#always loved biology and it's SUCH a fun concept to explore and teach kids more about animals

[mezzmerizd]

There's something so theraputic and lovely about learning that childhood shows have fandoms that are still alive today,, fanart, animatics, fics, comics, all of it. It's great to see the love i had for shows as a kid be still shared today, especially with characters represented in ways I can relate to today, too :3

[johnkrrasinski]

𝐄𝐱𝐢𝐥𝐞

Chapter 3: Balancing on Breaking Branches

full masterlist // series masterlist // commission open // support my work

Pairings: Dark!Steve Rogers (in future chapters) x Reader

Word Count: 3,521

Summary: Steve Rogers; a Hollywood A-lister and your clandestine occasional hookup. Best friends since childhood, but people change and friendships fall out. Now you were merely strangers with benefits. What happens when one day you stopped being his doormat to be a better man’s queen? The selfish Steve Rogers would not like it. How far is he willing to go to get his favorite possession back?

Warnings: smut, non-con/dub-con, dark Steve (in later chapter), angst, Steve Rogers is an asshole in this one, no redeeming qualities. (MUST BE 18+)

A/N: this series is dedicated to the lovely @belovedcherry​​​ who commissioned this story and developed the concept. thank you for being a friend when i truly needed it. i’m really glad that you trusted me to write this story for you. with all my heart, i sincerely hope you like it. this series will be updated every day.

The day after the party, you were ready for your first class as a freshman in college. Everything went smooth, your professors were nice. There was one who spoke monotonously like he was mumbling, but you survived. Steve was the last thing that crossed your mind but you couldn’t help but replay the look on his face when Natasha threw a drink at him over and over again. You smiled to yourself every time you recalled it; amid of a class, during lunch breaks, in the library and when you returned to your dorm.

Natasha was currently out on a date with the guy she danced at a party last night. Clint, if you’re not misremembering it. You were lounging on your bed with a Sci-Fi book in your hands. You loved casual nights like this; today was the first day so you didn’t have to worry about assignments, projects or tests demanding for your attention. You could just enjoy the scarce school nights where you could just chill with your preferred novel or show.

You were so engulfed in your daydream that a knock on the door jolted you. You certainly weren’t expecting any guest at this hour and it was too early for Natasha to return from her date. Perhaps it didn’t go well or the guy was a birdbrain that Natasha just got up and left? In the past one week you had known Natasha, you knew that it was undoubtedly something Natasha would do.

So you walked toward the door and opened it. What jarred you was the person staring back on the other side.

“…Steve?”

“Hey, y/n.” A placid tone in his voice echoed.

“What…. What are you…? How did you…?”

“Cat got your tongue?”

You chuckled. “No, it’s just- I wasn’t expecting anybody tonight.”

“So you would any other night?”

“No! I- I mean, having guests is not common for me. Are you sure you’re in the right place?”

“0809B?” He quickly verified the numbering on the door.

“Yes, yes it’s me. But… what are you doing here?” Five years ago if Steve had come over to your place, he wouldn’t even need to bother to knock. But now, it felt like a foreigner was standing at your door; uninvited and unannounced. Inculcating himself on your fortified township that didn’t have his name on the list of inhabitants.

“Thought I’d say hi. It’s been a while.” He said it so carelessly as if it wasn’t your brittle heart that was on the verge of a cliff, a waft away from hitting the ground and crash.

“How did you know where my dorm is?”

“Got my sources all over the campus.” He welcomed himself in without even asking for your permission. You being the pushover you characteristically were, stepping aside immediately as a bit of his arm brushed your shoulder.

“So… where is your scary redhead roommate?” he paced around the room, his broad figure making the moderate unit feels even more cramped.

“She’s on a date.”

Steve scoffed, “good luck to that guy.” His eyes darted all over the chattels before he flumped conveniently on your bed. “This one’s yours, right? I wouldn’t want your roommate to throw more drinks at me for messing up her sheet.”

“Yeah, it’s mine.” you folded your hands on your chest, trying to shield yourself from the unaddressed tension in the room. “Listen, I’m sorry about last night… at the party.” you loaded the silence in the room.

Steve smirked. “What are you sorry for, doll? Wasn’t you who made me go home with wet clothes, was it?”

“I know but, I’m just sorry. I don’t know why she did that, well, I mean I did know, I just didn’t know why she thought it was okay and I really did try to stop her but-” you rambled, feeling even more repentant than before. All the contentment that gradually cultivated since yesterday was extinguished when his cerulean blue eyes fixated themselves on you as he stood from the bed and approached you.

Without a single warning, Steve slammed his lips onto yours, knocking the lungs out of your breath as you nearly stumbled on your feet. And then, it was like the time stopped ticking and the scene was in slow motion. The only things that reverberated in your ears were your laboured breathing and the quickening pace of your heartbeat.

What was happening? Your mind was scattered all over the place by one sweep of his lips and you couldn’t patch the pieces of the phenomenon.

All you knew was that you wanted more… You needed more. It was everything you had ever yearned and perished for. You craved him deep in your bones and he infused himself in your blood, long before you even realized it. And you let him, you’d cut open your flesh, just to have a crumb of his love.

He licked your bottom lip to ask you to grant him entry and you permitted. He tangled his tongue with yours and he explored your mouth. You couldn’t help but emit a whimper to what he was doing to you. His hands around your neck keeping you in place.

“I know you want me, baby… You want me, don’t you?”

“Yes, Steve. I do.” you were so breathless, you practically whispered the words.

“Say it. Say that you desperately want me.”

“I desperately want you, Steve. Please…” you didn’t know what you were actually pleading for but you were too mesmerized by his touch and his body so close to yours. You would do, say and be anything he wanted you at that moment. You’d give it away without a second thought.

“Such a sweet girl. You haven’t changed a bit, have you?” he taunted you. The truth is, he always knew you had fond feelings for him but he never planned to reciprocate those feelings. He always viewed you as someone who was once his best friend, and when he had a taste of what life had to offer once he put himself out there, what you offered felt bleak and monotone. Janet was a wild ride, a Bugatti Chiron on an empty lane and he loved the adrenaline.

But you… You were as soft as cotton, a needy lamb in the middle of a deserted island, begging for someone to come and rescue you. It wasn’t what he liked on his plate but it didn’t mean that he wasn’t going to have his fun with you. Your naivety came with being malleable and oh, how fun he was going to have, moulding you into whatever he liked.

Steve lifted you and threw you on the bed and you shied away from his fiery gaze. “Stay there.” you nodded and waited for his next move. He took off his coat and stripped himself off his jeans and navy blue shirt. He slowly pulled down his briefs and the primal instinct in you knocked on the door of your desire, tempting you to look but you were too mortified at the moment. Not having that many experiences… Well, not having any experience at all actually, made you feel extremely nervous.

You didn’t know what was happening or what he was going to do next. What if he asked you to do something your Biology classes didn’t teach you about? You were jittery as the ceiling of your dorm suddenly looked so intriguing. You listened to the ruffling noises of his clothes being taken off.

