#hospital disinfection services

[madaniserviceptyltd]

The Role of Medical Centre Cleaning Services in Patient Safety

When it comes to patient safety, cleanliness is non-negotiable. Medical Centre Cleaning Services play a vital role in maintaining a hygienic environment that reduces the risk of infections, promotes faster recovery, and ensures a positive experience for patients and staff alike. But how exactly do these cleaning services protect patients? From disinfecting high-touch surfaces to managing medical waste, every aspect of a medical centre must be spotless to prevent cross-contamination and healthcare-associated infections. If you want to know how professional cleaning can make all the difference in your medical facility, keep reading to uncover the essential role Medical Centre Cleaning Services play in patient safety.

Infection Control

Prevents the spread of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs).

Focuses on cleaning and disinfecting contaminated surfaces and equipment.

Uses hospital-grade disinfectants to kill harmful bacteria and viruses.

Includes safe disposal of medical waste like syringes and gauze.

Regular training of staff and cleaning personnel on infection control practices.

Involves routine audits to maintain cleanliness standards.

Protects both patients and medical staff from exposure to pathogens.

Essential for ensuring a safe environment in medical facilities.

Sanitization of High-Touch Surfaces

Targets surfaces like door handles, light switches, and patient bedrails.

High-touch surfaces are key vectors for spreading infections.

Uses hospital-grade disinfectants for effective sanitization.

Requires frequent cleaning, especially in high-traffic areas.

Color-coded cleaning tools prevent cross-contamination between areas.

Sanitizing high-touch areas minimizes the transfer of pathogens.

Helps reduce healthcare-associated infections (HAIs).

Ensures a safer environment for both patients and staff.

Disinfection Protocols

Focuses on killing harmful pathogens like bacteria, viruses, and fungi.

Involves the use of hospital-grade disinfectants for high-risk areas.

Disinfection is more than cleaning; it kills invisible microorganisms.

Requires adherence to time intervals for disinfectant application.

Specific attention is given to operating rooms and patient rooms.

Regular audits and monitoring ensure effective disinfection.

Reduces the risk of transmission of infections in medical environments.

Essential for patient and staff safety in healthcare settings.

Control of Airborne Contaminants

Targets airborne pathogens like viruses and bacteria in medical facilities.

Air filtration systems with HEPA filters are used to capture harmful particles.

Regular maintenance ensures air filtration systems function properly.

UV light systems may be used to disinfect the air in sensitive areas.

Ventilation protocols ensure proper air circulation and reduce contamination.

Helps control the spread of airborne infections like tuberculosis.

Improves air quality and reduces infection risks in high-risk areas.

Essential for maintaining a safe environment for both patients and healthcare workers.

Prevention of Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAIs)

Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) are a significant risk in medical settings, leading to extended patient recovery times, increased healthcare costs, and even fatalities. Medical centre cleaning services play a vital role in preventing these infections by following strict cleaning and sanitization protocols to eliminate harmful pathogens. Areas requiring high attention include patient rooms, operating theatres, and waiting areas where bacteria and viruses can easily spread. Regular disinfection of high-touch surfaces, medical equipment, and restrooms, alongside proper handling of medical waste, significantly reduces the risk of infections. Effective hospital disinfection services and medical facility cleaning services safeguard both patients and healthcare staff from these dangerous infections.

Compliance with Health Standards

Medical centres are required to comply with various health standards and regulations set by local and international health bodies. These standards ensure consistent hygiene and safety, preventing the spread of infections and diseases. Compliance involves maintaining cleanliness, sanitation, and disinfection practices that meet or exceed the guidelines set forth by organizations such as the CDC or WHO. Healthcare cleaning services play a crucial role in adhering to these regulations, ensuring that all areas of the facility are properly cleaned, disinfected, and maintained regularly. By following these standards, medical centre cleaning ensures a safe environment for both patients and staff.

Clear and Organized Spaces

A clean, well-organized medical environment improves functionality and promotes trust and comfort for patients. Medical facility cleaning services contribute to reducing stress and confusion by keeping areas like waiting rooms, patient rooms, hallways, and medical equipment storage clutter-free. Well-organized spaces prevent the risk of cross-contamination, ensure medical staff can quickly locate necessary tools, and enhance overall patient outcomes. An organized facility enables a more efficient workflow, reducing the chance of errors and improving overall patient care. Proper cleaning services healthcare ensure that all spaces are well-maintained and promote a calming environment for patients.

Specialized Medical Waste Disposal

Proper disposal of medical waste is vital in maintaining a safe and hygienic healthcare environment. Medical waste, including needles, syringes, bandages, and surgical tools, can carry pathogens and pose serious health risks if not disposed of correctly. Specialized medical centre cleaning systems, such as biohazard containers and incineration methods, ensure that waste is handled safely. These protocols help prevent cross-contamination, protect cleaning staff, and minimize environmental contamination. Healthcare facilities must follow strict regulations regarding waste disposal to prevent infections. Safe disposal ensures compliance with health standards, maintaining a healthy environment for both patients and staff.

Prevention of Cross-Contamination

Cross-contamination occurs when harmful microorganisms are transferred from one surface to another, potentially infecting patients and medical staff. Preventing cross-contamination in healthcare settings is essential for patient safety. This involves using separate cleaning tools for different areas, proper sanitization of medical equipment, and careful waste handling. Color-coded cleaning materials are often employed to distinguish between high-risk areas, such as patient rooms and restrooms. Cleaning hospital beds and medical tools with dedicated, sanitized equipment reduces the risk of transferring pathogens. By implementing staff training and following strict cleaning procedures, healthcare facilities create a safer environment and minimize the risk of infections.

Enhanced Patient Experience

The cleanliness and organization of a medical facility have a direct impact on patient experience. A clean and well-maintained environment helps patients feel more comfortable, secure, and confident in the care they are receiving. Studies show that patients are more likely to trust and return to healthcare facilities that maintain high cleanliness standards. A hygienic environment reduces anxiety, contributes to faster healing, and promotes a positive experience. Additionally, a clean, well-organized environment allows healthcare professionals to work more efficiently, which indirectly benefits patient care. Ultimately, healthcare cleaning plays a key role in enhancing the patient experience.

Cleaning of Medical Equipment

Medical equipment, such as stethoscopes, blood pressure cuffs, thermometers, and surgical instruments, is integral to patient care. Proper cleaning and disinfection are necessary to prevent the transmission of infections between patients and healthcare providers. Cleaning services healthcare ensure that medical equipment is thoroughly cleaned after each use with hospital-grade disinfectants. This eliminates harmful pathogens like bacteria and viruses. Regular maintenance, sterilization processes, and cleaning protocols are essential for ensuring equipment remains safe for use. By adhering to strict cleaning and sterilization procedures, healthcare facilities reduce the risk of cross-contamination and provide safer care for patients.

Hygienic Restrooms

Restrooms in healthcare facilities are high-risk areas for the spread of germs and bacteria. Regular cleaning and disinfection of toilets, sinks, door handles, and other surfaces help to eliminate harmful microorganisms. Medical centre cleaning services ensure that restrooms are kept hygienic and provide touchless dispensers, faucets, and trash cans to minimize direct contact. Proper ventilation is also crucial for maintaining air quality. Hygienic restrooms contribute to patient safety, staff wellbeing, and the overall cleanliness standards of healthcare facilities. With professional cleaning, restrooms help create a healthier, more comfortable environment for both patients and staff.

FAQ

How Medical Centre Cleaning Reduces the Risk of Infections?

Thorough cleaning removes harmful pathogens, preventing their spread and reducing infection risks in patient and staff areas.

Why Is Professional Cleaning Essential for Healthcare Facilities?

Professional cleaning ensures consistent hygiene, effective infection control, and compliance with health regulations, safeguarding patient and staff health.

The Impact of Cleanliness on Patient Safety in Medical Centres.

Cleanliness reduces exposure to harmful germs, creating a safer environment and lowering the risk of healthcare-associated infections.

How Often Should Medical Centres Be Cleaned for Patient Safety?

Medical centres should be cleaned multiple times daily, especially high-touch areas, to maintain hygiene and minimize infection risks.

Best Practices for Cleaning Medical Centres and Ensuring Patient Safety

Use hospital-grade disinfectants, clean high-touch areas frequently, and ensure proper waste disposal to reduce infection risks effectively.

Infection Control in Healthcare Facilities: The Role of Cleaning Services

Cleaning services prevent cross-contamination, ensure disinfection of surfaces, and maintain cleanliness, crucial for infection control in healthcare.

How Cleaning Services Help Prevent Healthcare-Associated Infections?

Regular disinfection of patient rooms, medical equipment, and high-touch areas helps eliminate harmful pathogens, preventing healthcare-associated infections.

The Importance of Disinfection in Medical Centres for Patient Health.

Disinfection kills harmful microorganisms on surfaces, ensuring a sterile environment and reducing the risk of infections and complications.

What to Look for in Medical Centre Cleaning Companies?

Choose companies with expertise, compliance with regulations, reliable staff, and adherence to strict cleaning protocols for patient safety.

How Medical Centre Cleaning Services Ensure Compliance with Health Regulations?

By following guidelines set by health authorities, cleaning services maintain hygiene, sanitation, and safety standards, ensuring regulatory compliance.

[airtechpteltd]

Cleanroom: History And Why Cleanrooms Are Preferred in Sophisticated Units

An artificially designed, developed & created, environment for the specific purpose of either research, manufacturing and in healthcare sector is categorically known as cleanroom. As the name indicates these cleanrooms are such environments in specific and known boundaries that are meticulously and accurately planned and built, so that the interior of the construction is totally free form harmful gases, bacteria and other pathogens that may interfere with the woks and activities that are intended to take place within. A clean room is made free from such hazardous elements by incorporating certain sophisticated devices and machinery, so that the inner environment is kept totally sterile. Likewise in certain manufacturing industries especially the electronic parts like integrated circuits and allied semiconductor components, it is very much necessary to maintain an absolutely clean and dust free environment which otherwise proves to be quite disastrous. A clean room not only keeps the internal area sterile but also facilitates the proper functioning and performance of the devices that are installed, as well as the ones that are being manufactured. In case of food industry it is obvious that the products that are manufactured are supposed to be for human consumption and must be manufactured with utmost care. Since even a slight bit of contamination can lead to a wide spread hazard which may be of very high magnitude. In the health care sector it is very much understood that the places of treatment to the patients must be totally clean and microbe free, which otherwise may lead to other menacing conditions. Industries that need cleanrooms, will usually decide the quality depending on what activity is being done, which will help the sector to define what ISO class is essential for the cleanroom. However, cleanrooms by and large cannot be assumed to be the same or identical in all cases. Clean rooms that are to be utilized in the production of semiconductors, integrated circuits, complex electronic components and other similar, do not need a need a sterile room especially with respect to microbes and pathogens. Whereas in a biotechnology laboratory or research centre must necessarily be free from microbes, viruses and other bacterial contamination. But in general and as a common rule, a considerably stringent regulation of airborne particulates such as dust and allied materials and surfaces of properties that are brought into the room, scholars, scientists, or other support staff who enter the room, apparatuses, substances, and equipment must be taken into consideration. Structuring and building a cleanroom and making it suitable for carrying out the desired work is usually done by experts like Airtech. Situated in Singapore, the organization, Airtech Equipment Pte Ltd, manufactures and installs exclusive and high-quality hospital door, cleanroom, biosafety level and operating room equipment. Catering to the meet the needs of sectors like health care, especially hospital ICU room, laboratory & bio-safety, Airtech Equipment Pte Ltd, leaves no stone unturned to keep up with the ever fluctuating clean air technology. In Order To Find Out More Details Hospital Equipments Please Be Touch With Us Today Onwards..!

[technoneko-2000]

trans. Nurse Café: Angel Clinic. As you enter the store filled with the scent of disinfectant, you will be greeted by angels in white coats. Once the order is complete, the nurse will call you. You'll get a blend of herbal teas tailored to your current physical condition. You can also pick the service to "Drink with Mi." A blood donation room is also present; the uniforms there are black. There is a "Black Hospital Day" for medical examinations.

☆ art by Ryo Ramiya (featured in Monthly Comic Dengeki Daioh), circa 2004 ☆

[amethystwrytes]

Safe.

Pairing: Hwang Hyunjin X Fem. Reader X Lee Minho

Summary: A broke ER Nurse offers up her services to a large crime organization in exchange for much higher pay and benefits that are unconventional, but lucrative. The life proves to be questionable at best, and downright isolating at worst which leaves her feeling unsure, unstable and dangerous. 

