#hopefully we’ll get lots of bacteria

[romanticize-until-you-drop]

2024-03-07

There’s really nothing like being a science student: that feeling of both drowning in work and stress but also somehow enjoying it at the same time.

[skelswritingcorner]

This is a gift for the wonderful @lovenotcomputed, based on the request that she fulfilled. Go check it out, it's wonderfully delicious writing!

Story below the cut because this is a long boi.

Words: 5408 (oopsies)

It hasn’t been long since that giant red… thing took you out of your little makeshift home in those dusty vents and put you in that box. It was pretty big for you, you could lay down with your limbs stretched out in the middle of it and you couldn’t touch the sides. Would’ve been nice if you had a blanket though.

And it would be nice if you weren’t constantly assaulted by bright lights. You could probably get some good sleep. The black-helmeted one with that weird eye thingy was always supervising you, writing on that translucent blue tablet and muttering in a language you didn’t understand. Frequently, the red one would come in and look at you, talk to the other one, then leave. It happened at least five times.

Perceptor observed the human as they sat in the ventilator chamber, writing notes on his datapad about their vitals and behaviors. He already checked the blood, there was no evidence of them having any sort of bacteria or virus. However, the human coughed several times. Whatever affliction the human has requires a scan of their vents. Probably best to go get one of the medics, either Ratchet or First Aid.

The door to the lab opened, and Rodimus walked in. Perceptor turned to the mech, who briskly walked to the ventilator with the human inside.

“So, is the human alright?” Rodimus asked, optics flickering between Perceptor and the human.

“The bloodwork showed no signs of any afflictions. However, the human likely has some kind of chronic condition that affects their vents.” Perceptor answered.

The captain winced. He already planned on keeping the human, but learning that the human has a chronic condition makes him feel more justified in adopting them. Someone needs to make sure they’re doing alright!

Perceptor looked back at the human, who was blankly staring from their ventilator. “I plan on asking Ratchet or First Aid to help do a more thorough checkup on the human, see if we can do a scan of their vents. We might need to sedate the human, based on their previous behavior.”

“Also,” Perceptor checked his datapad once more, “we need to get the human stuff they can eat. I doubt we currently have anything safe for them to consume right now.”

Rodimus’s optics widened, “Primus, I forgot! We’ll have to stop the ship somewhere that has supplies for humans. And the Lost Light isn’t exactly made with those their size in mind.”

“Correct.” Perceptor nodded, “I’ll open a comm link with First Aid, see if he has something that could be used for the human. I’m sure they might feel a bit cold.”

Rodimus nodded, “I’ll ask Swerve about what possible supplies we need, he knows a lot about human culture, more than anyone else on the ship.” He left the lab, leaving Perceptor alone with the human.

Perceptor leaned forward, noticing purple half-circles under the human’s optics. They must be exhausted. Guess the exams will need to be done another cycle.

He opened his comm link to First Aid, “First Aid, do we know if we have any human supplies on this ship? Something that could be used as a blanket? The presence in the ventilation system Rodimus was complaining about was a human. I put them in a ventilation chamber right now, but they might be too exhausted for any exams. I’ll tell you more once you get to my lab.”

“I’ll see if I find something.” First Aid replied. Now, all Perceptor had to do was wait. He cleaned around his lab, mostly as a way to keep his servos occupied.

After a bit of time, the door opened to First Aid holding a cloth in his servo. “I had to ask Ratchet since I don’t have experience with humans, but hopefully this should do.”

Perceptor nodded, opening the lid to the ventilation chamber “Hopefully, it will.”

First Aid walked up to the ventilator, placing the cloth down. They grabbed it with their smaller servos, tugging it. First Aid let go of the cloth. The human investigated it, then started setting it up in their temporary home.

“How long do you think you’ll leave the human in there?” First Aid turned to Perceptor.

Perceptor put a servo on his chin, “They’ve been in the vents for a long time, after they do a recharge I’ll see if we can make a temporary bed for them.”

“I’ll ask the Captains if we can make an emergency stop, then. Hopefully, we can get all the things necessary for the human to be comfortable. I’ll see you later.” First Aid left the laboratory with a wave.

Perceptor turned back to the human, closing the ventilator once more. “Rest now, little human.” he turned off the lights, then left the room.

A different red one came into view, holding something in their white hands that you recognized as some kind of cloth. The two talked for a bit, then the one that put you in the box in the first place opened up the top. Unfortunately, the opening was too high up for you to try and escape, so you waited for what was going to happen.

The white hand with red fingers lowered the bedding to you, which you grabbed with a small tug. After they let go, you investigated the bedding. No pillow, but it was a pretty large blanket. Turning to the two strange beings, you just nodded and started setting up the blanket in your little jail. As you were doing your thing, the two talked to each other.

After the red robot left, the black-helmeted one said some words to you. You didn’t recognize it, but after that they turned the light off and left the room. Guess this is a good time to sleep. Wrapping yourself in the blanket, you fell asleep.

[flock-talk]

Final report:

His choanal papillae (the spikes on the V shaped opening at the back of the throat) are blunted which is most likely the result of his seed based diet/ nutritional deficiency. They’re not severely blunted so she does think someone did have him on a decent diet for some years since they should otherwise be pretty blunt/short if he’d been on only seeds for 5 years. We’ll be checking them again at the next annual exam to ensure they’re not getting worse which would then be a sign of more serious problems but as of right now it’s not something to be concerned about, just aware of.

He is not necessarily overweight but he is lacking a lot of muscle mass so the most of his body structure is fats. Flying, pellets, and veggies should simply be enough to get him in to a better body condition. Again nothing outright dangerous for him, but something to work on. As she put it “he’s not overweight…. Pudgy…. Definitely pudgy”

The discolouration on the feathers is most likely due to weathering, overhandling, and the seed diet not forming durable feathers. Overall she says the feathers look pretty good. Not concerned about organ damage but again keeping an eye on new growth to ensure there’s nothing hiding.

His fecal sample came back clear of all common parasites and pathogens, no gram negative bacteria at all. He did have an overall lack of bacteria though so he has been prescribed a probiotic to help his gut out a bit.

His feet are looking pretty good, she noted a bit of tenderness still there and some very small calluses/ sores remaining in the centre of his foot. I showed her the pictures of how they looked before and since they have shown massive improvement with just the perch change we’re going to leave it at that. He was climbing all over the carrier bars and showing a lot more dexterity at the vet so she’s confident they’ll return to good health over time without the need for extra medications.

Opted not to do a blood draw for a couple of reasons. Main one being that he was already very stressed, he did one lap around the room and was panting (he’s capable of flying two to three laps around the top floor of the whole house before panting regularly) which would put him at risk of shock during a blood draw. He was starting to get a bit wriggly which would make it even harder for her to get the blood quickly, and he’s been quarantined for 30 days already with not even the slightest concerning symptom. We both felt it was safer not to risk it today, we’ll be working more on handling comfort and vet skills so he will hopefully be less stressed and capable of taking a blood draw at his annual exam instead.

Vent and preen gland look great

Heart and lungs sound good, she did agree that he’s way dustier than he should be but thankfully the candles/incense he was around haven’t done any noticeable damage to him that she can hear. Needs a proper bath!!!!!!!!!

He has been given the all clear and is safe to begin introductions with Newt!

[joontier]

Subliminal in Scrubs | V1; report iv 

pairings: dr. jeon jungkook x female reader

chapter rating: NC-17 | genre: humor, romance

warnings: swearing

word count: 2.5k

g/n: Send me your thoughts?

[taglist] @nottodayjjk @ditttiii​ @zeharilisharaban​ @btsbunny07​ @turquoiseandplaidinautumn  @aamxxrii @codeinebelle ​

Subliminal in Scrubs (the records) |  navi. | m.list

Your phone blares at exactly 6:45AM, and a memetastic image of Chohee lights up your phone screen as you’re brushing your teeth. When you swipe to answer the call, you don’t even manage to get a word in when Chohee chatters you out of your sleep-deprived soul.  

“Just as practiced, I’m punctual, and you’re late.”  

Garbling out a reply about how it’s still five minutes prior to your agreed time, you tap your toothbrush loudly against the sink, likewise spitting out the foam from your mouth. “Fine, just hurry because I’m starving!”  

Being the gold-hearted person that she is (although that fact is not known to the public), your best friend had offered you a ride to the building where you’re scheduled to take the Korean Medical Licensure Examination today.  

The moment you settle yourself on the passenger seat, she greets you with a cheery “Good morning!” - one that was too cheery this early in the morning, and all the more way too cheery for a certain Kim Chohee. The two of you share a look and you lean in for a hug. “Hey, we’ll do just fine, okay? We’ve been studying our asses for this.”  

You don’t let go at once, looking up at her with a kissy face. She pushes your head backwards with a disgusted expression, keeping your face at an arm’s length. With an unattractive snort, you lean back in your seat, laughing your ass off at your poor attempt to lighten the mood.  

“Seriously, _______, I know you’ve been lusting after me for years even when you’re well aware of my ‘strictly beef’ diet,” Chohee states, dusting your imaginary germs off her shoulder. Turning on her Benz’s engine, she checks her reflection on the rear-view mirror before driving off.  

With both your hands occupied with the sandwiches you’d ordered from Subway, you use your pinky to connect your phone to play some Mozart via bluetooth. You try not to talk much about the test, knowing it will only cause unnecessary anxiety on both your ends.  

As Chohee leans towards you, you tilt her sandwich in her direction, letting her take a bite from her sub. “Hey, what’s an abscess again?”  

“Isn’t that more commonly known as boils? Built up pus within or below the surface of the skin?”  

Kim Chohee chokes on her BLT.  

“Pus?” she repeats, swallowing her bite with great strain. “Seriously? While I’m eating a sandwich? Couldn’t you be more subtle perhaps?”  

Equally just as surprised as she was, you narrow your eyes at her. “We’ve been studying medicine for the last six years! It shouldn’t be a surprise by now...and besides, we’ve heard and see a lot worse too...Would you rather have me say purulent exudate then? And waste my precious saliva on a six-syllable word rather than the common term for a liquid form of inflamm-”  

“Okay!” Chohee throws an arm up in defeat. “Sheesh _______! Don’t I deserve at least some gratitude for driving you to our exams?”  

“Plus we’ve already seen a cadaver too, which was supposedly one of the peaks of our med-student lives! What’s all this hype about some viscous mass on the surface of the skin?”  

Your best friend peeks at you from her peripheral vision, absolutely mortified. You love it.  

“Can you please remind me how we became friends in the first place?” Chohee shakes her head and increases the volume of the player as the droplets of rain start pouring down the windshield. “Anyways – I was meaning to ask the histological meaning of it.”    

“Oh, right,” you nod, recalling your notes, “well, it’s a localized collection of neutrophils and necrotic debris. Basically, it’s a suppurative inflammation which is associated with pyogenic bacteria and characterized by edema fluid admixed with neutrophils and necrotic cells. Staphylococcus aureus usually produces abscesses because it’s coagulase positive and coagulase helps the production of fibrinous material that localizes the infection.”  

As soon as you finish, silence takes over the car, and suddenly, a sniffle comes from Chohee’s side. With a matching frown, you best friend looks at you with shiny eyes. “Oh _______, what would I do without you?”  

With still half an hour to spare, you decide on relieving your bladder first before all the toilets get occupied later a couple of minutes before the actual exam. You take your time with it, even managing to put some effort in fixing your hair in clipping your fringe back so as not to eliminate all distractions possible during the exam.  

While looking through the large panel windows on your way back from the comfort rooms, you spot a familiar face – the last person you’d want to see on such an important day. Perhaps your prayers weren’t loud enough to actually reach heaven.  

There Jeon Jungkook was at the end of the hall, walking like a newly-canonized saint in all his glory. Most (if not all) of the female onlookers stare at him as he passes by, with Jungkook seemingly unbothered by their unwavering attention. You aren’t one for exaggeration, but these women look like they’re willing to worship the ground he walked on.  