“Sit up.” You followed his order and he lifted your oversized shirt off your body and you suddenly felt so exposed. You weren’t wearing a bra because you never bothered to when you were in your resident and you lived with Natasha who didn’t even care if you walked around the dorm naked.

Your hands instantly shielded your breasts as you shrank before him. He pulled your hands away, clearly disagreeing with your sheepishness. “Now, now, let’s not play coy, shall we? You said you want me then what are you hiding for?”

You didn’t know what to say so you just nodded. He lightly pushed your shoulders so you laid back on the mattress, as Steve pulled down your pyjama shorts along with your underwear. You had never felt so unconcealed especially on the eyes of the man you had loved since you were a kid.

“Relax, baby. I’m not gonna hurt you… Well, maybe just a bit.” He winked as he positioned himself between your legs. He trailed butterfly kisses along your body, down from your belly to your neck. He knew the exact spot that would make you weak on the knees (as if you weren’t already–) and he took a little more time there to prep you for the imminent calamity.  

You squirmed underneath as you let out a breathy moan. “Steve…”

“Shh, I got you.”

He dragged his fingers down your clit as he made a circling motion with his fingers there, making you shudder. You bit your lip with your eyes shut and you didn’t see how much he was enjoying the palpable effect he had on you.

“How does that feel, baby?”

“It feels… Good. So good, Steve.” Your wetness gathered and then you felt a nudge of his tip on your bud. You gasped and the friction opened your eyes. “What… What is that?”

“It’s just my cock being impatient for your soaked cunt, baby. Relax. We’re gonna get there.”

You slacked beneath him, letting him take the wheel. When you were wet enough, he stopped. “You trust me, don’t you?”

“Yes… I trust you.”

“You’re willing to give yourself to me? Hm?” He nipped your bottom lip and he bucked his hips into you, giving you a peek of what was about to come.

“Yes… Yes, I will.”

“That’s a good girl.” He inserted his cock through your entrance, tearing off the thin piece of tissue that surrounds your opening. You shrieked in pain as you held on to his shoulders, trying to endure bear the new sensation you’d never felt before.

You closed your eyes, trying to regain composure but it was impossible with him filling you up so well. He withdrew his hips and thrust himself forward and he repeated the action. You tried to suppress your squeals but Steve encouraged you to do otherwise.

“Moan for me baby, go ahead.”

You couldn’t disobey him even if you wanted to anyway, so when he kept pounding you with his enormous cock, you lost your capability of doing anything else but scream his name and felt all of him inside you. The pain that hurt you at the beginning has morphed into newfound pleasure.

He picked up the speed, not wanting to wait any longer to reach his climax. The accelerated velocity formed a sensation in your abdomen, anticipating for its eruption. Steve felt you clenched around him and you couldn’t restrain yourself any longer, one more push and the coil inside you broke and you swore you saw stars and fireworks going off above you.

Steve’s grip tightened on your wrists as his cock throbbed, shooting his cum deep inside you. The euphoria never gets old. Even though he had just fucked two girls after the party last night, there was nothing more satisfying than knowing that he had just desecrated someone’s purity, which is exactly what just did to you.

Steve threw himself off of you in your tiny bed, laying next to you. He had one hand propping up his head and the other one on his stomach, a complacent look on his face beamed like the moon in the eventide. In a matter of seconds, Steve collapsed from the depletion and he flickered out like a light.

You, on the other hand, felt… Different. It was like your body was replaced with a clone and now you must make peace with the reality that this was your brand new skin. You felt something in you bloomed like a flower in spring. There was electricity in your veins like and you knew that you couldn’t return to what you once were before Steve led you down this path.

You regarded him at his most equanimous state and memorized every featured on his face. This was everything you had ever dreamed of; him, slumbering on your bed after he just made sweet, sweet love to you. His lashes fluttering with his lips slightly part as his soft snores escaped through the crevice. You wanted to touch him, anywhere, anywhere at all where you could palpate the minuscule parts him that composed him into who he is.

You recalled the graze on his knee when he recklessly rode down his bike on a bumpy road, taking a shortcut to the cinema because the film was starting in seven minutes and it took at least twenty to reach from his house.

You recalled the bruise on his cheek from when he was young and stupid; he dared to fight anyone who wouldn’t stop talking during the show.

You recalled the scar on his palm from when a branch scraped his skin when you had your own little summer adventure in the woods.

…And you recalled the first moment you fell in love with him; it was when you cried in fifth grade because your impish classmate, Jason had stolen your favourite pencil and he broke it. Steve comforted you by offering his own pencil even though he barely had enough money to buy another one and he didn’t hesitate in standing up to the boy and punched him on his nose. Jason went home and cried on his bicycle with a bleeding nose. It was also the moment you realized just how lucky you were to have such a considerate best friend like him.

You stargazed the man who you knew by heart like the back of your hand; you began to feel yourself getting drowsy so you let the weariness pulls you down to oblivion, there was no better view than Steve’s face being the last thing that you saw before you could meet him again in your dreams.

-

Steve didn’t realize he had fallen asleep so quickly after he fucked you; goddamnit, how the hell did this even happen? He always got up and leave as soon as possible after he had his fill. He wasn’t one for aftercare and cuddling after sex. He wasn’t planning on to settle in a relationship either.

After Janet was caught screwing Ken who he thought was his friend, he decided that he would stop committing into mundanity. Why on earth would he need to give himself to one woman only when he could have a million other women? He knew he was hot shit. He wasn’t this awkward and scrawny kid that he used to be anymore; he was bigger, bulkier, and braver.

He was also aware of the talent he possessed; he was an excellent performer. He had received countless praises from his schoolmates and his teachers after every school plays. He was going to attain even so much more now that he is in college. It’s a free real estate.

He didn’t need anyone else. The only woman worthy of his attention and devotion was his mom. His mom who had endlessly supported him, loved him and raised him. He made an oath to himself that he was going to pay back all her sweat from hours of drudgery. That means, he had to work his ass off until he no longer had to worry about paying the bills and filling his fridge. Until he could buy Sarah her own Range Rovers.

That also means he had no time to share an apartment with a girl and decorate it with tiny houseplants or talk about how many children they were going to have together. No, he knew that was what you wanted from him. He knew that was how you illustrated your future. He was getting miffed by it already. He’d hate having to pretend that he’s the slightest bit interested in having a conversation of “where is this going?”

So he tried to slip through your grasp as quiet as a ninja to prevent waking you up. You stirred a little bit and he was relieved to see that you didn’t open your eyes. God, we fucked once and he was already this clingy? No, thank you. He cerebrated.

He put on his clothes that were strewed on the floor and sprinted for the knob, letting himself out without looking back. He was free.

-

Natasha had returned from her date a little later than expected; Clint had taken her to the outskirts of town for a late getaway and they lost track of time. By the time she arrived at her dorm, it was nearing three am where there were barely people who were still up.

