#that more people knowing the symptoms might help to keep the transformation in check?

[lorereadsclassics7]

I swear the next time Van Helsing and Dr. Seward exchange a knowing glance and not warn other people of the danger and significance of it I will scream

#dracula daily #dracula #bram stokers dracula #john seward #abraham van helsing #besties #please #just communicate #like did it occur to then #for even just a moment #that more people knowing the symptoms might help to keep the transformation in check?

[shadowonwater]

Viral Pokerus: Laventon

Laventon is extremally excited about the festival. After all the stress everybody has gone through with the rift and the red sky, he thinks this will be a good way to destress. Plus, celebrations are very fun in general.

He also hopes that the Festival will make Lucas feel like a part of Jubilife again. He knows that Lucas has been traumatized from being exiled and that Laventon is one of the only people in the village that Lucas still frequently talks too. The poor boy has gotten very quiet since everything that happened.

The festival happens and Laventon is having a good time with both of is assistants. He doing his best to help Lucas have a good time. There's a bit of an incident with some of Lucas's pasture Pokemon running around, before being corralled back to the pastures.

Laventon is sad to see the festival called off early, due to the cold spreading around. He was really hoping to life Lucas's spirits up but the festival didn't seem to help much. A few days pass then shit hits the fan.

The colds had been getting worse but now people started collapsing with high fevers. The most horrifying part is that they are starting to grow Pokemon features. Akari, Laventon's assistant is one of those people. He is beside himself seeing her collapse.

Soon, Ginter and Ingo arrive, both are stunned at the chaos as people panic over what is going on. Ingo goes up to to Laventon who has started (to his own concern) having some cold symptoms as well. Ingo has a Zubat that he claims to be Melli. That Melli had completely turned into a Zubat somehow but it was still Melli in there. Ingo was hoping that Laventon had some idea what was going on.

Well, he didn't before but now he's got a theory. This virus spreading around turns people into Pokemon. He decides to call it Pokerus. It's a relief to know that after turning into a Pokemon, they will still be themselves.

Laventon tells Komado about Pokerus. Komado announces to the village what is going on. There is still panic but it's calmed down. Quarantining is going to start for the safety of everybody. Temporary Tents are being set up at prelude beach. Lucas leaves to check on the clans.

Laventon has lost contact with Lucas because he has to stay in the sick camp, and Lucas has yet to fall ill. Lucas has already gone through so much, and Laventon is worried about how he's handling the current events.

He gets even more worried when Cylene has to join him in the sick camp. Cylene is big part of Komado's reasoning skills, he worries greatly about what might happen next. He finds out that Komado tried to see if the transformed people could be captured in Pokeballs (they can't). He also realizes that he he's been seeing less and less wild Pokemon around. Laventon turns into an Oshawott.

After Cylene transforms she starts using teleport to let transformed people from the sick camp get to the Field lands, do to how little space they have at the beach. Lucas had gotten sick and transformed sometime since Laventon had last seen him, Laventon is sad he wasn't there for Lucas in a time of need.

Lucas can fly, so he's been flying to Laventon because he wants to keep working on the Pokedex because he thinks they might need to for his mission from Arceus. If he completes his mission, Lucas reasons, then he ask Arceus to fix whatever is happening.

Laventon is happy to keep working on his Pokedex but he worries about Lucas working himself so hard.

#viral pokerus au #pokemon #pokemon au #legends arceus #pokemon laventon #lavendad

[primarycaresolution]

What Is Primary Health Care?

Primary health care is the first level of care that people receive when they have a medical concern or need. It takes a whole-of-society approach and encompasses health promotion, disease prevention, treatment, rehabilitation and palliative care.

It’s important to keep in touch with your Primary Care Physician (your GP) to make sure you’re getting the best possible treatment for your condition and that you’re staying healthy. This can help prevent problems down the road and reduce the number of times you need to see a specialist in the future.

Your GP can also help you with lifestyle changes, like quitting smoking or eating more fruit and vegetables. They can also recommend screening tests, which detect problems before they become serious. They can also help you manage ongoing and long-term conditions, such as diabetes, high blood pressure or depression.

They can also refer you to other medical specialists if needed. Your GP can also give you advice on how to look after yourself, for example, by making sure you are up to date with your vaccinations and getting you on the right medication.

You can also ask them about your general health, including any symptoms you might be experiencing or any problems you’re having at home or at work. This is a good opportunity for them to get to know you better, which can help with future care and make you feel more comfortable sharing your personal health information.

Having a primary healthcare professional that offers Primary Care Services and is familiar with you and your medical history will make it easier for them to find solutions to your medical issues. They will also be able to coordinate all the different treatments you need, which can save you time and money in the long run.

They can also help you find the right allied health practitioner for your specific needs, such as a dentist, osteopath or physiotherapist. They can also recommend a dietitian or a counsellor, if you’re feeling overwhelmed by your health.

The primary care clinician also acts as an advocate for the patient within the larger health system, to ensure that the patient is aware of who is directing their care and that they know what to expect from each stage of their treatment or procedure. This can improve patient satisfaction and increase retention of patients in the healthcare system, which can be crucial to achieving a high quality of care for all.

A strong primary healthcare system has the power to make a huge difference for people’s lives. It can save lives and reduce hospitalisations, as well as the financial burden on the public health system.

It can also support the community and environment by addressing the health needs of all members of the community, regardless of their race, religion, socio-economic status or beliefs. It is an essential part of the health system and contributes to a country’s overall development strategy.

Primary health care is a complex field, but it has an exciting future. It has the potential to transform health systems around the world, helping us reach UHC and the Sustainable Development Goals. Check out this post that has expounded more on this topic: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primary_health_care.

[moserhusted8]

Helpful Advice For Anyone Suffering From Cancer

There are 4 stages of ovarian cancer. In Z-VAD(OMe)-FMK is confined to one or both ovaries. In stage II it has spread outside of the ovaries to the uterus or fallopian tubes. In Stage III the cancer has spread outside of the pelvic area but still within the abdomen. Stage IV means the cancer has started to spread throughout the body. Focus on having a healthy diet during your cancer treatment. Eating better will give you more energy for everything that you are going through. It will also help you feel less stressed because your body will have the fuel it needs for the day. Research has shown that eating well may also extend your life. A person dealing with cancer needs to hear the words "I love you", every day. This assures them of your emotional support. Actions are a wonderful way to show that you care, but words can have a healing power when someone is experiencing a stressful situation. Do not hesitate to frequently tell your friend or family member how you feel. One of the best cancer-prevention tips you can ever use is to check out your family's medical history in detail. Most people who contract cancer have genetic markers that make it more likely to grow and spread. Know and understand your family's medical history and you can do more to prevent cancer. While it may be common information that quitting smoking can reduce the chances emphysema and lung cancer, many smokers are unaware that smoking can also lead to colon cancer. The ingredients in cigarettes expose your colon to toxic carcinogens, and tobacco can lead to formation of colon polyps. Just another reason to avoid smoking. Make certain to study any relevant text you can about the particular cancer you, or someone close to you, has. Confidence is really important here. They say that eating an apple a day will keep the doctor away, but eating an onion a day can actually keep cancer at bay. Because of the large amount of antioxidants founds in onions, eating them regularly can help to eliminate free radicals from your body and thus help you to prevent contracting cancer. You might not typically have a fighting spirit, but if you have cancer you are going to need to find one quickly. If you do not realize what you're fighting for and cannot develop that all-important spirit, use the anger you're feeling to transform into motivation. Even Gandhi was able to lash out. If you have been diagnosed with cancer, make an effort at the end of each day to write down one good thing that happened. There will be times where you feel frustrated, sick and discouraged. Reminding yourself of the good things in your life will help you maintain a positive attitude. If you are not feeling well, ask a friend or a family member to take you to your doctor's appointment. They want to help you and asking them for transportation is safer for you when you are not doing your best. They can also provide company and support throughout the day. Learn about foods that provide antioxidants. These foods can be consumed to lower your risk of cancer while fighting off those carcinogens that you encounter through your life. If you are eating a diet that contains antioxidants, you are reducing your risks of various forms of cancer in the easiest way. Many people suffering with cancer also have post-traumatic stress disorder, commonly known as PTSD. If you notice that you have any of the symptoms of PTSD, you should immediately get help from a professional. Symptoms of PTSD include aversion to people or places, flashbacks of events, irrational fears, and changes in your sleep patterns. For cancer patients in an extreme amount of pain, you may want to consider acupuncture. One of the many positive results of acupuncture is that it helps to ease pain. There are even certain insurance companies who will cover acupuncture, if it is being used to manage pain from cancer. Stage I is the best case scenario. The cancer is still confined to the ovaries, making surgery alone a more successful option. When it goes into stage II, a hysterectomy is often necessary to make sure all of the cancer was removed. Stages III and IV are more likely to require chemotherapy.

#Rapamycin

[lokidokitom]

Wrong Type of Comfort

This Imagine from @imagine-loki submitted by @jotun-philosopher gave me an idea for a small fic. Did not follow it much so there’s a twist to it.

Word Count : 1700

Prompt : Imagine Loki noticing you’re upset about something, so he turns himself into a huge purry fluffy cat and jumps on you to tromple you with his fuzzy lil’ paddy-paws and give you snuggles and headpushes

_______________________________________

Sometimes the world is just not on your side and you feel like it’s personally out to get you.

The last few weeks feel like you were running on autopilot. Going through the motions at work and crashing without any energy left at the end of the day.

The weekend finally arrived and you were able to relax around the tower. Tony had given you the weekend off when he noticed how beat up you were but it was now Sunday and all the sleeping and relaxing hadn’t helped at all. You still felt exhausted.

When you woke up this morning, you made your way to the shared living room. Since you had spent the last two days in your room to rest and it hadn’t worked, you thought that a change of scenery might help you recharge.

Tony was the first person to see you on the couch under your pile of blankets.

“Hey there Y/N! Are you feeling any better?” Tony asked you, trying to see where your head was under everything.

“Hi Tony, I thought the time off would help but I can’t seem to shake off this tiredness,” you admit popping your head up to see him clearly.

“You can take more time off Y/N. We need you on the team but we need you at a hundred percent. I want you to be okay and not burnt out,” You can see the worry in Tony’s eyes. You feel bad for making him worry so much.

“I can’t make you just wait for me Tony. I’ll be able to work tomorrow.”

“Don’t rush it Y/N, you can take at least another day okay? I don’t want to see you do any work before Tuesday, got it?”

“If that makes you stop worrying so much about me Tony, I’ll do it.”

“I always worry about you Y/N/ Now, do you need anything? Soup, tea, water.. anything?”

“I’m okay Tony, really please stop worrying about me.”

“Okay then. I’ll send someone to check on you in a few hours to make sure you’re eating,” with that he ruffled your hair and walked away.

You smiled and fixed up the hair that fell into your eyes. Having someone care so much about you feels good, but it’s not enough to completely lift the funk that you’re in.

Flipping the channels on the tv, you stopped on a cartoon that you enjoyed when you were younger and cuddled further into the couch. An hour into the movie, Steve comes in the room with a tray full of food.

“Tony sent me a message saying that you were in here and needed, and I quote, ‘a shit ton of food’. Is there anything that you want and don’t see here?”

“Thank you Steve but you didn’t have to do all of this! I won’t be able to eat it all.” He had brought you a giant bowl of mixed fruits, some eggs, pancakes, toasts, a few different kinds of jams, waffles with all the toppings, and a plate full of bacon.

“I can help with that,” Loki smoothly waltz in the room with a smirk. Loki and you weren’t what you would call friends but you would talk once in a while.

“I mean, if Steve is okay with it, he’s the one who made it all,” you look at him for his input.

“Go right ahead Loki I just ate, but make sure Y/N eats her share. Tony’s orders.”

You roll your eyes but Loki nods and comes to sit beside you on the couch. Once Steve leaves the room, Loki turns to you looking curious.

“So why are the Captain and robotic man so worried about you this time?” Loki asks when he pops a grape into his mouth.

“They’re just over reacting. I’ve been tired lately and all the sleep I had in the last two days hasn’t helped, but I’ll be okay.”

“Have you fallen ill?”

“I don’t think I have.” You hadn’t thought of that. You didn’t notice any more symptoms but that didn’t mean you didn’t have a small fever.

Loki surprised you by sitting closer and reaching his hand to touch your forehead. That is the first time he’s ever touched you and you weren’t expecting how smooth his hand was. You’ve seen videos of how he fights and you expected his hands to be rough.

“Well, your temperature seems okay but I wouldn’t be the best judge since, well, frost giant and everything,” he moves back to his previous spot on the couch and reaches for more food.

You chuckle and reach for some food as well. “Friday, could you check my vitals please?”

“Of course Y/N, your vitals are all good.”

“So no fever Friday?”

“Your temperature is normal Miss Y/N.”

“Thank you Friday. I guess you were right Loki.”

“I guess so, now make sure you eat enough of this before I get blamed.” Loki grabs the bowl of fruits and plops it onto your lap.

Talking to people and seeing them trying to take care of you is helping lift your spirits just a little bit.

“So what has been going on Y/N? Friday said there was nothing medically wrong,” Loki asks again, not pushing but curious.

