#something about 80+ year old flying machines still being loved and taken care of and still able to fly in 2024
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CatCF Ruby Chocolate: Part 2, Wonka and Factory
WILLY WONKA
Willy Wonka in this version appears as a young man in his twenties. He is a really swell guy, always trying to be friendly, to joke, to act "cool" - but it usually fails, due to on one side the kids of the tour being pieces of sh*t, and on the other side Willy himself being quite outdated. All his references seem to date back to the 80s and 90s, early 2000s at most (and remember, this version takes places in the 2010s).
This Willy Wonka presents himself as the son of the original Willy Wonka. In fact let me describe you a series of three portraits:
First portrait, Willy Wonka Senior as he opened the factory at the turn of the century. A thin, youthful, good-looking man in his 20s.
Second portrait, Willy Wonka Senior as he closed the factory in the 50s-60s. Despite being technically in his 70s, he merely looks like a mature man in his 40s. He has "padded" and "thickened" a bit, growing a goatee and looking more like a typical "factory owner", but he still good-looking and charming.
Third portrait: Willy Wonka Junior. An identical twin of Willy Wonka Senior in his 20s.
Even weirder is when Willy Wonka Junior explains that he is actually around 30/40 years old, having taken over the Factory from his father in the 70s/80s - when he clearly looks like a 20s year old. But there are so many things weird about this Willy Wonka... He seems stuck in the 80s and 90s, and despite being youthful looking in general, he still has the stiff walk of old people, some gray in his hair, needs a cane and glasses, and a few wrinkles - probably from laughing or smiling too much. He jokes that being surrounded by vats of preservatives actually helped him stay young.
But the truth is that there always ever was one Mr. Willy Wonka. Yes, Wonka senior and Junior are one and same person. And yes, Mr. Wonka is around or over a hundred years old.
Remember when I said that this version takes place in the 2010s and is a "modern" one? Well, this is for the final twist.
Because what's more modern than... ALIENS!
Yes, there are aliens in there. The Oompa-Loompas are aliens!
Weren't expecting that, huh?
Willy Wonka was the young heir of an important industry baron. Yet, Willy was a dreamer. He didn't want to become a steel or wood baron like the rest of the members of his family. He wanted to do something with more imagination, more colors, more childlike. He then met the Oompa-Loompas, aliens stranded on our planet, and he made a deal with them.
The Oompa-Loompas offered him all sorts of alien technology and science that helped him create new, incredible, almost impossible candies. And thus, he became the first candy maker worldwide. The Oompa-Loompas are also the ones that helped him stay alive and rejuvenate all those years - by using their alien knowledge.
But one can't live forever, and Wonka is reaching its ending point. Despite all the Loompas efforts, he can't stop aging. And at the end of the day, he finds himself a sad little man. He tried many things during his life, and most apparently failed or backfired. He wanted to pursue his dream, and by consequence was rejected by his family. He helped his workers as best he could, but made their town dependant on his Factory. He tried to help the Oompa-Loompas hiding, but as a result fired everyone. He tried to help those he fired with free candy - not realizing he caused a wave of diseases. Wonka is, as we said before, a dreamer. As a result, he lacks a bit the rigorous thinking, the strict preparations, the long-term thinking his family tried to put into him. He is a bit too childlike, too whimsical, acting a bit too much on impulses. He tries to do what seems like the best thing at the moment, often forgetting to consider what it could cause in long-term goals. His meeting with Charlie is especially relevant, because he sees what his actions have caused on the descendants of his workers: caused their misery, both social and physical misery.
Wona never really "fit in" with anyone or anything. He never felt at ease with normal society, preferring all things odd and weird like him - and that's why he bonded so well with the Oompa-Loompas. But by isolating himself with them, he became even at more at odds with human society - locked inside his Factory he missed a lot of world's hostory and events, and his knowledge of the outside world is fragmentary. He still believes the Soviet Union is around!
Hopefully, things will get better (see Ending at the end of the post)
THE FACTORY:
Given the final twist on the story, the Factory has to look a bit like a flying saucer. However not just like any flying saucer - I think the main structure of the building should actually look like the "flying saucer", the confectionnary, the candy originated from Flanders and considered one of the "top best-liked British candies". Of course, the Factory doesn't just look like a flying saucer, it has to look like an actual factory (with doors, chimneys, etc...) but I imagine the main building, the main structure of the Factory has to be flying saucer-shaped. Probably because the Factory was built around the Oompa-Loompa's original flying saucer, when they first landed on Earth.
The interior of the Factory needs to be a mix of both sci-fi elements (after all, we are talking about alien technology) and of regular human aesthetic. Since the Factory was built around the flying saucer, a good part of it seems "regular". The Factory was built around the 1890s (maybe in the 1880s, maybe in the 1900s) and I think it keeps even to the present day some elements of this style. But since it also was "open for public" up until the 1950s/1960s, the buildings, style and "regular technology" was also probably updated/remplaced/renovated. I don't think however that Wonka changed a thing ever since the "closing" of the Factory - he must have stopped trying to make it more "up-to-date" since the Oompa Loompas took care of everything. So yeah... imagine a sci-fi flying saucer, with all around it 1890s buildings filled with 1950s/60s technology and furnitures.
Some rooms:
# The Greenhouse. This is the first room the kids visit on the tour. It is a gigantic, 19th-century shaped greenhouse, and it hosts only carnivorous plants. Yes, you heard well. You have regular Earth-carnivorous plants, mutated Earth-carnivorous plants, and some alien carnivorous plants. This idea was based on an episode of the French cartoon "My friend Marsupilami" (the episode being called "The Jaws of the Jungle", disponible on Youtube). In this episode, a chewing-gum factory raised carnivorous plants to steal their attractive, sugary and addictive pollen/essence to flavor their candies. Wonka basically does the same - to make his candies attractive and seducing, even addictive, he fills them with the products the plants create to attract their victims.
It is where Augustus Gloop meets his demise. Unable to resist the lure of the carnivorous plants, he gets entirely swallowed by them (in fact he is eaten by the biggest plant around). The devourer is being devoured. Will he get rescued before he gets digested?
# The Laboratory is the second part of the Factory the tour visits. It is here that here is a junction between the two part of the buildings. One side of the Laboratory is like a giant, massive kitchen. The other side is more like a science-fiction laboratory filled with machines, tubes and other robots. This is where Wonka prepares his candies, tries new recipes and tests (plus tastes) his products.
This is the room where both Violet Beauregarde and Marvin Prune meet their demise. Marvin, tired of not having any of his machines and electronic items working properly, steals some "Electrifying candies" (candies originally made to be able to prank people by creating static electricity with your own body or imitating the hand buzzer effect with your mere hand) and swallows them - but he eats too much and has a true electrocution (but it is more like a cartoony electrocution, he ends up all fried and charcoal-like and smoking). As for Violet, she of course takes the Three-Course Meal Gum. Instead of a blueberry transformation, she actually turns into several numerous colors, a true clown or Arlequin: her skin becomes blue (for the blueberry pie), and red (for the tomato sauce), and yellow (baked potatoes) and brown (roast beef)... Her hair too. (This ending fits with her "clown and circus" aesthetic).
