#Treating Viral Fever

[roxygen22]

An extra scnce idea for still here

Timothee gets sick and cancels their usual date night or night out with Madison and Y/N and Madison go to his house to find out why and then they take care of him 🥺

I have tried for months to draft this true to what was requested, but I was facing a mental block until I switched it to Madison being ill - then it just took off from there. Hope you still enjoy all the same.

Still Here (+3)

Summary: Timothée goes into dad mode when Madison is sick. Takes place after his dad has passed, so he doesn't have to worry about taking germs home. Post-engagement.

A/N: There are scenes I had in mind for my Still Here series that just didn't quite fit cleanly into any of the chapters, so I decided to add some "deleted scenes" for my loyal fans. Catch up on the main storyline here.

The sound of the phone vibrating against the wooden top of your computer desk interrupted your train of thought as you knocked out a grant application for the library. You looked down to see the dreaded words "School Nurse" displayed on the illuminated screen.

"Hello?" you answered tentatively, already standing to grab your keys and purse. These calls were never good, especially midday.

"Hi, is this Madison's mom?"

"Yes, it is."

"This is Bethany, the school nurse. Madison came to my office because she isn't feeling well. She has a cough, stuffy nose, and a headache. She's also running a fever. Are you able to come pick her up?"

"Poor girl. I'm leaving work now. I should be there in about 15 minutes."

After ending the call and giving the library director a heads up, you called Timothée while on your quick jaunt to the car.

"Hey, baby. What's up?" You rarely called to just say hello in the middle of the work day, so of course, he immediately asked what was going on.

"Hey, just got a call from the school nurse. Maddy is sick, so I am heading to the school to pick her up." You got into the car and shut the door behind you.

"Is she okay?" His voice surrounded you, concern evident, as the audio transferred to the car speakers.

"Sounds like standard viral stuff for this time of year. She should be fine with some medicine and rest. But she won't be able to go out with you tonight. Poor thing. She's going to be so disappointed to miss Timothée Tuesday." Despite the stress, a fond smile graced your lips at the name Maddy had lovingly coined for their regular "date" nights.

"Aww. Well, maybe I can still bring her a treat, if that's okay with you."

"That's so sweet, but you'll run the risk of getting sick, too."

"No more than you. It takes a village, remember? Let your village step in and help. Especially while your parents are out of town," Timothée chided.

"Yes, I know. You are right," you replied with feigned attitude. "Hey, I just pulled up to the school, so I need to let you go. Let me know when you are heading over."

You barely parked the car before jumping out and running to the main door, pressing the buzzer and shifting your weight impatiently from one foot to another as you waited to be let inside. When you walked in, you spotted Madison slumped in an armchair through the rectangular window of the nurse's door. The girl livened up a little when she looked up at the sound of your voice.

You held out your arms to her invitingly once you signed her out, gingerly feeling her forehead with your cheek as you embraced her. The nurse informed you that she needed to be fever-free for at least 24 hours before returning. You draped your arm around Maddy's shoulders as you both turned to walk out the door. "Welp, looks like you and I get to play hooky tomorrow," you teased in an attempt to lighten the mood. Madison just wordlessly nodded.

Once you arrived at your parents' house, she voluntarily went straight to bed after downing medicine and a glass of water. Your phone buzzed in your pocket shortly after with a text notification:

"Leaving Hartley now. Need me to pick up anything? How is she?"

"She went straight to bed, if that tells you anything. Can you pick up some liquid child cold medicine? I gave her the last dose of daytime medicine I have on hand."

"On it. I'll be there as quickly as I can."

"No rush. She can't have another dose for at least 4 hours anyway. Thanks, love."

About 30 minutes later, Timothée sent you a picture.

"Is this the right stuff? I didn't know there were so many options."

"Right stuff, but do they have any other flavor?"

"I thought she likes grapes?"

"She does, just not grape medicine."

"Ah, ok. Bubblegum or berry?"

"Bubblegum."

"Got it. Need anything else?"

"Nope, I think I have everything else."

"K. I should be there in about 20 minutes."

You replied with a heart emoji and got to work on washing the dishes and picking up around the house as an outlet for your nervous energy. Timothée let himself in and set down the bags on the kitchen island. You rewarded him with a sweet peck on the cheek. "Thank you for your help."

He smiled softly then started unloading the bags. "Here's the medicine, and I also got your favorite candy bar because I figured you would be a little stressed."

"You know me so well." You kissed him on the cheek again, never tiring of the slight dust of pink blush that always appeared without fail. "What's in the brown bag?"

"Oh, I called ahead to the diner and they made a fresh batch of Maddy's favorite ooey gooey rice krispie treats just for her. Timed it just right so they were ready after I stopped at the pharmacy across the street. Mandy said to give you her best and that she hopes Maddy feels better soon."

I can't believe this guy is mine, you thought to yourself. "You are so good to her. To us," you praised.

He shrugged and blushed once more. "I love you both. Of course I'm going to take care of my girls. She still asleep?"

You were about to respond when out of the corner of your eye you spotted Madison slowly shuffle into the kitchen, mechanically grabbing for a glass for water. Timothée turned when you nodded toward her direction.

"Hey, kiddo. How are you feeling?"

She grumbled incoherently and held her arms out to him like a walking zombie, resting her face against his torso when she reached him. One more growth spurt and she'd likely be up to his shoulders soon.

Timothée wrapped his arms around her to complete the hug. "I swung by the diner and picked up rice krispie treats. Figured I'd bring date night to you."

You heard a muffled "thank you" as she spoke into his shirt. She looked over at the bag. "I- I think I'll have one later." He clasped the back of her head gently with his large hand and looked up at you in shock. He had never seen her like this before, unwell to the point of refusing her favorite snack.

Tilting her head back to look up at Timothée, she whined, "I'm sorry that we can't go out."

He responded with a gentle boop to her nose. "Hey, none of that. I had a long day, too, so chilling on the couch to watch a movie sounds amazing. What do you say?"

"Can we watch Spider-man?" she asked with a weak smile, perking up at the idea.

"Sure! I mean, uh, if it's okay with your mom. It is PG-13." They both looked over to you with puppy eyes. You weren't as big of a fan of comic-based movies as they were.

"Oh, alright. Why don't y'all go get it started while I get supper going?"

As they walked off, you heard him question, "Alright, so which universe should we start with? Tom Holland, Tobey Mag-" until their voices faded into living room.

You set to work retrieving all the necessary ingredients for the casserole you had planned for tomorrow since you expected them to be out that evening. Once it was in the oven, you strolled into the living room to check on them. Maddy had fallen asleep again, this time with her head on Timothée's shoulder.

"She sat still too long," he whispered after pausing the movie. "She didn't even make it past the opening scene."

You pouted your lip slightly as you took in just how comfortable Madison looked with her self-proclaimed "bonus dad." Her bio dad was never this good or patient with her when she wasn't feeling well. But you knew Timothée would sit in that position all night if that is what she needed. You stepped toward them to help him from his confines, but he waved you off.

"Let her sleep until dinner is ready. I'm fine." A shit-eating grin then flashed across his face. "You know, you could join me and watch your favorite neighborhood Spider-man."

"Which one did y'all settle on?"

"Tobey. I figured we should start at the beginning."

