thisavrou | video 01 | Aortic Aneurysm

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video 01 | Aortic Aneurysm

(You know who is not going to react to this situation decently no matter how many times it's explained to him? Eddie. You know who doesn't have a good game face against fear? Also Eddie. He's alone, he needs an adult, and he's pretty sure they don't restock on inhalers here. He knew he didn't need it, not technically, but he also knew that his lungs were contracting at a rate that lead to hyperventilating and as far as he was concerned, that was exactly what an asthma attack was all about. He was having an asthma attack. Maybe. His body was thinking about it.

By the way, he's definitely just been staring at the video for a couple of silent seconds, his jaw working back and forth as he just tried to remind himself that he was actually capable of breathing. This kid......)

My mom's going to fucking kill me.

(The words are whispered under his breath and he would think twice about swearing if he realized how many adults might be watching this video. He was enough of a loser that he could get the whole communication device thing, really, that was fine. But he wasn't quite able to wrap his mind around the full extent of it all.

After a second, he decides fuck it. He needs his inhaler. It goes up, he gives it a few shakes, and takes a deep, deep breath in with it. Holds. Holds.

Then his whole body deflates, his eyes rolling up. He closes his eyes and thinks about how he would talk to the police in Derry. Ha. If that wasn't the biggest fucking joke ever. When he speaks next, his voice is pitched higher than before, that typical 'I'm trying super hard to be polite and endearing' voice that he uses to call his mom 'mommy' when he's real apologetic. He's not even trying to be a suck up. The kid's just scared.)

Um. My name's Eddie Kaspbrak. I'm Sonia Kaspbrak's son and I definitely need to be home for dinner which is like, in an hour. So if anyone can help...I would really appreciate it.

.....God, I really hope this isn't that creep who was taking all those kids.

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Yeah, like NASA science.

[his expression softens with empathy, lúcio can't imagine what this poor kid has just come from.]

I know where that is... are you gonna be okay if I come meet you?

(Eddie's quiet for a moment. Meeting with strangers? Not a great idea. But Eddie takes a look around again and he's not technically alone. There seem to be some other people lingering about enjoying the memorial as well.

He turns back to the video and gives a small nod.)

I guess that's okay. What's your name though first?

[lúcio gets that, he actually feels kinda stupid in the pause, considering the situation.]

Ah-- sorry, man. My name's Lúcio. I'm one of the medics here. Didn't ask if you were injured, so evidently not the better one! Ha!

Lúcio. (Eddie repeats the name rather slowly to make sure he pronounces it correctly.)

You're a medic? (That both relieves Eddie and makes him the slightest bit nervous. It's a mixed feeling no one can really do anything about, truthfully.)

...It's okay. I'm- okay. They fixed my broken arm when I first showed up.

(He raises his hand to wiggle his fingers.)

See? I'm okay. Um. You can come meet me now though I guess.

Yeah. I'm glad they did that--

[he cuts himself off. that's... god, there's a lot to unravel here.]

I won't be long, alright?

[he's skating on his COOL FUTURE LIGHT SKATES so. super not long.]

(Lucio and Eddie both. Last thing he wanted to do was walk around with a hunk of plaster weighing him down.

Eddie nods because yeah, sure, he's not about to go anywhere in particular.

Lucio was going to be getting a pretty enthusiastic response from Eddie the moment he showed up. Eddie was going to think those skates were literally the coolest things he's ever seen- and the moment he does see Lucio? He's on his feet, reeling.)

What are those?! (Pointing at said COOL FUTURE LIGHT SKATES.)

[they are so cool and so future and so light and definitely skates. like ice skates, lúcio uses them to glide along the ground.]

Ah! These are part of my medic get up, man! I worked on 'em myself and they let me get around real fast.

[he holds out his sonic amplifier, which seems to just be a futuristic speakerphone.]

I have this too. It creates soundwaves that can help heal people... so if your arm still hurts or anythin' you just tell me, yeah? I can use this to stop it hurting immediately.

