the jester

aleksander janik. twenty years old. performance major.

[jamieleecvrtis]

#Me when I’m drunk

[alekjanik-blog]

tonisullivcn :

Toni was smoking in the courtyard when they caught sight of Alek—or, more accurately, when Alek caught sight of them. Their smoking habit steadily got worse and worse in the days after the bonfire, with almost every free time seeing them with a lit cigarette stick on one hand and their other one holding an opened pack. It wasn’t even that it was beneficial—certainly, downers would be more helpful—but there was just something soothing, almost, about the motions of smoking a cigarette: take out, light, hold, and pocket. It was a ritual, really, and nothing more than that, something to fall back on when everything else has slipped away.

“You wish,” they said easily. “I’m just on a break, is all. I wouldn’t want to ruin my reputation as the smartest person in the school now, do I?” It was an easy remark, propped up by their actual reputation as one of the best and brightest in Augustine, even if exaggerated to an almost ungodly degree. “What brings you out here?” they asked, leaning back against the bench. “And don’t say boredom, because that’s so cliché—and cliché is boring, and you wouldn’t want to be the very thing you’re running from, would you?”

Alek was probably looking a little awkward, in all honesty. He didn’t have a cigarette between his fingers to occupy himself with or anything else really, and it certainly didn’t help that he was naturally quite fidgety. He was always playing with something -- whether it was his own hands or the zip on his jacket. He had always been one of those kids who couldn’t sit still for the life of him. It came in handy sometimes, but not in matters like this, where appearing cool and collected would be the best method of action.

The blonde cocked an eyebrow at the other’s casual confidence, a teasing grin playing along his lips. “You’d think the smartest person in school would be studying in every ounce of their spare time.” He didn’t mean it rudely, but it was often that things he said would come off the wrong way. Alek let go of an easy laugh at their words; it sounded light and airy. “I wouldn’t dream of it. I’m just looking for... some time to unwind for a bit.”

[alekjanik-blog]

abeldewit‌ :

Not to let the obnoxious nerd part of himself that he typically hid out, but mathematics often relaxed Abel. It had been that way since primary school rolled out multiplication tables. The more complex the better. So, as he sat going over previous quarter tests to make sure he had all the parts of all the equations down he hardly noticed anyone around him until another voice reached his ears. His eyes flickered up towards the other boy approaching him all wistful and friendly, and he tilted his head in a appraising sort of manner before shaking it.

“No, sorry to disappoint, but my teacher is giving us free time to study this period. I have permission to be out here.” Abel arched an eyebrow at Alek. They were in the same year, but he always seemed … too cheerful for him. Too cute, too much of a joke. Abel was often seen as much of the opposite. “But you are free to sit if that is what you were looking for,” he added motioning to the empty half of the bench he was occupying. “Don’t let my school work stop you.”

Oh, what he would give to be good at more than a simple couple of things. Usually, it didn’t bother Alek much what with his jovial personality and careless manner, but being around other students often just reminded him of how... subpar he was in comparison. Thankfully he was good at acting the part of the perfect student, his only fault was that he was currently switching it on and off far too often to be inconspicuous. The blonde definitely recognized the other, but he couldn’t say he was too familiar with him as a person. Just another individual seeming to avoid him.

Alek nodded. “Technically, it’s my study period too. Only I’m not studying,” He added simply, shrugging his shoulders. He could have explained himself more, go into detail, but frankly that usually only made people more annoyed with him. Especially when he wasn’t dealing with the few people who actually enjoyed his company. “Will you keep my secret?” He asked casually, carrying a teasing edge in his voice. “If you don’t mind too much, I don’t want to be a distraction.” He was certainly good at being that.

[alekjanik-blog]

sylvianneliu‌ :

Sylvianne was enjoying the last of her cigarette. She had Jack to thank (or blame) for getting her onto Galouises, but a trip to the city was needed to restock her coffers for her habit. The brunette tapped her ash, glancing up as a blonde boy sauntered to the place that she had sought out reprieve. His smile made her groan, holding up a hand to shield dark eyes from the sun.

“No, I’m a senior. I have a free block.” Sylv’s head canted, “Shouldn’t you be studying something? Augustine doesn’t take kindly to slackers, especially this late in the semester.”

