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milkypompon · 5 years ago

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𝕐𝕠𝕦𝕣 ℕ𝕒𝕥𝕦𝕣𝕖 | Gaang x Earthbender!Reader

𝕀𝕞𝕒𝕘𝕚𝕟𝕖 | What’s life like with the Gaang when they include another Earthbender? Well to everyone’s surprise, it’s quite calm… sometimes. Y/N’s ability is unlike the hard-core Metalbending, Sandbending, and tradition Earthbendingof Toph. Yes, they’re fully capable of doing all that if they truly wanted to. But Y/N chooses to help out in their own way, giving life to nature and indirectly to their friends too.

𝔸𝕦𝕥𝕙𝕠𝕣'𝕤 ℕ𝕠𝕥𝕖 | You can deem these as Character x Reader or just some adorable platonic love with the wonderful team! On another note, for some reason, I LITERALLY WRITE SMALL STORIES INSTEAD OF HEADCANONS LMAOOO. Still hope you got a lil something out of this.

𝔼ℕ𝕁𝕆𝕐

【𝔸𝔸ℕ𝔾】

Puns. That’s it puns.

The crew sat around a flickering fire dead in the night. Wind whistled into their ears and leaves swirled about their hair. Despite the chill weather, everyone chattered and laughed wildly. Sokka began yet another high tale of his that was supposedly dating back to his childhood. His arms flailed wildly, receiving cackles from Toph. While Katara and Zuko fell onto their side, legs kicking the air sporadically.

Y/N sat next to Aang who suddenly grabbed their shoulder and said firmly, “We need to talk.”

Everyone stopped their shenanigans.

Aang deepened his voice, “Y/N… for what’s Earth, you are the team’s most down to planet person ever.”

Y/N snorted, “IT’S DOWN TO EARTH. NOT PLANET”

Well… at least he tried.

Competitions on who can pull out the most potatoes out of the dirt. Let’s just say the Gaang ate potatoes for a week thanks to Aang. And an astonishing two week thanks to Y/N.

When they have heated arguments, which weren’t often, but the team sure as hell stepped on the gas when it did happen, Y/N would offer Aang some pretty nasty food. Nothing dangerous or poisonous, well Aang would actually describe the apple inhabiting worms he took a bite out of last week.

【𝕊𝕆𝕂𝕂𝔸】

Absolutely without a doubt calls you many nicknames

Exhibit A

Sokka poked Y/N’s cheek, he received a smile in return. “Hey, uh… plant nanny, could you swing by at my place and take a look at the vegetables Katara planted? They’re already wilting…”

Y/N giggled, “You planted them didn’t you?”

“Wha- of course I didn’t. FINE, I did!”

Exhibit B

“You just stepped on the chamomile flowers that just started sprouting!” Y/N squealed at Sokka.

“Oh SHIT-” Sokka ate a mouthful of dirt right after Y/N hit him hard in the back of the head with a tree branch. “I’m sorry I upset you Sweet Pea…”

Asked the Gaang as to why Y/N doesn’t perform traditional Earthbending and just received, “Why don’t you ask them yourself?”

Sokka was downright afraid, not because of Y/N’s personality, but he didn’t want to poke through their past. Obviously, curiosity got the best of him!

“Well, I just like the smell of flowers and the taste of organic food more than hurling rocks at people,” Y/N simply shrugged.

Sokka nodded, there was nothing more to it.

“But, sometimes I do like creating my own cliffs and pushing enemies off of it. It’s more meaningful if it’s from rocks I formed myself,” Y/N stared at him dead in the eye.

Sokka’s eyebrows arched high.

That was the last time anyone saw Sokka :0

【ℤ𝕌𝕂𝕆】

Many stories as the two planted flowers in front of the Fire Nation palace

“Y’know, Y/N, this reminds me of this one time Uncle made tea out of a white jade bush,” Zuko snickered.

Y/N eyes widened, “ISN’t THAT POISONOUS?? ... Or was it not??”

“Oh trust me, you would not want to be trying white jade bush tea,” he smirked.

Tends plants with Y/N because it reminds him of the peaceful days of when he served tea at Ba Sing Se

BUT, poor Zuko easily becomes sunburnt when he helps with Y/N’s garden

Y/N heard a knock at their bedroom door.

It was Zuko behind the door saying, “Uh, Y/N could you help me-”

When they swung the door open they were greeted with a scorched man with peeling skin. “HOLY SHIT! WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU!”

Quickly, Y/N led Zuko to the bathroom and in the corner sat a mini fridge. (He always wondered what was in it. Snacks?) When Y/N opened it, there were stacks of aloe vera leaves snuggled next to each other.

“Why do you have so much-” Zuko began.

“Let’s just say Aang was my first patient…” Y/N laughed under their breath. They gently applied the aloe onto Zuko’s body, which earned them hisses from the dramatic Fire Lord.

“That takes care of it!” Y/N clasped their hands proudly.

“Uh, Y/N. I’m feeling a bit… itCHY!” Zuko yelped.

That’s when both of them found out that Zuko was allergic to aloe vera. Congrats, now Y/N has to call the doctor.

Every weekend, Zuko swing by for new flowers for Ursa (if she returned to the palace... )

“Knock, knock!” Fire Lord Zuko greeted Y/N with a bright smile.

“What brings you here on this fine morning, Your Highness?” Y/N teased.

“Mother’s been nagging me to ask you for help to create a bouquet for each of the rooms in the palace,” Zuko stated.

Y/N’s voice hitched, “EACH ROOM??”

“Don’t worry! I’ll help you pick the flowers and arrange them!,” he offered.

“Oh, like you’d be of any help,” Y/N giggled.

“I swear I’ll be more careful this time,” Zuko rolled his eyes.

But, uh… this time ended up just like last week, Zuko set the flowers he was arranging on fire…

【𝕂𝔸𝕋𝔸ℝ𝔸 】

Basketweaving… attempts by Katara

On Ember Island, the Gaang was able to laze around for a few days (well until Zuko gave the team a big beating that Sozin’s comet was going to practically destroy the world).

Y/N sat under the shade of the swaying palm trees, undisturbed by the squealing of Sokka as his supposed sand sculpture resembling Suki was destroyed. Y/N hummed as they weaved the palm fronds into little baskets.

Katara approached them and commented, “Y/N that’s beautiful! I wish the Southern Water Tribe could make these. Sokka and I were kept busy creating pots with Gran-Gran.”

Y/N timidly scratched the back of their neck, “I could teach you if you’d like! Then we can use it to hold the fish we’ll catch later with Sokka.”

Y/N used their earthbending to pull down the leaves from the palm trees and their work began.

After the fishing trip of the wonderful trio, Katara carefully placed the fish they caught in the basket she wove. As they neared the sandy beach Aang took notice of their disgruntled state. He commented, “Why do all three of you look-”

“I TRIED OKAY! THE FISH GOT OUT OF THE BASKET I WOVE,” Katara defended herself.

“AND IT SLAPPED ALL THREE OF US BEFORE IT JUMPED BACK IN THE WATER,” Sokka yelled.

Katara tried, okay!

Flowercrowns

Many flowercrowns were made for the Gaang with the help of Katara

She may not be that great at creating baskets, but you can bet that Katara doesn’t stop at making crowns: She’s made necklaces and bracelets for Appa and Momo.

Potion making!

Katara would use her waterbending to mix the little potions that Y/N created They’d walk around rolling hills that contained many flowers and herbs that could be used for healing potions and in some cases caffeinated tea!

【𝕋𝕆ℙℍ】

Usual Toph shenanigans

“Ugh, some clerk just charged me over the usual price for these seeds we’ve been needing!” Y/N grumbled.

“Well, we could do something about it…” Toph smirked.

Y/N searched for some termites around the forest and Toph helped transport them around the clerk’s house.

- A few days later -

“Uh, Aang,” Zuko tugged at Aang’s sleeve. “Wasn’t there a house there a couple days ago?”

“I think you drank some cactus juice, buddy,” Sokka simply shrugged.

“Actually, I think there was…” Aang scratched his chin in confusion.

Toph offered Y/N a high-five, “A job well done, if I do say so myself!”

Some brawls that should have clearly not have started in the first place

“Y/N fite me!” Toph marched up to Y/N.

“No,” they stated bluntly.

“WHy! It’s kinda a thing for all us to train together,” she defended herself.

“Fine, but don’t get angry at me if you end up with a splinter or two,” Y/N rolled their eyes.

By sunset, Toph’s head was stuck in between a tree for a couple hours. Even Y/N couldn’t get her out. Or maybe they could…

Y/N teaches Toph “Treebending”, which was a challenge for both of them

“You have to be gentle with these plants Toph!” Y/N’s forehead was forming a red square from all their facepalms caused by Toph.

“I’M TRYING!” She quipped. “It’s kinda hard to be gentle when I’ve been practicing metalbending these past few weeks.

【ℝ𝔼ℚ𝕌𝔼𝕊𝕋 𝕋𝕆 𝔹𝔼 𝕆ℕ 𝔸 𝕋𝔸𝔾𝕃𝕀𝕊𝕋 𝕋ℍℝ𝕌 𝕄𝕐 𝕀ℕ𝔹𝕆𝕏 𝔸ℕ𝔻 ℝ𝔼ℚ𝕌𝔼𝕊𝕋𝕊 𝔽𝕆ℝ 𝔸𝕋𝕃𝔸 𝔸ℝ𝔼 𝕆ℙ𝔼ℕ】

𝔼𝕟𝕕𝕟𝕠𝕥𝕖 | THESE WERE SO FUN TO MAKE! Also, thanks again for the people who’ve been supporting my “Extra Hot Sifu Hotman: Zuko x Reader” fic! I’m taking a small break just to layout how I want the story to go and I’m trying my hand at doing headcanons/requests from my inbox.

#zuko x reader #zuko #zuko imagines #sokka x reader #sokka imagines #aang x reader #aang #aang imagines #katara x reader #katara #katara imagines #toph x reader #toph #toph imagines #atla #atla imagines #avatar #avatar imagines

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johnseedfanclub · 4 years ago

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microscope, mixtape, ufo, and parachute for Angel please!!

okay....This one’s quiiiiite lengthy sorry about that 😅😅😅

Thanks for the ask! ♥️

Hope y’all like this one~

microscope: zoom in – describe the little, insignificant details about an OC.

Angel loves Thai iced tea and sweet drinks! He only drinks coffee for the caffeine but doesn’t actually like coffee (he prefers his with a lot of sugar/flavoring to cover up the bitter coffee taste)

Angel wishes he could have a pet but is scared he might hurt them with his bad mood swings

He secretly loves and wants plushies. He also has an attachment to them but never admits it because he’s “too old” for them.

His type is brunette, charming, suave, rich/wealthy men (not literally but is a nice add on yk~) , with light colored eyes (coincidentally it sounds like John but he can’t stand him)

Actually acts out/badly for a bit of attention he usually does it for shits and giggles but does it to receive a reaction out of someone whether it be from the person he’s talking to or the audience watching

He actually wishes people gave him more affection and reassurance. He never truly knows how much his friends appreciate him an a lot of times he feels like they don’t much. He doesn’t tell them the truth though because he doesn’t want to come off as jealous, needy or as an “attention seeker”

Likes dressing feminine more than masculine. He absolutely HATES men’s clothing Hawaiian shirts, turtlenecks, tuxedos/formal wear are the only exceptions (he would pretend to like the boxes of men’s clothing he would receive from friends as gifts. Would never even wear them. Maybe once if he doesn’t want to hurt their feelings)

Canonically he is “blonde” but he’s actually a brunette (light brown hair) but likes to dye his hair blonde instead

ufo: identity! what are some key identifying qualities or traits of your OC(s)? how to they identify in regards to gender/sexuality?

Special Qualities: his personality. Angel has a very unique personality compared to everyone he knows. He has this funny, mean/sarcastic, chill vibe to him. He always teases and plays around with his friends, not to mention he’s quite blunt and honest with anyone (even more harsh to people who annoy him). And though he seems like a small angry chihuahua at times, he’s a real sweetheart to everyone. He is never afraid to try anything new, no matter now fucking crazy or dangerous it may be he’s totally down to do it. That’s why both Eden’s Gate and the Resistance fear

Good Traits: He’s comedic (even at the worst times or when you need it), is the best at throwing house parties (even at 30 years old), he can help you with any favor it doesn’t even matter what it is (almost impossible to ask him of something he can’t do), he’ll take care of you when you’re sick/hungover/injured/depressed/having a panic attack, he’s a great cook and willing to share whatever he makes with anyone (if there’s enough), and he’s always generous (a big gift giver)

Bad Traits: He can a bit overly aggressive/rude (sometimes accidentally), he’s bad at remembering/keeping tract of things (he knows everyone’s favorite animal but totally forgets their birthdays and/or names), tends to crack under too much (bad) pressure and become extremely aggressive or violent, holds in his true feelings and emotions, has really bad mood swings, can be easy to piss off, can be too loud (mouthed) at times

Sexuality: Gay (attracted to men)

Gender identity: depends on the way he dresses/his mood normally he prefers he/him/they/them but if he dresses more feminine (wears makeup, tight dresses, feminine accessories) you could call him by she/him, or even they/them. (No pronoun preferences when he cross dresses)

#squad: who’s friends with who? what are the squad dynamics like?

Angel has few friends outside Hope County. The main people he’s friends with are Mary May, Jerome, Staci Pratt, Sharky Boshaw, Hurk Drubman Jr, Adelaide, Faith Seed, the Angel Twins (Jeremiah and Isaiah), the Whitetails, and a few of the peggies of Eden’s Gate

The only squads that Angel are apart of are

Sharky + Hurk = The Bomb Squad

Peggies = Eden’s “Gays”

Angel, Sharky, and Hurk are like the best and worst pairing. They’re all sweet, funny, and humble but can be obnoxious and destructive as FUCK. Anytime they go somewhere to find/finish some mission. It always ends in them leaving a trail of either, fire, gunpowder, or an explosion of some sort (either vehicle, silo, bliss tank, or outpost/building). Don’t even ask or mention what they do for leisure time. More crazy stunts and tricks that could put any normal person with a normal brain in the ER in critical condition. And at the bar? Jesus Christ. They order enough alcohol to kill 5 men but somehow make it through the night. And if they aren’t drinking, they’re sure as hell smoking weed or whatever the fuck Sharky has been brewing in his trailer (it’s most likely a 50/50 chance that you’ll pass out or die from it). They’re definitely one crazy ass group, nothing you would ever even expect, not even out of a crazy...Hollywood...Michael Bay movie. A feminine Latino city gay, an old cheery bomb-rocket enthusiast, and a insane pyromaniac that has a warrant. There definitely isn’t a dull moment with these three. But...you’re good as gone if you’re stuck with them for more than 11 minutes.

Angel and the Eden’s “Gays” are a pretty decent sized group of 6 men (plus the Twins some days) that are the few queer men of Eden’s Gate. Originally they seemed quite closeted because of the cult’s religion and some of its rules. But with Angel around they soon became another loud, obnoxious group of men. Before the whole group was “founded” the original 6 peggies (including John Seed himself) didn’t like Angel at all because of how loud and “out” he seemed (not to mention the carelessness). But as Angel visited the bunkers more often (after he was kidnapped by John) they slowly grew fond of him. Angel would always do kind gestures to learn more about Eden’s followers by helping them with chores, tasks, bringing them food and treats from outside the compound (though he wasn’t supposed to), and even help them find comfort in their own troubles. Though Angel liked a lot of the members he really favored 6 different followers in particular Connor, Michael, Anthony, Jace, and Jefferey (those who were the first followers he interacted with). Now they’re known as Eden’s Gays troublemakers. They sneak out to the Spread Eagle to drink, host secret parties in Hope County, and smoke as well. There isn’t a moment where they aren’t breaking the cult’s rules. They’re the only group of peggies some of the resistance members trust mostly because Angel made a rule of not attacking or harming them and actually enjoy being around. They’re definitely always getting into trouble with both sides too, much like Angel, starting small fights during church/sermons, fooling around on the job, or going around Hope County not to attack the locals but pester the living shit out of them. They almost stop being violent mean peggies and instead just become this goofy comedic group of young men. (Fun Fact: the “Eden’s Gays” were actually a thing before the cult became hostile *during its first few years in Hope County* and John was mostly the “leader” of the crazy group)

mixtape: 5 songs that describe your OC(s) or songs they themselves would like.