Except for one person. What the hell is he even doing here?

Natasha saw Steve Rogers coming out of the resident with a blue trench coat hugging his massive figure. He didn’t see her, lucky for him. Because if he had, she would’ve murdered him on spot with her glare. He should’ve thanked his guardian angels in heaven that Natasha was too knackered to obtrude herself in his direction and confront him. If she hadn’t, she would’ve tackled him to the ground. (She could do it, she had done it back in high school when someone tried to mug her. It was as if she was a highly trained Russian spy in another life or something)

She monitored him as he ignited the engine and bolted off his Harley Davidson to God knows where and then she entered her building. Her mind couldn’t help but wonder, did he come here to see you? Perhaps to apologize? Did I successfully knocked some sense into him? There would be a necessary conversation waiting for you in the morning.

-

In the dawn, you woke up with a glow permeating through the drawn curtains and one that emitted from your body. You couldn’t put a word to enunciate it, but it felt rapturous. Just like the ache between your legs.

You expected to see Steve next to you, thinking that he would be there to kiss you good morning and maybe you both could have breakfast together before class starts. But of course, he didn’t stay. Perhaps he left earlier to get ready at his own place and didn’t wanna wake you up? That would’ve been sweet but… was it really the incentive?

“Good morning.” Natasha greeted with a cotton towel wrapped around her body.

“Hey, what time did you come home last night?” you roused from your nestled state.

“Around 3 AM, got a little lost. Clint took us to the outskirts, I almost thought he was planning to kidnap me.” Natasha joked.

You were quiet. You had questions hovering in your head but you didn’t have the courage to voice them.

“Funny story… I ran into Steve Rogers last night. Well, I saw him walk out of the building more precisely.”

“Oh…” there was no curiosity or astonishment in your voice.  

Natasha had a dubious look on her face, “did he come to see you?”

“…Yeah, he did.”

“Did he come to apologize?”

“…Not exactly.”

“Then what did he do?”

You bit your lip replaying the sin that you committed last night. You could still feel him between your legs and you felt your body tingled at the flashback. Your lack of respond told her everything she needed to know.

“Oh, no… Y/N…”

“No, it was actually… Good. He was really good.”

“Sweetie,” she asserted to make you listen. “You know you were only one of the hundreds of women he had slept with, right?” She postulated.

“What makes you say that?” you were dejected. But deep down, you knew… You knew that she wasn’t mistaken. But it doesn’t mean people can’t change… Right?

“I’ve dealt with men like him many times, y/n. I knew he was trouble as soon as I first saw him at the party. Remember all those girls who surrounded him like he was Charles Manson? I’ll bet you $20 that he had put his penis in every single one of them.”

Your words were clogged in your throat. You felt the pang in your heart at her truthful words. As much as you’d like to inculpate her for speaking nonsense, you knew better. Steve didn’t apologize, he never even showed a single shred of remorse for forsaking you in high school. He only came to take advantage of you and then fleed without saying goodbye.

Maybe the blame was on you, for closing your ears on your own intuition. For allowing him to climb inside your body and getting away unscathed after desecrating your innocence. You felt resentment, hurt, defeat, sorrow and loss filling you up like steaming hot water, searing you inside out. But you hated yourself more for knowing that despite all the incriminating turpitude he inflicted on you, you still yearned for him. You still loved him.

[high5nerd]

Vorfreude

Aay, my first (at the time) Pitch x Reader one-shot!

Don’t fook your professors, folks.

“When understanding the root words of our modern day languages, it can be daunting to fully comprehend the detail such a language as English can be intertwined with a multitude of other languages long forgotten,”

Dr. Pitchiner was certainly entrancing when he spoke at the podium, flourishing a hand at the list of most common prefixes and suffixes used in today’s modern English, along with a surprise list of obscure ones you knew you had to take note on. Dr. Pitchiner wasn’t one to give easy exams, the last exam was so gruelling someone almost passed out from a panic attack at the multitude of pages.

Despite enjoying writing yourself, you weren’t as invested in English as he was, which was a given, hence the reason his PhD in English as well as a degree in Latin Translation. Many times he’s journeyed to Italy to help assist scholars in finding new information on the lost civilizations of Rome, Sicily, and Pompeii, and that credit alone was the sole reason he got the job at this state college. He should have been employed at universities like Harvard or Yale, or even Oxford or Princeton, but yet here he was, teaching at your simple state college with an acceptance rate of 93% and the highest transferring stat in all of your state.

   Not a lot of students found him attractive like you did. Certainly there was more than a couple handfuls of girls, pockets of them, who’ve admired his lithe figure, his graceful movements and that firm ass that was way too snug in his black slacks. Most of them admired his physique from afar, some even daring others to get closer to flirt with him shamelessly, and usually that ended up with a bad memory for the attempted action, as well as the girl who tried to drop the class out of utter embarrassment at such a call out after class that could be heard around the hall.

   Dr. Kozmotis Pitchiner took no bullshit from anyone, and that’s the main reason your heart fluttered at the thought and sight of him. This class wasn’t the first time you two had met face to face either, shockingly. Quite hilariously, the first time you two met, you didn’t even like him.

Three years ago, you were an itty bitty freshman just like the ones that recently arrived this semester, and to the best of your luck, you scored almost five hours of total free time on Mondays and Wednesdays before your Intro to Biology class and Intro to Psychology course after lunch.

Why not explore the gorgeous campus during those five hours? It would get you more acquainted with your surroundings and in small cases, make new friends! Grabbing a can of fruit juice and a danish from the dining hall, you munched as you explored the massive quad before discovering where the art gallery was, venturing towards the art and theatre buildings you’d be in the next year for your art perspective requirements. You found yourself meandering in the photograph-covered walled hallway of the English department, unknowingly headed towards the campus’s own local newspaper headquarters when a voice startled you from your entrancement with your journey.

“Hey. Where do you think you’re going?” a voice matching the texture of velvet came.

You turn around, frowning at the sudden startling noise. There just feet away from you, emerged from his office was a man dressed in what you would consider funeral appropriate attire, a smooth black suit with a basic black tie, and shiny black dress shoes that looked like they could reflect sunlight and somehow cause a car accident if he walked outside.

“I’m exploring. Where do you think you’re going?” you shot back, taking a long sip of your fruit juice.

You were mildly surprised to see a smirk cross his devious lips, his silver-gold eyes narrowing at your sass. He almost looked amused at your attitude, even enough so that his tensed shoulders relaxed, but his arms still remained folded over his chest.

“At the moment, I’m going wherever you think you’re headed, which should be in the opposite direction you’re headed.”

Ooh, he likes playing word games. You took another sip and then took a big bite of your danish, not caring about how childish you were coming off to him. You pointed towards the hallway, “Why can’t I go down there?”

He gestured his head in the same direction, “It’s merely copy rooms and computer labs meant for the Daily Mascot Oracle. Nothing worth checking out.”

“Oh. That’s a shit title.” you commented.

