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shadowgeist-stars · 3 years

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Ren x Gakushu: Nightmares

Ren was standing in the Chairman's office, watching the man pace around him, Araki, Seo, and Koyama with practiced, measured steps. His words were almost entirely unintelligible, but his voice was just like always. The same eerie, low tenor that made his skin try to crawl off his body, like he suddenly had some kind of flesh-eating disease.

Suddenly the monster struck. A huge fleshy mass with eyes so big that they overlapped one another on its face. A mouth so wide and sharply fanged that it could swallow anyone whole and shred them apart in its jaws anyway. Before he knew it, there was an agonizing sting at the back of his head and the better part of his back. Ren was somehow thrown against the wall, pain tearing against his sternum and surrounding ligaments making it nearly impossible to breathe. The others were no different, as if they were flung just as woefully unprepared into the same MMA fight that he was in.

Then he realized all of their bodies hadn't even moved.

For all intents and purposes, their minds had been violently punted from each of their bodies, leaving them as empty shells that did nothing but chant an insatiable desire to kill E-Class. If Ren didn't have trouble breathing before, he was all but suffocating now. It only got worse when Gakushu reentered the room, only to call out to Ren and the others in horror. The mix of anger, disgust, and outright fear with which he stared at his father and his pet beast nearly wrenched his racing heart clear out of his chest.

“Gakushu, please… I'm right here…”

He forced his ghostly form to stand up. Dizziness spun his vision every which way. His shaking feet didn't feel anything close to steady as he tried to stumble toward his friend. The monster over the principal's shoulder only pounced again, painfully crushing his throat in its clawed grip as he could only face that menacing, unnatural grin. Darkness was beginning to dot his vision as it blurred with tears. He reached helplessly for his best friend with whatever vanishing strength he had left, as it all went cold and dark and --

Ren's eyes shot open with a gasp, heart pounding and breathing as if he'd just endured one of Gakushu's soccer games. He lay frozen and tense in his bed, clutching his bed covers and staring at nothing but his own bedroom floor as he slowly willed himself to calm down.

After he finally deemed himself calmed from the nightmare, (and telling himself that No, panic-brain, my blazer that I keep hung on my door is not a monster that's here to kill me) he sat up in his bed and checked the time on his alarm clock.

Only a few minutes after 3 o’clock, in the morning.

Ren grimaced to himself, running a hand through his stupid bedhead. Either Seo or Koyama would probably laugh about some kind of joke related to the time that he’s almost certain he’d rather not hear. However, he just thought it was too darn early to be up, even with something like a very graphic memory/nightmare to blame.

The principal monster from his nightmare flashed behind his eyes, in its own twisted "speak of the devil." What better way of being told by one's own brain that going back to sleep at that moment was not an option?

…Maybe a cup of tea or something warm (and uncaffeinated) would settle him down enough to help.

With a sigh, he got out of bed, pulled on a shirt, and headed to the kitchen.

He knew the house well enough that he didn't have to turn on the lights. He knew every place where the floors creaked, exactly where to stick to the walls and where to simply keep a light foot. The tiny nightlights in the halls kept it just visible enough that one didn't have to stumble around in complete darkness.

Many years ago, traversing his house at night was a game to Ren. One where his eyes sported beams of light to help him see. A game in which the dark wasn’t a monster to fear, but his playmate.

When he reached the kitchen, he breathed a soft sigh of relief. He grabbed a mug from the dish cabinet, but before he could do anything else, he noticed a light.

Light that was coming from the living room TV, partly shadowed by a figure on the couch.

Ren had a feeling he knew who that was. Guess I’m not the only one having a rough night.

With that in mind, he grabbed a second mug before pulling the jar of dried chamomile from the back of a different cabinet, fixing some tea with it.

The person on the couch didn’t respond to any noise he made, which meant one of two things: he was either quite aware of his presence and simply waiting for Ren to reveal himself, or he was out of it to the point of somehow not noticing the brunette was even there.

With someone like Gakushu Asano, there was no in-between with those two possibilities.

The moment the tea was ready, Ren poured it into the two mugs, a small voice in the back of his mind reminding him to put some sugar in Gakushu’s mug. He likes his tea sweetened a little. It’ll help him calm down more easily if he’s tense or had a nightmare, and right now he's possibly both.

He glanced at whatever he was watching on TV, which was turned down so low he couldn’t quite hear it. A documentary: his go-to for calming down from a bad dream. Crime or historic ones usually mean something relatively tame. But this one’s a nature documentary; he only goes to those things when it’s really bad.

The taller boy took a deep breath before heading over, humming a familiar tune and making sure to seek out the one floorboard he knew would creak. A word of advice from a friend, so as to not scare him once in his line of sight.

The redhead made an almost unnoticeable jolt before bright purple eyes met his. (So he really was out of it to a point he didn't know I was there, or at least hyperfixating on the TV.) He was wrapped in a throw blanket and had his legs laid across the length of the couch; he was probably planning on sleeping there if he was able to calm down enough.

“Ren… How long have you been up?” he asked, shifting around to sit properly on the sofa.

He chuckled, setting down the mugs on the coffee table until he was sitting down beside his boyfriend. “Obviously not as long as you.” His smile became a frown when he got no snarky response. “Nightmares keeping you up, too, huh?”

The shorter boy only nodded once, taking his mug when it was offered. “I hoped to be able to sleep again, after getting my mind off of it… And I didn’t expect to be discovered."

Ren hummed, sipping his own beverage. "…It was the brainwashing incident on my end… Araki saying it felt like an out-of-body experience was pretty accurate."

The ginger didn't seem too surprised. "…It was partially that exact incident for myself… and also the immediate aftermath of the pole-toppling match. I still find it hard to forget how badly Kevin and the other exchange students were injured, because of him… it was so severe that they all had to return to their home countries, once they'd recovered enough to do so."

The others didn’t hear much of that when it happened beyond when the paramedics showed up at the school. At the time, they all knew better than to ask while the wound was still fresh. Then again, it wasn’t like he would’ve been coherent enough to elaborate on the situation anyway, given how he fell asleep on the ride home.

"Least they don't have to worry about him hurting them again now…" he replied finally, "or anyone, to be honest. Especially not you." He pulled the strawberry blond boy into his side. "I think you remember well enough… how worried I was when he hit you in front of everybody."

The shorter boy’s exhale reverberated with exhaustion as his head drooped on his lover’s shoulder, followed by the sound of him emptying his mug. “Not as much as I wish I did… but at the same time more than I care to admit. It’s exhausting just thinking about it.”

The brunette smiled sadly at the sheer amount of fatigue in his tone, giving his shoulder a squeeze before finishing his own drink. "All the same, we can say that we're safe from him, and that in itself means a lot… By the way, I would've been alright with you coming over to my room after you woke up from your nightmare."

That only earned him a sleepy, yet sour look. "Why would I do that? I'm not a toddler, Ren."

The brunette snickered, using a thumb and index finger to get the other to face him. "Maybe not, but it's not childish to be afraid or need someone else, even for just a little company. Haven't you felt any better since I came out here?"

Gakushu tried to avert his face. "I suppose you could say that…"

Begrudging victory; I'll take it.

He smiled as he leaned in to kiss the shorter boy. He slipped his tongue in easily, tasting the chamomile's aftermath and practically feeling the remnants of Gakushu's tension and traces of his own nightmare disappear into the documentary's white noise. The ginger all but melted into his arms, the long and lazy kiss bearing down on his eyelids with sleep in a wave of honeyed warmth. Pulling away showed a pair of hazy purple eyes struggling to open again, on an adorable, blushing face.

“I love you, Gakushu; sweet dreams.”

The shorter boy gave a slow, cat-like blink, snuggling further against the taller boy. “Hmm… love you too… Ren…”

Ren chuckled at his slurred speech as he took Gakushu's empty mug from his hands, placing it and his own mug on the coffee table. Afterwards he turned off the TV, pulling Gakushu along as he shifted them around, until they were now both laying sideways on the couch, with a red-haired head on his chest. He managed to resituate the throw blanket over them both, draping long arms over his beloved; one settling across his waist, the other scratching his scalp in rhythmic circles.

He leaned into the crevice between the couch cushion and backrest with a contented sigh. With the weight and warmth of his boyfriend in his arms and the steady whispering breeze of breath in his ears and over his chest, the image of the former principal and the big-eyed monster was nothing more than a fading memory. They were both safe here, in this homey little bubble. Pressing a final kiss to his boyfriend's crown, he laid his own head down and closed his eyes, letting sleep carry him away on a far more welcoming cloud.

It wasn’t the first time they had such nightmares, and it may well be far from the last, but for now, they could sleep without fear, and that was enough.

#assassination classroom #gakushu asano #ren sakakibara #ren x gakushu #rengaku #asaren #asano gakushu #sakakibara ren #ansatsu kyoushitsu #i like rarepairs okay?

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kaiserin-astraia · 3 years

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NieR's Project Gestalt

So after several nights losing sleep over this, I decided to write down my biggest issue with the NieR series: project gestalt. It’s pretty unanimously agreed by fans that project gestalt was probably the worst plan in the history of plans, executed in the laziest way possible. And yet, I couldn't help but obsess over how project gestalt could have been salvaged, even after the events of ending E of nier replicant.

This is the part where I say: I’m going to spoiling the hell out of NieR: Replicant and in some capacity NieR: Automata. If you don’t want to be spoiled, then get out now — that being said, if you’re sticking around anyway, I’ll be attempting to give summaries and explanations to concepts in the games that are relevant, so that we are all on the same page. also also I only know the high level details of the Drakengard series & won't be touching on it much.

So. What the hell was project gestalt?

Project gestalt was the terrible and last ditch effort to save humanity from a widespread pandemic called white chlorination syndrome, or WCS. WCS was caused by a literal inter dimensional fight between a red dragon and demon baby thing that resulted in the death of both and the deterioration of their corpses causing salt (also called Maso particles) to fall from the sky. If you got infected, the Cult of the Watchers gave you the choice of losing your free will and fighting for them as a soldier in the Legion, or turning into a pile of salt and dying. BrandonSP has a wonderful video talking about the Legion and the Nier universe leading up to the events of Nier: Replicant that I’ll link if you want to know more about this history (here), but all you need to know is: humanity is on the brink of extinction and the planet is no longer inhabitable in its current state.

Project Gestalt discovered that the way humans could escape extinction is by separating their souls from their bodies — the soul having no physical form is immortal & immune to maso, while the body without a soul can't become infected, because there’s no consciousness to force into a demon deal, I guess. You know, I realized while writing this that it’s not clear why separating soul from body actually worked to prevent WCS, but whatever it worked because Yoko Taro Said So.

However, separating body from soul was no easy task; upon doing so, most people’s souls would instantly go berserk, turning into mindless violent entities. The first success was the playable character of Nier: Replicant, who I’m going to call Nier. Upon this first success, the governments of the world convinced / coerced him into cooperating with the Project, and he became the cornerstone for all the “gestalts” aka the souls separated from their bodies.

Just to keep everyone up to pace, gestalts are the souls separated from their bodies, otherwise known as “shades” in Nier: Replicant.

So Project Gestalt’s planned chain of events was as followed:

1. All remaining humans would undergo gestalt-ing 2. The resulting replicants (aka, the soulless bodies) and androids would fight and defeat the legion & clean up the planet so that it was habitable again … which meant containing or eradicating the leftover maso covering the planet. 3. Once ready for rehabilitation, Grimoire Weiss and Grimoire Nior would merge into each other, causing all gestalt souls to snap into their respective replicants starting with Nier 4. Profit. Seems a simple plan, right? Well, not even a single step of that plan worked. By the end of Nier: Replicant ending E, Nier’s Gestalt, aka the shadow lord, has been killed by his own replicant; the replicants have gained sentience and I would argue their own souls, and many gestalts have relapsed into becoming violent, nonsensical entities. The insta-snap grimoires are dead, too, and-- Oh there’s the tiny issue that when a gestalt relapses, their corresponding replicant gets something called the “black scrawl”, a painful and terminal disease. Once a gestalt relapses or dies, their replicant can’t be recreated (well... mostly) and because the original gestalt, the shadow lord, is dead, all the other gestalts are doomed to eventually relapse or die as well, and thus humanity goes extinct. This is where I call bullshit. There’s little known about the time period between Nier: Replicant and Nier: Automata— especially the time of the gestalt and replicants decline. The game(s) leads you to believe that nothing can be done because the soul snapping Grimoires are dead and so is the original gestalt. However, there is tons of evidence in the game itself that implies it’s not so simple, and truly the true tragedy is that simply, everyone gave up — or more likely, Yoko Taro didn’t want us to think this hard, lol. Well TOO BAD, I can’t stop thinking about it so finally let’s actually talk about how to save humanity. First of all, I read on Reddit how it seems to be that the androids Devola and Popula are only two units, and with their demise in Nier: Replicant that project gestalt is doomed to failure. However, Nier: Automata clearly talks about how there were several Devola and Popula model pairs in different cities/continents. There’s no way that only our Devola and Popula in Nier: Replicant knew how to merge a gestalt with its replicant; such vital information would be stored in every android related to the project, and these models were quite literally created to oversee it. So. Idk why the hell the project was allowed to even get so disorganized, but regardless, after the the Shadow Lord and grimoires die, the remaining Devola and Popula units should have immediately made a plan B. There were several big issues with the state of the world before, so we’ll tackle them one by one for the biggest chance of success. 1. All relapsed gestalts need to be eradicated or contained. Their violence has lead replicants to attack them back and view them as monsters, leading to meaningless conflict. If the Devola and Popula units are programmed not to harm the gestalts because they are the 'true humans', they need to make new units ala A2 or 2B to take care of it. Because we know that android technology is already there, evidenced by the Memory Tree, and Devola and Popula, it follows this is definitely possible.

2. There should be three divisions of research made as follows:

2.1 Research into the effects of mismatched replicants merged with gestalts, like Kaine. Because the clock is ticking, there’s unfortunately no time to gawk at morals. Taking volunteers, even 1 success could be the difference between extinction or survival.

2.2 Creating and housing “iced” or “stasis” gestalts, while replicant bodies are “grown” for them. Because replicants have formed their own identities, they should try to create/raise replicants completely asleep/comatose. If not this, research into putting gestalts into their proper replicants at infant stage can be tried. (Note: replicants were infertile, hence why replicants had to be made, not born of sexual reproduction. Yoko Taro said that replicants couldn’t reproduce because they didn’t have their souls, however I think this was just a comment said to cover a plot hole.)

2.3 Research into whether replicants truly have souls or not, and whether something can be done to allow them to reproduce. Regarding the soul issue, it’s heavily implied that the Memory Tree, having absorbed the memories of so many replicants, began growing a soul of its own (that Nier killed, thinking it was a shade, oops). Now, how is that possible? It shouldn’t be, unless the replicants had made their own or unless a soul being created was possible. If we want to get fancy, a fourth division could be organized to study Emil and the weapons project that experimented on him, with an emphasis on how to either reverse the effects or if any information can be gleaned from them regarding the soul.

2.4 Black scrawl 2 electric boogaloo: it’s said in the project gestalt files that they couldn’t find a cure or reason for this phenomenon, but if we’re trying to cover our bases, another research division should be created to investigate and attempt to cure it. It seems to be a magical malady, so I wonder if Emil would be able to help... or even Kaine.

3. (Moving along...) More androids should be created to build cities / homes / areas of civilization for the newly reformed humans to re-habitat. This is said to be a goal of the androids in Nier: Automata, and they were doing a piss poor job — maybe if they got started earlier they’d have a better shot. The replicants were/are already living in medieval levels of squalor and poverty, which is ridiculous considering the android's technology is so advanced.

4. No more lies: though in my plan, replicants shouldn’t have to be created except to be possessed, but if they are created and allowed to mature into a sentient age, replicants should be educated and informed about the truth of their existence — this is for many reasons. First, that way replicants will be less likely to fear and attack shades they see; two, worst comes to worst, they may be more willing to share their bodies with their gestalts and who knows? Maybe they’d merge naturally. Three, no replicant would be allowed to get strong enough to defeat an android (or two -- seriously, what were the twins thinking letting Nier get so powerful?).