"At the peak, you mean?" you replied with a smirk.

"Wha- oh, so you DO like Spider-man; you're just a purist," he countered.

"I'm just saying I've never had a crush on Andrew or Tom like I did on Tobey."

His jaw dropped. "That movie came out while we were in high school. How did I not know about this?"

"A woman has a right to her secrets. Besides, I wasn't going to ogle my celebrity crush in front of my boyfriend!" you teased.

"Your fiancé now." He smiled cheesily.

You leaned down for a quick kiss and nuzzle to the nose. "Yes, my now fiancé. Ah, saved by the bell!"

At the behest of the oven timer, you quickly returned to the kitchen. You set the table and dished out the first serving. Timothée nudged Madison awake and walked behind as she shuffled to the table.

She slumped lethargically into her chair and slowly began to eat - more like poking her food around versus actual eating. When you gave her a pointed look, she responded, "I'm just not hungry. I can't taste it."

Pity washed over your face and Timothée's. "Alright, take three more bites so you have at least some nourishment. You'll need energy to get better. I can give you more medicine in about an hour, then you can go to bed."

After dinner, Timothée and Madison continued the movie while you cleaned up the dishes. You could tell the earlier dose of medicine was wearing off. She shifted frequently, trying to get comfortable, and let out the occasional whimper as the fever returned.

You dosed Madison with nighttime cold medicine about 30 minutes before the end of the movie, but she fell asleep again with 10 minutes left. Timothée chuckled and deftly picked the girl up from the couch and carried her to her bed.

"Do you want me to stay tonight?" he whispered to you as he shut the door and stepped back into the hallway.

"But you have to...," you started to respond, but the look of disapproval on his face shut you up.

"You know I own my own business, so if you are going to say, 'But you have to work tomorrow,' that's not a good reason. So I'll ask again. Do you want me to stay tonight? Yes or no."

"Yes," you replied with a cheeky grin. He leaned down and kissed your forehead, but pulled back with his face scrunched with concern.

"Are *you* feeling alright?"

"Me? I- I feel a little run down and a bit stressed, but otherwise, I'm okay. Why?"

Timothée looked at you skeptically. "You just feel a little warm to the touch. Come on, let's get you to bed, too."

You changed into pajamas and got settled in bed. Timothée followed suit after turning off the lights. Nestled into comfort of his arms, you quickly succumbed to your exhaustion.

Hours later, you were ripped awake by a gnarly cough that wasn't from you. Heart racing, you sat up to see Timothée sitting on the edge of the bed, softly illuminated by the lamp on the nightstand. Next to him stood your daughter, blonde hair pasted to her forehead with sweat.

"Is it alright if I give her more medicine?" he asked. You nodded after confirming enough time had passed, and Timothée stood to lead Madison to the kitchen.

"I can do it," you muttered sleepily, grasping at the blanket to toss it to the side.

"I've got it. And I'm going to grab you some medicine and a thermometer, too, once she's settled. You're like a furnace."

Too tired to argue, you snuggled back down under the covers. You knew Madison was in good hands and fell back to sleep before he returned. When you next woke again, you spotted a glass of water and some cold medicine tablets on your nightstand. Timothée sat next to you, resting against the headboard while reading a book from your shelf.

"Since you have that forehead thermometer, I took your temp while you were asleep. You are officially sick, too."

You groaned. "Fantastic," you retorted sarcastically. "Is Maddy still asleep?"

"I haven't heard her stir yet. Once she's up, I'll make y'all some breakfast."

You smiled. "Thank you for staying to help."

"In sickness and in health, right?"

You chuckled. "We aren't married yet, silly."

"Just a formality, babe."

<><><><><>

Masterlist

Tag list: @croatianprincess @bluizh @jindongdongie @groovy-lady @pmak2002

[brandwhorestarscream]

You have no idea how much I needed VERY sick and pregnant Megatron in my life. Him begging not to throw up and just being miserable was something I didn't know I wanted but now I know. You've opened my eyes.

Little cogless miners are so small and adorable. They're so tiny 😭🥰

Orion Pax is such a smug little shit (affectionate) in the beginning of the movie. I love him so much.

I cannot wait to see the 4th chapter of TFone Megatron being pregnant ☺

Hey, I'm glad you liked it! Poor Dee's really going through it. 4th chapter is still being worked on, but here! Have some bonus content of poor sick D-16. This time, after hours:

::Digestive tank purge, initiated::

D-16 gags as he comes back online, startled out of recharge but body moving in its own, stumbling out of his slot and clamping one servo over his mouth. Something in his abdomen heaves and he feels hot bile hit the back of his throat. Tears blur his vision and he searches desperately for a waste bin, but it's too late: his upper body jerks and he stumbles to his knees over a drain on the floor, one palm planting shakily on the cold concrete before half-digested energon comes sloshing past his lips.

He moans, miserable, tears dripping solemnly down his cheeks. He gags again, violently, sobbing as it makes his whole upper body jerk. His midsection throbs, his esophageal tubing burns. He hunches over, vents whirring loudly, pressing his overly-hot forehelm to the cold ground.

"D-16?"

He whimpers pathetically and turns his face, squinting against the fluorescent backlight. "D... Doctor...? H'oh-!" He gags again and turns to purge, coughing out a sheet of clear, burning sludge.

"I'm here," Ratchet is kneeling at his side immediately, one servo on his back and the other coming to touch his forehelm, holding his head up. "Primus, kid. You're burning up." 4 degrees outside of what could be considered the normal parameters. Any hotter and he'd probably have to be shut away in a medsuite for emergency care.

Exhausted, D-16 slumps over, heavily leaning on the medic. His vents are shuddering, and his whole body is trembling with exhaustion. He sniffles again, tears still threading down his cheeks. "...it hurts," he admits in a tiny, rasping voice. His optics glaze over and he starts to sob into Ratchet's lap. "I feel... s-so bad...!"

The medic's spark aches, because there's really nothing he can do. Fever reducers and extra coolant haven't been working, antibiotics aren't working, he hasn't been able to rest and sleep it off the way he desperately needs to, and none of his tools are calibrated for identifying specific viral strains and whipping up the chemical compound of a cure. Not like the ones in the real hospitals. When it comes to illness, all he can do is guess and estimate and diagnose to the best of his ability, and treat them accordingly. But nothing's been working and D-16 just keeps getting sicker. The only silver lining is that he doesn't seem to be contagious, as no one else has come down with his mystery ailment.

Defeated, Ratchet rubs soothing circles on his back while Dee sobs into his lap. "I know, kid... I- I know. We- I'm sorry, we're still trying to figure it out." He and First Aid and Sugarcoat were up to their ears in half-finished repairs and a huge queue of mecha in need of their constant attention because of the new shift rules. There just wasn't time to figure out a treatment for one mech's fevers and stubbornly upset tanks. Dee makes a miserable snuffling sound and starts coughing, prompting Ratchet to drag him into a sitting position to decompress his aeration systems.

"...come on," he stands up and slides his hands under D-16's arms, pulling him to stand. The younger mech's legs are shaking, knees knocking together. His optics are unfocused, and he wobbles dangerously. "You gonna biff it?"

"D... Dunno."

"Alright. Hang tight, I'll getcha a chair."

