#possible appendicitis we'll see

[flurrin]

Gues who's in da emergency rooooom

[valyrfia]

*insert michael jackson gif*

Let it go with the excuses already, today was on him he couldn't even beat his teammate today how you people expect him to fight max?he will put it in the wall in the last lap, oh wait it already happened, my bad

also max recommended devries lol let's not take those guys words , charles is currently fighting fraud allegations, unless his 2019 or 2022 start is coming it's only going downhill

Okay, fine, I'll bite. Let's compare Charles's and Carlos's perfomances in order to try and determine with as little bias as possible.

In order to constrain our parameters of our investigation to their current abilities as drivers, let's take the our period of investigation to be the whole of the 2023 season, plus the first three races of the 2024 season. We'll exclude the following races for Carlos due to circumstances beyond his control: Qatar 2023 (fuel leak leading to DNS), Las Vegas 2023 (10 place grid penalty due to track not being properly maintained), Jeddah 2024 (appendicitis). Likewise, we'll exclude the following races for Charles due to circumstances beyond his control: Bahrain 2023 (DNF due to technical issues), Jeddah 2023 (10 place grid penalty due to exceeding allowed quota), COTA 2023 (DSQ), Brazil (DNS due to faulty hydraulics).

There are cases to be made for other races for both of them, but these are races where they were either involved in a collision leading to a DNF or where grid penalties apply, so there's argument for driver error there. With regard to grid penalties, we're going to go by the final decisions made by the stewards regardless of whether the penalties were appealed or not. Races where they suffered technical issues in race but they still finished are not counted, as it shows a driver's ability to handle an unpredictable car.

Before we discount the races listed above entirely, let's have a look at where the driver who didn't have difficulties finished.

So we're discarding pretty much the same number of points between them, so I feel happy discarding the following 7 races entirely from this analysis: Bahrain 2023, Jeddah 2023, Qatar 2023, COTA 2023, Brazil 2023, Las Vegas 2024, Jeddah 2024. Furthermore, in Las Vegas, Carlos finished 6th and in Jeddah, Charles finished 7th. This brings their points total across the discarded races to 46 for Carlos, 45 for Charles. However, Charles managed to score those points over fewer points-scoring races, and with a higher average finishing position, so for the sake of not convoluting ourselves we'll call it even and commit to just examining the points and stats of the remaining races not excluded from our investigation. The table below shows those stats. For simplification, sprints are not considered.

So I think there are a few key things we want to consider: overall performance, reasons for retirements and driver reliability over our chosen time period. So we'll go one by one for each and examine in a little more depth.

For overall performance, it's easiest to see in a quick head to head. Carlos wins in race wins, Charles wins in poles, they tie in number of retirements (although Carlos was classified in ABU23 due to finishing 90% of the race distance), Charles wins in higher average finishing position, Charles wins in higher points total.

Next, we move on to reasons for retirement. Charles retired twice, once upon collision with Lance in Australia 23, and once in Zandvoort due to a damaged floor. Carlos retired once in Belgium 23 due to a collision with Oscar Piastri and once in Abu Dhabi 23 due to being lapped and running last without pitting.

For driver reliability, I want to consider the variance in Charles and Carlos's race finishes for reliability. A quick recap for the non-STEM people who may be reading this: the variance measures the spread of numbers in a dataset, and how far away they are from the dataset's mean. Thus, a smaller variance indicates less spread in positions that a driver has finished in, in turn indicating higher reliability. Charles has a variance of 6.46, Carlos has a variance of 8.25. It is therefore possible to conclude that Charles is the more reliable driver of the two. While on the subject of reliability, it is also worth noting that Charles has not dropped outside the top 5 since Monza last year.

So overall, anon, I'm afraid I have to reject your notion that Charles is washed or even approaching becoming washed. The data show otherwise. The only category where Carlos is superior to Charles in our time frame is race wins, race wins where Charles deliberately adhered to Ferrari strategy in order to help Carlos, and Max Verstappen was out of commission for the win for one reason or another. Carlos wins in luck, but for driver reliability, points scored, finishing position, Charles is the clear winner and the numbers show it.

[7ban-sama]

Why does Amane choose his name hanako, I understand yako choosing misaki but why hanako of all things, why the specific spelling in kanji that means flower kid

Ooh, you know, incidentally, I've been dwelling on the name "Hanako" lately...

The kanji (花子) is actually pretty typical, for "Hanako"... Let's say, it's one of the most classic spelling of this name? Building off of that, the myth of "Hanako-san of the bathroom" (トイレの花子���ん) is actually one that has existed in Japan for years, and in it, the name is commonly spelled like that. From a writing perspective, Iro-sensei is just maintaining the ah, iconography of the name, I suppose?

I've talked before in a previous ask about how the "Jibaku" in the title is evoking several things at once. Well, I think Iro-sensei is the sort that likes everything to feel multilayered, so even the usage of "Hanako-kun" is conveying something very particular. Hanako is a very feminine name (as flower names commonly are; think of names like Daisy or Rose) — so appending -kun to it is a little bit strange... My wife and I have joked, it's sort of like, if the story was starring Bloody Mary… but the twist is that Mary is a boy, and we call him, Little Lad Mary, or something… Lol. This is one of those things western fandom might be missing out on, due to culture discrepancies. We read Hanako, and it perhaps doesn't stand out next to Natsuhiko as a very girly name. To the point where I don't really blame anyone for not keying into it; it's not so intuitive for us.

I mean, I myself have had to really internalize what the experience of reading the title could be like, for a native speaker. You're looking at Hanako-kun on the title, and then seeing this spooky cursed boy sitting on a toilet. And you're like "-? ? .. ?? Hanako... toilet ghost, but boy-? And, self bondage???" (lol) There's just ah, a different first impression when picking up volume 1, I think.

Now, to get into the in-world reasons for why Amane uses Hanako... Well. The thing is, we haven't actually gotten a very direct explanation on what Amane feels about the name. Feels quite shrouded in mystery still... perhaps, it's not something we'll know the truth of until we are able to learn about what Amane went through that made him become a mystery in the first place. For now, all we can do is infer...

Logically, we can say the name Hanako comes from the rumor of "Hanako-san", which is something that could have existed before Amane even died. The mysteries can be swapped out by other individuals, as we see with Mitsuba, who becomes the new "Hell of Mirrors". It seems the rumor itself doesn't suddenly change, despite Mitsuba being a wholly different person. And, beyond that, perhaps there was a different entity before that tengu that was the Hell of Mirrors... etc. So, a possible explanation is that the name Hanako was one that Amane inherited once he became No. 7.

Though, we do have examples of mysteries with titles that allude to their specific circumstance... such as the Misaki Stairs and Shijima-san of the Art Room. Questions that arise from this are: If a kaii replaced Yako or Shijima, would the rumor stay the same? What were the rumors for No. 2 and No. 4 before theirs existed? Were there any at all...? I suppose, we don't know how long there have been 7 mysteries guarding the school. In any case... I wouldn't totally rule out the possibility that Amane himself is the origin of the Hanako-san rumor. For whatever reason, his actions in the past might have created Hanako-san. Shijima-san's rumor is a product of misinformation about Mei's death, so it might not have been Amane's choice how people perceived certain events.

I try and keep my mind open to the possibility, at least... though, if you want my personal opinion, I'm leaning more towards the former. I assume that Amane just inherited the role of No. 7, and the rumor associated with it was Hanako-san. The reason is... before meeting Nene, I'm not sure who else would even be calling him Hanako-? The mysteries are relatively distant from one another, and typically refer to one another by their numbers. I would say Tscuhigomori is the mystery that knows Amane the most personally, and deep down, I think Tsuchigomori simply sees Amane as... Yugi Amane. To Tsuchigomori, Amane is the same as when he knew him in life; he's been frozen in place here, never moving on. Tsukasa meanwhile knew Amane best, ostensibly, and was close with him through most of his life... and only ever calls him Amane.

I'm of the belief that Amane himself, does not closely identify with the name Hanako, before meeting Nene. I think it was a business name... I think it was even, kinda funny, like, Lol, girl's name... sure. He's amicable to wearing thigh highs and letting Nene dress up his hair, nor does he really fret about being gender-swapped, so it's not like having a "girl's name" would bother him much. It must feel very inconsequential...? He's only being regarded as Hanako-san on the rare occasion a soon-to-be-dead student summons him. Otherwise, he's Nanaban-sama to his co-workers... and internally, I think he's Amane... er, in a compulsive way-? Like, he can't control this remnant of his past life... Tricky, since there is a bit of compartmentalization happening; I do think Amane thinks of "Yugi Amane" as having died and no longer "really" existing beyond that death... What he is now, is something different and unrecognizable (... or, so he thinks.) At that point of dehumanization, he probably doesn't regard his current self with any name. Maybe he is just, a kaii, a mononoke, a murderer... etc.

Upon befriending Nene... I think that Amane wasn't taking their relationship so seriously. Her referring to him as Hanako-kun was kind of cute, funny, novel. He WAS obfuscating his identity, after all, so maybe it was ideal for her to see him this way. (Amane himself wouldn't have even let Nene know he killed someone in the past, let alone his real name...) So, performing as Hanako became something he does specifically for Nene's sake. This comes packaged with representing the mysteries as more close than they are, his job as more heroic than it really is, etc. I would say at this point, Amane starts to imagine a divide between Amane, living boy, and Hanako, the ghost that came after.

However, over time, the identity of Hanako-kun became more sentimental than Amane would ever have chosen. This was never supposed to be... more than, a flimsy front, a mask he wears, your silly bathroom ghost friend. That's why he's confused in Picture Perfect, with Nene's insistence that Amane-kun is the same as Hanako-kun. These should be separate things — Amane shouldn't be the same as Hanako! But... of course, they are, because he's the same as ever...

Haha, it's all kind of convoluted, but I like how much it makes one reflect on identity... Whether you personally identify with something or not, the urge to split yourself up, but also the way that you're always... yourself, even after things change... *wiggles fingers* Pretty cool, right? Often in posts, I'm kind of wrestling with how to refer to Amane, and how to keep things consistent enough to not be suuuper confusing... but it's hard! The names Amane and Hanako can be useful in tandem. It's such a Vibes thing, at times.

I typically default to Amane when referring to him as... the character, the entity of Amane, across many worlds/timelines. The entire history of the character, is "Amane" to me. Whereas I think of Hanako as more specifically encompassing the time he's spent with Nene! It's really Nene that has made Hanako more than just a title... though deep down, ig the real endgame of this would be regarding him as Amane...? [personal blatherings here...] Anyhoo...

We're surely due for more information on this topic someday. My wife has even mused on why the name Hanako is used for him... It's something to really contemplate-!!

[pigeonwhumps]

The vet

Sanctuary masterlist

Taglist: @littlespacecastle @whumpymirages @flowersarefreetherapy

Lea gets appendicitis and has a horrible trip to the vet for emergency medical care (including a nasty surprise).

Set about three months after Lea comes to live with Anita. Well before the Diwali celebrations.

8k

CWs: appendicitis, emeto, reproductive health discussion, talk of past forced sterilisation, medical whump, medical setting, surgery, electric shocks, restraints, muzzle, leash, BBU, pet whump, dehumanisation, it/its for dehumanising (brief), fear of death, fear of abandonment, forced clothes change and stripping (non-sexual), discussion of killing in the form of putting down, conditioning, implied/referenced non-con, fear of punishment

Anita's not sure what wakes her at first.

