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#Chiropterologist
usgscoopunits · 6 months
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Creatures of the Night!
https://www.usgs.gov/news/featured-story/creatures-night-frightening-threats-bats
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Guardians of the Night Sky
Bat Appreciation Day: Guardians of the Night Sky As the sun sets on April 17th, the spotlight turns to the silent heroes of the night—the bats. Bat Appreciation Day invites us to explore the fascinating world of these nocturnal creatures, shedding light on their crucial role in maintaining ecological balance. But did you know that you can actively contribute to bat conservation right here in…
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redwinterroses · 1 year
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You’re right about what defines a tumblr sexyman, but so many content creators are taking it as a ‘who tumblr thinks is the prettiest Minecraft character’ that I feel like I have to give my vote to Sausage.
if Bruce Wayne entered a chiropterologist contest, you'd vote for him.
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laurasimonsdaughter · 3 months
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What are your thoughts on vampires that turn into fruit bats?
I could go on about the geographical origins of certain folklore, the choices in film adaptations and the logic of turning into an animal that comes from a completely different continent, but where's the fun in that? So here are my worldbuilding thoughts on vampires that turn into fruit bats:
• Very funny if the vampire is physically imposing in their human shape and they turn into a little leaf-nosed fruit bat. On the other hand, these look much more like strange creatures and less like goofy puppies.
• Very impressive if a vampire turns into a large megabat/old world fruit bat. It makes sense to pick the largest type of bat from an intimidation point of view, but it's not very helpful for being sneaky. And once you get up close they do look like goofy puppies.
• Very useful if turning into a fruit bat also means they can eat fruit while in that shape! Great way to allow for vegan vampires. Possibly with some repercussions, like having to eat very often to get enough nourishment for the human shape or losing some vampire powers that come only from drinking blood.
• An excellent confusion for biologists if the vampire takes on the shape of the bat, but does not have to follow fruit bat rules. In most media vampires in bat shape do not seem to lose their intelligence or reason, so they might just go hunting in bat shape and attack people for their blood, upsetting the entire chiropterologist community.
Personally I rarely write vampires that can shapeshift - whether it's into wolves, bats, or mist - because it makes them even more powerful and it's ever harder to explain away than "undead sustained by blood". I do really like it as a concept though and in stories that are leaning into horror or comedy without trying to give explanations it's a delightful thing to play with.
I support horrific bat vampires fluttering at the edge of their victim's vision and cuddly bat vampires napping the day away in someone's coat pocket~
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violent138 · 2 months
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An outsider POV that may never happen, but still fun to think about: A Gotham chiropterologist, fascinated by how bats congregate and almost seem to thrive in Gotham and the ecosystem around the city manages to tag and track a bat nearly almost to the Batcave.
Bruce nearly has a heart attack over this when he notices and doesn't have to search very far because the researcher shows up at his door.
Cue Bruce having to make several calls and duck this annoyingly persistent researcher who insists that there's a cave system under Wayne Manor that needs to be studied. The GU campus draws further attention to this via the university's social media accounts sharing posts and memes about this story.
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see-arcane · 2 years
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Have you ever thought of writing canon-compliant sequel? Weather it features the Harkers' [spoilers redacted] or not in the monster-hunting thing.
A straight-up sequel, no tweaks or AUs allowed? No.
What I would like to see--if not necessarily write--is the Dracula crew turning up as side characters or surprise cameos in someone else's gothic/supernatural adventure. They would get to be the cool kids! The ones who have been there and done that and gotten all the horror genre badges! The two versions I've poked the most in this vein are:
A) The Fallout of Dracula's Trip to the Zoo, aka, A Tale of an Amateur Chiropterologist--Dracula pauses after his wolf visit to check out the bats. Someone makes the mistake of engaging in uneasy conversation with him--a fellow fan of the misunderstood little dears!--only to have a certain Transylvanian specimen come knocking at the window and cause some undocumented-in-the-novel havoc. All this would be poured out to a head doctor at the insistence of the girl's family; now doubly petrified of being stamped a madwoman for telling the truth. The twist?
She's been talking to Jack Seward this whole time.
His diagnosis is that she's an excellent storyteller and not mad at all, ha ha, would she like to meet some people who are also great storytellers? They collaborated on a whole novel together! Let's go chat with them. Right now. Preferably in broad daylight.
