Doktoro Esperanto

you:

one year for the National Foundation Festival, the Founder decided to entertain her people by painting an oil portrait of herself live on television.

it took many, many hours. most of a Sunday, even. the 2D visual arts were not her forte, and the portrait ended up middling—though, much like the Founder herself, it possessed an undeniably charming aura. she grinned as she put the finishing touches on the lopsided nose and turned it to the studio audience. everyone had a good-natured laugh about it, including the Founder.

we all have our foibles, even our lovely leader!

***

FUN FACT: before the heretic uprising of 2■■■, this same painting resided in the ■■■■■■■■ National Museum.

***

now, as we all know, the Founder didn't need bodyguards and never asked for them. she was a war veteran from the old days, and one that rarely knew military failure at that. still, ever-vigilant, the Minister of Security Manji Fushicho—who had years of experience handling violent heretics—often stood by whenever the Founder made a public appearance.

after the presentation, Fushicho approached the Founder, concerned. there were no threats in the studio, none among the audience members. the look on the Founder's face as she had worked, however, had disquieted Fushicho. it was subtle—the Founder never let any of her winning expressions falter in front of the people of Shuten, and Fushicho doubted anyone else had noticed.

that crease in the Founder's brow carried the stress of hard, long decades. to Fushicho, it had been like watching someone stare down the barrel of a gun, except maybe that gun had been made of inexorably passing time.

"ah, my beloved Ms. Fushicho," the Founder had said in response, nudging her Minister, "do I truly look so ugly when I concentrate? ha!"

***

FUN FACT: the Founder had actually tried painting on and off as a hobby for decades.

***

rumors circulated among the less faithful that the Founder had pre-painted much of the canvas before the Festival, or that she had asked someone else with far more talent to get it started for her. the camera footage never showed what the canvas looked like when she began, after all. in fact, the first glimpse anyone got at her artistic vision occurred about an hour into the demonstration.

of course, our Founder would never do such a thing. that's an objective truth. to suggest otherwise—and forgive the potential histrionics—is borderline heresy.

***

FUN FACT: the Founder has never lied.

***

let's leap forward, now, many years later, to 2■■■, to the era of Rei Shimobe. you know the story of her birth and her death and her birth again, and her relation to the Founder—the details are not, at this very moment, relevant.

what is indeed relevant: it had come to pass that Rei was put in charge of sorting through the Founder's possessions. the Ministers of Shuten could think of no better person to perform the task. even counting the various items scattered among the Ministers, there wasn't very much to do, as the Founder had led a relatively ascetic life.

at some point that day, it was Teko Ion who brought forth the aforementioned painting. it hadn't lived in the ■■■■■■■■ National Museum for months, as heretics had broken in to destroy it and other symbols of the Founder. for reasons unknown even to himself, Ion had taken it into his lab for safekeeping afterward.

Rei took a long look at this painting of her previous self: its crooked eyes, its spirited attempt at shading. flakes and scrapes of it had come off haphazardly, as if someone had set a dog onto the canvas. the corners had even frayed, and a long burn mark scored the Founder's forehead. yet it seemed to call out to Rei.

she stared and she stared and the Ministers quietly watched her stare until finally Rei spoke:

"could someone hand me something kinda sharp...?"

her voice sounded urgent and sad. she had been seized, or rather struck, by an urge she needed to fulfill. Manji Fushicho, ever-vigilant, darted forth to hand over the key to her motorcycle.

***

FUN FACT: as of 2■■■, about 76.4% of Security forces are stationed in and around Shuten neighborhoods with a high population of underage citizens (ages 0-18).

***

an hour passed in a sort of silent, subtle horror.

soon, Rei's frenzied cuts and scratches into the Founder's portrait revealed something new underneath over time—or rather, something old, a sketch painted over. a head appeared there, a foot there. then: the figure of someone crouching. then: the figure of someone crouching over someone else. finally: the figure of someone crouching over a child.

Rei stepped back, key at hand. she and all the Ministers eyed the scene of grief on the canvas before them.

Teko Ion was the first to say something, his hands in his pockets, his glance now pointed towards the sky—

"I had a feeling."

***

FUN FACT: in a 2■■■ interview, the Founder stated that her favorite name for a girl was "Himeno." this led to a 33% increase in newborns with that name.

***

in this first draft, the child was dead, propped up against machinery unfamiliar to all in attendance. blood and blonde hair in gold and crimson circled the child, ripples in a terrible pond. the bigger figure was faceless and cloaked in black and contorted over the child like a shadow pierced through the middle. yet it was clear, so agonizingly clear, that this shadow was the Founder.