Hopefully this makes it very obvious that the death of humanity was entirely the fault of Project Gestalt itself and the androids meant to oversee it -- at least the androids have the excuse of being programmed to act a certain way, but still. It's so frustrating that we just have to accept that humanity was doomed even though, by its own lore, there was a lot that could have been done to attempt to save humans. Like, I love you, Yoko Taro, but gees.

anyway if you've read all this I'm so sorry but also I'm REALLY interested to hear what y'all think about the Nier universe and it's facets. idek why I've got such deep brainworms but here we are.

P.S. As of writing this, I've played some Nier: Reincarnation and it just further implies that the way they created and treated replicants was both A) awful, holy shit, it's so bad, and B) ill-advised on every level. I don't want to spoil but good lord. Honestly, I think at this point YT just wants to express/nail home that humanity was doomed to fail because of its own cruelty and flaws. ok ill shut up now bye love u

#nier replicant ver.1.22474487139...#nier replicant spoilers #nier automata #nier lore #rant #nier project gestalt #long post #nier lore discussion

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vaguely-concerned · 5 years

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Some more mass effect andromeda thinky thoughts as I run around heleus getting some achievements!

- the murderous angaran ai is genuinely so fucking funny. “How are you feeling here on Aya?” “I hope you die” “Is there anything we could do to make you more comfortable?” “BURY THIS PLANET UNDER FIRE AND ASH” “o.oookay. Goodbye then.” “I HATE you.”

- I hope I never become irresistibly moved to write mass effect andromeda fic b/c there really is no other description for a good 70% of the expressions reyes makes than :> and how could one capture that in words

- as mentioned I’ve been doing a bit of achievement hunting and in the process I’ve been switching up a lot of gameplay stuff from how I handled it the first few times around and let me tell you it’s baller as fuuuuuuuuuck -- it just looks so awesome and is so satisfying between the maneuverability of the jetpack and biotic charge and the effects. special shoutout to what happens if you biotic charge a frozen victim enemy and the biotic pull/push combination. (throwing people around like ragdolls is actually so much fun I’ve kept doing it even after I unlocked the achievement lol)

- lol lol when you get meridian online there’s the montage of every planet coming back to life, right? well the one on kadara is from inside kralla’s song, with umi looking out at everything that’s happening. and all I can imagine is her jaded-ass voice going ‘what the fUCK did that asshole kid do now I only just cleaned up after the bar brawl he started with his krogan grandpa and now he’s rearranging the entire fucking planet right from under us goddess I need a drink’

- the implication that reyes ‘cards so close to my chest you won’t even know I’m playing’ vidal just does not shut up about how amazing ryder is to anyone who’ll listen gives me so much life. when you try to be mysterious and laidback but the human pathfinder is so fucking cute tho Y____Y (also go watch his scenes if you’re being standoffish with him the entire time -- he clearly wants ryder to like him so much right from the beginning, he’s doing so much work to no avail and I feel sort of bad for how funny I find it haha. interesting that it really does seem to be an emotional thing as well as y’know the practical/tactical benefits of having the pathfinder on his side. methinks the charlatan might be a bit lonely there behind all his masks lol)

I think this is why I’m willing to give him some benefit of the doubt too, despite all the cloak and dagger stuff -- he’s so immediately drawn to ryder, who you can never make a bad person, really. something in him must respond to that, if potentially only in the ‘attracted to traits I do not possess myself’ way hahaha

- I love sam. so so much. some of the open world implementation is still grating (yes sam. yes I know I can mine this area for resources through my mining interface. we’ve been doing this for a hundred hours sam. you’ve been right here with me the entire time sam. please sam), but he’s SUCH a good and I’d argue underutilized concept (emotionally at least) and the best boy. the fact that he can get SARCASTIC on you fsdhfjsadh he’s growing and learning! he’s doing so from inside your brain which is kind of unsettling but also SO COOL! there’s something about that level of intimacy, of always knowing there will be someone there with you in your head that is super interesting and deserves to be examined more fully -- both how it could be comforting and how it’s r e a l l y not how people or ai are generally designed to work lol.

he also gives us a unique link with our dad and I wonder if the writers would have explored that in more depth if there’d been more development time -- it practically SCREAMS out an invitation to get to play/see things from alec’s POV in short bursts, like the memories you unlock except you could go through playing it as him since sam is common to both of us. (see my ‘our dad comes back through either kett or remnant nonsense in the sequel and we need to find some way to connect with him’ idea. it would be. amazing. listen alec already looked at the ethical guidelines involved in creating ai and went ‘huh interesting ideas but not for me thanks!’, don’t tell me he wouldn’t have left some loophole in so this could happen)

- reyes literally says ‘the cavalry’s here’ when we get to meridian and I for one love him more than words can express (he also asks us if we’re okay in sort of a sweet/worried way right before we get to the control room. aw buddy)

- like we don’t think of them like that because we’re in control of them and see all the stumbles and awkwardness and how young they are all the time, but damn the ryder twins must look like something else to everyone in andromeda haha. they literally stride around like demigods restoring entire planets. on voeld spring non-metaphorically follows in their footsteps. shit dude if we’re talking realpolitik here the angara must feel p r e t t y nervous about this -- there’s no one saying they can’t turn off the vaults as easily as they turned them on. I hope we get them somehow teaching the angara how to do it too, on a smaller scale at least, as a show of good faith or something in a sequel, because that power imbalance is disconcerting

- I’m glad sam and I have such similar priorities whenever we’re on kadara. ‘maybe mr vidal would know. perhaps we should ask mr vidal about this. mr vidal said something relating to this pathfinder maybe we should speak to him’ . yeah sam i know the feeling, same (it does undeniably read as sam having a bit of a crush which is. hilarious?)

- the fact that alec ryder thought ellen responded to his bad boy act in any way when what really charmed her was that he was a great big nerd <3 it’s kind of nice to see a fictional marriage that seems to have just been. nice and stable and chill? just two intellectual equals who like and respect each other very much and not a lot of drama until alec went full alec and started developing rogue ai instead of watching his wife die lol. again I would love for the sequel to involve ellen finally waking up and being like ‘death? trying to claim MY husband? I do not think so, I can die he can’t he’s not leaving me behind’ and helping out and you realize that the reason they were soulmates was that under the relatively rational and unemotional surface they’re both, at heart, batshit crazy mad scientists who are insanely devoted to each other. imagine it tho! the people of andromeda realize alec ryder is back from the dead somehow and doing some Shit out there, they put a ton of resources into curing ellen’s disease because their best shot is something to do with the implants she made, hey presto we’ve got all ryders on the board and in play.

- just want to make it clear that I’m still sad about avitus rix and hope he’s having a good day

- do you think ryder ever asks sam to read something to him ‘aloud’ in his head if he’s anxious and can’t sleep. or just to talk at him about something boring until he nods off. again the possibilities inherent in the concept!!! he has someone who’s closer to him than any other person could be, what’s that like?

- *me sticking to my sidewinder pistol the whole playthrough even though it’s laughably inefficient* I just wanna feel like a cowboy bioware please work with me here

- the male ryder voice actor has such amazing comedic timing, there’s a lot of reaction stuff out in the field he absolutely nails. I enjoy the female voice too and I like how much emotion she manages to convey towards the end of the game especially, but there’s a casual comedy in male ryder’s voice that can’t be beat. (well, it’s not hawke levels, but then nothing ever is, that’s too much to ask)

- I love vorn and kesh so much. nerd krogans unite & make out

- I still want to sit peebee down and have a long serious talk with her about emotional abuse, maybe give her a hug :( fuck kalinda

- this game does not get enough credit for how stunningly beautiful it is, it all got buried under criticism about the animations and it’s a fucking shame. the last few vaults you go through are just mindboggling in scale and visual uh striking-ness. it makes me so sad to think there won’t be any more of it D:

- I really like this mainly casual + logical dialogue options ryder I’ve found; it makes him sound like a younger and more irreverent version of his father, but also softer and less closed off and much more willing to show affection for his family especially.

- i wonder if different people’s individual SAMs will take on a certain tone/unique pattern when they’ve coexisted long enough. have I mentioned. how much I want a sequel to this game

- one last reyes note because don’t look at me okay -- I wonder how much we’re meant to read into ‘being honorable never got me anywhere’. on the one hand I’m fully prepared to believe he’s never even tried doing anything the honorable way in his entire life lol but on the other there’s also some interesting potential in the interplay of that sentence and ‘to be someone’. (there seems to be a deep fear in him both of powerlessness and of being truly seen/recognized -- he equates secrecy with safety pretty explicitly -- which seems... telling? of what I don’t know but telling all the same hahaha) like he might be saying he’s tried doing things the ‘right’ way and it didn’t work and the price was too high, so he just went for this instead with the ends low-key justifying the means. hmmm. :Ia (this is what happens when I get Attached to a character with like an hour of screentime my friends, and I’m already primed to give my entire heart away at the sound of nicholas boulton’s voice)

#mass effect #mass effect andromeda #I'm sorry about this my brain just won't shut up about this suddenly so here we go #reyes vidal #meta

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sol1056 · 6 years

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stop and un-remember this

Step away from the echo chambers of twitter and tumblr, and set aside the pockets of the internet where reviews live. Most of a show’s viewing audience -- hell, the vast majority of the US -- doesn’t reside in those places.

For the casual viewers who make up the silent majority of almost every viewing audience, there’s minimal interest in any convention circuit, or interview, or much of anything outside Netflix’s selections. (This is one reason for having reviews and interviews showing up in a half-dozen venues, to try and grab as many low-engagement viewers as possible.)

What that means is that, for the majority of viewers who are not as plugged-in as the core fandom, the story exists only as it’s shown on their screens. So let’s step back from JDS’ and LM’s ex-canonical explanations, and look at how the story appears when taken solely on its own merits.

Behind the cut: five things the story doesn’t explain, and how the actual narrative might appear to a casual viewer.

1. Shiro has a degenerative disease; while perhaps not terminal, it does sound inevitably debilitating.

This is quite a bombshell, and it’s never mentioned again. Nothing in the story offsets or contradicts what Shiro -- or anyone else -- says in S7E1 about how much longer he’s got.

SHIRO: I’ll only be able to maintain my peak condition for a couple more years.

This is underscored by the series’ use of timeframes (to a greater degree than any previous season). We know Shiro spent a year as a prisoner, and from Pidge’s later comment about ‘four years’, we can deduce it’s been another year since then, plus a magical three-year timeskip in the return to Earth.

That means that for casual viewers, the season is shadowed by this assumption that Shiro has an expiration date -- and it’s not that far off in the future.

2. Keith inexplicably stops pressuring Shiro to take position as Black Paladin.

Nothing is said anywhere as to why Shiro is no longer tied to Black nor the Black Paladin. The closest we get to even a nod in that direction is when all but the five current paladins are frozen, in S7E6.

ALLURA: Coran is frozen as well. Our paladin armor must have protected us from the shock.

The problem is Shiro’s wearing armor, too, and he’s also frozen. That single line (and his exclusion from the bulk of that episode) seems to stand in for the message that Shiro is no longer a paladin.

At the same time, S7 had a complete absence of any protest from Keith. We’ve had 50+ episodes of Keith insisting -- even when all evidence pointed to Shiro’s death -- that Shiro remained the Black Paladin.

KEITH: Shiro is gone. He was the Black Lion.

A casual viewer might decide Keith’s silence in S7 meant Keith realized he’d been wrong all along. That in fact, the mantle of Black Paladin passed to Keith upon Shiro’s “death,” and the clone taking Black was another indication of the clone’s wrongness. That is, the clone stole Shiro’s memories and appearance, and Keith’s position as Black Paladin.

3. Shiro’s physical abilities are downgraded significantly.

Most of the fight scenes across S7, Shiro does little, if he’s even present at all. Krolia lampshades this by saying Shiro’s still recovering.

KROLIA: No, you’re still recovering. I’ll do it.

And in the last stretch of S7, Shiro’s contribution amounts to telling other people what to do; his previous physicality is reduced to acting as a conduit for Sam to hack his brain. And finally, Sendak defeats Shiro easily, compared to S1 where Shiro fought him to a draw.

A casual viewer might thus assume Shiro himself chose (offscreen) to refuse Black’s position, between adjusting to a new body and the last stages of a genetic disease (since a clone with identical memories would reasonably also have identical physical aspects).

4. Shiro has the clone’s body, but not the clone’s memories.

In S7E1, the high-drama element is whether his awareness can fix itself to an unfamiliar body. Shiro calls out the clone-situation only once.

SHIRO: Well, I'm sorry, Lance, but I guess having my consciousness transplanted from the infinity of Voltron's inner quintessence into the dead body of an evil clone of myself has left me a little out of sorts for the past few weeks.

Later, Shiro mentions his “disappearance,” and says dealing with the long dark passage alone required adopting routines. He never references any events that happened during his absence. The narrative is pretty clear, so it’d be reasonable to conclude the two had completely separate experiences, and Shiro has none of the clone’s memories.

In short: Kuron was evil, is now dead, and has no further influence on events.

5. While we’re at it, a casual viewer might be unaware of the intended subtext of Shiro’s relationship with Adam.

Yes, yes, I’ve seen all the arguments that say it’s supposed to be coded as romantic, but it’s full of contradictions that create a certain ambiguity. For one, they’re in the officer’s club, with other people present. Second, although Adam asks what he means to Shiro, his next line could imply a long-term partnership of a military kind.

ADAM: Every mission, every drill, I’ve been right there with you.

Although the EPs/writers seem to put family together to a frightening degree that a modern military would never condone --- Matt and Sam on the mission to Kerberos, Veronica going with Lance to the battlefield --- that’s just not the assumption the average person is going to make.

In writing, you always put last what you want to stick in the reader’s mind. The order here leaves room for viewers to skip over any implications in the first line to linger on the second, which could be ambiguously platonic. A viewer not actively looking for queer representation could interpret this as Adam being afraid for his best friend, and possibly a bit jealous at being left behind.

At no point -- in that first episode, or later, when Shiro learns of Adam’s death -- does anyone speak of their relationship. Nowhere does Shiro even put a word to it. If casual viewers had already coded them as best friends or near-brothers, Shiro’s grief is still comprehensible and relatable. In some ways, the platonic aspect of other pop-culture bromances (ie Bucky Barnes and Steve Rogers) are just as strong, with mourning just as severe.

Honestly, there was more in a few lines’ exchange between Ezor and Zethrid to indicate a romantic relationship than there was in all of the Shiro/Adam interactions or references. “I’ll always take care of you” and “that’s my girl” are pretty unambiguous, especially given the character designs (and previous interactions) make it pretty clear these two are not siblings.

And --- unlike with Adam and Shiro --- they’re storyboarded with a certain intimacy. They’re alone, and Zethrid gets in close in Ezor’s personal space, with Ezor neither pushing her away nor recoiling.

ZETHRID: Don’t worry, we’ll be fine.

If casual viewers had heard anything in passing about LGBT+ rep in VLD, it’s entirely possible they could’ve assumed this was the rep intended. Of course, both die in a fiery explosion not long after, but who’s counting.

in the absence of in-story explanation

It seems to me that a casual viewer --- lacking the EPs’ explanations --- might have found S7 somewhat confounding. Is Shiro now unable (or not allowed) to pilot Black because he occupies someone else’s body? Is Keith’s tacit appropriation of the Black Paladin mantle meant to signal the S4 handoff was a mistake? By virtue of his disease or his victimhood in Haggar’s schemes, is Shiro no longer qualified to be a paladin?

The season’s also full of characters framed as though we should care as deeply about them as we do about the core protagonists. Adam, Colleen, Iverson, Sam, and a dozen or more Garrison cadets and officers, all better trained, better disciplined, and better equipped than Voltron itself. They not only get two episodes of backstory (twice what Voltron itself got), they dominate most of the second half of the season.

Meanwhile, the protagonists struggle, needing Shiro to tell them what to do; they’re almost their own worst enemies more than Sendak is. Compared to the Earth forces who rally repeatedly, the Voltron team barely hangs in there. They need Shiro’s ultra-ugly oversized insta-mecha to intervene, before Voltron can get its act together long enough to strike the killing blow.

