mycenae.

[ask-bait]

🎸 50 iconic 1980s song asks

billie jean: what do you notice more in a song - the drums or bassline?

sweet dreams (are made of this): what’s the best dream you’ve had?

africa: favourite 80s music video?

every breath you take: who’s the first person your mind goes to when you hear a love song?

should i stay or should i go: how many languages do you speak?

uptown girl: what’s your favourite book trope?

don’t stop believin’: what’s the longest journey you’ve been on?

i wanna dance with somebody (who loves me): who was the last person you danced with?

maneater: where did you spend your last friday night?

jessie’s girl: what would you do if you found out your best friend was seeing your ex?

born in the u.s.a.: what’s your home town like?

wake me up before you go-go: how did your last date go?

girls just want to have fun: relationship with your parents?

beat it: opinions on the police force?

never gonna give you up: how old were you when you joined the internet?

faith: when was your first kiss?

i’m so excited: where was your first kiss?

take on me: could you reach the high note?

footloose: favourite musical?

9 to 5: do you like country music?

back in black: what makes a good rock song?

material girl: are you sentimental?

walk this way: what was the most expensive thing you bought in the last six months?

you shook me all night long: are you seeing anyone at the moment?

thriller: favourite film genre and why?

i want candy: chocolate or sweets?

ghostbusters: how far do you believe in the paranormal?

the power of love: does true love exist?

hungry like the wolf: what’s your crush’s favourite music genre?

walk like an egyptian: favourite song currently in the charts?

(i’ve had) the time of my life: if you could relive any ten minutes of your life, what would you relive?

just can’t get enough: what’s your guilty pleasure?

i’m gonna be (500 miles): how far apart do you and your best friend live?

you spin me round (like a record): favourite modern cover of an older song?

we built this city: if you were president, what would your first ruling be?

how will i know: do you believe everyone is deserving of love?

nothing’s gonna stop us now: what’s been the biggest hurdle you’ve faced in your life so far?

come on eileen: have you ever written a song? if so, what was the genre?

living on a prayer: which was the song of your childhood?

sweet child o’ mine: describe your perfect first date.

don’t you (forget about me): is there anyone from your past that you regret cutting ties with?

eye of the tiger: favourite 80s movie?

under pressure: give an example of a world event that occurred the year you were born. 

with or without you: what would you value most: a relationship or a job?

another one bites the dust: where did you achieve your biggest accomplishment?

pour some sugar on me: turn ons?

in the air tonight: do you enjoy flying?

tainted love: thoughts on synthesisers/electronic drum kits/technology based music?

like a virgin: share a controversial opinion. 

karma chameleon: what do you like most about your appearance?

[arqueclogias]

♖ . ˚ ◝  ––––––  ❛ oliver bates. ❜

“Sand in my shoes has to be at the bottom of my list of concerns, but thanks for letting me know.” Oliver smiled warmly before treading over to to where Maya was sat, he examined for a couple of second the body of what was once their plane before turning and sitting down. The sand was cool beneath him, itchy against his palms as he grounded himself but nothing worth complaining about. “It probably sits at around…third place? Not that I rank tragedies, but if I were then these past few days would be winning bronze.” If there was something Oliver was good at, it was distracting himself from the horror of things, but only if he truly wanted to. It was easy to be all relaxed smiles and joking around despite like everyone else wondering if this was going to be his life now, what was the alternative?

"when we get back, we’ll be finding sand everywhere for like a month.” maya joked half-heartedly at first, but feeling a chill in her words by the end of it. they rang hollow and tasted phony in her mouth. hope, like faith, got that way, she supposed. too cheesy for real life. “if we get back, you know?” listening intently as he spoke, maya raised a careful brow. “wow, a commercial airline plane crash on a desert island ranks third?” she smirked, grateful for the diffusion of tension that came with dark humor. gotta have a little levity. sighing, she pushed her feet deeper below the sand and wrapped her arms around her knees. “you know, maybe this isn’t my worst day either.” surely rodrigo winning custody of her daughter after they’d divorced was number one. “i got stuck in a cave once. alone. that was pretty awful. and i’d seen that movie the descent, too? i was moderately convinced i was going to die down there. that’s what i get for helping out a friend for her master’s thesis.” after a beat, maya considered the implication that they were sharing war stories and they don’t even know one another. “it’s not quid pro quo, by the way.” she told him, hoping not to have overstepped. “i don’t have to know the gold or silver medal days.” offering a genuine smile, she slips back into an impish grin. “besides, i’d much rather hear the contenders for most embarrassing story anyway.”

