#drinking awesome coffee doesn't make you more human

[sizzlingsandwichperfection-blog]

awesomecoffeeclub.com

[kaylinalexanderbooks]

OC questionnaire

Thanks to @elsie-writes here, here, and here, @illarian-rambling here and here, @willtheweaver here, @ceph-the-ghost-writer here, and @mysticstarlightduck here!

I've somehow been tagged more than this somehow, but this post is so long I've decided to cut it off here.

Rules: answer the questions as an OC, then leave three new questions for the people you tag!

Past questionnaires: masterpost for round one

Tagging @mk-writes-stuff @elsie-writes @katwritesshit @rickie-the-storyteller @cherrybombfangirlwrites

+ ANYONE ELSE

TSP intro

TSP tag list (ask to be +/-): @thepeculiarbird @illarian-rambling @televisionjester @finchwrites

@nebula--nix @literarynecromancy @honeybewrites

I have done all TSP characters I can answer for. Everyone else is not important enough for me to leave a response. SOTL doesn't have enough yet.

Under the cut: Tyler, Gwen, Liam, Noelle, Akash, Robbie, Sam, Ewan

#1- Tyler

Who is the most memorable person you've ever seen? Why are they so memorable?

“One guy I met a few years ago, Anathi. He was interesting. A little, uh, repressed due to having never really interacted with anyone for three years. Um. He was an ultimate, but like way taller than average, so also physically memorable. Haven't seen him in years though. So, anyway, did you know the human mind can never forget a face? And it also can't make up one, either. So, if you see someone you don't know in your dream, you have to have seen them on the street at some point!”

What stresses you out most?

“Stupid and lazy and incompetent people in charge. Like, who gave that idiot so much power? A bigger idiot??? So an even bigger idiot has even more power. Awesome. Fantastic. It sucks.”

What is your favorite holiday?

“Halloween. It is fun to dress up as whatever I want. And plan a decent costume with makeup. It also pisses off Medina. And Dr. Asghar. Those are always fun.”

Other Tyler: questionnaire one, two truths and a lie

#2- Gwen

What is the most important thing someone can receive?

“Love, friendship, support, compassion.... I think I will go with support. Support in all areas of your life I find important.”

What was your favorite age of your life?

“I like being twelve. But I miss being six. When my grandfather would read to me.”

How do you like your coffee (or tea)?

“Preferably, not at the same time! Haha. ... Did I tell you about that? Yeah, I accidentally made my coffee with a tea bag. It...was surprising, for sure. Awful, but I couldn't stop drinking it. May make it intentionally again. I usually just take my coffee with sweet cream.”

Other Gwen: OC in three, OC in fifteen, picrew, kiss, two truths and a lie, questionnaire one, OC interview

#3- Liam

What's your go-to beverage?

“Water. And I'm not saying that to be boring. It's just objectively the best beverage. It keeps you healthy, hydrated. Why waste money on carbonated garbage? Everyone should be drinking water. It does nothing but help you. Except people who are allergic to water, but that is an incredibly rare condition.”

What's the stupidest argument you've ever gotten into?

“There is literally no such thing as a stupid argument. However, I did get punched in the face when I lectured this one kid about how landings didn't count as steps. Of course, they do, but I thought it would be funny if I tried to convince him they did not. Apparently I pissed him off.”

How do you act when you're over-tired?

“I become more easy to distract. Overwhelmed, maybe anxiety. More reserved. I also start noticing my mistakes more. I also keep thinking I'm sick. That's much better than some. Think about it: I could be yelling and screaming at everyone. I could become an evil dictator. But I don't. I just affect me, and in the end, that's much better.”

Other Liam: questionnaire one, interview

What would you do if you found someone's wallet and ID on the floor with no one in sight?

#4- Noelle

“I would look at the ID and figure out a way to give it back to the person who lost it. Depending on where I am, I'd give it to proper authorities. At school, the front office. Police if I'm out. If all else fails, I suppose I could ask Lexi to teleport me to them.”

Can you swim?

“Of course I can. It doesn't make sense not to learn. My mom taught me when I was really young.”

If you were an animal, what would you be?

“What a stupid hypothetical question. I'm not a shapeshifter. *Sigh* Okay, fine, I'll try. Um... Owls represent intelligence so maybe that? I think I'm smart. Wolves are loyal to their family. I'd call myself that.”

Other Noelle: OC in three, OC in fifteen, Picrew, Bingo, questionnaire one

#5- Akash

What is your idea of a romantic date?

“Oh, man. Everything! Dinner and a movie. Holding hands as we walk through an art exhibit. Strolling or hiking through nature. The classic stuff! That reminds me... I need to plan something for Gwen... A bit nervous to ask her out, to be honest, but Robbie says she won't mind what we do as long as we're together. I dunno, man, first dates seem so crucial to get right.”

Can you be trusted to keep a secret?

“Yes. [Pause] I mean, I've kept my own, so I'd completely understand, and would respect your wishes. But just so you know, I hate lying. Despite doing it. But I fixed it! So yes, I can, but I'll hate every second of it. Although it will not make me feel guilty like it was when it was mine! But uh... Don't ask me to keep it from Robbie... Y'know what? Don't tell me. Sorry.”

What is one thing that makes your blood boil?

“Well, uh... I hate not getting respect. It's not like I think I'm entitled to it, but... I do still want it. People with no compassion for each other, it... It pisses me off a little. I hate seeing it.”

Other Akash: OC in three, OC in fifteen, Picrew, kiss, questionnaire one, two truths and a lie

#6- Robbie

Which weirdly specific superpower would you prefer: ability to cook eggs in any manner and have them turn out perfectly, or ability to always recommend a piece of media someone else will enjoy?

“Eggs. Gonna be honest, I almost want the second one, but I can already do that! I have excellent tastes. Although maybe that is, like, a superpower or something and it would go away when I get the eggs power. Hm. Eggs because I genuinely also want to help my mom out in the kitchen. I mean, I can already make eggs, but I get overwhelmed most of the time, so I stick to scrambled just so I know I'm doing it right. So yeah, eggs. If my media powers go away, I don't care, because I'll still love my stupid cartoons.”

Most awkward conversation you've ever had?

“Oh, God. Why. Why must you make me remember this?? Sooo I had this playhouse I went to as a kid. One of my friends there was this girl Ava. We went to that playhouse for years! And one day, she came to my seventh grade play on The Secret Garden. I was hanging with Akash and another kid in the play, Bryan. Ava comes up to us after the play to congratulate me and say hi. And then I said, 'Bryan, let me introduce you to my old friend...' and then I blanked for a solid 17 seconds on her name. It was awful. I said, 'Ava' at the same time Akash did to cover for me. It was... So bad. I tried to pass it off as me being overly dramatic with a pause and that I wanted Akash to say her name at the same time. But. I think she knew.”

How accurate do you think your zodiac sign is?

“Apparently, I'm a Taurus. And according to Google... This is literally not me at all. Like, it says I'm super sensual and grounded. [Pause] Me. Sensual and grounded! What even?!”

Other Robbie: OC in fifteen, OC in three, Picrew, two truths and a lie, questionnaire one

#7- Sam

What is your favorite drink?

“Ooh, lemonade! I love lemonade!! I always wanted to have a lemonade stand actually. I like all kinds of lemonade. Canned or homemade or whatever!! I usually have a can after dance class.”

Do you know how to dance?

“I do! I'm in a class that I go to weekly! We do ballet and tap dancing. It's so fun! I could dance all day long!”

What would make you never forgive someone?

“I'm not sure. I like moving on and pretending the bad stuff didn't happen. But I guess... If a friend did something awful to another.”

Other Sam: questionnaire one

#8- Ewan

What is your favorite small nature item? Pinecones, rocks, leaves, seashells?

“I like rocks. I have a rock collection. I think it's pretty cool.”

Do you have a go-to or favorite idiom?

“Huh. I've literally never thought of this before. I guess I like 'cross the bridge when we get there.' It's kind of a mantra for me. Worrying about the future, y'know? I don't like waiting until we get there to cross the bridge. I want to be prepared to cross the bridge. At the same time... I'm bad at preparing cause I'm not proactive. So I use the idiom to get out of the stuff I don't want to do now. I have a complicated relationship with this idiom....”

What is your favorite fruit?

“No, don't make me choose!! I guess... Cantaloupe. You probably weren't expecting that.”

Other Ewan: questionnaire one, kiss

Your questions:

What's the last thing you replaced, and why did you have to replace it?

Where's a place you've been that you felt out of place?

Do you trust your instincts?

[skoople]

astronaut food

i've been meaning to outline the eating habits of the main wolf 359 characters. specifically, what do they eat and drink, what do they enjoy, what are their kitchen sins, how do they eat, and why. this is going to be a combination of canon, implications, and my personal read on them. let's get right into it:

DR. ALEXANDER HILBERT

his view on eating is utilitarian to the point of reddit-ness, and he'll often go without meals to get something done or to prove a point (see: Succulent Rat-Killing Tar, What's Up Doc). his palate is a very "get what you can out of whatever you can" approach without considering much in the way of taste or texture (seaweed coffee is his invention). HOWEVER! hilbert has one prized treat that is his achilles heel/autism samefood: Pecan Pie (see: Mission Mishaps Cold Turkey). i think it's got a unique texture, and a comforting smell that meshes with his suppressed desire for family and safety well.

kitchen sin: he regards the human need and desire for food as both frivolous and an unfortunate necessity.

LIEUTENANT RENÉE MINKOWSKI

she definitely enjoys fruit, or she wouldn't've cryogenically sealed a Braeburn apple (which are excellent for baking or dehydrating, btw) and brought it to space (see: What's Up Doc). she's also a planning type, and i think an efficient and tasty meal that involves the preparation and presentation of a fancy yogurt bowl is a favorite of hers and a dietary staple. minkowski is highly conscious of table manners, although that slacks a bit on the hephaestus, because she's eating across the table from hilbert and eiffel, for god's sake. still, clean and organized is her food philosophy. she owns possibly the only tupperware collection on the planet that includes every matching lid. the wine has almost no canon basis, and is mostly just a nod to voice actor Emma Shierr-Ziarko's own love and knowledge of wines.

kitchen sin: she thinks a clif bar counts as a real dinner if it's a weeknight.

CAPTAIN ISABEL LOVELACE

lovelace's favorite food is appetizers for the whole table, a team pizza party, a big awesome-smelling potluck, or anything meant to be shared. for her, eating is a casual and (more importantly) a communal activity. the social engagement from a loud brunch will nourish her just as much as the food does. besides that, i think she likes chocolate with nuts in it (e.g. snickers, chocolate covered almonds, rocky road ice cream, etc), but one of her favorite desserts is probably a strawberry milkshake. maybe it's a way to make up for all the protein shakes and high-efficiency smoothies (that taste like wet cement) she has to chug on account of the intense way she lives and works.

kitchen sin: she is a vulture if anyone else is cooking or eating. "you gonna eat that?" and picking off searing hot pans and baking sheets. she's really just curious but she never asks until its already burning her mouth.

COLONEL WARREN KEPLER

ok, the drink is a given. it's even on his official wolf 359 store merchandise. he likes the feel of it in his hand. but what does kepler eat? when does he eat? in private, obviously. his job is an exercise in restraint and perception, and he is his job (see: A Matter of Perspective). monsters under the bed don't need to eat, and they certainly won't be that vulnerable in front of a superior. but he's still a person, so i struggled a lot trying to figure out what he would crave. fish tacos, biscuits and gravy, and a loaded chicago hot dog were all floated, but the only meal i could picture kepler ordering where anyone could see him was lamb with mint sauce. it's expensive, recognizable, difficult to cook exactly right, and almost bloody.

kitchen sin: he will go out of his way to make you feel bad about what you're eating no matter what it actually is. he doesn't even have to say anything, he'll just glance at you or shift his posture slightly.

DANIEL JACOBI

this is a guy who loves to snack (see: Time To Kill. pringles: popped). he likes crunchy, salty snacks a lot, but it's more about the activity than the taste. that doesn't stop him from ritualistically complaining (see: Mission Mishaps No Complaints). he takes his time eating, but he doesn't pay much attention to it, which is why the longevity of a slushy is a favorite of his. jacobi lives off road snacks, but will find a way to complain about the points of a michelin star. he just likes bitching! the stinky cheese (see: Need To Know) pictured is a baked Camembert, because it's my post and i get to pick the cheese. Camembert is one of my personal favorites, but it can be fairly pricy and is a pain to clean up, which doesn't matter to jacobi (goddard company credit card please!)

kitchen sin: he spends an excruciatingly long time on any meal to the point where, if he had his way, they'd bleed into each other by taking an average of one bite every 15 minutes.