Your nerdy, anti-Jeon Jungkook ass quickly hides beside a nearby locker, not wanting to be ‘graced’ by his presence, just as some girl coined a few moments ago as she headed to the toilets with her friends, collectively gushing over the boy.  

The popular kid turns to his right and you swore you’d never prayed harder and faster than any other time in your life. Your room assignment was just the one by the corner...and if he could just make a few more steps and head straight to the next classroom a-and...nope. It’s official. The universe loved shitting on you.  

Jungkook enters room 132, the very same numbers indicating your room assignment for the licensure exam. You ball up your fists in your spot by the lockers, releasing all your pent-up frustration in the simplest and least violent way possible: a long, tedious exhale.  

Gathering up all your self-control, you re-enter the classroom with an inward grimace, desperate to not have Jungkook’s eyes meet yours. He’s looking for a seat, and with all the back rows already occupied, he’s stuck with picking one from the first two rows.  

He’s already stood near the seat you’ve picked and you bore holes into the back of his head with your fake telepathy, silently ordering him to pick a chair on the other side of the aisle instead.  

Just as you had not wished for, Jungkook plops his huge ass backpack on the chair next to yours. You tread back to your seat as discreetly as possible, avoiding his gaze at all times as he rummages through his military backpack. What the fuck is in that thing in the first place? You won't be surprised if he manages to pull out a whole microwave inside – and yet funnily enough, he can’t seem to own a single damn pencil.  

As you were minding your own businesses (hopefully it stays that way for the rest of eternity), you catch the other students discussing surgical cases last minute.  

“Hey, which artery is the one for transection for an epidural hematoma?”  

“Was this the kid that got hit by a fastball in the head?”  

“What happened?”  

“Poor boy got hit in the temporal area during a baseball tournament. Remained conscious during the rest of the day but during the same evening he gets a severe headache with vomiting and confusion. When they got to Severance he got scheduled for immediate surgery for epidural hematoma.”

“That sounds awful…”  

“I’m not sure which artery it was again though…”

If that were the case...then it’d be the transection of a branch of the middle meningeal artery...but then you wouldn’t want to answer that out of the blue and get mistaken for being too snoopy…

Instead, you reach for the bottle of water by the legs of your chair, likewise hearing the same answer coming out of Jungkook’s mouth in a whisper. Huh. You raise a brow. Well, there was a major chance he knew the case since he came from Yonsei too, just as you had speculated from some of your roommates who seemed like they came from the same school after mentioning Severance Hospital.  

The group continue discussing their answers when this girl, who had an obnoxiously unnatural high-pitched voice, approaches Jungkook.  

“Jungkook-oppa?”  

Oppa? OPPA?!

You wanted to throw up. This girl looked at least two-three years older than him. At the least. Guess Jeon was really more of a fuckboy than Chohee would ever admit. “We were just discussing something and we’re really unsure of our answers, maybe a smart oppa like you would know?”  

With as much discretion as you could muster, you adjust in your seat, leaning a little bit towards their conversation as you eavesdrop like the nosy person that you are.  

“The surgery was a transection of the meningeal artery,” says Jeon nonchalantly like it’s the most basic thing in the world, still scrolling through his phone. Silence ensues after that. That’s it?! He’s not even going to bother explaining-  

Jungkook exhales as he puts his phone down. “Epidural hemorrhages result from a rupture of one of the meningeal arteries, as these arteries supply the dura and run between the dura and the skull. Plus you said temporal area right?” he asks, facing one of the guys.  

“The artery involved is usually the middle meningeal artery - a branch of the maxillary artery, as the skull fracture is usually in the temporal area. Since the bleeding is of arterial origin, symptoms are rapid in onset even though he seemed normal for a few hours. If they didn’t bring him to the hospital that same evening, he could’ve had tentorial herniation and would have eventually died.”  

As much as you hate to admit it - you’re beyond impressed. Chohee always stays true to her word, but it doesn’t change the fact that he was still a jerk for clearly cutting the line at the subway.  

The girls coo over him, praising him over how cool he looked by explaining his answer. Jungkook settles back on his seat like he hadn’t just perfectly given an on-point pathological explanation for a neuro case.  

The group continues their review, until they’ve come to another question they’re unsure of. “Jungkook-ssi, would you know where the rupture of a berry aneurysm of the Circle of Willis would likely produce hemorrhage?”  

With only ten minutes left, you’d usually be preparing yourself mentally but this group and Jungkook’s intervention has you all ears once more. Nothing wrong with some last minute review, right?  

“It’s the subdural space.”  

Wow. Okay, quick and close but wrong. Impressive wit though.  

You open your mouth to say something but you hesitate as it dawns on you that you really aren’t part of this group and you’re not the one being asked. Jungkook not missing a beat gets a collective ‘ooh’ from the group, who’s clearly impressed at how quickly he’s answered the question.  

Meanwhile, your conscience is making you contemplate on your earlier hesitation with the voice of the angel on your right shoulder telling you it isn’t right to let the wrong answer pass just like that, especially on a day like this. The devil on your left, however, tells you otherwise. You go with the former.  

Amongst their murmurs of mutual praise for Jungkook (you bet this man is rejoicing inside with all the attention he’s getting, despite looking nonchalant), you take a deep breath and say the correct answer, voice coming out louder than expected.  

“Excuse me?” another ‘spectator’ says, jutting her chin towards you.  

“I said,” you look up at her, “it’s actually the subarachnoid space.”  

“Are you sure?” she retorts.  

Seriously? Just because you’re not some fuckboy jock who smolders at all boobed humans means you can’t be sure with your answer?  

“Hey! I know you!” Someone exclaims from the side, causing everyone to turn their heads toward him, “You’re the foreigner valedictorian at SNU!” Similar to their earlier praises directed towards Jungkook, the same dudes marvel at your most recent accomplishment. You give a shy smile in return, quietly thanking the stranger for the sudden confidence boost.  

“Jungkook-oppa is also the valedictorian at Yonsei.”  

Well, that didn’t last for long...somebody has always got to rain on your parade. You won’t allow this girl though, not today.  

You purse your lips, collecting your thoughts first before explaining it to them. “Subarachnoid hemorrhages, although they are much less common than hypertensive intracerebral hemorrhages, but the former are...more often than not...resultant of a rupture of a berry aneurysm.” You pause momentarily when someone drags his seat closer to yours, “Go on please.”  

“Right, um...berry aneurysms are most commonly found at the Circle of Willis, usually by the junction of the communicating artery and the cerebral artery. Chances of rupture increase with age and cause marked bleeding into the subarachnoid space and produces severe headaches.” The same dude earlier blinks at you, urging you to explain further, “uh...additional symptoms may include vomiting, pain, stiffness of the neck, and papilledema. Death may follow rapidly as well.”  

A few from the people gathered around your seat clap their hands, along with compliments and offers along the lines of marriage and organ swaps.  

Someone mentions seeing the proctor approach the room and the group immediately disperses, everyone rushing back to their seats as quickly as possible. A middle-aged man enters, tells everyone to bring out their pencils and place their stuff by the platform, then momentarily leaves for the restroom.  

Jungkook fishes through his bag, turning each pocket inside and out over and over again. There’s no way this kid actually-- “Shit, where did that pencil go?” he murmurs, going through his bag once more. Looking away, you bite your lip to stop yourself from snickering. Jeon Jungkook is definitely on a different level.  

As expected, your entertaining seatmate calls you and asks for a pencil. With a deceivingly enthusiastic nod, you retrieve a pencil from your case just beside your chair. Your life after meeting Jungkook at the subway had finally led to this moment. He clears his throat and you figure it’s signaling the coming of another obnoxious comment.  

“Oh, I’m sorry, this wasn’t meant for you,” you look at him with the most apologetic look you can muster. Then you look at him, down then up, just as he had done back in the library, you smile widely before winking at him, making him hand your extra pencil over to the guy sat next to him, “Thanks, babe.”  

Jungkook scowls hard and you rejoice inside your head, making sure that your face doesn’t register the slightest bit of jest. His  scowl however, does not last for long. “Hmm, you’re the girl from the library, right? Smart and feisty...maybe you are my type after all,” he murmurs, tongue poking his cheek. You scoff loudly, scrunching your face in disgust. “No thank you.”  

“Oppa,” the girl’s shrill voice calls him one more time and you face forward to freely roll your eyes. If you aren’t mistaken, there’s even a hint of mild annoyance on Jungkook’s features. “Don’t mind her, oppa. You can have my extra pencil instead.” She tsks. “Some people just don’t know when to quit.”  

At least she got something right this morning: you don’t know when to quit. 

© joontier 2021

[nabsthevulture]

Bone Cleaning Aftercare "Oh no, my skull stinks!"

One of bone cleanings biggest annoyances is nasty smells being left in skulls and bones. It’s not an unfixable thing, but it can definitely be distressing and irritating. There are a few different approaches you can take to remedy this problem, and we’ll cover a few here.

First, go down a little list to figure out what could be causing the smell you’re dealing with. 

1. Is the skull fully clean?

-If not, then this is why your skull stinks. Any leftover rotting flesh or viscera will be not only a source of smell, but it can attract bugs, bacteria, and even start growing mold. Toss that critter back into maceration and let the rest rot off, unless you’re willing to pick it all off by hand. (No shame! I’ve done that plenty of times) 

2. Does the skull need degreasing?

-A greasy skull can definitely be a stinky skull. Make sure you thoroughly degrease your skull, and the smell should go away.

3. Is the skull waxy?

-That's grave wax, baby! Adipocere doesn’t usually smell, but sometimes it can really pack a nasal punch. You can remove it by scraping it off with a toothpick, an X-Acto blade, whatever you’ve got around. Even better is an old toothbrush; Brush away dry or under running water, it’ll come off relatively easy. Go ahead and use some dish soap as well, that’ll help give the skull a better smell.

4. Where is the smell coming from?

-This is probably the first question you ask yourself; Why does my skull stink? And Where is the stink coming from? Built up smell likes to linger in spots where the bone is dense, or where there’s a lot of small places for tissue to hide. The brain cavity can smell a lot like cat piss, in my personal experience. Brain likes to get really nasty while it rots. That’s one of the toughest smells I’ve had to get out of a skull, it’s just such a lingering scent. Smell coming from the nasal cavity could very well mean that there’s still tissue shoved up in there that needs to be fished out or rotted away. Locating the source will ultimately help you figure out what you’ve gotta do to remedy it.

5. Any weird discoloration?

-While not every bit of discoloration will smell, if you’re having a hard time finding the source of a smell, sniff the discolored spots. They would be stains from tissue or bacteria that occurred during the cleaning process, or could be hidden pockets of grease. 

6. Is the skull fully dry?

-Sometimes it can be hard to tell if a skull is all the way dry. The surface may be, but depending on how dense the skull is, water could take longer to dry out. If its degrease water, peroxide, or maceration water, it can smell. They may be cleaning process, but they can really smell bad. I personally have a degrease bucket that I haven’t messed with in a few weeks, affectionately nicknamed “Fart Bucket” because it smells horrible.

Now that that’s out of the way, let's get to the options you’ve got. There’s a few different things you can do, varying in involvement, chemicals, cleaning agents, and time.

Peroxide

A good starting place would be to give the skull a soak in warm water and peroxide. It can knock loose random dirt, and will begin to oxidize and puff up any remaining tissue. That’ll make it easier to spot and pick off if that’s what you feel inclined to do. You can leave the skull to soak for as little or as long as you want, though of course peroxide will begin to whiten the bone. If that’s not the desired effect, limit the soak to around 15-20 minutes. Give the skull a good thorough rinse afterwards to flush out anything that was knocked loose or that you decided to remove, and let it dry. If there’s persisting smell after that, move on to a different method! Peroxide will help with the little smells, but a bigger smell will need a stronger approach.

Heavy Duty Scrubbin’

Grab a bucket, some hot water, a scrubbing brush (Hard bristled toothbrushes are amazing for this) and your favorite smelling, strong dish soap. Lather up your skull and get to scrubbing! Don’t be shy with the soap, make sure you’re thorough. Scrub inside the nasal cavity (Carefully, if the turbinates are still in there), inside the brain cavity, around the sockets of the teeth, etc.. Rinse the skull off every once in a while and start again. It’s tedious for sure, but the results are what you’re after. 