[arqueclogias]

♖ . ˚ ◝  ––––––  ❛ zachary willis. ❜  

“I’m fine with crowds, but I saw you out here by yourself,” he said walking towards her, “And I was concerned,” he said honestly, he knew everyone here was on a short line after the crash and at least they needed someone who had  positive spin, “But in all honesty, yeah it’s a rough night, I was supposed to be home by now helping my ma.”

maya shrugged off his concern as he approached, a bit of self spite blooming at the verbalization of her misanthropy. prone to self-loathing, she’d taken this indulgence to herself--which was what she’d tried to keep to since the crash. everyone had a sad story and she worried the distraction of them would cause her to lose focus. things fall apart, she agreed with the poem. the center could indeed not hold and she wasn’t sure she could either under the weight of others’ grief. 

the mention of the man’s mother piqued her interest--she was supposed to be with hers by now too. fretting over finding the right job to bring little nayeli home while mama ramirez clicked her tongue and shushed away her fears with a hot bowl of pozole. “yeah, me too.” goddamn, everyone’s living mothers were probably worried to death. “is yours alright?” hers was half across the globe worrying grooves into the wood of her kitchen table by now. she wondered if anyone had told her daughter yet.

[arqueclogias]

♖ . ˚ ◝  ––––––  ❛ simon ostergaard. ❜  

“More like rough everything. My brother’s out there somewhere.” Simon paused, breathing in deep to keep his emotions in check. “Or maybe he’s somewhere on the island here. I don’t know.” Looking back at the wreckage for what seemed like the fiftieth time, he could only glare at it as though it would eventually give him some answer that he could be satisfied with. Simon had been looking right at his brother when the plane ripped apart in the sky. He watched as they were separated. The screams made a home in his nightmares, and they all sounded like his brother. How could he help anyone else when he couldn’t even stop his own brother from d- Simon couldn’t finish the thought. “How do you feel about alcohol? It’s technically for disinfecting now, but whisky was made to be enjoyed,” Simon tried to joke, holding out one of the flasks he sneaked out of the supplies, offering it to the woman with a kind smile.

“shit,” maya furrowed her brow sympathetically, biting her lip as if it took back her sarcastic comment. “he was on the plane too?” she asked. that was worse somehow. no matter what happened to her, maya at least knew that nayeli was safe. rodrigo might’ve been an asshole, but he wasn’t a bad father--they just could never get along. if nayeli had been on the plane too and they’d been separated, well, maya didn’t think she’d be so casual about making light of their shared predicament. “sorry, man.” she wished she could think of something better to say--something comforting or profound. whatever words she had for such sentiments had been scattered across the island like luggage; she wasn’t about to offer him some trite reassurance that his brother would be alright either. 

lost in thought, gaze focused on the dancing flames of the fire, maya was caught off guard by the alcohol comment and she chuckled darkly in surprise. “technically for disinfecting?” a wry grin tugged at the corners of her lips. “hell, who doesn’t love a cleanse.” she joked and took the flask from him gratefully. there was very little that couldn’t be salved with beer as her colleagues would agree--part of a profession that prided itself, as a whole, on ditching conferences to talk theory in a pub rather than waste time staring at poster after poster. “generous.” she commented, taking a swig. “you have a name, too?” wiping her mouth off with the back of her hand, she handed the flask back to the man. “i’m maya.”

[arqueclogias]

♖ . ˚ ◝  ––––––  ❛ oliver bates. ❜  

“You looked like you could use some company.” Oliver stated with a simple shrug of his shoulders. The crowd weren’t an issue, he also wasn’t a fan of his plane breaking apart like a toy in the hand’s of a child but he’d dealt with that the best he could. “Well, hopefully you don’t have to get used to them.” The fire crackled from behind him and he took a second to glance back at it, at the people who were desperately huddling around it for warmth and something to focus on. Deep down Oliver knew he should be more worried than he was, it hadn’t quite set in yet exactly what had happened. It was only two days after all. 