At this point, the group leaves the first floor to go to the second one. Since the Factory is shaped as a "flyin saucer" (the candy), it has two levels, one corresponding to the "lower dome" and the other to the "upper dome".
At this point, the group leaves the first floor to go to the second one. Since the Factory is shaped as a "flying saucer" (the candy), it has two levels, one corresponding to the "lower dome" and the other to the "upper dome".it, Wonka offers the kids to try one of his new product not yet released (but completely safe): a special chocolate, designed to taste exactly like the thing you love the most. Elvira and Mike both take one, but they both say it doesn't have any taste (Elvirag because she truly doesn't "love" anything, she merely keeps liking new things every minute, and Mike because he doesn't love anything in this world). To Charlie however, it tastes as a strange mix between his parents' homemade cooking, and regular Wonka chocolate.
# The Squirrels Room. Pretty much identical to the one in the original works. This is where Elvira meets her demise. Since squirrels are of the latest trend, and a popular fashion, she tries to take one away. She ends up thrown down the garbage chute, into the furnace - just like how she discarded all sorts of perfectly good objects or pets just because they weren't popular anymore. And as it turns out, the furnace has just been lit... perfect for rubbish like her.
# The Television Room. Again, identical to the original works. It is another part of the "sci-fi" side of the Factory here. Mike Teavee ends up in the television, just like in the original book. However, during the teleportation, he actually gets fused with the chocolate bar that was sent at the very same time (a bit like the teleporters in the Fly). As a result, Mike Teavee ends up being made of chocolate - a living chocolate boy. Now he will be forced to hide in the shadows (for the sun may make him melt), never going outside (dirt being unwashable and insects would try to eat him), doing nothing for he may break during sportive events... basically, it actually won't change anything to his life, so it's kind of a perfect win for him. Plus, if he is hungry in front of the television, he will eat a bit of himself as "snack".
# The Candy Landscape. The final part of the tour, what Wonka had intended to be the final piece of this wonderful show. This is basically a Garden of Eden made entirely of candy - just like previous versions. It is actually located in the basement of the Factory, under the ground. It is also where Charlie meets his demise - because yes, in this version Charlie has a "bad end". Basically, his addiction to chocolate gets the best of him and (due to his gluttony and weight) he falls into the chocolate river and nearly drowns (due to not knowing how to swim). He also gets sucked up by the pipes - but I change a bit things here.
In a twist of things, Charlie being a big kid is actually what saves him from getting shredded into fudge. His buoy of fat blocks him in the middle of the pipe, like Augustus, but this is how the Oompa-Loompas and Mr. Wonka are able to save Charlie. If he had been of a normal size, he would have been aspired by the machine and turned into candy.
OOMPA-LOOMPAS
As mentionned above, the Oompa-Loompas are actually an alien species that came to Earth.
It is unknown exactly how things worked out - but a few Oompa-Loompa families arrived on Earth by mistake, probably after an accident, at the end of the 19th century. They met with Mr. Wonka, who was a young man in his 20s at the time, desperate to escape from his father's burderning inheritance. Wonka offered the Oompa-Loompa protection, assistance, a roof and food in exchange of them helping him create his candy factory. The Factory was built around the Oompa-Loompa broken flying saucer, and they used their technology to help Wonka become the first and most inventive candy maker in the world.
They stayed hidden for roughly fifty years, maybe a bit more. But when the 1950s/1960s came around, they actually had multiplied and couldn't stand being locked away. Something had to be done - and Wonka found the perfect idea. Turn the Oompa Loompas into his Factory workers. As a result they would be free and have something to fill their life - while they worked on their real project, aka creating another flying saucer to go back home.
Three important elements should be noted about the Oompa-Loompas:
1) I decided to base them around the Muppets and other "puppets" from television and children toys, on a suggestion of ArtMakerProductions.
2) Oompa-Loompas are a hierarchy species, naturally obeying to a specific caste system. Back in their home, there are different subtypes and subspecies of Oompa-Loompas, each with a different task and role in society. They vaguely re-adapted this caste system in the Factory, resulting in different "breeds" of Oompa-Loompa with different tasks.
3) The Oompa-Loompa needs candy to survive. Sugar and chocolate are essential elements to their health, and the basis of their diet. That's why they agreed to create a candy Factory for Wonka (and also why they are so gifted with making candies). They eat a lot of candies and sweets everyday - if they don't, they fall sick and may even die of starvation.
There are six different kinds of Oompa-Loompa (just like there are six kids), each playing a different role in the factory (and each based on a different "puppet/toy" influence:
# The Gardeners. They are based on the Fraggle Rocks and Kermit the Frog. They appear as small humanoid with pink or yellow skin, and wild green hair. They are a bit frog like, with no nose, no ears and a strangely shaped mouth (shaped like those of Fraggle Rocks). They are the ones that take care of the plants or the gardens (especially the Greenhouse filled with carnivorous plants). Their "kid correspondance" is Augustus Gloop. Some are also seen as being the "cleaners" of the Factory.
# The Beast-Tamers. These ones are based on the "furry" Muppets, Alf the Alien and other Cookie-Monster like puppets, those entirely covered in fur and looking more like beasts than man. They take care of all the animals in the factory - from the cows to the chocolate-laying Easter bunnies to the squirrels. They appear as almost ape or monke-like beings, covered in a fur usually purple or white, sometimes with a bit of their pink skin revealing. Their kid correspondance is Elvira Entwhistle. Some of them also work as security guards for the Factory.
# The Cooks. They are the ones making the candies, the treats, the sweets, the cakes, everything. As long as it has a recipe and is edible, they'll do it. They are based on both some ArtMaker's illustrations and on the Swedish Chef from the Muppets. They appear as chubby humanoid, with more developped noses than the other Oompa-Loompas. They have very small eyes, usually hidden by their blue or orange hair (because they don't use much their sight, they rely mostly on touch, smell and taste). Their skin is purple, and their kid correspondance is Violet Beauregarde.
# The Technicians. They are the ones in charge of the machines, of computers and of technology as a whole in the Factory. They are again a mix of some illustrations done by ArtMakerProductions, and of the TrollZ dolls. Basically, they are short green-skinned humanoids with very long, very wild masses of hair (this was also a nod to Einstein and his insane hair). Always white, the hair. They have very big eyes always hidden by very big glasses. Their kid correspondance is Marvin Prune.
