#and was by a doctor who was stripped of license to practice | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

solo6677 · 19 hours ago

Text

The MRI

A man goes for an MRI, but he doesn't come back the same way.

David McDowell was your average 49 year old male.He was married to a lovely woman named Rachel. They had been married for 20 years now, and things were going well, but still could be better. They had two lovely kids, the oldest Amanda was in her first year in college, and their youngest daughter, Emma, who was a mini clone of Rachel,was at home with them when not in kindergarten.

Unfortunately, David was having health issues. Headaches, dizziness, even sensitivity to light started about a month ago .He started seeing a neurologist Dr. Marcus Mitchel who suggested he get an MRI done at the local hospital that his practice was in.

On the morning of his MRI, his lovely wife came to him."You're sure you don't want me to come with you?" Rachel asked, her deep brown eyes filled with concern as she clutched her husband's hand.

"I'll be fine, sweetie," David reassured her with a forced smile, his thumb stroking the back of her palm. "It's just an MRI. Nothing to worry about. Besides, you know how much I hate making you miss work for these appointments."He kissed her on the cheek and gave their daughter, Emma, a gentle pat on the back. "You go have a nice day at school, and be good for your mother later. I love you both?" David then kissed his wife and left, grabbing the keys to the minivan. He hopped in his minivan and started the trek on his way to the hospital.

The drive to the hospital was quiet, the usual traffic noise a stark contrast to the silence in the vehicle.He was happy that Rachel had offered to accompany him, but David knew she had a big presentation at work, so he insisted on going alone. He pulled into the hospital's parking garage and took the ticket from the machine, feeling a slight tremble in his hand. It had been years since his last MRI, and the thought of being in that confined space was never a comforting one.

Once inside, David asked an older security guard how to get to the neurology department.The guard told him to follow the sterile smell of antiseptic and the hum of machinery echoing in the hallways. David thanked him and made his way down the hall. He approached the receptionist, who looked up from her computer with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. She was older than David, with graying hair, and deep, dark, blue eyes. "David McDowell?" she asked, scanning her list. "Yes," he replied, handing over his driver's license and insurance cards. She took them and began the registration process, her fingers clacking away at the keyboard. After she was done processing David, he was sent back out to the waiting room.

As he waited, David couldn't shake the feeling of unease that had settled in his stomach. The waiting room was filled with the usual assortment of patients, some reading magazines, others staring at the floor ,and of course the one's always on their cell phones playing some kind of game or watching a website. A TV played a muted soap opera, the subtitles flashing in time with the actors' exaggerated expressions. The doctor's office had always been a place of dread for him, but this time it felt different. The air was heavier, charged with something he couldn't quite put his finger on.

Finally, a young long haired blond and very attractive nurse called his name and led him to the changing area. "You can leave your clothes and belongings in this locker," she said, pointing to a metal compartment with a combination lock. "Strip down to your underwear and put on these two gowns, one in the front and one in the back."

David nodded and did as instructed, feeling a strange vulnerability as he stripped down to his boxers. The nurse,whose name tag read Amanda, handed him the hospital garments, which were cold and slightly damp. He shivered as he put them on, his body feeling exposed despite the layers. She took his locker key and locked away his clothes, wallet and phone, giving him a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

"You can follow me," she said, leading him down a hallway lined with closed doors. David nodded, his mind racing. The walls felt like they were closing in, and the fluorescent lights above buzzed annoyingly in his ears. The nurse didn't seem to notice his discomfort, her steps quick and efficient as she led him to a room with a large, cylindrical machine. The MRI. There, a female technician took over, one with long brown hair and glasses.

“My name is Miranda. I'll be your technician.”she then continued "Just lie down on the table, and we'll get you all set up," she instructed, her voice distant and professional.

David did as he was told, the coolness of the tabletop sending a shiver down his spine. The technician slid a plastic cushion under his head and placed a pair of headphones over his ears. "These will help with the noise," she explained, her voice now muffled. "The MRI is going to take about 40 minutes. Try to stay as still as you can."

With a gentle push, she sent the table sliding into the machine. The space was smaller than he remembered, the walls seemingly closer. He took a deep breath, trying to calm his racing heart. The headphones played a soothing melody, but it did little to ease the tension in his body. He closed his eyes and focused on the music, willing the time to pass quickly.

As the MRI began to whirl around him, David felt a strange sensation, like a warm current flowing through his veins. His headaches and dizziness from earlier faded away, replaced by a sudden lightness, as if gravity had lessened its hold on him. He thought it was just the relief of being off his feet, but then he noticed something peculiar. His skin felt smoother, his body more pliant. He tried to ignore it, attributing the changes to his nerves and the anticipation of the procedure's end.

The music grew louder in his ears, and a voice began to speak over it, calm and hypnotic. "You are relaxing," the voice intoned. "Your body is changing, adapting to a new form." David's eyes were closed, his heart hammering in his chest. He wasn't aware of anything happening to him. The voice from the headphones was insistent, soothing him into a state of calm.

As the minutes ticked by, the changes grew more pronounced unknown to David. His muscles softening and his frame becoming more delicate. His face grew fuller, his cheekbones more prominent, and his eyes... his eyes had changed color. They were no longer the familiar blue-gray but a deep, vibrant green. As he lay there, nice and comfortable long, silky hair started to sprout from his head to his shoulders. It was brown, not the graying blond he had seen in the mirror that morning.

The voice in the headphones grew more intimate, whispering sweet nothings and gentle suggestions that seemed to seep into his very soul. "You are becoming more beautiful with every moment," it crooned. "Your transformation is almost complete. You are no longer David McDowell. You are now a woman, a woman named Danielle Masters.You will be a very sexual woman. You will know how to give blowjobs and do cunnilingus.” The voice continued,”You are being created to be the perfect mate for Dr. Marcus. He is excited to meet the new you. After your transformation, you will drive your new vehicle to go visit him and become his lover.”

The words resonated within him, and David felt his identity slipping away like sand through his fingers. He could do nothing to resist. His mind grappled with the impossibility of it all, but his body was telling him a different story. He was now Danielle, and he could feel the soft curves of her breasts pressing against the fabric of the hospital gown. He felt a strange yearning, a longing for something he could not quite understand.

The MRI's mechanical noises grew louder, drowning out the voice in his headphones, and Danielle squeezed her eyes shut, trying to make sense of the tumultuous emotions that flooded her now feminine body. Her mind was a whirlwind of confusion and fear, but there was an underlying thread of something... something that felt almost like excitement. The machine's rhythmic humming seemed to match the pounding of her heart, which now felt like it was in the chest of someone else entirely.

The technician's voice called out over the intercom, "Okay, Danielle, we're almost done. Just hold still for a few more minutes."

Danielle's eyes shot open in shock. The voice had called her Danielle. The name echoed in his transformed mind, and she realized that her thoughts had shifted to the feminine pronoun. The changes were real. The person in the machine was no longer David. The panic grew to a crescendo, and he wanted to scream, to protest, but the sound that came out was a soft, feminine gasp. The realization hit him like a wave, and he felt a strange mix of horror and fascination at his new reality.

The MRI's cacophony grew louder still, and Danielle could feel his body continuing to morph. His skin grew more sensitive, his hips widened, and his legs grew longer, the hair on them now soft and fine. The gowns clung to his new figure, and he felt a sudden, intense awareness of his surroundings. The cool air of the room brushed against his skin, and the scent of antiseptic grew stronger, almost sweet.

When the MRI finally stopped the technician slid the table out of the machine. "Great, Danielle," she said, her tone unchanged. "You can sit up now." The technician then left the room.

Danielle, still trying to process the rapid transformation, did as she was told. He... no, she looked down at her body, taking in the unfamiliar curves and the softness of her now-smaller hands. She had become a stunning brunette with long brown hair and green eyes. Her legs were shapely and slender, and she could feel the softness of the gown brushing against them as she swung them over the side of the table.

Her thoughts grew more and more disjointed, but a new sensation began to take over. A warmth grew between her legs, and she realized with a start that she was becoming aroused. It was as if her body was responding to a primal instinct she had never felt before. The voice from the MRI echoed in her mind, whispering sweet nothings about her newfound beauty and her purpose as the doctor's lover.

Another nurse, a young, attractive brunette, came into the room with a smile. "How are you feeling, Danielle?" she asked, her eyes gleaming with curiosity.

Danielle looked up at her, the fog in her mind momentarily lifting. The voice from the MRI had said she was beautiful, and now she saw the truth in those words reflected in the nurse's gaze. The thoughts that had been building in her mind, the ones she had tried so hard to push away, came flooding back. She felt a strange, insatiable hunger for the woman before her. The nurse's name tag read 'Samantha', and she, with the technician, seemed to be the only one who knew the truth of Danielle's transformation.

With a grace that surprised even her, Danielle slid off the table, her legs trembling slightly as she found her balance in this new form. She took a tentative step towards Samantha, the soft fabric of the hospital gowns swishing around her ankles. She felt a strange power in her movements, a seductive allure that seemed to be as much a part of her as her new breasts and narrow waist.

"Thank you," she murmured, her voice now a sultry purr. "Thank you for everything."

Samantha, the nurse, cocked an eyebrow, her smile frozen in place as she took in the sight before her. Danielle had moved closer, her eyes dark with desire. The transformation was complete, and the voice from the MRI had not just changed her body but her mind as well. The thoughts that had been planted grew like wildfire, and she couldn't help but act on them. She had become the doctor's lover, and she craved the touch of another.

Her knees hit the cold floor with a soft thud, and she reached for the hem of Samantha's scrub pants. The nurse gasped, her eyes widening, but she didn't pull away. Danielle could see the curiosity in her gaze, the hunger she hadn't noticed before. With trembling hands, she untied the drawstring, revealing a pair of simple, white cotton panties beneath. The fabric was already damp, and Danielle's heart raced with excitement.

"Thank you," she murmured again, her voice thick with need. She slid the fabric aside, exposing Samantha's pink, glistening folds. The scent of arousal filled the air, and Danielle felt a thrill of power. She had never felt like this before, never knew she could make someone else feel like this. She leaned in, her tongue darting out to taste the sweetness that awaited her.

