#Fluent Freshman - Part 24 | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

achillesnotfound404 · 2 months

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Hazbin Hotel human college au cuz I’m sleep deprived and insane

Listen I may be a college dropout but this au came to me in a dream so now I gotta or else I’ll explode this is gonna be a part one fs

I want to keep the Idea of Charlie helping the crew so instead of her rehabilitating sinners here the gang minus of course, Charlie, Vaggie, and Alastor, are a group of students who are on academic probation, they meet Charlie through various ways and Charlie invites them to join her study group to help them save their GPA’s. Though they dont really get much studying

Charlotte “Charlie” Morningstar (she/they)

- Dual hospitality and psychology major with a minor in hospitality

-18 years old, Freshman

- Kind of a rich nepo baby, her dad is like an alumni and a huge donor to the university

- She does try hard, though! She’s such an over achiever it’s insane

- She’s the kind of girl who makes a Google doc of all the notes she’s taken and shares them with anyone and everyone

- She lives on campus in a dorm with Vaggie. Her dad tried to convince her to let him rent her an apartment, but she refused

- Autistic

-after graduating she wants to open a mental health/ rehab center

Honestly, basically the same as in canon

-token white girl of the group

Vagatha “Vaggie” Perez (she/her)

- Criminal justice major

-18 years old freshman

- Comes from a military family(very beneficial when filling out the FAFSA🙏🏽)

-works at one of the school book stores

- Used to do martial arts a lot as a kid and in high school, when she got to college her practices got less frequent but she still does it from time to time

- Very encouraging of Charlies study group even if everyone there annoys her

-very organized and has fantastic study habits

-constantly arguing with Angel because good lord they live to piss her off

Anthony “Angel” Ragno (they/he)

- Undeclared major

-19 years old sophomore

-Honestly, only went to college due to encouragement from Molly and threats from his father to cut him off if he didn’t

-his dad bankrolls his life(with very heavy strings attached) so they don’t need to work but he does do online sex work, ie OF/something similar

-- Lives off campus in an apartment his father owns with Cherri

- ADHD, Autism,BPD

-joined the study group first purly because he knew his dad would cut him off (and kill him) if he was kicked out of school

-“My class starts at 12 and it’s 11 now, by the time I get to campus it’ll be 11:15 which is basically 11:20 which is almost 11:30 which is basically 12 so I’m just not going”

-had a stint in rehab before starting college, did not stay clean very long

-had an extremely toxic and complicated on relationship with Val, Angel finally broke it off but is honestly still reeling From it

-token white boy of the group

Alastor Benoit (he/him)

- Radio Broadcasting Major

-24 year old senior

-runs a school radio show

- Very much a “I was born in the wrong generation 💔💔” kind of guy

- Total mama’s boy, doesn’t speak to his father and has not since he was a junior in high school

- Fluent in French and still regularly speaks it

- Originally wanted to go culinary school but opted against it, still cooks on the daily

- No one knows where he lives, no one has seen him leave a dorm or apartment, no one has even seen him walk to class he just kinda shows up,,,

- Very well dressed constantly, he has never been spotted wearing a t-shirt

-he is a very good student, he agrees to help with Charlie’s group cuz he was bored and thinks its funny to watch people try and still fail

-aroace and completely sex repulsed but is in a queer platonic relationship with Rosie

Husker Adler (he/him)

-Business major

-23 years old junior

- Works as a bartender at one of the local restaurants near campus

- Has weird history with alastor, he won’t elaborate what that history is, and no one asks

- Mostly kept to himself until Alastor dragged him along to one of Charlie’s groups and now he is stuck with them until he dies

-he didnt want to go to college, but his family runs a casino/hotel and he intends to go back to help run it so he figured going to school to learn more about business would be good,even if he thinks all his self taught skills are much better.

-lives on campus

#hazbin hotel #hazbin alastor #hazbin angel dust #charlie hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel headcanon #hazbin hotel au #hazbin hotel husk #vaggie hazbin hotel #Hazbin hotel college au

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illogicallyinclined · 5 years

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Without Any Further Ado, Here is the Team Roster for the Year Following Logan’s Concussion

Line #1:

Right Wing: Jared Jaslow (#24)

Year/Major: Junior, Computer Science Major

Physical description: average build. short, dark brown hair. dark brown eyes. wears glasses. is one of the plainest white boys that this world has ever seen (self-proclaimed)

Fun facts: jared is the one who created the Silence Bottom bot that roman hated So, So Much. jared is also logan’s partner for beer pong, and he drinks every cup so that logan doesn’t have to; (logan has carried jared back to his apartment Many Times)

Center: Roman Prince (#1) – Senior

Left Wing: Patton Flores (#7) – Junior

Line #2:

Right Wing: Remus Prince (#34) – Senior

Center (submittedby @ephemeral-afterlight): Callen Kang (American name) Kang Mincheol (Korean name - 강민철) – (#26)

Year/Major: Sophomore; callen majors in something medical with minors in something to do with music/singing. his dream job is to be either a singer or a surgeon. he will quite literally Cut a Bitch (and like, save their life or whatever)

Physical description: Korean, medium-length black hair that fades to purple tips (he did it for the Team Aesthetic), short and slim, looks generally cutesy and unthreatening

Fun Facts: Despite the last point, he will Cut A Bitch. He moved to America from South Korea when he was 14 years old and is fluent in both languages. Catch him cussing other players out in Korean

callen chose the #26 because that is the number of animals that he has rescued doing volunteer work prior to joining the team

Left Wing: Payton O’Shaughnessy (#18)

Year/Major: Sophomore, Sociology Major

Physical description: 6′0″, stawberry blond hair that has been slicked back and pale blue eyes. has freckles across his face and shoulders.

Fun Facts: payton never lived in ireland himself, but his parents are Very Irish, so has a learned accent.

Line #3:

Right Wing: Peter Sullivan (#20)

Year/Major: Junior, History Major

Physical Descripton: light brown hair with an undercut, hazel eyes. tall and lanky – 6′2″, with Chicken Legs

Fun Facts: Peter is the bearer of Logan’s Sins. (Sorry Peter). he’s honestly not too bothered by it, though.

Center: David Santos (#16)

Year/Major: Sophomore, Psych Major, English Minor

Physical description: warm, beige skin. dark,curly brown hair and light brown eyes.

Fun Facts: David has an identical twin named Gabriel, but Gabe doesn’t play hockey. David also once changed Roman’s icon so that it was one of the horrible faces that he made while he was on the ice. it took Roman two weeks to figure out how to change it back.

Left Wing: Julian Beauregard (#27)

Year/Major: Sophomore, Women and Genders Studies and Sociology Double Major, German Minor

Physical description: 5′7, black hair, dark brown eyes

Fun Facts: julian has idolized logan ever since logan threatened the hell out of a shitty yale player that attacked julian for having rainbow tape on his stick.

julian chose the #27 because it is his boyfriend’s favorite number.

Line #4

Right Wing (submitted by @sotakeabitofcalpol): Myles Nye (#45)

Year/Major: Freshman, Philosophy Major, failing pre-med

Physical Description: blue hair, blue eyes, scar across right cheek

Fun Facts: Myles is British and was a part of the ACF (it’s where he got the scar). He is one of a set of triplets, and he says fuck all philosophy except what Diogenes is teaching. (he’s a philosophy major, he knows what he’s talking about.)

Center (submitted by @brownie-aunt): Holly Dean (#42)

Year/Major: Freshman, double major in art and political science

Physical Description: purple hair, hazel eyes, lots of facial piercings (although he has to take them out each time the team plays)

Fun Facts: loves getting into fist fights, can outdrink pretty much anyone, outgrew the foster care system, favorite movie is fight club

Left Wing (submitted by @ilovepeter3000): Alex Jones (#9)

Year/Major: Freshman, Chemical Engineering Major; he eventually wants to join the army Corp of engineers

Physical Description: slightly above average height, brown hair, brown mediterranean complexion

Fun Facts: alex has congenital nystagmus, meaning that his eyes twitch. he is bullied for this a lot in middle and elementary school

alex chose #9 because his little brother was born in ‘09, and his little brother is an angel

Defenseman Pair #1

Virgil (#13) and D. Ethan Escarra (#3): both juniors

Defenseman Pair #2:

Emile Picani (#6) – Senior

Theodore “Teddy” (#71)

Year/Major: Senior, Environmental Science Major (wants to go into horticulture)

Physical Description: teddy is 6′7″ and Very Physically Intimidating

Fun Facts: teddy is patton’s roommate. he has a cat named Peony that patton adores (even though he is Very Allergic. patton takes allergy meds daily)

teddy chose the #71 because that’s how many breeds of cat there are

Defenseman Pair #3

Bo Anderson (#19)

Year/Major: Sophomore, Statistics Major, Math Minor

Physical Description: scandinavian, mid-length blonde hair and blue eyes

Fun Facts: Bo can understand german, french, swedish, and english.

Jamie Bratcher (submitted by @enby-ralsei) – (#23)

Year/Major: Freshman, Food Science Major

Physical Description: medium length curly hair, horrible eyesight (glasses 24/7), will never be seen without his necklace from his younger sibling (its just some pearler beads, but they made it just for him after coming out as nb)

Fun Facts: Moved far away from family to go to college, hasn’t seen them since summer break. Will probably cry if he cant find his necklace. would love to work in a restaurant in a major city

Goalies:

Remy Belmonte (#8) – Senior

Alex Richardson (#36) – Senior

***no one knows whether or not logan will return. not even logan.

#hockey au #cursing #homophobia mention #oh my GOD there are so many people on a hockey team #for those who submitted players after the first 5: i WILL be finding something to do with yalls ocs #just had to make this team first

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joie-university-rp · 4 years

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Dear DAVID ALLEN,

It is with great pleasure we invite you admission to Joie University! Welcome to the Thunderclap family!

Congratulations, KIM! Please be sure to check the New Members’ Checklist and send in your character’s account within 24 hours from now. We cannot wait to see all that you will bring to this roleplay! We love you already!

