#adventures abroad

[fullmoonletters]

Photograph taken in Germany by me. ✨

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[capseycartwright]

a year ago i got a job in my current company between promotions and travelling and presentations and contract extensions and mad opportunities i am finding it hard to describe how fundamentally it has changed my life and how grateful i am to still be here and getting to learn from the best

[rutgerstessens]

My First post!

Hi, My name is Rutger. I am 19 years old. I Live in Belgium. Within a few weeks I am leaving Belgium to go on an internship abroad. My destination will be Croatia in the city Zadar.

I will be working at the University of Zadar for 3 weeks. It is a whole new adventure for me because I have never been in Croatia. I look forward to meeting my future colleagues. The school has around 515 employees and 5800 students. 

In my spare time i will be exploring the city. I have a few ideas what I want to do there. For example, watching the old buildings. Checking out the light show and the sea organ. They also have a soccer stadium named Stanovi.

[ay-federico-garcia]

me, always: im having lots of fun being friends with this boy ! it’s so nice that we can chat about stuff in such a friendly way :) because we’re friends

the boy, always: we should fuck

[vicscratchpages]

Eml Writes His Name (Part 6)

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

“Do you know what the sunsets are like in Kolraven?”

The question is easy to ask, with the last of the sun’s light fading.  The paleness of the twilight calls to mind ghosts; polite spirits who curtsy as they bid adieu.  It is an absurd thought, perhaps.  Perhaps one day he will ask Koteh what he thinks of ghosts or spirits. Surely there must be a hypothesis or theory on it, since everyone had a soul.

“Mmm—Kolraven?”  Koteh murmured against the side of Eml’s head.  “Afternoons in Columbia could stretch during the summers, the evenings long and orange.  Sunsets in Kolravan are tinted red by the River Rust, I imagine.”

Koteh smiled to himself, recalling the time he and Eml had first met.  The evening had not yet fully fallen.  The air had glittered some—not as much as with Myrdaven’s gold glimmers, but perhaps with a hint of the sparks flying in Kolraven’s factory.  What an exciting night that had been—dangerous, delightful, mysterious.  

“River rust?”

Koteh turned onto his side to face Eml, and couldn’t resist pressing a kiss to his lips.  Eml made him proud to be himself.  Koteh had long wished to earn the pride his aunt and uncle took in him, and hoped not to disappoint his Gran’m.  His family loved him.  Koteh knew that, just as he knew that they were sad for him—and perhaps saddened by him, sometimes.  

Two orphaned boys, set free of their burdens.  He still didn’t know what to make of that bit of prophecy.  But he found he had hope, with Eml.  More hope and joy than he could have ever imagined, although that was not to say that he had been plagued by sadness before.  

In fact, he had learned how to be sad with Eml.  Deeply, truly grieved in a way that he did not know he’d needed to experience. Yet it had opened the door for compassion—towards others, but more importantly, toward himself.  It was still hard to grasp, but he was learning. He was growing.  And he was glad to be doing those things with Eml.

“The River Rust is Kolraven’s largest,” Koteh explained.  “Like the River Jewel here in Gylraden, and Myrdaven’s River Green.”

“Oh!” Eml nodded, feeling a bit silly for his initial misunderstanding. “That makes more sense.”

“The waters are a little red though—from the clay I think, and something else about the metalworks.” Koteh tugged Eml against him and lie back, arms circling around Eml’s waist. “I’ve never been to Kolraven, actually. The closest I’ve been is the Columbia, in the Camden Empire.  A good deal of Kolraven smiths can be found there.  Very serious about their work, as my Uncle Gion said they would be.  He was on assignment, in Kolraven proper and some of its smaller towns, for nearly two whole years.  He could tell you much more than I could.  Why do you ask?  Would you like to go?”

The tide of emotions almost always overwhelmed him, when Koteh held him like this.  These were the moments Eml cherished.  The closeness of his head against Koteh’s chest, hearing his steady heartbeat.  The gentle touch of Koteh’s fingers as they scratched at his shoulders or tufted through his hair.  The way Koteh’s paragraphs were punctuated with kisses—to his cheek, his forehead, his nose.  

And of course, Koteh’s way of suddenly looking directly at him, seeing him, fully focused on him and nothing or no one else.  Every time, it made Eml’s stomach drop and his heart soar and his breath pause.  For a moment, it was as if either the world had stopped spinning or Eml’s world was spinning faster than everyone else’s—he was never sure which.  

