#the only reason their respective canadas are there is because i didn't have a better idea

[aster-riskite]

I would have a question.

Have you ever wrote a 1P! character and a 2P! character meeting? For example, England getsto know 2P! England.

If not, maybe you could try it.

I had not before receiving this, so thank you for the ask!

I took your example literally because why not, plus it made the most sense to rationalize with magic, so here ya go.

"Foils"

Feat. The Magic Men

The first thing that Oliver noticed was that he was not in his world. The buildings looked wrong, the trees looked different, and the streets were entirely empty except for one man. This man, however, was the one he had been seeking, so maybe it wasn't all wrong after all.

"Oh, lovely! Hello there."

The other man whipped his head around, standing from the bench. The green eyes and sand-blond hair were unsettlingly similar in texture and shape to Oliver's, but that was alright. That was a sign that he had the right man.

"Are you alright there? You're not unable to speak, right? That'd be rather unpleasant."

"...just who are you?" The man finally spoke, approaching Oliver cautiously. He adjusted his own leather jacket a bit.

"Oh, y'know, only a simple kitchen witch. Oliver Kirkland, it's a pleasure to meet you!"

"Uh- Arthur, here." The man looked around, then back at the bright blues that were trained on him. That, plus the unnaturally pink blond of Oliver's hair made him wary. "Just where are we? I mean, besides just outside the tower of London."

"This is what your tower of London looks like? Hm... It's a bit, well, dreadful."

"Who are you to call this place dreadful, you look like you've dressed yourself in stale cotton candy!"

"Well that was a bit rude. I thought you would be more of a, what was it... gentleman?" He tilted his head and gave a cheshire grin.

"God damn it. So I see we look similar to each other, bar the clothes. Is that the only reason you're in my dream?" Arthur scowled. He had no choice but to hate it all.

"Nope!" Oliver grinned even wider, somehow. "I've actually come to get your advice on something. See there's a small problem I'm trying where I'm from, it's quite the bother."

"Well, go on?" How could Arthur refuse when this strange near-doppelgänger had contacted him in his mind.

"Do you know how to make people happy?" The question was the first of Oliver's words in this exchange laced with any sincerity. "The people where I live are always such dreadful pessimistic downers, and all I've ever wanted was to lift their spirits. Some of them, however, tend to call me insane for thinking so positively. Can you believe it?"

"Oh." Arthur looked dumbfounded. "Hah, figures you're an optimist. Let me guess, they all say that the world is awful because nothing good ever happens to them?"

"Yea, it gets a little depressing!" Oliver giggled.

"Well, that's how I think most of the time..." Arthur sighed, wishing he had something to think about that was even a little positive. "While I try to be nice for others, all I can think is that the world hates me. Which is bloody terrible, because I'm connected to it."

"Aha! We really are opposites!" Oliver leaned into his personal space. "I'd figured you might give me some marvelous insight about yourself, if you're supposed to be my direct foil!"

"Just how did you contact me anyways?" Arthur chuckled to himself, finding Oliver's constant schoolgirl-giggling infectious.

"Oh, just a little potion I put in my tea."

"...Maybe we're not complete opposites. That's exactly what I do with my own potions."

"Well, you know what they say! A spoonful of cinnamon-"

"I beg your pardon? It's sugar."

"Well, I could have sworn it was cinnamon. A spoonful of cinnamon helps the poison go down?"

"Well- I mean- Are you telling me that in your world, Mary Poppins is a murderer?" Arthur looked even more dumbfounded than before.

"Why, it's one of my favorite horror films. Howcome?" Oliver couldn't help his own confusion, wondering what Arthur's 'Mary Poppins' film was like.

"Bloody hell... Two sides of the same coin indeed."

"Yea, foils, like I said."

A moment of silence passed, the foils sitting on a bench.

"You're not a murderer too, are you?" Arthur asked quietly.

"Well, only when I need to be." Oliver replied. "Such as when a poor mortal disrespects something I value!"

"Ah... I don't have such loose criteria, I'm afraid."

"Oh, don't worry, poppet. Not all of us need to be monsters."

"I realize that, but I don't think you're a monster. You've proven to be kind. Flawed, and maybe a little trigger happy, but optimistic. That has to mean something if you live in a world of pessimistic arseholes like myself." Arthur let himself relax into the bench.

Oliver stared at him, the baby blue of his eyes welling up with unnecessarily tears. He blinked and wiped his face on his sleeve after a moment.

"Are you alright-"

"I really needed to hear that! Haha! Thank you, honestly." He didn't bother going into the complexity of it just yet. He wanted to appreciate being told he was kind for now.

"Well, you're a nice chap, so... you're welcome." Arthur smiled awkwardly.

Oliver almost wanted to talk about how cutthroat his world was. He wanted to talk about the suffering he endured, or the way he spited his world with a smile. He wanted to talk about the pain he watched others go through, just to make him feel like an idiot for trying to smile.

The alarm clock by his bed interrupted him, though.

"Seems I'll have to go soon." Oliver muttered. "So long, Arthur! Have a nice rest of your dream!" Oliver's cheshire grin returned, and he waved to his counterpart happily.

"Yeah, alright, I'll try." Arthur offered a smile in return. "You go and live your life, alright? I'd rather not make it a habit to peer into the life of my sparkly doppelgänger."

"Sparkly? I'll have you know that this is pastel!"

"Hah. Foils after all..."

It was at that moment that Oliver walked-no, skipped-away, fading into the horizon.

"..hah. He's bonkers."

...

Oliver woke up in the embrace of soft cushions he had made, along with the feeling of paper by one of his hands.

"Ahh... Good morning, my world. Magnificent day we're having already, hm?" His voice was soft, as it usually was in the morning.

It was at that point, James wandered into his room.

"Can I help you?" Oliver offered, smiling in spite of his disheveled state.

"It's three PM... What the fuck are you doing in bed?" He adjusted his sunglasses with an annoyed expression. The classic RBF of this particular Canadian.

"Well, since you've asked, I'd be delighted to tell you."

...

Arthur felt someone tapping his shoulder as he began to wake up, light flooding into his vision. It was startling enough to recall the odd dream, and even more startling to see that he'd fallen asleep at his desk. All in all, just an incredibly weird experience.

"Agh, what in god's name-" Arthur finally whipped around to see he whom had disturbed his slumber.

"Sorry, you just... It's three in the afternoon." Matthew, from behind him, pulled away. "I was just doing a wellness check."

"Right." Arthur forced himself to stand, stretching a bit. "Well, anyways... I had the most peculiar dream."

"Really?" Matthew blinked a bit, curious. "What was it about?"

"Well, there was quite the colorful character, that's for sure."

[thornfield13713]

Might need to revamp my Georgia backstory ideas, if only because my previous interpretations of how she ended up where she is at the start of the game have all...lacked something, for me. Sorry, we're going to be rehearsing the 'why Georgia's marriage was such a mess' thing.

So, let's do this, one more time.

In this version of events, Sam Adams is bi, but repressed about it, because the disappointing gay dead husband is a very tired trope indeed, and if he'd been gay...actually, their relationship would probably have worked out a lot better for all involved.

So, he and Georgia meet in college. At this point, Georgia isn't a firebrand. She's an ambitious, hustling young law student, who wants to make a living and maybe even a fortune and get ahead. She became radicalised only after a few years as a defence lawyer - in the beginning, she went for defence mostly because it seemed like a quick way to pay off her student loans (of which there were many). Sam was an engineering student at CIT, and they met at a party where they wound up discussing Grognak vs the Silver Shroud in the kitchen until kicking-out time. He came from a conservative military family, but was questioning that now that he was at college, and Georgia - immigrant from a rough part of New York and raised with views that were pretty far left for the place and time they were in even if she wasn't living up to them that well yet - was excitingly different from anything he'd known, but not enough as to be threatening. On Georgia's side, she went for him for...many of the same reasons Buffy Summers went for Riley Finn in college: he seemed a nice, wholesome, clean-cut sort of guy, in contrast with an adolescence and early college years where she'd...mostly gone for the bad boy type, and gotten badly burned doing it. There was an attraction there, even if she sort of had to work at it, and that was good enough for them to start going out.

It probably wouldn't have lasted past Georgia's graduation, if they hadn't had a condom break, and...well, the worst happened. Sam proposed, very determined to do the honourable thing, and Georgia accepted because being an unwed mother in pre-war American society was not great, and nor was legal access to abortion and she had heard enough horror stories about the backstreet option that she didn't want to take the risk. So they duly married and did all that was proper...and very shortly after the wedding, Georgia miscarried. Messily. I mentioned having Shaun was difficult on her, and this was no less so, and medically she probably shouldn't have tried again. Which left them sort of stuck with each other, because divorce was also...not especially favourably looked on, and as Massachusetts didn't introduce no-fault divorce until the '70s in our world, I'm going to go ahead and say that that wasn't a thing for them here.

As it turned out, they were both a lot happier being married when their spouse was a long way away. For Sam, it was psychologically beneficial to think of his girl back home, to have that to cling to as a source of strength, even if, over the years, that image he had of her grew more distant both from Georgia as she was, and from Georgia as she had actually been when they married. It was...as psychologically necessary for him to put a rosier gloss on their relationship as it was for him to try and at least pretend to believe the justifications for the things he was doing in Canada and on the Anchorage campaign. Georgia, meanwhile, enjoyed the practical benefits of being married to a respectable soldier from a military family with a long, proud heritage and at least a few uncles and cousins who'd made it to high rank. (There was a reason they were living comfortable in Sanctuary Hills, which seems to have been a pretty plush area, rather than in a cramped apartment in Concord, after all.) One of which was not being accused of Communist sympathies as she became more radical in her views and connections and her work brought her into conflict with more and more powerful forces - though, of course, that couldn't and didn't protect her forever, and her firm's collapse also meant that she was unofficially blackballed from Boston's legal community. Possibly there was even a little leaning to ensure that - nobody in the extended Adams clan wanted the scandal of Sam's wife being accused of Communist sympathies, particularly not given Sam had been decorated a couple of times during his service, but nobody wanted the scandal of her carrying on with the work that drew those accusations either.

Their years apart essentially radicalised Georgia, but made Sam cleave more closely to orthodoxy and the establishment, because if it was good, then he didn't need to be broken with guilt for what he had been a part of. He had terrible PTSD and nightmares - no amount of self-justification could keep the guilt away for long, and the memory was there whatever happened. Georgia was deeply depressed by the loss of her work and the apparent meaninglessness of all her efforts. They barely spoke to each other, the last few months they were together, and when they did, it was the merest commonplace. Neither was willing to confide in the other, mostly out of guilt - Georgia for having cheated on him a few times while he was away, Sam for the things he had done in Anchorage. They probably couldn't have carried on like that forever, but whatever would have come next, the bombs put an end to it.

[absolute-filth-factory]

I was already excited for the 23-24 season for the hawks and all of the new prospects coming up through the system, but the new every shift episode just made me more excited. I was originally kind of skeptical about the whole "taking dev camp off-ice" thing, but now I'm really glad they did it, for a lot of reasons.

Management actually gives a shit about the players!! I know that's like, basic human curtesy, but knowing a huge reason that Kyle Beach went through what he did was because management did not give a single shit about the players and only cared about the cup, it's a huge relief to see Davidson and Richardson being really supportive of the players and making decisions based on what's best for them, not just the hawks overall.

A big purpose of this camp was to allow the prospects to develop off-ice and get to see the city that they're (probably) going to be playing in within a couple years. I mean, they went to a Cubs game, took a boat tour on the Chicago river, took a cooking class, played floor hockey with a local boys and girls club, went to Second City (comedy club), and probably some other stuff I'm forgetting. Management isn't hanging them out to dry in that respect, and I am very glad for that.

Player interactions!! The episode was great in that it showed off so much personality, and it didn't just focus on the first-round draft picks, although of course they did get a bit more attention. We got to see a ton of different players doing things and interacting with one another, and it seems like the goal of team bonding was achieved. As Nazar said in the episode, you've got guys from America, Canada, overseas, and it's good that they're able to talk to each other and develop the kind of relationships and camaraderie that's necessary for a winning team (and also just really fun to watch). Sure, some of the players might have been up against each other in their league or in a tournament or maybe have been on the same team, but that's not really conducive to building team chemistry anyways.