DR. ALANA MAXWELL

the drink pictured is a rockstar energy, but whatever legal(ish) stimulants can get inside her body the most effectively is maxwell's favorite. she eats a lot of takeout (see: Mission Mishaps Happy Holidays) because it's quick when she forgets to eat all day and it's tasty and she has the pay grade for it. she grew up in a tiny nowhere town that was in all likelihood at least partially a food desert, and her family dinner table warranted a restraining order, so i think in her adult life she tries to get as far away from that as possible. this often manifests in trying all the outlandishly spicy things she can get her greasy mitts on, because she is both inquisitive and masochistic. fuego takis are pictured because theyre a staple snack that jacobi will buy for her if she promises to share (she's lying and will eat the whole bag)

kitchen sin: she allows the nearly-empty cans, bottles, bowls, and bags to sit out and fester. once every 2 weeks she sets a timer and rushes through dumping it all into a giant black trash bag so that she doesn't get an infestation of ants again.

OFFICER DOUGLAS F. EIFFEL

and the "F" stands for food! eiffel definitely spends the most time talking about food. he's hungry! since his eating habits are so prominent in the show, i figured a compilation of his food and drink moments in canon would work a little bit better than my own personal extrapolation. excerpts from Limbo and Boléro were omitted.

kitchen sin: while some people might argue that pineapple on pizza belongs in this spot, i am not so judgemental. i just want him to eat from dishes that aren't visibly dirty.

HERA

[insert byte joke]

kitchen sin: she doesn't have a mouth.

[mindless-existence1]

Can you write headcanons for Calvin and Blossom from IF, please? I'd love to hear what you think about 'em!!! :3

Authors note: So it wasn't specified if it was platonic or romantic so I'm doing platonic but it can be taken as romantic if you want. If you want something explicitly romantic I can do that later. Sorry this took so long pookie that's mb, also in this reader is gn and a human IF kinda like Calvin.

REQUESTS OPEN PLS SEND! REQUESTS OPEN FOR KINKTOBER AND FLUFFTOBER AS WELL!

Masterlist Link

Calvin

☆He took interest in you when you showed up as as the only other person IF☆

☆You guy live with him, Blossum, and Blue with your own room in the apartment.☆

☆Kinda random but I feel he has major Insomnia and drinks coffee like a life line☆

☆You guys talk about your kids a lot and when you finally meet Bee you're super excited. Even tho you don't explicitly say anything about her being Calvin's kid you both bond well.☆

☆Calvin is a bickering man so expect to get in sass matches.☆

☆Hes kinda blunt at times so watch out for that.☆

☆You help him and Bee out with their business thing and it's a lot of fun☆

☆Eventually Bee helps you reconnect with your kid and Calvin gets a bit jealous☆

☆You have to help him through a mini break down at the fact Bee doesn't remember him☆

☆But when she does each year you all hang out and it's awesome☆

☆The soft spot he has for you is unmatched so you get away with a lot more things then other IFs do☆

Blossum

☆Tea Time!!! She loves making tea and even if it's not your favorite she'll still make it.☆

☆I feel like she's a sass queen. Like all types of witty comebacks☆

☆Shes all smiles untill you or Calvin say something stupid and she snaps a sassy comeback to shut you both up☆

☆Shes super sweet tho and loves to talk about her kid with you, and loves to hear about yours.☆

☆She can get nervous easily so you help calm her at times☆

☆Shes so so so happy for you when you get reunited with your kid and when she gets reconnected with hers you both are over the moon.☆

☆You live at the retirement home (forgot what it's called in the movie) and she comes to hang out and swim with you.☆

☆You also come over to the apartment and hang out there☆

☆Kinda random but I feel she'd know how to play chess and if you don't already know how to she'd teach you how to play☆

☆Over tea (or a different beverage for you) you'd play and just talk about whatever☆

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thanks for reading!

[hoochieblues]

15 questions, 15 mutuals

Tagged by @faux-fires (tysm <3)

I know I've done a couple of these before and I forget who I've tagged, sooo... most recent usual suspects in my notifications, woe be upon ye: @carabas, @aria-i-adagio, @potatowitch, @mothtimism, @tea42, @dreadfutures, plus if you would like to experience the ordeal of being known, feel free to consider yourself tagged whether we're mutuals or not. :)

were you named after anyone? When I changed my name (because reasons), I picked one partly inspired by one of the first people who was kind to me as a kid. (tiny violin sounds) I'm currently playing with using a shorter gn form of it, but if you translate the original a couple times, it also gives me an inbuilt stripper name if I ever need one. You can try guessing what that is, but I may or may not confirm it.

when was the last time you cried? This past weekend, for animal rescue reasons I'm trying not to vent about on main. Can't save them all; doesn't mean you don't try.

do you have kids? Nope. I've been saying since I was a teen that the cursed bloodline ends with me (it technically doesn't since my sister had a kid but for full 'ack-shually' points we're half-siblings so eh). I feel like if I ever get enough space/health/motivation to parent, that's what fostering and adoption are for.

do you use sarcasm a lot? Moi? Perish the thought.

what’s the first thing you notice about people? That is a very good question for a deeply oblivious person. Probably hair/clothes/mannerisms? I'm like a toddler, I pick up on bright colours and movement. Also eyes.

what’s your eye color? grey/blue

scary movies or happy endings? porque no los dos? I think I have to say scary movies, due to my well-documented collections of giallo and b-movie schlock.

any special talents? I am a horrible dilletante that dicks around with everything. idk. Given there's currently a puppy on my shoulder and I'm trying to stop her chewing a fresh piercing (ow) I'm going to say I am a very patient person who's pretty good with animals.

where were you born? Kent, ye olde garden of englande.

what are your hobbies? oh god. fucking around with fabric/thread/yarn, grubbing about in the dirt, playing music abominably, analog photography (also abominable), arty crap, watching/heckling movies, making more food than I can possibly consume. Various combinations of the above all at once. Travelling when I can, which is not often.

have any pets? none resident, sadly, but the current foster roster is Chance, the trauma rehab project dog, and Peppy le Phew the afore-mentioned parrot pup who is mostly made of teeth and has 4loko instead of blood. I do behavioural consult and fostering for a small rescue specialising in dogs liberated from inhumane public shelters (read: extermination centers) in E. Europe so I do a lot of integrating fosters into domestic households and showing them that humans are not entirely awful. They usually get the idea pretty fast, I learn a lot, and it's wonderful watching them settle in forever homes.

what sports do you play/have you played? badminton, tennis, swimming… not exactly equestrian 'sport' but I wanted to get into dressage as an extension of natural horsemanship stuff. It was going okay until i broke my buttbone, though I very rarely had any actual serious lessons. CFS kicks my ass these days, but I still like to hike/swim and I'd get back into racket sports and weights if there was anywhere local.

how tall are you? billed height 5'8" but I hunch shrimpback style. Trying to stop.

favorite subject in school? eng lit and history were easiest for me, but actually probably shop/cdt. I had an awesome teacher who let me use the workshop after hours and was really supportive, which was… novel. (And because I outed myself about this already somewhere else, yes I was an annoying theatre kid. We had a crappy beat up sofa in the school drama studio and we'd drink horrible vending machine coffee and get grossly pretentious because we'd just learned about Artaud. Yes, I am duly shamed.)

dream job? making a living off my writing again (which would, y'know, actually involve getting off my ass and putting stuff back out there. this fall, i swear. i'm still side-eyeing what to do about pen names and platforms. ughhhh. snd hlp. and shout if you fancy beta reading or volunteering opinions....) and growing veggies in some sort of queer commune, as long as I can have a small hut on the edge of said commune and only be bothered infrequently, please and thank. Before I got sick, I was intending to hang around in academia and/or theater, but I wouldn't do the former these days (at least in the UK). I'd probably still do the latter if I had the spoons, though I might well regret it. someone would, anyway.

[amazingworkpalce]

The Human Touch: How Personal Connections Drive Employee Satisfaction

Hey everyone! Today, let's talk about something super important—making work a place where smiles are as common as high-fives. It's all about personal connections, and guess what? They're like the magic wand that can turn a regular job into a happy journey. So, buckle up as we explore how being real and forming personal connections can boost everyone's mood at work.

Building Bridges, Not Just Cubicles: Imagine your workplace not just as a space with desks and chairs, but as a community of friends. When we build bridges of connection, we create a place where everyone feels like they belong. It's about chatting over coffee, sharing funny stories, and creating an atmosphere where work doesn't feel like a solo mission, but a team adventure.

Hello, It's Me: The Power of Personal Greetings: Have you noticed how a simple "hello" can brighten your day? Taking a moment to greet your colleagues with a smile and a friendly "how are you?" adds a human touch to the workplace. It's like planting little seeds of positivity that grow into a garden of good vibes. So, don't forget to spread those hellos like confetti!

Team Bonding: More than Just Team Building: Team building activities are cool, but what about team bonding? It's like turning coworkers into buddies. How about a monthly team lunch or a virtual game night? These activities go beyond work tasks and create moments where people connect on a personal level. A happy team is a connected team!

Listening Ears, Happy Hearts: Ever had someone really listen to what you have to say? It feels awesome, right? Being a good listener is like having a superhero power. Take time to listen to your teammates, understand their ideas, and show that their voices matter. When people feel heard, they feel valued, and that's a key ingredient for a satisfied team.

Celebrating Milestones, Big and Small: Remember that awesome feeling when you achieved something, and someone noticed? Celebrate each other's milestones! Whether it's finishing a project, hitting a goal, or even a work anniversary, acknowledgment makes people feel appreciated. It's like having a cheer squad that roots for you in your work journey.

Random Acts of Kindness: Who doesn't love surprises? Random acts of kindness are like little surprises that make someone's day. It could be as simple as leaving a kind note, sharing a snack, or helping out with a task. These acts create a culture of kindness, making the workplace a happy and supportive space.

The Water Cooler Chit-Chat: Water coolers aren't just for getting a drink; they're also hotspots for casual chats. Whether it's discussing weekend plans or sharing funny memes, these informal conversations build connections. In virtual settings, it could be the virtual "water cooler" where quick video calls or chat messages keep the human touch alive.

Employee Satisfaction Survey: Now, let's talk about something that helps sprinkle more happiness dust—Employee Satisfaction surveys. Just like how you ask your friends how they're doing, companies ask their employees through surveys. It's a way for the big bosses to understand what's working and what can be even better. So, when you see that survey pop up, share your thoughts like you're chatting with a friend. It's your chance to make the workplace even more awesome!

Work-Family, Not Just Workmates: Imagine your team as a big, supportive family. When you see your coworkers as more than just workmates, it creates a sense of belonging. It's like having a second family where you share not just work goals but also life joys and challenges. This strong bond is the secret sauce for high levels of employee satisfaction.

Conclusion: And there you have it, future workplace rockstars! Making personal connections isn't just a bonus; it's a superpower that can transform the way we feel about work. So, let's bring more smiles, hellos, and celebrations into our workplace. Remember, the human touch is the heart of employee satisfaction, making work a place where everyone can shine!

[kitchenisking]

Fic Rec😄

Dream by dylan_blaze_nightstars - (Rating: G, Words: 645, sterek)

"Stiles leaves his window open no matter the weather or season after Derek leaves. 

It’s the only thing left for him to do. Wait for his return."

All The Way Home (I'll Be Warm) by GotTheSilver - (Rating: Mature, Words: 11535, sterek)

A Christmas AU involving New York, snow, baked treats, and hot chocolate.

Stiles is standing there, shifting awkwardly from foot to foot, and Derek doesn’t want to see him disappear into the apartment opposite without a promise to see him again. “Do you—would you like something to drink? Coffee?”

“Uh, yeah, sure.” Rubbing his hands together, Stiles nods and looks over his shoulder. “Can you give me a minute to get changed? I’ve got snow melting in places that I don’t want it to be melting.”

Derek laughs at the look on Stiles’ face and nods. “Knock when you’re done.”

If Derek watches Stiles until the door closes, that’s no one’s business but his own.

Hale’s Modern Encyclopedia of Playing Cards (and Dating Humans) bythepsychicclam - (Rating: Mature, Words: 49698, sterek)

Wolves don't date humans. And Derek's okay with that. He's got his Pack, his friends in the Pack network, and lacrosse. Plus, he plays cards with his grandma all the time. Stiles Stilinski definitely doesn't factor into his life - no matter how much of a crush Derek has on him.

But when bird creatures attack Derek, Stiles, and their friends in the Preserve, Stiles finds out about werewolves and things get pretty complicated. For Derek at least. And he thought school was his only problem, but now he's grounded and Stiles is hanging around way too much for Derek to ignore him any longer.

Heat of the Moment by RoxyRosee - (Rating: Explicit, Words: 4753, sterek)

Derek and Stiles are out searching for a hag. It's dark, and they're in the woods, and can anyone really blame Stiles for tripping and tumbling into a ditch? 

But the fall is the least of Stiles' problems. In that ditch is a plant, and when it touches Stiles' skin, the teen begins to feel hot and shaky and wrong. Lucky for him, a certain Sourwolf was there to help.

My Heart Comes Tumbling Down by DevilDoll - (Rating: Explicit, Words: 5689, sterek)

"This is a casual, adult relationship based on sex, and it is awesome." In which Stiles and Derek have a great time buddyfucking until a burrito ruins it all.

