#also both of my parents are college-educated which helped them get out of that and helped provide for the privilege i was born into.

[britneyshakespeare]

Another Thing Wrong With The Former Gifted Kid Discourse, Since I Can't Stop Thinking About It:

people have such an unhelpful tendency to universalize their own experience when talking about the plights and struggles about Gifted Kids™—and what they are talking about is not necessarily invalid, but they're more often talking about their individual responses to their particular schools' policies. This Is Not A Systemic Analysis. it's helpful; i sympathize with you. But You Are Not Dismantling The Inequities by saying this or that happened At Your School when you were a child, and it affected you this or that way because of Who You Are.

example. i always see people talking about neurodivergence in this conversation, which is actually helpful in spotlighting how the Gifted Kid discourse often glosses over such complex intersectional issues. you can talk about how you were Gifted & Neurodivergent and how those experiences lead you to future disappointment. this is, i must stress, valid. but your analysis of your own life Is Not A Systemic Analysis. your experience alone will never speak for how the educational system and trends in policy among schools across the united states affect ALL neurodivergent people negatively because there are neurodivergent people who are Different From You. not to mention that when people point out that very often "Gifted Kid" usually correlates with some degrees of privilege, people push back and go nooooo I'm neurodivergent. people across all other marginalized identities who are systemically disadvantaged by the educational system can be neurodivergent. this does not make you, initially, when you were as a young Kid determined to be Gifted, NOT also in fact privileged.

if you are not ready to discuss experiences that were different from your own growing up, you aren't really engaging in the discourse of how to improve public education in the united states. it's a diiii-verse country we live in. not only in the ways we traditionally think of. when we think of "marginalized" or "oppressed" people, some specific and historically significant groups come to mind. when it comes to advantages that set up a child for future educational success, these broad categories often leave gaps because they lead people to generalizations, and ultimately, fatalism.

but there's really so much hope in early childhood education if we were to make things more equitable, ie like i always say UNIVERSAL PRE-K. these kids who are determined as "gifted" more often than not were just from more enriched home environments that prepared them for learning how to read, write, and do math. it's often not special innate abilities that leads to differences in outcomes for different students, but That's How The Kids Interpret It When Some of Them Are Called "Gifted." they're more often than not, not doing something that's truly exceptional or precocious for their age. they're displaying signs of age-appropriate development, when often, the kids who may be lagging behind them skill-wise just Haven't Practiced Those Skills As Much.

so yes, that's why there's a correlation in things like upper- and middle-class white kids being seemingly more successful in school (and more commonly deemed "gifted") at a young age. it's from privilege. it's not even just the implicit biases of their educators already working in their favor for their race and class. it's the fact that being more privileged, generally, means their family and parents had all of their basic needs provided for. they had more time to read with you. they could buy more development-promoting toys. they probably had better mental health to cope with the demands of child-rearing. if they suffered chronic or sudden physical health issues, they were insured. privileged children are usually less exposed at a younger age to the harshnesses of this world, as every child should be. ALL of these little advantages build up, in terms of what a child can be provided with before they go to school. anything that's going wrong in a child's family system can negatively impact them without them even being old enough to understand it.

you may not think of yourself as Privileged. you might prefer to think of yourself as Gifted. Gifted is so nice, even if it's demoted to Former Gifted. at one point you were told you were superior and it felt really good. and You, reader, i do not know You. i'm not calling You privileged, even if you are! hell, everyone's privileged in some way. i am at the point in the post where for transparency's sake i think i should say I Could Be What Some People Call "Former Gifted". i was called smart as a kid and given special homework sometimes etc. i'm not calling any Former Gifted people stupid for not realizing this either. what i mean is that this kids Are Not Usually Actually Gifted. this is a compliment given overwhelmingly to children who were just simply not deprived. when people say they were once Gifted, they're more often than not saying I Had The Early Opportunities To Learn Everyone Should Have, But Doesn't. this doesn't make you an outlier. It Might Just Be A Sign of Privilege.

[greenglowinspooks]

To be honest. DCxDP where the reason Danny meets the bats is Ace the Bat-hound

Like, just think about it for a second. Danny is in Gotham for college, or maybe he just moved out to find a city where having mad scientist parents isn’t actually that unusual.

He can see ghosts.

The ghosts know this.

Now he’s getting harassed left and right by spirits trying to get closure. Fine, whatever, most of them are a one-and-done type deal, and the amount of ghosts trying to get his help steadily decreases.

Except for this one very stubborn dog.

It just keeps showing up and leading him to crime scenes! He doesn’t know how many “anonymous tips” he can call in to the cops before they trace his phone! And this dog, this incredibly good boy, will not stop trying to help the city. He’s never met anyone with such a strong sense of justice, let alone a dog. Can dogs even have a moral compass?

And so Danny just accepts the fact that Ace isn’t going anywhere and becomes his reluctant sidekick/dedicated medium. He leans into the whole thing, dressing up in a mix of traditional magic-user attire and accessories that pay homage to the ghost dog.

He becomes somewhat well known. The psychopomp detective following around the shadowy figure of a German Shepard? That’s unusual! That’s weird! I mean, it’s not the weirdest thing in Gotham, sure, but he’s a new vigilante and he’s got a ghost dog that people can only see when it’s around him. Someone’s gonna notice.

Damian, as Robin, is the first to reach out to him.

Ace doesn’t know Damian but he does know a Robin, and while this isn’t his Robin, he’s still friendlier than usual. Danny’s panicking because oh god the bats are here and also is this kid gonna steal my ghost dog, Damian is absolutely delighted by Ace, and Ace is just happy to see a Robin again.

Damian decides that the psychopomp isn’t a danger to anyone, and there’s no reason to put this encounter into his reports, really, and perhaps Danny can help with some of his cases in the future.

Danny is sweating bullets because Damian basically tells him that he’ll keep him secret as long as he gets to play with Ace. Ace is happy that he’s finally getting some bat affiliated crime-fighting assistance.

And so, Danny is now both Ace AND Damian’s reluctant assistant. At least whenever he’s in trouble, he can always call a middle schooler to help him.

(Is Robin even in school? He’s out patrolling damn near every night, and he stays out late as hell. Does he have a bedtime? He should.)

Eventually it gets to the point where Damian is going over to Danny’s house. When he first sees it, he has a damn bitch you live like this moment, to which Danny responds that not everyone has the money to afford a nice place. Damian counters that he could at least take the time to clean up, and Danny replies that he’s working, going to school, and being a vigilante assistant to a ghost dog, something’s got to give.

Danny nearly has a heart attack when he checks his bank account the next day and sees that someone transferred him 10,000 dollars.

And so they get into a routine. Danny and Damian fight crime with Ace at night, and occasionally Damian stops by during the day to play with Ace and have Danny help with his homework.

(Damian is smart enough to do it on his own, but some of the instructions are written incredibly confusingly, and he would never admit to needing help to his family. Danny is just glad that the kid is in school and cares about his education, blissfully unaware that he’s basically emotionally adopted him.)