OOC INFORMATION: Name/Alias; pronouns: Kim Age, Timezone: 20+, EST Activity, short explanation: I work and do online school, but evenings I’m usually most active! After all my work is done for the day! And weekends :) Ships: David/chemistry Anti-Ships: David/forced Triggers: RFP Preferred photo for Character’s ID (please give a link): https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcR6tNh_MKB79Zm9anNI1BuyEJvHfEnjafDFVLdjsmDjUZ8aAUiA Anything else: N/A IC INFORMATION: Full Name (First, Middle, Last): David Michael Allen FC: Kim Nam-joon “RM” Age/Year at University (Freshman [1st Year], Sophomore, Junior, Senior, or Graduate Student): Graduate Student Birth date (MONTH DAY, YEAR): December 20, 1994 Hometown (please be sure to check the hometowns listed for characters your muse is related to!): Cleveland, Ohio Gender/Pronouns: He/him Sexuality: Pansexual Major(s): Dentistry Minor(s) [optional]: N/A Housing request (remember, only the president of a Greek Organization is required to live at a Greek House to be in it!): Single Apartment Extracurriculars (Click here for the list. Be sure to specify any executive board positions [i.e. president, secretary, etc.] If something isn’t listed, please put it here and we will add it to the masterlist!): President of the Deaf Awareness Club Greek Life Affiliation [optional] (Please be sure to specify any executive board positions [i.e. president, pledge educator, etc.] or if your character is not yet a member, but plans to rush): N/A CHARACTER PROFILE: David Michael Allen’s life does not begin in Ohio, although he grew up there. He was actually born in Seoul, Korea. He was adopted by his parents, Lilly and Michael Allen, and brought back home to Cleveland. Lily was said to not be able to carry children of her own, due to medical issues, so the couple opted to adopt. The pair were world travelers, so they wanted to adopt outside of the US. They were blessed with their David, who grew up to be a very sweet and caring boy. He always was the kid to share his toys with others and someone the family looked to for optimism when times were difficult. There was never an issue that David couldn’t fix with his advice or a simple smile. When David was twelve, a miracle had happened and Lily got pregnant. That’s when his little sister, Daisy, was born. There was an age gap, but David immediately took on the responsibility of being a big brother with grace, like he did with everything else. Daisy was born Deaf, the family soon found out, as it ran in Lily’s side of the family. She knew ASL since she grew up with her Deaf sister, and the men in the family were more than willing to learn too. David is fluent in ASL, and this would inspire him to bring his skills to the clubs at school. David even considered becoming an ASL interpreter for a while, but there was something else that his sister wanted. She had a huge fear of dentists, never finding any of them to be kind. She wanted a nice dentist she could see and not be afraid, fueling David’s interest in going into that part of the medical field. He was so calming, something that many patients would benefit from in a dentist. He completed the school necessary, however more procedures and treatments interested him as well. These require further schooling, which brings him to Joie University. David has his hands full at Joie, with his studies as well as running the Deaf Awareness Club. Still, he makes time for his interests which include art, classical music, animals, golf, and of course anime. David didn’t grow up with the Korean culture, but that does not stop him from enjoying it and researching. He debates taking Korean classes, to learn his biological family’s language. He will never be part of that world, but there is still a curiosity. Never to trade his own family, but to learn about where he came from. STUDENT CENSUS SURVEY: (Please answer the following questions IN CHARACTER. Responses can be as long or short as you see fit!) What made you want to attend Joie University? “Joie University is close to home, which is important because my little sister inspired my degree path and when I’m exactly where I want to be with it I will be able to show her.” What are at least 3 positive or neutral and at least 3 negative traits that you believe you possess? “I believe that I am humble, because I honestly have to take a moment to think of these traits! I never feel that I am above anyone else and I am very grateful for what I have in my life. I am also kindhearted and calm by nature. I am very go with the flow, I only want people to be happy. What I think I can work on, the negatives, may be my lack of confidence, as well as the tendencies to fear voicing my opinion and attempting to please everyone.” Which of your traits do you value most? “Being kind! Something so simple, but if everyone truly did then we would be in much better shape. It’s easy to do and it makes others feel good.” How can that trait benefit the University (or its student body) as a whole? “It can inspire everyone to bring out their best selves, putting that into their interactions and their work. So much can become accomplished with the lack of frustration.” What do you hope to gain from your experience at JU? “I hope to not only gain a higher degree that allows me to conduct more dental treatments, but bring smiles to anyone’s face I may encounter.” What is a quote or song lyric that describes you? “Life is sweet as honey.” I had to!

#Accepted

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sithroyal · 4 years

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MODERN VERSE

VERSE TAG: ;;modern: i look to the stars and it feels like something is missing LOCATION: Varies [thread dependent] AGE: Default is 30 [otherwise, thread dependent]

Basic Information

X. Ben was born to Senator Leia Organa and high profile actor and model Han Solo. Due to their high activity schedules, Ben was left with various babysitters for much of his childhood. X. When he was ten, he was kidnapped by one of those babysitters and held for ransom. Ben has blocked out much of what happened while he was held by Snoke. Shortly after rescue, Ben was sent to live with his Uncle Luke in New York. (Note: While these memories are repressed, they are responsible for a later depersonalization disorder on top of various anger issues and chronic depression.) X. Growing up after Snoke’s kidnapping was difficult for Ben. He often felt different than his classmates and it was hard for him to make friends. His uncle caught on to this and tries enrolling him into various after school programs. He was often asked not to return due to his anger issues. X. As he got older, Ben expressed a deep desire to move out of his uncle’s house despite having nowhere to go. Seeing his father on television and in movies knowing that he wasn’t around was enough to make him irritable the rest of the day. Sharing his name and being stopped on the street by fans looking for photos only made things worse. X. In order to find something to get his attention, Ben took to technology and developed a fascination with graphics and coding. In freshman year, he started taking band classes. He can play trumpet, piano, and guitar. X. He tried getting in contact with his mother for a good part of his senior year of high school. When neither of his parents showed up for his graduation, he enlisted in the marines.

X. He tried getting in contact with his mother for a good part of his senior year of high school. When neither of his parents showed up for his graduation, he enlisted in the marines.

X. The day he left for basic training, Ben and Luke had an argument. Luke blamed him for taking off just as Han did and felt that the military wasn’t where Ben should have been going, that he was running away. Ben did nothing to him but he did become quiet enough to absorb what was said. The argument escalated and Ben threw terrible things at his uncle. It was nothing new. In the process, he shut down and focused on his basic training - started 2008.

X. Thirteen weeks basic training and no contact with his uncle made Ben flourish. He was one of the top recruits at the time, specializing in ballistic weaponry with melee and hand-to-hand combat as close seconds. While the training was exhausting, he began finding his confidence and backbone. At the same time, he was starkly reminded that he had little to no place in the slowly crafted groups of various other marines. This distance was justified for him in the way that distance would make loss easier later on. He started college soon after.

X. 2008, E1. Started college in New York as a reserve - two-day monthly and two weeks of annual training.

X. 2010, E3. During a training exercise, he engaged in unusual tactics to protect him and his men during a mock shoot out where they were pinned on location. First emergence of Kylo Ren in a non combat situation. Due to his quick decisions, Ben was commended by the officers overlooking his training.

X. 2011, E3 (Age 20). Grandmother died. Ben attended the funeral but didn’t speak to his family. All of his belongings were moved from the home and straight to a storage facility in Queens. Ben pays monthly for storage.

X. 2012, E-3 to O-1 (Age 22). Graduated fluent in Arabic and Urdu. Attended a ten week officer training class in Quantico, Virginia. Deployed on active duty near December. Ben was involved in protecting and evacuating civilians during a battle in an Iraqi city. Afterward, he was part of a search and rescue team to recover the injured and the dead.

X. 2014, O-1 (Age 24). From 2014 onward, Ben was deployed to Iran for multiple operations. At one point, he started to rethink his goals. Beginning of Kylo Ren starting to emerge, started brutal interrogation tactics of captured prisoners.

X. 2015, O-1 TO O-2 (Age 25). Promoted from rank O-1 to O-2.

X. Bought his own home and vehicle in New York state. Found out through his uncle that his father knew of him and was keeping an eye on him. Ben didn’t tell his mother but she informed him months later that she already knew. Most of the Solo family knows who he is and what he does. While he doesn’t have a target on his back, they do keep tabs on him.

X. 2015. Ben was employed by his mother mainly because he was needed for translation assistance as well as his unique but effective interrogation techniques. He was given full reports and was only allowed to translate small pieces at a time for confidentiality sake, but what information was given to him via questioning was unfiltered.

X. 2015-2017. (Verse dependent)

(Option 1) - multiple failed attempts at dating men and women alike. Very few could handle his constantly shifting lifestyle. Two girlfriends cheated on him, three boyfriends ghosted him.

(Option 2) - multiple PTSD induced nightly issues. Sleeps away from his partner to keep them from having to deal with his inability to sleep at normal hours and/or long periods of time. Snappy, irritable, and quite easy to set off. Would never hit his partner conscious but he does have issues where waking may cause him to choke them. Attempts many different therapists and rarely sticks to a single one until the end of 2016 - failed by mid 2017, Kylo Ren scared the therapist by revealing her address, phone number, and threatened to skin her family alive.

X. 2017 O-2 (Age 28). Early in the year, January through May. Ben began making efforts to finish his education on Spanish and Russian, and finished Spanish. Listed the course completion on his files. He went from performing operations to preventing loss of life on the ground by translating messages sent from opposing forces. Begins to feel he has his issue with Kylo under control (except he doesn’t).

X. 2017 O-2 to O-3 (Age 28). Late in the year, May until early 2018. Promoted to O-3 mid-May. Deployed to Afghanistan again. Captured by enemy forces in early June. Ben remained with them for almost a year before he was freed by a US Air Force pilot (Verse Dependent - Could be any SW Resistance or First Order Pilot.)

X. 2018 (Age 29). Ben spent the majority of the year in recovery. The first few weeks was touch and go but he was allowed out of the hospital within two months time. Because of the various injuries, he not only had to have physical therapy to recover (which he took on easily) but narcotic painkillers to manage his chronic pain. He didn’t allow many people to see him while he was recovering and took to staying at home alone unless friends showed up without mention. Partners were automatically allowed near him but instructed, by him, not to try to coddle him.

X. His injuries include; the long scar down his face, a bullet wound to his left shoulder, and a near fatal wound to his abdomen.

X. Late 2018. Leia has him reassigned to a position in intelligence.

X. 2019 O-3 to O-4 (Age 29-30). Officially diagnosed with PTSD, depression, and general anxiety disorders. He refused additional therapy and any medications prescribed to him. Managed to pay his home and vehicle off, does freelance translations in his spare time. He remains at home for the most part and works on his abilities in the backyard, surrounded by a privacy fence. Chewbacca (gift from vuuelo and service dog in training), his dog, remains with him for the most part along with any romantic partners.

X. As a safety measure, Chewbacca will alert anyone in the home to Ben’s depersonalization disorder acting up. He will bark and growl, then attempt to put himself between the other person and Ben in order to keep Ben from harming them.

X. He has a home in New York City and another in D.C. and frequently travels between the two. Because of his position, he often sees his mother and works with her but rarely speaks to her on a personal level. He hasn’t seen Han much at all since he was young and he actively avoids Luke if he can help it.

Important Note: Due to Ben’s high amount of emotional and mental instability after spending a year as a POW, any romantic relationships may be highly toxic. He does not take medication for his mental conditions and can endanger himself and anyone in his home with him. While Chewbacca will growl at him if ‘Kylo Ren’ is at the forefront, this does not mean that other people in the house will be safe.

Simplified Military Timeline

Joined up in '08, completed training & was actively a RESERVE by mid-'08

O-1 promotion in 2012; Active Duty, commissioned December O-2 promotion in 2015 O-3 promotion in 2017 O-4 promotion in 2019 Currently Reassigned As: O-4 (Major); MOS 0211 CI/HUMINT or Counter Intelligence and Human Intelligence Specialist

Yearly Salary: $89,524 Monthly: (Before Taxes) $7,460; (After Taxes) $5,068 Vehicle: Jeep Wrangler TJ Sport 03

$2100 monthly bills: electric, internet, cable, water, waste management 50 (every three months), car insurance, car payment, house payment (including insurance) $2968 left || $2568 after food ($100 per week)

Option 1: Possibility of meeting him somewhere in town, likely a coffee shop, grocery store, or walking to and from his office in either area. Option 2: Working with him or around him. Ben will visibly flinch if called ‘Kylo Ren’ by anyone other than his old unit mates.

Fandoms/AUs that use this verse as a base:

The Walking Dead: ;;twd: until the light finally dies // Fully Customizable - above backstory does not change aside from dates. Given the length of the series itself and the numerous ways Ben could come into the main group, this will require plotting on a person-by-person basis. Resident Evil: ;;RE: this is how you rot // Fully Customizable - above backstory does not change. After hearing that the Umbrella Corporation is reportedly at the root of all issues, Senator Leia Organa petitions for her son to go undercover for them. Plotting available on a person-by-person basis. Day After Tomorrow: ;;DAT: it ended in ice // Fully Customizable - above backstory does not change. The Silence: ;;the silence: sometimes silence is the best answer // Fully Customizable - above backstory does not change. Birdbox: ;;birdbox: seeing shouldn't be believing // Fully Customizable - above backstory does not change. Jurassic Park/World: ;;jurassic: of teeth and scales // Fully Customizable - above backstory does not change. Movie information only. Ben is hired by the owners of the park to stand in as security detail for the island and the owners themselves.