He hadn’t actually devised a plan that went any further than finding a place to sit. If anything, he should probably have been hiding from the prying eyes of the other students. The girl didn’t really seem like the friendliest he could happen across, but of course, Alek was determined to make the most out of the situation regardless.

The young man didn’t really seem like your typical slacker; if anything, he probably had a goody-goody air to him most of the time, but he was certainly not perfect. “Well, yeah. The thing is I’m kinda already in the bad books so I’m pretty sure that one more skip won’t hurt.” Though after this, he would have to get his ass back in gear.

[alekjanik-blog]

A restless mind had him wandering down the halls, hopelessly searching for something that could serve as a break from his studies. It seemed to be all too common an occurrence these days, but one that seemed too difficult to put an end to. It was probably better to distract himself now and go back to his work later with a fresh take on everything -- if that were possible. His feet moving without much thought, Alek found himself out on the school grounds. It was a little chilly out and he definitely wasn’t dressed for the weather, but he was more than used to the cold air. Glancing around for a bench or anywhere at all that he could sit for the time being, his gaze landed instead on another student. Were they feeling just as aimless as he was, or was that wishful thinking? He could certainly do with some company if he was going to blissfully waste his time.

Graced with a friendly smile, the young man nodded over to them. “It couldn’t be that you’re skipping class too, hm?”

[ariaholmsworth-deactivated20190]

Questions

[alekjanik-blog]

ariaholmsworth‌ :

Finding Alek before her was the last thing she wanted. Gathering her composure she straightened her posture. “None of your business, per usual.” she said shortly, looking anywhere but at his face. The man was infuriating but she had a bad habit of forgetting that when she was looking directly at him. “The bigger question is what you are doing in the library. Are you stalking me now, because I can’t think of another reason to find you here.” she said. She tried to feel genuinely annoyed that he was around, but again, that face.

She cleared her throat, shaking her mind free of some fairly explicit thoughts. “Aside from stalking me, how have you been Alek? I feel like I haven’t seen you in weeks.” she said lazily. Really she was probing, trying to see what had kept them apart for that long. A new girlfriend? Was he celibate now? Had she been too mean to him? It was a gentle balance, their relationship. She wondered if he had attended the bonfire. If there was one person who wasn’t on her list, it was Alek. 

He quirked an eyebrow, pretending to be surprised by her snarky comment. Although in reality he was anything but -- by now Alek had gotten used to her seeming to be distasteful of his presence. Whether it was true or not was yet another thing they could definitely debate over. “Jeez, well hello to you too, Aria.” He said, flinging himself carelessly into the chair opposite her. It was going to take more than her usual annoyance to get him to leave, or to even wipe the smirk from his lips. “Why, do you want me to be stalking you?”

It was nothing unusual for him to tease her; often to the point where he was sure she wouldn’t be able to stand him and might not even speak to him again. Alek wasn’t sure why he did it, bad habit maybe. It was entertaining getting a rise out of someone who was so stiff half the time. He drummed his fingers lazily on the table, tilting his head slightly. “I’ve been busy. I’m not as much of a slacker as you think, you know.” If there was one thing that got to him just a little bit, it was that he would never be as smart as Aria and they both knew it. “It sounds like you missed me.”

[damplaundry]

[ariaholmsworth-deactivated20190]

Questions

[alekjanik-blog]

ariaholmsworth‌ :

Aria settled into her normal place in the library, opening her laptop and popping her earphones in. Immediately the welcome sounds of the scores of all of her favorite movies filled her mind. The smell of books stacked around her and the grande architecture of the place calmed her. This was the only place she felt she could really focus, and she came here when she needed to do her best work, and after the events of the past year, this demanded her best work. 

What she should be doing is trying to get back to being the top of the class, so that Antóin doesn’t end up graduating ahead of her. She was noticing the marks he was getting, and she hated it. Instead her cursor hovered over the folder she found herself clicking most often.

Wishing Wells

She had figured a folder titled “the murder of a classmate I didn’t know and shouldn’t care about at all” was bound to draw some attention if anyone happened to glance at her desktop, so she opted for subtlety. Opening it she started typing her notes into her running suspect list. Every reaction, every word she could find on student reaction to Fredrick Wells she noted. At this point the document was about 30 pages long, and her suspect list was even longer.

