#senior college

[wanologic]

💅💅💅

[qquokkari]

i spent my summer break playing persona games and i’m making it everyone else’s problem

[hexadonis]

(band au) last man standing

plus epilogue to kick the whole thing off

[study-diaries]

How To Self Study

This is coming from a girl who spent her fresher and sophomore year studying at home and yes, I got good grades. So, here are some tips that I followed for studying by myself without depending on any teachers.

So, let's get into it!

Gather and organise material

This is important, why? What are you going to study if you have absolutely no idea what your syllabus and study material is? By materials I mean:

Textbooks (If you have any)

Practice papers

Previous year papers

Extra reading materials/ Reference books

If you don't have any textbooks. Go through the topics that you have and gather resources from different sources.

Tip: Have at least 1 extra reading material for every subject/paper. It helps you understand some topics that are explained in a complex manner in textbooks which is almost all the time.

Don't depend on your teacher

Teachers are good. Seriously. But their attention will always be shifty. They have a lot of students to teach, from many other classes so if you depend only on your teachers for clarifying your doubts or being at the back of you to study then newsflash, its going to be hard. Rather, be your own teacher. Don't go "I'll ask this to her/him tomorrow after class" because that will be your answer every time you have even a small question which can easily be solved by a simple search. You're saving your time and theirs.

Tip: If you're someone like me who gets distracted when you take up your phone even for a second then write down all your questions in a paper and search them later after your study session.

Make notes

I usually say this because notes help you understand topics. There are many methods of taking notes. I usually don't follow any structure for note taking, I just read and write keywords under the topic name, linking a few things here and there.

Tip: Notes need not be aesthetic. Seriously. You can be as messy as you can.

Watch videos related to concepts

This helps and I know most already do this.

Tip: When you finish watching a topic, close the video and write down what you understood and then play the video again, fill in the gaps that you missed and watch it again.

Study in chunks

I always believe that whatever you do, you should do in chunks. Instead of doing one chapter, divide it. Into small bits. I'll tell you, you'll see the difference. I don't usually recommend Pomodoro since it doesn't work for me. I don't keep a time limit or a set number of breaks. I finish a chunk and if I am tired, I take a break otherwise i continue.

Tip: Self quiz yourself after each chunk and then take a break. Then after you finish the chunks for the whole chapter with the self quizzing then self quiz yourself randomly for every chunk. Here's an additional tip. Take 20 second breaks.

Period of deep work

This is not a new concept, i didn't realize i did this at first. Basically, when you start your work. You do nothing but work. Like nothing else. No phones. No snacking. No unwanted thoughts. Just nothing but what you have to do. That is to study.

Tip: It is difficult to implement this right away especially if you have a habit of it getting distracted easily so i just suggest => Start smaller. One topic with full concentration. It would usually take you 20 - 30 mins to get immersed in the work. 40 mins if it's something you don't like but once you get the momentum? An unbelievable achievement really. And then, change your environment.

Quality > Quantity && Consistency> Cramming

One hour of productive studying is better than nine hours of useless studying. I feel like it's better to study 20 mins everyday rather than the whole night before an exam. It just causes stress.

Tip: Start early. Your teacher is on chapter 5? And you still don't get chapter 1, it's fine. Start learning. Seriously, it's okay to be behind. You just have to stick. Do it everyday and you'll see results that is better than those who are just keeping up with the teacher.

Deadlines Are Mandatory

Have deadlines. There are a number of ways to do this. I'm a person who is really lazy and a weird soul who would never complete their to-do list for the day if they write it down. It would always be left unfinished. So i just keep a mental time limit and the thing i have to get done.

Tip: Overestimate your deadline. Like, let's say i have to complete around 15 lessons that week. I keep my deadline to around 25-30 and i eventually complete 15. It's about adapting to what works for you. Just change according to what works for you.

Practice questions / Previous Year Papers

I can never emphasize this enough. The best way to prepare for any exam is just do practice questions or previous year questions. You will learn a lot of things. The topics that are important or repeated. The topics that are never asked.

