts out of the office and returns in ten seconds. In the elapsed time, Aegon has not looked at you once. Instead, he slouches in his chair and thumps his Nikes onto the desk, sighs, and gazes longingly at the television screen. You sit up straight with your hands folded in your lap. You have dressed in business casual attire for the occasion: a modest yellow sundress and TOMS wedges, warm understated eyeshadow, sparkly champagne pink Dreamer by Anastasia Beverly Hills, matte brown Hope by Huda Beauty. Brandon returns and hands you a green glass bottle of Perrier, ice cold and slippery with condensation, and closes the door behind him as he leaves.

“Look, I’ll be honest,” Aegon tells you, picking up your resume and scanning it blandly. “I don’t want to waste your time, but I’m really not in the market for new clients. Brando made this appointment before I told him that, and then he really didn’t want to cancel it. He liked your resume or something. So I’ll hear you out but don’t expect much.”

“Oh. Well…I really appreciate you taking the time to see me anyway!”

He gives you a swift sideways look as if suspicious of your enthusiasm. It’s not that complicated; you haven’t had an audition in weeks, and none of the other six agents you’ve seen have signed you. Aegon Targaryen’s drab little office in one half of a duplex in Elysian Park is a relative paradise. His blonde hair is gelled back from his face. He wears dark jeans, a teal t-shirt, and a wrinkled tan sport coat jacket thrown carelessly overtop. You’ve Googled him; he’s thirty-five, so a decade older than you. “Where are you from?”

That’s on your resume he hasn’t read. “Minnesota.”

Aegon’s eyebrows shoot up. “No wonder you left. City or country?”

“A town called Apple Valley, it’s about a half hour outside of Minneapolis.”

“So you’re not a nepo baby.”

“A what?”

“Your parents aren’t connected to the entertainment industry in any way.”

“Oh right, no, they definitely aren’t. My dad’s a cardiologist. My mom worked as a waitress while he was in med school, and now she just has a lot of Akitas.”

Aegon flips over your resume and skims the back. “Are they supportive of you being out here?”

“Um…” You chuckle uneasily. “Not really. My older sister’s a pharmacist and my brother’s in law school, so I am definitely the underachieving child. But they’re not too mean about it. They’re just waiting for me to get it out of my system.”

“Law school where?”

“Michigan.”

“State or University?”

“University.”

“So you’re really smart,” Aegon says. He has begun to fold your resume into a paper airplane. “Intelligence is genetic. If your siblings are book smart, you probably are too.”

You smile and shrug, not knowing what to say. “I guess so.”

“Do you have a boyfriend back in Minnesota who’s calling you every other day trying to convince you to come home and marry him and have two kids and a Goldendoodle?”

You laugh. “No, no boyfriend. I mean, I have an ex-boyfriend there. I see him sometimes when I fly home to visit. But he’s not standing in the way of anything.”

Aegon nods like you’ve passed a test. “Do your parents send you money?”

“Yeah, but not a lot. They don’t want to encourage me. I work at a Cold Stone Creamery in Harbor Gateway, it’s just a few blocks away from my apartment. I have a roommate, she’s trying to be an actress too.”

“Ice cream,” he muses. He launches your paper airplane resume; it sails across the room, hits the mint green wall, nosedives to the floor. “Do you like working there?”

“It’s fine. It’s a paycheck. Back in the spring I was doing after-school programs for Mad Science, driving all over Watts and Southeast teaching children about bugs and magnets and outer space, so that was really cool.”

Aegon looks up at you, brow furrowed. It’s the first time you’ve had his full attention. “You were doing after-school programs in Watts?”

“Yeah, it was awesome. The kids were so fun. But I needed something that was more flexible so I could be free during the middle of the day for auditions and stuff.”

He blinks at you a few times. “Why do you want to be an actress?”

You stall, twisting open your Perrier and taking a gulp. “That’s a hard question.”

“It’s literally the most obvious question. If you can’t answer it, I don’t know what you’re doing here.”

“Well, I never wanted to be an actress,” you say. “I just kind of…am one. I can’t read a book without my expressions and my posture changing to match what’s going on in the story. I can’t watch a movie without feeling like I’m in that world with the characters, or, or, or imagining how I would have delivered the lines differently. And then even when I’m doing something totally unrelated…math homework, walking my mom’s Akitas, making ice cream…I envision where the cameras would be if I was being filmed, which way I would tilt my face to catch the light. It’s something I think about all the time and I can’t turn it off. So how am I supposed to be a doctor or a lawyer and spend my entire life trying to avoid every thought that occurs to me organically? It sounds like torture.”

Aegon stares at you, a long golden silence as daylight pours in through the windows facing the east. Then he drops his green Nikes to the floor and straightens up in his chair, studying you. He points to the windows. “Look that way.”

You do, closing your eyes when the glare is too bright.

“Now the other side of the room.”

You turn to the mint green wall where your paper airplane resume rests on the hardwood floor like the wreckage of the Titanic sits at the bottom of the ocean.

“Stand up.”

You set your bottle of Perrier on his cluttered desk and obey, but with some reluctance. “Please don’t ask me to bend over.”

Aegon snorts a laugh. “That’s not what I’m doing. I want you to go to the door and then walk back to me like you’re angry.”

“I have a bunch of acting reels on YouTube—”

“I don’t want to see your acting reels. I want to see you in front of me right now.”

“Okay,” you agree. You go to the closed door, take a moment to shake off the real world, and then walk to his desk, your footsteps heavy and your eyes hard. Aegon’s dark blue gaze follows you and does not waver.

“Look at me like you’re sad.”

You imagine he’s said something horrible to you, a husband who’s broken a vow, a doctor with a grim prognosis.

“Good!” Aegon says, animated now. “You get it. It’s in the eyebrows, not the mouth.” He gestures to your chair. “Now sit down like you don’t want to be here.”

You move sluggishly, like you hope someone will interrupt you; your eyes float boredly around the room. Then you plop heavily into the chair and stare at Aegon, a little vacuously inane, a little resentful like a petulant teenager. You pretend to chew gum you don’t have.

Aegon smiles, amused. “If I’d asked you to bend over, would you have done it?”

“I’d like to say no, but I’m pretty desperate.”

He snickers, shaking his head. “Don’t let a man make you uncomfortable. Don’t believe anyone if they say they want to drive you somewhere to see you audition or take your picture and nobody else you know is going. When you go to clubs and parties, watch the bartender make your drink and never put it down until you’re done. Don’t get talked into plastic surgery. Yes, that includes Botox and fillers.”

You sip your Perrier. “Well, I might get a boob job.”

“Don’t get a boob job.”

“Why not? Basically everybody here’s had one. I think Taylor Swift got two.”

“You don’t need a boob job,” Aegon says impatiently.

“I’m not sure you have all the knowledge to make an informed decision about that.”

“I am so sick of this bullshit,” he mutters, pushing the takeout menus and manilla folders around on his desk but leaving it no tidier. “People cutting up their perfectly normal bodies…people stuffing themselves full of poison…so afraid to look human they end up like motherfucking Bratz dolls.” He sighs and peers up at you again. “Just so you know, I’m getting out of L.A. I’m only going to be here until September. So by then you’ll have to find someone else. But I can get you started, I guess.”

You are beaming. “You’ll be my agent?”

“Yeah, but like I said—”

You squeal and leap to your feet, taking his left hand with both of yours and shaking it vigorously, Aegon gaping up at you. “Thank you! Thank you so much! I am going to be the best client you’ve ever had, I will never ever complain, I will do anything you say, I will audition with snakes and tarantulas, I will swim with sharks.”

Aegon grins, perhaps despite himself. “I don’t think that will be necessary.”

“Why are you leaving in September?”

“I’m getting married. Figured I’d do the whole settling down and living a quiet life thing.” He spins around one of the photographs on his desk so you can see it. In the frame, Aegon is standing on the edge of the Grand Canyon with a woman around his age, tall and willowy, long thick dark hair, flowing white sundress, wearing black aviator sunglasses to match his.

“That’s exciting!” You love weddings. “And you two look so happy together!”

“Yeah, Becca’s pretty great.” Aegon takes a stick of Juicy Fruit out of a pack on his desk, shoves it into his mouth, distractedly rolls the white and red wrapper into a ball. “She’s a real caretaker type. Always trying to do my laundry and pack me lunches and bake pies and whatever.”

“And that’s something you look for in a woman?” you tease lightheartedly. Aegon gives you a lightning-quick annoyed glance, and your smile abruptly dies. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to be rude. Please don’t fire me.”

He chuckles and stands up from his desk, his hands in the pockets of his tan jacket. Mario is still underwater, forgotten on the frozen television screen. “Let’s go grab some lunch.”

“Right now?” You slide your phone out of your purse—crossbody, wildflowers, Patricia Nash but found at T.J.Maxx—to check the time. “It’s like 10:30 a.m.”

“They’ll be open by the time we walk to Chinatown.”

“Okay!” Lunch can only be a good thing. Still clutching your Perrier, you trot after Aegon into the small lobby, scuffed wood floor and cheap IKEA couches. Behind the reception desk, Brandon is making notes in a planner using one of those pens with a fake flower on top. He looks up at you and Aegon as you pass by.

“Brando, I’m taking an early lunch,” Aegon tells him.

Brandon is hopeful. “Are you signing her?”

“Yeah, but it’s just until—”

“Oh for cute!” Brandon cries out, and Aegon is stupefied. But you know exactly what Brandon means. He must be from Minnesota too. So that’s why he liked my resume. Los Angeles is kind of like the military; once you’re swimming in this multinational fishbowl, everyone from your home state is a friend.

“What part?” you ask, smiling.

“Duluth.”

“Bet the Pacific Ocean beats Lake Superior any day.”

“Have you been to Venice Beach yet?”

“Oh yeah. Heaven on earth.”

“Good luck with everything,” Brandon says, and then he winks. “I hope you get to stay.”

Stay in L.A. Stay here chasing the dream. Me too. Then you follow Aegon through the front door and down the concrete steps to the sidewalk, out into breezy mid-70s air and sunlight peeking from behind pure white tufts of cumulus clouds. You can hear music and dogs barking. The street is lined with quaint midcentury houses with metal fences and humming air conditioning units in the windows; any businessowners here are hanging their own shingle, beauticians and pet groomers and bakers. On the horizon, you can see the silvery skyscrapers of Downtown.