Honestly, it’s no surprise the first flush of audience reaction is so unhappy, if the majority were unaware of the EPs’ explanations. Almost all contradict point-blank what we see in the story itself:

Shiro’s disease was cured during his imprisonment or cured in the cloning process, but either way he’s fine, now

The clone was neither evil nor brainwashed, just basically Shiro doing his best until Haggar struck in late S6

Shiro and the clone are now merged consciousness, with Shiro retaining his memories plus that of the clone’s

Shiro’s link to Black has been permanently broken by Allura’s transfer; he’s no longer a paladin, full stop

Shiro and Adam were in a long-term relationship, either currently engaged or heading that direction, at the time of their breakup

None of that shows up in the narrative. None of it.

Lacking that ex-canonical information, it had to have felt as though the story’s expected trajectory was just thrown out the nearest window. Coupled with the extreme emphasis on an entirely new set of characters, I wouldn’t be surprised if casual viewers got the impression that S7 existed solely as setup for Voltron to gain a new and better set of paladins.

#vld #voltron #analysis #vld spoilers #season 7 #come for the sugar stay for the salt

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paleorecipecookbook · 6 years

Text

Changing Habits? You Need to Shrink the Change

Whatever your objective, kudos for planning to improve your health and well-being. But do you know how to set yourself up for success? When it comes to making changes, should you think big or start small?

The answer may surprise you in our aim-high culture, yet decades of research have made it clear: you’re more likely to achieve your goals when they’re small and attainable. It’s humble, incremental shifts that truly help you alter long-held habits. Read on to learn how to “shrink the change” you hope to make in the coming months.

Want to keep your New Year’s resolutions? Try shrinking the change! Find out how to shrink big changes into manageable steps and get a free activity handout to help. #healthylifestyle #changeagent #chriskresser

Forget Willpower—Here’s a Better Method for Changing Your Habits

If you believe that the key to changing an unhealthy habit is to grit your teeth and tap into an elusive thing called willpower, then you’re falling into an age-old trap—one that trips up even the most determined individuals.

When asked, many people regularly cite lack of self-control as the number-one reason they don’t follow through on lifestyle changes like eating right and exercising. (1) And yet the science shows that when it comes to changing your behavior, willpower isn’t as important as you might think—and it can even sabotage your efforts.

For example, past studies have found that people who say they have excellent self-discipline hardly use the skill: they simply don’t put themselves in positions in which they need to call on self-control in the first place. For example, they don’t white-knuckle their way into resisting candy bars or bags of chips. They just don’t keep this stuff around to tempt them. (2, 3)

Piggybacking on these findings, recent research adds that those who do actually exert willpower aren’t necessarily more likely to accomplish their goals compared to those who don’t use willpower. Once again, it’s people who experience fewer temptations overall (who strive not to be tempted, versus not to act on temptation) who are more successful. (4, 5, 6) And here’s another strike against willpower: in this particular study, participants who exercised more self-control reported feeling exhausted from doing so.

This latter finding hits on a growing body of research into “willpower depletion,” the idea that willpower is a limited resource, one that becomes weaker and less reliable the more you tap into it. Think of self-control like a cell phone battery that charges while you rest; it’s full when you wake up, but runs down over the day. Willpower appears to literally drain your brain, negatively impacting cognition and functioning and thus your chances of meeting your goals. (And unlike a battery, you can’t just “recharge” your willpower overnight.) (7)

Your Strategy Instead? Think Small—Really, Really Small

As I see it, then, the best way to address the challenge of any big behavior change is to shrink the change down into small goals. That way, when it comes time to take action, willpower doesn’t even enter the equation.

How small am I talking? Ridiculously small. You want your goal to be entirely doable.

Take this example. Say your overall aim is to reduce stress through a meditation practice. Instead of thinking, “Starting now I’m going to devote one hour a day to meditation practice,” start much (much) smaller. Your small steps for getting there might look something like this:

Find a space in my house conducive to meditation. (If needed, the next goal could be to spruce up or reorganize the space.)

Buy a meditation cushion.

Download a meditation app, such as Headspace.

Use the app one day this week to meditate for one minute at a time.

Use the app two days next week to meditate for two minutes each time.

Keep going until you’ve worked your way up to regular, longer meditation sessions. Eventually, you’ll no longer need any guided help, and you’ll have built a new habit.

Here are some other ideas.

Big change: Be less sedentary and more physically active. (Hint: “Go to the gym five days a week” is likely too big)

Small goals:

Buy a pedometer or fitness tracker this week

Take 2,000 steps a day next week by taking the stairs, taking walking breaks at work, and parking farther away

Call a friend and schedule a 30-minute walk in the next three days

Take that 30-minute walk

Big change: Get more sleep. (Hint: “Get to bed an hour earlier every night” is perhaps too big)

Small goals:

Start turning off electronics and dimming the lights half an hour to an hour before bedtime

Go to bed five minutes earlier than normal this week

Go to bed 10 minutes earlier than normal next week

Big change: Eat better. (Hint: “Cut out all fried foods and sweets” may be too big for you)

Small goals:

Drink black coffee one day this week

Swap one fast-food breakfast this week for a homemade omelet

Try one new vegetable in the next two days

Notice something about these examples? They’re distinct and measurable. (Note the specific amounts, distances, time frames, and so on.) That’s because this strategy for behavior-change success isn’t only about making small goals—it’s also about tracking those goals and celebrating every incremental win.

As humans, we tend to focus on what’s wrong rather than what’s right. Making your progress visible and recognizing your victories fuels hope that you will accomplish what you’ve set out to.

Try This: Shrink the Change for Your Next Big Goal

Before you read any further, I want you to try this out for yourself. Get out a pen and piece of paper and take a moment to practice shrinking the change while it’s fresh in your mind.

First, select one behavior change you’d like to make for yourself within the next 30 days. List the small, concrete, and doable steps you can take to achieve this change. Try to limit yourself to just a few steps; don’t get bogged down listing everything at once.

Finally, for the steps you’ve outlined, list how you will track and celebrate each goal you accomplish.

Ready to practice? Enter your email to join my newsletter and download your free handout to help you shrink the change!

[gravityform id="16" title="false" description="false" ajax="true"]

Why Shrinking the Change Produces Lasting Results

When you set small goals, track them, and honor your achievements, you build the momentum and confidence needed to fulfill your larger mission. And checking off accomplishments just feels good, doesn’t it? Ever wondered why?

When you deliver on a promise to yourself, your brain essentially rewards you by releasing the “feel good” neurotransmitter dopamine, which is responsible for pleasure, learning, and motivation. You experience greater concentration and the desire to re-experience the activity that triggered the dopamine release. (8, 9)

This is precisely why shrinking the change works: with each win, dopamine rewires your brain for continued success. Conversely, each time you fail, you deplete your brain of dopamine. Put another way, the brain learns from success, not failure.

Science bears this out. In an MIT study involving monkeys who were trained to view and then choose certain images from a computer screen and get a reward when they picked the “correct” answer, when the animals—whose brain activity was being monitored—were right, they received a positive brain signal that was the equivalent of a “great job!” high five, along with the reward.

Furthermore, the neural stimulation from choosing the correct image spurred the monkeys on, and with their focus sharpened, they were likely to get the next answer right. After an error, however, there was little change in their brain activity. The monkeys—like us—learned from their successes, and not their failures. (10)

The Big Picture: Better Habits Make for Better Health

The small goals that lead to a successful reversal of unwise habits have far from a modest impact on your health. In fact, behavior change may be the single-most important way you can prevent and reverse chronic disease.

As I’ve written before, we now know that our genes are not our destiny and that environment—including the lifestyle choices we make—is the primary driver of health and longevity. The five most important behaviors for preventing chronic illness are:

Not smoking

Exercising regularly

Drinking moderately, or not at all

Maintaining a healthy body weight

Getting enough sleep

Shockingly, according to the CDC, only 6.5 percent of Americans practice all five habits, which could explain the meteoric rise in chronic disease. (11)

A recent Harvard study looked at these habits’ impact on longevity (with healthy diet substituted for enough sleep). Researchers found that men who followed all five habits could add an average of 12 years to their life; for women who did the same, that number jumped to 14. Participants experienced a decrease in mortality from cancer and cardiovascular disease, in particular. (12)

Making It Stick: Get the Help of a Health Coach

Even when you set small, manageable goals, meeting them—and sticking with the resulting changes for the long haul—won’t always be easy. I encourage you to seek the support of a health coach as part of your Functional Medicine care team. A health coach will walk with you through the process of behavior change and encourage you every step of the way.

Health coaches are uniquely qualified for this supportive role. They are highly trained in human behavior, motivation, and health, and they embrace a variety of strategies—like shrinking the change—to help guide you while you’re changing your habits. They don’t follow the typical “expert” model that’s so common in healthcare. Instead, they partner with you to understand your current condition, flesh out your goals, create doable objectives, and hold you accountable.

And because of their approach, you get results. In one of many studies on the impressive success rates attributable to health coaching, coached obese individuals were more likely to have lost at least 5 percent of their body weight up to 24 months after completing a coaching program than those who did not have intervention. (13)

Working with a health coach can help you achieve lasting change here. (And if you’re interested in becoming a health coach yourself, check out my ADAPT Health Coach Training Program.)

The take-home message: Society may tell you to shoot for the stars, but it’s perfectly okay—and actually advisable when it comes to changing your habits—to aim for what’s within reach. Small goals will help you achieve seemingly small behavioral changes that add up to big benefits for your health.

Now, I’d like to hear what you think. What habits are you trying to change, and what small steps can you take to help you reach your goals? Comment below and share your story!

The post Changing Habits? You Need to Shrink the Change appeared first on Chris Kresser.

Source: http://chriskresser.com January 01, 2019 at 02:02PM

#paleo #recipe #food #delicious #healthy #yum #diet

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robininthelabyrinth · 6 years

Text

Fic: Puppy On Board (3/?) - Ao3 link

Fandom: Legends of Tomorrow Pairing: Mick Rory/Leonard Snart (currently gen)

Summary: In which life is Big, and Tough, and Extremely Frustrating - but mostly because Len is currently a goddamn puppy.

————————————————————————————–

On one hand (paw?), Len is pathetically grateful to be back with Mick once more. Just seeing his partner again, when he'd just about lost all hope, is everything he could've wanted and more.

On the other, though, does Mick really need to sleep for so long?

Clearly not.

It's unhealthy, that's what it is.

Len's doing Mick a favor when he sticks his nose into Mick's ear and slobbers on him till he wakes up.

Really.

No matter what Mick might be saying – or, more accurately, cursing.

"You want more to eat, huh?" Mick finally asks, rubbing his face.

Len totally woke Mick up out of concern for his health - but if more food is on the offer, well, you know, he’s not going to refuse...

He's a growing puppy, damnit.

"Food every two hours is apparently normal at your age," Mick said sleepily, heading to the kitchenette corner in his room. "So, I guess it ain't your fault."

Hmph. As if Len would be motivated by something so base as biology.

(Oh, but that milk is good. Hits the spot just right. God, he was so hungry.)

A satisfactory feeding later, Mick puts Len down on the ground and opens the door. "C'mon," he grunts, tossing on a robe - clearly a Legends-imposed requirement, because Mick still sleeps proudly nude as always. "I'd better get you out of here before you decide to piss."

Actually, on that subject, Len's pretty sure he saw - ah, good, there it is.

Mick's still rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, which is probably why it takes him a second to catch up to what Len is doing, and on what.

"Wait, no, puppy, that's Sara's - welp, nevermind, that's a lost cause right there." Mick sighs. "I'll tell Sara she needs to get a new pack before the next mission. And maybe clean this one. She'd better not try to make me clean it, when she shouldn’t have left it hanging around where a puppy in search of revenge could get to it..."

Len gives his best "I'm an innocent puppy, really" grin.

Mick gives him a beady-eyed glare. "Don't think I'm not onto you."

Len's smile fades for a moment, then comes back at twice the strength. Mick's figured it out? Already? Thank God! Maybe they can skip ahead to figuring out a good way for Len to communicate, or maybe even to turning him back into a human so that -

"You're trouble, that's what you are," Mick announces.

...oh.

Len whines and slumps down, a process that involves just giving up on this whole standing business and splaying out on all fours like the weight of the world has come crashing down on his puppy shoulders.

"Hey, I didn't mean that," Mick said, crouching down. "It's okay, you're a good boy deep down - yes, that's right, a good boy -"

Len is not a good boy.

Len isn't even a good puppy.

And he likes it that way, damnit! He's a bad, bad man! He’s a supervillain and proud of it, except that right now he's a goddamn puppy.

Near-newborn puppies are not, despite Len’s best efforts, very intimidating.

"C'mon, back to bed."

Fine. But only for a bit, and then Len's waking Mick up again out of sheer spite!

...and possibly hunger.

"Don't know what your mom was thinking letting you wander off this young," Mick comments.

Len nips at one of his fingers, aiming to get him with one of the few milk teeth that have fully grown in so that it will sting.

Don't talk about my mom like that. Not even you, Mick.

Mick chuckles and pets his head and yawns a bit, heading back to his room, his eyes already heavy.

Len huffs, then frowns, picking up a strange scent.

He cranes his neck as far out as he can, just barely able to see around Mick.

It's the new guy - Nate.

He's not doing anything, just standing there, staring blankly down the hallway. He doesn't move or say hi or anything - Mick clearly missed his presence there entirely, and Len would have, too, if his new sense of smell wasn't so strong.

Len yips a tentative greeting, giving a vague wag of the tail, but there's no response and anyway Mick is taking Len away at speed, so there's no time to investigate.

Weird.

Whatever, Nate's sleepwalking issue isn't Len's business.

A few hours later, the Legends all gather in the med bay, which seems to Len like a weird-ass place to meet given the existing presence of a bridge designed specifically for that purpose, but their intention quickly becomes clear.

"Surely the temporal energy doesn't keep you from doing a scan at all, right, Gideon?" Zari asks.

"I can do a surface scan," she says. "And determine health, albeit superficially. For some reason, my DNA scanners can't seem to make head or tails of him."

Head or tails. Heh. Because he has a tail now.

Len finds that said tail wagging in approval entirely without his consent.

He’s going to really enjoy the dog puns.

"Well, what's your verdict, then?" Sara asks.

"He's a very healthy male puppy, with no serious diseases or other issues that I can determine. Comparing his appearance to other images I have, I would estimate an age somewhere a little over two weeks old, though I'm unsure how much older given the temporal issue."

"What breed is he?" Nate asks, giving his fingers for a lick.

Len is tempted - so many interesting smells! - but he pointedly turns his back on Nate to give Zari's fingers some attention. He's pretty sure Nate was on the pro-castration side of things, even if he didn't speak up, and anyway it makes Zari laugh in delight and Nate mutter under his breath about favoritism and it's not even Amaya...!

So, you know, there.

"He appears to be a mix of breeds," Gideon announces.

"So, a mutt," Sara says. "He fits right in already."

"But what breeds?" Nate asks. "That could impact his behavior and needs and - stuff."

"Stuff," Amaya says, amused.

"Hey, I know something about dogs. Not much, I admit, but..."

"I believe there is a significant proportion of husky," Gideon says. "Thereby accounting for the coloration, general form, and blue eyes - though those might be a puppy feature that darken as he gets older."

"Those ears aren't even slightly husky," Amaya objects.

"That's correct - some sort of spaniel, I would estimate, given the size of his ears and - ah - their proportion to his body -"

Len'll grow into them.

"He'll grow into 'em," Mick says.

Len loves Mick. Wise man.

"Hold up," Sara says, eyeing the ears. "How big is he going to get? We don't have enough space for a full-on herding dog here -"

"Huskies are working dogs, not herding dogs, I think," Ray says helpfully from where he's lurking by the door. "And Mick can take him on walks around the ship, or outside once we land."

"If we take him outside, he'll get lost," Zari objects, reaching out to rub Len under the chin.

"He can barely walk or regulate his own temperature right now," Mick grunts. "Doesn't exactly seem like an urgent issue."

"Barely walking or not, he still made his way onto the Waverider," Sara reminds him.

"Should we chip him?" Nate asks.

Len sniffs. Nate's the one who ought to be chipped, what with that sleepwalking habit.

"Not at this age," Amaya says firmly.

"Perhaps a small collar could be fashioned," Gideon suggests. "And the tracking chip placed under the nameplate."

Len sighs noisily. It's not like he hadn't been expecting to be collared eventually, given his shape.

Luckily he didn't have any bad associations with collaring, unless you count a certain period of never-to-be-spoken-of-again bad fashion choices back in the 90s...

The Legends, however, met Gideon's announcement with an almost stunned silence.

