#probability and statistics homework help | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

attapullman · 1 year ago

Text

Bob From Stats | Robert "Bob" Floyd

Summary: College is a wild time, but absolutely nothing could prepare you for the quiet guy from Stats riding around campus as a cowboy. Or what a good kisser he is.

Word Count: 4.9k

Warnings: f!reader, smut, 18+ ONLY as always, dry humping, alcohol, drunken party games, mentions of studying because that gives me PTSD, semi-exaggerated Greek life for theatrical reasons

A Note From Mo: Somehow my frat!Bob, drunk Bob is Rhett, and 7 minutes in heaven ideas all rolled into one fic - wild! Massive shoutout to everyone who listened to me talk about Stats Bob (who is now officially my #2 Bob, I love him) and for supporting this here lil blog. May you find a hobby-horse-wielding future WSO to sweep you off your feet too!

If you liked this, you may also enjoy on our syllabus Bob From Pi Kapp.

“I hate this. I’m going to quit school and become a stripper.”

Anna gives you a wry look. “That joke was only funny the first time you said it.”

“So you admit I’m funny!”

The two of you have been spread out in the library the majority of the evening. Textbooks, snacks, and highlighters littering the glossy dark wood. You’re on hour five of assignments and your brain is pounding against the front of your skull. Your other classes aren’t too bad, a bit time consuming, but Statistics is a foreign language. Thinking in probable numbers? It was one thing when the nice guy who sat behind you helped explain concepts, but Anna does not have quite the same analytical mind.

The sky outside is an inky black and the library is quiet except for your frustrated huffs. It’s Saturday night. The rest of campus is indulging in cheap beers at Barney’s, slinking along Greek Row, or enjoying tonight’s episode of Saturday Night Live. It’s time to get out of here and crawl into your soft bed. Torturing yourself with Stats homework will be just as painful on Sunday.

“If I buy us a pint of chocolate chip cookie dough, can we blow this off and hang out back at the dorms?” Anna is nodding before you’ve even finished. Stuffing notebooks into backpacks and capping pens low on ink, you’re strolling down the library stairs not even five minutes later.

As the balmy evening campus air hits your face, you already feel fresher. Campus is quiet, late enough that most people are settled into their Saturday night plans. As the two of you near Greek Row, there’s a comfortable silence as you appreciate the breeze through the trees and the warm glow of campus housing windows.

That is, until a low whoop rings out. An undercurrent of boisterous cheering and what sounds like stomping feet. You exchange eyes with your roommate. What is that?

As if summoned, a group comes galloping through the neatly trimmed cypress trees around the corner. They’re stomping their feet in a rhythm, hands held mid-air to imitate holding reigns. Drunken laughs ring out between cries of “Whoa!” and “Steady there, Lucky!” To round it off, the leader of their horse play (literally) is full-on cosplaying as a cowboy, his jeans tucked into boots and a Stetson perched atop his head.

Wait, is he holding a hobby horse? It’s been decades since you’ve seen those horse heads stuck on a stick. The stuffed felt Appaloosa head is reigned in the cowboy’s hands, where he pretends to spur it back into action.

Just when you think you’ve seen it all.

The group continues its way toward you and you’re equally secondhand embarrassed and amused. As they grow closer you recognize a few guys from the Pi Kapp house and wave. But it’s Anna who makes the most shocking discovery when Mr. Cowboy tilts his brim up.

"Is that Bob from Stats?"

It takes a second to look past the brown felt hat and the hobby horse he's taking for a spin, but that's definitely the same pink-cheeked Bob Floyd who has lent you a pencil all semester.

“Howdy, ladies.” He tips his hat to you, all toothy grin and droopy drunk eyes. "Can I offer you a ride?"

You stare open-mouthed. Shocked. That slow rancher drawl is new. The unbridled confidence is new. Actually, the entire getup is new. For nine weeks you’ve seen him in the same trucker hat and sweatshirt combo while going over homework answers together. What is going on?

He’s clearly in the middle of his house party crawl, bright blue eyes half open behind his metal frames. Just as gorgeous as ever as a tendril of sandy hair curls against his forehead. Normally your reaction to him is tender, a puppy dog crush. But this wild, inebriated version of him? You’re hot under the collar.

“You think there’s room on your horse?” Ever since that first Stats class he’s made your brain feel like it’s on RedBull. The way he noticed you missing a writing utensil and offering you his extra. His kind smile when you get a homework answer completely wrong. Anna hasn’t noticed your crush, but it feels obvious with the way you can barely keep eye contact with him yet are unable to look away. Especially with that stupid cowboy hat on.

He bites his lip, considering your response, and his buddies all razz him as he drawls out, “There will be if we squeeze in.”

The wink makes your mouth dry.

Someone from the back of the group complains of the cold and the group prepares their steeds to head back to Pi Kapp. Anna explains you’re headed back to the dorms, tone deaf to the sexual tension, and Bob nods with his brow furrowed.

“Another time then.” His white tshirt practically glows in the moonlight. “Have a good night, chickadees. Get home safe!”

With another tip of his Stetson to you, Bob Floyd gallops away toward another keg.

You’re sprinting across campus, cursing how late your meeting with your advisor went. There was ten minutes to get across campus and he had spent four of those questioning whether you really needed another semester of French. You make it into the lecture hall with a minute to spare, finding your preferred spot in the lower rows where you can actually see the board. Right in front of Bob.

“What? No cowboy hat for class?” His cheeks flame red, the hope you’ve forgotten about his Saturday antics lost. He looks like himself today, his signature trucker cap keeping the hair off his face. Those friendly ultramarine eyes shyly focusing on his notebook because god forbid he makes eye contact after you’ve seen him gallop across campus on a fake horse.

He rubs the back of his neck over his soft-looking crewneck, an awkward smile playing on his lips. “It’s at the cleaners.”

You give him an amused grin before settling yourself into one of the classically uncomfortable lecture seats. Anna waves to you from where she’s rushing in, historically always late. The professor is shuffling notes at the podium as she collapses into the seat next to you, nodding her head in greeting to you and to Bob. She raises her eyebrows to you, a “remember when Bob was dressed as a cowboy” gesture, and your lips twist happily.

“Alright, class, who’s ready to talk probability?” The collective groans and hollers mark the start of lecture. You flip open your notebook and start digging around for a writing instrument in your bag. Like usual, you seem to be missing a pen or pencil when you need one most.

A tap on your shoulder. You turn and lock eyes with the frat boy-turned-cowboy with the shy smile. He holds out a pencil to you. Taking it sheepishly, you mouth a thank you and turn back to lecture. After nine weeks it shouldn’t be this embarrassing, but every week he’s given you a pencil since you whispered shoot! a little too loud on Week 1.

Risking a quick glance back at him, engrossed in the Empirical Law of Averages while he twirls his pencil, you’re not sure you can survive the rest of the semester.

By the end of the Stats lecture on Thursday, you have one brain cell to your name and seven pages of notes. What a brutal class. Midterms were quickly approaching and not a single professor had any mercy. As you pack up your stuff - including the borrowed pencil that would promptly disappear before next class - you make a study plan with Anna for that evening. She brings the chips, you’ll supply the vodka.

“Are you two not hitting the houses tonight?” He looks uncomfortable having interrupted the two of you.

Bob shifts his backpack to his other shoulder, adjusting the collar of his navy blue sweatshirt. Other than when he’s kindly exchanged homework answers before class - or been drunkenly galloping across campus - the two of you don’t speak much. The odd quip here and there, but overall the two of you exist in pencil-sharing quiet. “Everyone’s having pre-midterm parties before buckling down to study.”

“Oh, that sounds fun!” You look at Anna encouragingly. As needed as a vodka-infused study session was, one night out couldn’t hurt. And it was Thursday. No classes tomorrow meant you had three days to buckle down and attempt to understand anything you’ve learned this semester.

She eyes you warily, but agrees that Greek Row sounds like a better option than highlighting textbooks. Bob flashes you his timid smile beneath the brim of his cap. “It’ll be a fun night. Maybe I’ll see you? If not, have a good weekend!”

As he starts to walk out, a feeling takes over you. “Bob?” You watch him slow down and turn, wide blue eyes watching you from behind those unconventionally cute glasses. “You’ll be at the Pi Kapp house, yeah?” He nods. “Cool. See you around!”

Despite standing next to it the entire conversation, neither of you notice the pencil sitting on the desk, left behind as you head out for your respective weekends.

“What did you say?” You’re practically yelling to be heard over the EDM that Sigma Chi is blaring. They’ve turned their house into a rave with glow sticks, body paint, and music so loud your eardrums must be burst. The beer is warm, your arm has supernaturally purple paint smeared across it, and Anna has been unsuccessfully telling you a story for ten minutes.

Huffing, she grabs your arm and drags you toward the entrance, tossing your cups onto a random hallway table where a heated makeout session is taking place. They move out of the way just enough so the two of you can slip out of the old colonial house and out into the cool night. The ringing in your ears subsides slowly as you lean against the columns of the front porch.

“House number three? Also sucked. Three strikes and you’re out? Can we go home?” Anna grabs your wrist and pouts. She wanted movie night with vodka and a pizza from Pietro’s. You wanted to blow off steam.

But Alpha Sig had mostly been freshman and Phi Delt, while not a terrible party, had the most smarmy men on campus. The bleeding eardrums of Sigma Chi was preferable to pushing off men in polos just to grab another drink. You just wanted a semi-decently flavored alcoholic beverage - maybe three - while chatting with some friends. You weren’t asking for much.

Allowing Anna to drag you in the direction of the dorms, ready to admit defeat, you slow to a stop seeing the bricked entrance to Pi Kappa Phi. Bob’s fraternity. A few minutes wouldn’t hurt, right?

It takes a little convincing, but soon you’re in the warmly lit foyer of the Pi Kapp house. The vibe is more relaxed than Sigma Chi, with a keg in the corner, an array of liquor bottles in the kitchen, and hip-hop softly filling the house. You’re impressed they’ve even gone the extra mile with multi-colored string lights across every surface to brighten up the otherwise dark house.

“Yooooo, how’s it going?” A drunken loaf of snapback and Deep Eddy envelopes you in a hug. It’s Tyler, one of your freshman seminar PK friends. Exchanging pleasantries - the best you can with someone that far gone - he drags you further into the house. Miscellaneous groups of Greek and geed litter the hallways. Anna sees her friends from Delta Gamma and ditches you, promising to get home safe. Tyler continues on his mission to god knows where.

At least he’s considerate enough to stop in the kitchen so you can grab a whiskey lemonade to sip.

Eventually you’re spat into a sitting room of sorts, groups crowding the ring of sofas while drunkenly jeering at the game. You set yourself on the arm of one, trying to make sense of the theatrics. The latest victim laughs out a “Truth!” before everyone giggles wickedly. Are they playing truth or dare?

Your eyes gloss over the group, trying to figure out who else you know. A few PK’s you recognize, a girl who smiles but looks unfamiliar, and…a cowboy hat that is a dead giveaway.

Standing up and walking around the group, you tap him on the shoulder. The biggest blue eyes meet yours, a surprised smile splitting his face.

“You made it!” That deep drawl is back and that tingle reappears on your spine. Bob jumps up from the couch, beer bottle dwarfed in his hand, and comes to stand with you. “You having a good night?”

Ironically, your night is much better now that you’ve found him. He’s back in his cowboy gear, a worn denim shirt tucked into his jeans and those same cowboy boots scuff against the hardwood. You’re tempted to steal the felt hat from his head just so he looks a little bit more like Bob from Stats.

Squeezing your eyes shut, letting the alcohol be an excuse, you succumb to the obvious question. “I need to know - what’s with the…cowboy?” You gesture up and down, drawing a chuckle from him.

He blushes under the felt brim. “You know I have a slight accent, yeah?” You attempt to stifle your laugh as he incidentally talks in a thicker accent. “When I was a pledge they started calling me cowboy. Saw the hat while I was in town one week, ended up leaning into the joke.”

“And the hobby horse?”

He beckons you closer, bringing his lips to your ear. “Stolen from my little sister over summer break.”

There’s that wink again making your knees weak. He pushes his glasses back up his nose and takes another sip from his beer. Despite the party raging around you, nothing else seems to exist past him asking about your night and if you want another drink. You’re wrapped in the warmth of his words, itching to snuggle into his broad chest.

The spell is broken when “Cowboy Bob!” rings out from the crowd. The entire room is turned to you two. “Truth or dare, man?”

In the background of your intimate conversation with Bob, the truths and dares have reached full raunchiness. People have been stripped of clothes and dirty secrets. A bead of sweat gathers at Bob’s collar, aware that neither option is safe.

His worried gaze flits to you, as if you hold the correct answer, before tipping his hat back and exhaling, “Dare?”

It’s gutsy, but if there’s one thing you’re learning about the quiet guy from Stats, he’s full of surprises. The crowd bubbles with excitement, anticipating what dare will be dealt out. Next to you, the wannabe cowboy looks more annoyed than anything. He was enjoying talking to you not in a classroom and with a little liquid courage.

An evil smile crosses the dare-dealer’s face. He knows Bob and isn’t blind to what’s going on. He’s gonna help his buddy out on this one.

His arm stretches out and he points (with the red plastic cup in his hand) to the coat closet at the end of the hall. “Hmmmmm, I dare you to, hmm, play Seven Minutes in Heaven with…” It’s no surprise when the cup-turned-pointer lands on you.

Ice water down your back wouldn’t be as panic inducing. It’s hard to tell who swallows harder, you or Cowboy Bob. Every instinct is telling you to run, but that little voice in the back of your head wins out. As Bob starts to tell you it’s okay, they’re joking, you don’t have to, you grab his thick wrist and give him a nervous smile. You don’t even care what the punishment is for not completing a dare, this stupid drunken game has given you an opportunity.