“So about that resume I clearly didn’t read,” Aegon says as he walks with his hands in his pockets. “Have you done any meaningful acting work since you’ve been out here?”

Why lie? “No.”

He gives you a shellshocked look like this is the worst case scenario. “Well…I appreciate your honesty. So you’ll take anything.”

“Absolutely anything. I mean…” You take an anxious swig of your Perrier. “I’d really rather not be naked.”

He’s laughing again. You’re not sure if he thinks you’re funny or ridiculous. “I’m not going to pitch you for roles that require nudity.”

You are relieved. “Okay. Cool.”

“Where did you act before?”

“After college I did some short films for grad students…they’re all pretty terrible, I’ll admit it, but I didn’t write them…and I was in a bunch of shows at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis. And I worked in the gift shop.”

“Guthrie?” Aegon says. “Like Woody Guthrie?”

“No, common mistake. A completely different Guthrie. Some English lord who was a director.”

“Which shows were you in?”

You describe your roles, all supporting, none leading: Romeo and Juliet, Othello, A Streetcar Named Desire, Pride and Prejudice, Julius Caesar, Anastasia, Frankenstein, August: Osage County, Richard III, Dracula. Aegon listens but he watches you too, the way you stride in your TOMS wedges over the cracked and uneven sidewalk, the way you use your hands too much when you talk, a habit you’re trying to break. His eyes on you—that deep and tumultuous blue—do not feel like a leer, and you think you’ve acquired enough experience in your past three months in Los Angeles to know the difference. Aegon’s gaze is no longer disinterested but methodical, practiced, ever-seeking, notes transcribed not in ink but electrical impulses and ineffable cyclones of neurotransmitters.

“Dracula,” Aegon jokes. “Vampire experience, huh? Maybe we could get you in the Twilight reboot.”

“Is that really happening?”

“It is, but it’s going to be animated. So it’s only voice acting. And I think we can aim higher than that.” He pauses at an intersection and looks lost for a few seconds, then remembers the way and bears to the right. This street is busier, hectic with shops and pedestrians, teenagers on skateboards, vendors advertising their fruit smoothies and boba teas. Red banners printed with twisted dragons and Chinatown 2025 hang from the streetlights. Towering palm trees cast shadows in the shape of windblown leaves. “Do you get along with your roommate?”

This is a random question. You finish your Perrier and discard the glass bottle in a trashcan. “Yeah, she’s really nice, we’re friends. Why?”

“Good. Housing instability is a huge source of stress for young actors, just wanted to make sure you weren’t in danger of ending up sleeping under a bridge.”

“I might be if her boyfriend ever gets a job and can pay half of the rent.”

“Well if it happens, let me know. I can help get you set up somewhere.” Aegon yanks his phone out of his jeans pocket to check the time. “We’ve got a few more minutes to kill,” he says, and ducks into a market strewn with crates of produce: bitter melon, bok choy, pears, pomelos, dragon fruit, peaches, plums, durian, sweet potatoes, kumquats, lychees. You follow after Aegon as he weaves through narrow, crowded aisles, inspecting the wares and waving to shopkeepers that he recognizes. He asks you as he points to a dozen cardboard boxes overflowing with apples: “Does this make you homesick for Appletown?”

“Apple Valley,” you correct him, laughing. “And not quite. I’d rather have Venice Beach.”

“What’s the state apple of Minnesota?”

“I have no idea.”

“Let’s find out.” He uses his phone to Google it. “Honeycrisp.”

“Oh neat! Those are pretty good.”

“Are they?” He searches until amongst the Granny Smiths and Fujis and Golden Delicious apples he finds a box labelled Honeycrisp. “I don’t think I’ve ever tried one.”

“Now’s your chance.”

Aegon picks up a large, glossy apple, pinkish-red and striped with yellow, and takes a massive bite. Juice dribbles down his mouth and chin; he wipes it away with the back of his hand. “I’m going to pay for it,” he assures you when you look startled. He chews, deliberating. “This apple sucks. This is a flop apple.”

“You are blinded by your anti-Minnesota prejudice.”

“It’s boring.”

“How can an apple be boring?”

“It’s like…too sweet. Not tart enough. Not as good as a Braeburn or a Pink Lady. Here.” Aegon tosses the Honeycrisp apple and you catch it. Then, when you stare at the sizeable bitemark he’s left in the fruit: “Wait, I mean, you don’t have to eat that part, obviously. Try the other side—”

But you’ve already bitten over the same spot, enlarging the wound, your tongue grazing the notches left by Aegon’s teeth. You giggle as you lick juice from your lips. “It’s so good. You’re delusional.”

Aegon watches you for a while before he speaks. In the meantime, you finish eating the apple with quick chomps. “Are you medicated?” he says.

“What? No, why?”

“You just seem…I don’t know. Bizarrely happy.”

“Why wouldn’t I be happy? I’m in Los Angeles, I’m living the dream, I have a brand new agent. My life is amazing.”

“Okay,” Aegon says uncertainly; but he’s smiling. When you pitch the apple core back to him, he catches it. Then he grabs a plastic bag off a hook and drops one fresh Honeycrisp apple inside. “We’ll let Brando be the tiebreaker.” He shows two fingers to a shopkeeper and pays in cash. You steal a glimpse of your phone; it’s just after 11:00 a.m.

Down the street from the market is a set of steps leading into what appears to be a basement. Instead, when Aegon opens the red door, on the other side is a restaurant already filling up with patrons. The tables are round and covered with crimson tablecloths; at each seat is one of those paper Chinese zodiac calendars with all twelve animals and their descriptions.

“Good morning Mr. Aegon!” a tall middle-aged waitress says warmly and ushers you both to a table by a large fish tank with opalescent pebbles lining the bottom. From the other side of the glass, colossal black-and-orange oscars gawp menacingly. The waitress passes you a menu.

“No,” Aegon says, snatching the menu out of your hands before you can open it. “Order what you’d normally get.”

Obediently, you turn to the waitress. “Do you have moo goo gai pan?”

She nods. “White rice or fried rice?”

“White rice, please.”

“Mr. Aegon?” the waitress says.

“Boneless spare ribs with fried rice. And a pot of tea, and two wanton soups. Thanks, Lanying.”

She hurries away to tend to other customers. You ask Aegon playfully: “Did I make the right choice?”

“You did. Naturally low-calorie but high in vitamins and protein. If you’d ordered the sesame chicken and only taken two bites I’d know that you probably have an eating disorder. But now I’m optimistic.”

“And you got the most unhealthy thing on the menu. What does that mean?”

“Life is short. I try to keep it delicious.” He taps the side of the fish tank; one of the oscars attempts to maul him through the glass. “Do you exercise?”

“Not by choice. I force myself to walk to and from work, and that’s the best I can do.”

Aegon seems alarmed. “I don’t think you should be wandering all over Harbor Gateway. Especially not at night.”

“There are always other people around.”

“Yeah, and some of them might mug you.” The waitress arrives with a pot of tea and two small, handleless cups. Aegon fills both with tea, slides one to you, and reaches for the little plastic container of sweeteners on the table. “Splenda?” Aegon guesses correctly and then flings several yellow packets across the table to you.

“Can I ask you something now?”

“Sure, go ahead,” Aegon says. The waitress returns with two bowls of wanton soup and makes conversation with Aegon briefly. She inquires about his health, his parents, his business. You wait until she leaves to ask your question.

“Why did you stop acting?” You Googled Aegon before your meeting, so you know some abbreviated version of his story: a wealthy and prominent family in the production industry, several years spent as an actor beginning when he was around your age, a shadowy withdrawal into working as an agent with a practice so small and off the beaten path that it must be deliberate. He could have coasted his whole life on effortless roles in Lifetime movies or Hulu original series. Instead he chose obscurity, and a drab little office in half of a duplex on a run-down street in Elysian Park, and Brandon the receptionist as his sole employee, and clients who are nobodies like you.

Aegon slurps broth from his spoon, stalling. He’s caught off-guard; you can tell by the way deep troubled grooves appear in his brow. That’s part of being a good actor. You have to learn how to read people until you can feel their emotions as if they are your own, until you can mimic them so convincingly your own pulse quickens or your stomach drops. “Um…well I think I got sick of how superficial it was, all the obsessing over height and weight and wrinkles and who’s in and who’s out, the unwinnable contest of who can be perfect the longest. We’re supposed to play real people but we’re not supposed to be real people, you know? And there are just a lot of things about this place that can leave people jaded and fucked up in all sorts of ways we weren’t before. And I don’t want that to happen to you, so I’ll try to make it as good of an experience as possible.” He smiles. It seems genuine. “I don’t really miss it. I’m a better agent than I was an actor.”

“And you’re not even that good of an agent.”

He laughs and shakes his head, just watching you, just trying to figure you out. He looks down at his Chinese zodiac calendar. “What are you?”

“I’m a dragon.”

Aegon reads aloud: “You are eccentric and your life complex. You have a very passionate nature and abundant health. I could see that. Kinda sounds like you.”

“Which animal is yours, the horse?”

“Yeah, 1990.”

You study his description. “Popular and attractive to the opposite sex. You are often ostentatious and impatient. You need people. I don’t think you’re very ostentatious.”

“But no qualms with the other parts?”

“No, the rest seems accurate.”

He stares at you, those overcast blue eyes curious, searching, maybe a little puzzled. When the waitress brings out the entrees, Aegon spears a piece of his boneless spare ribs with his clean fork and offers it to you. “Here, you want to try this?”

You really shouldn’t, but you make an exception. You take his fork and eat: saccharine blood red sauce, glistening gelatinous fat. It’s one of the most delicious bites of food you’ve ever tasted…and then it’s gone. You warn Aegon as you return his fork: “You’re going to die early.”

“I know,” he says, watching the oscars scowl at him through the glass.

You walk back through Chinatown together, Aegon swinging around his plastic bag with his Honeycrisp apple for Brandon, you listening as he tells you what each shop is known for and points out a temple dedicated to the goddess of the ocean. Now the sky is clear and the sun is high, and hot, and blinding when you aren’t under the shade of awnings or palm trees.

You say cheerfully once you have returned in Elysian Park and you can see Aegon’s office, a blue neon sign that reads Targ Talent Agency pulsing in the window: “So do you have any fun plans for Father’s Day?”

