#But pasi you may say

[pasiphile]

I have a day off tomorrow which I sorta intend to spend on writing, possibly some short things just to get back in the saddle rather than risk getting overwhelmed by my Big Boys, so...

Anyone have a ficlet prompt?

Fandoms I'm willing to write for include but are not limited to: Discworld, The Untamed, Attack on Titan, Ace Attorney, The Locked Tomb, Doctor Who, Merlin, Black Sails, Sherlock, buffy the vampire slayer, Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, Good Omens (strictly the book, not the TV series)

No promises, given that my writing skills have been in hibernation for almost a full year, but yknow. Send me a fandom, pairing or character and prompt and things may happen.

[degenezijde]

3, 4, 10, 11, 12, 13 for the book asks?

3. What were your top five books of the year?

In no particular order:

The golden enclaves was a very satisfying end to a good story.

I teared through An unauthorised fan treatise in an afternoon and it was nostalgic fun.

The Wager was some good non-fiction. Boats! Mutiny! I disliked the author's other book, The lost city of Z, so I was very pleasantly surprised with this one.

The sufficient loss protocol was a short story that stayed with me for a while.

Same with The last banquet of temporal confections

4. Did you discover any new authors that you love this year?

I don't pay as much attention to the author as I should...

10. What was your favorite new release of the year?

Leah Hazard's Womb pleasantly surprised me.

11. What was your favorite book that has been out for a while, but you just now read?

My work's got two book clubs, one of which was the Jane Austen book club (but we're out of Austens so now it's been rebranded "classics"). I had a lot of fun with the Austens.

The main book club works with themes, and there we also picked an older book by Virginie Loveling. I won't say Een revolverschot is the best book you've never read (it's not), but I'm insulted I never had to read any of her books studying literature in a building located in a street named after her. She's as least as good as, if not better than, other classic Dutch works I had to read.

12. Any books that disappointed you?

Oh several. Right now I'm reading Gaston Dorren's Lingua, and while it's interesting how he analyses the way his book has been transformed through the different translations and editions, it's a very scatterbrained book.

I was also disappointed in Greg Jenner's writing, as I like his other works.

Sense and Sensibility was a disappointing end to my Jane Austen year.

And I may have gone into The invention of nature by Andrea Wulf with the wrong mindset, but I still didn't have as good a time as I thought I would.

13. What were your least favorite books of the year?

When pasi still had to breastfeed the baby to sleep, I'd sit on the bed behind them to keep them company. To pass the time in a better way than doomscrolling, I got a bunch of Tor.com short stories to read. I usually read one per night. A lot of those did not do it for me.

[chthonicgodling]

[back] / you are at🍇PART: FOUR🍇 / [next]

Back to the modern-ish day! the style of every one of these drawigs has been and will continue to vary deeply but this one happens to be my fave actually teehee

Writing any Olympian dialogue is so consistently fun for me especially when given the task of letting them describe or interact with any of our guys, that casual condescending revulsion. Also saying this about HYPNOS of all chthonic deities is so so funny bc like. he’s a six foot tall sleeping blond angel this is the face of goth terror to everyone? oookay....... Olympians are so fucking dramatic

  There are some interesting implications here within Di speaking to presumably A CROWD OF JEERING MAENADS, in that Pasi’s marriage is really only passable because it allows HIM to have an interesting story to misconstrue to others, a la here lmao I mean,,,,,.... jesus christ.

that special brand of Olympian narcissism (how does my daughters marriage ~*AFFECT ME*~) is the norm up on that mountain but one has to imagine that coupled with certain unhinged bloodsoaked party proclivities makes Di one of the most intimidating father-in-laws to have??????? Gosh I Wonder What That Initial Interaction Had Been Like Hmmm—-

WELP with 👀definitely no hints to be found in that description👀 stay tuned for whatever beginning lead ups may come next! ahem

[nkogneatho]

Hi Pasi! Happy Valentines Day! I’m not sure if anyone has asked you but how are you, Satoru, and toji going to spend your day or night? Hope you all have a great day!

hii baby <33 sorry to reply this so late. happy valentine's day my love. well me and satoru went to a famcy restaurant by the sea because i love looking at the ocean view and the ambience was just perfect with all the fairy lights and people celebrating down the street. he bought me a tanghulu from this old woman selling it and she blessed us saying may we be together forever which made me so happy and even he was blushing so hard. he was so happy that he bought more and gave them to the kids passing by. honestly, i love how cute he is.

[emergingmediaculture]

Graphic created by Kiersten W. on Canva.

Readings: Assessing vulnerability to psychological distress during the COVID-19 pandemic through the analysis of microblogging content by Marco Viviani, Cristina Crocamo, Matteo Mazzola, Francesco Bartoli, Giuseppe Carrà, and Gabriella Pasi

“Teachers Act Like We’re Robots”: TikTok as a Window Into Youth Experiences of Online Learning During COVID-19 by Ioana Literat

From archive cultures to ephemeral content, and back: Studying Instagram Stories with digital methods by Lucia Bainotti, Alessandro Caliandro, and Alessandro Gandini

It is safe and accurate to say the COVID-19 pandemic upended most people's lives. The drastic and sudden halt of just about every facet of our lives was something the majority of us have ever experienced in our lifetime. The sudden rise of the work-from-home industry was just one of the many effects of the pandemic. The traditional nine-five in an office no longer seemed as appealing. Society's outlook on work changed and there has since been research on those changes that COVID-19 has had on the careers of individuals and the effect it has had on workers in general. One demographic, however, that has been somewhat overlooked in this area and requires more research is that of the student experience.

I graduated high school in 2013 and then graduated college in 2017. My entire school career up until I began grad school in 2021 has been a somewhat traditional experience. I participated in extracurriculars, went to class in actual classrooms, and was able to attend all the milestone school events that kids look forward to like homecoming, prom, and graduation.

Then I think of the kids who were in school in March 2020 whose entire school experience changed in the blink of an eye. Going from traditional classrooms to online learning, enjoying the social experience of high school to then only being able to chat with friends through your smartphones or social media, having events canceled, and graduating from the comfort (or probably discomfort) of your living room.

From taking online classes in college by choice, I remember always preferring traditional classes because I felt I couldn't learn as much in an online class. I almost felt like I was teaching myself a lot of the time. According to the above research, I am not the only one who shares that negative sentiment towards online learning. Social media sites such as TikTok and Twitter, which played a major role in the documentation of COVID-19 pandemic times, show the significant emotional toll that the shift to online education has taken on students. This not only has to do with the workload, but also with the lack of social interaction from being at home, and even factors that were not thought of when kids were at school such as socioeconomic ones. Furthermore, all these factors along with the use of social media can contribute to the psychological distress that students may suffer from in response to the pandemic.

Social media's role in daily life is ever-growing just as the platforms are. These sites provide a multitude of things ranging from simple peer-to-peer interaction, something that was severely missing during the pandemic, and even ephemerality in the form of Instagram stories.