Touch My Body by bleep0bleep - (Rating: Explicit, Words: 6900, sterek)

Stiles. Don’t leave the loft no matter what. I’m sorry. We’re tracking down the incubus right now. Don’t leave. Please. Just. I’m sorry it had to be you. Just. Stiles, don’t leave, okay?

It’s Derek’s voice, broken and wretched, pleading in a way Stiles has never heard before. He doesn't know what has happened, or what the incubus has done, but something in that tone of voice cuts him deep inside— makes him wonder— what happened?

Offer Your Throat to the Wolf by BeniMaiko - (Rating: Explicit, Words: 3835, sterek)

Stiles discovers that Derek has a neck kink. More specifically, a Stiles' neck kink. Tropes include: kink discovery, voyeurism

Something to Think About by Asterekmess (Livinginfictions) - (Rating: Explicit, Words: 3035, sterek)

Derek's morning starts in the best way possible.

the unignorable difference between sleeping alone and sleeping with someone you love by ash_mcj - (Rating: G, Words: 2708, sterek)

So, they broke up. It happens, it wasn’t a big deal - it was a mutualdecision. They dated for three years and now they were not dating. And Stiles was fine, really. He was. 

Except for the fact that he was apparently unable to sleep on his own now. He thought that would go away after a couple days, then after a couple weeks - but it had been almost two months, so he was a little concerned that this was an actual issue. 

So maybe he wasn't completely fine.

[or: Stiles can't sleep alone, so he winds up at Derek's loft - where he realizes that Derek might not be so fine in the aftermath of their break up, either] -- prompt: “I thought I lost you.”

My Longing Drives Me Crazy For You by secondstar - (Rating: Explicit, Words: 5820, sterek)

It's been years since Stiles talked to Derek, but he didn't have anyone else to turn to.

[knights-unwelcommentary]

You said that some foods are poisonous to Trolls? Which foods are those? (Whether its canon or headcanons i am curious. You have such awesome headcanons and explore what is already canon)

It's a common trope in Humans are Space Orcs fiction, spicy and smelly plants evolved specifically to deter animals from eating them (especially insects), animals on Earth have an evolutionary arms race with the plants making them even more toxic, then humans decide to breed the plants to be even more spicy because it's tasty. And we're not even talking about added pesticides yet

Sure, trolls are a resilient spacefaring society but their habitat is limited to whatever can withstand the deadly Alternian sun and their reproduction previous to deployment in space doesn't help evolution to prioritize those who have an easier time adapting to other planets and their food. That's a pretty decent explanation of why trolls only ever mention eating candy and meat (Terezi mentions fruits but she also knew of human things her dragon told her about). They might also drink milk, coffee and tea but coffee and tea is also toxic to us in huge doses so maybe it's a size thing and they just have a lower dosage tolerance than humans

Anyway, the reproduction thing would force them to carry around their own food and technology to survive other planets because letting nature run its course and kill off the unlucky wouldn't be wise outside of Alternia, you need enough people to run the ship and their systems are all streamlined so the only superflous trolls on board would probably be the foot soldiers and a few minor positions. Grubs seems very versatile as food source (and trolls might even breed them to eat anything, who knows) given that they're insects and you'd only need a male and female to get thousands of grubs every so often, we've carried pigs at sea for the same reasons and they might be a bit harder to manage than grubs

That would make trolls very sensitive to human food imo. Herbs, spices, bulbs (onion for example) and nightshades (potato, tomato, etc), even certain fungi would all be varying levels of awful to feed on for trolls

[thefallenbibliophilequote]

I Wish You Would

Loki x Reader

1989, chapter 7

"He drove past her street each night"

Summary: It's hard to find the one, but even if you do find him it's always going to be a daily struggle to make it work. Can you even make it work after he broke your heart? The answer to that is complicated, but it all started when you found each other again in the Stark Tower- and that's where our story begins.

Word count: 2,896

Warnings: angst, alcohol, poison, only a pinch of fluff. Not in that particular order.

A/N: this one has more Loki than the last. And... I'm sorry. Also, the timeline is important from the last chapter and forward, so keep it in your mind.

A/N2: @chrissquares made me these awesome dividers! And dear @nacho-bucky beta read this for me!

No one is allowed to repost my writing or steal or copy my work! Reblog on tumblr is fine.

Series masterlist

Song on Spotify and YouTube

"We won't be able to control the dwarves for long, we need to calm them down soon or they will attack."

"Your Highness, we need a plan of attack to keep them from breaching through their borders, some shield spell or-" A different councilman piped up.

"No, what we need is to keep peace. We need a negotiator to help maintain order. No more endless war, we can solve it without offence." The Allfather looked at his counsel until his eyes fell on his son who sat quietly throughout the whole meeting. "Loki, I want you to go and calm the situation down, solve it peacefully."

Loki looked up at his father, his stern gaze left no place to argue.

"Yes father." Loki got up after that, getting ready for the long day ahead of him. But before he could go his father's voice stopped him.

"I expect that when you'll be back you will make arrangements to make up with Lady Iyllir for your past behaviour."

"My first priority now is with the negotiation I need to handle." With a thin smile Loki walked away from his father, now with newfound determination to leave Asgard soon.

He stayed there longer than he wanted to. Apparently their species didn't sleep as often as Asgardians do. When he finally got back to the palace, he teleported right into his room and got in bed; he was never more grateful for his powers than now. Through all of his tiredness though, the moment his head hit the pillow you plagued his mind and sleep faded away from him as you pulled him closer into your dangerous clutches.

He felt as if he was the same heartbroken guy he was before everything happened. She took over his dreams after he let her go, and if he was being honest he let her. He'd imagine her next to him, holding his shattered heart together just enough for him to be able to go to sleep, keeping it as close together as she could until the morning came and she was no longer there and the pieces were all scrambled again. He woke up and remembered that you weren't next to him, and no matter how much he'll conjure her up he knew she won't be you. A face identical to yours still doesn't feel like you.

You were so much more than just a figure to him, he could conjure her up and she would be just like you with the same smile and eyes but beyond that she was nothing but empty. She wasn't you because you had a soul that he could feel just by being close to you, and you had emotions behind those brilliant eyes and sincerity behind the smile. You were so much more than a trick of the eye.

He couldn't even touch her.

Last time, after he left you he was ruined, knowing that he had no way to undo what he did- he had no way back, especially after the fall. But now he knew that even if he would go back and knock on your door- you won't let him in. He knew he would only shatter the peace you could have had if he hadn't barged into your life and wrecked you all over again. He was a selfish man but you wouldn't let him in your door again. Loki wasn't dumb by any means, he knew that you meant what you said and he couldn't blame you.

Sleep decided to claim him, but he could only hope you won't be there too haunting his dreams.

"Are you sure this is wise?" Loki voiced out his doubts as you picked your head out of the blanket fort the two of you spent the afternoon making only to shake your head at him.

"Yes, it is like the best thing ever," were mortals so destructive that they enjoyed lacking their needed sleep time? He was certain midgardians needed more sleep than him and it was rather crucial for them. "I cannot believe you've never had a movie marathon!"

"I don't see the point of sitting in front of your screen for many hours without any break, we could just as easily watch one and on another occasion the other. Why the rush to do things we can just do another time?"

"Time is short, and you have to live in the moment. There is nothing wrong with spending just one day as if you're running out of time with someone, actually that is something endearing in a way." He watched as you got lost in thought before your eyes focused on his again and he knew you won't let him deny this. So the god of mischief entered the warm steady fort you created, well it wasn't actually that steady but you didn't need to know the little magic he used on it.

He had to admit that the little nest the two of you built was quite charming, it was odd how such a delicate thing could give one the feeling of safety.

"Come on we are starting the first movie!"

"You still haven't told me, who is this Potter?" he picked up the disc and examined its packaging.

"I love it when you say that with your accent! And he is a wizard!" you giggled at him and put a bowl of popcorn in between the two of you as the movie started playing.

"Are you trying to tell me that this guy is doing magic?" It was preposterous to know that this is how humans perceive magic. He wished he could show you what real magic is like, maybe one day he will.

"I know! it's amazing! I love Sci-fi so much." The movie kept playing on with him making snarky comments at the characters and with you giggling and defending the movie.

The movies went on one after the other and he might have gotten emotional over some scenes, not that he showed it of course.

It was in the fifth movie that he felt a soft weight on his shoulder and when he looked to the side he saw you laying your head on him with your eyes closed. At this point the snacks were pushed aside and you had gotten closer to him and now you fell asleep on him, your bodies touching and he doesn't know why but he held his breath then. You let yourself to be in such a vulnerable state with him, in this makeshift fort, and his body reacted to it more than it should have. With each loud fast beat of his heart realization fell upon him. He didn't know what it was just yet, but he understood it.

It was odd, the feeling he got, he had never been this enchanted with someone before- let alone a human. You seemed to have some sort of effect on him that he couldn't shake off even when you weren't around him. You caused these blooming feelings to erupt inside of him and it was unlike anything he had ever experienced before. And all you did was fall asleep with your head on his shoulder. The god of mischief was falling in love.

•

It was 1am and you might have just stolen Tony's car alongside some expensive bottles he had locked away.

You just had to get out of there, the thoughts got too loud and the dreams got more vivid, so you knew exactly where you needed to go to get your mind straight and maybe drink some wine.

No one knew about the apartment that you kept even after moving into the Tower. The only other person that knew about it was Tony, who bought it and kept it there just for you, clear of annoying neighbours in a silent neighborhood.

Getting into the apartment you shivered at the cold, so you turned on the AC and popped open the first bottle of wine.

So you sat there with the bitter sweet wine scenting the room. So far you had no luck of forgetting the young prince, his taste and smell easily overpowered the alcohol if you focused on them strongly enough.

You almost did.

But with each sip you got sent back into a kaleidoscope of memories. Headlights pass the window pane and sent you aware to a far memory.

"Why are you dressed up like that?" Loki raised an eyebrow at you when he took a sit at the dining room table and you put a drink in front of him. He grew quite fond of midgardian drinks, they were much better than mead. You closed the window and the curtain, the bright light outside was blinding you. It was too early in the morning for that.

"Like what?" you stretched your arms and hem of your night shirt went up a bit and revealed skin that Loki tried not to look at.

"Still in your sleep wear."

"It's morning and I'm not going anywhere." You shrugged him off and sat down in front of him.

"Are you not going to change because I'm here?" he kept his eyes on your face.

"No, I'm comfortable." You shrugged him off again and began to eat your toast. Your answer however lingered in the back of your head.

"Alright," he answered and took a sip. "I'm just saying that it's not fitting for a lady to be dressed like this."

He knew how much you hated being called that. His smirk was hidden by his cup of coffee.

"You son of a bitch… don't call me that."

"Not call you what, my lady?" you pointed your fork at him and he couldn't help but think how adorable you look like this.

"Call me Lady one more time and I'll show you exactly how not lady-like I am."

"Okay, fine!" he watched as you brought your cup to your lips only to realize that you drank all of your tea. "Come on, I'll make you another cup of tea as an apology."

You let him take your empty cup with a satisfied smile. When he was in the kitchen you wandered to the question he asked and the immediate answer that you gave him. It took you a second to get out of your thoughts when you realized something.

"Oh wait Loki you don't know how I make my-" you got up to the kitchen only to open the door right to Loki who just gave you the tea he just made. He moved past you and sat at the table.

You hesitantly took a sip, only to sigh in content- it was perfect.

"You know how I like my tea." It was a statement but you were still fazed by that fact as you sat down. His reply was short.

"Well of course I do."

It was odd how such a simple thing as that could make your heart flutter with a feeling that you haven't felt in a long while but you knew exactly what it was.

•

Three months ago in Asgard.

Asgard looked beautiful in the morning. Loki stood in his room next to his window which overlooked the garden. His mind wasn't in Asgard though, and he had a decision to make, one that was waiting for him the moment he steps out of that door.

He knew that it's been almost a month since he left you and you told him to never come back. He had to find a way to move on even if he couldn't. He'd call it a coincidence if it weren't just unfortunate luck.

He was well aware of his options and the fact that there were none, and while he'd rather perish in his own misery a part of him still knew that he would have to take the other choice.

You'd never take him back, not after what happened when the two of you were well aware that the heartbreak would come, not now that you knew who he is.

Without letting himself think any further Loki went out of his room and descended a floor down until he stood outside of the large doors. He gently knocked on them. Who knew, maybe this will someday give him some twisted peace?

The door opened and there she stood in a flowery gown, Lady Iyllir.

"My lady, I've come here to apologize for my past behaviour. I would very much like it if we could resume the plan for our marriage."

•

You threw one bottle of wine aside, it was 2am but you couldn't even drink, you couldn't do anything. You just wished that he would come back and be here. He could always read your mind even when he assured you that he wasn't actually reading your mind.

"Please Loki, I miss you too much to be mad anymore, just come back."

You knew deep inside you that you'll never be clean of him; you'll never forget him for as long as you'll live. If you could, you'd rush all the way to Asgard for him, throwing away your stupid pride.

Maybe he will knock on the door, maybe he is on his way. You humored yourself but the hope was still there.

