*demonic screech*

E. he/him

[alexisneverokay]

so- an interesting interview with shawn hatosy just dropped, and if what he's said about abbot's hypothetical choices for who he would and wouldn't want on night shift are true, it links back in to the part of abbot's character that people want to ignore- the fact that he still consistently defaults to siding with law enforcement by instinct.

he was asked who he would/wouldn't want on night shift, and he singled out langdon and mckay as the people abbot wouldn't want, because he considers them untrustworthy- yes, the only two characters we know to have had addiction and legal issues play a part in their lives are considered by abbot "untrustworthy" (or at least- considered by shawn when thinking about abbot, which is a whole other can of worms..).

abbot is viewed by a lot of the fandom as the uber-woke leftist attending, which is unfortunately canonically completely incorrect (this is usually to mirror their view of robby as evil and bigoted, which is similarly false). while he's shown to hold left wing social views in women's rights, lgbt rights and in insurance matters, he's happily part of SWAT and has no obvious guilt or regret from being complicit in civilian murder while part of the army. he's a walking contradiction, as many (especially army vets) are. but he certainly can't be considered "woke".

this... disclosure? opinion? analysis? of abbot from hatosy confirms more of that part of abbot's character if we take it at face value- it seems jack abbot does not trust those who find themselves on the wrong side of law enforcement, even if they haven't done anything that ought to worry him.

now, he would have every right to be aware/cautious of langdon, who we assume (by s3, I suppose) he knows has stolen drugs/tampered with drugs/treated patients while under the influence very recently. as an attending at a hospital, that is something you want to be aware of and monitor, and perhaps want to wash your hands of altogether- langdon is still a liability in that sense, so his lack of trust for langdon isn't what interests me.

his lack of trust for mckay however, is. this is the situation that reveals abbot's default to law enforcement far clearer. for abbot to be distrustful of mckay, one of the most stable and competent doctors in the ER, we have to wonder how he could've formed that opinion- especially as they don't work closely together. he's snappy with her in season two, but this attitude of his seems to go towards many members of day shift- so we assume he simply doesn't care for people he doesn't consider part of his "team" (with robby and dana being obvious exceptions). so his opinion must have been formed elsewhere.

all we have to go on canonically is their interaction in season one, with mckay being arrested due to her malfunctioning ankle monitor, and the subsequent argument with police. perhaps there's a prior knowledge of his surrounding her ankle monitor as well, but its not confirmed. either way, the only place he could've formed a distrustful view of her is here when she fell foul of the police. is it this specific incident that made him feel that way? is it a prior lack of trust knowing that she was an addict years in the past? is it knowing she had an ankle monitor? no matter what it is specifically, if reinforces the fact that jack abbot is not the ultra-woke people's princess many want him to be, and that he has some kind of belief (at at least surface level) that the police are right and those who cross them are wrong.

to not trust one of the most reliable, mature and skilled doctors on shift because of either very old (canonically 5+ years ago) substance abuse, or an ankle monitor situation that wasn't her fault, is a loaded choice. but it shows very clearly that jack abbot is forming opinions based on his military and policing mindset, and that that very much defines a lot of who he is. the bottom line is that the only people he doesn't trust are those who've crossed paths with the law.

of course, this is all caveated with the fact shawn is saying this, this hasn't yet been proved in any way in canon. IF this is an attitude abbot displays in s3, this will be far more relevant. for now, we don't know if this reflects s3 and what it contains, or if this reflects shawns own view of abbot, or even shawns own views on who he'd find trustworthy. we don't know anything for sure, and its just one interview. but I am very interested the exact source of shawns reasoning for picking out the only two addicts in the show for abbot to mistrust, and what this can mean for how being a part of the american military industrial complex impacts who jack abbot actually is.

