#Medical Jargon

[penvisions]

return the favor {{masterlist}}

Fandom: The Last of Us (TLOU), will mostly follow the timeline and events of the HBO show, but will pull lore and tidbits from the games as well!

Pairing: Post-Outbreak! Joel Miller x Smuggler! Reader

Summary: With a past as rich as anyone in the times after the Outbreak, you find your medical and survival skills to be a valuable asset. You were dropping off some medical supplies that FEDRA was willing to pay big for when you got tangled up in a mission that involves a teenager with a mouth almost as smart as yours and gruff older man whose graying curls were his only redeeming quality. But the longer you traveled with them and the more that happened out in the open land of what once was, the more you find yourself connecting with them and wanting to protect them both at any cost.

Word Count: 138.3k - ongoing

Warnings: canon typical language, canon typical violence, canon typical gore, description of injuries, description of anxiety, symptoms of anxiety, tense situations, sexual content, sexual propositions, smut, p in v, unprotected p in v (pls don’t do this w/o previous communication w/ your partner), joel’s emotionally constipated 

chapter 1 || chapter 2 || chapter 3 || chapter 4 || chapter 5  

chapter 6 || chapter 7 || chapter 8 || chapter 9 || chapter 10

chapter 11 || chapter 12 || chapter 13 || chapter 14 || chapter 15 

chapter 16 || chapter 17 || chapter 18 || chapter 19 || chapter 20

chapter 21 || chapter 22 || chapter 23 || chapter 24 || chapter 25

epilogue

[playedcrowd5610]

Little Hands Make Light Work - Danny Phantom x Transformers Prime

Summary: Starscream goes to the medbay and Danny ends up learning some cybertronian biology.

---

Notes:

Set in a series where Danny finds Starscream one day and decides to start haunting the Decepticons. That's basically all the context you need but if you want more here is the rest of the series:

Haunting the Nemesis

Part 1: Chasing Stars

Part 2: Burning Rubber

Part 3: Adventures of the Decepticons' Pet Ghost Or Tumblr Master List

---

Disclaimer: I am not an expert in cybertronian biology or human biology. So any medical jargon I use is mostly educated guesses and stuff described from content I have read before.

--

Knockout sighed dramatically as he watched Starscream limp into the medbay. “Really, Starscream? I just patched you up from that cave-in a week ago! You can’t seriously need attention again.”

Starscream growled, revealing his fangs. “I’ll have you know this is still part of that incident. You must have messed something up during your expert care, doctor.”

A new, smaller voice chimed in. “He was pacing, and his knee just gave out with a horrible crunching sound.” Knockout’s optics flickered down to the small human clutched in Starscream’s servo.

“Starscream, did you really have to bring your pet here? You’re introducing foreign contaminants into my lab. It was bad enough when you brought that thing with you in your subspace last time.” Knockout crossed his arms over his chassis.

The human glared up at him, mirroring the crossed arms. “Well, I’m the one who made him come, thank you very much, and I’m not leaving until I know he’ll be fine.”

Knockout sneered. “Delightful.” He turned his back to them and pulled out some tools. “Lay on the medical berth while I take a look at it.” 

Starscream took a few pained steps forward and placed the human down on the counter next to the incredibly sharp tools with far too little care. The human stumbled forward but didn’t say anything in retaliation, and only sat down cross-legged to stare at Starscream.

Knockout didn’t waste time focusing on the human and just turned to start looking at Starcream’s knee. His optics narrowed as he examined Starscream’s knee joint. He made an exaggerated tutting noise. “Well, well. What do we have here? It looks like a bolt slipped, not to mention some stress fractures.”

Starscream huffed, his wings twitching in irritation against the medical berth he was laid on. Knockout sighed as he picked up one of his tools from the counter and turned back towards Starscream. “After this, you will need to keep pressure off your leg for two solar cycles.” 

“Good luck getting him to sit still for more than ten minutes,” The human spoke up. “I swear all he does is pace and rant about his plans.” 

Starscream tilted his helm to the side to look at the human. “I don't recall asking your opinion, fleshling.”

The human threw his hands to the side. “Hey, I’m just saying! And if you didn’t strut around like a bird on stilts all the time, maybe your knee wouldn’t have imploded.”  Starscream rolled his optics at the human’s comment.