“Nope. My dad’s dead.”

“Oh my God.” You’re so mortified you almost trip over your own feet, your TOMS wedges stumbling over the pavement. Aegon instinctively reaches out to steady you, and you grasp his hand gratefully. “I am so sorry.”

“It’s fine. It happened when I was in college so I’m used to it.”

“He must have been young.” Forties? Fifties?

“Yeah,” Aegon says shortly, letting go of you. “Are you doing anything special?”

“My parents are paying to fly me back to Minnesota. But I won’t be gone long, I promise. It’s just a few days.”

Aegon smirks roguishly. “Going to make time to see that ex-boyfriend while you’re there?”

You smile, a little bashful, a little mischievous. “I might.”

He chuckles. “Enjoy. Don’t get pregnant and ruin all your hopes and dreams.”

“Oh no, don’t worry, I can’t take the pill because it made me suicidally depressed but we use condoms.”

Aegon is bewildered, his jaw hanging open. “You don’t overshare like this in auditions, do you?”

“No, sorry, I thought you were asking me a question.”

“It wasn’t a question, it was a comment.”

“Oh. I thought it was a question.”

He shakes his head and stops at the 2003 Honda Accord—painted in a shade called Desert Mist Metallic—parked curbside, a gift from your parents when you went away to college only to return in disgrace with a Theater Arts degree that they lie to their friends about. From one of the nearby houses, you can hear Take It Easy by The Eagles drifting out into the sun-drenched street. “Is this your ride?”

“Yup! This is me.”

“Well I’m going to make some calls and see what I can get you, and I’ll let you know either way in a few days how it’s going. Brandon has your phone number and headshots…and I can find your acting reels on YouTube if I need them…yeah, I think that’s everything. Okay?”

“Okay. I hope you get the star.”

Again, you have confused him. “What?”

“In the Mario game. The one on the eel’s tail.”

Aegon grins and slips black aviator sunglasses out of a pocket inside his jacket and says as he puts them on, maybe to the sky, maybe to you: “You are so bright, sunshine.” Then he climbs the steps to the front door of his small, inauspicious office.

“Aegon?” you call after him. At the top of the concrete steps, he pauses and turns around. Here in the shadowless midday light, you are overwhelmed with gratitude. It’s difficult to speak without your voice breaking. “Thank you for giving me a chance.”

“Don’t thank me. This place is a curse.”