[4n4n4n4n4n4n4n-deactivated20200]

[two-wizards-in-a-trench-coat]

i think a lot of poeple think of racism and sexism as something you have to actively opt in to perpetuate rather than something you have to continuously actively opt out of if you want to maybe help dismantle it

[fiftyfandomsinatrenchcoat]

*takes your wattpad-socialised hand* *holds it gently* you will survive without an app. you will survive without censorship by filtering out tags yourself. you will survive learning a new platform‘s etiquette. now go forth and observe ao3 culture without making immediate demands. it’s our house, and for now, you are a guest

[guenifhar]

[princessdonut]

like i understand, contextually, that sexualizing Carl is part of the problem. But i Want to sexualize Carl. he’s got big thighs and he was going to fight Bea’s dad for custody of his ex-girlfriend’s cat. he enchants me.

[remanence-of-love]

[hashtagmyblog7]

THE X FILES 1.05 the jersey devil WIDOW'S BAY 1.05 what to expect on your trip

[noah-wyles]

"What can you tell me about Dr. Robby coming back from his sabbatical?"

"He's a little healthier, he's a little happier, fragile, tentative, but aspirational."

"Happy for the whole season? When you say happier, is that for the whole of season three?"

"No, no, that only lasts a couple of hours and then he's back to his depressed self, but for a couple of hours there, we're really rooting for him!"

[apfelkernchen]

As someone who had a four-month sabbatical that's accurate as shit. My happiness and relaxation lasted five hours and then I was back on the old treadmill, being grumpy and completely fed up, lol.

[somethingclevertbd]

Don’t they say the perfect vacation is 8 days because there is no measurable increase in happiness after 8 days? The key is more vacation not longer. Robby just needs a week off every couple of months. Fuck we all do.

[noah-wyles]

i was off 3 months with work and mental health, quite similar to robby, and going back to work was the most nauseating feeling ever to return. once i returned and the hours passed it honestly felt like i'd never been off and i wanted to throw myself into traffic. i feel like robby will return in a somewhat familiar fashion to above where it'll feel nice at first before reality sinks in that nothing has changed, he hasn't changed, and that feeling of despair will soon spark to life.

[classic-cevans]

"Back to his depressed self" is such a personal thing.

Like coming in gung ho all prepared to face this with the newfound ability to support yourself just to fall short and fuck it all up again

[permanent-fire-hazard]

Robby thinks about dying a lot.

He thinks about driving off cliffs or walking into traffic. He thinks about missing meals until the soft pudge of age withers away enough to count his ribs and stop his heart. He thinks about dying forty years from now, alone and uncared for. His body only found once he starts to stink and strangers shove him into an unmarked grave.

Robby thinks about being alive.

He thinks about trudging back to the ED every day until they force him to retire. He thinks about starting every morning with the same heart-stopping coffee that seems to get nastier and more expensive every year. He thinks about inevitably having to tell someone else he couldn’t save a person they held dearly.

When Robby first met Jack Abbot, he seemed close to death.

Jack didn’t like to talk to people back then. He barked orders and ducked his head. He fiddled with his ring and cried in the bathroom stall. He muttered under his breath about how the government purposely gave him a prosthesis that gave him blisters, so he’d kill himself and they could cut another person from their benefits.

One night, Robby sees him at a bar, sulking in the corner.

Robby tells him about his bubbe; Jack tells him about his wife. They’re both lonely. Robby tells him about CPR training in high school; Jack tells him about his first aid Boy Scouts patch. They both need medicine even though it kills them. Robby tells him about the first baby he delivered; Jack tells him about giving stitches to a cat. They both want to have hope despite it feeling out of reach.

Jack Abbot understands Robby better than anyone has before.

Jack brings extra food to work because he knows Robby never remembers to eat. Jack defends Robby even when he’s not there to hear it. Jack talks to him on days Robby can’t bring himself to answer.

Robby thinks about Jack, and he thinks about living.

[lissa]

1.01 “7:00 A.M.” vs. 1.03 “9:00 A.M.” | THE PITT

[avocado-berries]

I'm scared, what if Robby prepares a letter just like this one and he was rushed to PTMC, he's stable and in the ICU but it's Jack who finds the letter which is addressed to all the people he could not save in PTMC and his regards that he'll be joining them soon. That and his own suicide letter addressed to his friends that he'll leave behind. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

[amerlcanapparel-deactivated2020]

when she says she doesn’t send nudes

[straighthater]

when guys objectify women and expect them to send nudes

[timelordpillbug]

when someone asks you about your nuclear plans for russia

[hikingnerd]

When Russia sends you nudes

[dr-thackery]

[dismantlerepaired]

[ilovepretzelrods]

[thegingerbalrog]

[onwardwall]

[miss-jaxon-flaxon-waxon]

#what the fuck happened here

[tiptapismellbullcrap]

Cw for sh discussion below cut in relation to trinity

Ive been thinking about this for a while but i think of Trinity and self harm, and how she may see cutting her thigh as a form of rebellion in some way.

