#the first ever combined ask and fish fact!

[fishyfishyfishtimes]

Can rainbow trouts live in the ocean?

I'm so glad you asked!

Daily fish fact #408

Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)!

Rainbow trout is a name that interestingly only refers to the mostly or entirely freshwater-living populations of the species Oncorhynchus mykiss. However some Oncorhynchus mykiss populations live most of their lives in saltwater, swimming up rivers to spawn much like other salmonids! Those tend to be called steelheads. So, if by rainbow trout you mean the whole species Oncorhynchus mykiss, then yes!

[cassiesc0rner]

Impurities

Synopsis: You’re the new girl at East Highland High, your only goal is to get through school. Until you come across Nate Jacobs

Genre: suggestive, slight angst,

Pairing: Nate x fem!reader

Warnings: manipulation, lying, misogyny, slutshaming, reader has a negative body image/implied body dismorphia, dark themes, slightly suggestive but no smut in this one, let me know if I missed something

Song rec: music to watch boys to - lana del rey

WC: +8.6k (oops)

Other parts: previous part, next part

A/N: This is my first upload on tumblr help?? Also English isn’t my first language so please keep that in mind and be nice :,) feedback is always appreciated!! Currently working on part 2 ᥫ᭡

You were the perfect prey for Nate

You were cute, just so fucking cute that it almost drove him crazy, and so polite during lessons, never refusing anyone anything, whether they asked for a pen, or if they could copy your homework, which you always had ready. In his eyes, you were perfect, the only right choice for him.

He knew you wouldn’t fuck up the way Cassie or Maddy did, you wouldn’t disappoint him like they did.

Sure, your style wasn't his thing at all -not that you dressed awful or anything, you were really into y2k, and just loved wearing baggy jeans or any jeans for that matter, and graphic tops combined with sparkly accessories, chains and rings.

He wished you'd wear something more... feminine, like skirts and cute dresses, that show off your assumingly perfect body, he also wished you'd wear brighter colors.

Another thing he loved about you, was that you were really smart and didn't seem to pay attention to boys at all, which surprised him because he was used to girls being all over boys, only wanting one thing from them and he hated it because they were all so predictable.

But you weren’t.

It also kind of scared him at the same time though, because what if you just really weren't into boys to begin with?

He didn't know much about you except for the fact that you loved music, movies and tv shows. Or at least that's what you said, when you had to introduce yourself to the new class.

It had been just a few days prior that he had broken up with Cassie at that time, but he was sure that in this moment, when you stood there in front of the class, with your trembling hands, shy smile and quiet voice, he was head over heels for you.

You just enrolled to East Highland High, you knew no one yet. That had to be his biggest advantage ever, since you didn't know about any of the bad things Nate has done so far, and no one could take you away from him once he earned your trust. Because why would you trust anyone else more than him?

It was your third day at the new school when he decided to approach you.

During lunch break you sat alone, listening to music as you tried to subtly look around the huge cafeteria, searching for someone else who was alone.

Everyone shared their table with at least two other students, except for you and some other girl that sat alone as well.

You considered approaching her and sitting with her, maybe she was nice and maybe she had other friends? But you decided not to do it, because maybe you'd disturb her or something. You sighed and scrolled through your phone, when you suddenly noticed someone standing in front of your table.

You slowly looked up and noticed it was one of your classmates. You quickly fished one of your earbuds out and stopped the music "Hey.." You said, as you smiled at him. He smiled back at you, the smile genuine as he replied "Hey, can I sit for a moment?" he gestured towards the chair in front of you.

You were confused.

Confused because he wanted to sit with you? Yes, you were new to East Highland High, but this wasn't the first school you ever attended. You could tell who's popular and who isn't.

And Nate Jacobs was definitely popular. He had to be.

Quaterback, extremely tall, and extremely good looking, there was no way he just wanted to sit and talk to someone like you. What if he's gonna bully me? Take my lunch money and beat me up? But that would be absurd.. right?

You nodded before removing the other earbud as well. "What're you listening to?" He asked, genuinely curious "Oh... um... just Lana Del Rey." You said nervously as you looked at your phone, too scared to look him in the eyes.

"Oh cool.. which song?" He'd be lying if he said he knew literally any Lana Del Rey song besides Summertime Sadness and Video Games, but he wanted to know nonetheless. Maybe he'd listen to it at home to check out what kind of music you listen to "It's called..." You hesitated for a moment before finally saying "'Music to watch boys to'" You knew how that sounded.

Nate chuckled once he heard the name of the song and saw your flustered expression "Is that what you're doing? Listening to music while you're watching the boys here?" He joked. You chuckled nervously "No, really that's the last thing I'd do. I'm trying not to look at anyone longer than a second." You smiled as you locked eyes with him for seemingly less than 0.5 seconds.

Nate nodded "Yeah, I can tell." He cleared his throat "Just came over to introduce myself since you're new and everything." He reached over the table, stopping right in front of your phone, inviting you to shake his hand "I'm Nate."

You knew that already, since the two of you had classes together and you paid attention during attendance, to memorize the names of some of your classmates.

You carefully reached over and shook his extremely large hand. "I'm y/n, but you probably know that already." You once again chuckled nervously, thinking back to the painful introduction you went through at each and every new lesson you went to.

"Yeah, right." He nodded, smiling as his mind went there as well. During maths, arts, and English, he was lucky enough to see you introduce yourself over and over again. You slowly retrieved your hand again and Nate couldn't help but feel sad at the loss of contact.

He took a look around the cafeteria before setting his gaze back onto you "So, why are you sitting here all alone?" He asked in a slightly less playful tone "Hm.. I don't know," You shrugged "I guess I just don't know how to approach people." You smiled again.

What Nate had noticed in this short amount of time, is how often you smiled at him, and how you tried to keep that expression.

He didn't only notice it in this moment while he sat in front of you, but also during lessons, whenever someone talked to you, you rarely kept a neutral expression, always a friendly smile on your lips.

You were unbelievably insecure.

Always trying to remain friendly, out of fear of being perceived as unfriendly or unapproachable or anything that could be perceived as negative. He got you figured out faster than you could've imagined.

When he didn't respond, you continued "I actually considered talking to that girl over there, since she's alone as well.."

Nate looked over to the girl you were referring to before smirking and looking back to you "I wouldn't do that." You frowned in confusion "Why? Is she mean or something?" Nate shook his head "She just... doesn't talk, I don't think I've ever seen her talk to anyone before. She always sits alone and stares... into the void or something, even during lessons she barely responds to the teachers." he pointed out.

You sighed "Wow... And I thought I was socially incompetent." He chuckled and shook his head "No believe me, it can always be worse." You nodded and smiled again. Once you didn't reply, Nate continued "But, to be honest, you don't seem socially incompetent at all. You actually seem fun to be around."

You looked up at him again, this time for a bit longer than 0,5 seconds, and raised your eyebrows "You think so?" Nate nodded "Yeah, of course, you don't?"

You thought for a moment am I actually fun to be around? It had honestly been ages since you had actual friends. Sure, you had classmates at your previous schools, who met up with you from time to time. But it never felt like an actual friendship, with trust and sincerity.

You figured that you just weren't easy or fun to be around, that you just bored them eventually, even though you tried to be as fun as possible.

But your parents also played a big role.

Your mom has been strict and didn't want you to go out with friends too much, because she was scared you'd get hurt. She constantly fought with you and your father, because neither you nor your dad shared the same amount of paranoia she seemed to have.

And your dad was constantly moving cities, and even states with the two of you, whenever he had a new, better job offer. East Highland High was probably your third highschool so far, and even if you wanted to stay polite and make friends, you didn't want them to get too close to you, because the moment you had to move it'd be over anyways.

"I don't... know.." You said, and for the first time your smile actually faded. Not into a sad expression, but your smile just seemed to slip, and Nate felt like he got just the slightest bit closer to you.

"I don't really have any friends outside of school, and since I have none here either.." You shrugged again, not sure what to tell him. He nodded "Well.. you have me now, we can be friends." You looked up at him again, your eyes wide. You waited for him to laugh and tell you that all of this was a prank or something, but he didn't.

"Um... Thank you, but you really don't have to do that. I bet you already have plenty of friends." Nate shook his head and said "You can never have enough friends," He had a point, not everyone lived a socially awkward life like you did "besides, as I said, you seem cool to be around." He added.

"Thank you, I'd love to be your friend." You responded with another smile. Nate couldn't believe that he got this close to you in just five minutes, and that you didn't seem to question any of his intentions at all. In his eyes, he didn't only achieve his goals for the day, he also did you a huge favour.

You had someone you could count on, someone to hang out with, you weren’t alone anymore.

Then the doorbell rang, informing everyone that the break was over now.

"Alright, we have maths now, let’s go together, yeah?" He asked as he got up. You nodded and grabbed your phone, stuffing it in your bag before you got up as well.

Two weeks passed after you first talked to Nate, and as it turns out, he really seemed to be your friend.

You went shopping together, spent time mostly at your place, because your mom wanted to keep an eye on him since he was a stranger and most importantly a boy, and you even went to his football game once. You seemed truly happy whenever you were with him.

A little too happy for your own liking.

Because deep down you knew you might have to leave him behind eventually, or that he'd get bored of you at some point.

Not to mention that you, against your own will, developed a small crush on him. But who could blame you when he was the first boy who ever truly cared for you like he did? Or bought you gifts and showered you with affection like he did?

Yeah that was another thing that Nate did. He loved buying things for you.

At first it were just small things like ice cream from the gas station, or snacks from vending machines. But eventually, the gifts got bigger and bigger despite you telling him that you couldn’t possibly pay him back.

Sure, your dad's job did pay him a lot, but you were sure that Nate's dad had to earn at least twice as much for his son to be able to buy that many things.

Last time you two went to the mall and he saw a pair of earrings for more than 200$, he dragged you along with him and showed them to you saying "They'd look so pretty on you." It almost felt like he was your boyfriend.

Usually the girls in the movies you watched would pressure their boyfriends into buying them expensive jewelry, and into spending their money on them, but Nate seemed to be the other way he around.

He was pressuring you into allowing him to spend his money on you.

Just like that day when the two of you went into another boutique, because Nate convinced you that "it'll be fun!", to put it in his words.

The moment you stepped into the boutique, you felt somewhat uneasy. You walked in with your ripped jeans and tank top on, and the only clothes you saw were dresses, skirts, and tops that you'd never consider buying. Not to mention the shoes that they sold, looked nowhere near as comfortable as your sneakers did.

Nate knew that.

He only had to look at your face for a split second to know what you're feeling. You felt like you wouldn't fit in, or like these clothes wouldn't suit you. But he knew how to convince you.

He spent two entire weeks with you after all.

Any normal person would say that's not enough to fully know somebody, but Nate had his ways of finding out almost every insecurity, fear and worry of yours, just by subtly asking the right questions.

And none of them shocked him, since he already figured out that you were socially anxious and insecure.

But he also knew what you needed. You craved someone who loves you and gives you constant reassurance, someone who tells you what to do and who to go out with, like your mom did, because that's all you knew your entire life.

You needed to be loved and touched, craving intimacy with literally anyone, because you never had friends who'd hug you tightly when you were anxious, or hold you close when you needed it, and your parents didn't either.

And he could give you all of that and more, once the time was right.

He also figured that you haven't had a boyfriend yet, or haven't been intimate with anyone yet, and that thought alone made him crave you even more, if that was even possible.

The fact that he would be your first everything, was enough to get him going, and motivated him to show you your true potential.

And he knows that you’d let him.

He always dreamt about how easily you'd let him have his way with you, and how he'd corrupt you. Nate had sadistic thoughts as well, fantasizing about making you cry and beg him for forgiveness for something that wasn’t even your fault.

He also dreamt of leaving marks and bruises all over your body, so that you and everyone else knew you’re his.

But he wouldn't want to hurt you, he knew from experience how bad that could end for him.

And the moment he saw your innocent eyes looking up at him and your smile while doing so, the violent thoughts got replaced with the need to protect you from any man that even just walked near you.

"You okay?" He asked casually before he walked towards one of the racks with skirts. "Mhm.. I just don't think I want to buy anything here, Nate..." You said as you nervously looked down at your feet, feeling bad for possibly disappointing him.

Nate turned around and looked at you "Don't you want to try something on at least?" Before he let you respond, he came up with an idea "How about this, I'll put together an outfit and you can try it on and see for yourself if you like it or not." He asked, but it was more of a demand than a question.

You sighed and looked around the store, noticing that they also had jeans skirts, and a dark red leather skirt that you thought was really pretty. Nate's eyes followed your gaze and he immediately started searching for something he wanted you to try on.

Sure, a jeans skirt might be a good start as well, since it might make you feel a bit more comfortable and at least show off your legs, but the leather skirt was just absolutely slutty in his eyes. He didn't want you to walk around at school -or anywhere for that matter- like that, like you're 'asking for it'.

While you walked towards the two skirts, Nate walked towards another section. He picked out a pastel pink short sleeve top, with a bow in the middle and a sweetheart neckline. He smirked as he imagined you inside the rather tight top, knowing that he's the only guy that would be near you while all the other boys could only dream of being close to you.

He then picked out a pair of black flats, which he knew you wouldn't be opposed to, simply because of the color alone, white stockings and a white and pink plaid mini skirt.

Then he walked over to you, as you still looked at the various skirts. "y/n, your outfit is ready!" Nate exclaimed once he was behind you, and you couldn't help but flinch as he pulled you out of your daydream.

You turned around and looked at his full hands, trying not to grimace at the bright colours. The shoes looked alright however, and where the only dark piece of clothing. "Nate, that won't suit me," you said as he handed you the clothes over "are you sure you want me to try it on?" you didn't even finish the question before he nodded.

You sighed before walking towards the changing room. "I'll wait outside until you're done." he said before you closed the door.

Once it was closed you sighed once more and started to undress. You liked Nate, more than just in a friendly platonic way, and if any other guy would've told you to dress up like that, you definitely would've refused.

But Nate did so many nice things for you, the least you could do was to make him laugh for a bit. Because you already expected that that's what he'll do once he sees you in this outfit.

Once you were left in your underwear you looked into the mirror, feeling insecure. You didn't like your body at all. You just weren't shaped like the girls on the cheer squad, and you also didn't seem to have their proportions. And now you had to wear a skirt that would expose your huge legs and belly.