"what the hell kind of heretic garbage is—"

Manji Fushicho, practically growling. she stopped when Rei turned to look at her.

"not heretics at all," Rei said. "the Founder's self-portrait."

***

According to the CDC, in 10 percent of those drownings, the adult will actually watch the child do it, having no idea it is happening. Drowning does not look like drowning—Dr. Pia, in an article in the Coast Guard’s On Scene magazine, described the Instinctive Drowning Response like this:

“Except in rare circumstances, drowning people are physiologically unable to call out for help. The respiratory system was designed for breathing. Speech is the secondary or overlaid function. Breathing must be fulfilled before speech occurs.

Drowning people’s mouths alternately sink below and reappear above the surface of the water. The mouths of drowning people are not above the surface of the water long enough for them to exhale, inhale, and call out for help. When the drowning people’s mouths are above the surface, they exhale and inhale quickly as their mouths start to sink below the surface of the water.

Drowning people cannot wave for help. Nature instinctively forces them to extend their arms laterally and press down on the water’s surface. Pressing down on the surface of the water permits drowning people to leverage their bodies so they can lift their mouths out of the water to breathe.

Throughout the Instinctive Drowning Response, drowning people cannot voluntarily control their arm movements. Physiologically, drowning people who are struggling on the surface of the water cannot stop drowning and perform voluntary movements such as waving for help, moving toward a rescuer, or reaching out for a piece of rescue equipment.

From beginning to end of the Instinctive Drowning Response people’s bodies remain upright in the water, with no evidence of a supporting kick. Unless rescued by a trained lifeguard, these drowning people can only struggle on the surface of the water from 20 to 60 seconds before submersion occurs.”

This doesn’t mean that a person that is yelling for help and thrashing isn’t in real trouble—they are experiencing aquatic distress. Not always present before the Instinctive Drowning Response, aquatic distress doesn’t last long—but unlike true drowning, these victims can still assist in their own rescue. They can grab lifelines, throw rings, etc.

Look for these other signs of drowning when persons are in the water:

Head low in the water, mouth at water level

Head tilted back with mouth open

Eyes glassy and empty, unable to focus

Eyes closed

Hair over forehead or eyes

Not using legs—vertical

Hyperventilating or gasping

Trying to swim in a particular direction but not making headway

Trying to roll over on the back

Appear to be climbing an invisible ladder

So if a crew member falls overboard and everything looks OK—don’t be too sure. Sometimes the most common indication that someone is drowning is that they don’t look like they’re drowning. They may just look like they are treading water and looking up at the deck. One way to be sure? Ask them, “Are you all right?” If they can answer at all—they probably are. If they return a blank stare, you may have less than 30 seconds to get to them. And parents—children playing in the water make noise. When they get quiet, you get to them and find out why.

Source/article: [x]

I’ve been a lifeguard for 6 years now and of all the saves I’ve done, maybe two or three had people drowning in the stereotypical thrashing style. And even those, like the save I made last weekend, it was exactly like OP describes where the person’s head is going in and out of the water but it isn’t long enough to get any air. Mostly you recognize drowning by the look on someone’s face. If someone looks wide eyed and terrified or confused, chances are they’re drowning. That look of “oh shit” is pretty easily recognizable. And even if you can’t tell for sure: GO AFTER THEM ANYWAY. I’ve done “saves” where a kid was pretending to drown and I mistook it for real drowning, but that’s preferable to a kid ACTUALLY drowning.

Also please remember that even strong swimmers can drown if they have a medical emergency, get cramps, or get too tired. If your friend knows how to swim but they’re acting funny get them to land. And even if someone can respond when you ask them if they need help, if they say they do need help? GO HELP THEM.

However . If the victim is a stranger, I can’t recommend trying to get them. Lifeguards literally train to escape “attacks,” because people who are drowning can freak the fuck out and grab you and make YOU drown as well. If you do go in after someone, take hold of them from the back and talk to them the whole time. IF YOU ARE GRABBED: duck down into the water as low as you can get. The person is panicking and won’t want to go under water and should release you. Shove up at their hands and push them away from you as you duck under. Don’t die trying to save someone else.

When the lifeguard got us both out, a woman came running down and accused me of harming him and said he had been completely fine in the water. That there was no reason to drag him out of there. The lifeguard had to explain to her that her son had been drowning, to which her response was to say that she didn’t hear him call for help.

That was the exact thought process