sofia-bach

[sofia-bach]

.

It all felt like a lot of information being given very quickly, but Sofia made her best to follow and learn something new. She didn't have much to add or even to comment on, so she simply listened and nodded. She chuckled when the woman mentioned she would be able to read more on the subject once the study was published: now she had become curious to know more about these velvet ants that weren't really ants. Besides, she wondered just how much professor Pleakley had managed to uncover and find out from her research.

"I've heard it's quite good for that, but I've always had the forest surrounding the Orchard House, and there's several birds living nearby already --by my estimates, about twelve types during the summer alone." Sofia would list them for professor Pleakley to know, but she guessed that she would either know of them already or might not care to know such specifics. In any case, it was true that she should have been to the reserve by now. "I do have to admit that I'm curious about learning more about what other types are there in the area... Do you have a favorite bird?"

She smiled once more, when the professor smiled. Sofia could imagine that, as much fun as California could be, Redwood Hollow had a coziness to it, a level of comfortable peace (or at least relative peace) that would easily make someone want to come back. "Are you planning on staying here for long?" Hopefully, if she stayed for a certain while, Sofia would be able to see her more often, maybe even become friends.

Right, professor Pleakley has a husband. But... She missed him? Sofia frowned. "Didn't your husband go with you to California?" Oh, she could imagine she would have missed him so much. Of course, Sofia had no experience with long-distance relationships, but she knew nonetheless that it must have been quite difficult.

Gwen's eyes absolutely lit at the chance to talk science.

"Yes and no! Those little hairs that exist on both creatures are known as setae--but they're something that evolve on many different types of creatures for many different reasons. For bumblebees, the main purpose is pollination, yes, but for the velvet ant, especially the hairier females incapable of flight, it's much more likely a mechanoreceptor that allows them to feel pressure and vibration from outside forces, similar to the common housefly!"

She was animated as she spoke, throwing her hands every which way to emphasize her point. "Their roles as pollinators was actually something that we studied and the results were quite fascinating! I-- well, I'll let you read the results yourself when they come out," she said with a wink. She seemed fully confident that her student would be interested in that kind of thing.

She gave a thankful nod, only hoping that what Sofia said was the truth. There was only so much research she could do on her own without proper funding. She couldn't help but think how much easier everything was when she and Javi were just using government money. She really missed those sleek, high tech labs.

"Really?" She asked in surprise. "That surprises me! I would only imagine that would be a prime spot for birdwatching."

While the conversation was invigorating, Sofia's question caused a chill to run up her spine. She wanted to say yes, of course that's why she came back! She wanted to say that she loved Redwood Hollow and that she couldn't stay away. She wanted to say she missed her husband.

But those things weren't true. The truth was that she loved the life she had been building for herself in California. She had made a group of like-minded friends, her colleagues were fantastic, and she had a wonderful boyfriend. The ecosystem she was studying was quite unique, only to that area, where Redwood Hollow was much more common. She was living in a city with nightlife and things to do, only to move back to a small town where everything was much slower.

She came back because she had no other choice. She couldn't afford to live there without the work. This was the only place she could come back to.

"...Yes, of course that's why I came back!" She finally said, with a forced smile on her face. "I love Redwood Hollow! I could never stay away forever. And of course, I missed my husband."

@sofia-bach

[sofia-bach]

.

Sofia frowned slightly, but on second thought, it made sense. "Oh, right. Bumblebees are also a bit hairy --I asssume to help in pollination too, right?" Just for pollination alone, she respected most insects. For being an important part of the food chain, she respected the rest. While having her particular favorites, of course, Sofia did value all creatures' roles in the ecosystem, ever since she learned what an ecosystem first was. It was all part of a pretty delicate balance, and one that she understood might not always be pretty but was certainly necessary. Professor Pleakley's interest in highlighting that necessity was one of the things she liked about her. People who were passionate about their ideals and willing to defend their principles were among those she admired the most.

