#phantom limb pain

[alexa-fika]

Phantom Pain (Shanks x sibling!gn!reader)

A/N okay so I fell asleep after doing the assigment yesterday but the assigment was about phantom limb pain and what goes behind it, and how can it happen and all I could think of during this was of Shanks and how likely it is he is dealing with his own phantom pain so here you go, I COOKED HERE

Reader here is replaced by Dokucha which stands for Reader in japanese

Dividers by @/saradika

“Beck, where is he?”

He lets out a trail of smoke from his lips, and he gestures to the quarters of the captain, where a crash could be heard

“Thank you, Beck, I got him,” they sighed, shooting the man a smile as they entered the room, sighing as they glanced at the destroyed furniture that laid inside

They frown as they take in the man next to what was previously a bedside table, now a crumpled mess of wood, blood dripping as splinters dug into his skin

“Shanks, you can’t keep doing these; replacing them has started to become troublesome.”

“Dahahahah! Don’t worry so much, Dokucha!”

They shake their head, walking to the bathroom, and grabbing the first aid kit, pulling Shanks to the bed, and sitting in front of him, pulling out a pair of tweezers and beginning to remove the splinters

“You’re an idiot; you can’t deal with the pain with more pain,” she grumbles

“I told you to call me when this happens.”

“It’s no big deal, Dokucha; I can handle it.”

“So you say, but look at you, just the same as when we were young! Acting all mature but doing such fool things,” they fuss, pulling out the last of the splinters from his wounded arm and beginning to clean off the blood

“Shanks…raging like this it won’t make the pain

go away; it’s not something you can just brush away.”

“It’s not real, Dokucha.”

“It is you, idiot!”

“The pain is not real. My arm is no longer there; I am just imagining the pain.”

“No, you’re not, Shanks! God, you’re so stubborn! Both me and Honho have already told you that phantom pain is a very real thing; it’s not just in the mind; you are actually in pain.”

He gives them a small smile, ruffling their hair with his now bandaged hand

“I ‘m sorry”

“Please let me help you, Shanks; you are always protecting me; let me, for once, be the one to help you,” they plead

“Fine, what do you have in mind?”

They grin at him, running to the bathroom, returning with a mirror

“Hmm? Oh, are you finally accepting I am the better-looking sibling?” He questioned with a smirk that was received with a swift hit to the back of the head

“You wish, put your arm in front of it and put your other arm behind it.”

“I don’t have another arm, Dokucha; that is kind of the issue here.”

“Real funny jus- just make sure your stump stays behind it and your arm is in front of it.”

“Like this?”He questioned, positioning his remaining arm in front of the mirror

“Yes, now look at the mirror.”

He gave them a questioning look but did as they told him, glancing at the mirror

“Move it around.”

He began moving his arm around, gripping and wiggling his hand about, glancing at how the reflection showed him his right arm moving about

“What do you think?”

“It feels better…” he muttered

“It tricks your brain, makes it think it never was gone in the first place.”

“Huh, I ‘ll be damned.”

“Cool, isn’t it? That’s your primary somatosensory system, sending information to the brain. It believes your missing arm is there, and the pain stops.”

“Interesting”

“You have no idea what I just said.”

“Nope”

“Idiot”

What so yall think? Been a while since I did a normal reader and not child and I was itching to give you guys more crews after the barrage of whitebeard

Taglist:

@Imaginarydreams

@amethystviolin

@h0n3y-l3m0n05

[otherkinnews]

The effects of psilocybin on phantom limbs: an upcoming large study, and what otherkin have noticed

Orion Scribner posted on September 15, 2023:

Content warnings: This article talks about the use of psychoactive substances only as used in either medical treatment under the guidance of physicians, or in spiritual visionary experiences as entheogens. This article also talks about injuries and chronic pain, but it doesn't describe these in graphic detail. Be forewarned that some of the academic sources cited do go into graphic detail, if you choose to go read those next.

Summary: In California, a large study is looking for participants. Researchers want to see if psilocybin helps treat the participants' phantom limb pain. The study isn't about therians or otherkin. Many therians and otherkin experience phantom limbs, and some of them have made observations about how psilocybin and other psychoactive substances influence their phantom limbs. This article is an eight minute read, plus a bibliography.

