#when he's about to fuck his student. who's a high schooler

[kit-teung]

some dff girlies really said. I can excuse filming a video of your classmate getting SA-ed, a video that then ends up shared on social media for thousands of people to see, but I draw line at cheating 😤

[777gojosgf]

HE JUST COMES RUNNING TO ME

777GOJOSGF IS TYPING…

777gojosgf: reader x olympic medalist!gojo satoru

IN WHICH:: gojo won gold at the olympics!

a/n: inspired by the alchemy - taylor swift

YOU STOOD ON THE STANDS, your eyes fixed on him, your heart thumping out of your chest from the intense anxiousness coursing through you. how he was feeling right now is beyond comprehension. it seemed like there was only him and the applause pressed themselves into your ears.

just like it always had been.

since the two of you were students, you have always supported his athletics by attending every game, no matter what the circumstances. there wouldn't be a competition where you wouldn't be there to support him, and what started as a frivolous game with shoko grew into having a crush on the top player and him falling head over heels for you.

so you couldn't believe it when you found yourself in Paris, wearing a league shirt with his name on it and blue bracelets around your wrists, chanting along with the crowd. though a small part of you was afraid of what we cannot say, you knew that he had enough confidence for the two of you. your thoughts were confused by an immense pride and confidence that could only have come from the devil himself.

"nah, i’d win," he murmured to you before the game after kissing your cheek, which elicited a light-hearted shake of your head. he was competing for the gold medal in basketball, and while you would support him unconditionally regardless of the outcome, something inside you knew.

so as the game started and they promptly scored in the opposing team's basket, the entire stadium celebrated, as did you next to shoko, who had joined you in the stands after ending her shift as a stand-by doctor in case of an emergency at the olympics.

"doesn’t this remind you of when we joined their games as high schoolers?" you asked, turning your gaze towards her with a sweet smile. the happiness of wonderful recollections encircling your facial expressions, and she nodded. "the start of you ogling gojo? yes, it does." she joked, and you nudged her side, before the sound of another point rang throughout the stadium, and everyone stood up to shout for him and his team once again.

as the game went on, almost coming to its end and satoru kept getting in points nonchalantly as if he wasn’t being watched by the entire world, as if he was not competing for championship.

but as the bell rang to signal the end of the game, the entire crowd got up and applauded for the champions, as did you in a haze. you hadn't believed it yet, and your cheers were so loud that you tuned it out while embracing shoko, but your sight never left him. in fact, he had been looking at you since the bell rang, having discovered you standing in the stands without your knowledge.

it also struck you how he hadn't even waited for the medals to be handed out; instead, you saw your white-haired partner rush over to you with a smug grin that couldn't scream satoru any more than it already did. fortunately, you and shoko had special VIP tickets that allowed the two of you to be as close to the court as possible. he had quickly taken you up and lifted you, causing you to squeal before kissing him so passionately that you felt electrifying sparks coursing through your veins.

satoru smiled even broader into the kiss, raising you higher and whirling the two of you around. you couldn't bring yourself to care about the sound of cameras shuttering and the flashes that were so bright that they pained your eyes when you closed them.

you could only care about him.

and this moment.

you had finally let go of the kiss but not without missing the warmth on your lips as you squealed, “you fucking won, i’m so proud of you ‘toru. so, so proud of you!” you told him with disbelief yet pride written all over you and his chuckles tuned out everyone around you, almost letting you forget that he was spinning around and kissing you on national television.

he hadn’t cared about having his own moment on camera.

nor receiving the gold medal immediately.

no, he needed you as there was nothing else that came as close to being a prize like you.

you were his prize forever and always.

"i told you i'd win, darling." he remarked before lowering you down to the ground, but not before bringing you in by your waist again, laying a kiss on your forehead and then back on your lips. the grin on your faces had never faded, and you could almost hear shoko rolling her eyes at the public display of affection, but that just added to your excitement.

“i am so proud of you—holy shit. gold! i—" you began, still stunned by his victory, and there were no words to convey how you felt; nothing could justify how much he deserved this, as did his entire squad.

“i know, baby. thank you," he laughed, and his eyes shone so brightly that you could swear it lifted the entire stadium's spirit, as it did yours. he was still holding you close, and the journalists were pressing up against the two of you, desperate to capture this moment and entice your boyfriend into an immediate interview for their articles, but he didn't pay them any attention.

the only thing he did think about was you.

"go! go claim your award they’re waiting—" you stated with widened eyes, feeling slightly sorry that he had chosen you over the moment of instantly claiming his medal, but he rolled his eyes amusingly. he relaxed his grasp on you and patted your head. "as you wish, ma'am," satoru drawled, before bending in to whisper into your ear, his breath heated and making you flush.

“but you’re the prize i’m claiming tonight.”

with that, he squeezed your waist before sprinting back to join his teammates, and the camera swiftly snapped another image of you flushed and slightly dizzy from the spinning the two of you had just gone through, but it quickly turned into a joyous giggle as you cheered on your partner.

you couldn’t believe any of it.

the greatest in the league…

and he just comes running over to you.

bonus::

“oh my god, ‘toru look at this one!” you held up your phone towards him with an edit of the two of you made and posted on tiktok, already gaining a million likes. his expression softened at the sight of you, and especially of the two of you being together and it being broadcasted worldwide.

now there were even strangers rooting for the relationship the two of you had.

he pointed to your phone, letting out a laugh before drawing you closer. "look at you being all flustered," he mocked, causing you to grumble in frustration and playfully smack his bicep, never escape the moment being shared across all media, and satoru had most definitely not lived it down.

before you could say anything, he placed your phone on the bed and drew you onto his lap. he reached over to the nightstand and placed his gold medal on you. "’toru?" you asked, perplexed as your hands stretched for the medal, fiddling with it as you met his gaze.

“ssh, sweetheart. just admiring my prize.”

©777gojosgf

[lowkeyremi]

OK HEAR ME OUT! Reader who is a single mother of one of Aizawa’s students X Aizawa???? PLEASE I need it!

IM IN LOVE WITH YOU YES OMG I NEED THIS anon im giving you kisses rn

Aizawa x fem!reader (also your denki's mom bc why not)

A small sigh escapes your lips as you pull into the parking lot of your son's school, it's still early in the year and his teacher has requested to meet with you.

He doesn't even have to explain why you're here because you already have a good idea: Denki's grades.

You smooth out your skirt and double check that your blouse is buttoned all the way. Security stopped you at the gate which took around ten minutes to defuse, they honestly thought you looked too young to be anyone's mother.

Thirty-two is a bit young to have a fifteen year old but you know how it goes: unprotected sex = baby. It's the same old story, your boyfriend freaked out and dipped on you.

It made you proud Denki got into a school like this, your goal is for him to further his education... something you never got the chance to do.

Finding his classroom was a whole other situation. UA is HUGE. So poor you is walking around every corner looking for class "1-A".

"Are you lost?" A voice loud and energetic asked, it caused you to jump in your skin. When you turn your head you see blond hair sticking upward toward the ceiling and a pair of goofy shades. He notices your giggle and quirks an eyebrow.

"Are you a new student?!" The blond questions, his face is full of energy and excitement.

"No.. do I really look that young?" You ask, smile bright.

"You do look pretty young." As soon as he says that it dawns on him that you might be a younger mother.

"Ah- sorry! I just-"

"Don't worry about it. I was actually looking for class 1-A, my son's teacher requested to meet with me." His eyes widen.

"Don't you worry, I can take you to Eraserhead's class!" With that you follow him down a flight of stairs and you guys turn like four corners. Well damn, you were way off.

You had been too caught up into your thoughts to realize he stopped, you bumped right into him.

"Sorry." He gives you a soft smile, "It's nothing!"

He knocks loudly, "Oh, Eraser! You have a visitor!" The blond doesn't even wait for a response to open the door, he just bursts in.

"Well I've gotta go now! Take care Miss..."

"L/n, the name's L/n." A thumbs up is sent your way before the loud blond man leaves.

A deep voice causes your brain to stir, "Thank you for coming on such a short notice, Miss L/n."

And what the fuck because Denki's teacher has beautiful long black hair, stubble, and a little scar under his right eye. He must be married you assume, because no way a handsome man like him is single.

You respond with confidence in your voice, "Of course, I apologize for keeping you waiting. I got lost."

His face softens as he motions for you to sit on the chair he's placed by his desk.

"Understandable, UA is not small. Let's get down to business, shall we?" He sits at his desk, organizing some papers before handing you a few. You feared the worst, Denki always strived to do his best so you shouldn't have anything to even fear.

"My students have been under attack a few times by villians, we've spoke to the board about the situation, because parents are worried about their children." You were relieved this had nothing to do with his grades but it scared you that villians were out for high schoolers.

"I thought the attacks stopped." Aizawa nods at you.

"They have for the time being but we fear they won't completely stop, which is why UA is building a dormitory system to keep students safe. What I've handed you is the consent form for your son to live on campus. It's not manditory but it is highly suggested." He explains to you and you read the pages.

"How do I know Denki will be in good hands?" You ask biting your lip, it doesn't go unnoticed by Aizawa because his eyes flicker to your lips then back up to your face.

"I understand what it's like to lose someone close to you, which is why I put so much effort and care into my students, they may say and think otherwise but they don't see what happens behind the scenes." You could tell his words were sincere, it wasn't convincing enough though. You worry too much about him and just the mere thought of losing him is enough to scare you.

Aizawa leans in to place a hand on yours, it feels tingly.

"I know all you have is my word to go off of, but I promise you I will protect your son and all my other students with my life." His eyes burn into yours. You get lost in those beautiful black eyes.

"Uh- hah. I'll look over the papers."

In the end you sign the papers.

"Mom you have to tell me who's taking you to dinner!" Denki says for the millionth time over the phone. You call him almost every night to check in on him.

"It's none of your business, young man." You'd tell him when you were ready. Just... not now. He'd freak out if he knew you were going out to dinner with his teacher.

Before you left that day, Aizawa asked for your number. You happily gave it to him, there was no way in hell you'd miss out on a chance like that.

After a month of just talking (and flirting) he asked you out for dinner, you agreed of course.

"But mommmmmm why nottttttt?" Denki whined.

"I'll tell you when we're ready. Anyways I have to go. Take care, sweetheart." He sighs but tells you he loves you. "I love you too, Denki." He hangs up, leaving you to finish your makeup.

The plan was originally to meet at dinner, but Aizawa was not letting up until you agreed that he could pick you up.

Your hands were starting to sweat again. It's normal to be this nervous, right? Dating hadn't really been in your line of vision while raising a child. It seemed to be the same process: go out with someone, get along nicely, start developing real feelings, they find out you have a son, they leave.

It seemed refreshing to finally go out with someone who knew you were raising a young man. Waiting it out seems to have been the right choice. Aizawa is a mature man.

The door bell rings and you shoot up out of your seat like a rocket.

"Fuckfuckfuckfuck, I look okay right?" It felt weird to ask your reflection, but self love is everything these days.

Your burgundy v cut dress was a bit on the short side, it hugged your body which made you a little insecure. You'd heard some women say pregnancy made them glow. You were convinced otherwise, it took you some time to finally feel beautiful.

Your walk to the door was dreadful, what if he takes it all back? Upon opening the door he was standing there in all his beauty. His raven colored hair was put up in a messy bun, his stubble cleaned up some, and he looked a little less tired. Your eyes inched down his body, he's wearing a white button up and black slacks.

"You're beautiful." The two of you say at the same time. Your eyes widen.

"Thank you, I was actually kind of nervous." His face softens at your words. The hero holds his hand out so you can take it. Just like the last time his hand was warm and made you feel tingly. You chuckled at how dumb that sounded, definitely sounds like something from a cheesy romance novel.

Dinner was a little awkward but beyond amazing. A waitress spilled wine on you, she apologized like a million times. You weren't mad though, having a son meant many messes were made... especially on you. The wine didn't stain that bad because of your dress color.

Aizawa offered you the jacket he kept in his car. Accepting it was a no brainer. He held it out for you and you gave him a confused look.

"I'll put it on you, come here." His voice was low and seductive. He noticed your smile. "You're so cute." He whispers as you put your arms in the jacket sleeves.

"Only cute?" Your question was followed by your signature smirk. The food was paid for, his hand wrapped around your waist and he walked you two to his car.

"Sexy, funny, chatty.... I could go on." He says with a smug smile.

"Oh stop it, I'm not sexy-" You don't get to finish your sentence, Aizawa twirls you around so you guys are facing each other. His hands rest on your hips for a second and in a flash he's cupping your face.

Your heart started beating a mile per minute... no second. He slowly pulls you in, those lazy eyes looking into yours. His lips look so kissable.

You pucker your lips and he presses his lips to yours, there weren't any fireworks or sparks like in Disney movies, it felt like he was one with you. Your body was connected to his in a way.

When the kiss is over he's staring at you, "you are sexy, I don't know who's lied to you."