Edited 2017-11-07 13:42 (UTC)

(The skates were interesting, sure, but what's more interesting to Eddie is this magical (seemingly) device that can heal people. Eddie stares at it with absolute intrigue.)

Is that like magic? (Cause last time Eddie checked, soundwaves didn't do anything for anyone's health.)

Does it just stop the pain or does it actually fix you? (A beat.) Can that fix head problems?

It can do both.

[a pause. lúcio's expression goes through several emotions, none of them particularly good.

gently:] What do you mean, head problems?

You know. (Eddie vaguely gestures with his hands towards his own head.)

Can it fix crazy people? (Eddie has never known anything but his own mind, yet the idea of being properly fixed up in it sounded nice. That was the one medicine his mom had never signed up for- for obvious reasons. Why teach a sheep to avoid the slaughterhouse when it was perfectly compliant to walk straight into it?)

[...here was lúcio hoping he just meant a bumped head.]

Unfortunately not, no. That's not the sorta thing I wanna test it on, y'know? I could do more harm than good, a brain is far more delicate than an arm. Sometimes having a magical fix-all isn't the answer, anyway.

[he cocks his head at eddie, trying to ignore how dang bad he feels for this poor kid.]

I know we just met, but if there's somethin' real bad bothering you, we can talk it out if you want. I've been through bad stuff too -- so has everyone here. You're not alone, and you never will be.

Why not?

(As far as Eddie was concerned, a magical fix-all was a pretty substantial answer. If something was broken, it should be fixed, right? Sicknesses should be cured. It all was the same stuff.

Eddie looks dubious, his brows furrowed together. The adults in this place were unlike the ones Eddie was used to. Even if Mr. Keene had good intentions when he told Eddie that he was, essentially, a mental case, he had done it in a way that made Eddie feel like he was being played with. Eddie was naturally reluctant about adults, wary towards them and what their intentions were.

Granted, the psychological damage from his mom ran way deeper than he even realized. And honestly? Talking about it would probably do the kid wonders developmentally.

But he was reluctant to talk about his mother to an adult. There was a certain way of approaching This Issue that got him talking, but a simple offer? He still felt anxious and decided maybe he ought to drop it.)

It's fine. It's stupid. (He briefly touches his hand over the lump of his inhaler in his pocket.)

Well, look at it this way; the soundwaves tell the wounds to heal, right?

[he points to his head.]

If they told your brain to think differently, even if it was healthier, then technically they'd be taking over your mind, wouldn't they? That's a lot more dangerous. If it went wrong, I could hurt someone physically as well as mentally and they might end up even worse off because of what I'd done. I'd also be denying them their agency to recover naturally and come to terms with their own feelings.

I get it if you don't wanna talk about it to me, though. We just met! It's a real personal topic.

(It's a lot to process for someone his age, but he works it through his mind as best as he can. It was interesting in one of those difficult-to-understands ways.)

What do you mean 'denying their agency'?

(With his ever-expanding vocabulary, Eddie wasn't quite able to keep up with conversations as well as a teenager could. At least he thought to ask, even if it did make him a little embarrassed to.)

I don't-. (He falters and stops. No, he didn't want to talk about it, but he realized something then. He would have to express a part of it if this guy was a doctor here. Eddie bites at the corner of his lip and looks at his feet. He digs into his pockets then and withdraws his inhaler.)

...Will you be able...to fill this? (It's asked stiffly and he holds out his inhaler with a shaky hand. It was a pretty regular inhaler at first glance, but if Lucio actually bothered to look at it, at what the contents were, he'd see that it was nothing more than hydrogen and oxygen with a dash of camphor to finish off the placebo.)

I just- I need it for. (He waves his hands absently before gesturing to his chest.) Sometimes I can't breathe and I know my mom would want me to make sure my prescriptions were still being filled.

It means I would take away their free will, even if I didn't mean to. Not permanently, but just for that specific problem.

[lúcio couches (which is easier than it looks in the armour that goes up to his hips) and looks over the inhaler. they look slightly different in his future, but similar enough that he knows what it is. of course at first glance he assumes it's legit, and worries for a moment if they can't, but they'll figure something out. they always will.]

