#but i went online on Monday and got it on Wednesday and it was 15 minutes away

[upismediacenter]

LITERARY: Dream Diary

Hello.

I am a person just like you. I won’t tell you my name, age, sexual orientation, or where I’m from, but I do want to tell you a few things about me.

The thing is I am a person, just like you. Well, not exactly like you. What sets me and you apart is my photographic memory. I discovered it when I was a kid, because every time my parents asked me about an event that happened in my life, I just seemed to remember every detail of it. It just occurs naturally, like remembering how many steps I took yesterday, or memorizing the tracking numbers of the items I ordered online. But something that has been a passion of mine is dreams –knowing if my photographic memory works in dreams. What? You don’t believe me? Fine. I’ll write down my dreams and thoughts to prove it. It might also help me learn more about myself—what’s been boggling me and if my unique skill can help with it.

Are you ready to know them?

Here we go:

Saturday, October 8

11:46 PM I dreamt about my life as a college student. I feel anxious. I feel nervous. Although I already feel ready for college life, mine won’t start till next year.

Sunday, October 9

12:19 AM Something’s on my mind. I’m sweating bullets and I have never felt this feeling before. What if I don't get accepted into my dream college? What if I regret the courses that I picked? Who will be my friends? Will I even have friends? There’s a hundred thousand questions running through my brain. I hope I can still sleep tonight.

12:43 AM How many schools should I apply to again? 1? No, that’s probably too risky. But I would be mistaken to think of it as just a game. That’s right, at least 4 schools have opened their gates for brand new students. I think I’ll try all of them.

1:06 AM I think I will start praying again, and I’ll pray like I’ve never prayed before.

Monday, October 10

12:06 AM The most remarkable dream happened tonight, and it was filled with trains and robots. I was at a train station with my friend, and we were running away from something. I don't know what it was, but my friend was yelling, “We have to get away before it kidnaps us!” We bolted inside the next bullet train that stopped by, and we went on our way to escape. It sounds like a good science fiction/action movie in my opinion.

12:18 AM I remember my dream friend’s name: Monte. While we were on the train, he told me that he used to work for a company that develops artificial intelligence in hopes that it will help people in their everyday lives. But things changed when the company experimented on combining humans and robots (they’re called man-droids/robot-men) to the point that they had to kidnap people because nobody was willing to volunteer for trials. He said that we’re lucky to escape, but warned that they’re always watching.

1:15 AM I can remember waking up in a bed with strobe lights (this is different from the first dream that I had). I was in an apartment with a great view of the city skyline. It just stops there.

Tuesday, October 11

12:00 AM “Will you take this man as your loving husband, and promise to cherish your love forever?” “I…I do—” “STOP THE WEDDING!”

12:46 AM Something has been boggling me. Social issues. Why am I thinking about it in my sleep? My brain can’t comprehend all of this.

12:48 AM Update: It’s 2022, why are there still people with big egos? Grow up please, don’t act like you’re always the center of attention when you’re in public.

1:14 AM Do I know someone named Bobby? Or is it spelled like Bobbie? I think he was my neighbor who moved out three years ago because of divorce.

No, I think it’s the pizza delivery rider.

2:23 AM Another thing on my mind: it’s 37 minutes before the witching hour. I have to sleep now or I will get nightmares.

Wednesday, October 12

12:09 AM What’s a good isekai anime name? I think it should be creative and crazy at the same time.

12:30 AM Ok, I have narrowed it down to two titles: That Time I Got Reincarnated as A Human to Go Outside for the First Time During the Pandemic and That Time I Got Reincarnated to Write A Story About Why Pineapple Belongs on Pizza. They both sound familiar, I can’t put my finger on it as to why.

1:46 AM I dreamt about something that felt important. I saw a star. It was up on a mountain very far away from where I was. Something (or someone) told me that it was my destiny to capture the star and protect it. But they also told me that a lot of other people want it too. Some of them are stronger, smarter, and faster than me. I didn’t know who these people were, but I had to accept the challenge and I manifested it in me that I would be the one to get that star.

Thursday, October 13

12:02 AM I have been thinking about the dream I had yesterday. What did it mean? Why did I dream about it? Is it some sort of symbolism of the events happening in my life? I will not lie, it is a very good dream, but something tells me that my mind has a message for me, and I just cannot interpret it properly.

12:55 AM I dreamt about… John Krasinski? Why was I dreaming about him? This is a first for me.

12:58 AM Update: I think I was dreaming about John Krasinski and Emily Blunt. I think I’m still amazed to this day that they’re husband and wife. But every time I see John Krasinski by himself, I would never think that Emily Blunt is his wife. And every time I see Emily Blunt by herself, I can never tell that John Krasinski is her husband. I know I have photographic memory, but why do I have to keep reminding myself about it? That part makes me laugh.

(I will say though, John Krasinski is a good-looking man. Emily is lucky that she married a guy like him.)

1:21 AM I dreamt about two queens on a stage standing before me. I said that it was their last chance to impress me and the judges in order to stay in the competition. I wished them good luck, and hoped that they would not mess it up.

Friday, October 14

12:07 AM Yesterday I wished at 11:11 pm, hoping that I would pass all of the college entrance exams that I will take. I also wished for more blessings for my family. I hope it works.