__________

When he pulls into your driveway, you realize this date is almost over. Hopefully he'll agree to going out again. He seemed to enjoy the night as much as you did.

He walked you up to your door, eyes trained on you.

Your feet stop on your doormat. It felt like you were stuck in cement.

"Will I be seeing you again, Aizawa?"

"Call me Shota, and yes, I'll be seeing you again." He faces you and kisses you again. A sigh of relief escapes your lips.

"Call me." You say and he hums in acknowledgement.

Maybe... trying again at dating won't hurt you.

Hiii anon, I hope you like this!! I don't think this has been my best work but I think it shouldn't be that bad? Lol imagine how Denki would react when he finds out you're with his teacher. Love you guys, working on Teacher's Assistant ch. 1

[jenscx]

ANAGAPESIS — nakamura kazuha x f!reader

you never would have thought of losing feelings for someone you love. but when the transfer student causes a rift, you start to entertain the possibility.

TAGS — angst, slight yunjinxreader, best friends, unrequited pining(?), jealousy

WORDCOUNT — 3.9k

anagapesis, your literature teacher had said once. it meant to no longer feel affection for someone you loved. the japanese was unable to pronounce it and you had simply corrected her. it took about 10 minutes until she could say it. within those 10 minutes, you two became best friends. or, as best friends middle schoolers could be— exchanging snacks during break time, taking turns to push each other at the swings and standing up for each other when sunwoo from the class next door bullied you two.

anagapesis.

was it fate when you met kazuha? maybe it was. every single decision that a 10 year old y/n made led up to your meeting with her. kazuha was your best friend. forever and ever, you had stated to her one day.

“pinky promise?”

“of course!”

you reach no further than the first year of high school when you realise your true feelings. (and coming to terms with the fact that, yes, you were madly in love with your best friend.)

“first period’s chemistry,” kazuha sighs, “new class but i think yujin’s still there. can’t forget the last time she spilled iodine on my uniform, i hope mr lee doesn't put us together.”

you hum in acknowledgment.

“i hope you’re my partner.” you turn to kazuha, a mocking smirk on your face, “i’m like, last in class for chemistry. pretty sure i would spill acid and not iodine on you.”

kazuha rolls her eyes playfully. “you’re like second last, not last.”

you hesitate for a second before asking, “second last in chemistry but first place in your heart?” the japanese girl giggles.

fuck, you think.

“yeah. first place in my heart,” she says and you can’t help but think of the glimmer in her eyes and her gummy smile. and in your heart, you pray that mr lee doesn’t put the two of you as partners. you’re not sure how long more you could survive if kazuha looks as pretty as aphrodite every day.

liar, your head says, you would jump for joy if you could spend every second with her.

you ignore that thought and the bell rings with kazuha’s resounding groan.

your eyes dart to the teacher who was currently peering over his laptop screen.

“everyone ready? i’ve sent the spreadsheet of partners for this semester. please check it and get into your pairs,” he instructs. you take in a sharp breathe as you read over the list of students’ names.

you’re paired up with huh yunjin, a rather enthusiastic girl from the states. it was a relief that you weren’t partnered up with a weirdo. yunjin was nice and helpful. thank god. you take a glance at kazuha, whose eyebrows are furrowed and you wonder if she’s paired up with ahn yujin again.

“rei? naoi rei?” you stare at kazuha curiously. she repeats the girl’s name like a mantra and you wonder, is your best friend okay?

“y/n, is naoi rei from japan? is she a transfer student? do you know if she’s from tokushima? does she have bangs with black hair?” kazuha suddenly asks and it’s the most korean you’ve heard her speak.

“uhm,” you mumble, “i’m not… sure?”

your best friend is wide eyed, a look of surprise and awe on her face as students flurry by to find their partner. it’s easy to spot yunjin. her height makes her stand out but kazuha has a harder time finding her partner. rei. her name sounds awfully familiar, maybe kazuha has spoken about a friend called rei before.

“zuha-chan, is that you?” a voice speaks out in japanese. you whip your head and the cutest girl you’ve ever seen is standing right before kazuha.

“are you… do you remember me?” rei blurts out, “you were from the same school as me right? back in japan?” now, you and yunjin were standing awkwardly by the side as the two japanese conversed in their mother tongue. a gasp of exhilaration is heard and you feel a pang of envy when kazuha squeals and runs into rei’s arms.

yunjin nudges you slightly.

“you okay?”

you nod wordlessly and you two walk away from the childhood friends. despite being a few tables away from kazuha and rei, you can still hear their conversation clear as day. you try not to listen in, but is it really eavesdropping if they’re not being quiet?

“i never thought i would meet you again! i’ve missed you so much!” kazuha exclaims.

“me neither… wow,” you can hear the affection in rei’s tone and it makes you want to throw up, “you’re still super pretty and cute.”

you pray she means it in a, ‘gals being pals’ way.

“how long has it been? a decade? how’s your parents doing?”

“they miss you, said they preferred you over me,” rei laughs and you hate how kazuha chuckles back.

at this point, yunjin has given up trying to get your attention and she’s more focused on how your expression sours everytime kazuha giggles at one of rei’s jokes.

“hey,” she snaps her fingers in front of your face which finally works, “are you jealous? in the gay way? or the best friend way?”

you roll your eyes at her and clench your fists tightly.

“both.” while you weren’t the closest to yunjin, you were pretty comfortable telling her your worries and troubles. after all, you bonded before in detention by annoying the fuck out of the teacher in charge.

“yeah, childhood friends meeting again years later. that’s a fanfiction trope right there and you can’t do anything about that.” you stare at her, confused.

yunjin grins, “maybe it’s fate.”

fate. maybe it’s fate. you swallow a lump in your throat. maybe it’s fate that brought kazuha and rei together. maybe it’s like yunjin said, i can't do anything about it.

and if this were a movie, you would be the second lead standing in between the main couple, portrayed as the jealous and insecure best friend who has loved the main lead secretly all these years, only for them to be swept away by a childhood friend.

and fuck. the realisation hits you like a truck.

“i don’t mean to make you upset,” yunjin says, twirling a pen while staring right at kazuha and rei, “but i think rei might just replace you soon if that is any indication.”

kazuha’s warm hand is intertwined with rei’s and you hate it. you hate everything about it. the fact that you envy rei’s position right now. the fact that you know kazuha isn’t one to cosy up to someone so easily. the very fact that it took you more than a year for kazuha to finally be comfortable with hugs.

and rei did it all in an hour. yunjin sends a comforting smile your way. your heart breaks, at the sight of rei and kazuha together and how yunjin’s gaze is full of pity and sympathy.

out of the corner of your eye, you see kazuha’s grin, wider than it ever was when she was with you. you grip the edge of your seat in distraught as rei yells out a string of encouragement. kazuha stops on court and sends her a thumbs up.

everytime you did that, she would just smile nervously without looking at you.

it hurts so much you turn away from the court entirely.

“hey!” you look up from your feet. yunjin’s leaning against the railing separating the seats and the basketball court. “are you here for me?” she jokes and it’s so obvious that she had seen what had happened.

“no,” you giggle, appreciating her distraction, “i’m here for the enemy.” yunjin pouts.

“aw, then who would be my biggest supporter?”

you nod towards the fan club watching both of you intently. a bunch of girls holding up a large sign reading, ‘fighting huh yunjin!’

before yunjin speaks again, a figure slides up to the railing beside her.

“hi, y/n.” your eyes darts to yunjin for help. the american stifles her laughter at your distress.

“uhm,” you mutter unintelligently, not expecting to get kazuha’s attention.

“y/n’s here as my supporter! shoo, don’t take her away,” yunjin swats at kazuha like she’s a fly.

the japanese girl mumbles something but you can barely hear her. suddenly, yunjin’s demeanour changes.

“what? we were always friends,” yunjin replies back defensively.

kazuha frowns. “since when?”

yunjin looks like she’s about to snap at kazuha and you plead with your eyes for her to remain civil. the whistle blows and the basketball game has to start. you can see the angry red blush spreading over kazuha’s neck while yunjin stomps grumpily to her spot. the sight would be funny if you weren’t caught in the middle of their argument.

when kazuha goes to rei after the match, you feel your heart splitting into two. she chose rei, over you.

your best friend, the same one that had promised to protect you from harm, had broken your heart a total of two times. and all in one year, surely record-breaking for the sweetest girl you’ve ever befriended. little did you know she was about to hit a new high.

“you could just confess after prom. or before, so that if she reciprocates you guys can go together,” yunjin explains, her mouth full of a bite of ice cream.

kazuha had decidedly stopped going home with you after school and yunjin took up the role of your closest friend.

“maybe,” you would never confess in this lifetime, but you say it just to placate yunjin, “I’m never gonna do it face to face though. only if she corners me about it.”

“coward,” yunjin laughs.

you shrug. “most i’ll do is write a letter then move to america where she can’t find me.”

yunjin halts in her steps and turns to look at you.

“america? you wanna go to america?”

“yeah? why not. i mean, i’m fluent in english and it would be fun, wouldn’t it? i could apply for a scholarship,” you smile. yunjin’s gaze is full of contemplation and curiosity.

she continues licking her ice cream.

“y/n, i’m being completely serious now, if i were to, hypothetically, invite you to move into my family’s apartment in new york, would you be keen?” you’ve never seen yunjin so serious before that it unnerves you ever so slightly.

“well,” you say, a light tone accompanied with your words, “if, hypothetically, all my expenses would be covered by the huh yunjin, i would be keen.”

“i’m serious, y/n!”

you giggle. “yes, yunjin. let’s go to america together after graduation.”

yunjin’s face brightens up and it’s like her whole world is complete. you can’t stop the laughter that bubbles out when she lifts your body up and spins you around like a doll.

your hold on her is tight and comforting, but you can’t help but feel the kazuha sized hole in your heart ache.

leaving korea would mean leaving kazuha. and were you okay with that? your head is swarmed with thoughts on the trek back home.

“so,” kazuha says cautiously, “what are you planning to do after high school?” it’s been a few days since your conversation with yunjin and after many, many sleepless nights full of research and convincing your parents, you were finally granted permission to go out of the country.

you’re not sure whether to lie or tell the truth. you decide to do the latter.

“i have a scholarship for america— new york university,” you reply casually, and it’s the one time you’re hoping kazuha doesn’t pay attention to you.

the japanese girl falls silent. and it’s deafening.

“oh,” she says after a while, “are you going with yunjin?”

your eyes widen. “how’d you know?”

kazuha grimaces. “it’s all she can talk about during practice.”

“oh, then why’d you ask me?” you question. there’s a flash of exasperation on kazuha’s face as she mutters harshly, “i wanted to hear it from you first.”

you tilt your head.

“aren’t you and rei going back to japan?” rei’s name leaves a bitter taste on your tongue.

“hm? yeah.”

you feel your stomach tighten and your chest squeezes uncomfortably.

“that’s great,” you grit your teeth, “have fun with her.” kazuha stares at you and you feel naked with her gaze. for a moment, it reminds you of way back before rei, before yunjin, and when it was just you and kazuha.

the next time you see your best friend (or ex-best friend), it’s during another basketball match, but today, they were going against one of the rival schools. you head into the gymnasium, seats already filled up with supporters from both schools and the players getting ready on court. you sweep your eyes over the players, smiling when yunjin spots you.

‘come here,’ she mouths. you shake your head but yunjin pouts. her pleading eyes are too much for you to resist, so you walk to the railings, eyebrow raised.

“aren’t you meant to be warming up, jen?” you ask quietly. her teammates pause their activity when they see yunjin hanging around the railings. unbeknownst to you two, anger radiates from one of her teammates.

“yeah, but i wanted to give you something first.” yunjin grins and takes off the necklace hanging on her neck. she gestures for you to lean forward, and as you do, the necklace carrying a snake charm is attached on your neck now.

yunjin sighs contentedly, “it’s my most prized possession from my grandma. but i think, i want you to wear it.”

your eyes widen.

“yunjin, seriously?”

the basketballer only winks, “yeah, so now i have two good luck charms.”

just like before, your bubble bursts when someone approaches you.

“y/n.”

yunjin straightens up and you wave shyly at kazuha.

“hi, kazuha.”

the japanese’s eyes dart to the necklace not so discreetly and a disapproving frown takes over her face.

“can i talk to you alone?” she mutters to you. the american girl chuckles and pats kazuha on the back, “c’mon, talk to her later, kay. we have a game now.”

after a few seconds, kazuha glares at yunjin and then storms away. you sigh guiltily while yunjin just yawns.

they lose the game and you can tell kazuha is fuming when she finally gets the chance to talk to you.

her eyes are gleaming with rage and her knuckles are bruised. she definitely tried to hit her locker in the changing room, you thought.

“so, uhm, what’s up?” you say awkwardly.

kazuha stays silent for a while, which isn’t unusual, but in a setting like this, it makes you incredibly nervous.

“i’m pissed.”

“okay?”