Her room's as dark as it ever gets with the streetlight shining directly towards her window, filtered by the old not-so-blackout-anymore blind, and it seems quiet.

A tiny whimper draws her attention. Then there's a small groan, coming from the direction of the wardrobe. Anita pushes herself out of bed and heads over there – it's probably Lea, and it sounds like she's having a nightmare. Anita can't just leave her.

Her wardrobe is open a crack and she nudges it, opening it further to let in the light.

Wide, scared, pained eyes stare up at her from a ball in the clothes. This isn't a nightmare. Anita crouches down in front of her.

"Lea? Sweetheart? What's wrong?"

"Hurts," moans Lea, curling up more and clutching her stomach, "hurts, Mistress, please."

"How much? Can you move?"

Lea tries and only ends up turning over, spewing bile over the clean clothes, arms shaking as she pushes herself onto her elbows. Anita catches her before she can collapse into the pile of vomit. This isn't looking good.

"Easy, sweetheart, easy. We need to get you to some medical help, can you lean on me while I call a cab?"

Lea does so, breathing heavily, Anita's arm wrapped around her, and Anita calls the first taxi company she has saved.

"Sam's Taxis, how can I help?"

"I'd like a taxi to pick us up from Crescent Building, Park Close as soon as possible. Pet-friendly. It's an emergency. My name's Anita Ranjit."

"We'll have one out to you in a few minutes."

"Right. Thanks." She hangs up and turns to Lea. "Okay. Someone's coming. I'm taking you to the vet I'm afraid, there's no-one else this time of night. We need to get your coat and harness on, hold onto me." Lea does, grip weak, and Anita carries her out to the hallway. It's the first time she's been glad the woman's still so light. When they reach the hall Anita helps her put her coat, scarf and boots on, manoeuvring her arms into the light blue harness too. Lea whimpers.

"I'm sorry sweetheart. It's the law, I can't take you out without a leash."

"Lea?" whispers a terrified voice. Anita looks up to see Theo standing there, hands clapped to his mouth to stop himself speaking again.

"I'm taking Lea to the vets," she says clearly, and he looks even more scared. "She's coming back, she'll be okay. But she's ill. You stay here with paati, alright sweetheart?" Theo nods, still looking scared, and Anita pulls a post-it note off the noticeboard and scribbles the situation down in Tamil. "Here. Give this to Indira and ask her to read it to you." Theo nods. "Good. Come on Lea, let's get you outside."

She carries Lea down the lift (faster, why can't it move faster?), and by the time they get out to the street there's already an unfamiliar car there. The driver pokes his head out the window.

"Anita Ranjit?"

"Yeah, that's me." She hurried over to him and he steps out, opening the back door.

"That your pet? She's a cute one, isn't she?"

"Don't touch her," warns Anita as the man reaches out.

"Fine, fine." He holds up his hands and sits back in the driver's seat as Anita settles herself and Lea in the back, trying to make Lea as comfortable as possible. "Where to?"

"Blue Light Pet Hospital."

"Right."

It doesn't take long to get there, and Anita calls on the way to make sure they're ready for her. When they reach the hospital she pays and rushes inside to the reception, Lea in her arms.

"Anita Ranjit, I just called?"

"Just through there, ma'am."

Anita follows the receptionist's pointing and enters a small bright consultation room, sitting Lea carefully on the bed, an arm behind her back to help her stay upright. The fresh air seems to have helped a little but she's still weak and shaky.

"I'm Dr Rachel Archer," says the bespectacled vet, hair tied in a bun, "what seems to be the problem?"

"Lea's in pain," replies Anita, sharper than she means to.

"I need details, Miss Ranjit. Where? What sort of pain? Lea, can you tell me?"

Lea gestures weakly to her abdomen.

"Sharp. It... it was– was better but it got worse." She bends forward and dry heaves over the bed. Anita rubs her back, wondering just how bad it's been, and how long she's been hurting. She hasn't said a word.

"Hmm. I'm going to get an ultrasound room prepped." She types something in on her computer. "I need to access her medical records. Hold out your arm." Lea does so and the vet scans the barcode tattooed on it. "Right. If you just remove her coat and put the harness back on." Anita does so, seeing Lea's goosebumps as her skin's exposed to the cool air of the consultation room. "You can take your pet through there now, and then we can discuss payment methods."

Anita picks up Lea and heads out to a corridor beyond, where a woman is waiting. They follow her into a room with a bed and an ultrasound scanner. There's leather restraints on the bed.

"Just put it down here."

Anita lays Lea down on the bed and squeezes her hand. "Please, don't use the restraints unless it's absolutely necessary."

"We won't. Now if you'd like to head back to Dr Archer and we'll return your pet once we're finished."

Anita nods. "I'll see you soon, sweetheart." And she forces herself to walk out of the room.

_

Lea whimpers as the door shuts behind Mistress Anita. She's in pain, so much so that Mistress Anita noticed and brought her here, and she's going to be in so much trouble for inconveniencing her owner. And Mistress Anita says she'll be back but will she? When? Lea knows she should believe her owner but... this place... it's scary.

The woman Mistress Anita spoke to hooks her leash to the wall and starts strapping her arms and legs to the bed.

"Just a precaution. I assume you won't misbehave, but if you do, I have this." She holds up a thin black baton. "It delivers mild electric shocks, and I'll use it on your palm if you misbehave. You understand?"

Lea nods vigorously, making her head spin.

"Good. Now stay still." The woman pushes up Lea's nightdress and spreads a cold cream on her abdomen.

Lea yelps.

"Come on, stop being such a baby, it's only cream." But she can't help it. The texture is just wrong, and normally she could control her reaction to that but it hurts so much, the woman's pressing lightly on her abdomen to apply the cream and it just makes it worse. "I told you to shut up and stay still." Lea can't, she can't, it's too much, she tries but she didn't even realise she was moving, she doesn't know how to stop, and she feels a sharp, hot shock to her hand that makes her gasp. She turns to the side and throws up.

"Are you done with your little tantrum now?" Lea nods. "Good. Now I can get on with the ultrasound." As she brings over an electronic device attached to a white lead and starts running it over the cream-covered area, she mutters, "Bet you're a Romantic. Manipulating me into thinking you're well-behaved and then doing this. Wasting my time. You Romantics are always selfish like that."

But... but it wasn't deliberate. She didn't mean to waste time.

That doesn't matter though, she's still badly behaved.

Will the woman tell Mistress Anita? What if Mistress Anita decides that this means she's too much trouble to keep?

Lea fights to stay still as the woman draws the device across her abdomen and then washes off the cream.

"Right, we're done." She presses a button, then unstraps Lea and unhooks her leash. "Get up."

Lea rises as fast as she can, feeling a little dizzy. Her hand hurts now, in addition to her stomach, and she's not sure she can stand but she manages it just about, keeping her hand on the bed to steady herself.

A man in a white coat walks in and the woman hands Lea's leash to him. "You can go back now. Go with the orderly and be quick about it."

"Yes, ma'am," whispers Lea, and she follows the man out of the room as fast as she can – which isn't very fast with all the pain, and he rolls his eyes, giving her an impatient look.

_

When Mistress and Lea have left, Theo heads towards Miss Indira's room, stomach tied in knots. What's happening to Lea?

Halfway down the hallway he bumps into Miss Indira, looking tired but alert.

"Theo? I heard a commotion, what happened?"

Theo hands her the note and links his fingers behind his back, trembling. What if... what if something bad's happened to Lea? Something worse than the vets.

She ushers Theo into the front room, where he kneels on the soft rug as she turns the kettle on in the adjoining kitchen. Then she comes back to join him, sitting on the sofa.

She reads Mistress' note and then looks directly at Theo, putting the post-it down to free her hands.

"Anita says that she's taken Lea to the vet, because she's in a lot of pain, she can barely move, and she's being sick. She'll call as soon as there's an update."

Theo trembles. The vets are horrible. He's only gone once and he still has nightmares. And his old master told him that sometimes pets don't come back.

He can't lose Lea again.

What if she doesn't come back? What if Mistress comes back with her dead body? What if– what if she loses her memory again or comes back different, with bits missing or– or–

He jumps as something lands on his shoulders. What's– oh.

Oh.

It's a dressing gown. Soft and fluffy and pink. He pulls it around himself.

"Any better?" He nods. "Lea will be back, Theo. Alive and well. Promise."

Theo nods. He's not sure he believes Miss Indira, but he can't tell her that.

Miss Indira crosses the room and takes a box off the bookshelf, placing it on the coffee table where there's two mugs.

When did they appear?

Oh, he's getting so much worse than he used to be. So much more badly behaved. He didn't even notice Miss Indira bring in the mugs! He didn't thank her (she doesn't drink hot chocolate, so surely that one's his, right?). In his old home that would've been a beating offence.

"The hot chocolate's yours."

"Thank you, ma'am."

"You're welcome. Jigsaw while we wait?"

Theo opens the box obediently and tips the pieces onto the table, sifting through them to make sure they're all the right way up. It's a big one, and it should draw his attention but it doesn't, his mind keeps wandering.

What's happening to Lea? Will she be alright? Will she be back? He can't stop himself from thinking about her. She's in trouble and he can't do anything to help.

_

"So I have your contact details here, from Lea's barcode. If you could just tell me your credit card number so we can charge you if you leave without paying, that would be great."

Anita nods and pulls it out of her pocket, rattling off the numbers. "How long until she comes back?"

"Should be very soon now, an ultrasound doesn't take long. Now, I know it's an unpleasant topic, but we need to discuss what you want to do if it turns out to be something serious."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, considering the cost and complexity of treatment for most serious ailments, many pet owners choose to have their pet put down. It's often–"

"No," says Anita firmly. "That's never going to happen."

"Are you sure? It's often kinder, given the pain, and if it's a burst appendix as I suspect, then–"

"You would kill Lea over appendicitis?" she asks, horrified. "That's easily treatable!"

"Peritonitis possibly, by this stage. And most owners... prefer not to. With the course of antibiotics needed it's a lot of work. It's company policy to offer it, I'm just doing my job."

"Just because it's your job doesn't mean you have to offer it. You're killing them when they could still have a fulfilling life. Don't ever bring the option up to me again, are we clear?"

"Of course, Miss Ranjit."

Just then the door opens, and a male orderly enters, leading Lea in by the leash. She looks like she can barely stand, tears in her eyes and hand held awkwardly, and Anita rushes forwards, snatching the leash and wrapping the woman's coat around her. Then she scoops her up, carrying her over to the bed.

"Lea, sweetheart, are you okay?"

Lea nods, settling against Anita's arm. Dr Archer clears her throat.

Anita looks up, trying to hide her anger. That's the last thing Lea needs to see, the last thing she should be showing if she doesn't want to be suspected as pet lib, but... they forced Lea to walk, even though she barely can, she's in tears from the pain, and she was definitely restrained in there, Anita can see the strap marks. But she can't think about that now or she'll explode.

"Yes?"

"The radiographer has sent the initial results in, and it's as I feared. Her appendix has burst."