"Well, I wish you the best of luck with those grants. I bet that, with the success of your work on the velvet ants, they will definitely give it more consideration." Sofia knew that, knowing professor Pleakley's devotion to her work, it would only be a matter of time --anyone could see that she would give any subject she chose its due effort.

"Yes... I can't believe that, in all these years, I haven't been to the actual nature reserve yet." Since she had her beloved slice of forest for when she needed to be surrounded by greenery and wildlife, Sofia simply did not give much thought to the acres that were dedicated to the nature reserve. But she had always been curious about it, curious to know what it was all about and what else she might learn from it.

"May I ask, what brought you back to Redwood?" The local nature reserve was probably quite nice, but she had to assume there would be plenty of those in and near California. Then again, she wasn't a specialist, at all. "Is the local ecosystem that fascinating and unique? I can believe that." Of course, that was from someone who had never been, or rather did not quite remember, ever visiting any other natural spaces beyond the Redwood Hollow forest.

"Of course! And thank you," she said in regards to the books. "I completely understand." She too, often went back to her favorites when she needed a good pick-me-up. She'd gone back to a particularly steamy series after her first date with Kevin, building anticipation for what was to come. And oh, it came.

But that was not appropriate to be thinking about when talking to a beloved student! She quickly shoved the thoughts away and turned back to the matter at hand.

"It's because of the hair on their back," Gwen explained excitedly. "Very soft to the touch. I wouldn't say it feels like velvet necessarily, but it is one of the most unique experiences to pet one." Her smile was pleasant as she recalled the memory. "Truthfully, I think all insects should have such joyful designations, more similar to birds, maybe. Although, the more passionate entomologists might disagree with me."

The story broke her heart and she nodded with a saddened expression. "Yes, many species have a hard time co-habitating with humans. People just don't understand how much good insects of all kinds do for their community and surroundings--wasps especially! They're important for population control of other species we might call "pests" and actually are pollinators too! Not many people know that."

At this point she was rambling, though she was certainly enjoying doing so. "But yes, thank you! I am hoping to apply for some grants through Redwood University," she explained. Though, she was nervous. She had applied for them during her first stay at Redwood Hollow, and all had been rejected. She could only hope once her studies were published, it would build confidence in the university to fund her. "Redwood Hollow has an ecosystem all its own and I'd love to explore it further. The fact we have our own nature reserve is an incredible opportunity that needs to be capitalized!"

@sofia-bach

[sofia-bach]

.

Sofia looked down and giggled rather bashfully. "Thank you." She didn't know how to accept compliments in any other way, ever since she was told to just smile and say thanks from when she was little and her father's friends would see his child, in her pretty dresses and carefully tied bows, and coo and praise her. It felt like it had been a long while since someone last complimented her --or at least, it felt like that since she didn't talk to many new people, and Guinevere was not the type to compliment generously.

"Sure, I will!" she nodded, already thinking up a few titles. "I've been reading a bit of everything this past month, mostly trying to expand my list a little. I've been reading the same four or five books for so long now, I thought I needed a change."

California, right! That was a long way from the town. And professor Pleakley had been away for a long while, which of course meant she had been plenty busy there. It was clearly doing work she loved, so Sofia kept smiling, glad to see the excitement and passion the woman had for her job.

While Gwen explained more in detail what she did, her former student listened and tried to think of everything she knew on wasps, which was, admittedly, not much, to add to the conversation. "Velvet ants --what a lovely name. Insects rarely are given such nice designations." Sofia didn't have much of a relationship with bugs in general, besides always being excited when she saw the butterflies and ladybirds that announced the arrival of spring, and of course being happy with the presence of worms, grasshoppers and caterpillars that were part of her favorite birds' diets. "I was stung by a wasp when I was little, and I remember how painful and scary I was. But then I was told that because of that wasp that stung me a whole nest was found nearby, and how it was removed and disposed of. It made me feel rather guilty." The wasp sting had been somewhere in the back of her leg, if she remembered correctly. She had thought it was just a bee, but she had been stung by bees before, and this was another sort of pain. Still, it didn't mean that the wasps just had to be killed.