We know that the internet is forever and once something is on there it is never fully gone, but there's something about the noncommittal act of posting an Instagram story that only lasts for 24 hours that is so intriguing. The temptation lies somewhere between "I want to post this" and "I don't want to make an entire post for it" which makes Instagram stories and Snapchat so useful. With anything that good, though, you are bound to run into some issues. For one, I only recently found out that Instagram stories are not very accessible. Things like screen readers for the visually impaired do not work for stories. For those who are visually impaired, they have said stories are almost impossible to navigate. Once again, accessibility takes a back burner to convenience. In the time we are in with the technology we have, you would think that wouldn't be the case. As we have learned from the COVID-19 pandemic, however, there is a lot we still are learning about our media.

[minnie-themoocher]

(i am asking this with a stone on my heart since i hate him but i love you)

do you and jason have any specific, and special moment that was a turning point for your relationship and made you both connect even more?

pasi!!!! i know you sent this like weeks ago, but then i got busy and then i got assaulted (i’m okay!!) so then it became super angsty, and i didn’t like that vibe so we’re starting over with something fluffy!!!! ❤️

(also if you hate jay, i has other men… but I will convert you to the church of jason todd eventually 🙂)

- -

it’s a curse to get the name of your romantic partner tattooed, whether you’ve been together for six months or sixteen years.

it means your relationship will end, and probably very messily. you will always regret it eventually. 

there’s something in the midst of the sleeve of tattoos on jason’s muscular right arm. 

subtle and small, there’s a neat arrangement of letters nestled in between the inked multicolored representations of gotham landmarks, amongst the sigils of his of childhood as robin, and far underneath the swirling, intricate black marks on his shoulder that serve as a constant reminder of how his body was reconstructed in the emerald green waters of lazarus.

it’s fresh, the most recent addition to the menagerie of images - the skin around it is still a bit of a pinkish shade from the sting of the needles.

jason isn’t superstitious. he’s come back from the dead. he’s made himself known among aliens, gods, and magicians alike. but he’s cautious with his love. he’s days off from having proposed, and with such a happy memory of the “yes” he got still fresh in his mind, there isn’t any way in hell that he would ever put it at risk of ending by tattooing his girl’s name.

even if there is a 0.00001% chance of that cursed being real, he will not take it.

it may not be a name, but it’s still a representation of love for the woman he’s sworn his life to, rested permanently on his forearm.

“i got somethin’ for ya. well… it’s for the both of us. like an engagement gift. pride and prejudice is our favorite so i thought…”

he mumbles before trailing off, cuddled up on the couch, proudly exhibiting the words and blushing ever so slightly at the tingling sensation of warm, slender fingers examining the new memento.

‘i love you. most ardently.’ stained onto his skin, minimalistic and met with wide, teary eyes that he thumbs with a chiding laugh.

“mira, bellísima… hey, don’t gimme tears - let me guess you wanted a different quote?” he chuckles  and quips something about it being too expensive to remove now and that there isn’t enough space on his arm for it to say what he really wanted.

“i figure it’s better i say that one.” his tone is teasing and silly but it’s enough to get a grateful and loving smile before he starts again - forehead to forehead, noses touching.

“you have bewitched me, body and soul. and i love… i love, i love you.” he whispers in that impossibly deep, ever-gruff voice before lips connect and the world falls away.

-

thanks for asking, pasi!!

[tonitart]

Hie toni. I hope you're having a lovely week. May I say that I am in love with your arts🥺💗😍 They are so pretty

Oh my hello Pasi! Awww thank you so much!! I am really glad you enjoy! 😁😁😁

[gone-arai]

The Kharites

The Kharites are the goddesses of kharis (grace), personal beauty and adornment, and pleasures such as feasting, relaxation, and joy. They are also the goddesses of charming speech and song as well as festive dance and song. They are the attendants of Aphrodite and Hera.

“They are mostly described as being in the service or attendance of other divinities, as real joy exists only in circles where the individual gives up his own self and makes it his main object to afford pleasure to others. The less beauty is ambitious to rule, the greater is its victory; and the less homage it demands, the more freely is it paid. These seem to be the ideas embodied in the Kharites. They lend their grace and beauty to everything that delights and elevates gods and men.” (theoi.com)

This idea of the Kharites giving their grace to others makes sense when you remember the meaning of kharis: a reciprocal relationship with the gods in which mortals make offerings to the theoi. 

The Kharites, especially Algaia as the wife of Hephaistos, also represented artistic beauty. Like the Mousai, they were said to have inspired and favored certain artists, and the gracefulness and charm associated with Hermes (words), Peitho (persuasion), Aphrodite and Eros (love), and even Athena (wisdom) is said to come from them. The Kharites were often depicted as companions of Apollon and the Mousai and were said to live with the Mousai on Olympus. Poetry was thought to be their favorite of the arts.

“Poets are inspired by the Muses, but the application of their songs to the embellishment of life and the festivals of the gods are the work of the Kharites.” (theoi.com)

According to Hesiod, the three elder Kharites were daughters of Zeus and the titan-goddess of meadows, Eurynome. Their names were Algaia (sometimes Kharis or Kale/Kalleis), Euphrosyne, and Thaleia. 

Algaia was Hephaistos’ second wife and bore by him the younger Kharites: Eukleia, Euthenia, Eupheme, and Philophrosyne.  Although not numbered amongst Algaia’s children, Pasithea, the wife of Hypnos, was called a younger Kharis by Homer.

Elder Kharites

Euphrosyne

the goddess of good cheer, mirth, merriment, and joy

her name means “merriment”

Thaleia

goddess of festivity and banquets

her name means “luxurious banquet” or “the blooming”

Thallo, an Hora and goddess of spring buds, was likely confused with Thaleia because of her association with blooming. Thallo herself was more commonly just an epithet of Eirene, one of the Horai and the goddess of peace.

Algaia

youngest of the elder Kharites

goddess of beauty, splendor, glory, and adornment

mother of the younger Kharites by Hephaistos

also called Kharis (grace) or Kale (beauty)

Younger Kharites

Eukleia

goddess of good repute and glory

As Aphrodite’s attendant, she represented a bride’s good repute.

Euthenia

goddess of prosperity and abundance

opposite of Penia (poverty)

Eupheme

goddess of praise, acclamation, and shouts of triumph

opposite of Momos (critique)

Philophrosyne

goddess of friendliness and welcome

Pasithea

goddess of rest and relaxation

Hypnos’ wife and probably the mother of the Oneiroi and Morpheus

She was promised to Hypnos by Hera after he helped her put Zeus to sleep during the Trojan war. Some have interpreted this to mean she is Hera’s daughter. Another source calls her a daughter of Dionysos.

