#ALSO it was a science course WITH a lab that i was required to take and now the form they sent says no lab like

[mistymem0ryy]

Il Dottore x Reader

The Fall of Icarus Chapter 1 - An unexpected letter

Summary: While being a student in the prestigious Sumeru Academy, the reader begins to form a weird friendship with the genius student Zandik, only to then lose said friendship due to his banishment. Years later a rogue letter finds its way to their report-file desk.

The gender of the reader is not specified.

(Minor spoilers for Dottore’s identity ig)// Word count: 2066

Notes: I am quite tired of the constant fics where the Reader happens to not be at a similar intellectual level as Dottore… Do not get me wrong I understand that it could be quite intimidating since the guy is quite literally a genius, but I always wondered how different his common behavior and developing intellect would have been during his Academia years…

Chapter 2

{No beta we die like Zandik’s grades}

People like Dottore are usually blessed with what I call an Imaginative Genius, he is inventive and curious in nature but that is not all you need in order to excel in an Academic environment. Any undergrad level Science student will complain to you about obligatory courses that range from boring classes on how to write an adequate lab report, to mind draining mathematics units that you have to take in order to graduate but most probably will never need in your actual profession.

Dottore is a genius, yes, but he is also impatient and insatiable, and those are the traits that led him to his unlabeled relationship with you…

The Academia is constituted by various facets dedicated to different areas of research, but they all possess one common thing, and that is the dreadful compulsory mathematics and report units. Mathematics is the language of the world, therefore it would be only logical that a self respecting scientist would have a certain degree of fluency in it…And to add unto that, a great researcher must too be capable of describing all observable phenomena in harmonious text.

Dottore… or should I say Zandik? Well, no matter how much his brain was capable of maneuvering itself into creating unimaginable gadgets and devices while simultaneously researching lost ruins of forgotten civilizations, he simply could not wrap his head around a certain set of classes that he deemed utterly useless.

He wanted to go out and research the unknown, feel his surroundings and understand their development, he wanted to acquire knowledge beyond the one present in the various dust collecting books that encircled him every minute… 

He wants to punch down that godforsaken door and leave this classroom at this precise moment… But to his utter disdain he cannot.

You see Zandik is quite the intelligent fellow, his curiosity leads him further in his personal research but he must balance all of that alongside all the courses the Academia requires from him in order to finish his initial program. But no matter how “important” a certain class might be, if it doesn't strike the interest of the blue haired student then he will not even glance towards its direction twice… His time is precious and slowly but certainly running out, so he must make the most of it, even if it means missing a rather concerning number of classes.

You would like to say that perhaps, in some sick and twisted way, Zandik considers you a friend… an appreciated company? a tolerant fellow student?... 

After years of being in the Academia you have come to recognize the fact that you were the one sole person he did not outright treat with pure hatred. Sometimes you look back to your first year in the Academia, when you were solely a freshman ready to embark on a new intellectual endeavor and happened to be partnered up with Zandik for a class on “The Etiquette of Writing a Concise and Clean Scientific Report”. A boring class that you honestly thought quite useless, I mean haven’t you all been writing for years already? Why would you need a specific class centered around writing a report when you could be spending this precious time on other more alarming subjects? 

After receiving your first graded assignment, and looking to your side only to be met with the hellish mess that was your Partner’s crumbling sheet you finally realized why this class was an obligatory module for graduation… You cannot decipher at which point his description of physical phenomena turned into a horrific amalgamation of scribbled equations, and- is that khaenri'ahn script? Nevermind, you do not want to know…

Zandik catches you fearfully attempting to understand the meaning behind his rather… messy report…and lets out an annoyed huff in the process.

He is an excellent scientist in the making yes, but he has a hard time translating the concepts that take place in his head into a mere sheet of paper, and the fact that someone, especially YOU, happened to be witness to one of his intellectual weaknesses, that he so arduously attempted to hide, stroke a nerve.

The moment the class is dismissed Zandik is packing his materials and leaving this humiliating experience, you quickly come to the understanding that his speed is not necessarily a byproduct of his failing grade, but rather of the fact that you saw said grade.

You knew Zandik had a reputation for being a Genius in the making, and honestly a part of yourself could not help but be relieved by the fact that this class was proof that he could also fail, that he was indeed human.

You gather your belongings as fast as you can manage, and decide to follow the boy into whatever corner of this building he has decided to retire himself into. When you find him you offer to secretly help him with his failing grade, which he reluctantly accepts. That is the beginning of the rather weird relationship you happened to establish with Zandik, you weren't necessarily friends… you knew that despite his act in front of the professors and all the well calculated smiles he threw into the air, Zandik didn't actually see any of your colleagues on exactly friendly terms… but you hoped… You hoped that perhaps after all of this he could find in himself the sympathy to see, at least yourself, in a softer light…And the thing is, he did, trully. You simply weren't capable of perceiving it.

It was rather unnoticeable, and only someone with an extremely keen eye and patience would be capable of noticing the slight ways in which Zandik would relax his composure when in your presence, how his gaze would linger on you while you corrected another maze-like report of his, how he would lie to you about being offered 2 coffees instead of one thanks to his Genius-like reputation among the academic staff, and now you would have to drink the other one so he doesn't over caffeinate his system.

It was honestly quite warming, while it lasted at least. You helped Zandik obtain the grade he needed in order to pass that tormenting class, and sincerely hoped that this would not be the end of the untold arrangement between the two of you.

The unnamed relationship between you and Zandik, to your surprise, remained intact after that class, he continued to talk to you whenever you too happened to be in the same room (which even though at first glance does not seem to be that much, it is actually quite important for him since you happened to be the only other student which he does not see as a complete waste of his time), and when he noticed that you were having a hard time with Multivariable Calculus he took it upon himself to tutor you through that fearsome class. It was those tutoring sessions that really allowed Zandik to learn more about you, from your favorite dish to your family history, and eventually to teasingly referring to you only by the name of your favorite constellation.

“Careful there Icarus you don’t want to burn your wings away now do you?”

“Zandik why is the lab on fire?”

It was all going quite well… until the rumors began…

All the compliments that embellished Zandik’s reputation in the beginning slowly metamorphosed into quick whispers in the hallways pertaining to his rather unorthodox ideas, people began fearing for their safety after the disappearances and deaths began… And the initial worry directed towards your person and safety, as being the closest student to Zandik, eventually transformed itself into comments about how you too must also possess some sort of sickness in that head of yours in order to talk with him so casually…

Zandik was ok with people gossiping about him, that is as ok as one can be when your sanity has turned into a theme of communal discussion, but when the hatred that those around him started to deviate from being completely aimed towards him and began to shift towards your unknowing figure, he had to put it all to a stop. You were the only person in that damned establishment that saw him beyond the performance he put up every waking hour, the only person that treated him as if he were an actual human being and not an interesting concept, and no matter how ardently he wanted to be accursed alongside your embrace he couldn't bring himself to actually bring the both of you into your own doom.

He stopped talking to you completely. It's as if in the matter of a fleeting night your bodily presence had been turned invisible to his eyes, your voice echoed upon deaf ears, your pleas for an explanation gone unheard, left to rot alongside yourself.

You tried, you really did, but Zandik persisted, and at some point your loud requests for an explanation had been turned into a fleeting glance on your way to class, only to then become the impossibility of seeing him for weeks on end…

You want to say that you were surprised when he was expelled, but honestly you saw it coming before he did. Zandik, no matter how many times he bashed in his capacity of predicting the outcomes of any possible situation, was always a victim of his own ego, he thought himself undefeatable and it was (temporarily at least) your job to ground him to reality when necessary. 

He had strayed too far, and now his own genius could not save him from whatever grave he had dug for himself this time, not even you could stretch a lending hand to bring him from the darkest pits of his mind back to the light…

It has been years since the last time you saw Zandik, out of everyone in your sector of the Academia he was the only one you were certain of achieving greatness in the future, only for that hypothetical greatness to be cut short before he could even graduate successfully…

You tried to find him, after he was banished from Sumeru, no matter how hideous his actions, you could not forget the fact that he too was a human being, you had seen parts of Zandik the world considered utterly impossible, and you hoped that he could see that no matter how tarnished his person could become by the words of the masses, you still saw him as the boy that would ramble about Ancient Civilizations while you studied anatomy, the same boy that would take you to the areas of Sumeru streaming with wildlife and lecture you on all the different properties of the various species inhabiting your surroundings, the same boy that sent you letters nearly every two days when you had to temporarily interrupt your studies to help a sick family member…

But now it has been years, and even though you were able to somehow balance out both your professional research and that for the whereabouts of Zandik, you have found yourself with absolutely no fruitful outcome to the latter.

You quickly realized that you had completely spaced out with your various reports left untouched in front of you, recently the amount of times you temporarily lose awareness only to daydream about your old days with Zandik has become alarmingly bigger, you really should get some healthy amounts of sleep from now on…Especially after receiving a heads up from Alhaitham of a wandering Traveler that supposedly is going to pass by your office today in order to request your help.

You begin to clean up your reports, organizing every sheet according to your personal system until your eyes land upon a rogue letter that you cannot recall having in your possession.

The only tip that could lead to the identity of the sender was the initial -D stamped upon the untouched envelope. You switfly grabbed and began to open the lonely envelope in an uninterested manner, that is until it suddenly fell upon your paralyzed feet, leaving your trembling hands stuck in their prior position, as if you were still holding that now forgotten letter within your grasp.

All it took was one inked phrase.

