#and there's a textbook that's part of the (already made) curriculum and it has a bunch of different reading passges and short stories

[walkerrenee]

.

[mgdares]

Why don’t I know more about my history?

Cass Runkles 5/7/23

As a person of Native American descent, I often find myself wondering why I don't know more about my ancestors. I know that they have an amazing and complicated history, but it seems like I know so little about them and their culture. The history books in schools fail to inform students about Native Americans in the present day. My Native American ancestors have been subjected to the harsh realities of colonization, displacement, and discrimination, making it difficult for those living today to truly understand the complexities of their culture and history.

Native American history is too often forgotten in history books, with the majority of the stories about their culture and way of life ending around the 1890s. The 1890s marked a time when the United States government was actively taking away Native American lands and forcibly relocating Indigenous people to new reservations. This period of history, known as the Indian Wars, saw a significant decline in the population of Native Americans. The lack of inclusion of Native American history in history books is a glaring omission that continues today. Joshua Jeffery explains in an article from Education Week that, “Many non-Native students assume Native people must have died off since they largely disappear from textbook narratives after the 1890s” (Jeffery 8). As a result, Native Americans are often left out of conversations in regard to American history and important events that shaped the country. This lack of representation not only perpetuates the idea that Native Americans are not part of the American story, but it also fails to recognize their contributions to the country. It is essential that we make an effort to include Native American history in the curriculum to ensure that their culture is recognized and celebrated.

The lack of access to resources and educational materials about Native American history and culture can make it difficult to understand where I come from. My mother and father told me that my tan skin came from my Native American ancestors. Growing up, I felt proud of this connection to my family's history. It made me feel like I had a unique identity and sense of belonging. When I was in the sixth grade I remember reading in history class about the Trail of Tears where approximately 60,000 Cherokees, Chickasaws, and Muscogees were displaced by the United States government from 1830 to 1850. I remember asking my history teacher at the end of the chapter why we weren't learning more about the Native Americans and their culture and he told me we already did. I replied, "No, we just learned about how they died. We never learned about them." And he said once again that we did and ended the conversation there. I was frustrated and felt like my voice wasn't being heard. I never understood why my teacher didn't take the time to explore the cultures of the Native Americans, instead of just focusing on their deaths. It felt like their story was incomplete. I never ended up learning more about my cultural background in my twelve years of education here in the United States, and now have to do my own personal research into it years later. Even now, as an adult writing this research paper, I am still having trouble trying to put the pieces of my history together. This lack of representation has had a real impact on me. I feel like my experiences and culture were invalidated in the classroom. I'm still learning to be proud of my heritage and to understand the complexities of my identity to this day.

Native American tribes and languages have been forced to assimilate into the larger American culture, erasing a great deal of the unique features that make up their identity. In “Native Nations Face the Loss of Land and Traditions (U.S. National Park Service)”, written by Eric Hemenway, he wrote that, “To avoid removal, “uncivilized” tribal communities showed “progress” by becoming Christian: changing their appearance, attending western schools, and abandoning traditional hunting practices in favor of farming” (Hemenway 4). Consequently, many Native American tribes were stripped of their traditions, culture, and heritage. This forced assimilation into Western culture caused great suffering for many Native American tribes, and the effects are still felt today. This is similar to a tree being uprooted, with its branches and leaves scattered in the wind and never again coming together as a cohesive whole. This is the trauma inflicted on Native American tribes, and the pain of the experiences still reverberates through generations.

Native American tribes have not been given the recognition they deserve by the United States government, making it difficult for them to gain access to the resources they need to preserve their history and culture. “The Blackfeet Nation Has Long, Epic History" by Rick and Susie Graetz states that “With a gradually shrinking territory and the disappearance of the bison, the Blackfeet became impoverished. In 1888, left with no other choices, these once proud people were forced to sign the so-called ‘Sweet Grass Hills Treaty’... Once again though, in 1896, the U.S. government went back on their word as they forced the tribe to cede the mountain lands that would become part of the national park for $1.5 million” (Graetz 7). There have been deals like this between Native Americans and the United States government throughout history where the United States government constantly went back on their word. This has created a deep mistrust among Native Americans and has led to a long history of broken promises and treaties. Native American tribes have been continually disadvantaged and mistreated by the United States government, resulting in a legacy of trauma and oppression. As a result of this mistreatment, years of history were manipulated and erased, leaving future generations of these great tribes in a state of confusion. This legacy of oppression and injustice has had a profound impact on the culture and identity of Native American tribes. 

As a Native American descendant, I often wonder why I know so little about my ancestors. Native American history is frequently omitted in textbooks, with most descriptions concerning their way of life ending around the 1890s. Many non-Native pupils assume Native people died out since they are no longer included in textbooks after the 1890s. Due to a shortage of resources and instructional materials concerning Native American history and culture, it might be difficult to grasp where I came from. My experiences and culture felt devalued in the classroom. I'm still trying to figure out how to be proud of my history while still navigating the nuances of my identity to this day. Many Native American tribes suffered greatly as a result of their forced integration into Western society, and the impacts are still felt today. Native American tribes have not received the respect they deserve from the United States government, making it difficult for them to acquire access to the resources required to maintain their history and culture. Years of history have been altered and destroyed as a result of this cruelty, leaving future generations of these ancient tribes befuddled. This heritage of tyranny and injustice has had a significant influence on Native American tribes' culture and identity.

Work Cited

Graetz, Rick and Susie. “The Blackfeet Nation Has Long, Epic History.” The Blackfeet Nation Has Long, Epic History, www.umt.edu/this-is-montana/columns/stories/blackfeet.php. Accessed 2 May 2023. 

Hemenway, Eric. “Native Nations Face the Loss of Land and Traditions (U.S. National Park Service).” National Parks Service, 13 Sept. 2022, www.nps.gov/articles/negotiating-identity.htm. 

Jeffery, Joshua Ward. “Why Do Native People Disappear from Textbooks after the 1890s? (Opinion).” Education Week, 20 Aug. 2021, www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/opinion-why-do-native-people-disappear-from-textbooks-after-the-1890s/2021/08. 

[diogenescamus]

@princesideprince @pet-genius

Potions

Eh, I don't think Snape was the best at Potions simply because it was the only subject you could actively practice during the holidays that didn't need to involve spells so the Ministry wouldn't notice you were doing it. Potions still require some spellwork at the end to activate the Potion. Potions has the style of cooking but the substance of chemistry. So if anything, unless they have the safety precautions placed beforehand, most Wizarding parents wouldn't let their underage kids meddle with Potions without very strict supervision because they know beforehand how dangerous a messed up Potion could lead to and they very much would like to avoid their kid causing their house to burn down because of an unsupervised Potions accident, thank you very much. A lot of Muggleborn students in the summer could practice at least the physical part of their skills in Potion making by practicing their knifework and ingredient preparation skills with help from their Muggle parents.

They can also reread their old Potions textbook to stay on top of theory. In fact, this is doubly so because as we know it, Hogwarts students have only had to buy 2 Potions textbooks throughout their 7 years of learning in Hogwarts; one being the main textbook that they study throughout First Year to Fifth Year in preparation for their OWLs (Magical Drafts and Potions) and the other being the textbook that they study throughout Sixth Year and Seventh Year for those who are pursuing a NEWTs in Potions (Advanced Potion-Making). There's of course the mandatory supplementary textbook One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi but that's of course their Herbology textbook as well. There may be other supplementary Potions books outside the curriculum that may go into more detail in one topic or the other but the main Potions textbooks that Hogwarts requires are already dense enough that any student willing to put in the work can do really well in Potions as long as they study. So yeah, for that rare studious Muggleborn student who wants to read ahead the Potions theory for their next year during the summer, they can do so easily with the Potions textbook that they bought in their First Year.

Snape was the best at not only Potions but plenty of other subjects like DADA and Charms because he was a certified genius, a magical Nikola Tesla or Robert Oppenheimer when it came to brilliance and talent in magic. His impoverished Muggle background did not really impede his education, for the most part. Teenage Snape was a genius among prodigies, improving upon Potions recipes and even inventing several spells, with Spell Invention being a dangerous and advanced subject that requires a deep understanding and control of magic. It's something that even adult wizards and witches who were twice the age that teenage Snape was like Pandora Lovegood have lost their lives because of Spell Invention accidents. If you took him away from his hellish teaching schedule and gave him free reign to practice, with just a few years or decades, Snape could easily get up there with the likes of geniuses like Dumbledore, Voldemort, and Grindelwald.

---------------

The Trace

I agree that the Trace does seem to apply more specifically to Muggleborn students than students from wizarding families although that could also be mostly because of the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy.

The Ministry generally ignored when magic was used by underage wizards and witches of wizarding families, expecting their parents to discipline them, essentially made it useless at monitoring their use of magic. It could be argued, as a result of this, that children born into wizarding households had more legal "wiggle-room" when breaking the restriction for underage wizardry than half-bloods living with all Muggle relations (like Harry) and Muggle-borns. It could also be argued that because underage wizards and witches of wizarding families live exclusively among other wizards and witches and not Muggles, that there's no risk of the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy ever being broken, and magic will always be used in a wizarding household, so an adult wizard parent is able to quickly fix any mess. For underage wizards living with all Muggle relations or around primarily Muggles, the monitoring of underage magic with the Trace is more strict because of the increased risk of possible infractions of the International Wizarding Statute of Wizarding Secrecy and there may not always be an adult wizard there who could quickly fix any magical problem that arised when an underage wizard engaged in magic outside of Hogwarts, especially in an area populated primarily by Muggles.

However, while there is a pragmatic rationale behind why the Trace affects Muggleborn students more than wizarding students from wizarding families, it does not take away from the fact that this loophole allows halfblood and pureblood students from wizarding families the ability and opportunities to practice their spells and so forth over the summer, an advantage that other wizarding students with Muggle families does not share.

-------------------

The Actual Wizarding Born Privilege

The actual distinct privilege that underage wizards from wizarding families have over Muggleborn students and students from Muggle backgrounds is stuff of cultural knowledge and social capital, for example, Quidditch.

Indeed, it’s no mistake that James - and in the modern era, Draco - is talented on a broom.  It’s no mistake that Harry, as a toddler, is given a broom.  It’s no mistake that the Weasley family are all talented with broom in hand, their prowess at Quidditch undeniable, helped in no small part by the fact that they could practice Quidditch frequently and had enough people to practice and play Quidditch in teams.  It’s no mistake then, that Snape picks up a broom and fails - some will claim it’s talent, but we see him mastering flight as an adult…it feels to me that this is a very clear indication that Snape wasn’t given the same opportunities.  He got to the school, but he didn’t have the extra-curricular assistance that others had the benefit of.  

I think that's one example of an advantage that wizarding born students from wizarding families had over students of Muggle backgrounds like Snape and other Muggleborn students.

Snape is of the grammar school era.  Snape is the kid who comes from the sink estate who passes his 11+ entrance exam against all odds.  When he reaches the school, where he’s fairly earned his place on intellectual merit (or in Hogwarts’ case, magical ability), he sticks out like a sore thumb.  He has the aptitude, but not the social background.

It’s why the depiction of James is equally important.  He’s similar to Snape in his magical ability - but he’s got the background that Snape hasn’t.  He’s wealthy, pampered, entitled.  James meets Snape and simply can’t comprehend why such a boy is also at the same school - remember, he meets Sirius at the same time, who also states that he’s from a Slytherin background and James’ reaction isn’t quite the same as it is with Snape.  “Blimey, and I thought you were all right.”  (or similar)  James had already made that value judgement; he’d already recognised that Sirius is from a similar sort of background.

When their journeys start, both boys are brimming with confidence (remember how Harry saw Snape by the river as cutting an impressive figure), but it doesn’t take long for James to be the boy who is regarded as popular, sporty, talented etc whilst Snape visibly wilts.  He’s twitchy, anxious, an oddball…as the text says, it’s as if he’s a plant kept in the dark.

There is a very important parallel that James and Sirius don’t accept Severus because Severus’ background makes him other - just as the Death Eaters and their ilk don’t accept Lily because Lily’s bloodline makes her other.

This is why it is important to focus on the fact that James never hated Snape because he came from a muggle background or to a certain extent that Snape was more intellectually and magically gifted than James. James Potter didn’t like Snape because he was dirt poor. The same prejudice that other pureblood families like the Malfoys have is the exact same prejudice that James has. It is simply just another facet to the same problem.

Snape succeeds against the odds - and what’s wholly tragic about the entire thing is that he succeeds against the odds because he’s a tool in the war.  He doesn’t become a professor, or a housemaster, or headmaster on merit (even though he had the talent, skills, and potential nonetheless).  He succeeds because he’s being used.  

Snape was best at potions because it was the only subject you could actively practice during the holidays that didn't need to involve spells so the ministry wouldn't notice you were doing it.

[fw00shy]

What Happens After Summer is Up to You

Harry/Draco | T | 1.6k | post-war summer at hogwarts, a little story about letting things go and not making a big fuss over it, fluff honestly but not too sweet | ao3 link

for @drarrymicrofic: what if he wants ken not barbie. ty @vukovich for the beta 💙

(i)

Draco returned to Hogwarts the year after the war for the same reason that got him into this mess in the first place: because he was told to. "Keep your head down and count yourself lucky," his father had said, and Draco packed his bags the same as he did every year, having learned nothing about making his own decisions.

That would come later.

"Some people need a little more help in life than others," Pansy said with a pitying pat of his bedcovers as she watched him pack.

Pansy more than passed her NEWTs with the help of Polyjuice and a morally compromised Ravenclaw. A two-pm Portkey to Zanzibar waited for her in celebration of her well-deserved accomplishments.

Draco picked up an engraved wooden case and opened it to reveal his father's Snitch, the one from the year Lucius had won the House Cup. Draco packed it with him every year as a good luck charm, but looking at it now brought upon a wave of unease.

"Who else is going?" Draco asked Pansy. She was wearing a bruise-purple miniskirt and black lipstick that drained her complexion as gaunt as a Thestral. Draco noted this with petty satisfaction.

Pansy flopped back on Draco's bed. "I dunno. Everyone, I suppose. Daphne, of course. Blaise. Theo. Greg, maybe? But he says he might not have the money, which I think is for the best really — he's just been so sad, probably wants some time alone, to, you know, process — though Blaise said he'd cover for him…" Pansy sat back up. "Draky baby, you aren't sad about missing out, are you?"

Draco snapped down the lid to the Snitch and stashed it in his trunk. "Don't call me that."

"Don't be like that," Pansy cooed. She got off the bed and flounced toward him, her every step light with barely constrained exuberance. "You know it won't be the same without you. I'll owl you a nice prezzy, alright? Look at me."

Pansy's eyes were black and glittering, her mouth hardened in a crocodile smile. She looked like she was ready to move on with her life, which she might as well go and do. Nobody was stopping her, anyway.

(ii)

Hogwarts held preparatory courses over the summer for Muggleborns, and the newly anointed Headmistress singlehandedly taught them all. There were twelve students in total across the years, and the terms of Draco's probation stated that he was to aid in their education.

"Studying over the summer… bet this is Granger's idea of fun," Draco grumbled under his breath over dinner the first week.

"Mine, actually," Potter said around a mouthful of peas. "She helped write the curriculum, but then she scored an internship at the Ministry."

They were sitting at the teacher's table, which meant Draco could talk to Potter without having to meet his eye. As such, they'd spoken a few times, though primarily for passing the butter and pepper and whatnot. (Their fingers brushed on occasion. Though never on purpose, of course.)

"I'm happy for her," Harry said.

"It's a good curriculum." Draco coughed. Dear Circe, complimenting Granger… did he have no filter?

(iii)

Teaching Quidditch to ten-year-olds was Draco's least favourite part of his sentence. You'd think sharing his joy of flying would be his only solace in a soulless summer cleaning up after children barely coordinated enough to wipe their own arses, and you would be horribly, disgustingly wrong. Turns out most Muggle-raised children had a healthy dose of vertigo that often manifested into projectile vomiting from a metre up.

"I just don't get it," Potter said as he Scourgified puke from Draco's hair for the third time that afternoon. Their students were long gone, taken off to the kitchens after one plummeted to the ground in a cannonball of chunder.

"Of course you don't," Draco huffed. Not just anyone could fly like Harry Potter, the youngest Seeker in a century despite never setting foot on a pitch before Hogwarts. "Like any normal dunce can be Harry Potter. You're stupid to think anyone has it as easy as you."

Potter threw a fist at Draco's eye. Draco returned it to Potter's chest, shoving Potter down to the ground. It felt good to hurt, so good that he nearly whined in disappointment when Potter froze and dropped his fist mid-air.

"That was a compliment," Potter said, his face cracked open with bewilderment. "You — God, Malfoy. You mess me up." He got up from the ground, his knees grass-stained and his face bruised with mud. Draco watched the anger bloom red and splotchy over Potter's cheeks and tried not to cower when Potter drew his wand. Was this what Voldemort saw before he died?

Potter muttered something unintelligible, and Draco felt the pain siphoning away from his body. He was light all over, as though Potter had managed to take away all his wounds, even the ones within him, so that there was nothing to Draco but air.