“Pasithea as the wife of Hypnos, god of sleep and dreams, may have been envisaged as the goddess of hallucinations and hallucinogenic drugs. Her name is difficult to translate--the prefix pasis can be translated equally as "all," "possessed," or "acquired" and the suffix -thea as "sight," "seeing," "contemplation," "goddess," or "divine." Translating it as "Acquired-Sight" may suggest a goddess of hallucination, however, in the story of the Iliad, where Hypnos acquires her from Hera in exchange for certain favours, the "Acquired-Goddess" meaning is quite apt. The name pasithea was also given to some unidentified "magical" plant, perhaps even an hallucinogenic. Hypnos was himself associated with poppies and opiates.” (theoi.com)

Other named Kharites 

Kharis attendants of Aphrodite depicted in vase painting:

Antheia - goddess of flower wreaths worn at festivals

Eudaimonia - goddess of happiness, prosperity, and opulence

Paidia - goddess of play and amusement

Pandaisia - goddess of rich banquets

Pannykhis - goddess of nighttime festivities

The Spartans worshipped two Kharites they called Kleta and Phaenna. Kleta was a goddess of fame and glory.

Cult

The main cults of the Kharites were centered in the town of Orkhomenos, Boiotia and the island of Paros.

"The Boiotians say that Eteokles [mythical king of Orkhomenos, Boiotia] was the first man to sacrifice to the Kharites. Moreover, they are aware that he established three as the number of the Kharites, but they have no tradition of the names he gave them.” Pausanias Description of Greece 9. 35. 1

"Minos was told of his son's death while sacrificing to the Kharites on Paros: he ripped the garland from his head and stopped the flute--but even so he completed the ritual, and to this day on Paros they sacrifice to the Kharites without benefit of flutes or garlands." Pseudo-Apollodorus, Bibliotheca 3. 210

"The Lakedaimonians, however, say that the Kharites are two, and that they were instituted by Lakedaimon, son of Taygete, who gave them the names Kleta and Phaenna. These are appropriate names for the Kharites." Pausanias Description of Greece 9. 35. 1

They also had cults at Elis, Olympia, Delphi, Hermione and a few more towns.

In Athens, the Horai Auxo, Thallo, and Carpo were described and worshipped as Kharites.

All info from theoi.com

[fishyelvenantics]

Theory time: has this been done before?

Maybe movie! Abe already knows about his past. NOW HEAR ME OUT, in the movies lots of things changed (not saying that it's a bad thing, I personally really enjoy them) but the thing is that, in the movies Abe has psycometry, which means he can see the story behinds objects and read people, like you see him do on almost every single scene.

Now, do I feel like Abe's backstory changed on the movies universe? Probably, though it shouldn't be any big change since I feel like it could still fit perfectly with all of the changes (plus I feel like del Toro probably hadn't plan to show that even if the third film had gotten made), anyways, pretend the scientist still wanted to go with the whole disection thing, Hellboy gets him out of there, explains what's going on and Abe's like "Wait, I can read things and people with my hands!" and he's not sure of what's he's doing but it works, they bring him the thank he was found in, he does the thing and BANG, backstory unlocked.

First of all, poor fish boy would be in shock, waking up with no memory of your pasy and now you learned THAT, poor guy, I'm not saying he would know everything but he would at least have a good idea of what happened to Caul, which in all reality, having a proper clue of his past from the start may as well make him investigate about it way earlier than in the comics or maybe he was to scared to continue with that, either way, thay may as well have given him more time to process it...

Also, do you think the psycometry thing is a fish exclusove thing on the movies or Caul already had it? Cause I feel like that would add another level of weirdo to him and maybe explain some things he did...

[adrianodiprato]

+ “Every individual matters. Every individual has a role to play. Every individual makes a difference.” Dame Jane Goodall DBE | English Primatologist and Anthropologist

Educational Spring | Wellness by Design®

Yesterday a friend sent me a message about an encounter they had with one of my ex-students at a recent dinner party. This ex-student mentioned the impact that I had on a number of his friends, his words were “you have no idea how many he stopped from suiciding just for being there and being him”. I’m not sharing this message to brag, I am sharing this insight into the true value of teachers and learning communities that operate from a human-centred learning ecosystem design. People need people. Every individual matters.

This got me thinking about what really matters. It amplified for me that the real pandemic of our industrial model of schooling is the growth in mental illness amongst young people. Additionally, COVID-19 sharply illustrated the truth of inequity in our system, especially with reference to the digital divide. According to Pasi Sahlberg from the Gonski Institute for Education, the pandemic has unearthed this unpleasant truth, "The education system has unequal structures that have become visible now through this remote online learning period."

So, what if we placed wellness at the centre of our society? What if we made it central to the objectives of learning? What is the interconnected relationship between character, competency and wellness within a whole education? What might be the global context for this?

The World Economic Forum has explored whether gross domestic product is still a relevant measure of a population’s wellbeing for many years. Looking at what alternatives could offer as mega trends such as climate change, demographic shifts, rapid urbanisation, moves in economic power, resource scarcity and swift advancements in technology innovations reshape our world.

In an interview with the BBC Radio 4 in May 2019, Lord Richard Layard, a Program Director at the London School of Economics and the Vice Chair of the UK All Party Parliamentary Group on Wellbeing Economics, advocated that wellbeing should replace growth as main aim of UK spending. His group drafted a wellbeing report for the UK government, setting out proposals including a bigger budget for mental health, a strategy to improve the wellbeing of children in schools, and more spending on further education for people who don’t go to university.

Australia also performs very well in many measures of wellbeing relative to most other countries in the OECD Better Life Index. Australia ranks at the top in civic engagement and above the average in income and wealth, environmental quality, health status, housing, jobs and earnings, education and skills, subjective well-being, social connections and personal security. Having said that, mental illness remains a serious issue. One in five (20%) Australians aged 16-85 experience a mental illness in any year. Data from the 2014 Mission Australia’s Youth Survey showed that around one in five (21.2%) of young people (15-19 years old) met the criteria for a probable serious mental illness.

Learning Creates Australia recently highlighted the current measures of success and achievement in schooling are causing barriers to excellence rather than leading to excellence in learning outcomes as highlighted below:

New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern wants to transform its politics to focus on empathy, kindness and wellbeing. After talking about “doing things differently” with a “well-being budget” at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in January 2019, Jacinda Ardern’s New Zealand government in May of the same year unveiled its plans to make that strategy a reality.

This move toward a greater commitment toward the health and wellness of communities is not limited to New Zealand. The United Arab Emirates has a Minister of State for Happiness and a National Programme for Happiness and Positivity. It has an agenda that is based on three pillars: inclusion of happiness in the policies, programmes and services of all government bodies and at work, promotion of positivity and happiness as a lifestyle, and development of benchmarks and tools to measure happiness.

Gross National Happiness (GNH) is a philosophy that guides the government of Bhutan. It includes an index which is used to measure the collective happiness and wellbeing of a population. Bhutan measures this collective happiness and wellbeing via a Gross National Happiness index over nine domains as illustrated in Figure 1. 

Figure 1: Bhutan Gross National Happiness Index

Dream a Dream is a not-for-profit organisation in Delhi, India positively impacting on the lives of young people from vulnerable backgrounds to overcome adversity and flourish in a fast-changing world. One key aspect of their work is the development and implementation of a Happiness Curriculum. The curriculum aims to equip students with skills so that they can better deal with anxiety and stress while thinking critically.