The wheelchairs are antiquated, all of them rusty and dusty and old, but they're enough to support a miner's weight and get them where they need to go. Ratchet pushes him to one of the medsuites and effortlessly lifts him onto the berth, telling him to lie down.

"What're you...?"

"I'm doing inventory," shift doesn't start for another two megacycles, but the work needs to be done. "You're gonna sleep. Lying flat should help the nausea some." He'd have liked to also get him on an energon drip, as his constant purging surely had his gauges in the red, but energon was in short supply right now. Emergency transfusions only, and unless a mech was at risk of deactivating, it wasn't considered an emergency.

D-16 doesn't look convinced, cuz he's really not supposed to be in here. Ratchet tuts at him, says, "Doctor's orders." and throws a weighted sheet over him to seal the deal. To his relief, Dee falls back into recharge some ten kliks later, and is able to get a bit more uninterrupted rest. He feels awful when he has to shake the silver mech awake for the work cycle, but inciting the wrath of their overseers by being late would only make his fragile health worse. Thankfully, Dee is able to walk (more of a hobble, but at least he was upright), and Ratchet resolves to figure out something to help him.

[macgyvermedical]

Magic Bullets: The Antibiotic Story

The year was 1907 and a Dr. Alfred Bertheim was trying to make arsenic less toxic to humans.

Why? Because in addition to killing humans, arsenic also kills trypanosomes- single-celled protozoa that cause the life-threatening infection trypanosomiasis. By creating a version of arsenic that still killed the protozoa, but not the human they infected, Dr. Bertheim could create a drug to treat the disease*.

This was not a fully new idea. About 50 years earlier, a drug called Atoxyl had been created in France. About 40 times less toxic than pure arsenic, it had been shown to not only successfully treat trypanosomiasis, but also the equally devastating syphilis infection.

But 40 times less toxic than pure arsenic is still not great. About 2% of people treated even one time with the drug ended up blind, among a myriad of other side effects. It was a start, but not ideal.

And Dr. Bertheim (under the direction of better-known Dr. Paul Ehrlich) was setting out to change that.

And it just so happened that the sixth compound from the sixth group he tried did so. Known as "compound 606", the new Arsphenamine could treat trypanosomiasis, relapsing fever, and syphilis very effectively- and it didn't leave its takers dead or blind.

Most of the time, at least. See, arsphenamine, also known by the brand name salvarsan, was a pain in the ass to administer. It had to be dissolved in several hundred mililiters of water under a nitrogen atmosphere to prepare it for administration. If it touched air, it would rapidly react, causing toxic byproducts that could cause liver failure, severe skin rashes, and even death.

But both trypanosomiasis and syphilis were definitely going to kill you, so it was worth the risk.

And the seed had been planted, so to say. The idea of a chemical able to kill infection-causing agents without killing the host was a true possibility for the future of medicine.

And by 1912, Neosalvarsan, a drug somewhat less effective -but far easier to administer and with significantly fewer side effects- was on the market. Over the next decade, Neosalvarsan would be responsible for a massive drop in syphilis cases worldwide.

But neither of the drugs could treat deadly infections from staph or strep or the hundreds of other bacterial or viral infections that still had no cure in the 1910's and 1920's.

Then came the first of the heavy-hitters. Bayer was a dye company when it started, and in 1932, three and a half decades after switching mostly to pharmaceuticals, chemists at Bayer were testing the company's dyes for anti-infective properties. They went through thousands of trials, finally finding a dye that could kill streptococcal bacteria without killing a mouse host.

Pre-1930s, streptococcal disease was a major problem. It caused strep throat, cellulitis, scarlet fever, childbed (purpural) fever, some forms of toxic shock syndrome, impetigo, necrotizing fasciitis, rheumatic fever, and many others. The skin infections may have been at least somewhat treatable with a hot compress, but the rest were prone to cause blindness, deafness, loss of limbs, and for many, loss of life.

In 1936, sulfonamide antibiotics changed that. Protosil, the first of the sulfonamides, became available to treat many of the infections listed above. These would be used for wound infections throughout WWII. Unfortunately, they would also cause the untimely death of nearly 100 people via the Elixer Sulfanilamide tragedy.

Sulfanilamide was a similar drug to Prontosil and was safe and effective for treating strep infections. However, when mixed with diethylene glycol (now used as standard car antifreeze) to make it into a liquid suspension, it was deadly. See this letter from a doctor who had prescribed the liquid form of the medication, not knowing it was poison:

[to read more about the Elixer Sulfanilamide Disaster, see here]

Despite the sulfanilamide tragedy, the race was on for more antibiotics. Three years before they went on the market, researchers had found evidence of bacterial resistance to sulfonamides. What would happen when these new bacteria, that didn't die when exposed to the new wonder drug, made up so much of the bacterial population?

In 1942, the Cocoanut Grove fire in Boston caused over 492 deaths and 130 injuries. The injured were among the first to receive a remarkable new drug called penicillin. The fire and the fate of the victims were publicized throughout the world, and penicillin became a household name overnight. But once again, even before it went on the market in 1943, just in time for the end of the Second World War, there was evidence of resistance.

But fortunately, the fire had been sparked. Over the next 30 years, many dozens of antibiotics would come into clinical use. If you've taken it, it probably came out between 1940 and 1970. Tetracycline, isoniazid, metronidazole, ciprofloxacin, erythromycin, vancomycin, amoxicillin, and dozens more you've never heard of.

And then? Nothing.

Well, not completely nothing, there were a couple that came out in the 1980s and a few in the early 2000s. But nothing like that 30-year golden age.

But now we're running into problems due to drug resistance. About 1.27 million people die annually directly from antibiotic resistant infection, while antibiotic resistance contributes to about 4.95 million more deaths.

The good news is that the drugs that are being made today are directly targeting those antibiotic resistant infections. In fact, as I'm writing this, a new drug (Zosurabalpin) is being tested for a bacteria called Carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii, which up until now has had no antibiotic that works against it.

*as you may imagine for the time period, this was not necessarily a benevolent act. See, most of the reason Europeans wanted to treat trypanosomiasis in the first place was because they kept dying of it when they went to colonize Africa. And they wanted something that would give them a leg up on the people who were already there.

[thelazyhermits]

Ooh y'all I came up with some good angst for Yuu's first Halloween. I'll put it underneath the cut.

Okay, so as I stated when I posted my fics that covered the first two Halloween events, they were not canon to the A Twisted Future series since so many of the guys in the event didn't act like how they would've acted in October of the canon storyline aka between Books 2 & 3.

Well, today, I got to thinking about what kinda first Halloween WOULD be canon to the series, which is the first time I really stopped to think about it, honestly lol

And after giving it some thought, the angst hit me: What if Halloween takes place right after the Spelldrive tournament, and Yuu is in the infirmary the whole time recovering from her battle against Leona?

To recap, Yuu ended up in pretty rough shape after that battle cause she overused her Quirk to ensure Leona couldn't always predict/read her movements, which was his specialty, and as a result, she ended up with a high fever that resulted in her having a seizure.

While in the end Yuu thankfully didn't sustain any serious/permanent damage, I personally think whoever all works at that school's infirmary would want to err on the side of caution and keep her under observation for several days to monitor her condition and to possibly better understand her Quirk so they can be better prepared to treat her in emergency situations.