“Greetings, my dear Icarus…”

[mamasbakeria]

hey, what's your major again?

summary: my credible expert opinion on what the aot characters would study in university. what are my qualifications? the dozens of hours i’ve spent staring at my school’s program bulletin trying to figure out what i’m majoring in

genre | includes: headcanons, sfw, minor language, uninformed percy jackson reference (pls don't hate me if im wrong)

characters: eren jaeger, mikasa ackerman, armin arlert, sasha braus, jean kirschtein, connie springer, historia reiss, ymir, reiner braun, annie leonhardt

author’s note: had this in my drafts for months now. i just need to post it so it stops haunting me. might do the rest of the marleyans and vets in the future! lmk your thoughts, my only tumblr notifications are from p*rn bots, so i'd love to hear from real people lol. enjoy <3

eren: sociology and public policy, 4+1 program for a social work masters

there’s only so many times you can hear “you’re gonna be a doctor just like your dad” before you start to believe it. that’s why eren started out with biology on the premed track. the thing is, he really didn’t care for it. eren is really passionate about lessening equity gaps and is a firm believer in “if you want something done right, do it yourself”. this is why i see him making the switch to a double major in public policy and sociology. he wants to know about how society got to the point of perpetuating disparities so that he can fix them. but he also knows that the government fucking sucks and thinks its naive to expect policy change to be the only method of change. and like the maniac he is, eren is enrolled in a 4+1 program so he can get his master’s in social work when he’s done with his undergrad. he’s determined to graduate with both degrees in just 4 years though. rip his summers.

armin: international relations and military ethics, minor in communications or smth

everyone always says armin would study marine biology or oceanographic studies, but i honestly think that it’s a passion that he pursues on the side. he takes marine bio courses for his breadth requirements, but knows he’d end up hating the ocean if he spent the rest of his life studying it. he also strikes me as someone who would rather run buck naked into traffic than sit through multiple semesters of organic chemistry. armin was always a good public speaker, though, despite being a bit insecure. that’s why his speech and debate teacher during sophomore year of high school recommended model united nations to him. he was hooked after his first conference and now genuinely sees the path of international diplomacy as his calling. that’s why he’s majoring in international relations. his concentration in military ethics is something he tacks on in his junior year after taking some courses and publishing research with dr. erwin smith. he probably minors in communications because he can.

mikasa: forensic science

mikasa had no idea what she wanted to do when she started uni. she’s good at nearly everything. like never gotten a B in her life and is the student who the curve is based off of. but excelling in every environment you’re put in often means you don’t know what you’re best at. she knew deep down that she wanted to do something justice related like her childhood best friends did, but she’s no public speaker and has no interest in political reform. she was, however, emo in high school and heard a fair share of undertaker jokes at her expense. it wouldn’t hurt to look into right? as cool as the title sounds, morticians don’t make enough money for the job they have. fortunately enough, forensic pathologists do and mikasa looks good in a lab coat. she would never admit it to spare armin and eren’s feelings, but when they, as children, recreated the crime-solving shows mrs. jaeger always had on, mikasa always wanted to be the brains. so criminology and forensic science it is. (side note: she definitely joins the military and they pay for her education)

jean: structural engineering and industrial design with a minor in studio art

more than anything, jean wants to provide for his mom and knows he can’t guarantee a retirement of luxury for her as the freelance artist he wishes he could be. he’s decent at math when he tries and doesn’t hate physics, so he decided he’d give structural engineering a try for at least a semester or two. he wasn’t expecting to get much from it, to be honest. he had a plethora of backup plans waiting for his supposedly inevitable distaste for engineering, but he found that he didn’t hate it at all. someone once told jean that he had the makings of a great leader and he didn’t believe them until he started taking the lead on design projects and producing incredible results. his only qualm is that he just doesn’t get to be as creative as he wanted to be. that was easily rectified by an additional major in industrial design and a minor in studio art. he’s unbelievably busy, busier than he anticipated when he started his post-secondary journey, but he’s content and there’s nothing some extra coffee can’t solve. 

sasha: environmental science and sustainability

sasha spent her childhood ankle-deep in mud and fighting her way through forest thickets without a compass. an upbringing like that doesn’t leave your spirit, no matter how far into the city you go for school. so sasha’s always been passively passionate about the environment. that passiveness became significantly more prominent when part of the woods she grew up in was cleared out to build an industrial complex. it was then that she started researching and writing petitions about preserving wildlife and making environmentally conscious decisions. her work actually got her the scholarship she’s on (because god knows it wasn’t her grades). and she genuinely loves what she does, so why wouldn’t she keep learning about it? the environmental science and sustainability program at the school is small, but tight-knit and known for churning out changemakers. sasha knows she’ll be one of them one day. just hide your plastic straws from her, okay?

connie: computer science and chinese

stick with me here okay? everyone expects connie to be a douchebag marketing major whose hardest assignments are graphing functions and making posters on photoshop, but he’s a lot more invested in his education than he looks. don’t get me wrong, connie has always struggled academically, but that’s because so much of early education is pre-determined. he performed way better when he could choose what courses he took. it’s kind of like percy jackson being dyslexic in english because he was wired to read in greek. connie can’t keep his eyes on a history textbook for shit, but will gladly sit in front of the c++ code on his pc for hours. he doesn’t even get mad when he realizes that he was missing a semicolon. connie loves how versatile of a future he could have with a compsci degree, because, let’s be real, he could never survive in a typical office environment. definitely takes a bunch of chinese classes and doesn’t realize that he has enough credits for it to be a minor until his second to last semester.

historia: political science with a minor in international relations and child development

historia is a lot like eren in the sense that she knows her time is best spent doing hands-on work in the fields she cares about. she realizes this sometime after reconnecting with her estranged father and volunteering at the orphanage she grew up in. but now that she’s publicly associated with a powerful political figure, historia doesn’t get to do what she wants, only what is expected of her. that’s how she ends up on the pre-law political science and public policy route. the nickname “ms. president” that connie and sasha give her only further reminds her that she’s heading down a path she never wanted for herself. after lots of encouragement from ymir, historia decided to take child development courses on the side. even if she doesn’t take on the full minor, she’s taking some classes she cares about. maybe she’ll find use for it someday. at the very least, it’s her first step in becoming the most selfish girl in the world.

ymir: data science and business management

ymir is smart. much smarter than she presents herself to be, almost as a form of protection. nobody expects much of someone who is aloof, so it makes it easy to slip through the cracks to remain safe and comfortable in the shadows. business management is notoriously low commitment and easy to skate by with. guaranteed internships, post-graduate employment, and so on. To anyone who doesn’t know ymir well, it’s perfect. but they have her mistaken, ymir will do as little as possible to go as far as possible. sure, she can live comfortably with a business degree, but it could be better with a little bit of data science in her arsenal. she’s intelligent enough to pick up on it, and determined enough to make it her bitch. yeah, academia is a money-sucking pipeline into the capitalist hellscape, she doesn’t believe in it yada yada, but at the end of the day, ymir’s gonna get the bag. so what if she’s gotta sleep through some stats classes to get it?

reiner: behavioral economics

reiner’s mother had convinced him his whole life that getting a high paying job would fix their lives and bring his father back. believing “perfect grades lead to a perfect life” made high school tough for reiner; gifted kid burnout is no joke. it really messed him up. he wasn’t sure if he could withstand the pressures of university, but here he is. reiner was never allowed a therapist, so he figured pursuing psychology would, at the very least, give him some answers and be a good pathway to a medical degree. he loved getting to understand how people work and why they act the way they do, but something was missing. he found out what it was when a guest lecturer spoke in his economics class. he knew making the switch would be risky, it’s a new field and his current career options are really only research, academia, or government, but the interdisciplinary study of behavioral economics is calling reiner’s name. 

annie: biomedical engineering and kinesiology

annie’s entire life revolved around her father, including the injury he was never able to heal from. the one she gave him. he’s claimed to be over it, she’s forgiven, but annie will never feel like she’s earned that forgiveness until she gets rid of the problem entirely. how is she going to do that exactly? with biomedical engineering. she has years of hell in front of her, especially with her concentration on biomechanics, but she doesn’t care. annie will throw herself into her work to get the results she wants. she takes the highest amount of credits possible every semester so she can graduate early. you’ll most likely find her chained to a study cubicle at the library at all hours of the day and running on 2 hours of sleep, but it doesn’t faze her. she tacks on a minor in kinesiology because it makes sense and she had most of the credits for it anyway. and as if it couldn’t get worse, she probably TAs for a thermodynamics course or something crazy like that.

© mamasbakeria 2023. do not repost, translate (without permission), or modify

[ms-demeanor]

(remaking the post because you can't edit polls and i gave the wrong options)

Alright I'm registering for classes and someone needs to talk me out of doing stupid shit but I'm unsure of what shit is stupidest.

Winter term:

I just finished an 8-week photo class that ended up being a huge investment in time just to go and shoot. However that was introductory photography and there is a 6-week intermediate photography class over winter term. I am signed up for photography. (Elective option for AA in Visual Arts)

There is also a 6-week introductory python course over winter term that I am signed up for and will be taking. I'm solid on that one, as long as I pass my C# class this term I'm going to be taking Python for 6 weeks at the beginning of the year.

Spring term:

College Chemistry Saturday class. 7am to 12pm for sixteen weeks. Lab and lecture; this school doesn't offer any chem classes that are after standard 9-5 hours during the regular week or that can be taken even partially online. Pretty sure I'm going to be stuck with this one and am configuring the rest of my schedule around being *less* miserable because of this class.

Survey of Western Art - Online, seems like a gimme. Does have a textbook but not one that I'm going to pay for. (Required for AA in Visual Arts)

2-Dimensional Design - Online, seems fun and like a gimme, Free/No textbook. (Required for AA in Visual Arts)

Object-Oriented Programming - Online, seems difficult, expensive textbook. Will probably be very necessary if I end up going down a more CS/tech path. Probably going to force myself to take this class.

Java Programming - Online, seems not unapproachable, expensive textbook. I don't particularly wanna but my school offers really limited options for computer science and I want to get what I can out of it before I go somewhere else.

Rationale for these weird combinations:

I'm applying as a nursing student at three schools and a biochem student at one of those schools (nutrition programs are apparently only for first-time students; 2nd Bachelor's applications are a lot more limited. I could apply to major in Francophone Studies at one of the schools though). Supposing I get accepted, these classes certainly won't hurt my status at any school that accepts me and the chemistry class is going to be really really necessary. This is the "i give a fuck about nutrition science and also directly helping people" path and if I go this way I'm interested in NP programs down the line. LOTS more school of the serious "I can't work and do this kind of school at the same time" variety.

If I *don't* get accepted to the programs I'm applying to, I'm going to go to a different community college and start working on a couple of AS degrees in computer junk (network admin and security management, computer and networking technology) and get some computer junk certs. I don't think I want/need a BS in compute science, this is the "practical" route of "I could finish this stuff pretty easily and continue working in a field where I have a lot of connections and familiarity with the industry but I am indifferent about a lot of it (pretty passionate about security and accessibility tho). Also allows me to keep working while I just churn school in the background, and all of the computer classes are transferable between the two schools.