You felt sick at the thought of Nate seeing you in this outfit. You looked at the skirt and panicked because what if he thought you're skinnier, and he picked the wrong size? You'd have to tell him to get you a size bigger, and it would be super embarrassing.

You put on the top first and gulped when you noticed how tight it was, your chest on display. But you were sure it was supposed to sit a bit tighter. Then you shakily grabbed the skirt and put it on, and surprisingly it closed and sat perfectly fine. Except for the fact that it was quite short.

You then put on the stockings which ended right above your knee, and the shoes. You looked into the mirror again and turned to the side, throwing various poses to check it out from different angles.

And then you frowned, because for some reason the fit looked pretty cute, but... would you actually go out like this? Definitely no- "Are you ready?" Nate asked impatiently. You started to contemplate whether or not you wanted Nate to actually see you like that.

"Um... y-yes but it looks really stupid i'm gonna undress again-""No!" he almost yelled, startling you "Please let me see, I bet it looks good." he rolled his eyes, glad that you couldn't see him behind that door.

He liked that you weren't too confident or too sure of yourself and needed his reassurance, but he really wished you'd actually listen to him right now.

And then you finally opened the door "Come in.." and it really took everything in him to not rip the door open and gawk at you.

He gently opened the door and looked at you, his eyes wandering from your head, which was hung low as if in shame, to your exposed cleavage, to the way the stockings hugged your legs, to your shoes.

He had to control himself or else he'd pop a boner right here, right in front of you, because, god you looked so pretty. With the way your hands were fidgeting again just like the first time he saw you. You looked so shy and submissive under his gaze.

"You look so pretty..." he said in a serious tone, so serious in fact, that you immediately looked up at him. "Really? I feel kinda..." you didn't dare to finish the sentence.

The last time you called yourself fat in front of him, he almost lost it. He got just as serious as he was right now, saying that you looked fine and that there was absolutely nothing wrong with you.

Sure you weren't shaped like Maddy was, and you didn't have the perfect thigh gap, but Nate was aware that you were extremely pretty nonetheless. You were almost perfect, and everything that wasn't perfect would be taken care of.

Like your style.

This was a small step for him but a huge one for you, and it would be an even bigger step for you to dress like that on the daily, but he's sure he can help you with that.

"Seriously, you look absolutely.. wow." he added, and it only got you more flustered. Maybe dressing like this isn't so bad if Nate thinks it's pretty, hell even if he's the only who thinks so, his words affected you more than anything anyone at East Highland High could possibly say. "Wow.. Thank you.."

He cleared his throat and took a step closer, towering over you even more. "You obviously don't have to listen to me,” he lied “but... I personally think it looks better than your usual dark outfits." When you looked back into the mirror he continued "You shouldn't hide behind those… wide pants and loose tops, you should wear more outfits like this and show everyone how pretty you look."

When he saw you smile, he knew he had you where he wanted you. It wasn't just a forced smile, it was a real one, a flustered one. You loved that he found you pretty, even if you couldn't see it for yourself. And he knew how important his opinion was to you.

Hearing his compliments alone made you want to change your style a little, just so that he doesn't change his opinion. "You really think this fits me?" You asked one more time to make sure that he actually meant it.

He nodded eagerly placing his hands onto your shoulders "I promise." He felt like he could melt with the way you were looking up at him "I would never lie to you, you know that, right?" As if in trance you looked into his eyes and nodded.

"Yeah of course." You smiled up at him, feeling so small in front of him. "I'll try to check for cheaper options though, if you don't mind. Maybe something that isn't from an expensive boutique." you chuckled. He frowned instantly before responding "No, keep the outfit, I'll pay for it."

You shook your head right away, thinking back to the expensive things he had bought you already. "Nate, you need to stop spending so much money on me, I mean it. I highly doubt that i'm the only friend you spend that much money on."

Nate tried not to laugh at your statement. Of course you were the only person he spent that much money on.

As if he'd buy McKay, or any of his other 'friends' for that matter, anything above 10 bucks. "Y/n, I promise I’m not spending too much money." You wanted to believe him, but deep down you knew why Nate did all this.

Or at least you thought you did.

He was used to being used for money by his friends, there couldn't be another explanation, it had to be the reason. Why else would he feel the need to buy you, who he saw as his friend, so many expensive things?

"And also I kinda forced you to try it on, it's the right thing to do, trust me." You sighed shaking your head in disbelief "Fine, but you really don't have to, you know that?" He nodded as a smile made its way onto his lips.

He wished he could kiss you right now, but needless to say that wasn't possible yet. He couldn't wait for the day he would finally have you to himself, safe and happy with him. Walking next to you, with your hand in his, he could already imagine Cassie's and Maddy's faces when they see the two of you.

Nate wasn't blind nor oblivious, he saw the way Cassie eyed you like she wanted to murder you, or the way Maddy would shake her head whenever she looked at the two of you walking down the hallway.

Sure he had to come up with a plausible story before one of them could get to you without him noticing, and ruin his perfect plan. He honestly doesn't know what would happen to them if they decided to ruin his plan.

But that wasn't important right now.

What mattered was that you finally owned the perfect outfit, only because of him, and you’d only wear it for him too. You didn't even talk back or hesitate as much as he had expected.

Everything was going according to plan, and it was only a matter of time until you would cave in fully and listen to him all the time.

The next day you got ready for school, and decided to put on the outfit Nate had gotten you the day prior, but combined with a long cardigan to prevent you from flashing anyone at school.

Not to mention your mom who would probably freak out once she saw your outfit for school.

You brushed your hair, and put on the earrings Nate bought you previously. They were beautiful, dangling bows with a small diamond in the middle.

You told Nate he didn't have to buy them for you and that you'd find a cheaper variant online, but he insisted nonetheless.

You wondered what it would be like to be his girlfriend as you applied your lipstick.

Not that you'd actually ever be his girlfriend. He probably wouldn't even consider dating me.. was all you could think. And you also wouldn't ever consider actually dating him.

What if you'd have to move again? It wouldn't only break your heart, but his too.

"Y/n?" Your mom pulled you out of your thoughts as she stood in front of your now open door -because knocking was completely overrated anyways.

She gave you a disapproving look as her eyes moved up and down your frame. You hadn't put on the cardigan yet, so you could only assume what she's thinking. "What are you wearing?" She finally spoke.

You sighed as you looked down at your feet. "Mom I-" She immediately shook her head "Nate told you to wear this, didn't he?" You groaned in frustration, all hopes of avoiding any confrontation now gone.

Your mom scoffed at your lack of response. "Have you seen yourself? You look like..." You raised your head and looked at your mom "Like what?" She crossed her arms and sighed "Like someone else!"

You knew that this wasn't what came to her mind first, but decided not to comment on it. "No one forced me to wear this. I wanted to wear this." Your mom frowned, not believing you one bit.

And even if you wanted to go to school like that, she felt sick at the thought of all the boys seeing her daughter in such an outfit. "Get changed, right now."  Was all she said before turning around and leaving your room.

You stomped after her "I'm going to be late to school if I change now!" you yelled as you followed her into the kitchen where your dad sat, completely unfazed by the argument which was taking place.

"That's your own fault, and don't yell at me like that." She responded, not even looking at you. "Mom, I'm not going to change."

She turned around once she grabbed her mug from the kitchen counter. "Oh but you are already. You are changing, because you would never wear something like this, especially not to school."

"Am I not allowed to change my style once in a while? You never approve of the way I dress anyways so why are you making a big deal out of this now?." She shook her head once again "You don't get it, y/n. You're... changing, as in ‘you’re becoming someone that you’re not’!" you scoffed in disbelief "I'm a teenager, of course I'm changing."

You turned away from your parents, and made your way to the hallway to put your shoes on. Once you reached your shoes you heard footsteps following you "You're really gonna go to school like that?" Your mom asked.

Once you slipped into one shoe you turned around and nodded. "You're grounded young lady, I hope you're aware of that." You slipped into the other shoe as you responded "I've been grounded my entire life, mom. Try harder." you said as you pushed past her to get your backpack.

Your mother just stood in the hallway, completely baffled. But before she could think of anything to say, you left the house already. Quickly making your way to Nate's truck.

Nate loved picking you up from home.

He wished you'd let him pick you up anywhere anytime, no matter where you were, but you only let him pick you up when you both had the same lessons in the morning.

He had told you that he'd pick you up even if you started earlier than him, but you immediately brushed it off.

Once you saw him your frown disappeared and you tried to smile again.

But Nate noticed. He always noticed when you were frowning, and when he saw your outfit he could already imagine what or specifically who made you frown.

To say that Nate disliked your parents would be an understatement. Whenever he would come over to your place, your mom would eye him and make snarky remarks.

Not only that, but she would sometimes enter your room -without knocking of course- every ten minutes to check on you, always with some sort of excuse as to why, just to make sure that the two of you weren't doing anything she would disapprove of.

He couldn't even hug you goodbye when he'd leave because when he did it once, your mom eyed him as if he was hurting you.

And your dad? He didn't know if he hated him even more.

He was barely there when Nate came over, and whenever you'd talk about him you would complain about him never caring about your arguments with your mom. He simply stayed out of it until it would annoy him, then he'd simply tell his wife to 'calm down' and that you 'shouldn't overreact'

And if you still wouldn't stop fighting with her, he'd simply get up and smoke outside or drive off to god knows where.

Having an overbearing mother and an absent father didn't do you any good, he'd gladly just have you move in with him, but his dad was probably even worse to live with than yours was.

"Everything alright?" Nate asked once you stepped inside the car, put your seatbelt on and sighed. You nodded, not looking at him "My mom's just mad at me because I'm wearing this to school today.." you explained as you fidgeted with your skirt.

That's when you noticed that you totally forgot to put on your cardigan in the heat of the moment. You mentally face palmed, knowing that you'd have to walk around like that without being able to hide at least a little bit of your body.

Nate nodded as he started the car. "I'm sorry to hear that... She’s always picking fights with you for no reason..." You nodded as you looked out of the passenger's window.

He looked at your thighs, which were just slightly on display, and fuck he would do everything just to touch them.

He decided to test the waters and reassuringly placed his hand on your thigh. You flinched slightly, not expecting the sudden gesture, but you didn't react in any way, which relieved him a lot.

"Don't be too hard on yourself, yeah? You can always come to my place or call me and I'll be there to pick you up and get your mind off things, alright?" You nodded with a soft smile on your lips.

You slowly turned back to him "Where have you been all my life? I would've needed you way sooner." Nate tried to contain his happiness.

You telling him you needed him, letting him touch your thigh and wearing his outfit? He was sure that he was the happiest man alive right now.

"Yeah, I also wish I could've been there sooner. But I'm here now, and I'm not gonna leave again." he assured. You placed your hand atop his on your thigh and nodded "Thank you.."

Everything was going so so well, until this Jake guy from your arts class decided to speak to you. He must've seen you with Nate, the two of you were almost inseparable after all. Did he have a death wish or something?

The way he looked at you as well, it made him sick.

You didn't even notice it, you were your usual friendly self, telling him something Nate couldn't make out from his seat, two rows behind the two of you. But it couldn't have possibly been funny enough for him to laugh so hard, that he had to place his hand on your shoulder for support.

He never cared much about Jake, never even talked to the guy, but he'd love to beat the shit out of him right now. Only stopping when you tell him to.

But based on your personality, you'd probably stop him right away.

Nate had more than enough however, when the guy still had his hand on your shoulder after ten seconds.

Nate got up, the sound of the chair scraping along the tiles on the floor so loud, that both you and Jake turned around right away.

Nate stared daggers into Jake as he made his way to the two of you, resulting in Jake's eyes widening slightly and him finally removing his hand from your shoulder "Move." was all Nate needed to say for Jake to smile at you one last time before immediately getting up and walking to his friend's desk.

You frowned at Nate not sure what had gotten into him. "Are you mad? Is everything okay?" You asked, worry evident on your face.

He was more than happy that you reacted this way and didn't ask him what the fuck was wrong with him for scaring the poor guy like that.

He shook his head before smiling "Everything's fine don't worry.. Jake's just really flirty with every girl that he sees, I just wanted to protect you." he reasoned.

You frowned, not aware that Jake has ever flirted with any girls in your classes, or you to begin with. He just seemed friendly, but you brushed it off nonetheless, knowing that Nate probably knew him better than you did.

"Wait, you’ve never had a boyfriend?" Nate asked in feigned disbelief, as you two sat in his living room after school one day. You shook your head in response as you waited for Nate to laugh at you.

Except, he didn't.

It only made him happier that you finally confirmed his theory.

He didn't expect you to have any ex-partners, since you told him you never really socialized or had stable friendships with anyone in the past.

He figured you also hadn't been in a relationship as well then. But your confirmation only made him happier. And you didn't seem like the type to just sleep with the next best boy you meet so he figured you also must be a virgin.

And he was eating it up.

Whenever he'd jerk himself off, he’d think about you and how fucking amazing you'd feel around him. How shy you would be in front of him once you two got intimate for the first time.

And after every time he came, he craved you even more. It took everything within him to refrain from picking you up and carrying you in his bed whenever you came over.

But he always told himself that the wait would be worth it.

He'd wait just for you, no matter how long it'd take.

"I just never got to form that kind of connection with anyone, since I barely talk to people.." You said as you played with the hem of your red sundress.

Yeah, you also started wearing dresses.

You told yourself that Nate wasn't the reason for it, but you knew that without him, you would have never considered wearing them in the first place.

You saw the way he looked at that one cheerleader, during one of his games last week and despite the fact that you never wanted to date him, you couldn't help but feel the urge to be... perfect in front of him.

Nate also noticed that.

Before, you'd just wear your baggy jeans to school, preferring comfort over style. But ever since last week, you seemed to constantly wear dresses and skirts.

Not only that, but you also did your best to appeal to him. You wore more make up, you shaved your arms despite not being too hairy to begin with. You pout so much effort into looking even more beautiful than you were already.

He wasn't sure why though, because he didn't push you that much after you went to the boutique. He was praying that you only do it for him and not to impress any other boy at school though.

"Besides, it's useless anyways. Who knows when my father is gonna move again.." You said, suddenly feeling sad as you thought about your life without Nate.