As a result, Yuu plays no part in NRC's Halloween during her first year since she's been ordered to remain in bed until she's given the all clear.

This gives Yuu mixed feelings, honestly, cause on one hand she really wants to experience her first ever Halloween, but on the other hand, upon finding out that ghosts are an integral part of Halloween, she wants nothing to do with the holiday due to her ghost phobia which is still pretty potent by this point in the timeline cause she's only been at NRC for about two months.

That's why Yuu doesn't make a fuss about the whole situation, especially since she brought this all upon herself by being so reckless during that overblot battle, and she refuses Ace's offer to sneak her out while no one else is around since she doesn't want to cause any more trouble and she REALLY doesn't wanna see any more ghosts lol

This has a lot of angst potential cause I'm sure like how things were in Terror Is Trending that everyone is super busy the whole day, although the events with the Magicam Monsters wouldn't happen cause Yuu isn't a celebrity at that point and the viral picture just didn't happen since things are so different in Oct thanks to Book 2 events.

Anyway, I see Yuu spending most of the day alone since she told Grim that he could go have fun with ADeuce cause she didn't want him to be bored and miss out on his first Halloween cause of her.

However, ADeuce still try to visit her whenever they can, and so do the rest of the Heartslabyul boys.

Trey's visit was especially welcomed cause he made a ton of sweets for her since he's still trying to get over the guilt of her taking the pain of his injury that she prevented.

And he, like Riddle, also blames himself for Ruggie being able to kidnap Yuu during the course of Book 2 events since he thinks he should've stayed with her and not left her alone in the cafeteria despite the place being full of witnesses.

So Trey really spoils her for Halloween 💕

The Savanaclaw boys also visit Yuu whenever they can. Ruggie, of course, always comes bringing food, and Leona shows up, claiming the infirmary is the perfect place to nap.

Meanwhile, Jack tries to act like he just so happened to be in the area and thought he should be polite and say hello lol

Unfortunately, when Halloween night rolls around, Yuu is mostly alone cause of the huge Halloween party that obviously none of our guys would wanna miss out on.

Plus, it's a little easy to forget about Yuu in this kinda setting with all the excitement going on, not to mention the fact that she's only known these guys for two months or less depending on the guy, so they're not nearly as close to Yuu as they are in my Halloween event fics.

(Also, for the record, nobody knows that Yuu has never properly celebrated Halloween since she didn't see the need to mention that to anyone. If they did, they would've made way more of an effort to get her out of that infirmary, ADeuce especially.)

Regarding having a nurse present, I'm sure there is one looking after Yuu for most of the time, but I bet they'd wanna head for the party for a little bit like the rest of the staff, especially if Yuu's doing alright and doesn't need constant monitoring.

Naturally, this has a lot of angst potential since one idea I had for the party was that a bunch of ghosts show up at NRC to party for one reason or another, so when Yuu happens to look out a window, she just sees plenty of them just flying around, partying, much to her great dismay.

Even though the ghosts aren't causing any harm, Yuu would still get scared thanks to her fear of all things horror-related, so I could see her quickly hiding underneath her covers and just trembling as she does her best to fight off all her traumatic memories about Mumei's past punishments that led to her having such a severe phobia.

I could be really evil and say that that's how the rest of Yuu's night goes with her silently suffering until she finally falls asleep with tears on her face.

But, since I'd like to think I'm not a total monster, I'll say that Yuu's suffering instead eventually comes to an end in a different way thanks to Leona paying a visit to the infirmary since I can't see him being interested in staying for the whole party cause of how he is.

Plus, while he won't admit it, Leona feels responsible for Yuu being stuck in the infirmary and for her missing out on Halloween.

Also, he was raised to treat women with respect, and obviously, leaving a girl all on her own on a fun holiday like this is the exact opposite of respectful.

When Leona finds Yuu all curled up, shivering, underneath her covers, he's understandably concerned, not that he would admit it out loud, of course, since he just automatically assumes something's going on with her health again.

That's why he gets a little curt with her when he starts questioning her cause he's angry at the idea of her being left alone whilst in such a state and he's unable to completely hide his irritation.

However, Leona simmers down when Yuu, who was naturally very surprised to see him, tells him that her health is fine. She just can't handle ghosts, etc.

This, of course, really surprises Leona since this girl just recently took him on with nothing but her bare fists, while he was overblotting, no less. How could she possibly be afraid of some weak ghosts who can't do any real harm to her? Plus, doesn't she LIVE with ghosts???

Naturally, Yuu doesn't tell Leona the whole truth since she doesn't want to talk about Mumei's past abuse. Instead, she just says that she watched too many horror movies as a child, and that had a very negative effect on her.

Thankfully, Leona, being Leona, immediately knows that there's more to that story. He sees through her weak attempt at a poker face and quickly starts coming up with some theories that make his blood boil.

However, because of how he is, Leona doesn't press the matter since he doesn't see it as his business to know. He won't force Yuu to talk about anything she doesn't wanna talk about.

Instead, Leona promptly turns the lights on, magically summons a chessboard, and demands that Yuu play with him, surprising her since she really was expecting him to look down on her for her ridiculous phobia.

Because Leona knows that the best thing to do here is distract Yuu, that's exactly what he does, so for the rest of the night, he doesn't bring up her phobia or anything related to Halloween period.

Instead, all they do is play multiple games of chess, all of which Leona wins, of course, since, while Yuu is good at chess, she's not at Leona's level lol

Eventually, game time finally ends when Yuu's fatigue gets the better of her, and Leona orders her to sleep since he doesn't want anyone nagging him for hampering her recovery.

Before she falls asleep, Yuu thanks Leona for keeping her company. She really enjoyed playing chess with him and was just really happy to have her with him for all that time.

The last thing she says before she finally drifts off is that she's glad she's not alone anymore like she always used to be.

After Yuu falls asleep, Leona watches over her with a noticeably soft expression cause it's not everyday someone is that genuinely happy to be with him, and during his time with her, he actually didn't feel like he was someone's second choice for once.

It was the most enjoyable Halloween night those two have had in a long time - a very long time.

[idontwikeit]

URGENT: Save Suad and her family

Suad Ahmad is a talented engineer and working in a tech company, and was overjoyed from news of being a new mother, a mere week before Oct 7.

Can you imagine being forced to flee from one place to another eleven times, each time worse than the last? All while being extremely sick and pregnant, and in the end had to walk all the way to the hospital during labor, with minimal medical support; just a month ago, she walked 10 km/6 miles under extreme heat just to find medical care to treat her baby's 40C/104F high fever. And Suad is now suffering pain from severe allergies brought by the complications, living condition and malnutrition, yet the worse news is her newborn is also suffering from sickness.

Suad's newborn baby Khaled has now developed severe chest viral infections and allergies from the 24/7 strikes and destruction wrought by IOF, and his treatment has been severely insufficient due to the power outrage. Not to mention the expensive medical care and the extreme inflation of everything in Gaza. Both Suad and Khaled desperately need immediate medical treatment which Gaza can no longer provide, and the family needs to secure funds for evacuation and daily necessities.

No parents should have to witness the death of their child. I'm now asking everyone to please help Suad and her family, let them LIVE without pain and the constant fear of danger.