# The Doctors. They are the ones taking care of everything health-related - but here's the main trouble. They are Oompa-Loompa doctors, healing and treating the workers of the Factory. They are also the ones healing the injured guests, and making sure the candies are "healthy". The trouble is that Oompa-Loompas don't understand human biology very well, and Oompa biology is really different. This is why for exemple the guests have very "special" treatments - and why despite them claiming the candies to be "healthy", the Wonka treats are just as addictive, fattening, teeth-rotting and sickness inducing as other candies, if not even more. With usually mustard-colored or white skin, they are basically identical in shape to the Cook Loompas (chubby, small eyes) with the only differences being a smaller nose and them being entirely bald. (they are based on Dr. Bunsen Honeydew from the Muppets). Their kid correspondance is Mike Teavee.
# The Assistants. They are Wonka's assistants and secretaries, the administrative workers, the guides during the tour, etc... Their kid correspondance is Charlie Bucket, and they are based on the "human" shaped Muppets and puppets. They basically look like small humans with a bit of exaggerated traits, and blue skin with pink hair.
Two additional notes about the Oompa-Loompas:
# Due to being "aliens", I decided to change their "songs". As in, after each kid demise they still sing, but not in normal words - they sing in animal sounds. Augustus song is the sounds of pigs and cows. Marvin's is the song of cicadas. Violet's is the singing of exotic birds. Elvira's is the song of whales. Mike's the sound of frogs and toads. Charlie's "song" is the yelp of dog puppies.
# If you are wondering about it, the Oompa-Loompas actually don't have genders. They all look male from far away, or at least gender-neutral, and they can mate with anyone they want, no need for male or female. Their reproduction process is extremely strange - at Valentine's Day, if they want to reproduce they make a batch of baby-shaped chocolates, and their "mate" has to eat them - it has to eat enough so that his belly will become round as a pregnant woman's belly. When Easter come, they lay eggs (chocolate eggs) and the baby devours the egg to get out of it.
Oompa-Loompa normally reproduce inside their own sub-breed or caste. Mating with someone not of your group isn't a usual custom. It is possible however, and "mixed breed" babies can be born. For exemple, if a Gardener and a Technician mate, they can birth a Gardener-shaped Oompa with the colors of a Technician, or a Technician baby but with no nose or ears. Or, if a Cook and a Beast-Tamer mate, they can produce a chubby Beast-Tamer, or a very hairy Cook. However, when the child grows up, his body will adapt to whatever function it takes. For exemple if the very hairy Cook works as a Beast-Tamer, he will quickly lose his chub and see his nose shrink down as his hairiness becomes fur. Or the reverse, if the chubby Beast-Tamer works as a cook, he will see himself lose his fur as his nose will grow bigger.
ENDING
For the brats:
Ever since he got swallowed by the carnivorous plant, Augustus Gloop seeks revenge. He now only eats vegetables and fruits. He has lot a lost of weight, and suffers from the troubles and sicknesses caused by lack of fish, meat, dairy and non-vegetable products, but he is a prominent fighter for the vegan movement.
Marvin Prune was left paralyzed by the electrocution, and now really has to rely on electronics to survive, move, speak... But he thinks it is incredibly fancy and cool, so he doesn't mind.
Violet Beauregarde got her wish and became famous thanks to her weird condition - with her multicolored skin, she appeared on several showws about freaky bodies and strange medical conditions. A good thing came out of it though: now she fights against skin-color discriminations. "Equality for all colors", that's her new motto.
Elvira Entwhistle was left half-burned by the fire, with nasty scars. But she was lucky - the new trend of the month was "sympathy for people with burnt scars". She dropped all ideas of trials to sue Wonka and enjoyed her time of fame. But when the fad was gone, she realized bitterly she had officially abandonned all possibilities to attack Wonka.
Mike Teavee still lives sheltered. His life hasn't changed much - the only difference being that his room is now kept at a freezer temperature.
As for Wonka, Bucket and the Loompas, they managed to find together a solution to please everyone.
The Oompa-Loompas finally managed to finish their flying saucer. It wasn't big enough to take all the Oompa-Loompas, but a good part of them managed t return to their native planet.
Charlie Bucket is the heir of Mr. Wonka, he and his family now owning the Factory. Since there are less Oompa-Loompas, Charlie could "hide" them better and re-employ people from the town. He also let a few people of trust learn about the Oompa-Loompa existence, realizing that keeping such a secret alone is nearly impossible and too dangerous. A few Oompa-Loompas still work at the Factory, and the other human employees are under obligation to keep their existence a secret.
Where are the rest of the Loompas? Well, they are working with Charlie on a project of his: making the Wonka candies less unhealthy and help the town get out of its misery. The Oompa-Loompas opened some institutions, shops and other buildings in town, sometimes with the help of trustworthy workers. The Technicians and Beast-Keepers opened sport center and gym complexs. The Cooks opened healthy restaurants. The Gardeners opened small urban farms and organic shops. And the Doctors were sent to human medical and nutrition schools to learn exactly how human body and diet works.
Charlie himself, as well as his family, became healthier, especially since they could afford good food, healthy diet and more sports. Charlie however insisted for keeping a little spare tire around his waist. Partly because he can't get rid of his sweet tooth, but also partly as a reminder that being fat isn't always negative and can even save you if you are sucked up in a glass pipe from a chocolate river.
As for Mr. Wonka, he got his final wish. He was carried with the Oompa-Loompas of the flying saucer. He always wanted to see the Oompa-Loompas original planet before dying.
#catcf#charlie and the chocolate factory#ruby chocolate#catcf ruby chocolate#augustus gloop#charlie bucket#veruca salt#violet beauregarde#marvin prune#mike teavee#wonka#willy wonka#wonka factory
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12 + 80 for Staticquake?
12 = Roommates AU, 80 = Green-Eyed Epiphany
Ahahah thank you so much, anon, I LOVE green-eyed epiphanies! I was actually hoping someone would send in a prompt like this, so big hugs to you. I hope you enjoy this!! 🤗
Daisy and Lincoln have been roommates for about eight years now, and it shows, in everything - like the way they know each other's routine so well by know that he'll yell "remember to put milk in the coffee maker first" from the shower when he hears her getting up, because he knows she's far too sleepy in the mornings to remember the quirks of their temperamental old coffee machine; and the way she'll leave him a sticky note on his stack of patient files for the day reading pick up Chinese for dinner, yeah? because she knows he'll pass right by that Chinese place they both love on his way back from the hospital; and the way he'll pick up all the socks and stray printouts she'll leave lying around, while she'll be busy fixing him a bowl of Ramen because she knows he'll have forgotten to eat on his shift.
Daisy could probably have moved out years ago, technically, because her job at Shield Programming pays, like, off-the-books well.
But she likes living with Lincoln, even though she stopped needing the money long ago. Besides, he's still finishing his residency, and she'd be a sucky roommate for ditching him now.
She wouldn't mind staying like this for the rest of her life, actually. Jemma would roll her eyes, but Daisy maintains her point: they've got a good thing going here; the kind of steady, unquestioning friendship that can only form after years and years of knowing each other.