“I think it’s mentally. I’ve been feeling a lot negative and low energy for the last few weeks and nothing seems to get better. Usually a good night’s sleep will help but lately it’s been dream after dream where I wake up even more stressed than I was before.”

“So you haven’t been sleeping well?”

“No. Even the last two days, the only thing I did was sleep and relax but it didn’t help me.”

“Could I try something to help?”

“Of course,” you nod almost enthusiastically, wanting anything to help you rest.

You watch as Loki completely disappears in front of your eyes and a black cat is sitting right where he was, the eyes are the same ones you were looking into a few seconds before just more cat-like.

The cat pads his way to you and head-butts your cheek before sitting next to the fruit bowl on your lap.

You smile sweetly at him until you feel a sneeze explode out of you. Once your eyes open, even Loki notices how watered they got. Another sneeze comes out and Loki jumps back to his previous spot and turns back into himself.

“What’s wrong? I thought you weren’t sick,” worry floods his eyes.

“No I’m not sick it’s,” another sneeze. “It’s only allergies. I’m allergic to cats,” and another sneeze.

“I am so sorry, darling!” You can see how bad Loki feels. “Is there something I can do?”

A sneeze comes out before you can start talking. “Could you just get my allergy medication from my bathroom?”

“Yes, of course!” Loki jumps up from the couch and disappears from the room.

A few seconds later, Loki comes back with the bottle of medication you needed and hands it to you. You pop a pill and swallow it between sneezes.

“I apologize, Y/N. I didn’t know you’d have a bad reaction like this.”

“It’s okay Loki, you didn’t know I was allergic. It’s not your fault.” By the end of the conversation your symptoms had already slowed down a lot. You’re sneezing stopped but your nose was still congested. “Thank you for trying to make me feel better.”

“Trying being the key word right?” You laugh. “Are you allergic to dogs as well?” 

“No, I love dogs!”

Loki smirks and transforms himself into a beautiful black lab and makes his way towards you on the couch. You smile and pat his head when he rests it on your lap.

“Would you like some?” You ask Loki pointing to the fruit bowl next to his face. He just pushes the bowl a bit with his nose closer towards you.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be eating some too.” You pick up a piece of watermelon and put it next to his mouth.

You spend the rest of the morning like this, eating through the food tray together and finishing the rest of your movie, you even start another one. After all the food is gone you make yourself more comfortable on the couch and Loki does too, coming closer to you.

He head-butts your hand until you get the message and you start to pet him. The soothing motion of petting his soft fur slowly makes you fall into a comfortable, stress free sleep and Loki falls asleep as well.

A few hours later, Tony walks in to check on Y/N and what he sees is not something he’d ever imagine seeing. His little chuckle wakes up the dog on the couch. Loki slowly removes himself from next to you and makes his way toward Tony and by the time he’s in front of him, he’s back to his Asgardian form.

“One word of this to anyone and you will regret it,” Loki fumes into Tony’s face.

“Don’t worry Lassie, you helped Y/N feel better so I’ll keep your soft side a secret,” Tony smirks and leaves the room.

Loki’s furious face disappears when he turns around and sees you still sound asleep on the couch with a peaceful expression on your face. He makes his way closer to you and makes sure you’re covered under your blanket then picks up everything around and brings it all to the kitchen.

“Did she eat some of it or did you eat it all?” Steve asks when he sees Loki dropping off the empty food tray.

“She ate most of it actually. After she got comfortable she ate a lot more. She’s sleeping peacefully now so don’t go rushing in there.”

“Tony sent out a message just a few minutes ago to the whole tower saying not to bother her.”

“Of course he did,” Loki rolls his eyes and turns to leave the room.

“Hey, Loki. Thanks for helping her,” Steve sincerely says.

Loki nods and leaves the room. You might be able to call your relationship a friendship now.

#loki #loki fanfiction #my fanfiction

[bedbellyandbeyond]

Just A Little Chat

(Story Post)

Nathan could only practice for about an hour before he was completely spent. It took Dax roughly the same amount of time to run all the way around the lake, so he jogged up to where Nathan and Kent were sitting in the grass taking a break. “Ah, un petit repose…” Dax panted as he stopped by them. “How'd it go? I heard some howling.” “It's going alright,” Nathan said as he offered Dax his water bottle. “I brought out the wolf a few times, but I can't hold it very long.” “Thank you… That's good. I'm glad this is actually helping,” Dax said before he took a long drink of water. Kent didn't acknowledge Dax and just started picking at the grass.

“How was your jog?” Nathan asked. “Oh, it was alright,” Dax said. “But it's awfully hot out, isn't it? I didn't expect that at all…” Kent furrowed his brow. “It's not hot at all. It's like sixty eight degrees.” “I'm sorry, I don't speak American,” Dax said. “Probably about twenty degrees Celsius,” Nathan said. “And there’s a bit of a breeze.” “Huh, well I really worked up a sweat then,” Dax said, pulling his tank top in and out to cool himself. “I'm overheating…” “Maybe take a dip in the lake,” Nathan suggested. “No, I think I'm too exhausted,” Dax said. “I'm really out of shape… I'd probably drown.” “Go lie down,” Kent said. “I'm not taking you to no hospital if you faint.” “Of course not…” Dax patted Nathan's shoulder and then walked to the house. “Let's see if I can make it up the ladder…” “Be careful, please!” Nathan requested. “Maybe just lie down on the couch!” “Yeah, maybe. See you.” Nathan sighed as Dax went inside. “I hope he's okay,” he said. “Don't worry about that dildo, he's fine,” Kent said. “Runnin's good ‘round here. Good for the heart and lungs. He just needs to train up.” “So, he's gone from ‘limp dick' to ‘dildo' in your vocabulary,” Nathan commented. “How does that work?” Kent just ignored that. “Both of you are like twigs. Maybe cause all he feeds you is twigs. You need to eat more red meats.” “I get plenty, thanks. Dax is very respectful of my dietary needs,” Nathan said. “Transformations just really eat up a lot of energy. And I've never really been the bulky type anyway.” “Shame. Real men have muscles,” Kent said. Nathan decided to tease him. “Is that your taste in men, then?” “Shut up, I'm not like you.” Kent grit his teeth. “And it's not like it even matters. I’m gonna be here alone no matter what, so I can’t even think about things like that.” Nathan sighed. “You're not alone, Kent. The ‘black suits' you keep chasing off, you know they're just trying to help you. You should be taking this as a new beginning, not further entrapment. You're a free man. If you want to build relationships with people, now's the time.” The bear man shook his head. “I ain't been around people in years. You saw, I don't know all the fancy new gadgets, I don't get all this new internet stuff.” He sighed. “I'm just an animal and I made peace with that fact over a decade ago. I have to live my life accordingly.” Nathan looked at him. “But you want to see your kids, right? You want to be a part of their life?” “Yeah… I do,” Kent said. “But now I'm thinking you might be right… They're better off without me.” Nathan shook his head. “…That’s not true. I said those things in anger, but it's not true… They should meet you. They ought to know you.” Kent looked out to the lake. “This just ain't the way it was supposed to go. This weren't what I saw in my head.” Nathan looked at him. “How was it supposed to go?” Kent pursed his lips. “I figured I'd see you again. And I'd see my kids. And I'd want to raise ‘em, ya know? And I suppose since you gave birth to ‘em, we'd both raise ‘em. Maybe we could all be here. Raisin' ‘em. ‘Cause you and me, we're both animals. So are the kids. It'd be safer out here for us.” Nathan blinked processing all this. “…You expected me to bring the kids up here and move in with you?” “Don't say it like that, you’re makin’ it sound gay,” Kent said. “It is gay.” “It is not. You know what I mean.” “Two men raising the children they made together is pretty fucking gay, Kent.” “Shut up, I'm not gay!” Kent growled. “I like women…” Nathan tilted his head. “But you want to raise kids with me?” Kent let out a deep sigh. “…You ain't so bad either. If I can't pick a woman.” Nathan couldn't help the blush that spread across his face. “…That's probably the nicest thing you've ever said to me. Even though it was still pretty insulting.” “Shut up, it's not like any of that can happen anyway,” Kent grumbled. “I reckon you'd never move out here.” “Not a chance.” “And you’ve got that veggie boy now, so…” “His name is Dax. You can use his name; I know you have it in you.” “So, that's that then. There's nothing I can do,” Kent said starting to get up. Nathan grabbed his arm though and and used it to pull himself to his feet, too. As soon as they'd both straightened up, he leaned in towards Kent and kissed him. The bear man was shocked, but he didn't pull away. Instead, after a few seconds, Nathan felt his hand creep up to his waist. The sudden touch broke the wolf man out of the moment, and he pulled away, taking the hand off of him. “You know, I should go check on ‘veggie boy’.” Kent was stunned, staring at Nathan with wide eyes and a furious blush across his face. Nathan started to walk back to the cottage, but Kent managed to shake his surprise and grabbed Nathan’s arm. “Now, you wait just a minute! You can’t just do that and walk away like it was nothin’!” Nathan turned around. “It was nothing. It was just a little gift to maybe help you figure out some stuff. As  you said, I have Dax.” Kent just grimaced and let go of his arm. “I won’t help you no more until I see my kids.” “Fine.” Nathan went back inside.

When Nathan got in, he found Dax passed out on the couch with the ceiling fan on. It really wasn’t that hot out so Nathan went over and put his hand on his partner’s forehead. “You’re burning up…” Nathan said a little worried. He started to shake his partner’s shoulder. “Dax. Wake up…” Dax groggily opened his eyes. “Hm… Yeah? …Nathan?” “Are you okay?” Nathan asked. “It feels like you’re running a fever.” “I feel okay…” Dax exhaled. “Just hot.” “I think you should see a doctor,” Nathan said. “No, it’s not that bad… Just need to cool down.” Nathan sighed and went to get him a glass of cold water and a cool wet towel for his head. “Come on, drink this.” Dax sat up a bit so he could sip down the water. Once he was done, he put the glass down on the coffee table. “That's actually been really good water… He said spring fed, right?” “Yeah.” Nathan put the towel on Dax's head. “I was hoping you and I could go back into town today but if you're not feeling well, I don't want to push you. That, or we go into town to a doctor.” “I think I'm fine,” Dax said taking Nathan's hand. “I don't feel nauseous or anything like that. No sore throat.” Nathan nodded. “Alright, you rest for an hour and if you don't cool down, I'm calling Hanover to come and take us to a clinic.” “Alright.” Dax smiled and squeezed Nathan's hand. “Did you have a good practice though? I stopped hearing howling and stuff when I got back.” “Yeah, I just had a chance to talk to Kent about some stuff…” Nathan said. “Stuff like what?” Dax asked. Nathan frowned. “I'm still trying to process it, and I do want to talk to you about it later. But you need to rest first. I don't know what you did on that run to get you like this, but I'm worried.” “It really could just be a symptom of pushing myself too much on the run,” Dax suggested. “I really haven't worked out properly since last year, and I definitely haven't had an hour long run in nature for a while.” “You used to?” Nathan asked. “Oh, yes. Back home, I ran trails all the time,” Dax said. “It helped me think.” “Well, maybe you're right, but still…” Nathan took out his phone. “I'm going to call to be picked up anyway because either way, we’re going into town.” “So, no more training?” Dax asked. “No, Kent refuses until I bring the kids…” Nathan said. “Shame.” “If you are feeling well, we can maybe do a little celebrating together,” Nathan said. “Celebration?” “Yeah, it’s Canada Day after all.” “Oh…” Dax snickered. “Alright, time to celebrate the genocide of my people.” Nathan paused. “Oh. Uh, shit… Dax, I—” “Relax, I was only teasing you,” Dax chuckled. “You scared me…” “I mean, it did happen,” Dax said. “But we can celebrate a future of transparency, reflection, reparation and growth together and across the country. After all, we’re building bridges this weekend.” Nathan smiled and nodded. “Yeah, I like that... Anyway, do you understand when I say rest, I mean that I want you to sleep?” Nathan asked. “You're the one who woke me up…” Nathan kissed his nose. “Finish your nap, Dax.” “Well, alright… If you insist.”

#lore #Nathan #Kent #Dax #werewolf #werebear #thunderbird

[emachinescat]

Title: Of Concussions and Incorrigible Cons | Fandom: Psych

Summary: AU of the pilot episode. After being reprimanded by the interim chief, Head Detective Carlton Lassiter bites off more than he can possibly chew after attempting to apologize to a concussed Spencer for the less than gentle arrest at the end of the McCallum case. Spoilers for "Domestic Pilot." Part 1 of my whumpy episodic AU series, "AU that Glitters."

Words: 1,951

TW: None

AO3 Tags: Hurt/Comfort, Humor, Episode AU: s01e01: Domestic Pilot, Whump

Year Published: 2017

Full story here or on AO3!

Head Detective Carlton Lassiter stood in front of the interim chief's door, fist poised to knock and foot tapping an anxious rhythm on the floor. Vick had been rather short with him when she'd asked him to come to her office as soon as the paperwork for the McCallum case had been taken care of. It wasn't the "I'm busy, so make it quick" kind of short, either… she was agitated about something.

Taking a deep breath, he knocked.

Her voice rang out from inside, dead serious as could be. Yeah, she was pissed about something.