“i don’t like yunjin,” she hisses, “stop being so close to her. she’s not good for you. and why do you keep flirting with her? are you dating her?”

you’re taken aback. your best friend, kazuha, was always calm, quiet and friendly. the kazuha standing in front of you, jealous and angry. you don’t like it.

“who i’m dating is none of your concern.”

“so you are dating her,” kazuha states. if she didn’t look like she was one second from punching someone, you would laugh, because it was so far away from the truth.

“no, i’m not. please stop assuming things.”

“how can i not assume things when you never tell me stuff anymore?” she hisses out.

you sigh, “zuha, i do try to tell you things. but you’re always busy.” with rei.

“so it’s my fault now?”

“i never said that. yunjin’s waiting for me, and you’re being childish right now. text me when you want to talk again.”

anagapesis. you go through it with every passing second kazuha isn’t by your side.

“fine. i’ll text you later. get home safe.”

and the realisation strikes here. the once fluttering words of care and concern no longer make you feel exhilaration. you aren’t losing kazuha. she’s losing you.

prom approaches and you don’t make a move to ask out kazuha. you already assume she’s going with rei and you had decided to go with yunjin in light of this.

you go dress shopping and yunjin’s presence helps to fill the emptiness of kazuha. yunjin skims the shops and ends up with an emerald green dress that you definitely approve of, while you end up deciding between a matching blue one or a purple one.

midway through your dilemma, your phone beeps.

zuha 🤍 [1.27pm]:

get the blue one

you swerve around, eyes darting for kazuha but she’s nowhere to be seen.

“you’re getting which one?” yunjin asks from around the corner and your gaze falls back to the two dresses.

your heart clenches as you eye the blue flowy dress. blue, kazuha’s favourite colour. ironically, that was exactly how she made you feel. blue, the colour for sadness and everything dull. you furrow your eyebrows and turn to yunjin, a soft smile on your face.

“probably the purple one.”

you show up in the purple dress, face decorated in a light layer of makeup with yunjin attached to your arm. your heart is beating out of your chest and your cheek muscles start to hurt at how long you’ve been smiling at others. some of your friends come up to you, eyes glimmering with mischief and they bombard questions about yunjin’s presence as she goes to get drinks.

“no kazuha tonight?” wonyoung asks.

you search around before shrugging. “she’s going with rei, not even sure if they’re turning up.”

the chain around your heart tightens.

“that’s too bad then,” wonyoung smiles widely, “you look great tonight! let’s take some photos later, okay?”

you nod absentmindedly as wonyoung and your friends gravitate to another group.

yunjin returns soon to your side, eyes gleaming and a hand snaking around your waist.

“i got you a fruit punch, darling,” she passes you the drink, “they had this weird looking juice but i think you would get food poisoning.”

“yeah, thanks. i don’t trust this school.”

yunjin smirks but it quickly disappears when she hears her name being called again.

“ugh, i can’t get five minutes with you alone.”

you laugh and push her shoulder slightly. “go find your friends, celebrity. i’ll wait for you here.”

yunjin pouts slightly but walks away, leaving you to be alone. as the hall gets filled up, you wander towards an unoccupied corner where no one would disturb you.

and of course, someone finds you.

“y/n.”

“zuha.”

you rake your eyes across her appearance, it’s the same as usual, but the butterflies in your stomach are missing. even though she’s dressed handsomely, you feel nothing.

“what are you doing here? aren’t you meant to be with,” kazuha flicks her tongue, “yunjin?”

“hm? her friends were calling for her.”

“and she left you here, alone?”

“yeah? i was just about to go find wonyoung. needed a breather from the crowd,” you quickly make up an excuse before kazuha could start badmouthing yunjin again.

the Japanese’s reflexes are quicker than yours, so she catches your wrist in a grip when you try to walk away.

“let’s talk properly this time,” she states. you look at the hand on your wrist and nod. you had no way of getting out of it this time.

“you’ve been avoiding me.”

you look away from her. “no.”

“you have. so what’s the deal? are you jealous that i have another friend now? rei, is that the problem here?” kazuha spits out.

“what are you talking about?”

“y/n—”

“listen, kazuha. you’re the one telling me that my friend is bad for me. i have never said anything bad about rei. i don’t care about her, and if you want me to be honest, sure. i loved you. i loved you ever since we became friends and it was ruining me to see you be so affectionate with someone else. so i’m sorry if you don’t like yunjin, but she was there for me when you weren’t,” you finally say. it’s like a heavy weight was lifted off your chest and the shell shocked expression on kazuha’s face is enough closure for you.

“you love me?”

“i used to. and i’m grateful that i don’t anymore.”

kazuha’s eyes welled up with tears, “y/n, i didn’t… i didn’t know, i…”

“if you knew, what difference would it have made?”

you watch as the japanese girl clenches her fists tightly, eyes closed before opening them and staring at you with determination you didn’t even know she had.

“y/n, you no longer love me?” you nod, exasperated. “how could you fall out of love so easily? i love you too! and now you no longer love me?”

kazuha chuckles dryly.

“don’t you know how fucking painful it was to see you wearing that damn necklace every day? i was hurt too, why couldn’t you have just said something,” she takes a step closer to you, “y/n, i just wanted to reconnect with my old friend— i never wanted things to change between us! but yunjin came along and ruined it all.”

your eyes narrow. “don’t blame this on yunjin. if you wanted to reconnect with rei, you should have balanced your time between us.”

“i know that now! stop reminding me. just please, don’t go with her, stay with me. i would do anything for you. I’m in love with you, y/n!” kazuha pleads.

“stop it,” you say, “you hurt me. a lot.”

“but i still love you.”

the crowd behind kazuha goes silent, all the lights dim down and it’s like time is paused. the only thing you see is your best friend, eyes full of desperation and hope, a silhouette of your lost affection.

you can’t do this. how could kazuha say that when you’re finally done with her? it wasn’t like you were still in love with your best friend, so why did your stomach drop when you heard those words? was it guilt? sadness? or regret, that you could have had something with kazuha, if only one of you spoke up.

“it’ll be hard for me to love and trust you again, zuha. and maybe in another universe, things would be different. but I’m sorry, this isn’t the right time.”

kazuha’s face falls.

“you’re… really heading to america? with her?”

you wince at her venomous tone, “yes.”

her eyes are red and teary, her cheeks are flushed and wet with tears. yet, you still think she looks beautiful. maybe one day, you would truly be over her.

“i hope you have a safe trip.”

“thank you. i hope you stay happy, always.” kazuha gives you one final look, and then nods, before disappearing into the crowd in her pristine white dress. you couldn’t help but think that the blue dress matched hers perfectly.

when yunjin finds you again, she asks, “i saw you talking to kazuha. did anything happen?”

you shake your head, “no, nothing happened.”

she raises an eyebrow.

“seriously? she seemed like she was crying.”

you roll your eyes, “seriously. we talked about stuff and got emotional. she was too late with expressing her feelings.”

“huh. so she really did like you back.”

“yeah. but i think, in this universe, i’m gonna be okay without her.”

(in an alternate universe, none of this would have happened. in an alternate universe, kazuha and you would have been happily together, no rei or yunjin intervening with your relationship. in an alternate universe, you would never have gone through anagapesis.)

[floridazcrazy]

F1 drivers as american high schoolers

Lando Norris

Absolute Nic fiend

Underclassmen thats friends w/ all the seniors/year 12s

Kid that stays yelling "HES GOTTA GUN" smh

Loud af 24/7 365

Female teachers buy him and his friends food iykwim

Snap score in the millions (wyll warrior)

Asks to use the bathroom and doesn't come back

Chronic Virginity rocks hoodie wearer

plays lacrosse ofc

Illegally parks in the senior parking lot (probs got his shit towed a few times lol)

"Need me a goth gf"

D1 fight recorder

Nearly got his ass jumped during a football game lmao

Carlos Sainz

Took spanish all 4 years for an easy A

Ran through but still calls girls bops (6mill snap score)

niche tiktok celeb from posting thirstraps

P.E tryhard "ARE YOU FUCKING SLOW CATCH THE BALL"

Always has ISS or saturday school from skipping classes

Practically lives in a nike tech

Hoco king

Him and Lando have joint custody over a shiesty

girls get into fights over him at 6:45 am during breakfast

Buzzballs are NOT safe near his ass

Hes a lettermen (shirtless dudes who have their chests painted individually with a letter to spell the schools nickname during football games, found in the front row waving the school flag)

follows livvy Dunne, Breckie hill etc... on his ig and denies it when his gf confronts him about it

George

IB kid (just wait till that burnout hits lmao)

Dual enrollment king

"I took Algebra in 6th grade" nobody gaf lil bro

Ppl think him and Alex are dating

In NHS and MUN

"Mrs you forgot to pick up the ho-"

Probs got jumped for snitching at one point or another lol

The guy who pregamed too hard b4 hoco and prom then threw up everywhere (this happened at my prom bruh)

DO NOT LET HIS ASS NEAR PINK WITNEY LMAO

Probs going to Fsu or ucf on a fullride scholarship

Gets posted doing some embarassing shit on his schools barstool page smh

Almost ran over a underclassman (Lando) while trying to do donuts in the parking lot

Alex Albon

"Ay my friend over there thinks youre cute" (the friend is George)

Does not not deny that hes dating George if asked

Him and Lando stay screaming in the football game student section

Teachers love him

Got posted on the school's confession page once

In danger of not graduating due to his absences

Surprisingly takes multiple ap classes

Plays water polo

"Man this school food fucking dogwater"

Will later be seen fucking up said school food like always

Helps vandalize the rival school during football season w/ yuki and Pierre (This shit ends up on the news lmao)

[slut4sohee]

wet dreamz

pairing. jiung x reader

summary. you make a bold move and jiung’s wet dreams come true

wc. like 908

warnings. slight smut, like real slight; sexual content; set in high school so underage sex; first time; grammatical errors because they are passing notes

a/n. wrote this purely for fun so it’s not put together very well; also heavily based on the j.cole song

✎﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏

you had the biggest crush on jiung.

but so did a lot of other people and it lowkey irritated you. it made sense though; he was kind, attractive, respectful, shy and awkward but in an endearing way. he made you actually look forward to school, especially math class (and you would lowkey be depressed whenever he didn't show up).

the two of you were passing notes in class, as always, you were telling about him about the gossip between the students in your class.

‘yo Isaac and Hana having sex is kinda crazy. I thought he went with Jordan??’ he wrote after reading the gossip.

‘right?? apparently Isaac wanted to fuck but Jordan wanted to wait and Hana had a thing for him so that's how they ended up doing the do’

‘that's actually insane, how do you even know all of this’

‘high schoolers love to run their mouths’

‘true’

a question popped into your head and before you knew it, curiousity took over your body. you were writing it down then passing the paper to him.

‘have u ever had sex before?’

you glanced at him reading the note but quickly averted your gaze when the anxiety suddenly hit.

the paper slid into your line of sight:

‘ofc I've had sex before. I'm sumn like a pro tbh’

you weren't gonna lie, reading his note broke your heart a little, but i mean who wouldn't want to fuck him.

‘oh rlly? lmk how much of a pro you are then... my mom’s gone for the weekend’ you wrote back.

your stomach dropped as you watched him read the note from the corner of your eye. you don't know where this boldness came from but if it got you a moment with jiung, you weren't mad at it.

‘word?’

sparklers erupted in your stomach. you wanted to jump up and down but you had to be cool, ‘yeah i'll text you the addy’.

𖨆♡𖨆

jiung had the biggest crush on you.

i mean who wouldn't, you were funny, kind, caring, smart, gorgeous and not to mention your body.

you were the reason why math was his favorite class. you two used to talk and make jokes in the back of the class until the teacher got mad and said she'd separate you if you didn’t stop. so you resorted to exchanging notes.

the notes you would pass were initially innocent; cracking jokes, making fun of the teacher, gossiping, talking about interests. until you asked the question that changed your dynamic forever. ‘have u ever had sex before?’

jiung froze. he could feel his body getting hot, his heart rate increasing, and his blood rushing to his special place. he had to stop himself from daydreaming right there and then in that math class. but he had to play it cool, he didn't want to look like a lame bozo, so he wrote back ‘ofc i've had sex before. i'm sumn like a pro tbh.’ he was lying like fuck but you didn't know that.

‘oh rlly? lmk how much of a pro you are then... my mom’s gone for the weekend’

jiung couldn't believe his eyes; he was going to have sex with you this weekend. it was something he could only dream of, literally. it all seemed so surreal.

for the rest of class he had to repeatedly stop himself from daydreaming so he wouldn't sport an erection.

on the way home, he stopped to buy condoms; because you know, he had to be prepared.

that night, he did his research (he watched porn and went on reddit). he wanted to know how to please you in a way that didn't scream “virgin!”

come saturday, jiung thought his heart was going to jump out his chest and run away. he spent the whole way hoping and praying. hoping he was big enough for you, hoping that he moved well enough for you to not know he was a virgin, and praying that he lasted long enough (he rubbed one out before going to meet you because reddit said that would help him last longer). the closer he got to your door, the more he forgot how to walk.

when you opened the door, it took everything in him to not bust right then and there. what you were wearing was very revealing. he tried his best to not look at your ass and thighs when you led him upstairs to your room.

in your bedroom, where the action began, he was feeling on you, just doing what he was advised. and he figured it was working because you started feeling warmer, gasping and moaning. he got on top and you started unbuckling his belt and rubbing on him.

you were making him feel so good and soon enough he couldn't take it anymore.

he pulled out the condom and put it on as smoothly as he practiced (yes, he practiced that).

before he filled you up, you stopped him looking as shy as ever.