And, you know, living in close proximity to each other for all those years. You stop being awkward around someone after about the fifth time you see them shirtless - after that, things are just good.
As in, knowing-each-other-so-well-you-can't-imagine-a-life-without-them-in-it good.
Daisy and Lincoln have so many inside jokes by now that nobody else can keep track of them. They've also picked up the habit of finishing each other's sentences - Daisy blames Fitzsimmons.
But the best part about this is the blackmail material they have on each other. Like that time Lincoln forgot to do the laundry, and went around wearing her "Golden Girl" T-shirt for the rest of the day. (She has photos.) Or that time when she was having an impromptu singing concert to the tomato sauce in the kitchen, and he recorded it.
They're so tight that pretty much everyone asks them if they're dating. Daisy and Lincoln are so used to it by now that they even have this whole elaborate story about an epic romance that failed because of dramatic and irreconcilable toaster preferences.
But, really - them dating? Pffft. Don't be dumb. They just don't think of each other that way.
They're both dating other people, for crying out loud!
Well. Technically, they were both dating other people. Daisy and Grant (lying cheating asshole, she thinks automatically) broke up a few months ago, and Lincoln hasn't dated anyone in a while.
But that's just because he's really busy completing his residency.*
She's sure he'll be bringing a girl around soon enough.
The thing is, Daisy didn't expect to actually be right. She expected to be going around saying "oh, no, I'm sure Lincoln will find someone soon enough" for a long time yet.
And it shouldn't, but it really bothers her.
She didn't okay this new relationship. She didn't okay this girl. She didn't okay any of this!
In some distant corner of her mind, she knows she's being utterly ridiculous. Lincoln is her roommate, not her dog. She doesn't get to okay this kind of thing in her life.
But this girl. Oh, dear God, this girl.
She's the worst - even worse than that Deke guy who keeps mailing her lemons, for some weird reason.
I mean, she drinks her coffee wrong! All black and without even a drop of sugar.
And she doesn't like Harry Potter!
Every little thing she does is just wrong, wrong, wrong, and irritatingly out of place in her and Lincoln's routine.
Plus, she's really not that pretty. At all. Daisy has eyes, she knows Lincoln can do better.
When Daisy explains all of this to her, Jemma just gives her a long, flat look. "You're sure you're not jealous?"
Daisy splutters, nearly spitting out her coffee (with milk and sugar, thank you very much, Alisha.) "Jealous?!?! Why the hell would I be jealous? What gives you that idea? There's nothing about this that says jealousy!"
"I just think," she says, stirring her coffee, "that Lincoln can do better than that little weasel."
Jemma's eyebrows fly up, and it looks like she's biting back a smile. "Weasel?"
"Yes!" Daisy says emphatically, slamming her coffee down on the table. "She's all, that's so cool, Lincoln and your flat is so nice, Lincoln and I worship the ground you walk on, Lincoln. Weaselling. All. Of. The. Time."
"You've met her once," Jemma reminds her, looking more amused than ever now.
Daisy scowls into her coffee. "That's more than enough, believe me."
Jemma is wearing her deluxe uh-huh face. "You're sure you're not jealous?"
Daisy glares at her. Is Jemma being deliberately obtuse? "Of course I'm not jealous! I'm just a concerned friend who knows he can do better." Obviously.
Jemma mutters something that sounds oddly like what, like you? under her breath, but when Daisy narrows her eyes, she drops it.
But the subject won't leave Daisy's mind.
Not her nonexistent jealousy, of course. Don't be daft.
Alisha.
How she's ruining everything.
How she keeps trying to get all of Lincoln’s attention. How she keeps putting stuff out of order in their flat.
How she’s only been over once, but Daisy can already see that she’s just not right for Lincoln.
Speak of the devil! When she gets home, there's Alisha, sitting in her spot on the couch next to Lincoln.
Daisy doesn't even think they hear her come in - Alisha's too busy laughing at one of Lincoln's jokes (probably one of those really-not-funny science puns he loves so much, she thinks, glaring) and Lincoln's got his arm slung around her shoulders.
It makes her blood boil.
That's her spot, there next to Lincoln. That's her spot, rolling her eyes and punching him lightly in the arm when he makes a dumb joke, not laughing like an idiot.
That's her spot, not Alisha's.
She belongs there. She, Daisy Johnson.
And that's when she realises: she's jealous.
She's completely, totally jealous.
Jemma was right.
(Well, no surprises there.)
But the point is - she, Daisy Johnson, is completely jealous of her roommate's girlfriend.
And she's not an idiot. She knows what that means.
Well, shit.
Her hands spontaneously unfreeze, and she drops her car-keys onto the floor with a loud clatter.
Well, double shit.
She curses under her breath as Lincoln and Alisha whip around, eyes widening at the noise.
"Hey, guys," she says, in the most casual voice she can muster. Lincoln cannot know something's up - not until she's had the chance to figure out what exactly she's going to do about things.
Lincoln frowns. "Are you okay?" he asks, his blue eyes searching her face.
Daisy plasters on her most convincing smile. "Of course I am," she says. "I'm just heading to my room now."
Alisha nods, as though this is perfectly normal, but Lincoln's brow is furrowed. "Are you sure you don't want to stay and watch for a bit with us? You've seen all The Good Place, so I'm sure you could just drop in whenever -"
"No," she interrupts, so sharply that he looks taken aback. "I mean, no," she says, deliberately softening her tone and adding a small smile. "I've got… stuff to do. Have a nice date. Binge-watch. Make-out session. Whatever."
She wants to hit herself very hard on the head with a heavy object, repeatedly, because if that's not the most awkward rejoinder in the history of all rejoinders…
She rushes across to her room, feeling her cheeks blazing, and praying to everyone who's listening that they leave her alone.
Lincoln follows her, of course.
"Daisy, you're not okay," he says, standing in her door with folded arms and a deep frown.
"Get back to your date," she says, just a little hysterical, because honestly, she's just had a big revelation dropped on her head and absolutely no time to sort out how the hell she feels about it all.
"Uh, no," he says, like it's obvious. "Alisha can wait. You're obviously not alright, and you're my friend, so -"
Oh, he really shouldn't go about saying things like that. Her head is a total mess as it is - that's just going to make her think that he's implying that she's more important than Alisha.
That is what he's implying, though, right?
"Daisy?" he asks, taking a step towards her when she just stands there like an emotionally confused statue.
She instinctively steps back, and oh, wrong move.
They're roommates. They've never been shy with physical touch - she's fallen asleep on his shoulder too many times to count, and he's used her legs as a pillow about the same amount. They've held each other for nights on end when the nightmares come, or after breakups, and they hold hands when they can see the other one needs it. They bump shoulders, brush against each other, shove at each other and tug on each other's arms all the time.
... In retrospect, she's feeling like a prize idiot for not realising she liked him till now.
But. Anyway. Here she is, shying away from physical touch, which she never does.
