Literature / Glasses Stories

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Glasses Stories is a Non-Fiction piece written by gelefant.

Glasses Stories has a heavy emphasis on people wearing eyeglasses (either their own or those of others).

Artwork for the story can be found here, here, here, here, here, and here.

Tropes:

• Absurd Phobia: Jermaine's seventh grade English classmate Stephen thought that Jermaine had "glassphobia" because of Jermaine's pet peeve of people wearing glasses that aren't theirs (the correct terms for a fear of glass are hyelophobia and nelophobia).
• Best Friend:
  • Ellie and Zach were Jermaine's best friends during childhood.
  • Alecia is Jermaine's current best friend.
• Bitch Slap: Jermaine's father slapped his wife during a big fight they had when Jermaine was a child. The result is that her glasses flew off her face and skidded as they hit the floor.
• The Bully:
  • "Glass Action" is about all of the times that Jermaine's bespectacled classmates and friends had their glasses stolen (and, in one case, BROKEN) by bullies.
  • "Glass Struggle" is about all of the times Jermaine's classmates and friends wore other people's glasses just to bully or tease him.
  • During December 2012, Jermaine watched an anti-bullying commercial that depicted a bespectacled brunette being bullied by two other girls.
  • Jermaine once had a dream about his little sister Jasmine being bullied by another girl. Part of the bullying included said girl stealing Jasmine's glasses.
• Bullying the Bespectacled:
  • Jermaine's father slapped his wife’s glasses off her face during their fight. They skidded as they hit the floor. Thankfully, they didn't crack or break.
  • "Glass Action" is about all of the times that Jermaine's bespectacled classmates and friends had their glasses stolen (and, in one case, broken) by bullies.
  • During December 2012, Jermaine watched an anti-bullying commercial that depicted a bespectacled brunette being bullied by two other girls. Part of said bullying included one of the other girls ripping the brunette’s glasses off her face, folding them up, and refusing to return them.
  • Jermaine once had a dream about his little sister Jasmine being bullied by another girl. Part of the bullying included said girl stealing Jasmine's glasses.
• Control Freak: Jermaine was obsessed with trying to prevent his bespectacled friends from sharing their glasses and his non-bespectacled friends from wearing the glasses of others. He tattled on his classmates and friends for wearing other people's glasses from third through seventh grade and even called people who shared their glasses or took the glasses of others "rule breakers." This obsession lasted from third grade until his junior or senior year of high school.
• Declaration of Protection: After watching an anti-bullying commercial that depicted a bespectacled brunette being bullied by two other girls, Jermaine developed an almost instinctive and borderline obsessive desire to protect people who wear glasses from abusers and bullies. This need to protect glass-wearers even extends to fictional characters.
• Domestic Abuse: The fight between Jermaine's parents definitely qualifies as it quickly went from verbal to physical.
• Dreaming of Things to Come: During fifth grade, Jermaine had a dream in which his classmate Myrna wore glasses. The very next day at school, she showed up wearing glasses that belonged to a friend of hers. As a result, Jermaine considered the dream prophetic/psychic in nature.
• Dropped Glasses: Jermaine's father slapped his wife’s glasses off her face during their fight. They skidded as they hit the floor. Thankfully, they didn't crack or break.
• Everything's Better with Sparkles: Jermaine's drawing of a pair of glasses being unbreakable includes extra shine and sparkles after the specs are bombarded with several things that would destroy them ten times over in Real Life.
• Glasses Are Sexy:
  • Many of the people in Jermaine's life think, or used to think, that he finds glasses attractive because of both his pet peeve of people wearing glasses that aren't theirs and the fact that many of his crushes and friends wore glasses. Another reason is that he apparently once told his father during sixth grade that he finds glasses attractive, although Jermaine doesn't remember saying that.
  • As for Jermaine's side:
    • There have been times he wished he continued wearing glasses full-time past fourth grade so he could share them with his female friends.
    • He secretly brought his old glasses to school during his second semester of seventh grade. He shared them exclusively with several of his female classmates and friends. In one instance, he even told one of said friends that his glasses enhanced her beauty.
    • He masturbates to both self-imagined fantasies and his real memories of people wearing the glasses of others. He's done so since seventh or eighth grade.
    • Many of his Original Characters are Bespectacled Cuties.
    • He's watched (and rewatched) plenty of glasses-themed YouTube videos about girls and women wearing glasses (either their own or those of others).
    • He briefly liked and followed a Facebook page (which is no longer up) called "Glasses is Best Girl" that depicted girls or women wearing glasses (either their own or those of others).
    • He created a drawing of himself chasing a young bespectacled white woman through a desert.
    • At the end of the first chapter, he understandably suggests that he really is turned on by glasses and just doesn't want to admit it.
    • The final chapter is all about his gradual realization and acceptance of the fact that he does indeed find glasses attractive.
• Glasses Curiosity: People wearing the glasses of others is the crux of the story.
  • People wearing glasses that aren't theirs is Jermaine's biggest pet peeve, mostly because he frequently (but not always) gets an erection whenever he sees or thinks about it. Despite that, there were times that he let his classmates and friends wear his own glasses; wore other people's glasses; and actively encouraged his classmates and friends to share their glasses with others.
  • "Frames of Reference" and "Dreamer View Specs" detail the times he himself gave his classmates and friends his own glasses. Also included in "Dreamer View Specs" are dreams he's had about people wearing glasses that aren't theirs.
  • "Glass Action" includes many instances of his classmates and friends stealing and wearing other people's glasses without asking first.
  • "Lens Shares" is about his bespectacled classmates and friends willingly giving their glasses to others.