The lower jaw will be an interesting clean job. The hole that runs through the mandible (Mandibular Foramen) can contain a lot of excess grease, build up, or left over meat. If you have em’, grab a couple of pipe cleaners and run them through that hole. Pour some soap into the hole, and keep flossing the pipe cleaner through.It’ll break the excess loose and clear it out on the way through. Make sure you have a few on hand, they’re likely to get really gross really fast.

Let your skull dry and give it a sniff. Still stinks a little? Try again! There’s no harm in scrubbing; Do it until you reach your desired result, or try something new. Either way, no harm done.

Soaks

If you want a less involved method, you’ll probably want to try soaking skulls in a couple of different mixtures. I excluded peroxide and made it its own category because of the chemicals bone whitening ability. It’s not a prolonged soak kind of thing, but these are! These soaks will also act as degreasing baths, given what you use.

Ammonia Soak

-Get yourself some lemon scented ammonia from the dollar store or wherever you may find it. (It doesn't have to be lemon scented, but citrus is an odor killer). Fill up a bucket with enough hot water to cover most of the skull, and then fill up the rest(about an inch or so over the skull) with the ammonia. Ammonia on its own isn’t a necessarily pleasant smell, but it’ll be diluted by the water and won’t ultimately smell like ammonia once dried. You can let this soak for however long you please, but if you’re in a hurry just wait until the water is cold and pull it out. Let it dry, and check it out. The longer you let it sit, the more likely the smell will dissipate. If you have one, a tank heater will keep the water warm and help the ammonia work it’s way through the bone and pull any residual grease out; Grease very well could be the source of the smell.

Acetone Soak

-You’re gonna do pretty much the same thing with this soak as you do with the ammonia, the biggest difference is that you’re only going to use a few ounces of acetone. It’s a strong chemical that works just fine in small quantities. Make sure the water covers the skull completely and then some, and then pour in around half a bottle of acetone (Standard bottle of nail polish remover) depending on the size of your container. Let it soak until its cold, or keep it in until you feel like taking it out. Acetone has a strong smell to it, and is also an agent used for degreasing. You’ll be looking at a two for one like with ammonia. If the smell persists, give it some more time. 

Dish Soap Soak

-Like the last two; Bucket and hot water, fill up above the skull, and then squeeze in some dish soap. Whatever smell you like, use that. Stir the solution up so it’s nicely mixed, and let it soak until its cold or longer if you wish. Let the skull dry, give it a sniff. The longer it hangs out in the soak, the more likely the smell will go. 

With soaks, you’re going to want to check the solution if you leave it sit for a long period of time. If it begins to smell nasty or get cloudy but you aren’t ready to pull it out yet, go ahead and restart your soak solution. The only thing worse than the smell leftover from bone cleaning processes, is the mixture between that smell and dirty degrease/soaking solutions. It’s like getting punched in both nostrils simultaneously. 

Obvious but mediocre solutions

(These are things my taxidermist friend has told me about clients doing in the past, and some are from personal experience. Some are good, some are just...not.)

-Spray em down with air freshener! It’ll help for a very short while before it wears off and goes back to smelling.

-Stick some dryer sheets in the back of the skull, why not

-Rub em down in coffee grounds (This can stain the bone)

-Stick em in a bag of coffee beans (This could also stain the bone)

-Sprinkle them with cinnamon (I have had this stain bone and it’s also like you’re just asking to get cinnamon in your nose)

-Soak them in rose petal water (Can’t speak to this method)

-Set it out in the sun for a few days, let the heat leech out the smell (This can bleach the bone if you leave it too long.)

Realistically, you can do whatever you need to do to get the job done. Just make sure you aren’t using agents that will damage the bones (or yourself) and you’re good to go! Keep in mind that bones that are already brittle, such as nature cleaned, sun bleached, boiled, or bleached skulls can be damaged by some of these processes. If they are brittle to the touch, flaky, easily scratch-able (As in you can put a scratch/groove in the bone very easily), or seem all around unstable, use your best judgement to decide whether or not you should clean them at all. Sometimes weird smelling skulls just need to be put in a display case or somewhere out of smelling distance and left alone.

These methods are applicable to all bones, not just skulls! But as i said above, use your best judgement to determine if the bone will hold up to any of these processes.

Hopefully this is helpful in some way to anyone looking for some help with stinky bones. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out!

[lxckynxmber19]

Piercings in the Wastes

Hellooo I’ve had piercings on the brain lately, so I wanted to share some thoughts on the matter!

(warning for: body modification and needle talk, mentions of genitalia and infections)

So, for starters, the piercing process can be broken down into three major parts:

Sterilization/disinfection of the tools

Marking the area to be pierced

Pushing the needle through

And three tools:

The needle/needles

Something to keep the skin taut, like forceps

A marker

Although in concept those parts are easy, wasteland life adds a lot of challenges, primarily with sterilizing equipment. Not only that, but different piercings require different sized needles to properly push through the skin or cartilage. Finding those + knowing the right size needed can be hard without some kind of reference.

In general though, I think wastelanders would probably come across two sizes - 18g (~1.0mm) and 16g (1.2mm) - and use these for basically everything, unless they have prior body mod knowledge.

~

Needles in more detail:

There are three types of needles used for piercing: hollow (similar to a syringe), cannula (similar to a catheter, fun to say out loud), and curved. For now, we'll just assume that the hollow type is being found and utilized.

Below is a chart with piercing types and the needle sizes often used for each.

(As a key for gauge sizes, the size goes up when the number goes down. 18g is much smaller than say, 0g)

Belly button = 14g - 12g (~1.6mm - 2.0mm)

Bridge of the nose = 18g - 16g (~1.0mm - 1.2mm)

Cartilage = 18g - 16g (~1.0mm - 1.2mm)

Cheek/Dimple = 16g - 12g (1.2mm - 2.0mm)

Dermal (transdermal implant, meaning the piercing is placed partially above and below the skin) = 18g - 16g (~1.0mm - 1.2mm)

Earlobe = 20g - 18g (~0.8mm - ~1.0mm)

Eyebrow = 18g - 16g (~1.0mm - 1.2mm)

Frenum (the underside of the penis) = 14g - 12g (~1.6mm - 2.0mm)

Industrial = 14g (~1.6mm)

Lip, horizontal (meaning it goes into the lip rather than above/below) = 14 g - 12g (~1.6mm - 2.0mm)

Lip, stud/Monroe (the above/below ones) = 18g - 16g (~1.0mm - 1.2mm)

Nipple = 14g - 12g (~1.6mm - 2.0mm)

Nostril = 20g - 18g (~0.8mm - ~1.0mm)

Prince Albert (piercing through the tip of the penis) = 10g - 6g (~2.5mm - 4.0mm)

Septum = 18g - 16g (~1.0mm - 1.2mm)

Surface (like collarbone or corset piercings) = 16g, 14g or 12g (1.2mm, ~1.6mm or 2.0mm) depending on the location

Tongue = 14g - 12g (~1.6mm - 2.0mm)

Oral web (under the tongue) = 20g (~0.8mm)

Vertical and horizontal clitoral hood = 20g or 18g (~0.8mm - ~1.0mm), depending on the individual's anatomy. Vertical ones go under the clitoral hood, while horizontal ones go through

This doesn't cover all of them, but you get the idea. As stated above, there's a better chance of people just finding 18g and 16g. Looking at the chart, both of those cover a pretty wide range of piercing alone (9 for 18g, 8 for 16g). They won't work as well for something needing a 20g or 14g, but they'll definitely still work.

Excluding the Prince Albert and 12g, all of these sizes can be found in doctor's offices or hospitals. Finding 12g-6g needles would probably involve finding an actual piercing shop, or making your own, if possible.

Otherwise, it's likely that the ones used for chems and stimpacks fall within the 18g-14g range. These will work in a pinch.

~

Sterilization and disinfection:

Prewar, a professional probably would've used an autoclave to sanitize their equipment. Those work by dousing the tools in high pressurized steam, as according to the CDC (or the Fallout equivalent), steam is the most effective for killing bacteria.

But finding one in the wastes would either mean scouring through hospitals and hoping it still works, or bugging doctors to see if they have one you can borrow. Even then, it's still kind of a pain in the ass. The equipment needs a sterile environment to maintain its own sterility - and let's face it, the wastes are the exact opposite lol.

For the average wastelander though, disinfection will suffice. There's a couple methods that can be done to disinfect the equipment.

Method one, boiling in water:

Clean off the tools as thoroughly as possible

Place them in a pot of boiling water and let sit for about 30 minutes (if reusing a needle, up to an hour is probably best to be safe)

Remove the tools with something clean and set on a clean cloth (a fine mesh strainer could work, but a colander wouldn't since the holes are too large. Forceps, tongs or medical tweezers would also work)

Method two, heat and alcohol:

Clean off the tools as thoroughly as possible

Find a decent heat source, like a candle or hot plate, and, holding the tools with something, place them in the heat until they turn red hot

Carefully wipe away any residue left behind from the heat source with a clean cloth

Allow to cool some, then soak a cotton ball or cloth in alcohol and rub it on the tools

(Note: Frequent exposure to heat can make needles fragile over time. Using gloves is ideal, but clean hands will work)

There's also the option of radiation. Gamma radiation applied to the equipment can sterilize it by breaking down the bacteria. Of course, it's biggest downside is exposure and the effects it can bring. Admittedly, I haven't found much on the technique yet. I'm gonna assume that anything giving a controlled dose of rads would work, but take that with a grain of salt.

With alcohol, though they don't have full antiseptic qualities, both isopropyl (rubbing) and ethanol (drinking) offer antibacterial, antiviral, and antifungal properties.

Ethanol-wise, I'd say vodka would be the best to use, since it's literally just that and water. The upside is that it's easily found throughout the wastes. But the downside is that because it evaporates fast, bacterial regrowth is possible. Still, it's effective enough to get the job done.

~

At home care:

Typically speaking, saline solutions are used to clean piercings and keep them from getting infected. But in all honesty, this is kinda tricky since there's no real way of knowing just how much saline is out in the wastes.

For this, we're gonna go ahead and say that it's about as common as blood packs. So, in this case, all that would be needed is a (hopefully) clean cloth, the saline itself and patience to let it heal. If none can be found, making it is pretty easy:

Add 1 cup of water and 1/2 a teaspoon of salt to a pot (one can of water + a small palmful of salt, if out travelling)

Bring to a boil for 15 minutes

Allow it to cool before cleaning the area

Alcohol could be used if saline isn’t around/can't be made, but it's not really recommended. It destroys both healthy and unhealthy cells, thus making the healing process longer.

Other than that, it's just a matter of not touching it too much (especially if one's been out traveling a lot), and keeping it cleaned by swishing saline (or alcohol) in the mouth, or gently swabbing the area.

~

All that being said, there's definitely gonna be people in the wastes who either a) don't have the time/means for this, or b) don't care enough to go through all the prep work. So, let's say you're a raider who wants something pierced. You have a needle, alcohol and alleged nerves of steel.

Shoving the needle through your skin is certainly the fastest method, but is also the most risky.

However, dumping that alcohol on the needle and wiping it clean may not make it super disinfected, but it will be cleaner than before. That reduces the risk of infection at least a little. Whatever's left in the bottle can then be used to keep the new piercing clean, at the cost of healing time.

[bisluthq]

Hey, I apologize if this is annoying but I just need to a place to anonymously vent about something. So I'm finally going to tell my therapist about the terrible health anxiety I've had for a long time on Monday. I had told her I had bad anxiety about other things but I never told her about the obsessive thoughts and fear/anxiety I've had about viruses, germs and bacteria and how that's gotten a lot worse because of Covid. I came to realization yesterday when I had a panic attack about finding out that 1 in 4 people in the ENTIRE world (so essentially only 25% which isn't even that terribly much) carry the tuberculosis bacteria and essentially have 'a latent infection' that can be activated by coming into contact with an infected person or a weakened immune system. I was extremely distressed about this and freaked out and couldn't calm down until one of my friends calmed me down over text with scientific facts. But even then stuff like this haunts me. This is just one example that happened recently but sometimes it gets really overwhelming and I am afraid to leave the house or I can't rest until I wash my hands because of germs. It made me realize that I really need to bring this up sooner or later and get help for it. It's like I have some ticking time bomb in my head that tries to convince me I'll just get sick and die someday. I'm honestly really scared to bring this up because I feel like she'll think it's just normal because of Covid or that it's just for attention while this has been an issue for longer. But I'm gonna try and do it.