She sees the moment when he goes from "rightfully concerned" to "seriously worried," and it's right at that second. He takes her by the shoulders - gently, so she can still pull away if she wants to - and guides her to sit down on the bed.
"What's wrong, Dais?" he asks, and his voice is so stupidly sincere she thinks she might lose her mind completely.
He obviously cares so much.
But just not in that way.
"Daisy," he prompts, putting a gentle hand on her cheek to ground her, because he just knows she'll be getting dragged down in her thoughts.
She’s just about to reply when Alisha yells from the living room, "Linc, are you coming?"
And she can't be imagining the annoyance that flickers across his face. "Just a moment, Alisha," he says impatiently. "I'm busy."
They hear a sudden clatter as Alisha stands up sharply. "Really, Lincoln?" she asks, and she's full-on yelling now. "Is Daisy really that much more important than me?"
She doesn't give him the chance to continue, blazing on with her rant. "Well, I'm sick of it. All you can talk about is Daisy, and how smart and pretty and perfect she is. And you know what? I'm done. She's obviously the only one you'll ever have eyes for, and I'm really not in the mood to be stuck as your second-best for the rest of my life. That's it."
There's a shocked silence in the apartment for a full minute after Alisha slams the door, and her angry footsteps fade down the stairs.
Daisy and Lincoln gape at each other for a minute, neither of them quite sure what to say.
Then a thought - a memory that had been niggling at the back of her mind for the entirety of Alisha’s rant - pops up to the surface.
"You know," Daisy says, feeling as though something important has dawned, but not quite sure what it is, "that's exactly what Grant said. He said he cheated on me because, and I quote, he could never be the most important guy in my life."
"Yeah, well, Grant is an asshole," Lincoln says immediately.
"And Alisha's a weasel," Daisy counters.
His eyebrows fly up, and he looks so much like Jemma that Daisy wants to laugh. "Weasel?" he repeats.
Daisy rolls her eyes - but she can't help but notice that Lincoln isn't looking nearly as upset as he should be.
"Did she have a point?" she asks, dropping all jokery and looking seriously up at him.
He sighs, running a hand through his hair. "Daisy…"
"Does everyone have a point?" she interrupts, standing up so she's almost level with him. "Does everyone see something we don't?"
Lincoln is frowning, obviously not getting it. “I don’t -”
“Everyone always assumes we’re dating, or says we should be dating,” she cuts him off, quick and sharp.
She takes a breath, channels May, and says it. "Are they right?"
Lincoln's hand freezes in his hair. "What?"
"Are they right?" she repeats, louder this time.
His mouth drops open a little, and he closes it quickly when he realises. "Well," he says carefully, "we have known each other for eight years, and it’s only to be expected that we’d be close -"
“I don’t care about what’s to be expected!” she cuts him off sharply. “I care about what’s true. For you, and for me.”
She’s slightly out of breath, and her gaze is locked on his, and she doesn’t think she could look away even if she wanted to.
“Do you think,” she says, “that they’re all right? That we’d work, if we were dating?”
The question hangs in the air between them for a moment, crackling and intense.
Then Lincoln answers simply, like it's the only answer there is: "yes."
Because yes, it is the only answer there is.
If they were dating, they would work.
They already know each other better than anyone else in the world, and mean more to each other than, well, anyone else in the world.
Grant and Alisha were sort of right, she realises. No relationship with anyone else could come close to what she and Lincoln have.
They’ve always done things together, and she can see him coming to the same conclusions at the exact same time.
His blue eyes are wide as he meets her gaze again.
“So,” he says slowly, and he sounds uncharacteristically uncertain, “what do we do now?”
“Well,” Daisy says, just as slowly, but with significantly less uncertainty. She can already feel a grin beginning to tug up the corners of her lips. “You’re the one with the scientific mind, Mr Med Student. If there’s a theory, you need to -”
“Test it,” he finishes for her, an answering grin playing on his lips. “You want to kiss me?”
Daisy shrugs one shoulder, trying to ignore the sudden explosion of butterflies in her stomach. “Well,” she says, shifting closer so she’s inside his space, “there’s only one way to confirm this theory once and for all, isn’t there?”
His gaze is soft as he looks down at her, so soft that she thinks she might melt into a puddle of mush. “I guess so.”
And then he’s closing the last bit of distance between them, slipping his hand into her hair and gently tilting her head up, and she’s stretching up on her tiptoes and placing her hand on his cheek.
They share a long, soft look - both of them with smiles still playing on their lips - and then her eyes are fluttering shut, and they’re kissing.
And if she thought she'd had good kisses before? Well. This is like nothing she’s ever experienced before.
She’s always known she and Lincoln work well together, but this is a whole new level. It’s like they were always meant to fit together like this.
It feels like coming home.
When they finally have to break apart for breath, Daisy opens her eyes to find Lincoln looking at her with a thoroughly shell-shocked expression.
She can’t help but grin at the sight. “I think it’s safe to say the theory is proved,” she says, nudging his nose with hers.
He rolls his eyes, but there’s only affection in his gaze. “You think?”
Daisy pulls back a bit to tilt her head, pretending to seriously consider it. “Actually, no, you know what? I think I’ll need some more proof.”
He’s shaking his head, eyes full of fond exasperation, but he’s not complaining at all when she presses up on her toes to kiss him again.
And if some tiny part of her had thought that first kiss was just a fluke... nope, that part was completely wrong.
This is still the most incredible thing she’s ever felt.
A sudden thought occurs to Daisy, and she has to stifle a small laugh against his lips.
He quirks his eyebrows at her, keeping his forehead pressed against hers. "What?"
"A week or so ago, Jemma was rolling her eyes at me when I said I wanted to be your roommate for the rest of my life," she says.
Tilting her head, she smiles up at him, with the kind of absolute happiness you can only get in those rare moments when everything is exactly right. "And now," she tells him, "that's exactly what I'm going to be."
His gaze goes all kinds of soft again. "That's what you think this is going to be? For the rest of our lives?"
She doesn't even hesitate for a second. "Hell yeah."
The End.
*For those of you who, like me, didn't know until now, a residency is the period where someone studying to be a doctor works in a local hospital under supervision. It's a very important part of the whole becoming-a-doctor process, and forms the last 3-4 years of your studies. (Thank you very much to Grace for explaining this to me!! Fic writing has turned out to be ever such an informative process, it's honestly amazing.)
Anywho, I hope you guys liked this bullet-point fic - it's definitely one of my favourites, and feels like a nice place to end the series.
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file: introduction
full name: theon wyndham
age: 27
identifies with: the consolations of philosophy - max richter
genesis: hybrid
gender: cis-male (he/him)
portrayal: dane dehaan
file: biography
2151 – Birth
Some people are sure to be disbelieving and say,
“But how can a computer possibly produce a great symphony, a great work of art, a great new scientific theory?”
The retort I am usually tempted to make to this question is,
“Can you?”