The dealer of the dare follows the two of you down the hallway, leading the whoops and wolf whistles. Bob’s cheeks flame scarlet in the low light. You keep your chin high and eyes forward. He can definitely feel the way you’re trembling around his wrist.

Whether in anxiety or excitement it’s hard to tell.

The inside of the closet is dark, the faint light under the door casting only the faintest of shadows. Your heart is pounding, blood pulsing through your ears. Bob rubs his lips together nervously. It’s all you can do to not run your tongue along them.

“We don’t have to do anything, we can just talk.” The way he prioritizes your comfort makes heat pool between your legs. The brim of his hat is as far back as it can go, his eyes tracing the lines of your face as he gauges your emotions. He’s welcome to figure them out, you’re unsure of them yourself.

His large, warm hand rubs your forearm comfortingly, your skin too cold without his touch. You’re suffocating under his sweat-and-bergamot scent, citrusy and warm.

You bite the bullet. “What if I want to?”

His breath stops. Fingers find yours in the dark, interlocking on either side of your hips. Eyes you know are the deepest blue lock onto your gaze, a million emotions passing behind his irises. Face descending upon the space between you, tentatively showing his intentions. You meet him in the middle, caution out the window.

The kiss is gentle, puzzle pieces slotting together for the first time. He tastes like malt sugar and peppermint. Mouth warm and soft, enveloping you fully in his comfort. It’s even better than what you’ve imagined for the past nine weeks.

Bob begins to pull away, ever the gentleman. Your hand finds his collar, holding him in place. “Not yet, we still have, like, five and a half minutes.”

Despite the low light, his smile lights up the closet.

His lips return to yours in a rush, swallowing your mouth in a passionate heat. The press of his body to yours is delicious. Hands previously at your side meet your hips, lightly squeezing as you moan into his mouth. You reach up and hold the back of his neck, bringing him even closer as your lips toy with the tiniest bit of stubble along his jaw.

“You know,” he starts, holding the moan in the back of his throat. “I’ve wanted to kiss you since September.”

You pull back momentarily, a crinkle upon your brow. “Bob, we didn’t start Stats until January.”

He kisses the confusion from your face, his hands wrapping further around your body. “And you looked very pretty in that green dress at the homecoming barbecue.”

Bless your love of school spirit and free food. “Why didn’t you? Kiss me?”

“I don’t normally make a habit of kissing girls I don’t know. And clearly it takes an entire fraternity for me to get you alone.” The way his chuckle bounces against your skin has you squirming. Your schoolgirl crush on him wasn’t one-sided, and suddenly you’re hot for teacher.

You capture him in another kiss, tongue searching the seam of his lips for entrance. He obliges immediately, groaning as you explore his taste. Four hands roam skin, finding purchase in anything and everything. Your body has a mind of its own as you press against him, chest heaving with your passion. The right shift of fabric on fabric reveals that he’s equally as affected by the chemistry.

Reluctantly, he pulls away once more, threading his fingers across the back of your neck. Takes a moment to capture his breath as he sees the lust in your eyes. A deep breath. “As much as I like you, I don’t want to do anything if you’re drunk.”

Soft fingers follow the line of his arm to where it wraps around your waist. How is he this impossibly sweet? Thoughtful, respectful, and looking hot as sin with swollen lips. It’s unfair.

“I promise I’m not.” You stroke the back of his hand. “Please kiss me?”

His large hands unwrap from your waist and travel down, shifting behind your legs and pulling you up, resting your back against the wall. You tangle your legs around his waist as best you can in the small space, relishing his firm body pressed deliciously close, warm and solid. Kisses smeared across lips and jaws as noises crescendo. You’re panting as you trail down to his impossibly long neck, desperate to cover it in affection.

You’ve barely explored the expanse of skin when the door flies open, the boisterous party sounds flooding in. Reality strikes like a slap across the face. The truth-or-dare ringleader takes you in - legs wrapped around Bob and hands creeping toward your ass - and whoops in delight. Who knew Cowboy Bob had it in him!

“Time’s up, lovebirds!” He crows and reaches forward to slug Bob lightly on the shoulder.

Not skipping a beat, Bob shoves his friend back and throws up his middle finger. “Fuck off, Milburn.”

The closet door slams shut, blanketing you again in the intimacy of the moment. You’re looking at him with unsure eyes and he’s praying the moment hasn’t been ruined. He’s waited seven calendar months for this opportunity and his fingers are so close to enjoying the plump squeeze of your ass.

“We can go back to the party if you want?” Your voice is so small, nervous outside of those bold seven minutes. Tentative breaths exist between you.

In lieu of an answer, he bows his head to give you a searing yet gentle kiss.

That cramped coat closet suddenly is an inferno, his tongue slipping inside your mouth and groaning at the burning sweetness of your taste. Your hands grip his shoulders as you fight for dominance, fingers tangling in denim. Hips brushing together, still clinging to the idea of this being innocent.

An innocence immediately lost when Bob strikes up the courage and palms your ass. Soft and pliable and perfect to squeeze in his palms. He remembers the exact day you came to class in the tightest jeans known to man (laundry day) and the way he had dug his pencil in his palm to avoid a semi as your curved ass met the lecture seat. Something unavoidable now as you squirm against him, moaning your pleasure against the pulse in his neck.

Nothing has ever felt as good as rubbing against Bob Floyd’s clothed bulge. One glance down and you’re dizzy with arousal. Rutting yourself against him as best you can with your limited mobility, sloppy kisses exchanged as the two of you can barely keep your mouths closed. It feels so good, too good.

Lost in the moment, one hand slips below the hem of your skirt, warm skin on skin. Any noise from outside the closet dims to a hum. Two hearts beating rapidly as desire fully consumes, directing lips to too hot exposed skin. You murmur your need in his ear. You don’t care where you are, you need him.

Bob tucks a finger under your thong, feeling the slick coating your folds. The whine that leaves him is desperate and gruff. He groans against your throat. “Shit, I don’t have a condom.”

Undeterred, your lip catches between your teeth, core muscles contracting as you grind your hips forward. “Doesn’t mean I can’t go for a ride.”

He’s immediately on board, teasing you briefly before extricating his hand to support you better against the wall. His hands practically swallow your ass, flooding you with lust. You thrust your chest against him, desperate to touch every spot on his handsome body as your hips begin to grind.

His hands are sweltering as they trail down, effortlessly clutching the back of your thighs to give you leverage. Your clit finds friction against his jeans and your mouth hangs open as you buck frantically into him.

“Look at you move, cowgirl,” he breathes out, infatuated. The nickname spurrs you on, whimpering against his lips.

One hand clutching his bicep, holding on for desperate life, while the other snakes its way atop the damned cowboy hat that’s stayed on the entire encounter. Gripping the top of it and holding fast as you ride his clothed bulge with everything you’ve got. Denim and lace against your clit, rubbing deliciously as your brain fuzzes. His hot mouth focused at the hinge of your jaw, sucking soft bruises into the skin; moaning when you brush him just right.

“I’m close,” you whisper against his cheek. Time has stood still, but it’s embarrassing how close he’s gotten you to orgasm with just his clothed cock and strong hands.

He ruts his hips forward, meeting your thrusts in heavenly synchronization. You’re panting as the pressure on your clit catapults you, so close to the ultimate prize. Whispers of you can do it, cowgirl, cum for me, doing so good riding me, just a bit more, cowgirl fizzle your senses.

“O-oh!”

It’s intense, the blinding pleasure coursing through your body. Prolonged by the thick bulge still rutting against you, ready to burst itself. Lips tickling your ear as he praises you. You want to live in this perfect moment of bliss. A moment only perfected when Bob’s fingers grip too hard and his hips stutter up into yours. His all-consuming orgasm only muffled by the skin of your shoulder as he rides it out.

The rhythmic slowing of your breaths is all you can focus on. You breathe in, he breathes out. Small smiles and a blush barely visible in the low light.

Delicately, like he knows you might break, he releases you back to the ground; taking his time to smooth down your skirt and straight out your top. Your own hands reach up to his chest, fixing the fabric that had bunched up in your passion. Adjusting his fogged glasses to look into his beautiful eyes.

It doesn’t matter how much you clean up, one look at you two and anyone would comment you’ve been ridden hard and put away wet.

With one final kiss to your lips, you feel something land on your head. The brown cowboy hat with the rip along the edge. Cowboy Bob showing off his cowgirl.

You tentatively open the closet door, eyes adjusting to the normal light. Painfully aware of the wet splotch on the obvious front of his jeans, Bob holds your body against him as a human shield. The party is still going strong - your antics have not interrupted anything - and you slip toward the front door without notice. Well…mostly, as a few wolf whistles reach your ears.

“It’s not that late, you want to go back to mine? I’m just off Thornton. It’s quiet since everyone is here.” His eyes are so hopeful in the dark night. So desperate for you to say yes. For you to be his cowgirl beyond tonight.

You wrap your arms around him and pull him close, careful to avoid the spot where your bodily fluids have drenched his jeans. “I’m in.” Your smile is blinding. “We have about nine weeks of Stats to make up.”

The brick is uncomfortable behind your back, but it’s hard to care when his lips feel so good. Broad shoulders shielding you from the hallway, trucker hat turned around and glasses in his pocket so there’s not an inch between your faces. Agreeing to meet outside before lecture was such a good idea.

Despite spending most of the time between Thursday night and Tuesday afternoon in Bob’s apartment trying every position in the book (with teasing hollers from his Pi Kapp roommates adding to the soundtrack) you can’t help but steal these five minutes. He looks so cute, to not kiss him would be a crime.

Bob squeezes your hips, lips trailing down your jaw. “What’s on your mind, cowgirl?”

“I’m trying very hard to convince myself that we pay a lot of money to attend this school and should go learn about statistics. Even though I really only want to head back to my dorm and see how sturdy that loft bed is.”

From where his nose traces your ear, a guttural whine leaves him. “You can’t say something like that and expect me to go to class.”

You pull back to look at him, fingers tickling the close cropped hair at his neck. God, he makes it so hard to want to be responsible.

“Let’s make a deal, okay? We’ll go to class, learn, and tonight you come over and for every study guide question you get right I’ll take off a piece of clothing. Sound good?” He’s practically panting as he smothers your mouth in another kiss. He’s really good at Stats. A steady stream of students files past Bob’s back, a sign that class is about to start.

You press another kiss to his lips. “Let’s go or we’ll miss out on seats. Plus I need to dig through my bag for a pencil.”

“Do you think you actually have one today?” He smirks, amused. The eighteen pencils he’s lent you say otherwise.

Your cheeks are hot under where he kisses them. “Uh…if I don’t can I borrow one? If you have one, that is.”

He lets out a soft chuckle and holds you closer, rubbing your noses softly.

“You do realize I’ve been buying pencils all semester just to give to you, right?”

Turning his cap around - insides fully melted - you know you’re in this rodeo for the long run.

Want more Frat Cowboy Bob? Hang out with Bob From Pi Kapp!

Like this? Reblogs and comments make more of this happen!

taglist: @berryvanille @bobfloydsbabe @bobgasm @bradshawsbaby @cosmoeticss @creatchie8 @drxgxnslxyer @hangmanapologist @hiireadstuff @jessicab1991 @just-in-case-iloveyou @kmc1989 @maryelizabeth13 @petersunderoos96 @rhettsluvr @roosterforme @seitmai @sorchathered @sweetwhispersofchaos @topherwrites @xoxabs88xox @yuckosworld

join attapullman's taglist

#college!bob floyd #bob floyd x reader #bob floyd #robert bob floyd x reader #robert bob floyd smut #bob floyd smut #robert bob floyd fic #bob floyd fic #top gun: maverick fic #top gun: maverick smut #bob floyd fan fiction #robert bob floyd fan fiction #top gun: maverick fan fiction #top gun: maverick au #bob floyd au #robert bob floyd au #bob floyd x you #robert bob floyd x you

1K notes · View notes

mads-hemmo · 3 months ago

Text

Too Sweet - Jschlatt part 1

baseball coach Schlatt x math teacher reader

Reader is a math teacher who finds her computer science teacher coworker an asshole. Schlatt finds his algebra/geometry coworker very annoying. What happens when they are forced to be around each other and get along?

You knew you wanted to be a teacher from a very young age. At first you thought you wanted to teach at the elementary level, but you found a love for math. After graduating with a math degree, you accepted a job at a high school in New York. Although you wanted to teach AP Statistics and Calculus, you got a job as the general algebra and geometry. This means that the majority of your classes are full of athletes and kids who do not care about their education.

You watch as a group of baseball boys walk into the classroom. “Josh, Drew, Sawyer did you do your homework?” You ask the boys.

Sawyer grabs a crumpled piece of paper out of his backpack and hands it to you. The other two boys look at you in shock. “We had an away game last night. We weren’t able to complete it,” Drew finally says.

“How did Sawyer get his done, but you two did not?” You ask the boys with a look of disbelief.

“I did mine on the bus.”

“Coach Schlatt told us not to worry about it as focusing on the game is the most important,” Josh tells you.

“I guess I’ll be having a conversation with Coach Schlatt later. Go take a seat, we are learning a new concept,” you tell the boys. You turn around to take a deep breath. Of course, Coach Schlatt, the baseball coach and computer science teacher would tell his players to not do your homework. You both have had an issue with each other since you started working here. All Schlatt cares about is baseball and his players being the best. Which sometimes means that he doesn’t expect them to do your assignments or if they fall asleep in class. He claims that they probably needed the sleep.

