#even though ive been doing everything the same like setting reminders checking my schedule. hell ive been setting MORE reminders | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

dantediscoversfic · 6 years

Text

Chapter 31: Oscar Ramirez

I got over the flu but it left behind a restless drawn-tight feeling inside me that I couldn’t shake. I went to visit Ari every day but other than that I didn’t leave my room much. My mom finally insisted on scheduling an appointment for me to see one of her counselor colleagues, Oscar Ramirez. I didn’t fight her too hard on it. I knew it was probably a good idea to talk someone. Oscar worked for the same shelter/halfway house my mom did in addition to having an off-site office. I’d met a few of her colleagues before but never Oscar, which made the idea of talking to him easier somehow.

Ari had been released from the hospital for about a week and a half by the time I went to talk to Oscar for the first time. I’d been going over to Ari’s house every day to visit him. Sometimes we’d go for “walk and rolls” around the neighborhood but mostly we hung out in his room. I decided to read The Sun Also Rises aloud to him (mostly because Hemingway’s sparse, terse writing style reminded me of Ari, but I didn’t tell him that). I read a chapter or two each visit and we’d talk about it after. One time we talked about where we’d go if we decided to become dissolute ex-patriots like the characters in the novel and travel the world together. I wanted to go to Paris; Ari wanted to go to Iceland or Norway. When I asked him why, he said he was sick of the Texas heat and wanted to see the Northern Lights.

“I bet there’s no light pollution up there,” he said.

“Sure, no light pollution, but the winter’s colder than a witch’s tit.”

He snorted. “I wouldn’t mind the cold.”

“How do you know? You’ve lived in Texas your whole life.”

“It snows here sometimes, you know. Like two Christmases ago.”

“I know, but El Paso winter is nothing like up there. We’d need to bring special snowsuits and camping gear or risk dying of hypothermia.”

“It’d be worth it though. To go somewhere so remote and cold and quiet.”

“Sounds like you really want to go on vacation to The Fortress of Solitude.”

“Hey, don’t knock The Fortress. A man needs a place where he can be alone and think.”

“And freeze his face and nuts off in the process.”

“That’s just the price you pay to stop everyone being all up in your business all the time. And anyway, Superman is impervious to frost bite. And don’t talk about Superman’s nuts. That’s sacrilegious.”

“I wasn’t talking about Superman’s nuts specifically. Just frozen nuts in general.”

“Okay okay enough with the nuts talk. Jesus.”

“What? They’re just a body part. No weirder than pinky toes or noses.”

“Yeah, okay, whatever. Hey I’m pretty wiped…so…I might take a nap or something.”

Ari’s face was flushed he looked sort of agitated so I cut my visit short after that. I could tell something was off between us but I didn’t try to press him. Sometimes when I went to visit I wasn’t even sure if he wanted me there. I figured he had every reason to be resentful of me. It was my fault he was stuck at home for the rest of the summer, at the mercy of his painfully itchy and useless legs. I was afraid more than anything that he’d want to stop being friends with me if I needled him too much or asked him what was wrong. So it was easier to talk about books or imaginary plans to travel the world together than what I actually wanted to talk about, which was how badly I was going to miss him when we moved and how sorry I still was about the accident.

When the time came for my appointment with the counselor, I was nervous even though I knew seeking counseling was a totally normal thing to do. Nothing to be ashamed of.

“Do I have to lay down on a couch?” I asked my mom on the car ride over.

She smiled. “Of course not. That’s the sort of thing you really only see in movies nowadays.”

“Good, because that part always seemed a little weird. Do I have to analyze my dreams?”

“Only if you want to.”

“What if I run out of things to say and we just stare at each other in awkward silence the whole time?”

“You’ve never had a particular problem with maintaining conversation, Dante. You can talk to him about whatever you want. Or not talk. No pressure.”

What I really wanted to ask her was if she thought the accident had messed me up somehow, or worse, messed Ari up, and that’s the real reason she wanted me to talk to a counselor. Not physically messed us up. But if I’d caused something to get broken inside us. I had no issue with the field of psychiatry in general, seeing as it was my mother’s profession, but I didn’t like the idea of a stranger realizing there was something wrong with me that needed fixing.

Oscar had an office in the El Paso Child and Teen Guidance Center, which was located in a shopping center. That sort of surprised me. I’m not sure what I expected, but it wasn’t the totally mundane looking storefront hiding in plain sight next to a hair salon, pet store and a travel agency. Oscar greeted us at the reception desk, where he kissed my mom on the cheek and shook my hand.

Oscar was around my parents’ age. He was on the stocky side, but not fat or anything. He was the type of solid build that you could describe as equally fitting for a linebacker and a big teddy bear. He had a round, friendly face and close cut salt-and-pepper black hair that didn’t do much to make his appearance less boyish and wholesome. He had a firm handshake and big hands.

“Dante, it’s a pleasure to meet you. Your mom has told me a lot about you.”

“Thanks, you too. I mean, nice to meet you, too.”

After my mom checked me in and filled out some paperwork, she left me with Oscar and told me she’d be waiting for me in the reception area.