#;;verses: all #;;modern: i look to the stars and it feels like something is missing #;;twd: until the light finally dies #;;the silence: sometimes silence is the best answer #;;birdbox: seeing shouldn't be believing #;;jurassic: of teeth and scales #;;RE: this is how you rot #;;DAT: it ended in ice

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alanabbyy · 4 years

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hirai momo. cisfemale. she/her. one. * / oh , i just saw alana sakamoto coming out of apt. #1605 if you were looking for them! the twenty-one year old is a college student + exotic dancer and i heard they’re a scorpio which makes total sense. if you can’t find their room , just listen for rules by doja cat; i heard they’re obsessed.

hello, lovebugs. i’m bunny here again with a second muse!

name: alana sakamoto

date of birth: december 24, 1998

birthplace: norfolk, virginia

family: mother, step-father, younger half sister, grandparents(maternal), father(deceased)

sign: capricorn

romantic & sexual orientation: panromantic pansexual

relationship status: single

occupation: exotic dancer & full time hustler

education: high school (graduated), working on biology degree

languages: english (fluent), japanese (fluent)

(+) traits: adventurous, dependable, self sufficient

(-) traits: closed off, reckless, selfish

alana was born and raised in the suburbs of norfolk, virginia. she was the product of a teen pregnancy and her father died a month after alana’s mom gave birth to her in a car accident, so she knows nothing much about him besides what her mom told her. alana’s grandparents took care of her most of her early childhood since they still wanted their daughter to get an education. instead of going off to school though, she stayed home and went to a local university, alana’s grandparents offered to help take care of her while her mom focused on her studies, but it ended up turning into her mom basically putting alana off on them while she partied. she never completed school and dropped out when she was nineteen.

alana hardly saw her much from the time she was born up until she was seven. she stayed with her grandparents and her mom would stop by every other weekend, or visit her on her birthday. she kind of resented her a bit for this because it made alana feel as though her mom didn’t want her.

when she was eight, her mom met an older man. he wasn’t wealthy, but promised he could give her decent, comfortable life. his family owned businesses all over the city and he was in charge of them all. six months later the couple were married and alana was happy that her mom seemed happy, but she didn’t like her new stepdad very much. he was a heavy drinker and the nights he’d come home late from the bar often led to her mom and him physically fighting all night until he’d finally pass out from drinking so much.

despite everything that was going on at home with her mom and stepfather, alana still managed to stay focused in school. it was hard, but school was the one place she could get some damn peace, so she loved going. her teachers absolutely adored her. she was a star student and worked hard for the perfect grades.

her freshman year of high school, her mom found out she was pregnant with her little sister, arianna. alana was over the moon, finally having the sibling she always wanted. but, it wasn’t long after her little sister’s arrival that she started to feel alone and not as important to her mom and the two would butt heads often over not only her stepdad, but the fact that she just didn’t seem interested in anything going on in alana’s life. so she became very distant and closed off. her sophomore year of high school, she decide to go back to live with her grandparents, needing to get out of her toxic household.

alana was happier there and lived with them until she graduated high school. she graduated top of her class and was offered many scholarships to attend a school of her choosing and new there was no other place she’d rather be than new york, desperate to get as far away from her family as possible. when she arrived in new york alana immediately started looking for work. fast food nor retail interested her. it was dancing, something she’d always loved and was passionate about, so she figured why not get paid to do something she was very good at anyway? right after her nineteenth birthday, she landed a job at as a exotic dancer at a gentleman’s club, and between school and work she’s finding it hard to find a healthy balance with both. her grades are suffering quite a bit and she’s not sure if it’ll be best to quit all together or just take a year off until she makes enough money to just work part time.

personality wise, alana is friendly. she’s flirtatious and kind of mysterious too since she doesn’t let a lot of people close to her. she has both booksmarts and streetsmarts so she’s very clever. she never wants to depends on her family or anyone else for anything, so she does whatever necessary to remain as independent as possible. even if that often means scamming some of the men she meets at the club out of money. she’s a bad bitch and she knows it, so she just uses what she’s got to get what she wants!

connections

best friend: someone alana works with or knows from school and the two immediately clicked. they’re very close and they’d probably the one person she’s ever really opened up to.

friends she knows from school: maybe they have classes together!

co-workers: people she works with at the gentleman’s club.

clients: regulars or new clients she sees at the club.

ex: can be m/f/nb. this is someone that alana cares about but has a hard time letting in. they’ve been on and off for a while now and although she does her own thing, they’re like the one person she always comes back to. the relationship is mostly just sexual, but she loves them too and doesn’t know how to express it.

friends with benefits: no strings attached. it’s a mutual understanding that there will be no feelings involved.

enemies with benefits???: yes...they hate each other but cannot stay away from one another.

anything else! i’m open to it all!

#flats.intro #death tw #abuse tw #kinda late but here we gooo pls plot with her!

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tracyk13 · 4 years

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36 and what a world I have seen

Honestly I’ve been terrible at journalling lately. Love handwriting in quill and ink style, but my current life leaves me exhausted after work and most of my time spent in education. But currently the Covid-19 pandemic made me consider the important world events I have witnessed.

Born in 1984 I lived in a world of rapidly changing technology but still being forced outside to play. We always had an Apple computer in our house for as long as I can remember. Played the Oregon Trail in black and white, then in color. That was the standard computer game of my childhood. Mom got us Mario Teaches Typing, probably the only “video game” I ever played at that point. AOL was a thing. All those CDs in the mail with updates. I never really got into it, but my twin sister did.

Also a child of the Disney Golden Age of animation. Dramatically influenced my life to the point I went to work for Walt Disney World after college. Still a Disney fanatic to this day.

Apparently my family visited Yellowstone National park (age 4? too young to remember anyway) then not too long after the park had the fire.

Was alive though not conscious of world events when the Berlin Wall fell. Watch the birth of CNN during the first Desert Storm when my dad was there overseeing some of the first drone flights. The military required a pilot on hand for those flights. He told us later how some Iraqis would surrender to the drone plane, not that it was ever one of the ones he supervised. And according to my mom I frequently asked to NOT watch the 24 hour stream of news because it was too depressing and I knew that’s where dad was.

Really started to pay attention to news (not that l enjoyed it but that’s the timeline for how chidden develop) during the O.J. Simpson trial.

By that point I had lived on both coasts of the USA, crossed country twice, lived in many different environments from Washington’s cold wet seasons to California’s deserts California’s coast to landlocked suburbia of Georgia.

Where I learned to drive, had a single Nokia phone for me and my twin in our tiny Cabrio convertible (I hate convertibles). Got a personal computer for the first time, where before it was a single family computer. The iMacs were coming out right when we were heading to college. My sister got the desktop, I got the laptop and have never looked back. Still have my gumstick shuffle iPod floating around and it still works.

Got to watch the insanity of Indecision 2000 and appreciate political humor for the first time.

I’ve been to 9 different schools for 12 years of school, not including college. That would make it ten. Was a freshman in high school when the Columbine shootings happened. Some weeks later we had a pipe bomb threat at our school which forced all the students out to the football field. From the top of the bleachers we could see the bomb squad and their dogs entering the school. All I could think of was if someone really wanted to kill at lot of people, there on the bleachers would be the place to do it. Then at some point in my adult life someone did it at a movie theater showing The Dark Knight.

Saw the images of the Oklahoma City bombing. Heard about the Unabomber. Watched the Waco Texas incident.

But my senior year was the time of 9/11. My math class was out in the hallway doing a math related science type experiment, can’t tell you what it was. But that day was the only day I have ever heard a school of nearly 5,000 students absolutely silent during class change. Thus Desert Storm part two happened.

Right before I headed off to college. So I wasn’t super savvy about applying to colleges. I only applied to one. Didn’t have a clue as to what I wanted to do with my life. I’ve done a wide variety of sports, been writing fiction since at least 10 years old, drew and painted fairly well, thought about doing animation or architecture (did a semester learning thing with a local firm, decided it wasn’t for me).

Ended up getting a degree in two foreign languages but not fluent in either. It did greatly improve my understanding of the English language. And I had the privilege of an exchange program for a school year to Japan, plus of study abroad summer to Germany. Would never regret any of that. Even if it didn’t get me a degree that got me a job.

Instead I went to Disney World as part of their internship program. Been in foods and hospitality for a significant portion of my life (thus far). Loved working there. Got to work with the Characters and it was fabulous. Even with the frustrations of all work environments.

But it couldn’t last. Minimum wage was raised, but the cost of living out stripped the earnings for a single person living alone. Prompting a move back home with parents to get another degree. Then the Housing bubble burst, loans defaulted, mortgage crisis, resulting in the Great Recession. It did get me a house in my name but basically an income property for my mom as her inheritance from my grandmother. All the while I’m going to school to be a nurse.

Now let’s not forget about the many weather crises I’ve witnessed via the news. Hurricanes Katrina, Sandy, Harvey, Maria to name the ones I easily remember. The Class 5 tornado that wiped out a midwestern town. The volcano in Iceland rerouting planes. The tsunami in Indonesia and Sumatra. The massive earthquake in Haiti. These are only the ones that easily come to mind without researching what happened during the years I’ve been alive.

Not to mention the diseases that I’ve seen via the news. First to mind was the Ebola outbreak while I was in nursing school. Saw the hype on the Swine Flue, SARS, Avian flu to name a few easily remembered. Those never reached me personally. Now it’s Covid-19 unfolding. Called SARS-CoV-19 now, but that later.

But its not all disasters. Went to the Atlanta Centennial Olympics still have the t-shirt. Was alive during the first black president.

Took part in the massive phenomena that was Harry Potter and still love it to this day. It showed me that fiction/fantasy could be a mainstream genre to write for. I started writing FanFiction at that time to fill in the long spaces between books. Started when fan fiction.net had the 7or 8 main characters to choose from for tagging. It was like the Wild West of figuring out what you were about to read. Learned about Slash, yaoi, lemons and such the hard way. But being exposed to it that way did open my eyes to what goes on in other people’s heads. Knew immediately that just because I didn’t like something didn't mean I had to hate on it. I left it alone once found and kept going. Really helped increase my tolerance to other cultures and thoughts.

Met my best friend on a role playing site and we wrote nonstop during our college years. Went to her wedding, have a lovely Renaissance style dress as a bridesmaid gift. Still am in touch with her. We don’t write together any more as we have moved in our lives with adulting. But I still have all those stories and hope to turn them into something.

Had my first camera cell phone in Japan as just a basic free phone. Was shocked to find cameras in the States were not standard. One of my friends in Japan kept doing selfies before they were called selfies. Blind positioning of the camera for pictures. Then came the iPhone and the world never looked back.

Joined Facebook when it required a college email. Used MSN messenger and Yahoo messenger to communicate with people around the world. Didn’t join the Twitter or Tumblr movement until after they became established. Saw the boom and bust of the Dot.Com bubble. Watched the Dow Jones numbers increase without the income to invest the way they said to.

Lived right above the poverty line during the Recession. Not knowing if I could make it the next month. Never being able to claim poverty on the tax forms. Caught in the income dead space of not being able to afford health insurance from the markets but in a state that didn’t allow for Medicaid expansion.

But I do not have the worry now thankfully.

Jobs wise I’ve been a telemarketer, dishwasher, a line cook, a hostess, server, janitor, assistant manager, and now I’m a nurse. I started on med/surg, ED, Cardiac, and ICU. In a small rural hospital getting smaller in a time when rural were shutting down because of no funding. They serve areas with a high rates of unemployment, uninsured, drug and alcohol abuse.

Worked at a busier hospital were no bed was left empty. Sicker patients. Work in a mid-size place. Some days super busy, some slower.

Covid-19 had the affect of somehow doing both. First few days was almost empty, now it fluctuates. Mostly rule outs. And the protocols are changing hourly which makes life frustrating for us. It’s the constant unspoken threat of going into work not knowing if you’ll have the right equipment to do the job. I’m not scared of the virus itself, not even of the collapse of the economy. I’m scared of the surge that will put my coworkers at risk.

I live alone (my little sister lives with me now) so very little contact with others. But they have kids and a much closer physical distance to their older parents. I know I will add days to my weeks if they have to stay out for any length of time.

So this is the first time a world event as truly affected me. It is a terrifying time which prompted this summary of my life so far.

I went into a restaurant and saw no one. I never thought I’d see that day. I don’t want people to loose their income, but if people were to go about their daily activities we would loose so many in one go. All I can do is my job.

The more I watch the more depressed and stressed. At work is worse.