He barked out a heartwarming laugh. You grin at him, glad he finally was capable of taking that stick out of his ass and be a decent human being. Almost three times so far in just two days you got two people to really dislike your presence and your sassy attitude, someone named Bunnymund and another elfish looking kid named Jack who’s definition of fun didn’t match yours at all.

“I certainly didn’t agree to it either, but the editor in chief made sure my vote was outnumbered,” he hesitated, thinking quickly before glancing at you, “Are you a freshman?”

You nodded, knowing what he would ask next, “Majoring in psychology with hopefully a minor in alternative medicine and therapy.”

He looked genuinely impressed, “I must say, it’s quite refreshing to have a new student under that field. Not a lot of freshmen choose that whilst entering for their first year. What makes you like that field of study so much?”

You shrugged with a smile, “I like the whole concept of the human mind and how it functions on an emotional state. It’s interesting how certain actions and emotions can create feelings inside us, and I especially love the study of dreams and fears and hopes. I want to do a project on dream therapy for my senior thesis when it comes time to that, but I doubt they’ll let me. Professor Oren didn’t like hearing me say that at orientation.”

Dr. Pitchiner nodded, “Oren doesn’t really believe in the science behind dreams, and certainly not the spirituality behind it if you believe in that sort of thing. I certainly do.”

“You do?” you were genuinely surprised, literally taken aback. You wouldn’t have considered such an eloquent, smooth and finely dressed man to believe in a spirituality. He reeked of realist to you, you certainly weren’t expecting that.

He nodded again, “Of course. It’s only natural for the human psyche to become understandable to a certain degree, and it’s been proven through many other cultures that such things exist, like the sixth sense or empathy or precognition. Why not in dream analyzation? It’s fascinating, I’m glad you’re interested in it. If I wasn’t an English professor I would immediately return to college to take advantage of that.”

That’s when you realized how gold his eyes were, how they sparkled like the richest coins ever discovered in the vastness of the sunken world of ships at the bottom of the ocean. His eyes gave away intense wisdom, feeling and intellect that you felt the need to learn from. You needed to unlock every part of him to see beyond that gaze he gave you with that strange upturn at the corner of his devilish mouth.

Sure enough, you eventually found yourself in his class a couple years later for your required English Analysis course, and the both of you took advantage of that. You found yourself wandering back to his office between classes and office hours, knowing full well no one visited him nor had the courage to due to his harshness in class and strict code he sticks to in not forming attachments to the student body. For you, somehow you were able to break that barrier and see a different kind of man than what people upfront knew him as.

Your friend Katherine is your first and only senior friend at the university, and from her story when you signed up for his course at the beginning of the year, he was known to be callous and strict, such a polar opposite to leniency that even if you were sick with proof of illness, he wouldn’t accept that as an excused absence unless you flourished a medical note from a doctor to him. Everyone feared him, but admired him from afar since he’s the only professor to actually cut down on the bullshitters and slackers in class, and is one of the most respected professors there because of his adventures in Italy as a historian as well as a translator.

You, however, knew him as a sarcastic, good humored intellect with an avid thirst for learning the unknown, and unlocking skills he’s never attempted. From the times you would visit his office or bump into each other in the hallways and have small talk, you learned that at one point in his life he was just as brash, brazen and impulsive as you are now. Before he considered becoming a professor, he was eager to study what you were studying in now, especially the study of phobias and humans’ reactions to certain fear-triggering events or objects. You were the only one that’s ever heard him snort at a god-awful joke you would attempt at, and the only one that’s ever seen him grin at you in such a way it made your stomach flip and flutter.

Perhaps you exposed yourself too much to him, or perhaps he was just so relatable you felt like you sometimes felt like you were talking to a part of yourself you’ve never discovered before. It slightly scared you how much he knew about you and it wasn’t even the end of the fall semester, but you trusted him in ways you’ve never trusted another before. He always promised you absolute confidentiality with your confessions to him, most out of pure merriment and in the goal of a strengthened friendship, like when you told him when you were fourteen you tried blending into the popular clique but still found yourself drawn to the nerds and theater kids once more. He once gave you such a dubious smirk at the notion of you once being the stereotypical geek, with what you claimed to be the unattractive flat hair, braces and awkward gait.

“I can hardly believe that of you.” he chuckled.

“Why? You can kinda tell, don’t lie.” you winked teasingly.

He tilted his head in his hand at you, looking your figure up and down so slowly and languidly that it made your face heat up with a sudden thrill you haven’t felt in a long time.

“Whoever you were before has grew into a fine young woman, that’s most of what I can see.” he looked at you seriously, his eyes hard with truth.

Ever since that you realized that the idea of him being closer than what you two already were was something else you wanted. You thirsted for it, like an obsession. Unhealthy, you weren’t sure, but you were careful not to give yourself away to him, in fear that it would destroy that friendship you two already had. Without anyone’s knowledge but his, you both called each other by your first names. You called him Koz, and he called you by the nickname you wanted him to call you.

Even just watching him write on the board, hearing his voice wrap you lovingly in it’s deep musical tones made your legs tighten in excitement. You furrowed your brows, trying to ignore the incoming thoughts of his voice saying your name like a mantra as you wrote down everything being scribbled on the board.

The guy next to you noticed your discomfort, and nudged his elbow with yours. You looked at him, affronted, “What?”

“You look pissed. You okay?” he looked suspicious.

“Shut up, I’m fine.”

“(y/n).”

Your blood froze, looking up at him in pure fear at being called out in front of class. His hands were folded behind his back, his eyes lingering on you and only you. The class stared at you, nearly a thousand eyes focused on your nervous leg bouncing and the pen in your hand being crushed by the amount of attention drawn onto you.

“I see you have already started to discuss with Stephen,” you could swear to the moon above he smirked ruefully, “Would you like to tell us what the definition of vorfreude is?”

You gulped quickly before looking down at your paper, noticing that the last couple notes were not even notes, they were sinful descriptions of what you wanted him to do to your mouth and in between your thighs. Your face grew incredibly red to the point it prickled your skin as you stood up. You never broke eye contact with him. You can’t be weak now.

“Vorfreude is a German word to define a type of intense anticipation of imagining future pleasures.”

He nodded, his smirk subsiding to something even darker at the moment you uttered the word ‘future’, “Excellent. Glad to see you’re still paying attention despite your distractions.”

Some people snickered at your red face deepening in color as you plopped back down in your seat. By now Koz was shuffling the exams collected last week, freshly graded and corrections that could leave someone in tears if not taken lightly.

As he passed around the graded exams going over the class’s weak points and what to look forward to for the next midterm, you doodled a bit more in your notebook and wrote more lines of absolute sin into a poetic verse, something E. E. Cummings would be absolutely proud of.