He entered, and opted for the ignorant approach, which was just as well, because he really had no idea what this was about. After all, he'd already been given a stern-talking to about inter-department romance and Lucinda was in the process of being transferred. A little swell of fury rose at the thought of the man – the so-called "psychic" who had so carelessly ruined one of the only positive things he had going for him.

"Detective Lassiter. Please sit."

He sat stiffly in the proffered chair, refusing to let the cushy trappings lull him into a false sense of security. He maintained eye contact with the chief, letting her know that he was completely comfortable in the situation that he found himself in, and that he had nothing to hide. Never mind the fact that he wasn't all that comfortable with the cloak and dagger business, being left in the dark about why he was here in the first place. "Chief. What can I do for you?"

Vick's eyes may have softened the tiniest bit at his cordial greeting, but she still did not look like a happy camper.

"I'm going to be honest with you, Detective," she said bluntly. "This could have turned out much worse. As it is, I am going to have to give you an informal reprimand and warn you to be very careful in the future."

Lassiter blinked. "Uh, Chief… What…?"

"Detective, you cannot be physically aggressive toward civilians who are in your custody, unless they are resisting arrest or are posing a threat to you or others around you."

Still trying to work through the confusion, Lassiter was both offended and relieved that there had been a mistake like this, that Vick actually thought that he'd attack a non-resisting civilian. Whatever she'd heard, it was all a big mix up. "Chief, let me assure you that I would never—"

"Shawn Spencer. McCallum residence. Yesterday afternoon. Ring any bells?"

Lassiter blanched. "Spencer hardly counts as a civilian. He's a hindrance to real police work, a distraction, and at the time, he was trespassing. I had to take him in." He left the bitter, At least, until he solved my damn case, left unspoken.

"Be that as it may, Detective, your shoving him head-first into the frame of the car was a bit overboard, don't you think?"

Wait, this was what this was about? Seriously?

"He was resisting arrest, Chief. He was… flailing and pretending to have 'visions' and acting like a crazy person!"

A delicate but ferocious eyebrow lifted. "Not when you shoved him into the car. And may I remind you, he did solve the case?"

"Did he tell you this? That little…"

"Detective!" the chief cut him off before he could say anything to get himself into any more trouble, which, although he didn't appreciate at the time, he was begrudgingly thankful for after the fact. "Mr. Spencer didn't tell me anything. I was there, remember? I saw the whole thing… whatever it was."

Oh. Right. Damn that Spencer for getting into his head like this!

"He's fine, Chief," Lassiter responded, much more calmly this time. "Don't let him take advantage of you. This country is crawling with people faking injuries just to get a few thousand dollars from a lawsuit."

"I told you, Mr. Spencer said nothing to me. His father, on the other hand, called me this morning in a rage. Thankfully, I was able to calm him down and help him to see reason, but it wasn't easy."

"So he went and told his daddy that he got a boo-boo at the crime scene?" Lassiter couldn't keep the disgusted contempt out of his voice this time. "I thought they hated each other, anyway?"

"They have a… complicated relationship, and it really isn't our place to bring that under speculation. However…" She sighed. "It is my job to make sure that my officers are not allowing their emotions or anger, no matter how warranted said anger might be, to get the better of them. Especially after what Henry told me this morning. Apparently, Mr. Guster had to take Shawn to the emergency room last night after his headache peaked and he lost consciousness briefly. Mr. Spencer is being treated for a concussion, Detective, and that is why we're having this talk."

"Oh." Lassiter wasn't sure what to say beyond that, but he slapped away the little niggle of guilt that tried to burrow into him at the news. He hadn't meant to hurt Spencer, certainly not that badly. The man was being difficult, had lost Lassiter his girlfriend, his respect… had mocked him by acting like an idiot and still managing to solve the case first…

"Shawn himself is not going to press charges or file a report, though I was obligated to contact him about the matter. He said – and these are his words – that 'Mr. Grumpy Detective-Face is emotionally stunted and is just trying to express how much he likes me in the only way he knows how.'" Vick looked marginally amused as she read Spencer's response off the sheet in front of her. A muscle in Lassiter's neck twitched. "Now, those exact words could be because of the concussion…"

Lassiter fought the urge to roll his eyes. "They're not, Chief. Trust me."

Now appearing to be fighting a smile, the chief said, "Consider this your unofficial reprimand and warning to control your irritation when you are faced with a particularly difficult witness… or consultant. Because once he is feeling better, I do believe the department will be calling on Mr. Spencer again."

This time, Lassiter couldn't stop the eye roll. Or the groan. Vick smiled. "You're dismissed, Detective."

"Yes, ma—uh, I mean, Chief."

***

Shawn was woken when the doorbell rang, the sound slicing through his aching head like a butter knife through steak... or however that saying went. Without bothering to get up from where he was sprawled on the couch, he called out, "It's open."

Damn, concussions sucked. It was bad enough that Gus had practically dragged him to the hospital after he'd had some sort of dizzy spell last night, but then he'd called his dad to boot? Was this now Gus with his mom for additional parental torture? Not that he would mind seeing his mom… but he was so over worried hovering. Gus played the part of a worried mother exceptionally well, and Shawn couldn't handle two of them… Which was made irrelevant when the door opened to reveal not his mother, but…

"Detective Lassiter?"

Lassiter stepped into Shawn's apartment, keen blue eyes taking the coffee table littered with empty pudding cups, icepacks, water bottles, and prescription bottles. "You just leave your front door unlocked for anyone to come waltzing in? You're just begging to be robbed." Upon taking another look around at the untidy living space, his lip curled and he added, "Or maybe not."

Shawn struggled to sit up past the monkey playing cymbals in his head. "Your contempt for my apartment aside, what are you doing here?"

The detective hesitated. "I was just in the neighborhood and I…" Shawn watched knowingly as the detective's gaze shifted to the rather impressive bruise on his head.

"You wanted to check on me? Oh, Detective, you shouldn't have!"

"I didn't," growled Lassiter. He paused. "This was a mistake. I'll just—"

"Wait!" Shawn shifted, patting the sofa seat beside him. "Come in. Sit down. Rest your rumpus. Put your feet up. Slow your roll. Chillax your—"

With an irritated grunt, the detective passed the threshold and sat in the chair farthest away from Shawn. "Look. I didn't exactly… yesterday, when I…"

"I know, I know. You were just expressing your love for me in the only way you know how, like that little boy in school who pulls the little girl's pigtails because he thinks she's cute."

"Absolutely not."

"Okay, you got me—" Shawn winced as a particularly painful wave shot through his poor, abused noggin. "I was that kid in school. Her name was Melinda, and she had the cutest, bounciest set of—"

"Dear Lord, please stop talking."

"I was going to say pigtails, dude. Mind. Gutter. Get it out."

"This is a monumental waste of my time," the detective spat, standing up so abruptly it almost gave Shawn vertigo… Or wait, he might have already had vertigo, wasn't that a concussion symptom ? And what was vertigo, anyway? Besides an Alfred Hitchcock flick?

Past the pounding in his skull, Shawn heard footsteps stomping away, toward the door. Despite the telltale ringing in his ears, Shawn scrabbled to his feet, ignoring the dark spots dancing wildly in front of his eyes. His pulse hammered, his breath felt short and stunted, and the dizziness spiked. He knew what was going to happen seconds before it did. He was unconscious before he hit the floor.

***

When the world swam back into focus, Shawn was surprised to find that he was back on the couch, not in a heap on the floor. He noticed blearily that his hands tingled like he'd been sitting on them for a couple of weeks, and his ears were still ringing like a high school band had paraded between them and accidentally left the triangle player behind. With a groan against the horrible pounding that had overtaken his skull – the procession of drummers must've gotten left behind, too – he rolled over to see Head Detective Carlton Lassiter kneeling next to the couch.

"You passed out," the detective stated helpfully.

"I did not," Shawn argued, mostly out of obligatory need to irritate whoever was in his general vicinity. "I fell asleep, suddenly and quickly, in a very manly and not wimpy way."

"Sure you did. Just be glad I got to you before you hit the ground. You would have a matching bruise on the other side of your head."

Shawn feigned shock. "So you dashed to my side, caught me before I hit the ground, gently placed me on the sofa, and lingered over my prone body until you knew I wasn't on death's door? Detective, I'm touched."

Lassiter half-sneered, half-smirked. "You were only out for a handful of seconds. I was hoping you'd stay out of it long enough for me to escape, but of course you had to ruin that plan, too."

Shawn winced, only partly out of pain. "Look, man, I'm sorry about your girlfriend. I just—"

The detective stood hastily, popping up from the ground like a Jack-in-the-Box with a strong Irish hairline and lots of pent-up aggression. "We don't talk about that. Ever."

Shawn lifted both hands up in mock surrender. Lassiter's face softened, just the tiniest, miniscule bit. "You're okay, though? Do I need to call your father or someone—?"

"No! I would rather you leave me here to die."

Lassiter shrugged. "Works for me." He strode for the door.

Shawn hesitated, licked his lips, and then offered, "Detective? Thanks."

"Just take it easy," the detective advised.

It was as close to an apology as Shawn was going to get, and, though Shawn might not have shown it through his next words, he did in fact appreciate it.

"Lassie," Shawn said, testing out the new nickname he'd been considering since he'd met the detective. He watched with glee as the man bristled in agitation.

"What?" the detective ground out through gritted teeth.

"I think this is the start of a beautiful friendship."

The head detective had fled the apartment and slammed the door before Shawn could blink. Shawn settled back into the couch cushions and tried to will his head to stop raging against him. Or at least a plain but not drop-dead-ugly working tolerance, he amended in his head, before he drifted off to sleep.

#psych #shawn spencer #carlton lassiter #karen vick #fanfiction #fic rec #psych fanfic #episode au #friendship sort of #hurt/comfort #also sort of #usa psych #emcatwrites

[ill-will-editions]

QUARANTINE LETTER #4

A fourth letter in our quarantine series, from our friend Icarus.

-----

EVERYTHING IS TRUE, NOTHING IS PERMITTED

“They’ve already destroyed everything, all the structures we believed in, trusted. Maybe we’re in a transitional phase, you know? There’s some sort of substitution going on. Meanwhile, we’re navigating in a tremendous vacuum, vaguely oriented by the stars but with no true reference point. Our compasses have gone wild, spinning madly, attracted by thousands of magnetic poles. We might as well throw them out the window, they’re obsolete. It’s just us and the night sky, like it was for the early explorers, while we wait for new, more advanced navigational devices to be invented. My only fear is that the stars have somehow gotten out of place and will be no help as references either.”

- Ignacio de Loyola Brandao, “And Still the Earth”

Dear friends,

It can be strange to intervene in someone else’s debate, but I don’t believe you’ll hold it against me if I do. Over the past weeks, I’ve rather enjoyed the commentary and exchange of letters between my friends, August, Kora, and Orion.  Something about the reflections of my friends is missing for me still, so I’ll chime in without wasting too much time, I hope.

QUARANTINE: INCOMPLETE—WHAT WE THINK IS HAPPENING IS ONLY SOMEWHAT ACCURATE

Today, millions of people are working. In warehouses, in offices, in fields, kitchens and storerooms; from the computer, the sorting room and at construction sites, millions of Americans are sharing the coronavirus with each other and with their neighbors. Many of them are asymptomatic, a portion are not sick yet, and certainly some of them are still hiding their symptoms from their families, employers, and coworkers. No zombie apocalypse is complete without the inconsiderate hot-head who insists, deceptively, that his injury is “nothing, it’s fine, let’s keep moving”. Orion wrote that the virus imposes “its own temporality, which immobilizes everything.” If only.  

   Logistics, shipping, freight, warehousing: these are some of the largest sectors of the 21st century workforce, and they are all on overtime. From Whole Foods to Old Dominion, these disposable workers are simultaneously killable - insofar as the market facilitates their endangerment via assured contact with the virus - and indispensable, insofar as they must not be allowed to strike, unionize, or cease working that this society may minimally function. In these industries, overwhelmingly, black men and immigrants are crammed into job sites without any protective equipment. In other words, they are proletarians in the classical sense, and they are still at work. A true quarantine, a dignified exodus from the commodity society and its extensive productive apparatus, would halt all forms of labor and toil, a circumstance as yet unrealized. If we can say we are living in a quarantine, we must say that it is still incomplete.

AUTONOMY OR AUTOMATA?—THE PANDEMIC AFFECTS ALL OF HUMANITY—WHICH NO LONGER EXISTS AS SUCH

What we once called "society" (an entity which now insists it can survive unity and distance simultaneously, even distance for the sake of unity), has been replaced by billions of apparatuses. These apparatuses constitute a vast ACEPHALOGRAM - a system of machines designed to trace and retrace the consciousness of a world that has definitively lost its head.

The period of real domination opened by the aggressive economic and political restructuring in the 70s, 80s, and 90s - “globalization” - has pushed a vast quantity of workers out of manufacturing and into service related industries. Services being overall less profitable then commodity manufacturing and heavy industry, other technological implements such as we see emerge from Silicon Valley have filled the gap, so to speak, of lost profits for the economy by allowing large advertising and analysis firms to mine directly the collective human ambitions in art, sex, politics, culture, and society. To open up this mine, which has produced an existential ruin comparable to the environmental ruin associated with mineral mining, the internet has developed as a global network of pseudo participatory information systems. The data thirst of these industries cannot be sated by the administration of facts from the center or top, they must be produced by the masses directly. But technology does not simply catch data falling naturally from the sky or running off the gutters of consciousness. It produces data by arranging relations such that they produce content that can be bought and sold. Under such conditions, the medical, political, technological and ontological crisis of a pandemic cannot help but be experienced as a video, a collection of tweets, graphs, memes, as background noise, as a conspiracy theory, as a genre in the endless relay of notifications.  