Ohohohooooo~

(The possibilities are endless for this one so I’m sticking to a Baddie playlist he would listen to)

May I ~ Flo Mili

Literal Legend ~ Ayesha Erotica

Yikes ~ Nicki Minaj

I like it ~ Cardi B

Sway With Me ~ Saweetie & GALAXARA

parachute: who does your OC(s) trust the most? who makes them feel safe? who would they do absolutely anything for?

Missy (my U.S. Marshal oc), is one of the few people he trusts the most. During the time from when he was arrested to when he was released out of jail (and transferring to Hope County Jail), she was always like a mother figure to him. And though she was supposed to investigate Angel’s murder and drug charges, she treated him kindly and respect, instead of a criminal. Without Missy, Angel might as well been as good as dead since she was the one that helped him move to a psychiatric ward instead of federal prison after discovering who he really was. Even after he was released, Missy still treated him as if he was her own son. She allowed him to stay at her penthouse apartment when Angel told her his father had disown him and he had no where to go. She always cared about him, made sure he ate, drank water, took care of himself, and even helped him get a better mindset. Though Angel still teases Missy by calling her “Mama Bear (Missy)” or “Mother Goose (or hen)” he’s forever grateful she was always there for him.

#deputy oc headcanons #farcry oc headcanons #farcry oc #far cry 5 oc #oc: angel sanchez #far cry deputy #deputy oc #far cry 5 #fc5 #far cry #john seed #jacob seed #joseph seed #farcry 5 #far cry fandom #far cry fanfiction

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lokiamorstuffs · 4 years ago

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The Taste of Colors

Summary: Remus and Roman end up getting in a fight over Remus stealing one of his brother's potions. Logan runs into the Intrusive side late at night and comforts the side, sorta.

...

"I wish you'd just stop! Stop existing with the only purpose to be an irrational annoyance!" The words had been spiteful and bitter. "Go find something useful to do and stop stressing me out more! I have too much to do with so little time and you just get me all jittery!! Never helping out just pushing all my buttons!" Roman waved his sword in jester to all the shattered and spilled brews all over the shelf. Remus had looked furious as His hands clenched around the one blue potion he held.

Yes, Roman was still getting used to sharing a room. It had only been 2 months. He should be used to this by now. Especially since this wasn't the first -nor second- Remus had decided to steal Roman's potions.

Janus had gotten his own room, yet Remus' appeared into the left half of Romans. It wasn't fair. He had to deal with the smell of mulch and fish water, stop the bleeding books from crawling over onto his carpet, just on and on. More problems and annoyances coming again and again.

Roman knew he shouldn't have said that. He didn't even mean it. He was just so done with everything and Remus happens to be the last straw. The stress had just built up till one little thing made it boil over. First a creativity block, Logan's and Virgil's distractions, and the headaches. Just one thing after another.

This wasn't fair. Remus usually did stupid and gross things, yet he always had some goal, a reason, even if it was just to be annoying sometimes. Remus had helped people in his own way. Messing with Logan till he took a break from work, teaching Paton a life lesson, even taking the anger off of someone else and putting that focus on him. It was confusing and stupid, but they were just such complex and genius plans.

"Oh shut up." Remus hissed. "I can't believe I stand you! Your just too stingy to share. Just have to have every little thing as 'perfect' as you. Do you know what you did? Instead of letting me have one measly potion, you'd rather maim your whole damn shelve of them!"

Roman looked down at the sword in his hand. Colorful liquid dripped off the end, more scattered with glass along the shelves and floor.

"I-" Remus cut his brother off.

"You what? Are tired of my crap?" Remus growled, "Isn't everyone? The others don't seem this bothers by all my 'stunts', yet no matter what I do it's a problem with-"

"Remus! Just Get out." Roman snapped, tears welling up in his eyes "I don't want- I don't have time for this! Get out!!"

Remus stiffened, caught off guard. He stared at Roman for a moment a look of hurt. Then he sunk out.

Roman invalid sharply as tears flowed down his face. He uselessly and angrily tried wiping the salty water off his face, but more just fell.

Logan stepped downstairs into the kitchen. Midnight coffee is exactly what he needed in this moment of his existence. He grumbled to himself as he wandered over to the coffee pot and started a brew.

Logan leaned against the counter, tilting his head back and closing his eyes merely wanting to head back to his room to finish work for the night.

He rubbed a hand over his face, hoping it would somehow ease the feeling of exhaust from his face. He needed to stick to an ideal sleeping schedule, yet he always had too much work for that. Logan couldn't even begin to count the number of times he had to reduce months of planning. Then again, this happened all the time and the Logical side should be used to it.

Soon the beep of the coffee pot finishing ripped Logan from his thoughts. He sighed moving to poor a cup of the only thing that would help him stay awake through the night.

As the Logical side started to head back to his room, he happened to glance into the living room. Logan was a bit surprised to see Remus. The Intrusive side had hooked his feet over the armrest while the rest of his body hung over the other side essentially letting Remus hang upside down.

"Remus, what are you doing?" Logan questioned as he headed over to the Intrusive side.

Remus didn't move, his gaze glued to the wall, but he did hum in response. Logan took a drink of his coffee, suspecting this may be an even longer night than he anticipated. He sat down on the couch. "What happened?"

"I tried to drank one of Roman's potions. He got mad." Remus mumbled.

"Drink" Logan corrected.

Remus was silent for a moment. "We had a big stupid fight and he kicked me out of the room."

Logan paused for a moment, concluding this most likely was a bigger fight than usual. Remus did upset Roman often and the other way around too. Still, it was rare for the Creative side to actually kick Remus out of the room.

"Why do you keep drinking Roman's potions?" Logan asked, "You know that upsets him."

"I like the way the colors taste."

There was a long pause, till-"Get up." Remus glanced up at the logical side who had decided to stand and take another drink of his coffee. Remus wondered if Logan would pass out if he didn't have that caffeine. "Come on. Get up."

"Why?"

"Remus, I have not an ounce of patience tonight." Logan said, "I plan on comforting you. So get up. We are going to head to the imagination."

Remus sighed as he slid off the couch and fell on his back. He then stood, and with a lazy wave of his hand, a door to the imagination appeared.

Logan took a long drink of his coffee and set the mug down on the coffee table. He'd probably be up all night at this point and was glad he had the coffee he did. The Logical side headed through the door, Remus following behind.

"Okay... Now what? It's not like there's anything special here." Remus mumbled as they walked through the dark dense forest.

"This way," Logan explained, glancing at the intrusive side. His head was telling him this was illogical. He had work to do and he was exhausted already. But this was what he should do. It was the better option over leaving Remus to lay waste on the couch. Logan himself likely needed a break anyway.

The two walked in silence through the thick, mossy forest. Color. Remus had said he had like the taste of the color. Of course that made no sense. Remus usually didn't, but the Intrusive side was unique and different. Logan wouldn't doubt Remus' absurd taste -he usually devoured absurd things on a daily basis-, but he would have questions on it. Unfortunately, that would all be for another time. As for now, Logon needed to make some color combinations of his own. It'd most likely be easier to just use liquids. If Remus liked the tase of color then color he would have more colors to eat.

"There. " Logan motioned over as he led Remus to a small clearing.

"There's nothing here, Lo..." Remus mumbled as he slumped against the Logical side.

"But there will be." Logan announced, "You said you like the taste of colors, does it matter what substance the color is?"

Remus shook his head. "No. But I do prefer liquids. Why? What are you scheming?"

Perfect. Logan smirked, "First, I need you to make a few things."

"Okay! Okay!" Remus said excitedly, bounding over to Logan. "LoLo, I put the other two beakers all together with the setup, you just have to put the tube up and connect the line of Sodium hydroxide and phenolphthalein!"

The two sides were currently in a lab Remus had crafted. It was stocked full of many different liquids, beakers, bottles, and everything else Logan said he'd need. Plus snacks and a coffee machine. Those were essential.

Logan hummed pushed his glasses back on his face. "Alright. I only have to finalize adding the tar and dry ice to this one."

The logical side looked down at the beaker of swirling blue. He gently poured the black tar down on a spoon so it could easily drip into the bowl. Remus expected them to mix or something, but they didn't. The black and blue swirled, yet replied each other all at the same time. Then Logan added the dry ice.

It was just like a smokey galaxy. Logon took a step back from the counter. Remus couldn't stop staring at the beaker of liquid. He loved the smoke filling up and flowing out of the top as bubbles surfaced. The black and blue was mesmerizing, to say the least. No matter how the liquid moved or bubbled the colors never faded and never mixed.

"Is it acceptable?" Logan asked, pulling the safety gloves off his hands.

"More," Remus said as he grinned with excitement as he looked over at the Logical side.

"More?" Logan questioned.

"More of these mixes of liquids. Will you make me more. " He explained.

Logan smiled and gave a small nod. "I definitely can."

Remus snatched Logan up into a hug, and spun "You are the best!" Logan laughed and wheezed as he held onto him for dear life.

"I-It's not difficult, nor trouble." Logan clarified as he Remus stopped spinning.

Remus grinned as he looked down at the Logical side. "You really are the best, Lo. Thanks for helping me feel better."

"Of course. Now we need to complete more of these combinations before I collapse for exhaustion."

Logan had stayed up practically all night to help make the color drinks for Remus. The Intrusive side had convinced Logan to take the day to rest. Remus informed the others on Logan and said he'd been checking up on him latter, not only to make sure he ate but to say thanks.

Remus did notice Roman in the living room when he was informing the others on Logan. He decided to headed upstairs back to his room. On his bed sat a large box of odd-shaped bottles with a wide range of liquids and colors.

Remus summoned a dark melty shelf at the end of his bed so set the bottles on to. He then started to pull some bottles out and line them up on the shelf. Remus stopped when someone knocked on the door. Remus walked over and opened it. Roman stood there, a look of regret on his face. "Remus... I..." He paused and let out a sigh. "Can we talk...?"

Remus paused but nodded. They both headed back into the room. Remus decided to sit on the floor, Roman followed. They sat there for a moment, then roman spoke. "About last night..."

"Yeah," Remus mumbled. " I won't touch your stupid potions anymore. Logan and I made some ourselves so-"

Roman interrupted him, "I'm sorry Rem. I know I was upset with you. You did take my things, but all that anger shouldn't have been put on you over a silly potion." Romans looked over to the spot where he had destroyed the entire shelf. Just a blank space was there now. "I-I was stressed, but you were right. I overreacted. I said so many things. You do exist to do other things. you are important to us."

"Me too... And I know you don't like sharing a room. I don't either. But maybe we can't get this to work."

Roman smiled a bit. "We'll figure it out, but your creepy books have to stop coming over to my side."

Remus chuckled, "No promises."

"At least I don't have to worry about you drinking my potions."

Remus snickered, "We'll, I actually haven't drank any of them I did feel a bit bad so I just kinda saved them."

Roman furrowed his eyebrows. "What."

Remus stood and went over to his bed, Roman followed. Remus kneeled down and pulled out a brown box which he handed to his brother. Roman opened it, finding every potion the he thought Remus had drank. The creative punched his brother. "I hate you."

"Ow!" Remus laughed as he rubbed his arm. "Love you too, bro!"

...

Here ya go @audrithee!! Here's your a story for the @sanderssidesgiftxchange!

#sanders sides gift exchange 2020

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creative-type · 5 years ago

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Guess who wrote about Chopper keeping Zoro alive after Thriller Bark...again

Title: The Good Fight Rating: G Word Count: 2230 AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23204785

Sixteen hours of surgery. Ten pints of blood. Countless stitches and the devil’s own luck. That’s what it took to keep Zoro alive after the battle of Thriller Bark.

Chopper laid his head down against Zoro’s bed, listening with a clinician's ear to the beep of the heart monitor, the steady drip of the IV, the rasp of each shallow breath. If he strained hard enough he thought he could hear the rapid, thready beat of Zoro’s heart, but he knew it was his imagination. He’d stabilized his patient, somehow. Brought his heart back into rhythm and sewed his eviscerated organs back into place. Zoro’s veins and arteries, the connective tubing that pumped his lifeblood from head to toe, were now attached to their proper ports instead of leaking immense volumes of fluid everywhere except where it was supposed to go.

If Chopper had the energy he would have cried. Instead he took a shuddering breath through a face full of linens and tried to keep his hooves from shaking.

Zoro claimed god didn’t exist, but Chopper had fought Death itself too many times not to believe in some higher power. He hadn’t lost... yet. But there had been too many close calls lately for him to believe things would get better anytime soon. Chopper was afraid to even think it, but this latest battle had been a near thing, with Zoro’s life in the balance.

Too near.

He didn’t mean to doze off sitting like that, leaning over his patient like some kind of watchdog, but he must have because when there was a soft rap of knuckles against his infirmary door Chopper jerked violently awake. The sudden motion was enough to tip his chair over backward, and it was all Chopper could do to avoid cracking his head against the ground. The last thing anyone needed now was to give himself a concussion.

“Hey, Chopper, are you okay?”

Usopp popped his head in the doorway, then rushed in when he saw Chopper laying in a dazed heap on the floor. He helped him to his feet and righted the chair, then brushed off the front of Chopper’s shirt like an older brother who wanted to help but didn’t really know how. Once assured that Chopper wasn’t harmed turned his attention to Zoro.

“Is he…?”

Usopp left the question unfinished. There was still an ashen, unhealthy pallor to Zoro’s normally bronzed skin, the barest hint of blue at his lips visible beneath the oxygen mask. But his respirations were steady and his blood pressure stable, and that was more than Chopper could have said sixteen hours ago.

“Everything has gone as good as I could have hoped for. Better, even,” Chopper said.

“That’s great!” Usopp exclaimed. He wrapped Chopper in a tight hug and danced around in a wild circle. Even after being set back on the ground, it took Chopper longer than it should have for the room to stop spinning.

“Is there anything I can do to help?” Usopp asked earnestly. “Everyone’s just starting to wake up, I think Sanji’s putting together a party. You should come out and eat something.”

Chopper shook his head. “I can’t. I need to know right away If he starts bleeding again, and with all the transfusions I need to be careful not to put him into fluid overload. Plus with all those open wounds there’s a huge risk for infection, and...and…”

He meant to say more. He needed to say more, for Usopp to understand that while Zoro was better, he was by no means well . But the harder he tried the more his tongue tied into knots. Chopper knew he wasn’t making any sense, which frustrated him even more , the emotion of it all building up within him with no valve for release.

Chopper let himself plop onto the floor before he exploded, sniffing piteously as his vision went unexpectedly fuzzy. Usopp blinked, body going lax as his usual bravado rushed out of him like Luffy after a gum-gum balloon.

“Hey, it’ll be okay.” Usopp knelt down and patted Chopper awkwardly on the back. “You did good. Maybe you need to take a nap or something.”

He faltered, his eyes going wide as saucers. “Wait, you’ve been up all this time? We were awake all night chasing zombies, and then that weird bear guy came and blew everything all to hell, and we found Zoro, and ohmygod you’ve been awake since before yesterday .”

“Zoro needed me,” Chopper said simply. “He still needs me.”

As if agreeing, Zoro groaned in his sleep, making a feeble attempt to scratch at the drain that kept his right lung from collapsing on itself under the weight of the blood and fluid in his pleural cavity. Chopper hurried over to sedate him, mentally running through the dosing calculations and praying that he wouldn’t drop his already-precarious blood pressure off of a cliff.

When Zoro was once again resting comfortably Chopper returned to his chair to document, jumping a little when he saw Usopp staring dumbfounded out of the corner of his eye. He’d forgotten anyone else was in the room.