He opens the door and disappears inside.

~~~~~~~~~~

“Guess who has an agent?!” you announce ecstatically as you burst into the apartment. Baela and Jace are in the living room on the velvet orange couch, eating sushi and watching True Blood on the 40-inch flatscreen television that Baela’s parents bought for her.

“Congratulations!” Baela says from the couch. “Finally! I’m so happy for you!”

“Yeah, that’s awesome,” Jace agrees as he shovels pieces of a shrimp tempura roll into his mouth. Jace is Baela’s boyfriend of six months. He’s allegedly getting a PhD in Musicology at UCLA, but he only goes to class one or two days a week and does exceptionally little other than that. Once in a while you’ll overhear him pounding on the Yamaha keyboard he keeps in Baela’s room, cursing to himself and kicking the wall in frustration.

“Is he nice?” Baela asks, meaning your new agent.

“I think so,” you say thoughtfully. You aren’t sure that nice is the right word. “He’s kind of weird and grumpy. But I really like him.”

“Is he old?”

“Not at all. Aegon’s thirty-five.”

“Ew,” Baela says. “Old.”

“I really like him,” you say again, smiling to yourself without realizing you’re doing it.

Baela groans. “Please don’t be one of those girls who fucks their agent.”

“No, it’s not like that. He’s engaged to someone super gorgeous. They’re getting married in September.”

“Huh,” Baela replies, losing interest now. Her eyes have drifted back to the tv. She hasn’t landed a role as a film lead or a series regular yet, but she’s been working steadily since she got to L.A. and her star is ever-rising. Tomorrow she is auditioning for Yorgos Lanthimos’s new movie. She’s not allowed to tell you anything about the script. It’s a secret; it’s an honor.

You go to the kitchen for a drink and stop when your gaze catches on the calendar affixed to the stainless steel refrigerator with plastic magnets shaped like pineapples. Friday, June 20th is circled with red ink; in the box below, you have scrawled the necessary details.

Baela twists around on the couch and sees you. Her voice is gentle; she knows you’re nervous. “When’s your appointment?”

“Next week.”

“You’re really getting sliced up?” Jace says.

You smirk at him, less than appreciative. “It’s just a consultation. But yeah, probably.”

“You scared?” Jace asks, gnawing on a pod of edamame.

Obviously. You sigh. “I think it has to happen if I want to land roles.”

“I haven’t gotten any plastic surgery yet,” Baela says, not meaning to sound smug.

You murmur as you ponder the time and address written in red on the calendar: “Well nobody is saying you need to.” You’ve had no less than ten people suggest implants outright, and far more have implied it. Aegon is the only person you can think of who dismissed the idea summarily…and that includes your parents. Your father has been emailing you doctor recommendations. He must think it’s a good investment for your post-California-detour life.

“It will give you more confidence,” Baela says as she turns back to the tv. “A little extra something to take you to the next level.”

You stare at her forlornly from the kitchen. You are suddenly very aware that you miss being outside: the sun, the heat, the swaying palm trees, the radiant kinetic potential. “That’s part of the problem? My confidence?”

She shrugs, using her chopsticks to dunk a piece of her tuna roll in a small plastic container of spicy mayo. She seems oblivious to how deflated you are. “It’s just so hard to stand out here, you know? The phrase ‘California dime’ exists for a reason.”

Jace glances at you over the back of the couch. “I think you look fine.”

“Thanks, Jace.”

“I think you’re easily a California nickel.”

“That’s super sweet, Jace.”

Now Baela is telling him to shut up and they’re bickering back and forth, but you aren’t listening. You take your phone out of your purse and open Instagram. You search for Aegon and find his account; his username is superstargaryen. You follow him. Within a minute, just long enough for you to click through one of his highlight reels—mostly pictures of the beach and trips to In-N-Out Burger—he follows you back. Then you receive a DM.

Aegon has typed: Brando says the apple is good

You giggle to yourself as you tap out a reply. Told you :)

Aegon responds: Or!!! All Minnesotans have no taste

And then he adds a few seconds later: I had to Google that word…Minnesotans…sounds fake

You reply: Please use Google to get me a job instead

He starts typing something, then stops and reacts with a laughing emoji instead. You pull a can of Diet Coke out of the fridge, wondering what he was going to say before he changed his mind.

Late that night, after a nine-hour shift at Cold Stone Creamery, you shower and crawl exhausted into bed wearing an oversized blue L.A. Dodgers t-shirt that you’re swimming in. You turn on your laptop and open YouTube, search for Aegon’s acting reels from ten years ago, fall asleep listening to his voice like the endless ethereal rush when you hold a seashell to your ear.

#aegon ii targaryen #aegon targaryen #aegon ii #aegon targaryen ii #aegon x reader #aegon targaryen x reader #aegon x y/n #aegon x you #aegon ii x you #aegon ii targaryen x female reader #aegon ii targaryen x reader #aegon ii fanfic #aegon ii x reader #aegon targaryen x you #hotd fic #hotd fanfic

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phosph-ate · 27 days ago

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Tether

Dr. Phosphorus x GN!Reader

Rick is sent to collect someone from inside of seemingly haunted woods. He realizes he's bit off more than he can chew a little too late.

CW: violence, gun violence, swearing, canon divergence, no use of y/n

Word Count: 2k

A/N: they/them used for reader!! this veers away from the show. it is not set in it. it's just an idea i had and i want to run with it. it probably won't be too many parts/chapters. also, there is an oc in here, she is important to the story. just in case you have feelings about ocs! reader's abilities will be touched on more thoroughly next chapter! divider made by cafekitsune

The woods were considered haunted. They had not always been that way. In fact, they used to be beautiful and lively. But now, a heavy fog and dark shadows shroud them. Not a peep could be heard from inside once in them.

“This can’t be normal.”

“No, Phosphorus,” Rick sighed, “it fucking can’t be normal.”

Bride, Nina, and Weasel stood a little behind Phosphorus, who was directly behind Rick. After what seemed like an hour of trekking through the heavily wooded area, they stumbled upon a cabin.

“This is it.” Nina chimed in from behind them. “This is what the hunter described.”

“You all wait back here,” Rick begins to walk towards the cabin. “I’ll handle this for now.”

Phosphorus groaned but stayed put. The only one seemingly not antsy was Weasel. He stood there, patiently. Or as patiently as he could.

Rick walked onto the porch. He immediately noticed spots of blood scattered on it. The wood creaked loudly; it was very noticeable considering how silent the area had been. Before he could even knock the door was swung open. Someone who could not be older than sixteen stood in front of Rick. She was chewing, no smacking, some gum.

“Who the fuck are you?” The teenager looked Rick up and down, staring at him with distaste.

“I was about to ask you the same question.”

The girl peeked over Rick’s shoulder and noticed the group a little way from the porch. She rolled her eyes. “Well,” She stepped to the side. “I guess you can come in.”

“Huh?” Phosphorus was loud and confused. “You’re going to let some monsters into your home.”

“Not my home.” She shrugged. “Anyway, we’ve been expecting you.”

“We?” Bride asked. “Where is the owner?”

“Resting.” The girl seemed too calm. Rick hummed a response. The girl walked back to the couch and picked up a controller and continued playing some old game. “Any of you want to play with me?” She motioned to another controller. “We’ve got plenty of games! Diddy Kong Racing, Mario 64, and Donkey Kong!” She was excited to share. “I’m positive I’d kick all of your asses simultaneously at any of the games… But I’m not going to stop you from playing.”

Phosphorus looked down the hall. His head cocked to the side. “Where is the owner?” He sounded more assertive than Bride had earlier. “There is no way some kid is living out in these creepy woods by herself.”

“I said they’re resting.” The teenager snapped. “Now get your ass back in here. They don’t like people pokin’ around. I’d hate to see what would happen if they came out to you looking through their home.”

Phosphorus walked towards the steps and huffed. “We need to see them. Who are they? More importantly, who are you?” The doctor turned his head towards the girl.

“I’m Oli.” She gave her name quickly. “And I thought you knew who they were.” Oli mimicked Phosphorus’ huff. “Why else would you be here?”

“We’re here because people have been going missing in these woods. One man got away and was heavily traumatized.”

Oli went pale. “Not people.” She was short. She turned back to her game. She began to play again, and Phosphorus groaned.

“Look, kid!” He shouted. He started to walk towards Oli, and she froze. She went pale. A scream ripped from her throat, and she began to wail for something. For someone. A name Rick was not familiar with ripped through the air, straight from Oli’s lungs.

The house began to shift. The floor creaked and the lights flickered. The TV shut off and Oli fell off the couch and hit the floor, covering her face, still screaming.

“I’m not-” Phosphorus had no time to defend himself.

The wall behind the TV, closest to Oli, became covered in shadows. A black ooze dripped from the center of the wall. A loud crack, the crack of bones, came from the other side of the wall. Wind whipped outside and suddenly birds could be heard all around. The silence had been broken in the worst way possible.

Fingers creeped out from the wall, and then a hand was visible. It grabbed the wall, pulling whoever it belonged to out from the shadows. Bones continued to crack as whatever the fuck was coming from the shadows made its way into reality.

“What the fuck!?” Phosphorus screamed.

A distorted yell came from the person and once they dragged themselves from the shadows, they stood over Oli, protecting her. Their eyes were pitch black, no sclera, and their body cracked as they stood up straight.

“That must be the owner.” Nina said, eyes wide and full of shock.

You had been trying your best to replenish your energy. To recover from the earlier visit. But when you felt Oli’s fear and heard her screaming you could no longer rest. You pulled yourself together long enough to crawl out from your hiding spot.

When you stood over her fearful form and looked up to see the exact people she said would be paying you a visit you groaned.

“Oli,” Your voice was distorted. You peeked down at her before looking back around the room, assessing the situation. “You’re okay.” Your voice slowly returned to something more normal. “Aren’t these the people who you said were coming?”

“Yes.” She sat up and looked up at you with a smile. “They wanted to meet you!” She grinned, proud of herself.

“Excuse me?” You scoffed at her, “You just did all of that for me to come out? You couldn’t just say ‘Hey! The people from the fucking prophecy are here!’ That would be just as effective, Olympia.”

Oli stood up. “Do not call me Olympia.” She gave you a nasty look. “You are not my-” She paused. She took in a deep breath and looked at the TV. “Anyway,” She turned it back on, “I gotta restart my game now. Because you turned the TV off when you showed up.” Her voice was low. “Go take care of whatever the fuck they need you for.”

You narrowed your eyes at Oli and turned back to the group of people in your home. “Sorry about, uh, earlier,” You gave them a nervous smile. Your eyes had returned to their normal color, “unless of course you came to kill me. Then I’m not sorry and you will not be leaving this property-”

“We are not here to kill you. My name is Rick, and we are investigating the missing people-”

You interrupted him. “Missing? They’re where they belong. Those men were fucking evil.” You rolled your eyes. “I try to keep this place unreachable. And yet, some people just cannot help themselves.” You glanced towards Oli. “Look, I’ll let you all go. I’ll make a path for you. It’ll be safe. I’ll even let a little sun come in, but I’m not going anywhere. We aren’t going anywhere.”

Rick ran a hand through his hair. “That hunter that escaped, was he…-”

“Oh!” You waved a hand around, “He was just a hunter. Happened to see a little too much, but he seemed like a nice enough guy.” You walked towards your front door and opened it. “I hate that I didn’t get to know all of your names, but… goodbye!” You smiled widely at them and motioned for them to leave.

“No.” Rick stood his ground. “What the fuck are you two doing out here? You just have this kid out in the middle of nowhere, where are her parents?”

