☼ — golden.

people always told me That bars are dark and lonely And talk is often cheap and filled with air Sure sometimes they thrill me But nothin' could ever chill me Like the way they make the time just disappear

[xxriverxx]

hi !!  this is river !!  they are character #22, from boston, non-binary, bisexual, chill, hopefully funny, self-hating and self-loving, and studying art history bc i wanted an art hoe. i’m putting their info below pls plot with me yayay im so excited. 

welcome aboard, river navarro, student #22. we are excited to set sail with you ! has anyone told you that you look like aron piper? according to our records, you hail from boston, usa, prefer they/them pronouns, are non-binary, and are here to study art history. we also see you received a spot on the ss university because of your academic scholarship — we won’t tell anyone. during your first few weeks here, other students said you were + relaxed, + genial, but also - self-critical. it sounds like you spend most of your time at the sun deck. upon checking your luggage, we noticed you packed a snowglobe from quincy market.  

river grew up as the oldest child of three younger brothers and one younger sister. they are closest with their sister, of course, and protective of her. their brothers are kind of losers, but river still takes responsibility for them as the oldest sibling. they spent their whole life living in beantown usa, aka boston. yea, they’ve got that annoying boston drawl accent because they didn’t live in the touristy areas. love them anyway. 

after reading about this experimental education cruise online, river knew it was the perfect thing for them. they’ve spent their whole life shielding their younger siblings from their parents’ drama and divorce, and river decided it was finally time to do something for themselves. so this lil art hoe hopped on board the second they were able. they love to paint  ( not like well ... more like ... messy polluck shit, )  and doodle badly. their hair is always being dyed different colors depending on what quarter life crisis river is going through at the time. some days they are the most friendly, outgoing person you’ve ever met, and other days they’re locked up sulking in their bedroom in true infj fashion. good luck with them. pls plot with them. they’re lovely at heart and messy on the outside. 

also, if it means anything to you, they’re a pisces sun, virgo moon, leo rising.

things river likes:

top 40 music. yea, instead of hating what’s popular, river likes the concept of each generation having a set of pop culture and music that reflects a collective identity. or, yknow, corporate goons making money. but regardless, top 40 music is out there and everyone knows it and they think that is kind of beautiful, in a way, all the memories tied to those songs. 

also the most obscure indie music shit in genres you never even knew existed

monster energy drinks. 

taking everyday pictures and selling them as stock photos online

alcohol. lots of liquor. but also, lots and lots of white wines. the cheaper the better. probably drinks way too much for healthy levels and has a questionable relationship with it.

romance and romance novels. whatever. dont judge them. 

bright colors. neons and light pastels are their favorite. 

comedy films

indie films

comedic indie coming of age films 

stupid video games no one plays anymore like runescape and monkeyball  ( and yea they brought their gamecube aboard ) 

school. learning. knowing stuff. the tv show jeopardy. 

literally any animal

spaghetti, spinach pizza, authentic mexican food, and those weird jello cakes with fruit in them  ( their mom always made them )

things river hates:

people who hate everything for no reason

people who hate everyone for no reason

cleaning up their room  ( sorry roommies ) 

horror films

studying. forcing yourself to retain things only for an exam. 

their ugly handwriting

avocados, strawberries, tomatoes, burgers, salmon, and any food that requires too much formal dining.

if you like this post i will im u to plot <3

[xxriverxx]

i’m an open book; ask away ! 

[xxriverxx]

“wanna place bets on where we go next ? ”  river asks, nudging the person beside them at the sandbar with their elbow. “you’d think after months of living on a ship, i’d have some sort of idea of what direct the thing moves in, but i have no clue.”  they waved the bartender over and then turned to the person beside them again, “what are you drinking tonight ? ”    ( open starter  /  @seasstarts​ ) 

[toomuchchemistry]

[xxriverxx]

maybe letting her sister convince her to drop a tab before she left the house for the night wasn’t the best idea. as she sat on her back staring up at the sky she felt like it was pulsing pulling her in and out of her body with each blink. turning to face river as she blinked trying to find their face in a swirl of colors. “ i feel…like a million tiny particles floating in a galaxy of nothing. ” 

river gave noah a gentle smile and reached over to place their hand over noah’s, trying to help her stabilize.  “first off, i want whatever you had, for sure,”  they laughed softly, patting her hand.  “but also, i promise we aren’t in a galaxy of nothing. you’re right here with me, and we exist on this beach here in honolulu.”  they were made up of tons of litlte atoms, and where exactly the earth was — what exactly the universe was, what life is, was up for debate. but river wouldn’t bother noah with those thoughts at the moment. 

[xxriverxx]

he couldn’t completely follow the idea, an interested expression still clear on his face although the thoughts rushed and laced together in odd ways. he knew that the world was big but in a way, it was always small - what you were exposed to at any given moment. “my worlds always been small,” he admits. there was no shame in simplicity, that seeing the world was interesting but had never really been the biggest of his dreams. his smile is soft, “and i kind of like it that way, because when too many things happen at once then i think my brain might explode, that my head might topple right off and roll to someplace far away that i’ll never freaking find it again,” he finally lays back, head flat as he stares up into the dark and open sky of stars, “some of us are bigger than we think, some are smaller,” he muses a little cryptically. 