Nate considered that as well.

He didn't like the idea at all and he'd do anything to stop that from happening. To stop your parents from taking you away from him.

Hell, he'd buy you a flat somewhere if he has to, or have you move in with him if that's what it took.

Nate took your hand in his, brushing his thumb over your knuckles "Hey, don't think about that alright? We'll find a solution if that should happen." he said reassuringly.

You nodded, a small smile on your face. You loved it when Nate was affectionate. You seemed to be the only person he was genuinely nice to.

"What about you though? I bet you had plenty of relationships." You grinned, his hand still comfortably wrapped around yours.

Nate chuckled "Yeah I didn't have that many relationships, but the ones I had were… intense." He answered "Oh, that bad?" you asked as you frowned at him.

He was more than glad you asked, because now he could finally tell you about Maddy and Cassie in a subtle way.

Once he was done, you’d never even consider believing them.

He nodded in response "Yeah... I was with Maddy for a pretty long time, do you know her?" he asked, hoping to find out whether she's talked to you or not.

You thought for a moment before nodding your head. "I think she's in one of my classes. Maddy... Perez?" Nate nodded, swallowing hard.

He was hoping you didn't know her, praying that the both of you never cross paths. But that was hopeless considering how popular she was.

"She's.. definitely something." You chuckled dryly as you couldn't help but compare yourself to her.

You didn't stand a chance with Nate if that's his type.

You always thought she was really pretty, and since she was on the cheerleading team, you knew she must be popular too. You always saw her with her group of friends and you admired her style, her beauty, her confidence, everything.

But she always seemed to give you weird looks and now you could imagine why. She probably was still in love with Nate, and didn’t like him having female friends.

Nate noticed the smile on your face falter just a slight bit, and he could only assume that she must've treated you badly that bitch, always causing fucking problems

"What do you mean?" You shrugged, unsure of how to explain it "She just... She's really pretty and I like her style. I wanted to compliment her before but she always gives me this look." You responded, your gaze locked onto the carpet.

Nate frowned at the thought of her.

How dare she even look your way? And how dare she make you feel uncomfortable? He could imagine why she was looking at you though, probably annoyed by how much time you and him spend, and how obedient you were already.

Something she could never do.

"But maybe I'm just imagining things, I might be a bit paranoid.. She's really pretty though, I bet the two of you looked great together.." Nate cringed at your words.

He couldn’t stand her, and the thought of everything he did for her, despite her acting like a bitch all the time, made his blood boil. The sound of her voice alone gave him chills, reminding him of how often she’d yell at him in front of her friends.

He's sure that you and him would look way better together.

"I'm honestly glad we're not together anymore.. She was awfully mean, and just so ungrateful." he sighed as he looked to the ground. "She constantly blamed me for everything when she was clearly at fault, fuck, she even..."

You weren't sure if you've seen Nate so vulnerable before, so hurt and all because of that girl. "…She even cheated on me at a party, in front of everyone, just because we had an argument." your eyes widened.

You did not expect Maddy to be such a bad person. Especially to someone like Nate, he seemed like he'd give his all to the person he loves. He was giving you his all and you weren't even his girlfriend.

You removed your hand from his, and scooted closer to him, wrapping your arm around his firm back and leaning your head against his arm. "I'm so sorry Nate.. you didn't deserve that.." You said as you stroked his back.

Nate suddenly got goosebumps, not expecting you to hug him like that. He was convinced he deserved an oscar for that performance, that's for sure. He leaned into your touch, enjoying how close he was to you, and the sweet scent of your perfume.

"It's alright... I got over it eventually. Sometimes people just disappoint you and you have to learn to live with it." he responded.

Which was an absolute fucking lie.

He still wanted to hurt her for humiliating him like that back at the pool, and he also still prays for her downfall and a chance to humiliate her just as bad.

You lifted your head and looked at him "We don't have to speak about her anymore if you don't want to. I'll even slap her for you if you want." you said half jokingly.

You'd never purposefully hurt anyone, or risk being the center of attention at school. But you just wanted to see Nate happy. He seemed so sad right now and even if he said he's over it, you knew he wasn't.

Nate chuckled before wrapping his arm around your shoulder and pulling you flat against his chest "There's no need for that. I'm just glad that you're here right now, you're all I need." He said as he stroked your shoulder.

You tried not to freak out.

The fact that he held you so close and literally told you that you're all he needed made you feel things, you didn't want to feel.

You didn't want to feel like he liked you more than just in a platonic way. You didn't want to get your hopes up, hell you didn't even want to have a crush on him.

You were so sure that you didn't have a chance, especially when he told you who his ex girlfriend was, but then why did he treat you like that? Why did he tell you you were all he needed?

“Do you also know Cassie, by chance?” he asked after a moment of silence. You thought for a moment, before shaking your head. He sighed, both in relief and in annoyance as he remembered her.

“Cassie and I also used to date. But she turned into an absolute psycho after some time. She was totally obsessed with me…” Nate explained before he sighed. “If she ever talks to you, tell me, alright? Same with Maddy, don’t talk to any of them.” he added suddenly very serious.

You nodded in response “What exactly did she do..? If you don’t mind me asking.” You asked carefully, since it seemed to be a touchy subject for him.

“She was.. possessive, unpredictable, and insecure. I was scared of her sometimes I can’t even lie... She just has this insane look in her eyes, at first I didn’t notice it but as our relationship progressed, I couldn’t ignore it anymore.”

Your eyes widened once again. If she really was that possessive over Nate, what if she thinks you two are together? Would she actually hurt you? You swallowed hard at the thought.

Nate observed your reaction, taking notice of how pale you became suddenly He didn't mean to scare you, but he had to warn you, in order to protect you from both of them.

"Jeez, that's... actually scary." you chuckled dryly, not sure how to react to the newfound information. "Don't worry though, I'll protect you from them, you got nothing to worry about." he said as he looked at you longingly.

Would it be too soon to ask you to be his now?

Probably the wrong moment to ask you, since he just told you about his crazy ex girlfriends. But he didn't want to wait any longer, he couldn't wait much longer.

Not when his need for you became stronger and stronger.

Sure, being your friend and spending time with you was amazing. You were sweet, funny and you wouldn't refuse him a thing. But it wasn't enough for him, not really.

He needed to act soon, because it frustrated him more and more each day. Nate just had to catch you talking to a boy from your class and it made him furious.

Not to mention how sexually frustrated he was.

His hand was not enough to satisfy him anymore, he craved so much more and that only caused him to be insufferable at times, unable to relax and always in a bad mood.

He really tried his hardest not to lash out on you like he did on McKay or his teammates. He was sure that if Cassie dared to approach him or you he'd absolutely lose his shit.

“Didn’t know you were home yet.”

You and Nate turned towards the person who just entered the living room in unison. It was Nate’s brother Aaron.

Great.

Nate rolled his eyes and sighed. Why was he home already? “Yeah, school ended earlier today.” He replied drily. He did not want Aaron to interact with you in any way, since he knew how off putting he could be.

“Let’s go,” Nate got up as he looked at you with a cold expression. You knew not to ask any questions when he got like this, so you just nodded and got up from the sofa.

“Woah, who are you? New girlfriend?” Your eyes widened as you laughed nervously “Oh, n-no we’re just really good friends.” You stated as you smiled at his brother.

And it bothered Nate so much. Why were you smiling at him? He knew you only wanted to be polite, but it bothered him because Aaron wasn’t worthy of your politeness or smile.

He wanted to be the only guy you smile at, even though that’s basically impossible with how fucking nice you were.

Aaron smiled back at you, as he playfully tilted his head to the side “That’s surprising, d’you have a boyfriend already?” He asked before he looked you up and down “Because you’re definitely Nate’s type.”

The room fell silent for a moment, mostly because you didn’t know what to say to that at all, and because Nate tried his hardest not to turn into an aggressive asshole in front of you.

You once again chuckled nervously, before you swallowed the lump in your throat, feeling like your heart would jump out any moment. “Um… I don’t have a boyfriend and I’m sure that I’m not Nate’s type.”

You didn’t even know why you said the last part, because you could tell that Nate was fuming more and more with each word you said to him. Before Aaron could respond, Nate did “Alright enough, Aaron, we’ll head upstairs now if you don’t mind.”

Aaron sighed exaggeratedly “That’s too bad, I really enjoyed the company of…?” he said as he looked towards you now “Y/n.” You responded, and Aaron nodded “Y/n, go ahead, you know where my room is.” Nate commanded.

You really wish it didn’t, but his demanding tone and sudden change of persona really did something to you. It excited you in a way.

You nodded and walked towards the hallway, where Aaron was standing. Before you could pass him though, he moved in front of you, looking down at you with a predatory grin “You know, if Nate doesn’t want you, I’d be totally down-”

Your eyes widened in response as you heard Nate stomping towards the two of you.

Nate had more than enough by now, “Shut the fuck up already!” He almost yelled. Aaron chuckled “I was just joking around why’re you so mean in front of your cute little friend?” He mocked before smirking at you again.

Nate turned towards you, this time even more irritated “Go upstairs, now.” You gulped and finally moved towards the stairs again, quickly making your way up.

You were sitting on Nate’s bed as you could hear his deep voice downstairs and you were sure he’d actually beat his brother up. You couldn’t make out what he was saying except for a very loud “Stay the fuck away from her!”

You didn’t have to wait for long until Nate entered the room, slamming the door shut behind him. He eyed you with a mixture of possessiveness and longing but also with a hint of softness.

His mind was currently occupied with fantasies about fucking you on his bed, while you moan about how good he feels, and how he’s the only one you need, while his brother is forced to listen to your moans that echo through the entire house. Knowing he could never be lucky enough to be in his spot.

He wondered if you’d be into that? If you had this corrupt side that no one knew about. Maybe you fantasized about him as well?

“Sorry about my brother, he’s a fucking asshole.” Nate stated as he walked towards you. “I hope he didn’t make you feel too uncomfortable..” He added as his gaze softened.

You shook your head, your signature smile on your lips “No, don’t worry. Are you okay though? I hope you guys didn’t fight too hard..”

He loved how considerate you were despite everything that happened. Despite Nate being somewhat rude to you earlier, and his brother making you uncomfortable, you still cared for Nate.

“No, not much more than we usually do, don’t worry.” He sighed as he plopped down on the bed next to you. “Wanna watch a movie?” He asked as he tilted his head to the side. You smiled and nodded in response.

Nate turned his TV on and grabbed the remote before he plopped down onto his bed again. He scooted towards you, wrapping his arm around you and you could’ve sworn you’ve never felt more at peace than in moments like these. Nestled against him, comfortably on his bed.

And Nate felt the same way, if not even more at peace.

You were his escape from his fucked up family just as much as he was yours, and you were the only one he truly cared for besides himself. He couldn’t wait until he could finally call you his.

In his eyes you were his already, from the moment he first laid eyes on you. And he’s come so far, molded you into perfection. There’s no way he’d let you go.

All that was left now, was to make you officially his.

✎ Thank you so so so much for reading I hope you liked it :3 again don’t be shy to give me honest feedback, likes and reblogs are appreciated!! ♡

- Cassandra

[kuromochimi]

baby I’m nothing like your broke ex

gojo satoru, nanami kento

Content warnings: mentions of past toxic relationships, not proof read

🔜 suguru geto, kamo choso, higuruma hiromi

Gojo Satoru

Satoru was rich. Like rich RICH. You first noticed this the moment you met him when you spilled coffee on his shirt then offered to buy him a new one instead. Instant regret when you realized that his shirt was worth more than your entire closet combined.

Being in a relationship with him was… well it was an adjustment. You lived a fairly simple life before you met him. It wasn’t a bad life. You still got to spend on your wants here and there but you had to budget such things much like any other common person had to. On the other hand, the word budget was non-existent to satoru especially when it came to you. He quite literally gave you everything. A few weeks into the relationship though, he had noticed how reluctant you were to accept his presents. You didn’t seem uncomfortable, just.. reluctant. He toned down a bit after this realization. But god he just couldn’t figure out why you were almost unwilling to accept anything at all from him, even food, even a ride home, even his hoodie which he already said you could keep. “Baby” he called to which you responded by looking his way. “Why do you never want to accept my presents?” He asked before he got up to approach you, immediately hugging you from the back as soon as you were within reach. “Hmm it’s not that I don’t want to.. it’s just.. you have to let me get used to these things first, okay?” satoru raised his brow “baby I know that shitty ex of yours can’t come close to how much I spoil you but was he that stingy?” at first satoru was only joking but your silence meant it was probably true. “So he was?” He asked as his chin was resting on your shoulder. “Come on satoru, he’s a thing of the past. He doesn’t matter anymore, ‘kay?” You tried your best to steer away from having to tell your boyfriend in detail but he’s right. Your ex was stingy as hell. It’s not like you ever asked for anything too much in fact, you don’t ever remember asking for anything at all. All the times he had to pick you up, he asked for gas money which seemed fair enough but it wasn’t just that. The man loved going on and extravagant dates but was never willing to fish out more than gas money. He adored receiving presents from you but could never be bothered to get you even the cheapest flowers. He used to say that he was just saving up to be able to give you the life you deserve but 8 years of having to sustain the luxurious lifestyle of a bum just made you snap hence, the break up. Satoru’s tightening embrace woke you from that little flashback. “Okay baby, I’ll make sure to spoil you but don’t hesitate to tell me if I go overboard hm? Love you” he gave you a kiss on the cheek and god, you felt so lucky to have found such a good man.

Nanami Kento

It quite literally took years of yearning for nanami to be finally able to date you. He was your junior in university and your junior at work as well. All that time, he had to witness you be head over heels for your then boyfriend, another one of his seniors. He thought the man might have put a spell on you because for the love of god, he could not see what kept you with the jerk for so long. Having observed your relationship from when he was a college freshman up to when he was a work colleague, your ex never even tried to mask how selfish he was with you. The man dawned expensive watches and drove a not so cheap car, he loved going to expensive places with his friends but with you? He wouldn’t hesitate to pass you the bill (like 85% of the time) whenever you went on dates, bought you nothing but cheap jewelry and quality reject flowers just because they were cheaper. Even worse, he also let you take the crowded train home everyday despite him driving to and from work everyday. He just couldn’t be bothered to pick you up because your workplace was “too far” and gas was expensive. If he really was struggling, it wouldn’t have been a problem but any person could see that he was more than capable of treating you better. He just didn’t want to.