Knockout scoffed “How do you put up with this thing?” Even though he was secretly smirking at the comment. 

“I have a name you know.” It didn’t occur to Knockout that he never did learn the human’s designation, but he would rather do anything else than ask the human for it. When the human noticed that Knockout wasn’t going to ask he rolled his eyes. “Danny. My name is Danny.” The human -Danny- then gestured towards Starscream. “And don’t worry, he’s been trying to get rid of me for months. I’m like a parasite. Can’t get rid of me if you try.” 

“And believe me, I tried.”  Starscream scoffed.

Knockout transformed his servo into a buzz saw and held it close to the human. “Then allow me to try as well.” Starscream made a strange noise behind him, but the human didn’t so much as flinch at the show of aggression.

Starscream spoke up. “Stop threatening the human and do your job, Knockout.”

Knockout sighed and retracted the buzz saw with a dramatic flourish. “Fine, fine. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have real work to do, and your little... commentary is making this job harder, fleshy.”

Danny rolled his eyes and leaned back as Knockout bent down over Starscream and gripped tight to the joint to bend it to the right angle before pulling out one of his other tools. Out the side of his optic, he saw the human stand and walk closer to the edge of the counter to try and get a better angle of what Knockout was working on. 

“What exactly are you doing to his knee anyway?” He tilted his helm — or, Knockout guessed, the humans called it a head — to the side.

Knockout paused, genuinely surprised at the human’s interest. His optics flickered over to Danny, and he couldn’t resist a small smirk. “Oh? Interested, are we? Well, since you’re clearly dying to know... yes, this bolt connects the joint to the lower strut. Starscream’s stress fractures have weakened the metal around it, which is why his knee gave out.”

The human squinted, trying to follow along. “So, it’s like... when a human sprains their ankle, and the ligaments around it weaken?”

Knockout shrugged, not one hundred percent sure how accurate the human’s analogy was, seeing as Knockout didn’t know scrap about human biology, as he tried to stay away from them as much as possible. “Close enough, I suppose. Except with Cybertronians, we don’t have ligaments. It’s all metal and circuitry. Right now, I’m replacing the damaged components and reinforcing them with new plating.”  He explained idly.

Danny looked intrigued, his gaze fixated on the tech in Knockout’s servo. “And the tool? It just looks like a big soldering iron.”

Knockout raised an optic ridge. “This is a plasma welder. I’m using it to seal these fractures.”

Starscream groaned from the berth, wings flicking again in annoyance. “Do you two mind? I’m the one in need of medical attention here.”

Danny grinned. “Yeah, yeah, we get it. Big, scary mech in pain. Hold your horses.” 

Knockout couldn’t help but chuckle at that before turning down again to continue his work. After working a bit longer and getting the bolt back into place, he picked up a container of sealant and placed it down on the medical berth. 

Knockout huffed, looking at the joint again, annoyed at how small the seeker’s joints were and how hard it was to get his digit under the plating. It would be much easier if Starscream weren’t such a lanky mech. Or… if Knockout’s servos were smaller... He glanced over at the human sitting down again, but this time he had his legs dangling over the edge of the counter, swaying back and forth as he looked on. “Then again human, if you’re so eager to learn, I might as well put you to work.” 

Danny blinked in surprise. “Wait, you want me to help?”

Knockout shrugged casually, as if it were no big deal. “Why not? If you’re going to stay here and pester me, you might as well make yourself useful. Besides, Starscream’s less likely to kick you in the face if you touch the wrong circuit.”

Starscream shot them both a skeptical look before turning to face Knockout directly. “Are you seriously passing your job off to the human?”

Knockout leaned on the berth and closer to Starscream. “I mean, unless you like the feeling of my digits pressing around under your plating, then sure. The human is smaller and it will be less uncomfortable.” That, and there was the added bonus of Knockout not having to get that stuff on his servos again. Starscream simply huffed and crossed his servos over his chest as he tilted his helm to the roof. 

The human jumped off of the counter and landed with a running start on the medical berth, stumbling forward.  He saw Starscream wince slightly at the human’s leap across the gap. Danny waltzed closer to Knockout and toward Starscream’s knee. “Okay, what do I do, Doc?” 