"But congratulations on the success of the experiments! Are you planning on continuing your studies and research here in Redwood Hollow, too?"

Gwen was absolutely delighted to see the young woman, who seemed more grown in the years since she last saw her. While she knew it was a possibility she'd see some students, the actual moment arriving was almost enough to bring a tear to her eye. The students that she was helping shepherd along their paths to greatness were well on their way.

"I would say so, you look fantastic, dear!" She complimented, genuinely. Sofia was always a pretty girl, and maybe it was just the way the sun lit her, but in Gwen's eyes, she was glowing.

She was elated to hear how well she was doing. Even though Sofia was already deep in her journey, Gwen's chest swelled with pride that she had been a part of it, as if the girl's success was her own.

"That's so great. You'll have to let me know if you find anything good, I've been looking for some new reading material," she admitted. There was only so far her trashy romance novels could take her, and she'd need some more respectable fair if she wanted to read in public.

Gwen was more than happy to have the attention on her, practically preening herself as she said, "Oh, it was just fantastic! Definitely some of the most interesting research I've done in a long time. California's chapparal are some of the most unique ecosystems I've ever been lucky enough to study, and our experiments with the local velvet ants are set to have their findings published in a renowned scientific journal! Did you know--they're not actually ants at all but wasps! The females are flightless and their resemblance to a common ant denotes the misnomer. It's truly fascinating."

@sofia-bach

[sofia-bach]

.

"Professor Pleakley! Hi!" she beamed. "Yes... It's been so long." Admittedly, Sofia should have made some effort to keep in touch with her. They had only talked a few times, but she liked the professor, and how easy it was to talk to her. Though maybe that was particularly because she associated the professor with a nice chat that helped her after a not particularly memorable, but still plenty unpleasant anxiety attack.

"I'm quite alright, thankfully. Spring and summer are kind to me," Sofia added. "I've been having some free time lately, which is good because now I can get back into reading and birdwatching, and I got high grades in my last exams, so that's really great too..."

Also, she was in love. Sofia always had crushes, of course, but none had gone as far as this one, having had two conversations with him already... She was aware, though, that maybe her giddiness and excitement were coloring her perspective of things. Still, she couldn't help it if she was so happy...

"... How have you been?" she asked Gwen, bringing her attention back to the woman in front of her. "How did your research go?"

Ah, the Farmer's Market!

This was one of the things she had missed most about Redwood. While California was a very "green" state as it were, she had been living in a city, and the produce just wasn't as fresh as you could get in a small town like this, where it was provided by local farmers. She was so excited to make her first dish with the freshest ingredients possible!

However, her focus was not exclusively on the hunt. She was enjoying herself out in a crowd of faces, some familiar and some not. It was always a joy to see and reconnect with someone she'd longed missed. Thus was the case with one Sofia Bach, who Gwen absolutely lit up upon making eye contact with.

"Oh, Sofia, hello! It's been so long, how have you been?" She asked, putting her recycled weave bag in the crook of her arm as she approached.

@sofia-bach

[sofia-bach]

starter for @gwen-pleakley

While she would get some emergency groceries at the store when absolutely urgent, Sofia tried her best to make all her food purchases at the local farmer's market. She knew Guinevere was careful about what she ate, and particularly favored having organic produce, which to Sofia made complete sense.

Besides that, she simply really enjoyed browsing the stands of the market, seeing what was available, sometimes even daring to add something to her list. That day, as she examined different varieties of tomatoes, Sofia kept thinking about taro root, and whether she would manage to find some there.

But she had to focus on getting the items on her list. The oval ones were her favorites, and perfect for sauces, but it wasn't something she made much of during summer. Just as she picked a nice large round one, thinking of what salads she could make with it, Sofia turned around to search for the salesperson --and saw a familiar face.

[sofia-bach]

does your muse believe it's justified to hurt one person to protect another?

No. Sofia doesn't believe anyone should be hurt, even if it's for a good reason. She is convinced there must be third options in such cases, ways to help everyone without causing harm.

