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roxannarambles · 1 year ago

Text

Title: Reckless (Part 2)

Ship: Rika/Professor Aurea Juniper

Notes: There is now a part two. The first part is here. Yes, this is a ship fic about Professor Aurea Juniper from Pokemon Black/White and Rika. "Why should I read this story?" you may ask. I'll tell you why.

Weeee've got:

-lesbians

-rika riding a motorcycle

-rika riding a horse (with juniper)

-rika being generally v. sassy and flirty

-juniper nerding out over pokemon research

-juniper being pretty thirsty ngl

-juniper being flustered

-biologically accurate (sort of) pokemon theories

-plus, mud wrestling!

Wordcount: ~13k

On Monday, Juniper arrived at the Academy bright and early for her morning meeting with Director Clavell. He was a very gracious man, just as much as he'd seemed during Juniper's interview. Juniper also had the good fortune to meet with the head of the school board at the same time; the woman happened to be meeting with Clavell for a variety of reasons and thus spent some time chatting with Juniper as well. Between the two of them, Juniper felt very warmly welcomed, and she hoped to meet their high expectations of her.

Juniper next visited the biology department so that she could formally meet her colleagues. To Juniper's surprise, the department really wasn't as large as she had expected it to be. Most of the teachers in the department were only instructors (both full or part-timers) as opposed to tenure-track, and they seemed a tad overworked, to be frank. That said, it appeared that they truly did love teaching, and they were very kind to Juniper. (It probably helped that her arrival meant she would be taking up some of the workload!) After meeting with them, Jacq took Juniper around the classrooms and labs, which looked to be very well-equipped. He then showed her the staff room, where they could further chat.

Now, Naranja Academy operated on a semester system, and the current semester was already well underway. This of course made it difficult for a new teacher to join in. However, the Academy sometimes offered classes that were asynchronous with the usual semesters, in order to accommodate a wider range of student schedules. In particular there were a few sections of biology classes they were going to operate on the quicker quarter system, which were due to begin in a few weeks. In other words, it was the perfect chance for Juniper to jump in. Honestly, the only real difficulty was that it was only a few weeks away. Director Clavell was supplying her with a class curriculum for the Introduction to Pokemon Biology course, which helped a great deal, of course-- she wouldn't have to devise a curriculum from scratch. The curriculum had pretty much everything ready to go for her. Still, there was much to learn for someone who had only previously lectured and taught brief classes to new trainers in an informal setting. Being responsible for an entire class of students, and for all those lectures and assignments and exams, well, it was a tad intimidating!

Fortunately, they had come up with a plan. Juniper was going to help out Jacq in his current classes, as a teacher's aide/guest speaker, where Juniper could familiarize herself with the material and adjust to work in a classroom setting. She would also assist Jacq with grading assignments and exams. With Jacq showing her the ropes, she would have the chance to prepare herself, such that her very first solo teaching experience wouldn't end up a total trial by fire. It seemed like a solid plan, and Juniper felt as though she was in good hands with Jacq's guidance. She was admittedly still a bit nervous, since three weeks did not seem like very long, but whatever lack of experience she still had in a few weeks, she would just have to make up with some determination and some improvisation.

Until then, she was going to throw herself into the work and learn all she could. That began today, as Juniper accompanied Jacq to his Monday classes. For today, she was mostly just observing and helping him with very minor things. It gave her the opportunity to absorb some of the atmosphere of the place. The young students that poured into the classroom were terribly rowdy and noisy, chattering in their seats, playing loud music on their phones and even running about; Juniper found herself wondering if Jacq would ever manage to get them to quiet down. But when the clock ticked over for class to begun and Jacq politely asked for everyone's attention, they settled down remarkably fast. She could tell just from watching how much the students liked and respected Jacq. When he asked questions from the class, students always raised their hands, and everyone seemed engaged and generally interested. He had a warm, comfortable rapport with his students, and he would crack jokes that were often not very good but his students laughed (or groaned) anyway. It was very sweet, and Juniper hoped she would develop a similar rapport once she had students of her own.

After classes, Jacq brought her over to the teacher offices, which were all congregated in the same building. The instructors and part-timers had simple, modest offices, but the more seasoned professors had larger accommodations. Juniper did not have an office assigned to her as of yet, due to a general lack of space. However, Jacq had very kindly agreed to share his office/lab space with her until she had something more permanent. And once Jacq brought her into the office she would be sharing . . . well! Juniper couldn't hide her excitement. Jacq's lab was fantastic, decked out with the latest and most exciting scientific equipment in the field, including equipment for studying DNA, biochemistry, habitats for pokemon for behavioral analysis, various machines for studying pokemon moves' power output, and more. Juniper felt practically giddy just thinking about the research she could conduct here and all the shiny toys she could use. She began to babble to Jacq about all her ideas, but alas, their time needed to be cut short; Jacq had plans to meet with a colleague for some work he was doing concerning a pokemon named Gimmighoul.

That didn't' trouble her, of course-- there'd be plenty of time for Juniper to talk his ear off about her ideas. Juniper spent the rest of the day exploring the school. She already had a brief tour of the school earlier, but now she could spend a little more time investigating. It was quite a unique place. While most Universities had large, sprawling campuses, Naranja was incredibly self-contained, everything kept within its large, interconnected halls. It was actually quite impressive how efficiently it was laid out and how much fit into a relatively small area. Not to mention the building itself was just beautiful, reminding Juniper of some ancient chapels she'd seen in Kalos. Juniper's favorite location was probably the library-slash-study hall that was located at the very entrance of the school. The nearly endless stained-oak bookcases were just absolutely packed to the brim with books of all kinds and descriptions, a very thorough and impressive collection. The academy's schoolyard was also very noteworthy. It was a wide-open space situated very high up on the building, open to sunshine all around but covered on the top with the Academy's grand pokeball-shaped dome. There was a lot of space for sports and pokemon battles, as well as benches and trees and a park area. It seemed like a lovely place to relax, and Juniper was sure she would be seeing a lot of it in the coming days.

And that was Juniper's first official day working at Naranja Academy. When she headed home, she felt somehow entirely exhausted and yet incredibly wired at the same time. It was a lot to adjust to, she supposed. Not in the mood to try out the apartment's stove (not that she had much in the way of kitchenware at the moment), she ordered Thai. She didn't really pack much with her when she'd moved here, outside of clothes, toiletries, and the likes. She had an air mattress and sheets, and the apartment came with a stove and refrigerator; there wasn't much else at the moment. Her father was going to help pack and ship out some of her stuff, so that would be arriving sometime later. But that was fine. She didn't need anything else for now. She had to strike while the iron was still hot, you know? She needed to snatch up this job and move out here as soon as she could . . . before she had the chance to change her mind, or to waffle about it for six more months. Or a few more years. Juniper knew herself well enough by now; she knew that's exactly what would have happened if she hadn't jumped at this opportunity.

She sat on her air mattress and ate Thai food with a plastic fork while watching the latest gym matches from Galar on her tablet, only paying it half-attention. Her mind was running through everything at once. Things had gone very well, of course. Her boss seemed very kind and supportive. The department was a little small but it was full of wonderful people and equipped with cutting-edge facilities. She had a good mentor who'd help her ease into the teaching role, and her brain was bursting with research possibilities. It was everything she'd wanted, and everything she'd needed. It was a bit of a gamble to come out here, to switch up everything in her life and to try something new, but it had paid off. She was happy.

Wasn't she?

Juniper picked listlessly at her Pad Thai. It was true everything had gone terribly well. But was it everything she wanted and needed? That . . . was a little harder to articulate. Juniper had built her life around her career. It was everything she lived for. Her father would often refer to her as a 'workaholic' in a derogatory tone, a fact that seemed damn hypocritical in her opinion, considering how obsessed with work he often became. So what if she was a workaholic? That was a good thing! She loved her work. She was passionate. It drove her, it kept her striving forward, it pushed the envelope of scientific progress, and it brought her meaning and purpose.

Juniper glanced around her empty apartment, sighing and finding the sight a little melancholic. She had to admit that despite all of her excitement, she also felt a bit anxious, and a bit . . . lonely. She'd rushed out here so fast she hadn't even the chance to bid farewells to most of her colleagues and friends in Unova. They were all a world away, now. Although, even when Juniper had been living there, she hadn't exactly been a social butterfly. It just was never high on her list of priorities. Too wrapped up in whatever her current project was. She was always a bit awkward when it came to social sorts of things anyway. It was so much easier to just focus on what she was good at, and what interested her so much.

Well. So what? So what if that'd always been the case? If she really wanted to, Juniper could spend a bit more time socializing out here in Paldea. She'd probably make great friends with her colleagues at the Academy. And sure, yes, she rushed out here rather quickly, but that was fine! It's true she still wasn't sure yet if she'd enjoy teaching or if she'd be any good at it, or if any of her research ideas would actually come to fruition, or if she'd get along with her other colleagues or if she'd manage to actually socialize with them or talk about anything other than work, or if she'd ever feel at home in Paldea, or if she'd ever manage to actually finish the projects she started, if she'd ever chase away the weird empty feeling in the pit of her stomach whenever she got home and dropped onto her bed after a full twelve hours of obsessing over work, and if . . . if . . .

If . . .

"Ooof. Okay, take it easy, Aurea."

Okay. Maybe she did need to get out a bit more and . . . do the whole social thing.

It couldn't hurt to try.

Unbidden, Juniper's mind suddenly played back the memories of last night at the Medali Gym, memories of a beautiful stranger with Bordeaux eyes and seafoam hair, a stranger who had such an ineffable, incredible presence about her, oozing self-confidence and power and just a little bit of danger.

Juniper coughed on a rice noodle.

Not her, Aurea, for goodness' sake. At least go after someone in your league.

Juniper sighed, sinking further back into her sagging air mattress.

The next week, Juniper found herself settling into a comfortable routine. She would climb the enormous flight of stairs up to Naranja Academy, join Jacq in his office to help with his prep work, and then attend his two classes so that she could assist. They'd next have lunch and then in the afternoon Juniper would help Jacq with grading and other duties, as well as review some of the curriculum at large and go over any questions Juniper had. The remainder of the day Juniper spent her time either running errands, exploring some other part of the school or Mesagoza, or (her favorite part) fiddling in the lab and planning out her future research endeavors.

She briefly met some of the faculty in other departments, including Dendra the Battle Studies instructor (who was very energetic), Tyme the Math instructor (who was very pleasant and talkative), and Saguaro, in charge of Home Ec (who, despite appearances, was in fact as sweet as a Teddyursa). She also found a good shop in Mesagoza for her groceries, although the student store at the Academy was also surprisingly well-stocked and convenient, so long as Juniper didn't buy too much there. The trek back to her apartment was a bit obnoxious if she was loaded down with too many bags, after all.

On the weekend, Juniper went traveling again, keen to return to her research on the field. She returned to the West Province to study Girafirag, gathering more data on the herds as well as catching some individuals to study back at the lab. She mostly focused on Area Two, in the grasslands bordering the Asado Desert, although she made the trip back into Medali for lunch rather than try for Cascarrafa. It was entirely because Juniper already knew how to get there and so it was just the easiest, and for no other reason at all. And if some tiny part of her brain had hoped to possibly run into a certain individual again by happenstance, well, that wasn't really important.

She did not run into anyone by happenstance, but she did gather some wonderful data for her research. She spent Sunday compiling information, looking information up, and growing increasingly excited over and obsessed with some budding theories of hers. She didn't return home to her apartment until very late, dropping onto her air mattress in exhaustion. It seemed old habits died hard, alas.

Monday morning, Juniper had arrived to Jacq's lab before even Jacq had managed to. When he did appear, mug of coffee in hand, he found Juniper situated at one of the specialized machines, a Girafirag strapped up to the devices, a metal dome over its primary head and a second smaller dome also attached to its tail.

"Oh, good morning, Aurea! I'm surprised you managed to beat me, hehe. Whatcha got cooking there?"

The machine was printing out a steady graph on a long roll of paper, which Juniper was grabbing as quickly as the machine could spit it out. She turned and beamed at him, proclaiming,

"It fits perfectly! Every Girafirag I've tested so far. Jacq, this is stupendous! I think I've got my next research paper already figured out, if the data continue to follow this trend."

Jacq took a sip of his coffee and chuckled. With only a small hint of concern in his voice, he asked,

"What, um, what time did you get here?"

Juniper muttered,

"Oh, I'm not sure, six or something . . ."

She checked her wrist automatically for her Xtransceiver before remembering that piece of technology was outdated and she hadn't worn it in a long time, then shook her head.

"Doesn't matter! Jacq, take a look at these psi-wave readouts from all the Girafirag I've collected so far. In particular, from the hind-brains. And now, compare them to these," she said, pushing a bundle of papers into Jacq's hands. He set his coffee down and struggled to wrangle the rolls of paper, setting them on a desk so he could examine them more easily. After a bit, he hummed,

"They're much higher than the other set."

"Yes! Exactly. Jacq, the Girafirag in Paldea are very different from other regions. It may not look so on the outside, but they are. The amount of psychic activity from their hind-brains is doubled, nearly tripled at times! It probably relates to how they're able to evolve here."

Jacq smiled, a bit of an excited sparkle in his eye.

"Why that's wonderful! What an incredible find, Aurea! Your first week here and already you've discovered something so significant. I knew it was going to be a thrill working alongside you."

Juniper gave a bit of an embarrassed huff, waving the praise off quickly.

"It wasn't anything serious, I just ran some basic tests. But look here, after I started to see the trend, I wanted to know why. Why would Paldean Girafirag's hind brains be so much more developed than usual? It's strange. Presumably there's some sort of selective pressure for Girafirag with tails that have these more-developed brains, but the question is, what specifically?"

"Yes," Jacq said, then suggested,

"Perhaps something about Paldea is especially conducive to psychic energy?"

Juniper answered,

"Yes, possibly. But I got to thinking about the functions of Girafirag's hindbrain. They mostly serve a defensive function of course, allowing Girafirag to stay on guard even while it sleeps, and spotting danger from behind-- even responding to said danger automatically-- at all hours. I began to wonder if the Girafirag here had more reason to worry about such possible threats. And I noticed something while I was out on the field. There were a great many herds of Paldean Tauros in Area Two, competing for the prime grazing spots."

Jacq nodded along, starting to see where Juniper was headed. Juniper continued,

"And Paldean Tauros are far more aggressive than regular Tauros. Not to mention Fighting type! They represent a significant threat that the local Girafirag must keep an eye on, and psychic moves would be especially well-suited to keep them check. A quick, automatic response from Girafirag's tail could ward off any Tauros trying to butt in!"

Jacq sipped his coffee, commenting,

"I must say, that's an excellent theory."

Juniper moved to start unstrapping the Girafirag from the machine, gushing,

"It's remarkable! At first glance, the local Girafirag seem unnoteworthy, but a closer look tells a different tale. A different tail? Haha, didn't mean for that to be a joke. Anyway, if the differences are as pronounced as I believe them to be, why, we could be witnessing the development of a new Regional Form unfolding in real time! I imagine in the not-too-distant future, Paldean Girafirag will be their own Regional Form."

With the patient Girafirag unhooked from the machine, Juniper gave its head a pat.

"Thank you for your help, little one. I'll be sure to bring you back home soon, okay? And I promise some nice berries for your trouble."

The Girafirag's tail began to chomp the air at the sound of the word 'berry.'

"For both of you, haha! I promise."

She returned the pokemon to its ball. Jacq appeared to be reflecting on Juniper's theories.

"It reminds me a little of Paldean Wooper," he mused,

"I suspect their divergence into a unique regional form didn't take place all that long ago. In many ways they're not too distinct from typical Wooper. Nonregional Wooper will coat their skin with a sticky, toxic residue to protect against desiccation while on land, but the toxicity is relatively mild. Paldean Wooper simply turned that up a notch, spending more time on dry land and developing a somewhat stronger protective film on their skin."

Juniper snapped her fingers.

"Yes! I do remember reading about that. You know, they'd be an excellent candidate to turn my attentions to next. I hope to survey all the regional forms and unique evolutions here eventually. I think it could offer some real insights into how speciation occurs in general."

Jacq offered her a

"I'm sure you're right. But remember, Aurea, you have plenty of time. There's no need to push yourself this hard, when you've only just arrived."

Juniper gazed at him, feeling a little confused. She was about to protest she hadn't been pushing herself, but then she took a few moments to really consider things. Right. Well. From an outside perspective, she could see why it would look like that.

"You . . . might be right. I have been going pretty hard right out the gate. It's just difficult to rein myself in when I'm this excited."

Jacq laughed.

"Believe me, I understand. I get carried away in my research too. I have to remind myself to look up every now and then and make sure I'm still doing things like eating, hehe. So I hope you don't take offense if I remind you every now and again, too."

Juniper smiled at him.

"No, not at all. Thank you for looking out for me. And you're right-- we have classes to prepare for today, after all. So let's get to work on that."

Jacq eyed her.

"Well, first things first-- have you had breakfast?"

Juniper blinked at him, then glanced away guiltily.

"Ah, sort of?"

"Coffee doesn't count."

"Then no."

"All right, then we're dropping by the cafeteria."

The next several days passed by quickly, packed with work. On Tuesday, Juniper did a little guest lecturing, and on Wednesday, they had a big exam to grade; surprisingly the work wasn't too bad when it was divided between the two of them. On Thursday, they finished up with their post-class work early, and Juniper had a lot free time that afternoon. She probably should have spent it picking up a few more things to furnish her apartment with (such as somewhere to sit or a source of light or a table or something?). Instead she went out to the East Province in search of Wooper and Clodsire. In her defense, Jacq had planned on covering regional variants a bit in next week's lecture, so it was an entirely justified trip.