Hi. Your therapist should never make you feel that way - if it’s happened before, I’d suggest trying a different therapist. Like I’ve told my therapist the craziest shit. I’ve drunk dialed my therapist. And at no point has she ever made me feel like something I’m saying isn’t important or is for attention because her job is to… not do that.

Your anxieties sound common but that doesn’t make them not real. They’re just relatable to people. And they’re not “normal” in that you shouldn’t be feeling that way, you know?

So good luck for telling your therapist, and we’ll be with you mentally. And hopefully she helps.

[ruthoakenshield]

Very Good Friends (Chapter 10)

Catch up here: [Chapter 1] [Chapter 2] [chapter 3] [Chapter 4] [Chapter 5] [Chapter 6] [Chapter 7] [Chapter 8]  [Chapter 9]

Reader x Henry Cavill, Reader x co-star named Dan

Warning: This tale is for 18+ readers ONLY!!!  Mentions of flashbacks: (rape, anal sex, non-con sex, abuse), severe bruising and injury, mentions of suicidal thoughts, depression, humiliation, and some fluff to make us feel better. Smut comes later on  in the story… Several chapters down the road… I promise!!!

If ANY  of the warnings upset you or make you uncomfortable, DO NOT read below  the cut! go find something else to read in this case.

If you are okay with reading those things then enjoy the tale below the cut.

Feedback and reblogs are appreciated. I do not own Henry nor do I have any personal knowledge of him besides what is common knowledge amongst the Cavillary. Any mistakes and typos are mine, story is not beta-tested. GIF I got from the tumbler search thingy.

**********

Henry takes the bacon out of the oven and shuts it off. Placing it on a couple of potholders on the counter to cool. Henry then goes to the stereo and turns the volume down so he can hear you calling if you need him for any help. He goes back to the kitchen and looks up a pancake batter recipe. He checks to make sure he has all the ingredients and then goes about mixing it up.

Once he has the pancake batter mixed he pours it into an empty squeeze bottle with a nozzle and then mixes up the eggs, milk and cheese for the omelets he pours it into the hot skillet and then puts crumbled bacon and the peppers, onion and garlic mix into it as well. He adds more cheese and then flips it closed.

Henry makes two delicious smelling and yummy looking fluffy omelets. He puts them on the plates with foil over the top to keep them warm. Then he makes the slider pancakes. He quickly has a dozen for each of you and figures that’s enough. Putting the cap on the bottle, he puts it in the fridge and then covers the two plates with foil and shuts the burners off.

Henry goes to check on you and finds you sobbing in the bathroom as you sit on the toilet. Henry’s smile fades when he sees you sobbing, and he rushes to you. “Kitten? Honey, what’s the matter?” he asks as he holds your face. “It hurts! It hurts so bad to pee!” you cry. He pulls you into his chest and he holds you. “I’m sorry, Sweetheart. I’m sure that area was inflamed by his activities too. Do you want me to call the Doctor and see what he wants us to do?” he asks you. You nod.

“Honey, are you able to pee at all?” he asks. “Yeah, it just really, really burns and hurts.” You tell him. “Okay, Sweetheart. You gonna be able to finish getting ready?” he asks. You nod. “I’ll try.” You tell him, tears still trickling down your cheeks. He wipes them away with his thumbs. “I wish I could take all this pain away from you, Honey. I know it hurts a lot. Don’t give up, though, okay? You give up, he wins.” Henry says, looking into your pale blue looking eyes. “I’ll call the Doctor.” He tells you. You nod.

Henry heads for the kitchen and grabs the pill bottle with the antibiotic in it. He looks for the phone number for the Doctor and calls it. The nurse answers and Henry explains who he is and why he is calling. “She is in a LOT of pain this morning and says it hurts and burns really, really bad when she pees.” He says.

She tells him to hang on and she will get the doctor. He gets on the phone and talks with Henry. He asks Henry to bring you back in right away, and they will check for a bladder infection. “If it’s hurting that bad and she has been taking the antibiotics as prescribed, she may need a stronger one if the bladder got irritated or infected. Sometimes it happens when there’s prolonged sex going on and bacteria gets into the urethra and makes their way to the bladder. Or the walls can become inflamed just from the constant friction, which can cause pain and burning sensations.

When you get here, have the nurse get me right away and I’ll check her and get tests run.” He tells Henry. Henry thanks him and hangs up. Luckily, he made sure you were taking your meds as prescribed, so he is pretty sure you’re gonna need a stronger antibiotic.

He goes back to check on you and you’re hunched over the sink trying to wash your face, grimacing from the pain. Henry sees you and comes to help you. “Here, Sweetheart, let me help.” He says. You nod and sit back down on the toilet, so it hurts less. He washes your face for you and brushes your hair. You sigh and thank him.

“Do you think you can walk, Kitten?” Henry asks. You shake your head. He comes over and gently picks you up and carries you over to the dinette. He gently sets you on the chair and then goes to get your breakfast. He places it in front of you with butter and syrup, water and your meds. He grabs his plate, and some OJ and sits across from you.

“Doc says to bring you back in as soon as we can. He thinks you probably have a bladder infection from Dan fucking you for so long. Said it probably irritated the walls of your bladder and such. Said he’ll run some tests and will probably give you some stronger antibiotics.” He tells you. You nod and eat your food.

“Thank you, Bear, for letting me stay here and for taking care of me.” You whisper. Henry remembers your throat is still sore and he gets up and kisses your cheek. ‘That’s what friends do, Sweetheart. They take care of each other.” He tells you as he pulls a travel mug from the cabinet. He heats up some water in the electric kettle and then puts a honey and lemon tea bag into the travel mug and pours the hot water into it. Henry lets it steep for a few minutes then pulls the tea bag out and tosses it in the garbage. He snaps the lid on the mug and hands it to you.

“Kitten, how did you sleep last night? I noticed you crawled in with me in your little burrito again. Did you have another nightmare?” he asked. You shook your head. “I just didn’t feel as safe laying on the couch by myself. So I came and curled up next to you. For once, I didn’t have any nightmares.” You whisper.

Henry gives you a warm smile. “Well, I’m glad you feel safe enough with me to do that with me, Kitten.” He tells you. You nod and stuff another piece of omelet in your mouth.

After a few moments, Henry asks you, “Kitten, would you like to try a self-defense class or drawing to help you cope with what you’ve been through?” You shrug. “I’m not much of an artist. I suppose we could go watch the two classes she recommended. I don’t know.” You mumble and look down.” “Honey, if you don’t want to do it, that’s okay. I just thought it would be good for you to see what some of your options are. Who knows, maybe something will spark an interest.” He tells you.” You shrug.

“I’ll call and see if we can come observe. A few of the classes for each. If you don’t want to try it, that’s fine. At least you had a look to see if it was something you might like.” He says. “Okay.” You tell him then take your meds with the water.

You shiver a bit and Henry asks if you’re cold. You nod. “It’s chilly in here this morning.” You tell him quietly. He nods. “Yeah. I’ll have maintenance come turn on the furnace today while we’re gone.” He tells you and grabs his phone.

Henry makes a few calls while the two of you eat, and Maintenance says they’ll be over in an hour to check the furnace and get it going for you. He thanks them then calls the two martial art studios the counselor recommended. They agree to come let the two of you observe a couple of classes to see if its something you’d like to try and tell Henry to just come when the two of you have free time. No appointment needed. He thanks them both as well.

Henry looks over at you while you are finishing eating. You look exhausted. Your skin is paler than usual, and your cheeks are slightly flushed. The bruising on your neck and chest is dark but is starting to turn green and yellow around the edges. He reaches across and puts a hand on your forehead. It feels a little warmer than usual and he suspects you have a low-grade fever.

Henry caresses your face, and you sigh and lean into his hand for a moment and close your eyes enjoying his touch. “We’ll get you through this, Kitten. I know you aren’t feeling well right now. Hopefully the Doc can figure out why you’re hurting so bad and get you something to make you feel better.” He tells you quietly. You nod, and he lets go of your face. “Come on, now, finish up and we’ll go get you dressed and head out.” He encourages.

More chapters to come…

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[nicka-nell]

I'm Kiyoomi Sakusa and I'm a germaphobe - Chapter 7: The thing about playing volleyball

Words: 1.916 Warning: none 

Chapter 6 - We can do it this way, can’t we?     | Masterlist

(y/n) = your name | (l/n) = last name | (e/c) = eye colour | (h/c) = hair colour

After her shift, (y/n) hurries home to get ready for the appointment with Kiyoomi. She quickly goes to shower, blow-dries her hair and goes to her wardrobe to get something to wear.

The weather is quite pleasant today. But depending on how long she stays with Kiyoomi, it’ll be cool on the way back. She picks out a short black dress with lace at the neckline and at the bottom of the dress. Since it has thin straps, she wants to put on her red coat.

While she grabs her bag with the book, her notepad and pen, her phone vibrates on her bedside table. She closes the bag and goes over to her bed to see who wrote to her.

With quick steps she goes into the hallway and puts on her coat and her black high heels. Irritated, she scans her coat for her house key. But they're not there. Questioning, she looks at the wardrobe and the small bowl where she usually puts them. Also, nothing.

“Kaede? Do you know where my keys are?” She calls from the hallway into the living room. “Yes, I'm sorry. I borrowed them because I misplaced mine. But I found them again. Wait, I'll bring you the keys.” He shouts to her and steps into the hallway. But when he sees his sister, his step slows down, and he looks at her with big eyes.

“Say, I thought you were just meeting your new laboratory rat... Then why do you look so dressed up, (y/n)?" Seriously he crosses his arms in front of his chest and looks at his sister skeptically.

I wear that dress a lot... now all of a sudden I’m dressed up in that dress? "What nonsense." She hisses at him and reaches out her hand to ask him to give her the key.

Actually, she’s right. She’s worn that dress a lot before. But it bothers Kaede that she’s meeting a man her age and then wearing such a short dress. When she is with him, her best friend or her colleague, he does not mind. There he knows that she is safe. But he doesn’t know this Sakusa weirdo.

“Just take care of yourself. Okay?” He sighs anxiously and puts the key in her hand and encloses it with his. "I’m just worried about you, (y/n)." He adds. “I know Kaede. I’ll take care of myself. And if anything happens, I’ll write to you." She smiles warmly at him and puts the key in her pocket.

“No, you write to me as soon as you get to that freak. All right?” Shaking her head, she rolls her eyes. “See you later, Kaede." She says goodbye and closes the door behind her.

It takes exactly fifteen minutes for (y/n) to stand in front of Kiyoomis’s small house and ring the bell. After a few seconds, the door opens and Kiyoomi stands in front of her in a T-shirt, shorts and above all without a face mask.

For a moment, the air stays away, as she now sees his complete face. He has a serious look, but he looks really pretty without his mask. “Come in (y/n). You can take your shoes off in the hallway." Slowly he opens the door another piece. Nodding, she steps into his hallway and puts down her bag to take off her coat.

As if in slow motion, her coat glides down from her arms, and she hangs it on his wardrobe. With an overextended look, his eyes wander up and down and inspect her narrow body. He had never seen her without a jacket or coat and now that he sees her in such a tight dress, he has to admit that she really has a great feminine figure with really nice curves.

Damn it. What the hell is he thinking right now? While shaking his head, he clears his throat. “Did you get here well?" he asks with an unnaturally high voice. “Yes of course. After all, I'm here, aren't I?” (y/n) laughs questioningly and takes off her high heels.

