Name the class (twist)

kitkatcookie · October 2, 2021, 11:36am

East Marsh Academy, Early Childhood Education class
(15-18 year olds, 21 students)
Teacher: Ms. Havilah ’ Hallie ’ Winifred Daskal

The first student is approaching their seventeenth birthday and with this, they’re feeling increased determination to figure out the next step in their life. Having come out as non-binary when they were fourteen, this wasn’t an easy journey - their dad’s now ex-girlfriend deemed this merely a cry for attention, and the often tense relationship between their parents became much more fraught during this time. It was their older sister who proved to be a rock during this time, offering a listening ear whenever they needed and doing her best to ensure they didn’t blame themselves for the arguments; with this student crediting her compassion as what inspired them to be interested in childcare, hoping to promote a more inclusive environment where identity is embraced. Since she left for university to train in psychotherapy, they’ve missed their sister but have continued as her greatest supporter - knowing she’ll be perfect in her chosen career path - and this encouraging nature is applied to their friends too, always going out of their way to offer praise or constructive criticism if it’s asked for. After their dad broke up with his girlfriend - pretty quickly after her comment, but before the War of Words was over - he went out of his way to support them, something that they not only appreciate but find especially reassuring, as they had a special bond with him prior to this (both being absolutely mad about B-Movies) and feared it would be broken, thankfully it’s now only strengthened!

At 5’5", they have a natural flush to their complexion which is offset by the ruddy gold of their hair - which has a natural wave to it and is cut at shoulder length, pushed back with clips or a tied into a loose braid, emulating a lazy styling. The light green of their eyes brightens against this, even more so thanks to their favouring of gold jewelry. Their aesthetic is Hellenic, however they aren’t quite ready to don a toga - instead preferring flowing fabrics, oversized blouses and maxi skirts, or the occasional corset depicting either classical mythology figures or artwork from the actual time period; with white, peach and pale cream being the staple colours. Alternatively they might wear some silk trousers and an oversized jumper, rather amusingly always wearing fluffy socks. This stems from their love of Greek myths growing up, and in particular they enjoy paying homage to lesser known deities, with a favoured makeup look being based on Melione, Goddess of Ghosts. Although they have twice pierced earlobes they decided against anything else until they’re legally able to get a tattoo, having been saving up from their weekend job at their mom’s sporting goods shop. In spite of both their parents and stepdad being avid about sports, they’ve got a slight figure and openly joke about their lack of interest - with tennis being the sole exception.

Although they admit to having no artistic skills, this students close with Caz Vélez and have spoken to him a lot about the difficulties he’s faced - with their respective bonds with their older siblings being what led to this friendship. Now they have a suspicion their feelings for him have ventured into crush territory but never know how to express this, especially as they’re so different to Pomeline Newman - and the fear of ruining a relationship that means so much to them holds them back. They’re thankful that their best friend is also attending this class, as the pair’s love of weird films and movie trivia keeps their mind off Caz - instead trying to balance the laughter with taking in Ms. Daskal’s information, feeling a little guilty about their not always perfect attention span. This friendship stems back to when they were in kindergarten themselves, having bonded over their strong imaginations and love of playing complex pretend games. The teacher’s style is something that’s earned this students respect and they always perform well in her class, not being the most natural academic but their grades vary considerably depending on what subject they’re being taught - something they’re at peace with and often joke about themselves. Thanks to their demeanor they’re pretty popular in a unique way, getting along with most of their classmates - unless someone’s particularly prickly or intolerant - but their core friend group is small, as they don’t always enjoy lots of attention (something they prefer to hide); based on being bombarded with questions when their parents divorce - and conflict - started. Their one Achilles Heel - as they call it - is their gluten intolerance, which is especially frustrating at times thanks to their mom being an amazing bread maker: something their friends are always benefitting from.

@vfrn A friend of mine actually has chronic fatigue syndrome so it’s inclusion here and how you present it is informative in the most empathic way

Carter " Caz " Javier Vélez is credited to @brightdarkblue

Summary

The next student is on the water polo team with Caleb, and has nursed a years-long crush on Pomeline. He understood and supported her when she came out as pansexual/started dating her girlfriend, and thinks that friendship is better than nothing. Caleb helped him realize that, as did his older brother. He also feels connected to Lana, as he’s going through similar struggles. His older brother moved back home after his third year of college, to take care of him and his younger sister. They’ve been living with their mom, who is having substance abuse issues. This student sees sports, art, and music as his escape. He has done some of the artwork for High Velocity ’s shows, incorporating the logo that Bee came up with. He’s talented in digital art, and sees himself having a career incorporating his skills.
He’s 5’9" with a muscular build. He tries to keep fit without becoming overly buff. He has a warm skin tone, hazel eyes, thick, wavy dark hair, and a mole on his left temple. He wears glasses for reading and art, and prefers bold frames in his favorite color - red. Ms. Navarre is generally impressed with this student’s willingness to accept help, and his grounded sense of self, which she attributes to his loving sibling and friends who have known him for his whole life.

vfrn · October 3, 2021, 5:35pm

[name_u]East[/name_u] [name_u]Marsh[/name_u] Academy, [name_u]Early[/name_u] Childhood Education class
(15-18 year olds, 21 students)
Teacher: Ms. [name_u]Havilah[/name_u] ’ [name_f]Hallie[/name_f] ’ [name_f]Winifred[/name_f] Daskal

[name_u]Alexis[/name_u] [name_u]Hartley[/name_u] [name_m]Turner[/name_m]

This next student is the son of a high-achieving family with high expectations of him. His father is a high-powered lawyer and his mother is a successful aerospace engineer and they expect that their children will go on to have prestigious careers as well and maintain their family’s legacy. (As his family is so concerned with legacy, he was named after his father who was in turn named after his own father, making him a “the third”, but he uses a relatively unusual nickname to distinguish himself from his dad and grandpa.) This student barely has the time for such a demanding elective between all of the AP classes he’s taking, but it’s important to him to make it work because seeing the children is the highlight of his day. His stated goal is to become a pioneering pediatric specialist and save children’s lives, and his parents broadly approve of this plan, although they sometimes try to gently suggest that he look into specialties that might be considered more masculine than working with children. Nonetheless, they generally accept that a course about working with children is career-relevant for a future pediatrician and support his being enrolled in ECE.

This student feels like that should probably be the end of it – the plan involves working with kids, which is what he wants to be doing, his parents mostly approve of it, it pays enough to keep him stable and financially secure, and it will allow him to make a real difference in the world. But then, he asks himself, why is he so vaguely dissatisfied with the idea? The thing is, he can clearly pinpoint his favorite moments with the children: when a three-year-old’s face lights up with wonder at the orange leaf they found on the playground, when a proudly recognizes the letters in their name on a poster, when a five-year-old explores the way watercolors are different from easel paints and discovers new ways to express themselves artistically, and so on. He loves to see kids learning and discovering their world. On top of that, he loves the close relationships he gets to build with the children he sees so frequently. He ends up finding himself daydreaming about having a career in a classroom just like this one. He know what his parents would say if he brought up the idea of teaching to them, though, especially teaching preschool (“You want to be a daycare worker? You’re so capable, though! You could do so much more than babysit kids all day!”) so he keeps the idea to himself. Still, every time he researches a college with a strong pre-medical program to consider applying to, he looks into their education department too, and lets himself imagine.

This student has a short and stout build and big gray eyes. He wears his straight brown hair somewhat on the longer side, mostly because he just doesn’t like having to worry about cutting it. He has a gentle and polite demeanor and a tendency to daydream. He enjoys working out and generally being active, but he doesn’t have enough time to be involved in organized sports, with how busy he is with school. He has a practical aesthetic and likes bright, warm colors, and he’s one of those teenaged boys that wears shorts even in the winter, his favorite season. He has a close relationship with his brother, who is only a year younger than him.

@kitkatcookie Thank you! I’m glad you think I did it well. I don’t personally know anyone with ME/CFS but it seemed under-represented, and I thought it would fit Hallie’s story.

brightdarkblue · October 3, 2021, 7:37pm

East Marsh Academy, Early Childhood Education class
(15-18 year olds, 21 students)
Teacher: Ms. Havilah ’ Hallie ’ Winifred Daskal

Alexis Hartley Turner
Gideon ‘GG’ Scott Walter III

The next student is 15, having signed up for the prerequisite course as soon as she could. She’s a petite Black girl who wears her natural hair long. She has a dark complexion and wide, dark brown eyes. She likes working with younger kids, she jokes, because at least she’s still taller than them!
She has experience with kids because of her own younger sister, a 4 year old who was adopted from Korea, and from taking care of her cousins. She also has an older brother, who is a senior at East Marsh. Her mom is a nurse practitioner, and the student is nurturing like her. Her mom’s long term girlfriend is a talented mechanic, and the student feels like she is more well-rounded because of both of their experiences. She’s trying to save money, and currently has a job at Dot’s Spot, a cute cafe in a renovated Victorian home that has a large space for children to play with their caregivers, and she can’t wait to see some of the preschoolers at her job.

Her style is casual, matching her easy-going attitude, mostly v-neck tees, flared jeans, and converse shoes. She doesn’t bother with makeup, but always has her favorite gloss on hand. She tends to be a pretty stable person, so when something is wrong, her friends notice. She has had the same group of friends since 5th grade, weathering people moving away, friends transitioning gender, divorce, and deaths of loved ones. Her own tough moment was when her bio dad tried to reenter her life when she was in 7th grade. He came to the school twice, and her teachers and principal had to escort him away both times. Her friends stayed by her side, and her mom made sure she saw a therapist to talk it through. She sometimes worries that she will inherit his mental health issues, but her mom’s girlfriend practices mindfulness and meditation, and she has seen the benefit of starting that in addition to continuing therapy.

She loves working in the preschool setting, with her favorite thing being writing down the stories that the children dictate about their artwork. She loves keeping their ideas down for posterity, and is always really particular about writing down their exact language. She also loves helping them create their snacks. She’s not sure what she wants to study in college, but she realizes that children bring a lot of joy to her life.

kidpix21 · October 3, 2021, 8:26pm

East Marsh Academy, Early Childhood Education class
(15-18 year olds, 21 students)
Teacher: Ms. Havilah ’ Hallie ’ Winifred Daskal

Alexis Hartley Turner
Gideon ‘GG’ Scott Walter III
Zaya Jordan Breckenridge

The next student is 18 and signed up for this class to fulfill a missing credit needed for graduation. He is planning to attend the local trade school next year to study plumbing, something he’s found himself passionate about in the last few years. His family originated in Paraguay, and his father is still there after being deported a few years ago. His mom and brother struggled being away from their family member, but the process of allowing him to come back has been long and tedious. This student has been working throughout high school as a babysitter for the neighborhood kids and has made a bit of money to use to get him through trade school.

He has jet black hair that is mid-length and curly. He has big brown eyes that are decorated with clear glasses. He enjoys playing soccer and tennis with his little brother, who is 12. He feels a strong bond to his Paraguayan roots, often finding himself enjoying his mom’s homemade Sopa Paraguaya or Chipa Guasu. He was born in Paraguay but came to the United States when he was 6 as his family settled in St. James’ Marsh.

He doesn’t have a strong opinion about this class. He finds it somewhat enjoyable as he liked babysitting, but he feels that his career path might be one that is more adult-oriented.