This doesn't mean she never wished someone to be punished for their treatment of others. Such thoughts made her feel truly guilty, but it's rarely something she can control. The abuse of power and the intentionality of cruelty are aspects of human nature she naturally despises, and as much as she tries to understand and believes people are good at their core, it feels like she simply cannot see someone in the same light, after knowing they have committed a bad deed and hurt someone else.

[sofia-bach]

[ 20. ] sender invites receiver to dance with them, insisting, "what? this song's perfect."

Rest assured, Sofia loved dancing; but one thing was alone in her bedroom, with her headphones on, free from any unwanted eyes and judgement, and another was out in the open, prey to anyone looking her way --even if it was just one other person. And, as little as she knew Rachel, she did like her --it wasn't a matter of liking someone or not --the fact of the matter was that, trustworthy or not, dancing with someone made her feel terribly self-conscious... At least more than she usually was.

"Uh... What song is this?" she asked, pretending she hadn't noticed Rachel's invitation. "It's, um, really good, yes."

[sofia-bach]

.

Sofia nodded again, more enthusiastically. "I'd like that." Though she certainly enjoyed it based on her experience, the times she had cooked with someone else could be counted on one hand. Back when she lived in the city, back when there was a cook in the house, Sofia ventured into the kitchen a few times, to lend a hand and learn some basic techniques. She had liked the cook. Neither one talked much about anything beyond the menu, but he was patient with her, and that alone felt like true kindness to little Sofia.

She gave a small frown after Arturo listed a few types of foods. 'Struggle meal'? Sofia had no idea what that meant. A meal that was a struggle to make? She refrained from asking, just in case it was obvious, and made a mental note to look it up when she got home. "Hm... Well..." Honestly, she wanted to know all. "Then, your favorite comfort food?" That was specific enough, right? Besides, Sofia thought it could tell a lot about a person.

"Yes --apple pie," she replied. "I bake it once a month, every 23rd. I've been making it ever since I was sixteen. I think it's the best thing I can cook, every single time it turns out wonderful." Sofia didn't necessarily want to brag: to her, it was just a fact. So far, she hadn't had any that was better than hers.

She kept her eyes fixed on him, wondering what was 'the wrong way' to take his suggestion. Sofia knew she was not the best at reading people yet (something she was definitely better at than a few years before, when she had started working on her degree), since all she could get from Arturo was a sense of awkwardness. She kept wondering, did I say something he could have misinterpreted? There had to be something more that she was missing.

"That's something I'm particularly interested in, helping children," Sofia commented. "Helping everyone, really, but... I remember how nervous and afraid I often felt when I was a child. And I was very lucky, of course. We hear about the most awful things... People of all ages can find themselves in difficult situations, but there is something particularly vulnerable about children --about how they are at the mercy of whatever adult can claim to be their tutor."

"Hey, I love cooking too. We should share recipes some time. Or cook something together." Arturo said without thinking of how forward that was, "--Only if you wanted. Just thought it might a fun idea yeah--oh, favorite dish? That's a tough one for sure, It's hard to compare you know? Like favorite dessert or favorite savory thing, favorite formal food versus favorite struggle meal...do you? Have one? A favorite dish."

"Oh, wow, I'm glad you didn't take it the wrong way," Arturo was so relieved Sofia had not been turned off by the scene he had just made with that. He was so embarrassed. "But it's no worries, happy to help."

"Oh wow yeah, we cover like all of that. A lot. I'm looking to get into a family law, with a focus on children's rights, so we go into a lot of that."'

[sofia-bach]

📱What was my muses 5 last unsent texts yours.? (For Arturo)

SOFIA: hi arturo! SOFIA: hello arturo! how are you? i hope you're doing well SOFIA: hey arturo! i hope i'm not bothering you. wuuld you like t SOFIA: hey, how are you? it's sofia. are you busy this saturday? i was thinking we could go to watch a movie if you'd l SOFIA: hi

@arturodelisle

[sofia-bach]

🖤 A song for our muses’ ship (for Sofia and Arturo)

Will I See You Tonight — Devendra Banhart feat. Vashti Bunyan

Will I see you tonight Been waiting my whole life I’ve had this dream inside Of looking in your eyes

@arturodelisle

[sofia-bach]

Send ᢉ𐭩 ( or heart ) for me to create a moodboard for our muses‘ relationship/dynamic. = lady

[sofia-bach]

Does your muse think some laws are fine to break?