“I’ve had rougher, the day we crashed is up there.” He chuckled low from his throat before shoving his hands deep into the pockets of his jeans, ripped and covered in sand but still functioning. “Mind if I sit with you?”

“oh, man. well, you’re gonna have to tell me what about me gave off that vibe so i can change it.” maya laughed softly. “kidding, kidding. i promise.” she’d always had that sort of humor--the type of woman who was more comfortable ragging on someone than being too genuine. in retrospect, it might’ve been the days of family gossip with her abuela and tia on her father’s side, who lacked for daughters of their own and spent as much time with her as they could. “it beats the crowds at six flags, i guess, but the rides aren’t as good.” she replied, rolling the strain out of her neck by softly rocking her head from side-to-side a few times. “god, i’d hope so.” she let out a deep laugh. “if this plane crash didn’t rank on your top five worst days, i’d be really fucking concerned.” burying her feet under the sand, maya smirked. “i guess the day i had my appendix rupture and had to have it removed in a bulgarian hospital might be worse than this though. i was convinced i had contracted some blood borne pathogen during surgery until i was able to get back to seattle and check.” she nodded to the sand next to her. “knock yourself out, but you’ll never get the sand out of your shoes.”

[arqueclogias]

♖ . ˚ ◝  ––––––  ❛ erin drake. ❜  

Taking a small sip from the water bottle she was given, her thumb traced the logo of Oceanic that was proudly decorating the plastic as she wandered along the shore. She was tired. Physically. Her entire body wanted rest but somehow she couldn’t find any sleep. It was hard to believe that only three days ago she was dancing at her brother’s wedding and now she was ruining his honeymoon by being stranded on this island. If only she had a way of letting her family know she was alright. Her thoughts were interrupted by a gentle voice that came from the darkness. Erin stopped and glanced into the darkness until the shadow she saw became a person. “The crowd’s alright. I’m just not a big fan of trust falls and the lyrics to Kumbaya aren’t exactly in here.” She tapped her temple, her lips pressed into a thin line as she smiled at the other. “I felt like we were heading there rather fast so I bailed.” Erin pulled the fabric of the shirt she was wearing tighter around herself for warmth, it was too big for her but she found it in one of the suitcases. “Rough day, okay night if you put it into perspective. What about you?”

maya watched the woman with an easy expression as she spoke. slowly her smile cracked through and she let out a breathy laugh, looking down at the toes of her hiking boots as she kicked at the sand. “i’ve never really been one for team building exercises either.” not entirely true--certainly the core group of excavation teams bonded over many a beer and a chorus of queen’s don’t stop me now while they dug and sieved pottery and let the sun bleach their clothes. happy to be alive, save the lump in her throat that reminded her she was out of contact with her daughter, she could sometimes close her eyes at night and pretend the rapid speech and sounds of the ocean were those on the island of crete or off the black sea of bulgaria. it was oddly comforting. “you’d be making god’s eyes and friendship bracelets by now if you hadn’t.” she chuckled, taking a deep pull off a bottle of luke warm water. “it’s been okay,” maya shrugged. it hadn’t been. for anyone. “i’m not as banged up as some and didn’t lose any like others.” tilting her chin up she gestured towards an older woman who’d been made a widow in the crash. “things can always be worse.” fiddling with the end of one of her braids, maya squinted her eyes towards the fire. nayeli would be five in a few months and she only hoped she could make it back home and find postdoc position to bring her home. fuck rodrigo. “at least it’s not raining, right?” she smirked, tone sardonic.

[arqueclogias]

leaning up against the cool rubble of the fuselage, maya refrained from the crowd that gathered more directly around the fire. with each beat of her heart, she felt more breathless. closing her eyes tight, she inhaled, 1 ... 2 ... 3 ... 4,  and then exhaled,  2 ... 2 ... 3 ... 4.  a quick trick learned between careening vans on ill-kept mountain roads and before every take off of every flight. biting her lip, she realized the irony--using a tactic of comfort in the fallout of oceanic flight 815.

a deep sigh marked the sting of her daughter nayeli’s memory. they’d been there two days, surely rescue crews were already looking--hunting the charts of the ocean like hounds with the scent of a fox. nayeli. maya inhaled deeply and held her breath for a moment--she’d be with her again--before exhaling and opening her eyes only to forcibly blink back the sting of campfire smoke and painful longing to return home. as her eyes focused through the stark light of the fire against the night sky, maya saw a figure approach. “not much for crowds?” she asked, raising a brow. folding her arms across her chest. “yeah, me neither.” looking back up at the sky, she let out a dark chuckle. “rough night?”

