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im-just-a-random-fandom-girl · 3 years

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You know what I want?

Domestic Stucky. In Westview. Hear me out.

(First of all, Endg*me can go fuck itself. Steve’s whole thing? Never happened. Forget about it. Wipe if from your mind. We’re rewriting that shit.)

(Also, this isn’t a fic even though I know it starts out looking like one lol. This is just stream of consciousness thoughts. I would put way more effort into actual writing)

The weeks after the final snap were hard.

Bucky was back, and it felt like every weight that had been dragging Steve down for the past 5 years was lifted. He was mentally and physically exhausted, but his soulmate, his best friend, was at his side again, pulling him into a warm hug, tight and breathtaking.

It was still hard; Steve was a very different man than he had been 5 years ago, but Bucky was calm and understanding. There was still much to mourn for, too. Tony and Nat were gone. Any sense of stability that had been established during those 5 years was immediately destroyed, and Steve was sure it would take many more years to try to fix the damage.

And Wanda. When Wanda was snapped back into existence, her grief was palpable. What had been 5 terrible years for him had been 5 minutes of bliss for her, relief that she wouldn’t have to try to live in a world without Vision. Steve knew the feeling. Even though he didn’t quite understand Wanda and Vision’s relationship (he was a robot?), he can’t really judge because he’s been pining after his childhood best friend for the better part of a century and still hasn’t managed to do anything about it.

To be brought back to life was the worst trick you could play on Wanda. Her sense of peace was snatched away from her and she was throttled back into a world that had nothing in it for her. Everyone she loved was dead. Her powers still deemed her a threat, even if she had played a crucial role in the fight against Thanos.

Steve wanted to be selfish and just run away with Bucky, but he couldn’t leave Wanda, who had become the little sister he never had.

He worried about her. Even as those who had been snapped away started to come to terms with the fact that 5 years had passed, Wanda wandered around, just a shell of her former self. Sometimes she fell into fits of rage and despair, using her powers to smash everything in her room at the compound or snapping at anyone who tried to distract her. Most of the time she was just blank.

Just a month after the return from the blip, Wanda strolls into the kitchen and announces that she’s going to S.W.O.R.D. headquarters. Steve’s head snaps up. Her eyes are hard and determined, and Steve belatedly realizes that every muscle in her body is tense as she readies herself to fight anyone who tries to stop her. Sam is the first to speak up.

“Okay, kid,” he breathes out nonchalantly, “you need anyone to go with you?” Sam is good like that. Always knowing what to say to make someone feel comfortable and cared about, but not coddled.

“No,” Wanda grits out. A breath, and then, softer, “thank you.”

Glancing around to see if anyone else had any objections, Wanda walks out of the compound.

Steve lets out a breath he hadn’t realized he was still holding, but the room is still tense. He whips around to Bucky, eyes wide with concern.

Before he can even say anything, Bucky reaches out and puts a hand on his shoulder, “Don’t worry. Come on, we’ll watch out for her.”

So, with a tight smile, Steve stands up and lets Bucky lead the two of them out.

It’s not until they are halfway down the street in an inconspicuous car, trailing a little ways behind Wanda’s red sedan that it occurs to Steve to ask what they’re doing.

“We’re just going to follow her to make sure she’s alright, pal. S.W.O.R.D. has Vision’s body, and it’s not a good idea for her to be alone, even if she thinks it’s best.”

“She’ll be mad if she realizes what we’re doing.”

“Good thing one of us is a reformed Russian spy,” he smirks.

Steve’s heart skips a beat at that familiar face, one that he hadn’t thought he’d ever see again, and blushes, ducking his head. If Bucky notices, he doesn’t say. They carry on in a comfortable silence.

As they pull into the S.W.O.R.D. parking lot, Steve watches Wanda march into the headquarters. He turns to Bucky, "Are we going to follow her in?"

"You can't, that's for sure." Steve scowls. "It's not entirely your fault, pal, but you're don't exactly blend in easily. But I'll go in to keep an eye on her if you want me to."

Steve considers the offer for the moment. As much as he wanted to watch out for Wanda, he knew that if she found out, it would hurt her more. She would think that he didn't trust her, and that he was following her to make sure that she didn't lose control of her powers and hurt people. He didn't want to make her feel more ostracized than she already was.

"No, we'll just wait," he says, shaking his head. His eyes never leave the entrance to S.W.O.R.D. headquarters.

The wait for Wanda feels excruciatingly long. Steve doesn't trust that S.W.O.R.D. is any better than S.H.I.E.L.D., and he honestly has no idea what they've been doing with Vision's body for the last 5 years. A renewed sense of guilt washes over him. If he had tried to fight S.W.O.R.D. harder for Vision's body, Wanda wouldn't be here, fighting through her grief to see him one last time. After the snap, Steve didn't feel like he could waste his dwindling energy scrutinizing S.W.O.R.D's every move, but he now wishes he had. He could have spared her this pain.

Sensing the anxiety bubbling up within him, Bucky reaches out, pulling Steve's hand into his own. "It's not your fault, Steve," he reminds him gently. Steve squeezes his hand in response.

Wanda walks out of S.W.O.R.D. headquarters 20 minutes later. She seems drained and tired, but her expression reveals nothing. They wait again before following her out of the lot.

When she turns right, away from the direction of the compound where he assumed she would return, Steve frowns. "Where is she going? The compound's the other way."

Bucky shrugs. "I guess we'll see."

Steve has no idea where they are until he sees a sign declaring "Welcome to New Jersey!" not far down the highway.

"What the hell is she going to Jersey for?" Bucky gasps, pulling a loud laugh from Steve's chest. It's absurd and ridiculous, but it reminds Steve of when they were kids in Brooklyn, shitting on the Yankees and the state's annoying accent, among the plethora of other abhorrent traits about New Jersey. Bucky starts laughing with him, shaking his head.

They finally arrive in a small, run-down town called Westview. Steve can't imagine why Wanda would come here.

Her red sedan comes to a stop in front of an empty plot of land, and she steps out, clutching a folded piece of paper to her chest.

"Oh, Christ... Shit," Bucky mutters. Steve is about to ask what he's thinking when he finally sees Wanda's walls crumble.

Her shoulders shake with the force of her sobs, and she falls to her knees with a cry of desperation. A red orb of her twists around her body and Steve shoves the door to the car open, desperate to get to Wanda.

"Steve!" he hears Bucky cry out behind him, and it's the last thing he hears before Wanda's powers implode around her, and his vision is blotted with red.

Remember! Wanda made all of her characters in the hex as similar to their actual lives as possible to ease her control of them! SO, it's only natural that her powers would pick up on the fact that Steve and Bucky are very obviously pining for each other and put them in a loving relationship while they are in the hex. Since they are both under Wanda's control, their storyline would happen mostly independently from what we see in WandaVision. I wouldn't have there be any smut (since I'm not talented enough or comfortable writing it myself) so there wouldn't be any non-con or any serious dub-con while they are in the hex. The idea is that both of them want everything that they are made to do (be partners, hold hands, kiss, do other couple-y stuff), but they are concerned because they think the other would feel disgusted and not want it.

There unfortunately were not any gay characters on TV in the 50s and 60s, so I would write these two "episodes" with loose ties to other sitcoms from those decades and do some research into how gay couples lived during these time periods. Basically, reimagine my own 50s and 60s sitcoms with realistic portrayals of a gay couple.

For the other decades, I would then base their relationship off of those actually depicted in sitcoms from that time.

It should be noted that, while I have actually watch a lot of old sitcoms, I haven't watched many of the ones I mention. If I every decide to write this, I would do a lot more research on these shows (and watch some episodes!)

70's - I would likely draw from Barney Miller, Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, and Soap.

80's - Roseanne is pretty iconic, but I would be a little hesitant to write it after all of the controversy a couple years ago. Love, Sidney may also work, but I don't know enough about the show.

90's - Will & Grace, of course! I don't know anything about Northern Exposure, but the little bit of research I've done suggests that also may be a source of inspiration.

2000 through early 2010s - It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia and Modern Family. (I loved The War At Home, but it doesn't really fit)

When Wanda releases everyone from the hex, Bucky and Steve had some serious miscommunication issues and angst. Both feeling exceedingly guilty about their actions, despite the fact that they had no control over them. They got a taste for what domestic life would be like together, and they are frustrated that they enjoyed it since they believe the other one did not. When Wanda explains that her powers gave everyone jobs, relationships and roles in society that were equally comparable to those they had in real life, Bucky and Steve both realize that the hex would not have put them in a relationship if it wasn't what the other also wanted. Yay! They make-up (and make-out, lol).

I seriously want to write this, but I really don't have the confidence that I will be able to execute it as I imagine it. If someone wants to work on it with me (be it we both write it or you just want to offer some brainstorming help/story guidance), I would be thrilled! Just so long as there isn't any pressure to get it done in a time crunch. I just want this writing experience to be fun! Also, if you are interested, I swear I’m a better writer than what was just exhibited, but I really only spent an hour or so on it, so it’s obviously not my best work.

Anyway, if you have any thoughts, suggestions, advice etc or just want to scream about WandaVision and/or Stucky, please feel free to PM me or stop by my inbox. It would make my day :)

#sara says stuff #my writing #wandavision #stucky

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drkoestersmithrpg · 4 years

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DONE! The End Of Perils of A03!!

“Why did you bother?” Tony asked after they had settled into bed. They had held each other in the daylit room, but Peter had finally turned around and snuggled into his little spoon position and had been drifting off to sleep.

He groaned.

“You promised, Tony. Please try to sleep.”

“Last question, I swear,” Tony said, sitting up and combing his hands through Peter’s hair. “I just don’t get it.

“I wasn’t shitty to you on accident, that day of the Capture the Flag game.

“I was shitty to you on purpose.

“I know everyone thinks that I don’t control it, that I have diarrhea of the mouth. Even Bruce. But that’s my secret. All my indifference is highly, highly calculated. You came to the compound and announced you were 20, gay and ready to party. I shoved you away as hard as I could. Too fast to actually think about it. And I thought I succeeded. It never even occurred to me I still had a shot until Nat said something. And that surprised the hell of me. I was a complete asshole, and I still wound up with an armful, a mouthful, of Peter Parker.

“You said all this is hard work…so why do it?

“Why did you bother?”

“If I tell you, will you promise to go to sleep?” Peter grumbled, already turning his head away from that gentle hand, already pressing his face into the sheets, covering it. Dammit, just because Tony was opening up veins and spilling out all his truths, did that really Peter had to do it too?

But it was too late. He was already here, trapped beneath Tony’s gentle stroking fingers, suffering from a little sleep-dep himself. So, in a nod to how much Tony had already confessed, he tried his best.

“I had a bad dream.”

It sounded just as bad out loud as it did in his head, so he stopped there.

But Tony, oh dammit, Tony’s breath had caught and he was sitting up now, trying to turn Peter towards him, asking annoying questions.

“I don’t want to talk about it!” Peter snapped, pushing Tony’s hands away, jerking his body back into his ‘I Am Sleeping Now Thankyou’ position. He was stronger than Tony Stark dammit, and it was time Tony Stark remembered that.

There was silence. Then Peter felt a tentative hand caressing his back.

“Please?”

Peter’s face crumpled. There wasn’t enough hiding space on the sheets for his face, but he tried anyway. But he couldn’t deny the tender tone from the man behind him. (That man rarely allowed himself to be tender.)

So he pushed himself back into Tony’s embrace. He turned his face away from the sheets enough to speak. He told the story. He fought to keep the tears back, but doing that and talking was too much work, so he stopped fighting.

“It’s stupid.

“Not the part where I had a scary dream I mean, the dream was stupid. Like This-Is-Pissing-Me-Off levels of stupid. The Over-Alien, Thanos I mean, he created the glove because he got all the Infinity Stones (for some profoundly stupid reason) and we fought him. You and me. We were on the moon, not really the moon, someplace very far away, too far away to ever get home. We got there on a space ship, and it had wrecked. I wasn’t supposed to be there, you told me not to be, but I was.

“But it was also the moon, because we could jump around like astronauts. Not you and me, the Guardians. I saw them in my dream before they actually came to earth – remember how Cap said they might have been acting like that because they were really rattled? I think he’s wrong. I think they act like that all the time. That’s just how they are.

“And we fought him. Over-Alien. You were right to call him The Big Blue. He looked ridiculous. I’d tell you what he looked like but you’d think it was funny. But it wasn’t funny. And we fought him. Dr. Strange was there and he used me like a weapon, like a boomerang, and I was really kicking his ass, his head I mean…”

He stopped and rolled his eyes disgusted at himself. What point was there to bragging about his most awesome moment, the moment he did something fantastic for (and in front of!) his hero Tony Stark? That moment never happened.

“And then he stabbed you with your own nanotech and then I died. And it hurt. I felt it in my bonemarrow. In internal organs that aren’t supposed to have pain sensors, I felt it. I fought it. And you held me…”

He stopped fighting tears and he turned around, suddenly and wrapped his arms around Tony, one arm around his neck and the other on his back.

Just like he had in the dream. “You held me so close,” he said, ignoring the tears. “And I wanted to be brave for you and I so I fought it but I couldn’t keep…it was too much. And I died in your arms and I was so sorry…”

“Shhhhh…” Tony said, or tried to say, but he feared it wouldn’t sound sincere. He had burned through too much goodwill to try to sound comforting now. So he just held on in silence.

