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skzsauce01 · 4 years

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42nd Moon Pt 3

Description: By some stroke of luck, you get off the waitlist of your biology class. You’d never have guessed you’d find your soulmate there, let alone that he already has a girlfriend... Or that he comes from a fraternity of werewolves.

Warning: none

Word count: 3k

Pairing: werewolf!Jisung x fem!reader, werewolf!Hyunjin x fem!reader

A/N: Extra long chapter with lots of fluff! Stay inside while reading please!

Chapter List

Despite your every effort to give up on Hyunjin, it still hurts to see him and Jiyoung on the couch, noses touching and legs entangled.

You clutch the strap of your bag even tighter and will your feet to walk past the fraternity’s common room. You are here with a mission, and Hyunjin is not part of any of it.

At last, you make your way around the maze that is the Mu Alpha Theta house and find the door leading to your destination. You raise your fist and knock twice.

A whimper comes from the other side, so you ease the door open. Inside, you find a silver wolf lying limply on the rug.

“Goodness, Jisung!” you exclaim, running to his side. “Have you even eaten?”

He lets out another sad noise and moves only to rest his overheating muzzle on your lap.

You give him a few pats before pulling out a thermos from your bag. You open it and scoop out some of its contents with a spoon.

“Open,” you tell him.

He does so wearily and you turn the spoon over on his tongue. Jisung mulls over the food for a few seconds before his eyes light up at the taste. He sits up, wraps his teeth over the container, and tilts it back in successions to consume its contents. When he finishes, he hands you back your container and boops your arm with his nose as thanks before collapsing back onto the ground.

You laugh at his pup-ish antics and lean over to scratch his ears. That is when you hear it.

“Hyunjin-ah,” a feminine voice from outside giggles.

“Shh,” comes an equally cheery male voice. “You’re gonna wake up Jisung.”

“Whatever,” she titters. “I love you~”

“I love you too, Sweetcakes.”

Jisung feels your hand grow tense, and he lets out a whimper of concern.

His noise pulls your thoughts back to the current situation. “Ah sorry. It seems like getting over your soulmate’s a little harder than anticipated, but I’ll be fine,” you reassure him.

Jisung grunts, unconvinced.

“Hyunjin, stop it~”

You freeze up again. You can hear your increasing heart rate pounding in your head

“You really want me to?”

Giggles.

Jisung growls and gets on all fours, prepared to head towards the door to confront his fraternity brother.

“No wait, Jisung stop,” you beg, standing between him and the door. “It’s not our business to interfere. I’ve already made my decision, so there isn’t any reason why you need to go out there.”

He narrows his eyes at you and circles you a few times, ultimately forcing you back to the center of his room.

“Ji-”

You yelp in surprise as he gives your ankle a small nip, causing you to trip backwards. Instead of meeting the hard ground, you land in a pile of silver fur as Jisung nuzzles up next to you, trying to comfort your aching heart.

When you finally realize what he is attempting, you smile to yourself and bring a hand up to continue petting him. Jisung lets out a low noise of content. You let his deep breathing drown out the commotion outside, and before long, it has lulled you to sleep.

“Hi Y/N, Hyunjin,” Jisung greets as he forcibly wedges himself between the two of you and the conversation you were having. “Did you wait long?”

“No,” you answer, letting him take your bag from you. “We’re also waiting for Jiyoung anyway.”

“Her club meeting ended at 10:30. She’ll be here soon,” Hyunjin informs you two.

“Just don’t forget the rule,” Jisung says mockingly to his friend.

Hyunjin grunts and gives the shorter male a shove.

You turn to look at the entrance of Jolly Land expectantly. The two boys each won a pair of tickets to the amusement park in a school event and decided to invite you and Jiyoung. Just then, the other girl comes running and waving at the three of you.

“Hi!” she greets cheerily. “Sorry for the wait!”

Jisung steps in front of your view as she kisses Hyunjin on the cheek. "So to the park then?"

"Yeah!" Jiyoung chirps, taking Hyunjin by the arm and leading him to the front gates.

"Ew," Jisung comments jokingly.

You shrug. "It's kind of cute though."

Jisung turns his head to the side to look at you. You yourself have your eyes trained on the couple.

"Do you, um." Jisung cuts himself off. "N-nevermind."

You blink at him, curious. "What?"

“Nevermind!” he insists with scarlett cheeks.

You don’t think much of his words and go after your other friends. Once inside, a mascot greets the two of you.

“Hello there! I’m Jolly Quokka. Welcome to Jolly Land!”

“Aha thanks,” Jisung says awkwardly.

You, on the other hand, is staring starry-eyed at the giant quokka in front of you.

“Let’s take a picture together to commemorate your date!” it suggests.

“Oh, we’re not--”

“You two are so cute! You know, couples get free matching Quokka headbands! So, how long have you two been together?”

“It’s our first date!” you announce, grabbing Jisung’s hand.

The male looks at you with incredulous eyes. He can feel heat spreading across his face and to his ears.

“Adorable!” coos Jolly Quokka. “Then we most definitely have to take a picture!”

After taking the photo and Jisung being scammed into buying one, the two of you are freed to enjoy your day.

“Sorry for doing that,” you apologize once you are away from Jolly. You let go of Jisung’s hand, leaving him feeling dreadfully cold.

“I-it’s fine.” He clears his throat. “You really like Jolly Quokka don’t you?”

You bring a hand up to touch your new head band. “Yeah… it’s really cute, don’t you think?”

You’re cuter. He clears his throat again. “Well um… I guess these mark us as a couple for the rest of the day, then.”

You frown. “Does it bother you? I just wanted the headband. We can take them off for the day if you want.”

“I-it’s fine. We can keep them on. W-why don’t we, um…” He huffs a sigh, still unable to finish what he was suggesting earlier

“Pretend to be a couple for the day?” you finish for him.

“Y-yeah! I mean, there’s so many couples everywhere; I feel left out!” he blabbers before letting out a sigh and hanging his head. “Nevermind,” he says again. “It’s a stupid idea.”

"No, it's not it's not stupid. Jolly Quokka said there’s a lot of couple events today, so this could be a good opportunity to check them out. That is, only if you don’t mind either."

Oh, Jisung would be delighted. "I d-don't mind." He clears his throat and looks down at your hand. He swallows a lump in and reclaims it.

You intertwine your digit with his, and Jisung almost pees his pants.

Three rides and a bag of cotton candy later, Jisung is still swinging your hands between you two. His steps are light, clearly enjoying himself.

“What next?” he asks.

A voice over the speakers booms before you can answer. “Step on up, couples of Jolly Land!”

You turn towards the noise and see an event happening on a nearby stage. “Best Couple of Jolly Land Competition” the banner reads.

“How about that?” you point. “They say first prize gets an XL Jolly Quokka stuffed animal!”

Jisung’s stomach does a gymnastics routine upon reading some of the events on the banner, but seeing the excitement in your eyes, he is not about to say no to you. “S-sure.”

You frown at his hesitance. “Do you not want to? I understand since I’m not your real--”

“It’s fine!” Jisung cuts you off loudly. “I want to do it. I really, really want to!” He drags you onto stage, snarling every time you suggest that your participations are not in his best interest.

The two of you compete against other couples in various games like trust fall and three-legged race. You are doing pretty well and only one more game awaits.

“And the last game is a game I’m sure you all are familiar with,” announces the MC before whipping out a snack from his coat. “The pepero game!”

The rules are simple: the pair with the shortest cookie left wins but they are not allowed to touch lips. To ensure the last part, one partner is given blue lipstick and the other is given red. Any of your color on your partner’s face results in disqualification.

Jisung feels his hands growing clammy as he watches you rip open the package. Your faces are going to be just millimeters apart! Jisung wants to faint, but at the same time, he would give up his tail just to have this opportunity. Goodness, he really wants to kiss you. How can he not when you’re so innocently lifting up the chocolate stick to his mouth with your own?

“Ready?” calls the MC. “Go, Peppero!”

The fifteen seconds allotted for this game is not enough for Jisung to overcome his internal conflict. All he can think about is making purple with you, but he knows how much you want to win this game, and he isn’t sure you would appreciate the action. Somehow, for reasons beknownst to Jisung, a sly hand manages to slide on its own onto the small of your back, flushing you against him as he tilts his head 30° to the right, leaning closer, and closer, and--

“--and time!” calls the MC.

You bite off your end of the stick and step back from Jisung, smiling in content at your progress.

The MC reads off the lengths of some other couples’ peperos until he gets to yours. “1.8 cm!” he exclaims. “That puts you two in first place for this round, and with your scores from the other games, you two are the best couple of Jolly Land!”

“We did it!” you burst with glee.

The MC guides you two to the center of the stage to celebrate your win. Jisung spots some guys with their girlfriends’ color on their faces and pouts. Who’s the real winner here? Not him, apparently.

“So congratulations!” the MC says again. “How are you feeling?”

“Great,” you respond, hugging your new plushy against your chest. “I really like Jolly Quokka; it’s so cute.”

“You know, Jolly Quokka’s cheeks make it look kind of like your boyfriend, don’t they?” he jokes.

“Yeah,” you agree, pinching Jolly’s cotton face. “He’s cute too.”

Jisung immediately snaps out of his sulking and looks at you with round eyes in disbelief of what he had just heard. How many times are you going to make his heart jolt like this today?

The MC laughs and comments about how adorable the two of you are. “And what do you think about your girlfriend?” he asks Jisung.

“She’s cute of course,” he answers easily. “And pretty and funny and smart.” He bore his eyes into yours as he speaks, hoping you’d feel his sincerity.

After another handful of rides, night falls and the two of you are standing behind some metal railings, waiting for the parade.

“Look! There it is!” you exclaim, squishing Jolly as you lean against the railing for a better look.

Jisung follows your finger to see a couple of people in quokka costumes twirling batons.

“The MC earlier was right,” you chuckle. “Maybe you should join the parade; you look just like a quokka.”

He swings one of his arms behind you, grabbing the railing from the other side and leans towards your ear. “But that makes me ‘cute,’ right?” he teases.

You blush, realizing how your words sound. “Please forget I said that.”

“Why? I like it; it’s flattering.”

“It’s embarrassing!”

“It’s cute. Like me.”

“Oh, shut up.”

He laughs and you turn your attention back to the parade. Despite the amount of people, the night time wind is slowly slipping under your skin. You clutch Jolly a little closer to yourself to block some of it, but still, you can’t help but shiver.

Almost as soon as you start shaking, you feel a weight on your shoulder as Jisung places his jacket around you.

“You’ll get cold!” you protest, trying to give his sweater back.

He blatantly refuses it. “All the boyfriends give their girlfriends their jackets; it’s in the movies.”

“But they don’t show the boyfriend catching a cold afterwards, which is what you’re going to get.”

“It’s okay cause you’d take care of me, right?” he rebuttals cheekily. “And you’ll make that stew like you did last time?”

“I can make you stew without you getting sick.”

“Really?” he laughs, rearranging the garment on your shoulders, “I’m holding you to it then.”

“You better not get sick,” you pout.

Ah, your pout is so adorable, Jisung can’t help but stare at it. He keeps staring even as another part of the parade passes by, making your lips part in animation at the colorful lights. Jisung is not interested in the decorated carts or drum-playing children. To be honest, he has only been able to concentrate on one thing ever since that pepero game.

The urge is so strong, and your lips are so plump, so red, so inviting.

“Y/N…” he begins, his voice barely a raspy whisper. “C-can I… can I--”

He realizes then that you aren’t hearing his words. He looks to your eyes and finds that they aren’t even on the parade anymore. He looks up and immediately finds what has stolen your attention.

On the other side of the parade is Hyunjin and Jiyoung, doing the very thing Jisung has spent all afternoon trying to accomplish.

Jisung frowns upon seeing you frowning. A little lower, and he sees your soul mark tattoo every time you lift your hand to pet Jolly anxiously. Why do you have to be Hyunjin’s soulmate? Why can’t you just be any other girl in his bio class? Why can’t you-- he looks at his own barren wrist-- be his soulmate?

“Come on,” he snaps, pulling at your hand.

You jolt out of your staring. “Where are we going?”

“Home,” he announces. “I’m tired. Let’s go.”

You follow him through the crowd wordlessly until you’re both out of the mob. “I’m sorry,” you say in a small whisper.

Jisung turns to you. “Why are you sorry?”

“I was staring at Hyunjin on what is supposed to be our date. Isn’t that why you’re mad?”

“No, I’m not mad, I’m just--” he runs a frustrated hand through his hair. “Okay, I am mad, but not at you. I’m just irritated at the whole stupid soulmate thing! Like if it’s going to make you love someone, then shouldn’t it also let you be with them? Then if you were happily together, maybe I wouldn’t have-- Uhg, no, I’m just being selfish right now. This is all just, just so messed up. Emotionally binding you to someone you can’t be with, it’s just so messed up.”

“Jisung…” you begin, although you are unsure where to do so. “It’s okay; I’m okay, unless… there’s something more?” You look at his wrists. You have noticed that everyone in the frat but him has a soulmark. You aren’t sure it’s something he’s comfortable talking about, but you’ve also noticed him staring at yours a lot, and that it’s bothering him.

He freezes at your suggestion. You take in a long breath to gather your courage before grabbing his wrists and stroking them gently. You cock your head to the side, questioningly. Jisung bites his lips and looks to the ground.

“You’re right. There’s something more,” he confesses.

You lower his hands. “You don’t have to say it if you don’t want to.”

“It’s fine,” he says, still not looking at you. “She, um, she’s dead. It happened when I was fifteen. It was the worst day of my life; it felt like the sun stopped shining and I was nothing but a hollow husk. My wrist burned for days and days as the mark peeled off until it was all gone.”

“I’m sorry,” you say pathetically.

“It’s okay. I got used to the feeling. And recently--” he manages a small smile-- “I’ve found something that’s been filling that void.”

“Really? What?”

“That I want to keep secret, my dear Y/N.” With a sigh, he turns around and continues walking. “Sorry to dump that sob story on you.”

“It’s alright. I’m glad you were able to talk about it.”

He smiles weakly again. Only with you, he thinks to himself. “It does feel nice to get it off my chest sometimes. Come on, let’s go”

He makes a right, the opposite direction to the subway. “Ready to go home?”

“The train is that way,” you tell him.

He smirks and lets out a howl into the night air. Before you know it, you’re dashing through town on top of your personal wolf. Jisung lets the cold air on his face clear his head and the sound of your adrenaline-filled squeals bring music to his ears.

“Did you have fun today?” he asks once you’ve arrived at your apartment.

“Yes, thank you. And thanks for being my boyfriend for the day; it made me feel less bad to see all those other couples at the park,” you joke.

He laughs lightly with you.

“And Jisung?”

“Hm?”

“Don’t worry about soulmates. There’s another soul out there waiting for you.”

Jisung smiles bittersweetly at you. He takes a couple steps closer and kisses your forehead. “Good night, Y/N.”

You watch his retreating form disappear into the night with your hand clasped over the spot he kissed. If today was any indication, whoever that soul is that’s waiting for him, you think to yourself, is very lucky.

~ ad.gold

#han jisung #werewolf!jisung #hyunjin #werewolf!hyunjin #soulmates #stray kids #skz #42nd moon #quokkas #04032020

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lonelypond · 4 years

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Nico Attacks: A Campfire Tale, Chapter 3

NicoMaki, NozoEli, Love Live, 1.6K, 3/4

Eli and Umi make their separate ways back to camp while Maki's night of adventure continues.

And Then There Was One

Eli was concentrating on holding Vik’s hand tightly, but not too tightly as they made their way back to camp, focusing on the flashlight beam, forcing herself not to see out of the tunnel vision, not to hear the noises, focusing on how cute Vik looked, wolf ears bobbing as they happily chattered about how much fun camping was.

And then there was a brighter light ahead and a silhouette Eli would know anywhere. “Nozomi!”

“Mommy!” Vik ran toward Nozomi, who hefted them up easily with one arm. Nozomi might look soft, but Eli had always been impressed by her strength, both physical and emotional.