- Isaac Asimov, Our Intelligent tools
2156 – Interest in robotics starts.
It starts with a visit at a museum, a story about the ascension of technology in human history and a robot dinosaur. Lola Wyndham is not quite sure where the posters come from after that, but she suspects her husband. After all, he was known to spoil the little boy. They’re not so bad, she thinks. Better robots than those violent games, highly advertised on the vids. Still, the mother cannot quite remember the last time she saw her son socializing with other children or open one of those innocent little video games Granny gave him. She’s anxious. The only times they exchange words now are when she shows interest in the posters. Then words leave his mouth with excitement. The doctors had said that nothing was wrong with Theon, far from it actually. The young boy could speak and read at the age of three years old. A prodigy, they said.
“Mother.” His voice is small and shy. Blue eyes, which he inherited, fall to the sweet features of his son’s face, attention now driven away from her work. A paper is placed in her hands and she closes the screen in front of her temporarily, setting her work aside in order to examine the gift she just received. A gasp escapes her lips and he frowns. Bringing her onto her legs, her long finger points at something on the drawing he just gave her. “Theon, dear. What does it mean?” It is with very simple words that her son explains the drawing. “It could help you walk.” A device to help her move around the house, since her legs do not work anymore. The drawing, if she could call it that, is not exactly the typical drawing usual five years old gave to their mothers with pride. It seems more like a blue print for a device, his small writing in the margins, arrows pointing from explanations to detailed pieces of the device. Lola’s heart cannot take it anymore and she kisses the top of his head softly. Five years old and Theon is already too aware of the world around him.
A mother always worry. It is a curse and a blessing at the same time. Years pass and she keeps her eyes on her son. He is soft, and does not quite get why the other children cannot comprehend mechanics as well as he does. He is not unkind, though. He does not shout, or cry. He keeps to himself mostly, even from his own parents. Theon is well above his years. She thinks (she hopes) that he will let go of his obsession. Metal litters the floor of the room usually intended to be his bedroom. Now sleep evades him, a fickle companion. At least Arthur is not too mad when he trips over small inventions all over the house. Lola knows her husband would have preferred if his son would have taken interest in the arts or philosophy, like his father. They fear for him.
Geniuses do not go unnoticed in Wrotham, especially from corporations.
2159 – First convention.
He is eight years old when he attends his first convention.
The funny thing, he observes, is that the other attendees believe him to be another mindless child. They overlook him. It insults him a bit. He read already all of their research and he could find faults in almost all of them. It is worse when he is called on the stage, with the goal of presenting his new patent. Laughs erupt from the crowd when he realizes he is barely able to reach the microphone. His fingers drum against the desk in front of him. He tries to find Arthur and Lola in the crowd. Lola’s soft features always calmed his mind. But instead, his gaze falls on two weird characters, sitting in the back. Their clothes are different, more refined than the others. Wealth is exuded from their attitude, and Theon is fascinated. They are not laughing, he observes. He is glad.
The crowd silences itself when he explains how using a different kind material for the IBA cell could improve efficiency by 15.8765%, thus permitting better hologram imaging and communication during certain situation, especially military ones. He rebuffs arguments with facts and calculations.
Theon learns that adults are petty then. Words are thrown but his age is the only true obstacle to the veracity of his research. Arthur and Lola find him afterwards, Theon can see the worry on their face. How he hates it. They are not big fans of his experiments, even though they always show a positive front when he tried to explain them. He thinks, with regret, that perhaps they’re the same as the other adults. He loves them anyway. Will always do, of course. The young family is about to leave, Arthur navigating Lola through the crowd, in the hover chair Theon made her months ago. A featherlike touch on his shoulder makes him stop in his track and he turns. The two individuals he saw earlier are standing there, in front of him. Perfect skin, impeccable clothes. Arthur and Lola seem nervous at the sight of them. “Hello Mr. Wyndham, my name is Rachael. Here is my partner Rick. We work for Artificial Insights. We would like to discuss scholarships…”
Theon later learns that Rachael and Rick are Synthetics. Humans with artificial and robotic limbs. In the car, where they explain him that they’re sending him to one of top robotic schools, Theon remarks how Rick is barely looking at him. It annoys him.
2169 – Artificial Insights & Phase I: Synthetics process
“We are delighted to offer you a position here at Artificial Insights, Mr. Wyndham. We hope our partnership will be long and fruitful.” Theon forces a small smile to appear on his face, the conventional response to this type of interaction. He would admit that working with machines most of the time did a lot for his social anxiety. Calculations and research do not argue or judge him. Androids did not have the mind to look at him, see only the bags under his eyes, his frail exterior. Androids did not care. Rachael smiles a little, quasi encouragingly. She knows him enough by now to know how uncomfortable he is. The show is for the people sitting on each of her sides. It is the first time Theon meets Rachael’s superiors. Serious men and women, barely looking up at the file in front of them. They tell him they are impressed by his curriculum. Top graduate from all his schools. He is a good return on investment. The sentence irritates Theon. His fingers drum on the table, nervously. They think of him as a thing, expendable. Theon is now eighteen years old, and will probably become the youngest employee of the company. Numerous research of his are being published and applied already. It resonates in his head; an unwanted conundrum.
“In this mindset,” Rachael’s voice shatters the train of thought, forces him to raise his eyes to look at them, “you will find all the details regarding the process for Synthetic transformation. You have to understand that we invested highly in you, and we would like our partnership to last.” Again, with the financial idioms. The woman in front of him continues to talk about the specifics but Theon’s blue hues are already reading the material in front of him. Excitement runs through his veins. He remembers the offer he made them, some years ago. Even with the scholarship that brought him where he was, a mind like his would be highly useful to any other corporations. His mind is the only thing that is not replaceable. He needs to protect it.
Synthetic transformation in exchange of an 80 years work contract. His signature is barely readable on the documents, hand shaking with apprehension.
2173.0 – Death of Parents in Riots
Arthur and Lola Wyndham are only two more names among others in the already long list of victims from the 2173 riots in Krenel. The irony of their death does not go unnoticed. They are becoming more and more numerous, the protests against the rise of technology, against robots and androids.
His hands won’t stop shaking as he listens to the man in front of him. The feeling resemble flying – no, more like falling. Theon inherits the house and becomes familiar with a new emotion, guilt. It envelops him and settles in his heart, heavy. Will it become his new home, he ponders.
Grief. It is ugly.
He should’ve called more. Should have listened to his mother pleas ‘come back home for once’. Should’ve done something. Anything. He hadn’t been a very good son. School had started and then work, both intertwined with an endless series of conventions. He was a rising star in robotics engineering, most efficient and useful engineer for Artificial Insights. But all of this, the title and the money, did not keep his parents from dying. Theon inherits the house and transforms it into a lab. With Rachael’s consent, he takes a few days off. Then his mind goes back to what it does best: work. At this point, Theon knows it is a defense mechanism. Some would drink their feelings away. He prefers being useful. Whenever he feels anxious or sad, he plunges nose first into endless calculations, experiments and research. He shuts more people off, mostly because they are distracting.