A large study seeks participants who suffer phantom limb pain due to having had amputations

The Psychedelic Health and Research Initiative (PHRI) at the University of California, San Diego, is looking for participants for a study. They want adults who have had an amputation and who experience chronic phantom limb pain. The proposed will use MRI brain imaging to study the effects of a therapeutic dose of psilocybin on phantom pain. Psilocybin is the active ingredient in hallucinogenic mushrooms, which may have potential for addressing some forms of chronic pain that are difficult to treat. The $1.3 million study will be placebo-controlled and double-blind, and they will compensate participants $600. Specialized monitors will oversee each session, with doctors and rescue medications available. The pitch for the study doesn't say what dates it will take place, but a recruitment ad ran for it on August 31 in Amplitude, a news and lifestyle magazine for people who have had amputations. To learn more about the study or find how to contact its team by phone or email, see its pitch here, and Amplitude Magazine's ad here.

This proposed study doesn't say anything about otherkin and therians, and the recruitment ad only mentions that it's looking for people who experience phantom limbs due to having had amputations. Something intriguing is that that otherkin and therians have noticed that psilocybin and other psychoactive substances affect their own phantom sensations. The rest of my article will go into some background about all that.

Many sorts of people experience phantom limbs, of many kinds, for many reasons

When someone has sensations as though they have a body part that they do not physically have, the medical term for this is a phantom limb. It's best known in people who have had a limb amputated, but the phenomenon happens in many other cases. For example, it also occurs for people who have sensations of missing body parts other than limbs: ears, fingers, breasts, genitals, or internal organs (Langer et al, 2023; Dorpat, 1971; Ramachandran and McGeoch, 2007). The phenomenon also includes people who have sensations of body parts that they weren't born with (McGeoch and Ramachandran, 2012; Price, 2006). Some types of people who experience this are those who have had a stroke, who were born with incomplete limbs (McGeoch and Ramachandran, 2012), who are transgender (Ramachandran and McGeoch, 2008), or who elicit such experiences through experimental conditions (Casas et al, 2016). The medical term for a sensation of an extra limb is a supernumerary phantom limb (SPL) (Amoni et al, 2005).

Phantoms are underreported due to stigma. Most people who experience phantoms only talk to their doctors about having phantoms if they are very painful and they want help with that. The medical term for this is phantom limb pain (PLP). For people who do feel phantom pain, it can be different to treat than pain in a body part that is physically there. Experts are developing creative approaches for treating this pain, for example, mirror-box therapy (Imaizumi et al, 2017), virtual reality (Ambron et al, 2021), and psychedelic medicine.

What are therianthropes and otherkin?

Therianthropes (therians) and otherkin are people who have the long-term, integral experience and identity of being something other than human. For example, of being a wolf, elf, dragon, or Pokémon (Scribner, 2023; Sonne, 2021; Shepard, 2021). The explanations they give for why they are like this usually come from spirituality, psychology, or both (Kinmunity, 2016, pp. 19). Some common spiritual explanations are reincarnation or having been born with a nonhuman spirit, but not all therians and otherkin share these beliefs or hold them in similar ways (Lupa, 2007, pp. 27, 57-66). Though these examples of explanations are tied to spiritual beliefs, being an otherkin or therian isn't a religion and does not have religious or spiritual requirements. On the secular side, some explain themselves as having something about their mind or brain that's different than that of most people, not for spiritual reasons, but simply an undeniable part of their everyday lives (Lupa, pp. 80-86). Though this is an unusual way for a person to be, mental health experts say this isn't inherently a mental illness or delusion (Lupa, 2007, pp. 86, 261-262; Baker-Whitelaw, 2015).

Many therians and otherkin experience phantom limbs

Many therians and otherkin experience phantom limbs and phantom sensations of body parts that humans don't have, such as tails. When the therian community began in the 1990s, they contextualized their experiences with werewolf folklore. They developed jargon in which they refer to times of feeling nonhuman phantoms more vividly as phantom shapeshifting (House of Chimeras, 2021; Lupa, 2007, pp. 42-43, 126-127; Proctor, 2019, pp. 203-209). When the otherkin community mingled with the therian community in the 2000s, they adopted this shifting terminology as well.