“there's probably something i should tell you before we do this: i can tell you're experienced and everything but i’m still a virgin so please be gentle.”

hearing those words from your lips basically made all of his nervousness disappear. the fact that you were also a virgin and that he didn't seem like a virgin to you eased his anxiety and definitely boosted his confidence.

“don't worry baby, i’ll be gentle...”

[chimindity]

Bullying

Summary | JJ picks up John B's little sister from school and confront her bullies. Request by @/anon

Pairing | JJ & John B's sister!reader

Warning | reader is a toddler, reader being bullied, fluff at the end!!

A/N | thank you for your request!! I love it♡

───୨ৎ────────୨ৎ────────୨ৎ───

You always go to school with a knot in your stomach, afraid of seeing your bullies in the corridors. Even though you are in a different grade than them, all students share the same playground. You just don't pay attention to them every time they belittle you. However you aren't brave enough to talk about this to your brother, atleast not yet.

You tightly hold the strap of your backpack nervously as you walk in the corridor to attend your next and last class of the day. You get pulled by your backpack by a bunch of boys, the same who keep bullying you. -"How's the little baby doing?" One of them makes fun of you while the other starts going through your pockets.

You try to free yourself from their grip. -"Let me go! I need to go to class," your eyes well up with tears, feeling intimidated by the high-schoolers. -"Guys, did you hear that? She wants to leave us already. How ungrateful you are. Didn't your brother teach you manners?" One of the boys grins and tugs on your hair. You sniffle while pleading for them to let go of you. -"John B isn't here to protect his baby sister? That's too bad," the bully finally lets go of you by throwing you on the ground.

You struggle to stand up and bring your backpack against your chest for the slightest comfort. You spend the last hour being hidden in the toilet, sniffing and hiccuping as you try to calm down from the previous event. When the bell rings, you quickly run from the bathroom and go to the portal. You expect your brother to be waiting for you, but instead, it's JJ.

You make your way to him and collapse onto his chest, dropping your backpack, which surprises him. He wraps his arm around your waist to soothe you. -"Hey, hey there, what's happened?" He tucks a loose strand of your hair behind your ear. You lift your head from his chest. -"There is a group of boys who keep being mean to me," you're shaking, and shield yourself in JJ's arms.

While JJ feels his heart shrink at your sentence, he couldn't believe you were being bullied, and even worse by students older than you. He quickly notices them as soon as they got out of the portal, looking for you in the crowd. Your grip tightens on JJ as soon as you recognize their voice. -"Shh, you good.—Hey, all of you, yes, we need to talk," he calls them out, and they all come closer, not understanding why John B isn't with you right now.

-"It's really funny to bully someone younger than you, right? Bet it would be even funnier if I were the one bullying you. This is the first and last time I'm seeing you around her" he picks one of them by his collar, grinning his teeth as he speaks. Meanwhile, you hide yourself behind him. -"Did you get it? Or should I hit you so you can understand it better?" JJ tightens his fist around the bully's shirt before letting go of him.

-"You fucking piece of shit, get the hell away from her," you keep your eyes closed as you hear JJ speak to them, and suddenly you feel a hand on your shoulders. You slowly open your eyes. -"Why didn't you tell your brother about it?" He tries his best to soothe you. You nervously shrug your shoulders, mumbling 'I was scared.' JJ sighs before scooping you in his arms. -"They're gone, they won't ever bully you again, trust me. But we'll have to talk to John B about it. I'm sorry, sweetcheeks," he chuckles and bends down to pick up your backpack and walk to the chateau, where John B is patiently waiting for both of you.

Taglist

@marvelfanfics1 @mrvlxgrl @nemesyaaa @jjsfavgirl @wearemadeofstardust0 @ziggyfaremen

[the-scooby-gang]

Character assassination and delayed puberty: VelmaHBO mishandling of Fred Jones

As I write the "I watched Velma HBO so you don't have too" reviews for episode 1 and 2, I decided to post this thought process I had regarding Fred's mischaracterization and, specifically, about the choice of giving him delayed puberty.

In the show, Mindy Kaling's self insert (because that ain't Velma in this or in the next life) comes to the conclusion that Fred is such a "spoiled white privileged brat" that his body didn't see the point of growing up at all.

First of all: Fuck that

Second of all: Whose brilliant idea (we all know who, but lets pretend for a second here) was it to turn FRED JONES: cheerleader; net lover; circus enjoyer; himbo friend; golden retriever sunshine boy and "I love my friends and my van so much you guys" into THIS?!?!

Is it because he is white, blond and has blue eyes???? Because it would be easy to make him into a caricature of white supremacy???

Yes. That's exactly why they changed Fred. Because it was easy.

I will go deeper on this in the full review of episode 1 and 2 (god help me) but this whole show is written in the most lazy way possible with jokes that would have fit perfectly in a edgy early 2000s show, where characters become those straw men versions of liberals conservatives IMAGINE exist.

Where people of color complain all the time about white supremacy but don't go deeper into it, its just complaining for the sake of complaining;

Where they bring genuine arguments people make but with zero nuance or though behind them, instead the writers put what THEY imagine it is about and, 99.9% of the time, they attribute it to people being "tOo sEnSiTiVe" and " tRiGgErEd SnOwFlAkEs"

Where people blow things out of proportion and accuse people left and right of being fascists (when they call Fred "Hitler" the background character says "he looks like Hitler. And I'm not just saying that because we call anyone Hitler nowadays") completely disregarding the WHY people in real life are calling out fascist behavior when they see it. Hello rise of fascism happening on the world, how is the INVASION OF CAPITOL IN AMERICA and THE INVASION AND DEPREDATION OF THE PLANALTO IN BRAZIL going for you?!;

This show is Family Guy. I would say it's worse than Family Guy even.

Third of all: Delayed puberty is an Actual Thing That Happens To People. It's something that can happen at random or it can be a genetic disorder shared in the family. It can be a symptom of something way more serious or something benign.

Many people that suffer from delayed puberty suffer from low self esteem because they have to watch their friends grow and develop when the same thing's not happening to them. They may feel like they're never going to catch up.

People are bullied over this, people develop depression.

And now these people are the punch line of this mean spirited joke.

I can even envision a better show where Fred still has delayed puberty, but instead of being the butt of jokes where people keep commenting on the size of the penis of this HIGH SCHOOLER, they treat as the constitutional delay it is. Fred is a late bloomer. It may be caused by a pattern of growth and development in his family, it may be a chronic illnesses he has. Can you imagine Fred with something like asthma or diabetes?

Lets go with that, lets imagine a Fred with diabetes, who is not receiving a proper treatment for said diabetes (maybe because his parents subscribe to that style of parenting where they are more concerned about appearances than the well being of their kid. "No, he has no problem. He is a perfectly healthy Jones."

Or they are the kind that say shit like this: "He doesn't have blurry vision he is just a lazy student, that's an excuse," or "You would stop going so much to the bathroom to piss if you stoped drinking water all the time" or even "I told you to not stay awake all night on those weird net making websites, now you're tired in class. What kind of mother they must think I am..." "But I didn't stay up all night, I swear–" "Don't you lie to me Frederick") and as such the side effects and symptoms are left unchecked.

So the Fred Velma, and we the audience, are introduced too is the heir of this fortune... who can't stay standing because he is constantly tired, has completely given up on trying to apply himself on school because he can't see the fucking board his vision is so blurry, has passed out at least once in gym, drinks water like he lives in a dessert and is so self conscious about his body that even his girlfriend hasn't seen him shirtless even once. The swim team hasn't seen him shirtless even once, so there are these whiplash inducing photos in the year book where is a bunch of guys in speedos nest to this one dude in an early 20th century striped swimming suit.

In episode 1 itself Velma's vision of Fred can start biased, after all from a distance a person that doesn't know Fred personally can chalk his behavior to "rich dramatic boy that knows he doesn't need to put effort into learning since he already has a fortune guaranteed for him after all this, so he is just sleeping and vibing and being dramatic through high school" but as the episode progresses and she gets to know Fred, she notices that the image doesn't fit. Fred, who has such in depth knowledge about physics and mechanics, who clearly loves his girlfriend very much and feels bad about the murder of this girl he considered a friend. The image of "Rich guy that doesn't care" is not fitting.

I want it to be a Velma and Daphne epiphany. About Daphne talking about all these things Fred has told her or that she noticed about him to Velma as they look for clues and it hits Velma as a she connects all together. The tiredness, the pissing, the thirst, the blurry vision.

Daphne may have not seen it because she is too close but with Velma's outside perspective the pieces fall into place.

Now lets imagine that instead of cop lesbian moms, Daphne could have lesbian doctor/nurse moms. They take him to them and they give him what he desperately needed:

"No, dear. You're not lazy, or broken, or an attention seeker, or any other bullshit your parents called you. You have diabetes. Type 1 to be precise."

After Daphne and Velma hug a crying Fred until he has no more tears to give, the series progresses with Fred now treating his diabetes as one of its recurring plot lines.

I want Daphne to have extra insulin in her purse, I want Shaggy to help Fred with his new diet, I want Fred and Velma to go exercising together and have deep conversations about body image and how they deal with it (Fred with his delayed puberty, Velma with her extra weight)

"Mature" and "Adult" content doesn't need to be edgy sex-violence-and-drugs.

It can be simply a story of a high schooler having to deal with diabetes in a country were insulin is expensive as fuck, some parents are more willing to let their kids suffer than offer any kind of help or even admit that there may be a problem in the first place, of dealing with body image and things that are out of your control.

Just a thought.

This is a post by The-Scooby-Gang, thanks for coming to my TED Talk.

[cerastes]

The more we watch crappy high school romcoms or high school wish fulfillment shows where the ostracized-slash-lonely main character is actually a super genius and never misses with the gang, the easier it becomes to appreciate Oregairu, which even without the context of being in part explicitly a parody of the genre is already a good show, but it becomes even better the more you understand what genre it is mercilessly ripping to shreds without coming across as a *anime youtuber voice* deconstruction high on the smell of its own flatulence. To put it in other terms, while it is in fact a parody of the usual High School Loner Genius Romcom/Harem formula, it also actually cares to deliver a good story with its own themes and depth beyond “parody”.

Hachiman’s 4-D chess seemingly works at first, but it’s explicitly shown to be simple stopgap measures that don’t fix anything and may even make things worse in the long term, and throughout the story, it takes actually realizing that he’s burning bridges that he desperately wants and that he’s not some Loner Genius high schooler The Joker that has it all figured out, and only then does he actually start working his ass off to properly solve the problems in front of him through what is a refreshing combination of sheer humane, considerate solutions mixed with his inherent cunning, with the long term in mind. Yukinoshita is the genius hot girl that is good at academics and sports, but she is so utterly incapable of making meaningful connections with people that it doesn’t really help her at all because, well, not just in school but in life, you really need to know how to handle people and work together with them, no matter how intelligent or capable you are, and this weakness overshadows her strengths, completely negating her advantages. Yuigahama is the preppy popular girl that is charismatic and good looking, but pretty naive or even ‘dumb’ sometimes, but then it becomes clear that not only is she incredibly mature emotionally, she WILL be ruthless and assertive when she actually needs to be and isn’t some selfless little goober, but at the same time, she also doesn’t have anywhere or anyone she feels she truly belongs at or with until she meets these two other strays, whose bluntness and sincerity she appreciates greatly.

Then, a third of the story in, we are introduced to Iroha, who represents the cunning younger student that is always this beloved, charming girl who actually is a pretty cunning and even malicious trickster that always gets what she wants... Except, NO ONE falls for it for longer than maybe a few seconds, and then it turns out that she and Hachiman are just really compatible, and they become good friends in that sort of caustic, vitriolic way that is only natural for the two of them, cynic duo that they make.

And needless to say, Hachiman’s sister, Komachi, is immediately, frame one shown to not only have a perfectly believable relationship with Hachiman in that they dunk on each other on sight, but also REALLY wants Hachiman to start dating a girl already and actively tries to get him to grow closer to any of his lady friends. The closest to a siscon joke in Oregairu is when someone reacts to Hachiman’s (grounded and not exaggerated) protectiveness of her by asking “oh, are you a siscon?” to which he replies “what in the fuck are you talking about, no, I’m worried about my sister because she’s my sister, don’t be weird about this”.