Art classes: I think having multiple degrees is funney. I am currently 5 classes away from an AA in visual arts, at the end of this term I will be 4 classes away; if I take all the classes here and can take an elective over the summer I'll have a degree in visual arts. (There is a reasonable possibility that I'll continue taking bullshit classes behind the scenes to get silly degrees regardless of what happens otherwise)

Pretty sure the sensible thing is to drop *at least* photography and survey of western art and also possibly Java and 2D design. I'm somewhat concerned that if my spring term is just Saturday chem and object oriented programming I will start biting things.

So:

[dyhayc]

Could you write something where Eddie gives you flowers because it’s your birthday or something ? If not it’s alright :)

Word Count: erm… 4.3k

Warnings: Reader has bad friends, Steve is actually clueless about girls, Dustin is an absolute menace

A/N: There’s quite a bit of Hawkins High worldbuilding that I really didn’t expect to write, it just happened. A lot of the high school stuff is actually based on my own experiences, so that’s probably why! Also, the part about reader’s birthday doesn’t start until about halfway in, whoops!

Btw I know I took a lot of things about the plot into my own hands (so much that it’s more parallel to the request than the actual request), so anon if you’re reading this feel free to request again if you didn’t like this!

Written post-season 4 because I’m trying to manifest Eddie surviving </3

Under the cut there's a diagram I drew to help you understand the layout of the science classrooms (mostly because i had no idea how to describe what I was talking about), it'll make more sense when you start reading

It’s the first day of a new term. Calculus, your first period, is as dull as ever. You’re springing out of your seat the second the bell rings. Strolling past your locker, you head to the science classrooms for your second period: Physics with Mrs. Williams. You know it’ll be an easy class. You’ve heard from friends that she’s biased towards athletes and cheerleaders.

You’re a cheerleader only because your mom persuaded you to try it. She’d attended Hawkins High and been one of the most successful cheer captains the school ever had. Trying to fill her shoes seemed intimidating initially, but you managed just fine. Joining the cheer squad has actually helped you gain confidence and friends.

When you walk into the classroom, you’re not surprised when everyone looks at you. The cheer team was tiny compared to similar-sized schools in the area. It’s pretty rare to have cheerleaders in classes simply because there are so few of you. You’re not as popular as the other girls, but you don’t mind. Staying in the background is something you prefer.

Everyone is huddled near the wall awaiting their assigned seat, so you go to join them. Scanning the crowd, you’re disappointed to see so few seniors. Science courses are unique; the only required classes with a mix of lower and upperclassmen. To graduate, you have to pass three years of science. The first is Biology, but after that, it’s whatever science class you want, causing such a diverse crowd of students.

With an exasperated sigh, you lean against a lab station. None of your friends are taking physics, apparently, which means you’ll probably be bored out of your mind the entire time. The door slamming open breaks your train of thought. Everyone turns to look at the entrance.

Eddie Munson pushes through the crowd gathered at the door and heads towards lab station seven in the back corner. Dropping his things on the counter, he pulls out the stool. It scrapes comically loud against the already scuffed floor before stopping suddenly, engulfing everyone in awkward silence. He plops down onto the chair and ignores everyone. The lowerclassmen mumble confused questions amongst themselves, ‘Why is he sitting down?’ and ‘Don’t we have assigned seats?’ They’ve obviously never had a class with Eddie before.

In most classes, teachers isolate him. They claim he’s a distraction to the class, so he’s put in corner seats, TA tables, and sometimes even islands. Desks pushed to the corner of the room like you’re elementary schoolers. It’s cruel the way they treat him. It’s like they think he’s worthless and incapable of learning. Seeing it in person makes your stomach crawl, so you’ve always tried to smile at him and be kind. You don’t ever go farther than that, though. He’s made it clear he has no interest in cheerleaders.

Anyways, Eddie’s done these classes twice before. He knows where teachers expect him to sit. Apparently, Mrs. Williams has assigned him a lab station. Lab stations are unique to science classrooms, intended only to be used during labs. Unfortunately, they take up a lot of room, meaning there’s less space for normal desks in the middle of the class. There’s always a couple of overflow students who have to sit at a station, and they’re always upperclassmen. Lab stations are highly sought-after seats, after all.

Mrs. Williams finally arrives and begins her speech about ‘finding your seats in an orderly manner.’ She begins reading names off of her clipboard. Students groan and moan when they’re given a desk. Everyone knows you get to sit at a station if your name isn't called. You listen intently, crossing your fingers and hoping you won’t get chosen. It’s down to the last seat, and the tension is killing you.

“Stacy Miller,” your classmate pouts but sits in her seat, “The rest of you may find a lab station. One person per station, please.”

Surveying the room, you scrunch your nose at your options. Everyone has spread out. People are sitting at labs one, three, five, seven, and ten, meaning no matter where you sit, you’ll be next to somebody. Honestly, the only person you’d want to sit near is Eddie. Walking over, you see him squint suspiciously at you when you sit down at station eight. In response, you smile.

For the first week, he ignores you. It’s fine. You figured he would. Then the unexpected happens: he approaches you.

That Friday you’re taking your weekly progress quiz. Mrs. Williams steps out of the room for a moment to chat with the department head. Eddie takes advantage of her absence, pulling up a stool next to yours. Bewildered, you turn your head to look at him. Leaning closer to you, he whispers, “What’s Newton’s first law?”

You’re sure he only asks you because you’re sitting so close, but you still feel compelled to help him, “An object in motion stays in motion unless a force is acted upon it.” A few classmates turn their heads when they hear your whispers, but Eddie’s scowl turns them back around.

“Uh, can you write that down?” he asks, obviously forgetting what you just told him. You sigh, knowing how bad it would be if you got caught. Academic dishonesty would get you kicked off the cheer team. Despite your better judgment, you scribble the answer onto a spare sheet of binder paper and hand it to him.

Before he goes, you emphasize, “Please keep that hidden.” He nods in understanding, and his smile seems genuine when he thanks you. It’s just in time, too. The second he sits back down in his seat, your teacher returns. She eyes him suspiciously but doesn’t do anything. Instead, she begins to grade homework assignments.

On Monday, you hear him cheer as he’s handed back his test. The sound makes you smile. Eddie can be endearing when he wants to be. While Mrs. Williams begins her lecture about force, he comes to sit next to you. Grinning, he holds up his test in one hand, pointing to it with the other. “I got a D minus!” he exclaims before bowing his head, making his curls fall chaotically, “many thanks, my lady.”

You giggle at him, tilting your head, “You’re thanking me for a D minus?”

“Don’t laugh,” he chides, “Last year, I failed every single one of these damn tests.”

“I could’ve given you more answers,” you point out, “You could’ve gotten any grade you wanted.” Pulling out your test, you show him your perfect score.

He shakes his head, “Nah, Mrs. Williams would’ve been too suspicious. She’s already sensing a conspiracy cause I didn’t get an F.”

As is she sensed her name being spoken, your teacher whips around with her hands on her hips, “Eddie Munson! Why are you out of your seat? Stop bothering that poor girl.” Reluctantly, he returns to his seat and pretends to take notes. Satisfied, she stops looking at Eddie. You turn to grin at him, trying to contain your laughter. He looks proud as he smirks back.

Your relationship only grows from there. During lectures and free time, he sits next to you. At first, he only came over for last-minute answers to homework, but you’ve noticed a change in his behaviour. He’s started to pay attention and ask questions about the topics you’re learning. And, when you take notes, he asks to borrow them to look over.

During labs, he’ll abandon his assigned group to talk to you. Your group consists of one freshman and three sophomores, and you’re almost certain they’re afraid of him. Whenever he comes over, all four crowd the opposite side of the counter. It’s pretty comical, but you still feel bad for messing with underclassmen. Regardless of how your group acts towards him, the shift in his attitude is there. He participates in the experiments and helps your group record data while visiting rather than hanging around and wasting time.

His differences shine brightest when he receives his weekly quizzes. What were once F’s and D’s become high C’s and a few low B’s. Even Mrs. Williams has noticed his improvement. She held you back after class once to talk about it. “I don’t know how you’ve done it,” she’d said, “but that boy has never thrived as much as he has when he’s with you.” Throughout her speech about ‘allowing him to sit next to you’ so you can ‘tutor him in class,’ that single line stuck out to you.

You’ve tried to deny it for weeks, but you have a crush on him. It’s in the way he actually listens to you when you talk. The way he makes you laugh so hard you cry. The way he leaves ‘thank you’ notes in your locker after you help him study for a quiz. It’s in the way he smiles at you like you’re the only one in the room. He makes you feel like you’re worth more than the sun, the moon, and the stars.

He’s special, magical, ethereal, loved. You could use so many words to describe him, but they would never be enough.

It’s a feeling that you fight hard to control. You know what your friends would say if you told them about your feelings for “the Freak.” It feels like your heart is torn in two directions, and you don’t know which side to follow. When you’re with the cheer squad, you feel like you belong. These girls have been by your side for years now. You should stick to their side… right?

But then it’s 9:35, and you’re walking into second period. Your shoulders feel lighter, like a weight you carry everywhere is lifted momentarily. Then, he sits next to you, and you talk, and you laugh, and you’re free. For ninety minutes every day, you speak with no filter. It’s the only time you feel like your personality isn’t diluted for the sake of your social life.

Today is no different. You beam at Eddie when he steps through the door. He sits next to you and jokingly teases you about the doodles of your favourite flower, bluebells, in the margins of the notes he borrowed the day before. You’ve come to expect this playfulness from him. He points out the differences between you two, but he never makes you feel bad for it. He seems to like the contrast.

He holds up the note you left in his locker yesterday. You’d written, ‘Congrats on getting a C, Eddie! :)’ in sparkly pink gel pen. You wonder if it was too obvious. “I’m surprised you don’t dot your I’s with hearts,” he says with a slight mumble to his words, as if he doesn’t believe he’s admitting them out loud. Well, you certainly didn’t expect that.

“What?”

“Y’know. You’re so… cutesy. You draw flowers in the shapes of hearts on your notes, you write with colourful pens, and your handwriting is always so neat. I just think it would suit you, that’s all.”