Survey data suggests phantom sensations are prevalent among therians and otherkin. A large informal survey of otherkin and therians found that 72.1% of them experience nonhuman phantom limbs or phantom sensations (Kinmunity, 2016, p. 155). A team of scientists known as the International Anthropomorphic Research Project (IARP) or FurScience surveyed attendees of furry fandom conventions. The furry fandom is about enjoyment of fictional human-like animals in art, and its participants often roleplay as animal characters, but usually don't identify as animals. The IARP tended to find that 5% to 20% of furries identified as therians (Plante et al, p. 112). At AnthroCon 2015, the IARP found that phantoms were more prevalent among therians than other attendees of that convention. Of those therians who felt phantoms (percentage not specified in the IARP's public-facing materials), 70.4% of them tended to find it distressing (Plante et al, p. 116).

Otherkin and therian phantoms can feel different while influenced by psychoactive substances

Drugs are not a key aspect of therian and otherkin subcultures. Their communities rarely discuss the effects of substances in relationship to their therianthropy and otherkinship. Some otherkin and therians who have used mind-altering substances have noticed that these influence their phantom sensations.

The first source I've seen that describes this in significant depth is "Entheogens for Otherkin," an excellent presentation by Dove and Edge for verified adult attendees at Othercon 2022. A recording of the presentation is on Youtube. Though there isn't a written transcript of it, together with other attendees, I wrote five pages of notes on the presentation when I attended, which you can read in a section near the end of this document. Entheogens are psychoactive substances employed in culturally sanctioned visionary experiences in ritual and religious contexts. Othercon is a yearly virtual convention for otherkin, therians, and other sorts of alterhumans. Dove is a formally ordained Pagan priestess, an otherkin, therian, and host of a multiple system, with ten years of experience with entheogens. Her spouse Edge is a vampire and Catholic witch with twenty years of experience with entheogens. The panelists and attendees talked about harm reduction and safety. Some entheogens the panel talked about were psilocybin, ayahuasca, datura, and cannabis. Different entheogens each affect phantom sensations in their own characteristic ways, some having little effect on phantoms, and others making phantoms feel more vivid, or shifting, or developing entirely into an out-of-body experience. Entheogens may affect otherkin and therians’ phantoms in different ways from person to person.

About the writers: This article was written by Orion Scribner (they/them), with feedback from their boyfriend Page Shepard (he/they) and partner system House of Chimeras (they/them). The three& of them are historians and archivists for the communities of therians, otherkin, and other alterhumans.

References

Ambron, E., Buxbaum, L. J., Miller, A., Stoll, H., Kuchenbecker, K. J., & Coslett, H. B. (2021). Virtual Reality Treatment Displaying the Missing Leg Improves Phantom Limb Pain: A Small Clinical Trial. Neurorehabilitation and neural repair, 35(12), 1100–1111. https://doi.org/10.1177/15459683211054164

Amplitude Magazine (August 31, 2023). "Tripping the switch on PLP." Amplitude Magazine.https://livingwithamplitude.com/article/tripping-the-switch-on-plp/

Annoni, Blanke, Dieguez, Khateb, Landis, Lazeyras, Momjian-Mayor, Pegna, and Simon (March 20, 2009). “Seeing the phantom: A functional MRI study of a supernumerary phantom limb.” Annals of Neurology.https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19557858/

Baker-Whitelaw, Gavia (February 22, 2015). “Understanding the otherkin.” The Kernel. Archived March 18, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150318110839/http://kernelmag.dailydot.com/issue-sections/features-issue-sections/11866/otherkin-tumblr-definition-pronouns/

Casas, D.M., G G Gentiletti, & A A Braidot. “Somatic and Movement Inductions Phantom Limb in Non-amputees.” Journal of Physics: Conference Series, Volume 705, Issue 1, (2016): 1-11 http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1742-6596/705/1/012062/meta (accessed June 26 2016).

Dorpat, T. L. (1971). Phantom sensation of internal organs. Comprehensive psychiatry, 12(1), 27–35. https://doi.org/10.1016/0010-440x(71)90053-8 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/0010440X71900538?via%3Dihub

Dove and Edge (2022). "Entheogens for Otherkin." OtherCon. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YEh0mVcLo0

House of Chimeras. (November 19, 2021). A Timeline of the Therianthrope Community.https://houseofchimeras.neocities.org/Nonfiction-Articles

Imaizumi, S., Asai, T., & Koyama, S. (2017). Agency over Phantom Limb Enhanced by Short-Term Mirror Therapy. Frontiers in human neuroscience, 11, 483. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2017.00483

Kinmunity. "2016 Otherkin Community Survey." Kinmunity. 2016. Private collection.