[wnq-anonymous]

My mother worked too hard for me not to be great.

Unknown  (via wnq-anonymous)

[thecheeziersnack-blog]

[desmcdres-blog]

[rhidley]

[shwdgold]

[arqueclogias]

♖ . ˚ ◝  ––––––  ❛ MAYA RAMIREZ ❜   /  TD.

♖ . ˚ ◝  ––––––  ❛ sometimes her heart is a knife she takes to bed ❜   /  musings. ♖ . ˚ ◝  ––––––  ❛ those lips would taste of tragedy◝ and wisdom would drink her in ❜   /  visage. ♖ . ˚ ◝  ––––––  ❛ she wears fire for skin◝ but a storm lives in her soul  ❜   /  aesthetic. ♖ . ˚ ◝  ––––––  ❛ honey poured over a spear◝ so they can taste me in the wound ❜   /  answers. ♖ . ˚ ◝  ––––––  ❛ i still run to pay for all my sins ❜   /  music. ♖ . ˚ ◝  ––––––  ❛ she knew herself by heart too◝ and was sick of the story ❜   /  history. ♖ . ˚ ◝  ––––––  ❛ she is clever and she is able◝ enough so to turn a nightmare into her coronation  ❜   /  mentions. ♖ . ˚ ◝  ––––––  ❛ little girl in the light with blood on your hands ◝ you can’t keep crying if you want to keep going ❜   /  family. ♖ . ˚ ◝  ––––––  ❛ build yourself a myth◝ materialize or let these ashes fly ❜   /  edits. ♖ . ˚ ◝  ––––––  ❛ without achilles’ heel you would not know his name ❜   /  headcanons. ♖ . ˚ ◝  ––––––  ❛ from dust we came◝ and to dust we will return ❜   /  memes. ♖ . ˚ ◝  ––––––  ❛ peaceful moon◝ i consist only of bones ❜   /  ooc. ♖ . ˚ ◝  ––––––  ❛ mother is the word for god on the lips and hearts of children ❜   /  nayeli ramirez. ♖ . ˚ ◝  ––––––  ❛ it only takes two facing mirrors◝ to construct a labyrinth ❜   /  oceanic flight 815. ♖ . ˚ ◝  ––––––  ❛ yippie queue yay motherfucker ❜   /  queue.

[arqueclogias]

[ tessa thompson , cisfemale , she/her ] - MAYA RAMIREZ, the THIRTY-FIVE year old from SEATTLE, WASHINGTON was seated in the middle section of the plane when it crashed. SHE was an ARCHAEOLOGIST back at the main land and SHE was in Sydney because SHE WAS APPLYING FOR POST-DOC POSITIONS. It’s no surprise they became an ENGINEER considering their RESOURCEFUL and TENACIOUS personality. - [ lucia , 30 , pst , she/her , none ]

ahh, i hate doing intros; i feel so awkward about them. i’m lucia. i’ve been sick and so i meant to get on sooner but i slept like a million hours. maya has been working on doctoral thesis in bioarchaeology, specific to funerary archaeology in the aegean. after a tumultuous relationship with the father of her daughter, rodrigo, maya returned to the states to work on her thesis and stay with her mother. the ugly custody battle was only exacerbated by the distance--rodrigo stayed with their daughter nayeli in crete. hunting for postdoc jobs where she could continue to expand on her research and work towards securing a professorship someday--her more immediate goal to be reunited with her daughter. 

while scouting postdoc jobs in australia, maya found that while the country was beautiful, it was simply too far away from her mother to truly consider. saying goodbye, she boarded oceanic flight 815 to return to seattle and regroup. instead, the crash landing has left her shaken, bumped and bruised, and more than a little shaken that she might never see her daughter again.