Dating nanami was like a breath of fresh air. It’s not like you were materialistic in the first place but receiving pretty flowers and having someone make sure you’s comfortable and safe felt so heartwarming. On top of that, nanami didn’t make it feel like he was obligated to do any of that. He just genuinely wanted to care for you. It was all new to you that you even had to ask him to stop spoiling you too much, you felt bad accepting all that he was giving. “I know you don’t need them and I know you’re capable but let me do these things for you, hm?” Was what he’d always say and despite bot being able to voice it out to him yet, there is so much love in you knowing that it was possible to be treated this way. With so much care and love and concern.

[engie-ivy]

(Trying something new. Love to hear if you like🙂)

1022 words

High School Conversations

Edgar Bones

“So, how about it, Lupin?”

“... Come again?”

“You. Me. Drinks. It ain't rocket science.”

“No, I actually understand rocket science. You're not making any sense.”

“I want to take you on a date, Lupin.”

“But…why?”

“Why not?”

“For starters, I'm a loner who likes to spend his free time reading a book, while you're a star athlete who's almost the most popular guy at school.”

“Almost?”

“Well, there's-”

“Okay, okay, I know. Don't mention him.”

“So, it's ridiculous for you to want to go on a date with me.”

“It's ridiculous for someone like you to say no to someone like me.”

“‘Someone like me’ might not want to date someone he has so little in common with.”

“Don't be difficult, Loopy.”

"Calling me that won't increase your chances.”

“You should be grateful I'm even willing to spend my time on you.”

“You know what, Bones? Here's my answer: Fuck. You.”

Marlene McKinnon

“Hi there, Loopy Lupin.”

“Good god, what's going on today?”

“Why, that's not a very kind greeting.”

“Why are you talking to me, McKinnon?”

“I heard Edgar Bones asked you out.”

“And I said no, so don't worry, he's all yours.”

"The fact that you'd think I'd be interested in Bones is even more insulting than that rude greeting of yours.”

“I just don't understand what's going on today. First the school's jock, now the head cheerleader. Honestly, is it Talk to a Geek Day or something?”

“No, I think that's in March.”

“What is it, McKinnon?”

“I just want to ask you some questions.”

“I'm really not in the mood for-”

“Question Number One. Who is the most popular guy in school?”

“Sirius Black, of course. With his bad boy-image and that leather jacket of his, but his still perfect grades, that effortless charisma that lets him get away with anything, his guitar playing and that voice, his impossibly attractive smile, and that always-perfect-hair…”

“...”

“Or, ehm, at least that's what all those girls pining after him would say.”

“Of course. Your cheeks have turned a bit red there, Loopy.”

“So is your next question going to be who the most popular girl in school is? If you're just fishing for compliments you could've just said so.”

“Cute how you think I'd need your confirmation. But no, my next question is who is the second-most popular guy in school.”

“Edgar Bones.”

“What, no raving monologue for Bones?”

“Shut it, McKinnon.”

“And how would you describe the relationship between Black and Bones?”

“What is this, Twenty Questions?”

“I hope I won't need twenty, no. Answer this one please.”

“A rivalry. Or, well, a one-sided rivalry, that is. I don't think Black ever wastes much of his time on Bones, but Bones is obsessed with outdoing Black.”

“Like how?”

“Well, when Black wants a motorcycle, Bones wants a motorcycle, when Black gets his ears pierced, Bones gets his ears pierced, when Black starts a band, Bones starts a band. Basically, Bones wants everything Black wants.”

“Exactly. Now, how would a clever boy such as yourself combine this information with Bones asking you out?”

“... I don't know.”

“Oh, I think you do, Loopy. I think you do.”

“No, because the logical inference of the information you're presenting would be that Black wants… me, and there's no logic to be found in that.”

“Black fancies you, Lupin.”

“No. Just… No.”

“Yes. Just yes.”

“McKinnon, maybe for a head cheerleader the most popular guy in school fancying you is within the realm of possibility, but not for us geeky bookworms.”

“Ask Black out, then you'll see.”

“Is this a prank?”

“I'm wounded, Loopy. You think me so cruel?”

“The head cheerleader playing a prank on me is more likely than the high school heartthrob fancying me.”

“Well, since you're so obsessed with the head cheerleader-thing, let me put it this way.

Hey, Hey, Hear Me Cheer,

Hey, Hey, Hear Me Shout,

Lupin Should Ask Black Out!”

“Oh, for god sakes, please stop!”

“Lupin Might Be Geeky As Hell,

Black Just Thinks He's Swell!”

“Please get off the table!”

“Hey, Hey, Lupin Boy,

I've Got News You Might Enjoy!”

“I'll do it, okay? Just stop! Stop, and I'll ask him out.”

“Thank you.”

“You're a nightmare. I don't know why Dorcas likes you so much.”

“Wait, what?”

Sirius Black

“Oh, hello, Lupin.”

“Ehm, hi. So, ehm, a little birdie told me…”

“Mmm, was it a cheering birdie named Marlene?”

“Yup. Look, I know that a guy like me should drop to his knees and praise the lord if a guy like you would even breathe in his direction…”

“What are you talking about?”

“That you're probably expecting me to be grateful for any bit of attention you're willing to pay me, but…”

“Wait, what? Lupin, if anything, you are out of my league.”

“Excuse me?”

“Gods, you're so smart, and you read so many books, while I hardly ever read, and you have such an amazing dry sense of humour, with all those sharp, sarcastic remarks, you make my pranks seem juvenile, and I wear leather jackets and band tees, sure, but you can just wear cardigans and sweater vests and still look so unique and cool, and you have this calming presence over you, like when you're reading and you're chewing your lip in that way that you do…”

“You… you've noticed me.”

“Of course I have. You think I would fancy you without knowing anything about you?”

“Well, yeah. I thought… I didn't think… I don't know, I thought maybe you were bored or something?”

“This is not about me being bored, or about me wanting to shock people, or about me trying to stir the pot, or anything about me really. This is about you. You as a person.”

“You actually…”

“Yeah, I actually.”

“I… I promised that I would… No, screw that. I want to ask you out.”

“I think it's clear by now I would very much be okay with that.”

“Good god, I can't believe these words are coming out of my mouth, but Sirius Black, will you go out with me?”

“I'd love to, Remus Lupin.”

[hoodreader]

nerd astrology — jujutsu kaisen (001)

hey y’all! i wanna give my personal opinions on what my favorite characters from my favorite video games, mangas/animes, & comics would be astrologically. today, i’m starting off with the students of jujutsu kaisen!!! [spoiler warning]. 💗 ima discuss some canon events of JJK. not giving away too much plot though, but just so ya know.

YUJI ITADORI — “i like a tall woman… with a nice big ass — just sayin’.”

gemini sun. pisces moon. sagittarius rising.

he’s so sociable, kind, and friendly. very concerned with others & their wellness, thus the seventh house sun. his fixation on “proper deaths” & ensuring justice. it seems like a blend of seventh house and jovial energy. he super go with the flow and adaptable. and he’s very powerful. i think he also love to laugh. even when aoi todo was beating the fuck out of him, he still humored his question when asked. he can be really philosophical / thoughtful. especially with others. he likes to think, and that’s a quality gemini, pisces, and sagittarius all share. i do also see scorpio, but maybe his mars.

MEGUMI FUSHIGURO — “i don’t have a preference. as long as she has unshakable character, i won’t ask for more.”

scorpio sun & moon. capricorn rising.

that resting bitch face say earth. the capricorn rising in particular is because he had to grow up wayyy too fast. his pappy was incompetent. but he very aloof & calculated (calculation is ruled by capricorn!). i was thinking he could be a virgo rising, but he lack the neuroticness of a mutable. allat scorpio & capricorn would make sense considering his technique is shadows, though. he is very compassionate & concerned with “the right thing” as well though, which explains the sun conj moon in the eleventh house.

NOBARA KUGISAKI — “if hell froze over and danced the lambada, still no.”

sagittarius sun. aries moon. taurus rising.

loud, brush, aggressive, etc. i find this quality is most people who have a combination of aries & taurus in their charts. the impulsive aries & stubborn taurus create someone with a mixture of that head-butting energy. her personality is big too. can be a bit blunt, as i notice with a lot of sagittarius placements. but the girl can fight. that’s for sure. and she’s pretty smart / calculated.

MAKI ZENIN — “if i stayed there [at the bottom], i would’ve hated myself.”

scorpio sun. capricorn moon. aquarius rising.

i feel she is so saturnian in how her family rejected her. a lot of saturnians are forced into independence at a young age. that detriment moon does a lot in her family ostracizing her. still, she’s insanely disciplined. she had no cursed energy (energy is solar in nature, & saturn is the sun’s detriment) but she compensates for that just how raw she is with practical combat. i think her tenth house scorpio sun would make sense also in how she presents herself — kinda hard and unapproachable, but really she’s just complicated.

TOGE INUMAKI — “fish flakes…”

pisces sun & moon. capricorn rising.

he so weird, & that’s why i luv his character sm. anyways. that calm presence he got in social situations… i feel could be a saturnian ascendant. i could see aquarius, but i couldn’t see a third house in aries for him. which is why i opted for capricorn. instead, he would have a saturnian second house & a jovial third house, which can show his restricted speech but the large impact of his words. i could also see pisces ascendant but i’m not sure about a first house sun, i’d guess first house moon before that. he’s not aggressive, but he gon do what he got to for his friends. giving third house moon. also. the fact that he chooses to communicate with food ingredients is the most third house moon thing ever, and the fact nobody (aside from his circle) understands is the most piscean third house thing ever.

PANDA — “the answer’s obviously pandas!”

taurus sun. pisces moon. libra rising.

a sweetheart and a voice of reason. he’s really laid back & chill, which is super venutian to me. i think there’s a major focus on harmony for him. but again, just ‘cuz he venutian don’t mean he bitchmade. the way he fucked mechamaru up was insane. i chalk it up to his eighth house taurus sun. i think people forget that taurus (the bull) can be aggressive if they want to. other than that though, he’s adaptable and really just wanna avoid unnecessary fall out. he will take it there if y’all want to though.

some of these i have mixed feelings about. but whatever. i’m gonna start reading the manga soon, so as i get better acquainted with the characters, my opinion might change.

thanks for reading!

[puckpocketed]

So do you actually believe PLD is a good player or is that part of the bit?

The PLD Post

i spent a good 2 days giggling about this to friends. i cant tell if ur a curious caps fan, a person who knows me from my other teams, a disgruntled kings fan (i’ve mostly ruled this out because im pretty sure i know all of the active ones on here) or WHAT. but i’m laughing. the tone of this ask is hilarious and vaguely accusatory but i will take it in good faith and answer <3 tl;dr yes and no. he’s better than people think he is rn, but he’s likely never going to live up to the potential of his tools unless something . idk. recalibrates his entire being. who knows!

i was working on something longer and more complex but i thought about it for more than 5 seconds and i REFUSE to go hockey-bro mode and pull out the microstats and i don’t wanna make this into a full on PLD manifesto. so. caps girlies (gn) HERE are your adoption papers under the cut!

if you are looking at pierre luc dubois who is 6’4 + 220lb and thinking “Oh he’s a power forward” i have to inform you he is in fact THEEE smallest mouse to ever play hockey in the whole world and in all of history. he sips nectar out of a thimble and sleeps curled up in a match box and goes fishing in a boat made from nutshells and twigs . he’s big, but he sort of plays small.

this is not necessarily a bad thing — he relies on foot speed and skill over hitting.

he can throw hits but prefers to stick check. he leverages his big frame to guard the puck and to defend, and it makes him simultaneously VERY effective and very much what i like to call a Nexus Of Crime. he is either drawing ten thousand penalties because people have to do something to stop him from driving the net with speed OR he is taking ten thousand penalties because he gets eager in the corners.

PLUS he’s huge and refs do just assume he’s committing a crime when they can’t see what’s going on <3 hence, Nexus Of Crime! if there’s a penalty he’s probably involved LMAO

not a “dirty” player by any means. not physical unless he decides he wants to. and there is no violence inside of him unless he’s deeply horsebonded to his team <- IMPORTANT re; playoffs aspirations. you won’t see him put himself on the line simply for the love of the game, he HAS to be committed to the team.

to be committed to his team… i’m honestly not sure what that takes. i’d guess a combination of knowing his role on the ice and in the locker room (this was very unclear on lak) consistency of messaging from coaches (also seemed to be an issue on lak)

i know nothing about caps coaching or management or the team vibes but i’m sure you can fix him <3 i’m ready to fall in love and ride this team to the sunset

this failhorse will NOT shoot the puck and if he does it will be the saddest soggiest most pathetic shot you’ve ever seen. you will tear your hair out in chunks if you watch him expecting an elite goalscorer.

he’s a pass-first guy. likes to drop pass! likes to drive play from the middle but is also capable of getting pucks off the boards. he needs a finisher on his wing. i could pull up stats here, there are stats to be pulled up, but i know this in my HEART from watching dozens of kings games: he would have had 10-15 more points easily if he wasn’t stapled to the 3rd line and had better finishers. many times i watched him tee up a very good opportunity only for his guy to miss the net or fan or just get knocked off the puck

individually, he thrives in front of the net. his ass is fat and he’s about to use it to screen the goalie. hes good at catching loose pucks in the crease to send them home <3 see his performance at worlds. he scored basically all of his goals right up there!!

most media coverage/narratives will tell you his point production dropped off bc of effort (which is true) but even the MOST resentful kings watchers will say pld wasn’t given his best shot playing with inexperienced+fringe nhlers, being line shuffled the moment he got a bit comfortable, and also not getting ANY net front time on the lak pp. i factor this into all my judgements of his performance.