Langer, S. J., Caso, T. J., & Gleichman, L. (2023). Examining the prevalence of trans phantoms among transgender, nonbinary and gender diverse individuals: An exploratory study. International journal of transgender health, 24(2), 225–233. https://doi.org/10.1080/26895269.2022.2164101https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37114107/

Lupa (2007). A Field Guide to Otherkin. Stafford, England: Immanion Press. https://www.worldcat.org/title/137242792

McGeoch, P., and Ramachandran, V. (2012). “The appearance of new phantom fingers post-amputation in a phocomelus.” Neurocase 18, no. 2, pp. 95-97. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13554794.2011.556128https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21598175/

Plante, Courtney N., Stephen Reysen, Sharon E. Roberts, and Kathleen C. Gerbasi (2016). "FurScience! A Summary of Five Years of Research from the International Anthropomorphic Research Project." FurScience. https://furscience.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Fur-Science-Final-pdf-for-Website_2017_10_18.pdf

Price, E. H. (2006). A critical review of congenital phantom limb cases and a developmental theory for the basis of body image. Consciousness and cognition, 15(2), 310–322. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.concog.2005.07.003https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1053810005000917?via%3Dihub

Proctor, Devin (May 2019). On Being Non-Human: Otherkin Identification and Virtual Space. The George Washington University. https://search.proquest.com/openview/e156c24bf65c4efb0918a8db37433cce/

Psychedelics and Health Research Initiative (2023). "Research." UC San Diego. https://phri.ucsd.edu/research/

Ramachandran, V. S., & McGeoch, P. D. (2007). Occurrence of phantom genitalia after gender reassignment surgery. Medical hypotheses, 69(5), 1001–1003. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mehy.2007.02.024https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0306-9877(07)00181-8

Ramachandran, V.S. and Paul D. McGeoch. “Phantom Penises in Transsexuals: Evidence of an Innate Gender-Specific Body Image in the Brain,” Journal of Consciousness Studies, Volume 15, Number 1, (2008): pages 5-16, http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/imp/jcs/2008/00000015/00000001/art00001 (accessed November 5 2015).

Scribner, Orion (April 13, 2023). “A Simple Introduction to Otherkin and Therianthropes: Version 2.4.7.” The Works of Orion Scribner. https://www.frameacloud.com/nonfiction

Shepard, Page. “The 2021 Nonhumanity & Body Modification/Decoration Survey Results Breakdown.” Three Dragons and a Dog. August 28, 2021. Accessed December 4, 2022. https://invisibleotherkin.neocities.org/files/BodyModification-DecorationSurveyResults.pdf

Sonne (2021). “Terms and definitions.” Project Shift. https://projectshift.therianthropy.info/terms-definitions-by-sonne

A note for commenters on this article:

The author of this article is a layperson who isn’t involved in the study, so if you have questions about the study, please contact the researchers running the study instead, here. In your comments on my blog post, please exercise caution if you discuss psychotropic substances. If you write about illegal practices, for example, obtaining drugs that are illegal in your region, myself and other moderators of this forum may delete your comment. This is in alignment with Dreamwidth's Terms of Service, which forbids material that is illegal under United States law (section XI, subsection 8) or in your own jurisdiction (section II, subsection 2).

(This article was originally posted by Orion Scribner on September 15, 2023 on the Otherkin News blog on Dreamwidth, where you can read and write comments.)

[frameacloud]

Aternali, A., & Katz, J. (2019). "Recent advances in understanding and managing phantom limb pain." F1000Research, 8, F1000 Faculty Rev-1167. https://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.19355.1 Free full text article.

[shallowseeker]

“Cas has chronic pain due to his wings and grace being injured. Obviously.”

We talked about this, Dad. That's what’s called a headcanon.

“Nah, I’m pretty sure that was in the show.”

[convexicalcrow]

“Someone asked for a potion master?” Cub said as he poked his head into the hippie van.

“Down here! He’s in a lot of pain and I don’t know how to fix it,” Martyn called.

“I mean, no promises, but I’ll see what I can do,” Cub said as he made his way down to the bedroom at the end.

He found Ren lying on his bed clutching his left forearm, whining softly as he curled up into himself. Man, that looked comfy. Cub was used to feeling exhausted by now but sometimes he did want a nap. Just a little one. That wouldn’t hurt, right?

“Dang, he doesn’t look good. What happened?” Cub said as he saw Ren’s face.

