the world is at least fifty percent terrible,

I always told them the exact same thing.

"I really don't want to be a teacher."

When they would inevitably ask why, I would go on: "Because my dad is a teacher. I know what being a teacher is like, and I am NOT good at teaching. I'm good at tutoring, and that is NOT the same thing."

Teachers have to explain concepts completely from scratch. They have to meet each student exactly where they are, to figure out how best to instruct them in something completely new to them. And yet, at the same time, they ALSO have to work with the entire group at once, so they are all learning together.

Tutors, on the other hand, are working with students who have already been taught something. They're helping the student to get more practice with it, or they're helping fill in any gaps in understanding that the student might have with the material. They're pretty much never having to teach something completely from scratch.

The difference in patience level required for teaching vs tutoring is an orders of magnitude difference. Teaching requires EXTREME patience, especially when working with children. Tutoring requires patience, of course, but considerably less than teaching. From the few times I did actually have to teach someone, I knew I would be horribly overwhelmed and stressed if I had to teach people all the time... and I was working with adults!

Qifrey is a teacher.

Olruggio is a tutor.

I absolutely understand Olruggio's mindset, because it is my own. In the WHA universe, I would never take the fifth test. Even if I technically am good at teaching, I know for a fact that I would hate it, long-term, because it would stress me out so much. Olruggio has worked out his version of the same conclusion.

Theory that this story started with the love between a child and a parent being the driving momentum of the plot and it will be the love between children and parents that will be the driving momentum to changing society as they know it

Theory that Agott will be tempted by her mother, invited to be an apprentice finally so that her mother can use her now evident skill. Agott will have to choose between Qifrey and her mom and she will pick Qifrey, realizing the parent she always wanted was actually right there by her side.

AAAA ty! I was gonna draw these but it was taking too long and I wasnt in the mood so here I did make some picrews :D Thank you for asking!! I'm really pleasantly surprised by the fact that people like my ocs! I added them in as a necessity for the fic since I really needed characters to fill these roles and obvs canon didn't have any. So I'm glad folks aren't bothered by them!

Antoine

Age 26

Hasn't slept in 200 years

Works out a lot for mental health and also fun so he's quite tall and muscly.

Has piercings.

Gives off an aura of Mysterious Cool Guy. Is actually kind of a lovable dork.

Adores Qifrey but isn't a cuddly guy. But neither is Qifrey really, so they have an understanding.

Knows how to juggle knives. He will never do it in front of Qifrey bc he knows Qifrey will try and copy him and probably lose a finger.

Genuinely passionate about food. Could have chosen any career (he had options), but he can get lost in the flow of cooking and he finds it really soothing. Prefers working as a personal chef in a wealthy household, tho (better pay/hours + he likes Beldaruit and Qifrey)

Gracia

Imagine her a little older, with wrinkles, bc she's in her 50s and a mother of 3.

Age 52

Exudes an aura of competence and control, and has a bit of a regal vibe as a result

Motherly, loving. Dotes on Qifrey. Worries about him too. But will give him the what-for if he acts up around her. He mouthed off to her 1 time. She crossed her arms, glared, and said, "I demand an apology, young man." He wilted, apologised, and it never happened again. Qifrey adores her but he also knows she's not to be messed with lol.

Is a fantastic baker.

Has been working for Beldaruit since his own childhood (she was in her twenties when she was hired by the family), so she's seen Beldaruit grow up, and dotes on him just the same. Beldaruit also adores her, and they have a real friendship. Still he doesn't presume they're actually friends because they're still boss and employee. But he respects her opinion on things and often gets parenting advice from her.

She is readying for retirement and currently training Antoine to take her place.

Emmaline

-Age: 24

A light in a dark room

Warm, soft, loving, very feminine style

Antoine has a massive crush on her so he can't look her in the eye. She is oblivious to this.

Came from humble origins, but is so genuinely bright and cheerful you often don't realise this. The downside is that she's also easily spooked/can be somewhat emotional.

She's a pretty good witch and a really competent flier. (she taught Qifrey how to use sylph shoes). Works on contraptions in her spare time and a lot of them help her at her job bc they're cleaning contraptions

Also dotes on Qifrey, but she tends to be a little loud and he finds that overwhelming sometimes. But he also adores her and finds her warmth and positive energy to be kind of soothing on bad days

She WILL tease Qifrey about Olruggio sometimes. He will get embarrassed every time. But she'll also offer advice like "oh you should buy him something cute from the market :)" and he'll be like NO!!!! and then he'll take her advice and come to her later like "ok that worked actually he was so happy".