The leotards she would have worn for gymnastics would have left her thighs visible to the world - i made a post pre season 2 release about her cutting her stomach or thighs bc they’re easier to keep covered day to day than wrists, and you can get leo’s that cover your arms entirely. I almost didnt include a mention about the thighs bc i know how hard it would have been to conceal it whilst wearing a leotard.

Cutting her thighs, may be her way of further removing herself from her past as an athlete, and possibly as a cry for help depending on when she began.

[siriaeve]

For @sheafrotherdon

Robby started watching them during his sabbatical, first in sketchy roadside motels and then once he was back in Pittsburgh from the comfort of his own bed: video after video on YouTube of people wearing N95 masks or even full-face respirators, cleaning hoarded houses at fast-forwarded speed.

Sometimes there would be soothing voiceovers; sometimes the footage would slow down enough to give a better view of a newly-cleared space, or of the cleaner holding up a box of crackers towards the camera so that you could read Best by: AUG 03. Sometimes it was a job for one person, sometimes for a small group. Sometimes the place could be salvaged for the owner; sometimes there was too much mould, or rot, and all the cleaners were doing was making it easier for the building to be condemned. Regardless, Robby found them satisfying, and worked his way through whole playlists of them.

"Why would you think I'd be concerned about you watching these videos, Michael?" his therapist asked midway through one of their sessions.

"Well, you know," Robby said, keeping his gaze fixed on the safely neutral fern that sat on the coffee table between them. "Because of the symbolism, or whatever."

Esther turned to a new page in her notebook. "And do you think you could tell me what that symbolism is?"

Sometimes, Robby was capable of walking into very obvious traps.

He left that day's session having talked a bit about why the inside of his head sometimes felt cluttered; edged closer to considering that maybe, just maybe, his mother had had an issue with hoarding; and having been set the task of finding a way to achieve the same itch-scratching feeling the videos gave him, but in a less passive way.

"I'm not saying don't watch the videos," Esther said. "But maybe you can find ways to be active as well."

Robby's condo was already pretty neat, and the closest thing he had to clutter was the alphabetised collection of books on the shelves in his living room, so he did the next thing he could think of doing, and next morning he went to Ace Hardware and bought a power washer. The videos where layers of grime had been blasted off a wall, or scum stripped from a disused swimming pool, had been fun to watch. But when he brought the machine home he realised, well, he lived in a condo building where the super was pretty on top of things and he didn't actually have anything to power wash.

He pulled out his phone and messaged Jack. Breakfast burritos?

It didn't take long for Jack to respond. When it comes to breakfast burritos, the answer is always yes.

Robby pulled into Jack's driveway just after nine thirty, and when Jack came to the front door, Robby handed over the takeout bag and said, "Do you have a garden hose?"

Jack levelled a look of utmost suspicion at him. "Yeah, around back. Why?"

Robby jerked a thumb in the direction of his car, where the machine took up most of his trunk. "Gonna power wash your deck and your drive."

"Don't take this the wrong way," Jack said, "but what the merry fuck?"

"Therapy," Robby said.

Jack sighed and said, "Jesus. What the hell. Okay. I'll make us some coffee."

They ate their food and drank a mug each of Jack's furiously strong coffee before heading out back. Jack futzed around in his vegetable patch while Robby got the power washer set up and its reservoir filled with detergent, and then went to town on first the deck and then the driveway. It was deeply satisfying, seeing dirt and moss and algae get blasted away.

"You good?" Jack called across his carrot patch when Robby paused to survey his progress.

Robby nodded, hands on his hips. "Serotonin."