THE MIDDLE OF THE BEGINNING OF THE END—WHAT MAKES INDIVIDUAL INTERPRETATION POSSIBLE, MAKES COMMON UNDERSTANDING IMPOSSIBLE.

The truth is that social media has allowed billions of people to coordinate themselves into large and small containers of meaning and virtual energy. These containers, ecosystems of signs and signifiers, by dint of their polycentralized arrangement, function as an epistemological subversion of established truth-making infrastructures that require a certain amount of hegemony or global purchase: the scientific method, fact-checking, and debate. Occasionally, the understanding produced in these containers, theory-fictions more than anything else, incidentally conform to an intensity with physical correlatives capable of overpowering police infrastructures and seizing public space, as we saw across the world in 2019. More often, the echo chambers, as they are often called, curtail feelings of common dialogue and the perception of shared futurity that would be seemingly embedded in such a “global” sharing of information. This curtailing allows people of all “types” to be bundled together as data sets, insulated from the experience of true diversity of thought, of experience, of analysis. The polycentralized arrangement of the internet today may be even less participatory than previous eras of information sharing, even though it doesn’t feel that way.

Commentators and critics have used the ongoing crisis to delay the moment of our collective education with unwavering ideological entrenchment. At work, it is not uncommon for me to hear small business owners and day traders talk about the failures of socialized medicine in  Italy, implicitly endorsing greater privatization in the US. Among activists, liberals, and leftists, it is impossible to imagine a greater indictment on the privatized, decentralized, healthcare system than what is taking place. Apocalyptic Christian sects believe the government is going to repress churches for gathering, and social justice advocates believe the coronavirus crisis will be “the same, but worse” on every oppressive axis. It’s hard to imagine another reflex.

While they recognize that the internet has plunged billions of people into a pulverized simulacrum, some of my comrades would have us devote ourselves to the dissemination of real news, of verified and sober analysis, of scientific rigor, in order to combat the prevailing disarray. This warms my heart just as it saddens my intellect. We have always been machine-breakers, in a way, revolting against the forward and crushing movement of industry to preserve a less alienated experience of reality, labor, and community. We aren’t wrong for that. We should be reliable sources of information, but not because we will convince people with our reports — which may no longer be so possible online — rather because we believe it is the right thing to do, and because we can at least proceed on a clear and shared basis with each other. But what other strategies could we utilize for analyzing the world that would allow us to act within the protracted vertigo, without trapping ourselves or others in ideological camps, and without losing revolutionary aspirations in a world where global verification of facts seems impossible, but where universal need for a transformation, fascistic or revolutionary, feels like common sense?

EVERYTHING IS TRUE, NOTHING IS PERMITTED—THE SYSTEM REDUCES ITSELF TO A PURE FLUX OF DYNAMICS

“We dreamed of utopia and woke up screaming

A poor lonely cowboy that comes back home, what a wonder”

-Roberto Bolano, “Leave Everything, Again”

For millennia, the administration of public facts was the cornerstone of political power, and stamping out alternative readings the chief objective of the repressive machinery. The ruling bureaucracy has organized itself to prevent any global loss of control. They’ve always done that. What is surprising is how readily, since 9/11 at least, perhaps much earlier, they have abandoned many important methods for doing so. As the possibility of imagining its own future became increasingly stamped-out, the reigning order abandoned any pretense of pursuing the ideals it propped itself up on, its sole promise being to ward-off unforeseen eventualities. Without embarrassing myself with long-winded arguments about things I am ill-equipped to discuss - certainly less knowledgeable than my dear friends are on such matters as philosophy and critical works - I’d prefer to refer to an argument advanced by Brian Massumi in his essay “National Emergency Enterprise”. In this piece, he argues that a primary strategy of governance is to identify all possible causes of a scenario. The market refashions environments that submit the living tissue of relations one and all to technological “dataveillance”, information which, in principle, allows the administrators of such a system to model its every possible outcome, translating every action into a trans-action, while ensuring that every aberration meets a form of control. He utilizes the example of a forest fire, but we can just look at the pandemic and it’s consequences.

   The ruling class everywhere, has argued and governed as if the coronavirus is "merely the flu", justifying late responses and insufficient care, while also closing borders and taking emergency measures as if we are living in a veritable plague. There are strategies attached to every discourse, interests silently advanced with each interpretation, and powers produced and mobilized by every kind of theory and operation. Anyway, we have been living in the fall out of multiple convergent strategies for controlling and responding to this situation.  The governors of the world, at least of the democratic countries, are basically throwing things against a wall and seeing what sticks.  We can imagine that modeling and predictions are conducted endlessly based on analytics produced through data mining and network analysis purchased from Google, Facebook, Twitter, and elsewhere. As technocratic governments subordinate welfare states to the "science" of neoliberalism, the nihilism of the powerful today subordinates everything to the "science" of control.

Anyway, who organizes oblivion today acts with no principles and can only speak in lies. What does this mean for the rest of us?

NOTHING IS EVERYTHING, TRUE IS PERMITTED—TRUTH DOES NOT REQUIRE A SUBJECT ONLY LIES DO. LET'S KEEP IT REAL, WHATEVER THAT IS.

   We can and are responding to this situation. The most important thing, from my perspective, is that we develop a vibrant enough ecosystem of strategies, corresponding to the largest possible interpretation of facts, without dividing our sympathies and concerns into rival fiefdoms and ideological sects. There are benefits to arguing that nothing of the situation is unique, that in fact the worst off before are the worst off now, that today simply represents an opportunity for us, etc. I am not among the comrades advancing this position, but I want to see the results of that framework as soon as possible, if it does not in fact raise the threshold for meaningful interventions. There are benefits to arguing that the quarantine is not deep enough, that the politics of mobilization have failed utterly to devastate the economy, but that a true lock down of the world could resemble the worlds first ever international wildcat general strike. I want to hear advocates of this position contend with the possibility of carceral interpretations of this argument. For those planting survival gardens, for those running autonomous rent strike hotlines, for those training in firearms, I want us to develop a shared enough perspective to see that there is a simple unity in our strategies, which is what is precisely, and incorrectly, attacked in Kora’s most recent letter to Orion: our autonomy. Beyond any individualistic misinterpretations, it is my perspective that the ability of human beings to self-authorize our activity, to determine our shared destinies, to control supply chains, vital infrastructures, and means of subsistence without the mediating factors of the market, are necessary prerequisites for a dignified life on earth. This is not to say, as Kora has intelligently argued, that anyone could come to control the unfolding course of history - a delusion that preppers, governors, and revolutionaries have all held - but precisely that autonomous, self-organized, structures are the only structures capable of responding quickly enough to the destabilizing, frightening, and uncertain futures lying in wait regardless of what we or anyone else do. We must utilize the current situation to repolarize the circumstances to the best of our ability around foundational concerns of power: on the one hand, there are all of the people of the world, some of them bastards we would not live with, and our shared need for dignified healthcare, housing, sustenance, and livelihood; and on the other hand there are all of the bastards waiting this out on yachts, manipulating public data for the sake of a geopolitical PR battle, utilizing the pandemic to pursue totalitarian power fantasies and clampdowns. We don’t need to steer the ship forward, we need to be able to swim in the wreckage.

Sorry, I wrote too much. Thanks for reading and I look forward to reading what others think soon.

-- Icarus

04.11.2020

STATE OF EMERGENCY, DAY 40

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

#Quarantine letters #COVID19 #USA #articles

[halcyon-writings]

More Dante x pregnant so?

 pregnancy woes - dante x reader

a/n: more headcanons also the technical first part of this is somewhere in my masterlist so uh, check there if you wanna read it i guess? (forewarning, that’s one of my older writings so it’s probably bad oop)

warning(s): pregnancy, the reader is still addressed with gender-neutral pronouns but they can still have kids

Now, it’s not as if you two ever had a real discussion about kids one day, biological or otherwise. Sure you both probably thought about it, but it never really came up? And oop, now here you both are,with a baby on the way.

Your lifestyles don’t particularly fit around a baby so there’s a heavy discussion on what to do. Sure he’d be fond of the little one if you guys did keep it but ultimately it’s not his decision to make but his s/o’s. He will respect it regardless. 

Dante tries to keep his easygoing attitude up around you to hide that he’ s more afraid then he lets on. If you want to know you gotta press on about it. He���s afraid because even though the baby wouldn’t fully have demonic heritage (demonic blood? idk) they still have some of his demonic heritage and if you’re fully human, he doesn’t know how it could affect you. It’s not like he could ask his mother either.

Which is another thing that weighs on his mind, you were already targetted by association for knowing him already. But if it became known that one of the Sons of Sparda had a son or daughter or his own? He didn’t want to even think about it, but at times he can’t help but get lost in his thoughts.

You’re just over here trying to put your feet up and relax while dealing with the sudden change in your center of gravity, unbeknownst tp the whole angst he’s got going on. So when he kind of just gravitates towards you and lays his head on your lap, while you’re already feeling a little wack from symptoms and all, you both just take this moment to chill out. If the phone rings, it’s ignored. A client tries to come into the sho? Too bad the door’s locked. 

Honestly if you’re napping, he’s napping with you, and you don’t need blankets either. He’s a natural heater, which is both good and bad depending on the time of year (if it’s summer, you’re already sweaty and do not want to be wrapped in the arms of your human heater. but it’s winter, you’re set for the whole season. There are several pictures of the two of you just napping either on the couch or in bed, which Dante shamelessly gushes over. 

You also somehow end up bonding with Vergil and Nero??? Somehow??? Honestly you’re not sure yourself and at this point, you’re too afraid to ask. Kyrie is a godsend as well bc girl will cook for you and her food is great okay don’t @ me. You may or may not have cried when you ate her cooking once but that was the hormones and you’ve sworn dante to secrecy about it since. Somehow it just feels like everyone coddles you but also doesn’t? Which you appreciate immensely.

You get not being able to do some things but you’re pregnant damn it! You’re used to doing some things and if you need help reaching a mug on a shelf because you can’t reach than that’s no one’s business but your own. (Although when Dante saw you standing on a stack of chairs and other books to help you reach, a few years may have left his lifespan. You did promise him that you’d ask for help to get him off of your back though).

Cravings are a thing, and they may not be as intense as people say they are, you still have them. So sometimes it’s a battle of wills when you want him to go in the middle of the night and get you things from a local 24-hour diner. What can you say? They make a mean burger. This is also when you learn that the sad face works wonders, he also probably knows that you do use it more than you should, but when he has Lady and Trish on his back about it, he complies. 

The closer the due date gets, the more visible the nerves he has are. You don’t know how to feel. For one, you feel like you’re ready to pop, but you see how he is and you hope that he doesn’t pass out come the day your child is born. 

If a demon attacks you oh boy, you’ve never seen Dante so enraged but there’s always a first time for everything. At one point you have to try and stop him yourself because there’s literally nothing to fight anymore, much to the protests of your friends. But you say screw it, your back aches, your feet are swollen and you just want to go home with Dante. 

You pull him close, demonic form and all, regardless of the blood and gore that stains your clothing. You take one of his hands and put it on your stomach, because what the hell, but your method works. He transforms back into the Dante you know, and you give him a look that can both dress him down and build him right back up. 

He looks sheepish and you can’t help but laugh at how messy he actually looks (you’re probably gonna be grossed out later but honestly it might be the exhaustion speaking for you at this point). He hugs you tightly, head in your neck as he inhales and exhales, reassuring himself that you’re okay and that you’re not hurt. 

The moment is tender, and you don’t call him a sap like you want to because honestly? You’re a little shaken too.

And right then and there, your water breaks.

The panicked scrambling is honestly very nromal compared to everything you’ve had to deal with that day. But you refuse to go to a hospital when you’re covered in demon blood (but you also hugged Dante so I mean-).

It works out, someow, because you’re then home eventually, a baby in your arms, and life is alright for now.

#dante x reader #dante imagines #devil may cry imagines #devil may cry headcanons #devil may cry imagine #dmc imagines #dmc x reader #dmc imagine #dmc headcanons #mine

[miracle-sham]

Vent Your Spleen Until You Keen.

| {Maribat 2k20 – Day 3: Out Sick} |

| [Ao3 Link] | | [Masterlist Link] |

| Triggers/Warnings: Major Character Injury, Major Illness, Pneumonia, Concussions, Blood and Injury, Drowning, Explicit Language/some swearing. |

| Bloodied Robins aren't built to swim with clipped wings. Good thing the bats, birds, and bug are there to patch him up before it's too late. |

| Word count: 1968. |

==–==

| A/N: So as I mentioned in the authors note of the previous Ficlet, I got mugged in the dark dank alleyway by the Maribat2k20 MariTim prompt calendar and stabbed by the knife of inspiration. Except this time it was the angsty knife of inspo. So enjoy a nice but of hurt with comfort. |

| If you want to be tagged in future oneshots/fics, or a specific Au, then send me a DM or an ask! |

| Also side note, Don't Like? Don't Read. Also please do not criticise any of my writing. This was written for fun and receiving criticism, even in a compliment/criticism sandwich, is the exact opposite of fun. |

==–==

 Crashing into the Miller Harbour waters after being thrown from the roof of a warehouse is not how Tim thought his evening would go. Then again, earlier, he hadn't realised this drug trade would be a trap, meaning now he just so happens to be the unlucky bat to get caught. Or in this case, dumped in the harbour. Which is great. Lovely. Abso-fucking-lutely spectacular.

