#how to stop hair fall immediately home remedies

[rishiguro]

HAIKYUU CHARACTERS WHEN YOU‘RE SICK

a/n: hello flu season, you make me write purely self-indulgent shit because i turn into a needy child when i‘m sick

warnings: mentions of meds. one f-bomb.

jjk version

SUNA RINTAROU: can’t help but tease you for it

“i told you to put on a jacket and dry your hair before you go out,” he muttered amused as he watched you huddle into the living room, wrapped into your thick blanket. you rolled your eyes at him, to which he immediately held up his hands. “don’t look at me like that, you know i’m right” you couldn’t help but pout at him, whispering curses annoyed. “you know damn well that that’s not how viruses work,” you grumbled. “then why are you sick now?” he retorted, smiling. “fuck you” you turned around to go back into the bedroom. “oh, come here you big baby” your boyfriend opened his arms and gestured you to come closer, offering to cuddle with you. “i hate you sometimes,” you muttered under your breath as you walked up to him, falling into his arms and laying your head on his chest. “i love you too”

USHIJIMA WAKATOSHI: decks you in with every remedy he can get his hands on

he looked at all the meds on the table after carefully reciting the benefits of each one word-by-word, remembering everything the pharmacist had told him. “are you sure you got everything you need? i can run out to the pharmacy again, it’s not a problem,” he offered after a short pause. you let out a quiet laugh, nodding confidently. “i’m sure i’ll be fine, ‘toshi. promise,” you stated, reaching out to grab his hand. “okay” admittedly, it was adorable just how overboard he went the second he heard you sneeze. you probably just caught the flu somewhere, nothing that couldn’t be cured with rest and maybe a few meds. when you texted your boyfriend, asking him to pick some up for you, you surely didn’t expect him to enter your home with the whole pharmacy in his bag. you grinned, your heart warming at his silly, but incredibly caring gesture. “what are you laughing at?” he asked confused. “nothing,” you assured him quickly, giving his cheek a peck before leaning into him and his warmth. “i’m just happy you’re here with me”

KITA SHINSUKE: keeps a respectable distance but doesn’t fail to make you feel cared for

following a soft knock, the door to your dim bedroom was opened with your boyfriend stepping into the room. “i made you some tea” he spoke softly as he put the mug down on the small table next to you. he proceeded to quickly feel your forehead, nodding when he realizes that your temperature has gone down. “and some soup is currently cooking on the stove, i’m gonna bring you a bowl later” he smiled softly at you, giving your forehead a peck. “i’ll be in the living room, yeah?” he turned to leave, making sure to not close the door behind him. he then turned around and took another look at you. “the door’s open, love, so just say the word and i’ll be here, no need to strain your voice” you smiled weakly at him. “thank you” he nodded. “i love you,” he whispered to you. “i love you too,” you replied. he turned to leave, but stopped when you called out to him again. he hummed, waiting for you to continue. “can i get a hug? just a quick one,” you mumbled, almost sounding shy, “please” he smiled, immediately making his way over to you. “you don’t have to ask, anything you want”

HINATA SHOYO: latches himself onto you and ends up getting sick too

you groaned, trying to push him off you, but finishing yourself too weak to actually do so. his head was buried in the crook of your neck with his arms wrapped tightly secured around you, not wanting to let you go. you sighed in defeat. “shoyo, i love you, but you’re gonna get sick of you keep doing this” “nuh-uh” he denied, shaking his head, his hair tickling your skin. “yes you will,” you insisted, your hands however finding their way on his back, softly running your nails over it. he kept denying it however and soon after you couldn’t find the energy to keep arguing with him — and you really didn’t want him to leave (not like you’d tell him and give him an actual reason to stay). and just about two weeks later, you’d be the one tending to him, not failing to tease him about his sickness. it didn’t matter to him though, he’d get sick a thousand times over if it meant he could stay close to you.

KUROO TETSUROU: loves to berate you but will drop everything to take care of you

he groaned when he saw you in his field of vision, raising his eyebrows at you with hands stemmed into his hips. “i told you to stay under the covers” he shook his head, pointing into the direction of your bedroom and motioning you towards it. “back under the blanket, come on” you whined. “it’s too hot, tetsurou, i’m sweating” you shivered as you spoke, your arms wrapping around your midsection. honestly, you just needed to see some things that weren’t the walls or the ceiling of your room. you’d take anything at this point. “that’s the point! you need to sweat it out!” he claimed, gesturing with his hands. “can i at least take a shower first? or just get changed? i feel disgusting, my clothes are literally drenched in sweat,” you spoke after sighing in defeat. there was no point in arguing with him, especially when you knew that he was right. “hop into the bathroom, i’ll get you some new pajamas”

reblog & comment to support your fanfic writers !

[ssplague]

Benighted Beloved

Prologue

Dragon King Bakugou x Reader

Haven’t decided on the title yet, didn’t want to take even more time to get this out.

Warnings ⚠️ BRIEF Mentions of attempted assault, sex trafficking, & murder.

As the last of the moon’s ethereal, silver light disappears from the skies, a harsh wind begins to blow. This kingdom’s inhabitants are hidden away within the confines of their homes. The silence is daunting as the wind begins to howl through the previously bustling capital streets.

Within the dimly lit castle a woman stares through the her window before shutting the drapes tight.

The atmosphere within the fortress is riddled with tension; Murmurings of prayers can be heard from various servants pausing their duties as they move about. Her bosom heaves rapidly from panting breaths, she fights in vain. Stubborn to prevent the vision attempting to shine through, ignoring the now blurry edges of her eye sight. Ebony hair is sticking to her sweaty face, she’s only standing on shaky legs from leaning against the edge of her vanity table.The door of her bedroom swings open and immediately slams shut. A man has come to see her, he’s briskly crossing the room, before coming to a stop at her side.

“What ails you?” The tired man asks, helping the woman stand upright by allowing her to hold his arm. Continuing to assist, despite her uncoordinated shuffling to sit on her bed. “If you are to be given a prophetic message, why fight it? Her majesty wishes to know what you have seen”. The woman wraps her arms around her middle, sharp nails nicking at her flesh as she draws in a shaking breath, “This night is tainted by darkness, the goddess is unable to grant us her full protection while her light is repressed…if my body will hold out until the darkness recedes, perhaps tragedy will be prevented from falling upon our kingdom once again”. Light from the single lit candle casted half of her face in shadow. The oracle was ashen faced, her black bangs plastered against her forehead, droplets of sweat leaked down her face onto the floor as she rested her elbows on her knees, shaking hands massage her temples.

“You cannot alter fate Midnight, you are destroying yourself all for the sake of delaying a message you were chosen to deliver” Aizawa says with a heavy sigh, rubbing at his eyes “I know you continue to blame yourself for the death of King Masaru but even the queen herself told you that you were not at fault, you relayed the message, and it was something that simply couldnt be remedied..”.

A shuddering breath racks the oracle’s body and she begins falling forward, only for the exhausted man to catch her,

“Stop this! You are going to die!”.

Midnight knew she was on deaths door, her body would give out soon, unless she relents…

Once again the bedroom door opens silently, the snap of it shutting alerts the two occupants of a new comer entering the room.

“Do it for the sake of the child, if you wish to atone for the death of its father then guide it as it grows, inform the future leader on how to avoid whatever negativity may come beforehand, so that it can be properly dealt with” the stern but soft voice of Jeanist seems to have been able to break through the oracle’s stubbornness.

“Normally only one of you would need to be the scribe for this session…but I would prefer it if there were two perspectives on whatever I report, considering the situation…” requests Midnight as Aizawa allows Jeanist to help the frail woman sit up. Making one more request as the blonde man fluffs and rearranges the pillows behind her:

“Please light the ceremonial pouperie and hand me both selenite and tourmaline towers”.

At the beginning of her life Midnight had been gifted with the ability to predict small things such as who would win a foot race or what she would receive for her birthday. As a teen her visions changed into predicting who would find love and eventually how relationships would end. Life was not always kind to her, and once she reached her late teens she had been enslaved and forced into prostitution.

Luck had been on her side as an adult; One night as the ebony haired beauty made her way through town. She had come across a drunken man attempting to asssault a young woman. Her amethyst eyes catch the glint of an intact bottle neck laying discarded on the alleyway’s grime crusted cobblestones. Those muffled cries of the female being violated brought her back to when she herself had first been enslaved. Slinking up through the shadows in silence, the angry woman would later on be compared to a panther as she came flying out of the darkness. The brute didnt have a chance to fight back as loose shards of glass were shoved into his eyes, the jagged spikes of the bottle were repeatedly slashed and thrusted into his neck, face, and chest until the pig was unrecognizable.

The woman she had saved turned out to be the daughter of a duke, visiting from a completely different kingdom. “Please accompany me for my journey home, your bravery will bring you great favor with my family, im offering you a new life, a fresh start”. Once the dutches and duke had learned about the gift of sight their daughter’s savior possessed, it was only a matter of time before Midnight was called to advise the current king and queen of her new home.

The darker haired man uses the candle to light to light the bundle of herbs, the scents of sage, lavender, and jasmine fill the room quickly.

Both polished stone towers are pressed into her shaking hands, Each man stood at the oracle’s bed side with quills poised and ready. Only then does the ritual begin;

She always hated lowering the walls of protection that had been built around her psyche. It made her feel as though she were stripped naked, vunerable, about to have her dignity snatched away, and soul crushed. Of course those feeling were always what prelude a tainted and unfortunate vision. Her eyes buldge in their sockets as they widen, her plump lips fall open and an amplified emotionless version of her voice spews out the sacred information from her gaping maw.

In this realm,

a blessing descends,

a child of fate,

Whose power immense,

destined to determine

earth’s fate

Born beneath the moon's shadow,

a tale quite bizarre,

A beast hides within,

a spirit touched by mar.

Not at the outset,

but time's relentless flow,

Unveils a name in

history's annals to grow.

Victories numerous,

A heart encased in sin

With a chance encounter,

love's dance shall begin.

Strings of fate weave

a love, pure and oh so divine,

The dragon king seeking

a mate with whom his

Soul shall intertwine.

This love is true,

by impurity shunned,

Great Darkness out shone

by Celestial radiance

Who’s light could

Outshine the sun

Blessings abound

if the moon's grace prevails,

However her failure

unveils hate

as darkness assails.

The Earth shall quake in fright

silence descends in despair,

The dragon king ruthless,

his mate to ensnare.

Land soaked in blood,

tainted with gore

at that moment

T’will be decided

peace within this kingdom

will become a distant lore

Decay befalls living souls,

cursed evermore.

Oh how can one’s feelings

spin a tale so profound?

For only true love shall

Determine whether darkness

Or light shall abound?

In a wing located on the complete opposite side of the castle, a feminine shriek is permeated by the sharp wails of an infant.

“It’s a boy your majesty!” Exclaims a mid-wife who held the freshly delivered baby.

She is quick to clean off the continuously shrieking child, immediately swaddling him in a soft blanket. Queen Mitsuki held out her trembling hands to receive the bundle of joy. “He’s beautiful my lady, I’m sure the king is looking down from heaven with pride” stated one of the other servants as she took away the soiled linens. “Yes he is…my beautiful little boy…my precious Katsuki” the queen whispered, kissing the boy’s head. His tiny whisps of blonde hair tickled her face as she holds him close. A little fist slips out from the blankets, waving about as his wails grow louder. Another servant enters the room, her arms laden with fresh blankets and sheets, “The moonlight has returned!” She happily reports, setting down the bedding and drawing back the curtains some.

Soon as those first rays of the shining silver light landed on the baby, his shrieks cease instantly. Finally opening his small crimson eyes to stare up at his mother, a goofy smile appearing and soft cooing replaced his cries. Everyone in the castle seemed to breathe a sigh of relief as the dreaded eclipse had come to an end.

“My Katsuki, you’re going to grow into a strong, dependable man, eventually you’ll become the greatest king the world has ever seen…isn’t that right Masaru?” Mitsuki snuggled the baby, tears rolling down her cheeks. She wasn’t able to see the man standing beside the two of them, but Katsuki could. The spirit of his father placed its hand on his little head, and the baby began to giggle happily. “I cant do much in this form, but I’ll do whatever I can to help you make the right choice when the time comes…take care of your mother for me…I love you both so much”.

A/N: We’re starting a NEW series!

What did you think? Pay attention to that prophecy, any ideas on what it’s talking about?

[sparklypinkflightsuit]

Blessed Be: Prologue

Pairing: Detective!Bob Floyd x Reader

WitchAU - Based on Practical Magic

Summary: Detective Bob Floyd is drawn by an unknown force to a little island he’s never heard of, only to fall for a woman he’s never met and to experience a world he never knew existed.

Warnings: Witchcraft, Swearing, Sexual Themes eventually, Slow Burn, Smut, Angst, Fluff, I think that’s it!

——————————-

Since Bob was a young boy he’d felt a pull. To what he wasn’t sure, but something always felt strange, and when he described this feeling to anyone, asking if they’d ever felt it too, they would laugh him off and say he was probably coming down with something.

He felt as though a light pressure inside him was always pulling him in a certain direction. Every choice he made in life was steered by this entity. Every sport he played in school, every class he took in college, every book he read and job he applied for, were all predetermined by this pulling sensation inside him.

Bob tried to ignore the feeling when he was younger, when it told him to do something, but this only caused the sensation to grow stronger until he inevitably couldn’t ignore it any longer. Bob decided it was easier to just let the feeling guide him and his every decision, and ultimately the sensation was always right. It had never led him astray, and he was happy with every decision he (or the sensation) had made.

Bob believed that everyone had this guiding force and they just didn’t realise it like he did, so stopped questioning it early on.

That was until one day, when for seemingly no reason at all, he got into his car and began driving to the coast, leaving what little belongings he had, and his job as a small town detective behind.

Bob had no idea where he was going, so he just drove until the force told him to change directions, until he saw the sigh for Whidbey Island, and the pull became almost impossible to ignore.