Warnings: Explicit language. Explicit depictions of sex (some chapters will be more explicit than others sexually). Violence. Blood. Trauma injuries. (Organized) Crime. Emotional manipulation. Me not knowing a single thing about medicine and relying on Google to give me accurate-ish information and the hope that I'm kind of explaining it correctly but knowing I'm probably not, so apologies to any reader who may work in medicine and is rolling their eyes at me lol. 18+ Only.

Chapter WC: 6k

AN: I have never ever in my life written a mafia fic, at least nothing I’ve ever posted or kept so…good luck. Additionally, this fic was originally all one doc which ended up being too much to handle, like Tumblr would not even try to meet me halfway. So I decided to break her up into chapters which I will post routinely until she's over. No idea how many chapters bc I’m still deciding on how to separate some of the later parts of the story…so hang tight with me. 

-PART ONE-

It’s the blare of a phone ringing that wakes you in the middle of the night. You pull yourself to the edge of the bed and look at the two phones that lay on your bedside table. One is personal, in a shiny black case that in truth, hardly ever rings or blips anymore. The other is a silver phone, caseless, a little worse for the wear and the screen is illuminated with an unsaved telephone number. This particular detail doesn’t really matter, there’s only a few people who would be calling it, and they cycle through burner phones so often there’s no point in saving anything. 

“Hello?” your voice is scratchy from sleep. 

“We’re ten minutes out,” Changbin says urgently, skipping greetings entirely. You sit up and throw your feet over the edge of the bed. 

“Who is it and how bad?” you ask, flitting around your bedroom switching lights on and grabbing a hair tie. 

“It’s Hyunjin, and I don’t think he’s going to die but I can’t stop the bleeding,” Changbin grunts. 

“Gun shot?” you assume, already downstairs and clearing the dining table, wondering what kind of trauma you need to prepare for. 

“Stabbed.” 

“Fuck,” you stop. Possibilities like artery and organ punctures start spinning around your head. You pray it’s not abdominal, but you know these men too well so you don’t ask, because you’re sure you already know the answer. 

“We can’t take him to an ER, ___, his face is on every list in the city. You know they always keep informants in the emergency departments, we can’t take him there,” Changbin urges and it sounds like he’s trying to convince himself more than anyone else. 

He’s correct. When Lee Minho, crime lord and your current employer first found you, you were working the night shift at the emergency department. You knew that because of the high crime rate in the city, many of the staff who sat at the check in and triage stations were also paid police informants, ready to dial up the officers to run any names or faces that looked sketchy, had a shady story, or came in with GSWs, or similar combative injuries. 

“Okay. Okay, keep direct pressure on the wound and I mean a lot of pressure Changbin, it’s going to feel like you’re hurting him but trust me, lots of pressure. I’ll prep the dining room,” you tell him. 

You take a deep breath and think. You start a pot of boiling water and lay out some clean towels on the counter. Then fly around the room opening drawers: Gloves, scissors, gauze, bandages, wound packing strips, disinfectant, antibiotics, stitch kit, and the silent prayer that no arteries, or internal organs have been compromised because you are not a surgeon and you will have to send them out to a hospital, which is more time wasted and gives Hyunjin a significantly lower survival chance. 

You weigh a clean sheet down over the table just as you hear tires squeal into the driveway outside. You run to the door and unlock it, propping it open so they can carry him in. 

“It’s bad ___, he’s out cold,” Felix grunts breathlessly as he and Changbin carry an unconscious Hyunjin into the room. All three are covered in blood and you don’t bother asking if it’s Hyunjins, theirs, or someone else's. The two of them are walking, conscious and breathing, so it doesn’t matter at the moment. 

“Okay, it’ll be okay,” you blather in a much higher tone than you mean to. 

You don the gloves and grab the scissors, cutting up the seams of Hyunjins black satin shirt, soaked with blood. Changbin keeps his hand pressed to Hyunjins left side, a balled up tee shirt gripped in his shaking fist. 

“Bin,” you say softly, “I need to cut the shirt away, okay? When I say three I want you to pull your hand off,” you explain and he nods, “Felix, I need you to bring the pot of water and those clean towels from the kitchen in here for me,” you instruct. 

You look at Hyunjins sweet face, ghastly pale, and lips several shades lighter than what they ought to be. He’s clearly lost a lot of blood and you briefly think of a transfusion, but have no way of performing one - most of these men have no idea what blood type they are anyway but even if they did you don’t have the means to do it. 

“Okay,” you breathe deeply once the shirt is mostly gone, the scent of iron and copper floods your nose, “One…two…three.” 

Changbin pulls the balled up, blood soaked cloth from the wound and you watch as the thick, red substance trickles out while you finish off the shirt. You hear Changbin gasp and curse under his breath. 

“It’s okay,” you say, “That’s a fairly good sign, see how it’s a slow trickle and not a burst or spurt? That’s a good sign,” you repeat for him, grabbing a handful of gauze to press into the wound.

Changbin nods and backs away. 

“No, no,” you stop him, “Go wash your hands, put some gloves on and come back here, Felix, you do the same. Quickly.” 

The two men disperse to do as they’re told and you hold the gauze in place with one hand, wetting a towel to clean off the area with the other so you can see what you’re working on better. It’s on his left side, above his hip in the small of his waist. That significantly decreases the number of organs possibly punctured. Left kidney, lung, and/or possible intestinal damage - none of which are good news, but that will make it easier to look for tell tale signs, which as of right now you don’t see. 

Changbin and Felix return, gloved up and ready to assist as you work diligently to stop the bleeding by packing the wound. 

“How long was the blade?” you ask as you work. You stick your fingertip into the open flesh to feel it out. This seems to perk your patient up, Hyunjin jerks up on the table, screaming in agony and cursing the room. The good news is the wound isn’t as deep as you feared.

“Hold him down!” you yell and both men scramble to steady him. “Changbin? The knife?”

“Um,” Changbin shakes his head, “Small, smooth, no more than ten centimeters I’d say.” 

Hyunjin gasps and goes eerily still on the table. 

“___?” Felix cries, you can hear the fear in his voice. 

“It’s okay, he’s responding to pain and that’s good, but he’s going to slip in and out of consciousness because of the blood loss,” you explain but you still see the fear on Felixes face, “Why don’t you tell me what happened Felix?” 

He looks at you, eyes wide with fear and you give him a shaky but reassuring smile and a nod of encouragement, “We were ambushed. It was just supposed to be a collection run, so only the three of us went. As soon as we walked into their storehouse bullets were flying. Hyunjin knocked the gun out of the guys hand and he pulled a blade out of his boot as a backup,” Felix adds, “He stabbed Hyunjin but he got in one last punch that knocked the bastard out cold,” he smiles proudly. 

“Was Hyunjin significantly taller than the man?” you wonder. 

“Definitely,” Changbin nods, “Why does it matter?” 

“Because it appears that the man stabbed into his side at a difficult upward angle, which prevented it from going in deep. That’s good, because that means it probably bypassed any of his organs. Felix, bring my stethoscope and the blood pressure cuff please, over on the end table.” 

Felix runs over and you cautiously release the gauze. To your relief the bleeding seems to have at least slowed to a manageable rate. 

You stuff the stethoscope in your ears and try to ascertain some vitals now that he seems stable(ish). His heart rate is lower than normal, but his lungs sound clear. Pupils are responding to light slowly but normally, and his blood pressure is low but stable. You grab his hand and press on his fingernails, O2 seems fine. 

“What now?” Felix asks. 

“I’ll need you two to lift him up a bit, I’ve got the wound packed but I’ll need to wrap a bandage around his torso to keep the packing in place, then, in an hour or so, if we’re lucky the bleeding will have stopped completely and I can clean him up and stitch it,” you say shakily. 

The boys do as they’re told and you carefully wrap the bandage around him, making sure the wound is secured. 

A knock pounds at the door as you lay him back down on the table, the three of you exchange glances and Changbin pulls the 9mm from his strap and makes his way toward the door with Felix tiptoeing behind as backup. 

“It’s me,” a voice hollers from the other side and your little trio breathes a sigh of relief. It’s Lee Minho, obviously coming to check on one of his best. 

Changbin opens the door and sweeps the front yard with his eyes for good measure before closing up again. 

“How is he?” Minho stands over Hyunjins still body as you discard your gloves in a nearby bin. 

“He’s lost quite a lot of blood, if we were at the hospital I’d imagine they’d call for a transfusion, which is impossible here - but if I can get him stable, he might pull through the blood loss thing. The wound wasn’t as deep as I thought it would be, but it’s quite a bleeder, so right now my primary focus is to make sure it’s completely stopped before sewing him up,” you explain. 

Minho nods, and you watch as he quietly assesses the situation, considering his next move. You don’t know Hyunjin as well as some of the others. You do know he’s careful, cautious and very good at his job. The fact he was nearly bested this evening has you surprised, so you can only imagine the shock of the man standing in front of you. Minho taps his finger gently against his lips, then drags his hand across his mouth in frustration. 

“I want retaliation for this,” he says quietly, darkly. 

“Absolutely,” Changbin nods, “The motherfucker who did this has numbered days.” 

“Find him,” Minho commands, “Find everyone who was there, I don’t care if you have to go to their homes where their god damned kids sleep, you find them, I want intel on them all, and we’ll go over it together. We’ll figure out who we can use for information, and who we’re going to,” he stops himself then and looks at you gently, “Well, who won’t be of any value to us.” 

You appreciate the attempt at guarded candor, but you already know he means to murder them all. Knowing Minho, and how he probably feels he’s been screwed over tonight, he’s going to kill the valuable ones too - once he knows what he needs to know. 

“I’m going to go wash up,” you say softly, “He should be alright for now. I’ll check him after I’m done. If anything happens just yell.” 

When you’re safely closed off in the bathroom, you take the first calm breath since the phone rang, waking you from a dreamless sleep. You stare at yourself in the mirror and realize in addition to being covered in blood, you also still wear the black silk nightgown you wore to bed. You scoff, looking down at yourself, the lace hem falls across the top of your thighs, sticking to the skin with blood, and one thin strap hangs off your shoulder. You look like a dumpster fire. Your hair is in shambles as well. You start to take it down and decide to toss the nightie in the trash when the door to your bathroom opens. Minho. 

“I sent Felix and Bin off, I need them to cool down a bit, they’re pretty keyed up,” he says, playing with the bottles and boxes on your bathroom vanity. “I’ve sent for Seungmin to stay with you and Hyunjin for a while as protection, I’ll stick around until he arrives of course.” 

You clear your throat, “Thank you.” 

“It’s nothing,” he whispers. He moves to stand behind you and you stare at each other in the reflection of the mirror. He takes two fingers and caresses your arm, hooking the rogue strap of your nightie and pulling it back into place on your shoulder. His other hand roams your figure, over your breast, down your ribs and waist, and stops on your hip as he gives it a gentle squeeze - never once taking his eyes off yours in the mirror. You say nothing, you don’t move. 

“You look like a scared animal,” he chuckles, using his free hand to pull your hair off your neck, exposing it. His lips move in, his breath on the delicate skin, and he looks at your reflection once more, “Hm?” 

You realize he’s asking for permission and you nod. His lips land right under your ear, his fingers spreading across your throat to gently pull you into him. You don’t stop the soft breath that escapes your lips and your hand flies to cover his as he continues to rub and squeeze your hip. 

You’ve almost lost yourself in him, when you open your eyes and realize he’s spreading the blood on your arm around. 

“Wait,” you gasp and jump away. 

“What?” he frowns, and you see the flicker of rejection flash in his dark eyes, but he decides  to suppress any reaction to it.

“You’re getting blood all over you,” you point to his hand, “I really do need to wash up and check on Hyunjin. I’ll need to monitor him constantly tonight to make sure there’s no change,” you say politely. 

“Are you that scared of me, Kitten?” he asks, leaning over your sink to rinse Hyunjins blood away. 

“I’m not scared of you Minho,” you tell him, and it’s mostly true, kind of. “You’ve been in my bed enough times that I think you know I’m not scared of you.” 

“Yet you always send me away after,” he sighs, shaking the excess water from his hands. “It makes me wonder if maybe you only let me into your bed because you think you don’t have a choice, you know, due to our arrangement,” he motions broadly at the room. 

You can easily see how he’d come to that conclusion. When you accepted his offer you went very swiftly from working your ass to the bone, on no sleep, in a shoebox of an apartment, with debt up to your eyeballs straight to having everything paid off, a credit card with essentially no limit, a huge, beautiful house on the edge of the city bought and paid for, and anything your heart desired. All of it was taken care of by him. So, yes, you could see how one might think you allow him to do whatever he wants just to keep things copacetic for him. 

“Do you want honesty?” you ask, reaching into the shower to adjust the water. 