B) The Vampire Hunting Gang are Not Allowed to Retire--Despite their best happily ever after efforts, supernatural shit keeps happening. Not necessarily to them! But maybe a friend. Or a friend of a friend. Or maybe they just catch something paranormally abnormal out the corner of their eye. So they help out. (Subtly. No need to share their story, making everyone involved look mad, ha ha. Really. You're very welcome, Now Don't Say Shit.)
People being people, of course it spreads. No names to the presses! But still. Folks of particular 'extraordinary afflictions' maybe start sniffing out certain persons just trying to Live Their Normal Lives, Damn It, but their consciences and experience can't just shut the door on the latest victim. And the next and the next. Lord Godalming finally throws his hands up and puts together a fund (and perhaps a front building) just for the purposes of their in-demand 'hobby.'
For better or worse (mostly better), our heroes establish a legacy of banishing bogeymen.
But all of this is waaay too hefty for me to juggle on top of all the other stories I have cooking at present, so they've been tossed on the back burner for the time being.
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spacefinch · 7 months
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More Magic School Bus headcanons!
Here’s my headcanons for what each kid does when they grow up!
(They’re all scientists!)
Arnold: Geologist. I also think it’d be neat if he’s a geology teacher as well. Instead of apples, his students bring him cool rocks. (This headcanon was inspired by students bringing my geology/oceanography teacher rocks.)
Phoebe: I got a few options for her: ornithologist (bird scientist), lepidopterist (butterfly and moth scientist) or botanist (plant scientist). Whatever she does end up doing, she’s sure to put her whole heart and soul into it.
Keesha: Microbiologist. (Yes, this is because of the pickle episode.) For non-science careers, she’s probably a dancer or does work in the movie industry.
Ralphie: Chiropterologist, or a scientist who studies bats. In the chapter books, he really likes bats. In the show, he’s a bit slower to warm up to them, but he learns to like them.
Tim: Marine biologist or ornithologist (if Phoebe decides she doesn’t want to study birds professionally). He’s also a well-known illustrator and nature photographer.
Wanda: Herpetologist (scientist who studies reptiles and amphibians). She prefers a hands-on approach to her research, and everyone agrees she takes after her mother.
Carlos: Paleontologist. His favorite dinosaurs are Velociraptor and Archaeopteryx, if you’re not counting modern-day birds (which he loves too).
Dorothy Ann: Astronomer or astrophysicist. She specializes in deep-space objects such as stars, black holes, and faraway nebulas.
Mikey: probably a computer programmer or engineer of sorts. Very hands-on with his work. He might also help make improvements to his friends’ science equipment.
Janet: Paleontologist— and Carlos’s rival, at that. The two of them are always going off at each other via research papers.
Notes:
D.A. and Carlos have named things they’ve discovered after each other. Carlos named a feathered dinosaur after D.A. Meanwhile, D.A. named a star cluster after Carlos.
Ralphie has a doctorate (everyone here does because they are that hardworking and ambitious); however, he’s probably the most chill about it.
Someone: Hey, Dr. Tennelli!
Ralphie: Oh, no, no, no. Dr. Tennelli is my mom. Please, Call me Ralphie.
A look at Carlos and Janet’s intellectual arguments:
“A Theory About Dinosaurs,” by Ramon, et al.
“A Conflicting Theory About the Same Dinosaurs,” by Perlstein, et al.
“Dr. Perlstein (the Paleontologist, not the Geologist) Was Wrong and Here’s Why,” by Ramon, et al.
This continues for several more research papers, eventually ending in a temporary truce:
“If We Knew What We Were Doing, It Would Not Be Called Research, Would It?” by Perlstein, Ramon, et al.
(And of course Tim does illustrations for both papers.)
Dorothy Ann still has her parrot named Dinah, but she also has some new pets too. First is a dog named Laika, after the first dog in outer space. Second is a cat named Asimov.
Phoebe’s house is full of plants, both outside and inside. Everywhere you look: plants. The outside plants are all species that are native to where Phoebe lives, and they attract lots of birds and insects. Phoebe keeps her more exotic plants indoors, and likes to propagate them to give to friends.
Mikey plays the piano as a hobby. He has a service dog, though I’m not sure what breed. And he’s very passionate about disability rights and accessibility.
The whole gang lives near one another. Options: Same neighborhood, different houses. Same apartment, different rooms. Or everyone lives in one big house.
About the last bullet point: yes, the former students of Ms. Frizzle’s class (plus one sibling and one cousin) live in a sitcom.