Oregairu has this habit of consistently showing you tropes and archetypes you will very clearly recognize from formulaic anime and novels, and then immediately humanizes them, not enough to fully remove them from the context of “you are watching anime or reading a light novel”, and just to remove them from “you know exactly what to expect from This Character”. It’s at that point where the narrative mix-ups, as it were, begin: Is this character going to at all follow the usual role you’d expect from them in a romcom or harem, or is this character going to go off the rails and pleasantly surprise me?

And it always goes off the rail when it matters with Oregairu. It’s always a pleasant surprise with Oregairu.

[gabessquishytum]

My favorite slutty, slutty boys!

Dream knows he's a slim guy, and especially after he's been on a writing binge that he needs to get some exercise. Usually he just does some yoga - the benefits of being bendy is legion.

But since he's just off one of his longer writing jags, his sister signed him up for a yoga-in-the-park class so he gets some sunshine along with his exercise. After only a small amount whinging, Dream pops on some yoga shorts and goes to the class.

Hob likes teaching his high schoolers, but they don't pay teachers much anywhere, so he side hustles by teaching extension courses for adults. This season he's teaching his usual yoga in the park class. Mostly the class are (now) full of wine moms and ladies who lunch -- when Hob started teaching the class a few years ago, it was full of retirees, but the word got out the a "hot guy" was teaching the class and all the spots got taken up by sexed up ladies.

Listen, in the beginning, Hob might have indulged, it was flattering that all these women where throwing themselves at him (and f*cking in the public park restroom was a bucket list thing). But he doesn't do that anymore.

And then, 'Please call me Dream' walked into his class - all lithe strength and advanced flexibility - Hob is totally breaking is hands off rule; Dream is extremely happy that Hob is willing to "help" his students correct their form by laying hands (after asking permission). Dream wonders what else Hob might touch with permission.

HNNNG yeah

All I can think of is how Hob would literally be able to bend flexible!Dream like a pretzel. Maybe Dream is lying on his back, legs over Hob’s shoulders and his arse in midair as he's fucked almost to the point of being upside-down. All his blood rushes to his head but he doesn't fucking care because it feels so good.

And yeah, in yoga... Dream may be a slim guy but he's got a lean, perfect musculature that is very visible through his leggings. When he bends to touch his toes his arse just looks so good, and his thighs make Hob absolutely drool. His poses are always just a tiny bit imperfect, so Hob always has the opportunity to gently move his limbs or even put his arms around him.

All of this pays off wonderfully when Hob gives up his "I don't do that kind of thing any more" attitude and allows himself to be pulled off towards the public toilets in the park by Dream’s slim, strong hand. Dream holds himself against the wall with apparent ease as Hob fucks him there, and he makes all kinds of lovely and complimentary noises about Hob’s core strength. Hob follows up by balancing Dream on the closed lid of the toilet and eating the cum right out of him.

Dream shows up the next class with a smug grin. He's even more determined to stay bendy now.

[almoststedytimetravel]

Please oh please may I hear a scrap more of your thoughts on the Arena designs?

Well I mean if you insist...

First Ken and Koromaru. Koromaru design is peak and not just because he's a dog. Koro is wearing Ken's old hoddie which is peak but also does a little bit of story telling via design since it had to be Ken who adjusted the old hoddie and sewed on the wings, telling us that in between Persona 3 and Arena Ken has developed some sewing skills (and has likely worked on more practical skills because he doesn't have anyone who can do it for him).

Now Ken himself... His design is just the Gekkokan uniform with the student council arm band and evoker+holster. Which is boring, Ken's design is boring however, if I am to play devils advocate for a moment, I can kinda get what they were going for. Ken is doing his best to act like a normal middle schooler who has never experienced the horrors, meaning the lack of customisation in his uniform is reflective of his trying in fit in. Now, everyone has seen this design.

This is one of Ken's concept designs and while this graphic only points out the Shinjiro Peacoat and the Akihiko Sweater Vest, you may also note that Ken has a pocket watch around his neck (a reference to the pocket watch from Shinjiro's portable link). While the way his collar is open is the same way Junpei's was in P3. his jacket is also undone which is a trait shared by both Makoto and Junpei (since neither Akihiko nor Shinjiro wear the school jacket in the fist place). This design also has Ken wearing gloves like Akihiko. This concept design is peak but if I has to guess why they didn't go with it, that's likely because the large coat would make Ken's animations really hard to read, specifically, it'd be really easy to lose track of Koromaru since Koro would blend in with the coat that would also cover the screen. Ken and Koro are already one of the best fighters in Arena they don't need to be made even more difficult to fight.

Now then Akihiko Sanada, he needs to be put down. That's the only adequate way I have to describe him. First of all, why does he have a knife? Second, Why is his evoker on the right side of his body in his offical art but on the left in his actual battle sprite? Third, and this one isn't character design related but, WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE HASN'T CALLED KEN IN ALMOST A YEAR?! I can get over his yapping about body building like, god forbid men have hobbies, (half of the examples people get mad at isn't even Aki talking, it's the illusion the "Protein, protein, and more protein" line is just Naoto hearing things). But, why does he look like that?! you're telling me that mr Dorky sweater vest wearer who halls around his blazer instead of wearing it is going to start dressing like this?!

Oh and he is also supposed to be 65kg. If you want my 2 cents on how I would redesign Akihiko, personally I would put him in his epilogue clothes but with his blazer over his shoulders (and made a little longer to be both reminiscent of a cape and of Shinjiro's coat, heck maybe even make it Shinji's coat).

Yukari, Junpei, and Fuuka all look great but I don't have much to say about them, since there is nothing egregious about them. Like I said, Junpei's cross necklace is a gift from Chidori and it's a really cute reference. Junpei and Yukari are both in their "work clothes" since they both came straight from their jobs, while Fuuka is in more casual clothes, because she was with Mitsuru, Akihiko, and Aigis.

Mitsuru... She's in a skin tight battle suit with a fur coat. She's in high heals, her rapier's blade is blood red, if anyone else was dressed like that they's look so fucking ridiculous but Mitsuru pulls it off. She's serving cunt and I respect it.

Aigis switching her ribbon for a tie is kinda funny but I didn't even notice it in my play through of Arena and only noticed it when I was watching a playthrough of Q2 and the Robot who was modeled after Aigis was called Ribbon and I went "Wait a minute" and booted up Arena to check, only then did I notice the tie

[gard3nias]

08| Fuck you!

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wc: 6.10k

date: 27/07/2024

quick summary: thursday; daphne is in her physics class and she can't understand shit; she has a little mental breakdown and takes it out on her friends

mdi // masterlist // playlist

—Now playing: Hell N Back by Bakar, Summer Walker ✫

As we talked about before, Wednesdays are meant to be gloomy and rainy while Thursdays are the polar opposite. This week, though, the weight distinguishing Thursdays wasn't as big and failed to overpower Wednesday's moody look.

The sun was there, up in the sky but behind clouds, masses of clouds which moved in packs with the wind. These packs were big enough to overshadow the sun who fought hard to pierce its rays between their gaps.

The humans inhabiting Earth were oblivious to this fight, they simply looked up and sighed, barely catching the sun's presence and preparing for rain.

The day wasn't exactly gloomy. It's Thursday, remember? But it was an unusual Thursday presenting a simultaneously warm and murky look—the sun might not have shone through the gaps but the heat was still lingering in the air, maintaining the temperature of a typical late summer morning.

Right out from the heat of town, the noise levelled down. The more you went further, the more it did.

Each school seemed to be in a box of its own or at least separated by a tall wall.

Within the fence of the kindergarten, the environment was saturated with noise, with laughs from both teachers and the little students, screams coming from crying or excited kids, and every other little noise that could help identify a kindergarten.

The elementary school wasn't so different from the latter but a bit more serious. The students were all within the walls of their classroom following the teacher.

The same went for the middle-schoolers whose classrooms though were a bit more silent with a few more serious and attentive students.

At the end of the street, upon a hill, was the most silent box, containing the high school. Here, the students' seriousness was on another level—wasn't necessarily on school but you get it. The classrooms were way more silent if not completely mute. No teacher was screaming at the top of their lungs to get the students' attention although some were obliged to interrupt their class so they could confiscate the phones of disobedient ones.

Daphne's classroom wasn't witnessing such a show at the moment. It was mildly silent, some students were talking but not loud enough to disturb others besides it was just the second hour of the day: most of them were still half asleep if not fast asleep.

Less than twenty minutes before break-time. Mr Keeley was sitting at his desk supposedly teaching a topic he'd surely include in the end-of-the-month test.

He, for sure, had the looks of a scary and serious teacher but the tone of a careless and lifeless one. Physics is already a subject that is not objectively liked so for him to have chosen to study it further means that he likes it. Yet why does his voice say otherwise? Why does he sound like he'd die the next moment? Why is everything he's saying lacking sense?

Daphne was confused. Nothing that hit her eardrums registered to anything sensible in her brain and when she tried to understand what the book said, the letters would just shuffle and form words in gibberish.

She never thought physics was this hard, this bad. In the city, she didn't struggle with it but, from the results, one could tell that it was her weak point, the soft spot that she had to keep hidden not to let the ship sink.

But now? Now it was worse. The ship didn't have a weak point anymore, it had straight-up holes and was already sinking.

Coming out of her trance of confusion, she decided to look around herself and register, at least, her surroundings.

With the lack of artificial lights, the warm gloom outside made the classroom appear dim like on a late summer evening.

Oh, how much she wished the people sitting behind her were as silent and focused as the ones in the front. She looked beside her, wondering if the chit-chattering was bothering Cleo just as much but her friend was fully invested in her iPad. They gave each other a part to do in the group project which they had to complete before their meeting today.

Cleo was behind with hers hence the lack of focus on physics—"I don't understand it anyway" was her usual remark to which Daphne rolled her eyes.

Usually, physics wasn't this bad. Was it the countryside air?

Yesterday, she spent the afternoon studying and doing homework. It rained the whole time and a weather like that set the mood for a good study time in Daphne's world. The ticking sound of rain hitting the glass windows felt like a scratch on her neurons which had two consequences: a good sleep or a good study time. Unfortunately, the ticking this time made her grow frustrated when she couldn't get the exercises right.

Mr Keeley had assigned four exercises he considered important for the test so Daphne made sure to study the theory very well and take good notes before hopping on to the practice. She didn't expect the exercises to prove that what she believed she'd understood was just a ball of confusion that would get bigger and worse the more she tried to understand what she didn't.

"Go to page thirty-four and let's analyse exercise fifteen together. Please take notes because this exercise is a very recurring type and you'll surely find it in the test." These words were enough to wake up sleeping students, snap back to reality daydreaming ones and catch the attention of those minding their business—all this because of the word 'test'.

"Please, can you write it for me? I'm almost done with this but I still need some time," Cleo pleaded and Daphne slowly nodded, knowing that regardless of paying attention, whatever she'd be writing in her notebook would still make no sense to her.

And so it was. She kept writing, word after word. Words that made sense if taken singularly but couldn't if taken together. She also highlighted some keywords which usually are important for you to remember details of the topic and yet, looking at them, Daphne could only tell you what the word meant for itself and couldn't attach it to the physics topic.

She once again falls into a trance similar to the ones in the movies when doodles start appearing and disappearing in the character's view, overlapping each other and most importantly, making some sense. In Daphne's case, the doodles weren't real doodles but ugly scribbles with a few words taken out of context. So yeah, no sense at all.

All this disappeared when she heard the word 'test' again.

"So the test will be in two weeks on the second of October and these are the topics..." The students around her were taking notes, making sure not to forget a thing Mr Keeley said but Daphne started feeling anxious. Test? What do you mean 'test'? Why? No! And before she could really have an anxiety attack, the bell rang signalling the beginning of break-time.

"That's all for today. Please study and exercise and if you have any questions don't be scared to come to ask for clarification," these words were typical of a teacher. They sounded nice, explained that the teacher was available for the students, and yet hearing them in Mr Keeley's tone made them lose that effect and him sound like he was forced to do so.

Daphne didn't give two shits though. She was determined to ask for clarification.

"Oof! I can't believe it! I'm done," Cleo celebrated, turned the device off and was ready to exit the classroom but she stopped, "Daph? What's wrong?" her friend was hunched over her notebook, eyebrows furrowed as she tried to force herself to understand. It can't be that hard, can it?

"Light... Refraction... Reflection... Diffraction..." Daphne murmured, sliding through her notebook to make sure she had all the notes and also to be able to pinpoint, that's it, pinpoint where her confusion lays but a pin-point wouldn't be enough—pin-pointing is for tiny things, her confusion isn't.

"Young's experiment... Interference... Double reflection— Cleo, I'm doomed," the respondent nodded to signal her presence and attention before she registered the words and frowned in confusion. "Doomed? What do you mean?" Daphne was strange right now. She was murmuring to herself as if possessed, expressions designed her face and changed within split seconds and her eyes wandered on the pages, running from top to bottom and left to right.