She wasn’t sure why she was doing this, why this had drawn her in so deeply, but here she was typing notes about some idiot in a coffee shop who said his mom knew Frederick’s mom’s best friend’s sister. As she was typing she felt the table move slightly and looked up to find a person in front of her. “Oh my god!” she said, slamming her laptop closed. “I-I’m sorry, you scared me.” Aria whispered, realizing her gross overreaction. 

Simply put, Aleksander wasn’t much of an academic. He could certainly pretend to be if the situation called for it -- his strength was acting, after all -- but most of the school’s population were aware that he wasn’t exactly the top of his class. This didn’t mean he wasn’t smart however, it would just be more likely to find him cracking jokes at the back of the class instead. Hey, he was sure he helped to encourage a ton of his peers into happily attending classes, knowing he was going to be there to make them smile. Or maybe he was just being narcissistic.

So it was a little bit of a surprise to find him striding into the library, his usual casual jaunter carrying his feet forward. The young man usually didn’t participate in extra studying, but after some firm words from teachers and his parents alike, he decided to get his ass into gear -- somewhat. He definitely wasn’t expecting to leave today feeling like Albert Einstein.

Even though it wasn’t where he usually thrived, Alek had to admit that the atmosphere of the space was quite calming. Shit. What was happening to him? His mind filled with pretty much anything that wasn’t the work he was supposed to be doing, the blonde looked for a place good enough for him to sit -- when he saw her.

She always stuck out like a sore thumb with those dark curls, in a good way, of course. Maybe that was what first drew him to her. His plan hadn’t been to frighten her, but that’s what ended up happening regardless. A mischevious grin broke out across his features as he pointed a lazy finger to her laptop. “What are you hiding, hm?”

[saintaugustinerp]

“There’s no freedom quite like the freedom of being constantly underestimated.“

FC Suggestions: Tom Webb, Alanna Arrington, Jordan Stephens, Max Barczak, Olivia Cooke

The Jester is a Second Year

You don’t need much out of life, just as long as it doesn’t ask much of you either. You grew up without direction or any desire for it; now, what others see as a lack of ambition you consider an “openness to suggestion.” You’re sure the world will find a place for you eventually, and it won’t even have to look that hard, since you’ll probably find a way to be happy with whatever you’re given. In the meantime, you’re content to be carefree, easy-going, a presence that no one takes offence at. Unless it’s your humor that irks them- but what’s wrong with being the laugh that breaks through the tense silence of a room? What’s wrong with taking things lightly when everyone else seems to take them so seriously? You’ve always seen your ability to amuse as a good quality, the sole talent of someone who’s otherwise short on talents, but these days, people seem less and less willing to indulge your jokes. Your light-hearted nature gets you labelled as a nuisance. Even around your friends, you’ve begun to feel like they’re merely tolerating you, like their laughter is canned and your name earns eye-rolls when you’re not around. Is it a sign of the times? Or is it just a sign that the fool has worn out their welcome?

On the night of the bonfire, The Jester was at the party with the rest of the student body. While they were aware that there was likely to be some element of hazing to occur that night, they remained uninvolved.

It’s hard to comprehend how two people so incompatible ever got involved with each other; one way or another, the Jester and The Analyst have developed an on-and-off relationship that neither seems to fully know what to do with. The Jester, for their part, has learned to treat it as something casual- one day they’ll be on the receiving end of nothing but curt words and glares, the next night they’ll be summoned back to a certain someone’s bed.

They first took notice of The Guileless for their open-hearted kindness and patience, traits which seem in dire shortness of supply amongst St. Augustine’s student body. Not long after meeting, the two clicked and became fast friends; positivity begets more positivity, and when they’re together, it chases away every cloud in the sky.

Considering the sad circumstances preceding their recent arrival at the school, they’ve made it a mission to provide the The Pallbearer with reasons to smile, or even just someone to talk to about the inane stuff, school and parties and crushes. None of the heavy stuff. They don’t need one more person patting them on the back and offering condolences.

- - - The Jester is TAKEN and played by Robyn.

[saintaugustinerp]

Congratulations Robyn! You have been accepted for the role of The Jester with the faceclaim Max Barczak.  Please be sure to check out the accepted applicants checklist! Also be sure send us a link to your blog within the next twenty-four hours. Welcome to St. Augustine!

Keep reading