Another two big reasons why they took the camp off-ice this year was to avoid causing or exacerbating injuries and to remove the stress of trying to perform well in a short period of time in front of management. I mean, these guys have already been playing hockey for a really long time, and scouts have already been watching and evaluating them, so why have them play high-stress, mostly meaningless hockey and put them at risk of somehow getting injured or making something worse. Yeah, you probably don't run into that many new injuries at dev camp (except for that kid up in Toronto who got a concussion the other day), but if players are trying to prove something to management, they're gonna be a lot more likely to play through something they should probably be leaving alone. It just seems like a better solution to me, and they're still going to be getting ice time in training camp in September.

Even though the camp was off-ice, the players were still doing a ton of conditioning. They boxed, did regular weight room stuff, probably some other things, and they took a class with Oduya on breathing techniques that can be used in a number of different ways. Richardson was directly involved in the boxing, too, which is great for a number of reasons, especially to help player-coach interactions.

Davidson seems to have a huge focus on culture and character, both in determining who he picks and how the players are expected to conduct themselves. There was a session on inclusion, from what I remember, and at the end of the episode, Davidson specifically brings up Moore talking about how the way Bedard carries himself has already affected him and the way he does things. That kind of thing is huge on any team, but I think it really shows that the hawks under Davidson are trying to create a good environment to play hockey and just be a team in, and it makes me really excited for the future of this team.

[dolls-and-cats]

In memory of Angela Lansbury (d. 10/11/22), Emily is playing out a scene from the movie Bedknobs and Broomsticks. Eglantine Price, in her small country home and respectable sweater, has received a spell through the mail and is trying to ride her broom.

My Dad was a huge fan of Angela Lansbury - he especially loved the musical Mame and was permanently annoyed that Lansbury, who played the main role on Broadway for many years, didn't get the role in the movie version. I've watched several of Lansbury's early films, partly in memory of her and also in memory of my dad because of his respect for her, if that makes sense. As for Bedknobs and Broomsticks, I watched it recently, and I also must have watched it a million times as a child, because every single scene was familiar.

The storyline in Bedknobs and Broomsticks is that Eglantine has taken in three children who have been moved to the countryside to avoid the bombing in London during World War II. That is quite similar to Lansbury's own life story...as a teenager, she and her mother, both aspiring actresses, moved to Canada to escape the bombing in London.

I wish "leave a city to escape bombing" was a faraway thing that's only in the plot of an old children's movie, but of course, millions of refugees have fled Ukraine just this year to avoid the Russian government's military violence. As someone brought up on a movie about fighting military violence and protecting refugees, I feel like my own contributions to the situation in Ukraine (some donations back in the spring) are inadequate. My intention is to let that discomfort spur me to more action, after getting past the gifting obligations around Christmas.

Eglantine's sweater is my first doll sweater (!!!) made with a pattern by themonmonshop on etsy. I used 2-sport weight instead of 4-medium weight yarn, which is not the best idea any new knitter has ever made, but it came out ok. I'm starting a second sweater today with medium yarn, and I suspect the second one will come out better. Monserate's pictures of her own dolls in her handmade sweaters have been the main reason I've wanted to learn to knit. : D

[burronetta]

I had an interesting conversation with my mom the other day (I was wishing her a Happy Mother's Day), and for one reason or another, the concept got on to politics and homosexuality. She's definitely in the camp of, "I love you, and I respect your husband, but I absolutely secretly am scared for your immortal soul; but I won't mention anything because I don't want to ruin our relationship."

I think the weirdest thing about the conversation was when she mentioned pride festivals and parades as "advertising". I'm finally in the stage of my life where I don't get mad at my parents for saying naive things about queer rights, so I was able to calmly explain to her that pride festivals are more like safe spaces where we can get together and be comfortable in our own skin. I especially made a point to mention to her that my trans friends are terrified and one of them is even planning on moving to Canada.

She thanked me for explaining all of that to her, so I think she appreciated a moment to understand me better. (Still didn't appreciate the whole bit where she wished my husband and I slept in separate bedrooms, but whatever mom. XD!)

But that stuck with me; the idea that pride festivals and parades are advertising. I remember when I used to think about the phrasing of that and it seemed apt to explain it as "showing off for the normies". Pop culture definitely showed off pride festivals as something to be gawked at from the perspective of straights and (let's face it) normies. But now that I'm older, it's very weird to use the term "advertising". One of the best things I loved about going to our local pride festival this year was how lo-key it was. It rained, we watched some drag, ate delicious BBQ, and even bought some nifty queer swag. Best of all, we knew we were surrounded by other queer folks who were just plain happy to be holding hands and hanging out without feeling like we had to hide ourselves from the straights.

Nobody's advertising at a pride event; the only recruitment center was when the local police office decided to set up a tent as if to say they're cool with us. (They were the first to turn tail and leave when the weather got bad, btw.) If anything, it's more like a glimpse into a life where we don't have to keep performing to make the straights comfortable.

[the-firebird69]

Watch "Barbra Streisand - Send In The Clowns (Live 1986)" on YouTube

For some reason the clowns see the urgency of now they understand it but they have to be directed a little I was telling them before and they went up there only a little I was very surprised they don't have the data or Intel or didn't it's just like below here there's some huge diamonds in a class by the root. It's not the biggest but boy they're big enough okay I think that the Hudson bays 2000 miles across and you go downwards and the root system coming off it off The tap Root sometimes there as big as the town fruit and underneath what forms the cycle web and yeah easily a thousand miles across and Hera at 5:00 and they're saying 10 but she did say attend it first. You're simply go up at like a ladder like Ajax Earth said and trim and Loki are confirming it and I say of course you take one magnifying glass and you fired into another one just like a telescope but it's refraction of a sort and it amplifies the beam and you can actually move it by cutting it and don't have to move the stones and the nozzle can aim it and they're amazed and you can have a reflector believe it or not so a beam of that power level is not known to anyone the planet toys could be disabled and the lasers destroyed and the diamonds rendered useless we would have to do that if you just cut precise holes but really it is a massive massive tap root

Zues Hera

It is the one for all of Canada and this one for the USA and one for South America and yeah the one for South America is gigantic is bigger than both but nobody has any access and yeah those shattered over right above it

Bitol and Goddess Wife our son sent the clowns in with Hera trailing but she's the one who inspired him, that's worth everything in the world to us because she did I see what he's saying too she's my inspiration and my teammate all the time and we're really good at stuff eventually we'll learn how to play chess better and I laugh because he needs the game but boy this is a big deal my clown character will be coming out and he wants to set up the circus when you're almost gone they can come back to the circus for one more round but under our eye and they like it and he can show up in place of his brother and they'll recognize him cuz he looks a little like him sometimes he has cholesterol

Which you have a little pain about it we too have a little pain about it and it's awful we're going to do this it's closure it's a way to say goodbye and thank you for trying

Thor Freya

Well if it doesn't work out we respect that we have a shot at you might regret it your friend says so that's how you do it I say okay I'm listening to Barbara she knows it has to be done and suddenly

Trump Sarah

You know I feel too sad for us he says that's okay Brett straighten that out I understand that was horrible it's true though this is terrible so I got ready and I looked real good and I said to Brad today is the day I'm going to send the clowns in and I told him where and he said why and they get the f*** on his face like he's stupid I said so you keep saying you can't lead us we're not listening to fuse or his stuff or him telling us to pack off or anything so he's going on there and we should have a plan but we don't and we don't usually have one but the max are not using this anymore so what have we got to lose and we have a story too like Billie Jean I'm going to put it out there

Becka this is really one of them and I did a movie about it it's right here already and this is part of it and me and my husband do the other part and he loved the movie he thought it was awesome I thought it was me he was after and no they're are other women and she didn't look like me he says and I didn't know that she can not he lol so it's a good deal

No it's not you stay away from her I know what you're saying she's a famous Jewish person and performer somebody's in the religion caught up with the people who died with the money this is how it goes she is a rebel and known as one and we're going up there now

Brad

It was a huge Forester now we're gathering up it's gigantic and it's partially ours trumps and Brad and Jason all of us are approaching it slowly

Bja okay Niagara falls and we're going to look at that

You know what it means means they're just going to fall into the hole but we don't think that's ready yet so the threatening and I think they're full of crap

Olympus

This is wonderful it is what we mean it would say goodbye by doing that and our son can get some extra money and work with him and then circus just like Dave did we'll find out that the workers they do things I'm trying to earn money how jobs and be peaceful people too just like you thought they were

Thor Freya

[nostuntmanneeded]

I have to admit being ignorant as well about CA. I am Asian but to be really honest, I'm not THAT offended about her Asian night post....at least not so much as to hate her to the core. I do try to understand why others are offended though. However, she has not done any recently, so I don't know how to feel about that. // Hi, I appreciate you admitting that you are not entirely familar about CA or not finding the post that offensive and this might seem like I'm attacking the anon who sent this but I'm not lol. I'm Asian (my mom is half Indonesian and Filipino and my dad is Japanese) and I was born and raised in Queens before moving to Toronto during my senior year then to Valencia for my studies before moving back home here in Indonesia with my parents and to say that I am damn grateful that I was able to move here to Jakarta when COVID broke out because my time in Canada was pretty much okay given that 'Canadian' is more of a nationality instead of a race/ethnicity just like 'Singaporean' and is a very diverse country so I didn't have that much issue with racism there but the racism I had witnessed and endured when I was in the US and Spain was traumatizing. The tasteless "Asian jokes" that everybody (includinh teachers) at school found hilarious and harmless was exhausting and so was being stereotyped and excluded and don't even get me started with the bigotry. The way white people so casually throw insults about Asians being cheap, low class, filthy++ is disgusting, like leave us tf alone we're not the ones who had toilet paper issues here when COVID started because we actually clean our asses with water (go ahead and get triggered Im not even sorry for this I'm so done lol) 🤷‍♀️ Also it's so damn hard to find a job regardless of how impressive your resumé is and when you do, respect seems to be non-existent. Most of my family works in healthcare particularly as nurses/medtechs and lmao boy do superiors love to make Asian employees who picks up the slack of their lazy and sloppy ass white employees as their punching bag and not to mention patients who are so damn appalled by Asians that they refuse to assistance from them 🤩 Studying in Spain wasn't any better, kids in my class were apparently so proud for colonizing the Philippines for over 300 years and found Filipinos stupid, weak and pathetic and also for some reason thought that every single citizen in the PH were dirt poor and uneducated 🙃 I have never seen anyone dress up as an "American" or a "Spaniard" for Halloween/costume parties and I would ask why buy the answer is obvious: it's stupid and it's not a real costume because it's a damn ethnicity. So why shouldn't this principle be applied to people of color? I remember a tip that was sent months ago and the gist was that you're only supposed to host game and movie nights, no one ever hosts an 'American Night' or 'British Night' because it's stupid as hell and is a clear proof how objectifying and dehumanizing the whole Asian night bullshit was. News Flash: Asians are people and Asians have their own unique sacred cultures and that's that. They are not articles of amusement and aesthetic. Appreciation my ass, white people don't get to indulge on the culture of the very same people they treat with so much inferiority and abuse taking into account that they either actively contributing or fully complicit to racial injustice and the oppression of people or color. There might not have been any recent reports about them actively participating in racism and cultural appropriation but never forget about how the violence against Asians spiked last year and yet this aSiAn NiGhT people didn't bother to show any sympathy/support for the Stop Asian Hate movement. And that is fucking repulsive as fuck. 👊🎤

Thank you, anon, for sharing your story!

It's stories like these that really educate people and give others a different perspective.

I think that we should start looking at cultural appropriation as disrespectful rather than offensive. It can offend people, but it doesn't have to offend everyone. (And even if one person if offended, it's still wrong.)

But it still is disrespectful. It's not OK to take a culture that isn't your own and act like you know everything about it and that you're a part of it.

[jennibeultimate]

Personal recap Worlds 2021 - Men SP

If you thought I won't do it then you thought wrong 😂

King Yuzu slayed! ❤️ 🥳🥳🥳

Just look at this picture by Joosep Martinson, it says all about the fire 🔥 and energy of the program. Such an entertainment! No score can tell what performance that was. German commentators in ARD One and ESP both said this was the best SP ever skated. Well then....here is the disappointment, it doesn’t have the best score. 😕 106 enough for first but imo the PCS could have been way higher (only one 10.0 - c'mon he deserves all the 10s). Especially when Nathan receives just 1 point less for a program with a fall and just half the choreographic content...but what is new??? Overall I am just really glad Yuzu skated clean. The rest is not in his power.