You read over your lines, admiring the visual rhymes as well as the absolute clear imagery of being locked into him, his arms like a vice as he would pull your hair and bite at the sensitive parts of your neck, and even now you squirmed at the daydream of such a carnal act going on in his office. More than anything, more than just impressing him with your knowledge and sharp tongue would be for him to pin you to the desk and make you cry out his name in ecstasy as your legs would quiver with release. You bit your lip as you tightened your grip on your sweatshirt, trying your damn hardest not to accidentally make a noise.

That’s when you noticed the shadow lurking over you.

You froze. Your entire body became still with horror and your blood turned cold as Koz read over your carnal poem and observed your lewd doodles with a casual eye as he handed you your exam. You reached out for it with a shaking hand and slowly placed it over the notebook page, knowing it was too late to hide the damage.

“Please see me after class about your note-taking.”

You nodded, trying to fight tears from the utter embarrassment as he finished handing out the exams. You close your notebook in disgust with yourself. Koz continues the class until 5:45, the usual time it ends when everyone wastes no time in dilly dallying and immediately leaving, most if not all heading to the dining hall for dinner. You, planning to indulge in just a minor dinner consisting of cereal or soup out of embarrassment and sadness, packed up slowly.

“(y/n), a word please.” he beckoned from his podium.

You refused to look at him as you stepped down from the lecture hall stairs to the podium, your backpack slung over your shoulder and your confidence crumbling even further as you waited with baited breath as he finished shutting off the projector and computer.

“You have quite a knack for poetry for someone who says English isn’t their forte, as well as for a psychology major.” he calmly noted, hardly glancing at you.

You couldn’t help it, you couldn’t hold it in anymore and let it burst from your chest, all your thoughts jumbled into a single rambling mess, “I swear I didn’t intend for you to see it, I just-I just-I don’t know why I did that and I know I messed up our friendship, it’s all my fault and I’m really really sorry, I seriously wasn’t thinking and I just can’t help but feel these things and it just makes it worse when I think about you, I don’t know what to do about it-”

A hand crept around the back of your neck and forced your head up, and without even a single warning you felt warm, wet lips enveloping yours, biting sweetly as well as fervently. You couldn’t help but make a noise of startlement at the sudden action, but before you could even have time to melt into the kiss, he pulled away, a smirk on his face.

“It’d be inappropriate for me to do such things, but more inappropriate for you to act on it as well. Yet, I know you are wise enough to not pursue it like you want to.” he stated, his eyes resembling molten gold.

Your gaze flattened, “Koz, what the fuck was that if you say you’re not ‘pursuing it’.”

He grinned, “Your confirmation of your feelings, as well as a promise of patience.”

“Patience?”

He smirked again, tilting his head and embracing the feel of superiority again, “You have nearly one more year left. I wonder if you have the patience to stick it out-”

That pissed you off. You grabbed his black tie and pulled him down, startling him as you kissed him hard. You pulled away just as quickly, enjoying the look of surprise on his face as well as slight bewilderment at being cut off from gloating.

You smiled innocently, smoothing down his tie as well as the front of his jacket, “Nice to know I’m not the only one enjoying the feeling of vorfreude from now on. Have a good day, Professor.”

Without a second backwards glance, you confidently strode out of the lecture hall, leaving Koz impressed as well as out of breath at your grand exit. He didn’t realize he’d be aching for you just as much as you ached for him.

It’s only a year, right? Not too long…

Boy were you two wrong.

[excorcismic]

    ❛ and my eyes are DAMP from the words you left , ringing in my head                            when you broke my chest . . . ❜

                                                   ❛ I’M STILL YOUR ZELDA . ❜                                                           playlist . plotting call . listen as you read !

the mirrors surrounding you did as they were meant to, reflecting back a spitting image of COURTNEY EATON  -  but it’s clear something is wrong from the moment that a vision of THE SAVIOR ; BLINDING LIGHT AS YOU PROTECT YOUR FINAL HOPE strikes you.  perhaps it was a passing daydream in the frenzy of the funhouse. you reassure yourself  -  you’re ( PRINCESS ) ZELDA KING ! ,  a TWENTY-TWO YEAR-OLD BIOLOGY STUDENT / FLORIST EMPLOYEE whose virtue lies in your + INTELLIGENT & + GOOD-HEARTED , although you’ve been told that you tend to be quite - INSECURE & - PESSIMISTIC ,  and you’re associated with THE PRESSURE OF APOCALYPSE ON YOUR SHOULDERS , THE BLINDING LIGHT OF AN EXORCISM - A CLEANSING OF EVIL , GOLDEN TEARS FALLING INTO COLD & UNKIND WATERS OF PRAYER by those around you.  suddenly ,  however ,  you’ve found GOLDEN BRACELETS on your person - was that always there ? from the moment you leave the funhouse,  memories from your life in THE LEGEND OF ZELDA have begun to return - leaving whoever you had been before in the mirror’s reflection behind you .  you can almost hear I OF THE STORM by OF MONSTERS AND MEN following in your wake. ( she/they &  genderfluid )

                  this is the story of a very powerful being .

I . IF I COULD FACE THEM, IF I COULD MAKE AMENDS WITH ALL MY SHADOWS . . .

zelda king is born to a prestigious family with years of alucard history in their bloodlines . their father , speaking the word of the lord with a tongue of gold , and their mother , speaking the scripts of the law with a tongue of silver . they’re comfortable & happy - and the bundle they hold in their arms is the one that will carry along their glory .

so , simply , a child does not grow allowed to be a child - nothing but the best , that is what zelda king has been told to be from a young age .

from the moment she can enroll in school , she enters an expensive private school . from the moment she can speak , she is instructed to help her father with sunday mass . from the moment she can walk , she is sent to try out every single sport or physical activity until she finds one that suits her fancy ( she finds it in fencing . ) and it’s decided from an early age that she’ll either go into lord or law , golden tongue or silver . nothing else . and she is to get nothing but the best grades , as a prodigy is the bare minimum for what a king should be .

II . I’D BOW MY HEAD , AND WELCOME THEM . . .

zelda king has no say in the matter when it comes to her life - she doesn’t grow up with many friends that she chooses on her own , but she does have a few that her parents approve of . she doesn’t do much outside of the activities expected of her , but she likes to watch the other kids play & mess around . studying , fencing , praying - it seems like that’s all she knows .

but there’s an instance where her parents are out of town , and zelda’s aunt rachel is the one they ask to babysit . and aunt rachel introduces the young child to a new concept : fun . fun is something that every child should prioritize , according to her , and the week that she is gone does zelda begin to learn what she’s missing out on .

her aunt first takes her on a trip to the park , and from then on zelda is enamored by the outside world she has yet to see up close . her aunt teaches her about flowers & nature and they spend the afternoon trudging through muddy grass and getting themselves dirty with the earth around them , making ‘food’ out of the dandelions and weed , picking wildflowers and braiding them together . the next day , aunt rachel takes zelda to the book store - and she purchases a bunch of books on flora & fauna with bright pictures yet lots of words . as her aunt bakes cookies , zelda points out everything she likes . 

bedtime stories consist of stories about gods & goddesses and princesses , knights , monsters . a few of them lead the young child to want to learn more , and back they go to the book store , where aunt rachel gives her books on greek , norse , egyptian mythos and more . as her aunt tends to a bundle of roses on the kitchen table , zelda tells her how cool it’d be to be like athena or freya .

but week-long vacations last for a week and not forever , and as much as zelda wishes it was different , aunt rachel has to leave again . but even as she’s put through her usual activities and rigorous studies once more , she’s found a new love in other things : the world around her , present and past . her parents shut the door on her to go to bed and she pulls out a flashlight , so instead of sleeping , she reads nothing but the books her aunt gave her .