“Dead.” Oli looked back from the TV and at Rick. “My family is fucking dead.” She paused her game and stood up. “Did Waller not tell you that? Or did she not know?” Oli snapped. She walked past you and straight towards Rick.

“Who’s Waller?” You asked, while quickly placing yourself in the middle of her and Rick. “What are you not telling me, Oli?”

Rick looked down at Oli with the amount of confusion you seemed to be in. “We were not aware you were here. We were told to bring them,” he pointed to you, “in. That is the extent of our knowledge.”

Oli’s nails were digging into her palms. Something in her seemed to snap. “You are not doing that!” She snarled at Rick. You tried to calm her. “That is not- I didn’t see that! You’re supposed to help us!” She had tears in her eyes.

“Olympia!” You grabbed her face. “What are you talking about?”

Her eyes glazed over, and her knees buckled. You were quick to grab her and hold her up and keep her from hitting the floor.

“What is happening?”

You looked up to see the obviously irradiated skeleton speaking. “She- She’s-” You did not get to finish your sentence. Oli sucked in air harshly, and her eyes widened. She looked at you in fear. You felt every ounce of her fear. Your stomach flipped.

“Oli,” your voice was soft, “What did you see?”

“Me-” She sucked down a sob, tears filling her eyes. “Dead.”

You sat at the kitchen table with Oli. You had insisted your visitors leave, she insisted on them staying. Because of that, you had learned who each of them was. Bride, Dr. Phosphorus, Nina, and your personal favorite: Weasel.

You grabbed water for Oli and sat down beside her. “It could be nothing.” You tried to reassure her, keep her calm.

“My visions are never ‘nothing’.” Oli sipped on her water. She sighed and looked past you and at the group of people in your home. “I haven’t been telling you everything…” She shut her eyes tight and gripped the glass in her hand. “The people who are coming to these woods, they aren’t coming for me. They’re coming for you.” She looked at you with a scared look.

“Well,” Dr. Phosphorus clapped his hands together and began to walk towards you, “we’d better get you out of here then!”

“I can’t leave her!” You snapped at him.

At the same time, Oli whispered “I can’t leave them.” She sounded defeated.

“Why?” Nina cocked her head. “Do you not have anyone else?”

You were growing frustrated. “No!” You pulled Oli into your arms and stood over her as she sat at the table. “Her family is gone! She was wanted for her abilities. I took her in and she’s safe with me-”

“I’m their tether.” Oli sounded distant. You froze, arms falling slightly, but not leaving her sides. You were shocked she would give that information away so freely. “If I die-” She stopped talking and closed her eyes tight.

“What is she talking about?” Rick swallowed hard. Things got a lot harder if what she was saying was true.

“I’m their tether,” She repeated. “You know how when a baby duck imprints on, like, a human?” She looked back at the group of monsters standing in your home.

“What does that have to do with this?” Bride crossed her arms.

“We found each other in times of need. And somehow, their need was much greater than mine. I’m keeping them sort of… holding onto humanity.”

You were standing there silent. She was talking like you were not even there. So, you decided to speak up. “If she dies, I’ll feel it. And I’m afraid of what I will do.” You watched the group, face deadpan. “I’m not leaving here. We are both safe here.”

There was a heavy silence before Dr. Phosphorus spoke up. “That’s too fucking bad, we need you to come with us.”

You groaned. And then you felt it. Something was getting close to your cabin. Your hair stood on end, your head snapped towards the window behind you and walked towards it. Oli pouted, she knew what that meant by now. You tried to pinpoint where they were coming from. Your head began to pound.

“What are you do-”

The window shattered and a bullet flew through, hitting you straight in the forehead. You heard Oli scream. Her fear was palpable. She was at your side in a second. “There’s blood!” Oli wailed. “They can’t even bleed!” Her screams wrecked you. Everything went black.

#dr phosphorus #creature commandos #creature commandos x reader #dr phosphorus x reader #dc x reader #dcu

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space-deer · 2 months ago

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Space Deer - No. 64: Lonely Gum

#space deer #original comic #comic strip #comics on tumblr #short comic #alien

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strv2bepretty · 1 year ago

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New diet plan

DIET - OMAD/intermittent fasting (choose one of 2 meals)

Eat in front of people so they don't get suspicous

Breakfast -

Options:

protein shake

fruit

eggs

milk

veggies

Dinner -

Options:

protein shake smoothie

eggs

salad

fruit

soup

(max: 600 cals allowed per day, and 700-800 on re-feeding times when metabolism gets slow)

(allowed to: drink black coffee & tea, chew gum)

Workouts (do all)

5 min warmup (no jumping) - MadFit

Get abs in 2 weeks - Chloe Ting

10 min break

Pilates workout at home - Shirlyn Kim

10 min break

9 mins thigh & legs workout - Shirlyn Kim

1 hour break

walk 30 mins - 1 hr

MOST IMPORTANT - DRINK 64 fl oz OF WATER EVERYDAY

#weight loss diet #disordered eating thoughts #eating disoder trigger warning #tw disordered eating #weight loss #weightloss #ed not ed sheeran #tw ana diary #low cal diet #tw ed diet #dieting #lose weight #metabolism

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lynxskip · 2 months ago

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!!INTRODUCTION!!

----

Name(s): Cosmo, Lynx, Tobias

Pronouns: He/Him, It/Its, They/Them

Sexualities + Gender: Omniromantic, Asexual, Ambiamorous, Transgender

Birthday: September 15th

Age: 15

Other: I have ADHD, Autism, Anxiety, Depression, and Social Anxiety

---

Stuff About Me!

My favorite color is purple

i LOVE cats but i don't rlly like dogs

i love to read and write

i'm a vegetarian

i have heterochromia on my left eye

i play ClanGen (its my favorite game)

i can kinda draw but its not that good

i'm currently writing two stories and a fanfic!!

i’m a kemonomimi!

---

Special Interests: Warrior Cats, Bungou Stray Dogs, Danganronpa, My Hero Academia, Alien Stage, SK8 the Infinity

Fandoms I'm In: Warrior Cats, Danganronpa, Creepypasta, Shipwrecked 64, Sally Face, Survivors, Ghost Stories, The Promised Neverland, Dead Plate, Death Note, Five Nights at Freddy's, Class of '09, Doki Doki Literature Club!, Gacha, My Hero Academia, Demon Slayer, Bungou Stray Dogs, Yuri!!! on ICE, Scream, Sasaki and Miyano, The Stranger by the Shore, Toilet-bound Hanako-kun, SAW, Chainsaw Man, The Disastrous Life of Saiki K., SK8 the Infinity, given, Doukyusei, JUJUTSU KAISEN, Hunter x Hunter, Ouran High School Host Club, Star Stable Online, The Walking Dead, Preacher, xxxHOLiC, Mouthwashing, Bad Parenting, Elevator Hitch, Married in Red, DAN DA DAN, Mob Psycho 100, Alien Stage, Banana Fish, Orenchi no Furo Jijo, Cherry Magic!, Heaven Official’s Blessing, Madoka Magica, BLUE LOCK

Shows I'm Currently Watching: DAN DA DAN, TDLoSK, Hunter x Hunter, Mob Psycho 100, TBHK (rewatch), Ghost Stories (rewatch), The Case Study of Vanitas, JUJUTSU KAISEN, BSD (rewatch), Twilight Out of Focus, Banana Fish, After-school Hanako-kun (rewatch), Stars Align

Books I'm Currently Reading: Call Waiting

---

Favorites:

Characters: Nagito Komaeda, Byakuya Togami, Mondo Owada, Kokichi Oma, Hajime Hinata, Shuichi Saihara, Ticci Toby, Sal Fisher, Larry Johnson, Ray, Vincent, L, Near, Michael Afton, Mangle, Foxy, Shota Aizawa, Izuku Midoriya, Katsuki Bakugo, Shoto Todoroki, Neito Monoma, Denki Kaminari, Hitoshi Shinso, Tamaki Amajiki, All Might, Mirko, Hawks, Fat Gum, Himiko Toga, Dabi, Tomura Shigaraki, Eri, Giyuu Tomioka, Muichiro Tokito, Tanjiro Kamado, Inosuke Hashibira, Genya Shinazugawa, Gyutaro, Almost every BSD character, Mitsuba, Hanako, Saiki, Kaidou, Every Sk8 the Infinity characters except for ADAM I HATE THAT BITCH, Geto, Gojo, Megumi, Nobara, Yuji, Mahito, Gon, Killua, Leorio, Kirapika, Tamaki, Ivan

Music Artists: MSI (i don't support them), Chappell Roan, Mitski, Gigi Perez, Lady Gaga, Mother Mother, MARINA, ICP, TV Girl, Glass Animals, MCR

---

Other Blogs!

@lynxskips-warriors-rewrite <- my warrior cats rewrite! i'm bringing it back but on a different blog since this one is just my reblog mess!

@asks-cosmos <- my OC ask blog! ask 'em questions and i'll try to respond in character as much as i can!

@ricaanshaan <- not my blog BUT it's my best friend's!! you should totally follow them, they're awesome sauce!

---

Other Socials

TikTok, Pinterest, YouTube, Discord, Twitter, and Bluesky: lynxskip

Roblox: lynxskipp

(if you want to find me on discord or Roblox just like dm me or smt, i normally accept discord requests though!)

---

DNI & Please Interact!

DNI: Racists, Proshippers, Sexists, Homo and Transphobes, Pedos, Isnotreal supports, Trump supports

Please Interact: Anyone who fw my fandoms or favorites, Furries, Therians, Neurodivergent ppl, Trans and LGBTQIA+ ppl, Artists, Writers

#lynxskip #lynx's intro #cosmo's intro #intro #intro post #introduction #introduction post #introductory post #pinned intro #pinned post #blog intro #neurodivergent #autism #autistic #adhd #depression #anxiety #social anxiety

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lair-master · 7 months ago

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I'm running murder mysteries and made some clue tables. These are clues related to specific suspects. (Text version under the cut.)

Random Suspect Clues (Roll d6 x 10 + d6)

11. Breath smells of peppermint

12. Small claw marks on left cheek

13. Eye twitches when telling a lie

14. Dry mud on soles of footwear

15. Prone to frequent sneezing fits

16. Whistles distinctive melody

21. Splotchy rash on inner wrist

22. Bits of clay under fingernails

23. Poorly-hidden ambidexterity

24. Loudly snaps chewing gum

25. Wears expensive perfume

26. Button missing from clothes

31. Scorpion tattoo on shoulder

32. Blonde hair stuck to clothes

33. Cracks knuckles habitually

34. Jagged scar carved into scalp

35. Unusually keen sense of smell

36. Favors right leg when walking

41. Fading tan lines on ring finger

42. Wears many sets of false teeth

43. Nervously fidgets with jewelry

44. Hairy mole anywhere on body

45. Brown fluid drips from nostril

46. Impressive sense of balance

51. Conspicuously short of stature

52. Absence of manual dexterity

53. Acute sensitivity to bright light

54. Capable of mimicking voices

55. Unable to see without glasses

56. Can identify any wine by taste

61. Hides true height by slouching

62. Surreptitiously cheats at cards

63. Flinches at the singing of birds

64. Fingers stained with cigar ash

65. Fluent in multiple languages

66. Carries timepiece in pocket

#ttrpg #dnd #dungeons and dragons #dungeons & dragons #d&d #who killed avarice cadaverous

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lizzylifts · 6 months ago

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haul

Gum - $5

Gardiner Fructis - $7

All lip glosses - $10, $5, $5

Loose powder - $5

Pencils - $11

Hair oil - $6

Oil pastels - $10

Total ≈ $64

I wanted this agenda for school but I went to the same store 3 days ago and it seemed like this worker was following me because he kept walking near me and just looking like he was moving things around except he was following me to different parts of the store, so I just needed up paying for it.

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neragufetta · 1 year ago

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A randomly updated list of plot elements and theories that run wild in my head

The following is a list of BNHA plot elements, in no specific order, that are still unresolved at current chapter (or, at least, that I consider unresolved).

This post is totally open to suggestion :D

I plan to update it whenever I feel ;)

Enjoy!

PS - I finally found a title for this little product of mine, yay :)

***

Current last chapter:

413

HIGH PRIORITY:

1. How did Shigaraki solve to put Star and Stripe's quirk "New Order" under control? > Solved in vol. 34: New Order dissolved on itself but it caused Tenko to regain some level of consciousness > And in chapter 413 S&S's embers in AFO were able to reach both All Might itself and Yagi's vestige to let them know about the only weakness existing in Shigaraki, and I LOVE this turn of events.

2. Why did AFO do all of this? What are his reasons and origin? > We got his reasons in chapters 407-408 but I'm not totally convinced that he chose an apprentice just for the sake of having a new body

3. Will Deku be able to reach Tenko?

4. Who is going to survive? At the moment I think these are the name at risk right now:

. Bakugo > confirmed alive in 403 . All Might > still alive in 404, confirmed alive in 405 . Toga . Dabi . Hawks . Endevour . Edgeshot > still alive in 405 . Fat Gum