"Oh, but let me just quickly send a message... Then I’m totally here for you.” Nodding, he looks at her.

Thankfully, for his patience, she looks up to him joyfully. With a head movement, he signals her to follow him, and she follows Kiyoomi with quick steps. They go into his living room, and he asks her if she wants a drink. Shaking her head, she looks around. It’s very clean in here. A bit decoration is to be seen. And a bit, his house reminds her of a hospital facility. Quite clinical, yet very nice and tidy.

“It’s beautiful here." She tries to break the silence. “Yeah... Do me a favor and don’t touch anything. I just cleaned up." He answers as he watches her. “Don’t worry." she answers with a smile and looks at him questioningly. “Can I sit on the couch?" Nodding, he comes over to her and also sits on the couch. Again silence comes in.

“So can I ask you something, Sakusa?" she tries to break the silence again. “That’s why you’re here, isn’t it?" he answers her monotonously and looks at her with raised eyebrows. “Sure. So... Why don't you have a problem with touching the ball, while playing volleyball? A lot of hands touched the ball before. So there are more bacteria on it than on one hand." The question is justified in her opinion.

Now that he’s thinking about it... Actually, he wasn’t really aware of that. Especially since volleyball is his passion. He loves this sport. In addition, he only touches the ball for a few seconds and afterwards takes a shower. “You already know that you should help me and not that you should make me even more into a germaphobe?" he then returns somewhat annoyed.

" So you admit that you suffer from germophobia?" she grins triumphantly at him and gets up proud on the sofa. Now he realizes what he just said. “What? No, not at all." He hisses annoyed. “Doesn't matter. I know I’m supposed to help you. But what I wanted to say with my question earlier, or rather to ask, was that you didn’t really seem to care about all this while playing volleyball. So why do you have a problem giving people your hand out of the field." curiously she looks him in the eye, but he is silent.

The question is simply explained. Most of the time he only knows people briefly and doesn’t know what they did before. “I don’t know if they touched things that are dirty before. If they were on the toilet and didn’t wash their hands after that... This is just disgusting. I only shake people’s hands with gloves and only when I have to." As if all of this were completely self-explanatory, he looks at her without understanding.

“And how do you know in volleyball if your teammates who touch the ball have washed their hands before...?" She is still trying to lure him out of the reserve with a curious voice. “My teammates always disinfect their hands before the game, because they know I don’t like impurity." His narrow eyes almost pierce her, at his answer.

“And your opponents? You don’t know... whether they have washed their hands beforehand.", “No, but in volleyball, the ball is not held, it is punched away. So they don’t even touch the ball for long-", he just wants to finish the sentence when he is interrupted by the now even wider grinning (y/n).

“Aha! But as soon as they touch the ball, bacteria can come on the ball, which you then have on your body during the game. So you basically shook hands with at least eleven strange people." Grinning, she twists her arms and falls back on the couch.

Sakusa, on the other hand, is silent. And meanwhile he regrets having invited this woman here, she is even worse than Atsumu. She makes him mess up. But somehow he has to agree with her again. “And again, you don’t help me, you make me slowly but surely disgust my sport." A slight hint of anger can be heard in his voice as he leans forward and takes a small can of disinfectant from the living room table and rubs his hands.

“Why are you doing this Kiyoomi?" (y/n) asks him confused. Since she sees no reason for him to have to disinfect his hands in his apartment in a safe place. “I just feel more comfortable when I disinfect my hands every two hours." He answers her, but doesn’t look at her. “But Kiyoomi... that’s gonna break your skin!" He’s looking at her grimly, and he knows he’s gonna destroy his skin with it. That is obvious. But as long as it helps him, he will continue to do so.

Since (y/n) notices that his mood is getting worse, she tries to distract the topic from his hands and loosen the mood a bit. “Why did you ask me for help? Why don’t you ask your teammates?" Carefully, he turns the disinfectant off and turns to her.

“My teammates couldn’t help me with this, I’m too familiar with them, but I didn’t have anything to do with you before. I mean... I never would have let a stranger into my house before, and yet here you are. Since you are a doctor, I trust that you will consciously deal with yourself and your health and keep yourself clean. You’re pretty observant and intelligent. I noticed that the first time when you gave me my key wrapped in a paper towel and didn’t just reach for the key. So I think you could help me. When this is all over, you can live your life the way you did before and I’ll go my way with hopefully less fears and not instead with more..." He emphatically emphasizes the last words, since (y/n) had apparently caused him more and more fear of bacteria.

She’s a little surprised by his open answer. “All right. Then we start with you disinfecting your hands less. Five times a day at the most. And at the end of the week, twice a day at most. We’ll meet again in a week and you’ll tell me about your success. If anything happens, just text me or come to the clinic. Then we can talk." She stands up and looks at Kiyoomi, who looks at her with big eyes.

How can he only disinfect his hands twice a day? “If you can’t do this, you don’t really want to try this. I'll go now. See you in a week, Kiyoomi Sakusa.” she says goodbye quite coolly for her circumstances and struts with her, already so familiar to him, hip swing from his living room.

That woman will kill him someday.

Chapter 8 - A coffee please

Taglist: @kara-grayson04​ @suna-allie​

[sirloozelite]

Galaxy-8: The Annual Medical Report

(Galaxy-8 makes no logical sense and everything is insanely wrong and twisted and weird. This AU exists solely for the LOLZ and is not to be taken seriously whatsoever. Enjoy the humour! XD)

Scene: Admiral Thrawn and General Tano’s Venator Star Destroyer. In orbit above Naboo. Clone Medic Kix has gathered the entire crew in the mess hall for his annual crew health checkup results. He likes to share them rather than keep them confidential in an attempt to encourage crew interaction and friendship. Naturally, things tend to get a bit embarrassing and personal.

Kix: Ok everyone. Thank you all for coming at short notice, but Coric and I have finally finished our report on crew health.

Jesse: Oh good. Time for a boring long winded explanation.

Kix: Since you want to be cocky and arsey Jesse, lets cover you first shall we?

Jesse: 0_0   Oh poodoo!

Kix: I’m pleased to report that aside from that stubbed toe of your you are a fine bill of health. Well done.

Jesse: Oh! Cool. Thanks Kix.

Ahsoka: You stubbed your toe? How’d you manage that?!

Jesse: Turned a corner in a hallway and ran into an astromech.

Hardcase: Pfftt... loser!

Jesse: :(

Kix: Captain Cody?

Cody: Yes Kix?

Kix: That cold you had the other day was nothing to worry about. Merely exposure to foreign bacteria. Your immune system should have built a defense against it in the future.

Cody: Yay!

Kix: Yay indeed. Admiral Thrawn?

Thrawn: Yes?

Kix: Your stock of anti-depressants are back in. Please come see me when you have a chance.

Thrawn: Thank you. I will.

Ahsoka: Anti-depressants? Thrawn? You ok buddy?

Thrawn: .... I am fine thank you.

Ahsoka: -_-

Kix: As for the rest of you, I am pleased to announce a clean bill of health. This legion is fit for duty 100%.

Everyone: (Cheers)

Kix: ... that is except for ARC Trooper Hardcase and General Tano.

Hardcase and Ahsoka: Huh!?

Cody: (smirks at Ridge) Time for revenge!

Ridge: (smirks at Cody) Long have we waited for this!

Ahsoka: Kix?! What’s wrong with us?

Hardcase: Yeah! Don’t keep us in suspense!

Kix: Well... you see... the thing is.... you are infected.

Hardcase: Infected?!

Ahsoka: By what?!?!

Kix: Well... let me put it this way you idiots! Remember the last time we all went to 79′s together, and how the two of you might have spent the night with a pair of exotic dancers?

Ahsoka: Um... yeah?

Harcase: ... oh no... your not saying what I think you are saying... are you?

Cody and Ridge: XD

Kix: Afraid so. General... ARC Trooper... I’m afraid you have both contracted an STD.

Ahsoka and Hardcase: 0_0

Everyone else: (gasps of shock and horror)

Thrawn: .... fascinating. What sort?

Ahsoka: Dude ewww!!

Kix: A bad one... one that will require delicate treatment for Hardcase.

Hardcase: Wha... what sort of treatment?

Kix: I hate to say it Hardcase, but I’m afraid the only course of action to remove the STD is to remove your reproductive organs. Please report to my medical surgery tomorrow so Coric and I can operate.

Hardcase: Remove... remove my.... 0_0

Fives: Ha! Hardcase is being neutered!

Hardcase: NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  (runs out of the mess hall crying in fear)

Everyone else: 0_0

Ahsoka: What about me Kix? What are you going to do to me?

Kix: Well General... the good news is that your biology is a lot more resilient compared to humans. I can give you a powerful drug that should wash the STD out of your system eventually, however there is some bad news.

Ahsoka: What’s that?

Kix: In order for this drug to be effective, you will need to refrain from sexual activity for several months, possibly even a year. Otherwise your health will deteriorate rapidly.

Ahsoka: 0_0

Kix: ... General?

Ahsoka: I.... I... I need to call someone. (gets up and slowly leaves the mess hall)

Kix: ...

Everyone else: ...

Cody: XD

Ridge: ... do you think they bought it Kix?

Kix: Absolutely. Hopefully that’ll teach them both a lesson or two!

Cody: Nice work Kix! I owe you a beer!

Kix: You owe me several Sir.

Fives: ... wait... was that a prank? Do they not have an STD after all?

Kix: Nope. Cody and Ridge wanted to scare them, so I came up with this as an idea. I think it worked.

Fives: 0_0   Remind me to never piss the three of you off again!

Kix: Noted.

Fives: ... we are gonna tell them it was a prank though right? Hardcase isn’t really getting neutered... is he?

Kix: Nah. We’ll tell them in the morning, Gives them a night to reflect and regret.

Cody: About time they did.

Ridge: Ahhhhhh... revenge never tasted so sweet!

[miafic]

one ~ two ~ three ~ four

Lucas had been overprotective of Zakk all week, to the point where he was kind of acting like a mother hen. And, for some reason, Zakk let it happen. He’d only protest once - “I feel fine” - before giving in and letting Lucas bring him a glass of water or rub his feet or even take a day off to stay home with him. That’s how afraid Lucas was; he managed to tear himself away from work. And it wasn’t really even that hard. 

They spent most of the day lying side by side in bed. They watched TV and talked and had sex a couple of times, slow and gentle and loving. They showered together, and Lucas took his time massaging shampoo into Zakk’s hair and then helping Zakk rinse it out. Then Lucas held him, both of them standing with half of their body beneath the spray, until the water went from hot to lukewarm. 

It had been a long, emotional, terrifying week for both of them. “Are you in any pain?” Lucas would ask. Or maybe, “Are your joints okay?” They’d cut pizza, beef, and popcorn out of their diets and instead started eating lots of asparagus and fish and small fruits like raspberries and blueberries - whatever Lucas had found online during his google searches for food that was good for your kidneys. 

The night before the follow-up was scheduled, Lucas had barely been able to sleep. He was wrapped around Zakk, holding him, watching the numbers on the digital clock creep forward. 

Zakk turned over in the middle of the night and burrowed into Lucas’ chest. Lucas squeezed him tighter and kissed his head at least ten times before finally falling asleep around 3:30. The alarm went off at 5:15. 

“Are you sure you want me to go to work?” Lucas whispered. 

Zakk nodded. “I’ll be fine,” came his slow, tired reply. 

Lucas kissed him, got up, and got dressed. He spent several minutes brushing his hair out and getting his bun just right, and when he went back out to say goodbye, Zakk was, as usual, asleep. Lucas pressed their foreheads together for a long moment while he said a silent prayer. Then he kissed Zakk’s relaxed lips and slipped out of the room. 

---

The morning wasn’t anything out of the ordinary, but truth be told, it felt a little like hell. 

Lucas went into the house, greeted the aide, and went to wake the boys up. “Good morning! Rise and shine!” he called, forcing as much of a smile as he could. He was met with one sleepy, “Lucaaaaaas!” but otherwise just grumbles and complaints. 