“Hi!” Nozomi’s voice was the warmth and bright Eli needed right now and she hurried to get in on the hug. “Missed you.”

A family moment and then Nozomi put Vik back down, “Why don’t you go find Teddy and tell her what you and Aunt Nico did.”

“Okay.”

Vik disappeared through the trees and then Nozomi snapped off the flashlight, causing Eli to freeze like ice had suddenly coalesced around her.

“Nozomi.” Eli couldn’t keep the whine out of her voice, “Turn that back on.”

“But Eli, you’re so cute when you’re clingy.”

“Nozomi!” Eli kept her hands behind her back, she’d learned long ago it was risky to reach for her wife when Nozomi was in this impish, playful mood, “Did you know Nico was going to this?”

Nozomi’s response was a giggle as she stepped closer to Eli, her hand reaching for Eli’s waist.

“But Maki’s having fun isn’t she?”

“I’m not.” Eli grumbled.

“You could be.”

“Nozomi.” Eli could feel the thrill, at war with the embarrassment and the fear. In the dark, she couldn’t see the dare in Nozomi’s eye, but it was a familiar mood. And they’d been busy, and not really had enough time for each other, Nozomi’s hands had just found that spot, and Eli could only feel Nozomi and not the tree at her back.

“You’re lovely,” Nozomi whispered and Eli reached forward to grab the steadiest support in her world.

###

“Caught.” Umi stated matter-of-factly as she lifted the net near Maki’s shoulder.

“Can you get this off me?”

Umi considered. The wind howled again, sounding even more artificial than 30 seconds ago. Then there was a weighted, expectant silence, long enough for Umi to pull out her clasp knife again and suddenly speakers blasted from everywhere, Maki and Umi and Eli’s Soldier Game singles vocal tracks amplified loud enough to make the leaves still clinging fall. But it wasn’t right. Maki frowned, her hands pulling at the netting, wanting to rip a hole so she could find the speakers and demolish them.

“That doesn’t sound...right.”

“It’s not...Nico-chan remixed it,” Maki’s voice was thin with anger, “She took the damn songs and transposed them into a major key. And picked up the tempo.”

“Why?”

Maki hissed, “She’s making it ‘cuter.’”

Umi froze, and then laughter roared out. “Hits you where it hurts.”

“My ears?” Maki raised her hands, the netting making the gesture slow.

“Your ego.”

“I don’t have an ego. This isn’t subjective in any way. There’s the songs the way I composed them and now, there’s the songs Nico’s bastardized.”

Umi held up her knife, sliding it under a string. And then, as Maki made encouraging sounds, Umi pulled the knife out, stepped back, and flipped it shut with a grand gesture.

“This really seems like a private marital squabble.”

“UMI!”

Umi nodded her head, “Yes, I think it’s time for the Diamond Princess to be rescued by her Ruby Rogue.”

“C’mon, Umi, don’t do this.”

“Thank Nico for the stimulating evening.”

“UMI!”

And with a bow, Umi wandered off, toward the main cabin, whistling “Cutie Panther.”

###

Laughter really was the cure for fright, Umi thought as she chuckled at the memory of Nico’s antics over the years, from the haunted doll set up in the club room to this. Always impressive attention to details. Nico had just started directing music videos. She was going to be really good at it, Umi realized. Now low drifts of mist rose around Umi from the creek to her left. Umi knelt her keychain flashlight shining on melting chunks of dry ice. Nico was close. Umi turned the light off and waited, listening.

A low groan started, rising in volume. Not Nico. She would have done a better job of disguising her voice and stretching out scary thrills. This was light, fast, silly...definitely Rin. Umi crept forward cautiously, waiting to trigger the opening act for whatever Nico had roped Rin into. With a loud crack, a branch swung, clearing two feet over where Maki’s head would have been (she’d gained 2 cm on Eli). Timed to the crack, a short ghost jumped at Umi.

“BOO!”

Umi laughed and put a hand on Rin’s shoulder, “Hi, Rin.”

“HEY! You’re supposed to be scared. You’re also supposed to be Maki.” Rin crossed her arms over, catching some of the folds of the sheet scattered with flourescents as she did. Nico must have a black light set up.

“Left Maki in the net.”

Rin thought about that for a few seconds, and then went to push past Umi, “I have to see that.”

Umi shook her head, “She’s probably out by now and looking for Nico.”

“Shoulda gotten a picture.”

“Who says I didn’t?”

“Let me see.”

“First, we get back to camp.” Umi glanced at her watch, also fluorescent under the black light, “It’s time for Kaito to go to bed. Kotori will indulge him.”

“We’re camping, Umi.”

“Routines are important.”

“Boo. Bedtimes are boring.”

“You have a child not a curfew, Rin.”

“You’ve never closed down anything in your life.”

“Just this conversation. Let’s go.” Umi had decoded Nico’s trail sign and set off for camp.

###

Maki wanted earplugs. This was the worst thing yet, this loop of Soldier Game and Bibi songs, twisted just enough to be annoying. Not even earplugs, she wanted to be a turtle, and pull her head in her shell, and just sit here and wait it out until Nico was bored or exhausted or out of ideas. But Nico was never out of ideas. That was part of the fascination, how Nico could hop with quicksilver speed from wild thought to weirder inspiration and still stay so solidly grounded as wife, mother, and professional. It was dizzying sometimes, but Nico always made sure they landed safely somewhere, usually bed.

Maki grimaced. It was too early for that thought, she was annoyed at Nico, not hot for Nico. Okay, always hot for Nico but there was definitely going to be a phase where she refused to admit it. Maki pulled at the netting, it still refused to just tear. She dropped to her knee, the edges were slightly weighted, but with careful movements, Maki managed to work it over her head. Shaking it off as she stood, she reoriented herself. Umi had left the camping lantern. There was nothing but trees and woody shadows to be seen as far as its light shone. Unless Nico had decided to impersonate a dryad, she wasn’t lingering to see Maki struggle with the net. Leave the music and run, that had been her strategy. Maybe Umi had stumbled over her.

The adrenaline buzz of a challenge was wearing off. If Maki had those speakers within reach, she’d rip them out of the trees. Umi had gone to the left, but Maki knew by the creek that that trail headed back to camp, which left Maki guessing that to the right would bring her to the cabin. But would it bring her to Nico? Or just more nonsense? Maki sighed, running her fingers through her hair. Still sticky. Once she got to the cabin, Maki was going to lock all the doors and windows, blast music Nico couldn’t stand, and soak for hours. Everyone else could go back to Tokyo.

###

“There’s a whole song called "Autumn In New York", Nico. I added it to my set. People LOVE it.”

Honoka’s voice carried through the trees as Rin and Umi approached the camp. But why did she sound like she was on a call with Nico? Neither of them should be fireside right now.

Umi stepped into the light of the campfire, ahead of Rin. Nico was sitting, smug, comfortable, on a camp stool, mug in hand, phone propped on a low table. Rin immediately dodged around Umi and ran for the tent she was sharing with Hanayo, Tora, Dia, and Ruby, giving Nico a thumbs up.

Nico was paying no attention to anyone physically present. “Post a video. Nico wants to see. Maybe from Central Park. It’s pretty there this time of year.”

“Nico.” Umi said sternly. Nico looked up, surprised.

“UMI!” Honoka’s excited tone brought Kotori out of the tent she had claimed for their family.

“Why are you here, Nico? You are supposed to be in the woods…” Umi searched for a word…”shenaniganing. I left Maki in a net. You were going to rescue her.”

“That’s not on my schedule.” Nico sipped.

“What exactly is on your schedule?” Umi glanced down at the phone, where Honoka, her hair now long, was gleefully watching the exchange. Kotori wrapped Umi in a hug, but Umi refused to allow herself to be soothed.

Nico raised her mug, “Maki rescues herself, tears everything out of the trees, and stomps off her anger while Nico has a warming drink.”

Honoka sounded like she was bouncing. “Next year, I want to help you make a haunted house, Nico. How about at the beach? Skeleton mermaids crawling up to the house.”

Umi rubbed her forehead, “Can we get Maki back safe this year, first.”

“Nico has everything handled."

“What’s next?"

“Ooohh, what are you gonna do next?” Honoka sounded like the Ayase twins about to unleash a prank.

Nico grinned, leaning forward, “The best kind of trick.”

“And that is?” Umi let herself relax back into Kotori, exasperation winning.

“A treat.” Nico winked.

A/N: Have been working on three concurrent Poe projects so only a little time for fanfic. What's your Halloween like this strange year? I'm watching ParaNorman with an open text chat.

#NicoMaki #NozoEli #Halloween #pranks #Nishikino Maki #Yazawa Nico #Ayase Eli #Sonoda Umi #Hoshizora Rin #Tojo Nozomi #camping #Soldier Game #Nico Attacks

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missvalerietanner · 5 years

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tagged by @jmhwriterblog and yeah, ‘course I’m gonna do writing stuff ;p

Rules: Answer the questions and then tag as many writers as there are questions answered (or as many as you can) to spread the positivity! Even if these questions are not explicitly brought up in the novel, they are still good to keep in mind when writing.

FIRST LOOK

(using The Seven Kings, ‘cause that’s what I’m wrapped up in right now)

1. Describe your novel in 1-2 sentences (elevator pitch)

The brutal assassination of a king sparks the partnership between a hated half-breed hungry for revenge and a well-educated prince whose father arranged said assassination.

2. How long do you plan for your novel to be? (Is it a novella, single book, book series, etc.)

Editing the first book right now. Still need to finish its ending. And I was so excited, I might have already started to write the sequel... ‘bout two solid chapters in so far. AND there’s enough happening that it’d probably be a trilogy.

3. What is your novel’s aesthetic?

I... suck at this question every time I see it.

I guess... I’mma have to go with redemption.

4. What other stories inspire your novel?

Legend of Zelda for sure, mainly inspiration for the diverse kingdoms and people. And then, I dunno, there’s probably a little bit of every fantasy movie and book I’ve ever seen/read tucked in this story somewhere.

5. Share 3+ images that give a feel for your novel

clicky - takes you to WeHeartIt

MAIN CHARACTER

6. Who is your protagonist?

Valerie Tanner and Eli Orphesis (named him during my Greek obsession)

7. Who is their closest ally?

They gain several throughout the story, but the main two are Roderick, a rancher and old friend of Valerie’s (practically a second father to her), and Elyn, one of the queen’s handmaidens who joins them on their journey. Oh and then Aaron pops up later, and he’s an old ally of Valerie’s as well.

8. Who is their enemy?

Mainly: Darrean Orphesis (yep, Eli’s dad)

9. What do they want more than anything?

Valerie wants revenge for Garrett’s death, and Eli wants to forge a path to his own future, a future not doomed to exist in the shadow of his father.

10. Why can’t they have it?

Valerie: gaining revenge changes nothing; Garrett’s still dead, and she’s still an outsider

Eli: he has to grow up and learn who he is without his father’s title protecting him, and there are a LOT of tough lessons on the road ahead for my boy.

11. What do they wrongly believe about themselves?

Valerie believes she’s completely alone and useless. She believes her life is worth little, and that spending her life in service to better people/better men is the best she can do.

Eli ... is pretty arrogant, so his are kinda negative. He believes he’s untouchable, that he’s immune to certain feelings (like pity and loss). He thinks he has all the answers.

12. Draw your protagonist! (Or share a description)

Valerie: 28, 5′8″ (172 CM), weighs 135 pounds (yes, I did), lean and muscular, smaller-than-average bust size, wavy brown hair that ends between her shoulder blades, deep/dark brown eyes, Caucasian, Ossa tattoo on her upper left arm (all black ink), muscular stomach, narrow hips, fit legs, covered in old/faded scars from battle and/or training, wears: black trousers that fit tight, knee-high boots, a fit undershirt to keep the girls pinned down and covered (;p), and a loose white overshirt to keep her cool.

Eli: ~26, 6′2″ (188 CM - people of his race are tall as fuck), blue skin (similar to Oxford blue but a hair lighter), black hair that is a bit shorter than shoulder-length and he keeps it in a low ponytail at the nape of his neck (sexy!), bright golden eyes, muscular and well-built, hands lack callouses (only trained, never fought), no scars or wounds, wears proper royal clothes like a prince should (tunic, trousers, knee-high boots, waistcoat, the works)

PLOT POINTS

13. What is the internal conflict?

Learning to accept help, realizing that people are more than their pasts or their titles and especially their race

14. What is the external conflict?

A power-hungry king and his massive army of well-trained, well-armed soldiers who are all purebloods, so they all have magical abilities.

15. What is the worst thing that could happen to your protagonist?

For Valerie, losing the people she loves who she tries to protect. She’s watched so many die. She tends to be pretty self-sacrificing because she’d rather jump in harm’s way and die if it means saving someone else. (She has some self-esteem issues as well, so wanting to be someone’s shield makes her feel useful, and therefore, good. She also values others’ lives over her own.)

For Eli... Failure’s a big one for him. He’s probably afraid to die, but I’d say failing and letting down those around him is worse. His mother went to great lengths to make sure he was cultured and well-educated, so with all his knowledge, if he fails, yeah, that’d probably be what would crush him more than anything.

16. What secret will be revealed that changes the course of the story?

Probably the reveal of Eli’s power. He was never trained as a child like he should’ve been (for reasons!), and so since he’s a pureblood, his powers developed on their own. He’s powerful but uncontrolled, so his abilities start leaking out, so to speak, on their own.

The reveal of what his power actually is, is a good moment. It’s subtle, but as each of the other characters begin to realize just how much power he wields, they also start to realize how REAL everything is becoming: like the war, their chances of survival, etc.

17. Do you know how it ends?

Yes. I know the jist. I know what I’m aiming for. How I get there, I dunno, and what’s said or done when we get there, I dunno.

I know which port I want to dock in. Just not what it looks like.

(I swear I am not drinking.)

BITS AND BOBS

18. What is the theme?

Hmm... unity for sure, redemption’s a big one, some focus on equality, but I’d say mostly it’s about people finding their place in the world by following their own intuitions rather than falling into the role provided for them or forced upon them.

[cue Disney music]

19. What is a reoccurring symbol?

Valerie has a tattoo on her upper left arm that marks her as a member of Ossa, so basically an outsider. After what happens in the opening chapters, she keeps the tattoo hidden whenever possible. But its meaning causes some tension with... basically everyone she meets.

...there’s probably others, but I can’t think of any that don’t require a lot of explaining... and I was pretty vague on the tattoo for reasons.

20. Where is the story set? (Share a description)

In the country of Nubrya (hate the name, can’t find one yet to replace it). It’s the border country on a massive continent and is encircled by three (possibly four or five... haven’t finished plotting the map) other countries to its east, west, and north. The south of Nubrya is open to the water. Its eastern edge rises into steep cliffs overlooking coves dug into the mountain side to house the nation’s ships during the winter. The western border levels off into desert. The north is rocky terrain, isolated, and sitting on a raised plateau, so every step from the heart of Nubrya upward is a hike. And to the northeast, there is a massive mountain range, upon which one of the Seven Kingdoms sits. And to the east/southeast (before the cliffs) are the farms and vineyards of the country.

Every type of landscape and temperature zone and climate is represented.

21. Do you have any images or scenes in your mind already?

Since the first book’s finished except for a few scenes and the final fight leading up to the already-written ending, most of the scenes are already down on paper. The second book, however, oh, boy! I have SO much planned and cannot wait for the willingness to write it down. XD

22. What excited you about this story?

I originally wrote this story back in high school. As you can tell by my username, I’ve kept the characters with me through the years. :] Recently (meaning last year, I think), I got to thinking about the original story from high school (titled: “The Unknown Soldier,” I think), and I missed it. So I dug out the original copy, started reading it, and by about, oh I dunno, page 2, I was ready to hang myself ‘cause the writing was THAT BAD.