~
I love Zaya’s whole personality! so fun!

cara_murvolio · October 3, 2021, 9:32pm

[ East Marsh Academy, Early Childhood Education class
(15-18 year olds, 21 students)
Teacher: Ms. Havilah ’ Hallie ’ Winifred Daskal

Alexis Hartley Turner
Gideon ‘GG’ Scott Walter III
Zaya Jordan Breckenridge
José Ramón " Jet " Carlos Mazariegos

The 5th student is one of the younger attendees, eagerly awaiting her 16th birthday as she’s very excited about learning to drive, and hopes this will stop her from being babied by her older half-sister Megan: a 31-year-old interior designer and mom, who’s just welcomed her second child. Megan’s been the primary guardian of her little sister since their mom’s job in television required her to travel extensively, and this student didn’t feel comfortable being on the road constantly - naturally being a home body, and she knew she’d be miserable in this environment; never having the outgoing, social butterfly demeanor of her mom and sister, which she sometimes feels insecure about. What she’s always excelled at is reassuring and bonding with her nieces - 4-year-old Freya and 8-month-old Darcie - and younger cousins, having an upbeat demeanor and lots of energy, which contributes to her success as a netball player too. In spite of their differences, the sisters’ share a very close bond - something that stems from Megan having been delighted to become a big sister after years of being an only child - and both are keen dancers, who prefer jazz and tap above all other styles. This was passed onto Freya, who’s just begun classes herself, and her beloved aunt often picks her up from these - due to Megan and her partner Jack (an electrician) working long hours in their respective jobs.

At only 4’10", this student embodies petiteness and is very light on her feet on account of her athletics, flitting about the classroom with grace. She’s fair skinned and this compliments her powder blue eyes and caramel brown hair, which curls ever so slightly and is cut just beneath her shoulders - usually tied back into a ponytail or braided, as she’s used to Darcie wanting to tug on it. Her aesthetic is soft and blends preppy with academia, heavily featuring cute blazers, Mary-Jane shoes and plaid skirts - with pastel blue and pink being her go to colour combo; however she also has a weakness for puff sleeves and elaborate hair clips, preferring to emphasise her eyes too - as they’re her favourite feature. She has double pierced earlobes, as well as her daith in her right ear, and prefers silver jewelry - especially anything depicting bees, as she’s very fond of them and regularly promotes campaigns to protect the insects. Her mom bought her a honeybee ring while working in Switzerland, and she wears it with pride almost every day; finding it a lovely connection to her when she isn’t able to chat to her on the phone or have vidchats due to time differences.

When she was only 3, she and Megan lost their dad to lung cancer - with the lack of memories this student possesses upsetting her, something that she’s prone to hiding as she worries people will judge her on the grounds she was so young when he passed, therefore seeing her grief as less valid. Her best friend went through a likewise difficult loss, something that cemented their bond upon meeting when they were in the same dance class - and she’s very loyal to her friend group, always being there to provide comfort or laughs to those she cares about. It bemuses some people that she’s a friend of Kitty Golding’s - as the girls’ are polar opposites in a traditional sense - but this student is close to Kitty’s girlfriend who attends St. Veronica’s, leading to them bonding once the relationship started. Truthfully, she thinks she’s like to become a midwife once she’s older - inspired by her love of biology and natural talent for bonding with children - but isn’t always that confident in her academic abilities, something she’s gradually feeling able to speak to Ms. Daskal about. Aside from athletics, she’s mad about animals - volunteering at a local shelter whenever possible - and also enjoys knitting, currently working on crafting her own cardigan: a lovely yellow number with apple print. She has two pet guinea pigs - Toffee & Treacle - who were adopted by Jack and Megan as a Christmas present, loving the duo to pieces and she uses her little Polaroid to primarily snap photos of them, alongside her friends and family.

Credits to @kitkatcookie for Catrin Lenora Golding!

The next student has her sights set on becoming an architect, and often jokes that Coach AM increased her chances by introducing her to climbing - so her height perception has improved. She’s the eldest sister of Sasha Golding and. There was some friction between the siblings when they were younger, as their father’s abandonment of the family prompted a range of reactions, with her decision being to just ignore the pain rejection bought and when he was mentioned she’d vanish up to her room. This never dampened her defensive nature where her sisters are concerned, and she has a distinctly maternal quality to her nature - something that contrasts with her 2000s AvrilLavigne aesthetic, nose stud and short cut, tufty black hair that flips naturally at the ends - that extends to her friends, whom she’s very protective towards. She got a cat for her fourteenth birthday - in a very impromptu manner - who’s a tabby named Almond and doted upon by the whole family, especially their mom. Having come out as bisexual, she’s been talking to a girl who attends an all girl school in the next town over - however this information is being protected at all costs from her sisters, who she knows will conduct their own investigation and never stop bombarding her with questions. She belongs to a tight knit friend group and has known her best friend since she was only three, being an intensely loyal person who’ll stand by those she cares about to the bitter end - something she’s recognised in Coach AM and thoroughly respects. Sometimes her sarcasm can seem a little biting, but she’s been trying her best to scale this back as she doesn’t want to upset anyone.

kitkatcookie · October 4, 2021, 2:47pm

East Marsh Academy, Early Childhood Education class
(15-18 year olds, 21 students)
Teacher: Ms. Havilah ’ Hallie ’ Winifred Daskal

Alexis Hartley Turner
Gideon ‘GG’ Scott Walter III
Zaya Jordan Breckenridge
José Ramón " Jet " Carlos Mazariegos
Noelle ’ Ellie ’ Amelia Witcham

The next student is a fountain of knowledge, albeit this usually pertains to random factoids and intel on the varying social groups - something she finds as much of a blessing as it is a curse, as she finds this easier to recall than academic info. She’s something of a matchmaker - having a respectable success rate in her pairing suggestions - which actually began as an unconventional form of therapy for her. When she was only seven, her mother walked out on the family to be with her boss - whom she’d been having an affair with for several years - and it took this student quite some time to process the shock and betrayal which ensued; never mind witnessing how much shame her dad internalised for not realising what was going on. It was her cousins who supported her and her older brother during this time - especially the one she’s only two months younger than, Belle, who she interacts with more like a twin sister - while her paternal uncle spoke to his brother. Now the family are in a much better place: her dad runs his own ethical and recycle based homeware shop named Reworked by Baum with his partner, Adam, who both she and her brother (who’s just turned twenty-one) share a lovely relationship with; crediting him for helping their dad regain his confidence in love, and he stays with them frequently while commuting to the hospital in a nearby city, working as a nurse. Based on all she witnessed, this students now determined to become a child therapist, with hopes to specialise in processing feelings of betrayal and rebuilding confidence - aspirations Ms. Daskal’s been incredibly supportive of.

Truthfully she’s relieved to resemble her paternal family stronger, still having difficult feelings towards her mom - who she last heard from on her eighteenth birthday, having an awkward phone call which lasted about two minutes. She’s 5’5" and slightly built, with a fair complexion that pales further thanks to her hazel eyes darkening when she wears deeper shades. Her treacle blonde hair’s typically pulled back somehow - bunches, plaits and ponytails are her favourites - due to being grown to the small of her back and its fine texture means it tangles easily. Favouring an aesthetic that blends y2k and sporty fashion, she credits Mel C of the Spice Girls for inspiring her fashion and has her navel pierced three times, having amassed an impressive jewelry collection for both this and her double pierced earlobes. Typically she favourites crop tops with cargo pants or joggers - puff jackets being her go to in winter - alongside brands such as Slazenger, ADIDAS and Fils; however mini dresses are another favourite of hers, and she adores platform trainers, owning numerous pairs she alternates as often as she can. Bright eye makeup is usually how she accents her features - as she has thin lips and feels anything aside from clear gloss only makes this more apparent; going out of her way to resource ethical brands, many of which her dad buys for the shop.

Having been with her boyfriend Blake Longworth, since they were both fifteen, he serves as some much needed impulse control considering she used to offer dating advice to people not necessarily looking for it - now letting others come to her, or intervening if it’s clear someone hopes for assistance. She’s outspoken and can seem a little too confident for her own good at times - being called inquisitive by some and nosey by others - but ultimately means well; having a sharp wit and great sense of humour that led to Blake developing feelings for her in the first place. Through him she’s become involved in caving and also regularly climbs, as well as being involved in gymnastics - a sport she began when she was four. Admitting her singing voice is atrocious - although she wanted to be a singer until she was ten - musicians fascinate and impress her, which isn’t surprising considering she’s usually found in the company of creative personalities. Her greatest passion is writing, often sharing her pieces with Blake and their closest friends; with poetry being favoured by her, as she loves expressing herself in more abstract means, in part thanks to preferring to keep her inner thoughts private, in spite of the cockiness she presents externally. For her seventeenth birthday, she was gifted a car by her dad - a tiny little thing he helped paint light green - and can usually be spotted zooming around in it, bringing several of her friends to school alongside her; including one who’s out in the sticks, yet she’s never bothered by the drive out to collect them. When something does press her, she’s gotten better at voicing it - especially the persistent gossip about her mothers’ actions - and this has gotten her into trouble before, however she’s grown less confrontational as she’s aged, and the wounds of what transpired healed more so.

Her brother opted against attending university - instead planning on taking over the family business once their dad wants to retire - and she’s glad to have him nearby as they’ve always had a strong bond. More recently, they began plotting to convince their dad to ask Adam to move in, as they suspect he wants to but is holding back in case his kids object to this. This student jokes the real family member to consult is the family dog, Smurf: an eight year old Husky who’s incredibly photogenic, yet also quite lazy, meaning walks happen when he’s feeling in the mood for a stroll around the park.

The Baum siblings were actually created on another forum but I love them so much I wanted to create a crossover

Ash is credited to @chamwue

Summary

Ashley “Ash” Atticus Baum (20) is Olive’s partner. They aren’t involved in the music industry, but they are a journalist and activist pushing for LGBT+ rights everywhere. They dream of becoming a correspondent, which is a dangerous job, but their belief of freedom of the press outweighs any sense of self-preservation that they have. Although it isn’t the healthiest thing in the world, Ash has kept this all from their girlfriend— which isn’t a good thing.

They have a younger sister and younger brother. Their parents are very proud of them, which is a nice change of pace.

Belle & Lake are both creations of yours truly!

Summary

Bellamy ‘Belle’ Orion Baum (18) is Ash’s younger sister and resident force of chaos; always having misplaced something or running late. Instead of attending university next year, Belle’s opted to take a year out to travel and involve herself in conservation projects, with her parents only agreeing as her two friends (one of whom is notoriously sensible) are going too. While scatterbrained, she shares Ash’s drive to contribute positively towards the world, and is considering studying sociology in order to further her knowledge of global causes.

Laken ‘Lake’ Zephyr Baum (15) is a member of the photography club Lexi runs, who also just so happens to be Ash and Belle’s little brother. Lake’s got a lot of Belle’s energy but without the chaotic edge, being truly passionate about the club, although he’s a bit of a smart mouth at times, unable to stop himself from sharing thoughts, feelings and opinions. He’s already begun pestering Lexi about taking as many photos as possible on her trip, ostensibly for the club’s continuation, but also because he’s going to miss his sister more than he wants to admit

Blake Prosper Longworth is another one of mine!