Samantha's gasp turned into a moan as Danielle's tongue touched her clit, light as a feather at first, and then with increasing pressure. The nurse's thighs trembled, and she had to lean against the MRI for support. "What are you doing?" she whispered, her voice strained, but she didn't push Danielle away.

"I just thought this is what you would want after I came out," Danielle murmured, her eyes meeting Samantha's with a knowing look. The words were a heady mix of innocence and seduction, and Samantha found herself lost in the depths of the new woman's gaze. Her body responded on its own, her hips rocking slightly as Danielle's tongue danced over her most sensitive spot. The room around them faded away, leaving only the sound of their ragged breaths and the occasional beep of the machine.

Danielle's hands gripped Samantha's hips, pulling her closer as she explored the nurse's body with a hunger that was both surprising and exhilarating. Rachel's gentle touch was a distant memory, replaced by this insatiable need to give and receive pleasure. She felt a wetness growing between her own legs, the fabric of the gowns clinging to her new curves as her arousal grew.

Samantha's breath grew ragged, her eyes glazed with passion as she watched Danielle's beautiful, full lips tease and suck at her clit. The sensation was overwhelming, and she couldn't help but push down on the back of Danielle's head, urging her deeper. The MRI room was no longer cold and sterile; it had become a sanctuary of desire.

Danielle felt a thrill at Samantha's response, her own arousal building as she tasted the nurse's sweetness. Her movements grew bolder, her tongue flicking and circling with increasing speed. She could feel Samantha's muscles tensing, her moans growing louder. And then, with a sharp gasp, the nurse's body convulsed, and she came hard, her juices flooding Danielle's mouth.

With trembling hands, Samantha helped Danielle to her feet, her cheeks flushed with desire. "I... I don't know what came over me," she whispered, her voice hoarse.

Samantha simply smiled, a knowing smile that seemed to carry the weight of a thousand secrets. "It's okay," she said, her voice still breathless. "It's all part of the change."

With Samantha's shaky hands, they helped each other clean up, the nurse's eyes never leaving Danielle's transformed face. The MRI had done more than just reveal the workings of his... no, her body. It had changed the very fabric of her existence. As Samantha handed her the locker key, Danielle took it, feeling the cold metal slip into her delicate, new hands.

Her heart racing, Danielle returned to the dressing room, the echoes of their shared passion still resonating through her body. As she opened the locker, she found her clothes neatly folded, her purse exactly where she had left it. The sight of her dress, bra, and panties brought a rush of relief, a hint of normalcy in this bizarre situation. She slipped off the hospital gowns, her new, soft skin brushing against the cool air. The fabric of her underwear felt foreign yet familiar, as if it had been made just for her.

She took time to finally look at herself in the mirror, her breasts nice and full, her pussy shaved. She was gorgeous, and she couldn't wait to discover her body and what her new life would entail.

She then dressed, her movements were more graceful than she had ever known, her new body fitting into the clothing with an ease that seemed almost preordained. She pulled the dress over her head, feeling the fabric hug her curves in a way that clothes never had. Looking again into the mirror, she saw Danielle Masters staring back at her, the name that had been whispered into her mind now a stark reality. The ID in her purse confirmed it, a name she had never chosen but one that now felt as much a part of her as her new, emerald-green eyes.

With a deep breath, she stepped out into the hallway, her heels clicking against the cold tile floor. The security guard looked up, his eyes widening as they took in her transformed body. "Excuse me, miss, do you need a... a parking pass?" he stuttered, his gaze lingering on her chest, where her breasts swelled invitingly.

Danielle couldn't help but smile at his reaction, feeling a thrill of power at the way his eyes devoured her. "No, thank you," she replied sweetly, her voice dripping with a newfound femininity. "I already have one." She pulled the crumpled ticket from her purse and held it up for him to see, her fingers brushing over the soft fabric of her dress. "It's been taken care of."

The security guard nodded, his eyes still glued to her, unable to look away.With a final wink, Danielle turned and sashayed away, her hips swinging with a newfound allure. She walked through the hospital's bustling halls, her heart racing as she felt the eyes of every person she passed. The power of her femininity was intoxicating, and she reveled in the attention.

When she reached the parking garage, she was momentarily disoriented. The rows of cars stretched out before her, a sea of steel and glass. The minivan was nowhere in sight. Instead, her eyes fell upon a sleek red Mazda Miata, parked under a flickering light. A wave of confusion washed over her, followed by a sudden rush of memory. It was her car, the one her boyfriend had bought her for her birthday, a symbol of his love and their secret affair.

Her hand trembled as she reached into her purse and pulled out the key fob. She clicked the button, and the Miata's headlights flashed in response, beckoning her like a lover in the night. The leather seats were cool against her bare thighs as she slid in, the smell of him still lingering faintly. Danielle took a deep breath, trying to steady her racing heart. David was a thing of the past now. She was Danielle, and she had a new life to live.

The engine roared to life, the vibration of the powerful engine sending a thrill through her. She had never driven a stick shift before, but somehow, it felt natural in this new body. The gears clicked into place as she shifted, the car responding to her touch as if it had been made for her. She pulled out of the parking spot and headed towards the exit, the tension in her shoulders gradually easing with each passing second.

Her thoughts were a jumble of emotions: fear, excitement, confusion, and a burning desire that consumed her. Rachel's love for her seemed a distant memory, replaced by the passion that surged through her veins at the thought of her boyfriend. Danielle knew she had to see him, to feel his arms around her, to make sense of this new reality. The city streets blurred by as she drove, the wind playing with her long brown hair.

When she arrived at his apartment, her heart raced with anticipation. She had never felt so alive, so... so female. The door swung open before she could knock, and there he was, Dr. Marcus, a 6 foot 4 black male in his late 40's. "Danielle?" he questioned his excitement evident.

"Hi," she breathed, her cheeks flushing a delicate pink. She stepped inside, the warmth of the room enveloping her in a comforting embrace. The doctor's eyes roved over her, taking in every inch of her transformed body. His gaze was intense, hungry, and for a moment, Danielle felt a thrill of fear. But then he stepped closer, his hand reaching out to trace the line of her jaw, and she knew that she was where she belonged.

The doctor's touch was gentle yet firm, sending electric currents through her body. "I've missed you," he murmured, pulling her into an embrace. The scent of his cologne, something she had never noticed before, now filled her nose, making her head swim with desire. Danielle melted into his arms, feeling the strength of his body against her own. She had never felt so small, so delicate, and it was a heady sensation.

As they kissed, Danielle felt herself falling into a whirlpool of emotions. Rachel's love was a fading memory, replaced by the heat and passion of Dr. Marcus's touch. His hands roamed her body, exploring every curve and angle, as if trying to memorize every inch of her new form. The voice from the MRI whispered in her ear, reminding her of her purpose, and she responded eagerly, her own hands sliding under his lab coat to caress the firm planes of his chest.

They stumbled into the living room, their kisses growing more urgent with each passing second. Danielle felt the couch at the back of her legs and pushed him down, straddling him as he lay back. The fabric of her dress hiked up, revealing the tops of her thighs, and Marcus's gaze grew darker with desire. She reached behind her to unzip the dress, letting it fall in a pool of silk around her. His eyes widened at the sight of her, his hands reaching up to cup her breasts, feeling the weight of them in his palms.

Their kisses grew deeper, their tongues dancing together as they explored each other's mouths. Danielle felt his arousal pressing against her, and she ground her hips into him, feeling his hardness through his pants. The doctor's hands roamed her body, his touch electric, making her skin tingle and her nipples peak. She reached for his zipper, her own breath coming in short gasps.

With a swift motion, she freed him, his huge erection springing forth, thick and demanding. She took him in her hand, marveling at the feel of him, so different from her own body. The head was hot and velvety, and she could feel the pulse of his desire as she stroked him gently. He groaned into her mouth, his hips bucking up to meet her hand. The power she had over him was exhilarating, and she knew that she wanted more.

Danielle slid down his body, her breasts brushing against his chest, leaving a trail of goosebumps in their wake. She took him into her mouth, her eyes never leaving his, and felt him stiffen even further at the warm, wet embrace. His hands tangled in her hair, guiding her as she took him deeper, her tongue swirling around his shaft. She could feel him getting closer to the edge, his breath coming in harsh pants, and she knew that she had him right where she wanted him.

Suddenly, she pulled away, leaving him gasping, his eyes glazed with passion. "Take me to your bed," she demanded, her voice firm yet soft. The doctor's eyes widened at her command, but he complied without a word. They stumbled into his bedroom, the air thick with desire. He pushed her down onto the bed, his body covering hers as he kissed her again, his hands exploring her new body with an urgency that was almost overwhelming.

Danielle could feel herself growing wet, her arousal coating her thighs and the fabric of her panties. She reached down and slid them off, her legs parting invitingly. Marcus looked down at her, his eyes dark with lust. "You're so beautiful," he murmured, his voice hoarse. He trailed kisses down her neck, her collarbone, and between her breasts, his tongue tracing the curve of her cleavage.

Her body arched up to meet his, her hips bucking against his, searching for release. He took his time, teasing her with his kisses and nips, driving her closer and closer to the edge. She could feel the heat building within her, the pressure growing unbearable. "Please," she gasped, her voice a desperate whimper.

He took mercy on her, his hand sliding between her legs to find her clit. He stroked her gently at first, the pad of his thumb circling the sensitive bud. Danielle's breath hitched in her throat, and she clutched at the bedsheets, her body writhing under his touch. The voice from the MRI whispered encouragement in her ear, urging her to give in to her newfound desires. She could feel the walls of her pussy clenching, begging for more.

With a growl, Marcus pulled away from her, his eyes smoldering with passion. He stood up, his erection still standing proud, and began to undress. Danielle watched him, her eyes devouring every inch of his bare skin as it was revealed. He was more muscular than she had ever imagined, his chest hairless and defined. The sight of his huge black cock made her even wetter, and she couldn't wait to feel him inside her.