"More power to your elbow," Jack said, and when they were both done for the day, he used carrots and zucchini and tomatoes picked fresh from his garden to make them both a late lunch.

It was good. Robby liked getting his appetite back, a sense of taste. He'd measured his life out in too many granola bars in the last few years.

"You know I've only got so much driveway to power wash," Jack said, scratching at the stubble that silvered his jawline. "Mi casa es su casa and whatever, but I'm not sure if this can be a regular thing."

"No, I know," Robby said, trying to figure out how to put it into words. "But it's… it's nice to do."

"You did a good job, brother," Jack said, nodding out through the kitchen window. "That decking looks as good as new."

"It's nice to…" Robby fiddled with the handle of his fork. "It's nice to be able to do something and see it all the way through to the end, I think." So much of his work in the Pitt involved patching someone up and giving them a referral to follow up with their PCP, or getting them stable enough to head upstairs to the ICU or for surgery, and unless the patient was one of their frequent flyers, he generally never found out whether they lived or died or ended up with a funny story about the scar on their little finger to tell at dinner parties.

"I get it," Jack said, and apparently he did, because a couple of weeks later, he slid a flyer over to Robby across the break room table. "Lena passed it on to me, thought it might be up your alley."

Robby read it through: a community aid programme, organised through the shul, that connected volunteers to the elderly or people with disabilities who needed help with things like home maintenance or gardening. Tasks that Robby would be able to see through to the end; things to do that would be satisfying and useful and out from beneath the fluorescent lights of the Pitt.

"I figured you could do your power washing thing or whatever," Jack said. "But I get dibs on any ride-on mower action."

"You'd want to do this with me?"

Under the table, Jack pressed his foot up against Robby's. "Always," he said, and Robby felt a flush of heat in his cheeks and he thought that sometimes, two people working together could salvage something that others would turn away from: could clear away the old to make room for the new.

[notinterextinq]

Robby, C-PTSD & his response to trauma

—————————————————————————————-We really need to extend our empathy to people who don’t have "perfect" or palatable responses to trauma.

It’s crucial to highlight that Robby is dealing with C-PTSD, which is fundamentally different and far more complex than standard PTSD. This is not me saying that PTSD isn’t important rather I’m saying that robby dealing with both C-PTSD and COVID PTSD makes his trauma more severe and prolonged.

The show gives us those glimpses of his past—his family dynamic and childhood—to demonstrate that he grew up needing to be his own protector. He had to become this self-dependent, hyper-vigilant person because staying alert was his only way to survive.

This is where the concept of toxic masculinity in society becomes extremely obvious. Robby transitioned from a childhood where he could only rely on himself into a profession where everyone relies on him. He stepped straight into a system that praises self-sacrifice, leaving him with zero room to ever actually lean on anyone else.

When you see Robby acting out in the show, he might have genuinely believe what he’s doing the right or necessary thing. Whether it’s coming from a place of not wanting people to miss him, or a core belief that as long as what he’s saying is true it doesn’t matter how he says it, we can’t unfortunately know this for certain.

Robby is operating like a man who has essentially declared himself dead. In his own mind, his behavior is appropriate to his reality, even if to everyone watching, it’s deeply dysfunctional. His trauma response is far from clean, and C-PTSD doesn't produce neat, polite coping mechanisms.

Noah Wyle also said the same thing about Robby’s behavior in the latest episodes:

[weaponised--soul]

if you do not know the difference between C-PTSD and PTSD or were unaware of the fact that Robby is a very accurate portrayal of person with C-PTSD, it is crucial to your understanding and getting the most out of the gorgeous, nuanced work Noah and the writers and entire cast are doing in this show.

This is a good entry level resource, though they incorrectly state that C-PTSD doesn't have a psych diagnostic test. It does: The International Trauma Questionnaire or ITQ which can be self-administered using this pdf from NHS Wales.

People with C-PTSD badly need to be understood and seen the way that the writers and cast of the Pitt are trying to make them for us as viewers. Please don't miss out on or misunderstand the incredible work they are doing because this illness is so neglected in public discourse.

[ineffably-bisexual]

[petrifiedlark]