Summary

The next student is fairly well-known thanks to his dedication to the music department and he’s considered something of a prodigy in the subject. He plays saxophone and bass guitar, however primarily focuses on the former when it comes to the orchestra - finding it a shame how overlooked the first instrument he ever picked up is. Aside from music he’s dedicated to promoting awareness of neurodivergence - as his dad was diagnosed with Aspergers shortly before he was born - and is involved in fundraising for a local charity his mom coordinates; having a great deal of respect for her empathy and determination. Both of his parents have worked in therapy - dad’s a speech therapist, mom formerly worked in schools before altering her career path - and he’s interested in following in their footsteps, hoping music will be the best way to help others’. He has two older brothers’ - one who’s twenty-five, training to become a vet and currently planning his wedding; the other’s twenty-three, non-binary and recently returned home after completing their degree in visual communication - and idolised them growing up, a tendency that hasn’t left him even now. When all three are together they enjoy attending arts’ festivals and kilo sales together, or going caving: a hobby their mom isn’t the biggest fan of thanks to the risks, but has relaxed as they go out of their respective ways’ to prioritise safety. Neither of his siblings are as mad about music as he is but it’s never phased him, having a notoriously affable nature when it comes to others - with his drive for high standards being projected internally only. He’s struggled with anxiety in regards to academics throughout life, and recently began attending the school counselor to help manage his struggles after he began considering giving up in classes he’s less confident thanks to people having put so much emphasis on his musical accomplishments.

His aesthetic is heavily inspired by popart and Andy Warhol’s infamous troupe, typically using white as an accent colour and contrasting it with bright eye makeup - with lime green eyeshadow being his favourite shade - and structured patterns: preferring oversized shirts and jumpers paired with wide leg pants, not really being one for jeans. A trusty pair of vans are his go to shoes and he prefers flatter shapes, as his 6’2" build is “comfortably waifish” for him without the added height. His black hair and light grey eyes compliment this styling perfectly, opting for silver jewelry as he feels is softer colour compliments his sense of style best. His left anti-tragus and conch are pierced, with a right ear industrial piercing, and a smiley piercing too - something his best friend calls proof of his “maddest moment”. Electronic bands such as New Order and Gary Numan massively influence him, but he shares Professor Haskins’ love of metal too - especially symphonic - and is an avid fan of electronic infused rock and metal too.

Recently, he was asked to join a local band - Percussion Mark 5 - who’ve been invited to serve as a supporting act for High Velocity , on account of this student being good friends with Kelso Pendry; the two having met due to his friendship with Kelso’s sister. Journalistic pieces fascinate him - especially musical one’s - and privately he enjoys writing reviews, but they’re kept close to his chest as he finds bickering over media exhaustive and best to avoid. His lyricism tends to be a tad cynical and wrapped tightly in metaphor, often commenting on issues that he finds important or sometimes just inner dialogue which winds and weaves. He’s very aware of his enigmatic reputation and honestly enjoys it, preferring to open up around those he’s close to and keep his head down for the most part; with the most drama he ever encountered being the business to do with Bea and Tommy, helping Kelso keep Bea’s mind off the negativity by driving part of their gang elsewhere on random daytrips. Recently the family got a rescue cat - Bobble, a moggie - who he loves playing music for, as if always helps his feline friend relax considerably. His mom loves to joke they’re spiritually connected, as like Bobble, this guy can sleep just about anywhere while twisting himself into a pretzel.

brightdarkblue · October 4, 2021, 7:35pm

East Marsh Academy, Early Childhood Education class
(15-18 year olds, 21 students)
Teacher: Ms. Havilah ’ Hallie ’ Winifred Daskal

Alexis Hartley Turner
Gideon ‘GG’ Scott Walter III
Zaya Jordan Breckenridge
José Ramón " Jet " Carlos Mazariegos
Noelle ’ Ellie ’ Amelia Witcham
Penelope ‘Poppy’ Lorienne Baum

The next student immigrated from Turkey when she was 5 years old. She has a bubbly personality, and is whip-smart. She does sudoku and crossword puzzles for fun, and actually reads the dictionary. Born to a Turkish father and a Moroccan mother, the family moved due to political unrest. She is interested in the politics of the region, and can hold her own in discussions - partly thanks to her older brother and sister, who are both outspoken and informed. She also has a younger brother, who recently turned 12, but she still dotes on him as if he were younger, as he has had some health complications. She is generally an optimist, and that trait serves her well at school, when working with children, and when she volunteers with patients living with dementia, as she does twice a month.

She has sandy blonde hair that falls in unruly curls to below her shoulders, and green eyes that she’s been told look like a cat’s more than once. She takes it as a compliment, as her cat, Meryem, is one of her favorite creatures. She dresses primarily in grays, blacks, dark purples, and greens, with an occasional ochre flourish. She is 5’4, with a complexion with golden undertones. She also has a scar near her lip due to a childhood accident involving her older brother and a beach vacation. She doesn’t mind it, it gives her face a little more character and makes for a good icebreaker.

She turned 17 in April, and is looking forward to college, but wants to stay local. She missed her brother a lot when he moved across the country for university. She wants to combine her love of service learning and her commitment to progressive politics in a school with the same sort of vibe. She’s excited for Ms. Daskal’s input, as she admires the teacher’s warm manner.

(@kidpix21 re Zaya, thanks! she was fun to write and I love her name.)

kitkatcookie · October 4, 2021, 8:54pm

East Marsh Academy, Early Childhood Education class
(15-18 year olds, 21 students)
Teacher: Ms. Havilah ’ Hallie ’ Winifred Daskal

Alexis Hartley Turner
Gideon ‘GG’ Scott Walter III
Zaya Jordan Breckenridge
José Ramón " Jet " Carlos Mazariegos
Noelle ’ Ellie ’ Amelia Witcham
Penelope ‘Poppy’ Lorienne Baum
Sumeyye ’ Aya ’ Anisa Kobal

The next student ended up in this class due to needing extra credits, meaning he wasn’t exactly delighted to attend at first. He’s not someone who feels particularly comfortable around children - marked by having to mature quickly himself, thanks to his mom being involved in a car accident when he was six, resulting in her needing a great deal of physical therapy and assistance at home while she recovered from this. At the time his dad was preoccupied with his younger brother, who was barely a year old at the time, so he had to look after himself in many traditional senses; learning how to complete household chores and amuse himself, being fairly isolated thanks to this and coming to rely a lot on imagination as an effective distraction from everything erupting around him. His dad still feels guilt for how his son was overlooked during this time - knowing his introverted and reserved nature is a product of this - but he tries to brush this off for the most part, preferring to move past the sense of loneliness he endured (and not always wanting to dwell on the fact he was hurt by his dad mostly leaving him to his own devices). Ms. Daskal has gone out of her way to speak one-on-one with this student about his experiences, noting his great listening capacity and ability to connect with shyer kids are great talents - as everyone can tell this guy has a soft spot for anyone who feels uncertain of how to get out there socially. Not wanting to be dishonest to the teacher he appreciates so much for her kindness, he admits he’s hoping to enter a career in the arts: specifically ceramics or sculpture, having a great love of translating his thoughts and feelings into unusual pieces that subtly translate their message; having a great love of symbolism within art. This means he typically is involved in anything to do with clay or crafts work when it comes to working with children - his natural passion allowing him to come out of his shell and instruct with enthusiasm, ease and encouragement.

5’10" and broad shouldered, his place on the school wrestling team is reflected in his more muscular build - something he doesn’t always quite know how to feel about, as he isn’t sure this physique suits him. His light brown hair is cut at his jawline, usually being worn loose, and more recently he let his friend (who’s an aspiring hairdresser), dye red streaks through it. They compliment his grey-green eyes nicely and have enhanced his late 90s/early 2000s grunge aesthetic - having an impressive collection of shirts belonging to bike shops, reflecting his interest in gaining a license once he’s old enough - which does have some more gothic inspired elements, namely in the form of his black leather coat which stops at knee length, and the fact chain’s are regularly used to accessorise his outfits. Thanks to his recent dye, he’s begun to use orange and blue as accents more to the darker colours he favours; often enjoying to emulate a sunset element to how he styles himself, as he finds this time of day very relaxing and therapeutic in particular. Often he paints his nails black - more recently having gotten spiderweb patterns added to this design - and would like to get his nose pierced, however due to his wrestling, this has been put on hold to ensure it won’t impact the sport he loves participating in.

Shortly before his sixteenth birthday, his mom made a considerable improvement in how she was doing and this allowed his relationship with his dad to start to get better, as it gave them more time to spend together. They prefer going for long walks - often travelling to mountainous terrain - or spending time training the families two dogs: nine year old Petra the Boston Terrier and five year old Ajax the Schnauzer; the latter of whom was a gift for this student specifically by his mom’s long term nurse and assistant, Stephanie, who’s son he’s best friends with. This student can speak Russian fluently on account of his maternal heritage, his mom having worked in fashion before her accident, often jokingly despairing about her son’s less chic preferences to help cheer him up. The two are very close and he never patronises her, admiring her strength in how she handled her subsequent disabilities and takes her on walks in her wheelchair when she feels up for going out - something his friend group understands and he’s grateful for this, which is typically displayed in him making little ceramic gifts for them. Jet and he are good friends, with their respective difficult pasts being a bonding point that they talk about when feeling up to it, but he refuses to pressure anyone about opening up. Now seventeen, he has a drivers licence and borrows his dad’s second car often - as his successful career in novel and magazine editing has allowed the family to live comfortably, with finances making him uncomfortable sometimes, as he doesn’t want to seem ungrateful nor boastful about this. Thanks to their difficult childhood, he and his little brother aren’t the closest still - their interests being different, and it’s known there was an imbalance in who gained more attention - but he loves him regardless of his own hangups, and refuses to let anyone pick on him. He does see a counsellor thanks to what happened, and its helped somewhat - however he’s still working up to discussing his feelings of resentment and dismissal, being afraid of completely turning against his dad who he knows made an honest mistake and loves him; having heard many stories about his maternal uncle, who’s estranged from the family, letting anger dominate his life.

@brightdarkblue Thanks so much for reading through the essay that turned out to be Poppy’s character profile and giving her such a lovely name on top of that!

moonwriteen · October 4, 2021, 9:53pm

East Marsh Academy, Early Childhood Education class
(15-18 year olds, 21 students)
Teacher: Ms. Havilah ’ Hallie ’ Winifred Daskal

Alexis Hartley Turner
Gideon ‘GG’ Scott Walter III
Zaya Jordan Breckenridge
José Ramón " Jet " Carlos Mazariegos
Noelle ’ Ellie ’ Amelia Witcham
Penelope ‘Poppy’ Lorienne Baum
Sumeyye ’ Aya ’ Anisa Kobal
Erik Dmitri Viklund

The next student is a 10th grader and cannot wait to turn 16 to have a driver’s license and a car. She is a member of a big family. She is the second oldest of eight children. Her mother and Virginia Newman , the mom of the Newman family , often argue whose kids are the craziest and most difficult to take care of - albeit in an incredibly friendly manner.

This student loves music , which helped her build a sense of personal identity and avoid being recognised only as “one of the girls from the big family”. She plays bass guitar as well as acoustic guitar. She joined High Velocity after bumping into an Instagram post where the members were looking for a bassist and became friends with Savannah Bonham right away. She also became quite close with Thorn Newman because of the warm friendship between their moms.