——————————————

“Here you go Mrs Hannaby, you rub this on your chest three times a day. It will keep the asthma at bay, and the lavender will help you get to sleep at night.” You smiled, handing the old woman a bag with your home made ointment.

“Thank you darling. I’ll see you next week for my top up. Say hello to your mother for me!” She waved as she left your little store.

You smiled as you tidied the shelves and re lit the white and green candles littering your shop windowsills. You hummed as you mulled around the quiet store, waiting for customers to come and go. You had a few regulars who frequented the store for your incredible home remedies and some just for the candles and soaps you made that had the most unique smells.

Most customers couldn’t believe the soothing effect that your lavender and chamomile sleep balm had, or how your Peppermint and Rosemary candles seemed to magically take away even the worst of migraines.

But it was your love drops that had everyone on the island going crazy. A concoction of fenugreek, arugula and bergamot (along with a little secret ingredient or two) that when dropped into a lovers wine would send their sex drive through the roof. This had single-handedly saved many marriages on the island.

You were flipping through one of your books and researching ingredients for a new candle you wanted to make, when suddenly the hairs on the back of your neck stood up. You felt goosebumps rise and fall all along the length of your body, cold immediately followed by heat only to be repeated in waves again and again.

You turned around and your eyes scanned the empty store for anything strange. The air was electric and your heart raced for no explainable reason, seemingly only getting faster and faster until suddenly the bell sounded, and someone walked through the door.

Your skin was now on fire and you couldn’t breathe as the man walked in and closed the door behind him, but it wasn’t a bad feeling. If anything it felt like being overly excited for something you couldn’t explain.

“Hi.” He said gently, a crooked smile forming below cobalt eyes.

“H-hello…” you replied, suddenly at a loss for words. You felt like you recognised this man, but you couldn’t place where from. “Are you looking for anything specific?” You asked, trying to force yourself back to planet Earth.

“Uhh… I’m really not sure what I’m looking for.” He said, looking as confused as you felt. “I just saw the sign, and I…uhm…” he trailed off, frowning at the ground, trying to remember what brought him here.

“No problem, maybe I can help you.” You smiled as you rounded the counter. “Shopping for yourself? Or a family member… wife, girlfriend?” You probed, suddenly hoping it wouldn’t be either of the latter.

“Uh…. Yeah, myself.” He smiled, making eye contact with you for the first time as you came to stand next to him. Your breath left you as you took in the colour of his eyes, and how they crinkled in the corners.

“Sure. Most of the men that come in here like this balm, if it’s something you’re interested in. You put it on your neck after a shower and… well… it’s supposed to give you energy and help with endurance.” You chuckled. You realised the man couldn’t be from the island, and wouldn’t know about your abilities, so downplayed the real power of your products.

“Endurance?” He chuckled as he quirked his eyebrow, “No, I don’t think I need this, but thank you. Got anything else?” He rubbed the back of his head awkwardly.

You smiled, biting your cheek to keep from laughing.

“Okay, how about… ah, so I don’t know how superstitious you are, but if you’re ever in a dark place, figuratively or literally, you light this candle and tell it what your hearts deepest desire is at that moment in time. You then need to clap twice and blow it out.” You explained, growing a bit red in the cheeks as you realised how ridiculous you sounded.

“Oh yeah? Like a wishing candle?” He asked, his crooked smile growing bigger.

“Yeah, sort of. It only works in a time of need, and only if you wish for the one thing you want more than absolutely anything. Can’t go wishing for a million bucks… unless of course that’s what you want most in life.” You shrugged, biting your lip to keep from smiling too hard.

He chuckled and took the candle from your open palm.

“Yeah, okay. I’ll take one of these.”

You beckoned for him to follow you to the counter and you rang him up, putting the candle in a small paper bag.

“Here you go. Hope it comes in handy. It was nice to meet you…”

“Bob.” He confirmed, taking the bag. An electric shock zapped through your hands as your fingers touched lightly. You both pretended not to notice. “What’s your name?”

“Nice to meet you Bob, I’m (Y/N) but everyone here calls me Bree.”

“Why Bree?” He chuckled, realising it was nothing like your actual name.

“It’s short for Sabrina, as in-“

“Sabrina the Teenage Witch..” he finished your sentence, nodding. It made sense with all of the interesting balms and potions that sat neatly in your airy little store.

“Yup. I’ve had that nickname since highschool, and it’s kind of just stuck. I can’t remember the last time anyone called me (Y/N).” You laughed.

“Well, it sure was nice to meet you Bree. Hope to see you around.” Bob smiled, slowly making to walk out of the store with his little purchase in hand, as confused as he was when he walked in.

“You too Bob.” You smiled back as you watched him leave. Bob turned to look at you twice before he eventually made it out the door.

As Bob left the store, the same familiar tug urged him to turn back, and it was only once he reached his car and the tug grew stronger that he realised he hadn’t felt it in the store, for the first time in his life, the feeling was gone. He sat in his car for a long time, looking at the candle and thinking about what had just happened. A seemingly ordinary meeting with an extraordinarily beautiful woman, who for some reason felt incredibly familiar to him.

Bob shook his head and eventually drove away. But that night he wished he had bought a sleep candle instead. As he lay in the B&B bed and stared out the window at the night sky, all he could think about was how the feeling was growing stronger and how your face appeared every time he closed his eyes.

————————————

- Chapter 1 Here -

[flowerbxuquet]

Lovely

Older!Lottie Matthews x fem!reader

warnings: none

A/N: these past weeks at school have been so awful and stressful like i jus want lottie to hold me (i’m delulu). This is rlly short i jus needed to make a self indulgent comfort fic lmao..this is really bad i’m lazy and tired

Everything was stressful, everything felt like hell, everything except your wife..that’s all you wanted to do, was go home and see beautiful Charlotte Matthews. You felt overstimulated, anytime someone breathed or moved something too loud it pissed you off to no end and your clothes felt wrong and tight on your skin in the worst possible way.

When you finally stumble through the door, it’s late, you’re tired and stressed and barely have enough energy to spend time with your wife and it hurts your heart because she’s so patient.

“Love?” Lottie’s voice rings out as she pops out of the kitchen and she sees your red puffy eyes, tears streaming down your face.

Lottie frowns and immediately stops what she’s doing, “Oh, honey..” The woman coos and walks over to you, cradling your face.

You sniffle, leaning into her touch and your eyes fall shut because how could they not? Lottie was calming and peaceful, her touch felt like heaven and you could fall asleep right now just with her holding you like this.

Lottie smiles softly and thumbs away your tears, leaning over and kissing you on the forehead.

“Oh, pretty girl..tough day?” Lottie asks softly and moves to lay your head against her chest as she maneuvers you two to the couch so you can rest.

Lottie feels you nod against her chest and she sighs, her fingers moving to run through your hair and it relaxes the aching in your head and you already feel like you’re about to fall asleep.

Charlotte makes sure to feed you some of the dinner she had made and gives you hydration as well.

You two are now in bed and she hands you a cup of tea, you don’t really believe in her herbal remedies or meditations but it was her way of showing she cared and it made your heart flutter.

“Thank you.” You say to her and Lottie smiles so lovingly like you hung the moon. You sip at the tea as Lottie crawls under the covers with you, the second you place the tea cup down she pulls you into her arms.

The tea, the food, the comfy clothes and feeling of Lottie wrapping her arms around you feels so peaceful and amazing that you already feel yourself drifting off until the sound of Lottie’s soft spoken voice breaks you out of your sleep.

“Do you want to talk about it, darling?”

Lottie asks curiously, her fingers running through your hair to provide a sense of comfort and you shake your head with a sigh.

“No. Not right now…can I just sleep for a bit?” You ask softly and Lottie laughs and nods.

“Of course, you don’t have to ask to sleep, sweetheart.” Lottie explains and you nod. “I love you.” Lottie whispers against your hair as she gives you another kiss on the forehead.

You yawn, muttering an “i love you too.” as you drift off in her arms and to the soft sound of Lottie’s voice humming you to sleep.

[spgothkidsheadcanons]

Goths taking care of s/o when they’re sick

Henrietta:

- MAMA HEN ALERT

- I REPEAT, MAMA HEN ALERT

- She’s all over you, fussing at you whenever you try to do something yourself

- She literally babysits you and makes sure that you have absolutely everything you need

- Medicine? Check

- Water? Check

- That one really good soup you love from the restaurant all the way across town? You bet she’s getting in the car and making the trek to get you that soup

- She loves you and she’ll do anything for you

- Please just let her baby you, it’s in her blood to make sure that you feel good at all times

You were laying face down in your bed, stripped down to a tank top and a pair of shorts to escape the heat from your fever. The covers of your bed covered one half of your body, trying to keep a happy medium between being hot and cold. Henrietta sat in a chair by your bed side, one hand rubbing circles on the exposed skin of your back and the other scrolling through a remedies list on her phone. She had not left your side since you started sniffling last night. When you woke up this morning hacking up your lungs, she jumped out of bed and got you every kind of medicine you might need to get you through the day.

You picked your head up, your hair sticking to your sweaty forehead, throat burning like fire and only being able to semi breathe through one nostril. Turning to look at her, your laid your head back down, your eyes studying her as she intently scrolled on her phone. You smiled at her. The medicine she had given you just a little bit ago had made you loopy, and all you wanted to do was sit there and stare at her.

“Henri, I love you.” you squeaked, voice sore from your multiple coughing fits. She looked to you, giving you a soft smile. “I love you, too.” she responded, looking back to her phone. “No, I really do love you. You’re seeing me at my worst.” you added, closing your eyes as exhaustion started to set into your body. She laughed, rolling her eyes. “Trust me, this isn’t your worst. I was there on your 21st birthday.” she responded, setting her phone down and turning to look at you. You cringed as you remembered how drunk you got that night, barely able to make it inside your home before you tossed your cookies.

Her hand moved from your back, causing you to whine at the loss of her touch. She stood from her chair, making her way to the side of the bed that wasn’t occupied. Henrietta pulled the covers back, sliding into the bed beside you. You waited until she made herself comfortable before you turned on your side and slid closer to her, lazily wrapping an arm around her. She ran her fingers through your hair, smoothing the strands that stuck to your forehead. Your eyes closed, and soon, you were knocked out, holding onto your girlfriend like your life depended on it.

Michael:

- Michael is another baby-er

- If he was on tour, he’d send his parents over to go check on you and make sure you were doing okay

- If he was in the studio, he was immediately driving to you to personally take care of you

- He cuts himself off from the social world just to stay home unbothered, turning his full attention on you

- He’s the kinda guy who, if you ask him for something, instead of stopping for a second and thinking, he’s already on his way to the store

- On foot

- He forgets he has a car if you ask him for something, instead he’s right out the door walking to the closest store

- And don’t be surprised if he comes back with a lot more shit than you needed. He just picks up anything that makes him think of you

Michael’s keyring jingled as he fumbled through them, looking for the house key. He had just got back from the store, stocking up on anything you might have needed to help you get over your temporary illness. Finally finding the key, he jammed it into the lock and opened the door, stepping in and locking the door behind him. He quickly shrugged his jacket off, not bothering to hang it on the coat rack, instead letting it fall to the floor. The only thing on his mind was putting up your ice cream and making his way back to the couch to sit with you.

Michael quietly stepped past you, snickering to himself as he say you laying stiff as a board with a cold washcloth on your head and a sleeping mask to block out the lights. Making his way to the kitchen, he put up anything that needed to put up, grabbing a glass of water and a bag that had a different assortment of medicines. He didn’t know exactly what to get, so he opted to just get everything that he thought would help.

Stepping back into the living room, Michael made his way over to the couch you were laying on. He took notice that you had begun to breathe through your mouth, your nose having gotten stuffier while he was gone. The tall man sat on the edge of the coffee table and placed his hand on your arm, gently rubbing it to show he was there. “Hey, (Y/n). I know you’re sick, but you need to sit up for a second.” he whispered, not wanting to be too loud. You groaned in response, being cut short as another coughing fit racked through your body.

Michael winced as your body finally relaxed, assisting you in sitting up just long enough for you to take the medicine. It was painful to swallow, and you took a minute to recoil from the burn. Tears welped up in your eyes, but you blinked them away. Your boyfriend frowned, reaching his hand out to cup your face. Leaning into his touch, you relished in the fact that his cool hands helped to ease the burning of your cheeks. All too soon, Michael removed his hand and moved to the couch, pulling you to lay against him. He ran his fingers through his hair, humming some random songs until you managed to finally go back to sleep. Kissing the top of your head, he decided to take a nap himself, holding one arm around you.

Pete:

- Remember how I said he doesn’t like when you take care of him when he’s sick?

- Well forget that if you’re sick

- He’s over as soon as you wake up and tell him that you don’t feel good, carrying a few different containers of soup.

- And yes, he had been up almost all morning making those for you

- He will cuddle with you no matter what kind of sick you have

- My mans just loves you a lot, and while he doesn’t want you getting sick from him, he’ll gladly get himself sick trying to take care of you

- Really, you both end up sleeping all day

- He found out the hard way that when you’re sick, you’re clingy, and you’re not letting him go

Pete had just finished warming up some of his uncle’s homemade chicken noodle soup for you in your kitchen. He poured it into a bowl he pulled from your cabinet, grabbing the exact spoon that you prefer using (the little spoons are 🤌🏻🤌🏻), and made his way into your bedroom. Thankfully, you were just dealing with a nasty cold and not the flu, your only major symptoms being a sore throat, sneezing and a cough.

Opening your door, he stepped inside, shutting it behind him. He looked at you sitting up on your bed, picking at your nails as you put your full attention onto some random show that was on the tv. You had definitely gotten over the worst of it, but you still felt bad. Thankfully, Pete’s been there since you came down with the sickness (Oo ah ah ah ah), and he’s been nonstop caring for you. In fact, if it weren’t for him, you probably wouldn’t have been taking your medicine as steadily as he made you.