“Y’know, I bet one of Lola’s crew is a doctor,” Usopp said. “Maybe I could go ask--”

“Zoro is my responsibility!” Chopper said shrilly. “I can’t trust Zoro with some random doctor I’ve never met! If something happens I need to be here, because if I’m not I...I don’t know what I’d do.”

“I mean, I guess,” Usopp said, defeated. “But Zoro wouldn’t want you to run yourself ragged, either. What if you’re too tired and make a mistake?”

“I wouldn’t do that,” Chopper said stubbornly, even as statistics of the effects of sleep deprivation rolled through his mind unbidden.

“I won’t lose him,” Chopper said, more quietly. Except the won’t came out sounding a whole lot more like can’t , and he couldn’t stop the tears from falling. It made the fur on his face feel funny, and Chopper concentrated on that instead of the pitying expression on Usopp’s face.

He didn’t understand. He couldn’t, not without being a doctor. Chopper’s fight started when Zoro’s stopped, and it was up to him to make sure that his efforts, whatever they were, hadn’t been in vain.

A normal person would have died taking half of the punishment Zoro had. Even a fourth would have been crippeling. Yet Zoro stood tall, so much blood slicking his skin that it was a wonder he had any left inside. Usopp couldn’t know the look Zoro had given him right before falling unconscious, the faint smile of relief as he realized it was finally okay to let go, because his doctor was there to keep fighting the battle he had no right winning.

“Chopper?” Usopp asked, startling him back to his senses. There was something in his expression, hesitant and a little frightened, that made Chopper think it hadn’t been the first time he called his name.

“Hmn?”

“You did your part. Now let us do ours.”

The thing about Usopp was that he wasn’t afraid to play dirty, and when it was clear that Chopper had no intentions of listening to him, he went and found Robin.

Not that she looked much better than Chopper felt. Having her shadow forcibly stolen from her had taken its toll, and of all the Straw Hats she was the one he trusted to assist with surgery when he was unable to manage on his own. She had stayed until Chopper was reasonably sure Zoro would pull through, but only after making Chopper promise to call if he needed assistance once more.

But Chopper hadn’t needed assistance, at least not as much as Robin needed rest, so he had plowed on, breaking through his second, third, forth wall of fatigue through caffeine tablets and sheer force of will.

“Your hands are shaking,” Robin observed. She had a bottle of water with her that she handed to Chopper, fixing him with a look until he sheepishly took a drink. Chopper could see Usopp’s shadow in the doorway of the infirmary, whispering fiercely to Sanji and Nami.

Robin noticed his gaze and shut the door before kneeling down to his level. “I know it can be...difficult, at times, to ask for help. But we all have limits, and you have long-past yours.”

She pressed a hard candy into his hooves. “Sanji will be in shortly with a proper meal, but this should hold you over till then.”

“But if something happens--”

“I will wake you,” Robin said. “Nami is getting your bedding now, so you can rest here with Zoro. You don’t have to leave him if you don’t want to.”

All the air left Chopper in a rush. “Oh.” He unwrapped the candy and let it melt on his tongue, even that small amount of sugar boosting his dangerously low levels. When was the last time he had eaten?

“Why didn’t I think of that?”

“You are exhausted,” Robin said matter-of-factly. Then, with a note of reproach in her tone, “You cannot treat anyone if you do not take care of yourself.”

Before Chopper could argue there was a knock at the door. Sanji swept in, and foregoing his usual praise set a tray down at Chopper’s feet. There was a steaming bowl of cinnamon and sugar rice, milk, more water, and a cookie. Out of deference to Chopper’s patient, the cigarette that hung from his lips was unlit.

“Those shithole zombies took our food supply, and I haven’t had much luck raiding theirs,” Sanji said apologetically. “Looks like most went to feeding that great shithead Oars.”

Chopper nodded. Luffy’s appetite was bad enough on its own, but in the body of a giant it was nearly insatiable. “Thank you.”

The smell alone made Chopper’s mouth water, and he ate with mechanical efficiency, scarcely tasting the food before shoving the next spoonful into his mouth. He hadn’t realized how hungry he was, and the rice settled like a lead block in the pit of his stomach. His limbs felt heavy as he drank the rest of the water and his eyes burned with lack of sleep.

While he ate Nami came in with a pillow and blanket, but Chopper ignored it in favor of curling up in Robin’s lap. “Lemme know if his heart rate goes up and his blood pressure down, or if he wakes up, or if...if…”

“Hush, now,” Robin said, placing a calming hand against his back. Somewhere in the distance he thought he heard someone start to sing, but he couldn’t place the voice.

It sounded nice, Chopper thought, and he hoped he’d get to hear it again when he woke up.

Chopper woke up entangled in a pile of limbs and blankets. He blinked against the light of the infirmary, realizing somewhat befuddledly that his hat was not sitting on his head. His eyes were sleep-crusted and his throat was dry and he kinda had to go to the bathroom, but Chopper did not move. For some reason, he didn’t want to.

The smell of blood hit first and hardest. Somehow Chopper squirmed enough to get himself turned around and looking directly up at the bed were Zoro currently lay.

And if he was looking up that meant he had to be laying down . It took another long moment for his brain to reboot itself back to waking, and only then did Chopper realize he was on the floor and surrounded by Straw Hats. His head still lay in Robin’s lap while she herself was sitting up against the wall of the infirmary, and it was Nami’s arm that was currently wrapped around his torso. Sanji lay curled up on top of the blanket haphazardly thrown across Chopper’s legs, effectively pinning him to the ground.

Usopp and Luffy (when had he come in?) were on the other side of Robin, sprawled and taking every last bit of space, while Franky sat in Chopper’s tiny chair with his head rested against his massive forearms.

They were all here. They were all alive. Chopper took a deep breath, feeling it catch in the back of his throat.

Music came in through the doorway, a smooth caress to Chopper’s soul.

Maybe Luffy was right, and they’d gone too long without a musician. Hopefully he would find one soon, Chopper would like to study the therapeutic effects of music on the crew…

He drifted back into a deep and dreamless slumber.

The Straw Hats threw a party, as they always did after their biggest and hardest battles. Chopper still didn’t trust Zoro to leave him alone, and Luffy wouldn’t allow Chopper to miss out on the fun, so they arrived at the festivities together. Patient and doctor. Big and little brother. Crewmates.

Friends.

Chopper won this round, but deep down he was still afraid. Afraid that each success would encourage Zoro to greater recklessness, afraid that someday he’d go a step too far and Chopper wouldn’t be able to bring him back. Afraid that he wouldn’t make it in time.

But that was the thing about the Straw Hat Pirates, they trusted one another. Just like Chopper believed there was no one Zoro could not defeat, Zoro believed there was no injury he could not fix. That’s what it meant to be the greatest doctor in the world.

Chopper could only hope that he was right.

From across the room Brook began to play a round of Bink’s Sake. Beside him, Chopper’s small hoof nestled into his hand, Zoro smiled in his sleep.

#one piece #One Piece Fanfiction #tony tony chopper #straw hat pirates #creative-type writes

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mollydollyjournals · 5 years ago

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Thinking about my lockdown goals still. I just weighed myself and I'm on track to be the same weight again tomorrow as I was today, or possibly a bit more. The only weight that counts in my charts etc is first thing in the morning, and I kind of take a moving average to account for fluctuations. This is just before bed so it doesn't count, but I can use it to estimate what I'll be in the morning. And I don't like it. I know weighing every day is bad but I can't handle not knowing, so I at least usually limit myself to once a day. I shouldn't have weighed myself. It might be because I just drank about 500ml so I'm more hydrated. I hope it's that. But it could also be the gain I was expecting yesterday that I was glad I didn't have, or maybe my body responded badly to what I ate today and I gained and have to eat less than I even thought, or who fuckin knows. I need to stop focusing on it and just make my plan and relax so I can go to sleep and then just see where I'm at in the morning. But my brain is a pos. So.

Anyway. Potential goals for lockdown 2, starting Thursday:

- Maybe a step goal? I would need to see where I'm at and then add more. I have no idea how many I do currently so I don't know what's realistic. So if I do this it might have to start later than the rest, if I get a step counter. I used to have a phone app but I don't know how accurate it is and I don't always have my phone on me. A wat h style one would be better...

- Drink celery juice every day first thing, at least 5x a week but preferably all 7. It's so much effort to make the juice and clean the juicer and all so I'll give myself leeway to not do it sometimes, but I should try to do it every day, no fewer than 5.

- Hydration: there's the 500ml celery juice, then I need to have 1l mineral water (I can't stand tap water), and in the evening I'll have 500ml sugar free squash or 2 cups of herbal tea. If I don't have the celery juice, I add another 500ml squash or tea. More is better but that has to be my baseline. I really struggle to drink enough that isn't alcohol or caffeine so this will still be a challenge.

- Fibre... I know this is a good thing to have and all but I don't really know where to get it from. Unless I do a bean diet. Which I can do but it's so boring and idk. Maybe I should try to eat at least one serving of beans a day and just eat as much as I can elsewhere. I'll think about this one tomorrow.

- Low impact cardio: do this for an hour when I get up, before making celery juice and other breakfast. I know this doesn't burn as many calories as high intensity stuff but with my health being so bad sometimes it's difficult to get up and do something proper without feeling like I'm gonna pass out. Sometimes I end up stuck in bed because my body crashes. So low impact is good, and I'd like to do at least half an hour assuming I'm able to, preferably an hour. I find this makes me feel better throughout the day because I haven't sat around doing nothing, and it does help me lose weight and my waist gets smaller. So this is one of the most important things. I need to try for every day, but will allow for one day off. Hopefully my health will allow that.

- Strength training I'm going to stagger. In wk1 maybe I'll just do a few sit-ups or whatever here and there. I need to focus on doing everything else and there's kinda no point me having muscle tone if it's covered in fat so it's not my top priority. Week 2 I want to do 2x butt and hip toning workouts, probably from Chloe Ting's hourglass program. In week 3 I'll make that 3x a week, and also add in 2x back workouts by BrittneBabe. In week 4 I'll do 3 of each. It'll be a lot so I don't think I can commit to doing it all from the get go, but I do want to get there eventually.

- Bike/spin: this will rely heavily on my being able to do it physically. I'm not sure how long I'll be able to do it for or how often but I'd like to aim for at least 20mins per session, up to an hour; at least 2x in wk1, 3x in wk2, 4x each in wk3 and wk4. This can make me super weak and also it always hurts my butt, so if I need to not do this that's okay, but then I should do something else instead like another low impact cardio or a walk or something, and for longer than I would have been on the bike. I haven't done this in a long time so it'll be difficult but it's the calorie burn I want.

- Flexibility: idk about this one maybe 4x a week? Im so much less flexible than I used to be and I want to get it back, especially if I'm doing other stuff that can make your muscles stiff. I need to find a decent program. Will think on this tomorrow.

- Calories: I'll make myself a schedule with varying intakes from 1200 to 1500 in a day. I've worked really hard to get my metabolism up so I can eat that kind of amount without gaining weight, and of course now I've gained weight anyway for other reasons, but I don't want my metabolism to fuck up again any more. I wanted to go 600-900 but that's where it fucks up. I should still be able to lose weight, given where I'm starting and the physical activity. I'll adjust later if I have to but I think I should at least try to stay around that level. Idk. I'll probably have to adjust this as I go to some extent. The exception will be cheat days which will be at least a week apart - they help me break through plateaus and stay motivated etc so I have to have those allowed, but if I don't feel like I need it then I won't do it and I'll just save it for another time. Just always at least a week apart.

- Alcohol: this one is the most difficult because if it was that easy I'd just not drink at all. And various stressors make it difficult to go without. Sometimes alcohol is the only thing that can take me away from a trauma response or make me not want to kill myself or not feel as horrible in my body or any number of things. Sometimes I really just can't cope without it. But I definitely need to get more alcohol free days in and I won't be able to do any of the other stuff without it. Exercise is near impossible, I'll get sick and exhausted, I'll crave heavy foods, I'll need them probably, and my liver will just stop burning any fat anyway. I have to cut it back. I got to once a week a few months ago so I want to try to get back there. Ideally I want a 2 week break. Well...ideally I want to go the whole time alcohol free but like I said...so yeah. Currently I'm going to let myself drink on Wednesday if I need to and then after that it'll be no more than once a week hopefully. But the main rule is only if I really really need to. I guess it can coincide with my cheat days. Idk. Gonna think more on this too, and it'll depend on whether I get through the next few days etc.

It feels like a lot...it's not that I haven't done it before or done similar, but my health is so bad it's so much more difficult now, and I think I'll get overwhelmed if I do too much at once. I don't want to set myself up to fail. I hate failure. It makes me feel like giving up. So I shouldn't set myself too much to do at first,which is why I've staggered some of it from week to week. I also want to come up with a more precise margin for error with some of it, so if I don't feel like I can do it I don't end up feeling too bad. I have to remember that anything is better than nothing. And at the end of this month, I can evaluate what I managed and what I didn't, and set myself new goals just a little bit more challenging than these, and go from there.

I really need to lose weight. And I really need to stop drinking so much. I need to do this. I need to go to sleep now and get up tomorrow and spend the day and the day after preparing for this 4-week lockdown, and in going to try as hard as I can for those 4 weeks and then regroup. It's temporary. It's not forever. I just have to do these 4 weeks.

#weight loss #diet #november goals #lockdown goals #november 2020 #weight loss journey #alcoholism #alcoholic

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dreams-madeof-strawberrylemonade · 6 years ago

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Request: Can I have an imagine with Josh where maybe the reader has been stressed trying to balance work and school and maybe hasn’t been taking care of herself very well? Maybe taking snacks here and there instead of eating full means, having anxiety, and getting a short temper from stress and sleep loss? @livingdeadharley, this one goes out to you! Hope you like it, honey! Word count: 1,8K+ Warnings: none, just some fluff To be added to the (permanent) taglist, DM me or send an ask. Requests are open. Fanfiction masterpost

Josh Kiszka x (female) Reader

You just came back to your apartment that you shared with your boyfriend of almost two years, Josh. You had had a long shift at work that drained all of your remaining power from the morning classes at university.

You put your backpack on the chair in the kitchen and looked for the light switch.

“Josh?” you called out to check if your boyfriend was in your room watching movies or if he went out.

“Yeah babe?” you heard his muffled voice back. His words were followed by a loud thud coming from your room and you heard Josh’s steps against the wooden floor. In no time he turned on the light in the hallway, making you squint your eyes at the sudden burst of light.

Once your pupils adjusted, you looked at Josh and smiled faintly. He was staying only in his shorts and socks, with a blanket over his shoulders. That man was acting so childish from time to time, even though he was two older than you, but you loved him. You loved his spirit and his gentle soul and the way he made you feel.

“What?” he asked smiling, while approaching you. “Don’t you like my new look?” he asked and made a twirl in front of you.

“I love it, you know that,” you answered. Even your voice was faint from the exhaustion. Trying to balance school and work seemed impossible and you were watching your friends who seemed to have it all under control and perfectly planned it out and the anxiety in you just grew at the thought that you were the only one who hasn’t discovered the secret behind an easy and successful lifestyle.

“Then, what’s wrong?” he asked and pouted his bottom lip.

You bit your own lip softly, and felt the dryness of them as you remembered you have barely drank any water that day. “Nothing, I am just tired.”

You passed by Josh and reached up in the cupboard for a granola bar and tore open the plastic covering it. You sat down on a chair as you took a bite out of it.

You have been so moody lately due to the increasing stress in this period of time and lack of sleep to study for your exams. You barely ate. You were basically living off of snacks (mostly granola bars and Snickers) and caffeine. And not to talk about your temper; you were almost always either angry at school, either at your boss.

“Baby, come on, why won’t you have a meal? Even a fast food would be good, I bet life feels so tasteless with all those granolas,” Josh spoke, approaching you and trying to lighten up your mood.

“Josh, please,” you look at him with tired eyes. You felt yourself about to throw another tantrum in front of him. It would’ve been the third one in the last few days. You were feeling sorry for Josh that he had no other choice but live with it.

“Y/N, please, I can’t stand watching you do this to yourself,” Josh spoke to you.