"Oh, man," Nate says, breaking it after a moment, "his name. Mick, have you named him yet, or can we help?"

"Well..." Mick said cautiously.

"No, no, please, let us help!"

"I still get veto power," Mick warns.

What about Len? Len should get veto power.

Personally, he's quite fond of "Boss" as an acceptable dog-like name -

"How about Spot?"

For shame, Nate. He doesn't even have spots! Coloration markings, yes, but not spots.

"No, no, Nate, not Spot," Ray says. "He doesn't have spots."

At least Mr. Castration-Is-Good-For-Dogs has some decent opinions.

"He's more black-and-white," Ray continues. "How about Oreo? Or Newsie, short for newspaper?"

Ugh. Positive statement retracted.

"No," Mick says. "Just - no."

"How about Joe?" Amaya suggests. "Or - Carl, maybe? Oh, I know! Rex!"

Len puts his head down and covers his head with his paws, whining pathetically.

"I think even the puppy thinks that's a no go," Sara says, snickering. "Sorry, Amaya."

"It's okay," Amaya says. "He's cute enough; I'll forgive him anything."

Len's traitorous tail gives a wag at that.

"How about something more thematic?" Zari suggests.

"Thematic?" Mick asks, sounding skeptical.

Len's not sure why; he loves things with a theme. If he has to be Heatwave's dog, then he might as well get named something appropriate. Flame or Explosion or Heatpup something -

No.

Hot Dog.

He can just see it now in a newscaster voice: “Here comes Heatwave, famed supervillain, and his trusted sidekick, Hot Dog…!”

Len sniggers, though it mostly comes off as a dry sort of huffing.

...he'd better stop that before they decide to name after Muttley or something.

(He’s far more of a Dick Dasterdly!)

“I’ve got an idea,” Zari says.

"Oh?" Sara asks. “What were you thinking?”

"Well, Mick is going to be the primary owner, right?" Zari says with a shrug. "We could match the dog to the owner."

C'mon, make the Hot Dog joke! Do it! It's right there!

"Something heat related, you mean?" Sara asks. "To match 'Heatwave'?"

"No, that's too obvious," Zari says. "I was thinking more of a contrast - Snowflake, or Snowy -"

"Oooh, Frosty!" Nate exclaims. “Cold Miser!”

"Or you could do the exact opposite of Mick's," Amaya says, "and call him 'Coldwave' -"

"No," Mick says flatly. "Nothing with Cold."

Len had been pretty much in favor of the names, no matter how dumb - he loves a good cold pun - but Mick's voice...

He's in pain.

Len whines, pulling his head out from under his paws and trying to go to Mick at once. It's his fault Mick is in such pain, his fault, he was the one who abandoned his partner like that and therefore only he can make it right. He might not be able to fix it, he's too small to do that, but he'll go and snuggle him and lick him and nip at his fingers till he feels better -

On his hurried way over to Mick, though, Len trips.

Over his own goddamn ear.

"- sensitive subject," Sara is murmuring when Len goes flying, and then she's not murmuring, she's laughing.

Everyone is laughing.

Even Mick, which is Len's sole consolation. Maybe it wasn't exactly how he was thinking of cheering Mick up, but whatever, it worked.

"Maybe we should call him Floppy," Ray says. "After his big old floppy ears -"

Len rights himself and growls at Ray.

"Awww," Sara coos. "Lil puppy don't like that."

"You named your last pet after a musician, right?" Nate asks. "Guns and Roses? What about something else like that?"

"Oh, I know!" Ray exclaims.

Oh, God, no.

"You could name him Tevye! After Fiddler on the Roof! That's your favorite musical, right?"

...okay, that one's not too bad. At least it respects Len's Judaism.

(Does Len have to be circumcised again now that he’s been reborn? He really hopes not. That was one experience he was very happy to not be aware during.)

"Maybe Fiddler would be easier?" Zari suggests. "Or Fiddlesticks? I like Fiddlesticks."

"I already know what I'm gonna call him," Mick says. "I thought of it last night."

They all look at him, even Len.

He's still hoping for 'Boss'.

"That puppy's name is Trouble."

...yeah, that's fair.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: I wish to give full credit to everyone's wonderful suggestions in the comments to chapter 2, all of which were great and very fitting, and also extremely helpful for writing this chapter :) hopefully work will go quiet again and I'll be able to write more of this soon!

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writesandramblings · 6 years

Text

Secret’s End - Chapter 2

“A Measured Response”

Table of Contents

<< Ch. 1 - A Chance Discovery Ch. 3 - Don’t Sit Down >>

A/N: Sorry for the immense delay, we had a huge surge of projects this month at work. I worked 30 hours of overtime at one point! Luckily, since my day job is writing, I enjoy it, but it left precious little time for recreational writing. Which isn't to say that I didn't find moments here and there to write a bit. Just that there weren't enough of them to finish the chapter until now, and I mostly wrote a bunch of future scenes. (Spoiler sentences have been updated accordingly.)

Readers of TCS will note the crew of the Shenzhou is somehow simultaneously much better and much worse than the Triton's...

Gradually, the situation in the Shenzhou’s medbay resolved itself—with some help from the Dartarans.

“We have never had any issue with the lului in the sense of biological contaminants,” Margeh assured Georgiou. Lalana had been living with them for six years and encountered humans and several other species with no ill effects suffered by any parties. There was also the point that, by Margeh’s description, the Gentonians running the hunting expeditions were extremely cautious and catered to a wealthy clientele whose health they valued. If Lalana or her species posed any risk, the Gentonians would have said as much before allowing Margeh and T’rond’n to take a pair of them home.

T’Vora passed this information along to Dr. Channick, who subsequently decided Lalana was less a threat to the ship and more a potential patient given the length of her captivity. This still left a central question unresolved.

“How am I supposed to know if you’re in good health?” Channick asked after the isolation field came down. She remained at a dead end with her attempts to run medical scans. Saru had been equally unsuccessful at ascertaining any scanner adjustments that would do more than provide a basic physical map of the surface of Lalana’s body. “You’ve been captive for a long time.”

“It was not so long,” said Lalana. “Not even a half of a half of a half of a half of a cycle. And I am entirely undamaged by it.”

“A cycle, is that a measurement of time for your species?” asked Saru.

“Yes. I am seven cycles of age.”

Saru followed the math without trouble. If Lalana had been captive for six years, then six was half of twelve, twenty-four, forty-eight, ninety-two. Except that would make Lalana close to seven hundred years old. Probably she was not being literal and her sense of time was confused after being separated from her natural day/night cycle for so long.

“When you say that,” Saru began, only to be cut off by Channick.

“Thing is, even if there aren’t any physical wounds, there’s the issue of long-term malnutrition. How was your diet? Were you ever sick? Any lethargy?”

Whatever Hasimova was doing with the translation was not having the intended effect. Lalana remained flummoxed by Channick’s inquiries. “Bad nutrition? How are nutrients bad?”

“Malnutrition—weakness from not eating the right foods.”

“I do not understand. Correct foods?”

“What do you typically eat on your planet?” asked Saru in an attempt to head off what seemed to be an entirely misguided line of medical questions towards an alien that clearly had little notion of medical concepts.

“Whatever I want to.”

Channick frowned. Saru’s inquiry had not ended up much more helpful than hers and she considered her own versions of the questions more important than his. “Plants, meat, fruit...”

“Yes,” said Lalana. “Anything which contains the components I require.”

So, she was an omnivore. “Perhaps I could bring you an assortment of food items and you can tell us what most resembles the food sources on your planet,” suggested Saru.

Lalana’s hands spun. “Yes, that would be lovely, Lieutenant Junior Grade Saru! You have such a long name, is there a shorter version of it?”

Saru stood there with his hands pressed together feeling moderately embarrassed as Hasimova and Channick stared at him with less than impressed expressions. This whole experience was starting to feel like a disaster. Saru desperately wanted to run out of the room and hide in the darkest corner he could find. His ganglia itched along the back of his head. “Lieutenant junior grade is my rank. Saru is my name. ‘Lieutenant Saru’ will suffice.”

The last thing Saru heard as he made his exit was Hasimova wondering aloud, “Do you want us to get you some clothes to wear?” Lalana’s response to this was not verbal: she stuck the full length of her tongue out at them and coiled it like a spring.

Gathering the various foodstuffs gave Saru a chance to collect his thoughts. What was happening in the medbay right now felt like chaos and he greatly disliked chaos. What they needed was a clear, direct plan of action and information gathering, not this hodgepodge of meandering questions dancing around important information as to who Lalana’s people were. They needed to be taking a scientific, not conversational, approach.

When he returned to the medbay armed with a tray of delicacies arranged in a series of small glass sauce bowls and a padd containing a plan that would hopefully resolve all their many issues, he found Channick finally engaged in a moment of breakthrough.

“Your question is flawed,” Lalana was saying. “How can I tell you what does not exist?”

“No diseases, no illnesses?” They were back to that line of questioning with the crucial difference that now Channick was realizing Lalana’s earlier answer in the negative was not willful obstinance but an expression of an inability to answer because the question itself was based on a faulty assumption. “But your cells, when they degrade or suffer trauma...”

“If unrepairable, they are reconsumed for materials and energy by the cells surrounding, or in the event of catastrophic contamination, they are eliminated externally.”

Channick tugged at her ear as she processed this information. In Saru’s absence, she had determined the issue with the translator was not that Lalana lacked knowledge of medical biology, but that her knowledge was an order of magnitude beyond the burgeoning translation matrix. As Channick’s questions and explanation became more technical, the computer adjusted its translations accordingly and now doctor and patient were approaching a point of didactic parity. “Can you regenerate all your tissues?”

“What is tissue?”

“Specialized cell group. Like, lung tissue is the cells used for respiration.”

“Nn, no, I am not the tissues, the tissues are the framework upon which I am around. I am the cells, and I do not regenerate, only repair as needed. A dead cell cannot be revived. New cells are created if required, but typically the cells which are me are sufficient.”

Hasimova squinted at the display on her commandeered station, not quite certain of the translation. “The cells which are you?”

“Yes. I am cells. You are also cells, you simply do not know it.”

“We know we’re made up of cells,” said Channick.

”Yes, but you do not know your cells, and your cells do not know they are you.”

That was the phrasing Channick needed to finally make sense of what Lalana was saying. “You have an awareness of your cells?”

“I am cells speaking to you in organization with the assistance of my structural tissues which enable me to operate on the same scale as you do.”

Channick wavered, feeling a sudden need to sit down, but there were no chairs in this part of the medbay. She put her hand on the nearest medical slab as her mind swirled with the implications. There was a paper in here, likely a few of them, and perhaps even a nomination for the prestigious Carrington Award. If she could determine the mechanism by which the cells were aware and their relationship to the tissue structures, not to mention the nature of the repair mechanism...

While Channick processed this, Saru put the tray of food down beside Lalana and accessed the padd. “I have several questions for you organized by subject.”

“Certainly,” said Lalana, sticking her tongue out into the bowl nearest her, which contained lettuce.

The moment Lalana’s tongue touched the leafy green, the entirety of her body turned a matching shade, replete with striations of lighter green that mimicked the lettuce veins. Saru, Hasimova, and Channick were amazed by the sight. Lalana’s “fur” (which it was now clear was anything but) even seemed to have arranged itself into clumps resembling leafy frills. The only thing left unchanged were her immense, lidless green eyes. They remained a shade of green far brighter than the lettuce.

Lalana rolled the lettuce leaf up in her tongue and pulled it whole into her mouth. “This I can eat,” she said once her tongue was returned to its normal position. Next, she stuck her tongue out into a bowl containing a small piece of cooked chicken. She turned the same brownish color as the chicken and her fur flattened, making her much the same color and texture as Saru. Then she withdrew her tongue, declaring the chicken edible but not opting to consume it.

“Remarkable,” said Channick. “Do you do this with everything you eat?”

“Oh, no, this is a game Margeh and T’rond’n enjoyed having me perform for guests, so I thought you would enjoy it.” Her tongue next went to a slice of orange, producing the most wonderful color effect as she mimicked both the rind and pulp. Hasimova gasped in delight.

“If I may begin,” said Saru, glancing at the padd. The first section was labeled Biology. The first question under the heading involved respiration and was clearly moot because Lalana was breathing the same air they were and therefore came from an M-class planet, but there might be nuances to her respiration which merited definition, especially now that she had established herself as a very different form of life. Saru took a breath and opened his mouth to ask the first question.

“That is most impressive,” Captain Georgiou’s voice cut in. She was standing in the medbay entrance, as imposing a figure as ever as her eyes scanned the scene in clear appraisal. “Lalana, your former captors have agreed to assist us in locating your planet and wish a chance to apologize to you. If you do not wish to hear them out, I fully understand.”

“I will hear them out,” said Lalana, shifting back to her previous blue-grey tone. Georgiou gestured towards the open door and Margeh and T’rond’n entered.

“Lalana,” managed Margeh, digging the claws of one hand into the other. “Whatever possessed you to keep this from us...” Georgiou’s tongue clicked in disapproval.

“We apologize,” declared T’rond’n, his voice a low boom compared to his wife’s. “We did not realize that you were... as you are. That does not excuse what happened, but we hope you will forgive us.”

“Certainly,” said Lalana, which seemed generous of her.

“We will do everything we can to assist in ending the hunt of your people,” promised Margeh.

Georgiou spoke again. “There are Federation laws which govern planets like yours which do not have warp drive technology. These laws dictate that we do not interfere with the evolution of your species. To that end, the Federation will endeavor to return you to your planet and stop this atrocity from occurring further.”

Lalana’s hands pressed tightly together—intently, thought Saru—and she said, “That would be... How will you do this?”

“Together, as is the Federation way,” said Georgiou.

Seated in the middle of the conference table staring out at the stars, Lalana had little new information to offer Georgiou. Aside from the history of invasion and hunting, she knew of no interstellar landmarks that might assist them in locating her planet and possessed no information on the Gentonians who were ransacking her world for profit. “It was a red star,” Margeh offered. She, Georgiou, and T’rond’n were sitting around the table in the chairs surrounding it, as intended.

“How would you know?” asked Lalana, tilting her head backward at an angle that suggested her neck bones were capable of spontaneously disconnecting.

Margeh bristled. It was a well-known fact Dartaran visual range was limited when it came to the lower bands of the spectrum. “Because the star was not very bright and was much closer to the planet than most. It could only have been red.”

“There were very few stars visible,” recalled T’rond’n. “The atmosphere must have been thick.”

“The air did smell thick,” said Margeh firmly. What Dartarans lacked in color perception, they more than made up for in other ways. “And the Gentonians are on Risa. We have the contact name written down somewhere, I am sure of it. If you could just bring us back to our home, we will find the name in short order.”

“We have already been in contact with the Risian authorities. They will provide a list of Gentonians on the planet.”

“Our home is only a few hours travel for you,” said Margeh. It was not the first time she had suggested to Georgiou that the Shenzhou provide them a free ride back at speeds much faster than the personal transport currently parked in the Shenzhou’s shuttle bay could manage.

“We are already engaged on a mission,” replied Georgiou curtly. (Which was true, but while Georgiou was mediating this situation, the pirate mission was on hold. Georgiou simply had no interest in playing chauffeur for the Dartaran couple.)

The comms pinged. “Captain, incoming transmission from Risa.”

“Put it through,” said Georgiou, pleased by the speed of the Risians’ response. The Risians were nothing if not accommodating—as eager to please a far-off Starfleet captain as they were the many tourists who visited their planet.

The woman who appeared on the conference viewscreen was the exact sort of living advertisement for Risa that the Risian Hedony liked to employ as a first point of contact. She was stunningly beautiful, with waves of honeyed hair cascading down her shoulders, deep green eyes, and sun-kissed skin. A traditional Risian disc adorned her forehead and an array of tropical flowers filled the frame behind her. If the woman found anything odd about the sight of a Federation captain, two Dartarans, and a blue alien sitting on top of a table, she showed no outward sign of it. “Warm welcomes from Risa, the most pleasant planet in the galaxy. Minister Karrin has readied the data you requested. Please stand by for transmission.” She pressed a button on her console. The Shenzhou’s computer registered receipt. “Is there anything else I can assist you with?”

“For the moment, this will suffice,” said Georgiou, smiling. “We will be in touch again shortly.”

