#I usually go the route of gargling salt water; a teaspoon of honey; sucking on orange peels; ginger tea; vitamin c 1000mg drinks

[randomingoftherandomness]

hello gab! hope ur having a lovely week <3

fic idea: i have NO idea how the timelines would work but anything where cheng huang/zyc are somehow reincarnations of yuanzhi and shangjue

love, 柠檬

A/N: Hello 柠檬! Hope you're having a wonderful Friday thus far. Okay, so this is my stab at this prompt. My dumb brain wrote this and then realised that I had flipped it around hahaha... I hope you'll enjoy it nonetheless!

a.k.a. I'm back on my Juezhi bullshit and making it your problem

‧⁺◟( ᵒ̴̶̷̥́ ·̫ ᵒ̴̶̷̣̥̀ )

--

Shangjue is awakened by Yuanzhi pulling away and curling onto his side away from him. His senses are immediately alert and he reaches out to place a gentle hand on a shaking shoulder.

"It's just a dream, didi." He tries. "Come back to me."

It takes him a beat, but when Yuanzhi stirs, he does with a wet gasp, jerking up into a seated position which Shangjue follows. Wrapping an arm around Yuanzhi's thin waist, he instinctively presses his dear heart into an embrace. Holding on tight as he comes back to himself.

This is the third time this month.

Shangjue doesn't have to ask what the dreams are, he already knows because they're the same as his own -- always the same where they're both on opposing sides of a battle, always where there is a deep obsession, always with a deep, bottomless grief that swallows both of them whole.

He lets Yuanzhi's breathing settle, allowing him the space and time to calm down. Measures the minutes with how he relaxes in his arms, and carefully holds him through it all.

Soothingly, Shangjue says, "You know, Elder Yue once told me that dreams are glimpses into another world. Another life we could have led."

"Then that's not a world I want to live in." Yuanzhi shivers, words a little muffled where his mouth is pressed to the meat of Shangjue's shoulder. "I never want to be on any side but yours."

"Because you know I'd wipe the floor with you?"

"I have no doubt about that, but no." Yuanzhu laughs, slapping his other shoulder but is unresisting when Shangjue catches his hand to press a kiss. "No, I never want to be your enemy because I can't fathom a life where I could ever not love you."

"Yuanzhi..." Shangjue sighs, helplessly smiling through the radiating warmth of fondness that sings through his chest. Ducking his head, he swallows around the jumble of words that threaten to break him apart.

Thank you.

I love you too.

You're the most important person to me and I never want to lose you.

But all he says in response is a soft, tender, "Me too." Brushing back Yuanzhi's bangs, he thumbs at the corner of his didi's smile. Leaning in, the bubble of laughter comes loose as their lips meet, sighing a little when Yuanzhi tilts his head for a better angle.

In the back of his mind, he mentally makes a plan to visit their backyard brethren to get this looked at. There is too much coincidence with their dreams matching up like this for Shangjue to put it down to some inexplicable thing about their way of life. Maybe there is some rhyme and reason to it all.

He hopes there is one.

But for now, Shangjue is content to fold his didi back against him, kissing his brow to coax him back to sleep.

[i-am-very-very-tired]