“Listen, I don’t have the time to have a full meal, alright? And if I had the time, I wouldn’t have the energy to do it!” you raised your voice and put the half-eaten bar back into its plastic bag and pushed it on the table. “Why won’t you go have a meal by yourself?”

Josh’s eyes gleamed in the faint light in the room. You were sorry for snapping at him. He was just trying to be there for you.

“Babe, come on,” he spoke as he softly grabbed your hand in his. You could feel the warmth of his body through his hand and you could both feel and see the love in his heart for you in his eyes and actions. “How about having a shower and watch a movie together? I think that would help. And you can call in sick for tomorrow at work, it’s Saturday after all.”

You nodded silently as you proceeded to have a long shower that you hoped that would help you release the stress. Right after you dried off and changed in your pajamas, you walked in the bedroom you shared with Josh. He wasn’t in the middle of the bed, looking at the screen, nor at the shelf full of DVD’s of his favorite movies.

You walked in the kitchen where you last seen him and saw two empty plates set on the table and Josh sitting next to the cooker.

“Have a seat, on tonight’s menu we have scrambled eggs since they are the only thing I can cook and chocolate and strawberry pancakes, your favorites!” Josh smiled as he saw you in the door frame.

You walked slowly next to Josh and looked at him in awe. You were so grateful for having him in your life. “Josh, I am sorry for being an asshole,” you admit and look at the ground.

“It’s alright, love,” he smiled and pecked your forehead. “I know you’re just exhausted, but this is no excuse for not looking after yourself.”

Josh took the pan off the cooker and walked to the table and evenly distributed between the two plates the scrambled egg. The two of you sat down at the table and ate. Your stomach was grateful for finally receiving some real food. After the main course, the pancakes followed. Josh knew they were your secret addiction so he prepared you an extra portion.

After all the food was done with, Josh proposed that the two of you would see a movie, so you went to your room and hopped in the bed, while Josh searched for a DVD.

“Rebel without a cause?” you heard Josh’s muffled voice.

“Nah, I have seen it recently. What else?”

“Forrest Gump?”

“I love that one! Yes!”

Josh put in the DVD and hopped in the bed, next to you. He still had that little blanket on his back, covering his bare back. This little detail made you smile once again.

Josh put an arm around your shoulders and you cuddled closer to his chest. You could smell the faint scent of his usual cologne.

“Josh, I love you,” you whispered, your voice slightly muffled.

“I love you too, baby,” he whispered back, pressing his lips softly onto yours. His voice sent a pleasant shiver through you. “Are you cold?”

With a swift move, he moved the blanket off his back onto yours, with this action completely hugging you to his chest. You reached over with your arms and tried to circle his back and the two of you just ended up looking like a loose burrito.

Josh flipped you over, so now he was leaning down over you, maintaining his balance with the help of his elbow. “You are so beautiful.”

You truly were so damn lucky to have Josh. Most of the time, Josh couldn’t even express in real words the strong love that he carried in his heart for you and you only. He told you all the time how much he loved you, but he always felt that didn’t sum up all of the feelings for you, that it was just a ‘summary’ of them, that’s why he wrote short poems and songs for you all the time. In that moment he was looking at you like you were his everything, and reality is that you really were.

At this point, none of you were even paying any attention to the movie on the screen. You looked up in Josh’s eyes and kissed his lips softly, leaving out a small and happy hum in the kiss.

“Will you promise me something?” Josh whispered while letting himself get closer to your body.

“What is it?” you smiled in the dim light coming from the TV.

Run, Forrest, run! you heard from the TV. Josh snapped his head for a brief moment, then turned to you again. “That you will take care of yourself. I don’t want to see you this way, it breaks my heart,” he admitted.

“I promise I will do my best.”

Josh was content with your answer and proceeded to covering your face in small kisses as he collapsed next to you once again. Your hand traveled to his curls and started rolling strands on your fingers, unconsciously. This was your favorite thing to do when he laid next to you. His hair was so soft all the time and you loved it and you knew that he enjoyed it too.

Josh moved his head on your shoulder as he watched the screen. His hand searched for yours and found it underneath the blanket that he had given you. You could feel his warm, soft skin on yours and the warmness spread on your hand as he interlocked your fingers.

You cuddled closer to him and placed a kiss on his cheek.

“Oh my God, I love how Forrest goes all the time back to Jenny!” you spoke towards the end of the movie, eyes in tears, knowing exactly what will come next.

Josh felt the way you started to get emotional, so he squeezed your hand harder and kissed your temple. “Don’t you cry, angel,” he spoke to you in a hushed voice, but your body tensed up at the last shots of the movie and let a tear run down. You always found it interesting how you could get emotional at a movie you have seen so many more times before.

Josh must have felt the tear landing on his wrist, because he looked at you as the credits started rolling on the screen. “Love, don’t.”

You pressed your lips onto his, surprised by your forwardness in doing so. “What scares me the most is that I don’t know when I will wake up and you won’t be there,” you sniffled, washed over by a wave of sadness.

“But I will be here. Forever,” Josh spoke to you, caressing your cheek with his thumb.

“How can you be so sure? Forever is a long time.”

“Because we are two souls who met each other and bonded over genuine feelings of love. You can’t break that bond. It’s unique and it’s unbreakable,” he whispered in your ear.

His voice soothed you and managed to stop your silent sobs. You found yourself cuddling him once again, wrapping your arms around his body. You placed your head on his bare chest and stayed that way, in a comfortable silence, for a long time, just listening to his heartbeat, while Josh occasionally ran his palm up and down one of your arms.

“Baby, do you want to hear something?” Josh whispered in the now dark room. You just hummed in response. Josh took in a deep breath, and the next thing you’ve heard was his angelic voice singing to you a new piece, that you haven’t heard before, while caressing your cheek and smiling at you in the darkness of your room.

You’ve been waiting for your lover, But you’ll discover She’s always there.

Tags: @myownparadise96, @satans-helper, @jeordinevankiszka, @littlegeekwonder, @songbirdkisses, @freeeshavacadoo

#greta van fleet #gvf #greta van fleet fanfiction #gvf fic #gvf fanfic #josh kiszka #josh kiszka x reader #jake kiszka #sam kiszka #danny wagner #fanfiction #writing #fluff #gvf fluff

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oh-boleyn · 5 years ago

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te para tres

words: 3662, language: english. jane & kat (kind of mom/daughter relationship)

author’s note: I wanted to keep multichapters on my ao3 but I actually kind of like this fic, and so I thought to post it here too! anyway it is also in ao3

tags: jane & kat - centric, kat is homeless, jane is trying her best, canon abuse/non con, tw abuse, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Families of Choice, Light Angst, pregnant!jane, sickness

Las tazas sobre el mantel

Moving into London was quite a thing. Something Jane had waited so long to do; she could almost not remember how much she dreamed when the opportunity first presented to her.

Having been born in Wiltshire, and later moved to Somerset meant that her life usually revolved around being in wide open spaces, with a lot of green grass and sometimes even animals. Small towns where everyone knew each other. Nothing compared to a big, global city like the capital of England.

Her apartment was quite small, but still enough for her. Jane had luckily secured herself a job in a fashion magazine, as a photograph designer, which meant that all she needed for an apartment was space for herself and any clothes she might need to recycle or fit for the next session.

Something she didn’t expect was seeing a young teen living in the street below her apartment.

Obviously, she knew her social status wasn’t the one everyone had. Her father, a college professor, was wealthy enough to grant her a good education and loan her money until she can get back on her feet. Investing almost all her money into coming straight to the city after breaking up with her boyfriend with whom she shared a house back in Devon wasn’t her wisest decision. But seeing such a young girl living on the street frightened her to no end.

(…)

“Hey, would you like to eat something with me?” Jane asked after the third day.

She made sure to always leave money to the girl, who could usually be found singing or drawing near the underground station during day hours. But having a little spare time and already began to take a liking to the girl made her want to offer just a little more.

The girl did not react, just watched her wide eyed, without moving.

“I would prefer not to.” Her voice is so small it’s barely audible for Jane.

It comes as a surprise, taking into consideration that she would hear her singing loud and clear for the past days, but now her voice sounded nothing like that.

“It’s okay, I’m sorry.” The older smiles.

She put some money into the hat that sat at her feet and started walking away.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

(…)

Catherine of Aragon is a stern, tall woman.

She is the chief editor of the magazine, and the tickling of her shoes can be heard from miles away. Her way to hold herself is just as stylish and elegant that Jane doesn’t think anyone in Somerset, or Devon was ever a half of it.

She smiles and nods at Jane, and it feels like a blessing has been given.

(…)

That night, when returning to her apartment, she makes a stop at the first fast food chain she can find, buying something for herself and to the girl. Jane goes back as soon as she can after that, trying to get the food to still be hot. The girl is sitting outside an empty store, with the art supplies already saved in her backpack.

“Hi, I brought you food.” Jane says.

“That’s really kind.” The girl smiles, taking the paper bag.

“I’m Jane.” She introduces herself.

“Katherine, with a K.” The younger mimics a smile, which is not really convincing.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Same to you.”

(…)

The next day Katherine is no longer where she was the night before, but the paper bag is still there, left totally untouched. It shocks Jane, who thought that it was a good gesture to begin with. Having no time to get offended, she keeps walking until arriving at the magazine.

The camera was already on its tripod, and the models were getting changed into their outfits for the day.

“Hi Jane!” Anna of Cleves, the photographer, greeted. “What’s up with that face?”

“Nothing it’s just… I brought food for a girl living in the street, and I saw it today and it was untouched.” She explained, getting out of her coat and hanging it.

“How do you know it was left untouched?” Anna questioned. “Did you go through the garbage?”

“No!” Seymour sounds offended. “I mean maybe… It’s just I saw the bag there and I wanted to know if she ate.”

Anna chuckles. “Have you considered that maybe getting food from strangers is like… rule number one of what not to do?”

“But it’s different she can trust me.” Jane tries to clarify.

“I know that, and you know that, but she doesn’t. Maybe next time buy her something closed, that you couldn’t possibly poison.” Cleves offer. “Now, how about we use this leather jacket but with that skirt?”

(…)

“Hi Jane.” Katherine smiles at the woman when she is passing through the street.

“Hi Katherine, I bought you this, I don’t know if you like it but I love them.”

Opening her backpack, she offers a box of Cadbury cookies. Those are nowhere near nutritious, not that fast food is, but the cookies can’t be even considered a meal.

“Thank you so much.” The girl says, opening the package and shoving a cookie on her mouth.

Jane can’t contain her smile, and takes the chance to say: “No problem, the offer for lunch is still up, just for your information.”

Katherine seems suddenly frightened, but keeps the smile on her face. “I would, but I’m busy right now.”

She shows the pencil in her hand.

“It’s alright, another day.” Seymour is about to leave when she decides against it. “Do you have a phone?”

“I don’t, sorry.” The teenager answers sadly.

“It’s okay…” She searches for a paper, writing down her address. “If you ever need something, just come.”

The girl gives a puzzled look. “Thank you, I will.”

(…)

Next morning is quite chaotic, and she doesn’t make it on time to check on Katherine.

First, she can’t get up from the bed, exhaustion keeping her down even when she doesn’t know why. Then, once she does get up, a dizziness invades her, almost making her go back to bed and call in sick, except that she can’t do that, not in a new job at least.

Jane tries to make herself the time, but she can’t. That doesn’t stop her from worrying about the girl for the rest of the day.

(…)

A week goes by and Katherine never comes, but still she slowly acts a little less nervous and automatic around Jane, even accepting Starbucks food that is well closed and some water bottles. Jane is sure the girl doesn’t trust her enough yet, but things start getting slowly better.

“Morning Katherine.” Jane greets, smiling.

The girl smiles back. Her smile never gets to her eyes, instead it looks quite sad. Just polite. Jane would probably also describe it as anxious, every time she hears her own name, she straightens the spine just a bit, trying to look taller or intimidating.

“Good morning, Jane.”

“I brought some stuff; I was wondering if you like hot chocolate? It’s getting pretty cold with the winter around the corner.” She offers Katherine the trail, which contains two hot chocolates.

Something she learned was that, if she let Katherine choose her drink, she would drink it. But if there was ever the slight difference between a cup and the other, she would just gently decline, justifying that she already ate or any other excuse that Jane was sure it was a lie.

“It’s not cold yet.” Katherine says, choosing a cup. “Thank you so much.”

“It’s no trouble.”

Jane takes a sip from the other cup, and just as she finishes it, the teenager takes a sip from hers.

“I brought a muffin too. I have to go to the office, but we can split it in halves, if that’s okay.”

“It’s not necessary. You don’t have to do that.” The younger replies, but Jane just offers it anyway.

“I have to go now, have a nice morning.”

“You too.”

Jane starts walking, getting away from Katherine.

A part of her wishes she could do more, but the younger girl just won’t ask for anything. Kat didn’t even always eat the food she was offered, and Jane was afraid of just giving the girl money. She heard it all, how you should never give money to someone in the streets because they will waste it on alcohol, or drugs. But Katherine was so amicable, she wouldn’t do that. Jane was almost sure. Almost.

It was the great barrier she was afraid of. Jane could still not be sure of what to do with a girl who she met just a week and a half ago, even the desire to help stopped her to just blindly trust the teenager.

She got to the magazine, just to find Catherine Parr already buzzing on caffeine.

“Morning Seymour!”

“Good morning, what have you drank?” She watches the woman’s hand. “Or how many of those?”

“Three? Maybe four? I don’t know. Aragon wants the photos for the article today, as soon as possible.” She explains.

“I sent them yesterday.”

“I know, but… She might have decided to change the whole article and we need more photos.”

“What? You know, never mind, I’m going to text Anna.” Jane takes her phone. ”What is the new article?”

“Blue, the new black.”

“Okay.” Jane finally takes a breath. “What are we supposed to do with the coats from the last cover?”

“Uh, keep them if you want?” Catherine questions, confused. “After all we are meant to do like those photos never existed.”

“Do you really think I can keep them?” Jane asks, thinking how good those could be for Katherine.

“Yes, keep them. In case someone needs them, I take the blame, but please send her the photos.” Parr begs.

(…)

The photos resulted in a quick shoot, consisting of a navy-blue background and different blue coats, going from light pale to dark night blue. The only problem consisted in a piece they weren’t sure if it was a blue green colour or turquoise. She hoped to have made the right decision for Aragon.

Going back home was harder than the shoot itself, since she had her hands full of the coats they didn’t need anymore. It varied from bring pink, to some black ones. Some of them were heavy, winter ones while others were perfect for summer rain.

“Katherine!” She exclaimed when she saw the brown locks of her hair.

“Jane…” The teenager went to help her.

“I have all of these from work, I thought you might like them.”

The girl shifted uncomfortably, her eyes looking at the ground. Jane noticed that she bit her lip. It was a sign that she was baffled about something.

“You don’t have to take them all, but I wish you would choose one. It will give me peace of mind.” Jane says, hoping not to sound as if she is trying to manipulate Katherine in any way.

The girl inspects for a second, before grabbing a black one with pink buttons: “May I keep this one?”

Jane nods.

(…)

“Hi, Edward.” She smiles at the camera.

Facetiming past midnight with her brother had become more and more common in the last days. Jane was not used to being far from her siblings, nor the rest of the family. Still, even with her strange headaches and fatigue, life in London was something incredible. The city had so much life, and history. Even so many curious tourists helped the atmosphere. It pained her to not be with her family, but her new life was joyful nonetheless.

“Hi Janey, tell me, how is it going?”

“Quite good. I’m so tired though.”

“Tired? How many parties did you attend?” He questions, half joking.

“Funny.” She retorts. “I have just been going to work and to check up on Katherine.”

“Just work? Lame.” Edward mocks his sister. “Who is Katherine?”

“She is a girl living down the street… She, uhm, literally lives on the street.”

Ripping the band aid off quickly was the best thing she could do.

“You are checking up on a girl living in the street?” He sighs. “You are the only one who does it…”

“Don’t say it as if it’s something bad.” Jane returns.

“It’s weird.”

“It shouldn’t be.” She is quick to defend herself.