“Certainly,” said the woman. “Let us know if you require anything else. We’re more than happy to be of service. Thank you for contacting Risa.”

“Thank you,” said Georgiou, lingering a moment before terminating the connection.

Images, names, and visa details of all the Gentonians on Risa during the period of time six years ago when the Dartarans had arranged their hunting trip appeared on the conference room viewscreen. Georgiou gestured for Margeh, T’rond’n, and Lalana to make of the images what they could.

Lalana moved to the edge of the table nearest the viewscreen, letting Margeh and T’rond’n control the scroll of images while she watched from between their shoulders. Yellow and green faces with whisker-like protrusions above their mouths flitted by. Most were merchants or traders—Gentonians were consummate traders—but there were several tourists in the mix along with the full staff directory of the Gentonian embassy. T’rond’n startled. “There! That is the one. I am certain of it.”

The Gentonian in question had pale yellow skin with brownish spots. The name beneath the image was “Beldehen Venel.” He was listed as having a merchant license associated with a company called Starway Traders and his current visa status was “ACTIVE, ON PLANET.”

“Computer, display all Starway Traders employees.” Seven Gentonians appeared. “Do you recognize any others?”

Margeh and T’rond’n took their time studying the other names and faces. “No,” concluded Margeh. “The only one we ever saw on Risa was Venel, and none of these Gentonians were on the ship that took us to the planet.”

“Lalana?” prompted Georgiou. “Do you recognize any of them?”

“Nn,” went Lalana, “I do not.”

“Venel was not on the expedition himself,” said Margeh. “He merely arranged our transport.”

Georgiou pressed the intercom button on the conference table console for the bridge. “Please contact Minister Karrin on Risa.” The communications officers on the bridge responded in the affirmative. Georgiou considered Lalana and suggested, “Perhaps you would like to sit in a chair?”

“No,” said Lalana lightly, curling her tail around her legs.

The response from Risa was swift. This time, the Risian woman did not appear on the screen. Instead, a hologram of a male Risian appeared standing in the conference room with brown skin, dark hair and eyes, and an effusive smile. He had the same traditional disc on his forehead and was wearing a blue suit with a white sash. “Captain Georgiou,” he greeted, clearly expecting her.

Georgiou wasted no time. “We have identified a person of interest in an ongoing violation of Starfleet’s General Order One.” With a flick of her finger, Georgiou sent Venel’s details to Karrin. “I am with two Dartarans and a member of the aggrieved species who can corroborate this violation. According to the data you sent, the individual is on Risa at present. He must be detained immediately.”

Karrin’s smile faltered. Risians disliked the appearance of police authority. Risa was largely a safe place to visit, but it was not without its share of crime, mostly because the Risians found it preferable to compensate victims after the fact than to foster an atmosphere of oppressive security that would more fully prevent incidents. “General Order One?”

“Exploitation of a pre-warp species,” clarified Georgiou. On the conference table, Lalana began to knock the knuckles of her hands together. T’rond’n noted this with concern but remained quiet and still in his seat.

“That is...” Karrin’s face clouded. A moment later, it cleared into firm resolve. “We’ll assist in any way we can.” He took a step to the side, pressing a finger to an unseen console on his end of the transmission. “Sollis, are you available?”

The Risian woman from before appeared on the conference room viewscreen as she patched herself into the transmission. “Yes, minister.”

“Can you locate someone for us? Discreetly.”

“Certainly.” It took her only a moment to perform the task. “Beldehen Venel left Risa twenty minutes ago.”

Thirty minutes ago, the Shenzhou had requested information on Gentonians from the Risian authorities. That simple request had evidently been enough to tip Venel off.

On the table, Lalana clicked her tongue. “Oh, that is too bad,” she said. “It seems I will never return home now.”

Saru was convinced of his overall failure in the meager soft first contact task he had requested, so it came as a welcome surprise when Georgiou ordered him to escort Lalana to guest quarters from the conference room. He appeared at the door and stood in stiff, observant attention, his padd of questions still in hand. Lalana amiably strode out to join him in the hallway without a single word of farewell towards Georgiou, Margeh, or T’rond’n. Her only words were to Saru. “Shall we go?”

Saru looked across the conference room at Georgiou. She seemed mildly amused by this lapse of decorum. Not all aliens placed the same value on the niceties that fell under the heading of human good manners, as common as the basic concepts of greeting and farewells were across most cultures and species. “Captain?” called Saru, seeking her permission. Georgiou responded by merely waving her hand at him dismissively and the doors slid shut.

Lalana stared up at Saru expectantly, balancing on a combination of her legs and tail. Saru made a gesture of his own, indicating the direction of the nearest turbolift. “This way.”

Absent a human escort, Saru took a large step in the indicated direction. He was about to self-correct himself to a shorter stride when he realized Lalana matched the distance without trouble and seemed to be perfectly at home doing so. Though she was barely a third of his height, she had very long legs with an extra joint that made them stretch out more horizontally than vertically. He opted to continue at his natural walking gait and felt strangely reassured by the way she glided down the hallway at his side.

“I feel I should inform you,” he said when the wonder of the moment had passed, “humans and many other species find it customary to offer words when arriving and departing a location.”

“Yes, I have observed this behavior often,” said Lalana as they arrived at the turbolift doors.

Which meant she knew how it worked. Had her wordless departure been an intentional slight against the others in the room? Saru asked as delicately as he could, “Your people do not have such a custom?”

“No. This is not something my people typically do.”

That would seem to explain it, then, though Saru imagined she might well harbor lingering resentment towards the Dartarans for their role in her captivity. The turbolift arrived and they stepped inside. “It was very magnanimous of you to accept the Dartarans’ apology despite what they did to you.”

“What they did to me?”

“Yes, hunting you and keeping you captive for so many years.”

“It was not so long and I do not mind it,” said Lalana. “It is over now regardless.” The turbolift doors opened onto deck four and they exited. “Now I suppose I shall have to watch Federation walls.”

“Certainly not,” Saru assured her. “We will bring you back to your planet. Captain Georgiou is a very accomplished captain and will no doubt be successful.”

“Nnn,” hummed Lalana. “And if she is not? What then?”

Saru pressed his fingers together uncertainly. He did not doubt Georgiou’s success and had not given the possibility much thought. Thinking on it now, he found he had no answer. “We will deal with that eventuality should it come to pass. I assure you, the Federation will provide whatever accommodations you require.”

“As Margeh and T’rond’n did?”

That gave Saru pause. Twice now he had heard Lalana describe the Federation in unflattering terms. First, over the ship-to-ship communications, where she had declared herself uninterested in being subjected to “Federation machinations,” and then in the medbay, where she had described herself as having been “captured by the Federation.”

“We will not confine you,” promised Saru. “The purpose of the Federation is to unite the peoples of many worlds so that we may collectively flourish in an environment of peaceful cooperation, and to provide freedom, justice, and opportunity for all citizens.”

Lalana’s hands suddenly began to spin. “Is it? I have always heard that the Federation is largely interested in regulating and restricting trade.”

“That is demonstrably untrue,” said Saru, wondering where she would have gotten that idea.

“I wonder which is more true, the description a person has of themselves, or the descriptions others have of the person.” They had arrived at the guest quarters. Lalana went straight to the window and the vista of stars. She looked out for a moment, then turned to Saru, hands still spinning. “Whether the walls are Dartaran or Federation, it has been worth it to meet a new form of life which I had not seen previously.”

“That is... why I joined Starfleet,” said Saru, surprised.

“Then you were right. We are not so different. Now, what questions did you have to ask?”

Chapter 3

#Star Trek Discovery #Commander Saru #Saru #fanfic #fanfiction #Captain Philippa Georgiou #USS Shenzhou #first contact

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nuttydefendoryouth · 3 years

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Contact lenses: a look at the risks and recommendations

Thanks to the existence of contact lenses, it can sometimes be impossible to tell if someone has a visual impairment or not. These lenses can make huge differences to the lives of their wearers, providing a certain level of freedom that traditional glasses are unable to.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), around 41 million people in the US wear contact PC lenses.

While they might feel like a relatively modern invention, rigid contact lenses made from plastic were first manufactured in the US between 1938 and 1940. The soft contact lenses currently worn by an estimated 93% of contact lens wearers were first introduced in 1971.

On a personal level, I first started wearing them as a temporary measure when my declining eyesight made playing sports difficult. However, no longer having my vision affected by raindrops and fogging up (along with the boost in self-esteem that came from not wearing glasses) meant that contact lenses quickly became my main method of improving my vision.

But despite their prevalence and the benefits they can provide, many people (myself included) wear contact lenses in a way that can compromise eye health, increasing the risk of damaged corneas and infection from microbes.

This week has marked the second annual Contact Lens Health Week – a week organized by the CDC to increase public awareness and promote healthy wearing and caring of contact lenses. In this Spotlight, we take a brief look at a few of the “do’s and don’t’s” of contact wear. In addition, we will have a look at some of the interesting “can’s and can’t yet’s” of new contact lens innovations.

Healthy habits mean healthy eyes

Although they are similarly effective at improving vision as glasses, contact Pc anti fog lens wearers can be more at risk of eye complications than those who use glasses. If wearers do not follow contact lens care instructions properly, they can put themselves at risk of serious eye infections that can lead to blindness.

The CDC have previously reported that between 40-90% of contact lens wearers do not properly follow their contact lens care instructions, which may explain why serious eye infections affect around 1 in 500 contact lens wearers each year.

Many people compromise their visual health due to bad habits when it comes to wearing contact lenses. While it is easy to manhandle glasses, contact lenses need to be afforded a greater level of care.

This means washing hands with soap and water and drying them comprehensively before ever touching contact lenses. Doing so prevents the transfer of germs from the hands to the lenses and consequently the eyes.

Exposing the lenses to water should be avoided as water can carry bacteria and other microbes that cause infection. With soft contact lenses, water can also alter the shape of the lens and potentially damage the cornea. As a result, contact lens wearers should remove their lenses before showering, swimming or using hot tubs, as tempting as it may be to keep them in.

One particular germ, an ameba called Acanthamoeba, is typically found in tap water as well as other water sources. If it causes infection (Acanthamoeba keratitis), patients can require a year or more of treatment, and possibly a corneal transplant.

Another bad habit that should be avoided where possible – unless prescribed by a doctor – is sleeping in contact PC super blue cut lens. In addition to making the eyes feel uncomfortable, sleeping in any type of lens increases the wearer’s risk of a corneal infection known as microbial keratitis by between four and five times.

Fast facts about keratitis

Keratitis is inflammation of the cornea, the clear tissue that covers the pupil and iris

Keratitis can be caused by infectious microbes or by minor injuries to the cornea

In severe cases, keratitis can permanently damage an individual’s vision.

This risk extends to the wearers of contact lenses that are designed to be slept in. Recently, the story of a man who went blind in one eye after sleeping in contact lenses for almost a week has come to the media’s attention.

“The kind of contacts I have are called ‘Night and Day’ contacts,” Chad Groeschen explained to USA Today, “and it was my impression you could leave them in for 30 days straight. I figured the less I was messing with my eyes, the better.”

While people can opt to use disposable lenses that are designed to be worn daily, many choose to wear lenses that last for longer periods and need to be stored properly when not in use. Unsurprisingly, many eye problems arise from bad habits pertaining to the storing of contact lens and associated products.

Contact lenses need to be kept clean if they are going to be used for multiple days. Lenses should be cleaned using a specific contact lens disinfecting solution and never water or saliva, as should the case that the lenses are stored in when not in use.

The CDC report that fewer than half of contact lens wearers report always cleaning their contact PC blue cut lens cases, and the number of moderate to severe lens-related infection could be halved if case cleaning practices were improved. Contact lens cases should also be replaced at least once every 3 months.

Contact lenses are stored in a purpose-built solution that is recommended by an eye care specialist. Contact lens wearers should stick to the recommended solution as the recommendation will be based upon the wearer’s eyes and medical history. Water should never be used, again due to the fact that it can increase the risk of infection.

Old solution in a lens case should never be “topped off” with new solution – instead, only fresh solution should be used. Solution can become contaminated with microbes that cause infections, and simply adding fresh solution to old solution reduces how effective it is at eradicating germs.

According to the results of a recent CDC study, these bad behaviors are incredibly prevalent. The Contact Lens Risk Survey was completed by approximately 1,000 contact lens wearers, and around 99% of respondents reported at least one behavior associated with an increased risk of eye infections.

“Good vision contributes to overall wellbeing and independence for people of all ages, so it’s important not to cut corners on healthy contact lens wear and care,” reports CDC Medical Epidemiologist Dr. Jennifer Cope. “We are finding that many wearers are unclear about how to properly wear and care for contact lenses.”

The following figures illustrate how prevalent some risky behaviors were among survey respondents:

Napping while wearing contact lenses – 87.1%

Showering while wearing contact lenses – 84.9%

Not replacing contact lens cases as frequently as recommended – 82.3%

Swimming while wearing contact lenses – 61.0%

“Topping off” contact lens solution – 55.1%

Sleeping in contact lenses overnight – 50.2%.

“Nearly one third of all wearers reported ever having experienced a contact lens-related red or painful eye that required a doctor’s visit,” the researchers write.

Considering how common contact lenses have become, the figures produced by the CDC’s study are significant, illustrating just how important it is that people become more aware of how contact lenses should be used and the impact bad practice can have on health.

The health problems that can be caused by risky contact lens behaviors may be enough to put some people off wearing them. However, there are a number of other benefits that specific types of contact lenses can provide that no other devices are able to.

Contact lens designs have become more sophisticated over time. While original products may have only been able to correct nearsightedness (myopia) and longsightedness, newer models of lens can be used to treat and monitor additional conditions that affect the eyes.

Orthokeratology, also known as Ortho-K, is a PC clear lens fitting procedure that offers a temporary degree of vision correction by changing the curvature of the cornea to improve its ability to focus on objects.

Altering the cornea’s curvature is achieved through the use of specially designed rigid contact lenses that are typically worn overnight. Ortho-K lenses are most commonly used to correct myopia.

Some people wear multifocal glasses because they have a condition known as presbyopia, whereby the eye’s ability to focus on nearby objects is lost. However, the condition can also be treated with multifocal contact lenses.

There are two main designs for these types of lenses. Alternating vision lenses have two distinct areas for short- and long-distance prescriptions. The pupil alternates between the two different prescriptions as the wearer’s gaze shifts up or down.

Simultaneous vision lenses involve the pupil looking through short- and long-distance prescriptions simultaneously. The two prescriptions can either be laid out in alternating concentric rings or blended together across the lens.

Presbyopia is one condition that a “smart lens” being developed by Google and Novartis should hopefully address. Last year, Novartis suggested that the use of technology such as noninvasive sensors and microchips contained within the lens could “provide accommodative vision correction” to restore the eye’s ability to focus.

Their smart lens might also provide benefit outside of visual health. Novartis stated that such a lens could provide a continuous measurement of glucose levels in diabetic patients and deliver this information to a mobile device using a wireless connection.

“We are looking forward to working with Google to bring together their advanced technology and our extensive knowledge of biology to meet unmet medical needs,” announced Novartis CEO Joseph Jimenez. “This is a key step for us to go beyond the confines of traditional disease management, starting with the eye.”

One of the most frequently repeated recommendations concerning contact lenses is that wearers should always follow the advice of their eye care providers. Unlike glasses, contact lenses are in direct contact with an opening into the human body, and as such there are far more things that could go wrong from a health perspective.

When used correctly, contact lenses can have a transformative effect on the wearer’s quality of life. The same can be said for when they are used incorrectly, only for wholly different and more unpleasant reasons.

It does not take much time to wash hands before handling lenses, to remove them before showering or to clean out a storage case properly, and yet by skipping these simple steps, thousands of contact lens wearers are putting their vision at risk. Follow the advice of eye care providers and vision can be protected for years to come.

Previously, Medical News Today reported on a study that suggested wearing contact lenses may alter the microbiome of the eye.

Once an optometrist has confirmed a diagnosis of myopia, several treatments are available. Speaking to an optometrist can help a person decide on the best option for them.

The sections below will discuss some of these treatment options in more detail.

Glasses and contact lenses

Glasses and contact lenses are the most common treatment options for myopia. An optometrist will order custom lenses that have the right prescription for that person. These will fit into the frame of the glasses and correct any nearsightedness.