“And then it gets really stupid, because you died next,” Peter said, wiping the tears away even as he grimaced at how absurd it was. “It’s a dream so it doesn’t have to make sense. There was fighting after that, a lot of people. And we won, but we didn’t. And you died in my arms…”

His voice broke again.

“And they pulled me away from you because I was a child and they weren’t. You held my hand, you called for me, but they pulled me away.” His jaw clenched so hard it hurt. It was absurd to be so angry, even now.

“I don’t remember that part,” Tony said, absently stroking his head. He wasn’t even looking at him then, just looking into space. Remembering.

“What did you do, when you woke up? Because I started drinking. Just got out of bed and went straight to the liquor cabinet and broke into the scotch. I had some idea if I drank hard enough, fast enough, I could black it out, lose the memory. But I was a responsible adult, so I didn’t. A week later StarFlake the Galaxy High landed in their spaceship and oh god I really, really wish I had.

“I saw all of that – the way you fought it off, and god Kid, I was so damn proud of you. You were the only one who could have fought it, but you couldn’t fight it forever. And then you said “I’m sorry” and then were gone and all I could think of was that I couldn’t tell you how proud I was that you had tried. And ‘I lost the Kid.’ That’s all I could think of.

“And there were so many people there, all these people being told a story of how Spider-Man turns to dust, and they were all crying, all of them, the adults and the children, especially the children, and I couldn’t cry because… there enough left of me to cry with.”

And this dream, I just couldn’t shake it. Not because it was real (it wasn’t real, it was so nonsensical.) But it was so loud. It left my ears ringing.”

Peter pulled away enough to look into Tony’s face. When it was clear the man wasn’t joking, he snuggled into his chest and breathed in his scent.

“So, what you’re telling me is…this is all your fault,” he said finally.

“After I got the spiderbite, I was constantly doing this. Hearing things I shouldn’t have been able to hear, seeing things I shouldn’t have been able to see, know things were sneaking up behind me, etc. etc. So I picked up on your bad dream. Which came from your messed-up brain. I get it.”

“I had the dream before we were sleeping together…”

“Shut up please I like my new theory and I’m keeping it. Goodnight. See you in a few hours,” He said decidedly, turning back into his comfortable position as the little spoon and stubbornly snuggling in.

“I don’t want to talk about it any more Tony,” was all he would say, and Tony had to admit defeat. But the wheels in his brain continued to turn.

He thought about life, about the choices and the string of events that were required to bring you to the place where you made the choice, and the string of events that might by likely, or might be as equally unlikely, to occur. And he thought about sleep, and how the deprivation of said sleep might disrupt the connection between the amygdala and medial prefrontal cortex which might make some decisions, including the saying of certain words out loud, regrettable.

And then he thought of the Over-Alien, so everpresent it haunted their dreams, and how his continued non-presence made otherwise unsafe-decisions reasonable.

That’s why he continued to stroke Peter’s hair.

“I love you,” he whispered.

The silence that stretched out between them.

“Ok,” he said chuckling, conceding defeat. It didn’t hurt as much as he thought it would. Maybe he was too tired to hurt. “Nevermind…”

“Oh, I’m planning on saying it,” Peter murmured, sounding very matter-of-fact. “Just not right now.

“I’m betting money you’re going to forget most of this conversation.”

Tony Stark grinned from ear to ear.

“I’ll take that bet.”

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spidey-d00d · 5 years

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I've Got You [Peter Parker x Reader] One Shot

“I got you. It’s going to be okay, I promise. Please you’re going to be fine”