“From my employees? I demand it, yes,” he nods. Well, there it is, you think. He looks at you as an employee, and you also look at him as your employer. The situation is so beyond wildly fucked that you’ve truly got no idea what you’re doing or why. 

“I let you into my bed because I’m lonely, and you make me feel…not alone,” you tell him. “It has nothing to do with our arrangement. If I didn’t want to, I wouldn’t.” 

“Good,” he nods, “but why are you lonely? You’re not my prisoner, you are free to come and go as you please, with the caveat of you being available when I need you, and for you to keep what you know and have seen to yourself.” 

“I know that,” you allow your nightgown to fall to the floor, “What I don’t know yet is how to compartmentalize my normal life with this life, how to live them separately. How to be normal out there, and business here. So until I do, well, you don’t seem to mind my using you for human connection.” 

“That’s understandable and I don’t mind at all,” he licks his lips as you slide your panties down and off your legs, “I know this was a big change for you, and I understand that what I ask of you is taxing, that what you see and hear is sometimes unfathomable.” 

You cross over to him, naked, skin streaked with another persons blood, “Thank you for understanding,” you say, and kiss him, pulling him into you by his collar. His fingers slide down your stomach and slide between your slick. You whimper into his mouth as he pulls away.

 He brings his fingers to his mouth, sucking them with a grin, “Wash up Kitten, but next time you don’t have one of my men bleeding on your dining room table, you’re mine.” 

You wait for him to close the door before you step into the water. You watch the white floor of the shower turn into red swirls being pulled down the drain. You scrub and scrub your skin until it feels raw, wash your hair in case any blood made its way up there to dry out in the strands. You dry off, moisturize and put on comfortable clothes - a pair of old scrub pants and a tee shirt you don’t care about. You pull your wet hair tight out of your face and then pick up your ruined night dress, tossing it into the bathroom trash on your way out the door. 

When you return downstairs you see Seungmin sitting in a recliner in the living room, scrolling his phone. Hyunjin continues to lay still on the dining table, and you walk over to check his vitals again, catching Seungmins attention. 

“Good evening,” he nods stiffly and you give him a wry smile. 

“Where did Min- Where did Mr. Lee go?” you ask him as you wrap the BP cuff around Hyunjins arm. 

“He left. You don’t need to know where,” he answers you with an uninterested cadence, not looking up from his phone. 

“Right,” you fight the urge to roll your eyes, “Of course.” 

Hyunjins blood pressure is back to normal, albeit a tad low, but well in the realm of being acceptable. Resting heart rate has returned to the low 70’s, which is also a good sign. You finger the bandage at his side and it’s a relief to find that so far, no blood has seeped through the packing. That is indeed very good progress. 

As you fix his bandage back a hand flies up, landing over yours and you jump, looking up just in time to see his eyes flutter open. 

“Hey there,” you say softly, “How do you feel?” 

“Like I got stabbed in a back alley,” he chuckles and lifts his head but immediately winces at the pain and collapses back onto the table with a painful sounding thud. 

“Be very still,” you place your palm against his stomach softly. “You did get stabbed in a back alley and you’re far from ready to move around.” 

“Changbin and Felix?” he rasps. 

“They’re fine,” you answer, “They brought you here but Mr. Lee sent them home for the night, they were both very worried about you.” 

“But they’re fine?” he looks at you seriously and you nod. 

“Totally fine Hyunjin.” 

He shakes his head, “Those motherfuckers have to be the dumbest in the entire country. We weren’t even there for any rifts, we just needed to collect the monthly gun sales. I knew when we walked in something was off, everyone felt so nervous, I should’ve turned tail and gotten Bin and Felix out as soon as I felt it.” 

“She doesn’t need to know any of this, you ought to keep your mouth shut,” Seungmin calls from the living room. 

Hyunjin smirks, “Why’d they send the mean, strict grandpa? I almost died, I at least deserve Jeongin or Jisung.” 

You say nothing, but suppress a laugh and shrug your shoulders. 

Hyunjin wiggles around feeling his pants pockets and produces a square brass cigarette case. 

“Got a light Doll?” he places one between his lips and you walk to the kitchen for a lighter. 

“As your primary care professional, I don’t really recommend this right now,” you say dryly, but light it for him and allow it. 

“I’ve been a good patient though,” he sticks out his lower lip and you roll your eyes. 

“I suppose,” you say. 

“So when can I get out of here?” he asks between puffs. 

You scoff, “Well. If we were in a hospital and I could send you for bloodwork and images and definitively rule out any organ damage, I could send you home a lot sooner. As it is,” you think for a moment, trying to be both medically practical but also realistic to what Minho will expect. “As it is, I need to watch you for at least three days. I’ll need to monitor your wound, obviously, but also any sign of infection like swelling or fever. If that happens it could be because the blade nicked something it shouldn’t have, like your intestines for example, or that the wound itself is trying to go septic.” 

“Ew,” he grimaces.

“Exactly.” 

“And will I have to bunk on this very nice, but extremely uncomfortable table during that time? Not gonna lie Doll, I’m getting pretty stiff, and not in the fun way,” he jokes. 

“No,” you laugh, “Seungmin and I will help you to the guest room in a bit. First I’d like to unpack your wound, make sure the major bleeding stopped, and stitch you. Then I’ll clean you up and put a new bandage on, after that you can go to a real bed.” 

“Stitches huh?” he blows out a big puff of smoke. “Is that, uh…you know, going to hurt?” 

You grin, “Well, it won’t feel amazing, but it probably doesn’t hurt any worse than getting stabbed, and now we know you can handle that.” 

“Right,” he chuckles. 

“I’ll try and see if I have any more topical anesthetic in my supplies,” you pat his leg sympathetically. 

🗡️🗡️🗡️🗡️🗡️

“Fuck! It hurts…” Hyunjin grumbles, you pause your needle as he flinches and bites down hard on his bottom lip. 

“I’m sorry, I’m almost done,” you tell him, going back to it, “aside from me sewing you up, how do you feel?” 

“I’m fine,” he says shakily, you can see the sheen of sweat on his upper lip and forehead, see his fingers shaking between weak grips on the edge of the table. 

“Cute, acting tough like that,” you click your teeth, “Now, how about you tell me the truth? I can’t treat you properly if you’re not honest about your symptoms.” 

He looks down at you, despite his current state, the corners of his lips twitch into a smile. 

“I feel like shit, there, you happy now?” he pouts. 

From the corner of the room Seungmin sighs, “She needs you to be specific, idiot.” 

“Why are you speaking?” Hyunjin snaps at him and you see Seungmin stiffen, face defiant, but you notice he sinks lower into the recliner and goes back to his phone. 

“He’s right,” you say quietly, finishing up the stitches, “I need to know if anything’s hurting, burning or itching from head to toe,” you stand up and help him lie back down on the table, carefully holding his head in your hands. This brings your faces closer together, closer than you’d ever been to Hyunjin, and you can’t help but notice the sweetness of his face, the wild innocence of his dark eyes. He meets your gaze with the same intensity and you have to look away. 

“So how about it?” you clear your throat, “How are you really feeling?” 

“My head is pounding, I feel like I could drink ten gallons of water, my side is burning where you just sewed my guts back in, and I feel like I couldn’t lift a feather without passing out. That good enough for you sweetheart?” he half laughs, then winces. 

“Yes, actually,” you quip, “The headache and weakness are both from the blood loss, I’ll get you some pain meds, and you can slowly start to drink some ice water for the dry mouth, I also want you on antibiotics, and Seungmin can help me get you to bed so you can rest.” 

You gesture to Seungmin, “I went ahead and pulled the covers down, I just need you to help me get him on the bed,” you instruct. 

Seungmin saunters over and Hyunjin reluctantly puts his arm around Seungmins neck, “Ouch! Fuck!” he cries and you look up from where you’re putting his feet on the floor. 

“Maybe support the side he doesn’t have a stab wound on boys?” you point to Hyunjins right side. 

“Right,” Seungmin grumbles.  

Getting Hyunjin from the dining room just down the hall to the bedroom proves to be quite difficult, despite the trip only being maybe twenty, twenty-five steps. The journey takes every bit of his energy and when he hits the mattress with a painful sounding thud he’s out again. 

“Is he going to make it?” Seungmin stands back and somehow looks both concerned and unbothered by Hyunjins pitiful state. 

“Yes,” you nod, “He needs to rehydrate, and rest. When he wakes up I’ll get him some pain medication, start some antibiotics, and get some fluids in him. Will you run down to the store and get a case of some kind of sports drink? He’ll need the sodium.” 

“No.” 

“Pardon?” you turn to Seungmin. 

“My orders aren’t to do your shopping, my orders are to stay here and protect the safe house,” he answers seriously. 

“For fucks sake Seungmin,” you sigh, “loosen up. I’ll grab my keys and be right back,” you tell him, “but if he wakes up and needs something urgent you’re on your own and whatever happens will be on you.” 

“Then I’ll deal with it. Just because you fuck the boss doesn’t make you the matriarch of the organization,” he says flatly. 

You freeze, your mouth setting into a tight, defensive line. You fight the urge to slap him, you know that he’ll hit you back and his fist most definitely packs a bigger punch. 

“Don’t talk to her like that,” Hyunjin says weakly from the bed, Seungmin nearly jumps out of his skin. 

“It’s the truth,” Seungmin challenges softly. 

“That’s not how you talk to someone who does so much for us, and besides I’d hate for that nasty remark to get back to Minho, you won’t be doing protection details for a while, I guarantee you that,” Hyunjin threatens. 

Seungmin huffs and starts to stalk out of the room. 

“You’re forgetting something,” Hyunjin says, weakly lifting a finger and pointing at you. “Apologize.”

Seungmins eyes narrow with rage, “I apologize,” he says through gritted teeth. 

“It’s fine,” you sigh, knowing he doesn’t really mean it and also knowing that you don’t really give a shit if he does or not. “I’m going to get some things for Hyunjin, you boys play nice.” 

You don’t give either of them the opportunity to respond, you just head for the door. You wait until you’re in the privacy of your own car, well, Minho’s car, before you cry. 

Seungmins words cut deep, both embarrassing and insulting. You hadn’t really thought about anyone noticing that sometimes Minho slips away upstairs to your bedroom and because of that oversight you’d never really thought about how it would feel for others to know, and to comment on it. It feels lousy, turns out. It makes you feel cheap, and it makes you feel wrong. 

🗡️🗡️🗡️🗡️🗡️

It’s almost daylight before Hyunjin wakes again. He slept through almost every vital check, and at the most would only stir in his sleep when you put the cuff around his arm or the cold stethoscope against his chest. 

“What are you reading?” his voice pulls your attention from the page and you wiggle around in your seat, joints and muscles stiff from hours of sitting. 

“It’s just a silly romance novel, nothing life changing,” you tell him, setting the book down. “Here, you need to drink,” you hand him a cup of blue Gatorade, a bit watery from the melted ice. 

Hyunjin attempts to sit up but winces, “Never really thought about how much I use these muscles,” his smile is twisted with pain, but you’re impressed with his positivity. 

“Here,” you stand up and reach around to fluff his pillows up so he’s propped. “How does that feel?” 

“God you smell good,” he says softly, his nose centimeters away from your sternum, right between your breasts. 

“Thanks,” you sit back down quickly. 

Hyunjin watches silently, sipping the blue beverage as you make a ruckus on the side table shaking pills out of bottles. 

“What’s all that?” he asks. 

“Your meds, since you’re up and lucid I want you to go ahead and take some,” you tell him, handing him two pills to take. 

“Can I at least know what I’m taking?” he chuckles, rolling them around his palm. 

“The smaller white one is an Oxycodone, for the pain, and the big one is Cephalexin, an antibiotic just in case,” you explain. 

He tosses the Oxy back onto the table and pops the antibiotic into his mouth. Off of your stare he shrugs, “I don’t take pain killers, used to have a bad problem with pills.” 

“Oh, well, it’s mainly just Acetaminophen, I think this one is 800mg and only 200mg of oxy. I think wherever your boss gets my drugs - they keep the hard stuff. I’d like you to take something, for your head and for the wound, but if you don’t want to I can’t make you obviously,” you say, standing up. 

“I’m fine sweetheart,” he lays his head back down on the pillows, and puts the empty cup on the table. “I like a little pain,” he winks. 

“Suit yourself,” you grab your book and start out of the room. 

“Hey, where are you going?” he calls. 

“Just giving you some privacy to rest,” you shrug. 

“Read to me,” he gestures towards your chair. 

“You’re kidding?” you snort. 

“I’ve slept all night, and I’m bored,” he pouts, “Please?” 

You huff and plant your ass back into the chair, deciding not to point out that he may have slept all night but you haven’t. 

“You really want to sit here and listen to my silly romance?” 