Draco watched Potter disappear back into the castle before standing. He walked through the halls in a daze until he ran into the Headmistress, who told him to clean up before he set a bad example for the incoming First-Years. It wasn't until he was freshly showered and pulling on his robes again that he realised that his Dark Mark was gone.

(iv)

They started tossing around a Quaffle in the late afternoons after Quidditch class. They were already in their leathers, and saying yes was as easy as lifting off the ground. Throwing around a Quaffle was loads harder than chasing after a Snitch, but neither were practised at it, which helped, as they dove after missed catches with all the vigour of a game-ending Snitch. They flew until the daylight ran out and their breaths with it, sweaty and exhausted and so late into dinner that they were sent to the kitchens to scavenge leftovers.

It was a Sunday afternoon in mid-August when Pansy's promised owl brought Draco a box of chocolates; too many for Draco to eat alone, so it was only sensible for him to share as he would have with Greg or Vince in the past. He walked the long corridor to Potter's door and knocked, chocolates in hand.

It was a terrible mistake. Potter wore only boxers, his glasses askew and his hair still sleep-rumpled (despite it being The Afternoon!). Draco stumbled back as though slapped. Potter honestly had no right being so effortlessly attractive on top of everything else he had going for him. It was like seeing Dumbledore in his sleeping hat, or maybe the first time Draco caught Pansy on the toilet and realised that girls pooped: all wrong, completely wrong, he really ought to go, perhaps another time —

Potter dragged him inside with only the gentlest roll of his eyes.

The inside of Potter's room was as cosy as Mother's cashmere jumper, only uglier (the wrong colours). Potter ate an embarrassing number of chocolates while proclaiming, "I dunno where it all goes, honest; can't gain a stone," and Draco was so disgusted by the utter unfairness of life that he fell asleep over Potter's bed and had to sneak back to his own room in the wee hours of the morning.

(v)

It wasn't meant to be an open invitation. But Potter followed Draco all the way back to his room after dinner the next day, and Draco didn't manage to shut the door on him in time.

Potter looked around, his head swivelling around comically, like an owl. And then his eyes narrowed on Lucius's unopened letters piled high on Draco's desk.

"What's in them?"

"Dunno," Draco said. "Directives, if I had to guess. Rather pointless, considering I'm stuck under McGonagall's iron fist until the summer's out." Potter opened one anyway, and Draco watched anger carve lines between his brows with some bemusement. Was this what it was like to have Harry Potter on his side? It was a bit like hanging around a guard crup, or maybe a guard dragon.

Potter burned the letter. He burned them all before returning to his room.

Draco sat on his bed and stared at the scorched top of his desk. He wasn't sure how he felt about it all being gone. Part of him was relieved, sure, but mostly the loss numbed his chest through.

Then Draco remembered his father's Snitch.

Draco summoned the Snitch to him, and it burst forth from the bottom of his trunk amid a cacophony of torn textbooks and scattered winter cloaks. Draco caught the box in his right hand and tucked it under him before gingerly stepping over the mess to his window, where he took out the Snitch and let it go. And then all that was left of Lucius in Draco's room was Draco himself.

The future unfolded before him, cold and barren to the ends of the earth. What was he supposed to do now?

(vi)

In the last week of summer, Potter told Draco to call him Harry, and then he asked Draco what he was going to do with his life.

Draco said, "I dunno. Get a job at the Ministry. Marry Pansy, I suppose. And you with Ginny, yeah?"

"Yeah," Harry said and took Draco's face into his hands and kissed him.

Was this it? Was this what all those miserable years surmounted to? This crystalline moment, the one that Draco waited for his whole life. And now it took him by surprise.

Harry's lips were very chapped, though his mouth held the sweet promise of fresh grass and sunshine. Whatever that meant. Draco kissed him back. And then he said it wasn't fair that Harry was so good at kissing as he was at everything else, honestly — sunshine? Was there anything Harry struggled at? Because he was so bloody perfect that it made Draco want to stomp on his face and throw up all over him.

"You're the only person in the world who thinks I'm perfect," Harry said and kissed him again.

(vi)

What happened after summer is up to you. 💙

Read on AO3

[from-seas-to-skies]

The Teacher / Bakugou x Reader ♕︎

warnings: NSFW, teacher/student relationship, oral sex, spitting, sir kink, slut shaming, somewhat brat taming, age difference, unprotected sex

words: 5,772

(a/n): Bakugou is 30 in this; reader is younger (college age)

-

Tick, tock. Tick, tock.

One, two, three, four… How long was it going to take until class ended again?

Looking up from your notebook, you stare up at the clock, the large, monotonous face seemingly glaring straight back at you. You don’t know how it happens, but time always moves so slow when it comes to your calculus class. Frankly, you’d rather ditch the class altogether, but if you wanted to graduate from college, you had to pass. Curse stupid curriculums and all that shit.

However, despite absolutely dreading having to stare at numbers for a solid hour and a half, there is a plus side to taking this dreaded class. In fact, it’s the very reason why you signed up for it in the first place. You’ve heard so many wonderful things about it, all from girls and guys alike, and you knew you had to see it up close and personal – rather, you had to see him.

Professor Bakugou.

Age thirty, drives a Land Rover, and, most importantly, single.

He’s about as dreamy as they come; a complete and utter Dreamboat Annie, absolutely huge in both height and stature, intelligent, and handsome. He’s only been a professor for a few years, but it’s been made apparent to the school that he’s worth it. Not only are his teaching methods and lectures incredible, but he’s turned out some of the highest grades your college has even seen. That itself is impress, and, combined with the hype of how hot he is, it’s no wonder people rush to take his classes.

So, when it came time for class schedules to come out, you were excited, needless to say. Despite having a general disliking to math in the first place, you figured this one guy could be what it takes to turn that idea around. Oh, but that was before you first laid your eyes on him.

Shit, you had heard that he was attractive – godly, even – but this? You weren’t expecting this. His biceps alone could crack a watermelon, and his sharp jawline could easily cut diamonds. It sounds cliché, that’s true, but you have no other way of putting it. Words did not do this man any justice.

At first, his constant yelling and crude demeanor were a total turn off. Professor Bakugou was essentially the teacher version of Gordon Ramsay, and you weren’t entirely sure if you liked that or not. However, as time continued, you actually grew accustomed to it. In fact, if he didn’t yell at least once during the class, you’d immediately figured he was having a bad day.

That’s when the thoughts began. Call it infatuation, a mindless crush, whatever, but you wanted Professor Bakugou. Your eyes soon began to watch his large hands flex while he wrote on the board rather than the content itself. You’d watch his forearms flex while he turned the page in his textbook, prominent veins inviting you for a better look. How you longed to touch him, to grab his sturdy shoulders or pull his wild hair. He always looked so good, clothes tailored to fit his muscular frame perfectly.

You’d fantasize about the most random of scenarios, each of them usually ending up with him bending you over his desk at the front of the room. You liked colder days the best, especially since Professor Bakugou had the habit of wearing form-fitting sweaters that outlined his massive pecs or the swell of his arms. You wanted to make him feel better, to sit underneath the desk and suck him off while he taught the rest of the class. Those narrow hips had to be strong, and you’d be damned if you never got to experience their power at least once.

It’s almost as if Professor Bakugou had cast a spell over all of his students. Nearly all of them gushed about how great he was; and, if you were in the proper company, they exchanged fantasies or proclamations about how fucking gorgeous he was. You’d usually grow bitter at these types of conversations. It was a crush, for fuck’s sake. There was no need to get all pouty like some problematic schoolgirl.

Still, the thoughts wouldn’t go away, not when he taught, not when he yelled. His booming voice became a part of your wicked fantasies, wondering how it’d sound to hear him grunting your name or commanding you to spread his legs for him. Again and again, you told yourself that it was fine, that people develop crushes on their teachers all the time. It was only in the dead of night that you’d have your hand stuffed down your pants and mouth moaning his name into a pillow was when you regretted it. It was a phase, nothing more.

And yet, over two months into the semester, and these thoughts still won’t go away. The constant ticking of the clock brings you back down to Earth, your eyes focusing on the problems before you. Swallowing thickly, you loosen your hand, now just noticing how hard you’ve begun to clench your pencil. Your insides feel oddly warm, that pleasant, heavy feeling sitting behind your belly button. Dammit, you mentally curse, this is not the time to be getting distracted.

Tick, tock. Tick, tock.

If only class could end sooner.

“Right,” Professor Bakugou suddenly says from his desk, “this Friday, I’m holding a study session for the upcoming exam on Monday. There’s only going to be a limited number of seats available, so if you wanna join, here’s your chance.” With his words, he holds a blank sheet of notebook paper up, a rather bored expression on his face.

He must be tired, you think, unconsciously biting your bottom lip. But why?

Around you, students shuffle to the front of the class, waiting for a chance to scribble their names onto the paper. Some seem a bit more excited than others, obviously arching their backs or flipping their hair over their shoulders. With a scoff, you look back down to your work. Did they really think they could catch his attention like that? Yeah, so he doesn’t show off a ring on his finger, but it’s pretty likely that he has people throwing themselves at him all the time. Besides, Professor Bakugou is a strict guy; there’s no way he’d engage in a relationship with a student.

You really shouldn’t be getting your hopes up. It’s pointless to pine after your teacher like that, especially with the risks that come along with getting involved with each other. Still, you can’t help but feel bitter. Professor Bakugou is a god that walks amongst men, so how could you not want somebody like him?

“Alright, that’s all for today. Class dismissed,” Professor Bakugou calls out. Dammit, you spaced out again. Maybe you should get that checked out?

With a sigh, you stuff your belongings into your backpack and draw to a stand. You wish it would be spring already; trudging through snow and ice is never fun, and the fact that your dorm is basically on the other side of campus makes it even more rough. Pulling your coat on and slinging your backpack over your shoulders, you make way towards the classroom door, completely unaware of a set of eyes watching your every move.

-

“Man, this is impossible,” your best friend, Ashido Mina, groans. “I’m going to bomb this exam for sure!” Sprawled out on her stomach, she squirms on the floor, her face scrunching with her displeasure.

You, on the other hand, sit cross-legged across from her. Notebooks and math textbooks surround the two of you, your laptop and calculator at the ready. Bags of chips and pretzels sit to the side, along with abandoned coffee cups and empty water bottles. Professor Bakugou’s exams were notorious for being hard, but at the same time, if you payed attention in class and studied, you’d succeed. The thing is, though, that neither you nor Mina are the best when it comes to math.

“I thought you went to his study session?” you ask, glancing up from your own notebook.

Flashing you a pout, Mina nervously runs a hand through her fluffy hair. “Well, yeah, but you know how it goes! A secluded area with Professor Bakugou! It’s like a dream come true! It was hard to focus when he’s leaning over your shoulder like that…”

Rolling your eyes, you puff in amusement. “Really? Mina, you know what will happen if you fail this test.”

“Yeah, yeah, but come on! You can’t blame me! You would’ve done the exact same thing!”

“I don’t think so.”

“Oh yes you would’ve!” Mina exclaims, pointing an accusing finger your way. “Don’t pretend like you don’t ogle Professor Bakugou during class! He’s one hell of a hunk, isn’t he? I never knew college professors could be so hot!” she gushes, a giggle following her words. “And that study session – oh my god, I nearly thought I was going to heart attack when he helped me solve this one problem. He’s so warm and he smells great!”

You cock an eyebrow at her. “You were smelling our teacher?”

At that, Mina blows a raspberry and waves a dismissive hand. “I’m not Kaminari, sweetheart. I have class. Besides, Professor Bakugou smells like caramel. Can you believe it? I wonder if he uses cologne or feminine soap.”

Caramel, eh? Now that’s something you can get behind.

“You want him to fuck you, right?”

Wait, what?

Narrowing your gaze at her, your brows knit closely together. “What kind of question is that?”

Mina rolls her eyes. “What, like you don’t think about it? Practically everyone on this campus has thought about it at some point or another? I mean, hello! He’s totally Daddy material. I’ve heard that he goes to the gym sometimes here on campus – turns out he’s huge.”

Huge. Of course this is what Mina chooses to focus on. You wish you had a spray bottle to squirt at her horny ass.

“And I don’t mean muscle wise,” Mina continues, a mischievous expression coming to her face. “I bet he tastes like candy.”

“Mina.”

“Why yes, Mr. Bakugou sir! I’ll gladly suck your fat cock for an A!”

“Mina.”

“His ass is really nice, too. I wouldn’t mind pegging him-“

“MINA.”

“What?”

You smack your forehead and groan as your hand trails down your face. “Are you going to study or not? I don’t know about you, but I’d rather graduate than work at McDonald’s for the rest of my life.”

Mina purses her lips at you in an excessive pout. “You’re such a fun sponge, holy shit. I think you need a good dicking down by Professor Bakugou. Maybe then you’d stop staring after him all the time during class.”

Your face heats up at her words, but there’s no way you’re owning up to that. Okay, so yeah, maybe getting fucked by him would be a dream come true, but you’re more realistic than that. “And you’re not concerned at all that he’s our teacher? You know, like he could lose his job and you could be expelled? That doesn’t bother you? At all?”

Mina shrugs. “Meh.”

“Woooow…. You really are shameless.”

“Hey, you win some, you lose some. If I could get that man to put a ring on my finger, then I’d be okay with it.”

“Yeah, because you definitely want to bring your math professor home. Uh huh, great one. Tell me how that goes.”

With a grunt, Mina rolls over and sits up. “Whatever, man. I’m hungry, so I’m going to go down to the dining hall. Wanna come with?”

Glancing at the alarm clock sitting on your nightstand, you see that it’s only 5:15. True, you could get a bite to eat, but you’d rather stay back and finish a few more problems. “I think I’ll join up with you later,” you tell Mina.

She nods her head and offers you a small smile. “Suit yourself, sweetheart. I’ll see you later.” Gathering up her things, she unceremoniously shoves them into her backpack and salutes you with a goodbye. After she pulls the door shut behind her, you turn back to the task at hand.

It shouldn’t be this hard to solve these last couple of problems, but your brain is really starting to feel the struggle. A dull ache is already forming between your eyeballs, and you truly wonder if you’re going to make it through this or not. Maybe you should take a break, or at least give your eyes a rest. Still, that little stubborn streak in you tells you to carry on. You only have a few more problems left, and you’re so close to finally finishing!

As you set to work, the digits on your alarm clock change as time drags on. Okay, so maybe you’re demanding too much of yourself. Your brain is absolutely fried, and your headache is spreading. Glancing back up at the clock, luminous green lines glare a 5:31. Jeez, it’s only been sixteen minutes since you last checked, yet it seems as though hours have passed. You really want to finish this study session, but the last problem is throwing you in for a loop.

You’ve already scoured your notes and the textbook for how to go about the problem, but your mind is drawing up with a blank. It has to be because you’re tired, right? It’s not that hard… Or is it?

“Dammit,” you mutter, sitting back and pressing your palms flat against the floor. Again, you look at the clock. Frankly, you don’t want to spend all night pouring over this, and you don’t want to skip dinner, either. You know for a fact that Mina will beat your ass for skipping out on food. “Screw it.”

Scrambling off the floor, you throw a thick coat on and slide on your sneakers. Professor Bakugou sometimes has the habit of frequenting his office during the weekends (or so you’ve heard), and you desperately need to know how to solve this problem. Chances are something similar will be on the exam, and you want to get as good of a grade as possible. Plus, if he is there…

You swallow thickly. Now is not the time to let Mina’s previous words get to you.

And so, with your notebook tucked underneath an arm, you take off.

It’s a damned shame that his office is practically on the other side of campus, but you figure it wouldn’t be too bad to get your body moving after spending so much time hunched over. Now that you think about, you could just email him, but you’re not sure how quick he’d respond. This is a dire moment. Okay, maybe not, but still. Maybe you want to see Professor Bakugou. Maybe.

You’re thankful when you finally enter the building, free of the flurries of snow and the seeping chill. Stomping your feet free from snow, you look around, creeped out yet fascinated by the silent, empty halls. You doubt very many people are here besides lingering staff and the janitors. One could only hope that Professor Bakugou is frequenting his office.

As you draw closer and closer to his office, your footsteps bounce off the walls, reminding you of how alone you are. There’s a fifty/fifty chance that he’s even going to be in his office, yet your heart pounds frantically in your chest. If he isn’t there, you’ll just simply turn around and stalk back to your dorm and hope for the best. If he is there, well, you’re not entirely sure what you should say.

He’s your teacher, dammit. It shouldn’t be this hard going up to him and asking him for help. It’s literally his job to help students out; nothing more, nothing less. Still, Mina’s words ring throughout your mind. It’s just a crush, you remind yourself. Stop getting so worked up about it.

There it is, just straight up ahead – Professor Bakugou’s office.

Like the other offices lining the hall, it’s made from a heavy wood, a frosted window place in the top half with Professor Bakugou’s name printed on it. A simple door like this shouldn’t intimidate you so much, but yet it does. All you have to do is knock on it, wait for a possible response, and then go from there. However, now that you’re in front of it, you somewhat hope he’s not there. Your palms are growing clammy and your throat feels fuzzy.