12:27 AM Just like Doctor Strange, I have been thinking about all of the possible paths that would shape my college life. A lot really depends on which university I will go to: the course that I will take and the people that I will meet. But my intuition tells me that the one path I hope to take will be traveled, and I know my intuition is always right.

1:44 AM Ducks. I just spent 30 minutes dreaming about them. I found out that it is better to raise ducks when they are in a group, as they are social animals.

I think that’s cute. Quack quack.

2:18 AM Since it is almost the weekend, I get the chance to stay up late and sleep whenever I want. But I have to be prepared because next week is the most stressful week I will face (so far).

It is the calm before the storm.

Saturday, October 15

12:03 AM Someone just spoke to me. They did not have a face, so I will just classify them as an entity. This entity said that I have been brave this week. Why? Because I faced all my fears that I knew past me would never try to dive into. They knew that a lot of emotions were being expressed, and they thought that I, a nobody, could be so stressed and happy (and sad and energetic) at the same time. They were so proud of me. But alas, this is only a dream, although I think I can recall this scene from Detroit: Become Human.

12:59 AM Quack quack. Quack quack. (Note: I’m sorry, I can’t stop dreaming about ducks.)

Well, I can conclude that all of my dreams and thoughts this week have been….interesting, to say the least. I guess college admissions really stressed me out. Could I possibly have been a duck in my previous life? Wouldn’t that be funny? A duck with photographic memory quack quack —Anyway, I hope that I proved you wrong, dear reader. Dreams can be remembered, and it just goes to show that every dream is different depending on what you were feeling before you slept. On that note, I think you should try and take note of what you're dreaming about, and then look back on it the next day.

Until then, I will see you soon. It was nice talking to you.

[tobthoughts]

oh, 2016

wednesday, december 6th, 21:19pm

listening to: wake up - arcade fire

i was watching tiktoks earlier, and one came across my for you page that said “at the end of the day its the friends you made on the internet when you were 13”, which in turn made me think about the internet friends i used to have. i still follow them on instagram, the ones who really mattered, but we never really talk or interact with eachothers’ posts.

i met them when i was 11. i got a shitty old hp laptop for my birthday and slowly went from there. i was obsessed with samgladiator’s ‘yandere high’ minecraft roleplay on youtube, so i followed all the cast members on twitter (twt used to be THE app). one day i saw one of the members - amy okamiartist for anyone who cares - was promoting a minecraft server that they hosted so i decided to check it out. another person, significantly more famous, was grian! we used to get together on mondays for “minigame mondays” and be in massive group calls on teamspeak. teamspeak is like discord but older, i think. i mean i know discord was around, but all our mgm’s were hosted through teamspeak. i used to love poking people for no reason. other than amy and grian, who were (are?) really cool, i met some other people who frequented the server and we became friends! there’s three key people - kien, ivo, and amelia. obviously at the time i was calling them by their in game names but eventually we did grow out of that.

all of them were builders on the server when i joined, and significantly closer with the server hosts, so i thought they were like… the coolest ever. we used to play minecraft together ALL DAY. i’d get home from school and race upstairs to go on my laptop, and we’d talk for hours and hours into the night. we were similar in age, i was the youngest at 11, then ivo was 12, amelia 13, kien 14 or 15 i don’t remember. i even ended up with crushes on two of them, and me and amelia dated at one point, but that didn’t last long. amelia and kien live in the uk, so i was lucky enough to meet them at a gaming convention. this was when i was… 12? so we’d known each other for about a year. mostly we just dicked about, my auntie was there with me so it wasn’t crazy, but we were such little nerds. me and amelia played catch with an umbreon plush named timothy and it hit grian in the face (we were all there as a little group from the minecraft server). it’s sort of really cute, in hindsight. i miss it more than ever right now - life was so simple. all that mattered was minecraft, bob ross, fuckin… i dunno, rick rolls. i guess rick rolls still matter but whatever. you know what i mean.

but yeah. i’m thinking about them. when i first realised i was trans they were the people who i talked to. we were talking about names and i knew i was gonna be tobi, but when they said it… it was so euphoric. ivo is bulgarian, so they pronounced it a little funny, but it made me laugh. they helped me feel better when i moved schools. they taught me how to play stardew valley, which is one of my favourite games now, and i even sewed a jumper for amelia and posted it to her. then when i’d been out for a bit, i helped her with her transition too. we were honestly really close. but we stopped talking, properly talking, around 2019. i was in a relationship so was spending less time online, amelia was mid a-level, kien was probably starting uni at that time… ivo i have no idea. but yeah, we just kinda slowly stopped messaging. i still think of them relatively often. after i saw that tiktok i decided to message them, all 3. we’ll see how it goes.

ah.

2016, huh?