2173.5 – Theon meets Eliot
Theon grows bored of the conventions after that. Arthur and Lola are not there anymore, anxiously waiting for their son to speak. Offering him small smiles in the crowd to encourage him. They are gone and he feels lost. Days look all the same to him. Work. Eat. Sleep. Repeat. His heart is not in the research, these days. Sleep evades him once more, and his patience thins with each seconds that pass. Only the sound of the assembling machines calms his mind. Sometimes, he goes down, in the lowest levels of his building. He likes to watch them waking up, the androids. They’re not really alive, he knows that. But Theon appreciates the symbolism – starting new, a mind virgin of emotions and feelings. On the opposite side, he feels just like them. A simple cog in a bigger machine. He’s an investment, after all. Just like them.
Work. Eat. Sleep. Repeat.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t want to interrupt your presentation.” Theon lifts his eyes from his scientific journal, wonders who dared approach him in public. His colleagues usually stir away from him. After all, he is far from being an expert at conversations. The engineer recognizes the features of the man before him. The presentation had gone to hell, voice faltering when a participant decided to interfere. The problem wasn’t the interruption, actually. It was the fact that Theon never saw it. His mistake. He’s caught off guard by it and his mind obsesses over it as soon as the stage leaves his sight. Miscalculation, or simple Brows knit, he tilts his head. “Then why did you do it?” The question burns his tongue as the words leave his mouth. A chuckle escapes the other man’s lips and the sound shakes Theon to his core. He straightens up in his seat as the other man takes place on the empty chair in front of him. “Alright, alright. You got me. Would you look over the data, though? I really want your opinion on this.”
He grabs the tablet from the other’s hand, their fingers brushing.
Theon feels alive again. Even more so as Eliot’s lips, months later, become a recurrent light, fleeting touch.
2175 – 2175 Massacre
Wind blows slowly through the opened windows. The silence is heavy in the darkness. The city stops moving for a millisecond. It holds its breath as the fire eats the void above their heads. Music can be heard in the background, faintly. A whisper murmured to the crowd. Its name is Destruction. It’s a glitch, he thinks. The sirens are crying in the night. This is just a simple, easily reparable mistake in calculations.
He’ll wake up the next morning, and Eliot will be there. In his arms. Already awake, fully functional. He will kiss Theon, softly, tenderly. Run a hand in his hair. A whisper ‘wake up my love’ will flee in the air, will lose itself in the seemingly stopped time. Coffee will burn his tongue and Duke Ellington will play in the background. A normal morning. Theon will listen to the drunken stories of one of his colleague at work, might even try a small smile to show his appreciation for the tale. Eliot will go back to his research and come back after a hard day at work, head full of ideas and optimism.
It’s only a glitch, Theon thinks. An irregularity in the system. He can repair it. He’s good at this. His eyes fixes the vids as red and bloodied crescents mark the fair skin of his forearm. Eliot is not there the next morning. Only Death kisses him back, brings him news of destruction and despair. For the second time in his life, he wonders ‘why not me?’
Eliot dies in the riots, his mind forever lost.
2176 to 2177 – Data’s creation & Depression
A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Laws.
- The Three Laws, from the Handbook of Robotics, 56th Edition, 2058 A.D.
“According to the data–”
“Oh, please Eli. Stop with your data already. Everything is going to be fine. I did the calculations myself.”
“One, you’re not infallible and second, the dat–”
“You’re not him!”
Data does not flinch at Theon’s raised voice, because Data is not human. An android, a perfect and flawless android. Top of his category, because he doesn’t fit in the usual categories. He’s made from scratch, from stolen equipment from his old job. All of Eliot’s research is incorporated in the main matrix. Data can learn. And speak. And asks questions.
Theon knows he can get arrested. Company property theft, uncatalogued Artificial Intelligence. Non-tested research. Utilisation of rare materials for personal purposes. The list gets longer each times he thinks about it.
The android looks like him, talks like him, smile like him. But he is not him. Data barely moves when his creator strikes him. Control is not something he has much, these days. The alcohol burns his tongue coming in and coming out. How inefficient. Theon hates himself with such fervor then. Especially as Data holds him there, on the floor, ignoring his creator trying to wrestle his way out of the robotic grip. Theon wakes as Data presses a damp cloth on his forehead. The engineer had never been so embarrassed of his own actions than now.
Where is the line between genius and madness? When does one falls so deep into a pit of despair, he cannot see the way out anymore?
Theon is crying as he erases this memory from Data’s core the next day. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry…”
file: known associates
NOOMI WEXLER - though wexler corporation was a mere enigma to most, you had uncovered the truth many moons prior. perhaps maintaining it as the unknown would make a far wiser idea, but curiosity would soon unravel a mass of torturous activities and an unwanted truth - actions so cruelly human. it’s a secret you have long since kept, but you wonder how long one can remain silent when another experiment has now appeared.
THIS CHARACTER IS UNAVAILABLE.
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Little girl, three, dies after suffering a seizure at the airport
A three-year-old girl died after suffering a seizure at an airport at the end of a dream family holiday in the Maldives because of a condition which only two other children in the wold have not recovered from.
Ava Akers, three, was rushed to hospital, fell into a coma and had to be transferred to Bangkok after her undiagnosed Epstein Barr Virus Encephalitis (EBV) caused the seizure.
The family, who live in Shropshire, made a traumatic 24 hour journey back to the UK on a medical plane and Ava ended up on the high dependency unit at Birmingham Children’s Hospital.
Three-year-old Ava Akers became one of only three children in the world to die from Epstein Barr Virus Encephalitis (EBV)
There, doctors gave the Akers family the devastating news that the ‘Ava they knew was gone’ as she was severely brain damaged.
She died at home.
Her parents, Phill and Helen Akers, decided to launch a charity called Ava’s Angels in her memory, taking food and essential items into Birmingham Children’s Hospital to support families in their greatest time of need.
Today, Mr Akers, who works for a global digital IT firm, told the family’s heart-wrenching story.
He said: ‘Ava was a perfectly healthy three-year-old, enjoying ballet, swimming, pre-school, and looking forward to starting school in September.
‘We’re keen travellers and had taken her to Dubai, Abu Dabi, Switzerland, Italy, Cyprus and Barbados among other places. She loved travelling.
‘We’d had a brilliant holiday in the Maldives in March 2017, catching a sea plane to the island we were staying on, watching stingrays being fed, catching hermit crabs on the beach and snorkelling, which she took to straight away.
‘We were at the airport on the mainland about to get our flight back to Dubai and then onto Birmingham when we asked her if she’d like to choose something from the gift shop as a souvenir.
‘She dropped it, which was unlike Ava as she was never clumsy.
‘Then she dropped onto the floor having an atonic seizure. Her eyes rolled back, her arms went straight and her whole body was shaking.