The longer you sing and develop your voice, the more you may realize that there are other factors to consider besides maintaining good voice technique. The environment inside and outside your home, what you eat, colds and allergies can all wreak havoc on your voice, no matter how much you practice. Yes, a strong singer can sing through a cold more easily than a weak singer, but a strong and smart singer will still go out of her way to avoid a cold at all. Knowing how to avoid or minimize the effects of colds, allergies and other assaults on the vocal cords is a must for every singer. The mucous membrane that surrounds the vocal cords can get irritated from incorrect singing, but also from numerous environmental factors. The optimum state of the vocal cords is warm and moist. Dried out vocal cords cause notes to crack, while too much mucous around the cords makes it hard for them to meet and create a tone. Then you might strain to produce a sound, causing more irritation, then more mucous, and the vicious cycle continues. Since you can control what you eat, your diet is the first thing to adjust if your throat feels overly dry, irritated or gunky. You'll have to experiment with the following to see if you need to just avoid these foods for an hour or two before you sing on the day of important gigs, or if they are causing chronic problems and must be avoided, period. I quit a five-cup-a-day coffee habit years ago when I realized that I was losing my voice every time I drank coffee and then sang. Tea doesn't affect my singing at all, though like coffee it can irritate and dry the voice. It's different from body to body, so be your own research scientist, use these guidelines, and find out if a change in diet improves your voice. See my article about what to eat and drink before singing for more on this subject. Coffee, alcohol, and citrus will dry you out. Coffee also irritates the throat, as does spicy food like hot peppers. Any kind of dairy can cause mucous. There are many foods that people are sensitive to, such as wheat, and these will also cause more gunk. If you have chronic voice problems and/or heartburn, you may have acid reflux (GERD). It's a very common problem for singers and non-singers alike. Many singers have no symptoms except for chronic hoarseness. I know three voice teachers who have dealt with acid reflux, and each one lost her voice for more than a month. When you have reflux stomach acids (and sometimes just irritating fumes) are splashing up and irritating your vocal cords. See a voice or ENT (Ear, Nose and Throat) doctor, and temporarily eliminate chocolate, alcohol, tomatoes, spicy foods, citrus, coffee and tea. Don't worry, many people can ease up on the diet a bit when they are better. There are meds that can help if you want to go that route, but they don't always work and can be expensive. Many people have also had great success controlling acid reflux by taking both probiotics and digestive enzymes, and drinking 1 or 2 tablespoons of apple cidar vinegar daily. You may also want to add a pillow so your head is raised higher while you sleep, and avoid eating or drinking for two hours before bedtime. More on diet: avoid overly cold food right before you sing since it can make your vocal cords constrict. When you eat is important, too. If you eat within two hours of singing you may burp through your song. Beer and sodas will also cause more burps. Plus, an overly full stomach can make taking a deep breath a lot harder. What's good for your voice? Water, and lots of it, preferably room temperature or warmer. No ice cubes. If your throat is really dry shoot for a gallon a day—no kidding. Ample hydration is one of the most important things you can do for your voice. Honey, slippery elm, and licorice tea can soothe your throat. Herbal teas are also good because you inhale steam as you drink. Lozenges are fine for most people, but avoid the lozenges and sprays that numb your throat, since you could hurt your voice and not realize it. Back to the hydration thing: air conditioners and heaters suck moisture out of the air and your vocal cords. Use them when you need to, but drink plenty of water to fight the dryness. Turn the AC/heating vents in your car away from your face. Humidifiers can put moisture back into the air if you are running AC or heat. I run one throughout the winter when I sleep. Use the inexpensive kind that just creates steam, and clean it regularly to avoid mold. "Forget dryness," you're saying, "It's throat gunk that drives me crazy!" If you are positive that your vocal and dietary habits aren't causing the extra mucous, then you may have allergies to dusts and pollens in the air. You should also rule out chronic sinus infection as the culprit, but more likely it's allergies. I'd guess that 60% of my students have had minor to big time allergies. The allergy starts in your nose, you get postnasal drip which reaches and irritates your vocal cords, and boom--gunk. Gargling with salt or baking soda and warm water can clear some of the gunk: baking soda is gentler. Use 1/4 teaspoon salt or baking soda per cup of warm water, take a small amount in your mouth, and gargle on a high pitch so your vocal cords rise closer to the gargling action. You can also snort this mixture to clean out your nose. An easy allergy prevention method is to line your nose with Vaseline or "un-petroleum jelly" (available in health food stores) after you've snorted the above mixture. Do this in the morning before the pollens assault you. Allergy remedies abound, so you'll need to decide whether you prefer western medicine or alternative remedies like acupuncture and homeopathy. If you want to go the traditional path, watch out for antihistamines like Claratin since they can out your vocal cords along with your nose. Many students of mine have had success with allergy meds like Claritin, but they had to experiment with different ones (and dosages) to find one that dried them up, but not too much. If you use a nasal spray, aim it up in your nose, not back, so the spray doesn't trickle down your throat to your vocal cords. I've also heard from voice doctors that Singulair is the only allergy medicine that doesn't dry out your chords—but it's expensive. I prefer alternative remedies. There are so many alternative allergy remedies out there that you should probably do some internet research to see some choices. I've had students find a lot of relief with different herbs (fenugreek and oregano oil have helped me), homeopathy (I like Allerstat), and acupuncture. (2015 update: I've been drinking a teaspoon or so daily of a product called Aller-ease, the