“Absolutely.” 

You sigh and open your book to the page you dogeared a few moments ago. To be frank you can’t remember what was happening, you’d zoned out and the words weren’t exactly sticking. You scan the page to find anything familiar. 

You freeze. Oh good Lord. 

“Why are you blushing?” he laughs. 

“I just…it’s…it’s sort of at a spicy part,” you squirm. 

“Nice, lay it on me,” he grins. 

“Jesus…” you shake your head and clear your throat. 

“...Scooping her into my arms, I lavish kisses on her mouth and neck. We strip each other bare, our love making frenzied. I make sure she orgasms before me, holding back until her body achieves its release. Right before I come I whisper “I love you” between each breath before my mind goes blank with pleasure. As we lie across my-,” 

“That’s it??” Hyunjin scoffs. 

“What’s it?” you look up at him. 

“That’s supposed to be spicy? That’s barely salted!” he chuckles. 

“Well, I suppose it’s meant to not be super detailed, leave a bit to the imagination,” you answer. 

“That’s lazy,” he shakes his head. 

“Well what would you have written then?” you challenge, closing the book and crossing your legs. 

“I don’t know, I’m no writer,” he falters, “but I would’ve written something about how she feels, how it feels to push into her - tight and wet and warm. What she tastes like - from her lipstick, to her skin, to her cunt.” 

You shift in your seat, squeezing your thighs together. 

“They could’ve at least described her noises, how playing with her in different ways makes her sound different, what her tits look like when I’m fucking her, bouncing fast or slow. I don’t know, something with a little actual spice,” he shrugs. 

“Well write a book then,” you say before he can go into any more detail. 

“I’m just saying, they could’ve painted a better picture, fucking is supposed to be fun, that sounded boring as hell,” he scoffs, “Who ever actually whispers “I love you” when they’re fucking?” 

“I don’t know, I guess people who love each other,” you grumble. 

“Yeah? Is that what Boss man says to you?” he teases. It’s not the same menacing tone that Seungmin had taken with you concerning Minho, and you can tell by the lightness of Hyunjins eyes he doesn’t mean anything by it, but God, these men. They all need to be lined up and slapped across the face. You’re sick of it. Sick of the power struggle. In every situation, in every conversation they have to feel like they’re holding the power. You let Seungmins comments roll off your back and ignored them like a coward earlier, but Hyunjin will likely be here a few days and you need to establish that you won’t back down again, you can fight fire with fire. 

So you straighten up and look him dead in the eyes, “No. When Minho fucks me he pulls my hair and slaps my ass and calls me his gorgeous little slut while his cum drips out of my mouth.” 

Hyunjins mouth turns into the biggest grin you’ve ever seen and his eyes go wide as he points to you, “Now that is a goddamn page turner.” 

You can’t help the laugh that escapes as you stand up and straighten yourself out, “Okay, storytime is over, I’m going to get a little sleep. Try to rest. I’ll make you some breakfast in a bit.” 

“Okay,” he nods and settles back into the mattress, as you go to switch the lights he looks at you, his head cocking to the side a bit, “Do you like that though? The rough and ragged and dirty stuff?” 

You shrug, “Sometimes, I guess. Sometimes though…I don’t know… I think I’d like someone to whisper how much they love me, it sounds nice.”

He nods, then looks back up at you, “I’m sorry, I won’t comment on you and Lee anymore.”

“See you later Hyunjin.”

Too tired to even attempt walking up the stairs you drag yourself over to the sofa and collapse.

Seungmin sits in his recliner nearby and blinks at you.

You point to the blanket folded over the back of his chair, “Will you hand-,”

He balls up the blanket and throws it, pegging your face with a smirk. You shoot him a death glare before covering yourself up and sinking into the cushions. You try not to think about his earlier comments regarding Minho. You try not to think about Minho. You especially try not to think about dirty talk with Hyunjin, or how it stirred something within you that you absolutely must not allow to grow.

Endnotes:

1. Tentatively tagging my Minho lovers - @katieraven @linocz @screamobubbles @simpforleeknaur @moni-logues - because Minho will be centric to the story. However, if you do not want to be tagged for any reason just DM me and I’ll remove you, no worries at all 💙🥰 Alternatively, if you’re seeing this and want to be added to the tag list just let me know somehow!

2. As usual, here’s your virtual smooch for making it this far. Mafia is soooo far out of my wheelhouse and honestly even though this chapter is super unbeta’d - I may have future chapters looked at bc I’m not really sure I’m hitting the mark. Any feedback on it would be swell, just be gentle with me 😂👍

[charliedawn]

Cam you write the slashers helping you feel better on your period? I just got mine recently and it's more painful than usual

(Warning: Hum…There’s gonna be suggestive stuff. But I’ll draw a line so you’ll know where to stop.)

The helpful ones: Michael Myers/Norman Bates

Michael wouldn’t necessarily know what to do at first. But once you give him a list, he will be the first out of the door to give you everything you want and need. He would simply grab the best of everything and hope it will be enough. Also, he would buy you a lot of snacks. And the man is built like a bull so he would carry everything without breaking a sweat and cuddle with you until you feel better—no questions asked.

Norman would not even need a list. He would rush to the nearest pharmacy to buy the medicine you need to feel better. He would also already have all the supplies you need in his motel, in some special drawer. But he wouldn’t even hesitate if you needed some specific type of comfort food before jumping into his car and getting it right away. He would also cuddle with you and kiss your forehead…

The ‘help is on the way’ ones: Jason Voorhees/Brahms Heelshire

Jason would be dumbfounded. What is a period ? But he would hug you nonetheless and tell you that everything would be alright. He would also share his secret stash of ice cream with you and warn someone in the hospital so they may give him or tell him what you need to feel better. He would not know how to find everything on his own…

Brahms would be more aware of what it is since he used to watch his babysitters VERY closely. *cough cough* So he would bring you the products they used and lots of candy and chocolates…but he wouldn’t go out to buy you anything because he would be too scared of leaving you alone. So…someone else has to do that.

The ‘am gonna do something about it but because I gotta not because I wanna’: Dennis/Five

Dennis would be scared of the stains you would leave behind if he left you to fend for yourself. So he would go, take the products that Patricia tells him to buy and come home before throwing them into your room and locking the door behind him…He would also take regular showers and disinfect your room as often as possible. Also if he is feeling generous, might throw you snacks once in a while…

Five would just stare at you with that ‘are you kidding me?’ expression and just ask you why you didn’t think about buying all that before the red deadline. He would then mumble and grumble before taking your list and teleporting to begrudgingly buy them all in a hurry. He would then throw the money on the counter to return as quickly as possible and forget all about tampons or pads or whatever other stuff women need those days…

Here is the line:

———————————————————————

Pussy-Cleaning at your Service: Freddy/Bo Sinclair

Those two would take offense if you didn’t warn them. Actually, they would have that special week circled in red in their calendar with little hearts. Those two ? Down and dirty. What do you mean you wanna be left alone ? Their snouts are already seeking like a bloodhound’s. What do you mean it’s disgusting ?! Now don’t be silly and let that magic tongue do what it does best…They are already nose-deep before you even got the chance to say a word…All I can say is brace yourself and have a happy landing.

Bye-Bye team: Penny Team

…Blood ? What blood ? Nope. No blood. Because those two would devour you. And not in the good way I am afraid…In the sharks in water kinda way. In the ‘you gonna take a long nap’ kinda way. In the ‘you gonna float’ kinda way. All nurses in St Louis are forbidden to work during their red days for that very reason.

[55sturn]

please can u do dad/husband chris hcs??

i love ur writing 🫶🏾🫶🏾

omg i love this !!!

✮HUSBAND + DAD!CHRIS WHO…/ HEADCANONS

husband!chris headcanons

HUSBAND!CHRIS who is using every chance he can to tell people that you’re his wife, there is absolutely no hiding the marriage.

HUSBAND!CHRIS who proposes the idea of getting eloped about a month and a half after proposing because he genuinely can’t wait to be married to you.

after first you feel bad because you want your friends and family to be part of the big day but then you say fuck it, and the two of you are running to city hall as soon as it opens the next day.

after the elopement, you don’t really tell anyone aside from close family and then you guys take your honeymoon, i feel like chris would fly you to somewhere like greece or paris or london because it’s romantic and he wants you to have that movie-esque honeymoon.

HUSBAND!CHRIS who fucks you on every surface in your hotel room during the honeymoon.

HUSBAND!CHRIS who decides to help you throw a big informal wedding type-party with all your friends x family and announce the elopement publicly for the first time.

HUSBAND!CHRIS who treats the entire marriage as if it’s the newlywed stage, like he’s the type of husband who still flirts with you and pursued you as if he literally didn’t lock it down with a ring. he never wants you to feel like he doesn’t want or love you.

HUSBAND!CHRIS who decides that once you guys are married, that he wants to move into a house with you and begin the new chapter and try for a family.

HUSBAND!CHRIS who, once again, constantly tries to consummate the marriage everywhere in the new house. matt and nick refuse to visit until you and chris have hired a cleaning service to “disinfect” the house.

HUSBAND!CHRIS who is a very big believer of the saying “happy wife, happy life.” which means he’s giving and getting you everything you want without hesitation and refuses to let you decline anything.

dad!chris headcanons!

DAD!CHRIS who is a boy dad without question, but that’s not to say he wouldn’t adore his future daughter, that little girl would have him wrapped around her finger.

DAD!CHRIS who brings up the idea of trying for a family after about a month of living together and you’re relieved because you had found out you were pregnant two weeks prior, you just weren’t ready to say anything yet.

DAD!CHRIS who, the second you tell him you’re pregnant, is on his knees pressing kisses to your stomach before he’s resting his head against it with his arms tightly wrapped around you and he’s nearly sobbing, he’s just excited and unbelievably happy that his dreams of having his own little family are coming true.

DAD!CHRIS who is with you at every appointment and cries again when you find out you’re having a baby boy.

DAD!CHRIS who is getting the baby his first pair of jordans without question.

DAD!CHRIS who lets you design the nursery entirely on your own and how you want, because he feels a bit bad that he took wedding planning away from you when you guys got eloped.

DAD!CHRIS who decides that he and matt will build the dresser, changing table, crib, rocking chair, everything while you’re out with mary-lou, nick, and your mom buying baby clothes.

when you see that all the furniture is put together, the pregnancy hormones kick in and you’re sobbing in his arms, thanking him for it and he’s shushing you and telling you that you don’t need to thank him for doing the bare minimum.

DAD!CHRIS who had the to-go bags packed the day after you told him you were pregnant, he had everything you need and want in yours, and completely overpacked the baby’s to-go bag because he couldn’t sleep the night you told him.

DAD!CHRIS who, the moment you go into labour, has the car ready to go and is calling nick and matt as soon as you’ve been checked into the hospital.

DAD!CHRIS who, while you’re waiting until you’re fully dilated, is getting you ice, wiping your forehead, holding your hand, he’s very doting while you’re sitting there waiting to give birth because he feels bad that you’re in pain because he did that to you.

DAD!CHRIS who has tears streaming down his face the second he hears his baby’s first cries. once you and the baby are cleaned up and decently rested, he’s running out to the waiting room and collapses in his brothers’ arms saying “we’ve got a healthy baby boy.”

DAD!CHRIS who refuses to wear a shirt when holding his son, because he’s a full believer in skin to skin contact being an important bonding factor.

DAD!CHRIS who is so incredibly helpful, he refuses to be one of those dads that doesn’t get up when the baby cries and he’s doing a lot of the midnight feedings if you’re not breastfeeding.

if you are breastfeeding, he’s doing everything he can to make you comfortable and he’s always going to grab your son from the bassinet at the foot of your bed.

DAD!CHRIS who feels so heartbroken when the baby is teething because he knows his son is uncomfortable and in pain and there’s not much to be done about it.

DAD!CHRIS who is so interested in the types of foods that the baby is trying out once he’s weaned off milk.

DAD!CHRIS who he gets his brothers to do a baby food challenge on their channel and it’s one of the only times that your son is featured on the channel because he loves his uncles and they make him laugh.