Tip: Grade yourself on each paper. Circle the questions in your textbook while you are studying and practicing. Then when you have to actually study then you can actually revise the topics a bit more thoroughly. If you want to know more, click here.

It's okay to be behind in class

During my first term in senior year, the whole class was around 5 chapters ahead for every test and exam while me? If they were on chapter 12, i was in chapter 4 or 5 but i understood the concepts and took my sweet time with each chapter. Because the more time you take for a chapter, the better it stays in your memory.

Tip: Here is where active recall comes handy. When you revise one chapter, take a 2 day break and study another subject and then go back to the chapter and answer the practice questions. If you're able to do them, great! If not, revise more and then look at it after 3-4 days. Repeat until you have no mistakes in your answers. This helps in long term retaining.

Make It Interesting

How do you study boring subjects? You adapt. Mind maps don't work for me. Neither does flash cards. So, i found something that did. Storytelling. Take your most boring subject, turn it into a story. Make it bearable.

Tip: Tie it somethings that you like. For example, business studies was the most boring one for me so obviously, every topic was a story for me. HR Theories and Processes? ==> An office romance story. Management Principles? ==> A fantasy story where a group goes on a quest. Make It interesting. Make it gripping. And let me tell you, this actually works because our minds grasp stories better than just normal theory jargon.

Difficult Topics Are Only Difficult Because You Think They Are

This was something that i learnt the harder way. Everything looked difficult at the beginning. Everything. But the most difficult paper was maths. Because i had no teacher. Literally. I was learning from YouTube, searching different sites for tips and tricks. I thought it was too difficult and then i was like "i have to do it anyway no matter how much i brood" so i started from scratch like 3 months before my exams.

Tip: A mind set change is everything. If you think it is easy. The topic will be more bearable. If you think it's tough, it's going to be more tough. If you want some more tips for complex topics, click here.

Hope this helps !!! :)

[ashlegacies]

Coming FRIDAY!

Get your pompoms ready!

I have a NEW posepack coming tomorrow! (Friday, August 30th)

Only for members of my Patreon (FREE members included)

[inbabylontheywept]

Kevin vs. Quantum Mechanics

This is an autobiographical piece. Names have been changed for anonymity, but it's otherwise left be. ---

The class's first suspicion of Kevin was that he had, somehow, cheated his way up to this course. He just seemed perpetually confused, and strangely antagonistic of the professor. The weirdest example of this was when he asked what an ion was (in a third year EE class?), and was informed that it referred to any positively or negatively charged particle. It would have been strange enough to ask, but his reply of "Either? That doesn't sound right" sealed him in as a well known character in the class of 19 people.

The real tipping point in our perception of him during a lecture where the professor mentioned practical uses for a neutron beam, and Kevin asked if a beam could be made out of some other neutral material. When asked "Like what?", he replied "An atom with all of its electrons removed." When we pointed out that the protons would make that abomination extremely positively charged, he just replied with "So what if we removed those too?" and then was baffled when we informed him that would just be neutrons.

That's high school level chemistry. Not knowing it was so incredibly strange that I felt like something was off, so I asked him if he'd like to grab lunch. He accepted, we chatted, and I finally began to get a sense of his origin story.

See, Kevin wasn't a junior/senior electrical engineer like the rest of us. Kevin was, in fact, three notable things: A business major, a sophomore, and a hardcore Catholic. All three of those are essential to understanding his scenario.

What had begun all of this was actually a conflict with Kevin and his roommate. Kevin frequently had his fundamental belief in Absolute Good, Absolute Bad, and Absolute Anything pushed back on by his roommate, who was in STEM. Said roommate kept invoking quantum mechanics as his proof against Absolute Knowledge. Kevin was tired of having something that he didn't understand thrown at his convictions, so he decided to take a quantum course to settle things once and for all.

Despite not having any of the pre-reqs.

He'd actually tried to take quantum for physicists first, but the school's physics department wouldn't let him. It's actually pretty strictly regulated, because it is a mandatory class for physics majors. However, because quantum is not mandatory for electrical engineers, there aren't really any built in requirements for the class. It's just assumed that nobody would actually try to take it until their third year because doing so would the be the mental equivalent to slamming your nuts in the car door. Just, pure suffering for no good reason.