Never though I’d bring MSB Rides Again into this discussion, but hear me out. Jyoti is part of the Science Gang. I personally think that she and Mikey would do engineering stuff together.
They all enjoy hanging out together and watching Star Trek!
Ralphie attempted to build another robot to do everyone’s chores. It did not go well. Hopefully he as learned his lesson and will leave the robot-building to the coding and engineering experts.
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anarchy-n-glitter · 1 year
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ℌ𝔞𝔭𝔭𝔦𝔢𝔯 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔫 𝔈𝔳𝔢𝔯
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After the encounter in the grocery store, Alice goes home and does something she never thought she would.
CHAPTER 3
It was embarrassing how long she sat there that night, waiting by the phone for his call. She could’ve sworn her cheek had an imprint from resting it on her hand. 
When she got home from the store and put her groceries away, she set up her table so she could sit by the phone and wait. She placed her takeout on the table and practically inhaled it, but chose to leave the containers on the table for a bit, not wanting to risk it. She must’ve seemed crazy, but she could hardly care. There was something so exciting about this man, whether it was how little she truly knew about him or it was the idea that she could possibly have something her sister’s had for the last six years - hell, Eleanor had been with Julian for much longer than that. 
The first time the phone rang it was her mother.
“Hello?” Alice asked, trying her best to not sound too excited. 
“Alice, sweetie, you’re finally home! I was wondering if you’d ever pick up my calls.” She couldn’t help but let her expression drop. 
“Oh, hi mom.” There was a scoff on the other end.
“That’s all I get? Oh hi mom. What’s the matter, did something happen? Did Eleanor do something?” 
“No, mom, sorry. I was waiting on an important call and I thought you were them.” She explained simply. She wouldn’t tell her it was over a guy, then she’d never hear the end of it and if he didn’t follow through…
“Oh, I’m sorry. If you don’t mind me asking, who were you waiting for?” She was catching on, but Alice had a talent for lying without a second thought.
“A sanctuary. One of the little fellas from San Antonio was getting transferred to one and they’re supposed to call me.” Her mother hummed and gave a small “ah.” She could feel the disappointment, and part of her worried about what she had to say next.
“You work so hard…”
“I know.”
“Even when you’re home you’re waiting on updates…” Alice let out a sigh.
“I know, mom.” She shouldn’t have sounded so ashamed, she was simply dedicated to the animals she worked with. Arguably that was the best thing she could do as a biologist.
“I just don’t want you to throw your life away, Alice. I mean look at Ellie, she’s settled down and…”
“Hang on mom, I’m getting another call.” She wouldn’t be surprised if her mother saw her rolling her eyes. With a brief objection, Alice hung up, feeling that familiar dissatisfaction and near jealousy build up within her. It was an awful feeling that tingled in her fingers and stung her eyes, and it made her want to throw her phone across the room. 
Alice loved her mother - she truly did - but every time she compared her to Eleanor, things got a bit rocky. It happened often, and she often wondered if it was because her mother was from a less progressive time than her own. It made sense, after all her mother never seemed to take Alice’s passions seriously, and when she finally left to study bats in Australia she felt the slight disdain. 
After all, her youngest daughter wasn’t in a relationship yet, unlike Eleanor, and she just spent several years in school. There were people who came and went, people she didn’t let anyone know about, but she didn’t see how that was any of their business. Her main goal was to become a chiropterologist, so that’s what she did. 
Since then, she’s been to Australia, the Philippines, Germany, and she had studied bats in closer places like Texas and New Mexico. She had seen more of the world than her mother ever had, but all she could focus on was how Alice didn’t have a rich husband like her older sister did. 
It hurt. It hurt bad. 
Luckily, William served as a perfect distraction. Maybe that’s another reason she liked him so much, not only was he mysterious and seemingly interested, but he kept her mind off of the shitstorm that had been brewing in her family since she came back from Texas. 
Her eyes drifted back to the phone, and she waited.
His call never came. 
The phone did ring a few times, but she couldn’t be bothered with answering after her mother’s call. She figured if he did call, she’d catch him when he was leaving a voicemail. The second time the phone rang, it was Veronica again, begging her to go out because Charlie left her and she needed a distraction. Alice wasn’t in the room for this call, but if she was she knew she would be fine. Veronica always thought people were leaving her, which Alice wasn’t, she just couldn’t emotionally support her old friend at the moment. She hoped she would call Mary or Rebecca, though Alice couldn’t help but wonder if Charlie had actually told Veronica that he was leaving her. 
