savetheearth | general clinic log

Entry tags:

general clinic log

Who: Drs. Solus or Strider, various patients.
What: Echo checkups
When: Whenever
Where: LSR clinic

The LSR clinic, despite its run-down, beat-up appearance, is actually fairly clean on the inside. Lit by white fluorescent lights, it's generally pretty empty, with the occasional non-network patient coming in to get something looked at. A volunteer is usually found running the front desk, organizing papers and responding to phone calls, while Dr. Solus and Dr. Strider take care of the actual medical business.

The waiting room is barebones compared to other clinics and medical practices - LSR doesn't have the money to get entertainments for the waiting patients, so all that's available are a few chairs.

When it's your turn for an appointment, whoever's at the desk will direct you down a hallway to the left, and you will meet one of the doctors.

[ooc: general clinic log! all checkups for crazy echoes can take place here. specify dr. solus or dr. strider in the subject line.]

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[WOW WHY DO PEOPLE EVER SAY THAT. They're probably trying to be hip but all Ravi hears is 'I HATE BASIC HUMAN RESPECT.']

[He flashes Shiro a glance that hints at his exasperation, but then HOLY SHIT WHAT double-take at the mouthful of sharkteeth. Sorry Shiro he is definitely staring for a few seconds before he realizes that's probably rude and focuses on the IV bags again.]

Shiro, then.

[furtive glance--those teeth tho]

[THE REASON IS SIMPLE, RAVI; HE DOESN'T WANT TO FEEL OLD!!

But Shiro laughs when the guy focuses on his teeth. Everyone always does. They're unique as hell, after all. His laugh is odd, as well. Distorted, reverberating. But the rest of the time, his voice is normal]

Don't bother with that unmarked one there. Doc has to make that special.

[it's not like ravi called him 'uncle', sheesh]

[the laugh gets a slightly wary sideways glance. nooot a very uplifting sound, that.]

[but he will be polite and not comment on it. instead he will take this opening provided to try to make room to ask wtf Shiro's deal it.]

What is it for?

My blood. Check the chart! [Shiro kicks the end of his bed a bit, weakly. On the chart is the reason for his intake ("Sudden, complete, explosive exsanguination") and a "blood content analysis" consisting mostly of metals and a few unidentified compounds. Copper, cobalt, mercury... all at levels that would kill a normal person]

[what. that is not what blood is supposed to look like.]

[he walks over to the foot of the bed and picks up the chart to read it. ...'explosive' is a very bad word to see in any medical context, and 'exsanguination' is...worse... he can honestly say that is a combination of words he has never seen together before. he flashes Shiro a very concerned 'what the fuck' kind of look]

[he checks the chart again and takes a stab at what's going on in layman's terms] Your blood is replacing itself?

[Shiro just gives a shrug and a shit-eating grin at the guy's response] Bingo. Hell of an echo, right? Apparently some other club members have different colored blood, too, but they got it without all this-- [he gestures to the tubes] mess. Ha... everything hurts, though. Tired and hurting.

[wow, it sucks to be you, kid. Ravi just stares at him for a second, processing through all the WHAT EVEN going on in his head so he doesn't slip up and say any of it out loud.]

[A few second of silence later and he puts the chart back.]

If...it's blood loss, I might be able to do something about that.

Hm? [Shiro sits up, looking over at the guy] How so?

Ah...

[trying to explain it sounds ridiculous, he realizes. okay, yeah, network stuff--there's a lot of ridiculousness going around. but there are plenty of real-life crackpots claiming to be able to heal people so there's an extra layer of ridiculous baked into it.]

[maybe he can rely on the technical to make it sound more plausible]

One of my pulses gave me the ability to accelerate someone's natural healing.

Is that so? [Shiro seems to take it at face value. He's getting to where he's not surprised by anything people can do any more] I heal faster than normal myself. I'd show you, but I don't think it'd be too good for me in my current state. Doc said it's probably the only reason I didn't die right away. But there's a limit to it. Are you offerin' to help?

[oh good he doesn't sound skeptical at all, that is a relief.]

[Ravi nods] Ah--there is an informed consent form I need you to sign first. I don't know all the details about it yet, so it is basically agreeing to an experimental treatment.

Mmm... well, I don't see how it could hurt! At worst, nothing will change, right? Sign me up. [he's gotten reckless thanks to his echoes, it seems]

[he hopes, anyway. at worst EVERYTHING COULD GO WRONG?? that's the downside of using powers you don't fully understand.]

Alright. I'll be right back.

[he ducks out and returns shortly with a clipboard and a form, which he hands over to Shiro for him to sign. it's very vague, because UM having a paper record of supernatural abilities is BAD PLAN and basically just says 'I have been informed of the risks of this treatment and give my consent to proceed with it' without specifying what the treatment is.]

[Ravi is paranoid in weird ways ok]

[Shiro gives it a quick read over. Vague... but he definitely understands the need for that. He quickly scribbles his signature and hands it back]

[okay, done and done, he takes the clipboard and sets it aside, then pulls a chair up to Shiro's bedside to take a seat.]

[he's not sure it'll work with inhuman blood, but since his powers do seem to just force natural healing processes at an accelerated rate, he's hoping the way Shiro's bone marrow works is still close enough to human for it to be successful.]

[he cups his hands and concentrates on channeling the magic from the well of warmth behind his heart into his palms, weaving it along the way into the proper configuration for what he needs it to do. it appears in his hands as a warm golden light.]