[fandomadicted]

Ok this was a long week so I found out I got a part in are school play so I’m excited about that. So Monday I gave my speech. I didn’t do great but whatever then we washed out dishes from pork loin dinner in food science. I didn’t do my shadowing/internship thing because it was her day off in yearbook I worked on picking some of the fun academic classes to put in the yearbook Tuesday was the same except I did my internship. It was fun I got to talk to this little girl who had a meltdown in class and got to help her find a way to go on the rest of the day. I also almost fell asleep in my first 2 classes. Wednesday we went to farm science review which was really fun didn’t come back to 15 minutes before school was over. Yesterday was a early release so we worked on are new speech in class then in food science we had to make a online poster about are experience at FSR and in yearbook I honestly forget what we did. Today we listened to a TedTok in public speaking and I finished the poster about FSR yesterday so in food science today I just worked on my speech outline. Then in yearbook we started figuring out what page each class should be on and what classes should share pages. And ya that was my week! Have a good day or night!

[robertlaskarzewski]

Fifth Week

Hi, my name is Robert Laskarzewski, and I am currently a sophomore at the Darla Moore School of Business studying International Business and Marketing. I’m a part of the International Business Responsible International Leadership (RIL) program and will spend the Spring and Fall semesters at the ESSEC Cergy campus. I was born and raised in California, about an hour away from San Francisco. I chose to attend the University of South Carolina specifically because of the RIL program and the amount of time abroad that was offered. Once I was accepted, it was an easy choice to choose to pursue my studies there.

Saturday the 28th, I woke up early so that I was able to catch my train to Dusseldorf. The two things I wanted to see were the Dusseldorf boat show, one of the world’s largest boat shows, and a soccer game between Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Dortmund, two renowned German soccer teams.  

My train was due to leave at 10 AM, so I was sure to leave by no later than 8. There ended up being some problems with the Paris metro, so I had to reroute and take a slightly different route into the Gare du Nord.

Once I got to the train station, I patronized the stores inside and settled on a magazine for the train. I boarded my train and settled in for the roughly 4 hour train ride to Dusseldorf, passing through Brussels, Liege, Aachen, and Cologne. I was greeted by aging infrastructure and industry on my way into Dusseldorf (which didn’t fill me with confidence). Once I got out of the train station, I was able to get a good look at the city of Dusseldorf, a rather busy city with lots of history. My first objective was to eat some real German food at a restaurant called Heimwerk Altstadt in the old section of Dusseldorf (Altstadt meaning “old town”). After a filling meal of carbohydrates, I went back to my hotel room and had a good night of sleep.

The following day, I took a train to the convention center where I would see hundreds of boats and boat related products. I was even able to see some larger yachts that I had never previously had the chance to see or step foot on. In total, there were more than 15 buildings that held different exhibitions and seminars. After spending a few hours there, I went back to my room to rest a little before going to the soccer game between Leverkusen and Dortmund. As I stood on my train, I watched as we passed the BayArena stadium – and didn’t stop at the Leverkusen Mitte station, the stop I was supposed to get off at. The train wouldn’t stop for another 5 or 10 minutes leaving me all the way in the next city, Cologne. After spending 30 seconds to admire the huge cathedral in the center of Cologne, I took a cab to the stadium where I was greeted with a thundering chant that could be heard from far outside the stadium.

Monday, I woke up early so that I could catch my train back home into Paris. The journey home was uneventful.

Tuesday, I had my classes online due to train strikes in France. One of these classes is called “People & Organizations” the other was “E-Business”. This day in People & Organizations we discussed how management should operate to ensure their employees are actually motivated and engaged as well as how important these things actually are for a functioning business. In my E-Business class we discussed how IT infrastructure plays its importance in business today as such a large part of business now involves huge amounts of data and internal storage.

Wednesday, I had just my EU history class (European Kaleidoscope), a class that I enjoy thoroughly. We went over the institutions of the European Union as well as how they function to operate in synchrony with one another (ideally). On Thursday, I had my French language and culture classes.

Friday, I had my responsible marketing class where we discussed the dangers of companies “dedicating” their profits to a good cause. For example, a company may declare that they are “carbon neutral” although this can just be a buzz word which really has no effects. Furthermore, we worked on group work for cases assigned by companies, for example my group has to work on a case about sustainability from Longchamp’s (others include Biotherm, Adidas, and ESSEC itself).

Sheep video on the bank of Rhine river

[matineemonsters]

Got my first vaccine yesterday and have been mostly fine, though I slept even more like the dead than unusual and the lymph node in my armpit is super sore

[theladyoflove]

The Athenian Calendar 🏛️🌿📅

There was no standard calendar in ancient greece, however the most written about and commonly used one by modern reconstructionists is the Athenian Calendar! This calendar can be easily incorporated into the Gregorian Calendar as well (in my opinion)

I would like to thank @hermesmystic for creating a beautiful lesson on our Hellenismos Online Temple discord server! It helped a lot with this post ♥

It’s a long one so brace yourself!

D A Y S 🌇 The days in the Athenian Calendar begin at sunset. This was important for being able to observe festivals or holy days, if they were to begin at midnight like it does for us, the Greeks would have had a much harder time practicing their religion.

The main Olympians have sacred days of the week which can be used if you would like to make small daily offerings. Weekdays have two gods and weekends have three. A week in review would be: Monday: Artemis and Demeter 🏹🌾 Tuesday: Ares and Athena ⚔️📜 Wednesday: Hermes and Hephaestus 📬🛠️ Thursday: Zeus and Hera 🌩️💍 Friday: Dionysus and Aphrodite 🍇🕊️ Saturday: Hestia, Hades and Persephone 🕯️💀 Sunday: Apollo, Posedion and Amphitrite ☀️🌊

Obviously you don’t need to change your clock and begin living your life around this BUT it is useful to remember.

