#what if I printed this out and put it on my bulletin board

[mastersoftheair]

"Masters of the Air details: Part 1-Graphics

"[...]I had the pleasure of working with the graphics department on many topics from navigation to mission planning, forms, manuals, research and just plain answering questions.

"Dan Burke was the department head but I mostly worked with Megan Jones and her wonderful pup Indy.

"When on set, like in one of the offices that you have seen in the first two episodes or anywhere else in the series, you will see bulletin boards, clip boards, file folders and in/out trays and typewriters filled with paperwork. If you were able to pick up one of these documents you will find actual 100th BG documents faithfully recreated and they are also pertinent to the specific time of the scene. And I am not just talking a page on top but all the way through the stack!

"The mission orders came in to the bomb groups via teletype machines and were printed out on special sized roll paper. Meg found a guy who had working WWII teletypes and then she found the exact paper. She printed up the correct mission reports and they were coming out of the machines and looked great!

"One of the things that Meg asked me about was the navigation paperwork. Crosby had several scenes where he was navigating and just what kind of paperwork would he have had?

"Charts, maps and navigators logs was the answer to begin with and I had brought examples of those with me to teach the actors how to look like they could navigate. I even had some of my Dad's paperwork and nav kit along. Meg recreated his bare nav log to use with Crosby's scenes.

"We then looked in to the mission routes so we could fill out the nav logs and mark the charts and big briefing wall map accurately. I dove in to the archives mission files that they had procured from sources in the US but since this was deep in the middle of COVID the archives were closed down and getting additional research information was problematic. The National Archives in the UK opened up and I was there on the weekend doing research. Instead of the multi generation degraded copies that production received from the US these files were all original and in perfect condition. Incredible stuff for sure with all of the photos complete with Air Ministry water marks on the back of the paper.

"In the mission files were the planned route of the mission and also the actual route flown which were often quite different. I dug in to the files and was able to plot out the planned and actual mission routes on charts that Meg had reproduced. For the pilot types reading this I also plotted all of the routes on ForeFlight to help with quick calculations for the headings as we actually put in the winds that were encountered and reported in the mission file. Meg ended up getting Foreflight so we could share the plots and work out the future missions.

"One of the things that I hadn't realized but was revealed in the reports was just how much time was spent in forming up the whole attacking armada. Each bomb group would all take off and form up over their own air field. Then they would go to specific assembly areas and form up the wings and full task force. It took two, three or more hours of flying just to do this over the UK before they headed toward fortress Europe. Amazing really and it explains why so many aircrew died during this from collisions climbing through the ugly weather. Hundreds and then thousands of aircraft all coming up through the heavy cloud layer on instruments trying not to hit each other. A lot of them did and a near miss sequence is depicted in the series.

"So when you see the paperwork, posters, maps, teletypes and amazing other details you can appreciate the efforts of Megan and the graphics department. And all of the other departments, Some of which I will try to highlight in future posts if this is of interest." - (Taigh Ramey on Facebook)

[butterflylaravaesyrup]

yandere (chiropractor) x !fem reader

vernorexia(n.) – a romantic mood inspired by warm weather and early springtime - /vern-oh-rex-eyuh/

it was a glum day today; dewy rain drops and mushy leaves scattered around your neighbourhood. and, to make it even worse, you had an appointment today, a chiropractic consultation with a doctor whom you did not know.

but it was okay, right? it was just a crack of the bones, to make your aching body feel better. 10 23 am

you arrive at the clinic, turning your windshield wipers off and parking your car. the clinic has a mahogany wood outside, and it was easy on the eyes. you realize you are being soaked in rain, and run inside the small building. a gust of lavender and vanilla enters your nostrils, its aromatic smell pleasing all your senses. you walk up to the receptionist. “hello, I’m here for an appointment with erm..” you don’t know his name. “doctor hart? I’ve got your file right here. ms. y/n l/n? he’s the only chiropractor here today, no one works on sundays.” the receptionist smiles, she was a pregnant, red head woman with a rather thin physique, her name plate read ‘kacie barlowe, receptionist’.

“that.. would be me. thank you.” you say, and take a seat in a waiting chair. “he will be with you briefly.” she mutters, clicking away on her keyboard, eyes glued on her computer screen.

the clinic had a birch wood finish, and plenty of plants in the waiting area, which was pleasant. you twiddle with your thumbs, glancing at the receptionist who took a sip of her drink occasionally.

“y/n l/n?” the chiropractor says in a deep, yet calm voice, his body half in the doorway and half in the corridor. you look down, and grab your things as you follow dr. hart into the office. “right this way,” he says. you make it there in a quick 30 seconds, and he closes the door right behind you.

“well hello there,” he says, grabbing a clipboard and gathering his tools. “If you may not already know, I’m Doctor Hart. I’ll be fixing you up today! So, before we get started I’m going to need a little information. Any sore spots? Previous surgeries?” He asks, looking up at you. His voice is soothing, like honey to your ears. And boy, is he cute. His green eyes stares into your e/c ones, his gaze lingering for a little too long. “um, my back has really been bothering me, so has my neck. as for surgeries, none.” You reply. You answer any other questions that he asks you, and he gets you to lay on the bed.

“Alright then, let’s get started, shall we?” He grabs an adjuster, and places it on your shoulder. It makes a slight ‘crack’ sound, and you feel like your shoulder has been put back in a place you didn’t know existed. You grunt softly, but stay still nonetheless. he does this again with your back, and your neck before he uses his hands to relax your muscles. “Let’s get your trigger points active,” he says, and he starts moving his hands all over your back, neck and even your legs. it feels like a new experience, a piece of heaven.

After a half an hour, the treatment is done. He places some sort of a lotion and spreads it out on your neck. It smells, again, like lavender. What is up with this place and lavender? you think.

“and..you’re done.” Dr hart says, grinning softly. he helps you off of the bed. “my body feels like jelly..” you mutter under your breath, struggling to keep your balance. “that’s alright, it’s normal. if you’d like.. you could just stay here for a bit. I need to grab the print out of your body analysis, anyways.” he says, before leaving the room. “oh- okay?” You say, sitting in a chair next to his desk. he was an organized individual, despite all of the neon yellow post-it notes that practically covered his bulletin board. at his desk, is a picture frame of him that looks like he’s at his graduation, holding his doctorate. In another frame, there is a woman he has his arm wrapped around. She’s blonde, like him, with a pink polo and brown eyes. she was outstandingly pretty. well, to be fair, he was a fairly good looking guy himself, so no surprise there. perhaps it’s his wife?

just then, dr hart walks in with the report. He cocks a blonde eyebrow, but hands it to you anyways in a disturbed manner. did he catch you checking out his pictures? you grab your bag. “uh, thank you, dr hart. have a great rest of your day—“ you say. “Sorry, I think you’ve forgotten something.” He says. It’s a hat, but it’s not yours. He grabs your wrist and injects a vein with a syringe filled with a yellow hued liquid inside. You start to feel drowsy. “doctor..?” You mumble, before blacking out completely. All you can hear now is dr hart’s shuffling as he stares into your soul, your heart beating in your chest.

will you continue? find the next part in my account ;)

[libraford]

When I went around peddling my coloring book to local businesses I stopped into an art gallery because... hmm.. why not? I was feeling brave and I needed to get out of the rain.

I tell him what I'm doing and he politely declines because his gallery is primarily selling the work of him and his students and it wouldn't fit- which is an answer I was prepared for. But he asks to see the book and I show it to him, saying that it was a misprint and I accidentally ordered the wrong finish, so its not friendly to colored pencils.

"Don't tell people that." Excuse me? "Don't tell people that you made a mistake, tell them that the company made the mistake."

So I can tell right away that we're not going to get along because I believe in owning to your mistakes.

"How much are you selling it for?"

"I was thinking in the $15 family."

"You're going to sell it at cost?"

"... $15 gives me a fairly reasonable profit. And I don't want to price out my audience on a 30 page book."

"Never settle," he says. "This must have cost you a fortune just to print."

Okay so 1- didn't ask for advice.

2- its pretty clear that this guy went straight from art school to selling whole ass originals and that we're coming at this from two different ends of the spectrum of success. Prints don't cost that much.

3. He probably thinks I'm straight out of college and not a whole ass adult.

Well, this is a bust. Might as well see how deep a hole I can dig myself into with this guy.

"The other reason I'm going door to door is to see if anyone would be interested in putting one of our flyers in their window or on their bulletin boards." I hand him the flyer for the local queer group.

He takes it.

"Thank you. I'll... only put it out in certain company."

Oh, that flyer is going in the garbage.

[pittdpeaches]

So I shared this story on Twitter and I figure I should share it on tumblr too

Back in late January, when I got my first piece of fanart, I was so incredibly grateful and sentimental about it that I went to my university library, printed it out, and put it up on my bulletin board.

A little while later, I got another piece of fanart and being all giddy and excited I put that on the bulletin board too.

So as time goes on and I slowly add on to the bulletin board of fanart, in the back of my head I start wondering about what I’d do if I somehow get more art than I have space for.

But this isn’t really a thought I give a lot of serious time to. Because that’s WILD, right? There’s NO WAY people would make THAT MUCH ART over my silly little lego fanfics. So I just kind of laugh the thought off.

Cut to February and uh.

I run out of space on the bulletin board.

Now I got some pretty reasonable advice for what I should do about this absolutely wild situation I’m in, including

- make a digital scrapbook

-put your favorites on the board and the rest in a folder

-only print out art you go *really* feral for

-stop printing out fanart maybe

But here’s the thing. I am disgustingly sappy and very thankful about every bit of support I get for my work. And more importantly, I’m a fucking idiot.

So what I do instead is spend 25 dollars on a fuckin photo album to shove all my fanart into.