“Here goes nothing,” you tell yourself, reaching up and rapping on the door.

For a moment, nothing happens. Perhaps Lady Luck has decided to spare some mercy on you, after all. Releasing a pent-up breath you didn’t know you were even holding, you prepare to step back and walk away, but then a muffled come in sounds through the door.

Oh, shit.

You wince as your cowardice floods you with a renewed force. There’s no way you can just leave now, not if you want Professor Bakugou potentially chasing you down. Taking in a deep breath, you turn the brass knob and poke your head inside. “Uh, Professor Bakugou?”

Oh, shit.

There he is, sitting behind an oak desk, hunched down over a stack of papers. He holds up a single finger, a signal for you to give him a moment. Immediately, your eyes skim over his exposed forearms, skim over the tight black turtleneck that fits him like a glove. Rolled sleeves, watch on wrist, and a pair of glasses perched on his nose, he’s just dripping with classy sexiness.

The steady tick tock, tick tock fills the otherwise silent room. It grates on your already wired nerves, mocks you for just standing there, waiting. You can’t help but glance at its face – 5:49. It’s already dark out, winter’s everlasting darkness sapping the Earth’s light. Stepping fully inside the room, you gently shut the door behind you, not wanting to interrupt his train of thought.

After another moment or so, he finally clicks his pen closed, tosses it onto the desk, and leans back in his chair. “Oi – what do you want?”

Removing your notebook from underneath your arm, you hold it out for him to take. “I was… I was wondering if you could explain how to work out this problem?”

Quirking an eyebrow, Professor Bakugou sits upright and glances at what you’ve written. “We discussed this during the study session on Friday.” His eyes dart up to yours. “I’m surprised you weren’t there.”

Is he singling you out right now? It feels like he’s singling you out right now. But wait, doesn’t that also mean that he noticed you not being there? He’s just saying that to say it, right? …Right?

“There was a lot on my mind,” you say softly.

Professor Bakugou sighs. “Alright, come here.” Maybe it’s the gruffness of his voice, but the simple command nearly has you whimpering on the spot. Jesus, you need to get your act together!

“Of course, sir,” you reply, the title subconsciously rolling off your tongue. Skirting around the desk, you come to his side, unaware of him shifting in his seat.

“It’s really not that hard if you put your damned brain to use,” he grunts, picking his pen back up. You notice how the tendons in his hand flex with the subtle movement; actually, now that you’re up close in personal, you can clearly see the veins racing up his forearms, the sheen of blond hairs.

Warmth seems to radiate off of him, just like how Mina said. You wonder if he gets hot easily, or if that’s just the way he is. Either way, you shimmy the slightest bit closer to him, eager to ward off the chill that still clings to you from the outside. He goes into great detail about how to go through each step surrounding the problem; you lean over his shoulder as he goes through the steps, the heat emanating from his skin drawing you in more and more. With each breath, the scent of caramel floods your senses. You’re almost half tempted to press your nose to his nape and get a better smell, but that’d just be creepy. Plus, even if you did that, Professor Bakugou could probably pick you up and literally throw you out of his office.

Still, despite knowing the risk, your mind takes off, just like it usually does whenever you’re in his presence. It would just be so easy to squeeze his thick arms, to run your fingers through his thick blonde hair. Maybe you could push the collar of his turtleneck down, expose his neck and bite the pulse. It’s almost ridiculous just how big he is, how easily he could overpower you. A familiar warmth floods your system, encasing your insides and clutching onto your heart. This is bad – very, very bad.

“Oi, what the hell are you staring at?” Professor Bakugou barks.

Snapping yourself back to attention, you notice him staring at you, his glasses now off his handsome face. If possible, he’s even more attractive up close; thick lashes, full lips, a slight gleam in his eyes that demand power and control. He almost looks entirely different like this, face lax instead of fixed with a scowl. Good lord, you really are whipped for him.

“Oh, um, sorry,” you ramble, eyes going wide. “It’s just that your hair looks really… fluffy…?”

“…Hah?”

You quickly avert your eyes. “Nevermind…”

“You know,” Professor Bakugou starts, voice low, “you stare at me a lot during class, too. You’re not very subtle.”

You wince at his words. “I… I’m not sure what you’re talking about-“

Rolling his eyes, he scoffs and tosses down his pen. “You’re not majoring in theatre, are you? Because you suck at acting.” He flashes you a cocky smirk when you look back to him. “Just admit it – you like what you see, don’t ya? Can’t say I blame you.”

Okay, wow, cocky much. Yeah, sure, he’s an absolute babe, but wouldn’t you think he’d be a bit more… modest?

Now it’s your turn to scoff. “Didn’t know my math professor thought so highly of himself.”

“Tch. Looks like you got a damn mouth on you, after all. Well, if you’re done undressing me with your eyes, do you want to learn how to do this problem or not? I don’t like repeating myself, but I’ll let it slide just this once since I like you.”

Wait, wait, hold up. Did he just say he likes you?

“You’re a good student,” Professor Bakugou continues. “Even if you do focus on me more than my lecture.”

Is this how the conversation was supposed to play out? Because damn you’re nearly shaking, and you still have your coat on. He knows too much, dammit. He’s known this entire time and he’s playing you.

“And yet you could’ve easily told me to stop,” you shoot right back, sick of being prosecuted like this. Sure, it might be a bad idea to pick a fight with a teacher, but this is outside of classroom hours; and, frankly, he can kiss your ass. Crude demeanor or not, you’re not about to let this man push you around.

“Who said I wanted you to stop?”

No. There’s no way he just said that. This big-headed narcissist is relishing in this, isn’t he? Bastard.

“Hate to break it to you, Professor, but almost everyone stares at you like that,” you tell him. You realize you just admitted it to the accusation, but there’s no point in defending it anymore.

“Like I give a shit about the others? Really? You’re gonna talk about them?” He scoffs his amusement and leans back in his chair, thick arms crossing over his chest. “Did you come here to ask me questions about the exam or did you just want to be with me all by yourself?”

You hesitate. Is that really the reason you came here tonight? The whole way here you debated this yourself, Mina’s words circling around your head. No, you’re smarter than this. It’s a bad idea to get involved with a teacher – it’s wrong.

“I’m not going to lie or deny the truth,” Professor Bakugou continues, his voice dropping to an uncharacteristically low pitch. “I’m also not stupid. You’re just as scared as me, aren’t you? Of the repercussions.”

Your mouth falls agape. What is he going on about…?

Slowly, Professor Bakugou sits back up, his face getting dangerously close to yours. Hot breath fans over the bottom half of your face. His eyes are heavily lidded, his lashes kissing his cheeks. “I’m not going to force anything on you,” he murmurs. “Tell me to stop and I will.”

Oh my god.

Unable to resist the close proximity anymore, you shoot forward, your hands landing on the arms of the chair; Professor Bakugou’s lips are softer than you anticipated, but in no way is he gentle. Right away he’s clutching the back of your neck, dragging you forward so you’re settled on his lap. The arms of the chair pinch into your thighs at the tight fit, but you could care less. You’re on Professor Bakugou’s lap, you have his tongue in your mouth, his hands landing on your ass and kneading the flesh.

“Fuck, I’ve been wanting to do this forever,” he growls, his hands slipping under your shirt and gliding over your lower back. You arch into his touch, a breathless moan slipping past your lips.

“We shouldn’t be doing this,” you pant.

“I know.”

Fuck, it’s all so good, his tongue licking the inside of your mouth and hands unbuttoning your jeans. A startled noise erupts from your throat as a large hand slides into the front of your pants, cupping your crotch. You buck into his touch, all sense dissipating from your thoughts as you fervently grind into his heated palm. There’s a clutter of paper and office supplies as they hit the floor. Before you know it, you’re rising from the chair, your ass landing on the wooden desk instead.

“Fuck, you’re so fucking hot,” Professor Bakugou grits. Your ass is barely on the desk by the time he’s done dragging you forward, your jeans aggressively getting yanked off, your underwear following suit. Your thighs instinctively snap shut at the cold air making contact with your bared skin, but strong hands pry them apart, fingertips kneading into the flesh. “I wanna make you cum with my tongue.”

“Wai- Ah! Fuck!” you cry out, your fingers clutching onto the edge of the desk as his head ducks down, his mouth latching onto your sex. Until now, you weren’t even aware that you were dripping with arousal. Sinful noises spill from between your legs as Professor Bakugou fucks you with his mouth, his lips wrapping around your most sensitive parts.

“God, you’re such a slut.”

Smack.

You cry out as he brings a hand down on the innermost part of your thigh; your nerves quake, your blood pumps wildly through your veins. Again, he slaps your thigh, a growl tearing itself from his chest as he looks up, his eyes catching yours.

“Say it.”

Smack.

“I – I’m a slut,” you babble, tongue feeling heavy in your mouth.

Smack.

“What was that?”

“I said I’m a slut!” you exclaim, voice cracking.

“I expect you to refer to me properly,” he says darkly, his pupils dilating to the point where you could barely see his irises. “Got it?”

“Yes, sir.”

A single smirk is thrown your way before his mouth is back on you, his tongue lapping up your arousal. His moves are quick, sensual. It’s clear he’s experienced, and you don’t blame him. Just look at him for Christ’s sake. The man is basically sex on legs, all nicely wrapped up in a turtleneck sweater and a simple pair of slacks. The pleasure only heightens as his fingers come into play, prodding at your hole; the tips just barely push past the muscle, leaving you moaning even louder and clutching harder on the desk. Your fingernails scratch the surface, the lacquer coming off.

“Tasty little brat, aren’t ya?” he drawls. Your entire body jolts as he spits on your sex. “I could get used to doing this.”

“Please, sir,” you plead, desperation filling your voice. You want his mouth back on you. You want to cum. “Please, it feels so good…”

Professor Bakugou clicks his tongue. “Shit, you’re even obedient. How nice.” He redoubles his efforts, then, wet noises filling the room along with your heavy breathing.

“Shit, shit, oh my god,” you babble, your body tensing. Still, his tongue digs in just right and there goes your sanity, flying out the window as you cum.

A deep chuckle fills your ears as Professor Bakugou sucks it down; drawing away, he flashes you his tongue, your arousal coating his tongue before he makes a show of swallowing the last bit of it. Wiping his mouth off with the back of his hand, he draws to a stand. The tent in his slacks is obvious, the front of it darker than the rest. Your insides squeeze around nothing, the idea of making him get like that making you feel hotter than before.

You’re hypnotized as he pulls his hands away. His movements are slow and methodical, the clink of his belt echoing throughout the room. Swallowing thickly, you bite your lip as he leisurely undoes his belt and slacks. Blood rushes through your ears, your mind a complete mess. You feel dizzy with want, with the need to sink your teeth into the swell of his pectoral, to claw the plains of his back.

All the air is sucked from your lungs when he finally pulls his cock out, the head flushed a deep red. Your eyes trail over the prominent veins, the fat bead of precum pushing its way out the tip. Fuck, he’s huge, both in length and girth. Whoever told Mina that he was big wasn’t lying. Your legs subconsciously spread even wider, a silent plead for him to fill you up and fuck you raw.

“Tell me you want this,” he husks. He does the honor of unzipping your coat and slipping it off your shoulders before easing you onto your back. The cold from the wood permeates through your shirt, brings a new wave of goosebumps to your flesh.

“Only if you tell me the same thing,” you croak. “Do you fuck all of your students who walk in through that door?”

“No,” Professor Bakugou blatantly says, and you can tell he’s being earnest. “It’s wrong of me to think so, but I’ve been wanting to do something with you since I saw you. It sounds like some sappy bullshit, but it’s the truth. I was too much of a pussy to ask you out for a coffee.”

Something about hearing him confess his feelings to you sets your heart alight. A slight smile tugs at your lips. “You’re lucky you’re cute.”

“Tch. And you’re a fucking brat.”

Hunching over you, a large hand plants itself by your head while the other guides his cock to your awaiting hole. A shaky breath passes through your mouth as he pushes himself in; the stretch burns, his thick cock filling you up in a way that you didn’t even know was possible.

“Fuck, you’re tight,” he breathes. “Look at you, sucking in my cock like that. What a good little slut. I bet you’ve been waiting for this, haven’t you? I bet you touched yourself while thinking about this very moment, about me fucking you on my desk like this.” A surprised squeak bursts from your throat as he grabs your legs and throws him over his shoulders, effectively bending you in half. “Gotta fuck you nice and deep, right? Because that’s how a slut like you likes it.”

Like this, with your knees almost touching your ears, the tip of his cock hits your soft spot. A pathetic whimper comes from you as he grinds his cock into you, his eyes carefully watching your erotic expressions, figuring out what you like best.

Before long, he’s fucking into with vigor, his hips moving restlessly. His cock pounds into you mercilessly, the slap of skin against skin mixing with your cries. His mouth is at your throat, teeth skimming your jugular before he latches onto your thundering pulse. You helplessly claw at his shoulders, your fingers bunching into the fabric of his shirt. You’re so fucking full, your velvety walls clamping around his cock selfishly. A blend of curses and yes, fuck, you fucking slut fill your ears; he’s panting hard, a slight chuckle breaking through every once in a while.

“Fucking let everyone know who’s fucking you this good,” he grits. “Jesus, look at the mess you’re making…”

“Professor Bakugou!” you whine. “Your cock feels so good… Fuck, fuck, oh my god, yes-“

“Katsuki. My name is Katsuki.”

Katuski.

The name rolls around your brain like a loose bolt. It settles on the tip of your tongue, just waiting to be let out.

It’s when you cum that you shout his name, your walls tightening around him harshly while your nails dig into the meat of his shoulders. A load groan rumbles from the depths of his chest as he follows suit shortly after, his hips moving erratically as his cum splashes against your insides.

The both of you are sweating, panting messes by the time he finally pulls out. You whimper as you clench around nothing, the emptiness a bit too much to bear. Surprisingly, Professor Bakugou – no, Katsuki – is gentle as he cleans you up, his free hand rubbing your side. Swallowing your pride, you clear your throat.

His eyes flick up, land on yours. “What.”

“Do you…” You worry your bottom lip. “Do you want to get coffee sometime?”

Katsuki snorts. “Wow, got a real fucking charmer here, don’t I? How about you come to my place instead and I make you a proper dinner. You didn’t eat yet, did you?”

As if on cue, your stomach growls. Well, you did deny Mina’s offer for dinner, after all. You smile nervously and give him a shrug.

Chest swelling (with pride, you assume), Katsuki flashes you a cocky smile. “I’m a damn good cook, brat. I’ll cook a meal that will have you weak in the knees.”

“Maybe… Maybe you could finally show me how to do that problem?” you offer.

He rolls his eyes. “Will you finally pay attention this time or will I have to pound it into your brain?”

[avversiera-writes]

touch your heart [senju tobirama/you] - chapter 2

Summary: Hashirama might go down as the worst matchmaker in history, but he thinks he might be on to something. Tobirama sees through his brother's schemes and is determined not to fall for it. Or fall for you.

Word Count: about 4k

AO3 LINK TO TOUCH YOUR HEART

AOR SERIES LINK TO ‘TIL DEATH DO US PART

[<<<CHAPTER ONE]

The due dates that Tobirama gave you are more reasonable and flexible than you thought. You try to find something to complain about so you can relay it to Madara later and earn a small smile from him, but no, there is no reason to complain about it. The only thing you want to complain about are his so-called rules. Tobirama is not about leisure or lightening up, though that is not a bother to you if you are going to be honest. Planning to mess with him a little is just an attempt to wipe off that serious face of his. You want to know him based on what you see from him, not from what other people have told you.

However, you also do not want to mess things up. You are determined to work as hard as he does for this project because it is special to the village and for the children that are going to be attending the Academy. 

Also because you know you’ll get paid for it. You have been running low on money these days ever since you bought your own place. 

 Now that you are older, you wish you had the proper education to be a shinobi. You have to learn most of your skills along the way and apart from your family who had basically banished you, and even now, you are still learning as there are a lot of things that you missed. 

 Now, the children that are going to grow up here have something better for the future. They have more choices and bigger chances to become good shinobis. 

You get settled in your bed, which is literally the only furniture your place has. It is your dining table, your workplace, and also your resting place. Your weapons are littered on the floor, and your swords are leaning against the wall in one corner of the room. The books and the scrolls given to you lay open or stacked near your bed where you can reach for it. Some clean laundry you have yet to get to sit on the foot of your bed, and the space you are currently lying on is the only space your bed can make for you at the moment. 

 Quaint, but it has a lot of potential. 

Your new home, which is situated just at the edge of the village and newly built, is a home for civilians and also other shinobis who are not part of a clan, or those who rather have a place for themselves. This is a sign that the village is growing, and more and more families are becoming involved with it. 

You force yourself to go through the many materials that you need to read and study up on for the rest of the night until midnight, and you begin to write your suggestions after going through the material once again. You are good at absorbing information, but at the same time, you have trouble keeping still for a very long time. Sometimes you have the unfortunate ability to memorize the wrong things because your mind zeroes into whatever your brain wants to obsess over. 