He’s def earned his diva rep LMAO!! this is personal opinion here but he seems like a sensitive and easily rattled little clam… like he will have a couple of bad shifts and if there’s nobody there to shake him out of it he’ll lose his grasp on the game and play like shit <3 a rolling joke on kingstwt was figuring out which PLD we were getting that game, and you could tell by his 5th if he was switched on or off!!

they hate him for this but EYE think this is nothing new for athletes and if he can consistently stay in the zone he’ll probably be pretty good. mental fortitude of a wet tissue my beloved….

moving onto the Vibes section!! he was always good humoured in media availability and didn’t shy away from scrums even when public opinion soured against him and critiques of both his hockey and his character had reached a fever pitch. i like this about him. he always gave authentic answers and tried his best to accomodate them, and never hid behind his captains.

he gets along quite well with teammates despite the narratives. no seriously!! some of the the kings had a hang out during off-season right before they went to worlds!! there’s bisexual lighting!!!!

there’s interviews from old jets teammates that are just like. “he used to turn up at my house with his dog and text IM HERE with no warning and that’s how we became friends” or “his obsession with euro soccer teams bewitched me”. he had control of the aux cord. he was a den mother and planned group gatherings. a genuine sweetheart to every teammate he’s ever had!!

I don’t think he’s some. idk. secret 100 point producing star 1C. but i truly believe with the right environment he’ll probably hit 60 points again.

thank you for your time if you made it this far and i hope to see you all in the trenches (caps lb) next season 👍

[lowtaperfeyd]

lady Jessica x fem reader fluff pleeeease preferably before arrakis but idc

Moments

Lady Jessica x reader

author's note: I did combine two requests together due to their similarities. Bare with me when it comes down to writing fluff tho...

warnings: normal dune things.

wc: 996

It wasn’t a surprise to the residents of Castle Caladan to see Lady Jessica and her lady-in-waiting, (Y/N), walking around the luscious gardens of the castle late in the afternoon. Them arm in arm strolling past yellow, red, and orange flowers blooming in the cool air of Caladan, talking incoherently. 

“Do you really think Paul is the Kwisatz Haderach?” (Y/N) questioned, knowing the plot that the sisterhood had been planning, “It’s a generation too early.”

“I do.” Lady Jessica responded, “He’s shown the signs. The reverend mother Mohiam is visiting later before we leave. She’s skeptical as well.” She added, poking a bit of fun at her partner. 

“And if he fails the test?” (Y/N) asked, “Not saying he will or not.”

“Then I would be wrong.” Lady Jessica utter quietly. 

“I don’t think I’ve ever heard you doubt yourself about this.” (Y/N) chuckled, “and you using ‘wrong’ and ‘I’ in the same sentence. But if you are right about him, which you most definitely are, then he’ll be fine.” “That’s easier said than done.” she chortled 

“You’ve taught him everything he needs to know.” 

“That’s very kind of you to say.” Jessica said as she looked at (Y/N). 

“You’re welcome.” (Y/N) added while turning her head to look at the woman beside her. 

As they continued to walk around the garden, they spoke about what needed to be done on Arrakis, what needed to be brought, and what needed to be gotten rid of. It was rather domestic they way they mentally sorted through silverware and bits and pieces of furniture like an old married couple. Their lighthearted arguments of whether or not the ornate chess table needed to come along. 

“You cannot just leave a gift behind on a planet we’ll never go to again.” Lady Jessica declared. 

“A gift that was given almost a hundred years ago, my lady.” (Y/N) retorted, “and besides when have you or anyone here last used it?” 

  “The point still stands, maybe even more so.” 

As well as soft affection to each other too. 

Other people in the castle also noticed these interactions as well. Gurney Halleck once spotted Lady Jessica with her head on (Y/N)’s shoulder as they were furiously arguing about whether or not Paul should learn universal history or mathematics first. Lady Jessica’s augment won with the fact that Paul would one day be duke. And dukes need to know what caused several wars which spanned centuries. Duncan Idaho was privy to see them argue with each other too. He saw them in the expansive library debating Bene Gesserit tactics and plans, while their knees ever so slightly tapped each other, more than once and in while. 

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

Everything changed once they got to Arrakis though. There were no afternoon walks because of the scorching sun, there were no more arguments on what should stay or go because there was nothing to leave, and there were no more soft moments spent that lingered because they didn’t have that time anymore. Only after the battle at the Arrakeen, traversing the desert to find safety, and finally meeting the Fremen would provide some form of sanctuary. 

In Sietch Tabr, (Y/N) and Jessica were in a tiny bedroom they were given. Both of them had their hair messy and tangled, eyes set back into their faces with new purple eye bags now making their appearance. (Y/N) was walking pacing around their room, back and forth like a fish in a pond back home. Lady Jessica sat on the bed with her hands gently tucked onto her lap and one leg over the other. 

“You’re tired, aren’t you?” Lady Jessica asked. 

“We all are,” (Y/N) remarked, “my tiredness doesn’t sum to the tiredness of the people and group.” As she continued pacing. 

Lady Jessica moved back onto the bed so she was sitting in the middle of it. She crossed her legs over each other. 

“Come here.” She said, “rest, even if it’s only for a minute.” 

(Y/N) stopped in her tracks. She looked over to where the red headed woman was sitting. Her features lit up by the soft, golden light that seeped through thin cracks in the rocks. Her beauty was a thing that would always be captured in (Y/N)’s mind. 

“Alright,” The woman whispered as she walked over to the bed. She sat on the bed and slid back until she could comfortably lay her head on Lady Jessica’s lap. (Y/N) took her hands and laid them on her stomach as the red head started to smooth her hand over (Y/N)’s head. 

“What do you make of some of the Fremen calling Paul the ‘Lisan Al-Gaib’?” (Y/N) commented. 

“I think it gives us an opportunity to give the people what they want and have been waiting for.” Jessica shared, “They, also, need a new reverend mother.” “Does this mean you’ll drink the water of life?” 

“I’m not sure yet,” she swallowed, “I haven’t given it much thought yet.” 

“You’ll need to go to the south, Paul will need to go too if you do decide to drink it.” (Y/N) whispered, “You’ll need to go either way after becoming reverend mother.” 

“I know.” Jessica sighed out as she continued to brush her hand over her head, “But all that can wait for tomorrow, rest.” 

(Y/N)’s eyes would soon begin to fall as they got more and more heavy. The soothing nature of Jessica touching her head made her feel calmer than she had felt in days. Her muscles slowly began to relax and her head didn’t feel as tight and weighted as before. It didn’t take long before her eyes were fully closed and she was asleep, asking in the presence of Jessica and the love that was between the two. But the last thing she felt was Jessica pressing a tiny kiss to her forehead.

[haee-elia]

spence-tober: day 15 - fisherman

pairing: fishermen!spencer reid x fem!reader

summary: in which your husband finally gets to teach your daughter his trade

word count: 1307

warnings: very kid-centric, mentions of pregnancy, commercial fishing, hobby fishing, and scaling fish

spence-tober masterlist

Despite being on a generations old, rickety boat that has seen better days, you considered the scene in front of you one of your favorites.

Being married to a fisherman was interesting to say the least. You had to get used to your husband, Spencer, smelling like fish all the time. You quickly realized that most food you eat was going to be seafood. And you had to fight your initial fears and get on the boat owned by your husband that he used to go out every day and fish.

And it wasn’t like fishing was a hobby that your husband did often, no, it was his occupation. So yes, finding a laundry detergent that would cleanse clothes of the fishy smell was a necessary venture. 

You’re probably luckier than most. You grew up with your father who was an avid fisherman and you were actually just beginning as an assistant dockmaster at a marina when you had first met Spencer who docks his boat at the marina when not in use.

The way you met Spencer was always a great story that did well with other fishermen or anyone hanging around the docks. It was your first day at this specific marina and hadn’t realized they had just powerwashed the dock when you slipped on the wet metal and had almost fallen, while heading towards the office at the marina. 

Spencer, almost like a fairytale prince, had caught you by your waist, keeping you from falling and hitting your head. He was dressed in overalls and dirty fishing boots, having just finished gutting some fish. 

You didn’t start dating right after you met, but with you working as the assistant dockmaster and with him departing and arriving at the dock every day, you had slowly gotten to know each other and then started dating after a few months. 

Now, six years later, Spencer was still commercial fishing for the area and now employed a small crew to help. You had been promoted to dockmaster and managed the marina and the comings and goings. You both had also moved in together, got engaged, got married, and had your daughter in the last six years. 

Your daughter, the perfect combination of you and Spencer and all of four years old, was standing with her father near an open end of the boat so she could see over in the water. She had a life jacket on, of course, and a small kid sized fishing pole in her hand. It was red, at her insistence.

“Alright,” Spencer said, talking to her on her level. He’s crouched down with a life jacket on as well, afterall, your daughter had argued that if she had to wear one then he had to as well. “I’ll place a little piece of bait on your hook and then you’ll cast it out. Remember what we practiced.” He reminded her.

She eagerly nodded her head and watched her father with a smile as he snuggly put a small piece of bait on the hook of her pole. 

It wasn’t her first time ever on the boat, in fact, you had carried her on when she was just six months old, cradled small to your chest as you and Spencer relaxed in the breeze from the ocean. However, this was her first time fishing on the boat and Spencer had determined it was finally time to teach her. 

“Now what do we do?” Spencer asks her with a look of complete and utter adoration towards the small girl. Ever since she had stepped on the boat and you all had sailed towards a small inlet, Spencer has had one of the brightest smiles you had ever seen on his face.

“Fish!” Your daughter exclaimed, nearly swinging the fishing pole right at your husband.

He didn’t mind, just moved his head out of the way as he laughed and nodded.

“That’s right.” Spencer replied. He switched his position to be right behind her and helped her small little form cast her fishing pole perhaps three feet right in front of her in the water.

Still, they both cheered.

Your daughter looked back at you, in a comfortable chair with sunglasses on, a life jacket (it would be unfair otherwise), and your kindle. 

“Mommy look!” She said in her adorable squeaky high, excited voice.

“I see, babygirl!” You say to her, “You did such a good job. Now you have to wait for a fishy.”

“Fishy!” She repeated after you with a loud giggle. Her grip on the pole was light and probably would have fallen right out of her hands if not for Spencer’s hands on it as well.

You knew Spencer had been dreaming about this moment ever since you both found out you were expecting. Since then, he’s always been planning on when and how he would teach his own daughter to fish. After all, Spencer always tells you of his three loves. His daughter, you as his wife, and the art of fishing.

“Daddy where’s fishy?” Your daughter asked, quickly turning her attention to her tall father.

Spencer uses one of his hands to carefully grip her hands around the pole and the other to point into the water, “Fishy is in there, sweet bean.”

Bean, a nickname coming from what you both called your daughter when you were pregnant and before you had known the gender. It was fitting as well, since your daughter was on the smaller size when born. 

“I catch fishy.” Your daughter says, confidently, in a matter of fact tone.

Spencer smiles widely and you sneakily bring your phone out to film the sweet moment between father and daughter.

“Yes, you do, sweet bean.” He confirms, pressing a kiss onto her unruly brown hair. 

She giggles wildly at the action, “And you catch fishy.” 

Spencer nods, “I do catch fishy, lots of fishies.”

“We eat fishy.” She also says.

Fishy was her first word, much to Spencer’s delight. However, she did say mama before dada so that was a win in your book. 

Spencer nods again, “We do.”

Even so young, you and Spencer had done a good job about teaching her about how fish are caught and eaten. It became imperative to teach her this when her daycare read her The Rainbow Fish and she had exclaimed loudly to the rest of her small class that they ate fish. That and how before she was in daycare, she often joined you at the marina where you worked and would quite commonly see large buckets of fish on ice or men and women scaling them right on the dock. 

Her cute doe eyes turn to her dad, “We eat my fishy?” She asks, her bottom lip wobbling.

Spencer shakes his head hesitantly, “We don’t have to eat your fishy, sweet bean.” He confirms.

While Spencer went out and fished every day to bring back and sell, when he would hobby fish on the boat he often let go what he caught. 

Her face lit back up again, “Yay!” She cheered.

She kept her attention on her dad, “But no keeps.” She affirmed.

Spencer nodded and she cheered again for remembering her father’s teachings. “No keeps.” Spencer repeated.

Another thing the two of you had taught her was the different between pet fish and fish you caught in the ocean. It was a confusing pet shop trip, but Spencer has always been incredibly patient with her and eager to teach her all about fish. 

As you settled into your chair and kept your phone camera on your small family, you’re reminded of the years spent with your husband and with your daughter.

“Fishy’s pulling!” 

“Come on, sweet bean. Reel it in!”

“Fishy! Mommy look!”

“I see, sweetheart, you got a fishy!”

Yes, these were definitely your favorite days.

a/n: i was feeling a little burnt out writing so many of the same scenario of meet cutes so i mixed it up a bit. i know kids aren't for everyone, but this really refreshed my creativity for the rest of this October so enjoy!

[kelyon]

Courtship 5: Outfit

Lacey figures out what she's going to wear on her date

Read on AO3

The pile of clothes covered Lacey’s twin bed. She’d spent the better part of an hour matching blouses with slacks with sweaters in a vain attempt to find the magic combination that would make her look less like the president of the student council and more like Mr. Gold’s perfect slut. 

Nothing worked. So far, her best options were to wear her summer sundress in the middle of winter with no coat, or to take a pair of scissors to the long black skirt she had worn to her mother’s funeral. That last one might have been an option, if she had a sewing machine like Mara. But she didn’t, and showing up at Mr. Gold’s house wearing unhemmed rags was probably as bad an idea as showing up wearing pants. If she had a sleeveless top, she might consider wearing the skirt as it was. She could try to go for a sort of hippy, Bohemian look. But the most revealing blouse Lacey French owned had puffed-up sleeves, like a fucking five-year-old. 

Groaning, she fell backwards onto the pile. Some of this stuff she had got in middle school. The fact that they still fit her had been an advantage every time she’d decided to spend her limited funds on books instead of clothes, but it also meant that Lacey had never aged up her personal style. She didn’t have anything that made her look or feel like an adult. 

The purple-blue dress shimmered in her dirty clothes hamper. She had jumped the gun by wearing her only sexy outfit on her first date with Mr. Gold. She had set the bar too high. Now he would have expectations of how Miss French liked to dress. More than that, Mr. Gold in his suits had standards. If she met him looking like a mess, he’d drive off and leave her on the curb.

At least he didn’t seem to mind if she left him looking like a mess. He hadn’t minded bringing her home with a wrinkled skirt and no stockings or underwear. She wanted that to happen again, but before it could, Lacey had to look presentable. None of her clothes were cutting it. She had to take action. 