Damian is used to being in Danny’s company.

Eventually, when going over a case with the family, Damian absentmindedly remarks that he’ll have to ask Danny about some of the clues that they might be missing. Nightwing asks who he means and Damian makes a face like he just swallowed a lemon.

Cue shitstorm.

Who is “Danny?” Why is Damian willing to ask for help from anyone, much less someone outside of the family? Does he know who Damian is? Has Damian been compromised? What the hell is going on?

Damian now has to explain that Danny is the psychopomp with the ghost dog who he might have met hunted down while on patrol and conveniently not mentioned, but he’s not a bad person, really, and he lets him play with Ace, and he’s been quite helpful on certain cases due to his ability to talk to ghosts.

Bruce insists that the family meet Danny. Damian, hoping that he won’t just skip town the second he hears the news, relents.

Danny is surprisingly eager to meet the bats, considering his earlier fears.

Damian, blissfully unaware of what’s coming, sets a time and place to meet.

Once everyone is there, he gives Bruce the earful of a lifetime.

Robin is in middle school! Danny knows that there’s no way to stop the boy from going on patrol, but you could at least shift his schedule so he gets enough sleep on school nights! Does the Bat even know where he is half the time?! (No) And why isn’t he comfortable asking his family for help with both cases and homework? Did they ever even notice how much time he was spending at Danny’s house? If Danny was a bad person, he could have seriously hurt the poor boy! Shame on you!

Nightwing is mortified that Damian didn’t trust him enough to tell him about any of this. Red Hood is laughing his ass off, because yeah Danny is making good points but he’s also chewing out the literal Batman. Tim is recording the whole thing. Steph is delighted by the absolute gall of this Danger Twink™️, and already planning to add him to several groupchats. Damian is more embarrassed than he’s ever been in his entire life.

You, he points to Nightwing, did your academic life feel supported when you were a Robin? Nightwing is too stunned to speak. Red Hood, eternal shit-stirrer, says that oh, we all prioritized patrol over our education, that’s just how it is. Red Robin actually dropped out of high school to avoid distractions, did you know that?

Danny honest-to-god shrieks at this.

He finishes his angry rant and leaves, everyone too stunned to stop him.

And as it turns out, Tim wasn’t the only person recording the whole thing.

The entire internet is blowing up with Psychopomp The Danger Twink™️’s rant. People are taking sides. Things are getting messy. Red Hood literally admitting on-camera to previously being a Robin is somehow not the main focus here.

Eventually someone connects some dots from the video, as well as stories circling the internet about the psychopomp. A ghost dog named Ace, who is the literal only reason that the psychopomp is fighting crime at all, which seems incredibly fond of Nightwing and Robin.

A crime-fighting dog who wants constant attention from both the current and original Robin.

Oh my god, Ace the Bat-hound died and became a crime-fighting ghost.

And, somehow, that’s still not the strangest thing going on in Gotham.

[wiisagi-maiingan]

I love watching youtube videos about tiktok and influencer drama, mainly because I'm completely disconnected from stuff like that (I have never watched an influencer video in my life) so it gives me the thrill of true crime without the tragedy exploitation aspect, but sometimes I also feel completely disconnected from the youtubers too?

Like every youtuber has to offer up a million disclaimers about how they aren't judging influencers or whatever and that's usually fine but like. I do feel that there ARE points where people need to be judged for the content they're sharing and promoting and profiting off of!

"I'm not judging tradwives or saying their content is bad—" I am!! I am absolutely judging tradwives! Extremely harshly! Because the entire "tradwife" movement is conservative propaganda based on misogynistic and patriarchal ideas about history with no basis in reality or in our modern world! And tradwife influencers explicitly target young women and especially teen girls and try to convince them to put their entire lives in the hands of their husbands, which is a horrific recipe for domestic abuse!

These women making hundreds of thousands of dollars off tiktok videos (and often coming from extremely wealthy families) are out here telling young girls that they don't need an education, that they don't need their own income, that if they're just pretty enough and obedient enough then they'll find a rich husband and never have to worry about anything ever and it's fucking scary! And I don't know why we are tolerating it!

We know what happens when people, especially women, give up complete control to their partners. We know what that leads to, resentment and extreme control and total lack of options when things go from totally fine to constant arguing to violence. These influencers, who ARE making extremely significant personal incomes from their jobs as influencers online, lie through their fucking teeth about how perfect it is that their husbands do everything for them and all they have to do is take care of the kids and home (with the help of nannies and housekeepers and personal chefs off-screen. . .) and about how they've escaped from capitalism, meanwhile the people actually in those situations who AREN'T making all that extra cash are either already in abusive relationships or they're in incredibly precarious positions where they could end up abused or thrown out with nothing in an instant.

I don't think there's anything wrong with wanting to be a homemaker or stay-at-home parent. I don't think it's wrong to not want to go to college or have a 9-5.

But you NEED options. You need full access to your own money that can't be monitored or controlled by a partner. You need access to a vehicle. You need a life outside of your home and family, especially friends who are willing and able to help you if needed. You need the ability to survive on your own in some way. Because if and when things go wrong in the relationship, THOSE are the things that will save your life.

Also remember that again, these tradwives DO have jobs and their jobs involve selling a fake lifestyle and fake ideals. They are getting paid BIG TIME for the shit they peddle to you, whether that's through the millions of views they get (both from genuine fans and from haters, the algorithm doesn't know or care about the difference) or the many sponsorships they get, they have incomes that they are not disclosing. They have help that they are not disclosing. Many of them started out with extreme wealth but lie through their teeth and cosplay as fucking homesteading peasants. It's all a lie to sell shit to you. Don't buy it.

Disclaimer: Please do not nitpick this post, it's very late and I'm ranting and if this leaves my circle of followers I will regret it deeply. Be nice. Tradwives dni, you're all annoying.

[g1rlr0b1n]

Any headcanons about Jon Kent and/or Damian Wayne?

I'm gonna focus some older damijon headcanons so that this post doesn't go on forever 😅

Sleeping Habits

Jon sleeps best when he focuses in on Damian's heartbeat. He still has night terrors about his time as Ultraman's prisoner but if he can listen to Damian's heartbeat until it lulls him back to sleep, he feels safe. This continues on into his adult life.

Damian inherited Jon's old Superboy jacket after Jon came back aged up and he sleep with it next to his pillow like a security blanket (but if anyone asks, he'll deny it). Damian stops doing this when Jon begins sleeping over because now his pillows smell like Jon and that's all he really wanted, that feeling of knowing he's around.

Dating History

Jon dates a lot in his youth, he dated Irma, then Jay, then several more people before finally dating Damian in his early 30s. He likes dating, he likes the thrill of a new relationship but after the cliché feelings of romance have worn off, he has a bad habit of becoming distant until the other person just ends things with him. This hasn't happened with Damian because Damian doesn't let him get bored lol...also because their love is stronger than feelings of passion. It's a genuine love and friendship.