The 45-minute class starts with a meditation session, after which students read and listen to one another’s stories. In addition to textbooks, street plays and yoga serve as teaching tools. The curriculum has been implemented in at least 1,024 Delhi government-run schools, affecting more than 1 million students to date. “In a year and a half, we have already started observing minor but beautiful, positive changes in the relationship of the child and the teacher,” Vishal Talreja Co-founder says. “We have children coming forward and saying, ‘I look forward to coming to school.’”

The Dream a Dream Happiness Curriculum is becoming a model that other governments are promising to replicate in their countries’ classrooms. Countries such as Colombia, UAE, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Nepal.

It is increasingly becoming clear that the main goal of governments is the overall wellbeing of its citizens. Their resources need to be more wisely spent based on what really matters most for the entire human experience. This also presents a real challenge for the entire education sector and makes a strong case for the moral imperative to curate a human-centred Wellness by Design® learning ecosystem.

Will Richardson, Co-Founder of The Big Questions Institute believes “in school, we seem to think learning happens only when it’s age-grouped and graded, or when it’s chunked into time blocks and subjects and meets some predetermined outcomes. Students have “learned” it seems only when they have consumed a mandated bucket of information or content and been tested to make sure they consumed it adequately.”

We have got to stop the testing hamster wheel that burns out children. We cannot and will not continue to be terrorised by the dreaded ATAR, an overbearing student ranking system that ends the careers of school leaders and teachers and drives up anxiety levels in young people. Figure 2 highlights that 64% of those living in inner regional areas and only 40% for those living in very remote regions complete Year 12. Of course, there are other factors impacting on these statics of those in disadvantaged areas, nonetheless the numbers are damming of our current infatuation with an out-dated, one-size fits all industrial model of schooling.

Figure 2: Geographical impact on education attainment rates1

Daniel Koretz, one of the America’s foremost experts on educational testing, argues in The Testing Charade that the whole idea of test-based accountability has failed—it has increasingly become an end in itself, harming students and corrupting the very ideals of teaching. Pressure to raise NAPLAN and ATAR scores dominates much of Australia’s education today. More often than not standardised tests shape what is taught and influence what we value as assessment. In many schools, we seem to think learning happens when it doesn’t look like real life. During the pandemic with the transition online, we’ve been reminded of those things that we value most: relationships, community, the curiosity of young people, and the power of real, authentic self-determined learning.

Please do not interpret my shift in emphasis as denouncing the value of literacy or numeracy data. Not at all. Of course, they have a place in supporting student growth, not just definitions of achievement. Nonetheless quantification measures like NAPLAN and the ATAR have assumed an importance beyond their ability to truly judge and paint the whole picture of each individual.

By its very nature, a crisis turns everything on its head. So now that everything has changed, why not take the opportunity to guide the development of a new culture? Director and Founder of Leading Thinking International, Kathleen Donohoe in a recent post titled Is educational policy constraining a renaissance in education? stated, “Age old traditions such as school times, compulsory hours, the definition of attendance, recognition, reporting and feedback on learning and the definition of student engagement are following the fate of blackboards and chalk, requiring the reimagination of policy, process and procurement.”

We’ve been paralysed in schooling for far too long, educating by living in the world without truly feeling. Now, acutely, we feel that need for an evolution and move toward the next normal. As we grow out of the pandemic, we need to recognise that this is our Educational Spring. It could happen, but it might not. There will be enormous pressure to forget this educational spring moment and go back to the old ways of experiencing schooling life. History is happening right now.

A clear feature of all the models we shared in our Continuous Learning Toolkit | Volume II – Leading Through Crisis has been an explicit focus on wellness. While some have viewed the use of technology as a distraction, the application of technology during COVID-19 has been an opportunity to prioritise wellness into all aspects of planning and scheduling. This new normal of schooling is based on a shared understanding of the significance of the interdependence of learning and wellness as we support each young person to flourish in this new world environment. It requires us to map the connectedness of a whole education for character, competency and wellness. It brings into sharp focus self-direction, self-determination and self-regulation as critical dimensions in fostering the development of resilient, resourceful and independent learners equipped with the adaptive expertise and self-efficacy to thrive in their world. Let us all build back better, with Wellness by Design®.

To prepare today’s learners to thrive in this new world environment, a whole new Wellness by Design® framework is needed. At the centre of this framework must be an explicit purpose-driven social contract based on the reality that all young people are home to a life, and that individual and collective wellness encompass all dimensions of life within any community.

For learning communities, a positive sense of individual wellness supports a base for rich learning growth and achievement, that enables all learners to thrive throughout their time at school and beyond. Wellness and the full flourishing of the individual cannot be separated from learning. Post COVID-19 we have the powerful potential to positively disrupt education forever, and the key is a genuinely human-centred reimagining. Therefore, it is imperative that any continuous learning competency framework for all school communities, needs to develop a learning ecosystem model that Equips the Learner, Empowers the Learner and Enables the Learner, positioning wellness at the heart of school life.

A focus on wellness is imperative now more than ever before - and I’m not talking about a visit to a day spa or a regular massage (although self-pampering is always welcomed). Wellness by Design® refers to a sense of wholeness and connection that entails personal growth, character and competency, healing from the residual of one’s past, and integration of self-worth and agency.

Maintaining personal wellness often requires commitment and significant effort. Through acknowledging our whole selves, not just the parts we think are amazing, but our blind spots, we become better equipped to connect with the other, which further opens up ways of our social, cultural and spiritual awareness.

So, in the context of schooling, how do we truly meet this moment? It is time to shift the emphasis, the investment from the seduction of just academic prowess and league tables achievement. It is time for learning communities to amplify the central position of Wellness by Design® as we support each young person to move from resilience to the power of resourcefulness of self-efficacy, personal aspiration, adaptive expertise, agency and advocacy.

We need to consider the role of personal goals, challenging assumptions, cognitive flexibility, courage over fear, emotional regulation and self-determination in supporting young people to flourish for their future. All fostered in a school ecosystem that values high (wellness) support as much as high (academic) expectations. A school that explicitly cultivates relationships that give each young person a profound sense of psychological safety, where they are known, valued and loved, through an authentic feeling that someone has their back and always in their corner. After all, we all need a champion.

It may seem counter-intuitive to put wellness at the centre and allow it to permeate throughout the whole of learning instead of confining it to a box of its own, and attending to it as an afterthought, but if we are not well, then how are we to thrive? How are we to make progress? How are we to succeed?

It’s time for us to create Wellness by Design®

References

Koretz, D. (2017). The Testing Charade. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Seligman, M. (2011). Flourish: A Visionary New Understanding of Happiness and Well-being. New York: Free Press.

Southwick, S. M., & Charney, D. S. (2018). Resilience: The science of mastering life’s greatest challenges. 2nd edition. New York: Cambridge University Press.

1   Commonwealth of Australia. Commonwealth Government (2019). National regional rural and remote tertiary education strategy: final report. Page 13. Year 12 rates are for people aged 19. Tertiary qualifications are for people aged 25-34 years. Remote includes Remote and Very Remote Categories. Any tertiary education qualification includes VET in Schools. Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) (2016) Census of Population and Housing.