"What's the treatment then?"

"She'll need an open appendectomy right away, which will take a couple of hours. The surgeon will remove the appendix and clean the abdominal area. I'm guessing, judging by her description of the pain earlier, that it was only a few hours, so I don't think we'll have too much infection to worry about, but I'll prescribe a course of antibiotics just in case. Make sure you give her the whole course if you don't want her infection to return."

"Will she be given anaesthetic?"

"Only spinal, so the surgery can be done safely. We don't stock general anesthetic here regularly, as owners rarely want to pay for it."

"Fine. Can I observe the operation?"

"We have an observation room, yes, for your peace of mind. It costs extra though."

"I will pay whatever's necessary for Lea to be taken care of."

"Well, if you agree to the procedure, I'll go and make sure there's an operating room ready."

Anita nods curtly and Dr Archer leaves the room. When they're alone, Anita turns to Lea.

"Did you understand what they're going to do?" Lea nods. "You'll be awake during the operation, but the spinal anaesthetic means you shouldn't feel any pain. Only a few hours and then we'll be able to leave. You're doing so well, sweetheart." She squeezes Lea's hand. "There is a question I want to ask you though, if you're up for it?"

Lea nods again, more apprehensively if that's possible. Anita takes a deep breath.

"Why didn't you tell me you were in pain? You must've been hurting for days. You're not in trouble, don't worry, I just... I'd like to know why you didn't say anything."

Lea swallows and speaks hoarsely. "I– I'm a pet, mistress. I can– I can take pain that people can't, and I didn't think– think there was anything that could– could be done. Pets can't– can't take most painkillers."

"Sweetheart, you can. I know you've been taught otherwise, but you can take them. If you're in pain in the future, I want you to tell me, okay? I don't want you to power through it when you're hurting."

"Yes, mistress. I'm– I'm sorry for thinking, I know it's– it's bad and I– I accept your punishment for it."

"There's nothing wrong with thinking, sweetheart. It's good to think. Just don't ignore what your body needs."

Lea frowns, but nods. "Yes, mistress."

Dr Archer pokes her head in the room. "They're ready to prep Lea now. If you both want to follow me."

Anita squeezes Lea's hand and picks her up bridal-style, following the vet out of the room and through the corridors. They stop just before reaching a set of doors leading to an operating theatre.

"I'll be here when you get out, sweetheart," Anita murmurs, releasing Lea reluctantly into the hands of another orderly, who takes her leash and leads her slowly inside, hand on her back.

"I'll show you to the observation room," says Dr Archer. Anita nods, wrenching her eyes away from the room Lea's disappeared into.

It's not far to the observation room, which is decorated like a hospital waiting room – a few informational posters regarding pet illnesses, treatment and payment plans, some old gossip magazines on a coffee table, and a couple of fabric chairs.

"One-way glass. This room's soundproof, and so's the theatre."

"Right." She watches as Lea's sat down on the bed. "What does the surgery prep involve?"

"They'll change her into a hospital gown and insert IVs for fluids. Usually we'd do a pregnancy test as well before deciding to do surgery, but since she's had a hysterectomy–"

"What do you mean, she's had a hysterectomy?!"

"It's in her medical records, and the ultrasound confirmed it. WRU performed it before her first contract. I assumed you were aware."

"I've never requested her medical records. It's her body. We did have an appointment next week with... someone else about her missed periods, although I guess that won't be necessary now."

"Mm. Well, I need you to sign these consent forms before we can go ahead."

Anita scans them. There doesn't seem to be anything dodgy in there, so she signs and hands back the clipboard. Then she spots the muzzle being put on Lea, and the tight restraints on her arms, legs, forehead and chest.

"Why all the restraints?"

"The radiologist reported that she misbehaved earlier. Better safe than sorry."

"Misbe– maybe her apparent 'misbehaviour' has something to do with being strapped down, with no explanation as to what's happening and no consideration of the fact that she's in tremendous pain and has sensitivity issues which you didn't even think to ask about!" She can hear her voice rising but she's past caring.

Dr Archer stiffens and her mouth thins. "Miss Ranjit. I understand you're upset and emotional over the condition of your pet, but we do have a dedicated complaints department and I would request that you email or telephone them instead of shouting at me about it. If you continue I will have to ask you to wait outside the building."

"Fine," snaps Anita. "Is there anything else?"

"Not for now. I'll send a prescription of antibiotics for you to pick up at the front desk, and once the surgery's finished you can leave with Lea as soon as you're ready."

"Painkillers?"

"We don't prescribe them here, sorry." She doesn't look remotely apologetic. "You can buy over-the-counter medicine at the front desk, if you really want something."

"Fine."

"Goodbye then."

"Yes. Goodbye."

Dr Archer leaves the room. Anita paces, practicing her breathing exercises. She hasn't had so much trouble with her anger for a while, but... god. The way people treat pets is abhorrent. Animals are often treated better. At least they get pain relief.

She swipes at her eyes. Fuck. She needs to call paati but it's too much. She needs to calm down first.

Once she's somewhat calm, she pulls her phone out of her pocket and dials home, switching to Tamil.

"Hello?"

"Paati? It's Anita."

"Anita! What's wrong? How's Lea?"

"I'm okay. Just a bit angry. She's... okay. She has a burst appendix but they're doing surgery now. There's more but it's not life threatening, don't worry, I just... I can't tell you it. Lea doesn't even know yet, I was told when she wasn't in the room. It's her medical details and they just... told me. Without her consent. And I know pets can't consent but it's just... I don't... yeah."

"Is that why you're upset? You sound upset, chotu."

"I mean, there's a lot of things, but... yeah. But also they... the vet gave me the option of putting Lea down. Said it would be cheaper and possibly better. She tried to persuade me to kill Lea over appendicitis, paati! And they don't prescribe painkillers either. I just... how? How can people know they treat other people like this and just accept it?"

"They don't always know," says paati tightly. "Which doesn't make it right, I know. And some of the people who do are cruel."

"Like Lea and Theo's previous owners. And their handlers."

"Mm. When will you be home, do you think?"

"Well the surgery's a couple of hours, and then I have to collect a prescription and talk to Lea about something so... sometime early morning? Tell Theo Lea's going to be okay." Anita really hopes that's true mentally as well as physically. "Oh, and can you do me a favour and clean out my wardrobe? Lea was sick in it."

"I will. Take care of yourself, and don't go punching someone."

"I won't, paati. It's been years since I did that. See you later."

"Goodbye."

Indira cuts off, and Anita pulls up her email, sending a message to the pet lib doctor who was going to see Lea next week cancelling the appointment and requesting appendectomy-level painkillers. Hopefully he'll reply soon.

Then there's nothing to distract her anymore. She watches Lea for a bit, but it feels wrong, this operation should be private, and Lea's open, terrified eyes are too much to watch without being able to go to her.

It occurs to Anita then that if Lea's appendix had burst at almost any other point after her arrival at WRU she would be dead now. From what she can gather from Theo their previous owners were the type to get their pet put down rather than pay for medical care, and there's no way WRU would've operated so thoroughly on a refurb boxie without even a prospective owner.

She sinks to the floor and buries her head in her arms. Oh, gods, Lea could've died. Anita would never have met her, Theo and her would never have reunited, her warm presence and the books scattered around the place as she determinedly learns to read would be gone. And yes, they've had problems, and they certainly would've had to buy less replacement mugs without her, but she wouldn't trade Lea for anything.

She knows for certain that Lea would be dead if she wasn't with her. And Doctor Archer offered to kill her, tried to persuade Anita to let her die, as if that wouldn't break them all entirely. As if it's not a gross violation of human rights (human rights, because despite what most of society says Lea is a person).

As if Lea hasn't already had her rights violated by the hysterectomy. God. And she doesn't even know about it. How barbaric do you have to be to want to perform that operation on someone without their consent? How can anyone do that? It's not like she doesn't know about the history of what seems like the whole damn world, but still...

How's she supposed to explain it to Lea and stay calm? How's she supposed to tell her that she can't have children? Sure, she can childmind and babysit, but even there there's stigma against Romantics. And as a pet she can't adopt.

If Lea ever wants to have children... well, maybe Anita can adopt on her behalf, when she's older, but having a Romantic in the house wouldn't make approval easy. She can only hope Lea doesn't want kids. Maybe that'll make the near-impossibility of having kids easier to stomach.

Or maybe not.

God. They cut Lea open and extracted bits of her without her even knowing. It's sick. And– and if Anita hadn't bought her, if this had happened while she was at WRU, or with her previous owners, she wouldn't even be here now.

Anita almost never knew her.

And as that sinks in, freezing her at the thought, she just cries. Great, heaving sobs that she can't seem to stop. It's all just too much.

_

Lea's not entirely sure what's happening. She has the explanation from the vet and Mistress Anita, but as soon as they started restraining her she retreated into her mind. She knows what people do when pets have restraints on, especially when there's so many. And the muzzle... a muzzle usually means they don't want to hear her scream.

She yelps when something hits her hand, a burning shock. She pulls it away quickly – wait, she can pull away? She can yelp?

"Come on, on your feet, you stupid mutt, I don't have all day."

Maybe she retreated too far, if she missed orders. She stands and waits as the man puts her harness on, yanking her arms around harshly to do so.

"Right. Come on. It's time to go back to your owner."

He leads her out of the room at a fast pace that she stumbles at, unable to keep up. He tuts impatiently but slows.

Then, just before turning into a what looks like a waiting area, with windows into the operating theatre, he puts a hand on her back and smiles, turning suddenly gentle. Why is he... oh. He opens the door and Mistress Anita's there, eyes red-rimmed.

Was she watching? Did she see Lea misbehave again? What'll she do to her for that? Surely she'll find out now. Will she return her? Please, no, anything but that.

"Here's your pet's clothes." The man hands Lea's clothes and boots to Mistress Anita, along with the end of her leash. "You can pick up your medicines at the front desk."

"That's it?" asks Mistress Anita, sounding stuffy. "You're not going to monitor her or anything?"

The man shrugs. "I'm sure you can take care of her fine, unless you'd prefer she stayed here for a few days."

Lea's eyes widen. No, no she can't do that! Please, don't make her do that.

"No. Thank you. I'll take her home. Any aftercare instructions?"

"They'll be in with her antibiotics, but no heavy lifting for at least two weeks. She can go back to her normal activities in three weeks, less if you're not too strenuous with her use. If you catch my drift."

"I'll be doubling that, then," spits Mistress Anita. "Thank you."

"Make sure you leave as promptly as possible. If you're here over 15 minutes we'll start charging."

"Of course. You might have to charge then."

The man nods and walks out. When they're alone Mistress Anita turns to her, helping her sit down. "Do you want help changing into your clothes, sweetheart?"

Lea shivers and nods. She's feeling very weak right now.

"Okay. Come on, let's get you into something warmer." She helps Lea out of the thin, itchy hospital gown and into her nightdress, coat, scarf and boots, averting her eyes from Lea's naked body when the time comes. Mistress Anita is gentle with her, patient, as she helps her manoeuvre her arms into her harness.

"Is that better sweetheart?" Lea nods, snuggling into the padded coat. "How do you feel?"

"Warm, mistress." And then, knowing now that Mistress Anita would prefer honesty, she adds, "It's– it's weird. I can't– can't feel anything below the– below the waist."