company that makes it is Buried Treasure, and it really helped me with spring pollen allergies. I had none in the spring of 2014 and 2015, tons in 2013 and each previous Nashville spring. ) NAET (Nadrumipad Allergy Elimination Technique) is an alternative method that has helped many people (including me) reduce their allergies dramatically. I also know several professional singers who eliminated their allergies by changing to healthier lifestyles: yes exercise, no dairy, fast food, meat, or refined sugars, and very little alcohol. It's worth it to them to make these changes because they feel and sing much better. These folks also tell me that they now get fewer colds. Avoiding colds seems to be every singer's full-time job. You've heard all this before but let me write the obvious anyway: get enough sleep, eat healthy foods, and wash your hands frequently. Statistics have shown that people who exercise regularly get fewer colds. Stay warm during cool months. Drink tons of water. A tablespoon of apple cider vinegar daily also helps fight colds by keeping your system alkaline. That may sound weird to you, but do the internet research on apple cider vinegar and staying alkaline and you may agree with me. Everyone has an opinion about whether Vitamin C, garlic, echinicia, and zinc lozenges can prevent colds or reduce the severity of the cold. Studies have shown that garlic and Vit. C are indeed helpful, and a singer friend of mine who has researched it says that raw garlic is the best. Echinicia and zinc lozenges are more controversial but I'm convinced they work for me. Remember if you take echinicia to not take it year-round; your body needs a break from it for it to work best. I take it through the winter and stop during the summer. Or try two months on, one month off. Recent studies are finally confirming that certain forms of zinc fight off and shorten the duration of colds. I always keep zinc lozenges around the house and in my car, and suck on them anytime I've been around a lot of people. Though the jar usually limits you to about 6 a day, my brother the doctor says it's really difficult to overdose on zinc lozenges. Remember to get zinc lozenges, not pills, and suck on them instead of chewing. I also take zinc capsules or pills with water. If I feel "coldish" I take Zicam, which also has a lot of zinc in it. The cherry kind is the least awful tasting, in my humble opinion. I wish I owned stock in Zicam, it is definitely a singer's friend. If you have an allergy attack or a cold (the symptoms are so similar you can't always tell which it is), keep taking Zicam and up your fluid intake. The big decision is whether to sing or not. Some voice teachers think that a well-trained singer should be able to sing through almost any cold, but I don't agree. If the cold or allergy is situated in your nose it's usually okay to sing. But if it's lodged near your vocal cords you need to be more careful since you'll be singing with irritated cords. Unless you have a performance I'd skip singing for a day or two. This is a good time to mentally rehearse your songs, listen to practice tapes, analyze the lyrics, or rehearse your band without vocals to tighten up the arrangements. 2015 Update: I've found two things that really help sooth and heal bad sore throats and colds: elderberry, which comes in extract and lozenges (I use both), and Four Thieves: the latter is an essential oil blend that also comes in a spray or lozenges for vocalists, they are expensive but worth it. They are available in the vocal remedy kit available here, among other places. If you have a performance and must sing, you'll have to decide early in the day whether to rest your voice until just before the show, or whether to do some light warm-ups throughout the day to prepare. If you are really sick and any vocalizing makes you cough, choose the former. Take comfort in this phenomenon: the adrenaline your body releases with any stage nerves you have during your performance will knock out many of your symptoms for the duration of the show. If you choose to vocalize, start with humming, then tongue or lip rolls that swoop from high to low. The vibration from tongue rolls are great for clearing gunky vocal cords but don't push it if you can't make your tongue do them, not everyone can. After these initial sounds, focus on resonant warm-up words like "Myah" or "Yeah." Slide these words loosely over whatever range you've got, or sing the earlier songs on the workout. Take a break if you voice begins to fatigue; your goal here is to very gently warm up your voice, not wear it out. Get lots of rest and save your energy for the show. Sleep is a body function that singers sometimes ignore. The most common vocal problem from lack of sleep is a tendency to sing flat. If you haven't slept well pay extra attention to breath support and placement, and perhaps cup your ear or sing into the corner of a room so you can hear yourself better. Naps are tricky: if you warm up in the morning, then nap in the afternoon, you may need to warm up again if you are singing in the evening. Jazz singer Cleo Lane once said that she needed to be awake at least four hours before her voice really woke up. Experiment to find out what's right for you. It might be wiser to go for a run to wake up than to take a nap. Exercise and good singing go hand in hand. Working out the day of a performance is always a great idea, but leave time to rest before you sing. Any aerobic exercise can increase your lung capacity and make singing easier, but certain types of exercise, like swimming, seem to encourage deeper breathing. If you run or work out with weights, make sure that you take good deep singer's breaths during the workout. Crunches are great to do, but not right before you sing: your tight abdominal muscles could inhibit taking a deep inhalation. If I have a performance I like to do a form of exercise that day that I don't need to think about, like swimming or walking, so I can mentally rehearse the performance. Studies have shown that mental rehearsal improves performance. Whatever you do, try to stretch your muscles out at the end of your workout, or do yoga instead. Relaxing tight muscles before you sing is very important. Here's the good news—Statistically, singers live longer than non-singers. All the good habits that we singers develop to improve our singing also improves our health and longevity. Unless you abuse drugs, drink alcohol or smoke, of course, which are all terrible for your voice and your body. The simple lifestyle changes here will not only improve your singing, but they will enhance your quality of life and longevity.