Yes you told him to leave but what you really wanted was for him to be there on the other side of the door screaming "I'm in love with you" or maybe he'll wait there in the pouring rain and throw pebbles at your window.

How did the god of lies not see it? Why couldn't he see that when you told him to leave you wanted him to chase after you and fight for you?

"I need you Loki, I do."

Then there was a knock on your door, you were sure you imagined it. But it was real and a smile took over your face when you went towards the door. He heard you.

Everything you needed was right there on the other side of the door, with his face and his beautiful blue eyes, and even with the conversations with the little white lies.

You rushed to open the door after he knocked on it again.

But he didn't have his blue eyes.

"Mike?" you really thought that Loki would show up for you. Your smile fell.

"You seemed off today darling," he walked past you into the living room. "I thought you might want some company."

In your state of disappointment you shook yourself out of it and closed the door. You had a boyfriend, you didn't have Loki. You won't have Loki.

"Oh, thank you. That is very thoughtful of you." He put some bags of food and drinks on the counter and came back to you. He wrapped you up in a hug. He may not be Loki, but you needed a hug right now so you held onto him.

"I know that as an Avenger it must be rough, with the missions and the constant danger," he brought you to sit on the couch with him. "I understand that it could get hard, but I'm proud of you for doing that and I want you to know that I am here for you."

He was saying everything you needed to hear, and so you nodded into his chest. Loki was wild and crazy but here you have a guy who is steady and stable and your heart can't seem to listen to logic.

At least he's here.

"I'll get us something to drink and then we can talk about it if you want, okay?" you nodded at him again as he got up and went to the kitchen.

You straightened your shirt until he got back with a bottle of wine and two glasses.

"Oh, I already have wine right there-" you looked back at the half bottle that was left and cringed.

"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll like this one. Plus this one is brand new." He tried to joke but you wished he hadn't seen how much you drank already. Maybe it wasn't a good idea to drink more but you needed it.

You took the glass with the red liquid. Testing it, you shook it in the glass and sent the burning red liquid down your throat. It was pretty good, you had to admit. It had an unusual taste to it that you couldn't quite figure out.

"It's from Europe." He smiled and you smiled back lightly.

You talked to him and didn't really care that you finished your glass of wine soon and he poured you another one.

The alcohol must have started to get to you, you felt a little spacey, the smell of the alcohol made you feel weird.

"I'm sorry, what did you say?" he laughed at you a bit and put his glass on the table.

"I asked you if you're okay, do you feel better now?" it was starting to get a bit hot in the room, you forgot to turn off the AC, you looked around for the remote.

"Yeah I'm just- didn't you drink from your wine?" you looked at the full glass on the table. Your head was starting to hurt and you picked up the glass, the weird smell came back to you and the world felt blurry around you.

"No, I'm afraid I am not here to drink."

•

Tags: @ayybtch @buckys-other-punk @chaoticpete @madcrazy50 @mishkatelwarriorgoddess @the-departed-potato @rogerrhqpsody @onceupona-happilyeverafter-love @percabethismyotp14

[robin-the-enby]

I've been wanting to request a Marvel one for a while now, but have just finally thought of something that I agreed on—

A oneshot with the avengers and the genderless reader celebrating their first birthday. Like where they came from, birthdays don't exist, the actual celebration and having a date of being born doesn't exist for them.

I'm also only familiar with the movies so I don't know what actually happened after Endgame— So spoilers outside that would be very appreciated if that's alright—

True meaning behind birthdays

Pairing: Avengers x gn!reader (platonic)

Summary: Reader comes from a planet where birthdays don't exist. The others decide to throw the best first birthday party ever for them.

A/N: I made this story so that it doesn't contain any spoilers. I really hope you like this, I tried my best.

Y/BD - your birthdate

Earth didn't have the best reputation among the other planets. Everyone you knew always told you it's a place not worth visiting. But that didn't stop you.

And oh wrong they all were. Sure, Earth didn't have the most impressive technology, but it compensated for it with many rich and diverse cultures. So many nationalities and religions, each celebrating their own holidays and traditions. Sure, some might say that it was impractical for so many cultures to live alongside each other, but you thought it was fascinating.

You've been on Earth for over half a year now and you already knew about many human customs, yet there was still so much more to learn, since they mingled with each other constantly, for example holidays typically celebrated in the U.S. migrated all the way to middle Europe.

However, there were some events that were celebrated by everyone. Like New Years Eve, when humans celebrated their planet's complete rotation around the Sun. Silly creatures. And the biggest catch? Different people celebrated New Years on different days!

You chuckled at the memory, focusing on your previous activity. You were relaxing in the compound's living room, since there weren't any missions that regular S.H.I.E.L.D. agents couldn't handle on their own.

You were soon joined by Tony, a very extravagant and bold man, but still a very friendly colleague of yours. He scooted over until he was sitting next to you and asked "So, how did you enjoy Nat's birthday party?"

Ah, birthdays, of course. Celebrating one's day of birth every year was something all humans did as well. The concept was very foreign to you, I mean, why would anyone celebrate being one year closer to death? Still, you could not deny that you enjoyed yourself very much.

"Are you asking just because you organized the thing?" you asked back with an arched brow. Tony looked at you as if you grew a second head "Y/N! You know I'm better than that!"

"But...did you like it?" he asked after a few moments of quiet. You laughed "Yes Tony, I really enjoyed the party." You could practically see his face light up like a Christmas tree (another thing you discovered during your time here) "Awesome! Say, when can we celebrate your birthday?"

Oh... "Uhm, well, I don't really have one..." you explained. Tony's eyes widened "What do you mean? Everybody has a birthdate!" he chuckled, but his tone was mainly confused. "Well, yes, of course I have a birthdate, but where I come from, birthdays aren't really a thing. We don't celebrate them or even really acknowledge them." you shrugged.

"Well, when is your birthday?" Tony asked. You thought for a moment, before replying "Well, we don't really divide our days the same way you humans do. You would describe someone's date of birth with the day, month and year, whereas we just describe it with the position a certain set of constellations has in the sky at that moment. You'd be surprised how accurate it is." Tony blinked a few times "Yeah, that doesn't clear it up much." You laughed again.

For the next couple of minutes you tried to explain to Tony how it all worked, using "your" constellation as an example, not knowing about the plan the genius playboy had in mind all along.

After he told you he finally understood what you meant, he promptly excused himself, saying he was actually just taking a break from something he and Bruce were working on. You said your "see you later"s and parted ways.

As Tony entered the lab, Bruce, who has been working on their project when Tony had his break, looked up to see who came in, before turning back to the machine set on the working table in front of him. "Hi Tony." he muttered "Did you enjoy your break?"

Tony walked over to his friend and leaned on the table he was working on "Yea yeah. Listen, I have an interesting idea..."

It took a lot of math and research, but after a few days, the two geniuses finally had it. They managed to convert your birthdate from your people's system to theirs and it was supposed to be on Y/BD.

Which was gonna be pretty pretty damn soon.

So they did the most logical thing. They called a secret Avengers meeting to get everyone in on the plan.

"Are you sure they even want a birthday party?" Steve asked, because the last thing he would want to is to make you uncomfortable.

"Of course, you know they like to be involved in everything." Wanda reassured him with a wave of her hand. "Still, I think we shouldn't throw a big party." Steve muttered. "I agree, it's their first birthday, we wouldn't want to overwhelm them." Vision nodded. Tony sighed and slumped in his chair dramatically "Ugh, okay then. You guys are no fun, I swear..." straightening up once again, he eyed everyone seriously "Okay, here's the plan..."

And what a plan it was. Wanda and Vision were in charge of making a birthday cake, Tony and Nat were in charge of the alcohol and your favourite drink. Thor was in charge of getting your favourite snacks, Bruce and Sam were in charge of decorating and that left Steve in charge of taking you somewhere nice until the others had everything ready.

It wouldn't have been that odd for someone from the team to ask you to hang out, but you couldn't help but notice Steve's eyes darting around almost as if in fear. He must've thought he was being sneaky, but that couldn't be further from the truth.

But once you were out of the compound, you could feel Steve relax as he took you to a restaurant that quickly became your favourite after a few weeks of staying with the Avengers.

You two had so much fun, talking about anything and everything. One thing you had in common with the captain was your love for exploring. Of course, he knew much more about Earth than you, but he still missed nearly seventy years. You two would often share your favourite music or artists you discovered, as well as movies or literature.

"What do you think about birthdays Y/N?" he asked you out of the blue. It caught you off guard a little. Just a few moments ago you were discussing if Disney was a good brand or not and now this...Especially when you discussed birthdays with Tony just a few weeks ago. Strange...

"I think it's fascinating how you humans find so many things worth celebrating. I mean, birthdays are a little hard for me to understand, why would you want to celebrate getting older? I thought that humans wanted to avoid that?"

This answer seemed to throw Steve off his rhythm for a bit. "Well, it's not really about that-" he wanted to explain, but was cut off by a buzzing sound. Steve quickly reached into his pocket, taking out his phone, the culprit guilty of disrupting your conversation, checking the text message he recieved, before putting it back and looking at you again "Sorry, Fury needs me for something. Do you mind if I drop you off and then go?"

You were a little sad that your good time had to end so soon, since you both were having so much fun, but you knew it couldn't be helped, so you just shook your head and smiled.

As you made your way back, you turned to Steve again "So, what did you want to tell me, back at the restaurant?" you tilted your head to the side.

Steve almost started talking again, but before any sound could escape his mouth, it seemed like he changed his mind "Would you believe me if I told you I really don't remember?" he chuckled awkwardly. You couldn't help but squint at him. He was acting very suspiciously... "Yeah..." you answered absentmindedly. Just what was going on?

You spent the whole journey back to the compound mulling it over in your head. Was it somebody's birthday? No, surely they would've told you if that was the case. Was it your birthday? But, nobody knew when that was. So what on Earth was going on??

You decided you were gonna confront Steve if he wasn't going o explain anything by himself. So as soon as you were about to pass the compound's living room, you quickly tugged him in, telling him you needed to talk to him before he had to go.

The room was darkened, somebody must've drawn down the blinds. That didn't matter to you in that moment, you wanted answers. Steve became a silhouette in front of you, so you couldn't see his exact expression. You looked into what you imagined were his eyes, and with the most serious look you could muster you said "Alright Steve, quit joking around. What is happening?"

But before your interrogation could progress, the blinds were drawn up and the room was suddenly bathed in light as people yelled "Happy birthday!!!"

You whirled around and saw everyone gathered in the living room, standing around the coffee table, upon which were various snacks that you grew to love during your stay here, complete with your favourite drink, and in the middle of it all sat a beautiful cake. The room was decorated with ornaments in your favourite colours and everyone had a big smile plastered in their face.

Well, you certainly did not expect that. After carefully looking around at everything, you couldn't help but laugh "So it's my birthday??" you asked, surprised.

"Wait, what did cap told you?" Tony asked, alarmed. "Well, nothing specific, but he wasn't subtle either." you smiled and looked at the now blushing Steve from the corner of your eye.

The rest of the day was great, possibly the best one you've had here. Good food, drinks and laughter all around. It warmed your heart to receive so many beautiful gifts, words couldn't express just how grateful you were. One thing still nagged in your brain though...

All of you were seated on the various sofas and armchairs around the coffee table, calmly chatting about beloved memories, exchanging funny stories and everything was heavenly peacful.

"I still can't wrap my head around why you would go throuh all the trouble for me." you shook your head, the disbelief still lingering in your mind.

"Well, that's simple. We like having you around." Tony shrugged. The others nodded. "Yeah, we appreciate having you with us. You're a great friend." Wanda added. "Celebrating birthdays is like showing gratefulness that the celebrated person is still with you." Bruce explained.

Their confessions were so heartwarming, you couldn't help but to shed a few tears. Sam, who was sitting next to you, put his arm around your shoulders, rubbing your arm comfortingly. So that's what birthdays were really about...

It was great to have friends.

[thehorde]

For prompts: 20, said by Logan about Patton; or 13, said by Patton to... any of the others, really. He doesn't want any of his kiddos to get sick!

Hi @fuzzypurplecloud . So, the link to 13 with Patton is here.

And here is 20: “He’s very excited about… everything.” A human AU, I suppose.

Logan didn’t know what to make of the young man he’d gotten stuck with. He hadn’t exactly expected to be roomed with Patton Sanders, the… gosh, what even was he? A zoology major? Veterinarian? Something with animals…. After all, he ought to have been paired up with his cousin Virgil.

But apparently, Virgil had been placed elsewhere in this disorganized mess of a university.

And so, when he moved into his dorm, Logan had not known what to expect.

Suitcase in one hand, a box of things on the floor, he struggled with the doorknob until it blew inward suddenly, jerking him forward with it.

He screeched and fell into whoever had opened the door.

“Oh my goodness! I am so sorry! I was trying to help!”

Logan fumbled out of the other man’s arms and tried to straighten himself up. “I-I yes. Thank you.”

He attempted to grab his suitcase, but the other boy already had his hands on that and rushed back inside. Logan still hadn’t gotten a look at him. “Here, I’ll grab this! Are you my roommate?”