"That's the anaesthetic, it'll wear off soon. What happened to your hand?"

Anita gulps. "I– I misbehaved, mistress."

"No, I mean what did they do to you?"

"Sorry. It was– was an electric shock. It's okay, it– it didn't harm me. I'll be– be fine."

"It's not okay, they hurt you. That's not okay."

"Discipline is a– a necessary and humane event ensuring– ensuring the– the continued obedience and– and wellbeing of a pet," whispers Lea, and Mistress Anita pulls her into a careful hug, slow enough that she could get away if she wanted to. She won't though, this is her owner, and besides, it's... it's kind of nice.

"What they taught you... that doesn't make your treatment here okay." Lea sniffs. "Are you in pain at all?"

"My– my hand feels like I have– have pins and– and needles, mistress, but I can't– can't feel anything below– below my waist."

"Okay. We're getting painkillers on the way out anyway. There's, um, something I need to talk to you about. Something the vet mentioned while you were in the operating theatre."

Lea looks at Mistress Anita, who pulls away slightly but keeps Lea's hands gently in hers, stopping her from sliding off the chair and onto her knees. It's wrong. These chairs are for people, not pets, especially when she's done nothing to earn such comfort.

"When you were first with WRU, they performed a hysterectomy on you. Do you know what that is?" Lea shakes her head, wary of Mistress Anita's tone. "It's an operation to remove your uterus. It stops you having children. It also stops your periods which is why you haven't been getting them, so at least we can cancel that appointment, but... you won't be able to have kids, Lea. Not by giving birth, anyway."

Oh. Lea feels... numb. It's so sudden. She didn't even know they'd done that – maybe she doesn't need to know, though, she's only a stupid pet, it's not worth telling her, but Mistress Anita thinks she should know or she wouldn't tell her. Part of her strange emphasis on it being Lea's body, she supposes, an emphasis she still doesn't understand. Lea doesn't know what to feel. She's never really thought about having kids before but now she can't, now there's no option whatsoever of her having them, she's at a loss. It feels like she's lost something, something else she no longer has a choice in.

For a moment she feels intense hatred towards WRU, and she gasps, slamming a door shut on the feeling. No. No, that's not right, she doesn't hate them. They made her perfect for Mistress Anita, they trained her, she would be nothing without them. She couldn't even survive on her own.

She's grateful towards WRU, she doesn't hate them.

Tears prick at Lea's eyes and she lifts her arm to wipe at them before Mistress Anita sees. She's a good little Romantic, she doesn't cry unless her owner wants her to, if she's better off not being able to have children then that's fine.

Fine.

It's not her decision, it never has been, and it shouldn't be.

But she still can't help more tears pooling in her eyes and spilling down her cheeks.

"Lea, sweetheart, do you want a hug?"

Lea nods despite knowing what she should do, and Mistress Anita pulls her into her arms. She shouldn't cry but she does, sobbing into her owner's warm embrace.

"It's okay to cry, sweetheart, it's okay. You're allowed to be hurt and upset, if you need my permission." Lea buries her head in Mistress Anita's shoulder, shaking, and Mistress Anita rubs her back soothingly. "If you want to look after children, we can try childminding or babysitting. I know there's stigma against Romantics but we can find something. Although I'm not sure that's what you're upset about, and I know it's not the same. I'm so sorry sweetheart."

"I– I– I don't know why– why I'm upset, mistress," Lea sobs. "I'm– I'm sorry, I'm sorry– sorry, I'm sorry, I–"

"Shh. You have nothing to apologise for. It's okay that you don't know why. You just let it out, yeah? Just let it all out."

Lea nods. She can do that. It might not be useful but she can do it.

Eventually she manages to swallow her sobs and Mistress Anita wipes away her tears. "Shall we go home?"

"Please."

"Okay. Let me collect your prescription and pay, and then we'll go. Shall I carry you? You look a bit worn out."

Lea nods shakily and Mistress Anita lifts her into her arms. They walk out to reception, where Mistress Anita sets her down. Lea gets on her knees automatically.

"I've come to collect a prescription, and pay for Lea's treatment."

"What's your name, ma'am?"

"Anita Ranjit."

There's a sound of typing. "I'll just fetch the medicine for you, ma'am." Lea hears her footsteps moving away from the desk and then rustling. She jolts – the gait, the voice, that's another pet. Mistress Anita crouches down in front of her.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes, mistress."

"Okay. Good. We'll be going home soon."

"Yes, mistress."

Anita places a gentle hand on her shoulder and straightens up. A few seconds later, the receptionist speaks again.

"Anything else, ma'am?"

"The strongest painkillers you have."

"Ibuprofen, ma'am." She pauses, and says hesitantly, "I, um, I was told to give you this number by– a visitor. If you seemed trustworthy and you want something stronger. Ma'am."

"Thanks. We can definitely get some from them?"

"Yes, ma'am. I did."

"Thank you. You're a good girl." And Lea knows she's talking to the receptionist, but her voice is so soft, she can pretend it's for her – Mistress Anita is soft with her, too, but this feels different somehow. Maybe she is greedy, like her handler said, wanting even more praise and gentleness that she doesn't deserve. "Here's my number, in case you ever need help."

"Thank you, ma'am."

"I'll take two boxes of ibuprofen while I'm here though."

"Yes, ma'am. Anything else?"

"No– wait, yes, actually. Do you have anything for burns? Particularly if it's not a cream."

Lea hears the pet scurry off, and return a minute later. "These plasters work well on electricity burns, ma'am."

"Thank you."

"Is that everything?"

"Yes. Yes, that's all."

There's a pause. "That will be £4265.66, ma'am. How will you be paying?"

"Card. Does anyone even carry that amount of cash around with them?"

"Yes, ma'am. But I was asking if you have a payment plan, begging your forgiveness for the correction."

"Oh. Right. No, I'll pay for it now. I can pay off the credit card later."

"Yes, ma'am." There's some beeping, and then the reception pet says, "Here's your receipt. Have a good day, ma'am."

"And you, I guess. As good as you can get anyway."

"Thank you, ma'am."

It's only on their way out, Lea in Mistress Anita's arms, that Lea notices the screens in the other pet's room, one showing the room she met Mistress Anita in earlier.

Lea drifts in Mistress Anita's arms for a bit. She's confused. She doesn't know what that number meant, but it sounded like a lot of money. What did Mistress Anita mean by "pay it back later"? That means other money, right? She won't have to pay by some... other means. She can't, that wouldn't be fair. Lea's a trained Romantic, a pet, and it's her fault Mistress Anita has paid all that money, she should do it.

She should pay Mistress Anita back anyway. Thank her.

Lea jumps as she feels herself moving. She's in a car, head on Mistress Anita's lap while Mistress Anita herself reads a piece of paper.

When did that happen?

Her mouth is dry and she gulps. "Mistress– Mistress Anita?"

Mistress Anita moves her paper away and looks at Lea. "You're back! What is it, sweetheart?"

"Thank– thank you for getting me medical– medical care, mistress. Please allow me to– to thank you properly and pay you– you back for– for helping me so well." She's weak but she bats her eyes invitingly. Come on, please, let her thank Mistress Anita.

But she just looks sad.

"No, Lea. You don't have to do that. I don't need payment for taking care of you. I've told you, it's your body, I'm not going to take advantage of it. I didn't want you in pain or dead, that's why I did it. You alive is payment enough."

"Then what– what use am I, if– if you won't ever use me?" Lea bursts out, inhibitions disappearing after the day she's had, before she claps a hand to her mouth. No, she didn't mean to speak, no no no, and she didn't even address Mistress Anita properly, and now Mistress Anita will probably use her painfully just to prove a point. She's Mistress Anita's property, she shouldn't be saying things like that.

"Hey. Calm down, I'm not going to hurt you. You know, when we were in the hospital, the vet asked if I wanted you put down. I objected. Vehemently. I think she hates me now. I'd miss you terribly if you weren't here, Lea. Theo and Indira would too of course, but... our flat just wouldn't be the same without you. It wouldn't be our home, not without your books and scarves and your habit of watching horror films from behind Theo. I'm not sure I could stand the place without your presence. Theo certainly couldn't. As a pet, your primary aim is to make us happy, right? Lea, your companionship is more than enough to do that. You don't have to be used for anything else to justify your place with us. Okay, sweetheart?"

Lea nods, squeezing her eyes shut as tears trickle down her cheeks. Mistress Anita chose her. She could've gotten rid of her, no-one would've blamed her, she's a bit of a useless pet, but she didn't. She chose to keep her, despite all the alternatives.

Mistress Anita wants her.

"Oh, sweetheart. It's okay. You're okay."

"Thank– thank you, mistress," she croaks.

Mistress Anita strokes her shoulder. "It's not a problem." She pauses. "Are you going to tell Theo about the sterilisation? The hysterectomy."

Lea thinks for a minute, then nods. Theo's so nice to her, and he'll worry otherwise. She doesn't want to hide things, doesn't want to hurt him again.

"Okay. I think that's good, Theo will appreciate it. Do you mind if Indira knows? I need to contact some people about medical things and I'll need her help."

_

"No, ma'am." And she finds that she really, truly doesn't.

By the time the key turns in the lock, Theo's ready. Him and Miss Indira have cleaned Mistress' wardrobe and found some clean clothes for Lea to change into (her favourite unicorn-patterned nightdress and fluffy dressing gown) along with her favourite stuffed toy spider, Hugo II. Dal is simmering in a pot on the hob if she's hungry, the tea's out, and– and now there's nothing else useful to do. Theo's left staring at the front room door, willing it to open, dreading the state Lea could be in – Miss Indira reported from Mistress that she was going to be okay, but he can't quite believe it. Not unless he actually sees her with his own eyes. No pet comes back from the vet unscathed. That's what his old master said.

When Miss Indira signs to him that Mistress and Lea are out there, calling, Theo stiffens, preparing for the worst. She could have any number of injuries that would make her okay in most owners' books.

Or... or she could be not too bad, leaning heavily on Mistress, eyes red-rimmed and drooping, looking upset and weak with an inflamed palm but not too bad. She smiles weakly at the site of Theo, and he wants to run to her but he holds himself back, vibrating, he hasn't been given permission.

Miss Indira draws his attention and jerks her head towards Mistress and Lea, and Theo stands, crossing the room towards her and pulling her into a gentle hug (the vet probably hurt her, he doesn't want to make things worse). She hugs him back, one hand stroking his hair, head resting on his shoulder. He feels his pyjama top dampen. She's upset but– but she's home, and that's what matters. He feels his heartrate start to calm for the first time since Lea left.

Eventually Lea pulls away and takes his hand, crossing to sit under the reading lamp, where her face is lit up well. She opens her mouth, then closes it, looking away.

Theo squeezes her hand.

"I'm– I'm okay, Theo, but... when– when we were training together, years– years ago, they did an operation to– to stop me having children. I can't– can't ever have– have children."

Theo growls and hugs her gently. How dare they take yet another thing from her? Was her memory not enough?

"We made dal, if you want some. And there's clean clothes too." It's all he can offer in terms of comfort, he has no idea what to say. Lea nods.

"Clean clothes– clothes first?"