So now every other week or so I waddle over to the university library and spend what little printer money the school gives us each semester to print out spicynoodles fanart and Scrapbook Away

This is something I’m a little embarrassed to share ngl. But it’s also a part of my life that I’m always really grateful for, and it’s also a bit of a silly situation I’ve wandered into, so I thought it would be fun to share.

In conclusion if you send me fanart it goes Straight In The Book complete with whatever handle you sent it under. If this photo album somehow runs out of room I will explode.

[generic-sonic-fan]

One Ultimate Latte, Please

Summary: This is the story of how Shadow's Starbucks order went viral.

(Crack fic! Inspired by this post made by the lovely @chaos-and-the-emeralds and I!)

3452 words

Emily worked at the Starbucks next door to the GUN headquarters.

To say it was an unusual job would be putting it lightly. During her short time here, she’d learned that anything could walk out of the doors of that government complex and into the coffee shop. Soldiers in full tactical SWAT gear. International politicians. Four-star generals. Sonic the Hedgehog, once, apparently- Emily’s supervisor had printed out a photo of a selfie she’d gotten with the Blue Blur and hung it on the bulletin board in the storeroom. 

It was a Tuesday afternoon. Business was painfully slow at this hour- all of the usual government meetings had finished, but it wasn’t quite the end of the workday. Emily cleaned off the front counter with a rag and spray bottle. She stopped scrubbing when she heard the door chime.

In stepped Shadow the Hedgehog. 

The Shadow the Hedgehog. 

He was. . . shorter than Emily expected. She set the rag and spray bottle aside and stepped behind the till. Only now did she realize that someone else was with him, too. 

“What kind of coffee do you want?”

“We should be going.”

“It’d be rude if I didn’t let you get something too, hun.” The white bat jabbed her elbow into his side. “We’re gonna be late anyway, might as well get something good on the way.”

Shadow the Hedgehog stared up at the menu with a blank expression.

“Can I help you?” Emily offered. 

“Sure!” The bat replied. “I’ll take a venti iced soy caramel macchiato, upside down, with one pump of vanilla and cinnamon dolce syrup.”

Emily entered the order into the register. When she looked back up, the bat was handing her a credit card. Behind her, however, Shadow the Hedgehog stood, eyebrows furrowed, doing the best “Dorothy-landing-in-Oz” expression Emily had ever seen.

Not in Kansas anymore? she thought about saying for a single second before deciding she would never, ever say that under any circumstance. She looked over her shoulder and disguised her laugh as cough. 

“What’s so funny, hmm? Got a problem with my order?”

“Nothing. Sorry.” Emily took the credit card from her and rang up the transaction. “What’s a good name for that?”

“Rouge. Shadow, you decided?”

“How am I supposed to order when I can’t understand half the words on the menu?” Shadow scowled. He then glared straight at Emily. “What kind of establishment is this?”

“Okay, relax, hun, I’ll order for you. He’ll take a honeycomb lavender latte- what size do you want?”

“The small one.”

“He’ll have that tall.” The bat, Rouge, finished. She stepped aside and waved Shadow forward.

The hedgehog gave a cutting glare as he fished a wad of cash out of his quills and slammed it on the counter. Emily waited until he’d removed his hand and stepped back before counting it. She was grateful it was exact change. 

“And what’s a good name for that one?” Emily asked. 

“The Ultimate Lifeform.”

She grabbed the cup and pen, and to her credit, she wrote the title without much hesitation. “Alright, we’ll have that out in a few minutes.” 

The pair walked to the pickup counter. Shadow looked pissed, and remained pissed as Emily prepared his friend’s complicated order. Maybe “friend” was a strong term- Emily certainly didn’t know anything about these two, and the hedgehog didn’t look pleased to be with her right now. 

“One venti soy caramel macchiato with vanilla and cinnamon for Rouge?” Emily called out. 

The bat sauntered up to the counter. “Upside down?”

“Yes ma’am.” 

“Good woman. Mmm.” Rouge sipped her drink. “Perfect.”

Shadow rolled his eyes. 

Emily was able to make his drink much faster, and soon emerged out the other side with the short cup.

“One honeycomb lavender latte for the Ultimate Lifeform?” She set the drink on the counter. 

Maybe it had been a little dumb to have taken their names, since they were the only ones in the store, but Shadow’s face actually lightened a bit when he heard the title called. He walked up to the counter and grabbed his drink, swirling it around in his hand. 

“Well?” Rouge asked.

He took a sip. Then another. Then a long swig. 

“Good, huh?”

He nodded. 

“I told you.”

“This is the Ultimate Latte.” He gripped the cup with determination. 

Rouge gave an agitated sigh. “Sure, weirdo. Watch my drink, I’ll be back.”

She set her drink down on the counter and walked to the bathroom. Shadow watched her go. When the door shut behind her, he covered his mouth with his hand and started shaking. Emily realized he was snickering, and this was enough to get a laugh out of her as well.

“What are you laughing at?” Shadow whipped around to her. 

“Nothing, sir.” She straightened. 

“Are you laughing at me?”

She shook her head before pointing toward the bathroom. “She thought you were serious, right?”

“Don’t ruin it.”

“My lips are sealed.”

“Good.” His glare softened, but not by much. He took another sip of his latte.

The bathroom door opened and Rouge returned. She grabbed her drink from the counter, muttered something about “ultimate vanity”, before the two left the store. 

Emily would’ve had one hell of a story to tell her supervisor, but the last thing she wanted to do was break a promise with Shadow the freaking Hedgehog. . .

—

Two weeks passed. Emily got very good at preparing “upside down” orders, and she wanted to strangle whichever Instagrammer decided to make that popular. Shadow the Hedgehog’s bat friend must’ve been ahead of the trend. 

This meant Emily was prepared when the two walked back through the doors. This time it was mid-morning, and they weren’t the only customers in the shop. Heads swiveled as Shadow the Hedgehog joined the line behind an old woman. 

“My my! Aren’t you one of the fine young men that saved the world from that wicked Robotnik a while back?” The old lady exclaimed. “Why don’t you go ahead of me?”

Before Shadow could answer, his bat friend interjected. “Thanks, lady, we’re in a bit of a rush.”

She stepped up to the counter. “I’ll take a venti iced soy caramel macchiato, upside down, with one pump of vanilla and cinnamon dolce syrup, on the double if you can.”

Emily entered the order. “Name for that?”

“Rouge.” 

“And for you, sir?” Emily asked.

Shadow snapped to attention. 

“An Ultimate Latte for you?”

She didn’t know what possessed her to say that. She really shouldn’t have- she'd promised.

“Are you making fun of him?” Rouge asked. 

“. . . why yes, actually, I’ll take one of those.” Shadow replied. 

Rouge did a double take at her companion as Emily entered the order. She wrote the names on both of the cups before accepting Rouge’s credit card. The transaction completed, and the pair moved along. Emily stayed at the register to take further orders, but she could hear her coworkers making the drinks behind her. 

“One upside down venti soy caramel macchiato with vanilla and cinnamon for Rouge?” One coworker called out. 

The bat retrieved her drink. Emily paid only half attention to the customer in front of her, waiting. 

“One honeycomb lavender latte for. . . the Ultimate Lifeform?”

Shadow waltzed forward and snatched his drink from the person who’d called his order out.

“Say it with more respect next time.” He growled, before returning to Rouge. 

Emily’s coworker looked like he’d just peed his pants. Emily, meanwhile, could only slap a hand over her mouth to keep from laughing out loud to the entire store. 

—

Shadow came alone next time, one week later, in the dead of the afternoon. He had a paper with an order on it. He mumbled halfway through it before throwing it away and ordering two “Ultimate Lattes” instead. 

“If she wanted her stupid frilly drink she could’ve come here herself.” He grumbled.

“I agree. Same name as usual for that order?”

Shadow glanced around to the empty shop around them, before a small grin teased at his lips. “Sure.”

Emily made sure to say it loud and proud.

—

If it was somehow hard to miss Shadow the Hedgehog, it was even harder to miss the giant robot that entered with him. Okay, maybe “giant” wasn’t the most apt descriptor, given that it was only about five feet tall- but that still towered over Shadow and every other mobian in the store. 

And it wasn’t about height, but presence. “WHAT SUSTENANCE DO YOU REQUIRE?”

“Caffeine. Forgot my coffee beans this morning. This will only take a few minutes, you can wait outside.”

The robot stared at the menu, before staring at Emily. 

“The usual?” She asked quietly.

“WHAT IS ‘THE USUAL’?”

“Yes. One Ultimate Latte, please.” Shadow ignored his companion and handed the money to her. 

“I WANT ONE.”

Shadow looked at the robot. “Why?”

“I WANT ONE.”

“Don’t be foolish. You won’t be able to drink it.”

The robot swiveled, then leaned forwards, until its eyes were level with Shadow’s. 

“Fine! Whatever. Two Ultimate Lattes.” He slapped more money on the counter. 

A few minutes later and the drinks were ready. Emily walked them to the pickup counter.

“Two Ultimate Lattes for the Ultimate Lifeform!”

The regulars didn’t turn their heads anymore, but a few newbies did. Shadow retrieved his drinks and handed one to the robot. 

The robot stared at the drink, before stomping back to the counter. Emily fought the urge to hide beneath the counter or take off running.

“I AM NOT AN ‘ULTIMATE LIFEFORM’.” The robot blared. “I AM THE ULTIMATE ROBOT. GET IT RIGHT NEXT TIME, MEATBAG.”

“Sorry, let me try that one again: one Ultimate Latte for the Ultimate Robot!” Emily replied without missing a beat. She’d have to thank whatever ghost of bravery that had possessed her later. 