DAD!CHRIS and UNCLE!NICK + MATT who are completely wrapped around the baby’s finger. he gets whatever he wants from all of you because he is the first baby out of the group and everyone spoils him.

he grows up with the coolest family, he’s always sporting some sort of merch from his parents’ and uncles favourite artists to sturniolo merch and fresh love that the triplets created as the announcement of chris being a father.

all in all, chris’ baby would be so incredibly loved, spoiled, well mannered, respectful, and all around the coolest baby in the fucking world.

taglist: @dylsdunbar @verosivy @soursturniolo @4sturns @sturnsclutter @spencerstits @meanttomeet @bluesturniolo333 @graciereid @abbie13sworld @ghostofbrock @l9vesick @mylifeisevenstranger @bethsturn @ifilwtmfc @themattgirl @lovingmattysposts @lacysturniolo @freshsturns @forevergirlposts @sturniolo-fav-matt @cupidsword @strawberrysturniolo @lustfulslxt @sturnifyed @carolsturns1 @teapartyprincess4two @mangosrar @querenciasturniolo

© 55STURN 2024 [ you do not have permission to copy or save or share my work to other platforms and devices! ]

[dramioneasks]

HP FESTS: Dramione Month (Part 8)

Dramione Month 2024:

Better Off Dead by galaxy_skies - T, one-shot - fter two months of research and asking around, Hermione had finally settled on a tattoo parlor. She wanted something to mark the end of the war – a tangible mark on her skin that said I survived. But she wasn’t an artist and she was indecisive to a fault, so gathering the courage to actually visit the tattoo parlor took her another two weeks. With a deep breath she pushes the door open. The store is in a dangerous part of London – dingy and unkempt – and if not for the glowing reviews scattered around on enthusiast websites, she wouldn’t believe the place was fit for a cockroach. But inside – a threadbare sofa and walls filled with black and white art – the place is clean. There’s a smell of disinfectant overpowering the faint smell of cigarette smoke, and as the bell jangles behind her a coarse voice yells out. “With you in a minute, love.”

Closeness by Hyemi_28 - M, one-shot - Hermione was dragged into a cell of the Malfoy Manor's dungeon, after Harry and Ron couldn't free her from Bellatrix's hands... She wants to survive, but Fenrir Greyback wants her to himself... Bellatrix locked Draco to that cell too, to punishes him because of his disobedience... They have to share the dark and cold cell and he wants her to survive this at any cost.

theo’s meddling services by greenappletheory - E, one-shot - Theo Nott decides to meddle in Draco Malfoy's love life using a cursed closet that will not unlock until an orgasm is reached.

The Secrets Under Your Skin by galaxy_skies - T, one-shot - It was, perhaps, karmic retribution that led Draco Malfoy to being stuck in the lift. He’d complained about having to take one at all as Hermione rolled her eyes and explained that they were perfectly safe and they were not taking thirty flights of stairs back down from the conference room, thank you very much Malfoy, she was in heels.

Heat Waves by saneasluna - M, one-shot - ”Is he watching?” Malfoy whispered behind her, his breath hot on her skin. Hermione felt his lips brush the shell of her ear as he spoke, and she suppressed a shiver, despite the humid night.

The Only One by Dara_Art, Tippilo - E, one-shot - “Is that what you’re wearing?” Ginny asks, inspecting Hermione’s all black dress. “I mean, not that you don’t look positively ravishing, but are you really going to wear black to your wedding?” Hermione glares at her friend. “I think it’s perfectly appropriate when you are marrying Draco Malfoy. This is a day of mourning.”

This Time by Lexxus - not rated, one-shot - Draco and Hermione broke up two months ago. To keep up appearances, they pretend to still be together. A text conversation uncovers lingering feelings, misunderstandings, and the prospect of a sweet happy ending.

roken & Bruised by galaxy_skies - T, one-shot - Hermione was supposed to be enjoying her Friday evening off from work. But her telephone had rang unexpectedly at half-ten with a harried-sounding nurse insisting that she come to the hospital and pick up her boyfriend. Flustered, Hermione had agreed and then stared at the phone receiver after the nurse had hung up. She didn’t have a boyfriend. But someone had used her name and muggle phone number to pretend that she did.

War opposites by Hyemi_28 - M, one-shot - Draco and Hermione meet in the heat of the battle and the danger and heightened emotions lead them on a new path...

Lord Granger by Sessediz - T, one-shot - In which Draco is absolutely thrilled to find out the results of the Ministry's magical and mundane compatibility test 💌

Overture by Zeebee3 - E, one-shot - He was skeptical, and his question was imbued with it. “You’re seriously okay with having to hug me for four and a half minutes?” Her arms tightened but her chin lifted a stubborn half inch. “We don’t have a choice. Professor Trelawney—” “I know, I know.” He rubbed over his brow, needing a moment to acclimate to the concept that for the next almost-five-minutes, he’d be hugging Hermione Granger. And not only hugging but holding, the position so intimate he’d blushed at the in-class demonstration performed by two simulacra transfigured from a cobweb. --- Or, Draco and Hermione are partnered for an unification assignment.

Does This Feel Like Love? by galaxy_skies - M, one-shot - Draco does what he’s told. Learning Occlumency just gave him another way to compartmentalise – another way to distance himself from his own actions. From his own bloody hands.

Drips and Drabs by augustaoctavia - not rated, WIP - no summary

Locked Doors by galaxy_skies - T, 2 chapters - “Right.” Pansy all but tosses Hermione into the room – ignores her startled cry – and glares at them both. “Draco is in love with you.” She points at Hermione. “Hermione is in love with you.” She points towards Draco. “Figure it out.” Pansy throws up both of her hands.

Commutatio Conscientia by Undercover_ballerina (undercover_ballerina) - T, one-shot - When Lucius is freed from Azkaban and sent to the Manor on house arrest, Draco is worried he might pull some tricks.

Dimwits & Dragons by avaclava (PaperCraneAudiobooks) - E, one-shot - Draco discovers the magic of muggle tabletop RPG's and their power to bring people together.

Cat-astrophic Conclusions by saneasluna - G, one-shot - After months of domestic bliss, Draco Malfoy begins to piece together the clues; his girlfriend has a secret child with another man - right?

Letters from the past by Undercover_ballerina (undercover_ballerina) - G, one-shot - Neville is the new Headmaster, while he waits for the students to arrive, he receives a package. [WARNINGS: Character Death]

Sacrifices by Hyemi_28 - M, one-shot - Hermione accidentally get pregnant from Draco before the war and she have to make her sacrifices...

Sunshine After the Rain by galaxy_skies - T, one-shot - Like waves crashing into the shore, they’d collided after the war. Not just one mistake, but a pattern of repeated behaviour they should have never indulged in. His breath hot against her neck while he pushed her up against the wall, the way he’d groan her name in a broken whisper when they were finished. The way she’d knot her fingers in his hair as though she never wanted to let him go. But she had. All because he’d lost himself too deeply in the churning waters of his heart and whispered his feelings against her freckled skin.

don't blame me by goldrushrenegade - M, one-shot - Her voice is thin, on the verge of breaking, “What the fuck happened?” His hands push hers out of the way, pushing his shirt back down. She lets him, brain stuck. The image of the freshly cut scars is vivid in her mind, burned into her eyes. She doesn’t need the wounds in front of her to be able to remember them clearly. “There was a misunderstanding,” he says bitterly. Her eyes return to his face. Voice measured and deliberate, she asks, “Who did this?” - Don't blame Hermione for what she does when she finds out who tried to kill her boyfriend.

After Tonight by Dizzle00 - E, one-shot - Hermione gazed at herself in the mirror, changing her earrings for the third time that evening. Her black cocktail dress was shorter than anything she’d typically wear, her black stilettos much higher than she’d normally risk, and her lips painted with a darker shade of red than she’d usually dare. But tonight was far from ordinary; the stakes were far too high—it would be her last chance. Lately, she had buried herself in work, attempting to distract herself from the ache in her chest, knowing that after tonight, Malfoy would be gone.

call me draco by thatblondebitvh - M, one-shot - "Why, out of all people, me?” He raised an eyebrow, waiting. A drop of wine got caught in the corner of his mouth, threatening to drip down his chin. She clung to it like it were her lifeline, only to watch as his tongue flicked out to steal it before it stained his skin. She let out a shaky breath and said, “Because I had nowhere else to go.”

This Could Be Love by galaxy_skies - T, one-shot - At too early o’clock on Saturday morning, when she ought to be sleeping in, especially given the late night she’d had prior, Hermione wakes up to a clattering and a shout from her living room. “Fucking – why the fuck – Granger!” Hermione buries her pounding head under the pillows and hopes very much that the man swearing in her living room is just some terrible dream. A nightmare.

[rizzkisworld]

I'm currently getting my ass whooped by pneumonia. So how would our lovely BOYNEXTDOOR members feel or do in this situation?

Doesnt have to be their S/O. It could be someone they admire, senior idol, staff member, ect.

I hope this gets the creative juices flowing

Oh no!! I hope you're feeling better 🫶🏽 I too am sick, but I'm starting to feel better!!!

Jaehyun

Jaehyun is worried! If your case of pneumonia isn't severe, he'll make sure you stay home, he'll give you your medicine, and he'll make sure that you have everything you need such as food and drinks. However, if you have a severe case to the point you're hospitalized, every single break he has, he's going to be there to take care of you.

Sungho

He tries his best to stay calm, but he's also extremely worried. If it's not severe, he's gonna do his best to nurse you back to health. Makes sure you eat your meals and stay hydrated. Makes sure you take your meds. Watches something with you to keep you company. If it's severe, he'll send you flowers when he's not able to be there. When he does have break time, he'll spend it visiting you.

Riwoo

Riwoo gets scared. If it's not severe, he'll call and text you to make sure you're okay. Visits you whenever he can. Buys you whatever you need. Makes sure that you're taking all your meds. If it's severe, he'll try to visit you, but when he's not able to, he'll bombard your phone with texts checking in on you. 

Taesan

This man goes the extra mile. If it's not severe, he'll figure out a way to take off of work just to be your nurse. He'll buy you all kinds of "get better" gifts. If it's severe, Taesan is the type to send you "get well soon" cards and letters. He'll send you pictures of himself and scenery so you won't feel lonely. He also sends you flowers with a card attached, telling you to get better and stuff and how much he loves you.

Leehan

His acts of service really kicks in. If it's not severe, he'll come by your place, feed you, help you drink, give you your medicine,  soothe you to sleep. He does all the chores. Cleans your room, does the dishes, makes your bed, does the laundry, disinfects everything. If it's severe, he'll visit you on his breaks and keeps you company. 

Woonhak

Woonhak straight panics. Poor boy does not know what to do. He wants to visit you, but he also doesn't want to get sick! Sends you gifts and cards. Calls you, texts you, whatever he can to contact you. He's gonna panic even more if it's so bad you get hospitalized. He'll do his best to show you support from afar, but when your condition gets better, he'll visit you and take care of you.

[letiel]

A Grim's Job - Werewolf/Modern AU

CW: Implied Abuse, mentions of Death

Ty would’ve preferred to avoid public transportation. Not just today, as a rule. The train and monorail were okay, buses were worse. Whenever Khasar would drive them was best. He endured it for Kai’s sake. Being out around people did seem to help even if Kai avoided interactions at all costs. He had an iron clad personal bubble and people seemed to notice and give him space. The combination of giant, scruffy man with a bad aura and a giant black dog with a bad aura would do that but it didn’t stop people from giving them funny glances and it didn’t stop people from smelling.

The train car they were in rattled a little on its track. Ty could feel every bump under his belly and chest. When they were seated, Ty lay underneath Kai, behind his legs, to avoid being stepped on. It was the proper service dog thing to do, and it was easy to smell if Kai became distressed from this close.

He could also smell everyone else.

Four seats up there was a man with weed in his backpack. The lady standing to Kai’s left had a mango matcha smoothie. Someone needed to change that baby’s diaper twenty minutes ago. The oil on those train wheels was new. Thank goodness they regularly disinfected these seats…

Those were the good smells.

There was an elderly lady sitting a few seats away. Ty could smell her struggling kidneys and hear her choking on each breath. She had protested when the young lady had offered to give up her seat but relented after the train had started moving. He could smell the time she had left, only a few weeks. She had a lingering hospital smell about her. Undoubtedly, she had received the grave news from her doctor earlier that day.

A business man on his phone was trying to whisper to be polite, but it was obviously too urgent to wait. Some risky investments weren’t panning out the way he had hoped, and he was frantically promising more late nights to whomever he was speaking too. Ty knew from the smell of the coffee, the upcoming lack of sleep, and the preexisting heart condition the man had, that a year from now there would be a small and intimate funeral.

Ty could smell the cancer in the man at the end of the car. He was a young guy who likely had no idea what was growing inside him. It was too late to treat now; it was stage three by this point. It wasn’t a sense he could describe if he had access to his words, but Ty knew the bike messenger had maybe three months left. The man was attributing his exhaustion, upset stomach, aches, and pains to stress from his job. Ty had heard him whispering on the phone earlier to a lover, discussing vacation plans for the following year.