Shoma why such a silly mistake? 😭 Program is superb! Loved it ❤️

The energy, the fire was all there but what a silly place to fall. A 3A of all jumps Shoma really??? Daniel Weiss (German comment on ARD) gushed all the way about how Shoma deserves high 9s for his skating, because of what he can do with his skates. And yeah I think the mistake costed on PCS. I think if Nathan can score 46 PCS with a mistake that would be very well justified for Shoma too and Shoma did a way better interpretation...Anyway I think the score was well enough for a mistake and I am super glad he made the last group. And he is not a SP skater anyway. So pls no silly mistakes in the free! 🙏And actually all that matters is that Shoma found the fun in skating again. Two years ago he probably would have been heartbroken with such a skate. Today he smiled and even joked in the interview arena. I love that. 😍

Photo by Asahi

Yuma Kagiyama was superb. 👌What a SP debut. The security was insane. 💯 was well deserved. You go Yuma! 🥳 Amittedly not a big fan of the music but the way he did the program was amazing! I am really sceptical though if he can maintain that carefree attitude he portrayed in the free skate...if he can then congrats kid you probably earned yourself a medal. 😊

Now the gushing about Team Japan is done. I could say a lot more though. 😅

Where to start with Nathan? The fall was really unexpected, you could just see it rattled him a lot. Until the combo was done there was hardly any commitment to the program. I already said his PCS were too high imo but with world champ bonus this was expected. And actually if they give a youngster debut 43 PCS how can they give Nathan with his reputation less? Is it right? No, but that's how reality is. In general ofc Nathan had the hardest layout, the BV was still there hence he didn't drop lower. I don't agree on Nathan's score but this is not his fault. And dammit ppl celebrating Nathan's fall are just mean. Again the scoring is not his fault!!! I absolutely wouldn't have predicted Nathan in 3rd.

Keegan Messing delivered! So happy for him! Canada is on a good way to earn a 2nd spot! 🥳 Such a lovely charming program from Keegan! ❤️ Last group probably a thing he didn't expect to see...

Mikhail Kolyada: The only reason Misha doesn't have an arsenal of titles is that he is one of the skaters with the most stupid mistakes all the time. He didn't put the full risk and a 4T combo he can do in his sleep probably, but nope mistake. This could have broken 100 and would have deserved it for the choreography, the way it was performed, the skills of Misha, but those silly mistakes...argh. I think they will keep him off podium because skating clean is not in Misha's repertoire...sorry to be so harsh but it's really upsetting that this talented man cannot deliver his standard. I am only so harsh on him because I know he can do more. I love the program for Misha though 😍

Jason Brown was scored like I actually would score Jason...not in comparison with what others got though like Nathan and his PCS (sorry Nathan that bugs me you see, not you the judges ofc) It's probably a very unpopular opinion but imo his scores are usually too high 🤷‍♀️ (His GOEs are often comparable to Tutberidze's ladies) So actually I am fine with Jason's place...I am not a fan of the program I liked many other SPs better of him but I know many ppl loved it and it was perfectly fitted to the music and Jason did super well but it's just not my cup of tea. 😅 (don't stone me!) I do like Jason very much though as a person and a skater, I may be just less euphoric about Jason!

Kevin Aymoz did well. He has some cool moves going on. I am not sure if I like the program or not but I love to see him perform. And I am super happy he made such a good skate because his last appearance I witnessed on Euros 2020 was heartbreaking. Well done Kevin! 👍

I have never seen Junhwan Cha so secure like he performed here! 👏👏👏👏Probably the first time all worked really well and he didn't receive URs, everything was perfect. 👌

Some other pleasant surprises of today were :

Lukas Brigtschi - good program and musically well performed, he improved a lot through a year 👏👏👏

Nikolaj Majorow - the cartwheel was cool. The energy and the program were fun to watch. 👏👏👏

Han Yan - so glad he is back. This gliding, those arm movements - wonderful. 😍 😍 😍

Deniss Vasilijews - they should have given him more PCS. 😤 He was so good. 🤩

Donovan Carillo - this ray of sunshine deserves the world! ❤️

I am always glad to see Alexei Bychenko and Michal Brezina. They may not skate perfectly. But at their respective ages the can still fight with the youngsters! Admirable!

I am very sorry for Boyang Jin. It just didn't go well. I am glad to see he gets help by BOrser but I wonder if the coaching change happened too late?

I am not a Vincent Zhou fan at all but no one deserves a skate like this. To not make the free was right but is tough. I am sorry. Only in the men discipline can a skater be a medal contender and not qualify. Who would have guessed this?

Good luck for the free skate for everyone!

[pink-peony-princess]

From Unpredictability Comes Strength

Are you sure you're okay babe?" Shawn, my boyfriend asked as he walked over to the bed where I was currently laying curled up.

"I'm sure, still exhausted from the jet lag, and my period is giving me grief," I told him causing him to pout. Most girls my age would probably cringe at the thought of telling their boyfriend details about their period, but not me. See Shawn my boyfriend, my older brother Connor, and their friends Dave and Brian were all well respected doctors at the local hospital here in Toronto. That was part of reason for my moving from LA to Canada, I didn't want Shawn to loose such a good job, it was an added bonus that Bri and the other two guys also lived with us so I would get to see all of them.

"Okay," he agreed, though I could tell from the tone that he wasn't completely convinced.

"Call me if you need me, I get off at 6." he added before kissing my head and leaving the now empty house, the other having already left for the hospital.

Several hours later, and the pain just wasn't getting any better. I had always had bad periods. They were made especially bad though by a cyst that I had on my left ovary, something which when I asked my old doctor about she had told me that there was nothing that could be done short of some pain relief. I had tried everything though, hot packs, cold packs, a bath, even drinking green tea, (which I hated) to no avail. Finally I decided that I would try going for a short walk, as I heard that exercise could alleviate pain.

While on the walk I got a call from Shawn, "Babe come home, we all got off early so we're having a family dinner. " he spoke.

"Be there soon, I love you." I told him, before turning around and jogging home. As I went to cross the road, a dog came out of nowhere, and me being deathly afraid of them as I was tried to avoid it, by running the other way only to mis-step and fall directly into gravel. Unfortunately for me, I ended up skinning my knees and as I stood, groaning from the painful sting tht was now emanating from my limbs I realised there was dirt caught in them. Great, just great, I thought as I made my way home slowly, tears falling as I tried to ignore (and failed) how much pain I was in.

"Ana!" Brian called coming over to greet me with a hug. "How was your run?" He asked stepping back to look at me. "Wait, " He paused looking at me more closely. "Ana, you're crying, and bleeding, " he spoke as he looked me up and down before spotting my bloody knees.

" Shawn, " he called, looking over his shoulder to the kitchen where I could hear the other guys all laughing.

"Hi babe, " he started before noticing my knees as Brian had moments earlier and pouted.

"Let me see Princess," he spoke as he helped me into the kitchen and lifted me onto the bench.

"Aw, Poppet, what happend?" My brother asked when he saw me crying as Shawn gently examined my wounds.

"There was a dog." I shivered. I hated dogs except for Tarzan. "So I ran but I tripped." I hiccuped as I tried to slow my breathing.

"One Dr.Brian at your service," Bring sang as he reappeared holding the household first aid box, pulling out tweezers, antiseptic spray, gauze, tape, bandages, cream and pills. "I'm just going to remove the dirt, clean them and then I'll bandage them up. " He explained as he positioned my leg so the kitchen lights were directly above him. "Hold Shawn and Connor's hands for me okay, this will probably hurt."

He wasn't lying it feel like fire was being rubbed into my wounds, and I found myself biting my lip to try and stop myself from crying out loud.

"Nearly done hon," Brian soothed patting my leg as he washed out the last little bits of dirt. A minute later, he stepped back with a smile.

"The worst part is over now Princess," Shawn whispered in my ear, causing me to loosen my grip on their hands just a little. I still clung to them as Brian bandaged them up though, needing the physical contact.

"And you, my fair lady, are all finished," he smiled as he tucked the last bit of bandage in. "You'll need to get me or one of the guys to change it daily for three or so days, but other than that you'll be fine. "

"Thanks Brian," I whispered reaching to give him a hug.

"Ready to get down babe?" Shawn asked, going to grab my hands again.

"Can you just hold me for a minute?" I asked feeling slightly embarrassed.

"Of course. " He smiled before wrapping me in a warm embrace, and allowing me to rest my head in the crook of his neck. "Are you okay? " He asked when I sniffed.

"Mmm," My response was muffled, but they must have heard it because Connor was the next one to speak.

"Why are you so upset Bug?" he asked, using my childhood nickname.

"I don't know!" I cried. "I'm not sleeping because of the jet lag. I'm in pain and now this." I threw my hands up.

"Tell you what, " Connor started. "you have a shower then we'll have dinner and you and your other half-" he gestured to Shawn "can go have sappy cuddles on the couch. How does that sound?" He ruffled my hair softly as he spoke before returning to the cooking.

Fifteen minutes later, I came back down the stairs wearing one of Shawn's old Zeppelin shirts, it reaching my knees and drowning me, but I didn't care. It was comfortable, and it smelt like his aftershave.

"Feeling any better Princess?" he asked coming over and kissing my forehead

"A little," I spoke. Sighing as I leant into his hold. Truth was I was feeling less of the period pain and more of a sharp ache now. But I wasn't going to tell them that, all four of them would be swarming around me like sea gulls if I did.

"I'm hungry," I spoke stealing a piece of tomato that Connor had placed on the counter to add to the salad.

He merely glared at me playfully, but didn't say anymore.

Half an hour later and we were all sat at dinner, the boys all chatting amongst themselves about their work days, discussing patients and funding. While I just pushed my food around my plate, trying to ignore the now increasingly sharp pain radiating from my stomach.

"Ana are you okay?" Dave asked worriedly, watching as I pushed my plate away.

" I don't feel good." I spoke, before grimicing in pain as a particularly bad cramp took hold.

"Dont feel good how?" Shawn asked as he came over to where I was sitting, two seats down from him, bending down.

"Just make it stop." I groaned, reaching for my stomach.

"Make what stop Princess?" he asked, searching my face, and rubbing my leg trying to comfort me.

"The pain, it's like there's a knife there!" I cried, leaning into him and breathing heavily.

"Do you think you can stand up?" Brian asked, coming over to help Shawn support me as I slumped in my chair.

I stood slowly feeling extremely shaky before nearly collapsing as dizziness took over.

"Ana you went for a run right?" Dave asked, coming to stand by my side, taking my wrist so he could take my pulse.

I nodded my head, trying to slow my breathing as the room kept spinning.

"Shit, her pulse is racing, bring her over to the couch." He told Shawn before leaving the room.

Shawn and Dave both held me tightly as we moved slowly. I could barely lift my legs as every time I did pain took hold. "Okay, lay back babe," Shawn spoke as he helped me sit down, and situated me between his legs as he sat behind me.

"Right, Ana where is the pain?" Dave questioned coming to kneel down beside the couch.

"Right here, " I spoke pointing to my left side.

"I'm just going to feel," he spoke as he hiked my shirt up to just under my chest.

Everyone was quiet as Dave concentrated, moving around to press on different sections of my stomach. Finally he said "It is a bit swollen. Do you have any pain in your back or thighs? "

I looked back at Shawn,confused. "If the cyst on your ovary has ruptured or is close to, it can cause pain in the back and thighs," he explained, helping me to pull my shirt back down.

I nodded causing him sigh.

"We'll try some heat, maybe have a bath okay, the water may help to soothe it," Dave added before standing up and taking my wrist again. "Your heart rate is a little high, but we'll just keep an eye on you." He smiled,as Shawn scooped me up into his arms, and carried me up the stairs to our en suite.

"Arms up Princess, do you want bubbles?" he asked as he deposited me onto the closed toilet seat and helped me remove my clothing.

"Please?" I asked, watching as he grabbed my favourite bath lotion, and poured a generous amount in.

"Here we go. In you get," he spoke as he helped me into the tub The difference was almost immediate.

"I think it's time my little invalid gets out," Shawn whispered after about twenty minutes of me just laying back in the water, and letting him massage my scalp from where he sat next to the tub.

"Okay," I agreed, taking his hand as he helped me out of the bath slowly.

It was a slow process getting dressed, as I couldn't make any sudden movements, but Shawn was patient. "There," he said finally. "Snug as a bug, " He had not only redressed me into the shirt I had stolen from him, but had gone and gotten a sweater that he had left lying about and pulled it on me. "Can't have you getting cold little one," he laughed, before pecking my lips.