Oscar’s office was bright and decorated with colorful furniture, throw rugs and artwork, which also surprised me. In my mind I’d pictured something much more stuffy and clinical. To one side of the room was a small couch and an armchair, both plush and comfy looking; between them was a coffee table with a box of Kleenex on it, which I was determined I would not have to use come hell or high water. On the other side of the room was a kid-sized table and chairs plus art supplies and toy boxes, set up like a mini preschool. Seeing the kid stuff made me feel strange. A little sad for the kids who needed to come in here. The office also had a desk, several bookshelves, and a beverage station. Overall it felt more like a living room than an office.

Oscar gestured toward the couch. “Please, take a seat. Make yourself comfortable. Do you want some water? Tea?”

“I’m okay.”

Oscar sat down in the armchair across from me. “So, Dante. Before we get started, I just wanted to let you know that even though your mother and I are colleagues and she let me know a little bit about why she wanted you to come see me today, I want you to feel like this is a safe space to share anything that’s on your mind with the understanding that I take your trust and confidentiality seriously.”

“Even though I’m a minor and you’re legally allowed to tell my parents what we discuss?” I asked. I’d done my research about confidentiality ahead of time. More than the accident I wanted to talk about what it meant that I loved my best friend who was a boy, but I’d decided already to keep that part of me sealed in the vault no matter what. I couldn’t be 100% sure he wouldn’t tell my parents about that.

Oscar smiled. “You are definitely Soledad’s son. Yes, you’re absolutely correct. Even though you’re a minor I would breach confidentiality only if I was worried for your personal safety or the safety of others or in the rare instance that my notes were subpoenaed by a court order.”

“Wow, that would be pretty badass.”

Oscar raised an eyebrow but was still grinning. “Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.”

“Sure, yeah. I was just joking. Discussion of client confidentiality protocol: check.”

It was a relief to hear him say he wasn’t going to tell my parents everything we talked about, but I still wasn’t quite ready to dive right into the accident.

“I like your office,” I said, stalling. I pointed to the kids’ area. “Do you work with a lot of children?”

“A fair number.”

“Do you do art therapy with them?”

“Sometimes. It depends on the child.”

“I’ve read all about the field of art therapy. I think it’s fascinating. If I don’t become a professional artist I might become an art therapist.”

“Would you like to do any drawing right now? We could start with some art exercises if you’re not in the mood to talk at the moment.”

“No, that’s okay. It’s hard for me to draw because of my broken arm. I’m a right-y. But thanks for offering.”

“So you’re okay to talk?”

I nodded.

“I’m glad. So, I understand from your mother that you and a friend of yours were involved in a car accident about three weeks ago and she’s concerned you haven’t been quite yourself since. That you’ve been having nightmares and seem much more withdrawn than usual. Do you want to talk about the accident? Or about what’s been on your mind?”

“So she already told you what happened?”

“Briefly. But I’d like to hear it from you, if you feel comfortable talking about it.”

“Well, it’d been raining and I went out into the street and didn’t see a car coming.” For some reason I didn’t want to tell him about the injured bird I’d seen. “Ari pushed me out of the way of the car and broke both his legs and his arm. He could have died but he didn’t.”

“Ari is your friend?”

“Yeah, my best friend.”

“How is he handling everything?”

“Um. Ok. I dunno. He can be kind of hard to read sometimes. They recently let him out of the hospital. He’s stuck in casts for the rest of the summer because of me.”

“And how have you felt since the accident?”

“I think my mom is worried that I’m showing signs of anxiety, depression and PTSD and that’s why they want me to talk to you. But I don’t have PTSD.”

“No?”

“No. I looked it up in the DSM-IV.” I ticked each symptom off with my fingers. “I’m not having recurring flashbacks or panic attacks. I’m not avoiding cars or the street. I’m not having angry outbursts. Well, I’m still kind of pissed at my parents about deciding to move to Chicago but that’s a different thing. Yeah, my dreams have been a little weird and I’m not sleeping great but that’s because my arm cast is so annoying. So I think we can safely say I don’t have PTSD. Possibly a little low-level anxiety. But I do deep breaths if I start feeling weird.”

“I don’t want to rule anything out just yet, but I’m happy to hear you’re listening to your body and your emotions. What do you mean when you say you start feeling weird?”

“I guess…sad. Stomach crampy. Frustrated. I think I’m worried about Ari. About how he’s recovering. About not being able to help him when we move.”

“It sounds to me like you might blame yourself for what happened to Ari.”

“Well, yeah, because it was my fault.”

“Who said it was your fault?”

“No one said it was my fault. But it obviously was.”

“Why do you feel that way?”

“It’s not feelings, it’s the facts. I went out to the street, I wasn’t paying attention and Ari got hurt because I was stupid and off in my own little world instead of paying attention to the road. And the thing about Ari is, he doesn’t like it when I’m upset, so he only let me apologize once and then he said we’re not allowed to talk about the accident anymore. He has some kind of stoic boy code about it. He wants to pretend it never happened.”

“Is that what you want?”

“Well, I don’t think we should, you know, dwell on it or anything. But I want him to know how sorry I am that I almost got him killed and ruined the rest of his summer.”

“Did Ari say anything like that to you? That you ruined his summer?”

“No. But he’s not big on talking anyway. But, like I said before, it’s a fact. Now he’s stuck in a wheelchair until his legs heal and he can’t do anything except hang around his house and read books and I know he’s pissed about it even if he won’t say anything.”