Friday morning, Jacq arrived at his office to find Juniper was there early again, but instead of being jazzed over her research she appeared quite sullen, brooding as she drank her coffee.

"Good morning, Aurea! Um . . . sleep well?"

Juniper glanced to him distractedly and nodded.

"Well enough, I suppose."

He frowned, pulling out a chair and sitting.

"Then what has you so gloomy?"

She chuckled a little.

"Oh, nothing too dire. Just had a bit of a wasteful afternoon yesterday. I was out in the East Province trying to study Paldean Wooper."

Jacq's interested seemed piqued.

"Couldn't find what you were looking for?"

She shook her head.

"Oh, I found plenty of Wooper, and even some Clodsire! That wasn't the problem, though. The trouble was I'd hoped to capture some for my research and, well . . ."

She trailed off, looking a little embarrassed.

"A-hem, well . . . funny thing is, those Clodsire are pretty protective of the Wooper around them, as it turns out! Which wouldn't really be an issue as I would have loved to capture some Clodsire specimens as well, but. I . . . couldn't actually manage to do that."

She hated to admit it. At least Jacq didn't seem to think less of her for it. He asked,

"What was the problem, exactly? Perhaps I could be of some help."

She sighed, leaning back in her chair.

"Well, the Clodsire had sequestered themselves and the Wooper in the middle of their bog. I tried to Surf out there on my Carracosta, but the water was too muddy and shallow for him to swim in effectively. I contemplated wading in myself, but the bog was rather dense and easy to sink into and it didn't seem wise. So I wasn't really sure how to . . . get at them, you know? My Archeops can fly, yes, but she's not the best at hovering in place, not to mention the Wooper and Clodsire would then just sink down under the mud. Urgh. I wasted a lot of time just floundering for a solution, I felt very silly!"

Jacq laughed, not unkindly.

"There's no need to be so harsh on yourself, Aurea. Clodsire can be very tricky. Even I struggle to catch them! And I'm always warning my students that they need to be extra careful around those bogs. You were good to be cautious, sometimes it's best to recognize you haven't the right tools for the job and need to return later."

Juniper chuckled, mostly at herself, feeling better at his words of reassurance.

"Well, I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one."

Jacq hummed to himself, tapping a finger as he contemplated.

"Yes, it can be a pain in the neck to deal with those bogs. But now that I think about it, there's someone I know who's quite the expert on Clodsire. Rika! I'll bet she could help you out better than even I could."

Juniper wracked her brain as she sipped her black coffee.

"Rika, hm? What department is she with? I don't think I've met her yet."

"Oh, well she's not technically with the Academy. She's an Elite Four member! But she helps out at the school sometimes as well."

Juniper's brows lifted a little.

"An Elite Four member? Interesting. Are you sure she'd be interested in helping out a Pokemon Professor with her research, though? I imagine Elites usually have their hands full with all that battling and such."

Jacq didn't seem too concerned

"It's true they can get pretty busy, but they've always been very kind about making time for requests from the Academy, too. I guess it probably helps that the head of the League is also head of the school board, hehe."

Juniper nodded. That did make sense.

"Well, if you think she's the right person for the job, then I'd gladly accept the help."

Jacq pulled out his Rotom Phone, tapping on it.

"Alrightie then. I'll just send an e-mail to see if she has any time available."

By the afternoon, Juniper was too caught up in work to brood any longer, Thursday's failure now long forgotten. She spent the rest of the work day grading assignments, finishing them up right when it was time to head home.

She was lounging in her apartment that Friday evening, eating takeout again because she still hadn't gotten around to furnishing her kitchen, when Jacq sent a text.

Good news! As it happens, Rika has space in her schedule tomorrow. She told me she'd be happy to lend a hand.

Juniper was surprised at the quick response. She didn't expect to hear back for a while.

That's wonderful! Thank you, Jacq!

He quickly replied,

She told me that she could swing by the Academy, if that's acceptable?

Juniper texted back that it was perfect, since she'd planned on going in tomorrow anyway to do some reading. Jacq said that he'd pass that along, as well as forward the e-mail to Juniper so she'd have her contact info, and then that was that. Juniper was very pleased at the thought of making progress this weekend with her research. Yes, she promised Jacq she'd try to pace herself, but doing a little bit of research this weekend wouldn't hurt, surely.

As it turned out, the Elite Four member couldn't drop by until Saturday afternoon, so the next day Juniper spent her morning in the lab reading the scientific literature about Paldean regional forms. At lunch, she grabbed a bento box from the cafeteria and returned to the lab to eat while she read.

Technically, Juniper was waiting for the Elite Four member to drop by the office, but she became so engrossed in her reading that the fact eventually slipped from her mind. There was just so much material to cover, and some of the authors, well, they had some dingbat theories, in Juniper's humble opinion. She became very involved in scribbling her thoughts into the margins of an especially dense paper she'd printed out (she'd always preferred the feel of paper). During one comment she was scribbling, her pen began to run out of ink, and with a bit of annoyed huff, she tossed it aside, searching for another. It was at this point she noticed a pair of women had entered the lab and were approaching her desk, and she remembered why she'd been sitting here to begin with. She quickly glanced up at them.

The first woman she immediately registered as the head of the League and School Board; Geeta, whom she'd met on her first day of the job. But as Juniper's eyes shifted to the woman walking beside her, her thoughts ground to a complete halt.

Her heart lurched.

Legs for days, handsome suit, a nearly endless green ponytail wisping behind her, wine-red eyes . . .

N-no . . . this was completely absurd, it-- it couldn't be--

"Good afternoon, Professor Juniper," Geeta greeted cheerfully as they reached her desk. Juniper froze, perfectly still, her eyes comically wide. The woman standing beside Geeta had a very casual air about her, her shoulders relaxed and her hands buried in her pockets, but she was looking at Juniper very intently, a smirk stretched out wide across her mouth.

Oh, she was enjoying this.

"A-a-afternoon," Juniper stammered, or at least she hoped that's what it came out as. It must have been close enough, because Geeta continued blithely,

"I hope you're settling in well! I was here on other business, so I thought I'd drop by and introduce you both."

Juniper clambered to her feet, belatedly realizing she must have looked rude just sitting there like that. Geeta smiled and gestured to the woman beside her, saying,

"Dr. Juniper, this is Rika, our Ground specialist of the Elite Four and a good friend of mine. I promise you'll be in very good hands today."

Geeta then turned to the other, saying,

"Rika, this is Doctor Juniper, our new Biology instructor from Unova."

The smirking woman held out a gloved hand to shake, her eyes never wavering from Juniper's gaze. As Juniper looked at the offered hand-- the black glove emblazed with the Elite Four symbol, she now realized-- she felt her face flush hot. She suddenly regretted very, very sorely the daydreams she'd indulged in several days ago during an especially lonely night. Dreams that had starred a beautiful stranger she'd assumed she'd never see again.

She was looking at her, she was still waiting, oh god.

Her stomach twisting in a summersault, Juniper somehow managed to reach out and take the offered hand, uncertain if the woman was going to try the same hand-kissing stunt a second time around but absolutely not ruling the possibility out.

She did not. Instead, she just gave her hand a brief squeeze, her smile increasing. Lazily, she said,

"Nice to see you again, Professor."

She released her grip and Geeta glanced between them both.

"Oh, you both already know each other?"

The beautiful stranger-- Rika-- chuckled and answered,

"Not really. We met briefly, though. You know the day I was helping Larry out with his new admissions? I found her inside the Medali gym, looking like a lost little Deerling. Helped her find her way around."

Rika was still looking at Juniper while she spoke, and Juniper was silently cursing her for it; she knew, she had to know that her gaze alone was doing ridiculous things to Juniper.

Geeta smiled, saying,

"Isn't that nice! I'm happy to hear you're being so proactive about making newcomers feel welcome. Well, I'm sure you both have much to discuss about this Clodsire research, so I won't hover about. It was nice seeing you again, Doctor, and I wish you both a fruitful day of work!"

As she left, Rika waved, saying,

"See ya later, boss."

And then Geeta was gone, leaving the two of them alone.

Juniper swallowed her suddenly dry throat, wondering what kind of bizarre sense of humor the divine creator Arceus had. (She didn't actually ascribe to the Church of Arceus. But it was still a very useful metaphor in the moment.)

"So how are you liking life at the Academy?"

Juniper had to force herself to snap to attention, needing to replay the question in her mind before comprehending it.

"I-I--"

She coughed, her dry voice breaking, and started again.

"I-I've enjoyed it! I'm only, uh, I'm only assisting in classes at the moment, but it's been going very well."

There, see, she could do this, she could sound normal. Juniper glanced the woman over and added bravely,

"And it's nice to see you again as well, Ms . . . Rika."

She pronounced the name slowly, trying out the sound of it. She continued wryly,

"Nice to finally have a name to put to the face."

The woman grinned,

"Oh, did I forget to mention it? Sorry, sometimes I'm a bit of a scatterbrain."

Juniper lifted a brow. Somehow Rika did not look sorry at all. Clearing her throat, Juniper said,

"Yes, well . . . I find it interesting you also neglected to mention you're an Elite Four member and sometimes still work with the Academy."

Rika just shrugged.

"Well, c'mon, Professor, if I went around announcing to everyone I met that I'm in the E4, that'd come across as pretty pretentious, don't you think?"

Juniper frowned, considering that.

". . . I suppose you have a point."

Rika paced the office casually as she drawled,

"But don't let any of that intimidate you, all right? Don't think of me as Rika, The Illustrious Elite, or Rika, the Ground Guru, or Rika, the Resplendant Beauty, or any of that--"

Juniper opened her mouth to suggest she was being perhaps a bit hyperbolic, but Rika then turned and paced back to stand just ever so slightly too close to Juniper, and the protest quickly died before Juniper could formulate it. Rika smiled at her, finishing,

"Just think of me as Rika: your new research assistant."

Juniper swallowed. Somehow that thought did not calm her. She stammered,

"R-right."

Thankfully, Rika didn't seem to notice Juniper's general struggle to speak around her. Or, as was more likely, she was entirely aware but didn't mind it. Either way, she simply asked,

"So, what're we working on today? Jacq said you were interested in studying Clodsire."

It was an act of mercy for her to ask about the research, because Juniper's brain actually functioned properly when it came to talking about that.

"Y-yes! Well, um! You see, I've been studying Paldean regional forms. I'm hoping to better understand how the process of speciation works-- that is, um, how a new species comes to exist. Most evidence suggests it's a very gradual process, that takes place across many generations. Regional forms are very likely an example of a species diverging into something new. So, for example, ah--"

Juniper turned and quickly stepped to a nearby whiteboard, clearing away the scribbles on it with her hand and fumbling with a dry-erase marker. She drew out illustrations of her points on the board.

"So for example, this would be Wooper and Quagsire here, and over here is Paldea's regional forms of Wooper and Clodsire. Really, there's argument among scientists whether Clodsire is actually a regional form of Quagsire or if it now qualifies as a separate species, but we won't get into the nitty-gritty details for the moment. The important thing is, over time in this region, they've gone through changes. And if that continues, over here in the future, why, they could become something hardly even recognizable to Wooper and Quagsire, you see?"

Juniper paused, considering her lumpy, hastily-drawn Woopers, adding,

"Well, I suppose they're hardly recognizable in my drawings, too, but I trust you still understand the general point."

She heard an amused little snort. She turned back to her guest; Rika promptly raised her hand as if she were a student in class. Juniper huffed and said,

"Yes?"

"I'm just wonderin' where I come in. Not that this isn't interesting, but it's not exactly my area of expertise."

Juniper nodded, quickly answering,

"Right! Yes, sorry about that. I need to do some field work to gather more data. That is to say, I need to capture some Paldean Wooper and Clodsire. I attempted to capture some a few days ago in the East Province, but I met with some, erm, difficulty. They hunkered down in the middle of their bog and I wasn't sure of the best way to go about capturing them. Jacq mentioned you were an expert on Clodsire, so I was hoping you may be able to . . . um . . . help me . . . capture some? Or give me some advice, in the least?"

Juniper waited tensely for a response, unsure if her request would come across as too trivial, or perhaps even the reverse problem, too difficult, if Rika's knowledge pertained strictly to fighting with Ground types and little else?

However, Rika's eyes seemed to light up at the request and she responded breezily,

"That, I can do."

Juniper beamed at her,

"Oh, splendid! I greatly appreciate the assistance!"

Her guest seemed amused at something-- perhaps Juniper's degree of excitement-- but didn't comment, instead saying,

"Let's see, you said you went to the East Province? Where exactly did you go?"

Juniper struggled to recall, checking her phone to refresh her memory with the photos she took.

"Hmm, I believe it was . . ." (She flicked through several photos here.) "Oh, well, not very far from the watchtower? I can't recall exactly where."

Rika nodded.

"All right. First of all, there's a spot not too far from Zapapico, I've had a lot more luck out there then the other spots. Larger population and a wider range of levels, so you'll have more to choose from."

Juniper grabbed her pen and scribbed that down.

"Near Zapapico, got it. And do you have any suggestions on dealing with the topography, the ah, the swamp? My Surf pokemon couldn't swim in it, you see--"

Rika cut her off, shaking her head.

"You don't need to worry about it."

Puzzled, Juniper said,

"I don't?"

Rika clarified,

"Cos I'm comin' with you."

Juniper quickly responded,

"--Oh! Wonderful! That would be ideal, of course! I just wasn't sure if your schedule permitted it."

The woman took a phone from her pocket to check (it was slim and had a case covered in Wooper, which Juniper found adorable), muttering,

"Well, I have a bit of shoppin' to do in Mesagoza, but that shouldn't take me long. Maybe an hour at most."

She pocketed it again, shooting Juniper a crooked smile.

"After that, I'm all yours."

Juniper adamantly ignored the flutter in her chest and cleared her throat.

"All right! W-well, perfect! Shall we meet up in an hour then?"

The woman seemed to ponder something a moment before suggesting,

"Let's make it an hour and a half. We can meet at Zapapico, in front of the Pokecenter. That work for you?"

Juniper agreed,

"That works very nicely."

Rika nodded.

"Good."

She paused, her gaze flicking Juniper over. The crooked smile returned.

"I'll see you then, Doe-Eyes."

She winked and left. Juniper just stood there for a bit, motionless, still trying to absorb the fact that any of this was happening.

She groaned, burying her face in her hands. This wasn't going to be easy.

Zapapico was a small town, cut into the foot of the Glaseado Mountain, with only a small smattering of stores and houses; perhaps it's biggest brag was the fairly humble pokemon battle court in the center of town. Still, despite that fact, it was a very pretty town. Juniper arrived early, so she spent a little time admiring it and poking into the shops before heading over to the Pokecenter. Juniper knew immediately when Rika had arrived, because the fact was announced by the whine of an engine. Juniper looked up to watch the large green lizard pokemon barreling along the road, its legs moving so quickly they were nothing but a blur. It slowed and came to a stop at the little motorcycle parking lot just nearby. Rika dismounted and ambled over to Juniper. Juniper expected her to have a bag, perhaps for supplies, as they were going out into the wilds to catch pokemon, after all-- but she had nothing, it seemed. Apparently she traveled light.

When she reached her, Juniper couldn't help but ramble.

"That motorcycle pokemon you have, they're fascinating! I meant to quiz Jacq about them more, but it's always slipped my mind. Do they have actual mechanical parts? Steel type, maybe?"

She knew some pokemon with moving mechanical parts, like Klinklang, but an entire functioning motorcycle seemed on another level. Rika chuckled, answering,

"A good guess, but nope. No actual machinery involved. They're Dragon/Normal type."

Juniper's eyes widened.

"Really! That's incredible. So just a very impressive form of mimicry, then."

"Guess so. They've been a part of Paldea a real long time, folks have been riding them for centuries, they think."

Juniper thrilled at the possibilities.

"I wonder if they've always had that motorcycle appearance and humans later fashioned their machines to look like them, or if they later developed that mimicry alongside humans' new machines! A sort of Torchick-or-the-egg kind of mystery, how interesting."

Rika shrugged at the question (even though Juniper hadn't really expected an answer). She said,

"Dunno. Guess you could ask the same thing about Voltorb."

Juniper beamed at her,

"Yes! Exactly! A question Pokemon Professors have indeed been asking and looking into quite a lot. And Amoonguss, among others. But back to your pokemon-- ah, Cyclizar I believe it was called? I'm curious, are they still very popular here as ride pokemon?"

Rika confirmed,

"Yeah, there's still a lot of 'em. Not as much as there used to be, since the flying taxi services are getting really big here, but I doubt they're goin' away anytime soon."

Juniper nodded.

"Yes, that makes sense. It seems a lovely cultural tradition. Although I must confess I prefer flying, it's just so quick and efficient."

Rika shook her head,

"Not for me, thanks. Cyclizar's way more fun. Those air taxis look too rickety for my tastes, anyway."

Juniper hummed, considering the Paldean Taxis; the arrangement of lashing so many little parrots to them did seem overly complex when compared to Galar's Corviknight-pulled taxis. In fact, she was pretty sure Corviknight lived in Paldea, too, so she began to wonder why they favored Squawkabilly. She was about to ask, when Rika cut in, an amused twinkle in her eye.

"Not that I mind the conversation, but I thought you wanted to talk about Clodisre today, not Cyclizar?"

Juniper released a short laugh, saying,

"Sorry, that's-- it's something I tend to do. I'm a bit distractible. There's just so many mysteries worth looking into. But you're right, let's turn our focus to Clodsire."