Time re-centered with a rush.  He always came back to himself with a laugh and a deep-seated awe that was never totally dispelled, but resurfaced in the most amazing ways.  

“Auntie was teaching me more about the Signs the other day,” Eml said.  “We were talking about the Sun and the Song, and it made me think of Myrdaven and sunsets, so I guess I just wondered what they were like—there, in Kolraven.”

“I think the Princess is hoping to travel there—perhaps we can accompany her!  That is, if you’d like to go.  But you’ve already styled the first line of your name?  How exciting!  I always had trouble with mine—I suppose I should try to work on it again.”

Eml tipped his head up to glance at Koteh.

“Work on it?” he asked, curious.  

“Usually I just say which signs are in my name rather than writing them,” Koteh said with a shrug. “Besides, people hardly ever ask about my second line.  I ought to revisit it, though.  Perhaps that can be our celebration!”

“Celebration?”

Eml blinked, confused but smiling.  He snuck a kiss to Koteh’s chin, then to his jaw.  Koteh attempted to answer him between kisses, but most of the words were lost and in love and laughter.  Finally Eml sat up, resting his chin on his hands.

“What’s the celebration for?”

“You, of course!”

Koteh grinned and Eml’s stomach flopped.  The color rose to his cheeks as Koteh’s eyes took on that familiar glint of excitement that was so endearing and completely genuine.  

Eml didn’t think he’d ever met anyone more honest than Koteh, and yet he could hardly believe that Koteh didn’t treat everyone this way.  Eml himself couldn’t possibly be that special, but Koteh proved over and over again that he was.

“Me? But—”

Koteh landed a kiss on his nose and then sat up himself.  In a moment Eml was snug against Koteh’s side again, and Eml hummed with content.  He never wanted to crowd Koteh or be too clingy.  It was a comfort and a joy to know that Koteh wanted their closeness as much as Eml did.  The question still echoed, unspoken in his head.  Why me?  

“Everyone has a party when they’re six or seven, for their first line, and then another one when they’re nine or ten, for the second line.  It’s part of growing up—like losing your first tooth, but not nearly as painful!  And then when you’re older and you emerge into society, the announcements list everyone’s formal names, their call names, and their names in Crevasse.  I bet my Gran’m still has the program from when I came out—but I could just as easily write it all down.”

“The whole program?” Eml’s eyes widened.

“Not at all!” Koteh’s laugh rippled through the room.  “I was never a good enough student to recall that much information.  But my own name, I mean—in call and carvings and Crevasse. Would you like to see?”

Eml found himself nodding even before Koteh had finished speaking.  He’d never attended a Festival of Lights before, but he knew that was when Blacksmiths came out, as Koteh had put it.  Koteh hadn’t emerged into society until he was seventeen—a bit late, by some Blacksmith standards.  Eml thought the time had been just right; if Koteh had emerged any sooner or later, perhaps they wouldn’t have met on Koteh’s first assignment.  

A few minutes later they were at the kitchen table, papers spread between them.  Eml still wondered how it was that they had an actual house.  He was used to a small apartment—not much more than a bed, a dressing room, and a small sitting area.  He didn’t spend much time there anyway, as he was often on rounds or away on errands.  

Living here was entirely different than his quarters in the palace.  He couldn’t go unnoticed even if he’d tried, but he didn’t feel pressured to engage longer than he felt comfortable.  It was strange, how this village could welcome a stranger with such grace and still allow them to keep their privacy.  Among the scattered flower petals and spare receipts from the bakery, grocery lists and notes they’d sent each other during the day, Eml found his throat tempted to close again.  

“Sparks, I can’t believe it,” Koteh muttered to himself.

“What is it?” Eml asked, brow furrowing.  “What’s wrong?”

“I nearly forgot the second line,” Koteh said, laughing heartily.  “Just goes to show how often I actually use Crevasse.  But here it is—my call name in carvings, and then the first and second lines in Crevasse.  Ila will tell you I’ve been writing half the alphabet backwards all my life, and she’s probably right.  Thank goodness there are fast-types now, even though they’re in the standard alphabet and not Crevasse.  I only mix up b and d, and only when it’s the little-print ones.”