"It is freezing!" I agreed, as we made our way down the stairs.

"How's my patient?" Dave asked as Shawn placed me gently onto the sofa, covering me with a quilt.

"Sore," I replied, pouting, causing him to laugh.

"Here,this might help," Connor called walking in from the kitchen and placing a heating pad on my stomach.

"Thanks Con," I yawned, readjusting myself so that I could lay against Shawn's side as he squished onto the sofa beside me.

"Get some sleep babe," he whispered, "You need it." He didn't need to tell me twice, it was about three seconds and I was out like a light.

...

When I woke I wasn't sure what time it was, but I was no longer in the couch, instead Shawn had taken me up stairs and tucked me into the bed, and judging by the lack of light and the soft snores coming from Shawn as he slept soundly beside me, it was much later.

Unfortunately for me, there was no way that I was getting back to sleep any time soon, as the pain that had been uncomfortable, but bearable earlier was now causing me agony. So much so that I was literally feeling nauseous.

"Ana, are okay?" Shawn asked, talking into my neck, sleep thick in his muffled voice.

I didn't answer, trying to focus on not passing out.

"Ana," he sighed, as I just sat there crying grabbing fist fulls of sheet as each wave of pain came over me. Sitting up and switching on the lamp beside the bed, he rubbed my arm softly.

"Hold on I'll get the guys." He got up, before quickly exiting the room. A minute or so later I heard the sound of him knocking on the other's doors, and tired voices.

"It's worse? " Dave confirmed, walking into the room closely followed by Shawn,Brian and Connor.

"It never hurts this much, it's so bad!" I cried, pressing on my stomach, wanting the pain gone. I could feel a stronger wave of nausea just as Shawn bent down so that he was at my level, Connor coming to sit with me on the bed as he saw me gag, holding my hair back just in case.

" I'm gonna be sick!" I gasped holding my hand on my mouth, feeling the bile rise.

"Okay, just a second, Bri's gone to get a bucket bub," Shawn soothed coming to rub small circles in my back.

Finally just as I nearly let myself be sick on the bed, Connor spoke, "Here let it all out, " he soothed rubbing my back as Brian held a bucket beneath me that he must have bolted to get from somewhere. I was thankful though, as I could no longer hold it.

After a few minutes, I was able to catch my breath, though I still lay there sweaty and dazed.

"Here,come here Princess." Shawn motioned for me to shuffle over, so he could wipe my face down with a wet washer he had gone and gotten from out bathroom.

"I bleed on the bed," I cried, embarrassed as I shifted and felt the leak, before seeing the masive red stain on the once white sheet

" It's okay, it's normal to have heavy bleeding when a cyst is inflamed. Honestly, we see blood every day babe," Shawn soothed, as he pushed my messy hair out of my face "Besides, they're just sheets, worst case, we'll chuck them out."

"I feel horrible," I groaned letting my head fall onto Shawn's arms half an hour later, when even after a dose of strong pain killers I could barely move.

"Do you want to try sitting in the shower?" Brian suggested as he came back into the room after going to put the dirty sheets in the washer.

"Will it help?" I asked unsure.

"It might," Dave nodded, "The constant stream of warm water may help to loosen some of the muscles in your back and help with the pain and nausea. It's worth a try. "

"Okay," I agreed, watching as Dave stood up and came to stand at the side of the bed.

He held out a hand, helping to support me as Shawn pulled me into an upright position. The room spun a little, and I could feel myself swaying slightly but I managed to stay standing. "Just move very slowly, Ana, no sudden movements honey." Dave grimaced in sympathy as my face tensed with pain as I stepped forward. "

It's okay. We've got you. Breathe Ana. Just breathe," Shawn encouraged as we finally made it to the bathroom.

... Two hours later...

I had sat on the tiled floor of the shower cubicle for almost two hours now, yet nothing was changing and I was miserable. All I wanted to do was sleep. Shawn had sat with me the whole time, holding me gently under the water, not caring that his clothes were now soaked.

"Shawnie I feel dizzy," I told him trying to stay awake. "And my stomach is burning," I groaned, trying to ignore the hot feeling that was now taking over my tummy.

He took my wrist in his hand, before gently taking my pulse.

"Ana we need to go to the hospital honey," he spoke before leaning me against the glass door of the shower and standing up.

"No please can't you just do what you need to do here," I begged crying. I hated hospitals, and he knew it, it had been that way my entire 22 years of life.

"Shhh, calm down," he consoled before calling out to the others. "Dave, Brian, Connor!"

The looks of pity on all of their faces as they stepped into the room and took in my bedraggled state was too much for me to handle.

"Oh Ana, buddy. " Brian sighed, before bending down and helping Shawn to stand me up.

"We need to go to the hospital,she's dizzy her pulse is at 130 beats a minute, she's in more pain than before, she told me a minute ago that her stomach was burning, and she's bleeding more than she should be. I think it may have burst," he told the others as he wrapped a towel around my wet-clothed body.

"Burns," I whimpered as we made our way downstairs, me in my brother's arms, allowing Shawn to run and change into dry clothes.

I heard them muttering amongst themselves, not making out much more than medical word: inflammation and gastritis,and then I was tuning them out.

I couldn't help the tears as we made the short drive to the hospital, me laying across Connor and Shawn's laps.

"I know bub,we'll sort it out okay. But just focus in staying calm. The more upset you are, the worse you'll feel." Connor explained rubbing my stomach softly.

-Connor-

I felt horrible as I watched my little sister in pain, desperately clinging to Shawn as we pulled into the staff carpark. Luckily for us Shawn and I worked as critical care doctors in the ICU while Brian and Dave ran the ER, meaning we could just go straight in, not having to worry about admissions, and insurance just yet.

"I thought you were off tonight? It's been one hell of a night!" Nancy one of the nurses spoke as we walked in.

"We were, but Ana has a burst cyst," I spoke pointing to Shawn who held her in his arms as we walked towards the only available exam room.

Nancy frowned sympathetically, before walking back to the nurses station "You'll need to run it, no doctors available," she called.

Normally we won't treat relatives but she was high priority as as Nancy had said there was no one else there.

"Right Ana I need to run some tests honey, I'm going to get Shawn to change you into this," Dave spoke holding out a gown, as Shawn placed my sister onto the exam table gently.

Once that was done Dave came back over, setting up the portable ultra sound machine next to the bed.

"So I'm just going to put some gel on your stomach, and have a look okay. It might be a little uncomfortable so I apologise in advance."

She whimpered slightly, grabbing Shawn's hand as Dave pressed the wand down."

"I know I'm sorry, " he apologised as he continued to move it around, finally he stopped, zooming in.

"Here it is, you've got a burst cyst on your left ovary, that's why it's hurting so much. When you were running the exertion must have caused it to burst. It also looks as though you have evidence of gastritis too."

"What's that?" she asked looking to me for help.

"Its inflammation of the stomach lining, that's the burning you were feeling.We'll run some more tests though, just to be sure-"

He was interrupted as he spoke by one of the nurses poking her head around the curtin.

"Dr. Craigen would you be able to consult in triage?"

"No," He answered politely. "I'm currently busy looking after a personal patient."

Ana laughed once she had left. "Can you do that? Just ignore?"

"For you, yes, you're our most important patient." He winked. " Good news," he added, " There's no twist, so no surgery but it did burst, and you have lost some blood. So I would like to admit you so we can give you fluids and pain relief," he explained causing her nose to crinkle in distaste.

-Ana-

"Can Shawn stay?" I asked worried that I'd be stuck here by myself.

"I'm not going anywhere Princess," he reassured, me, coming to sit on the side of the bed with me.

Half an hour later and I'd been officially admitted and hooked up to a blood pressure machine, oximeter, and an I.V. with pain meds which was working wonders.

"How you feeling now princess?" Shawn asked, looking at the machines briefly before focusing his attention back to me. We were now the only two in the room, Brian and Connor having gone to the Cafeteria for much needed coffee, and Dave to check my previous file notes, not that I knew how he'd get a hold of them.

"I'm cold." I shivered, trying to burrow myself further into the too think blankets.

"Here, this should help," Shawn smiled, pulling one of his jumpers out of his bag and helping me into it.

There was a knock on the door, before Dave stepped into the room,a clipboard in hand. "Sorry to interupt guys." he apologised. "Ana, I need to ask you some routine questions," he spoke coming to sit next to the bed.

"Is there any chance you could be pregnant?" he asked seriously.

I blushed, "Ummm no," I laughed hiding my face in Shawn's shoulder.

"Sorry,this is just as awkward for you as it is for me. Trust me I don't want to know the details of one of my best mates private this. But this important," he explained smiling sympathetically.

"Well, No, trust me," I laughed, just wanting to move on.

"Okay. Well I'm going to do a blood draw just to rule a couple things out. Make sure nothing additional is going on."

"The doctor basically told me there was nothing she could do," I told him, watching as he grabbed all the necessary supplies.

"Well now that you're over here Dave will take care of you princess," Shawn spoke kissing my head.

"You don't have to worry about a thing." Dave smiled before snapping on a pair of gloves and coming to sit next to me.

"Shawn move your fat bum so I can get this blood work done," he spoke, shoving Shawn off the bed with his hip where he had been sitting next to me.

"Sharp scratch Ana," he warned causing me to squeeze my eyes shut in anticipation. "Just stay nice and relaxed."

Several hours later,and nothing abnormal had shown up in my blood work, meaning that once my pain was under control I was free to go, however Dave did explain to me that he had seen evidence of gastritis as Connor had mentioned earlier a symptom of the strong medications I had been taking to manage my pain. I was prescribed an ant-acid, toldstay away from spicy food, and change medications to something a little less harsh.

"You also need to be on bed rest for a few days to give your stomach time to heal," Shawn had added, laughing when I whined in protest. He knew I hated being stuck immobile.

Days later I had been released on strict orders to rest, something which I reluctantly agreed to.

" I'm so glad your feeling better," Shawn said sitting next to me on the sofa, that had become my temporary home due to not being able to walk easily on my own.

"Well it wasn't exactly the way I wanted to spend my first few days here, but thank you guys," I spoke, looking to the other three who sat across from us. They all smiled. "Seriously. Hopefully this will be the start of a great new chapter! I can't wait to see what living in Canada brings," I shouted causing them all to laugh.

"What would I do without you babe?" Shawn chuckled, kissing me.

"I don't know, your life would certainly be more predictable though," I laughed, snuggling into his shoulder.

"But then life would be boring, besides from unpredictabiliy comes strength, and you Ana, are the strongest person I know," he smiled, kissing my temple and resting his head atop mine.

[pinkpeonyprincessblog]

From Unpredictability Comes Strength

Are you sure you're okay babe?" Shawn, my boyfriend asked as he walked over to the bed where I was currently laying curled up.

"I'm sure, still exhausted from the jet lag, and my period is giving me grief," I told him causing him to pout. Most girls my age would probably cringe at the thought of telling their boyfriend details about their period, but not me. See Shawn my boyfriend, my older brother Connor, and their friends Dave and Brian were all well respected doctors at the local hospital here in Toronto. That was part of reason for my moving from LA to Canada, I didn't want Shawn to loose such a good job, it was an added bonus that Connor and the other two guys also lived with us so I would get to see all of them.

"Okay," he agreed, though I could tell from the tone that he wasn't completely convinced.

"Call me if you need me, I get off at 6," he added before kissing my head and leaving the now empty house, the other having already left for the hospital.

Several hours later, and the pain just wasn't getting any better. I had always had bad periods. They were made especially bad though by a cyst that I had on my left ovary, something which when I asked my old doctor about she had told me that there was nothing that could be done short of some pain relief. I had tried everything though, hot packs, cold packs, a bath, even drinking green tea, (which I hated) to no avail. Finally I decided that I would try going for a short walk, as I heard that exercise could alleviate pain.

While on the walk I got a call from Shawn, "Babe come home, we all got off early so we're having a family dinner, " he spoke.

"Be there soon, I love you," I told him, before turning around and jogging home. As I went to cross the road, a dog came out of nowhere, and me being deathly afraid of them as I was tried to avoid it, by running the other way only to mis-step and fall directly into gravel. Unfortunately for me, I ended up skinning my knees and as I stood, groaning from the painful sting tht was now emanating from my limbs I realised there was dirt caught in them. Great, just great, I thought as I made my way home slowly, tears falling as I tried to ignore (and failed) how much pain I was in.

