#i know the schools don't teach geography anymore i know i know i know it's not really their fault but please!!!!

[entamewitchlulu]

this happened days ago but i'm still thinking about it because it absolutely floored me, and my call to action about it is a desperate plea to any teens who may be following me to PLEASE take advantage of the moment of life you are in and learn whatever you can, through school, through online courses, through books, whatever, just please expand your horizons and always be willing to learn something new and not to look down on learning even the most basic of things because they are so so important and you also deserve to know things! about the world! you deserve it!!!

anyway the thing that started this was when I did a little trivia game event at my workplace a few days back and i had exactly one student come by and during a trivia question that involved some geography and with an actual world map in front of them that they were actively staring at they said "which one is africa"

[my-castles-crumbling]

hi cas career advice anon again

so a few days i slowly started bringing up the fact that i didn't really like the stem subjects with my mom and she just went "Do humanities study history and geography in 11 and 12 or maybe you can even study *my second language*" in like a dismissive type of joking way bc somehow it's turned into a running joke in my family about how i constantly get better marks in non stem subjects and how i should just go study them instead (derogatorily) and yeah i had plans to do stem and had those plans for a majority of my life but my parents treat humanities as just history and geography and therefore pretty useless. like i get that in our country, you're more likely to be better off if you take stem and probably even in the world in general but law is still pretty respectable and even if it wasn't law, but something else that was non stem, it shouldn't have been like such a big deal. i mean i could probably do well if i genuinely tried but i don't even like the stem subjects anymore so it's pointless. i just need to make it through next year and i can completely turn my back on it. i want to tell my parents by the end of 9th grade so they have some time to readjust their views by the time our subject selection for 11th grade happens. except judging by their reactions, i don't know how they'll take it. i don't think it'll be easy but i have to give them that time, especially if i need to convince them. also our school operates through a system of four electives besides our compulsory language classes from 11th grade and legal studies happens to be in the same bracket as physics so i'm keeping my fingers crossed about being able to take legal studies instead of physics.

i told my parents today. they have been going on about how i'm so unmotivated to study physics (they didn't know so yeah) and if my career goals had changed i should just tell them, so i did to get them off my back. they were understandably shocked bc who wouldn't be when they found out that their daughter had changed her mind about her career in two weeks after wanting to do something for practically her entire life. my mom wants (very badly) for me to continue with science after 10th grade and prepare for the law entrance exam on the side but my dad says he's fine with me leaving science for law of i'm absolutely sure about taking it bc science is very intensive in our country after 10th grade so it doesn't make sense for me to take it, not do well, and fuck up all my future prospects. my mom thinks i'm getting scared of science bc they're concerned about me not doing well recently and see, i'm kinda scared bc i'm concerned but that's not the only reason. my dad also wants me to go to a trial and see what the system in our country is like just in case i don't get to go abroad and have to work here before i make my decision, which is fair, considering that my country sucks in most aspects. however, my mom. that's a different matter altogether bc she says that she doesn't care if i want to do something other than science but she's of the very strong opinion that i should still continue with science until i graduate high school. she's like, "but you understand physics and you're smart your grades are just low because you don't practice." like, i don't practice because i find it boring and procrastinate because of that. my dad agreed with her because he's been teaching me physics for a month now after my practically failed midterm. i get that they're concerned about what could happen if i didn't like legal studies after i took it bc i can't retake science if i leave it once right? one of my friends left it and now she hates the subject she took instead of it. both she and my parents are concerned because what if that happens to me too, but see, even if i don't like it, i'd still be good at it because it plays to my strengths. that's the difference between legal studies and physics. and i made the rookie mistake of bringing up what one of my friends who's friends with a lot of seniors said about science being intensive. my parents said that i should think it over carefully and that this discussion is being tabled for when the decision has to be made, something which i want to avoid because then i won't have a lot of time to convince them. also, a legit conversation i had with my mom today:

mom: i always thought you were smart but now i'm rethinking it

me: why because i want to leave science?

mom: no because you're being too influenced by your friends (all my friends plan on leaving science or have already left it)

me: no i'm leaving science because i want to, not because of anything they said

mom: *my friend* said that science is intensive in 11 and 12 and you're basing your decision off that

me: she's friends with seniors and it honestly is

mom: yeah but millions of people take it every year and give the *engineering entrance exam*

me (in my native language): will you continue this until i take science or what

then she got mad and left. see, i'm just genuinely done with physics and without it, i can't take any of the stem field entrance exams. i always liked law, but since i wanted to go abroad and move around, i was concerned about retaking the bar every time, but now that i'm older and have actually researched it, i think it would suit me well. i get that my parents want me to keep my options open for the future and focus on the GCSE equivalents that i have next year, but i'm getting very frustrated especially because they keep saying that i understand physics well so they don't see why i want to drop it, especially my mom, and while i know that they only want what they think is the best for me, i'd genuinely appreciate it if they respected my decision and stopped asking me to reconsider it carefully. this was one of the major reasons as to why i didn't want to tell them, because while they've not explicitly said that they're against me dropping science, but they've made it very clear that i should continue to take it and how legal studies won't be easier either but like, my life, my choice except they don't seem to get it and they're getting on my nerves rn.

i'm sorry ik it's like way too long but i kinda just needed to rant

Hi!

You're always welcome to rant <3

It sounds like your dad is being a bit more reasonable than your mom? I would try to talk with him more, to be honest. Continue sharing your feelings and see if he can kind of come over to your side. Having an adult ally is always nice. Also, I think it's a great idea to see some real trials and stuff if you can! I know your dad might be wanting you to do it to 'be sure' but from an experience perspective, that's a really cool thing to talk about in future interviews.

I'm proud of you for sticking to your decision and doing what YOU want. Remember, even if you change your mind later, do it for YOU. Its your life, not anyone else's.

[nuoyipeach]

Play Pretend

Lee Taeyong X Kang Seulgi

warning: single parents

tags: @gerardeveryway @gomseulgiii @innssanityyy @seulyongggi (+anon requested)

"Baby have you got your report card yet?" Taeyong asked while buttoning his shirt and walking out of his bedroom. His eyes scanned the living room until it fell on the figure of the ten year old laying on the couch lazily, groaning as a response. "Hurry up, let me sign it before you go today." he ordered heading into the kitchen.

The young girl sighed before getting up and fixing back her school uniform, taking out a file from her backpack and handing it to her father at the dining table, where he drank his coffee. Taeyong took it and looked through the card.

"B- in Geography?" he looked at his daughter, raising an eyebrow.

"The teacher is mean OK!" she exclaimed. "I swear daddy she absolutely hates kids and decided to teach just to punish us."

Taeyong chuckled watching the girl pout and slouch into the chair opposite to him, shaking his head before taking out a pen from his pocket and signing the card, handing it back to her.

"Well, you still got As and Bs mostly, so I guess that counts for a little present, don't you think?" he watched as she sat up straight with gleaming eyes, nodding enthusiastically causing her father to laugh.

A smile on his daughter's face was his immediate ecstasy, the cure for all the sadness he felt since her existence.

"After school today, I'll pick you and we'll go to the mall, you can pick out one thing, budget is 40,000 won."

The girl got up and ran to her father's side, hugging his neck tight. "I LOVE YOU DADDY YOU'RE THE BEST!"

"Wow, all for one present huh." he fake sulked, making the girl sigh in exasperation, and he just laughed at her, giving a soft kiss to her cheek. "Go get your bag now, you'll be late."

>>>

"Seojin please calm down." Seulgi's voice shook as she didn't know what to do anymore, her one year old fussing in her arms as she sat in the clinic. She was so tired, but couldn't rest a second at the thought of her baby sick to the point of crying.

"Kang Seojin." she looked up as the nurse finally called them in after what felt like forever, and quickly headed in to the doctor's office with her daughter in one hand and the baby bag in her other. She was quick to fall into the patient's seat opposite the doctor, who was focused on his screen before turning to them.

"Hello, I'm Dr Lee." he greeted, and Seulgi responded. "So this is Kang Seojin, one year old, baby girl, right?" she nodded, and noticed the doctor eyes her fussing baby who had calmed for a second when seeing the new face. The doctor typed away in his computer, before motioning her to sit on the bed and lay Seojin on it.

"So what seems to be the problem Ms?" he asked taking is stethoscope off his neck.

Seulgi looked at her baby still fussing uncomfortably, pulling on her shirt as a sign to carry her again. "She's been like this since yesterday, it's never happened before so I'm incredibly worried. I don't know what to do, it doesn't seem like she's got a temperature, and everything else seems normal. I'm so scared and tired..."

The man took note of the baby's breathing, who had calmed again slightly feeling the cold metal pressed to her chest. Seulgi watched as the doctor smiled at her, making playful expressions while moving the stethoscope around. She wondered if he had listened to her at all with how attentive he was being to Seojin's behaviour, but she knew paediatrics were very smart.