“Chill out Jane, it’s not that deep.”

“But maybe it is.” Jane can feel her how it’s getting harder to talk without starting to cry. “I don’t understand how much it is… She doesn’t even want to accept food. Yesterday I left her a coat and I’m almost sure she left it anywhere because she can’t accept anything. For goodness sake, I don’t think I have heard her say any other thing that ‘it was not necessary’ or ‘thank you’! So maybe it is that deep.”

She takes a deep breath, while Edward tries to excuse himself saying: “I’m sorry, I didn’t think it meant that much.”

“Yeah, you didn’t. Good night.”

Jane doesn’t wait for him to say something, instead just hangs up the call.

(…)

Next morning was just horrible. She feels nauseous and her brain is almost exploding, but she still gets up and prepares herself for work. Walking through the streets is harder than she can remember, and panic creeps in when there is a street with a bloody name she never saw.

“Jane?” She feels a voice calling. “Are you okay?”

Everything goes slowly blur, finishing in Jane summoned into a total darkness.

(…)

Waking up in the hospital is not something she was waiting for. Her fatigue is obvious when she wakes up, and her faded memories give her the anticipated news of what she already knew. She had fainted. Jane can barely keep her eyes open when the doctor enters the room, trying to get all the information he can.

He also informs that Katherine is outside, and she was the one who called an ambulance. Jane couldn’t possibly be more thankful for the acts of the girl, but in her dizzy state words can’t come out of her mind as she wanted them to come. Instead she keeps just answering questions.

The only moment that stands clearly in her mind is when the doctor starts talking about blood test results, words like anaemia and HCG are glimpses that she catches until the three words that sat heavy on her stomach.

“You are pregnant.”

(…)

When the older one is released, it’s raining outside. They, or rather Jane, decide to take a cab home. Once there, Katherine just simply says goodbye and leaves, walking back to the place where Jane usually found her. Jane notices the girl doesn’t have the coat she left her the other day.

“Katherine!” Jane screams. The girl turns around.

“Go to your house, it’s raining. You have to take care of yourself.”

“Come with me.” She asks. The girl opens her eyes wide.

“No, I can’t.”

“Yes, you can. It’s raining.” Jane says as if it wasn’t obvious.

“I know, I’m used to it. Go to your house.” She wraps her arms around, making a barrier between her and Jane.

“Please just come. Just one night.” The teenager clearly doesn’t want to, but Jane can’t leave her alone. “Or I will stay here.”

Jane knows inside her it is wrong. She shouldn’t be trying to manipulate the younger into doing something she doesn’t want to, but the raining and the news is too much. She feels so on edge, that if she said that bringing Katherine in was a selfless act, that would be plainly lying.

“You can’t stay here. It’s not safe.”

“I say the same to you.” Jane takes a breath. “Please.”

“I can’t go in there.”

“Let me take you out for dinner then.”

Katherine seems to think about it for a moment, before nodding. Jane takes the lead and starts walking to a diner a block away. The teenager doesn’t say a word, instead just walks as fast as she can, and lets Jane walk where she is less likely to get damp with the rain. Once they arrive, they settle for a table near a window.

“You can ask for whatever you want, take this as a thank you for helping me today.” Jane speaks calmly.

Maybe saying that can make Katherine know she earned it, and the girl will actually order something.

“It’s not necessary.”

“But I want to. I don’t know what could’ve happened to me without you.” The older smiles.

“Probably someone else could’ve helped.” Katherine smiles timidly.

“I’m not sure, people here in London don’t seem quite amicable.” Jane shrugged.

“In London? Do you come from somewhere else?”

“Yes, I lived in Devon with my ex before moving here.” Katherine opens her mouth when Jane finishes talking, but quickly shuts it. “It’s okay if you want to ask questions, if the question is if the baby is his, the answer is yes.”

The teen gives a sympathetic look, but talks: “I have always lived here, in London, except for a summer I spent in my step-grandmother’s house in Sussex.”

“That sounds nice.” Jane says, but quickly regrets it when the younger flinches.

“Do you mind if I order pasta?” Katherine questions, voice small.

“No! No problem, I think I will do the same.”

“I haven’t had pasta in a long time, I think since I was thirteen.”

“How old are you?” Jane wonders, hoping not to sound rude.

“Fifteen, I turn sixteen in two months.”

The older is lost for words, this girl is just a kid. She probably hasn’t even finished secondary school, and is living all by herself apparently. Under this new information, Jane can totally see it now. How small her contexture is, not grown up, the way she sits, her nails bitten down. There are a lot of indicators of her age, and Jane feels more uneasy than before.

“I know I look older; I’ve been told that.” Katherine breaks the silence, uncomfortable.

“No, it’s not that.” Jane snaps out of her thoughts. “I was just processing today’s information.”

Katherine nods, clearly uncomfortable, but for Jane’s luck the waiter quickly arrives with water and asks for their orders. The teenager asks for plain pasta, until Jane reassures her it’s okay to ask for more. She changes it just to add some sauce that doesn’t sound too gross, and the older happily asks for the same. They stay a moment like that, with Kat just taking in the restaurant.

If she said she remembered going to one like this, she would be lying. After her mother died, her memories are plagued by being in her house, alone with Henry Manox. The summer spent with her step-grandmother is just a vague memory of something her brain tried to forget. Then it’s all about living in the street, trying to live by with what charities offered and painting and singing to anyone who could lend her some money.

“In case you want another coat, I still have the rest in my apartment.” Jane says.

“Why are you doing this?” Katherine asks, manners forgotten. “What do you want?”

Jane purses her lips for a second and then releases them: “I don’t want anything, but I am worried about you. I don’t want to see you suffer.”

“I’m not suffering.” The teenager responds, even if she is not sure. “I don’t need your worry.”

Jane is lost for words.

“I’m sorry for being rude.” Katherine murmurs.

“Don’t be. I get it.” Jane takes a sip of her water. “I just want to do something good. I had a hard time with my ex. We didn’t break up in good terms, nowhere near it. I needed help and even if my family loves me, they weren’t there for me. I wanted to just try and help someone, and I thought you would want help.”

The younger takes a moment before talking. Jane looks vulnerable, something adults usually don’t look. A part of her wants to just believe this is a lie, and nobody is going to just help because they had a rough time. All the kindness the woman showed her is enough to prevent her from just storming out of the room.

“I don’t want help, but I appreciate it.” She concludes, before putting a smile. “What is your favourite colour?”

Jane laughs at the lightness that question brings to the conversation.

(…)

Jane takes her time, and decides to have the baby. She is not ready, and she knows it. Utter fear rises from her every time she thinks about it, but still she manages to make that decision.

Her neat calendar starts to become full of the different doctor appointments and parental classes. She tries to get her hands in any parenting book she can find. Her usual morning coffee changes for tea, and she changes her diet trying to avoid the morning sickness.

The only thing that remains without a change is worrying about Katherine, who starts taking dinner once a week with Jane, and asks her about how the pregnancy is going. The teenager is the only one aware of it, and it brings joy to the older having the chance to talk about it.

(…)

One-night Jane wakes up abruptly, a tremendous noise ringing in her ears. She realizes it’s the buzzer and moves to the intercom.

“Hello? Who is downstairs?”

“Katherine.” She says between sobs. “I’m sorry to bother you- “

Jane talks before she can finish: “I’m going to get you wait a second.”

She throws a coat and goes straight into the elevator, once she gets out the first thing she notices is Katherine with tears streaming down her face. Jane almost runs, and when she opens the door, the younger clings to her.

“I think I saw Manox.”

Jane starts drawing paths on her back, trying to get her to calm down.

“Do you want to go upstairs, sweetheart?”

Katherine finally nods.

#six the musical #six fanfiction #six the musical fanfic #six the musical fanfiction #jane seymour #Katherine Howard

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indianyingyuannearyou · 6 years ago

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我變成茶瘾了嗎？

I think I may be addicted to tea now, I feel like I’ve been having withdrawals for the past few months (joking). But really, tea was served, more often than not instead of water, with nearly every single meal we ate. So to come back home and have none of it? Insanity.

This happened with other foods and drinks too. I became accustomed to warm-hot water, plain rice, and at least weekly boba. In terms of reverse culture shock, the strongest aspect definitely had to be the change in diet. Of course I missed my mother’s cooking terribly while I was away, and it was amazing trying again after so long, but I couldn’t help the feeling of missing a bowl of soup before the meal, and a bitter-tasting dessert afterward, ya know?

The tea pictured below is from when we went to Dadaocheng. It was before our Chinese language studies began, so while I could understand whatever I knew from Chinese 1a-2b and Chinese television, I do think I missed out quite a bit on the history and culture the tea house laoban was giving us. Near the end of the year, we got the chance to go to Alishan, where my friends and I got a tea presentation from this guy who turned out to be an amateur model (he gave us his card with his social medias, a multifaceted 王!). To be quite honest, I’m not much of a foodie and I suck at remembering the names of things I’ve tried. Just know I drank hecka tea. I even drank tea that my teacher got from her friend in Germany!

I do miss tea, but I must admit I’m not a very knowledgeable drinker of it because it took plenty of near-sleepless nights and my mother’s advice until I realized that it was likely the caffeine from all that tea keeping me up. It did have other effects too though. When I got sick or was feeling anxious, my teacher would give me certain teas to ease my symptoms and it really worked. I’d like to do some research and really find the teas that work for me one day. Just maybe not soon because I’m swamped this semester.

#Taiwan #study abroad #tea #indianyingyuannearyou #Lauren Elizabeth #林洛蕊 #NTU #ICLP

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goshiyachi · 8 years ago

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Like almost straight out of a romance movie

Fandom: Haikyuu!! Pairing: Ennoshita Chikara/ Tanaka Ryuunosuke Summary: Ennoshita thought he knew how his last year in Karasuno would play out; turns out he forgot to factor in Tanaka. Prompts Used: Third Year, Confession, Domestic, Affection @ennotana-week A/N: Inspired by @starlity’s art.

Or read on Ao3.

Becoming a third year didn’t exactly shifting everything into hyper overdrive. But he was painfully aware of the changes into his team and the outside factors of life that were trying to rampant his mind. He couldn't say he was left unscratched because then that would have been lie. No, instead what any sensible teen did Ennoshita decided to ignore most of his bigger problems and work on the smaller practical ones. It was working so far. He worked on more scripts, looked up colleges (but not too deep) and worked side by side Yachi when it concerned volleyball. So did he have his whole life figured out already?

Not exactly.

More like he was just living off the basics and trying his best to put sleep on his schedule. Spoiler alert: he still hasn’t achieved more than four hours of sleep. He was trying though; being a captain wasn’t all that easy after all and it felt like the role was only fueling Ennoshita to see the reality of what adults had to face every day. All that stress that was building up wouldn’t compare to the troubles he was avoiding when he glanced at his calendar. Either way he stumbled into a routine of caffeine and his brain frying at the rate of an old computer.

“Ennoshita don’t tell me that you barely fell asleep two hours ago before morning practice?” Yachi’s voice didn’t bother to shy away from her worry the way he felt one of her hands touching his shoulder.

He didn't know how exactly he looked like but from the way her eyebrows knitted together at the same time as her lips turned upside down he had a hunch that she would begin their usual lecture of the importance of sleep.

“All for a good cause I promise you. Don’t worry I’ll sleep in early today.” He gestured for them to continue walking towards the gym, “I promise.”

The rest of the day swirled into the same pattern, he ate with his friends, listened to all his lectures and felt the same soreness of his body falling apart as the hours clicked on. By the time it was after school Ennoshita felt Yachi giving him a long look before talking to the first years. Whereas, Kinoshita and Narita weren’t surprised by his lack of energy. Yamaguchi gave him a sympathetic when he passed him. It was almost too predictable the way he trudged on with practice…almost too easy to go on autopilot. His ears picked up the squeaky shoes running through the volley court, having loud voices screeching into the spaces between him making Ennoshita swell in pride of the faces he saw.

Smiling to himself Ennoshita didn’t notice the way his smile caught someone else’s throat. He was too oblivious of his own thoughts to catch the snickers starting to fumble in between the yelling and a face heating up in embracement for getting caught by the rest. The next couple of days were same. Ennoshita tried his best to sleep longer in futile efforts meanwhile a wave of amusement crashed surface for another individual as he continued on tumbling when Ennoshita peered by his vision. It was like something out of a cheesy romance movie. Ennoshita, the obvious and Tanaka the shy confused one. Nishinoya was more than happy to snap the tension with his chipper attitude but all he could do was wait for his best friend to ask for his help.

It probably didn’t click until mid-summer. Where the days were longer and Ennoshita spend more time with his team to feel that same sensation of someone watching him. He never drew attention to himself when he felt it rather, he pointedly pretended like nothing was amiss. He was a patient guy. Unlike most of his peers he had an eye that made him catch the smaller things when he was focused. Hence him crashing mentally when he felt the same eyes watching his back and seeing from his clear water bottle reflection’s of the one person he’d never expect.

The seconds dragged on, the voices of others barely made him move an inch. Ennoshita barely had thirty seconds of pulling himself together before gathering enough strength to turn around and wave at his teammates. Hitting drills that morning was a welcome as the heat climbed up. The longer the summer heats hauled on Ennoshita became self- conscious. Did Tanaka secretly hate him? Did he think his laugh was stupid? Did he had a complain about Ennoshita’s leadership skills but felt like he couldn’t outright say it without hurting his feelings?

He didn’t know, and it was bugging the shit of him of him the way Tanaka barely showed signs of displeasure when he talked to him. If anything it almost looked like Tanaka…had… a crush…... on……. him.

Oh.

Ooh.

Shit.

Ennoshita Chikara, third year and Karasuno’s current volleyball captain was an idiot. And he couldn’t help but sigh. Slap his forehead hard, sigh some more, feel sorry for Tanaka for taking so long to notice and sigh some more because that was a better alternative of screaming until his parents told him to quiet down and not disrupt his neighbors. The rest of the night he kissed his chance of sleeping the way his mind was rewinding and replaying every interaction he had with Tanaka since they’ve meet. As if trying to find a mere spark of evidence of Tanaka liking him was preposterous. Because there was no way that someone remotely like Tanaka would ever like him more than a friend.

It just wasn’t something that Ennoshita thought would have ever happened to him. To live out scenes from movies he watched when he was younger. It was practically too much to bear the way the night relentlessly stayed as his background. He still had school to think about, a volleyball team to watch over and a future that was looming over him. Love was never a part of the equation; or a chapter for him to write about. It was scarier with the uncertainty clamming his body. The fact that he knew what was causing the commotion within the team Ennoshita was conscious that he couldn’t pretend any more than Kageyama going cold turkey with his milk intake.

He had to talk to Tanaka.

Ennoshita wanted to throw up; he wanted to grab a random dump of clothes, his laptop with charger at close hand and call a cab. He wished that the sun wasn’t rising and his clock was blinking bright signaling that he needed to get up. But that wasn’t how life worked, he could hear distant cars driving, his mother’s feet walking on the hallways before they stopped and were replaced by a soft muffled voice calling for him to get up. His own body still far too alert and aching was forced to listen to the instructions and get ready for school. It was a dreadful experience; the way the world looked exactly the same as before the revelation. The only difference was the way his own heart thumped irregularly and irresponsibly.

The wind wasn’t any cooler, the water from his water bottle was just as tasteless as he drank it yesterday and the volleyball hitting his face was just as painful as the first time it happened to him when he first played the sport. The nosebleed wasn’t what he needed, not with the way he noticed Yachi cleaning his face and understood right away that something was bothering him. She didn’t make him talk, it was actually Yamaguchi and Kinoshita when they were discussing about the summer training camp with Nekoma.

“I’m an idiot.”

Simultaneously, Yamaguchi and Kinoshita answered with amused smiles and two different replies.

“What gave that away?”

“You don’t say.”

Ennoshita didn’t bother with feeling offended. What he did instead was scratch the back of his head as he looked down at the schedules of the training camp in deep thought. “So what do you think I should do?”