I’m teaching myself a new craft because of this. I have taken up leather working to make masks. It helps the creativity outlet. I started drawing class early in 2020 and was set to continue drawing and add painting when the social distancing started. I admit it felt overblown in the beginning. Now the numbers are changing rapidly and we are really seeing what happens in close communities. Just keep working. It’s part of life now. No matter how much if feels like a movie plot line.

But back to other things I’ve seen.

LGTBQA and others coming into the forefront of society. Saw legalization of gay marriage. Quite thrilled with that.

Didn’t hear the term Asexual in reference to a sexual preference until my early 20s. Immediately recognized similar stories to me. Never had an interest in sex or having a partner. A name did make things more relatable, but I will never fully understand people who seem to base their entire existence on their sexual preference.

I’ve been call sir many times based on how I dress. I still sound like a female. Can’t fault anyone for using the appropriate pronoun for what they see in front of them. But that’s a culture that’s growing. Preferred pronouns. But I have to admit that an online friend referred to me as “they” despite a lady being in my username and it felt nice. So in honor of the Special Snowflake term that floated around, I’m an nonbinary aromantic asexual. Probably with a fem-romanitic leaning.

Saw the rise of the Millennials. I’m caught between Gen X and the Millennials. Now that all the Millennials are of age to vote, perhaps change is underway?

I’m back in college for my 3rd and then 4th degree. In nursing. Online. Watching the world combat a virus.

A US that is split down the middle politically. A world with more pollution problems than we can handle. Governments preferring to coverup mistakes and corruption than help their citizens. The term Public Servant is obviously not taken seriously in some places. See Flint, MI and their water. Lobbyists creating bills that benefit corporations rather than people. Politicians that never retire and keep getting lucrative reelection donations from those very corporations.

The rise of narcotic drug use, prescription drugs. Pill mills.

Sex scandals taking center stage in the news rather than things that actually affect daily life. Among things I will never understand is the fear of Transgender women in the women’s restrooms when it was always a straight conservative man who was the center of all these sex scandals.

Asexual brain at work. I simply do not understand. Conclusion: If you look like a certain gender, you’ll most often be treated as that gender.

What I do miss were the kid shows and cartoons in the 90s. They were super progressive with great literature themes. I knew the story of some of the greatest classic literature simply by the references in those shows.

Also the era of War on Drug commercials. Recycling promoted.

My favorite: Captain Planet. Not only was it pushing for a cleaner earth it had different nationalities. Stereotypical, but a far better representation than what I am seeing in kids shows today. It was diverse in that multiple skin tones were seen on screen together rather than specific skin tones marketed to that specific demographic. Now I do like how many more cultures are represented, I just want them shown in ways where color and culture is not the primary focus.

It also surged a desire to protect the planet. The knowledge that we need clean water and air. Educational shows like Magic School Bus and Bill Nye explained what is happening in the environment long before Global Warming became political. With the global shut in we see the world cleansing itself.

Now the marijuana legalization issue. No one has died from overdosing on weed. Unlike Alcohol. Yes smoke isn’t good for your health like cigarettes, but the complications are not as prevalent, well studied, or as life threatening with what is known. The disconnect of state legalization and national illegalities is mind blowing. I hope to see that break so we can study it.

Overall I know I have seen a lot of historical events and I hope to live another 36 plus years to see more. 3 decades, the change of a century and the change of the millennia. Y2K hysteria included.

The world is changing. The outcome is unknown. Peace be upon us all.

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wikshots-blog · 5 years

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( lisa teige, 22, female ) by chance have you met NOVA WIKSTRÖM yet? i hear SHE has lived in PIONEER SQUARE for THREE WEEKS and works as a SPORTS & FREELANCE PHOTOGRAPHER. i’m surprised you haven’t met them yet but for when you do, i hear they can be quite SCATTERBRAINED but also OBSERVANT. for whatever reason they remind me of CEASELESS MOVEMENT OF HAIR & FEET & HANDS, SILVER RINGS ON DELICATE FINGERS, DOING ANYTHING TO GET THE PERFECT SHOT. ( lias, 20, they/them, est )

THE STORY

--- nova and her older brother aksel ( 24 ) are both swedish ( technically a mix but a too complicated mix of norwegian and swedish to really pick out the percentages -- not that it really matters ). she was born in trondheim, NOR and her brother in örnsköldsvik, SWE, but they were both raised in the north america : minnesota in their earliest years, then london ON, and washington dc as their father jumped from coaching gig to coaching gig for various different teams. they spent and still spend their summers/long breaks in a lakehouse in sweden just outside of örnsköldsvik ( that was always nova’s favorite time of year ).

--- the money in their family comes from the men playing hockey. their father rasmus wikström had a lengthy 15 year career in the nhl as a third/fourth line winger ; not one of the superstars, no, but respectable as a player, wore an A more often than not, and made a few million every season in the process, as you do. but the true superstar in the family is aksel, drafted 9th overall in the 2013 draft by the canucks, who then had an unpredicated breakout season in the first half of the season in the ahl, got called up to the nhl and never went back. teams are still kicking themselves for passing him up. he’s three years into a six year, seven million dollar contract — and he’s proving that he should have asked for even more.

— nova was nothing like her brother. her brother was one-track, laser focused on one dream his entire life… meanwhile nova had no clue what she’s doing. she’s good at plenty of things ( drawing, writing, lacrosse, math, yes– even hockey ) but she never pursued any of them hard enough to become EXCELLENT at any of them. jack of all trades, master of none, right?? she’s never been able to focus on one thing in her entire life, probably because she gets bored easily.

— this in particular led to her outcast in her own family. their mom especially started pushing nova to find “her passion” freshman year of high school, because she believed that everyone should have a life plan. but nova had no interest in trying to figure it out and it only led to more arguments and tension in the household, which turned to long silences with curt comments undermining nova’s character. her father was mostly absent, too busy coaching or something else, too busy to really care about his non-hockey playing child. aksel was the only one in the family she really got along with because he never pushed her, put up with her sometimes meaningless rambles, and seemed to be the only one who understood her and with her brother now gone to the other side of the country, nova felt like she had no one to talk or turn to.

--- nova graduated high school quietly and still had no idea what she wanted to do with her life ( save for get out of her parents’ house ) ; no college plan, no nothing. luckily, aksel provided an easy out for her : allowing her to stay with him at his apartment in vancouver. it was in that first year after graduating that she bought her first camera.

--- she had taken a couple photography classes in high school and had enjoyed it well enough, but had never felt the need to pursue it. however now, with her camera in hand and aksel cheekily telling her to get some good shots of him on the ice, nova accidentally fell in deep love with the art. she excelled at it --- sports photography, hockey in particular since she knew the sport so well. so much of it is predicting and HOPING for the perfect shot.

--- nova had no want for connections, the path for her to get a media passes and access for behind the scenes business was easily afforded to her given her relation to her brother. and the season after that, she found herself part of the canucks photography team and only getting better. in the off-seasons, she honed her talent on other things --- freelance work and other things, though nothing thrilled her as much as sports photography and the unpredictability of it all. it kept her on her toes like nothing else and for that she enjoyed it.

--- she was quite content with her position ; she and aksel continued to share an apartment --- her practically rent free, since aksel needed rather little help to pay for it ( though of course, it left her vulnerable to dumb favors he asked of her, that she did begrudgingly with a roll of her eyes ). summers were spent back home in sweden by the lake -- the whole family together somewhat peacefully, their differences seemingly less severe with so much time spent apart...

--- until this summer. she hadn’t been planning on taking a position with the seahawks ; but the opportunity arose and when she made the final cut, she accepted. it was better maybe than her typical freelance summer work, and she was starting to desire a bit of CHANGE. she put a security deposit down on an apartment not far from the stadium and drove down in the car aksel at bought her for her 21st birthday. she doesn’t know where this will take her ( and it’ll be a little odd living alone again ) but she’s ready to see where it does.

MISC

— nova and her brother are fluent in swedish and conversational in norwegian. she has a slight accent when she returns in the fall from sweden ( mostly from speaking swedish all summer ), but it fades out pretty quickly.

— she drives an orange subaru crosstrek like the sporty legend she is ( jk not a legend, but she does drive a crosstrek ). the car was a birthday present from aksel last summer. she’ll drive up to vancouver occasionally still to check on aksel’s apartment and bc she misses the city a little.

--- nova runs a blog where she’s been documenting her time living with aksel ( with his permission ). it’s typically more candid photos with funny memoir-type short pieces she writes when inspired. she’s not sure what will come of the blog now.

--- her freelance ‘company’ is called WIKshots.

--- she almost always carries around a small unlined notebook with her that she writes or draws in. she’s forgetful even at the best of times and find if she thinks of something genius, she better jot it down quickly.

--- she’s almost always moving : tapping feet, jittery fingers, shifty eyes --- the only time she’s truly still is when she’s taking photos, but even that’s it’s only for the briefest moment. nova will also do anything to get the perfect shot, no matter how crazy she might look ( climbing onto things, laying on the ground in a busy street, truly anything ).

--- she almost always wearing four ( technically five ) rings, all silver : left middle: 2 delicate blue topaz w/ a thin band left thumb: braided spinner ring right index: thin chevron right ring: TBA but her brother gave it to her on her 18th bday

WANTED CONNECTIONS

--- i’m not sure how it turns out, but their first impression of nova is her doing something ridiculous to get That Shot.

--- gimme all the people in pioneer square that she keeps running into

--- someone who kinda grounds her : she’s so flighty and hard to keep track of sometimes -- with her brother out of the picture in seattle, it’s only going to be worse. give me someone who understands that but also works to keep her grounded when times. someone to be that rock...

--- long shot, but i’d love for her to interact with ppl who know who her brother is ( like... the aksel wikström, one of the young stars of the vancouver canucks ).

--- i love slow burn romo plots but i also have to gauge chem between our muses first

--- anything at all !!

#206.intro

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solidagocm7 · 5 years

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Get to know me!

Thanks for tagging me, @oldcomplaintsrevisited!

Rules: answer these questions then then tag 20 blogs you’d like to know better!

Nicknames: Debby and Deborah! When I was s freshman my small friend group had nicknames/alter-egos for each other when we were fucked up. However, I’m particularly adventuous when I partake in psychoactive substances so my friends would scream “Deborah!!!” quite a lot and it eventually stuck. Now Everyone who’s queer at my school calls me Deborah casually.

Zodiac: Aries sun, Gemini moon, Aries mercury, Aquarius venus, Aries mars. Honesty I could keep going.

Height: 5′10″ approximately

Time: 23:40 because I stay up too late and I use 24-hour time because I’ve accidentally set too many alarms for 8:00pm

Favorite bands/artists: I’m still really obsessed with STRFKR and MGMT because of their new album. Been listening to a lot of Brahms and Beethoven for school and I love it. TBH I haven't been listening to a lot of music because of my tinnitus, but I could go on for a while about bands, artists, and composers I love.

Song stuck in my head: The shop music from Undertale

Last movie I saw: As Above, So Below. Very good horror movie set in the Paris catacombs. My friends and I have been watching LOTS of horror lately

Last thing I’ve googled: “Cortez Aztec” because my friend asked me if Cortez caused the fall of the Aztec Empire and I said yes but I had to make sure.

Other Blogs: Yes! Follow me at @gaymathsmajor if you like math!

Do I get asks: Not really, no :(

Why did I choose this username: “Music Speaks” was a choir piece I liked in high school and the major seventh is one of my favorite tonal chords, so yeah, musicspeakscm7.

Following: 1624

Average amount of sleep: I try for about 8 hours but I normally can’t get to sleep before midnight so usual its more like 6-7 hours when I have to get up early and like 10-11 hours when I can sleep in.

What I’m wear: My red, green, blue, gray goodwill sweater, light wash jeans, stripy socks, light pink converse, and a brown beanie.

Dream job: Mathematician and professor + part time musician

Favorite food: I could not possibly choose one but good golly I love odwalla smoothies.

Play any instruments: I play bassoon at university, as well as piano per course requirements. I also try not to suck at the ukulele.