But the plot was a good one. The characters were half-developed, but they had the potential to be so much better. So I remolded them, fleshed them out, added a ton more characters, revamped the settings, added MORE settings, dumped in a whole bunch of emotional turmoil, updated some names, increased the stakes tenfold, added more magical/fantasy elements, and landed these characters in a MUCH better story.

A lot about the story excites me, but to know I revitalized an old story, pried it off the gurney, and zapped it back to life--a life better than the one it had before--that excites me. :]

23. Tell us about your usual writing method!

Frantic. Messy.

I write scenes as they come to me. Stitch them together later with transitions, and edit to fix any time lapses or to plug in missing information. I do outline, but they look like this:

Guy does this thing. it’s cool, but not too cool. Then girl finds out. And note for later: the girl’s really a guy. OH! And remember by scene five to put in a live rooster or else the whole chicken joke won’t make ANY SENSE. End with badass scene with knives. RESEARCH: knives.

Hey, I just made that up on the spot. Welcome to my brain.

But that’s the basic idea behind what my outlines look like. XD Except, I do usually write my outlines in ALL CAPS and important items are bolded or highlighted. But that’s a minor detail.

Rooster.

...

Thanks for reading if you made it this far.

NOW GO WRITE! (or tag yourself and do this. T’was fun.)

#seek the seven kings #stsk #writings #ask #missvalerietanner #favorite

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scripttorture · 6 years

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Hi! My character is being tortured by hunters, who are used to torture supernatural creatures, which my character is not. With supernatrural creatures, they just cut them open and they heal. They mostly use knives and electric batons. Is there a way for them to torture her without just cutting her randomly? And where on her they shouldn't cut too deeply if they don't want her to bleed to death?I know that the heart and the femoral artery can be deadly if touch. Also, the torture happen on 2 days

OK well part of this isgoing to depend on how intact you want the character to be afterwards. From thecontext I’m guessing the scars are fine but that disabling mutilation probablyisn’t.

Most torture involvingknives is ‘just’ cutting someone repeatedly. Torturers, as a general rule,aren’t that inventive.

That doesn’t mean Ican’t help. I think I’ll start off by talking about more and less risky areas,then I’ll talk about some variants on cutting torturers have used in the past.

First off stabbing downinto the flesh is a lot more dangerous in most areas than cutting the surfaceof the skin. There’s more chance of hitting a major blood vessel or organ. Evenif the torturers hit neither the damage to muscles, ligaments and tendons couldhave a lasting impact on the character’s mobility.

Bleeding to death isn’tnecessarily the biggest risk and it’s not the only way the character could die.Avoiding the anus and the inside of the vagina (if she has one) is prettyessential if you don’t want the character to get sepsis. I specify the insideof the vagina because it’s very possible to connect it to the intestines. Andmessy and probably fatal.

Avoiding the neck isalso smart. Cutting the spinal column isn’t much of a risk, it’s difficult todo and the spine protects it well. Cutting the blood vessels could kill veryquickly and cutting the windpipe could also kill by making breathing moredifficult.

I think it’s probablyalso a good idea to avoid the abdomen. There isn’t a whole lot between organsand the air in that area. And disembowelling someone is- well the survival rateis pretty low.

There are also a fewspots where veins are closer to the surface of the skin: the underside of thearms, the inside of the elbow and (I think) the inside of the knee. It’s a goodidea for them to avoid the joints generally if you don’t want the character tohave mobility issues later in the story. If however you’d like your characterto come away from this with a disability attacks to the joints are a goodwriting choice.

Beyond that I think thedepth of the cut is the major factor but the….less risky depth varies greatlydepending on the part of the body. It’s probably best to just assume that thecharacters doing this know enough about butchery (ie handling meat and jointinganimals) to be able to roughly judge the depth.

If they’re goinganywhere near deep enough to touch the heart I think the character would probablydie, whether they hit the heart or not. That’s a pretty deep injury and there’sa lot of important stuff between the heart and the outside world, like thelungs or the spine. The sorts of less risky depths I’m thinking of are in therange of 0.75 cm or less in most areas. For context your skin is roughly1.2-1.3 mm thick in most places.

I think one of themajor risks to the character is going to be infection in these cuts, especiallysince I’m guessing you want them to cover a significant portion of her body.The more of them there are the higher the chances of something nasty gettinginto at least one of them.

Which brings me tovariants on cutting.

Two things are comingto mind. One is excising small portions of skin: cutting skin off. The other isa variant on ‘pepper’.

Excising skin creates apretty big infection risk. It scars. It can cause pretty massive keloid scars,which are a form of raised scar tissue that can impair movement. Keeping theexcised portions of skin small and spaced out would help prevent that. If theywere doing a lot of these repeatedly then I’d suggest a size similar to the tipof the victim’s finger. If they’re only doing it a few times (2-5) and there’sspace between them then each excision could be larger. But over two days andwithout a hospital on hand- I’d suggest keeping them smaller than the size ofthe victim’s hand at a maximum.

‘Pepper’ is the term Iuse for application of irritants (usually culinary) to mucous membranes. Thesame approach can be taken to cuts.

Common relativelyharmless irritants include: chilli, garlic (also an antiseptic), salt and blackpepper.

More harmful optionsinclude dirt (infection risk), mild bleach solution (this might burn orchemically cook some areas under the skin), glass and uh waste material (verylarge infection risk).

Obviously a lot of theoptions in the second list would result in bigger injuries and/or infection.They’d probably only be survivable if the character had access to good, modernmedical care afterwards.

Another option issomething like ash, which when put in a deep enough cut formssomething…basically like a poorly done tattoo. It’s a blurry grey-ish markthat’s permanent. I don’t understand exactly how it works but looking up themechanism behind tattooing generally and ‘ash rub’ body modification shouldgive you an idea.

All of these would addconsiderably to the pain of each cut.

More generally I’dsuggest thinking about the time frame a little.

I don’t think two days is a bad time period to pick but you should beaware that the torturers probably won’t be able to abuse her constantly overthat time. Torture tends happen in intense bursts; with torturers focusing alot on a victim when they’re initially captured and then giving them periods ofrest.

The sorts of torturesyou’re picturing require physical effort on the part of the torturers. I thinkit’s likely that over the two days there’d be a period of intense attacks wherethey do- basically everything they can think of- in the first 6-12 hours.They’d probably take it in turns as they get tired. Then there’d probably be apause in the abuse and it would pick up again for shorter periods of time overthe remainder of the two days.

Putting irritants inthe cuts might be an after-thought on the torturer’s part and could be writtenas something they think of and do later.

You may also want tolook through my tag on electricity and/or at Reuter’s indepth piece on Tasermisuse and torture.

I hope that helps. :)

Disclaimer

#tw torture #tw scars #knives #cutting #excising skin #pepper #scarring torture #infection #blood loss #Anonymous

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thecreativeword · 6 years

Text

Our Love Story Could Be Kinda Gory - 2

-CM-

Connor woke up feeling tense, worn out, and grumpy. He had hardly caught a wink of sleep between worrying about his charges and thinking about that damn zombie.

Price was supposed to be their miracle. Instead, he was their death omen.

However, Connor couldn’t just lay in bed and hope that the problem went away. He had to deal with the fact that it was here now and he had to deal with it.

Which is why he was standing outside the door to Cunningham’s room, urging himself to knock, reassuring himself that if the zombie tried anything, he’d be able to take care of it. Taking a deep breath, he knocked rapidly on the door nine times, then stood back as he awaited the potential danger that might appear behind the door.

“Just a second!”

There was a lot of bustling and muffled talking, then finally, the door opened and Cunningham stood in the doorway. Connor attempted not to let his relief show too much.

“Oh, hey, McKinley,” Cunningham greeted. “Is it breakfast time already?”

“No, not yet,” Connor told him, ignoring how the shorter man wilted slightly. “I just wanted to check on you, make sure you were getting settled in properly.”

Cunningham brightened instantly.

“We are!” he exclaimed. “Everything’s unpacked and put in a place. Right, Kev?”

An affirmative grunt drew Connor’s attention, and he looked up to see the zombie staring at the both of them from his place near the shelves, which were lined with family pictures and various figurines of Star Wars and Disney characters. His wrist was tied to the bedpost.

Connor frowned at this.

“Cunningham, why aren’t you holding the rope?”

Cunningham paled slightly.

“Oh, well, um…” He exhaled shakily. “It was super uncomfortable for both of us to try and sleep with it on, so I just tied it to the bedpost. It’s on there tight, and Kevin didn’t slip out of it, see?”

Cunningham rushed over and tugged on the rope in the same moment that the zombie was reaching towards the shelf. He was thrown back, and his arm jostled the top shelf, causing the twelve Disney figurines to wobble slightly. The zombie made a sound that could be best described as trying to scream underwater, and attempted to lunge toward the shelf, his hand batting wildly at air.

Then, it was quiet.

Cunningham and Price stared at Connor with as much surprise as he felt. Then Price’s surprise slowly melted into blank gratitude as he weakly reached out to where Connor’s hands were tightly gripping the top shelf, ensuring that none of the figurines were on the verge of falling.

“Yeah,” Connor said softly. “They’re okay.”

Price made a soft growling noise and batted at Connor’s nearest forearm.

“I think he’s thanking you, District Leader McKinley,” Cunningham informed.

Connor’s eyes flicked from the chubby soldier to the unfortunate zombie.

“Um, you’re welcome?”

Price’s lips gave a minuscule twitch, and he reached towards Connor’s bicep with a limp, yet eager hand. Connor, whose limbs seemed to be moving on their own, inched closer, his arm shaking slightly as the limp, sickly pale fingers drew near…

“McKinley?”

Connor stepped away from Pri-the zombie quickly, almost bumping into the shelves. Cunningham let go of the rope and pulled the zombie, who was slowly slipping to the floor, back towards him.

“Is everything okay?” Chris asked from the doorway. “We thought we heard a shout, so I came to investigate.”

“Everything’s fine,” Connor told him. “It was just a little shelf mishap.”

Chris nodded, though he didn’t look too convinced.

“Well, Zelder just finished putting breakfast together.” He turned to Cunningham, who was still holding up his zombified companion. “You guys should come get some.”

“Finally!” Cunningham cheered, untying the rope from the bedpost. “I’m starving! Come on, Kev.”

Cunningham carefully lifted the zombie up by his skinny forearm, before rushing down the hall, zombie in tow. Connor went to follow, but Chris stopped him.

“Are you sure you’re okay, Connor? You look a bit shaken up.”

Connor scowled.

“I’m fine, Chris,” he insisted in a steely tone, pushing past his friend and into the hall. Once there, he exhaled sharply. While Connor was glad that Chris was always alert and surveyed everything, he had to admit that the short blond came off as overbearing at times. He supposed that Chris was probably feeling just as tense about their current situation as all of his other charges, and that was to be expected.

Still, Connor wished he’d direct his attention to anyone but him.

Cunningham and his undead companion were already sitting at the table when Connor and Chris, a few steps behind, arrived in the dining room. Two bowls of today’s breakfast(‘fruit salads’ consisting of mostly apple slices and grapes) had been placed in front of them. Cunningham alternated between eating his fruit salad and awkwardly feeding his companion. Whenever Cunningham would take a bite of his food, he made a full display of his movements so that the zombie could copy them. It was a slow progress, and the zombie tended to miss every other bite, but it seemed to work out fine.

“Hey, I’m gonna get us some food, okay,” Chris said, before practically rushing into the kitchen area.

Connor rolled his eyes. “Traitor,” he muttered under his breath as he sat down at the table. The zombie, idly munching on an apple slice, watched with blank eyes as Connor lowered himself into the chair. Connor, desperately wishing Chris were sitting with him right now, tried to direct his eyes elsewhere, hoping that this zombie would lose interest in him. However, every time Connor’s eyes managed to fall on the undead man sitting in front of him, he found that the dull brown gaze hadn’t wavered, even after the apple slice was devoured and replaced with a grape.

Thankfully, Chris’s return ends the unsettling staring match, as Connor’s gaze is drawn to the blond, who is carrying two bowls filled with apple slices and grapes. He placed one in front of Connor and set his on the table, pulling out a chair to sit on. The four ate in silence, until the zombie swatted weakly at the apple slice in his companion’s hand and tugged softly at Cunningham’s shirt sleeve, a muffled whine escaping his lips. This was apparently his way of saying he was done, since Cunningham moved his bowl away, grabbing a few grapes from both of their dishes as he pulled the zombie up with a gentle tug on the rope tied to his wrist. The two left for the living room, and Connor almost laughed at the irony.

-CM-

Breakfast didn’t take long to finish, and Connor found himself in the living room alongside James, Ross, Cunningham, and the zombie. Ross was sitting near the window, occasionally taking peeks out of it so that he could warn them all at anytime. James was still stationed at the radio, adjusting it every so often to make sure they had a good connection. Cunningham was sitting on the floor with his undead companion, whose legs were stretched out awkwardly on the hardwood. The former was holding the rope that was wrapped around the latter’s right wrist. Cunningham would place his other hand under the rope and mime grabbing it, a movement that the zombie would attempt to sluggishly copy. Every time he fully wrapped a hand around it, Cunningham would beam happily and congratulate him, which resulted in soft growls that had the rest of the patrons in the room sharply turning towards them.

Connor was sitting on the couch, having left Chris to take over the training drills, and was watching the exchange between Cunningham and the zombie. The undead man had once again managed to fully wrap his hand around the rope, and a low growl slipped through his pale chapped lips. James turned to them, then turned back with a scowl.

“Hey, McKinley?”

Connor looked down at Cunningham, who seemed a bit confused. The zombie was too focused on the rope in his loose fist.

“Yes, Cunningham?” he asked, an eyebrow raised.

Cunningham hesitated slightly.

“Um, is that guy okay? He keeps looking over his shoulder, and I don’t want to judge, considering the circumstances, but we’re safe in the mission hut, right? I mean, he just looks so paranoid.”

Connor opened his mouth to answer, but was cut off.

“Um, ‘that guy’ has a name,” the aforementioned man announced dryly. “It’s James Church. And it’s hard to relax when you’re in the midst of your greatest enemy.”

Cunningham frowned.

“I didn’t know you felt that way,” he said, and Connor was sure he’d take the zombie somewhere else, or kick him out all together, before he continued with, “I totally understand why you wouldn’t like me, but I hope we can be better friends in the future.”

The only sounds for a while were Ross’s barely concealed snickers and the soft whines from the zombie when the rope slipped from his limp fist.

James shook his head and turned back to the radio. Connor furrowed his eyebrows at this, since James hadn’t even tried to correct Cunningham, though he stayed silent. He turned his gaze back to the floor…

Only to be met with blank, brown eyes.

Connor fought back a flinch as the zombie stared at him, the rope having slipped from his hand once again. His eyes held that same peculiar sliver of gratitude that Connor had noticed in Cunningham’s room. It had made him seem sort of…

Human.

But that couldn’t be right, could it?

The zombie’s slowly tilted his head, then reached up towards Connor with one of his pale hands. Connor suppressed the urge to jerk away. He lowered himself to the floor cautiously and watched as the hand made its sluggish journey from the awkward position in front of its owner’s chest to Connor’s face, where it was then dragged slowly down his pale and freckled cheek before falling limply to the floor.

“Wow, Kevin really likes you!”

Connor started. Cunningham was grinning at him from the zombie’s other side, and Connor realized he had seen the entire exchange.

Then Cunningham’s statement registered, and Connor frowned.

“He’s a zombie, Cunningham, how could he possibly--”

“When you saved his Disney figures,” Cunningham continued, cutting Connor off. “He’s been looking at you like that since then. You made him happy.”

Connor went to protest this, then stopped. It did make sense, seeing as the staring had started directly after that. However, it didn’t make sense to what Connor had been taught, which was that zombies could feel nothing but blind rage against humanity for their unfortunate fate and godless nature.

Could his father and the rest of the pastors have been wrong? Could it be possible that zombies could feel other emotions besides rage?

Or was Kevin Price really the miracle they’d been waiting for?