Theo nods, and with a look at Miss Indira for permission he walks with Lea slowly into her room.

She brightens slightly when she sees Hugo II sitting next to the nightdress. Her other spider and bug plushies are in a nest up by her pillow, but Theo picked this one out for her.

"Thank you."

He smiles and helps her change, since she's still a bit too weak and wobbly to do it by herself. She seems better in clean clothes, and he takes her hand and squeezes it as they head out to the kitchen.

There's four steaming bowls of dal and mugs of tea on the table, where Mistress and Miss Indira are hovering.

Mistress smiles at them both. "Take a bowl each. You can eat where you like."

Lea steps forward and picks one up, settling on the floor to eat it, and Theo follows. He doesn't want her to feel alone.

_

Lea leans tiredly on Theo as she eats her dal. It's warm and filling and it smells of home, and it's just what she needs after the vet. As she takes a sip of tea she realises Theo's pyjama top is stained with tears but he doesn't seem to mind, nudging her shoulder companionably and eating his food with quick, nervous bites, keeping his eyes on their owners constantly as he does so.

Once they're all finished eating, Mistress Anita stands. "Lea, do you want to try putting a plaster on your hand now?"

Lea nods. "Yes, mistress." She stands and washes her hands carefully at the sink, before Mistress Anita hands her the packet of plasters. She sinks down to the floor again, struggling to open the packet. Theo looks like he's aching to help but she needs to do this alone. She has to do something for herself, prove that she's not entirely useless.

The plaster itself is cool and soothing against the itch of the burn. The outside feels weird but she can cope with that. It's not as bad as a fabric plaster.

"Does it feel okay, sweetheart?"

"Yes, mistress."

"That's good. You're a good girl, Lea, and very brave. And you look exhausted. Theo, too. It's been a long night. Do you want to get some sleep?"

She doesn't want to, she doesn't want the nightmares that are sure to come, but she needs to. Her eyes are barely staying open.

Suddenly she feels a jolt of pain in her stomach and doubles over, gasping. The usual pain in her head she gets around Theo has come back too. She whimpers.

"The anaesthetic must've worn off. Theo, pass me that box. Cheers. Lea, take these for me, sweetheart." Lea reaches out blindly and takes the proffered pills, swallowing them. "That's it. Easy, sweetheart, they'll take a few minutes to work. Hopefully we'll have something stronger for you soon."

Lea nods, waiting. The pain soon ebbs slightly, but it's still there. Is there something wrong again?

"There's nothing wrong, sweetheart. Surgery hurts, that's all. The vet just wouldn't prescribe any strong painkillers, like they would for people who aren't pets. You don't need to go in again."

Oh. Did she speak out loud?

"Come on. Let's get you to bed. Shall I carry you again?"

Lea nods and Mistress Anita picks her up, a small hand finding its way back into hers – Theo's, it must be. She squeezes it.

Mistress Anita lays her down on her bed, head on the squishy pillow, and she looks up to see Theo hovering uncertainly. She signs a sloppy "Stay," that luckily he understands, climbing in and curling against her side, closing his eyes.

Mistress Anita picks up a book. "Do you want me to distract you while you fall asleep?"

Lea nods, and she sits down, placing a hand on Lea's arm for a moment. Theo seems to be falling asleep already, breaths evening out.

"Okay. Once upon a time, there was a small village called Rembewa."

Lea knows this story and she likes it, but she just can't keep her eyes open, and soon, despite the pain and the gaping pit of worry inside her, she drifts off.

_

When Anita's sure that both Theo and Lea are asleep, she sets down the book and creeps out of the room, shutting the door behind her. Her paati's waiting in the living room and Anita joins her, sipping at the offered cup of tea.

"Thanks."

"How are they?"

"Sleeping. They'll be okay, it was just... traumatic. Especially for Lea."

"You don't look too good either," says Indira, concerned.

Anita shrugs helplessly. "It's a lot of responsibility and I didn't realise just how much. It's up to me whether they live or die. I could've had Lea killed today and the vet probably would've praised me for the decision. No-one should have that power over another person. And yet."

"Half of the things you've told me they did at the hospital were illegal."

"I know. Who's going to object, though? Who's going to risk being labelled a member of pet lib, make themself a target if their identity's discovered and not just from WRU?"

Indira looks at her thoughtfully over her tea. "You are."

"I'm– I'm not." Anita wipes her eyes, schooling her expression with difficulty. "What makes you think that?"

"You've lived with me since you were three, chotu. Don't you remember that fundraiser you did to help 'people pets' when you were ten?"

Anita chokes out something that's a strange cross between a laugh and a sob. "Of course I do. You pretended not to understand anything at all when people tried to complain, even though you definitely got the gist. You remember it?"

"Your tatta and I were very proud of you. And you have the same fire in your expression as you did then."

"Okay, I am planning to help more. I just– I can't just leave it, paati. It's horrible, the way Lea was treated, I can't just let it go on for her and others like her. It's not right. Do you, um, think Marjorie will be awake?"

"Marjorie can wait a few minutes, chotu, come here."

Anita crumples, then, folding herself into her paati's arms.

"It's so much. It's just all... so much. I– oh, god, I– it's–"

"Let it go. You held everything together for Lea, but she's asleep now, you can let go. Give yourself a break."

And Anita does just that. She falls apart. It's been a long, hard day, and she hasn't been able to process any of it. She curls up in her paati's arms, clutching one tightly, and cries, the tangled knot of emotions pouring out of her.

When she manages to stop and sits up, she's exhausted. She scrubs her face with one hand.

"I think... I'm going to call Marjorie now. And then check on the instructions for Lea's antibiotics, and look up the recovery for an appendectomy because I bet those instructions are seriously damaging. And maybe we'll have a reply from that doctor about painkillers soon too." She glanced out the window at the sun finally peeking up fully over the rooftops. "Will Marjorie be awake, do you think?"

"Yes, she gets up early, and she always takes pet lib related calls. Breathe. One thing at a time."

Anita nods. "One thing at a time. I know." She breathes deeply and picks up her phone.

Marjorie's number rings once, twice, three times before someone picks up.

"Hello?"

"Marjorie? It's Anita."

"Anita? Are you okay? It's very early."

"Yes, I'm fine. It's just, you said to give you a call if I ever wanted to become more involved with the pet lib movement. Well, this is the call. What can I do to help?"

[thankyoumskobayashi]

the 2.0 in battle fight 2.0, explaiined. blade spoilers, kabuto spoilers, godspeed love spoilers/kabuto movie spoilers, den-o spoilers, and ooo spoilers (just in case) below please be warned

listen. i love blade, don't get me wrong. i've watched the 12 minute blade meme video more times than i care to count. that said, the battle fight in blade was really sloppily executed. who are the card monsters and why are they killing people? what are the risks and rewards of fighting the card monsters as a kamen rider? both of these questions don't get answered early on and the answers to these as they're revealed genuinely feel pulled out of the screenwriter's ass. (i'm not salty about the remote not working after all 4 suits have been sealed)

battle fight, was, at its core, a battle royale between standard suit deck of monsters. the winner got their wish granted by the shitty fuckin' mobius rock (fuck the mobius rock!) but that was only explained to us more than halfway through the show. the 2.0 appended to it implies an upgrade in every way. sure, we see that it's a dangerous, deadly battle royale from episode 1, where the winner gets a wish granted, but instead of becoming disinterested due to knowing all that already, mr takahashi builds the suspense by having us follow tanuki guy as he learns about the battle royale from scratch.

blade began knowing a bit about the monsters and why it was important to fight them, but i think the world ending shit was only thrown in during the early 40s episodes. however, we don't see a lot of memory-wiping stuff in blade unless it's like.... i guess hirose's dead dad's nice evil clone or something???? snyways, instead of relying on blade's vague outlines, geats does a nice job of blending some intriguing conceits and concepts from a few other kamen rider seasons.

first, the fact that contestants can get to the battle royale from anywhere in the city using their driver. this is a conceit that was used a lot in den-o, to both comedic and somber effects. geats takes this and amplifies this, with the phone calls to loved ones from the empty echoey hallway outside the battle royale lounge. (i bet that hall echoes wih the ghosts of dead riders past but we'll leave that for the fanfics, shall we?) it takes the contrast between isolation (the contestants aren't allowed to tell non-contestants about the battle royale) and connection (the phone calls as attempts to connect with the outside world) builds tension quite deliciously.

second, the fact that the focus character is a "weak, average guy" was something airlifted directly from shoji yonemura's kamen rider kabuto. the parallels between kitsune and tanuki, to tendou souji and kagami arata are almost palpable. there's even a grandma quote copypasted into the dialogue of episode 2. from the perspective of the "weak, average guy" we as an audience have the advantage of seeing the titular protagonist's brusque and rude side as well as getting to see his cool and kind side. the fact that the tanuki guy chose to sacrifice to let kitsune get the victory for the sake of humanity is parallel to a certain movie (hello godspeed love). the fact that we get to see the kitsune secretly stick up for tanuki guy to purple asshole in the card fight mission during round/wave 2 is parallel to the tendou souji who joined zect just to secretly help kagami stalk that doctor guy who got impersonated by a bunch of worms. howevery, geats makes this better by possibly swapping out the supporting cast each new wave/world. i can't wait to see who the next supporting cast will be!

third, straight from my heart and soul, the power behind the battle royale contestants' strengths to fight is desire. if you've seen kamen rider ooo you know the drill. however, instead of leaving the wish up to chance if they win, like in the blade's battle fight, geats forces the contestants to confront their desires beforehand. kinda like the imagin from den-o and the greeed from ooo, the characters must all make a wish, before confronting their own mortality and gambling their lives towards something they've always wanted. now, i have no doubt hino eiji would be a monster in this colisseum, but let's save that for the fanfiction as well. during the ensuing fights and power struggles, the contestants are once again reminded of their reasons for fighting, and that guides their decisions into the battle royale we see today. it's also lightly implied that the battle royale is powered by the strengths of the contestants' desires, but let's save that conversation for once again when i have more evidence to back it up.

anyways, battle fight two point oh is better in almost every way than blade's battle fights (which there were also two of, but i use point oh to disambiguate between blade's and geats's). i lobe blade but it was like watching a train wreck i just can't look away. geats is something else. i haven't yet figured out what metaphor defines it yet. but i'm thinking about it.

[twilightknight17]

P5T Story Finale - Part 1

I'm just starting off with the assumption that this will have to be 2 parts, to fit all the pictures I took. XD

So, where we left off, I was doing pretty good.

We'd beaten Metal Marie, and Lavenza had some challenges for us to unlock our final skills. I was kind of hyped, because honestly, it seemed like a good opportunity to get everyone's ultimate personas back. And then Erina could just have whatever.

It was not second awakenings, despite the way they talked about it sounding very second-awakening-ish. Instead, we get a maximum power skill for each Thief's specific element. And, sorry everyone, but Joker's is the coolest.

I also think that it's worth mentioning that when you die, Lavenza quotes Paradise Lost at you.

She also quotes it at the very start of the game, so she's very well-read. Probably Margaret and Theodore's influence; I can't see Elizabeth sitting through a book like that. XDDD

Anyway, Lavenza's challenges were some very elaborate puzzle levels and endurance missions with gimmicks, but nothing that was completely unreasonable. The one where you had to kill everything in one turn by using one-mores and platforms to get Joker to the top of the level to trigger the widest-possible AOA range was awesome. I felt smart when I finished them, which was the important part.