“Take the sealant and put it under the plating over the parts I just welded. It will keep it together and help with the nanobot healing process,” Knockout explained. The human simply nodded and reached up to the container, which was almost as tall as him, and pulled out some of the sealant in a big glob on his hands, turning back to Starscream. Starscream stayed perfectly still during the application, probably trying not to crush the human's fragile fingers in the joint. 

Danny stepped back after applying it and looked up at Knockout, who scoffed and turned his helm away. “Not bad for a fleshling,” He muttered. “Maybe you’re not as useless as I thought.”

Danny smirked. “High praise, coming from you. Does this mean I’m officially going to be the new Decepticon pet lab assistant?” 

Knockout scoffed. “Please, I already have my assistant. You are just lucky he was out on a mission today. I don’t want any more of your carbon-based human filth in my lab...” He paused glancing down at the seeker on the table and back towards the human. “Though I suppose you can work on Starscream whenever he comes in. Maybe then, you can do that scrap on your own and I don’t have to deal with him anymore.”

Starscream sat up off the berth. “If I had my way, neither of you would be rooting around my systems. Yet here we are.” Starscream was ignored as the human addressed Knockout.

“If that will be the case, can I have some data pads on cybertronian biology, specifically seekers? I’ll try and read up before our next inevitable Starscream injury.” The human cocked a hip.

Knockout put a digit to his chin. “I’ll see what I can find. Then, maybe one day, you will actually make a useful second assistant.” The human merely chuckled.

Starscream groaned again. “Primus, spare me. If you two are done bonding, I’d like to get out of here before the next solar cycle.”

“Cool your jets, Heels, I’m coming.” The human responded, looking up at the seeker, who simply picked the human up and tried to balance on one leg.

Knockout did one last vital scan over Starscream and waved him off. “Just make sure to stay off of that leg as much as possible for the next two solar cycles.” 

Starscream muttered something in response which didn’t quite meet Knockout’s audials but the human shouted out a response. “I’ll try my best to keep him off it, Knockout. Thanks again!” He then waved over Starscream’s shoulder that he had climbed up onto. 

That really is one strange human.

---

Haunting the Nemesis

[theomnicode]

Burning fever

Archive of our own

-*-

Heroes all around the cities are falling mysteriously ill to the ever present flu. No one is certain what kind of viral infection would affect just the heroes. Some intelligent monsters have been scouting around and seen that there’s far less heroes to actually handle them than usual, so they’ve begun to attack people en masse. Even the fabled Q-city seems to be overrun by monsters. Genos attempts to pull triple duty by taking down as many monsters as possible, as he is not affected by the mysterious viral infection.

One monster, while not a dragon level threat, manages to incapacitate Genos with electromagnetic pulses. Genos internally berates himself for not thinking about protecting himself from electromagnetism. What a massive oversight on his part. 

However, when the monster attempts to finish him off, Saitama jumps into the fray in pyjamas and punches it sluggishly, exploding it into copper and wire particles on the spot. 

“Man, can you guys make less noise right outside my house…I can’t sleep with all that ruckus,” Saitama complains, nose stuffed and looking feverish. “Especially when my head feels so fuzzy…”

Genos looks at Saitama’s sweating form with concern. “I’m very sorry, Saitama-sensei, I was not prepared for the enemy to have electromagnetism. I will—”

Saitama starts to wave off Genos’ long winded apology, but coughs hard instead, almost bowling Genos over in the process and shivers so much that the pavement cracks apart.

“Man, it’s so hot and cold at the same time,” he holds himself as he shivers, “I don’t remember ever feeling this awful…” 

Saitama wavers, trying to stand upright but failing miserably. “Now I feel even worse after I punched it, I wonder why…” he manages to utter out, then faints on the spot.

“SAITAMA-SENSEI!” 

Genos catches him onto his arms quickly before Saitama can actually fall down flat on his face on the pavement and takes note of his actual temperature, noting with distress that it's dangerously high and that Saitama-sensei must’ve exerted himself too much, despite it not being even miniscule amount of effort he normally needs to dispose such monsters. Genos curses the circumstances once more, for inadvertently putting his sensei in danger and begins to rush him to the nearest hospital.