I should be able to. My friend Adrien-- ah, I'm not the only medic here -- but my friend Adrien is really good with stuff like this. He specialises in it.

[it's now lúcio notices the contents and... ? ?? he's pretty sure that's not asthma medication. he'll have to ask...]

We'll make sure it's filled and you're safe, okay? If you want, you can come to the medibay with me so you're not far away from it and you can see that we're not gonna do anything to it that would worry your mom. Do you know how much is left in there?

Oh. Free will. Like in the Bible.

(This Eddie can understand at some basic elementary level. He was only just learning of himself as an individual, that he didn't need to be guided in every way by his mother.

Eddie's head tips down when Lucio crouches in front of him. Not too many adults bothered with that anymore with his age, but it somehow made him feel weirdly better. Less intimidated, even if he hadn't really been before. There were too many people who had stood over him in his life.)

Adrien. (Eddie repeats the name to commit it to memory. He was probably going to be spending a lot of time near these people in particular so he might as well try.

He feels a cramp of discomfort as Lucio looks at the contents, his hands twisting the front of his shirt up into a knot. He could feel his lungs pinching in and a part of him wanted to take the inhaler back- an irrational fear rising that Lucio wouldn't give it back if he knew it was fake. That he would insist he didn't need it.)

Okay. (His voice was terribly small then.)

Yes, please. I probably should know anyway.

(He looks again at the inhaler. He had just gotten it refilled for starting up at school again, so it still had a decently high dosage.)

I think it'll be okay for a while. Maybe. It was at 162 last I checked. I just figured I should ask. I- I go through it pretty fast.

[lúcio nods, smiling so eddie gets that he was right. maybe it was a big of a Concept for a kid, but lúcio has learned to never assume what they do and don't know. he holds the inhaler out for eddie to take.]

That's good-- it's smart of you to be aware of these things. [he grins again.] I'll get some games and stuff set up in the medibay for you so you have something to do if you end up waiting. Or maybe some books...? Whatever you want, lil' man.

I don't mind just waiting around. I'm pretty used to all that. (Eddie considers it though. A doctor has never really offered him entertainment before. Except that one time- but that was a little token manipulation and Eddie knew that now.) I could help you. I mean. Not with surgical stuff obviously, but I know a lot about medical stuff.

(But...)

What kind of books (Eddie also can't help but to scowl, straightening up.) I'm not little. (Said in a bit of a haughty voice. And, for the record, he definitely was very little.)

Well, we got a full library. You could either bring whatever you wanted or tell me stuff you were interested in and I'd go get some for you.

[helping? that's sweet, but... oh. lúcio knows he's not gonna like this.]

You're not gonna like this, but... a lot of the other people in the medibay might not be too pleased with a kid chimin' in, even though you know your stuff. Medical can get pretty busy, anyway. There's a lotta dangerous stuff in space.

I can get it myself.

(Not said because he doesn't appreciate the offer, but more because Eddie liked to try and be independent as much as he could help it.

It's not..that he doesn't like it, but Eddie looks mildly disappointed, his eyes sweeping to the floor. But he looks quickly back up and just shrugs his shoulders. When he speaks, his voice is softer than it had been.)

Yeah, all right.

(Whatever. He didn't want to be around germ-infested people anyway. He bites at the corner of his cheek.)

...I can just come by later if you want so I'm not in the way if you want to show me it now.

(Wouldn't it be useful if he knew his stuff better? But Eddie doesn't ask that, doesn't say anything more. Adults usually meant it when they said they didn't want kids hanging around.)

I'll have to see about getting the ingredients together, first, but I'll give you a call when we're gonna deal with it so you can see how we do it.

[he cocks his head. lúcio would be fine with eddie kicking it in the medibay; most of his work is on the computers and on his own tech, but he can't speak for adrien or anyone else. he also knows that anything could happen and if eddie was around when a bunch of injured people dragged their carcasses into the medibay... well. that'd be a bad thing.]

Does that work?

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video 01 | Aortic Aneurysm

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