 The crack of the armoured suit and gear slamming into the dubiously murky waves is accentuated by the thrumming pain from where his back and neck take the brunt of the impact. Tim arches in pain as the air is knocked out of him, leaving him gasping for breath. It's not helped by the chilly water breaching his suit and stinging his open wounds. I'm going to get so sick from this, urgh. He grumbles internally. Even if he wasn't lacking a spleen, the harbour's waters are polluted enough to make probably even Superman sick.

 Tim kicks upwards and is struck with the realisation of oh no, oh fuck. As the water weighs his suit down even more and he starts to sink. The cold saps his energy and makes him clumsy. Fingers slipping at the straps and zips and security measures on his suit. Grimacing, he struggles, strength waning too quickly. Sploosh-Thwip-thwip-thunk-clink, chunks of his armour detach and sink below, significantly slowing his descent but he's still sinking.

 He fumbles around his belt for his rebreather and manages to get it over his mouth just as his vision loses colour and goes fuzzy around the edges. Breathing heavily, he listens to the creepy sound of the rebreather working and flurry of air bubbles surrounding it.

 Shit, I'm running out of time. Tim curses in his head. He keeps kicking and the water is looking lighter, meaning he's close. So close. But not close enough.

There's a thunderous splash as Tim breaches the surface. He doesn't stop—can't stop, not if he wants to live. His swimming is the only thing keeping his blood pumping and head above water.

 His vision blurts violently and the darkness at the edges of his sight flares. Not enough time, not enough. The bank is closer though, I might make it?

 Tim blacks out.

 One second he was swimming for his life, now he's lying face down on the cement bank, gasping for breath like a dying fish. He pushes himself up, muscles protesting and shaking from cold and pain. There's a shallow pool of watery blood surrounding him—not good but could be worse. Just need to get back to my Nest and I'll be fine.

 Tim fiddles around his remaining armour and gear, tapping the self destruct buttons for the discarded gear, and grasping at the grapple hook in relief—it would be a pain getting back home without it. He limps forward and shoots the grapple, swinging himself home.

 He barely makes it through deactivating his security measures and stumbles through his window. Limping over to his sofa, Tim immediately collapses and passes out—still in gear.

==–==

 The next day, Marinette's halfway through patrol and already fairly banged up—with a particularly nasty headache among other things—when she spots that the window to Tim's Nest is open. She swings by to inspect and sees his handiwork on the deactivation of his security measures. She hums and glanced through the window to look inside, thinking, Probably nothing to worry abo—

 Tim's lying half on the sofa, covered in blood and muck. He's pale—paler than usual—and his hair is plastered to his forehead. Breathing laboured and nasally, and shaking like a leaf. He looks sick and injured and he's not even managed to switch into civvies before passing out—not good, really not good.

 Okay maybe definitely something to worry about. Marinette mentally amends, a spike of worry slamming itself into her chest. Especially since no one's talked to or heard from him since early patrol yesterday... She climbs through the open window, closing it behind her and then resecures the security measures.

 With a whispered “Tikki, spots off,” she drops her transformation and wobbly bolts to Tim's side. Checking his pulse and status. Too-quick heartbeat, infected lacerations to the arms, legs, and torso, bruised or maybe broken ribs—Marinette flinches and takes a second to calm herself down so she doesn't retch—bruising to the side of the head, and a ton of minor bumps, scratches, and grazes from the looks of things. She then checks his other symptoms: rapid and shallow breathing with occasional wheezing, high temperature, sweating and shivering—clammy.

 Marinette chews her lip, eyes watering. “Oh, Tim…” She shakes her head, heart-pounding, and whips out her phone, scrolling down to the contact with shaky hands. It rings twice then picks up. “Leslie?” She cuts in as soon as the call connects, shoving the phone between her ear and shoulder to free her hands. “I'm at Red Robin's place and he's hurt, really bad, I—” She breathes in before recounting all his injuries and symptoms. “He's unconscious, and I think he's either in septic shock or got pneumonia, maybe both…” As she's talking, Marinette grabs the nearest first aid kit she can find and goes about cleaning out and patching up the injuries she can with the equipment she has.

 “I'll be able to treat him at the cave. How quickly can you get there?” Leslie answers in a clipped but calm tone.

 “Uhh…” Marinette pauses both in speech and in movement, “We'll need someone to drive him there because I can't drive. I don't know who's close enough and can drive. I'll call B, O, or Agent A after this.” She continues to apply first aid.

 “I'll be at the cave in twenty-five minutes,” Leslie responds, cutting the call off not a second later.

 She grabs her phone from her precarious ear-to-shoulder position and scrolls to Agent A's number and it only takes him one ring to answer. “A.” Marinette pulls the same thing she did with Leslie's call, cutting in before the other can speak whilst putting it back between her ear and shoulder so she can continue applying minor treatment. She repeats the same thing she told Leslie. “I've also called Leslie, she's heading to the cave now, she said she'll be about twenty-five minutes.”

 She doesn't quite catch all of Alfred's response because Tim wakes with a groan and coughs, his pupils are blown and his gaze is worryingly blank—glazed over. Marinette thinks she hears something about the batmobile and three minutes but she's more worried that it looks like he's concussed as well. “Concussion. He's also got a concussion.” Marinette relays on autopilot, and maybe she hears Alfred inhale sharply but she can't tell. She's not sure when or if the call ends but she's too stressed to care.

 She's fumbling with the first aid and it takes every speck of focus she's got to make sure she isn't making him worse—next thing she knows Nightwing and Red Hood and jumping through the window (security deactivated and opened first, so no broken windows here).

 Red Hood pulls Marinette away from Tim, and Nightwing carefully scoops his little brother up. The world blurs around her and then her vision wavers, going completely colour blind as it goes fuzzy and dark at the edges, getting worse and worse. She thinks Red Hood's talking to her, he's gripping her arm rather tightly, almost painfully but it's giving her something to anchor on to… But it's not enough, her vision spins, going completely black, and distantly she hears panicked yelling and feels the world tipping to one side—

 ==–==

 The world slowly comes to and Marinette's feeling absolutely wretched. She's lying on a medical cot from what she can tell, but her mind's so fuzzy. She doesn't want to open her eyes. People are talking in hushed tones the distance. She thinks this isn't the first time she's woken up here since—

 She has vague memories of opening her eyes and people bustling in and out of view, asking questions and doing things. She doesn't remember much.

 Then she hears a voice closer to her, she can't remember whose voice it is but it's warm and rumbly but not too gruff—familiar. “Hey kid, you awake again?”

 Marinette groans in protest—she would rather not be awake right now.

 “Yeah, yeah, you're in pain, life sucks. I know.” The voice sounds amused.

 She huffs in indignation which only causes the voice to bark with laughter.

 The voice quietens down after a second. “You an' Timbo gave us quite the scare y'know. Don't think I've ever seen B that worried before, when we dragged the both of you to the Batmobile.”

 Marinette hums, unsure how else to respond.

 “You've got a concussion if you're wondering, you were lucky I was already holding you up when you fainted. Could've made your concussion worse if you had hit the ground instead.”

 She groans again, the mention of the concussion brings the full throbbing pain in the back of her skull back to her attention. She huffs again to express her displeasure at the voice reminding her.

 The voice snorts—probably at her pain like a sadist. “Timbo's fine, by the way, surgery went off without a hitch. Even woke up a few times, so if you're up and about the next time he wakes up you can help the others smother him with love and affection.”

 Marinette smiles lopsidedly. “Coo'.”

==–==

 Of course, the first thing she does once she's no longer bed-bound, and Tim's awake and somewhat healed, is take Jason's (it took her a while to recognise it was him who had been speaking to her) advice. In the form of her relentlessly hugging Tim like a clingy koala—much to his joy and begrudging dismay.

 “Mari… please.” Tim begs, staring at the ceiling as if it would somehow save him.

 If anything his words prompt her to hug him even tighter, “Nope! I will hug you for as long as I physically can.”

 In exasperation, he exclaims, “Mari, no!”

 “Mari, yes!” She shoots him a smug grin.

 “Mari please.” 

 “Tim, I will keep hugging you.” Marinette threatens

 “Mari, let go.” He says with no real intent behind his words.

 “No letting go! Only hugs or death!” She declares with an even smugger grin.

 He grins back then dramatically proclaims, “Guess I'll die then.”

 “No!” She half screeches, struggling to contain her giggles.

 “Oh no! I'm dying! Blargh!” He lays back down on the medical bed, pretending to die dramatically. “Marinette, as my dying words I must tell you that—that I—I—” He fake coughs and lets himself go limp.

 “Tim! Nooo! Clearly, the only way to save you from dying is to give you the magical fairytale kiss of life!” As soon as she says that, not giving him any time to react, she pecks him on the lips.

 “Wow, I'm alive again, what a miracle!”

==–==

 Around the corner, unbeknownst to the two, Jason eyes Dick with amusement. “You taking blackmail photos there, Dickiebird?”

 Dick makes an undignified squawking sound and nearly drops his phone. If not for his bat training, he definitely would have dropped it. Trying to pull off an air of nonchalance, he leans against. “Pfft! What are you talking about? Of course I'm not, I'm just collecting evidence that Timmy's okay. For uh Bruce and Alfred's sake. And the Teen Titans too, they've all been worried once they heard how bad he got.”

 Jason snorts. “"For evidence he's okay", sure you are.”

 Dick narrows his eyes. “If you tell anyone, I'll release all the cute photos I have of you when you were still wearing the Robin suit.”

 Jason gasps. “You wouldn't dare!”

 Dick grins. “Try me, Little Wing.”

 Raising his hands up, Jason backs away. “Fine! You win!”

==–==

| Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed this little oneshot! Comments, likes, and reblogs are much appreciated! |

@maribat-2k20

#Miraculous Ladybug #ML x DC #DC x MLB #Maribat #Timinette #MariTim #Timari #Tim x Marinette #Marinette x Tim #Maribat2k20 #Maribat2k20 Tim x Marinette #Maribat2k20 Day 3 #Maribat2k20 Out Sick #Vent Your Spleen Until You Keen #VYSUYK #Sham's Posts #Sham's Writing #Sham's Fics

[remediesfor-recedinggums]

Remedies For Receding Gums

Receding gums or gum disease may be a normal component of growing older but it can also indicate much more serious health ailments like cancer, inflammation of the mouth or periodontal disease. The sooner it's detected, the better for you personally. It might either be too late as soon as you've got the disease or it may be treated before it reaches the subsequent stages.

Home Remedies For Receding Gums

An gum disease or periodontitis is caused by bacteria build up which results to loss in this tissue that protects the teeth. Bacteria build up is promoted by poor oral hygiene techniques like lack of proper plaque removal techniques and brushing habits.  When not removed, plaque hardens and forms tartar that lead to infection.  Tartar can be taken out by professional dental treatments or in home through a very simple toothbrush procedure utilizing a top quality gum tissue and dental floss.

The earlier periodontal disease has been discovered, the best for the oral health due to prevention ensures early intervention and possible treatment. Tartar buildup can be removed by the dentist however sometimes that is followed closely by gum disease's symptoms.  These symptoms can determine when treatment needs to start.

The primary aim of visiting your dentist will be to diagnose what type of illness you have. Your dentist will run several tests to find out whether there are gum disease's symptoms. Some of the examinations include x-rays and lab analyses. In some advanced cases, surgery may be required as a final choice. Examples of surgery performed in complex cases incorporate extraction of their diseased tissue.

The dentist can also recommend tooth extraction if the receding gums need immediate treatment. Gum disease patients should avoid food items which could promote bad breath.  Foods high in sugar and carbohydrates are known to do so. Avoiding tobacco products, salt and alcohol should also be observed.  This is the ideal course of actions to make certain that your oral health is maintained in optimal levels.

It is also crucial for people who have gum disease to take part in daily oral health care practices. Routine brushing with toothpaste and flossing might be exceedingly helpful in preventing this illness.  Tooth extraction may be needed if a comprehensive restoration of tissue is not achieved through proper dental hygiene practices.

Natural Remedies For Receding Gums

Patients with swollen gums ought to be under the supervision of a dentist notably those who've loose teeth. Patients who can't brush properly or have loose teeth needs to undergo deep cleaning procedures.   Throughout deep cleaning procedures, a toothbrush is set directly on the gum line for optimum effectiveness.  A dental device is put into the mouth and tissue will be extracted of the root section of the tooth utilizing suction.

Gum disease is merely one of the numerous causes of periodontal disease. The causes vary based on individual things. Gum buildup is merely 1 variable. Yet, it really is one of the most common causes. Therefore, it is necessary for everybody to take care of these mouths.