And that’s all it takes. From then on, every single note passed is written with I’s that are dotted with hearts. You go out of your way to include I’s in your message. You even find reasons to leave notes in his locker so that you can draw hearts that you’re gifting to him on paper.

You’re so distracted by Eddie that you almost forget your birthday is coming. Instead of telling him in class, as you’d planned, you slip a note into his locker during passing period. Satisfied, you head to the lunch room to eat with your friends.

Eddie scoffs at Dustin’s nagging. Their classes before lunch are close, so Dustin tries to gain some extra knowledge about the next Hellfire session every day. Eddie assumes that he thinks he’s being subtle, but the attempts to interrogate are pretty blatant. Rolling his eyes, he opens his locker to get his lunchbox when a piece of paper flutters to the floor.

Eddie’s quick, but Dustin’s quicker, picking up the note and opening it. Eddie snatches it away with a glare, but now it’s Dustin’s turn to roll his eyes. “New message from your lady friend?” he inquires, “Y’know you’re not subtle about her at all.”

Eddie scoffs, “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Mind your business, Henderson.” While walking, he grabs what he needs and stuffs the note in his pocket.

“Yea, right. That cheerleader has you wrapped around her finger. You’re whipped.” The second Dustin says ‘cheerleader,’ Eddie turns his head to examine the boy. How the hell did he know you were a cheerleader? Shaking his head, he opts to ignore the statement, going to find his seat at the head of the table instead.

The next 20 or so minutes fly by. For some reason, the freshmen are interested in stories about drunks from the band’s gigs, but it’s entertaining enough to fill the time until Eddie decides to sneak a glance your way. Bad idea. You’re so radiant that he can’t tear his eyes off of you. At least, not until Dustin opens his mouth.

“See? Whipped,” he says, looking around the table for support. Multiple people nod in agreement.

“Yea, man,” Lucas agrees, “you’ve got it bad.”

“No. No, no, no, no, no, no,” Eddie counters, “No. Freshmen do not get to give me shit about this, okay? Keep your mouths shut.”

Mike speaks up, “Why not? We have more girlfriends than everyone else in the club. We can be your wingmen.”

Eddie can feel his soul being ripped out of his body just from the thought of these kids trying to talk to a girl for him. “If I find out you twerps talked to her,” he begins seriously, pointing at all of them, “I will ban you from Hellfire for life.” They all collectively groan but don’t say anything more.

Leaning his forearms on the counter with his hands clasped together, Eddie can’t believe he’s here. It seems they can’t believe it either. Robin looks shocked, while Steve looks baffled and mildly concerned, “Really? You’re serious?”

Eddie huffs, “Can you please just help me?” As much as he hated to admit it, the freshmen were right. He needed help. The only people he could think of were Steve and Robin. After fighting a supernatural demon together, they should count as friends, right?

Steve persists, “You know she’s a cheerleader, right?” Eddie rolls his eyes in frustration, and Steve puts up his hands in surrender, “All right. I was just making sure, man.”

Robin decides to speak up before the two boys get into a fight, “What do you want the gift to mean?” Eddie furrows his brows, confused, so she clarifies, “Like, is this gift romantic? Platonic? Something else?”

“Um, romantic, I think,” he mumbles in response. Robin and Steve give each other a knowing look. Dustin comes in often to share gossip about his DM. They hadn’t believed him until Eddie came in today for some advice.

“What about jewelry?” Steve suggests.

Robin quickly shakes her head, “No, that costs too much.”

Steve counters, “Jewelry’s romantic, though.”

Robin scoffs at Steve’s obliviousness. “Sure, it’s romantic, but you need to think about it from her perspective. She’s humble. She wouldn’t accept a gift that costs too much,” she turns to Eddie, “has she mentioned things she likes when you guys have talked?”

Fishing in his pocket, Eddie finds the note from his locker. Placing it on the counter, the two lean forward to look at the paper, which reads: “Sorry i forgot to tell you in class, but my birthday is on Monday! i just thought you’d wanna know!” It’s written in the same signature sparkly pink gel pen with hearts replacing every dot on the paper, but it also has two bluebell stems drawn in the shape of a heart. Steve mumbles in shock, ‘I can’t believe it.’

“I know those are her favourite,” Eddie says, ignoring him and pointing to the drawing, “I just don’t know what they are.”

“Those are bluebells, which are the perfect gift,” Robin replies, motioning with her hands, “Get her a bouquet!”

Steve interjects, “Wait a minute, don’t flowers mean things? What if bluebells mean friendship or something worse?”

After realizing nobody knows what bluebells represent, Eddie sighs dejectedly and rubs his face with his hands. Robin glances at the clock before offering, “Our shift is almost over. Why don’t we go to the library and find out what they mean?” Steve makes a face because he’s her ride home, but she makes a face back and whispers, “It’s for love, Steve!”

Arriving at the library, they split up to find different books on the topic of flowers. After grabbing a few options, they meet back up at a table. Flipping through the pages, they eventually all find information on bluebells. “Mine says, ‘The bluebell is a symbol of humility and constancy,’” Robin reads.

Steve nods, “This book says they mean ‘gratitude.’”

“Bluebells represent everlasting love. They convey respect and unwavering devotion to a loved one,” Eddie adds, “So, they don’t mean anything bad.”

“This is great! Call a florist, and you’ll be good to go,” Steve advises.

“Yeah,” Eddie nods, “yeah. It’ll be great.”

That Sunday night, you tell your family that you’ll be leaving early tomorrow morning. There’s a big game that night, and the cheer captain wants to meet to discuss the plan again. You’re excited to see your friends. You’d spent the entirety of Friday’s lunch rambling about your plans for your birthday. Your extended family is coming over for dinner for your nineteenth birthday. Yes, nineteen. Embarrassingly, you’d been held back in Kindergarten, but it never seemed to affect your life.

When you arrive at school, your friends don’t give you birthday wishes. It’s fine. It’s probably too early in the morning for them. They just aren’t awake yet. Subtly, you hint that today’s your birthday, but none of the girls pick up on it. Then, you try some more obvious statements, “You know, I heard it’s someone’s birthday today.”

There’s a little gasp, “Oh!” Your heart is elated; they finally remembered!

“Is it Jason?”

Just like that, it falls right back down.

“No, his was two months ago. It’s Patrick’s birthday. Remember, he said if the basketball team wins tonight, they’ll party because of the win, and if they lose, they’ll party because of his birthday.” They all begin to gossip, claiming that ‘he’s so selfless for not caring about his birthday.’ You listen in shock. Is it selfish to care about your birthday?

The question looms over your head like a dark cloud. As you go from the football field to calculus to physics, it brings down your mood. You fiddle with the hem of your uniform’s skirt as you zone out of Mrs. Williams’ lecture. You’d hoped at least Eddie would say something, but it’s been almost the entire period, and he hasn’t even come over. It only makes you feel even worse.

Meanwhile, Eddie is agonizing over what to do. You’re obviously upset; he’d have to be blind not to see it. He wants to go over and tell you happy birthday, then make the whole class sing for you, but he stops himself. He doesn’t want to ruin the surprise he has planned. Scribbling on a piece of paper, he folds it up and throws it to you.

The note lands next to you, and you go to look at Eddie, but he’s already turned back to his paper. Opening it, you see ‘why are you sad?’ written on the page. With a sigh, you write your response and throw it back. He unfurls it to see, ‘I’m just tired’ written in pencil. There are no hearts, smiley faces, or doodles, and it breaks his heart. He decides to tell you ‘happy birthday,’ but it’s too late. The bell has rung, and you’re rushing out of the classroom faster than he’s ever seen you walk. Clenching his fists, he chastises himself for being such an idiot.

Your next period goes about as well as the first two. You feel like a walking corpse when you sit in the cafeteria. Part of you wonders if you should just tell your friends it’s your birthday. But would they really mean it if they had to be point-blank told? Would it be selfish to ask them for acknowledgment? It’s not like you’re asking them for a gift, but one single ‘happy birthday’ would be nice. But, if they had cared, wouldn’t they have remembered? Your inner turmoil consumes you, so you spend the entire lunch looking down and pushing food around your tray.

Eddie watches you mess with your food from afar. The guilt is killing him, and he’s making no efforts to hide it. Everyone at the table is uncomfortably aware of his pining. “Okay, this is weird,” Dustin speaks up, “You gotta go talk to her. You’re like a trainwreck in human form.”

“Watch your tone, Henderson,” is the only retort that Eddie can muster at the moment. Gathering his things, he goes to leave, “I’m ditching. I’ll be back for Hellfire.” Getting off campus is surprisingly easy. They never lock the gates. Throwing his things in the passenger seat of his van, he sits in the driver’s seat and groans, annoyed with himself. Driving away, he heads home to distract himself until he can pick up the flowers.

At the game, you struggle to be optimistic enough. Doing cheers and smiling big is hard when you feel like shit. Multiple people have asked if you’re okay, but you just tell them you’re tired, your chosen excuse of the day. The minutes seem to crawl by when all you want to do is go home. The thought of your birthday party with your family is the only reason you’re not sobbing at the moment.

You stay behind to help the leadership kids and the sparse volunteers clean up when the game is over. Your class president told you it’s okay to leave if you’re exhausted, but you’ve always stayed after games. It’s nice to help out your school, even in small ways. It helps to feel like you’re a part of a community.

With the trash swept up and the bleachers pushed back, everyone files out the doors and into the parking lot. It’s dark when you step out into the cool night, but you’re glad. Tears roll down your cheeks the second you don’t have a task to complete. Stepping off to the side, you watch as everyone leaves, including the Hellfire club. Seeing them makes your heart ache more. You can’t believe Eddie didn’t remember. You’d written him a note and everything.

You don’t want to cry in front of your family, so you try to get everything out now. Anyways, driving while crying is a bad idea. It’s fine, you’re fine, you try and convince yourself. It’s not working that well.

Glancing up, you see a figure walking toward you. Thinking it’s a security guard, you dust yourself off and try to look presentable. They’ll probably tell you to go home. Looking up again, you realize that it’s “Eddie?” He’s walking with his hands behind his back, eyes watching his feet nervously.

“Hi,” he says softly, stopping a few feet before you, “I got these for you. Happy birthday.” He brings the prettiest bouquet you’ve ever seen from behind his back. It’s primarily bluebells with baby’s breath lining the outsides. The stems are tied together with a pastel blue bow.