Logan nodded, grabbed his box of school stuff and followed him. “Is this room 221?”

“Yuppers!”

Did he just say yuppers?

“I… suppose I am.”

Logan dropped his backpack onto the bed and turned around, to be met with a sight that froze him solid. The entire half of his roommate’s room was covered in stuffed animals. All on the bed, hanging from the ceiling, piled on the floor… He blinked a few times. Was this normal? Was this something he was missing again? No, Virgil would have told him if this was normal behavior for an adolescent male.

So, what was going on?

“Err… You like… animals?”

“Absolutely!” the young man said. He sat down in his menagerie of a bed and smiled at him. He had a pair of large glasses and a happy, loose smile that screamed genuineness, which to be honest, Logan did not mind. He was not very good at reading people’s faces when they did not ‘wear their hearts on their sleeves’, as people say.

“Oh… That’s… nice.”

Patton either didn’t notice Logan’s awkwardness or chose to ignore it. He shrugged and grabbed an animal seemingly at random. He stood up, walked to him, and very solemnly held his hand out with the toy in it.

Logan stared at the little blue donkey. “Ah-”

“It’s for you, silly!”

“You- that’s- you don’t have to!”

Patton shook the donkey at him. “His name is Linus, and he goes well with the color scheme of the bedsheets you have in your box.”

How had he even seen those?

Okay… so how exactly was he supposed to act in this situation? He did not want to deny him and ‘hurt his feelings’, or whatever, but he was a college student and college students did not put stuffed animals on their beds.

He carefully took the donkey from Patton, who laughed in delight and sat down promptly on the floor. Logan turned the donkey over in his hands and carefully set him on his bed. He supposed it was rather… aesthetically pleasing.

“So!” Patton asked him from the floor. He patted the space next to him, and Logan slowly lowered himself. Cross-legged.

Patton put his chin in his hands and cocked his head, eyes intent on Logan. “Tell me everything.”

“What?”

“Everything about yourself! Anything at all! You’re my roommate, after all. We’re pretty much destined to be best friends forever.”

And despite himself, Logan slipped into a small smile.

Later that day, he and Virgil sat at a cafeteria table. Virgil stirred his third cup of coffee with the back end of a pen and raised an eyebrow when Logan sat down with all even numbered amounts of food, sectored into neat squares.

“So?” Virgil took the pen out of the coffee, licked it, and started in on the drink. He was hunched under the amount of social interaction he’d had to endure today, and he hadn’t even bothered to put on the makeup he usually wore. “What’s your roommate like?”

Logan poked his twelve peas with a fork and narrowed his eyes. “He is very excited about… everything.”

Virgil snickered and chewed at the edge of his sleeve. “Sounds exhausting. My roommate is this idiot theater major. He tried to get me to rehearse with him the moment I got into the room. He wanted me to be a, and I quote, ‘bubbly teen girl’.”

Logan chuckled. “Well, perhaps they were just trying to be friendly…”

Virgil grunted and pointed his pen at something behind Logan. “No, I think that’s just him. There. He’s there.”

Logan twisted. He didn’t see him at first because someone else dominated his attention. “There is Patton as well. Right there next to the mascot. In the blue polo.”

“The ‘mascot’ is my roommate.”

“Dear gods.”

From across the cafeteria, Patton somehow spotted him. He gave him an ecstatic wave and grabbed the ‘mascot’s’ arm to pull him toward their table. Apparently, they knew each other. “Logan!” Patton squealed. He was very small, much shorter than Logan, but he seemed alright with that.

Logan sighed and glared at Virgil, who was snickering. “I dunno, Lo. It’s kind of cute.”

Logan glanced back at Patton as Patton grabbed a chair and sat down and his friend in the costume did the same. “Hey, buddy! This is Roman,” he said to Logan, pointing at costumed-man. “Ohh!” He caught sight of Virgil. “You are so adorable.”

Virgil’s pen dropped from his mouth, and he raised an eyebrow, realizing he was the focus of the last statement. “Uhh…”

 “He is not fond of physical contact, Patton,” Roman said. “Do not attempt a hug.”

Patton, who had already been halfway out of his seat, dropped back into it. “Oh! Okay, that’s fine! Can I give you like, an air high five or something?”

 Virgil, still trying to register the ‘adorable’ comment, agreed, and mimed a high five at the same time as Patton.

Patton laughed. “Awesome! This is awesome, isn’t it?”

And Logan found himself smiling once more.

Because it was awesome. Intense, but… sweet. Logan cleared his throat. “Awesome.”

[saviormysticmeme]

Can I request a hc rfa +v & saeranwhere mc is very very intelligent and introverted and people always tell her she's boring since she doesn't like talking much. I'm so sick of it, it happens to me all the time :( Your blog is so awesome & I love it^^

1. Omg thank you ^‿^2.If people don’t respect the fact that you’re introverted drop them! Trust me, you’ll find people along the way that can understand that introvert doesn’t equate to boring whatsoever!3. Personally I’m pretty extroverted, so I’m basing MC off the traits of my introverted friends and what I think I know about it, but if it’s not quite what you were looking for just let me know~!

Sidenote: When people hear the word ‘Intelligent’ a lot of them think of the traditional “Good at school, well read in this and that subject, yada ya” and I just want to remind everyone that there is different types of intelligence. And I’m not saying that to be all “Don’t feel bad uwu you’re special too” I’m saying it because it’s a fact. Some people are good at standard education, some are amazing in the STEM field, some are masters of reading social behaviour, some humans are talented artists, etc. For the sake of writing I’m going to write MC as a very Literary Based ‘intelligent’ (because that’s one I’m personally familiar with) I just want to make sure everyone knows that ‘Intelligent’ isn’t defined by the books you read or anything of the sort. Ok rant over. 

Yoosung

At first he thinks you don’t like him, that once you met him you weren’t as infatuated with him because he seemed cooler in the chat

Don’t worry Yoosung no one thought you were cooler in the chat 

Eventually though he realizes you’re just introverted! Even at RFA parties you stand by him and quietly sip your drink and listen to everyone talk rather than take the attention for yourself.

He originally questions why you don’t want to greet the guests yourself, but then comes to understand that you’re just more of a wallflower. But that doesn’t make you any less great!

But one party he notices you being extra standoffish. Everyone in the RFA is standing and chatting with each other and you’re not there.

He finds you off to the side of the room pretending to be distracted by something on your phone

“MC? Why are you over here?”

“Oh, hey Yoosung. I was just uh, checking in on…uh”

“Come on MC just tell me what’s wrong” He pleaded

You decided not to lie, it’d feel good to get off your chest anyways “I just feel like I’m so…boring. Everyone else in the RFA is super chatty and have fun stories to tell and all my life people told me I was boring cause I didn’t talk…I felt like I was bringing down the mood.”

“What!?” YandereYoosung: Activated “Who ever said that to you?? That’s so dumb!! They’re dumb!!!1!” 

You had to calm Yoosung down from his mini rage before too many people looked at you guys. You go to grab his arms but he ends up grabbing your shoulders and looking deep into your eyes

“MC just because you’re quiet doesn’t make you boring! You are so great, and so smart, and so..so everything good! How much you talk doesn’t matter!”

You just kind of stared at him for a second with a blank face. No one had ever been so adamant about assuring you that your ‘flaws’ weren’t flaws.

A smile fell upon your lips and you quickly brushed a tear away, which snapped Yoosung back into his normal flustered boy mode.

“Uh sorry for grabbing you” He pulled his arms away immediately and blushed

You shook your head and chuckled.

Then you grabbed his hand, making him confused and ever more blushy uwu

“You’re right. Let’s go stand with the others” You had the biggest smile on your face as you led him back to the group.

Jaehee

Jaehee didn’t mind introvert MC at all

And as a fellow intelligent introvert, you two got along just fine. 

You could have very interesting conversations when you felt chatty while making coffee together

Or you could appreciate each other’s company when you both felt just like being silent while doing your own activities. 

‘Boring’ would never cross Jaehee’s mind when thinking of MC, MC was her lover Best Friend! You are always putting a smile on her face and she puts one on yours.

She’s also been called ‘boring’ before so she’s always conscience to remind you how much she enjoys your time together, and how not everyone has the same idea of what ‘fun’ is. 

You two are quite the pair, silent, but deadly

Goddammit that just sounds like a fart joke

You two are some of the quietest when it comes to the RFA members, but you’re basically running the scenes from behind the curtain. 

And you’re both perfectly happy with that. You two organize the party and deal with the guests who are also more introverted, and the rest of the RFA can handle the other guests and public relations. It’s a good setup

And you never think about being ‘boring’ again, because how can you feel boring when you’re surrounded by friends and a lover and doing what you love?

Zen

You being introverted never really bothered him…because he never really noticed.

Zen has such a big persona it fills the room for both of you. Everyone is too wrapped up in Zen’s stories that they don’t even notice your silence or occasional escape to the less crowded areas of the room

He’s the perfect cover. He’s so obsessed with the idea of taking care of you and being the ‘provider’ of sorts even though it can be too a fault, it works well for you because he even starts speaking on your behalf by accident.

“Oh how are the two of you?” Someone will be looking at you but Zen takes it as open opportunity to answer for both of you

Even questions more aimed towards you “Oh, MC, what are you doing these days in your spare time?” You stammer out a couple words, which Zen mistakes for you being humble rather than shy, and he begins praising you and going into detail for you “MC doesn’t give themselves enough credit!” He’ll cry out, then he goes on to list everything you’ve been up to and just how awesome a job you’re doing. You recognize how someone could find it annoying, but it works for you personally since it saves you the nerves of having to talk with strangers for long periods of time.

Even when it’s just the two of you it’s nice because Zen always has something to say, always has a compliment to give or a story to tell. He could talk for hours and you’re happy listening. And when you do want to talk he shuts right up and gives you all his attention.

One flaw is he doesn’t always see you getting tired after hours of social interaction. He could float around a crowd chit chatting with anyone and everyone for hours, meanwhile you get a little antsy to leave. But usually with some hint dropping you make it clear you’re ready to go and Zen ushers you out like the Knight he is.

It’s because you two work so well he doesn’t understand when his coworker calls you boring

“Excuse me?” Zen scoffs

“Yeah” His fellow actor laughs as he puts his costume on “I always imagined you’d end up with another social butterfly, not someone so..quiet. And when she does talk it’s like..I don’t know all really boring stuff that I haven’t heard about since my school days.”

Zen gives him the biggest scowl. “Just cause MC doesn’t blabber on and on about random shit the way you do doesn’t make them boring. In fact it makes them pretty interesting, because obviously if MC doesn’t talk much, they must have something pretty great to say if they decide to open their mouths in front of douche bags like me or you.”

His coworker was silent

Zen can’t wait to go home and tell you all about how he schooled his dickbag scene partner

Jumin

Like Yoosung at first he’s worried your silence is a sign of distaste

He can’t help but worry so much that he makes a call to V, looking for advice

V laughs

“Jumin, are you telling me you’ve met someone whose introverted? Someone who doesn’t verbally open up much? Gee, where have I met someone like that before? Oh! I should introduce you to my friend, he’s the exact same way.”

What friend V who do you hang out with besides me

It takes him a while, but finally Jumin gets the joke and realizes you two are the same. 

He starts paying attention to your body language more, realizing more and more that you are comfortable with him and just don’t verbalize it all that much

Besides it’s not like you guys don’t ever talk, you’re just not as chatty as you are on messenger. Probably because that’s just typing from behind a screen, so it makes you less anxious. He can understand that.

One day he comes home to find you on the couch reading Shakespeare

MC you like Shakespeare? 

Turns out you like literature in general, something Jumin also has a taste for in his rare bouts of free time.

You two begin chatting about older pieces and genres, ranging anywhere from fictional masters like William Shakespeare to poetry writers like Yi Sang.

It’s actually one of your longer talk sessions, ranging a few hours of just straight talking. Once it’s over though, you two are happy to cuddle up to one another and just throw a movie on.

Jumin is often called boring himself, and he never pays any mind to it. But when you two are talking one day and you mention how much it irks you that people call people like the two of you boring he just 

“So let them. Their opinions will never affect either of us, especially since we both know the value of our own words and have each other to share them with.”

A grin crawled on your face. You loved how graceful he made the phrase “Fuck those guys” sound. 

Defender of Justice

“Wow, I never thought you’d end up with someone so … normal.” Vanderwood mused while looking at a picture of you and 707 sitting on his desk.

“I wouldn’t call MC normal” Seven chuckled as he tapped away at his computer.

“Really?” Vanderwood cocked an eyebrow at the back of Seven’s head as he placed the picture down. “Maybe they were just quiet that time I met them..”

“No.” tap tap tap “MC’s always quiet.”

Vanderwood squinted at Seven now, assuming the red head had cameras set up so he’d see the look on Vandy’s face at some point. “So she is boring?”

Seven sighed a dramatic sigh, Vanderwood could tell immediately whatever the hacker was about to say was well rehearsed. The fucker always trapped him into weird conversations with some strange moral lession. 