"OK, her breathing seems normal." he put the tool away, then looked at Seulgi, pointing to the baby's little dress. "May I?"

Seulgi stared confused, until she realised what he was asking permission for and felt touched, nodding immediately. He lifted the dress and with light fingers pressed around her tummy, making sounds at the same time to entertain the infant. She watched the way he interacted with her daughter, and almost felt sad if not for the fact she was in public.

"OK, seems like she's a bit bloated." he put her dress down and sat the infant up, holding her hands and playing with them a little as he continued speaking. "I suspect she's having trouble with gas. Has there been any irregularity in her meals? Or maybe something new you've been feeding her recently?"

Seulgi stared at her daughter and thought for a while. She hasn't fed her anything new in the time she's been sick this way, so the only option could be the first.

With a guilty face, she looked at him and answered. "It might have been the meal times. I work as a teacher, and uhm, she only has me, and I only have her..." she bit her bottom lip trying to stop herself from sounding pitiful. "I take her with me to the school and keep her in the day care part time which is free for me as a staff, but I've had to take an extra afternoon class recently, so she stays there a little longer than usual, so me feeding her gets delayed until I get home..."

The man stared a little perplexed. "Doesn't the daycare feed her?"

"They do, I still have to pay just that because she's so young so she requires special meal preparations, but I can only afford to do one for her in the time she's there. She does have some baby snacks in case, but it's not really enough to count as a meal you know..."

Seulgi felt ashamed as her flaws as a mother laid out to the doctor, and she could only pray he didn't judge her or spread the news of a mother being this incompetent. She watched as he stared at Seojin deep in thought, before picking her up and placing the infant on her lap, motioning her to come back to the table.

Once they sat, he typed away in his computer before speaking again. "I see no father listed in her records?" her eyes widened, even more embarrassment washing over her as she nodded.

"She has one, biologically, but... he didn't want anything to do with a baby. It's been just been me since then."

"Well, I can give you a prescription to help with her current bloating, however if her missing a meal continues it won't help in the long run."

He saw how she clearly hated that hypothesis. "What can I do? I took up an extra class for more salary just enough for us two. I can't afford them to feed her twice either." she felt her voice nearly crack, quickly looking away and taking deep breaths to stop herself breaking down.

The doctor rested his chin on his hand, elbow on the table, as he thought about a solution. "How about babysitting?"

"I can't offer enough for people to accept..."

He was deep in thought again, before suddenly raising his brows as if making a discovery. "How about someone young? They won't ask for much." Seulgi stared at him confused, which he clearly noticed before continuing. "You see, I am a single parent myself actually. I have a ten year old daughter, and she goes to the local private academy. The issue is, their classes start eight and end at two, not nine to five like the public schools, and due to office hours I also get off at five. She ends up going home alone, and honestly I trust her but it worries me."

Seulgi empathised deeply with him. She knew despite him having a higher paid job than her and being able to afford niceties more, being a single parent was never easy no matter what.

He continued as she nodded, assuring she was listening. "You work at the local public school right?" he asked, to which she nodded. "Great, hers is just a few minutes walk from there. If you don't mind, I was thinking maybe she could watch Seojin after her classes. That way you won't have to pay double for the daycare meals, and considering she's only ten you won't have to offer too much for babysitting fees either. As her father, I can assure you that it's fine."

Seulgi took his idea seriously, her mind crossing out thr pros and cons of it all. "How will she watch her? I mean like, where?"

"Well, I usually use my lunch break to pick her up and drop her."

Seulgi still wasn't convinced. "But, you don't know my house, and I'm not sure I can let Seojin go to another one like that just yet."

He realised her concern, and nodded before responding. "Where do you live?"

"Well, it's a ten minute walk from the school..."

"Oh that's not far at all, I can just drop them there from now on, and pick her up after work."

"Are you sure?" hesitation filled her voice as she realised how burdensome it sounds on his part. "It sounds like a lot of trouble on your part..."

"It's not don't worry, your place sounds closer to here than mine, so it'll be quick too. I'm only offering because I'd like for her to pick up some responsibility instead of being alone for so long, and it's only for three to four hours."

After much more hesitation, mental debate, and some final thoughts, Seulgi decided it was the only option that doesn't compromise her daughter's health further, so she didn't have much of a choice anyways. Sighing, she agreed to the idea, planning for a meet up first before the young girl would start her job.

The doctor wrote something on two separate note pages. "I'll write her prescription to get her current bloating down, you can pick it up at the counter. And here's my number." he passed both papers across his table as they stood, and smiled putting his hand out. "My full name's Lee Taeyong by the way, my daughter is Lee Yoora."

>>>

After a quick lunch meet at a cafe, where Seulgi saw how Yoora adored Seojin and clearly showed signs of being responsible, she finally agreed wholly to the plan, and now sat in her classroom staring at the clock. Yoora should have picked up her daughter by now and already reach their home, and she had promised to let Seulgi know when she does.

Seulgi had left a pre-prepared meal for Seojin, as well as some lunch for Yoora, and left instructions for everything on a paper on the fridge. If her instincts were right during their meet up, Yoora should have no issue navigating everything.

Her phone dinged, and she was quick to grab and check the notification.

Lee Yoora: hi! we reached your home, Seojin fell asleep, do you want me to wake her and feed or wait?

She let out a sigh of relief, and smiled at how seriously the young girl took her job.

Me: hi yoora, glad to hear that. it's time for her afternoon nap, so why don't you go ahead and eat first. lay her on her mat in the living room and check on the fridge, I've left some directions, and lunch for you in the fridge

Yoora sent back a thumbs up, and Seulgi relaxed, focusing back on her classroom where students started coming in after lunch time. Unlike before she felt much calmer teaching the class, though hints of worry did wash over every now and then at the thought of whether Seojin was doing OK.

As soon as school ended, she clocked out and went home right away. She stood in front of the door, taking a deep breath to steady herself, then opened it to find the house completely calm and quiet. She went in further until she heard a soft giggle from Seojin, and finally peeked into their living room/dining space to see Yoora on the table doing work, while her own daughter sat in her baby seat next to her simply entertained by the jingling fluffy pen the older girl was using to write. Yoora was smiling too, and Seulgi watched a bit longer when the ten year old looked back at the infant and teased her with the fluffy end, causing her to laugh more.

Her heart tickled at the sight of her baby so happy in the care of someone else. Seulgi had felt so alone since having Seojin, with the man leaving her, and her family living too far away to be able to help at all, she was overjoyed that there was someone else her baby could finally learn to trust. She had feared Seojin might have had a separation issue from her, but luckily that wasn't the case as she sees now.

"I'm home." she decided to finally announce herself and entered, greeting Yoora before taking her daughter and kissing her cheek. "I see you two had fun today." she chuckled as she spoke, before turning back to Yoora. "I'll take her now, why don't you finish your work while I make us something to eat?"

"Oh no I don't want to bother you." Yoora waves her hands, but Seulgi shook her head.

"It's fine, you'll need nutrients to keep you brain running."

>>>

Their routine soon became natural, and Taeyong was the most relieved when seeing how happy Yoora had been the past couple of months whenever he picked her up. Sometimes he'd end up a little late due to patient emergencies, but Seulgi reassured him it was no issue for her, and if anything it was more helpful as she was able to get more done without worrying abt Seojin. Yoora also loved the arrangement as Seulgi being a teacher helped her with some schoolwork.

"Daddy we should invite them over next weekend. It's Ms Seulgi's birthday on the tenth, I wanna do something special for her." Taeyong listened to his daughter, and hummed in response. He figured it would be a good way for the two adults to get closer, especially considering he barely knew about them as much as Seulgi knew his side.

Once he tucked away Yoora for bed, he went to his room and pulled out his phone, thinking for a little before sending a text.

Taeyong: good evening seulgi. how are you & the little one?

He waited a few minutes before a reply came in.

Seulgi: hi dr taeyong, we're doing well

Taeyong: great to hear!

Taeyong: so yoora & I were wondering if you'd like to join us for dinner next week, say Saturday?

Seulgi: oh, I think it should be fine. what's the occasion?

Taeyong thought for a second, before deciding to make it a surprise.

Taeyong: just a simple dinner party

Seulgi felt hesitant despite having agreed to it already, and once the day came she stressed about what to wear and dress Seojin in. In the end she settled for a simple sleeveless yellow dress, reaching just below her knees, and a black cardigan over it. She then dressed Seojin in a similar yellow dress with ruffled sleeves and white tights.

She called a taxi and reached the Lees apartment just according to their agreed time, following the text of instructions on which floor and house number to head to. As she stood in the elevator, one hand with the baby bag and the other carrying Seojin, she suddenly felt a slight wave of tension. She didn't know why, but she felt oddly nervous entering Taeyong's living space. They've barely met much ever since the arrangement, just simple greetings exchanged when he picked up Yoora, and once more when she went for a follow up check for Seojin with him.