“I wish I knew. But he’s been in pain all day. I suspect it’s the new limbs and his brain just being so confused about whether he has missing limbs or not. I just want some pain relief for him. Can you manage that?” Martyn said.

“I mean, yeah, but it’s not going to fix the problem, just make it easier to deal with. This is something in his brain going wrong. Can’t fix that with potions,” Cub said. “But I may be able to ease it off with something else.”

“Oh yeah? Like what?” Martyn said. “You got other tricks up your sleeves?”

“Yeah, actually. Lemme first just deal with his current pain and then I’ll see if I can deal with his brain,” Cub said. He fished around in his inventory to find the potion he needed and uncorked the bottle.

“Do you need me to do anything?” Martyn said.

“Nah, I’m good. But he will need to drink this.” He sat down by his bed and touched Ren’s head. “Hey Ren, I got something for the pain. You wanna sit up and drink this for me?”

Ren opened his eyes and looked up at Cub. “No, surely you can’t fix this. It’s a punishment for asking for my limbs back, I know it. She has punished me for my hubris.”

“Yeah, maybe, but if you think I’m just going to let you lie here in pain, you got another thing coming. Drink,” Cub said, offering him the bottle.

Ren gingerly sat up, clearly struggling to hold his own weight with his sore arm. “I dunno, She might not like me doing this, I-”

“Maybe she won’t, but you’re in pain and I won’t have that so. Drink,” Cub said.

The earth began to shake then and Cub braised himself against the wall. Ren clutched his arm again as he made a silent scream, clearly terrified. Martyn brought him into a hug and Cub heard him murmuring soothing words to him as he did his best to comfort him as they waited for the ground to stop moving.

“It’s all in the painting, guys, come on, it has been foretold, I promise,” Cub murmured, his own weird thoughts swirling around in his brain as the gravity shifted and he rose up to touch the roof of the van.

-

There was silence when it was over, aside from Ren’s soft whining. Ren had buried his head under a blanket and Martyn held him gently as he looked at Cub, silently begging for help.

“Ren, you wanna let me see if I can at least fix the pain? I can’t fix the moon but I think I can stop the pain,” Cub said.

Ren emerged from the blanket, looking absolutely wrecked. “Please, I can’t bear it anymore. It just hurts too much.”

Cub knelt by the bed and laid his hands on Ren’s head. “I can’t guarantee I can fix this completely but I think I can tone down the pain response, which should help.”

“Anything, please, it just stings so bad Cub, please,” Ren murmured.

“I’ll do my best, Ren.”

-

Cub closed his eyes and let his hands roam over Ren’s head, seeking out the part of his brain that was overreacting to his limb pain, channeling his Vex magic to make those parts sing to him.

And there were definitely a few places needing his attention but this was a delicate operation. If he misfired, he could do some real damage. He needed to work out which of the signals he was hearing were actually relevant.

The Vex in his head were guiding his hands now. His brain was too tired to focus safely on the work. They could see the parts that needed work and could reach them easier. But it wasn’t a matter of cutting out but of soothing. And finally he found the culprits and honed in on them.

Their energy felt swollen and red, and they seemed reluctant to accept help. Brains could be weird like that. But Cub persisted, speaking softly to the sore brain tissue as he slowly sent it some healing magic, weaving the strands of Vex magic through the tissue to soothe the pain.

Not too much and not too fast, making sure he could control how far he went and see how the brain was reacting. He’d only done this once before when Scar had some nerve pain that had been bothering him and that had mostly gone okay. So Cub was quietly confident his approach was sound, even if he only had one case to prove it.

-

But it did seem to be working. Ren’s whining seemed to have become soft whimpers and he wasn’t digging his claws into his arm anymore.

“How’s that feeling? I don’t want to do anymore just yet,” Cub said.

“A little better, I think. Still hurts though,” Ren said.

“Hmm. I’ll ease it off just a little more, but that’s all I will do. You still need to feel pain, just not unnecessary pain. And I don’t want to further damage your brain,” Cub said.

“Okay, sounds good,” Ren said, though he sounded less than reassured by this.

“It’ll be fine, Ren, I’m not going anywhere alright?” Martyn said, rubbing soothing circles into his back.

Ren buried his head under the blanket again.

-

Cub gazed across the water, lost in his own thoughts as Martyn came up beside him.

“How’s he doing?” Cub asked.