Genos can't for the life of him believe that feverish man in his arms is his master, the same man he deemed invincible, downed by a mere cold. It shouldn't be happening, logically there is no way Saitama-sensei would be able to get sick like this but here he is, carrying his prone, vulnerable master to the hospital for treatment. Perhaps he miscalculated somewhere, maybe common sickness can still affect even the strongest man on earth, but it still feels surreal...

He looks down at the man in his arms and distractedly notes Saitama-sensei is trying to grasp at his clothes weakly, delirious but coherent enough to realize he's being carried at fast speed and his hearing registers sensei mumbling his name. Genos tries to keep calm when he re-scans for elevated heart rate, sensei’s dangerously high temperature and the shivers–-correction, muscle tremors that rock his body. He's lucky that his stabilizers correct his grip, else Saitama-sensei would tremble right out of his arms.

“Do not worry sensei, I am en route towards the nearest hospital for urgent care. I have notified the staff of an incoming patient,” Genos' voice is serious, but soothing. He would carry Saitama-sensei to a proper treatment facility asap.

“Do I...really need hospital? That bad, huh…” Saitama croaks and violently sneezes, which Genos angles away from his head but an unfortunate lamp post still bends from the air pressure.

“Yes sensei, your body temperature is dangerously high for humans and you're experiencing muscle spasms, dehydration and elevated heart rate,” Genos recites his medical condition at a fast rate. “Hyperpyrexia is considered medical emergency, as it may indicate serious underlying condition or lead to severe morbidity or to—”

A sudden finger on his chin and his lower lip interrupts his rambling.

“20 words or less, Genos…”

“Yes sensei. I am sorry, I will stop rambling now. What I mean is, you need urgent medical attention for your extremely high fever.”

“Ok…” Saitama mumbles quietly. “I’m tired, ‘m gonna sleep…” He mutters weakly, then goes out like a light.

Genos starts running even faster.

[chordsykat]

10 for all the ladies

10: How is your oc about medical care? Do they avoid any form of healthcare that they can, do they seek it out over every little scrape? Do they treat their injuries/illness all by themselves?

This is an interesting one, isn't it? I know you and I share a mutual medical background too, OP, so this could be fun (or incredibly boring, depending on how you see it, LOL) :D

Nita - Probably the most likely to, *of her own volition*, see an actual doctor/medical professional of the bunch. Nita is the person who gets regular checkups, eye, and dental work done. She's also the most "normal" about drugs. She'll take Advil for pain, Tylenol for really bad pain, and go to the ER if it gets worse than that. I don't see her having many medical ailments or chronic illnesses to speak of. She's also keen to seek out therapy when it comes to her mental health. Caj - As an assassin, she's pretty familiar with the human body's vital signs and various aspects of physiology for that matter. This extends to an ability to self-treat injuries sustained "on the job" based on the necessity to keep their origins secret. Caj has a high tendency to get in over her head and is far less capable of taking care of herself than she'd like to believe, however. Has had some bad experiences with doctors who wouldn't take her seriously until she "quits the drugs and gains weight". Cherry - Hates doctors and hospitals with a passion and insists she has never known one to help her in any way that couldn't be managed with her own brand of self-doctoring. Has had some bad experiences with doctors who wouldn't take her seriously until she "quits the drugs and loses weight". Probably would benefit the most from a mental health professional who could help her work through some of her feelings of inadequacy, but because of those same feelings, just can't seem to find the will to go. Sparkles - Will just *walk it off*, thanks. Cuts, scrapes, dislocated limbs, massive hemorrhaging, pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis? No big. She might self-medicate with some booze and weed, but Sparkles doesn't really do a lot of drugs, either. Probably equates trips to the doctor with the animal testing facilities she's liberated countless cute and fuzzy critters from, and therefore doesn't care for them on the basis of appearance, alone. Eden - Doesn't really have anything against modern medicine, but also finds herself in the position of least-likely to need medical attention. Perfectly capable of healing herself thanks to her supernatural gifts.

That one was indeed a hoot and a half. Hope it was as good for you as it was for me. :D

Prompt list is here!

[patience-knowledge-focus]

I pondered this for a little while and decided it confused me enough to go exploring.

"Having alters in CDDs is inherently dysfunctional" does not appear to be an accurate statement. (Saw the first part of that statement today and it really sat hard with me.)