The doctor took a moment to appreciate her new form, his gaze lingering on her swollen breasts and the dampness between her legs. Then, with a predatory grace, he climbed onto the bed, positioning himself between her thighs. He leaned down to kiss her again, his hand sliding down to tease her opening with a single finger. Danielle moaned into his mouth, her hips bucking up to meet his touch.

With a gentle push, he slid his finger inside her, feeling her tightness grip him. She was so wet, so ready for him. He added a second finger, stretching her, preparing her for what was to come. Danielle's moans grew louder, her body shuddering with pleasure. She had never felt so alive, so full of need. It was like she had been born for this moment, to be with him.

The doctor's thumb found her clit again, rubbing in a slow, steady rhythm that had her back arching off the bed. He watched her face contort with pleasure, his own arousal reaching a fever pitch. He could feel his control slipping, the need to claim her, to make her his own, growing stronger with every passing second.

With a final, gentle kiss, he positioned himself at her entrance, his cock poised to invade her tight, wet warmth. Danielle's eyes were half-closed, her breathing shallow as she awaited his next move. She felt the tip of his cock press against her, the anticipation making her entire body quiver. And then, with a powerful thrust, he was inside her.

Her gasp was muffled by his mouth, their tongues tangling as he filled her completely. The sensation was overwhelming, and she wrapped her legs around his waist, pulling him deeper. He began to move, his hips rolling in a steady rhythm that had her toes curling with every stroke. She had never felt anything like this before, the sensation of being filled, the friction of his body against hers.

The voice in her head grew quieter, the hypnotic suggestions from the MRI fading into the background as the reality of her new life took precedence. David was truly gone, and in her place was Danielle, a woman who craved this kind of passion, who reveled in the feeling of being taken by the man she loved. The doctor's hands gripped her hips, his movements growing more urgent as he drove into her, each thrust sending waves of pleasure crashing through her body.

They moved together in perfect harmony, their breaths mingling in the quiet room. Danielle's mind was a whirlwind of emotions, she threw her head back, her long brown hair cascading over the pillow, as she reached the peak of her climax. The doctor groaned, his body tensing as he followed her over the edge, filling her with his warmth.

Afterwards, they lay tangled in the sheets, the scent of their passion heavy in the air. Marcus pulled her closer, his arm wrapping around her waist. Danielle felt a strange comfort in his embrace, as if she had always belonged there. They didn't speak, the silence between them filled with the unspoken understanding of what had just occurred.

Life moved quickly for Danielle, the days blurring together in a whirlwind of passion and excitement. Marcus had been a doting lover, showering her with gifts and affection. His apartment had become her sanctuary. Each touch, each whispered promise, cemented her role as his trophy girlfriend.

Marcus had introduced her to his luxurious world, a stark contrast to her former life with Rachel. They attended glamorous parties, dined at exclusive restaurants, and shopped at high-end boutiques where the saleswomen treated her with envy and deference. Danielle had never felt so desired, so alive.

Then one night, Marcus took Danielle to the most exclusive restaurant in town. After the most expensive dinner Danielle had ever had, Marcus got down on one knee and proposed. Danielle, with tears in her eyes, accepted. They were married 6 months later.

#transformation story #m2f transformation

12 notes · View notes

justinspoliticalcorner · 7 months ago

Text

Madison Pauly and Henry Carnell at Mother Jones:

The conversion therapists met last November at the south end of the Las Vegas Strip. Behind the closed doors and drawn blinds of a Hampton Inn conference room, a middle-aged woman wearing white stockings and a Virgin Mary blue dress issued a call to arms to the 20-some people in attendance. “In our current culture, in which children are being indoctrinated with transgender belief from the moment they’re out of the womb, if we are confronted with a gender-confused child, you must help,” declared Michelle Cretella, a board member of the Alliance for Therapeutic Choice and Scientific Integrity. “We must do something.” Cretella was delivering a keynote speech at the first in-person conference in four years of the Alliance, which describes itself as a “professional and scientific organization” with “Judeo-Christian values.” Its purpose: to defend and promote the practice of conversion therapy by licensed counselors.

Not that they’d call what they do “conversion therapy.” That term lacks a precise definition, but it is used colloquially to describe attempts to shift a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. In the 1960s, some psychologists tried to make gay men straight by pairing aversive stimuli, like electric shocks or chemically induced nausea, with images of gay porn—techniques that ran the risk of causing serious psychological damage even as they failed to change participants’ sexual orientation, researchers eventually concluded. Today, “conversion therapy” generally takes the form of verbal counseling. Participants are typically conservative Christians who engage voluntarily—motivated by internalized stigma, family pressure, and the belief that their feelings are incompatible with their faith. Others are children, brought into therapy by their parents.

The American Psychological Association (APA) has concluded that conversion therapy lacks “sufficient bases in scientific principles” and that people who have undergone it are “significantly more likely to experience suicidality and depression.” Similarly, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), part of the Department of Health and Human Services, published a report concluding that “none of the existing research supports the premise that mental or behavioral health interventions can alter gender identity or sexual orientation. Interventions aimed at a fixed outcome, such as gender conformity or heterosexual orientation…are coercive, can be harmful, and should not be part of behavioral health treatment.”

Accordingly, the Alliance and the ideas it promotes have been relegated to the scientific and political fringes. In the 2010s, as acceptance of gay rights grew rapidly, 18 states and dozens of local governments passed laws forbidding mental health professionals from attempting conversion therapy on minors. Yet by 2020, a new front had opened in the war against LGBTQ people. Republican state legislatures started passing laws targeting transgender and nonbinary children at school—restricting their access to bathrooms, barring them from participating in sports, and stopping educators from teaching about sexual orientation or gender identity. The most intense attacks have banned doctors from providing the treatments for gender dysphoria backed by all major US medical associations. Nearly 114,000 trans youth live in states where access to puberty blockers and hormone therapy has been wiped out.

Last year, I received leaked emails illustrating how these laws are crafted and pushed by a network of anti-trans activists and powerful Christian-right organizations. The Alliance is deeply enmeshed in this constellation of actors. Although small, with an annual budget of under $200,000, it provides both unsubstantiated arguments suggesting LGBTQ identities are changeable and a network of licensed counselors to lend their credibility to these efforts. Among the collaborators were David Pickup, the Alliance’s president-elect; Laura Haynes, an Alliance advocate; and Cretella, the former executive director of an anti-trans pediatrics group who described gender-affirming medical care at the Las Vegas conference as “evil” and part of a “New World Order.” (“I’m not a conspiracy theorist,” she assured attendees. “I’m just someone who has been in the battle of the culture of life versus the culture of death long enough to see the big picture.”) All three have testified before state legislatures against gender-affirming care. When a US senator introduced a pair of bills to restrict trans youth health care in 2021, his press release quoted Cretella calling gender-affirming treatments “eugenics.”

[...]

If the Las Vegas conference made one thing clear, it’s that conversion therapy is alive and well, even in places where it’s been banned. One counselor told me he makes it a habit not to document his treatment plans in writing to avoid getting in trouble and simply treats “family dynamics” in states with conversion therapy bans. In a 2015 survey of more than 27,000 trans adults, nearly 1 in 7 said that a professional, such as a therapist, doctor, or religious adviser, had tried to make them not transgender; about half of respondents said they were minors at the time. By applying this rate to population estimates, the Williams Institute at UCLA projects that more than 135,000 trans adults nationwide have experienced some form of conversion therapy.

Despite the data, lawmakers frequently don’t believe that conversion therapy is still happening in their community, says Casey Pick, director of law and policy at the Trevor Project, the LGBTQ suicide prevention group. “We’re constantly running up against this misconception that this is an artifact of the past,” she says. So, five years ago, the Trevor Project began scouring psychologists’ websites and books, records of public testimony, and known conversion therapy referral services, looking for counselors who said they could alter someone’s gender identity or sexual orientation. As the research stretched on, Pick noticed webpages being revised to reflect changing times. “We saw many folks who seemed to leave the industry entirely,” she says. “But others changed their website, changed their keywords, [from] talking about creating ex-gays to talking about ex-trans.” Last December, Pick’s team published their report documenting active conversion therapists. They found more than 600 were licensed health care professionals and an additional 716 were clergy, lay ministers, or other unlicensed religious counselors.

According to Pick, some conversion therapists have embraced a new label for what they do: “gender exploratory therapy.” It’s a term that Cretella used to describe the approach she recommended, and unlike the other euphemisms thrown around at the conference, this has gained traction. In 2021, a group of therapists, who ranged from conflicted about medical interventions for kids with gender dysphoria to skeptical of the very concept of transgender identity, formed the Gender Exploratory Therapy Association (GETA) to promote an approach they characterize as neither conversion nor affirmation.

Some current and former leaders of the group, which claims a membership of 300 mental health providers, have been involved in influential organizations lobbying against gender-affirming care across the world, such as the Ireland-based Genspect and the Society for Evidence-Based Gender Medicine, a nonprofit registered in Idaho. They’ve notched some big wins: In November 2023, the UK Council for Psychotherapy—the nation’s top professional association—declared that it was fine for counselors to take GETA’s “exploratory” approach to gender. This April, a long-awaited review of gender-related care for youth in England’s National Health Service endorsed exploratory therapy, according to Alex Keuroghlian, an associate psychiatry professor at Harvard Medical School. And in the United States, in cases in which families of trans children have sued states for banning gender-affirming care, the state often calls expert witnesses who endorse “exploratory” psychotherapy as their preferred alternative treatment.

After all, the idea of “exploring” one’s gender identity sounds benign. The World Professional Association for Transgender Health, which issues guidelines on gender-affirming treatment, recommends that clinicians working with teens “facilitate the exploration and expression of gender openly and respectfully so that no one particular identity is favored.” Yet, as with mindfulness, “that term has now been hijacked by folks on the other side,” says Judith Glassgold, a clinical psychologist who chaired the APA task force that in 2009 documented the lack of science behind conversion therapy.