“I got him to take the potions and now he’s asleep, hopefully for more than a couple of hours. At least he lets me strap him to his bed so he doesn’t float off anymore. I hate doing it to him but he won’t sleep without it, or the sleep potions Bdubs makes. They’re the only ones that really knock him out. Hopefully his brain’s okay from your work too,” Martyn said.

“Me too. I think I managed to tone down the pain response but brains are tricky and you never know how they’re going to react to things. I’m glad he’s asleep though. He looked absolutely wrecked,” Cub said.

“Oh he was a lot worse before I got here and cleaned him up. He’s just got into a depressive spiral again because of the moon and the earthquakes. He really, really isn’t coping with those at all,” Martyn said. “I thought he’d be fine, with me being here and all, but I’m not sure. The moon rock’s got into his head and I’m worried about him. Keeps taking about murder and bringing heads to the altar.”

“Nah, I think we’re all a bit crazy because of the moon. The true religion is in Boatem though. We can’t sleep because the moon’s upset at us for always sleeping it away. So we gotta sacrifice Bdubs and maybe the moon might leave us alone,” Cub said.

Martyn gave him a look Cub couldn’t identify as Cub kept on talking, too tired to stop himself anymore. Did Martyn understand? Cub didn’t care. The moon loomed over them, filling the whole sky. The ground shook and they floated high into the air, their shins jarring painfully as they landed back down.

They’re all going to die. Aren’t they?

[chess-blackmyre]

Captain’s Orders

Summary: His eyes were of the blue of forget-me-not, and of profound melancholy, save when he was plunging his hook into you, at which time two red spots appeared in them and lit them up horribly. --JM Barrie, Peter Pan

“Release me at once, human!”

“I think you’re confused, little crocodile,” she tipped up his chin with the curve of her hook, savoring the fear in his eyes. “On my ship, I’m the one who gives the orders.”

[faofinn]

DAY 19: "you deserve this"

Harrison’s phantom pain had been absolute murder all day. He didn’t know why, but nothing was working to fix it, every step on that leg was agony, like a hot knife twisting in flesh that wasn’t there. He struggled through work, even the complex cases that usually took his mind off it not working anymore. He finally finished, managing to get away on time for once. 

He must have sat in his car for close to half an hour, his head resting on the steering wheel, before he felt able to drive. His painkillers had done nothing, not even scratched the surface. It was exhausting. He managed to make it home, just about, glad the drive was short. 

He just had to hope the kids were settled, because he really didn’t have the energy to deal with them tonight. He was greeted by the dog as he got in, which managed to make him smile, at least. He fussed him a little, but his heart wasn’t really in it, and he headed down the hall to dump his keys and bag. Tai emerged from the kitchen, having heard the door go but not Hars call out. A hand on his shoulder, he pressed a kiss to his cheek. His boyfriend looked like shit, pale and standing uncomfortably, like he couldn’t take weight through his prosthetic. 

“You alright?” He asked gently.  

Harrison sighed, forcing a smile. "Just phantoms."

“Been a bad day?”

"That obvious?"

“I know you too well. Food is nearly ready, did you want to get your leg off and go and lie down if it’ll help? I can bring dinner up to you.”

"What about everything else?"

“Don’t worry about it.” 

"You can't just do it all."

“I’ve not been at work all day, I can handle it. Go on, go and get some compression on it.”

"Alright. Thank you." He didn't have the strength to fight it. 

Tai kissed him again quickly. “Love you.”

"Love you too." He murmured. He took his time heading upstairs, the climb absolute murder.

Tai watched him go up the stairs, then headed back into the kitchen to finish cooking. He explained to the boys that their dad wasn’t feeling well, and that he wanted some quiet and some time to himself. They seemed sad, but Kieran nodded, looking wise beyond his years, and said they’d try and be quiet. 

When dinner was ready, Tai took a plate up to Harrison, knocking softly on the door before he pushed it open. 

Harrison had settled in bed, wrapped up in the duvet and trying to make himself feel better. It hadn’t worked yet, and his pain meds still hadn’t kicked in. 

“I’ve got dinner for you.” Tai said gently. 

"Oh. Thanks."

“The boys wanted to say hi but I said you needed a bit of quiet.” Tai sat on the edge of the bed, reaching out for Harrison. 

"They deserve better than me."

“Don’t be daft.”

"I'm not."

“You’re an amazing dad to them.” 

"I can't be a dad.'

“Why not?”