At the end of class, you decide to pay Coach Schlatt a visit during your prep time. As you both worked in the math and computer department, you had the same prep period. You knock on his open door and he looks up from his phone. “Ms. (Y/L/N), can I help you?” He asks you.

“Yes I needed to speak with you about a few of your players,” you tell him, walking up to his desk.

“What did they do this time?”

“Well Drew and Josh did not do their homework. Sawyer completed him, but the other two didn’t. They claimed that they weren’t able to because you had a game last night and also you told them it didn’t matter.”

He sighs and looks directly at you. “I told them to focus on the game. But have you read the research that shows that homework isn’t an effective way of teaching?”

You narrow your eyes at him, slightly. “Yes, I have. The only reason they had homework is because they felt my class time was time to play around.”

He nods a bit. “I’ll talk to them. Though you may need to work on your classroom management and also I’m sure they needed your help.”

“Thank you for your time. I’ll leave you alone.” You turn around to walk back to your classroom. “What an asshole,” you mutter under your breath.

You go back to your class to get some work done, hopefully working off your stress. How could someone be so bluntly rude? Did he really insult your teaching and your classroom management? You felt that you did your job well. Your admin seems to think so, but maybe you aren’t.

At lunchtime, you walk into your best friend’s classroom in the fine arts building. Ted or Mr. Nivision is the drama teacher and the two of you quickly became kids. As you have the same lunch period, you eat together every day. You grab your premade lunch from the mini fridge in his room. After you grab it, you slam the door. “Woah what’s wrong with you?”

You put your lunch in the microwave and slam that door too. “Coach Schlatt is what’s wrong! He’s such a douchebag.”

“What did he do this time?” Ted asks, eating his salad.

“He told his players that my homework was not important. When I went to talk to him about it, he brought up research about how homework is unnecessary. Obviously I know that. They only have homework because they refused to do it in my class. I told him that and he insulted my teaching and my classroom management,” you vent to him.

“I’m so glad I don’t teach a core content class. I think I would choke a kid out.” You laugh slightly at him. “That’s stupid of him. He’s usually a pretty good guy, but that was just uncalled for.”

You grab your lunch from the microwave and take a seat beside Ted. “I know he’s your friend or whatever, but he’s an asshole. I don’t know what I did to make him hate me so much.”

Before Ted can say anything, you hear footsteps walking into his room. You look up to see Schlatt walking in. You turn to look at Ted in disbelief. “Oh yeah (Y/N), I forgot to tell you that Schlatt is going to start joining us for lunch.”

“Awesome,” you mutter with a forced smile. “Glad that you are joining us,” are the words that came out. You wanted to tell him to fuck off and choke on his lunch. However, you decide to stay civil and give him your best smile. Hopefully Coach Schlatt will do the same.

A/N: new series!! I am so excited to write some enemies to lovers and teacherxteacher ! I hope you guys enjoy it!! Let me know what you think!!

Masterlist

#jschlatt #jschlatt x reader #chuckle sandwich #jschlatt fanfic #youtube #grumpy sunshine #enemies to lovers

155 notes · View notes

soobnny · 2 years ago

Text

classmate au | sim jake

❝ i’m sorry we only got 26/30 on this worksheet ❞

jake…

oh jake.

student athlete and math genius jake

you’re in the same class but he feels so far because he hangs out with his rly pretty friends

u can only look from afar

he’s always a tiny bit late to class

always drawing attention to his pretty boy face 😞

at 7:30, the bell rings and classes start

at 7:31, jake walks into class late

but the teachers always give him a pass bc how could they not when he smiles at them like that and apologizes like that

even ur teachers are down bad

he probably becomes your class representative for that one strict teacher’s class bc they always have a soft spot for jake

u want the deadline of the homework extended? ask jake to message them

he sits in the middle seats

not too prim and punctual to be at the front

but still likes school enough not to completely goof around at the back

sometimes your math teacher lets you do quizzes and worksheets by pair

(it’s the only way some of you can get a passing grade)

by statistics and some type of sampling, you end up getting partnered up with jake

“hi, good morning,” he’d greet with his infamous smile

now you get why all the teachers swoon for him

he’s so cute. this is going to be a problem

this is going to be a BIG problem

you were already bad at math, and now there’s a big pretty distraction sitting next to you

though, tbh, you were also relieved when you heard your name with his bc he’s ltrly known as a math genius

he’s one of the students that teachers excuse for their math contests

and wait 😭 did he just say something to u? did he ask about a formula bc u honestly have no clue

“(name)?” he’d shake your shoulder gently and it’s enough to bring you back on earth

“sorry, did you ask something?”

“oh, i’m done … if u wanted to compare answers? or if u trust me enough?”

you trust him enough

he’s ltrly THE carry

jake will speedrun differential calculus like he’s writing the alphabet

uh oh.

why does he look so HOT with his pencil and the way he writes numbers

you’re going insane

you should never be paired with jake ever again

but by some twist of fate, you always end up as jake’s partner in numerous activities

lab work and experiments and communication reports?

“jake and (name),” the teacher would announce

ofc… typical of friends, they HAVE to push you around as you walk to your seat beside jake’s

while you’re of great help with anything else, you’re starting to feel bad about his literal carry in math tho

“are you sure it’s ok? i’m just rly horrible i’m sorry,” you’d apologize

he would just laugh and dismiss your concerns

“nooo, it’s okay. i’m fine! i can tell you didn’t get enough sleep last night”

(you spent the night binging a new show that came out)

your stomach doesn’t feel so good after that one.

who gave him the right to NOTICE things now???

when your teacher returns your paired worksheets, he has the GALL to apologize

a big fat 29/30 will be written on top and he’d say “oh i’m sorry we had one mistake 😕” like BOY SHUT UP !!!!

after your partner shenanigans, you’d start talking more in the classroom

he’d give u a fist bump if u bumped into each other in the hallways while walking with ur respective friend groups

sometimes even shout your name to get your attention only to wave at you

“why are you smiling like that?,” sunghoon would ask accusingly

and you know what? jake has no shame

“(name). she’s pretty cute, no?”

BYE absolutely no shame

so now, when he speedruns an activity, you’ll find him hovering around you until he starts to make conversation

if the teacher leaves early ?? suddenly he’s transported to the seat next to yours and flirting

being friends with jake is chaotic…. bc that would automatically mean being friends with HIS loud ass friends

pretty friends have upgraded to pretty LOUD friends

they’re so annoying too

“jake and (name), can you buy us water?”, heeseung would ask

WHY R U BUYING WATER FOR HEESEUNG

but jake’s already taking your hand and dragging you away bc he will take every opportunity to hang out with you alone

BTW computer science god idk i just got the vibes

during valentines that year, he codes you a little website please end me

mind you, you aren’t even together yet

he just codes for you as a friend 😂😂😂 as if anyone’s believing that

oh and he also avails those anonymous services so you’ll just be receiving flowers from the student council throughout the day

“oooooh, who are those from,” he would be smiling like it’d be so painfully obvious it’s from him

“do you like them?” NOOOOOOO he just wants to know ok!!! tell him you love them please

OK back to normal no more valentines

when class dismisses, you’d find him lounging around the basketball court with heeseung

sweaty….. wet hair…. oh dear

jake is a sight to see when he’s playing basketball

u usually sit at the bleachers anyway bc ur friends enjoyed watching

he is SOOOOO annoying esp now that you’ve grown closer over the months

he’d make stupid plays and draw attention to you 100%

“if i get this shot in, will you go on a date with me?”

cue the screams and the teasing and the fake vomiting as you’re pushed around

OFC he makes the shot

he’s sim jake, math genius AND student athlete

“so, tomorrow after class?”

“huh?? i thought you were joking??”

“what? no! have i not been obvious? i ltrly flirt with you evry chance i get??”

“well… idk! maybe you do that with everyone!”

“only you”

OK WISH I WERE YOU THEN 😒😒😒😒😒

note. credits to user @.luvknow for the layout of this post! let me know what you think! please discuss these with me i’m crazy

2K notes · View notes

winwintea · 11 months ago

Text

how dreamies would react to helping you with your homework

REQUEST ▸ how dreamies would react to having to help with your homework?

PAIRING ▸ friend!dreamies x reader

TAGS ▸ none, crack, most of them are confused af and very unhelpful, DO NOT TAKE ANY OF THEIR ADVICE ESPECIALLY CHENLE’S…

AUTHOR’S NOTE ▸ anon i lost your ask somehow… it appeared on my computer but now i can’t find it but i still remember it! i apologize if the formatting is weird this time lol i’m writing this on my phone 😭

Mark Lee

marks TRIES to help you with your homework. emphasis on ‘TRIES’ cause we all know he is no help at all. you ask him a question about the problem as you’re both attempting it together and he looks at you with the most confused look you have ever seen, “i was just about to ask you the exact same thing…” you two are probably never going to figure it out, so good luck getting your homework done tonight!

Huang Renjun

renjun is an actually good tutor. of course he’s going to walk you through all the steps on how to solve the problems and then discuss with you the subject better at hand, “I think it’s 47… stay focused y/n!” renjun’s the best study buddy, and even if he doesn’t understand the subject well, he’ll try his best to understand and learn on his own, just so he can teach you better.

Lee Jeno

jeno. poor jeno. he’s trying his best too okay? “why are there… letters… isn’t this math?” he hasn’t had much education past a basic high school level, so anything beyond that bewilders him, “we used to solve… much different problems… back when i was a kid” (okay boomer) next time remember that jeno and statistics do not work well together!

Lee Donghyuck

haechan looks at the problems for a few seconds before deciding that is simply something he does not want to attempt at all. “you know… you don’t need school!” he throws the pencil down on the table in a fit, “who needs school anyways?” haechan glances at the work then back at you, “there are so many other options on the table! just drop out!”

Na Jaemin

jaemin is great for emotional support! not the best for helping, but at least he’s there cheering you on from the sides. he’ll take a look at you with a happy smile on his face, “you’re doing great!” but then as soon as he looks back at the problem you’re currently attempting he arches his brows into a look of pure confusion. he’s just as clueless as you are, but at least he can be your cheerleader!

Zhong Chenle

chenle gets quite impatient with how slow you’re doing the problems, “wrong… wrong again…” until eventually he snatches the paper across from your seat and mumbles to himself, “you know what, give it to me…” you two sit in silence as Chenle does the homework for you, but before he finishes he looks at you again dead serious, “why don’t you just cheat?”

Park Jisung

jisung was everywhere but school… so what you even expect this man will do to help you study? “what’s the purpose of this again?” he asks as he lets out a big yawn, and stretches in his chair, rocking back and forth impatiently as you attempt the problem yourself. jisung watches as you struggle for a couple of seconds before grumbling to himself, “just tell your professor it doesn’t make sense… i don’t know… you can gaslight him, you’re good at that.”

179 notes · View notes

yuri-is-online · 7 months ago

Note

How do you think Yuu’s otherworldly education compares in common subjects between Twisted Wonderland and Yuu’s world? Would a Yuu being 16 influence if the prefect is ahead in any classes? I’m sure this would be dependent on the standard age for levels in a school system and what kind of school system we are looking at.

I’m going to use math as an example for my rambling. Math isn’t a skill that requires any magical knowledge as a background, so Yuu could theoretically be ahead in that subject. (I have no clue what math skills are required by grade in a Japanese school which NRC is partially based on.)

Using my high school as an example. Our math courses followed the track: Algebra 1, Trigonometry, Algebra 2, Pre Calculus, and then AP Calculus or AP Statistics depending on the year. A freshman could easily make it into a higher math like Calculus before graduating if that person started farther along in the track.

So a Yuu (from the 4 year system of schools) could have been approaching a higher level of a subject at 16. And if Yuu’s math skills were better than the level of a first year, I’m not sure a placement test would have been offered to Yuu since that would require effort from Crowley Grim’s level would have to be accommodated on top of fitting Yuu’s schedule with normal first year classes. Which would be such a disservice to Yuu, even if the class being easy gives more time for the subjects that need to be learned from the ground up.

I have thought way too hard about this. I am sorry for the rabbit hole and the asks being so close together.

- 🦐

No need to apologize for sending asks shrimpy friend, you always have the nicest theories. You can spam me if you please.

We know from a few tidbits here and there that grade skipping is allowed, but it depends on where you are in Twisted Wonderland. Given that the original intent for Idia was to have him be a child prodigy who had speed ran his way into NRC, I would assume grade skipping is allowed by the school board, but well. You have already hit on the tiiiiny wittle issue with Yuu.

Grim and Yuu's grades are averaged, if I understand what Crowely says at the start of the game and Crewel's vignette correctly. The idea was that since Yuu would automatically fail any magic based classes, Grim would pick up the slack there and Yuu would be able to help him learn practical life skills. Yuu being smart probably would help them, but their other half would still need to be brought up to speed about things like basic math before Crowley would consent to let them jump ahead a year.

You are correct that this would be a disservice to Yuu. Deuce's dorm uniform vignette has him struggling to solve simultaneous equations. Ace and Cater both list this as a basic math skill they learned in middle school, meaning they are excepted to know this, so a Yuu who was in something like Calc or AP Stats would be in a very advantageous position... but they still would need to teach basic math to Grim and keep on him so he did his homework for his other classes.

So the TL;DR:

No Yuu being more advanced than the other freshmen probably wouldn't help them graduate faster. It might help them educate Grim faster, but this assumes he wants to work which he does not.

Yes this is almost entirely down to Crowley not wanting to put in effort and his decision to count Yuu and Grim as one student.

If we are being honest it probably is more convenient for Crowley to have Yuu be a first year given the work he wants them to do for him. He gets to keep them around longer that way lol.