Apparently, the counselors had tried to talk him out of it, but if Kevin was one thing, it was stubborn. He'd actually had to sign some papers basically saying "I was warned that this is incredibly stupid, but I refused to listen" in order to take the class.

He was actually pretty nice, if currently unaware of how bad he'd just fucked up. I paid for the lunch, wished him the best, and reported back to the class discord. We'd all been curious about this guy's story, but now that I had the truth, I could share it with the world.

Feelings were mixed. Some people thought he was going to drop out any minute now. Others thought that he wouldn't, be also that convincing him to drop now, while he still could, was the only ethical thing. Others figured that a policy of non-interference was best: The counselors couldn't dissuade him, and if we tried to do the same, he'd probably just think it was STEM elitism trying to guard its little clubhouse. He'd figure out how hard things were, or he'd fail. Either way, it would help him learn more about the world.

We wound up taking the approach of non-interference. If nothing else, understanding his origins gave us more patience when he asked bizarre questions. He wasn't trying to waste our time, he was just trying to cram three years of pre-reqs into a one semester course. He did get a little bit combative sometimes, and we could tell that he was really wracking his brain to try and find some sort of contradiction or error that he could use to bring the whole thing down, but he never could.

First test came by, and he bombed it. Completely unprepared. He'd taken Calc I, but he didn't know how to do integrals yet (that was Calc II). Worse, he was far past the drop date. I imagine most people in his shoes would've stopped struggling. They'd realize they were fucked and just let themselves fail, at least salvaging their other classes grades in the process. Why waste resources on an unwinnable battle?

Kevin never asked questions like that. If he was stupid enough to try it, he was stupid enough to finish it. God bless him.

He invited me to lunch after the test and said that the class was more fascinating than he'd ever imagined, but he didn't know if he'd be able to pass it. He asked if I could help, and I said...maybe. I brought the request to the discord, and from the eight people there I got three volunteers who admired this dork's tenacity. He was in over his head, miles beneath the surface, but his fighting spirit was fucking glorious. If he was willing to go down swinging, we were willing to bust our asses trying to get him caught up.

Some of the stuff was just extra homework we gave to the guy. We told him he needed to learn integrals, stat. We sent him some copies of basic software that can be used to teach the basics of linear circuit equations, and he practiced that game like it was HALO. Just, hours sunk into it. Absolutely godlike.

He was still scrabbling for air at just the surface level of the class, but he'd gone from abysmal failure to lingering on the boundary between life and death. Other people in the class started to learn about Kevin's origin story, and our little circle of four volunteer tutors grew to six. Every day, he had someone trying to help him either catch up in some way, or finish that week's homework. He'd gone from being seen as a nuisance that wasted class time to the underdog mascot.

He was getting twelve hours of personal tutoring a week, on top of three hours of classes, on top of six hours of office hours, on top of the coursework. I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that this kid was doing 40 hours a week just trying to pass this one single class.

Second test comes around and he gets a 60. He's ecstatic. We're ecstatic. Kid's too young to take out drinking so we just order a pizza and cheer like he just won gold at the Olympics.

After that second test, things hit another tipping point. With so much catch-up under his belt, he was able to focus a lot more on the actual material for the class. A borderline cinematic moment happened when I was trying to get ahead on the homework so that I could put more hours in on my senior project. Nobody else had finished it yet because it wasn't due for another week, so the specifics of the problem I was working on were still a mystery. I went to the professor's office hours and get some pointers, but he wasn't willing to give good hints when the HW wasn't due for another week or so. He said I still had time to think about it, which was true, but I wanted to be able to think about other things. Kevin had watched the whole conversation, waiting for his turn to ask the professor more simple questions, but when I left I got a text from him telling me to hop on zoom.

Kevin had finished it earlier, because Kevin started all of his homework the moment it was assigned. He needed to, in order to make sure that he could get it done on time. He'd finished it the day before, and was able to walk me through it.