6. What is Ojiro's, Sato's and Sero's whereabout?

7. What is Eraserhead, Present Mic and Kurogiri's whereabout?

...

OPTIONAL STUFF

1. How was it possible for Yoichi to pass OFA to the second user? (i.e. how did he realize that he could pass his quirk?) > I'm not crossing this one out for we still don't have an explanation from Yoichi's perspective; however in chapter 408 is suggested that it happened the day Yoichi died and Kudoh has felt off ever since. I want to add that we don't know of any organic exchange from Yoichi to Kudoh, my opinion about it below.

2. Is Deku's father ever going to make an appearance? I know, I know that, aat this late point in the story, he can only be either AFO himself or noone interesting, but still, why did Horikoshi mentioned that Izuku's father would appear at some point in the story? Did he change his mind?

3. Is this picture ever going to make sense?

64.media.tumblr.com

For further explanation, this seems to be a partial picture that was present at a BNHA exposition in Japan but, to my knowledge, does not have an explanation. > The full art, however, showed Aoyama, so it might be a hint about Aoyama's role? I'm not convinced and therefore I'm keeping this point active.

4. Why AFO needed Shigaraki's hatred? (Rif. chapter 311. For further explenation see section "Open theories", n. 3) > In chapter 410 it seems that Shigaraki is now able to steal, if not the whole OFA, at least singular quirks in it but it stays unexplained how or why.

5. Are we going to see Deku and Bakugo face each other one last time?

...

OPEN THEORIES (that I enjoy or consider interesting for some reason)

1. Dad for one (alias All for one is actually Deku's father) > With the flashback we had in chapter 407-408, it seems to me that, even though it is possible that AFO had intercourse with women, I just can't see him actually marry someone, and Inko mentioned her "husband" while discussing Izuku's lack of quirk; however, it is still possible that she called him that way just for the sake of appearences or that they actually married for some reason. I don't know, I really don't like this theory but I understand the appeal of it.

2. Decay is not Shimura Tenko's original quirk > Again, AFO's death in 410 might cross this one out but I'm still suspicious about the man in 235 that brought Tenko back home.

3. Shigaraki can actually take One for All quirk without Deku's will > confirmed in chapter 410, even though we still don't know how or why.

4. Deku is suppressing his emotions > Pikahlua wrote an amazing perfect explanation about this theory and I'm convinced they're right.

5. Two for one (alias One for all is passed on both Izuku & Katsuki) (404) > I think we can call this one discarded.

6. AFO is (related to) the Luminescent baby (405) > Confirmed in 407 and even though I said I was not a fan of this one, AFO stealing his quirk out of crave makes much more sense than and I love it.

7. Izuku will replace OFA with:

7a. His own personal quirk that, similarly to Yoichi's one, was so unformed to be practically useless but grew up thanks to OFA. 7a-i. If we believe the DFA theory, his quirk might be either an evolution of AFO

7b. New Order (412) and it has to do with Star & Stripe arm > New Order is confirmed destroyed in chapter 413

7c. Nothing, he'll go quirkless again. (This is the only one I actually like) 7c-i. But his use of OFA has already created a vestige in OFA and Kudoh is planning to let Shigaraki steal OFA in order to gain access to Tenko's memory and finally start to connect with is soul and therefore to save him. > partly confirmed in 413, the only difference being that Kudoh actually plans to smash Shigaraki with OFA. 7c-ii. But, following the empty glass/full glass theory, Shigaraki won't be able to keep it for too long, without facing problem (like the 4th dying of old age at 40). >

8.OFA only transfer out of will, while hair or any other organic material just served to picture the passage in one's mind. I decided to delete the whole reasoning behind this idea but you can still read it in my chapter 412 update.

8a. As an alternative possible explanation, since OFA started stocking extrapower and multiple quirks, even though at the beginning a physical transfer was not required, it eventually became mandatory. (Like, email can only have attachment up to N Mb, in order to transfer bigger file you need a physical drive).

Bye!

#mha theories #bnha theories #bnha spoilers #mha spoilers #bnha #mha #mha 413 #bnha 413

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puppybong · 1 year ago

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tim is the stereotypical early 2000s annoying kid brother who will put gum in your hair and use your CD player without asking and drink milk directly from the carton and always go in your room when you have friends over even though he has a perfectly good nintendo 64 to keep him entertained. and you can’t help but love him

#b #tim voice bruuuuuce i need to use the phone but dick has been talking to roy for hours

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autistic-trannie · 8 days ago

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Never Knowing Lynch and my Discovery Inside Who's Lila part 1

During the passing of David Lynch there seemed to be a collective sadness expressed by the world, that's not a far fetched thing to say as nearly everyone out there has been effected by Lynch in one way or another. I was not in the group directly effected, it made me sad don't get me wrong but I did not have the chance to know Lynch, I had only seen the original Dune and clips of Eraserhead. This put me in a predicament as I was sad and yet felt out of place, I did not have the same relationship as everyone else, I did not watch Twin Peaks, I had not seen Mullholland Drive, and yet I was sad because David Lynch was apart of so much more than the films he made.

Metal Gear Solid and Alan Wake are some of my favorite games and general inspirations and even aspirations as a creative, as I write more I think about Hideo Kojima and Sam Lake as auteurs, some of the greatest to ever do it.

And then I played Who's Lila.

Who's Lila is a game, admittedly, I have not yet finished, because I started it today, because I pirated it forever ago and left it sitting in my folder labeled "Yarg" where my pirated games go. Because when I look for games I don't look at steam, sometimes I do but that's when I have money. When I don't have money I open my preferred piracy site, I get on then I get on getting on, (read: I see if they updated their shit and if they did I scroll through every non porn game) and sometimes when I get on I get forgetful. Getting forgetful is something I do often and as often tends to be I ended up looking and found that I had a game unzipped called "Who's Lila". I wondered the same thing as I kept looking and instead of looking for new games, looking at my Itch folder, I decided to just open it and see what happens. As someone unfamiliar with Lynch's work I found that Who's Lila the more I played felt so deeply Lynchian. Alan Wake, is very much inspired by David Lynch specifically Twin Peaks, I loved Alan Wake yet I never truly got into Lynch, I didn't hate Lynch, never found it boring, but I just never had the time or access (living without internet for a while really makes you appreciate streaming) to any of his works when I played Alan Wake.

After maybe an hour, hour thirty with Who's Lila I am currently watching Twin Peaks as I write this, Who's Lila had me play it, go through a myriad of endings, and realize that I wanted more of this, I could get more of this, and more of this existed. Spoilers(light) ahead for Who's Lila, as I have not beaten the game but have already begun to unravel some of it's many mysteries. Who's Lila starts out innocuously enough, you learn that your main character struggles making facial expressions in line with his emotions. This leads to you walking to the bathroom and finding what I thought the "selling point" of the game was, funny faces. See some faces made register as different emotions, your job is to interpret what people want to see and making it happen, similar to the Mario 64 face manipulation, or the sculpting face mechanics you may recognize from The Sims 4 or Fallout 4. This makes some faces unintentionally humorous as you have to portray sadness and look like your gums are detached from the skin in your mouth. Before this all started I noticed on the main menu, SUMMON TO DESKTOP pops out causing me to click almost instantly, unknown to me this was most likely probably not the intention of the game yet it managed to work out so beautifully.

For the first 10 or so minutes it nags at me, "what does summon to desktop mean?" I minimize the game and check, the program DAEMON doesn't partially stick out alongside the other icons on my desktop but it made itself known after I scan back. Then I open The Daemon, it reveals what looks like a stone idol of a dragon, it rests now as I close it and return to the game. Back to the main game I end up listening to some ominous and very foreboding calls before venturing to the main room, I look around at each part of the kitchen and then I take the trash out before returning. In the top left of my screen The DAEMON icon appears and begins to flash, this signals to me that I must open the program which I do and after that I am privy to a far less cryptic message. A key appeared where there was not one before, I now understand the game we are going to be playing, one that operates outside of itself and outside of it's boundaries. I love when games do that so I said okay lets do it lets go to bat, I found myself in search of a locker, Tanya's Locker that required Tanya's Locker Key which a daemon put on my table, next to a diary I had no code to open and a hacksaw used as a "farm tool". Upon entering school I found Tanya's Locker, I found Tanya's stuff like her phone, to get to her phone I had to go to her Twitter, Tanya Kennedy had a twitter account, more importantly Tanya had a pinned message.

Tanya Kennedy had died, this felt like a horrible thing to see "oh god" I thought. "I must've spoiled the mystery," of course I could assume based on the missing posters plastered on my apartment corridors, but I still felt bad, maybe this game was supposed to be played like an ARG, live, and I had killed my chances of solving the mystery. Luckily any good mystery shouldn't give itself away with the clacking of a few keys, I hurriedly scrolled down and found the code to unlock the phone. I read a few messages, absorbing what I could understand but mystified by most of it, there was a person who texted her and Kennedy told her a dream, there was a conversation between her and Martha, Ellie, Michael, and William. The dream messages stop before your character starts to delete the thread of messages based on the conversations you're able to piece together what happened. She talked to a guy named Michael, wasn't feeling him, ghosted him a week ago, at the same time she talked to someone named William around the same time. Michael's messages inquire about where Tanya went and Williams plead for her to not go, that he had changed his mind which Tanya saw as her being pushed away. In my mind there was no doubt who killed her, it was probably the suspicious message saying stay away around a week ago before seeing 0 other messages.

Down the lockers, right by them in-fact I was greeted by Regina Holmes, surely Will is a coincidence? Then she reveals we saw Tanya last, then she reveals that someone else saw me seeing Tanya last and was talking to the principal about it. This made me go "wow, because I had 0 expectations I expected the murder to be a surprise, a somber shock that I spoiled but it only became fuel for the fire. This general feeling and tone continued throughout the game only pushing me forward to try and discover what happened. I don't know what the intentional playthrough is, I don't know how anyone is supposed to play, if there even is an intentional path to take, what I do know however is that my playthrough felt right, every time I woke up I took out the trash, every time I woke up I uncovered more and more mystery, the more I uncovered the more human it got, the more I learned the more I saw through each past lie and was able to put a case together as to what happened right before 10 more questions spawned about what really happened.

#david lynch #lynchian #twin peaks #whos lila #who's lila?

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diorgiirl · 12 days ago

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౨ৎ 150 things to da instead of bInging! ౨ৎ

hello lovelies! comment if you have any more suggestions, i'd love to hear it! also, Imk what kind of posts you guys want :)

1. create a pastel aesthetic mood board

2. create/write in a ana/mia journal

3. watch an ed themed shows

4. draw how u want to look like

5. write a poem about ana

6. paint your nails