She followed Rika as they set out on the path leading away from Zapapico.

"Well, somewhat related to Cyclizar, I gotta admit while they're very fast, they don't deal with rugged terrain very well. They like flat roads," Rika said, dipping her hand into her pocket. She pulled out a pokeball in its shrunken-down form and held the button to bring it to full size.

"Which is why I have this guy."

She tossed the ball, a massive beast materializing before them; the hulking frame of a Mudsdale. The horse turned and flicked its ears, giving a placid nicker. Juniper laughed,

"Of course, that's perfect!"

Mudsdale was one of the best pokemon around for navigating rough roads and mud. In fact, she could think of nothing better-suited for the task before them today. Ms Rika most definitely knew her stuff.

Juniper watched Rika approach the horse and pet his muzzle for a bit and scratch behind his ears, muttering sweet nothings to him. Then she turned, and in one clean, sweeping motion, slung her leg around and hopped up aboard the horse, like it was the easiest thing to do. To her, perhaps it was, but to Juniper it seemed like wizardry.

"Wow. I-I'm not sure if I can pull off a maneuver like that," Juniper laughed nervously, gazing up at the towering monster. Rika turned and leaned over, holding out her hand.

"Don't worry, I don't expect you to. Step up on my hand, that's easiest."

Juniper was reluctant at first, unsure if she'd hold her weight, but did as she was instructed, using Rika's hand as a step-- whose grip felt steady as steel, a thought that made Juniper's insides feel a bit wobbly-- and pulling herself up onto the horse. She settled onto its enormous back, trying to find something to hold onto, but there really wasn't anything; it wasn't like Rhyhorn, with all those pieces to grab. (She wasn't going to pull on the creature's braided mane, since that seemed rude, and she certainly wasn't going to be presumptuous enough to grab onto her co-pilot.) So Juniper simply steadied her hands on the pokemon's back. Then she chanced to glance down.

"Oh, my."

Rika glanced over her shoulder.

"You good back there?"

Juniper nodded, giving her a shaky smile.

"Y-yes. It's just a bit new. I'm used to riding Rhyhorn, you see. There's a lot more to hold onto with those, and they're, well . . . a fair bit closer to the ground."

Rika chuckled,

"That's true. If you need something to hold onto, you can always use me. Shouldn't be too bad though, we'll be going pretty slow."

" . . . right. Okay."

She wasn't going to hold onto her, there was no way Juniper would keep a focused head if she did that, and that would be terribly awkward, besides.

Rika clicked her tongue, and the Mudsdale lurched forward. Juniper immediately squawked and grabbed onto Rika's waist. As the Mudsdale stomped along the path, Rika laughed, asking,

"You still good?"

Juniper straightened back up and let go of her like a hot potato, incredibly annoyed with herself.

"I'm fine I'm fine it's fine, I-- I was just startled."

The Mudsdale was plodding along at a rather slow pace, just as Rika promised; it only took Juniper a few moments to adjust to its rumbling gait.

"If it helps . . . I'm not exactly a fan of heights either, but if I can get used to Mudsdale, I'm sure you will in no time."

Juniper replied automatically,

"It's not so much the heights, it's more the thought of being thrown off."

Belatedly, Juniper realized what Rika had revealed. Ah, so there was another reason she'd preferred Cyclizar.

"Well you don't have to worry 'bout that. Mudsdale is solid as a rock and gentle as a Mareep."

Rika leaned over, draping her body across the animal's neck and petting his mane, as if to prove her point.

"Aren'tcha boy? Take it nice and easy for our special friend, okay? Don't wanna lose her overboard."

Juniper was briefly distracted wondering what Rika meant by 'special' friend, if anything, but decided to leave it be. It was actually quite endearing to see the pure trust Rika placed in the pokemon. She decided it must be for good reason. Juniper smiled and said,

"I'm sure he'll do a wonderful job."

After that, there was a lull in conversation, the only sound being the steady clip-clop of Mudsdale's heavy hooves and the distant chatter of pokemon cries. At first, it was very pleasant, and Juniper enjoyed the fresh Paldean air and the novel experience of riding. However, as the silence continued, she realized this was her chance to finally talk to Rika about something other than work. Juniper tried to think of a good topic to bring up. Oh, Rattatas, she was never very good at this part. Eventually, she spoke up,

"S-so, Ms. Rika--"

Rika interrupted calmly,

"Just Rika. Ms. makes me feel like I'm at work."

Juniper nodded.

"All right. Rika. How did you end up at the E4?"

Mudsdale began to climb a moderately steep hill, his hooves clomping steadily. Rika was quiet for a while, and then she shrugged.

"Bit of a broad question. I got into pokemon battling like most kids my age. Got pretty good at it, went to school, got even better. Did the gym circuit, then kept going from there, sought out all the tournaments and the likes. That's about it, I guess. In a nutshell."

Juniper hummed,

"I suppose it was a bit broad of a question. All right, how about this then; what made you choose Ground type to specialize in?"

Rika sighed as she considered the question, and began to reel off slowly,

"Mmm, well, Ground is incredible, offensively speaking, hits for supereffective damage on a huge range of types-- only Fighting matches it in that respect. Defensively it's not too terrible either. Water and grass are pretty common, so that's a downside, but electric immunity's nothing to sneeze at, and sandstorm synergy is a nice perk. In terms of pokemon, it's hard to find a more eclectic bunch. Allows for many kinds of play styles and preferences. Also, at the time there weren't any gym leaders specializin' in Ground, and Geeta puts a lot of pressure on having all types represented in the League. So there were a lot of practical reasons, too."

After she fell quiet, Juniper replied, "Oh."

She felt a bit . . . disappointed, maybe? She wasn't sure what she expected, exactly. But it felt like a pretty generic response. Then again, maybe it really was just a practical matter.

Rika cast a backwards glance at Juniper, perhaps due to Juniper's silence. She faced forward again and added, quieter;

"I didn't always favor Ground types, though."

Juniper's brows lifted.

"Oh?"

Rika ruffled her Mudsdale's mane. A faint smile tugged at her lips.

"How 'bout a game? Guess which type used to be my favorite."

Juniper let out a breath,

"Oohh, that's tough though, I've only just met you! Let's see . . ."

She pondered for a moment. Calm, collected, able to go with the flow, but clearly also very powerful and able to assert her will with absolute confidence. Yes, of course.

Juniper answered with certainty,

"Water!"

Rika's smile increased,

"Nope."

Juniper frowned. She'd felt so sure that'd been it. After a bit, she said,

"Psychic, then!"

"Nnnnope," Rika replied, popping the 'p'.

"Drat. Hold on, give me another guess . . ."

She racked her brain, for some reason really wanting to win this game. She tried,

"Ice?"

Amused, Rika shook her head.

"You'll never get it, I'll just tell you: my favorite was Fire type."

Juniper's eyes widened. Immediately, she said,

"No, I don't believe you."

Rika quickly laughed, sounding very tickled at her reaction.

"I swear it's true. I was obsessed with 'em as a kid, used them a long time. Did the whole gym circuit with them, even ran my own gym for a while with Fire types."

Juniper marveled at the thought. She asked,

"What changed?"

"Well, eventually-- hold on, I'm gonna get a crick in my neck if I keep talking like this. Duck your head, Doe-Eyes."

Juniper emitted a confused, 'Whuh-- huh?' but ducked her head anyway. Rika twisted about on the horse, swinging a leg clean over Juniper's head and settling onto the Mudsdale backwards so she could face Juniper. Alarmed (and more than a little flustered), Juniper stammered,

"Y-you-- don't you need to see where we're going?!"

Rika grinned, leaning back against the Mudsdale's neck with her arms folded behind her head.

"Nah. Mudsdale knows this path by heart, we've been here enough times by now. Anyway, Fire types, yeah? I loved 'em as a kiddo. Guess it's kinda cliché, I wasn't the greatest at strategy back then. Or patience, hah. I just liked to watch things burn. My plan was usually just 'use Flamethrower.'"

Juniper did her best to envision that. She'd certainly mentored some young trainers who fell into that category, but she wouldn't have guessed Rika to be among them.

Rika carried on,

"Obviously I got a little more sophisticated as time wore on, learned more tricks of the trade, got more experience under my belt. And Fire types brought me pretty far, to be honest. But eventually I got stuck. I'd gotten to be pretty damn good, yeah, but then I stopped getting better. Kinda just stagnated. And I wasn't satisfied with that. I wanted to keep growing, push myself to my limits."

Juniper glanced away, unable to help drawing mental parallels to her own life. She listened as Rika continued recounting her story.

"So I decided I needed a change of pace. A change of perspective, even. I switched things up a little. Rebuilt my team from scratch, completely changed my play style, everything. Even rechallenged all the gyms. Absolutely pulverized the competition at the tourneys, became a terror at my own Gym, folks would always save mine for last. And Geeta eventually recruited me for the E4. All in all, turned out pretty good, I'd say."

Juniper chuckled.

"I'd say so as well. How old were you, if you don't mind me asking?"

"When I made the E4? Nineteen," she answered, leaning her head back against Mudsdale's fluffy mane. Juniper boggled a little.

"Nineteen?! That's incredible!"

Rika laughed.

"Not really. Geeta was only a few years my senior and was runnin' the League by then. And you gotta keep in mind, a lot of people in this biz peak pretty young. Did'ja know one of my colleagues at the E4 is six?"

Juniper gasped.

"What?"

"Yep. She's a real prodigy. And just last semester, we had our youngest Champion-rank in Paldea from a fifteen-year old. They were rivals with the previous record-setter at sixteen. You don't wanna underestimate these kids, they'll knock ya flat."

"My word," Juniper muttered. Certainly, she knew that young trainers were often exceptionally talented; she knew some personally from back home, such as the brilliant children she'd mentored. Still, it was surprising. And maybe a bit disconcerting, too.

"Makes you feel a little worried about becoming obsolete," Juniper said, shaking her head with a smile.

"Well, you don't gotta worry, you're a part of academia. That's built on seniority and experience and the slow march of science, age is an asset there. But yeah, I have a lot of kids gunnin' for my spot."

Juniper found herself surprised at Rika's accurate understanding of her profession; the thought was quickly dashed from her mind when Rika reclined a little further and her splayed legs pressed against Juniper's own. The woman shot her a lazy smile, saying,

"Still, I'm not worried. Being a Gym leader or an Elite isn't just about being the very best. If that's all it took, the kids would be running amok. But what it really takes more then anything else is consistency. A lot of it. You need to play reliably, stand the test of time. And experience makes a huge difference there. Plus, you know, you're competing, but half your job also is to mentor and teach these kids, too."

Juniper nodded, finding it increasingly difficult to focus on the conversation. (Quite frankly she'd been doing an incredible job so far, considering the situation.)

"But anyway, yeah, Ground types are great. A lot of teams out there are hyper-offense, but Ground can do so much more then that. They're so chill and patient. They can go the distance. Wear you down. Burn you out. They're not in any hurry, they know how to play the long game when they need to. They don't need to prove anything, they already know they're in charge. They're great."

There was a dreamy look in the woman's eyes as she waxed poetic. After a few moments, she brushed away the bangs that had fallen in her face and looked up at Juniper through very pretty, long lashes.

"I've been kinda rambling, huh? Sorry 'bout that, I don't usually talk this much. What about you, then, Professor-- what made you decide to focus on ancient pokemon and all that?"

Juniper's brain took a moment to operate, and when it did, she was caught off-guard.

"Y-you know my area of study? I don't recall mentioning that yet."

Did she? No, she was pretty sure she hadn't. The Mudsdale they were riding began to climb over a very bumpy and rutted path, but Rika was unfazed, her faith in the pokemon's path unwavering.

"Geeta told me. She also said you moved here from your lab in Opelucid City, you've traveled extensively for your work on fossil excavations, you've authored over 30 noteworthy papers in research journals, and you used to go backpacking all across Unova with your pops."

Juniper blinked.

"Wow. Geeta must be a bit of a chatterbox, she told you a lot," she laughed. That sounded like most of the things she'd mentioned to Geeta over the course of her conversations with her.

There was a mischievous gleam in Rika's eyes. Her gaze shifted away as she commented,

"Ehh, I miiiighta been asking her a lot of questions about you."

Juniper gave a startled laugh, her face warming. She confessed,

"I-I'm flattered!"

Rika's eyes returned to her, and Juniper was captured by her gaze once more; there was something so terribly magnetic about it, especially when paired with the delicious little smirk she so often seemed to have. It took Juniper a little too long to remember she'd been asked a question.

"So c'mon, don't leave a girl hanging," Rika said, nudging playfully against Juniper's legs with her own.

"R-right! Well! I, er-- why I chose-- the, the origin of life, studying. It. Yes."

She coughed. Arceus.

"W-well, it really is just a natural extension of studying life itself, when it comes down to it. You see, our current understanding is that all life is related in some way, more or less. The difference is only a matter of degree. That is to say, we theorize that life likely had a single origin, and all its incredible forms and shapes developed over time from that one point. So in a very real way, all life is connected. Not merely due to the fact that we all share the same planet and the same sky and the same rivers and seas and other resources, but also all the way down to our genes and biological makeup!"

Rika sat up a little, to better pay Juniper attention. Juniper felt encouraged enough to continue.

"And, and these differences, we think they came about over time in a sort of slow-motion evolution. The kind of thing we're all used to thinking of as 'evolution,' of course, is the sudden transformation of a pokemon into a different species in its evolutionary family. But there's another kind of evolution, one we call 'gradual evolution,' and that takes place over many, many generations. Say, for example, primitive Pikachu were simple Normal-type rodents, similar to a Rattata! But some of them happened to have fur that was just a little bit good at holding a static charge. And that little pop of static was enough to help those Pikachu escape a predator. So more of those survived to bear offspring for the next generation. And some of the offspring that happened to be a bit better at holding a charge survived to bear their own offspring, so on and so on down the line. You follow?"

Rika nodded. Juniper continued,

"Right, so. It's this basic . . . mechanism of change that can explain how everything came about. Everything from the tiniest Joltik to the mightiest dragon. Just, creatures, responding to whatever pressures of survival there are in their environments. Shaped by the world around them. And I find that completely enchanting. Creatures and abilities beyond our wildest dreams, coming about in this way. That's why I study ancient pokemon. Because to study current pokemon is to study their entire history, to look back in time and see how their pasts have shaped their present. The entire, long, confusing, convoluted, often completely unexpected paths that they followed."

Rika crossed her arms and chuckled,

"Kinda sounds like a headache to study, to be honest."

Juniper laughed.

"It is, you're right. And it frequently drives me insane. But I also love it more than anything else. The beauty, the ugliness, the bizarreness, the mind-blogging diversity of life; the pure poetry of it all. Just-- try to imagine for just a moment, if we could invent a time machine and take a peek into the past, see what ancient pokemon were like back then, especially the ones we haven't any fossils for-- because fossils are far rarer than people realize-- just imagine! What sort ofstrange creatures might we find? Or, even imagine the reverse-- take a peek into the future and see how much has changed, how all that's familiar to us has now transformed into something completely new. That would be incredible. Don't you think?"

Juniper paused in her excited ramble, eyes sparkling, and looked to Rika expectantly. Rika was quiet for a while, apparently contemplating. Eventually, she asked,

"So what do you think ancient Wooper looked like?"

Eagerly, Juniper answered,

"Wooper probably used to be a pure Water type, some kind of freshwater fish. Some of those fish began to live in streams or ponds that would dry up seasonally or at least become very shallow, and so Wooper had to adapt to new conditions; develop limbs for walking and the ability to coat their skin in a protective film so they wouldn't dry out during their trips to land for feeding. That's our current theory."

By this point, Mudsdale had brought them to an area where the ground leveled out, a very wide, flat space that was dotted all over with marshy ponds. It seemed they were finally reaching their destination.

Rika asked,

"Somethin' like a Barboach then, maybe?"

Juniper nodded,

"That's a great guess! In fact, we do suspect that Wooper and Barboach could be closely related, that they both descended from a common ancestor not too long ago."

Rika smiled a little at that. She said,

"Cool. Then my Whiscash and my Clodsire could be cousins."

Juniper felt her heart give an excited skip just from the simple fact that Rika seemed to appreciate the things Juniper had been babbling about, at least a little bit. She answered,

"They very well could be!"

Mudsdale gave a sudden, rumbling grumble, slowing to a stop in front of one of the ponds. Rika glanced behind her.

"Good timing, Mudsdale. Looks like this is our stop, Professor."

"Oh, perfect!"

Rika dismounted first, hopping down to the ground and landing in a muddy spot that unfortunately splashed her nice work slacks, but she didn't seem bothered with it, too busy eyeing up the pond they'd reached. Many Paldean Wooper were swimming about, chirping and splashing in the water, while some Psyduck dabbled along the shoreline. Rika's gaze seemed to be further out, though, so Juniper followed it, squinting at the center of the pond. All she could see were some bubbles on the surface of the water.

"You see 'em?" Rika asked, looking to her.

"The-- the bubbles? Are they Clodsire?"

"Yep," Rika said, with perfect confidence. Juniper wondered how she was so certain; she knew a number of pokemon species that could be responsible for bubbles in the water like that. Still, she had no reason to doubt her-- she was the local Clodsire expert, after all.

"Watch," Rika said, slowly approaching the shore of the pond. Once she'd reached the edge of it, a murky figure began to immerge from the center of the pond, the blobby, brown outline of a Clodsire. Its eyes peeked out at them. Juniper laughed,

"You're right!"

Rika nodded.

"They're always watchin', keeping an eye on the Wooper."