“Vanderwood, vanderwood, vanderwood. You’ve called MC quiet, normal, and boring….none of those words have anything to do with each other~” Cue 707 going on a playfully long and annoying rant explaining why you were quiet but by no means boring. Normal was up for debate.

Seven had always understood you.

He put on quite the exuberant and extroverted exterior, but on the inside, Saeyoung was also an introvert.

You were never boring to him because he knew you had so much going on in your brain despite your few words explaining the thoughts running around up there

And you knew this because the two of you were constantly analyzing each other

And you both knew it

It became some weird sort of game, picking up on subtle cues and few words you guys would exchange, and figuring out the other’s intention

It got so intense the other members of the RFA swore you guys were telepathic or had made some weird secret language between each other

V

He grew up with Jumin so he understands

He is quiet as well, but he doesn’t mind being the conversation driver at all, or just sitting in silence together while you read or play games or do whatever your heart desires

He is just happy to be near you.

Given his eyesight is a bit weak, so sounds make it easier to figure out whats going on in your head, so he just learns to listen to the things you do. Your footsteps, your breath, pages turning, pencils on paper, computer keys clicking.

He understands you so well without words, but when you do speak he’s in love because everything you say is so thought out.

Or you just….”Sneep”

“What MC?”

“I don’t know. I was just thinking and…I thought of the word ‘Sneep’ I don’t know it’s just one of those things that’s fun to say aloud….Sneeeeeep” And you started giggling “it’s just so weird”

Jihyun laughed.

Ok so not everything was some profound rhetoric, but he enjoyed anything that comes out of your mouth.

“Try it!” You egged him on

He paused for a minute, and prepped a really funny deep voice and just “Sneeeeeeeeeep”

You both had a hard time controlling your laughter.

He knew he’d never have a boring moment with you

Saeran

At first he was worried you were constantly mad at him

Saeyoung is loud when he’s in a good mood…so shouldn’t you also be loud when you’re happy?

He hasn’t had much healthy human interaction to judge so he’s confused and worried

But you two manage to nip the problem in the bud before it becomes serious

One way or another you realized he was feeling this way and sat him down to talk, saying you were never mad you just…were quiet. You said you’d start being more vocal if he’d feel better..

“No…I…I trust you.” Saeran trusted that you meant it when you said your silence was nothing bad, he wanted to always trust and believe with you so despite his own anxiety he was going to. You were touched.

You figured a good compromise for the two of you, you were quiet, but that didn’t mean you weren’t physical. If you two were close you’d always take his hand in yours and give him reassuring squeezes. It became so common he started grabbing your hand first.

Constant smiles from you when one of you would walk into the same room as the other

Attached at the hip when sitting anywhere.

Much like with Seven, you two communicated a lot through action, and Saeran wasn’t very keen on anything academic aside from a bit of coding, but even then he didn’t have much to say about it

But he loved to listen to you talk about. He’d feign interest in classic novels and evolution theories just to hear you talk about them and tell him about them. You’d get so passionate about them, he’d hope that one day you’d get the same starry eyed look on your face when talking about him that you do when talking about Multiverse theory.

He never found you boring,  even if he didn’t actually have an interest in the subjects you were talking about, he was in love with how you talked about them. The passion you had. There is nothing boring about passion

And so what if you’re quiet? 

Quiet is important for sneaking up on the enemy and obliterating them from this plane of existen-

Quiet has it’s perks. 

[elizabethrobertajones]

About Destiel... Someone close to me who loves Spn and chat with me and all that but doesn't involve in Tumblr, or fanarts or whatever bc of man stereotypes (those are crap, really) told me yesterday that Dean was egocentric. I was like Are you fúcking kidding me, but he explained that there is a very thin line between hate and love, and for Dean to hate himself he had to have loved himself before, or something like that. I think it's interesting, so i wanted to know your opinion about this

Pfft, Tumblr cooties. 

I have to say I didn’t expect that logic to go where it did :P

I think Dean has a lot of anxiety and obvious self-esteem issues, but if I was going to look at him as being egocentric I’d be much more interested in examining his personal relationships than that… I’ve been musing on this while drinking my morning coffee (and sorry, this is going to be a headache & coffee reply :P) and thinking about Dean would ever have loved himself for that to turn into hate by that logic. 

I could think of 2 suggestions for how you could get to self-hate from there - the acceptably selfish love he’d have learned for himself as a kid while Mary was still alive (someone deserving of hugs and having the crusts cut off his sandwiches) and would have been destroyed under the burden of having to put himself second or third in the family unit, especially to Sam, once they’re on the road and he’s sort of raising Sam as the stand-in mother from age 4 onwards… Dean suffers from more and more extreme arcs about the loss of self, but the first “version” of Dean is one he lost early on and might have been the only Dean really able to uncomplicatedly love himself and believe himself worthy of that love, even if it’s in that way where to a 4 year old of course they’re the centre of the universe :P

There’s also a more complex thought I had and sorry, this is first thing in the morning for me so I hope I can explain properly… (Also this reply gets really long because of that… Sorry :P)

Looking at Dean’s self-loathing backwards, in how he ever expresses positive things about himself, I’m coming up mostly with all the snarky cutesy comments about how awesome he is and so on, which is pretty much always a great big helping of performing Dean. His self-worth is tied a lot into being a hunter (and he is occasionally sincerely proud of himself there), but overall that’s another persona, and the one he grew up into instead of the happy Dean with a normal childhood who might not have so many reasons to hate himself (Dean in 2x20, what you can gather about his personal life in the dream, is still completely affected by Dean’s own perception of himself so I don’t think it’s good data on how he’d live his life if he grew up with no monsters). 

Performing Dean, which that sequence at the end of 3x10 still shows best of any moment in the show, is all (when it comes down to it) something Dean acts under the expectation of what John would want or self-policed by what he thinks John would approve of. There’s an idealised version of Dean in his own head who is basically John or what Dean thinks John would have wanted him to be, and Dean’s lack of self-esteem is sometimes (dramatically) expressed in relation to feeling like he’s disappointed this spectre of John’s memory, and a great deal of his self-loathing comes from falling short of these standards. He’s definitely got better over time and learned to express himself more (by Dean standards) but his progress is always being interrupted, and this is such a core part of Dean I don’t think he can ever completely change it without altering his life in such a way there wouldn’t even be a show any more :P It’s not strictly “love” but it’s an idealised version of himself and also a key part of Dean’s sense of self and at least in the early seasons (before 3x10 let’s say :P) the version of himself he would want to love and live up to.

Anyway… idk about linking any of that directly to Dean being egocentric? I mean, that’s a reading you can make of him, I’m just not sure what part it plays. I should probably say immediately that I think Dean is very empathetic, and so that necessarily means in general he’s putting himself in others’ shoes when we’re looking at generic interpersonal relationships, plus the whole saving people thing, mean anything else I talk about, I’m giving Dean huge allowances here because I do think he’s kind and IN GENERAL puts others first, all the time. 

I know I have a tag about Dean being the centre of the universe, but for the most part I treat that as a joke on Dean where he doesn’t know it. On the other hand, the one major major time he exerts that power, in 5x22, he absolutely makes the entire apocalypse about him and his feelings and his need to talk to Sam before Michael and Lucifer fight, and uses that to save the world, so… Idk :P It’s not strictly a bad thing at all on a grand scale? Staying in season 5 for a minute (and sorry, Superwiki is not working right now so no quotes >.>), 5x11 explores Dean’s sense of the burden of the entire planet, and I think you could argue either way that he has an altruistic sense of having to save everyone, or focus on the “but why does it have to be him” thing, about how much he’s internalised that burden and in a way made it about himself. I feel like between his conditioning growing up to save people (and in season 1 he was altruistically the “saving people” side of “saving people hunting things” while Sam was the latter and revenge-focused) and the huge burdens the world puts on him, I don’t really think it’s fair to consider that Dean just happened to absorb this message because he’d be inclined to the idea of the world being on his shoulders, but that he is what the world made him especially with all the talk of Destiny and the feeling like no one else is remotely stuck in the cross hairs like they are. His reaction to being resurrected in 4x02 is skin-crawling horror that he’s been centred out for this sort of attention. When in big plot situations, his response can be read as egocentric, it’s not necessarily a criticism, especially as Dean is usually right, and it mostly gets the job done.

… Dealing with people, though. Idk, then it gets tricky :P Dean’s got a very strong moral centre and he expects others to hold up to his standards all the time. (I just watched through the end of season 6, and for example Dean arguing with Cas after the reveal is asking Cas to trust him and do as Dean says just because Dean believes it’s completely right and Cas is wrong. He doesn’t have any answers to help Cas this late in the game when they’re so deep into all these plans and disaster is looming and they’re out of time to deal with it, but in a way it’s almost like in 4x21 where Bobby’s telling Dean that Sam will die if they keep detoxing him, and Dean yells that at least Sam will die human - better to go out honourably than to betray yourself/Dean’s expectations of you. Being the moral core of the group DOES make it revolve around Dean’s principles, especially as he has a natural leadership to him and he can get used to what he says, goes. Like, in the latest episode, he makes the deal with Billie, and expects it to be about him when it comes to time to die… Mary getting between that abruptly shatters Dean’s centrality there, because the family unit is bigger than Dean and with so many more people involved in it, Mary and Cas hog all the drama of that moment, and in a way Dean only brought it to them. (And Sam, who only agreed to the deal, aside from badgering Dean to talk about it and getting shut down because Dean would clearly not want Sam to be the one to die, is also most used to operating under Dean’s rules and as the assumed survivor in Dean’s ideal scenario for that deal, had basically nothing to do with it aside from agreeing to a sketchy blood pact in the first place >.>)

Anyway watching through as far as I have (just watched 7x03) I do feel like I’ve been watching Dean’s moral authority grow and grow - as a response to trauma and to all the unimaginable situations he’s found himself in. Like the other characters, all the stuff that got them to the finish line in season 5, once in season 6 becomes much more dangerous and under the microscope for character development in a different way as the story switches from being sort of mythical to more about the interpersonal stuff. Dean by 7x03 has been shaken up by the ongoing problems with Sam, and Cas’s betrayal, and monsters that they don’t know how to kill, to the sort of place where his need for control, which was nurtured by all the apocalypse arc stuff by putting the burden directly on him, kind of now is definitely crossing over from a positive to neutral character trait to a definitely bad one… Honestly I feel like him ditching Sam and driving off to kill Amy because he doesn’t trust Sam is the real moment Dean snaps and sets off his arc that eventually leads to the Mark of Cain stuff, or Gadreel, which were all about Dean’s sense of control and his problems maintaining it that all play into his downfall arc as demon!Dean. (I honestly believe he’s so much more well-balanced in season 11 and 12 after all the character development Dean went through in season 10 - he was getting alarmingly zen and full of self-acceptance just before they pushed him  back over the edge… although it really needs a long view on it, like, I wasn’t certain for sure until 11x23 about how this was going for Dean, and he keeps doing stuff like these deals so it’s sort of like… he’s getting BETTER I’m not saying he’s perfect now :P) 

Anyway when it comes to Destiel, which I guess was the original reason you asked this based on your opening line… I think Dean DOES sometimes come across as egocentric - times when he puts himself or his problems first (the worst example being kicking Cas out of the Bunker). I’ve seen it argued a lot that Dean doesn’t really understand Cas to a certain level of Cas being vulnerable and/or someone he can really hurt this way, mostly because he has expectations literally to high Heaven about what Cas is and what he can do, and Cas is getting more and more human (only sometimes literally) but Dean has a lot of trouble bringing Cas down to his level. That “applications for sainthood” line about Dean and relationships is one of the best for looking at Dean and interpersonal relationships. That mixes HIS expectations (the egocentric side) with adoration and an expectation from others that he projects onto them, which is a much more selfless love but I guess no less dangerous when it comes to people disappointing him, because it comes as a blow to his entire world view. Like in 6x20 where Dean refused so long to think that Cas would betray them. Not just because Dean selfishly thinks everyone should do what he says (which is how it can come across) but because he truly believes those he loves would not do bad things. (Which also can explain his really extreme reactions to the bad stuff Sam does and Dean’s absolute reactions to it. In 4x22 when Dean’s moping about Sam to Bobby, Bobby calls Dean out on sounding like his father, which I think says a lot about where this behaviour in general comes from, again, all the absolutes and black and white thinking.) 

Anyway Dean said himself in 11x23 to Cas in the beer run, that he and Sam can get very caught up in their own stuff and forget to care about the things outside their problems, acknowledging how Cas had got a bit left to the wayside. I think that means Dean does genuinely struggle with this - and it’s now finally something that maybe they can really address after it was allowed to escalate so far over many seasons… historically almost every time there’s something wrong with Cas, Dean is slow on the uptake or it comes to smack him in the face he can’t be objective about it and generally makes the situation worse before it gets better (or swept under the rug into the growing pile of trauma Cas deals with >.>)… 

Now we’re getting some real Cas-focused episodes/a whole arc, and Cas’s problems are really out there again, I hope that means for Dean getting to face them properly as well and NOT reacting in the same way he often does. If there are far fewer issues around because all the plot has de-escalated a bit, HOPEFULLY that will let him focus on stuff outside himself? Like, though he didn’t react great to Cas leaving afterwards, when Cas actually announced he was going, Sam and Dean chased after him, and it was clear in that moment Dean genuinely was tuned in to something being up with Cas and without any other major problems to worry about that could take priority over that, and was concerned about Cas. 