Damian didn't start dating seriously until after college. He'd had crushes but they weren't really a sexual thing, more like something he thought he was supposed to do and wanting to feel loved. He tried to give it the ol' college try with Maps but even she knew it wasn't going to work out; they're still really good friends though (and only two years "wasted"). Honestly, she figured out his preferences before he did and convinced him to ask Jon out. Silver lining is, Damian introduced her to Colin and when they got married they fought over who got to have him as their best man...she won. (yes Maps and Colin are one of my crack ships lol)

College

Damian actually convinced Jon to give college another try, which he does. They end up going to Star City University together (because it's neutral) and were even roommates. It was awkward for Jon at first since he was an older freshman but he's a people person so the age gap didn't stay weird for long. It did get tiring telling the freshman, "no, I can't buy you alcohol. I'm not trying to get expelled". He ends up getting a PhD in Biochemistry.

Damian had not been excited to continue his education until he managed to convince Jon to do it with him. He decided to go the Veterinary route because "people get on his nerves" and he wanted to save on his own vet bills (practical). When their majors took them in separate directions they still stayed as roommates. Damian and Jon didn't date in college so it did get under Damian's skin to see Jon date other people, but at the time he didn't really understand why (retrospect is 20/20).

Careers

Jon had been nervous about not following his parent's footsteps but with Damian's encouragement Jon goes into applied research and gets a job at S.T.A.R labs. He writes articles of his findings frequently, so it's not like the ol' writing genes went completely to waste. His parents do like to joke "where did we go wrong with you?" about his very different career path but it's all in jest, they are very proud of him.

Damian gets his veterinary medical degree but later decides to go back to school to get a general medical degree (he has a change of heart in his mid-30s). He is still primarily a Vet but he wanted to be able to help his family out as well since Alfred was gone and...so was Leslie now too. Damian also does a lot of extra research regarding alien biology on the side, he can't get a degree in it, but he's currently one of only a handful of people on Earth that would be able to operate on Jon or any other Kryptonian should they need it.

The Multiverse

Damian and Jon are a rare phenomena within the Multiverse; that are what is regarded as, "True Soulmates". Even on Earths that do not have both a Damian and Jon their fates are still intertwined. A world without both spells loneliness for the the other and more often than not, catastrophe for that world. (I'm actually in the process of writing a whole series about this. The first preview was posted earlier this month. Earth 3: Into the Owls Nest)

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

WIBTA for mentioning college again to my online friend, despite her telling me she knows it's not for her/not making a decision about it right now?

We both turned 18 this year, and are in our last years of highschool, and hopefully will both graduate this year! We met two years ago, and call and play games together sometimes, send each other selfies, share our silly crushes—she's the best girl friend I have right now and im very grateful for her.

Some info about me: both of my parents grew up very low income and from rough places and got full scholarships/a deal(like they pay for your college, and then you work for them after), because of this they're financially doing much better than both their families(my mother regularly sending money back home to pay for surgeries , bills, etc.). All of this is to say I've been raised with the mindset that higher education is my ticket to bettering my life, and I take school very seriously. I live in an area with a lot of immigrants, and all my friends do plan on going to college. Here is my disclaimer that I know college is *not* for everyone, and you do not need to go to college to be successful. But my friend is in the same stage in life as me, and I think it could be beneficial for her. She's not the best student at all(also home-schooled and does online schooling), but she's passing all her classes. We've talked about it before and I've asked if she's thought about college, and she said no because everyone in her family who went was just left with debt. Additionally she's not motivated in school now, so she doesn't think she would be motivated in college and would just end up as a "money dump". She's also talked about college with her mom, who said that she was only 18 and didn't need to make decisions about it right now. Right now her plan is to get a minimum wage job after high school(she's mentioned a fast food chain). I do think it would be good for her to get out of the house because right now she's basically stuck at home because her mom doesn't like going places. To my knowledge she has no friends irl, because of the homeschooling. Which is one of the reasons why I think college would be great for her--the chance to be with other people your own age.

We've only talked about college one time where I just asked, and after that I haven't mentioned it because I don't want to act like I have any say in her life decisions or make her feel bad. I've just been thinking about it lately because logically to me it seems like if she did want to go to college, now would be the best time because she would have the support of her online school where she has a counselor. Her mom didn't go to college and she isn't in regular contact with her dad.

For more context my family is middle class and I'm not sure what her financial situation is, but I do know comfortable but not deeply so. I would hate to bring up college if it's something she knows she cant afford( but long term I think going to college would help her make more money than any job she started now, which is why Im thinking about bringing it up again). I don't know if this is enough context, and I'm willing to provide more! I'll admit I'm not the smartest teen out there, so if you see any thing wrong with my thinking or think I'm a total asshole please tell me and I'll check my behavior. Im also keeping in mind her lack of motivation that she mentioned she had in school, and of course her mental health and wellbeing is of like. the utmost importance.

so, would I be the asshole for bringing up college with her again, despite knowing her situation? I really love this friend and the last thing I would want to do with her is be disrespectful and insensitive. thank you for very much, Tumblr! any advice you can give in the comments would be greatly appreciated.

What are these acronyms?

[xdaddysprincessxx]

Anna please tell me more about Madhouse Joel 🥰😚👀

Honestly he’s my fave 😍😍

Okay so this actually came from an ask @toxicanonymity had gotten, like months ago 🫢

I was gonna do a one shot but honestly it was becoming a monster so I’m breaking it up into different parts. A lil snippet under the cut

Madhouse Joel

Growing up, all the adults around you always pushed you to go to college. You were forever being told that you had to go get a higher education to get a good job and then you had to find a good husband and pop out a few children and be a housewife but also work and make money. Your future was planned out for you without anyone ever even asking what you wanted. That was until the summer you turned sixteen. You still aren’t even sure exactly what happened that day. It was mid July in your small southern town in the middle of Texas. You had ventured out to the big oak tree in your backyard, swinging on the old wooden swing your dad had put up for you when you were five. Lost in your own thoughts as your legs swung back and forth when you heard bloodcurdling screams and shouts before two gun shots went off. You lost both your parents that day. During the trial, your mothers lawyer claimed she lost her mind and went insane to explain why she shot your father in the chest. The judge sent her off to spend the rest of her life in a mental institution while your daddy rest in peace up on the hill about a few miles out from your house.

After being orphaned, your dads sister, Aunt Millie, came to live with you at your house. You always loved her, she was only ten years older than you, making her a guardian at only twenty six. She was the one who supported you when you decided to become a nurse.

It’s been a few years since you graduated college, earning your bachelor’s in nursing with a concentration in psychiatric mental health. You had hoped to work in the psych ward, after seeing how your mom was treated in the hospital, it made you want to make a change. You wanted to improve mental hospitals, so many of them are still very medieval in the practices they continue to do. You knew it would be hard to really make any kind of change but you could at least make life a little better for the patients you worked with.