Sofia is usually quite a bit of a stickler for the rules: what are there for, if not to ensure everyone is safe and that everything is fair and balanced? But as more time passes and she grows up, Sofia finds her disagreeing with more and more of what has been established to be 'common sense laws'. She would like it for them to be reasonable and logical, so as to be able to rely on them when a complicated situation shows up. And yet... Sofia has been relying more on what she believes is fair, as guilty as disagreeing with what is commonly accepted makes her feel.

[sofia-bach]

.

"That sounds really good," Sofia smiled and nodded. "I love cooking, but I'm afraid I don't know enough about dishes and ingredients from different parts of the world... I'm just used to using what I can get at the farmer's market." Her curiosity had been piqued now, though. She wondered if Guinevere was open to her trying to cook different dishes for dinner. It was just an assumption, but she guessed that her stepmother might be able to purchase such particular ingredients somewhere. "Do you, um...? Do you have a favorite dish?"

So far, so good. Sofia couldn't quite remember the last time she had spoken to someone who wasn't a shopkeeper, a professor or Guinevere herself. She felt her social skills were most likely a bit rusty, and like she was told many times by now, a bit too formal. Still, she would rather err on the side of polite formality than to become too friendly and casual too soon.

"Oh, I didn't take it as an insult," Sofia quickly said. Should she have said yes? "It was truly nice of you. Thank you." It sounded like she had made a mistake... Or that he did, by the way he apologized, but she didn't see anything wrong with that he said. Instead of insisting on it, Sofia decided it would be best to just keep quiet and listen. "... My class was good, too. We saw a little of law and legislation today, funnily enough... All the legal contexts of social work, the legal frameworks of mental health legislation, child protection laws, human rights statutes, all that." These weren't Sofia's favorite subjects --she found them rather boring --but she could absolutely recognize how necessary these were for her to get a complete picture of what tools she would need once she got her degree. "Do you ever see that sort of thing, in your classes?"

"Taro's like...it's a type of root that's in a lot of the ocean and southeast Asian countries, like the Philippines...Vietnam," He gave a little nod towards Sofia, "It tastes kinda of like a savory vanilla, slight taste of cashews. Hard to explain. Most important, it's a lavender purple color. It's so good. Especially if you mix it with coconut flavor too, if you like that."

Arturo was rather pleased to be able to show off some more knowledge he had. He hoped Sofia would find him intelligent, and more worldly than he was.

"But they have plenty of other flavors too. Strawberry, matcha, chocolate--really anything"

Arturo nodded once more when Sofia declined his offer to carry her books. He worried that perhaps he had far overstepped, or possibly insulted her. It would just be his luck if he had.

"Ok, cool, just thought I'd offer...I didn't mean it as an insult, I believe you're strong I just.....sorry, my bad." Art frowned for a moment. "Class was good though. Lot of memorizing a whole lot of Latin vocabulary that is used in different laws. It feels like there's a million terms, and I have to memorize like, fifty to one hundred a week and how they're applied, as well as the name of a case that term was used in. I'm going to be up studying a lot, that's for sure. How was your class?"

[sofia-bach]

.

Jelly bubbles. It sounded so wonderfully peculiar... But Sofia knew it was a pretty popular thing, so she just nodded, wondering what flavor she would end up picking.

"... What's Taro?" she asked, hoping it wasn't too much of an obvious thing, and that it didn't help to confirm how ignorant she was. Still, if Art liked it, she figured she could give it a try.