You take them, perplexed, “I thought you left with your club?”

He shakes his head, “No, I just went to grab these. Sorry if they’re fucked up, I had to leave them in my van during Hellfire, and some of the petals are squished, and-”

While he’s rambling, you notice a card stuck in the ribbon. Pulling it out, your lower lip trembles as your tears start falling again. Eddie’s messy handwriting is scrawled in red ink, but that’s not what draws your attention. Every single I is dotted with a heart, even down to the exclamation mark.

‘For the prettiest cheerleader in the world galaxy,

Happy birthday!

Love, Eddie’

“No! They’re absolutely perfect,” you hope the emotion in your words is enough to convey how you feel.

He finally looks at your face and whispers, “Are you crying?” but you ignore him and carry on.

“I love them so much, thank you!” You wrap your arms around him and cry into his chest, mindful of the flowers. He holds you until you stop and pull away, “I’m sorry. It’s just… this is the first time someone’s said happy birthday to me all day.”

He looks concerned, “What about your friends?” You scrunch your nose and shake your head, frowning at the memory. He frowns too, “God, they don’t deserve you.”

Staring straight into his eyes so close creates a thick cloud of tension. You need to know you’re not the only one feeling it, “Did you mean what you wrote on the card? When you said ‘love’?”

Timidly, he breaks eye contact and begins to ramble again, “Yea, I did. Robin, Steve, and I went to the library to find out what bluebells represent, and it turns out it’s eternal love. Then, when I called the florist, they said that baby’s breath also means eternal love, so it, y’know, fit…” His words trail off when you lean closer with a smile. Getting the hint, he cups your cheeks with his hands. Gently, you press your lips to his. The kiss is so soft and warm that it sends butterflies fluttering in your stomach. When you pull away, he’s beaming at you while you laugh at his boyish grin.

“I think that was the best birthday present I’ve ever got.”

“You think?” he demands, exaggerating his offended look, “No, that won’t do. C’mere.” He pulls you back in for another kiss, and this time, you tell him, ‘I know.’

[insideous-beez]

Twst and Magic at NRC

I went down a rabbit hole trying to figure out what the hell the "mathematics" classes at NRC would be like in a way that is fun and interesting. This led to a breakdown of how magic in general works in the Twisted Wonderland universe, so in case anyone is interested in my insanity, here's a breakdown:

What we know about Magic in Twst

In Chapter 1, we learn that magic is done through visualization. The better one's focus, the better the execution of the spell. Personally, I love this because it's very similar to how artists expand their ability to draw without using references by practicing with references of an object at different angles to build their mental library!

However, this isn't the ONLY way magic is used.

Riddle's SSR card also shows him helping Cater study a cleaning spell that, rather than visualization, requires steps in a process.

Additionally, there is an NRC class called "Changes and Comparisons of Abbreviated Spells in Ancient and Modern Magic History," implying there are also spells with a verbal component! (Also, this is a highly specific class compared to the other courses... Was "Linguistics of Magic" already taken by RSA?)

So my challenge is this: how do you reconcile all these "methods" of casting... and add MATH?

Ultimately, I decided that spells can be cast using multiple methods, but the method chosen impacts these factors:

- The efficiency of the spell (amount of magical energy required to perform it)

- Standardization of the spell's outcome

- Whether you must maintain focus the entire time or can leave a spell to run autonomously

- The spell's ability to be generated using the magical input of one or more people

What does math have to do with this? Well, a large inspiration of these above points is real-life scientific method. Let's elaborate:

- Efficiency

If you have a ton of magical power up your sleeves like Malleus, I imagine you don't need to understand the science behind a tornado's formation; you can just brute-force a tornado! However, there's definitely ways to do it without using nearly as much magical input. One can either stick with the visualization method, but would need to understand the precise conditions necessary- "wind moving at different speeds, in different directions, at different altitudes." However, this still has room for error, as it is difficult to visualize a force like speed. How do you visualize wind moving at 100 mph and know that it's 100 mph?

This is why one might chose a different spell method, such as a ritual. Let's assume you're not summoning a tornado on the spot and have a few tools at your disposal to grab scientific measurements of the conditions in which you'd like to summon your tornado... then you sit down and plug those values into a neat ritual spell that essentially runs the calculations of "how to make a tornado based on these conditions" for you and spits one out! It takes the most amount of prep work and time, but it requires the least amount of magical input from the caster and allows for very precise and exact results.

So basically... magic mathematics would be used in order to create said ritual spell. Yes, we eventually got back to magic math.

-Standardization

This is largely inspired by Malleus's Lab Card. Deuce asks Malleus to cast a "light breeze," and Malleus casts what he thinks is a light breeze- but to Deuce it is a gust! This is another issue with visualization magic: it is highly relative. Coordinating with another person, unless you've practiced a lot prior, can be ineffective at best and dangerous at worst. Furthermore, if you're looking for results that are precise, you need a solid concept (like "red roses"). Think back to the 100 mph wind example- do YOU think you can visualize what 100mph wind feels like? Probably not, unless you've practiced with a wind measurement tool a million times and have it down to a science. Even then, 100mph probably doesn't feel any different than 100.05 mph, so if you want precision, just stick with a ritual spell.

- Focus / automation

I don't have much to say on this one, I feel it's pretty self-explanatory with the example from Riddle's SSR card. I imagine you don't need precise calculations just to leave a mop cleaning the floors autonomously, but you also may run into the issue of said brainless mop trying to wipe your dorm mascot off the floor.

- Input from multiple spell casters

When you combine an efficient spell-casting method with this, you reduce the risk of Overblot! Yay! Again, not much to say, but I imagine there are spells that allow for multiple people to input energy. Again, these would NOT be visualization spells, they would be spells that have a pre-existing structure (such as a ritual, or instructions via runes, or verbal components) that allow multiple "inputs" to channel into one "output."

So! What else does math have to do with magic?

- Translating one form of magic into another

Personally, I love the idea that a spell built by runes/symbols (like a magic circle) can also follow mathematics principles to be translated into music that performs a spell when played to completion.

- Making a spell more precise

ie- if you want your mop to NOT mop up Grim, you may need to do a bit of math to figure out what additional "steps" to the casting process will help, or you may have to instead create a spell that dictates "mop this surface area, avoid anything bigger than this specific size"

Now, you may ask... if there are all of these cool effective methods of spell casting, why do our favorite boys just yeet visualized ammo at each other?

To be blunt: because they're all rowdy little punks. They are engaging in the magic equivalent of a street brawl.

(Deuling at RSA is probably a lot more clean, but not nearly as fun. They probably also have fancy honor-based rules, like "only one spell is to be cast and whoever pushes the other caster back furthest from their starting point wins." See? No fun.)

If you'd like to add to these ideas- whether it be for math and magic or for how magic functions- please please PLEASE DO!

A lot of it is inspired by a comment my boyfriend made; "fantasy stories make magic this big, vague thing that isn't well understood, but if magic were real, humans would have it down to a science." One of the amazing things about humanity is how incredible the accumulation of scientific discovery has been! We are able to be extremely precise in calculations on a whole variety of matters. So I wanted my "magic system" to work similarly to real-world science, with some exceptions to remain consistent with in-world cannon. I also like to imagine that, like some things in science, there are phenomenon or spells that are possible in mathematical terms, but not in execution, whether it be because there's not enough input in the whole universe, or because magic- like some aspects of science (like weather) is subject to chaos theory (aka, it can be calculated very precicely, but if ONE factor changes, the results are DRAMATICALLY different, and that one factor may not be within your control at all). My boyfriend gave the example of trying to solve a problem on a global scale and accidentally taking a chunk out of the planet instead because of a slight variation in expected conditions. Yikes!

I'll leave one last note; yes, I considered arithmancy. I think it's stupid. So I am not including it in my personal headcannons for NRC coursework.

Anyways, I accidentally tapped the poll option and I DONT KNOW HOW TO GET RID OF IT!!! So have fun with the below:

[catboybiologist]

I maaaaay have spent most of my evening scrolling your dash. But, for my defense, you post good, Ma'am. Also I need someone to tell you your vocal tries are impressive. I tried to stay focused but your voice was so soft, that was lulling.

Anyway, uh, yeah. Question. I was here for a question.

I've just started my PhD, do you have any advice to handle the incoming workload and the pressure?

Aaaaww thank you <3 I might post more voice clips to practice in the future!

As for the question- a PhD experience is highly, highly variable. My advice is going to be strongly based on my own experiences, and my own program. It's probably more applicable if you're in a wet lab science, but still, take it with a grain of salt.

A big thing to realize about a PhD is that it isn't necessarily the sheer quantity of work you'll be doing, but how different the pace and the kind of work you do is from undergrad or a more typical job. Compared to undergrad, your classes will be far less important to nonexistent. Your time will mostly be split between research/thesis related projects, and teaching, depending on the teaching workload.

Your experiences with your research are going to vary a lot, but in general, your PI/research advisor basically determines everything. The #1, big, massive, blinking, do-not-avoid piece of advice I will give about grad school is: pick your research advisor carefully. Do NOT prioritize the exact, nitpicky subfield you want to work in. Your PhD doesn't determine the direction of the rest of your career. Instead, you HAVE to consider whether this is a person you can work for/with for the next 5-7 years. Do you want a more "hands on" person that will set short term goals, or someone that will leave you alone and just check in infrequently to help with long term goals? Do you communicate well with them? What's the word in the department about their mentorship style long term? Avoid people who take pride in trying to "challenge" you, invariably they're shitheads preying on people with more work ethic than self worth (may or may not be based on personal experience lol).

You might be past this point, depending on how your program works- for me, I had a year of rotations before settling in lab permanently. Unless you're a direct admit with an advisor you already know, I would basically consider this or a similar system to be a requirement of a program.

Beyond that, even if you end up in a more "hands on" environment, independence is key. Of course you should collaborate and ask people to help you, but in both a motivation and a practical sense, you should be able to work on your own and take initiative. You need to interpret your own findings and set your own direction for where they're going to go. You need to analyze whether that's in your capability and how you're going to get it done. My personal little advice is to always have at least one thing going on that you can do with zero to minimal input from anyone- for me, this takes the form of computational bioinformatics work that doesn't require any lab resources and most other people in my lab don't have the toolkit to do. Main projects or side projects like this allow you to get *something* done, even if you're stuck in a rut otherwise.