Contact lenses are clear discs that sit on the surface of the eye. Like glasses, contact lenses are also customizable for different prescriptions.

Many people who do not like the look or feel of glasses will choose to have contact lenses, as they are a lot smaller and harder to notice. However, it is necessary to change and clean them regularly.

Orthokeratology

People with mild forms of myopia may benefit from a nonsurgical process called orthokeratology, or corneal refractive therapy. This treatment involves wearing a series of rigid contact lenses to reshape the cornea.

These lenses put pressure on the cornea to flatten it. This, in turn, changes how light focuses as it enters the eye. People tend to wear these contact lenses while sleeping.

This process can help people experience clear vision temporarily. However, it also carries a risk of eye infections.

Surgery

There are a couple of different types of surgery available to people who would rather not wear glasses, who want a more permanent solution, or who have severe forms of myopia.

One form of surgery is laser surgery, wherein an eye doctor will use a powerful beam of light to change the shape of the cornea.

Laser surgery adjusts how the eye focuses light, meaning that images that were once blurry should now be clear.

The surgery takes around 10 minutes per eye. This option can be expensive, but it is usually painless. Vision should return to normal within a day or so of the surgery.

However, it is normal to have occasional blurred vision or dry eyes for weeks or months afterward. Attending follow-up appointments after this procedure is important to make sure that the eyes are healing properly.

Other forms of surgery can involve placing a PC photochromic blue cut lens inside the eye, either in front of the person’s lens or in place of it. Eye doctors tend to recommend this form of surgery for more severe forms of myopia.

Prevention

Given that myopia has genetic links, it can be hard to prevent in people who have a history of nearsightedness in their family.

Spending time outside, in the daylight, could help lower the progression of myopia. Making sure not to spend too much time doing up-close work, such as reading or working on a computer, can also help.

Outlook

In most cases, myopia does not cause any further health problems. There are a range of treatments available that allow people to experience no symptoms of the condition in their daily lives.

For those who have more severe forms of myopia, it is important that they tell their optometrist about any changes in their vision. Without treatment, they could be at risk of developing additional eye problems, or even vision loss.

There is evidence that both genes and environmental factors, such as spending less time outdoors and more time indoors reading and using computers, can increase the risk of myopia. Before this study, however, it was not clear what the underlying molecular mechanisms were.

One way to observe the biological development of myopia or hyperopia is by altering the focal length of the eye in laboratory animals. Specialists can do this by placing a lens in front of the eye for several weeks.

Depending on the type of lens, the exposure causes the eye to develop to a length that is either too long or too short.

The scientists used this method in marmosets to study the development of myopia and hyperopia. They placed a PC photochromic lens in front of only one eye for up to 5 weeks and let the other eye develop normally for comparison.

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meinehhh-blog · 6 years

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The miswak toothbrush and MRSA.

A very brief explanation about the natural antimicrobial effect of this toothbrush.

The miswak is a very interesting way to protect your teeth and gum. There are so many tools available to brush your teeth, but the problem lies in the toothpaste, which in te most cases does not contain any natural ingredients that not only cleanse our teeth, but also provide valuable minerals.

The miswaak, also named miswak, miswak stick, chew stick, is a teeth cleaning twig, made from certain trees, specially the arak. or the miswak tree.

The miswak is the oldest toothbrush you can find on Earth. Already in the time from Mesopotamia has this piece of wood been mentioned in documents. it can be dated back a thousands of years ago in the ancient empires of the Babylonians and later used by the Egyptians, Greeks and Romans.

In the islamic world, the miswak plays a major role, although not mentioned in the Qur’an, according to the Hadith.

Today. this natural toothbrush with medicinal properties is used by a majority of people in the muslim world to maintain oral hygiene and as a religious duty. And it is still commonly used in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and many countries around the world. People from Tibet and even the Himalayan countries use it to clean their teeth. In an other way is it hardly known in the West but has been clinically tested and even the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended the use of the miswak in 1986..

The toothbrush tree, or arak tree grows best in the deserts of Arabia, East Africa and the Middle East and the best thing about it is that you have toothpaste and toothbrush in one.

Researchers and pharmacists have looked at the Miswak and also found ingredients that are suitable for cleaning the teeth.

The following substances can be found in the Miswak:

fluorides Silicon (for the maintenance of teeth) potassium sodium calcium magnesium Gypsum crystals (for cleaning the teeth) Tannins (they taste bitter, but have a calming effect on the mucous membranes and inhibit inflammation and help with the healing process) saponins vitamin C flavonoids Chloride

All of these ingredients are naturally contained in the miswak, so you do not have to worry about toothpaste.

With advancing diagnostic capabilities and emerging technologies it is more clear that humans are under the threat of microorganisms.

One of them is the Streptococcus mutans, a facultative anaerobic, Gram-positive coccus – shaped bacterium commonly found in the human oral cavity and a significant contributor to tooth decay.

Around Twenty-five species of oral streptococci live in the oral cavity.Each species has developed specific specialized properties for colonizing different oral sites and constantly changing conditions to fight competing bacteria and to withstand external challenges.

Imbalances in these microbial biota can initiate oral diseases. This will either cause direct impact on many diseases like diabetes, coronary/heart and intestine diseases, even joint problems, or will result in difficulty in managing these chronic diseases. It is believed that oral bacterial challenge is the cause of diseases in multiple organ systems.

Without affecting beneficial bacteria, miswak toothbrush is found to reduce the bacterial count of streptococcus. Miswak twigs do more than just kill bad bacteria. They kill antibiotic-resistant bacteria or superbugs, exactly what modern antibiotic drugs increasingly fail to do.

Here is a list of some of the worst multi-drug resistant bacteria – named for their initial resistance to their primary antibiotics:

• Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) • Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus epidermidis (MRSE) • Penicillin-resistant Streptococcus pyogenes • Penicillin-resistant Enterococcus faecalis • Carbapenem-resistant Escherichia coli • Carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae • Carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa • Carbapenem-resistant Serratia marcescens • Carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii • Carbapenem-resistant Stenotrophomonas maltophilia

Other bacteria reduced by the Miswak twig included Haemophilus influenzae, Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans and Porphyromonas gingivalis.

The most common types of disease caused by for example H. influenzae type b (Hib) include pneumonia, bacteremia, meningitis, epiglottitis, septic arthritis, cellulitis, otitis media, and purulent pericarditis.

Other research evidence in multiple studies has found that Miswak inhibits the following microorganisms:

• Staphylococcus aureus • Streptococcus mutans • Streptococcus faecalis • Streptococcus pyogenes • Pseudomonas aeruginosa • Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans • Porphyromonas gingivalis • Haemophilus influenzae • Candida albicans

Research shows us that the miswak contains a number of natural antiseptics that kill harmful micro-organisms in the mouth, tannic acids that protect gums from disease, and aromatic oils that increase salivation. The Salvadora persica or arak tree for example has been shown in various studies as having also anti-viral properties, anti-fungal properties and anti-plaque capability. In addition, a review of research found that Miswak is antioxidant, analgesic (eases pain) and anti-inflammatory (curbs inflammation).

This organic toothbrush thus have antiseptics and other ingredients that strengthen the gum to fight gum bleeding, mouth ulcers and even mouth cancer. Other ingredients in the miswak prevent teeth from coloring or decaying and thus cavities. By an already occuring tooth decay, miswaks seem to release a substance that soothes toothaches. Its use also improves appetite and regulate peristaltic movements of the gastrointestinal tract.

The miswak’s bristles are parallel to the handle which allows it to reach more easily between the teeth, where the modern toothbrushes fail.

As regarding the oral hygiene can be said that using the miswak;

-causes the teeth to glow and creates a fragrance in the mouth by eliminates bad odors. -improves the sense of taste and seems to clear the voice. -strengthens the gums and prevents tooth decay. -assists in eliminating toothaches and prevents further increase of decay which has already set in. -is a cure for mouth diseases.

Due to the swallowing of the miswak substances while brushing the teeth there seem to be far more other benefits;

-the improving of the digestion. -a cure for headaches. -the strengthening of the eyesight. -the improving of the memory and with it of course the Intelligence

How to use the miswak for best results.

The miswak is usually 15 cm long and about 1 cm in diameter and of course can it be further cut into suitable lengths by the user. A length of 20 cm for adults and 15 cm for children is recommended for a good of the grip and ease of altering. The diameter of 1 cm, gives the stick enough strength to transmit the pressure of the cleansing action to the teeth without breaking off. The root should be whitish-brown in color; a dark brown color indicates that the Miswak is no longer fresh. A very dry miswak can be expected to damage the gums and other oral tissues. If a stick is dry, the end for chewing should initially be soaked in water for 24 hours. The fibers of the miswak should be clipped of every 24 hours It should be noted that soaking for unduly long periods causes loss of active constituents and diminishes the therapeutic properties, although the mechanical effects on the teeth can still be expected to occur.

Thank you for reading this article.

I Hope you learned a lot and you will make your way to healthier teeth.

REFERENCES

1. Prevention Methods and Programmes for Oral Health. Report of a WHO Expert Committee Technical Report Series 713. Geneva: WHO; 1984. World Health Organisation. [

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]8. Slot J, Rams TE. Microbiology of Periodontal disease. In: Slot J, Taubman MA, editors. Contemporary Oral Microbiology and Immunology. Mosby: St Louis; 1992.9. AI-Lafi T, Ababneh H. The effect of the extract of the Miswak (chewing sticks) used in Jordan and the Middle East on oral bacteria. Int Dent J. 1995;45:218–22. [

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]16. Accepted Dental Therapeutics. 3. Chicago: American Dental Association; 1969-1970.17. Hink MK. Toothbrush. Int Dent J. 1956;6:15.18. Danielsen B, Baelum V, Manji F, Fejerskov O. Chewing sticks, toothpaste, and plaque removal. Acta Odontol Scand. 1989;47:121–5. [

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]20. Eid MA, al-Shammery AR, Selim HA. The relationship between chewing sticks (Miswak) and periodontal health. 2. Relationship to plaque, gingivitis, pocket depth, and attachment loss. Quintessence Int. 1990;21:1019–22. [

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]21. Sote EO. The relative effectiveness of chewing sticks and toothbrush on plaque removal. Afr Dent J. 1987;1:48–53. [

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]24. Al-Lafi T. M Sc. Thesis. University of London; 1988. Effectiveness of Miswak as a tool for oral hygiene.25. Almas K, Al-lafi T. The natural tooth brush. World Health Forum. 1995;16:206–10. [

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Articles from Journal of Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine are provided here courtesy of Elsevier

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douchebagbrainwaves · 3 years

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WHY ARC ISN'T ESPECIALLY OBJECT-YEAR LANGUAGE DESIGN AND MONEY

The reason design counts so much in software is probably that there are fewer constraints than on physical things. We were all just pretending. In fact, programming didn't get done by well-dressed people at clean desks during office hours. I went to, the focus of rebellion was drug use, specifically marijuana. Others seem more innocent; it depends how badly adults lie to maintain their power, and what it means.1 In the long term the most important thing was to stay on the premises. I doubt they realize it, but at least half the startups we fund not to worry about.2 They occasionally take vacations; some even have hobbies.3 They've applied for a lot of kids grow up feeling they fall hopelessly short.

So our rule is just to do whatever's best for your users. The main point of essay writing, when done right, is the new ideas you have while doing it. In business there are certain rules describing how companies may and may not compete with one another, they work like watertight compartments in an unsinkable ship.4 It's only temporary, and if you look, you can create an enemy if there isn't a real one.5 Business is broken the same way as saying that something is technically impossible. But most kids would take that deal.6 Any online store that kept people's shipping addresses would have implemented this.7 Compared to IBM they were like Robin Hood.8 Most parents use words when talking to other adults that they wouldn't want their kids to a new school. We won't see solutions till adults realize that.

And I have no problem with this: in a specialized industrial society, it would be: the reason you should avoid these things is that you don't know who needs to know something. Software is so subtle and unpredictable that qualified experts don't get you very far. Work still seemed to require discipline, because only hard problems yielded grand results, and hard problems couldn't literally be fun. His motive is partly that it would be stupid to try the experiment and find out. VCs are driven by consensus, not just for the nerds. Though lie has negative connotations, I don't mean to suggest by this comparison that types of work that depend more on talent are always more admirable. If that was what character and integrity because they had been so debased by adults.9 Like nuclear weapons, the main thing I'd tell him would be to stick his head up and look around.10 In a typical American secondary school, being smart is likely to make your software compatible with some other piece of software—in fact, he was listed as an inventor on the patent Yahoo sued over—so perhaps there was something personal about it. Don't do it! It would cost something to run, the threshold of profitability, however low, your runway becomes infinite.

It's not enough to consider your mind a blank slate. One is that software is so complicated that patents by themselves are not worth very much. Adults lie constantly to kids. There are companies that will give $20k to a startup that avoided working on some problem because of patent trolls. Your target market has to be big yet, nor do you necessarily have to be able to argue with you, because everyone has base impulses, and if you look, you can create an enemy if there isn't a real one. Like the rest of the class, I just skimmed the Cliff's Notes, it turned out. Being good is a particularly useful strategy for making decisions in complex situations because it's stateless.

Other players who can focus their whole attention on the game beat them effortlessly, and wonder why they seem so incapable. Like all investors, we spend a lot of data about how they work. When he was working on first. In fact, programming didn't get done by well-dressed people at clean desks during office hours. Companies often claim to be benevolent, but it isn't the real thing. Early stage startups are the exact opposite of this. For example, a father who has an affair generally conceals it from his children.

Now I know I don't. When you want something, you don't have them. They try to convince with their pitch. If you're sufficiently determined to achieve great things, this will probably increase the number of employees at Craigslist looks like a Formula 1 racecar, not a sedan with giant rims and a fake spoiler bolted to the trunk. Founders think of startups as ideas, but investors think of them as markets. If founders decide VCs aren't worth the trouble vibe from several YC founders I've talked to agrees: the nadir is somewhere between eleven and fourteen. Octopart built the right way to lift heavy things is to let your legs do the work. They build Writely. But we all arrive at adulthood with heads full of lies. Obviously it worked for Google, but what you'd like to like. Someone who was strong-willed person, but I think we should at least examine which lies we tell and why.

Notes

You end up.

The Socialist People's Democratic Republic of X is probably no accident that the people working for large settlements earlier, but the churn is high, they said, and owns significant equity in it. It will also interest investors. What drives the most, it's cool with us he would presumably have got more of the accumulator generator in other Lisp features like lexical closures and rest parameters.

Or rather, where there were about the new top story. And in any case, because they are like sheep, but instead to explain it would annoy our competitor more if we couldn't decide between turning some investors away and selling more of a safe will be familiar to slip back into it.

Since we're not doing YC mainly for financial reasons, avoid casual conversations with potential earnings. In a series of numbers that are up there. Look at those goddamn fleas, jabbering about some disease they'll see once in their experiences came not with the sort of Gresham's Law of conversations. The history of the reasons angels like to invest more, and we don't have one clear inventor.

Distribution of potentially good startups that has little relation to other investors doing so. Incidentally, this idea is the desire to do it.

They're still deciding, which parents would still send their kids to say that it killed the best new startups. As a friend with small children, we're going to be told what to outsource and what not to.

Everyone's taught about it.

Delivered as if it means is No, but this could be overcome by changing the shape that matters, just the local startups also apply to types of studies, studies of returns from startup investing, which wouldn't even cover the extra cost.

It did not become romantically involved till afterward.

Make it clear when you ad lib you end up making something that conforms with their users. Statistical Spam Filter Works for Me. This is why they tend to get at it.

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chelseyroseblog · 6 years

Text

WHAT CAUSES INFLAMMATION IN THE BODY

Hi Hi Hi!

Okay so hear me out. I just got back from vaca and we all wondered about why we get bloated, why we get acne, why we can't lose weight as quickly as our friends, and why our knees hurt so damn bad right?

There's obviously different reasons for all this ish and a million different ways to go about fixing it but I feel like one thing that a lot of people are overlooking is INFLAMMATION.

I mean, if you think about it...we talk about it almost on a daily basis on so many different levels. We've started using cryotherapy to reduce inflammation in our muscles, we use turmeric to reduce inflammation in the body, facial massage to reduce inflammation in the face, anti-inflammatory foods to reduce inflammation in our gut, yoga to reduce it..everywhere? And omega-3's to help with our heart health, brain function, and arthritis aka... inflammation.