First, my understanding of what that says:

If you have Complex Dissociative Disorder (CDD) and you have alters (are a system/member of a system), the mere existence of these alters is inherently dysfunctional.

As far as I can tell, CDDs are typically identified as struggling with one or more of the following:

depersonalization, derealisation, amnesia, identity confusion, and/or identity alteration

From what I can see, it appears that a person can experience one of the above symptoms, struggle with it, receive help (and also be a system unrelated to that -- maybe they made a soulbond or cultivated a thoughtform or something).

Or, more likely, they can have one of the above symptoms, struggle with it, and be a trauma-born system (and find that the symptom is distressing while being part of a system is not). In this case, having an alter wouldn't be the dysfunction, though it would be related to having CDD.

And I'm struggling to locate something that says that being a system member (or existing as part of a system) is inherently dysfunctional.

Inherently, I think, is the crux of the confusion for me.

I think a better statement would be:

A person with CDD who has alters is way more likely to find the existence of those alters distressing than perhaps a person without CDD. But it doesn't appear to be a cut-and-dry guarantee. The sheer variety of opinions, by the way, is staggering.

Ultimately, I think it's up to the system member (or the system as a whole) to determine whether their particular state is distressing to them. If it's not, then the dysfunction lies elsewhere. Simply being a system (especially an endogenic system) while also having CDD doesn't appear to be dysfunctional. A good therapist should also focus on helping alleviate distress and creating coping strategies around some of the dysfunction.

As always, I'm not a doctor, and you should never accept the opinions of random internet strangers without doing your own research and speaking with your therapist/healthcare provider.

[consistantly-changing]

[Image descriptions in order: a twitter thread by @Oga_DoctorBlue "SIGHTS" which says "Why we need more black men in medicine. I had a patient this week who came in with left leg weakness over the last week. Younger black guy in his 30s. Brain MRI clearly indicates multiple sclerosis. So we all go in during morning rounds to give my man his diagnosis.]

["He has a bit of blank stare as he listens to my attending try to explain what he has. He was told earlier he mightve had a stroke, and now we're telling him he doesnt have a stroke. But he's clearly processing what he does have and just says "nah" to having any questions.]

["So we're running the patient list after rounding, and as we get to him my attending says somn like "idk if apathy is the word, seems like he doesnt care". Laughs and so does the rest of the team. I'm sitting there like, this aint it. And yes, I was the only one.]

["So after running the list, I don't even stick around with the team. I go straight back to dude's room and the code switch was automatic. "Look mane, I know all that was a lot. Did you really get what the doc was sayin?" Mans looked at me with a face of relief.]

["Now I'm goin into detail on MS, how it's different from a stroke, and what it means for him long term. The real validation came when he interrupted me early on and said "OH so it's a BRAIN thing I got?" "Yes my man it's a brain thing."]

["And now my dude understands what he has, why we need the tests we need, and what the rest of his life might look like. All because I could recognize what everyone else seemed to miss, from a cultural perspective. He's not apathetic. Folk just weren't connecting with him."

/End ID]

this ^^^^

[ellasticmaemories]

An Open Letter to Agree

To arguably the most used and abused word in patient charts and medical discourse, Agree, You’ve become a word we’ve gotten so used to, and I really didn’t see that coming. I’m not sure if it’s internal medicine specific or institution-specific, but my batchmates, juniors, and seniors will concur that we probably use you way too much. As far as medical jargons go, you’re not even a very jargon-y…

[adverbally]

Wind Up Like the Wreck You Hide

Written for the @steddieangstyaugust prompt “Angst With a Happy Ending” | wc: 1,096 | rated: T | cw: hospital, heart attack, parental illness | tags: hurt/comfort, taking care of each other | title from “I’m Still Standing “ by Elton John

———

Eddie runs into the emergency room and directly into Steve’s arms. He can’t catch his breath, having hyperventilated the whole drive back to Hawkins and sprinted from the parking lot, but he’s able to gasp out, “Wayne-?”

“He’s okay,” Steve reassures him, rubbing his hands up and down Eddie’s arms. “He’s gonna be okay, they’re just gonna keep him overnight for observation.”

“He’s okay?” Eddie parrots. What does that mean? The words haven’t sunk in yet. Eddie was in Indianapolis getting ready for tonight’s show when Steve had called him from this very waiting room to explain that Wayne had a heart attack and Eddie needed to get to the hospital as soon as possible. Two hours later, he’s just… okay?