 However, you have made it this far. You can adjust. 

You hope. 

//

You are pretty sure that Tobirama is sending you around the village in a goose chase just so that he can work on the curriculum himself. It’s obvious he did not want you near him with all those rules about preserving his boundaries. The said goose chase sounds reasonable enough–talk to the members of the clans, the ones who are the keeper of their knowledge and history and write them down. He did not even look you in the face when he sent you away, he just gave you a list of what to ask the clans residing in Konoha and a blank notebook and a scroll for you to record all of the information in. 

 This whole ordeal occupied you for the whole day and it also happens to bleed through the next day, in which you are convinced Tobirama has completed at least half the work. 

The thought does not make you happy. You want to do something, damn it. You feel like your life depends on it. 

Another day passes, and this time, Tobirama has you looking for artists, merchants, inventors and other skilled people in Konoha and recording their name and the location to find them. This part you understand well because you know that Hashirama wants to expand on other skills, but it feels so tedious and it makes the day longer. Not to mention, you do not really know anyone since you have been busy polishing your skills with Madara. Now that you think about it, you spend an awful lot of time with the man, ever since you came here. 

 Before you know it, you are breaking into a run towards the Hokage mansion. 

 Tobirama cannot be left to his own devices. You will not let him take this from you. 

You find the white-haired man seated on his usual spot, hand poised elegantly over a sheet of paper and eyes moving along the lines of a book he is reading. 

“Finished already?” Tobirama says in a very flat tone. 

 “Yeah, of course, I already know the people to put down.” Okay, that was a lie, and you know Tobirama had caught that because he glances at you briefly with narrowed eyes. 

You walk up to him and you lay out the information you gathered today. 

“Where’s your family from?” Tobirama straight up asks you without any preamble. The expression on his face does not change though you can feel that he is bothered by you. 

 You are taken aback by a beat, but you have no problem answering it. You have memorized the lines that you have to say that it begins to feel true. “They are a little far north from here, but they’re just traders, merchants, skillsmen.” 

 “Of what?” 

 “With the right amount of money, anything.” You say in an even, but casual tone. “They don’t like shinobi, so I left to make a living of my own.”

You can tell Tobirama did not like your answer. He puts his pen down and you feel him scrutinizing you. 

 "You have any friends?" He immediately follows up. 

 However, you have long mastered the skills of deflecting and only letting people know certain things about you. They always see what they want to see in you, never bothering to put two and two together that you are just painting a pretty picture for them to look at. 

 "Too many," you reply vaguely. 

 Tobirama sighs, and his eyes narrow. 

“I cannot trust you if you continue to evade me. This is integral to this village and its future, and I cannot have, no, I cannot afford to waste time or make mistakes,” Tobirama says and he meets your eyes. 

“I can promise you, I am ready to work just as much as you so let's not get personal,” you lean back and cross your arms. “And after this, I will get out of your hair forever. You wouldn’t even have to hear from me.” 

 Tobirama rolls his eyes, but you can tell he is satisfied with your answer. “Oh please, with a village this small, and me, holding an important position in the said village, you cannot guarantee that.” 

 You smirk and you pull out the chair across from him. “Touché, Lord Tobirama,” you emphasize the lord with a mocking tone. 

Tobirama grits his jaw visibly and he grabs his pen almost angrily. You are starting to think that maybe this is what Tobirama generally looks like. 

 “Get to work.” 

 “What is it this time? List the several types of drinks the people in this village make? Investigate the best type of fabric to wear for each season?” You prompt, unable to keep the grin from spreading across your lips. He just let you get away with calling him lord. 

 Adding a title to someone’s name is supposed to be a sign of respect, but the way you say it makes it sound derogatory. Like you’re cursing him. 

Tobirama looks about ready to yell, and part of you wants him to take the bait. You lean closer to gauge his reactions and you watch him immediately school his expression. It is like watching a magic show, one moment something is there, the next, it disappears. 

“Well, if you wanted me to make up more tasks for you to do, you should have just asked,” Tobirama deadpans. 

You watch him, intrigued. “Wow. Are you trying to be funny, or are you trying to insult me?” 

 “Please stop talking when I am working,” Tobirama does not sound like he is pleading. He hands you a stack of books to go through. “I want you to compile a list of necessary skills that you deem important, and I will do the same. We can discuss and vet on which skills are required to learn for each grade level right after.” 

You let out a breezy laugh, and you note how Tobirama seems to twitch at the sound. “Right, right, fine.” You pause. “Have you looked at my notes?”

“Of course I have,” Tobirama huffs and he shoots you a distasteful glare, and to you, it looks like he’s tired of talking. “I will make my own notes on where you’re lacking and then you revise it.” 

 “What do we need those for?” You ask, genuinely curious. “What else are we in charge of making?” 

“The reason I had you seek out artists, writers, bookmakers, and the like, is because we will commission them to make textbooks,” Tobirama explains. “We just need to get the information together. Meanwhile, I would also like to fill this library and another public library with other kinds of books.” 

You tap your chin. “Your brother tells me you like to invent things and all that. Are you going to include your research and your inventions in the library?” 

 Tobirama sighs, visibly withering at the statement that his brother talks behind his back, but he revives himself enough to get back to his work. “Depends on what my brother approves of.” 

You let out an involuntary chuckle. Here are the two most powerful known shinobis in the world right now, and they argue over mundane things. 

 Tobirama raises an eyebrow at you and you shake your head. 

He takes that as a sign to keep on working, so you decide to keep to yourself. 

 Surprisingly, you are starting to enjoy this. It’s not as bad as you imagined. 

//

Perhaps you spoke too soon, because here you are at the crack of dawn–no not even the crack of dawn because the surroundings are still dark blue. You yawn as you arrive, and find Tobirama waiting in the middle of the training ground in a different outfit you have not seen him in. He seems to only have one color palette; he wears a navy wrap-around jacket that has a collar in a lighter shade of blue. The sleeves are short, showing off his muscles, and all of this is tied with a light yellow-green belt around his waist. A sword is secured to his belt, and it hangs on his side ready to be drawn. A happuri guards his forehead and the sides of his face, and for some reason, this makes him look more authoritarian and older. A mesh armor peeks through the space between his collars and even in your sleepiness, you note a defined torso that you keep to yourself. 

You do not even see an ounce of sleepiness in him and you huff.  

 Tobirama merely glances at you, but every time he looks at you, it feels like he is already exasperated. 

 “Is it just us?” You try not to sound too whiny. “Also I ate breakfast, I’m not falling for whatever it is you have in mind.” 

 “And what do you think is on my mind?” 

 “I don’t know? A test of survival, starving us for days in the forest with only the surroundings as our resource?” You rest a hand on your two swords–an uchigatana and a wakizashi, both the same in appearance and made from the same metal. 

“I said not to eat too much breakfast, I did not discourage you from it.” Tobirama lets out a sarcastic sigh–something he can really pull off well. “I am not that cruel.” 

 You hear an excited gasp behind you and you turn to find Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzo walking towards the two of you. 

“Tobirama-sensei!” Hiruzen calls enthusiastically, at the crack of dawn. “I hope you don’t mind, I brought my friend again!” 

You glance at Tobirama and you see his face visibly soften at the sight of his student. 

“And I didn’t know Y/N-sensei’s joining us!” Hiruzen bounds up to you and you reach up to ruffle his hair. He turns to you and points at Tobirama. “He’s a really cool sensei! Really cool!” 

Tobirama suddenly looks constipated and you laugh out loud. 

 “We’ll see, kiddo,” you tell him. “We’ll see.” 

Two more kids come, and the girl, Utatane Koharu, somehow looks pissed, which you can suddenly relate to. The boy beside her, Mitokado Homura, looks more calm and composed as he adjusts his glasses on his face. 

Tobirama nods, and then he breaks off into a light jog. Obediently, the kids follow after him and you grudgingly follow behind them. They must be used to this. 

 After a few rounds, the kids start to stretch and you do the same as well, and everything has been pretty calm. You watch as the kids do sets of push-ups, sit-ups, calisthenics and you are impressed at their stamina. They’re barely twelve, but then again, if you are training under Senju Tobirama, you can tell that you will be pushed to your limit. 

You feel a pang of envy from these kids for a moment, but you push it away. There is no reason to look back into the past and feel bitter about how things worked out. 

“So what’s next, sensei?” Hiruzen inquires. You can see how much these kids admire the man. 

 “Sparring,” Tobirama replies. “Since Danzo’s here, you guys are evenly matched. Last man standing gets to fight me.” 

 “What about Y/N-sensei?” Danzo interjects. 

 “Yeah, what about me?” You smirk, and you lighten your voice so that it sounds more childish. 

You can feel Koharu rolling her eyes. 

You narrow your eyes at him and let out a small stream of breath through your mouth. “I see.” 

 Tobirama slightly raises his chin haughtily. It suits him. He does not need to speak to dominate the atmosphere. He shrugs, and it sparks something in you. 

 “I’ll still try my best,” you smirk, but underneath your facade, you are starting to get annoyed. Which is new, because you are generally a patient person. 

Tobirama takes Hiruzen and Koharu while you take the other two to coach during their matches. You stand in between Danzo and Homura, watching their small faces study each other. 

“Don’t kill each other,” you advise, and you start their match. 

 The two go at each other, with Danzo throwing the first punch. You back off a little to make sure that you can see their stances. 

 Homura whirls around and his foot juts out, with his heel aiming towards Danzo’s head. Danzo ducks down, and kicks at Homura’s stomach the moment he regains his posture from the kick. 

Homura staggers back, and now he is on the defensive, blocking Danzo’s hits and kicks, barely dodging them as he keeps backing away. You notice the hits and misses from each boy.

 “Homura, don’t back away!” You yell out. “Get closer to him!” 

Homura does as you say, and Danzo is unable to land a hit on him, limiting his movements unless–

 Danzo jumps back to get away, and kicks Homura on the chest. 

 “Nice!” You cheer. 

 “Sensei, whose side are you on?” Homura complains and his hand comes up to rub his chest. 

You laugh. “Neither!” You glance at both of their faces. “Okay, you two, come here.” 

 Danzo and Homura face each other again. 

 “Save your movements, don’t be so generous with them,” you tell them. “Don’t punch just to punch. Again!” 

The two boys come at each other and you stand back to watch them again. This time, you do not offer any more suggestions. You glance to where Tobirama is at, and he is squatting on the ground, his eyes trained on the students�� footwork. 

 You hear him call out that Hiruzen’s feet are too far apart. 

You snap back to the two boys just in time to watch Homura flip Danzo on his back. 

You walk over and you peer at Danzo. “You okay?” 

 “Yes,” the boy wheezes out. 

“Alright, you’re done,” you chuckle and you look at Homura. “You win, then. Good job. Help him up.” 

You glance at the other group, and you see Koharu sock Hiruzen straight to his face and Tobirama jump up to his feet. Hiruzen gets to his feet, and you see a trickle of blood coming out of his nose. 

When Hiruzen gets closer, you ruffle his hair affectionately and you laugh as he grimaces. 

 “Not funny!” He whines nasally. 

 “Keep your hands up next time!” You taunt even though he may already know this. 

Tobirama puts a hand on his shoulder and steers him towards a rock so that he can sit. “Sit up and lean forward,” he tells his student. 

 The rest of the kids walk towards him to watch and poke fun at Hiruzen. 

 You stay back and cross your arms to watch them. You know that there is no place for you to be there. 

 Once Tobirama is finished attending to his student, he turns to you. “Koharu, you’re the referee.” 

You size him up, your eyes travelling from his face and down to his waist. What was one of his rules again? 

 Anticipation builds in your core, and your hand rests on the scabbard of your sword, your thumb playing at the hilt. 

“Are we including tricks today?” You inquire. 

 “If you want,” Tobirama curtly replies. 

Koharu starts the fight, and Tobirama wastes no time coming at you. 

 His first hit is heavy, and you block it with both of your forearms and brace yourself by stepping back one leg. You are quick to grab his wrist as you twist your arm and you step forward, meaning to put your leg behind his, but he breaks away from you and disturbs the momentum that you were going to use against him. 

 You are quick to back away because he comes at you without stopping. 

 He is fast, and he is heavy with his hands. You notice his open hands, ready for grappling. His stance is lower, and you know that it will be hard to knock him off balance, and the effects of kicking at his head will go to his advantage. 

You need an opening. 

 You launch yourself at him, and as he prepares himself to grab you, you drop to your knees and slide in between his legs, hitting his knee as you pass him by. He turns to your direction, and you quickly use his bent knee to step and kick towards his head. He blocks you and you see him almost grab at your ankle.

 You do not give him a chance to gather himself, and you swing again at him, this time using his shoulder to propel yourself around him and using his weight and yours, you are able to lock his head with your legs. Just as you are about to go for another twist to bring him to the ground, Tobirama counters by catching you and launching you off of him. 

 “You fight like an assassin,” Tobirama says as you roll to the ground and to your feet. 

“Are you impressed?” You grin at him, half jokingly. 

 Tobirama does not answer you, but it looks like he is about to say something worse as he charges at you. 

You step closer to him so that he does not follow through his movement, and you grab the hilt of his sword and then you strike your palm at his chest to send him back. You whirl around to brandish his sword in the air. 

 What was one of his rules? You suddenly remember.

  Do not touch my things, unless I give them to you. 

For a moment, everyone freezes. 

You study the blade in your hand. 

 “This is a very nice sword,” you muse, and you strike at the air and flip it, testing the weight. You run a finger on the blunt edge of his sword. “Well-balanced and thin, but very sharp. Excellent for accurate and fast hits...and conducting lightning.”

Tobirama’s face grows stormy. His fists tighten. 

 You twist blade with a slight twist of your wrist, and you hand it with the hilt towards him. “Sorry. I was curious.” 

Tobirama takes his sword and quickly sheathes it. You note a minuscule change in his expression, but it quickly passes and you are disappointed for not being quick enough to note it. 

“So, is this a tie?” Koharu asks, uncertain. 

“Yes,” Tobirama grits through his teeth. 

You watch Tobirama’s tense shoulders and decide to leave him alone. You probably went too far today. 

“Well, that was fun, but I have to go,” you say, even though the rest of your day is pretty much free. "I have some friends to meet." 

 Tobirama suspects that you certainly do not have any friends to meet, but he does not say anything more. He’s probably eager to make you go. There is nothing he would want more. 

“Aw!” Hiruzen cries out. His nose bleed has stopped. “Thanks for coming by, sensei!” 

You wink at the kids, and you make your exit, your hand still remembering the feel of Tobirama’s sword. It is oddly familiar, and you wonder if the craftsmanship is similar to your own blade. 

You can feel Tobirama’s stare behind you and it burns the back of your neck as if he is shooting laser beams at you, and just when you glance back to regard it, he is turning away and conversing with his students about hand seals. 

Though it was just a joke and a way to catch him by surprise, you can’t help but feel that you just stomped over the thin olive branch that he was handing out to you. 

You note to yourself to make it up to him tomorrow. 

.

.

.

[CHAPTER THREE >>>]

[sepublic]

Coven Bindings- Even more restrictive than they seem?

           @aguigenae and I were talking about how coven bindings would even work, going with the idea that Belos’ nine magical categories are purely arbitrary, and they came up with a chilling yet fitting concept;

           What if witches with coven bindings can’t actually develop new spells, only learn and perform pre-established ones? What if witches are told to believe that all of the spells they can do are the full extent of that ‘category’, when in reality they’re not being excluded from other forms of magic, they’re actually having their magic turned off completely, save for a select list of spells that the bindings are programmed to include? And because experimentation and magic-mixing is discouraged, nobody realizes there are spells they SHOULD be able to cast according to how the coven bindings claim to work, based on alleged categories, but can’t- Because those categories don’t actually exist!

           What Aguigenae suggested makes a lot of sense, it’d be easier to seal magic with a coven binding if it’s really just a list of spells you’re allowed to do, VS all magic banned except for potentially infinite spells of this one type. Witches are taught only to learn spells already pre-established in textbooks, not create and try different, new ones; Because then that will expose the limitations of coven bindings when witches inevitably run into them, and multi-track learning can put a hole into Belos’ claims.

          The insistence on practicing only what’s been established is likely to hide the truth of how the coven bindings really work; Because if people realize how much smaller their options already are, and they’re already hesitant about the bindings in general, they might revolt! Like, a Plant Witch will discover a never-before-seen plant, but then realize they can’t recreate it with a spell- Because their magic isn’t banned EXCEPT for plants, it’s ONLY plant spells, but not EVERY plant spell possible, so to speak.

           Suddenly, Belos’ system is even more insidious, because he’s not just dividing magic; He’s halting development of it entirely! It’s possible actual magical categories exist, but they subscribe more along elemental lines found in nature (hence Luz’s glyphs), not the fake categories that Belos devised, meant to fit in with societal roles and functions as part of a larger machine. And witches in covens can’t explore the height of their magical potential, because not only does that category not even exist technically (with the exception of the Plant Coven apparently), but there’s a specific set limit that Belos has secretly established, an invisible glass ceiling that nobody is even aware of; And if witches run into it, they’re gaslit into thinking it’s because they’re too weak to climb even higher, or some other propaganda.