The elevator stopped, and she sighed stepping out and finding their door. The apartments weren't luxurious, nothing more than simple and modest, but still nicer than what she could afford. Another wave of nervousness washed over her until she found their door, taking a deep breath before ringing the bell.

The door swung open fast as a beaming child appeared. "Hi Ms Seulgi! Come on in!" Yoora cheered, taking the bag from her hand and leading her inside to the living room. "Sit here. My dad's coming out, food is ready too, even for Seojin. Come on Seojin let's go play!" she spoke so fast before swooping the infant from her mother's arms and running to her room, where Seulgi could look into and saw a floor mat prepared for Seojin to play on.

"Hi." a deep voice from behind made her stand and turn, smiling at the man appearing before her in a white collar shirt and dress pants, the top two buttons of his shirt left open. "Yoora sure loves Seojin, she couldn't wait for you guys to come sooner, got ready way before me." he chuckled, motioning for her to sit again as he did next to her.

"I'm glad." Seulgi responded, her eyes drifting to the children again. "I've wanted for Seojin to grow up with people around her. But being alone with her doesn't give me much time for playdates." her voice drifted off, and Taeyong sympathised deeply. He hesitated in questioning the obvious, but figured it would be OK to do so given their similar situations.

"How about any family?"

Her eyes darted towards him, and he almost regretted asking it until she sighed and shook her head. "My parents aren't happy about everything. They still keep in touch, but they live back in our hometown so we barely meet unless during chuseok or seollal. Any other relatives... I just don't keep up with." she looked down at her lap, biting her lip which he noticed started quivering, before her eyes landed on Seojin again and she smiled sadly.

"I don't regret having her, I love my baby to the most. I just wish I could have given her a better life without so much... stress about others."

He didn't know what took over him when Taeyong's hand suddenly slide across the couch and held hers, their eyes fixed on each other as he gave it a reassuring squeeze. He waited for a little, until she gave one back, and they exchanged soft smiles before he released her hand.

Both parents unknowing of the spark each other felt inside.

"How about you?" Seulgi broke the silence. "What's your story with Yoora?"

Taeyong chuckled. "I guess it's only fair. Well, you can see she's quite old. I was a second year med student actually when her mother got pregnant. We weren't ready for anything obviously, but she gave birth to her still. But..." this time he sighed, eyes drifting towards his daughter, except unlike Seulgi, guilt took over his face before he spoke very softly. "I haven't told Yoora the truth. Her mother is alive and well, but her family was some rich powerful one. I honestly didn't know much about her considering we were just a fling to be honest, but when Yoora was born they forced her to give up the baby and transferred her to complete her studies overseas. She called me immediately to take Yoora, haven't seen her since."

He looked back at Seulgi, and chuckled again seeing her bewildered expression. He swore never to speak of this in his daughter's presence, but he was glad it finally get it off his chest and talk about it.

"My family was upset with me obviously, but my sister did her best to help until I finished my degree and started working at the hospital. Once I had enough I moved out with Yoora and well, here we are."

>

They sat for dinner, Seojin seated by her mother on Yoora's old baby seat while Yoora sat on her other side. Taeyong watched as the two paid attention to the infant, a new kind of happiness filling up in him. He's always wanted a domestic family life, but between his shifts at the hospital and raising Yoora, he had no time for meeting new people let alone finding the right one.

As they finished eating, the children were back in Yoora's room while he invited Seulgi out to the balcony, handing her a glass of wine. She accepted with a smile, and they stood in silence out in the dark night, both leaning against the railing of the balcony, looking anywhere and everywhere.

"Do you ever wonder what would your life be like if things were... different?" Seulgi's voice broke the silence, and he turned to see her gazing out at the city. He stared at her for a while before taking a sip, thinking of an answer.

He knew exactly what she meant.

"Sometimes... I love her, but this life isn't what I wished for her."

She sighed, eyes darting down to her drink. "Can I confess something?" she peeked to see him still staring at her, and nodding slightly. "I never wanted to be a teacher. Before this job, I had a basic corporate one just to keep things going for me. That's where I met my ex, and I thought things would go well between us. But... when I got pregnant, I knew I wanted to keep my baby, even when he rejected it and broke up with me. That's when I left that job and started as a teacher here."

She took a sip, waiting for some form of response. She saw through the corner of her eye how he looked at her, suddenly moving closer until they stood shoulder to shoulder.

"What was your dream job?"

"A mother."

Silence filled again, nothing but the sounds of the cars and few people going past the building down on the road. Taeyong kept his eyes on her, wondering if she was going to explain further. But she didn't, which wasn't exactly needed because he knew exactly what she meant.

"I wish the same." he spoke softly, her head finally turning towards him as their eyes met. "When Yoora was born, I was too young to care about my future. But now I know that, no matter how much I love her, this isn't what I wanted her to have. I want her to have a mother, siblings, a family life, something even the most capable single parent won't be able to fill up themselves."

They're eyes locked, a look of sympathy in both as they stared at each other for a while. Seulgi suddenly realised how long they had been staring, not to mention their close proximity, and quickly looked down shying away, taking a last swing of her wine. Like Taeyong, she had no time or space for a new relationship, especially when her daughter had just newly turned one. And as far as she had heard, no one wants to start a relationship where a child is a given from day one.

She peeked towards him again, and noticed his eyes stayed on her. Pursing her lips she turned to him fully, his glass now empty as he gazed at her, his eyes changed from sympathy to something else. He got up from leaning on his forearms and faced her as well, and she saw his eyes dart up and down her face.

"I'm glad you came into my office that day." he spoke softly, the distance between them getting smaller. "I see how happy Yoora is when coming home from you. She talks as if Seojin is her sister, even in school..."

She gave a shy smile in return. "I love having her around, and I know Seojin does too."

A quick smile appeared on his face before disappearing again, and Seulgi suddenly felt hot despite the light breeze.

Taeyong knew what he was thinking about wasn't exactly right, or wrong, it was in fact a very grey area. She was beautiful, she wanted the same as him, she brought everything he ever wanted to fix his life. The seal was his daughter loved her.

A gust of wind lightly blew past them, Seulgi blinking as some of her hair went onto her face. But before she could push it back, his hand was already up, fingers lightly pushing her hair off and putting it behind her ear. Their eyes locked for much longer, his hand still on the side of her face, his knuckles unconsciously tracing her jawline. She didn't move or flinch, not even when he suddenly cupped her cheek, his thumb rubbing her cheek this time.

The air felt heavy, Seulgi finding it hard to breathe all of a sudden. She wanted to move, but his touch felt so comforting all of a sudden.

"You've done well."

Three words, full of meaning. Seulgi had felt so stressed, scared, disappointed sometimes even with herself, she didn't realise that these three words was all she needed to hear to feel a wall break down in her heart. She felt so calmed, so soft, that she didn't bother to reject when his lips were suddenly on hers.

Taeyong played it safe, he moved close slowly, hovered his lips over hers at first, and when she remained still, he gave a soft kiss first. But once she kissed back, he let go of all hesitation as his hand moved to hold the back of her neck and pulled her closer as their kiss elongated.

Her skin felt like it was on fire, especially where he touched. She didn't know where it went, but his other hand was suddenly on her waist, simply placed there with no grip or push. Her one hand remained holding the wine glass by its stem while the other slowly gripped his shirt on his arm.

"Da-" they heard a light gasp, enough to break their kiss and quickly detach as they looked at the source of the sound, fear filling up both parents as they faced a still Yoora, looking as if she had faced Medusa and turned to stone.

No one spoke a word, Taeyong feeling guilty, Seulgi embarrassed, and Yoora still in shock. After about two minutes she gulped, looking at either adults, took a deep breath in, then out as she thought of what to say.

"So... you two a thing?"

"NO!" both parents simultaneously answered, shaking their heads.

Yoora looked more confused, then to their shock, a little disappointed. "Oh... thought it was a birthday miracle."

"Birthday?" Seulgi asked confused, to which the young girl covered her mouth before sighing.

"It was supposed to be a surprise. I remember your birthday was the past week, so I wanted to surprise you tonight. That's why I was calling you in actually." her eyes then turned to her father, who stood staring at the floor as if he was caught doing something shameful. "Was that your present or something daddy?"

Seulgi felt a tug at her heart. She hadn't celebrated her birthday since becoming pregnant, and even before that it was spent with a simple wish from her ex-coworkers during their lunch break. Her parents would send her gifts, but that was the most.

The father and daughter were quick to notice tears welling up in her eyes, and Taeyong signalled Yoora too take her inside to where she had readied the cake. She nodded and quickly grabbed Seulgi's hand, pulling her inside until the dining table, where Seojin was seated in the baby seat staring at the cake in awe.

