#and i dont know if freshmen can be elected to participate in it

[distant-velleity]

Magnetism

Summary: The moment everyone's been waiting for, a non-memey first kiss for Chrysos and Santiago. Word count: 800+ A/N: I stayed up a little too late writing this last night because it was only supposed to be a 30-minute drabble before bed... then I had the idea to add imagery and metaphors and similes and some tension and--you get it. Anyway, enjoy! <3

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When they finally escape the hustle and bustle of the post-victory party, the waxing moon is hanging high in the sky. The air has settled to be deliciously cool for a near-summer evening, soothing the heat they still radiate after emerging from the crowded cafeteria. 

“Well,” says Santiago, gently nudging Chrysos’ shoulder with his as they walk, “here’s to the merman right next to me, who contributed to Night Raven’s first Spelldrive win against Royal Sword in a century.” 

He raises his distinctly non-alcoholic plastic cup of fruit punch, its translucent red contents lightly sloshing about in an imitation of wine. The sight causes Chrysos to snort.

“I didn’t do that much,” he argues, objectively. “Draconia got the final hit in, in the end.”

“Yeah, but who had the sense to use the flashy spells I taught him? Who took the initiative when the Ignihyde and Heartslabyul reps started arguing? Who helped Jamil give Malleus the perfect opening for a coup de grâce?” Santiago barely has to reach over to tap Chrysos on the chest. “I say it’s the guy right in front of me.”

“That’s… You’re…”

Chrysos doesn’t fancy himself a poet, but something about the way Santiago smiles fondly at him could be considered poetry—something about the ambient green lighting, the glow reflected in those golden eyes creasing with affection, the shockingly pure stutter it inflicts upon Chrysos’ heart. Something about the way he drops genuine praise shamelessly when he’s on the high of victory-inspired euphoria. Something about their proximity, the way that they’re drawn together like two magnets of different poles.

“I’m what?” asks Santiago teasingly.

“You’re…” Chryso grumbles a little under his breath. “You’re exaggerating.”

“Nuh-uh. Not for you. This is the truth right here, buddy.”

Chrysos, growing a bit red in the face, is glad that Santiago looks away to chug the last of his punch and toss the cup into a bin after saying that. 

It’s just the heat and humidity of having been stuck with so many people in one place, he wants to think, but even he knows better by now.

Meanwhile, they approach the wishing well in the courtyard, where emerald firelight gives way to the pearlescent illumination of the moon and the stars. 

“Hearing praise coming from your mouth somehow feels unusual,” Chrysos remarks, to hide how good all this praise makes him feel. To hide how he feels about it coming from this very sweet, very pretty beastman.

Santiago slows to a stop before the well.

“Then…” He opens his mouth to say something—before, apparently, quickly thinking better of it. “...Ahh, nevermind. That’s cheesy, even by my standards.”

“What?” Chrysos furrows his brows, coming to stand so close to the other that their arms—his crossed and Santiago’s prone at his sides—brush and press against each other. “So now you’re going to shut up? Just because it’s unusual doesn’t mean I don’t want to hear more.”

It’s Santiago’s turn to have his cheeks darken, one lanky hand coming up to hide his mouth. “But it’s sort of…” 

He hesitates for a few moments, maddening in how they feel like they last an eternity, then shakes his head with newfound determination. 

“You know what? It’s now or never.”

Chrysos holds his breath as Santiago leans in a little closer and caresses his cheek with a feather-light touch that gradually becomes more grounded, more confident. 

The beastman’s eyes, normally bright with a challenging sort of spirit, are semi-lidded but still possess the fierce earnestness of the sun. Their inherent brilliance puts to shame the moonlight veil draping over their surroundings; and while he searches for the courage to speak up, those eyes express the beginnings of what he wants to say. 

A gentle breeze blows past them amid the silence, carrying with it the entwined scent of the rainforest and the sea. 

“If you can’t believe in my praise,” Santiago murmurs at last, “then how about this?”

When their lips meet, gravitating towards each other in a slow start but quickly seizing the moment and pulling together, it’s not at all the messy thing Chrysos had been expecting. Instead, it’s drawn together by a sentimental magnetism that draws power from their polarizing differences. Rough but careful; desperate but precise; passionate but planned. It feels like someone has stolen the air from his lungs in the best possible way, replacing his senses with the endless freedom of flowers, fruit, and the open sky. 

It’s undeniably Santiago, and Chrysos—unafraid to use that forbidden four-letter word—loves it.

…Eventually, the sensation of their breaths thinning from metaphorical altitude leaves them with no choice but to pull away from the kiss. 

“I hope I did that right,” Santiago whispers, a little sheepish yet giddy with basking in the afterglow of it all.

“There’s no such thing as ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ when kissing,” Chrysos replies breathlessly, “only good and better. When it comes to you, at least.”

It’s hard to miss the way Santiago puffs up with pride, eyes glimmering.