#279 on the Vetted Gaza Evacuation Fundraiser List by nabulsi and el-shab-hussein

As of 7 Sep 2024: $27,307USD / $70,000

@northgazaupdates

[fcthots]

I saw the 🧸 ask where Jason had to add cat ears to his red hood helmet bc he lost a bet, and PLEASE tell me you imagined him having to actually patrol that night like that too. Bc it’s so perfect.

Every vigilante that sees him is howling so goddamn loud that being stealthy that night is shot through. The mental image of him is enough to have em giggling, but esp Dick, Tim, and Steph are ROLLING on the ground and everything (those assholes). Jason can’t even defend himself bc at the end of the day he’s whipped enough to be walking around like this, the bet isn’t a good enough excuse now. Dick takes so many pictures. Hood goes viral for the next week and a half. Gothamites make fucking babygirl edits of cat hood and this shit haunts Jason for the rest of his life. Months and months later someone gives him one of those catnip treats for Christmas and nobody fesses up to it, but since Dick wakes up with a brand new hair color and cut (the drunk but not actually drunk Todd signature), safe to say Jaylad figured it out by the time the day ended 😭

(May I be🧋? This blog is fun and I wanna interact w u more 👉🏾👈🏾)

AHHAHAHAHAH I LOVE THIS. also ofc!!

I did envision him wearing the cat ears to patrol lol. There are several edited photos of the Red Hood in a maid outfit that all sprung from this event. The edits go viral and they further convince everyone outside of Gotham that the bats are not real. An ex-robin murderous crime lord anti-hero now turned vigilante that wore cat ears?? Yeah no way that’s real, Gotham is just Goncharov-ing up a fever dream. Even people who live in Gotham are like …Scarecrow must have done a mass attack that we just missed?? More plausible than the guy who tried to kill Batman and cleaned the streets in blood just randomly wearing cat ears one day. Also he started trying to murder the bats again with the cat ears on? No way.

[covid-safer-hotties]

Health experts warn against COVID complacency in schools amid surge - Published Aug 25, 2024

Health experts are urging school staff and families to take active steps to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 amid rising infections as school districts stick to their previous plans to combat the virus similarly to how they would the flu or strep throat.

Weekly deaths from COVID-19 have steadily risen in the United States since mid-June, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) COVID Data Tracker.

And wastewater viral activity for the disease — which is monitored as a means of detecting where a potential outbreak may occur — has gradually climbed since May, with the national level now “very high,” according to the CDC.

The rising rates are having little effect on the start of the school year, however. Schools have largely chosen to treat COVID-19 like RSV or the common flu, at the recommendation of health organizations like the CDC.

“COVID forever changed the landscape of education. As it stands now, in both districts (Meridian CUSD 223 and Oregon CUSD 220) I have the pleasure of leading we are moving forward full steam ahead and treating COVID in the same form and fashion we would treat influenza or strep throat,” said PJ Caposey, superintendent of Meridian School District in Illinois.

“The impact COVID has had on schools and on society cannot be understated, but currently it is not impacting how we operate and serve kids,” he added.

School districts are still feeling tremendous impacts from the coronavirus and the widespread closures it drove earlier in the pandemic, such as students struggling to catch back up academically.

Recent data from nonprofit research group NWEA found that students going into high school are a full year behind academically.

Since the CDC has classified COVID-19 under the umbrella of respiratory illnesses, in the same category as the flu, schools have dropped precautions previously put in place to mitigate the spread of the virus such as masks or social distancing.

Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), for instance, previously had policies requiring students and faculty to stay out of school longer if they contract COVID-19 and to wear masks for a certain period when they came back.

LAUSD posted on social media in August that due to high vaccination rates, COVID-19 will be treated like RSV. The district stressed that those with COVID-19 need to stay home if they have symptoms or a fever and cannot come back until symptoms start improving and the fever is gone for 24 hours without medicine.

Amid the current rise in COVID-19 cases and with another likely surge looming during the fall or winter months ahead, health experts are urging school communities not to become complacent when fighting against the virus’s spread.

The most important thing families and school staff can do to protect themselves is to get vaccinated, according to Jodie Guest, senior vice chair of epidemiology at Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health.

As of May, only about a quarter of U.S. adults and about 14 percent of children were reported to be up to date on a COVID-19 vaccination, according to CDC data.

The Food and Drug Administration approved updated Moderna and Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines Thursday to more closely target the recent strains of the virus, as well as potential fall and winter variants.

Adults and children 6 months and older are eligible for the updated vaccines, according to the CDC. Children 5 years old and up will need one shot of an updated vaccine to remain current, while children between 6 months and 4 years old might need multiple shots.

The updated shots will likely be on pharmacy shelves within “the coming days.” Those who have recently been infected with COVID-19 can delay getting the updated vaccine for up to three months, per CDC guidelines.

On top of getting the shot, Guest encourages school staff and parents to regularly test themselves and children for COVID-19 infections because testing “still really matters.”

“If your kid comes home and is not feeling well and showing signs that might be COVID, might be something else, going ahead with at-home testing is an important way to stop spread in your family and to stop spread in schools,” she said.

Sick adults and children should test themselves multiple times at home to ensure they do not have the virus, Guest said. If a first at-home antigen test is negative, she recommends taking a second test 36 to 48 hours later “to make sure it’s a true negative.”

School staff members who think they are sick should stay home, health experts agree. Parents should also keep their children home from school if they are sick to reduce the chance of spreading COVID-19 to others.

“If you are sick, stay home. Don’t infect others,” said David Weber, epidemiologist and associate chief medical officer of UNC Health Care.

While COVID-19 infections are typically less severe in children, kids can still suffer complications from contracting the virus, like long COVID, which may appear differently in adolescents than in adults.

Children can also serve as vectors for the virus, potentially spreading it to more vulnerable people like older relatives.

“You really don’t want to bring this home particularly if you have grandparents living with you,” said Andrew Pekosz, a professor at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health who studies respiratory illnesses including COVID-19.

However, it appears unlikely that schools will change their standards to fight COVID-19 without official recommendations from the CDC.

“Schools put measures in place through the COVID-19 pandemic to mitigate the spread of infection including vaccination clinics, cleaning procedures, and mitigation protocols that should be followed just as with any other communicable diseases such as the seasonal flu,” said Jeanie Alter, executive director of the American School Health Association, a group that supports health professionals in schools and advocates for healthy school environments.

“It will be important for schools to review and update these practices and continue with best practice guidance from reputable science-based organizations such as CDC,” she said.

[gallifreyinstituteforlearning]

This may be an entirely speculative question, but could there be infectious diseases on Gallifrey that are passed telepathically? If there could be, would they also be treated telepathically in a way that prevents transmission to a medical professional?

Could there be infectious diseases on Gallifrey that would transmit telepathically?

For absolute sure, there are a whole plethora of nasties out there just waiting to infect your psychic Gallifreyan. We don't know that much about transmission patterns, though we can definitely explore the area.

🦠 Types of Infections

These could come in several forms, all of which might thrive in particular areas and have a different presentation of symptoms.