Riding out the next days that turned into two weeks Ennoshita knew that most of inner circle was annoyed at the pace Ennoshita placed on dealing with Tanaka. It wasn’t like Tanaka was doing anything either, he still casted this wall when he talked to Ennoshita. It was their third year and that usually meant that they had to be models for the rest of the team, they couldn’t be irresponsible. The pressure to maintain their status on the court was enough for Tanaka to steel his impulses (but just barely).

Ennoshita may have barely came to the conclusion of Tanaka liking him but that was just the tip of the iceberg. There was more than just the cheesy pickup lines and embarrassing daydreams.

Tanaka was the type that wanted the whole domestic lovesick shit. He wanted to be okay to melt when Ennoshita fell asleep against him after long practices, to lunge at Ennoshita and linger as their bodies support one another, to have the stupidly cute screensavers of them forming a heart when you placed their phones next to each other. Hell, he wanted to have the right to openly raise his voice and proclaim why Ennoshita was breathtaking and someone that everyone should appreciate. Or even to spend hours in his home and stare at Ennoshita as he tried hopelessly teach Tanaka of their lessons. He was well aware that he spent too many hours of creating the perfect atmospheres to confess underneath the sunset and kiss Ennoshita, to spend as much of his free time laughing with him or helping in any way with Ennoshita’s movies. The domestic lifestyle was all he dreamed about.

And it was making it harder for Tanaka to confess especially the way Ennoshita’s eyes said that he knew what Tanaka was thinking. Neither of them knew when it happened; them snapping and confronting each other. It was one of those rare days that they were free. Ennoshita was done buying snacks for himself when he bumped into Tanaka. They shared a few side comments before Ennnoshita blurted out that he knew that Tanaka liked him. Tanaka was animated the way his face colored instantly and said if it was bothering Ennoshita.

Ennoshita was mirroring him the way he clumsy said that he wouldn’t mind if Tanaka kissed him. Or held his hand now and then. They both just kept bluntly stating what they wouldn’t mind doing when Ennoshita out of nowhere grabbed a handful of Tanaka’s shirt and promptly surprisingly the both of them by kissing Tanaka roughly. It lasted for only a couple of ten seconds, but it was more than enough for Ennoshita to explode his heart and Tanaka feeling like his soul departed prematurely. When they pulled away there was an awkward silence that stretched between them. But just as quickly it came, Ennoshita was thankful of all of the hours he watched movies to know the signs of satisfaction he saw swept into his soul and Tanaka’s.

By the next day the whole team gave Ennoshita and Tanaka a brief look before switching back to their usual runs. Ennoshita didn’t miss the way Nishinoya high-fived Tanaka or how Yachi and Yamaguchi gave them the thumbs up when he looked at their direction. Instead Ennoshita kept his head high when he felt his own cheeks color when Narita and Kinoshita cheekily grinned when Tanaka quickly slung an arm around Ennoshita’s while pecking his cheek before running off to watch over the first years.

“What are you looking at? Get started with your warm ups.”

Narita snorted as Kinoshita sassed Ennoshita back; and just like that he sighed long feeling his brain work on a new movie idea as he glanced at Tanaka.

Romance? He could work with that.

#ennotana week #ennotana #Ennoshita Chikara #Tanaka Ryuunoske #Haikyuu!!#Lasooarm: Like almost straight out of a romance movie #lee attempts to write

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jesseneufeld · 5 years ago

Text

Why Am I Waking Up at 3am?

Whenever I write about sleep, I hear from a chorus of people who struggle to sleep through the night. Anecdotally, it seems a far more common complaint than difficulty falling asleep in the first place.

These complaints are one of three types:

People who have trouble falling asleep

People who sleep fitfully, waking multiple times throughout the night

Those who reliably wake once, around the same time most nights

Understandably, this is a hugely vexing problem. Poor quality sleep is a serious health concern. Not to mention, sleeping badly feels simply awful. When the alarm goes off after a night of tossing and turning, the next day is sure to be a slog. String several days like that together, and it’s hard to function at all.

I’m going to go out on a limb, though, and assert that waking up in the middle of the night isn’t always the problem we make it out to be. For some people, nighttime wakings are actually something to embrace. As always, context is everything.

Instantly download your Guide to Gut Health

What Causes You to Wake Up In the Middle of the Night?

One of the most frustrating things about nighttime waking is that there are so many possible causes. Sometimes the solution is as simple as practicing good sleep hygiene. Other times, medical help is in order. Still other times, the solution is something different entirely.

Transitioning to Lighter Sleep Stages

Sleep isn’t a uniform state of unconsciousness you slip into when it becomes dark and, theoretically, ride until morning. It’s a dynamic process that goes in waves—or more precisely, cycles—throughout the night.

There are four (or five, depending on how you slice it) stages of sleep:

Stage 1: light sleep, occurs right after falling asleep

Stage 2: deeper sleep

Slow-wave sleep (SWS): deepest sleep, a.k.a. Stage 3 and Stage 4 sleep

REM: lighter sleep where our more interesting dreams occur (although we can also dream in non-REM phases14)

A single sleep cycle lasts about 90 minutes, during which you move from light sleep, through stage 2, into deep SWS, and back up to REM. Then down you go again, then back up, ideally at least four of five times per night.

Your sleep is also roughly broken into two phases over the course of a whole night. In the first half, you spend relatively more time in SWS. The second half is characterized by a higher proportion of REM sleep.

What does this have to do with nighttime waking?

One possible explanation is that as you transition into lighter sleep — either within a single sleep cycle, or as you move from the first to the second phase—aches, pains, and small annoyances are more likely to wake you up. These can include medical issues like chronic pain, sleep apnea, restless leg syndrome, or GERD. Soreness from the day’s hard workout, noise or light from your environment, hunger, thirst, or being too hot or cold might rouse you from your slumber.

If you’re waking up multiple times at night, chances are that you’re experiencing physical discomfort that you’re not able to sleep through. Sometimes it’s obvious, but not always.

Was It Something You Ate Or Drank?

While individual studies have linked sleep quality to diet and macronutrient intake (high versus low carb, for example), they are mostly small and the results inconclusive.15 Still, you might be able to look at your diet and identify a likely culprit. For example, if your sleep problems started after going carnivore or adding intermittent fasting, that’s an obvious place to start.

A food log can help you spot patterns, such as whether eating certain foods at dinner tends to correlate with poorer sleep. Alcohol and caffeine are big sleep disruptors as well, though you surely know that.

If you’re frequently waking up to pee, you might be overhydrating, especially in the evening. More seriously, it can be a symptom of diabetes or bladder, prostate, kidney, adrenal, or heart problems. Getting up once or twice to pee probably isn’t cause for alarm. It’s worth seeing a doctor if you’re getting several times or urinating much more at night than during the day.

Melt your stress away with Adaptogenic Calm

What to Do About Nighttime Waking

First things first, pick the low-hanging fruit

I’m talking good sleep hygiene practices. Things like:

Sleep in a cool, dark, quiet room.

Minimize exposure to artificial lights after the sun sets. Use blue-light blocking glasses, and turn on night mode on your devices.

Watch your alcohol and caffeine consumption, especially later in the day.

Go to bed around the same time each night.

If applicable, experiment with your diet and food timing

Depending on your current diet, some experiments you might try include:

If you’re ultra-low-carb, try increasing your carb intake for a few weeks.

Try loading more of your carbs into your evening meal.

Make sure your protein intake isn’t too low.16

Try eating your last meal earlier if you’re waking up with indigestion, or later if you’re waking up hungry.

Try a teaspoon of raw honey before bed

One hypothesis is that you’re waking up in the middle of the night because your brain gets hungry for glucose eight hours after your last meal. The honey provides some carbs to get you through.

There’s no concrete evidence for honey as a sleep aid, but plenty of people swear by this remedy. I’m not sure it’s likely to be more effective than eating a serving of complex carbs at dinner. That said, even for low-carbers, I don’t think there’s any harm in trying.

I’ll note, though, that fasting studies don’t show a link to sleep disturbances.17 That calls the “starving brain” hypothesis into question, but I suspect there’s an important nuance here. Individuals who can comfortably do longer fasts are almost certainly also fat-adapted and, at least during the fast, producing ketones to fuel their brains. Metabolically, they’re in a very different place from a carb-dependent person who struggles to make it through the night.

Consider napping

If you’re unable to get enough high-quality sleep at night, you might prefer to adjust your sleep schedule entirely. Instead, aim for a shorter nighttime sleep period, say five or six hours, paired with an afternoon nap. This is another variant of biphasic sleeping.

Years ago, I wrote a post on how to conduct just this type of experiment. Check it out and see if it might work for you. It’s unconventional in this day and age, but I know people who thrive on this schedule.

Finally, don’t hesitate to seek medical help

Sleep issues are a symptom of many diverse health issues, including hyperthyroidism, anxiety, depression, and, as previously mentioned, diabetes, heart disease, and others. Your doctor may want to test you for sleep apnea.

The Case of Hot Flashes

Hot flashes are a common cause of nighttime waking for women of a certain age. If you endure nighttime flashes, you’re probably familiar with the standard advice:

Sleep in a cool room

Use moisture-wicking pajamas and sheets

Try acupuncture or other mind-body therapies

Add supplements like folic acid, or herbs like black cohosh or chasteberry

Investigate hormone-replacement therapy

Unfortunately, as I’ve learned from my wife Carrie’s and many friends’ experiences, there is no one-size-fits-all solution. I do think acupuncture is a potentially helpful, underutilized tool. Mostly, though, it’s just a combo of trial-and-error plus time that seems to get most women through this phase.

Getting Back to Sleep

In the meantime, while you get to the root of the issue, here are some tips for getting back to sleep:

Take care of pressing needs. Get up and pee, get a drink of water, or adjust the thermostat. There’s no point in trying to power through the discomfort that woke you up in the first place. Just fix it.

Keep artificial lights and screens off. Use small nightlights to light your path to the bathroom if necessary, and wear your orange-tinted glasses.

Do a calm activity such as reading by candlelight, deep breathing exercises, or sketching or writing in your journal.

Most of all, don’t stress! Fretting is likely to keep you awake for much longer than simply accepting the fact that you are awake and lying peacefully in bed.

Are You Fighting Something You Should Be Embracing?

I’ve long believed that humans naturally tend to be biphasic sleepers. The idea that we should be passed out for a solid eight hours per night is a social construct not firmly rooted in our sleep biology.

Historian Roger Ekirch argues, rather convincingly I think, that before the advent of artificial light, humans across geographical locations and social strata slept in two chunks during the night. The first, usually just called “first sleep,” or sometimes “dead sleep,” comprised the first four or so hours. “Second sleep” went until dawn. In between, people would enjoy an hour, or perhaps two or three hours, of mid-night activities such as praying and meditating, reading and writing, having sex, and even visiting neighbors. This was seen as completely normal, even welcome.18

Anthropological evidence confirms that some modern-day hunter-gatherers around the world likewise engage in biphasic sleeping.19 Also, in one small experiment, seven adults lived in a controlled environment with 14 hours of darkness per night. Over the course of four weeks, their sleep and hormone secretions slowly and naturally became biphasic.20

Scholars argue that biphasic sleep confers an evolutionary advantage.21 If some individuals fall asleep earlier and some later, and most people are awake for an hour or two in the middle of the night, someone in the group is always up. That person can tend the fire and watch for danger. In fact, the waking hour was sometimes called the “sentinel” hour. According to Ekirch, it was often referred to as simply the “watch.”

Are You a Biphasic Sleeper, or Do You Have a Sleep Problem?

Waking up multiple times per night, such that you rarely feel truly rested, is a problem. However, we shouldn’t rush to pathologize a single nighttime waking. That might just be your natural sleep pattern. It doesn’t necessarily mean you’d be better off aiming for biphasic sleep either. Even if you wake reliably at the same time each night, sometimes a full bladder is just a full bladder.

The litmus test is how you feel. With a biphasic schedule, the intervening waking period should be pleasant. Your mind should feel calm and alert, if perhaps a bit dreamy. Anecdotally, many famous writers, artists, and sculptors have adhered to a biphasic schedule, believing that creativity and flow are enhanced during the mid-night hours.

Of course, you can’t tap into how you feel if waking is causing you a ton of angst. Remind yourself that waking can be normal, not dysfunctional. I know this can be easier said than done, especially if you’re sleep deprived. The thing about biphasic sleeping is that you’re still supposed to get the eight hours of nightly sleep you need, give or take. That means you have to spend nine or ten hours in bed. How many people do that nowadays?

See if you can commit to at least a couple weeks of sufficient time in bed. Push away your previous (mis)conceptions about what a “good” night of sleep is “supposed” to look like. Try to welcome rather than fight the mid-night waking. Be open to what comes next.

(function($) { $("#dfBgGBW").load("https://www.marksdailyapple.com/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=dfads_ajax_load_ads&groups=674&limit=1&orderby=random&order=ASC&container_id=&container_html=none&container_class=&ad_html=div&ad_class=&callback_function=&return_javascript=0&_block_id=dfBgGBW" ); })( jQuery );

References

https://www.rwjf.org/en/library/research/2010/05/low-calorie-dieting-increases-cortisol.html

https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/05/business/grocery-prices-rising/index.html

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4947579/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4578804/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4405421/#:~:text=This%20study%20suggests%20that%20human,patients%20with%20obesity%20(48).

http://www.springerlink.com/content/w307w62037125v33/

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1550413112001891

https://journals.lww.com/ejanaesthesiology/Fulltext/2009/12000/Hepatocellular_integrity_after_parenteral.17.aspx

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22308119/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21288612/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24316260/

https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms3316

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-03/uops-mwt030311.php

https://www.nature.com/articles/nn.4545

https://academic.oup.com/advances/article/7/5/938/4616727

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3700250/

https://academic.oup.com/advances/article/7/5/938/4616727

https://academic.oup.com/ahr/article-abstract/106/2/343/64370

https://academic.oup.com/sleep/article/39/3/715/2454050

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10607034

https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rspb.2017.0967

The post Why Am I Waking Up at 3am? appeared first on Mark's Daily Apple.

Why Am I Waking Up at 3am? published first on https://drugaddictionsrehab.tumblr.com/

0 notes

lauramalchowblog · 5 years ago

Text

Why Am I Waking Up at 3am?

These complaints are one of three types:

People who have trouble falling asleep

People who sleep fitfully, waking multiple times throughout the night

Those who reliably wake once, around the same time most nights

Instantly download your Guide to Gut Health

What Causes You to Wake Up In the Middle of the Night?

Transitioning to Lighter Sleep Stages

There are four (or five, depending on how you slice it) stages of sleep:

Stage 1: light sleep, occurs right after falling asleep

Stage 2: deeper sleep

Slow-wave sleep (SWS): deepest sleep, a.k.a. Stage 3 and Stage 4 sleep

REM: lighter sleep where our more interesting dreams occur (although we can also dream in non-REM phases1)

What does this have to do with nighttime waking?

If you’re waking up multiple times at night, chances are that you’re experiencing physical discomfort that you’re not able to sleep through. Sometimes it’s obvious, but not always.

Was It Something You Ate Or Drank?

While individual studies have linked sleep quality to diet and macronutrient intake (high versus low carb, for example), they are mostly small and the results inconclusive.2 Still, you might be able to look at your diet and identify a likely culprit. For example, if your sleep problems started after going carnivore or adding intermittent fasting, that’s an obvious place to start.

Melt your stress away with Adaptogenic Calm

What to Do About Nighttime Waking

First things first, pick the low-hanging fruit

I’m talking good sleep hygiene practices. Things like:

Sleep in a cool, dark, quiet room.

Minimize exposure to artificial lights after the sun sets. Use blue-light blocking glasses, and turn on night mode on your devices.

Watch your alcohol and caffeine consumption, especially later in the day.

Go to bed around the same time each night.

If applicable, experiment with your diet and food timing

Depending on your current diet, some experiments you might try include:

If you’re ultra-low-carb, try increasing your carb intake for a few weeks.

Try loading more of your carbs into your evening meal.

Make sure your protein intake isn’t too low.3

Try eating your last meal earlier if you’re waking up with indigestion, or later if you’re waking up hungry.