“Has he ever expressed anger or regret about what he did? That he saved your life?”

“No. Nothing like that. He’s just been moody and sullen. I mean, he’s been in a lot of pain so I don’t blame him for being crabby. I just don’t want him to hate me.”

“Why do you think he would hate you? It seems to me to be quite the opposite, that he cares about you very much. Do you want to tell me about him? How did you two become friends?”

“We met at the pool. I offered to give him swimming lessons. Because he didn’t know how to swim properly.”

“You like to swim?”

“Almost more than anything. Well, I like swimming, reading, drawing, stargazing and hanging out with Ari pretty much equally.” I lifted my cast arm and pulled a face. “Now my life is pretty much limited to reading and hanging out with Ari and teaching myself to become ambidextrous. Not that I’m complaining. I mean, I’m lucky to be alive. I know it’s babyish but I miss swimming with him. I wish I could retcon the whole day of the accident.”

“Retcon?”

“Oh that’s a comic book thing. Basically when the writers change things retroactively in a story to make up for continuity errors. Sort of like a big do-over. Usually that sort of thing bugs the heck out of me because it seems so lazy. But I get the appeal now. Like you have God’s big eraser.”

“It’s natural to wish you could change the past so easily. But it’s equally important to learn how to move forward. And to not beat yourself up over something you can’t change.”

I shrugged and picked at my cast. “I just keep thinking that if it had been Ari in the middle of the road, I wouldn’t have been able to save him. I wouldn’t have been fast or strong enough. He was like Superman, the way he dove at me and pushed me out of the way.”

“Why do you think you wouldn’t have been able to help him if your roles were reversed?”

“Because when I saw the car coming, I just froze.”

“That could have been your body experiencing a fight or flight reaction. And also Ari saw the car coming whereas you did not, yes? So he had more time to think and react.”

“But still, I don’t think I could ever be as brave as he was.”

“You may be underestimating yourself and your strength. It sounds to me like you’re beating yourself up about a theoretical past as well as construing what actually happened to place all the blame on yourself. Just imagine what the people driving the car must have felt like. They most likely felt guilt as well. But motor accidents happen so quickly, in a blink of an eye, that it’s not helpful to play the blame game after the fact, particularly if it’s determined that the driver wasn’t under the influence of drugs or alcohol and the accident was just that: an accident. I would advise you to try not to blame yourself for the actions of others. And if that’s difficult, you may want to ask yourself, what am I getting out of continuing to blame myself for something that was out of my control?”

I didn’t quite know what to say to that.

He must have seen my confusion so he rephrased his question. “In other words, are you holding onto feelings of guilt and shame because you don’t think you’re worthy of having a friend who cares about you enough to put his own life in danger to save yours?”

I didn’t think I was worthy of it. But thinking about that made me start to feel like I might cry, which I had been determined not to do, so I clamped down and said nothing for awhile.

After a bit of silence Oscar said, “You know, I never read comics but my daughter loves them.”

“Really? Which ones? Betty and Veronica?”

“Actually The X-Men is her favorite. She loves all the Saturday morning cartoons based on comics, too.”

“How old is she?”

“Twelve.”

“And she doesn’t think X-Men is too scary?”

“Well, she’s always been a tough little cookie. Never was into any of the princess stuff. Except She-Ra Princess of Power. She adores She-Ra.”

“She-Ra is pretty rad.”

“Do you have a favorite comic?”

“Ari teases me about it, but I really like Archie. He thinks they’re lame. Which, sure, yeah, they can be pretty cheesy. But I don’t like the really dark comics.”

“There’s nothing wrong with that. There’s no rule that says you have to like all the same things your friends do.”

“Believe me I know that. I know I’m a little weird.”

“What makes you say that?”

“It’s not a secret or anything. Ari’s the first guy I’ve met my age who really gets me. I’ve never really had a best friend like him before. Not since we moved to El Paso anyway. I had a best friend in California but that was already years ago. We hardly see each other or write letters anymore.”

“And you’re worried that the accident and the move to Chicago will have a negative impact on your friendship with Ari? That you’ll lose touch and stop being friends? And you blame yourself for this future you see happening?”

I nodded, hoping to dislodge the traitorous lump that was forming in my throat.

“You’ve told me Ari hasn’t expressed anger or regret to you about the accident. It sounds to me like he values you and your friendship very much. He values you enough to have put himself at risk when he saw you were in danger. This doesn’t sound to me like a fair weather friend. And there are many ways to stay in touch. You can write letters and talk on the phone.”

“Sure, yeah.”

“I’d like to circle back to what you said at the start, about you being insistent about not having PTSD.”

“Okay…”

“It’s important to remember that everyone reacts to stress and trauma differently. You have in fact experienced a traumatic event. Your life and the life of your best friend was put in danger. For many people, acute stages of trauma may occur two to four weeks after the event itself. So it’s totally normal for your life and mental health to take some time settle back into place. You’re allowed to feel frustrated, angry, worried, scared and whatever other emotions might arise. It’s important to not rush to judge or ignore your feelings. You’ve mentioned that Ari isn’t talkative when it comes to expressing emotions, which is valid and what he needs right now to process the accident. But for you, I get the sense that you have a lot you’d like to express, either verbally or visually. Would journaling or drawing about the accident help you move forward?”