Her favourite hobby in the whole entire world is camping. There is nothing more exciting for her than spending a week or two in the woods, sleeping in a tent and sitting with all of her family around a campfire - especially because she gets to tell horror stories every evening with a torch in hand , eat warm marshmallows or grab her guitar and sing!

Not surprisignly, her favourite aesthetics is forestpunk - dark greens, browns and sometimes light blues dominate her wardrobe. You’ll almost always see her in baggy clothes with her auburn, wavy hair hidden behind a beanie. Her sister , who is younger than her by just 18 months and practically treats her like a twin, has a passion for jewelry, so she also wears different pendants made by her that hold a whole lot of sentimental value.

She is a firm believer that a dirty kid is a happy kid and never shies away from playing outside with the little ones on the playground, while also keeping an eye on them so that they do not get hurt. She encourages kids to be close to nature and is always happy to anwser their questions concerning animal or plant species, as her love of camping caused her to gain significant theoretical and practical knowledge about the natural world. Ms. Daskal very much appreciates her experience with lots of younger siblings, as well as patience that she has for the kids.

Savannah Faye Bonham is credited to @I_meme_it

Savannah

The 1st student is a musician and belongs to the band High Velocity alongside Thorn Newman, playing the lead guitar. She’s the granddaughter of a country music singer who gained respectable notoriety in the 70s and owns a pair of cowgirl boots which she performs in for him, but otherwise is very much into Y2K inspired fashion. On weekends she works at her aunt and uncle’s ranch, primarily with the horses, having saved up to buy one of her own: Comet, who she’s devoted to. Her sense of style means most people don’t imagine her enjoying punk or rock music but she gained this love from her dad and is also enthusiastic about video editing, as the band have begun playing around with the idea of actually recording their own music video.

Hawthorn " Thorn " Gray Newman is credited to @I_meme_it also!

Thorn

The next student also comes from a large family, being the older brother of Ravenna Paisley Newman from Mrs. Sekelsky’s class. Like his younger sister, he finds it hard standing out, and tends to do as such by rebelling in every way possible, considering any form of attention better than being overlooked; something that his teacher’s have come to recognise, and they’ve encouraged him to concentrate on what makes him happy. This has been music, with him playing drums in his friend’s band - High Veolicty - and through this he’s settled considerably. Being the 4th of 10 kids means he’s protective towards others, acting as a surrogate big brother to some of his friends and classmates. Recently he had help from Cillian to dye his hair neon yellow, which compliments his punk sense of fashion - especially his favourite tartan trousers.

vfrn · October 5, 2021, 1:42am

[name_u]East[/name_u] [name_u]Marsh[/name_u] Academy, [name_u]Early[/name_u] Childhood Education class
(15-18 year olds, 21 students)
Teacher: Ms. [name_u]Havilah[/name_u] ’ [name_f]Hallie[/name_f] ’ [name_f]Winifred[/name_f] Daskal

[name_u]Alexis[/name_u] [name_u]Hartley[/name_u] [name_m]Turner[/name_m]
[name_m]Gideon[/name_m] ‘GG’ [name_u]Scott[/name_u] [name_u]Walter[/name_u] III
[name_f]Zaya[/name_f] [name_u]Jordan[/name_u] Breckenridge
[name_m]José[/name_m] [name_m]Ramón[/name_m] " [name_u]Jet[/name_u] " [name_m]Carlos[/name_m] Mazariegos
[name_f]Noelle[/name_f] ’ [name_f]Ellie[/name_f] ’ [name_f]Amelia[/name_f] Witcham
[name_f]Penelope[/name_f] ‘Poppy’ Lorienne Baum
Sumeyye ’ [name_f]Aya[/name_f] ’ [name_f]Anisa[/name_f] Kobal
[name_m]Erik[/name_m] [name_m]Dmitri[/name_m] Viklund
[name_f]Samantha[/name_f] [name_f]Christine[/name_f] ‘Sam’ [name_m]Leonard[/name_m]

This seventeen-year-old senior took child development as a filler when she was a freshman but she really wasn’t expecting to go any further in her learning about children until recently. However, around the beginning of this school year, she discovered that it was going to be a lot more relevant to her life than she had expected. After some experimenting and exploration at a late summer party, she discovered her pregnancy in early [name_u]September[/name_u], and realized that her life was going to be significantly different. Her mother and stepfather are very supportive and in a position to provide the help she’ll need, with her dad being reasonably supportive too, and she couldn’t imagine living with the question of what might have been, so she made the decision to keep the baby and raise them with her family’s help. This has meant drastic changes to her life, and she wants to ensure she can be the best parent she can be by learning as much about children as she can, so she switched into ECE a couple of weeks into the school year while she was adjusting the rest of her class schedule to accommodate her newfound extenuating circumstances.

Socially, this student used to be relatively popular, and hang out among the kids who went to all the big parties and whatnot, but the stigma of being “that girl who got pregnant” has taken a significant toll on her social life, as has not being able to participate in all the big events because of how often she’s tired and nauseous and has doctor’s appointments instead, and a lot of her former friends don’t talk to her a lot anymore. She’s starting to make some new social connections among her classmates, though, Despite not really being able to go out so much, she still likes to dress up and look fashionable and cool, with an aesthetic that follows the cutting-edge trends, at least for now, early on when things still fit, and she likes interesting metallic colors like bronze. She has straight, warm brown hair, gray eyes and lots of freckles.

She’s very interested in film as an art form, and she loves watching all kinds of movies but also learning about the history behind them, the way they’re made and the meanings to be found in the stories and in the filmmakers’ choices. She wants to go to college to study filmmaking, although she’s planning to take a gap year first to wait until her baby is a little older. She has a tendency to doodle in her notebooks, sketching little scenes out, events from her life or her daydreams, the way she would frame them on camera if they were part of a movie.

Despite the fact that her reasons for taking this class are unusual, she does genuinely enjoy what she’s learning and working with the kids. Sometimes she takes the activities she learns in the preschool classroom and brings them home to try with her little half-brothers, four-year-old twins [name_m]Adam[/name_m] and [name_m]Lucas[/name_m], which they really appreciate and which has brought her closer to them.

brightdarkblue · October 5, 2021, 4:34am

East Marsh Academy, Early Childhood Education class
(15-18 year olds, 21 students)
Teacher: Ms. Havilah ’ Hallie ’ Winifred Daskal

Alexis Hartley Turner
Gideon ‘GG’ Scott Walter III
Zaya Jordan Breckenridge
José Ramón " Jet " Carlos Mazariegos
Noelle ’ Ellie ’ Amelia Witcham
Penelope ‘Poppy’ Lorienne Baum
Sumeyye ’ Aya ’ Anisa Kobal
Erik Dmitri Viklund
Samantha Christine ‘Sam’ Leonard
Cassandra Violet Bellomy

The next student has known he was gay since he was 5. His parents have always accepted him, and they made sure he had queer role models from that young age, including his maternal aunt, who is a lesbian. His paternal grandparents, however, are more conservative, and he does not have a relationship with them.

He’s 5’8, with a stocky physique. He has a dimple in each cheek when he smiles. His tan skin is freckled, and his warm brown eyes squint when he smiles. He gels back his straight, coarse dark brown hair, but sometimes a lock or two falls to his face.

He tends to wear polo and rugby shirts, cargos or khakis, with slip on shoes. He thinks of himself as having substance over style, but admires his friends who have an eye for fashion.

His favorite subjects are physical science and Spanish, and he really liked the first child development class he took. He was surprised to like it that much, but his mom (a college career counselor) thought he might enjoy it. His dad, a front of house manager at a fine dining mediterranean restaurant in the city, wants to make sure he goes to college. He has been babysitting his twin siblings (a brother and a sister), who are now 7, ever since his first ECE course.

At school, he has become close to Alexis, as well as Helena Pedlow. He wants Sam to take him camping, although he’d prefer glamping. His last camp experience was as a 6th grader during science camp, where he made out with a shy, cute boy who then turned around and bullied him the next day. He wants Sam to help him create fun, fabulous new memories. He also wants to see if Jet wants to join them…for reasons.

Helena Pedlow courtesy of @kitkatcookie

The 15th student is a fellow appreciator of more classical music like Theón - however her tastes go back even further, and she’s fond of medieval folk songs; as they tie into her love of mythology. She initially began playing harp within the orchestra, but after revealing she’s actually mote confident in using a lute, Professor Haskins agreed to let her switch to that instead: a move that’s helped her significantly build up confidence. At thirteen she came out as trans to her peers, being encouraged by her mom who’s non-binary, and she’s incredibly grateful for the fact she was born to parents who are nothing but supportive and accepting. Belonging to the LGBTQIA+ Alliance at school, she’s also very invested in socioeconomics - as her paternal grandparents never approved of her mother due to them coming from a poor family, constantly making patronising comments about them and pressuring her dad to find someone “more appropriate” - and knows she wants to find a way of becoming involved in this field when she’s older; but faces conflict due to the fact she can’t let go of her love of historical folklore, and doesn’t know which to study after she graduates next year. Her twenty four year old brother Dorian is currently working in the British town of Shrewsbury - having moved there to start contracting as a landscape gardener - while her sister Amabel, who’s twenty, chose to not attend university thanks to battling anxiety and depression, something this students been nothing but understanding of, and instead is focusing on her poetry anthology while working at a local bookshop. She’s always shared close relationships with both of them, in particular her sister - a fellow lover of mythos, fantasy and folk tales - who she always wanted to emulate when she was little, and who helped her cultivate her new wardrobe after she finally found the right aesthetic.

At 5’7", she’s slim and has very long legs - something that meant she used to never wear heeled shoes, but her good friend Alessia gave her a much needed confidence boost in this. She has fine, honey blonde hair which is slightly wavy and usually worn loose to fall down her back; a dimpled smile and light, grey-blue eyes. Her aesthetic is ethereal blended with fairy and naturecore, finding soft shades of green in particular appeal to her; with a jokingly “scandalous” habit of preferring off-the-shoulder tops, often with sheer or delicate lace sleeves. Ribbons are used to keep her hair out of her face and her makeup tends to be in softer colours however she’s fond of drawing floral designs on her skin or implementing gems for a touch of whimsy. Her ears are extensively pierced - having accumulated a large collection of earrings over the years, helped by her Auntie Jenna (her dad’s godsister and rebel who supported his relationship), who’s a jeweler - and she wears an emerald stud in her nose. A lot of people consider her attractive - something that’s boosted her confidence considerably, as she struggled with her self-image while publically transitioning at school; in particular feeling she was tall and ungainly when she was fifteen. In spite of never being the most outgoing, she’s come out of her shell more within the orchestra and her anecdotes about her dad’s antics running his own printing business always make her friends laugh - which has made her share her love of history more given time.
Scrapbooking is something she picked up from her dad - loving to make collages from photos, prints and receipts depicting the family’s travels; many of which are to England to visit Dorian and her maternal uncle, Liam, who moved there to become a lawyer. She also enjoys felting, having being taught by her mom who runs a fabric shop and also teaches others’ in evening classes - with this student and Amabel sometimes going along too. Her best friend is Prue, and she does her best to support her in reaching out to Miri - but feels her advice isn’t the best considering her own shyness; compensating by supporting her in her endeavour of weightlifting, having nothing but absolute faith in her friend. On account of her interests and artistic passions, she’s become friends with Blake during their their playing, and this has led her to joining a larger social circle too - something she finds both intimidating and wonderful, as the diversity and openness of everyone is what she’d hoped for. Of course, she always brings Prue to her hangouts - having been abandoned in middle school by someone she was close to, a particularly rough time as she was starting to publically transition, and subsequently she never wants to put anyone in that position; never mind her dearest friend - with a hope this might allow her to formulate a plan about approaching Miri. Aside from this, she does her best to avoid drama - be it the situation regarding Tommy, or anything her paternal grandparents are up to in regards to bothering her dad - as she knows conflict heightens her anxiety, but jokes about this often, as she once wanted to become a prosecutor after getting into true crime documentaries.