From student, to teacher. I'm not exaggerating when I say that he probably saved me eight hours on that assignment. I could've kissed him.

A month or two later, we took the final. As soon as we were done, we six asked Kevin how he did. He was nervous, there was so much new material for him in this class that his retention hadn't been great. Us six were also a little stressed: We were going to pass the class, but the final was hard.

We waited for the results.

And waited. And waited.

Finally, the scores were posted as a table, curve included. From our class of 19 people, 4 withdrew within the deadline, 4 failed, 1 got a C, 8 got B's, and 2 got A's. We could see that the curve for a C was set at 59.2% overall.

We called Kevin. He was crying. End score, 59.2%. Teacher curved the C exactly to his score.

It was a week into winter break so we couldn't gather the forces around for a party like last time, but we were all losing our shit. Kevin was losing his shit. He couldn't believe how stupid he was to try this course, he couldn't believe that six people busted their ass just to make sure he didn't die, and he couldn't believe that the professor basically just passed him out of sheer effort alone.

He said it was the stupidest thing he'd ever done, and while I doubt that, it was outrageously stupid. And yet, I've never been so invested in a fellow student before. I'm prouder of Kevin's C than I am of my own B. I was walking on sunshine for weeks after that. In theory, my senior project was building a functioning washing machine, but in practice, in my heart, it was helping Kevin pass Intro to Quantum for Electrical Engineers.

(And as an epilogue: No, he did not renounce Catholicism and become an atheist like his roommate had hoped. He did walk out changed. I think that being that wrong about something, and realizing it, was a pivotal moment for him. It's hard to be dogmatic once you realize that a lifetime of being wrong feels exactly like a lifetime of being right, right up until the last two seconds of it.)

[exceedboundaries]

Apricity's first little comic! Ruffles is a very loyal slugcat, I'll have you know.

Apricity is an AU set between Rivulet and Saint's campaigns that assumes that Rivulet was sent to investigate conditions around Five Pebbles and Moon, given the mark of communication by-- of all iterators-- Unparalleled Innocence. A pearl from Moon's area carried back to UI reveals that, perhaps, it may be worth a shot sending some instructions.

In the meantime, with no contact between the rest of the local group and FP/Moon, the local group has been busy. Busy with what? Well, with abandoning their slowly deteriorating cans and going to the one with the best chance of long-term survival, but perhaps more is going on than just that...

And Spearmaster makes a return! (Not dying on my watch.)

[beeduoo]

i really like that one tiktok

[prettygirl-gabi]

Chapter 35: All That Mattered

Pairing: Paige Bueckers × Reader

Fandom: UConn Women’s Basketball

Rating: General Audience

Warnings: rude fans, slice of life… I think that’s all

Summary: life of your average college student and team photographer who’s got a promise ring now

Welcome to the chapter 35 of Through The Lens. I hope you all enjoy and there is more to come...stay tuned my loveies!! 🏀💕📸

The late-night glow of my laptop screen illuminated my face as I clicked through the latest batch of photos, fingers moving on autopilot as I adjusted lighting, sharpened details, and cropped shots that captured the best moments from our last practice. The bus ride to Chicago was long, and while most of the team was either asleep, watching movies, or locked into their headphones, I was trying to balance my duties as the team photographer and a student.

Kaitlyn nudged me from the seat next to mine, peeking over my screen. “You’ve been staring at that photo for ten minutes. Either it’s a masterpiece or you need to blink.”

I let out a breathy laugh, rubbing my eyes before returning to my editing. “It’s the shot of Paige’s behind-the-back pass to KK. The lighting in the gym was garbage, from the angle I took it, so I’m trying to fix it.”

Kaitlyn leaned back into her seat. “You’re the best photographer in the country, Y/N. That photo probably already looks amazing.”

I smirked, glancing over at her. “Flattery will not make me do your writing assignment for you.”

She gasped dramatically. “I would never!”

“Uh-huh,” I hummed before saving my progress and finally shutting my laptop. “You should’ve asked Ice. She loves writing about communication strategies.”