Try a teaspoon of raw honey before bed

One hypothesis is that you’re waking up in the middle of the night because your brain gets hungry for glucose eight hours after your last meal. The honey provides some carbs to get you through.

I’ll note, though, that fasting studies don’t show a link to sleep disturbances.4 That calls the “starving brain” hypothesis into question, but I suspect there’s an important nuance here. Individuals who can comfortably do longer fasts are almost certainly also fat-adapted and, at least during the fast, producing ketones to fuel their brains. Metabolically, they’re in a very different place from a carb-dependent person who struggles to make it through the night.

Consider napping

Finally, don’t hesitate to seek medical help

The Case of Hot Flashes

Hot flashes are a common cause of nighttime waking for women of a certain age. If you endure nighttime flashes, you’re probably familiar with the standard advice:

Sleep in a cool room

Use moisture-wicking pajamas and sheets

Try acupuncture or other mind-body therapies

Add supplements like folic acid, or herbs like black cohosh or chasteberry

Investigate hormone-replacement therapy

Getting Back to Sleep

In the meantime, while you get to the root of the issue, here are some tips for getting back to sleep:

Keep artificial lights and screens off. Use small nightlights to light your path to the bathroom if necessary, and wear your orange-tinted glasses.

Do a calm activity such as reading by candlelight, deep breathing exercises, or sketching or writing in your journal.

Most of all, don’t stress! Fretting is likely to keep you awake for much longer than simply accepting the fact that you are awake and lying peacefully in bed.

Are You Fighting Something You Should Be Embracing?

Anthropological evidence confirms that some modern-day hunter-gatherers around the world likewise engage in biphasic sleeping.6 Also, in one small experiment, seven adults lived in a controlled environment with 14 hours of darkness per night. Over the course of four weeks, their sleep and hormone secretions slowly and naturally became biphasic.7

Scholars argue that biphasic sleep confers an evolutionary advantage.8 If some individuals fall asleep earlier and some later, and most people are awake for an hour or two in the middle of the night, someone in the group is always up. That person can tend the fire and watch for danger. In fact, the waking hour was sometimes called the “sentinel” hour. According to Ekirch, it was often referred to as simply the “watch.”

Are You a Biphasic Sleeper, or Do You Have a Sleep Problem?

(function($) { $("#dfUzFnW").load("https://www.marksdailyapple.com/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=dfads_ajax_load_ads&groups=674&limit=1&orderby=random&order=ASC&container_id=&container_html=none&container_class=&ad_html=div&ad_class=&callback_function=&return_javascript=0&_block_id=dfUzFnW" ); })( jQuery );

References

https://www.nature.com/articles/nn.4545

https://academic.oup.com/advances/article/7/5/938/4616727

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3700250/

https://academic.oup.com/advances/article/7/5/938/4616727

https://academic.oup.com/ahr/article-abstract/106/2/343/64370

https://academic.oup.com/sleep/article/39/3/715/2454050

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10607034

https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rspb.2017.0967

The post Why Am I Waking Up at 3am? appeared first on Mark's Daily Apple.

Why Am I Waking Up at 3am? published first on https://venabeahan.tumblr.com

0 notes

gethealthy18-blog · 6 years ago

Text

Is Yerba Mate Tea Better for You Than Coffee?

New Post has been published on http://healingawerness.com/news/is-yerba-mate-tea-better-for-you-than-coffee/

Is Yerba Mate Tea Better for You Than Coffee?

Yerba mate tea boasts some surprising health benefits and may even replace your morning cup of Joe. Much like green tea, yerba mate tea is rich in polyphenols and antioxidants, and is quite tasty to boot.

Coffee Is King!… Or Is It?

Coffee is the undisputed king of all morning beverages. Readers ask my secret to getting things done and the answer involves at least 60% coffee! (But pretty healthy coffee, I promise…)

Kidding aside, we all crave that delicious, robust flavor (which is why many people even get out of bed in the morning). And if you’re in a midday slump (or just tired from staying up all night with a fussy baby), an afternoon cup can often provide enough energy to help make it through the rest of the day without falling asleep. Oh yeah, and it even has some antioxidants that provide health benefits!

Then there’s the social aspect … sipping a latte with friends, or sharing a pot with coworkers.

But as I learn more about all things health, I’m more and more convinced that variety is key to a healthy diet and lifestyle. Changing up your form of exercise, taking a break from certain supplement, or cycling off coffee can go a long way to keeping the body in balance.

For this reason I put down the coffee every once in a while and reach for coffee alternatives instead.

What’s in Yerba Mate?

Yerba mate tea is made from the leaves of the ilex paraguariensis plant. In South America, drinking yerba mate tea (often from gourds) is a common social pastime. It has an impressive host of health benefits and can satisfy in much the same way that coffee does. It has a unique, rich flavor that’s similar to black or green tea.

Yerba mate does contain the stimulants caffeine and theobromine (also found in chocolate). Coffee contains about 85 milligrams of caffeine per 5 ounce cup, and yerba mate has slightly less at about 78 milligrams.

Yerba mate also contains anti-inflammatory saponins, chlorophyll, and potent antioxidants.

The Benefits of Yerba Mate

This tasty drink has some surprising health benefits!

Antioxidant Rich

Yerba mate protects DNA from free radical damage and has a high antioxidant capacity. It’s been shown to help protect against breast and colon cancers and has anti-tumor properties. One study found that those who consumed the most yerba mate tea, were least likely to have breast cancer, even when other factors like antioxidant consumption from other sources were accounted for.

Heart Healthy

Yerba mate not only protects against cellular damage but also protects the heart. This tea benefits the entire cardiovascular system. It works in part by dilating the blood vessels for better circulation.

Brain Boosting

Yerba mate stimulates the central nervous system to bring about both energy and focus. The tea protects the brain, improves memory, helps reduce depression, and can even help protect against Alzheimer’s disease. Yerba mate was even shown in one study to reduce the amount and length of epileptic seizures, while reducing oxidative damage in the brain.

Yerba mate drinkers can also improve hypothalamus function, a part of the brain that produces and regulates hormones in the body.

Anti-inflammatory

When sugar is consumed, a process called glycation happens. Glycation causes damage to the body’s proteins, which can result in inflammatory diseases like arthritis, fibromyalgia, and dementia.

Yerba mate tea has potent anti-glycation actions. One study found it prevented glycation formation by a whopping 83%. This isn’t a free license to eat a bunch of sugary treats, but yerba mate can help prevent damage from the fructose found in fruit and other sources.

Weight-Loss Friendly

Yerba mate has long been used for weight loss, and studies have shown it prevents body weight gain and reduces total body fat. It helps the body more efficiently burn fat and curbs the appetite for a feeling of satiety.

Even more impressive, yerba mate also inhibited visceral fat, the kind that collects along the waistline and abdominals. Visceral fat can surround vital organs like the liver and heart, and can contribute to heart disease, diabetes and other serious issues.

Protects Against Diabetes

Not only does yerba mate reduce potentially diabetes causing visceral fat, but it also improves insulin levels.

In one study diabetics and pre-diabetics drank yerba mate, and some of them made diet changes. Blood glucose levels improved across the board for all groups, but even more so for those who tried to eat healthier. The “healthy” diet they adopted followed food pyramid guidelines and was low in healthy saturated fats, so maybe if they ate a traditional foods diet they would have had even better results.

Liver Lovin’

Yerba mate works in much the same way to protect the liver. It helps to reduce oxidative damage to the liver’s cells. It also helps protect the liver against fatty liver disease and pancreatitis by balancing triglyceride levels.

The Darker Side of Yerba Mate

There are a few things to be aware of before switching ditching the coffee for a yerba mate, however.

Yerba mate contains something called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. These hydrocarbons are the same cancer-causing compounds found in tobacco and charred foods.

Depending on growing conditions, yerba mate can also contain varying levels of heavy metals like aluminum and lead.

To put this in perspective though, the average lead concentration in yerba mate tea is less than half of what the EPA considers safe for drinking water. Green tea, coffee, and even fruits and vegetables also contain varying amounts of heavy metals in them, since it’s naturally abundant in soil.

And while yerba mate tea does contain low levels of certain carcinogens, it’s also very high in cancer-fighting antioxidants.

How to Prepare Yerba Mate Tea

Traditionally, yerba mate tea leaves are brewed in hollowed out gourds and sipped through bombillas, a metal straw with a strainer at the bottom. The gourd is passed around and the water refilled up to 20 times. The traditional recipe results in a very strong beverage, as the gourd is packed with leaves.

But never fear, gourds not required! You can make yerba mate at home in a French press, coffee pot, or with a simple household strainer.

Generally, for every 1 cup of water use a heaping 1 teaspoon of ground yerba mate.

To make yerba mate tea in a coffee pot, use 4 TBSP of the leaves for a 12-cup coffee pot and brew as usual.

If using a French press, add yerba mate tea to the press, then pour very hot but not boiling water over it. Let this steep for 3-8 minutes, depending on preference.

If using a strainer, add the yerba mate to a pot of very hot water, cover, and let steep for 3-8 minutes. Use a fine mesh strainer to filter out the leaves and pour into a cup.

Yerba mate tea can be enjoyed with a little raw cream or milk. It can also be sweetened with maple syrup, raw honey, or stevia if desired. You can even serve it cold, traditionally called tereré.

Are you a yerba mate tea drinker? Do you think you’ll start now after learning the benefits?

Sources:

Santos E. C. et al. (2015). Anxiolytic-Like, Stimulant And Neuroprotective Effects Of Ilex Paraguariensis Extracts In Mice. Neuroscience, 292, 13-21.

Conceição, E., Kaezer et al. (2017). Effects of Ilex paraguariensis (yerba mate) on the hypothalamic signalling of insulin and leptin and liver dysfunction in adult rats overfed during lactation. Journal of Developmental Origins of Health and Disease, 8(1), 123-132.

Arçari, D. P. et al. (2012). Antiobesity Effects of yerba maté Extract (Ilex paraguariensis) in High?fat Diet–induced Obese Mice. Obesity, 17 (12), 2127-33.

Branco Cdos S. et al. (2013). Anticonvulsant, neuroprotective and behavioral effects of organic and conventional yerba mate (Ilex paraguariensis St. Hil.) on pentylenetetrazol-induced seizures in Wistar rats. Brain Research Bulletin, 92, 60-68.

Alkhatib, A. (1970). Yerba Maté (Illex Paraguariensis) ingestion augments fat oxidation and energy expenditure during exercise at various submaximal intensities. Nutrition and Metabolism 11, 42.

“Mate Gourd Ceremony.” www.Guayaki.com. (Yerba Mate Brand).

Source: https://wellnessmama.com/157109/yerba-mate-tea/

0 notes

hotfitnesstopics · 7 years ago

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When it came to starting a wedding diet, I procastinated. Hard. In fact, a month before the big day I went on a work trip to Morocco and Paris where I ate all of the bread, butter, and chocolate my appetite desired (as one does). Which is all part of the how I found myself muffin-topping over the sides of my strapless Reem Acra gown (pictured, top left) at my last fitting, just two weeks before I was supposed to walk down the aisle. I'll admit, I was bloated at the time from my period, so when it ended a few days before my wedding, my body tightened. But, I was also up a few pounds. Instead of accepting it, I took about four private workout sessions per week with celebrity trainer David Kirsch. The pro is responsible for sculpting the bodies of celebrities (like Jennifer Lopez and Heidi Klum) and has a wealth of fitness and health knowledge (to recap, he's written five books, has his own line of shakes and supplements, and owns a top-notch NYC gym). He put me on a routine that was a mix of cardio, strength training, HIIT, and TRX. Every time we met up, the moves and sequences were different, which kept my body guessing and metabolism revved. But anyone who has successfully lost weight knows diet is more than half of the battle. And pre-getting "Kirsched," I had been working out almost every day anyways. So I do credit his eating plan for partly pushing those five extra pounds off of my body. Related: 25+ Planning, Style, and Life Wedding Tips From a Newlywed Editor Here, I am going to share exactly what I ate - and most importantly, did not eat! - to shed the lbs, so my dress fit perfectly (top right). Note, the dress was not taken in or out between the two images, but my body actually transformed in two weeks! "In my experience working with a bride-to-be, the last couple of weeks leading up to the wedding is uber stressful," Kirsch told me. "As you can attest to personally (Lauren), slight tweaking of your diet will go a long way to keeping you optimally energized, fueled, and looking your very best on the big day!" Image Source: POPSUGAR Photography / Lauren Levinson Let's start with the hard part, things to avoid according to Kirsch: Say goodbye to pizza, because you will not be eating processed carbs (bread, pasta, crackers, etc.) or dairy. "I have found that dairy can cause bloating, and who wants to be bloated on their day?" Kirsch said. And no whole grains or potatoes either. I have personally eliminated both gluten and dairy for weeks and added them back to reveal that I am not intolerant to either. I can have a slice of pizza and feel like a peach, but kicking them out of my diet definitely made my belly flatter. After three days of no carbs, I was craving them! So I texted Kirsch asking if I could have a sweet potato. He told me to crunch on celery instead. It took willpower to follow his advice, but it was worth it. I surely enjoyed sliding into my bathing suit when I arrived at my tropical honeymoon a few days after my wedding. You'll also need to revamp your drinking game. That means, no alcohol (NONE!). While this meant sitting through events, family dinners, and bar nights totally sober, I enjoyed the mental clarity and increased energy in the mornings. "Save the glass of champagne for after you walk down the aisle!" he said. And yes, I got to enjoy a few flutes of well-earned bubbly at my affair . . . and a margarita! Related: How to Customize and Glamorize Your Wedding Look From Head to Toe I also had to limit the amount of coffee I drank. Kirsch recommends having one espresso in the morning. While I stuck to brewed coffee beans, I drank it black. I didn't even add almond milk, and I swear it makes a difference in better digestion. Kirsch believes that "too much coffee can lead to belly bloat!" Think about it, coffee dehydrates you, so you retain water to hold on to it. Instead, switch over to green tea, which has both caffeine and antioxidants. Every morning, I also had one of his A.M. Detox Drinks (it's yummy and fantastic for your skin!). You can see it in the mason jar above. Finally, the hardest (for me, since I have a sweet tooth): no sugar. Even dark chocolate. OK, I may have had a handful of dark chocolate-covered almonds one rough night, but for the most part (like 95 percent) I kissed my beloved cookies, ice cream, and cupcakes goodbye. In fact, my husband hid the chocolate on a very high shelf so I could not reach or find it in our apartment. Do what you need to do to survive, brides! Image Source: POPSUGAR Photography / Lauren Levinson Now onto what you can eat. Disclaimer, this was not Kirsch's exact plan but one loosely based off his advice and what I know works best for my body. For breakfast I stuck to two options. The first, two eggs and sauteed spinach, all cooked in EVOO. Earlier in my wedding prep, I enjoyed that dish with a side of avocado, but the last two weeks I cut it based on Kirsch's recommendation to limit my fat intake (even healthy ones!). Otherwise, I had an antioxidant-rich bowl of unsweetened coconut yogurt with a handful of raw almonds, chia seeds, flax seeds, cacao nibs, and blueberries. While Kirsch recommended no fruit (remember, no sugar!), I know blueberries are good for eliminating belly fat and making skin glow, so I had some anyways. If you're going to have sugar, eat it in the morning so you can burn it off throughout the day. When it came to snacks, I sipped on dark green pressed juice (the kind without fruit) and crunchy veggies (Kirsch likes celery, red peppers, and jicama sticks). I also ate GoMacro bars, which were referred to me by another trainer I'd been working out with, Steve Pasterino. I bent the rules a little since these are made with brown rice syrup, but it ensured that I had an option when I was on-the-go. Dinner and lunch were pretty similar. I'd either have what I dubbed a "Sad Salad" of spinach, crunchy water veggies (cucumber and snow peas), and lean protein (homemade chicken or salmon with no sauces) - all drizzled with EVOO and a lemon squeeze. Snooze. Otherwise, I would cook veggies (such as steamed green beans or asparagus) and have it with the aforementioned lean meat or fish. Sometimes, I would even have the eggs (see: breakfast!) for dinner, which I found very easy to digest. Occasionally, I'd enjoy a green smoothie (kale, spinach, blueberries, almond milk) with pea protein powder. Image Source: Bruce Plotkin Photography And for our grand finale, what to eat during your actual wedding weekend: By then being a bride had taken over my identity (it happens to the best and most chill of us ladies in white). So I brought my own food to the weekend destination, including unsweetened coconut yogurt, hard-boiled eggs, green juice, nuts, seeds, bars, etc. I made sure my hotel room had a fridge to store it in. "The day before is a day that you want to make sure to put the finishing touches," said Kirsch. "You have planned hard, sweated hard, and stayed away from the obvious no-nos. What else can you do? I suggest a relaxing massage, sauna, and steam. Eating foods like asparagus and celery will help keep you full and debloat you." So I couldn't resist a taste of homemade pasta during our rehearsal dinner at a delicious Italian restaurant, but by 7 a.m. the next day, I was back on it. "The day of, I would have a couple of eggs in the morning and oatmeal as you will need the energy and fuel for the rest of the day," Kirsch recommended. "A protein shake for lunch and water for the rest of the day. Save the drinking and eating for after the ceremony, or better yet, for the honeymoon!" Here's what I consumed for breakfast on my wedding day: I had the antioxidant yogurt and seed bowl as well as black coffee; for lunch I ate a simple salad with grilled chicken provided by my venue; and for snack, I went with a GoMacro bar. After the ceremony, my husband and I sat in a separate room and ate every single appetizer (including pork buns, pulled BBQ chicken, mini grilled cheese sandwiches, and more!) and drank champagne. Diet. Over. As the evening went on, I enjoyed the goat cheese salad (CHEESE!), the short rib and sweet potato entree, wedding cake, homemade cookies, and apple cider donuts. There was pizza at our afterparty. I ate that, too. Was dieting fun? No. Was it satisfying? Absolutely not. Was it worth it? Hell yes! For two weeks, you can do this! And you likely will lose inches, but you have to stick to it almost perfectly. We all have our handful of dark chocolate almonds here and there, but make sure you get right back on track. The best part in addition to your tight bod? You can pig out on your honeymoon! (On mine, I sure did my job consuming all of the noodles and dumplings Southeast Asia had to offer . . . and that is another story. Next up: How to get back your hot wedding bod of yesteryear.) Workout sessions for the author were provided by David Kirsch for the purpose of writing this story. from POPSUGAR Fitness https://ift.tt/2qP6hA9 via IFTTT