I_meme_it · October 5, 2021, 5:34pm

East Marsh Academy, Early Childhood Education class
(15-18 year olds, 21 students)
Teacher: Ms. Havilah ’ Hallie ’ Winifred Daskal

Alexis Hartley Turner
Gideon ‘GG’ Scott Walter III
Zaya Jordan Breckenridge
José Ramón " Jet " Carlos Mazariegos
Noelle ’ Ellie ’ Amelia Witcham
Penelope ‘Poppy’ Lorienne Baum
Sumeyye ’ Aya ’ Anisa Kobal
Erik Dmitri Viklund
Samantha Christine ‘Sam’ Leonard
Cassandra Violet Bellomy
Tully Ethan Keightley

The next student’s choice to sign up for the class surprised some people for several reasons. As a darling of the music department who plays the piano and harp, as well as having a lovely alto voice, they’ve always been someone happy to keep out of the spotlight - disliking crazy and unpredictable situations, something that seems the diametric opposite of working with children. However, their close relationships’ with their younger half-siblings - Fintan ‘Finn’, who’s 8, and Saoirse, who’s 6 - is what inspired them to attend; especially as they admittedly feel a bit lonely at home now their 20-year-old sister’s moved into her student house. Their dad, stepmom, Finn and Saoirse moved to Phoenix about four months ago, while this student - who’s non-binary and uses they/she pronouns - remained in St. James’s Marsh when they were 12, where their mom works in the hospital’s theater department.

Favouring a cyberpunk aesthetic that blends in witch house elements, they’re distinct thanks to their favouring of blue makeup - chosen thanks to their love of the water, belonging to the school swim team and having loved visiting the coast whenever possible as a kid. They’re 5’10" and have a very slim build, with dark green eyes and cut their hair just below the center of their back, having chosen to keep its natural umber colour opposed to dying it black thanks to having a naturally pale complexion. It surprises most people that, aside from their earlobes, they don’t have any piercings - something they chose due to the fact they can only wear sterling silver jewelry, and their necklace collection is what they want to focus on for now.

Their boyfriend’s Reese Carriger, and they admit to feeling incredibly grateful that Saoirse didn’t move before the couple had a chance to meet - immediately bonding thanks to their shyer natures and mutual love of the arts. They were the first person to contribute to his mural and have an interest in interior design in general, enjoying helping their older sister design her bedroom at her new place and regularly helping their mom, Kat, when it comes to picking out furniture. To the surprise of many people, they’re close friends with Brooke Beckwith - regardless of the duo’s dress senses completely contrasting. Having known one another since they were in middle school, their friendship’s lasted the years and numerous changes to come both individual’s ways, with this student happily any questions Brooke has about the subculture they’re involved in, and insist on inviting her to the artsy crowd’s parties. Something else they feel lucky about is that their parents have remained friends after breaking up, especially in comparison to what their friend’s Poppy and Alexis witnessed - and it’s inspired them to work on a musical project for both their mom, dad and stepmom’s birthday’s to thank them for all their kindness, support and care when it came to how they felt during the less than easy times.

~

Reese Carriger is credited to @kitkatcookie! ^u^

Summary

The next student was motivated to study philosophy thanks to their dream of working with animals and an interest in learning about concepts that don’t relate to humanity directly. He’s always been someone more prone to keeping to himself - growing up on a very rural property his grandfather built, where he found it best to remain distant for others as a child to ensure he didn’t succumb to feelings of loneliness while at home. When his two siblings - eight year old brother and five year old sister - were born, this was a huge source of happiness to him as it meant he had company when his parents were busy; even if his brother’s insistence on copying him can be annoying sometimes. His dad’s very much a rugged outdoorsman type - a trait shared by the majority of his paternal family - but in spite of assumptions this clashes with his son’s more free spirited, introspective personality it actually allowed them to bond, as they both find nature incredibly peaceful and somewhere to take solace when needed. Most people consider his house the ideal location to host parties, but he rarely does this, considering his home somewhere best to relax in - and as it’s inherited, he doesn’t want to disrespect all of his late grandfather’s work by hosting constant get together’s. It is the best place to have chill hangouts though, his room being in the attic and overlooking the forest where both his parents work as rangers - with him allowing his friends’ to decorate the walls in murals he considers to have meaning based on those he’s close to contributing to them. Thanks to how laissez-faire he comes across, this genuine sentimentality was a surprise to even Mr. Nesta - but he’s been nothing but supportive of this students’ high opinions of those he cares about, and encourages him to not feel embarrassed by this.

Easily identifiable on account of his beloved afghan coat and untamed, whispy hair which is dyed platinum blonde (from its natural caramel brown); he’s tall and slender, with dark grey eyes that sometimes border on black when he wears a lot of said colour. His sense of style incorporates elements of both 90s grunge and new age - with baggy clothes being favoured by him on account of their comfiness. Having just turned eighteen he intends on getting a tattoo but hasn’t figured out what yet, instead settling on his septum piercing and double studded earlobes for now. Somewhat awkwardly he’s a good friend of Kelso Pendry, meaning he and Tommy tend to avoid one another, which upset him a bit as he used to talk with Saph a fair bit but now that’s understandably difficult. His mom’s advised him to try and move past it as Kelso and Bee have, but he struggles - especially as the latter was the first person he confided in when he suspected he was dyslexic, which was later confirmed after he got properly tested at fifteen. Aside from nature and impromptu artistic creations, he’s a huge fan of medieval history interestingly enough - considering the workings of society fascinating, even if the archaic views completely contrast with his free thinking outlook on life. He’s openly pansexual and his significant other’s nonbinary, with the pair having met while attending their younger sister’s dance recital, sticking out thanks to being the eldest older siblings there who weren’t also participating. Thanks to their lifestyle his family own numerous pets, but his favourite are the two rescue elderly chickens they keep: Dorcas and Malvina.

Brooke Isabel Beckwith is credited to @brightdarkblue! ^u^

Summary

The next student is a girl who can be described as ‘basic’ - she likes things that are very normcore, Uggs, starbucks. She’s not up on the newest trends. She’s fine with it, and she has a few good friends who like her for who she is. She’s not the most ambitious, but she’s reliable and friendly. She babysits for her younger twin siblings on the weekends, and takes babysitting jobs in the neighborhood as well. She likes Ms. Fernsby’s class and thinks her classmates are interesting.

moonwriteen · October 5, 2021, 10:36pm

East Marsh Academy, Early Childhood Education Class
(15-18 year olds, 21 students)
Ms. Havilah ’ Hallie ’ Winifred Daskal

Alexis Hartley Turner
Gideon ‘GG’ Scott Walter III
Zaya Jordan Breckenridge
José Ramón " Jet " Carlos Mazariegos
Noelle ’ Ellie ’ Amelia Witcham
Penelope ‘Poppy’ Lorienne Baum
Sumeyye ’ Aya ’ Anisa Kobal
Erik Dmitri Viklund
Samantha Christine ‘Sam’ Leonard
Cassandra Violet Bellomy
Tully Ethan Keightley
Shiloh Cassidy Bouchard

The next student is a girl with Indonesian roots whose family has lived in the St. James Marsh area for generations. She is Muslim and proudly wears a hijab which is crucial to her sense of style. Her hijabs are always color-coordinated to the rest of the outfit and she also experiments by wearing hijabs made from different fabrics. Her favourite colors are brown and beige with orange mixed in here and there throughout her outfits, which gave her the nickname “autumn girl” among friends. Her skin has many characteristics that she doesn’t like, particurarly acne and a rather noticeable birthmark above her right eyebrow. This led her to develop a keen interest in make-up and cosmetology. She works at Stephanie Dunkirk-Davies’ beauty salon and is good friends with Prim Wyling and Mary Izakson, who also do work there. They understand her devotion to her faith in spite of being Christians because they know how “unrelatable” being religious can seem to the teenagers of today. She also shares her experiences as a Muslim-American with Aadab Munir who is the same age as her , but she realises and respects that they will never be quite as close as Aadab is with Lil Earnshaw-Crosby.

Her favourite thing to do with the kids is painting their faces - there is nothing more rewarding than the wonder in a 4-year-old’s eyes when she sees a lovely pink llamacorn on one of her cheeks and a blue unicorn on the other! She always does things as requested by the little ones and encourages them to be creative. She also loves passing them crayons and observing as they draw, while also listening to the often interesting and crazy stories behind finished drawings.

Although she wants a big family herself and treats the class as sort of a “preparation” for being a mother, this student recently discovered that her orientation is on the asexual spectrum. She realises that it may make her journey of starting a family way different than the “socially default” one but still chooses to keep discovering that part of her identity. While attending an LGBTQ+ event in the area she made friends with Saffron Simard-Quill and feels that she understands her like no other, with the two girls quickly becoming absolutely best friends.

Prim

The last student was born in Utah and moved to this town at the tender age of 6. She was raised Mormon and is a very active part of the church. She has much more conservative views than most of her classmates , but she appreciates that they do not shun her over this and can respectfully disagree during philosophical discussions – something that Mr. Nesta ‘s debate techniques have made easier for everyone involved.

The oldest of four children – two brothers in 10th and 8th grade and a sister in 5th grade who attends St. Veronica’s – she is very protective and caring of others, especially if they’re having trouble being included. She’s exceptionally kind to “outsiders” like Saph and Tommy or people with troubled a troubled past like Sakari. Saph , however, treats her very harshly and sees her behaviour as not authentic.

She especially looks after Mary and tries to make her adapt faster in the school, sitting next to her during lunch hour and talking about how traditional Lutheranism differs from Mormonism. She tries to get the point across to her classmates that they should not hold a grudge against Mary for the hurtful things she said, as she grew up very sheltered and did not mean to cause genuine harm to anyone’s emotions. Mary appreciates her concern and talks to her often about struggles regarding faith and loss that she’s suffered – although she’s a little surprised at how quickly the new friend gained her genuine and deep trust.

The girl recently lost touch with a long-time friend – Euan Christopher Sharrow. He’s someone she had lived next door to ever since she moved and they’d been schoolmates all through primary and middle school. It changed when he chose to board at Gregor Mendel’s Private Boys’ School. The girl misses him dearly, as they shared a lot of unforgettable memories and secrets with each other. She doesn’t understand her siblings joking about how he only disappeared because he got sick of being trapped in her friendzone. That doesn’t make any sense to her. She knows from Una that Euan clearly got involved romantically with Reese Nadia Ali, who couldn’t be more different from her.

The girl dresses very modestly – simple, white shirts, flesh-coloured tights and pencil skirts are essential for her. She wears her blonde, almost golden hair shoulder-length and perfectly straightened – with hairbands that without fail match the colour of her nails, which are the only crazy part.