"Mamma!" the infant called out to her mother, pointing towards the candles while laughing. Seulgi silently stared at the scene before her, feeling a deep warmth in the pit of her stomach at the words on the cake wishing her by name.

Happy Birthday to the most amazing mum, Seulgi

"Do you like it?" Yoora's voice took her out of her daze. "I wasn't sure what flavour you liked, but I noticed you baked red velvet cookies for your home so I got that!" she cheered a little shyly.

A tear finally spilled onto her cheek, but with a smile on her face as she nodded at the young girl. "I love it Yoora." she sniffed, when a hand cupped her cheek again, thumb wiping away her tear. She turned to see Taeyong next to her, and they smiled at each other. "Thank you both, you really didn't have to do this..."

"Of course we did." he replied. "You mean a lot to Yoora, she loves you. And well, you've taken a role in her life I could only attempt to."

Seulgi got the meaning behind his words, suddenly remembering the kiss back on the balcony. And through the rest of the night as they cut the cake and sat together talking, that memory flooded her mind every few seconds when she looked at the man in front of her.

Even as she went home and sobered up and laid in bed holding her daughter close to her chest, she started visioning how things would be if the four of them were a family.

Stop it Seulgi....

>>>

As the next week came, Seulgi sat with Yoora helping with her homework while waiting for her father to pick her up. Seojin was in her floor mat napping, her mother looking over at her every few minutes to keep her in check.

"Oh you know, Seojin said unnie today." Yoora suddenly spoke, getting Seulgi's attention off the book as she gasped with a smile. "I've been trying to make her say it to call me, took a few days but she did it. Is this how you felt when she first said mamma?"

Seulgi chuckled, filled with joy at the young girl's excitement. How she wished this was regular...

The bell rang, and she left Yoora to finish up to go open the door. Taeyong appeared with a smile, and a hand carrying three gift bags. She looked at them perplexed before giving him way into the living room, where he stopped and cooed at sleeping Seojin.

"What's all this?" she asked pointing to the three bags in his hand he had put down. He gave a more cheeky smile, then motioned her to sit next to her on the couch.

Yoora appeared out of the dining area, exclaiming softly at the sight of the bags before dashing to sit on her father's other side.

"I got off faster, but I knew Yoora would hate me picking her up earlier." he joked, getting a pout from the younger girl and a laugh from the woman. "I got some stuff for everyone."

Seulgi looked even more perplexed as he handed Yoora the smaller bag, which she immediately opened and pulled out a little purse from and hugged her father in gratitude. He pecked her cheek before turning to Seulgi, handing her a bigger bag. She took it reluctantly, opening it to look inside, gasping aloud as she saw the bigger purse inside.

"This... Taeyong it's a lot." she looked up and saw him smile at her. "I can't accept this, please."

"Please do." he put his hands on her as she was about to push it back to him. "I want you to have it. I noticed you'd carry everything in Seojin's baby bag, and you know, every woman should have that one good purse."

She was awed by his logic, still in shock when he handed her another smaller bag. "This is for Seojin, can't leave out the special one." he chuckled, taking out a small doll that rung a bell when moved around.

Seojin woke up hearing the bell, and was immediately up balancing on her feet and making way to them. Yoora called to her before grabbing the toy from her father's hand and taking her along to her toy corner to play.

Happiness filled Taeyong, and it was clearly evident on his face as he couldn't stop smiling for the whole time since entering. Seulgi on the other hand could only stare at the bags, hers full while Seojin's empty, while her face remained expressionless.

Once he looked at her and noticed it, he shifted closer to her on the couch and took her hand, giving it a squeeze. "Hey, what's wrong?" she looked up to see his eyes full of genuine concern.

"Taeyong, this is expensive... thank you but, its just so much for me."

She stopped when his other hand suddenly cupped her cheek, again, pushing her face to maintain eye contact as he smiled softly. "Please let me have this. I've always wanted to do something like this, and you know, you're thr closest that Yoora could have as-"

"Stop." she cut him off and abruptly got off the couch, push his hands away and dropping the bag to the floor. Right now, many thoughts ran through her head, but there was one she needed to clear up, to get off her chest. "I'm sorry Taeyong, but... I'm not here to play pretend."

She watched his knitted eyebrows as he stared confused, still sat down. "What do you mean?"

Sighing, she finally let it all out. "Taeyong, I love Yoora, but... she's not my daughter, she's not Seojin's sister, and you're not... you're not my husband. I don't know what happened that night with us, but it's made things so confusing for me. I agree this arrangement was really great for our kids, and to some extent for us as well, but I don't want it going some place without any guarantee about how it will end. Seojin is all I have, and as much as I hate it, I've come to accept that finding someone to full up the hole in our life is nearly impossible..."

Like the other night, a single tear fell down her cheek, except this time it wasn't a happy one. Stress and sadness piled up in her as she vented everything, and now the silence suffocated her. Before he could response, Seulgi turned away wiping her face and headed into the kitchen, grabbing a glass and pouring out water for herself.

Except her emotions got the best of her as her hand shook picking up the jug, water spilling around the cup. A hand held hers to steady it, and she weakly released as the jug was taken away from her. Taeyong then took the cup, filled it, then helped her hold it. She took a quick chug of water, trying to drown any emotions that had bottled up until her throat.

"I'm sorry." she put the cup down hearing his soft voice, a hand on her back while the other he used to turn her towards him. "I didn't mean to make you feel this way. I know how hard it must have been, believe me, I've gone through it for ten years. But I can say this, no matter how great your life gets through everything, the tiniest piece of you will always crave for what's missing. And so will your child..."

The tone of his voice changed, which lead Seulgi look up at his now sullen face.

"She never says a thing, but I know and can sense how much Yoora feels the emptiness of a mother. Ever since she started coming here, she's been so happy... you don't know this, but she talks about you both a lot in school, not just Seojin. In fact, they had an assignment a few days ago to write about their mothers, usually Yoora would sit out of things like that, but when she came home with a well graded paper... I knew at that point that you're so much more to her than just the mother of a baby she watches over."

This time, his eyes remained down, and Seulgi could see the slight tears welling up in them. His hands slowly dropped down as well, and she was the one to hold his face in both her hands, pushing up to face her. Once their eyes met, he quickly blinked away the tears.

"I promised myself that if ever I get the chance to marry someone, my first priority would be Yoora. But believe me, that's not the only case with you..."

He was quick to grab her hands when she was about to retract them the moment she heard those last words, confusion written all over her face and even in her eyes.

"Every time I see you with either girl, I just get drawn to you. Ten years ago, as a medical student with an accidental baby, I wouldn't have looked at you this way. But now, as a working single father, I see you and I think, this is what I want." he pulled her closer, arms circling around her waist. "You're such a hardworking woman, somehow you manage to balance work and taking care of an infant. I can't imagine how hard it must have been those first few months after giving birth. But you've persevered. When you told me about how alone you were, I realised it didn't matter that I did it for ten years or more, because you started alone without help, and nothing makes you any stronger than all this."

Staring into his eyes, she could tell he was being sincere, every word was meaningful.

"What I went through, Seulgi, it was hard. And seeing you that day at the hospital with Seojin in your arms crying, your face filled with fatigue, stress, worry, I wanted to do so much more to help you. And now, seeing our daughters so attached, plus how attached mine is to you alone, I wondered, what if we were a real family? I'm sorry if you felt uncomfortable today, but I wanted to test the waters by gifting you, obviously because you deserve it, but to also see how Yoora would react."

"You... want us to be a real family?" her voice shook. Taeyong sighed, staring at her silently before closing their distance and giving her lips a soft kiss, pulling away fast. He watched her expression, and noticed it was the same as last time. Except now, they weren't drunk.

"I'm willing to try." he pulled her in for a hug, one hand in her hair pushing her face against his chest while the other remained on her waist. A short smile crept on his lips when feeling her arms snake around him as she hugged him back. "I see the way you look at Yoora. And I promise, I will the same with Seojin."

"How do I look at Yoora?" she asked in a quiet voice.

"Motherly. And as her father, nothing can make me fall for a woman more than how they feel about and treat my own daughter, she means the world to me."

This time, a more comfortable silence took over as they remained in each other's embrace, Seulgi's index tracing circled on his back while she thought about his idea.

"Will you be present in both their lives?" she asked again.

"If I don't, you can kick me out of the house. I'm sure Yoora would agree to it." she smiled at his response when feeling him chuckle softly, but his words still carried seriousness.

"Will you treat Seojin fairly?"

"I promise with all that I have, I will treat her as if she's my own."

Sighing, she thought of one more thing. "And if let's say, we... have another one?" she gulped asking this time, in fear of his answer considering the sensitivity of this final question.

Taeyong pushed her out, but his hands remained holding her arms as he faced her, smiling though his eyes remained serious. "Maybe not anytime soon, let's focus on Seojin first. But, if you want another, what kind of husband would I be to deny you of that?"