As the condition progresses, these symptoms will probably transform into much more severe symptoms like bone loss, infection, and abscess. If left untreatedgum disease can finally cause considerable damage and deterioration of bones.

It is necessary for people to know that the symptoms of periodontal disease have been like early stages of tooth loss.  

For people who're in advanced cases of periodontitis, then it's very crucial that you seek treatment immediately. Antibiotics are usually the recommended treatments for this complex stage of the status. However, in severe instances, tooth extraction and other surgical procedures might be needed. This will demand the help of a qualified and experienced dentist.

To protect against receding gums and to avoid tooth loss, it's recommended to practice good dental hygiene.  Aside from routine dental checkup, it's also highly recommended to possess a thorough oral examination done at least one time per year. An experienced dentist may easily recognize any signs of disease and provide helpful advice and treatment.

Do you know what the bond between gum disease and receding gums will be? I think most people actually don't. If you would like to avoid getting sick with gum disease, you need to know about the.

Best Remedies For Receding Gums

You seethe principal cause for receding gums and tartar is that bacteria builds on that which we predict the plaque. The plaque is basically food which accumulates between the teeth and below the gum line. There's truly no good way to wash up this stuff. We can scratch it off, however brushing and flossing don't remove it all. This is why you want a fantastic dental program.

That's the reason why you need a pro dental treatment. A dental expert could get at the root of the problem utilizing some surgical procedures for example gingivectomy or periodontal stripping. He then will repair the tissue and gum by flushing all of it having a very strong jet of water called a scaling procedure. The surgeon then leaves the exposed tissue alone to heal. It takes about roughly six months for your tissues to start working and look good as fresh.

It's very important that you maintain your oral health in check to prevent gum disease and its complications. We are going to continue taking a look at the connection between gum disease and recede gums in a future article. For now we're simply interested in learning how you can prevent gingivitis and other periodontal problems. There are numerous factors you can perform.

Brush your teeth twice per day to be certain you get a comprehensive cleaning of this tissue and bacteria build up.   Your dentist can recommend exclusive brushing and periodontal treatments.

Brushing and flossing aren't sufficient to reduce gum disease and recede gums. Your teeth want longer than toothpaste and flossing in the event that you'd like to safeguard against tooth decay and plaque. If you really don't brush and floss your teeth at least twice a time, plaque and bacteria will develop between your teeth and over the gum line. This will weaken your teeth and lead to cavities and other difficulties. Your dentist can clean your teeth and might prescribe exceptional toothpastes that fortify teeth and discourage plaque buildup.

You need to prevent brushing your teeth two to three times every day. You also should see your dentist for a cleaning at least one time a year.  Brush your tongue to remove bacteria that has been embedded inside it. Pay a visit to your dentist for tooth cleaning on a regular basis to get rid of tartar and plaque that build up inside of your gums and teeth.

No matter what point gum disease you're in, you're able to reverse it with a combination of proper oral hygiene, a daily flossing routine, and routine check ups with your dentist. Brushing and flossing along side visits to a dentist may help keep gum disease . The earlier you start to fight it, the higher your chances will be of reversing it. Periodontal disease is treatable when it's caught early but left untreated. Ensure that you are doing everything you can to block it from getting worse.

Receding Gums Home Remedies

A healthy mouth can be a good starting point for fighting periodontal disease. Brushing your teeth twice a day is a must. Be certain that you brush out of the center of each tooth into the boundary of this tooth, and then back to the center again. Flossing should be done on a daily basis, at least one time each day. If possible, attempt to schedule your dental appointments during precisely the same period of day - that the brushing and flossing should really go hand in hand.

Most people are not conscious of how painful a periodontal infection can be until they have it. Once you're experiencing extreme levels of pain and discomfort that are beyond light, you should see your dentist immediately. In some severe cases, periodontal surgery may be critical. Your dentist can provide you with the tools to resist periodontal gum disease and receding gums, while helping you lower your risk of growing more serious problems.

Periodontal disease is nothing to take lightly. Come to your dentist when you begin to experience some symptoms. If you're having serious levels of pain or discomfort, you should see your dentist straight away. Possessing an unhealthy oral health is nothing to play around with. Periodontal disease is one of the most usual reasons for tooth loss in the United States, and it generally does not need to involve major surgery.

[bestwaytostop-recedinggums]

Best Way To Stop Receding Gums

Receding gums or gum disease might be considered a normal part of the aging process however it may also indicate much more serious health conditions such as inflammation, cancer of the mouth or periodontal disease. The sooner it is detected, the better for you personally. It could be too late once you have the disease or it may be treated before it reaches the subsequent stages.

Easy Way To Stop Receding Gums

A gum disease or periodontitis is caused by bacteria build up which contributes to loss in the tissue that protects one's teeth. Bacteria build upward is encouraged by poor oral hygiene techniques like lack of proper plaque removal techniques and brushing habits.  If not removed, plaque hardens and forms tartar that result in infection.  Tartar could be removed by professional dental treatments or in home by way of a very simple toothbrush procedure employing a supreme quality gum tissue and dental floss.

The earlier periodontal disease has been discovered, the best for your oral health since prevention ensures early intervention and possible treatment.  These symptoms can determine when treatment should start.

The primary objective of visiting your dentist is to diagnose what type of illness you might have. Your dentist will conduct several examinations to ascertain if you will find gum disease's symptoms. Some of those examinations include x-rays and lab investigations. In some advanced cases, surgery might be required as a last option. Cases of surgery performed in advanced cases include extraction of the diseased tissue.

Your dentist can also recommend tooth extraction in case the receding gums require immediate treatment. Gum disease patients should avoid food items which could promote bad breath.  Foods high in sugar and carbohydrates are proven to achieve that. Avoiding tobacco products, salt and alcohol should also be observed.  This is actually the best plan of actions to make certain your oral health is maintained in optimal levels.

Stop Gums From Receding

It's also critical for people who have gum disease to take part in daily oral health maintenance practices. Common brushing with toothpaste and flossing may be quite helpful in preventing this condition. Daily visits to the dentist and professional cleaning are also important.  Tooth extraction may be needed if your complete restoration of tissue is not achieved through proper dental hygiene clinics.

Patients having swollen gums ought to really be under the supervision of a dentist notably people who have loose teeth.  This is done by the dental hygienist.   A dental device is put into the mouth and tissue has been pulled out from the root area of the tooth utilizing suction.

Gum disease is just one of the numerous causes of periodontal disease. The causes vary depending on individual things. Gum build-up is merely 1 variable. However, it is one of the most common causes. Therefore, it's necessary for everybody to take care of the mouths.

Gum inflammation is normally preceded by mild gingivitis symptoms.  In mild forms of periodontitis, symptoms like bleeding gums, tenderness, redness, and loss of preference occur.  As the illness progresses, these symptoms will probably transform into more severe manifestations such as bone loss, infection, and abscess. If left untreated, gum disease can eventually cause considerable damage and deterioration of bones.

It's essential for people to learn that the symptoms of periodontal disease have been like early stages of tooth loss.  If left untreated, the gradual lack of teeth will lead to severe gum disease and receding gums.

For people who're in complex cases of periodontitis, it is very important to seek treatment immediately. Compounds usually are the recommended treatments for this advanced stage of the condition. Nevertheless, in severe cases, tooth extraction and different surgical procedures could be needed. This will demand the assistance of an experienced and experienced dentist.

To prevent receding gums and to avoid tooth loss, it is recommended to practice good dental hygiene.  Aside from regular dental checkup, it is also recommended to possess an intensive oral examination done at least one time each year. An experienced dentist may easily recognize any signs of disease and provide helpful advice and treatment.

Stop My Gums From Receding

Do you know what the bond between gum disease and receding gums is? I presume the majority of people actually don't. If you wish to avoid becoming sick with gum disease, you have to be aware of this.

You seethat the most important cause for receding gums and tartar is that bacteria builds on that which we predict the plaque. The plaque is basically food which accumulates in between your teeth and below the gum line. There's really no good solution to wash up this stuff. We can scratch off it, however brushing and flossing don't remove all of it. This is the reason you need a excellent dental program.

That is why you want a pro dental treatment. A dental expert may reach the root of the problem employing some surgical procedures such as gingivectomy or periodontal stripping. He then will repair the tissue and gum by flushing out all of it with an extremely strong jet of water known as a scaling procedure. The surgeon then leaves the exposed tissue alone to heal. It actually takes approximately six months for the tissues to start working and look good as fresh.

It's essential that you keep your oral health in check to prevent gum disease and its complications. We will continue looking at the connection between gum disease and recede gums in a specific article. For today we are only interested in learning ways to avoid gingivitis and other periodontal problems. There are numerous ideas you can perform.

Brush your teeth twice daily to make sure that you have a comprehensive cleaning of the tissue and bacteria build up. Make sure you floss to remove food particles which can be stuck between teeth and between your gums.   Your dentist can recommend exclusive cleaning and periodontal treatments.

Brushing and flossing are not enough to stop gum disease and recede gums. Your teeth need longer than toothpaste and flossing if you want to safeguard against tooth decay and plaque. If you really don't brush and floss your teeth at least twice a day, plaque and bacteria can build up between your teeth and over the gum line. This can weaken your teeth and lead to cavities and also other problems. Your dentist may wash your teeth and may prescribe special toothpastes that fortify teeth and discourage plaque buildup.

Poor oral hygiene can be also linked to receding gums and periodontal disease.  You want to end brushing your teeth two to three times each day. You also need to visit your dentist for a cleaning at least once a year.  Brush your tongue to remove bacteria that's been inserted in it. Go to your dentist for tooth cleaning frequently to get rid of tartar and plaque which develop on the inside of your gums and teeth.

Regardless of what stage gum disease you're in, you're able to reverse it with a combination of proper oral hygiene, a daily flossing routine, and routine checkups with your dentist. Brushing and flossing along side visits to a dentist can help to keep gum disease at bay. The sooner you start to fight it, the higher your chances will be of reversing it. Periodontal disease is treatable if it's caught early enough but left untreated. Ensure that you are doing everything you can to prevent it from getting worse.

A healthy mouth can be a very good starting point for fighting periodontal disease. Brushing your teeth twice a day is a must. Make certain you brush out of the middle of each tooth into the edge of this tooth, and then back to the center again. Flossing should be done on daily basis, at the very least once each day. If possible, try to schedule your dental appointments during exactly the exact same period of day - the brushing and flossing should go hand in hand.

Stop Pain From Receding Gums

A lot of people aren't conscious of how painful a periodontal infection may be until they've it. Whenever you are experiencing extreme degrees of pain and discomfort that are beyond light, you should find your dentist immediately. In some severe cases, periodontal surgery may be necessary. Your dentist may provide you with the tools to fight periodontal gum disease and receding gums, while helping you reduce your risk of developing more serious conditions.

Periodontal disease is not anything to take lightly. Pay a visit to your dentist as soon as you start to experience some symptoms. If you're going through serious heights of pain or discomfort, you should see your dentist straight away. Possessing an unhealthy oral health is nothing to have fun with. Periodontal disease is among the most usual reasons for tooth loss inside the United States, and it willn't always have to involve major surgery.

[rhodanum]

COVID-19 roller-coaster

Despite its personal nature, I'm making this entry public, since it may be of aid to others as well, in these circumstances. Particularly for people who might end up having highly atypical symptoms like I did.

Long story short, I've been scarce from most forms of social-media for over a month because I caught COVID-19 some time before my country instituted lockdown measures. I was in hospital from the start to the middle of April (roughly two weeks) and started showing symptoms as early as March 18 (runny nose, sneezing, that I ascribed to a common cold, since at that time they weren't considered something that could present in the case of COVID-19). It took me well over a week and a half of battling symptoms at home and calling four ambulances in that time-frame, always getting dismissed on account of my symptoms not matching up with the standards presentation (aside for the runny nose and sneezing, the vast majority of my symptoms have been gastrointestinal, neurological and renal in nature, not pulmonary) before I was finally tested (on April 1st) and admitted to hospital the following day, when the test came back positive.

My timeline of events has been the following (and I'm still currently symptomatic + showed one new COVID-specific symptom even after two negative tests and discharge from hospital):

March 18 - March 23 -- constantly runny nose, post-nasal drip, sneezing all the time, a light cough. Nothing too bothersome, I dismissed it as a seasonal cold. At this point I started burping heavily, out of nowhere, for seemingly no reason.

March 24 -- woke up with a terrible back-pain, roughly in the area of both kidneys. The pain lessened as the day went on. In the evening, I had my first very clear neurological symptom -- my eyesight filled with a sort of black static (like a TV without cable signal), to the point where I could no longer read letters, discern my own features in the mirror or tell how many fingers my father was holding up. Thinking I was having a stroke or hell knows what else, I called an ambulance. The static-like effect lasted around 20 minutes and was completely gone by the time an ambulance crew arrived. They checked my blood-pressure and it was high due to the panic (174/109), so they dismissed the static as a result of the high BP and gave me an ACE-inhibitor pill to lower it.