She pulled a white button-up off the pile and rubbed a smear of foundation over her hickey. Then she went downstairs into the shop. Dad was sitting by the cash register, looking through a faded design book. 

Mom had known all the designs for bouquets and arrangements by heart, but Dad always needed to double check with the book. 

“Anything happen today?” Lacey asked.

He shook his head, didn’t look up.

“We should call up everyone who ordered from us last year and remind them that V-day is in less than three weeks.”

“They know,” he grumbled. “This time of year, no one has any money. The men at Fish King will get paid on Friday, that’s when the orders will start. But they won’t really pick up until the next payday, the eleventh.”

He was right. It happened like that every year. All the orders came in at the very last minute. Valentine’s Day weekend was two solid days of constant work getting everything put together. 

And it was too far away to do Lacey any good.   

“So I’m guessing this is not a good time to discuss the subject of me ever getting paid for the hours I put in?”

Her father looked at her like she had just told an offensive joke that wasn’t even funny. Had his eyes always been so bloodshot? Had he always looked like a sad cartoon dog?

“You keep your tips.” He looked down at the book again. “You have money when the store has money, when we’re not racking up daily fees from that bastard Gold.”

“Yeah, I figured.” Lacey rubbed her hands on her jeans. “Just thought I’d ask.”

Of course Dad didn’t have any money to give her. That was their whole problem. Game of Thorns was a family business, the only income any of them had. For as long as she’d worked in the store, her pay had come in the form of food and shelter. Her reward for helping keep the place open was that it stayed open. It might not have been unreasonable to ask for more, but she knew it was unattainable. 

“Ask again when Valentine’s is over,” Dad said. “We get out of this hole… I’ll try to make something work.”

She’d heard that before. Her father always had all kinds of plans and dreams for when things got better. Not that things ever did get better. Not that they ever would. The only thing worse than knowing that fact would be admitting it. So Lacey gave her father a tight smile and pretended she believed him, just like she always did.

****

She made her way over to Marine Automotive, where her Uncle Manny was locking the front doors from the outside. When he saw her loitering, he beamed.

“Hey! There’s my favorite niece!”

Uncle Manny looked like Dad if nothing bad had ever happened to him. He had the same height and stocky build. He had the same curly hair that was also the bane of Lacey’s existence. But where Moe French was loud when he was angry, Manny French was loud when he was happy--and he was always loud. He wrapped Lacey up in a bear hug.

“How you doing, Ace? What brings you by?”

She cut to the chase. “Are you going to the Rabbit Hole tonight?”

Her uncle wasn’t a huge drinker, but he was the only person Lacey knew who regularly went to Storybrooke's only bar.

“I wasn’t planning on it. They’re aren’t any games tonight. But I take it you need an escort?”

Lacey raised her shoulders in a half-apology. “They won’t let me in without a parent-slash-guardian.”

“Ah, to be young again!” Uncle Manny wrapped one arm around her. “You’ll miss it one of these days, I promise you. But yeah, we can have a night on the town. I’ll even buy you a Shirley Temple.”

“Oh come on,” she gave him a playful nudge. “I am an adult, even if I can’t drink. I should at least get a Coke and Coke.”

“Sounds like a plan.” 

****

The Rabbit Hole was dead. Between the lack of sports on TV and the town-wide lack of money until payday, most people were staying home. The only ones here were people like Leroy Miner, people who had nowhere else to go. Like the old song said, sharing a drink they called loneliness was better than drinking alone. 

Undeterred, Lacey took her uncle-approved non-alcoholic beverage over to the pool table by the fireplace. She took off her hoodie and unbuttoned her blouse a little. This whole thing was a risky move, but it was the best plan she had. Hustling pool paid off more often than it didn’t.  

Eyeing the room, she bent over the pool table, just far enough to get a little attention. She lined up a shot and missed on purpose.

“Oh crap!” she said too loudly. “Must not be my night.”

After ten minutes of staged failure, Lacey let herself land a shot. She squealed when the ball went into the pocket. The sound made people’s heads turn, and she treated them all to a too-wide, too-apologetic smile.

Only one person smiled back. Keith Sherwood turned on his bar stool to watch her. Lacey tried to remember her other encounters with Keith. Did he usually stare more at her ass or her boobs? For safety’s sake, she did both. She leaned far enough over the table that Keith could look down her cleavage, then moved around to the other side for the next shot. She stuck her ass in the air, practically humping the felt to keep his attention.

“Boys always make it look so easy,” she pouted after another ball just barely missed the pocket.

When Keith began to walk over to her, she turned her back to him. That way she could pretend to be surprised by his arrival. With careful concentration, Lacey managed to get a ball a full foot away from what anyone watching would have assumed was her target. It was actually harder to be bad on purpose, but it paid off.

“You having fun, sweet thing?” Keith leaned against the pool table, beer in hand, right in front of her.

Lacey giggled. “It’d be more fun if I had someone to play with.”

Keith chuckled. A lock of his hair fell down into his eyes. “I bet it would be. You had a lot of fun playing with me last time, didn’t you?”

How much money had she taken from Keith the last time she had tried this? Sometimes she got cocky and her marks got mad about being taken. Lacey couldn’t remember if she had ever crowed about fleecing Keith. Unfortunately, he probably did. 

She fluttered her eyelashes. “It was a lot of fun,” she cooed. “I think I got lucky that night.”

“I bet you’re gonna get lucky again.” He was standing too close to her. “I bet your luck will get better and better all night, especially when we start playing double or nothing.”

Crap. She had definitely rubbed Keith’s face in it last time. Now he was wise to her. That was the problem with a small town. Oh well, at least she’d tried.

“So is that a bet?” she said in her real voice. “Do you wanna put money down on whether or not I’m actually hustling you? Cuz I’ll take you up on that one.”

Keith shook his head. He put his hand down on top of hers on the edge of the pool table. He was still smiling.

“You know there’s another game we can play together. It’s a lot more fun than pool.”

Ugh.

Lacey backed away. “It might be fun for you, but I don’t think I’d get much out of it.”

He followed her. “How do you know? Maybe it’d be more fun if you hustled me. That’d make things interesting, wouldn’t it? Twenty bucks says I can make you see heaven.”

She snorted. “Did you just say you’ll pay to screw me?”

Keith kept smiling. “You were gonna screw me all over this table and take my money anyway. I like my version better.”

Lacey’s blood suddenly went cold. This wasn’t funny anymore. It wasn’t a game. This asshole would seriously give her money if she went home with him. It would be so easy to go along with it. Twenty dollars for two orgasms--his would be real, hers would be fake. 

Would that be enough to buy a new skirt? Was she seriously fucking considering this?

She clenched her jaw. 

“I’m not a fucking hooker, Keith.”

He raised his arms in a pacifying gesture. “No harm, no foul,” he said. “I just don’t see how it’s any different from taking a girl to dinner first. Man pays for sex either way.”

Turning away, she slid her pool cue back on the rack. 

“You’re a pig.”

��Go ahead, darlin’, keep talking dirty. See what happens.”

Lacey kept her head held high as she went back to the bar where her uncle was nursing a beer.

“I need to get out of here,” she told him.

“Sounds good.” Uncle Manny took out his wallet and tossed a few crumpled fives onto the bar. “I’ll walk you home.”

****

 Outside, Lacey pulled her arms out of the sleeves of her hoodie and hugged her arms over her chest. This stupid button down was too frumpy to make her sexy and too thin to keep her warm. 

“Pool wasn’t any good for you tonight?” Uncle Manny asked casually.

“No,” she admitted. “Fricking Keith threw me off my game.”

“What do you need money for anyway? That dad of yours not feeding you?”

“I need money cuz I don’t have any.” Lacey kicked at a chunk of dirty snow. “Nobody does.”

“I’ve got a little, for the smartest kid in Storybrooke.” He stopped walking and turned to face her. “You wanna tell me what it’s for?”

Lacey bit the inside of her mouth. She didn’t want to lie to her uncle, but she sure as hell didn’t want to tell him the truth. She walked in silence for a minute. He stayed with her. Finally, she said it.

“I wanna get some new clothes.”

“Like a real coat?”

She shrugged. “I mean, maybe. I could. If I had enough.”

“And this is a sudden yearning that couldn’t wait?”

She shrugged again. There was nothing like being around a parent-slash-guardian to make her feel like a complete child.

“Ace, what’s going on?”

She took a breath. “I… don’t want to tell you.”

He put his hand on her shoulder. “Lacey French, if you’re doing things you don’t want people to know about, then you shouldn’t do them.”

“It’s nothing bad!” Lacey pushed him away. “It’s just… personal.”

“That’s not reassuring,” he said. “What’s going on? What do you need money for?”

“I told you, to buy clothes!”

“Clothes for what? You can tell me, Lacey. I’ll help you out if you’re honest.”

“I just want to look nice on a date!” She shrieked the words out into the night. They hung in the air with the cloud of her breath.

Uncle Manny looked at her, confused and sympathetic at the same time. Eventually, he broke out into a broad smile.

“But that’s great, honey! You should go on dates. Why-- why didn’t you say so to begin with?”

She pulled her hands up through the neck hole of her hoodie to rub her face.

“I’m… It’s because of who I’m going out with.”

Uncle Manny scoffed and put his arm around her as they walked. “You shouldn’t be ashamed of dating someone. Unless it’s someone you should be ashamed of, but then you just don’t date them. It’s not a girl, is it?”

Lacey shook her head, to which Uncle Manny nodded.

“Not that there’s anything wrong with that, not in this modern world. You know I’m with you no matter what.”

She nodded. 

“And of course, no boy is ever going to be good enough for you. But as long as he’s not married, or some kind of asshole like that bastard Gold, there’s no reason to sneak around like--Lacey?”

She had stopped in her tracks. She looked up at her uncle and chewed on her lower lip.

Realization dawned. Uncle Manny let out a long breath. 

“Lace.” His voice was rough. “Tell me you’re dating a married man.”

Lips pressed together, she shook her head. “Don’t tell anyone.”

Standing in place, Uncle Manny stomped his work boots onto the sidewalk. The intent seemed to be half to warm his feet and half to cool his head.

“Gold,” he whispered. He pointed in the direction of Mr. Gold’s pawn shop. “That Gold? The guy that has every working person in Storybrooke by balls? The guy who’s practically the reason all of us are living paycheck to paycheck? You’re going on dates with him?”

She shrugged. “It’s only been one date so far, but he asked me to come to his house on Friday.”

“And you said yes? What, does he have something on you? Is that why you need money?”

“No!” Lacey insisted. “I was telling the truth! I just need clothes that are good enough for him.”

“‘Good enough for him?’ He’s not good enough for you, Lacey! That man is a scourge. He’s a parasite. He’s--he’s old enough to be your father!”

“If he was my father, I wouldn’t be in this situation. I’d actually have a good life.”

“You have a good life.” Uncle Manny wasn’t angry anymore. Or if he was, his anger had become still and stern. “Your parents worked every day to give you a good life.”

“And where did it get them?” Lacey snapped. “Where did it get me? Yes, we work hard, but our only reward is getting to work even harder. And I’m so tired.” Her face was hot. God, she was sniffling. “Being with Mr. Gold feels like a break, and that’s all I want anymore. Just a freaking break.” 

Uncle Manny’s arms were around her. He pulled her against his coveralls that smelled like motor oil and sweat. He squeezed her tight and patted her back as she tried to stop crying.

“Sorry,” she sniffed when they broke apart.

“Hey,” he tilted her chin up and looked her in the eye. “Love means never having to say you’re sorry.”

Despite her tears, Lacey laughed. It was an old joke for them. She knew what her next line had to be: “That’s the dumbest thing I ever heard.”  

He hugged her again, kissed the top of her head. They didn’t talk until they were in front of Game of Thorns.

“I’d stay for dinner, but I’ve had Moe’s cooking before.”

She snorted at another joke she’d heard a thousand times, then she turned serious. “Um. You’re not going to tell anybody, are you?”

“About your…” he searched for the words, then shrugged, “love life?”

“Yeah. You know my dad will blow a gasket if he finds out I’m even talking to Mr. Gold, let alone--”

“Yeah, I know.” Uncle Manny cut her off. Clearly, he didn’t want to hear what she was doing with Mr. Gold.

“So, please don’t tell him? Promise?”

Her uncle sucked his teeth and slowly shook his head in silence. It took a long minute before he looked at her again.

“Okay,” he said. “You’re an adult. You know your own mind, you can make your own decisions. It’s just--be smart, okay? You are an adult, but you’re also our little girl. Me, your dad, your mom, rest her soul--we don’t want to see you get hurt.”

“I promise I won’t get hurt, if you promise not to blab my business all over town.”

“Aright,” he sighed. He pulled her in for a tight hug. “I promise. Just--please, take care of yourself.”

  She squeezed her uncle, then headed for the door. “That’s exactly what I’m doing.”

****

Lacey spent the entire working day on Thursday psychically willing the phone to ring with orders, preferably orders that had to be filled as soon as possible. Doing a rush job would give them an excuse to charge extra. She wouldn’t wish a funeral on anyone, but wouldn’t this be a great weekend for an impromptu wedding? So many of Lacey’s problems would be solved if just one panicked bride would come in and beg them to fill Dodci’s Dance Hall with centerpieces and garlands, not to mention all the bouquets and boutonnieres and flowers for the church too. Or maybe someone important could get sick and everyone in Storybrooke would send flowers to the hospital. Wasn’t there anyone in Storybrooke who was celebrating anything? Did people not have birthdays in late January? There were so many reasons people could need flowers. But this wasn’t a day when people did.

Hustling at the Rabbit Hole wasn’t an option anymore. If this were any other occasion, she would borrow a skirt from Mara or Janine, but that didn’t seem like a possibility. They wouldn’t take the news of her going on a date with Mr. Gold any better than Uncle Manny had. Mara’s store, where she also lived, was rented from Mr. Gold, and Janine had taken out a loan to pay for her beautician supplies. Both of them--really everyone in Storybrooke--saw him as the enemy. As far as they cared to think about it, he was the reason they were poor. If Lacey told her friends how much she wanted to be around him, they would think she was crazy, or morally degenerate.