Viral: Psionic viruses that hijack telepathic signals, spreading through mental links and causing disruptions in neural pathways.nSome common symptoms may include:

High fever

Intense headaches

Telepathic noise (unwanted mental chatter)

Hallucinations

Bacterial: Psionic bacteria thriving in psionic energy fields, spreading through shared mental and physical spaces. Some common symptoms may include:

Inflammation of neural tissues

Difficulty focusing telepathic abilities

Severe migraines

Parasitic: Mind parasites that feed on psionic energy, spreading through telepathic contact. Some common symptoms may include:

Draining of telepathic strength

Lethargy

Distorted perception of reality

🔁Transmission

Telepathic Link: Gallifreyans have telepathic connections to others, and Time Lords are part of an intricate network. Those mental links could theoretically transmit infectious agents.

Biological Proximity: Somebody with particularly strong telepathic powers might generate a kind of field around them, which could be infectious.

Residual Imprints: Visiting areas or objects with strong psionic imprints left by infected individuals could also be a transmission method.

🩺 Treatment and Prevention

You can bet your bottom dollar Gallifreyan doctors have some standard ways to handle them:

Mental Barriers: Infected Gallifreyans might be encouraged to build mental walls to contain the disease and stop the spread as a form of - dare I say - self-isolation.

Isolation Fields: Hospitals would have special isolation fields and other tech to block telepathic signals, keeping the disease from jumping to other patients or medical staff.

Psionic Cleansing: Highly-trained 'psycho-healers' might dive into the patient’s mind to locate and neutralise the infection, sort of like a mental deep-clean.

Mental Shields: Both patient and healer would use strong mental shields during treatment to avoid spreading the disease.

Symbiotic Assistance: Time Lords with a strong connection to their TARDIS might be able to utilise it for help.

Psionic Medical Machines: These gadgets might emit controlled psionic waves to disrupt the infectious agent in the mind, but they'd have to be flawlessly calibrated to avoid damaging the patient.

Neural Realignment: Fancy neurotech could realign neural pathways, flushing out the disease and fixing any mental messes it caused.

Offworld Aids: There are plenty of races that are far more versed in psionics than Gallifreyans who might be able to help.

🏫 So ...

While telepathic disease transmission on Gallifrey is pretty speculative, it fits right into the unique quirks of Gallifreyan life. Advanced telepathic and tech treatments would probably be key to handling such diseases, keeping Gallifreyans healthy and their minds clear.

Related:

Factoid: How do Gallifreyans form intimate telepathic relationships?

What's the full extent of a Gallifreyan's psychic powers?: The uses and limitations of Gallifreyan psychic abilities.

Gallifreyan Psionics: An Overview: A brief overview of abilities [to be replaced]

Hope that helped! 😃

Any purple text is educated guesswork or theoretical. More content ... →📫Got a question? | 📚Complete list of Q+A and factoids →😆Jokes |🩻Biology |🗨️Language |🕰️Throwbacks |🤓Facts →🫀Gallifreyan Anatomy and Physiology Guide (pending) →⚕️Gallifreyan Emergency Medicine Guides →📝Source list (WIP) →📜Masterpost If you're finding your happy place in this part of the internet, feel free to buy a coffee to help keep our exhausted human conscious. She works full-time in medicine and is so very tired😴

[mariacallous]

“I am opposed to war, unless in self-defense.” This was the most-liked comment on Douyin—the Chinese counterpart to TikTok—in reaction to a speech delivered by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Jan. 9. In his address, Wang previewed China’s top diplomatic goals for 2024 and emphasized “the unwavering resolve of all 1.4 billion Chinese citizens to achieve reunification with Taiwan,” a statement made just days prior to the island’s general elections.

The broader reaction to Wang’s remarks likely wasn’t what the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) hoped for: Tens of thousands of Chinese social media users responded, many of them with grievances, sarcasm, and defiance, widely questioning the costs of a potential war.

One man from Shanghai complained, “Who is going to fight the war? If I die, who is going to pay my mortgage or my car loan?” Wang’s speech framed “national unification” as one of “China’s core interests,” but as one user from Hunan rebutted, “[China’s] core interests are that every Chinese can be treated equally and have access to elderly care and health care.” The pushback went beyond economic and social grievances. Some posters were even bolder, suggesting that Taiwan’s democracy may demonstrate a political alternative to mainland China: “The fact that Taiwanese choose their own way of life,” said one commentator from Shandong, “might show that Chinese people can take a different route.”

The mood among social media users is a sharp departure from past elections. After almost every Taiwanese general election since 2016, a wave of pro-war fever has swept the Chinese internet. After Taiwan’s 2020 elections, for example, upbeat war enthusiasts in China produced oil paintings that illustrated wild fantasies of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) capturing Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen alive after landing in Taiwan and forcing her to sign an official surrender document onboard a Chinese aircraft carrier—a scene reminiscent of the 1945 Japanese surrender that ended World War II.

In 2021, one of the most popular songs to go viral on Chinese social media was “Take A Bullet Train to Taiwan in 2035.” Its allusion to a high-speed rail line connecting Beijing and Taipei was a dog whistle to nationalist masses who hoped that unification was on the horizon—by force, if necessary.

Absent from these fantasies, however, was the blood and violence that accompanies real war. At the time, China’s star was rising on the international stage, and public confidence was riding high on China’s success in controlling the COVID-19 pandemic within its borders. As such, the sentiments surrounding unification and the use of military force were quite romantic; many people believed that victory over Taiwan would be easy, that the Taiwanese would surrender voluntarily if the PLA simply blockaded the island.

In 2024, however, things have changed. The most recent Taiwanese presidential election—in which the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) won a repeat victory—served as an uncomfortable reminder to the Chinese public that neither Taiwanese politicians nor voters are interested in Beijing’s plans for political unification. Although the forceful unification narrative still exists, any push from nationalists to reignite war fever has now run into a wall of skepticism following the DPP victory.

“Wake up,” one Weibo user wrote in opposition to the broader online calls for forceful unification. “Stop dreaming,” another echoed. The defiant voices are becoming a common reaction to the suggested use of military force to an extent rarely seen, given the massive culture of censorship on Chinese social media.

A clear reason for this change is China’s economic slowdown. While Taiwan went to the polls in 2024, China was grappling with a youth unemployment rate above 20 percent, a housing market crisis with sales down by 45 percent, and a stock market in free fall that lost $6 trillion in just three years, the likes of which haven’t been seen in almost a decade. News about Taiwanese elections failed to arouse the same nationalistic reactions among the preoccupied Chinese public that had occurred in the previous two contests.

Instead, the 2024 elections triggered a flood of complaints: “Sort out our own economy, what a mess.” a Shanghai resident said angrily. “Look at our stock market,” an apparently frustrated investor from Hunan grieved, “It’d be better to keep the status quo, and leave Taiwanese alone.” The gloomy economy has made some commenters question the underlying justification for war: “With low-income people making less than 1,000 yuan a month ($140), and the national insurance tax going up, huge medical bills, and unaffordable apartments, why do you want forceful unification? I don’t get it.”

“It is the economy that really matters,” another person from Tianjin pointed out. “[Taiwan] being independent or not has nothing to do with ordinary people.”

The changing attitudes toward Taiwan’s elections reflect a broader shift in public sentiment in China’s online space. Discontent about the country’s poor economic reality has been growing louder, drowning out calls for a military takeover.