Walking to the bedside, you finally noticed he had come in, turning your head and smiling at him. Scootching over to give him room, you grabbed the soup from him, allowing him to get into bed beside you before tucking in. You had practically begged him to get his uncle to make his famous soup recipe, and his uncle happily agreed when he heard that that you were feeling sick.

“Dude, if I could marry soup, I’d marry this soup right now.” you mused, happily enjoying the meal. He smiled, amused at your words. “It would go bad in a few days, I think it’s fruitless to marry soup.” he quipped back, looking at you. You sighed, pretending to cry about what he said. The medicine you’ve been taking has made you a little loopy, it didn’t take a fool to see that. “My soup husband. My soupsband.” you mourned over the loss of your pretend marriage. “Gone but never forgotten.” Pete added, causing you to cackle, only for a cough to rack through your frame. Your boyfriend rubbed your back, his heart breaking at the groan of pain you emitted after you settled.

“The only soupsband you’ll ever have is me.” he said nonchalantly, taking your empty bowl and setting it on your nightstand. “Yeah, probably. Oh well. As long as you make me soup and baby me when I’m sick.” you said, leaning on your boyfriend. He wrapped an arm around your shoulders, letting you lean against him as you both laid back. The rest of the day was filled with soup, tv, and the comfort of each other.

[hangmansgbaby]

Happy 300, lovely Cass! 🎊🥳🎊🥳🎉🥂🎉I'm so proud of you! To celebrate, can I please have Bob and Fluff Prompt 2 "Ssh. Stop fussing. I'm just braiding your hair."?

- XOXO Star

I think out of everyone on the team, Bob would be the best at braiding hair but he'd never let anyone know that.

The Coolest Thing

Prompt : “Ssh. Stop fussing. I'm just braiding your hair.”

Summary: Bob's learned to do a lot of cool things over the years but his all time favorite is braiding hair.

Pairing: Bob Floyd x reader

Word count:<500

Masterlist | 300 Cele Masterlist

You hummed softly rocking you 4 year old daughter in your arms. Layla had been sent home from preschool that morning with a fever and you had spent all day trying ever remedy to sooth her but you were at your wits end between her crying and your 6 month old son.

"I want daddy!" She cried as you continued to rock her.

"I know sweet pea. Daddy will be home soon." You softly reply just as your son starts crying again. "I'll be right back." You try to set your daughter down but she clutches tight to you, her unruly hair now all in your face. "I know, I know. But I have to go get your brother. Just wait here for Daddy okay?" Layla reluctantly lays down on the couch still crying softly as you make your way to your son's bedroom.

"Hey handsome. You worried about sissy? Is that why you're so fussy?" You lift him out of his crib and he immediately stops crying. "Let's go check on her okay?" You started to make your way back into the living room but stopped when you heard your husbands voice.

"Hey sweet pea. How are you feeling?" Layla just softly cried, reaching for her father. You poked your head around the corner to see Bob moving your daughter to sit in front of him. Layla tries to turn into him but he turns her back as she starts to cry again. "Shh. Stop fussing. I'm just braiding your hair and then we can cuddle alright?" Layla nods as Bob starts to pull her hair back and begin the intricate french braid you taught him to do back in college. "Ya know sweet pea, your mommy taught me how to braid hair."

"Really?" Layla asks softly.

"Oh yea. Your mom had wild hair just like you that she needed to keep it braided just to see!"

"No way!" Layla laughs at Bob's over exaggeration.

"Yes way!" Bob laughs, tying off Layla's hair and letting her climb up to wrap her arms around him. "I think its the coolest thing I can do."

"But your fly in planes!" Layla says. "With Auntie Phoenix!"

"That is cool, but coming home to braid this pretty girls hair?" He tickles her sides causing her to giggle as she settles into his side. "That's the coolest thing." Bob says softly as Layla falls asleep in his arms.

"I think the way you are with them is the coolest thing." You say, walking up behind him on the couch.

"Hey pretty girl." Bob smiles as you lean down to kiss him. "Why don't you leave me with the kids and go relax? I'll make sure everything gets taken care of."

"Mmmm." You sigh. "This is the second coolest thing you do."

[floristkills]

Ferret!Techno (and sbi) au that I wrote out while ao3 was down /⁠ᐠ⁠｡⁠ꞈ⁠｡⁠ᐟ⁠\

[co-created by @whoooevenkn0ws]

Phil is a normal man who comes into possession of a ferret (Technoblade) who was being neglected and could no longer be cared for by an acquaintance.

Initially, Phil tries to find someone to rehome the ferret to, but eventually grows close to him, in no small part due to the fact that Techno will bite people who are over and Phil starts to feel uncomfortable around (and sometimes others too >:3). Decides to keep Techno!

At this point, Phil does research on ferrets and finds out that 1. They need friends to be happy, and 2. They are not supposed to be pink actually.

The second problem can't be remedied, no matter how much he washes and wrings out Techno like a wet dishrag... But he does go buy him two new friends!

Wilbur and Tommy.

Wilbur and Tommy are already bonded brothers and they gang up on Techno at first, especially Tommy. But Techno eventually gets over his shyness and starts biting back. Somehow, this actually makes them gain mutual respect, especially Wilbur, who makes sure Tommy doesn't get too feisty with Techno (and get the chomp). They all become good friends and brothers, making Phil's life a chaotic nightmare as he deals with the three cat worms.

Only, right when Phil starts getting used to being a ferret dad, he wakes up in the middle of the night to a giant racket and finds three children, no ferrets, and their hair is all conveniently color coded.

Obviously, like a normal man, Phil has a little mental breakdown. Because his /ferrets/ just turned into /human/ children.

Neotrio also have a freak out, because they are literally ferrets, but now they have opposable thumbs and consciousness. During the chaos that ensues, several family heirlooms get destroyed and Phil sheds a few tears.

After the dust settles, a certain pink ferret child is missing.

Phil did not think to put child locks on his doors for his /ferrets/ and Techno has a mighty need to elope with his new ability to use doorknobs.

Immediately, they go looking.

Phil is desperately trying to ask people if they have seen a ferret child, and perhaps it is the frantic yelling about ferrets or that Wilbur refuses to not walk like a ferret (Tommy and Techno can walk perfectly normally), but people are avoiding him.

It appears hopeless.

What is a man without his ferret?

Philza sad. (Wilbur and Tommy also sad, but also ferrets).

While Phil is running around town, dragging newly human ferret Wilbur and Tommy along with him on kid leashes, Techno is experiencing the human world for the first time alone. It kind of sucks for a little ferret! Cars keep almost hitting him in the road, humans keep yelling at him, and he has no idea where he is. It is all very overwhelming and scary.

Eventually Techno finds a park and hides inside the tube slide because it reminds him of his cage.

Curled up at the bottom of the playground equipment and sadly eating cheerios that he found on the ground, Techno spends his first night as a human alone and scared.

He misses his ferret family :(

----

While ferrets do not often turn into human children, it may be even less often that they turn /back/ into ferrets. And yet, when a small child falls down the slide and lands on Techno, there is a poof, a small squeak, and then a peculiarly pink ferret left stunned.

While the frightened child screams up a storm in the slide, Techno immediately runs off, dealing with the existential implications of being a ferret again after knowing morality. And also, he is still alone and outside.

It just so happens that at this time a woman named Kristin is walking by a playground that has a screaming kid and word of a strange pink child. It is really none of her business, but while on her journey home she happens upon a frantic ferret running in circles. She can see hawks and foxes and cats eyeing the strange tube rat hungrily, perhaps only held off by his toxic pink color.

But that doesn't stop Kristin from scooping Techno up, easily dodging his little bites.

"Who the hell lets their ferret outside?"

Philza is a man with no pride.

His previously ferret children have begun to get distracted by the human world. It is inconvenient when Tommy starts eating wild strawberries off of a bush and gets covered in the juice, which causes a lot of confusion considering that Phil is asking after a pink child.The passerbys also do not seem to take kindly when he frantically yells that he means his favorite pink child when they point at Tommy. (Tommy doesn't care, for he is a ferret).

Though, Phil does hear word on the wind about a woman carrying around a bright pink ferret.

On the way to her house, they pass an unfortunate intersection where a car horn blares, causing two poofs and two ferrets to pop back into being. Phil is becoming numb to this circumstance.

Both hands full of ferrets, Phil knocks on Kristin's door and immediately demands his ferret child back. The woman gives him one glance, the ferrets in his hands two glances, and then slams the door in his face with a sharp word about letting ferrets outside.

Immediately, Phil falls to his knees and cries out in anguish.

Kristin obviously hears this through her door, but she's already deep within plotting. Because someone that dyes their ferret pink and lets them run around outside should not own two other ferrets.

Techno, for his part, is curled up in the pillow filled cardboard box she set up for him, missing his brothers and Phil and sad about being ferretnapped.

That night, Kristin hatches her heist. She breaks into Phil's house and steals Wilbur and Tommy out of their cage. It's easy, because Phil is busy loudly crying in the kitchen. (Techno also tries to hatch an escape while she's gone, but his legs are very short and can not escape the box).

When Techno is reunited with Wilbur and Tommy, they all do happy wiggles and run around in circles,before curling up in a cute ferret ball. Kristin thinks it's sweet and sets about researching ferrets (and ferret shampoo to get rid of pink).

Neotrio initially plan to escape back to Phil, but Kristin buys them treats and doesn't mind when they get into gremlin trouble,so they kind of just chill at her house for a couple days. They are ferrets, after all. They can not be blamed.

Only, wouldn't you know, a couple nights later there's a loud clatter and when Kristin runs to check, there is a small pink child standing inside of the ferret box.

And no pink ferret.

Kristin has an appropriate sized freak out over her ferret turning into a human child, and also Tommy and Wilbur (still ferrets) are jumping around like crazy. Somehow, in the chaos, Techno runs away again. (Someone has to buy child locks for this kid).

Now it is Kristin's turn to double clutch ferret Wilbur and Tommy as she runs around looking for human Techno. It's during this that she runs into Phil, who is moping in the streets. Immediately, she starts screaming at Phil. It's only then that Tommy and Wilbur poof into kids.

It gets what she was trying to get across pretty well.

Phil and Kristin team up to find Techno. Nearby, in a shady alley, Techno is poised to grab candy off of the ground underneath of a suspiciously propped up box with a string attached 🪤

As they round the corner, Kristin runs over and kicks the man trying to kidnap Techno in the neck (this is also when Phil falls in love with her).

In a mixture of relief and fear, Phil runs up to Techno and shakes him by the shoulders, yelling about how much he worried him. Experiencing guilt for the first time, Techno's eyes immediately well up as he gives the most pathetic ferret look. Phil picks him up, and alongside Kristin, they bring the ferret children home.

Sleepy ferret boys get tucked into bed as Phil and Kristin go around locking every door and window in sight before they can finally discuss the existence of ferrets turning into children. It's quite the development and they have to swap phone numbers to discuss it more. (And also so Kristin can visit the ferret boys).

Phil wakes up on the couch the next morning to find two ferrets and one pink child splayed out on top of him.

Life is good :)

[tenthgrove]

N with Cioccolata please

N - Nightshade (danger, death): “Careful there. You don’t know what I’m capable of.”

(Note- this one is pretty dark by my standards. Cioccolata forces Reader to participate in dissecting a human body)

“Aah, I always did want an intern!”

Cioccolata gently kneads the flesh of your waist as he holds you in his lap. The silicone glove he has yet to remove since his last surgery smears blood on your neck as he holds it in his hand. He kisses your shoulder teasingly. “Now kitten you better answer this time, whatever did I do to earn such a fright from my beloved?”

He knows, of course. Twisted as he is Cioccolata knew exactly what he was doing bursting into your cell doused in blood, having just made you listen to the dying screams of his last victim for hours on end in the next room. He loves it, the helplessness on your face as you look up at him, cowered in the corner like a wounded mouse. If you ask he says it’s romantic.

“You know I was qualified enough to take on interns,” Cioccolata continues, forgetting his previous threat. “But weirdly enough they never let me have any,” he muses.

“Because you’re sick,” you squeak quietly.

“Yes… now that did seem to be unspoken knowledge. And yet, despite long suspecting I was an evil person, the hospital kept me on as their star surgeon as long as they could. The rich patients adored me, I don’t doubt that had something to do with it,” he leans back, sinking his arms around your waist like a snake. “What a cruel world it is out there! Aren’t you grateful I saved you from all that?”

You hook a hand under his arm, trying to stop them creeping up towards your neck.

“Aren’t you?” he repeats more forcefully. A tear escapes your eye.

“No! I want to go home!”

Cioccolata goes lax, releasing you. You fall onto the floor, too surprised to have time to stand up. You hear the gentle tap of his fingers on the arm of the chair.

“Careful there. You don’t know what I’m capable of.”

“Doctor- I’m sorry-”

“No, I understand perfectly,” Cioccolata declares. In an instant he’s grabbed you and pulled you to your feet, facing him. “I haven’t done a good enough job settling you into your new life. That’s on me to remedy. So, as my little intern, how about I show you? The cadaver is still fresh after all.”

You put two and two together and immediately begin your protests. But you’re helpless against Cioccolata’s strength as he drags you into the surgery room.

“Please,” he tuts. “For the last time call me Dolcio. Or just Cio. Cio-Cio? Now that would be sweet,” he muses. You pay no attention to his words as the woman’s corpse fills your senses. She can’t be older than thirty, hair colour indecipherable from the matting of blood sourced from her neck. You can’t stop focusing on her earrings- they jut out like she just got them pierced in the past few days.

Cioccolata stands behind you. You feel the handle of a scalpel be pushes into your palm, your fist closed around it. He takes hold of each of your wrists like a puppet.

Perhaps this isn’t so bad. Like this, you can shut your eyes.

Cioccolata moves the hand with the scalpel over the body. He forces your fingers to brush against the skin, letting you feel the uncanny heat that is too cool to be alive, to warm to be long dead. He manipulates your fingers into the proper poise and moves your hand diagonally. Blood oozes onto your fingertip. A test cut.