#<3 asks #twisted wonderland #twst theory #friend of the show #shrimp anon

45 notes · View notes

owlchimedes · 4 months ago

Note

Any study/homework tips? Especially when it come to writing a essay?

I can definitely share what works for me! I generally feel that there are 3 types of essay assignment, so I'll break this answer into parts. I'm assuming your essays are untimed and can be written in advance.

General Persuasive Essay:

Could be a unit assignment, midterm paper, or a chiller final. Generally 2-6 pages with moderate sourcing (3-5 new sources per page).

Personally, I like to assemble all my arguments first. Think of it like a pearl necklace -- imagine what you want your essay to prove ("X is Y") and then gather thoughts and evidence supporting that: quotes, articles, journals, statistics, etc. These are your pearls. Once you have enough of them to meet the page count -zip- all you need to do is thread them together with explanations and transitions.

For me, this looks like a very messy trash document filled with nonsensical shorthand and meticulous citations exactly how I'm supposed to use them in-text for the paper and for the final bib. If your teacher wants Chicago, or MLA, or APA, be sure to use that from the get go. The best parts are that 1) you know exactly where to go to double check something, 2) you don't need to look anything up again, 3) you've already written your bibliography.

For me, a doc might look like:

"72% of people can detect fake statistics" (Example, et al. 2025 404-405) ... "what, you egg?" (Macbeth 4.2.94)... [NEED MORE SUPPORT HERE] "cat's toe beans can absorb 5.44 lbs/cm of force" (Akename, F. in Purrrfect: A Science Tail 2013 p. 102) [TIE BACK TO 3RD PARAGRAPH]

You get the idea. Messy, but helpful. I like to copy-paste each 'pearl' into a clean document that holds the actual essay as I write it. You probably won't use every piece of evidence you have, but it's better to have a lot to choose from than to be staring at a blank page trying to write. Collecting evidence this way is particularly helpful if you know ahead of time that you need to do a paper, because then you can add tabs or highlight materials as you read them, cutting your workload in half. Generally, unless I'm totally unfamiliar with the field, I try to roughly know my final essay topic on the 2nd day of class and then start putting things in the messy doc when I find them. If it's not in the syllabus, ask your teachers about the final prompts. The worst they can say is no.

One of the great things about the process is that it skips the paralysis of a 'draft'. There is no draft here because there is no writing. Ideally, you should have 0 of your own words on the page -- only pulls and quotes. You'll paraphrase and rearrange things later. Don't copy paste directly into your essay; even with citations, that's plagiarism. Don't use first-person unless your teacher explicitly says it's okay.

Once you have all your content, structuring it may seem difficult.

I taught the TISAS model (also sometimes known as TISAC). This stands for topic sentence, introduction, supporting evidence, analysis, & summary (or conclusion). For clarity here, I'll use TISAC.

The TISAC is a simple paragraph structure model for beginner writers, but can also apply to longer and more complex writings. The standard 5-paragraph paper form taught in most middle- and high-schools is a simple nested form: TI TISAC TISAC TISAC C. The pattern of topic sentence and introduction, three evidence paragraphs, and a final summary is clear. More complex writings may add more evidence to the same point: TISAISAISAC. Thus, the amount of evidence and analysis can be endless, but must always be bracketed by clear topic sentences and conclusions. You can also vary the amount of information on any one topic; all paragraphs do not need to be the same length. More supporting evidence often leads to stronger persuasion or proof, though if there is enough of it, a reader may require mini-summaries to keep track of what it going on: TI TI(SAISAC TISAC)C TISAC C. It's clear that these elements can be combined endlessly to whatever length and complexity is required. Overall, TISAC is a straightforward set of building blocks that serve both beginner and advanced persuasive writers.

The format of the above is TISAISAISAC.

Introductions and topic sentences benefit greatly from the use of transition words, which flag to the reader (and to you) exactly what you're trying to do with the information you've presented. All evidence should be cited correctly. Obviously, TISAC is a little cramped on style and not perfectly suitable for heavily data-based work or more lyric, narrative, or artistic writing. Keep in mind though, 'evidence' can be a graph, an image glossary, an appendix, or many other formats.

Reflective Essay:

Unlike the persuasive essay, this type is entirely first-person, focused on YOU and your own thoughts, experiences, and takeaways. These tend to be the first and/or last assignment in a class, and are usually 1-5 pages with minimal to moderate sourcing (1-3 sources per page).

For course/project reviews, make sure to cover all the topics in ASSASSIN: Anticipations, Surprises, Strengths, Awkward points, Struggles, Show an example, "In conclusion", and Next time.

You can organize your thoughts chronologically or by theme. Longer papers work better as chronological.

Get a sense of what your teacher likes. If a prof. is proud of a certain thing, don't bash it. If they expressed disappointment in an outcome, agree with them. Don't come off as smarmy, but this is the easiest way to an A.

Do not use AI. In general, don't, but especially for reflective papers. AI is trained on models of the external world --it has no clue about your private internal world or what the class was like. It's guesses will be wrong and it only takes one or two incorrect details for your professor to realize you didn't write the paper. Even with careful proofreading, it's not worth the risk.

Research Essay:

These tend to be longer papers, possibly a course final or graduation checkpoint (qualification exams/thesis), meant to show how well you know the literature and materials as well as your ability to argue. Usually 5-100+ pages with moderate to max sourcing (4-10 sources per page). I use the same general process as for any persuasive essay, but make sure to use a reference management software instead of a single document. Mendeley, Zotero, RefWorks, and EndNote are the ones I've noticed most among my peers. Zotero was a godsend for my thesis.

Lab reports are a whole different beast, so I didn't discuss them here. Good luck!

#essay writing #essays #essay help #essay tips #studyblr #gradblr #thesis #senior thesis #study tips #long post

13 notes · View notes

eponymous-rose · 3 months ago

Text

It's another busy week, so I'm gonna do one of these again because it genuinely helps me keep track. Today in a nutshell!

Worked on some e-mails over breakfast - mostly coordinating for dinner tonight (I 100% did not forget to make the reservation, I promise, I just uhhhhhhhhhhh definitely didn't forget, that's for sure, and thank goodness for no particular reason that they happened to have one table left at 6PM), happily agreeing to write some reference letters for my PhD student's postdoc applications, rescheduling some meetings, setting new meetings, meetings meetings meetings. Oh, and booking tables for a couple of card shows this month! Off to work!

I get in a little later than I'd like and rush downstairs to the lounge to make my mug of tea pre-class, where I run into a student who just defended his PhD last week. I'm on his reading committee, so we agree to set up a time to go over my (honestly quite minor) comments on his dissertation. I also run into our incredible facilities guy, who follows up on some technical issues my students ran into over the weekend, hopefully resolved - I have five groups of three undergraduate students running their own weather stations all across the metro area of our city!

No time to enjoy the tea, so I leave it to steep a hilariously long time and rush back downstairs to teach my class! This year's students are truly exceptional - apparently over the weekend they all discovered that the Mac version of the data collection software for their weather stations is no longer supported, and they all independently coordinated to get PCs into the hands of all 5 groups. Let me tell you, when you're expecting to have to spend the first 20 minutes of the class troubleshooting and are instead greeted by a quiet, expectant two rows of faces, it's a great feeling.

Today's lecture is a topic I'm really passionate about - teaching students the "why" behind a lot of the statistical methods they've learned in the past (these are college seniors) and working on building a pipeline for exploratory data analysis. This isn't explicitly part of the syllabus, but my gosh, the quality of the final reports has improved sharply once I introduced these lectures. The students participated a bunch and happily launched into think-pair-share groups without my having to coordinate them. This is my sixth time teaching this class, and these students are far and away the best I've encountered. I am also very, very bad with names (and have a lot of anxiety about calling someone by the wrong name) but managed to successfully use an example in class in which I rattled off four students' names in a row, no effort needed. Phew.

As a side note, this has always been far and away my least-favorite class to teach, and this was the year I was gonna change that - I brought it to a curriculum development workshop last year and even presented on it at an education conference last week. But... dang, having strong students truly makes it effortless to enjoy teaching this class.

Back to my office, which smells like the double-spiced chai that has been steeping so long it's probably quadruple-spiced by now. Delicious. I have an hour until my next commitment, so I try to get ahead on grading the homework assignment my students handed in on Friday (all 15 of them handed it in on time!!!!). I also realize that this is my last block of free time until dinner, so I run downstairs to heat up my soup for lunch.

After getting through four of the assignments, it's time for a weather briefing (we have a team for a national forecasting competition), which means it's mostly just time for technical difficulties, but we make it through in the end and wrap up a bit early - back to grading! Students are doing great on this assignment overall, which is gratifying, but I make a note of a topic some of them are struggling on so I can mention it during Wednesday's class.

Weekly hour-long meeting with one of my Master's students! He talked about how he's taking a course on pedagogy to help with his work as a teaching assistant this quarter (!!) and he's been working through my first round of revisions of his very first first-author scientific journal article and had a few clarifying questions. I recommended some off-the-wall papers in the communications literature that I think would dovetail well with some of the discussion in his paper, and he was really jazzed to get to explore those. We also decided to get him set up with a million core-hours on a supercomputer so he can start on the next phase of his research - he promised to have the paper ready for the next set of revisions by the end of the week, so while I'm working on that, he can get familiar with the new system. I am also reminded that I really need to come up with some more substantial funding for him - currently he's working on a fellowship, but that runs out after three years.

After he heads out (a few minutes early, more grading time!) I get an e-mail from a scientist in Switzerland - she and I are working on getting her out here for a two-year postdoc job studying lightning with me. She's made revisions on her application for funding, so that's another thing for me to read over this week. I'm also reminded that I have to get back to an Italian grad student who wants to come visit my group for a year. Still figuring out the logistics on that one...

I also need to get back to a forestry service colleague of mine about getting the university my share of the funds for our fast-approaching field work using brand-new radar tech to study wildfire smoke plumes. I really, really need to get back to him this week - I think we're planning on flying out in April to start.

ALSO also this week, I have some pretty intense revisions of my own to deal with - I've been given this opportunity to write a huge review article, and I finally got it done back in December... only to learn that they want it to be about half that length. I'm going to take a swing at carving 5,000 words out of that behemoth.

AND a colleague and I are working on a resubmission of a grant to study thunderstorms in really unusual places, and I promised her I'd have a complete draft for her to read by the 7th. Phew. Good thing my week is only front-loaded with meetings.

Whoops, no more time to grade/read e-mails and schedule in my head. We have someone here today interviewing for a job on our faculty, and I'm one of the search committee members! Better dash downstairs to catch the candidate's talk. We have five two-day interviews planned for the next four weeks. Ouch.

Awesome talk by the candidate (we're very lucky to be spoiled for choice even in our very specialized field - we've whittled 86 qualified candidates down to five), and I launch straight from that into a student's PhD entrance exam. At this stage I should mention how much I genuinely loathe our PhD entrance exam, which is a pedagogical and logistical nightmare all around. This was a very popular opinion, which is why we as the faculty voted unanimously to completely change the process last year. Why are there students still taking this horrible exam???? Fuck if I know, man. At this point, it's voluntary to opt into it, and I am baffled and deeply frustrated at how many faculty members apparently encouraged their students to take it. Anyway, the student does a great job and we muddle through somehow, and now it's back up to my office to do some cramming on small-talk topics before a colleague and I host the faculty candidate for dinner!

A delightful dinner all around - my colleague is someone I was initially intimidated by (she's a giant in the field) but with whom I have since bonded, so we had some fun banter in the car and I think it helped the job candidate relax a little. We had some fun big-picture talk (and some less-fun big picture talk about news that dropped as we were eating) but mostly just talked about how much we love this part of the world. Good food, drink, and conversation. On the car ride home, I managed to troubleshoot a problem my undergrad research assistant was having with getting access to the supercomputer he needs for his project. Phew.

That's a long day, but good stuff all around!

#eponymous job tag #eponymous academia tag

19 notes · View notes

pandulce135 · 2 years ago

Note

Hey Hey! Just wondering, how would the Rise Turtles (or just Donnie if you're not feeling up to doing all of them) react to catching a S/O singing alone in the kitchen for the first time? Like they're actually really good but maybe they're a bit shy at first about singing in front of someone? I love to sing and have vocal training but I need encouraging.