M O N T H S 🌑 The months are where it gets a little complicated! So we’ll begin with the way the months began and ended and that is with the new moon.

Most Athenian months will fall between two Gregorian months, and sometimes a Gregorian month can have two full moons. A rule of thumb to remember with this is an Athenian month begins on the last (or only) new moon of a Gregorian month and ends on the first (or only) new moon in the next Gregorian month.

The Athenian Calendar also has seasons like the Gregorian calender, and these seasons have three months within them.

S u m m e r: 🌻🏄 Season Theme: Setting foundations and goals Hekatombion (holy month of Zeus 🌩️) - Falls between July/August. Theme: Planning and getting your life sorted Festivals for this month are the: Aphrodisia (6th), Kronia (12th), Synoikia (15-16th) and Panathenaia (28th)

Metageitnion (holy month of Demeter 🌾) - Falls between August/September Theme: Securing foundations from the previous month This month doesn’t have confirmed festivals but these are believed to fall under this month: Metageitnios (Unknown), Herakles Emera (Unknown)

Voedromion (holy month of Hestia 🕯️) - Falls between September/October Theme: Focus on spiritual/religious comfort Festivals for this month are the: Genesia (5th), Kharisteria (6th), Boidromia (7th), Eleusinian Mysteries (15th-21st)

The Eleusinian Mysteries was the most important festival in the Athenian year held in honour of Demeter and Persephone. What happened during this festival isn’t well known so it’s challenging for a modern Hellenic Polytheist but for the ancient Greeks acknowledging the festival was important, acknowledging meant to observe the festival, in the modern sense this can be doing a personal ritual.

A u t u m n / F a l l: 🍂🥧 Season Theme: Tackling hardships, the gods challenge Pyanepsion (holy month of Ares ⚔️) - Falls between October/November Theme: Time for tackling hardships Festivals for this month are the: Proerosia (5th), Puanepsia (6th), Oskhophoria (7th), Theseia (8th), Stenia (9th), Thesmophoria (11-13th), Khalkeia (30th)

Maimakterion (holy month of Artemis 🏹) - Falls between November/December Theme: Time for taking care of yourself through hardship Festivals for this month are the: Maimakeria (unknown), Pompaia (20-end)

Poseideon (holy month of Poseidon 🌊) - Falls between December/January Theme: A time to prove work ethic (or arete) to the gods Festivals for this month are the: Poseidea (8th), Rural Dionysia (last two weeks of the month), Haloa (26th)

W i n t e r: ❄️☃️ Season Theme: A time to recover and revise goals Gamelion (holy month of Hera 💍) - Falls between January/February Theme: Time to reconnect with the gods Festivals for this month are the: Lenaia (12-15), Gamelia (26)

Anthesterion (holy month of Haephestus 🛠️) - Falls between February/March Theme: Time for ingenuity/finding creative solutions Festivals for this month are the: Anthesteria (11-13th), Diasia (23**/28th)*, Lesser Mysteries (unknown)

Elafevolion (holy month of Athena 📜) - Falls between March/April Theme: Reflecting on potential weaknesses and improving Festivals for this month are the: Elapheblia (6th), Asklepieia (8**/9th)*, Greater Dionysia (9-13th), Pandia (14/17th**)*

S p r i n g: 🌷🐣 Season Theme: Strength and Hope! Mounikhion (holy month of Aphrodite 🕊️) - Falls between April/May Theme: Celebrate the progress you’ve made! Festivals for this month are the: Feast of Eros (4th), Mounikhia (6/16th**)*, Olympieia (19th)

Thargelion (holy month of Apollo ☀️) - Falls between May/June Theme: Faith and Divination, working hard Festivals for this month are the: Thargelia (6-7th), Plunteria (Last week with the peak on 25th)

Skiroforion (holy month of Hermes 📬) - Falls between June/July Theme: Making goals for the new year, devotion Festivals for this month are the: Arrhephoria (3rd), Skirophoria (12th), Dipolieia (14th) 

[* means it can be observed on either day] [** means that is the prefered date to observe it]

Each month has an 11 day transitionary period from one to the next called the Neos Minas, each day (except one) has an event that help to fully transition spiritually from the theme of one month to the next.

Day 1: Chthonia 1 - the 3rd day before the end of the old month 🧹 Day 2: Chthonia 2 - the 2nd day before the end of the old month 🧹 Day 3: Hekate’s Deipnon - last day of the old month 👻 Day 4: Noumenia - First day of the new month ✨ Day 5: Agathos Daimon - 2nd day of the new month 🎉 Day 6: Tritomenis - 3rd day of the new month / Athena’s birthday 📜 Day 7: Tetras - 4th day of the new month 💖 Day 8: Rest Day - 5th day of the new month 🥱 Day 9: Birth of Artemis - 6th day of the new month 🏹 Day 10: Birth of Apollo - 7th day of the new month ☀️ Day 11: Poseidonas - 8th day of the new month 😤

M o n t h   1 3 ? Occasionally there will be two new moons in a Gregorian month, this was a dillema for the ancient Greeks as well and their solution was to add a 13th month! Mounikhion has to begin and Elafevolion has to end on the same day but there are two new moons... what do we do? Who do we honour?!