15   Financial Review, May 29, 2018.

16   Mission Australia (2017). Youth Mental Health Report: Youth Survey 2012-2016. Page 12.

[metamehta]

Friday Finds ( 1 )

I spent a long time thinking about making this post. You see, one reason why I don’t have a regular posting schedule is because of how long it takes me to find a story that I want to read and have enough thoughts to make a post from. So instead of looking for a new fic after finishing one - I decided to go on a fic-finding hunt to gather a list of the stories I wanted to read in the hopes that it makes it easier for me to upload more consistently.

1. Driving Miss Weasley by BigFatNo

Suspense/Adventure, < 30k words, Complete, read it on ff.net

It should have been a simple task. Escort Ginny Weasley to her Quidditch match. But it all changes when Harry Potter rents the wrong car. What started out as a simple road trip between two friends and past lovers quickly turns into a hellish game of cat and mouse, and Harry and Ginny find themselves running away from a mysterious and deadly group of mercenaries.

Recently, I’ve been trying to venture out and try some adventure/mystery stories to break up the monotony of my usual time-travel/romances. From the looks of it, this fic has all the qualities needed to be a quick, fun thriller.

2. face death in the hope by LullabyKnell

Alternate Universe/Time-Travel Fix-it, >200k words, WIP, read it on AO3

Harry looks vaguely nervous, scratching the back of his neck. “It's a really long story,” he says finally, almost apologetically, “and it's really hard to believe.”

“Try me,” Regulus says, more than a little daringly.

Time-travel fix-its, rare pairings, and Harry meeting his parents - oh my! This fic was one of the first added onto my TBR list for its unique premise alone. And as I read through a bit of the first chapter, well, I was hooked. I’ve got some happy reading to do with this one.

3. Into the Fold by pasi

First Wizarding World War/General, > 150k words, Complete, read it on AO3

Severus Snape is going straight to hell.  The people he calls his friends are helping him get there.

I always love reading backstory style fics that show the reader how the canon characters came to be - and I can’t wait to read a story where Snape’s descent into the Death Eaters is examined further.

4. A Second Chance by Breanie

Family/Humor, > 1 million words, WIP, read it on ff.net

What if Sirius didn't spent twelve years in prison, but was given a trial after four years? Follow the story of Sirius Black as he learns what it means to be a father/brother/guardian to his young godson & the story of Harry Potter, a young boy with a loving home who learns about the Marauders from the two men who should have raised him.

It’s been a bit since I’ve read a good long fic - and I hope this is the one that I end up reading next. I’ve always felt that canon Sirius had one of the most tragic character arcs in the entire series, and I love it when a story can help ease his pain.

5. lips long parching by Annerb

Humor/Romance, < 15k words, Complete, read it on ff.net or AO3

Going solo to her ex’s wedding is not exactly Ginny’s idea of a good time, but thanks to a smuggled flask and a rather sullen Harry Potter, it’s about to get a lot more interesting.

I shamelessly fangirl after Annerb’s Ginny (The Changeling was one of my first Ginny-centric fics, after all), and when I saw this fic online, well, I slapped this baby on my TBR list as fast as I could!

6. Invisible Circus by sceneii

Drama/Angst, < 75k words, Complete, read it on ff.net

Ron knows what he's fighting for, even if no one else does

What do we want? GOOD RON FICS. When do we want ‘em? RIGHT NOW!

When it comes to finding good Ron-centric fics, it tends to be slim-pickings. This short story exploring the idea of Ron as a traitor looks like it just might do Ron’s character the justice he deserves.

Now if anyone could find me some non-abandoned Ron/Luna fics - I would be the happiest person alive...

7. Keeping Secrets by iheartwriting

Non-Canon, <75k words, Complete, read it on ff.net

Fred Weasley is good at being deceptive. So good that nobody knows he's now a Death Eater. Not even George.

There were a few reasons why I chose this story... One - I was intrigued by the idea of a Weasley being a Death Eater. Two - the story blurb mentioned Fred x Hermione, and any fic that mentions OTP always has to be given a shot. Three -  it starts at Deathly Hallows, meaning that it may very well be a fast-paced, high stakes story.

So, that’s the results from my active search for stories today. How about you, have you found any fics worth reading this Friday?

[nuclearblastuk]

SONATA ARCTICA  | Band release official video for 'Who Failed The Most'

BAND CELEBRATE ALBUM RELEASE WITH OFFICIAL VIDEO FOR 'WHO FAILED THE MOST' TALVIYÖ IS IN STORES NOW

Today, melodic metal titans SONATA ARCTICA herald the start of the cold season as the group releases their 10th studio album Talviyö (Winter Night), via Nuclear Blast. To mark the occasion, the Finns have launched a brand new music video for 'Who Failed The Most', which was produced by renowned director Patric Ullaeus (rEvolver Film Company; DIMMU BORGIR, ENSLAVED, IN FLAMES etc.). Watch it over on YouTube: youtu.be/ZQT292b8E88 Keyboardist Henrik 'Henkka' Klingenberg states, "The wait is finally over, now all of you will hear what we've been working on for the past year or so as we present our latest album »Talviyö.« It was quite an experience getting this album ready for you guys and for the first time ever, we had some outside help from our very own Mikko Tegelman who produced the album. We focused on playing live this time and I think the album really captures how SONATA ARCTICA sounds like today. It will be a blast to go out and perform this new music alongside selected cuts from our catalogue. See you soon and meanwhile we hope you enjoy the album as much as we did making it. "It's also time for the second video of »Talviyö.« 'Who Failed The Most' is one of the more approachable songs on the album and we worked with Patric Ullaeus once again to create the video. We took advantage of the nice Finnish summer and shot our performance outside for a change, which turned out quite cool. You'll probably hear this song throughout the »Talviyö World Tour« that's starting right now in North America and from there we'll continue to Europe and the rest of the world. Cheers!" Talviyö is available to order on the following formats: CD/CD-Digipack 2LP (black, blue, clear) Vinyl Box set: CD-Digipack, 2LP Marbled Vinyl, puzzle, poster + photo card Pre-order here: nblast.de/SonataArctica-Talviyoe Individual product links below: Limited Digipack CD: HERE CD: HERE Vinyl: HERE Mail Order Clear & Blue Vinyl, Box Set: HERE Digital Album: HERE All Links: HERE 

Watch the official video for 'Cold' here: youtu.be/8imDPFtw2P4 The tracklist reads as follows: 01. Message From The Sun 02. Whirlwind 03. Cold 04. Storm The Armada 05. The Last Of The Lambs 06. Who Failed The Most 07. Ismo’s Got Good Reactors 08. Demon’s Cage 09. A Little Less Understanding 10. The Raven Still Flies 11. The Garden