Note: I low key high key am planning on doing this for all four turtles but Don was first (it’s all a tentative plan tho). I totally get the whole being shy in front of people thing, so I hope this helps and I’m sure you have a powerful voice :)

Warnings: None

Word count: 1.4k

~~~~~

With his arms up in the air, Donnie stretched his shell as he sat up from his previously hunched over position. When you sit at your desk performing numerous computer tasks for four hours straight, you tend to let your back hunch. He let out a sigh when his back gave a few satisfying pops and lowered his arms to look around.

His eyes scanned his lab. The lights were dim, his EDM music playing through his speakers, and the seat you once occupied empty. You had said something about homework and needed to get an assignment done and that the lab was usually a good environment to work. Donnie gave a smug smile when you said that, “Of course it is, Y/N. It is a state of the art work environment to fully allow one to achieve an 84.6% higher success rate for their goal.” He was boasting and using limited data points, he knew, but your smile when he invited you to work in his lab was enough to push him to that point.

He loved your smile.

You had left at some point after he turned on his thinking music, grabbing your stuff and telling him you’d be in the kitchen, where you’d most likely be able to focus a little better. He would have argued but you were already gone when he had finished the line of code he was working on. How could you not like his preferred thinking music that usually drove him to a higher success rate on big projects? He’d have to fix the statistic.

Donnie closed up his lab quickly, turning off his music, monitors, and lights before exiting the room. The pitter patter of his bare feet against the concrete of the Lair was usually enough to warn you that one of the turtles was nearing you. However, you seemed to be preoccupied. He peaked his head into the kitchen to see you sitting at the island. Your head was bopping to music being played through some over the ear headphones he had made you one birthday.

What could you possibly be listening to that is making you work more efficiently than his proven EDM music? He had done research and studies to show positive affects of working to EDM music (again, on very limited subjects and with very limited data points, but you didn’t need to know that)!

That’s when he heard your voice begin from your spot on the stool with your fingers frozen over your laptop.

“With more faith in God, I would tell you that this was the rapture

And we’ve been left behind

Why are we so young with tired, sunken, baggy eyes?”

Donatello stood in the doorway of the kitchen dumbfounded. In all your years of knowing each other, you had never once mentioned that you can sing. Were you embarrassed? Were you shy? Why didn’t you want him to know?

These thoughts stayed swarming around Donnie’s head as he stood frozen in the doorway. You probably assumed no one was in the kitchen. The rest of the Hamato brothers were out getting pizza and Splinter was watching his soap opera on the big projector, so it was a very plausible assumption to make, he concluded. His thoughts seemed to stop when you continued to sing the next part of the verse.

“So I’ll give myself a name, something stupid and pretentious

Like Mawce spelled with a C

And I’ll hope all the cool kids who graduated but stayed judgmental will finally accept me.”

Donnie’s eyes were glued to your form, eyes closed, chin tilted slightly upward. With each line, your head moved slightly, adding more emotion for the seemingly invisible audience of your one person show. Your fingers had curled up into fists and your eyebrows furrowed upward. Donnie found it hard to look away from you, so in your element with beautiful vocals.

“And I might be flying home today, but I’m not going home

’Cuz everything I thought I knew has proven to be wrong.

And I’m desperate to the point of flying straight into the over drinking nights that leave you feeling torn.

And I’m leaving,

I’m leaving for New York.”

He admired your inflections, the way your voice would grow then shrink in on itself to tell a story. He took note of the vibrato that made your voice almost sound like it was shaking. Your voice was so strong and so passionate. Why didn’t you sing more often? So many questions with no answers yet.

The words left Donnie’s mouth before he even had the chance to stop them. “It seems pretty redundant to leave for New York when you already live in New York.” He crossed his arms to lean against the doorway, an uninterested look in his eye. He couldn’t let go of his bad boy persona now.

You let out a small scream that made him flinch as you whipped your head around to face him. In the rush, you pulled down the bulky headphones so they rested on your neck. Heat rushed to your cheeks as soon as you heard his voice out of embarrassment. With wide eyes, you simply stared at him, mouth agape in horror as you realized what he heard. Maybe he wasn’t there for all of it? You began to move your mouth to ask when he spoke up again.

With his arms still crossed, he moved himself nonchalantly to make his lean against the doorframe more comfortable. “And before you ask, since ‘With more faith in God,’” he answered your nonverbal question so calmly it almost made you combust on the spot.

“So pretty much the whole time, huh?” Your voice came out in a squeak a few octaves higher than normal. Your eyes were still the size of saucers. You probably looked like a dear in headlights.

“Yeah,” he answered, plain and simple.

You turned back to your computer, hands still in fists from embarrassment. Through your headphones, you were still able to hear the muffled guitar and voice. You felt hot and tense, and you knew you looked on edge, too. But when Donnie placed a hand on your shoulder, you relaxed slightly.

“I think you sound nice,” he peaked over your shoulder to look at what you were working on. You had already submitted the assignment twelve minutes ago. He’s going to have to fix that statistic.

You dropped your head down into your hands. “Oh my gosh…” Your embarrassment showed through your voice.

“You do!” Donnie’s hand slid across your shoulder to your upper back to try and calm you down. “The crescendos, the vibrato. Oh! Your tone! Why didn’t tell us you sing?”

You lifted your head up from your hands to look at Donnie, a mixture of shock and confusion on your features. “Since when did you know so much about music?”

“Ah, ah, ah, dearest, Y/N. I’m the one asking the questions here.” Donnie immediately shot you down with a pointed finger. You frowned at him with a furrowed brow.

You sighed loudly, pulling away from Donnie’s touch. “I don’t know. I’m just- I don’t know it’s embarrassing? I’m.. a nervous wreck when it comes to singing in front of people? It’s terrifying, people judge.” You let it all out in a word vomit. Your whole body felt warm and tingly from your sudden sharing of feelings. Donnie’s eyes widened slightly obviously taken aback from your vulnerability. You turned your head back to your laptop screen and threw your head in your hands again.

To the side, Donnie stood tall and eyed your cowering form. “Well, based off of my observations, I can say that, without a doubt, you have a wonderful voice and your technique is near perfect.” You let out a soft sigh as you felt his lips against the side of your head to plant a kiss. “No need to be embarrassed, my love. How about we get some pizza?” He smiled warmly down at you as you turned to face him again.

His eyes, which were usually full of disdain for his brothers, were now full of love for you. You felt a smile break through and grow across your face. The smile he loved so much.

“Sure.” You nodded as you closed your laptop and stood up from the stool. Before you began packing your items, you pressed a quick kiss to his cheek, earning you a small gasp from the tall terrapin. “I love ya, Don,” you said as you shoved all of your loose items into your bag.

He chuckled as he watched you grab your stuff and face him. “How could you not-“ He was cut off by you elbowing his side. “I mean, I love you, too,” he chuckled out.

“I know.”

“Good.”With his arms up in the air, Donnie stretched his shell as he sat up from his previously hunched over position. When you sit at your desk performing numerous computer tasks for four hours straight, you tend to let your back hunch. He let out a sigh when his back gave a few satisfying pops and lowered his arms to look around.

He loved your smile.

That’s when he heard your voice begin from your spot on the stool with your fingers frozen over your laptop.

“With more faith in God, I would tell you that this was the rapture

And we’ve been left behind

Why are we so young with tired, sunken, baggy eyes?”

“So I’ll give myself a name, something stupid and pretentious

Like Mawce spelled with a C

And I’ll hope all the cool kids who graduated but stayed judgmental will finally accept me.”

“And I might be flying home today, but I’m not going home

’Cuz everything I thought I knew has proven to be wrong.

And I’m desperate to the point of flying straight into the over drinking nights that leave you feeling torn.

And I’m leaving,

I’m leaving for New York.”

“So pretty much the whole time, huh?” Your voice came out in a squeak a few octaves higher than normal. Your eyes were still the size of saucers. You probably looked like a dear in headlights.

“Yeah,” he answered, plain and simple.

You dropped your head down into your hands. “Oh my gosh…” Your embarrassment showed through your voice.

“You do!” Donnie’s hand slid across your shoulder to your upper back to try and calm you down. “The crescendos, the vibrato. Oh! Your tone! Why didn’t tell us you sing?”

You lifted your head up from your hands to look at Donnie, a mixture of shock and confusion on your features. “Since when did you know so much about music?”

“Ah, ah, ah, dearest, Y/N. I’m the one asking the questions here.” Donnie immediately shot you down with a pointed finger. You frowned at him with a furrowed brow.

His eyes, which were usually full of disdain for his brothers, were now full of love for you. You felt a smile break through and grow across your face. The smile he loved so much.

He chuckled as he watched you grab your stuff and face him. “How could you not-“ He was cut off by you elbowing his side. “I mean, I love you, too,” he chuckled out.

“I know.”

“Good.”

#tmnt #rottmnt #writing #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #fanfic #teenage mutant ninja turtles #rise of the tmnt #Donatello x reader #Donnie x reader #rottmnt Donnie #Donatello #x reader #Donatello x y/n #Donnie x y/n #x y/n #rottmnt x reader #rise Donnie #rise Donnie x reader

101 notes · View notes

inawickedlittletown · 1 year ago

Text

You Can Find Me Where the Skies are Blue (BuckTommy fic) - 5/7

Summary:

Soulmates are rare. So rare that it's actually incredible that Buck has two soulmate couples in his life. Statistics tell him it's very unlikely for him to meet his soulmate. Of course, then he meets Tommy. Too bad it happens at the worst possible moment.

Canon compliant soulmate AU where Buck is still a mess and Tommy is still very understanding.

Words: 4,140

Ao3

Part One

Part Two

Part Three

Part Four

Part Five

Eddie had a calendar on his fridge. Buck was very familiar with it considering how often he was recruited to help out with taking Christopher to therapy or other after school things when Eddie couldn’t or Carla wasn’t available. Buck often featured on the calendar too when he and Chris had a planned zoo or museum trip. There hadn’t been one in a while, admittedly, but that wasn’t all on Buck. Even when he made plans with Eddie, Eddie would sometimes add it onto the calendar. So, he really shouldn’t have been surprised to see Tommy’s name appear on it. Circled for next Thursday for the basketball pick up game that Eddie had been trying to get Buck interested in for months.

“What are you doing?” Chris asked.

“Uh…nothing,” Buck said. “Did you want a snack? I think we can get away with just ordering pizza for dinner unless you want me to cook something?”

“Pizza’s fine,” Chris said. “I finished all my homework.”

“I guess that means it’s time for your surprise,” Buck said.

“Surprise?” Chris asked. “I thought we’d just play video games.”

It was strange being a part of a kid’s life, to see him grow and change and become less of a kid. Buck sometimes couldn’t believe the changes that had happened in Chris since he first met him. Sometimes, he did still miss the more kid version of Chris that wasn’t yet interested in girls.

“Well, I thought we could do a lego kit,” Buck said.

Chris did get excited at that and Buck grinned. It was as much for Chris as it was for himself and to maybe annoy Eddie a little. Like, what if Buck accidentally left a lego piece or two somewhere where Eddie and Eddie alone could step on it. It felt maybe a little petty, but then Eddie was out with his soulmate and Buck was babysitting. Yes, it was Chris, and Buck loved spending time with Chris, but it didn’t stop Buck from being a little annoyed.

Buck had left the box in the living room and he directed Chris towards it.

“It’s Stitch,” Chris said and Buck watched as he opened the packaging.

“You get started, I’ll call the pizza place.”

He wandered back to the kitchen, his phone in hand. He’d thought about calling Tommy earlier and yet hadn’t done it. He thought that his text earlier in the day had probably put across how Buck felt even when he didn’t say it outright.

His eyes went back to the calendar. Tonight’s plans weren’t on there, so it left him wondering about what else Eddie and Tommy had planned. It really was not fair. It was Buck’s non-existent calendar that should have been filled with plans with Tommy.

He made the call for the pizza, grabbed himself a glass of water, and then cut up some carrots and celery to bring out to Chris. He put on a smile as he headed out and found Chris with the instruction booklet and several packages of pieces already open. He’d picked the living room coffee table as his place to build and was already seated on a cushion.

Buck joined him and set down the plate on the table.

“Did you get pepperoni?” Chris asked.

“Sure did, kid. Now, where are we starting with this?”

As they put lego pieces together, Buck answered questions about flying in a helicopter into a hurricane. Chris had definitely already gotten most of the story from Eddie.

“It must be cool being able to fly a helicopter,” Chris remarked.

“It is,” Buck said. “Tommy is very skilled. You know he landed the helicopter on the capsized ship?”

“Is that the same Tommy my dad’s hanging out with?”

“Sure is,” Buck said and he hoped he didn’t sound too sour.

He distracted Chris away from talking about Tommy by asking about the next few pieces they had to put together.

—

“So,” Eddie said, “you’ve known all this time you’re soulmates. I mean, since we flew out to rescue Cap and Athena.”

“Yup,” Tommy said.

“Wow. Did not see that coming.”

Tommy stared out the window away from Eddie.

“It’s great,” Eddie said. “I mean you guys are soulmates. That’s awesome. I feel bad now, not inviting Buck to come tonight.”

“You think?”

They were silent for a while. Even though it was late, LA traffic was no joke.

“What I don’t get is why neither of you said anything,” Eddie said and Tommy thought he could detect a tone of hurt. “Buck’s my best friend, why wouldn’t he say anything? Looking back…well, I get why he was asking about how the fight went. And why he got a little weird when I mentioned showing you the Chevelle.” Eddie winced.

Tommy groaned.

“We just met, Eddie. I wasn’t going to share something like having met my soulmate with you, no offense. I’ve only told one person. And as for Evan, I don’t know why he didn’t tell you. Maybe it’s that I’m a guy or he hasn’t had the time to.”

“Maybe,” Eddie said. “Look, I’m sorry for what happened tonight. I really did invite Hen and Chim. I was going to invite Buck but I didn’t want to ask Marisol to watch Chris again and Chris hasn’t seen Buck in a little while. I knew he’d been wanting to see him. I wasn’t really thinking, I guess. I should have. He’s probably more than a little annoyed with me.”

Tommy looked towards Eddie again. “I think your apology should be aimed at Evan.”

“Yeah. I’ll talk to him.”

They drove in silence for a while again, until Eddie started to tap his fingers on the steering wheel.

“What?” Tommy asked.

“Buck is…he’ll understand, but he has some — I don’t want to call them issues. He just has had a lot of people leave him.”

“By people you mean his past relationships,” Tommy said even though he couldn’t be sure.