The third time the phone went off it was her mother again. She was asleep by that point, though - choosing to sleep away her disappointment.
It was odd, to say the least. Looking back on it, she didn’t expect him to call that night, but she couldn’t help but feel a bit crushed over the fact he didn’t call. It only got worse when he didn’t call the next day, or the day after that. She wondered if she did something wrong, or if she pressured him and he didn’t say anything. She knew she was being too forward and she wished he would’ve just turned her down instead of letting her think she stood a chance. 
What was even stranger was the fact that she hardly saw him at all in the places she expected to. The stores were filled with people she didn’t recognize, and the streets were the same. Her mind was telling her to let it go, that there would be others and that she was acting crazy, but the other part of her was too hooked on the mystery to let him go. She’d hardly spoken to him but there was something about him that kept her hooked - it kept her wanting to know more about him. 
She did, however, know that she wouldn’t go near the pizzeria. That would be crossing a line into borderline stalker behavior and she wasn’t that kind of girl (or that desperate). Yet, despite all of the drama between her and her family and her lackluster love life, something didn’t feel right. 
All weekend she felt not only disappointed, but there was a familiar uneasy feeling. It was a feeling she’d often felt in the deep, dark caves of Texas - it was the unsettling feeling she felt in the pizzeria not too long ago. 
It was the feeling of being watched. 
⧪⧪⧪⧪⧪
She was a predictable girl, opting to stay indoors most of the time while only going out each morning at ten for coffee. She went to the grocery store one more time since they’d met by chance, and for a moment he considered “bumping” into her again. It was too soon for that, especially since he knew he didn’t call her when he was supposed to. 
It wasn’t exactly on purpose, things did come up and he didn’t have the time or privacy to call her. He wondered if she’d held onto the idea of him all weekend - if she’d waited for him like the good girl he assumed she was. The question was how long she would wait for him. Sure, he could call her, he could even take her on a date or two, but there were things that had to sort themselves out first. 
When he decided to move in on her again, it was Monday, and unbeknownst to him Alice had waited for his call all weekend. 
The skies were cloudy and the winds were starting to pick up. It was late September, but it felt like early November. He walked down the sidewalk with his hands in his coat’s pockets, his eyes focused on the woman in front of him. She was far enough away to not realize he was there - far enough to not realize he was following her. She stood out against the grey skies and dull buildings as the only colorful character around. Well, the only colorful character besides himself. 
If he was trying to blend in, he realized he was doing an awful job at it. He dressed no differently on his day off than he did the day she met him. The only difference being that he wore a more vibrant shirt than he did that day. 
He would come to realize that he associated Alice with Fall and cold weather. Surely part of this was due to meeting her in the Fall, but it was also the way she looked, and spoke. Her hair was a bright, unnatural red that matched the falling leaves, and she wore dark colors in a style that was reminiscent of Halloween and everything spooky. Even down to the sweet, cinnamon-y drinks she ordered from the coffee shop, she was Fall. She represented change, which was going to be a big thing in his life. 
She stopped dead in her tracks in front of him, forcing him to slow down while she rummaged through her bag for something. With an audible groan, she threw her head back and turned around. She didn’t seem to notice him walking past while she continued to dig through her purse. 
William opted to go into the coffee shop before her, hoping that him arriving before her wouldn’t be too suspicious. However, he always had plans for when she began to catch onto him.
As usual, the coffee shop was busy and bursting with life. People chatted away in line and in their seats while others sat in corners scribbling away in notebooks. The low lighting made everything seem more “homey,” and in a way it complimented the rich scent of coffee. The corner booth, his usual seat, was taken today, so he scouted for a different spot before settling mentally on a more obvious seat near the window. 
“How can I help you?” His attention was grabbed by the barista. 
⧪⧪⧪⧪⧪
Alice had gotten halfway home when she found her wallet hidden in the bottom of her bag. That was the moment she realized she really needed to empty her bag, considering it was filled to the brim with used up notebooks and stray pieces of paper. 
Needless to say, this was a great start to her day. 
She didn’t feel the urgency others did to relax on their last day off, especially since it wasn’t her last day off. She didn’t have to report to anyone or anywhere currently, and she hoped that would last for a while. 