"I'm doomed, Cleo. All these notes and not one word makes sense to me." After this clarification, Cleo's worry dissolved and she softly smiled, "That's all? You have nothing to worry about, it's completely normal. First, it's physics, not common sense. Second, no one in class understands this topic. Not even Valerie so you have nothing to worry about. Don't stress over it, especially now,"

"What does that even fucking mean?!—"

"Hey, hey! Why are you raising your voice at our lovely Cleo, huh?" James interfered, leaning on her desk. He was obviously joking and exaggerating it but Daphne still glared holes in his face, moved the pencil case he was partly pressing with his thigh and left with her notebook in her hands after replying with utter silence.

"Damn. What the fuck did I say wrong?" he questioned, looking at Cleo with confused eyes. "She's just anxious and frustrated because the test is coming up and she can't understand half shit," Cleo sighed, looking over to Daphne who was now standing next to Mr Keeley.

"That's completely fucking normal. It's physics..." Nick laughed, "This topic is shit and Mr Keeley is shit, making it two shits, extra layers." Cleo chuckled but still worriedly looked at Daphne.

The expressions on her friend's face pushed her to call for the boys' attention. "Hey, look at her. I feel like she's still not understanding anything,"

"I told you. The problem is Mr Keeley". Seconds after, Daphne quickly smiled, mouthed a 'thank you' and came back to her desk. Her friends followed her with their eyes.

"So?"

"He sounds like a fucking robot going through a fucking system malfunction but trying to act nonchalant about it. He explained everything the same exact fucking way he's been doing it ever since. What the fuck?" she whisper-yelled in a single breath. Her friends chuckled, in fact, the boys full-heartedly laughed while Cleo was in between joining them and worrying for Daphne whose face didn't flinch a bit—and it was a problem because Nick has one of the most contagious laughs on Earth.

"If you're that worried, you can ask for help from tutors. The seniors do it," Daphne's only reply was dropping her head on the desk, arms flushed down and a cheek swelled up as she rested the other on her notebook. "Come on Daph," Asher tried to console her by pinching her cheeks. She still didn't move and yet her friends took that as their cue to really cheer her up.

"Daphne?" they sang. Cleo robbed her hair while Nick and James attacked her with tickles. "H-hey! Guys, stop!" she finally smiled, laughed in fact, and also tickled them back. "Come on, let's get you something so you don't stop smiling".

—Now playing: Zzz by EDEN ✫

"Okay, you've got to be honest, Daph. Group projects are really only for useless subjects that can't evaluate you with a common written test," Nick argued, one arm around Daphne's shoulder and the other hand in his pocket. On Daphne's right were Cleo and James. Asher was on Nick's left.

Nick's remark caused Daphne to roll her eyes as she thought that it wasn't necessarily true. "Be grateful we don't do group projects on subjects like chemistry or physics. They require deeper research and better preparation for the oral evaluation," she rebutted.

He could hear her thanks to the closeness because the noise from students excited to get back home was very loud. They, on the other hand, weren't heading home. They had plans: lunch together at a little restaurant and a study session at the library.

Nick's arm remained around her shoulders the whole time, even when he had to greet friends passing by or when they were trekking down the hill and into town. He was worried that Daphne was still sad about physics so he wanted to remind her that he was right here, next to her, with her, just like the rest.

Daphne didn't know this and was simply unbothered, considering it a usual thing he does to everyone in his friend group.

Soon, the chaos in town increased as students left school.

They couldn't go to El Grillo's Cuisine because the library was closer to their school than the restaurant so they opted for a little place to have a quick bite.

Exactly, the place was a little cafè that also served a full lunch. The interior was very simple and went for earthy colours, grey and smooth pavement, light brown walls and ceiling, brown chairs and tables and plants scattered evenly around.

The waiter did them the favour of joining two tables for them to eat together and once they sat down, he took their orders and left. Some ordered meat-based meals, others pasta and others rice. Daphne othered a bowl of white rice with a stew made with spinach and meat. Cleo ordered something similar but it was a Singaporean speciality.

"Now, Daph, promise me you won't get mad—"

"You didn't finish your part of the project, right?" she monotonously finished his sentence before sipping water from her cup, eyes glaring into Nick's face. "Thank god you said it first," James murmured, seeing the look on her face, one that quickly changed when she gasped realising that they both hadn't finished their parts of the project.

"You both didn't do shit? What the fuck? What are we supposed to be doing today then?"

"That's something I should be asking you, Daph. Aren't we supposed to work on the project together? At the same time? Giving these parts basically makes it an individual work," Daphne facepalmed herself. She thought it was obvious.

"You know very well it's impossible to work seriously with you two in the same room and most especially we all need to know each other's parts and not just ours that's why we need to separate it. You can't even finish the little part you have. Imagine having to read the whole shit from top to bottom," she calmly spoke because she was feeling like stress was already getting to her and didn't want to lash out at her friends. James didn't utter another word but simply apologized and promised to finish it quickly later at the library.

"I have a feeling Daph is going to beat Valerie," Nick changed the topic, a grin on his face as he spoke. "What?" Daphne cackled but she was honestly confused. Everyone agreed with Nick, bringing up their suspicions and assumptions and increasing her puzzlement.

"Yeah, you take school so seriously—"

"Duh, she's a smart ass, didn't you know?"

"Wait, wait. Why are y'all saying that all of a sudden?" she interrupted before filling her mouth with water, "Cause you're smart as fuck and the other person in class who's like you is Valerie. In fact, you're really the only one who can compete against her," Cleo robotically explained. By the tone, Daphne suspected they must have already talked about this beforehand and were just now saying it to her.

"Why would I compete against her?" Daphne's eyes bounced from one face to the other. 'These little shits have already discussed this without me', she thought to herself.

"Valerie's annoying," Asher broke the ice and Daphne's jaw slightly dropped. "What do you mean 'annoying'?" she looked over at Cleo but this one didn't look back at her or object.

"Here are your orders," the waiter said as he dropped the plates in front of the silent friends. The real one silent was Daphne though. Asher didn't look bothered. Nick and James were smirking and Cleo looked at Daphne like nothing had happened.

"But the way you talked about her on the first day of school made it sound like she was nice to be around," and silence.

"I told you that because that is literally her whole personality. Yes, she can be nice... if she likes you else she's always going to smack her academic performance in your face because she knows it's the only way she can get to someone," Cleo explained and the boys nodded in agreement.

"Did she ever say something to y'all?" Daphne asked, now taking a spoonful of rice, "Yeah, she loathes Nick and James, secretly dislikes Cleo too but wants to remain friends because Cleo's popular in school," Daphne gasped, chuckled, and laughed.

"Didn't you see her face last week when we were creating the groups for the project? She looked at us like we were pieces of shit, scared that she'd end up in the group with us. She thinks she's some kind of queen bee. Working on a project with her is freaking terrible. She pressures people because she instantly thinks that you're not good enough and starts scrutinizing you, believing that you suck and only she rocks. The fuck?"

Daphne was surprised, to say the least, but also scared, "Am I mean to y'all because of school?" she questioned worriedly, "Bullshit! Your personality isn't based on your grades. Your love for picking flowers has nothing to do with your academic performance and you've never mocked us for our performance so you're good," Daphne nodded, glad she wasn't like Valerie. "Then what do I have to do with her since y'all say I can compete against her?" She continued.

"We always thought no one would ever be able to beat her ass but God sent you our way and now we have you who can shut her up by giving her a taste of her own medicine," James messily spoke with a mouth full of food.

"Why do y'all allow her to be class president then? Cleo told me that she's been the one doing it for years now. You can't let someone like that represent the class,"

"Because she's the teachers' pet. If there are problems with any teacher, she's the only one who knows how to deal with the issue respectfully cause if it was up to me..." Cleo chuckled and the boys tagged along, picturing her as class president.

"Cleo looks all nice and bubbly but she can say the meanest shit when she's angry. You haven't heard her arguing with a teacher when they grade her wrongly," Asher explained before filling his mouth with food.

"Don't need to tell me. She just changed her hobby because when she was younger all she could do was whine. Oh god! How much I hated that?" Daphne smiled as Cleo's mouth remained open in bewilderment. "How fucking dare you? First I was just a child. Second, what the fuck, Daph?" she tried complaining but a smile kept making her fail the attempt.

"Oh, true. You two have known each other since babyhood. What about that?" Nick interfered, gaining a choked laugh from Daphne. "Babyhood?" she laughed.

"We're neighbours, dickhead. Precisely, I'm neighbours with her grandparents with whom she lives now," Nick nodded eagerly in acknowledgement before taking another big chunk of food from his plate and proceeding to talk with his mouth full, "Sorry if she now lives with her grandparents, how the fuck do you know each other?"

"Oh, you pig! You gon choke on your food," James mocked and the rest laughed. Nick simply winked at them. "I used to come here in the summer and spend the holidays with my grandparents."

—Now playing: Spite by Omar Apollo ✫

As the day went on, the packs of clouds eventually faded away and the sun finally brightened the day.

By the time they were done eating and entered the library, it was mid-afternoon, around half past three.

Since Nick and James were present, their walk there was not silent because they couldn't hold back from making hilarious jokes and laughing loudly at them as well. All this noise had to be tamed down once they closed the library's glass door behind them.

It was a three-story building, the higher you went the more silent it became.

The bottom floor was left for special events that often included kids. The first floor was composed of rows and rows of bookshelves, the rhythm broken by the counter at the end of the room where the staff was. The second and last floor was the reading area.

They didn't even bother taking the stairs, going straight for the elevators without noticing Daphne's spinning head exploring her surroundings because it was her first time here.

In the city, there were multiple libraries and obviously Daphne went to the closest to home which had the same setting as this one with the only difference being the colours.

Underneath her feet were milk-coloured tiles while the walls were covered in different shades of light-brown and beige tones. The place was naturally well-lit thanks to the numerous windows it had.

Her friends were busy talking in whispering tones but she remained silent observing and making mental comparisons. Next to the elevators were the vending machines. She'd later realise that it was so for every floor. Once the lift arrived, they got on and pressed on the number two.

From the looks of the bottom floor and the silence overcoming the whole building, Daphne could have never sworn that there would be so many people in the study area. The place was so packed, which was surprising since school had just started and no exams were on yet. It took them a bit of awkward walking around before they could find a spot big enough to welcome all five of them: a wide desk by the windows in one of the corners of the room.

Like she always does, Daphne sat next to the window and right beside her was James.

Before anything, Nick and James brought their devices out and immediately dived into work so they could finish quickly as promised. Cleo opened hers as well and rechecked what she hurriedly finished in class. Asher had finished his part the previous day so he decided to grab the opportunity and do some homework. Daphne did the same but with physics.

Could she need two brains to understand this topic? Not possible. She just has to read everything slowly, clarify any misunderstandings as soon as she gets them and try to interpret what she read with the help of the explanatory drawings in her book. Can't be that hard, can it?

She took her book and notebook, pencil case and agenda in a corner. The first thing she opened was her notebook where she believes the topic is explained with simple words because it contains her notes.

The first thing that popped into her view were the words 'interference and Young's experiment'. Okay, easy.

Interference... bright fringes, constructive interference... dark fringes, destructive interference. Okay. This composes the interference figure. Easy.

And yet she felt weird about it. It was the first time a topic appeared so hard for her that instead of pushing herself to overcome the difficulty, she felt like backing down.

Violently shaking the thoughts out, she put her headphones on, some soft music and took out her Post-it intending to summarize every paragraph before moving on to the next one.

After more than an hour, the pages of her book were covered in coloured Post-it containing summaries and soon she was done re-studying Young's experiment so before hopping onto the next topic, she moved to exercise and then she realised that it was where her problems lay: she couldn't connect the theory to the exercises. She could tell you what the experiment was about but wouldn't be able to solve exercises about it.

'But no backing down' she mentally encouraged herself.

In the meantime, the packs of clouds came back screaming 'Sike!' at the sun for thinking it would shine bright with no disturbance throughout the whole day.

"Now, tell me. How would studying this cathedral's architectural structure ever help me in the future?" Nick began, aggressively taking his earbuds out and bringing everyone out of their focus time except for Daphne who refused to do so.

"Don't ask me," Cleo simply responded without taking her eyes off her device. James, on the other hand, openly started a conversation with Nick agreeing that indeed subjects like this are useless and interest very few people.

"Like... can you picture me in the future drawing the architectural design of a building or worse, explaining one to a crowd of tourists? Yuck!" he exaggerated and Nick laughed.

Meanwhile, Daphne was finally a bit better. She was solving a long exercise that presented three parts. She'd calculated and solved the first one and that spurred her to proceed and now she was solving the second one, which was slowly losing sense to her.

"Y'all cannot condemn a whole subject. Art is a very important subject, a very appreciated one back in the past centuries—"

"Thank you, Asher. You said it right. In the past centuries. Who gives a fuck now?" James concluded, high-fiving Nick as if he'd just solved a difficult physics mystery. Asher simply facepalmed himself and since he had to study and had no energy to argue with them, he put his headphones back on and ignored them.