“Maybe…I usually keep a journal but I haven’t been able to write or draw much with my broken arm. When I draw with my left hand it’s like I’m in preschool again.”

“As I’m sure you know, artists express emotions in non-figurative ways all the time. If I asked you to express your feelings about the accident in abstract visual form and not worry how it looks compared to your other drawings, would that be a helpful thing to do?”

“Maybe. It still might look like chicken scratch.”

“Nothing wrong with that. If you feel more comfortable creating a collage we can try that instead.”

"I'd like to try to draw I think."

Oscar got out some paper and colored pencils and markers and charcoals for me. Instead of sitting at the kiddie table he let me sit at his desk to work. The first thing he had me do was draw how thinking about the accident made me feel.

Without really thinking about it, I picked up a black charcoal and started drawing the injured bird in the middle of the road. I used heavy black strokes. It was frustrating at first to not have complete control of the charcoal like I usually did but just putting marks and lines on the paper felt okay. But the drawing still left me with a hollow feeling.

“This is what I saw,” I told Oscar. “I saw an injured bird in the road and I went to pick it up and that’s why I didn’t see the car coming. I think I killed it. The bird.”

“And this makes you sad?”

“Yeah. I wanted to save it. But it still got killed. And Ari got hurt. It was stupid of me. I should have seen the car coming.”

“Is there anything you can do to this drawing now to make you feel less sad about it?”

“When I first saw the bird, it was on the road. But then I picked it up and held it close to my chest.”

I drew a hand around the bird, but it still didn’t feel right. Too stark and bleak. Not how I remembered the bird at all.

“The bird had colors on it. But I can’t really remember what they were exactly.”

“It’s your bird now, Dante. You can add whatever colors to it you want.”

I remembered the made-up birds I used to draw when I was little: the rainbow rocketbird, the tawny tailblaster. Pages and pages of sketchbooks filled with imaginary creatures. I hadn’t judged myself then about how anatomically accurate they were or how technically proficient I was. I drew and created because it felt good. Right now my drawing didn’t make me feel good so I added colors to my bird’s wings and I turned the hand into a nest. That felt better.

I felt calmer after my drawing was finished. But something still bothered me.

“Do you think me changing the drawing of the bird is like retconning the accident?” I asked. “I mean, when I started, I thought I would draw the bird like I remembered it. But that made me feel terrible to picture it all stiff and dark and lifeless. I wanted to protect it. Now it looks more like it’s asleep than it’s dead. But that’s not what actually happened.”

“If drawing the bird like this helped you reframe your sadness and anger into something beautiful, then I think it’s a good thing.”

“It’s not cheating?”

“No, I don’t think it’s cheating at all. In fact, I think it’s more like forgiving.”

“Forgiving who?”

“Yourself.”

#ari and dante fic

3 notes · View notes

imagine-texting-svt · 7 years

Text

Oncologist! Jihoon

Is amazing at his job

He’s known as a hard ass to work with but everyone looks up to him

Is an amazing surgeon

All the interns had a love hate relationship with them

He was super strict but was considered on of the top oncologists in the country so it was an honour to work with him

If they ever brought up or made fun of his height he would make their rotation with him a living hell

He knew he was short, he didn’t need reminding. But if you really wanna make fun of the guy who is one the best oncologists in Korea maybe even the world you kinda deserve it

Workaholic to the max

It was once rumored that he sold his apartment and just lived in the on-call room

Seriously, it’s live he never left though

Was an adult oncologist but because of his reputation and notoriety in the field was often asked to treat kids

He had no pediatric training and was not the best with kids

I mean hell he wasnt even great with the interns and they were all adults

Normally he would refuse to treat them but he had one case that he couldn’t say no too

A little girl had a rare form of cancer and every doctor had refused to treat her so her parents flew her to South Korea in hopes that Jihoon would treat her

She had heart cancer

Cases of heart tumors weren’t uncommon, but cancerous tumors especially in young children were. The sweet little girl had two large cardiac fibromas that were about four inches (ten cm) in diameter that would require surgery and then intensive chemo and radiation after

That’s when you came into the picture

You were a pediatric cardiac surgeon in the same hospital as him

You were both well known in your fields so you knew of each other but other than that you had never worked together

Normally, he would refuse young children, but he couldn’t refuse this littles girls case. He had treated and worked with another cardiac surgeon and successfully treated a man before without a heart transplant. Which probably why this girls parents flew all the way to South Korea for treatment

He asked his office staff if there was anyway he would be able to get a pediatric to help him with this case

His staff was even shocked he took on the case in the first place

They tell him your credentials and he asks them to give him your email so that's what they do

He writes a super long email explaining the cases, then asking if you would be willing to help him with it

When you got his email, you were over the moon. You had always admired his skill so know you would be able to work with him on case? You were happy to say the least

You happily emailed back agreeing to work with him and you both set up a time to meet up and discuss the case in person

About two days before the first appointment with the little girl you met up for coffee

The little girl's name was Anna and you talked about the types of tumors she had and the course of action you had to take

It was decided that she needed surgery as soon as possible, the rate of her survival was decreasing the long the surgery was put out