The streets felt different when she turned around to head back to the coffee shop - lonelier, almost. She couldn’t shake the feeling that she was alone again, after all, since coming back she was around her sister, and the thoughts of others plagued her mind all weekend. Her head was cleared finally, but that only made her feel odd. 
The world was grey. The people who walked by her were dull and cold, and the windows reflected a bleak, empty sky. She couldn’t help but feel bored by her hometown, despite how much it changed. Another breeze pushed through the crowd, causing her to shiver slightly and pull her cardigan closer to her. It was a bit colder than it usually was that time of year. 
The shop came into sight quicker than she thought it would, and the thought of the warm room made her pick up her pace slightly, practically jogging towards it. 
That was when she saw him. He was sitting by the window, not at the small bar, but at a table. He wore a bright purple button down and Alice swore seeing the color reminded her of a romance novel a friend recommended to her. It was the first time she saw something colorful since this morning when she saw herself in the mirror. She couldn’t help but stop in her tracks. 
William glanced up at her, smiled, and waved. She swore her heart burst at the sight, but that was before she noticed the other cup of coffee sitting across from him. She gave a small wave back, trying her best not to look too disappointed. As if he could feel her mood change, he followed her gaze before figuring out why her face dropped. 
He gestured to the seat in front of her, and Alice couldn’t help but rush through the door to join him.
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bellatrixobsessed1 · 1 year
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A Dark Path
Part of my goth fic anthology thing. The theme is bats because I like them. I am legally obligated to open this anthology with bats.
Summary: Azula, cracking under the pressure of business, law school and isolation, decides instead to become a chiropterologist and study bats with Mai. 
They are social creatures, bats are. They take to the night on leathery wings. They are never lonely. How can they be when there are so many of them? They fill the darkening sky, a thick, flapping cloud. Silhouetted against a vivid gold-orange backdrop they go about their business. And they go about it with support and companionship.
She has to go about hers in solitude, underloved and underhelped. 
Tonight’s business is a few shots of coffee and a thesis statement to finish. Father, a year or two gone from her life, still infringes on her life. His voice in her head accompanies her on most of her endeavors and leaves her feeling thrice as lonely as she would without it. It pushes her and urges her to work harder when she is already expending as much energy as she possibly can. She is already drained and dull from a workload that reaps all of her energy from her. And still his voice berates her.
It tells her that her new piercings and tattoos are ugly. 
That she wouldn’t have defiled herself so if she had, had a stable relationship with him. She is just as sorry and depressing to observe as anyone else from the leather and stud crowd that she now runs with.
The loudly droning guitars and the bassy vocals at rock shows nestled deep within obscured, unsuspecting alleys help to drown his voice out. The flashing lights and neon fishnet stockings of cybergoth shows in abandoned factories blind expectations away. The latter isn’t particularly her scene but Toph and Teo rather enjoy that. The former is more to her liking she and Mai frequent those shows. Date nights are spent under clouds of cigarette smoke and gloomy lyrics played in minor keys. Mai vows to join the ranks of June and the Rough Rhinos in the music world. 
Azula has her doubts about that, but she keeps them to herself. She doesn’t think that anyone is going anywhere anytime soon. 
They don’t have wings like the bats do. 
They can’t fly away from the oppressive chains of Caldera City. 
She studies bats in her spare time. 
They are fascinating creatures. 
Misunderstood creatures. 
That is, perhaps, their allure. They are quiet for the most part. They aren’t vicious or aggressive, mostly they keep to their own. And yet people see fit to make up all sorts of rumors and horror stories about them. 
hey see fit to fear them.  
Father says that it is a waste of time. That she can devote her studying to things that actually matter, things that will create a future for her.  Business and economics, politics and public speaking. Law school.
These things hold their appeal, particularly in paycheck. But they are grueling and they have stolen away her childhood and social life. Business and economics are dreadfully boring, they make her boring and unrelatable. Sure she enjoys the analytics and the challenges that the subjects provide her mind with, but numbers and graphs become monotonous and after a while she is practically doing the same thing over and over again. 
Law school got mighty depressing really quickly. She enjoyed the challenges and the intellect but listening to countless stories of people being victimized, sometimes violently had begun to take its toll. The world became hideous and horrible. Father had berated her for her sensitivity--he had thought that she was stronger than that. And she had already wasted time switching majors once. 
Politics, public speaking had been enjoyable for quite a long time. She had enjoyed the way that it stimulated her mind. Enjoyed the ways that politics and public speaking have allowed her to demonstrate her talents. 