But then there's the flip side to that- you're almost always going to be your own worst critic. Pace yourself. You'll always feel like you're not getting enough done, and you'll fight that feeling constantly. Hell, writing this is like me telling on myself and leaving my own reminder for myself. Balance this with your ability to work independently. Be deliberate about your recreation time and keep yourself to it as well.

The PI selection is the only one that's like, a super strong piece of advice here. But I hope the rest was at least a bit useful!

[allstartrekgames]

Star Trek: Resurgence

Original Release: 2023

Developer: Dramatic Labs

Publisher: Burner House

Platform: Xbox One/Series, PS4/PS5, PC

Star Trek: Resurgence is a story-based “choose your own adventure” type game from Dramatic Labs, a developer made out of some ex-Telltale staff, who have been doing this kind of game for a while.

While a few known characters do show up, this game is focused on a unique cast of characters on the science ship, the USS Resolute. You play as two members of the crew: Jara Rydek, the ships new first officer, and Carter Diaz, a lower decks engineering crewman. They’re both very likable, and the dialogue options let you have some sway over their personalities – for example, Jara can choose to fully trust her captain, or can fight to do what she thinks is right.

The rest of the crew range from likable to immediate dislike but grows on you (or you end up feeling sorry for them). Most of them are well written (the only exception is the the tactical officer, who goes psycho later on), with their characters flaws serving the story and your choices in some manner. the ship suffered a disaster before Jara was brought back on board, so you have to deal with the comradery that came out of that experience.

Due to an intense ion storm, the Resolute was picked to transport an Ambassador to the Hotari system, where previously peaceful races, the brutish Hotari and the militaristic Alydians, both species with great designs that look like something that could still be achieved in live action. The Alydians have provided technology to the Hotari, while also using them as a labour face to mine the dilithium rich moon of Hotari Prime. However, this is interrupted by the emergence of an ancient and powerful civilization. I’ll leave it there for details of the story, but it was one that I loved the entire way through the game, with lots of stunning locations that you get to visit.

As for the gameplay, it changes a lot throughout the course of the game to meet the scene’s requirements. Most of it is spent on foot, walking around then pressing dialogue options and quick time events when prompted. Sometimes you’ll have to use your tricorder to scan, swapping between different modes to further analyse components, or a phaser, which is used for non-combat reasons during the walking sections.

There are some shooting sections, but in those you’re behind cover (and can occasionally swap cover), popping out to take shots. Other action sequences include piloting a shuttle and stealth sections. Some parts I absolutely loved was interacting with consoles, including a brilliant segment where you get to use the transporter, having to counter interference. It’s a really great depiction of what a transporter chief actually does during difficult transports.

While the gameplay itself is simple, it all helps the game feel immersive and works really well with the world. I’ve always disliked Telltale’s story games due to a “stiffness” about them that Resurgence manages to avoid. It’s a joy to experience the Star Trek Universe in this way and there are some meaningful references to a few episodes – even using a very disliked episode of The Next Generation in a great way.

I absolutely loved my first playthrough of Resurgence. The characters and story are extremely enjoyable, with lots of great different moments. The characters definitely make the game and I think it helps that this isn’t the “best” ship in the fleet – it gives a wonderful insight into Starfleet. You’ll also be given insight into how each character reacts to your choices, showing approval, disapproval or indifference, and I do like that it mentions that the character is a bit confused if you do flip-flop.

I did play again immediately after and the flaws of the game do show up – although it’s more the flaws of the genre. As the main story beats have to be consistent, some of the choices don’t matter. Plenty of them make smaller changes, including which characters you interact with, some character deaths or injuries and how some of them treat the main two. If you did your second playthrough after a break, it would be a better experience. Although I do think that the game should be better at punishing you – some of the actions you take can be pretty bad, but the consequences are very mild.

Resurgence is a brilliant game that captures Star Trek extremely well. It has engaging story and characters, and the gameplay, while simple, helps to compliment it all. It’s a wonderful way to experience a slice of the Star Trek universe.

[palmbleeder]

with a taste of a poison paradise,

when: sunday, 7pm.

where: marina funeral home - the morgue.

who: mourad ramzi.

status: oops!

content triggers: poisoning, religious guilt & general pondering, death (in relation to) grief, needles.

Myria had always made all too fun - even more than it usually was, at times. Mourad would hear the music first, softened by the walls separating them in other rooms he's working on and know she'd started her day. Danced along to it when he couldn’t keep her company or when she didn't require assistance in the labs where she takes charge for the most part; Mourad's own work mainly having much to do with directing and presentation.

Tonight and the nights prior since, he had honored her wishes by having Britney provide ample entertainment to her unlively audience and partly himself. He never minded it, however when it came to his own work ethic regarding handling the dead, Mourad's was a little different. He preferred the silence; wishing not to disturb them in the eternal slumber they've succumbed to in ways natural or recently, obscenely unnatural. It also came with personal veering on spiritual views, particularly when it came to handling those of his own religion; a crucial reason why he'd considered an associate degree in mortuary science, he figured the places he'll be in could always use more Muslims in their staff. that included Marina.

Half-jokingly, he'd taught River how to wash him if it was his time to go — ‘I wouldn't want it to be anyone else.’ but what he meant is that it couldn’t be anyone else, as the religion that added a deeper layer to their already-profound bond prohibits anyone else. He'd also reminded himself to keep contact with others capable, in case river couldn't go through with it. It's already so much he would have to do, having to lift him into his grave, all the way back home. he'd already notified his mother that he'd like to be buried there - not France, but home. in Cairo, where her late husband and his father lay, all the way in Egypt. right where it all started; his first life, their first loss. She wasn't too comfortable and half participated in those morbid conversations he'd start casually on occasion but so long as he made his intentions clear, he figured, and cut those with a joke aimed at both his mother and river, ‘Ah, and you'd also get to have me in white for once! isn't that what you've always wanted of me?’

Humming along to Toxic - banger, he'd say if he was normal - Mourad wheeled the second to last cadaver back into its locker and returned to his station with another, tirelessly preparing the body through the easier processes from inspections to wiring jaws and securing lids shut, pouring the embalming fluid into the machine (sweetly named the Cauldron) that stood waiting to roar to life. Just then, the door to the morgue chimed in. They'd hung a bell above as a joke to clock running spirits desperate for a second chance at a life and knowing he wasn't meant to be with company, Mourad peered over his shoulder thinking they'd found their first ghost friend.

Not quite, but a puzzling visit all the same, it seemed.

“I... didn’t think I’d be having a guest over or I would've tidied up, hello." Mourad laughed in his confusion, his brows drawn together, a playful glint in his eyes at his the familiar figure. “What are you doing here? you seem lost, my friend.”

He'd found himself in stranger encounters, he thought, and on a whim suggests the unwise when he piped up; rather rushed, seeing the time.

“Shit. I have to get done here. Just... you don't mind hanging back here, do you? — Yes, perfect! So long as you can stomach all of this, of course - but please careful not to touch anything.”

Almost comical, how they'd barely found a rhythm, how all has gone eerily quiet the second the Cauldron started brewing, even as Britney sang away in what seemed to be the longest song ever compared to what befell him and his living company of the night, how the sensation he'd grown accustomed with to his right is now closer behind, when Mourad felt a rather harsh stab into his neck.

"Ah... Fuck, what the.." Dumbly and slowly, he stumbled back, his hand flying to the offending spot and then everything rushed back; the context, the bodies, Myria, this cursed town. Too late when his side hits the station and he winced before instinctively grabbing at a flying hand latching onto his jaw.

"St...op, what the hell are you doing? What did you do-" confusing himself by his own interrogation in his panic, his heartbeat already racing in trampling, arrhythmic steps made worse by the adrenaline. what else are they doing, Mourad? Their grip on his jaw tightened, almost to keep him quiet but then strangely pulling his jaw apart; open, inviting to something he hadn't known until the other arm came in, holding the tube attached to the machine. No.

It took too much effort left in him to push off; a breathless struggle that he realized, a little after he'd finally managed to send them slamming into the cupboard behind and then leaving him there, that he'd been struggling that entire time. that he was no longer pulling in air into his body, that he'd been fighting a losing battle anyway.

The strangest he'd felt, like a hole sucking inwards into his chest, trapping him in, doubling him over, dragging him knees first onto the ground. His head lulls to the side and there it was, the needle in his sights. Emptied out into his neck what could only be what they'd conjured for the Cauldron. Mourad frowns, This is it, his palms lock onto his neck and he's punching out a few breaths he desperately needs when he remembered, Oh, fuck.

Ash-

Mourad tried to say it. tried to establish the line between himself and his maker, tried to get there. How could he forget?

Ash-h... Shit, shit, shit.

His hands flex as he struggled to draw out more air. His shoulders shake, mourad doesn't realize he's sobbing now. He'd imagined it all so differently; so peaceful, a slumber lowering him into the ground to wait until he's called over. A complete circle of a checkered life, that he'd made amends and made it all better - and he couldn't achieve it now, far too suffocated and overwhelmingly exhausted. An instilled fear he never realized would come to him this way, never thought he'd forget; If you can't say your Shahada, you will never find peace.

No - You have to, Mourad. this is for you and your father, for River to carry you over. His shoulders shake as he renews his resolve. C'mon, die as you lived.

Ash-hadu alla ilaha illa Allah, wa ash-hadu anna anna Muhammadan Rasulullah

Relived, Mourad slumped back and let himself fall way away, his mind swirling; his initial fear overpowered by a last sliver of joy that he did utter it. Not think it, not pray that counts in his slipping mind but that he did say it.

He did say it.

Au revoir. All is well.

Right?

[dontbooatme]

dp x bnha au

And if I ever did anything with this it'd be mostly Danny's POV, despite the focus in this post but..

Okay, hear me out:

Maddie Fenton is born into the world of bnha. She has a very rare quirk that's difficult to activate/has very specific requirements to activate: the ability to rip open portals into alternate dimensions. She activates it by accident and ends up lost in the Ghost Zone. She gets separated from the portal she made in some way shape or form, but it stays open. Maybe hostile ghosts show up and she runs, because she's young here. 7-8 probably. So she's lost in the zone--until she finds a natural portal into the dp universe.