Warnings; Near death, pain, fighting, kinda sad not gonna lie

A/N; This took me 10 years to write but I hope its ok! I have another come either sometime during this week or end of this week. Anyways, let me know what you think!

~~~~

“This is going to be dangerous. We all know it, but it needs to be done for the safety of the people in Queens. This is the home of one of our own too, so we make sure we help them and get the job done as soon as possible.” Steve blabbled on the same thing he had been all week. Everyone was prepared and knew what was about to take place, you all knew something bad was going to happen during this mission. You could just feel it, and that is why Steve keeps repeating his same speech over and over again.

You stared off into space, but your eyes focusing on the glass wall behind Steve who was in front of the conference room. Thinking about all of the things that could go wrong, the people you could possibly lose. You were still young, just 20 years old. That is barely anything, you have barley lived, but this is what you signed up for when joining the team. You knew what was to come. You understood the risks you would have to face on a daily basis.

You didn’t want to think about losing the one person who was important to you. He was everything that kept you, well you. He was your rock in everything. Losing your parents and not having family, helping you from your mental stability, to training, to any paperwork that you struggled on. He was there no matter what.

Snapping back to reality, the group was dismissed with 20 minutes to collect your things and meet back together to start the mission. No one said a thing to each other, knowing everyone was considering the factors to this mission. Going to your designated room, you started getting clothes, both mission and everyday clothes just in case. You never know what is going to happen even if everything is planned out to the minute. It could all change in an instant. You took one last glance at the picture that resides on your nightstand.

It was of you and Peter, on one of the biggest nights of your lives, the day you were announced as Avengers. After, well everything on Titan, and the rest of the planet, when Tony half-assed put you two on the team, and five years later after everything was better in the world and you and Peter came back from being dusted and stuck in a world with Strange and Shuri, they had a real press conference to reveal the team in a whole, new and original.

You debated on if you would take the picture, before catching yourself. ‘I will be back to see this picture. No doubt about it, because I am me, and these are the Avengers. Everyone is going to be okay and come out of this fine.’ Deciding not to add the wooden frame to the bag, it was zipped up and thrown by the entrance to your room, before you did one last sweep to make sure nothing would be left behind.

You were trying not to psych yourself out because that would just lead to issues, but you couldn’t help it, something was bound to happen. Everyone knew it, but they tried to ignore it.

Life was about to get a lot more complicated, a lot more than anyone thought.

Coming back into the view of others, you knocked the last person out in your block.

The team had split up onto different blocks to get done with the agents of the other side faster. It was tough, but without them knowing where you were, it was a little less pressure.

Over the intercoms, you could hear many people struggling. You didn’t realize how many people Hydra had under their belt but you did now.

Running to the nearest person, who happened to be Natasha, you turned yourself invisible at will so they wouldn’t see you coming. Someone had Nat pinned down on the ground, so you ran up, wrapping your arms around his neck, choking him and pulling the body off of hers.

She was confused at first, before remembering your powers. You two fought side by side before clearing her block in a matter of minutes.

You were getting tired and weak, and so was everyone else. This is a fight like no other. They never stop coming, from every direction, they just started multiplying.

Soon, all of the Avengers were in one area, backs pressed against each other, staring at the impenetrable circle of enemies forming around everyone. Somehow, like a magnet, your hand found his. The ones that hold you tight when you needed someone there, and the ones that always ran themselves through your hair. They were covered by a thin material of red and baclk stripes, but you could still feel the warmth. It comforted you just a little, knowing he was there.

It was quiet from the group of Avengers, all assessing everything going on in surrounding areas. Knowing what was about to go down, Peter turned to you, slowly.

“I-I love you, and I need you to stay safe, okay? I can’t lose you, not today, not ever. So you stay safe and you don’t get hurt alright?” He said as fast as possible. You knew he was nervous because he was rambling, but this was not the time.

“I will be safe Parker, if you promise me you will come out of this without a scratch or Aunt May will have Cap’s ass. I love you too.” You tried to make light of the situation, and held up your pinky.

He held up his pinky, intertwining the red fabriced pinky to your bare one, both of you leaning in to kiss your thumbs, something you two had been doing for a while to seal the promise.

Not long after, the circle was closing in, and you started getting more worried each step the otherside took.

Soon, you had no choice but to fight. All you did was throw punches and try and not get hit. Punch after punch, and kick after kick, it seemed to never end. You were far past exhausted but there was no room for error because it wasn’t only your life on the line, but also the citizens of Queens.

You were one push away from being knocked onto the ground, but you couldn't let that happen. You were going to finish this fight even if it was the last thing you do.

All of a sudden, a new feeling in your body was occurring. You had never felt this before, but it felt like a wave of energy was flowing through your body and it was building up so fast you didn’t have enough time to process anything before it was released.

It felt like fire in your veins, burning every inch of your body as you screamed in agony. You don’t know what the wave of energy did, because after it left your body, you fell onto the ground. Barely breathing, you were starting to fall in and out of consciousness. You could see blobs of color but other than that, you weren’t seeing much.

In a matter of seconds, there were many heads above your face. You couldn’t make out who it was, but you felt someone lifting your head onto their lap. As they kept brushing your hair away from your face, you knew it was Peter, you could just tell. There was a lot of people talking but you focused in on his voice and only his voice.

“I got you. It’s going to be okay, you’re going to be okay. You promised Y/N. You’re going to fine!” He started getting louder, something that happens when he is starting to get worked up. “I know it hurts, but you need to stay awake. Keep your eyes open for me okay? Keep looking at me!” He continued, trying anything he can to keep you awake.

Everything hurt, it hurt so bad and you knew that closing your eyes and going to sleep would take the pain away but Peter kept keeping you awake. It was quite annoying, but you knew it was for the better. Fighting sleep, you focused on the blob of red above you. He hasn’t taken his mask off yet. Odd.

Suddenly, you were being picked up and someone started moving you. Groaning in pain, they started picking up the pace.

You could remember much after that, but the next thing you knew, you were in a comfy bed. Your eyes were closed, so there was probably some sort of time difference from the last thing you remember.

Slowly opening your sensitive eyes to see the bright room, you winced because it burned. You could hear rustling coming closer to you, but you focused on opening your eyes still.

Soon enough, you fully opened the,, and were met with Bruce, Tony, Cap, and Nat standing over you.

“Wh-what happened?” You cleared your hurting throat.

“You released some sort of burst of energy, that wiped everything out for blocks and blocks. How did you do it?” Bruce was fascinated in your random outburst.

“I don’t know, honestly all I remember was being tired from fighting, and then the next thing I know, its like a fire in my veins, and then pain, a lot of pain.” You tried focusing on the past events but not a lot was coming to mind.

“Why don’t we give her a little bit to wake up some more before we bombard her with a thousand questions okay?” Natasha tried to push the three boys out of the room. “Feel better Y/N/N [Your Nickname] “Thanks” You let out quietly, slightly smiling her way.

They left the room and you started to look around, turning to see a very broken looking Peter in the seat next to you. His eyes were red and swollen from crying, nose red and stains from where his tears repeatedly trailed down his face. You had never seen him like this since… well ever.

“Pete..” You let out quietly.

“I thought I lost you. You promised, you promised that you were going to be safe and not get hurt.” He let out very quickly, all in one breath.

“I didn’t know that I could do that, I swear, and I'm here now, I’m okay now.” You tried showing him you were okay by sitting up, but it sent an excruciating pain up your spine. You groaned and fell back onto the bed, and Peter was up in an instant.

“Are you okay?” He let out frantically, but you just nodded, squeezing your eyes shut for a moment until the pain passed.

“Im fine” You let out with a breath after the pain passed.

“Now come here please.” You moved, to your best ability without hurting so he could lay on the bed with you.

Climbing in next you, he put one arm behind your neck and pulled you close to him. Laying your head on his chest, you smiled, knowing he was real and really there. You weren’t dead and everyone was now okay, the mission was over and you weren’t, so all was good at the moment.

“ I love you Parker.” You grinned.

“Even though you scare the shit out of me most of the time, I love you too.” You could hear him smiling.

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fandomfanfics12 · 5 years

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We Are A Family-part 20

Title: We Are A Family. Pairings: Steve x tony, Peter x Wade, Nat x Clint, Sam x Bucky. Part: 20/? Warnings: swearing, fluff, angst, eventual smut, slowburn. Summary: When Nat comes into the avengers tower with baby Peter Parker, the avengers didn’t know what they were getting themselves into. But now that Peter is here,Steve and Tony both feel protective over him. It doesn’t help that Peter hates everyone other than Steve and tony. But as Steve and tony raise Peter, they start to fall for one another. Will this superfamily work out or will it all turn to hell? A/N: lol here comes the angst train and a half decent plot we’ve all been waiting for. also, time skips will be involved in the next couple parts.

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11, Part 12, Part 13, Part 14, Part 15, Part 16, Part 17, Part 18, Part 19

Six years tony had been married to Steve, six blissfully happy years. Tony was grateul for his time with Steve and Peter, being able to share a life with them. He watched as Wade and Peter only grew closer with age, their friendship bound those two together for life. Wherever Peter was, Wade was likely somewhere close by. But like all good things, this happy period had to come to an end. Tony hadn’t known when that end would approach, but it seemed to have already arrived. It was Tony’s fault, he and Bruce had created Ultron, it was their fault that all those people died. Tony couldn’t stop blaming himself, he’d lost count of the amount of nightmares Steve had woken him up from. But they weren’t the only nightmares Tony couldn’t escape from.

“Tony?” it was Steve’s voice at the doorway, and Tony knew he should look up from his work, smile at his husband and go home. It was getting pretty late. Yet Tony continued working on the new captain America suit, unable to stop.

“What’s up?” Tony asked, frowning slightly as he tried to concentrate. He could tell Steve was mad, this was the sixteenth night in a row where Steve had found Tony like this.

“enough is enough.” Steve said and Tony jumped at how close he was.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Tony lied and then wondered when had he started lying to Steve? He decided that this little lie was okay, afterall, it was what would save Steve’s life.

“yes you do. You don’t need to keep building me new suits. I don’t need to be surrounded in bubble wrap.” Steve said gently, but Tony could barely hear him. After seeing the image of Steve dead, hearing Steve blame Tony for the deaths of all the avengers, for Peter’s death… Tony couldn’t stop building new suits.

“I have to prevent this, I have to protect you.” Tony mumbled and Steve let out a frustrated sigh.

“Tony you know that Wanda wasn’t showing you the future but merely something that would torment you for the rest of your life.” Steve said it so gently, and Tony almost listened.

“but it could become my future, and I can’t allow that to happen.” Steve groaned.

“Come home with me.” Steve kissed the top of Tony’s head. Tony paused, allowed himself to indulge in the feeling of Steve’s hands on his shoulders, his lips on the top of his head. He allowed himself to drown in the comfort that was his husband. He allowed it for a second.

“I’m going to stay here tonight, can you make sure Peter and Wade get to school alright?” Tony asked and Steve pulled away instantly.

“fine.” His voice was tight and Tony almost winced.

“Thanks.”

“Anything else?”

“Nope.”

“fine.” He listened as Steve walked away and squeezed his eyes shut. he needed to protect Steve, this was the only way.

Steve didn’t know how to stop Tony from working himself so hard. Usually Tony would listen to Steve, usually he’d slow down. It was scaring Peter. Peter who was finding more and more excuses to be around Wade, and less excuses to be at home. Peter was staying over at Wade and Al’s apartment tonight, which is why Steve ended up at Bucky’s door.

“Steve?” Bucky asked and Steve smiled softly.

“Hey Buck.”

“Where’s Tony?” Bucky asked as he let Steve in.

“Working.” Steve admitted and he saw Bucky shake his head.

“Have you told him about your vision yet? The real one?” Steve frowned but shook his head. He had meant to tell Tony, but somehow he had found himself lying.

“What did you see?” Tony mumbled into Steve’s chest. Steve thought about the vision of the titan who was three times as tall as Steve. With pale skin and a deep voice which had rattled Steve’s bones. He thought of the words the titan had spoken of, and it had shaken Steve to his core. Yet he choked on the words when he went to tell Tony.

“I saw Peggy.” Steve lied and Tony looked up at him. So Steve conjured up a lie about Peggy wanting her last dance.

“It’s like every time I try…” Steve trailed off and Bucky nodded his head.

“it’s like you cant get the words out?” Steve squeezed his eyes shut.

“Am I a bad husband?” he asked and Bucky groaned.

“No, you are a good husband. Tony will come around, it will just take time. You can’t blame the guy from trying to protect his husband.” Bucky said and Steve sighed. He just wanted things to go back to the way they were before Ultron. Things were easy then, so simple. So unproblematic.

“then why can’t I tell him the truth? Why was it so easy to tell you, yet I can’t even tell my own

husband

?” Steve wondered and Bucky shrugged. Steve began pacing then, he suddenly found it impossible to sit still. It should be easy to tell tony, tony would listen. He would help.

Or he would spiral like he’s already spiralling, he’d freak out and I’d lose him

. Steve didn’t know what do to anymore, he didn’t know how to fix this.

Peter wished he could just simply go and live with Wade. Things were too tense at home. His dad’s hadn’t exactly admitted to themselves that they were fighting but Peter knew they were fighting. That was why Tony stayed at the workshop all the time and why Steve was always with uncle Bucky. For days this silent war occurred at home, where his dads would speak in harsh whispers and glare at one another over the top of Peter’s head. Peter had been debating telling Aunt May about everything going on at home but had decided not to. So he told Wade. Wade was Peter’s only outlet, his only source of relief. Wade was also Peter’s only friend.

“it’ll blow over.” Wade assured Peter and Peter desperately wanted to believe him. It would be easy to believe Wade, he was so trustworthy and charismatic that everyone believed Wade. Every kid in school wanted to sit next to Peter’s best friend at lunch time. No one wanted to sit next to Peter. Sometimes Peter wondered if Wade pitied Peter and if that was the only reason they were still friends.

“I just don’t want them to break up.” Peter whispered and Wade laughed.

“Your dads are not going to break up Peter.” Wade assured him. Peter studied his brown eyes and his messy brown hair. Usually Wade had his hair trimmed short, but he was trying it long at the moment. Peter felt an urge to run his hands through Wade’s hair but managed to refrain from doing so.

“But what if it happens? So many other kids have parents who are divorced, what if I’m shipped back and forth between the two of them?” Peter asked and Wade pulled Peter into a tight hug.

“Your dads love each other too much to break up. It’s like it’s something from a movie. They’re not going to break up. They’re eternal, just like us.” Peter pulled back and furrowed his brows.

“Like us?” his heart was pounding in his chest and Wade gave him his dopey smile.

“yeah, you and me. Best friends forever.” Best friends.

“Right, best friends forever.” Peter forced a smile and despite himself, felt a little better.

“May is worried.” Steve announced and Tony looked up. This was one of the rare occasions where Tony was home these days.

“Worried?” Tony’s brows furrowed and Steve nodded.