Connor looked over at the two young men beside him. Cunningham was holding the rope again, and was talking excitedly about what Connor assumed was something sci-fi related. And Price was listening to him, his brown eyes holding the tiniest hint of light among the dull glaze of death that the rest of his face held.

Maybe, Connor thought, this situation wouldn’t be so bad.

#olscbkg #fic update #book of mormon

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grassroutes · 4 years

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Flexispot EN1 Height-Adjustable Standing Desk: Budget Price With a Premium Feel

<![CDATA[ // Bottom var galleryThumbs1 = new Swiper('.gallery-thumbs-1', { spaceBetween: 10, slidesPerView: 10, freeMode: true, watchSlidesVisibility: true, watchSlidesProgress: true, centerInsufficientSlides: true, allowTouchMove: false, preventClicks: false, breakpoints: { 1024: { slidesPerView: 6, } }, }); // Top var galleryTop1 = new Swiper('.gallery-top-1', { spaceBetween: 10, allowTouchMove: false, loop: true, preventClicks: false, breakpoints: { 1024: { allowTouchMove: true, } }, navigation: { nextEl: '.swiper-button-next', prevEl: '.swiper-button-prev', }, thumbs: { swiper: galleryThumbs1 } }); ]]>

Flexispot EN1

10.00 / 10

Read Reviews

Read More Reviews

See on amazon

Specifications

Brand: Flexispot

Lifting Mechanism: Motorized with adjustable presets

Maximum Load: 154 lbs 70 kgs)

Colors: Black, Grey, or White

Desktop Size: 48 / 55 inches (or frame only)

Pros

Simple assembly with clear instructions

Sturdy, high-quality parts

Good range of desk sizes supported

Cons

Might not take enough weight for some users

Buy This Product

Flexispot EN1 amazon

Shop

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What's in the Box

You'll also find all of the tools you need for building the frame packed in numbered plastic-wrapped sections.

Flexispot EN1 Specifications

Height Range: 29 to 48.6 inches (71 to 121 cm)

Speed: 1 inch/s

Memory Presets: 3

Sit-Stand Reminder: Yes

Weight Capacity: 154 lb (70kg)

Noise Level: < 50 dBs

Warranty: 3-year warranty for motors & 5-year warranty for frame

Mostly Simple to Build

This desk is advertised as being easy to build, and that is mostly true. Alongside a detailed multi-language step by step guide for building it, Flexispot also has a video showing each step.

youtube

While all of these steps can (and were) done alone, it's worth considering that a steel desk frame with a chunky motor in it might be a little heavier than the aluminum legs of other budget desks.

The Not So Fiddly Bits

The provided written manual simplifies the build process, and each step gives a numbered reference to the parts used and a visual guide.

Attaching a Desktop

At this point, you will also attach the power supply and desk controls (making sure all the connecting cables can reach first) and the baffles to protect the driveshaft from dangling cables.

The included adhesive cable tidies are a nice touch and keep everything out of the way underneath the work surface.

Once flipped, the desk is ready to use.

It Goes Up and It Goes Down

Using the Flexispot EN1 frame is a simple process. There's no interactive touchscreen controls, no Bluetooth, or accompanying phone app. You press a button, and it goes up. Or down.

The panel itself is black plastic. The plastic button covers hide tactile switches, a welcome change to the no-feedback capacitive touch buttons that seem to have taken over consumer electronics.

Quieter Than Expected

While it's difficult to say for sure, it seems that this desk should work for most people, but if you aren't sure, it might be wise to size yourself for a standing desk before buying to check first.

High Build Quality for a Low Price

Each part of the desk is held together using appropriately sized screws and bolts, with particular attention paid to the crossbar, which bears much of the motors' lateral force.

Well Thought Out Pricing

One element of Flexispot's business that will be appreciated by some is the up-front pricing. The idea is that by buying directly from them, you get the best possible deal.

Flexispot is far from the only brand offering this kind of service, but the quality of this desk, when put against the sub-$300 price tag, makes it a compelling argument.

Would I Recommend the Flexispot EN1?

Flexispot EN1 Height-Adjustable Standing Desk: Budget Price With a Premium Feel published first on http://droneseco.tumblr.com/

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hp-imagines-07 · 4 years

Text

Who Better Than The Love Of My Life?

Sirius Black x Fem!Ravenclaw!Reader

Universe: Harry Potter; The Marauders era

Type: lil angst but really fluff

Summary: being Sirius' best friend isn't easy, but it just get worse when [y/n] fall for him and keeps thinking if they could ever be more then just friends...

Request: YES|no - "Hey sweets! I was wondering if you could do a young!Sirius X reader with 14, 21, 10, 41 please? If possible, could you put y/n in Ravenclaw? Thanks so much for creating such lovely reading material ❤️" @approved-by-dentists | Thank you so much for all the love and i'm so sorry it took so long...

Prompts:

10 - "I can't do THIS anymore."

14 - "Why are you awake?" "I could ask you the same."

21 - "When was the last time that you slept?"

41 - "We never were just friends, and you know it." "I know it, but you deserve someone better than me."

Warnings: cursing, kiss maybe and a lot of arguments.....

Song: xxx

Word Count: 4.5K

Posted: 2nd of September 2020

A/N: i am so proud of how it ended, i thought that it wouldn't be as good as i wanted it to be, but i fell for sirius and i don't wan to get up anymore, so yeah (don't forget to read the bonus........) and thats a daffodil if you don't know

My Others Accounts: @imagines-07 (Principal Account) | @mcu-imagines-07 (Marvel Comics Universe) | @stit-imagines-07 (Stranger Things & IT) | @obx-imagines-07 (Outer Banks) | @cm-imagines-07 (Criminal Minds)

MY MASTERLIST

"Why Potions Class is so hard?" You said and sighed, while dropping your head at your book, making Remus just roll his eyes at the way that you were being as dramatic as Sirius. Oh, this boy was so tired of you two making such a scene by nothing.

"It's not that hard. You just have to pay attention!" Remus said the last part a little louder and everyone at the library looked at the two of you, Moony just smiled trying to act normal and pretend that he wasn't feeling his cheeks becoming warmer by being embarrassed.

"I am paying attention, but I just can't understand." You said already giving up and closing your book. Anything was supposed to be so hard to understand, you're a Ravenclaw, you thought that you would understand everything and explain it to the others just like everyone else from the same house as yours, not the other way...

Remus opened his mouth to answer you and probably make you continue to study anyway, but before he could say anything, a pair of hands covered his mouth and another one covered your eyes, while Peter just sat at the other side of the table with a bored expression by Sirius and James' idea.

"Who am I?" A voice asked behind you, but it was obvious that it was Sirius trying to use a deeper voice and you would have rolled your eyes if it wasn't for his hands stopping you.

"I don't know, probably Wormtail..." You said and heard someone sitting at the chair between you and Remus and you just knew that it was Prongs, and Sirius sighed behind you. He took his hands out of your eyes, letting you see again the not so lightly library and your friends rolling their eyes to Sirius' reaction. It was obvious that you were trying to mess with him, and looked like you got it.

"You knew that it was me." Padfoot said while sitting at the chair at your right. You smiled at him and Sirius felt his knees going weak with your beautiful and radiant smile.

Moony asked something to all of you and before you knew, your Potions' book had been already forgotten and you five were chatting about one of the unbelievable gossips going around Hogwarts.

"You really think that this girl is pregnant?" James asked with furrowed eyebrows, looking at you, that just giggled at him and the rest of the Marauders by believing at all of those rumours. But you were too focused on James and Peter arguing if it's true or not, that you didn't notice Sirius bringing his chair closer to yours and putting his arm around your shoulders.

It felt natural, it was like his arm was supposed to be around your shoulders every moment, it was like you were made for it... Sirius' touch was warm against your cold skin and his scent was the best one.

You tried to act normal because he does it - and a lot of other things that are related to physical touch - a lot of times, but since the girls noticed the different way you acted and asked for you if you had feelings about Padfoot a few weeks ago five to be more specific, you couldn't help but also notice that recently you were feeling weird things around him... All the cliche feeling that you had read so many times at a few of your favourite books like butterflies at your stomach, cold and sweaty hands, loud and fast heartbeat, dry throat, warm and red cheeks... You were starting to feel so much of those stupid feelings that you started to involuntary act weird when he's that close to you.

And it all would feel just normal and ordinary if he felt it too when you were together, but how could you know if he felt anything?

Before you could stop yourself from daydreaming about it, your mind takes you to a universe where you and Sirius were together, where he felt the same about you and you or he had the guts to tell each other about your true feelings - doesn't matter who did first... At this universe, you could call Sirius yours, you didn't need to hide any of those stupid feelings around anyone. Flashes of his arms around your waist, while your back is pressed against his chest, with tangled legs at the grass, just looking at the sky full of stars, passed through your mind, just like the ones where you could feel his body next to yours, with his arm around your shoulder, while flirting with you in front of some boy that was trying to take you to his dorm... You could even feel his kisses on your neck, cheek, lips or anywhere else.

Moments where he called you his girlfriend, and you called him your boyfriend.

"[y/n]?" You blinked a few times and shook your head to send all of your unintentional thoughts to the back of your mind - where they should stay and never get out -, with the hand that was passing in front of your eyes, trying to get your attention.

As you looked around, you noticed that all of your friends were staring at you with confused expressions and all of his foreheads frowned. "What are you thinking about, sunshine?" Padfoot asked you and you turned your head to his direction, feeling various goosebumps going up and down your body with his strong gaze focused on you and no one else - something inside of you even could tell that if someone fell in front of you, he wouldn't even flinch his eyes from yours. The way his arm around your shoulders made his face stay so close to yours, caused you the neediest to kiss him at this exact moment, with all of your friends watching, in the middle of the silent library...

But you knew that it would be worse for you. He didn't feel that same way about you, he just sees you as his best friend and nothing more than this. And if your heartbeat wasn't so loud and strong in your ears, you would be able to listen to the way your heart started to break in various pieces just with your thoughts.

You couldn't stay here any second more, you just needed to be able to breathe and organize your mind, you just needed to be alone, you just needed to cry without anyone seeing, you just needed to freak out by yourself while hugging your pillow from your favourite muggle band... You had to be far from anyone, especially Sirius Black.

So, you got up from your seat as fast as you could without passing out, and just ran out of the library as fast as your legs could take you and with everyone looking at you by the sound that your chair did when you got up, the sound of your shoes frenetically tapping against the floor, the voices of your friends calling for you and the fact that you left everything behind (being one of the people that most care books to anywhere you go).

You just stopped when your eyes met the entrance of the Forbidden Forest and then you finally noticed the way that you ran all around Hogwarts to be away from your own best friend. 'What's wrong with me?'

You took this time to breathe a little bit, then started to walk inside the forest. You had been here plenty of times before, just walking around and feeling the cold wind with the all the shadows from the trees, both hitting your body in harmony and union. This never felt so great as now. You feet started to drag you through the trees and as the first shadow got to you, you felt your tense body become way more relaxed. Your thoughts that were running around your head making you go crazy, were completely forgotten, until-

"[y/n]! Wait!" The known voice coming from behind you followed by several footsteps, made you stop on your tracks and turn around, seeing the last person you wanted to see at the moment. "What happened there?" Sirius asked and he felt his heart ache with the vision of your red face with tears running down your face.

"I'm sorry, Pads. I can't talk right now..." You whispered and you even thought that he would be able to listen to your weak and low voice, but you noticed that he had heard you when he just shook his head and tried to walk closer to you, completely ignoring what you just said, because he knows how you always try to hide what you are feeling to anyone. "Please, just leave me alone."

Black took a heavy breath so he could try to control his thoughts and try to connect them to his body, so he wouldn't do something that his heart was screaming at him to do. Sirius' mind was telling him to just go away and let you have the space you were asking for, but his heart was saying that he should go there and hug you, just hold you and confess his feelings to you... But he couldn't.

"Can you just tell me what's wrong? I want to help you!"

"It's nothing, Sirius." He felt his heart ache by how you just called him. "Just let me be." Your voice was starting to raise with your anger by him not listening to you, and you knew pretty well that the unique one more stubborn than you, it's him.

"I won't just walk away. I won't let you alone right now." Padfoot whispered with a weak voice. All he ever wanted to do was to help you, but you never let him do anything for you, like right now.

"Why?" You screamed.

"Because I love you!" He screamed back and your eyes just watered more than before. Your lip started to shake, your eyes were burning more than ever, your throat became a huge knot, you felt your nose becoming warmer, and the tears starting to run down your already wet face.

"See?" You screamed back, with your voice ruined by the run and all the crying. "That's the problem. I can't do THIS anymore." Your heart was burning, aching, breaking... everything together, but you couldn't pay attention to it right now.

"What are you talking about?" Sirius just started to scream with you, he couldn't understand what was happening and what got you so upset. And if you weren't with a broken heart, a stubborn Sirius and crying, you could've had noticed how his strong accent got so hot at this sentence.

"Me and you." Your voice failed and you couldn't feel more embarrassed to confess your feeling for him in this way. "I'm sorry. I just can't be around you anymore." And you left.

Sirius' eyelids wouldn't close for anything in this world.

He was feeling so tired, but he was trying to sleep since '9:28 PM', by his clock. He turned around again and looked again at the clock beside his bed.

'2:52 AM'

An involuntary groan got out of his throat, while he turned to the other side of the bed, probably for the thousandth time this night. But it didn't matter what he did to sleep - he tried everything literally everything - but nothing seemed to word. So he gave up.

Carefully and without doing a single noise, he got out of his bed and started to draggle himself downstairs. As he got to the common room, he saw that anyone was there, but even with all this 'homey' and warm feeling coming from the couch in front of the little fire, Sirius couldn't catch himself to sit there and watch the different ways the fire can be, just like the other nights.

His feet started to take him out of there, and it even seemed like he was in some kind of a trance, because he just noticed where he was when his eyes saw one of the secret passages to Hogsmeade. But this was one of the most far from the Gryffindor Tower, it's on the other side of the castle. Yeah, looked like he walked all the way here.

His eyes flinched away from the door of the passage as he heard a few light footsteps, or he thought he heard because Sirius looked at everywhere around him and everything he saw was the dark corridors of Hogwarts. And then, he focused on the portrait in front of him, it was a beautiful flower, a daffodil, your favourite.

"Pads, what are you doing? Why are you awake?" A voice came from behind Sirius and, if he didn't know the voice, he would've cursed himself by having forgotten his wand at his dorm.

"I could ask you the same, Prongs." Black turned around and saw his best friend, actually just his face and neck, the rest was covered by his invisible coat. But he noticed the fingers of his right hand holding the map, explaining what he was doing here, at the same moment as Padfoot, at this hour.

"I got anxious about the match against Ravenclaw next week." James said and dropped his head a little bit to the side, silently asking for his best friend the same question, but Sirius just rolled his eyes as an answer. And that was when James noticed the dark bags under Sirius' eyes. "Wow, mate. When was the last time you slept?" Prongs asked and even chuckled a bit, but stopped at the second he saw that Sirius wasn't laughing with him. And by Black's guilty facial expression, he knew pretty well the answer to his question. "Wait, you're telling me you haven't slept since the fight you had with [y/n]?"

"Of course, James! I'm in love with her, how do you want to sleep knowing that I was the one who caused her pain?" Padfoot said a little bit louder, which made James shush him and sight.

"But it's been a week." Potter whispered to his best friend and letting pass the first time that Sirius told him that he loved anyone, with a face full of concern and sympathy.

"So what?"

"You have to talk to her, mate." James just shook his head while giving his advice to Sirius. But both of them knew that that was the thought that was haunting him by the past days.

"No, I don't." Sirius answered and Prongs felt like he could kill his best friend right now (but if he did it, Sirius would never talk to her). "And she doesn't want to talk to me, anyway." Pads finished and it was James' time to roll his eyes by the childish of Black.

"But you love her!" James said louder than he should and looked around to see if any professors or prefects were around to catch the two of them out of bed at this time. But as Sirius opened his mouth to fight with him about it, Potter didn't lose even a second to interrupt any bullshit that was going to come out of Black's mouth. "And don't even try to deny it, because you just said it."