And she ends up stuck in a world without quirks.

She grows up there, everything else about her history stays relatively the same. Except she has a new motivation for being obsessed with ghosts and the Ghost Zone and creating portals. Because she's only ever used her quirk once when she was in her world and she grew up the rest of the way without any form of quirk counseling she could have had in her first world.

And of course she's tried to use her quirk again. But it's fickle in the first place, and there are so many other universes than the one she looking for.

But veil between the dp verse and the Ghost Zone is thinner here in a way that's not true for her world. Natural portals open here without the help of a quirk. She's seen that. And the energy traces they leave behind after they close is something that can be studied.

So she turned to learning how to make a portal to the Ghost Zone through science.

But then she meets Jack and they ultimately end up having Jazz and Danny. And she's still desperate to build that portal. But now she has a stake in this world that she didn't have before.

She doesn't know what she's going to do when her and Jack's work is done. Take her family with her? Does she want to uproot their lives and move to a universe she hasn't been in since she was a kid? Has, probably, been pronounced dead in? Where her family won't have any documentation anywhere for any place under the sun? Does she just want the chance to see it before she slinks back to this world like an outcast?

She still ends up married to Jack, and they still have Jazz and Danny and her and Jack still end up successfully building a portal to the Ghost Zone when he's 14.

And Danny still has his accident.

But instead of coming out in the human world, he ends up trapped in the Zone. With an overloaded/exploded, non functional portal left behind in the lab.

Which leaves Maddie and Jack in the position of having to build the portal from scratch. Which takes time. But only after they collect the materials. Which also takes time and some of them aren't easy to get their hands on.

And of course, they first have to realize Danny's missing and why he's missing before they really get to work on rebuilding the portal.

And he happens across the very same portal Maddie created way back when.

Queue Danny, lost in Musutafu, unknowingly in a parallel to his mom's journey. And discovering he has a thing or two in common with this very strange world he's been dropped into. Quirks being one thing, when he figures out he had a quirk even before he had ghost powers. But cultural differences that are specific to the bnha verse and that Maddie brought back with her could be another. He just pops up into this world, maybe hesitant to backtrack into the zone because ghosts and definitely unlivable conditions, and he walks into town as a teenager with no knowledge of quirks and no control of the quirks he has. He.. causes a bit of a disturbance.

And queue a Madeline Fenton who's now more desperate than ever before to burst through the veil and get into the Ghost Zone.

Idk, this idea just hit me. There are definitely kinks to work out. Like where a gaping portal in bnha would have to be located so it isn't easy to find. Or how Danny ends up lost there despite a gaping portal back to the Zone. Maybe the issue is that the Fenton portal is what's not functional. So he has access to the Zone, but that's the cut off point. And he knows better than to trust the reliability of natural portals, due to his mom's research. And how much she stresses how dangerous they are. Unbeknownst to him, because she has personal experience on that front. Or smth idk yet

I think in this au Danny would originally have a regenerative/quick healing type of quirk. To explain why he had a seemingly quicker/easier recovery period than Vlad did after their accidents.

And maybe Jazz has a quirk too. But I think for this au they should both have quirks that are pretty subtle. Something that might make them weird in the dp verse, but something that doesn't set them apart too much. So when everything about the dimension hop/quirks come to light, everything about that revelation is a huge shock

Also the jumpsuits would probably be something Maddie treasures a lot. Something that feels familiar to her with the relation to pro hero costumes. Maybe she even had a parent who was a prohero. And the jumpsuit is the closest recreation she could make of the suit x parent wore. A suit that Danny now wears when he goes ghost.

Maddie got her quirk when she was younger, but she didn't activate it for the first time till she was 7-8 due to how fickle it is

And, obviously, we'd have to bring Kurogiri into this. Because, portals

Ooh, that would probably leave Danny wanting to seek out the league, Kurogiri specifically once he finds out theres someone else who can make portals. Whether or not Kurogiri would even be able to make portals to a different universe? That's a different story

[alithographica]

Hello Alithografica! I love your work here! Everything from your sketches in the museum to the scientific illustrations u do. Can I know what u are studying? Im actually confused with what course I should take in my academics and I was curious abt your career and course. I really find it intriguing

Lots of love❤❤❤

Hope u don't get offended 💐

Thanks! I've long since graduated, but when I was in college I was in an interdisciplinary major program that let me build my own major—so I built a scientific illustration major out of mostly biology/chemistry classes and a handful of studio art classes.

There are some structured scientific illustration undergrad programs out there—both majors and minors—but I'm really into the science side of things and wanted to leave myself the option of going to grad school in science, just in case. (My 2.5 years in a university genetics lab cured me of that desire though lmao. I LOVED working in the lab but research academia is not my cup of tea. Science communication is!)

Anyway, scientific illustration is a very flexible career to enter into. Unless you do medical illustration (where employers typically want to see a Master's in medical illustration,) there are no degree requirements for scientific illustrators. Instead, you need a strong portfolio—and a formal program will help you develop that, and will help you get great connections, but you can also do it on your own. It's good to have a strong science background so you understand the science you're depicting and can communicate easily with any scientists you're working with, but a science degree isn't necessarily a requirement for that either.

I have colleagues who went through formal programs, others who are professional scientists and just also do art, others who are artists who have just had a passion for science, others who are teachers or librarians or otherwise...Just be curious, build your science knowledge and problem-solving skills, work on your portfolio, and find places to connect to others. Check out your local museum, botanic garden, or arts center—they sometimes have scientific illustration classes. It's a great way to get a little structure and connect with others. The Guild of Natural Science Illustrators is also a great organization, and you can join various communities online too.

On that last note, I run the Guild of Natural Science Illustrators Discord server—if anyone wants an invite link, message me! GNSI membership is not required, and it's open to all levels of artists—just come chat, see cool art, get advice, etc.

[literallymechanical]

Hi! So, I'm planning to start (and hopefully finish) a Master's degree in nuclear engineering or physics within the next few years. I have a few questions, if you don't mind. a. How to pick a school / schools to check out (I've been in mostly unrelated industry for the last couple of years), b. would it be worth it to take a professional hiatus to focus on school, if I could afford to do so by tightening my belt? (mostly-Bs stressed out undergrad but I worked ~30 hr work weeks at the time)

With the disclaimer that my undergrad is in mechanical engineering (and creative writing) and I'm halfway through a materials engineering master's, so this may not be as applicable to physics/nuclear: Go for it, if you can afford it.

I'm doing a professional hiatus for grad school myself, and I regret not doing it sooner. In a lot of engineering fields, a Master's gets you like an immediate $5 or 10K salary bump and a fast-track to the good promotions. Not to mention that you'll learn a ton. Grad classes are much denser than undergrad, and that's a good thing.

For a master's, pick schools based on the curriculum and find one that has intro material you're at least a little bit familiar with, and advanced material that will give you something new and real to learn. You should be able to find course requirements online. Potentially even individual course materials, depending on the school. Learn as much as you can!

And a rule of thumb: a standalone masters in engineering is good – a couple of friends of mine also have masters' in nuclear engineering and have done quite well for themselves – but in the sciences, you probably want a PhD.

For a PhD, look for a specific department and/or lab, not a school. The school is less important than the research – getting stuck with a professor you hate at a prestigious school is a bad time.

[sounds-of-some-day]

Someone of Quora asked what courses Tony would have taken at MIT, and then someone at Quora gave an extremely in depth answer. So here is that answer for those of you looking to write MIT-Tony based fic, specifically taking place during the 80s (as classes on these topics have obviously changed somewhat over the decades). Short answer followed by longer more in depth answer under the cut:

Summary of his coursework:

Definites:

8.01 Physics I: Classical Physics

8.02 Physics II: E&M

18.01 Calculus I: Single Variable

18.02 Calculus II: Multi-variable

18.03 Differential Equations

18.06 Linear Algebra

3.091 (more likely) Introduction to Solid State Chemistry or 5.11 Principles of Chemical Science or 5.40 General Chemistry or 5.41 Introduction to Structure, Bonding and Mechanism [the modern equivalent is 5.111]

Economics? concentration or minor (or STS or TCD)

6.001 Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs

6.002 Circuits and Electronics

6.003 Signals and Systems

6.004 Computational Structures

EE lab (probably 6.115)

6.012 Microelectronic Devices

6.013 EM and Applications

6.014 Electrodynamics

Some Intro to Quantum

6.041 or 18.313 or 18.440 Probability

18.04 Complex Variables with Applications

8.321, 8.322 (graduate-level) Quantum Theory I, II (A)

8.511 (graduate-level) Solid State Physics/Theory of Solids I

8.613J (graduate-level) Intro to Plasma Physics I (A)

8.333 (graduate-level) Statistical Mechanics I (A)

2.70 Introduction to Design [nowadays known as 2.007]

Probables:

2.01 Mechanics of Solids

2.02 Introduction to Systems Dynamics

2.03J Dynamics

2.06J Mechanical Vibration

2.20 Fluid Mechanics

2.31/2.32 Mechanical Behavior of Materials I+II

2.40 Thermodynamics

2.51 Heat and Mass Transfer

~.~.~

From Marvel’s link (Iron Man (Anthony Stark)) — Tony Stark would have been a Course 6–1 (Electrical Engineering). Given that he was a graduate in the late 1980’s [Class of 1987?] according to the movie (or in the 1940’s or 50’s according to the comic books). Let’s stick with the movie version, as I wouldn’t know the EE program in the 1940’s/50’s (I can see the course catalog or catalogue, I just don’t know what topics would be taught).

Key reference: Browsing MIT Course Catalogues by Issue Date (the 1983–1987 course catalogs) — this is the MIT Institute Archives by MIT Libraries

In the 1980’s, Tony Stark would have done his 17 GIR’s or more likely gotten Advanced Standing Exams on a number of them (back then, 18.01, 18.02, 8.01, 8.02, 3.091/5.40/5.41/5.11 i.e., the old 5.111 or 5.60 or 7.01). He probably did his humanities concentration or minor in Economics as there was no Management option (I can’t think of any other concentration that would fit his personality and interests better, although he may have done Science, Technology, and Society or Technology, Culture, and Development as his humanities concentration). Tony Stark would have also done 18.03 (Differential Equations) and 18.06 (Linear Algebra) (requirements for the 6–1 program) as well as 6.041 Probabilistic Systems Analysis and Applied Probability. I have no idea what Tony Stark would have taken as other humanities courses (back then, one would have had to take 3 humanities distribution subjects).

