[Juni Savage]

Walking quickly back into Xu’s mentor’s lab, Juni was immediately hit with a certain smell: hydrofluoric acid. She knew it well from her bench science days and knew just how corrosive it was. Normally it was used in small quantities, but the way in which it smelled was— “I was transferring it from one fume hood to the other and I slipped on something else and…” Xu was squeaking, and Juni was realizing she actually had two problems on her hands here. One of them was the student.

“Calm down, Xu… it’s going to be ok,” she turned quickly back. “Step out and take a few breaths before coming back in here. I’ll work on containing it for now, and then we can clean it up completely.” The student nodded their head along quietly, clearly shaking less now. Juni took in a slow breath and muttered something before turning and walking to the fume hood. First thing to do, neutralize the acid. Where was the base again in this lab?

iW5I7nc0p_

[Elayne]

Nothing happened!

All rolls were passed.

Juni Savage

Thankfully, it seems there are several choices of bases that will neutralized the acid including already diluted mixtures of sodium hydroxide and potassium hydroxide. It seems that this isn't Xu's first mistake and their mentor was well prepared.

[Juni Savage]

Ah, there they were. Second fume hood on the right, not exactly the most obvious place, but good enough. Pulling on some double latex gloves from the side, she poured some sodium hydroxide into a flask and then removed it from the fume hood. Walking over to the mess, she gently bent down and started pouring it. There wasn’t an immediate noise, but after a little while of carefully pouring, there came a sizzle. Juni sighed standing up and walking back to the fume hood where she had got the base. Fishing for some ph paper, she was quick to find some in a drawer and test the substance. Ph 7.1, not too bad now.

“Alright, Xu, it’s safe,” Juni stated. “We’re going to need a mop from the storage closet and a broom for the broken glass pieces." Xu was quick to nod and hurry to claim the objects. Juni stood waiting, keeping an eye on everything so she knew where exactly it was spreading. When Xu came back again, Juni had them take the mop and bucket and she took the broom and dustpan. After a little bit, the glass was cleared and the neutralized chemicals were contained in the bucket. “Ok…. We’re good now…” Juni paused and looked back to Xu. “Are you ok now?”

C1bEWUWhp_

[Elayne]

Nothing happened!

All rolls were passed.

Juni Savage

With all the acid cleaned up properly, Xu seems a little shaken and extremely apologetic but unharmed. They do wonder if Juni could help them with the experiment instead however.

[Juni Savage]

Juni hesitated. She wasn’t…. she really wasn’t a wet lab person. She was so much better at computational modeling and theoretical design than she was actually using beakers and flasks for anything. Never mind that a good portion of her training had been just that prior to changing over. It hadn’t been a boost of confidence… but at the same time, Xu’s face. Xu’s stupid sad face had gotten her— badly. “Sure… I can take a look….”

Xu perked up immediately and was quick to lead her over to a bunch of beakers and flasks. Oh, this was gas chromatography wasn’t it? Or rather liquid chromatography, as Xu corrected. When she asked what they were trying to separate out, they explained that it was a crystalline material that could potentially be used as a resin for other things. The problem was that they could not get the material to flow out now that they had isolated it within the column. Welp. Yikes. Trouble shooting time, she guessed. Hopefully this would be a quick fix.

vHMmcyj4p_

[Elayne]

A random event has occurred!

What will you do?

Juni Savage

So much for a simple fix, it seems that everything that can go wrong, will go wrong in this scenario. You find yourself fighting an uphill battle attempting to get the experiment to work. At some point you wonder if it would be easier to start over. Xu is nearly in tears at this point and muttering something about a deadline. Will you make it in time?

[Juni Savage]

It had started out simple enough. Try to run a polar solvent, water, through the solution. That didn’t work. They tried the next best thing: alcohol. That didn’t work either. Juni found herself going through a couple lab books and reading out other possible solvents they could use. Xu explained that they had tried several different things similar to what she was mentioning, and none of them had worked.

This went on for over two hours. Lord Groudon give her patience because if you gave her the strength then, Juni would crack this column right over the lab desk and retrieve the crystals with her bare hands. Rubbing her face slowly and muttering soft, irritated swear words under her breath, she debated what to do. They’d all but exhausted the standard options, and the unconventional ones were going to be even more of a hassle to deal with….

And then she heard a soft sob sound. Juni glanced up from the lab bench to see Xu standing there, shaking and crying. Oh no, oh no oh no oh no. She was no good at this! “I— Uh…. it’ll be alright, Xu… I … uh… we’ll figure this out…” she reached forward to pat the graduate assistant’s shoulder awkwardly.

lIKZ1KhBp_

[Elayne]

A random event has occurred!

What will you do?

Juni Savage

Xu isn't calming down much at all! In fact, they seem to be blubbering on about how they're a failure and will never graduate on time... Maybe there's something else you could try with the solution to distract Xu from their meltdown.