  Watch and listen to 'A Little Less Understanding': youtu.be/FiM94N3FnQA SONATA ARCTICA also recently announced a London show, set to take place at The Electric Ballroom on December 11th, as part of their wider The Raven Still Flies Over Europe tour run: SONATA ARCTICA 'The Raven still flies over Europe' Tour + Edge of Paradise + Temple Balls 11.11. SE Stockholm, Kraken 12.11. NO Oslo, Parkteatret 13.11. NO Trondheim, Byscenen 15.11. SE Trollhättan, Folkets Park 16.11. DK Aarhus, Train 17.11. DE Berlin, Bi Nuu 18.11. DE Mannheim, MS Connexion Complex 19.11. DE Leipzig, Hellraiser 21.11. SK Zvolen, Rates Arena 22.11. RO Cluj Napoca, Form Space 23.11. BG Sofia, Music Jam Club 25.11. HU Budapest, Barba Negra 26.11. AT Vienna, ((Szene)) 27.11. CH Pratteln, Z7 29.11. IT Padova, Hall 30.11. IT Milan, Live Club 01.12. FR Lyon, Le Ninkasi Kao 02.12. FR Paris, La machine du Moulin Rouge 04.12. ES Madrid, La Riviera 05.12. ES Barcelona, Salamandra 06.12. FR Limoge, Cc John Lennon 07.12. BE Izegem, Cultuurhuis De Leest 08.12. FR Pagney, Chez Paulette 11.12. UK London, The Electric Ballroom 12.12. NL Tilburg, 013 13.12. DE Hamburg, Markthalle 14.12. DE Bochum, Matrix 

Talviyö was recorded between September 2018 and May 2019, produced by Mikko Tegelman and SONATA ARCTICA in 'Studio57'. Additional recordings took place in various other places. "Mikko produced the album and he really managed to push us to do our best, even with the more experimental stuff. Working with an outside producer was the biggest new thing we tried this time", says Henrik "Henkka" Klingenberg. The mixing was done by Mikko Tegelman and Pasi Kauppinen and the mastering was handled by Svante Forsbäck for 'Chartmakers'. ICYMI: Tony Kakko and Elias Viljanen talk about the new music and the production of the album: youtu.be/Si-8cG44vm0 Tony Kakko and Elias Viljanen talk about the title and artwork for their forthcoming release: youtu.be/1pKuMTE89aA Tony Kakko and Elias Viljanen talk about lyrical concept for Talviyö: youtu.be/1k2qeeE3px4 Tony Kakko and Elias Viljanen talk about the band's history and Talviyö's place in it: youtu.be/kxtpFoR72WU More info: sonataarctica.info facebook.de/sonataarctica nuclearblast.de/sonataarctica 

[clickyourradio]

Finnish Heinola-based metal band Where's My Bible released a new single and music video 'Chapter I: Escape'. The track is taken from the upcoming EP Circle which is set to be released on May 13th 2022 via Inverse Records. There will be four tracks on EP and music video is done for each song.

Singer Jussi Matilainencomments: "When it comes to the storyline of EP and videos they are all connected to each other and it tells a multidimensional story about mental health problems, mainly focusing on depression. I love to use metaphors in lyrics so Circle is more diverse than you might imagine at the first hear. i believe listening/watching after times it opens up over and over again to the listener. Fun to see what kind of experiences people will have from Circle. "

Guitarist Pasi Löfgréncontinues: "In new material the band have taken new direction to a more modern metal but still having our own sound. The new material will be definitely darker than earlier stuff, serving bigger sound elements including some brutal, melodic and some fast stuff. It will be bigger and heavier W.M.B than ever than before."

Guitarist Toni Hinkkalaconcludes: "I'm not saying that the journey with this release has been easy but now at the time of the release I can proudly say that everything has been worth it...A step to the dark side can also bring something beautiful with it..."

[hungarian-words]

Hungarian slang & everyday language: #1 general stuff

 Most things on this list are slang, but some are just words or expressions used commonly in everyday speech. It includes sample sentences, and, if possible, also the non-slang versions of those.

hali - hi

mizu - mi újság? - what’s up? (nowadays used rarer) Mizu is also a name of a very well-known 2011 song. So well know that my classmate put it on in 2016 and 80% of us sang the first verse without a mistake. That doesn’t mean it’s good, it was popular back then, and it left so many deep scars that ppl still remember this. Here, go watch it: Mizu The lyrics: dalszöveg

mém, mémek - meme szleng - slang

- Te egész nap csak mémeket nézel? - “Are you spending the whole day looking at memes?”

csávó, csávók - guy; non-slang version: fiú, fiúk srác, srácok - guy; non-slang version: fiú, fiúk csaj, csajok - girl, the female version of “guy”; non-slang version: lány, lányok

- Az a csávó tök jól tud táncolni! - “That guy can dance really well!” - A srácokkal itt vagyunk a buszmegállóban, ti hol vagytok? - “We [the guys and me] are here at the bus stop, where are you (plural)?” - Ismered azt a csajt, akinek lila haja van? - “Do you know that girl who has purple hair?”

non-slang versions: - Az a fiú nagyon jól tud táncolni! - A fiúkkal itt vagyunk a buszmegállóban, ti hol vagytok? - Ismered azt a lányt, akinek lila haja van?

nőci, nőcik - woman; non-slang version: nő, nők

pasi, pasik - man; non-slang version: férfi, férfiak OR fiú, fiúk pasi can also be used for teenage boys, BUT it highly depends on how old you are. For example, I think  girls started calling teenage boys pasi at around 13 years. They also called them fiú, srác, etc, but the point is: calling teenagers that are approx. the same age as you pasi is fine. Calling a teenager pasi who is very younger than you is just weird.

faszi - guy , but fasz (penis) is a cuss word!, so be cautious when using it (unless you want to be rude, or come off as vulgar); plural form not really used; non-slang version: férfi tag - guy , literally “member” (the club-member kind of meaning); plural form not really used; non-slang version: férfi

- Látod a nőcit, akinek kék táskája van? - “Do you see the woman who has a blue handbag?” - Nem mindegyik pasi szereti a focit. - “Not every guy likes football.” - A faszi azt se tudta, milyen évet írunk. - “The guy didn’t even know what year it was.” - A mikulássapkás tagról beszélek. - “I’m talking about the guy with the Santa hat.”

non-slang versions: - Látod a nőt, akinek kék táskája van? - Nem mindegyik férfi szereti a focit. - A férfi azt se tudta, milyen évet írunk. - A mikulássapkás férfiról beszélek.

tesó, tesók - in this context: bro or dude, otherwise: sibling; tesa, tesák - more vulgar version of bro or dude haver, haverok - male friend; non-slang version: barát, barátok (male/gender-neutral friend) or barátnő, barátnők (female friend) elmenni valahova a haverokkal - to go somewhere with male friends; non-slang version: elmenni valahova a barátokkal (but this one is gender-neutral) haverkodni - to be chummy with someone, to get friendly with someone; non-slang version: barátkozni összehaverkodni valakivel - to pal up with someone; non-slang version: összebarátkozni valakivel bírni valakit - to like someone, can be platonic or romantic; non-slang version: kedvelni valakit (this one leans more towards the romantic feelings tho)

