#shoulder surgery and all

[historioddity]

I'm going to miss the premiere of The Owl House finale and there's nothing I can actually do about it. It had to be Easter weekend! Avoiding spoilers until Monday is going to be damn hard.

[boytransmission]

My arm hair is officially visible in photos :)

Please help me get top surgery here ⭐️

[shootingstarpilot]

An Interlude on Melidaan

(Please check the tags for content warnings!)

Stitch is sitting with Helix when he gets the call.

Helix had woken up for just long enough to squint, recognize Stitch, mutter something about his head having been trampled by a herd of banthas, and pass out again- enough to reassure Stitch that the surgery had gone smoothly. He doesn't like it when any of them are out of commission, but it had been agreed that de-chipping the medics was a priority so they could facilitate removals of the rest of the 212th when they were underway again.

Helix had volunteered first, with an expression that forbade disagreement. Needle's in pre-op now, Stitch knows- he'd hugged him tight and had told him not to worry, and Stitch had nodded against his chest and had told him he was going to worry anyway because that's what you did for your brothers, and Needle's smile had gone all soft around the edges before he'd vanished down the hall.

Stitch has a very long list of things you do for your brothers, and the list grows longer by the day.

And right behind worrying for your brothers is going to them when they need you.

"Needle?"

He knocks once, twice, three times before a steady voice tells him to come in.

He does.

Needle is sitting on the edge of the gurney, pale-faced, hands clutching the blanket under him so tightly his knuckles are turning white. Another person- Stitch had seen her at Jess's side, but had missed her name- is standing a safe distance away, head tilted back, pinching the bridge of her nose.

Stitch blinks. "What happened?"

Needle laughs, hoarse and hurting. "Nothing yet," he mutters. "I- can't. Apparently."

He shifts. "Sorry about your nose, Rittan."

The surgeon- Rittan- is olive-skinned and square-jawed and has a knot of scar tissue sealing shut the socket where her left eye should be. She wrinkles her nose assessingly, drops her hand, and waves Needle's apology off as she settles into her chair.

Stitch likes her immediately.

"Don't be," she says easily. "I've had worse. I once called a total evac when Bretta tossed me an apple and I saw a grenade. We've all got our own twitches."

It takes Stitch a moment to make the connection.

To realize why he's here.

And then he looks again at Needle's pale face and thinks-

Oh.

Needle glances up.

"I- can't," he bursts out. "I thought I could, but I- can't. I can't have- I can't-"

He stops. His shoulders sag.

"I can't," he repeats helplessly. "I can't. I want it out. I can't."

"But you know-"

"Yeah."

"And that it could-"

"I know."

"Or even-"

"Stitch."

Stitch's mouth snaps shut. Needle winces.

"I... know," he says slowly. "I do. I want it out. I want it out. I want it out."

He stops. Presses his hands hard against his eyes.

"I was this close to lying to both of you," he says eventually. "Tell her I'd get it done on the ship. Tell you I'd gotten it done here. And just-"

He shrugs. Helpless. Hurting.

"It could wipe you away," Stitch says desperately, and regrets it immediately when Needle's whole body jerks.

"So maybe I'll just sit here until the end of fucking time, then," Needle snaps, "because I can't let it stay in my brain but I can't let anyone else's fingers in there either! Not-"

He stops.

Stitch's whole chest hurts.

Not again.

"Sorry," Needle says hoarsely. "Sorry. I- hell. Rittan suggested calling someone, but- you can go. I'll figure it out. You can-"

Stitch has stopped listening.

A slow plan is bubbling to life in the back of his mind.

"Needle," he interrupts, "you trust me, right?"

"I- what? Of course-"

"And you want it out?"

Needle curls inwards, hugging himself.

"I don't want it to happen again, Stitch," he whispers, and Stitch nods.

Needle trusts him. Needle wants it out.

He can't let it be taken out.

But he wants it out.

Okay.

"I am going to get you something to drink," he says decisively. "Because hydration is important. While I think. You'll stay here?"