Kaitlyn rolled her eyes. “And yet, here I am, suffering in silence.”

Before I could respond, Paige leaned over the seat from behind me, resting her chin on my shoulder. “You’ve been working since we got on this bus. How about a break?”

I sighed, closing my notes. “You’re right. But if I fail this discussion post, I’m blaming you.”

She chuckled, kissing my cheek. “I’ll make it up to you.”

Kaitlyn made a fake gagging noise, which only earned her a flick on the arm from me.

By the time we got to the hotel, room assignments were handed out. I wasn’t surprised when I saw I’d been paired with Kaitlyn and Allie—Coach usually let us group up based on friendships and study habits, but not this trip something about being locked in for the game, and honestly the three of us made a good mix of chaos and productivity.

What I wasn’t surprised about, however, was Paige’s attempt to change that.

She pulled Kaitlyn and Allie aside while I was grabbing my bags, whispering something to them that had both of them snickering. When I walked over, Allie just patted my shoulder and said, “Your girlfriend’s real persuasive, but I like my bed too much to switch.”

I raised a brow, turning to Paige. “Really?”

Paige gave me her best innocent look. “What? I just thought we could spend a little more time together.”

I nudged her playfully. “You act like we don’t see each other all the time.”

“Yeah, but it’s different.”

Kaitlyn clapped Paige on the back. “Sorry, Bueckers. We got dibs.”

Paige sighed dramatically, sending me one last pleading look before grabbing her own room key. “Fine. But don’t be surprised if I ‘accidentally’ show up at your door.”

After dropping my things in the hotel room I was sharing with Kaitlyn and Allie, I pulled out my laptop and notebooks, sighing as I got comfortable on the bed. KK plopped down next to me, already opening her own notes.

“You’d think they’d give us a break with all the travel,” she muttered, scrolling through the assignment we’d been putting off.

I snorted. “Yeah, but they don’t care about our suffering.”

We worked quietly for a bit, occasionally whispering complaints or exchanging confused looks when one of the problems didn’t make sense. I was mid-sentence, typing out an answer, when the door creaked open.

Paige.

She leaned against the doorframe, her hood pulled up, looking way too pleased with herself.

KK barely glanced up. “Called it.”

I rolled my eyes. “You really couldn’t last one night?”

Paige ignored the question and stepped inside, holding up a bottle of melatonin gummies with a smirk. “Took two of these. No way I’m making it back to my room.”

Kaitlyn groaned from her bed, tossing a pillow at Paige’s face. “Bro, really?”

Paige caught it easily, tossing it onto the bed I was sitting on before crawling under the covers without a second thought. “Goodnight.”

I blinked. “Paige, that’s—”

Too late. She was already out.

Kaitlyn sighed, rubbing her temples. “Guess I’m sleeping with Allie.”

KK cackled. “Bueckers really got y’all in a hostage situation.”

I just shook my head, nudging Paige’s shoulder. “You’re lucky you’re cute.”

She hummed in response but didn’t move.

Kk and I work on our assignments for another half hour before calling quits. Kk went back to her room as shoved Paige over some and went to sleep.

It was still dark outside when I woke up to pee, feeling Paige shift beside me. The alarm hadn’t even gone off yet, which meant we had a good amount of time before practice. I sat up, rubbing my eyes before nudging her.

“Paige,” I whispered.

She groaned, burying her face in the pillow. “No. I don’t wanna.”

I sighed, pulling the blanket off her. “Yes. You gotta. Now, get up and go to your room before you end up rushing to get ready.”

She peeked one eye open, frowning. “You’re kicking me out?”

“Yes, I’m saving you from yourself.”

With a dramatic sigh, she rolled onto her back, blinking at the ceiling before finally sitting up. “Fine. But I better get my pre-practice kiss later.”

I grinned. “Yeah, yeah. Whatever makes your lil heart happy.”

She dragged herself to the door, still half-asleep as she trudged back to her room. I shook my head, amused, before flopping back down for a few more minutes of sleep.