"That certainly aligns with my previous experience. I couldn't get close enough to engage them in battle the last time, since they took cover in the middle of their bog like that. But now that we have Mudsdale, I suppose we can just walk right up to them!"

However, Rika didn't seem too keen on the idea. She shook her head.

"I'd rather not. Mudsdale is great for travel, but he's a pretty big guy. I'm worried some Wooper might get caught under his hooves."

Juniper's eyes widened a little.

"Oh, my. That didn't even occur to me. That would be horrible, you're right!"

Rika came back to help Juniper with dismounting the horse. When she'd gotten down safely, Juniper asked,

"What do you propose we do, then?"

Rika almost seemed to be waiting for that question. She answered slowly,

"Well . . . I could show you my approach, if you'd like."

Juniper nodded,

"Yes, by all means! I'll gladly yield to your expertise on the matter. It's why I invited you here today, after all."

Rika grinned, looking strangely pleased with this response.

"Okay. You got it, Professor."

The woman loosened her tie and pulled it off over her head, her collar now hanging open. She handed the tie to Juniper, who accepted it quizzically.

"Hold this for me, I kinda like this tie."

"Oh . . . kay?"

Then Rika approached the edge of the pond once more, pausing to check on the Clodsire lurking nearby, before stepping in and wading directly into the water.

"Oh, um-- you-- Rika, are you sure that's-- I think that pond gets deep rather fast--"

Juniper thought Rika would stop once she'd waded just a short ways in, but she did not stop, instead continuing as the water and muck rose higher and higher up her legs, the mud making a noisy schllllluck-pop noise with each step she took.

"That-- oh my. Are you quite sure this is safe? Jacq told me how dangerous these bogs can be, they've swallowed up some trainers whole, if I'm not mistaken!"

Rika waved a hand dismissively,

"S'fine, I've been in here dozens of times, I know the deep bits."

The chirping from the Paldean Wooper grew louder and more excited, the little creatures bouncing and swimming around her in curiosity, the water churning in a cloudy mixture of silt. The Clodsire drifting in the center of the pond lifted its head higher out of the water, its eyes narrowing, and it gave an offended grunt. Her voice growing a little more taut, Juniper asked,

"W-wait, Rika, do you even have any pokemon with you at the moment?"

After a pause, Rika answered,

"Don't need 'em."

The pond had submerged most of Rika's calves by now, and still she continued to slowly wade forwards. It was clear by now she was headed directly towards the Clodsire in the center of the pond; the Clodsire that was looking increasingly agitated by the second, and Juniper felt her heart begin to race in a panic.

"What do you mean you don't need-- Rika, you can't just-- oh my god. Rika--"

Juniper paused when Rika began to snicker, and she asked tersely,

"What are you laughing at?" Did this woman have a death wish?

"Sorry, it's just nice hearin' you call my name like that."

Juniper sputtered and glared, about to respond that now was not the time for such jokes, when Clodsire began to shoot a volley of mud directly at Rika's face. The woman held up an arm to block the onslaught, unfazed, and continued to wade towards Clodsire, even while it continued to fire mud.

"Rika, please-- I fully acknowledge your expertise on these matters, but still, what do you plan to do without any pokemon?" The Clodsire stopped firing mud, giving an aggravated cry. Rika lowered her arm and stared the pokemon down, her gaze hard and serious; she seemed to be watching it very closely. She answered Juniper in a calm tone.

"I'm gonna grab it."

Juniper balked. She repeated in quiet disbelief,

"You're-- you're going to grab it. That's your plan."

"Mmhmm."

The Clodsire gave an angry cry, looking as though it was preparing for another attack. Juniper took a deep breath and tried very hard to remain calm as she said,

"Surely you're aware that Clodsire is highly toxic. There's no way you don't know that. Even the briefest contact with its skin--"

"--I'm wearing gloves."

Juniper practically shook in her attempt to keep her voice from startling the Clodsire further, whisper-shouting,

"Y-yes, but the rest of you--it--its attacks--"

Rika did not take her eyes off Clodsire, but she interrupted Juniper in a clear, firm voice;

"Just . . . trust me, Professor. Okay? Just trust me."

Juniper hesitated.

She wanted to trust her, she really did. But the woman was currently standing knee-deep in the middle of a swamp, staring down what was literally Paldea's most toxic pokemon as though it were a level two Mudkip.

Uncertain, Juniper stammered,

"I-I--"

All at once, Clodsire lurched forward at Rika, its mouth opened wide. Rika dove to the side immediately, splashing face-first into the pond and submerging under it entirely, causing Juniper to squawk in a panic. For several frightening seconds Juniper thought perhaps the swamp had sucked her in, but then, Rika re-immerged in a gigantic splash, like some sort of bog monster rising from the muck-- covered head to toe in mud and grime such that she was hardly even recognizable-- before slamming bodily into the Clodsire, seizing it in her arms.

Juniper cried out, not exactly certain what she said, or if they had even been words. The Clodsire bellowed, squirming and thrashing in Rika's grip, and the two began to grapple in the shallow, sludgy water in some sort of preposterous cage match. Juniper truly could not believe her eyes. By all accounts, she shouldn't have even been able to keep hold of the slippery, oversized amphibian, but somehow she had a stubborn grasp on it, using the narrowed waist near its tail and its flippers as some sort of leverage.

The truly terrifying thing, though, was she had grabbed the creature by its back. Such that her arms were around its stomach and its back was pressed against her.

The back . . . where it kept its six toxic spines sheathed . . . which it uses during times of intense duress . . .

Juniper could scarcely think, visions dancing in her head of Rika being skewered by a row of six deadly spines, the E4's finest killed on the job right before her eyes; what a way for this outing to go. She yanked her bag off and scrambled for her pokeballs, forgetting what order they were in. What should she even use in this situation-- they were so close together, how could she use a move on the Clodsire without hitting Rika? Juniper snatched up what she hoped was Breloom's ball, thinking Spore was her best bet, because that way at least they'd both still be alive; she got back to her feet and was about to throw the ball, arm poised for the toss, when something made her hesitate.

Rika was laughing. Entirely unconcerned with the danger. Indeed, she didn't seem worried in the slightest. She was even talking to the Clodsire, saying,

"C'mon, baby, take it easy, take it easy, I'm not gonna hurt'cha-- whoa girl--"

The Clodsire bellowed again, squirming wildly, but it still did not deploy its spines. As difficult as it was for Juniper to understand, it really did seem like this weird, wild woman was not at risk of an immediate gristly death. Still, just to be sure, Juniper called out,

"Do you-- do you need help?"

"I'm good," she called back, starting to carry her quarry with her across the pond, in staggered, sloshing steps. As she approached, Juniper could see just how absurdly disgusting she looked, pants and shirt both caked in a thick layer of glistening mud, her long ponytail dripping and dragging in the mire, face smeared in slime, all the while still wrestling with the cankerous, huge Clodsire in her arms. She had the widest grin on her face and an incredible sparkle in her eyes, like she was having the time of her life.

It should have been completely off-putting to Juniper. It really should have. And yet . . . it was strangely alluring, in a way.

Ugh. Juniper really was down bad, apparently.

In the final few feet of her journey, Rika stumbled and nearly lost the Clodsire, but managed to right herself before she could fall back in. With great effort, she lurched through the remainder of the bog and onto the shore, standing before Juniper and holding the sodden Clodsire out like some kind of victory prize.

Its beady black eyes blinked at Juniper and it made a belching sound.

"This one good?" Rika asked, cheerfully. Juniper stammered,

"Er--I-- y-yes, that should do nicely?"

She just stared dumbly for a moment, still unable to wrap her head around what had just transpired. The Clodsire grumbled and wriggled, and Rika laughed,

"Well don't just stand there, Professor, toss a ball. I can't keep hold of 'em forever."

Juniper turned to her bag, fumbling.

"R-right, yes, one moment!"

She located a new Great Ball and pointed it at the Clodsire, the pokemon dissolving into the beam of light. It shook once, twice, thrice, and clicked; it seemed Rika had tired the Pokemon out enough that it was an easy catch.

Looking at the Great Ball in her hands, Juniper took a slow breath.

"Well . . . that's . . . that was . . . um. Certainly one way of doing things?"

Rika guffawed, apparently very amused with how gobsmacked Juniper still looked. She slapped a hand on her shoulder.

"What's wrong, Doe-Eyes? Never seen a trainer wrastle a pokemon before? They used to do it a lot, back in the day, y'know."

Rika then removed her hand a little awkwardly, adding,

"Oh, uh, sorry 'bout that."

Juniper glanced to the muddy handprint on her shoulder, but was unbothered with it, saying,

"I was mostly concerned with the possibility of you being eviscerated by Clodsire's toxic spines?"

Rika shook some mud off herself, saying,

"No way. Clodsire only uses its spines as a last resort. They have to puncture straight through its skin to work, and it causes a lot of self-injury to use 'em. It's a super risky move. Clodsire can even die to their own escape attempts, sometimes."

Juniper frowned in thought.

"Yes, I do recall reading that; they only use their spines in times of great duress. But wouldn't being grabbed like that qualify?"

"Not really. They gotta feel like their back is really against the wall, like somethin's chomping down and about to eat 'em. I wasn't even hurting that goober, though, just was jostlin' him a little. If they think they can slip away, they'll always prefer that over anything else."

Juniper pondered this information as she watched Rika wring out her dripping ponytail. That . . . actually made a lot of sense. She suddenly felt a bit bad for ever doubting her, until she remembered that, wait, no, that still was a pretty freaking weird thing to do.

"S-Still, what about all the myriad other moves Clodsire could have used on you?! Poison Jab, Megahorn, Earthquake? I can't understand how you're unscathed-- in the very least your arms and face should be covered in welts from mere contact with its skin!"

Rika just laughed.

"The Clodsire out here aren't strong enough to know Megahorn and Earthquake yet. Poison Jab, maybe, but good luck to them getting that off while I've got 'em pinned. It's really not that bad if you know what you're doin'."

She dabbed a little at the muck smearing her face.

"As for my immunity to the toxic skin, well, it's one of the perks of the marsh. A good layer of mud blocks the poison."

Looking very pleased with herself, she added,

"The more you know."

Juniper stared. Somehow she very much doubted the matter was nearly as safe as Rika was making it out to be-- there had to be all sorts of contingencies where something unexpected could happen and she could have gotten hurt-- but still. She had to admit Rika really did know her stuff.

Releasing a small huff of a laugh, Juniper shook her head with a smile.

"All right. I concede that was terribly clever and impressive, although perhaps not the safest approach, and--"

Rika waved a hand.

"Hold on, let's circle back to the start of that sentence where I'm clever and impressive and forget the other stuff."

Juniper couldn't help but laugh.

"All right," she said indulgently, looking the strange trainer in the eye. She repeated with a smile,

"You're very clever and impressive."

Rika grinned widely at her, and despite the fact that the woman had just crawled her way out of a disgusting bog, Juniper felt heat rising in her chest at the sight; captivated once again by that magnetic gaze. Those pretty wine-red eyes would be the death of her, she just knew it.

Eyes glinting, Rika leaned in just a little and asked in a low, husky tone,

"Wanna help me clean off?"

Juniper immediately flushed hot, sputtering,

"Wh-what--?!"

The woman snorted and sniggered, obviously adoring her reaction.

"Your pokemon, one of 'em has a water move, yeah? I mean, it might knock off some of the worst of this mud before we ride back."

Juniper huffed, scrambling to respond,

"Y-yes, well-- f-fine, I-- I knew that!"

"Sure you did. Actually, hold on, did you just need one Clodsire, or you wanna round up some more?"

Juniper glanced away. She admitted,

"W-well, actually, I would like to catch a few more specimens, if possible."

"No problem. You wanna try grabbing one yourself, or just stick with me doing the heavy lifting?"

Juniper regarded the muddy, wild woman for a few moments, considering the offer, before responding sheepishly,

"P-perhaps I'll leave that part to your expertise for now."

Rika nodded,

"Fair enough." She flashed her a grin.

"Then let's go do some science!"

#pokemon #pokemon s/v #pokemon scarlet/violet #pokemon fanfic #rika #rika pokemon #professor juniper #professor aurea juniper #pokemon black/white #look guys I Had a Vision #it involved mud wrestling & rika so I had to at least write this bit #also contains some rika backstory I invented bc we know so little about her

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1d1195 · 7 months ago

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SAM MY LOVE IM BACK!!!My feedback is going to a bit jumbled so i'm sorry if none of it makes sense lol

OKAY SO I LOVED DING ROUND 3!!!!! Ngl I was a tad bit frustrated with Harry in this one but only because my guy is just a bit impatient when it comes to her lol And I know he means NO harm when asking her about what happened the night of her date and why she ended up in the classes like he truly just CARES about her so I get him! Plus with knowing his backstory of how he has always been a “protector” and his whole deal with how he processes his own emotions, it makes sense his behavior! But Cupcake is also going through it and it’s clear that they are on opposite spectrums on how they deal with things. AND it is something very hard to process no matter the outcome of it and it’s harder to say it out loud because it feels like it makes it ‘real’ if that makes sense lol. Anyways TELL ME WHY THAT GROSS MAN IS AT HER BAKERY?!?! I WANT TO SCREAM AND SCARE HIM AWAY FROM HER!!! BUT I'm glad that this was a nice way to lead Harry and Cupcake to have their own vulnerable moments! BUT AHHHH I LOVED IT SAM! YOU DID GREAT AS ALWAYS!!

NOW THE NEIGHBORS EXTRA 😭I LOVE RORY SO MUCH😭I think last month or so (i have no concept of time anymore) I re-read the whole story and extras in one go… I have no idea why my brain does this but it was worth it lol ANYWAYS ugh i loved it! I do love that bit of angst and once again it makes sense for Harry to feel like that! Was it the best way to react, not really but given the circumstances it was kinda the only option aside from talking it out lol But I really was NOT worried because they are END GAME! It was so cute! I just love them so much! But that's nothing surprising since I love everything you put out lol

Now my reasoning for my slight disappearance lol I have had two midterms this week and basically from now until the end of the quarter it’s mainly exams! I think I will end somewhere in June, I'm starting week 5 out of 10 next week! And I fear I will be taking summer courses :( I really fucked up my second year so that’s kinda why I need to take some courses in order to graduate on time lol . But I've only had a few TAs where I personally have been attracted to which have all been from my psyc courses lol and Ugh I MISS MY HOT PROFESSOR 😭 I LONG for that man and its pathetic😭 and literally if you did call me an idiot, I would NOT blame you because I am one the majority of the time 😂 oh I wanted to be on my knees when he gave his lecture lol

And it really was nice! I got a limited edition Paramore/David Byrne vinyl and Lauefy’s A night at the symphony vinyl! And some other classical records! My main reason for waking up early was to get a Paramore poster and Sam when I tell you I CALLED all the stores within my city/county and only ONE had them, I wanted to cry! I didn't get it because the line was HUGE and the moment I found out they ran out I wanted to jump off a building 😀 But overall i had a nice time! And ooo what color is your record?

I totally get the shopping part! I too have my fair share of body image issues so I don’t blame you for feeling like that. But I'm glad you were able to find some clothes that you feel at least okay in! I'm sure you’ll look lovely in your choices! And I'm glad you had a nice break! You for sure have earned that little break! And don’t ever feel bad about not staying on top of your writing schedule, it’s a BUSY season for high schoolers and if you're helping with senior activities it’s so stressful! So be kind on yourself and if you need to miss a day or a few weeks of posting that’s okay💗

Hope you had a nice week back! I miss you! Hope you have a lovely weekend! Love you!!!-💜

So glad you liked Ding and Neighbors! I was a bit worried about Neighbors--I struggle with angsty stuff sometimes but I guess maybe it's the whole it's coming from my brain thing again. Maybe I'm biased but I love Ding a lot 😭 I'm really excited about it (so excited that I may have written the last part before parts 4, 5, and 6 lol)

ANYWAY.

OMG JUNNNNNEEEEE?! Ma'am I'm so sorry that seems so far away--I'm sure you'll crush it and it will be here before you know it (I'm VERY excited for June--I can't last much longer in my classroom I'm going out of my mind. This week felt endless and exhausting and I keep thinking every week is going to get better, less tiring and they're just NOT. Idk what the problem is.) I miss your hot professor for you 😭 I'm glad you have hot TAs you can sub in for him--def not the same but will help for the next five weeks.

There are no wrong paths in college. If you take extra time (or have to take summer classes) it's where you're supposed to be and it's not a big deal. You'll get it done and do fantastic 💕

So cool about your records! I love that for you! It's so funny you called stores for a poster 😭 (Fun fact: I HATE phone calls. Like an OBNOXIOUS irrational fear) I'm sorry you didn't get it, I hope you can find it at some point in time! I'm glad it was enjoyable overall and you got the ones you wanted. My one lonely record is bright yellow and kinda see through--it's really pretty! I'm not sure why I'm surprised. Everything Harry does is pretty.

Honestly, I think I will def be missing a few posting dates. I don't want to, but I think it's inevitable. I can't wait for summer 😭

No plans for this weekend! Hopefully it will be relaxing but I'm afraid I'll be filling it up with a million things I need to get done that didn't get done during the week. I plan on making sure I read and go for a walk on both days so as long as I do that I think it will be okay--and of course write Ding Part 4. (I also need to fold my laundry and vacuum but those are my fave chores). I hope you have a fun weekend planned--you deserve it after exams and not getting your poster 💕

Love you, bestie!!!!

xoxo

#💜#neighbors #ding

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tallmantall · 2 years ago

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#JamesDonaldson On #MentalHealth – Why Are #Teenagers So Sleep-Deprived?