GETA’s guidelines instruct therapists to dig deep into “the entire landscape of the young person’s life and subjective experience,” probing all possible reasons they might identify as transgender. The catch, says Glassgold, is that “exploration” means “trying to find negative reasons why someone’s diverse.” Last year, SAMHSA issued a report saying that “approaches that discourage youth from identifying as transgender or gender-diverse, and/or from expressing their gender identity” are sometimes “misleadingly referred to as ‘exploratory therapy.’” These approaches are “harmful and never appropriate,” the report concluded.

Mother Jones has a detailed report on a new form of the medically discredited practice known as conversion therapy called gender exploratory therapy. Gender exploratory therapy is the practice of making a person revert to their gender assigned at birth, which is essentially forced detransition by another name.

Read the full story at Mother Jones.

#Gender Exploratory Therapy #Conversion Therapy #LGBTQ+#Transgender #Detransitioners #Transphobia #Alliance for Therapeutic Choice and Scientific Integrity #Michelle Cretella #David Pickup #Laura Haynes #Gender Affirming Healthcare #WPATH #Cass Review #Gender Exploratory Therapy Association #Gender Identity #Social Contagion Myth #Gender Dysphoria #Forced Detransition

17 notes · View notes

385bookreviews · 1 year ago

Text

2.230 The Spirit Bares Its Teeth by Andrew Joseph White

SPOILERS

Pages: 381

Read Time: 4 hours and 51 minutes

Overall Rating: ★★★★★ Storyline: ★★★★★ Dialogue: ★★★★★ Characters: ★★★★★

Genre: YA Historical Fiction/Gothic Horror

TWs for the book: Transphobia, gore, body horror, medical content, deadnaming, forced institutionalization, medical trauma, abortion, misogyny/sexism, blood, death, SA/CSA, ableism, murder, torture, violence, physical/mental/emotional/child abuse, pregnancy, gender dysphoria, child death, confinement, p*dophilia, gaslighting, self harm, mental illness, homophobia, r*pe, domestic abuse, discussions of miscarriage, su*c*dal thoughts, panic attacks/meltdowns, vomit, animal death, cursing, abandonment, bullying, death of a parent, kidnapping, outing, classism, body shaming, religious bigotry

POV: First person; Silas Bell

Time Period/Location: 1883-1884 London, England

First Line: At least the doctors had the decency to kill me before they opened me up.

Set in Victorian Era England, autistic trans boy Silas Bell is a violet-eyed medium. People with violet eyes are members of the Royal Speaker Society, and are tasked with summoning the dead and taming hauntings. But only the men are allowed to do so, and the women are married off to rich, non-medium men in order to create more children for the Society. As young as 16, Silas' parents have already engaged him off to Lord Luckenbill's (the head of the Speaker Society) son, Edward Luckenbill. Silas, who wants to run away to transition and become a surgeon, forges his identity and dresses as a different boy in order to gain his Speaker's seal. However, when he arrives, he is given to his brother George to be chaperoned by, who recognizes him immediately. George tentatively agrees to help him, and he goes up in front of the whole society to perform his test and receive his seal. Unexpectedly his test is to execute a woman who practiced opening the Veil, by opening the Veil himself and suffocating her in the land of the dead. He refuses, giving the woman time to stab the guard holding her. Silas and George immediately rush over to help him, and Silas stitches him back together. When George's medical license is threatened over the incident, Silas reveals himself in the presence of his parents. Before he can be taken to jail or executed for such a crime, Lord Luckenbill tells him and his parents of Braxton's Finishing School, a sanitorium for violet-eyed women afflicted with "Veil sickness" to go and be trained to be perfect wives. Veil sickness was nothing more than a hysteria label for women who weren't perfect in the eyes of society, but his parents believed he was afflicted by it and agreed to send him there. Silas tries to flee but is assaulted by his father, before being whisked off by Lord Luckenbill and Edward. He arrives at the school and is immediately made to strip and bathe in front of Mrs. Forrester, a teacher at the school.

He then meets Isabella, another student at the school, along with Mary, a seemingly cruel and manipulative girl, Ellen, a tall girl with a lot of anger who listens very closely to Mary, Louise, who is a little bit of a coward, Charlotte, who believes everything the Headmaster tells her and plays the perfect woman, and 14 year old Agnes. Agnes, who is pregnant by her much older suitor, Dr. Bernthal, is made prepared to leave the school. Angry and encouraged by an equally wrathful Mary, Ellen throws Agnes over the banister of the stairs. When asked who did it, Silas says it was Ellen, and she is taken by the Headmaster and doesn't return. Upon his first meeting with Edward, it is revealed that her name is actually Daphne and she is trans just like Silas. She is very accepting of their engagement and of his autism, and Silas is relieved. During their meeting, letter tiles that Speakers use to communicate with spirits fly out of the cabinet, claiming to be Ellen and another former student Frances, telling Silas to run. Daphne and Silas dedicate themselves to finding out what happened to the girls and bringing it to Lord Luckenbill's attention so he would shut down the school. During this time, Silas is subjected to lessons about being a good wife, and the Headmaster uses physical violence to try and make Silas realize he isn't a boy, and also s*xually assaults him. Silas meets the groundskeeper, who is autistic just like him, and they try to work together to figure out the mystery until they are caught by Mrs. Forrester, the Headmaster's wife. As punishment, the girls are shown one of Dr. Bernthal's patients, a former student named Harriet. Afflicted with "Veil sickness", Dr. Bernthal had removed her tongue, eyes, and teeth, leaving her a tortured shell. Mrs. Forrester has a breakdown as Harriet was one of her fellow students while she was a student there as well.

Desperate for help, Silas writes George to come and visit. He tries to tell him of the missing girls but he calls him sick and crazy, and then shows him why he was really there: to treat Mrs. Forrester. The Headmaster made her walk with glass in her shoes to keep her "Veil sickness" at bay. At the Garden Party, Daphne and Silas discover that the bodies are being kept in the dressing room and wonder how to find a way in. It is also announced that Isabella is to be married to her much older suitor, another doctor, like Agnes. That night, Silas walks into the bathroom to find Isabella cutting her stomach open to remove the three month old fetus inside so she wouldn't be married off. Silas helps her and performs the rest of the C-section, Mary and Louise helping as well. Just as Silas finishes the procedure, the Headmaster and Mrs. Forrester walk in, and he takes Isabella away and the rest of the girls are locked away in their room. Upon being freed, the other girls are allowed to go but the Headmaster and Dr. Bernthal try to detain Silas. Mary attacks the Headmaster and steals the keys to the dressing room. Silas runs down and finds a hidden basement with Isabella's body, where she was vivisected (dissected alive). Frances and Ellen's ghosts are also there. Mary and Silas are then locked in the basement. When the door opens again sometime later, the Headmaster, Dr. Bernthal, and another man are there to vivisect Silas. Silas realizes the other man is his brother George, and begins pleading for his life. He is about to be cut open when Daphne arrives demanding to see Silas, and they get him up and presentable, but threaten to kill Mary if he says anything to Daphne. He manages to tell Daphne anyways, and sneaks into the Headmaster's office with the help of the groundskeeper. He begins searching through files to find evidence of their crimes, but is tricked by Charlotte and Louise and Charlotte calls for Mrs. Forrester. When she arrives, Silas grabs the letter he needs and rips open the Veil, and all of the ghosts Headmaster killed in the war come flooding out, freezing the school and causing it to collapse under the frost. Daphne and Silas race to the basement, where his brother is gone, but Headmaster and Dr. Bernthal are frozen to death. They grab Mary and run and are picked up by Lord Luckenbill.

After a long sleep at Luckenbill Manor, Silas awakes and lets Lord Luckenbill into his room. He shows him the proof of the vivisections, a letter from his brother to the Headmaster, but Lord Luckenbill knew about it. He is only angered by the fact that they touched Silas. Then he reveals that he wants to marry Silas instead of marrying him to Daphne, and that he had been watching Silas since he was a child and waiting for him to be old enough to marry as Silas reminded him of his dead wife. Silas refuses, and Luckenbill tries r*pe him. Silas kills him with a piece of glass to his throat and chews out his eyeballs. Daphne and Mary saw the whole thing, and they escape the manor.

One year later, Silas and Daphne are married and living as their respective genders. Mary invites them to Manchester for Christmas, and when they go, they discover she has also invited Agnes and her baby. Agnes asks Silas if he wants to kill his brother, and the book ends.

Silas Bell (Gloria Bell, Silas Barry): Silas is one of, if not the most, relatable characters I've ever read. His autism was very accurately portrayed, and shows that even if someone "looks normal" they can still be autistic, just masking due to trauma. His anxiety is also portrayed as a rabbit that lives inside of his chest and repeats the words of the people who have abused him. When he decides to refuse Lord Luckenbill and then subsequently kills him, there is a wonderful metaphor/description of him strangling the rabbit and snapping its neck. This isn't a permanent cure for his anxiety, however he no longer lets it govern him and no longer hears his insecurities in the voices of the people who hurt him. I loved his constant stimming, and how it wasn't overdone but definitely still relevant in his every moment. The struggle he has of constantly being around people and sometimes wanting touch and other times not resonated a lot with me personally, as did his feelings about his gender and how that intersected with his feelings about being born female. Another huge thing that I love about the way Andrew Joseph White writes his trans characters is that none of them hate being trans, even when faced with so much hardship because of it. Silas explains that he has a much deeper understanding of himself than most people and even if he could magically make himself "normal" he never would. Silas still experiences trans joy even in the most trying of times and that is one of the most beautiful things about his entire character.

Daphne Luckenbill (Edward Luckenbill, Daphne Barry): I loved Daphne the whole book and how gentle and understanding she was with Silas. She always made a safe space for him, and he did the same for her, and was willing to help him no matter what. I also loved that she didn't at all blame Silas for her father's death, and made no justifications for his disgusting actions.

Mary Carter: You really hate Mary at first because she seems to be very cruel and conniving, but you end up gaining a lot of understanding and sympathy for her. Her connection with Frances and their love surpassing the Veil was moving, and she had an excellent character arc throughout the whole book.