By the time everyone was up and moving, Paige was fully awake and back to her usual self—clinging to me every chance she got, making up for the time I “stole” by kicking her out earlier.

As we got onto the bus for practice, she sat beside me, looping an arm around my waist.

“See?” she murmured. “If you’d just let me stay, I wouldn’t be this clingy.”

KK snorted from the seat in front of us. “That’s a lie, and you know it.”

I laughed, leaning into Paige’s side. “Yeah, but I like her like this.”

Paige smirked. “Told you.”

Every thing at practice and shootaround was some what smooth besides Geno yelling once in a while about them doing something he has stated not to do while drawing the play in action.

At some point kk had a bright idea of me shooting a half court shot. I could see it cooking in her brain after I had thrown the ball back to Azzi after she shot it a little to far and landing into my lap.

“Oh… my sweet…sweet Y/N, I dare you to hit a half-court shot.”

I snorted. “KK, I’m not a hooper. I’m..I’m just a photographer. Not a hooper. I take pictures of hoopers.”

She shrugged. “So? Just try it. Please for lil ole meee.”

I glanced at the rest of the team, who were all watching now, some of them already recording on their phones. Paige crossed her arms, smirking like she already knew what was about to happen.

“Fine,” I sighed, grabbing a ball. “But don’t get your hopes up.”

I lined up at half-court, took a deep breath, and let the ball fly.

Surprisingly nothing but net. On the first try at that.

The entire gym erupted.

KK ran in circles, screaming, while Ice fell to the floor laughing. Paige was grinning like an idiot, and even Coach and every one else looked mildly impressed.

KK immediately posting the video with the caption:

“She secretly a baller..”

I rolled my eyes as my notifications blew up. “You just started something dangerous.”

KK grinned. “Oh, I know.”

The energy in the gym still buzzed from my half-court miracle shot as we returned to the hotel, my phone vibrating nonstop from KK’s Instagram story and TikTok post. Paige had been smirking at me the entire bus ride back, clearly enjoying the chaos KK had unleashed.

Once we stepped into the lobby, I barely had a chance to breathe before Paige grabbed my wrist and started pulling me toward the elevator.

“Let’s go,” she said, a little too smug.

I raised an eyebrow. “Go where?”

“My room.”

“And what makes you think I’m just gonna—”

“Because I miss you,” she cut me off, squeezing my fingers. “And you love me.”

My face warmed, but I let her drag me along, ignoring the knowing looks from the rest of the team. Paige’s room was on a different floor than mine, so when we got there, Yanna and Sarah barely looked up, already sprawled out on their beds watching Netflix.

Paige immediately made herself comfortable, flopping onto her bed and patting the spot next to her. “Come here.”

I rolled my eyes but still crawled in beside her, letting her wrap an arm around my waist as she scrolled through the comments on KK’s post.

“Oh, this one’s my favorite,” she mused, clicking on a reply. “‘She needs to be on the team ASAP.’” She snorted, shaking her head. “They don’t know you have no left hand.”

“Excuse me, I am actually ambidextrous,” I scoffed.

“Exactly.”

I gasped, smacking her arm while she laughed, squeezing me closer in an attempt to avoid my retaliation. We stayed like that for a while, tangled together, my head tucked under her chin as she absentmindedly traced circles on my hip.

For a second, I thought we’d get to just chill like this all night.

But of course, I was wrong.

The door burst open, and before I could react, Ice grabbed my arms while KK grabbed my legs, yanking me off the bed.

“Hey—” I yelped as they carried me out of the room, ignoring Paige’s half-hearted protests.

“She’s ours for a bit,” Ice called over her shoulder.

I barely managed to twist my head back to see Paige sitting up, unimpressed. “Whatever. Bring her back in one piece.”

They hauled me into Azzi’s room, where she sat on the floor, arms crossed. Her hair was a mess, completely undone from the braids she’d had before we came to Chicago.

“Jana’s already knocked out,” she sighed. “And I need my braids redone.”

I blinked. “And this involves me because…?”

“You’re the best at them, besides Kayla of course.”