I’m really hoping when it comes to Dean’s awareness of Cas’s issues he’s just had a huge wake up call, especially about how much Cas cares about them all, and while that was all about “the Winchesters” the show endlessly puts Dean n Cas just a little notch above everything else in that dynamic (Dean getting the more dramatic reaction to seeing Cas, sitting with him in the car, being the one to phone him, Sam as an outside observer to that and what Dean did and didn’t tell Cas… Even when all the language seemed to be very generically about the family as a whole, they are still singled out within it…)

But yeah, I’m not at all a bitter Cas fan who thinks Dean is cruel to Cas so I’m saying this out of wanting them to be better than they already are, not like this is a barrage of accusations levelled at Dean for being self-centred :P I try to always follow both their perspectives on a thing because there’s always huge misunderstandings. And sadly when Dean has a misunderstanding with Cas  he often lashes out at him, and that also makes it look in a lot of circumstances like Dean is being self-centred, where from his perspective he feels just as wronged by Cas and is already desperate and angry when they start a conversation (still thinking of season 6 and I guess their epic miscommunication in the end of season 7, or Dean’s lack of understanding in season 8 after the crypt scene, which is a moment that piles on a huge mess Dean’s already feeling so he doesn’t react out of the blue to randomly be angry with Cas when he shows up again…) Dean’s kind of terrible all round at interpersonal relationships… I’m very sympathetic to him there so it doesn’t upset me as long as I can understand WHERE he’s gone wrong. 

… I should probably stop talking here because I have no idea what you actually wanted here but I have been spewing way too many thoughts at you to no real conclusion… This reply is way too long but I can’t think how to cut it down aside from just not making entire points or not answering :P 

[overthinkersguidetotheunive-blog]

life is a verb/50 lessons learned

1. Life is not a gift we simply receive. It is like a bicycle. We must learn to ride it and enjoy collecting miles or else it will simply lay abandoned collecting dust.

2. Mirrors are our worst enemies. We cannot ever see past our appearances, while our essence is what we must truly see. Close your eyes and turn inward. See whats inside not outside first. Then you never need a mirror. You look fabulous anyways.

3. Drink water. You’ll feel better. Eat enough. Starving and leaving yourself hungry is not natural. Weight loss or a pair of jeans does not define you. How you take care of yourself does. Teach people how to treat you by first treating yourself with the same kindness you seek.

4. Self care is not selfish, it is necessary. Selflessness is not possible if you cannot even go the extra mile for you. Do the face mask, take the nap, eat the cookie, see that counselor, check in with your doctor, call home. 

5. Do not love someone so much that they have control over your emotions and state of mind. Do not let them do the same with you either. Love is honest. Love is protecting truth and reality in order to benefit each others individual futures before dreaming of your own together. Do not ever become a runaway train with love. Friends either. 

6. Speak up if something does not feel right. Your intuition is usually right. 

7. Truth hurts sometimes. Take a deep breath. Get a cup of coffee. Go on a walk. Let the sting fade and then approach the situation with a clear head. You will hurt more people if you explode outwards immediately. Soak it in even though it burns. 

8. Always think of the other side of the fence. You are not always right. You do have to hear other people. Your perception is one of many. 

9. Do not let nervousness or anxiety talk you out of a situation. Sometimes it pays you to go dancing with your friends or to go out of your comfort zone even though its scary. Have fun. It is not a sin. 

10. Masks are for Halloween parties, not emotions. Admit when you are feeling down. People who love you will support you. Not everyone is at their 100 percent all the time. Its real and human to feel off.

11. If you really love someone, it does not go away overnight. Heali after a heartbreak in ways that are best for you and go at your own pace. If that means going on a date in a week or focusing on yourself for awhile - so be it! No one writes a timetable for you but YOU!

12. Moms like when you tell them they have been good moms. Dads like when you do for them it too. 

13. Cry. Alone, in the public, in the movies, when songs come on. Happy tears. Sad tears. Emotional tears. If they want to come say hello- let them. 

14. People change. Do not hold them to their past standards in the present. Grow up together, not against. 

15. Teachers define what students believe of themselves. Do not give up on them even if they SEEM like they are disinterested. They do not have to like English or Math to benefit from an older and wiser role model believing in their success. AP students are not the only ones capable of great things. 

16. You do not have to do what every other 20 something does for fun to enjoy your life. Seltzer water at the bar doesn't mean you can't dance like a fool and sing Nirvana covers like a superfan. Friday nights can mean early bedtime and you're still doing your 20s right. Same if you took that tequila shot and kissed that stranger. To each their own, but to all a good life.

17. Bridges freeze before roads. Certain washer fluid freezes. You always need snow tools in your car. Let your parents yell that at you repeatedly when you move up North, because something will happen that first snowy drive.

18. Being strong does not mean you are always doing NPC competitions. Being fit does not mean you're a size two. Your fitness goals are not other peoples’. You VS you is the only worthwhile competition. But fitness cures all doubts about your limits. 

19. Love is scary. Infatuation is short lived. Love will hit you in the overlooked moments while other interests rests in cliches and whats easy. Abandon infatuation and cling to what seems real.

20. If you break up with someone that does not mean you have to hate them or be mean or be strangers. People are friends with their exes. It is perfectly fine. 

21. Great first dates don't always make great second ones. Live in the moment. Take them piece by piece. Don't hear wedding bells because they treated you with respect. 

22. Salem, MA is amazing, but learn the history too. Do not just go for the Halloween stigma. 

23. Stay true to yourself even if that means being alone for awhile. You do not need an audience to guide you for everything. 

24. You never know when the last time together is the last time. Do not take people or moments for granted. 

25. Don’t let a kiss fool you or a fool kiss you. Do not let false flattery in your life. People who truly love and respect you will withstand the test of time, not verbal confirmation of their “loyalty”.

26. If you do not watch or like movies, do not lie to cover for that fact because people will judge you. Let em judge. Be you.

27. Listen to good music that speaks to your mind and soul. If thats Grateful Dead or Smash Mouth or Skrillex, it does not matter. Just listen to something. 

28. Do not judge a book by its cover. 

29. Give hugs to those who need them. Ask for them too. The human touch is a magical thing. 

30. Laugh. A lot. At yourself is the best type of laugh. 

31. Studying hard does not always get you an A. Your effort and quality of work gets a grade academically, but you also have to be honest with yourself. If your best got you a C thats ok! Breathe.

32. Do not judge a person by the color of their skin, the language they speak, the person they love, the gender they identify as, their pronouns, their life plans etc etc. Being open to your lived experiences and the world around you is the most informative class you could enroll in.

33. Age is a number. You can be friends with a 30 something year old and a Freshman in college. Everyone can teach you different things. Be open to it. 

34. New places can remind you of old things. Old places can be rewritten as new. Do not limit yourself to past instances. 

35. You can like many different things and have many different personalities. It is ok to experiment or realign yourself as you learn more and age more. Change is not a bad thing. Do not take it as an insult if someone says you have changed a lot. 

36. Dance in the grocery store if a good song comes on. You never know who needed that extra laugh. Maybe it was just you. Blame it on the boogie!

37. Visit your grandparents. Family is important even if they don't always understand the situation. 

38. Dementia/Alzheimer's tests your patience, but it teaches you the definition of and persistent need for love, kindness and understanding. Never forget to say I love you even when they do. 

39. Finding humor in otherwise sad situations is ok. Sometimes if you do not laugh you will cry. 

40. Parking meters in Boston are highly monitored. Show up early or else you'll be greeted with a nice ticket. (Brookline- I love you, but I will be taking the T from now on)

41. Saying sorry is strong. Realizing you make mistakes and owning up to them is mature. 

42. If you can say it online, you can say it to someones face. Do not be petty or shady. Just own up to things or have a discussion. 

43. Friendzoning is stupid. Don't ghost people or skirt the truth. Appreciate someone and understand their emotions. It is okay to want different things. Handle hearts with care. Some peoples’ are titanium while other people’s are delicate china. You never know what someone has gone through. 

44. Sometimes that cashier who says “good morning!” is having a bad day. Sometimes that silent kid playing Pokemon is the sweetest soul with the funniest jokes. The man who collects your trash may share the same sports teams. Always say hello and treat people with respect despite what they may appear to be against the societal “rating chart”. Screw stereotypes. Always ask “how are you?” back. 

45. If you get back with your ex 50 times over it doesn't make you a weak person. If you date someone who everyone thinks is not for you, it doesn't make you stupid. You have to be happy with who you are with, not them. True friends support your HAPPINESS, not your individual DECISIONS. If you are safe, supported and happy that is all the true ones will recognize. 

46. If two of your friends fall in love, do not be selfish and prevent that from happening. Be a supportive friend at all stages and try not to be an overly invasive third wheel. They will remain your friends together, apart and all around. 

47. You can lose touch and still pick up where you left off and be just as close. Connection does not mean consistent or constant contact. 

48. Be proud of your friends successes just as you should be of your own. Aging creates anxiety. Just because you chose to go through more school instead of into the job market doesn't mean you’re more right/wrong or intelligent/dumb. If you have a have a ring on your left hand or if you have never been in a relationship, that does not mean you’re less of a person. If you like to wear all black and cover up or if you like to wear slinky sequin dresses it does not mean youre less of a woman or not sexy. Be yourself. Do as you please. Express your shade of awesome. The world needs it. 

49. Be proud of who you are and who you have in your life. Love hard. Be smart. Read. Be aware and critical of what is popularly defined as truth. Be authentic. Let your vibe attract your tribe. Trust that everything is happening for a reason. People come into your life for one of three reasons - to teach you, to learn from you or both. Many of times that means they are a temporary presence with a permanent mark. Do not take offense to the changing paths of those around you. 

50. Peace cannot happen in the world if you are waring in your mind and heart. Love yourself. Triage yourself. Give yourself the benefit of the doubt and appreciate the level you are at. We can look at where our feet have traveled and worry over where they will go. The only important place to focus your attention is where your feet are firmly planted in the current moment. Take the second to soak in the instant, take a step forward and repeat. Each place is different and you can feel different at each one. The individual places do not define you. Let the journey make you stronger with its easy downhill rolls, its falls and scrapes, its endless uphill battles and everything in between.

[old-soulless]

7 Amazing Ways that Collagen Protein Will Upgrade Your Life

Let me ask you a question: Did you know there is one natural protein that can help maximize awesomeness in your life?

In fact, researchers have found that it:

Helps to optimize your performance both in and outside the gym;

Gives you beautiful looking skin and hair;

Relieves and prevents joint pain;

Boosts your recovery from strenuous workouts and can assist in putting quality muscle mass to your frame;

Reduces anxiety, promotes calmness, and aids the quality of your sleep, and;

Possibly even helps you get rid of those extra pounds that have been bothering you for years.

The protein? Collagen.

But what exactly is collagen? And how can you get enough of it in your diet? That, and more, is what you will discover in this article.

What Is Collagen Protein?

Collagen is the most abundant protein in our bodies. You'll find it in most tissues including your muscles, tendons, skin, and bones.

The function of collagen depends on the type. While there are sixteen different types of collagen, type I is the most plentiful in the human body – it makes up around 90% of all collagen.

Type I collagen gives strength and structure to your skin, connective tissue, tendons, fibrous cartilage, and your teeth.

It is often described as the glue that holds your body together. In fact, without collagen type I, you would literally fall apart. That’s why it is crucial for optimal performance and overall health.

But the problem is that the quality and quantity of collagen in your body goes down as the years go by. As a result, your skin ages, the quality of your joints decreases, your muscular strength drops, and you’re more prone to breaking a bone.

Fortunately, you can slow down – or even reverse – this loss of collagen by consuming enough collagen.

A healthy outside starts from the inside. – Robert Urich

Click to tweet

Why Does Collagen Make My Life More Awesome?

Most of the benefits collagen provides is due to its excellent amino acid profile. You can look at those amino acids as the building blocks in your body.

In total, there are twenty-two different amino acids, and the ratio of amino acids various among foods.

But since most people rarely eat connective tissue, bones, and organ meats, and rely almost solely on the muscle meat of animals, almost everybody has an imbalanced amino acid intake.

We over-consume the amino acids tryptophan and cysteine, and under consume proline, glycine, and lysine. Not good!

That's why taking a collagen supplement – or drinking bone broth, one of the best dietary sources of collagen – can make your life so much more awesome. It will balance out your amino acid intake. Here are a few of the many benefits of increasing your collagen intake.

7 Amazing Ways that Collagen Protein Will Upgrade Your Life

Collagen decreases anxiety. Researchers have found that getting enough glycine – one of the primary amino acids in collagen – can reduce anxiety, promote calmness, and increase the quality of your sleep [1-2]. The reason is that glycine acts as an inhibitory neurotransmitter.