“Still sharp after all that? I’ll have to stick to this supplier, their quality is exceptional,” Cioccolata enthuses. He glides your hand to make a much larger, bigger cut. “Now, let’s check your basic knowledge. What are we looking at?”

“I don’t know… I’m not smart like you…” you gamble, hoping appeasement will flatter him into desisting.

“Come now, it’s children’s play. Hmm…” he leans in close so his breath tickles your ear. “Maybe you should open your eyes and try.”

Accepting defeat, you force yourself to look at the cut you’ve made.

Ribs. The answer to his question was ribs.

“My specialism focuses on the chest cavity, as you know, so normally my patients’ torsos are in poor quality by the time I’m done with them. However I was focusing on the throat today, so lucky for you it’s all untarnished.”

Black shapes are starting to appear in your vision. It’s the only thing to counter the blaring lights above. Unfortunately for you, you’re nowhere near done. You never appreciated just how many steps there are to surgery, more when your teacher is stopping to describe every bone, sinew and vein he is forcing you to hold.

With every new minute, you feel more and more sick. It’s the smell more than the sight, although that isn’t what causes you to finally lose it. Eventually it’s Cioccolata shoving your finger inside the artery into the heart that finally breaks you, and you pass out, dizzy and nauseated in his arms.

“Hmmm, alright,” he accepts, cradling you as you slip from consciousness. “We can stop here on this occasion. Just remember all you’ve learned, okay?”

[alldaddy]

“  i want to be your home.  ”

𝐖𝐇𝐘  𝐃𝐈𝐃  𝐒𝐇𝐄  𝐒𝐀𝐘  𝐈𝐓  𝐋𝐈𝐊𝐄  𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓?  as  if  she  wasn't  already  that  person  for  him;  a  safe-haven  for  him  to  find  comfort  in,  a  place  to  quiet  his  mind.  mj  had  become  what  she  asked  for  without  even  realizing  it,  and  odin  realized  that  maybe  he  was  falling  back  into  his  old  habits.  how  he  wasn't  vocal  or  obvious  in  his  affections;  words  weren't  his  strong  suit,  at  least  not  in  the  romantic  sense.  regardless,  he  thought  he  was  doing  better  than  that,  he  thought  he  was  being  clear  in  his  feeling  for  her.  

the  discussion  had  turned  to  their  long-distance  relationship,  how  he  needed  to  fly  out  to  los  angeles  and  back  to  new  york  far  more  often  than  he  ever  had  to  previously.  how  he  spoke  of  how  he  didn't  necessarily  have  a  home,  perse,  at  least  not  physically.

that's  when  she  spoke  of  being  his  home,  a  person  for  him  in  which  to  find  sanctuary.  gaze  fell  on  her  face  as  she  remained  seated  on  the  kitchen  counter,  dressed  in  nothing  but  one  of  his  shirts,  her  hair  far  too  touselled  to  hide  the  fact  that  they'd  just  celebrated  his  return  the  best  way  they  knew  how.  odin  stopped  his  motions  then,  letting  the  half-chopped  carrot  remain  where  it  lay  as  he  put  down  his  knife.  turning  to  look  over  his  shoulder,  there  was  an  immediate  desire  to  rectify  and  remedy  any  doubt  in  her  mind  that  she  would  be  anything  but.

situating  himself  between  her  thighs,  he  rested  his  palms  on  either  side  of  her  hips  against  the  counter.  forehead  rested  against  her  own,  noses  brushing  against  one  another  as  grey  hues  catch  her  own  in  a  gaze,  ❛  you  already  are,  baby.  ❜  words  left  him  earnestly  as  his  hands  run  up  her  thighs  and  to  her  waist,  ❛  is  that  not  already  obvious?  ❜

[ethereousdelirious]

Heeeellpp my fill for day 9 of Whumptober took over my brain and now I have 9k words for a pairing only I care about 😵‍💫 (the prompt was "home remedy" but I lost track of that almost immediately)

Fandom: Pok.émon D.PPt

Pairing: One-sided Sn.azzyShi.pping (that's C.ynthia x L.ucian)

Warnings: N/A

Tropes: Fevers, psychic nosebleed/light psychic whump, caretaking

Summary: A feverish L.ucian ignore his own needs in an attempt to help out in the aftermath of a natural disaster, only to become a disaster in his own right. Cy.nthia catches him as he falls.

Futher notes under the cut

Note: IDK how many of you are deep into Pokémon but I completely made up this whole psychic whump scenario thing. There's not really any internal logic to it lmao my only thought process was "psychic fatigue HOT"

Note: The named Rangers are not OCs, per se, like they are original characters in the most literal definition of the word, but they're not Special, they're just some guys I made up for plot

Note: "Guardians" is used as an exclamation bc I read this great SubMas fic where they used "Dragons" bc of Zekrom and Reshiram and I was so taken with that as a world building concept that I decided to steal it. Sinnoh has the Lake Guardians, so that's what I went with.

Note: This is a gift to my 13 year-old self. She loves it.

--

The bitter wind of Snowpoint cut straight through Lucian's clothing, aggravating all the aches he'd been peacefully sleeping off not 10 minutes before. The shrill emergency alarm still rung in his ears: 'Report to the Snowpoint Pokémon Center immediately.' Not enough time to dress properly, let alone take something to combat the awful pounding in his sinuses. He sniffled and stepped into the Pokémon Center. The warm cut through him like a knife, blocked ears ringing with the noise of the automatic doors.

"Over here, Lucian." Cynthia's voice. Probably saw him floundering by the door in his hoodie and fogged-up glasses and took pity on him. He hurried over and flopped down in an armchair. His head throbbed at the change in elevation, the whole room shimmering and rocking like a mirage.

Cynthia and Candice sat next to each other on a loveseat of thick, easy-to-clean vinyl that squeaked with every little motion. Hopefully they didn't fidget overmuch. One more stressor and he was at serious risk of falling apart.

Foolishly, Lucian barked out a sneeze and caught in the crook of his arm. Stupid. His coat, clumsily zipped up over his hoodie, was waterproof. He should have gone for the tissues in his pocket. But it was too late now. He dabbed at the wet spot on his sleeve with stiff, cautious motions, not looking up to see if anyone was watching.

"We're just waiting on Flint," Cynthia said calmly, as though no time had passed since Lucian had sat down. Maybe it hadn't. But Guardians, it felt like it had been hours. His nose felt wet. He flopped back in the chair, angling his face upward in hopes of slowing the drip. Cynthia was pale and calm in the harsh light, dressed down in athletic tights and a long black peacoat that stopped just short of her ankles. Her hair clung to the rough wool with no barrettes to hold it back and obvious tangles stuck out in loops around her neck. Lucian's hair must have looked the same under his beanie, if not worse.

Candice, Aaron, and Bertha all wore a similar mess of loungewear and winter gear and all wore the same look of bleary grimness. It had to have been around four in the morning now.

The doors hummed. Flint came in with blithe greetings, too boisterous for the early hour and too cheerful for the circumstances.

Cynthia wasted no time; she always was ruthlessly efficient. "There was an avalanche near Mount Coronet's summit. Ordinarily, this wouldn't be a problem, but Candice received a report from some Rangers stationed nearby that it disturbed a herd of Piloswine and Mamoswine. They're heading this way. It's too late to head them off completely, but if we can make it to the Temple, we should be able to steer them away from the town proper."

Lucian sneezed again. His throat stung.

"Man," said Flint, stretching out his arms, "if I'd known this League stuff involved taking on Ranger duties, I might have re-thought my career choice."

"Please, we all know you don't think," Aaron said.

"Just for that, I'm partnering with Bertha on this little expedition." Flint got to his feet and looked expectantly at Cynthia. "Where do you want us?"

Cynthia stood as well and made for the door, motioning for everyone to follow. "We'll fan out by the Temple."

The cold air pinched Lucian's earlobes and nose and the powder snow crunched under his boots, centimeters giving way beneath his weight. He sniffled and his sinuses throbbed, protesting the increased pressure.

"I'll partner with Candice," Cynthia continued, leading them with long strides. Her breath came out in plumes of fog. "That leaves Aaron and Lucian."

"Nice." Aaron reached out to fist bump Lucian, his easy grin shining under the light of the moon. At least it was a clear night. The thought of herding a bunch of rampaging Piloswine through a snowstorm was unbearable.

Lucian's nose continued to run as they walked until he had to sniffle with every inhale, which in turn brought him dangerously close to a sneezing fit. It was no good. He'd have to wipe his nose.

The tissues he'd stuffed into his jacket pockets were in a sorry state, but that was alright. Better crumpled-up tissues than a night of rubbing his nose along the collar of his hoodie. Still a disgusting thought, but significantly less humiliating than sniveling like a child in front of his coworkers. He shuddered at the thought of it, although that might have been the cold wind working its way across his neck, since he'd forgotten his scarf.

"You okay?" Aaron asked in a low voice.

Lucian was obliged to wipe his nose again before he could answer, nonchalantly tucking the sullied tissue away in his other pocket as he did so: "Fine," he said. Ouch. In the dry air, the word stung his throat.

"Okay," said Cynthia. Probably her polite way of telling them to focus. Lucian coughed and rolling fog spilled from his lips, sparkling in the moonlight just like the snow underfoot. "We don't have a lot of information from the Rangers, but it seems—" A cry ripped through the still air, a quiet rumbling rattling Lucian's teeth. Mamoswine. They were rare in the wild but not unheard of. "Fan out. Direct them toward Lake Acuity."

They split up. Lucian found himself walking ahead of Aaron. Probably not the best course of action, not when his head felt so foggy and congested that all he wanted was to face-plant in the snow. At least numbness would be better than this all-consuming pressure in his forehead. Though the cold would really only make him feel worse in the end, hard as it was to imagine a reality where that was even possible. Ugh. He wiped his nose again, unable to bring himself to blow it properly when Aaron was so near.

"What's the plan?" Aaron asked. Oh, right.

"Um," said Lucian. Synapses fired somewhere deep within the brain fog, gummed up and stuttering. "Uh." Bertha's Piloswine had recently evolved, hadn't it? They really should have asked her what to do.

Too late now.

The rumbling beneath their feet had picked up. It intensified slowly, then. Dangerous. If they didn't pay attention, they could end up in serious trouble.

In the distance, Flint's Rapidash made bright patterns with its flames. That was something. "I think it would be best not to attack them," Lucian said, hating the miserable scrape of his voice across his throat. Congestion deadened his vowel sounds to a thick slur. "Maybe if we used bright lights— We'll have to do a bit of experimenting on the fly. If they're scared of the lights, we point them one way. If they follow them, we aim."

"Sounds good," Aaron said. He released Vespiquen as the rumbling picked up to a roar, the wall of pine trees shuddering. Frantic Piloswine and Swinub cries blurred into the sound until it was nothing but a tidal wave of overstimulation.

"Here we go!" Lucian shouted, releasing Alakazam. Then he sneezed.

"Power Gem!" Aaron called. Perfect timing— The first Piloswine emerged from the trees and screeched, banking away from the sudden light.

"Nice one," Lucian rasped. His throat really didn't appreciate it, ripping his voice to shreds when he tried to call to Alakazam. It used Energy Ball regardless and Lucian sighed. Thank the Guardians for Psychic types.

The plan worked better than it should have, considering they'd worked in three little groups with no communication between them. Chalk it up to that elusive Elite Four synergy.

Every swallow was agony, Lucian's abused throat having not appreciated all the shouting he'd done in the cold, dry air. "Good work," he said, hissing and rasping like an angry Arbok.

"Ooh, Lucian." Aaron made a face. A breeze washed over them both, stinging at Lucian's exposed skin. The numb ache hinted at potential frostbite, as did the urgent pink of Aaron's cheeks. "You sound rough."

Lucian sneezed in triplet time and palmed his forehead. Pressure behind his temples, beating like a particularly aggressive Belly Drum. The thick knit of his hat kept his squeezing from doing much good and his fingers ached inside his gloves. "-t's just… inside." He cleared his throat. "Get inside."

"Yeah."

They trudged back to where the others were waiting. At this angle, he could just make out the first rays of dawn peering over Mount Coronet, just a slight blue tinge to the otherwise indigo sky.

"Good work, team," Cynthia said, sounding just as wrung-out as Lucian felt. Her cheeks had gone ruddy with the cold, golden hair snarled from the wind.

"I hope those poor Piloswine are alright," Bertha said. "I'm sure they didn't mean any harm."

The conversation faded away on the walk back, existing only as murmurs at the periphery of Lucian's brain. It was like his ears had had enough— of the cold, of the congestion, of the cacophony produced by two dozen stampeding Pokémon.

The cozy warmth of the Pokémon Center seared against his skin. Bypassing the coffee station the nurse had set up while they were gone, he went straight back to his armchair and collapsed into it. His face hurt. No, everything hurt. His face just hurt the worst. And his nose was still running. Ah, to Hell with it. Clumsily, Lucian pulled off his gloves and yanked a few tissues from his pocket. He blew his nose as quietly as he could and Guardians, nothing so disgusting should ever feel so good. The perpetual irritated itch vanished, the constant dripping sensation at the tip of his nose. He got up to throw the tissues away, his whole body protesting the movement.

"Hey, Lucian." Aaron caught his eye. "You want some coffee? They have decaf."

"...you." Small cough. "No, thank you." Tea might be nice. Later. When he could move without feeling as creaky as the Old Chateau.

The sound of his mangled voice elicited a collective wince from all assembled. The intake of breath made his face burn.

"Oh, Lucian." He couldn't help the sweet frisson that ran through him at Cynthia's concerned gaze. Even her pity made his heart sing. "You're sick?"

Why did it feel like confessing to a crime? He hadn't been trying to hide it. But the simple act of nodding his head was equal parts shameful and liberating. Yes, he was sick and a little bit disgusting; he wasn't this sniffly and disheveled all the time, in secret. "A head cold," he rasped. He burned from the weight of all those eyes on him, and shivered because he really was quite cold at his core.