The rate of her surviving cancer without surgery was non existent, the rate of her surviving with surgery went up to 25% and with chemo about 35%

You had warned Jihoon that these tumours are aggressive and will most likely come back, a heart transplant is something they would probably want to discuss

On the day of the appointment you two both clear out your schedules to allow for as much time as necessary with Anna and her parents and then to start planning surgery and getting everyone else you needed together

You talk to Anna and her family through a translator for almost three hours bc Anna was from Russia

The family agrees to the surgery and Anna is placed in inpatient on the heart ward for constant monitoring

The surgery is 3 days away

You and Jihoon work very closely to make sure everything gets done for Anna and her family

You and Ji barely sleep for those three days, you sleep at the hospital in the on-call room never far from each other

You got anesthesiologist Wonwoo to do well, the anesthesia, and then had Paediatrician Soonyoung do some final checks on her before her surgery

Little Anna was cleared by Soonyoung so the surgery was all clear and proceed

When you two were working so close together Jihoon started finding himself drawn to you in ways he couldnt explain

When you were focusing on writing notes your tongue poked out a little

When you had to call anyone on the phone you would always fiddle with a pencil or pen

When you got stressed you ran your hands through your hair and then pulled it back into a loose bun

The bags under your eyes after you only got 2 hours of sleep

How excited you were when he brewed a fresh pot of coffee

He had never been so attracted to someone

He was always so focused on work, but being forced to work with such a smart (beautiful) and talented doctor made him feel weird inside

The only women Jihoon interacted with were patients and nurses

He was never close with them, he never had to spend such intimate time with someone with someone like you

The night before the surgery you and Jihoon, again, slept in the on-call room as Anna’s surgery was at 6am

Both of you went to bed at 8pm and passed out due to not sleeping a terrible amount on the previous nights

The alarm was set for 3am to make sure you were both awake, had coffee, and got in scrubs by 4am so you could meet up with the team

The surgery would be primarily performed by you with assistance from Jihoon

His knowledge of tumors and your knowledge of paediatric heart surgery would be a perfect match for giving Anna the best chance she had for survival

All the tools were gathered together everyone was getting ready for this surgery

Wonwoo went out and started her IV line and the you and Jihoon followed, discussing with her parents all the possible complications from this surgery

Once you two were done you knelt down by Anna’s bed and started singing a little song for her in Russian

This small gesture made Jihoon’s heart melt

These feeling Jihoon didn’t like were in a full blown swing

He doesn’t know what to do

But he shoves his feelings towards you to the back of his head and focuses on Anna

You, Jihoon, Wonwoo and other nurses wheel little Anna away to the operating room

Wonwoo and Jihoon pick up the fragile girl and lay her on the table

After that Wonwoo tells the little girl he’ll help her go to sleep and then puts the anesthetic mask over her to make her sleep, then gives her oxygen to help

The surgery starts at 6:30am and you and Jihoon were on a mission to save this little girls life

The surgery finally finished at 4pm but the surgery went amazingly

You had removed the two fibromas. One was in her right ventricle and the other was in the ventricular septum which was preventing her heart from being able to beat properly

With help from Jihoon, there was no complications and little Anna was in the recovery room

Jihoon had to keep surprising his feelings for you the whole surgery

He was focused on getting Anna better

But he was also way to focused on how pretty you were and how talented and skilled you were at your job

After the surgery you broke the good news of Anna's surgery and led them back to where she was

After leading Anna's nervous parents back to her

You discussed and informed her parents that the likelihood of her tumors coming back was high so you recommended getting her on the on the transplant list

They agreed and signed everything to get the young fragile Anna on the list

You and Jihoon dismissed yourself and went to the on-call room and showered (in separate showers get your mind out of the gutter)

You two were exhausted, but knew you still had to plan

After you got out of the shower you were just in a large shirt and athletic shorts with your hair dripping wet

He thought you looked stunning, he couldn’t believe his eyes

He must have been staring a little too long

“Yah. Jihoon. Do i have something on my face?”

You laughed, but Jihoon went as red as a tomatmo

“Jihoonie, are you okay? Your face is really red.”

You kneel beside him and put your hand on his forehead. “Jihoon. You should lay down.”

This only made Jihoon more embarrassed, “y/n. I’m okay.”

You giggled “Jihoonie, your red face says otherwise.”

“I’m blushing y/n!”

“Jihoonie why would you be blushing, it’s just me!”

“That’s the problem! It’s because it’s you damn it.”

“Wait you like me?”

“I THOUGHT THIS WAS OBVIOUS NOW!”

“Good. Because i like you too. Now come here and kiss me.”

So Jihoon did just that

You may or may not have gotten a little carried away with your makeout session

Chan may or may not have walked in

You may or may not have traumatized Chan

You two slept in each others arms that night in the on-call room

Wonwoo was on call for the normal doctor he worked with and found you guys cuddling

Took a photo now everyone in the hospital knows about your relationship

The next morning you woke up before jihoon and you wanted another mri of Anna’s chest

When you got to the nurses station they were all whispering about something. You just ignored it and put in the request for Anna to get another MRI

Until when you were about to leave a nurse came up to you

“Y/n. Why didn’t you tell us you were dating Jihoon?”