A perfect storm of biology, technology, and homework Writer: Juliann Garey Clinical Experts: Allison Baker, MD , Max Van Gilder, MD What You'll Learn - How much sleep do #teens need to be healthy? - What part does biology play in #teens’ #sleep? - How does screen time affect #sleep? - Quick Read - Full Article - What’s going on here? - Biology - Technology - Homework - Over-scheduling - Earlier #school start times Most #teens today are living with mild to severe #sleepdeprivation. #Teens actually need more #sleep than little #kids. Experts say #teens need over nine hours a night to be healthy. But over a third of #teens get only five to six hours a night. The major reasons for #sleepdeprivation in #teens are biology, screen time and unreasonable expectations. Because of hormone changes, #teens are more awake at midnight and would wake at 10 or 11am if they didn’t have to get to #school. When #kids try to catch up on #sleep on the weekends, it messes with their #sleep even more. Another reason for #sleepdeprivation in #teens is the time they spend on screens. The light coming from the screen keeps their brains from making melatonin, which is the #sleep hormone. Between doing homework on computers and socializing on phones, that means a lot of screen time. And then there’s the #anxiety of #kids who want to be perfect in #school. Staying up all night to study becomes competitive among some groups of high-achieving friends. We also live in a culture that values activity over #sleep. #Teens often participate in more activities than they have time for. A lot of times that’s because they’re being told that colleges want them to be well-rounded. But the more they do, the less #sleep they get. This is made worse by the fact that some #highschools start as early as 7:20 in the morning. In reality, studies show that #teens don’t function well before 9am. My 16-year-old daughter is finally entering the homestretch of sophomore year, and she has been chronically #sleep deprived since September. The reasons are multiple but when you add together 45 minutes of homework per class per night, plus a few extra-curricular activities, plus the downtime spent everyday watching a John Green video on #YouTube or chatting with friends, and a normal amount of procrastination, it adds up to between 5 and 7 hours of #sleep on an average #school night. Throw in a term paper or heavy exam week and the average can easily drop to 3 or 4. My daughter is hardly atypical. In fact, multiple studies have shown that the vast majority of #teens today are living with borderline to severe #sleepdeprivation. According to #sleep expert Mary Carskadon, PhD, a professor of psychiatry at Brown University and director of chronobiology and #sleep research at Bradley Hospital in Providence, Rhode Island, #teenagers actually need more #sleep than younger #kids, not less. Nine and a quarter hours of #sleep is what they need to be optimally alert. According to a 2010 large-scale study published in The Journal of #Adolescent Health, a scant 8% of US #highschoolstudents get the recommended amount of #sleep. Some 23% get six hours of #sleep on an average #school night and 10% get only 5 hours. In studies conducted by Dr. Carskadon, half the #teens she evaluated were so tired in the morning that they showed the same symptoms as #patients with narcolepsy, a major #sleepdisorder in which the #patient nods off and falls directly into REM #sleep. When you consider the fact that many of these #kids are getting behind the wheel in the early morning and driving themselves to #school, the issue of #sleep becomes literally a matter of life and death. #James Donaldson notes:Welcome to the “next chapter” of my life… being a voice and an advocate for #mentalhealthawarenessandsuicideprevention, especially pertaining to our younger generation of students and student-athletes.Getting men to speak up and reach out for help and assistance is one of my passions. Us men need to not suffer in silence or drown our sorrows in alcohol, hang out at bars and strip joints, or get involved with drug use.Having gone through a recent bout of #depression and #suicidalthoughts myself, I realize now, that I can make a huge difference in the lives of so many by sharing my story, and by sharing various resources I come across as I work in this space. #http://bit.ly/JamesMentalHealthArticle Find out more about the work I do on my 501c3 non-profit foundation website www.yourgiftoflife.org Order your copy of James Donaldson's latest book,#CelebratingYourGiftofLife:From The Verge of Suicide to a Life of Purpose and Joy www.celebratingyourgiftoflife.com What’s going on here? So what exactly is keeping #teenagers up so late? Unfortunately biology, technology, and societal expectations together create a perfect storm for the chronic #sleep deprivation. The major contributors to #adolescent #sleep debt come down to these: Biology Along with the more obvious hormonal changes that transform your #child into a #teen, are shifts in the production of melatonin, the #sleep hormone. That is why your #teenager actually seems more awake at midnight than at dinner and left alone would probably #sleep until ten or eleven. It may drive you crazy but, says Dr. Max Van Gilder, a #pediatrician in Manhattan, “that is the normal circadian rhythm for 15- to 22-year-olds.” Effectively, they are in a different time zone than the rest of us. “It’s a major contributing factor to #sleep deprivation which is unique to #adolescence, ” says Dr. Allison Baker, a #child and #adolescent #psychiatrist. “The typical #highschoolstudent’s natural time to fall asleep is 11pm or later. We really need to adjust the environment instead of asking #teenagers to adjust their physiology.” The problem is compounded when many #adolescents, like my daughter, try to make up for lost sleep on the weekends, sometimes sleeping upwards of 12 hours on Friday and Saturday nights, which only further disrupts their sleep cycle. But who has the heart to wake them? Technology It’s not just that #Facebook, #Twitter, #Instagram, #Tumblr and #YouTube are distractions that keep #kids up later, it’s the actual light coming off all the electronic devices they’re exposed to, especially late at night. Electronics emit a glow called blue light that has a particular frequency. When it hits receptors in the eye, says Dr. Van Gilder, “those receptors send a signal to the brain which suppresses the production of melatonin and keeps #kids from feeling tired. And #adolescents are low on melatonin and start producing it later to begin with.” Dr. Van Gilder says he’s seen #adolescent bedtimes pushed back an hour to an hour and a half over the years since #teens started doing their homework on computers. On average, my #teenage #patients are going to bed at around 12:30 now.” #Teens who are up late writing papers on computers or chatting with their friends are effectively creating an even more stimulating environment that will only keep them from being able to fall asleep when they want to. Homework Andrea Pincus and Andrew Multer consider it a good night when their 16 year-old son, Jake Multer, a sophomore at The Dalton #School in Manhattan, gets to bed by 12:30. And there’s lots of fighting that goes on around the issue of homework and bedtime. “He tells us we micromanage him,” Pincus says. “He tells us we’re helicopter #parents, but does he mention he stays up until 5 or 6am writing a paper?” Pincus and her husband are torn between making Jake go to bed and encouraging him to finish his work regardless of how long it takes. “There’s the #anxiety of a #kid like Jake who cares about the work. He works with a very nice group of #kids on certain assignments and it’s great that they have each other but they also on some level add to the #anxiety because you always have one #kid who’s staying up later or pulling an all-nighter, putting in more work on a paper or studying for a test and it creates this extra #anxiety and competition.” His brother Sam, 13 and an eighth grader at Hunter College #HighSchool in Manhattan, is more or less resigned to being #sleep deprived. He figures his current bedtime—anywhere between 11pm and 12:30am—which is so late “for the most part due to homework,” will only get later as he gets older. He says his #parents want him to go to bed earlier but “they recognize that if I did that I wouldn’t get my work done and it’s important to me and it’s important to them.” Sam however also admits to having a procrastination and time management problem, some of which he believes comes from being so tired in the afternoon. Over-scheduling We live in a culture that values activity over #sleep and there is no part of that culture that reinforces that idea more than the #college admissions process. #Teens are constantly being told that they have to be “well-rounded” which, in an age when #colleges are becoming ever more selective means that the more they do, the better their applications will look. And for some #kids, being involved in a lot of extracurricular activities may truly be a matter of pursuing a diversity of passions. Either way, the result is an ever-narrowing window for #sleep. Katrina Karl, 16, is finishing up her junior year at Joel Barlow High School in Redding, Connecticut. She takes 5 academic classes, participates in the three theatrical productions her school puts on every year and volunteers at the middle school in her town. On top of that she works 13 hours a week at a local grocery store to help pay for summer theater camp and to save money for college. This past year, she says, was brutal. “I was lucky if I got 4 to 5 hours of sleep a night,” she says. On the nights she worked, Karl wouldn’t get home until 9 or 10 o’clock. Then she would start doing several hours of homework. Katrina’s bus picks her up at 6:15am and the first period bell rings at 7:20am. Karl says she’s been living this way since about halfway through freshman year. “Everyone at my #school is exhausted,” she says. Earlier #school start times Very early #highschool start times, like Karl’s, are not uncommon, despite the fact that they run completely counter to the biological needs of #adolescents. “Multiple studies have shown that #highschoolstudents aren’t functional before 9 am,” says Dr. Van Gilder. Cathi Hanauer, an author and the editor of the anthology The Bitch In The House, has been at the center of a 7-year battle to change the 7:20 start time of her North Hampton, Massachusetts, #highschool. “It started before my daughter got to high school. She’s now one year out of college. My son is a sophomore. The resistance has been huge,” she says, “despite the fact that 60% of the #students are falling asleep in #school.” According to Hanauer, it all comes down to bussing and #sports. The #school buses used for the #highschool are used for the middle and elementary #schools that have later start times. Pushing back the start time for the #highschool would mean either making the younger #kids get up earlier or adding more buses which is not in the #school budget. Then there are concerns that later start times will compromise the practices of #sports teams. Hanauer and some of the other #parents got a consultant in who designed an affordable busing plan and in 2013 the #school board finally passed a resolution to move the #highschool’s start time to between 8:00 and 8:30. They have since overturned the decision. “I’m done,” Hanauer says. “It’s been the most frustrating thing I’ve ever been involved with.” With more than half of #American #teenagers living with chronic #sleep deprivation, #parents and #teachers tend to overlook the profound effects it has on #kids’ physical, #mental and #behavioralhealth. The #sleep deficit is not in fact, a normal part of being a #teenager. It’s part of an invisible epidemic that we need to start addressing. Read the full article

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samandreiborbon · 2 years ago

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January 10

Hi everyone! This is Sam Andrei Borbon, I will share my presentation on creative nonfiction This week is our preparation for the exam next week, The exam is one of my weaknesses since I don't like to review and I always rely on my stock knowledge. we also need to finish some of the activities. now I'm starting to review and read the previous lessons so that I have an idea for our exam because I'm very disappointed with the outcome of my last grading exam. but sometimes I'm too lazy to review since I can't focus because I'm always sleepy plus we need to review and revise our research since our defense is on January 24. I hope this grading will have a better outcome than last time.

January 10 was a tough day since my first class (organization and management) starts at 7 am and the first activity is reporting, the reporting is quite easy because I studied my topic. Next class is business we had a discussion and a quick activity. For my last subject Filipino Sa Piling Larang (FPL) we are done discussing all the topics for the second quarter, so the STEM 302 student present their performance task in their personal development about their life and what things they want to change since ma’am Mira said they need an audience to boost the student confidence.

#CreativeNonfiction #FinalTask #HUMSS #STISTAMESA

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system-of-a-feather · 2 years ago

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Dude senioritis is so bad like... if I didn’t take a quarter off cause FUCK COVID learning, this would have been my last quarter and I’d be flying the coop to who the fuck knows where to take a two year break and just working in a research lab, but noooo... nooooo, I still have two more weeks, finals, summer, and another quarter left and ughhh

Our system has been so hard geared and hard wound to be intense on school and literally like barely existed and were tearing off arms to get through school, and now that we have gotten space away from home and four plus years to re-evaluate our relationship with school, the sheer amount of burn out we have over it is just wild. Like we’ve been going 150% since we were like 7 and tossing SO much aside just to secure a good college far from home with good scholarships and financial aid, and once we got here we still didn’t stop out of like survival and habit. Its been like 15 years of non-stop chronic grind, and only the past year or so have we actually opened much of a door up for actually like, living life and its great, but god damn has this healing made traditional school shit sooooooo much more consciously taxing.

I still love academia and learning. I still do enjoy all that, but honestly we are long overdue a break from the academia environment with how hard we’ve been going at it and I am so ecstatic to just like... see what's on the other side of existence without the need to secure safety through academics pushing my every breath.

I don’t really know what it’s like to not have every moment of my life consumed by the “next academic task” - even as we still wind down - and to have that for like, two years.... it sounds like a painful yet pleasant learning (.... ironic) experience.

Like luckily my last quarter will only probably have like, one traditional class, I might have like two research labs dividing my time, if not just one but still, and a bird watching “lab” which is just mandatory “go watch birds” because I already took the lecture portion of the class (introduction to birds in the wild) and have been bird watching for a year so... not really worried about any lab exams there

But god damn.

Anyways, enough procrastinating, I’m still a student and shit.

#alter: riku #vent?#vent tw #just in case #vent #ramble

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thatslikely · 4 years ago

Text

A Slow Dance - G.W.

A Slow Dance- George Weasley x Fem!Reader (unspecified house)

Warnings: none! pure fluff <3

Word Count: 1.3k

A/N: y’all I’m serious. where’s my George. I need someone like this asap, don’t be shy universe. hope you guys enjoy as always :)

Just a Reminder: song lyrics/thoughts are in italics [I imagined is Put Your Head on My Shoulder by Paul Anka, but any song works]

Taglist: @horrorxweasley @hufflepuff5972 @amourtentiaa

if you want to be added, send me a dm or an ask!

Requested by the lovely @amourtentiaa [my first request I’ve gotten, and I love it!]

----

“Ugh. Why do you have to sit hunched over your desk studying all the time? Have at least a little fun! It’s our last year at Hogwarts!” A sprawled out George exclaimed from your ruffled four-poster bed with a groan. His handsome face hung off the edge of the bed frame, his upside-down gaze fixed on your distracted figure.

George was always quite needy; it was practically a law of nature. Whether it was running around pulling a record-breaking marathon of pranks, or just tenderly holding his large, soft hand while discussing your favorite novel, he lapped up every ounce of you he could.

“Georgie, if I don’t do well on my N.E.W.T.s, how do you expect me to get a decent job?” you asked with a bit more bite than you intended. The complex, academic sentences scribbled onto the parchment before you droned through your brain like headache-inducing white noise, which soured your attitude more than you liked to admit.

It made your heart flutter knowing that George yearned for your care so much, but you had your whole life to spend with the vexatious redhead. You only had the next week to pass your N.E.W.T.s.

“You’ll always have a job down with me at the shop, c’mon! Imagine: my two favorite things wrapped up into one!” he said, before adding more softly, “plus, you’d look so cute in the uniform.” You couldn’t help your cheeks from heating up at his affectionate comment, which wasn’t intended to grace your ears.

“I wish it was simple as that, Georgie. While I’d love to work with you at the shop, you know that’s not what I really want to do. You always tell me to shoot for the moon, and this is just part of the process.” You were unrelenting with your studying, which George of course admired, but he was equally relentless in his pursuit of spending time with you, even if it was just for a second.

The dorm fell suspiciously quiet, which allowed your mind to delve even deeper into your studies. The strokes of your quill grew deeper and sharper into the parchment with focus, the ink-blotted tip eventually tearing a small rip mid-sentence.

A breath that you unknowingly held escaped your lips in the form of an exasperated sigh. You rubbed your temples before picking up the quill and starting again.

You mindlessly scribed cursive onto the dense paper for several minutes before snapping out of your trance at the jarring noise of a chair’s legs scraping across the hardwood floors. George took the vacant seat next to you, resting his elbow on the surface of the desk.

His handsome face rested comfortably in his palm, his whole body turned towards you. You could’ve sworn his mischievous but lovable gaze flickered to your soft lips every few seconds like a magnet drawn to its opposite pole.

Stop thinking about George, and his delicious lips, alluring cocoa-colored eyes, fluffy red hair… think about Transfiguration!

Your quill-wielding wrist moved in more furious motions, your determination to stay devoted to your academics made your eyes drift to the smug titian-haired boy next to you more than ever. You eventually succumbed to your heart’s desires, giving George a small glance.

The expression George donned shattered your expectations; you expected his eyes to be droopy and half-asleep, jaw-slacked in boredom, evidenced by his disdain of all things school-related.

Instead, however, his red tongue stuck out to his chin, his index fingers pulling apart his freckled cheeks. His mocha eyes were humorously crossed, fixed on his adorable aquiline nose. He looked utterly ridiculous.

“What’re you doing, Georgie? You look absurd!” you questioned with a hefty chuckle. His eyes lit up with triumph at the laugh fleeing your lips.

“I’m getting your eyes off that stupid piece of parchment! You’ve been writing nonsense on it for the past quarter of an hour. You need a break.”

“Just let me study a bit more, then I promise I’ll spend some time with you, okay?” you bargained, hoping for compliance. You pivoted your head back to the strewn papers resting on the mahogany desk in front of you, ready to get back into a productive rhythm.

The welcome rhythm never stayed for long though, for it was always disrupted by George making another goofy face. He’s just being a child, you thought, you’re a seventh year. Ridiculous faces aren’t funny. Oh how wrong you were.

With every new expression that graced his features, another laugh threatened to escape your mouth. Soon enough, your eyes were steadily fixed on the frivolous ginger, ready for what face he would come up with next.

Your brain was locked in a battle: George and his loveable humor, versus your Transfiguration notes and passing your N.E.W.T.s. Both were hardy competitors, but in the end, McGonagall’s subject prevailed. George got up from the seat next to you with a huff, blowing a stray red strand of hair up from his forehead.

He paced around the large room, scheming a way to get your undivided attention. He peeked around the wooden shelves and dressers that stayed pressed against the walls of the dorms, looking for something, anything.

His eyes eventually settled on the record player on your nightstand by your bed. It was a muggle device that his father had ranted about many times before, and he guessed that he could probably figure out how to work it.