And my reward, other than skills, was......

You have to be level 96 to fuse Satanael, tho, so like... holy fuck, Atlus. Booooooo. And he's got like seven components, which I'm pretty sure he did in P5, but you couldn't fuse him til NG+, so you at least would have had most of them by then. This is just taunting me. Plus, it's not nearly as easy to get money in this. You have to replay missions, and later missions give more money but also take longer, so it seems like it'll be a little tedious to complete the compendium.

ANYWAY.

Metal Yoshiki and Metal Shadow Toshiro went down next, and I'm pretty sure it confirmed that it wasn't actually Toshiro's shadow, just a piece of Salmael masquerading as it. I wasn't... super impressed with these fights? They were basically the same as the first go round, just with more health, more damage, and slightly different arenas. Metal Shadow Toshiro skipped his first round and went right to Giant Scary Eri, so... Yeah. They were fine, I guess.

I did notice something a little funny, though. The final Kingdom is "The Path to God" in the replay menu, and there are six missions (not counting the bosses), each with a letter appended to them.

All six in order spells "A S Y L U M".

If Salmael rules this Kingdom, is he the crazy one, then? :P

So, we are off to the final boss. My goblin kids are ready to beat the shit out of their third god in like... four months? Wow.

Slap him so hard he drops his head, Futaba!

I finally realized what this thing's appearance reminds me of. Some weird fusion of Yald, and the Queen from Deltarune.

He has the SMUGGEST VOICE of any god so far and it just makes me want to hit him harder. Maybe I should have done some grinding for Satanael after all.

He just wants to ~save humanity~, and I'd just like to mention how much I love my wife.

Salmael is totally cool with our disagreement, obviously.

Us? All by ourselves? You think so highly of us~

Salmael says that his actions are the consensus of humanity, so we should just give in. The game gives you an option here between "Our wills are firm" and "Send us back to the real world." Which, if you remember, he offered to send us all home without our powers or memories, so... put a pin in that. We'll be back. In THIS timeline, we tell God to fuck off, as is our wont.

I feel justified in writing Ryuji calling Yaldabaoth "Yald" in an actual fic, now. XD

Seriously, Atlus, one line of dialogue. "We've already beat up a 'god' who thought he knew what was best for us." Call Maruki on his BS.

Anyway, as always, these gods who want peace and happiness and order are willing to murder us. Ooohhhh nooo, I don't waaaaant to use force, you just leave me no chooooooiiiiiice~ Blarg. XD

The battlefield is wild, though. I'm always down for a good giant clock.

The five platforms rotate either forward or back based on a skill that warns you in advance. Platforms that go past the end positions sink into the green, and more arise on the other side to replace them.

So, we wallop the shit out of god while avoiding being tossed into a green abyss. I only lost Toshiro during this stage of the fight, so I still had my three primary fighters and three baton passes.

Salmael, upon being knocked down in round 1, throws a temper tantrum, and... well, I guess calling it "going one-winged-angel" isn't appropriate here. He's still got all his wings, just gets more raggedy and dirty.

But the important part is that he loses the mask and his face is FUCKED UP

He gets two new attacks for this round. The first one is a very Dark Hour-esque clock which leaves numbers on some of the platforms. That's how many people need to be standing on that particular platform to avoid triggering an attack that paralyzes you on your next turn.

Overall, challenging! Especially because the numbers don't rotate with the platforms, so if he does both skills at the same time, you've gotta make sure you're not gonna rotate away from the number you need. (Learned that the hard way.)

The second one is some kind of giant antenna that spawns in the middle of the arena, and you have like... three turns to AOA it before he does some horrible targeted missile barrage. I had the worst time with that. That's how I lost all three of my remaining squad in one turn, because I couldn't get the downed enemy to line up right to allow the AOA.

So we're down Ann, Morgana, and Akira. Welcome to the fight, Haru, Yusuke, and Ryuji!

Salmael's second form has about twice as much health as his first form, which can be mitigated by AOA-ing the antenna, because Futaba can then turn the missiles on him. I only managed that once. X'D But the game REALLY smacked me when it did the clock attack and the arena rotation on the same turn, and the clock was four platforms, each with a 1 on it. I didn't have Toshiro anymore. I couldn't put one person on each platform. So everyone got paralyzed, and the rotation was poised to dump both Haru and Yusuke into the abyss with no way to move them.

It was going to be up to Ryuji to win this fight alone.

...or, it would have been, but as I watched Yusuke sink into the green depths, I realized that... the platform just popped back up on the other side. Yusuke was fine. Didn't even do any damage. X'D I spent the whole fight thinking that if I got sucked down with a platform, that person would just die. But no.

In the end, Haru dealt the final blow, and Salmael took that really well. He just straight up starts taking a swing at us and throwing gears. So I guess we DID slap him so hard he dropped his head!

My baby boy gets to say more than one line of dialogue in this game!

This is the smile of a savior, everyone.

Honestly this last AOA cutscene is wild. I like it better than Scramble's, I think? I need to watch it again, but it's really well done. Halfway through, Erina gets squashed by a whole ton of gears and ends up... I'm assuming drifting in the Sea of Souls, and Toshiro calls her back so she can take her Ernesto form and blast the hell out of Salmael. And then she turns back into Erina and she and Akira slam a flag through Salmael's face. :3

Yeah, yeah. Same as every other monster.

Salmael takes defeat well, of course. By exploding.

And Toshiro catches a brief glimpse of the overwhelming existential dread that knowing about meta-space can cause: namely that humanity is constantly accidentally almost destroying itself.

I like to think that he gets a phone call from the Shadow Ops at some point. XDDDD

Anyway, with Salmael dead, his primary Kingdom is collapsing, so it's time to get the hell out of here. And with this, I have hit the image limit, so... Off we go. Part 2 is next!

[thinkatoryprocess]

Just wondering if you managed to get any AA AU written?? 🤞🏼

Sadly, no. I've actually been pretty sick since Tuesday. It's not COVID, or so the at-home test told me. I had to work through it, collapsed for most of today, and I suspect tomorrow will be more of the same.

There are a few possibilities for what I'm dealing with considering that it won't go away (appendicitis, stomach ulcer, something with my pancreas, or what's actually the optimal answer, e.coli) and I'm heading to a doctor tomorrow or Monday. I opened my laptop to answer my asks and see if I could get any sensible words out of my fingertips, so we'll see how it goes, but nothing will be posted soon, at least.

You might think I should rest, but at this point I really do need something to do.

[hauntedgummyworm]

Hello everyone it's me again :}

About the sleep apnea thing - yes snoring is probably a symptom of sleep apnea, I know some things about it because my mother has it.

Usually you can't breathe, so you end up snoring, if one is a natural snorer then he doesn't have to worry, but if you snore suddenly and randomly in your sleep you probably have sleep apnea.

My mother has told me several times how she wakes up because of her own snoring, it wakes me up too sometimes 😭

Also you should probably go see someone as fast as possible, don't wait for too long :{

-Rose anon or smth-

-i fear some headmate (still questioning) might claim the name Rose if I keep signing as that 😭

-I FEAR THEY ALREADY DID-

We haven't felt unable to breathe with the snoring, but maybe you can't actually feel it due to being asleep :C We do know how struggling to breathe feels, at least, because we're asthmatic 😭

We're gonna give it a month or so and then reach out to our doctor. We don't wanna book an appointment only for it to disappear and we'll be embarrassing ourselves. We generally don't like going to the doctor out of fear of embarrassing ourselves, and we've ended up actually embarrassing ourselves a few times. It was a normal spot, not cancer. It was a swollen gland, not cancer. It was fucking constipation, not appendicitis 😭

Also CONGRATS ON NAME it can be so hard to find a good name 😭 We've had to dive into the wonderful word of Behind The Name so many times to try to find a good one for people.

I HOPE YOU COME OFF ANON ONE DAY 😤

[2dkapsddr]

April 15th & 16th, 2024 - Arcaea, ProSeka

...and Next Time has finally arrived!! thank you all for waiting!! so in my last post, i ended it by saying that I was blocked from uploading my remaining Arcaea scores due to hitting the 30-image limit with all those BPL sightreads. well, now's my chance to show them all off joined together in one big post!! initially it was just me playing Libertas BYD-10 after complaining about how bad of a chart it was, but then i got a few insanely cool scores including a MAX-9 PM on Jump FTR-9... and then after several tries before heading to sleep, a 4-far full recall on Lightning Screw??? could i actually get this as my first 10 PM??? we'll see...

moving on to the next day (Tuesday, April 16th), it turns out my question would be answered later that very day! i made a poll before going to bed asking which chart i should claim as my first 10 PM (i had 4 really good contenders but couldn't decide), and Ether Strike won by a landslide as someone suggested it could be a tribute to Akira Complex. so before the poll even ended, I gave it a few shots after class and amazingly...

IT HAPPENED!!! SO SOON AND SO GRACIOUSLY!!! ETHER STRIKE [FTR-10] PURE MEMORY MAX-60 ON THUMBS!!!! FIRST 10 PM EVER!!!!!!!!!

also: not quite an upscore, but i got the funniest possible clear on #1f1e33 with tempest gauge. yeesh... but i'd really like to get that EX+ soon if i can stay this consistent at it.

to conclude: a few really cool proseka scores that afternoon while i avoided doing my homework, including an ALL PERFECT ON MORE JUMP MORE APPEND LV.29!!!! FINALLY!!!! IMPOSSIBLE CHART!!!! oyeah and an FC on Joou too ig (and also placing into Diamond Class 1 for this ranked season!!!)

[drdigantpathak]

A Comprehensive Guide to Different Types of Laparoscopy Surgeries

Laparoscopy surgery, also known as minimally invasive surgery, has revolutionized the field of medicine by offering less invasive alternatives to traditional open surgeries. This technique involves using a laparoscope – a thin, flexible tube with a camera and light source – to perform procedures through small incisions. The benefits of laparoscopy include reduced pain, quicker recovery times, and minimal scarring. In this blog post, we'll delve into various types of laparoscopy surgeries and their applications.

1. Diagnostic Laparoscopy:

Purpose: Used to identify the cause of unexplained abdominal pain, pelvic pain, or infertility.

Procedure: A laparoscope is inserted through a small incision to examine the abdominal organs, allowing for a visual inspection of the pelvic and abdominal cavities.

2. Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy:

Purpose: Removal of the gallbladder commonly performed for gallstones or gallbladder inflammation.

Procedure: The gallbladder surgeon in Jabalpur makes small incisions, inserts the laparoscope, and uses specialized instruments to remove the gallbladder.

3. Laparoscopic Appendectomy:

Purpose: Treatment for appendicitis, an inflammation of the appendix.

Procedure: The infected appendix is removed through small incisions, reducing the risk of infection and speeding up recovery.

4. Laparoscopic Hysterectomy:

Purpose: Removal of the uterus, often recommended for conditions such as fibroids or endometriosis.

Procedure: The laparoscopic surgeon in Jabalpur uses the laparoscope to guide the removal of the uterus through small incisions, resulting in less pain and a shorter hospital stay compared to traditional hysterectomy.