Chrysos’s smile, one he hadn’t realized was tugging at his lips, grows. “Now hurry up and do it again. Even better this time.”

“On it, boss,” answers Santiago with an affectionate lilt to his voice, leaning in for another kiss.

[hey-im-trash-and-better-than-you]

advice for new high-school freshmen!

just some stuff I learned since school is starting soon

1. Take advantage of opportunities!!: I had the opportunity to take an AP class freshman year and I’m so glad I did because it helps you get an idea of what the workload is like and you’ll be able to see if you can handle it before you take like a whole schedule full next year and then find out a few weeks in that you’re miserable. If you wanna take online classes for some required classes that you don’t want to take up schedule space with, go for it!

2. YOU DON’T NEED TO DATE!!!: you really don’t. if you need somebody else to feel validated I suggest you go get help. if you want to date, go for it, but if you don’t, don’t feel pressured to. you have your whole life to find love, and most love you find in high school generally won’t last, as well as it being a distraction to more important things. also, don’t make out in the hallways because it’s gross and to that one couple at my school who keeps making out literally on the staircase: I hope you get mononucleosis (but not really but actually stop)

3. If you guys have homecoming or other school dances, don’t be afraid to go alone!: or at least don’t be afraid to go without a date! I went by myself and ended up hanging out with my friends there and I had probably a much better time than my other friends who just had to stay with their date.

4. don't vape. DONT VAPE. D O N T V A P E. DO NOT VAPE!!!: don't vape, don’t Juul, don’t whatever the hell else, don't pass go, do not collect 200 dollars. trust me, you don’t look cool, you honestly look like an asshole, you smell like an artificial fruit factory threw up on you (which does not smell good), and if you get caught you can get in seriously deep shit. It’s also so bad for your health! don't take “healthier than a cigarette” as “this is healthy” It still has nicotine in it which can mess you up. like just because thin crust pizza is probably healthier than a deep-dish pizza, it doesn't mean it’s healthy! same goes with vaping. It’s something for people already addicted to nicotine, and as a freshman, in high school, I hope you are not addicted to nicotine.

5. SLEEP!: don’t even bother pulling all-nighters to study, because you’ll be tired the entire day, and if you don’t sleep, your brain doesn’t have time to process all that info, meaning you’ll literally forget it all by the time you get to the test. I had friends who stayed awake for days straight studying and then ended up getting some of the lowest grades I’ve ever seen. I do agree I’ve pulled all-nighters, but I’ve never felt good afterward and I’ve only done it in really dire situations (like finishing a project that was 20 percent of my exam grade)

6. EAT!: at LEAST twice a day. preferably one of those should be breakfast, but if you can’t get that in, try to eat lunch and dinner. it doesn’t have to be anything huge (i tend to eat small breakfasts (if I eat it at all) and dinners and eat a large lunch) cuz if you don’t you’ll get headaches and you’ll be distracted because you’ll be too focused on the fact that you’re hungry

7. Join a club!: or do a heavily group-oriented class. Band, Orchestra, Choir, Theatre, Debate, whatever. It’s a really good way to meet people. in my orchestra this year I made so many friends that I wouldn't have met otherwise (not to mention they can look really good during college applications a few years down the road)

8. Don’t be an asshole to your teachers. They can control your grade and your experience in their class. don’t get on their bad side. And in the end, if you fail because you weren’t listening or you kept talking in class, don’t blame it on your teachers, because they tried. and in the end, when you realize you’re going to fail, don’t go sucking up to your teachers hoping they’ll help. I was one of 3 people in my algebra class of 23 students who passed the class because we were the only three students who made an effort. 

9. I know everyone says to be yourself which you should do, but realize some hobbies have a time and a place. If you’re a furry that's cool whatever but please don’t be that weird guy in my lunch period who kept trying to tell me how much he wanted to fuck Kass from Legend of Zelda. like ok man, whatever you’re into but I'm tryna eat my nachos k.

10. start figuring out a vague idea of what you want to do in the future: you don’t need to decide exactly where you wanna work, where you want to go to college (or if you even want to go to college), what you wanna do, etc. but having an idea will make it easier to plan out your elective classes later on in your high school career.

11. If you do want to go to college, start researching! I don’t care if people tell me I started researching too early, because, in senior year when everyone is stressing out, I’ll already have everything together. Start applying to scholarships! if you happen to be near a college you may be interested in, go take a tour! it’s never too early. 

12. Start caring about your grades. seriously. these are the scores colleges will be looking at in the applications process, so sure you could slack off, but good luck getting into your dream college with a 1.5 GPA. Set goals for yourself! for example, the university I want to go to has an honors college that I want to get into and one of the eligibility requirements is that you have to have a 90 or above average, so that’s what I'm going to aim for.