           This could even apply to the Coven Heads; Perhaps they don’t even HAVE coven bindings yet claim to do… And this allows them to perform and create new spells that other witches in their coven can’t, so long as those spells seem to fit within the category that Belos devised. If witches who have actual bindings can’t do the same spells, it’s actually because they’re just not skilled nor talented enough. It artificially maintains the power of the Coven Heads similarly to how the Emperor’s Coven does, but in a way arguably more insidious; Because people don’t even realize it’s because of their bindings that they’re not as strong, they just think it’s their own lack of ability!

And it makes the Coven Heads seem much more dedicated and skilled than they actually are, when in reality they’re given a hidden advantage from the very start. It’s an unfair system that’s cheating against you. It also adds to the illusion (not just for that one coven) that witches with coven bindings CAN innovate and create new spells, and it’s just your fault for not being good enough, nothing to do with a rigged system or anything…

           This could tie into how the Coven System robs witches of abilities they naturally have, and treats them as privileges to earn back- Or even just earn in the first place! Belos won’t let people have what they already own, he steals it from them and forces witches to prove they’re ‘worthy’ to have it. There could even be spells that don’t quite fit into Belos’ nine categories, so either he arbitrarily places spells into types with no room for overlap (perhaps claiming Fire as Potions magic because it can heat chemicals, even if it has uses in many other covens), and/or he’s open about spells not belonging to any of the nine categories; These special spells are of course exclusive to only the Emperor’s Coven.

           Even if all nine covens were to band against the Emperor’s Coven, they’d have a smaller range of spells to use than the covenscouts, especially since the Emperor’s Coven can actually invent new spells to begin with. A typical member of the Emperor’s Coven has more magical potential and spells to choose from, than a group of nine witches from each coven combined! Belos acknowledges spells that don’t fit into his nine categories, as just another privilege for the Emperor’s Coven to further inflate its power, and maintain a distance. Some students might try to learn these ‘exclusive’ spells in preparation/advance for joining the Emperor’s Coven, maybe even joining so they can hold onto these special spells as well- It’d just add another dark layer to how Eda probably only wanted to join the Emperor’s Coven to keep her magic.

           Likewise, if you see new bard magic done by a covenscout, that you can’t do? That’s probably because it’s actually mixed magic, and/or you’re just not good enough! There could be spells discovered AFTER your binding was applied, and thus your binding doesn’t include it! To maintain the ‘illusion’ of the coven bindings and his magical categories, Belos probably has hidden updates to his coven bindings to include more spells; And it could create the illusion that later generations in his Coven System have more access to magic than previous ones, because the Emperor’s curriculum is ‘superior’. The Emperor’s Coven can’t admit the truth because it breaks their illusion of choice; Witches aren’t so much excluding themselves from certain spells, as much as they are binding themselves to a very select group that seems similar enough to fit within Belos’ fake taxonomy.

           It’s even possible Belos plays into the holes of his claims, by passing it off as wild magic! Perhaps he insists that when the Titan created magic and blessed the Boiling Isles with it, it only devised a set amount of spells approved for common witches to utilize. Spells created or found beyond that approved list are a dangerous type of heresy, a usage of magic not within the Titan’s plan and design. Journeying into unpredictable territory can yield unknown consequences, such as Eda’s Owl Beast form- So Belos claims. As Aguigenae put it; You join a coven and can’t use one of your favorite spells anymore because you came up with it, even though it should fit your binding- Must’ve been wild magic, you shouldn’t have been messing with that!

           Any spells not approved by the Titan are blasphemy, perversions of its magic that weren’t created with the safety of witches in mind, with no part in its hierarchy- An outsider’s magic. Only the Titan can create new spells and mix magic… And of course, its trusted few in the Emperor’s Coven- Who are skilled and loyal enough to be trusted with creating new spells, experimenting, and performing forays into unexplored forms of magic. Only they are proven to do what is dangerous or otherwise blasphemous for the common witch to do, because only the Emperor’s Coven has the Titan’s approval. The Emperor’s Coven is beloved and chosen by the Titan, to oppose them is to oppose its will! Experimentation is dangerous, and if a spell wasn’t approved for the common witch by the Titan, it was for a reason…

           Again, that’s why experimentation and multi-track learning is frowned upon and even banned by Belos; Because people like Luz or the Detention Kids can show that new spells aren’t as dangerous and unpredictable as Belos claims them to be! Or at the very least, the benefits of experimentation FAR outweigh the cons, and it shouldn’t be restricted to a select, ‘privileged’ group- Especially if that groups exists to enforce a hierarchy and dictatorship on behalf of the Emperor. Even the Emperor’s Coven would discourage innovation, as only new spells that are relevant to its military interests and control would be researched.

           It’s all, as Luz might put it, “Fiendishly clever”; It’s a philosophy that keeps witches even weaker than they’re led to believe, while discouraging them from experimenting… It artificially maintains a hierarchy with even more new spells for the Emperor’s Coven, all while gaslighting some into thinking that if they can’t do the same spells as their Coven Heads, it’s because they’re just not good enough; NOT because their Head Witch secretly lacks a coven binding to begin with, actually!

           Again, this is all conjecture. If coven bindings weren’t “all magic banned except this type” and actually “all magic that fits into this made-up type”, it’d just prove the system to be even more corrupt and fake than it already is. It’d expose Belos’ lie, because the coven system doesn’t even let witches ‘focus’ on the type of magic they’re best, because they’ll never go beyond what he explicitly approved of thanks to his bindings… It’s stagnation everywhere except where Belos has control and can use it for himself, and it fools witches into believing in their own lack of ability. Even if they were to all band together and rise up, their magic would STILL be lesser than the Emperor’s Coven.

[blogging-time]

When I Kissed The Teacher

Dialogue Prompt List – Long List My Fic Masterlist

Prompt: “Let’s drink wine and trash talk our co-workers.” - Logan and Roman. (Friendship) - Submitted by @louisthewarlock

Summary: Roman Crowne has just been dumped by yet another co-worker. Logan Sanders makes it his personal mission to console the heartbroken Spanish teacher while also convincing him to turn off that godforsaken ABBA soundtrack.

Warnings: Post Break-Up (Not Logince), Alcohol Mention.

Pairings: Platonic Logince/Foreshadowing Romantic Logince, Past Royality, Past Prinxiety, Past Roceit, Background Intruality.

Word Count: 1,688

~ ~ ~

“Well this seems like a perfectly healthy and not at all counter-intuitive way to conduct oneself post break-up,” Logan remarked as he slowly entered the almost vacant looking Spanish classroom.

The sight awaiting him was that of his co-worker – Roman Crowne – sitting slumped over a rather busy looking table, his unusually messy head of hair tucked uncomfortably between his hastily folded arms. Surrounding him were various pages that Logan couldn’t quite decipher, as well as some familiar looking textbooks that Roman would use to teach his sophomore classes when the school board once again forbid him from making “Pan’s Labyrinth” an official part of the school’s curriculum. The most notable item at Roman’s disposal however had to be his mobile phone, as it was currently playing “When I Kissed The Teacher,” repeatedly on Spotify.

“You know most people actually knock before inviting themselves into a colleague’s classroom, right?” Roman half-heartedly muttered against the cheap plywood.

“Well you should know that most teachers actually prefer to work at their own desks instead of downgrading to a small student’s table. I guess we’re both just feeling a little unconventional today.”

With a heavy sigh and even heavier limbs, the Spanish teacher finally mustered up the energy required to pry his face off the aforementioned table. As soon as the pair made eye-contact, Logan couldn’t help but smile sympathetically at Roman. No matter how many times he found the man in this heartbroken state his tearstained face simply never failed to upset him.

“There’s a window,” Roman responded vaguely before Logan could even make an awkward attempt to console him. Then, upon recognizing the science teacher’s confusion, he unenthusiastically waved his hand and explained, “There’s a window embedded in the door to this classroom – I’m sure you’re well aware of it. Had I chosen to lay about and wail over my lost love at my own desk then surely any old passer-by could have caught me in my moment of lament.”

As sympathetic as Logan was towards his friend’s situation, he still couldn’t help but roll his eyes at how dramatic the man was being.

“Janus Marshall merely terminated his relationship with you, Roman. He himself is not deceased.”

“Hark! For his love for me is dead at least – dead and buried beneath the heels of some younger, prettier thing! Its ghost takes the form of the man I once danced with, and it taunts me as I pass him by in the corridor on my way to lunch.”

“Would you kindly stop and think rationally for five minutes instead of writing another soliloquy?” Logan may sound exasperated, but in reality, he simply hates seeing his friend’s thoughts spiral out of control like this. “Janus made it abundantly clear to you months ago that he would be migrating to England at the end of the year in order to teach Psychology at Oxford. Since neither of you were ever interested in long-distance relationships, I thought this break-up would seem inevitable to you.”

Roman visibly deflated upon hearing such a logical argument, yet somehow Logan didn’t feel victorious.

“I know… I suppose I just got a little carried away again. Deep down I’d honestly hoped we’d be able to make it work.”

“But why?” Logan asked, “Why would you allow yourself to get your hopes up time and time again? Every time you’ve dated a colleague your relationship has ended within six months or less.”

“Now hold on just a moment, Charles Rush-In! Just because I happened to date – and consequently was dumped by – a few of my colleagues doesn’t mean having a relationship with one is inherently flawed and destined to fail.”

“While your current statistics would highly suggest otherwise, that isn’t the part that concerns me the most. What concerns me the most is that you’re clearly upset or made to feel uncomfortable every time you’re forced to work with an ex-partner.”

“Name one example.”

“Patton Hart.”

“You mean the Home Economics teacher? I love Patton! Well… not in that way… not anymore at least… Yeah things were a little awkward at first… and then things got awkward again eight months later when he asked if I would be okay with him dating my brother… but both of us are on very good terms now!”

Logan quirked an eyebrow at that, but ultimately decided it was Remus’ responsibility to tell Roman about his current engagement plans.

“Okay then, what about Virgil Rae?”

“Ah yes, the English teacher who never stopped reading too much into things.”

“You and him seem to argue a lot.”

“To be fair we also argued before and during our relationship too.”

Logan clicked his tongue in perfect time with ABBA before naming, “Janus Marshall.”

“That’s a fresh wound! It’s hardly fair for you to twist the knife in that!”

“I can’t help but disagree considering you’re currently spending your lunch break marking papers and crying in your classroom just to avoid encountering Janus – something you wouldn’t have to do if he wasn’t your colleague.”

Roman couldn’t deflate anymore, so instead he was forced to sink further down in his admittedly rather uncomfortable plastic chair. Mentally he made a note to stop by the thrift store and his aunt Dot’s place after work to see if he could somehow acquire twenty-six cheap cushions that would make hour long lessons in these chairs more comfortable for his students.

“Why are you so determined to prove the successful office romance trope is unattainable?” he asked in a voice that already sounded so defeated.

“Why are you so determined to prove me wrong?” Logan countered.

Roman met Logan’s eyes for just a moment before completely averting his gaze. Logan coughed into his elbow for just a second in a manner that conveniently covered both of his cheeks. A minute passed, and neither man acknowledged either his or his co-worker’s sudden actions.

Eventually Logan decided to break that uncomfortable minute of silence with a sigh of his own.

“Do you have another class immediately after lunch?”

“Not today. I was supposed to be teaching Freshman Spanish for the next hour, but apparently Principal Sanders has called in a public speaker. I won’t have a class again until last period. How about you?”

“It appears I’m in a similar situation. I typically have the hour free after lunch on a Thursday until my Juniors come in for their Chemistry class at 2PM. If the circumstances today were any different then I would undoubtedly use this time to either grade my students most recent homework or to formulate a lesson plan for next week.”

“If the circumstances were any different?” Roman asked with a raised eyebrow and an only slightly watery eye.

“I have a bottle of Chardonnay in my car,” Logan answered. Then, upon recognizing the Spanish teacher’s concern, he quickly waved his hands and explained, “Your brother gifted it to me a few weeks ago, stating that it may help me to ‘loosen up around handsome men,’ - only he used far more vulgar phrasing than I. I can assure you that I would never drink and drive. I’ve simply never felt the need to consume alcohol since receiving the gift, and so I let the bottle sit forgotten in my car until now.”

“What? I haven’t driven you to drink already have I?” Roman joked, but Logan didn’t miss the way another silent tear disobediently slid down his still reddened cheeks.

Again, neither man acknowledged the sudden presence of emotion.

“Believe me, Roman, if any Crowne were ever going to drive me to drink then it would most certainly be that unfathomable brother of yours. My idea was more along the lines of… well…” The science teacher paused for a moment as he remembered how much more important Roman was to him than his reputation. “Let’s drink wine and trash talk our co-workers.”

Upon proposing the idea, Logan let out a nervous breath he hadn’t even realised he’d been holding. Despite the simplicity of their plan, inviting Roman to share a glass of wine with him during work hours just so that they could say negative things about their generally very respectable colleagues to him felt so deeply personal and borderline exhilarating.

Roman must have recognised how much the offer meant to Logan, as he too seemed shocked that the usually oh-so calm and collected science teacher would propose something so unorthodox.

“You want to share a drink with me now?”

“Well encountering your colleagues won’t be an issue after work hours – Perhaps if we start highlighting all of their potential flaws now, you’ll be less inclined to test fate and pursue another doomed relationship with one of them later.”

“Hey!” Roman shouted incredulously, but he was genuinely laughing now.

The sound was so infectious that his co-worker soon found himself chuckling quietly to himself.

“I’ll ask the canteen staff if they can spare two small cups so we don’t drink too much,” Logan offered, “Plus I keep more than enough spare change in my wallet at all times to ensure we can afford a cab ride home. We won’t be stranded here at school if you accept. All I ask in return is that you turn off that infuriating song – I’ve heard it more than enough times now, thank you very much.”

“You drive a hard bargain, Mr Berry,” Roman responded, his lips forming a playful smirk as he pretended to mull the proposition over. “What album would you suggest we listen to in its place?”

“How about ‘The Wall’ by Pink Floyd? I believe I still have that cassette sitting in my car right now, along with ‘The Dark Side of the Moon.’”

“Oh, wow…” Roman drawled as he blinked his eyes rapidly in only semi-feigned surprise. “I think you just aged ten years for every word you just said, Lograndad.”

“Of course, you can always just sit here and listen to the sound of Janus’ voice instead.”

“On second thought-” Roman announced, standing up rather quickly as he grabbed his nearby coat and bag, “-Pink Floyd sounds like an excellent choice. Why don’t you lead the way?”

~ ~ ~

General Tag-List:

@sholaghhh (Formerly @lunamay2006) @not-so-innocent-bi-sander @saphael-malec102 @anastasialestina @seraphlies 

Additional Tags:

@sympathetic-deceit-trash

Note: It’s been a long time since I’ve posted a fic, so this tag-list may be a little outdated. If at any point you want to be added/removed from my tag-list then feel free to let me know!

As always, feedback is much appreciated! I was pretty out of practice here, so I’m sure I’d benefit a lot from constructive criticism!

For spelling, punctuation and grammar I followed Microsoft Word's English (UK) rules. Feel free to correct any errors you may find in the comments, but please keep in mind that some words are spelt differently here in the UK! 

I hope you’re all have a fan-der-tastic day!

~ ~ ~

[phcking-detective]

Patreon Announcement

so since my big main fic If It Bleeds is coming to an end, I’m doing some different stuff on my patreon moving forward!

$1 per week subscribers will get a 3-5k “chapter” of a reed900 commissioned fic

$2 per week subscribers will get deleted scenes from those fics / writing advice on how I drafted and wrote them

$3 per week subscribers will get a ~1k “mini-chapter” from one of my WIPs

anyone subscribed to my patreon can VOTE in the poll I have up. the TOP THREE WIPs will be written and published 1k at a time as $3 rewards. summaries of each WIP below the cut!

Pokemon AU: Gavin doesn’t need a partner, and he sure as shit doesn’t need a “psychic” criminal profiler from the FBI case-stealing when there’s a new pokemon trafficking ring in town. He’s determined to ice out the hack, but Richard “Nines” Stern turns out to be an ice queen already—except for how soft he is with his pokemon and Gavin’s own Eevee, who doesn’t want to evolve. And as Gavin’s Riolu attempts to court Nines’s Gallade, the kidnapped pokemon turn up crazed and violent, and a mysterious new shadow pokemon begins stalking them, both men realize they might need each other more than they thought.

Exorcist AU: Nines is a cocky young exorcist who knows better than textbooks, his mentor, and God himself. That’s why he summons an extremely high level incubus: to prove that his demon training techniques are vastly superior to the standard curriculum, write a kick ass thesis paper, and become the youngest exorcist to ever achieve tenure. Being asexual, he’s confident in his ability to resist the incubus’s seduction: all he has to do is not kiss, fuck, or perform oral on the demon.