5. Laparoscopic Nissen Fundoplication:

Purpose: Treatment for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD surgery in Jabalpur) by reinforcing the lower esophageal sphincter.

Procedure: The surgeon wraps the top of the stomach around the lower esophagus to prevent acid reflux, performed through small incisions.

6. Laparoscopic Hernia Repair:

Purpose: Repair of hernias, which occur when an organ or tissue protrudes through a weak spot in the abdominal wall.

Procedure: The hernia is repaired using a mesh through small incisions, minimizing pain and recovery time.

7. Laparoscopic Colorectal Surgery:

Purpose: Treatment for conditions affecting the colon or rectum, such as colorectal cancer or diverticulitis.

Procedure: The laparoscope is used to guide the removal or repair of affected portions of the colon or rectum through small incisions.

Laparoscopic surgery in Jabalpur has transformed the landscape of surgical interventions, providing patients with a less invasive and more comfortable alternative to traditional open procedures. The various types of laparoscopy surgeries cater to a wide range of medical conditions, from diagnostic explorations to complex organ removals. As technology continues to advance, the field of laparoscopy will likely see further refinements and expansions, offering even more benefits to patients in the years to come. If you're facing a surgical procedure, consulting with the best laparoscopic surgeon in Jabalpur about the possibility of laparoscopy could lead to a faster recovery and improved postoperative experience.

[bearsuitrecords]

New review of the Eamon The Destroyer album, "We'll Be Piranhas" from DMME.net:

Still nothing like anything: a second bout of beautiful noise deepens the mystery in the most predatory ways.

Following this performer is like walking blindfolded on a tightrope because the listener can never be sure whether they’ll reach the other side of the aural abyss he’s offering or fall into whatever trap he’s set. So while the trip the Scottish enigma took his flock on with "A Small Blue Car" in 2021 felt beguilingly mournful, his sophomore adventure should seem disturbingly entertaining, if no less introspective, as promised by “Humanity Is Coming” the first time around. Possibly inspired by the detour into remixes, “We’ll Be Piranhas” has much more assertiveness about it, yet Eamon’s romanticism upped the ante too, in terms of both sonic spectrum and melodic meander, although The Destroyer’s avant-garde leanings are still tangible here. And that’s exactly where the album’s thrills reside.

Yes, imagining strings being tuned up and electronic lines being bent down may help eager ears locate a proper wave to ride into “The Choirmaster” whose solemn orchestral soundscape and soft instrumental purr provide the artist with space to spread his vocal wings and fly towards alluring guitar riffs and effervescent swirl of synthesizers before alighting back on solid surface to contrast acoustic strum of the angry “Rope” and see it tighten for a shoegaze dance and suicidal shimmer. But then, there’s hope throbbing in the veins of “Sonny Said” which bulge with folk groove that’s woven into cosmic raga and exquisite psychedelia – only “Underscoring The Blues” adds gloom to this reflective, faux-symphonic yet exhilarating, space, so the platter’s pseudo-patinated title track isn’t intimidating despite the sinister fairground organ bolstering voice and licks. Unsurprisingly, the chamber atmosphere, warm choruses and flamenco lace of “A Pewter Wolf” exude sympathy for familiar predators, and the thick textures of “A Call Coming” beckon them home until “My Stars” shapes a tranquil finale out of muscular twang and half-spoken lyrics – and appends a hidden hypnotic coda to the record’s agenda. https://dmme.net/eamon-the-destroyer-well-be-piranhas/?fbclid=IwAR3a-wfAW-AqT7BFgbPc_Qd870xVYfuO8SVsyXTXEmenLM4TXvJxufmFRjY

[f1]

Singapore Grand Prix: Alex Albon return 'audacious' after medical emergency says George Russell

Williams driver Albon (left) and Mercedes' Russell (right) are good friends off the track Alex Albon's return in Singapore three weeks after a medical emergency is "audacious", says George Russell. "It's definitely audacious to come back for the toughest race of the season having only just recovered," said Mercedes' Russell. "But it just goes to show the sort of grit and determination he has." Albon said on Thursday he was returning earlier than he initially thought possible, and that it would not be until after practice on Friday at Marina Bay that he would know for sure whether he can race this weekend. "It's quite a tricky one because you are basically waiting for your lungs to recover and at the same time your body cannot move as well as it normally can," said the 26-year-old. "You can't just jump back into normal training. You have to slowly build into it. "It was kind of starting Monday last week when we really started to push it and see what we can do. I treated it like a nine-to-five job, training and recovery. Recovery is really important. "So basically throwing everything at it, and day by day it was getting better and better and we got to a point where the recovery was going really well. "I don't think we truthfully had in mind Singapore on the cards but just with the speed of the recovery it was definitely a possible thing. "We sat long and hard to think about it, shall we do it or not, and I feel that I am ready. We will have to wait until tomorrow to see where it's at because driving around here is a bit of a different beast." Russell said he had been concerned for Albon's welfare over the Italian Grand Prix weekend, after becoming aware of the problems his friend was having. Albon had surgery for appendicitis on the Saturday of the Monza race and was sedated and put on a respirator after stopping breathing following the operation. He was taken off it in time to watch the race the following day. "I was in contact with his family on Saturday night," Russell said, "because it was looking very scary at one point. "But it's pretty impressive to see how he recovered so quickly. The human body is a scary thing. It just goes to show one minute everything is fine and the next minute everything can change almost totally out of your control. It will be interesting to see how he gets on this weekend." Singapore is the most demanding event of the season for drivers because it is the longest race at nearly two hours, on a long, bumpy track, in a tropical environment with high humidity. Albon said: "In terms of the surgery side, I am not worried about that at all. I know that's fully recovered. It's more the after effects of being in intensive care and the toll it has on your body. But I wouldn't be here if I didn't feel ready to race. "We'll see how it goes, we're realistic, and know we're coming to the most difficult race of the year so we do have to be mindful of that. But I feel good. I have been karting and it's felt OK." Russell described the difficulties for the drivers of racing in Singapore. "It doesn't matter how much training you do, you will never be able to replicate what you go through on track," he said. "I have been training with at least three layers of clothes on every single gym session, every time I go out on the bike. "It's pretty uncomfortable. It's quite impressive how difficult the body handles heat, even in the sauna for half an hour, even though you're not moving, my heart rate was well over 150-160. That's what we will be experiencing in the car. And then there is the physical element and cognitive side of things." via BBC Sport - Formula 1 http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/

[artsyxloner]

Not just a Monster

Warning: violence, blood,

16: life or death

We were both shaking, even though if Eun-Yoo did open up the door for Ji-Su to use the restroom she still would have passed out. " come on help me lift her!" I pleaded to grab her one side while she got the other.

We both counted to three lifting her. Pulling her arms around our neck making our way out of the girl's restroom. I called for help,  not knowing if anyone knew what to do.

Seeing Eun-Hyuk and Jae-Heon they ran over to us. Jake-Heon took Ji-Soo first. " what happened?" Run-Hyuk questioned. I was about to answers until Eun-Yoo did. " she collapsed in the restroom."

There were tear stains on The girl's face, " she been acting like her side has been hurting her for a few days now haven't you all noticed?"

" we've asked but she just denied it." I bit my lip, " what are we going to do?" Eun-Hyuk shook his head " take her to a couch, she needs to lay down so we can figure out the problem."

And we did just that, laying her on the couch moving some of the pillows and blankets off them. She groaned while we were doing this. " how much does it hurt?" We have all gathered in behind.

" I'm fine." Ji-Soo Urged but Eun-Hyuk put his hand on her side and pressed down. She cried out in pain, " I'm going to lift my hand now." After he did she cried out more. " I think it's appendicitis?"

Ji-Soo repeated after him,

" Appendicitis?" She asked not knowing what he was talking about. " Your appendix." Everyone started whispering, " appendix, how does he know that?"

" you should know that we were poor but he still went to med school." Eun-Hyuk explained, " so what do we do?" Su-Yeong wonder, " she'll be okay." Mrs. Cha rubbed the little girl's head.

" the golden hour is running out on both sides." Hye-In implied I frowned, staring at her. I don't know if she was going to be alright? What if we ran out of time on the golden hour?

Soon Eun-Hyun, Jae-Heon, me, and Eun-Yoo were talking amongst ourselves while everyone was in the day-Care-Center.

" if her appendix burst it'll become Serious. In her peritoneum, she could get an infection and Bacteria can spread out through her entire body."

I leaned back on the hall, thinking this over, it wasn't good. " she'll need surgery?" Jae-Heon pronounced, " there's nothing we can do here," I heard Eun-Yoo grumble. " and I'm not sure if I know how?"

Well knowing some medical stuff is better than not knowing at all. " so you're saying you're not going to do anything about it!." Eun-Yoo got up fussing at her brother.

" We can't just let her suffer?" I butted in but I understood, that he was put in a difficult situation. Someone's life was in his hands with just a little experience. " do whatever you can do because I need to get even with her!" Eun-Yoo demanded.

I bit the inside of my lip my nerves her racking up as we got done talking about what was going to happen. Now here comes the hard part. " so there's a chance I might die?" Ji-Soo admitted.

Eun-Hyuk nodded, " yes." I felt bad for her and I don't know how she was taking the news. Probably not well. " there's a higher chance of dying than surviving... It's your call."

He told her, but it didn't take long for her answer because she murmured a yes. " if I don't, there's no chance of surviving at all." She was set with her answer that and Eun-Hyuk left the room.

Everyone was in here even Hyun-Su, " I'll perform surgery. I need antibiotics, anesthetics, saline, and surgical instruments." Eun-Hyuk informed, " I'll go," Jae-Heon Volunteered, it was nice of him but it would be trouble since she's only got one good arm.

" are you trying to die?" Sang-Wook walked up, " you'll just be a burden in that state." That was kinda harsh.

"Okay, I'll go too." I looked over towards Yu-Ri, " no you. won't." Gil-Seob declared, " there are dozens of surgical tools unless you're going to bring the whole hospital, You need someone who we will get the right equipment."

Gil-Seob stood up walking over towards Yu-R, she nodded her head as If saying I'll be okay. " please help us." It was Eun-Hyuk you couldn't tell by his face but he was serious.

So we all began working on getting ready for Ji-Soo surgery. Wiping down the table with hot water, disinfecting everything that was gonna be used. Like the Surgical tools. Hanging up plastic around the room.

Once I was done helping I grabbed my duffel bag, knowing I'll need it for the medical tools. And my machete Du-Silk fixed it to where a bat was Screwed into it.

It was pretty badass, going over to the back seat of the newly reinforced car I opened the door throwing in my bag about to get in when a hand grabbed my shoulder Stopping I look over to see who it was.

Eun-Hyuk stood in front of me, " if things go south just go to the hospital. Getting food is optional Saving Ji-Soo is the main goal." I nodded, " we'll be back soon." I got in and closed the door.

It was great to know he was thinking about others' now and not being so selfish. When everyone that was going got in the vehicle Sang-Wook who was driving started the Engine and we took off. Hyun-Su decided to come with us even I didn't want him to.

Thinking about going outside again, we're it all began. We're I survived with no one, because of what I didn't mean to do. I knew I was still responsible but Did I want to live with the Constant guilt?