“i think there’s a lot of beauty in small worlds,”  river empathized, thinking over what asher had said. “when you’re close to things like that, you notice all the details you don’t see when you’re rushing through.”  although river had grown up in a big city - boston, they had carved out their own little section of it with their friends and the people they held dear. reliving the same places again and again, there was a familiarity and comfort that the rest of the world just couldn’t give them.  “are you from a small town ?  were you sheltered growing up ? ”  river asked, glancing at asher for a second, realizing they hadn’t learned much about the boy’s history. they liked having talks like this.  “i .. think i follow your logic. but, i am pretty drunk,”  they laughed, hand on their chest. 

[xxriverxx]

her eyes searched far and wide as river spoke, and eventually duckie pointed up at her favorite zig-zag of stars. “cassiopeia,” she said by way of an explanation, only turning her head when they continued. normally, just like with the ocean, being in the middle of a vast, starry night sky made her feel like the whole world was at her fingertips. that anything was possible. all of a sudden, laid out on the beach, she felt very small. “a little bit of both,” she decided quietly, having to drag her eyes away from river and back to the stars. “like there are endless stars up there and we’re only two of them. but at least we’re stars.”

“what’s cassiopeia ? ”  river asked, raising a brow, gazed fixed up upon the sky overhead.  “sounds like something cass made up while under the influence,”  river chuckled, lifting up just enough to take a drink from their beer — not that they needed any more to drink — and laying back down.  “i think humans are cooler than stars. and especially this human,”  they grinned, turning and poking duckie in the side drunkenly.  “imagine if you were just like, a ball of fire next to me. how uncool would that be.”  they tried to explain their logic.  “like, complex memories, thoughts, interactions. stars could never.”

[xxriverxx]

🦄 & 💫 !!

send 🦄  for a silly memory headcanon               river once pretended to be a celebrity to get into a club and it worked

send 💫  for a dreams headcanon                river aspires to be able to play an instrument really well someday, but truthfully is probably not dedicated enough to ever actually follow through

ask a headcanon about river !

[xxriverxx]

💫

send 💫  for a dreams headcanon

                river does not have a lot of specific dreams about the future. they tend to wander around and stumble into hobbies, adventures, and different things. one dream is to live in the same neighborhood as their sister in the future, with their future families and kids being best friends.

ask a headcanon about river !

[xxriverxx]

🌼

send 🌼  for a happiness headcanon               

               river is happiest when they are with other people. one of the happiest memories of their life so far was senior prom when they gathered a group of friends to go together. no one in their friend group had a specific date; they all danced together and had an after party at one of their houses where they all got drunk and slept over.

ask a headcanon about river !

[xxriverxx]

🎊

send 🎊 for a holiday headcanon

                every christmas eve, their family goes to their neighbor's house and has a big celebration. three or four families get together every year. it's a fun tradition that they cherish. however, river's family started doing this about a decade ago when their immediate family stopping having a private celebration - because their mom and dad would end up screaming & fighting so bad that everyone went to bed in tears. river and their sister always fled to the neighbor's house. no one ever discussed this, but they all know it's true.

ask a headcanon about river !

[xxriverxx]

⌛

send ⌛ for a hobby headcanon                river likes to play old school runescape almost every day. they also watch lots of videos of bunnies on instagram during classes, if that counts as a hobby.

ask a headcanon about river !

[xxriverxx]

* talk about your muse!

send 🍯 for a food headcanon

send🥛 for a drink headcanon

send 🐢 for a childhood headcanon

send 🦄 for a silly memory headcanon

send ⌛ for a hobby headcanon

send 💕 for a love headcanon

send 💣 for a stress headcanon

send 🎊 for a holiday headcanon

send 🤲 for a physical health headcanon

send 🏡 for a home headcanon

send 🍬 for a family headcanon

send 💼 for a work headcanon

send ⛈️ for a sadness headcanon

send 😡 for an anger headcanon

send 💫 for a dreams headcanon

send 💅 for a personality headcanon 

send 🌼 for a happiness headcanon

[xxriverxx]

asherandrews​:

the last time that he was star gazing was back in vegas with victoria, now when he sits in hawaii and turns his gaze to the sky, river’s words echo in his own ears. he isn’t sure what he thinks but he lulls back, palms down on the sand losing grip. “can’t you feel both?” he asks, a small smile on his lips as he briefly looks over them, “maybe we’re big here, right now but small in the whole world. y’know?”

“you can feel whatever you feel,”  river nods before turning their gaze back upwards to the sky, a brush of salty wind passing over their cheek causing them to rub their face for a second. “i think humans are bigger than we think we are,”  they answered back with their own thoughts, considering asher’s as well. “sometimes i feel like seeing the world makes it seem bigger than it ever did, and other times it makes it feel small. duality...”  they grinned, putting silly emphasis on the last word as they lift their head up so they can take a sip of the beer at their side.