The robot stared at her, before giving an approving nod. She flashed her best customer service smile as it stomped off. Shadow trailed after it, but before he left, he gave her a tight-lipped smile and a shrug. 

—

The next time Shadow came with company was right at rush hour, when the usual crowd of government agents got off work or were heading to their night shift. Emily wasn’t sure which one applied to the three that stood before her. Shadow, regardless of everything, looked happy to see her. 

He cut in front of Rouge. “One Ultimate Latte, please.”

“Rude!” Rouge chimed. 

“RUDE.” The robot chimed. 

“Sure thing,” Emily finished doodling up the cup. 

She took the money from him shortly after, and he stepped off to the side. The robot stepped forward next. 

“ONE ULTIMATE LATTE.”

“For the Ultimate Robot, right?”

“CORRECT!” The robot pumped its fist into the air. It then turned to Shadow. “SHE REMEMBERED. I LIKE THIS MEATBAG.”

“You’re kind of hard to forget.” Shadow replied. “Emily, you can put Omega’s on my ticket.”

Emily froze. Whatever ghost of bravery or quick thinking or whatever that had helped her last time was completely absent.

“That is your name, isn’t it?” He gestured to the name tag. 

“Right, of course.” Emily turned to Rouge. “And what can I get for you?” 

“Ugh, about time. I think I’ll try something different- how about a venti half white chocolate, half regular mocha frappe with two pumps raspberry and whipped cream?”

“And the name for that?”

The bat pouted. “And here I thought we knew everyone’s names here?”

“Just ‘Rouge’ is fine?” Emily clarified. 

Rouge paused thoughtfully, before grinning. “Actually, how about ‘the Ultimate Treasure Hunter Extraordinaire’?”

“Perfect. We’ll have those right out for you.”

Emily completed the payments, punched everything into the register, and then frowned at the huge line that had formed while the trio had ordered. She caught one of her coworkers walking by behind her, grabbing his shoulder and pushing him behind the till.

“Switch!” She whispered in his ear, before jumping into the order line. 

It was hell to try and figure out what her unfortunate colleague had been in the middle of, but she threw together the orders well enough. Then it came to the three important ones, and she took her time with these. When they were finished, she went up to the counter and readied her best calling voice.

“One Ultimate Latte for the Ultimate Lifeform!”

“One venti half-and-half mocha frappe with raspberry and whip for the Ultimate Treasure Hunter Extraordinaire!” 

“One Ultimate Latte for the Ultimate Robot!”

What followed was a scene out of a movie, slow motion and all. The crowded store parted, bewildered patrons creating the perfect walkway for the three to swagger down. Rouge led the formation, wings spread wide, with the grace of a supermodel on the runway. Shadow followed on her right, a look of cool arrogance in his eyes. Omega followed on her left, practically preening under all the attention, if robots could preen, that was. 

They grabbed their drinks in unison and then walked away in the same formation. Rouge blew a kiss to the crowd before they went out the door. 

Everything and everyone in the store seemed to freeze in place for a moment, as if reality itself was reeling from the amount of “cool” it had just witnessed.

And Emily was beaming. 

—

“It’s only a quick stop.”

“Coffee, Shads? Frou-frou coffee?”

“Shut up. You can wait outside if it bothers you.”

“No no no, I’m not bothered or anything, just weird.”

Being the barista that Shadow the Hedgehog knew by name prepared you for all sorts of unexpected, intimidating things. Emily liked to think that she could handle anything at this point. 

But having THE Sonic the Hedgehog walk into your store was something else entirely. 

“Hello, Emily.” Shadow said. “The usual.”

Really, she should’ve expected this. Shadow the Hedgehog hadn’t saved the world alone, after all. They might even be friends. . . though perhaps that was pushing it, given the way Sonic rolled his eyes. 

“One Ultimate Latte, coming right up.” Emily began writing the name on the cup. 

“You’re kidding.” Sonic said. He then cleared his throat and did a poor imitation. “An ‘Ultimate Latte’?”

“Shut up!”

Emily scribbled out what she’d written on the cup. “And the name for that?”

Shadow gave her a strange look. “Same as always.”

She shot a glance at Sonic, before looking back to him.

“Did I stutter?”

“Got it. Be out with that in a minute.”

Making the drink took only about as long as it took to heat the milk up at this point. The unique recipe was now as thoroughly engrained in her brain as a typical mocha or caramel frappuccino, so she didn’t have to think much about it anymore. She put the lid on and walked up to the counter. 

Her throat went dry as Sonic looked over at her. As usual, no one else was in the entire store, and for the first time in a long time, she felt a little dumb for taking a name for the order at all. 

But then Shadow met her gaze expectantly, and she couldn’t help but smile.

“One Ultimate Latte for the Ultimate Lifeform!” She called out and set the cup on the counter. 

Shadow retrieved his drink and took a sip. “Thanks.”

“Wow. Just wow, dude.” Sonic shook his head. 

Shadow turned around. “What, too afraid to try it?”

“Wha- no, of course not! Gimme a sip.”

Sonic was over in an instant. No, faster than an instant. The wind slapped against Emily’s face and her mouth fell open as her brain failed to register how someone that was over there could now be fifteen feet closer seemingly without taking a single step. 

Sonic, meanwhile, grabbed the cup and took a swig. 

And he immediately spit it out. 

“It’s hot, you moron.” Shadow said. 

“. . . Mhmmm, figured that. . .”

Shadow grabbed the cup back and took a small, reasonable sip. “I’m not giving you any more.”

“Come on. One more taste. I’m not getting defeated by some dumb drink.”

“Order your own.” Shadow turned and gave Emily a look. 

She froze, for a single moment, from the weight of expectation upon her. She then gave her best customer service smile and asked, “Would you like an Ultimate Latte, sir?”

Sonic threw his hands in the air as a look of utter bewilderment crossed his face. Shadow covered his mouth and locked eyes with her, and they shared in the valiant struggle of containing their laughter. 

“Fine. Ring me up.” Sonic zipped over to the till. 

She walked back and punched in the order again. Her customer service smile helped delay the giggles but she knew she didn’t have much time before she totally lost it. 

“What’s the name for that?”

“Sonic. Just Sonic, none of his nonsense.”

“Coming right up.” 

Making the order this time around felt like an eternity, but soon Emily returned to the counter.

“One Ultimate Latte for Sonic?”

She didn’t even set the drink down when it was taken from her hands by a blur of blue. Sonic skidded to a stop next to Shadow. 

“Now drink it. Slowly.” Shadow lowered his hand from his mouth. 

Sonic set the cup down on a nearby table and popped the lid off. He blew on the top of the drink for a minute or two, before picking it up and taking a sip. Then another. Then another.

“Well?” Shadow asked.

“. . . okay, that’s pretty good. Very sugary. Didn’t take you for the type.”

“Rouge got it for me the first time. I didn’t expect it either.”

“But it’s nice.”

“Yes. It’s nice.” 

Sonic took a longer sip, before setting the cup down again. He popped the lid back on. 

“Heh, guess it is a pretty ‘Ultimate’ latte. That’s a good name for it.”

And that’s when Shadow snorted. 

“Hey! What’s so funny?”

Emily laughed before she could help it. She doubled over behind the counter. Shadow’s own quiet giggles floated in from above. 

“I said it’s pretty ‘Ultimate’! That’s the name, right? Why are you two laughing?”

Giggles turned into guffaws. Emily stood up behind the counter again to see that Shadow’s smile spread wide out from behind his hand as he laughed uncontrollably. Sonic smiled and put a hand on Shadow’s back. It took him minutes to calm down enough to speak again. 

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you laugh like that before, dude.” Sonic said. “You should do it more often!”

“Tsch.” Shadow brushed his hand off.

“I’m going to assume this is some kind of inside joke?”

“Maybe?” Emily said. 

“Maybe.” Shadow repeated. 

“You can’t tell anyone.” Emily said.

“Oh really now?”

“Don’t ruin it.” Shadow pointed at him. 

“Sure won’t- if you can beat me back to your stupid boss’ office!”

“But we’re carrying drinks!” “So? What’s wrong, Shads, don’t know how to not spill everywhere?”

Emily dug out a pair of coffee cup stoppers. “These might help.”

Sonic ran back and stole them from her hands, before sticking them in his and Shadow’s drink. He then disappeared, the door slamming shut giving the only indication of where he’d gone. 

“Bastard!” Shadow shouted. “Chaos control!”

There was a huge flash of light, and a shockwave strong enough to shake the glass of the windows. Emily flung her hands in front of her eyes. When she lowered them again, he was gone. 

—

One week later, in the thick of rush hour, Sonic the Hedgehog came tearing into the store. He weaved and dodged his way around the line, sliding to a stop in front of the till just as the last customer walked off. Not that anybody minded, and if anybody did, they weren’t going to say it.

“Hey, Emily, is it? How’s it hanging?” He grinned.

She could only give a shy smile. “Can I take your order?”

By this point, multiple patrons had gotten their cell phones out and were videoing the whole exchange. 

“Sure! One Ultimate Latte, please.”

“And the name for that?”

“You know the one!”

Sonic slapped a wad of cash on the counter and took off to the pickup line. Emily counted the cash, only to find that he’d way overpaid, but any attempt to get his attention again was fruitless- he was busy taking selfies with a group of kids waiting with their mom. She threw the extra change in the tip jar. She then waved the next customer forward, a teenager with her phone out. 

“What’s the ‘Ultimate Latte’?” The teen asked. 

“Uh, it’s a honeycomb lavender latte.” Emily said. 

“Sure, I’ll give it a try. Make it a grande, please.” 

By the end of Emily’s shift, the coffee bar had run out of lavender syrup. 

By the end of the week, so had the storeroom. 