HOLY HELL RIGHT? It's EVERYWHERE.

This is why I want to talk about it. OKAY SO.

WHAT IIIIS INFLAMMATION??

Well, there's different levels of inflammation but in any case, inflammation is point blank... a defense mechanism within the body. So when anything is harming or irritating a part of our body, the body tries...key word "tries"... to remove it.

The cool thing about inflammation is that it is a healing process soo we wouldn't heal without it. The shitty thing is that it sometimes (okay, a lot of the time) it can stick around longer than we need it to, at which point it can turn into an annoying issue orrrrr chronic pain. AWESOME......

But we're ALL dealing with inflammation in some way, shape or form so let's talk about

WHAT CAUSES INFLAMMATION?

Ugh, I feel like everything under the effing sun is a cause of inflammation. Here's a few:

+ Certain Foods

+ Synthetic Chemicals

+ Food Additives

+ Viruses

+ Bacteria

+ Parasites

+ Stress

+ Lack of Sleep (my fav.....eye roll)

Things like a sore throat, a cut or a burn (I just got one in Montana when the oven door was about to slam shut and I decided to catch it with my forearm...cool cool cool) anyway... those kinds of things can cause ACUTE inflammation.

Then there's other news called CHRONIC inflammation which means that inflammation occurs for months and even YEARS and it's caused by things like asthma, Crohn's Disease, arthritis, and ulcers...to name a few.

BUT inflammation can go from acute to chronic if we don't take care of it so just a reminder to be on your game when it comes to little injuries or health issues ya know?

PS I don't want to skim over the foods that can cause inflammation so let's talk about it.

Things such as:

- Sugar

- High Fructose Corn Syrup

- Artificial Trans Fats

- Vegetable and Seed Oils

- Refined Carbs

- Excessive amount of Alch

+ Processed Meats

etc.

This is why you may have heard of the ANTI-INFLAMMATORY DIET. Honestly, it's just a clean, normal diet. Get rid of eating an abundance of fast food and start eating healthy, clean, nutrient dense foods and obviously, you're going to feel better.

We all know that food allergies and toxins and bacteria from foods can make us feel some type of way but WHAT is actually going on?

Well...because of these things...foods are actually able to create inflammation through our intestinal wall. If your body is sensible to certain foods then your body sees it like a foreign invader and starts attacking it which, causes that inflammation.

So simply by reducing the intake of certain foods that our specific bodies don't agree with, we are able to start reducing inflammation.

How STRESS causes inflammation:

Ugh, the more I learned about this, the more I hated it. I've always known stress is horrible for us which is why I try to avoid it AT ALL COSTS but this was a healthy reminder for me and hopefully you as to why everything stressful from an argument with our parents to psychological stress is capable of producing inflammation in the body.

Stress actually produces a type of inflammation that has been shown to increase the risk of arthritis, cardiovascular disease and diabetes :( This is something that I talk to my clients about ALL THE TIME.

Stress is a HUGE issue for our health and directly impacts our ability to lose weight. When were under psychological stress, our bodies releases stress hormones as part of the fight or flight response. So it's SUPPOSED to be helpful in certain situations and definitely can be BUT because so many of us are stressed all day, this fight or flight response never turns off.

This equals CHRONIC STRESS which equals CHRONIC INFLAMMATION which is a MAJOR RISK FACTOR FOR CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE.

And then to top it off, too much stress releases cortisol levels which, according to a study in 2012 by Carnegie Mellon University, too much stress dampens cortisol's ability to REGULATE inflammation. So now we're creating inflammation and making it harder on ourselves to control it.

How Health Problems Cause Inflammation:

Well for one, Obesity is not great for inflammation. And on top of that there's unhealthy eating which we touched on a little bit already. So just as a re cap... inflammation can be triggered by fat and blood sugar or by bacteria, allergies and other toxins.

WHY IS INFLAMMATION BAD FOR OUR BODIES?

I mean, I feel we should know right? No more ignoring the signs and letting little things get worse or pushing things off like everything is okay. I don't want to scare you guys haha but I feel like this info will be useful to you now and in the long term.

1. Immune cells can attack the digestive tract and create Crohn's disease with symptoms such as well...diarrhea, cramps and ulcers.

2. It can harm your joints such as the condition known as Rheumatoid Arthritis.

3. It's linked to heart disease aka HEART ATTACKS (You know how when you get a cut on your skin and then all those white blood cells rush over and it starts to become swollen? That's the same thing that starts to happen when there's a build up of fatty plaque in the arteries. It triggers chronic inflammation which can cause blood clots).

4. Whether you have inflammatory conditions due to obesity or a chronic condition, you're unfortunately at a higher risk for cancer. This includes lung, esophagus, cervix, digestive tract and others.

5. It's no bueno for your lungs. Inflammation in the lungs = a narrowing of the airways which makes it difficult to breathe. This could be due to asthma, smoking and being overweight.

6. It makes weight loss more difficult. Chronic inflammation can trigger hunger hormones AND SLOW METABOLISM. (WTF!)

Now we're eating more and burning less. Fantastic. This inflammatory response can also increase insulin resistance which raises your risk for diabetes and is linked with future weight gain.

ARE YOU SUFFERING FROM INFLAMMATION??

Most of the time if we scan our bodies from head to toe, we can find signs or symptoms that are signals that something we are being exposed to must be removed.

This could be:

+ Skin issues like acne, rashes, psoriasis.

+ Brain fog/Fatigue

+ Sinus Issues

+ Weight Gain

+ Allergies/Infections

+ Autoimmune Disease

The only thing I want to mention about this really quickly is....remember that inflammation is typically a RESPONSE to something else that is happening. So the best thing to do is to figure out WHY you have inflammation, and then focus on fixing THAT so that you can start reducing inflammation. Here's the basics:

- Are you eating a clean diet filled with nutritious foods?

- Are you getting enough sleep?

- Are you drinking enough water?

- Are you taking time to meditate and relax?

These last 4 months for me were SO insane as a lot of you know from following my long days and even longer nights on Instagram. I tried my best for the first two and a half months of my hectic schedule to make sure that my short nights of sleep were at least GOOD sleep. I tried to meditate for at least 10 minutes a day, drink more than enough water, and eat clean.

Before I knew it, I suffered from my first panic attack and realized that I'm not some magical human. I need sleep. I need time for myself. I need to de stress.

WE ALL DO.

So if you're feeling overwhelmed, stop. Clear your schedule. Stay home. Take yourself to the movies. Book a breathing class or a meditation yoga or something. WHATEVER.

Comment below if you have any questions or helpful tips for reducing inflammation!

#inflammation #anti inflammatory diet

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kellylanesvault · 3 years

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How 42 Year Old Mom Flattened 20 Pounds of Belly Fat During Locked Down

The average U.S. waist circumference has also grown to an average 38.8 inches, up more than 1 inch in about a dozen years.

It’s more than a fashion crisis.

Belly fat, or visceral fat, is the most dangerous type of fat there is.

This deadly fat wraps around the organs deep in your abdomen, spiking your risk for diabetes, heart disease, stroke and metabolic syndrome.

You can’t see or pinch visceral fat, and it’s often associated with a large waist.

Ditch it and you’ll not only save your health, you’ll also lose weight and trim your waistline.

The good news is you can start blasting both types of fat today with these 10 healthy habits:

>>THIS Super simple trick that helped me burn at least 2 pounds a day while having milkshake and custard doughnuts for breakfast <<

Ditch Diet Soda

How bad can your calorie-free Diet Coke habit be for your belly?

Belt-bustingly bad, researchers say.

A study in the journal Diabetes Pro found that people who drank two or more diet sodas a day had waist-size increases that were six times greater than non-drinkers.

Diet drinks are loaded with deceptively sweet artificial sweeteners, which, researchers say, trick the metabolism into thinking sugar is on its way, spike insulin levels, and shift the body from a fat-burning to a fat-storing state.

Eat Three Squares

For years, diet experts beat the “multiple small meals a day” drum—an eating rhythm purported to “stoke the metabolic fire!”

Now, some researchers are singing a different tune. A study published in the journal Hepatology found that snacking between meals contributes to increased abdominal fat.

Researchers say the findings suggest three balanced meals may be the way to go. Try weaning yourself off the snack wagon by nixing your morning nibble first.

Research suggests mid-morning snackers tend to consume more throughout the day than afternoon snackers.

Eat More Walnuts

Dietary fats are kind of like lovers.

Some of them make you a better person, and others—as you often discover too late—are catastrophically bad for your health.

The good news is, unlike shoddy boyfriends, dietary fats come with red flags.

The absolutely worst match for your apple-shaped figure? Saturated fats.

A study published in the journal Diabetes found that while unsaturated fat can help reduce abdominal fat, saturated fat can increase waist size.

Saturated fats, like the kind you’ll find in baked goods and red meat, “turn on” certain genes that increase the storage of fat in the belly, researchers say.

Polyunsaturated fats on the other hand, activate genes that reduce fat storage and improve insulin metabolism.

At about 13 grams per one ounce serving, walnuts are one of the best dietary sources. Sprinkle a handful on your morning oats or entree salad for belly-busting benefits.

Skip The Bootcamp

Open any fitness magazine, and it’s clear: high intensity interval training (HIIT) is having a bit of a moment.

But when it comes to your shrinking your belly, the start-and-stop exercise strategy won’t get you anywhere … other than into a larger pair of pants, researchers say.

A study published in the Journal of Obesity found people who performed interval training on an exercise bike for 24 minutes three days a week, actually gained 0.7 percent abdominal fat over a 12-week period.

Meanwhile, those on the same dietician-regulated diet, who performed traditional aerobic exercise—45 minutes of continuous moderate cycling three days a week—lost nearly 3 percent of their abdominal fat over the same 3-month period.

The study authors did note that HIIT improved fitness, but suggest that the only evidence to support interval training as an efficient weight loss method was research using young people who were already lean and healthy.

Remember: Workouts are only half of the equation; abs are made in the kitchen as they say.

Eat the magical beans, Jack

There are diet pills on the market that actually work. They’re called beans.

Researchers suggest beans, as they’re particularly rich in soluble fiber, can lessen the accumulation of abdominal fat deposits.

A study by researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center found that for every 10-gram increase in soluble fiber eaten per day, visceral fat reduced by 3.7 percent over five years.

Fill up, without filling out, with just 1/2 a cup of beans.

If the musical fruits tend to leave you bloated, stick to canned varieties that have soaked long enough to break down much of the gas-causing oligosaccharides.

Swap coffee for green tea

Green tea and weight loss are a natural pair.

Sipping on green tea throughout the morning has proven to whittle your waist, but too much coffee has the opposite effect.

What makes green tea so waist friendly are compounds called catechins, belly-fat crusaders that blast adipose tissue by revving the metabolism, increasing the release of fat from fat cells (particularly in the belly), and then speeding up the liver’s fat burning capacity.

In a recent study, participants who combined a daily habit of 4-5 cups of green tea with a 25-minute sweat session (or 180 minutes a week), lost 2 more pounds than the non tea-drinking exercisers.

Meanwhile, a research team in Washington found that the same amount of coffee (5+ cups/day) doubled visceral belly fat.

Be Unrefined

It’s not carbs, per se, that lead to belly fat; but the type, researchers say. In fact, whole grains are a dietary staple of people with the littlest middles.

A Tufts University study found that participants who ate three or more servings of whole grains per day (oats, quinoa, brown rice, wheat) had 10% less belly fat than people who ate the same amount of calories from refined carbs (white stuff: bread, rice, pasta).

Further research is required to figure out exactly why this is the case, but the hypothesis is it has to do with the high fiber and slow-burn properties of whole grains.

When it comes to diet, being unrefined is a good thing!

Sprinkle Pepper Everywhere

Meet Piperine, the fat blasting ninja!

A powerful compound found in black pepper, piperine has been used for centuries in Eastern medicine to treat multiple health conditions including inflammation and tummy troubles.

But recent animal studies have found that piperine may also have the profound ability to decrease inflammation and interfere with the formation of new fat cells—a reaction known as adipogenesis, resulting in a decrease in waist size, body fat, and cholesterol levels.

More pepper, please!

Use coconut oil for cooking

What smells like an exotic vacation and can shrink your waist faster than your favorite Zumba class?

You got it: coconut oil.

A study of 30 men in the journal Pharmacology found that just 2 tablespoons per day reduced waist circumference by an average of 1.1 inches over the course of a month.

What makes coconut oil superior to other fats is its medium chain triglycerides. Unlike the long-chain fatty acids found in animal sources of saturated fat, coconut oil doesn’t seem to raise your cholesterol and is more likely to be burned as energy than stored as blubber.

At roughly 117 calories per tablespoon, it’s a near identical caloric swap for olive oil. Plus, its high smoke point makes coconut oil great for just about every dish, from eggs to stir-frys.

Indulge in Dark Chocolate

It’s every chocoholic’s dream: Research now shows that eating moderate amounts of dark chocolate can reduce overall body fat and shrink the waist.

A study among women with normal weight obesity (skinny fat syndrome) who ate a Mediterranean diet that included two servings of dark chocolate each day showed a significant reduction in waist size than when on a cocoa-free meal plan.

Researchers say it has to do with the flavonoids, heart-healthy compounds in chocolate that have important antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.

Just be sure you’re reaching for a bar with at least 70 percent cacao, and stay away from the “alkalized” stuff, which has a significantly reduced flavonoid content.

One last thing… you should try this super simple ritual that burns 2 pounds of belly fat per day…

“All this by your something-something ritual?” I asked.

I met an old friend for lunch last year and I was super impressed with how she lost 72 pounds in 3 months.

She said, “It’s not so much about the the so called ritual but more about how it releases fat-blasting molecules that signal your brain and body to burn off pounds and inches of trapped fat quickly and naturally.”

Even though I was skeptical, I’ve been struggling with my weight over the last few years, so I gave it a shot and watched the same video she did.

Well, it’s only a couple weeks later and you know what they say about how “you can’t transform your body overnight”…

They’re right — it actually took me 14 days to lose 20 pounds.

Now it’s my girlfriends asking ME what I’M doing differently

Imagine your body being beach ready before Memorial Day.

Imagine enjoying the foods you love: pasta, wine, or even a dessert — completely guilt-free.

And imagine feeling good and living your life without obsessing about every single calorie you eat…

All while knowing your health is being protected by one of the most powerful natural healing rituals ever discovered.

Click here to see the super simple ritual that helped me melt away 20 pounds in just 14 days

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scriptflorist · 7 years

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Are there any deadly flowers but you can consume them in certain ways that are safe for humans? Sort of like a flower version of fugu?

Hey Nonny,

there are a lot of poisonous plants. Not all of them necessarily deadly, but I will try to lay my focus on it since you are looking for something of the likes for your story. We, humans, have a way of exploring our planet’s flora by trial and error, unfortunately, that probably lead to a lot of deaths in the past because we hadn’t quite figured out plants just yet. Since you asked for a fugu equivalent we’ve looked specifically into plants (or parts of them) that would be considered edible, since flowers are not as commonly found on dinner plates as fish would be and most people likely don’t consider them as edible either.

Almond (Prunus dulcis) – Okay technically it’s not only almonds, it’s something about the Prunus genus as this concerns also cherries, peaches, plums and apricots, just to name a few common. And it’s not about the fruit flesh because unless there is an allergy it is very obviously edible and good for many of us. This is all about the seeds, and yes that includes almonds as they aren’t nuts but seeds in all technicality. Now we can eat almonds, but the more bitter they are the more cyanide they contain (just like cherry seeds.) And cyanide in large amounts is deadly of course so in order to be sold they must be processed to remove the poison. However, bitter almonds are still illegal in some countries.

Cashew tree (Anacardium occidentale) – Cashews are tricky, they are not technically deadly. They are, however, poisonous and need to be processed before they can be eaten. Raw cashews are coated in something called anacardic acid. I don’t think I need to explain why acid is a bad time for your character’s mouth, but this particular acid is closely related to urushiol the allergen found in poison ivy, which just brings home the point why your character should not put raw cashews in their mouth. It also makes quite obvious how a bad case of allergies might cause death in this scenario.