Steve shifts his grip to Eddie’s shoulders. “He’s okay. We got here fast and they took great care of him. He’s asleep upstairs right now.”

Eddie feels faint with the relief that sweeps through him. Though, as his knees go weak and he stumbles into Steve, it occurs to him that it’s probably just his adrenaline crashing.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Steve catches him under his arms and drags him upright again. “Let’s go sit down while I catch you up.”

Eddie doesn’t know what he needs to know other than ‘Wayne had a heart attack and it didn’t kill him,’ but he lets Steve steer him toward a bank of plastic chairs in the corner. He falls into a seat like a puppet whose strings have been cut.

Steve, angel that he is, pulls a notebook out of his pocket and begins telling Eddie what Wayne’s doctors had said. He had carefully written down phrases that he knew he wouldn’t remember once Eddie got there. Atherosclerosis. Nitroglycerin. Percutaneous coronary intervention. Angioplasty with stent. All the information Eddie would need about his uncle’s care, noted and defined in Steve’s neat handwriting. There are some items with question marks beside them, things that they might need to ask the doctors about.

Eddie’s eyes begin to water. Steve didn’t just do this for him, he did it out of love and concern for Wayne. He spent two hours gathering information and taking notes so he could understand what happened and figure out how to help. The notes on aspirin, the crude diagram of a blocked artery, the bullet point at the bottom of the page that says ‘diet?? medication??’ are all so Steve can take better care of Wayne.

Steve grips Eddie’s hand when he hears his sharp intake of breath. “I know it’s a lot to take in, but it’ll make more sense once we go upstairs and talk to Wayne’s doctor.” His tone is low and soothing.

“Thanks. I’m glad you were here to look out for him.”

“Yeah, of course.” He looks a little embarrassed by Eddie’s gratitude, like it’s a given that anyone would do the same thing. “He’s important to you, so he’s important to me. But he’s also a good man. A good dad,” he adds tentatively.

Eddie barks out a laugh. “You should call him that to his face, he would love it. Finally, a son who will watch sports with him and properly sort the laundry!”

“I don’t expect you to get it since ninety-nine percent of your wardrobe is black, but separating whites and colors really makes a difference!” Steve argues, blushing at Eddie’s teasing.

Eddie squeezes his hand. “Seriously, Wayne loves you. He calls you his son-in-law when he talks about you with his poker buddies. He brags about how all the kids at school love you and you’re the best second grade teacher in the state. Hell, I think he spends more time with you than he does with me.”

“He really does all that?” Steve asks quietly, like a wish that won’t come true if you say it out loud. When Eddie nods, Steve frowns, his lower lip quivering slightly, and looks down at the scuffed linoleum floor. “I didn’t know.”

Oh, shit. Eddie didn’t even think to ask how Steve was doing through all of this. He had called 911 and ridden in the ambulance with Wayne, had almost certainly paced around the nurses’ station waiting for news. Then, instead of going with Wayne, he stayed downstairs until Eddie got there so he could update him about Wayne’s condition as soon as humanly possible.

It was just like Steve to focus on taking care of everyone else, so natural that Eddie didn’t even think twice about accepting Steve’s comfort while offering nothing in return. And now that the immediate crisis is over, now that Steve has had a chance to breathe and start processing, Eddie thinks Steve might be on the verge of a meltdown.

Wordlessly, Eddie loops an arm under one of Steve’s and tugs him to his feet, herding him in the direction of the single-stall bathroom around the corner. By the time they’re inside, Steve’s whole body is shaking; by the time Eddie flips the lock on the door, fat tears are rolling down his cheeks.

“Sorry, I don’t know why…” Steve gestures at his face a little helplessly.

Eddie still doesn’t say anything, just pulls Steve into a tight embrace. His shirt grows damp where Steve has buried his face in his shoulder, and he feels Steve’s back shudder as he tries to stifle his sobs.

“I was really scared,” he confesses between gasps. “I just kept thinking how horrible it would be if I had to tell you—“

“It’s okay, baby,” Eddie murmurs into his hair. “You did great, he’s okay.”

Steve sniffles loudly. “I know, I’m just being stupid.”