>

"Sit Yoora." the young girl froze as they entered their apartment, scared of her father's sudden serious tone. He only ever spoke like this one time before, when she got in trouble in school for punching a girl (which she still claims was deserved because she was making fun of her).

She sat opposite her father in the dining room, but unlike last time she noticed his nervous expression as his hands fumbled, his face clear that he was deep in thought of what to say.

"What's wrong daddy?"

Taeyong sighed hearing her concerned voice, and finally decided to speak up. "How would you feel about Seulgi becoming your mum?"

"What?!?" she stood up, whether from shock, excitement or disapproval he couldn't tell. But be understood it soon as a cheeky grin took over her lips. "Are you serious, you're gonna marry her?!" she asked aloud, to which he motioned her to calm down.

"Nothing is confirmed yet baby. It's... just more of a thought. We're still discussing, and how you feel about it is important to me, an-"

"Daddy shut up please and just propose already!"

>>>

The fear of accommodation filled both parents. As per Yoora's approval and request, they decided to move in together sooner than planned, and planned to get married in before Seojin turned two years old, which gave them five months for now.

But even if Yoora agreed happily, it was a whole different case when living under the same roof. Taeyong had cleared out an empty guestroom for them, but Yoora had coerced them into letting her share her room with Seojin, saying it was too big for her alone and she wouldn't feel as lonely at night. Seulgi was worried about Yoora's sleep schedule, but the first three nights proved it to be an OK arrangement.

Seulgi remained in the guestroom, until a week later when they sat for dinner, and Yoora spoke up all of a sudden.

"Don't you think married couples should live together?"

Taeyong stopped eating and stared perplexed. "We are though baby?"

"No. Why would parents be sleeping in different rooms?"

This time Seulgi cleared her throat and decided to answer. "It's my idea Yoora. I just didn't want to overstep boundaries, I know how it's always been you two only."

Yoora hummed, nodding as she acknowledged Seulgi's concern as if she was an adult too. Later on however, as Seulgi helped Taeyong clear away dishes, he suddenly stopped her moving away as his hand grabbed hers in the kitchen.

"She's right you know." she cocked her head sideways, as if to ask what he meant. "Yoora. We should be in one room."

"But... isn't it too soon? I'm worried she'll feel like we're invading her space and life an-"

Her face flushed when he stopped her talking with a quick kiss on the lips, frowning with a pout at his antics to which he simply chuckled.

"She wants to feel like a family, it's been so since that essay assignment... but don't feel forced, if you want to take time before officially moving in with me, go ahead. I'll make her understand."

Seulgi thought about it, hands still holding his while her thumbs rubbed the back of his palm. A cute habit he noticed by now that she was doing again, she bit her bottom lip when deep in thought, and he couldn't help a quiet laugh escape his lips.

She looked up, causing him to stop immediately, waiting for something. "Let's try tonight?"

>>>

Yoora was the happiest, standing aside her father in her beautiful light pink dress, holding the box enclosed with a ribbon, in which she carried two very important rings.

She giggled seeing Seojin toddle her way across the aisle from the entrance up to the stage, throwing flowers whenever she remembered to, until Taeyong stepped down a little and picked her up, lifting her in the air before kissing her cheek, both giggling along with the small audience. He then stood her by Yoora, who looked back at the entrance as everyone stood, and she was sure she saw an angel appear into the wedding hall.

Her eyes trailed her new mother, just as her father's did as he covered his mouth, surely a tear appearing in his eye. Never did Taeyong think he'd get to experience this as he became more of an adult, standing at the altar next to the officiant, watching his almost wife walk towards him in the most beautiful white gown, her face hidden behind the thin mesh veil through which he could tell she was just as nervous and emotional as he was.

And once the rings were worn and both said their I dos, Yoora was the first to cheer lifting her little sister up in her arms and twirling around with her.

"We're a family Seojin!" she let her go and tugged her along to their parents, going first immediately into Seulgi's arms and whispering into her ear. "Thank you for becoming my mummy."

>>>

hello anon, as you may know it doesn't always end up EXACTLY following the request, but I hope you still like it! (it's kinda hard to follow exactly cuz the flow just doesn't always come through like that) also I wrote it in what I call a "creative juice adrenaline rush"😅 so I hope it's good bcuz I wrote this fast lol

[heartspocky]

Yeah so, a few problems here.

1) US schools do teach geography, it's just lumped in with world history. It is required to graduate high school in most of the country. Stand-alone geography classes aren't necessarily required anymore, which is problematic, but overall it's hard to make blanket statements about what US schools do or don't teach because we don't have a centralized school system.

2) The vast majority of responses are clustered around Iran, which indicates that the average USAmerican, at the very least, knows that Iran is in the Middle East and where the Middle East is. This is an all-or-nothing test, so responses on or just outside the border don't count. Obviously I'm a big proponent of being good at geography, but for the average person on an average day, having a general idea within reason is USUALLY good enough.

3) margin of error. I believe the estimate is that 4% of responses to polls are going to be trolls, respondents not paying attention to the question, picking an answer at random, etc, which likely explains dots in completely nonsensical locations like the US or the ocean.

4) i couldn't find information about how this poll was conducted. Did the map used in the poll have borders or was it completely blank? I'm assuming respondents were using an interactive map online, in which case, were the responses translated accurately if the map was scaled down or adjusted for easier viewing? It's interesting how many dots are located juuuuust off to the south or west.

5) I couldn't find any polls asking people in other Western nations to find Iran on a map, so we have no idea how the US stacks up against other countries.

This is something I notice a LOT in international spaces. In the US, we run a lot of polls and keep a lot of statistics so we can identify (and ideally address) alarming trends. People from outside the US say, "wow, the US is messed up. We don't need to track that kind of thing because we don't have that problem." Needless to say, all that means is that you have no idea of you're actually better at (insert subject) because you're not bothering to actually check.

I did find a video on facebook showing that UK citizens didn't fare much better, but the sample size was like 8 people and honestly, I don't trust man-on-the-street videos because they're ultimately meant for entertainment.

Critical thinking, guys. People outside the US love to talk about how brainwashed we are, but you guys are THOROUGHLY propagandized. You're taught to hold USAmericans under a microscope and instantly, uncritically believe everything that paints us in an unflattering light because, if you're looking over here, you're not paying attention to what's going on in your own backyard.

"Is the US bad at geography?" Are YOU?

sitting here thinking about how stupid americans are at geography yup

[softantigone]

are we good?

(i thought that handshake had intentions)

or maybe it's just my palms

they don't let go of an old friend

(especially a long lost one)

it's been a while, hasn't it.

the first time you saw me

i was scribbling notes down

for chemistry class

and you cracked a severely perverted joke that you were sure a feminist like me wouldn't approve of

/i liked you a lot/

we had a science experiment (we exploded)

you hated the history teacher.

you're not patriotic, you said. you drifted from one place to the other

and i said baby, that's okay. i'm used to boys like that

/but i really liked you/

i once knew a young woman

who turned traitor to her motherland

to feed her hunger

she had my name

/is it okay to betray myself? i was so hungry

for your love,

i turned myself in/ like the library book that read

'things

that never

stay.' i should have known

good things have a due date

(or you can pay an overdue fine)

love is costly after a while

/you could lose your heart/

you said you wanted

to travel the world

on your two left feet

so i got you

a suitcase

and hoped you'd

fold me into it.

(in english class, they teach you fold doesn't mean rip apart

guess you were a back bencher

with your headphones on)

you weren't

the literature kind anyway

you were more into

plate tectonics

and emotional drift (continental wouldn't have been the right prefix)

you don't come to class anymore

but sometimes i imagine you're still here

yesterday

in biology,

we learned to label

the human anatomy.

(you're never coming back

are you?) they brought

a globe to

geography class today.

(but isn't it ironic

you and i know

all about places

that nobody else

has been to). you used to sit next to me.

and you used to take me home

on your deflated bike.

sometimes

i wonder if you

mark points on maps

to return to

(you said you'll never

go to the same place,

twice)

someone should have told you.

girls are not stamps on passports /i hate you so much/

everything is the same,

and nothing is.

i go to school like a good kid.

i ride my own bike now.

i ride past your house.

/i hate what you've done to me/

they brought a map

to geography class.

my body is an atlas

that screams,

your mouth was here.

[sneedlier]

Melvinborg X Teacher!Reader (PT. 2)

"Maybe I do like them.."

(AN:This is the second part of MB x Teacher!Reader.I've decided to be an all-mighty Melvinborg writer as I've noticed people don't write for him as much anymore on Tumblr.Plus, most of my xreaders will be gender-neutral reader as I want all genders to enjoy my writes.Anyway,quick summary.After the reader leaves Melvinborg's office,MB obviously knows he likes the reader.But as it's their first interactions he wants to know them better.When reader is in their classroom and a teacher-tron bust into their class,it takes them to MB's office instead of trapping them with the rest of the teachers in the lounge room.MB and reader have a nice conversation and kinda bond.I don't know if I all of a sudden switched the reader's personality when they pass out,It would be nice if you guys recommend some changes or improvements I could make.Lmao there might be a part three but idk.