Nail art is her true passion and she loves unconventional, bright colours – turquoise, royal purple and celadon being her favourites. She often mixes flowery and starry patterns in , but her true specialty are angel wings, which she can draw in exactly 7 different ways. She recently got hired by Ainsley ‘s mom, Stephanie Dunkirk-Davies , at her beauty salon. She thinks it’s the best career opportunity she’s ever had. There is nothing more rewarding to her than a customer’s smile. She has been giving Mary some training too. Mary wants to work there as well, not only to be closer to her first friend at school , but also to potentially form a bond with Ainsley , whose confidence she so deeply admires.

Mary

This next student is new to the school as of halfway through the last school year – before that, she was homeschooled and had a very sheltered, religious upbringing. She has a very traditional biblical name. She used to pride herself on being a good daughter and and member of her church community, and follow her parents beliefs very closely, but things changed when her parents were killed in an accident last year. She was sent to live with her only other available family member, her older sister Liz, along with Liz’s wife and their little son. When she was little, she was very close with and idolized her big sister, but she hadn’t seen Liz since she was ten, as she and their parents weren’t on speaking terms after Liz came out in college. Although Liz tried to keep in contact with her little sister and sent cards and birthday presents and so on, this student was encouraged by her parents not to engage much with her (although she missed her a lot), and by the time she moved in with her, had grown to view her with a significant degree of distrust and blame her for what happened between her and their parents. Needless to say, though, after the accident, this student’s life changed tremendously, and much of this involved suddenly being catapulted out of the sheltered environment she was raised in – she went from not being allowed to interact with people her parents didn’t approve of to living with a gay couple, and from being homeschooled and taught only about what her family supported to attending a busy traditional high school full of all sorts of different ideas. Her first response was to resist the way her life seemed to be falling apart by clinging tight to everything she could hold onto from her previous life, which unfortunately gained her a reputation as a self-righteous, narrow-minded loner, and what’s worse, she knows that she genuinely hurt some people with the things she’s said and done, and she doesn’t know what to do about it. Furthermore, it didn’t even work, as the more time she spends outside of a sheltered environment, the harder it’s been getting to justify and convince herself of some of the things she had built her identity on believing, and she doesn’t feel like she has a way to make sense of the world or even really know who she is anymore. She took philosophy because she hoped it would help solve this for her by telling her what to believe, and although she’s frustrated that it’s not actually doing that, she thinks it might be helping anyway? She doesn’t participate a lot in class, though, because she doesn’t feel secure enough in any opinions to discuss them.

She has long hair of color that’s in that ambiguous space between dark blonde and light brown, which she usually wears in a ponytail, and she wears a lot of skirts and sweaters – dressing a little bit more formally than a teenager in high school would usually be expected to. She’s starting to have very complicated feelings about the cross necklace she wears, but it used to be her mom’s and regardless of how complicated her relationship with the memory of her parents is starting to get, she still really misses her, so she wears it but tucked under her shirt where people can’t see it. She’s a bit shorter than most of her classmates, which she used to not have any feelings about but now she doesn’t appreciate how it’s just another thing that makes her stand out from her peers. She has her dad’s big brown eyes and general facial features, so much so that her family used to call her Mini Thomas, and she loved it because she was very close to her dad, but she’s not sure what to think of that now.

She hasn’t been all that successful with making friends in her new school, although she admires her more confident-seeming classmates like Ainsley (whose insecurities she’s not close enough to see) and Jared from a distance because she wishes she could be as sure as they are about anything.

Saffron

The next student is the orchestra’s bassoon player. She’s 5’7, with a heavyset figure. She has dark brown hair that she wears in loose waves, and hazel eyes. She is interested in makeup, and tends to experiment with it from day to day, not settling on one style. She dresses in vintage style, mixing eras - oilcloth inspired prints of the 50s with structured jackets from the 80s or early rave styles of the 90s. Her mom had her when she was 17, and they often raid each others’ closets for inspiration.

She has two younger brothers, age 12 and 9. She can be somewhat maternal to them, and her peers see her as maternal as well. They tend to seek her for advice and consolation, giving her the thought that she may want to become a counselor. She, in turn, seeks out Dr. Haskins, admiring how she creates her own path and stands by what she believes.

She is discovering that she is asexual, and is excited for this deeper understanding of herself, as it’s relieved the pressure she sometimes feels to date and get serious with someone. She has known that she’s panromantic since she was a preteen. She feels comfortable talking to Prue and Lindy about her experiences.

She loves to make slime and soap with her family, and they’ve created an Etsy shop together. Her specialty is bingsu slime, and her favorite scent is coffee.

Aadab

The next student was uncertain about joining the class, as she was unsure if her style of art, collaging, would be considered ‘valid’ next to others. Ms. N has been nothing but supportive in this though, having a very broad opinion of what art is, and especially appreciates how this girl reflects personal stories and messages within her’s. Her art reflects her life as an Omani-American and Muslim, who chooses to wear a hijab, and is known for having a very chic, sophisticated sense of style; preferring silk, velvet and woolen fabrics, often paired with her favourite nude kitten heels. She does her makeup in a likewise immaculate manner, especially around her eyes as she’s very proud of their lovely coffee colour, which compliments her jet black eyebrows and the golden nose stud she wears. In spite of her confidence in how she dresses, she often worries about academics, feeling she pales in comparison to her older brother who’s studying to become a neurosurgeon and mom who’s involved in Embassy work; in spite of her parents trying their best to dissuade her from being so hard on herself. The main family member she’ll listen to is her dad, a fun-loving chef who owns his own restaurant and has a well of dad jokes to cheer up his kids. Her best friend also belongs to this art class and she’s the biggest voice of support within the room, rivaled only by this girl’s younger brother and sister, who are art obsessed fraternal twins

Prim was created by me , Mary by @vfrn , Saffron by @brightdarkblue and Aadab by @I_meme_it ! If I went too far with the connections and the next poster is confused lmk!

brightdarkblue · October 6, 2021, 4:14am

East Marsh Academy, Early Childhood Education Class
(15-18 year olds, 21 students)
Ms. Havilah ’ Hallie ’ Winifred Daskal

Alexis Hartley Turner
Gideon ‘GG’ Scott Walter III
Zaya Jordan Breckenridge
José Ramón " Jet " Carlos Mazariegos
Noelle ’ Ellie ’ Amelia Witcham
Penelope ‘Poppy’ Lorienne Baum
Sumeyye ’ Aya ’ Anisa Kobal
Erik Dmitri Viklund
Samantha Christine ‘Sam’ Leonard
Cassandra Violet Bellomy
Tully Ethan Keightley
Shiloh Cassidy Bouchard
Nihal Basima Subandi

The next girl is tall (5’11) and very slim. She is 18, but a junior. She has wide blue eyes, pale skin with a lot of freckles, and long brown hair that’s slightly wavy. Her teeth are crooked, but she doesn’t mind, they’re just like her dad’s. She is on the autism spectrum, with low support needs - she is able to attend mainstream classes, and has for most of her education. Her abiding interests are theater and reptiles, and in particular musicals and snakes.

She goes by her first and middle name, which she sometimes gets teased for, but it’s a tradition in her mom’s family, and it was meaningful for her mom, Molly Therese, to pass on the tradition. She’s an only child, and doesn’t know if she’ll continue the tradition. Her mother works as a tutor and a school librarian, while her father is a train operator.

She likes to dress with a lot of whimsy - if it’s kawaii, she owns it or she wants it. She has worn her unicorn onesie to school before (the preschoolers love it!), and she generally likes wearing things that make people smile, as it’s a way to break the ice, which can be difficult for her. The usual suspects make fun of her for these traits, and she has learned not to take it personally. When she’s not wearing something intentionally cute, she favors flowy maxiskirts with cardigans she can pull over her hands. Sandals are her favorite to wear, particularly birkenstocks, but she also likes a good roman soldier sandal.

Someone she gets along well with is Blake Longworth, as he has experience with family members on the spectrum. They make a colorful duo, and he listens to her info dumps and shares her enthusiasm, wanting her to audition for Percussion Mark 5. Their families have become close as well, and Molly Therese will have the Longworths over once a month or so for her specialty - fettuccine and meatballs.

Having Blake’s friendship has really helped her, and she is interested in making more friends, thinking that maybe Ellie Witcham may be someone interesting.

@kitkatcookie brought us

Blake Longworth

The next student is fairly well-known thanks to his dedication to the music department and he’s considered something of a prodigy in the subject. He plays saxophone and bass guitar, however primarily focuses on the former when it comes to the orchestra - finding it a shame how overlooked the first instrument he ever picked up is. Aside from music he’s dedicated to promoting awareness of neurodivergence - as his dad was diagnosed with Aspergers shortly before he was born - and is involved in fundraising for a local charity his mom coordinates; having a great deal of respect for her empathy and determination. Both of his parents have worked in therapy - dad’s a speech therapist, mom formerly worked in schools before altering her career path - and he’s interested in following in their footsteps, hoping music will be the best way to help others’. He has two older brothers’ - one who’s twenty-five, training to become a vet and currently planning his wedding; the other’s twenty-three, non-binary and recently returned home after completing their degree in visual communication - and idolised them growing up, a tendency that hasn’t left him even now. When all three are together they enjoy attending arts’ festivals and kilo sales together, or going caving: a hobby their mom isn’t the biggest fan of thanks to the risks, but has relaxed as they go out of their respective ways’ to prioritise safety. Neither of his siblings are as mad about music as he is but it’s never phased him, having a notoriously affable nature when it comes to others - with his drive for high standards being projected internally only. He’s struggled with anxiety in regards to academics throughout life, and recently began attending the school counselor to help manage his struggles after he began considering giving up in classes he’s less confident thanks to people having put so much emphasis on his musical accomplishments.

His aesthetic is heavily inspired by popart and Andy Warhol’s infamous troupe, typically using white as an accent colour and contrasting it with bright eye makeup - with lime green eyeshadow being his favourite shade - and structured patterns: preferring oversized shirts and jumpers paired with wide leg pants, not really being one for jeans. A trusty pair of vans are his go to shoes and he prefers flatter shapes, as his 6’2" build is “comfortably waifish” for him without the added height. His black hair and light grey eyes compliment this styling perfectly, opting for silver jewelry as he feels is softer colour compliments his sense of style best. His left anti-tragus and conch are pierced, with a right ear industrial piercing, and a smiley piercing too - something his best friend calls proof of his “maddest moment”. Electronic bands such as New Order and Gary Numan massively influence him, but he shares Professor Haskins’ love of metal too - especially symphonic - and is an avid fan of electronic infused rock and metal too.

Recently, he was asked to join a local band - Percussion Mark 5 - who’ve been invited to serve as a supporting act for High Velocity , on account of this student being good friends with Kelso Pendry; the two having met due to his friendship with Kelso’s sister. Journalistic pieces fascinate him - especially musical one’s - and privately he enjoys writing reviews, but they’re kept close to his chest as he finds bickering over media exhaustive and best to avoid. His lyricism tends to be a tad cynical and wrapped tightly in metaphor, often commenting on issues that he finds important or sometimes just inner dialogue which winds and weaves. He’s very aware of his enigmatic reputation and honestly enjoys it, preferring to open up around those he’s close to and keep his head down for the most part; with the most drama he ever encountered being the business to do with Bea and Tommy, helping Kelso keep Bea’s mind off the negativity by driving part of their gang elsewhere on random daytrips. Recently the family got a rescue cat - Bobble, a moggie - who he loves playing music for, as if always helps his feline friend relax considerably. His mom loves to joke they’re spiritually connected, as like Bobble, this guy can sleep just about anywhere while twisting himself into a pretzel.