[xoxomoonlightxoxo]

P&C | Ch. 9: Almost Had You

➪ Playlist (Spotify) l Series Masterlist

5 … 4 … 3 … 2 … 1 … 

The countdown appeared on the screen, setting off a bright flash as Jungkook and I posed for the photos. The sequence of the first 3 captures was cute, just us acting out our respective characters or pretending to be disgusted by one another. That is until I'm inches away from Jungkook's face, both of us hiding behind his hat. I let out a small gasp, his gaze lowered on my lips. 

“Wha … what?” I try to speak before the camera flashes again. Looking up at my confused eyes, he lets out a chuckle, scooting closer as we observe the printed photos. 

“Jungkook, what the heck?” I say, hitting his forearm. “I can't show these to anyone now” I point to the last photo, which does not fit our friendly theme. 

“Why not? Nothing happened,” he grins, leaning his head back. 

“Nothing happened my ass, it's obviously suggestive,” I roll my eyes. 

“Let their imagination run wild then. I'm putting mine in my wallet, you can put yours on your bulletin board, I heard manifesting is popular these days,” he lets out a teasing chuckle, scrunching his nose. 

“HA HA HA, who says I want you anyways?” I reply cockily, twirling my hair.  

“You don't have to say it Peaches, your cheeks speak for themselves,” he grins, whispering into my ear. The concept of personal space is virtually nonexistent at this point. He is such a tease. But I’m not so innocent either, moving closer, I strategically place my hand on his chest, our lips inches apart. I can tell he is enjoying this from the way his breathing slows. Looking up at his closed eyes, I can’t help but smile, caressing the scar on his left cheek. He melts into my touch but I can’t let him win so easily. 

The burning sensation between us is disrupted as I suddenly move my face to the side, letting out an innocent ‘oops’. Jungkook grins and rests his forehead on mine, goosebumps covering my skin as I feel his breath on my neck. 

“Almost had you,” he says softly, eyes still closed, and before I can reply his lips touch my cheek. Eyes wide, I look up at his form which is now heading toward the door. 

“YAH” I yell, before making sure we didn’t leave anything behind. After saying goodbye to the staff, we zipped up and walked back to the car. My cheeks still flushed. 

--

Jiah: Hey lovely, I know you can’t go back home for Thanksgiving, so I’m arranging a trip for us. 

Mira: Oh babes, you don’t have to. That’s too much trouble. We can just have a sleepover or something … 

Jiah: Babe, a sleepover at our grown age? 

Mira: We had one last week … :(

Jiah: Whatever, I want this for us. My aunt will be out of town for next week and said we could use her cottage. Please pack according to the weather but also grab a few swimsuits ;)) 

Before I can reply, my phone rings, no caller ID. 

“Hello?”

“Hey Flip-flops, it’s me Tae,’” from his voice I can just tell he is giving me a boxy smile right now. 

“Tae, did you change your number?” I ask, putting him on speakerphone as I begin prepping for dinner. 

“Yeah, I dropped my phone into the toilet but everyone else thinks I broke it while biking, so you better keep your lips shut,” he chuckles. What a goof. “Anyways, I was gonna get food from the dining hall, do you want to join me?” 

“Oh …” I giggle looking down at the cut potatoes and carrots. “Yeah, sure,” I quickly reply, putting everything back into the fridge. 

“Sick, I’ll meet you downstairs in say 5 minutes?” 

“Sure, I’ll see you then,” 

--

As the elevator doors open, I can see Tae standing beside the entrance. Wearing his orange tracksuit he looks like Vector from Despicable Me, but I pass on the opportunity to tease him. Instead, we exchange waves and make our way inside. 

The dining hall is less busy than usual as most people have already left back home for the holiday. Unfortunately, only the ones that are separated from their family by an actual ocean are left on campus. I have already been feeling homesick since school started but seeing the empty libraries and lecture halls is setting off an array of emotions within me. It’s the first year I won’t be able to spend Thanksgiving with my family, and I know both parties are accepting it with a very heavy heart. The last time I talked with my mom she told me that she found my dad looking at my baby picture in his wallet for what seemed like hours. Poor guy only shows emotions when he thinks no one is watching. My mom on the other hand began crying as soon as I accepted her call. 

Grabbing an extra strawberry milk, Tae and I walk towards an empty table. By the looks of our stuffed platter, it’s obvious that this would be our first meal of the day. 

“So, where did you go after class yesterday? You left in a hurry, is everything alright?” he asks, offering me some kimchi which I forgot to grab. I kindly accept it, trying to think of a reasonable scenario that would not include Jungkook kissing my cheek. 

“Oh, I um, had to drop off Jungkook’s clothes,” I quickly reply with a soft smile, hoping that the conversation would end there. 

“So, what are you guys?” I choke from his straightforwardness. He doesn’t walk around the point but rather plunges head-first into it. 

“Pardon?” I exclaim, wiping the strawberry milk dripping down my chin. 

“Well, I mean, from all the years I’ve known Jungkook he has never been this interactive with a girl. Concerning really,” he exclaims, chuckling at the mess I made. 

“We’re just friends,” I reassure him. “But, what, you mean to tell me he has never had a girlfriend before? The Jungkook? Can’t be,” I grin, raising my eyebrow, cracking my back on the wooden chair. 

“He has, but it never lasted more than 3 months, and after his last relationship, it seemed like he gave up on it altogether,” Tae explains, finishing up the last scoops of his fried rice. “That is until you guys met,” he grins. 

“Oh stop it,” I chuckle, rolling my eyes. 

“What? You don’t find him attractive?”

“No,” I quickly reply, letting out a teasing grin. You can smell the lie from miles away and Tae is not a fool, but sarcasm has become one of my most valuable coping mechanisms. 

“I totally get it, I’m still not sure why we’re not together?” he looks me dead in the eyes, taking a bite of his apple. 

“You can suck my toe at a 45-degree angle, Kim Taehyung,” I snap back, blowing a sarcastic kiss, earning a big chuckle. 

“Kinky, just how I like,” he catches the kiss and places it near his heart. We both burst out laughing at how stupid we sound. I’m comfortable with Tae but neither of us actually wants to be anything more than friends. We suit the roles of besties just fine, and unlike Jungkook, Tae is a girl magnet. In virtually every setting you will be able to spot him with multiple girls surrounding him. 

--

It was the night before our departure, so my dorm had become an absolute rat nest. At this point, I don’t even remember the colour of my carpet under all the scattered clothes. The weather is getting chillier but does not require a coat just yet, so I stick to packing cardigans and hoodies. Sneaking in two pairs of swimsuits as per Jiah’s request, I doubt they’ll even see the light of day because I can’t swim. Actually, that’s a lie, just give me 10 minutes in the pool and I’ll be able to function but in literally any other scenario I will 100% drown. 

My thoughts are interrupted by an incoming Facetime call, it's Jungkook. Quickly taming my second-day hair I check my reflection on the TV, it's 11 pm so I’m not about to radiate ethereal energy but a little touch-up wouldn’t hurt.  

“Hi Peaches,” Jungkook smiles, resting his head on his arm. Cozied up in his white duvet, my eyes are still able to make out the tattoos on his exposed biceps. 

“Hey, why aren’t you sleeping?” I quickly reply, placing my phone against the fruit bowl, as I continue packing. 

“Couldn’t fall asleep so I decided to see if you were up,” he explains, leaning in closer to check what I was wearing. Because I had to wash all of my clothes for the trip, I was down to some spandex shorts and a tank top. Not spending much thought on it I continued to pack, completely oblivious to the amount of exposed skin I was showing. 

“Bring those shorts on the trip,” he suggests letting out a teasing grin. 

“Would you like that?” I play along, as he nods with his big doe eyes sparkling in the candlelight. 

“You should bring a pen to sign the restraining order I’m about to write,” I grin, sending a flying kiss to his dumbfounded state. He laughs at my quick comeback and we spend the rest of the night talking about the trip. 

“I’ll pick you and Tae up early in the morning so please make sure he actually wakes up,” he says as soft yawns escape his mouth. I nod and dive into my warm duvet. After mentally checking that everything had been packed, we both set our alarm clocks before falling asleep on call. 

Previous l Next

[yeetlegay]

I watched Pretty Woman with my roommate today, 50% because she wanted to show it to me and 50% because of Very Important FL&H research I felt compelled to do. You can’t imagine how shocked I was when I found the movie doesn’t even take place in New York! And that there is an actual Piano Scene! But that just goes to show what an incredible job you did merging these two stories together so seamlessly, it continues to feel impossibly elegant. And it’s also just really nice to compare all the plot points and characters knowing both versions now.

I’m still a little salty you won’t finally give us that godforsaken kiss, even Vivian and Edward kiss earlier in the story than where we’re at now in FL&H. I am waiting and waiting patiently though because I have trust in you.

Also, I am still, still hung up on that one fucking paragraph you shared on Tumblr even before chapter 11 came out. I think I even wrote an ask about it at the time, but it kept circling around in my head and so I put an almost pathetically abridged version of it (due to lack of space) on this board I have with my favorite quotes. It didn’t come out as well as I hoped it would—which is 100% on my lack of artistic skills—but now it’s up there wedged right between a MDZS quote and RWRB quote, which feels like a good place. Just please know that you ruined by brain with this paragraph, it’s so fucking beautiful.

You put it next to WHAT and WHAT

What if I told you I’m gonna print out this picture and tack it to MY bulletin board because it’s so lovely and the little drawing of the iron rails and the raindrops and akshsjsksjshajksjd

Omg and I’m so happy that you watched the movie! I’m having a blast meshing the two worlds together and inserting a metric ton of minor and major Easter eggs at every opportunity. (Tbh I have no real reason for switching the AU to NYC except that a) I fking hate LA and b) those pics of Apo in NYC 😭)

As for the kiss…. soon…… 🔫🏊‍♂️🎹😴

But seriously this is all so incredibly lovely of you to say and I’m gonna be kicking my feet about it for the foreseeable future 💖💖💖💖

[pink-tonic]

Come Get Your Paper!📰

Previous

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All Chapters

Warnings: None

Text message label:

Green text = (Y/N)

Pink text =Taeko

It's now Friday, and that means the first issue will be published. I can't wait for the school to read our articles.