DIONYSUS TIME BAYBEEE 🍇🍇🍇🍇

Dionysus would be given a month whenever this issue would arise and it fit his theme perfectly, to come in and cause chaos! This month never had any festivals as it was so sparadic in length or time of year, routine went out the window! In even more Dionysus fashion this month isn’t named after him! It’s called Duo Poseideon and has nothing to do with Poseidon’s month!

Y E A R S 🎉 Years in the Athenian calendar begins in the summer, giving the Greeks plenty of energy to honour and celebrate. The final day of the year was always to honour Athena and Zeus for blessings in the new year

To keep with the theme of four seasons, the years were also grouped into fours called Olympiads 4 years = 1 Olympiad. The way to write the year would go as such: “Year 4 of the 704th Olympiad” Once the year is complete this summer it will become “Year 1 of the 705th Olympiad”

The years also come with their themes, they follow that of the seasons.

I hope this post was helpful! Sorry if I got anything wrong but I hope you can add some of this information to your worship and have fun with it! Don’t worry about trying to follow the calendar perfectly.

Gods bless xx ♥

[cricketnationrise]

ASL 101 - J. Kennedy - MWF 10:00 AM - 11:15 AM - Chandler Building Room 203

Jane Kennedy loves her job.  There’s nothing like watching people learn a new language and really figure out how to use a whole other part of their brain – how to use that language’s unique expressions to tap into meaning that just isn’t there in English. But even at a school like Kiersey there’s always those that think ASL is going to be an easy A. Every year there is at least one person who is panicking about their language requirement and decides that Sign Language is going to be their ticket to graduating on time.

So. She’s a little dreading ASL 101 this spring semester. She was teaching mostly upper level ASL last semester and isn’t looking forward to teaching those just there to coast along. 5 sections of it every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.  

“Professor Kennedy?”

She looks up from her desk to find a ridiculously tall freshman with curly hair shifting nervously on his feet in the doorway of her office.

“Yes?”

“Hi ma’am, my name is Sebastián Hernandez, I’m in your Monday/Wednesday/Friday 10AM class. I wanted to talk to you about some conflicts I might have with the class schedule.”

Here we go. A big shot freshman with one semester under his belt who thinks he’s got it all figured out. Probably about to ask if he can miss classes on Fridays.

“I try to accommodate where I can Mr. Hernandez, but only to a point. If you miss too many there’s very little I will be able to do for you to actually learn the material.”

“Well, I’m on the hockey team and so we have a lot of roadies on weekends…“

Jane’s already tuning out and shuffling papers around her desk. Of course. Another jock who wants to sail through her course to get the requirements out of the way. She’s heard it a thousand times. She knows how to deal with this though, and she’s about to give him some tough love about college classes (that YOU SCHEDULE YOURSELF stop signing up for classes that conflict with your sports jesus) when what he’s saying filters in and its – different from how this script usually goes.

“…and the schedule is usually pretty smart about not impacting classes, but there are a couple Friday sessions that I’d already have to be on the bus for, so I was wondering if there was any way we could out how I’m going to learn the material from those days. Like are there videos online or could I sit on a different section? I really want to do well in this class.”

This never happens. Not once in ten years at Kiersey has someone with class conflicts actually managed to make her think they might actually care about Sign Language. She can give him a chance. Just one though.

“Here’s what we’ll do Mr. Hernandez. There are 4 other sections of this class Monday/Wednesday/Friday, and 2 others Tuesday/Thursday. If your serious about this class you can attend one of those, and if none of those work, we’ll schedule something during my office hours. If I get the feeling you’re not serious and just trying to get your language requirement out of the way with an easy class, you’ll be disinvited from those options. I don’t tolerate slackers in my classes and am even less inclined to help them pass.”

“Thank you so much Professor! I am absolutely serious and I won’t let you down. I have another class soon, but I’ll email you before the end of the day to figure out what’ll work best with the hockey schedule. Thank you thank you thank you!” And then he’s gone in a blur of backpack and jacket swirling behind him.

She’ll have to wait and see, but it seems like this one might actually surprise her.

----

It’s always interesting to see what signs people know when they walk into her 101 classes. Usually some of the alphabet and parts of one (1) song that they learned in elementary school choir. If she never has to see bad signing of “Winter Wonderland” or “Jingle Bells” again, it’ll be too soon. Once again, however, Sebastián has surprised her.

He kept his word and had a very polite email in her inbox when she went to check it at the end of that first day of classes, and luckily for him there’s a Tuesday/Thursday class that works perfectly for the few Fridays he’d normally miss. It’s the second day of this section so now it’s time to see where her students are with sign language, and make sure there aren’t any bad habits they have to unlearn first.

They go around the room and the students aren’t surprising with their small amounts of knowledge, it’s a beginner class after all, but Sebastián Hernandez knows more than the alphabet. Obviously concentrating on remembering the motions with his tongue sticking out, he’s busily signing “hockey,” “ice rink,” and “puck” which makes sense, she thinks, but then an incongruous “scarf” shows up.