P.S. - @moonwriteen I love Nihal’s friendship with Saffron

kitkatcookie · October 6, 2021, 8:41am

East Marsh Academy, Early Childhood Education Class
(15-18 year olds, 21 students)
Ms. Havilah ’ Hallie ’ Winifred Daskal

Alexis Hartley Turner
Gideon ‘GG’ Scott Walter III
Zaya Jordan Breckenridge
José Ramón " Jet " Carlos Mazariegos
Noelle ’ Ellie ’ Amelia Witcham
Penelope ‘Poppy’ Lorienne Baum
Sumeyye ’ Aya ’ Anisa Kobal
Erik Dmitri Viklund
Samantha Christine ‘Sam’ Leonard
Cassandra Violet Bellomy
Tully Ethan Keightley
Shiloh Cassidy Bouchard
Nihal Basima Subandi
Alisa Giovanna Pazienza

The 15th student has a naturally reassuring presence, which is what led to the recommendation he take this class. He’s always the friend others go to asking for advice or to explain their hangups to - something he attributes to being from a family with many members involved in counselling or therapy - and serves as a similar figure to the children the students look after, having also been involved in helping reconciliation following an argument or squabble. This has its pros and cons, as sometimes he can feel overwhelmed by constantly being bombarded with questions or hearing about the latest breakup - but he never wants to turn anyone away, as he worries about the impact this might have on them. Thankfully, his best friend has absolutely no problem putting his foot down, and the pair’s chalk and cheese dynamic works incredibly well, even if some people don’t understand the two’s longstanding closeness. Growing up, he often found he stood out in his family on account of being mixed race - his mom’s black and was adopted at the age of two, so the majority of his relatives are white - and it was only when he was fourteen that he began fully embracing his Somalian heritage, recognising it as an important part of him, and he loves discussing different cultures with his peers; using his own experience to encourage those feeling nervous about reaching out. This has prompted him to enquire about forming a club within the school which focuses on cultural reconnection and to function as a safe space for biracial students in particular, as he knows exactly what it’s like to feel torn about the concept of identity. He’s currently learning how to cook traditional dishes and brings his creations to class, having once jokingly warned Ms. Daskal to not pretend she likes something just to spare his feelings - as his best friend’s blunt, brutal honesty about his unsuccessful creations never fails to make him laugh.

Having just reached 6’0", he has a medium brown complexion with a rash of freckles across his cheeks, nose and neck - matching the lovely coffee colour of his eyes wonderfully. He opts to shave his hair down and then dyes it, having gone for a turquoise and white check print most recently, which he takes pride in thanks to others complimenting it. Preferring a chaotic academia aesthetic after his gran found him some wire framed reading glasses, he incoporates Somali patterns into his styling now; using navy and dark grey as accents to work against the wide array of colours, and in the summer relates to Alisa Giovanna deeply as he can’t resist his trusty pair of birks
With his right tragus pierced, he recently got his tongue done too: a decision that unintentionally helped him in this class, as the sudden flash of metal means people always turn when he’s speaking, and this leads to properly listening. He can always be identified thanks to wearing a silver hawk broach, a gift from his paternal gramps, who broke away from the family mold and instead runs a chain of jewelry and watch shops. This student is quietly certain he’s going to enter the world of therapy himself in some capacity - but hasn’t told his parents yet, as he knows his dad (a firefighter) will be particularly worried he’s letting the family legacy dictate his choices.

Often he sees his extended family, thanks to them all living in St. James’s Marsh; including his younger cousin Kaleb, who he tends to gently tease about his reputation. His parents aren’t particularly religious though, meaning he knows why Kaleb prefers to hang out with him and his sister, who’s only a year younger than him at fifteen. They aren’t the most overtly close siblings - in part thanks to her attending St. Paul’s, as the family moved house in the year he started high school - but when they do chat, it’s meaningful and tends to relate to the future, which she’s especially prone to worrying about. When he feels uncertain, his go-to person to talk to is his mom - a children’s book author who’s known for her remarkably warm, inviting aura, something she arguably passed onto him. This is often because - while he isn’t naturally outgoing and in class tends to keep his head down to focus on the work - he’s pretty popular, and often has to weather the social scene and all its dramatic moments, personalities and conventions; getting invited to lots of parties and then witnessing the aftermath, so right now he’s choosing not to attend many. More recently he’s befriended Cassandra - as they used to attend some of the same hangouts - and this led to him spending more time with his best friends’ crowd, as he was deeply bothered by how people treated her in the wake of her pregnancy. This did generate some rumors - the most insane being that he is the father of Cassandra’s child, impressive considering when the party happened he was on holiday in Venice - but he’s dismissed them, and has actually opened up to her about his crush on someone else in turn, viewing Cassandra akin to a second sister; as he’s likewise a total film buff and finds the artform fascinating, being the king of trivia and anecdotes in this topic. His parents share this sentiment and have opened their home to her and her family, although they’re careful to not appear patronising or insincere.

Kaleb Adam Hulse is credited to @kidpix21

Summary

The next student is a boy who is very inspiring to many of his classmates, especially many of the girls. He’s often referred to in secret as the “blonde beauty” as his long, luscious blonde locks certainly draw attention to himself. He has bright green eyes and a very welcoming and friendly personality. He always helps elderly ladies across the street as he lives next door to a nursing home, and he always wants to make this fact known as it seems to make many girls swoon. His favorite subjects in school are biology and english, and he is a good student. He lives with his parents and his little brother, who is in second grade. He enjoys playing golf with his dad on Sundays after his family goes to church, even though this student doesn’t consider himself very religious. His family has two dogs, Milo and Skipper.

vfrn · October 6, 2021, 11:06pm

[name_u]East[/name_u] [name_u]Marsh[/name_u] Academy, [name_u]Early[/name_u] Childhood Education Class
(15-18 year olds, 21 students)
Ms. [name_u]Havilah[/name_u] ’ [name_f]Hallie[/name_f] ’ [name_f]Winifred[/name_f] Daskal

[name_u]Alexis[/name_u] [name_u]Hartley[/name_u] [name_m]Turner[/name_m]
[name_m]Gideon[/name_m] ‘GG’ [name_u]Scott[/name_u] [name_u]Walter[/name_u] III
[name_f]Zaya[/name_f] [name_u]Jordan[/name_u] Breckenridge
[name_m]José[/name_m] [name_m]Ramón[/name_m] " [name_u]Jet[/name_u] " [name_m]Carlos[/name_m] Mazariegos
[name_f]Noelle[/name_f] ’ [name_f]Ellie[/name_f] ’ [name_f]Amelia[/name_f] Witcham
[name_f]Penelope[/name_f] ‘Poppy’ Lorienne Baum
Sumeyye ’ [name_f]Aya[/name_f] ’ [name_f]Anisa[/name_f] Kobal
[name_m]Erik[/name_m] [name_m]Dmitri[/name_m] Viklund
[name_f]Samantha[/name_f] [name_f]Christine[/name_f] ‘Sam’ [name_m]Leonard[/name_m]
[name_f]Cassandra[/name_f] [name_f]Violet[/name_f] Bellomy
[name_u]Tully[/name_u] [name_m]Ethan[/name_m] Keightley
[name_u]Shiloh[/name_u] [name_u]Cassidy[/name_u] Bouchard
Nihal Basima Subandi
[name_f]Alisa[/name_f] [name_f]Giovanna[/name_f] [name_f]Pazienza[/name_f]
[name_u]Augustine[/name_u] [name_u]Roy[/name_u] [name_u]Abbott[/name_u]

This next student is fifteen years old and took the prerequisite child development course last year, but that wasn’t the first time she was a student of Ms. Daskal’s – as a preschooler, she was a member of the last class she taught as “Ms. Hallie” before taking this job with [name_u]East[/name_u] [name_u]Marsh[/name_u]. She still sometimes nostalgically calls her Ms. [name_f]Hallie[/name_f]. At that point in Ms. Daskal’s career, she was already dealing with the disabling health issues that made it difficult to teach preschool to the point where she stopped the following year, but that also brought her closer to this student, because they had some shared experiences. This student was born with amyloplasia as a result of an illness her mother contracted while pregnant. She’s had years of physical and occupational therapy and many orthopedic surgeries throughout her life, and even as a three-year-old, she realized that she was different from the other kids, who could freely run and jump and climb. Many of the adults in her life tried to convince her that she was just like everyone else, but Ms. [name_f]Hallie[/name_f] was the first disabled adult she met and the first one to instead teach her that it’s okay to be different and help her find things to celebrate about who she was as an individual instead of unintentionally teaching her to hide her experiences to meet an implied ideal of being “just like everyone else”. With this teacher having had such an impact on her life, of course she jumped at the chance to take her classes again once she got to high school, even though it doesn’t have that much to do with her future career (she wants to be an aerospace engineer). Besides that, the way she sees it, learning about working with children can be relevant to everyone, because most people will have kids in their lives at some point, whether they’re their own kids or not.

This student is super interested in space. She enjoys stargazing and amateur astronomy, as well as learning anything she can about our universe, and she gets very excited whenever there are new [name_m]Hubble[/name_m] pictures or information from one of the rovers or space probes. She’s also really interested in all kinds of vehicles, how they’re made and how they work and how to operate them – she can’t wait until she’s old enough to get her driver’s license! She’d love to even get a pilot’s license someday. Between these two main interests, plus her talent for math and logical thinking, aerospace engineering seems like the ideal career. She also loves to get the preschoolers excited about STEM topics. Her favorite activity she’s done with them was when they taped together assorted recycled materials to try to build boats that would float.

As a space fan, she has a galaxy aesthetic, especially focused on her favorite color, which is teal. She favors cozy clothes like sweatshirts in galaxy and nebula prints or t-shirts with scientific slogans. She has her leg braces and forearm crutches wrapped in glittery teal tape to match, and she likes silvery-colored jewelry from her favorite nerdy Etsy stores. She’s 5’1" with curly, dark brown hair and a pale complexion brought on in part by the fact that she mostly only goes outside at night.

She goes to the same physical therapy center as [name_m]Erik[/name_m] Viklund’s mom, and as they both have spent a lot of time there throughout their lives, including doing group programs together, they have a pretty friendly, positive relationship. This student was four at the time of Mrs. Viklund’s accident and had already been dealing with things like PT and mobility aids and so on for her whole life, so she revelled in being the expert in something while talking to an adult. In retrospect, she suspects that Mrs. Viklund was going out of her way to give her chances to explain things in order to encourage her enthusiasm, and almost certainly was not actually taking medical advice from a preschooler, but still. As great as this has been for this student, she worries about how [name_m]Erik[/name_m] might feel about the fact that at a time in his life when his family had so much to deal with, his mom was hanging out with some other kid, so she’s a little hesitant around him.