Today, I can't walk with Taeko since I have to use the printer in order to have enough copies. I ask one of the teachers if I can print the newspaper and she agrees. It takes a while for the copies to be printed, but eventually, I'm able to get all the copies I need.

I grab them and walk over to the clubroom. As I walk to the clubroom, I can feel the paper warm my skin. It's a rather comforting feeling.

When I get to the clubroom, I open up the door and go inside. I set the stack of paper on the nearest desk.

I hear the bell ring. Did it really take that long to print the paper? Either way, I'll have to fold the paper later. Maybe I'll even get Taeko to help me out?

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

It's now lunch, and I am sitting at my desk in the club room, and I'm folding the paper. While I fold, I hear the club room door open up. I look up and see Taeko.

"Hey, Taeko!" I greet her as she walks into the clubroom.

"Hey, (Y/N)," she greets back,"I was just wondering if I can still pass out the papers?"

"Of course!" I answer,"you and two other members are going to help with the distribution during seventh period, and I'll post the newspaper on the bulletin board."

"Sounds great!" She happily replys,"by the way, do you need help with the folding?"

"Yes, I do. Can you help me out?" I ask.

"Sure!"

Taeko walks over to me and grabs a chair. She brings the chair over to my desk and sits down. She grabs a paper from the stack and starts folding it.

"Make sure to fold it evenly, and you can fold multiple at a time, too," I instruct her.

"Got it."

We both sit in silence as we focus on folding the paper. Even if it's just the two of us, we are able to get the job done in time.

Taeko hands me the last paper, and I put it on the stack.

"And we are all done! Thanks again, Taeko!"

"No, problem!"

"I'll set these over there," I tell her as I grab the stack of newspapers and set them on another table that is closer to the door.

"By the way, (Y/N)," I hear Taeko speak up,"You're not going to do anything after-school, right?"

"Nope, I have nothing planned for today," I tell her as I place the newspapers on the table,"I just have to put the newspaper on the bulletin board but that won't take long."

"So we're walking together?"

"Yup, of course."

"Okay, I'll wait for you at the gate like usual."

"Sounds great!"

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

It is now seventh period, and I hear a knock on the door to my classroom.

"Can you get that?" Ms. Rikitake asks me.

I'm the closest one to the door, so it's my job to open the door for anyone who knocks.

I get up from my seat and slide open the door.

I end up seeing Taeko on the other side.

"Oh! I didn't know you had this class, (Y/N)!" Taeko tells me with a flushed look.

"I guess I never told you," I say with a smile,"can I get a few?"

"Yes, of course!"

Taeko quickly hands me over a stack of newspapers and quickly leaves. I'm left confused at her quick exit.

I close the door and turn around to face the class. 

"It was the newspaper," I tell Ms. Rikitake.

"Who wants a newspaper?" She asks the class.

I see everyone, but the delinquents and bullies raise their hands. To the people who raised their hands, I went to their desks and gave them the paper.

I was left with a few copies, but I'll keep one to myself and post one of the extra ones on the bulletin board. 

Even then, I'll still have five copies left. It's clear that Taeko was in a rush since she just gave me a random amount. Wonder what she needed to do? The other classes should be taken care of.

Ms. Rikitake continues the lesson, but I can't stay focused. There's something that I feel, and it feels like uneasiness. As if something horrible is going to happen.

I hope that it's nothing and it's just a weird feeling, but the strange feeling keeps me on edge.

The class ends after ten minutes, and Ms. Rikitake dismisses us. I grab my bag and head to the clubroom. I walk up the stairs and walk down the hallway. I open up the clubroom and grab a stapler, so I can staple the paper to the bulletin board.

When I have the stapler, I start to walk down to the bottom floor. As I walk down the stairs, I start to notice how empty the school is. Usually, the hallways would be filled with people going to their clubs or doing clean-up duty. On Friday, most clubs don't have meetings, and only a few people are assigned clean-up duty.

The sound of my shoes walking down the stairs are the only thing that I can hear, and it makes me feel at ease for once. It also reminds me that I have to switch out my shoes at my locker.

I make it to the first floor and make my way to the bulletin board. I see that the bulletin board is filled with flyers for other clubs and a few school announcements. I unfortunately have to take off one of the school announcements, but it's old anyway, so it doesn't matter as much.

I position the newspaper and then hold the stapler over the corner I want to staple. I push the stapler down, and when I hear the click, I pull it back.

One corner down, three more to go.

I continue the process until the newspaper is fully secured onto the bulletin board.

I feel satisfied with my work, so I grab the old announcement I ripped off and throw into a nearby trash can. I then turn to my locker and start to walk to it.

I feel too lazy to walk up to the third floor, so I decide to leave the stapler in my locker, plus I have to change out my shoes.

I walk over to my locker and open it up, but I notice something pink fall out of it.

I see the pink paper gently fall onto the ground and in front of my feet. I look down and pick it up. I grab the paper and read it.

Dear (Y/N),

I have had my eyes on you for a long time now, and I've been dying to talk to you! I can't help but feel this way towards you!

I want to tell you how I feel and so much more! I hope you can understand my feelings!

Meet me in the gymnasium straight after school today! Hope to see you there!

Sincerely,

Your secret admirer

I'm taken back by the pink lover letter. I already know my answer to this person. Sure, I haven't seen them yet, but I can't help but to feel this way.

I don't want to be in a relationship at all.

I hope they can understand my feelings since I don't feel like it would be right to leave them waiting.

I decide to text Taeko, so she doesn't wonder where I am.

Hey, Taeko!

Something came up so I'll take a bit longer to come outside

If you want to leave that's understandable since I don't know how long it'll take

That's alright, (Y/N)!

I'll start to head home so you don't have rush

I'll see you on Monday!

Thanks for understanding!

And I'll see you on Monday stay safe!

With that out of the way, I start to head to the gymnasium to see this secret admirer of mine.

[butterlarvaesyrup0]

yandere chiropractor x reader

vernorexia(n.) – a romantic mood inspired by warm weather and early springtime - /vern-oh-rex-eyuh/

it was a glum day today; dewy rain drops and mushy leaves scattered around your neighbourhood. and, to make it even worse, you had an appointment today, a chiropractic consultation with a doctor whom you did not know.

but it was okay, right? it was just a crack of the bones, to make your aching body feel better.

10 23 am

you arrive at the clinic, turning your windshield wipers off and parking your car. the clinic has a mahogany wood outside, and it was easy on the eyes. you realize you didn’t bring an umbrella, and run inside the small building. a gust of essential oils and soft instrumental music in the background greets you, its aromatic smell and the music pleasing all of your senses. you spot a desk where a small woman is sitting behind it. you walk up to the receptionist. she looks up from her desk and smiles warmly as you approach.

“hello, I’m here for an appointment with erm..” shoot, you don’t know his name! “doctor hart? I’ve got your file right here. ms. y/n l/n? he’s the only chiropractor here today, no one works on sundays.” the receptionist says, she was a pregnant, red headed woman with a rather thin physique, her name plate read ‘kacie barlowe, receptionist’.

“that.. would be me. thank you.” you say, and take a seat in a waiting chair. “he will be with you briefly.” she mutters, clicking away on her keyboard, eyes glued on her computer screen.

the clinic had a birch wood finish, and plenty of plants in the waiting area, which was pleasant. you twiddle with your thumbs, glancing at the receptionist who took a sip of her drink occasionally.

“y/n l/n?” the chiropractor says in a deep, yet calm voice, his body half in the doorway and half in the corridor. you look down, and grab your things as you follow dr. hart into the office. “right this way,” he says. you make it there before you know it, and he closes the door right behind you.

“well hello there,” he says, grabbing a clipboard and gathering his tools. “If you may not already know, I’m Doctor Hart. how are you feeling today? Any sore spots?” He asks, looking up at you. His voice is soothing, like honey to your ears. And boy, is he cute. His green eyes stares into your e/c ones, his gaze lingering for a little too long. “um, my back has really been bothering me, so has my neck. as for surgeries, none.” You reply. You answer any other questions that he asks you, and he gets you to lay on the bed.

“That doesn’t sound good,” dr hart says. “let’s see what we can do to alleviate some of that discomfort..” He grabs an adjuster, and places it on your shoulder. “let me know if this hurts,” he whispers. It makes a slight ‘crack’ sound, and you feel like your shoulder has been put back in a place you didn’t know existed. You grunt softly, but stay still nonetheless. he does this again with your back, and your neck before he uses his hands to relax your muscles. “Let’s get your trigger points active,” he says, and he starts moving his hands all over your back, neck and even your legs. it feels like a new experience, a piece of heaven.

After a half an hour, the treatment is done. He places some sort of a lotion and spreads it out on your neck. It smells of lavender. what is up with this place and essential oils?