March 25 -- started feeling kind of grotty around lunch-time. At around five in the afternoon, I vomited up all of my lunch completely undigested. An hour later, the true wave arrived. I went to the toilet with explosive, orange-colored, watery diarrhea, massive urination (wasn't drinking more fluids than usual) and vomiting, all at the exact same time. I'm not joking in the slightest when I say that I had my head in the sink, to puke and my ass in the toilet, to pee and shit out orange water, all three at the same time. The puking subsided, but the diarrhea and the urination kept up and, for the next two hours, I went to the toilet to shit and pee every fifteen minutes. By this point I was getting dangerously dehydrated, so we called our GP. She, suspecting it might be Norovirus, told me that the diarrhea needs to be stopped ASAP and my father went to buy me the necessary medicine.

March 26 -- the diarrhea was relatively under control due to the medication, but I was still pissing buckets and having to constantly drink tea to stay hydrated, with how fast my kidneys were clearing fluids. The light cough that started on March 18 got a bit worse, but not by much. I had no appetite whatsoever and attempted to eat a little at lunch, but only ended up puking again. I was worried enough about the whole thing that I called an ambulance again. The doctors claimed it couldn't be COVID-19 (by this point I was reading reports of diarrhea as a common early symptom). He listened to my lungs and said they're clear. Then he gave me an anti-emetic shot in the bum (so I wouldn't keep throwing up) and tapped my kidneys a few times. When I flinched, he said it might be a urinary tract infection and prescribed me a list of medication, with the antibiotic Ciprofloxacin at the front of it (keep this one in mind, it's very relevant for what happened next). I didn't actually have any pain when I urinated and the urine itself wasn't dark, but rather almost as colorless as water. I was just peeing far too much and the area round my kidneys was tender.

March 27 -- woke up with a persistent cough early in the morning and a sensation of  tickling in the throat, which made the cough worse. This morphed into a  very specific kind of migraine, starting from the very back of the skull  and radiating to the front, to the point where the backs of my eyes  hurt terribly as well. Still peeing a ton and drinking tea and water to stay hydrated. General state of malaise, as if there was something terribly toxic in my body, leeching all the strength and vitality out of it. Started taking the UTI antibiotic (Ciprofloxacin). My eyelids were twitching involuntarily and I had an up-and-down sensation, with some parts of the day being slightly better (able to sit at my desk and watch an episode of a show) and others, just one or two hours later, making me feel so horrid that all I could do was lie motionless in bed. Still had no appetite and force myself to eat a bit of vegetable broth Dad made for me.

March 28 -- horrendous night between the 27th and the 28th. A sensation like a knot developed in my throat and got worse and worse. To the point where, at around three in the morning, I could no longer swallow my own saliva. I could still breathe perfectly fine, no shortness of breath of anything else like that, but the feeling was as if my esophagus went and swelled shut. I had to gather up a large quantity of saliva in my mouth, tip my head back and struggle for several dozen seconds, to be able to swallow. I very nearly choked when trying to take my medication in the morning, after a sleepless night. The inability to swallow subsided, but the sensation of a knot in the throat remained. Feeling of malaise and weakness grew worse. A sensation of brain-fog came on and I could no longer focus on anything. I attempted to read fic on my phone and just ended up reading the same chapter three dozen times, because my brain could no longer process the words. Difficulty speaking and articulating my thoughts. I could still think well enough, but translating said thoughts to words or writing was incredibly difficult. I spent a whole minute just trying to get the word 'insulin' out through my mouth. I knew it, I remembered it, I just couldn't transform it from a thought into a word without a great deal of effort.

March 29 -- another nightmarish night. Not due to problems swallowing, but inability to actually fall asleep. All attempts went the exact same way:

closed eyes and attempted to fall asleep

started hearing a loud, constant and almost nonsensical monologue in my head, in my own voice, often jumping from one language to the other (English, Romanian, Italian, etc all languages I knew). It's difficult for me to describe the contents now, since they barely made any sense, but they were almost everything from a recitation of a shopping list all the way to narratives that didn't make any sense ("and then, get this, the clock bashed his face in!")

started seeing images behind my eyelids, almost as nonsensical as the words -- parades of wild color, me falling through Salvador Dali-like landscapes, images shifting hundreds of times per minute

None of these were dreams, everything was happening while I was still awake and struggling to fall asleep. I'd close my eyes, struggle mightily to empty my head and go the fuck to sleep... and within seconds, the cavalcade of words and disjointed images would erupt again, with me having almost no control over it. After a few minutes I always found the strength to jerk up and open my eyes, which silenced the voice and ended the images... but then I'd have to try closing my eyes again and the circus would repeat again. This happened hundreds of times over the entire night, before I was finally able to fall asleep for a few hours, at six on the morning.

Woke up absolutely soaked in incredibly foul-smelling sweat. So much of it that my bedsheets were wet as well, not just my pajamas.Used what little strength I had to strip the bed, take a shower and change my pajamas. By lunch I was feeling the worst I'd ever felt, shaking convulsively without having any kind of fever and begging 112 (our emergency number) for help. Several friends were worried I might be going into some kind of shock. Our ambulance service was swamped and Dad used his connections to get a hazmat-equipped team to come home and test me for COVID-19. The hazmat team claimed, like the previous ambulance crew, that I couldn't have COVID-19 since I didn't have a fever and wasn't coughing my head off. I pressed to get taken to the hospital and tested, but between them berating me for taking the risk and Dad looking petrified at the idea of me going to a hospital (and getting exposed, at this time he was still convinced I just had a strange flu), I caved and remained home. They said I was probably having an anxiety attack and left.

March 30 -- yet another sleepless night with visual and auditory hallucinations whenever I attempted to fall asleep. Utterly desperate and frantic, I spent the night scouring the Internet for links between COVID-19 and other viral illnesses and hallucinations. In the end, while reading the prospects for all the pills I was taking, I found the culprit -- the goddamn Ciprofloxacin, the antibiotic for the presumed UTI (the area around my kidneys still kept hurting, but the urination continued to be painless, clear and frequent). Hallucinations and psychotic episodes were listed as one of its 'rare side-effects'. Not so rare in my case and other researchers are now taking a hard look at it and other antibiotics in its family, since the numbers of people who end up hallucinating while on the things is apparently larger than previously suspected.  

I immediately contacted my GP, who was shocked at what reaction my body ended up having to Cipro. Nevertheless, she immediately switched me over to another antibiotic we had in the house -- Augmentin, a more broad-spectrum one, but one I'd taken in the past for bacterial infections and responded well to. Urinating slightly less and able to eat a bit more, but the pain in the kidney area was getting worse.  

March 31 -- night hallucinations continued, but at a slightly reduced intensity, once off Cipro. Woke up completely covered in horrible-smelling sweat once again. Left arm numb and then painful, a reaction I was left with after a long bout of the monster-flu two years ago left me with peripheral nerve-damage due to the immune system going completely bonkers and attacking the nerves. This symptom appearing again made it clear that I was experiencing autoimmune issues once again, as a result of my immune system fighting against the SARS-CoV2 virus.

The pain in the kidney-area was growing worse and worse, even with the Augmentin treatment. By evening, I'd called a fourth ambulance in roughly seven days. The paramedics were even more dismissive than the last crew, said I just had some sand or maybe a small kidney-stone and to wait it out at home. They completely refused to take me to the hospital, claiming that I ran the risk of a COVID-19 infection over a small issue.

April 1 -- a slightly better night of sleep, the hallucinations reduced to 10% of their previous intensity, so clearly an effect of the Cipro. The brain-fog was still presence and further research pointed to it as a possible effect of COVID-19, rather than the antibiotic. Woke up drenched in sweat once again, with my cervical area hurting horribly, my kidneys in pain as well and my left arm numb once more. Completely furious and utterly fed-up, I said "fuck the ambulance service!" and begged Dad to take me to the nearest ER by car. By this point I was fearing for my kidneys and feeling so horrid that I was 100% willing to take the chance of COVID-19 infection, if I didn't have it, just to figure out what the bleeding fuck what happening to my body. He refused initially, fearing I would be infected, but was left with no choice in the matter when I threatened to walk to the hospital by myself if he wasn't willing to help.

At the ER closest to our apartment, a hazmat-equipped doctor working triage had me sit down and fill up a questionnaire of symptoms. Even without fever or difficulty breathing or persistent cough (my cough came only in the morning and lasted just a few minutes each day), everything else was enough to make him note "possible COVID-19" and give me a paper to present to our national institute of infectious diseases, so I could get tested. So Dad and me left the ER and drove to Matei Bals Institute, where the doctors were rather puzzled by me, coming in without a fever  and not coughing my lungs out. The chest x-ray turning out perfect (nothing in the lungs) only seemed to increase their skepticism, but they nevertheless tested me, before sending me home and telling me I'd receive the result in 24 hours. Their only recommendation was to talk to a nephrologist on the phone, re: the kidneys.

April 2 -- felt slightly better, though still under heavy malaise and the kidneys were more painful than ever. At about nine in the evening I got a phone call from our local public health authorities, who told me that my RT-PCR test for COVID-19 was positive. Honestly? Instead of being frightened, I was relieved. After almost two weeks of the strangest collection of symptoms I'd ever had, I finally had an explanation as to what on earth was causing them and was vindicated re: the four ambulance crews that dismissed me. The authorities sent an ambulance that picked me up, right along with Dad (quite unwillingly in his case, he only had some sniffles and a minor indigestion, despite having nursed me for well over a week). We got taken back to Matei Bals Institute, where Dad was tested and sent back home (since he didn't have much in the way of symptoms and they had no reason to keep him) and I was admitted into one of the wards. The time was roughly two in the morning.

April 3 -- barely slept due to the noise and light in the ward. Had blood drawn, for blood-work. Malaise as terrible as ever. Started treatment with HCQ (Plaquenil), the anti-malaria drug. The rest of my ward-mates were absolute sweethearts, but I was much too weak to do much other than get out of bed to trudge to the communal bathroom down the hall. Urination (which had slowly reduced in frequency from March 25) still a bit more frequent than usual. Begged the doctor for something to let me sleep and was given a few metallic-tasting, oily drops to drink in the evening. Had the first good night of sleep in well over a week.  

April 4 -- at this point, the kidney pain got so bad that I could barely walk to the bathroom and would grit my teeth in pain whenever I sat down in the bed. Asked one of the nurses for help, with no visible result. The pain was getting worse and I could no longer get out of bed, just lying there in a listless lump. Several of the other people in the beds next to me went to pound on the door separating the 'red zone' from the 'green zone' and demanded that the nurses or doctor see to me. In the end, a young nurse came and struggled for almost thirty minutes to get an IV in me. She was inexperienced and, coupled with having to wear three pairs of gloves and a visor on her face, she could barely see or feel my veins. The result was that she ended up blowing thee of my veins (two on the right hand, one on the left) before she finally managed to get the IV needle in and secured it. Then I got put on a heavy-duty regimen of IV Ceftriaxone (antibiotic), hydration fluids and painkillers, for the next few days.

April 5 - 7 -- slowly got better on the IV regimen. Gained a bit more strength, the pain in the kidney area subsided and I could walk again. Gave urine samples twice and they came back clean (no bacterial infection in the kidneys or urinary tract). On April 6 we were told that the whole lot of us (the seven of us crowded in that ward and everyone else in the same wing of the Institute) would be transferred the next day to Colentina Hospital, just a stone's throw away, which had been officially designated as a COVID-19 support unit. The reasoning was that we'd be placed in smaller wards and the Matei Bals Institute could focus on the critical and very difficult cases, that required everything from oxygen support to full intubation. My IV needle was removed on April 7 and we, dragging our luggage after us, walked from our wing at Matei Bals to the entrance to Colentina, just two hundred meters away. We were dispersed all over the Internal Medicine wing and I got lucky enough to be placed in a room with just two beds, sharing with a lovely 81 year-old lady, who was COVID-19 positive, but utterly asymptomatic. Got blood drawn again and also had an EKG done (no cardiac abnormalities). Also had another x-ray, lungs still entirely clear. Got tested for COVID-19 once again, but the result came back 'inconclusive' the next day. The treatment with Plaquenil was ceased and I received no further medication, save for what I requested to handle inconsistent stools.  

April 8 - 9 -- kept getting stronger and stronger, able to sit out of bed and walk for extensive periods of time. Bowels still somewhat disturbed and shifting between constipation and diarrhea and then back again,with the stool always being a bright, sun-yellow. Otherwise no pains or other malaise present. Got tested for COVID-19 once more on April 9.  

April 10 -- some of the first ever symptoms I had, in middle March (runny nose, sneezing, stomach constantly full of air and always burping) came back at this point, along with noticeable muscle soreness in my upper arms and shoulders, even though I'd never made any great physical effort. The test taken on April 9 came back 'negative', so the doctors ignored me when I told them that I was having old symptoms come in for an encore. Tested once again.

April 11 -- the burping and stomach-distention due to air grew worse. The 'knot in throat' symptom returned. The test from April 10 came back 'negative' as well and since I fulfilled the criteria of two negatives in 24 hours, I was discharged and had Dad come and pick me up. The Colentina doctors, completely inexperienced re: COVID-19, claimed that my gastro symptoms were likely caused by something else.

April 12 - 16 -- uncertain period, with the typical 'up and down' pattern making a return. One day I was feeling fine and had energy, the other way I was wiped out and could barely get out of bed. Frequent urination (once every twenty minutes) decided to make a return as well and I broke down in tears. Also got a brand-new symptom -- pink-eye straight out of nowhere, which has also been associated with COVID-19 infection.