III . BUT I FEEL IT BURNING , LIKE WHEN THE WINTER WIND STOPS MY BREATHING . . . > ( tw : maternal death )

it’s years still of endless pushing & pursuing but here is zelda still immersed in her passions to keep her from falling - as it feels like pillars of expectations are on her shoulders . she’s atlas , but while she holds the sky she thinks of the earth around her & the stories and fairytales and the pain becomes less and less .

of course . . . that does not save her from the pain that comes with a lost loved one .

mrs . king is laid to rest when zelda is seventeen ; the scholarly child is already overcome with grief , and as her father holds her hand while sobbing , they recover together at a slow pace . things are quiet as they calm , but over a few months as zelda tells him of her acceptance into college - he tells her that she must go into law to make her mother proud . it was the woman’s dying wish , after all , and her law firm will be zelda’s when she’s ready .

but . . . that is not what zelda wants . she wants to go into science ; to research and study life around her , and to explore and see more of the wonders beyond alucard . she doesn’t want to be in a stuffy courtroom , she wishes to run around and study the beauty that populates this planet . but when she assigns her major as biology , her father fumes . the only way she can appease him is promising she’ll minor in law , and she does so , but there’s nothing but endless frustration .

she loves her mom , and she wants to respect her mom’s memory - but she should not toss away her own person to do so .

as a college student , zelda sits back and reflects on her past two decades of allowing her parents to shape her into someone they want rather than what she wants to be . only her aunt has allowed her to be her own person , and at this point she realizes that she only know a bit about herself . she hasn’t had much of an opportunity to discover who she is , but she knows what she likes - science & history .

she sits in her college dorm , alone at her desk , thinking to herself about how she’s an adult now ; she is free , and the only thing that can allow her to still cave into what others want is herself . she makes a vow to start moving into the directions she wants ; she has only known herself to be by what others think - the whispers of little miss perfect and the alucard prodigy are common epithets . and she is proud that she’s intelligent , but she’d rather try and make her own path and get to know herself better .

so she promises to discover zelda king , and not the perfect princess , the goody-two-shoes , the next in the bloodline . there is a slumbering power that resides in this person . . . a slumbering power that she’ll unlock by learning who she is .

IV . ARE YOU REALLY GONNA LOVE ME WHEN I’M GONE ??

she still needs to slowly stave from twenty years of people pleasing - baby steps . the expectations she’s under are still heavy and she has yet to figure out how she wants to free herself of them .

she does know a few things : one , she does genuinely love knowledge and learning . scholarly pursuits are her passions , especially those having to do with scientific and historical studies . museums and exhibits are her favorite places as well as botanical gardens and open parks .

two , she doesn’t hate everything her parents have introduced to her . fencing is something she’s still active in ; maybe that’s something that comes with the pride of being a champion , but she doesn’t mind it .

three , she wants to explore not only the world around her , but the people . even people that her father would never allow inside the house - in fact , that only DRAWS zelda to them . she wants to expand her horizons , do away with the perfection reputation she’s gained . she is still . . . new , but she is determined to shake the perception . 

her talents are not only known in the social circle of her family - given the fact her father is a local preacher and her mother was a popular & well-trusted lawyer , their prodigy child only had her own reputation . from fencing champion to star student to trilingualist to golden choir child , she’s either loved or hated by those who strictly only know her by her epithets . it’s . . . irritating , to say the least .

she doesn’t believe in religion & law sours her , even though she does as well in the latter as much as she does in biology . she has a natural gift for speaking & presenting , but would rather engage in the environment of the outdoors and the laboratories than the courtroom . 

and . . . sometimes it is easy to tell that she is cracking under the stress and pressure she’s been carrying for years . a kind person & an intellectual with gifts , talent , skill - but she still needs to learn it’s okay to breathe . she can let herself breathe now . it’s alright .

some chances to breathe come - such as her job at the florist ; she can spat off a million facts about each flower , each succulent , each plant . she loves the arrangement of bouquets , the look on a young teen’s face as she fixes their corsage . flowers are a gift to the world zelda can’t help but appreciate . 

she also loves the library ; still sometimes more focused on books of her passions than her studies . she knows almost every greek , egyptian , norse myth by heart , and has read almost every book on those shelves at least twice . 

twenty two years old , genderfluid , pansexual . passionate in all things biology , history , flowers , and mythos . still a lot to discover , but . . . zelda is becoming quite fond of the person she’s finding herself to be . perhaps one of the smartest people in alucard , but certainly with a heart as big as her brain .

                                                         and they call me under . . . 

there is someone . someone with blood in her mouth , dirt on her cheeks , but herpalms glow with the golden light of the heavens & her veins run with the divine ichor of gods . she looks at zelda from the other side of the mirror with damp & reddened eyes , but as her chin rises with confidence , there’s maybe a smile of COCKINESS and belief that no matter what evil comes towards her , she’s got this . and zelda . . . as confused as she is , leaves the house of mirrors with the same thing . she’s a being of the gods ; ichor flows through her veins and every word from her mouth is from the tongues of the heavens . and there is power that resides in every action , every line spoken . . . she is both blessed & a blessing , and she will do good things here .

[allisonswrittenwords]

“Math is for eggheads!”

Yeah, and it doesn’t have any practical applications once you’re out of school, right?  It’s just like science – once you’re not learning about it, you don’t really need it.

Now, I admit, I never liked Math (or Science).  I did well with both subjects until 8th grade, but struggled once I got to high school.  Where I was a solid A/B student in English/Literature and History, I was more along the lines of a B/C+/C student in Math and Science.  Don’t get me wrong, I find concepts of both subjects interesting as an adult, but when I was in school, I was frustrated constantly.  I loved how equations looked and loved working on solving them.  That was usually where I did ok.  Word problems, however, are the worst.  My high school required three years of math, with the maximum requirement being Algebra 2.  You just hoped you could start Algebra 1 in ninth grade so you could finish the math requirement, as mandated by the state of New Jersey, during junior year.  No Pre-Calculus or Calculus for me – I was done with Math!