That's what I use to think, not knowing when my time would be up if I went out on a run wondering if I might not come back alive. Dying from hunger or dehydration or anything else in this damn world that would do the job.

I didn't want to though at least not know or ever. Yes, I would have to live with it there death but keeping their Memory alive is what I want. To be able to never forget my loved ones.

Going down a dark tunnel I saw the exit and bright sunlight And clear blue sky's it gave me hope, knowing the group I was with is my new friends possibly family and for some reason, I couldn't leave them.

It's maybe because I found a connection with Hyun-Su that we both have held out for this long it's August 25 year twenty-twenty. I have passed the 15-day mark since the 8th of monsterization.

You could say I was holding out but I haven't been fainting having no nosebleeds, or Hallucinations. It's not that I was worried about not having those things I'm just worried when IT comes back I wouldn't be able to contain the monster and finally turn.

I was a ticking time bomb, to say the least. As we rolled out on the ground the ground began to rumble. Feeling the car shake I Gripped my weapon looking outside.

I didn't have time to react because are were rammed into. Feeling the impact of the hit on my side I felt the door close in as we were thrown through the air. Screaming could be heard as the glass was flying everywhere.

Crashing landed on an enormous pile of sand rolling down it the car flipped over a couple of times until it stopped. Blood was dripping from my face clouding my vision as if it was blurry enough from my head swinging back and forth.

I yelled out it see if the others were alive. But I didn't hear a response. Please God don't let them be dead I thought, trying to get out of my seat. But where the door was caved in on me and that my seatbelt was completely stuck I couldn't free myself to help anyone.

Yu-Ri was laying on the roof of the car that was upside down, blood was all over her face passed out so was Sang-Wook searching around I couldn't find Hyun-Su he was in the front passenger seat but he wasn't there.

Looking around Frantically I saw his body lying outside on the ground he wasn't moving. Tears began to fall from my face, I needed to get out and help them. I didn't see my machete bat anywhere to cut myself out.

But there was a large piece of glass stuck in my leg it was big than my hand. I had to pull it out, taking ahold of it I clenched my teeth jerking it out real fast. I cussed sucking in a breath, that fucking hurt.

Taking the seatbelt, I Started to saw on the thick material moving it back-and-forth. Then then the rumbling came back. My breathing quickened as I was trying to cut faster.

" come on you stupid piece of shit!" I mumbled Anxiously, I was finally able to cut myself free slowly I made my way down until I got on the ground. I took my hand shaking Yu-ri but she wouldn't get up. Signing Looking through the car's window I saw Hyun-Su waking.

I was afraid the giant monster get to him before he would have time to react. I screamed out his name to get his attention. " Hyun-Su!!! Get up!!!" I Cried seeing him glance over to me eyes wide when he saw the monster warning him about.

He got up staggering a little bit, grabbing his spear. He Launched at the monster trying to stop it in its thigh but it was no use it ended up flinging its hand hitting Hyun-Su sending him flying crashing into more sand construction equipment.

I screamed out, and the giant monster looked down at me and smiled with its bloody mouth. It picked a concrete cylinder and checked it at Hyun-Su. But he dodged it just in time.

I let out a shaky breath, there was a movement in the front seat it was Sang-Wook he pulled himself out of the car. I began to smell smoke inhaling the fumes, making me cough It was going to catch on fire soon.

I hurried to cut Yu-Ri's belt, hearing I banging noise. Sang-Wook jerked open the door. I soon was able to cut her free, heaving her up I dragged myself over to the opening Sang-Wook made.

It was a tight space so I laid Yu-Ri in front of me first so he could grab her. " here take her, I'm fine."  I stated not needing help. I was about to crawl out but then remembered my Field guide journal with my family picture in it. I found it near the front.

I was close enough to reach and unzip it, searching around my hand to touch the cover of the pages. Getting it out I held it close to me while dragging my Injured leg that was bleeding heavily out.

I clutched my leg adding pressure as I got up limping, to get away it was going to blow up any minute. But my leg was in too much pain, I fell to the ground, landing on my side.

I grunted cussing out,  " damn leg!" Trying to get up but then I smelled gas. My eyes widened trying to pull myself up again.  The smell was getting thicker and stronger.

I didn't know where Sang-Wook went with Yu-ri but I hope they were safe. Off in the distance, I heard someone calling out my name. Looking up it was Hyun-Su, he was running.

I hadn't noticed the big red fire truck that had come in all this ruckus. The person that was driving it was ramming the monster with it. Just then I began to feel the heat and something grabbing me yanking me out of the way when the car exploded.

Knowing it was Hyun-Su he wrapped his arm around me as we tumbled to the ground. Making a thud sound, I landed on him my face got shoved in his chest.

I stayed there for a minute taking short hard breathes, I could feel his arm tighten around when I started to move. " Are...you alright?" Hyun-Su breathed out.

Wondering if I was okay, I was quiet for a minute but then answered. " I gashed my leg open, but I'm fine." I wiggled out of his grasp sitting up, he did also.

Seeing the huge slash that was oozing a lot of blood by the minute. " can you try and stand?" He asked, but I shook my head. " no, I can walk." Hissed in pain when I moved it.

" Okay, " was all Hyun-Su said grabbing my arm he wrapped it around his shoulder. " I'm going to lift you, can you get on my back," he added, I nodded as he Crouched down.

Climbing on it, I wrapped my arms around his neck, giving the clear he stood up and walked back to the apartment building. Feeling tired I laid my head on his shoulder.

This is kinda long but I hope you enjoy it!! ☺️✨

[salvatoreschool]

'Legacies' Creator Julie Plec Teases Hope's Future, New Characters & What's to Come in Season 2 (Exclusive)

Warning: Spoiler alert! Do not proceed if you have not watched the Legacies season two premiere.

Season two of Legacies kicked off on Thursday, and fans have questions!

The first episode, titled "I'll Never Give Up Hope," saw Hope Mikaelson (Danielle Rose Russell) escape Malivore and return to Mystic Falls. However, she was distraught after realizing that her sacrifice to defeat Malivore meant that everyone's memory of her would be erased. It also definitely hurt when she saw that her boyfriend, Landon (Aria Shahghasemi), had moved on with Josie (Kaylee Bryant).

Elsewhere, Lizzie (Jenny Boyd) and Josie continued to find out more about the merge and the ascendant, while their father, Alaric (Matthew Davis), tried to track down who it was that they have forgotten. It's going to be an exciting season two, Legacies creator Julie Plec tells ET, as she dives into what fans can expect in the upcoming episodes.

ET: We saw Hope get out of Malivore and back into the real world. Will she create a new persona for herself when interacting with others, or will she introduce herself as Hope and try and make people remember her?

Julie Plec: It's something that we get right into in the second episode when she has the opportunity to come clean, and we'll see what it is that she decides to do. And it's not going to be the same from person to person.

Why have it be different from person to person?

We just thought that there are certain things about Hope that are very mature and very sensible and very intelligent. And then [there are] parts of her that are emotional and impulsive, and we wanted to reflect those sides of her personality based on how she handles coming back into a world where no one knows who she is.

Fans are obsessed with the "ships" on the show, what can you tease about Hope's upcoming personal relationships?

Hope ends last season willing to take a bullet, so to speak, for her friends, which is ironic because she began the first season not caring whether she had friends or not. And now that she has come all this way and really bonded and formed her squad, to be back in this world where her squad doesn't know she exists is painful for her and sets her back in an emotional place that she hasn't sunk in a long time. There's a lot of growth that she has to do there, working through what it feels like to not matter and to be alone. She has to learn how to deal with the loneliness that comes with the choices that she's made for herself.

We know Freya (Riley Voelkel) is coming back. How was it having someone from The Originals cast be a part of Legacies? Will Freya remember Hope?

I can't answer the second part of the question, but I can say that I love being able to bring in characters from the first two shows [The Vampire Diaries and The Originals]. It's always great to see these actors again in our crew family, and no one was more beloved than Riley when we worked with her. To be able to have her again on our set was a big homecoming for everybody.

Everyone wants to know, when will we see Hope's full tribrid come to life?

That appends to asking when Elena Gilbert will become a vampire, and the answer is: One day, certainly, but not anytime soon.

Josie and Lizzie are learning more about the ascendant. How much more will they learn about it and the Gemini coven, and will they get to interact with their uncle, Kai?

I would never admit that that was happening [laughs]. But what they do decide to do is, at the top of the next episode, they have agreed to not let themselves be consumed by the questions of the ascendant, knowing that the person that it leads to is so evil. So they each try to double down on living their lives in front of them, which sets them down their own independent paths and further away from each other.

There are a lot of new characters this season. How will they change up the school dynamic?

We love introducing new characters into this world, because it's always fun having new humans interacting in our supernatural world and new supernaturals interacting with our human world. For example, in early episodes we have two new human kids in characters named Ethan (Leo Howard) and Maya (Bianca Santos). We'll meet them in the next episode. And we'll have a great new headmaster (Alexis Denisof), who comes in replacing Dr. Saltzman, who brings a whole new set of rules and ideas about how these kids should behave, and it shakes things up a lot.

Is there a supporting character's storyline that you are excited about and will surprise fans this season?

We're having a lot of fun with the Sebastian (Thomas Doherty) and Lizzie storyline. Sebastian is a new character that we meet in the next episode, that has a lot of great fun and a lot of great surprises.

I really love Landon this season. I think that what he is going to be going through, how he grows and how he's just this perfect specimen of respectful, conscientious, smart and kind, caring person, any man or woman would be lucky to have him. To see him explore life without Hope, in the sense that he remains that good person across the board, is awesome to watch.

Speaking of Sebastian, would you describe him as more of Stefan or Damon Salvatore?

He's definitely seems more of Damon, for sure! And he's got some blue, blue eyes too, which is really nice.

And Landon, as the Phoenix, does he become stronger every time he dies? Will we learn more about his powers?

Those are questions that we also ask ourselves in the writers' room. So those are very good questions. People will have to wait and see how we decided to answer that. It's possible [that fans will learn more about his powers].

Switching gears to Landon's best friend. Will we see any progression between Rafael (Peyton Alex Smith) and Hope? How will their friendship evolve now that we know he has a crush on her?

When we get Rafael back, it will still be in the window of time where people don't necessarily know who Hope is. So she's this strange, mystery girl who saved him from his plight and I think it will potentially ignite a whole new round of interest from him.

So, even if he's in wolf form he doesn't remember Hope?

I guess we'll have to see.

Let's talk about OG Vampire Diaries alum, Alaric. Will he get a love interest this season?

I would love for Alaric to find happiness and be in love. No one deserves it more and no one has suffered more. We'll see if that losing streak continues or if he can finally meet the one. We shall see.

There was also a sweet nod to "Aunt Bonnie" in the first episode. Will fans be seeing more of those small mentions and moments of past characters?

We are going to try and do that as often as we can without making false promises about who we might see. I would love to be able to deliver on that as much as possible.

How would you sum up season two?

It's a season about discovering the holes inside of you that you don't know you have and the things that you do, for better or for worse, to fill those holes. And, how you can be your own worst enemy or your own greatest hero. You just have to find a way to believe in yourself so that others can believe in you.

Legacies airs Thursday at 9 p.m. on The CW.