"Look at me." He murmured, choosing Tai over the food.

“Stunningly handsome doctor who spends all day helping others even when he’s in pain? Disgusting, how horrible.”

"Yeah, leave me for him."

“Except he’s right here in my bed.”

"Where is he?" 

“He’s you, idiot.”

He kissed Tai’s cheek. "Idiot is more like it."

“I can forgive the idiot, you are dating me after all.”

Harrison hummed. "I'm glad you'd forgive me."

“Of course I would. Are you gonna eat?”

"You?" He managed to tease. "I'll do that."

“Food first.” Tai said. “Then if you’re feeling better later I’m not going to stop you.”

He laughed. "I'd never say no."

“Have something to eat, then?”

"Have you had something?" He asked, taking a mouthful. 

“I need to, mine’s waiting downstairs.” Tai admitted. 

"Oh, go get yours."

“Figured you still might want some peace and quiet after a busy ED. The boys are behaving, though.”

"They can come up if you need five minutes?"

“No, it’s okay. Why don’t I leave you to it an’ I’ll come see you in a bit?”

"Don't be forever? I've missed you."

“I won’t be forever. I’ll eat and then try and get the boys to bed.”

"Thank you."

“Love you.” Tai said gently, kissing his cheek before he headed out of the room. He ate, tidied the kitchen, and spent a little bit of time with the boys before it was time to start getting them ready for bed. It was a little like herding cats, and harder without Harrison, but he was used to it by now, given Harrison’s frequent night shifts. All of them trooped in to say goodnight to their dad, and Taidgh managed to get teeth brushed and everyone in bed in reasonable time. He’d even managed to make sure everyone got the right meds, including himself. That was an achievement in of itself. 

He finally could join Harrison then, settling on the bed next to him with a happy sigh. 

“How’s the pain now? Still just as bad?”

"Better now you're back."

He smiled. “How was dinner?”

"Amazing. Way better than I'd have made."

“Glad you liked it.” Tai murmured. “Can I see if I can help?”

"I'd say chop it off but that's already happened."

“I’m no surgeon.” He said. “But I can try?”

"Chop more of it off, go for it."

“Try and make it better.”

"I'll stop being an arse. If you want to, you can."

Tai hummed, pulling the covers back. “Just shout if you want me to stop.”

Harrison snickered. "Sure."

“You know what I mean.”

"I will."

“Relax back, close your eyes?” 

He did as he was told, for all of thirty seconds. He propped himself up on his elbows and narrowed his eyes. "What are you gonna do?"

Tai laughed. “I was gonna try some massage, see if it would help the phantom.”

"Alright." He slowly lay back down. "Just be gentle."

Tai kissed his knee. “Promise.”

"Mm, okay."

Gently, Tai worked over Harrison’s stump, hoping the sensation of his hands would help the phantom pain. He knew things would be sore after a long day at work too, muscles tight and tender. 

"God, where have you been all my life?"

He laughed. “Ireland, for most of it.”

Harrison found himself joining in on the laughter, the tension draining from him. It just added to the affection Harrison felt for Tai, and he made a happy noise. 

“Helping? Reminding your brain that leg isn’t there anymore?”

"Reminding something that needs to be listening." He mumbled. "Haven't got a brain."

“Careful, talk like that would get you kicked out of clinic.” He teased. “But it feels good, right?”

"Makes me wish I had the rest of my leg." He said, almost starting to drift.

“I’m not that good.” Tai admitted. “But I’m glad I’m helping. You deserve this, you deserve to be out of pain.”

"This is that good." He murmured. "Thank you. Honestly, thank you."

“You know I’d do anything for you.”

"I would for you, too."

“Cute.”

"Don't be patronising!"

“I was teasing!”

"Sounds the same." He laughed.

Tai paused after a moment, his hands stilling. “I’m sorry you’ve had a tough day, though.”

"You've made it better."

“Good. You deserve it.”

"Love you."

“Love you too.”

[arthur-lesters-facial-hair]

Do you guys think Arthur ever gets phantom pain or phantom itches on the hand and foot controlled by John?

Just him trying to itch his hand without relief and John having to ask him to stop as Arthur would 100% be the person to bite their hand when the itch won't be itched

Maybe when he had phantom pain John let's him hold and soothe his hand (and secretly enjoying it a bunch)

DO YALL SEE MY VISION

[triumviiirate]

i spend a lot of time thinking about the empty space between jim and bones at spock's funeral

[mjrtaurus]

A thing Crocodile deals with on the regular after losing his hand is chronic pain.