His calloused fingers plucked the top inky-black vinyl record from the stack, feeling the textured grooves engraved in its surface. He set the record in place, dropping the needle not long after. The previously pin-drop silent room quickly came to life with the enrapturing sounds of harmonious chords.

It appeared that even the universe wanted to free you from the shackles of your boring notes, for the vinyl George happened to choose was your favorite song, and a slow, romantic one at that.

George lightly tapped your back, causing you to swivel around towards him. He had his long, toned arm outstretched to you charmingly, beckoning you for a dance. You gingerly placed your palm into his and he swiftly pulled you out of the chair and into the middle of the floor.

His face was handsome as ever; you only just now realized how much you missed all of him. His gentle touch, his honey-pooled eyes, the pure love pumping through his veins. His hands rapturously rested on your waist, yours’ wrapped around the nape of his neck. You twirled a small section of his red hair in between your fingers, which only made the lovestruck grin on his face grow bigger.

The song continued to echo through the cozy walls of the room, the unified swaying of your hips in sync with the song’s slow beat. You nearly melted in his warm embrace, his arms gradually bringing you closer and closer to his beating chest.

You eventually rested your head on George’s shoulder, feeling the soothing vibrations of his vocal chords humming along with the notes of the song.

Put your lips next to mine dear, won’t you kiss me once, baby?

As if the song had you two lovebirds under a spell, George slowly brought his lips to yours, giving you a slow and passionate kiss.

He’d kissed you so many times before, but this time it felt different, in the best way possible. It was as if angels sang when your lips graced his’; you could taste his feelings through the connection, his devotion and longing for you overriding your senses. Your eyes teared up at the wave of endearing emotions that overcame you.

The sensual dancing continued long through the night, the tender and enchanting kisses and slow sways wiping your mind of the stressful upcoming exams.

“Feel better, darling?” George breathily mumbled into your ear, the warmth from his mouth shooting directly to your heart, coating your body with goosebumps.

All your hazy, smitten mind could respond with was a simple but passionate, “I love you.”

“I love you too, darling.”

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mqgriett · 4 years ago

Text

Crosshair- The Exam

Prompt: “You’re the only thing that matters”

Pairings: Crosshair x Fem!reader

Warnings: none!

Summary: you’ve been studying your ass off for a month trying to prepare for the exam that will dictate whether or not you get to go back to the 104th battalion as a medic.

Notes: IM SORRY THIS IS SO LONG thank you sm for requesting @lightning-wolffe

You shut off your data pad and pushed it under your armpit, squeezing it with your bicep to not let it fall from your grip as you open your textbook. Before you received the chance to re-read your highlighted notes you felt a tap on your shoulder.

“I heard that your boys landed in Hangar 5.” Kix chirped, pointing behind him with his thumb. He ran his opposite hand through his short brown hair, smiling kindly.

You hummed in response, your attention mostly focused on your annotations. The big exam, one that basically determined whether or not you were allowed to return to your assigned Clone Force, was in three days. Every quiet moment was spent with you cracking open a textbook or reviewing your notes. Now that you thought about it, when was the last time you ate… or slept?

Kix quickened his pace and moved in front of you, using his index finger to push your book down to properly view your face. “You know the exam isn’t for another three days, right?” he asked.

You pressed your lips in a thin line, “Unfortunately not everyone has a memory like yours. I need to study.” you said, closing your book and bopping him on the head with it lightly.

He took the textbook from your hands, holding it up in the air until it was out of your reach. “Fives!” he called to someone you couldn’t see, “Batchers still here?”

Behind you, the ARC trooper nodded, “Gonna be here for the next coupla hours. Engine is shot.”

Kix let his guard down just long enough for you to grab your study materials back. You gently nudged him to the side and walked past, just wanting to get back to your quarters and study.

The medic gave up, hurrying to catch up with Fives as you walked in the opposite direction.

Were you dying to see the Bad Batch? Absolutely.

Did you have the time to? Unfortunately not.

Someone (a medic from the 212th apparently, but you tried not to believe rumors) had fucked up a month ago, and it costs you your privilege of being an on-site medic. All field nurses were sent back to Coruscant to retake the big medical exam to prove that they could still serve as medics.

Unlike Kix, you took it very seriously. Getting anything below a 80% would make your chances of returning small. Only the top 45% of nurses would go back to their battalions while the other 55% stayed on Coruscant to continue their studies.

The large metal door to your room slid open as you scanned your hand and you stepped inside. Without looking up, you wandered to your desk, which was covered in an assortment of different papers and sticky notes.

Still reading your textbook, you typed in the access code for your online notes. After a few seconds an automated female voice began to quiz you on questions you had written down two weeks ago.

You stood up and undressed yourself, lazily pulling a dark brown shirt over your head and letting your hair fall loose from the bun that had sat on your head for the majority of the day.

“Define Choledocholithiasis.” said the voice.

“Stones in the gallbladder or common bile duct” you replied effortlessly, shuffling to your bathroom to fill the water compartment for your caf.

You plugged the machine into the wall, allowing the slow drip of heavenly brown liquid to start as you sat back down at your desk. It gave you a moment to think about everything. Realistically, you were more qualified than half the shinies going in to take the exam.

Kriff, you were wasting your time here.

You pushed back from your desk and slid on the first pair of shoes that were near your door.

The halls had quieted down for the most part, most of the clones eating dinner or heading to bed if they had an early start tomorrow morning.

Massaging your scalp and yawning, you made your way to Hangar 5.

You looked a little tired, but it didn’t matter as long as you got to see Crosshair. You knew none of them would care but especially not him, in the small window of time you two got alone he frequently told you how much he loved your messy hair. He wasn’t much of a verbal communicator when it came to your relationship, but he always made up for it in physical gestures.

Rounding the final corner, your eyes began to scan the busy hangar for the marauder. You took back your thought from earlier, seeing that Hangar 5 was a lot more busy than you had anticipated.

At least two different squadrons were shipping out, from what you could tell it was the 104th and 312th battalions. The blurred figures of grey and green armor made it difficult to keep your focus on one thing at a time.

You carefully started to walk along the wall, ducking until a small cruiser as a short cut.

After another ten minutes of searching you finally spotted a familiar face in the bottom right corner of the hangar.

Tech typed away at his data pad, turning to shout something up at Wrecker, who was sitting on the top of the ship and swinging his legs like a mad man.

Despite the excitement bubbling in your stomach, you took your time walking over to them. It was nice to just observe and laugh at their behavior for a few minutes, it lifted your spirits.

Once you were within vision to Wrecker, he didn’t hesitate to point and shout at you from the top of the Marauder.

“Tech!” You called as he mindlessly searched for you in the crowd of people.

He grinned widely, opening his arms up as you jogged over to him. He hugged you tightly, another pair of large arms suddenly wrapping around both of you.

Wrecker finally set you two down, giving you an individual hug and swaying you from side to side. At one point you were almost choking.

“Thought you were studying for the exam.” Tech said skeptically, eyeing you as if you would ever hide something from him.

You shrugged, “priorities” you peeked over his shoulder, looking for a specific person.

Tech noticed your wandering eyes and smiled, “Cross is taking inventory with Cody.”

“Where’s Sarg?” you asked, linking your arm into his.

“Talking to some of the blue regs.” Wrecker replied loudly, making a few of the 501st soldiers turn to look at him. The large clone was never one to be secretive when it came to addressing the other clones as “regs”. It often drew attention to the group, not necessarily the good kind either.

From a distance you could see Hunter walking back towards the Marauder with Fives, both of them with their helmets at their hips.

Sarg’s eyes lit up at the sight of you, his pace quickening as his urge to be with you grew. He hugged your torso tightly, allowing his arm to sling around your shoulder loosely afterwards.

“It’s been a while.” He said, gently nudging you away from Fives before the ARC trooper could talk.

“It’s been two months. And I always call.” You replied, smiling.

“You look exhausted.” Hunter pointed out quickly, looking down at the bags under your eyes.

You shrugged, “could say the same for you Sarg.”

You four situated yourselves underneath the Marauder, sitting on top of a few power supplies and food crates. Hunter sat next to you, Wrecker and Tech mirroring both of you.

“We were told you wouldn’t be coming down.” Hunter said, leaning back on his elbows.

You raised a skeptical brow, “who told you that?”

“Fives” he answered nonchalantly, “why else would I be talking to him?”

His comment made your eyes roll, “be nice.” You warned, poking his stomach where armor didn’t cover him.

Hunter swatted your hand away, briefly turning his head and smiling. “Look who’s back,” he jutted his thumb behind him, pointing to the two other clones making their way back to the ship.

Cody held a clipboard loosely at his side as he spoke to Crosshair, who carried his helmet against his hip. The 212th trooper laughed at something he said before saluting the sniper and walking in the opposite direction.

You always seemed to forget how handsome Cross was in person. The blue hologram of him during your brief calls did nothing for his strong jawline and high cheekbones. The scruff along his jaw and neck was slightly more visible now, a grey shadow lingering along it.

Pushing yourself off the crate, you broke into a swift jog towards him. For someone with perfect eyesight, he didn’t notice you coming until you were a few meters away.

He opened his arms up, catching you perfectly as you jumped to him.

His long arms held your waist completely as he lowered you to the ground, back arched due to his height compared to yours.“Didn't think you would come.” he said softly in your ear, his voice alone producing butterflies in your stomach.

“I wanted to see you.” you replied, pulling away from him and moving to his side.

Crosshair sent a small smirk to you, which was enough to indicate that he felt the same way.

You walked side by side back to the rest of the group, shoulders touching and hands grazing against one another’s. The gestures were sweet, like the type you would make in school when you were younger. They were enough to make the other person feel loved without drawing too much attention.

The Bad Batch, plus you, sat underneath their ship once more as the rest of the 104th took off in their ships. You waved to Sinker and Comet from the opposite side of the hangar, tossing over-dramatic kisses in their direction while they climbed up the steps. Another mission for them, one that you wouldn’t be going to.

“When do you expect to return?” Tech asked from the top of his crate. You had situated yourself on a lower case, one that was used to store bombs and other small explosives. It kept you about seven or eight inches off the ground while Crosshair took your spot next to Hunter.

You let out a long sigh, “I don’t even know if I’ll go back.”

“They need ya out there.” Wrecker replied, crossing his large legs like a child would.

Crosshair could sense your unease and pushed himself off the crate, settling on the ground in front of you and leaning back so his head pressed against your chest. He let out a small chuckle, no doubt feeling your heartbeat quicken for a few moments. “They’ll take you back.” he said calmly, reaching for your hand and placing it atop his head.

You began to run your fingers through his short, grey hair. “If I don’t get above an 80% then I’m not going back.” You mumbled.

“Why 80?” Hunter asked innocently.

“Because she’s a girl.” Wrecker replied loudly, having absolutely zero common sense as to who could be listening.

Crosshair tense underneath you, muscles tightening against your legs, “Wrecker.” he seethed, using his brother’s full name.

Your face dropped, cheeks heating up. He was right, but hearing someone finally say it out loud made it worse. That was the real reason you had been dedicating so many weeks to studying. Even if Kix received a 45% and you an 80%, they would choose him over you. Clones were bred to be intelligent. You were just a girl who somehow got Senator Palpatine to assign you to a clone squadron.

You wiggled your way out from under Crosshair, stepping over the low crate of explosives and walking up the steps of the Marauder. It was cold inside but the chill felt so nice against your hot body.

In all honesty, you wanted to cry. You wanted to go back to your room and bawl your eyes out until you physically couldn’t produce tears anymore. But you knew you couldn’t, that would be showing weakness.

Soft footsteps echoed behind you, Cross’s monotone voice ringing in your ears shortly after, “he didn’t mean that.”

You shook your head, “No no, he’s right.”

He took a few steps towards you, gently reaching for your wrist and pulling you into him. He rested his chin on your head, “you’ll do great on the exam.”

You pushed off of him, needing a bit of air to keep from crying. You shook your wrists out and looked up at the ceiling, it helped a little bit. “Just nervous.” you muttered.

He stayed silent, not exactly sure how to comfort you. Words frequently failed him and in the rare occasion that you were upset Tech was able to calm you down, but not this time. Crosshair wanted to make you feel better, no matter what it took.

You hated being this vulnerable around anyone, the panic in your stomach growing every second of silence that passed.

Taking a deep breath, you began to walk past him, “I need to go, you have more important things to-”

He caught your bicep and spun you back around, other hand holding the small of your back as he kissed you. It was a deep, passionate, yet chaste, kiss. You melted into his grip, leaning backwards to force his lips onto yours more. You held the sides of his face, the small scruff on his jaw feeling immaculate against your own.

He rested your foreheads together and quietly, barely audibly, whispered, “you’re the only thing that matters.”

You were about to kiss him again when Hunter, Tech, and Wrecker walked through the door.

Hunter smiled, “Guess who’s got a new nurse on the team.”

Your head cocked to the side, Wrecker looking like he was about to explode from excitement at any moment. “We do!” he bellowed, “and it’s you!”

Mouth hanging open, you looked from Crosshair to the other three. “What?”

“Welcome to Clone Force 99, medic.” Hunter answered proudly.

#clone trooper crosshair #crosshair x reader #clone trooper hunter #clone trooper wrecker #clone trooper tech #clone trooper echo #badbatch #bad batch #clone force 99 #bad batch x reader

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eponymous-rose · 2 years ago

Text

Wednesday!

Hoo boy, lots going on today. E-mails aplenty to start things off! One of my students from last quarter is applying to four internships and would like me to write letters of reference. I am a reference-writing machine (up to a couple dozen so far this year?), of course I'll do it. One of my Master's students sheepishly writes me to say he's currently in the Southern Hemisphere (he'd forgotten all about going home for a few weeks until he had the day-before check-in reminder) and asks if we can meet remotely today. Not a problem! The first of the "where's today's seminar on the calendar?" e-mails comes in - sadly the speaker is ill and had to cancel fairly last-minute. This feels like foreshadowing for a bunch more e-mails I'm about to receive. One of my colleagues I meet with bi-weekly has asked if we can swap which week we meet since he has a conflict, no problem there. Messages about a seminar that I think I'm going to have to skip. Very angry e-mail from a student who's still frustrated and struggling with the department laptop, so we're going to meet to figure that one out. Doing my best to encourage an "us against the problem" situation rather than "me bordering on unsympathetic given how many times this student has e-mailed me or knocked on my door outside of office hours to vent about things I have no control over". Going to have to set some boundaries today, I think. (My standard question to myself: yes, I want to be sympathetic and helpful to students, but is this something that this student would in a million years consider doing with an older and more dudely professor that he assumes would have important things to do? If not, it's probably something we should discuss.) Everyone handed in the homework assignment due today, whew.

Fun lecture! It's the one I prepared yesterday, the last one of the material I had no hand in developing, so it's nice to be out of there but also I learned a lot, which is nice. I think everyone's following along well and I am delighted that I've had pretty much 100% in-person attendance all quarter so far! (I post recorded lectures and slides online so that if students are feeling ill they don't have to come to class, but sometimes that results in students staying home all quarter, which is tough given how much in-person interaction is key to success in the class.) Due to some scheduling switch-ups, I will not be teaching tomorrow or Friday. Coincidentally, tomorrow's my birthday. Amazing how that works out.

Straight into a meeting with my PhD student! He comes in looking a little downcast, and when I ask what's wrong he laughs and goes "ACTUALLY NOTHING" and tells me he won a major fellowship! So proud of this guy, he's doing amazing work. We talk about it a bit (it includes a week-long intensive research trip with other fellows), then get to his research (lots and lots and lots of downloading data), then go over some of the expectations for his PhD proposal and dissertation formatting. He's gunning for his general exam next quarter, which means he'd be done a year and a couple months from now. I think he can do it, and I think he's making enough connections and publishing well enough that I'm comfortable with him graduating early if that's where he wants to be (since our department pays students, plus stipend, plus tuition, I encourage students to stick around as long as they have funding and their life circumstances allow so that they can get as many publications/presentations/connections as possible before going off job-hunting).

Well hey, it's time to meet with my student who's back in his home country this week! We laughed about how this reminds us of when he first won his Fulbright and we were scheming over Zoom to bring him here - time flies! He's mostly doing well, but his friggin' Python environment is broken and he needs to reinstall everything before he can run his code. We do some dry debugging since he can't actually run anything. Getting there! I remind him to shoot an update to his coadvisor (she's in a research plane for six hours today and couldn't make the meeting), which he quickly does. He'll be back here in two weeks, but I'm glad he can spend some time back home!

A little soul-searching break: do I want to admit another grad student? My colleague pointed out a great application that would be a good fit. The risk is admitting two amazing students and only having funding for one (or zero!). The flipside risk is admitting one amazing student who decides to go to grad school elsewhere, leaving me with a very bad gap in my supervisory career. I remind myself that one of my colleagues has offered to be backup for one of my students, so even if she doesn't get funded, he can cover her for a year or two. I think I'm gonna admit this second student. I'll sleep on it once more and then call her to gauge her interest in my research projects. I should emphasize that the students will get to do cool research and get paid well for it even if I don't get funding; the consequences are for me alone if things go wrong. That's oddly comforting. Up for tenure in two years means I want to look most impressive in the next year or so as the process begins.

Anyway, soul-searching and an incoming meeting with a disgruntled undergraduate means it's time for a quick break. I walk down to the secret basement coffeeshop on campus and get a London Fog and one of their $3 grilled cheese sandwiches. Suddenly feeling much less grumpy. Much less grumpy. Ah, that was just a touch of hangry.

Back to the office, where I do some grading in a much better mood and shoot a line to the department chair so he can announce my student's fellowship on social media. Grading goes really well - the one student who struggled a bit with the first homework got a perfect score on the second, we love to see it. Everyone's doing amazing.