"Sit down," said Cynthia. "I know something that will help your throat."

They were murmuring about his health now, but his congested head was refusing to cooperate again, blocking his ears and sending waves of pressure-pain all through his nose and temples. He closed his itching eyes for some relief from the fluorescent lights and felt his posture slip.

"Are you awake?"

Stinging in the back of his throat, awful, thick saliva gumming up his mouth. Post-nasal drip, said some unhelpful bookish part of himself. Just another source of discomfort to add to his inventory. He pulled his hoodie up over his mouth and coughed until the itch abated.

All the while, Cynthia watched from her vantagepoint. Curiously, at eye level. Oh, Guardians. The floor. She was kneeling on the floor beside him with a look of such ardent concern in her eyes it nearly made him sick.

"I'll take that as a no," she said, smiling a little. "Don't try to talk."

He nodded, blinking away tears. Somebody had draped a Pokémon Center blanket over him at some point. The pastel yellow covered his lap and, loath as he was to admit it, was quite cozy.

Cynthia handed him a ceramic coffee mug. 'I survived The Snowpoint Polar Plunge!' it proclaimed in faded cursive. "Try this. It should help your throat."

He raised an eyebrow at the milky liquid. Hopefully that looked politely quizzical and not rude, like he doubted her.

Cythia's smile took a turn for the mischievous. "Call it a home remedy." Oh, she was beautiful. "Oh, but before you try it, I want to take your temperature."

"...have one last… checked," Lucian said. Hard, painful swallow. His nose was starting to run again. "I didn't have a temperature earlier."

"I know, but…"

"You look like shit," Flint chimed in from somewhere. No point wasting energy lifting his head to look.

"You don't look very well," Cynthia agreed diplomatically.

Arceus on high, what did he look like? He cleared his throat. "Is it the hat? I knew I wasn't a beanie person, but that s… seems harsh."

"Actually, can you pull that up a little?" Cynthia brandished the thermometer she'd been holding low by her side. Conical tip. Tympanic thermometer. Lucian sniffled and coerced his stiff fingers into moving so he could push up his beanie. The sensation of hard plastic against his ear made him shudder and the beep of the thermometer made him flinch. Hm, maybe he did have a temperature. He wasn't usually this sensitive. "38.2," Cynthia said, touching her ice-cold fingers to his neck. He flinched again, so violently a few drops of Cynthia's questionably milk-based concoction sloshed onto his snow pants. "Oh, I'm sorry! Did I scare you?"

Lucian shook his head, wary of the coughing fit lurking in the back of his throat. It dislodged itself with his next breath anyway, just to spite him, and he ducked his head. The smooth handle of the mug slipped out of his hand, probably Cynthia taking it away so he didn't make a mess. "-haps I sh… home," he rasped before anyone else could say anything. "Think…" He coughed roughly into his fist and his warmth breath cascaded over the back of his. Oh, that's right, he'd already taken his gloves off. Awful. Coughing only sent a metallic spike down his throat and with a sigh, he sank back in the armchair and gave up on talking, instead lifting his hands to Cynthia.

She passed the mug back to him with a cautious smile and raised eyebrows. What did that mean? Few people had ever looked at him so tenderly, fewer still when he felt this grimy and embarrassed. He took a sip of whatever concoction Cynthia had whipped up. The taste was muted thanks to his congested nose, but what notes came through were sweet and rich. Milk and honey. It stung a little, too, and made his nose run. There was more in it, little flecks of red floating on the surface, but he was far too tired to figure out exactly what.

"Just sit quietly and drink that," Cynthia said, rubbing his shoulder. Her fingers made an awful scritching sound against the nylon of his jacket.

Lucian nodded, relaxing by degrees as the warmth of Cynthia's kindness washed over him.

He sat quietly while the others worked out what to do, listening through blocked ears. It was so hard to keep from nodding off and only the threat of spilling hot milk all over his legs kept him from slumping over where he sat.

Still… He really wasn't paying attention. The rhythm of their voices lilted and rolled and his whole face throbbed with pressure, congestion that blocked out the high frequencies of everyone's speech. Aaron's voice cut through it the easiest, but he didn't talk much, listening with an expression of intent concentration. He looked, as the rest of them did, pale and tired.

"Does that work for you, Lucian?" Cynthia asked, turning to him.

They all followed her gaze, albeit with polite, exhausted detachment. Not that it mattered. They could have all been glaring at this and he wouldn't have cared. He was too tired.

What had they been discussing? Something about structural damage, duties, Candice, lodging… Ah, there it was. The proposal had been to stay the night at the Snowpoint Pokémon Center in case any of the buildings and routes had suffered structural damage and further assistance was needed. Rescue operations, that sort of thing. Probably for optics more than anything. What could they do that a Ranger couldn't?

"Yes," Lucian rasped, staring at the coffee table in front of him.

Everyone got up then, so he followed suit and had to steady his legs against the armchair to combat the dizzying ringing that reverberated from ear to ear. Dampness gathered at the bottom of his nose and he sniffled. 

Passing through a reality that shimmered and danced around him, he found himself in a dark, quiet room. When his eyes fell upon a twin bed, he wasted no time. He wrestled out of his coat, boots, and snow pants and his skin prickled at the change in weight and temperature and a deep shudder raced through him. With one miserable sigh to brace himself, he stacked up the pillows to support his head and crawled into bed.

In Lucian's dreams, something roared. He looked around for the source of the noise and glass shattered and his body lay flat and still.

Icy wind stung his exposed skin, his face and hands.

He opened his eyes and stared outward, unable to fully process the scene before him without his glasses. His head ached. The window had broken. Had he…? No. His latent psychic powers were not strong enough to wreak this kind of destruction.

But the fact remained. Something had broken the window, some dark hulking shape that blocked his view of outside, but not the flow of freezing wind.

He reached out for his glasses. His hand shook violently with the cold, so deep it made his bones ache. He had to clench his jaw to keep his teeth from chattering. Had his fever gone up? Or was it really that cold in here?

It was certainly cold enough to make his throat sting with every swallow, to draw tears from his eyes. With no tissues handy, he had no choice but to wipe his dripping nose on his sleeve.

"A-Alakazam," he croaked, his eyes glued to his crumpled snow pants.

The Pokémon materialized and, perceiving the glass on the floor, began to levitate.

"C-c-can—" Belatedly, Lucian pulled the covers up to his chin. Pain pulsed through his temples and Alakazam's eyes glowed blue. The glass shards on the floor (and something else, curious little shapes like black confetti) rose into the air and floated over to the wastebasket. Lucian ran a hand down his face and sighed. He'd have to get up. 

Thankfully, hauling himself upright was more of a chore than a challenge. He wrapped the top layer of the covers, a thick quilt, around himself and peered into the wastebasket. Pine needles. That would explain the eldritch shape jutting through the newly-broken window. It was the very top of a pine tree.

Lucian stared at it. A few sneezes caught hold of him, three in succession. Instinctively, he reached for his pocket. The quilt slid from his shoulders 

Right.

He wasn't dressed.

He rectified this with alacrity, eager for all the shelter he could get from the persistent cold breeze. Alakazam watched but did not reach out again. That was good. Attempting to communicate with Psychic Pokémon was taxing at the best of times; he didn't even want to think about what it would do to him in his current condition.

Oh, and speaking of which— A coughing fit doubled him over, exacerbated by the cold air. The room— he should leave the room. Go home, go to bed. 

Footsteps thumped in the hall. Lucian recalled Alakazam and stepped out to intercept the stranger, making sure to shut the door behind him.

"Mr Lucian." The nurse skidded to a stop in front of him, her eyes narrow, analytical. "Are you hurt?"

Standing disagreed with him, but it wouldn't do to lean on the wall and undermine his reassurances. "Unharmed," he rasped. "'I'm—" He turned away and cleared his throat, praying for the return of his usual clear timbre. "I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name last night." He needed to blow his nose.

"It's Angela."

He tried to smile at her, but his lower lip stung in several places where the skin split and he only managed to wince. "I'm unharmed, Nurse Angela."

She nodded shortly. "Let's keep it that way. If you'll come with me." 

He didn't bother to argue. It hurt too badly to talk. 

She led him back toward the lobby, taking a turn just before the reception desk. He lagged behind a little to better observe the small crowd beyond the reception desk. Three Rangers, attended by their partner Pokémon, paced the floor, steaming polystyrene cups close at hand. One of them caught his eye just as he turned away, and he was left with only the impression of a cocked eyebrow and sharp blue eyes.

Around the corner was a kitchen, cramped, but large enough to hold a small table and four mismatched chairs with just enough room to maneuver. "Sit here," said Nurse Angela, pulling out a chair for him.

Lucian obeyed, watching her closely. She was older, with a few silver streaks in her strawberry blonde hair. He had encountered this brusque bedside manner before. It was an attitude he could respect, though in his heart-of-hearts, he preferred a tender touch.

"Oran juice or Sitrus juice?" she asked, opening up the fridge.

Lucian had to cough before answering. "Sitrus, please."

She thunked the bottle onto the table in front of him. "You know the drill. Stay hydrated, avoid strenuous activities. Get home soon, before the Rangers get a hold of you; I know they're itching to boss around the great Elite Four. Just be sure to eat something before you go." She set a foil packet of analgesic pills on the table. "Take these after you've eaten."

"Y-yes," said Lucian, only just managing to avoid tacking a "ma'am" onto the end of it.

"Good." From her pocket, the nurse produced a familiar tympanic thermometer. "Hold still." This time, Lucian managed not to flinch when it beeped. "38.0," Nurse Angela said. She looked at him with narrowed eyes. "Don't push it today."

Lucian nodded, reaching in his pocket for tissues. He held them up to his nose but didn't blow, too attached to his manners and too distracted to question himself. So the Rangers wanted to speak to him? What could they possibly want? Between Cynthia, Flint, Aaron, Bertha, and Candice, they should have had plenty of support. Surely his presence wasn't so sorely needed.

"My shift is over," Angela said, catching his eye from the doorway. "I mean it, those Rangers will be all over you the minute I walk through the door. Don't let them push you around. You need to rest."

As though to drive home her point, Lucian's breath caught. Tears sprang to his eyes, and so he only nodded his acknowledgement, staving off the coughing fit until she was out of the room.

His cold, which had seemed so content to wreak havoc in his sinuses yesterday, was thoroughly in his throat and chest now. Fighting for composure, he drained the bottle of Sitrus juice in a few long swallows and rubbed the tears from his eyes with the palms of his hands. He'd already overdone it, no doubt, but it wasn't like he could just ignore an emergency summons.

"Hey." A masculine voice drew his attention. Lucian lifted his aching head and looked with heavy-lidded eyes at the Ranger who had caught his attention in the lobby.

It was immediately obvious the kind of man he was: brutish, bossy, insecure.

Snow caked his boots, yet his well-defined biceps were exposed, poking out of the fleece vest he wore. He looked at Lucian with real challenge in his eyes, the corners of his lips pulled down as though to hammer home that he had looked Lucian over and wasn't impressed.

Lucian pushed up his glasses. "Hello."

"You're Elite Four Lucian?" The title was clunky and rarely used and from this stranger's lips, smacked off skepticism and mocking.

"Yes." Lucian cocked an eyebrow right back. The Sitrus juice had taken care of some of the rasp in his voice, and he pushed a little harder to make sure that he was heard. "And you are?"

"Ranger Donovan." He finally smiled, revealing a chipped incisor that came down at a sharp angle. "Glad to meet you, Lucian. Have you eaten yet?"

"I haven't."

"Here." Donovan tossed something at him. It landed on the table with a thump. A granola bar. The label was shiny silver and read 'Geobar: Mountain Tuff,' with a picture of a scowling Geodude behind the text. "Eat up, but make it quick. We got a long day ahead of us."

Lucian checked his Pokétch. 9:12. "Forgive me, but I h-haven't, I—" A sneeze ripped through him, followed by another. He dabbed at his nose with a crumpled tissue from his coat pocket. The sneezes had felt like two small explosions in his head. Tears streamed from his eyes. "I haven't been briefed on today's situation. And, if you'll excuse my saying so, I'm not sure what kind of help…" He trailed off under Donovan's gelid glare. His arms were crossed now, biceps and deltoids bulging under the skin. With his mouth lulled back in a tight, shit-eating smirk, he towered over Lucian, who sat leaning with one arm braced against the table.

Donovan was challenging him. Daring him to back out, to admit that he was too weak and too sick to be of use. And Lucian… Yes, he was self-aware enough to know a fatal flaw on second glance (and he'd had more than a few glimpses at his own arrogance over the years), but that didn't mean he was master of it. Heat bloomed under his collar, rising to his cheeks.

"You're sick, I know," Donovan said, rolling his eyes like it was a personal failing on Lucian's part. "But we need a strong Psychic user, and you fit the bill." He raised his eyebrows expectantly.

A strong Psychic user… 

Thoughts raced through Lucian's aching head.

It seemed unlikely that there was a problem with any Fighting types… If the matter were truly urgent, someone would have woken him up… So…

Building codes in Sinnoh were specific about where trees could be planted, yet one had damaged the Pokémon Center this morning. Perhaps it had taken a blow from a frenzied Pokémon or, more likely, the intense vibrations had weakened its structure. It could have slid as the snow gave way beneath it… and this could have happened all over Snowpoint. The vibrations from the stampede had felt like a small earthquake; perhaps some of the older houses had even suffered partial collapse. In that case, it made perfect sense that they would need a Psychic trainer's assistance.

"You need me on cleanup duty?" Lucian asked, making a point of raising his eyebrow again. A shiver ripped through him, trailing malaise in its wake. His stomach churned as though to remind him of its emptiness. 

Donovan's surprised flinch was the sweetest victory Lucian had tasted in a very long time. "Yes," he said, recovering. "I'll brief you on our way to the first site."