“apparently you’re not as comfortable with me hanging out with Bucky as you’re pretending to be.” Tony shrugged.

“I don’t want to be jealous Steve, but I don’t see you much anymore.”

“because you lock yourself away in your workshop!” Steve shouted and Tony flinched.

“you know why I’m in there. I’m protecting you!”

“I don’t need protection! I need my husband!” Steve sounded so exasperated and Tony could see how exhausted his husband was.

“can we just pause this argument for a second?” Tony asked and Steve nodded. They both took a deep breath and allowed themselves a moment to calm down.

“I just miss you, I never see you anymore and I understand that you’re scared but you don’t need to be.” Steve whispered and Tony sighed.

“I just can’t lose you. But I will cut back, I’ll make sure I spend more time with you. How about we go out once a week?”

“Like a date night?” Steve asked with a raised brow, but Tony could see the corners of his mouth tilting upwards.

“Yes! A date night! Just you and me. Like the old times?” Tony had missed Steve too and he knew that their marriage needed this if it was going to survive.

“Alright, a date night.” Tony relaxed and then crossed the room. He wrapped his arms around Steve and Steve hugged him back. They held onto each other tightly, enjoying each other’s warmth.

“We’ll be okay.” Tony whispered and Steve kissed the top of his head.

“Of course we will, it’s you and me.” Steve sounded so confident but deep in Tony’s gut, there was a flicker of doubt.

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korinsu-t-blog · 5 years

Text

May 27 // Kabuki

Oh man oh man oh man. To start off, watching kabuki in real life was honestly a ton of fun. It’s like the Japanese analogue to shakespearean plays: very culturally rooted, lots of deep motifs, and the stories are typically history-based. The particulars of how the plays go aren’t at all like what oldern western style productions tend to do, but I think that’s part of the appeal. It’s a uniquely Japanese take on stage productions.

Overall, we got to see three different kabuki shows back-to-back, with short intermissions. The seats were awfully cramped; I kid you not when I was sitting perfectly straight and upright my knees were flush with the seat in front of me. Supremely uncomfortable in the moment, but I think that looking back on this day in the future will entail a lot more appreciation of what I did get to see. Kabuki performance was, somewhat unironically, a lot like real life Jojo’s: there were a lot of random poses being struck, there was a lot of shouting, and a lot of actors menacingly approaching eachother. Asides from the last play (which was not a historical reenactment, but rather a historical slice of life) the actors spoke veeeeeeeeerryyyyyyyy sloooooooooooowwwwwww. There was almost always a shamisen (3-string banjo), drum, or tap-stick playing to accentuate the lines and actions of the actors, so they didn’t have to deliver everything flatly. Lastly, to reinforce the dynamicness of running and to symbolize the actor striking someone else (such as with a weapon), a single attendant on the side of the stage would slap wooden blocks into the stage to make a really loud clapping noise. This person also used the wood slap to mimic footsteps when actors would enter/leave via the runway going into the crowd- yet another unique feature of Japanese theater.

The first kabuki play was a tale of two brothers who, after being orphaned when their father was killed by one of his allies, spent the next eighteen years tracking down said ally so they could kill him. They were invited into the daimyo’s court by the court jester (sympathetic to their cause), and were about to introduce themselves when the daimyo immediately recognized them as the sons of the guy he had killed eighteen years ago. Deciding that the ruse was indeed up, the sons moved to kill him before the daimyo declared that they couldn’t kill him because “the ancient sacred sword of our people’s is still missing after hundreds of years”. This is very reasonable, of course, so the boys sheathe their swords and are about to sit down again when a runner comes in declaring that they’re found the legendary sacred sword. This ignites the fury of the younger brother once again, but before he can move to kill the daimyo for a second time, the daimyo declares that “I was put in charge of a hunt on mount Fuji for the Shogun in a few months, so you can’t kill me yet!”

This, too, was very reasonable. Taking some tickets to the great hunt as a consolation prize and vowing to meet the daimyo on that fated day, the brothers leave the palace and prepare to... fade to black, ‘cause that’s where the play ends with a little blurb on the text screen that says “they got revenge but died in the attempt.” No ending or anything.

The second play was one of the most popular kabuki productions of all time: Kanjinchou, aka “The Subscription Scroll”. It’s honestly the most well written of the bunch we saw, and tells the tale of an adventuring party consisting of the outcast prince Yoshitsune, the strongest monk in the land Benkei, and their three loyal samurai as they journey away from the lands where Yoshitsune is being hunted by his elder brother. To escape further to the north, they must first sneak through a gatehouse guarded by servants of the elder brother- and to do that, they have to disguise themselves as priests, with Benkei taking the lead and Yoshitsune donning the garb and straw hat of a packman. The gate is on the lookout for priests though, and what ensues is a battle of question and improvisation starting with the leader of the gate guards asking Benkei to read the list of people who are donating money to the stated goal of the monks. No such list exists of course, so Benkei draws out a blank scroll (all while concealing it from the gaze of the commander) and proceeds to improvise a long and grandiose speech using his monk upbringing- basically rolling a Nat 20. The commander knows the scroll is blank, but eventually becomes so enamored with Benkei’s improvisation and constant answers to his deeper and deeper philosophical questions that in the end he resigns himself to an early death and passes Yoshitsune’s party through without letting them know he knows- not before Benkei is forced to beat his own master though. When the party is through the gates, the most touching and emotional part of the play occurs in the form of a conversation between the weeping Benkei- an all-powerful warrior who can lift the mightiest weights yet still faltered when lifting a hand against his own master- and Yoshitsune, who forgives him with a kindness begetting the Buddha.

The last play was, quite simply, Firefighters vs. Sumo in a slow burning drama that eventually ends in a thirty man all-out brawl between the two forces. Well over an hour long, it was entirely worth for the amazing fight scenes at the end which struck the perfect balance of flow, comedy, and drama. Much more a contemporary play, people talked at a normal speed and interacted with much less formality- quite a relief after having to sit through the first two. Not much else needs to be said about it besides that opening sentence.

[The kabuki theater from the exterior. Very nice, one of the largest kabuki-only theaters in Japan.]

[Interior, high up on the third floor balcony.]

[I swear half of these scripts are real life Jojo’s.]

[A painting inside the theater, I thought it was pretty dope.]

[The kabuki theater also happened to be in the supercar district, I saw so many expensive ones rolling around the city.]

[Yes, that is indeed James Bowlingsan.]

[Today’s candid: Ian! He’s a pretty quiet dude but every time he talks it’s absolutely hilarious. His hair is nice, too. 100% a good roommate to have on our floor, I wouldn’t want it any other way- he adds a lot to our day-to-day group.]

==========

Literature review:

Today’s literature was on kabuki. Some fun facts about it:

-Women weren’t allowed to act in kabuki, so men acted as women. These men were so good at acting as women that they actually set fashion trends for women who traveled to see popular kabuki performances. Generally speaking, they were akin to modern day drag-queens? Only the male actors who played female characters tho.

-Kabuki actors were extremely wealthy celebrities that technically occupied the commoner class, making them socially lower than samurai but far more influential.

-Kabuki was originally a thing of the common folk and very unsuited for high courts. It was only over time and extended cultivation through a specific effort to enhance Japanese-specific culture to compete with Western plays and opera that it rose to being honorable enough for even the emperor to view. Nowadays, it’s analogous to Shakespearean plays... not so much when it first came out.

-Kabuki scripts often had to go to great lengths to mock the samurai while still maintaining social order, as it was originally an outlet for expressing dissatisfaction with and rebellion against the samurai class. These methods often included a protagonist who was secretly a high-ranking samurai but who dressed as a commoner for some unusual reason, allowing him (a commoner) to outwit and defeat the samurai without having an actual commoner doing it. I swear officer, he’s really a 500 year old demon samurai, not a commoner.

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imjustthemechanic · 6 years

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Natalie Jones and the Golden Ship

Part 1/? - A Meeting at the Palace Part 2/? - Curry Talk Part 3/? - Princess Sitamun Part 4/? - Not At Rest Part 5/? - Dead Men Tell no Tales Part 6/? - Sitamun Rises Again Part 7/? - The Curse of Madame Desrosiers Part 8/? - Sabotage at Guedelon Part 9/? - A Miracle Part 10/? - Desrosiers’ Elixir Part 11/? - Athens in October Part 12/? - The Man in Black Part 13/? - Mr. Neustadt Part 14/? - The Other Side of the Story Part 15/? - A Favour Part 16/? - A Knock on the Window Part 17/? - Sir Stephen and Buckeye Part 18/? - Books of Alchemy Part 19/? - The Answers Part 20/? - A Gift Left Behind Part 21/? - Santorini Part 22/? - What the Doves Found Part 23/? - A Thief in the Night Part 24/? - Healing Part 25/? - Newton’s Code Part 26/? - Montenegro Part 27/? - The Lost Relic Part 28/? - The Homunculinus Part 29/? - The End is Near Part 30/? - The Face of Evil Part 31/? - The Morning After Part 32/? - Next Stop

Okay, so when I said I was too tired to write tonight? I lied. The gang move on to their next destination and try to track down Desrosiers.

There was a lot more spite in Jim’s voice than Nat would have expected – and probably more than Jim himself expected, either, to judge by the long silence that followed. Nat turned to look, and found Jim looking sullenly at the sidewalk at his feet while Sir Stephen, behind him, waited for him to raise his head so he could catch his eye. Jim refused to do so.

“Stop looking at me like that,” said Jim.

“You cannot see me,” Sir Stephen pointed out. “You don’t know how I’m looking at you.”

“Yes, I do,” said Jim, “because it’s the same way you’ve looked at me every time you were leading up to saying Buckeye would have done this or Buckeye would have said that.” He turned and glared at Sir Stephen. “See? There it is! I knew it!”

“It is only that you surprise me sometimes,” said Sir Stephen.

“Because I’m not your old buddy,” Jim said, “and you’re disappointed every time.”

“Well, now you know what it was like for Allen and for Mrs. Francis,” Natasha spoke up.

The two men had been about to start arguing, but Nat’s statement successfully distracted them. They both stopped, and Sharon had to urge them back into motion before she walked right into them. Nat turned to face backwards as they continued up the Jovana Tomaševića.

“When Allen met me,” she reminded them, “he said I looked like his daughter but didn’t act like her. Same with Mrs. Francis talking to Clint when he thought he was Robin Hood. The other person looks like somebody you know but they aren’t, and if Allen and Laura could cope with that, so can you.”

Sir Stephen hadn’t thought of it that way – and now that he did, it seemed he felt rather sheepish. “This is different,” he protested.

“It really isn’t,” said Nat.

“I don’t think it is,” Allen put in.

“Thanks, Dad,” said Nat. He was probably obligated to agree with her, but she didn’t care as long as somebody supported her.

“I wouldn’t know,” Jim said, “since I don’t actually know anybody.”

That seemed to be the end of the conversation between him and Sir Stephen, which was a relief, but there was more discomfort to come. They reached the French Embassy, which was in an aging, tile-walled house, across the street from the stone walls and a row of trees that provided privacy for the people living in the suburb beyond. They told the man at the desk inside why they were there, and he invited them to sit in the little waiting room until a passport official could see them.

Allen sat next to Nat, and while they waited, he leaned over a little to ask softly, “you can’t have children?”

“No,” said Nat. “None of us can.”

“There were more of you?” he asked.

Hadn’t she told him that? Apparently not. “Yeah,” she said. “I was one of twenty-eight to begin with. We got whittled down to ten by the time we were teenagers.”

“Oh.” Allen nodded, frowning. “Well… you can adopt.”

The words were kindly-meant, but Nat rankled. “You do realize I’m not here to be the vessel by which you have grandchildren, right?”

“I didn’t mean that,” he said.

“Then what did you mean?” Nat asked. “This is the twenty-first century. Usually I only have to remind Sir Steve of that, but now apparently you, too.”

“I didn’t mean it that way, Ginger Snap!” he repeated.

“Then you should have kept your mouth shut,” Natasha snapped.

She was far too good at reading people, and so she knew right away that hadn’t been fair to Allen. He’d meant to comfort her, because he assumed her infertility upset her – and if she were being honest, it did upset her when she thought about it. That was why she usually didn’t. Motherhood was only one of the possible futures the Red Room had taken from Natasha, but it was one that particularly stung. Perhaps that was because it meant that she, like Jim and like Sir James Buckeye, would leave no legacy. She was the product of four billion years of organisms reproducing, and now this particular genetic line was at a dead end.

“Doctor Jones?” a voice called. The passport official had arrived.

Nat plastered a smile on her face and stood up. “Hi,” she said. “I’ve got Madame Desrosiers’ passport here.”

She followed the official back to his office, where she spun a story about how she knew Desrosiers, how she’d learned her old friend from academia had left her passport behind, and why she was turning it in here instead of there. While she did that, she also kept him distracted while she slipped a USB drive into his laptop, containing a program that would email recently edited files to Fury in London. She retrieved her little drive before waving goodbye, and they trooped back outside.

Within five minutes, Sharon’s phone beeped. She swiped it, and smiled.

“Well?” asked Nat.

“A woman calling herself Helene Desrosiers checked into a hotel in Messina on the island of Sicily, using a French passport as her ID,” said Sharon.

“That’s our next stop, then,” said Natasha. “Text your wife, Clint – time to get a head start on that shopping list.”

Another tourist bus took them back to Tivat, where they got a flight to Messina. Nat did think about flying first class just so they could bill it to the British government, but the flight was so short it didn’t seem worth it. They flew coach. Nat, sitting next to Allen, was quiet for most of it, but she did have something to say. It just took her an hour or so to work herself up to saying it, because it wasn’t something she said very often.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I know you didn’t mean it that way.”

“I know,” Allen replied. “I’m sorry I… I swear I didn’t just come in and announce it to everybody.”

Nat was relieved to know he was smart enough to realize what she was really upset about. “Oh?” she asked.

“They asked where you were, and I said you and Jim were still in bed,” Allen explained apologetically. “Sam said, what, together? And I couldn’t just lie.” He began twisting his empty airplane pretzel bag in his hands. “I think Sam’s a little jealous… I think he likes you, himself. But we got into this whole weird discussion about whether somebody like Jim could have children, and then you two suddenly arrived and we were worried you’d heard some of it.”

That put the awkwardness – and Sam’s comments – in a very different light, and Nat felt ashamed to have judged everybody so harshly. They weren’t perfect angels, of course, they were human beings who said things they shouldn’t say, but they didn’t disregard Jim’s humanity. The question was, when had she gotten so invested in it that she’d become defensive?

“I’m sorry I embarrassed you,” said Allen. “Next time I’ll lie.”

“What, next time you find me in bed with guy I just met last week?” Nat asked with a raised eyebrow.

Allen turned red. “Is that something that happens often?” he asked, horrified. Apparently the possibility had never occurred to him. He struggled for a moment, then added, “it’s up to you, of course, I mean, you need to do what makes you happy…”

It was only a lifetime of training to hide her emotions that kept Natasha from giggling at his expression. “As a matter of fact, it doesn’t, but it’s nice to hear that you’d support my ambitions no matter what they might be.”

As brief as the flight to Sicily was, they almost didn’t make it. Like Santorini, the island of Sicily had been created by a volcano, and that volcano was not a quiet one. Mount Etna was one of the largest and most active volcanoes in Europe, and it had been smoking gently for several weeks. Air traffic was being detoured to avoid potentially clogging the engines with volcanic ash, and they had to wait in a holding pattern for nearly two hours before they were finally cleared to land at Messina.