The words of Daphne's physics book and the numbers in her notebook were shuffling and making up strange words, even for Gibberish. Head in her hands, she widened her eyes as if that would allow her to understand better and stared at the problem. Zero. No sense still so she moved on to the next problem filling her hope bar up but not fully.

"You know? Art already makes some sense. The subject that doesn't at all is IRC. It's not like a catechism class or something because the teacher never talks about the bible and Christianity so..." and James nodded, listening to Nick as a judge listens to a testimony's statement.

"And yet if they did, you know, talk about Christianity, it would interest me more. The world is filled with different cultures and learning about them is magnifying,"

"And yet you believe art is useless. Cultures also manifest in that field, you know," Cleo butted in, taking her earbuds off and ready to fully invest in the conversation. Nick rolled his eyes, "Cultures ain't all about art—"

"Oh, you're so dumb,"

"Cultures have an artistic expression. An example could be the Chinese culture. It has amazing paintings and most especially, buildings," Asher coldly spoke looking at Nick as if he was stupid.

"But I think that when you're learning about a culture, you learn about their tradition, their morals, their habits which have nothing to do with what they draw, sculpture or build—"

"And that's bullshit—"

"Can y'all just shut the fuck up!?" Daphne butted in. In fact, she almost screamed but reprimanded herself because of where they were. All her friends remained frozen in silence.

"Ain't we here to study? So why the fuck are y'all talking nonstop?" her frustration getting the best of her. "Okay, I totally get that you're stressed because of physics but you gotta take a chill pill—"

"And Nick gotta seal your mouth 'cause you talk too much. You promised you'd work on your part and quickly finish it and yet here you are talking about nonsense—"

"Daphne!" Cleo exclaimed, surprised at her friend. "Okay, we get it. You're frustrated but seriously, calm down. It's not the end of the world as I told you before,"

"Y'all don't get shit because if you knew that I was frustrated you wouldn't be talking and making so much noise because I ain't the only person you're disturbing. We're in a fucking library," she fought through her tears, holding her sobs back because, in reality, she wanted to scream.

She felt like she was making a little progress with physics. She didn't finish the first exercise but still managed to solve a part of it. When she moved on to the next one, she was able to solve the first part and was now doing the second part which was a bit harder but for a moment everything started making sense. All until they started talking nonstop.

"Daph, okay. Now you're the frustrating one. You can't be lashing out at us because you can't understand a physics problem. That's not on us but all on you—" Cleo elbowed Nick in the side, seeing how her friend's face morphed in a split second.

"Oh, it's my fault, huh? My fault that I'm trying to understand something and Mr Nick can't shut his mouth up and keeps distracting me. My fault that you can't zip up your mouth? My fault that you don't take school seriously?" a bitter chuckle followed her words.

"No, Daph—"

"You know what? Fuck you. Fuck you so bad." She immediately closed her book and packed her stuff. All without looking at any of them so they wouldn't catch the tear that escaped her and ran down to her chin. All without uttering a single word so they wouldn't hear her voice and the sobs breaking it. Before taking her cardigan, she unclipped her hair so her bangs would help her cover up a bit.

"Daph. Hey," Nick tried to call back. Cleo stood up and tried to stop her, tried to convince her that they were all sorry and didn't mean to increase her frustration. Tried to tell her that they understood but they sometimes behaved childishly but she failed once she saw Daphne walk past her with her bag in her arms and her head hanging low. Cleo didn't want to give up and tried to follow her but James caught her wrist and convinced her to let her go because she evidently needed some time alone.

"You see? It's indeed impossible to study with you two in the same room. Did you even finish your parts? No. So why the fuck did you even respond to her like that?"

"Cleo, you're talking like you didn't hit back too?" James replied. "Yeah, but my tone was completely different. I genuinely wanted her to calm down because she was beating herself up for it. Y'all replied out of complete annoyance,"

"Okay, I get that she's frustrated and shit but that doesn't make me less of a human and without feelings. It's okay if I didn't like the way she yelled at us—"

"But you should have handled it better because in this case, she's the one already frustrated. You should understand that" Cleo continued and felt like her message had come across when no one replied.

She looked at the entrance where Daphne had just walked out from and felt immensely bad. Daphne had already told her about how seriously she could take school but she never thought it was this serious, to the level she'd be feeling so anxious for not understanding something when she had a ton of time before the official test.

—Now playing: Blue by Billie Eilish ✫

It's been long since she'd cried. Really never had a reason to. She'd cried maybe when reading specific scenes in books or watching others in movies but rarely out of pure sadness but she couldn't help it—perks of going back to school.

She also didn't think that she would've cried as much as she did as she left the library. She thought that the tear that rolled down before was going to be the only one but soon she found herself all wet and fighting against insisting sobs.

'This is so dramatic' she thought to herself as she cleaned her face and tried to regain composure but she couldn't stop crying. It increased her frustration as it had her looking odd in public while she walked to the bus stop.

Once she arrived, she stood away from people, and waited a few meters away, frantically cleaning the never-ending waterfall. Luckily for her, the bus didn't arrive too long after and once on, she beelined for the end of it.

Once everyone was done boarding, the bus took off and left for the next stop.

Daphne was sitting by the window with her legs against her chest and her chin on her knees. She pulled her right sleeve so she could wipe the tear but soon she started almost getting hysterical about it and after violently wiping for seemingly forever-lasting seconds, she fully burst into tears, silently sobbing and accepting her fate.

Why was she being so dramatic? She didn't know. Wished to but couldn't crack even this code. She wished to stop, to go back to her friends and tell them that she was sorry and didn't know what came over her but the tears wouldn't go away, opting to make her taste their saltiness and her curtain bags stick to her face.

Mr Keeley didn't start teaching this topic just today. He's been doing so for over a week now and yet she couldn't understand anything, literally anything which scared her to the bones.

A fault of hers was how much power she'd given to her anxiety, how much weakness she'd shown in front of it and how easily she'd succumbed to its consequences and worse was that she couldn't do anything about it but just accept it. Many were the triggers and at the top of the list was academic pressure, one that she's applying on herself on her own. Her parents couldn't care less if she performed well in school or not. Had realised that there was more to life than just good grades and wished that their daughter would do the same too.

Anxiety was a trait of her family, especially on her mother's side. Her mom was constantly scared of causing misunderstandings which led her to be overexplaining whenever she talked. Daphne wonders what could've happened to her that made her come to such a conclusion, that made her realise that overexplaining was the only way out. She wanted to know what kind of trauma was there.

This trait was shifted on her dad— you are the people you hang around with, wasn't the saying like that? He too overexplains and fears misunderstandings but his case is not as serious as her mom's because the latter's been like this for as long as Daphne could remember.

Dyanne, Daphne's sister, deals with anxiety too which comes from herself. Dyanne fears failing herself and losing the challenges she takes on. She's a stubborn person. Believes in something or someone only if she convinces herself to so one can imagine how hard it is for her parents to convince her to do certain things like taking it easy on herself. Daphne could fully state that she'd taken a bit from her older sister with the only difference being that Daphne's challenges were mainly related to school.

Daphne felt like the only way to validate herself was through being smart, filling her brain up with useful content to be well-learned thus her love for reading. Whenever she fails to reach that point, she starts doubting her abilities, having trust issues with herself and letting anxiety lead as if it would lead her on the right path. This path had deep puddles filled with her tears, indentations and protrusions similar to the wavering of her voice and impeding stones and rocks, a result of mentally torturing herself.

She knew it was the wrong path and yet she'd take Anxiety's hand and follow its lead, leaving a trail of frustration as she went, frustration that she had because of this, because of herself and her bad choices. A frustration she often takes out on innocent people, unaware of whatever brewed in her mind.

She didn't know how long she'd cried or for how long she still would. All she knew was that she'd calmed down a bit and there was no violent breathing or frantic behaviour anymore.

Maybe what allowed her to calm down were the raindrops hitting the windows, the tarmac, the roofs, the grass and everything that brought the town to life. Maybe the weather matching her mood made her not feel alone. It calmed her down so much that she fell asleep.

⤎ previous page | ❃ | next page ⤏

[writer-in-theory]

☁️👀🛏️ Steddie

ooh thank you for the prompt nonnie!! ✨delicious✨

prompt: ☁️ enemies to lovers , 👀 forced proximity , 🛏 only one bed

build-a-blurb prompts || send me a prompt

--

When Dustin asked Steve to chaperone their Hellfire Club field trip, he should've said no.

"C'mon, man, you don't need a chaperone," Steve huffed while he rewound tapes behind the Family Video counter. "You're high schoolers, what's kind of trouble could you get into?"

"It's because of you and your stupid ex-friends we need an adult anyway," Dustin snapped back. Sometimes Steve wondered if his own attitude had been transferred to the kid. "Something about 'the Chicago incident'?"

Oh. Oh yeah, that was absolutely his fault. Steve shook his head, and despite all the bad that had turned up between them Steve still smiled fondly at the memory of his shenanigans with Tommy and Carol.

"Fine, whatever," Steve said, conceding to the blame. "If you need an adult, why can't Munson be the chaperone?"

Steve hated the fact that the kids hung out with Eddie Munson. They were familiar with each other, considering Steve had once been one of the more popular athletes in the school. Even after he'd graduated, Munson had made a point to show up to Scoops Ahoy to see the fall of Steve Harrington with his own eyes. It was safe to say they didn't get along once Steve stopped throwing parties that Eddie could sell at. And now Steve's group of monster-fighting kids had chosen to latch onto said dealer, the same guy who'd relentlessly ridiculed Steve at every opportunity (not that Steve hadn't done the same).

"Because, Steve," Dustin said with the same know-it-all tone of voice Steve hated, "Eddie's a student. We need an adult who's not a student to sit in the hotel. You don't even have to do anything."

That was how Steve got roped into driving half of the little shits to Chicago. At least Eddie was driving with the Corroded Coffin crew, so Steve didn't have to make small talk with a bunch of guys he'd never been friends with in school. Steve really didn't know how the guys got ComicCon cleared as a club field day, but the one time he questioned it Dustin had ranted for so long about sports tournaments that Steve resigned himself to never asking again.

It was fine, he told himself, and he believed it all the way up until they were pulling up to the hotel. Eddie was talking emphatically to the lady at the desk.

"What's going on?" Steve had asked.

"We're one room short," Eddie said, sighing. "It's fine, I'll stay with Gareth."

"Actually," Steve piped up. He hated being the babysitter, the rule-follower, but when he'd signed all those forms accepting responsibility for the entire group he took that responsibility. "You're 20. He's still 17. We could get in trouble for that."

"What? Dude, we've crashed on each others' couches all the time."

"Maybe, but this is a school-sanctioned event."

"Yeah? Well tell me, Harrington, where the hell am I sleeping tonight?"

Eddie had a point. Steve sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose when the answer became obvious. "With me, man, you're sleeping in my room."

They both fought it, but ultimately, this was the only answer that would fly with the school. So Steve and Eddie packed up their bags and headed up to the hotel room—where only one bed awaited them.

"I'm not sleeping with you," Eddie says automatically, flipping his bag up onto the bed.

"Then have fun on the couch," Steve snaps back, shoving the bag back off of the bed.

"I'm older than you."

"I'm the one in charge."

"You sign one piece of paper and you get a God complex? Leave it to Harrington to be that desperate to feel important," Eddie says, every ounce of vitriol he can muster up slipping through with his words.

"Just go the fuck to sleep, I don't care where. It's been a long day, man," Steve sighs finally, shucking off his shirt and tossing it somewhere in the general direction of where he'd dropped his bag.

It would be a long weekend.

[frukmerunning]

You ship Romano with someone who was a grown man when he was a child and yet you teach young children every day. I would be unsurprised if we saw you on the news one day.

First of all, this response came in lightning quick so maybe just block me instead of lurking on my blog when you clearly know that I ship something you dislike.

Second, I teach high schoolers and I've been pretty clear about that so get your facts straight.

So there's this concept that might interest you called separating fiction from reality. In case you hadn't noticed, Spain and Romano are fictional characters from an anime, not real life people. The things I like in fiction have no bearing on what I think is acceptable in reality. There are a lot of characters with large age gaps in fiction that I ship (like Spain and Romano), but at the end of the day I'm still looking at my 18 year old seniors like they're little kids and would be appalled at them dating someone my age, because they're real and Spain and Romano aren't. I could end this argument right here because that's all that needs to be said, but I'll go on because it amuses me. Spain and Romano are both hundreds, if not over 1000, years old. Their concept of time and aging could be completely different to ours, and that happens to be my interpretation. Also, I OBVIOUSLY don't ship them when Romano is a literal fucking child. In the present day strips Romano is also a grown man who can make his own decisions, and in case you've never actually seen the anime - he and Spain are quite close! He's closer to Spain than to his own brother!