Eddie nodded. “Not just that…and I’ll let him speak for himself. I just want you to understand that him having a soulmate does mean a lot to him. To finally have someone that puts him first, because that’s — that’s what you have to do.”

“Okay,” Tommy said.

When they got to Eddie’s house, he was unprepared by how unprepared he was. The whole way over, he hadn’t even thought about what he would say to Evan or even what he expected once he saw him. It had been different when he thought he was going to see him at the bar somehow. They would have small talk to fall back on and buffers in the form of Hen, Chim and Eddie.

“Hey, you got this,” Eddie said. “He is your soulmate after all. And he’s pretty awesome, he wouldn’t be my best friend otherwise.”

“I know,” Tommy said.

Tommy got out of the car after Eddie punched his shoulder lightly.

“How do you want to do this?” Eddie asked as they walked up.

Tommy really should have been thinking about that. One thing he didn’t want was to have any type of conversation with Evan in Eddie’s house.

“How about you tell Evan I’m waiting for him out here,” Tommy said.

“I can do that,” Eddie said.

Tommy watched as Eddie went inside. The house was ranch style, a single main floor and probably a basement. Maybe the smallest crawl space of an attic. It was a typical LA house. Out front, Evan’s Jeep was parked and Tommy walked across the grass to get there, feeling better about waiting there than right by Eddie’s front door. He leaned his back on the car and waited.

—

Buck heard the lock on the front door turn and then the door open. Chris was distracted trying to find a piece in a bag, so Buck stood up. There was no way Eddie was back already and he didn’t think Marisol had a key. There was always Eddie’s tia or Carla, but he couldn’t think why they would be stopping by. Buck wouldn’t have been babysitting if either were available.

He couldn’t imagine that someone was breaking in, but it was definitely a possibility. His phone was already in hand ready to call 9-1-1, and he grabbed the nearest thing to use as a weapon which turned out to be a lamp. He edged to the doorway and almost hit Eddie with the lamp. Maybe it would have been well deserved.

“Oh my god,” Eddie said, scrambling backwards. “What is wrong with you?”

“What is wrong with you?” Buck shot back.

“A lot. A lot is wrong with me,” Eddie said. “Which isn’t the point. Why are you holding my lamp like that?”

Buck walked back to the table he’d grabbed it from to place back. “I thought you were breaking in.”

“Using the front door and a key?”

“I’m just looking out for your kid,” Buck said. “Why are you back so early? Did something happen?”

Eddie rubbed the back of his neck and he looked guilty. It was weird when he could see Chris in Eddie instead of the other way around.

“Tommy told me,” Eddie said.

“He told you what exactly?” Buck crossed his arms over his chest.

Eddie looked right at him, his brown eyes boring into Buck. Buck knew before he said it, and he had no idea how to feel. A part of him was relieved, an even bigger part hated it. Even more, he hated the way that Eddie was looking at him like some kind of kicked puppy.

“He told me that you’re his soulmate,” Eddie said. “He’s, uh, he’s waiting outside for you.”

Buck didn’t understand.

“Did something happen at…what was it, karaoke?”

“Other than me not inviting you along like Tommy thought I had,” Eddie said and he winced. “He told me to invite everyone, but I was an idiot and I needed a babysitter. And in my defense, Chris did miss you.”

Buck had no idea what to do with any of what Eddie was saying. He remembered when Eddie brought up his plans with Tommy and how it had almost seemed like an invitation until it changed into asking Buck to babysit. Buck had been so excited at the prospect of seeing Tommy, but Eddie had crushed that and Buck could admit that a part of him had wondered if Tommy didn’t want to hang out with him like he did Eddie. Clearly, that wasn’t the case.

“I don’t even know what to say,” Buck said.

“Maybe that I’m a horrible friend,” Eddie said. “Really, Buck, I’m sorry. I’m also happy you found your soulmate. That must feel amazing.”

“Confusing more like,” Buck said.

“Buck, is that the pizza?” Christopher called out.

“Uh. No. Sorry, bud, your dad’s home early. Just, uh, give us a minute.”

“Confusing because it’s a guy? Or because he’s your soulmate?” Eddie asked and after a moment, he added, “or confusing because I’ve been taking up every spare moment of his time lately?”

Buck let out a strained chuckle. “That didn’t help,” he said. “And yeah the whole my soulmate is a dude thing is a factor. I’m not gay. I’m…you know who I am, Eddie. And he’s — well, he’s Tommy Kinard LAFD pilot. Even you were kind of blown away by how impressive he is, so like why the hell am I his soulmate?”

Eddie closed the space between them and his hand grasped Buck’s shoulder. “Maybe it’s because you’re just as impressive, Buck.”

“I doubt that. Should have been you…you guys have so much in common. I’m not anything.”

Eddie scoffed. “I have never seen you down on yourself like this before. What’s going on Buck?”

“I guess…I guess I’ve never wanted something to go right the way I want this to go right. But I’m still, I don’t — I don’t know, I’m just maybe a little overwhelmed.”

“By the guy thing?”

“Yes. No. I don’t know.”

Eddie’s hand gave his shoulder a squeeze. “How about you don’t make him wait any longer.”

Buck had almost forgotten. Tommy was outside. He was outside waiting for Buck. How long had it been since Eddie arrived? Five, maybe ten minutes, and he’d kept Tommy outside waiting.

“I should—” he pointed at the door.

“Go,” Eddie said. “I want to hear all about it tomorrow.”

Buck couldn’t leave without first seeing Chris, so he went back to the living room.

“Chris, I’m heading out.”

“No,” Chris said. “No, you can’t. We haven’t even finished Stitch.”

“Chris,” Eddie said with that dad warning tone.

Chris huffed, and Buck knew he’d have to make up for leaving.

“I’m sorry to cut this short, kid, but we’ll hang out soon. There’s just something I have to do tonight. But my next day off we can do whatever you want. Alright?”

Chris could still be stubborn when he wanted to be, but he shrugged his shoulders. “I’m not going to wait for you to come back to finish Stitch.”

“I wouldn’t expect you to. Send me pictures when you finish it.”

“Okay. See you, Buck.”

“See you, kid.”

He gathered his coat, put his shoes back on, and then after taking one last encouraging smile from Eddie, he opened the door and stepped outside. He didn’t see Tommy at first, not until he shifted his weight. Tommy was leaning back on Buck’s car, and he looked ridiculously dashing. Buck knew his heart was beating fast, could hear it as he crossed Eddie’s front lawn. Buck had to pause a moment just to look at him and then he started towards him.

“Hi,” he said when he was within hearing distance.

—

“Hi,” Tommy said.

Evan took a few more steps, bringing him closer. “You, uh, you told Eddie.”

There wasn’t a lot of light out there, but he could still make out enough of Evan. His t-shirt was askew and his jacket slung over his shoulder. He looked delectable and cute all at once.

“Yeah. I’m sorry…but I’m also not sorry,” Tommy said.

Evan nodded. He took another step forward. “I should have told him. I had every opportunity, but—” he shrugged his shoulders.

“Why didn’t you?”

“Well, I barely managed to tell my sister. Hen only knows because I needed your number. I told Bobby too. Didn’t mean to. Only Hen really knows it’s you. Eddie was…well, he kept talking about you guys doing stuff and it felt strange to bring it up…and I don’t know, I was jealous.”

“Jealous,” Tommy repeated. “Evan, there’s no…me and Eddie hanging out, that wasn’t about you.”

“I know. I know that,” Evan said. He hung his head, moved a bit closer. “My feelings about all that, that was more about me than about you and Eddie.”

Tommy had never known someone that could be so many things at once. He could tell that Evan was nervous. He was also just direct and honest. When Evan looked up at him again, he even met Tommy’s eyes dead on and even in the dark he could tell that they shone. This man would be the end of him and what an end to have.

“I should have told him you’re my soulmate,” Evan said. “At some point I just felt like he didn’t deserve to have that information. I know it’s crazy, but—” he shrugged and let out a breath.

“Well, he knows now,” Tommy said.

“Yeah,” Buck said. “He does. I’m not…I’m not upset he knows.”

“Good,” Tommy said. “I hope you’re not mad at him.”

Evan chuckled. “I — no, guess not really. Chris and I were building Lego Stitch. I was planning on leaving a couple of lego pieces for him to step on in his room, but I’m not really mad. I get it, you know, why you’d want to hang out with Eddie. You don’t have to tell me he’s great. I’ve known that since the first day I worked with him.”

Tommy chuckled. The wind picked up a little, a gust hitting them. LA weather meant it wasn’t actually too cold out. Evan shivered and he grabbed for his coat, slipping it on clumsily in a way that showed maybe how truly nervous he actually was.

“How about we do this elsewhere?” Tommy asked.

“Uh. Yeah. Yeah, that’d be good. How about my place? I’m not too far from here.”

Tommy nodded easily. “Sure. You’re driving.”

Evan’s car was clean. He’d noticed the Jeep back when he’d come to see Tommy at Harbor and he’d love to get a look at the engine and maybe a few other parts of it. Wranglers were some of the more fun cars out there, great for off-roading and driving out onto a beach. The option to take off the hardtop and even the doors made them even more versatile. He could imagine him and Evan having a lot of fun in that car.

“You know,” Tommy said when they had stopped at a light. “I was feeling a little jealous too.”

“You?” Evan asked.

“That night when we flew out, I got to see the family you all are. You’re more than coworkers and it’s far more than what the 118 was when I was there. I mean, how you all were willing to put everything on the line for one another. And being your soulmate is…well it brings me into the periphery of that which is great, but when Eddie reached out I also realized that I have a lot of acquaintances but not many friends.”

Evan turned his face to look at him for only a few seconds. “You were one of us that night and not just because you’re my soulmate. You put your job and your life on the line too. You even made fake mouth static at the chief.”

Tommy laughed. Evan joined him.

“I’m renowned for my fake mouth static,” Tommy said, trying to sound serious, even though he knew himself it had been terrible.

“It was not great,” Evan said through a laugh.

Tommy wanted to hear him laugh all the time. He wanted to be the one to be the cause of the laughter. That would be enough. His conversation with Eddie had left him almost sure that he’d been right about Evan being straight and he didn’t think he would mind a platonic bond. Not when it was with Evan. When you were gay it wasn’t uncommon to have crushes on your straight friends. No one could blame Tommy for having a crush on his very straight soulmate.

“Come on,” he said and Evan laughed again. “Hey.”

“It was not convincing, but you did it anyway. You threw in with us, no hesitation. I was impressed. It, uh, it made me glad that you’re my soulmate.”

Tommy didn’t know what to say. He could only stare at Evan, watch him as he turned into another street and then he was parking his car outside an apartment building.

“Here we are,” Evan said.

—

Tommy walked into the apartment before Buck, so Buck got to see his first impression as he looked around. He also got to take Tommy in from the back. How even the way he walked was confident, and how yes his jeans did hug his ass nicely.

“Wow. Maybe I’m working at the wrong station,” Tommy said and he took a quick look around. “Very impressive.”

“I, uh, didn’t pick it out,” Buck said as he followed inside.

Tommy threw him a curious look.

“It was an old girlfriend. This was probably the third or fourth place we looked at and she really liked it.”

“Oh,” Tommy said. “But, uh, you got to keep it?”

Buck realized all at once that he was giving Tommy the wrong impression.

“No. No. We, uh, picked it out for me,” Buck said. “Ali traveled a lot for her job, but we were never going to move in together. For one thing I met her on a call and for another, she couldn’t handle the reality of my job. I did get this nice apartment out of it, though, so that’s the upside.”

“I guess so,” Tommy said.

“Do you want something to drink? I still owe you a beer, right?”

“Maybe just water,” Tommy said. “But I will cash in that beer another time.”

Buck pulled a couple of glasses out, bringing out a pitcher from his fridge to pour into them. He found that Tommy had wandered further into the apartment, making his way into Buck’s living room.

“Hey, Evan, aren’t you missing something important over here?”

Buck laughed. “It’s kind of a long story.”

Tommy looked more than a little curious as he walked back. He also looked ridiculously good in his apartment, almost like he belonged there. Buck hadn’t noticed the leather jacket when they were outside Eddie’s house, but he appreciated it as Tommy walked over. Buck motioned to the stools at his kitchen island.

“Since I don’t have a couch,” Buck said.

“I want to hear all about that,” Tommy said as he pulled a stool out. “First I guess there are other things.”

“Yes,” Buck said and he watched as Tommy took his jacket off, draping it on a nearby chair.

“We’re soulmates,” Tommy said as he sat down and there was just so much of him.

His henley clung to his arms, showing a bit of muscle. He was so broad and Buck didn’t know quite what to do with that information or why he cared so much to notice it.

“What does that mean for you?” Tommy asked.

“I asked Bobby that same question just yesterday,” Buck said.

“And what did he say?”

“I actually don’t think he said much,” Buck said. “Looking back, I think I rambled on about some stuff I read up on.”

Tommy smiled. “Yeah? Whatcha got, Evan?”

His eyes were intense as they stared at Buck and there was still something about how he said Buck’s first name. Everytime Tommy said it, Buck felt something akin to relief, it was nothing like the itchy feeling when his mom or dad used it.

“Have you heard of Plato’s Symposium?”

“Can’t say I have. Enlighten me.”

Buck explained it. He told Tommy about how the Symposium had broken down several speeches that Plato assigned to certain philosophers and writers at the time.

“The one that explained love was more or less an explanation of soulmates. Historically there are some records of soulmates, but this was one of the first explanations. The myth. The idea being that originally we all had two heads, four arms, and four legs. We were complete. A god or several gods punished everyone by splitting them in two. And so we were left on a search for our other half.”

“That’s interesting,” Tommy said. “Odd visuals, but interesting.”

Buck let out a relieved sigh. “Yeah. So, if I see it that way then I kind of get it. And it supersedes romantic love…it’s about literally finding the person whose soul was split from yours…the one that compliments yours.”

Buck had been staring at his hands as he spoke, but he looked directly at Tommy then and he had no idea what to make of the soft look that Tommy was giving him. Something like fondness, like he was appreciating Buck in a new way.

“That’s beautiful.”

“Oh,” Buck said.

“No one has ever put it like that. Mostly people think soulmates are supposed to just be really similar. Complimentary…that’s nice.”

Buck knew he was blushing. He could feel how warm his face had gotten. He grabbed for his glass of water, downing some of it.

“I never thought about it much,” Buck admitted. “My parents are soulmates which is wild but I guess them being awful parents has nothing to do with that. I was so excited when I found out about Hen and Karen. Just knowing they had found each other, you know. Chim and my sister had a hard time of it because of Doug, but look at them now. They’re even getting married in a few weeks. I guess it looks different for everyone, but I think it’s important. I think it means a great deal, right?”

Tommy was smiling back at him. “It does. It means a lot. My grandparents were soulmates,” Tommy said. “They were very devoted to each other. I get what you’re saying. I guess the real question is what this means for us.”

Buck could sense that Tommy was being cautious, that there was a reason he was placing it all on Buck, but Buck had no idea why when it affected both of them. Tommy’s eyebrow was raised in question and he took a sip of water.

“This is…it’s a platonic bond, isn’t it?” Buck made himself ask.

Part Six

#911 fic #911 abc #bucktommy #bucktommy fic #evan buckley #tommy kinard #kinley #tevan #tommy x buck