“and..you’re done.” Dr hart says, grinning softly. he helps you off of the bed. “my body feels like jelly..” you mutter under your breath, struggling to keep your balance. “that’s alright, it’s normal. if you’d like.. you could just stay here for a bit. I need to grab the print out of your body analysis, anyways.” he says, before leaving the room. “oh- okay?” You say, sitting in a chair next to his desk. he was an organized individual, despite all of the neon yellow post-it notes that practically covered his bulletin board. at his desk, there is a wooden picture frame of him that looks like he’s at his graduation, holding his doctorate. In another frame, there is a woman he has his arm wrapped around. She’s blonde, like him, with a pink polo and light brown eyes. she was outstandingly pretty. well, to be fair, he was a fairly good looking guy himself, so no surprise there. perhaps it’s his wife?

just then, dr hart walks in with the report. He cocks a blonde eyebrow, but hands it to you anyways in a disturbed manner. did he catch you checking out his pictures? you grab your bag. “uh, thank you, dr hart. have a great rest of your day—“ you say. “Sorry, I think you’ve forgotten something.” He says. It’s a purse, but it’s not yours. He grabs your wrist and injects a vein with a syringe filled with a yellow hued liquid inside. You try to pry him off of you, but his body weight is stronger than your weak hand.. and to make matters worse, you’re starting to feel drowsy. “doctor..?” You mumble, before blacking out completely. All you can hear now is dr hart’s shuffling as he stares into your soul, the faint sounds of your heart beating in your chest as you fall into a complete blackout.

will you continue? find the next part on this account ;)

ps: this is the other account. I lost the password to butterflylarvaesyrup, (I know I’m retarded 🤓) and there have been some.. much needed adjustments made to this blog anyways. feel free to ask/comment me anything! bye ✌️

[isfjmel-phleg]

We have a bulletin board in the back office at work, right within clear sight of my desk. Frequently we tack up cartoons and memes and other jokes there. Mostly library humor or just general clean funny stuff.

A certain coworker has started to use it for political humor.

I find this distasteful and inappropriate to the office, regardless of the exact nature of the politics. And since it's a public board, and sometimes we do take down old cartoons, I have quietly removed these and run them through the shredder. Maybe that wasn't the best course of action, but I was angry and that's what I did.

And one that I removed last week has been printed out all over again and put back up.

I've had it. I don't know what this man is trying to accomplish with this, but it's frustrating. It's not just the cartoons, it's on top of a lot of other incidents in which he brings his politics to work in an in-your-face way. And it's a childish sort of humor too. Mocking certain controversial figures that he doesn't like.

Despite the fact that this is really getting to me, I don't know if this is worth addressing to my boss, who might see this as trivial. But it's driving me crazy. I'm not asking anyone to fix this, but...anyway, that's how the last couple of weeks have been.

[prettyboysdontlookatexplosions]

i also didn't even get into the like special hell of NYC DOE culture in particular, where like, i'm sure there are public schools in the city that are not Like This, but every time i meet a current or former DOE teacher we are able to instantly commiserate despite my total of 4 months of employment in that position, so. and again i don't even mean... like yeah a lot of the schools are like, underfunded and understaffed to be functionally the only institution other than the cops that has been tasked with dealing with poverty, and this is difficult. but i mean shit like:

when i worked in a public school my classroom phone rang constantly and it was almost always for shit that was not urgent. i would be trying to teach the group of 20 mostly english language learners some of whom barely spoke english maybe like a third of whom couldn't read a sentence in english (not exclusively language learners btw! this was in fourth grade), going through my painstakingly created endless google slides presentations to do my best to provide constant visual support because i wasn't allowed to like, teach curriculum on a level that would actually be accessible enough to be a meaningful learning experience for my class, treasuring that i had managed to get them to calm down for like 5 entire minutes, and then BRING BRING and it would be some bullshit like the nurse asking me if i wanted to sign up for some benefit plan. ??????????? and by the time i managed to hang up on her the class would be gone again

my grade level put in for copies of a test and whoever was responsible like, lost our request? but i had to give the fucking test because i had nothing else planned, and the other copiers were busy or broken so i went to the office to go make copies. and then the office secretary stopped my copy halfway through and told me i wasn't allowed to use that and when i tried to be like, this is an emergency, she was like, okay i'll do it for you. and then she gave me back a set of 20 test copies THAT HAD NOT BEEN COLLATED and i had to hand-collate and staple them.

we started doing these Lesson Observations because they were big in japan (classic example of a school doing something they heard somewhere else was good but completely failing to figure out the complicated contextual reasons why it was actually good there) and i got told to go first despite being the newest teacher. so i got observed by everyone teaching this lesson where i had created, as was my standard, a like 150-slide google slides presentation to ensure that every single thing i said out loud was visually replicated in some way. things like, i'd copy out a paragraph from the curriculum on one slide to read out loud, and then i'd do another five slides highlighting in sequence the things the lesson was supposed to highlight. constant repetition of key phrases & ideas. explicit teaching of new vocab. all the best practices. and the first thing i fucking heard afterwards, "your printed lesson plan didn't match what you were teaching."

i got sooooooooooo much fucking shit for not printing out my lesson plans for every single lesson every single day. constantly chewed out because some admin would come in while i was teaching a lesson that, again, 30 seconds would reveal had taken me hours to put together, and that i was clearly not winging based on the EXTENSIVE TEXTUAL MATERIALS I HAD PREPARED THAT THEY COULD SEE, and there wouldn't be a two-page lesson printed out on my desk for them to pick up if they wanted.

and so much shit about not updating my fucking bulletin boards enough when i was, once again: staying hours late and working at home to try desperately to create lessons relevant to the curriculum that maybe some of the kids in my class might kind of have a hope of understanding

bulletin boards btw were supposed to include Actionable Feedback for the kids' work. this was feedback given in writing, that we never went over with the kids, on work that they would not be revisiting because the unit was over. but someone somewhere had found that actionable feedback improves learning outcomes (it probably does, if it's real), so we had to fill out a stupid little index card for every fucking thing we put on the boards being like, "i liked how you ____. next time, make sure you _____."

we were supposed to teach science in the classroom as well as sending kids to science class because fourth graders are tested on science as part of the annual tests. we had no science curriculum. were never given any science curriculum. there was a textbook but no one could tell me if i was supposed to be using it. my science planning was another teacher in my grade level would tell me every two weeks what she'd done and then i would attempt to copy it.

one time she told me "then i played this bill nye episode for them" and i spent part of my weekend creating a note-taking guide for a bill nye episode so they could fill in the blanks with some facts as we went and i was like, why am i fucking doing this when nobody will give a shit and it doesn't matter anyway. but i did it anyway.

also fourth grade had (without my input) selected the science test as the metric that would be incorporated into our teacher evaluations for the year because apparently most kids pass the science test because half of it is some kind of lab. which didn't make me feel better about not having a science curriculum.

one time the principal told us she wanted us to be more hands-on and exploratory in science and we were like, lolololololol

one time the principal looked at my social studies bulletin board and told me that i should find ways to make social studies lessons more relevant to the kids' lives, such as instead of just having them complete the exercise in the workbook i could tell them for homework to find pictures in magazines of new york state vacation spots and then write about them. which first of all sure my predominantly immigrant fourth graders in bushwick definitely were all going home to stacks of magazines filled with pictures of like, the catskills or whatever the fuck. but second of all the other two fourth grade teachers had told me that they weren't bothering to teach social studies because the (free state-created) curriculum was impossibly bad (this was true - the first chapter in the fourth grade book involved having kids read excerpts fro burrough & wallace's gotham? a book by historians published by oxford university press?) and because it wasn't tested and also they wanted to make sure they got through all the science topics (which they could not give me a list of) before they both went on maternity leave in the spring.

i got chewed out for not having a leveled library (books in bins sorted by reading level) despite the fact that our reading program was supposed to be a class-wide lesson followed by leveled small group work with assigned texts, and therefore kids were never actually going looking for leveled books to use during independent reading. nevertheless. had to have a leveled library. (i learned later that the superintendent really likes leveled libraries.) when we were having this conversation i was like, "so should my library be grade-appropriate books or should it cover the full span of reading levels in the class," and the principal was like, "what do you mean." and i was like, "as per their assessments most of my kids are reading on a kindergarten to first grade level, and my library doesn't have any books in those levels." she looked like visibly surprised by this? and then was like, ok i'll ask first grade to loan you some books. (that i didn't need and never used because our literacy program didn't involve an independent reading component.) lol.

i spent like an hour after work one day going back and forth with my principal trying to get a straight answer out of her re: should i teach math at the level the kids were at (most of them could not reliably add), or should i stick to the fourth grade curriculum regardless of whether i felt they had the prerequisite skills to handle it. the answer was: "use scaffolding!" (stick to the curriculum.) it wasn't until after this conversation that i belatedly realized the reason that they had given the most challenging class in the school to the newest teacher was because they had already written the kids off, score-wise. also at one point in this conversation she was referring to a recent math lesson i had done and said that i could do extensions/challenge work for a kid who really got it and gave as an example a kid she felt was really getting it because he was raising his hand a lot and i was like, "actually that kid answered basically no questions correctly and could not reliably add a single digit number to a two-digit number."

i didn't join the union until like six weeks in because our union rep was on medical leave and no one took over. new teachers are supposed to be assigned a mentor teacher, which i was informed of by my mentor teacher a couple weeks in. the AP who was supposed to be in charge of me was never in school because he was dying, but no one took over that gig either.

i was told, constantly, by people who had been there for years, that this was a great school to work at.

[cora0rr3m]

fun fact: i printed shirley out and i put shirley on the bulletin board of my class 😻 (if you dont know what a bulletin board is its basically a board where u put school news and monthly agendas on it and you decorate it)

AND THEN PEOPLE FROM MY CLASS SAID STUFF LIKE “hmm this heart seems really familiar but idk where its from” OR LIKE “OHHH IS THIS THE HEART FROM THAT ONE BL SHORT FILM???” 😭😭😭 GLAD IM NOT ALONE

[queers-gambit]

I've just read the other two stories, similar to cherry blossoms and OMG. I know I've already complimented you on that one, but boy did I read them in the wrong order because I can't stop crying. I'm gonna shower you in praises because you wrote three ABSOLUTELY STUNNING pieces. The thought that you put behind every single one, every word and action made me feel as if I'm reading a novel written by one of the Brontë sisters. I'm only comparing you to them, by holding you in very high regards, because Wuthering Heights is the only book that made me feel actually heartbroken -something that I've experienced again with your stories.