- Tesó, ezt tudnod kéne. - “Dude, you should know this.” - Tesa, ezt te sem gondoltad komolyan! - “Dude, not even you could mean this seriously!” - A haverod szeret olvasni? - “Does your friend like to read?” - Este megyünk Pestre a haverokkal. - “We’re going to go to Pest tonight with the guys.” - Bulikon nem szoktál haverkodni? - “Don’t you get chummy with someone during parties?” - Tegnap haverkodtunk össze. - “We paled up yesterday.” - Nem bírom az ilyen embereket. - “I don’t like people like this.”

non-slang versions: - Ezt tudnod kéne. - Ezt te sem gondoltad komolyan! (side note: without the tesó/tesa address, these two can sound agressive) - A barátod/barátnőd szeret olvasni?* - Este megyünk Pestre a barátokkal. - Bulikon nem szoktál barátkozni? - Tegnap barátkoztunk össze. - Nem kedvelem az ilyen embereket. * barát/barátnő: in Hungarian these are used for both platonic and romantic relationships. if someone says to a guy “barátod” they usually mean “male friend”, if they say to him “barátnőd”, they mean “girlfriend”, and vice versa by girls. people have this “everyone is heterosexual" mindset, so the language is used like that too.

pasizni - to pick up guys csajozni - to pick up girls doesn’t 100% translate to picking up guys/girls, - it’s true that if valaki pasizik/csajozik they want to have a contact, but that’s not always the pick-up way. most of the time, but not always

[- Mit tervezel ma estére? - Megyek a csajokkal pasizni./ Megyek a csajokkal csajozni./ Megyek a haverokkal csajozni./ Megyek a haverokkal pasizni./ “csajokkal” can be replaced with the following: lányokkal "haverokkal” can be replaced with the following: fiúkkal; srácokkal both can be replaced by names too, e.g. csajokkal - Rebekáékkal/Liliékkel/Timiékkel/stb. with Rebeka/Lili/Timi and the others csajokkal - Rebekával, Lilivel és Timivel with Rebeka, Lili and Timi haverokkal - Norbiékkal/Boldiékkal/Laciékkal/stb. with Norbi/Boldi/Laci and the others haverokkal - Norbival, Boldival és Lacival with Norbi, Boldi and Laci “What did you plan for tonight?” “I’m heading out with my female friends to pick up guys.”/ “I’m heading out with my female friends to pick up girls.”/ “I’m heading out with my male friends to pick up girls.”/ “I’m heading out with my male friends to pick up guys.”] 

tök - very, a lot; adjective; lit.: pumpkin; non-slang version: nagyon dumálni - to talk; non-slang version: beszélgetni duma - bullshit* *I don’t know how inapproriate English considers bullshit, but duma is actually the nicest way to say it in Hungarian.

- Ez tök jó! - “That’s so good!” - Ezt a számot tökre szeretem. - “I like this song very much.” - Most akkor dumálunk, vagy nem? - “So, are we going to talk or not?” - Srácok, fejezzétek már be a dumálást! - “Guys, stop the talking!” - Ez duma! - “That’s bullshit!”

non-slang versions: - Ez nagyon jó! - Ezt a számot nagyon szeretem. - Most akkor beszélünk, vagy nem? - Fiúk, fejezzétek már be a beszélgetést!

jó fej - lit. “good head”; meaning depends on your own definition of jó fej, it can mean someone is friendly, someone is funny, generally if someone says this about a person it means they like them (in a platonic way) [- Milyen volt Zsófinál? - Nem volt olyan rossz! Kiderült, hogy tök jó fej! “How did you feel at Zsófi’s?” “It wasn’t that bad! It turned out she’s cool!”]

cuki - cute; more commonly used by girls and women, boys and men use it in the same manner rarer (unfortunately they use it more in a mocking tone)

[- Kérsz csokit? Nekem nem kell. - De cuki vagy! Igen, kérek. “Would you like some chocolate? I don’t want it.” “You’re so cute! Yes, I would like some.”] - Tök cuki ez a ruha. - “This dress is very cute. - Hogyhogy nem bírod azt a csajt? Tök cuki. - “How come you don’t like that girl? She’s very cute.” - Az a srác tök cuki! - “That guy is very cute!”

non-slang versions: [- Kérsz csokit? Nekem nem kell. - De aranyos vagy! Igen, kérek.] - Nagyon szép ez a ruha. - “This dress is pretty.” - Hogyhogy nem kedveled azt a lányt? Nagyon kedves. - Az a fiú nagyon jóképű!

gyökér, gyökerek - an adjective that’s a mixture of stupid, insane, and asshole; literally: root; will translate it in sample sentences as stupid for it to be easier to read

- A Meli az gyökér! - “Meli is stupid!” - A Marci? A Marci az teljesen gyökér! - “Marci? Marci is completely stupid!” - Ne legyél már ennyire gyökér! - “Don’t be so stupid!” - De hogy lehet valaki ennyire gyökér? - “But how can someone be this stupid?”

tuti - surely; non-slang version: biztos/biztosan tutira - surely; non-slang version: biztos/biztosan

Used: “tuti, hogy” or “tutira” “biztos, hogy” or “biztosan”

- Tuti, hogy ezt mondta? / - Tutira ezt mondta? - “Is this really what she said?” - Tuti, hogy ide kellett jönni? / - Tutira ide kellett jönni? - “Is this really the place we were supposed to come to?”

non-slang versions: - Biztos, hogy ezt mondta? / - Biztosan ezt mondta? - Biztos, hogy ide kellett jönni? / Biztosan ide kellett jönni?

suli, sulik - school; non-slang version: iskola, iskolák doga, dogák - test; non-slang version: dolgozat, dolgozatok (not adding more school vocab because that’s for a separate post)

- Miért kell suliba járni, mikor konkrétan semmi értelme nincsen? - “Why is it mandatory to go to school when it literally makes no sense?” - Remek, akkor németből is írunk dogát! - “Great, then we’ll have a German test too!”

non-slang versions: - Miért kell iskolába járni, mikor konkrétan semmi értelme nincsen? - Remek, akkor németből is írunk dolgozatot!

zabálni - to eat, vulgar; non-slang version: enni kajálni - to eat; non-slang version: enni vedelni - to drink, vulgar; non-slang version: inni

- Úgy zabál, mintha két napja nem evett volna. - “She’s eating as if she hadn’t eaten in two days.” - Mikor kajálunk? - “When are we eating?” - Nem kell ennyit vedelni! - “It isn’t necessary to drink that much!”

non-slang versions: - Úgy eszik, mintha két napja nem evett volna. - Mikor eszünk? - Nem kell ennyit inni!

séró - hairstyle; non-slang version: frizura/haj

meló - work; non-slang version: munka melózni - to work; non-slang version: dolgozni btw our word meló comes from the Hebrew melacha.

- Jó a séród! - “Your hairstyle is great!”

- Milyen a meló? - “How’s work?” - Bocs, nem érek rá, melóznom kell. - “Sorry, can’t make it, I have to work.”

non-slang versions: - Jó a hajad! / - Jó a frizurád! - Milyen a munka? - Bocs, nem érek rá, dolgoznom kell.

The post was created around late 2017/early 2018. Depending on when you are reading it, it may be outdated.