http://www.fitnessclub.cf/2018/06/exactly-what-to-eat-2-weeks-before-your_9.html

#IFTTT #Blogger

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ourhealthyfoodblog-blog · 8 years ago

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New Post has been published on http://healthyfoodandremedies.com/2017/03/29/12-ways-lose-weight-naturally/

12 Ways to Lose Weight Naturally

The great part about adopting a healthier lifestyle is most of the time you will lose weight without even trying. This is because carrying more than a few extra pounds of fat is actually a sign your body isn’t in its healthiest state; and the same goes for being underweight. General overeating can cause weight gain, however, it is usually more the type of food that is causing the weight problem. Starving yourself to lose weight only serves to stress your body further and generally leads to binge eating and other types of disordered eating. Healthy weight loss will help ensure that you keep the weight off that you have worked so hard to get rid of, and it also ensures that you lose the right kind of weight because generally you want to lose fat while maintaining or increasing muscle. As an added bonus; most of these tips can be applied to someone trying to gain weight naturally as well! These are my top 12 tips for losing weight naturally.

1. Lose that “Calorie in, Calorie out” Mentality

Some people think they can get away with eating whatever they want if they exercise enough, but it doesn’t really work that way. Food isn’t just calories, it is also vitamins, minerals, enzymes, antioxidants, etc. No amount of running is going to negate the fact that you ate a big mac for breakfast. Even if you burn off every single calorie in that big mac you are still left with the indigestion, inflammation, and chemical additives, while your body gets minimal amounts of micronutrients out of the deal. It is theorized by some scientists that it may be the chemical content of conventional food (and not the calories themselves) that has lead to the obesity epidemic we are seeing today in North America. These chemicals have been termed “obesogens“. Eating more nutrient dense foods such as fresh vegetables, fruit, and grass fed meat will supply your body with plenty of important micro-nutrients without the questionable chemicals. In addition, too much cardio (spending hours at the gym trying to burn off all the ‘bad’ calories you ate) negatively affects hormones by increasing cortisol production in the body. This means that too much cardio can make it harder for your to lose weight! There is a smarter (and more satisfying) way to go about this!

2. Eliminate Refined Products from your Diet

This means white sugar, white flour, pastas, overly processed meats (such as conventional hot dogs), etc. Generally, the less packaged stuff you can buy, the better. Good alternatives to white sugar are good quality honey, coconut sugar, and whole foods such as dates and bananas. These foods will help you feel less deprived while making the transition. Eliminating refined products is one of the best things you can do for yourself even if you aren’t trying to lose weight because you are forced to replace these foods that are empty of nutrients with nutrient dense ones. This can help all sorts of other health issues as well (skin conditions, fatigue, digestive issues, etc.). As tasty as refined products are, they promote overeating and don’t properly nourish your body.

3. Don’t Drink Your Food

Ditch the smoothies, soda, juice, coffee, etc. Chewing is an important part of the digestive process; it signals to the rest of the system to start producing digestive enzymes. Without these enzymes your body cannot completely digest its food, which can slow down metabolism. In addition, it is much easier to drink an excessive amount of food than it would be to actually eat the whole foods themselves. Often when you are drinking smoothies for a meal you consume more food than you really need or you may still feel hungry when you are finished. Protein powder smoothies can be a great addition to your diet if you are looking to add more protein. However, the best protein sources come from whole foods; don’t rely on protein powders for all your protein.

Pop and fruit juice are arguably the worst offenders; they contain no fiber to slow down sugar absorption which causes blood sugar spikes. Blood sugar spikes are followed by the dreaded sugar crash, which creates cravings for more sugar; its a vicious cycle. Don’t be fooled with fruit juices just because fruit is natural. The fructose content without the fiber is just as bad for your health as any other sugar. Fructose itself is actually a suspected obesogen.

If you are going to drink coffee it is best drank unsweetened (or with a small amount of natural sweetener), and if you can make the switch; black, green, and herbal teas are excellent alternatives. I still love me a cup of earl grey tea in the morning!

4. Avoid ‘Diet’ Foods Like the Plague

Diet foods are the bane of my existence. Diet foods are usually low fat and contain artificial sweeteners. First, when you are dieting you want fat in your diet (more details on this in the next point). Secondly, the lack of fat must be replaced with something, which usually ends up being extra sugar or starch. They also use thickeners and all sorts of artificial ingredients to make it taste like “normal” food. You do not want any part of this in your diet. This will not help you lose any weight.

I’m not sure if these are still on the market but at one point a fat alternative came out called ‘olestra‘ that people were using in fat-free products because your body didn’t break it down the way it digests normal fat so you wouldn’t get any calories from it. Sounds great right? Not. Read this comical review of someones experience with it (adult language involved, click at your own risk). Sugar alcohols can produce similar gastrointestinal problems because you are meant to digest your food so when your body comes into contact with something it cannot break down, bad things happen. If you feel like you need a little more comedy in your day check out these reviews of some sugar-free gummy bears (again there is adult language involved).

Artificial sweeteners are just bad news all around. Recent studies have shown that eating artificial sweeteners actually increases carbohydrate cravings, and even stimulate fat storage and weight gain (source). Food is supposed to have calories. You are really better off eating nothing than eating Source yogurt and diet Pepsi. If you can’t stop yourself from eating these foods, you may want to ask yourself why you can’t stay away from them. It is actually fairly common for people to become addicted to diet pop. There are more natural alternatives to diet pop but I would only recommend having them occasionally as drinking them every day can still cause problems. My top picks for diet pop alternatives are Zevia All Natural Soda, Spritzers, or my personal favorite; GTs Kombucha (my favorite flavor is gingerberry!).

5. Eat More Protein and Fat

Protein and fat are where its at! Good quality protein and fat are the main macro-nutrients that make you feel full and satisfied from a meal. This is because it takes longer for your body to digest proteins and fats as opposed to carbohydrates that can pass through the digestive tract a lot quicker. Proteins and fats stimulate hormone messages to the brain telling us that we are full and to stop eating. While there is nothing inherently wrong with carbohydrates themselves, reducing carbohydrate consumption and increasing good quality proteins and fats can help reduce sugar cravings, keep you feeling full, and stabilize your energy levels throughout the day. Good quality fats include coconut oil, butter, avocado oil, olive oil, and fats present in grass-fed meat and eggs. Avoid vegetable and nut oils as they are high in polyunsaturated fats and oxidize easily. Good quality proteins consist of grass-fed meat, wild caught fish, eggs, nuts and seeds (in moderation), and organic dairy (if tolerated).

6. Only Eat When You are Hungry.

This is by far the most difficult thing to do in the North American society. Advertising is telling you to eat every second of every day. All social gatherings are built around food; eating out, potluck, family dinner, etc. It is really hard to get away from the constant temptation to eat when you aren’t hungry. The first step is identifying why you eat besides for hunger. Most people eat when they are bored or stressed, but there are a lot of other reasons people do it as well (feel obligated, don’t want to be rude, certain time of day, etc). When you feel like eating you should first consider how hungry you really are, and if you aren’t really hungry try drinking some water or a cup of herbal tea instead. Snacking on non-starchy vegetables is also a good way to keep your hands busy.

7. Eat Slowly, Chew Thoroughly, and Stop When You’re Full

Thoughtful eating is a great way to prevent overeating. It takes a bit of time (around 20 minutes) for your body to realize its full so when you eat very quickly it is difficult to determine when to stop. Chewing thoroughly is very important. The more you chew, the slower you eat, and the more you help your digestive system out.

8. Drink Enough Water

The easiest way to keep hydrated is to make sure you keep a water bottle with you at all times. Your body can actually mistake thirst for hunger so if you are someone who doesn’t drink water regularly; try drinking some the next time you are feeling snack-ish. You can also get your fluids in the form of soups and herbal teas, but black tea and coffee do not count towards your daily water intake as their caffeine contents act as a diuretic. You can spice up your normal water by adding lemon juice or pieces of frozen fruit to it.

9. Keep Active

You don’t have to run a marathon to lose weight (in fact, that is probably counterproductive), but keeping your body moving is important for weight loss and overall health. Strength training especially will help you gain more muscle which will help get rid of unwanted fat. It is important to remember that your weight is just a number, and depending on your size you may actually gain weight as you gain more muscle. Track your progress by measurements/appearance as opposed to the scale. If you are a woman, don’t worry about bulking up; unless you are drinking crazy amounts of high-carb builder protein powders you have nothing to worry about. I repeat; you will not bulk up. It is also important to remember that you should keep active throughout the day. Working out for 1 hour and then being sedentary the other 23 hours of the day is not really ideal. The best would be to do a few different activities daily such as stretching in the morning, walk at lunch, and then a more intense work out in the evening to keep your body moving throughout the day. For strength training I really like +blogilates on Youtube, and +TaraStiles yoga routines are great for flexibility and strength as well.

10. Get Enough Sleep

They call it beauty sleep for a reason! Sleep has a huge effect on your hormones. Generally it is recommended that you get around 8 hours of sleep a night, but everybody is different. Some people need 9-10 hours per night. People really need to stop looking for someone else to tell them what their body needs. If you don’t feel great after an 8 hour sleep, sleep more! Sleep as long as you need. A good night of sleep can do wonders. Sleep can even help improve your athletic performance!

When you don’t sleep properly you won’t be able to make your best decisions the next day. You may slip up and eat junk food, or you may skip your work out because you are too tired. You will also crave sugar or other stimulants to give you that temporary alertness. So try not to put yourself through all that by hitting the pillow a little earlier than usual! If you need some tips on how to get a better nights sleep check out this guide put together by Mark Sisson.

11. Don’t Rely on Weight Loss Pills and Miracle Cures

Dr. Oz can say some crazy s***. There will always be some advertisement for miracle weight loss pills, and I’m sure some of them do work to some extent, but it doesn’t replace healthy, natural weight loss. I generally question how well these pills were researched before being put on the market, and what kind of side effects they may have. Similarly, miracle cures such as the HCG diet are not only questionable as weight loss methods, they may also be dangerous to your health (source). The money you spend on weight loss pills would be better spent on whole foods and a yoga/gym pass.

12. Be Patient With Yourself

Losing weight takes time. Especially if you have a lot to lose; it can take a while to get the results you are looking for. Be kind to yourself, celebrate the small wins, and you will find yourself at your goals before you know it!

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jesseneufeld · 5 years ago

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Why Am I Waking Up at 3am?

These complaints are one of three types:

People who have trouble falling asleep

People who sleep fitfully, waking multiple times throughout the night

Those who reliably wake once, around the same time most nights

Instantly download your Guide to Gut Health

What Causes You to Wake Up In the Middle of the Night?

Transitioning to Lighter Sleep Stages

There are four (or five, depending on how you slice it) stages of sleep:

Stage 1: light sleep, occurs right after falling asleep

Stage 2: deeper sleep

Slow-wave sleep (SWS): deepest sleep, a.k.a. Stage 3 and Stage 4 sleep

REM: lighter sleep where our more interesting dreams occur (although we can also dream in non-REM phases1)

What does this have to do with nighttime waking?

If you’re waking up multiple times at night, chances are that you’re experiencing physical discomfort that you’re not able to sleep through. Sometimes it’s obvious, but not always.

Was It Something You Ate Or Drank?

Melt your stress away with Adaptogenic Calm

What to Do About Nighttime Waking

First things first, pick the low-hanging fruit

I’m talking good sleep hygiene practices. Things like:

Sleep in a cool, dark, quiet room.

Minimize exposure to artificial lights after the sun sets. Use blue-light blocking glasses, and turn on night mode on your devices.

Watch your alcohol and caffeine consumption, especially later in the day.

Go to bed around the same time each night.

If applicable, experiment with your diet and food timing

Depending on your current diet, some experiments you might try include:

If you’re ultra-low-carb, try increasing your carb intake for a few weeks.

Try loading more of your carbs into your evening meal.

Make sure your protein intake isn’t too low.3

Try eating your last meal earlier if you’re waking up with indigestion, or later if you’re waking up hungry.

Try a teaspoon of raw honey before bed

One hypothesis is that you’re waking up in the middle of the night because your brain gets hungry for glucose eight hours after your last meal. The honey provides some carbs to get you through.

Consider napping

Finally, don’t hesitate to seek medical help

The Case of Hot Flashes

Hot flashes are a common cause of nighttime waking for women of a certain age. If you endure nighttime flashes, you’re probably familiar with the standard advice:

Sleep in a cool room

Use moisture-wicking pajamas and sheets

Try acupuncture or other mind-body therapies

Add supplements like folic acid, or herbs like black cohosh or chasteberry

Investigate hormone-replacement therapy

Getting Back to Sleep

In the meantime, while you get to the root of the issue, here are some tips for getting back to sleep:

Keep artificial lights and screens off. Use small nightlights to light your path to the bathroom if necessary, and wear your orange-tinted glasses.

Do a calm activity such as reading by candlelight, deep breathing exercises, or sketching or writing in your journal.

Most of all, don’t stress! Fretting is likely to keep you awake for much longer than simply accepting the fact that you are awake and lying peacefully in bed.

Are You Fighting Something You Should Be Embracing?

Are You a Biphasic Sleeper, or Do You Have a Sleep Problem?

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References

https://www.nature.com/articles/nn.4545

https://academic.oup.com/advances/article/7/5/938/4616727

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3700250/

https://academic.oup.com/advances/article/7/5/938/4616727

https://academic.oup.com/ahr/article-abstract/106/2/343/64370

https://academic.oup.com/sleep/article/39/3/715/2454050

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10607034

https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rspb.2017.0967

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