I groaned but sat down behind her, parting her hair with my fingers. “Y’all really got me working extra jobs on this team.”

Azzi grinned. “That’s why we love you.”

As I started on her braids, my phone rang. I glanced over at the screen, seeing Paige’s name flashing. Before I could even reach for it, Azzi grabbed my phone and answered.

“Hi, Paigey Paige,” she sang, flipping the camera to show me working on her hair.

Paige groaned dramatically through the phone. “Oh, so this is where you are?”

“She’s busy,” Azzi teased.

I rolled my eyes, tying off the braid I’d finished. “Paige, take the melatonin gummies and go to bed. If not, no pre-game kisses before we get off the bus tomorrow.”

There was a beat of silence.

“…You’re evil.”

I grinned. “Goodnight, Paige.”

She huffed but didn’t argue. “Goodnight, baby.”

The call ended, and Azzi smirked over her shoulder. “Whipped.”

I ignored her.

At some ungodly hour, I woke up to the feeling of someone climbing into my bed. I groaned, barely cracking an eye open before I was engulfed in warmth.

Paige.

She buried her face in my neck, arms tight around my waist. “You neglected me,” she muttered, voice thick with sleep.

I sighed, running my fingers through her hair. “I was literally in the same hotel as you.”

“Doesn’t count.”

“Whatever remind me to room with anyone who won’t let you in so early in the morning, a girl needs beauty sleep.”

“Oh you’re already beautiful, baby.”

Kaitlyn coming back in from the gym, “Actually both of you are disgustingly disgusting. By the way you got an hour and thirty before we have to leave.”

I laughed softly, letting her cling to me for a few more minutes before we had to get up.

On the bus ride to the game, Paige was extra cutesy, refusing to let go of my hand. Every few minutes, she’d squeeze it, press lazy kisses to my knuckles, or play with my fingers.

“You act like we’re not about to spend the whole game together,” I teased, adjusting the strap on my camera bag.

“Yeah, but you’ll be working,” she pouted. “I have to get my time in now.”

KK, sitting across from us, gagged. “Y’all are so annoying.”

Paige just smirked, pulling me closer.

By the time we got off the bus at the arena, I was already in game mode, adjusting my camera settings. Paige, on the other hand, had grabbed both my camera equipment and her bag, carrying them like it was nothing.

“Babe, I can—”

“Nope,” she said simply. “Focus on your job.”

I sighed but didn’t argue, appreciating the gesture.

As we walked toward the tunnel, I felt the familiar weight of my main camera strap, but something was missing. My heart sank.

“My backup camera,” I muttered.

Ayanna, walking beside me, turned. “What?”

“I left my backup on the bus.”

Morgan, overhearing, sighed. “Come on, let’s go.”

The three of us turned back, but as we neared the bus, I caught murmurs from a few DePaul fans lingering outside.

“She thinks she’s engaged or something with that ring.”

“I bet Bueckers gave it to her just to keep her quiet.”

I instinctively curled my fingers, my thumb brushing over the silver band. It wasn’t the first time I’d heard something like that, but it still stung.

Ayanna and Morgan tensed beside me, but I quickly shook my head, giving them a warning glance. “Don’t.”

Ayanna clenched her jaw. “They’re talking about you like—”

“I know,” I interrupted softly. “But there are cameras everywhere. Let’s just get my camera and go.”

They exchanged glances but ultimately followed my lead, retrieving my back up camera before heading back inside. I didn’t say anything, but I could tell they were both still fuming.

Just another game. Another moment to capture.

And another day where, ring or not, Paige Bueckers made it clear exactly who I belonged to.

Despite the extra noise surrounding the game, we (they) handled business, securing an 84-58 win. As we walked back to the bus, still riding the high of victory, Sarah and Ice couldn’t resist teasing me about my promise ring.

“Y/N wears that thing like it’s a championship ring,” Sarah joked, nudging Ice.

Ice snickered. “Please, she probably kisses it goodnight.”

I rolled my eyes. “You’re both hilarious.”

But, unfortunately, not everyone found it funny.