The dreaded student meeting! He starts by apologizing for monopolizing my time so much lately and tells me he's going to make sure to send me an e-mail before coming by next time. Aww, but also, good. We manage to figure out what's gone wrong (the computer is so old it has a sub-GHz processor, it's an absolute nightmare) and manage to reinstall the software after about 15 minutes of waiting for the computer to be able to render each page of the website. Happily, once the software is installed, everything runs fast and he grabs the data in about ten seconds flat. Saves it directly to a thumb drive, uploads it to the course management system, we're back on track! Finally.

Okay, I think that's a decent place to head home a little early (might just wait for the flood of "where's the seminar this week?" e-mails to die down). New e-mail from one of the committees I'm on that runs a bi-yearly conference - we were getting some pressure to run our (American organization's) conference in Australia, so we did a full survey of membership and were able to show data proving that doing so would systematically exclude women, students, and other folks with travel restrictions (visas, immunocompromised if there's a spike ongoing, etc.). We also managed to make a good case for why this is a very different picture than the separate European conference, which is run by and for a European organization that some of our members occasionally jump in on (hey, I'll be doing that this May!). We'll be meeting to discuss all that and to figure out how best to bring this up diplomatically with leadership of our parent organization.

Got a not-so-useful notification that someone who was in attendance at the seminar I ran seven days ago has tested positive. Welp. I still mask 100% indoors and had a negative test this weekend, but guess it's time to test again real quick when I get home. Still have somehow managed to avoid getting this thing (and only one cold in three years!) but I'm sure it's just a matter of time.

Tomorrow! It's my actual birthday! I will probably take it easy tomorrow since events have mysteriously conspired to give me a nice chunk of downtime, but I do want to get next week's Wednesday lecture done and also start on the review article by the end of the week. Also committed to sending my colleague a revised draft of our grant proposal by the end of the week. Not too shabby!

I'm gonna do this again because it turned out last week kinda went off the rails without it and the little bit of accountability is super super helpful.

Monday!

It's a busy week! It's also my birthday week! Let's do this!

E-mail with coffee: sent a prospective grad student a congratulations on her admission to our program. I'm really hoping to hire her, but I do need to consider whether I might want to admit two students for this position and just get the extra funding for the second one elsewhere if both decide to come. Hmm. Confirmed coffee on Friday with the wonderful admin I've been wanting to befriend for a while - finally we'll interact outside of paperwork! Sadly Wednesday's seminar speaker is ill and won't be able to present - I'm leading the seminar so that does add up to a little less work for me, which is the silver lining there. One of my student groups is struggling to grab data from the weather station they built on the roof because the dang software doesn't work on Macs - managed to coordinate getting them a loaner PC laptop from the department, whew. Completed two letters of reference for an undergrad student applying to internships. Somehow managed to double-book a meeting and gave one a heads up to cancel. Showed my availability for scheduling a PhD defense for a student whose committee I'm on. One of the speakers for my seminar series sent a somewhat passive-aggressive e-mail to the department chair to let him know his info's not up on the website yet. Department chair forwarded it to me, I replied with, essentially "hold your dang horses, your talk isn't until mid-March". He replied back with a sheepish apology. All good.

Formulated my list of essential stuff for this week:

finish Wednesday's (and next week's?) lecture(s?)

prepare next week's homework & key

work on grant proposal

work on commissioned review article

So excited that we're finally to the part of the class that I have taught before in past years! Great lecture today about statistical data analysis. Hurt everyone's brains with the Monty Hall problem. Showed a lot of XKCD comics, got some laughs. Good times. Answered some student questions on the homework assignments, looks like everyone's on track to ace this one as well. This is a really strong class and I'm very proud of them!

On to a virtual meeting with my peer mentoring group! We talk about how utterly wild it is that different departments manage research funding in completely different ways. I vent a bit for the umpteenth time about having to rely 100% on grants to pay my grad students (bigger departments often have student funding provided if they TA, but we just don't have enough classes to sustain that). Easily the biggest source of stress in my life right now is running out of funding for my students: "in order to pay your graduate students, you have to receive a major grant" "cool! how likely am I to get one?" "success rates are about 1 in 15" "uhhhh" "also the applications (if you manage to find a perfect match for your research) take about 40-60 hours to plan and write and it's not work that's looked at formally as part of your tenure review so you're actively taking time away from research" "uhhhhhhh" "and you won't find out if you have been awarded the grant or not before you have to make the decision to hire a student so you just gotta gamble on it" "UHHHHHHH" "you don't get paid in the summer either unless you pull in 2-3 grants that can each cover one month max of salary so I hope you're not putting well over 50% of your take-home toward rent in one of the worst markets in the US or anything haha." It's A Lot. But it's very helpful to talk to people about it!

Realized I left my half-finished Wednesday lecture on my computer at home so I can't work on it during my break between meetings. Shoot, guess that's a tomorrow problem. At least I can work on the homework assignment! This one was an absolute nightmare last year but I think I've come up with a way to simplify it while still hitting all of the learning goals. It's complicated but hopefully very satisfying and builds on everything they've learned thus far. Even with the simplification, I'm definitely expecting some traffic in office hours next week. Opted not to include the more tedious section of the homework because I've tested that particular skill amply in the earlier assignments this quarter. Ran through it once on my own, sent myself the key, then posted the homework and the submission portal for their online module for next week, so all I'm missing now is the lectures.

E-mail break! A professor at a small university nearby wants to bring in a grad student from my group to talk to her class about tornadoes! I have someone in mind (who is both a great presenter and also could use a little confidence boost to get back on track with his research), but of course he's working remotely on the other side of the country, so it's time for a quick check to see if a remote presentation is possible. Checking in on my seminar speaker for next week - project title and abstract up on the website, phew. She's a grad student, so I should find out if her advisor can introduce her or if they want me to do so (and if so, I gotta do some digging for fun facts to share!). Got an invite to a lunch with the faculty & chair where we're going to be brainstorming our next faculty hire, so I gotta be there for that (also because free food)! Surreal to think that we might be hiring my colleague for the next 30 years. It's... kind of intimidating and I definitely want to be in the room for that discussion. Aha! A reply already: virtual talk is fine, so I put the professor and my grad student in touch.

Nice virtual meeting with my former postdoc advisor - we commiserate for a while over his recent illness, but he's feeling better now so we quickly jump back to talking research. The small grant I was awarded recently actually dovetails with some of the broader research ideas he and I had been talking about, so I'm gonna keep him in the loop on that!

Up next: a meeting with my two undergraduate research interns. They're coadvised by my colleague who is flying research aircraft on the other side of the country right now so it's just the three of us. Due to holidays and conferences, this is actually the first time in 2023 we all managed to meet! We go over some paperwork to make sure they get college credit for this research. They're spinning their wheels a little bit but I had them shoot off a couple emails while I was there to start them getting their data ASAP. We then chatted about severe weather we'd all witnessed. One of the students mentioned she's been saving the candy from my office candy bowl for whenever she forgets to bring lunch to campus and now I'm realizing I should maybe get some protein bars or something for some variety.

All good stuff. There's a seminar in 15 minutes but it's a chemistry seminar so... I may just sneak home a bit early.

Tomorrow: no meetings (maaaybe one remote meeting), so work-from home! Should be able to get the last bit of coursework done for the week so I can start on my research to-do list.

#eponymous academia tag

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bunnie-the-lighthouse · 4 years ago

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𝐼 𝐿𝑜𝓋𝑒 𝒴𝑜𝓊

Pairing: ATEEZ Park Seong-Hwa & Reader

Warnings: It Is Very Long, I Curse At The End, And It’s Suggestive So . > .

Inspiration: This Was Actually Requested! (But I Added Some Of My Braincells So Some Of Them Were Sacrificed)

Requested By: @bonbonhwa -- Thank You So Much!~

Basic Idea: Anniversary!~~ Established Couple, First Time Having It.

Type: Fluff & Suggestive (First Time Doing A Combo!)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“Hmm? Hyung, what are you doing?” Yun-Ho asked as he peaked and saw Seong-Hwa entering a few websites. He didn’t see them clearly but his eyes were able to catch the silhouettes of notes, hearts, chocolates, hotel bedrooms, and flowers.

Seong-Hwa flinched and turned off his phone, placing it in his pocket while clearing his throat. His cheeks softly flushed with a shade of pink as Yun-Ho chuckled. “I see~ Is something special going on?” he asks as the elder nods.

“(Y/N) and I are going to celebrate our anniversary next week..” he responded while smiling softly, remembering the first time you both met. It was sort of anti climatic but it is definitely a good time to remember.

To summarize it, you guys get back in 2019. You were a foreign University Student studying in Japan and Seong-Hwa was there because of KCON. You both met accidentally when you bumped into him in a hotel -- he was staying there while you were there for a conference.

You guys were then friends for a very long time -- maybe three to four years. It proceeded until the day that he couldn’t take it anymore and kissed you.

Unfortunately, you were still unprepared as you believed that he already had some crush on another girl who was an idol. Plus, you were finishing your Bachelor’s Degree.

You did like him. A lot. He also did, which is why he was a bit discouraged by your reaction after the kiss -- shy and worried. You then expressed your worries and ended it with a joke; “Ask me to be your girlfriend on Christmas Day”. And he did so, taking your joke seriously. But that is how you both started dating.

“Interesting~~” Woo-Young hummed as the eldest sighed out, knowing that the youngers were going to tease him. “Does Manager already know about this?” Yun-Ho asked as Seong-Hwa nodded, “He does, I’m a bit sad that I won’t be able to celebrate Christmas with you guys and ATINY though..” he trailed off as Hong-Joong entered the room and patted his back.

“It’s ok, we all understand why Christmas is such an important date for you,” he comforted as the older smiled…

At Incheon Airport, Seong-Hwa was waiting for you. He was a bit impatient, looking around sporadically to see if he could spot you before you spot him. He looked down at the watch that you gave him the first time you celebrated his birthday.

He then looked up and saw you walking out, looking at the opposite side, seemingly looking for him too. He quickly walked over to you, and tapped your shoulder. You turned around, beamed and hugged him tightly as he chuckled at your reaction.

“Hwa!” you squeal as he hugs you back. Your head was leaning on his chest, making you hear his heart softly thump. He then petted your hair softly, wanting to kiss you but being unable to because of the mask that you both were wearing. “I missed you,” you coo as you look up to him, he then gives you a sweet eye smile -- the same eye smile that made you fall in love with him. “I missed you too, babygirl,” he whispers, making you feel butterflies in your stomach.

You guys then reached an amusement park, Seong-Hwa’s Manager leaving your suitcases at the hotel. “C’mon,” Seong-Hwa called as he held your hand tightly, “I know you wanted to reminisce about your childhood and to have fun after your stressful exams,” he smiles as you fake cry. Your cry sounded real, making Seong-Hwa get worried, turning around to see you.

“Hwa!~~” you cried out, hugging him, making him notice how you were acting. He sighed in relief, flicking the top of your head softly, “Don’t scare me,” he chuckled as you laughed. “Thank you, Seong-Hwa,. I didn’t know what to get you..” you looked down as he looked at you with soft eyes.

“Baby.. Look at me,” he said while lifting your face up by your chin, “You being my side is already a gift,” finished, making you wrap your arms around his neck, pulling him down to kiss him. He softly gasped, as you caught him off guard. However, he quickly kissed you back, and later you pulled away -- holding his hand again. “Let’s go!~” you said excitedly as it had been a long time since you’ve had fun.

You guys went on a carousel, ate cotton candy, took a quick break while visiting an aquarium and even drank some hot chocolate in the cafe that was in it. As sunset came by, Seong-Hwa basically became a cuddle bear. He walked behind you while wrapping his long coat around you. Supposedly it was “too cold” for you, and even though you were fine with the cold, you didn’t say anything as you missed his hugs.

The last ride that you guys took was the Ferris Wheel. You knew about Seong-Hwa’s fear of heights, which is why you asked him if he really wanted to. “I want to, because I want you to be happy.” he said firmly, which made your heart skip a beat. You smiled at him as he rubbed your head softly.

In the Ferris Wheel, you sat beside Seong-Hwa, holding his hand all the time. As the capsule that you guys were in reached the very top, the sun shone right into you guys. You then took this chance to calm him down by kissing him sweetly.

He immediately responded, kissing you back with the same softness and passion, holding your hand ever so slightly tighter. You then used one hand to cup his cheek, the warmth of your hand making his heart burst in joy. You both then leaned on each other’s forehead, breathing out softly as the capsule slowly descended.

At the hotel room, you walked out of the bathroom, seeing Seong-Hwa in the bathrobe, drying his hair with a towel while the bed was covered with the petals of your favorite flower. “Hwa?” you asked as he smiled at you, “Do you like it?” he asked while patting the spot beside him.

You nodded, sitting behind him. “Let me dry your hair,” you said as he hummed. You then grabbed onto the towel, softly rubbing the water droplets off his hair. It was a silent and sweet moment, which was cut off shortly when Seong-Hwa turned around.

“.. You know I love you a lot.. Right?” he whispered as you nodded, slowly, fear creeping and engulfing your body. He then kissed your forehead, his left hand cupping your left cheek while his right hand guided your left hand to his heart. You felt it beating, quickly and strongly. You felt his aura go confident yet soft and fiery. You were confused.

He then smiled, “Is it ok.. If I make you mine.. Tonight?” he asked as it caught you off guard, making your cheeks feel heated. “H-Huh?” you questioned as he smiled, “Like this,” he whispered -- his lips connecting to yours like magnets. Fireworks went off in your hearts, the heat slowly rising as your lips danced like a waltz, in sync and gracefully.

He slowly pushed you back to the bed, pinning both of your hands with one of his. Kissing your neck and nibbling on it softly, making you gasp at the new feeling. He kept on kissing, trying to find your sweet spot. After a small second, he found it, making you moan out, feeling more fireworks burst in your heart.

He smiled against your neck, sucking on the spot to create a mark on you. “Seong-Hwa!~” you moaned out as he then pulled away, looking down at the bright red mark. “Are you okay?” he asked as you nodded. He then freed your hands from his grasp, ready to sit back up, feeling that you were unprepared.

However, you caught him before he left, wrapping your arms around his neck. You then looked away, a bit scared yet prepared. “Seong-Hwa.. Please?..” you whispered out, catching his attention. “Yes?” he teased as your cheeks felt heated. You closed your eyes, being unable to answer him. “So, I have your permission?” he whispered in your ear as you shivered from his breath.

“Yes..” you answered as he smiled. “Thank you for trusting me, babygirl,” he said, kissing your forehead softly while he untied your bathrobe’s ribbon. You squeaked, covering yourself before he parted the bathrobe. He chuckled at your reaction, “Don’t worry.. I won’t bite.. Do you want a safety word?” he asked as you gulped. “I.. I think I will be fine..” you whispered out as you slowly moved your hands away.

Seong-Hwa then cupped your left cheek, caressing your cheek and proceeding to kiss you again. His other hand massaged your tummy, making you feel the tingles. He then pulled away, his black marbles showcasing multiple emotions -- love, happiness, lust, and passion.

He untied his bathrobe, as you sat up, slipping out of yours. “I.. Want you,” you said confidently as he smiled.

“Babygirl, there aren’t enough words for me to express how much I love you.. This is only our second anniversary -- our second year of being a couple but I am sure that in the future, I want to be the man that puts that ring on your finger and call you my wife.. Are you ready, my love?..” ..

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Hello~~ I am finally back momentarily lol.

I had a rough two weeks because of Quarter Exams and I had multiple mental and emotional breakdowns but I was able to push myself back up so it’s all good.

For the person that requested it, I hope you enjoyed it! It was a bit hard to combine both the Fluff and Suggestive -- I tried my best!

(Please also bear in mind that school has fucked me up so I ain’t doing too well but I’ll slowly recuperate and bring back more stuff for you guys!)

HOWEVER -- I was also able to get better because ATEEZ CAMEBACK

Like holy shit.

They chose violence.

All in all they all fucken crushed it. It was amazing to see ‘em perform and it was great to hear Min-Gi in it. I hope that he is still resting and getting better! I’m sure he’ll be back with the boys soon.

San brought back his demon, so did Seong-Hwa (these two fellas killed me with their facial expressions and vocals). Yun-Ho in all black was a blessing. Center and Black Hair Yeo-Sang was supreme. Hong-Joong’s new hairstyle in the MV was cool. Jong-Ho’s vocals!~ Woo-Young and his sexiness. Like. Violence. They chose Violence.

Overall, I loved everything about this comeback. Take Me Home is beautiful as fuck and I love this entire album.

Hopefully y’all have been taking care of yourselves, take breaks when you need them, drink water and I hope y’all have a good day, afternoon, or evening!~

Use your imagination!~~

Thank you for the support, leave requests, and have a great day!

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blue-writes-things · 4 years ago

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Just Plain Awful

Sirius Black x Reader | Fluff

“I’m here to be your knight in shining armor! Here to save you from your boredom and bad mood”

| Masterlists | Words: 510 A/N: This a request I got in like December-ish so whoever this anon is, I am so SO sorry for how long this took (It might have been from my old account omg)

Feedback is always appreciated! - Blue

The only word you could use to describe today was: awful. Just plain awful.

It started when you slept through breakfast as you were up all night studying for a transfiguration exam you had first class. After being late to get there Professor Mcgonagall told everyone that she had to move the exam to next week, meaning you were up all night for nothing.

Then halfway through eating lunch you fell asleep, meaning you’ve had three quarters of a sandwich to eat all day.