Storyline: I was on the edge of my seat for this entire book. I really thought Silas wasn't going to make it at certain parts and was preparing myself for a tragedy. While some of the plot twists (such as George being one of the doctors doing vivisections) I saw coming, it didn't matter as the reveals were still just as gut wrenching. The body horror was insane but not at all overdone, and the whole thing overall was a beautiful and gory commentary about misogyny, ableism, and transphobia, not just in Victorian England, but even in today's day and age.

Representation: Silas is FtM transgender and bisexual and has autism, anxiety, and trauma. Daphne is MtF transgender. Mary and Frances are lesbians. The groundskeeper was non-speaking autistic. There were not any people of color in this book, but there is an author's note at the end speaking to the historical accuracy of the book where Andrew Joseph White explains that it is important to acknowledge that a lot of the torture and abuse Silas faces in the book was most commonly done on people of color throughout all of history.

Summary: Not only was this book incredibly well written and well researched, it gave very accurate representation of autism that I've never seen before. Just as in Hell Followed With Us, Andrew Joseph White portrays the trans experience as so much more than what people think it is on the surface. The way Daphne, Silas, Mary, and Isabella all changed the usage of names and pronouns immediately upon finding out either Daphne or Silas was trans was such a relief after reading the atrocity that was The Art of Being Normal (see earlier book review 2.96 for all of the reasons I violently despise that book). This is definitely one of the best books I have ever read and I will continue to be reading any and everything that Andrew Joseph White writes.

Quotes: "They can't keep scraping away layers of me thinking they can find the girl they want underneath... All of this is me. They can't just remove whatever they want."-Silas Bell (p. 87) "A strange thing about being a boy like me is how difficult it is to untangle the truth of yourself from the world's perception of you. Because, yes, I am a boy. I am just as much a man as my father and brother, just a different kind. Acknowledging this has made my life almost bearable; it's taken a terrible weight off my shoulders, given me an answer for why I feel the way I do. But I still connect with women. I find companionship with them, closeness that cannot be denied, because the world will always do its damnedest to see me as one of them. As long as we are seen the same, we will experience the same. Our lives will be linked. I will be held to the same unfair standards, punished under the same unjust rules. To separate how you are seen from who you are sometimes feels nigh impossible."-Silas Bell (p. 94) "'... I like being like this. All of it. Even if it makes things hard.' And that's true. Knowing these things about myself has given me an insight, an understanding of the way I move through the world that a great many people lack. I would never give that away."-Silas Bell (p. 204) "I tell her that the two of us are the same, mirror images of each other, our experiences so fundamentally opposite that they become identical again."-Silas Bell (p. 301) "If you're expecting some grand wisdom about love... you're sorely mistaken... It's merely asking the other person what they want for supper every day for the rest of your life."-Daphne Luckenbill (p. 378)

14 notes · View notes

stuffnonsenseandotherthings · 11 months ago

Text

Cupid's Last Wish Episodes 9-10 - Watch It Or Drop It Challenge

I may have lost braincells watching these last two episodes, the characters certainly lost plenty.

Korn immediately goes in for a misunderstanding fueling hug with Lin, excellent. You can practically see Win's heart shattering.

Win not being awake to see Korn show him the same tenderness regardless of which body he's in....

True to form, Win will annoy Korn into eating a meal with him (and by that I mean Win eats as Korn watches him with heart eyes).

God the mum is annoying I just can't like her, I'm sorry.

A random aside but where are Aunty and Uncle?

For a mum who prides herself in being able to see how her daughter supposedly feels, she sure is completely blind to anything her son might be going through.

WHAT THE FUCK LIN?

Look Korn, I know you don't want to lie because you technically did "take advantage" of Lin's body while Win was in it BUT IT IS NOT HELPING AND WIN IS GETTING ALL THE WRONG MESSAGES. THIS IS NOT THE DECLARATION OF FEELINGS YOU THINK IT IS.

I guess we're getting engaged then.

Wait how did we get here?

Oh it was a time skip. I am not enjoying these time skips at the end of the episodes, it feels like there's a problem with the pacing if, in order to create a cliffhanger, you have to use a clip from a future episode.

Non has lost it.

Are they really, really doing what I think they're doing? Is this really some kind of plan to get Win and Korn together? Surely not?

IT IS! And it's the stupidest plan ever wtf. I know it technically has nothing to do with Non's ability to practise medicine but I think he should be stripped of his license for having such a dumb thought and then going through with it.

Ah it's the clip from the end of ep. 9

Holy shit the mum is EVIL. Who the fuck comes up with a plan that they know will break so many people's heart what the actual fuck. She caused all of this and she has the gall the cry???

WTF NO DON'T HUG HER BOOT HER INTO THE SEA.

I'm fuming too much at the mum to properly enjoy the cuteness but. Cute.

Oh Aunty and Uncle are back and you know what, brief attempt at indirect murder aside, they're actually not too bad. Like their reasoning seems to make sense and they're being pretty reasonable about everything now Win will actually talk to them. They don't really read as villains tbh. No the real villain is the damn mum.

Awwwww they're running the farm together now.

Glad to see that Non is no longer a full time doctor.

Haha love the horse riding montage but that is not Earth or Mix. I'll suspend my disbelief though.

The cuteness is nearly enough to make up for what happened at the start of this episode. Nearly.

I won't lie, these last 2 episodes were not great and, had they appeared at the start of the episode, I would have 100% dropped this. Still, they stood on the strength of previous episodes and I definitely wanted to see how everything wrapped up so they were a (somewhat painful) watch. For the most part I was satisfied (in fact I was pleased with every conclusion apart from the mum's) although they could have been condensed into 1 episode for all the content they contained.

Watch It Or Drop It Masterpost

#watch it or drop it #completed it #thai bl #cupid's last wish

5 notes · View notes

closewhispering · 1 month ago

Text

CHAPTER 34. ...…....Dr. Baffert had only meant to make a quick stop at the grocery store, pick up the essentials, and retreat back to his quiet apartment. But as he reached for a carton of milk, he sensed a pair of eyes on him—intense, unblinking, watching his every move.

Turning slowly, he spotted two figures who had been trailing him discreetly down the aisles. The woman’s gaze was fixed on him with unyielding determination, while her companion, a tall man with a shadowy demeanor, stood just behind her, glancing around as if preparing to block any route of escape. Baffert’s hand tensed around the milk carton. He recognized them. Lila and Reed.

“Dr. Baffert,” Lila said as she stepped forward, her voice low but firm, slicing through the muffled hum of the store’s background music. “We need to talk to you.”

He managed a weak smile, feigning indifference as he moved to place the milk in his basket. “I don’t have anything to say.”

“We’re not leaving until you do,” she pressed, her tone unmistakably determined. Baffert let out a sigh, looking down the aisle to see if anyone was near. A few shoppers were scattered about, but no one seemed to notice the intensity radiating from their exchange.

Lila lowered her voice, leaning in closer. “Where is the FBI keeping Jack?”

Baffert’s heart skipped a beat. Jack Hiller—the name was almost forbidden to mention. He felt the familiar dread creeping up his spine. The less he knew, the safer he’d be, but now these two were pushing him into a position he hadn’t chosen and didn’t want. He swallowed, attempting to keep his composure.

“Look,” he said, his voice almost a whisper. “Jack Hiller is a division-level FBI agent. He's... TPCA.” He forced himself to keep his eyes neutral, his tone controlled. “That’s as much as I’m willing to say.”

Reed stepped closer, his presence almost imposing as he leaned toward Baffert. “We know that already, Doctor. What we need to know is where they’re keeping him.”

Baffert’s grip on his grocery basket tightened. His eyes flicked up toward the ceiling, where the store’s surveillance cameras were affixed, capturing every aisle, every angle, and, undoubtedly, every word he spoke. The cold, metal eyes followed them, blinking red as if alive, a silent witness to their conversation.

“I can’t answer that,” he replied, looking pointedly at the camera above. “And frankly, even if I could, cooperating with you two could destroy everything I’ve worked for. No hospital would hire me again. My career would be over.”

“Come on, Doctor,” Lila insisted, her frustration boiling to the surface. “A man’s life is on the line, and you’re worried about your job? You know better than anyone that Jack doesn’t deserve whatever’s happening to him.”

Her words stung. Baffert’s loyalty to the ethics of his profession fought against the raw fear stirring inside him. Jack’s face, etched in his memory, flashed before him—a man who had once been a patient, a fellow human being in pain. But his own image, stripped of his license and unable to practice medicine, clawed at him with equal force.

Lila’s expression softened, almost as if she sensed his internal struggle. She took a step closer, her voice softer but with a gravity that only strengthened the weight on Baffert’s conscience. “Dr. Baffert, please. If you tell us where he’s being kept, we’ll find a way to handle the rest. You won’t have to be involved any further.”

The words settled in the air, tempting, coaxing. For a brief moment, Baffert imagined saying the words they wanted to hear, letting himself be pulled into their cause, washing his hands of the hospital and its complex web of secrets. But the harsh reality clawed him back.

“I’m sorry,” he murmured, shaking his head. “I can’t. It’s not just about me—it’s about keeping my profession, everything I’ve worked for. And there are eyes everywhere…” He glanced again at the camera. “If they knew I was even talking to you…”

He trailed off, glancing down at his basket, his mind racing for an escape. His stomach churned with the anxiety brewing within him. In an impulsive move, he set the basket down, leaving his items behind on the tile floor. Without a word, he turned and strode down the aisle, his feet carrying him toward the store’s entrance. The produce, the milk, the bread—all of it abandoned.

He didn’t dare look back, but he could hear Lila’s voice calling after him, a note of desperation echoing across the aisles. Reed’s footsteps were heavy behind him, but he didn’t give them the satisfaction of stopping. He pushed through the glass doors, feeling the cold blast of air hit his face as he emerged into the dim evening light outside.

His heart raced as he hurried toward his car, his mind a storm of conflicting emotions. He knew he’d made the right choice, but a gnawing guilt clung to him like a shadow. Jack Hiller, wherever he was, had been a patient, a responsibility. Baffert was a doctor, trained to heal, to help. But now he felt like he had betrayed that duty, reduced to a mere pawn in a world that refused to let him follow his principles.