A group of fans—both UConn and DePaul—lingered near the tunnel, and as soon as they overheard Sarah and Ice, the murmurs started again.

“She’s way too obsessed with that thing.”

“Paige probably regrets giving it to her.”

“She acts like they’re married already.”

Ice took a sharp breath, about to fire something back, but I grabbed her wrist, shaking my head. “Let it go.”

Sarah frowned. “But—”

“Let it go,” I repeated, glancing at the phones already recording.

It wasn’t worth it. I knew what I had with Paige. I didn’t need validation from strangers.

Still, as we got on the bus, I couldn’t stop my fingers from tracing the ring, grounding myself in the quiet reminder that, no matter what anyone said, it was real.

Paige slid into the seat beside me, resting her hand on my knee. “You okay?”

I exhaled, leaning into her. “Yeah. Just… people talk.”

She squeezed my hand. “They always will. But that ring? It means something. We mean something. Hell we meant something long before either of us knew it.”

I looked down at our intertwined fingers, a soft smile finally breaking through. “Yeah. We do. We did.”

And that was all that mattered.

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                 -Thank You For Reading!🩵🩶

                             -prettygirl-gabi🎀✨️

Tag list: @sayurireidotcom , @yailtsv , @nicebellee , @sitawita , @thatonesuschix , @vamptizm , @elalfywhore , @starfulani , @authentic-girl03 , @paige05bby , @paxaz535 , @azziswrld , @jadasogay , @paigeluvvr , @astroeliza .... (more to be added)

[decentishoutsidersthoughts]

There is like a two month period between when Steve turns 18 and when Soda does. And I know Soda is pulling the 'I'M A MINOR' card whenever Steve breathes in his direction.

[octopodian]

overtaken with "anji mito but with a back tattoo" fever

[jack-kellys]

the reason bway javid got that subtle somethin somethin is because jeremy jordan and ben fankhauser were both in theatre college at the same school at i believe the same time… for a year i think.. and as someone who’s witnessed what a BFA acting program does to men who r not in a relationship, and the production casts them as best friends, well. let’s just say. they got somethin somethin.

[rip-aizawa]

someone liked a post of him and i had to doodle him for old time’s sake

[study-diaries]

Mistakes I made in my senior year that I don't want anyone else to repeat

I made a similar post last year for junior year so if anyone wants to check that out, click here!

I missed out on a lot of fun because of studying

I was too serious, I just realised that now

Studied the whole year and did well, only to burn out during finals so take a break. The world does not burn because you left one question

Most of my conversations revolved around college which by the way will irritate people. Talk about actual things, be light hearted.

Spent a lot of time on the phone in the morning

Slept late. Do not follow this. Seriously.

Didn't take time out for myself

Got too addicted to the concept of learning from AI (I mean during learning and not assignments)

Loved the concept of productivity, ended up back firing.

My anxiety sky rocketed because of pressure

People will say sh*t, you don't have to listen to them

And sometimes when people say sh*t. Listen to them

I thought the same study methods I used for my junior year could be applied to senior year but no, I took too much time, trying to force myself to follow those methods and that heightened my frustration because they didn't work (so if something doesn't work even after a month? Your sign to revaluate)

Just because a method of studying worked for you in the past, doesn't mean it will work all the time so don't continue it.

Thought my whole happiness would come with that one freaking grade on my progress grade but newsflash? it didn't

Was forced into things I didn't like, competitions and extra curriculars mainly. Worst part? I won all the ones I participated in but it just felt worthless.

I empathized with others but I couldn't empathize with myself

Stopped giving a shit about certain things that actually mattered

I spent my whole senior year comforting others who had problems but never shared mine. And the result? Burnout plus loneliness.

Panicked during exams and ended up questioning myself too much.

My mental health deteriorated but I managed.

(Again, it is for your referencing obviously. I will look at this when I'm going to college.)

[error04landonotfound]

I was tagged by @a-amvryllis (thank you for the tag!! I was DYING to do this!!)

Tagging: @dirtylandotini and @khaoticspartan (aka my newfound besties on this app 🥹 but also only if you want to!!)