  • "Glass Struggle" recounts the times his classmates and friends engaged in glasses sharing just to bully or tease him.
  • "The Glasses Gotta Go" includes two instances of him actively encouraging a glass-wearing friend of his to let somebody else borrow their glasses.
• Guilty Pleasures: Implied. Jermaine has watched and rewatched plenty of glasses-themed YouTube videos, most of which depict girls and women wearing glasses (either their own or those of others), since December 2014. He also briefly liked and followed a Facebook page (which is no longer up) called "Glasses is Best Girl," which featured girls or women wearing glasses (either their own or those of others).
• Has a Type:
  • One day during sixth grade, Jermaine apparently told his father that he finds glasses attractive. Jermaine doesn't remember saying this, but his father insists otherwise. Since then, Jermaine's family has been adamant that his type is girls with glasses. Many of his crushes and friends wearing glasses added fuel to the fire.
    • After Jermaine created a drawing of himself chasing a young bespectacled white woman through a desert, his mother asked him if he liked white girls with glasses.
    • The following year, his big sister told him that his type was white women with glasses.
  • The final chapter is about Jermaine's gradual realization and acceptance of the fact that he does indeed find glasses attractive.
• Hypocrite: Jermaine is this. He always goes on and on about how people shouldn't share their glasses or wear the glasses of others. However...
  • There were times during fifth, sixth, and seventh grade that he actively encouraged people to share their glasses with others.
  • There were times during third and seventh grade that he shared his own glasses with others. He sometimes wishes he'd shared them more in second and third grade. He also sometimes wishes he continued wearing glasses full-time past fourth grade solely so he could share them with others.
  • During fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh grade, there were times that he himself wore glasses that weren't his.
  • Finally, there have been many times since his freshman year of college that he's wanted to wear his friends' glasses.
• Immune to Bullets: Jermaine's drawing of unbreakable glasses features bullets hitting said specs, only for them to remain unscathed.
• Latino Is Brown: Alberto, Idalia, Luis, Miriam, Paz, Ricardo, and Yurema are all Latinx individuals with black hair and tan skin.
• Not Helping Your Case: Jermaine does this. He's always claimed that he finds glasses neither attractive nor unattractive. However...
  • There have been times he wished he continued wearing glasses full-time past fourth grade so he could share them with his female friends.
  • He secretly brought his old glasses to school during his second semester of seventh grade. He shared them exclusively with several of his female classmates and friends. In one instance, he even told one of said friends that his glasses enhanced her beauty.
  • He masturbates to both self-imagined fantasies and his real memories of people wearing the glasses of others. He's done so since seventh or eighth grade.
  • Many of his Original Characters are Bespectacled Cuties.
  • He's watched (and rewatched) plenty of glasses-themed YouTube videos about girls and women wearing glasses (either their own or those of others).
  • He briefly liked and followed a Facebook page (which is no longer up) called "Glasses is Best Girl" that depicted girls or women wearing glasses (either their own or those of others).
  • He created a drawing of himself chasing a young bespectacled white woman through a desert.
  • Heck, the entire story (especially the first chapter) could be seen as him not helping his case and almost playing Devil's Advocate.
  • The final chapter is about his gradual realization and acceptance of the fact that he does indeed find glasses attractive.
• Old Shame:
  • Jermaine still feels a little guilty about indulging in glasses sharing during his second semester of seventh grade despite his Berserk Button about it. He also naturally still feels guilty about stealing an old pair of glasses from his grandmother’s bathroom during that time.
  • One morning during ninth grade, Jermaine's Best Friend Alecia tried to put her new glasses on him as they sat and talked in the band hall. He backed away. Even though he refused, he admits there have been a few times since then that he regretted not wearing her glasses when given the chance.
• Poor Man's Porn: A mental/thought-based variation. Jermaine masturbates to both self-imagined fantasies and his real memories of people wearing glasses that aren't theirs. He's done so since seventh or eighth grade.
• Pubescent Braces:
  • Chandler, Dovie, Jenny, Megan, and Nicole all had braces during sixth grade.
  • Breier, Kendra, and Trevor wore braces in seventh grade.
  • Ashley and Regan had braces during ninth grade.
  • Stephanie wore braces during her ninth grade year, which was Jermaine's tenth grade year.
  • Cynthia and Stormie had braces in tenth grade.
• Pun-Based Title:
  • "Specs Appeal," the name of the first chapter, is a pun on the phrase "sex appeal."
  • "Glass Action," the name of the fourth chapter, is a pun on the phrase "class action."
  • "Glass Struggle," the name of the sixth chapter, is a pun on the phrase "class struggle."
  • "Glass Diagram," the name of the eighth chapter, is a pun on the phrase "class diagram."
• Raging Stiffie: Jermaine frequently (but not always) gets an erection whenever he sees or even just thinks about people wearing glasses that aren't theirs.
• Shout-Out: Has its own page here.
• Smart People Wear Glasses: Invoked by Myrna in "Lens Shares." When she wore Ricardo's glasses, she said "I feel smart."
• Torment by Annoyance: "Glass Struggle" is about all of the times Jermaine's classmates and friends wore the glasses of others just to get a (negative) reaction out of him.
• Unwanted Glasses Plot: Jermaine originally didn't want to wear glasses for the following justifiable reasons: he didn't want to walk around with a piece of fragile plastic on his face all day every day, he didn't want to worry about adjusting or cleaning them every few minutes, and he didn't want them stolen. He eventually got accustomed to wearing them.
• Where da White Women At?: Jermaine's mother asked him if he liked white girls with glasses after he created a drawing of himself chasing a young bespectacled white woman through a desert. The following year, his big sister told him that his type was white women with glasses.