The drive back to his apartment was a blur, his hands gripping the wheel tighter than necessary. The city lights flickered past him, hollow and indifferent, and by the time he reached home, he felt drained, his thoughts tangled in knots he couldn’t begin to unravel.

He sat in the car for a long while, staring blankly at the darkened building in front of him. The scene replayed in his mind, and he thought of Lila’s desperate plea, of Reed’s intense gaze, of the weight of the surveillance camera above them, recording everything. He was a part of something larger now, even if he didn’t want to be.

#novel #trending #books #literature #crime books

0 notes

dankusner · 1 month ago

Text

Doctor accused of giving hormones to minors

Paxton files first gender care suit

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has sued a Dallas doctor for allegedly violating the state’s 2023 ban on certain gender transition treatments for minors, marking the first enforcement action against a physician under Senate Bill 14.

Filed in a Collin County state District Court on Thursday, the lawsuit accuses Dr. May Lau, a physician at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, of prescribing hormones “for the purpose of transitioning (minors’) biological sex” in violation of Texas law.

The state is seeking more than $1 million in monetary relief and is asking the court for temporary and permanent injunctions against the doctor’s conduct in the lawsuit, which is among dozens of complaints Paxton’s office has filed on hot-button issues in the months leading up to the 2024 presidential election.

Affirmed by the Texas Supreme Court in June, SB 14 prohibits gender modification surgeries for minors as well as the prescription of “puberty blockers,” or medications meant to affect the developments that occur during puberty.

The state law stipulates that physicians found to violate SB 14 can be stripped of their medical licenses.

Hospitals can be denied use of public funds for violations as well. According to the lawsuit, which does not include records or exhibits, Lau prescribed testosterone to several teenage biological females days before the ban took effect on Sept. 1, 2023, and instructed them to fill the prescriptions after Sept. 1.

In one case, the lawsuit alleges the doctor wrote a new prescription in October.

Paxton also alleges in the suit that patients were able to refill the prescriptions several times.

While Lau identifies some of the patients as male, Paxton alleges that “upon information and belief, all of these patients are biological females and Lau is prescribing to them for the purposes of transitioning their biological sex or affirming their belief that their gender identity is inconsistent with their biological sex.”

There are exceptions in the ban for intersex children’s medical care and for minors experiencing early onset puberty or other hormonal disorders, but it’s unclear whether those apply for Lau’s patients.

Paxton’s office also alleges Lau broke a law against “deceptive trade practices” by using false diagnoses to cover up gender- transition treatments, though it only cites one example.

In that case, Lau “falsely” billed a patient for treatment of endocrine disorder while another hospital “correctly” diagnosed the patient with gender dysphoria, according to the filing.

Lau’s employer, UT Southwestern, did not immediately respond to an American-Statesman request for comment.

Lau, an adolescent medicine specialist, also has hospital privileges at Children’s Health Medical Center in Dallas and Plano.

The organization denied allegations of wrongdoing.

“Our top priority is the health and well being of our patients,” a spokesperson for Children’s Health wrote in a statement.

“Children’s Health follows and adheres to all state health care laws.”

Though Paxton is not a prosecutor, a provision in SB 14 allows his office to enforce the law by seeking to “restrain or enjoin the person from committing, continuing to commit, or repeating the violation” through civil action.

“Doctors who continue to provide these harmful ‘gender transition’ drugs and treatments will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law,” Paxton said in a news release Thursday.

In the release, Paxton’s office wrote that “evidence obtained by the Office of the Attorney General” revealed the alleged misconduct, but it did not elaborate further.

The attorney general did not respond to the Statesman’s questions about the providence and nature of the evidence.

Several major medical associations — including the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Medical Association, and the American Psychiatric Association — support providing developmentally appropriate and individualized gender-affirming medical care for transgender youth.

However, the American Academy of Pediatrics and several national health agencies in Europe have called for more research on the long-term effects of treatments such as hormone therapy, citing a lack of evidence on their benefits.

The American Civil Liberties Union condemned Paxton’s latest suit in a statement Thursday, though the group declined to address the specific facts of the case.

“This is the predictable and terrifying result we challenged SB 14 to prevent,” Harper Seldin, staff attorney for the ACLU’s LGBTQ & HIV project, said in an email to the Statesman.

“Doctors should not have to fear being targeted by the government when using their best medical judgement and politicians like Ken Paxton should not be putting themselves between families and their doctors.”

The demands are part of a yearslong effort by Paxton, Gov. Greg Abbott and the state GOP to eliminate transgender health care for minors in Texas.

They characterize such health care as dangerous, noting some treatments can result in permanent fertility loss. Transgender health care is legal for adults in Texas.

Democrats have argued that the ban infringes on parents’ rights and denies accepted medical care, with some reading letters from trans kids and parents at Abbott’s signing of the bill in May 2023

24071779

0 notes

doctoru-au · 8 months ago

Text

General Practitioner – Established Practice – High Growth Corridor

Butler, Perth WA | Job ID #2205

OVERVIEW

Join Our Close-Knit Team of GP’s in a Thriving Practice

Located in the heart of a vibrant café strip frequented by the local community, our practice is currently thriving and facing a high demand for patient care. As a result, we are seeking an enthusiastic GP to join our close-knit team of doctors. This opportunity is ideal for a physician looking to establish themselves within a supportive practice situated in a rapidly growing area.

The practice, owned by doctors who are actively involved in patient care, is supported by a dedicated and professional team. With the increasing demand for our services, the incoming GP will have the chance to make a significant impact on the health and well-being of our diverse patient population. Working in this dynamic environment provides an exciting opportunity for professional growth and the satisfaction of meeting the healthcare needs of a community on the rise.

ABOUT THE PRACTICE

Located in a bustling shopping district, this clinic is owned and run by well-regarded local GPs. Adjacent to a licensed pharmacy, the modern practice offers six spacious consulting rooms. Situated in a thriving area with increasing patient volumes, it emphasizes Skin Cancer Medicine. The clinic boasts dedicated registered nurses and skilled administrative personnel, with convenient, complimentary parking.

ABOUT THE ROLE

Our practice bills at 70% mixed rates and offers a 3-month guarantee of $150 per hour. We serve a diverse patient demographic, including young families and aged care needs. Due to high demand, appointments are typically scheduled a week in advance, often resulting in having to turn away patients.

REQUIREMENTS

Require FRACGP and AHPRAG Specialist Reg. Not for AMC part 1 and 2 or General Registration.

WHY WORK WITH ME?

I save you time by personally searching for the right job for you.

WANT TO KNOW MORE?

Andrew McNamara Call | Text | Whatsapp +61 0430001747 Get in touch with me 7 days | early to late.

LOCATION

EASY APPLY

#NO EXEMPTION REQUIRED

0 notes

regularlyfe · 2 years ago

Text

25 pigs died?! That is entirely unacceptable, and in any other situation would demand an investigation into the laboratory practices of the entire related research group and halt of all work in that lab. Not even addressing the monkeys, that makes me so mad I'm nauseous.

Every researcher involved in this should be stripped of their licenses and degrees. No unbiased ethics board would ever have approved something like this.

They have demonstrated that they can not be trusted in any capacity to ethically engage with research, and all their work should be retracted until it can be shown to not also engage with the same failings.

If they are willing to rush a research proposal for human testing off of 2 dozen dead pigs, how could you ever trust them to bring safe and successful results? How could you ever trust their previous work, if they are willing to be this careless with their current work? How do you trust they didn't shortcut and doctor their previous research?

It doesn't matter that they were likely pressured to push work through by businesspeople. They were the ones who folded to people who aren't in their field and staked their integrity on shareholder interests. That is not someone cut out for research.

Not a single monkey survived the Neuralink experiment. I’ll bet Elmo can’t wait to start torturing and murdering human beings with this.

87K notes · View notes

truck-fump · 1 year ago

Text

The GOP’s Attack on LGBTQ Americans, Revealed Republicans don’t...

New Post has been published on https://robertreich.org/post/719960276587495424

The GOP’s Attack on LGBTQ Americans, Revealed Republicans don’t...

youtube

The GOP’s Attack on LGBTQ Americans, Revealed

Republicans don’t seem to care that Ronald Reagan once starred in a film that featured a prominent drag scene or that Rudy Giuliani did a skit in drag with Donald Trump.

Suddenly, they’re trying to ban or restrict drag performances in at least 15 states, with bills so broadly worded that advocates warn they could be used not only to prosecute drag performers, but also transgender people who dare to simply exist in public.

These bans are part of a cynical campaign to demonize the LGBTQ+ community. MAGA politicians are stoking fear over imaginary dangers to distract from how their policies only help themselves and their wealthy donors.

In the first half of 2023 alone, Republicans across the nation introduced a record number of bills to strip away freedoms and civil rights from LGBTQ+ Americans, largely targeting transgender and gender-nonconforming people.

By banning gender affirming care for minors, GOP lawmakers are effectively practicing medicine without a license — overruling the guidance of doctors, the American Medical Association, and the American Academy of Pediatrics. And they’re lying about what gender affirming care even is.

Genital surgery, for instance, is rarely, if ever, done under the age of 18. It’s not even all that common for adults. Politicians like Ron DeSantis are lying about it to scare people.

And the Republican presidential frontrunner has made it clear that trans people have no place in his vision of America.

MAGA lawmakers and pundits falsely claim trans people and drag performers are a danger to children and the public at large, when there is no evidence at all to support that. None. Trans people are in fact four times more likely to be the victims of violent crime.

These scare tactics are dangerous. Recent analysis found a 70% increase in hate crimes against LGBTQ+ Americans between 2020 and 2021, as the surge of these bills began. And that’s only counting hate crimes that get reported. 2020 and 2021 each set a new record for the number of trans people murdered in America.

The cruelest irony is that these Republican bills pretending to protect children actually put some of the most vulnerable children at greater risk. LGBTQ+ kids are more than four times as likely to attempt suicide, especially transgender children. Gender-affirming care reduces that risk. That is why it is life-saving.