"Oh, no, thank you," Sofia said with a smile, hoisting the bag's strap over her shoulder. Despite being rather short and unimpressive, she had quite some experience carrying heavy bags. "I'm stronger than I look." Besides, she didn't want to be a bother, though she did truly appreciate Art's thoughtfulness.

Sofia gave a couple steps towards him, so they could walk side by side. Walking with a boy she liked. "Alright, I'm ready." She could barely contain her grin and turn it into something she suspected was more appropriate to a nice afternoon with a potential new friend. "How was your class?"

Arturo was not sure what was so funny, but he could not help but smile softly as the sound of Sofia's giggle. She was beyond cute; Sofia was adorable. It gave him butterflies just thinking about how precious and sweet she was.

Arturo was nervous as he waited for her response. Everything had been going so poorly in his life recently -all the time, really- that even hoping this would go even a tiny bit well felt risky. Finally she answered, with a yes too!

"Oh rad, cool." He said. He fought the urge not to wince at how painfully aloof that sounded. He perked up his tone a bit. "Oh it's really cool, there's all these different flavors, and these little jelly bubbles in it at the bottom-I like Taro flavor best."

He was going to keep talking, but he found himself getting distracted by her as she got ready to go. When she finished putting away her text book and eating her apple, he spoke again.

"Want me to carry your book bag for you? Since we got a bit of a walk and it looks pretty heavy-not that I don't think you can carry it or anything like that, and only if you'd like, I just thought I'd offer--"

It felt to weird to say "because that's what men do," so he left that out. Too outdated. He then worried the whole thing sounded patronizing. He just knew it was considered polite for men to offer to carry things for women, such as heavy books. He may be a Lost Boy, but he was a Lost Boy who had read a romance novel or two, or three, in his time.

[sofia-bach]

... so give me some heaven just for a while make me eternal there in your eyes ...

[sofia-bach]

.

"Yeah," Sofia repeated with a quiet giggle. He was so endearing... She did wonder what he had seen in his class that day. She wondered if he had any exams soon. She wondered if he would like to study together --just them two providing each other company while going over their own exam subjects, even in silence, sounded really nice. Just knowing he was nearby, maybe even getting to talk a little before saying goodbye, sounded indeed wonderful to her. She had no study partners, and if he agreed to it, she would love for him to be her first one.

And then... Arturo invited her somewhere. Sofia stared at him for a moment, wondering what that meant. It could just mean nothing more than what it was. It could be him being friendly, which, considering her experience (or lack of it) with friends, could just be the best thing she could hope for. Sofia chewed on her lip for a second but immediately stopped, knowing how it would look like, as if she was nervous. Which she was --but she did not want him to know.

"I'm coming... I mean, I just came from class," she replied. "I... I've never had bubble tea. But I'd like to try." That was a rather roundabout way of agreeing. "I mean... Yes." With a nod, Sofia put her textbook back in her bag, gave the apple one last bite, and got on her feet. She was about to ask how far this place was, before realizing she didn't care much. She would bike to the next town if necessary, or so she thought, as she gazed at Arturo and realized about how much of an adventure it was, going to have bubble tea with a boy she liked. It really spoke of how sheltered she actually was.

Arturo was pleased to hear the bike was still all in good shape. He had not doubted his own skills, but it was always nice to know that in this circumstance he had truly done right by someone he was trying so hard to impress.

"Oh sweet," Arturo replied. "And yeah, coming out of class yeah. It was..fine yeah-"

He had to think quickly. He was repeating himself a bit out of needing to fill the air while he thought about what to say next. They could not talk about the bike forever, and he did not entirely want to keep things focused on school, and run the risk of boring Sofia with getting too into the details.

"You coming or going to class too?" Art said, "Cause if you're going maybe we could talk about it over bubble tea....or something?"

He hoped that suggestion would not put her off. Friends got stuff together all the time, it wasn't explicitly asking her out on a date. It wasn't not-not either. It was grabbing something after class with a friend. If she said yes. It then really started to sink in that she could say no and end the conversation there. Or get weird now. Arturo tried really hard to keep his face relaxed and not betray the fact that he was actually very nervous, having asked that.