Next, dubble potions with Slughorn, who hated you more than James hates homework. You’d even managed to get a detention for something someone else (across the room) had done.

You can’t even remember what happened next, possibly history of magic, but you were way too exhausted to even think about caring. And just to top it all off, your dorm mate decided that tonight they wanted to sleep with whoever it was, meaning you couldn’t go into the room to sleep.

So now you’re sitting curled up on a couch in the common room by yourself on the verge of snapping and hexing the next thing that moves.

That ‘thing’ almost ended up being Sirius, your boyfriend, who had just accidentally scared you by sitting next to you on the couch. “Whoa, babe it’s just me” Sirius moves his left hand to gently move your wand from his nose “Merlin Sirius, you scared me” you sigh, chucking your want onto the table “Clearly” he muttered earning himself a glare.

He smiled apologetically, you just roll your eyes and shift on the couch to lean on his shoulder “Why are you up Siri?” you ask, taking his hand and playing with his long fingers

“I’m here to be your knight in shining armor! Here to save you from your boredom and bad mood” “More like knight in red pajamas” You say with a small smile

“I’ll only letting that slide cause I got you to smile” he smiled back, pecking the lifted corner of your lips with a kiss “Oh! I know you didn’t eat much today, soo~”

Bringing his right hand from behind his back, it was a plate with some fruit and chocolate “Sorry it’s not much, It’s all I could carry” he rubbed the back of his neck after placing the plate on the table.

“Thank you Siri” You leant up and kiss his cheek.

He briefly leant forward grabbing some grapes, feeding you some (and eating some himself) “Is that Remus’s chocolate?” you laugh “Maybe...he still has a bunch from our last Hogsmeade trip, plus I’m sure he won’t mind if it’s for you”

You fell into a comfortable silence, both picking away at the food and watching the slowly dimming fire. Sirius heard you let out a deep sigh, turning his head to look at you. He saw you’d fallen asleep on his shoulder, a faint smile still on your lips.

He smiles, gently picking up your wand before carrying to his dorm, tucking you into bed with him.

“Goodnight, my little star”

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sxvxrxssnape · 4 years ago

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minerva mcgonagall’s personal mission to make severus love christmas part 4

aka snolidays/snapemas day 5 and 6 (lights festival, food, memories, stockings) // pre-PS/the years between. minerva and severus friendship // ft. the hogwarts staff gently bullying sev and getting wine drunk together. mentions of sev’s plum blancmange @deepperplexity @blog4snape

The rest of the week passed by in a blur of teaching, brewing, and general sulking.

The term wouldn’t end until late January, but final exams were scheduled for the week before winter break and Severus had a thousand other things to finalize before the break started. There was a stack of assignments he needed to grade before everyone parted, the annual inventory that needed to be done, and he had about half a dozen cauldrons slowly simmering away with potions for the infirmary, not to mention he was creating both a study guide for the upcoming exam and an assignment that could be turned in for extra credit.

If even one student dared to fail his class after all the effort he put into making sure they passed, he was going to turn them all into frogs.

He almost felt bad that he hadn’t made much time for Minerva, and aside from seeing each other at meals - and even then, Severus wasn’t quite known for his perfect attendance in the Great Hall - he hadn’t spoken more than eight words to her since their trip to Diagon Alley.

It wasn’t as if he were avoiding her.

Much.

He just needed a few days to himself - as much as he could get when he taught two classes a day (three on Wednesdays and Thursdays) anyway. He knew the only reason they hadn’t talked about his miniscule breakdown was because they had been in public and maybe he was a little afraid of being cornered by her in private.

It was Friday now, his afternoon class had just ended, he had already checked on the status of his cauldrons, so all that was left on his to-do list was to hide himself away inside of his quarters and sulk.

Except he was all out of sugar.

Alright, not the worst problem to have and yes, he could call up a house elf and simply ask for the container to be refilled, but maybe a small part of him wanted to run into Minerva on neutral ground, so he wouldn’t have to knock on her door and risk coming off as lonely and needy. So rather than being a normal-functioning adult about this, he took his coffee ground-filled french press and flooed directly into the staff lounge.

He didn’t spend very much time in this particular room - large, brightly lit, and nestled between two towers somewhere on the fourth floor with large windows that overlooked the quidditch pitch - but it wasn’t for lack of trying. He found the lounge to be rather appealing, with its burning fireplace, sitting area, stacks of abandoned books, journals, and magazines, abundance of cabinets he liked to rifle through, and best of all, the fully stocked coffee bar off to the left of the round table.

The room wasn’t empty, and unfortunately, devoid of the person whom he was seeking. Pomona was sitting at the table with a cup of tea, poring over a stack of papers with a furrowed brow and a bit of ink smeared over her cheek. Aurora was sitting on the lone couch, momentarily distracted from the magazine she had been leafing through to look up at him as he entered, eyebrow raised at the contraption he cradled.

“What brings you here?” she asked, flicking her wand towards the record player and lowering the music that had been softly playing.

The action caused the herbology professor to look up and she frowned. “Oh, Severus.” she greeted, barely giving him more than a cursory glance. “I haven’t seen you here in a bit; thought you might have forgotten where it was.”

“Well, he did floo.” Professor Sinistra returned, her lips curling into a grin. “It’s quite possible he forgot where to find the door.”

“I didn’t forget.” Severus scowled, making his way towards the bar.

“You tell yourself that.”

“There’s tea if you want some.” Pomona called out, raising her own teacup. “Mint.”

He ignored the steaming teapot in favor of the kettle, flicking his wand to heat up the water before pouring a little over the grounds in the press. He missed the simple pleasures of having an electric coffee maker - perhaps the only positive that came from summers at Spinner's End - but he would be lying if he said he didn’t prefer the taste of the pretentious, one-cup-at-a-time brew.

While the grounds took the time to presoak, he wandered over to the pink pastry box and eyed its contents. The house elves always made sure to stock the staff room with snacks - biscuits, fruit, packages of crisps - but pastries from the local bakery were the most sought out after.

“The blueberry strudel belongs to Filius,” Pomona suddenly mentioned, not looking up from her task, “he’s already claimed it.”

Severus scowled at the remaining treat. “He’s not here, is he?” he mumbled, opening the box. He yelped as something sharp pierced his hand and drew back immediately, his face coloring slightly as Aurora started laughing.

“Like she said,” Aurora chuckled. “Filius already claimed it.”

Severus cursed under his breath and returned to his coffee, pulling down a clean mug and the sugar jar on the way. He was pouring the rest of the hot water when the door opened.

“French press again?” Minerva’s voice asked.

“Like he makes it any other way.” Aurora returned. “Professor I-Brew-Potions-For-A-Living is, unsurprisingly, the coffee snob among us.”

“I am not.” Severus frowned, placing the plunger over the glass and giving it a slight swirl before setting it aside. “It’s not my fault the rest of you don’t have any taste.”

“Oh, the baby thinks he has taste.”

Severus blinked. “Perhaps I’ll refrain from giving you a gift this year after all.” he muttered, glaring at her. “Also, you’re the second youngest professor here.”

“But not the youngest.” Aurora grinned. “That pleasure is all yours, I’m afraid.”

Before Severus could form a rebuttal, Pomona stood up and gathered her papers, rushing towards the door with an annoyed, “I can’t get any work done with you two around.” Aurora followed suit, magazine under her arm, a cheeky, “baby” escaping her lips as she closed the door behind her.

Severus sat down in Pomona’s abandoned chair, hands in his hair, as he groaned out a, “I’m most definitely not giving her a gift now.”

Minerva laughed and sat down across from him, a cup of mint tea in her hands.

“Are we still on for tomorrow?”

“The lights?”

Minerva nodded and he considered her question as he got up to finish making his coffee. He grabbed milk from the cold cupboard and then stopped to look at her. “What if we went tonight, instead?”

“Tonight?”

Severus shrugged, sitting down with his cup and a package of biscuits. “We can grab dinner beforehand, I’m thinking Italian.”

“Really?”

“Invite some of the others.”

Minerva eyed him carefully. “Do my ears deceive me, Severus Snape, or are you suggesting a staff outing to see the lights? You?”

“Don’t push it.”

“I’ll let everybody know.”

“I think we should hang the stockings in the staff room.”

“What?”

“The stockings.” Minerva emphasized, buttoning her capelet. She was standing in front of her dressing mirror, adjusting the green tartan fabric over her shoulders. She was wearing a long sleeved dress under it and, no doubt, a warming charm had already been cast over the black fabric. Her hair was free of its usual pins, the soft curls seemingly trying their best to retain their accustomed shape.

They were both in her private quarters, Severus sprawled on her couch with a book, as she finished getting ready for their outing. He had opted for his usual black on black on black, but had foregone his cloak for the grey wool coat he rarely wore.

So rarely, that when he put his hands in his pockets, he came across the crumpled ticket of a play he had seen two winters ago.

He couldn’t remember much about the show itself, but it had been the first time he had been invited to go out by his fellow colleagues and he had jumped at the chance. Of course, he had first pretended to consider it for half a day before telling Albus that he had nothing better to do that day and that he might as well tag along.

“Are you listening?”

“No.” Severus admitted, returning to the present.

Minerva scowled. “I said, we should hang the stockings we bought in the staff room. It’s got a fireplace and the room is awfully drab, don’t you think? Plus, it's neutral ground so both our stockings can be up together.”

“Well, alright.”

“Excellent, let’s go then.”

“Now?”

“We have dinner reservations at seven - which is in twenty minutes, I might add - so yes, right now. Before we’re late.”

They flooed into the staff lounge, finding Aurora leafing through a book and listening to music once again. She raised an eyebrow at the paper shopping bag they were carrying.

“What’s this?”

“Christmas.” Minerva replied simply, pulling out a stocking and handing it over. His name was now stitched along the edge in black thread and he frowned.

“When did-?”

“I asked the house elves when we first got back.”

They hung their stockings on the mantle with a temporary sticking charm and surveyed their work.

“I expect the rest of you to have a stocking on here by next week.” Minerva insisted, taking Severus’ hand and leading him out the door. “Come now, or we’ll be late.”

“Aren’t you coming?” Severus asked Aurora, pretending to eye her teaching robes in confusion. “We’re going out to dinner and then the lights festival.”

Aurora scowled at him, eyeing him carefully. “I would, but I have a class tonight.” she muttered, glancing out the window at the darkened sky. It was cloudless and few stars could be seen from her vantage point; there was no reason to cancel Astronomy tonight.

“Oh, that’s a shame.” Severus shrugged, turning around quickly to hide his smirk. “I wouldn’t have chosen tonight if I knew.”

“Liar.”

The door closed behind them.

“You know I don’t approve of this.” Minerva told him, as they made their way down the stairs and out of the castle.

“Don’t approve of what?”

Minerva shook her head at him, but didn’t answer.

They met Filius at the front door, his too-long blue scarf trailing behind him as they made their way towards the apparition point. They met Pomona on the way and once they cleared the wards, apparated into an alley close to the restaurant.

Albus was already waiting inside, looking perfectly at ease in his three-piece suit, sipping on a glass of white wine.

“Ah, there you all are.” he greeted them, as they took their seats. “This wine is absolutely wonderful, by the way - do order a glass.”

“Someone dressed up for the occasion.” Minerva eyed the headmaster.

“I wear it quite well, don’t I?”

They were brought water glasses and bread, offered three types of wine - “I really must insist on the pinot gris.” Albus interrupted - and given a set of menus.

“It’s been a while since we’ve all gone out.” Filius mentioned, taking a slice of baguette and dipping it in olive oil and balsamic. “It’s quite nice.”

“We have Severus to thank for the idea,” Albus grinned, clasping a hand on his shoulder. He flinched slightly, but he didn’t think anyone noticed.

Except for Albus, who immediately dropped his hand and offered an apologetic look.

They ordered - and unsurprisingly, Minerva ordered herself the special - and fell into easy conversation as they waited for their meal. When the food arrived, it was met with excited sounds from the (perhaps a little wine-tispy) table and plates were quickly passed around with insistent, “You need to try this fried stracchino!” and “I swear, you will never taste a better beef stracotto pasta than this one.” and even a, “Listen, I know it sounds weird, but I’m telling you - you have to try the baccala! I don’t care if you don’t like fish!”

The dessert menu left him a little discombobulated and he ordered himself coffee while the others shared rum babas and marzipan balls. One of the rum soaked sponge cakes was pushed towards him, split down the middle and filled with cream and sour cherries. He glanced up from his bicerin to find Minerva watching him.

“Try it, before these vultures get to it.”

He obliged, cutting a piece off with his fork.

“Why are you frowning?” Minerva asked, leaning closer. The others were a little pink-faced, laughing, as they played a game of rock-parchment-diffundo for the last chocolate and marzipan ball. “We are eating delicious food and drinking delicious wine - two things I know you like - and then we’re going to see the lights with all our friends. You shouldn’t be frowning.”

“I think you’ve had enough wine.”

She made a face at him. “Oh, let me guess.” she pursed her lips. “You have some sort of traumatic childhood memory involving all of this and you are currently reliving it in your head.”

Severus scowled. “I don’t have a traumatic memory for everything.”

“Could have fooled me.” Pomona spoke up, inserting herself into their conversation. The others stopped and turned to look at him. “You’re so grumpy all the time, I just figured your whole life was simply continuous trauma.”

“I’ll revoke your christmas gift too, don’t test me.”

Pomona straightened up. “Oh, you got me a gift?”

“No.”

“Don’t lie!” Pomona grinned, pointing at him. “You got me a gift!”

“Don’t think you’re special.” Severus muttered. “It’s not just you.”

“Severus got us all gifts!” Filius realized. “Severus loves us!”

He made eye contact with the headmaster. “Consider this my official resignation.”

Albus nodded, his expression turning serious. “Of course, my boy, I understand.” His eyes twinkled. “It’s a shame my staff cannot be more professional when they venture out of the castle walls, but alas, there is a reason I do not let them wander far.”

“Truly awful.”

“Severus loves us!” Pomona repeated and the table burst into giggles, save for Severus who covered his face with his hands. And he was the youngest of this lot?

They paid soon after that - Severus discretely cancelling the silencing and repelling charms they had cast on their table to hurry them along - and made their way towards the nearby park where the lights festival had been set up. The others wandered off on their own, leaving Minerva and Severus to walk the paths alone.

Once the others had wandered far enough ahead that their conversation would no longer carry, Minerva learned slightly into her friend, nudging his shoulder. “Now will you tell me?”

“It’s not a traumatic childhood memory, if that’s what you mean.”

“But you did remember something.” Minerva pressed.

“Yes.”

The path they walked was illuminated by tiny orbs, leading towards a tunnel strung with hundreds of white and blue lights. As they walked through it, Severus fell silent and simply looked up, sneaking glances of the night sky beyond the wire cage that held up all the lights.

There was a giant christmas tree waiting for them when they exited the tunnel, made entirely of green and gold twinkles - strings of lights pulled taut from a metal pole and pinned onto the ground. Similar displays surrounded it, contraptions of metal and colored lights creating bow-tied gift boxes and ornaments, stars and snowflakes, all glowing in the dark.

All the natural trees were wrapped in lights as well, not a single twig or branch left uncovered. Giant, glowing candy canes dotted the path now and they followed it, taking in every sparkling display. Music was playing and though others wandered the path, no one stood too close.

“I remember my mum used to make this dessert when I was little, it was a blancmange made from dirigible plum and cardamom, I believe."

"Oh?"

"She used to tell my father they were persimmons." he smiled softly. "Said she learned the recipe from her grandmother. It was probably my favorite part of the holiday break. I helped her make it one year; funnily enough, that was also the last Christmas I had with her."

"You said it wasn't a traumatic memory." Minerva scolded.

"It's not." Severus defended himself. "It's one of my only good ones."

"There was blancmange on the menu." Minerva remembered, smiling sadly. She watched a pair of children run between the candy canes, their laughs echoing as they chased each other.

"Fig leaf and orange." Severus recited. "It made me realize I haven't seen anywhere serve that particular dessert, let alone one made from dirigible plums. I miss it."

"Perhaps we could make it."

"You think?"

"Why not?"

Minerva nodded towards a coffee stall and they ordered themselves the gingerbread hot chocolate. They cradled their red paper cups and took small sips as they wandered through the park, pointing out certain displays.

"Perhaps nostalgia is getting the best of me." Severus finally circled back to their conversation. "But I find myself wanting to try. I don't have much left to remind me of her, especially not without also thinking of my father, but that one? That one's all ours."

"Elphinstone and I used to make a yule log cake." Minerva offered. "Down to the mushroom meringues and everything."

"I've never had one."

"Well, perhaps a baking day is in order."

"Perhaps it is."

-----

a/n: this is starting to feel more like minerva and severus' adventures in eating out

hope you enjoyed the staff picking on my problem child a little

menu inspiration comes from bocca di lupo, london (sometimes i wonder if places ever search themselves to see what people are saying and find they're being featured in harry potter fanfics and the like)

stracchino - a soft, creamy cheese which the restuarant serves fried stracotto - italian pot roast, served with pasta here baccala - preserved, salted cod (fried) bicerin - a hot drink made from espresso, drinking chocolate, and milk blancmange - this one's special because i took a direct quote from the hogwarts mystery game, where sev reminisces about this dessert and gave it more backstory. its a sort of gelatin dessert, sweet and milky. bocca di lupo has a fig and orange panna cotta on their menu, which is basically the same thing (just different thickeners) so i traded it out for the sake of using the one tidbit i know about the game.

#snapemas 2020 #snolidays2020 #snapedom #pro snape #severus snape #snapemas #professor snape #snapecember #holiday writing challenge

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