[Juni Savage]

Oh gods I am so bad at this… Juni pressed a few fingers to her temples as she tried to figure out what to say or do to get Xu to calm down. In her predoctoral program, she’d had plenty of these kinds of meltdowns, and the only thing that had helped was burning out. Ugh the doctoral system is so fucked… She knew that— Juni knew that better than anyone— but that didn’t mean she knew how to fix it or even address it.

Ok, ok hang on. Plugging the column up again and effectively halting the experiment and their attempts to fix it in its tracks for now, Juni grasped Xu by the shoulder and walked them out of the lab. Walking them out down the hallway to her tiny bookish office, she sat them down in one of the chairs across from her desk and then started up the water heater that she wasn’t actually supposed to have in there.

Sitting down in the other circular chair across from her desk, she set a hand on Xu’s shoulder again. “Take a few deep breaths, Xu….” she ordered slowly, carefully, but with just enough force to make her words believable. “Just calm down. I know it’s close to winter break, and I know this is really stressful… but breaking down right now isn’t going to do you any good.” She hoped her logic made sense then. Easing back up, she pulled the tissue box on her desk closer to them and then outright handed it to Xu. “I know it seems like the end of the world, but it’s not. I promise you it’s not.” Juni took in a slow, shaky breath. “Just take a few minutes and…..chill…”

GxzPKiN1p_

[Jenesis]

Nothing happened!

All rolls were passed.

Juni Savage

You hear a loud SNORT as Xu blows their nose into the proffered tissues, again and again, dabbing their eyes with additional tissues until half the box lies in a crumpled pile on the floor. They take a few deep breaths but have stopped crying. They're still refusing to say anything, and in no shape to get back to work, though.

[Juni Savage]

Juni could only wait and let Xu either melt down or settle down. She knew better than anyone that words failed in times of deep scientific turmoil, and all she could really offer was understanding. She understood better than anyone. She’d just finished and knew what it was like to…. To deal with this. As the kettle started to bubble, Juni took a mug from a shelf and a tea bag from a drawer and made up a chamomile and lavender mixture before setting it within arm’s reach of Xu. The latter was still sniffling at that point but took the mug and took a slow sip of it.

Slowly but surely, it seemed Xu was choosing to settle down. Thank Arceus. “It feels like everything I’m doing is wrong…” Oh, fuck her, apparently not. Juni bit her lip and remained quiet for a moment, waiting to see if Xu would continue or not. Sure enough, they did. “What am I even doing in graduate school? Why did I work so hard to just be… be… be stuck like this….” A choked noise escaped from Xu. Juni winced. “Why can’t I get this right? What’s wrong with me???” Xu was demanding now looking for anything and everything in Juni’s eyes right then.

Juni walked around her desk again and sat down in one of the circular chairs across from Xu. “Nothing,” she answered. Juni’s voice was so curt and short that it sounded foreign in her own ears for a moment. She paused. Xu paused. Their eyes reflected each other’s before Xu’s pulled away. Juni took a slow breath in and out. “Nothing is wrong with you, Xu.” Juni cleared her throat and spoke a little quieter now. “Sometimes… sometimes, experiments don’t work, and sometimes they don’t work even when we try our hardest… again and again and again…” Juni wanted to fold her arms in front of herself and look away, but this wasn’t about her right then. Forcing herself forward, she set a hand on Xu’s knee. Xu stared at her wide eyed and fearful. “It’s ok.”

“It’s not…. It’s not. I’ve worked so hard for this. I’ve tried so hard…. I did… I— I can’t …. I can’t just…”

“Xu,” Juni’s voice waivered a moment. Xu who had at some point started to look down looked up wide eyed again. Juni gulped. “I was in a situation very similar to yours when I first started my graduate work. I wanted to do bench science more than anything, and I had previous experience to back it up….” She smiled weakly. Xu looked at her uncomfortably. “But… it wasn’t healthy for me…. It wasn’t what I…” Juni paused, her lips pressing together some. “It wasn’t what I was good at.”

Juni sat back slowly. Xu lifted their cup to their lips and took a drink again. “I’m not saying we’re exactly the same, but I do know you’re good enough for graduate school. This just may not be the graduate school for you.” Xu was staring at her harder now, and Juni finally allowed herself to look away, a moment of reprieve. “I’m not saying quit. I’m not saying you’re not good enough…. But sometimes you need to wiggle around to figure out if this is what you really want to commit your life to—“ Juni gulped and smiled a bit weaker as she looked forward again. “I know the feelings…. And I know the thoughts. You don’t have to make a choice about it now or even next semester but…” Juni paused and took in a shaky breath. “I’m here for you.”

There was silence after that as Juni waited for those words to sink in. Xu seemed to be going through all kinds of thoughts and feelings at once. A drink of tea was given here and there. Juni sighed and waited. Finally, after a long silence, Xu looked up and smiled a little weakly. “Ok.”

Ok was better than nothing.

[whimsae]

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Juni Savage

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