Because any consumption of the incubus’s natural aphrodisiac sperm or saliva will not only physically affect his libido—sexual attraction or not—but also enthrall him under the demon’s control.

What Nines doesn’t realize is that such a high level incubus secretes this aphrodisiac into all of his bodily fluids, and even the lightest touch, the oils on his fingers, the sweat at his temple, it will all slowly build up and corrupt him …

Until Nines finds himself on his knees, desperate to suck the demon’s cock.

Human Pet AU: RK900 “Nines” is an android in want of a human. Rejected by the android-separatist groups for his designation as the ultimate deviant hunter, he must adapt to the new world order after the Revolution. That means selecting a human to sponsor to prove he is a good, responsible android capable of managing humans and deserving of authority.

Since he’s failed with five other human candidates already, Nines is in desperate need of a human who is just as dedicated to the job, who demands perfection, and preferably does not mind a lack of social niceties …

Gavin, formerly Detective Reed, is a human in need of an android sponsor. Captain Connor Anderson has made it very clear that is the only way he will ever get his job back. And the position won’t stay open for long, so he needs to adjust to this new world order, fast.

He needs an android who can take his anger in stride, break him down, and mold him back into the obedient human he needs to become. He did say he’d do anything to get his job back ...

HankCon Sequel: I have less info for this one, but it would catch up the hankcon fics to my reed900 series, eventually so that the timelines would be the same. It will focus more on Connor exploring his gender and sexuality, plus him learning how to be a better person toward people who aren’t Hank. There will also be nsfw scenes of Connor finally getting to suck Hank off like he always wanted, them having penetrative sex for the first time, and maybe even Connor trying out topping 😉

Geraskier WIP: Jaskier decides that this is the last night. If Geralt doesn’t wake up back to normal from the curse compelling him to let loose all his deepest darkest desires, he’ll just suck up the humiliation on both their parts and call Yennefer. If he can last that long without ruining their friendship, because an uninhibited Geralt wants to sniff him, and cuddle with him, and keeps smiling at him. Also, the big bad Witcher really, really wants to suck his cock. And Jaskier is but weak and wanting …

When Geralt wakes up in chains with the smell of Jaskier’s blood and cum fresh in his nose, he remembers the wizard forced him to lose all control and let loose “every repressed desire.” And how could the desires of a monster ever be anything good? He doesn’t know how he could ever possibly fix this, but he’s glad Jaskier at least managed to call for Yennefer and escape down to the river to clean himself up. He only hopes his friend hasn’t been broken by the experience …

[fukurodaze]

haikyuu!! third gym squad taking the ib diploma programme

ok... my friend and i got rlly stressed the other day and made headcanons for these guys if they were to take classes in the ib... it’s like a levels but like... a bit more death!

for my ib diploma folks you can just hop on over and read what i’ve hc’d but for my non-ib folks, lemme give you a bit of an introduction to the ib diploma programme.

characters included: bokuto koutarou, kuroo tetsurou, akaashi keiji, tsukishima kei, haiba lev, hinata shouyou

THE IB DIPLOMA PROGRAMME is a rigorous two-year pre-college program in your last two years of high school. a full programme consists of one class from each of the six required groups (totalling to 6 classes), which are G1 - first language; G2 - second language; G3 - social sciences; G4 - natural sciences; G5 - mathematics; and G6 - arts (though, arts is optional, and can be switched out with another subject from G3 or G4).

within these six courses, students are required to take at least three high-level (HL) courses and three standard level courses (SL), but some students may take four HL courses and have two SL courses (kind of a rough one tho). 

just to note: there’s two types of math courses - applications and interpretations (Math AI) and analysis and approaches (Math AA). MAA courses are known to be harder than MAI courses because students do more theory work and have non-calculator sections in exams, unlike MAI courses where calculators are required for every exam. also, it is possible for a person to take IB courses instead of the full diploma programme, but i’m not very well acquainted with that variation of the IB programme so we’re just going to assume all the boys got 6 courses.

okay. i am so sorry i just lectured you on a whole school curriculum. anyways. back to haikyuu!!

BOKUTO KOUTAROU : Japanese Language and Literature HL, Mandarin Ab Initio SL, Geography HL, SEHS (Sports, Exercise, and Health Science) HL, Math AI SL, Economics SL

ok so it’s canon that this dude is not doing very well in math but his parents made him do higher level math at first poor boy >:(

he started the year off in higher level and thought he was gonna be fine

no. he was not fine.

so he ended up switching his math hl to sl and his japanese sl to hl

IT IS CANON (special chapter in volume 19 titled “i just forgot” where bokuto has a wholeass crisis about words) that bokuto’s really one to actually really like to think about how words work and function as systems in the same way ib language courses do!!

actually having him do japanese ll hl is just an excuse for me to keep him in math sl sorry

i mean koutarou may be my fav tax evader but he really did sit through two years worth of econ classes... smh

mans is Not listening and has to rely on yukie for notes but he just memorises case studies for exams and does not do anything else

i feel like he just takes mandarin because he thought it was the easiest one... he also thinks the words sound similar so it’s easy to memorise

he’s a pretty good communicator so he practices his mandarin quite a lot. as in, he’s made friends to talk to in mandarin. we love to see it!!!

also. um. i hc that he’s pretty decent at memorisation so geography!! this goes for memorising all the kanji and mandarin characters too

i think SEHS is pretty self-explanatory. mans already known he wanna be a pro athlete might as learn about being healthy as an athlete

KUROO TESTUROU : Japanese Language and Literature SL, English B SL, Business Management HL, Chemistry HL, Math AI HL, Biology HL

now... we all know this mf been taking chemistry hl. it is CANON

and as per his career path... DEFINITELY business management hl

i feel like he’s so analytical in the way he sees things that he likes to explore many areas of knowledge where there are different ways of thinking

takes english as a second language because... whew.. aint it sexy when mans wanna be multifaceted in business

also takes higher level biology because he’d rather not with the languages... but later on i believe he ends up in a higher level language class because he might as well

i feel like kuroo’s classes just give me a vibe i know too too well... 

mans takes math ai. he does not wanna fuck around with a pencil proving a theorem he just wants the answer bro

like in volleyball, he’s a quick thinker. so he’s pretty g with math and business stuff

i literally know someone with this class combo ... it’s not very chill but it screams “you never see me do any course work but i always get at least a B+ in every subject”

AKAASHI KEIJI :  Japanese Language and Literature HL, French Ab Initio SL, Psychology HL, Chemistry SL, Math AA SL, Visual Arts HL

now... this subject combo radiates such pretty energy

pretty subjects for a pretty boy

he was originally going to do biology sl but then found out there is chemistry in biology so he just decided with chemistry. plain and simple.

we all know akaashi is both emotionally and academically intelligent

he’s logical and analytical, and when faced with a tough time he works through it well albeit going through a little bit of struggle

this automatically puts him in math aa... i just see him actually liking proving theorems??? 

but maybe he just thinks his calculator is a nuisance sometimes and would rather solve everything by hand 

also art boy! this dude likes graphic design more but when it comes to traditional art he does Not Hold Back

i like to think that he’s into painting backgrounds and mixed media

if he didn’t take VA, i’m pretty sure he would take economics. because. it’s quite systematic and i think akaashi would take a liking to it

as for japanese ll hl... we all know this dude was supposed to be a part of the literary section in a magazine/manga company but was moved to editor

goes hand-in-hand with psychology, likes to know how words convey meaning and how they affect people

he also thinks french is kind of a cool language. i feel like this guy just wants to do it because it sounds cool and novel for him

all in all, pretty solid subject combo!

TSUKISHIMA KEI : Japanese Language and Literature HL, French Ab Initio SL, History HL, Biology SL, Math AA HL, Instrumental Music HL

4 hl’s... here we are folks

honestly does it for colleges to go like “holy shit this dude is kinda crazy”

but does suffer... coursework tings :)

first of all this dude takes french (even though it’s a beginner’s class) because he just loves to sound cool huh

the summer before his courses started he would have had the basics down after looking through free ib textbooks

plus, being the guy that’s super good at a new language in the class is a huge ass flex and a big ass ego boost. and anyways, with language, he thinks it’s just a lot of simple patterns working together.

this also applies to japanese ll hl... finds writing essays and making arguments ez (at least that’s what he tells himself - he’s kinda nervous when it comes to japanese but he holds on anyway)

practices extra hard on pronunciation. sounds hot tho

math aa hl??? there we go. another crazy one. thought he could ace the class at first.... no. no he couldn’t 

thinks about moving down to sl. probably does. (at least it’s not math ai)

history and biology go hand in hand for him. he has significant interests in prehistoric times, and likes to learn about the origins of life - that’s a given

but he does get tired of the politics talk in history like... goddamn all these people making so many mistakes? just stop making them smh

and instrumental music was just something he got onto because he really would like to just have a course where he could enjoy himself while also learning about the stuff he likes

nobody knows what music he listens to... but i think he’s willing to listen to anything as long as it’s music and it has the kinds of vibes he digs

HAIBA LEV: Japanese Language and Literature SL, Mandarin Ab Initio SL, Psychology HL, Chemistry SL, Math AI HL, Theatre HL

i don’t know how to explain it but lev has such strong psych and chem energy

yes haiba lev’s classes are the ones i picked via roulette wheel

jk not really

here’s the thing though, lev takes psychology because he thinks econ, business management, history, ess, all that jazz is just... absolutely boring. like. super. mf-ing. boring.

so he’s like ooh cognitive processes!

kinda hates that he has to study research methods and research methods ONLY at first but when he gets the hang of it he really finds it one of his fav subs

i actually have no explanation for mandarin ab initio sl... he just seemed like the kind of guy who would wanna do the class solely because he thinks mandarin sounds cool with their intonations and everything

plus he heard that the teacher gives mooncakes every lunar new year ad he. loves. them.

okay now hear me out.

lev is good at math.

maybe not lightning speed analysis or calculations like akaashi, but he finds solving problems fun! except for when they’re without a calculator bc he HATES doing calculations by hand

he can get a bit clumsy with his hand calculations too so it’s nice to just have a calculator on hand

literally only does math ai for the sake of using a calculator at all times (a/n: i take this class, and this was the reason i took it too. COMPLETELY VALID)

and then does theatre for the fun of it!!! confidence levels high for presentations and performances... good fit

kinda thought that ib theatre would be his easy A but oh how he was wrong... hates the research tasks at first but he gets used to it

HINATA SHOUYOU: Japanese Language and Literature SL, Portuguese Ab Initio SL, SEHS HL, Geography HL, Math AI SL, Theatre HL

his classes are bokuto energy but with theatre and portuguese

MANGA SPOILERS! we all know he started thinking abt going to brazil in his second year of high school, and the ib diploma programme starts in the last two years of high school so it fits PERFECTLY

lowkey most of the boys take japanese ll sl because they just. have to.

this is also hinata’s case <3

SEHS HL!!! he has a vision for the future and it definitely involves him understanding health and sports and everything like that, especially after nationals in his first year :(((( still sad abt that

but he’s motivated for this higher level class because he’s really just gonna go all out with the research

math ai sl because... he prolly don’t give a fuck about numbers!!! (it hasn’t been made clear already, but math ai sl is the lowest level math course)

he also took theatre hl because even though he does get scared at first, he’s a natural when it comes to learning new cultures

he’s just so curious about it all and it makes him quite engaged in the class as well!!!!

also kinda took theatre because the other subjects were just not it for him

about geography... he hates memorisation but he also hates everything else in the social studies group so

he just gets by by trying to find the little details of the things he’s studying interesting because really... geography class is just the base of all the places on his bucket list

hinata’s def one of those dudes who picks his subs purely off of liking because we all know he’s going. any subject that isn’t based off of liking is usually a mandatory subject anyways

[itachi-uchiha-deserved-better]

Homecoming Havok Part 1

Ino ran into the classroom, out of breath, just as the bell ran. She dove into her seat next to Sakura as the teacher watched with a disapproving look.

“Cutting it a little close, aren’t we, Miss Yamanaka.” Mr. Umino asked dryly. Ino ducked her head, trying her best to look apologetic.

“Sorry! I dropped my books on the way here. I would never dream of being late to your class, Mr. Umino.” Ino lied through her teeth, catching a scandalous look from Sakura. Mr. Umino raised an eyebrow and cleared his throat, but he let the matter drop as he turned to the front of the classroom and started writing on the board.

“Good going, Ino-pig,” Sakura whispered, covering the noise as much as possible with the sound of her flipping through the pages of her advanced psychology textbook, “If this was Mr. Hatake’s class, you’d have been locked out in the hall! What took you so long?”

Ino pulled out her own book and opened it to a random page, her eyes never leaving the front of the room although she was by no means paying attention.

“Oh don’t be so dramatic, Forehead, I wasn’t even actually late. Besides, It’s not my fault that we got lockers all the way on the far side of the school from the main office. I had to turn in my homecoming queen nomination forms before lunch or they weren’t going to accept them!”

Sakura scoffed, “You really nominated yourself? Isn’t that just tacky?”

Ino answered Sakura’s scoff with a roll of her eyes, “Hey, no one thinks about nominating a sophomore. But once my name’s on the ballet, there’s no way I’ll lose. I mean, I’ve already dated three seniors and turned down half a dozen juniors. Clearly, the upperclassmen have noticed me.” She wiggled her eyebrows as she said the word noticed. Sakura had to suppress a laugh.

“I don’t know that I would call those dates, Ino-pig. I mean, from the sound of it, you mostly just made out with them in the stairwells after class. Ow!”

Mr. Umino stopped writing for a moment and looked back at Sakura who was rubbing her shin where Ino had kicked it, “Are you alright, miss Haruno?”

“Huh? Oh, yes, sorry Mr. Umino. I just bumped my shin on my desk, that’s all.”

Mr. Umino didn’t look like he believed her for a second, but he just sighed, “please try to be more careful, Miss Haruno. I don’t appreciate disruptions to my class.”

“Yes, Mr. Umino.” Sakura shot Ino a murderous look as the pair both tried to look like dutiful students, scribbling in their notebooks. When Mr. Umino’s attention was fully focused back on the lesson, Ino put her pencil down and she leaned back in her chair. She tried briefly to get Sakura’s attention again, but Sakura ignored her in favor of actually paying attention in class.

No wonder that Sakura was still a social pariah. She was a total nerd and while Ino was just as brilliant, Ino had chosen to give up her glasses for contacts and grow out her platinum blond hair over the summer between middle school and high school. That plus a few makeup lessons from her sister had skyrocketed Ino from outcast to social butterfly. Sakura had plenty of potential the way Ino saw it, but she cared more about her grades and resisted every push Ino made to try and make her over.

Whatever, if Sakura wanted to go through high school with the same lame friends she had in middle school, that was her choice. Ino wasn’t about to make the same mistake. Who said that she couldn’t be smart and pretty?

After all, she was still in all of the same classes as Sakura, including the senior level psychology class they were currently in, along with a college algebra class and a bunch of other honors classes. Her father would have killed her if he knew she let her grades slip. He was always on Ino to make sure that she never fell victim to the “pretty blond airhead” trope.

A knock on the door interrupted both the lesson and Ino’s train of thought. Ino’s eyes flicked to front of the room as Mr. Umino walked over to the door and unlocked it for a tall young man with tired eyes and long black hair that was tied back neatly.

“Mr. Uchiha, I’m glad you were able to make it to class today. We’re discussing Maslow's hierarchy of needs. I’m sure one of your classmates would happily give you their notes over what you missed so far.”

The young man bowed politely, “Thank you, Mr. Umino. I apologize for coming in late.” his voice was soft and almost too deep, even for a senior. It sent an involuntary shiver down Ino’s spine as he spoke.

Itachi Uchiha. Ino knew his name because his younger brother Sasuke was in their class, but until this year, Ino had never met his older brother. Not that she could really count being in class with him as meeting him, especially since he was absent more often then not and frequently showed up late to class. Despite his shoddy attendance, Mr. Umino never got annoyed or short with him like he did whenever Ino came in right at the bell.

“It’s because he’s taking classes at the nearby community college.” Sakura has told her once, “Sasuke told me that Itachi drops him off in the morning, then drives over to the college campus. Then he comes back for most of the afternoon. Apparently he had to get special permission from the principle, but he’s basically a genius so of course they allowed it.”

Ino wasn’t so sure if she bought the whole college classes story. She’d never heard of a student, even a senior, being allowed to skip most of the normal curriculum and take mostly college courses instead. And the only person that she’d ever seen Itachi hang around with was his cousin Shisui and from what Ino could tell, Shisui might as well be as dumb as a box of rocks.

Oh well. At least Shisui was a pretty box of rocks and Itachi was easy on the eyes himself. He had a sort of aloof emo thing going for him and while Ino had plenty of senior boys drooling over her, she hadn’t heard of a single girl in the whole school who didn’t have a major crush on one of the three Uchiha boys.

Except herself of course. Ino was above crushes. If she really wanted Sasuke or Shisui or even Itachi, she was sure all she would have to do was bat her eyes at them. Boys were all dumb when it came to that kind of thing. But Ino didn’t care one iota about the raven-haired boy sitting just a few rows in front of her. And if she stared at him at all during class, well who could blame her. Oogling a little eye candy was more interesting than stuffy Mr. Umino and whatever he was teaching.