Breakfast was simple - cereal and milk - and then the kids cleaned up and spent the rest of their time in the game room. Two of them got into it over foosball, which meant that Lucas had to intervene before the arguing and yelling turned into something worse, but once the issue was settled, it was settled. 

Brendon and Ryan showed up a few minutes early, and Lucas passed the kids off to them as soon as they walked in the door. He had half a mind to collapse onto the couch for a nap, but he knew that despite having already completed the meal schedules through the next three months in an effort to stave off his anxiety, he had work to do. Chore charts needed to be made, emails needed to be sent, and he still needed to find a service project for the kids to do the following week. 

Despite his long to-do list, he accidentally nodded off at his desk and jolted awake twenty minutes later, a feeling of guilt washing over him. Still, he grabbed for his phone to make sure that Zakk hadn’t texted. He hadn’t. Lucas opened their message and sent, Thinking of you, and a sunshine emoji. There was no response, but it wasn’t even 8:30 AM. Zakk was probably still sleeping. 

Lucas threw himself back into planning. Controlling what he could. Mapping out something stable. When his phone dinged forty minutes later, he about jumped out of his skin. 

“Zakk,” he breathed as he saw the name on the display. He hurried to unlock the phone and read the message - I love you baby. One more hour and then either way we’ll know something.

Yeah, Lucas wrote back immediately. I love you too. Hopefully they’ll call soon. 

Zakk didn’t say anything back. Lucas resumed his work.

---

“Zakk’s hoooome!” one of the boys declared as Zakk pulled into the driveway. 

“Zakk! Zakk! Zakk!” another kid started chanting, but luckily, it didn’t catch on. 

Lucas herded the kids into the dining room so that they could start their lunch, but he hung back, watching as Zakk came in through the kitchen. Not wanting to seem too eager or to make Zakk anxious, he wandered out of the kitchen and toward the entry of the house. 

Zakk, of course, went to greet the kids first thing. Lucas couldn’t really tell what his mood was, but he did hear him ask, “Do you guys know where Lucas is?”

“I’m out here,” Lucas replied, voice raised a little so Zakk would hear him from the distance. 

Zakk came around the corner, and Lucas gave him a stressed smile. 

“Hey,” Lucas said. “Do you wanna go in the office?” 

“No, but I wondered if you could do something for me.” Zakk’s face was serious as he looked up at Lucas.

“Anything.” 

“Could you stop by the pharmacy on your way home? They prescribed me some antibiotics.” 

Lucas’ mouth fell open and quickly transformed into a wide smile. “Yes!” he half-shouted. “Yes, I would-” He cut himself off and grabbed Zakk in a tight hug. “I would love to do that for you. I would love to pick up antibiotics for you.” He squeezed his eyes shut and laughed in relief. “Oh my god. Oh my god.”

Zakk laughed fondly, embracing Lucas just as tightly. “I’m sorry for not calling; I just wanted to see your face,” Zakk confessed.

“It’s okay. I’m glad you were here for me to hug.” 

Zakk chuckled. “Me, too.” 

“What’s going on?” the chanting kid asked. He was standing in the archway with his roommate at his side, watching Lucas and Zakk hug. 

They both straightened up, but they didn’t rush. (They knew that would only make them look suspicious.) 

“We got some good news,” Lucas smiled. He nudged Zakk with his elbow and said, “Let’s go in the office for a second.” To the boys, he said, “You’re always complaining that you’re hungry. Go eat.” 

Lucas and Zakk walked together into the office, and Lucas shut the door behind them. “So you’re okay?” he asked almost pleadingly, taking Zakk’s hands. “You’re really okay?” 

“Yeah. They said it was a UTI that didn’t have any symptoms other than - remember how I was so tired a couple weeks ago?”

Lucas nodded.

“That’s apparently a symptom of what I had. It’s called a ‘silent UTI.’ And because it wasn’t treated, bacteria went up into my kidneys and was causing problems. If I hadn’t been to the doctor, and if I kept not showing symptoms, it could have eventually killed me.” 

Lucas shook his head, shocked. “Wow.” 

“I know.” Zakk fell into his chest, and Lucas hugged him tightly. 

“I love you so much,” Lucas whispered to him. “I love you, I love you.” 

“I love you.” 

They shared a kiss and then another long embrace. 

“I’m gonna be okay,” Zakk said happily.

“Yeah,” Lucas breathed. He gave Zakk a squeeze.

“When’s the last time you went to the doctor?” Zakk asked, and Lucas snorted before he could stop himself.

“What?” Zakk asked, pulling back.

“Uh, nothing, just... it’s been a while.” 

“How long is a while? You never talk about it.” 

Lucas looked away and shrugged.

Zakk made a soft noise of disapproval. “Well, we need to get you an appointment somewhere. I don’t want what happened to me happening to you. Or if something’s already happening, we need to know sooner rather than later.”  

“No, that’s okay.” 

Zakk blinked. “What?” 

“I’m not going to the doctor. I’m fine.” 

“You actually have a lot of stuff going on I’d like to ask about, so...”

Lucas shook his head. “It’s fine.”

“Lucas,” Zakk said, confusion and hurt written across his face. “I just told you I could have died. And you won’t go to the doctor? Just one appointment?” 

“Nope.” 

The hurt was replaced with anger. “Why?”

“Because I don’t like going.” 

“Well, too bad. You’re going.” 

“I’m not.”

“Yeah, you are. I will make you an appointment and drag you there myself.”

“No, you won’t, because I’m really not going,” Lucas said with a laugh. The computer made a dinging sound that signaled that he’d just gotten an email, so he turned away from the conversation. “You should go eat. There’s a wrap for you on the counter.” 

Zakk was quiet for several seconds. Then he said, “Come eat with me.” 

“I’ll be out in a minute.”

“To eat?”

“No, but I’ll sit with you.” 

Zakk sighed. “You need to eat. You need to take better care of yourself. You need to go to the doctor. It’s not a debate, Lucas; you’re going.”

“It’s not a debate, and I’m not going.” Before Zakk could protest again, he said, “I love you, and I am so glad that you’re okay, and I’m really happy that they caught the problem before it got bad. But I’m not going to the doctor. Let’s just celebrate you today, okay?” 

“We’re talking about this later,” Zakk warned.

Lucas gave him a halfhearted grin. As soon as the door was closed, though, he let the smile drop. Lucas wasn’t going to the doctor, no matter what Zakk said. No fucking way.

[hms-chill]

The Long Way

A nice fun Liam/Spencer fic, because these boys deserve the world.

Summary: (Alternately  titled “SOMEONE GIVE LIAM A HUG” or “Stronk Farm Boyfriends”)Liam’s  just finishing up vet school, and he’s a month shy of achieving the  thing he’s been working for since he was a kid. When he gets called out  to a farm to witness a calf birth and notices something wrong,  under-researched, and curable, it’s the perfect thing to treat and  document so he can write a paper that will jump-start his career. Of  course, the fact that the calf is owned by a cute dairy farmer doesn’t  hurt, either.

Chapter one // Chapter two // Chapter 3 // Chapter 4 // On AO3

Chapter 5

They climb out of the truck, and the sun is out, and Liam feels like a different person than he was when they got in. Somehow, it's like he's let all his questions, fears, and doubts fall away, shutting them up as he shuts the truck's door. Hopefully, they'll disappear into whatever void exists under and between car seats and never be seen again. Spencer and the picnic basket lead the way to a table, and Liam follows with his backpack slung over a shoulder. It's only once Spencer starts unpacking the picnic basket and urging him to eat that Liam realizes how hungry he is.

"Dude, have you eaten anything today?" Spencer asks. There's a hint of joke in his tone, but the foundation is worried.

"I... had breakfast, I think. One of the side effects of withdrawal was nausea, so I... it wasn't exactly motivating to eat, especially when it's just ramen again." That's supposed to be a joke, sort of, a play on the starving student stereotype. But Spencer just looks worried, and Liam scrambles to reassure him. "I'm fine. It's... it's not a big deal or anything; now that I'm back on the meds I should be fine. Just a week of your mom's food spoiled me. Before y'all, I hadn't had a real home-cooked meal in... god, eight years I think? I mean, my friends and I made stuff, but nothing with the same effort and love baked in."

It's not a big deal, but Spencer looks even more concerned. "Oh no. That’s... my mom is going to make you so much food when she finds out; you have no idea.”

“Don’t... you don’t have to tell her." Liam says quickly, trying not to think about how much he already owes Spencer's mom. "I... I’d really rather she didn’t worry; she seems sweet but I don’t need... I’m okay. I’m doing fine, and it’s not for much longer if I pass, and you all got me so much already.”

Spencer's quiet for a moment, then he says, "Why don't you come out to the farm after you're done with the test? We can celebrate with more homemade food. They could be there if you want to meet them, or it could be just us and whoever else you want. Up to you."

"I'd like that. Maybe... I don't know if your parents would like me all that much; I'm not exactly... parents don't tend to like me, and I don't want to butt in or anything, but if you want them there then I don't mind."

"Alright; it'll be us and Annie, and I'll make sure to have something home cooked. Anyone else you want to come? We could do a little celebration."

"You... we don't have to make it a thing; it--"

"If you're going to say it isn't a big deal, after how much we both know it's been stressing you out, I'm going to riot. It matters. This is a big thing, and it deserves to be celebrated. And so do you." Spencer looks so confident, and so sure of himself and the absolute fact of what he's just said that Liam can't find anything to say in response. He just looks down at the food in front of him, but even that is a sign of Spencer's kindness, and he's almost overwhelmed with it all.

"Thank you," he says after a moment. "For... everything, not just wanting to celebrate the NAVLE with me. I'm sorry if I'm weird about it; this is... new. For me. But I do appreciate it. So thank you."

“Of course. And I mean it, you do deserve to be celebrated. You’re a really great guy, and you worked so hard for this. We’ll do a special dinner next week, and if you want Bell or anyone there, we’ll have them.”

“I’d like that, but she... she lives a few hours away with my sister, and I wouldn’t want to have to pick her up after the test or take her back between that night and work the next morning. Thank you, though, for thinking of her. If she was closer, I'd definitely want her there."

"Of course." If Spencer's honest with himself, he's always thinking of Bell. Somewhere, in the back of his mind, he's always worried about her and what she'd say. Liam's love for her is as clear as day. He lights up when he talks about her, how she's his girl and he'd do anything to make her happy. He talks about wanting to look after her when she gets old, how they'd grown up together and she'd been there with him through everything. Once, he'd said that she's the only girl he'll ever really love. He is so, so in love with her, and every now and then when he mentions her, Spencer can tell it breaks Liam's heart that they can't be together.

He’s constantly offering to show Spencer pictures of how cute she is, or how gorgeous and regal, but Spencer's always said no. Because if Bell is as stunning and wonderful as Liam says, and if they're really as in love as they seem, then no matter how much of a crush he has, Spencer doesn't stand a chance. At least if he doesn't have to see her, it makes it easier somehow. He can pretend she's not real, or that he and Liam have a shot. If nothing else, he at least doesn't have to see the person Liam's so close to.

"I... I was about to thank you again," Liam says, laughing a bit and pulling Spencer out of his head. "I really don't... it's been a long time since I had someone who'd look out for me like this. I appreciate it a lot."

"Well, you've got me and my parents and our neighbors now; that's at least five people who'd be willing to fight for and love you. And Bell would, too, or at least I hope she would. For how much you love her, I hope she's loving you back."

"Oh, yeah, I mean, she would if she could. She did, back when we were staying together; she helped so much then. I... I swear she's the only reason I'm doing as well as I am today, which isn't saying much, but it... it could be worse, I suppose. It's just harder now, since we're not in the same place."

Spencer nods, and Liam asks about Annie after a moment, so they watch the video of her playing again, then Spencer rambles about things at the farm so Liam can eat. When he's finished, they get his flash cards and study guide, and Spencer listens while he talks about cow poop and horse bacteria and rabbit parasites as the sun sets.

It's more obvious than ever how ready for this test he is. Spencer's known he's smart for a while, but something about the way he answers questions now, the quiet assurance as they flip through flash cards and practice questions, solidifies the fact in Spencer's mind. Liam's going to do well.