This student, despite not being all that outdoorsy in general, is surprisingly close with [name_u]Sam[/name_u] [name_m]Leonard[/name_m], as they understand and appreciate each other’s passion for various aspects of the natural world, even though Sam’s favorite parts thereof are bit closer to home than this student’s, and they enjoy listening to each other talk passionately about wild birds and quasars and interesting mushrooms and nebulae. They also like to make excited plans together about what they’ll do when they get their licenses and first cars. They hope to take a road trip together next summer out to a particular state park which is known for its clear skies and lack of light pollution, to camp out together under the milky way and watch the Perseid meteor shower. Secretly, this student daydreams about holding hands with [name_u]Sam[/name_u] under the meteors, maybe sharing a kiss, but she’s not sure what [name_u]Sam[/name_u] would think of the idea, especially since for all she knows she might be straight, so she doesn’t mention it.

She is also close with [name_f]Aya[/name_f] Kobal, as they share their love of learning and using their brains. They both love puzzles, and sometimes compete to see who can solve a hard one first.

@kitkatcookie Thanks so much for making a friend for [name_f]Cassandra[/name_f], I’m glad you liked her enough to do that!

@kitkatcookie @brightdarkblue @moonwriteen I hope my connections for you guys’ characters aren’t overstepping, especially the part involving Erik’s mom. Let me know if you need me to change anything.

brightdarkblue · October 6, 2021, 11:37pm

I really love the way all of their worlds connect, @vfrn!

vfrn · October 6, 2021, 11:40pm

@brightdarkblue Thank you!

brightdarkblue · October 7, 2021, 5:53am

East Marsh Academy, Early Childhood Education Class
(15-18 year olds, 21 students)
Ms. Havilah ’ Hallie ’ Winifred Daskal

Alexis Hartley Turner
Gideon ‘GG’ Scott Walter III
Zaya Jordan Breckenridge
José Ramón " Jet " Carlos Mazariegos
Noelle ’ Ellie ’ Amelia Witcham
Penelope ‘Poppy’ Lorienne Baum
Sumeyye ’ Aya ’ Anisa Kobal
Erik Dmitri Viklund
Samantha Christine ‘Sam’ Leonard
Cassandra Violet Bellomy
Tully Ethan Keightley
Shiloh Cassidy Bouchard
Nihal Basima Subandi
Alisa Giovanna Pazienza
Augustine Roy Abbott
Eden Olivia Tavernier

The next student likes to joke that she’s the ‘Stable Mabel’ of her friend group, but in a way it’s true. Her parents were older than most of her peers’ parents when they had her and her 17 year old brother. They’ve had a very comfortable middle class upbringing. They are average in a lot of ways, with their dog (Rusty, a border collie) and their cat (Velvet, a Tuxedo cat). Their dad works as a dentist and their mom is a landscape architect. Both are able to set aside their work woes when it comes to supporting their children. Her brother is on the basketball team, and she is on the soccer team.

She’s 5’2, with short, slightly messy auburn curls. Her complexion is somewhat peachy, and she tends to freckle in the sun. She lines her gray-blue eyes in brown or a complementary green. She is using aligners to correct a slight overbite. Her fashion style tends to be slightly more modest than her friends, but is usually on trend.

She watches The Bachelor and does live commentary with Sakari every week. She also likes to cook sweets, with fudge cream cheese brownies being her specialty, and has started bringing some to school to share with her friends, particularly Jared Giel. She knows he’s not looking for a girlfriend, but feels like they have a lot in common. She likes to read, but doesn’t like deep literature - just fun stuff. In this class, she finds Ellie very charismatic, and she has a soft spot for Erik; she tries to help him relate to the kids in the preschool. She loves hanging out with her younger cousins and planning fun days for them, and she figured that ECE would be a lot like that. Ms. Daskal has praised her natural talent.

Sakari Drummond was a @kidpix21 creation

The next student was recently adopted from foster care after being in the system for her entire life. She had a younger brother who was adopted as a child but she has never seen him since then. She has grey-blue eyes and an olive-y complexion. Her dirty blonde hair is very long after not being cut in a while due to her wanting to have longer hair. She is somewhat shy and keeps to herself most of the time, usually worried she’s going to say something wrong after a traumatic incident in one of her foster homes. She enjoys wearing baggy clothing, especially ones that give off a y2k aesthetic. Her adoptive parents, Shelley and Heath, have two kids of their own - Nicholas who is 22 and Gwen who is 19. This student and Gwen have gotten along nicely and she has finally felt a sense of belonging in her new family. She enjoys taking the family labradoodle, Minnie, for walks. Her favorite TV show is The Bachelor and loves having Gwen and her friends watch with her.

and @cara_murvolio brought us Jared Giel

The 22nd student started this class not being the most enthusiastic, choosing it because he realised his interest in sociology wasn’t fully there. In spite of this, Mr. Nesta’s teaching style has allowed a genuine appreciation to develop, and it’s now only second to Phys Ed in terms of his favourite subjects. Belonging to the swim team, he’s also an accomplished diver, sharing he natural grace of his sister Dia; which is something several of his classmates have admitted to envying, which contributes to his cockiness - something that makes his close friendship with Hartley even more baffling to some. In spite of his self-confidence, he’s very encouraging and supportive towards others, especially his friends who he’s a complete ride or die for - always being willing to stand up for others, having gotten into several fights when he was a kid thanks to confronting bullies. To clear his head, he walks the family dogs, Archie a Jack Russell and Thea, a Norwegian Sheepdog - considering it an exchange for sampling his mom’s baking, as he admittedly has quite the sweet tooth. He shares an open dialogue with his parents, never being afraid of talking to them, and can spend hours chatting to his dad - a toxicologist - as he admittedly finds chemistry fascinating, but never shies away from admitting he’s terrible at science.

He’s 5’11" and athletically built, while being on the slender side, with eternally messy hair usually tamed with a hat or banana, that’s a shade of brown so dark it’s easily mistaken for black in low lighting. His eyes are a rich, caramel brown and are complimented by the sunset tones he prefers to dress in, gelling with his skater aesthetic nicely - especially when he brings in nu-metal inspired jewellery. Along with his parents and little sister, he’s visits his extended family in Aruba whenever possible, sharing a special bond with his maternal grandfather - who’s very encouraging of his love of sports, and has helped him connect more with culture there as he’s grown up and developed an interest in embracing it. Instead of attending university immediately, this student thinks he’d like to travel following graduation, having a desire desire see more of the world and meet new people - although he doesn’t want to make any of his friends feel he’s abandoned them. Thanks to his outgoing nature and willingness to chat with just about anyone, he’s helped Bea with promoting High Velocity to social groups less likely to naturally encounter the band - wanting nothing more than to see Hartley and the others succeed in their passion (although absolutely no-one can know about his softer side). Having dated casually for a few years, he admittedly is a bit cynical about forming a close connection with anyone for the time being - feeling he isn’t mature enough to commit in a way another person would deserve.

kitkatcookie · October 7, 2021, 10:37am

East Marsh Academy, Early Childhood Education Class
(15-18 year olds, 21 students)
Ms. Havilah ’ Hallie ’ Winifred Daskal

Alexis Hartley Turner
Gideon ‘GG’ Scott Walter III
Zaya Jordan Breckenridge
José Ramón " Jet " Carlos Mazariegos
Noelle ’ Ellie ’ Amelia Witcham
Penelope ‘Poppy’ Lorienne Baum
Sumeyye ’ Aya ’ Anisa Kobal
Erik Dmitri Viklund
Samantha Christine ‘Sam’ Leonard
Cassandra Violet Bellomy
Tully Ethan Keightley
Shiloh Cassidy Bouchard
Nihal Basima Subandi
Alisa Giovanna Pazienza
Augustine Roy Abbott
Eden Olivia Tavernier
Fern Sophie Dowler

The next student was basically raised as an only child, so she took this class in the hope it would help her connect more with her two year old sister, Marianna ‘Mari’. Both of girls adopted by their dad’s - Mari at a few weeks old, her just after her first birthday - and this means she’s particularly talented at communicating and bonding with the children who share this aspect of life. She’s always been honest with Ms. Daskal about the fact she wasn’t delighted to gain a sibling at fourteen: mostly fearing it would take time away from the time she enjoys spending with her parents, most notably she and her dad’s photography trips, where they set up prompts and challenges for one another; so she was surprised to quickly bond with Mari, once she actually joined the family. Her awareness that she isn’t the most natural with kids was a notable insecurity of her’s, until Ms. Daskal began emphasising that her awareness of this was a strength in itself, and while she encouraged this student, she never made her feel pressured or rushed. These experiences have caused the girl to consider becoming a teacher herself actually - having once admittedly had no interest in the profession - but now she feels working in a roll to support children with backgrounds deemed “less conventional” would be a meaningful and important role to take on. Her papa’s been exceptionally supportive of this, as he runs a local charity which helps combat homelessness within the LGBTQIA+ community specifically - alongside providing counselling and other forms of support - meaning he’s impressed by his daughters’ emphasis on an empathic vocation.

She has had some contact with her biological mother - Kellie - over the years too, but it’s been sporadic and further limited due to the continued drug problems Kellie’s faced. When this student was young, their meetings were actually stopped by social services due to Kellie promising she would take her daughter back into her custody and attempted to convince the students dad’s into allowing unauthorised overnight stays; something that still upsets this girl to this day, as her dad’s mean the world to her and she hates the idea of betraying them somehow. This means she can draw into herself sometimes when the memories are particularly pronounced, having been diagnosed with anxiety at thirteen, which she practices breathing exercises for and is allowed to step outside the classroom if it’s impacting her.

She’s 5’3" and has a top heavy figure, being a little stockier than many of her friends. With light blue eyes and hazel brown hair cut at shoulder length - usually with the edges flipped outwards with the help of some products - she’s got a lightly tanned complexion, knowing her biological father is Latino, but nothing else about him other than the fact he was out of the picture before Kellie learned she was pregnant. Her aesthetic is heavily influenced by Romantic Artistry, combined with princess and cloudcore for a very soft, feminine effect. Puffed sleeves and skirts are absolutely adored by her, alongside pairing ankle socks with her Mary-Jane’s or trusty pair of white, platform trainers; and anything depicting classical artwork is more than welcome too, including a gorgeous jacket she got for her recent sixteenth birthday depicting Aphrodite emerging from the pearl. She has double pierced earlobes, her daith in the right ear and anti-tragus in the left, but is uncertain about any facial piercings at this point due to being more focused on perfecting her makeup.

Aside from photography, her other hobbies are thrifting clothes, collecting prints and art for her wall, and learning how to speak Greek - as her dad’s from Athens and she wants to incorporate his heritage into her life. She has been considering learning Spanish too considering this, but doesn’t quite know if she’s emotionally prepared to take the plunge. Thanks to her dad working as a coffee shop owner - running an LGBTQIA+ friendly cafe named Q-Hub - she often brings in treats to share with her friends, always saving the shortbreads for Zaya. After school she heads there most days in order to walk home with him, and also because she’s friends with several staff members; as he employed one of her friends recently. She does have a boyfriend but prefers keeping this quiet, as her life has already been talked about extensively thanks to the incidents with Kellie; not wanting him to feel pressured by the social scene, as he’s someone who’s never been affronted by her background and always focuses on the similarities between them opposed to the differences. Their favourite dates tend to be visiting animal sanctuaries or hanging around the local music scene, although she’s the first to admit she cannot play any instruments and infamously once created the most strangled recorder sound known to her third grade teachers’ ears.

@vfrn It’s absolutely no problem - in fact I love seeing the additional lore and dynamics for my creations! Also I’m so glad Augustine is a good pal for Cassandra!