7. höre BasisNoirSoninja

8. add to your online shopping bag

9. practice your calligraphy with pastel pens

10. bake something for your family (not yourself!)

11. braid your hair

12. create a soft fashion lookbook

13. brush your teeth

14. write a letter to someone you’ll never send

15. draw hearts intertwined with vines and stars

16. try to learn origami in pastel shades

17. visit a bookstore and get lost in the aisles

18. collect petals from flowers to press in a book

19. watch a horror movie

20. write about your dreams in a dreamy journal

21. color in a coloring book

22. make a mood board of your favorite disordered characters

23. go on a walk

24. try knitting a cute, pastel scarf

25. call a friend

26. change clothes

27. write your feelings on paper, crumple it, and let it go

28. do your makeup

29. chew gum

30. draw a cute creature wandering through a dark forest

31. plan your ideal aesthetic room with dark pastel themes

32. try painting with watercolors in soothing tones

33. chew ice

34. watch videos about abandoned places with soft music

35. make a red ana bracelet

36. clean all windows and mirrors

37. look at old photos and reflect on bittersweet memories

38. clean out the kitchen cabinets

39. drink some hot green tea, the heat can suppress your appetite

40. caffeine suppresses your appetite as well

41. spin around in circles, it will make you too dizzy and nauseous to eat

42. drink ice cold water

43. take a nap

44. read

45. start an edyt vlog

46. take a everything shower or bath

47. go for a run

48. take bc‘s

49. try some gentle yoga poses to calm your mind

50. do some crunches

51. watch a sunset while listening to your favorite sad songs

52. try enjoying hunger pains

53. weigh yourself

54. write a story where you’re a mysterious, whimsical character

55. look yourself naked and pinch your fat

56. look at thinspo

57. watch an ASMR video

58. go on proana blogs

59. watch people eat and notice how disgusting it looks

60. dance like crazy to an upbeat song

61. create wallpapers for your phone

62. clean your backpack

63. clean your bathroom

64. try meditating

65. write in your diary

66. dm me

67. puzzle

68. try sketching out your dreams or nightmares

69. sew

70. do a pilates video

71. reorganize your room

72. sleep

73. workout

74. study for a class

75. do duolingo

76. play with your pet

77. do a whole body shave

78. create a collection of thinlines

79. watch a nature documentary, focusing on the serene and quiet moments

80. do skincare

81. do homework

82. drink some coke zero

83. stretch

84. tidy desk

85. wash bedding

86. make a vision board full of thinspo

87. clean out your camera roll

88. vacuum/clean your bedroom

89. organise ur junk drawer

90. draw a picture of a lonely, cute ghost

91. feed ur pets

92. change ur phone layout

93. delete apps you don’t use anymore

94. just dance workouts

95. make a pinterest board

96. watch childhood shows

97. create character themed diets (and sent them to me pls! <3)

98. write letters to your future self

99. practice and learn a choreography

100. finish ur laundry

101. watch the stars and dream about things you’ll never tell anyone

102. visit a cozy cafe and drink a warm, comforting tea

103. research about things ur interested in

104. try drawing yourself as an ethereal creature, lost in a dreamy world

105. play video games

106. do a “dark spa day” with soft music, candles, and lavender

107. pace around your room

108. visit art galleries

109. chug a huge glass of water

110. drink monster zero

111. watch korean diet vlogs

112. cut up an apple into really small slices and put cinnamon and stevia on them

113. smoke a cigarette to suppress the hunger (only if u already smoke, don’t start!)

114. start a DIY project with lace, velvet, and faded colors

115. make a tiktok (but not for edtt pls😭)

116. LOLLIPOPS

117. watch edits of ur celebrity crush(s)

118. do the dishes

119. find a new wattpad story to start

120. do a face mask

121. facetime a friend

122. try digital art

123. do a hair mask

124. invite a friend over

125. make a physical vision board

126. make random twitter threads

127. watch documentaries about 4n0r3x14 or bul1m14

128. read meanspo/sweatspo

129. write about what you wish the world could be like in your dreams

130. look at thinspo/fatspo

131. watch mukbangs

132. organize literally anything and everything

133. do a movie marathon

134. binge watch netflix

135. organize your bookshelf

136. binge watch true crime videos on yt

137. stan your fav artist! watch interviews, video compilations of funny moments, go on their social media, etc

138. watch supersize vs superskinny and shows like that

139. scroll through some threads, I‘ll post some on my edtwt account (starvingwaif)

140. practice writing in your favorite fonts or styles

141. do fun quizzes on google!

142. learn a new k-pop choreography

143. throw out all of your expired food

144. listen to your favourite music song, and if you can sing along to it really loud

145. play an instrument if you do, if you don't, learn!

146. watch funny videos on YouTube

147. make something to give to someone else

148. write a letter to an old friend you haven’t seen in a while

149. practice mindfulness while drinking tea and watching the world go by

150. drink a herbal tea

have a great day, lovelies!

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cozystarred · 25 days ago

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January 9th

Breakfast:

- Low-fat quark: 46 kcal

- Puffed wheat: 7 kcal

- Raspberries: 2 kcal

Lunch:

- Hipro vanilla: 64 kcal

- Puffed wheat: 18 kcal

- Blueberries: 11 kcal

Dinner:

- Tuna cucumber salad: 215 kcal

- Pickles: 12 kcal

Snacks:

- Hipro peanutbutter banana: 89 kcal

- 1/2 proteinbar: 100 kcal

- 2 mentos: 20 kcal

Total: 575 kcal

Burnt: 105 kcal

Net: 470 kcal

I hate eating 3 meals a day, but it was that or biking through the snow💀 I love snow but getting wet, snowflakes thrown in your eyes, and possible falling is urghh... also had a math test..

Daily thinspo + cal tracker:

Day 27:

I usually imagine myself eating the food and then being full and just sitting there like "now what?" bcs it reminds me that while eating it may be nice, but I'll regret it afterwards

When that doesn't work I just eat like 20 sugar free chewing gum pieces💀or go make myself some tea

Also decided to eat food with more protein today to try and stop myself from snacking too much, didn't work bcs I ended up over 499 cal :( broke the 🍋 streak. Was mostly the stress of school causing me to snack ngl

#starredwieiad

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v1-kisser · 1 month ago

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Fond memories of watching my mom play SM64 on a Nintendo 64 while chewing fruity gum

#:)#.thoughts

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bratshaws · 2 years ago

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through the hourglass 87. brb x oc

a/n: i hate this man so much. Hope you guys like tonight's chapter <3

pairing: plus size!oc x rooster

warnings: fluff with a smidge of suggestive

goodness gracious (pls read this one to know more what this fic is about!!)

chapter

50/51/52/53/54/55/56/57/58/59/60/61/62/63/64/65/66/67/68/69/70/71/72/73/74/75/76/77/78/79/80/81/82/83/84/85/86

(pls let me know if you want to be added to the taglist! )

taglist: @mirandastuckinthe80s @roosterschanelslut @wiipes @lcahwriter @shrimping-for-all @gretagerwigsmuse @frenchtoastix

@lizzie-rdj @fanboyluvr @atarmychick007 @comebacktoearthpls

@peachiicherries @mak-32 @lizziespidiepridie @roosterswifey @ollyoxenfrees @piceous21 @sqrlgrl22 @hofficoffi @lexhalstead3 @lorilane33 @legendarydreamersharkparty @luckyladycreator2

@emilybradshaw @j-6o @louisahale @leobabbyyy @kulicny @winter-run @ktjmac @graciereads @bigpoppajes @taytaylala12

@caitsymichelle13 @becks-things @caatheeriinee07 @dhwanishah09 @jesfreedark @katiemcrae @lilmonstrjedi @hobiismyhopeu @teacupsandtopgun @insominac23 @gh0stsgoodgirl @mygyn @chavivaelisheva

Beatrice occupied herself around the house after talking to Rooster, her smile never faltering and her body feeling light as a feather, almost feeling if the wind touched it she’d fly away. She places the phone in her pocket, turning around to see Nikki chewing one of the several rubber toys that surrounded her, there were no signs of her teeth showing up yet but Bea thought that Nikki actually liked the squeaky sound that happened because of her gums rubbing on the surface.

She smiles down at their daughter, seeing those light eyes move towards her and her cute grin appear, “Hi sweet girl! Are you enjoying yourself?” Nicole gurgles happily, kicking her onesie covered feet as her mother hovers above her, slowly falling to her knees next to Nicole, “You are so cute, you are so cute! What do you think about joining me for a quick supermarket run?”

Nicole vocalizes happily, chubby cheeks appearing fuller as her smile gets broader, “Then it’s settled, let’s go out for a bit.” Beatrice grabs Nicole from the baby mat, kissing her cheek as she pulls herself to her full height, walking towards the key magnet close to the wall, about to leave the house when her phone buzzes.

She sighed, the amount of times her phone stopped her from doing something should be investigated because it wasn’t normal. When she pulled out she was a bit surprised to see it was Michael calling, “Huh.” she answers it, “Hello?”

“Good morning my darling sister,” oh boy “What are you doing today?”

“I was about to go grocery shopping.” she explains, bouncing Nicole on her arm, “With Nikki…why?”

“Oh just curious…do you need some company?”

“...no?”

“I can help you carry the heavy stuff, come on.”

Beatrice blinked, then licked her lips while closing her eyes, “...Mikey, what was the reason for you to call me?” he doesn’t answer, “Because this is out of nowhere.”

“Ah,well, you know…just missed you,sis.” another pause “Okay, listen I’m–” she hears his footsteps walking away, “Gui is in my house still and I need, I need an excuse to get out of here. I’m going to go insane,Bea.”

“Ah…so that’s why.”

“Bea! Please, help me out.”

She sighed, chewing the inside of her cheek as she considered his request, then looked down at Nicole who’s watching her intently, “...fine.” she ignored his quiet ‘yes!’ “But I won’t be out for long. It’s just to get the essentials,Mike.”

“Sis I just need five minutes away from the colonel. That’s all”

Beatrice rolled her eyes but nodded while replying, “Okay, can you get here in ten minutes?”

“Hell,I’ll be there in five. Thank you so much sis,I love you!”

And he hangs up, leaving Beatrice just blinking and staring at the opposite wall completely unimpressed, “Your uncles.” she begins as she pockets her phone, turning to face Nikki,” Are a confusing bunch,Nikki. Especially your uncle Michael.”

If she knew her brother she knew he’d show up with his car so she just placed her keys aside and waited by the living room’s window, Nicole’s tiny hands touching the glass as she kept her vocalization, widening her eyes when her breath fogged the glass, “Yeah,Nikki, you can fog the glass,look!” Beatrice drew a smiley face with the tip of her finger, earning an excited sound from her daughter.

She however looked up when she saw her brother’s car park in front, rolling her eyes when he waved exaggeratedly out of his window, even almost climbing out of it to pop his head out and grin at her, “Well, let’s go Nikki.” she chuckles, telling the dogs goodbye as she grabs her bag and the house keys, “Your uncle already has a seat for you.”

It’s something her siblings did for every niece or nephew that was just born: have one handy in case they needed to take them somewhere. It was very useful and she also knew they were doing it even more now that Nicole was born. “Oh my God.” Michael grins, making his way over to the two and immediately picking Nicole from Beatrice’s arms, “There’s my little booger! Hi little booger!”

Beatrice just laughed while locking the door, knowing her brother was just going to bounce Nicole around a bit and hold her as ‘a machine gun’ just so he could shake her a bit and make her baby vocalizing stutter - he did that to everyone, including Bea and Leo - “Is Gui still in your house?”

“Yep.” Michael says, playfully moving his body back and forth as a giant dummy just so Nicole laughed, “I told him I had to help you now and he tried to come with me but I was out of the house already.”

“I thought he’d go back to New York after the weekend.”

“Nah,mom asked him to stay a bit more because she missed him.”

“But not Sabrina?”

“Sabrina always calls mom and videochat.” Michael says, cooing his niece, “And Gui is the tallest one of us, she wanted him to help with some stuff back at the house since dad’s back is acting up again.”

“Ah,of course.”

“But,” he turns to her, “What do you wanna do? What’s the itinerary?”

“Going to the supermarket, get some stuff and then come back home.”