"Ana!" Brian called coming over to greet me with a hug. "How was your run?" He asked stepping back to look at me. "Wait, " He paused looking at me more closely. "Ana, you're crying, and bleeding, " he spoke as he looked me up and down before spotting my bloody knees.

" Shawn, " he called, looking over his shoulder to the kitchen where I could hear the other guys all laughing.

"Hi babe, " he started before noticing my knees as Brian had moments earlier and pouted.

"Let me see Princess," he spoke as he helped me into the kitchen and lifted me onto the bench.

"Aw, Poppet, what happend?" My brother asked when he saw me crying as Shawn gently examined my wounds.

"There was a dog." I shivered. I hated dogs except for Tarzan. "So I ran but I tripped." I hiccuped as I tried to slow my breathing.

"One Dr. Brian at your service," Bring sang as he reappeared holding the household first aid box, pulling out tweezers, antiseptic spray, gauze, tape, bandages, cream and pills. "I'm just going to remove the dirt, clean them and then I'll bandage them up. " He explained as he positioned my leg so the kitchen lights were directly above him. "Hold Shawn and Connor's hands for me okay, this will probably hurt."

He wasn't lying it feel like fire was being rubbed into my wounds, and I found myself biting my lip to try and stop myself from crying out loud.

"Nearly done hon," Brian soothed patting my leg as he washed out the last little bits of dirt. A minute later, he stepped back with a smile.

"The worst part is over now Princess," Shawn whispered in my ear, causing me to loosen my grip on their hands just a little. I still clung to them as Brian bandaged them up though, needing the physical contact.

"And you, my fair lady, are all finished," he smiled as he tucked the last bit of bandage in. "You'll need to get me or one of the guys to change it daily for three or so days, but other than that you'll be fine. "

"Thanks Brian," I whispered reaching to give him a hug.

"Ready to get down babe?" Shawn asked, going to grab my hands again.

"Can you just hold me for a minute?" I asked feeling slightly embarrassed.

"Of course. " He smiled before wrapping me in a warm embrace, and allowing me to rest my head in the crook of his neck. "Are you okay? " he asked when I sniffed.

"Mmm," My response was muffled, but they must have heard it because Connor was the next one to speak.

"Why are you so upset Bug?" he asked, using my childhood nickname.

"I don't know!" I cried. "I'm not sleeping because of the jet lag. I'm in pain and now this." I threw my hands up.

"Tell you what, " Connor started. "you have a shower then we'll have dinner and you and your other half-" he gestured to Shawn "can go have sappy cuddles on the couch. How does that sound?" He ruffled my hair softly as he spoke before returning to the cooking.

Fifteen minutes later, I came back down the stairs wearing one of Shawn's old Zeppelin shirts, it reaching my knees and drowning me, but I didn't care. It was comfortable, and it smelt like his aftershave.

"Feeling any better Princess?" he asked coming over and kissing my forehead

"A little," I spoke. Sighing as I leant into his hold. Truth was I was feeling less of the period pain and more of a sharp ache now. But I wasn't going to tell them that, all four of them would be swarming around me like sea gulls if I did.

"I'm hungry," I spoke stealing a piece of tomato that Connor had placed on the counter to add to the salad.

He merely glared at me playfully, but didn't say anymore.

Half an hour later and we were all sat at dinner, the boys all chatting amongst themselves about their work days, discussing patients and funding. While I just pushed my food around my plate, trying to ignore the now increasingly sharp pain radiating from my stomach.

"Ana are you okay?" Dave asked worriedly, watching as I pushed my plate away.

" I don't feel good," I spoke, before grimicing in pain as a particularly bad cramp took hold.

"Dont feel good how?" Shawn asked as he came over to where I was sitting, two seats down from him, bending down.

"Just make it stop," I groaned, reaching for my stomach.

"Make what stop Princess?" he asked, searching my face, and rubbing my leg trying to comfort me.

"The pain, it's like there's a knife there!" I cried, leaning into him and breathing heavily.

"Do you think you can stand up?" Brian asked, coming over to help Shawn support me as I slumped in my chair.

I stood slowly feeling extremely shaky before nearly collapsing as dizziness took over.

"Ana you went for a run right?" Dave asked, coming to stand by my side, taking my wrist so he could take my pulse.

I nodded my head, trying to slow my breathing as the room kept spinning.

"Shit, her pulse is racing, bring her over to the couch." he told Shawn before leaving the room.

Shawn and Dave both held me tightly as we moved slowly. I could barely lift my legs as every time I did pain took hold. "Okay, lay back babe," Shawn spoke as he helped me sit down, and situated me between his legs as he sat behind me.

"Right, Ana where is the pain?" Dave questioned coming to kneel down beside the couch.

"Right here, " I spoke pointing to my left side.

"I'm just going to feel," he spoke as he hiked my shirt up to just under my chest.

Everyone was quiet as Dave concentrated, moving around to press on different sections of my stomach. Finally he said "It is a bit swollen. Do you have any pain in your back or thighs?"

I looked back at Shawn, confused. "If the cyst on your ovary has ruptured or is close to, it can cause pain in the back and thighs," he explained, helping me to pull my shirt back down.

I nodded causing him sigh.

"We'll try some heat, maybe have a bath okay, the water may help to soothe it," Dave added before standing up and taking my wrist again. "Your heart rate is a little high, but we'll just keep an eye on you." He smiled, as Shawn scooped me up into his arms, and carried me up the stairs to our ensuite.

"Arms up Princess, do you want bubbles?" he asked as he deposited me onto the closed toilet seat and helped me remove my clothing.

"Please?" I asked, watching as he grabbed my favourite bath lotion, and poured a generous amount in.

"Here we go. In you get," he spoke as he helped me into the tub. The difference was almost immediate.

"I think it's time my little invalid gets out," Shawn whispered after about twenty minutes of me just laying back in the water, and letting him massage my scalp from where he sat next to the tub.

"Okay," I agreed, taking his hand as he helped me out of the bath slowly.

It was a slow process getting dressed, as I couldn't make any sudden movements, but Shawn was patient. "There," he said finally. "Snug as a bug, " He had not only redressed me into the shirt I had stolen from him, but had gone and gotten a sweater that he had left lying about and pulled it on me. "Can't have you getting cold little one," he laughed, before pecking my lips.

"It's freezing!" I agreed, as we made our way down the stairs.

"How's my patient?" Dave asked as Shawn placed me gently onto the sofa, covering me with a quilt.

"Sore," I replied, pouting, causing him to laugh.

"Here, this might help," Connor called walking in from the kitchen and placing a heating pad on my stomach.

"Thanks Con," I yawned, readjusting myself so that I could lay against Shawn's side as he squished onto the sofa beside me.

"Get some sleep babe," he whispered, "You need it." He didn't need to tell me twice, it was about three seconds and I was out like a light.

...

When I woke I wasn't sure what time it was, but I was no longer in the couch, instead Shawn had taken me up stairs and tucked me into the bed, and judging by the lack of light and the soft snores coming from Shawn as he slept soundly beside me, it was much later.

Unfortunately for me, there was no way that I was getting back to sleep any time soon, as the pain that had been uncomfortable, but bearable earlier was now causing me agony. So much so that I was literally feeling nauseous.

"Ana, are okay?" Shawn asked, talking into my neck, sleep thick in his muffled voice.

I didn't answer, trying to focus on not passing out.

"Ana," he sighed, as I just sat there crying grabbing fist fulls of sheet as each wave of pain came over me. Sitting up and switching on the lamp beside the bed, he rubbed my arm softly.

"Hold on I'll get the guys." He got up, before quickly exiting the room. A minute or so later I heard the sound of him knocking on the other's doors, and tired voices.

"It's worse? " Dave confirmed, walking into the room closely followed by Shawn, Brian and Connor.

"It never hurts this much, it's so bad!" I cried, pressing on my stomach, wanting the pain gone. I could feel a stronger wave of nausea just as Shawn bent down so that he was at my level, Connor coming to sit with me on the bed as he saw me gag, holding my hair back just in case.

" I'm gonna be sick!" I gasped holding my hand on my mouth, feeling the bile rise.

"Okay, just a second, Bri's gone to get a bucket bub," Shawn soothed coming to rub small circles in my back.

Finally just as I nearly let myself be sick on the bed, Connor spoke, "Here let it all out, " he soothed rubbing my back as Brian held a bucket beneath me that he must have bolted to get from somewhere. I was thankful though, as I could no longer hold it.

After a few minutes, I was able to catch my breath, though I still lay there sweaty and dazed.

"Here, come here Princess." Shawn motioned for me to shuffle over, so he could wipe my face down with a wet washer he had gone and gotten from out bathroom.

"I bleed on the bed," I cried, embarrassed as I shifted and felt the leak, before seeing the masive red stain on the once white sheet

" It's okay, it's normal to have heavy bleeding when a cyst is inflamed. Honestly, we see blood every day babe," Shawn soothed, as he pushed my messy hair out of my face "Besides, they're just sheets, worst case, we'll chuck them out."

"I feel horrible," I groaned letting my head fall onto Shawn's arms half an hour later, when even after a dose of strong pain killers I could barely move.

"Do you want to try sitting in the shower?" Brian suggested as he came back into the room after going to put the dirty sheets in the washer.

"Will it help?" I asked unsure.

"It might," Dave nodded, "The constant stream of warm water may help to loosen some of the muscles in your back and help with the pain and nausea. It's worth a try. "

"Okay," I agreed, watching as Dave stood up and came to stand at the side of the bed.

He held out a hand, helping to support me as Shawn pulled me into an upright position. The room spun a little, and I could feel myself swaying slightly but I managed to stay standing. "Just move very slowly, Ana, no sudden movements honey." Dave grimaced in sympathy as my face tensed with pain as I stepped forward. "

It's okay. We've got you. Breathe Ana. Just breathe," Shawn encouraged as we finally made it to the bathroom.

... Two hours later...

I had sat on the tiled floor of the shower cubicle for almost two hours now, yet nothing was changing and I was miserable. All I wanted to do was sleep. Shawn had sat with me the whole time, holding me gently under the water, not caring that his clothes were now soaked.

"Shawnie I feel dizzy," I told him trying to stay awake. "And my stomach is burning," I groaned, trying to ignore the hot feeling that was now taking over my tummy.

He took my wrist in his hand, before gently taking my pulse.

"Ana we need to go to the hospital honey," he spoke before leaning me against the glass door of the shower and standing up.

"No please can't you just do what you need to do here," I begged crying. I hated hospitals, and he knew it, it had been that way my entire 22 years of life.

"Shhh, calm down," he consoled before calling out to the others. "Dave, Brian, Connor!"

The looks of pity on all of their faces as they stepped into the room and took in my bedraggled state was too much for me to handle.

"Oh Ana, buddy, " Brian sighed, before bending down and helping Shawn to stand me up.

"We need to go to the hospital, she's dizzy her pulse is at 130 a minute, she's in more pain than before, she told me a minute ago that her stomach was burning, and she's bleeding more than she should be. I think it may have burst," he told the others as he wrapped a towel around my wet-clothed body.

"Burns," I whimpered as we made our way downstairs, me in my brother's arms, allowing Shawn to run and change into dry clothes.

I heard them muttering amongst themselves, not making out much more than medical word: inflammation and gastritis, and then I was tuning them out.

I couldn't help the tears as we made the short drive to the hospital, me laying across Connor and Shawn's laps.

"I know bub, we'll sort it out okay. But just focus in staying calm. The more upset you are, the worse you'll feel," Connor explained rubbing my stomach softly.

-Connor-

I felt horrible as I watched my little sister in pain, desperately clinging to Shawn as we pulled into the staff carpark. Luckily for us Shawn and I worked as critical care doctors in the ICU while Brian and Dave ran the ER, meaning we could just go straight in, not having to worry about admissions, and insurance just yet.

"I thought you were off tonight? It's been one hell of a night!" Nancy one of the nurses spoke as we walked in.

"We were, but Ana has a burst cyst," I spoke pointing to Shawn who held her in his arms as we walked towards the only available exam room.

Nancy frowned sympathetically, before walking back to the nurses station "You'll need to run it, no doctors available," she called.

Normally we won't treat relatives but she was high priority and as Nancy had said there was no one else there.