Ironically, the CCP’s own past propaganda efforts contributed to this cooling effect. Right before Nancy Pelosi, then the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, visited Taiwan in August 2022, official and semiofficial rhetoric in mainland China was so belligerent that it led many Chinese to believe that the day of unification had finally arrived and that the military would shoot down her plane and launch its attack on Taiwan imminently.

This was the peak of forceful unification hysteria, but it only left its crusaders disappointed. In the end, there was not only no shootdown of Pelosi’s plane, but there also weren’t even military exercises conducted before she left Taiwan. Many Chinese, especially forceful unification advocates, felt betrayed and disillusioned by their government’s failure to follow through on its belligerent rhetoric, and the after-effects of this letdown are still being felt today.

During Taiwan’s 2024 elections, war enthusiasts were continuously reminded of Beijing’s military inaction following Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan. “Have you guys forgotten Pelosi?” one said. One commonly repeated joke, observing the lack of military action, scoffed that the only thing that was fired up when Pelosi visited was the stove in her hotel. The kinds of threats that once resonated with nationalists now drew widespread ridicule online: “delusion,” “talking a big game,” “an unrealistic fantasy,” and “all hat, no cattle.”

Meanwhile, at the other end of the Chinese political spectrum, the 2024 election prompted the resurgence of the view among many liberals that Taiwan’s democracy represents a desirable political model. In the early 2010s, many Chinese saw Taiwan as a beacon of hope for Chinese society—a liberal, civic, and democratic alternative to the one-party state. The liberal Chinese writer Han Han coined a popular phrase—“The most beautiful scenery of Taiwan is its people.”—that encapsulated the view of how trustworthy and free a people can become under democracy.

But after the crackdown on liberal intellectuals and online speech under Chinese leader Xi Jinping, the honeymoon did not last long and was gradually replaced by a climate of xenophobia, jingoism, war euphoria, and a longing for unification by force. Making matters worse, a growing nationalist mood in Taiwan led many to believe that Taiwanese looked down on mainlanders.

The 2024 elections, however, prompted a renewed interest from the Chinese public about their neighbor, home to the world’s only Chinese-speaking democracy. News about Taiwanese elections aroused great curiosity on Weibo about the nuts and bolts of the electoral process—what a ballot looks like, how many ballots one can cast, how votes are counted, and how candidates are selected. When a few Taiwanese Weibo users answered these questions, they were liked and retweeted by thousands of Chinese accounts, drawing genuine admiration and blessings from many.

“Are we going to see one day like this?” one user from Gansu wondered with a crying emoji. “Maybe this is accumulating experience for our own future: giving speeches, holding debates, and counting votes,” commented another, from Tianjin.

China’s shifting public sentiment is bound to have repercussions for cross-strait relations, but it would probably be a bridge too far to infer that the Chinese public will fiercely oppose a war in the Taiwan Strait. Ultimately, the nationalist base remains. At present, the euphoria about forceful unification is quieting down, mainly because the party’s over-the-top propaganda failed to meet the expectations of its most ardent supporters. But if aggressive rhetoric were followed by military action in the future, war fever could be easily fanned again.

Despite the prevalence of extreme nationalism, Chinese public opinion is more divided on Taiwan than it seems, and these divisions are only likely to increase. What concerns most ordinary Chinese are decent jobs, good income, accumulating savings for retirement, and getting affordable access to health care and housing.

So long as the economy is struggling and people’s livelihoods are threatened, there is no guarantee that the CCP’s attempts to exploit nationalism will work; quite the opposite, it could be faced with plenty of pushback.

[shiut]

Hi, I saw your homunculus research post and it's super interesting! I know only very basic biology but it was still understandable! I wanted to ask about how homunculi would get ill since they are made out of bacteria? Do they get sick, can they get bacterical infection and if they can, can that be treated with antibiotics?

Ohh thanks for the fun question! I'm glad that other people also think that granular bio details are interesting too

I'd like to preface with the fun fact that the average human body already contains more bacterial cells than actual human cells, and most of them are either just harmless or are straight up essential to human life. This is why misuse of antibiotics is dangerous, and there is a very specific amount and way you need to take them if they are prescribed. Misusing antibiotics can kill your beneficial bacteria, and it's the sheer amount of bacteria in your body that helps control the potentially bad bacteria. If you kill the good ones, this gives the bad ones room to grow out of control. Not to mention, it's usually the bad bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics, and can very quickly build more resistance the more antibiotics you take.

So in short, antibiotics can be dangerous for humans too, if not used carefully.

With all this in mind, it'll be easy to talk about homunculi. When I was referring to the bad bacteria that have super high antibacterial resistance, this mostly applies to gram-negative bacteria, the type that turns a bright pink that I've described as being a base for homunculi. So, I think that homunculi would generally be fine with antibiotics considering the lab environment in which they were created, where they would probably very quickly build resistances to the cocktails of antimicrobials that would be all over the place in that type of place. I'd expect maybe some homunculi to have a mild allergic reaction to some antibiotics, but I'd imagine that it'd be about as much of a risk as it is to humans.

Also, this leans more into some more science fiction element of all this; but I imagine that the bacteria used to create homunculi are probably some sort of lab-made strain that doesn't exist in real life (it's probably similar to e. coli though), but has stem cell-like properties so that it can use the human genetic code to be able to differentiate and grow into an organism where the bacterial cells become visually and functionally the same as a human's, just with some bacterial properties. It'd be a hybrid cell that's not entirely one or the other.

Going back to when I mentioned that humans contain more bacteria than actual human cells, this means that there could be upwards of a thousand different species in a person. Even when it comes to a bacteria that sounds as scary as e. coli, the reality is that it's normal and beneficial to have e. coli in you. The thing is that there is a specific strain of e. coli that gets you incredibly sick, not the species as a whole. Meaning, that despite homunculi having bacterial based cells, there are so many different species and strains of bacteria that do so many different things that really, homunculi probably can get sick like anyone else if they catch a bad bacterial or viral infection. Granted, they won't be at risk of dying from an illness because their cells are so good at regenerating, but they still have a human body, with a human organ system, and a human immune system. A lot of symptoms from illness are the result of the immune response, so if you consider that a homunculus has an immune system, that still means sneezing, runny nose, inflammation, fever, etc.

[iciatheguardess]

and now for a small ramble on plagues.

“Plague” is a catch-all term for widespread and fast-acting diseases in Dusk’s Domain. “The Plague” is whatever of those diseases is prominent at the time. That’s why Delirium is called “Delirium” but also “The Plague”.

Similarly to how we always assume a disease to be bacterial or viral, in Dusk’s domain it’s assumed to be plant-based, usually with a flower accompanying it. They treat flowers growing on someone the same as we would treat a fever or a cough: telltale signs of illness. Similarly, medicine is plant/spell-based in that world, with bandaged wounds often ending up covered in harmless flowers that grow in the cloth and take care of infection.

Like everything in that world, a plague’s origin is usually unique and myriad, but is almost always formed from a strong emotion or desire. If someone is miserable, there’s a chance either a plague of misery or a plague of comfort will form from that.

Delirium was Dusk’s/the circus’s exhausted wish for a break twisted into something it was never meant to be. You get your rest, buuuut not in the way you’d like. That’s why it acts somewhat similarly to Dusk’s room trap.