[madnessofmen]

Every time I see people maligning academics for not writing in ways that are immediately accessible to them, my blood just instantly boils. Posts like this:

I feel like people don't know that academic papers are not targeted at students?? They're actually meant for other experts, academics, and industry professionals; of course students aren't going to understand it!

See, academics actually have two jobs: teaching and learning. When they're writing papers, they're not teaching; they're just sharing what they've learned so far. They're basically going, "hey, any smart people out there know what to do with this data?" they seriously don't care about students at this point at all.

The teaching part comes when all that knowledge has been verified/spread/gotten feedback and is then incorporated into textbooks and curriculums, and explained in a way for students to understand. So if you want to learn, go read a textbook! Or a literature review! Those are really good for academics that are dipping their toes in a new field; they've got the basics but need an overview of what's been happening recently and where to start.

1) Wasting time rehashing what somebody has already said instead of citing their work

2) Wasting time explaining the definitions of basic words to industry professionals

3) Good, yes, this is what academic papers should be like.

4) This is what happens when you aren't familiar with a field. I know this because I had to do this for both my undergrad biochemistry thesis and for the dark ecology (philosophy) kritik I made for the debate team. It's hell. Get over it. You're not a genius and you don't know everything. My advice though: don't try to learn from papers. As I said above, they're not intended to be teaching materials and you'll stop being frustrated when you realize that. Stop trying to drink soup with a fork.

*students just don't have the necessary framework to understand it yet* AND THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH THAT because good teachers will build that for you!! That constant state of confusion? That's academia babey!! Literally was reading philosophy last night. I was confused as fuck! The teacher explained it! Cool, huh?

The teacher (usually) isn't out to get you. The teacher seriously does not expect you to have understood the readings. The teacher actually expects you to be really really confused. The purpose is to get you to think like an academic; you've been given some new information, now think about it. How does it connect to what you already know? What further questions do you have? (You probably have a lot!) But what about...? And if...? That's literally all academics do all day.

Also, when you're in undergrad, the papers you're assigned to read in class are likely 30+ years old, if not hundreds of years old (*cough* philosophy). That material has been in circulation for ages, so of course you're going to find better explanations elsewhere. But at the time of publication, that paper was literally the only information on that subject. Those were the brand spanking new ideas of the time!

That's literally how research works lmao. If you are a world expert on the Bleeding Edge of knowledge, you should be the only one that really understands your work. If it were obvious and easy to understand, it would have been done ages ago.

And the thing is: at the time of publication, yeah you're probably the only one that understands it. And in the ten years following, people will write more papers citing yours and if notable enough, it'll make its way into textbooks, where people will explain it even further. By then you will probably have also given serval talks to clarify and explain your ideas, maybe even written a book or contributed a chapter to a textbook.

Sometimes STUDENTS that NEED TO READ ACADEMIC PAPERS MULTIPLE TIMES TO UNDERSTAND THEM are NORMAL. Even academics do it. Don't stress. You're not dumber for it. Take it slow.

[practicallyapp]

How AI and Machine Learning Are Changing The Education Landscape - By Ilangovel Thulasimani, Co-Founder and CTO, Practically

Almost every industry relies on technology to thrive and evolve, and that is why there is increasing interest and investment in helping companies make smarter and faster decisions and products. Artificial intelligence has established itself in recent years as one of the most exciting technologies to be watched for. This emerging technology has already become an important component of many industries such as healthcare, education, defense, transportation, logistics and farming.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) are still emerging in the field of education, but its potential to revolutionize learning cannot be overstated. There are ways of introducing new forms of learning, especially beyond the constraints of textbooks and typical classroom settings. Children are naturally found to be more curious when they are closer to nature – say while walking in a park or zoo, or leisurely staring at the night sky. Now, imagine an AI based personal tutor available in their pocket to answer all their questions. More specifically, this tutor precisely knows, what the child already knows or does not know based on the previous interactions and answers in appropriate level and detail. This is the future of personalized learning driven by AI.

This pandemic has challenged every school and college to relook at the contemporary process and embrace more emerging technologies and novel pedagogy models into the overall learning ecosystem. While large scale standardized tests based on multiple choice questions are prevalent, there is increasing interest for leveraging AI in more sophisticated applications like remote exam proctoring and evaluation of subjective answers. As deep tech learning contents using Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) are emerging, teachers are also increasingly adopting blended learning models like flipped classrooms, where new contents/concepts are introduced at home and the classroom sessions become more productive and interactive.

Though the pandemic contributed to the shift towards blended learning, the approach as such is largely driven by technology and proven pedagogy models. The trend will continue and evolve beyond the pandemic.

Currently, many institutions are opting for AI assisted chatbot-based learning platforms that allow students to learn at their own pace and time. As cities become more cosmopolitan, it is common to see students with widely varying skills and expertise sitting together in a traditional urban classroom – challenging the teachers to engage effectively across such diverse set of students. This is where EdTech companies powered by AI address the need for customized learning solutions that adapts to individual student’s learning style and need. Practically’s technology and AI based learning app is used to offer individualized lessons in the form of deep tech contents, adaptive quizzes, live classes, and interactive gamified simulations.

For students, AI and ML can help make learning more experiential and stress free. Specifically, AI based tools like personalized learning paths help students meet their individual learning objectives, by guiding them through a sequence of effective learning contents and match the student’s learning style. Personalized learning paths along with deep tech learning contents like VR and AR form a great combination that not only makes learning fun and enjoyable, but also improves the retention and learning outcomes. These set of tools go beyond the traditional assessment and progress reporting, making learning a continuous journey, avoiding stress and anxiety.

As AI based educational solutions grow, they can fill more gaps in the traditional learning and teaching process. Another area where AI and ML has already begun influencing is in performance assessments and analytics. AI has made it easier to create and analyze progress reports, a task normally performed by instructors. By automating these tasks, faculty can spend more time with students on enhancing the creative and applied aspects of learning. Tools like Attentiveness Index helps teachers improve the experience of online classrooms.

Besides leveraging AI and ML as part of the education landscape, the study of AI and ML as a course right from high school education will put one at the forefront of future jobs and help develop better cognitive abilities. The Government of India’s New Education Policy (NEP) 2020 has acknowledged the importance of AI and AI education in schools. These are being planned to be seamlessly integrated into the curriculum and pedagogy as well.

It is clear that both students and educators are immersed in technology, making the education industry ripe for further disruption. EdTech focus on harnessing technology to improve educational processes and outcomes for learners and teachers. AI and ML technologies are becoming cornerstones of the overall education ecosystem.

The article first appeared in the March 2021 issue of Dataquest magazine.

[96thdayofrage]

How History Textbooks Reflect America’s Refusal to Reckon with Slavery

How History Textbooks Reflect America’s Refusal to Reckon with Slavery

Textbooks are a battleground in which the humanity and status of black Americans are contested

“Textbooks shaped how generations of white Americans thought about their black compatriots and how black Americans who read such textbooks thought about themselves.”

Four hundred years ago, a group of about 20 Africans were captured in the African interior, probably near modern-day Angola, and forcibly transported on a slave ship headed to the Americas. After tumultuous months at sea, they landed ashore in the first British colony in North America — Jamestown, Virginia — in late August 1619.

Hazen’s Elementary History of the United States: A Story and a Lesson, a popular early 20th-century textbook for young readers, picked up the story of the first black Virginians from there.

“The settlers bought them,” explained the 1903 text, “... and found them so helpful in raising tobacco that more were brought in, and slavery became part of our history.”

Its barebones lesson plan included just two easily digestible factoids for the year 1619: the introduction of the Africans — with an illustration of two half-naked black people standing on a beach before a pontificating pirate and a crowd of onlookers — and the creation of the Virginia House of Burgesses, the first formal legislative body in the American colonies.

Hazen’s Elementary History of the United States: A Story and a Lesson, published in 1903, included very little about 1619 and the role slavery played in the formation of the United States.

But the history of Jamestown and slavery isn’t that simple. Even though the 1619 landing wasn’t the first arrival of Africans in the Americas, it fits within the history of colonial America, black America, the global slave trade, and ultimately the foundation of our country. So how textbooks summarized this history — one characterized by a scant documentary record and often from the perspective of European settlers and white Americans — matters.

“Textbooks are supposed to teach us a common set of facts about who we are as Americans ... and what stories are key to our democracy,” said Alana D. Murray, a Maryland middle-school principal and author of The Development of the Alternative Black Curriculum, 1890-1940: Countering the Master Narrative.

As textbooks show — through omissions, downright errors, and specious interpretations, particularly regarding racial issues — not everyone enjoys the perks of civic belonging or gets a fair shake in historical accounts. This is even true of textbooks used today — 400 years after Africans’ 1619 arrival, more than 150 years after emancipation — with narratives more interested in emphasizing the compassion of enslavers than the cruelty endured by the enslaved.

Textbooks have long remained a battleground in which the humanity and status of black Americans have been contested. Pedagogy has always been preeminently political.

From fast facts to black inferiority: how slavery has been portrayed historically in textbooks

The Hazen’s textbook framed Jamestown and its role in the development of US slavery as an inevitable matter of labor demand and economic pragmatism, a common argument in US school materials at the turn of the 20th century.

Yet that was just one school of thought. After slavery’s end in this country, many Southern-focused textbooks promoted a Lost Cause approach to Jamestown and slavery writ large, portraying the institution as part of a natural order. White Southerners created ideologically driven narratives that yearned for the Good Ole Days where whites sat atop the hierarchy and African Americans were faithful slaves. In this racist revisionism, they didn’t have to reckon with the new black citizen, voter, or legislator as nominal equals.

Somewhat typical in this distorted history was A Child’s History of North Carolina, circa 1916, which also focused on slavery’s profitability and erased its violence. In this view, the enslaved people were happy, and Southern slave owners were reluctant masters at best.

“White Southerners created ideologically driven narratives that yearned for the Good Ole Days where whites sat atop the hierarchy.”

According to the book, enslaved people “were allowed all the freedom they seemed to want, and were given the privilege of visiting other plantations when they chose to do so. All that was required of them was to be in place when work time came. At the holiday season they were almost as free as their masters.” Moreover, “most people in North Carolina were really opposed to slavery and were in favor of a gradual emancipation. Slavery was already in existence, however, through no fault of theirs. They had the slaves and had to manage as best they could the problem of what to do with them.”

Furthermore, the book argued that abolitionists — never a huge voting bloc — were responsible for electing Abraham Lincoln, and that their unspecified violence made the South “indignant.”

Some Northern writers tried their hand at what they believed was a more nuanced approach in revising children’s history books in light of emancipation. And that included how they talked about that slave ship arriving in Virginia and the people aboard.

Take the example of Children’s Stories of American Progress, published in 1886. Northern white writer Henrietta Christian Wright, known for her popular stories of fairies and magic, described that day in August 1619 as a time when the meadows alongside the James River were “beautiful with summer” — a sight lost on the African captives.

However, Wright also imagined eyes that “looked wearily out from the port-holes of the ship” and saw a new landscape that “only seemed dreary and desolate, a land of exile and death.” She alternated between seeing through their eyes with being the omniscient narrator viewing them from above. She implicated European powers for turning Africa into “the great hunting-ground” and capitalizing off internecine struggles on the continent. Yet the plunder that carried Africans “like dumb beasts across the Atlantic” was “all because the white man chose to use his greater intelligence to oppress instead of befriend them.”

Wright didn’t skimp on moralizing about slavery as an evil, unsuitable enterprise for a putatively Christian nation, but she didn’t see Africans as Europeans’ peers, either. Her portrayal of the inferiority of black people reflected a common belief among white Americans, even some former abolitionists. Accounts like hers shaped how generations of white Americans thought about their black compatriots and, according to a rising cadre of black educators, how black Americans who read such textbooks thought about themselves.

Black voices enter the textbook industry after the Civil War — but barely disrupt it

The benevolent racism that infected textbooks also inspired a new generation of history writers who wanted to inject less bias and more accuracy into instructional materials. African Americans, often women teachers or laypeople with little formal training, began authoring textbooks and creating history pageants that spanned centuries with song, speech, and dance in the decades after the Civil War.

“You have these big textbooks that were in schools, but they had nothing to do with what black people are writing. Black history textbooks and black people had a totally different view of citizenship [in the late 1800s to mid-1900s],” Murray said.

She became interested in how black people wrote their own history when her graduate class on teaching social studies failed to even mention the father of what became Black History Month, Carter G. Woodson. Shocked by the glaring omission, Murray began researching and found women like Dorothy Guinn, a YWCA director, who co-wrote Out of the Dark (1924), a pageant in which spectators and its high school performers got a theatrical tour through the slave trade in Africa, Reconstruction, and then-contemporary moments.

A character named the Chronicler intones about Phillis Wheatley, Benjamin Banneker, and Sojourner Truth. She gets an assist from musical numbers like “Go Down, Moses,” Paul Laurence Dunbar poems, and muse-like characters called the Children of Genius, who represent music, literature, science, and art. They are her Greek chorus, there to enlighten with well-placed tidbits of information.

The zeal to correct and counter other people’s accounts of black history motivated people like North Carolina’s Edward A. Johnson, a black lawyer who released his own textbook, A School History of the Negro Race in America from 1619-1819 in 1890.

In his preface, he wrote of his 11 years teaching and observing “omission and commission on the part of white authors, most of whom seem to have written exclusively for white children, and studiously left out the many creditable deeds of the Negro. … But how must the little colored child feel when he has completed the assigned course of U. S. History and in it found not one word of credit, not one word of favorable comment for even one among the millions of his foreparents who have lived through nearly three centuries of his country’s history!”

“African Americans began authoring textbooks and creating history pageants that spanned centuries with song, speech, and dance.”

Leila Amos Pendleton, a former Washington, DC, teacher, expressed similar sentiments in her A Narrative of the Negro. Dating to 1912, it preceded Woodson’s 1933 pioneering Mis-Education of the Negro, which railed against the American educational system’s failure to teach accurate black history.

Pendleton reframed the Jamestown arrival of those first African Virginians, putting it in a diasporic context that discussed African civilizations (an oxymoron, according to many white authors), the African presence in Mexico, slavery in Muslim countries, and the systematic abuse of indigenous peoples in the colonies.

She also made a direct emotional appeal to black children: “PICTURE to yourselves, dear children, a small group of foreigners frightened and sad, with hearts aching for home and for the loved ones from whom they had been torn …. The early part of the seventeenth century belongs to the dark ages of the world’s history, to the time when men had not yet understood that it is the right of every human creature to be free and that it is the solemn duty of every man and every race to help toward true freedom every other man and every other race.”

LaGarrett King, a professor and founding director of the University of Missouri’s Carter Center for K-12 Black History Education, said it’s hard to know how widely used such texts were. He can say Johnson’s was used in a black Raleigh, North Carolina, high school. Murray, the Maryland principal and scholar, pointed out that Pendleton’s was advertised in the NAACP magazine the Crisis, and that she likely had an unusual advantage: Her husband owned the publishing outfit that produced her book.

But their explicitly political versions of history, which recounted a black past that was more than slavery and sometimes had its own share of romanticism, couldn’t dislodge decades — centuries, really — of white supremacy via textbook. It couldn’t stop such ideologies from being circulated in American schools, even in more recent decades.

From the civil rights movement to today, textbooks still leave a lot to be desired

Even in the heyday of the civil rights movement and beyond, textbooks still failed to capture the reality of what the enslaved endured through their perspective. “In the greater number of textbooks, slave life is pictured as a not too unpleasant condition; in fact, it was often described as having been rather nice in the sheer beauty of relationship between the slaveowner and the slaves,” wrote graduate student James O. Lewis, whose thesis on black representations in textbooks in 1960 influenced the NAACP’s efforts to revamp racist textbooks.

Lewis also concluded that instructional materials were quick to equate blackness with slavery, especially when writing about Jamestown. He noted that all textbooks in his sample included the arrival of the first Africans to Jamestown, and though he observed diversity in how the books described the Africans’ arrival, the majority insisted that slavery began with them in the Jamestown colony.

Lewis, however, supported the view of a minority of those textbooks that these involuntary migrants were indentured servants, a debate that continues today. In 1619, when the Africans arrived, Virginia had no legal framework for slavery in the colony, but moved in successive decades to cement slavery as a hereditary racial institution.

King said that, overall, textbooks have failed to clearly communicate the nuances, questions, and debates about the Africans’ status in early Virginia. And that’s part of a larger, existential problem.

“The way we teach K-12 black history is either oppression or liberation,” he said. “The majority of teachers know that 1619 is a year that we represent the first Africans [to come to British North America] on what would become US soil. But then what’s missing is what happened next. Then, in terms of black history, we just move on to slavery. A lot of textbooks now will center them as both [slaves or indentured servants], but the way we understand slavery is very vague. Our textbooks say they were sold for goods, but they could have been indentured and sold for goods, until their terms [of their labor contracts] were up.”