It had actually been a struggle to find work in any healthcare position after graduation which is why you find yourself in Elmwood now. Elmwood is a small town located down in Texas, a few hours south from where you had gone to school. They aren’t joking when they say it’s a small town, it’s home to a little over 3,000 residents. A majority of those residents come from the patients who live in the Elmwood Sanitarium. The most violent, criminally insane people get sent here. And this is where you find yourself pulling up too on a sunny Monday morning. At least it was sunny before you took a left turn down a dirt road a couple miles back. The sanitarium is hidden back, deep in the woods. As you get closer, the old hospital looks daunting and ominous. It leaves the feeling of a deep pit in your stomach, an uncertainty that something bad is gonna happen that you just can’t shake. Making your way into the parking lot that sits to the side of the hospital, you’re able to find a spot close to the front. Putting your car in park, you grab your purse and take a deep breath in,

“You got this. They reached out to you. They offered you a job because you’re good at what you do,” breathe out, “let’s do this.”

You give yourself a little pep talk to try to help subside this horrible gut feeling you have

[anamericangirl]

I was homeschooled and interacted with adults (parent's friends, ect) all the time. I never saw people my own age cuz they were in school and I was not. My social skills were fucked up to no end to the point that I had to have therapy from a therapist who works with developmental disabilities, except I don't have developmental disabilities, I was just homeschooled.

Also, the average parent with a highschool/college education is not qualified to teach a kid academically beyond maybe 3rd or 4th grade, and isn't qualified to be their own child's teacher at all. My dad cannot help me with math or music specifically. I love the man and he's a math teacher, but he cannot teach me. I've never had a peer (I went to normal school til 3rd grade) who's parents could effectively teach them, It's a block for a lot of families.

I'm sorry that was your experience, but you're really an exception. It sounds like your parents didn't take advantage of the multiple resources available to homeschooling families to help with those exact issues.

Not everyone is homeschooled well. But that's not different in public school. There are plenty of public schooled children who aren't proficient in either socialization or academic subjects. There's an entire school in Baltimore where the entire graduating class, including honor roll students, can't do math and one graduate, who was an honor student, went on to join the military and a remedial math class was created just for that student in order for her to be able to stay in the military. For every homeschooled kid who doesn't end up being well socialized or proficient in an academic subject, I can point out a public schooled kid with the same problem.

If you look at the average results between homeschooled and public schooled kids, which there are a lot of because it's been measured a lot, homeschooled kids, on average, outperform public schooled kids both in socialization and academic skills. That doesn't mean every individual homeschooled child is going to be better educated and socialized than every public schooled child but on average they will be. You're the exception, not the rule.

"Also, the average parent with a highschool/college education is not qualified to teach a kid academically beyond maybe 3rd or 4th grade, and isn't qualified to be their own child's teacher at all."

And this statement is just completely and utterly false. No truth to it whatsoever. I don't know what you're basing your idea of "qualified" on but I can already tell it's nonsense. Parents are very qualified to teach their children academic subjects at any grade and if they are unable to teach a subject, there are theses things called co-ops, where homeschooled families get together and will teach each other's children in the subjects they are knowledgable in.

There are plenty of resources out there to help parents teach every single subject and the observed and measured results of homeschooling prove your assertion that parents aren't qualified to teach their children completely wrong.

Your problems aren't because you were homeschooled. They are because you weren't homeschooled well and your experience doesn't cancel out the vast majority of cases that show homeschooling is very effective.

[spacesapphi]

YIPPIEE time to bring in my ideas for Jas' parents and talk ab the kind of ppl they were when it comes to my writing! I haven't finished drawing them in my style yet, but I have picrews here as a very basic idea of what they would look like !

Their names are Amelia and Jason Anderson and I think ab them so much.... Ty to my moot moonferry for helping me figure out names for them!!

ANYWAYS more pieces of info below the cut for em :3

Amelia

- went to college as an education major, wanted to specifically work as an elementary school teacher!

- genuinely believes in the concept of magic (which TBF is real in Stardew) and will defend her belief to death

- she was so excited to have a daughter so she could dress her up in cute costumes and outfits, Jas was about 3 months old on her first Halloween and she had the most elaborate fairy costume on Earth

- Was put off by Jason's flirting at first bc she completely misunderstood his relationship with Shane and genuinely thought those two had a thing for a bit, even though they didn't (Def walked up to Shane like "hey just wanted to let you know your bf is hitting on me 🫤" "MY WHAT???")

- once she found out she was wrong, she finally reciprocated Jason's flirting and asked him out for their first date

- Took the film class she met Shane and Jason in initially because it was the only available class of a credit type she needed. She's happy she took it in the end

- Both of her parents passed, and like Shane, was raised by her aunt. That aunt passed away while she was in college though :(

- got into gridball to be a supportive gf to Jason at first, but soon became a huge enjoyer of it and the Tunnelers specifically!

- very much the level-headed and chill one in the relationship, she keeps Jason down to Earth

- loves storytelling, and was great at it. She had a genuine gift for doing different voices and making the books she read sound fun. Her students loved it

- like Jason, is fairly tall, standing at 5'10

- Jas looks JUST like her, just with Jason's hair color. Everything else is like an exact duplicate of Amelia though

- loves jewelry, specifically fun and funky earrings! She has a decent collection of them

- an amazing cook, she just generally has the knack for it! She can look at pretty much any dish and know what she needs to do to make it

Jason

- he was a visual arts major, like Shane! He genuinely wanted to be a movie producer one day

- He was also on a gridball scholarship like Shane, and while it was a big passion, he didn't plan on going pro with it

- a very goofy and funny guy, flirted with Amelia using the corniest pick up lines (they worked though so he considers it a win)

- TOTAL WIFE GUY he loves Amelia very much and would do anything for her

- also a total girldad, he was so excited to find out he was having a daughter, like running down the street cheering excited

- his family disowned him after he came out as bisexual, so he really doesn't have anyone. This fact also helped him bond a lot with Amelia and Shane,, given that all three of them didn't have much family in life.

- he absolutely has a motorcycle and would take Amelia on scenic drives for their dates. She thought it was so romantic!

- he is VERYYYY tall, like 6'4

- very close with a lot of the guys on the varsity gridball team. He's a total social butterfly and has an easy time connecting with a lot of people

- he helps Amelia get out of her shell, just like she helps him stay more grounded

- tried to play a love song for Amelia on guitar for one of their dates. He does not know how to play guitar. She thought it was cute anyways :)

- was very nervous the first time Marnie invited him and Amelia over to the ranch for Winter Star. Since she looks more "traditional" and is religious it reminded him of his family and he was initially worried she'd be like them. She thankfully is not and is a very understanding and accepting person (Shane had to go "dude she helped pay for my top surgery what the hell are you worried about")

- worst cook on earth, he pours cereal into a bowl and it lights on fire (/j but he's BAD at it)

- dormed with Shane in college, they got up to so much stupid antics while rooming together /pos