Collagen reduces joint pain and degeneration. Losing collagen, which is a natural result of aging, can lead to swollen and stiff joints, and impairs movement. They often call this “skeleton legs.”

But the good news is, if you consume collagen, you get lots of proline. Proline is crucial for the production of hydroxyproline, an amino acid that plays a critical role in collagen stability [3].

One double-blind, placebo-controlled study, for example, found that supplementing with collagen significantly decreased pain over a period of seventy days in a group of patients with osteoarthritis [4].

Collagen aids weight loss. Researchers have found that collagen protein is extremely efficient at reducing hunger, even more than “normal” protein [5]. That’s why adding collagen to your diet can aid weight loss. It helps you control your calorie intake.

What's more, since collagen increases the elasticity of your skin, it can possibly reduce loose skin and even treat cellulite [6].

Collagen helps you build muscle and recover from your workouts. The importance of protein is well-known among lifters. But for many, getting enough is a daunting task. While you can cook another piece of chicken or gorge down an extra protein shake, supplementing with collagen is also an excellent way to get your daily proteins. It is made up of over 90% protein.

That collagen is useful for building muscle was shown by a twelve-week study published in the British Journal of Nutrition [7]. In the study, a group of researchers looked at the effects of post-workout collagen supplementation on muscle mass and strength in a group of elderly men.

At the end of the study, the researchers found that those who consumed a collagen supplement in combination with a resistance training routine increased their muscle mass and strength more than those who took a placebo.

Collagen gives you beautiful skin. If you don’t get enough collagen, your skin will lose elasticity and firmness. In fact, a loss of collagen is the main reason your skin ages.

But by consuming enough collagen, you increase the elasticity of your skin and slow down the aging process. That’s why collagen will make your skin look healthier and more beautiful.

Impressive, right, this collagen stuff?

FACT: Collagen gives the skin its strength and structure.

Click to tweet

But Here’s The Biggie…

Not all collagen is created equal. Most collagen supplements come from grain-fed animals that get loaded with probiotics and estrogenic compounds, and that live in high-stress environments. The result? Low-quality collagen that creates inflammation in your body.

Most collagen supplements also come from chicken. While there is nothing wrong with chicken collagen, cow and beef collagen are superior. They score higher in the amino acids glycine and proline.

So what supplement do I recommend? Hands down, the Upgraded Collagen Protein by Dave Asprey (yes, the same guy that created the Bulletproof diet and Bulletproof coffee). It is by far the best one on the market – the gold standard for protein powders.

Why? Because Upgraded Collagen protein comes from pasture-raised cows that spend their entire lives in the pasture. It is also enzymatically processed several times to leave all peptides intact.

And contrary to most other products, Upgraded Collagen protein mixes extremely well, so you can consume it with other foods, make a shake out of it, or use it to bake delicious Real Food Collagen pancakes.

  Upgraded Collagen Pancakes in 5-minutes

Healthy twist on a breakfast favorite. Takes less than 5 minutes to make… and everyone loves them! Enjoy!

5 eggs

1 tbsp psylium husk

1 tbsp Bulletproof Upgraded Collagen

1 tbsp coconut flour

1 tsp Vanilla powder

1 dash cinnamon

1 pinch Himalayan sea salt

Combine all ingredients in a blender.

Grease an iron skillet with 1 tsp grass-fed butter (salted or unsalted) or GHEE.

Cook pancake mixture on a low heat, a few minutes each side until golden brown.

How To Use Upgraded Collagen Protein

If you want to use Upgraded Collagen, it is best to consume it before you go to bed. The reason is that this brand scores high in the amino acid arginine, which helps to stimulate the release of growth hormone.

Growth hormone is a highly valuable hormone that naturally rises while you sleep. It aids fat loss, increases muscular strength, and promotes muscle growth. Some researchers even label growth hormone as the fountain of youth.

Consuming Upgraded Collagen before you go to bed also gives your body the nutrients while you’re most primed for growth and recovery.

Sounds great, right, the Upgraded Collagen protein?

I agree. So if you want to increase the awesomeness of your life, check out the Upgraded Collagen protein now by clicking here.

FACT: The word “collagen” is derived from the Greek “kolla,” meaning glue

Click to tweet

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Bulletproof360. The opinions and text are all mine.

And to be absolutely clear, this is my disclaimer: “Just so you know, I have been compensated to share my ideas on this topic. Sometimes it is in the form of products, or services or even money… But here’s the thing; I won’t  share anything with you that I don’t fully support. It doesn't matter what it is, or how much they are willing to give me, if I don’t believe in it, It won’t be on my site. Seriously. You’ll just have to trust me on this.” ~ Coach Moose

References

References

Mol Membr Biol. 2001 Jan-Mar;18(1):13-20.

Neuropsychopharmacology. 2015 May; 40(6): 1405–1416

Nelson, D. L. and Cox, M. M. (2005) Lehninger's Principles of Biochemistry, 4th Edition, W. H. Freeman and Company, New York.

J Agric Food Chem. 2012 Apr 25;60(16):4096-101.

Clin Nutr. 2009 Apr;28(2):147-55.

Skin Pharmacol Physiol. 2014;27(1):47-55.

Br J Nutr. 2015 Oct 28;114(8):1237-45.

April 25, 2017 at 12:45PM

[jonathantwatson]

7 Amazing Ways that Collagen Protein Will Upgrade Your Life

Let me ask you a question: Did you know there is one natural protein that can help maximize awesomeness in your life?

In fact, researchers have found that it:

Helps to optimize your performance both in and outside the gym;

Gives you beautiful looking skin and hair;

Relieves and prevents joint pain;

Boosts your recover from strenuous workouts and can assist in putting quality muscle mass to your frame;

Reduces anxiety, promotes calmness, and aids the quality of your sleep, and;

Possibly even helps you get rid of those extra pounds that have been bothering you for years.

The protein? Collagen.

But what exactly is collagen? And how can you get enough of it in your diet? That, and more, is what you will discover in this article.

What Is Collagen Protein?

Collagen is the most abundant protein in our bodies. You'll find it in most tissues including your muscles, tendons, skin, and bones.

The function of collagen depends on the type. While there are sixteen different types of collagen, type I is the most plentiful in the human body – it makes up around 90% of all collagen.

Type I collagen gives strength and structure to your skin, connective tissue, tendons, fibrous cartilage, and your teeth.

It is often described as the glue that holds your body together. In fact, without collagen type I, you would literally fall apart. That’s why it is crucial for optimal performance and overall health.

But the problem is that the quality and quantity of collagen in your body goes down as the years go by. As a result, your skin ages, the quality of your joints decreases, your muscular strength drops, and you’re more prone to breaking a bone.

Fortunately, you can slow down – or even reverse – this loss of collagen by consuming enough collagen.

A healthy outside starts from the inside. – Robert Urich

Click to tweet

Why Does Collagen Make My Life More Awesome?

Most of the benefits collagen provides is due to its excellent amino acid profile. You can look at those amino acids as the building blocks in your body.

In total, there are twenty-two different amino acids, and the ratio of amino acids various among foods.

But since most people rarely eat connective tissue, bones, and organ meats, and rely almost solely on the muscle meat of animals, almost everybody has an imbalanced amino acid intake.

We over-consume the amino acids tryptophan and cysteine, and under consume proline, glycine, and lysine. Not good!

That's why taking a collagen supplement – or drinking bone broth, one of the best dietary sources of collagen – can make your life so much more awesome. It will balance out your amino acid intake. Here are a few of the many benefits of increasing your collagen intake.

7 Amazing Ways that Collagen Protein Will Upgrade Your Life

Collagen decreases anxiety. Researchers have found that getting enough glycine – one of the primary amino acids in collagen – can reduce anxiety, promote calmness, and increase the quality of your sleep [1-2]. The reason is that glycine acts as an inhibitory neurotransmitter.

Collagen reduces joint pain and degeneration. Losing collagen, which is a natural result of aging, can lead to swollen and stiff joints, and impairs movement. They often call this “skeleton legs.”

But the good news is, if you consume collagen, you get lots of proline. Proline is crucial for the production of hydroxyproline, an amino acid that plays a critical role in collagen stability [3].

One double-blind, placebo-controlled study, for example, found that supplementing with collagen significantly decreased pain over a period of seventy days in a group of patients with osteoarthritis [4].

Collagen aids weight loss. Researchers have found that collagen protein is extremely efficient at reducing hunger, even more than “normal” protein [5]. That’s why adding collagen to your diet can aid weight loss. It helps you control your calorie intake.

What's more, since collagen increases the elasticity of your skin, it can possibly reduce loose skin and even treat cellulite [6].

Collagen helps you build muscle and recover from your workouts. The importance of protein is well-known among lifters. But for many, getting enough is a daunting task. While you can cook another piece of chicken or gorge down an extra protein shake, supplementing with collagen is also an excellent way to get your daily proteins. It is made up of over 90% protein.

That collagen is useful for building muscle was shown by a twelve-week study published in the British Journal of Nutrition [7]. In the study, a group of researchers looked at the effects of post-workout collagen supplementation on muscle mass and strength in a group of elderly men.

At the end of the study, the researchers found that those who consumed a collagen supplement in combination with a resistance training routine increased their muscle mass and strength more than those who took a placebo.

Collagen gives you beautiful skin. If you don’t get enough collagen, your skin will lose elasticity and firmness. In fact, a loss of collagen is the main reason your skin ages.

But by consuming enough collagen, you increase the elasticity of your skin and slow down the aging process. That’s why collagen will make your skin look healthier and more beautiful.

Impressive, right, this collagen stuff?

FACT: Collagen gives the skin its strength and structure.

Click to tweet

But Here’s The Biggie…

Not all collagen is created equal. Most collagen supplements come from grain-fed animals that get loaded with probiotics and estrogenic compounds, and that live in high-stress environments. The result? Low-quality collagen that creates inflammation in your body.

Most collagen supplements also come from chicken. While there is nothing wrong with chicken collagen, cow and beef collagen are superior. They score higher in the amino acids glycine and proline.

So what supplement do I recommend? Hands down, the Upgraded Collagen Protein by Dave Asprey (yes, the same guy that created the Bulletproof diet and Bulletproof coffee). It is by far the best one on the market – the gold standard for protein powders.

Why? Because Upgraded Collagen protein comes from pasture-raised cows that spend their entire lives in the pasture. It is also enzymatically processed several times to leave all peptides intact.

And contrary to most other products, Upgraded Collagen protein mixes extremely well, so you can consume it with other foods, make a shake out of it, or use it to bake delicious Real Food Collagen pancakes.

  Upgraded Collagen Pancakes in 5-minutes

Healthy twist on a breakfast favorite. Takes less than 5 minutes to make… and everyone loves them! Enjoy!

5 eggs

1 tbsp psylium husk

1 tbsp Bulletproof Upgraded Collagen

1 tbsp coconut flour

1 tsp Vanilla powder

1 dash cinnamon

1 pinch Himalayan sea salt

Combine all ingredients in a blender.

Grease an iron skillet with 1 tsp grass-fed butter (salted or unsalted) or GHEE.

Cook pancake mixture on a low heat, a few minutes each side until golden brown.

How To Use Upgraded Collagen Protein

If you want to use Upgraded Collagen, it is best to consume it before you go to bed. The reason is that this brand scores high in the amino acid arginine, which helps to stimulate the release of growth hormone.

Growth hormone is a highly valuable hormone that naturally rises while you sleep. It aids fat loss, increases muscular strength, and promotes muscle growth. Some researchers even label growth hormone as the fountain of youth.

Consuming Upgraded Collagen before you go to bed also gives your body the nutrients while you’re most primed for growth and recovery.

Sounds great, right, the Upgraded Collagen protein?

I agree. So if you want to increase the awesomeness of your life, check out the Upgraded Collagen protein now by clicking here.

FACT: The word “collagen” is derived from the Greek “kolla,” meaning glue

Click to tweet

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Bulletproof360. The opinions and text are all mine.

And to be absolutely clear, this is my disclaimer: “Just so you know, I have been compensated to share my ideas on this topic. Sometimes it is in the form of products, or services or even money… But here’s the thing; I won’t  share anything with you that I don’t fully support. It doesn't matter what it is, or how much they are willing to give me, if I don’t believe in it, It won’t be on my site. Seriously. You’ll just have to trust me on this.” ~ Coach Moose

References

References

Mol Membr Biol. 2001 Jan-Mar;18(1):13-20.

Neuropsychopharmacology. 2015 May; 40(6): 1405–1416

Nelson, D. L. and Cox, M. M. (2005) Lehninger's Principles of Biochemistry, 4th Edition, W. H. Freeman and Company, New York.

J Agric Food Chem. 2012 Apr 25;60(16):4096-101.

Clin Nutr. 2009 Apr;28(2):147-55.

Skin Pharmacol Physiol. 2014;27(1):47-55.

Br J Nutr. 2015 Oct 28;114(8):1237-45.