The volcano was nearly fifty kilometres from the city, but it was still possible to see the looming column of smoke, which meandered up for a long way before veering off to the east, blown away by high-altitude winds. It was beautiful to look at it, but also felt ominous. They were chasing a mad alchemist, and here they were, on top of one of the biggest furnaces imaginable.

“That looks bad,” Clint remarked, watching the smoke column nervously as they crossed the airport parking lot. “Are we sure it’s safe to be here?”

“It’s not close,” said Sharon. “If it really erupts, all they’ll get in Messina will be an earthquake.”

“Uh-huh,” Clint said. “You know what? That’s not reassuring.” His phone beeped, and he dug it out of his pocket for a look.

“Now what?” asked Jim.

“Pistachios,” said Clint. “Sounds like Sicily is famous for them.”

Messina was quite a modern town compared to many of the places they’d visited so far. The old city had been utterly destroyed in World War II, so almost everything now in it was less than seventy years old. Where Tivat and Kotor had been dark stone and narrow cobbled lanes, Messina was clean new buildings painted pastel colours, on either side of broad streets lined with orange trees. Across the strait, beyond the pillar of Saint Mary, it was possible to see the tip of Calabria.

Fury’s text message had given the address of the hotel Desrosiers was staying at – the Europa Palace, located in a blocky yellow and green building set well back from the street behind a line of palm trees. From the outside it looked more like a seedy apartment block than anything a person might compare to a palace, but the lobby turned out to be quite nice, with marble floors, burgundy leather armchairs, and glittering chandeliers. Nat paused before approaching the desk and looked at Sharon.

“You or me?” she asked.

“Better be you,” said Sharon. “We’re not here to arrest her.”

Nat therefore went up and rang the bell. The woman who came out of the back office to answer was middle aged, with darkly-tanned skin and bleach-blonde hair.

“Buongiorno,” she said with a friendly smile. “Come posso aiutarti oggi?”

“Buongiorno,” Nat replied. “We’re here to meet a friend, Senora Helene Desrosiers. She told us she would be staying here.”

“The East Asian lady?” asked the clerk. “You’ve already missed her, I’m afraid. She went on to Taormina this morning. She had me call ahead and confirm her reservation there.”

“That’s a shame,” said Nat. “Can you tell us where she’s staying there?”

“I’m afraid not. It would be a breach of privacy,” the clerk said.

Nat wouldn’t press her, then – she had other ways of getting information. “Of course,” she said. “I shouldn’t have asked. One more thing: is the hotel’s restaurant open to non-guests? My friends and I have been on the plane for hours because of the eruption, and we’re all starving.”

“Certainly,” said the clerk. “Please, go ahead.”

“Grazie,” said Natasha, and the others echoed – this being the only word in Italian most of them knew.

“Prego, prego,” the clerk assure her.

#fanfic #natasha romanov #steve rogers #bucky barnes #sharon carter #sam wilson #clint barton

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dedalvs · 6 years

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So, I know you’ve said time and time again that you usually don’t base your languages on natlangs. But have there been times where you’ve seen a feature in a natlang, looked at it, and gone “BOI I want sumthin like that” and then tried to do something similar with one of your conlangs?

Yeah, @sopih brought this up in his reply to my original post on this topic. Absolutely this has happened—and, I’m sure, happens with all conlangers. Sometimes it doesn’t necessarily need to be from a language. For example, I had two great ideas for initial consonant mutation that I wanted to try out, so I tried them out with two different languages (Noalath and Kinuk’aaz). The important thing for non-conlangers to understand (and also for beginning conlangers to understand), though, is that you can’t simply take something from another language, nat- or con-, insert it into your language, and expect it to fly. It’s like dropping the engine from a Corvette onto the hood of a Honda Civic from 20 feet and expecting it do something other than seriously damage the body of the car. You’ve got to do some serious work to get that thing in and have the car actually run. The result may be disastrous, or it may be something quite unique.

For example, I decided I want to do something Tagalog-like with High Valyrian. I wanted it to be something extra, though, not central to the grammar. It’s easy enough to have different applicatives, so I came up with two (a specifically locative applicative and an “everything else” applicative), and then came up with something that was unique, I think, but made sense with the system. It’s something I call an instrumental passive, because basically it’s used when the subject of the verb isn’t human. For example:

Vala rōbir nektos. “The man cuts the fig.”

Egry rōbir anektos. “The knife cuts the fig.”

Initially the plan was that every applied or promoted argument would occur right before the verb, but that didn’t end up making a lot of sense, given how many cases Valyrian has, so I relaxed that. It’s the preferred spot, but not obligatory, because it really shouldn’t be.

Now, the locative applicative assigns the dative case, as it’s further up the case tree than whatever it would’ve had before. You’re typically only using this thing if: (a) it’s standing in for a postpositional phrase, or (b) it’s more central to what you’re saying than it would be if the phrase were there without it. In designing this thing, which was taking a v-/u- prefix, I noticed something. If you assign the dative to this thing and you put it in front of the verb, you end up with a lot of [tv] sequences, which is a little awkward (not super). This gave me the opportunity to make use of something that was already built into High Valyrian to great effect. The dative case is always built off the genitive in Valyrian. In most instances, you just add -t to the genitive ending in -o. Since we had this C-/V- thing going on with the prefix, I decided to do a C-/V- thing with the case, and basically delete the [t] before a consonant. Thus, the locative applicative assigns the dative or genitive depending on the phonological form of the verb (provided the arguments comes directly before the verb. Doesn’t apply otherwise). Thus:

Vala lento iemnȳ ēdrus. “The man sleeps inside the house.”

Vala lento vēdrus. “The man sleeps inside the house.”

Vala lento iemnȳ vāedas. “The man sings inside the house.”

Vala lentot uvāedas. “The man sings inside the house.”

This made sense simply because of the way Valyrian is. None of this came from Tagalog, even though Tagalog served as the original inspiration. And unlike Tagalog, this system is a system that’s destined to die in most Valyrian daughter languages. While it’s easy and useful in High Valyrian, the system will die out in favor of certain applicative or instrumental passive forms being lexicalized as new verbs. Speakers of Braavosi or Pentoshi or Astapori may notice that there are a lot of verbs that begin with u- or v- or a- or i- or j- (the latter two are oblique applicatives which I didn’t discuss here), but they may not be able to figure out why—like how many English speakers know there are verbs that begin with be- but don’t necessarily know that it’s from an old causative formation strategy. Anyway, this history too is something that came about purely because it felt like that’s what would happen in Valyrian. It had no other source.

So yes, there are things in natural languages that absolutely serve as inspiration, but serving as inspiration does not (and should not) mean wholesale copying, grafting, or mixing without thinking about how it should arise and be successfully integrated in the language in question.

#conlang #language #Valyrian #High Valyrian grammar #High Valyrian #Valyrian grammar #HBO #Game of Thrones #morphology #Tagalog #cawlo

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heartlites · 3 years

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so. i havent really written here in a long time, i mostly share my mundane thoughts and daily happenings on my twitter anymore. lately though, i’ve had a lot on my mind in regards to a large number of things, one of which being my relationship with religion and my faith in general. i don’t really think i can talk about it on twitter simply because there is too much for me to say just for a tweet chain, and these feelings are kinda... i don’t know, more intimate? i’m a little more hesitant to share them with a larger audience anyway.

and so, after many years of not really talking much here at all, i am going to dive into my relationship with religion and i will probably post here every so often about it as i try to connect with a goddess who reached out to me, isis.

i’ve spent my life in the bible belt of the us. i grew up in a very christian environment and i was involved in several different sects of christianity that are all kind of really fucked up. when i was a very young child, my mother and us were apart of a mormon church and though i cannot remember a lot, i do remember how utterly bizarre the “culture” was. even after my mother left the church, people from that mormon church would still come to our house and even followed us to our new address when we moved. it was very surreal.

my oma is catholic, too, and took me to plenty of services when i was young. i didn’t go a whole lot because i was rather restless as a kid and i could not stand how long their services were. the decorum of the catholic church and the sense of catholic guilt has followed me in life.

primarily, though, i grew up a baptist, and that is... its own can of worms. it was not a good experience. i have described my relationship with god and christianity in the past to a friend as “god haunts me” and that remains to be true. i feel it most when i see small, old abandoned churches in the countryside. little tiny, one room building. plain white walls with crosses. its not a comforting feeling or sight. it really does feel like being haunted. it make me feel afraid. so much of christianity’s teachings, especially those of the baptist faith, are rooted in the principal of fear. when i think of god and christanity i feel nothing but fear, fear of judgement, and just.. i dont know. theres a lot.

but at the same time, this is made ever more complex because i truly do feel i had very religious feelings and experiences where it was... it was a deep moment? im not sure how to explain it. it mostly happened during worship through gospel / song when i’d sing and i’d feel so... im not even sure how to describe it. but i could feel goosebumps rise on my skin, i would feel light, like my soul was touched. in rare moments, i did feel “closer to god.” acknowledging those feelings, in my mind, means i would have to acknowledge that god as he is, is real, but if i acknowledge that then that means... there can be no other gods, as christianity teaches.

some distinct memories i have with my experience in the baptist church i went to as a child is, once, when i was very young, i remember hearing the verse that “for god is a jealous god” in relation to the worship of idols / other gods and why we should not do so and you must worship him and him above all others during one sunday school session. when i was young, that struck me as something so very... off. jealousy is a flaw, as i understood it when i was young, but god is supposed to be perfect, and therefore... if he is jealous, then he cant be perfect. i dont remember all of what was exactly said but i do remember not being satisfied with the answer i was given in sunday school.

the last sunday school i ever attended and what drove me away in the end was when i was a teenager, and the lesson somehow pivoted to how people who worshipped different faiths (i.e. the islamic faith, the jewish, buddhists, etc) were wrong and needed to be shown the right path. that did not sit well with me at all and i vocally argued that. more or less, i spoke of tolerance and acceptance of other religions. this went against a core ideology of the baptist sect of christianity, which is conversion more or less. baptists believe very strongly in preaching the word of god to others, to the point of being intolerant of other religions. the topic of lgbt people came up too and how they were not “right” either but we could/should still tolerate them despite their sins. after that sunday school class, i received a book from the church tilted “god in other religions” and i was so pissed off and offended that i threw it away and never went back.

and now, here i am, in my mid 20′s, and i am trying to understand and explore my relationship with religion. despite my vague interest in paganism, i haven’t truly really tried to explore it. i was afraid, to be honest. i was afraid of being one of those “sinful” people who ‘worshipped false gods’ or whatever. there was too much drilled into the back of my mind, and i still could not quite shake those feelings i had where i did feel ‘connected’ to god. now though, i am starting to feel, i guess, a stronger pull.

in about october of last year, 2020, there was a strange little happenstance that occurred with me where, while i was away and caring for my grandpa after his surgery, i had gone into his kitchen on a whim. i was eating something and aimlessly looking out his back window when i looked down and in his sink, there was a bird. a wren, to be specific. it was uninjured and i have no idea how it got there, the door and windows had been closed, but i picked it up in a paper towel and set it outside. later that day, it was gone.

it was so bizarre that... i felt like it had to be a sign of something, from someone. two of my friends, nat and magda, asked their pendulums each and were able to tell me it was isis who was reaching out to me. since then, that has been in the back of my mind but i have yet to truly act on it. ive been... kind of afraid to, i suppose? i am just unsure. nat said something that profound stuck with me that relationships with gods in paganism was not just blind faith like with christianity, but a relationship where you work with them. that was hard to wrap my head around at the time. like! it makes sense. but my upbringing has made it hard for me to approach.

i have just been thinking about this more and more lately. i want.. to try, but i dont really know where to begin. do i build a shrine? do i pray? is it too late for me to reach out to her? im not sure. im struggling with taking the first steps and it feels like trying to learn how to walk all over again. i dont have much more to expand on this other than that... i want to try and connect with isis. to really form that relationship, but now i am afraid i have waited too long and she might reject my faith or whatever. i dont know. i feel so alone and like a baby trying to navigate all this.

#dont really know how to tag this but its just my struggles with religion #sharing a lot of my fears anxieties and concerns #dont know what to do in the end still.

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drkoestersmithrpg · 4 years

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This is 2/3 of the Last Chapter Of Perils

“Why did you bother?” Tony asked after they had settled into bed. They had held each other in the daylit room, but Peter had finally turned into his little spoon position and had been drifting off to sleep.

He groaned.

“You promised, Tony. Please try to sleep.”

“Last question, I swear,” Tony said, sitting up and combing his hands through Peter’s hair. “I just don’t get it.

“I wasn’t shitty to you on accident, that day of the Capture the Flag game. I was shitty to you on purpose. I know everyone thinks that I don’t control it, that I have diarrhea of the mouth. Even Bruce. But that’s my secret. All my indifference is highly, highly calculated. You came to the compound and announced you were 20, gay and ready to party. I shoved you away as hard as I could. Too fast to actually think about it. And I thought I succeeded. It never even occurred to me I still had a shot until Nat said something. And that surprised the hell of me. I was a complete asshole, and I still wound up with an armful, a mouthful, of Peter Parker.

“You said all this is hard work…so why do it?

“Why did you bother?”

“I had a bad dream.”

It sounded just as bad outloud as it did in his head, so he stopped there.

But Tony, oh dammit, Tony’s breath had caught and he was sitting up now, trying to turn Peter towards him, asking annoying questions.

There was silence. Then Peter felt a tentative hand caressing his back.

“Please?”

Peter’s face crumpled. There wasn’t enough hiding space on the sheets for his face, but he tried anyway. But he couldn’t deny the tender tone from the man behind him to rarely allowed himself to be tender.

“It’s stupid.

“Not the part where I had a scary dream I mean, the dream was stupid. Like This-Is-Pissing-Me-Off levels of stupid. The Over-Alien, Thanos I mean [retcon in Over Alien] he created the glove because he got all the Infinity Stones (for some profoundly stupid reason) and we fought him. You and me. We were on the moon, not really the moon, someplace very far away, too far away to ever get home. We got there on a space ship, and it had wrecked. I wasn’t supposed to be there, you told me not to be, but I was.

He stopped fighting tears and he turned around, suddenly and wrapped his arms around Tony, one arm around his neck and the other on his back, just like he had in the dream. “You held me so close,” he said, ignoring the tears. “And I wanted to be brave for you and I so I fought it but I couldn’t keep…it was too much. And I died in your arms and I was so sorry…”

“Shhhhh…” Tony said, or tried to say, but he feared it wouldn’t sound sincere. He had burned through too much goodwill to try to sound comforting now. So he just held on in silence.

His voice broke again.

“I don’t remember that part,” Tony said, absently stroking his head. He wasn’t even looking at him then, just looking into space. Remembering.