[seashq]

howdy, students !  we hope you all have enjoyed your stay in honolulu, hawaii. to finish off our trip here, we will be having a haunted luau halloween event sunday october 24th, 12:30 pm on the waikiki beach. we will have popular luau foods, such as poke, lomi lomi salmon, and haupia as well as some traditional halloween favorites - candy, cookies, hot  ( and iced ) chocolate and cocktails. there will be a large bonfire set up where you can tell ghost stories, play ukulele, and hang out, surrounded, of course, by tiki torches. we will also have traditional Hawaiian music playing, mixed in with some spooky halloween favorites. wear your best COSTUMES !  

if you are unable to make it to this event, don’t fret. we will continue to host various events at different times of day throughout the semester to ensure folks in other timezones can participate.

time: sunday, october 24th, 12:30pm eastern.

location: ic - waikiki beach ooc - we will be using a site extremely similar to chatzy that does not limit the number of participants; link upcoming.

attire: halloween costumes !! 

sincerely, dean murphy

note — since this is many members’ first ic chat event, here are guidelines:

for this event, we highly recommend you use a computer browser and not mobile, if possible. i don’t know if chatzy works on mobile, but i haven’t tried it before.

to enter the chatzy event, you will automatically enter as a guest when you click the link. once you enter, click your name in the right sidebar and then choose the option “change nickname.”  format your nickname like this:  Name (referred/pronouns)

admin nia or cris will be talking ic as dean murphy during the event to help things along. other surprises may pop up if drama is lagging, but hopefully it won’t be necessary.

to interact in the event, simply write a sentence or two in the chat text link and submit.  it will appear in the chat room. if you haven’t used chatzy before, it is extremely simple and is literally just a private online chat room.

when writing in the event, use storybook type writing and present tense, as all things are happening at the exact same time in the event. the characters are literally in the ballroom moving about and interacting.

example 1: Mark gingerly walks over to the bar and looks at the bartender. “Can i get a rum and coke?”

example 2: “What the hell are you wearing?” Lena asks mark, eyeing his extravagant suit.

students, please reblog and like this post when it comes across your dashboard so we can ensure all students see.

[xxriverxx]

“i feel like everyone thinks of something different when they look up there,”  river acknowledged, nodding up towards the night sky as they lay on their back, soft sand against their skin, a hand pressed behind their head comfortably. they turned their head towards the person beside them.  “what about you ?  do you feel big or small when you see stars like this, on a perfect night like this ? ”  open starter /  @seasstarts​  

[seashq]

students !   it is time for our second land destination of the fall semester. exciting !  the ss university will be docking in honolulu, hawaii, united states of america, at 1:00pm est, wedesday, october 13th. rich in diversity, history, and natural beauty, honolulu is the state capital of hawaii and famous around the globe. if you weren’t quite ready to say goodbye to summer, this warm, tropical climate is the perfect place to extend it. from world class performing and visual arts, to breathtaking, sprawling natural landscapes, to a bustling nightlife and tasty refreshments, there is something for everyone to see here.

students will still be sleeping on the ship and in their regular rooms, but during the day they will have access to the city starting at 1:00pm est, october 13th. once the event begins, post new starters in honolulu and make new connections. students’ stay in the honolulu, hawaii, usa, dock will last through wednesday, october 20th. you may continue old threads during this time, but all starters posted during these days should take place in honolulu and be tagged with the event tag #seasevent !  

below are some ideas of tourist destinations and things to do while there:

visit the manoa waterfall

world famous waikiki beach

snorkel with turtles

hike diamond head volcano

dine dreamy at the cream pot

surfing at the numerous beaches

pearl harbor national memorial

zipline or ride an ATV at Kualoa Ranch

ride submarine scooters

diamond head state monument

makapuu lighthouse trail

polynesian cultural center living theme park

grab some quick grub at giovannis shrimp truck

honolulu zoo

underwater submarine adventures

lolani palace

dolphin quest oahu

shop at ala manoa center

check out honolulu’s art district

koko crater railway trail

scuba dive at shark’s cove

take a helicoptor tour of the island

climb to the top of aloha tower lighthouse

corsair dive ship wreckage

enjoy nightlife and food trucks in downtown honolulu

have some traditional malasadas at leonard’s bakery

catch a movie at consolidated theatre

waikiki farmers market

sea life park aquatic center

drink rooftop at sky waikiki

eat at fresh restaurants, such as aloha table waikiki, heavenly island lifestyle, south shore grill, green & vines raw vegan ourmet

tons of little cafes and coffee shops such as coffee talk, cafe lani, hawaiian aroma caffe, ARS cafe

bishop museum of hawaiian artifacts

kuhio beach park

honolulu museum of art

honolulu botanical gardens

try yoga at magic island

tan at Sans Souci Beach Park

and many, many other places. we recommend you check out some online travel guides.

we hope you have a good time in this tropical paradise. behave, students. don’t give our university a bad name. please like & reblog this post once read so we know everyone sees. -dean murphy