BONUS height chart for the trio. Shane is so short bro

[zipstidbits]

hi zip! 👋 i'm just really curious about how you got into astrophysics 👀 and what careers interest you in that field if you don't mind sharing ☺️ i just think it's so cool, but like, in the way of someone who knows absolutely nothing about astrophysics except that it's probably really hard and also rockets 😛🚀 have a lovely day! 💞

hi zesty!!!!! thanks so much for asking, i don't mind sharing at all :))))

how i got into astrophysics:

both my parents are second-generation americans so education/college was always The Big Goal growing up. this translated to my parents really emphasizing math and science skills and i got really interested in science this way. (the post-cold war american cultural emphasis on science as a whole probably contributed to this as well, lmao.)

i ended up momentarily ditching the science dream because i started struggling with math in middle school. i can do it, but my adhd means i struggle to hold numbers in my head (do mental math) and sometimes i can be slow/need to write things out more than others/make silly mistakes/and then get bogged down by imposter syndrome. this was like 10+ years ago so i had zero diagnoses and minimal support so i hopped onto the anti-math train.

i never stopped liking science though. i want to know everything and imo, science contains the answers to everything and is how we'll learn all that is unknown right now. once i hit high school and science class started having a shit ton more math i started to view math differently. it became the whole 'the enemy (math) of my enemy (the unknown) is my friend' thing. thankfully, math, when applied to physics concepts, makes more sense than when in a pure math class, so this became a very doable arrangement.

i also started consuming a lot more pop-science/science in the news around this time. neil degrasse tyson, the one astrophysics class i took in high school, and my dad who played a lot of star trek and pbs space videos on youtube to bond with me opened my mind to the most beautiful thing ever (space). i just think it's the coolest thing ever and the unknowns are so cool and i want to know what's going on up there so bad!!!!

this (and some spite*) led me to apply to college for a BS in physics. doing just physics and not astrophysics was sort of a safety net because i thought i'd really like particle physics too but it turns out quantum mechanics is evil and fucked up so i chose to stick with astrophysics as my concentration, lmao.

*i felt like a lot of my peers in high school assumed i couldn't do this because i wasn't naturally good at math/physics and i took a little more time and effort (i spent a lot of early mornings and afternoons in help sessions, lmao) and a part of me wanted to prove them wrong.

then, this past fall/winter, i applied for a bunch of astrophysics phd programs because i've thankfully got a BS degree and i've made my mind up on what i want to do in life (study/learn about space). i got rejected from 7 out of the 8 schools i applied to which was terrible in the moment but great now because i didn't really have to choose what program to accept, lmaoooooooooooo.

careers that interest me:

i very much enjoy teaching (i was a teaching assistant this year) and i would really like to continue it. i could probably do that in most research jobs by mentoring others in a lab/research setting but also being a professor sounds really cool and appealing to me since i could do research and traditional teaching, lmao.

i'm kind of willing to give most astrophysics research jobs a try, i think? the only line i'd really draw is i don't want to work anywhere near the american military-industrial complex for moral reasons

thank you again for asking zesty!!!! sorry for rambling so much and i hope you have a lovely day as well!!! <33333

[ghostcathedrals]

sports coach toji ://///

basketball

he's the chill coach; honestly worrisome how chill he is even at crucial times when they're trying to beat the quarter clocks. he's so composed even when the gap is widening (regardless if in favor of toji's team or not) that it's insulting to the other team's coach, as if he's belittling the game itself. like it's a practice game.

sports parents, esp. moms ..... i'm sure you know how they regard toji. single coach who spent a good sum of his money during his divorce court trial. anyway. they love him istg they watch the games both for their kids AND their coach

you're his favorite sports parents lmfaoooo

however, he's NOT chill during practices, especially after losing. now, toji's teams have far more winning streaks than losing, so he's usually stricter at the peak of the streaks or right after one loss. he's got that chill look with a sinisterly strict aura underneath.

"you're not yet good if you can't beat me" ⎯ is way too good it takes several practices for his team to catch up. well, good for him ⎯ two students from the male team, geto and gojo, were able to block his attempt for a two-point shot. AND NO NEPOTISM OK but maki's that grade school team point guard who's able to replicate his signature half-court shot. he got her a pair of basketball shoes for that.

megumi way too good for grade schooler but he also credits his vigor to practice on itadori yuuji.

toji too good there are offers being sent to him with higher pay and larger connections (which do attract him) but he said he'll stay because his son likes his school which is in the basic education of geto and gojo's university

toji likes the way you scream when you cheer and imagines if you'd sound just as loud when he (TOOT) you ;))

football

it's obvious hot under the sun on the field so yes he does take off his coach unform and practices with them with only either a muscle tee or a tank top (yes, i refuse to call it wife-beater). sometimes he forgets to take off his chain necklace even tho it's itchy bc god this man gets lazy at the weirdest times possible

oooooo everyone just loves rerouting to pass by the field (same) and then they'd take pictures so at some point college football got too famous bc of the hot coach

so toji's usually more of a verbal socratic coach. during cooldowns or breaks or warmups he makes sure that his players know how to think for themselves so that even if they're in the zone (which renders them on autopilot and when they're disturbed they lose focus abruptly). he has a way of making them calm down when they know what to do. the same method even helped them with their academics holy shit!

he's lazy when demonstrating but when he does omfg pls kick my face idk. important notes to consider are his agility and flexibility; strong physique in general; and quick thinking. even if he slows down to show them, he's still quick.

he does get frustrated bc we all get crankier when it's hot. he doesn't lash out on his players, he almost never did before, but he does lash out at home when megumi's not around lmfao.

and then one time your kid told you to watch his practice (for this your kid is assigned male at birth), so you did, and then you see his coach and all of a sudden your cute kid always sees you at the bleachers side, front row. parent perks.

the japan national team wants him to be the coach but he's like ..... maybe next time when my son joins your team

omfg if you do get together imagine the way he's flexible and he never gets to drain his stamina because it's overwhelming. i feel bad for you. it will be a tough time. i wouldn't just say in bed, but hehe. he'd fuck you anywhere as long as you say yes.

volleyball

ah yes, toji trained the best spiker-setter duo (that's the coach ukai in him) so now he's graduated two top players in the national team who will, sadly, go to separate teams after an intimacy problem which toji tries to be out of (who knows if the conflict was their breakup after college but ended up as teammates lmfao)

can we talk about how insane his spikes would be strong ones, insulting feints, and ooooo the cross court spike 😍😍 and his wrists!! the trajectory changes caused by his littlest techniques!

Thighs.

you take care of yuuji on behalf of his parents so now you're always seeing him and his very very very special friend and yuuji's equally ecstatic sister ⎯ megumi and nobara respectively. who knew megumi had such a hot father like???

toji being a volleyball player/coach makes a lot of sense ykwim he's got that service ace that no one has ever beaten until toji suddenly retired from playing and started coaching instead

home gym 😍

he's got that vacuum-sealed looking shirt every time he's coaching or at the games specifically. i think they put him on screen often for publicity honestly.

they ask him, "you're one of the best coaches of this generation, and the best graduating players were under your wing. what inspires you to keep being so great at your teaching?" and then he looks at the camera, and grins. "there's someone who watches during practice that divides my attention. i know they're watching right now." and then he winks

said person will not be able to walk the day after the winning games.