As for Science, again, love the concept of science, loved 3-2-1 Contact as a kid, but it frustrated me.  I did well in ninth grade science – it was a introduction to Biology and Chemistry (I think it was called Bio/Chem Tech), but it was so much fun, and I was a solid A/B student.  We had a great teacher and once in a while, we got to watch Bill Nye The Science Guy when it was relevant.  However, once I got to Biology in 10th grade (and the dreaded Chemistry in 11th grade), I struggled.  I never got anything above a C in Chemistry.  I loved my teacher, and he seemed to understand that not everyone was good at the subject, but he would work with the ones who struggled the most.  I was grateful for him, but Chemistry was the final required Science class in New Jersey, so yeah, I didn’t move on to Physics.

11th grade (1999-2000). And yes, my hair really was that long!

During college, I had to take (for non-major requirements) two Math classes.  In my case, it wound up being three, as my SATs put me in a workshop/basic skills Math class for my first semester.  I actually liked that class, it was like Pre-Algebra, but not taught by the former nun I had in eighth grade.  We also met regularly one-on-one with the professor, and she was a nice, very approachable person.  She knew why we were there, and was great with us.  And the next class I took, which was the first required class everyone at college had to take (can’t remember the name of it), was actually fun.  By the time I got to the Algebra 1-level class I *chose* to take (there were other classes, this one sounded interesting to me), I loved Math.  Where I struggled in high school, I excelled in college.  It was 1000-level Math, but still, I loved it, and I was actually good at it!

College graduation (2005)

My college also required one science-type class, so I took one that I had heard so many amazing things about – Atom, Man, and Universe.  It was a 200-student class (no social distancing there!), taught in a theater-style classroom by this adorable older gentleman from Israel.  He was wonderful, and the material was so interesting.  I got a B in the class, but I felt like I learned so much, and grasped it.

These days, my favorite kind of science involves planetariums and museums, and my favorite kind of math involves practical applications.  While there were times I certainly thought “I’ll never use this again,” it was a teenage mentality and it certainly is not the truth.

The best kind of math and science, for me, is the surprise kind.  Where you didn’t think you’d learn either subject, it comes out of its way to teach you something.  That type of “surprise Math” is the basis for a very entertaining – and educational – short from 1959, featuring someone else who believed there was not actual use for Math.  It’s also my Retro Rewatch for this week!

A “Mighty Strange” Place

Donald In Mathmagic Land is a 1959 short film by Walt Disney, released theatrically on a bill with Darby O’Gill and the Little People.  The film was nominated for an Academy Award, and made available to schools beginning in the 1960s, considered to be one of the most popular educational Disney films ever made.

Donald Duck is hunting, when he wanders into a “mighty strange” place – a land where numbers flow over waterfalls, trees with square roots, and then is encountered by a walking pencil that wants Donald to play Tic-Tac-Toe with it.  As he wanders further, a geometric bird recites all the numbers of Pi.  It is then that the unseen “True Spirit of Adventure,” merely a disembodied voice, welcomes Donald to Mathmagic Land and “the wonder of mathematics.”

Donald is immediately resistant to the whole idea, as “math is for eggheads.”  But the Spirit decides to strike a “chord” with Donald, by piquing his interest in music.

Alright True Spirit of Adventure, you have him, he’s listening.

The early origins of music, as created by Pythagoras and his contemporaries (and their “jam session”) in Ancient Greece, is explored.

Music gives way to the pentagram, the golden section of the pentagram, and how it constructs golden rectangles, as well as the influence of the golden rectangle in ancient and modern cultures – construction of buildings, creating of paintings, and even dancing!

The golden rectangle isn’t just for construction of buildings, creation of paintings, and dance, but also to humans and nature – the “ideal proportions” of the human body fit the structure of the golden rectangle.

Well, almost every body.  Not everyone is “mathematically perfect.”

In nature, the pentagram is found in flowers and animals, with the golden section featured in nature’s designs.

From nature to games, Donald learned that mathematics plays a pivotal role in the games one plays, including chess (which features a nice nod to Alice in Wonderland), baseball (Donald loves this!), football, basketball, hopscotch, and three-cushion billiards.

After some “mental housecleaning” of Donald’s antiquated ideas, bungling, false concepts, superstitions, and confusion, Donald plays with a triangle and circle in his mind, which gives way to the learning of how the two work together, spinning them into a sphere and a cone, and giving way to the invention of the wheel, magnifying glass, train, drill, spring, propeller, and telescope.

Finally, Donald learns that pentagrams – and in turn, numbers – can be drawn into infinity – no paper is big enough to accomplish this, and that technological advances and scientific knowledge are unlimited.  The key to unlocking the future, the Spirit informs Donald, is mathematics.

With his newfound appreciation and knowledge of how math figures into everything (my aforementioned “surprise math”), Donald finds out that the doors to the future will be unlocked by the curious and inquiring minds of future generations.

The True Spirit of Adventure ends the lessons with the words of Galileo:

“Mathematics is the alphabet with which God has written the universe.”

Because Math!

My Reaction

Donald in Mathmagic Land was released as part of Disney’s Mini Classics collection in 1988. I owned the VHS of this, along with Mickey and the Beanstalk.  I believe we had Wind in the Willows also, or in the very least rented it.  I do remember these Mini Classics very well.  The video went to a younger cousin when I was in my teens (as alot of my videos and clothes did), so I lost track of it for a few years in the 90s, until I was in high school.

My eleventh grade math class, Algebra 2, watched this movie on the last day before winter break.  This was in 1999, and prior to that, it had been at least five years (probably more) since the last time I watched this.  And it was the last time I saw it.  Not something I ever forgot, but not something I approached watching again.

Until this week.

I had a pretty good memory of the animation and the rectangles, as well as the billiard scene and live action band, so watching this again really jogged some good memories of watching this in my living room as a six-year-old.  I really enjoyed this back then, didn’t understand much of it, but as an adult, I get it.  The concept is simple – math is everywhere (even when you least expect it), and its hidden knowledge is waiting to be unleashed from behind a locked door and shared with the world.

The animation is just as beautiful as I remember it, very much on par with Disney animation of the time.  The music is whimsical and beautiful, and the sound effects – especially the ones used to highlight all the rectangles on the Parthenon in Athens, Greece – always got my attention.

Ding-ding-ding!

If any of the concepts were a little fuzzy from so many years of not watching this, the billiards scene is the one that I remember best.  At 4 minutes and 46 seconds, it is the longest of the “live action” segments, but has alot of detail and explanation as to how the game is played, and how the player figures out his strategy. Even as a kid, this was always fascinating.

I’ll be perfectly honest, as soon as the video got to the section on games, I said “the billiards segment!” out loud.  It just always has stuck with me.

I love this video, all of it.  It was good then, it was good as a teenager, and it is good now.  I had so much fun watching it on the treadmill – I actually thought it was longer than 27 minutes.  It made my workout go a little faster, which is not always a bad thing!

Watch Donald in Mathmagic Land

Even if you’ve seen it before, even if you don’t understand all the concepts of math (I don’t, but I get some of it), this is a fun watch.  I have the DVD of it (and I’ve converted it to digital), but it is also on YouTube.

Upload via TrueDisney

Remember, “Mathematics is the alphabet with which God has written the universe.”  It may not always seem like you need math, but it is always there, always advancing, always helping science – and life – advance.  And yes, you do need it.