[Stuff:MB's POV is in red]

!TW:MILD SWEARING + MILD SEX REFERENCE!

You walked to the school's car park to your car,holding your car keys in your palm.You unlock your car door, opened it and flopped into the drivers seat.You closed the car door,started up the car engine and drove off to your home.You were pretty confused,when did Jerome Horwitz have a new principal?You were sure Krupp was the principal for a second,but in a blink of an eye it was a random half cyborg man.You will hopefully know more tomorrow at work.

You opened your classroom door,looking at your desk and it was..clean?You swore you left it in a messy state.You shrugged and walked to you desk seat ready to sit down,until you saw a piece of paper.You picked up the sheet and scanned over it's writing.It read:

"Dear Geography teacher,

I've written this note to inform you that I will like you to meet me during 9:00am in my office,when the students have their first class of the day.I recommend not questioning this request.

I hope to see you soon-Mr.Sneedly.

You quirked your eyebrow,confused that the principal would want to see you but also about the fact the principal has the surname of one of your students.You were also confused on why your boss would want you to go to his office during lesson times,you should be teaching the children during this time period.All of a sudden,you heard foot-steps outside in the hallway.

You didn't recognize the footsteps to be normal,like they were sorta ..inhuman.It's difficult to explain.Your thoughts were interrupted by your classroom door being kicked down,like legit unhinged.

You faced the..thing that knocked down the door.It was a robot.It had a humanoid shape and light grey skin.Wait,do robots have skin?You looked at it's eyes,well what you think were eyes.They were bright red and there eye-brows were a thin sheet of metal stuck on top of it's eyes.On top of it's head was a light bulb that shone a light purple.You looked into it's eyes,It raised it's arm as if it was going to shoot me.It's voice was very..inhuman,it's like the voice you would here at a train station when it's announcing what train will be next to arrive.

"Follow me,please do not resist."

It's voice was so..unnatural,it terrified you.You came back to your current situation,realizing you were being threatened by a robot.You backed up and ducked behind your desk chair,hoping it can help you.

"No,Just..get out..."You spoke quietly,trying not to get killed by a random robot that barged into you classroom.The robot became silent,dead silent.

"..I apologize but you made this difficult."

You looked up from your chair.What was it going to do?Before you could process anything,the robot threw the chair across the room.You shrieked and backed up closer to the wall as the robot got closer.It shot out a net out of it's..hand thing,trapping you and leaving you unable to move.The robot began to drag you out of your classroom.You were breathing heavily and silently panicking and eventually the panic and anxiety began making you exhausted.Before you loss your consciousness,you remember being carried by the robot.

You blinked a couple of times,lifting your head up in the chair you were placed in.The room was recognizable.Infact,you were here yesterday.It was the principle's office,and you were sat in the principle's chair.You shot up from your seat,why the hell would that robot bring you here or did someone take you here?Stuck in your thoughts,you didn't notice the figure in the shadowy corner of the room.

"Are you alright?I saw you passed out with the robot I made,so I took you here."The voice said from the corner.It seemed to be familiar,as if it was like from some kid in your class but just deeper.You looked to where you assumed where the voice came from and saw it.It was the principle.You sat up straight and stood up from the seat.You coughed pretty awkwardly and answered.

"A-ah yeah,I'm..not sure where the robot came fro-"You stopped in the middle of your sentence.Did he just say he made the robots? "Did you make the robots?"You asked,pretty pissed at the fact you were scared and terrified of his creation but honestly it wouldn't surprise you if it was his creation,he was half robot anyway and seemed to be smart enough to create one.The man smiled smugly and raised his head in triumph.

"Yes,one of my magnificent inventions.I have to say,I think I did a wonderful job."he said smugly,with a stupid (but sexy) smile on his face.

Unlike the man you were talking to,you were annoyed.This man had the audacity to smile and show-off about a invention he made that stressed,scared and terrified you.

"Well I think your creation could have been improved."You said,with obvious annoyance.

The principal lifted his head down and frowned,obviously disappointed.He obviously wanted you to explain why,so you decided to speak.

"I just think that a robot shouldn't try to kidnap or kill someone,you know?"You said as kindly as you could,but your annoyance and anger obviously came through.

The principle frowned..sadly?He seemed to be upset,or offended but you couldn't tell.

"I'm..sorry you feel that was about them."He said pretty upset,his smug expression wiped clean off his face.

You felt sorry for him,so you decided to forgive him.He did seem to actually mean it.

"It's alright"You said and smiled.As you looked back at him,his face seemed to flare up a light crimson red.

You decided that you were here long enough,you began to walk to the door.Just as you were about to twist the door-handle you felt a metallic but comforting hand stopped you from turning the handle.You turned your head around and saw the principle in his chair as his robotic arm has extended and has his hand placed on top of yours.You immediately are flustered and startled by the contact.

"You can stay,you know?"The principle says,shyly.You smile and begin to walk back to his desk and stand in front of his desk.

"Thank you,Sir."You say in a cheerful manner.

"Just call me Melvinborg..?"He says,wanting you to reply back.

"[REDACTED],[REDACTED] [REDACTED]."You reply back.Melvinborg smiles gently and gestures you to stand beside him.You walk behind the desk,not too lose or too far from Melvinborg.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, [REDACTED]."The man began."Say,do you have any interests?"

You perk up at this question and smile,it's not everyday someone asks you what your passionate about.

"You mean anything?"You ask,hoping he's not fooling you or anything.

Melvinborg chuckles and smiles at you.

"Anything."

You smile and began rambling on and on about one of your favourite topics not knowing that the half-cyborg man was looking at you,admiring your smile,eyes,personality, everything.

I watched as they rambled on and on about some random topic,but I wasn't paying attention as I was just looking at them.I didn't understand these feelings I felt,why I felt so flustered and shy around them.It intrigued me,that's the only reason why I made one of my robot drag them to my office.Well,I honestly didn't mean for them to get hurt.I remember my heart sinking to my stomach as I saw them in the robots arms,passed out from panic and exhaustion.My feelings in that moment in time,made me feel as if I did have fond feelings for them.

I turn my eyes to the window,look as I saw two birds flutter near a nest.I look back to the geography teacher and think to myself.I mutter a few words,low and quiet enough for them to not hear me.

"Maybe I do like them.."

(OMG I'VE ACTUALLY FINISHED IT.I apologise for the delay,I was busy due to some personal problems but I'm alright!Anyway,I hope you guys enjoy this part 2.I might make a part 3 but don't know cause I might start a different series or something.)

[queen-of-my-goofball-army]

"Helloooooooo nurse!

Uhhhhh

Wait a minute, you expect us poor innocent children to climb that dangerous scaffolding and paint naked people over a church?" (Yakko Warner original Animaniacs 1993-1998)

"Yeah I'm zainer than Billy, to the max! Leader of the animated maniacs" (Yakko Warner reboot of Animaniacs 2020-)

Hey everyone! Now that I'm finally officially finished with math I can get back to making edits more frequently! I wanted to start by making my husbandos since really I don't have a lot of comfort characters that I haven't made edits for that didn't make the cut. The only other one's were Katie from The Michells Vs The Machine's which everyone has already heard me talk about endlessly. So I've decided that we're going to forgo my rambling about the same characters over and over and instead move along to making edits for characters that I've never made one's for and haven't talked about a whole lot, my husbandos from cartoons. There is a surprisingly short list so I figured that it would be the easiest for me to slowly get back to work making edits again.

Most of you that have talked to me for all of five minutes know that one of my favorite shows from my childhood was Animaniacs. It gave me two relatable characters that grew to make up my adult and teen personality when I got older. I've already talked about my love of Dot to death by this point in my life. Everyone and their mother that follows me knows that she's not just my favorite character on the show but my favorite female character in any cartoon ever. But what most people don't know is that my two favorite Warner siblings are constantly going at it for the coveted spot as favorite Warner. As most of you can probably guess my husbando in the Animaniacs universe is the oldest brother Yakko Warner.

To talk about Yakko we have to time travel a bit. We have to go back to when I was nine sitting in my fourth grade class when one of my favorite teachers that I've ever had in my entire life, Mrs McFarland pulled down her projector. We had just started studying geography for the first time. She told us beforehand that there were new countries and places that were no longer countries anymore that were listed in the song. But she thought that it was the best way to teach us the material. The moment that I saw this little ball of energy and adorableness bouncing around I knew that I was hooked. Some part of me already knew that he would be one of the characters that would "ruin" me for the future type that I've come to have.