13. tying back into number 8, stay on top of your assignments and participate in class! By turning in your work on time and asking questions and actually participating in class, your teachers will know that you are serious about learning and will actually try to help you when you need it. remember my sucky algebra class? I had an 89 semester average and there was no more work I could do but I really wanted a 90 average, so I just went and asked if he could bump up my grade a point so I’d have a 90, and he said yes! because I actually tried in his class.

14. You will start to have more things to do outside of school, and you will have to learn to handle them. For example, you may have a job, or you may have to go to driving school if you decide to get your drivers permit. School should be your first priority so if you can’t handle some things outside of school, don’t try to. you will get overwhelmed and it will not be good.

15. Lastly, don’t overwhelm yourself. This is just your first year of high school. It’s like the year you are expected to mess up because it’s an entirely new concept! Teachers will be more strict than they were in middle school, but this is also probably the most lenient they’ll be for the rest of your school career. Take this year to feel out the waters and ease your way into it. If you don’t start out with stellar grades it's ok! it’s way better to mess up early on and have all that time later to fix it than to mess up later and be stuck with it. 

Good luck in the next 4 years of your life!

[moreracquetball]

Marvin-teaching-drama GIVES ME LIFE. but the real question is what would everyone else teach?

Collaborated with @whizzerbrowne bc this is hers as much as mine perhaps even more so let’s be honest.

Mendel

TOTALLY A RIVAL ARTS TEACHER. (thank you cj for opening my eyes to this possibility).

He’d probably do like Standard, Technical^tm English classes like regular English, American and British Lit, Oral and Written Communications, and tbh he’d probably get roped into teaching a Psych elective. This rivals Marvin’s classes of drama, humanities, poetry.

Marvin is a complete classics snob while Mendel is obviously wayy more modern well by lit standards

Mendel: God, I love Slaughterhouse-Five. Marvin *snorts*: I hardly consider that a classic. Mendel: MARVIN IT WAS WRITTEN OVER FORTY YEARS AGO. Marvin: EXACTLY!

but yeah, while Marvin’s class is def structured around lectures, Mendel does more of a discussion-based environment and prompts his students, “Why do you think [this character] did/say that?” or “What do you think the author was trying to say about society by including [this] in the novel?”

It should be obvious that Mendel does not answer these questions himself bc DONT ASK ME QUESTIONS IM FRIGHTENED OF QUESTIONS.

But yeah,,, the ultimate teacher rivalry.

His favorite class of students: Seniors bc they’ve learned to not be afraid to speak up and actively participate in class.

Charlotte

DEFINITELY THE HEAD OF THE SCIENCE DEPARTMENT

Her favorite classes to teach are def Biology and Anatomy (which she teaches at regular, honors, and AP levels).

She def gives herself the most core classes and a few electives, so that makes her schedule suuuuppperrr busy and hectic but she loves the work and she loves the kids.

And lab days are her absolute favorite, omg. She loves performing the experiment alongside her students whenever she can, and she loves helping with their measurements and really just watching their faces when something happens.

She is def That Teacher who you go to when you’re failing a class and are v overwhelmed and really need resources like tutors and such. She has that open door policy.

Her favorite class of students: freshmen and sophomores!! They’re so genuinely curious and not Over^tm school just yet. They always seem more open-minded and conscious for class.

Cordelia

Okay, so so so so hear me out: Cafeteria worker Cordelia.

She serves lunch and gets to hear the gossip and tbh this is only a day job for her as she tries to kick-off her independent catering business.

She is everyone’s favorite bc she remembers all the kid’s names and what they prefer and she’ll do the “how was that history test?” and hear the resounding groans.

She never skimps on the food!! THANK GOD.

She also really pushes the school’s budget system to include better ingredients and meal plans and she’ll recommend recipes she’s been working on and even though she’s not the best cook, she has the best ideas and she really gets the business side of the cafeteria done.

Also, she always makes sure to save an extra scoop of mashed potatoes for that cute science department head that always takes up for her crusade in the staff meetings.

Her favorite class of students: ALL OF THEM. THEY ALL HAVE TO EAT.

Trina

The head chair of the Family Sciences department. So she teaches like Home Ec, Family Planning and Adult Living, Life Skills, Personal Economics, etc.

She is super super vocal that these are not “easy” or “feminine” classes like she makes an effort to invite all male and/or “smart kids” to take them as well bc hey,,, you actually need to know how to do all this stuff. Like, come on. Do you know how to write a check or do taxes? Yeah, didnt think so.

The! Kindest! Teacher! She makes an effort to get to know everyone in her class and says hello to everyone in the halls and is just !!! positive.

She plans a lot of field trips for students to be like introduced to the world and how to function in crisis situations. Like, she def hosted a class about CPR and other health stuff.

Her favorite class of students: JUNIORS! They’re not naive or overwhelmed like lowerclassmen and aren’t lazy or apathetic like seniors. They are her fave, tbh.