[theoceanoasis]

Soundrod one night stand in college that ends up with roddy getting sparked

Soundwave finds out when he sees the speedster sporting a big tank and eating an odd combination of food at a cafe at midnight

Hot Rod didn't know he was sparked. Not until he ended up passing out in class and had to be taken to the medbay. Where he found out he was sparked. He was terrified and didn't know what to do or if he was going to have to drop out of college.

Going back to his dorm he'd paced the floor trying to figure out what to do. In the end he decided the best option was adoption. He wasn't ready to be a single parent and go to school at the same time. Now wasn't a good time.

He only vaguely knew the sire. Since they've had a few classes in the past. He decided not to tell him because it would be easier and he wouldn't have to deal with Soundwave being mad at him for getting sparked. He already knew he'd want nothing to do with the sparkling.

The next few months were some of the worst. Being sparked and going to school was extremely difficult between the nausea, the pain and his growing belly. Which everyone stared at making him feel insecure and ugly.

He was far from home and still hadn't told his family. He didn't know how to tell his older brother that he was a fuck up and had gotten himself sparked. He knew he'd be angry and that he'd lose the money he was receiving to live on Campus, without having to get a job. His brother wanting him to focus on his education.

Then one day he'd been eating at his favorite spot. When Soundwave came up to him.

"It's mine isn't it."

He tried thinking up a lie, but decided against it.

"Yes."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't think you'd want it."

"Of course I'd want it. The sparkling is my responsibility too and you don't have to go through this alone."

He felt tears in his optics and he looked away.

"I'm giving it up for adoption."

"Is that what you want?"

He bit his lip tears in his optics as he shook his head.

"But I don't have a choice. If I keep it I can't stay in the dorms and my family is far away. I'll have to drop out of college and I can't do this alone."

"Then let me help you. I have an apartment with two extra rooms. We could raise our sparkling together. You won't be alone."

"But how are we going to afford it? What if we are both at school and need a babysitter?"

"My father was extremely wealthy and when he passed all of it went to me. I'm also in charge of his business and going to college because I want another degree. I'm living in my apartment because it's closer to school, but I have multiple houses and other real estate. Our sparkling will want for nothing."

He looked at Soundwave in shock as he gently cupped his cheek.

"You will want for nothing."

He nodded letting Soundwave wrap his arms around him as he felt relieved. Like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He was going to keep his sparkling and raise them with Soundwave.

For the first time since he found out. He felt optimistic about the future.

[angstbotfic]

affirmative action was systemic racism outlawing it is outlawing discriminative act which went against civil rights act. and no supreme court didnt condone discriminating against gay people against businesses. it said that if you are a creative you dont have to design something if it went against your religious beliefs this happened because those idiots decided to target a christian bakery for harassment. ( they rightfully refused to bake a cake with a lgbt design 1/2

2/2 because he felt it went against his religious beliefs they could have asked him to make a different cake without the design he would have made it for them ( I even recall that the baker even offered that ) its not like he said he doesnt serve gay people he just didnt want to put that design. they could have went somewhere else rather then targeting him ( I dont see them do this to a muslim bakery. or imagine someone going to a lgbt bakery and ask for a anti lgbt design cake

alright, my followers voted that i should answer this even though pretty much everything you have said is flat-out wrong.

i note that you didn't even address Roe. but let's put a pin in that.

so, affirmative action isn't systemic racism. it's an attempt to remedy systemic racism (though note that the chief beneficiaries have been white women). the only way you could believe that it is racism is if you believe that acting toward college populations that are more inclusive of people of color is racism against white people. which is absurd on its face.

that said, affirmative action is not a very good remedy for systemic racism. it intervenes on the wrong end, when people have already come out of deeply unequal schools with deeply unequal standardized tests and extracurriculars. when people have already come out of deeply unequal historically-redlined neighborhoods and deeply unequal family wealth directly caused by racialized dispossession. those folks don't tend to be helped much. but those problems are big and hard to solve. admitting a few more people in a fancy college is easy and makes people feel like they're making a difference to those big, hard problems. there's a good podcast from NPR about this, and it talks about how in admissions someplace like Harvard, it's a decision between Person A and Person B who both went to expensive private schools and their parents have boatloads of money. it's not doing a lot of heavy lifting for racial justice. but to the extent that elite institutions do give people advantages, gaining access to them is beneficial and should be more broadly available. a little bit of a solution is better than not trying, while we are working on those big, hard problems.

and abortion (here it is. told you it'd be back.) also intervenes on the wrong end. the right solution is comprehensive sex education and readily available contraception, so that people know how to, and have the resources to, not get pregnant. the right solution is also moving toward reproductive justice, so that people who do want kids are able to have them, such as a comprehensive social safety net. but those are big, hard problems. and letting people stop being pregnant if they don't want to be is a lot easier. a little bit of a solution is better than not trying, while we are working on those big, hard problems.

third, the 2023 SCOTUS decision was not about a cake at all. that was Masterpiece Cakeshop in 2018. this year's decision was 303 Creative, and it was a textbook case of "making up a guy to be mad at." a lady who made websites, who did not make wedding websites, sued to overturn a civil rights law because if she were to start making wedding websites, she'd have to make them for gay people. nobody had asked her to make one! because she didn't sell wedding websites! she had not in fact been harmed by that law at all, and the case should have immediately been dismissed for lack of standing, but a whole series of judges decided that didn't matter. so no, nobody harassed some Christian bakery.

in 303 Creative, the court essentially said that civil rights don't count if somebody can claim that discriminating against you is religious. it said that discrimination is free speech if you can say it's religious. the fundamental premise of that Civil Rights Act--you know, the one you waved around in your message--is that you can't deny access to public accommodations to somebody because you don't like the kind of person they are. if you're a business, you gotta serve everybody.

and you know, yeah, i think gay people should not be in a hurry to give any money to homophobes. until it's that the only gas station or restaurant or hotel for 100 miles won't serve you, and you're stranded in the middle of nowhere. until a doctor won't treat you.

and this court is just getting started on rolling back civil rights. Thomas laid it out in his concurrence in Dobbs. they're coming after Obergefell (same-sex marriage) and Lawrence (consenting adults can have whatever sex they want) and Griswold (birth control). i think some of the others are probably gunning for Loving (interracial marriage) and Brown (segregation). they're going to spend from now until 2054 undoing every bit of progress since 1954.

and Mitch McConnell is directly responsible for giving them the overwhelming majority that lets them do that. so if his imaginary sky man is real, he's gonna have a lot to answer for.

[kitsunefyuu]

What do you think about the theory that AFO used to be a university professor before becoming a full fledged villain? This is based of of 369 where you can see the University of Tokyo in the background and would explain how he met Ujiko + gotten a lot of access to quirk research + maybe vulnerable youths to recruit.

Theory of a University Professor AFO??? I don't believe in that but that sounds like a great AU idea for the future. Great way to recruit disillusioned college students because honestly he be GREAT at it and I enjoy if it is true.