Blushing sheepishly, he lowers his hands and says, “That’s all I can remember, is that okay?”

A little stunned, Jane says, “That’ll do just fine for starters.”

----

Sebastián continues to be engaged and eager to learn throughout the rest of the semester. He dutifully attends the extra sessions when he has to miss for an away game, and even stops by her office hours once, fidgeting the whole time, to ask for extra help. He also informed her when the hockey season was over, and is her best student in his class. Sebastián is still shy in class, but when he does contribute its thoughtful and usually clarifies something for the other students. He’s clearly putting in the work, and probably watching youtube tutorials for basic vocabulary words – his repertoire is eclectic and usually doesn’t follow the syllabus. Why would he know the signs for “Rhode Island,” “Michigan,” and “Canada” when they haven’t started on geography yet? She hasn’t assigned them to learn animal or insect names yet, but he knows the sign for “cricket.” Perhaps most confusing are the signs for “stage,” “singing,” and “cast.” It’s just a weird conglomeration of words. She’d think he has another teacher, but no one would teach that scatterbrained with vocab or grammar.

----

Beech? Why would Sebastián Hernandez, he of the hockey team and apparently an interest in drama, want to learn tree types outside of class?

----

It isn’t until almost the end of the semester that she figures out what has Sebastián so motivated to learn. As she’s walking back to her car one afternoon, she spots him on the quad, sitting next to a much smaller boy with reddish blonde hair. The new boy looks familiar, but she can’t quite place him until she remembers going to see Dear Evan Hansen last month. He played the lead. Quinn Something that she can’t remember right now. Sebastián looks absolutely besotted, but that’s not what’s revealing about the situation. At least, not by itself. Because the smaller boy is chattering away and she can see his hearing aids from here. She sees Sebastián visibly steel himself before he taps the other boy on the shoulder and starts to sign to him. It’s slow, a little off, and just about the day he’s had, but he’s determined. His tongue is sticking out again. She shifts her eyes to Quinn and sees his face light up with pleasure and surprise. He starts signing at deaf speed at first, but slows himself down so Sebastián can understand at least the more basic vocabulary. Sebastián puts his hands down and kind of shrugs apologetically, like he’s embarrassed he doesn’t know more, and the other boy launches himself at Sebastián. It’s obvious Quinn is pleased and she looks away as they start kissing.

Jane shakes herself a little as she realizes she’s been standing still staring at the couple for several minutes in the middle of the sidewalk. She continues on to her car smiling to herself. She can’t wait for next semester when Sebastián is in ASL 201. Even with his hockey schedule, she now knows why Sebastián wants to learn so badly. She’s definitely going to keep him in mind when she’s looking for a TA next spring. And if nothing else, at least she’s solved the mystery of the weird vocabulary. Other than cricket. She’ll probably never figure that one out.

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

@sincerelyreidburke here you go, I hope you like it :D

[chappedandfadedvds]

Nov 16th, Monday 15:39

The phone landed somewhere to his left on the bed, when he had let it fall from his hands. Though he badly  had wanted to throw it against the wall.

Unfocused Jens tried to calm himself. He knew he overreacted, that it wasn’t actually something bad, that it wasn’t meant to attack him. He wished just that his body would understand this too.

Instead his lungs felt a little too tight to allow him to breath freely. His room was too bright, so he pressed the heels of his hands to his closed eyes.

Fingers then grabbed his shoulder.

„Jens?“

That was Lucas.

Right. The boy next to him was almost about to leave. Just after they finished this online class. Which remined him that he probably should have listened to that instead of chatting away on his phone with the broerrrs.

„Did something happen?“ The fingers moved to cup his face and turn it, causing his eyes to fall free from the self induced pressure. He blinked his eyes open, trying to look at Lucas, who appeared to be puzzled, but not less worried. „Is there something I can do to help?“

„No, I’m just frustrated.“ That was a lie. Or was it? He definitely felt some sort of frustration, but he was sure it was more directed at himself and not at any of his friends.

„Okay.“ Lucas didn’t believe him, but didn’t say anything else, instead he his thumb began to slowly brush over his cheek. Jens was glad. That’s what he told himself. Aa a part of him wanted Lucas to ask him further. To question it. Even though Jens wasn’t sure if his answers would be honest. So perhaps frustration was the right word in the end.

„Moyo and Aaron are just assholes, saying stupid stuff about me having to go grocery shopping and Robbe hasn’t replied for an hour to defend me.“ Said out loud, it actually sounded childish and dumb. He felt incredibly stupid right now. God, what Lucas must think of him right now, getting worked up over some stupid comments.

For a moment there was only the sound of their teachers voice from the speakers filling the room.

„What did they say?“ Lucas looked at him, still being serious. He wasn’t laughing at Jens as the older boy had expected somehow.

„Nothing bad really. Just why I always have to do so much and have no time for them and our group any longer. Asking if they are no longer important to me. Bullshit like that. We spend basically all saturday playing games together. And Moyo often has to take care of the household and his little brother too. So why does he have to bitch about me? Bullshit.“ Jens groaned. He knew that it was unfair to compare them, like his friend had done in chat. That it was different. 