As a reader I can't help but feel as if I've lived those tales in another lifetime, your beautiful words shaping the stories in my mind as mere memories, making me feel a desperate longing for someone, something, somewhere that never actually happened.

I'm so shocked and stunned and sad but also happy that I find it hard to put into words just how much I've loved them. I hope you know how ridiculously gifted and talented you are, how you create and destroy worlds so effortlessly. All I can do is say thank you for sharing your work, your talent with us on this app. Thank you!!❤️❤️

I know how awful this is but I'm still crying and it's 1 am, so sorry for dumping this load of emotion on you. Didn't know where else to show my gratitude and appreciation❤️

Also, I'm gonna hug you now.🫂

i saved this one for last because i'm in awe. and i have genuine tears in my eyes, because wow. don't think i'm a pussy, but i'm honestly just a little shocked that you're complimenting me like this.

so, thank you. i'm honestly just tongue tied right now and it's a wee bit hard to see what i'm typing because i'm emotional. you comparing me to actual, legendary authors is just - wow. like, really, wow.

i don't think i deserve it but after reading ALL of these supportive messages, i don't know, maybe i'll have to find a little more confidence in myself. but this message? this message right here? i might have to, like, print out and hang on a bulletin board somewhere so i can look back on it because i'm THAT moved and touched by this. i want to feel what i felt reading this everyday.

i don't think you really realize how MUCH this means to me.

so, just - just wow. thank YOU so fucking much for sending this, i'm still just shocked and in total awe. all i can really say is thank you, again, because it's messages like these that genuinely keep me going. not just on Tumblr, but elsewhere.

no, no, no, poppet, you're not dumping anything on me - i love reading your messages. your responses. seeing the emotion i've evoked with a few silly little strokes of my keyboard. like i'm actually crying a little harder now because i'm still so fucking grateful and keep rereading your message. i just love talking to you lot honestly! and please, showing the author your appreciation and gratitude is the EXACT place to "dump" your feelings.

because i live for it, okay?

just wow.

i really hope i can continue to wow you. and i hope i can continue to do justice to this art form we call penmanship.

every single ounce of love, appreciation, and gratitude i have is yours, my dove. and please, i don't know what else to say but thank you so much. i'm still emotional but this is so validating. so, thank you. thank you so very much. i love you 🖤

[sing-backwards-and-weep]

i just got kicked out of college for criticizing the Title IX office’s total and utter indifference to handling the following situation;

there is an active sexual predator on what was once my own community college campus; several of his victims are students on this same campus - young, vulnerable, impressionable women - who have filed their own individual reports directly to the title IX office.

the predator in question denies his allegations, and files a counter-claim against his victims - having them all threatened with academic suspension for talking about their past experiences.

so i felt i had a responsibility to handle this situation

i’d been in direct contact with several his victims, so i put together a document of their testimonies, printed it out, and put it up around the bulletin boards of my campus.

they didn’t appreciate that level of brutal honesty, evidently - i was informed of my suspension through a phone call from the director of the Title IX office, and was offered an appeal hearing through which i could make my case - and so i did. i was frankly convinced that i left a sympathetic impression on the board of directors through my appeal to their humanity, with a dissertation about the difference between the indomitable and authentic spirit of justice juxtaposed with all the bureaucratic hang-ups that allow rapists to prowl college campuses without deterrence - and just today, i got my letter back from the same office, learning that the director of the Title IX office was ultimately responsible for the decision, that my appeal hearing had been, in essence, a mock trial, and that i was no longer allowed on the campus for the offense of “harassment”

so all ima say is this - please stop acting like sexual abuse is some kind of issue that plagues exclusively the conservative circles of america. it is rife in your schools, and the echelons of upper administration actively pave the way for its proliferation. it’s an uncomfortable truth, but nothing’s going to change unless you buckle down and come to grips about it.

[nicetrynicetry]

157

Monday I wake up late and A tells me I was talking in my sleep. “Do you just want me to leave?”, I said, apparently. A says he tried to have a back and forth with me but quickly learned I was not conscious. I don’t tell him I dreamt I was a hermaphrodite. I walk out to the kitchen to get coffee half naked and walk back in to the bedroom when I see A’s cleaner. A does a zoom with the NY Times and then goes to a vampire weekend music video shoot and I go to get coffee from Intelligentsia, coconut water from Erewhon, and walk for as long as I can in the sun before calling a car to take me to the Museum Of Death. I am marching up a depressing avenue when I hear my own name screamed from a parked car. It is C, idling and panicking, and we are both gasping at how eerie it is to run into each other on a random street in such a large city. Our friendship, as has been documented here, has been on the rocks for a year, but I get in the car to watch her make a decision about which Urgent Care clinic to seek medical testing in. J says he is running late to meet me at the Museum Of Death, so I spend the latter part of the morning finding C somewhere safe to heal what ails her, rapping on the plastic screen that separates sick people from the Urgent Care receptionists, and shitting my brains out at a Thai restaurant as I mentioned in my previous entry. C is called in and I leave her to it, wondering if this was the catastrophe we needed to bring us together again. I take a car to the museum and J meets me after parking his Jeep and we spend close to two hours looking at pictures of decapitated and maimed and otherwise-murdered bodies from the last 100 years. There is a strict no-photos policy that feels entirely justified, given this collection puts even the most depraved Reddit thread to shame in terms of gore. I watch a video on how to perform an autopsy and how to embalm a body. I see Sharon Tate’s maimed face and chest and the guitar Charles Manson played in prison with a broken D string. I see the rape of Nanking and books on cannibalism and people’s crotches where the genitals have been sawn off and taxidermied chihuahuas and Auschwitz stuff and a wanted poster for Andrew Cunanan. Even the toilets have a bulletin board of recent deaths, printed cheaply onto white paper. “Death is everywhere”, says the sandwich board at the entrance and exit, and it’s not wrong. We buy t shirts from the gift shop and I talk about sobriety with the retail assistant and he says he likes working at the museum because it reminds him that he’s not dead

J and I go to eat at Sqirl and I see a stupidly handsome man in a wheelchair pass our table. He wheels past several times and stares at me and J asks if I’ve ever had sex with someone in a wheelchair and I say no and he says his friend had sex with someone without arms or legs. We go to Hauser and Wirth and listen to Lana Del Ray, as is our custom when driving together in LA. An ex colleague of J’s lets us in and turns the Jason Rhoades video on for us, an hour long interview with Rhoades when he was still alive talking about the experience of driving in LA. He is driving in the video, nerding out about how different cars were built and why he likes them. Four of his cars are in the gallery, ephemera on their seats. J’s ex colleague says the party line is that Rhoades died of heart complications but that he actually killed himself. We are led up to see a Paul McCarthy sculpture of a gnome. We see the chefs at Hauser and Wirth’s restaurant preparing for the evening’s dinner singing along to Adele

We drive to Erewhon and get a Hailey Bieber sundae which I make the mistake of googling the calorie content of later. I figure it’s important to master dessert and dessert-adjacent foodstuffs, and the only way to do so is to eat them. Eating disorder recovery 101. Thank you, Hailey Bieber, but also Fuck You. I leave J to prepare for his Madonna concert and I walk home and watch a video on YouTube about a woman whose skin fell apart after B-12 shots she didn’t need. She speaks briefly on the dangers of those IV drips you can get in gyms in the US now that are totally unregulated and how every now and then people die from them and I think of my mother telling me, when I got to LA sick, to promise her I wouldn’t get one of those IVs. “And no B-12 shots”, she wrote

A eventually returns, exasperated by how disorganised the video shoot was. I tell him it’s a miracle anything ever gets made. He lies on the bed and we FaceTime with A (other A) and make a dinner plan. I pick a restaurant that I know R eats at regularly but hope in my heart that Monday night is one night he chooses not to go there. A (other A) arrives before us and says that 1. The outdoor seating is too cold and 2. That R is in fact at the bar, waiting on a date. We reroute to sushi at Hama and wait patiently for a table to open up. I eat too much ginger and immediately get a stomach ache. It’s not what I imagined for my last night in the city, but it is what I get. Plus A and A are the only people I would want to spend it with. I smoke outside afterwards and A goes to kiss me and I tell him my breath is gross and he kisses me anyway while I pinch his nose shut

[crystal-in-nagasaki]

A Year of English Boards

Something many ALTs enjoy (or dread) about their job is creating English boards. These are bulletin boards designated for the English department’s use to put up things like articles, pictures, and puzzles with the intention of getting students interested and engaged with English outside of the classroom. We can have them at elementary and junior high level, though neither of my elementary schools have them and I’m sadly too loaded with classes to inquire about starting one. 

But as for for my junior high school, I have a very small class load (because my teachers don’t use me as much as they should lol not salty at all) and therefore I have lots of free time to work on an English board, which me and my co-ALT update monthly. It’s been a little over a year of making various boards, and I thought I would share some of it with you. 

Usually each month we follow a theme pertaining to holidays or events happening that month, but after a year we’ve started to branch out to other topics to avoid repetition. 

Our boards have grown in style and creativity over the last year, but we’ve tried to consistently keep some of the same elements, such as a sticker poll, a word search, a word matching activity, and a free write activity. 

Without further ado, here are our boards from the last year:

Our very first board was for February 2022, and of course we started strong with the Valentine’s Day theme. At this point, I asked my supervising teacher if we could print in color and she replied with “not too much,” so most of our pictures were black and white and we colored them in ourselves with markers, hence their hideous color. We did this for about 2 months then decided to just gaijin smash and print in color anyway lol.