Because Math!

Have a great day!

Retro Rewatch - "Donald in Mathmagic Land": The Wonderland of Mathematics is the setting for this 1959 "edu-taining" Disney short! "Math is for eggheads!"

[chaunna-blog]

21 REASONS WHY YOUR CHILD SHOULD PLAY MINECRAFT

Here’s a fun fact: video games don’t always fry kids’ brains. Sure, these virtual worlds can be engrossing but not all of them urge players to mindlessly push buttons, dismember zombies, or hurl fuming birds towards bad, egg-stealing pigs. Sometimes getting immersed in these pixel-filled universes can be an excellent learning experience for youngsters and this is especially true for the game Minecraft.

Minecraft is a popular “sandbox” game that allows players to build and explore worlds created from 3-dimensional textured blocks. The game is open-ended, has no overarching goal, and has rather “blocky” graphics but don’t let that fool you into thinking that it is a glorified digital Lego game.

Upon entering the world of Minecraft, players land on randomly generated terrain and instantly become masters of their own universe. They can build houses and buildings of extraordinary architecture and even build mountain ranges, waterfalls, and forests.

Youngsters have been known to spend hours on end building virtual architectural marvels and exploring this pixel-driven world. But more than an entertaining way to pass the time, Minecraft a great platform for learning. Here are a few reasons why:

1. It Isn’t as Gory nor as Violent as Other Games

Don’t get fooled, in one game mode, zombies ransack and destroy structures at nightfall. There are also players called “griefers” who hurt or even attempt to kill players in the game. However, parents can rest assured that there is no bloodshed (except for a few pigs being turned into pork chops) plus players can always re-spawn so nobody really gets killed.

2. It Harnesses Children’s Creativity

Minecraft is primarily a build-and-survive game and players emphasize on the building aspect. Children can build anything they can fathom. In this virtual world, there is no such thing as too high, too expansive, or too absurd. Children can build structures from their own imagination or they can recreate iconic ones like the Eifel Tower or the Great Pyramids.

3. It Encourages Children to Explore

Being a sandbox game, Minecraft practically comes with no instruction manual and players are encouraged to explore their environment so they can find resources and materials that they can use to build their world from the ground up.

4. Children can Have Fun with Redstone Circuits

A redstone circuit a control panel that is able to automate practically everything in the Minecraft from trap doors, stairs, to moving islands. It also allows users to create simple mechanical devices and even complex machinery out of Minecraft blocks.

I found this is a great article by a dad who is teaching his son electric engineering using minecraft redstone. Click Here To Read.

5. Kids can Learn to Experiment and Research rather than just Follow Instructions

There is no right or wrong way to play Minecraft. In fact, children are encouraged to think outside the box and they are not bound by instructions.

6. The Game Allows Children to Develop their Own Goals

In Minecraft, there is no overarching goal of saving princesses or killing zombies to save the earth. Instead, players identify their own goals, plan on how they can effectively achieve it, and motivate themselves to accomplish it.

7. It Teaches Kids Core Concepts in Geometry

Youngsters may not realize this at first but Minecraft is an excellent kickboard for learning the rudiments of Geometry. Children will learn how shapes and figures can relate to one another as they build anything from tree houses to power plants.

8. Minecraft is an Ideal Gateway to Education in Computer Science

Minecraft provides several versions of their terrain but players can also customize their own servers through “mods” or modified software that can be installed on a server to reshape the world and even the rules that govern it.

Some young players take interest in creating their own mods which in turn encourages them to learn java script and other coding languages to create these.

9. It Improves A Child’s Visuospatial Reasoning

Visuospatial Reasoning refers to how children perceive objects. This is a main basis for abstract thinking and problem solving—both of which are useful skills in school especially in math and in science.

10. It is an Excellent Platform for Learning Earth Science

Most of the laws of nature apply in Minecraft. A player can dig deep enough to show magma, he can transform sand to glass, carbon to diamonds, and even harvest fruits from trees.

This article from Academia.edu goes indepth on how minecraft is used multiple subjects. Click Here to Read.

11. It Teaches kids the Value of Organization, Planning, and Methodology

A few of the first things young ones will learn in Minecraft is to organize their materials, to carefully plan what they are building, and to figure out effective methodologies to create their world.

12. It Teaches Kids the Value of Teamwork

While players can enjoy Minecraft by themselves, they can also join other servers and play alongside other kids. They can then work together to build the world that they want.

13. It Encourages a Sense of Community

Thanks to playing working with other players, children get a sense of community in the respective servers they chose to join in. They are able to foster their creativity and even socialize with others in a cyberspace where there are accepted.

14. The Game Gives Younger Players the Power and Confidence to Take in Tasks

There is no such thing as too young or too inexperienced in Minecraft. Even a child of seven years old can accomplish even the most complex of tasks in this virtual world since they are not held back by labels.

15. It Teaches Kids how to be Patient

Building the world of Minecraft can take a long time especially of a player were to build complex structures or recreations of real-world ones. Children need to be patient in creating these block by block.

16. It Teaches Kids Cost-Benefit Analysis

Minecraft is grounded on the idea that you can only build with what you have. So if a player has a stack of wood, he has to analyze whether it would be better to use it immediately or to save it for a future project.

17. Children Can Learn Time Management Skills

Of course parents should always set a screen time for their children. For example, parents can award one hour of playing time if a child finishes homework before dinner time.

18. There is Ample Parental Control for Younger Players

Parents can setup their own private servers to ensure a safe gaming experience for their kids. IF parents choose to open their server to the public, they can still control who can get in since joining servers is on an “invite-only” basis. They can also easily moderate griefers

19. Anyone in the Family can Enjoy It

Much like Lego, Minecraft doesn’t discriminate on the age of players so even parents can have fun playing side by side with their child.

20. It is a Fun Way to Share Experiences and Stories with the Family

Children love showing off what they built in Minecraft and a lot of parents enjoy appreciating these creations. Moreover, families who play together have their own stories to tell to their friends.

Here is great video explaining the benefits of minecraft and they are even being integrated into the classroom. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RI0BN5AWOe8

21. It is an Excellent Platform for Learning Activities

Minecraft can be used as a fun classroom where children can learn about anything and everything under the sun including mathematics, chemistry, physics, biology, culture, architecture, and even literature.

SKrafty (www.minecraft.skrafty.com) is a server that uses the game to teach youngsters. They have classes for learning fractions, the human anatomy, astronomy, basic botany, and zoology. They even have reading classes and literature. If you can get a complete list of their classes its corresponding prices at http://whenyouriseup.com/skraftyclasslist/

These are just a few reasons why Minecraft is beneficial for children. We’re not saying that parents should let their kids spend hours on end playing this game but a couple of hours a day may just help with a child’s holistic development.

If you liked what you’ve read and would like to get started playing then follow this link to the Minecraft How-To for Xbox One. Have fun!