"Hey, you're... you're really smart," he says as they come to a break, looking at Liam with a bit of a smile. "I know I've said to before, and I know you don't really believe me, but you're going to crush this test."

"Thanks. I... I hope I'm ready. I just don't want to let anyone down."

"Well, I don't know who else you're talking about, but I'm already really proud of you. And you're working so hard, I bet anyone else would be proud, too."

"Thanks, but it's more... I had to crowdfund this entry fee. That's... that's part of why I'm taking it now instead of in the fall when everyone else did; I had to raise enough. So I just... I don't want to let down the people who helped me out. I couldn't have taken it otherwise, so I... I feel like if I don't do well, it'll be a waste of their money and belief in me."

He's looking down at the notes in front of him, chewing on his bottom lip, but he looks up as Spencer gets up to come around behind him and rub his shoulders. He seems surprised for a second, then leans into it, letting his head fall back onto Spencer's chest as Spencer rubs the tension out of his shoulders.

"I'm sorry I can't make any of this easier, but I can tell you that anyone who helped you get here should and would be so, so proud of you. You're doing your best, and that's all anyone could ask for."

"Thank you," Liam says, letting his eyes close for a second as Spencer works through a particularly tense knot in his shoulder. "That's... I'm trying to believe that."

"If you want, you could come out to the farm tomorrow. I've got some work, but if you wanted to study in the house or a barn, we could find you a place. I might even put you to work when that big brain of yours needs a break."

"I don't want to be in the way," Liam says, but Spencer just shakes his head.

"Nonsense. I mean, you don't have to, obviously, but if you want, it would be nice not to have to eat meals alone. The farm feels empty."

"If you're sure I wouldn't be in the way, I'd like that," Liam says. He's still got his head leaned on Spencer's chest, but despite being upside down, his smile looks almost normal. It's miles better than it was when they'd first met up.

A bit of hair flops down into his face as he and Spencer make eye contact, and he blows at it a bit. It lands in the exact same place, and he blows at it again, going cross-eyed as he stares at it and almost smiling as it flutters above him for a moment. When it falls right back where it was, Spencer takes one hand off Liam's shoulder and brushes it away. As he does, his fingers barely skimming Liam's forehead, their eyes catch again, and for a split second, Spencer can't breathe. He's sure that Liam can hear his heart thumping against his chest, but he can't remember how to make himself care. He can't remember how to do anything but look at Liam's face, taking in the bags under his eyes and the stubble on his chin, the flop of hair on his forehead and the way his lashes fan out when he blinks. But no matter what else he looks at, he keeps being drawn back to Liam's eyes. They're stunning. There's something about them, a fierceness and a light that captivates Spencer. He's aware that he's been looking at Liam for too long, and that he should look away, but somewhere, he realizes that it takes two people to make eye contact, and Liam isn't looking away, either.

Then a crow caws, a little too close to the food, and Spencer looks over to make sure he's not stealing anything important, breaking the spell.

"It's, uh, is it getting late?" Liam asks, moving his head off Spencer's chest to rub the back of his neck as he checks his phone. Spencer gives his shoulders a last squeeze and steps back; they're still tense but better than they were.

"It might feel that way; when did you get up?"

"Oh, definitely way too early. And, you know, it's... it's been a long one. I should probably head home, but, um, if you're sure I won't be in the way, I'll see you tomorrow?"

"That sounds good." They finalize plans as they pack the picnic basket, and Spencer insists that Liam take home the leftovers, so the picnic basket ends up in the back seat of Liam's car next to two care packages and a little cooler of fresh milk and veggies.

On AO3

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[devintrinidad]

I personally treat every spin-off as canon since the main author always supervise them, without mentioning that all the artists support each other when there’s a special event: Everyone of them needed to create illustrations for the anime announcement of both mangas CAW and BLACK 🤔. I also find funny that if you take the context of Black with main Caw, the liver would also be hostess club (meaning that U-2048 was probably on one of them in chapter 10, lol) 🤣

I was also wondering how you did with CAW BLACK. With that first impression, is it an anime that you would watch or you would skip? Any other opinion on it? 🙂