Eye color: Mostly hazel but they change depending on what I’m wearing or my mood

Hair color: Black or like really dark brown in summer

Language you speak: My native language is english. I was almost conversational in french in high school but I’ve lost most of it from not using it. Right now I’m learning Abenaki/Wabanaki and I’d like to conversational or even fluent

Most iconic song: I’d don't really listen to “popular music” but I couldn't get “Nobody” by Mitski out of my head for like a month so that I guess

Random fact: I forage for wild plants and mushrooms!

Describe yourself as aesthetic things: Sepia photos of abandoned roads and buildings; cozying up with sweaters, blankets, and tea by a windowsill on a cold, rainy day; the smell of a wood fire and essential oils just after it rained; stacks on stacks on stacks of books; 1980′s computer-generated math textbook covers; math problems written out of music paper

I tag: @cardboard-theocracy @searching-for-words @anime-mangos @teehn-dream @3m4il @absolute-minimum @lovelylittledoubt @sen9746 @ginger-sprinkle @hella-of-niflheim @vaepormeme @spodrick @quarterpounding @startorrent02 @shostakovich11 @my-hero-measure-zero

#tag meme #tagged #me #sorry that not 20 people Im just tired of writing this post

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its8simplejulesblog · 4 years

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It’s Crazy to Think That I’m Technically a Senior in College

I feel so ridiculously old and jaded, well, maybe not the jaded part, but my friends (that mind you, are only one or two years younger than me) frequently remind me of the old part.

Today was a pretty hot day in quarantine. It was beautiful and I spent a lot of time outside and I took two showers for absolutely no reason. It may seem like being a senior in college and taking two showers have absolutely nothing in common, but they do, and I’ll get to that.

Right before I started my freshman year of college I had the opportunity to go on a service trip to the Dominican Republic. This particular trip was technically a mission trip because we did bible related crafts with kids in multiple churches throughout Santo Domingo, but even if you just go on a general service trip there’s nothing quite like it. The reason why this trip meant so much to me was because it really represented a huge change in my life. It takes so much independence to transition from highschool to college and in a lot of ways you feel like you’re inherently on your own. Even thought I went with a group of amazing girls, I had never met them before previously, and I was also one of the few that spoke Spanish so yes, it was a little bit intimidating. But what a beautiful experience it was.

So, where does the double shower thing come in? Let me start at the beginning. Me and a nun and 6 other girls take a 4 hour car ride to JFK and a 4 hour flight to the Dominican Republic. It’s 2 am by the time we get there, probably about 85 degrees, and we all hop on a bus that takes us on a 3 hour ride to this monastery type place that we’re staying in and let me tell you it is not nice at all haha. It’s also 5 am at this point and the sun is rising. Granted, we all got used to it, but we also got used to losing power ever day, taking showers by means of pouring well water on our heads, opening the bathroom door and seeing golf ball sized cockroaches, sleeping under mosquito nets, and waking up god awfully early in the morning (I swear God himself wasn’t even up yet). It was rough, but it was also the nicest place in town. The building was a place for missionaries to come because the town that we were in really was tiny, everyone knew each other. For that reason, when a foreign nun comes in with 7 teenage girls, the building was often surrounded by the kids that lived in the village. They were there so often that the building had to be gated so that they wouldn’t sneak in during the night. The nun was friends with a lot of the village elders and they would literally have to whistle from the front gate so that someone could go open it because there was no electricity and therefore no doorbell. It really sucked for me too, because I couldn’t, and still can’t, whistle (so I just had to scream).

The purpose of the trip was to go to different churches, fix them up, practice our Spanish, do crafts with the kids, and teach them little bible stories and songs. But, it ended up being such an eye opening experience for us too. We were only there 11 days, but the people we met and the things we saw really stuck with me. Everyone was poor, everyone, but they still spent money they didn’t have on iphones and designer clothes. However, they were still the most generous people I think I’ve ever met. Everyone invited us over and gave us food and we would just wander the streets and we felt safe and welcome. We would attend church on sundays, give everyone hugs, and then the seven of us would hop in the bed of a truck and sister would drive us back to the monastery while everyone waved and said hello from the streets (the roads were never paved though so it really felt like off-roading and we would fly out of the truck sometimes, definitely wasn’t safe by definition, but definitely a sight to see).

In the mornings, we went to the churches to see the kids. They would hugs us and laugh with us and we tried out best to communicate but really their smiles did that alone. By the end of the trip we had gone to at least 4 or 5 different churches, anywhere from 20 to 100 kids at each, and they were thankful every time.

When we went “home” to the monastery, it was always an adventure. The Dominican is ridiculously hot all the time and without power, a lot of our fans broke. One night, the power and the water went off at the same time. We cooked and ate by candlelight, washed our other clothes in buckets and then went on the roof of the monastery and hung our clothes out there where we could see the whole city, then we went to a well to fill a barrel to get water to shower with, killing about 6 cockroaches in the process. That’s the kind of thing that sounds fake in the US, but that was what we experienced every night in the Dominican.

When we weren’t at the churches, we were either with individual families, at the beach (which wasn’t often), or in the town community center. On family day, we were separated from sister, and put into groups of two to go spend time with one of the village families. It was terrifying. Not because the families weren’t nice, but because communication was an issue. Sister, besides the natives, was the only one of us fluent in spanish. I was a a distant second, but I had never been sent off alone before. The girl I was with was a gem too, but she clearly wanted me to do all of the talking.

The family we were paired with was extraordinary. It was a mom and dad and their *I think* two daughters and a son. It’s hard for me to remember because it was three years ago and we ended up spending the day with all of the kids in their town anyway, so I kind of forget who was who. The whole day we played soccer with the kids in the village, met all of the family’s extended family, helped the mom make dinner in the kitchen and sang despacito with the kids (they were surprised we knew it but honestly I still don’t even know all of the spanish words, I’m a fraud I know) I was shocked that we were able to connect so well with the family based off of my spanish alone. It’s crazy how fast you can come to fall in love with and appreciate people you just met.

The next day, we finally had a free day to go to the beach. It was STUNNING. I don’t even know what to say other than look at this.

Sister had people cook us whole ass fish to eat that day. I remember just sitting there watching her eat fish eyes and thinking, “how did I get here” haha.

Lastly, besides taking showers for granted at home, the biggest lesson I learned on this trip was compassion. On one of the days we went to the town community center. They were having a special event for the townspeople with mental illnesses. They played music and we played games and danced with them. Generally, the individuals were on the autism spectrum. It’s not to say that I had never encountered someone with autism before, but I can say that there had been situations where a person with autism reacted in a way that I never knew how to respond to, until that day. I was never uncomfortable around these people, and I recognized that I never should have been. There was a moment when one of the guys, who must have been around 24, was dancing with me and it was the most wholesome thing. You just have to be kind to everyone. It was so much fun.

So why did I think of this trip today, given that it happened 3 years ago? Well, besides the fact that I never want to shower with bucket water again, it makes me think about how beautiful the world is. I know that earth day already passed (instagram wouldn’t let me forget it) but there is so much good around all of the time. Before, during, and after this pandemic. The girls I met on this trip are now some of my best friends and we talk about going back all the time. We felt like we were instantaneous friends of the people in the Dominican. They told us about their dreams and tried to teach us curse words in spanish it was the ultimate friendship.

And, as I soon begin my last year of college, I think about how so many people here at home have made me feel the same sense of belonging. Everyone has the ability to brighten someone else’s life. In college, and when I’m eventually out of college, I don’t want to take any opportunity for granted.

When we left the house of the family that we spent the day with, they gave us a wooden plaque. Carved on the plaque were the words “Dios te Bendiga” which means “God Bless You,” and let me tell you, I am blessed.

Here are some more pictures. I added some videos as separate posts as well.

A whole ass fish

Love you guys

-Julia

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microcentrifuge-blog · 7 years

Text

an emt klance au absolutely no one asked for

Keith and Lance are both seniors in the same highschool EMT-B training class.

Lance hates keith because 4 years ago there was a ping pong table in the yard during freshman orientation, a week before school started, and Lance was completely destroying everyone.

also, there was a girl he had his eye on and he almost would have won her number too if keith hadn’t challenged him in front of everyone and beat him in less than a minute!

What he didn’t know was that keith was trying to impress lance and didn’t understand why he looked so mad when he lost. When keith tried to find him again, lance was gone.

to make matters worse, keith pretended like he didn’t know who lance was when they had to partner up for a chemistry project in the tenth grade. (but in reality, keith had blocked out the memory due to high levels of embarrassment.)

That coupled with the fact that lance found out keith was the instructor’s brother, and so believed he got special treatment and more attention during practice.

so one day Lance makes an offhanded comment about getting Keith a bigger helmet to better hide “his bad mullet”, when they’re putting in their orders for firefighter gear, which causes Keith’s cheeks to flush and he make a retort about there not being a big enough helmet for lance’s “overly inflated head.”

& from there the rivalry is on.

they race each other in full gear, in 80-degree weather, to see who can run the fastest mile and Lance almost passes out. (Keith wins by 40 seconds)

they race to see who can backboard a patient first. (Lance wins)

they race to see who can splint someone the fastest. (It’s a tie)

Shiro having had enough, decides to partner them up together in some of the physical training exercises because, “your squad is like your family and sometimes you’ll be stuck in 24 hour shifts with them at the station. And you have to look out for each other on calls and so it’s important to learn to get along.”

there’s an exercise where they must run outside, one of them in full firefighter gear and blindfolded (which they fight about for ten minutes before shiro says it’s got to be keith) while the other is locked in arms with them, also with full firefighter gear on.

its pushing 90 degrees outside and they’re both sweating and panting (Keith is also tense because he can’t see and he doesn’t fully trust Lance to not lead them into a wall. despite lance saying “i got you” after their first lap)

they somehow manage doing four laps around the course and with each lap Keith relaxes a little more.

there’s another exercise where Keith gets a harness put around his torso that’s attached to Lance who has to get on all fours on top of Keith’s body (who’s laying on the ground) and drag him across the gym as an impromptu drag rescue drill. Because keith is convinced shiro is the actual Devil.

Except, it’s not as easy as it seems because while Keith is smaller than Lance, he’s slightly more muscular, so Lance starts sweating as he’s dragging him across the floor while Keith has nowhere to look but up into his face as Lance is moving and grunting above him, making pained expressions.

When they’re done Keith detaches the harness and gets up so fast as he excuses himself to get some water while Lance wants to shouts at him, “you didn’t even do anything!” but remains blushing and quiet on the floor.

Then one day, Shiro asks if Lance can volunteer to be a patient and while they put him on the backboard and spider strap him, Keith is on c-spine and Shiro asks if Lance can speak in Spanish because “Some patients don’t speak fluent English and will be in distress and you have to keep calm”

so Lance looks at Keith and speaks in Spanish: “ya se que siempre me estoy burlando de tu pelo pero en realidad me gusta mucho. especialmente cuando lo atas en una cola. hablando de colas, sos un austronauta? porque esa cola esta fuera de este mundo.”

Keith doesn’t know what Lance is saying but Lance is looking directly at him and grinning so earnestly that he can’t help but feel his face heat up.

Also, his palms and fingers are touching Lance’s ears and hair and he’s starting to notice how soft it feels. He sends a silent prayer above that his palms aren’t clammy.

they have to do ridealongs and Keith forgets to sign up in time because he’s caught up in classes and his part-time job so Shiro lets him share a shift with Lance, who was the first to sign up.

Lance gets annoyed, believing keith isn’t taking all this seriously and that he’s not going to get the full experience with Keith there. so, he doesn’t talk to him for the rest of the class.

at the station both Keith and Lance are given the tour and then instructed to wait in the dining room until a call comes in. after several hours of nothing and tense silence, Keith decides to go to the restroom.

Except that’s when the alarms start blaring and he can’t wash his hands fast enough. He sees the firetruck drive out the driveway and Lance is gone.

twenty minutes later he hears over the radio that one of the firetrucks from their station has been hit by a thick tree branch that fell on scene and that there’s a trainee on it.

Keith hops on the next ambulance with his heart racing hoping it’s not Lance.

it is Lance.

the tree fell on the ambulance and bent it almost in half, successfully trapping him in there. The force caused the truck to almost fall on its side.