April 17 -- worst day since the first ones in hospital. Completely exhausted and dealing with a horrible pain at the base of my skull, that was pulsing slowly, radiating down the spinal column and up into the skull. Doesn't respond to Paracetamol and I didn't want to risk taking Ibuprofen. Getting dehydrated due to the constant urination once more, so I started drinking water with electrolytes whenever I could. Fell down on my way to the bathroom, when a veil of darkness passed over my eyes for a few seconds. Everything was spinning and I felt as if I was disassociating and floating away from my own body. Felt better only after more water with electrolytes.

April 18 - 20 -- still felt crappy, but marginally better than on the 17th. Pumped myself full of vitamin C, vitamin D (have a long-standing deficiency there), magnesium and potassium from bananas, kale, spinach, probiotics from yogurt with live cultures in it, to re-balance my likely ravaged gut flora. My appetite, decent in the hospital and shot to pieces again on the 17th, was slowly making a comeback once more. Still burping and full of air no matter what I ate, still pissing frequently. One of the things with COVID-19 was that it made my GERD flare up about ten times worse than usual. Started treating it with a proton-pump inhibitor (Omez) which handled the extra acidity and the heartburn, but not the burping and trapped air. Kidney region started hurting again and at this point I didn't know if it even was the kidneys themselves (both urine samples and blood-work in the hospital showed no problem whatsoever with the kidney function, in spite of the weird symptoms) or just nerve-pain in the area of the kidneys.

April 21 - 23 -- slowly gained strength once more, able to get out of bed and work at my PC. Pain in the kidney region came and went, urination slowly started to reduce in frequency once again. Still drinking water with electrolytes, taking vitamins, eating as varied as I can.

April 24 -- best day so far today (hope I don't bloody jinx it). Energy levels almost back to my baseline, though still left with burping, constant air in stomach and general laziness in digestion. Stool of normal frequency, color and texture after the probiotic regimen. Left with lingering nerve-pain in the cervical area, the shoulders, the lower left ribs in the front and the lower back. Urination frequency reducing to more normal levels once again, feeling less like a constantly dehydrated prune.

It's been... almost five weeks since the first symptoms. A long and exhausting ride and I still don't know what might pop up again. But still far preferable to those poor souls who end up unable to breathe and in full-blown ARDS, needing to be sent straight into the ICU.

Why did I have another flare-up, after two negative tests? Your guess is as good as mine, right now. I have a few theories:

consistent with those articles coming out of South Korea, false negative results might be more widespread than we suspect, in some cases. Either because the virus might be able to hide in the central nervous system and pop back up again for another tangle with one's immunity or because the immune response can lower viral concentration in the body enough for a test to come back negative, without the virus actually being defeated for good.

the test results are correct, the virus is gone from my body and all of what I'm still dealing with are a the result of post-viral systemic inflammation. Not an unlikely thing, since I have a short history of dealing with autoimmune bullshit after that flu two years ago left me with enough nerve-damage that I was unable to walk for a whole month and took six months to recover fully + still wake up with the left side of the body temporarily numb and huge pain in the spinal column if I ever sleep on a shitty mattress, that doesn't offer decent back support.

I want to do more blood-work, see if markers for autoimmune activity show up, but unfortunately, that's pretty difficult to do now, with most hospitals up to their eyeballs in COVID-19 and private clinics charging an eye-watering price for such tests. Dad is almost broke until pay-day, due to how much money he spent in the last month on medicine for me, so it will have to wait or we'll figure something out if my situation worsens again and it becomes imperative to get treatment against autoimmune response. Taking this thing one day at a time.

An overview of my COVID-19 symptoms, good to keep an eye out for:

Gastrointestinal:

explosive, orange, foul-smelling diarrhea

excessive flatulence

vomiting

aggressive flare-up of GERD

excessive burping

swollen, painful stomach due to constantly trapped air

difficulty swallowing

feeling of knot stuck in throat

lack of appetite

Neurological:

temporarily failing vision due to static-like images over the eye's perception

twitching eyelids

nerve-pain in the cervical area

migraine starting at the back of the head and radiating to the backs of the eyes

nerve-pain in all sorts of odd places, coming and going (the left ankle, the left front rib, the right back rib, the kidney area)

dizziness

brain-fog and temporary difficulty with focusing / with coherent speech

Renal:

very frequent urination, though blood-work indicated no disfunctionality with the kidneys

Upper respiratory:

runny nose, post-nasal drip

sneezing

light cough, early in the morning, accompanied by a ticking in the throat sensation that set it off

Unsure how to categorize:

foul-smelling night-sweats, intense enough to soak through clothes and sheets

pink-eye

No shortness of breath, no fever, no lung involvement in my case. This is a virus that the human body responds to in ridiculously varied ways, from that cute little old lady at Colentina, who was totally asymptomatic, to me, where it manifested almost like bloody cholera (the violent diarrhea, vomiting and pissing at the same time, like something was trying to squeeze all of the water out of my body), to one of my ward-mates at Matei Bals, who had developed pneumonia and required moderate oxygen support and was well on the mend when we got dispersed, to the unfortunate souls who end up in ICU with ARDS.

Take care of yourselves, be vigilant and stay safe.

#rho rambles #covid #covid19

[angerissue]

@mynameisanakin​ asked... 5. Talk about your muse’s sleep patterns and quality of sleep. From this headcanon meme. Open to everyone.

Bruce is a bit of a mess here... The quality and consistency of his sleep could use some serious improvement.

To commence, Bruce has an unpredictable bedtime. He often spends his evenings in the lab, and while he does set alarms to remind himself of the time, there are various occasions where unanticipated issues come up, and he needs to keep working until they're fixed. And even if an alarm comes and goes, he can become so engrossed in his work that he doesn't set another one. This can lead to him checking the time and realizing it’s much later than he expected.

Additionally, there are often moments where his condition becomes too active for him to sleep. Because of the radiation's presence in his amygdala, certain aspects of the Hulk can bleed into his normal persona. This includes an “undercurrent” of rawer emotions, which mirrors whatever he's feeling in his normal form. If he becomes even slightly emotional about something, or if he becomes determined to finish something that he's working on, this undercurrent can make the sentiments more powerful, as if he's feeling two versions of the same emotion; one muted and one potent. When this happens, his mind can have trouble relaxing until he deals with the underlying reason behind it. Sometimes it goes away on its own, but other times, he needs to do some detective work.

In many cases, if he’s in the lab, this means he needs to reach a point in his work where he’s satisfied with his progress. Otherwise, he’ll continue to feel unsatisfied, and he cannot simply "dismiss" the sentiment by leaving the lab at a predetermined time. It will follow him.

Because of this, his bedtime is usually around one or two in the morning.

Once Bruce reaches his room, he does a commendable job with sleep hygiene. He spends around half an hour winding down, washing his face, brushing his teeth, and doing some basic yoga. He'll burn some incense too, with his favourite scents being cinnamon and frankincense. The routine helps to clear his mind before bed, and he enjoys the process, because however repetitive it can become, it's one of the few aspects of his sleep that he can control.

But it only helps so much.

Bruce has suffered from complex PTSD for years now, and because of it, his nervous system is overactive and has trouble calming down. Even when he's in bed and trying to fall asleep, while he could be relaxed in the physical sense, his mind often remains active and engaged, focusing on whatever pops into his head and observing it, rather than passively allowing his contemplations to come and go. It's almost like he needs to ensure his own thoughts aren't a threat, and needs to inspect each of them before he dismisses them. This active engagement is very detrimental to falling asleep in an efficient manner. Bruce does meditate during his yoga exercises, and he takes a small dose of Clonidine as well, but it's not a panacea.

Especially because it doesn’t prevent the undercurrent from returning, and latching onto his thoughts again.

So it takes him an hour or two to fall asleep.

And once he falls asleep, he usually wakes up multiple times in the night. When he was younger, he always needed to be aware of his surroundings, because Brian was very unpredictable when it came to his abuse. This alertness has continued well into Bruce's adulthood, remaining whether he's conscious or not. It's an automatic means for him to ensure he's safe. In consequence, he wakes up every few hours, even if his environment is very quiet. And if the room is indeed noisy, he'll wake up even more often.

There is a silver lining to this — if he wakes up during the night, he’ll quickly fall back asleep again.

Unless he has a nightmare. Nightmares are the worst part of sleeping for Banner, because his PTSD causes him to experience an abnormally high amount of them. If he's awake and moving around, he manages to repress his grievances and numerous traumas on a conscious level. But sleeping causes his limbic system to become more active, and because it's responsible for fear and emotions, his repressed traumas can easily rise to the surface and manifest as nightmares.

The other reason for his abundance of nightmares is the Hulk. Bruce's limbic system causes the Hulk's irrational sentiments and undercurrent to become more potent, so if they're negative or antagonistic in some manner (and they often are, because the Hulk is extremely defensive and aggressive by nature), they can contaminate his dreams.

Moreover, it’s not unusual for him to suffer six or seven nightmares a week.

And these nightmares can be terrible. Sometimes, Bruce experiences ones that are merely unsettling and don't leave him with much of a reaction as he wakes. However, the combination of his PTSD and condition will make them extremely jarring on most nights, with enough emotional duress to leave him with a rapid heartbeat and sheets that are completely drenched in sweat. These are the typical nightmare for him. And it's never a fun experience, not to mention that returning to sleep afterwards can be arduous, if not impossible, because he's simply too emotionally activated from the dream. Sometimes, he simply doesn't bother because it's not worth the hassle or stress, and he stays up for the rest of the night.

To him, this is better than tossing and turning for three hours in a bed that recently traumatized him.

If Bruce has a particularly nasty nightmare, he could even transform in his sleep. This is similar to how someone might mumble or toss and turn during a bad dream. Most furniture isn't built for the Hulk, so it's caused him to break his bed on various occasions, much to his embarrassment. This throws even more of a wrench into his night, because it means he needs to find another suitable place to sleep, which can be difficult. There’s a reason that Bruce doesn't usually pass out on the couch or in another random location — he hasn’t curated or customized the space for himself, and he cannot control the noise. It’s not a part of his internalized bedtime routine, either, which makes it difficult for his mind to “accept” that the environment is safe to fall asleep in.

Despite the unpredictable nature of Bruce’s bedtime and sleep patterns as a whole, he usually sets his alarm for six in the morning. Because of this, and because of how late he falls asleep, it's rare for him to receive more than five hours of rest each night. Fortunately, he doesn't need the conventional "eight hours" like many people (maybe it's a side effect of his condition, but he's never confirmed it), so he can function well on the amount he does receive. Furthermore, Bruce won't show symptoms of sleep deprivation unless it's been a particularly poor night, with particularly awful dreams — this usually happens once or twice a week. At these times, there will be a marked difference in him. He'll have bags under his eyes and a more worn-out appearance in general, and he’ll be more irritable.

It’s best to give him space on these occasions.

Granted, Bruce could easily sleep in, because there are no real commitments that require him to be awake at six. However, he values having time to himself before the rest of the world is awake — it's peaceful and quiet, similar to the environment in the laboratory at night. He would rather lose sleep, and deal with potential questions and concerns from people after an especially awful night, than miss his invaluable “alone time” in the morning. If he cannot brew his morning tea without being interrupted by someone, it bothers him.

As for the Hulk? Well, it would be ironic to say the Hulk sleeps like a baby, but this isn’t the case. Banner's sleeping habits in this form are identical to the habits in his normal form, if not worse. At least in his normal form, there’s a small barrier between himself and all of the unrepressed emotions and traumas that reside in the Hulk, but if he’s in a transformed state and goes to sleep, this barrier is nonexistent. Everything is right there.

So if someone sees the Hulk sleeping peacefully, they should consider themselves privileged, because it rarely happens.

On a positive note, because the Hulk doesn’t need to sleep, he will not experience sleep deprivation and can quickly bounce back from a restless night. Knowing this, there are many occasions where Bruce will wake up from a nightmare and consider transforming for the remainder of the night, simply because he’ll be more refreshed by morning. However, this can be a gamble, because any lingering sentiments from his nightmares tend to be amplified when he transforms. He might think he's calmed down, but sometimes he cannot perceive certain emotions that are still lingering, and they become a lot worse once he transforms. This can be stressful, so he needs to be cautious.

And last but not least... In certain verses where Bruce suffers from DID, while his alter initially cannot communicate with him, he eventually gains the ability to speak with Bruce as he’s falling asleep, when his mind is somewhere between wakefulness and unconsciousness. Unfortunately, because Bruce is wholly incapable of expecting this behaviour if he’s on the verge of falling asleep, and would obviously be surprised by a sudden voice in his head, his alter barely manages to get in a few words before Bruce snaps awake again. This can wreak even more havoc on his sleep, as it’s very similar to a hypnic jerk in suddenness, and at some point, Bruce will grow to dread falling asleep because of it.

But as his alter sees it, he doesn’t have many other options where communication is concerned. If Bruce is completely awake, he cannot hear him at all, which only leaves the moment when he’s falling asleep.

#( answered. ) #( meme response. ) #( headcanon. ) #mynameisanakin #yeah... he's a walking disaster when it comes to sleep.