Lucian nodded, tensing up under another angry growl from his stomach. "I'll meet you in the lobby in five minutes." He stared, dead-eyed, at Donovan until he left, then slumped against the back of the chair. He felt every degree of his fever beneath the layers of his hoodie and snow jacket. Beneath his beanie, his hair was damp with sweat. But there was no time to waste. He choked down the Geobar and washed down the pills Nurse Angela had given him with a can of cold brew from the fridge.

He raided the kitchen shamelessly, refreshing his supply of tissues from a box on the counter and zipping protein bars and more foil packets of painkillers into the inner pockets of his snow jacket. Even if he wasn't a true Psychic, guiding and resonating with Psychic type Pokémon still took energy. There was a reason Psychic users had a reputation as heavy sleepers and big eaters.

Lucian reported back to the lobby after exactly five minutes, having timed it down to the second on his Pokétch.

Donovan was waiting for him with his arms crossed, a particularly large Machamp looming behind him in the same posture. Two other Rangers sat in armchairs, one with a Medicham standing beside them and the other holding a Kirlia in their lap. "This is Toshiko and Alexis," he said, gesturing at them in turn.

Lucian inclined his head slightly instead of bowing properly. He really didn't want to know what the change in orientation would do to his sinuses. "Lucian," he said hoarsely. It seemed his voice had stopped giving out quite as dramatically as it had last night, though the tradeoff was a miserable rasp. 

An uncomfortable silence stretched out for a split second too long, the two Rangers peering at him with what seemed like earnest concern, or at least curiosity.

"He has a bit of a cold," Donovan said dismissively, waving a hand. "Let's get going."

Lucian was quick to follow him. His smoldering fever had rendered his winter clothing nearly unbearable and even the bitter wind of Snowpoint now seemed preferable to another second trapped inside in these layers.

Outside, teams of Rangers plodded to and fro across the layers of white snow. Silver clouds blanketed the sky, washing everything out to bright pastels.

"Here's the deal," began Donovan, looking supremely unbothered despite his bare arms. "We have four fallen trees and three damaged properties, counting the Pokémon Center. If we can get them cleared out before the repair team gets here, that will cut their work in half."

Lucian sniffled and wiped his nose on the back of his glove. It was disgusting, yes, but even the small act of taking his glove off to reach for a tissue seemed like an unwise expenditure of energy.

Donovan continued, "Also, one of the trees is blocking the road, so that's priority number one. The plan is to combine manpower— Well, Pokémon power and Psychic energy to move the rubble to designated zones. Then, the disposal team can take care of the rest."

"Understood," Lucian said. Presumably, the explanation had been for his benefit, as Toshiko and Alexis hadn't appeared to be paying any attention to it.

They reached the first felled tree and Lucian's breath caught. He choked the coughing fit down as best as he could, faltering under the weight of all their eyes on him. His tears dried cold on his fevered cheeks and he shuddered at the discrepancy before remembering himself. "Excuse me. Shall I?" He released Girafarig without waiting for an answer.

"Just that one?" Donovan asked, eyeing Girafarig with obvious displeasure. "This would go a lot faster if you used your whole team."

"I can't," Lucian said irritably. It wasn't exactly common knowledge, but countless Psychic masters had died identifying the limits of their abilities. Skilled Psychics could mentally resonate with three or four Pokémon at most. Anything beyond that inevitably resulted in strokes, seizures, and death. Lucian's own limit was three. He had tried it with Espeon, Girafarig, and Gallade once and managed to hold the connection for exactly one minute and 28 seconds before a blood vessel in his nose had burst and drenched his suit with an alarming amount of blood. "Two, maybe. But six would kill me."

Donovan rolled his eyes. "Well, this tree is the biggest we're going to face today, so if there was ever a time to exert yourself…"

He was right. The tree was massive and Alexis' little Kirlia was unlikely to be much help. Then… Bronzong, maybe. No, Gallade. Might as well give Kirlia something to aspire to.

"Alright," said Donovan, nodding. "The Psychic types will lift the tree, then the Fighting types will get under it. Medicham's pulling double duty, so stay on your toes. Ready?"

Lucian swallowed. An undertaking of this magnitude would be unpleasant even on his best day. But there was no time to hesitate, not when Kirlia's eyes were already glowing. He reached out with his mind and found his Pokémon's energy, their understanding, and finally, their effort. His vision wavered as the tree began to rise, his heart pounding in his chest and head. One inch, two inches, then the burden was less. Machop got his hands under the trunk, then Medicham, then Donovan, which was… unexpected.

The drop point was clearly delineated, which was a blessing because Donovan had neglected to point it out. Lucian kept his eyes on the bright orange tape marking out the area, stifling coughs deep in his chest. It hurt, but he couldn't afford to break concentration now. Not when his Pokémon were counting on his guidance. They leaned on the edges of his psyche and pressure pounded in his temples.

When the tree finally dropped in the snow, Lucian fought the urge to drop with it. He leaned against Girafarig instead, his sore chest protesting every deep inhale.

"One down," said Donovan, dusting off his hands. "Let's get a move on."

"One minute," Lucian wheezed, coughing lightly on every syllable. It felt like someone had dropped a lit match down his throat and it was just sitting in his larynx, refusing to move. He spared a glance at Alexis, but she seemed unaffected. Maybe a little winded, if he wasn't just imagining things to console his own bedraggled ego.

Girafarig nuzzled him and Lucian finally straightened up. His whole body hurt now, well and truly ached in every extremity and joint. He wiped his nose on his glove again and trudged after Donovan, who had started walking without a word.

He recalled Gallade before they reached the next site and that lessened the mental toll. Donovan shot him a dirty look from under the tree trunk when he noticed. 

Lucian preferred to face problems head on, but he had neither the voice nor the pain tolerance for an argument. So when the tree was settled, he did not look Donovan square in the eye and ask what the matter was. He waited, one hand resting on Girafarig's side, in silence.

Well, near silence. He sneezed a few times.

"Look," said Donovan pointedly, eyeing him with unrepentant disdain. "If you can use two Pokémon, you might as well use two Pokémon. It'll lessen the strain on the Fighting types."

And you, Lucian did not say. Far be it from him to take this kind of treatment laying down, but he just didn't have the energy to argue. He knew the way out, and it was through. They could find another Trainer if he insisted on it, but that would mean forcing an argument through his shredded throat, then trudging through the snow to find a Trainer, waiting while the process was explained to them, then dragging himself back to the site for more punishment. 

There was no replacing him, either. The nearest Psychic worth their salt was probably hidden somewhere on one of the southern routes, tempering their discipline in a perpetual blizzard. Dredging up a team that could touch Lucian's in power would be an exercise in futility; they might as well wait for the repair team and their buzzsaws.

No, he was going to do this Donovan's way, and then he was going to go home and sleep for ten straight years.

At the third site, Lucian fell to his knees in the snow, feeling his subpar breakfast in every tremor of his hands. Who knew how many calories he had burned through this morning? It was certainly more energy than one granola bar could provide.

"There's no need to be dramatic," Donovan said, but he was breathing just as heavily.

Lucian sat backwards, the cold biting right through his snow pants and underlayers, dueling with his fever. It somehow managed to be painful and he shuddered, his skin crawling.

He caught Alexis' eye and beckoned her over with a slight nod that rang his skull like a bell. The part of her face that peeked out over her muffler was pale and waxy. Lucian tried to smile and felt his lip split.

She looked at him expectantly. Lucian pulled off his gloves and reached into his snow jacket for a granola bar. "Here," he rasped.

She didn't smile, exactly, but her eyes wrinkled at the corners. "Thank you," she said, sitting next to him in the snow. "I meant to bring some trail mix with me, but I forgot."

"Five minutes," Donovan barked.

Lucian didn't bother to look at him, but Alexis turned over her shoulder. "You got it!"

They seemed to be on friendly terms. Lucian would have liked to have asked her about it.

Instead, he spent the break in silence, forcing a granola bar down his throat and chasing another painkiller with a handful of virgin snow.

He could have wept when Donovan ended their break a full two minutes early. Chills crawled along his skin and sank deep into his muscles and the added mental strain of guiding his Pokémon drove him further toward total collapse with every shaky breath. The between times offered no respite, just a merciless slog through the snow.

The wind picked up at site number six and Lucian's hand shook when he reached for Gallade's Pokéball. He couldn't stifle a groan when a sneeze ripped through him, his fever magnifying the ache that ripped across his ribcage. He caught Donovan looking at him curiously when he recalled Gallade, but neither one of them said anything. Lucian couldn't focus on two Pokémon any more. His concentration would slip, adding unexpected weight that the others were ill-equipped to carry.

He would have bowed out entirely, shaking with pain and fatigue and illness, but he recognized this house. The heavy stone chimney, with its distinctive silhouette, had been knocked down by the tremors. The very same chimney Lucian had stared at as he trudged down the path to Snowpoint, the ever-growing silhouette proof of his progress. That there really was an end in sight.

He had to help.

Reality pulsed in front of his eyes when Girafarig pushed its energy outward and the weak walls of his psyche threatened to buckle inward and collapse just like the chimney. Everything rippled and spun and he staggered, the hairs on the back of his neck standing up. The chimney slipped, just a little, Girafarig stretching out for his guidance. Lucian refocused their energy with difficulty, struggling to keep the marker flags in his vision. His legs shook.

Donovan, Machamp, and Medicham slipped out from under the chimney and Lucian let the connection drop. Only his locked knees kept him upright in the face of a familiar, dark silhouette on the horizon. Golden hair fluttered in the wind.

"One left," said Donovan, his chest heaving somewhere in Lucian's peripheral vision. "Let's get this over with."

Tears pricked the corners of Lucian's eyes. No. No, he couldn't break now. Not here, not like this. "I…" It hurt to admit, not just his throat, but his pride. "...can't." He was so hot. He pawed his beanie off with a convulsive motion and dragged his fingernails along his forehead to unstick the sweaty coils of hair that had stuck to his skin.

In the distance, Cynthia crested a small hill, her peacoat fluttering around her calves.

"What?" said Donovan.

"I can't do it." Every word was a knife in Lucian's throat.

"Donovan," Alexis hissed.

"I… I don't…" Lucian's vision narrowed. His legs trembled. Something wet gathered on his upper lip and ran into his mouth. Blood. He bent at the waist to spit it out and nearly lost his balance, red spots spattering and pulsing in the snow.

"Lucian? I've been looking everywhere for you."

He couldn't, oh, Guardians, he couldn't—

"Hey. Lucian?"

His legs finally gave out and he couldn't catch himself, falling face-forward into the snow. He curled up a little, all his muscles spasming and tensing, driving his cheek further into the iced-over snow that covered the powder. It hurt. It all hurt. Blood flowed from his nose, painting his vision sickly red. He squeezed his eyes shut.

Somewhere over the ringing in his ears, the crunch of approaching footsteps buzzed like static. "What happened?" Cynthia demanded. "Did someone hit him?"

"Looks like a seizure to me." Donovan's voice.

Cold fingertips traced Lucian's brow, breath ghosting along his cheek. "Fuck," Cynthia whispered. Then louder but from farther away, "He's burning up!"

That much was true. His winter clothes trapped his body heat like they were supposed to, slowly cooking him even as the snow stung his cheek and neck.

"Is he?"

Another voice. "You said it was just a cold."

He was the only one who had all the answers and here he was, insensate on the ground, all his muscles seizing. It was something akin to a panic attack, a warning from his body to stop. Now.

Not a seizure.

He should say so before they tried to give him the wrong medical care.

Unfortunately, when he opened his mouth to speak, coughs wracked his aching body. Wet, ragged coughs. Blood in the snow. In his mouth. Burning, aching skin.

"Don, he's really sick."

"Go get the sled from Medical."

Footsteps in the snow.

"Lucian." Cynthia again. "Can you hear me? I need you to pick your head up."

He nodded, scraping his face along the ice, and pushed himself up onto one shaking arm. His nose appeared to have stopped bleeding and by some miracle, his glasses had stayed on. "I may have overdone it," he rasped, his voice nothing more than a hiss.

"Don't try to talk."

He shook his head. She needed to know. "I'm alright." It was true, more or less. He had pushed himself much too far; his head pounded so badly he couldn't see straight and he was still shaking, not with cold but with fatigue. "I'd rather not take the sled."

She studied him, her eyes cool and calculating. At this distance, he could make out the reflection of the snow in her silvery irises. "You're certain you can walk?"

Lucian nodded and, to prove it, rose to his knees. His head rang like a struck gong, but he kept his balance.

"Hey!" Donovan yelped.

Lucian flinched. It was a dirty trick to pull, but there wasn't another way. Cynthia could be as fierce as a mother Garchomp when the mood struck her, and if Lucian had to play the broken bird to get away from Donovan, he was prepared to do so. He caught her eye to better hammer home his point, and for a split second, ceased his efforts to keep his pain from showing on his face.

"You should wait for the medic," Donovan continued.

Cynthia frosted over in an instant. "I'll handle it from here. Thank you, Ranger." She turned to go, not offering Lucian her arm nor any other assistance.

Silently, he thanked her, and made a point of holding himself upright until his exhausted muscles gave out. Dried blood pinched at the irritated skin around his nose and made his eyes water, threatening sneezes that never quite came.

Cynthia was a beacon beside him, her golden hair shining as though beneath a spotlight. She was magnificent against the snow, so dazzling it would have hurt his eyes to look if not for his glasses.

Everything was bright and gleaming now, the Rangers' tents and caution tape, their uniforms and their Pokémon, the lights in the windows of houses that they passed, and especially the Pokémon Center's neon light. It might as well have been molten metal, the way it cut right through his glasses and sent twin spikes through both irises. His thermal underlayers rubbed against his skin with unpleasant friction.

"Did he hit you?" Cynthia asked finally.

Wary of shaking his head and knocking himself off balance, Lucian took a breath to answer and only made himself cough. It was nearly his undoing, and when he finally stopped, phantom pains raced around his ribs. His head swam, vision doubling in sickening waves. Yes, he had overdone it. He understood. And further, he knew what Cynthia was getting at. She needed to know what he needed, whether he was injured or dehydrated. "No. Just need to sleep," he said, unable to raise his voice above a whisper.