Tho the reason I'm skeptical. Is one, he's wearing a business suit even in flashbacks talking about his rise as a villain meaning if anything he PROBABLY was a businessman. Likely a reflection of Japan's terrible work environments in Black Companies that work you basically to death.

Those things were known for making businessmen suicidal because they just barely have time to go home. Even in the manga in his first appearance to the protagonist, he's hunched over. Given the image of being hanged, I do love imagery.

(Chapter 88)

Ujiko is a pariah, meaning both the government and Science community made a joke out of him. It would NOT be hard for AFO to seek him out as he seems attracted to those with nowhere to go. Ujiko could not continue his research when he was seen as a joke everywhere.

But also if want ideas on vulnerable youth I actually reference the idea in my fanfic Treasure Vault. As he apparently controlled orphanages way before Tomura or Touya. So it likely used it for recruiting before settling on Tomura as his vessel.

It was even mentioned that he thought he felt 'guilty' because kept seeing the quirks in his dreams which frightened him. But it was Ujiko that helped him find out more specifics and also All for One is shown to make him attracted to quirks. Kind of similar to how Toga can't HELP her admiration for blood he can't help admiring quirks.

Now imagine if your parents found out you are interested in these FREAKS of nature during the time when everyone was terrified of these people suddenly having powers. Trying to force him to be normal, have a normal job, normal life, likely dyed his hair-

Until clearly something happened since AFO said Yoichi was his ONLY family meaning either they abandoned them or died. Likely in a quirk-related incident.

Basically, AFO is a self-made man but not one that ever got the 'benefit' of higher education he worked his ass off constantly like a businessman. If was in fact taking care of his little brother, professors don't get paid too much compared to crimes while being very demanding. That is just my idea on his back story of course.

Also I've rp a teacher!AFO so I'm nostalgic now.

[goth-oatmilk-latte]

a compilation of how my family members are treated vs how im treated

stepbrother: allowed to have bipolar disorder. allowed to literally be a deadbeat dad, but my parents will do anything for his child, financial or otherwise. allowed to quit all career obligations and do nothing for months and ask my parents for money to fund his life because he "needed a break from everything." had his ENTIRE education funded by both his parents plus my mother. has actually been bailed out of near jail time for old, unpaid parking tickets. he is 4 years older than me.

my stepsister: encouraged to pursue her dream, which is being a SAHM working an actual pyramid scheme job. was also told it was okay if she dropped out of college to get married and have kids, was basically encouraged to do so bc she was marrying someone our family presumed will take care of her. gets treated like a princess, gets everything she wants more or less bc shes pretty and has a kid. shes 2 years older than me.

my cousin: has quit every career ever. is piss poor mother. has on multiple occasions left kids at her parents to go party. her parents (my aunt and uncle) felt bad for her bc working was "too hard" so they gave her their house and pay for everything she does. everything she does is some insane celebration. shes not depressed, she will literally tell you she's lazy, enjoys being lazy, and doesnt want to do much bc its more fun to sit around and have other ppl do things for her. entire family encourages and fawn over every stupid thing she does. had 2 kids while unemployed and unmarried, given evrry resource possible. even my stepdad makes sure she doesnt need anything. same age as my stepbrother.

me: has graduated from two degrees and received no recognition, in fact my mother acted like my graduation from mortuary school was somehow a burden on her. was told "figure it out" about college, and then bitched at for every decision i made relating to it. no recognition for accomplishments period. finally got help for severe untreated mental illness, constantly told i just want attention, my own mother told our family i made up having an ED doe attention, and my mother threw my meds away one year when i came home from college on break bc she thought it was hard drugs. not even allowed to be mentally ill, literally taunted for showing symptoms. was taunted and made fun of for being visably depressed when my dad died. always told to figure it out myself. was told if i ever had a kid not to expect any kind of help. never praised. never celebrated. constantly nitpicked about everything. family was so uninterested in me that half of them never even paid attention to me being engaged, and then was literally told "we wish it was [name redacted] instead, he was a nice boy" even though the person they're referring to raped me, and I told them that. could probably never do a damn thing right or get any type of praise even if i cured cancer, AIDS, and abolished world poverty.

just wondering where they get the idea that im the least favorite and also why i want nothing to do with anyone. "we love everyone equally" YEAH? ARE YOU SURE ABOUT THAT??

[elshells]

Fellow monsters and maidens, it's the moment you've been waiting for...

Introducing your headliner, Enyo the tiefling bard!!

The gorgeous art is courtesy of @ghostcasket and @needlesslycryptic respectively! They were instrumental in helping me bring my beloved baby to life (please check them both out, their art is incredible)!

Instrumental... bard... heh. That's funny. I'm funny.

Enyo has been my D&D character for almost a year now (she was born July 15, 2022), and today is her Tumblr debut as my new profile picture! I'm in love, what about you?

Backstory Beneath The Cut!

* * *

Enyo was born as Elena Darendaal of the noble house of Cormyr, where her human parents and tiefling seneschal attempted to raise her as objectively as they had with her human sister. Unfortunately, she was forcibly removed from their custody at nine years old and tossed out onto the streets, lest her infernal nature tarnish her family's reputation.

Bitter and heartbroken, Elena fled to the village of Redspring, where she was taken in by a nomadic music troupe. During her travels with them, she discovered she had affinity for music, and through her passion as a performer and entertainer, she slowly began to heal and grow confident. She no longer concealed her horns or tucked away her tail, and instead entered every new city with Pride. She changed her name to Enyo in an effort to finally put her painful past behind her.

When she turned twelve, her troupe had raised the funds to send her to a prestigious magic school to receive an education. After getting enrolled, Enyo met her best friends, embarked on adventures that were both dangerous and thrilling, and graduated after narrowly avoiding death during an attack on the school.

From then on, she attended a bard college and promptly began her career as a traveling musician. Her style was loud, full of energy and heart, and it swept through the forgotten realms. Though she occasionally met up with her old troupe, she mostly remained a solo act, and one of the realm's most influential new artists as the creator of the music form that would come to be known as stone 'n' tumble.

Though she'd become wealthy and wildly successful, she still kept in touch will her old friends. Each one found accomplishment in their own right, as owners of a bakery, logging company, exotic dance club, assassin's guild—you name it. Shortly after her twentieth year, she kicked off one of her biggest tours yet and had the chance to reunite with her dear friends for the first time in years. Unbeknownst to her, however, she would get roped into a journey that involved raising their beloved mentor from the dead.

And then? The rest was history. Quite literally, as the campaign is still ongoing! Each session is wilder than the next, and while I'm not certain of Enyo's future, she's holding her own quite well in spite of her squishy bardness!

* * *

Fun Facts? I Got You!

Currently, Enyo is a Level 7 College of Lore Bard, with the Entertainer background who fights with her longsword, crossbow and a lot of magic (though she prefers to help from the side rather than fighting on the frontlines)!

She's proficient in the flute, lute, violin, and drums, but she will attempt any instrument that's put in front of her. If she's not good at it, she'll keep playing until she's perfect.