Michael purses his lips with a nod, “Sounds good, jump in sis.I’ll buckle this little girl.” he tickles Nicole’s tummy to make her giggle and hold onto his watch while her mother enters the car just as Michael told her to. She does turn her body to check if Michael does it right, which he does, but she couldn’t help but stare at him like a hawk ready to pounce if he did something wrong.

She’s still looking at Nicole when Michael enters, her daughter gurgling happily and reaching towards her with her tiny hand “Hey,” he begins once he gets in the car, making her attention turn to him instead, “Can she eat solids yet?”

Beatrice blinks back towards Nicole, smiling at her daughter who now was focused on the Metallica sticker on the passenger door’s window, “We are going to start. That’s why I want to go to the supermarket, buy some stuff to make it.”

“Make it?” Michael repeats, putting on his sunglasses, “Why don’t you buy it?”

“You talk as if my mother isn’t the same as yours.”

“Ah.”

“You know mom is very against those baby foods, you know she always said it had poison and yadda yadda.” she waves her hand, “Plus, it’s going to be fun. Roos wants to make some too. He said his mom used to make a carrot purée or something and he wanted to try it with Nicole.”

Michael smirks as he turns the car, driving away from his sister’s house and onto the street, “Well, ain’t you guys just specially purdy.” he says with the heaviest - and the most awful – country accent she had ever heard but it did make her laugh a bit, “Nah, for real, it’s cute. You two are doing stuff together, for Nicole and having fun with it.”

Beatrice’s smile falters a bit at her brother’s tone, there’s a hint of melancholy in there…and hearing it from someone like Michael was really shocking. He was rarely upset or mad and when he was he hid it very well…something must’ve happened, something more than Guillermo’s stay at his house.

She chose to not ask him yet, chatting with him about casual topics just to take his mind out of things and then figuring out how to break onto the subject without making him shut down even more than he normally would.

But she could see something was off.

His eyes were dull and his smile didn’t reach them, even the way he was sitting was making her worried, he looked…like a shell of himself almost.

“And here we are.”

Beatrice barely noticed they arrived, looking at the large supermarket with her brows raised, “We got here fast.”

“Eh,I’m a good driver.”

“Is that supposed to mean I’m not?” her brother just unbuckled himself and smiled, tapping her cheek with his hand, leaving her glaring at his empty seat, “Jerk.” Beatrice opened the door herself and waited until Michael opened the passenger door for her to grab Nicole, her daughter just gurgled happily, vocalizing to her mother as she was picked up.

“Mikey,” her brother turns to her, “Can you get me a cart? The ones with the baby carrier on top, please.” he nodded after locking the car, walking to where the carts were as Beatrice followed. Yeah, he was acting strangely, even his shoulders appeared to be slumped as he walked.

He turns around after pushing his sunglasses to his forehead, grinning at his sister and niece, “There you go.” he says, “Put her down and we can go.”

Beatrice kept flicking her gaze to Michael as they walked through every aisle, he just stood by the cart, absently,pursing his lips as he turned a random product in his hand and put it back then turned to Nicole and made funny faces…only to repeat the pattern. Beatrice gently placed the bag of chips down, clearing her throat quietly, “So um…anything new?”

“Where?”

She shrugs, “I don’t know, in your life? Something that’s going on? How’s work at the gym?”

His face relaxes in recognition, letting out an ‘ohh’ as he supports himself on the back of the cart just above Nicole’s babbling self, “Oh well, everything is good. I am going to work at the gym Bradley and his buddies go to.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, it’s my friend’s too, he owns both of those and he noticed a lot of people wanted boxing classes…more than the ones in the gym I’m at, so I’ll start there next week.”

“Oh,Mikey, that's amazing!” she’s genuinely happy for him, smiling brightly at her brother’s change…only to see that his smile was minimal, even if he was thankful for her support, “...you don’t look that happy.”

“Nah,I am.”

“Mikey.”

He sighs heavily, dropping his head forward as he thinks about how to reply, “...I just have a lot on my mind.”

“You can tell me.”

He chuckles softly, slowly lifting his head, “You are a sweet kid,Bea.” he didn’t say it in an offending way and Bea didn’t felt like correcting him, “I just…been feeling kinda alone lately.” he mutters, shrugging his broad shoulders, “I’m getting old,” he didn’t see his sister’s eyeroll and mutter of ‘you are in your forties’ “And…I don’t know,I guess I’m kinda trying to find myself again.”

Beatrice just looked back at him after a while, that was a good reason for his sudden demeanor. Her brother was a nice guy, he was sweet and considerate…and very funny, he deserved someone good, he deserved to have a good life with someone else, “...well,are you looking for someone?” she questions, “Going out? Maybe someone in the gym?”

“Listen the guys there are handsome as fuck but I’m not into dudes.” he laughs, his eyes shining for a brief second because at least she got that out of him, “Nah…I don’t know,I don’t really…I met some ladies but nothing serious.”

“Ah.”

“Guess I’m kinda jealous of everyone now.” he sounds even sadder when he says it, “I mean, hell, so much has happened ever since I moved back home, it’s crazy.”

Beatrice offers her brother a little smile, walking around the cart to hug his middle the best she could, “You’ll find someone amazing,Mikey.” he hums, not believing her and that only made Beatrice flick her finger on the back of his head, earning a quiet ‘ow!’ from him, “Can you keep an eye on Nikki really quick,though? I need to get some napkins on the aisle over.”

“Sure, meanwhile I’m going to show Nikki all the nice candies and how to get them.” he says,smirking down at his niece who just gurgled at him, “Butterfingers are the best and your uncle Leo will deny it, but he’s stupid.”

“Mikey.”

“It’s true.”

But she was glad he was joking more, “Be right back, don’t,” she points at him, “Move a muscle.” he just waved at her, telling her to move ahead and they wouldn’t leave and that she shouldn’t worry. Beatrice smiles while turning on her heel, walking towards the aisle and stopping when she sees a known redhead at the end.

“Hannah?” she calls and the other woman looks up from where she’s currently crouched, smiling at Beatrice.

“Hey! What a surprise!”

“Sure is!” Bea grins back, grabbing the napkins she wanted and holding in her arms, “I didn’t know you shopped here?”

“Oh,I didn’t but my son likes the um, pineapple cake they have here.” Hannah says, standing up straight and gesturing to her own cart, “And I found some nice prices and decided that there was time for a short supply run, you know?”

“Oh, yes sure.” Bea says, “Oh,um,so about the reunion thing…are you going?”

“Are you?”

“....maybe.” she confesses, turning the package in her hands for a little bit, “As long I can take Brad with me. We might leave our baby at my parents…or at his uncle, we don’t know yet,’ Mav would have a field day with that she could admit it…plus Penny would be there and Shells to, maybe even Amelia but she’s out for college now so she couldn’t be too sure.

“Fair, there’ll be a lot of drunk adults there.” Hannah says, tapping the railing on her cart, “I don’t know if I’m going.” she mumbles “I…I don’t know,I don’t really wanna see some people again and they will show up so I hope you know that too.”

Ever since they talked Hannah has been a very good friend, she often complained about her own ‘friends’ and let Bea know if there was anything off with them. So saying that actually meant ‘be one hundred percent certain you wanna go there.’

“That’s good to know.” Bea says softly, ‘I’ll have to think about it. I can just…show up,right?”

“Yep, it’ll be at the um…you know the Lagoon House,right?” a large beach house that only the rich and famous rented whenever they didn’t want to vomit in their own pools and break their own furniture??? Yes she knew “It’s going to be there, hell knows how they managed to get enough money to rent it.”

Beatrice hadn’t noticed that she and Hannah were walking back to her own cart, her brother and daughter still happily talking to each other, “I don’t know either.” Beatrice said, then looked back to where Michael was, “Oh wow I didn’t even see I was coming back.”

Michael stood a bit straighter against the cart, their eyes moving to Beatrice to Hannah, who just stood there with her own gaze wide and surprised, “...your friend,Bea?”

“Ah um, yeah, this is Hannah.” she gestured to the redhead, “I told you about her. How we’ve been talking a lot too.” she explains but her brother is just looking at Hannah still and she had never seen Michael get this silent. When she turned to Hannah, she was pretty much the same way with her cheeks…red?

Oh.

Beatrice looks between the two for a few more seconds, “...um so,” she clears her throat, “We need more things to buy Mikey.” she walks towards her brother and gently touches his arm, “See you Hannah!”

“O-Oh,see you!”

She couldn’t wait to tell Rooster.

By the time Rooster gets back home and he greets the dogs, he’s surprised to see Beatrice on the couch, long Iron Maiden shirt to her thighs, and her hair up in a messy bun. She turns her head when she hears the door opening with a brilliant smile taking over her face. “Hi.” she says, quickly turning around to sit on her knees, holding herself upright by her elbows.

“Hi.” he smirks, toeing off his boots and letting his eyes drop to her barely clothed self, “Where’s Nikki?”

“Asleep, I had her try some solid food today.”

“Did you?”

“Hmhm.” she follows his body as he gets closer, something about the obvious swagger in his walk only made her want for him to get higher, “And she liked it. She had some potatoes at first,I think it’s a good way to start,” he hums, she isn’t sure if he’s listening to her or not. Beatrice laughs softly as he’s right by the back of the couch, his large hands gliding down her shoulders towards her waist, “Are you even listening?”

“Nikki likes potatoes.” he says, brushing the pads of his fingers against her bare thighs, “Which is great because so do we…damn you looking sexy today.”

“Roos,it’s just my night shirt.”

“I know.” and he leaves it at that, wrapping a loose thread from the bottom of her shirt around his finger so he could tug it off “And yet, look at you.”

Beatrice rolled her eyes but did stand up taller as she straightened her back a bit more, wrapping her arms around his neck to kiss him. She giggled in surprise when his tongue immediately touched her lips, “You are relentless.” she whispers against his mouth, cupping his face with her hands, “But I love you for it.”

“Good.” he smirks, pecking her lips again, “Hey, so,funny story.” she tilted her head at him, “The guys, you remember the trio we met during that night we went out for tacos.” It takes a while but she smiles, nodding at him, “They wanted to give you and Nikki gifts.”

“Really? Aw they don’t have to. That’s so sweet.” she is still leaning on the back of the couch as Rooster removes his watch and runs his hand through his hair, chuckling almost in disbelief, “Your fanboys are very sweet.”

He just offered her an amused look, flicking his gaze down her body yet again, “Don’t start.” he says, placing the watch to the side, “Anyway, how did your day go?”

“Pretty good,Michael showed up and he helped me….and…we saw Hannah.” her husband no longer looked like he wanted to murder the redhead whenever her name was mentioned which she was more than happy with, “And…there was something.”

“Something?”

“I think I saw a spark.”

“Between your brother and Hannah?” she nods and he scoffs, “Shut up, no way.” but the cute smile on her face and the way she looked so pleased was enough of an answer for him. Rooster arches his brows with a subtle shake of his head, “Damn,gorgeous. What a wild day,huh?”

“It was…” she bites her lower lip, which makes her husband’s eyes drop to her mouth immediately, “And I missed you a lot.”

“Did you?” she nods, “Really?” she nods again, and he squints his eyes, “Really?”

“Yes,Rooster, really.” she says with her hands reaching for him. He wastes no time in letting her wrap her arms around his neck and then cupping his hands on her ass cheeks, picking her up from the couch so her legs wrapped around his waist, “I always miss you.”

He smirks, kissing that cute pout of hers and then touching their foreheads together, “I always miss you too…but hey,we gotta celebrate that Nikki tried baby food for the first time.” he says, walking the two of them to the staircase, slowly climbing it up so Beatrice wouldn’t fall.

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