“What did you do, when you woke up? I started drinking. Just got out of bed and broke into the scotch. I had some idea if I drank enough fast enough I could black it out, lose the memory. But I was a responsible adult, so I didn’t. A week later StarFlake the Galaxy High landed in their spaceship and I really, really wish I had.

“I saw all of that – the way you fought it off, and god kid, I was so damn proud of you. You were the only one who could have fought it, but you couldn’t fight it forever. And then you said “I’m sorry” and then were gone and all I could think of was that I couldn’t tell you how proud I was that you had tried. And ‘I lost the Kid.’ That’s all I could think of.

And this dream, I just couldn’t shake it. Not because it was real (it wasn’t real, it was so nonsensical.) But it was so loud. It left my ears ringing.”

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otherpens · 7 years

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So Critical Role looks like something I should be aware of, but I know absolutely nothing about D&D or how it works (Is it even a game of D&D? That's how little I know about this). My question to you: should I watch it anyway? Will I be able to keep up with what's happening?

Okay SO I just got into it a few weeks ago myself, and it may seem daunting because the episodes run long but honestly it’s kind of a thing you can run in the background or a tab ‘cause there’s stretches that are math or bathroom breaks etc.

It is D&D, kind of.

It is a group of friends who happen to be voice actors who got together a few years back for one person’s birthday and he said he wanted to try a tabletop RPG. They all enjoyed the one-off campaign so much that they made it a regular thing, playing Pathfinder, which is kind of like an alternative to D&D but shares many common elements.

They then were approached to make it a live streaming feature of a web channel, and decided to make the switch to D&D 5th edition as that brand is just generally more recognizable–however the game they have ended up playing is what they call a “homebrew” version of D&D with some changes made to accommodate the transition and also just what the DM and players prefer. Apparently this has miffed some stricter nerds but as most people don’t fall into that category, screw it, they’re having a blast.

So each player has their character who they have already privately been playing for a year or two in these fun sessions at this point, so at the start of the streaming series they have established some backstory as a group and as individuals, having gone on adventures and become loyal companions and friends (though they certainly don’t always agree or get along!) Some characters come and go on the basis of player availability as it’s live on Thursday evenings when they film and stream it, but these changes are deftly woven into the narrative by the brilliant Dungeon Master, Matt Mercer, who handles setting up the world of the story and populating it with NPCs (non-player characters) who may interact with the played characters to offer information, alliances, conflict, or even just silly fun. The characters and their choices drive what happens, however, and so there are times where Mercer has clearly got A Plan but then the players chose to go do something completely different and he just has to go with that flow and it’s amazing. Apart from rare expressions of baffled surprise or helpless laughter at extreme ridiculousness, Mercer has a hell of a poker face and an uncanny knack for imbuing dozens of different NPC characters with distinct voices, mannerisms, and their own inner lives. Like that alone makes it worth watching.

BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE!

Every one of these goddamn players is a goddamn master at playing with humour and tragedy in equal measure and their improvisational skills and creativity are stunning. A merry band of misfits and every one of them managing to have moments of being adorable dorks, amazing badasses, frickin dummies, and heartwrenching infants who just need to be held by me and kept safe forever and ever.

I didn’t really know much about the mechanics of D&D when I began watching but they really do explain a lot as they go as well as having some early videos where the DM explains things in a tutorial. Basically each character has stats–numbers of points on a range of high to low which affect parts of their personalities and skill sets. (My terminology is paraphrased here so bear with me.) These numbers may then be modified with basic addition or subtraction by the following: racial qualities - skills/abilities granted on the basis of their species and its culture; class bonuses - basically whatever their chosen “career” is…rogues/thieves have boosted stealth, fighters have better attacks, etc.; as well as modifiers linked to any objects/tools/armour/magic that the character owns or has access to. These modifiers may be physical/practical or abstract/magical, and may add OR subtract. (One character, famously, wears plate armour which gives her a higher protective armour score and a lower stealth score because of all the noise it makes when she moves.)

Then, to add the elements of fate and whimsy to the choices made by characters and in their conflicts and interactions with the world and characters around them, the DM guides players to roll “checks” for abilities when they want to try something, to see if it is a success or failure. They roll from sets of many-sided dice of varying numbers according to a rule set I don’t pretend to even begin to understand but as long as the DM knows, you’re golden. These base numbers given by the dice rolls can then be modified by character stat numbers and their modifying objects/magic, should they choose to use them. Obviously a higher score means a better outcome and lower score may lead to indifferent or even negative consequences. These numbers are interpreted by the DM (who often rolls his own dice and keeps his own notes to determine where his own NPC characters are in reaction to the played characters,) who gives out an explanation of how the character’s attempt panned out, and where it takes them, next. A “critical roll” is where a player rolls the biggest 20-sided die and it lands on either a 1 or a 20–as these are before any moderating scores are added or subtracted they are known as “natural” ones and twenties, and they themselves have a moderating effect when they occur, doubling other points rolled for a more effective and lucky outcome, in the case of a 20. I don’t know what a Nat One does exactly in terms of numbers but safe to say it is never good and sometimes so bad it’s funny unless you’re actually in a dire spot of combat.

Because the characters can actually die. Permanently. Resurrection exists in this world but the rules around it make it HARD and uncertain. One character did die in a battle before the steamed show began and though she was brought back to life it is clear that the event shook the foundations of this character’s life and she’s still struggling with the fallout of that event in several ways. One wrong turn, one moment, one unlucky roll of a dice and nobody, not even the DM, can say “do over”. These are characters they’ve built and played for years as friends and now on a popular show and the emotional attachment is extreme. I won’t spoil anything but the risk is real, and everyone knows it all too well. Which, for me, is part of the excitement and fascination. It’s so well-written, and yet it’s not written, at all. It’s a complex and beautiful and funny and tragic and exciting adventure and it’s solely built on the commitment of these disgustingly-talented friends to a rich and wondrous world and characters they’ve come to love.

Clearly I could talk about it forever so feel free to ask me any more questions you might have! And there’s heaps of spoilers in tags if you wanna stay clear of them so I’ll do my best to keep my responses clear of the magnificent twists and turns.

So YES please give it a try (archived episodes are all on YouTube on the Geek & Sundry channel,) and you’ll totally get what’s going on. Mercer explains things pretty well, for the players and the audience. They jump right in with a new adventure and there’s an intro bit where they narrate character backstories, for the first several episodes.

#Critical Role #I'm on episode 27 OMG #fieldtrip!??

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fitness-tips · 4 years

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Hollywood Nutrition Principles

This number is your body fat percentag Dieting has become an American obsession. Diet and nutrition are the most talked about topics in our popular culture. You cannot walk through a grocery store, turn on the TV, listen to the radio, or open your e-mail without being bombarded with the latest fad diet that promises a thinner you. Weight is an issue for almost everyone. Some of us really have to watch every bite that we eat; with much suffering and sacrifice, we are able to lose a little. Some of us have tried every diet, but nothing works. There are also people at the other ex- treme—who have to try very hard to maintain their weight. Too much work or run- ning around, and they are dropping weight like nobody’s business. For them, gain- ing weight would be a dream come true. Most of us are somewhere between these two extremes. You must understand both ends of the spectrum to figure out what will work best for you.

Body Fat

Your goal is to eliminate body fat. You will need the proper method to determine if your program is working. Your scale does not provide a clear picture of what is happening to your body. Your weight on the scale is only a small factor of this total picture. Before you begin, take measurements of your waist, hips, chest, each bicep, and thigh. This will provide valuable information to not only mark your progress but also to determine and concentrate your efforts. While the easiest method to determine results will be to monitor how your clothes are fitting, most of us need a more telling measurement. In addition to tak- ing measurements of various body parts, I recommend you determine your body fat percentage. This measurement will be your new guide and key indicator of your progress. It will provide you with a clear picture of what percentage of your total body weight is made up of fat and what percentage is made up of water, hair, bone, and lean muscle mass. Your goal is to create more bone and muscular density and reduce the percentage of fat.

How to Measure Your Body Fat

There are many ways to measure your body fat, such as hydrostatic weighing and bioimpedance, and there is a cost associated with taking these measurements. While going into a local gym and having a trained professional take a few measure- ments with skinfold calipers might cost $15, some other (and very accurate) meth- ods might cost thousands. In truth, you can get a fairly good idea of your own body fat percentage in the privacy of your own home, at absolutely no cost. You will need a scale, a tape measure (a new cloth or metal tape is preferable), a calculator, and perhaps an assistant.

BODY FAT FORMULA FOR WOMEN

1. Step on the scale and weigh yourself.

Your body weight ________ × 0.732 + 8.987 = ________

2. Measure your wrist at the fullest point.

Your wrist measurement ________ ÷ 3.140 = ________

3. Measure your waist at your navel.

Your waist measurement ________ × 0.157 = ________

4. Measure your hips at the fullest point.

Your hip measurement ________ × 0.249 = ________

5. Measure your forearm at the fullest point.

Your forearm measurement ________ × 0.434 = ________

Now calculate your body fat. On your calculator:

Add the totals for 1 and 2.

Subtract the total for 3.

Subtract the total for 4.

Add the total for 5.

This number is your lean body mass (muscle, bones, organs, hair, etc.).

Subtract your lean body mass from your total weight

Total body weight ______ – lean body mass ______ = ______

This number is the weight of your body fat.

Body fat weight _____ × 100 = _____ ÷ Total body weight = _____

This number is your body fat percentage.

BODY FAT FORMULA FOR MEN

1. Step on the scale and weigh yourself.

Your body weight ________ × 1.082 + 94.42 = ________

2. Measure your waist.

Your waist measurement ________ × 4.15 = ________

Now calculate your body fat. On your calculator:

Subtract the total for 2 from the total for 1.

Measurement 1 ________ – Measurement 2 = ________

This number is your lean body mass.

Subtract your lean body mass from your total weight.

Total body weight _____ – lean body mass _____ = _____

This number is the weight of your body fat

Body fat weight ____ × 100 = ____ ÷ Total body weight = ____

This number is your body fat percentage.

Body Fat Basics

There are some basic rules about body fat. It is stored within fat cells. You are born with a certain number of those fat cells, which you essentially inherited from your ancestors. Those with ancestors from Northern Europe inherit more fat cells than those who are descended from people nearer to the equator. Until the end of pu- berty, you can grow even more fat cells. After puberty, you will not grow any more fat cells, but the cells you have will either grow or shrink. Any given fat cell can grow to be as large as your head or shrink so small that several dozen could fit on the head of a pin. You have and need a small percentage of fat. If you pinch the skin on the top of your hand (as opposed to your love handles or “saddle bags”) you can clearly see what “enough” means. For women, this minimal amount is 12 to 15 percent of your total body weight; for men, it is about 5 percent. Very fit and highly trained people can achieve these low percentages, but it is much more reasonable for women to be closer to the 20 percent range. Dip far below this and you might experience a loss of menstrual cycle, hair loss, and/or a loss of bone density. Men can strive for a healthy 12 to 14 percent. Body fat exists for your survival and should be thought of much like a reserve tank of fuel. It prevents starvation, and this starvation protection mechanism is hardwired into your system. To eliminate body fat, you need to outthink your nat- ural starvation protection mechanism.

Outthink Your Body

Your starvation protection mechanism is a primal system to ensure your survival. This system regulates what and how much energy to release to maintain your most basic bodily functions. The only tool this complex system uses is the regulation of body fat. In times of extreme hardship when there are prolonged periods without food, your body’s starvation protection mechanism works overtime—it stores almost every nutrient you eat within fat cells for later use. It then conserves all the energy it can and uses the barest minimum to keep your heart beating and your lungs breathing. This primal survival system has no idea that it is living in the twenty-first century. It does not know that food is as close as the nearest drive-thru window and that going without food does not equate to starvation. When you go for long periods without food, all this primal system knows is that you are not being taken care of. Your body equates not eating regularly with danger. When it experiences danger, it stores all it can within fat cells and releases very little of what is held in those cells. If you are not eating enough food for an extended period of time, something even more significant will occur. Your body needs energy, and you require energy to perform any activity. So when the starvation protection mechanism senses danger, it goes into survival mode and shuts down fat cells. If and when you do eat, most of these nutrients get stored within fat cells. Aside from fueling enough energy for heart and lung functions, this mechanism will not let any fat out of these cells. But you still need to walk from here to there or do whatever you have to do to get some food. That energy needs to come from someplace. Your body can easily consume body tissue to get these essential nutrients to fuel your activity. In the body’s starvation mode, muscle tissue, organ tissue, and brain tissue are literally cannibalized to provide you with the fuel you need. When most people go on a diet, they do not lose fat; they lose random weight. Approximately one-third of your weight on the scale is water, and most diets and diet products are simply diuretics. If you see products that say you can lose 10 pounds in 48 hours, this kind of water weight is exactly what you will lose. Diet centers and fad diets, however, will reduce your food (caloric) intake, and will do so to such a drastic extent that your body will think it is starving. If the diet is ex- treme—and most are—you will step on the scale and see that you have lost weight. But that weight loss will be water, muscle, and bone, but very little if any fat loss. When you can outsmart your natural fat storage system, you can naturally and effectively eliminate stored fat. To do this, you need to eat regularly and often. Most people make two serious mistakes: they wait too long to eat, activating the starvation alarm, or they eat too much, activating the fat storage system. This re- sults in the body storing almost all of what we eat as body fat because it fears star- vation. To reduce fat, your starvation protection device needs to be lulled into a sense of security. This is accomplished by eating a small snack-size meal every 2½ to 3 hours at approximately the same times every day. When this becomes a regular pattern—after two weeks or so—your body will begin to trust that it does not have to be on alert because there are no danger signs of shortage or starvation. When the starvation protection device relaxes sufficiently, it will begin releasing the nutri- ents stored within your fat cells, since they are no longer needed to ensure your survival. Eating small snack-size meals at regular intervals is key, but to attain the Holly- wood body in the shortest amount of time, you must choose what to eat carefully and thoughtfully.

Combining Proteins and Carbohydrates