Don’t Say Gay laws strip away potentially life-saving support. A teacher discussing sexual orientation and gender identity won’t turn a straight kid gay. But it will make an LGBTQ+ student 23% less likely to attempt suicide.

The tragic truth is that Don’t Say Gay Laws and health care bans will cause more young lives to be needlessly lost.

If Republicans really cared about protecting kids, they’d focus on gun violence, now the leading cause of death for American children. If they were really worried about children undergoing life-altering medical procedures, they wouldn’t pass abortion bans that force teens to give birth or risk back-alley procedures.

What the GOP’s vendetta against the LGBTQ+ community really is, is a classic authoritarian tactic to vilify already marginalized people. They’re trying to stoke so much paranoia and hatred that we don’t notice how they are consolidating power and wealth into the hands of a ruling few.

We need to see this attack on LGBTQ+ Americans for what it is: a threat to all of our human rights.

#Uncategorized

1 note · View note

yourtoradorasextendedwarranty · 2 years ago

Text

Define Woman

So this is going to piss some people off, but frankly speaking I don’t give a damn.

The words woman and man were words used to define the sex of a person. However, we ended up with a situation where gender is no longer a reference to sex, but instead to some strange amorphous concept with no meaning whatsoever.

Gender in it’s original context was just and only “Man” and “Woman”. In their original meanings. Which was, “Man: Adult Human Male” and “Woman: Adult Human Female”. The reason these distinctions are important, is because gender originally had no difference from biological sex. Somehow however, because of bad actors like John Money (A child abuser, pedophile, and scientific hack) he both was the foundation of and the root cause of the normalization of terms like gender fluid, gender non conforming, and other stuff related to the term gender.

Basically this monster is the reason the term gender now means nothing at all. What’s worse, there are politicians and parents worried about their kids now, and are asking biologists, doctors, and scientists, to define what a woman is. Asking if only women can get pregnant. If only women can get periods, and resoundingly, a lot of them have bowed down to the new radical norm that is, “Trans women are women”.

And yes. It is a radical ideology. You might ask why. Simple answer? Because woman is SUPPOSED to mean as stated above, “Adult Human Female”. So by claiming that trans women are women, you are falsely claiming that trans women, who are biological men, are SOMEHOW able to ignore science, and just by the logic of claiming as such, have become biological women.

The dangers to this are vast but let me explain one of the biggest ones. I recently saw a doctor, though I question her credentials, say that “...trans people should be able to change their sex assigned at birth on their licenses...” First of all.....no one is “Assigned a sex at birth”. If you really believe that you should be stripped of any ability to practice medicine. Sex is observed at birth. Not assigned.

Secondly, men and women have biological differences. Not just sex organs. The types of medication and the amounts of those medications are VERY different. There’s a reason that drugs need to be tested on both men and women and women that are pregnant and may become pregnant. Because there was a lawsuit in early years that found that drugs were not universal, and affected men and women differently.

Imagine walking into the doctor, and they see your ID, and it says, “F” on the license. And you tell them, “I’m a woman, give me the drugs you would a woman”. And it injures you permanently or kills you. Congrats. You are a moron with no one to blame but yourself. Because fun fact about medications. They don’t just affect you differently based on your sex, but also your size, and other medications and health complications.

Though as things would have it, there are trans people that think the most inclusive thing is to NEVER be asked about if they are trans, and always HAVE to be treated like the “gender” they identify as. I’m sorry Susan, who used to be named Steve. Medication isn’t “Bigoted”. Biology isn’t “Bigoted”. Your entire life is based on a fabrication that you can be literally anything you want to be. We don’t live in a fantasy world though. Medications, much like biology is rooted in fact. And it doesn’t discriminate. And no amount of screaming into the wind, will change that.

And there are people that are going to find this post to be, “Transphobic”. Well sorry you are offended by reality but the ideology you are trying to push is dangerous. Why? Well aside from the medical risks in regards to medications, there are also the complications that come from transition surgery. Which frankly there are a lot of. Contrary to the popular activist pushed idea that surgeries, and hormones will have zero negative effects whatsoever.

It gets more rough when you realize how many people are not sterilized because rushed transitions. Wonder how many dead bodies will be enough from detransitioners, and people who don’t realize they are not trans, who need mental health help instead, but just get told to medically and chemically castrate themselves. How many have to die? How many lives need to be ruined before it’s too many.

The answer? For the people I’m directing this at, it will never be enough. Because most of you believe that a 2yo can decide they are trans, and should just get put on hormones immediately, and have their junk cut off. The sooner the better right? God forbit they are too young to know that on their own. God forbid parents are capable of abusing their kids. Like Jazz Jennings. Who’s mother is basically abusing “her” and using “her” for fame. And you might say, “Why are you putting her in quotes?”. Because I don’t think Jazz is a girl. I think that Jazz’s mother wanted a daughter, and decided to take advantage of how easy kids are to impress upon, and created a daughter. Said mother also on the Life of Jazz show mentioned that she has to wake Jazz up in the middle of the night to dilate. And they will personally take the dilator, lube it up, and wake Jazz up to use it. Even when Jazz doesn’t want to.

And said, “Oh no, when Jazz goes to college, I better not find out that they are not dilating themselves, she’s going to strangle Jazz”. Sure call it humor. I see it as a, Jazz better not take this dream of having a daughter with a fake vagina away from me”. No normal human talks like that. She basically got famous for transitioning her 2 yo and she is loving the attention.

What kills me the most though is the attempt to change what woman means. So what did they change it to in order to be more “inclusive”? “Woman: An adult human female, or a person who otherwise identifies as a woman”.......Which is a funny as hell definition, because it cites itself in the definition. Meaning you get caught in an endless loop of what the word means, which is nothing since it can’t have a meaning while citing itself. What’s worse though is that the definition also doesn’t renounce it’s association with biological sex. Which is more or less criminal in my opinion. Because if “woman” is only a reference to “gender” then it should remove it’s association with biological sex fully. And I’ll just start calling everyone male or female.

Right up until they decide that they need to change the definition of Female to something it’s not. Though I will admit, it’s going to be comical watching feminist loose their shit when they start losing rights because when words change definitions, so to do laws.

So again. Define woman.

And before someone tries to imagine this whole rant is because, “You clearly hate trans people”, realize what I want is less harm in the world. Less harm means NOT chemically castrating kids. Less harm means not cutting off body parts of kids who are not even old enough to consent to the consequences of sex, much less permanently cutting parts of their bodies, and chemically stunting their growth.

Pretty sure if most of the suicides of trans people were looked into, it wouldn’t be because of lack of acceptance. It would be lack of proper mental and emotional health. It would be the fact that rather than addressing the mental health of a person we just rush them to transition.

The last point I will make is this. Once upon a time, you could be a guy or a girl, and rather than being taught from childhood to hate yourself, we just told guys, hey if you want to wear a dress, wear a dress. We might think you are gay, but ya know, maybe you just want to wear dresses. We told girls, hey if you want to wear a suit or jeans, you can do that. We might think you are a lesbian, but maybe you just like looking more masculine. Who knows. It was kind of a given for a number of years that you didn’t have to conform to gendered norms. Hell, in the 90′s girls started wearing baggy clothing in mass. That didn’t make them not women. It just means they wanted to dress comfortable, or act more masculine in general.

Now a days, if the wrong people, see that, they will go out of their way to convince that girl, that she is NOT in fact a girl but a boy in a girls body. I consider that to be harm. Because what happens when that girl is peer pressured and led into believing she IS a boy. Then as soon as she transitions all of a sudden, her life gets a lot harder. She is stuck on chemicals for years, and might have a number of medical issue crop due to cross sex hormones or the surgeries done to the body not lasting. Her life goes from however hard it might have been, to 100x harder, which she won’t be prepared for, because no one is going to tell her what all is going to happen. And no one except people not following this narrative, are going to tell her the truth about the risks. No one except people that are not following this narrative are going to tell the person to go to a NON affirming therapist before they make any medical choices.

I can’t count the number of people I’ve seen share stuff like off market CSH’s and blockers to minors. I can’t count the number of people I’ve seen share information on shrinks that will just give you a note so you can start hormones SAME DAY. And that’s scary to me that the people harmed the most by this are kids and those whom are autistic. And when they eventually do off themselves, the people who suggested all of that will go, “IT”S NOT MY FAULT! MAYBE IF SOCIETY WORSHIPED US THIS WOULDN”T HAPPEN!”. It’s sad but this really is a sick form of eugenics. And the people falling for it will end up never able to have kids or in fully developed bodies. And I feel bad for them. *sigh* This is a lot longer than I wanted it to be. Maybe I’ll turn it into a video with just audio and repost later. Just stay safe out there.

0 notes

skinloveclinic · 2 years ago

Text

DR. BHUSHAN BAWANKAR – A LEADING HAIR TRANSPLANT SURGEON IN MUMBAI

Do you want to locate the top hair transplant clinic? Do your homework to choose the best hair transplant surgeon in Mumbai. Take it from someone who made their first buy with a discount vendor: believe me (and had horrible outcomes) (and had disastrous results).

Even though a Google search will likely reveal a lot of hair replacement surgeons in your area, how can you tell if any of them are competent to carry out the procedure? How do you know they’ll use the most cutting-edge procedures in the operation and offer you the most natural-looking hairline possible?

When investigating different hair transplant doctors, it is crucial to know what to look for, and this article will clarify what those things are. These are some of the most crucial inquiries to make:

How do doctors and surgeons often go about carrying out a transplant?

There are only two treatments that can be differentiated from one another reliably: follicular unit transplant, sometimes known as strip surgery, and follicular unit extraction, or FUE (follicular unit extraction). All these terms refer to the same thing, even though different people in the industry use them. Strips of donor hair (often from the back and sides of the head) are removed during the FUT operation, and the hairs are then harvested for transplantation to the balding areas of the head.

Density of the hair they could supply

Is the look you want something they can provide you? What exactly do they advise you to anticipate? For instance, you shouldn’t expect a seasoned physician to make claims that seem too good to be true or promise the moon. They will offer you a realistic picture of what you should expect to happen.