“It’s not stupid.” It comes out more forcefully than Eddie had planned. He hates when Steve does that, puts himself down and invalidates his feelings. “That was a medical emergency. Just because it turned out fine doesn’t mean it wasn’t stressful.”

“I guess.” Steve pulls away long enough to grab a paper towel so he can mop up his face. He goes easily when Eddie guides him into another hug.

Swaying them both gently, he tells Steve, “You know, you don’t always have to put on a brave face. Let me take care of you once in a while.”

“I know,” Steve croaks. “I’m working on it.”

They stand there for another minute, both drawing strength from the other’s presence, before Steve clears his throat and releases Eddie. “I think I’m good. We should go upstairs now, Wayne’ll want to see you.”

“He’ll want to see you, too,” Eddie reminds him.

Steve’s smile is small but radiant. “Okay, let’s go.”

[penvisions]

the melting point {sneakie peek for ch. 15}

(chapter header images are for setting the vibe only, reader has been described as having copper hair and tattoos) there's a looooot going down in the next chapter, but here's a little treat for those patiently waiting:

Everything around you oversaturated, the scene so crisp and sharp that it hurt your eyes. Your focus fell on the small figure of Lex as she cowered in the protection of a flower stand, hidden in the blooms of them. Frankie was further down with Pope, both of them helping to get people out of the way in the craziness.

Police sirens were far off, those that had already been acting as security for the market scrambling to get people to safety and inside the businesses lining the blocked off street.

Lucianna was hidden in the flower stand as well, her arms tight across Lex’s chest as she held her smaller form close. As soon as the little girl's frantic brown eyes landed on you, she was pulling from the woman’s grip, rushing toward you.

[turbo-autism]

au where hajime retains all izuru's talents in the neo world program and is INTENSELY freaked out by it as he discovers more and more shit that he should NOT know how to do

[boxfullaturtles]

“I won’t let you take him,” he said. “I’m gonna save my twin, y’know? No matter what.”

Another image that has been in my head for ages that I absolutely had to get out of my system.

The Lemonade Leak by @turtleinsoup is one of those fics that leaves me emotionally devastated with every chapter. Utterly wrecks me. Destroys me. Breaks into my house and beats me up and leaves me bleeding on the floor. I love it.

[grandlinedreams]

Hello, I've been reading Ur fics lately (esp with law) and I love them

I was wondering if you could make angst? Like... Let's say there's this big battle, like the one in wano, where reader and law gets separated, but after the battle Law finds reader unconscious and being treated by chopper who then explains they had severe wounds and might need blood transfusion.

It also just happens that he was gonna confess to them after all of the chaos so that they'd be safe in his arms. And that might not even happen since now they have each foot on both worlds.

I'd imagine Law going along with talking to them even if they're unconscious just to keep them here in the living. (If they're alone ofc)

I hope that's alright

OUGH some angst my beloved,,,i can absolutely do that, I hope I do this justice for you!!

[Heads up!: angst, serious injuries, some brief medical talk, hurt/very little comfort, keeping in line w Law literally calling none of the Strawhats by their names, open-ended]

Truth be told, Law doesn't keep much of an eye on you during battles. It's hard enough keeping an eye on what the enemy is doing ㅡ especially if the Strawhats are involved. They ㅡ especially their captain ㅡ have a knack for blowing careful plans out of the water and he's forced to play damage control until it's over.

You're also fully capable of looking after yourself, and he trusts you and your skillset. So when he doesn't immediately find you once things have started settling down, he doesn't think much of it.

When five minutes turns to ten, then to fifteen, then half an hour, however, alarm bells start going off in his head. You've never taken this long to check in with him. Has something happened? Have you beenㅡ

No, he won't let himself think of that option. Not now, not ever. So he keeps as optimistic as reality will allow him ㅡ until he hears his name being called.

"Oi, Law!"

It's Sanji. "What is it, Blackleg?"

The blond's expression is his first warning that whatever it is, it isn't pleasant. "Chopper told me to come get you."

That's his second warning. Eyes narrowing and trying to rifle through potential scenarios from best case to worst, he follows Sanji silently until they reach where Chopper is ㅡ and Law stares at who the little reindeer is desperately trying to patch up.

It's you.