"That's it?"

He inclined his head. Guardians, but he loathed being so reticent. There just wasn't a better way to communicate close at hand.

The Pokémon Center loomed in front of them, the entrance a few mere feet away. "The nurse should look you over," Cynthia said. "In fact, I'd rather a doctor, but I don't think Snowpoint has a clinic."

The sliding doors had already opened for them but Lucian leaned against the exterior wall so he could shake his head without knocking himself over.

His brain rattled against the sides of his skull, pain centers lighting up left and right, top and bottom. No doctors. Not until the dust had settled some. Surely the medical staff had enough on their plates without having to look after a foolish Trainer who really should have known better than to push himself as hard as he had.

Unfortunately, the Pokémon Center was bustling now. Displaced citizens and Rangers alike milled in the lobby. Lucian covered his face with his hand to hide the dried blood clinging to his nose and lips. Cynthia took him by the wrist and strode through the crowd and Lucian's lungs and throat seared and he couldn't— Lights and voices, his vision turning over and over like a carnival ride— Of course, his body wasn't kind enough to let him faint. He stumbled into Cynthia's back and had to put his hands on her shoulders to right himself and he couldn't see for the pain in his head.

His stomach lurched and Guardians, he wasn't going to be sick, was he? Not here. Not with his arm over Cynthia's shoulders— when had that happened?

"You're really burning up," Cynthia said under her breath.

"Don't feel good," he mumbled, struggling now to pick his feet up.

"Lucian?"

"I d-don't—" Here it was. His limit, finally reached. He couldn't take another step. Couldn't hold his head up. Couldn't.

His throat tightened as reality shattered around him, one sickening drop off the edge of a cliff. He was burning up.

Can you take my jacket off?

The words didn't sound. His voice was gone.

"Hold on, Lucian." Cynthia tugged him sideways and his knees buckled. She lowered him to the ground, cold linoleum under his burning cheek. He fumbled for his zipper, finally freeing himself of the inferno that had been raging beneath his layers.

"Here." Cynthia got behind him and helped him sit up, slipping the jacket off his shoulders. "The hoodie, too."

This left him in a sweat-soaked T-shirt and he was too miserable to even be embarrassed by his appearance. With the cool flooring under his back, his awareness began to call itself home, centering itself back in his skull where it belonged. Sagging wooden shelves leered down at him with rows of white teeth— sheets. Bedding.

Are we in a linen closet?

"Shhh." Cynthia swept her fingers across his forehead and stood up. He watched her scan the shelves and give up, kneeling again so she could fold up his hoodie and slide it beneath his head. Her fingers caught in his damp curls and he winced. Less at the discomfort and more at the realization. He must have looked awful.

"I need to go get some things," Cythia murmured, her hand still resting on his brow. "I won't leave the Center. Please have one of your Pokémon come get me if you need me."

He nodded his assent, eyes already slipping shut. The only documented cure for this kind of overwork was sleep. He'd read every book he could find on ESP and Psychic powers. Just sleep. That was the only thing… 

It didn't come.

Wouldn't come.

He was trapped with his thoughts, his exhaustion, his malaise.

In a linen closet.

He sat up at some point, bracing his back against one of the shelves. It was better than lying there, the contents of his sinuses draining down the back of his throat.

Taking stock of himself seemed to be a pointless endeavor, but there wasn't anything else to occupy the time, so he let his eyes fall shut and self-assessed. Was there anything he had missed? It didn't appear that he'd done any lasting damage to himself, but it was hard to tell for sure underneath the weight of his fever.

He was just so tired. The hard linoleum floor was simply no match for his bed at home, the hoodie behind his neck a poor imitation of his down pillows.

Footsteps down the hall made him straighten, then hiss in discomfort. The closet door opened and Cynthia slipped in, her arms full.

"Are you up for it?" she asked, passing him something.

A clipboard and pen. Pale yellow printer paper.

He nodded.

A Ranger asked for my assistance moving felled trees and other rubble. His exhausted muscles protested the fine, repetitive movements of writing, resulting in wobbly, barely legible words on the page.

"I see." Cynthia sighed. "I wish… I knew you wanted to help." She sighed again, looking at him with something like pain in her eyes. "It's not my place to tell you off. Not as Champion. But you're my friend and I wish… Arceus, just look at you."

Lesson learned.

"Are you really alright?"

Yes.

When a Psychic pushes themselves too far

What you saw, when you walked up… It was my body setting a boundary. To keep me from actually hurting myself.

I

He paused for a moment before continuing

I am sorry if I scared you

For a moment, Cynthia just looked at him. Her eyes lingered on his face, her expression grave. "If you're not going to sleep, let me get you cleaned up."

Lucian nodded, eyes losing focus in the glare of the lights. He snapped back to himself at the sensation of something in his space, Cynthia's fingertips at his lips. He opened his mouth automatically and let her place a cough drop on his tongue. Honey-flavored.

"Stop me if anything hurts." She dabbed at his nose with a cold, damp cloth and the prickling sensation of dried blood scraping against chafed, irritated skin made his eyes water.

When his breath hitched, she pressed a tissue into his hand. She was so close… How had he not noticed before? She was practically on top of him, kneeling by his side with one arm braced against the shelving so she could lean in.

He turned his face away to sneeze and his whole body ached. Flakes of blood fluttered to the ground when he tried to wipe his nose and he fell back against the wall, eyes rolling. Sleep. He needed sleep. But he was too sore, too wrung out, too tired.

"Doing okay?" Cynthia asked.

Lucian reached for the clipboard with shaking hands. Could you talk for to me?

Please

Say anything

Guardians, but he was just too tired to care if he was giving himself away. Everything hurt and Cynthia was right there and he could bury the remains of his reputation later or do his best to put the pieces back together and raise it from the dead, but right now he needed her.

"This will feel cold," Cynthia said at once. "I raided the procedure room. They're disinfectant wipes." She dabbed at his nose and chin. "I can take you home after this." A long pause. She scrubbed at his face until he couldn't help but wince, and then she eased off at once. "Sorry. Almost done. There's not that much blood; I think the cold might have slowed the bleeding. There." She smiled at him with such tenderness in her eyes that he had to look away.

He'd been trying to avoid watching her work, the temptation of those petal pink lips so close to his own. But his eyes wandered every once in a while.

"This might sting a little," she said. He stared at the door, the words not processing until something cold and wet touched his cheek and the sting she'd warned him about sank in. He looked at her with furrowed brow in lieu of picking up the clipboard again 

"You have some cuts on your face," she said, fanning him with her fingers. The sting abated at the gentle rush of cold air. This was… This was too much. To have her fussing after him like this, nursing him— Her, the Champion of Sinnoh!

Lucian made to get up and knocked shoulders with her and the white shelves whirled in front of his eyes. He stuck his hand out at random and clutched at a stack of folded sheets.

"What's wrong?" 

Stupid. He was being stupid. Panicky and skittish, embarrassed. Blushing like a little boy. He fell back again without letting go of the sheets and they slipped off the shelf, landing on his thigh.

"Lucian, what's the matter?"

He let his eyes fall shut and tried to focus on his breathing. It was all wrong and his chest hurt and the cough drop clicked against his molars.

"I'm going to take your temperature again, alright? In your ear."

No sound came when he tried to answer, and then the plastic slid into his ear canal and his body smoldered beneath his T-shirt and snow pants. Her other hand rested on his forehead. Like she could soothe his fever with the magic of her touch.

"38.9." Her voice was completely devoid of emotion, yet the absence spoke volumes.

He reached for the clipboard.

You don't have t

Of course she didn't. She knew that. He knew she knew that.

Thank you, Cynthia

"Just do me a favor, Lucian." She swept his hair back behind his ear and trailed her fingers along his jaw, her eyes focused on his cheek, where the cool wet sting of antiseptic still lingered. "Please, just. I don't want to have to do this again. You really scared me."

He nodded. Reality receded a little, the tide going out. Each wave of pain and heat fell a little shorter of his notice.

His head found her shoulder and the dark wool of her pea coat blocked out the harsh, humming fluorescents. They'd been hurting his eyes the whole time, yet somehow he'd only just noticed.

"Rest for a moment," she murmured, her hand running down and down and down the back of his head. "Then I'll take you home."

The last of the honey drop dissolved down his throat, soothing some of the miserable sting. He turned his head and let the wool scratch against his uninjured cheek, grounding himself with the sensation. "Thank you," he mumbled.

When they moved, there would be clean sheets and soft pajamas, menthol cough drops and hot tea. But the moment he pulled back, the spell would be broken. She'd never hold him like this again.

So he lingered, selfishly, until she paused and rested her hand on the back of his head. One more breath. And he pulled back. Better to break the spell himself than wait around until she broke it for him. It hurt less, in a way.

[hershit123]

10 Natural Remedies to Stop Hair Fall

Hair fall, a rather growing problem in today's time, can be detrimental not only to your social image but also to your confidence. If you want to stay away from synthetic products and learn some natural remedies on how to stop hair fall, this is a great read. Here, you will find ten organic remedies to better your scalp health and prevent hair fall. 

Coconut Oil to Massage Your Scalp

You will need a bottle of extra virgin coconut oil for this. Coconut oil has a number of innate benefits for your scalp, from diminishing dryness to moisturising the skin and triggering lock growth. 

This remedy is suitable for all types of hair. Nevertheless, if you are allergic to coconut or have already oily heads, refrain from this method. 

How To Prepare And Apply

It is pretty easy to prepare. All you have to do is slightly heat the oil so that it melts, and you can rub it in. However, keep an eye out while heating the oil to avoid it from overheating. 

Once the right temperature, dip your fingers in the oil and rub it on your scalp in a circling motion, preferably for 5 to 10 minutes. Try to concentrate on areas that are balding or thinning. 

Onion Juice For Hair Growth

Onions are known to be rich in sulphur, which can further instigate hair follicles and enrich growth. If you see your hair falling out more than usual or thinning, using this technique 2 to 3 times a week can do wonders. However, if you think your skin can react badly when exposed to irritants, avoid this. 

How To Prepare And Apply

Start by cutting the onions in halves and grating them. Once minced, you can then squeeze them over a retainer to get the juice out. 

Gently massage your scalp in all areas with the juice, especially in regions of thinning hair. Let the mixture soak in for a good 20 minutes. Then rinse it off with water. If necessary, use shampoo to get rid of the smell.

Curry Leaf Hair Oil Helps Prevent Hair Fall

Curry leaves contain high concentrations of antioxidants and proteins. These can further help strengthen the hair roots, leading to lesser hair fall. In addition, it also promotes new hair growth. You can find similar organic hair care products and more at a discount on online portals like dealsandcouponsmena.com.  

How To Prepare And Apply

Compared to the others, this method is a bit more complicated. For this, you will need to heat coconut oil, then add the curry leaves and let them cook till brownish-black. Once there, strain the mixture and let it cool before application. 

With that, gently but firmly massage your scalp for around 5 minutes and cover the strands from root to tip. Let that sit for a night, cover it and ensure to wash it off the next day. 

Yoghurt Mask To Condition Your Hair

Plain-sweetened yoghurt contains a high quantity of lactic acid and proteins. This further helps strengthen the hair strands while also giving it a shiny glow. If you have a dry scalp issue, applying yoghurt once a week is the best method to moisten your scalp. 

How To Prepare And Apply

Preparation is quite simple. Firstly, dampen your hair. Take some sweetened yoghurt in a bowl and make sure to apply it evenly. It is advised that you start at the roots and eventually go to the ends. This will ensure the best results.

Indian Gooseberry For Hair Growth

If you want a remedy on how to stop hair fall immediately at home for female, it does not get any better than this. Amla is quite potent with vitamin C. This further enhances collagen production and nourishes your hair follicles.

How To Prepare And Apply

First, you will have to squeeze out the amla juice and mix equal quantities of any preferred carrier oil with it. With that, your oil is ready. Now, you will just have the massage the blend into your scalp and hair and then rinse it off in thirty minutes. 

Use Green Tea for Stimulating Growth

Green tea can help reduce any kind of swelling of your scalp. This can help enhance the growth of healthy hair. This remedy is a must if you suffer from dandruff or similar scalp issues. This will solve your problem of how to control hair fall.

How To Prepare And Apply

Start by steeping both teabags in boiling water and let that cool down. Once the tea has seeped, rinse your head with the cooled-down water. 

Egg Mask For Hair Strengthening

Along with an egg, you will also need one tablespoon of honey and olive oil for this method. While the protein from the eggs strengthens the hair bulbs, honey helps moisturise it. While it is suitable for any type of hair, it is a go-to if you have dry or damaged locks.

How To Prepare And Apply

Start by mixing the honey, olive oil, and egg until they form a have a smooth texture. Then apply the mixture on your hair and especially the scalp. Get a hold of every strand and let it sit for 30 minutes. 

Methi Hair Mask For Hair Growth

Fenegreek or methi is another excellent way to better hair growth at home. Methi has a high protein content. This provides not only natural nourishment to the hair but also gives it more volume and rid it of dandruff. 

How To Prepare And Apply

Start by soaking methi two spoons of methi seeds overnight. Dry the seeds and grind them to a paste before applying it on your scalp. Keep it there for an hour and rinse it off with cold water. Doing this once every week can show quick results. 

Aloe Vera Hair Mask To Stop Hair Loss

Wondering how to stop hair fall immediately? This is your answer. Aloe vera contains a lot of minerals that can help reduce hair loss. It also helps treat dandruff in your hair. Best of all, it removes excess oil from your scalp and nourishes the scalp.

How To Prepare And Apply

This is relatively easy to prepare and apply. Apply the aloe vera gel from any plant and massage it for about 10 to 15 minutes. Let that sit for about an hour and gently rinse it off with water.  

Apple Cider Vinegar For Better Hair Health

Lack of scalp nutrition can be a big factor leading to hair loss. The dirt and pollution typically gather up and stop good oil from seeping in. A very good way of fixing that is with apple cider vinegar. 