Her highest stat is Charisma at 18 and her lowest stat is Strength at 10 (I swear, nine times out of ten strength is my dump stat, no matter who my character is).

Enyo has expertise in both Insight and Performance, which means she's flashy, sharp, and takes a lot of pride in her strengths. However, she can also be overly guarded, quick to act, and hypocritical. Her witticisms also only land about half of the time, though that's the fault of me as the player 😅

She owes her life to the elven wizard of the party (quite literally, I almost lost her early on), which is the main reason why she agreed to take up adventuring again.

Her familiar is a black squirrel named Kate, who's name is a reference to Kate Bush. This is because she met the squirrel after getting jumpscared by its rustling in the bushes, and managed to befriend it after a very high animal handling check on my part.

Stone 'n' tumble, in case you didn't pick up on it, is a play on words for rock 'n' roll. The name was improvised on the spot by the DM, and I later added that the name came from a performance that caused in avalanche in a nearby ravine with its overwhelming volume and power.

Lastly, Enyo uses her fame to advocate for the rights of tieflings and other monstrous races that are punished and discriminated against for the crime of simply being who they are. She refuses to be ashamed of her appearance and encourages others to embrace themselves as well. However, no matter how hard she tries, she's never been able to run away from her roots, and a part of her hopes that she'll be able to find her parents and sister again during her travels. Whether she'll get the chance to in this campaign remains to be seen.

[quoteablebooks]

Genre: Fiction, Young Adult, Fantasy,

Rating: 4 out of 5

Content Warning: Death, Blood, Grief, Toxic relationship, Body horror, Self harm, Sexual content, Vomit, Death of parent

Summary:

Ninth House meets A Deadly Education in this gorgeous dark academia fantasy following a teen mage who must unravel the truth behind the secret society that may have been involved in her classmates’ deaths.

Emory might be a student at the prestigious Aldryn College for Lunar Magics, but her healing abilities have always been mediocre at best—until a treacherous night in the Dovermere sea caves leaves a group of her classmates dead and her as the only survivor. Now Emory is plagued by strange, impossible powers that no healer should possess.

Powers that would ruin her life if the wrong person were to discover them.

To gain control of these new abilities, Emory enlists the help of the school’s most reclusive student, Baz—a boy already well-versed in the deadly nature of darker magic, whose sister happened to be one of the drowned students and Emory’s best friend. Determined to find the truth behind the drownings and the cult-like secret society she’s convinced her classmates were involved in, Emory is faced with even more questions when the supposedly drowned students start washing ashore— alive —only for them each immediately to die horrible, magical deaths.

And Emory is not the only one seeking answers. When her new magic captures the society’s attention, she finds herself drawn into their world of privilege and power, all while wondering if the truth she’s searching for might lead her right back to Dovermere…to face the fate she was never meant to escape.

*Opinions*

This was an impulse purchase. I went into my local indie bookstore to get a little treat, but I didn’t have a specific book in mind. The cover caught my attention immediately, but after reading the description I thought this story would be right up my alley. Luckily, I was correct. While I can see why some people DNF’ed or gave this book a low rating, I enjoyed the world that Lacelle created and how the story slowly unfolded around Emory and Baz. If you are interested in a fast-paced novel, this will not be for you, but if you like world-building and character studies, I think you should give it a try. 

Curious Tides is told in duel POV between Emory Ainslef and Basil Brysden, both students at Aldryn College for Lunar Magics, who are returning after a tragedy that claimed Emory’s best friend and Basil’s sister, Rosemary Brysden, the spring before. Emory’s healing magic feels different and she is sure that there is a reason behind why her friend was in Dovermere in the first place, a cave that is known for being dangerous. However, as Emory digs deeper into the mystery, she finds out that she did not leave Dovermere unchanged and her magic that was mediocre before now is something extraordinary. She will need Baz’s help to keep her new magical powers secret while also learning how to infiltrate the secret society that Romie had become a part of. When students believed to be dead start showing up on the beach, it becomes harder for Emory to hide what she is and the time is running out to figure out what happened to Romie. Can Emory keep her forbidden magic hidden and her heart intact while Baz fights against his fear of losing control of his magic and ending up locked up like his father?

This is a very slow-moving book in terms of plot. There is a lot of information and exciting events at the very beginning of the novel and the last 150 pages are action-packed, but the middle of the novel is more character than plot-focused. That isn’t a problem for me because I enjoy character work, but I can see why a lot of people DNF’d the book. I loved taking time throughout the semester with Emory and Baz, learning how the magic in this world operated and the college itself. There is also the secondary plot of what is happening with the Eclipse-born magic users at the Institute, which I enjoyed being woven into everything that is happening with Emory. I enjoyed the plot at the heart of his novel, but this book would be a lot shorter if it had been the main focus of the novel.  

I am obsessed with Aldryn College for Lunar Magics, where we spend most of the time in this novel. Every description that was given for the different libraries, especially the Waxing Moon library, I was eating up with a spoon. The different skills that each moon phase gave the magic users were rich and descriptive. It is obvious that Lacelle put a lot of thought into this world and how every part of it operated. The creation story with the different phases of the moon and the Shadow along with the tale of The Drowned Gods, all of it made the world feel very real and rich. I would have liked to see more of the world outside of the school, but with so much already happening in the novel it would have been a bit too much. 

Emory is an interesting main character because she starts as a typical YA protagonist, a wallflower who finds out that she is the specialist girl to ever special. I think what stops her from being annoying is her determination to find out what happened to Romie and do what she needs to do to find out. There is a lot of guilt and doubt that is portrayed well in my opinion. Emory transforms from a girl who is always in her best friend's shadow to learning how to deal with people wanting something from her, for better or worse. While I liked her as a character, I found Baz a lot more interesting in complex. 

Basil Brysden is the only member of the Elipse House after the other student, Kai, collapsed the semester before. Baz has been shunned because of his Elipse magic since he was a child, but even more so when his father Collapsed and killed three other people when it happened. Since then, Baz has been scared to use his magic and is interested in becoming a professor to help other Elipse-born live without the fear of Collapsing. Throughout the novel, however, Baz goes from being a scared and timid man into someone taking control of his power and his life. While Emory’s POV was usually pushing the plot forward, I enjoyed every time I was in Baz’s POV. 

The romance in this novel is interesting because I wouldn’t consider it a love triangle because Emory very clearly wants Kierian, but what is going on between her and Baz is interesting and complex. While Kierian’s romance took the beats that you would expect from it and a mysterious man in a mysterious society, I did enjoy experiencing the excitement of that relationship with Emory. However, her relationship with Baz went from using him to teaching her, then being friends, then possibly being more and I am not sure if I want them to end up together or not. While I would love Baz and Emory to be together, I really enjoy the dynamic between Baz and Kai. As the series continues it will be interesting to see how this complex web works out in the end. 

Overall, I really enjoyed my time with this novel, but I can see how it might not be for everyone. You need to expect to take the time to settle into the world and the characters or you will find this slow-paced and boring. With how this novel ended I will especially be picking up the second novel to see where Lacelle takes this story. A 4 star read.