Jesus christ

This is

This is amazing

By amazing I mean in terms of writing

Like

Holy fuck

Wow

I love that

[pandemic-info]

CDC easing covid isolation guidance worries vulnerable people - The Washington Post

https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2024/02/17/cdc-covid-isolation-vulnerable-sick-leave/

Concerns among medically vulnerable people are growing as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention prepares to drop its long-standing recommendation that those with covid isolate for five days. People with compromised immune systems worry that co-workers will return to the office while they’re still contagious. At the same time, the few remaining policies guaranteeing paid leave for employees with covid are largely coming to an end. New York, the only state that still requires paid leave for covid isolation, is considering ending that benefit this summer. Even as many cheer loosening isolation guidance, others are troubled by federal health officials’ latest move to stop treating covid as a unique respiratory viral threat. The forthcoming change, first reported by The Washington Post, says people could return to school and work if they have been fever-free for at least 24 hours without the aid of medication and they have mild and improving symptoms. This article is free to read: https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2024/02/17/cdc-covid-isolation-vulnerable-sick-leave/

I will add that any scientifically literate person who understands how this disease affects the body has been and continues to be concerned.

Let's not keep pinning it just on "vulnerable people" and making them carry the entire load for everyone, in addition to the ways they're already suffering.

But who am I kidding at this point, honestly. Everything is so fucked.

[captainmartin20]

Do you have any thoughts on this CC/WNBA discourse that happens after every Fever game?

well,

the debate about physicality shouldn’t been made into an issue imo. as someone who also watches football— im used to seeing players slide tackle each other at full speed to win the ball, so the shoving and pushing that happens on a basketball court is nothing.

as for the foul on cc yesterday, I thought it was weird how she was fouled whilst waiting for the inbound ball— like carter could’ve at least waited until the ball was in play lol. i did see a clip that maybe cc was egging her on so clearly the two were probably going at it before it the shove happened. as for the angel reese one, I think cc was trying to sell it a bit too much lol

As for trash talking, we all know caitlin is a trash talker— she even admitted it herself, proudly too�� might I add. that little back and forth moment with vivians during the seattle game was normal sports stuff, but i guess it blew up because it’s the first time caitlin had ever done that in the wnba (she does it a lot back in iowa— hence the kate martin blinders were very much needed)

I do think that cc’s teammates should try and stick up for her a little more though otherwise players will think she’s free game— which they reallyyyy should not allow this to happen considering 1.) shes their teammate so you got to back her always; and 2.) she’s their star player and they need her on the floor for as long as possible.

i think the frequent discourse is tiring but at the same time, I guess anything caitlin clark does these days is twitter viral worthy. there will always be people with different opinions, different perspectives etc and you kind of just have to accept it— it’s all a part of growing the game. here on tumblr, i follow a few blogs who aren’t too fond of cc lol but I like to still get their perspectives on things.

caitlin’s not trying to make everyone like her. if she was, she’d cave into every online discourse to explain her side or clap back. she’ll make mistakes, she’ll fuck up etc. she doesn’t need to be coddled or treated differently by a league that has existed before her and will continue to exist after her.

caitlin doesn’t portray herself as the second coming of christ and no one should worship the ground she walks on because that’s weird as fuck— you either like her or you don’t, and that’s fine either way.

…did I miss anything?

[cassandrawallac]

Can Bronchitis Turn Into Pneumonia? What You Need to Know

Bronchitis and pneumonia are both serious respiratory conditions, but they are caused by different factors. Bronchitis is usually triggered by viruses or irritants, while pneumonia is commonly caused by bacteria or viruses. It’s possible for bronchitis to escalate into pneumonia if not treated properly.

Causes:

Bronchitis: Viral infections (e.g., flu, cold), bacterial infections, allergies, cigarette smoke, and air pollution.

Pneumonia: Bacteria, viruses, Mycoplasma Pneumonia, and environmental factors.

Symptoms:

Bronchitis: Persistent cough, shortness of breath, fatigue.

Pneumonia: Cough with phlegm, shortness of breath, fever, chest pain, fatigue, and sometimes nausea.

Treatment: For both conditions, treatment varies based on the cause and may include antibiotics, antiviral medications, cough syrups, or oxygen therapy.

Precautions: Maintain good hygiene, stay up-to-date on vaccinations, avoid smoking, and consult your doctor if you have a weakened immune system.

TGH URGENT CARE powered by FAST TRACK

Check out: Bronchitis Turn Into Pneumonia

[chronal-anomaly]

The Switzerland Rehab Garden, nicknamed The Gardens, was a long term medical rehab facility for extremely private and protected clients. Members of their alum include world leaders, billionaires, and one plucky pilot destined to make history.

Lena was taken to The Gardens once she completed half of her training regimen. Her body was strong and her mind was set; they no longer referred to Lena by her name, but by The Pilot, or The Asset, for those unaware of the project. Another six months of training and she would be embarking on the Slipstream project.

The Gardens, as the name suggested, was a medical center nestled in the mountains, and overlooked both the ocean and a beautifully arranged garden that aimed to "improve the mental and physical recovery of their patients." It was several acres large, with tailored paths and places to sit and enjoy your surroundings.

Lena was booked into a private suite in a private wing, with high level contagion restrictions. This meant a portion of the garden was accessible by her balcony, but she was otherwise cut off from the other patients of the facility. To enter, a full hazmat suit was required. As such, her twenty-four hour guard was stationed outside of the ward doors and along the fence of the garden, to prevent anyone from breaking in - or breaking out.

Her care was handled entirely by Overwatch scientists, doctors, and researchers stationed there. Everyone else was excluded from knowing who resided in the north wing of the Gardens.

The vaccination schedule consisted of 2-4 vaccines a cycle, with 10 cycles. Vaccine schedule was determined by the magnitude of the disease, along with the rate of antibody production. These often came with significant side effects, usually a moderate case of whatever disease they were treating.

Lena was ill for the greater part of six months, body processing the likes of yellowfever, tuberculosis, shigella, and other international and regional viral and bacterial illnesses, both modern and ancient. Her vitals were monitored consistently in a strict quarantined environment.

There were a handful of moments where it did feel like the end, that she would succumb to the burning fever or near-constant exhaustion, but the doctors were well practiced in keeping her alive, at least until the next day. The Pilot left the Gardens approximately 9 months after arriving, labeled as 'one of the most vaccinated people in the world.'

And they worked, for the most part. The few infections she had resulted in recovery in a few weeks, while others from similar time periods succumbed to the illness. In one case, she was the only one left alive when a bout of the flu tore through a rural town she landed in for a few weeks.

Today, those antibodies are still around, still protecting her. Lena very rarely gets ill, but when she does, it can be pretty bad. Lain up in bed for days, ache in her bones, fever borderline deadly, unable to keep anything down or sleep or find much in the way of comfort. Jack and Angela are the only ones who know of this particular issue.

When it gets bad, Lena will often lock herself in her room for days, sweating through sheets and getting food delivered to her room by a medical team. They'll check her vitals, ensure she's not going to die, and give her whatever meds to make her comfortable as possible. It's usually passed in a week, two max, and Jack will typically make excuses for her enough that people don't ask questions.