There was a thud sound from immediately across from Kai. There was a woman and her daughter seated there. The six-year-old was trying to entertain herself by swinging her legs back and forth, letting the heels of her My Little Pony shoes hit the pole on the underside of the seat she was too small for. She had been staring at Ty since they had sat down at the prior stop. A healthy, energetic, obnoxious little child. Bless her mother trying to instill good manners, struggling to explain why service dogs needed to be left alone.

“Can I pet that puppy?!” the little girl called across to Kai.

One of Kai’s legs squeezed a little tighter into Ty’s side. Even as dissociative as Kai could be in public there was still an instinct to protect.

“You can’t pet that puppy,” the mother calmly explained.

“Why not?” she asked.

“Because it has a job. Do you see that it has a vest on? That’s to tell people that its busy and needs to focus.”

“What kind of job?”

“I don’t know.”

The little girl kicked her legs some more. “Is your puppy a boy or a girl?” she called to Kai.

“Boy,” Kai said stiffly.

“He’s really pretty.”

“Thanks.”

The little girl looked at her mom and then back to Kai. “Can I pet him?”

Ty could smell Kai’s annoyance but to his credit the man managed to keep it from his very firm response. “No.”

She seemed disappointed but didn’t cry or scream or throw any tantrum.

Ty flicked his tail and then bumped Kai’s leg with his nose, wiggling his way free to stand up. He shook himself to get the blood flowing back to his legs and to fix the harness that always shifted uncomfortably when he laid down for long periods.

His priority was always going to be Kai; they were brothers, Kai was his ‘church’ and Ty loved him dearly. But Kai didn’t need him right at this moment.

Ty stretched and yawned, all long legs and white teeth and then stepped across to the little girl to put his head delicately in her lap.

She gasped and very gently pet his face with both hands before either Kai or her mother could protest. Her little fingers gently patted his nose and she scratched behind his ears, barely getting into his plush fur at all.

“What’s his name?” she asked reverently.

“Ty.”

“Hi, Ty,” she whispered, and he wagged his tail for her. Very slowly Ty wiggled his back legs forward so he could sit in front of this little girl without moving his head from her lap.

They stayed that way for a while. A couple stops passed by and she didn’t once stop petting and whispering to Ty. Even putting her face in the fur behind his ears as if everything she told him was a secret.

Her name was Elena. She was in first grade and loved her teacher and school. When she was all grown up, she wanted to be a scientist or a ballet dancer (she was still deciding). Macaroni and cheese was her favorite food but not if there were peas in it. She didn’t like peas. Elena liked trains but wasn’t very excited to be on this one today. She usually lived with her mother but for the first time in a long time, she was going to spend a weekend with her father. Elena told Ty that her father would yell a lot and throw things when he was angry and make her mom cry but that she was going to try and be brave anyway.

All the while, Ty listened, leaning into her, letting her tug on his fur and put little braids in the longer tufts until he heard the announcer and felt Kai gathering up the leash.

The train came to a squeaky halt and Ty stood up when Kai did.

“Thank you for letting me pet your puppy,” Elena said politely. She gave Ty a kiss on his nose, and he very softly licked her cheek. She giggled.

Kai grunted in response, and they stepped off the train where Ty made them stop off to the side. Elena was waving to them from the window as the train started to move again and he watched until they were gone. The weight of things settled on Ty’s shoulders then and when he walked with Kai it was with equal dissociation.

“You didn’t have to do that,” Kai grumbled a little as they crossed the street. Ty knew his brother was more annoyed that he was forced to interact than upset at Ty for comforting a little girl.

It was his job to care for Kai, but it was also his job to be a herald of death.

Elena had less than a day.

It was the least Ty could do.

[stargazer-sims]

The Art of Redemption

(part 18)

previous // next // story index

—————

The animal shelter reminds Nikolai vaguely of the hospital. Maybe it's the odour of industrial-grade disinfectant in the air, or perhaps the drab, institutional colour scheme, or maybe it's the unfriendly expression of the middle-aged woman at the front desk who looks like she'd rather be almost anywhere else.

He does not want to approach this woman, but he has little choice. After all, she's the one who might be able to help him get Tangerine back.

Beside him, Ginger reaches for his hand. He'd picked her up at her apartment and explained the entire situation to her on the way across town to the shelter, and she hadn't seemed the least bit surprised at what Anya had done. Shocked, yes. Outraged, definitely. But Ginger has known Anya just as long as Nikolai has, and she's well acquainted with Anya's ways. He guesses nothing Anya might do would surprise Ginger any more.

Nikolai swallows reflexively. He hates that he does this whenever he's nervous, but he can't seem to control it

Ginger squeezes his fingers gently and whispers, "Go on. You can do this."

He squeezes back, grateful that he doesn't have to explain his anxiety to her. Ginger knows him almost as well as he knows himself, and they don't always need words to communicate to each other how they're feeling. "Thanks."

They approach the desk together, with Ginger a half-step behind Nikolai. The receptionist looks up, but doesn't smile or greet them.

"Excuse me," Nikolai says to her. "I'm hoping you can help me."

She utters a little noise that seems to suggest he's inconveniencing her. "Adopt or surrender?"

"Uh... neither," he stammers, put off by her brusqueness. "I'm looking for my cat. Her name is Tangerine. She's orange with three white feet, and she's eleven years old, and she might've been wearing a pastel pink collar. My wife... my ex-wife brought her here to... I mean, she brought her here by mistake, and I'd like to have her back."

"This isn't a pet boarding service," says the receptionist. "You can't simply retrieve surrendered animals."

"Tangerine isn't a surrendered animal. I don't want to give her up."

"If the animal was surrendered, you'll have to go through the adoption process. The adoption fee is two hundred dollars and there's a processing time of forty-eight to seventy-two hours. The application is there." She points to a basket at the end of the desk, with sheets of paper sticking out of it. Turning her attention to her computer and clicking her mouse a couple of times, she adds. "We can arrange a time for you to view the cats, so you can complete the paperwork."

Nikolai stares at her, incredulous. It's as if she isn't even listening to him. "But, I don't want to view any other cats. I just want my cat. Can you at least check if she's here?"

The woman sighs. "I don't know which cats are here. I'd have to get a staff member."

"Perhaps," Ginger says, "you ought to fetch your manager. This certainly seems like a situation where some authority might be needed."

The receptionist spears Ginger with a dark look, but then sighs again and picks up the receiver of her desk phone. She stabs at a few buttons with her pointy burgundy fingernails. A handful of seconds pass, and then she says into the phone. "Yes, is Lakeisha there? There's a couple out front who seem like they're going to be trouble. They want to speak to the manager. Yes, all right... thanks."

She puts the receiver down aggressively and doesn't make eye contact with Nikolai and Ginger.

"Well?" Ginger inquires.

"Have a seat," says the receptionist, waving in the general direction of some plastic chairs along one wall.

Ginger takes Nikolai's hand again and leads him over to the chairs. They sit next to each other, and Nikolai has to resist the urge to lean against his friend. He's suddenly exhausted. It's barely mid-morning, but after the pre-sunrise trip to the airport, his confrontation with Anya at her grandparents' house, and now this, it already feels like it's been a long day.

A million thoughts race around in his head, not the least of which is the fear that Tangerine isn't even here and he came all this way for nothing. His mind is still reeling from his encounter with Anya and the fact that she would put him through this ordeal. Still, in a way, maybe this is better than attempting to have a civilized conversation with her this morning. He doesn't know what he would've said beyond, I love you but you keep hurting me and I don't want to live like that any more.

He does the mental equivalent of shaking his head. What has his life come to, that he thinks sitting here in this awful place is a better alternative than talking to his wife?

Nikolai glances at his fitness tracker. The time display lets him know that it's only been seven minutes since the last time he looked at it. he and Ginger have only been waiting that long, but to him it feels like it's been practically an eternity.

At last, a side door opens and a woman who looks to be a little older than Nikolai and Ginger walks out. She's plump and attractive, with a natural, easy smile on her face and teal extensions in her black hair that match the colour of the shelter's logo on her polo shirt. She bypasses the front desk and comes straight over to Nikolai and Ginger.

"Good morning," she says, as she sticks out her hand toward Nikolai. "I'm Lakeisha Smith. I'm the shelter manager. Is there something I can help you with today?"

"I, uh..." Nikolai stares at her for a moment. He doesn't know why he assumed she'd be as unwelcoming as the woman at the reception desk, and the warmth of her greeting catches him by surprise. He recovers his wits and shakes her hand. "I'm Nikolai Pavlenko, and this is my friend, Ginger Holmes. My cat was brought here by mistake, and we're looking for her, so if you could help with that...?"

Lakeisha shakes hands with Ginger as well. "Nice to meet both of you," she says. "Why don't you tell me about your cat and what you think might've happened? We'll see if we can sort things out."

He doesn't want to get into too much detail about the turmoil of his and Anya's relationship, but he has to explain a little for the story to make sense. He tells Lakeisha briefly about the perfect storm of his injury and the breakup of his marriage, and how Anya had taken Tangerine when she left. Then, he relates the story Anya had told him less than an hour before; how her grandfather was allergic, which prompted their decision to surrender the cat.

"The problem is," Nikolai concludes. "I don't even know if she's telling the truth. I don't know if Tangerine is really here or not, and even if she is, how hard is it going to be to get her back?"

"Do you have a picture of Tangerine?" Lakeisha asks.

"Yes, loads of them."

"His camera roll has two things," Ginger adds. "Tangerine and rink selfies."

It has more than that, but he can't deny that his phone is full of photos of Tangerine. He slides it out of his pocket, unlocks it and opens his photo gallery. He passes his phone to Lakeisha. He has nothing to hide.

Lakeisha scrolls through the photos and then smiles as she releases the phone back into Nikolai's hand. "Yes, I recognize that cat. We do have her here. She came in about a week ago."

Relief floods through Nikolai's body, and he suddenly feels like he might need to sit down again. Maybe it's ridiculous to be so emotionally invested in the life and welfare of an animal, and maybe it's an overreaction on his part, but he can't help it.

The joke he often makes is that he and Tangerine grew up together, but when he pauses to consider it, he decides it's not all that far from the truth. He's twenty-seven now, and he got her when he was sixteen and she was just a tiny six week old kitten. It's impossible to say exactly how much Tangerine has learned over the past eleven years, but he knows he's discovered more a thing or two about life while growing into adulthood.

His parents hadn't been overjoyed at the idea of having a cat at first, but they'd soon begun to love Tangerine almost as much as Nikolai did. When he and Anya got their house, he remembers overhearing his mother tell someone, "Kolya and Tangerine moved out." Despite his parents' initial misgivings, it's obvious she's now very much a part of their family.

So, maybe it's not so much of an overreaction after all.

"Can I see her?" he asks. His voice trembles slightly.

"Of course," says Lakeisha. "Come with me."

He and Ginger follow Lakeisha through the same side door she appeared from. They go down a corridor with doors that are probably offices or storage areas. At the end of the hallway is a large metal door, like a fire door, with a red and white sign that says 'authorized persons only'.

The first thing Nikolai sees when they pass through the metal door is something that reminds him of a foreign prison scene from some action movie. It's two rows of stacked cages with a narrow aisle between them, and it's horrifying. Logically, he knows the cages are necessary for the safety of the cats, and presumably dogs in some other part of the building as well, but he feels uncomfortable with the thought of cats and dogs in cages. The lighting is low in this area and the odour of disinfectant is much stronger here than it was in the lobby. Nikolai's nostrils burn from the acrid smell.

It takes a moment for his brain to register the information that most of the cages are empty. At the far end of the room is a glass-walled enclosure full of cat trees and other climbing apparatus. There's a large window with a wide sill to allow the cats to look outside, and there are various toys scattered around.

That's better.

A quick count tells him there are nine cats inside, but none of them are orange. He's just about to ask about it when Lakeisha stops at the end of the row of cages.

Ginger lets out a soft gasp and clutches Nikolai's arm. Tangerine is in the topmost cage, huddled in the back corner, ears flat and mismatched eyes glaring. Nikolai can't decide if she looks more angry or terrified, but either way, the sight of her in this state is jarring.

He blurts the first thing that pops into his head. "She's still wearing her collar. My name and phone number are on there, embroidered on the inside."

More of his mother's clever handiwork, disassembling the collar, stitching the information on the layer of fabric that would rest against Tangerine's neck, and then sewing the layers back together with her heavy-duty sewing machine. Mama's rationale had been that if Tangerine ever got lost and was found and dropped off at a shelter or a veterinarian's office, the first thing they'd do would be to remove her collar. They'd be sure to see the deep purple embroidery against the pastel pink inner surface.

Lakeisha's expression is somewhere between amused and exasperated. "Yes, she's still wearing it. We couldn't get it off because she's attacked everyone who's tried to touch her. It took two people to hold her down while the veterinarian sedated her to do his examination, and I think they forgot about the collar amid all that drama. No one's wanted to try again."