Yes Moyo had a lot of responibilities at home too. And he fullfilled those diligently. But usually just a couple days a week, not for months straight. And Jens wouldn’t even be in the position if he just simply told them. He was at fault he realised. He probably should apologise for texting them to fuck off and leave him the fuck alone. His exact words from five minutes ago.

He still was angry, so perhaps he could do that a bit later, when he wasn’t so damn emotional.

„That sucks.“ Lucas said, looking a bit at loss for how to handle the situation, Jens couldn’t blame him for that. Obviously he didn’t know the broerrs all that well yet and it did come a bit out of nowhere.

So Jens tried to smile, it had already been enough help, that Lucas had been around and listened to him. Jens actually felt already a bit better. Eating up feelings definitely never was a good idea, he had seen Robbe succumb to that last year. And now he proved them to be not better. 

Why was it so much easier to handle stuff as an outsider looking in and not vice versa?

„Do you want me to call and cancel the appointment with the caretaker? Because I would have to leave in like five to ten minutes otherwise.“ Lucas asked, pressing a kiss to Jens’s temple, brushing through his hair, before he leaned back and closed his laptop. Class was over, it was announced over chat. Lucas never took his eyes off of Jens though.

„Nah, I’m good. Otherwise I’ll call you later and complain for hours how fucked my life is. And you are not allowed to hang up until I say so.“ Jens slowly found his usual self again, smirking at Lucas, who nodded and smiled back.

„Deal!“ The boy proclaimed and then they both got up from his bed, Lucas to collect all his things, he had somehow managed to strew about the whole room, and Jens to put his schoolwork back on his desk. He would go grocery shopping first and do his homework later. Truth be told, later meant obviously not today or when the clock was running towards midnight.

„So I’ll see you on wednesday then?“

Jens almost was about to agree, when his eyes fell on the calender by his desk, the one he rarely used. Only to write his mothers appointments in, because they were important and he didn’t allow himself to forget about them. He couldn’t.

„Thursday?“ He replied therefore, daring to look at Lucas, who was busy packing his things. The younger boy sighed a little sad, but returned a smile at Jens nonetheless.

„Sure.“ He said briefly. Too brief?

„My mother has an appointment, that I accompany her to. I promised her. Sorry. It wasn’t on my mind til now.“ Jens felt the need to explain, unsure if Lucas would be dissapointed otherwise. Obviously he wouldn’t have been, as he looked over to Jens, before he got up and went to meet him at the desk. His arms wrapping around Jens’s middle.

„It is okay if you have other things planed, Jens. I do too, like with today or my own mom. So stop worrying. I can see it on your face. And I don’t want a wrinkly boyfriend, because he frowns all the time. Okay?“

Jens nodded, all his troubles shrinking away as he was being kissed by Lucas. He was so lucky to have this boy, who seemed to understand so easily. With Jana, Jens was sure, they would have fought every day. That made him notice something else.

„Did you just call me boyfriend?“ Jens asked, leaning back to see Lucas eyes go wide, as realisation hit him.

„I...yes?“ He tried cautiously, smiling awkwardly, as his cheeks blushed a faint red. „I mean. I don’t plan on seeing anyone else.“

„Me neither.“ Jens let the other boy know. „But it’s all a bit fast, isn’t it?“

Lucas shrugged.

„What isn’t with us?“

That was indeed a fair point the dutch boy made. And Jens was sure, that in his heart and mind they already were the first time they kissed, though never outspoken. They still didn’t know each other that long.

„My boyfriend then.“ Jens said, the world feeling odd on his tounge. Boyfriend. Who would have thought? Definitely not him. Weirder even, he loved the sound of it immensly. He could say it again and again. On repeat.

„Boyfriend.“ Lucas agreed, giggling softly as he let the word escape his lips and fill the air between them.

„Alright, you can go now.“ Jens declared, nodding towards the packed bag of Lucas next to the bed.

„Very lovely of you.“ Lucas joked, absolutely not offended in the slightest. They kissed again. And maybe one more time, before they broke out of their embrace.

„I guess I can finally start to be my worst around you.“

„So just the usual, huh?“ Lucas said, eyebrow raised, leaving Jens speechless. This boy always had something to hit back with. Always some last word to shut him up. So he simply followed Lucas out of his room and downstairs, giving him the victory.

They stood in the doorway of the entrance, Lucas dressed and ready to go, and yet both of them busy kissing lazily, enjoying their little intimicy.

„See you on thursday then?“ Jens whispered against Lucas’s lips, partly as a reminder for himself, pulling the boy’s closer. If it was even possible, but Lucas hadn’t yet stopped breathing, so perhaps it was still fine.

„Mhm.“ Lucas assured him wordlessly, pecking to more kisses to Lucas, smiling happily away.

„Alright, my beloved boyfriend, Mr. Van der Heijden, off you go.“ Jens tried to put some authority into his voice, ready to let go of Lucas, who, only clung stronger to him in return. Making them both laugh.

„I love when you do that.“ Lucas said quietly, looking away, as he did.

„What?“

„Call me by my last name. I don’t know, makes me happy and maybe a little excited.“ The dutch boy said, his confidence not yet back as his eyes searched for Jens’s again. 

Now that was something Jens hadn’t expected. He just started using it to make light of a situation, to get them back to the real world and do whatever they actually should be doing. Apparently it did had a different effect on Lucas.