I promised myself that I would go home that day and start watching the actual show. Fast forward almost thirteen years later and I still love him just as much as I did back then if not more. Every time I go back and rewatch the show again I love him even more. It's a curse but at this point I wouldn't have it any other way. We all have those characters that have shaped the way that we want our significant others to be when we're younger and for me the first of all of those was Yakko Warner.

I feel like a lot of the time Yakko's intelligence gets vastly undermined. A good chunk of the educational songs went to him in the original show something that the reboot has yet to receive. I hope that in the second season we get a second calling to Yakko's Nations Of The World or something like that. Every time I remember the original Animaniacs one of the biggest things that I remember is the educational stuff. They treated children like adults and taught them things that really mattered and so many things that I know today is due to the things that Yakko taught me. He literally helped me understand multiplication also when I was in the fourth grade. I got a medal from my principal as well for knowing them. In the reboot there was a severe lack of Yakko intelligence I feel like. That was my biggest problem with it, and even then it wasn't huge. A lot more character went to Dot instead and she was the intellectual sibling while Yakko was the goofball flirty jokester. While that was a big part of his personality in the '93 version I do hope that we get the snarky intellectual soon.

Another thing that I love about Yakko is his protective streak as the older brother. He's always the first one to step into danger rather than letting his siblings go into trouble alone especially in the original show he was the first one to interact with the dangerous entity. He's the best brother ever and I will gladly die on this hill. I've fought for this boy for a majority of my childhood and will continue to do so for the rest of my days.

All my life I've loved cartoons. I consider Animaniacs, both the reboot and the original, one of my favorite cartoons. The original left a huge creative impact on my life with me creating my first self insert OC with my rabbit Lizzy. Ever since I was a kid I've always considered Yakko to be the best of all my cartoon husbandos. He's the one that I love the most and no matter what that will never change. I'll always love my factual intellectual boi that got me through elementary school.

[sophieswundergarten]

Okay, so, basically I accidentally came up with an idea where, instead of sending the kids, the adults decide to infiltrate Curtain's school as teachers. (Except, it's not the Institute. It's some weird K through 12 kind of school based on my vague knowledge of the public school system and what things are taught there)

Like, Mr. B and his group set up a little book club -type thing where it's just a place for concerned parents/adults/advocates for children to meet up and talk about the Emergency. (The kids have already been enrolled in Curtain's school at this point for various reasons)

Miss Perumal comes because she's got Reynie, and Moocho comes because of Kate. Milligan loves hearing stories about Kate but he feels super guilty about it because what if she's just reminding him of his own child that he forgot and he can't possible care about/interact with Kate because that would mean he was abandoning his actual child.

But, through Miss Perumal's connection with Reynie already being a student, they all get hired. Milligan as PE teacher, Rhonda for Home Econ, Number Two as Shop, Miss Perumal as Social Studies/Geography, Moocho as the... Cafeteria Head-Guy-Person? And Mr. B as the librarian.

Garrison is the slightly unstable science teacher and Vice Principle, Jeffers is the janitor but he's trying to get promoted to campus security (Ten Men), and Curtain is head of the theatre department/Principle.

Jackson/Jillson/Martina are all upperclassmen who have been attending forever and have basically finished their education but they stick around for Curtain so they just spend all their time TAing for various classes. And since they've been there since they were tiny they have to slowly learn from the other adults that Curtain isn't the End All Be All and if they get bad grades or even fail a class it has no bearing on them and their worth as people.

SQ is still Curtain's son, which gives him the privilege to take whatever classes he wants because he's super advanced in some areas but not others, so he's got classes with the Executive Trio and the Core Four.

He also loves hiding in the library and Mr. B loves that he does that, but Curtain's threatened that if he tells SQ he's his uncle then Curtain will fire all of them and they won't be able to help the kids anymore. Curtain isn't sure what all the adults are doing, but Mr. B had a Reynie-esque conversation with him about "Keeping your enemies close" so he's letting them stick around so he can watch them.

Once they're all there they of course start gravitating toward their respective kids (And Miss Perumal gets Sticky because he's so close to Reynie, at least, until his parents show up because they didn't deserve to be cut out of the show they're just having A Time Of It Right Now)

That's all I've got for now, I don't even know what half of all that is. I had it typed out in the tags but then apparently I went over the tag limit and Tumblr DELETED IT

Anyways, I'll add more if I remember it and I apologize for the horrible slap-dash writing. Here are the surviving original tags:

#The other adults can be there too #Like Mr. B as the bookish kid and Garrison as part of the STEM club #(they impeached her as president because she kept pushing them to do *slightly* illegal activities) #OR #Even better it's like all of them being school teachers of different subjects#Curtain's still theatre and Milligan's PE #But. Like. Fun PE where he makes up adventure scenarios to motivate students and plays fun music and gets them engaged #Mr. B's the librarian #Number Two's the shop teacher and she's scary good at it #Maybe she also helps with lunches I'm not sure #And Miss Perumal's the Home Economics teacher and she's fantastic but also teaches self defense because “It counts as Home Econ” #Wait maybe Curtain's the principle too but nobody listens to him and he just sends out crazed announcements through the PA system #And all the teachers listen politely and then are like “Anyways—” #Maybe Rhonda's the Home Econ teacher actually #And Miss Perumal's the geography/social sciences teacher #Actually that's much better#And she takes the kids on the best field trips #But she Rhonda and Number Two still teach self-defense #Curtain doesn't want them to but Milligan lets them into the gym after school's over and hangs out with them while they do it #Actually I've changed my mind Moocho is in charge of the school kitchen #And sometimes he sneaks Number Two in there and they experiment together #Mr. B is the absolute best librarian and he's just so nice and comforting and supportive #He teaches a course every semester about internet safety and how to properly fact-check things so you know what's true #He makes the library super calm and inviting and it's full of soft green plaid plush chairs #And they're not just in the open spaces either #There's lots of little hidden areas where people can go and sit and read if they don't want to be bothered #He lets kids take naps in there sometimes if they're having a bad day #And gives them tea and talks to them #And then of course his brother shows up and tells him off for letting a student skip class #And he apologises as bunch (But he doesn't stop doing it)

There should be more content on the systemic rivalry of Curtain as a theatre kid and Milligan as a

[since2014]

about me | 27.01.2022

(last update)

Hi! I am Luna.

I am graduated from highschool 2021 July. I am not going to school but I am going to some kind of course*

I have crushes on my teachers since age 12. English is not my main language so forgive me if I say something wrong. Let's get started

#MC : he is my first love first tc. He taught me my main language(I am not sure about writing my nationality here yet) when i was 12 in 6th grade. He left the next year. I couldn't learn anything about him. Because i was too afraid to ask someone. I thought they will find out my love for him and judge me. I am so angry to myself about this. I should have asked... After 7th grade(without him) i went to another school and i lost the last chances to communicate with him. Now i don't even know if he's alive or not. He doesn't use any of the social media and i don't have his phone number or e-mail or anything i can reach him. So i make him alive in my dreams.

#Tony : he's my current crush. He teaches maths. He's on his early 40s, married, in love with his wife, has 3 kids and looks like Tony Stark, he also behaves like him... Anyways, i have feelings for him since the end of 2020. He also cares about me too. I know it's not like the way i love him but i feel special and comfortable with him. I guess I am his favorite student...

#TJ: He's new. I today(06.11.21) realized that i like him. I hated him at first sight, he was annoying, he was so f.cking annoying and he still is but idk something about him pulls me and i am not trying to figure out what it is. I think that if i have to fall for him, then sooner or later i will... So there's no meaning to try not to. I am still not sure about him but if anything changes i would update here. About him... He is a geography teacher on his late 20s, he's not so good looking but kinda hot maybe. There is nothing attractive in his look but he's very tall and i like tall people (bc i am very tall) he likes to show out his life on social media so i know nearly everything about him... Thats it for now i guess

#Peter: He is my classmate, he is so funny and smart. I have known him for about 5 years but he was really annoying when we first met. So i couldn't easily melt the ices between us. But he's so cute now, it's probably because of growing up. I don't know what he thinks about me, but even if he likes me too i don't think we'll have any kind of relationship this year. (because of that exam test :p)

I will tell my stories here. You can find my posts about them on #mc #tony #tj #peter and #dreams hashtags. I am also new in tcc and i want to make friends, so feel free to message me whenever you want. You don't have to be a tc blog to contact me, i am open to anyone. Stay safe, spread love<3

P.S.: my main blog is bloodymercedesofyk so i will follow you from there.

*course:

We take an exam test in our senior year, this test determines the university choices for us. We get as much as major/university choices depending on our grade in this exam. The only good thing about this system is that you can take the test as much as you want. So if you can't do your best in senior year test, you can take this test again next year. This is my second year preparing for this exam test and due to my graduation I don't go to school anymore, so i go to this course which is a place better than school <3

[revolutionarytea]

I don't normally like those ask posts but the history one is actually good so I chose 1, 2, 23, and 24 for you!