We put up simple information about Valentine’s Day, a quiz matching characters to their dates and date locations, a recipe for chocolate truffles, and a conversation hearts matching activity with meanings. We also had an activity where you complete a sudoku puzzle but instead of numbers, you use the word LOVEBIRDS. Lastly, we had a free write encouraging students to make their own poems. 

On this board, we had our first and much anticipated sticker poll, in which students voted with stickers, answering yes or no to the question “do you believe in love at first sight?” A bright and friendly first year teacher that I chat with sometimes came by while I was putting the board up and I asked her to vote. She agreed excitedly and stuck a sticker immediately onto “no,” and told me love isn’t real. Who hurt her?? Anyway, this was the beginning of our English board journey. (And that teacher just retired this month. I’ll miss her a lot.)

Here is our next board for March 2022. The main themes were a combination of St. Patrick’s Day and graduation, since the third years graduated at the end of March. We discussed what graduation is like in our respective countries (the US for me and Jamaica for my co-ALT), and a free write asking students to write their best school memory. This was an upgrade from the last free write, which had a prompt, but no space to write. This time we gave them a big blank canvas, but not many students wrote anything, or wrote in Japanese. We learned from this later. 

For the St. Patrick’s Day section, we had information about St. Patrick’s Day, a pocket of word searches, a visual puzzle where you try to find a four leaf clover among three leaf clovers, and a scavenger hunt trying to find a “pot of gold” which was a picture of a pot of gold we hid somewhere around the school (it was outside behind a bench.)

Next we had two small sections, one explaining Fat Tuesday (the Michigan version, which involves eating copious amounts of Paczkis), and the other about March Madness. I also included a bracket, which I updated daily with the match results. I’m not sure many students paid attention, but I sure learned a lot about basketball that month lol.

I just realized there was no sticker poll this month! I guess we just had so many other activities. The sticker poll becomes the beloved staple of the board over the year and I cannot imagine a board without it. 

Apparently, I never took a picture of the April 2022 board, which featured Easter, Ramadan, and a welcome to the incoming new first year students. We had an activity for this month asking students to hunt down Easter eggs, which we hid around the school. For some reason, I only have pictures of these, so enjoy!

The May 2022 board included the themes of Star Wars, Cinco de Mayo, and Mother’s Day. We had a sticker poll asking, “have you seen Star Wars?” We preferred to keep the poll to yes/no questions or questions with fewer possible answers. 

For the Cinco de Mayo section, we shared some history of Mexicans in America, as well as about Mexican culture like food and Spanish words. We had a challenge asking students to introduce themselves to us for a prize, and some students hunted me down to say “me llamo [name]” which was really cute. 

Lastly, we had a Mother’s Day section, where we talked about Mother’s Day in our countries and each wrote a few sentences about our mothers, and provided a free write space for students to do the same. 

Our focus for the June board was Father’s Day, summer, Pride month, and Juneteenth, with text sections explaining each event. Our sticker poll asked, “do you want to stay in Omura this summer?” We also included a codebreaker puzzle worksheet with a summer theme. 

Similar to Mother’s Day, for Father’s Day we talked a bit about our dads and left a free writing space for students to do the same. For the Pride section, we had students match the meanings of the Pride flag colors. For Juneteenth, we gave the letters to the word “freedom” and asked students to unscramble them and figure out what the hidden word was. 

I  again couldn’t find any pictures of the July board, but I think we talked about the 4th of July and 7-Eleven day (because Japanese loves 7-Eleven.) We had a sticker poll asking for students to vote for their convenience store of choice, between 7-Eleven, Family Mart, and Lawson. I think the results were a crossover between 7-Eleven and Family Mart. Family Mart has good chicken, but I myself am a die-hard 7-Eleven fan. 

Since summer break for students lasted for almost all of August, we skipped an August board and just created a small September board focused on back to school. I don’t have any pictures of this either. It seems my life was not together that summer.

For October, we really got back into the swing of things. Now you can see where all of my effort was going instead of my blog. If you’ve noticed, some posters also invaded part of the board, which limited our space for the next few months and forced a little bit of downsizing. I just barely fit everything for October into the space. 

Our main theme for this board was of course Halloween, with additional sections about Dia de los Muertos, Jamaica’s Heroes’ Day, and Indigenous Peoples Day. As per usual, each section had a small simple paragraph to describe each event. 

Our sticker poll asked, “do you believe in ghosts?” and the response was surprisingly half and half. We had a matching section matching names of monsters like Frankenstein and mummies with their corresponding pictures. We also had little flip cards showing which English words come from Indigenous languages. Being a social advocate, I always try to leave a section on the board about various minority groups and their histories. I hope my students can benefit from being exposed to different cultures!

Lastly, we learned from prior boards that if we leave a pocket of word searches or puzzles, very few kids take them. So from here out we decided to laminate a single word search and hang it up alongside a dry erase marker to let students do the word search at the board itself. This worked and students began participating in the word search! We were able to save paper too. Nice job, us!

The November board focused mostly on fall and Thanksgiving, and this is when I really started to get creative with our free write activities. Instead of putting up a blank piece of paper, I created a paper turkey with lots of multicolored feathers and had students write what they’re thankful for on a feather and attach it to the turkey. Many students ended up writing in Japanese, but we got way more engagement with the free write than we did before due to its more fun theme!

We included our same laminated-style word search again. We also included a “needle in a haystack” activity similar to the clover finding activity from March, where students need to locate a needle in a bunch of hay. We also used this as an opportunity to teach the phrase “like finding a needle in a haystack” and its meaning. 

Our sticker poll asked, “would you prefer to enjoy spring or fall forever?” Both are great, but I myself prefer the beautiful colors and cool weather of fall. Lastly, we put up pictures of fall vegetables and had students match the English names to them. 

The December board of course focused on Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa. I kept rolling with my free write mojo and decided to make a big Christmas tree with tiny ornaments and presents for students to write on. The prompt was “what do you want for Christmas?” I planted an example saying “a Nintendo Switch,” but despite this almost everyone set aside the tangible and wrote simply “a boyfriend.” Christmas is a couples holiday in Japan, and my female students are boy crazy, so I guess I’m not surprised.

Our sticker poll asked, “would you rather make a snowman or have a snowball fight?” Nagasaki gets hardly any snow, but the kids still had fun with this. 

The laminated word search had now become another board staple, and got plenty of engagement. We had another matching activity this time with Christmas words like Santa Claus, reindeer, candy cane, etc. The activities were a bit fewer this time to make room for the tree, so this was the extent of the board. 

For January 2023, we focused on New Years, particularly Chinese New Years. As you know from my previous posts, there is a lot of Chinese influence on the culture of Nagasaki, and there is a huge lantern festival held in Nagasaki city each year around Chinese New Year. 

Again, I got creative with the free write, creating little Chinese lanterns for students to write on with the prompt, “what’s your New Years Resolution?” I later added Japanese to the prompt to make it easier to understand, but I think it was difficult for students, so we got very little engagement with this, which was unfortunate because I put a lot of work into my cute little lanterns. :( However, I did plant an example in which I wrote “read 20 books,” and later a student planted one directly next to it that read “read 100 books,” so it’s nice to know one of the only participants in this section did so to one-up me, hahaha. 

We of course had a themed word search, and our sticker poll asked students to mark down their Chinese zodiac sign, so it was the first time our sticker poll had more than three options. Since there are only three grade levels in junior high, most answers were clustered on one side, but I encouraged teachers to participate too to fill up the other sections a bit more. It was a nice way to involve my coworkers in the fun as well! I often find them in the stairwell trying to read the board, so it makes me happy that they also take an interest in what we’re putting up and can even learn something new from it.

For February, we did Valentine’s Day again, but tried to branch out and do some things differently. I guess I forgot to take a picture of the board, but I took pictures of some sections I took down to record the results. 

Unlike January, this free write was a smash hit, which I expected because the prompt was to write what kind of person you want to date and my students are thirsty af. I also provided translated examples like funny, smart, kind, tall, rich, etc. which really helped a lot to encourage using English, though many kids still wrote in Japanese. 

For the sticker poll, we made a section explaining love languages and asked students to vote for which they thought matched best with them. Japanese people are not known for being especially physically affectionate, but my younger students are very touchy with each other, especially the boys, which is heartwarming to see since young boys in the US are not as encouraged to be affectionate with each other. For this reason, it was really interesting to see so many students pick physical touch as their love language!

I honestly cannot remember what the rest of the board looked like, but I’m sure we had a word search up there. 

Our most recent board was for March 2023. We wanted to do something new this year so instead of taking the St. Patrick’s Day route again, we chose a zodiac sign theme. We also included sections for National Women’s Month and a goodbye to the graduating 3rd years, since the school year ends in March in Japan. 

The zodiac sections explained popular character traits for each sign, as well as their lucky numbers and what other signs they’re compatible with. As I mentioned earlier, all my students are eager for romance, so I knew they would eat this up. The sticker poll asked students to place a sticker next to their sign. 

For the free write this month, I stuck with the starry zodiac theme and created a night skyline, with the free write on yellow stars. The prompt was for first and second years to write goodbye messages to the third years, and for third years to write what they’re excited about for high school. One third year girl after reading her zodiac section, wrote down “[I want a] boyfriend, looking for Sagittarius and Aquarius,” based on her compatible signs, which was hilarious. 

Of course, we also had a word search. We have fallen into a pattern of including a sticker poll, word search, free write, and matching activity. It’s a bit repetitive, but I’ve been having a lot of fun creating interactive and engaging themes and designs. I hope I can continue to make great boards!

This turned out to be a very in depth summary of my boards, but thanks for reading! And if you have any ideas or suggestions for future boards, I would be happy to hear them. :)