‘Helen caught her and I picked her up and ran around the airport asking for help.
Ava had a seizure in the airport on the family’s way back from the Maldives. Her father Mr Akers said: ‘She was choking, I’d never seen a child have a seizure before, it was so scary’
After Ava spent a week in hospital she seemed completely normal and continued singing, dancing, eating and watching the Trolls film but that afternoon she began to feel unwell and hallucinate
‘She was choking, I’d never seen a child have a seizure before, it was so scary, I thought she was going to die.
‘It was traumatic but once they started, the staff did everything they could and she got better.
‘We were transferred to a larger hospital and spent a week there. She went back to normal, singing, dancing, eating and watching the Trolls movie on the iPad – she loved that film.
‘The doctors thought she’d had a throat infection and urine infection. The compound effect can cause seizures in under-fives but they said she would be fine.
‘We felt so lucky that she was going to be OK.
‘We spoke to the chief medical officer from our insurance company to arrange a flight home.
‘But that afternoon Ava felt really unwell, began hallucinating and started to cry a lot.
Mr Akers said: ‘They showed me the MRI and I could see it was dreadful. There were two white large areas that showed swelling happening in Ava’s brain’
Ava was flown to one of the best private hospitals in the world, in Bangkok. Mr Akers said: ”It was here that she was diagnosed with Epstein Barr Virus Encephalitis (EBV), a form of glandular fever, which, in a minutia of cases penetrates the blood in the brain, causing it to slow down and resulting in catastrophic damage in a matter of hours’
‘She lost her balance and was unable to walk. The doctors did an MRI scan and lumbar puncture to look at the cerebral spinal fluid in her head to check it wasn’t meningitis.
‘They showed me the MRI and I could see it was dreadful. There were two white large areas that showed swelling happening in Ava’s brain.
‘They said we’d got to get her to another hospital and at this point she fell into a coma.
‘The insurance company arranged a Learjet 45 medical evacuation with a doctor and a nurse on board, which flew us to one of the best private hospitals in the world, in Bangkok.
‘Ava had further tests and was put on a life support machine. Her responsive rate was one which meant for every minute, she was only taking one breath.
‘It was here that she was diagnosed with Epstein Barr Virus Encephalitis (EBV), a form of glandular fever, which, in a minutia of cases penetrates the blood in the brain, causing it to slow down and resulting in catastrophic damage in a matter of hours.
‘Ava was given immunoglobulin treatment – lots of antibodies to boost her immune system and steroids to her brain too.
‘It’s very rare in under-fives, there have only been about 20 children globally to have it, and 18 fully recovered.
‘They said Ava would be one of the ones to recover and filled us with hope that everything was going to be OK.
EBV is very rare in under-fives, there have only been about 20 children globally to have it, and 18 fully recovered
Ava was transferred back to the UK on a medical plane journey which took 24 hours while she was still in a coma. The Akers family thought that the rehabilitation she would get once she was home would cure her
‘Even though Ava was in a coma, they said we should transfer back to the UK. It was a massive relief to be coming home – we thought she’d have rehab and all this would be one hell of a story for when she was older.
He continued: ‘After three weeks in Bangkok, we were evacuated back to the UK on a medical plane.
‘There was only space for one of us to be there to make a decision if anything happened mid-flight. Helen said I should go and she would fly back separately.
‘It took 24 hours as we had to stop to refuel in India, Russia and Austria.
‘Ava’s temperature rose rapidly during the flight but the medics managed to stabilise her. We spent the whole journey on tenterhooks that it was going to trigger a seizure.
‘An ambulance was waiting for us at the terminal at Birmingham Airport and we were rushed to an intensive care unit at Stoke as Birmingham was full.
‘Ava spent three days there and was taken off the life support machine as she began to breathe for herself. It was fantastic.
‘But she never opened her eyes.
‘She was transferred to Birmingham Children’s Hospital’s high dependency unit and we spent three-and-a-half months there in recovery.
‘But she remained dystonic throughout (a neurological movement disorder causing tremors). Her muscles began wasting away, her eyes opened but she couldn’t blink.
‘She couldn’t swallow because her jaw was locked and she couldn’t move her head.
‘The doctors sat us down and said: “Ava will not recover from this, she will never lead a normal life. The Ava you know has gone”.
‘We heard that sometimes being in a hyperbaric oxygen treatment pressurised container can help so we tried that four days a week for six weeks but it didn’t help her.
‘We said that, maybe if we took her home it could help. They said it was worth a try as sometimes, if you get a child back in their home surroundings, it can help them to rehabilitate.
‘But we didn’t realise at that time that she was blind and deaf from brain damage.
‘Her eyes were perfect but her brain couldn’t compute the signals.
We were taught how to feed her and give her medications and muscle relaxants to give her some comfort so we could bring her home at weekends and then take her back into hospital. It was good to have her home.
‘After four months as inpatients in the hospital, the doctors asked us if we wanted to start palliative care or if we wanted the life support machine to keep her alive.
‘We decided to start on palliative care because we felt it was the kindest thing we could possibly do when you have a child who is so severely poorly.
‘She had no quality of life.
‘We continued to bring her home and, it was at home, on July 29, that our beautiful girl Ava passed away.
‘Epstein Barr Virus Encephalitis affecting children is so rare that none of the consultants we met from the UK and overseas have ever seen a patient with this condition, and cannot explain why this happened, which is very difficult for us to understand.
‘The same vicar led her christening and her funeral and he said he’d led services for people who were 80 who had not travelled to as many places as Ava.
The Akers family decided to set up the charity Ava’s Angels because they know first hand how easy it can be to forget to eat and drink while you are in hospital with a sick child
‘She loved travelling and we’re glad she experienced such a lot in her short lifetime.
‘She was so fun, loving and full of personality. She made us so proud.’
The Akers family decided to set up Ava’s Angels because they know first hand how easy it can be to forget to eat and drink while you are in hospital with a sick child.
Mr Akes said: ‘While we lived at the hospital bedside with Ava, we were extremely lucky to have family and friends who supported us, bringing us food, supplies and emotional support in what was the worst time of our lives.
‘When you’re doing this you forget to eat and drink and look after yourself.
‘Inspired by Ava and seeing the importance of support while caring for a poorly child, we launched Ava’s Angels in March 2018 to provide support to families of sick children during hospital stays.
‘We recognise not all families have this support and we want to help them by growing our network of supporters, volunteers and sponsors.
‘We have recently been working with Birmingham Children’s Hospital and will have an official launch on Saturday April 6.
‘We’ve been doing lots to raise money already – golf days, marathons and sports events and more.
‘Helen, who works as an accountant, was heavily involved with Dudley Leisure Netball Club and the wider netball community has done lots to support us.
‘It’s all so we can arrange for volunteers to get lunch orders for families and take them the essentials, helping them to spend more time caring for their child when they need to the most.’
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