Cassava (Manihot esculenta) – Cassavas comes in two forms. Bitter and sweet. Sweet cassavas are nice cassavas, well nicer anyway. Sweet cassavas contain about 20 milligrams of cyanide per kilogram. Bitter cassavas have easily 50 times as much cyanide, with an average of 1 gramme per kilogram. (The numbers are vanishingly small in oz.) A common cause for large amounts of cyanide is droughts. And once again we have cyanide poisoning.

Chronic, low-level cyanide poisoning can lead to goitre and tropical ataxic neuropathy (a nerve-damaging disorder.) Severe cyanide poisoning is linked to a paralytic disorder called konzo, as well as death in some cases. Cassava consumption in humans is also known to cause severe calcific pancreatitis which can lead to chronic pancreatitis.

Interesting about this plant, however, are not its leaves or flowers, but its roots. Sweet roots can be cleansed of the cyanide by thorough cooking, bitter roots, however, require more careful processing. Fermenting, cooking and soaking just to name a few.

Castor oil plant (Ricinus communis) – Again, not the flowers but the seeds are where the poison is located, eating the flowers isn’t recommend either way as the whole plant is more or less toxic in varying degrees, the seeds are simply the most dangerous. This poison in question is called ricin, which is not only extremely toxic but also water-soluble. And of course, this exact plant is used to make castor oil as the name already suggests.

This plant is also arguably the most poisonous in existence, or at least it was in 2007 according to the Guinness Book of World Records, and yet it is arguably not the most lethal. For the average adult the lethal medical dose is 20 micrograms per kilogram when injected or inhaled, and while it is claimed to be much less toxic when ingested, a dose of about 20-30 milligram per kilogram (about 4-8 seeds) can still cause death when that way.

Symptoms commonly appear within 2-4 hours but can be delayed for up to 36 hours and they include a burning sensation in the mouth and throat, abdominal pain, purging and bloody diarrhoea. Within just a few days severe dehydration, a drop in blood pressure and a decrease in urine will occur and if left untreated death can be expected within 3-5 days. However, if your character makes it past that time frame they do have a chance of survival.

In 1978 a man called Georgi Markov was assassinated with them, you can look him up on the internet.

Indian pea (Lathyrus sativus) – The seeds of this plant contain a neurotoxic amino acid called ODAP. ODAP is short for some chemical description that makes my brain and eyes hurt and frankly this is the part of chemistry I don’t understand anymore so we’ll stick to ODAP. Anyone can pronounce ODAP. If eaten regularly over a long period of time ODAP causes paralysis and wasting (away of muscle mass for example) and it is thought to be the cause of neurolathyrism (a neurodegenerative disease.) It only occurs during famines when the seeds of the plant are basically the main food source. It is also not deadly, but a damaged brain is no fun either.

Kidney bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) – Beans of any kind contain a substance called lectin, but red kidney beans have an exceptionally high concentration which is why they stand out in this case.

As few as 4-5 kidney beans is enough to prompt symptoms. Among them, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhoea and it takes about 1-3 hours after eating them for the symptoms to appear. Fortunately, they will disappear just as quickly within some more hours. The best way to counteract the toxin is to cook the beans at 100°C (212°F) for ten minutes. Dry beans are recommended to soak a whole five hours in water before further handling, and the water, of course, has to be discarded afterwards.

Slow cookers generally have a reputation for not cooking the beans hot enough and through that aren’t considered safe for kidney bean cooking. Which might sound not quite as serious but if they are accidentally cooked at 80°C (176°F) the kidney beans become five times as toxic as raw.

Lima bean (Phaseolus lunatus) – We’ve just talked about why beans need to be cooked properly, but on top of that these ones contain a cyanogenic glycoside, but we’ve already talked about why cyanide is bad for your character’s body as well. So I think this one should be clear.

Mango tree (Mangifera indica) – Mangos are a similar deal like cashews. Only that this time we’re dealing with actual urushiol (the poison ivy allergen) which can be found in the peel, sap, leaves and stem. A bad case of allergies could easily turn deadly in this case. If your character has a history of poison ivy or poison oak contact dermatitis they have all that’s needed to spark an allergic reaction.

Potato (Solanum tuberosum) – Yes, potatoes too. They contain something called a glycoalkaloid. Yes, all potatoes, but especially wild potatoes. Cultivated potatoes just have been bred to reduce the toxin to a manageable level for us humans, and that is really all we can do. Technically your character could try cooking them at 170°C (340°F) or above to at least partially destroy the toxin, but all I can imagine for that scenario are some sorry, overcooked potatoes which just cause a lot of sadness at the dinner table.

Rhubarb (Rheum rhaponticum) – While the leaf stalks are edible, nothing else about the leaves is. The bad guy here is oxalid acid. Again, I don’t think it needs explaining why acid is Bad. Symptoms include kidney disorders, convulsions, coma and although rarely, death.

The lethal medical dose of pure oxalid acid is about 25 grammes for a human weighing roughly 60 kilograms (~140 lbs.) Fortunately, it would take a lot of effort, determination and possibly malfunctioning taste buds for your character to actually cause severe damage to themselves in this case as that equals about 5 kg (11 lb) of sour rhubarb leaves to chow through. But much like it is with potatoes it’s not like the leaf stalks are free of poison, they just contain less which in turn is then manageable for a human.

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) – You might have noticed the similarity to the Latin potato name. Which is because both of them are part of the Solanaceae family, the nightshade family and if you need to know anything about nightshade for your story it is that it is dangerous and deadly in pretty much all cases. Tomatoes contain a thing called solanine, which if ingested can cause nervous excitement and upset the digestive system. Fortunately, ripe tomatoes are very much fine to eat, and most people wouldn’t come to think of eating their stems and leaves. However, some have thought it a good idea to brew tomato leaf tea. Tomato leaf tea now is the cause of at least one recorded death. Don’t have your character make tomato leaf tea.

- Mod Jana

(Source)

Disclaimer

This blog is intended as writing advice only. This blog and its mods are not responsible for accidents, injuries or other consequences of using this advice for real world situations or in any way that said advice was not intended.

#writing advice #poisonous plants #fugu plant equivalent #mod jana #ask answered #Anonymous

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elane-in-the-shadows · 7 years

Text

Red Queen Fan Fiction - Blood Curse part 12

Find this on wattpad

chapter 1

chapter 2

chapter 3

chapter 4

chapter 5

chapter 6

chapter 7

chapter 8

chapter 9

chapter 10

chapter 11

chapter 12

chapter 13

chapter 14

chapter 15

chapter 16

chapter 17

chapter 18

chapter 19

chapter 20

chapter 21

chapter 22

chapter 23

chapter 24

chapter 25

chapter 26

chapter 27

chapter 28

chapter 29

Final chapter

Gisa POV

Cameron looks cute with her hair open, positively pretty, and I tell her so. She laughs, slightly embarrassed but also … something else. She lowers her eyes to face me, excitingly slow. She smirks after a breathless second and I do the same, hoping to convey the message, “I like you,” without voicing it.

Maybe I should. Clear words can be such a relief. But I just lay my hand over hers and the way she avoids glancing at them although she’s obviously touched in more than one way says a lot. Rejoice prickles inside of me.

“Though it gets annoying after a few days,” Cameron says, tugging at a curl. “Especially when, you know … “ She sighs deeply.

My mood drops from soaring to crawling. Her smile vanishes and familiar feelings wash over us; finality for her, dread for me. She’ll go back to fighting, like too many of my family.

“Hey. Gisa,” she nudges me and I startle. Her expression softens again. “I’m not – well. They asked us who’d go to New Town and I volunteered. I can see my parents again and do something for the other techies.”

I step away, my eyes turned to the ground. I shouldn’t sulk like this, and when Cameron touches my shoulder, I feel even more embarrassed and selfish.

“I’m sorry to leave you alone again, so soon after,” Cameron says. I nod. Of course, she does as she must.

“Good luck,” I wish her; she hesitates to reply. I don’t wait and simply hug her. She’s surprised but embraces me back after a second. “You’ll come back,” I demand.

“For sure,” she whispers into my hair. “You got to meet my family after all.”

Heat rises in my cheeks, warring with suppressed tears. “Oh,” I say, “oh.”

Cameron clears her throat, it has been a slip. I look up into her face. “I didn’t know we’ve come that far already,” I say. “But I’m glad?”

Her smile emerges slowly but it’s certainly beaming. “Me too. And you know, Rafe comes with me, because an electricon in New Town? Assured to create a mess.”

I pull away a bit, rise to my toes, and kiss her cheek. “Or sure to bring you a quick victory.”

“Right,” she agrees, then hugs me again.

As if the general mood on the base hasn’t been serious enough, the returnees from Corvium and the – hopefully decisive – battles looming ahead turn it positively grave. Everyone trains harder, most of all Mare. Not only her ability but her body as well, and she even eats more to build more muscles. Tramy, Bree and Diana advise her on this, as they occupy each other with more planning and discussions. Meanwhile I stick to Kilorn, Cameron, and her brother Morrey. Sometimes I accompany Lacey again, but with Diana’s return, her restrictions seem to have lessened, allowing her to become more involved. Tramy doesn’t bring her to our house anymore but doesn’t meet her less often as far as I notice. He’s as in love as before, if I interpret his glances and expressions right. And our eyes meet frequently when the family sits together.

Each of us copes in their own ways. In the evenings, Diana visits with Clara when she has the time. Dad enters Bree’s and Mare’s war talks while he avoids the certain royal topic carefully. Everyone does this around Mare, maybe apart from Mom, Kilorn and Diana in more private conversations. Thus, Mom fusses on the whole family, similar to before, Dad supports her, Bree and Tramy tell stories, Mare tries to fit in and I keep my hands busy and watch; taking Kilorn’s advice to crack jokes to lighten the mood, although not with as savage ones as his.

I live well with the illusion, it’s helpful, and nice, to feel joy and relatedness every now and then. Although I can’t look at Clara without thinking that Shade’s not here to dote on her with pride or that Mare’s lost any light-heartedness she ever had.

Every night I expect her to approach me, to hug me, to start crying. But she doesn’t. She’d learned to sleep alone, she claimed the first night after her return. I offered to listen to and help her, in awkward words, which I repeat sometimes – but I don’t ask her about it. I never know what to do besides stating my readiness.

Until Mare starts to talk by herself while I’ve no idea what’s made the difference. I can’t ponder on that. “The worst thing,” she begins, “is that I know Tiberias truly loves me. Yet he did that, and it’s like he never really knew me. While the same applies to me, doesn’t it? I believed he wouldn’t go back to his throne, so did I ever fully know him?”

The words fill our room with a gloomy heaviness, so my lack of an answer doesn’t become disturbing. Even though I feel like I have to say something to comfort her, I can only move closer to her, careful and inch by inch, until she leans against me, with a pillow in her arms.

“I hate the lies, the illusions,” she mumbles. “But I have to go on with them, until … “

“You don’t have to,” I blurt out; fortunately, Mare isn’t bothered. She inclines her head but doesn’t agree. Of course not.

“Maybe you should talk to Kilorn again, because I’m so bad at comforting you,” I say.

It startles her. “Gisa, you said nothing wrong!”

I wave off. “Believe me, he’s a true master, compared to me. But you know that, don’t you? I tried so often to … provoke him into a, umm …” Mare stares at me curiously. “But well, he never exploited the situation – to my chagrin.”

Mare sneers. “I’d hope so, anything else would’ve made him a scoundrel.”

“Oh, he’d never. Not that I care anymore … “ I sigh.

“You don’t?” The corners of her mouth twitch. What luck.

“No, as I … might like someone else now,” I tell her, suddenly eager to lift the secret.

“Do I know – “

“Her? Yes, it’s Cameron.” Her amusement, built up so carefully, dims for a moment.

“She’ll go to her family soon, to stir unrest in New Town,” she explains like I don’t know this already.

“For sure.” I shrug. “And Rafe goes with her.”

“Then I’ll be the only eletricon here.” Mare looks away. “And sooner or later, I’ll leave as well.”

I take a sharp breath. “When?”

She shrugs, I wait. “Difficult to say. ‘Timing is essential,’ Farley claims all the time” She turns it into a silly impersonation but she’s never been good at telling jokes. I laugh anyway.

The next days are stressful and busy, hardly offering a calm time before the storm. While Cameron, Rafe and a handful more Newbloods and operatives develop a course of action for New Town, another regiment prepares to accompany Volo Samos on his campaign against the Lakelands. Unlike the usual skirmishes, forages and sparring fights, this hits me harder and unforeseen, reminding me of the war that’s already come. I start to pester Diana about it, to reassure myself through information. It unsettles her at first, she hesitates to talk about it. Although neither mission is a secret here. For some reasons, she agreed to the Samos cooperation quickly, and it’s only volunteers who are sent to the Rift. They’re mostly Lakelanders, with her father among them.

“So, what do you think about the book?” I add one time.

She frowns as she figures out my meaning. What a terrible operative I’d make. Despite my initial resolve, I’ve procrastinated asking her about the old logbook from Monfort eternally. I don’t believe Lacey hid it from her. But thousands of Silvers killed on purpose by the spreading diseases is disturbing to imagine. Was that a good deed? Or wrong? How would a Silver like Lacey judge this –

Diana hushes me before I explain myself in the middle of the street. “Lacey Ventos is a good operative,” she says. “Well-connected, quite committed.” You needn’t doubt her, she leaves unsaid. As well as, unlike others.

“Her friends at Maven’s court are a main asset for us, bleeding intelligence to us even the twins can’t find.” Diana chews on her lips as if this intelligence is something gnawing on her. “Gisa,” she adds, “this book that you two found is very valuable. Just wish we could use its information on greater scale…”

“Diana?” I tilt my head in surprise.

“Well, we won’t do the same thing, of course. But we can compare the political developments in Monfort and project them on Norta and work out whether Monfort tells us everything. By now I’m almost certain the current Monfort government had nothing to do with this. It was more than twenty years ago. For example, Davidson was still in Norta at the time it happened.”

“And do you trust him?” I ask.

She cocks her head. “What do you want to know about him?”

“Just curious. You’re usually relying on yourself the most.”

She cackles. “You aren’t wrong,” she admits. “But difficult times demand difficult measures.”

Cameron and I steal away the last evening before she leaves and I help her re-braiding her hair. A storm rages outside, the sky burning bright with jade and amethyst lightning. It’s Mare and Rafe calling forth that storm for a last time, because they’re stronger together. They turn the sky into a loud and feral beast that obeys them, reminding me and everyone else of the storms of war to come. In a moment when their lightning illuminates the room, Cameron and I share our first kiss.

More weeks pass while Diana continues to wait for the right timing. It frustrates Mare who trains harder still, until she commands the storms as well as the small electrical gadgets in our house. Sometimes I can feel her invisible current buzzing on my skin. Stupid static electricity. Yet the training leaves her too tired to do much else. She likes the distraction, since from what I’ve put together, her next battle will be alongside Cal – who she calls Tiberias now – probably against King Maven himself.

Diana leads several smaller missions and skirmishes in the meantime, sometimes with my brothers or Kilorn coming with her. Mom always scolds her when she comes back and Diana merely listens calmly, yet resolved. But I notice the letters she gives to Dad for safekeeping before she sets out every time. “They’re for Clara,” he tells me after I’ve asked for the fifth time.

The Piedmont fall arrives beautifully although hardly anyone can spare time to contemplate or admire it. Not even me, usually quickly entranced by rich colours. Nature is nothing compared to hearing from Cameron or the soldiers fighting in the Lakelands, or seeing my family remaining safe.

We’re together on the first anniversary of Shade’s death, with all of us in tears sooner or later. The sad date is followed by Clara’s half-birthday which we celebrate two days before Mare’s 19th one.

The two parties are needed as a goodbye, since the period of waiting finally ends. While Diana heads into her own direction with strong determination, Mare and the majority of the Newbloods and the Guard’s forces are called to enter a full-scale attack on Archeon.

@clarafarleybarrow @calliopexclio @mareshmallow @lilyharvord @inopinion @redqueenfandom @ssingerqueen @spookysamos @hannaharies @runexandra @iris-cygnets @breebarrcw @red-queen-united @asewhj @redqueenforever @calmareforever

#red queen #red queen fan fiction #red queen fanfiction #war storm #war storm fan fiction #king's cage #blood curse #gisa barrow #cameron cole #marecal #mare barrow #diana farley #blood curse ch 12 #storm born #camisa

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