Padfoot sighed, defeated and said the first thing that came on his mind. "But that's why I'm struggling!" His head was starting to hurt by the intense argument and he knew what was coming next. Sirius knew James was right about everything.

"So talk to her! You won't struggle anymore."

James' words have been passing around Sirius mind since the day he first said them, three days ago.

'So talk to her! You won't struggle anymore.'

Black has been wanting to talk to you since then, but he doesn't seem to be able to create the courage to go and talk to you. And he couldn't feel more stupid. He's the unique one from the hole Black family to be sorted into Gryffindor, and the Sorting Hat doesn't make mistakes, does it?

Well, he would have time to think about it at detention.

Sirius opened the door, seeing an empty Transfiguration classroom 'perfect, more time alone with my fucking stupid thoughts' and saw Professor McGonagall writing something in a few papers while sitting at her desk. "Hey, Minnie." Sirius said and the professor looked at him with a hard glare by the nickname.

"Hello, Mr Black." She said and pointed at one of the tables, silently saying to Sirius sit. "We'll just wait a second until the other student gets here, so I'll tell you both what to do." Sirius frowned his eyebrows with her sentence.

"There's someone else coming today? Who would it be, Minnie?" He asked and by the look she gave him, Sirius knew that she wouldn't tell him who it was. "Well, what they did to have to pleasure to spend two hours with me?" The professor just looked at the door, probably thinking that it would make the lucky person walk through it, but it didn't actually happen.

"She shouldn't have stayed until too late studying at the library." That was that Minerva said and her gaze still didn't flinch from the door. As Sirius was looking at the professor, he got too lost on the thoughts of how she could wear the same clothes every day - like, does she has a lot of clothes that look the same, or does she wash the same cloth every day and wear those at the next day? - that he just noticed that the door had opened and the person had walked in already when McGonagall moved. "You're finally here, Mrs. [y/l/n]."

Wait-

"I'm so sorry, Minnie. A first-year stopped me on the way here, he was lost and needed help to find our common room, but it's kinda far from here..." Your soft voice echoed through the almost empty classroom. They were pretty sure that you would start to babble about the reason you were late, but when the professor pointed to the chair next to Sirius, you stopped to talk. Maybe it was because you knew that explaining yourself wouldn't be something really important for McGonagall, or it was because you noticed Sirius.

His eyelids were swollen, with dark and deep bags under his eyes, his hair messier then the usual, a paler look on his face, but he was still so handsome.

A knot formed at your throat with the sight of him so close to you - because those days you were avoiding him, but you still noticed him from afar - and you gulped it while taking deep breaths. You were refusing yourself to cry alone at your dorm, you wouldn't cry or show any weakness near to anyone else that could notice and comment about it. You sat at the chair beside Sirius, but your eyes didn't flinch to any single part of him.

"So, you two stay here, I have more things to take care of, and I'll be right back." Minerva said and started to walk out of the class. Sirius looked at you and your confused expression (was so cute) matched with his, but before the professor went out of the classroom, she looked behind and saw the two of you looking at her. "Just do a few essays, I don't know. Just don't make anything that could give you more detentions." And then she left. But not before locking the door behind her.

"Great." You whispered with your voice full of sarcasm and you hoped that Sirius haven't heard you.

"[y/n]." Sirius called your name and looked at you, that was taking your things out of your backpack. He wasn't surprised that you would finish the essays you weren't able to finish the day before, but you were surprised with the way your name rolled easily against his tongue and lips. You even had to think about something else so your body wouldn't get shivers all around it. "Can we talk?" He asked and you continued to ignore him. But Sirius doesn't give up easily. "I really need to talk to you, sunshine." Sirius tried to grab your attention again with the nickname he used to call you before all of the chaos that you created.

"Detention is not to talk, Sirius." You whispered and he just huffed at your words, he knew you were going to say some bullshit to try to not talk to him about whatever you were feeling, but he really needed to have this conversation with you, even if he was the only one talking and you listening. "We're supposed to do essays or whatever, but not to talk." Your sassy tone was better than Sirius had ever seen it and if it wasn't for him in another situation, he would be so proud of you learning all he taught you over the years being friends. "If you want to talk, look me at any other place at school, I don't care."

"That's the point! I can't find you anywhere." Sirius was starting to get mad at the way you weren't listening to him or even caring about what he wanted/needed to say to you. "And I'm gonna talk, even if you don't say anything" He said and got up from his chair, that fell back with the abruptly that Sirius got out of it and did a horrible noise at the before quiet classroom, but his harsh movements grabbed your attention and you finally looked at him. "Can't you see that I feel the same way about you?" He said loudly and it almost looked like the whole air was taken away from your lungs.

But you needed to be sure about what feelings he was talking about, you couldn't just act because of a sentence that could have multiple ways to be understood, but you just wanted one of them. "You don't even know how I feel, how can you feel the same?"

"So, tell me." Sirius said softly and stared hard at your eyes, you even though he could see your hole soul from the stare he was giving you and your body trembled under his gaze. "Tell me how you feel."

You don't even know why, how, when or anything, but you just got up and stared back at him, with angry tears starting to blur your vision - sometimes you just wanted to end the way you were so sensible, even about little arguments like this one. "You wanna know how I feel?" You asked at him, with a frowned forehead and closed hands to try to control yourself and not cry in front of him again. "Well, I fell for you." Your voice wasn't on the way you had dreamed that it would be while saying those exact words to Sirius, but you found out you don't have any control over the future so, what can you do? "I fell so hard, that I didn't know who I was anymore. All I cared was about you and the way I could make you happy if we were together. But we never were." Your voice started harsh but it was becoming softer with the seconds you talked. "And it broke me."

"We were never just friends and you know it." Sirius said you felt your heart ache. You knew his words were true, he knew his words were true, your friends knew his words were true, fuck, the hole Hogwarts knew his words were true, and that's what hurt the most. Because even if you were never just friends, whatever the two of you were, never passed from it. You were friends, always.

"I know it, but it was always like this, and neither way you deserve someone better than me." Your voice becomes just a little whisper that no one would be able to hear if it wasn't for the empty class. But Sirius ignored your words and walked to you before you could think of anything else or try to walk away from him, his hands were holding your hips and you couldn't move away from his chest pressed against yours (even if you actually wanted to).

"So, enlighten me." Sirius whispered and his breathe was hitting against your face, with his lips brushing against yours while he talked. "Who better than the love of my life?" His smirk was so big, but you couldn't focus on his beautiful teeth, all you were looking at was his grey eyes. Sirius got afraid that you would walk away from him or break his heart as he had broken yours, but he knew you were going anywhere when you smiled at him, giggling at his words.

Your hands went to the back of his neck and brought his face closer to yours, selling your lips in the most passionate kiss you had ever thought and Sirius could just dream of. You didn't need words to show for each other how you were happy in the arms of each other. It was even being hard to kiss with the smile that fought to appear on your face - by being finally able to run your hands through his soft hair - and on his - by holding your body so close to him that all the times he needed someone to hold him like this, were filled.

Neither of you knew how long you were kissing but you were becoming exhausted with your lungs screaming for you to stop, but you didn't want to, so you just broke the kiss. You were both breathing heavily, but your arms, legs, hands or anything else moved. You and Sirius stayed like this, with your foreheads together, your hands lost on his hair and his arms around your waist, just feeling each other this close, for a while. But you didn't care.

You finally had him. You could call him, yours and he could call you, his.

☀︎︎☀︎︎☀︎︎☀︎︎☀︎︎

+ bonus:

McGonagall, James, Remus, Peter, Lily, Alice and Marlene were watching by the magic mug that Minerva left at the classroom, so they could see what was happening.

"Are they going to kiss?" James asked, for what felt like the millionth time, when Sirius got closer to [y/n] and everyone shushed him, seeing Sirius walk forward and kiss you.

They all cheered seeing them kissing and when they got apart smiling, they all knew the plan had worked. Marlene was even crying for her friend that finally told Padfoot about her feelings and James couldn't stop smiling while looking at his friends happier than ever together.

"I can't believe your plan worked, Minnie." Lily said and everyone nodded at the professor, that was smiling just like them.

"As I already told you, I'm pretty good at getting couples together..." Minerva said and winked at the students that laughed at her and looked at their friends again through the magic spot on the Black Lake that gave them a perfect vision of what was happening on the classroom.

They were so proud that their friends and students we together and happy.

☽☾☽☾☽☾☽☾☽☾☽☾☽☾☽☾☽☾

Taglist:

@cheapglitter @weasleysmuch @missmulti @writtenbypics @littlemaladaptivedaydreamer @dralf0yy @buff-bork @rd155 @seppys-return-to-madness @luciferedits @old-soul-young-mind @pxtrickhxckstettxr @sleep-i-ness @marauderswhisperer @liberty01 @gweaslvy @weasleytwins-41 @siriuslysirius07 @turtlepad @ilovewinter101 @monimillion @simonsbluee @smokey102 @yourlevanter @aberette13 @yourbloodyqueen @loverboyreid @eeshea @susceptible-but-siriusexual

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squatuniversity · 5 years

Text

Welcome back to Squat University. Last month I started a blog series on the topic of Achilles tendinopathy. The first blog introduced a simple model to better understand why the injury process begins and how it progresses. This week I want to continue this conversation and change our focus to the treatment side of things.

Step 1: The Balancing Act

As you now have learned, tendons enter the first “reactive” stage of injury and pain is due to one simple mechanism, overload. The pain you’re experiencing started because you placed too much load on your Achilles tendon and surpassed its current “load tolerance” level. This overload may have occurred due to one specific workout (200 box jumps as a part of your CrossFit class) or it may have accumulated over a number of sessions (such as basketball player that usually trains 2-3 times a week thrust into training 2-3 times a day for 7 days during a camp). Regardless of the exact cause, the first step in decreasing symptoms is to take a step back from what caused the pain in the first place.

Now when most people think “rest” they automatically think about taking weeks away from the gym, sitting on the couch and binging on their favorite TV show. In fact, complete rest is often the first piece of advice most medical doctors give patients complaining of pain! However, this is actually the last thing we want to do. You never want to completely rest a tendon!

The strength of your tendons follow the simple motto of, “if you don’t use it, you lose it.”4 If you completely take away all loading and only rest for a few weeks, you set yourself up for the pain to eventually return! Like I mentioned earlier, the injury occurred because your training surpassed your current “load tolerance level.” If you completely rest for the next few weeks, your body will adapt and the tolerance level of your tendon will lower (as there is minimal load being placed on it), making it easier to overload whenever you do decide to return.

On the flip side, if you continue to push through pain and load a painful tendon, the injury will only get worse and eventually structural changes can take place in the tissues. Load management is the most important factor in recovering from a tendon injury. This is a difficult balancing act and a reason why so many people develop chronic tendon injuries.

Start by making a list of what movements, volume and intensities of exercise aggravate your symptoms. Make a separate list of exercises that you can tolerate well with no pain (while performing or the day after). Knowing exactly what brings out your symptoms will empower you to make the right adjustments for the healing process to take place.

Movements that create high loads and use the tendon as a spring (jumping or sprinting activities for example) increase cell signaling and can create the over-response that sparked the pain your feeling. Therefore, if jump rope double-unders, running hills and box jumps create symptoms, let’s take those out of your training for the time being and replace them with more low-load “tendon friendly” modes of exercise from your second list (squatting, deadlifts, rowing, etc.). Make sure to recognize the depth at which you can squat without pain. Deep squatting may be a symptom provocateur as the forward shin position can increase load on the tendon. We will gradually re-introduce these aggravating exercises back into your training as your tendons heal and adapt to tolerate greater and greater loads.

For the few elite athletes in the midst of preparing for an important competition that have no desire to take a step back from training to address their injury, you must make a change to your training program (along with adding in some of the exercises discussed later). The pain you’re experiencing is your tendon telling you it is not tolerating the loads you are placing on it. It is there for a reason. Listen to it.

For such cases, try changing one variable in your training program and see how your tendon responds. For example, if you currently train seven days a week, decrease the frequency by dropping one session. If you can’t sacrifice one day of training, you must make a change to either the amount of high intensity loads or the total volume of your training. Regardless of which variable you choose, only change one factor at a time and wait to see how your body responds (everyone will be slightly different so there is no golden rule).

Should You Stretch?

Despite what you may have learned elsewhere, we do not want to stretch an Achilles tendon injury! No matter what form of tendinopathy you may be experiencing, stretching should not be a part of your rehabilitation program.

As previously mentioned in last week’s blog, insertional Achilles tendinopathy injuries occur due to high levels of compressive load to the tendon against the calcaneus bone. Stretching your calf muscles will only serve to add more compression (and lead to more pain) on the already injured area.1

The goal of rehab for someone with a peritendon injury is to initially limit excessive movement of the ankle (and therefore friction of the tendon against the peritendon). Stretching would only lead to creating more movement and therefore the potential for more friction.

While there is less cause for concern for those dealing with a mid-tendon tendinopathy injury, research has not shown any benefits to stretching whatsoever. This is a reason why the commonly prescribed night splints that maintain a constant stretch as you sleep are not an effective treatment for tendinopathy.

Instead, if you do have limited ankle mobility you can safely perform soft tissue mobilization to the calf muscles with a foam roller or massage stick. Foam rolling has been shown in research to improve ankle mobility without placing harmful compressive loads on the tendon.2,3

For those with limited ankle mobility due to a joint restriction (as felt by a pinch or blocked sensation at the front of the ankle during the 5 Inch Wall Test), banded joint mobilizations can safely be performed with any form of Achilles tendinopathy. Assume a kneeling position with a resistance band loop over the top of your foot (directly over the talus bone).

With your foot firmly planted, drive your knee over your toes and hold for a few seconds before returning to the start position. The posterior and downward pull of the band against the talus while you drive your knee forward will help restore the natural movement of the ankle joint.13,14 Perform 20 repetitions before rechecking your mobility to make sure you were efficient at bringing out any change in mobility.

Adding A Heel Raise

A heel raise insert for your shoe can be extremely helpful for certain types of Achilles tendinopathy. For example, adding a heel raise of around 3-4 cm in height will move the foot into a small amount of plantarflexion and decrease compression of the tendon against the calcaneous.15 This can unload harmful levels of compression for those dealing with an insertional tendinopathy.

A heel raise can also be helpful for those dealing with a peritendon injury. Adding the insert will decrease the amount of movement of the ankle into dorsiflexion that takes place during activity. Because this injury is often caused by excessive motion, limiting it can aid in winding down the symptoms you may be experiencing.

There is even some evidence to suggest a heel raise may be helpful at times for those experiencing pain in the mid-tendon region. A less common form of tendinopathy can occur when the plantaris muscle (a smaller muscle whose tendon runs near by the Achilles tendon) stiffens and places excessive shearing or compressive loads on the Achilles.5 For this reason, adding a heel raise could potentially decrease compression and therefore pain.

While a heel raise can be very helpful for some, an orthotic insert is not. Research has shown that inserts that aim to help prevent foot pronation are not effective in reducing symptoms and improving function in those with Achilles tendinopathy.

“Passive” Treatments

In the past I have had many patients come to me after failed treatments under the care of other rehabilitation professionals. When I would inquire as to what kind of treatment they went through, it often revolves around some kind of passive treatment. “Passive” treatments refer to something that is done to you where as an “active” treatment is something you physically participate in. “Passive” treatments include ice, electrotherapy, dry needling, iontophoresis, ultrasound and scraping techniques with different tools made of metal, hard plastics or bone.