As to your point about seeing me on the news - To say that is DISGUSTING in a time where there are so many actual predators in the education industry. I take so much pride in my relationship with all of my students, and it's people like you who baselessly throw these words around that are making these kinds of relationships impossible. You waste so much time attacking someone you don't even know for shipping two characters in an anime. If you actually care about young people in this way you would be educating them on the REAL signs of predatory behavior in adults, in addition to online safety. But you aren't, are you? You're harassing people over an anime ship and making no real contribution to society, because you get a high off of your fake activism.

[morganwrites12672]

can you do an eddiexfemale reader where the reader is in love with him and will do anything for him, and he doesn’t love her back and finds her clingy but keeps her around because he loves the attention, and then one day y/n hears eddie talking bad about her and flirting with chrissy so she gets upset and wants to move on from him, which at first eddie’s relieved that she’s finally out of his life but then he sees her with someone else and realizes that he’s messed up

ofc! But damn girl, the ANGST.

Reqs are open!

Eddie Munson x Fem!Reader

You loved him. You really do. Eddie Munson had been your long time crush. He never liked you back though.

You two still hung out, he claimed he wasn't ready for labels, or saying the 'L' word yet. He said he would get there, but after all of the school (and town) treating him like an outcast, a freak, he needed time.

That wasn't the truth, not even close.

Eddie just kept you around for the attention. The girls at school didn't like him, so he used you. Deep down he did feel bad about it.

Not bad enough to stop. He needed the affection. The way you would run soothing circles on his forearm, the way you would always be touching him. Always be loving him.

Eddie was so affection starved he was willing to use a poor girl to do it. He swears he doesn't have feelings for you, he likes Chrissy. He would never tell you any of this.

You and Eddie were sitting in the back of his van, the cafeteria got to be to much and he needed a break from the constant insults. He couldn't handle it.

You run circles on his forearm as he lights a joint. He smiles at your soft touch. You had asked him to go back to his van with you. Most people would assume he was getting lucky, that wasn't the truth, far from it.

You had noticed the way the love of your life had started to get more anxious. He looked fine. His eyes told a whole nother story.

So, you had let Hawkins high think what they wanted. As long as Eddie would be okay. And he was.

He takes a long drag from the joint before offering it to you, you decline. Smoking was something you did when you were younger. Not for you anymore.

As a high schooler, you would have done it. But now, a first year teacher, you knew better. That was what made your crush wrong. A teacher shouldn't date a student.

But what if that student is legally able to buy a pack of cigarettes? Eddie was twenty. You two had been friends since middle school. You had had a crush on him, since middle school.

Since the day of the sixth grade talent show. He played guitar and sang for his band, Corroded Coffin. He was much cuter now, having grown out his buzzcut.

"You okay now?" You ask as Eddie exhales another puff of his joint. He gives you a small smile and stubs out the joint.

He let's out a deep breath, exhaling all the smoke, Yeah, thanks Y/N," he says as he opens the back door of his van for you.

You smile at him and get out.

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

You smile as you walk around the corner. Eddie would be at the table. You stop behind a tree as you hear his voice. that wasn't all, a female voice to.

"Are you sure you don't like her?" The voice asks. You think she is a cheerleader, maybe.

"That crazy chick?" Eddie asks with a laugh and the girl laughs with him. Your throat goes dry as you listen to them flirt and Eddie talk shit about you.

"I swear, I never liked her to begin with. But you, I think I might need you," Eddie says and you storm off with disgust.

He doesn't like you. He never fucking did. You kick some dirt once you get far enough for them to nor hear.

Chrissy Cunningham! That's who that was. You place her voice to the time you had helped her study for an exam. That bitch. Chrissy was sweet, but this wasn't her fault. She didn't know. She could only believe the lies Eddie was telling her.

You were going to do something last you would have thought was beyond insane. You were going to ask out a guy. But, who?

You think back to the guys who had asked you out senior year.

Jason Carver. No way in burning hell.

Tommy Hanagan. You would rather go kiss Eddie then go out with him. He was in the same grade as you, tracking hom down would be difficult.

Steve Harrington. He was a little bit of an asshole at first. You did notice he had changed a lot. You still had his number, why not?

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

Eddies jaw drops. He sees you kissing Steve Harrington when he walks in your classroom to find him.

He has regrets. Why wou- he cuts himself off mid thought. You must know. You must of been looking for him and seen him flirt with Chrissy.

He fucked up. Bad. He realized he liked you. Just a little. He liked you just enough to not want you to date Steve 'the asshole' Harrington.

It didn't get any better. Every time Eddie would go to your classroom, he would see Steve leaving or steve coming in while the class was leaving. Bringing you flowers every Monday. He must know you hate Mondays .

Eddie realizes he needs to tell you he likes you. He doesn't just need to, he has to. But he cant, he realizes he should of loved you the way you loved him.

He walks in your classroom Monday, after lunch. He sees Steve exiting your classroom. Of course. When he walks in he notices the yellow lily's on your desk. Steve must have known your favorite flower to.

He really did mess up. He thinks back to how happy Steve looked when he was leaving. Steve probably loved how clingy you were. Always having to touch him.

How could he have let the best thing that ever happened to him walk away?

He couldn't blame you. He couldn't even try to win you back. It wasn't fair to you. He has his chance and he blew it.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

[TW: Corporal Punishment, Child Abuse, Child Neglect. Cruel and Unusual Punishment Of A Minor]

Molly Parker and Beth Hundsdorfer at Capitol News Illinois, via ProPublica:

It was on L.J.’s 11th birthday, in December 2022, that child welfare workers finally took him away. They arrived at his central Illinois home to investigate an abuse allegation and decided on the spot to remove the boy along with his baby brother and sister — the “Irish twins,” as their parents called them. His mother begged to keep the children while her boyfriend told child welfare workers and the police called to the scene that they could take L.J.: “You wanna take someone? Take that little motherfucker down there or wherever the fuck he is at. I’ve been trying to get him out of here for a long time.” By that time, L.J. told authorities he hadn’t been in a classroom for years, according to police records. First came COVID-19. Then, in August 2021 when he was going to have to repeat the third grade, his mother and her boyfriend decided that L.J. would be homeschooled and that they would be his teachers. In an instant, his world shrank to the confines of a one-bedroom apartment in the small Illinois college town of Charleston — no teachers, counselors or classmates.

In that apartment, L.J. would later tell police, he was beaten and denied food: Getting leftovers from the refrigerator was punishable by a whipping with a belt; sass was met with a slap in the face. L.J. told police he got no lessons or schoolwork at home. Asked if he had learned much, L.J. replied, “Not really.” Reporters are using the first and middle initials of the boy, who is now 12 and remains in state custody, to protect his identity. While each state has different regulations for homeschooling — and most of them are relatively weak — Illinois is among a small minority that places virtually no rules on parents who homeschool their children: The parents aren’t required to register with any governmental agency, and no tests are required. Under Illinois law, they must provide an education equivalent to what is offered in public schools, covering core subjects like math, language arts, science and health. But parents don’t have to have a high school diploma or GED, and state authorities cannot compel them to demonstrate their teaching methods or prove attendance, curriculum or testing outcomes.

The Illinois State Board of Education said in a statement that regional education offices are empowered by Illinois law to request evidence that a family that homeschools is providing an adequate course of instruction. But, the spokesperson said, their “ability to intervene can be limited.” Educational officials say this lack of regulation allows parents to pull vulnerable children like L.J. from public schools then not provide any education for them. They call them “no schoolers.” No oversight also means children schooled at home lose the protections schools provide, including teachers, counselors, coaches and bus drivers — school personnel legally bound to report suspected child abuse and neglect. Under Illinois law, parents may homeschool even if they would be disqualified from working with youth in any other setting; this includes parents with violent criminal records or pending child abuse investigations, or those found to have abused children in the past.

The number of students from preschool to 12th grade enrolled in the state’s public schools has dropped by about 127,000 since the pandemic began. Enrollment losses have outpaced declines in population, according to a report by Advance Illinois, a nonprofit education policy and advocacy organization. And, despite conventional wisdom, the drop was also not the result of wealthier families moving their children to private schools: After the pandemic, private school enrollment declined too, according to the same report.

In the face of this historic exodus from public schools, Capitol News Illinois and ProPublica set out to examine the lack of oversight by education and child welfare systems when some of those children disappear into families later accused of no-schooling and, sometimes, abuse and neglect. Reporters found no centralized system for investigating homeschooling concerns. Educational officials said they were ill equipped to handle cases where parents are accused of neglecting their children’s education. They also said the state’s laws made it all but impossible to intervene in cases where parents claim they are homeschooling. Reporters also found that under the current structure, concerns about homeschooling bounce between child welfare and education authorities, with no entity fully prepared to step in.

“Although we have parents that do a great job of homeschooling, we have many ‘no schoolers’” said Angie Zarvell, superintendent of a regional education office about 100 miles southwest of Chicago that covers three counties and 23 school districts. “The damage this is doing to small rural areas is great. These children will not have the basic skills needed to be contributing members of society.” Regional education offices, like the one Zarvell oversees, are required by law to identify children who are truant and try to help get them back into school. But once parents claim they are homeschooling, “our hands are tied,” said Superintendent Michelle Mueller, whose regional office is located about 60 miles north of St. Louis. Even the state’s child welfare agency can do little: Reports to its child abuse hotline alleging that parents are depriving their children of an education have multiplied, but the Department of Children and Family Services doesn’t investigate schooling matters. Instead, it passes reports to regional education offices. [...]

There’s no way to determine the precise number of children who are homeschooled. In 2022, 4,493 children were recorded as withdrawn to homeschool, a number that is likely much higher because Illinois doesn’t require parents to register homeschooled children. That is a little more than double the number a decade before. In late fall of 2020, L.J. was one of the kids who slipped out of school. After a roughly five-month hiatus from the classroom during the pandemic, L.J.’s school resumed in-person classes. The third grader, however, was frequently absent. At home, tensions ran high. In the 640-square-foot apartment, L.J.’s mother, Ashley White, and her boyfriend, Brian Anderson, juggled the demands of three children including two born just about 10 months apart. White, now 31, worked at a local fast-food restaurant. Anderson, now 51, who uses a wheelchair, had applied for disability payments. Anderson doesn’t have a valid driver’s license. The family lived in a subsidized housing complex for low-income seniors and people with disabilities.

In an interview with reporters in late February, 14 months after L.J. had been taken into custody by the state, the couple offered a range of explanations for why he hadn’t been in school. L.J. had been suspended and barred from returning, they said, though school records show no expulsion. They also said they had tried to put L.J. in an alternative school for children with special needs, but he didn’t have a diagnosis that qualified him to attend. The couple made clear they believed that L.J. was a problem child who could get them in trouble; they said they thought he could get them sued. In the interview, Anderson called L.J. a pathological liar, a thief and a bad kid. “I have 11 kids, never had a problem with any of them, never,” Anderson said. “I’ve never had a problem like this,” he said of L.J. The boy, he said, lacked discipline and continued to get “worse and worse and worse every year” he’d known him.

To support the idea that L.J. was combative, White provided a copy of a screenshot taken from a school chat forum in which the boy cursed at his schoolmates. At the end of the school year, in spring 2021, the principal told White and Anderson that the boy would have to repeat the third grade. Rather than have L.J. held back, the couple pulled him out of school to homeschool. They didn’t have to fill out any paperwork or give a reason. On any given day in Illinois, a parent can make that same decision. That’s due to a series of court and legislative decisions that strengthened parents’ rights against state interference in how they educate their children.

[...] Faced with cases of truancy or educational neglect, county prosecutors can press charges against parents. But if they do, parents can lean on Illinois’ parental protections when they defend themselves in court from a truancy charge. [...] More recently, the ISBE made one more decision to loosen the monitoring of parents who homeschool: For years, school districts and regional offices distributed voluntary registration forms to families who homeschool, some of whom returned them. Then last year, the state agency told those regional offices that they no longer had to send those forms to ISBE.

[...] Over the years, the legislature has taken up proposals to strengthen the state’s oversight of homeschooling. In 2011, lawmakers considered requiring parents to notify their local school districts of their intent to homeschool, and in 2019 they considered calling for DCFS to inspect all homeschools and have ISBE approve their curriculum. Each time, however, the state’s strong homeschooling lobby, mostly made up of religious-based organizations, stepped in. This March, under sponsorship of the Illinois Christian Home Educators, homeschoolers massed at the state Capitol as they have for decades for Cherry Pie Day, bringing pies to each of the state’s 177 lawmakers. Kirk Smith, the organization’s executive director and former public school teacher, summed up his group’s appeal to lawmakers: “All we want is to be left alone. And Illinois has been so good. We have probably the best state in the nation to homeschool.”

This @capitolnewsil / @propublica story on how a set of parents decided to homeschool one of their kids, and it served as a crude excuse to abuse and torment that child.

This is one of the reasons why regulation-free homeschooling is a bad idea, and there ought to be some common sense regulations on homeschooling.

The main reason why Illinois remains regulation-free for homeschooling is the homeschooling lobby, which is disproportionately dominated by conservative evangelical/fundamentalist Protestants.