21 notes · View notes

school-of-roses · 1 year ago

Text

☆･✧Introduction to Writing a Professional Email✧･☆

"Every professor secretly wants to be Ms. Frizzle." -@myshoeisonthewrongfoot

Introduction to Writing a Professional Email

Writing an email is one skill that you will most likely need in your professional life either as a student or in your time in the workforce. However, you can also use these skills to write emails to experts in any given field when you have questions among other things. The applications are endless.

Rule One: Don’t Panic

If you are writing to someone for information there is a very solid chance that the response you are going to get is going to be something like “yeah sure -sent from my iphone 11:35:18 PM” if it isn’t closer to an automatic message informing you that the person is out of the office until a specific date.Those who care don’t matter and those who matter don’t care. If your grammar is coherent enough to be understandable and cohesive, they are going to care more about the content of your email than the structure and soundness of the message. So fear not, internet denizen, you are probably gonna kill it. Being professional, polite, and persistent will get you very far in most things, and this is no exception.

Subject Line

Whatever anyone tells you, your job here is to NOT get caught by someone’s spam filter. Summarize what you’re looking for in about 3 to 5 words, and you should be good. I generally like to start with [What is it?] [Specific topic it pertains to.] Want to ask a professional about how many different kinds of tigers there are?

Subject: Question about Tiger Species Statistics.

The [What is it?] helps give them an idea of what the email is about, and the specificity helps both keep you out of the spam filter and makes you sound purposeful.

Template

Writing an email isn’t particularly difficult once you get the hang of it, but when you’re first starting out, don’t be scared to use a template. Taking some of the thinking out of the process can do wonders for making you both comfortable as well as getting you most of the way there without having to struggle. No one is going to judge you if your email doesn’t look particularly original in structure because this is about the content. You don’t have to worry here about looking like you copied someone else’s homework, rather, it’s encouraged. If you were writing a haiku you wouldn’t worry about having the same number of syllables as everyone else. In the same vein do not worry about having the same professional email structure as everyone else. Emails are a means to an end, and there is no harm in viewing them that way.

I’ve written one out below for your convenience.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Good morning,/ Good afternoon,/ Good evening,] ---> Header

[This is where you introduce yourself and provide relevant details about who you are. Are you a student with a question? Are you a professional in the field? Include that here. You may also want to include a thesis here about what you want in this introduction. That is likely going to resemble something like “I have a question about {topic} and would like to hear your advice/ input/ knowledge on the subject, if possible.” It may seem redundant to introduce yourself here when your name is also going at the bottom, but redundancy isn’t always a bad thing. This first paragraph is introducing yourself, the bottom is handing someone your business card.] ---> Introduction paragraph

[This is your substantive content. You can indent this if you like, but some software gets a little finicky with this process, and most people prefer a space between the paragraphs in an email anyway because it genuinely makes it easier for people to read. Keep the paragraphs concise, clear, and don’t sweat the small stuff.] ---> First body of the email.

[I usually use much shorter paragraphs in an email that you would in an essay. You’re generally not arguing a point or giving an in depth analysis in an email, so they shouldn’t be too beefy in the first place, but generally separating them by question or by thought process is a good idea.] ---> Second body of the email.

[And so on and so forth.] ---> Etc. body of the email.

[Best,/ Best wishes,/ Thank you,/ Thanks in advance, Kind regards] ---- Signature message

[Name O. Person] ---- Signature here

Stylistic Options

Some people insist there should be a colon at the end of the header portion, but in personal experience no one cares besides this one writing professor I had. However, if you wanna feel fancy with it, go for it. There are barely any rules to writing a professional email, but if it makes you a little less panicked to think you are performing a well guarded secret of professional email technique by using it, be the super spy you were born to be.

Bonus Sign Off Sentence

Additionally, no one thinks for more than five seconds about the signature message. Whether you use “Regards”, or “Thank you” this is linguistic furniture. You notice when it isn’t there, but you don’t think very hard about it when it is there. I use the exact same one every single time, and so does everyone else. Pick one that sparks joy for you. If you want, you can even throw a sentence right before it to tailor it to your specific desires a la: --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Body ends here.]

I genuinely appreciate everything you’ve done for me. Regards, Name O. Person

Email Signature

One way to elevate your professional email game is to create a signature in your email program. In gmail, it’s under general settings. You click add signature, pick a name for it, and it should open a formatting box. This allows you to create essentially a business card that will automatically be affixed to the bottom of your emails. It will go in place of putting your name at the bottom every time. You can get a little more fancy with the fonts and information in this section by including things like job title or graduating class. This can elevate your professional email game tenfold and make you look like you really know what you’re doing. Nearly every program for email management has some variation of this in the settings somewhere.

#witchcraft #school of roses #witchblr #academic research #academic essay #professional email #professional #jobs #student #university #student life #studyblr #college #studying

28 notes · View notes

lovevalley45 · 6 months ago

Text

#fictober24 - day twenty-seven

"Let me remind you."

original fiction (power payback)

word count: 902

For a moment, Sprout had thought she had forgotten the way to her family’s nursery.

Of course, once she pulled up to the parking lot, she knew she could never forget it. The first sixteen years of her life had been spent here: watching her mom work her botanokinesis to create plants that could withstand the harsh desert heat, sitting with Magni under the gazebo near the back of the property to do homework under Primrose’s watch, working the counter during the summers for extra allowance.

Crossing the gate, ignoring the CLOSED sign, felt like breaking a rule. The sun was starting to set, the darkness making the plants look more menacing than beautiful. Sprout tucked her hands into her pockets, pulling them closer to her.

She went to the shop and knocked on the staff only door, already feeling her heart pounding in her chest.

This was a bad idea. Thinking she and Magni could strike out on their own was a bad idea. Coming back here was a bad fucking idea.

The door swung open.

“Daisy?” Primrose asked. Despite the fact that her sister had probably been here since opening, she still looked pristine in her smart pale pink dress. It helped that she’d claimed handling the paperwork and keeping her own hands clean once their grandmother had passed. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“Hey.” She took out the folded HELP WANTED sign from her pocket. “Heard you were looking for a part-time cashier.”

Primrose sighed. “Before I tell you no, let me remind you. Grandma said you weren’t allowed to work here. Ever.”

“I hate to remind you, but Grammy Rosemary’s been dead for, I don’t know, eight years now.” Sprout crossed her arms. “You can just tell me no. I kinda knew it was a lost cause. But if you hear me out-”

“This is highly unprofessional. Come in.”

She followed her sister inside to the small break room. Luckily, it seemed like it just been her; no sign of their parents, her brother-in-law, or, what she was most grateful for, her own brother. If Basil had been here, there was no chance Primrose would have even tried. Not that she blamed him.

Primrose sat at the table, picking up the mug that had been there, still steaming. “Did you fill out an application and bring your resume?”

“Yes, and yes.” She pulled them out from another pocket - thank God for cargo pants. It might not have been professional enough for her sister to unfold them, but she had more tact when it wasn’t with family. And wasn’t sure she was walking into failure.

She took the papers from Sprout and smoothed them out. Her face was still as stone as she read them. She wasn’t sure what Primrose could learn from her resume that she hadn’t learned from family gatherings where her dull job verifying insurance claims was one of few safe topics.

“Hm. You graduated magna cum laude from UNBC’s criminal justice program. Very promising.”

“I’m sorry that it wasn’t summa cum laude. My statistics professor at Bright City College was a hard-ass.”

Primrose glared at her from over her resume. It was a smart ass comment, she knew, but Sprout couldn’t hold her tongue.

“I hate to inform you, but the position’s already been filled,” Primrose said, finally setting down the papers in her hand.

Sprout balked. “So why did you have me come in here to string me along?”

“Because I know why you came here. I heard about you and Magni’s detective business. I can’t give you a job, but I can try to help. Consider it… part-part-time.”

She sighed. “It’s better than nothing.” Straightening up, she continued, “I mean, thank you. So much.”

Primrose passed her resume back over. “I’m just surprised you actually came to me. You refused to let Mom and Dad help you pay for your first apartment, or Bright City College. And I know Dad had to pressure you into letting him co-sign your student loans.”

It was true. She loved her family, but she didn’t want to feel obligated to them. Once, she had placed her whole future in upholding their legacy. Now she knew, even in this capacity, she would never be a part of that.

“It’s rough. Magni and I don’t have many savings, and it’s hard to find cases when you’re newbies on the scene. Lots of PIs, you know, they were already with police, and have some credence there. Magni at least worked for Hillson, and people know him there. But he can’t take too many technopathy cases and I- I feel like I’m not doing anything,” Sprout confessed. It was the most raw she’d been with her sister since she had her burnout. “I just want to keep our bills paid.”

She stood up. “I’ve always admired that about you. That you just… don’t give up. It’s annoying as hell sometimes, but you don’t like to accept defeat.”

Sprout leaned back in her chair. It was rare that she got the chance to look up at Primrose. “I accepted defeat when Grandma banned me from working here.”

“But you came back.”

She grinned. “Okay. I did.”

“Don’t block my number. I’ll call you when I need you.” Primrose picked up her mug. “And… I’ll break the news to Mom and Dad.”

“And Basil?”

Guilt washed over her face. “And Basil.”

#alli writes shit #fictober24 #power payback #sprout marotto #primrose marotto

6 notes · View notes

jadecitrusmint · 10 months ago

Note

Hello, I'm starting college soon, majoring in statistics. When I mention my course, people often warn me about its difficulty and hope I'll manage to stay through all years. Could you provide tips on how to persevere until the fourth year? And I want to advance study. What should I focus on studying? Also, would you recommend a laptop or a tablet/ ipad?

Thank youu :3

Hello! I got a lot of the same comments when I picked stats as my major🥲

Two things are key to persevering through a stats degree, (1) not beating yourself up when you fail and (2) reaching out for help when you don’t understand something. Stats has a lot of disconnected but continually reappearing topics and you’ll get confused and fail sometime- that is perfectly okay and normal, you just have to learn to let it roll off your back and do better next time! This is when my second tip of reaching out to professors, other students, or uni resources come in. Your professors want you to understand the content (or at the very least are paid to ensure you understand the content)- go to them when you don’t understand something! There is no shame in asking for help.

All calc, especially your multivariate calc, is very relevant to statistics, so I’d brush up on your calc 1 and calc 2 skills if it’s been a while since you’ve used them. Additionally, I’d review probability rules, and basic things like finding means and variances. Later on, you’ll cover “distributional results.” When you get to these, absolutely keep a running list of these results that you frequently look over!

For narrowing down your interests, I’d recommend exploring finance courses, science courses (chem/bio), and coding courses. Statistics is a super versatile degree and there’s a lot of freedom and flexibility!

I would 100% recommend a laptop for two reasons. As a statistics student, you will likely be coding a good bit; mostly in R, but probably in SAS, python, and possibly matlab as well. As far as I’m aware, there’s no software that allows you to adequately code in these languages on a tablet/iPad. Secondly, hand writing on paper is much better for retention. I have an iPad as well, but I only really use it for homework to save the trees from all my scratch work😅 you could accomplish the same effect with a white board and marker. All of my notes (and even sometimes my homework and practice problems) are on paper since you retain the info significantly better. My friends in the stats major who also have an iPad or tablet for notes have also switched to using pen and paper over the years to help with retention since there’s a lot you need to have memorized.

Feel free to reach out with any more questions, and good luck! You’ve got this ~~

11 notes · View notes

noahvember · 1 year ago

Text

Noahvember Fics

Here's a collection of all the fics for Noahvember that have created so far! Please let me know if I've missed you and/or if you would like to be added to the list. The Noahvember Collection on AO3 can be accessed here.

"breaking & entering" by dxncingquxxr

"breaking and entering: [noun] the act of forcing or otherwise gaining unlawful passage into and entering another's building -merriam webster dictionary in which noah loses his contacts and team escope breaks into a house at five in the morning"

"Digging Up Memories" by CeruleanSeaScorpion

"While at a family reunion, Noah's siblings and his girlfriend take him on a diversion, and he learns a lesson in humility and accepting who he is."

"Being sick sucks" by Mothymoon

"Noah's sick. Luckily his boyfriend is there to take care of him"

"Eels and owls" by NoahCue

"It's been a about two years since world tour, Noah has been trying to recover from total drama and it's.. Oddness. One of the things he has been trying to recover from is what Izzy calls "The eel pond incident"."

"would you just skip right to the end?" by mayonaisie

“Welcome back to Total Drama! For a new season: Total- Drama- All Stars!” Chris proclaims, and Noah’s nose can’t help twitching in annoyance as he walks up to where Chris is, the robot wheeling up next to him. “As you can see, we have this fan favourite returning to be my lovely assistant, as well as the Total Drama Robot!” Noah sighs, putting a hand on the robot to lean slightly on it. Day one, and he was already exhausted.

"against all odds" by dxncingquxxr"

Being a tutor isn't all bad. It's one of the less sucky jobs on campus. He gets paid a decent amount and has flexible hours. Hardly anyone utilizes the tutoring center here anyways. On a good day, he gets paid to sit and do homework. It's not the worst job he's ever had. After all, he could be working in dining. The mere thought makes him shiver. He usually doesn't end up tutoring many people in a week. However, there's a certain blonde that's the exception. She's here week after week, studying for her statistics class. Yet no matter how much he tries to help her, she can't seem to learn anything – including his name. But like his job, she's not all horrible. Sure, the first few weeks had been rough, and extremely frustrating. But then she had started bringing him coffee, and that led into them gossiping about other students on campus, and that led into – dare he say it? – enjoying her company. If she doesn't pass her stats class? Well, he's done all he can do. That's on her. or, noah's unlikely friendship with lindsay as he tutors her in stats