Many rehabilitation practitioners will incorrectly use scraping techniques (called IASTIM or instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization) on the painful tendon with the idea that they are stimulating collagen growth and bringing more vascularity (blood flow) to the area in order to promote healing. The first idea (stimulate collagen growth) has never been proven in a degenerated tendon, and the second idea (more vascularity) is counterintuitive as most injured tendons have already grown more blood vessels!6

The only way in which the technique could perceived as beneficial when applied to the tendon is in creating a possible short term decrease in pain. This change in symptoms however, would only be due to a change in how the surrounding nerves are working (called neurapraxia) as there will be little physical change to the actual tendon tissues. Performing these techniques on an already angry and reactive tendon will often do more harm than good and increase the current level of irritation. If you want to use IASTM, it should be directed to the calves and NOT to the tendon itself.

Step 2: The Rehab Plan

Exercise is the best treatment for any type of tendon pain. Period. If you have visited with a doctor or other medical practitioner that recommends injections or other “passive” treatments like electrotherapy or scraping techniques as the main mode of treatment, you went to the wrong person. While these treatments may decrease your pain in the short-term, they will not be helpful in the long-term as they do not address why your tendon became injured in the first place. You must strengthen the tendon and improve its ability tolerate load.

There is no “one size fits all” recipe program for treating tendinopathy. The program must be tailored to how your pain presents, your past injury, training history and your goals.

Phase 1: Isometrics

The first step in the rehabilitation program for almost every tendon injury is to start with isometrics. An isometric is an exercise where the muscle contracts but the joint the muscle or muscles cross does not move (no changes in muscle fiber length occur).

Early on, a very “reactive” tendon can be difficult to load with classic strength exercises due to pain. Isometrics can be a great intervention as their main objective is to decrease pain!

The body often responds to pain by inhibiting neural output (called cortical inhibition). Think about it like this. If every time you perform a jump and your body experiences pain, your brain eventually says, “stop it!” This is why someone who has been dealing with tendon pain for a long time will eventually have decreases in their performance. Heavy isometric exercises have been shown to change this.

Research shows that isometrics have the potential to decrease tendon pain for upwards of 45 minutes after performing and can improve a person’s strength thereafter by decreasing cortical inhibition! Isometrics allow you to express your strength by accessing more motor units that have previously been “turned off” due to pain. These benefits (less pain and decreased inhibition) only come with heavy and long duration (45 second) isometrics and have not been found after classic strength exercises.11

Isometrics should be performed relatively pain free. While you may have a little pain at the very start, it should decrease significantly by the third or fourth repetition. For the Achilles tendon, an isometric will be a partial heel raise performed in standing. In this position you activate both calf muscles (the gastroc and soleus) and place the most amount of load on the tendon. Performing a seated heel raise isometric with your knees bent takes slack off the longer gastroc muscle (which crosses the ankle and knee joint) and therefore decreases the needed tension on the tendon to receive any of the benefits the isometrics can offer.

The way in which you perform your standing heel raise isometric however will vary from person to person depending on your current level of strength. For example, the simplest isometric for the Achilles tendon would be a double leg bodyweight heel raise. If this is too easy, perform the double leg heel raise while holding a weight in hand. For stronger athletes, a single leg heel raise or even a single leg heel raise with a weight in hand will be needed. Try each variation to find out which is difficult to perform 5 sets for a 45 second hold. Initially you should perform these exercises 2-3 times a day with a maximum 2-minute rest in between each hold.

For these exercises to be effective, they must be difficult to perform! This is where most come up short. Research shows you must find a load that contracts your muscle(s) to 70% of its max capabilities. While there is no way to test exactly for this level by yourself, you can estimate it by finding the intensity and load combination that makes an isometric difficult to hold for 45 seconds! If you finish your 45 second heel raise (either in double or single leg) and think to yourself, “I could have held that at least for 30 seconds more” … you don’t have enough load on your tendon. Grab a weight and try again!

Isometrics are to be used for every kind of Achilles tendinopathy, including a peritendon injury. While adding a heel raise to your shoe is the first step in dealing with the pain from a peritendon injury, we still need to place some load on the muscles and tendon during the recovery process. If you only rest a peritendon injury, you decrease the “load tolerance” capacity of the tendon and risk a mid-tendon or insertional tendinopathy injury when you do resume your normal training.

Isometrics are only a starting point for the rehab plan. While they help you feel better by decreasing your pain and increasing your strength, they are not the only thing you should do. At most, I would recommend using isometrics by themselves for up to a week or two weeks at maximum. Eventually we need to transition into the next phase of the rehabilitation plan.

Phase 2: Strength with Isotonics

The goal of any tendinopathy rehabilitation plan is to increase the load bearing capacity of the tendon. No matter if your injury was a first-time “reactive” or a “reactive-on-degeneration” injury, we must eventually move past isometric exercises and start using traditional strength training exercises to accomplish this.

Most exercises you see performed in the gym will have two phases: eccentric and concentric. The eccentric phase is the lowering portion of a movement where the muscle fibers are lengthened under tension. The exact opposite would be the concentric phase, where the muscle fibers are shortened under tension. If we look at the traditional standing calf raise exercise, the gastroc and soleus muscles shorten as you rise onto your toes (the concentric phase) and lengthen as you descend back to the start position (the eccentric phase).

In the early days of tendinopathy research, rehabilitation professionals prescribed eccentric exercises as an integral part of a rehabilitation program.8,9 For an Achilles tendon injury this would consisted of performing a heel raise where you would assist yourself to the top portion with your un-injured leg, shift all of your bodyweight onto the injured side and then slowly lower into the bottom position on the injured leg alone. No concentric phase was performed, so to perform the next repetition you would then assist yourself back to the top start position again with your non-injured side. Initial research on the use of an eccentric-only rehabilitating program did show good results as many were able to return to their pre-injury activity levels.9

However, our body moves using both eccentric and concentric muscle actions. Focusing strength efforts on only one portion of the movement does not strengthen it in a way that will carry over functionally to the actives we perform throughout our day and in our training. Your muscles aren’t only performing eccentric muscle contractions when you sprint down a track. It’s not that eccentrics don’t work, but why ignore the other half of the movement?

In the early 2000’s research began to emerge on the use of heavy slow resistance training (HSR) in the rehabilitation of tendon injuries. HSR describes traditional exercises performed slowly with both concentric and eccentric muscle contractions (called an isotonic movement). The initial research showed these heavy and slow exercises were just as effective as eccentric only exercises in the rehab of tendinopathy.10,12 They are excellent at building load tolerance during this phase of rehabilitation without using the tendon as a spring, which would otherwise overload the current capabilities of the tissues and increase symptoms. As soon as your pain has decreased during normal day to day function to a 3/10, I recommend starting HSR exercises.

HSR exercise should be performed to target both the gastroc and soleus muscles. While isometrics are ideally performed in the standing position only (in order to involve both the gastroc and soleus and place as much load on the tendon as possible), strength exercises need to be performed in standing and seated positions to target both muscles individually.

The seated calf raise is the most common method of isolating the soleus muscle as the larger gastroc is placed on slack with the knee bent. In order to sufficiently target the soleus muscle and place enough load on the muscle/tendon, a weight needs to be placed on top of the legs during the seated heel raise. Placing a weighted plate or dumbbell across the length of your femur however is not enough as the majority of the load will be spread across your thigh. Instead we need to place a weight directly over the top of your shin (tibia).

The way in which you load the seated calf raise will vary from person to person. Start with a heavy dumbbell stacked vertically over your knee. If the weight you choose is not sufficient to cause the desired fatigue in the muscles after the 4th set of 10 repetitions, you need to either increase the weight of the dumbbell or place a loaded barbell across your knees.

To target the gastroc muscle, perform standing heel raises while holding weight. The double leg version will often be the easiest and can be progressed to single leg. Remember to perform both the seated and standing calf raises with a very slow tempo (three second eccentric lower and three second concentric ascent) with as much weight as you can tolerate and maintain good technique.

In order to really benefit from HSR exercises, you must perform them slowly and heavy! Sounds simple enough, right?

The “slow” portion of HSR refers to the tempo at which the exercise is performed. Ideally, you should take three seconds in the eccentric and three seconds in the concentric phase (meaning each rep takes 6 seconds total to complete).10 The “heavy” portion of HSR refers to the intensity of the exercise or how much weight is being used. This is the factor most rehabilitation professionals unfortunately come up short as they are afraid to load the injured tendon! Don’t be! Remember, even a degenerated tendon has more “healthy” tissue than a normal tendon.17

When you’re starting the HSR phase of the rehab plan, start with 4 sets of 15 repetitions every other day (on your off days continue to perform the isometrics from phase one). Perform your isometric exercises prior to any HSR as the cortical inhibition benefits derived from the isometrics will allow you to access more motor units and therefore a greater strength stimulus.

The weight you choose to perform the exercise with should be something you can control with good technique for each repetition, but heavy enough to where after completing your fourth set you are too fatigued to perform a fifth.7 If you get done with your fourth set and feel like you have enough energy to perform a fifth, add more weight! It is rare to have a lot of pain with HSR exercises if you’re doing them slow enough (if you do, you may not be experiencing a true tendinopathy injury and you may want to revisit the diagnosis section of the prior blog).

Research on the use of HSR with tendinopathy has recommended performing these strength exercises for 4 sets of 15 repetitions for 1 week before increasing the weight and dropping the volume to 4 sets of 12 reps for the next two weeks.10 Eventually progress to 4 sets of 10 reps, followed by 4 sets of 8 and then 6 reps (each for 2-3 weeks each).

Along with the HSR component to strengthening the muscles/tendon complex, we also need to increase the ability of the tendon to absorb and store loads. The highest loads placed on the Achilles tendon occur when we use it as a spring, utilizing what is called the stretch shortening cycle (SSC).

Powerful movements (like running or repetitive jumping) use the tendon to store and then release energy in order to generate large amounts of power. Exercises that emphasize the storage of loads (such as a jumping from a box and landing) are therefore a bridge to eventually returning to the full energy storage and release capabilities of the tendon.

Stand on a small box, maybe 6-8 inches in height. Step off and land with both feet in a mini squat position. Don’t land with stiff joints but instead make sure to absorb the force of impact. Perform two sets of twenty landings to start before progressing according to how your body responds to a higher box and eventually a single leg landing.

Phase 3: Plyometric

In order to start plyometrics (where the tendon is used as a spring to store and release energy) we must first see profound changes in muscle strength. The strength of the injured leg must be close to the capabilities of the non-injured extremity. Those who have been experiencing chronic Achilles tendon pain may have acquired noticeable differences in muscle size (noted calf atrophy of the injured leg) however, muscle size changes will take much longer compared to strength and is not the best predictor of when to return to plyometric loads.7

A great way to assess your level of strength is to perform the same testing protocol from the prior blog. Perform 20 double leg heel raise followed by 20 single leg heel raises. Look and feel for how easy it is to perform the movement on each leg. Is it the same? Was there any pain?

Next, perform a faster more explosive movement like a single leg hop on each leg. Originally this movement was likely painful and hard to perform on the injured leg. If you are ready to move onto the plyometric phase of rehab, you must have the ability to show good quality control of your body without any pain during slow movements like the single leg heel raise and a high load functional movement like a hop.

The goal with this phase of rehab is to start using the tendon as a spring again and see how it responds. An example of an entry level plyometric will be a double leg pogo hop. Simply perform repetitive small jumps only a few inches off the ground (like bouncing on a pogo stick). Start with 30-50 reps in a row before resting for a few minutes and perform 3-4 sets. If you can perform pogo jumps without any pain, try a a few light jogs (1-minute duration at maximum).

Notice how your tendon responds to the loading during and within the next 24 hours. If you feel great during and do not have any increase in tendon pain or stiffness the following day, increase the training load the next session. For the first few weeks, increase the volume of your loading by adding in more jumps per set or doing longer runs to help build your tendon’s capacity.

Recording every aspect of your plyometric program will allow you to progress and build this capacity as efficiently as possible. For example, Athlete A and Athlete B both performed 3 sets of 30 pogo hops and 3 sets of 1 minute jogs the first day. Athlete A woke up the next day and felt great, so he was allowed to progress to 3 sets of 50 pogo hops the next session while keeping the running the same. Athlete B however woke up the following day and had a slight increase in his Achilles tendon pain. For this reason, Athlete B’s plan would need to be modified the next plyometric (either dropping volume on the hops or jogs).

Make sure to only increase one variable each training session (whether that’s adding or taking away volume or intensity). If you change too many variables you won’t be able to go back through your notes and see whether it was a loading change in volume or intensity that was too much for your tendon to handle.

Start with two to three sessions a week of these light plyometric (one session every three days). At this stage of rehabilitation, the tendon cannot take plyometric loads everyday without getting angry. For this reason, structure your weekly training by mixing HSR days in between plyometric sessions. If your tendon continues to respond well to the increases in plyometric loading every third day, you can continue to add more volume or start to increase intensity.

Eventually you’ll be able to progress to medium level plyometric exercises including squat jumps, jump rope, and double leg jumps for distance. If you are a runner (or have any running in the sport you participate in) adding in acceleration and deceleration drills along with cutting/change of direction activates may be a good option at this time.

After a few weeks of progressing these drills, you can then move to even higher level plyometric activities including: single leg pogo hops, double under jump rope, sprinting mixed with agility drills and longer distance runs. For anyone participating in the Olympic lifts of the snatch and clean, I recommend waiting until this time to reinitiate the full lifts as the explosive nature of the movement coupled with the loaded barbell may be too excessive for the tendon to handle before this time.

Eventually you can start manipulating the frequency of loading by performing plyometrics every two days instead of three. As always, see how your tendon responds and adjust accordingly. There is no perfect recipe for how to progress though this plyometric stage. Everyone will respond differently and you need to find what loads work best for your body. Be patient at this time, this process can take several weeks to months.

Final Thoughts

The rehabilitation process for a tendon injury can be boiled down to one simple sentence, “Err on the side of caution.” There’s no doubt if you’re reading this blog it’s because you are trying to find the most efficient and quickest way to fix your pain and return to the activities you love. I urge you to take this process slowly and have patience. Depending on the severity of your tendon injury, this process could take months.

I hope this blog post could be helpful in giving you a better understanding of the complexity of Achilles tendinopathy rehabilitation. If you at any time feel like you are not progressing well with trying to work through this process on your own, I strongly recommend contacting a rehabilitation professional to help you through this process.

Until next time,

Dr. Aaron Horschig, PT, DPT, CSCS, USAW

With

Dr. Kevin Sonthana, PT, DPT, CSCS

References

Cook JL, Purdam C. Is compressive load a factor in the development of tendinopathy? Br J Sports Med. 2011;1-6

Kelly S, Beardsley C. Specific and cross-over effects of foam rolling on ankle dorsiflexion range of motion. Int J Sports Phys Ther. 2016;11(4):544-551

Beardsley C, Škarabot J. Effects of self-myofascial release: a systematic review. J Bodyw Mov Ther. 2015;19(4):747-58

Kubo K, Akima H, Ushiyama J, et al. Effects of 20 days of bed rest on the visoelastic properties of tendon structures in lower limb muscles. Br J Sports Med. 2004;38:324-3

Cook JL, Purdam C. Is compressive load a factor in the development of tendinopathy? Br J Sports Med. 2011;1-6

Cook JL, Rio E, Purdam CR, Docking SI. Revisiting the continuum model of tendon pathology: what is its merit in clinical practice and research? Br J Sports Med. 2016; 50(19):1187-1191

Cook J. (2018, November 5). Personal Communication.

Curwin S, Stanish WD. Tendinitis: its etiology and treatment. Lexington: Collamore Press, 1984.