Keith spots Lance through a crack and starts talking to him when he sees how freaked out he is but otherwise unhurt.

Keith opens up to Lance and tells him the reason why he wanted to become an EMT: they were the ones who got him out of the car accident when his parents died and took care of him.

It takes a while for Lance to respond but then he tells him that he joined because his grandmother had a stroke in the middle of the grocery store and if it wasn’t for the EMT that was also in the store, she wouldn’t have gotten to the hospital on time.

They continue talking to each other until back up arrives.

translation: “I know I’m always making fun of your hair, but in reality, I really like it.Especially when you tie it up. speaking of butts, are you an austronaut? because that ass is out of this world.”

“cola” in spanish means ‘ponytail’, as well as, ‘butt’. it’s basically a pun. doesn’t really work when it’s translated lol

#i'm sorry this is so long #this was supposed to be short wtf #keith #lance #klance #voltron #emt au #idk indulge me okay i just needed to get this out there because it was bothering me #im sorry if my spanish or translation of it are shit #please feel free to correct me i can only speak spanish fluently i cannot write it

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heyymonkey2 · 7 years

Text

Tag Meme

Tagged by @utopia9000. Thank you :-D

I’m not tagging people because I’m lazy -- BUT, if you see this and want to do it, please do! You can say I tagged you. I want to read it!

Rules: Answer these 85 statements and tag 20 people.

THE LAST

Beverage: totally depends on what’s going on in the moment... for writing, i love gyokuro tea (liquid energy) Phone call: my love Text message: my little brother Song you listened to: a remix of Alan Walker’s “Faded” Time you cried: watching the movie Your Name. in early April Time you dated someone twice: when I was in 5th, then 6th grade Time you kissed someone and regretted it: hmmm I may have no done this. i’m super picky with who I kiss and while some were more passionate than others they’ve all been significant in their own way. Time you’ve been cheated on: i don’t think I’ve ever been cheated on in a physical way -- but emotionally it happened twice when I was a freshman at university. that’s no fun. Time you lost someone special: depends on what “lost” means. i’ve had some close female friends drift away before which is sad :-( luckily no one close to me has died though. Time you were depressed: i think it was 2013/2014-ish -- because i was trying to be happy not writing and living an easier life. happiness came back when i accepted that i wasn’t gonna be able to separate myself from it and to figure out a way to integrate it into my life. Time you got drunk and thrown up: this one time in a castle in Ireland ^^; :-D i will never live it down. but the honey mead was FLOWING people and the white wine was in opaque bottles.

3 FAVOURITE COLOURS

12. white 13. gold 14. changes all the time

IN THE LAST YEAR, HAVE YOU

15.Made new friends: yes! i love meeting new people. i like people in general an awful lot.

16.Fallen out of love: no

17.Laughed until you cried: hah probably

18.Found out someone was talking about you: no

19. Met someone who changed you: yes

20. Found out who your friends are: i luckily am pretty confident about that

21. Kissed someone on your Facebook list: yes

22. How many of your Facebook friends do you know in real life?: all i think, if not very, very close to all

23. Do you have any pets?: yes -- 2 cats

24. Do you want to change your name?: hmm... not right now

25. What did you do for your last birthday?: probably something really chill and involving creme brulee and loved ones :-P

26. What time did you wake up?: 7am

27. What were you doing at midnight last night?: ::blushes::

28. Name something you can’t wait for: the brownies i’m baking to get out of the oven

29. When was the last time you saw your mom?: January (she lives far away)

30. One thing you wish you could change about your life?: i wish i was already fluent in Japanese and had never stopped piano (2 things!)

31. What are you listening to right now?: my Soundcloud likes playlist

32. Have you ever talked to a person named Tom?: yes, though i don’t remember the last instance

33. Something that is getting on your nerves?: i’m feeling pretty zen right now

34. Most visited website?: gmail, ao3, tumblr

35. Hair colour: dirty dishwater blonde

36. Long or short hair?: long

37. Do you have a crush on someone?: i’m in love with someone IRL and have perpetual crushes on fictional characters for fun :-D

38. What do you like about yourself?: i’m spunky and have a lot of grit -- i don’t know where those things come from, but i’m really thankful i have them because they make things possible

39. Piercings?: 5 on my ears, but i mainly just use 2... honestly, the others may have closed ^^;

40. Blood type?: A-

41. Nickname?: way too many

42. Relationship status?: fully committed to someone

43. Zodiac?: Scorpio

44. Pronouns?: i don’t care, just don’t talk about me in the third person to another person if i’m sitting across from you both (this has literally happened in a meeting before)

45. Favourite TV show?: i kind of hate American tv right now, but in the last year i had a lot of fun watching “My Secret Romance”

46. Tattoos?: nope

47. Right or left handed?: right

48. Surgery?: not in the last year

50. Sport?: long-distance running

51. Vacation?: last one was austria

52. Pair of trainers?: does this mean athletic shoes? if so, yes.

53. Eating?: panna cotta, creme brulee, frozen yogurt, a delicious cheese board (are you catching a theme here?), foie gras with a little grilled brioche (like as a super special occasion treat), seasonal pies

MORE GENERAL

54. Drinking?: totally depends on the exact circumstances -- there’s a best for everything :-)

55. I’m about to: grill yakitori on the balcony -- it’s a festival weekend (the “star festival”) so everyone is in cosplay outside and so happy -- i love the energy!

56. Waiting for?: my guy to finish setting everything up for dinner

57. Want kids?: totally -- love begets love

58. Get married?: totally -- fairytale romance ftw

59. Career?: yes? lol i don’t know exactly what this means. i have one of these. it allows me to break down stories all day and work with writers and invent things so i’m a happy girl. it also enables me to buy creme brulee. on a hard day i remind myself that :-P (because even if you have an awesome job -- work is work.)

WHICH IS BETTER

60. Hugs or kisses?: both!!

61. Lips or eyes?: eyes

62. Shorter or taller?: taller

63. Older or younger?: both have their perks -- my guy is younger but only by a year

64. Nice arms or nice stomach?: how did you know 2 of my 3 favorite parts of a guy?? the third is voice.

65. Hookup or relationship?: depends, but IRL i have someone to be loyal to so my days of hookups are now relegated to with fictional characters in my head

66. Troublemaker or hesitant?: depends, i can be either.

HAVE YOU EVER

67. Kissed a stranger?: yes

68. Drank hard liquor?: yes

69. Lost glasses/contact lenses?: lasik (life-changing, people)

70. Turned someone down?: yes

71. Sex on the first date?: well we’d have to get very specific about what constitutes a first date... i have not done this with someone the first day i met them. (and now i sound like a ho...)

72. Broken someone’s heart?: yes

73. Had your heart broken?: yes

74. Been arrested?: no

75. Cried when someone died?: yes

76. Fallen for a friend?: usually for me if that was gonna happen, it happened right away or not at all -- so no situation of “we’ve been friends for x years and now i have feelings for you” though than has happened in the reverse a few times (but was not reciprocated... v. awkward, but in happy news those friendships didn’t get ruined because of it)

DO YOU BELIEVE IN

77. Yourself?: yes

78. Miracles?: yes

79. Love at first sight?: yes

80. Santa Claus?: no, but i support this large-scale cultural prank.

81. Kiss on the first date?: again... what is a “first date”? i don’t know that i did this, but i probably would have. if there’s a spark... i haven’t hooked up with that many guys, i’m very picky, but when i find one i want it’s like an avalanche of desire. kind of all or nothing.

82. Angels?: yes

83. Heaven?: yes

OTHER

84. Eye colour?: green with some blue

85. Favourite movie?: there are a lot, but this year it was Your Name.

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joie-university-rp · 5 years

Text

Dear, OLLIE MENDOZA,

It is with great pleasure we invite you admission to Joie University! Welcome to the Thunderclap family!

–

Congratulations, CHARLEY! Please be sure to check the New Members’ Checklistand send in your character’s account within 24 hours from now. We cannot wait to see all that you will bring to this roleplay! We love you already!

OOC INFORMATION:

Name/Alias; preferred pronouns: Charley / she&her

Age, Timezone: 25 / EST

Activity, short explanation: 7/10 / I’m usually able to get on at least once a day!

Ships: Ollie/Chemistry

Anti-Ships: Ollie/No chemistry

Triggers: RFP

Preferred photo for Character’s ID (please give a link): https://66.media.tumblr.com/eb1028b3739dca4e0f6949d1389d5c3a/tumblr_pqhonxQUn51wz3biw_1280.jpg

Anything else: N/A

IC INFORMATION:

Full Name (First, Middle, Last): Oliver “Ollie” James Mendoza

FC: George Salazar

Age/Year at University (Freshman [1st Year], Sophomore, Junior, Senior, or Graduate Student): 24 / Senior

Birth date: October 7, 1994

Hometown (please be sure to check the hometowns listed for characters your muse is related to!): Columbus, Ohio

Gender/Pronouns: Male / he&him

Sexuality: Asexual & Queer

Major(s): Musical Theatre

Minor(s) [optional]: N/A

Housing request (remember, only the president of a Greek Organization is required to live at a Greek House to be in it!): Single apartment

Extracurriculars (Click here for the list. Be sure to specify any executive board positions [i.e. president, secretary, etc.] If something isn’t listed, please put it here and we will add it to the masterlist!): Filipino Student Association (President), Drama Club (Vice President), Glee Club (Vice President), & LGBT+ Association.

Greek Life Affiliation [optional] (Please be sure to specify any executive board positions [i.e. president, pledge educator, etc.] or if your character is not yet a member, but plans to rush): N/A

CHARACTER PROFILE:

[At least] 3 Headcanons for your character:

Ollie was born to his doting Mothers, Evelyn and Margaret, on the 7th of October as their first and only child. Family always comes first for Ollie, as well as his culture. He is proud to be half Filipino as well as half Ecuadorian. He embraces both parts of his DNA; he is even fluent in both Tagalog and Spanish. He grew up speaking his mother’s language, and once he started his high school career he began to delve into learning Spanish.

Ollie was diagnosed with ADHD at age 6, after he had repeated kindergarten per his teacher’s request for remaining too immature to continue on as well as rambunctious. He was put on a medication to treat his disorder, however as Ollie got older he began to detest them due to the numbing nature of them. He didn’t feel like his naturally bubbly and energetic self. After convincing his moms to come off of it, as well as proving to them he would put in the work to learn to adjust without them, Ollie was weened off toward the end of his high school career. He has his difficult days still, sensory overloads and meltdowns never easier to cope with when they hit hard, but at the end of the day Ollie’s positivity always comes out stronger.

Being the energetic and charismatic person he is, it’s no surprise that the stage called to Ollie at a very young age. As a toddler, Ollie was exposed to his mothers’ favorite musicals, including Donny Osmond’s portrayal in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. A defining moment that inspired him that he wanted to captivate audiences the way he had been from watching the VHS tape daily. He performed in his first show at 5 years old, playing Sebastian in a stage production of The Little Mermaid. From there, he continued to act whenever he had the opportunity. He was a theatre kid throughout his entire school career, even becoming the president of his Thespian Troupe in high school.

Once the curtains on high school closed, though, Ollie needed a break from the structured schedule that school had him on. It was difficult to buckle down his last couple of years of high school and learn to adjust to controlling his energy and attention deficit issues. He decided to take a gap year, not because he wasn’t sure what he wanted to study but because he needed time to mentally relax before going back to school. He traveled around with his Mothers for a while, then decided to apply to Joie University to pursue his performing dreams. He is a Senior now, and will be 25 in the Fall. He is one of the oldest among his peers, given the fact he was held back early in his school career and the extra year he took as a break. Regardless, he feels accepted by his peers.

Ollie has an easy time making friends, because of his fearlessness in approaching strangers to brighten their day. He makes friends wherever he goes, and he surrounds himself with different groups of people at school by staying involved. He is the President of the Filipino Student Association, loving the fact that he has a platform to share his culture with fellow students, the Vice President of the Drama and Glee Club for his good friend Mercedes who sits as President, and he is also part of the LGBT+ Association. He will be sad when he eventually does graduate, but he plans on his Senior year being the best yet. He also knows it will prepare him for his future, in which he hopes he will make that move to New York to make his dream of being on Broadway come true.