"Bloodstained memories" by Mothymoon

"the wrong place, at the right time" by mayonaisie

“Have faith Noah, believe, in us.” Alejandro says, the bastard, before performing some over-the-top flip. He puts an effort into not otherwise reacting to this, as the guy probably knows it as well. He's already said his words. His soulmate.

"much ado about noah" by dxncingquxxr

"A PowerPoint is projected onto the screen. The first slide is decorated in cutesy hearts drawn around a cursive font. In large, looping letters, the text reads: Operation Alenoah. In smaller letters below: Sierra's totally awesome plan in getting Alejandro and Noah together." in which noah and alejandro's friends are totally sick of this flirting rivalry thing they've got going on and hatch a plan to get them together

#noahvember #noahvember2023 #td noah #total drama #tdi #alenoah #nemma #noco #nowen #notie #total drama island #fanfic #ao3 fanfic #fic #fic rec #total drama fanfiction

38 notes · View notes

anotherpapercut · 2 years ago

Text

College Resources

hey y'all so I have a degree in math, and have been tutoring college level math, stats, physics, and study skills for a few years now and I have several certifications as a college level tutor and in my years tutoring I've picked up a lot of absolutely essential things you NEED to know to pass math classes (and others!) if you have a hard time in math class, which unfortunately most schools will not teach you

so if you're in college (or high school, but some of these will be college specific) and you would like to hear my Professional Tips for how to survive math in college I have compiled a list of things I think you should know below the read more! I'm going to put a couple general tips at the top though for people who aren't taking a math class

alright, welcome to the read more! let's start with some general things

ok I'm starting with a kind of tip before the tips: if you are disabled, talk to disability support services at your school. a lot of times they provide services to attain a diagnosis if you don't have one, but if you do it's typically pretty easy to get accommodations and if your teachers try not to follow them, they will get in A LOT of trouble (I'm in the us so idk how disability laws are in other countries but here this is a big deal for universities bc public funding etc and if you make a complaint they will be FORCED to comply). I'm not saying bad experiences never happen, I've not been to every school in the us and I'm sure there are places that suck abt this, but I literally would not have been able to get a degree in math without accommodations (I'm autistic and have dyscalculia + memory issues) so it was worth every annoyed sigh by a dumbass teacher (which honestly rarely happened. most of them were cool). some possible accommodations include, extra time on tests, separate testing locations, formula cards, ability to use notes etc etc

I work in a free tutoring center at my local community college. while I won't say these are definitely universal, every college I have encountered (in the US, where I live) has one of these. Google the name of your school with tutoring. there is a very high chance you have free tutors available in a variety of subjects who are ready to help you. you should utilize the fuck out of this bc ur already probably paying for it in ur tuition

my favorite resource ever is one you may have heard of but I'm reminding you of it anyway. the Crash Course YouTube channel! it has free comprehensive videos about various subjects (including anatomy, physics, biology, economics, statistics and lots lots more). the videos are about 10 minutes each and they're incredibly easy to understand. they're an amazing way to study for finals. trust me on this one. they actually now have real introductory college courses that you can take for credit (tho I think you have to pay for that?) through YouTube so check into that!

take notes!!!!!!!! for real. seriously. even if you've never had to before. trust me. and don't just copy exactly what the board says, write what your teacher says out loud as well, that is often the most important stuff. I highly recommend investing in a few colored pens and/or highlighters. anytime the teacher says something important (such as formulas in a math class or a grammar rule in an English class) either write it in another color, or highlight it. color coding your notes even the tiniest bit will help you tremendously when you're studying and doing homework later. this doesn't mean having a color code so elaborate and strict that you're spending more time and energy figuring out the right color than listening and writing. I usually do the bulk of my notes in black then things like formulas or whatever in one bright color and extra bits of info from the teacher in another, this way it's easier to find the important stuff later on

if you've got a couple extra bucks, invest in a mini stapler. you'll be shocked how often those lil bitches come in handy

DO NOT EVER purchase your text books before the classes start (unless you get like an email before class starts telling you you need the book, but this is pretty rare tbh). half of your teachers are going to tell you on day 1 that they don't use the book at all. and honestly almost all of your books can be found by googling the name + pdf. just triple check that you have the correct edition!

speaking of emails, CHECK YOUR FUCKING SCHOOL EMAIL. I am so dead serious about this one. set up notifications on your phone. if you do not check your email you are going to show up for cancelled classes, miss assignment corrections, and generally not do nearly as well in your classes. I know this sounds fake but holy fucking shit please for the love of all that is good and holy check your fucking email. seriously.

the best way to study for your finals is to look at past tests and homework! if your teacher isn't a total dick they'll give you back your tests and homework. when studying for your final, go through and redo any that you got wrong, and look over the ones you got right. teachers usually take final questions from old tests and homework so if you do this it's very possible you'll study your exact finals questions. if they won't give you these back, reread your notes (in a way I'll describe in a moment)

reread your notes the same day you take them or very soon after so the lecture is still fresh in your mind! when you do this, grab a colored pen and take notes on your notes. I know this sounds ridiculous but it's actually a very important study tool. if you come across something you wrote that is confusing, write out an explanation. write down extra things that will help you understand the material. if there's something that you don't understand or don't remember PLEASE ask your teacher. some of them won't answer email so catch them in office hours or after class if you can. at the end of the semester when you're studying for finals, do this all over again but through your whole notebook for the semester (not all at once. pls take breaks lmfao)

if your teacher doesn't offer it up at the end of the semester, ask "can you please tell us some of the topics we should emphasize when studying for our finals?" (you can also say this in a far less pretentious way but I've found that professors are more likely to give you a real answer if you talk like this ¯\_(ツ)_/¯) I'm ngl, some of em will be assholes about this. they may laugh at the idea and snarkily say "look at your homework" or some shit equivalent. roll your eyes at these old bitches and move on. but many if not most will at least give y'all some idea of what to expect. and crucially: write down what they say and use it as a study guide

okey dokey!! that concludes the general section. now I'm gonna talk about some math specific stuff that will help you a lot if you struggle with math!

starting with an easy one: get a good calculator. please for the love of GOD do not get the TI-30X IIS unless you love it and are EXTREMELY familiar with all of the different operations. I'm sorry but this calculator sucks ass and it will hold you back. for about the same price you can get my personal favorite the Casio FX-115ES Plus (1st edition only, I haven't tried the 2nd edition bc I don't like change) or an FX-991 EX. if you're a Texas instruments guy get a TI 30XS or if ur doing calc and shit I'd get a 36X pro. I just prefer Casio personally lmao. in all likelihood your math teacher will be a calculator nerd who can teach you how to use any of these but there are also lots of videos made by calculator nerds on YouTube as well

so next I just want to emphasize how important your notes are. you cannot pass a math class without good notes unless it's a class you've already taken or something, and honestly even then I'd recommend you write some stuff down because the thing about math is there are a lot of different ways to do the same thing. which brings me to my next point

pay attention to the process your teacher uses to solve problems (I'll give an example in a sec) and especially to how they write the process down. if you're like me and you have trouble with the whole "show your work" thing this will help a lot, because you can use what your teacher writes down as a guideline for what you should write down. for instance, you may have learned about a math concept like permutations and combinations in high school one way, and then be taught a completely different way of performing the calculation in college. if this happens, ask your teacher about your way. sometimes their way is better for a specific reason and it's really important that you learn it. sometimes they'll say it doesn't matter just do what makes the most sense to you. sometimes you will also not get full credit if you do things a different way too so be careful and pay attention to what your teacher says abt it. you may have also been taught to show some steps in an operation but not others and your new teacher may want all of them. or none. or different ones. unfortunately math has a lot of variations

similarly, if there's a concept you don't understand, start by asking your teacher about it first bc they may want you doing a specific thing. if they're not helpful and you don't have access to a tutor turn to the internet. here are my recommendations for resources: Khan Academy has videos and examples explaining concepts in pretty much all types of math. usually really helpful because they'll show you several different methods and use different explanations, MathWay for classes that come before trig/calc. you can use it for those but it's a little more annoying lol specifically in regards to graphing and solving integrals and shit. this tool has A LOT of stuff in it but is best as a calculator to check your work on stuff and for showing you graphs that have transformations and shit like that from college algebra. it's got settings for different math types and even chemistry tho!, for more complicated graphing I'd use Desmos. you can use this in all classes but it's just a bit more complicated imo and it's more made for complex operations so I prefer to use MathWay as much as possible bc it's just more user friendly., there's also Symbolab which a lot of my fellow tutors really like but I personally tend to use the others more, Wolfram Alpha is a pretty well known one. tbh I find it kind of hard to use sometimes so i usually use it as a last resort lmfao but it is really good!, this last one is calculus specific (including things like calc based physics ofc) but derivative calculator and integral calculator are everything to me. could not have gotten through calc 2 and 3 w/o these mfs

OK THIS PART IS REALLY IMPORTANT!! we're going to talk about how you can make your math tests WAY easier on you and massively improve your chances of passing. here's what you're going to do for every test

1. when studying for your test, go through and find ALL formulas that you used in the unit(s) your test is over (this includes formulas you learned previously but used in this unit as well!!)

2. commit them to memory. easiest way to do this (besides practicing using them!!) is to rewrite them a few times including what you use them for and what all of the symbols and letters stand for

3. when you go in to take your test, spend like 5-10 minutes beforehand, right up until they make you put everything away, studying and rewriting these

4. the SECOND the test hits your desk, flip it over and write down every single formula immediately (including as much extra info like when to use and variable definitions as possible). now you won't have to try to remember them 30 minutes in when your brain is frying!!

5. go through the test and read each question carefully. if you can't remember how to solve it within 30 seconds skip it. you might only do 4 or 5 questions (maybe less depending on the length of your test) after the first pass, but just go back to the beginning and do it again, giving urself a little more time w each pass. this will ensure that you're not spending 45 minutes on problem 4 and having no time to get to the rest of the test. additionally with math it is extremely common to basically find the answer to how to do one problem while you're doing another problem. doing the ones you know first will also boost your confidence and help prevent anxiety from wiping ur brain. this is a really really important part of math tests

6. before you hand your test in, make sure you've written SOMETHING down on EVERY SINGLE QUESTION. even if you have absolutely 0 idea whatsoever what to do, there is always a chance for partial credit. a lot of times, you also know more than you think you do. so even if you can only do half a step of the whole process, half a point is better than 0!! if you really have no clue what to do, make something up. I know this probably sounds ridiculous but I'm so deadass. once I was taking a physics test and could not for the life of me remember what formula to use so I just made one up based on my vague idea of how it worked lmao. I wrote off to the side "I know this isn't how physics works, but I can't remember that so just pretend I'm god for a second" and I got like 75% of the points bc the teacher appreciated the effort!! there were fucking countless times when I was taking a test and I got to a point where I knew the steps of what I was supposed to do but could not figure out HOW to actually DO the math. so I wrote in words my understanding of what the next steps were. even though I didn't finish answering the question, I always got points for trying. this is what teachers are wanting from you. effort. so PLEASE write literally anything even if you're just making that shit up (just explain your reasoning in words to the side, as long as you're using logic you're really getting the essence of math anyway). you would not BELIEVE how fast your grades will improve by doing this. I tutored a girl who went from Ds to Bs within literally 2 weeks of starting tutoring just because she stopped leaving any questions blank and started getting partial credit

that's all the important stuff I can think of for now though I'm sure there's much more so I may update this in the future!

of course everyone is going to have a different experience and relationship with math. so adjust all of these tips to fit how you learn best. please try to remember that learning math is a very important part of developing your critical reasoning and logistical analysis skills. these are essential to understanding and interacting with the world and math is just a way of exercising those muscles. trust me when I say I know how infuriating math can be. I have dyscalculia and a math degree. I've spent so many hours crying over math you probably wouldn't even believe me. but it's worth it! and frankly, if you're in college, you're paying a lot of money for this class. you deserve to get everything you possibly can out of it

above all, if you're having trouble ASK FOR HELP. ask your teacher, ask your classmates, ask the head of the department, ask student services, ask Google!! and if you need help you can always ask me! :) I love helping people with this stuff and even if I don't know the answer to your question I'm pretty good at knowing where to look for them!

#this is so long and im praying the readmore works #this has been in my drafts for like a year sjdbakhdwihddnemsodm #college resources #math resources #forgot that tumblr builds in its own readmore now #good enough right?

34 notes · View notes