"Right Ana I need to run some tests honey, I'm going to get Shawn to change you into this," Dave spoke holding out a gown, as Shawn placed my sister onto the exam table gently.

Once that was done Brian came over, setting up the portable ultra sound machine next to the bed.

"So I'm just going to put some gel on your stomach, and have a look okay. It might be a little uncomfortable so I apologise in advance."

She whimpered slightly, grabbing Shawn's hand as Brian pressed the wand down."

"I know I'm sorry, " he apologised as he continued to move it around, finally he stopped, zooming in.

"Here it is, you've got a burst cyst on your left ovary that's why it's hurting so much. When you were running the exertion must have caused it to burst. It also looks as though you have evidence of gastritis too."

"What's that?" she asked looking to me for help.

"Its inflammation of the stomach lining, that's the burning you were feeling. We'll run some more tests though, just to be sure-"

He was interrupted as he spoke by one of the nurses poking her head around the curtin.

"Dr. Craigen would you be able to consult in triage?"

"No," he answered politely. "I'm currently busy looking after a personal patient."

Ana laughed once she had left. "Can you do that? Just ignore?"

"For you, yes, you're our most important patient." He winked. " Good news," he added, " There's no twist, so no surgery but it did burst, and you have lost some blood. So I would like to admit you so we can give you fluids and pain relief," he explained causing her nose to crinkle in distaste.

-Ana-

"Can Shawn stay?" I asked worried that I'd be stuck here by myself.

"I'm not going anywhere Princess," he reassured, me, coming to sit on the side of the bed with me.

Half an hour later and I'd been officially admitted and hooked up to a blood pressure machine, oximeter, and an I.V. with pain meds which was working wonders.

"How you feeling now Princess?" Shawn asked, looking at the machines briefly before focusing his attention back to me. We were now the only two in the room, Brian and Connor having gone to the Cafeteria for much needed coffee, and Dave to check my previous file notes, not that I knew how he'd get a hold of them.

"I'm cold." I shivered, trying to burrow myself further into the too think blankets.

"Here, this should help," Shawn smiled, pulling one of his jumpers out of his bag and helping me into it.

There was a knock on the door, before Dave stepped into the room,a clipboard in hand. "Sorry to interupt guys." he apologised. "Ana, I need to ask you some routine questions," he spoke coming to sit next to the bed.

"Is there any chance you could be pregnant?" he asked seriously.

I blushed, "Ummm no," I laughed hiding my face in Shawn's shoulder.

"Sorry, this is just as awkward for you as it is for me. Trust me I don't want to know the details of one of my best mates private this. But this important," he explained smiling sympathetically.

"Well, no, trust me," I laughed, just wanting to move on.

"Okay. Well I'm going to do a blood draw just to rule a couple things out. Make sure nothing additional is going on."

"The doctor basically told me there was nothing she could do," I told him, watching as he grabbed all the necessary supplies.

"Well now that you're over here Dave will take care of you Princess," Shawn spoke kissing my head.

"You don't have to worry about a thing." Dave smiled before snapping on a pair of gloves and coming to sit next to me.

"Shawn move your fat bum so I can get this blood work done," he spoke, shoving Shawn off the bed with his hip where he had been sitting next to me.

"Sharp scratch Ana," he warned causing me to squeeze my eyes shut in anticipation. "Just stay nice and relaxed."

Several hours later,and nothing abnormal had shown up in my blood work, meaning that once my pain was under control I was free to go, however Dave did explain to me that he had seen evidence of gastritis as Connor had mentioned earlier a symptom of the strong medications I had been taking to manage my pain. I was prescribed an ant-acid, told to stay away from spicy food, and change medications to something a little less harsh.

"You also need to be on bed rest for a few days to give your stomach time to heal," Shawn had added, laughing when I whined in protest. He knew I hated being stuck immobile.

Days later I had been released on strict orders to rest, something which I reluctantly agreed to.

" I'm so glad your feeling better," Shawn said sitting next to me on the sofa, that had become my temporary home due to not being able to walk easily on my own.

"Well it wasn't exactly the way I wanted to spend my first few days here, but thank you guys," I spoke, looking to the other three who sat across from us. They all smiled. "Seriously. Hopefully this will be the start of a great new chapter! I can't wait to see what living in Canada brings," I shouted causing them all to laugh.

"What would I do without you babe?" Shawn chuckled, kissing me.

[squidproquoclarice]

I would've preferred playing as Charles in the epilogue. Even burying Arthur, sad and...icky as that'd be. Love their friendship. Arthur was so perfectly comfortable and trusting toward Charles who provides emotional support when no one else did. They even both tear up over Eagle Flies! Overall, I didn't like his character arc's conclusion. Charles struck me as more Arthur's bestie than John's. I would have preferred seeing him helping Rains Falls' tribe. I also want more of his backstory.

OK, I’m gonna have to argue strongly with your assertion that nobody else provided emotional support to Arthur.  I’m a little irritated seeing this Only Charles cared about Arthur! assertion bandied around fandom over and over.  Because Sadie sure as hell did too.  She very much went out of her way to support him, repeatedly puts herself forward to protect him and to try to take some of the burden from him, and strove to make certain the people he held dearest to him were safe and his goals were accomplished.  And I’m a little irritated that Sadie’s efforts keep getting dismissed, because it feels a lot like the dismissive assumption that as a woman what Sadie does is nothing special because it’s societal expectation for a woman to go out of her way to help a man, whereas when Charles, as a man, does it, it’s considered remarkable and praiseworthy.And that’s not me speaking as a Sadithur shipper, or even a Sadie fan.  That’s me as a woman being really Goddamn tired of the intrinsic sexism in the standards we apply to characters and their relationships, across fandoms.  Let’s be better, please.Off my soapbox, I agree with you about Charles and Arthur having a strong brotherhood that I very much enjoy.  I think Charles was poorly served by the Epilogue as written, to be honest.  The whole “he buried Arthur” is lovely and touching and I believe Charles would do it.  But I’m struggling with the nuts and bolts of that sequence.  He was out of touch with the gang and didn’t know where everything went down, and on what night.  He was already up in Canada and heard about it and somehow knew exactly where to find Arthur’s decomposing corpse probably weeks (at least) later?  The logic seems a bit weird.  The logic of everything for Charles in the Epilogue seems off, and it bothers me, because I feel like plot drove character there, not the other way around, which is as it should be.    I do believe Charles would have gone after Micah out of love for a brother, and fulfilling Arthur’s last wishes.  He even says as much on the ride to Mt. Hagen–it’s not about revenge for him, he’s doing it for Arthur.  But at the end of Chapter 6 it seems like a satisfying ending for him.  He’s found his home with the Wapiti, this poor dude who’s never felt like he’s belonged anywhere.And then we find in the Epilogue that’s not true, with no explanation.  Something made him leave the Wapiti, and roam alone again, and end up prize fighting to earn enough to survive.  And then suddenly after Mt. Hagen he’s…gung-ho to go right on back to Canada and the Wapiti and get married, like nothing happened to make him leave that life?I’m not saying those datapoints can’t all connect in some kind of cogent narrative of Charles’ intervening years, but Rockstar really didn’t put in the work there, IMO.  It feels like they just carelessly yoinked him from his HEA in Canada to have a strong dude available to help build Beecher’s Hope, then have him go to help fulfill Arthur’s wish to go after Micah, and then immediately nerf him the moment they get to Mt. Hagen with an injury so he doesn’t straight up shoot Micah in the face and make that showdown really short (and they severely injure Sadie for the same reason).  Sadie stumbles up the mountain half-disemboweled to get the job done but Charles just kinda…sits this one out with an arm wound for unexplained reasons?  It takes away a badass moment that he too deserved.    I feel like Charles was pretty poorly served by the Epilogue, not gonna lie.  He doesn’t get his established narrative as joining the Wapiti respected, and he doesn’t even really get to contribute to giving Arthur’s spirit peace, so what was the point of disrupting his life like that without any explanation as to how or why?  I think there was a way Charles could have been involved in the Epilogue and been better respected as a char, but it didn’t go that way.  As for wanting to see him helping the tribe, I’m with you on that.  Chapter XI of Sunrise definitely will have Charles, since Arthur and Sadie will be going north to Canada to visit him, Rains Fall, and the rest of the Wapiti.  And while I’m sticking to Arthur and Sadie POV, I’ll definitely try to get more of Charles’ backstory in there if I can!

[working-class-vegan]

Thanks for taking the time to reply. So what should someone do when they suspect an illegal immigrant? Because isn't that a crime? They should have gone through the legal method of citizenship or asylum, which the caravan didn't do. Also white illegals are going to be low or near zero anyway; I don't know any majority white poor countries near America. That's just geography, it's more of a problem in Europe.

If you suspect someone might have entered the US illegally, the best action to take is to mind your own business and let them live in peace. It is a 100% fact that they know about their legal status, the hurdles to it, and their reasoning and goals for coming to this country better than you ever could.

Besides the fact that half of undocumented immigrants originally came here through “proper” channels and then for whatever reason weren’t able to file the proper paperwork in time to to avoid legal issue, being present in the US without proper documentation is, in fact, not a crime. It is only considered a civil infraction.

“The act of being present in the United States in violation of the immigration laws is not, standing alone, a crime.  While federal immigration law does criminalize some actions that may be related to undocumented presence in the United States, undocumented presence alone is not a violation of federal criminal law.  Thus, many believe that the term “illegal alien,” which may suggest a criminal violation, is inaccurate or misleading.”  - ACLU Immigrants’ Rights Project

It is required that asylum seekers be physically present in the US or at a port of entry to request asylum, so nothing about how the people in the caravan trying to seek asylum is out of the ordinary. This is literally the only way to gain asylum as it is not even possible to do so through US embassies in their home country. Again for emphasis: It is required that one be inside the US to gain asylum. It can often take years for regular immigration paperwork to go through, and if you’re trying to escape violence and poverty, as the vast majority of them are, you could literally end up dead before you are approved. This is why they do it this way.

As of 2008 there were an estimated 75,000 undocumented immigrants from Canada currently residing in the US. As of last year there was an estimated 50,000 undocumented Irish immigrants in the US. And though 1 out of every 5 immigrants to the US is white, nobody gets angry at them for living here. No one yells at them to “go back to their country.” No one threatens to call ICE agents to bust down their doors and drag them off to detention centers because they dared to speak their native language in public or go to a hospital when they get sick.

Why do you think that is? Why aren’t Latin American immigrants who are fleeing horrific violence and poverty not treated with the same dignity and respect as white immigrants? There’s a pretty simple answer, and I think you might know it if you really think about it.

One might want to make the argument that they are “stealing our jobs” or somehow making things worse for US citizens, but if you look at it in terms of economic growth immigration is actually extremely good for the US. Undocumented immigrants alone paid $23.6 billion in federal income taxes in 2015, taxes for benefits they can’t even legally acquire, meaning they are essentially giving the US free money.

I personally know people from El Salvador, which has the highest murder rate in the world, whose families had to leave everything behind and flee to the US because violent gangs working with the local police were trying to kidnap and/or murder them. Not all of them were able to come here legally, but to them that is a far easier risk to take than staying home and having their brains blown across their kitchen wall while their children watch in horror, and then those children being stolen and sold into sexual slavery. 

So here’s some better questions:How do we combat the overwhelming racism surrounding the issue of immigration in America?What can we do to better help these people feel safe in their new homes?

[xtruss]

The Disabled Doctors Not Believed By Their Colleagues

People often feel nervous when they visit a doctor with some fearing their symptoms may not be believed. But what if you are the doctor, and your colleagues dismiss your disabilities and mental health difficulties? Miranda Schreiber explores this challenging relationship.

When I was 15, I described what turned out to be the neurological symptoms of mental illness to my doctor. I told him I couldn't do schoolwork, feel the cold, or understand a book. He suggested I go on walks if I was stressed.

This breakdown in communication, in which patient and doctor seem to live in different worlds, is well-documented by disabled people. Many feel they have to translate their experience, because disability and medical structures seem incompatible.

But this experience is familiar to disabled doctors too, and some are seeking solutions.

Sarah Islam was a fourth year medical student at Indiana University when she developed a chronic illness which caused exhaustion, chronic pain, and cognitive impairment. She said her symptoms, which didn't tick a specific box, made her feel like she lacked fluency in the medical language she was learning.

'Brick Wall'

"I remember, even as a med student, having the vocabulary to explain what I was going through but feeling like I had hit a brick wall," she says. "I actually didn't know how to describe it."