The weight of the hook exacerbates it, but you won't catch him dead without it because he's too stubborn and paranoid. The only times he takes it off is if he's totally alone in a secure place, and even then ONLY if he's in an unusually high amount of pain. He only started taking the thing off when he slept after nearly gutting himself from tossing and turning his way through some uneasy stress dreams.

On the most excruciating days, he does what needs doing insofar as work and immediately retreats to his quarters with a very strict Do Not Disturb policy in place.

The second he gets there, the hook comes off and the arm goes in a sling, and then he takes out a box of special cigars that he keeps for such unfortunate occasions. There is no tobacco in these cigars.

[cal-writes]

franky and zoro with chronic pain and such different ways of dealing with it. franky who feely expresses his discomfort and his feeling while zoro will bear it with grit teeth.

franky who can physically pick up zoro like an unruly cat and make him enjoy a hot bath to soothe their aches or invent a massage chair or just convince him to rot in bed together for the day

[zyrafowe-sny]

Chapters: 1/? Fandom: Nimona (2023), Nimona (Webcomic) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Ballister Blackheart | Ballister Boldheart/Ambrosius Goldenloin, Ballister Blackheart | Ballister Boldheart & Nimona, Ballister Blackheart | Ballister Boldheart & Meredith Blitzmeyer Characters: Ballister Blackheart | Ballister Boldheart, Ambrosius Goldenloin, Original Characters, Ambrosius Goldenloin's Parents, Meredith Blitzmeyer Additional Tags: Author's agenda includes bringing Meredith Blitzmeyer into the Nimona movieverse, the band will get back together but in the meantime, Grief/Mourning, Angst, Politics, Canon Disabled Character, Prosthesis, Arm Prosthetic, Hospitals, Burns, Concussions, Language, Let Ballister Blackheart | Ballister Boldheart Say Fuck, Worldbuilding, Estrangement, Complicated Relationships, Family Drama, Secrets, Other Additional Tags to Be Added Series: Part 1 of phantom limb pain Nimonaverse Summary:

Ballister woke to the incessant beeping of machines and entirely too bright lights. Something was restraining him and he yanked it off instinctually, tripping even more frantic alarms.

Almost before he could finish sitting up — fuck, why did his ribs hurt so much? — there was a light hand on his (flesh and bone) arm and he was greeted by a familiar (but bandaged) face.

He blinked and then it all came back. His betrayal. Nimona's suicide attempt. The cannon. Nimona-the-firebird on a suicide run. A million pink sparkles that turned to ash in his hands.

Something dark and heavy — like dread but not aimed at anything in particular — flooded his chest and churned deep in his stomach.

or

It's not just Ballister's arm that's missing and hurting him.

[hajihiko]

Dude that actually really cool of an idea for Nagito to be getting scratched up as a part of paranormal activity

Honestly haven’t heard of that in ages haha /pos

the body parts are all ~symbolic~

[constantvariations]

I really wish Larian had done more to emphasize the differences between devils and tieflings so Wyll’s transformation would land better. Which I get would be difficult seeing as how tieflings are descended from devils, but when the biggest visual difference are the wings and you deny Wyll that feature, you can't be surprised when players mistake him for a tiefling and misconstrue his grievances at the grove party

His stats don't even change all that much, just some fancy darkvision, and it's not like his soul being dragged through literal hell altered his personality in any way. A lot of what makes him a devil is apparently just ~vibes~ and they are not passing their persuasion checks

[emma-altium7]

Loss of Limb Fics, plzz

Alr, I know most of you won't know what I'm talking Abt, but plz. Twilight, in the manga, lost his arm (he got it back), why aren't there more Fics about phantom pain?? Abt how he sometimes feels like it's not there when it really is? How he's ambidextrous for a reason TvT. If anyone finds a fic about this stuff, plz send me a Link. <3

[irenespring]

Me: I'm going to get back into writing fanfiction for a fun creative writing outlet, while I work on other humanities and social sciences in classwork :) Also me: Has now read at least one official medical study, multiple interest/support group and government reports, and several online testimonials re: House's possible amputation vs. non-narcotic pain treatments sans amputation, and now has a pretty good mental chart going of decidedly STEM things.

I have been tricked into researching STEM. Creative writing has betrayed me.