STUDENT CENSUS SURVEY:

(Please answer the following questions IN CHARACTER. Responses can be as long or short as you see fit!)

What made you want to attend Joie University? It’s close to my home so I know a lot of my pals go there! I’ve heard amazing things about the theatre department too and it will help me gain more experience as I prepare to make my move to New York to pursue Broadway. Plus I like that Joie sounds like Joy cause it makes it sound like a really happy place and I’m really happy so!

What are at least 3 positive or neutral and at least 3 negative traits that you believe you possess? I am kindhearted, excitable and goofy. I don’t like sayin’ ‘negative’, but I think some not-so-nice things about me that I can work on are that I tend to be distracted, naive, and oblivious.

Which of your traits do you value most? I love being excitable and a jokester and all that, but I think the most important thing anybody can be is kind.

How can that trait benefit the University (or its student body) as a whole? It usually doesn’t take a lot to brighten someone’s day, just complimenting their hair or outfit or just letting them know that you appreciate them can totally shift their mood. I love to help bring out the best in people and ultimately it helps to bring out the best in me! Being kind is free so you should give that away like it’s going out of style! Kindness will never go out of style though, they ain’t jelly shoes. I shouldn’t say that, jelly shoes are actually making a comeback. POINT IS- it’s cool to be kind! Always.

What do you hope to gain from your experience at JU? I hope to make friends, memories, and wonderful art on stage. And if it’s build your own taco day in the cafeteria I will most likely make a mess too. Not on purpose, though. I promise to clean up any contents spilled out of my taco.

What is a quote or song lyric that describes you? “If you want to make the world a better place, take a look at yourself and make a change.” - Michael Jackson

#accepted

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hottytoddynews · 6 years

Link

Being able to offer students the immersive experience of a language Flagship program is a tremendous plus for any institution. Being the best program in the country is far better, and the Chinese language Flagship program (CLFP) at the University of Mississippi has achieved that status, say its faculty and students.

The Language Flagship program began in 2002 and includes intensive programs at several U.S. colleges and universities in languages deemed critical for American government, business and military interests – including Arabic, Chinese, Korean and Russian. Ole Miss was among the first institutions to launch a Chinese Language Flagship Program.

“The Language Flagship began as a small pilot project to challenge a few U.S. universities to build programs of advanced language education,” says Donald Dyer, UM chair and professor of modern languages. “Being one of the Language Flagship’s Chinese programs means this is a program designed to take students to the superior level of Chinese, a program on steroids.”

While on a four-day trip to Beijing, UM students pose for a photo before climbing the Great Wall.

UM is among a dozen institutions offering the intensive program, and the university’s success in preparing students for careers involving Chinese language and culture attracts students from across the country.

“Ole Miss has one of the most effective Chinese programs in the country, which is why I chose to come here in the first place,” says Liana Tai, a senior international studies major from Arlington, Va.

Flagship programs are results driven. One factor used to determine the quality of a program involves examining how many students it can send to the Flagship Capstone Year in China. To participate, students must fulfill all required courses, apply, pass all qualifying tests and be accepted by the Flagship Chinese Council.

“People that are fluent in english yet can seamlessly blend into the Chinese environment are considered valuable for interaction with Chinese company clients.” -Liana Tai

From 2003 to 2013, Ole Miss sent only 12 CLFP students to the capstone, compared to 2014-16, when UM sent 20 students.

“For the past two years, the University of Mississippi has had the largest group among the 12 Chinese flagship capstone programs,” says Henrietta Yang, Croft associate professor of Chinese and co-director of the program. “During the selection process, all students were ranked based on their application packages, which included a personal statement, a Chinese writing sample, a Chinese speech sample, transcripts, three recommendation letters and a Chinese resumé. Three of the top five selected and admitted were UM students, and eight of 13 were ranked above 30.”

Cultural Focus

The Ole Miss CLFP is the only Chinese flagship program that operates an intensive domestic summer program before the freshman year and a post-freshman summer program at Shanghai University in China. This program aims to raise students’ linguistic proficiency and cultural knowledge considerably within an eight-week period.

“One of the challenges the program still faces is to significantly increase students’ Chinese cultural awareness,” Yang says. “When I arrived in 2013, the UM flagship students significantly lacked this understanding, though they were able to speak pretty fluent Chinese.”

With their Chinese roommates, UM students visit Confucius Temple in central Shanghai.

That was a serious problem that needed to be addressed, as native speakers of Chinese expect an equal amount of cultural understanding from someone who can speak fluent Chinese.

“Eastern and Western cultures are just too different, and our current teaching team infuses culture insights into their daily teaching,” Yang says. “However, their cultural progress does not come as fast as their linguistic success.”

The university’s CLFP Shanghai program is open to taking students from the other 11 flagship programs.

“Establishing our Shanghai program, which is very well-respected and replete with high standards, is another huge success that is very rewarding to me,” Yang says.

Since taking over the program in 2013, Yang has redesigned the curriculum, which has high standards, thematic courses, domain mentoring and, as mentioned, cultural preparation. Unlike some Chinese flagship programs around the country that offer only upper-level courses, the Ole Miss CLFP allows for entry at various skill levels.

The university also boasts one of the finest language teaching teams in the nation. Joining Yang are assistant professors Zhini Zeng and Amy Hsieh. All three professors have strong backgrounds in language pedagogy, second-language acquisition and proficiency training. The program has three full-time instructors: Hui Zhu, Lin Zhu and Rongrong Hao. All have several years of experience teaching at both American institutions and with study abroad programs in China.

Beyond The Campus Border

During a Chinese language study abroad trip, students check out the Bund, a waterfront area in central Shanghai.

By immersing themselves in the curriculum and with support from seasoned faculty, around 100 alumni of the program have successful careers in international business, public policy leadership, medicine and politics to name a few fields.

Instruction also extends beyond the borders of the Oxford campus.

“We have seeded Chinese instruction at Oxford, Lafayette and Holly Springs high schools,” Dyer says. “More than 10 students from OHS have matriculated into our flagship program. Students come here from all over the country to study Chinese at a high level.”

Students enrolled in the program are singing their praises of the professors’ instruction and the valuable learning opportunities received.

Last year, Tai participated in the CLFP’s capstone year, which students typically complete as a final fifth year of their Chinese studies after graduation. She had the opportunity to participate in the program early.

“I spent one semester taking both intensive Chinese classes and master’s classes in Chinese at Nanjing University for the fall semester, and one semester doing an internship at a digital marketing and branding agency in Shanghai,” Tai says. “The internship was a very fulfilling experience, as I was able to experience a modern Chinese work environment for five full months. Through the marketing work, I gained technical skills and cultural knowledge that have both been extremely helpful in my job search this year.”

Tai plans to work in U.S.-China relations as a business consultant for PriceWaterhouseCoopers, a large international accounting and consulting firm with offices in Hong Kong.

“My Chinese speaking, reading and writing skills gave me a distinct advantage in getting the job and will continue to be an asset to the company as we further develop business in the China region,” Tai says. “People that are fluent in English yet can seamlessly blend into the Chinese environment are considered valuable for interaction with Chinese company clients.”

Other experiences that directly resulted from Tai’s participation in the program include attending the annual flagship program summit at the University of Maryland and joining the 100,000 Strong campaign to promote Chinese language learning.

Prospective job opportunities in the international business arena are what drew Conner Clark, an international studies major, to the UM Chinese flagship program. The senior from Dallas also participated in the capstone year.

“During the first semester, we were direct enrolled at Nanjing University,” Clark says. “For the second semester, we applied to whichever organizations that we were interested in and completed a full-time internship for a minimum of 16 consecutive weeks. This second semester was the most fulfilling for me.”

Clark interned at a nonprofit Chinese nongovernmental organization called Yunnan Parallel, which aims to alleviate cultural misunderstanding of the LGBTQ community and educate the local population and students about safe sex.

“One reason this was such an amazing experience is because of the people I was able to meet and the context in which I was able to do so,” he says. “Because our organization was a safe place where all who came could feel free to be themselves, I was able to meet and begin to understand a hidden group in Chinese society that not many people even know exist. Meeting these people, hearing their stories, being on the front line in this fight for recognition and equal rights was an invaluable experience that I will have with me the rest of my life.”

Henrietta Yang teaches students in the Chinese Language Flagship Program.

James DeMarshall, a junior Chinese and international studies double major with a minor in mathematics, says he knew the Ole Miss program would make him proficient in the language.

“The culture of this program is infectious,” says the native of Glassboro, N.J. “Everyone is very supportive of each other, almost like a big family. When I visited campus and sat in on classes, I knew I wanted to be part of this special atmosphere the flagship program has cultivated here.”

Having studied consecutive summers in Shanghai and Harbin, DeMarshall learned he was awarded a U.S. Department of State’s Critical Language Scholarship to spend summer 2016 studying in the city of Xi’an in China’s Shaanxi province. He is the incoming president of the UM chapter of a non-profit, nonpartisan organization called Global China Connection, of which the CLFP has been supportive.

“I recently had the opportunity to travel to New York City to participate in a conference for GCC, and I was one of maybe 10 or 15 non-Chinese people in attendance,” he says. “As the event went on, I realized how far my Chinese had come in such a really short period of time spent here at Ole Miss. I was able to comfortably function in Chinese, which made it easier for me to network and connect with all the other young professionals in attendance. In essence, there was no language barrier. I can entirely thank the UM Flagship program for that capability.”

Favorite Classes

“There is something truly unique and special about studying the affairs of another country in its own native language. In a way, you garner a deeper understanding and appreciation for the complexities of the topic. it also encourages you to check any biases or preconceived notions at the door, and think more like a native speaker.” -James DeMarshall

The Domain Mentorship class, taught by Jizhe Zhang, is DeMarshall’s favorite course he’s taken so far.

“The purpose of this class is to train you to speak competently and professionally in whatever ‘domain’ you have chosen to study. For me, that is the Chinese economy, its banking sector and international trade,” DeMarshall says. “There is something truly unique and special about studying the affairs of another country in its own native language. In a way, you garner a deeper understanding and appreciation for the complexities of the topic. It also encourages you to check any biases or preconceived notions at the door, and think more like a native speaker.”

Both Tai and Clark have fond memories of their favorite Chinese courses and their professors as well.

“My favorite course was our Chinese Media Studies class,” Tai says. “During the class, we covered a broad range of topics that exposed the changing dynamics within China’s modernizing society. I believe that my Chinese language skills, as well as my understanding of socioeconomic factors in China, expanded dramatically over the course of this class.”

Classical Chinese was Clark’s favorite course.

“Zhu Hui Laoshi is probably one of the sweetest teachers you’ll ever have. On top of that, she’s good at what she does: She makes learning Classical Chinese fun and relatively easy,” he says. “If you think conversational Chinese is hard, try studying a form of Chinese that uses, say, four characters to say what normal people today would use an entire sentence – or sometimes even a few sentences – to say.”

What’s Next

Tai and Clark are already planning ways to support the program after graduation.

“I think my most valuable form of support would be as a connection for younger flagship students in their own internship or job searches, just as another older flagship student has been for me,” Tai says. “Our UM Chinese flagship community is growing in the China region, which will only benefit the younger students that seek to work there as well.”

After graduation, Clark will be commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force.

“Hopefully I’ll be working in the Pentagon or at an embassy abroad, using my language skills and experience to foster better relationships with our foreign friends and adversaries,” he says. “The U.S. Air Force and military is tirelessly working to develop airmen who better understand other societies and cultures. I would like to be a part of this shift in U.S. foreign military policy.

“I will always be willing to be a resource for future undergraduate students and will look into supporting some of these programs financially as well,” he adds.

DeMarshall says he plans to live and work in China.

“I believe my familiarity with China and the ability to speak the language will absolutely make me more competitive in an increasingly globalized labor force,” he says. “But more importantly, I hope to spend a portion of my life living and working in China, which I have fallen in love with through the study of its language.”