Alfredson H, Pietila T, Jonsson P, et al. Heavy-load eccentric calf muscle training for the treatment of chronic Achilles tendinosis. Am J Sports Med. 1998;26:360-6

Kongsgaard M, Kovanen V, Aagaard P, et al. Corticosteroid injections, eccentric decline squat training and heavy slow resistance training in patellar tendinopathy. Scand J Med Sci Sports. 2009;19:790-80

Rio E, Kidgell D, Purdam C, et al. Isometric exercise induces analgesia and reduces inhibition in patellar tendinopathy. Br J Sports Med. 2015;49:1277-1283

Malliaras P, Cook J, Purdam C, Rio E. Patellar tendinopathy: clinical diagnosis, load management, and advice for challenging case presentations. J ORthop Sports Phys Ther. 2015;45(11):887-98

Vicenzino B, Branjerdporn M, Teys P & Jordan K. Initial changes in posterior talar gide and dorsiflexion of the ankle after mobilization with movement in individuals with recurrent ankle sprain. Manual Therapy. 2004 May; 9(2):77-82

Reid A, Birmingham TB, & Alcock G. Efficacy of mobilization with movement for patients with limited dorsiflexion after ankle sprain: a crossover trial. Physiother Can. 2007; 59:166-172

Ganderton C, Cook J, Docking S, Rio E, et al. Achilles tendinopathy: understanding the key concepts to improve clinical management. Australasian Musculoskeletal Medicine. 2015;19(2):12-18

Munteanu SE, Scott LA, Bonanno DR, Landrof KB, et al. Effectiveness of customized foot orthoses for Achilles tendinopathy: a randomised controlled trial. Br J Sports Med. 2015;49(15):989-94

Docking SI, Girdwood MA, Cook J, Fortington LV, Rio E. Reduced levels of aligned fibrillar structure are not associated with Achilles and patellar tendon symptoms. Clin J Sport Med. 2018.

Rehabbing Achilles Tendinopathy Welcome back to Squat University. Last month I started a blog series on the topic of…

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i-am-very-very-tired · 7 years

Link

Like most people my age, I found out that the American Health Care Act of 2017 (AHCA) had passed the House of Representatives via social media. My Twitter feed was filled with outrage about defunding Planned Parenthood and so my rage focused there, too. I wrote my representatives, composed a tweet of my own, decided to donate my time and money, and vowed that the next time I saw some old, white men protesting outside of my local Health Center I would give them more than just a dirty look. I thought that was the worst of it. But the next day, I saw #IAmAPreExistingCondition trending on Twitter, and after that, my entire outlook on the AHCA changed. As I scrolled through the tweets, it hit me that the AHCA could destroy more than just my reproductive rights. It could ruin my whole life. I had never had to deal with insurance issues like this before. I was covered under my mother’s insurance until I took my first job —ironically enough, working in a phone bank for a company that mainly denied appeals for Medicare coverage— and none of my health struggles emerged until months after I’d been hired. Too late for Blue Cross Blue Shield to hold them against me. When I switched to insurance I selected under the Health Insurance Marketplace in 2015, no insurance provider could deny me coverage, raise my premiums, or refuse to pay for benefits because of a pre-existing condition. The same held true when I became a Massachusetts resident in 2016 and applied for MassHealth. I didn’t even know how many pre-existing conditions I had. I panicked, googled “American Health Care Act pre-existing conditions,” and read everything I could find from reliable sources. According to The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, CNN, Time, Rolling Stone, New York Magazine, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), and NH Health Cost, I have 17 pre-existing conditions that, before the ACA took effect, insurers could have used as an excuse to refuse to cover me or to severely raise my premiums, including: ▪A mild-to-moderate alcohol use disorder. ▪Back pain. ▪Mental disorders, including: Mild agoraphobia. Anxiety. ADHD. Bipolar disorder. Complex post-traumatic stress disorder (C-PTSD). Depression. Seasonal affective disorder. ▪Menstrual irregularities. Sleep disorders, including: ▫BruxismREM Sleep Behavior Disorder. ▪Trauma as a result of domestic violence and sexual assault. Oh, and I guess I should also mention that I’m into BDSM and being choked, as those are sexual masochism disorders listed in the DSM-V. Why? Because according to experts interviewed by Time, having a “sexual deviation or disorder” could be a problem. Considering the Vice President’s stance on LGBTQ+ rights, being a queer, gender non-conforming, polyamorous woman who often wears men’s clothes may also be an issue, especially since it’s in my psychiatrist’s files. This brings my grand total to 19 pre-existing conditions. If you count my sexuality, dating lifestyle and gender expression, that’s 22. Based on my family history, I’m at risk for three more—Alzheimer’s, breast cancer, and diabetes— and since I’ve applied for disability twice, that could also factor against me, according to Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH). It can take no more than one of my medical conditions to disqualify me from coverage or to make my premium so high as to be unaffordable. Right now, I pay almost nothing for health care. I live in Massachusetts and qualify for MassHealth CarePlus based largely on my income; since I don’t make more than 133 percent of the federal poverty level ($1,305 a month), I don’t pay premiums or copayments. I haven’t had to enter treatment for alcohol abuse, but if I did, it would be completely covered. When I threw out my back (again) a few months ago, all my treatment was covered, and when I ended up in the hospital because the muscle relaxants I was prescribed gave me serotonin syndrome, I never received a bill. I see my trauma therapist and psychiatrist and attend group therapy for free, and when I went for four hours of neuropsychological testing to confirm my ADHD diagnosis, all it cost me was time. The same was true when I got an IUD (at Planned Parenthood, bless them), which I use for birth control and to eliminate my formerly monstrous periods. Are you getting the picture? None of my pre-existing conditions affect my life in any way because I’m covered by a system that’s essentially the same as the Affordable Care Act. The only costs I incur are for my six medications: Seroquel, two types of Depakote, Klonopin, Effexor, and Adderall. They each cost $3.65 per month, $21.90 all told. That’s the extent of the financial obligation to my health, apart from prescriptions for routine things, like strep throat (I’m prone to it) or UTIs and yeast infections. Even then, there’s some wiggle room. According to my MassHealth handbook, I never have to pay more than $250 in any given year for prescriptions and if I can’t afford a copayment, all I have to do is tell my pharmacist. Legally, they still have to give my the medication and the fee is “put on my tab,” as it were. Setup Timeout Error: Setup took longer than 30 seconds to complete. If I applied for insurance under AHCA policies and was denied, I would end up paying around $100 per hour for therapy, $125 to 285 per hour for psychiatry, about $50 per session for group therapy, and $588.42 for my medications (using a discount card). My basic mental health care costs would be $1,688.42 to $2,328.42 per month, hundreds more than I make. Even by cutting every possible cost (canceling my cell phone, placing the full burden of household expenses on my partner, and never spending a cent on clothes, personal care products, or other “extras”), I’d still come up short. There is also the possibility that, if Massachusetts adopted the AHCA’s guidelines, I would end up in a high-risk insurance pool, a state-created health care market for people who are especially sick or who were denied other health insurance coverage. The problem is that whereas “normal” insurance companies receive premiums from healthy people to cover the costs of the sick, no such offset exists in these pools. As a result, premiums and deductibles skyrocket, yearly and lifetime coverage costs can be limited, and what coverage there is tends to be inadequate. Even still, people end up on waitlists for this impotent insurance because there isn’t enough funding to meet demand. But let’s say I could afford a premium of $298.75 to $478 per month, a deductible of about $10,000 per year, and that I wouldn’t end up on a waitlist. Even then, I’d most likely be subject to a waiting period during which treatment for my pre-existing conditions would not be covered. As of 2013, Massachusetts’ group health plans allowed a maximum exclusion period —the period during which insurers can refuse to cover treatment related to pre-existing conditions— of six months, half a year in which I’d be paying that $1,688.42 to $2,328.42 a month, plus hundreds more for insurance that wouldn’t cover my basic needs. Since my treatment and medication would cost so much with insurance, I might even be tempted to go without—as I imagine many others in my situation would. However, Section 133 of the bill would almost eliminate any desire to get coverage if my financial situation changed; it forces insurers to increase premiums by 30 percent for anyone with a break in coverage of 62 days or more. Anyone with pre-existing conditions, especially those who also experience financial difficulty, would be practically legislated into debt, whether they chose to seek coverage or not. The state itself might not even feel that it’s worthwhile to make a high-risk pool. Section 132 of the AHCA states that in order to receive their share of funding to create these pools, they have to match federal funds “at a rate that grows from 7 percent in 2020 to 50 percent in 2026.” That probably has something to do with the AHCA also repealing the tanning tax and the Net Investment Income Tax, and would allow insurance companies to deduct employee salaries of $500,000 or more. Hey, the money to take care of sick people has to come from somewhere. But it won’t be from tanning salons that cause skin cancer or the richest 2 percent of the population. Certainly not from the insurance companies that pay next to nothing in taxes, anyway. My worries about the AHCA extend beyond my own health. My partner, to whom I’m committed in all but marriage, has often helped me financially. He works full time at a marketing firm and his paychecks are steady, whereas mine are sporadic. I pay any bills under my own name, but we negotiate rent, food, and creature comforts based on the state of my checking account. I mention this only because he has four pre-existing conditions of his own: ADHD, anemia, depression and hypertension, and has a family history of seven more: addiction, asthma, brain cancer, high cholesterol, obesity, sleep apnea, and ulcers. Although he receives health insurance through his employer, he’s still not safe. The mandate that large employers must provide affordable health insurance to their employees would be repealed under the AHCA, as would the penalty for large employers that don’t cover essential health benefits, like pregnancy costs and preventative medicine (not to mention the mental health coverage we both need). His company might decide to cut costs in one of two ways: by offering cheap plans that don’t cover essential benefits, or by offering expensive plans that do. Either way, his plan couldn’t deny or change his coverage based on the AHCA, but if we were to throw aside our choice of commitment and marry so I could be covered as his dependent, we might not be able to afford it due to my health history. If the AHCA were to pass, I’d be left in a precarious situation. Under AHCA policies, cost sharing for low-income individuals like myself would be gone by 2020, as would the premium assisted tax credit, which allows me to receive a return on the unused amount come tax time. The heightened costs of health care (or going without care due to those costs) would push my anxiety through the roof. I have already been admitted to inpatient psychiatric units twice for this reason, and, under the AHCA, I’m sure I would soon be back. According to the Department of Health and Human Services, there were 67 million women who met the narrow definition of a pre-existing condition in 2014, 8 million people in my age group (25 to 34), and 45 million Americans who qualified on the basis of a behavioral health disorder. I may be just one, but I am one among millions whose lives would be irreparably sabotaged by the American Health Care Act, a bill that treats the health of American citizens with anything but care. Liz Lazzara is an essayist and mental health advocate living and working in Boston, MA. She is currently working on a memoir about complex post-traumatic stress disorder.

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littlepuddingsugg · 7 years

Text

Need A Distraction**

Joe helps Y/N take her mind off of work.

SMUT WARNING

“You need a distraction” the boys decided after you told them how stressed you were these past couple of weeks.

“Yeah you just need to take your mind off the project for a little while” Caspar said through your computer screen.

“What exactly does this distraction involve?” you questioned, eyeing the 7 boys you were FaceTiming.

“Hmm we could go out” Jack stated “I mean as a group” he corrected himself after Josh nudged his arm firmly.

“Or we all could just hangout. I suppose I could take a break tomorrow” You suggested.

“Actually Y/N, tomorrows not really a good day for me” Connor replied.

“Or me”

You frowned after each response. “Well then I guess I’m by myself which will only result in me working and stressing which is the issue we are trying to avoid”

“I’m free tomorrow Y/N” Joe said from the background before he made his way into frame.

“Yeah! Joe can be your distraction!!” Caspar shouted, a bit too excitedly.

“Well alright then Joe. I’ll see you tomorrow”

“Yeah sounds good” you heard him say before you said your goodbyes to the group and closed your laptop.

You were jolted awake by the sound of your doorbell going off. Rolling over you looked at your phone, 8:30. You groaned after hearing your doorbell go off again, signally that whoever was at your door was not going to go away.

You rolled out of bed and picked up the hoodie you had thrown on the ground the night before, before walking to your front door. You glanced at the screen as you placed your hand on the knob. “You’re early Sugg” you said swinging the door open raising an eyebrow at him.

“Actually love, we never decide on a time so I though ‘Hey early bird gets the worm’ right?”

“What are you even on about?” you said stepping to the side and letting him into your flat.

“I don’t really know but I’m here and taking you to breakfast so go get ready.”

You groaned before complying and went back to your room to take a shower. While you were in the shower you heard your phone go off a few times, multiple times actually. When you got out you walked over to your phone realizing you had multiple texts come through. You opened your phone and started to read them.

CL: Hows the distracting going?

JS: Good. Y/N’s in the shower then were going to breakfast

OW: Then what? The point is to keep her mind off the project all day Joe.

JS: Mate I know that. I guess we’ll just wonder around and see where that takes us.

JM: Then later you can be the ultimate distraction

MP: Yeah mate, thats the whole reason why we were all ‘busy’ today.

JS: You guys are so annoying sometimes. I’m not going to sleep with Y/N.

CM: Then at least tell her that you like her and spare the rest of us please.

JS: I think she just got out of the shower so bye.

CL: GOOD LUCK!

You reread the messages and still couldn't wrap your head around what had just happened. The boys had had a group chat of there own but when they met you, they made a new chat with you in it. Usually there were pretty good at checking the the names on the list before they texted, but apparently Caspar was a little too excited.

You switched your phone to silent and quickly got dressed and walked out of your room where you found Joe lounging on your couch.

“Hey you ready?” He said once he saw you.

“Yep, let the distracting begin.”

The rest of the day all you could think of was the texts. The boys bailed on hanging out tonight because they wanted you to sleep with Joe. You’d be lying if you said you didn’t fancy him. He was gorgeous and funny and you just didn’t understand how he had been single for so long.

“Looks like it might start to rain, wanna head back to yours?” Joe asked looking up at the sky and bringing you out of your daydream.

“What? Oh yeah, we probably should” You said seeing the dark clouds in the near distance.

“So should we watch a movie or something?” Joe suggested after you arrived back at your flat.

“Um maybe we could do something else?” you said deciding to take your chances.

“Like what?”

“Like do what the boys suggested”

Joe froze as the words left your mouth. “What?”

You took a few step towards him “You should tell Casp to make sure he's texting the correct group chat next time” you whispered.

“Shit” Joe breathed “You read those?”

“Yeah, and I might like you a little back” you told him in your most innocent voice before cupping his cheeks and placing your lips on his. His arms went to your waist and pulled you closer, deepening the kiss.

“Do you really wanna?” he ask as he pulled away. You nodded as you took his hand and led him into your bedroom.

Your lips reconnected with his as the two of you removed your coats and moved closer to your bed. Once you reached the foot of your bed, your hands moved to the hem of Joe’s shirt where you played with it before he broke the kiss to remove it and yours.

Joe reached around your back to unclasp your bra, letting it fall to the ground before he pushed you back on the bed and hovering over you. His lips here now moving from the sweet spot on your neck down your body to your stomach.

“God Y/N you don't know how long I’ve been wanting to do this” he breath was warm against your skin. His fingers were quick to unbutton your jeans and slide them and your underwear down your legs, leaving your fully exposed to him.

“Your so, so beautiful Y/N. Did you know that?” his lips were back on yours and your hands tugged at his hair. You let out a low moan when you felt a finger slid up and down your slit.

“Already so wet Y/N” Joe smirked as he began peppering kisses down your body once again but this time going further down than before. He nipped at the inside of your thigh, causing you to moan again.

“Joe quit teasing and do something” you pleaded, feeling yourself become impatient.

Joe smiled before he lowered his head to your core. You gasped as you felt his tongue come in contact with your clit. He began sucking harshly, every once and while, licking a stripe up your slit then continuing to suck.

You moans were become more and more frequent as Joe inserted a finger to you, pumping it in and out slowly. When he added a second, curling them both up, reaching new places inside of you, your back began to arch off the bed.

“God fuck Joe.” You moaned out feeling the pressure build up in your stomach.

Joe halted his motions, pulling his fingers out of you and placing them in his mouth before undoing her belt and pulling down his jean and underwear, his hard erection springing out, hitting his abs.

Before he could ask you, you pointed to your bedside table “Condoms are in there”

Joe laughed a bit before reaching over to pull one out of the box. He pumped himself a few times before rolling the condom on and propping himself above you once again, hands that supported his weigh on either side of you.