[nkogneatho]

hehe pasi may I please join your au game if its still open? my selfship with naoya is that he tails me around whenever I'm doing something mundane like washing the laundry or cleaning. bro just sits there and stares until I hit him with a mop or smtg smh 🙄 he'd say stuff like im doing a shitty job or that I missed a spot and then I'd murder him and put him three feet under in our pretty little garden outside hehehe ily

Arranged Marriage that turned into a love story au

You married Naoya because your parents had already fixed it. And they always told you about him and how you should behave around him so it wasn't a surprise. Although you were attracted to Naoya, his shitty attitude made you wanna gag. But that was the fun. It was rare to see someone get on his last nerves. And it was even better when that someone was you. You literally straightened his behavior whooping his ass with a broom or a mop (/j) whenever he took out his shitty man attitude in front of you. His strong self can easiky stop you. Hell he can even break the goddamn mop. But he lets you play around with him. That's how you know that the Naoya Zenin that you know is different. It's the Naoya Zenin that is capable of love and that he loves you and only you.

[the-oeuvre]

IT WAS ALL TRUE?

WRITTEN UNDER PSEUDONYM ANN LEIGH AND SHANE. PREVIOUS CHAPTER: click here

ㅤ

RAVEENA ( @ragamkisah ):

Tubuh puan itu terpaku, menatap kaca jendela yang samar-samar tunjukan bayangan wajahnya. Pucat pasi, namun masih terus bergerak lakukan satu hal yakni menggigiti bagian ujung jari yang cukup keras hingga kulit tersebut mengelupas perlahan.

Tak tahu persisnya apakah hal itu timbulkan rasa sakit atau bahkan sebetulnya itu menyakitinya tetapi apa boleh buat ia masih larut dalam pikirannya—mencoba mengurai satu persatu benang merah dalam permasalahan keluarganya.

Segala kepingan memori berusaha ia satukan walaupun sulit sekali hingga ia temukan titik terang. Bagaimana, mengapa, dan sejak kapan. Tiga hal yang terus berputar dalam benaknya.

Usai dihubungi oleh Aunty Nina—adik kandung sang ibunda, Raveena masih enggan beranjak dari tempatnya. Ia biarkan ponsel miliknya tergeletak begitu saja di atas meja sedangkan dirinya masih termenung.

ㅤ

GAVIN ( @ilusikarsa ):

Di bawah langit Singapura, seorang lelaki tengah termenung terduduk di sisi tempat tidur; jemarinya terjalin sedang dwinetranya menatap lamat-lamat lantai dengan ubin dingin tersebut.

Pikirannya kosong, nyaris tidak mampu menciptakan hipotesis apapun. Giginya bergetar menggigit bagian bawah bibir, menunjukkan rasa gugup luar biasa yang tidak tertahankan. Rasanya ingin ia pulang dalam sekejap mata, mencari sang Ibunda.

Kemana beliau?

Kabar yang baru saja ia terima, sukses menggiringnya ke jurang penuh kecemasan; perlahan mendorong tubuh lemas itu tenggelam di sana.

Ia menimang-nimang apa yang harus ia lakukan, hingga sebelah kuasa terjulur merogoh gawai pintar di kantung. Raveena.

Sederet angka yang sudah dihapal di luar kepala terpampang jelas pada kolom nomor. Tidak menunggu apapun, segera ia menekan tombol hijau untuk menyambung telepon.

Ia bergumam, “Angkat.” batinnya dalam hati, ini urgensi, ‘kan?

ㅤ

RAVEENA ( @ragamkisah ):

Seperti paham akan apa yang sedang terjadi, nama seseorang muncul pada layar ponselnya. Seolah tak perdulikan fakta bahwa itu merupakan panggilan internasional.

Ponsel diraih, pula digenggam agar rungu dapat mendengar dengan jelas perkataan yang ada di seberang sana.

“You knew?”

ㅤ

GAVIN ( @ilusikarsa ):

Kekehan pahit terlolos dari bibir si bungsu Atchley, ia segera mengangguk── walau tahu yang di sebrang sana mana mampu 'tuk melihat. Ia menghela napas, “Yeah. Sort of.”

“I, uh,”

“I don’t know if this is the right thing to do,”

“But do you think I should go back?”

“This sounds silly, but something is fishy. I want to look for Mom, too.”

“What do you say? I can go on my own. You can stay there, I’ll keep you updated.”

ㅤ

RAVEENA ( @ragamkisah ):

Raveena mengerutkan keningnya sejenak.

“I honestly about to fly back there as soon as Aunty Nina called me before this, but I have final exam next week.”

Saat berujar seperti itu, kepalanya tertunduk diikuti oleh helaan napas berat.

“But can I tell you something that I have here — inside my mind?” Tanyanya melanjutkan kalimatnya yang tadi sempat tertunda.

“Maybe you can start by this as soon as you arrive at home,” tambahnya.

ㅤ

GAVIN ( @ilusikarsa ):

“No need, just do your final exam. You can trust me about this one.” Ia menjawab dengan cepat, berusaha sebisa mungkin untuk mencegah Raveena pulang dan melewatkan ujiannya.

Gavin pun terdiam, menyimak kalimat selanjutnya yang diudarakan sang kakak. ㅤ “What...?” Suaranya nyaris tidak terdengar, dengan degup jantung yang berdebar lebih cepat, ia berusaha menyiapkan diri atas jawaban selanjutnya.

“Tell me what’s on your mind.”

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RAVEENA ( @ragamkisah ):

Raveena tetap mengangguk meskipun tidak ada yang dapat melihat gestur tubuhnya saat Gavin mengatakan bahwa ia tidak perlu pulang ke Indonesia.

“You may find the answer if you ask dad. I have the feeling if this is all dad’s doing.”

“One day, before we moved to Indonesia, I heard mom and dad were arguing but now I can’t even remember what they said. Just maybe dad have the answer behind where’s mom.”

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GAVIN ( @ilusikarsa ):

Gavin merasakan tangannya sedikit mendingin ketika nama Ayah dilontarkan oleh sang kakak. Ia pun segera menghampiri meja tempat laptopnya berada untuk langsung memesan tiket. Dengan fitur speaker, ditaruhnya ponsel tersebut di atas meja.

“So, you mean... Dad might be the one behind all of this?”

“I’m booking the ticket now, I’ll be leaving tomorrow’s morning. I need to catch up some assignments first, I’ll keep you updated. Anything else I should know?”

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RAVEENA ( @ragamkisah ):

Raveena secara tak sadar lagi-lagi menganggukan kepalanya meskipun yang di seberang sana tidak dapat melihat gestur tubuhnya. Meskipun begitu, sejujurnya apa yang ia ucapkan adalah paradoks.

“Still don’t know yet whether it’s dad or nah, but I follow my gut.”

“Okay, please be careful. Keep me updated,” ujarnya sekali lagi sebelum akhirnya memutus panggilan itu. Kini tinggal dirinya dan keheningan yang merayap masuk ke dalam sanubari. Meninggalkan puan itu dengan sejuta pertanyaan tak terjawab.

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