Nikolai is already reaching for the door of the cage before he catches himself. "Can you open this, please?"

"You can go ahead and do it yourself if you like," Lakeisha says.

He doesn't need any more encouragement than that. The latch is easy to flip up, and he swings the small barred door open.

Tangerine's reaction is not what he expects. She fluffs herself up, bares her teeth and lets out a savage hiss. Undeterred, he reaches through the opening, not far enough to touch Tangerine but far enough that she won't have to take too many steps to reach him.

"I wouldn't put my hand in there if I were you," Lakeisha warns.

Nikolai hears, but doesn't heed. He's willing to take the risk of getting scratched or bitten, although he doubts either of those things will happen.

He holds his breath. Maybe all three humans are doing that, because he can't hear anyone making a single sound. Perhaps ten seconds tick by, and then Tangerine creeps forward. She still seems nervous, but no longer in attack mode. Tentatively, she bumps Nikolai's fingers with her nose.

He reaches his other arm into the cage and lifts her out, slowly and carefully. When she doesn't protest, he pulls her in close to his body and cradles her like an infant against his shoulder. She's stiff in his arms, but she doesn't act aggressive or struggle to get free.

Lakeisha and Ginger both audibly let out their breaths, and Lakeisha remarks, "I guess she is your cat. No one else has been able to get near her, much less hold her that way."

"She's usually really gentle," Nikolai says. "I wouldn't say she's a people person, but attacking isn't her style."

"Fear makes people do things they wouldn't normally do," Ginger points out. "I reckon it's the same with cats."

"That makes sense," says Lakeisha. "And we can't explain things to animals the way we can to each other."

"Perhaps not," Ginger concedes, "But I think they understand in their own way. Look." She nods at Tangerine. "She knows she's safe now."

It's true. Nikolai can feel the tension in Tangerine's muscles easing, and he knows they're both going to be okay when she retracts her foreclaws and he no longer has the sensation of ten tiny needles piercing through his shirt and into his skin. Instead, the prickling is behind his eyes, from tears threatening to spill over as Tangerine lowers her head and rubs her face against his neck.

He turns his attention to Lakeisha. "What do I need to do to take her home?"

"Normally, you'd have to complete the adoption paperwork, pay the fee and wait forty-eight hours for everything to be processed," Lakeisha tells him. "But, show me your name and number on the inside of her collar, and I think we can make an exception."

Nikolai's hands are full, but Ginger steps in without needing to be asked. She unfastens the clip on Tangerine's collar, removes it and stretches it out to its full length for the shelter manager to see. Tangerine cranes her neck curiously, trying to see what Ginger wants with her collar, but otherwise doesn't react. She's used to Ginger handling her, and she clearly hasn't forgotten her other favourite human.

"Nikolai Pavlenko," Lakeisha reads aloud. "And if I called that phone number, your phone would ring?"

"Yes," he says. "Try it if you want."

"No, that won't be necessary," she says. "I'm satisfied she's yours. I'll still need you to fill the form for our records, but I'm sure I can fast-track the approval and waive the fee. Although," she adds, "We are a not-for-profit organization, so we'd still appreciate a donation if you're able."

Nikolai nods. "Sure. Whatever the adoption fee is, I'll donate that."

"Me too," Ginger adds. "Or we can donate some things you might need to care for the animals."

"How about both?" Nikolai suggests. "Ginger, if you want to give them something too, why don't we donate half in money and the other half in stuff for the cats?"

"Brilliant," Ginger says. "Yes, let's do it like that."

Nikolai angles his gaze down at Tangerine. "What do you think? I know you didn't have a very nice time here, but we're going home now, and wouldn't it be nice to help all the other cats have a nice time while they're waiting to go home?"

Naturally, Tangerine doesn't reply, but her raspy purr is enough of an answer for him.

"Tangerine agrees too," he says. "Does that work for you, Lakeisha?"

"It absolutely does," Lakeisha says. "Thank you. Now, let's see about getting that adoption form taken care of, shall we?"

Ginger puts Tangerine's collar on her, and then they all make their way back to the lobby. The woman at the reception desk looks displeased when Lakeisha plucks one of the sheets of paper from the basket on the desk and grabs a pen from the decorated glass jar next to it, and then offers to help Nikolai complete it.

"Because I'm pretty sure Tangerine isn't going to let you put her down so you can write," Lakeisha observes.

Nikolai tries, but Tangerine isn't having it. She might've been comfortable with Ginger touching her and taking her collar off, but there's no way she'll allow Ginger to take her from Nikolai's arms. Once again, she digs her claws in.

"Oww! Nope... you're right. That's not happening."

"I'll fill the form," Ginger says. "I probably know most of the answers anyway."

Nikolai laughs. "Yeah, you probably do."

Several minutes later, the paperwork is done and Nikolai somehow liberates one hand so he can sign it. Ginger gives it to Lakeisha with a cheerful, "There you go."

"Thanks," Lakeisha says. She signs the document on the line below Nikolai's signature, scribbles the date next to it and then places it in front of the receptionist. "This is for Tangerine, the cat that was in kennel twelve. If you could enter it into the tracking form, that'd be great."

The receptionist queries, "You mean now?"

"Yes. Now, please," says Lakeisha. "It's approved, so it needs to be entered."

"You know that's highly irregular."

Lakeisha doesn't seem bothered. "What's the point of being in charge if I can't bend the rules in special cases? Enter it please, and I'll see you in my office for a word before you go out for your lunch break."

The receptionist huffs, but she picks up the paper and swishes her mouse to wake her computer. "Fine."

"Is that it?" Nikolai asks, once the shelter manager has finished with her wayward employee. "Can we go home?"

"That's it," Lakeisha confirms. "If you're making a monetary donation, you can do it by cash or cheque, and there's no need to do it right this minute. You can come back later."

"We will," Nikolai says.

"Right," says Ginger. "We'll be back this afternoon, and we'll have something lovely for all the cats."

"In that case, I look forward to seeing you, and I'm sure the cats will appreciate whatever you bring," Lakeisha says. "Take care of that fur baby of yours."

"Don't worry," Nikolai says. "I will."

Lakeisha grins at him. "And maybe don't let your ex-wife babysit her after this."

[beardedmrbean]

Five people have developed Legionnaires' disease following possible exposure to contaminated water droplets from a cooling tower in downtown Lincoln, New Hampshire, state health officials say.

The five people developed the disease —  a severe form of pneumonia caused by Legionella bacteria — in June and July, New Hampshire’s Department of Health and Human Services said in a news release Monday.

They “may have been exposed” at a cooling tower located behind the RiverWalk Resort, a hotel in a bustling tourist area in downtown Lincoln, authorities said.

Testing by the DHHS and the state Department of Environmental Services confirmed the presence of Legionella bacteria contaminating the cooling tower.

The five individuals didn’t share specific location of exposure but had reported visiting various areas of downtown Lincoln, the DHHS said. 

Four of the five people diagnosed with Legionnaires’ disease were initially hospitalized and later discharged. All five have recovered from their illnesses, state health officials told NBC News Tuesday. 

“RiverWalk is partnering with DHHS to address the contamination, with additional test results for the cooling tower expected next week,” the release said.

As the cooling tower is still operating amid remediation, “there may continue to be some risk of exposure to the public, especially for people within a half-mile of the cooling tower’s location,” officials warned, sharing a photo of the radius of potential Legionella exposure. The remediation work includes mechanical cleaning and disinfection of the entire cooling system, and long-term cleaning and water management plans.

RiverWalk Resort told NBC Boston on Monday that remediation work, including a complete sanitation, at the cooling tower was completed after starting Friday morning.

“We have been and will continue to partner with DHHS and DES to ensure the safety and protection of our guests and community,” Vice President Renee Blood said in a statement.

Legionella bacteria exists naturally in bodies of fresh water but can be a threat to people when it grows and spreads in building water systems like cooling towers or water tanks, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Most people catch Legionnaires' disease by inhaling the bacteria from water in the form of small water droplets or mist, the CDC said. Infections generally don’t spread from person to person.

While most healthy people exposed to Legionella don’t get sick, those who are older, current or former smokers, those with weakened immune systems or certain medical conditions including chronic lung disease and diabetes are at higher risk for developing the disease, state health officials said.

Many exposed to the bacteria develop mild symptoms or none at all. However, it can cause a more serious pneumonia called Legionnaires' disease, “which can be fatal if left untreated,” the release said. Symptoms, such as fever, cough and shortness of breath, usually appear two to 14 days after exposure. 

Dr. Benjamin Chan, New Hampshire's state epidemiologist, warned: “Anybody who has visited the area near the contaminated cooling tower should monitor themselves for symptoms.”

“People who develop fever or other symptoms of pneumonia within 14 days after spending time in this area should talk to their healthcare provider about testing for Legionella infection,” he said.

[coffinup]

The differences between a Mortician, Funeral Director, Embalmer, Medical Examiner, and Coroner.

A lot of people use some of these words interchangeably, so I thought I’d give a brief description of each for clarification!

Funeral Director: Someone who plans, arranges, and conducts funeral services. They do a lot of the legwork filling out death certificate paperwork, contacting local clergy and venues, ordering merchandise like caskets, and sometimes MCing or officiating funerals.

Embalmer: a person that prepares a dead body for viewing; they wash and disinfect the body, and perform the mostly non-invasive procedure of embalming which involves injecting arterial fluid (consisting of mostly formaldehyde) to replace the bodily fluids in order to preserve the body for a period of time. They will also close the eyes and mouth, groom the person’s face, apply cosmetics, and dress the deceased and place them in their casket. Many funeral directors are ALSO embalmers. Depending on the US state, someone may or may not have a joint license to do both.

Mortician: a mortician works in a MORGUE. A morgue is usually attached to a hospital or other medical facility, and occasionally a law enforcement facility. Morgues are used to temporarily house dead bodies if they are undergoing investigation or awaiting confirmation for disposition (burial, cremation etc). They occasionally perform embalming if needed. Their main job is documenting decedents that come and go from the morgue. They may take death calls and arrange transportation for a decedent.

Medical Examiner: works in a medical examiner’s office. The medical examiner is someone who HAS A MEDICAL LICENSE and performs autopsies. A body will be eligible for an autopsy if the circumstances or cause of death are uncertain. There are usually state medical examiners and county medical examiners, depending on the state.

Coroners: these people MAY not have a medical license and are appointed by ELECTION. NOT ALL STATES have a coroner (for example, Iowa does not use coroners, just medical examiners). Coroners help examine evidence of autopsies as well as crime scene evidence to help determine causes of death.

[airtechpteltd]

Cleanroom Airflow Mechanism, Airflow Principles And Equipment

Maintaining a consistent airflow within the clean room is a matter of expertise and skilful installation and operation. Since the cleanrooms have to be maintained and kept under constant surveillance, for the efficient performance, it has to be equipped with the best possible device and gadgets. Cleanrooms generally have to keep up with a steady flow of particulate free air, which usually is achieved through installing HEPA or ULPA filters that work on the principles of laminar or turbulent airflow.        In general laminar airflow systems contribute to about more than 75 percentages of cleanroom air filter systems. In these systems, the main components that are employed in the construction of the filters and the hoods is commonly stainless steel, in order to prevent unwanted airborne or object particles from entering into the area. Multidirectional air flow systems use laminar air flow hoods as well as non-specific speed filters in order to keep the air flow constant in a cleanroom. Nevertheless, there are certain recommendations and limits that are set in for controlling the microbial contamination. This criterion that is set in for the control of level of microbes happens to be very stringent, especially in case of pharmaceutical clean-rooms. Clean rooms in some cases make use of ultraviolet light in order to attain disinfection of the air in a specific area. Ultraviolet devices that beam UV rays are conveniently placed in key points so that the beams scatter and disinfect the entire area by eradicating the infectious elements. Ultra violet light has been a preferred method of non-contact sterilization that is employed to achieve sterile environments, especially in hospitals and their operating rooms. Being a contactless mode of disinfection the UV drastically reduces dependence on biochemical decontaminators which at times may cause allergies and irritation. Maintaining a positive pressure in a cleanroom is another significant point, by doing so the inside air that leaks out, get out from the chamber rather than giving room to contaminated air entering. Semiconductor manufacturing units follow this aspect because; even minute extents of particulate matter in a possible leakage would spoil the whole system. Airtech is one of the leading companies in manufacturing, cleanroom equipment of high quality which complies with the global cleanroom technology. Commencing its operation in the year 1984, the company has been supplying cleanroom airflow devices and has also been actively installing and maintaining the devices for peak performances. Airtech Equipment is one of the pioneers providing value-added services like site testing, commissioning and allied services. Designed in accordance to specific client necessities it also offers customized testing facilities as well. In Order To Find Out More Details Laminar Air Flow Please Be Touch With Us Today Onwards..!