With her experience of sickness, Islam shifted from believing legitimate illness could be diagnosed to living as a patient with symptoms which didn't fit a clear disease profile.

But she noticed a change in her colleagues too, when she returned to medical school after a period of recovery.

"If I said the word 'pain' [colleagues] took it as coded language for 'I'm lazy' and 'I can't do my work'.

"They would challenge my reality," she says, something which lead her to conceal her symptoms. "I felt like everything I shared was going to be weaponized against me. They would say 'you walked two days ago so why can't you walk today?' Almost like they caught me in a lie.

"The baseline understanding of what it means to be disabled is not there."

This sort of discrimination is often referred to as ableism - which favours non-disabled people over those with disabilities.

It is made all the harder to confront in medicine when disabled clinicians are vastly underrepresented. Disabled people make up about 20% of the population in the UK and US but only 2% of British and American doctors.

Islam says simple accommodations like taking notes in front of patients, or taking the elevator rather than the stairs, were criticised by her advisors as unprofessional. And these same attitudes, Islam explains, manifest in patient interviews.

"It's completely baffling to me how we can expect patients to respect us when we won't even believe what they're telling us.

"It's scary to be viewed as good or bad because you can or cannot work," she says.

Hardeep Lotay, a fifth year medical student at the University of Cambridge and mental health advocate, sympathises with Islam. "There's the idea in medicine you have to stretch yourself further than is reasonable because that's the nature of the profession," Lotay says, who also researches medical racism.

"I took a year-and-a-bit out from the course. In medical school any difference is seen as weakness, and any weakness is taken to mean you're not as good as your cohort. There's stigma in everyone knowing you've taken time off.

"It can be very negative to see the perception of psychiatry patients from your colleagues and seniors."

The attitudes Lotay and Islam experienced were also identified in research by Drs. Havi Carel and Ian Kidd, philosophy professors at the University of Bristol.

They found medical experts often perceive disabled patients as incapable, unreliable, and emotionally unstable, leading clinicians to "downgrade the credibility" of what disabled patients say.

This discrimination can impact treatment decisions and compromise disabled patients' health, increasing their risk of secondary conditions.

'Gaslighting the Patient'

Revealingly, Canada Care Connection, which helps patients find family doctors, found in its team audits that patients with chronic pain took the longest to place, and that some family doctors refused to see "undesirable" patients because of a disability. "They just won't accept them," one Care Connector wrote.

Joanna, a disability activist from New Jersey, has mast cell activation syndrome, also known as mastocytosis. The disorder causes overactive mast cells - which form part of the immune system - which trigger anaphylaxis. Joanna lived without medical support until she was 25 because doctors believed she was exaggerating her symptoms.

"I wish medical students were taught to be open to information disabled patients provide," she says. "It's okay for a medical student or doctor to admit that they don't have the answer. That's so much more helpful than gaslighting the patient."

This is something the University of Michigan is trying to address. Its medical school has started providing students with teaching sessions focused on disability in its entirety - from disability pride to the everyday and justice.

But there are also the disabled activists, medical students and doctors who propose that the breakdown in communication could be reduced if there were more disabled physicians.

"As a disability activist who's proud of being disabled, there's a vocabulary of identity that I can't use with doctors," says Charis Hill, an activist from Sacramento, California. "They think disability is bad. It's what they want to keep you from becoming.

"With a disabled doctor I wouldn't have to explain so much because we're speaking the same language," they say. "My care outcomes would be so much better because I would be understood."

Lotay and Islam have both used their personal experience to guide the way they approach medicine.

"If a patient comes to you and tells you they're completely deflated, you can communicate with them and speak a language of mental health," says Lotay.

Dr. Duncan Shrewsbury, a clinician and senior lecturer at Birmingham University in the UK who has ADHD, agrees.

"We should be systematically looking at how we support and advocate for disabled learners, both at university and postgraduate training levels," he says.

"It wasn't until disabled people chained themselves to the front of a bus [in the UK] that disability legislation started looking at public services needing to cater to people with different abilities," he says, reflecting on the 1995 protests for disability rights.

The University of Michigan has also tried to address barriers by altering its technical standards for admission. Disabled applicants no longer need to demonstrate physical competencies, like being able to lift a patient.

But Islam observes that practicing medicine is only part of the challenge.

"The barriers start before any of us even apply," she says. "If this had happened to me when I was 17 I probably wouldn't have had the energy, or the finances frankly, to apply. It's clear you are not the person wanted in this field."

But with systemic change, things could be different.

The experiences I described to my doctor when I was 15 did not need to be beyond understanding.

Perhaps, rather than recommend I go on walks, my doctor might have said: "I have felt the same way."

— BBC News | Sunday April 18, 2021

[princessareum]

⁀➷

Sometimes, we judge people.

And sometimes, we find answers to questions we had never asked but wondered about for a while.

Sometimes things just happen and we're left awed by them. That's what happened to me.

We went to my mother’s family reunion in Canada, thinking this or that wouldn’t matter. But it did matter, it mattered to me. I walked away feeling satisfied with my reasons and even though not all of it was very good, the parts that were, were wonderful.

I could tell my Father and my brothers–Sebastian, Aiden, and Damion–were a little on their guard. So was I. But not in a way that anyone else would notice. They hadn't wanted to come. I knew that, but for myself I wanted to see that no matter what they said or did to me, I'd always be able to hold my head up because I was proud of how I'd turned out.

The ironic part is, they've always loved my father. He had never treated anyone in my mother’s family terribly. They didn't always use the best judgement and they didn't always treat him respectfully, but he had never slammed the door in their faces. He was the one who tried to make the effort.

When we first arrived, two of my mother’s aunts came out and met us at the car. They just sort of grabbed us and held on. My great uncle was inside already, but my father hadn't got there yet.

The first thing I felt when I entered the house was lingering silence - that strain that fills a room when people are trying to figure out what to say. I made my way around the room hugging everyone and then a burst of chatter erupted. I dragged Damion along and kept him close to me by holding his hand. It wasn’t weird, we had done things like this as children. I am closer to him than I am to my other brothers, though I loved all three the same.

It wasn't long before my great uncle started in on Father, and then me: "Have you gained weight? You look fat. Where the hell's your husband, Heaven? You run him off? Women are good at nagging a man to death."

Then he made a racist comment and the room went deadly quiet. Sebastian jumped up and said, "Get a damn clue uncle, you aren't funny. You need to just shut your freakin mouth!” Then he rushed out the front door. My mother and a few others ran after him.

Damion squeezed my hand tighter and I could feel his tension. I kept looking at my great uncle steadily. I never took my eyes off him. I saw something that I'd never seen in him before. Shame. I think it hit him that he'd fell from grace from Sebastian. And he fell hard.

Sebastian had been especially the apple of his eye. He was the oldest and strongest.

We all left my great uncle sitting there and we went outside. He deserved his own miserable company for a while.

The next few hours were probably the best. I had two awesome little cousins fighting for a position on my lap. Children are the best because they just say things that melt your heart.

Once the barriers were down the honesty came into focus. Dealing with them is much better than letting them pile up adding misinformed assumptions to them. I was glad to set the record straight.

One of them said, “Heaven, why didn't you tell us all to go to hell? We deserved it, we didn't handle things the right way, but you never gave up on any of us."

Nope, I never did. They just didn't know me as well.

They formed most of their opinions on news relayed to them through my great uncle. And well, I don't think I need to imagine all that he came up with. He was only proud and bragged about my Royal title, my sports abilities, my honors, my successes. He never took the time to relate to me as a person because I was a girl. His comment would always be: you should have been a boy.

Maybe he'd have loved me more if I'd have been a boy. Or respected me more. Or felt I was more worthy in some way.

But I'm not a boy, I'm a girl. And I wouldn't change that for anything - not even for his respect and love. I didn't accomplish what I did in my life because of my name or my gender. I did it for me.

I'm satisfied knowing that.

[forkanna]

[AO3 LINK]

[EF.com LINK]

I actually didn't see much of her for the next week. First and foremost, because Comeau took a week off to go do something arty so his shifts fell in my lap, and secondly because…

Well, I don't know. She just wasn't around. It started to worry me after the first few days. Did I just act too surly and actually drive away the only ray of sunshine in my otherwise drab world? Listen to me wax fucking poetic. Been talking to Steph too much, maybe.

But when she popped back up again, it was where I was least expecting it.

I had gone into Tim Horton's to use the washrooms — that's all, I think they're just barely better than the swill at Starbucks and equally overpriced. While I was peeing, I heard from the next stall…

"KIM?!"

So this next thing isn't all that easy for me to tell you about. I let out a HUGE fart. I mean, she literally scared it out of me so I think I can be forgiven, but the entire washroom went pretty quiet right after that was pretty loud. Just about the most embarrassing moment of my short, sweet existence.

Clearing my throat, I tried to make my voice higher and reedier, like an old lady's voice. "Sorry, dear, I don't know who Kim is!"

"Come on, Kim, I know it's you! I can see that freckle on your toe!" My toes scrunched in on themselves, digging into the flip flops. "Too late!"

"Why would you even have noticed that?!" I demanded, hating that she caught me like this. Seriously, if the toilet flushed and sucked me down into an unknown subspace pocket, I'd have been grateful.

"Last week, while we were kicking back at your coffee table and listening to music?" Her running shoes scuffed nervously at the tile. "Noticed you have a freckle there since we weren't doing much of anything else. Dunno why, guess I just think it's cute."

"I have plenty of freckles. Why is this one cute?"

"Because it's in the middle of your middle toe? Not really sure…" Then I heard her flush. "So, whatcha up to?"

"Trying to pee. Which I did, a little prematurely. But at least I already had my pants down, so I guess it could have been way worse. Why, what about you?"

As I emerged from the stall, I expected her to be out there already. But she was going, "Hang on, just getting things situated…" There was a little rustling, and then she emerged with her arms spread wide, as if giving a glorious reveal…

Wearing a barista uniform. For the antichrist conglomerate slowly devouring Canada.

"You work here now?!" I exclaimed, glancing up and down the brown-and-black uniform, at the little visor perched atop her head. "Why? I thought you had a job at Second Cup."

"I had to quit when I went to uni," she said reasonably as she went to wash her hands, glancing down at her slacks and then back over at me when I joined her at the sink. "But um, I wanted to have a little more spending money when I get back for my second year, y'know? And Second Cup is fully staffed right now, and so is Delicious Cup — I already asked. And with Julie working there…"

"Nah, I get you." Seriously, somebody needed to smack some sense into Powers.

Towelling off her hands, she asked, "What are you doing here? I thought you hated Timmy."

"Well, 'hate' is a strong word…" An accurate one. Though I'll admit, I got some really shitty service in Montreal one year that kind of solidified it from disinterest to hate. "Just needed to use the can."

"Right. Well, we do have one of those!"

"Yeah. Um…" My voice was quavering a little, I felt stupid. "Sorry for… y'know, when I…"

"Didn't say 'pardon me'? It's cool," she laughed. A sigh of relief erupted from me; I really was grateful she didn't make me say it, or say it herself. "This is the place to do that, right?"

Nodding, I towelled off myself. It was weird. We were being weird, and I couldn't quite figure out why… until she put her finger on it for us.

"But yeah, starting the job has been pretty crazy. I meant to drop by sometime this week, but with work, and my mom's birthday, and stuff…"

"Oh, don't worry about it," I said with a smile of relief. She wasn't ditching me. That shouldn't have mattered as much as it did, but I was seriously soothed to know that. "Been quiet around No-Account." At the last second, I stopped myself from adding "without you" to the end of that.

"I'm really, really sorry. But I can make up for it! This week is less crazy. Wanna go to the zoo?"

For some reason, that made me chuckle. Something I almost never do lately, and her suggestion of going to the zoo was enough. "Really? But it's so far away, and so pricey…"

"I just got my first paycheck. My treat, to make up for being gone lately."

"Well…" Again, she did that weird thing where she enchanted me with her warmth and enthusiasm so much that I couldn't say 'no'. "What day? I'll probably be working."

"Then you pick. I get off at five today, so that's not enough time, but I'm off Saturday…"

"Me, too. Around noon?"

"Sure," she answered with that sweet, shy smile that made me want to flush her down the can. "Meet up there, or at your place first?"

"We can just meet there." I turned toward the washroom door, but something was holding me back. "Um…" I wanted to say something about how much I missed her, even though I didn't fully comprehend why. "Hey…" I wanted her to know that despite how shitty of an attitude I had sometimes, I really truly valued our fucked-up, almost-one-sided friendship.