Father was proud and he stayed proud for years, endorsing her and sponsoring her although she hadn't particularly needed his support. Her speeches, her debates, her merit, and motivation were elevating her status on their own. 
But politics and public speech had broken her. After several years in the field smear campaigns and general stressors--oppressive expectations among them--have done their part to tear her apart. Ripping at her self-esteem and confidence until she couldn't recognize herself. 
And where was father? 
Overseas.
Pretending like he didn't know the situation and like he didn't know her. Crying and shaking...panic attacks? Couldn't be his Azula. His level-headed, calculated Azula. 
She supposes that, in due time. She could have recovered. Could have spun it in a way that makes her seem qualified to represent citizens of Caldera City; she can empathize, she understands mental strife and the importance of alleviating it. She could have built herself back up. Eventually Father would forget that blight on her track record, that speckle of imperfection.
But she couldn't. 
And there is a part of her that doesn't want to. 
She could her pushed forward, continued making a secure but hectic life for herself navigating the complexities of the political world. And maybe that would have suited her. Politics and lies are so heavily intwined. Empty promises and careful manipulations. That's all she is good for, so Zuko and uncle and damn near everyone else says... 
But she had grown tired if the noise. Tired of claws and fangs ready to dig in at the slightest misstep, slip up, or sign of mental distress. That is the games. A mess of tigers and jaguars waiting to pounce. 
And so she has chosen wings and crinkly noses. She has chosen bats.  And she promises herself that this is her final decision, her final major career change. She will stop being so fickle and directionless. 
She tried not to be too terribly hard on herself given that she has been trying to shape her life around everything but her own thoughts and desires. Of course she had bounced from one ill-suited thing to the next. 
This...she looks up at the dusk horizon. This fits much better, it gives her a chance to nurture her mind, to analyze and hypothesize. To form theories and connect dots. It does so just as effectively and readily as any stock graph or spreadsheet could. But it does so in a way that enamors and entices her. 
Most of the bats have made their way away by now. A handful of them still linger, one or two of them have bright bands on their legs. With luck, those ones will bring back some migration pattern data for her to add to this thesis. 
"How's the thesis coming along?" Mai asks. 
"Well enough, I suppose. Have you gotten a chance to look at the newer data we've collected?" 
"A little bit, yes." She finds a seat next to Azula, her own collection of facial piercings catch in the sunlight. And when she waves her hand, the one on her index finger throws light right back at the sun. 
Azula tucks her notebook and pen back into her backpack. "I suppose I can call it a night." 
"I'll say. How many all nights have you pulled for this thing? I thought that yous said you wouldn't do that anymore." 
"I might as well, were already staying up late to go to those rock shows." 
"Thats leisure." Mai shrugs. "Doesn't take as much energy. There's a difference." 
"Tell that to Jet." 
The man had gotten well and knocked on his ass over a guitar pick after a night of moshing. 
"We stay away from that crowd." Mai shrugs. "Doesn't apply to us." 
Azula returns the shrug. "I disagree, this is much more relaxing." She lays back and watches as the last of the stragglers disappear into the night. "It's warm. Quiet too." She pauses. "And I enjoy watching the bats."  
"Fair enough. But just because they're nocturnal, doesn't mean that you are." 
"I've spent the night here before." 
"On purpose or by accident." Mai quirks a brow. 
"I might have fallen asleep last night." 
"So you've been here all day?" 
"I took a lunch break. But other than that, yes." 
Mai rolls her eyes. "I guess I can never say that you aren't dedicated." 
Azula fidget with the ruby bat pendant around her neck. Mai offers a slight smile, "you really like that pendant font you." 
She nods. "Yes. Thank you for getting it for me." Sometimes when she needs to she can curl her fingers around it and recall the night that it was given to her. The night that Mai used it to propose. 
That had been the final straw. That had been when father decided that he wanted nothing to do with her. Agni forbid she has any distractions at all from the career he hadn’t even wanted her to pursue. 
And, of course, it was all Mai’s fault. Mai is the one who showed up with a sleeve of skull tattoos and dyed hair and led her down this path. As if she couldn’t come to her own conclusions and make her own decisions. 
Evidently, the bats had done more to lead her astray; there is, she must say, an aesthetic pipeline from bats to what she is now. 
"Are we still thinking about a cave wedding?" 
"Absolutely." Mai replies. 
“Which one?” There are several that she has in mind, including the one right behind them. 