You brought your hands up and around his neck, pulling him back into a kiss. You breathed out into his mouth as you felt the tip of him brush against you. He pulled away from the kiss, his eyes searching for consent. You nodded and felt him start to ease into you slowly. You brought one of your legs up and around his waist and pushed his farther into you, causing you and him to moan in unison.

“Impatient are we?” Joe smirked

“Don’t start Sugg. Start moving” you pleaded.

Joe started thrust in and out of you, picking up speed with each thrust. With your leg still wrapped around him, he was able to go deeper into you with every thrust. You’re nails were digging into the skin on his back as you moaned out in pleasure.

“Yes Joe. Just like that” you felt your heart rate speed up and your breaths were getting heavier.

“God Y/N you fell so good. So tight. So wet.” Joe was panting as he continued to thrust into quickly.

The pressure in your stomach started to build up again and Joe’s thrust started to get sloppier.

“Y/N, i’m going to cum soon” “Me too” you arched your back into his chest as his head came down to rest in the crook of your neck. The pressure in your stomach was becoming too much to handle and after a few more thrusts, you screamed out Joe’s name mixed with a loud moan as you came undone around him.

The feeling of your walls clenching around him sent Joe over the edge as well, your name leaving his lips accompanied by a few grunts as he shot his hot cum into the condom.

Joe pulled out of you and went to dispose of the condom as you laid there trying to catch your breath.

“Holy shit Joe”

“That was amazing” Joe said getting back in bed, pulling you closer to him, as he pulled the duvet over the two of you.

“I’d be lying if I said i’ve had orgasams like that before” You admitted

Joe let out a small laugh “So, you only like me a little?”

“I like you a little more now”

“I can work with that” he said kissing the top of your head, squeezing you a bit. “Caspar is still an idiot though” you laughed.

“Yeah, but I do have to thank the kid, thats for sure.”

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danihelman-does-stuff · 7 years

Photo

Estelle Crossheart Bio (2017) by REIdepenguin

special shoutout to @nohmasked for helping me redesign this character! so for almost a week, I have been working on a Redesign of my main Ace Attorney OC: Estekke Crossheart. the main reason why I wanted to redesign her was because I wanted her design to be more influenced from her Hispanic heritage. so I changed her color scheme and changed her scarf with a necklace. these changes may not seem like much but I think they really elevate her character quite a bit.

I would love to hear your thoughts about her as well as of things I can improve with her!

bio is under the keep reading

Full Name: Estelle Maria Crossheart Gender: female Orientation: Asexual, Demiromantic Occupation: Defense Attorney Age during debut: 23 (Born in 1997) Height: 165 cm Weight: 67.7 kg/ 154 lbs Nicknames/ On-off names: Estie, Crossbrat Appearance: Estelle is half Mexican and half American. she got the Mexican side from her mother. she also has a slightly curvy body type matched with a round face, thick lips and large hazel eyes. Her shoulder length hair is neatly combed and a section of it is attached to a white bow like clip which makes it defy gravity. At court, Estelle wears a burgundy red jacket with a black collar. on it she wears an attorney's badge and bellow it a white blouse. She also wears mismatched marron Pants and cream colored shoes. in addition she wears with her a green necklace which is a family heirloom from her mother's side. she considers it a good luck charm and whenever she's in a tight situation, she has a habit of grasping the necklace. When she doesn't have to keep a professional appearance, Estelle likes to wear something comfortable that manages to be a little on the "girly side". She's also a secret fan of Lolita fashion, even though she can't afford any of the dresses.

Brief Personallity description: Estelle is a woman who is defined by her passion for the things she loves and believes in. In court, she acts in a very professional demeanor and she talks in a respectful and polite manner to the judge and witnesses even though she's a greenhorn. but because this is ace attorney, her attitude is constantly challenged by the constant antics that are brought into the courtroom. in her inner monologue she shows cynicism towards the unusual witnesses, constantly remarks of her mentor's pretentious sayings but when some of her thoughts are leaked, she can completely lose her cool. she is also an impatient person in general. she doesn't have a lot of patience for witnesses who tend to ramble and she likes getting things as soon as she can. this has lead her to jump to conclusions and sometimes gloss over details.

But despite her cynicsm ((which gradually decreases as she gets used to things)) Estelle isn't always a stick in the mud. she can be quite the extrovert as she loves going to parties, organizing events with her friends and openly greeting people with compassion and friendliness. She also loves playing and litsening to music. she has a very wide range and she finds the medium as her perfect form of escapism.

because she was raised by a psychiatrist and a detective as well as her personal experiences, she has a strong sense of morality, justice and above all loyalty and once she promises to defend her client she will do her best to believe them until the end. But at the same time, Estelle has a very large inferiority complex that was caused by her relationship with her late mother. She tends to be very dependent of others because of that and she gets very hurt and moody when she is betrayed. In addition, she also puts a lot of worth in her occupation as a defense attorney because aside from defending and playing music, she doesn't show a lot of confidence when she is tasked with certain actions (such as cooking for example). But even despite her weaknesses, she still tries her best to improve herself and work on her low self esteem.

Relations: Ethan Crossheart (father), Teresa Crossheart (Mother, deceased) Cyrus Twain (Mentor and brother figure ), Ty Evergreen (friend and assistant), Zoe (Ty's boyfriend and Estelle's client), Erin Skye (Friend and detective in charge over investigations), Renee trouver (rival prosecutor), Anya Linchevski (Friend, Rival Prosecutor and Mentor's lover.), Lewis Grant (client), Gordon "Black Friday" Smith (Favorite musician), Kristoph Gavin (affiliate), Archer Klim (Client and Kim's brother). (more to be added)

Backstory: As a child, Estelle always looked up to her mother, who was a well-respected detective in the police. Therefore she always wanted to work in the field of law out of the naïve belief that she wanted to be a defender of justice like her mother. However she always felt like she’ll never be as successful as her and lived in her own shadow as a kid causing her to have an inferiority complex and insecurity in her choices. She also felt that she couldn’t confess she was jealous of her mother because of it. During her years as a teenager, Estelle met her best friend Kim Audrey. they met by chance when they worked on history project in 8th grade. After the project, they eventually began spending more time with each other and bonded over their love for rock music and their upbeat personalities. While Kim admitted they were mostly content with their life as helping her father in his restaraunt, they still openly listened to Estelle's passions and cheered her on. but aside from kim and a few others, Estelle didn't have many close friends despite her extroverted nature. that is because it was during this time Estelle started putting more effort to her ambitions. she attended courtroom trails where her mother was involved, even if it meant cutting classes in school, attempted to help her mother in some of her cases (emphasis on attempted), and attended electives in her school that could assist her in her pursuit. she even tried applying to Themis Legal Academy when she was 15 only to fail because her grades weren't good enough. respected Estelle's drive for her ambitions but she was also concerned that her daughter was pushing herself too hard in such a young age. after all, Estelle's passion and impatience hurt her school and social life, and also her sleeping habits. she didn't know that Estelle's efforts were partially caused from her desires to be on par with her mother. this lead to a very rough patch in their relationship because both sides didn't really know how to communicate with the issue. Estelle's Dad was also concerned about her behavior and he constantly tried to talk with Estelle about her and sort things out. and while Estelle listened to his advice, she never fully stuck out to it.

When Estelle was in 11th grade, Her mother died in a traffic accident on her way back home. this caused great grief to Estelle and her family. Estelle felt guilty she couldn't resolve things with her mother and she lost a lot of hope in herself and her ambitions. Estelle managed to somewhat cope with her grief thanks to her friends and her father. It was during this time that Estelle really opened up about the feelings for her late mother and to accept the fact they existed, and to move on from them. Eventually, her Father introduced her to Cyrus who was his former patient. back then, he only had a year of experience in the law business but was still a very promising attorney. Cyrus has started teaching her about law but they didn’t have the best of relationships because he found Estelle unmotivated and bland. When Cyrus told her the truth, Estelle wasn’t offended and decided to listen to his criticisms. in fact, she appreciated the fact she had someone who motivated her to comfront her insecurities. The compassion he showed to her and to his clients were one of the things that rekindled her passion for her ideals and to pursue the legal field, this time in a way that wouldn't damage her health. And thus she went on to study law and pass the legal exam. Once she gained her attorney's badge, she went to work under Cyrus, who she became very close friend's with and become his protégé.

Even though she still has issues with her self esteem, she is still very grateful to the people who helped her overcome her difficulties. in fact, this gratefulness is what motivated Estelle to become a defense attorney, because she wants to her clients the same way they helped her, as well as stay faithful to the ideals she perserves.

Notes - her favorite food is chicken fajitas - Her first name, Estelle, means "star" in french - Her last name is a play on the term "cross my heart" - She is very claustrophobic. - her necklace is inspired by the Spanish Inquisition Necklace. - She fluently speaks Spanish and English and has a habit of occasionally cursing in spanish - she believes in the superstitions of her culture

#ace attorney #ace attorney OC #my oc #my art

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gordonwilliamsweb · 4 years

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Must-Reads Of The Week From Brianna Labuskes

The Friday Breeze

Newsletter editor Brianna Labuskes, who reads everything on health care to compile our daily Morning Briefing, offers the best and most provocative stories for the weekend.

Happy Friday! Is anyone still having an existential crisis over the now-viral tweet about what kind of inner monologue you have? And the fact that some people’s inner voice comes in images instead of words? Did you stare off into space for a while trying valiantly not to lose your grip on this fragile thing called reality? You are not alone!

All right, enough introspection, on to what you may have missed this week.

What’s in a name? Well for block grants … quite a bit of baggage. That’s why when the Trump administration sent letters this week to states to encourage them to transform their Medicaid programs into block-grant funding, it unveiled a fancy new title for the program. Wait for it … “The Healthy Adult Opportunity” program. Not the catchiest title, but certainly on brand for CMS Administrator Seema Verma’s messaging.

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Why shy away from “block grant” terminology? Because the policy’s history is rife with partisan controversy and rhetoric that the administration seems to want to distance itself from. Conservatives have been champing at this particular bit for years, but critics say block grants are illegal and will lead to coverage losses. There isn’t a question of if there will be a court challenge, but rather of how soon it will come.

The New York Times: Trump Administration Unveils a Major Shift in Medicaid

Politico: ‘Block Grants’ No More: Trump’s Medicaid Overhaul Has New Name, Same Goals

The Friday Breeze

Want a roundup of the must-read stories this week chosen by KHN Newsletter Editor Brianna Labuskes? Sign up for The Friday Breeze today.

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Now for the section that I think will become a mainstay for at least a few weeks, judging by the daily deluge of stories: the coronavirus roundup file! (I also wish I had a catchier name for that, so I guess I shouldn’t throw rocks at CMS’ glass houses. The coronavirus checkup, perhaps?)

Anyway here are your highlights, while emphasizing — for not the first or last time probably — that there is quite a low risk of contracting the virus for Americans at the moment.

— The U.S. has reported its first person-to-person transmission, but it was a husband getting it from his wife, who had just come back from the epicenter of the outbreaks. Officials continue to reiterate that this shouldn’t cause any panic.

The Associated Press: US Reports 1st Case of Person-to-Person Spread of New Virus

— As the number of cases worldwide surges toward the 10,000 mark, WHO has officially declared the outbreak a “public health emergency” while being extra clear that this is not a “no confidence” vote in China’s ability to contain it.

Los Angeles Times: Coronavirus Outbreak Is Now a ‘Public Health Emergency,’ WHO Says

— Do the numbers sound somewhat terrifying? Experts say it’s still too early to be doing the math on mortality rates — in pandemics, the early cases are often the most severe and skew the numbers.

Stat: Limited Data May Be Skewing Assumptions About Severity of Coronavirus Outbreak, Experts Say

— Who gets the oh-so-lucky honor of becoming the face of the crisis response in the states? That would be HHS Secretary Alex Azar (yes, the same Alex Azar who recently has been the source of some unpleasant gossip about the Trump administration).

Politico: Trump Sticks Embattled Health Chief With Coronavirus Response

— When the science is fast, but the virus is faster, a vaccine can be out of reach.

The Washington Post: Coronavirus Vaccine Research Is Moving at Record Speed

— China has invested billions into becoming a world leader in medicine. Is this outbreak a reality check?

The Wall Street Journal: China’s Vast Ambition in Medicine Gets Reality Check From Coronavirus

— Experts warn about a dangerous symptom of the coronavirus: xenophobia.

NBC News: As Coronavirus Spreads, So Does Concern Over Xenophobia

— And step away from that Amazon order for surgical masks. Not only will they not do much for you, but the surge in orders is creating a shortage for the medical professionals they actually will help.

The New York Times: Face Mask Hoarders May Raise Risk of Coronavirus Outbreak in the U.S.

The Supreme Court gave the green light to a Trump administration policy change that would allow government officials to take into consideration a green-card applicant’s use of federal safety-net programs such as Medicaid and food stamps. In the past, only substantial and sustained monetary help or long-term institutionalization counted.

The New York Times: Supreme Court Allows Trump’s Wealth Test for Green Cards

One of my favorite headlines of the week comes from this Stat story on the election and drug prices: “It’s the insulin, stupid.”

While “health care is complicated” has become a go-to one-liner for many of us wonks in recent years, Stat looks at why, when it comes to insulin, it’s just not. The drug is common, old and was previously cheap before an obesity epidemic provided an opportunity for pharma to jack up the prices. The stories that come out of that greed are devastating and plentiful.

The picture critics can paint is a fairly clear one that’s easy to understand. That may be why 2020 Democratic candidates are using it as a rallying cry.

Stat: It’s the Insulin, Stupid: How Drug Pricing’s Simplest Case Study Became a Top Issue for 2020 Democrats

“I am a danger to the public,” is not really something you want to hear from a pharmacist. But some of them are speaking out now about how chaotic workspaces and chronic understaffing are creating a breeding ground for disastrous mistakes.

The New York Times: How Chaos at Chain Pharmacies Is Putting Patients at Risk

A $145 million settlement between the government and a health technology company flew a bit under the radar this week, but it was the first of its kind. San Francisco-based Practice Fusion took kickbacks from an unnamed drugmaker (which was unmasked later as Purdue Pharma) to create an alert within its electronic health records system to encourage doctors to prescribe more opioids.

The Associated Press: US Attorney Announces $145M Settlement in Opioid Case

In a rare bit of good news, Americans’ life expectancy rose for the first time in four years as cancer and overdose deaths dipped slightly. While public health experts said the numbers were “encouraging,” they weren’t celebrating quite yet since the increase was so small.

The Associated Press: For 1st Time in 4 Years, US Life Expectancy Rises — a Little

A prominent Harvard scientist was arrested this week over accusations that he lied about his ties to China. Charles M. Lieber was apparently making $50,000 a month through his participation in the “Thousand Talents” program in, coincidentally, Wuhan, China. The arrest is just the latest in a crackdown on U.S. research being shared with China.

The New York Times: U.S. Accuses Harvard Scientist of Concealing Chinese Funding

In the miscellaneous file for the week:

— Uh, just in case anyone was confused, Purell can’t protect someone from Ebola. And now the FDA is officially telling the company it can’t say that it does.

The Washington Post: FDA Warns Purell Over False Claims It Can Eliminate Ebola, MRSA and Flu

— A harsh spotlight shone on the Hippocratic oath this week when testimony about Guantanamo Bay touched on the role of doctors in the facilities and interrogations.

The New York Times: Guantanamo Testimony Exposes Role of Doctors in C.I.A. Interrogations

— Wilderness therapy is a hot trend to help troubled teens whose families have run out of other options. But what does the science say about it?

Undark: Does Science Support the ‘Wilderness’ in Wilderness Therapy?

— Monday marked the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp. The ceremony was somber amid the global upswing in anti-Semitism and dehumanizing political rhetoric that undermines the once-unshakable promise of “never again.”

The New York Times: 75 Years After Auschwitz Liberation, Worry That ‘Never Again’ Is Not Assured

That’s it from me! Have a great weekend.

Must-Reads Of The Week From Brianna Labuskes published first on https://nootropicspowdersupplier.tumblr.com/

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dinafbrownil · 4 years