Regarding CAW, next episode will have together “Acquired Immunity” and “Peyer’s Patch”, kind of an odd choice since both chapters don’t seem to be near each other or have an evident possible transition. Any idea how they would do that? 🤔

~~~

Heya, Emoji! It’s been a while! :D

Hehehe, I don't really have much of an opinion on the spinoffs, but I’m pretty sure Platelets and White are in the same universe. The rest, I think, take place in different bodies? Regardless of the case, I think they each have their own way of contributing to the lore of the cells and how human biology is translated in anime/manga form. 

Hehehe, 2048 in a hostess club... I’m pretty sure I wrote that as part of one of my fics for RBC, Sighted! a few years ago. Who knows, we might get that scene animated, heheh.

As for CAW Black... I read a few chapters of the manga and let me tell you, it’s so bleak and depressing. I wasn’t sure that I wanted to watch it, but after receving this message, I knew that I should give it a chance because I wanted to give you an honest answer. 

And, to be honest, it’s better than I thought it would be.

Right from the get go, there’s a distinct feeling of dread and gloom right from the beginning of the episode. We’re just dropped into this scenario with our main RBC AA-2153 and we have to wonder... what’s going on? Why is everything so dark and grim?

Then, we get a scene that was never fully realized in the original CAW, the induction ceremony, an orientation session, etc. Everything seems to be great and carefree, there was even talk about benefits! 2153 is bright eyed, bushy tailed, and he’s writing things down in his notebook. Considering that I haven’t seen any other RBC with glasses before, I think he’s our resident weak RBC (kind of like how 3803 is clumsy and ditzy... It’s been a while since I’ve read the manga, but I don’t think he has too much trouble, unlike our original main counterpart). 

The thing that really gets me about 2153′s design is that there are a lot of callbacks to 3803. First of all, the hair. There’s that signature curl, signifying innocence and probably a propensity for clumsiness. Then the eyes. While 3803′s eyes are more golden, 2153′s are more of a light brown. Not too bad, but there’s already a comparison to be made here. 3803 is bright, gleaming almost while 2153 seems dully by comparison. When you look at their hair, the differences become even starker. 3803 is an eye catching shade of red while 2153 is stuck with hair that is light brown and generic. When you compare their uniforms, 3803′s is more bright while 2153′s is faded... almost scuffed. 

When you take these differences into account, it’s kind of obvious that this body is not as healthy as the original. 

Furthermore, the buildings, the hallways, the routes... it’s so dank, dark, and depressing. There’s grime and mildew everywhere. There’s a buildup of cholesterol and the arteries have become somewhat clogged. 

If you check the background when you see the route that 2153 is taking, you can see that some RBCs are slumped on the floor, as if they have gave it all they got... and couldn’t move anymore.

There’s also this talk about the “old days”. My guess is the body used to be a healthy individual, but due to lifestyle conditions in the present (perhaps his job has gotten more stressful, a terribly family situation, etc.), everyone has become  jaded. The scene where the Old Man Senpai talks to 2153 about suppressing their emotions... That really scared me. Like, it’s not too creepy, but there’s this sense of unease, like this is the future that 2153 is looking at. He could clearly become his Senpai if the body doesn’t get any better.

The scenes following that, my gosh. The introduction of carbon monoxide... it was creepy and heartbreaking. There was no way to rescue the rest of the RBCs and the fact that the Senpai decided to deliver oxygen to the brain instead of 2153... Geeze, it hurts. It really sends a message to the audience that it doesn’t matter who you are, you either work or you die. There is no in-between.

Now.

My favorite.

The subject of Miss WBC. 

Okay, ummm... I know that Black was meant to cater to a mature audience and to attract guys.. but like. Ugh. I really don’t like fan service. That said, they didn’t jiggle our bounce as I thought they would and the scene where 2153 is very blatantly looking at them was swift and to the point. Hopefully, that scene ifs never repeated. 

Still don’t like the idea that the uniforms don’t protect them even thought they should.

Despite that, I love Miss Neutrophil’s eyes. In stark contrast to 1146, her eyes are very bright and pale. She seems to be very focused and efficient at her job. I absolutely adore her katana. She doesn’t do any fancy tricks with it, she’s just very quick and efficient. I love her already. 

Anyway, a few other things that I would like to address... 

Please, dear lord, give us name tags. In the original CAW, there are name tags on the hats so I can clearly identify the characters. Here... I have to actually remember. There were only two names mentioned, but I already forgot Blondie. Furthermore, I noticed that the anime doesn’t drop everything to explain. They have the characters discuss it via the Senpai talking to 2153. In this way, it kind of mirrors 2153′s first day on the job: no spoon-feeding, coddling, or holding the hand to help you. You’re simply dropped into this new environment and you have to learn along the way.

That’s great storytelling right there. 

Also, the narrator is different. Like, it’s so much more grounded and deep, but I miss the old narrator and how she sounds like an indolent teacher. Here, it sounds like your old college professor who hasn’t gotten tenure yet even thought it’s been years. 

For the big question... Would I watch it? Ummm. Sure, why not? I love learning about the human body, the characters are likable, and the edgy atmosphere really adds to the lore of the CAW-verse. In fact, if you want to have something to aid your understanding of the human body, this one definitely builds on the foundation that was established in the original anime/manga. Of course, there are artistic liberties, but it’s not too bad. 

Also, the bacteria are ten times more terrifying. That’s also a bonus. :D

As for Peyer’s Patch and Acquired Immunity??? Ooof, I remember Peyer’s Patch but Acquired Immunity is a little fuzzy. I remember reading both chapters, but it’s been years. Both chapters are heavily involved with the immune system, but I can’t recall what happened in AI. As for how the anime will mash them up??? It’s all up in the air for me. 

With the way the anime has been adapting the manga, I think we can expect something that will exceed expectations in regards to character development and interactions. 

(I just want more animated scenes with our beloved WBC squad). 

Anywhoozles, we’ll have to wait until next week! I can’t wait!

Thanks for the submission and I hope that you have a wonderful day! :D

[the-c-anon]

Little update of life rn

Hip is hurting a lot worse since I injured it trying to get out of bed the other day. Got the MRI tomorrow so we'll see what's up but I got some medication to help with it all and it's been helping, but it still hurts.

Last night when I got home from work I could barely move I had to get my boyfriend to help me move from my back to my side when I was laying down. I had a searing pain in my hip and according to my mom and from what I know it sounds like I'm starting to have nerve pain which is AWESOME.

The youngest baby, Mila got sick a few days ago we took her to the emergency room on like Friday and she was not doing well. She was dehydrated and not eating. Her blood was dark red and thick apperantly and she had blood in her tummy. She had diarrhea and threw up and also had a lot of bacteria in her stomach too?

The bill was $2500 and my mom paid for a majority of it but at least she's alive. She's doing better she has like 4 different medications and is eating and drinking again. She lost a lot of weight she is SKINNY haha.

But yeah I'm limping at work but y'know I need a paycheck so that I can not be homeless but it's fine!

Worst care scenario ig is that need surgery? Hopefully this MRI shows something because idk what to do if it doesn't. I might have arthritis in my hip but it's okay I'm only 21

[canyouhearthelight]

The Miys, Ch. 63

Happy Tuesday, and Happy November Everyone!

This week I hit 467 followers, so thank you to everyone who is following this story (except the porn bots, y’all can go porn yourselves).

A special shout out to everyone who interacts: sending me messages, commenting, reblogging, and liking the chapters as they post.  Every week, this story goes up at 2pm Eastern Time, and by 2:30pm I always have 15-20 notes.  You are the ones who keep me going when I start to struggle or get discouraged.

When Antoine eventually woke up and stood to stretch – I scowled at the freedom I was explicitly not given – Grey staggered over to the still-warm berth and collapsed into a heap of rambling nonsense.  Antoine eyebrows shot up in curiosity as he tried to pat his hair down, glancing at me and my sister for answers.

We both shrugged, with Tyche clarifying “We were talking about food, then Grey shot off after a comment about a cast iron stomach and hasn’t said a single logical thing since then.”

With a Gallic shrug, he replied “It is what it is. Why were you talking about metal stomachs?”

“Phaal curry from Soph’s kitchen, balut, and other weird foods my sister has tried.”

“Ah. That would do it.” He tossed his version of a cheeky grin at me before leaning toward my sister.

Before his face could get anywhere in her vicinity, she shoved him playfully. “You stink. Go take a shower.”  Without pressing the matter, he winked – actually winked – and sauntered toward the door, more relaxed than I had ever seen him.

All I could do was blink at the display. “Is he always like this when he wakes up?”

She nodded, unperturbed. “He doesn’t have his professional face on yet.”

Huh. “I had no idea.”

A sudden silence fell on the room, the lack of snoring indicating that the other two occupants of the room were awake. “This is not what I imagined a grown-up sleepover to turn out like,” Maverick groaned while scowling at the tube in his arm. “There was a lot less blood, for one thing.  And more pizza.  Definitely more pizza.”

I smiled fondly at him and glanced on his other side, where Conor was doing his best impression of a grizzly bear just woken involuntarily from hibernation: stretch, grunt, scratch beard, stomp, kiss Maverick, stomp, grunt, kiss me, stomp to find hot water.  It was a routine thing, and actually calming in the present circumstances.

Tyche, however, stared after him with an expression like a cat who just had water flicked in her face. “Wow. Grouchy much?”

“Not a morning person,” Maverick yawned.  It only then occurred to me that this was the first time either had seen the other’s partner/partners first thing in the morning.

“But the stomping? That’s unnecessary.”

“Tyche, he is over two-hundred pounds. He’s going to stomp by default when he isn’t being careful. Maverick stomps, too. That’s why he didn’t get up.”

“And the blood,” he pointed out, scowling down again.

“Okay, yeah, and the blood. Don’t feel bad, love. Me, too. Constantly….”  It was true, too.  Noah had given up on removing the equipment from my arms and just transfused me as needed.  Hence why I wasn’t allowed to get up and stretch.

I wasn’t even going to think about how they were keeping me from needing to use to bathroom.  It was apparently need to know, and I Did. Not. Need. To. Know. Thank. You.

Tyche, the only one who could get up and walk around at will, checked over the most recent scans. “Well, the good news is that it looks like you’ve stabilized, Soph. Maverick, you’ll be out of the danger zone for a bit after that round, and we can talk to Miys about taking the needles out. Conor and Antoine are going to need to be hooked up today, though.”

“What about you?”

“I’m still okay for the time being, if I’m reading this right.” She tipped her head up toward the ceiling, a habit that exactly none of us had ever gotten out of. “Miys, can you confirm the results I’m seeing, make sure I read them correctly?”

“You are correct, Tyche. And as I am sure Wisdom will ask the same question she has asked every Terran hour she has been conscious, Derek, Zach, and Sam are doing well, as are Charly, Coffey, Sebastian, and everyone else. Nixe has deteriorated no further.”

I sighed. It was the best I could have hoped for, realistically.

“What exactly happened to the mermaid?” Maverick asked.  He had been fascinated with her ever since I bet Alistair swimming lessons with her. “Why is she in worse shape than everyone else?”

Considering almost the whole ship was being transfused with whole blood as fast as Miys could produce it, it wasn’t a huge margin. “She actually isn’t in bad shape as a direct result of whatever ‘Else’ is doing to us. But it did make her weaker than usual, and she was in the middle of a diving session when her nanotech failed…”

When I suddenly paled and went silent, Maverick reached out with his good hand and shook me, but I blocked it out.  I felt like I had been struck by a bolt of lightning and set on fire at the same time.  Her nanotech tail failed.

”Cast-iron stomach and the tail failed,too.” I announced, whipping my head toward my sister.

She looked horrified. “Oh gods, now you’re barmy, too.”

Rolling my eyes, I grabbed her forearm. “No, Tyche. We said I have a ‘cast-iron’ stomach. That’s what set Grey off, not the illness. Whatever bacteria or virus or whatever is making us sick is taking up all the nutritive iron in our bodies, right?”  The door hissed as Antoine walked in, drying his hair, followed by Noah. “And they said nutritive iron does have actual elemental iron in the molecules, or whatever. And the tail failed, too. They weren’t talking out of their head – Grey meant Nixe’s nanotech tail!”

Antoine stopped dead in his tracks, towel forgotten. “Sophia, what are you talking about?”  I repeated everything I had just told Tyche and Maverick. “What else did Grey say before I woke up?”

“Something about segregating them for no reason, pyronasal RNA, evil instead of dexterous, bacteria is bacteria?”

“Pyranosyl,” he corrected absentminded, eyes focusing on something the rest of us couldn’t see. “Sinister instead of dexter, so our bodies would not see it as a pathogen. No immune response.”

Tyche threw her hands up in exasperation. “Great. Crazy is contagious. It’s killing us, of course it’s sinister.”

“Sinister instead of dexter,” I told her emphatically, nodding my head for emphasis.

Her eyes widened. “Left instead of right?”

“Oh! I know this one!” Maverick sat up, giddy despite the situation. “RNA is single-helix instead of double-helix like DNA, right?” Miys ‘nodded’ with one liw, so he continued. “I think he’s saying that DNA and RNA usually have a right-handed twist, but this stuff has RNA with a left-handed twist?” Another ‘nod’. He grinned with excitement before his face fell practically off his skull. “That’s why we’re malnourished instead of sick,” he whispered. “Our bodies aren’t even trying to fight it off, are they?”

Okay, fuck it. Despite Tyche’s attempts to stop me, I unhooked the transfusion equipment, dotting the floor with red as I made my way over to Maverick’s berth to hold him. “Are we going to die?” he asked in the smallest voice imaginable.

“Not if we can help it,” I promised. “We’re tough stuff, remember? The end of the world didn’t kill us. We’ll figure this out. Right?” I turned toward Antoine hopefully.

His eyes widened slightly, but he nodded. “I believe that Grey started to make a connection with something. You said they said we should not segregate the two, correct?” I nodded tentatively. “What are we thinking of as separate from this situation?”

“Nutritive iron and elemental iron?” I asked hopefully.

Tyche jumped out of her seat just as Conor entered.  He startled, sloshing coffee on his shirt and groaning. Ignoring him, she started snapping her fingers. “Else is absorbing all the iron from our bodies, so we sorta know what that part means. The elemental iron must mean the diving platforms.”

Crash! We all turned toward Conor, who stood gaping at us, coffee cup shattered at his feet. “That is what’s in our bodies?”

“Conor – “

“No, Sophie. You didn’t see what it did to those platforms. Four tons of metal, reduced to twisted and flaking wrecks.  We would be falling apart like lepers if that was in us.”

I felt Maverick shake his head just as I saw Antoine to the same thing. “There is not enough iron in a human body to cause that level of catastrophic failure – “

“Oh yeah? Tell that to the fucking mermaid on life support!”

In an instant, Tyche interposed herself between her partner and mine. One hand struck Conor’s chest flatly, the other pointing a finger like it was loaded. “She almost drowned. Yes, it was because she was weak and the iron in her tail caused it to fail and give her even more dead weight.  But if she had passed out on land, she would be fine.  Right now, your boyfriend is scared to death, your girlfriend – my sister – is bleeding everywhere trying to comfort him instead of taking care of herself, and Antoine is trying to figure this out even though he is not a doctor.  So, stop. Fucking. Yelling.”  With a huff, she shoved both hands through her hair.  “Everyone, calm down for five damn minutes.” With a glance at the ceiling, she pitched her voice slightly. “Miys, can you test everyone in this room for any bacteria matching those found in BioLab 2 recently?”

“Councilor Hodenson already requested this test run, to be given the results when they wake.”

“Give them to me now, please?” she asked tiredly, at the limits of her manners and pushing further.

“All scans requested show the bacteria to be present.”

Oh. Fuck.

But my sister was on a roll. “Okay, so we already knew we were all suffering from the same thing.  Good news? It’s not cancer, it’s not radiation sickness, or some other thing that will definitely kill us, right?”

“Cancer would not kill you,” Miys pointed out, falling on deaf ears.

“But this isn’t a Terran bacteria,” Conor ground out from where he was crouched on the floor picking up what was left of his coffee mug. “How are we supposed to get rid of it if we can’t even fight it off?”

A quiet, exhausted voice drifted from the collapsed heap of person in the farthest berth. “Maybe we can just ask nicely.”

For what felt like an eternity, all we could hear were the air scrubbers as we all gaped at the half-conscious Grey.

“You have to be kidding.” Heads snapped toward me, and only then did I realize I was the one who spoke. Swallowing nervously, I soldiered on. “You want us to cure a plague by asking nicely?”

A pale hand popped up from the berth, gesturing dismissively. I didn’t even know Grey knew that gesture. “You talk to it, it talks to you. So, talk. Ask. You people for a living. Go people.”

“When did they learn Reid-ish?” Conor whispered in horror.

Antoine, equally appalled, turned wide eyes toward his not-quite attacker. “I have no idea, mon ami. I have no idea.”

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[lizziedoesvetpath]

Ah I just noticed the url change and blog update! Congrats on your choice of career, I hope it brings you much joy ❤️ But dumb question ahead... It seems exciting, but I have circa zero knowledge on this 🙈 So can you clarify on what does a vet pathologist do, please? 😊

Ahh thank you! For both the congrats and this question, because it’s a great excuse to talk about the wonderful world of vet path!!!!

For the uninitiated: pathology is the study of diesase - why and how it happens. The way I describe what pathologists do to my friends and family not in a medical field is this: if you’ve ever had something taken from you or your pet and “sent to the lab” the pathologist is the specialised doctor/vet who works at the lab and works out what that sample means. There are two main branches - clinical pathology focusses on anything you can take with a needle. So samples of blood, urine, fluid from a cavity like the abdomen, or cells extracted from a mass using a needle are examined by a clinical pathologist. If you take it with a knife, it’s anatomical pathology - these pathologists look at biopsies under the microscope and also do post mortem examinations (aka autopsies for humans or necropsies for animals). 

Now the bit that I suspect @loreleys-road-to-md wanted to know - why do we need veterinary pathologists? The picture most people have in their head of a pathologist is usually the human forensic side - doing autopsies to work out why someone died. And we do that too! It’s not related to crime as much (although a necropsy may be requested for animal cruelty charges) but we do still need to know why animals died! For pets, it can bring the owner closure if the death was sudden or if a treatment wasn’t helping. It also helps teach the vet who saw the animal about what happened, and how they might be able to better help the next affected animal through the door. Necropsies are also really useful for our production species (cows, sheep etc). If lots of animals in a herd are dying, then we can necropsy a few to try and figure out why so we know how to treat the rest of them. 

Possibly the largest section of the work I’ll be doing as a vet anatomic pathologist is histology (looking at the cells of very thin slices of tissue under the microscope). The most obvious reason to do that is for tumours - cut a tumour out, send it to me, and I’ll tell you what it is so you know how to treat, what the prognosis is, and if you got clean margins (an area of tissue around the tumour that doesn’t contain any neoplastic (cancer) cells). But we look at other kinds of biopsy too - skin, liver, gastrointestinal, etc etc etc. Any tissue that people have questions about, we’ll do histology on. And that side is pretty much the same as what a human pathologist would be doing!

And then clinical pathologists still need to do for animals all the things they’d do for a person - look at the numbers you get as blood results (biochemistry and haematology) and be an expert for interpreting what all that gibberish means; do the same for urine and look at the sediment as well for cells, crystals, bacteria, etc;  and read cytology samples.

Basically, if you know what a pathologist looking at human things would do, we vet pathologists do all the same stuff, we just have to do it for animals (and all different kinds of animals, who all do things different ways! For example, birds have nuclei in their red blood cells... weirdos). And then from there we have all the same career paths as well - research, teaching, diagnostic lab work etc.

Does that kinda answer the question? I’ve expanded a bit so that all my different readers can hopefully get something out of this :) Let me know if you guys have any more questions about veterinary pathology, it’s my favourite subject so I’m happy to rant about it!