He's met with a wan smile. "Cross my heart."

Stitch hesitates.

(But Needle does this all the time. And it's- nice.)

After a beat, he cups Needle's face in his hands, leans down, and carefully presses a kiss to his forehead.

Needle's eyes are very wide, when he looks down.

"Did I do that right?" Stitch asks, suddenly feeling unaccountably nervous.

Needle's smile looks more like Needle, this time. "Perfect."

Oh.

That's-

That's good.

Right.

The plan.

He returns with a cup of grape juice.

(Needle trusts him.)

He hands it to Needle.

(Needle trusts him.)

Needle drinks, without a second's hesitation.

(Needle trusts him.)

Stitch catches both him and the cup.

"Pretty strong grape juice," Rittan observes.

She's- watching him.

Stitch meets her gaze. "Propofol," he says quietly. "Grape juice so he won't associate it with water later. I'll be your second."

Another item on the list of things you do for your brothers:

The things they can't.

Stitch is largely silent, as Rittan narrates every step.

Watching.

He can feel his heartbeat in his throat.

At one point:

"There's a lot of scarring," Rittan observes. "More than I'd have expected."

"Yes," Stitch says, and does not elaborate.

Needle is moved to recovery.

Stitch settles down next to him.

He doesn't know how much time passes before Needle's breathing shifts into something shallower. Faster.

Stitch knows panic when he sees it, and pokes him. "Needle."

"Mmph."

"Needle," Stitch repeats, and pokes him again.

"...'ch?"

"Yes. What's my favorite terrasaur?"

A moment of stillness. He sees Needle's eyes flicker beneath his eyelids, hears his breathing hitch-

"Needle. Needle. What's my favorite terrasaur?"

Needle's hands flex, curling into the sheet-

"'s a trick question," he manages. "Y'got two."

"What're the two, then?"

"...Blue. 'N tall."

"See?" Stitch whispers, smiling when Needle's eyes crack open and focus on him. "Still you. Still my Needle."

Needle's brow furrows, puzzled. "You..."

Stitch sits on his hands to stop himself from tapping.

"Stitch...?"

"Propofol in the grape juice," he whispers. "You couldn't. So I did."

A beat. A slow nod.

"Are you angry?"

A slow smile spreads across Needle's face.

"Good medic," he sighs, closing his eyes again, and Stitch carefully leans forward and rests his head on Needle's chest.

Feeling him breathe.

"I learned from the best," he whispers, and Needle's free hand reaches upwards and settles in his hair.

It'll be his turn in a bit, he knows. But Rittan will come and find him.

He's got time.

Needle's asleep by the time Stitch senses someone at the door.

He shifts as much as he can without disturbing Needle and looks up, expecting Rittan-

"Hey," Helix says quietly. He's leaning against the doorframe, eyes bright. "Everything go okay?"

Stitch nods.

There's a lump in his throat.

Helix pushes himself up and makes his way over, his gaze flickering towards the monitors. He stops at Needle's side, brushes his hair back-

Then he leans down and drops a kiss on his forehead.

Quick and swift as anything.

He keeps one hand there when he turns to Stitch.

"Rittan asked me to call you," he says quietly. "You want company?"

Stitch shakes his head. "You have to stay here. With Needle. Okay?"

A faintly puzzled smile flickers across Helix's face as he settles into the other chair. "Okay, Stitch. Second bed in here's free, too- I'll make sure it stays that way for you."

"Thanks, Helix," Stitch says. He gathers himself, stands, makes his way towards the door-

Then he pauses. "Did Needle get that from you?"

Helix glances up. "Get what?"

"The forehead kisses. He's good at those."

Helix snorts a laugh. "Doubt it. I think he was kind before he got here."

Stitch nods.

He thinks so, too.

[motogpnewbie]

Tik Tok decided to make me feel things today Pt1

[umemiyan]

the uneven boob struggle is when one side fits perfectly in a cup but the other side simply does not

[shmorp-mcdurgen]

you said Adams lore has changed in the lab world…instantly curious-

okay so.