[shefaclinc]

Dear Friends and Supporters,

I hope this message finds you well. My name is Dr. Ismail Rizik, and I am a Vascular Surgeon at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza. Since the onset of the war, I have been tirelessly providing medical services to hundreds of injured Palestinians. With the help of a dedicated team, we have thankfully saved many lives and prevented countless amputations.

Despite our efforts, the situation remains dire. The hospital is overwhelmed, and resources are critically low. To address the immediate needs of the injured, I have set up a medical tent to extend our care beyond the hospital walls. However, we are in desperate need of medical supplies to continue our life-saving work.

We urgently need your support to equip this makeshift facility with essential supplies such as:

- Surgical instruments

- Sterile gloves and gowns

- Antiseptics and disinfectants

- Pain relief medications

- Antibiotics

- Bandages and wound care material

Your generous donation can make a significant difference in our ability to provide timely and effective care. Every contribution, no matter how small, will directly impact the lives of those who are suffering and in urgent need of medical attention.

Please consider making a donation today to support our efforts. Your support will not only provide immediate relief but also offer hope to many families during these challenging times.

Thank you for your compassion and solidarity.

With gratitude,

Dr. Ismail Ramadan

Vascular Surgeon

Al-Shifa Hospital, Gaza

[mugiwara-rosewolf]

Hi again. Requests on Sabo at your service 😂 I love it too much 😍 anyway. I'm still here because the first request was great! You write very well. I put you if you allow me in the favorite writers that I discovered on this site! ♥ and also if ever another idea comes to me, let me come back to let you know *bows*

Good ! we're going to go to my dear and adorable Sabo.... I don't know if you write nfsw? Let me know if it's yes or no (so I can see what kind of request I'll send you)

So, reader will be in the revolutionary army before Sabo, she meets him at her mission in fuschia. Then after his accident, she helps him to overcome this ordeal and years later, Sabo discovers that he loves her but how to tell her given how much he is not comfortable with himself and says to himself he doesn't deserve happiness

I don't know if it's angst or not, but it's too hard to be soft... Especially the last sentence. Sabo-chan, you deserve all the stars in the universe, don't think like that 🤧 a happy ending at the end where I (reader) comfort him. I trust you to bring sabo's insecurities to the fore and how reader comforts him

Hello friend! Thank you again for such a wonderful request! I appreciate the compliments and would be honoured to be included among your favourites. I love this idea, and I really hope I did it justice.

(P.S. - I'm okay with writing NSFW stuff. I haven't had the chance to update the rules section of my blog to say so because I am fairly new to the genre, so just a fair warning).

(P.P.S. - HOO-boy, this got out of hand. IDK what possessed me but ~ I'm afraid I'm gonna have to break this fic into two parts. I hope that's okay 😅).

Anyways - Enjoy!

All My Life

Part 1

Sabo x F! Reader

Warnings/Tropes: Slight Canon Divergence, Revolutionary!Reader, Besotted!Sabo, Childhood Friends to Lovers, Canon-Typical Violence, Canon-Typical Amnesia, Light Angst & Mild Cursing.

This was the life - her life. Ever since birth, she'd been raised under the credo of the Revolution. It was as a favour to Dragon himself that Y/N and her parents left HQ to live under deep cover in the East Blue. A secret of the highest clearance was hiding there, he told them. The orders were to 'guard it with your life'.

She'd been born this way. The Army's youngest ever spy.

And that's precisely what she did. The moment she met a kid named Monkey D - she knew her mission had begun. Guard it with your life. Guard it with your life. Her leader's words rang in her ears for years after that. Keeping a razor-sharp eye on those blasted pirates that blew in and out of town with the wind. Biting the hands and feet of those blasted bandits whenever they invaded. Their leader, 'the Bear,' would never risk the humiliation of admitting half his wicked scars were from the end of her daggers.

When young Monkey D came away from those tumultuous times with merely a few stitches under his eye (self-inflicted, mind you), Y/N was half tempted to consider her mission a success. Little did she know -- the lion's share of her protective duties had only begun.

***

He wouldn't remember this for years. For years. And part of him was still ashamed to admit it to this day. He wouldn't remember the (h/c) girl with those fierce (e/c) eyes and that wicked pair of daggers at her sides. He wouldn't remember how she was his brother's first protector. Bandaging his rubber-skinned wounds and wiping his cry-baby tears with calloused hands. He wouldn't remember how the dappled sunlight of the jungle would play across her hair, sparking the flint in her eyes. How she could swing from the branches as limber as the wind and carve all their initials into the trunk of their tree house. Years went by, with him never knowing those golden days existed.

What he remembered, instead, was a hospital room. Bandages prickling his skin from head to toe. The smell of cotton was overpowered by night sweats and disinfectant. Not to mention the stench of Ivankov's various perfumes and powdered shoved in his face as soon as he awoke. Y/N would always laugh remembering that part, telling him he 'screamed like a monkey'. She'd be laughing so hard she'd be wiping tears. Mostly happy ones, he thought.

She was right there at his bedside when he woke up. Gripping the brim of his hat so tight, her knuckles were white. She handed it to him so he could see his name embroidered on a little tag on the inside. Sabo. Part of him feared he wouldn't remember that much if not for her.

When Dragon and the others discussed the idea of sending him home...remembering that jolt of fear of panic stills sends a shudder down his spine to this day. He cried out against it. Begged them to let him stay. He's not sure his please would've worked if Y/N hadn't protested alongside him. Telling them about the horrors she'd witnessed in Grey Terminal. The cruelty of the Goa Kingdom. When she spoke, there were tears in her eyes.

Years passed, and together they stayed.

She brought him books while on bedrest. Told him stories when his eyes got tired. Shared meals with him by candlelight in that lonely hospital den. Not all the stories were happy, but that was okay. Cause her voice captured each emotion expertly. Even when she wandered to his bandaged side, he learned to read her voice as clearly as any picture book. Learned what it sounded like when she smiled when she laughed.

She was right there beside him when he woke up from night terrors. Or when the headaches set his vision on fire. When shivers wracked his body, locking his bones together till he couldn't breathe. She was right there beside him. Her calloused hands pawed at hospital sheets when they finally removed the bandages. He saw his fingers for the first time. Her breath caught. She wouldn't think he heard her, but he did. How could he not?

The Doctors held up a mirror - and he saw it all. The molten skin coating half his left side gleamed in the dim light like a spider's webbing buried into the cracks of his flesh...absorbing his left eye. The blue of his eye had exploded like those supernovas he had read about in books. He tried to look, to see the doctor without turning his head, but all he saw was a blurry minty white. Like the sheets beneath his hands. Like the pallor on Y/N's face when she finally saw the damage done with her own two eyes. --And she cried.

He never thought it'd hurt so much to hear her cry.

She was on his left side the first time she told him about her family. How mercenaries had captured and tortured her best friend. How her parents had been lost trying to help others escape this huge fire that Nobles had set in the slums of her home. She told him spontaneous fires started there sometimes with discarded metals or glass catching the light in the summertime, but it had never been so bad as that day. From the pit that swallowed his gut, he knew instinctively that fire was no accident. All those people... razed to the ground on someone else's whims. Sabo felt sick to his stomach.

It was the first time he had tried to reach out to someone. What with his squeaking-taut skin, stiff muscles and aching bones. But he swore his heartbeat stopped when she wrapped her arms around his ribs. When she buried her salty tears into his collar, everything paused. Frozen in time. In the moment when her warmth was pressed against him. Where the drumbeat of her heart somehow eclipsed his own.

Looking back now, it seems almost silly how long it took him to figure it out. They knew how much trouble they'd get into sneaking into each other's barracks at night to read, study, or just talk until the candles burnt out - but they did it anyway. Sometimes they'd goof off in class just cause they knew they'd get detention together. He'd volunteer to peel apples and potatoes with her and Koala for kitchen duty. He'd drape his coat over her shoulders when she fell asleep in the library. He knew she'd always pick up his hat if he ever forgot. Or if some punk was dumb enough to try and swipe it off his head. Sabo swore she was even more protective of that hat than he was, sometimes.

She tried to brush him off when he teased her about it. But even though he could no longer see the blur of her hair on his left side - he could still hear how her callouses brushed that little tag stitched on the inside. The one with his name embroidered in small, crooked blue letters. He took that hat and shoved it atop her head.

She squawked and shoved at him, 'What the he-Sabo!'

Sabo laughed. 'Come on, why so serious, Y/N? The hat's just as much yours as it is mine. You can wear it whenever you like.'

Y/N stilled. It took him a few strides to realize he could no longer hear her boot strides beside his. He turned and looked at her. Really looked at her. There, rooted to the spot. Dust mites danced in the sunlight around her, glinting off her hair. Her face was cast in shadow beneath his hat. But her fingers clutched the brim, pale white and trembling. She knew that shiver in her grip. That warbled in her voice, even if it was just one word:

'R-really?'

The ground was swallowed beneath his feet in a matter of seconds. He clasped her shoulders, stilling her shivers. 'Really, really,' He ducked his head. Bowing down just enough so he could see the saltwater glint in her eyes. 'Besides,' he grinned. 'My stuff looks good on you.'

She snorted at that. 'I thought you were just saying this hat was ours?'

'I am,' he straightened. 'The fact that it was mine first just makes it better.'

Another indignant squawk. 'You jerk!' Sabo burst out laughing, dashing down the hall way before she could catch him. 'Hey! Get back here, you!'

Sitting around those crates of apples and potatoes, they'd poke and prod and nudge at each other. Just enough to screw with their carving job and *usually* not enough to result in injury. Then Hack would scold them or Koala would scoff at them something like 'grow up' or 'get a room, you two'. Sabo would duck his head from Hack, rubbing at the burn in his neck. Other times he'd stick his tongue out at Koala, even if he knew he was blushing. But for Y/N, the effect was immediately and vastly different.

She would sit stiff and ramrod straight. Her skin burned red from the crown of her head to the tips of her fingers. Then she'd jerk her head down. (H/c) hair falling and obscuring her face, chin tucked to her chest. Hands nimbly returning to their task with almost machine-like accuracy. Sabo's stomach always swooped at the sight, not in the good way he'd grown to like around her. This was like an icy chill washing down his spine, though he didn't know why.

When he'd turn his head to look at her, the growing darkness on his left side could nearly convince him that Koala and Hack weren't even there. That it was just the two of them. Whittling together to their heart's content. And at that moment, he knew exactly what to say to break Y/N's spell.

'Tell me about the brothers again.'

In an instant, the whole world would light up. As if by magic. Y/n would jolt to look at him. (E/c) blown wide and- and precious. He didn't know how else to describe it. Only when she searched his gaze, it was as if she were raking over his very heart. Searching every nook and cranny until - she smiled. Whether it was a dandelion, sunshine, or a supernova kind of smile, he could never help himself from smiling back. Nodding her along to make sure: go on, I'm listening.

And then off she'd go, launching into one of her infamous tales of 'The Pirate Brothers and me'. She told him about how they'd hunt together in the mountains. All their misadventures learning to beg, borrow and steal from the upper crust of Goa Kingdom. They and their little crew of wild kids saving up to sail into the great unknown. He loved how she gave each of her friends' little nicknames like 'Blondie' and 'Freckles' and 'Meathead' and laughed when she remembered their antics. Sometimes she cried for missing them. Sabo knew it was the good kind of crying, but that didn't make his chest ache any less.

It wasn't until news hit the papers that he knew exactly why.

ROGER'S SON, FIRE FIST ACE, DEAD AT MARINEFORD

The moment he read that headline and saw Fire Fist's, Portgas D, Roger D -- Ace's portrait on the front page news--the floodgates opened. Every nightmare. Every seizure. Prickling fiery pain over his skull. The aching squeak of taut skin. Stiff muscles. Fused bones. Nightsweats and feverish blurs of memory across the back of his eyes. His blind eye burned and ached. But never saw a thing any more.

The burn of water and smoke washed through his lungs. Flashes of sensation flared in his mind, behind his eyes, beneath his skin. The weight of an iron pipe, the breeze of the jungle, the light of the sun - he felt it all. Everything came crashing down at once. His knees cracked against the stone floor. His chest ached. He couldn't tell if he was set on fire or drowning. Everything was damp. He couldn't breathe. Everything within him, every fibre of his being rebelled, shocks along every nerve, pain from every thought. Ace is dead. Ace is dead. Ace is dea- Ace!

He screamed. Everything turned black.

***

27, Oct. 2023: PART 2 OUT NOW!!