And while I was stammering, trying to get past my hangups, she hugged me from behind. "Yeah." Then she released me and held the door open. "My break's probably way over by now."

"Right," I sighed. "Go back to slinging brown water. See you tomorrow."

"See ya!"

And she went back behind the counter, while I went down the street shaking my head so violently that it almost came loose and bounced across to the other side.

                                      ~ o ~

The zoo was fine. I'd visited it before, of course, but it had been years. More or less you can expect the animals to do the same things they did the last time, so it's not like a repeat visit will reveal anything new.

But the animals ranged from cute to interesting; giraffes and cheetahs and hyenas, oh my. Knives wanted to look at literally everything, and who was I to stop her? This was the reason we came, so it would be dumb for even me to act like that was strange of her. Meanwhile, I walked around with an iced capp I got from near Tundra Trek and mostly watched her reactions, skipping around in that white babydoll tee and jean shorts, eyes wide and mouth flapping about how much fun she was having, and how big this animal was or how small that one was. That was the real attraction for me.

Which began to worry me a little. Really, this whole thing with Knives already did. Not because I was developing some big gay crush; I didn't think that was it, and I'm no homophobe. But if I wasn't crushing on her, then what was I doing? This was such a weird friendship, and kind of the opposite of the casual relationship I normally enjoyed with my sparse acquaintances. Something about it was so… intense. But that was probably all Knives, and very little from my end. She was a force of nature.

Once we had seen and done most of everything there was to do without paying extra, like buying souvenirs that nobody would care about in two days, we headed back to catch the bus toward our respective homes. When she brought up dinner, I almost jumped on it.

"Let's do Sneaky Dee's. It sucks, but if we get there early enough, it might not be deafening and full of annoying college kids."

"Like me?"

"Yes, like you. One is enough."

"Hmm, I was gonna head back to my house, but…" Her cheeks bunched in a smile. "You think we could get Stephen or Julie to show up? Make it a real reunion."

"Oh. Yeah, I guess."

Her smile slipped a notch. "Do you not want them to come?"

"Nah, it's fine. Even if Julie is a cunt lately, especially to you."

"That's just Julie," she laughed it off. Not that I thought she should have; the way she acted toward Knives was totally unacceptable, and I still wanted to give her a piece of my mind about it. "Just Stephen then."

Shrugging, I stretched my arms overhead and crossed them behind my neck as we rode along. "What about Neil?"

"He probably wouldn't want to see me. Too many awkward memories." Then she cleared her throat to push past that detail. "Steph could come, though."

"Sure. She's been acting like she wants to hang outside of practices and shit lately. So… I'll invite her, maybe Stephen and Joseph. Julie can eat a bag of dicks."

That seemed to startle her slightly. At first, I thought maybe I had gone too far, but instead she whispered, "I've never heard that phrase before. It's hilarious! Because like, a whole bag of dicks!" She giggled, and I giggled with her. Sometimes I just couldn't help it around that doofus.

                                      ~ o ~

Not too much later, we were in Sneaky Dee's. It's kind of a grubby hole, but the food is pretty good, drinks are medium-cheap and sometimes they play decent music. Steph showed and so did Stephen, though Joseph stayed back because he was busy "mixing". Probably a lie, but who cares? Knives made a dumb joke about "Steph and Stephen", which made Steph laugh while Stephen and I just rolled our eyes at each other.

It was nice. We talked about the Sex Bob-omb days, and the Sonic and Knuckles days before that. Made noises about getting a band together ourselves, but with Dynamite Headdy doing as well as it was, Stephen had no real motivation to spin more plates.

Everything was going fine… until we started talking more in-depth about the end of Sex Bob-omb.

"Haven't heard from him since then," Stephen confirmed as we stared at the mostly-empty plates, patting our stomachs. In his case, scratching at his stubble. "Can you live in subspace? Like, I still don't really understand that whole thing very well."

"No, I don't think it's a place you get to stay," I went on. "Of course, I've only been there once or twice. Scott dragged me through a door so we could escape from a crazy samurai." I tried not to glance at Knives, and she didn't seem to notice, either.

"I think there are subspace pockets along with the highways," she said as she sipped at her lemonade. Guess she was serious about not drinking. "But there aren't buildings or restaurants or anything there. So they must be living somewhere in normal space, right?"

Steph shrugged, leaning against the table on her elbows. "Wouldn't know. Never had much experience with it myself. So Scott dragged you through, Kim?"

My body was already freezing up, a response to being needled about my past with Scott so much. "Yeah."

"He was always kind of self-centered, in that dopey, doesn't-realise-he-is way," she mused as she stared across the restaurant at the back of the neon sign in the window. "Even when you two were dating…"

"Oh yeah," Knives said as she turned to me. "You never talked about that much." And I didn't want to now. But she wasn't going to let it drop, was she?

"What is there to say? He was an idiot, I was an idiot for not seeing how much of one he was. He liked to pretend that he rescued me from Simon to make himself more 'heroic'. I'm better off without him."

"That's what you say about Jason, too," he laughed, and I felt myself growing even more earnest in my desire to be silent and not have to react to any of this. "And… that's probably true. Sometimes I worry about Hollie going through the same thing eventually."

"She deserves it. They both do."

Pointing her fork at me, Steph said, "You always do that. Blame everyone else for all your problems. Not saying they're all your fault, either, just… maybe the truth is somewhere in the middle?"

"Always," Stephen sighed.

"Well, I think you guys are being too hard on Kim," Knives put in with a little pout, picking at the communal plate of nachos. "Scott dumped me, too, and he wasn't very smart about how he did it, but that's just Scott; he doesn't know how to handle serious stuff until he can't avoid it, I think. That's not her fault."

"Yeah, you and she both dated Scott," Steph said with a slightly suspicious smile. "Funny that you're hanging out together now, despite that."

"Why is it funny?" It was a genuine question, not an accusation. Of course it was. Knives was such a wide-eyed marshmallow.

"Uhhh, because normally you don't get along with your ex's exes?"

Shrugging, Stephen grumbled, "I get along with Julie better than most of you do."

"That's because you turned out to be gay."

"What does that have to do with it? We still broke up when I started dating Joseph."

"Have you ever noticed all our names start with an S, a K, or a J?" Knives observed out of nowhere.

"Yeah… well, except for Neil."

"Or those other guys," Steph said. "Like Lucas Lee, and the other people who Scott beat up?"

Stephen shook his head. "No, they don't count."

"Why not?"

"They aren't part of 'us', they're the bad guys," he went on reasonably, gesturing to the table with an open palm as if the gesture would help sell his argument. "But then they still do that supervillain thing." When both Steph and Knives kept staring at him in confusion, he sat up a little straighter in the hard wooden booth. "You know… Lucas Lee, Roxie Richter, Gideon Graves… Ken and Kyle Katayanagi. That thing."

"Alliteration," she breathed. "The highest form of evil."

"Ohhhhh," Knives said with a hand in front of her open mouth. "That's so weird how I never noticed! But what about Todd Ingram? I mean, I hearted The Clash At Demonhead, so I remember him better…"

"He's the outlier. I mean, not every villain has to adhere to the trope for it to be a trope."

"What's a trope?" Steph asked. But Stephen wasn't listening; he was staring at me, eyes squinting slightly. I tried to ask what he was staring at…

But I couldn't. My lips wouldn't move, and my eyes wouldn't blink. Nothing happened despite my best efforts.

"Oh shit," he whispered. "Kim turned to stone again."

                                       To Be Continued…

[procyonvulpecula]

I'm in full support of refugees but the other day a republican was civil and asked me a question that struck me and I didn't know how to answer: Why do refugees only come to the west and not the east? Why aren't they being accepted into Saudi Arabia and Dubai and so many other Muslim based countries? They have similar culture and speak similar language so why is the refugee crisis only in the west? I'm in full support of refugees coming to America but it makes one wonder why.

There’s a lot to unpack here, but the main thing is your Republican friend’s implication that “refugees only come to the west and not the east” is almost completely wrong!

1) Refugees are going to other nearby Muslim/Arab countries! In 2015 there were over 1.9 million Syrian refugees in Turkey, 1.2 million in Lebanon, 375,000 in Jordan,250,000 in Iraq, and 130,000 in Egypt. 95% of the refugees were in those countries. (This is coming from a 2015 video, so I’m not sure about the current situation, but it must be something similar!) So the idea that they’re “only coming to the west” is blatant nonsense. We in Europe, the USA, Canada etc. only see what’s happening in our own backyard on the news. Much has been made of the “European refugee crisis” - we’re almost never told that the vast, vast majority of the refugee crisis is taking place in the Middle East itself.

2) The nearby Middle Eastern countries that are taking in refugees can’t handle an influx of refugees. The USA and Europe can - their economies are far stronger. Jordan has taken in over 650,000 refugees, while the UK, which has 78 times Jordan’s GDP, has only committed to allowing 20,000 Syrians from the period 2015-2020. Our economy can certainly handle this - many of the neighbouring states to Syria can’t. The entire population of Syrian refugees is a tiny fraction of the total US or EU population - it’d be a significant chunk of Jordan’s (or Iraq’s or Lebanon’s).

3) The wealthier nearby countries like Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE aren’t taking any refugees. I’m not sure why, but some of them have pretty despotic governments so I don’t really expect their governments to respect human rights… Amnesty International has condemned them for this. They’re the closest countries that are wealthy enough to handle this crisis and the international community should be putting more pressure on them to take their fair share of refugees. That still doesn’t mean western countries shouldn’t take their fair share, too! Saudi Arabia and the UAE may be rich, but they’re still not as developed as the EU or USA. And what kind of example are we setting if we urge them to take in refugees without taking our fair share ourselves?

4) In any case, with despotic goverments, some of those countries aren’t really suitable homes for certain refugees. Would you send people from the persecuted Christian minorities in Syria to the religiously strict Islamic Qatar? Would you send an independent Syrian businesswoman to live in Saudi Arabia, one of the most misogynistic regimes in the world? Syrians are a very diverse people, with Muslims and Christians of different sects, Arabs and Kurds, secularists and Islamists, men, women and children of all social classes and all ways of life. 

Even Muslims aren’t a homogeneous group, as the word encompasses a whole range of people from Bosniaks who go to the mosque every now and then for cultural reasons and celebrate Eid for fun through to religious extremists, taking in Sunnis, Shias, Sufis, Alawites, Wahabbists and others along the way - much the same way the word “Christian” encompasses Catholics, Protestants, Orthodox Christians, Anglicans, Coptics, Quakers, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormons, Unitarians, Amish and everyone from people who celebrate Christmas for fun but don’t really believe in the whole Jesus thing through to the Westboro Baptist Church. Saying Saudi society would suit many Syrians because “they’re both Muslim countries” is a bit like saying Argentinians would feel at home in Russia because they’re “both Christian countries.” And of course, many Syrians aren’t Muslims! Many aren’t even Arabs!

A strict religious society like Saudi Arabia (like the society Daesh wants to impose!) may not suit the majority of Syrian refugees. Sending them there may be an “out of the frying pan and into the fire” situation! Of course the nearby Gulf states need to take in more refugees. But for the sake of human rights, for this whole thing to work, diverse countries with a history of multiculturalism and religious tolerance need to take their fair share too - like the US and western Europe.

5) Western countries have been bombing Syria to get rid of Daesh and other extremist groups, as well as the US-led and Russia-led factions bombing their preferred sides of the Syrian civil war. Western powers have become factions in these wars. If our intentions really are to make things better for the Syrian people in the long run and not just to prop up our own strategic interests, I think we have a duty to take our fair share of Syrian refugees while we’re bombing their homes. The neighbouring wealthy states like Saudi Arabia don’t share that obligation (although I still think as nearby states they should take in some!)

So in conclusion:- The refugee crisis IS mostly in the Middle East. The western refugee crisis makes western news, but it’s a small part of the whole situation.- Western nations are better equipped to take care of the refugees, may be a more appropriate home for some of them (religious minorities and so on) and have much better infrastructure and support than neighbouring countries, so it’s little wonder that some refugees would rather settle in Europe or America. - Western nations have an obligation to take in more refugees, both because they’re the only nations on Earth who can handle it well and because through bombings and political power playing they’re partly responsible. This is true regardless of what’s going on with other Middle Eastern countries.

Hope that helps!