I think the puzzled look on your face said everything for them

They laughed and allowed for you to go back the on call room to make sure Jihoon was up and so that you two could start planning Anna’s chemo treatment

Jihoon was awake and making a fresh pot of coffee

“Jihoonie?”

“Y/n.”

“There’s a rumor that we’re dating. The nurses just asked me when i went to fill out a request for Anna. Jihoonie. What are we?”

“I guess we’re a couple. I mean we both like each other. Why not?”

That was the most it ever got. You two were happy and that’s all that mattered to you guys.

You guys plan Anna’s chemo and radiation, but still keep in mind she might need a heart transplant due to the severity of her tumors and she had a high risk of them coming back

Jihoon went down to see Anna because she was starting a new round of stronger chemo meds

Normally Jihoon will just rely on the nurses or you to talk to little kids, but surprisingly he went down by himself to see Anna

He got the Russian to Korean translator and starting telling Anna somethings

When Anna found out you and Jihoon were a couple she was very excited

“My two favourite doctors are boyfriend and girlfriend!”

Three months after Anna’s surgery you did a routine MRI and saw lumps again

You were crushed, you knew they would probably come back, but not this soon

You showed Jihoon the lumps in her heart coming back

He was just as upset as you

You two had poured your heart and soul into helping this girl along with caring for your regular patients

Anna was still living at the hospital because she was so fragile and you weren’t sure how long it would take before her tumors came back

She was on the transplant list but you were unsure of how long it would be in order to get Anna a new heart

You knew if she didn’t get a new heart she wouldn’t live out the year

Unsure of what to do for the sweet girl, you burst out into tears

Jihoon took you into his arms, rubbed your back, and let you cry everything out on his shoulder

Losing patients was nothing new to either of you, but this little girl brought you together and was an incredible fighter

When you first saw her MRI you were surprised she was even alive

Even after surgery and Jihoon’s radiation and chemo, they still came back

You had to break the news to Anna’s parents, so the day after you found the tumors you and Jihoon took Anna’s parents aside and broke the news to them

They both started crying and begged you and Jihoon to take care of their precious little Anna

After that you and Jihoon went and told Anna, she didn’t seem to phased by it

“They’re back? Oh. Does that mean I get a new heart?”

“Yes sweetie. Me and Dr. Jihoon will find you a new heart.”

She was so happy. Suddenly Anna looked at Jihoon and her translator. She whispered something to her translator who then whispered something to him

Jihoon’s eyes went big

“Anna told me that she knows she might not live too much longer. But she wants to see us get married.”

If you had water you would’ve choked on it

Anna says something to her translator, “She said she wants to marry you two.”

So if Anna wants to marry you guys, Anna will marry you guys

Although you two had only been together for roughly three months it’s like you had known each other for years

Marriage wasn’t something you talked about

While your team was looking to find Anna a new heart and checking everything every thirty minutes to see if a new heart was a match for her

You and Anna (along with her translator) went to the streets of Seoul and she wanted to pick out a wedding dress for you, it’s like Anna loved you and Jihoon so much as her doctors she liked the fact you were actually in love

You go into a bridal store and are greeted by a cheerful woman, “Hi my name Jimin! When’s the wedding?”

“As soon as possible.”

Poor Jimin didn’t understand.

You told her you would explain everything after you got seated

So when she sat down Anna her translator and yourself she was quite interested

When you told her about Anna’s story and how she was basically not going to make it if she didn’t get a heart transplant. So one of Anna’s wishes was to marry you and your boyfriend. Who happened to be the other doctor looking after her

Jimin started crying after you told her. So she told Anna’s translator that she could help pick out all the dresses you were trying on

Anna picked out big poofy ball gowns and if that’s what Anna wanted, that’s what you would wear

After about 5 ball gowns Anna finally decided on one dress she liked

It was an A line white dress, with a lace top and some bling

Luckily it was a sample so you were able to take it home with you that day

It was $2000 but it was worth every penny

After that, you went back to the hospital

Your team still couldn’t find a new heart for Anna

After her trip out, you could tell Anna condition was getting worse

You feared she might not live another week, maybe month if she was lucky

So, you rushed the photographer and Jihoon rented a tux

Anna picked out two sterling silver bands as rings

So that morning you and Anna got up and started getting ready. You did your hair and makeup and then did Anna’s hair and then put on a little bit of lipstick, drew on her eyebrows eyeshadow, and mascara

The head of the company, Wonwoo, Anna’s parents, and half of your team and half of Jihoons team was there

Anna stood up at the podium, her long brown wig was curled and Jihoon was on her left side in a tux

“Dr. Jihoon. Are you ready to see your pretty wife?” She said with big cute doe eyes

“Of course Anna.” He smiled sweetly

Instead of your father giving you “away” to Jihoon it was your mentor

The doors opened and you saw Jihoon.