Maybe she was. 

Or maybe they were wrong. Had her friends ever eaten at Bella Notte? Had they ever worn a dress that made them feel like sex on two legs? Had they ever watched a hapless waiter get strong-armed into breaking a stupid law for them? Had they ever been inside Mr. Gold’s house? Had they ever taken clothes off just because a man had asked them to? Had they ever known the thrill of promising to do whatever another person told them to do? Had they ever known the peace of being an object, of kneeling silently at someone’s feet?

Could they even understand why that was something anyone would want? Let alone that it was something Lacey craved in a place deeper than her bones? Some dark, hidden part of her soul wanted Mr. Gold, like she had never wanted anything else. 

And not having enough money to buy a stupid fucking skirt might keep her away from him forever. She could not abide that thought.

When Friday was another dud--a few orders came in, but they wouldn’t pay until delivery--Lacey knew that she was out of options. Since Mr. Gold would be picking her up tonight at eight, she was also out of time. So she did what everyone in Storybrooke did when they had nowhere else to go.

She went to the pawn shop. 

****

Lacey had always been intrigued by the phrasing of Mr. Gold’s store. The sign said Mr. Gold Pawnbroker and Antiquities Dealer. Most stores advertised the goods sold inside, but Mr. Gold advertised himself. This was who he was, this was what he did. No one came to this store because they needed things, they came because they needed what only he could offer them. Usually, they needed it enough to pay whatever price he set. 

When it came down to it, Lacey really wasn’t that different from any other desperate soul who came to Mr. Gold. The only difference was what she wanted.

It was three in the afternoon. Not technically her lunch break, but it wasn’t like she was getting paid to stick around the flower shop. Lacey changed into some gray dress pants and covered her work shirt with her least-frumpy cardigan. She stuffed her purse full of old toys and oddities that might--cumulatively, optimistically--be worth about ten dollars. She yelled at Dad that she was going out for a minute and then walked over to Mr. Gold’s.

The bell rang over her head when she walked through the front door. Mr. Gold was behind the counter, writing something in a ledger. He looked up at the sound and gave the slightest grin when he saw that it was her. 

“Miss French,” he said, with just a touch of warmth. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

Lacey bit her lip, but forced herself to stay cool. She looked around at the shelves and display cases, slowly making her way forward. Another time, she would have marveled at the art and jewelry and historic do-dads, but now she slunk past them.

“I…” she dragged out the word, unsure of what she was saying as she said it, “was wondering… if you have any clothes for sale.” 

Mr. Gold raised his eyebrows. “Clothes?”

“Yeah.” She stopped in front of a spinning rack of necklaces. She couldn’t look at him. “You know, like vintage stuff?”

He walked over to her, behind the display case. “I’ve got some historic naval uniforms, but nothing that would suit you.”

He was in front of her now, so they were separated by nothing but two feet of glass and gadgets. She didn’t raise her head. Some of these necklaces were really pretty. One gold chain with a mother-of-pearl pendant spoke to her for some reason.

“What do you need, Miss French?”

His voice was gentle, coaxing. He understood how much she hated what she was doing. He probably talked to a lot of people who were feeling what she was feeling. At least he didn’t seem to be enjoying her discomfort.

Lacey took a breath, and looked up at him.

“I need a skirt,” she admitted. “I don’t have anything to wear on our date tonight.”

He blinked. Then his face grew infinitesimally softer. 

“I see,” he said. 

“I brought some stuff.” She set her purse on the counter, began to pull out the junk she’d brought from home. “I thought I might--”

“Please,” he held up a hand. “You don’t need to do that. I’m more than happy to assist you, Miss French.” He turned away from her, went back over to his antique cash register. 

“I can pay you back…”

“Oh you will,” he grinned. He took a bill out of the cash register and set it on the counter. Lacey came closer and saw that it was a fifty. “Will this be enough?”

She fought the urge to snatch the money and run all the way to Modern Fashions. It was the same feeling she’d had when he’d given her the money to tip that stupid waiter. The thrill, the rush, of having cash and knowing she could do anything with it. Fifty dollars was more than she had spent on clothes in the past year. Fifty dollars could cover the bill at Granny’s for her whole family--or at least for Janine and Mara to have real lunches.

Fifty dollars was more than twice what Keith had offered her to have sex with him.

Lacey pulled her hands back. She dug her fingernails into her palms. 

“I… I shouldn’t accept this,” she said.  

“Why not?” Mr. Gold asked, unperturbed. “Are you worried I’ll take advantage of you? Wouldn’t you say that ship has sailed, Miss French?”

She looked down at the dirt-stained sneakers she wore for work. In a resigned whisper, she told Mr. Gold the same thing she said to Keith at the Rabbit Hole.

“I’m not a hooker.”

“Of course not.” Mr. Gold’s voice was smooth and confident. He came out from behind the counter to stand in front of her. Slowly, he raised his hand to cup her cheek, subtly forcing her to look at him. “You’re a woman who knows what she wants and who will do whatever she needs to do to make it happen.”

Lacey’s breath shook. Her eyes were hot and she was trembling.

“What do you want?” he asked her. He really was being very patient. 

“I want to go on another date with you, Mr. Gold.”

“And what do you need to do in order to make that happen?”

“I need--” she stopped. I need a skirt wasn’t the right answer. Mr. Gold had asked her what she needed to do. “I need to get some money, Mr. Gold.”

“Ask me for it.” He gave the order like it was a caress. “Ask me for the money and I’ll give it to you, Miss French.”

 This wasn’t like with Keith. This wasn’t being so desperate for money that she’d have sex with a stranger. This was being so desperate for sex that she’d take money to make sure she’d get it. She’d let Mr. Gold pay her like a whore just to make sure he kept treating her like a slut. 

She swallowed. She had to swallow a few times before she was brave enough to speak.

“Please, Mr. Gold, will you give me fifty dollars so I can have something suitable to wear for our date tonight?”

“I would be happy too, Miss French.” He lowered his hand from her cheek and picked the bill up off of the counter. Gently, he took her hand by the wrist, placed the fifty on her palm, and closed her fingers over it.

He grinned at her.

“Buy yourself something pretty.”

Lacey clenched her jaw. Now he was enjoying this. She bit back words that would make him take the money back. Instead, she said what she knew he wanted her to say.

“Thank you, Mr. Gold.”

“You’re quite welcome, Miss French.”

He turned around then, went back behind the counter. Lacey understood she was dismissed. Facing the door, she took a breath and checked to make sure none of her tears had spilled out onto her cheeks. 

Before she opened the door, Mr. Gold called over to her. 

“Miss French,” he said. “If you happen to buy a red skirt and wear nothing underneath it, I will eat your cunt for dessert tonight.”

Lacey’s eyes went wide. Her shock was less for what Mr. Gold had said and more for his nonchalant tone. He was talking about sex in the same way he would talk about running errands.

“Do you understand me, Miss French?”

What about it did he think she didn’t understand? Then Lacey realized she hadn’t answered him. Mr. Gold expected an answer when he spoke to people. 

“Yes, Mr. Gold,” she said. Shock had made her voice a little breathy. “Thank you for telling me, Mr. Gold.”

He gave her a nod. 

Dazed and excited, Lacey left his shop and made her way down the street to Modern Fashions. She had a red skirt to buy.

[mooremars]

Random Camelot facts I learned from Alan Jay Lerner's book:

Frederick Loewe's reaction to the idea of this musical: "That king was a cuckold. Who the hell cares about a cuckold?"

Loewe couldn't even get through The Once and Future King and that is so valid.

Lerner's determination for whether an audience was into Camelot was whether they laughed at "You wonder what the king is wishing tonight/he's wishing he were in Scotland fishing tonight" and I do think he was right.

The first reading was over three hours. The first show in Toronto lasted four and a half hours, ending at 12:40 AM. The second performance ended at 12. For reasons that will become clear soon, this did not really improve until they went to Boston and even then, they didn't get the show down to length until Broadway.

There was a twelve minute sequence of Lancelot's quests that lasted a single performance before getting cut.

There was also a forest animal ballet.

Alan Jay Lerner's wife (number 4 of 8) took their two year old on a "vacation" to Europe during the writing. She called two days in and said she and the son were never coming back. He had a breakdown.

He went to a psychiatrist but said he didn't have time to do any therapy because he needed to write the second act so he just asked to get prescribed something. The doctor apparently went for this, telling him to start with four of whatever these pills were and then build up to twelve a day.

This is how he wrote If Ever I Would Leave You because of course that would be the song.

During rehearsals, he was getting weaned off the meds. In the two days leading up to opening, he just forgot to take the remaining pills or eat anything reasonable. His wife and son also showed back up.

After the second performance it was discovered he had an ulcer and was bleeding internally. He was hospitalized for almost two weeks.

As he was leaving the hospital, the director was wheeled in after suffering a heart attack.

Anyway, this combination of events led to them not fixing the many many problems in the show.

Also at this point Lerner and Loewe were seemingly barely speaking to each other even though they were rewriting the show and looking for a new director.

Lerner functionally took over directing even though he'd never directed anything. Loewe hated this.

Two weeks before they opened in New York they had an almost entirely new second act.

I think this is pretty common knowledge but Before I Gaze at You Again only got lyrics two days before Broadway previews.

When the director finally got out of the hospital, they started making changes again three months after it opened on Broadway.

Loewe quit musicals after this one and I cannot blame him.

He barely touches on the movie, clearly something is going on there, but the one thing he did mention is that apparently Richard Harris was kind of a nightmare.

[forgottenbrigit]

brigit & rosie: "if you die, im going to kill you"

[ 10 years ago ]

"I'm not going to die."

Despite her precarious position, Brigit was confident. Eleven-year-old Rosie was somewhat less convinced. This was hardly the first time that Brigit had climbed up and down from her bedroom window, making use of the combination of vines, stones, and tree branches that lined their home, but it was the first time she was attempting a lateral move. Her destination? Cassimir's locked room that was on the far side of the family's wing.

"Hmm, maybe not from the fall, but Cassimir will kill you when he finds out! He will know it was you."

Brigit laughed, "Maybe, but he can't admit to it. His ridiculously huge ego won't allow it. If he does, he will have to admit that he cannot climb these walls, but a fifteen-year-old girl can."

In fact, his failed attempts to climb up the side of the house had been the reason Brigit was attempting this, at all. That and the glaring fact that Brigit was not especially appreciative of the attentions Cassimir had been showing her sister ever since she turned seventeen. She wanted it to stop and she was planning on making Cassimir's life hell until it did.

Two days ago, Rosie's kite had slipped through her fingers and managed to get stuck high up in the branches of one of the trees. Cassimir, it seemed, had been desperate to show off in front of Eithne and made a big show about how he was to get it down. Since the branches of the tree started too high up -- even for Cassimir -- he was tried to start his ascent by climbing up the side of the house first, but he never made it. Brigit wished she'd been there to see it (and show him up), but she felt that -- ultimately -- she preferred this form of revenge better.

She was lost in her own thoughts when she nearly lost her footing and slipped half a foot down the wall.

"Brige!" Rosie cried, covering her face with her small hands. "Be careful!"

"I am careful. You are distracting me."

Rosie silently watched Brigit go the rest of the way, peering through her fingers at her sister - almost afraid to watch.

Brigit snuck into Cassimir's room from his balcony. She hadn't been into this room since his father had remarried and these guest rooms had been given to her step-siblings. Cassimir kept it locked at all times -- only unlocking the great wooden doors for the servants or occasionally his mother.

Brigit half excepted to have walked into a den of secrets, but she was surprised to find that his room was rather unremarkable -- rather like Cassimir, himself. She smiled to herself: It wouldn't be that way for long.

The floorboard underneath the window was loose and had been for years. The girls used to keep some small, secret treasures there before this room was Cassimir's, but now Brigit had a more sinister purpose in mind for it. She pulled from her pocket a small trout that Cillian had caught that morning and slipped it inside. It would not take long for the entire room to smell terribly -- and she doubted Cassimir would any idea as to where it was coming from.

She hope it drove him mad.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

Lord Malconaire, his second wife, step-children, and Eithne had all been invited to a neighboring lord's for supper and, when they returned, Eithne found Brigit and Rosie still awake in Rosie's bedroom, giggling under the covers.

"Hmm, what are you girls up to?" She asked.

"Nothing!" Rosie replied through a fit of giggles.

"Nothing? What on earth has you laughing so?"

Brigit exchanged glances with Rosie, "Fish!"

[miserymermaid]

Well, it's been a great journey...

(This writeup is very late to the party because I've been busy, sorry!)

As of the end of November 2023, SINoALICE has been shut down. Looking back it's wild how fond I had grown for the game in the 3 years I played Global.

The story was very edgy and outrageous at points but I discovered characters who I latched onto and found their motivations interesting. The biggest one (obviously) being The Little Mermaid; her desire to revive her author to make her story even sadder because she believed the tragedy is what made the story beautiful was an interesting character twist. Like, she's not wrong! The story of The Little Mermaid wouldn't be what it is without the tragic ending (well...it would be a Disney movie I guess 🙄). And her constant desire to find delight/beauty in the tragic could be played for both laughs and seriousness. Every time a new class of hers was released on a banner I grinded for it like crazy, and I ended up with a collection of cute Mermaid outfits that I was really proud of!

My second favorite character was Dorothy, a cheery mad scientist with no regards for boundaries or ethics. Whenever Dorothy was added to a story event, you knew you were in for a good time. I really liked her design as well; she had the most outrageous outfits! If I was ever going to cosplay a character from SINoALICE it would probably be her. And of course many of the other characters worked their charm on me and it was fun every time we got to see a new combination of characters interact with each other.

Any time there was a collab event I really enjoyed myself, even if I had no familiarity with many of the IPs being collabed with. I particularly have fond memories of the 'Fishing Star World Tour' collab because of how hard I grinded in order to obtain the eye-popping fishing pole nightmares that were available as raids...I got both of them AND enough to max limit break them! I also couldn't get away without mentioning 'An End to Summer Dreams', the clam-fishing event that introduced the beloved Lammy; it was one of the first medal events that I participated in after I joined and it felt really fun to be part of the Lammy zeitgeist.