As a result of the Chinese program’s success, the modern languages department applied for an Arabic flagship program in 2015. Although the request was not granted, the university’s Arabic program is good enough to achieve flagship status, Dyer says.

“Our Arabic program is also exceptional, modeled after Chinese, and reaching the same level of productivity and success,” he says.

Meanwhile, Yang is anticipating even greater levels of success for the Chinese program.

“We are preparing for as many as 19 students for capstone next year,” she says. “Ours has dominated among the 12 Chinese flagship programs in the past two years. I would have to agree that UM has the best Chinese flagship program in the country.”

By Edwin Smith

This story was reprinted with permission from the Ole Miss Alumni Review. The Alumni Review is published quarterly for members of the Ole Miss Alumni Association. Join or renew your membership with the Alumni Association today, and don’t miss a single issue.

For questions, email us at [email protected].

The post Ole Miss Alumni Review: Flagship University Masters Flagship Program appeared first on HottyToddy.com.

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Fluent Freshman - Part 24

“What do you MEAN Smithy is in the hospital with a stab wound to his stomach?!” Nicky’s own voice is agony for his hangover but honestly, how the fuck else was he supposed to respond when he had asked Andrew where FF was and gotten that as a response.

“Calm down.” Andrew says and he looks tired, looks stressed, and maybe even just…a touch nervous?

Nicky isn’t as good as Neil at reading Andrew Minyard. He doesn’t think anyone will ever be as fluent in the language of Andrew Minyard as Neil Josten but Nicky has picked up some key phrases.

He can see when he’s making a joke that is a step too far. He can see when his cousin wants to kiss Neil but is holding back. He can see when his cousin is stressed.

He can see a guilty curve to Andrew’s spine.

“Andrew, answer me honestly, did you stab my sweet baby freshman?” Nicky asks and he’s not sure if the nausea he feels anymore is from horror or from the sheer number of drinks he had put in his system the night before.

Roland usually cuts him off before he gets this level.

Roland also has a habit of pouring heavier when he’s stressed.

Roland also also tends to make complicated fruity drinks that Nicky likes when he’s stressed.

Andrew’s jaw tenses but it’s Neil who speaks up, “It was an accident. It happened during a fight.” Neil says and Nicky throws his hands up in the air.

“You got into a FIGHT with my sweet baby freshman? Sweet little Smithy? The boy who made brownies that made me feel kinda straight for a dead woman?!” Nicky exclaims and sees Andrew and Neil open their mouths to say something but, “I promised him that if he wanted I’d get him something hard that’d mess his GUTS up but this isn’t what I MEANT.” He lets himself collapse dramatically over the table.

“Nicky, shut up!” Kevin hisses from his spot on the couch.

“When the fuck did Kevin get here?!” Because seriously, how fucked up was Nicky last night that he doesn’t remember Kevin coming on this Columbia trip? Where’d he sit? He couldn’t really remember coming over after Thanksgiving. Had Andrew put Kevin in the trunk? Had Andrew put Nicky in the trunk?

“He came with Wymack.” Neil cut in before Nicky started testing reality. “Wymack is at the hospital since he’s…uh…he’s the…”

“Medical Power of Attorney” Andrew answers.

“Yes! Thank you, the Medical power of attorney for Smith. He needed surgery and Wymack wanted to be nearby in case he had to make any pressing decisions.” Neil explains and yeah that tracks, he knows a little bit about FF’s family and knows that aside from his grandma on his dad’s side the rest can go take a long walk off a short volcano observation platform

“Okay, that explains why Kevin is here….how?! Despite all of the unwarranted advice, Kevin is not a medical professional.” Nicky says before turning to Kevin, “So Kevin, what insane Exy-related reason are you here? Don’t lie and say it’s because you want to sign the get well soon card.” He hisses.

“Fuck you!” Kevin spits, “I need to know how long Smiths is going to be out of commission and what his PT is going to look like. He was supposed to be starting during the spring season.” Kevin growls.

“There it is!” Nicky throws up his hands.

“Nicky, just calm down!” Neil pleads.

“How can I stay calm? Andrew stabbed Smithy! So not only is my favorite freshman in the hospital Andrew’s going to end up back on those god forsaken meds again!” Nicky shouts and buries his face in his hands.

“Smith isn’t going to say that.” Andrew’s voice is calm but Nicky can hear the slight edge.

“Oh yeah?” Nicky asks because he could see FF promising to never mention who stabbed him if Andrew would just spare his life. FF was going to be even MORE of a disaster when it came to his anxiety around Andrew. Nicky wouldn’t be surprised if his friend just straight up dropped out after this. His cousin is safe but he’s absolutely going to lose his friend.

“Because he’s saying Romero Malcolm stabbed him.” Andrew finishes.

Nicky sits up.

“Wait, what?” Nicky asks.

“Last night Romero Malcolm was at Eden’s.” Neil says voice even in a way that lets Nicky know that he’s trying to stay calm, “Smith recognized him, heard he wanted to grab,” Neil swallows thickly, “…grab one of my friends and saw them looking at…” Neil trails off and looks to Andrew who shakes his head, “…around for someone to grab.” Neil seems to decide and Nicky knows when something is being hidden from him but he’s more interested in the story than what Neil is hiding at the moment, “He got Romero’s attention so that he wouldn’t do anything bad in Eden’s and let Roland know to call help. He went out alone into the alley but Romero didn’t follow him.” Neil explains.

“Oh thank god.” Nicky sighs.

“Because he’d alerted Jackson Plank was lying in wait to ambush him.” Neil continues.

“Oh dear god.” Nicky exclaims.

“He uh…” Neil looks to Andrew who shakes his head again, “okay we don’t know exactly HOW Smith managed to do it but he beat Jackson up pretty bad.” Neil explains.

Nicky feels his brain stop working.

He has watched FF trip over his own feet, walk into four different trees, and almost sprain his ankle walking across a flat surface. He knows FF has been watching self-defense videos and had even gotten some pointers from Matt but even Matt had told him his better bet was probably just to yell “WOW WHAT’S THAT OVER THERE?!”, point behind the attacker, and run as fast as humanly possible away from a fight.

Neil is still talking.

Nicky boots back up quickly.

“…a gun. He tackled Romero into Andrew and Andrew’s knife ended up in Smith’s stomach on accident while they were wrestling for the gun. Smith is the one who said he’s going to tell everyone who asks that it was Romero. He even said it to me.” Neil says with an awkward laugh.

“And you believed him.” Andrew says and there’s warmth in his cousin’s eyes as he looks at Neil and teases him.

“And I believed him.” Neil confirms.

“Okay, so you swear to me that you did not INTENTIONALLY stab my BFF?” Nicky asks looking at Andrew seriously.

“BFF, seriously?” Kevin asks.

“Best Freshman Friend.” Nicky answers quickly, “Don’t worry Kevin, you lose out to Matt in all regards for my Best Senior Friend.” He says.

Kevin just flips him off but Nicky turns his attention back to Andrew, “Andrew, I need to hear it.” He says .

“I did not intentionally stab Smith.” Andrew confirms.

Nicky lets the horrified nausea leave him with only his hangover nausea.

“Okay, we can work with that.” Nicky leans back. “Have you heard from that Agent?” he asks looking at Neil.

Neil nods but then looks nervous and shoots a look towards Kevin, “The FBI is sending Browning and a field office agent to talk with us but…Ichirou also contacted me.” He says and Nicky watches as Kevin perks up.

“He did?!” Kevin squawks looking around like he expected the head of the Moriyama family to appear from the shadows.

“He wants to make sure we do our part to keep the Moriyama name out of this. He is going to deal with Romero and Jackson himself.” Neil says looking nervous.

Nicky clenches his eyes shut, “Well you’re not going to mention them right?” he hears Kevin ask.

“Of course not Kevin.” Nicky hears Andrew hiss.

“Good.” Kevin says.

There’s silence in the wake of Neil’s statement.

Nicky takes a deep breath and wishes his head was a little less agonizing. “Why aren’t we at the hospital to see Smithy?” he asks because he has nothing he can do about Ichirou so he may as well put it out of his mind.

There is some grumbling.

“Wymack said that he’ll just make us sit in the waiting room without any updates.” Neil says. “We’re picking up Smith’s grandma from the airport and she’s our ticket to getting an actual update beyond ‘not dead yet’ from Wymack.” He adds.

“What, you really can’t get updates without Wymack?” Nicky asks.

Andrew looks at Nicky and Nicky can’t read a single thing his cousin is thinking.

“What’s Smith’s first name Nicky.” Andrew asks.

“Oh God fucking Dammit.” Nicky’s head hurts too bad for this.

MASTERPOST FOR ALL PARTS OF FLUENT FRESHMAN AU

Per your requests:

@i-have-three-feelings

@blep-23 @dreamerking27 @andreilsmyreligion @belodensetdust @rainbowpineapplebottle @yarn-ace @iwouldlikesometea @lily-s-world @obscureshipsandchips @booklover242 @whataboutmyfries @sahturnos @pluto-pepsi @dreamerthinker @passinhosdetartaruga @leftunknownheart @aro-manita-muscaria @hologramsaredead @Chaoticgremlinswishtheycouldbeme @tntwme @tayspots @nick-scar @crazy-fangirl2524 @blue-jos10 @stabbyfoxandrew @splishsplashyouropinionistrash @sammichly @the-broken-pen @bitchesdoweknowu @very-small-flower @ghostlyboiii @its-a-paxycab @bisexual-genderfluid-fan @cheesecookie @theoneandonlylostsock @foxsoulcourt @blueleys @adverbialstarlight @elia-nna @can-i-just-stay-in-the-corner @nikodiangel @foxandcrow-inatrenchcoat @hallucinatedjosten @satanic-foxhole-court @vexingcosmos @chalilodimun @insectsgetcooked @angry-kid-with-no-money @queer-crows @lillyndra @themundanemudperson @readertodeath @apileofpillows @mortalsbowbeforeme @hellomynameismoo @next-level-mess @youreonlylow @interstellarfig @notprocrastinatingatalltoday @percyjacksonfan3 @queenofcrazy27 @bsmr261 @ghostlyscares @spencellio @adinthedarkroom @harpymoth @sufferingjustalilbit @anxietymoss @oddgreyhound @ohno-myhyperfixation-itsbroken @ken22789 @atiredvampire @isoldescorner @not--a--pipedream @azure-wing @bushbees @roonilwazlib-main @crumplelush @foldedaces-paperbirds @thesenseinnonsense @let-tyrants-fear @ketchupandfries @legowerewolf @deadlydodos @but-we-respect-his-craft @cariniqe @zanypersonapricotbiscuit @lesbian-blackbeard @lesbiansupernatural @silvermasquerade @thepeachfuzz @minniemariex @kazoo-the-demjin @gaypomegranate @ji-nk-ies @neilimfinejosten @omgrubelangel @itsyouitsmeorpheuseurydice @percabethotplove @cozyrosykay @foxyatlas

The requests to be added to the tag list keep being spread out across a few different areas. If I missed you please just ask again in the replies I promise I just missed you.

As stated before if you’re up here and I spelled it right but you didn’t get a notification there might be something switched around in your settings that won’t let me tag you properly?

#Fluent Freshman AU #I'm almost positive the next chapter will involve Grandma Smith actually #like 90%#Maybe even 95%#Aaron walks out 10 minutes later #Aaron: I feel like someone is stabbing me in the stomach #Nicky: You and Smithy both!#Aaron: ?????????#Neil: I think that it is too soon to make that joke #Andrew: At least give it 24 hours Nicky #Andrew: He might still be in surgery for all we know #Aaron: !!!!!??????#Kevin: I've been researching and it could be 4-6 weeks before Smith can be back on the Court.#Kevin: At least he'll only really miss 2 fall season games and he should be healed up by the time we start the spring season games #Aaron: What the FUCK happened and why is KEVIN here?#Andrew: We're not explaining it again figure it out yourself #GS is in the air right now #She's got a middle seat because it was a last minute booking #But the young man next to her is a real sweetheart #He speaks polish! what a small world #AFTG #AFTG OC #AFTG AU #My Fics #Andreil #Fluent Freshman - Part 24

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