Stark would have taken the 6.001–6.004 series (6.001 Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs is no longer offered in the current curriculum and has been replaced by 6.01). 6.002 = Circuits and Electronics; 6.003 = Signals, and Systems; 6.004 = Computational Structures.

Stark would have had to take at least one EECS lab (6.111 Intro to Digital Systems Laboratory or 6.101 Intro Electronics Laboratory or 6.115 — Microcomputer Project Laboratory or 6.114 or 6.141 or 6.142 or 6.151 etc.). I think Stark would have also done the rest of the EE program requirements at the time (6.012 Microelectronic Devices and Circuits, 6.013 Electromagnetics and Applications, 6.014: Electrodynamics, 6.017 or 8.211 Introduction to Quantum Physics)

Given that Tony Stark was highly mechanically oriented and very competitive, I’d imagine that he probably took a lot of the Mechanical Engineering core that didn’t have a Course 6 equivalent (2.01 Mechanics of Solids, 2.02 Introduction to Systems Dynamics, 2.03J Dynamics, 2.06J Mechanical Vibration, 2.20 Fluid Mechanics, 2.31/2.32 Mechanical Behavior of Materials I+II, 2.40 Thermodynamics, 2.51 Heat and Mass Transfer, 2.70 Introduction to Design [nowadays known as 2.007]). Actually, As Tony Stark (film) (on the Iron Man Wikia) indicates that Tony Stark won a robotics competition at MIT — the main one would have been 2.70 (which is now 2.007).

The two Master’s or SM degrees (graduate work) according to Sanderson, Peter (w), Candelario, Harry (p), Cheung, Jim (i). Iron Man: The Legend 1 (September 1996) were in Physics and Electrical Engineering.

For his graduate work in EE, there are way too many classes that would have interested him (i.e., EECS AAGS | MIT EECS [AAGS = Approved Advanced Graduate Subjects]). Like at least half of those classes …

On the Physics side, Tony Stark would have been most interested in the Solid State, Laser, Plasma, and Atomic Physics research area. He would have likely taken graduate Quantum Mechanics (8.321, 8.322), Solid State Physics (8.511), Plasma Physics (8.613J), Statistical Mechanics (8.333) — I believe these would have been the first-year SM requirements for Physics.

He would have written three theses: one undergraduate for EE, then one for each of his Master’s degrees (Physics, Electrical Engineering). Anne Hunter (the undergraduate course administrator for Course 6) has mentioned to me that the first person to graduate with the M.Eng. was in 1994, so this would have been after the time that Tony Stark would have graduated from MIT.

Additionally, Stark would have also passed his swim test and boat test, and probably taken martial arts Physical Education classes for the PE requirement (e.g., aikido, shotokan karate). He probably took sailing as well (didn’t he have a yacht in one of the comic books?)

As for grades, MIT does not award “valedictorian” or Latin honors of summa/magna cum laude, but inferring that Marvel says that Tony Stark was “summa cum laude,” I would assume he was a 5.0 GPA (straight A’s).

Source

[veresiine]

Headcanon Post on Education in Galar

Education in general

Education focuses a lot more on online coursework and independent study than in-classroom learning.

The Gym Challenge lines up with summer vacation, due to how many of the challengers are children.

There are in fact child labor laws in Galar, and children who work for or hold positions in the League are required to have a certain amount of time set aside for education. Of course, League kids generally don't carry right on with the same general education they'd been getting beforehand; they usually end up taking more specialized classes, but they're still encouraged to get the equivalent of a high school diploma, and the League track classes count towards that.

Character by character (for the child and young adult characters; under the cut due to length)

Leon got mostly low average grades. No Fs, but mostly C's with some B's and some D's. He's sharp enough, but school wasn't his priority; family was, out of both care and necessity, and then when he started his pokemon journey, battling was. Then, after becoming Champion, the League (and Rose specifically) took over his education and steered him more into studies more relevant to a League career and what Rose needed him to do; anything pertaining to pokemon training and battling, of course, but also business, poli sci, and maybe some psychology. He officially has the equivalent of a high school diploma, but because of how specialized and unbalanced his education was, he has undergraduate level mastery of the focused subjects and early high school mastery of subjects that were not prioritized. We do see he's curious and likes to learn (his reactions to the lab, for instance); if he ever has time, I can see him pursuing an associate's degree for fun and to help round himself out, but I can't imagine he'd settle down enough to make time for that until his late 30s at the earliest.

Sonia, by contrast, was a straight A's student; she felt her family would accept nothing less. She burnt out hard after getting the equivalent of her bachelor's degree, possibly a dual-major in history and biology, which is where we find her in the game. By a year after the game, she has an honorary doctoral degree, and is also well on her way to finishing a master's in whichever subject (history or biology) her doctorate wasn't in.

Hop is a good student, but not exceptional. He gets a mix of B's and A's; once he makes up his mind on becoming Sonia's assistant and starts applying himself there, he starts getting many more A's than B's. He wants to further his education after completing the equivalent of high school.

Raihan was a good student who got mostly A's. He got a few B's, and while one of his parents made a big stink about that, his other parent wasn't too bothered, nor was Raihan himself. He kept up with general education even after becoming a League trainer and taking specialized classes there; I imagine he holds the equivalent of an associate's degree in liberal arts.

Nessa got mostly B's, and was a solid, well-rounded student. She has the equivalent of a high school diploma, and while she doesn't plan on seeking further schooling, she does read up on science topics occasionally in her spare time so she can have more to talk about with Sonia.

Piers was in a similar situation to Leon early on; he simply didn't have the time or resources to excel at school. That, and Piers didn't much care about what kinds of grades he got; Leon at least wanted to try to make his instructors happy even if that wasn't his priority. Piers, I imagine, got mostly D's, but there were a few subjects where he really shined (music, of course, but also civics, and, depending on the instructor, language arts). He only completed compulsory education; he didn't get a diploma.

But Piers wanted to work hard so Marnie would have the resources to succeed in school, and she is. She's getting a mix of B's and A's, mostly, but there are a few C's too.

Bea's parents will not let the League take over her education. She faces similar academic pressure to what Sonia did, and she for the most part rises to the occasion.

Allister's grades are fairly poor, but he gets plenty of unofficial education and life knowledge and experience from talking with his gym trainers.

Milo continued an agricultural track program instead of the track the League suggested for him. His general education grades were average - Bs and Cs - but once he was able to specialize, he moved up to getting a mix of A's and B's.

Bede will not let anyone see his grades. He got mostly A's, with a few B's that he went to great lengths to try to hide from Rose. He's currently trying to get his high school diploma equivalent a year early just so he can be done with the hassle, and is on track to do so.

I'm drawing a blank on Gordie. Really I don't know enough about him to say anything.

(for other SwSh headcanons, see this post and its continuation, here.)

[gojonanami]

If you’re having thoughts on a stem YN for gojo fic, I got a bit of experience. I’m an meche major rn, and a lot of stem/engineering courses need physics as a class and multiple physics. For example, computer, mech, and electrical engineering majors needs to take physics (in our school we take physics mechanics of two lectures per week with a physics lab once a week). This differs from school to school, so if you want you can tots pick a college and see the course requirements for that class. Don’t stress being super accurate, if plot is good then it’s all good. Generally speaking, engr majors take a bit of everything like chemistry, physics, computer science, calc, and other courses based on school requirement so you can branch out a bunch. (Just bc I’m a meche I do have a bias for meche YN, but I think aerospace engr YN would also be cool)

ooh interesting — this is very very helpful thank you! I was in the english lit / law side of things so I def don’t know anything although I could ask my bestie (she’s an engineer lmao). but this is enough for me to go off of — I just need to figure out gojo’s specialization and his research and then how to connect that to reader

thank you so much for this!! I will be referring back to this later on 💕🥹

[redysetdare]

ADC Opalwood Academy structure

Hiii so I really really wanna explain how I set up the academy in my magic fantasy story, Arcane Detective's club :) (also i wanna get used to actually sharing info about my OCs and their stories haha)

Opalwood Academy is a private boarding school who's main goal is to help foster magic in those with strong magical potential. Opalwood followed two curriculum: a normal curriculum and a magical curriculum. To make up for the fact that there is double the coursework, Opalwood hosts classes all year round.

They also have a special structured grade system (as in what grade you are in not the grade you get on an assignment.) where instead of you going up a grade based on your age you instead go up a grade depending on how well you've learned the material. This allows a mix of ages within each grade. When admitted to the academy, students take a test that helps place them in the level that best matches their skill.

The grades are called levels in this school and go as follows: Level 0: The absolute beginner course for magic. Usually younger kids are place in this level as their magical abilities are usually just forming. Level 1: known as the true beginner level. most students start out in this level as majority of students enter the school after already having their magic for a while. No spells are taught during this level but instead students will learn about magic history, the mechanics of magic, and magical sciences. Level 2: This is the level that 'lab classes' begin at. Lab classes are when students begin learning spells and potion making. Level 3: This is the level where a proficiency in a specific magic appears within students, allowing for more personalized classes as they strengthen their proficiency. Level 4: The level where students fully join a proficiency course in which the more generic magic classes are dropped and the more specialized classes are picked up. Level 5: The level for students who are near ready to graduate. This level focus' on perfecting students magical abilities and getting them prepared for magical trade schools. There will mostly be a lot of lab classes, tests, and major projects done at this level.

general curriculum classes work on a similar grade system as the magic classes. Instead of teaching certain classes only at certain levels, students instead will be sorted into classes that best match their current knowledge. For a student to move up to other general classes they must first graduate from the classes they are currently in.

Student's will not be held back from graduating from the Academy if they fail to graduate from their general classes. Opalwood Academy's only requirements to graduate are reaching level 5 in the magical curriculum. If a student graduates and still wants to try and pass their general classes then they will be offered to join the general curriculum programs that take place during spring, summer, and autumn. students in the general program are not on the main campus and instead have their own campus which they are not required to live on.

that's all i got rn. sorry if it's a bit all over the place haha I'm not use to just info dumping places