„Dully noted.“ Jens said, his eyebrows raised mischievously. He could definitely make use of that. He snorted at how quick Lucas was to step out of his arms and open the door. It looked a bit like fleeing, if not his giggling betrayed him to let Jens believe Lucas was okay. So he let the boy leave.

„See you thursday. Can’t wait.“ Lucas shouted over his shoulder, walking up to the street.

„Me neither, Mr. Van der Heijden!“ Jens yelled after him, laughing as he watched his boyfriend trip over his own feet, trying to keep balance. It earned him a very agressive middlefinger before the door fell shut. 

The incident with his friends, not even an hour ago, completely forgotten.

__ __ __

tagged: @odi-et-amo85, @tayspots

[inkofamethyst]

March 5, 2021

I register for classes within the first two weeks of registration being open!  I think that’s good?  It’s open for like, a five week period, and fewer people register in the Spring registration period because incoming freshmen do it during the summer so... so I think I’m looking pretty good?  I wonder if it’s so early because I’m a dual degree student now...  I definitely feel like that’s playing a role in why my time feels a lot earlier.  I mean also I’m a rising junior so that probably has something to do with it too lol.

I think the most fun part about even prospectively having classes in-person next semester is how I can close my eyes and just think about my route between classes.  On Monday, for example, I’ve got bio at 9, physics at 10, and theatre at 12 (according to my preferred schedule, of course), and I can close my eyes and think of me walking across the campus mall to get to bio at 9, then walking down the little alleyway by the parking garage to get to physics at 10, then walking up that little alleyway and around the football field to get to  the super fancy dining hall at 11 for brunch, then my short route from the dining hall to the building that my theatre class will be in.  There’s something so... sobering(?) about being able to picture all of that in my head and to know that I very well could get to experience it in... six months or so.  Another seventeen credit semester, but I should be taking two very easy classes, I think, so that should help (assuming I manage to get into themmmm).

AND LIKE

OKAY

I KNOW I HAD A BAD TUESDAY WHIch honestly made a ton of my week feel really negative bUT

I GOT AN EMAIL TODAy and like it really should not be a big deal bc it doesn’t really mean anythING BUT I’M GONNA BE INTERVIEWED FOR MY TOP CHOICE INTERNSHIP NEXT WEEK AHHHHHH

THEY SAID THEY WERE NARROWING DOWN THEIR SELECTIONS FOR THE SPECIFIC ONE I LISTED AS MY FIRST CHOICE AND THAT THEY LIKED MY APPLICATION WHICh is honestly kinda funny to me because it was, like, the third one I’d sent in and I’m looking back at it now and it’s... it’s a bit rough around the edges, I won’t lie.  Like, my later ones are a ton more polished in comparison.  Also, I sent it in at the very last minute and there’s no way that my submission time went unnoticed lol, but it is what it is anD APPARENTLY THAT DIDN’T MATTER BECAUSE IMMA BE INTERVIEWED NEXT WEEK WOO

AGH AND IT’S MY FIRST CHOOOOIIIIICE literally the one in [redacted: major US city] that I talked about... yesterday?  WHEW imagine my first acceptance could also be my first choice?  Ten weeks in an awesome location doing awesome research at an awesome facility with awesome (I assume) people...  That’d just be so cool.  And I might just get there :)

Alright alright alright I haven’t been accepted yet, but this is a bit of a good sign!

And, you know?  If this isn’t the one for me this summer, that’s okay too, as long as I’m not stuck at home again.  And if I happen to have to be stuck at home, I’d still prefer to be doing one of those online research internships so I won’t just be sitting around (and as long as I’m getting paid (speaking of which my first choice pays pretty handsomely I think by the way, it’s like $600/week + food + relocation + housing which is pretty sweet (I JUST DID THE CALCULATIONS AND IT’S LIKE $15 AN HOUR AFJDKSKD WHAT))).

ugh if only covid wasn’t a thing that would’ve been the one thing to make this whole summer so much better

Okay okay okay like I said, I’m not going to get too too excited (but, uh, you can probably tell that I’m at least a wee bit excited).

Oh and sort of speaking of interviews: this past Wednesday, I was a uni ambassador of sorts during the interview days for prospective students who’re up for the full ride and I had a lovely conversation with a young man for about forty minutes which was entirely fantastic.  Also,, I knew he was gay within the first five seconds of me joining the room with him.  Like, my gaydar is notoriously terrible, but this kid man.  This kid made one gesture as soon as I popped in and I knew and then he spoke and I double knew.  Idk I just thought that was really funny.  He was super nice, he had a great presence, and he had great questions, and I honestly hope he gets the full thing!

So, um, yeah!  I’m feelin pretty good?

Today I’m thankful for the interview offer, obviously.  I’ll need to come up with a few questions, probably basic ones about the research itself, hours, whether the facility will be expected to be open to the public by the summer, and probably some other stuff that I’ll think about.  But yeah!  It’s begunnnnn!!

(also my dnd-friend and I have been watching a CR episode synchronously every Friday evening for the past three weeks and besides the fact that it’s been awesome every week, we watched C2E125 this week and it was an episode like wowza a great one seriously)