And of course, I can't go without shouting out my amazing guild, JellicleCats...what a fun gang to be a part of. We never aimed to be super colo competitive but we did our best, had some really nice victories, and the slimiest losses! Everyone in the guild was so good-natured, making jokes and swapping strategy advice. At the very end I worked my way up to being the top-ranked vanguard of the group and #4 ranked overall; I'm so happy I could work hard and do well by my teammates!

I am not one to play a lot of gachas in general, SINoALICE was definitely my first foray into playing a gacha fairly seriously, but I don't think I could've asked for a better experience. I was a F2P player and proud that I never once felt coerced into making a purchase. Some people may deride me for being proud of that fact, that it means I never gave the game my support, but I believe that a healthy gacha atmosphere crucially depends on making space for people who wish to be F2P without suffering gameplay-wise for it. I supported SINoALICE with my passion, with logging in every day to see what new twist the game would bring, with making good friends.

SINoALICE took up a lot of my time and I won't say I'm a tiny bit glad to be free of the obligation of constantly being on my phone, but I definitely will miss it. Thank you to all the developers who worked on the game to make this bonkers story come true, and thank you to everyone who played and who I ever got a chance to meet throughout the game!

[underworldobsessed]

For the OC ask: 2, 5, and 6 for Nemeia?

2. What role would your OC fill in a friend group?

Well, if we're talking the Tadpoled crew, they're definitely the leader, although it's a bit of a reluctant role. Nemeia didn't really want to take charge of everyone, but when their group was so dysfunctional, they didn't really have a choice but to be the leader of a group. It's also easy to argue that they're the 'mom friend'. They're always the one reminding people to eat or to do what they need to, making sure their friends take breaks when they need to, even if they aren't the best at that themselves.

5. What’s one hill your OC will die on (anything from a guiding moral position to a strong opinion about combining mint and chocolate)?

Ohhh, hmm. If we're going moral position, it's probably that all children deserve a good home and food on the table. If they had the space and the gold, they would absolutely create a safe home and place for all children they could find, taking them in off the streets and giving them a home.

If we're going a little bit more lighthearted, then they're big on the idea that seafood is disgusting and they'd rather choke than eat fish. They hate the way it smells, and it was one of the only things they could get reliably while they were on the streets as a child so they tolerated it, but now they are so sick of it. They'll eat literally anything else but seafood.

6. How did you choose your OC’s name?

Well, Nemeia was my first ever D&D character, and back then they were pretty different. They're whole story was that they were traveling with the rest of the players, trying to earn their trust only to turn the party in to the person who owned their life (Kind of think Meg and Hades from Hercules) but they were a barbarian at the time. I really should have gone with Warlock, it fit them even back then. But I tried to pick a name that could hint at maybe the fact that they weren't exactly as trustworthy as they appeared and when looking up common Tiefling names, Nemeia stuck out for how it made me think of Nemesis. So that's how they earned their name, even if it doesn't fit them anyore.

[moth-surface]

ALRIGHT, I'M HERE TO TELL YOU ALL ABOUT THE GREATEST FISH POKEMON. "WHAT IS IT," YOU MAY ASK?

MAYBE MILOTIC? OR RELICANTH?

NO

KYOGRE OR SOME OTHER UNCOOL FISH THAT SOMEONE WOULD SAY IF THEY DIDN'T UNDERSTAND FISH?

HELL NO

IT'S THIS MAN

TYNAMO

AND I'M HERE TO EXPLAIN WHY.

YOU KNOW HOW OVER ONE THOUSAND POKEMON HAVE TYPE WEAKNESSES BECAUSE THEY SUCK? NOT TYNAMO. THIS ABSOLUTE BADASS OF A FISH HAS EXACTLY ZERO TYPE WEAKNESSES. IT HAS MORE IMMUNITIES THAN THAT. NOT ONLY THAT, BUT TYNAMO HAS INCREDIBLE STATS. ITS BASE STAT TOTAL IS ONE HUNDRED HIGHER THAN WISHIWASHI'S (ANOTHER, OBVIOUSLY WORSE, FISH). WITH ITS BASE SPEED STAT OF 60, IT CAN OUTSPEED SUCH TOP-TIER THREATS AS HATTREM AND SNORUNT.

AND WHAT ABOUT ITS MOVES? I'M GLAD YOU FUCKING ASKED.

TYNAMO KNOWS FOUR MOVES WHEN IT DECIDES TO VASTLY IMPROVE THE WORLD BY HATCHING FROM ITS EGG, AND NEVER LEARNS ANY MORE, BECAUSE IT ONLY NEEDS THOSE FOUR PERFECT MOVES. SPARK IS A MONUMENTALLY POWERFUL PHYSICAL ATTACK THAT CAN ALSO INDUCE PARALYSIS. THUNDER WAVE IS GUARANTEED TO PARALYZE WHATEVER INFERIOR FISH MAKES THE MISTAKE OF WALKING INTO ITS PATH, EVEN FURTHER SHOWCASING TYNAMO'S BLAZING SPEED STAT. CHARGE BEAM IS NOT ONLY STRONG, BUT IT ALSO RAISES TYNAMO'S ALREADY-INCOMPREHENSIBLY-HIGH SPECIAL ATTACK, AS IF IT NEEDED ANY HELP TO BEGIN WITH.

THINK YOU CAN BEAT TYNAMO WITH SOME GROUND TYPE OR SOMETHING?

GUESS AGAIN.

ITS FOURTH MOVE, TACKLE, HITS GROUND TYPES WITH THE FULL FORCE OF ALL THE OTHER FISH COMBINED.

+6 252+ Atk Choice Band Tynamo Tackle vs. -6 0 HP / 0- Def Ting-Lu: 614-723 (136.1 - 160.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO

OH, BUT WHAT IF TYNAMO WANTS TO LEARN MORE MOVES, JUST TO SHOW HOW SMART AND VERSATILE IT IS?

NOT A PROBLEM. IT CAN LEARN MAGNET RISE FROM THE MOVE TUTOR. IN FACT, TYNAMO IS PROBABLY THE ONE WHO TAUGHT THE MOVE TUTOR MAGNET RISE IN THE FIRST PLACE. TYNAMO'S ABILITY, LEVITATE, MAKES IT COMPLETELY IMMUNE TO GROUND TYPE ATTACKS. MAGNET RISE GIVES IT EVEN MORE IMMUNITY TO GROUND TYPES.

WELL, DOES IT EVOLVE, YOU MAY ASK, AND THE ANSWER IS TECHNICALLY YES, BUT WHY THE HELL WOULD ANYONE EVER EVOLVE SUCH A PERFECT CREATURE? BESIDES, IT DOESN'T EVOLVE UNTIL LEVEL 39, BECAUSE THERE NEEDS TO BE A NATURAL DETERRENT TO PREVENT TRAINERS FROM ACCIDENTALLY EVOLVING THEIR TYNAMO.

IN CONCLUSION,

[tutuandscoot]

It’s really hard to narrow down my asks for your favourites bc I want to know everything but here goes: fave VM lift, and then your fave bit of individual chore in a program for each of them.

Ohhh ok 😏

So for favourite lift I’m gonna say this one:

(I don’t know if it’s my all time fave but it’s way up there). Their combination lifts deserve more love. The flow, the musicality, how far they travel, the fact that you don’t look at it and go ‘oh, a lift’ like it’s sticking out so obviously out of place with the rest of the program, it’s just all dancing- you forget about the ‘elements’.

I particularly love this one because the first part of it is a very ballet-esk lift. He throws her over his head, she turns mid air and he catches her in a fish: ironically it’s very similar to some lifts in the Manon pdd that they took inspiration from for moulin rouge. 🤔

I don’t know why I just thought of this it’s really random, but this program in moments gives me Bridge to Terabithia vibes.. (anyone else see that movie?) no ok so the moment after the fish and she ever so gracefully throws herself upside down, then wraps around him, and that moment where’s she’s cradling on him like a baby koala- wrapped around his shoulders with her legs tucked up… (like they’re crossing a river and he’s carrying her across) there’s kinda these vibes of exploration and discovery in Mahler. The moment when they pause and look out, The Goose™️ where it’s like she’s flying.. maybe BtT wasn’t a good example but there’s sort of these themes of discovering the unknown and going on this adventure together. It’s also a very romantic program and it’s about an engagement and falling in love, but yeah idk why I just realised that but there’s these vibes of venturing into the unknown.. (kinda makes sense they were these kids discovering their future in the moment).

Then he’s just like ‘flip, over you go’ and again they make these’s crazy acrobatic things (On IcE😬) look so graceful, never any hesitation, mis- calculation, all their movements so connected to the other’s. Then also choreographically the last rotational position as the music falls from that top note, and they go straight away into their spin (sometimes putting elements back to back like that can be jarring but not with these angels!).

Ok fave bit of chore:

For Scott this was surprisingly easy.

He NAILS this chore. In the second gif especially you can see their differences in their movement quality which is so rare for them, on one hand I want to play devils advocate and say it’s purposeful on part of their different characters but honestly (because I love them and will say when something isn’t quite good enough), Tessa doesn’t really sit well in this type of movement like Scott does. It’s hard to explain without demonstrating (see me in my living room tryna figure this chore out 🤦‍♀️). He just feels it better, he takes his time to move through each position, there’s more strength in it, the fist thing, melting forward, his hand positions, the lift in that little jump. Now T does have the worse end of the deal here being second in the canon she has less time, but still she kinda rushes through the movement and is too sharp and small- it’s like what I said the other day talking about Maneater, how for quick, fast movements holding tension will make it harder. So yeh I always watch Scott in this dance break moment, he just really owns it, he’s so comfortable in the movement and his character. Yay him! when he’s dancing in his element he is an incredible dancer.

Ok let’s give T some love:

Originally my brain when to something from The Seasons.. because Tessa is a ballerina. She may not have chosen that occupational path but she still became one. And she had a partner that let her become one by being there to make her shine.

But I couldn’t find any specific piece of chore so instead I’m saying this:

Scott isn’t kidding when he says she was a terrifying athlete. But T really took this role where she’d be playing a prostitute who is abused and violated only to die in the arms of the love of her life and said ‘let me show you terrifying’

It’s one brief moment but you know exactly what that movement is and what it’s implying and while it’s not some actual X rated move they actually wouldn’t been able to show on 📺 it still gives you chills and kinda shocks you. The looks on their faces, her laser like eyes staring you down. Her actually pulling her dress up, (the fact he’s looking at her a$$ 😰). Like it kinda scares you and makes you uncomfortable in the best way possible and I LOVE that for her, coz on the other end I could’ve gone with some Tutu Tess chore but the fact is I could go with almost anything coz she is just that amazing.

I endith this essay🫡

[anthros-vanitas-archive]

15 Questions Tag

I was tagged by @winterandwords in this post to answer this questions about my OC, thank you and I hope you enjoy.

Now, I know I haven't said a lot about him in the past, talking about The Eternal Throne, that might have been a little bit intentional… there will be more posts introducing him in a more proper way in the future but for now I present to you 15 Questions with <Samuel> protagonist of The Eternal Throne.

Are you named after anyone? 

I don’t really know, my parents died when I was still pretty young to remember if they ever mentioned something like that, and my oldman would have never told me either.

(Vanitas: “‘Oldman’ is a nickname for his grandfather”)

When was the last time you cried?

Why did you want to know that? …Fine I guess I’ll tell you, a few months ago, it was late and I drank a little too much. That night I was emotional because I just remembered something. That’s it. 

Do you have kids?

No, and I’m not planning to either. Even if my life somehow could work to have a child, I’m not good with kids.

Do you use sarcasm a lot?

I usually do, but not a lot. I would say the normal amount.

What’s the first thing you notice about people?

In general nothing specific, I always try to keep an eye just in case. When I’m in a conversation, I try to look out for anything suspicious in their demeanor, mostly trying to see if they are trustworthy or not.  

What’s your eye color?

Dull and normal green

(Vanitas: “He’s lying is a pretty and colorful green”)

Scary movies or happy endings?

Happy endings, they make me feel warm and I enjoy that, sometimes that’s all you need, you know? Also, I have trouble sleeping already, I don’t wanna add a scary tale to the pile.

Any special talents?

I’m a quick learner and I don’t know if this counts as a talent but I have a really good memory too, but I don’t consider it a talent because sometimes you just want to forget.

(Vanitas: “He has a certain degree of photographic memory but depending of whom you ask that is just having good long term memory combine with good visual memory”)

Where were you born?

I’m not sure, somewhere up north for the tales of my oldman

What are your hobbies?

I like reading but I don’t get to have many books available, and I enjoy the usual traveler stuff like fishing, birdwatching, herbalism, basic tailoring. 

Have you any pets?

Not really pets, just strays who like to eat my leftovers. Cats are pretty nice, they keep the rats away, and that’s really handy sometimes. But no attachments to them like pet names, they can follow you around but as soon as they feel in danger, there’s no loyalty there which is fair honestly.   

What sports do you play/have played?

When I was a kid my brother and I played ball a couple of times, but that finished as soon as we moved out of that camp. So yeah, no sports since then.

(Vanitas: “I’ll consider running, climbing swimming sports if it wasn’t for the fact that is more for survival and less for recreation”)

How tall are you?

Don’t know, average?

(Vanitas: “For the world around 1.75 m or for the americans 5ft 8in”)

Favorite subject in school?

What is that? Is it like a congregation for scholars or something?

(Vanitas: “I’ll say it would probably be physics, but honestly he’ll be good at pretty much any subject”)

Dream job

This might sound silly, but: Tailor. I like tailoring, I’m not that good at it but I like it and if we’re talking about dreams I like the idea of a tailor and leatherworking shop. That's probably is not gonna happen anytime soon.

(Vanitas: “I could say that I’m sorry, but I’ll be lying if I did”)

Passing the tag along to: @charlies-storybook, @vintagecivet, @heymacareyna, @denrathivy and @rexxles, aswell as an open tag for anyone else who wants to join. The questions template would be under the cut.

Are you named after anyone?

When was the last time you cried?

Do you have kids?

Do you use sarcasm a lot?

What’s the first thing you notice about people?

What’s your eye color?

Scary movies or happy endings?

Any special talents?

Where were you born?

What are your hobbies?

Have you any pets?

What sports do you play/have played?

How tall are you?

Favorite subject in school?

Dream job