1 - Historical figure you used to like before you learned more about?

Teddy Roosevelt. Watched Newsies as a kid, thought “he seems cool”, and seemed to have those thoughts confirmed after we learned about him in my history class senior year. But then I read There, There, was pushed to do my own research . . . and yeah. Not a huge fan of him anymore.

2 - Historical figure you love to hate

Andrew Jackson. (I don’t love to hate him, I just don’t like him, but he was the first figure who came to mind)

23 - What country’s history do you know a lot about besides your own? Why and have you been there?

I’ve been learning a lot about Cuba and Chile lately because of my Latin American history class, but I still don’t know a lot about them. I know a fair amount about Ireland and Scotland though, because my dad loves their history, and that’s kind of pushed me to do my own research so that we have something we can talk about. I’ve never been to any of these countries though :( Maybe someday

24 - What made you fall in love with history?

Oof, get ready for a long answer, sorry in advance.

So when I was like 4 or 5 my grandmother got me the Felicity and Elizabeth dolls from American Girl. I read all of their books and became obsessed with learning about the era they lived in. This made me read the other books in the historical series, and I loved reading about all these girls from different parts of history. My parents also made a point of teaching me about my ancestry and the history of my dad’s side of the family so that I would be prepared when the school inevitably taught the wrong information.

Then, as I got older I kind of stopped liking history for a bit. The public school system where I live pretty much only teaches the geography of our state and the Civil War from second to seventh grade (wish I were kidding. It was literally six years of learning the same thing every. single. year. No new information, either. Just the same lessons for six years). I started to think that history was boring, but THEN, then, grade eight came along, and I had the coolest history teacher you can imagine. 

He had jolly rogers hung along the walls of his classroom. (Once, when asked why, he said “I only became a history teacher as an excuse to display them!”) He brought in foods from the different eras we were learning about. There were memes in his powerpoints. We listened to Hamilton. We got to “sacrifice” one of our classmates to the gods. It was so much fun.

And I started to think that maybe, just maybe, history was fun. So the summer between grade eight and the beginning of high school, I spent a good portion of the summer watching period dramas like TURN and doing research on figures that I thought we interesting. I liked history again! And because I wasn’t that great at other subjects, I decided to just put all of my effort and focus into my history classes, and decided that I would go to college and major in the one subject that I had been top of the class in.

So yeah, lol sorry that was way too long, haha. But that’s how I got into history, fell out of love with it, and then fell back into it. 

[emo-and-confused]

And my physics and chemistry teacher wasnt very good at teaching and last year she was going through a divorce and would just break down mid class and that was pretty awkward.

My year 8 art teacher came back from a mental health break because he was forced but we never actually did anything becaus eh said he wasn't mentally ready to work so we just sat there in silenwc for like an hour.

I had a couple weird geography teachers that's why i don't know shit about geography. We were like the "bad" class and one of the geography teachers was always crying in our class and then she left the school. Then there was this one who we also made cry but when she wanted us to shut up shed just slam her feet in students tables and then yell a lot. She also always wore the same pants to school. And then there was this one who had like fifty cats and was always writing us up for stupid reasons and i remember my mother had to sign off on something that literally said "Barbara threw a tantrum" idk how to translate it better but i was basically i was talking with my mate so she moved me to the other side of the classroom and then i shut up and she said i was throwing a tantrum because i wasn't talking anymore. -rubi

i’m- okay- wow-

7th grade math teacher Did Not Teach. like she gave us links to videos and basically told us to learn algebra ourselves

had this one time in 7th grade science class where we had a substitute. but then they just.. disappeared and then we had another one. and then right before lunch that one disappeared and we walked to lunch without a teacher. and then a different sub picked us up from lunch. and it happens about 5-7 times where the sub’s just kept leaving without telling us. this was all during one class period.

in 2nd grade i had this art teacher who was amazing and i was her favorite student. and i moved about 30 minutes away from that school in 3rd grade, but when i went to open house, i fucking saw my 2nd grade art teacher. like.. bro, she had moved schools and it happened to be the same school i had moved to. really weird but kinda cool?

[mariamariquinha]

Thanks for the tag @swiftpascal! I don't have 15 mutuals to tag BUT I will do it for sure! ❤️

rules: answer the questions and tag fifteen mutuals.

1 - Are you named after anyone?

Kinda of. My mom met a young girl while she was pregnant with me and she thought the name was beautiful, just like the girl herself.

2 - When was the last time you cried?

Can't tell 😂😂😂 but it's because I don't remember

3 - Do you have kids?

No. And that's not a plan for a recent future.

4 - Do you use sarcasm a lot?

Nah. I mean, no. No no no. But I'm ironic, which is quite different.

5 - What's the first thing you notice about people?

The way they talk in general, speaking or writing.

6 - What's your eye color?

Broooooown 😁

7 - Scary movies or happy endings?

Happy endings. I have enough of scary stuff in real life.

8 - Any special talents?

I know a lot of random stuff. I don't know is it's a talent 😅

9 - Where are you born?

Brazil zil zil. It would be really difficult to explain the geography of it all but I was born in a small town in São Paulo.

10 - What are your hobbies?

Writing! I listen to a lot of music, but at this moment it isn't a hobbie anymore 😂 it's a lifestyle.

11 - Have you any pets?

Two beautiful old dogs.

12 - What sports do you play/have played?

None 😅 I was never a sports girl myself

13 - How tall are you?

1.74 (5'6 or 5'7)

14 - Favourite subject at school?

History.

15 - Dream job?

College teaching.

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

No pressure tags: @mysoulisasunflower @bullet-prooflove @placeinthemiddleofnowhere and everyone who wants to play!

15 Questions 15 Mutuals

I found this Tag Game and I thought I share it with you 😊

 rules: answer the questions and tag fifteen mutuals.

1. Are you named after anyone?

Well, technically yes. My name is the nickname version of my mom’s, Julianna’s name

2. When was the last time you cried?

A week ago, I think

3. Do you have kids?

No(t yet)

4. Do you use sarcasm a lot?

Only when the situation gives it

5. What’s the first thing you notice about people?

Their height and their faces.

6. What‘s your eye colour?

Greenish-blue

7 Scary movies or happy endings?

Depends on my mood.

8. Any special talents?

Hmm. I can make heart latte art on coffees (I completed a barista course)

9. Where were you born?

In a small town in southern Hungary

10. What are you hobbies?

Watching tv shows, daydreaming, Tumblr-ing

11. Have you any pets?

Yes, my family has a girl hungarian vizsla

12. What sports do you play/have played?

Not in school, but during summers I used to play badminton (and I’m still good at it, I think 😁)

13. How tall are you?

152 cm (5 feet)

14. Favourite subject in school?

English

15. Dream job?

Dubbing dramaturge: someone, who translates a film’s dialogues

If you’d like to play, copy all this and post it on your blog (and remember, no pressure 🙂)

Tags (although not all are mutuals, but I follow them 😊): @placeinthemiddleofnowhere, @justafleshwoundbaby, @thecorilove86, @merryandrewsworld, @marquisdegramont, @amidalasruby, @ithinkwehitametaphor, @jessamydreams, @your-problematic-love-interest, @dropsofprecipitation, @roguelov, @swiftpascal, @ionlyjoinedforboydholbrook

[fragiledewdrop]

Omg THIS. They don't offer you classics or STEM or foreign languages or philosophy or well rounded history because those are the subjects that teach you how to think for yourself, how to see through bullshit and propaganda. They shouldn't be the exclusive right of privileged students, and we should be trying to make them more accessible, not even more elitist.

Once upon a time they used to teach Geography very, very well all throughout high school, and that included learning how to read maps, memorizing the names and locations of rivers and mountains, and, most importantly imo, a brief history and a look into the politics of all the countries examined. It was not perfect, but it was something. Now it is barely taught anymore. Is it not important for everyone, of every background, to know about the world we live in? To learn about different cultures in detail? You can still do that if you take enough hours of history, but not everyone has that opportunity. Isn't this unfair?

Maybe you don't care about what a philosopher in classical Athens thought of the world, but you should care about being able to recognize logical fallacies, because that is how people will get you in an argument, and that's how you analyze sources and make convincing arguments yourself. Philosophy is a very good training ground for that.

Also, I am sorry, but translations, especially dated ones, can be inaccurate, biased or even pushing an agenda. If you are studying a culture, knowing its language is fundamental, and that goes for Latin and Greek too. Especially considering that the philosophy, politics and rhetorics of ancient Greece and Rome still heavily influence western culture, whether we realize it or not, so taking the language studies away from a classics course is beyond stupid.

That's also part of why courses that focus on a whole diverse CONTINENT are flawed. How could you check the source materials? Just how many languages are you supposed to know?

Some things are hard to study, but they are necessary. Being denied the opportunity to enrich yourself through them is a fucking tragedy.