Back when the au was first made and before it went on its long hiatus, I said Adam was taken as a child and used as the first test subject for MBT, being the child of Lynn and Jude Murray, who worked at MBT.

Now, he still is. technically the child of Lynn and Jude, but. he was never born. he was grown.

Using DNA from Lynn, Jude, some from Gabriel, and whatever other DNA could fill in the gaps, Gabriel grew a human (mostly) specimen in a tube. being Adam. Took a few months for him to grow to a point where he could be let out of the tube (and sense his growing was accelerated while in the tube, he was aged to like. young toddler at this point.) However, after another few years, Lynn had grown attached to her "son", and wanted him to leave the facility, so she sabotaged the equipment, and let Adam out of the facility to flee into town. Due to this, she was killed, and Jude, who was meant to be looking after Adam, was. met with a worse fate.

So TLDR: Adam was grown in a lab tube and escaped a few years later, meaning he was never fully human in the first place and never knew he wasn't until he was recaptured in 2007.

[crybabybat]

I need 8 tattoos IMMEDIATELY

[axemetaphor]

the only downside to gaining weight is having to buy new clothes all the damn time

[zippityzap]

Got surgery to remove a sebaceous cyst today ✨✌️✨

Little bit nervous during it since I’ve never had surgery and I’ve never gotten stitches before but things went well!

[lumiidragon]

Finally had my ultra sound done and I got great news for it~!

So my gallbladder is actually doing well! No stones! It seems like my liver is telling me that I need healthier lifestyle choices, so the doctor told me the diet I need and to work better on my exercise, so I'm going to start really working hard on a good turnaround.

So the idea that I now do not have to struggle over getting a surgery done is outstanding and I couldn't be doing better mentally rn~ :P

[lover-of-mine]

no but what the fuck i said it back in January when Jack dislocated his shoulder again that he shouldn't have come back, that that boy wasn't fully healed and came back because people kept pressuring him considering the way the media was talking about how his injury was the devils downfall and i don't doubt someone on the team was like you can play through this right, and he's an athlete, athletes are conditioned to play through pain, and hockey is so much worse on that point, and you look at him and you know all he knows is hockey, but he's also a 22 yo who people keep expecting to be this saving grace when he's human and injured but of course he's gonna say, hell yeah i can play and keep his scoring average high and do everything he can for the devils, he's been moving less smootly for weeks, he wasn't shooting as much as he would before, he was playing like someone whos scared to be injured and i was saying his shoulder didn't heal fully thats why Lazar went for the fight after a completely legal hit that threw him on the floor but made him land on his shoulder now he has a ligament tear on the thing that fucking holds his shoulder in place when you could've just let that boy heal when he got boarded the first time in November, but noooo we need Jack, put him in, now were not making playoffs anyway and the boy is looking AT SIX MONTHS OF REHAB FOR A SURGERY HE SHOULDVE GOTTEN DONE IN JANUARY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! FOR FUCKS SAKE I HATE THISSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

[deklo]

the old woman at the bar i regular said she likes talking to me :) because she doesn’t have to explain things to me :)))))))) I LOVE HER!!!

[protagfolly]

something is seriously wrong with them

[mizi-sua]

absolutely obsessed with the headcanon that takina now has a huge permanent scar on her shoulder and several on her hand from gripping the wire that she saved chisato with. there's something so personal about battle scars that come from protecting your loved ones.

[vengeancemoths]

shaved the side of my head last night in a fit of desperation (punk dysphoria) and my young queer coworker called it "very cunt"! suffice to say i am still hip and with it as the youths say

[vamptastic]

yk i genuinely don't think ive ever been able to actually express my gender dysphoria out loud to another person cos with my family they'll get uncomfortable or think im somehow bragging bc i have the misfortune of a hyperfeminine body, with therapists im always trying not to say smth that makes me sound too self hating to get letters written, and with other trans people i don't want to upset them. idk writing it down just feels like im cataloguing everything that's wrong with me but I don't think ill ever have anyone i can talk to about it either