“We should go on a nationwide caving tour and then decide.” Mai replies. 
“Yes, I suppose that, that would be wise. I don’t think that size will matter. I can’t imagine that anyone from my family will show up.”
“Don’t say that.” Mai mumbles. “You and Zuko have been getting along well enough recently and Iroh will probably warm up to you after Zuko does.” 
“Perhaps.” Frankly she has gotten plenty used to being lonely, so much so that she is almost uncomfortable with the prospect of leaving her solitude. It is a somber place to be but it is familiar and someone has to stereotype the goths to make up for TyLee’s complete subversion. 
“You going to spend another night here or do you want to head home? I don’t think that the bats are going to be coming back anytime soon.”
“Eleven.” She informs Mai. “Usually these ones start to trickle back in at eleven, just before midnight. And then some of them will go out again for another hour or two.” At least that is the patter that she has been observing. And compared to other data, the behavior doesn’t seem to be atypical. 
“So are we just going to bat watch until midnight?”
“That doesn’t sound like a bad date. We can go pick up dinner and have a bat watching picnic. I can wrap up my thesis tonight and be done with it.”
“Alright, but only because that will give you more free time in the long run.”
Although it certainly isn’t what she had envisioned for herself at all, not even slightly, it isn’t a bad life, this new one that she has begun creating for herself. It is slower, she has time to appreciate it. Although her clothes have gotten darker, the rest of her life has become more vibrant. She finds that she can feel again. That she can live again. 
There is a bleak darkness to this lifestyle, but has nothing on the drab darkness of her old one. At least there is a romance, a poetry to this darkness. There is choice and freedom. 
And, really, she doesn’t mind the dark when there is moonlight that she can stand under, when the moon silhouettes leathery wings. 
Perhaps one day she won’t be so lonely. One day she’ll have company as abundant as the bats keep.
For now she has Mai and TyLee.
And goals that she actually has a passion for.
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What were you like when you were kids? Were you pretty much the same, drastically different, et cetera?
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oh, i liked music a lot!! still do! both of my dads really like music, since ones a music teacher and the other is a dj, so i guess i got it from them!
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Hm...well, I was always pretty interested in animals! Before I realized I wanted to study puffles and work with them, I was interested in
becoming a chiropterologist! That's someone who studies bats. I still have a soft spot for em, though. They're pretty awesome animals!
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Hrm...well, I was a very normal child. I did my math problems, as you do. I of course still enjoy math.
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I was also an annoyance, but we needn't get into that.
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earthandsunandmoon · 2 months
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when gord downie said a bat sees the bug with the sound of a linger. chiropterologist of the year.
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sumikosaulson · 6 months
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The Case of the Confounded Chiropterologist
As promised, here is the complete story in three rounds of the “The Case of the Confounded Chiropterologist,” a work of flash fiction written at MileHighCon in three rounds during Flash Fiction Chopped, a contest hosted by Meg Ward. I tied for first place with the marvelous Stace Johnson. Here is my winning piece, along with all of the prompts we were given. Round 1 Character:…
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View On WordPress
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funtastrophe · 1 year
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A local chiropterologist explained some bat basics to us rubes. It seems like the recent hurricanes in PR have wiped out the larger fruit bats, leaving these guys behind. (at Puerto Rico) https://www.instagram.com/p/ClLxwVGObVa/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=
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avalonemystdesigns · 4 years
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I love the description I wrote for this!
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camilojulianc · 4 years
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Desmodus rotundus (Phyllostomidae, Desmodontinae), es uno de solo tres mamíferos obligados al consumo de sangre, esta dieta sanguívora es extremadamente rara en el reino animal. El murciélago vampiro común posee numerosas adaptaciones fisiológicas para este estilo de vida. •⠀ •⠀ • #chiropterologist #chiropterology #bat #animalonpaper #inkedartwork #ink #pendraw #getinkdone #stipling #punteado #puntillismo #inkbrush #murcielago #micronart #sakuramicron #tinta #thedotworkers #thedotworker #ilustracion #penbrushcalligraphy (at Oaxaca City) https://www.instagram.com/p/B32HS-HgEvF/?igshid=f1mve2ho2jeq
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tamersa · 5 years
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Everyone: Woho Halloween! magic ghosts witches pumpkins!! Me: yeas that's cool! Me: but you know what is even cooler? Me: I can finally find more bat merch and sometimes even non vampire and non batman one!
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