Even though this was just for Anna he felt like it was his actual wedding day seeing his soon to be wife in her dress for the first time

You walked up the small isle and Anna “wed” you two

She gave you both a silver ring which you both put on your pinky finger

Little Anna was so proud of herself

After the “wedding” and you had gotten out of the dress, Jihoon out of his tux, and Anna was back in her room you two visited her

You could tell how bad she was. Anna looked incredibly weak. You knew she wasn’t going to make it

A week had gone by since the “wedding” and Anna’s condition has been getting worse

Neither you or Jihoon have left the hospital since the “wedding” night

Too afraid that you would get a call she flat lined in the middle of the night and neither of you would be there for her

It had been a week and half

You were in surgery for another patient and got a paged a code blue

You knew it was for Anna, but alas you were in surgery and unable to do anything

After you got out of surgery you rushed to Anna’s room

Her parents were crying and Jihoon was there holding her mothers hand

Her heart flat lined

It was your worst nightmare

You went over to Anna’s parents and hugged them

At least she got her dying wish

Later that month, you and Jihoon took the silver that Anna had picked for the “wedding”

On the inside of the ring now had Anna’s full name, and her birth and death date

You would honour the girl who put you together for the rest of your lives

264 notes · View notes

comicteaparty · 5 years

Text

April 1st-April 7th, 2019 CTP Archive

The archive for the Comic Tea Party week long chat that occurred from April 1st, 2019 to April 7th, 2019. The chat focused on Stomp! by Brodnork.

Featured Comment:

Chat:

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- WEEK LONG BOOK CLUB START!

Hello and welcome everyone to Comic Tea Party’s Week Long Book Club~! This week we’ll be focusing on Stomp! by Brodnork~! (http://stompwebcomic.com/)

You are free to read and comment about the comic all week at your own pace, so stop on by whenever it suits your schedule! Remember, though, that while we allow constructive criticism, our focus is to have fun and appreciate the comic. Below you will find four questions to get you started on the discussion. However, a new question will be posted and pinned everyday (between 12:01AM and 6AM PDT), so keep checking back for more! You have until April 7th to tell us all your wonderful thoughts! With that established, let’s get going on the reading and the chatting!

QUESTION 1. What has been your favorite scene in the comic so far? What specifically did you like about it?

QUESTION 2. What do you believe is in the box Silvergammel gives Stomp at the beginning of the story? Do you believe the box will open soon, or will it still be a while? What do you think will happen when it does open?

Brodnork

Hi! I was just caught up in setting up my April Fools gag on twitter that I completely forgot this was happening today

RebelVampire

ironically yours is the gag that reminded me of the date cause i super had to double check i was tagging the right account on twitter cause i was so confused XD

Brodnork

Haha thats fair

It's actually a super convenient time for this sort of discussion, seeing as a chapter just ended and it's on a small hiatus for a bit.

RebelVampire

QUESTION 3. At the moment, who is your favorite character? What about that character earns them this favor?

QUESTION 4. How do you think Tandrad and Inkcrest are doing? What do you think happened in regards to the Hooligrin paying a visit to Tandrad ominously? What role might Tandrad have to play in the story?

RebelVampire

1) my favorite scene this time i think is when they go to the moon and defeat the queen. i enjoy the humor that shes just so flat out fed up with them no amount of revenge is worth it. i just also love the simple aesthetic changes as well cause despite being simple, they really convey that feeling of alienness. 2) i mean the devil's advocate is the obvious choice. maybe its not tho. maybe its the deus ex machina that will save the die. like baby pictures of the hooligrin that can be used as blackmail. i feel itll still be a while before it comes into play, and i feel too stomp himself probably forgot about it. as for what will happen when it opens, probably some sort of epic fight whether related to the box or not. i also feel like silvergammel might not even know for sure whats in the box despite thinking stomp would like it.

3) Still Clomp because he's the cool one who has a dorky hat and sunglasses and i just like his overall joking sort of laid back attitude about everything. but mostly, hes the cool one. 4) Tandrad and Inkcrest are probably fine, but the theme park owners? probably not so much. Mostly becuase the Hooligrin can only be a bad influence on tandrad and probably said, "im your friend and i say you should murder them." but i think tandrad is gonna appear as an antagonist again next alongside the hooligrin and stomp will have to convince tandrad theyre still friends. then tandrad will betray hooligrin and hooligrin will curse them all while going for plan c.

Brodnork

Ooh, i like those theories about the box

RebelVampire

QUESTION 5. What has been your favorite illustration in the comic so far? What specifically about it do you like?

QUESTION 6. What aspect of the world-building have you liked the most? What future role do you believe the aliens might have to play? Further, do you think Comp will learn to control his psychic powers?

RebelVampire

5) im a huge fan of this more recent page, especially the last panel http://stompwebcomic.com/comic/214. i just adore the lighting effects on this page between the red and the glow. and i love the details on how the sword emerges with all the kind of partical spray. it definitely feels like a magical sword and like something truly amazing is happening. 6) ive really enjoyed in general just the world history. like the pirates, the hiss clickers, the alien war. i really love how this stuff is informing present day events while not being completely about it either. it makes the world feel super fleshed out without overriding whats going on. as for the aliens, im not sure theyll be coming back unless hooligrin makes even more "friends." but i do think comp is gonna pick up those psychic powers. just in the greatest time of need. hell show everyone how he can bend a spoon just like in the matrix.