Anyone who makes the claim that you will emerge from the procedure with a full head of hair is telling a lie. The truth is that you won’t have a full head of hair after a hair transplant. However, a good surgeon can rearrange the hair to make it appear as though you have a full head of hair. The size of the balding area and the quantity of donor hair both play a role in this.

How long has the surgeon been working in the field of organ transplantation?

Indeed, the more experience one has in this area, the better. Check that you are comfortable with the surgeon and have faith in their abilities and training.

It is also a good idea to check with the local licensing body to confirm that your surgeon possesses the required licenses to practice. It’s best to find a hair transplant in lower parel surgeon who focuses exclusively on hair transplantation rather than one who dabbles with rhinoplasty, tummy tucks, and the like. A surgeon who focuses only on transplants is more likely to be up-to-date on the latest procedures and have extensive experience in the field (other things being equal).

References from satisfied customers and see examples of previous work

You should always ask to see an example of the surgeon’s previous work, and the more photographs you can get your hands on, the better. In addition to this, it assists to offer you with a more accurate picture of what the surgeon can do for you. Even better would be if you could chat to prior patients about their experiences; however, this isn’t always possible because many patients wish to keep their anonymity.

When looking for a hair transplant, you should think about Dr. Bhushan Bawankar World-famous Dr. Bhushan Bawankar has brought about a sea change in the method with which medical professionals deliver precision, outcomes, and continuity of care. As a patient, you should not only anticipate but also rely on the fact that this will happen.

#skin specialist in matunga #hair transplant in matunga

0 notes

eldritch-spouse · 2 years ago

Note

Finally it’s here!

Meet Magnus, the shady yandere maecenas and Patches good friend

He is raven aarakocra, who works as a monster doctor in The Clergy Eye

He was born in well-known family of doctors, consisting of a monster mother, a human father, and three monster sisters. Being the youngest and most gifted child in the family, he was once the pride of his family was considered a worthy successor to his mother.

But after his father passed away, he began to think about the meaning of life and death, which led him to the path of studying magic, black in particular. After the years of researches, he decided to put knowledge into practice in the morgue of family's hospital. Unfortunately, he was interrupted during the ritual, which forever affected his appearance and reputation. He was expelled from his family and stripped of his medical license, so that wherever he went, he was only known as a disgrace to a noble name.

Therefore, he spent some time in underground hospitals, doing illegal and unethical operations, practicing his dark knowledge. After a while he met Patches and they became close friend out of common interests, which lead Magnus to The Clergy, the place where he can settle down and practice his craft with impunity

Fun facts

He is a obsessive yandere. Because of his noble origin, pride won’t let his confess to you, but he will always watch you from afar

Since he’s a half human, he is more attracted to humans, like Bregory

He treats Patches like little brother, despite Patches being much older and powerful that him

He’s pansexual

An apple a day keeps the doctor away. He’s actually a big fan of apples, especially apple cider. Also can get drunk on fermented apples

Despite liking humans and being half one, he won’t mind human dishes

Big fan of cultures and art. He’s perfect date is taking you to theater or fancy restaurant

He ain’t actually work in The Clergy, he only rent a place

He is the least dangerous monster out there. If he get to like you, he may let you hide from the staff

Krulu put him to watch over Vinnel, in case jester’s condition became worse

Besides Patches, nobody in The Clergy respect Magnus or take him seriously

Godd, it’s really take me long to create him. Hope u like it

[YOOO!! See, I said you'd get it done! Awesome stuff, he's pretty cute. <:3]

One has to wonder how he met Patches, and for how long! Granted, you did say Patches is much older compared to him, so I guess The Clergy is already well established by the time they encounter each other? I like to think Magnus saw him completely fuck up some sort of undead experiment. It's also hilarious that he treats Patches like a little brother, I suppose he exudes that hopeless sort of energy.

I feel sorry for Magnus having to deal with Vinnel, because the jester is mean to newbies, and he doesn't trust Magnus enough to let him have that much information about his condition, it's an extremely touchy subject. Vinnel can and will hurt Magnus if he's poked too much. Bird boy over here will have to prove himself to the clown.

I love the fact that he's bullied. And it makes sense, he's not staying there permanently, so he's not part of the core team, he's a fence sitter. And the one who's likely to take it the worst is Belo, who demands everyone always fully devote themselves to his lord. To him, Magnus is being disrespectful (even if Krulu agrees to keeping a distance).

Nebul might want to get to know him better, and Gallon as well- Having cultured coworkers of sorts is something they both crave.

Anyhow, good job! I love the doofus.

#dinadivine #Patches oc #Vinnel oc #Belo oc #Nebul oc

32 notes · View notes

woodsfae · 2 years ago

Text

Happy Weekend! :)

Babylon 5 s01e14: The Quality of Mercy

First Previous

ToC

I’ve learnt so much about the Centauri and Narn, can it be Minbari time?! edit: no. Not really.

Londo is frothing at the mouth at the opportunity to suborn the comically naive and sheltered Delenn’s Aide. Should be either quite funny, quite second-hand embarrassing, or both.

Judge: “may god have mercy on your soul,” Prisoner: *smiles*

I’m intrigued!

Medlabs aren’t free?? Not everyone can afford medical treatment??!! Oh no, Babylon 5 is absolutely and officially Space Dystopian Confirmed. :( :(

Unauthorized clinic = free clinic 😣😣😣

Ivanova-Franklin team-up yes! :-)

Talia episode, yes!! But goddamn boooo for more Talia Traumatization.

There’s so much going on in this episode.

Mysterious Alien Device Healer. (Laura) I understand disapproving of untested treatments, but it’s rich to scold someone who only takes donations, when your own medical practice charges. And doesn’t even seem to have a sliding scale!

Brain wiping people is ethically dubious enough, but reprogramming them into a new person and forcing that new person to serve the community for the rest of their life? That’s not ethically dubious so much as slavery by a different name. Reminds me of a short story I read recently.

Yeah, the strip club is definitely the “heart and soul of Babylon 5,” Londo. And getting the poorly paid Lennier to pay for it all. Extremely Londo Mollari.

“There’s no alcohol in here, is there? […] Because my people do not react well at all to alcohol. Even a small quantity causes psychotic impulses and - and violent, homicidal rages.”

Yeah better whisk that highly alcoholic beverage away, Londo. This isn't the only reason why you shouldn't drug people against their consent, but it sure is a great object lesson into ONE reason why it's a bad idea. For those persons that go "bodily autonomy and consent? Never met them."

“I have a quota to make, or the boss will take it out of my salary.”

really laying on the dystopian qualities of this universe - that is very illegal in my country but I keep waiting for attempts to roll back those worker protections.

Laura is a former doctor who had her license revoked. Very reassuring. And a dedicated daughter (Janice) who would rather not know if it really works or not than see her mom depressed about not seeing patients again 🫠

Hah, to the casino for Lennier and Londo! Bizarrely, this outing might actually be good for Lennier, or at least for his wallet up until Lennier gets banned from poker for card counting.

If they keep tormenting Talia she’s gonna end up my next poor little meow meow. She is so obviously dreading this and resents being asked slash required to do it.

It will only take a minute to wipe away a person and create a new one. How chilling. How frightful to live with that power and training. What is the purpose of requiring a mind scan before the wipe? This dude is absolutely freaking me out. Talia couldn’t even do the wipe/reprogramming after being in his mind.

MULTI-DAY VIEWING BREAK (oops)

nooooooo Lennier don’t let on that you’re counting cards automatically or you gonna get shanked!

Theory: Laura is using up her own life to heal these people. Via the Alien Device. I love her sweater. I want her sweater.

Theory confirmed! Life Force Transfer Device. And how creepy/cool that she repurposed a capital punishment machine. oooof. Wonder if the machine will stick around for Dues Ex Machina later in the show.

“If there is a discovery to be made, I will make it on my own terms!”

yeah, really she’ll probably make more progress with it as her only project for the rest of her short life than Franklin will. edit: not so short! I didn't see that twist coming.

Poor Talia, once again. Are they going to have to call for another telepath or send him to Earth to be wiped and reprogrammed? I bet Bester (my!! guy!!!) would out-creep him any day.

ESCAPE ATTEMPT. He really has a will to live. Understandably so! What a horrific punishment. Absolutely many many human rights violations.

LONDO. has. TENTACLES?! I’m moving on. That’s just something else.

😬 serial killer is definitely heading to Laura’s. And probably killing her. Of course Dr Franklin went there alone! Everyone except Laurel Takashima only has a 30% chance of using the shared brain cell at any given time. Laurel has something better: common sense at all times. (I miss you Laurel my beloved and hope daily that you pop back up as a guest star.)

Pain share! yesss. Every other episode is legit a horror short story. I hope she also took every bit of his life force and used it to heal her Lake’s Syndrome. edit: fuck yea

good grief, the device does need to be studied, but by the people who charge for healing?! Really. It’s such a dystopia.

Talia and Laura should talk. I think Talia could convince her that the right and necessary things are the same in this instance. That is not a death to regret.

Lennier is genuinely too naive and generous to survive on Babylon 5. Someone’s gonna shank him.

Tentacle Secrets. I do not want to know. And yet I am being told. I think I’d be slightly more OK with tentacle Centauri if it weren’t so gendered, and *gestures broadly* LONDO. He makes everything kinda gross and sleazy by proximity.

“I am going to take a vow of silence concerning this entire conversation.”

MEEE TOOOOO LENNIER.

Hermaphrodite Passion Goddess is pretty cool, tbh.

This woman redeemed herself for losing a patient and medical license by discovering and repurposing an execution method for healing. I can’t imagine what she’ll discover as her redemption for directly killing a person will be. Perhaps a less ethically obscene panacea!

And Samuel’s got a date. Janice is cute af! I ship it.

Here be lunatics and blessed dreamers. Seekers.

#samuel franklin #janice rosen #laura rosen #talia winters #babylon 5 #woodsfae b5

23 notes · View notes