During the digestive process, the molecular structure of food is broken down into smaller and smaller bits until these bits are small enough to pass through the intestinal wall and are released into the bloodstream. Once set free into the blood- stream, they can be used by the parts of the body that need them most. Your body ultimately derives amino acids from eating protein. Amino acids feed lean muscle. The less fatty the protein, the more efficiently your lean muscle can utilize the amino acids. When carbohydrates are digested, they are ultimately broken down into sugar or glucose. You need a certain amount of glucose to keep the body functioning prop- erly, but when there is too much glucose in the bloodstream, it will cause a hor- mone called insulin to be secreted. Insulin has one job: to take out all the extra glu- cose in the bloodstream and store it within the fat cells just in case it is needed in the future. Once nutrients are stored away in fat cells the body is very reluctant to part with what it has stored. It is therefore your primary objective not to flood the bloodstream with too much glucose. When choosing a carbohydrate, you will want to eat something that takes a long period of time to break apart in the digestive process, and you will find these foods listed in this chapter as primary carbohydrate selections. Because the molecular chains of these particular carbohydrates are difficult to break apart, glucose is re- leased into the bloodstream slowly over a longer period of time. The more difficulty the body has in breaking apart the molecular chain of the carbohydrate, the higher the carbohydrate will appear on the list. I am certain you know what fat is. Fat is butter, oil, lard—the stuff that hangs over your belt, the stuff you want less of. Fat is essential for the body. However, al- most every living organism on the planet contains some fat, so it is not necessary to add any extra fat to your food. When cooking, you should try to eliminate most, if not all, of the fat you can. Unfortunately, fat does add to the taste of food, so if you are going to add it, add it by the drop and not by the spoonful or cupful.

Portion Size

For any given meal, first decide which source of protein you will be eating, then determine the carbohydrate choice and corresponding portion size. If you want to rid yourself of fat, the portion size of your protein should be approximately the size of your palm. If you want to maintain your present weight, your protein portion should be the size of your palm extended to first joint of your fingers. If you would like to gain muscle mass, your protein portion should be the size of your hand. You will find a food list in this chapter that outlines which protein choices are best. Good proteins are found in protein powder, egg whites, most fish, skinless chicken breast, and turkey breast. These proteins have little inherent fat and are absorbed most effectively by your body’s digestive system. Secondary protein choices should be cut or very sparingly selected in your nutri- tional program. They include choice cuts of beef that are highly marbled, pork products, sausages, processed meats, cold cuts, duck, goose, lamb, and cheese. All of these secondary choices contain a higher proportion of fat and are not ab- sorbed as effectively by the digestive system. After your two-week initiation phase (described in chapter 6), you will combine your foods in a specific manner. Based on your choice of protein, you will then determine which carbohydrate and how much of that carbohydrate you should have. For instance, if you choose to eat one item from the list of primary protein selections, you can have twice that amount from the list of primary carbohydrate selections or the exact same-size portion of secondary carbohydrate selections. If you are eating a skinless chicken breast, you can have twice the amount of steamed cauliflower (a 1:2 ratio), or the same-size portion of rice, potato, bread, or pasta (a 1:1 ratio). If you choose to eat a secondary source of protein, you can have the same amount of a good carbohydrate or half that amount of a secondary carbo- hydrate. If you choose to eat a fatty protein such as beef pot roast, you can eat that same portion size of steamed vegetables or half the portion size of your protein in pasta. In addition, there are a number of free foods that do not count toward the equation, and you may have as much of them as you like if you are still hungry.

PRIMARY PROTEIN SELECTIONS

Chicken breast (not processed) - Cottage cheese (low-or nonfat) - Egg substitutes - Egg whites - Fat-free cheese Fish (any) - Lean ground beef (15 percent fat or lower) - Mock chicken or mock duck - Protein powder (whey) Shellfish (any) Soy burger - Soy hot dog - Soy sausage - Tempeh - Tofu - Turkey breast (not processed) All others = secondary protein selection, which includes higher-fat red meats and poultry

PRIMARY CARBOHYDRATE SELECTIONS

Artichokes - Chickpeas - Mushrooms - Asparagus - Dried beans (any) - Navy beans - Bok choy - Eggplant - Pinto beans - Broccoli - Green beans - Red beans - Brussels sprouts - Kale - Soy beans - Butter beans - Kidney beans - Spinach - Cabbage - Lentils - Squash - Cauliflower - Lima beans - Zucchini - Starches - Brown rice - Egg noodles - Apples Grapefruit Plums - Apricots (dried) -Oranges Prunes - Berries (all) - Peaches - Tomatoes - Cherries - Pears - Dairy Nonfat yogurt with fruit and sugar substitute

Nonfat plain yogurt with sugar substitute

Nonfat fruit-flavored yogurt with sugar

FREE FOODS

Celery - Cucumber - Crystal Light - Garlic - Jicama - Kohlrabi - Lemon juice - Lettuce (iceberg, romaine, butter lettuce, endive, radicchio) - Lime juice - Mustard - Peppers - Radishes - Salsa - Sugar-free ice tea - Sugar-free instant cocoa - Sugar-free Jell-O - Sugar-free popsicles - Sugar-free sodas - Vinegar

There are a number of ways that you can play with the 1:1/1:2 model. If you choose an excellent protein source and are craving a piece of bread, you can fit it into your meal in the following way: Look at the portion of protein on your plate. Divide that surface area in half. That will be the portion of your bread. You can have the same-size portion of primary carbohydrates, and you will have completed the 1:2 meal. I know it is really more like the 1:1½ meal, but you got the bread and you didn’t make yourself crazy. Still hungry? A small tossed salad is a free food; it does not count and is not part of the equation unless you have croutons or add a dress- ing other than vinegar, lemon, or a little salsa. So you might have a chicken breast, some vegetables, a little bread, and a salad. That is a really nice meal, and you wouldn’t feel like you were suffering if you did this five times a day. If you choose a secondary protein, simply have the same-size portion of primary carbohydrates or half that protein portion size of a secondary carbohydrate choice. Easy, right?

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mikeyd1986 · 5 years

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MIKEY’S PERSONAL BLOG 160, June 2019

On Queen’s Birthday Public Holiday, I had a few plans on how to spend my day off as my usual appointment and Creative Writing class weren’t on today due to the public holiday. However, I did none of them. I literally had minimal energy and motivation to do much of anything. Part of me felt like I was wasting my day away but I honestly think I needed the day to slow down and recover at home. There’s nothing wrong with having a lazy day sometimes.

On Queen’s Birthday night, I attended my Boxing class at CinFull Fitness in Narre Warren South. If I achieved nothing else, at least I took myself out of the house for this class. It’s actually amazing what exercise can do for you not just physically but mentally and emotionally too. I think I’ve spent far too long wanting to fit in within a gym environment that now I’m learning to simply embrace myself good and bad. Like being introverted and not saying much, these things don’t make me a bad person but a different person.

Tonight I tried hard not to get caught up in my head as much, to not overthink or worry about what’s happening around me. From being the outsider looking in to actually “feeling” like I’m a part of this group has been a slow transition but I’m getting there. It’s true that I put far too much pressure on myself to be socially included in groups such as these but I can’t help it. I just need to simply be mindful and focus on the moment. Time to pull myself out of this black hole of depression and get myself better again.

It was another challenging yet fun workout with lots of drills, combos and partner work plus a few rounds of doing squat presses and push ups (20 seconds on, 10 seconds off) which were a killer. Struggling during a movement and being profusely sweaty are also things that I’m learning to accept because that implies I’m trying very hard. I may not hit as powerfully as some of the others but that really doesn’t matter. It’s important to focus on my own technique and my own workout. I’m not Muhammad Ali, nor do I need to be.

On Tuesday morning, I went to see Dr. David Tai Kie at First Health Medical Centre Casey Central to discuss the results from my sleep study. He printed out a two-page report with lots of charts and graphs on it. I got the following results:

Epworth Sleepiness Scale score: 11 (mild excessive daytime sleepiness)

Time available for sleep (lights out) = 505 minutes or 8.41 hours Total Sleep: 266 minutes or 4.43 hours Total time awake during sleep period: 138 minutes or 2.3 hours Sleep Latency: 99 minutes or 1.65 hours REM Latency: 338 minutes or 5.63 hours Sleep Efficiency: 52.7% Total Arousals: 4.7 Total Snores: 14.9

They also provided the following summary and recommendations: Sleep efficiency was reduced at 52.7% and sleep latency was prolonged, in keeping with patient’s known history of insomnia. Only one brief period of REM sleep occurred towards the end of the sleep study. There was no significant snoring nor OSA present, although sleep occurred predominantly in non-supine positions and results may be underestimated. For follow-up with private sleep physician. https://www.philips.com.au/healthcare/consumer/sleep-apnea/diagnosis/understanding-results

My next step would be to follow up with my psychiatrist Dr. Ricardo Peralta and possibly another sleep physician such as Dr. Joy Sha who conducted the study. Hopefully with these results I can get some useful advice and recommendations in order to improve my sleep.

On Thursday morning, I went to a Body Pump class with Natalie Blanch at YMCA Casey RACE in Cranbourne East. Today was my first time using the new Les Mills Smartbar. For some reason, I always seem to associate anything that’s new and unfamiliar with being daunted and uncertain. But these bars were actually fairly straight forward to use. The square-shaped weight plates literally slide and click into place on the ends and can easily be released and changed over by pulling the red-release button. https://www.lesmills.com.au/sites/all/files/pdf/Smart-Tech-Brochure.pdf

Today we ended up doing release number 95 which features tracks such as Outside by Calvin Harris featuring Ellie Goulding, Uptown Funk by Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars, Irresistible by Fall Out Boy, I Am Machine by Three Days Grace and Sugar by Maroon 5. A very tough and challenging release especially with the Lunges, Overhead Power Presses, Tricep Dips and Push-ups plus very quick transitions between exercises. No wonder I was feeling sore and exhausted by the time we got up to the core track. I was literally ready to collapse. But as always, Nat made the class fun and entertaining which made it all worth it. https://mybodypumpjourney.wordpress.com/tag/body-pump-95-tracklist/

“So when the sun is coming up and you go. And there's still so many things you don't know. Don't you look back, I've no doubt that I will see you on the road.. When the world's laying you low. Why don't you let me carry your load? When things get bad you know you have a friend. All along the road.” Keane - On The Road (2012)

“And everyone else has got things sorted out. You stand on the edge talking to yourself. Yeah you're left behind, all tangled up inside. And it's the voices in your head now. Saying there's something wrong about the way I feel. A broken link, a missing part, a punctured wheel.” Keane - The Way I Feel (2019)

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imjustthemechanic · 6 years

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The French Mistake

Part 1/? - A Visitor Part 2/? - The Kulturhistorisk Museum Heist Part 3/? - Cutscene Part 4/? - The Marvel Cinematic Universe Part 5/? - Breathless Part 6/? - Escape at Last Part 7/? - Fox in Socks Part 8/? - Things Go Wrong Part 9/? - Downey and Out Part 10/? - Road Trip Part 11/? - Temptation Part 12/? - An Awful Reunion Part 13/? - Unreality Intrudes Part 14/? - A Call for Help Part 15/? - Loki’s Guests Part 16/? - Stan Lee Cameo Part 17/? - Reassessment Part 18/? - Midnight Invasion Part 19/? - Elevator Fight Part 20/? - Courage Part 21/? - Unwelcome Back Part 22/? - Darkest Hour Part 23/? - They Are Here Part 24/? - The Jet Propulsion Laboratory Part 25/? - Word of God Part 26/? - Avengers Assembled Part 27/? - The Houston Underground Part 28/? - Houston has a Problem Part 29/? - Onward and Upward Part 30/? - The Chi’Tauri Queen Part 31/? - Through the Wormhole

I’d hate to disappoint kiralamouse.

The first plan that occurred to Steve was the self-sacrificing wanker one – he could crash the Leviathan. That would probably kill them all, but it would take the queen with them…

That wasn’t what they were trying to accomplish here, though. Their whole purpose was to get back home alive. There was self-sacrificing, and then there was self-defeating.

Suddenly something moved on the console. The screen Steve had been using to navigate shrank into a corner, and another open popped up. This was the point of view of one of the remaining soldiers, and it was looking at a tablet, being held up by a terrified NASA employee.

The image was of Ochoa, standing in front of a metal door that Steve recognized as the same type in the tunnels of the Houston underground. She was still filthy and sweaty, but she had washed her face and was standing up tall, with Colleen and Kevin on each side of her.

“This is Ellen Ochoa, director of the Johnson Space Center,” she said, “and I have a message for you, visitors from space. You said we have no heroes, but you made two big mistakes. The first was assuming we can’t make our own wormholes. It just so happens that Dr. Kevin Farinas here is one of the world’s experts.” Next to her, Kevin held up her drawing of the inner workings of her wormhole machine. They did look very technical and impressive. “You may have some of the Avengers,” Ochoa went on, “but we have the rest!”

The metal door behind her rolled up, and a group of figures stepped out. They were brilliantly backlit and at first it wasn’t possible to see anything but their silhouettes, but those were in themselves familiar. The stuntmen representing Steve, Thor, and Natasha were not there, but Elizabeth Olsen was, and Jeremy Renner, and Colonel Rhodes, whose actor’s name Steve hadn’t caught. Spiderman was there – that must be Donny – and Sebastian Stan, dressed as Bucky complete with a special sleeve to represent his mechanical arm, and Pietro, who must have arrived late but there he was, alive and whole. And finally, Bob Downey, dressed in a tailored suit and red sunglasses that were perfectly Tony Stark. He stepped up beside Ochoa and took the glasses off.

“That second mistake she mentioned?” he said. “That was assuming we wouldn’t come for our team-mates. Avengers,” he turned and pointed at the others. “Assemble!”

With that, the video was over.

It would never work, Steve thought. Even with the re-write, the Chi’Tauri would know now that it was a bluff, a distraction. Just for a split second, however, the queen stopped, staring at the screen and trying to figure out what importance to attach to it.

A split second was all Natasha needed. She kicked out and hit the pink gem on the queen’s belt. The force field protecting her flickered and died. Loki grabbed the end of the staff weapon the queen had taken from him, its shaft still in her hand, and set it off. The bolt went right through her arm, severing it at the shoulder. She shrieked and dropped Thor and Natasha, and Loki jammed the muzzle end of the weapon into the bloody stump and fired again, directly into the queen’s flesh. This shot went right through her and out the other side, spattering Thor with blue-black gore, and the queen collapsed. Steve had to dive out of the way to avoid her massive body coming down on top of him. Natasha rolled under the console and curled up, preparing to be crushed.

The corpse hit the console, slid a bit, and pushed against the control stick. The Leviathan rolled over and went into a dive.

Steve dragged himself upright again and tried to push her off. Thor, on the other side, attempted to pull. Natasha, trapped under the edge of the console, joined Steve in pushing, and after a moment Loki dropped the staff weapon and did as well.

“You cannot blame me for breaking this!” Thor said.

“Don’t you two dare start!” Natasha ordered.

Warnings blared all around them as they dropped, but the queen’s body was literally dead weight, and it refused to move. Steve could barely believe this was happening. He felt as if he were outside himself, watching this all go on in slow motion from a million miles away. They couldn’t have survived everything so far, from the movie set to ruining their alternates’ lives and careers to fighting the Chi’Tauri, only to die in a stupid, stupid accident only moments after they’d won.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the screen with the starfield on it. There was an icon in the corner like a pulsating circle, spinning end over end. They had nothing to lose now – no harm in experimenting. He reached up and touched the icon.

It shrank to a point and vanished, and there was a flash of light. A blue sizzle passed through the cockpit of the Leviathan, bringing with it a prickling sensation and a metallic taste in the mouth, and then suddenly they were weightless.

