Ft. Ophelia - Blog Posts

lila's  gaze  softened  as  ophelia  spoke  –  maybe  it  was  the  quiet  panic  in  her  voice,  or  maybe  it  was  just  the  familiarity  of  someone  else  unravelling  under  the  academic  pressure.  either  way,  something  in  her  chest  eased  a  little.  misery  didn't  just  love  company;  it  needed  it  sometimes.  she  nudged  a  stack  of  articles  aside,  creating  space  at  the  table  like  it  was  instinct.  “then  sit,”  she  said,  voice  low  but  laced  with  amusement.  “come  suffer  beside  me.”  her  fingers  curled  loosely  around  her  highlighter  as  she  studied  ophelia  a  beat  longer.  the  girl  looked  like  she  felt  –  tired,  wound  up,  running  on  caffeine  and  expectations.  it  was  weirdly  comforting.  “shark  finning,  though,”  she  added  after  a  moment.  “that's  heavy.  important,  but…  brutal.  no  wonder  your  brain  tapped  out.”  lila  reached  for  her  cold  coffee,  took  a  sip  like  it  might  spark  some  genius,  then  made  a  face.  disgusting.  “we  should,  probably  both  be  drinking  water  and  going  to  therapy  instead  of  this,  but,  you  know.  capitalism.”  she  passed  a  few  color-coded  pages  toward  ophelia,  her  own  notes  scrawled  in  sharp,  decisive  handwriting.  “here,  i  covered  the  regulatory  failures  from  2008  onward.  you  might  be  able  to  pull  something  from  it  for  your  angle,  too.  ecosystem  collapse  doesn't  like  to  stay  in  its  lane.”  then,  more  gently.  “you're  not  behind.  you're  human.  big  difference.” 

an academic weapon. that's what her teachers in high school always called her. she was bright, top of her class, always. so why was it so hard to put words to paper. she would be writing her thesis soon to graduate and yet she couldn't even get through a ten page research paper. ophelia wasn't at risk for failing or anything but she held herself to much higher standards than this. that's how the girl found herself sat in langley for going on five hours now... five hours of little to no progress. her eyes dart around the library hoping for a bit of a distraction that would ideally get her back in the right mindset to grind this paper out. chocolate hues fell on the familiar face not far from her own work set up, "lila, hey" she sighed in relief, "shit. i totally spaced on the climate policy paper. i've been trying to get anything into this document for my conservation class, sharking fining and its survival impact on immediate dependent ecosystems. " ophelia groaned at the realization that an entire paper slipped her mind. "i've had such bad brain fog recently so absolutely, swap notes, mutual rage, i'm down for it all at this point. i need to get my mind going back down the right path."

status : — closed for @opheliabinici

location : — the langley library

lila  wasn't  usually  one  for  silence.  not  the  kind  that  settled  between  bookcases,  humming  with  fluorescent  light  and  dust  motes.  but  langley  library  had  a  way  of  stilling  her  –  of  quieting  the  chaos  that  usually  lived  just  behind  her  ribs.  and  today,  she  needed  that  more  than  she  cared  to  admit.  she  sat  cross-legged  at  a  corner  table,  surrounded  by  the  organized  mess  of  open  books,  sticky  notes,  and  a  hulf-drunk  coffee  that  had  long  gone  cold.  her  laptop  was  open  but  ignored,  the  screen  dimmed  to  black.  instead,  she  was  thumbing  through  a  worn  copy  of  this  changes  everything,  underlining  with  more  pressure  than  necessary.  her  jaw  tightened  as  she  read  another  passage  that  pissed  her  off  –  in  a  good  way,  in  a  this  should  make  everyone  angry  way.  she  let  out  a  short  breath,  sat  back,  and  rubbed  at  her  temple.  “jesus,”  she  muttered  under  her  breath,  barely  loud  enough  for  anyone  to  hear.  except  someone  did.  lila  looked  up,  brows  lifting  as  her  eyes  caught  a  familiar  figure  a  few  tables  over.  ophelia.  her  hand  hovered  in  a  pause  before  waving.  “hey,”  she  said  quietly,  then  gestured  at  the  chaos  in  front  of  her.  “guess  we're  both  gluttons  for  punishment.”  a  small  smile  tugged  at  the  corner  of  her  mouth  –  rare,  but  genuine.  “i'm  digging  through  all  this  for  my  climate  policy  paper.  you  too,  or  are  you  just  here  for  the  vibes?”  she  let  her  pen  fall  against  the  table  with  a  soft  clatter,  then  tilted  her  head.  “i've  gotta  say…  it's  kind  nice.  knowing  someone  else  here  actually  gives  a  shit.”  her  voice  dropped  slightly,  more  vulnerable  than  usual.  “gets  a  little  lonely,  y'know?”  lila  shrugged  it  off  quickly,  already  shifting  back  into  something  lighter.  “anyway,  if  you  wanna  join  forces  –  compare  notes,  or  rage  about  fossil  fuel  subsidies  –  i'm  not  going  anywhere  for  a  while.”