Eml laughed softly against Koteh’s shoulder.  If Ila was known for anything other than her ambitions to be the best seamstress in all the smitheries, it was for her constant exasperation at Koteh’s incessant antics, as she called them.  She loved him dearly though—as Eml imagined everyone did.  Of course, for Ila, she claimed she wouldn’t be half as distressed by him if she could manage to care a little less.  

Letting his fingers slip into Koteh’s, Eml leaned over to see the page.  The carvings didn’t have upper or lower cases, but Eml supposed it didn’t matter if just one word was written.  Recalling what Aunt Tu’l had said about reversing the letters and how he slanted the letters in his own name, he wondered how the emphasis might land on Koteh’s name.  Perhaps a better trained eye than his would find more meaning than his own.  But then—

“You have the Star!”

“The world has always been brilliant to me—and brighter still, with thee.”  

Koteh kissed him soundly, squeezing him close.  Eml made a small noise, caught between a squeak of surprise and a contented sigh. He kissed Koteh deeply, finding his hand and squeezing it again.  Eml didn’t know why, but he felt the need to offer reassurance.  

You get to decide when you share your name with others, and how, Auntie had told him.  He wondered if he had pressed for something he shouldn’t have—but perhaps Koteh needed to share this with him.  There was something he wasn’t saying, Eml knew. Did it have to do with the endless dark of the night sky, pricked a thousand times a million over with small spots of light?  Was that how Koteh felt, some days?  

Eml looked again at the writing on the page.  He tilted his head, spotting a single hill in the second line of Koteh’s name.  Eml reached for his hand, holding it loosely in case Koteh needed to pull away to point something out or add to the page. Then he laughed at himself, realizing what a silly thought that had been.  Koteh was left-handed, and seated as they were, Eml wasn’t restricting his movements at all. Koteh tugged him into his lap, and Eml settled there with ease, smiling at the feeling of Koteh’s chin on his shoulder.  

“When you introduce yourself in Crevasse, how do you say your name?” Eml wondered.

“The funny thing about Crevasse is that some things can’t be said, or can never be said the same way twice.”

“Really?”

“It mostly depends on the arrangement, the composition, the lines—Crevasse is written like poetry, and you can change the meaning even if you use all the same symbols but put the breaks in different places.  If I would give my first line, I would say ‘Searching reversed the stars’.”

Koteh pointed at the K in his name, and then the two symbols that followed.  The star was easily recognizable, but zero with the slash through it—was that searching?  The furrow in Eml’s brow deepened as Eml wondered,

“Reversed?”

There was more that he wanted to ask but didn’t know how to say.  Was Koteh searching for something or someone, or was Koteh being searched for? How had the stars been reversed? Was that a good thing?  Was Koteh in danger—or had he been, at some point?

“The concept in my first line,” Koteh said, nodding as he pointed to it.  “It’s the reversed symbol for searching.  The second line is the reversed symbol for community, the sign of the Sea, the symbol for blessing, and the sign of the Sand.  It doesn’t make much sense to most people.”

Eyes shifting from the page to Koteh’s face, Eml tried not to let his frown deepen.  He didn’t like the hint of disappointment in Koteh’s voice, knowing Koteh likely considered something in his name to be a personal flaw. He kissed Koteh’s cheek, reaching up to gently cup his face.  

“What does it mean to you?”

Koteh’s eyebrows rose in surprise.  Eml shifted so he could see Koteh more fully.  Koteh was rarely serious, but sometimes he was still.  He seemed to be teetering between the two now, and Eml pulled him into a hug.  

“Whatever it means to you, you mean the world to me,” he said quietly.  

I love you, Koteh. He doesn’t say it, but he presses a soft kiss to Koteh’s cheek.  Still, serious, silent—Eml loved Koteh in those moments as much as when he was excitable and boisterous.  

Eml didn’t know what the reversed sign for community might mean, but he knew Koteh was a blessing.  Not just to him, but to anyone Koteh encountered.  Eml thought of the stars, of the sea, of the sand.  Did Koteh ever feel swallowed up by the vastness of the world? Did he ever feel small?

[heywannalearn]

When you’re speaking your target language: brain fart

I went to get a blood test today (in France) and FORGOT the word for 14 (my birthday) when the nurse asked. I then explained in full French that I knew the word, I was just panicking. LANGBLR PROBLEMS 

[thesharklord]

Awkward photo of when I got a little too crazy at a gig.

[willowaus]

I promised Ravyn some pictures of my adventures. Currently hanging out in Thessaloniki, Greece. Being by the water again is great.