Zero gravity was not a sensation Steve had felt before, and it was a deeply disorienting one. His gut told him he was falling, but the air around him was perfectly still. Loki, who’d still been pushing on the queen, was thrust backwards by his own efforts and set spinning in the air. Thor, pulling from the other side, could no longer keep his feet on the ground, and grabbed the queen’s arm to keep from floating away. Natasha squirmed out from under the console and hung there in midair, waving away globs of dark blue blood that were now floating freely.

“I think I just activated the wormhole,” Steve told her.

“Oh, really?” she asked, her face perfectly, sarcastically neutral.

“Yes,” Steve said. “As a matter of fact.”

The star map screen had now grown larger, to take the place of the front view. Steve couldn’t identify any of the stars they were seeing, but he wondered…

“Do you think we’re back in our own universe?” he asked.

“We’re certainly not back in our own bodies,” Loki observed.

Like the rest of them, the body of the queen was now floating gently, leaving the controls once again accessible. Steve took the column and flew the Leviathan in a wide arc, hoping for a look at what was behind them. He was out of the habit of formal prayer, but in the back of his mind he was murmuring please, God, please… please let him find himself looking down at Earth. His own Earth, where he was, or had once been, Captain America.

Stars rolled by.

Steve’s hopes sank slowly. It looked like there was nothing out here… just the black void in all directions. Then he realized that stars were winking out in one part of the view, and back in a moment later… there was an object there. Multiple objects. Multiple big, dark, symmetrical objects, floating out there in space.

The Leviathan’s computer recognized them. Outlines appeared on the screen of giant ships with smaller companions, and Steve realized they were looking at an entire armada. There were at least six of the big vessels and too many of the small ones to properly count… and here were Steve and the others with their one relatively tiny ship, in bodies that had barely survived four Chi’Tauri. Who knew how many thousands more were waiting for them out here.

Stark had said that he’d seen what was coming on the other side of the wormhole over New York. Was this it? No wonder the man was scared to death. Scared enough to do anything, even try to use the Mind Stone, if he thought it might save the world from this.

“Steve,” said Natasha, her voice calm but wavering very slightly, “whatever you just did, I think it would be a good idea if you did it again backwards.”

“What if we crash into the ground?” asked Steve.

“Then I guess we crash into the ground,” said Nat.

He reached for the circle icon, which had reappeared in the corner of the screen, but then suddenly the starfield flicked back to being a side image rather than a focus, and a different screen took its place. This one was for communication, and it showed another Chi’Tauri queen even more ornately armored than the last one, draped with metallic cloth and, Steve realized a moment later, much, much bigger. The tips of staves were visible on either side of her, and the tops of guards’ heads that barely came up to her waist. She was nearly twenty feet tall.

Steve and Natasha, Loki and Thor all pulled themselves off to the sides or ducked under the edge of the console, hoping they would not be seen. Perhaps they were not, but there was nowhere to hide the dead body of the smaller queen. It was plainly visible, floating inertly along with its own severed arm.

Other screens lit up, and Steve heard noises as machinery came to life. The bigger queen vanished again and the star map returned, but this time it had a blinking crosshair on an outer corner of the nearest mother ship. For a moment they seemed to be standing still, and then Steve saw a few more stars vanish behind the outlines. They were moving towards the armada.

The group exchanged some glances. They were all injured to various degrees, beaten and bruised and exhausted. Nobody felt capable of another fight.

Loki reached out and retrieved the staff weapon, which was floating nearby. He checked it, and then nodded. “Still has a charge,” he said.

“Thor,” said Natasha. “Let’s get some more weapons.”

“I’ll see if I can disengage the autopilot again,” said Steve.

He’d done that before just by pushing hard enough on the steering column, so he tried it again. It was much more difficult now. In the lack of gravity he couldn’t push against the floor, so when he tried to rotate the controls he ended up rotating himself. He had to tuck his knees under the edge of the console for leverage, and then pushed as hard as he could, but it did nothing. The mother ship had control and was not going to relinquish it.

Thor and Natasha returned, and Nat handed Steve a plasma rifle. It was, as Loki had discovered on the ground, surprisingly heavy. If Steve had been fighting humans, he would have wanted to use it as a club rather than a gun. His arm was just barely long enough to reach the firing mechanism inside, and he understood why Loki had found it so awkward to aim.

“Where’s that force field switch?” asked Nat.

“Here.” Loki showed it to her, on the bottom of the device. “Just remember that it will not fire with the field activated.”

“Got it,” said Nat.

The mother ship was looming very large in the viewscreen now, like the Death Star dwarfing the Millennium Falcon. Steve wondered how big it was. It had to be at least the size of Manhattan. If one of these had come through to Earth, SHIELD’s helicarriers would have looked like mosquitos buzzing around it.

“My friends,” said Thor, “it will be an honour to die by your sides.”

“I would have counted it a greater honour not to have died at all,” Loki observed.

“Same,” said Nat.

Distant sounds echoed through the structure of the Leviathan as it docked. Steve heard metal scrape on metal, clicks and thumps of things sliding into place, and then with a final dull, reverberating clang, the gravity came back on. The queen’s body hit the cockpit floor with a sound like dropping an enormous leather coat, and Steve squeaked as he came down on his bad ankle, but quickly silenced himself again. Everybody double-checked their weapons, and Steve observed that he was proud of them – all of them, including Loki. They had no fight left in them, but they were going to keep fighting anyway.

Something below them rumbled. It must have been a door open. Perhaps it was the Leviathan’s mouth.

Heavy, leathery footsteps were heard, very loud now that the motion of the Leviathan had ceased. The ladders creaked.

The first soldier poked its head through the entrance on Steve’s left. Natasha took aim and shot it in the face. It dropped out of sight again, with a series of cries and thumps that suggested it had fallen on top of several of its fellows. A second soldier popped up on the right. Loki blasted it with the staff weapon.

The Chi’Tauri were not stupid, though – the next ones that appeared had their force fields on. That meant they couldn’t shoot, but they also couldn’t be shot, and Steve and the others would have to take them on hand-to-hand. Thor tried Steve’s move from the foyer at the Johnson Space Center, throwing himself at a Chi’Tauri’s legs to knock it down. This worked, but the next alien behind it grabbed him and held him off the floor by one leg. Loki slashed with the staff weapon’s bladed end and stabbed one Chi’Tauri in the belly, but another one wrested it from his hands with ease.

It didn’t take long, just a few desperate, panicky, painful seconds. None of them were capable of putting up a decent fight in their current state. Steve, too, was lifted off the ground. His captor snarled at him, and Steve could only hope that wherever he was now, Chris Evans would forgive him.

#fanfic #steve rogers #natasha romanov

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dramauricaversan · 5 years

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A Naturopathic Approach to Chronic Inflammation

How much do you know about treating chronic inflammation with naturopathy?

Here’s what you need to know about inflammation, how it’s connected to chronic diseases and how naturopathy can maximize good health and prevent chronic diseases.

What is Inflammation?

Inflammation is the body’s critical response to an injury, infection or stress (or a combination of all three). It works by signaling our body’s immune system to respond and repair injured and damaged tissues. An inflammatory messenger causes an injured area to have increased blood flow, bringing to this area additional nutrients and white blood cells to kick-start the healing process.

Inflammation is also in charge of blocking foreign invaders by defending the immune system from bacteria and viruses. It’s so important that without it, our wounds would get infected and our bodies would be vulnerable to deadly infections.

However, there are instances when inflammation becomes an issue. If the process of inflammation self perpetuates, this long-term inflammatory response – that could last for many months or years – can cause chronic inflammation-mediated complications.

So What is Chronic Inflammation?

Compared to acute inflammation, which is short-term, chronic inflammation can occur for a long period of time and drastically affect your body. This type of inflammation is also known as persistent low-grade inflammation since, as the name suggests, it affects the whole body with low levels of inflammation. Chronic inflammation can also play a role in the future development of diseases such as heart disease or stroke, and may also lead to autoimmune disorders, including rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, chronic pain and low quality of life.

With that, it’s important to watch out for symptoms of chronic inflammation such as the ones listed below to help prevent and reverse chronic diseases:

High blood glucose levels

Digestive problems, such as gas, diarrhea, bloating, constipation

Tired all the time

Skin problems (eczema, psoriasis, skin appears red and blotchy)

Puffy face or puffy bags under your eyes

Depression, anxiety or brain fog

What Triggers Chronic Inflammation?

First, let’s look at an on/off switch: when chronic inflammation forms, it means a switch in your immune system gets stuck to the ‘on’ setting, releasing harmful chemicals that affects the cells. (Think of a fire that never gets extinguished.) That said, some of these inflammation triggers include persistent infections, low gut health, food allergies, air pollution, nutrient deficiencies and an imbalance of omega-3s and omega-6s in your diet.

Using naturopathy to alleviate prolonged inflammation is a great first step in boosting your defense against many major diseases. Through this approach, you’re discovering the root causes of your inflammation and how you can help avoid and/or reduce it naturally.

Preventing Inflammation with Naturopathic Medicine

Naturopathy can be an ideal way to prevent or treat chronic inflammation because it encourages the body to heal itself through natural solutions. Regularly visiting a naturopathic doctor such as Dr. Amauri Caversan, ND in Toronto can help you address inflammatory triggers in your lifestyle and diet, all while building a plan to support your current and future health.

Through naturopathic medicine, you’ll discover that preventing inflammation can pay off in the long run; you’ll uncover how to restore vitality and reduce any risks for potential diseases. To get you started in your fight against inflammation, try these natural tips to cut down inflammation:

Reduce your intake of inflammatory foods. An anti-inflammatory diet may prevent or reduce inflammation, as well as any harmful effects associated with inflammation. Avoid refined carbohydrates, fried foods, sugary processed foods, and high-consumption dairy and animal products. Take note: Gut health has a distinct relationship with inflammation. Look at Leaky Gut Syndrome, for instance: undigested food and bacterial toxins leave the digestive system and move into your bloodstream; this triggers the immune system, causing ongoing inflammation. Not to mention, if pathogens get transferred into the blood, certain conditions may be triggered, including inflammatory bowel disease or rheumatoid arthritis.

Consume anti-inflammatory foods. Eat antioxidant-rich veggies and fruits, such as blueberries, kale, red cabbage and goji berries, to reduce some of the negative effects of inflammation. Consume foods with omega-3 fatty acids, like cold water fish and walnuts. Olive oil, herbal teas and ginger, rosemary and clove spices are also anti-inflammatory. Consider exploring anti-inflammatory diets such as the Mediterranean Diet. Because it stresses the importance of whole grains, good fats, fish, veggies and fruit, this diet is anti-inflammatory. The Mediterranean Diet also limits unhealthy fats (red meat, butter) and refined carbohydrates and sugars.

Control your blood sugar levels. Blood sugar spikes can be the cause of inflammation. Studies have revealed that ongoing spikes in insulin levels (due to high blood sugar levels) result in low-grade inflammation, obesity, and a resistance to insulin and higher gut permeability. An anti-inflammatory diet should be built around foods that don’t spike your blood sugar, such as lean proteins, whole foods high in fibre like vegetables, and whole grains like quinoa. And remember, limit or avoid simple carbohydrates and anything high in fructose corn syrup.

Introduce anti-inflammatory herbs into your daily regime. Studies have shown that turmeric and boswellia herbs are well-known anti-inflammatories. In some studies, turmeric has been found to be just as effective as ibuprofen when easing arthritis pain. And when you look at boswellia, it actually contains four acids that act as anti-inflammatories. Learn more about natural anti-inflammatories and pain medications here.

Avoid omega-6 fatty acids and trans fats. Did you know that when we eat a Western diet, we consume 20 times the number of omega-6s, in comparison to omega-3s? Cheaper foods, such as frozen foods, processed cakes and cookies, contain a lot of omega-6 and trans fatty acids. Unlike its healthier counterpart, which is omega-3 fatty acids found in fish oils and some nut oils, omega-6 fatty acids promote inflammation in our body. Meanwhile, omega-3 is anti-inflammatory.

Exercise regularly. Routine workouts are known to help prevent inflammation. Even a simple brisk walk and regular yoga classes can lead to a healthier status. Read more about the benefits of exercising here.

Manage stress. Much inflammation is caused by chronic stress. There are times we encounter stressful situations. We can’t always control when they happen, but we can learn how to respond to stress differently and manage our stress levels better. With that, explore meditation, yoga, acupuncture, biofeedback or guided imagery to help manage daily stressors.

Discuss IV therapy with a naturopathic doctor. Glutathione is an endogenous antioxidant and detoxifier that our body naturally makes. However, it’s been shown that stress, toxins and many health conditions are affiliated with depleted glutathione levels. Your body cannot properly absorb glutathione when you consume oral glutathione supplements, but IV therapy can help restore this antioxidant’s levels. IV glutathione treatments may help your body fight oxidative stress. In fact, your body may be protected from oxidative damage when you maintain normal glutathione levels. In some health conditions, including cancer, rheumatoid arthritis and diabetes, there is a link between low glutathione levels and high oxidative stress. Most of all, glutathione IV therapy may help control inflammation. In a 2009 study published in Autoimmunity Reviews, it was demonstrated that glutathione helps control inflammation by promoting or inhibiting immunological responses.

Customize your health plan now to support your well-being on a long-term basis. As a naturopathic doctor in Toronto, Dr. Amauri Caversan can help you identify and address potential inflammatory triggers within your diet and lifestyle. You may also inquire about how IV therapy can help reduce your inflammation. Click here to book your appointment at Dr. Amauri Wellness Centre.

Recommended Reading: Hormonal Imbalances and Menopause: Why You Should See Your Naturopathic Doctor in Toronto

References

Chen, Linlin & Deng, Huidan & Cui, Hengmin & Fang, Jing & Zuo, Zhicai & Deng, Junliang & Li, Yinglun & Wang, Xun & Zhao, Ling. (2015). “Inflammatory responses and inflammation-associated diseases in organs.” Oncotarget. 9. 10.18632/oncotarget.23208.

Eom, T., Kim, Y.S., Choi, C.H., Sadowsky, M.J., and Unno, T. 2018. “Current understanding of microbiota- and dietary-therapies for treating inflammatory bowel disease.” J. Microbiol. 56, 189–198.

Exner R, Wessner B, Manhart N, and Roth E. “Therapeutic potential of glutathione.” Wien Klin Wochenschr 112: 610–616, 2000.

Hemraj B. Dodiya, Christopher B. Forsyth, Robin M. Voigt, Phillip A. Engen, Jinal Patel, Maliha Shaikh, Stefan J. Green, Ankur Naqib, Avik Roy, Jeffrey H. Kordower, Kalipada Pahan, Kathleen M. Shannon, Ali Keshavarzian,“Chronic stress-induced gut dysfunction exacerbates Parkinson’s disease phenotype and pathology in a rotenone-induced mouse model of Parkinson’s disease,” Neurobiology of Disease, 2018,

ISSN 0969-9961, http://bit.ly/2UUethi.

Ferrucci L, Fabbri E. “Inflammageing: chronic inflammation in ageing, cardiovascular disease, and frailty.” Nat Rev Cardiol. 2018;15(9):505–522. doi:10.1038/s41569-018-0064-2

Rajendran, P, Chen, Y‐F, Chen, Y‐F, et al. “The multifaceted link between inflammation and human diseases.” J Cell Physiol. 2018; 233: 6458– 6471. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcp.26479

Tsoupras, Alexandros; Lordan, Ronan; Zabetakis, Ioannis. 2018. “Inflammation, not Cholesterol, Is a Cause of Chronic Disease.” Nutrients 10, no. 5: 604.

A Naturopathic Approach to Chronic Inflammation first published via Dr. Amauri Caversan

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