Brodnork

Thanks, Im actually pretty proud of that panel but I was worried it wouldn't have the impact I wanted

ShaRose49

This is really cute so far! It feels pretty slice-of-life-y

Brodnork

Thanks! I guess it sort of is slice of life, seeing as Stomp's life kinda involves going on adventures regularly

TypewriterMark

Rey first thought is this an enormous amount of work and that should always be celebrated

RebelVampire

QUESTION 7. Which characters do you enjoy seeing interact the most? What about their dynamic interests you?

QUESTION 8. What do you think the Devil’s Advocate is? Who is the Hooligrin’s boss and why do they want it? Do you think Hooligrin does know where it is? How will this storyline continue to affect Stomp and company?

ShaRose49

Stomp and the Uncle

Omgosh they are hilarious

My fav scene was the part with the rotten eggnog and he keeps saying random things like I do when I’m tired

ShaRose49

“You’ll never take me alive.”

RebelVampire

QUESTION 9. What sorts of art or story details have you noticed in the way the comic is crafted that you think deserves attention?

QUESTION 10. Of the adventures Stomp has been on so far, which one is your favorite? What did you like about it specifically? Also, which adventure played out in a way you didn’t expect?

RebelVampire

7) the characters i probably enjoy seeing interact most are stomp and chomp. they really have such opposite attitudes about adventure, life, and the amount of safety precautions each will take. and i enjoy seeing that contrast be played around with and how inevitably, stomp is usually dragging chomp on adventures to. 8) the devil's advocate is clearly a device that just points out all the flaws in your argument. hooligrin's boss wants to use it to become the best politician in the world by weeding out all their bad arguments and understanding their political opponents better. but more seriously, probably something to summon a demon. and ya know blah blah get all that demon power to rule the world. i think hooligrin thinks he knows where it is, but i def dont think what he thinks is the correct location. and inevitably hooligrin is gonna have to go back to plan a cause stomp is the only good lead

RebelVampireLast Friday at 8:19 AM

9) i love how consistently the world design generally is. like the tree designs consistently look the same, the hiss clickers, and just like the fuzzy quality to all the creatures makes them all feel like they belong in the world. it really helps make the world feel like a cohesive and unique place all its own where characters are actually living. 10) I liked the moon adventure the most i think. I like how the shopping cart was used, how one of the main characters was tied in, and i just generally liked how the queen was defeated. cause it was sad and hilarious. as for adventures that played out in a way i didnt expect, thatd definitely be the treasure hunt one. mostly cause i thought theyd at least find something worthwhile. instead it was just danger and more danger. and yet, they were still happy cause yaay exciting adventures. plus, ya know, a flying shopping cart.

RebelVampire

QUESTION 11. What do you think are this particular comic’s strengths? What do you think makes this comic unique? Please elaborate.

QUESTION 12. What do you think Cigast was up to in the mine in regards to collecting all the crystals? How do Cigast and Silvergammel supposedly know each other? What consequences will there be for Stomp failing to stop Cigast?

RebelVampire

11) i think the comic's strength is its world-building and how it ties the world into the story. as i mentioned in an earlier question, i just really enjoy how the story makes the world feel like an actual place where characters are living. i also feel theres really a good balance in how the world is presented, as there are tons of relateable things and parodies that help connect you to the world. but even so, they are able to remain unique. but generally, theres just a lot of character to the world that feels as much a part of how the story unfolds as the rest of the story elements. 12) honestly i kind of think cigast is working with hooligrin in some manner. like not directly persay, but maybe a coworker or hooligrin's black market magic dealer. so i think stomp's failure is gonna spell trouble for stomp later in the next confrontation with hooligrin. cause if i go with my theory on cigast, then cigast is probably giving stuff to hooligrin to use. as for how cigast and silvergammel know each other, maybe they were buddies in college but then cigast went down the dark path and silvergammel didnt want to be buddies anymore and it was very sad.

Brodnork

Thanks for your comments about the world!!

RebelVampire

QUESTION 13. What are you most looking forward to in the comic? Also, do you have any final thoughts to share overall?

QUESTION 14. Do you believe Silvergammel will actually tell Stomp his stories are fake? How might this affect Stomp? Do you believe Stomp should continue adventuring anyway despite the danger? Should everyone let him?

RebelVampire

13) im looking forward to just seeing their adventures in general. i really like learning about the world they live in. but im also looking forward to stomp overcoming people's beliefs he cant go on real adventures. 14) i feel like maybe hell go for an inbetween. like say "well some of the stories arent real." mostly cause silvergammel already putting it off, so i dont trust him to for real tell stomp. but i feel this could go one of two ways. stomp will go on a big huge adventure to prove everyone wrong, or stomp will get depressed and go on a reluctant adventure. but in the long run, yeah, i think stomp will continue adventuring. not that he shouldnt be dissuaded, but stubborn is as stubborn does

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- WEEK LONG BOOK CLUB END!

Thank you everyone so much for reading and chatting about Stomp! this week! Please also give a special thank you to Brodnork for volunteering the comic and creating it! If you liked Stomp!, make sure to continue to support it via some of the links below!

Read and Comment: http://stompwebcomic.com/

Brodnork’s Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Brodnork

Brodnork’s Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/A561YF0

Brodnork’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/Brodnork

#ctparchive #comics #webcomics #indie comics #comic chat #comic discussion #book club #bookclub #webcomic book club #webcomic bookclub #comic tea party #ctp #stomp!#stomp #brodnork

0 notes