[once it's there, he reaches over to lay his hand against Shiro's chest, spreading the magic into his body. To most people, it feels pleasant and soothing, like liquid sunlight.]

[To people like Shiro, however, the magic might work just as effectively, but it is excruciatingly painful, like a blaze of holy fire.]

[His bone marrow works just the same; hemopoetic cells manufacturing necessary compounds and stuffing them into new blood cells and sending them on their way to carry oxygen and lose their nuclei. The only difference was in the compounds; a copper instead of an iron, and various vesicles in the blood cells filled with toxic, unpalatable compounds. After all, Hollows were as often prey as they were predator. Anything to keep them from being swallowed up was useful. Anything that took a bite of Shiro would find itself with a horrible burning sensation in the mouth and vomiting and gastrointestinal pain.

But Hollows were corrupted souls. Dark, tainted by suffering and emotional distress, twisted into something inhuman and unstable. Something Holy magic hurt instead of helped. Of course it helped a bit anyway; the magic did its job. But at the same time, it felt like liquid fire was was coursing through his veins. Shiro lets out a scream of anguish, clawing into the bed. His voice is oddly distorted when he screams, warbling and echoing.]

S... stop! Stop it!! Fuck!! It huuurts!!

[WHOA scream was not what he was expecting. He jerks away immediately, holding his hands up in front of his chest like a display of nonthreat. the golden light is gone, the pain fades quickly.]

[Ravi stares at him, wide-eyed, stunned. Did he do something wrong? Or was it the strangeness of the blood being produced? Or--]

[or a pulse could hit him which explains that his magic causes pain to any evil being it's used on.]

[which doesn't really help with that stunned look on his face. it just turns into a different kind of stunned. he lowers his hands to rest on his thighs, and keeps staring at Shiro. Sharkteeth. Blue blood.]

...What are you?

[WOW THAT SOUNDED SO STUPIDLY OVERDRAMATIC CAN WE DO-OVER why does real-life not allow do-overs argh]

[Shiro breathes hard as the pain recedes, letting out a whimper as he fishes for the oxygen mask at his side. The little nose tubes weren't cutting it. He holds it up around his nose and mouth, taking in several deep breaths to slow his heart rate and ease the pain. Jesus. Tittyfucking christ that hurt.

Once he's recovered enough to consider the question he gives Ravi a look. Like "are you crazy" look. But then he stops and thinks about it, and looks over to one side. He lets the face mask drop down and he shakes his head]

Haha... your guess is about as good as mine, man.

[AUGH NOT THE OXYGEN MASK, HE REALLY DID JUST MAKE EVERYTHING WORSE]

[which is to say he winces apologetically when Shiro takes up the oxygen mask. Ravi did warn him that it might not work as intended...! But it still feels like he should've known this would happen, even if he had no way of knowing.]

Ah... I--remembered something, just now. A pulse.

[pause, fidget, avoid looking at Shiro's face] Someone was telling me that it...hurts anything evil... [yeah he realizes how absurd that sounds, and how much anybody who's just experienced that doesn't want to hear what he just said, so he looks distinctly uncomfortable for having said it]

[Shiro isn't mad. He did sign the consent sheet, after all, even if he didn't realize that it could possibly mean hideously searing pain.

He huffs] ... Evil, huh. Haha.. that's... pretty funny. [he seems more distressed than anything else. Well if that didn't just confirm he was turning into some sort of monster, in combination with all his echoes, nothing did] So I am some kind of monster. Great. This is peachy. Just great! [he laughs just so he doesn't cry]

[ohhh nooo Ravi knows that sound. he has heard it quite a bit in his line of work and it is never easy to hear. usually the catalyst is something a bit more solid, like a medical diagnosis of a terminal illness, and he can keep some emotional distance because it's an objective fact that he had no control over.]

[this is not the same situation. 'evil'? that is not objective. it just means his powers have a moral compass, and who knows how that got decided on.]

Ah... [he shifts uncomfortably, rubbing the side of his neck, his eyes sliding away from Shiro] It could mean...something as simple as being aligned with the wrong god, you know?

[for Shiro, it's just another nail in the coffin of his normalcy. Another bit of evidence pointing him in a direction he doesn't want to go.

He's a monster, isn't he?

Not JUST a monster. An UNHOLY monster.

How much worse was this going to get?]

Haaaa... I don't know who this other me was, or WHAT he was... but the more that happens, the more I don't want to be him. Scary...

[oh god, this is SO not his problem, he regrets everything, plz direct him to the nearest rock so he can crawl under it and hide in shame and regret for the rest of his life]

[he is making his very best effort to look neutral instead of EXTREMELY UNCOMFORTABLE. thankfully he has learned a halfway decent pokerface through years of nursing.]

[not so thankfully, he has absolutely no idea what to say in this situation.]

I'm sorry. [not a personal apology. a condolences type apology. because, well, there really is nothing he can say to make this any better, and it's better than saying nothing at all.]

[not that it matters. Shiro isn't looking at Ravi any more at all. He's just staring at the sheets]

It's... fine. Not like it's your fault. For anything. [he sighs and rearranges his pillows from a sitting up position to one better for lying down. He rolls over, turning his back to Ravi] ... I think I want to be alone, though.

[RELIEF]

[sorry Shiro he feels awful for you and everything but this is just way too much for him, he is more than happy to bail upon your request]

Of course.

[he stands and exits the room, thankfully maintaining his professionalism even though he wants to just outright bolt. Seconds later, the door closes behind Ravi and Shiro is alone with his thoughts.]

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