But few K-12 instructors know enough about the debate over the Africans’ status to be able to sort out what’s what, and many agree that textbooks they use are ineffective. A 2018 report from the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), “Teaching Hard History: American Slavery,” found that more than half of teachers (58 percent) polled weren’t happy with their textbooks and almost 40 percent said that their state offered little or no support for teaching about slavery.

King said there’s also the issue of what teachers themselves learned in the textbooks they read as students because “we regularly saw egregious and racist references to black people as late as the 70s.” The birth of black studies programs and the “new” social history, the popularity of Alex Haley’s Roots, and civil rights activism helped usher in curricular changes. The NAACP, for example, had a textbook committee that monitored how schoolbooks portrayed black communities and history. But sometimes, so did groups such as the Confederate Veterans of America, which released a 1932 report decrying one textbook’s portrayal of Jamestown as a raggedy settlement that didn’t compare well with New England’s early colonies.

Even if most textbooks are no longer overtly racist, it doesn’t mean pedagogy has sufficiently changed. Over the past decade, school districts around the country have come under fire for the way they teach slavery, including incorporating slavery references into math equations.

In 2012, an Atlanta elementary school posed this homework question: “If Frederick got two beatings per day, how many beatings did he get in one week? Two weeks?” And just last year, San Antonio, Texas parents complained about a history homework assignment that asked eighth graders to list positive and negative aspects of slavery. Turns out the activity was directly tied to a textbook used by the school for about 10 years. Prentice Hall Classics: A History of the United States argued that all slaveowners were not cruel: “a few [slaves] never felt the lash,” and “many may not have even been terribly unhappy with their lot, for they knew no other.”

It’s no surprise then that, according to the SPLC report, only 8 percent of high school seniors surveyed knew that slavery was the central cause of the Civil War, 12 percent understood slavery was important to the Northern economy, and just 22 percent could identify how the Constitution benefited slaveowners.

Textbooks remain a reflection of the political climate

Textbooks have been a part of the culture wars for a long time, said King. In the late 1990s, scholar Leah Wasburn analyzed slavery representation’s in US history textbooks used in Indiana, and she noted how the religious right influenced textbooks in the 1980s and’90s. During this period, there were more conservative references to how Christianity got the enslaved through hard times, as well as traditional family rhetoric that said the wives of slave owners (which assumed women weren’t slaveowners themselves) took care of the enslaved in motherly ways.

King explained, “It boils down to money and politics. One of the strategies of conservative politicians is taking over state school boards, where textbook policies are been adopted.” Seats on those boards are often appointed, and large states — those who can deliver big sales to publishing companies and may require school systems to buy particular textbooks — have a massive say in what content makes its way into student’s hands and minds.

Texas, for example, earned a reputation for inserting dubious information and interpretations about the nation’s creation, evolution, and slavery into its school books. In one case, Moses — he of the Ten Commandments — was listed as a Founding Father, and enslaved people were referred to as immigrant workers in a textbook caption a student flagged in 2015. And this is a problem that transcends the Lone Star state; as a New York Review of Books analysis of the state’s curricular curation stated in this epigram: “What happens in Texas doesn’t stay in Texas when it comes to textbooks.”

However, outcry has sparked some change: In late 2018, the Texas state school board decided that public school curricula should be changed to emphasize slavery as a primary cause of the Civil War, when it previously prioritized sectionalism and states rights; those changes are scheduled to go in effect this school year for middle and high school students.

But despite many Americans’ desire to see history as one straight line of progress — and that applies to the timeline of both America the country and American textbooks — King sees a future of hard work ahead.

There are still few textbook authors of color, and in K-12 “more than 80 percent of [public elementary and secondary] teachers are white,” King said. “The curriculum is still Eurocentric, despite the cosmetic diversity. We have quantitatively improved in diversifying the curriculum, though we haven’t qualitatively improved.” This is because so much of black history is defined only through contact with Europeans and American whites, he says.

He suggests intentional evidence-based reframing — which complicates assumptions that black people’s reasons for their actions were the same as white people’s. For example, instead of pointing to black Americans’ fighting on both sides of the American Revolution as mere proof of patriotism — as black Americans are constantly required to prove their fealty in history and contemporary politics — he points out blacks were promised freedom, directly or indirectly, if they took up arms.

Still, he explains there are more good resources for teachers to learn from and use today. This includes materials that aren’t hardbound texts, like the recent 1619 Project from the New York Times; Teaching Tolerance’s “Teaching Hard History” series, which has multiple episodes on slavery featuring accomplished scholars and has recently updated content on teaching K-5 students; and online readings lists about a variety of topics dealing with race, such as the Ferguson syllabus.

For her part, Murray says that as a former teacher and now an administrator, she’s always striving to create another alternative canon.

“There’s always a group of teachers who will teach the curriculum. But there’s one teacher in every department who’s engaged in upper-level discussions about how to create a curriculum that matters to their students. For them, it’s not just about how many facts they have to memorize; it’s about how to include LGBTQ history, for example.”

To push forward, she says educators must continue to pull from intellectual descendants like Leila Amos Pendleton, whom she calls “dream weavers and writers, people who were in front of children teaching them and writing for them.” As Murray notes, “They were imagining for them and for us.”

Dr. Cynthia R. Greenlee is a North Carolina-based historian, journalist, and editor. Her writing has appeared in Literary Hub, Longreads, Smithsonian, and Vice, among others. Follow her on Twitter at @CynthiaGreenlee.

This article previously appeared in Vox .

[musedrevolution]

Why do we teach music history?

I’ll be honest for a moment here: I have not enjoyed music history in college. The class has always felt unnecessary: memorize this information, spit it back out. Learn these names, these pieces, and these dates. I can’t imagine needing it. But music history the subject has always fascinated me. When I took piano lessons in high school, my teacher would always instruct me to research the composer a little whenever I got a piece by someone I hadn’t played before. I not only did this research, but did it enthusiastically. I was excited to share what I found about Haydn or Tchaikovsky. 

One could argue that it was simply the way I was being taught that could change my opinion on similar material so drastically. I don’t disagree with that assertion. My previous music history education was a conversation that I got to contribute to. I got to feel like an expert sometimes because I came in with information that my teacher didn’t necessarily have. She didn’t give it to me, I found it on my own, while everything I’ve learned in college music history has come straight from the textbook or the lecture. But I would also like to argue that I was learning the material for a completely different reason when I loved it in high school piano. 

Here, I am ignoring the fact that my piano lessons were not graded and did not contribute to my GPA. I know that part of the reason I learn music history now is because I would like a good grade in my class, but that motivation is not what I am discussing here. I am focusing now on the purpose provided by the scenario. Why was the music history being taught? 

I would assert that my college music history classes are being taught in a bubble. I am learning music history because I have been told that it is “important,” although I have seen little justification for this in the rest of my studies. As a student whose primary focus is wind ensemble music, I rarely play pieces by the composers we study in-depth. When I eventually direct a band myself, this trend is likely to continue. Mozart simply didn’t write for wind ensemble, as the wind ensemble did not yet exist. My theory classes covered the music of the baroque and classical eras well before we discussed them in music history, meaning that I was once again unable to apply the things I had learned in the history class. 

This bubble is further created by one of my music history professors outright forbidding our class from connecting what we were learning in class to the music we were familiar with. The class covered music from ancient times until the year 1750. We were explicitly forbidden from mentioning anything that occurred after 1750 in our work. I did a presentation on renaissance instruments at one point, and was not allowed to mention the trombone when discussing the sackbut, nor the oboe while discussing the crumhorn. 

Without the ability to compare the past to the present, the class felt absolutely useless. Why do I need to care about the sackbut in the first place if it is not to understand the origin of the trombone? Why should I care about baroque opera that I can’t understand if I can’t connect it to the modern musical theater that I have so much affection for? 

My answer to these questions became “because I want an A in the class.” As a teacher, I hope that my students never have to answer the question “why do I need to know this” with “because I want a good grade.” That answer leads to a lack of motivation and, worse, a lack of understanding. When students don’t see purpose in learning the material, they aim to memorize rather than really engage with the content. They prepare for an assessment rather than attempting to really internalize the concepts. As an educator, that is heartbreaking. 

Yet that has been the case with my music history education much of the time. When I have asked the question “why are we learning about X,” I am often met with the argument that “X was a genius” or “X is a brilliant piece of music.” I have never found that to be a satisfactory answer. There are lots of things that are brilliant that I have no interest in studying in-depth because I know I will not use the information: papers on particle physics, for example. I’m glad someone did it, but I feel no compulsion to engage with it just because it is a work of genius. I also think that “genius” and “brilliant” are very subjective terms, and are often misused in the world of music, but that’s beside the point. 

Returning to my love of the music history I learned in piano back in high school, I never had to ask why I was learning it: I applied it immediately. I learned about the Russian revolution when playing Russian music, and put the anger and fear that so many people experienced into my interpretation of the piece. Even five years later I remember playing a Kabalevsky’s Sonatina in a minor and learning about the small act of rebellion he committed against the communist party he was employed by when he included two measures with emphasized syncopation. Syncopation was considered a “western” concept rather than a “Russian” one, and therefore could not be used in Russian music. I still know this because I got to apply that knowledge to my performance. Even if my parents didn’t know why those two measures were important, they could tell they were important because I brought them out of the texture a little. 

That application made the material mean something. Kabalevsky was more than a name and set of random facts. He was a rebel. He was fighting against oppressors. He was cool to a sixteen year old me. I have never experienced that thought in my music history classes. 

So the question becomes this: how do we get the goal of academic music history classes to be application? 

As a future high school band director, the solution is simpler than it is for my collegiate music history professors. I will have the opportunity to do something very similar to what my piano teachers did, and teach music history alongside the pieces we are performing: if we are performing “The Washington Post” march by Sousa, we will discuss march form and history, along with why John Phillip Sousa was a big deal and how the march got its name. Where was it performed for the first time? Students will connect to this information because they will be able to use to inform a stellar performance. 

This is quite impossible in a college music history class. At my university, there are members of no less than ten different ensembles enrolled in my music history class, including students specializing in wind ensemble, choir, orchestra, and jazz. It would be impossible to cover every composer we’re playing pieces by, and no composer would be directly relevant to everyone in the room. So this solution that is simple in a band room becomes impossible. 

I would suggest changing the goal of music history from knowing about certain composers and pieces to learning a skill set that is applicable to any composer and any piece. This skill set would include an advanced musical vocabulary. We would still need to learn about genres, forms, textures, and instrumentation. We would have a basic timeline of the evolution of these concepts so we can understand approximately where a piece fits in. We would learn about the useful generalizations that can be made using the idea of musical eras. This necessary skill set would also include research skills: how do you learn about music once you’re out of this classroom?

Now with the idea of a skill based curriculum comes the question: what about all of the “brilliant” composers that we focus so extensively on in our current model? Well, firstly it is important to remember that some of them fit into an understanding of the musical ideas I’ve already discussed. You cannot talk about the evolution of the symphony without talking about Beethoven. You cannot discuss the development of opera without discussing Mozart and Wagner. But these discussions can be had based on what they did rather than simply their excellence. Students can learn for themselves why these figures were important. These so-called geniuses can also offer great practice for the application of research skills that are so essential to music history scholarship. Rather than simply reading about these people in a textbook, why not read primary sources focused on their work? Why not expect students to find pieces that demonstrate general characteristics common to a composer’s style? Not only will students learn more about whatever great master is being studied, but they will be able to apply that information beyond that individual. 

This approach would have multiple advantages. Firstly, if we’re studying the people in music history for reasons other than “they’re important” it is far easier to diversify the curriculum. Music history is very straight, very white, and very male. When pieces and composers are being used as part of a broader curriculum rather than the sole focus, lesser known artists and works can be incorporated. A lesser known classical sonata can be substituted for one by Mozart. A wind ensemble symphony can serve as an example of the genre’s modern incarnation just as easily as an orchestral one. This allows all students, even those for whom orchestra or choir is not their primary focus, even those who are not white men, to see themselves in the class, and to connect to that. 

Secondly, and I cannot stress this enough, students can apply this curriculum when they are not discussing Mozart or Beethoven. As a band director, it is unlikely that I program much Mozart. But I will certainly use my understanding of how to discuss music history when I program a symphony for band, or discuss the latin origins of a piece like Kevin Day’s “Havana.” (If you don’t know Kevin Day, you will one day. He writes great wind ensemble music and is going to be HUGE). My students will need background on these pieces just as much as they would if they were playing baroque music. I wish I was being prepared as if that were the case. 

Instead, I am learning names and dates. I am learning piece titles and the fact that they are “brilliant.” If I am to apply this information outside of my music history classes, I have to figure out how to do that myself. I can do that, but I hope that the music history community aims to make their class more worthwhile to the students. Students don’t dislike music history because they are lazy or stupid. They dislike it because they don’t know what it’s for. I think it’s high time we change that. 

[mg1153]

Advanced Readers

Marie Gewiss                                                                                                      Due Date-2/5/2021

Advanced Readers in Reading First Classrooms: Who Was Really “Left Behind”? Considerations for the Field of Gifted Education by Catherine M. Brighton, Tonya R. Moon, and Francis H. L. Huang

Thinking about advanced readers is an interesting aspect of what Brighton was trying to convey in her article and comparison to the NCLB Act. The “big takeaway” and discovery according to the research conducted is that the advanced readers did not advance at all in their reading ability beyond what they already knew. The advanced readers’ lack of being challenged and their teacher’s misunderstandings about the overall classroom instruction led those advanced readers to limited knowledge of progression (Brighton., et al., 2015). The struggling readers with the use of Basel readers were able to make connections, learn, and benefit from the extra support.

The “nugget” that I am taking away from this article is the section on differentiated instruction. I was surprised that some teachers and even coaches would ask questions based on their degree of advancement. The more advanced students were the more advanced the higher-order thinking questions became. The struggling students might only be ask something simple that came from their textbook. Brighton confirmed that those teachers do not understand classroom instruction and how best to use differentiated instruction while teaching (Brighton, et al., 2015). Higher-order thinking skills need to have the opportunity to grow within all students.

Catherine Brighton is the Associate Dean for Academic Programs and Student Affairs and Professor of curriculum and instruction at the Curry School of Education in the University of Virginia. Catherine’s research includes differentiated instruction, school reform initiatives, assessment, problem-solving, and creativity (Brighton, 2020).

Brighton’s main idea is to teach students through something called pre-assessment. Learning what the students know so the teacher can accommodate the students needs. One way of accomplishing this task is just to ask the students what they have learned in another class and finding out the things that interest them. These discoveries alone can lead the teacher into a classroom enrichment project.

I can see Brighton’s idea and her focus in teaching college students this information. Some teachers have the ideas of only asking certain kind of questions to students based on what they think the student should know rather than giving the students something that could challenged their thinking. Higher-order thinking is for all students. 

In comparison to her article about advance readers, it looks like Brighton studies these kinds of research methods in hoping to find answers that could benefit the advance students as well as the struggling student. Brighton’s concentration in her doctorate program was educational psychology. Brighton had learned many different strategies for classroom management, learning about different types of learners, and learning about how to structure a teaching style through differential instruction that will help the struggling student and challenged the advance or gifted student. 

Personally since I haven’t had the experiences within a classroom it is difficult for me to share any stories. I know I have had experiences as a preschool teacher and I have some experiences with after school students. With those experiences  and the children I have influenced as all been teaching to each individual child according to interest and their abilities. The learning is centered around teaching the basic of colors, shapes, letters, numbers, art and writing exercises as well as offering them science experiences that they can explored and enjoyed. Even at a young age it is never to late to begin teaching and challenging students to enter the next step of their development. 

The reading made me think about my two daughters who were part of the extra reading support for comprehension. My younger daughter went to first grade on a third grade reading level and at the end of fifth grade she was still on a third grade reading level. When ask to give her a test on her reading ability she was on grade level in 5th grade which seemed to surprised her teachers. She was given lessons as if she was in third grade. This was hurtful to discover that she wasn’t challenged when she enter first grade as an advanced reader but was kept on the same level all through elementary school. No one knew how to deal with this sort of situation that this child wasn’t challenged in her abilities as an advanced reader.in first grade. As an educator and according to Brighton’s study the advanced students do not progress but only the students who expressed extra support. When thinking about the NCLB act it seems like the students that aren’t cater to are those students who seemed advanced. Educators I believe need to make provisions for all students, so that everyone has a chance to succeed and be successful.

A short video about pre-assessment from Catherine Brighton.

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=catherine+brighton&&view=detail&mid=768CA48990E44E858CC8768CA48990E44E858CC8&&FORM=VRDGAR&ru=%2Fvideos%2Fsearch%3Fq%3Dcatherine%2Bbrighton%26docid%3D608055305408610788%26mid%3D

References::

Brighton, C. (2020, August 06). Retrieved February 02, 2021, from https://dev.curry.virginia.edu/catherine-brighton

Brighton, C. M., Moon, T. R., Huang, F. H. L. (2015). Advanced readers in reading first classrooms: Who was REALLY "left behind"? Considerations for the field of gifted education -  Retrieve February 03, 2021, from https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0162353215592501