Part of him whispers harshly that this is par for the course, that he's worn out his luck in terms of keeping you safe ㅡ another notes that he's never seen you look more fragile.

"What happened." It's a demand as he takes in the bandages all over you, trying not to think about how most of them are already soaked with blood. Your blood.

He barely hears the explanation above the rising ringing in his ears, but he gathers enough to find it in himself to mentally curse your perchance for heroics. He's told you time and time again that your self-sacrificing attitude will get you into trouble, and now it has. (As if he isn't guilty of it too from time to time, but that's neither here nor there.)

"They need a transfusion," he says, kneels to gather you into his arms, trying not to focus on how limp you are. "I'll take it from here."

If Chopper protests, he doesn't stick around long enough to hear it. From the second he sets foot back on the Polar Tang, it's a blur.

Bandages are stripped from you and replaced, an IV of fluid in one arm, blood in the other. One of the defaults to joining the crew is letting him know blood type so he has it on hand, and he's never been more grateful to have it and less so that he needs to use it.

For the next few hours, Law hardly blinks, barely lets himself breathe ㅡ afraid that somewhere between, you'll slip from him. He can feel the cold circle of death around you, measuring, evaluating. Deciding if you go, or if you stay.

He wants you to stay. If there were ever a way to guarantee that you do, he'd do it now ㅡ but there isn't. So he sits, counts your breath (in, out. Up, down.), and waits.

And he talks.

He tells you that you're a pain, that you need to stop thinking so much of others before yourself, that a quality like that is only admirable until it means a grave instead of life. That you shouldn't be so cavalier with your time, that there are people who care about you, and what are they supposed to do if you die?

He means himself in that too. He's gotten accustomed to your presence, the way you've slotted your way into his routines and habits like you belong, and perhaps, were he a romantic, he'd say you always have. But he hardly has time for that, barely lets himself entertain it ㅡ too soft, too ideal, too good to be true. Always too much of something.

But he wants it, wants you ㅡ wonders if he'll even get the slimmest chance to tell you now. Law could tell you now, but he doesn't. He's afraid if he does, it'll tip the scales further from his favor and he'll undoubtedly lose you.

He can't do that.

It isn't fair ㅡ but when has the world ever felt fit to treat him in a way that could ever be seen as kind enough to be called fair?

[tyrianludaship]

getting cradled in medic's arms while resting my face against his hairy old man tummy would fix all of my mental illnesses. i just know he would be so warm and soft....

-a-dope-fiend

I just know that when medic cuddles with someone, he would nuzzle against the crook of their neck and want to be close to the person as much as possible.

(take this as a visual because i think it fits)

[princington]

give me a few days of peace in your arms

[haloangel21]

upon my thousandth time of rewatching Prime, i just realized that Optimus originally intended for Ratchet to be Jack’s guardian

given that his mom, June, is a nurse, it would be interesting to see how Ratchet would do as Jack’s Autobot guardian

[try-set-me-on-fire]

Hello It’s basically only Wednesday still here on the west coast but thanks for the WIP Wednesday tags @rewritetheending @forthewolves @devirnis @daffi-990 here’s more misplaced confession fic

The woman in scrubs steps towards them, a practiced sympathetic calm on her face that Bobby is very familiar with and tries not to read into. “We just wanted to update you on Mr. Diaz’s progress. We lost a pulse, likely due to hypovolemic shock, but were able to resuscitate and stabilize him. We have removed the shrapnel and are now working on repairing damage. We’ve had steady sinus rhythm since, but it may be a while longer before he’ll be out of surgery.”

Bobby has entirely forgotten how to breathe. Buck stares at the woman, and he opens his mouth to speak but it takes several long moments for words to come out.

“Thank you. If anything-“ Buck blinks, chest rising and falling like he’s run a marathon. “Let us know.”

“Of course.”

She disappears back into the bowels of the building, and Bobby gets his muscles to cooperate and let him stand up. “Buck-“

“Tell me.” His blue eyes are pale and shallow and dreadfully determined.

Damn you, Eddie, you’ll break his heart. You’ll break my heart. But a promise is a promise, so he relearns how to work his lungs. “He loves you. He needed you to know.”

Buck shakes his head no, once, and then every stage of grief seems to slam into him simultaneously.

Is anyone still awake? If you’re awake and have something to share please do!