How to Prepare and Apply

Rub a few spoonfuls of apple cider on your hands and massage your head. Another way is to mix it with water and rinse your hair with it.

With these tricks in mind, you will not have to worry about hair fall again.

[chandigarhayurved]

How to Stop Hair Fall Immediately with Ayurvedic Medicines

Losing hair can be upsetting for many people; their hair is important part of who they are. There are different reasons behind hair fall. Many people experience increase hair fall in the rainy season, which is mainly because of the increase in humidity and moisture and fungal infections during monsoon can lead to hair fall and various other hair problems.

Causes of Hair fall-

Generally first rain is considered to be the acid rain or if it has rained after a long gap, the chemicals suspended from the hair can damage your hair

Using dryer for drying your wet hair can also be one of the major reasons for hair fall

Medical issues like stomach upset, sore throat, PCOD, thyroid can lead to hair fall

Genetics – if your family has a history of hair fall it may be something you cannot avoid

Hormonal imbalances such as caused by pregnancy, menopause, and thyroid disorders can lead to hair fall

Stress can cause hair fall by affecting the growth cycle of your hair.

Poor diet – a diet lacking in minerals and essential fatty acids can lead to hair fall

Medications such as blood thinners, birth control pills and antidepressants can cause hair fall.

Age – as we age our hair naturally becomes thinner and more prone to breakage.

Lack of sleep, it affect your hair health and lead to hair fall

Weather – extreme weather conditions such as harsh sunlight, and cold winds dry out your hair and it lead to breakage.

Management of hair fall according to Ayurveda-

In ayurveda hair fall is caused by the buildup of the doshas  in your body, which leads to inflammation of the hyair follicles,this causes hair fall. If vata dosha imbalances it can lead to dryness , split ends, frizziness, hair thinning and hair fall.if pitta dosha imbalance in the body it causes premature greying, hair thinning, baldness and aggrevated kapha dosha make your hair sticky and extremely oil which also lead to wet and sticky flakes.

Panchkarma for hair growth-

Nasya

Shirodhara

Shirolepa

Shirovasti

Foods can help you reduce hair fall and promote growth-

Amla

Cucumber

Buttermilk

Almonds

Peanuts

Ghee

Coconut

Triphala

Leafy vegetables

Home remedies-

You can apply a paste of besan , coconut water and lemon , besan , amla, reetha and shikakai

Soak fenugreek seeds overnight in rice water, grind in the morning and apply the paste to your scalp

Regular scalp massage with ayurvedic oils

Cleansing scalp, do not let your scalp remain dry for r too long. Shirolepa hair pack can help there

Take some time off and take deep breaths during times of stress, Ashwagandha can help you distress.

Bhringraj extremely beneficial for uplifting hair health, it promotes hair growth and prevents premature greying

Onion juice helps to prevent hair breakage and thinning

Shikakai - it has antifungal and antibacterial properties, it soothe itchy or irritated scalp

Yoga-

Shirshasana

Sarvangasana

Uttanasana

Matsyasana

Adho mukho savasana

Hair Care Kit

ALL PRODUCTS DESCRIPTION IN DETAIL:

1. Hair Live Herbal Shampoo: It is used in various kind of hair related issues like Baldness, Graying of hairs etc. It contains very good herbs that work on your hair and roots of hair in your scalp. It makes your hair shiny and thick. The herbs used for formulation of this oil shows antioxidant, anti-dandruff, anti-inflammatory properties. This product is herbal and natural formula for maintaining hair health. It is used in Hairball, graying of hair, dandruff, dry scalp, thinning of hairs, baldness, alopecia and loss of lusterless.

Method of usage– Apply it on wet hair, massage into a rich lather for 2-3 minutes and rinse properly with water.

2. Hair Live Tablet: Hair Live Tablet is formulated with ingredients like Bhringraj  (Eclipta alba), Amalaki (Emblica officinalis), Mulethi (Glycyrrhiza glabra), Brahmi (Bacopa monnieri), Dhatry Loha (Purified iron), & Shud Gandhak (Purified sulphur). This herbal kit is formulated to take care of all the hair problems. It is an amazing combination of various natural herbs which can be beneficial for both male and female hair problems. It provides nourishment to the hair from the root level, repairs broken, splinted and damaged hair. This kit gives a natural strength and smooth texture.

Recommended Dosage – Take 1 tablet twice a day with normal water.

3. Hair Live Oil: It is used in various kinds of hair related issues like Baldness, Greying of hairs etc. It contains very good herbs that work on your hair and roots of hair in your scalp. It makes your hair shiny and thick. The herbs used for formulation of this oil shows antioxidant, anti-dandruff, anti-inflammatory properties. This product is herbal and natural formula for maintaining hair health.Til oil (Sesamum indicum) Almond oil (Prunus dulcis) Jotishmati oil (Celastrus paniculatus) Amla (Embelia officinale) Bhringraj (Eclipta Alba), etc

Method of usage – Gently massage your hair once or as per requirement

[trendykendy]

How to Stop Hair Fall Immediately: 9 Best Tips and Home Remedies

How to Stop Hair Fall Immediately: 9 Best Tips and Home Remedies. #hair #hairfall #stophairfall #health #healthtech #hairproblems

Humans believe that a good hair day instantly puts them in a good mood. This signifies that humans are quite sensitive about the appearance of their hair. Hair fall and thinning are becoming common nowadays among the majority of humans. Some think that falling of hair is genetically a disorder while others believe that it is occurring because of the chemicals present in the hair products used by…

[sinner-as-saint]

Crawling Back To You.

Bucky Barnes x Reader 

Run-through: Bucky Barnes had a lot on his plate at the moment. Regrets, fears, nightmares and desperately trying to do the right things to make up for his past as the Winter Soldier. Amongst those things, barely anything made him truly happy, or safe or loved. None did actually - except for you. He met you at a bar once and since then, you’ve been his sanctuary. You both knew he wasn’t quite ready to be in a relationship, yet you were always there with open arms whenever he needed a friend, a shoulder to lean on, or someone to help him take his mind off things. Be it a nightmare, or memories from the past coming to haunt him, or any major or minor inconvenience, the super soldier would find himself turning to you for help. 

Themes: angst, fluff, smut

He woke up on the floor, covered in cold sweat. 

The flashbacks of the nightmares kept resurfacing until it finally faded again. Faded, not truly gone because he knew they’d be back tomorrow again - his past coming to haunt him. He sighed and squinted at the screen in front of him. 

The T.V was on, playing reruns of a show he did not care about. He simply needed the noise to help him fall asleep. The quiet and silence was his own personal hell, so he always needed some sort of background noise to help him out. 

Bucky tried getting some sleep again; tossing and turning on the wooden flooring but he couldn’t fall back asleep. His mind was racing, too many thoughts at once. He checked the time, the clock read 1 a.m. He could go on a run, but he didn’t really feel like it. He could go to the gym, but he didn’t feel like working out either. 

He needed something. An escape, a friend. You, he needed you. 

Bucky reached for his phone, and a few taps later he was calling you. He knew it was late but you somehow always picked up his calls no matter what the time was. The rings later, he heard your voice speak up from the other end. 

“Buck?” You sounded sleepy, but not like he had woken you up, you sounded like you were about to fall asleep. 

He closed his eyes and sighed at the sound of your voice. He could picture you, all tucked in your comfy bed, surrounded by pillows and your soft blankets. Perhaps you had lost track of time because of a good book, or perhaps you were up late responding to emails for work. 

“Hey doll. Did I wake you up?” he asked, leaning back against the wall of his living room, his legs sprawled out on the floor in front of him. Only sometimes did he feel like he was taking advantage of your kindness, but then again he could be selfish when it came to you. You were his, and that’s that. 

You let out a little laugh. “Of course not, Bucky. I was just finishing up some work.” He could hear your sheets shuffling, “Are you okay? Did you have another nightmare?” you asked, softly. 

Bucky told you he did. Then he went on to tell you exactly what he had dreamt of. Sometimes he felt like he was opening up more to you than his shrink. But truth is, you made him feel like he was more than just a broken soldier, or a problem who needed to be remedied or fixed. You made him feel like he was human after all. 

“I… I’m trying to fall back asleep but…” his voice trailed off. He didn’t have to say it, you understood perfectly. He knew you did. 

Then he heard his favorite words coming from you, “Come over Buck, I’m waiting.” 

He wasted no time in getting up from the floor and getting dressed. Dark jeans, shirt, jacket and not to forget his gloves. Sometimes he wondered why he felt so giddy when you asked him to come over, which was almost every night. He wondered what it would be like to come home to you every night instead, had it been a perfect world. He always felt like he was clinging to you too much, for everything. But then you always told him that you didn’t mind. You told him you loved his company. 

He grabbed his helmet before stepping out of his apartment. There was a light drizzle outside but he didn’t care, he just needed to be with you. He got down the stairs and then rushed to start his mean bike and then rushed to your apartment building. You lived in a much nicer part of the city than he did, and he often wondered why you were putting up with someone like him when you could have a man who would give you a life you’ve always dreamt of. He often asked you that, but you always just smiled at him, you never answered. 

On his way up to your floor, he couldn’t help but feel all warm in the elevator. He counted down the seconds till he could see you. He often slept over at your place, he loved it. Cuddling, making love, followed by lazy mornings, him trying to get you to not go to work and spend the day with him instead. He loved how you made him feel. 

He knocked on your door, already taking off his gloves because he needed to feel your skin against his. Your body heat made him feel so much better. He heard you unlocking the door from the other side and not even a second later, he saw your pretty face smiling at him. Dressed in silk PJ shorts and a t-shirt, you looked breathtakingly beautiful even at one thirty in the morning. 

“Hello there,” you greeted him, smirking. “That was fast.” You teased, opening the door wider to let him in. 

He smiled and stepped inside, closing the door behind him and pulling you in for a hug immediately. You felt his slightly damp and cold jacket press against you but you hugged him back tightly anyways. 

“I needed to see you.” He mumbled, pressing his face into your neck. 

“I know.” 

-

You and Bucky ended up in your bed, cuddling under the blankets. He loved the dimmed night light you always had on, knowing that he hated being in complete darkness. He loved how cozy your room was, how spacious and airy but also warm and comfortable. 

The large window by your bed showed a lovely view of the city lights, which were right now blurred by the foggy glass, thanks to the light drizzle earlier. He could tell that the air was cold outside, but in here with you everything was just right. 

He had stripped down to just his boxers and he laid his head on your chest, his face facing away from yours, while you played with his hair and occasionally ran your hand down his back, scratching his skin lightly. His cold metal arm lazily ran up and down your thighs and he noticed the goosebumps on your skin that he was causing. 

He could hear your steady heartbeats and that was his favorite sound in the entire world. It calmed him down. 

You looked down, smiling softly at the sight of the muscular soldier using you as a human pillow. You could hear him let out quiet moans as you gently scratched his scalp. You still remembered the first time you two met, at a bar. 

-

It was late on a winter night, and the nearby bar was rather empty; just a few people here and there. And a certain muscular man in a dark leather jacket caught your eye. He was sitting at the counter, and you were in one of the booths. Eventually, you got up and decided to go talk to him. 

You recognized him immediately. Ex-Winter Soldier, Captain America’s best friend, James Buchanan Barnes.

Small talks turned into a couple more rounds of beers. He was a little off and awkward at first but he loosened up eventually. He even walked you back to your car, not wanting you to be alone in the dark, foggy and empty parking lot. 

That was the first time he kissed you, right before he opened the door of your car for you. 

“Will I see you again?” He asked, high off the adrenaline which coursed through his veins ever since you kissed him back. 

“Of course you will. Good night, James.” You kissed his cheek before getting into your car and driving off. 

-

A smile formed on your face as you thought of that night. “Do you remember the first time we met?” You asked softly. 

Bucky turned his face to you, placing his head back on your chest. He was so close that all you needed to do was to lean in a little to kiss his soft, pink lips. 

He smiled. “Yeah, why?” 

“No reason, I just wanted you to remember it.” 

Bucky chuckled and pressed a gentle kiss on your skin, right above your breasts. “You’ve been awfully quiet. What is it?” 

You just smiled at him, “Nothing. You’ve been awfully quiet too.” And judging by the look in his eyes, you could already tell there was something else to his silence. “What is it?” 

He was quiet. 

Sighing, you flipped the two of you around; straddling his waist while he laid comfortably against your multiple pillows. 

“Buck, tell me.” You pressed your palms against his chest to hold yourself up. 

“Sam needs my help with something. Another bad guy, another mission, another fight. Same old.” He sounded indifferent. 

You couldn’t blame him. He had been fighting for decades, non-stop. He had lost so much while doing so, but he also didn’t know how to deal with the calm, and silence and the quiet. There was so much he needed to figure out about himself still. 

“Do you not wanna go?” 

He smiled faintly as he lazily rubbed up and down your exposed thighs. “It’s my job, I have to. Innocent people will be hurt if I don’t. I want to help them.” 

“Then what’s the issue?” 

“I’ll have to leave you behind for a little while.” He didn’t want to. He didn’t know how to be away from you anymore because he hadn’t been for months now. The thought of not being able to hold you close at night and having your heartbeats lull him to sleep was scary.

You smiled down at him. “I’ll be here when you come back, Bucky.” 

He reached out and cupped your face with his metal hand. “And what if you find someone better while I’m gone?” 

You frowned down at him. “Where does that come from?” 

He gently stroked your cheek. “I’m just saying. You deserve someone a little more… normal.” 

You rolled your eyes at him. “Normal is boring, you seem perfectly fine to me.” 

He chuckled. “Why do you put up with me, doll?” It was a rhetorical question, he didn’t expect an answer because he had asked you this countless number of times but you never gave him a reply before. 

However, you did this time. “Because I’m in love with you, James Buchanan Barnes.” You had been meaning to tell him this for a while now. “You don’t have to say it back, I just needed you to know that no one’s ever gonna replace you. I love you.” 

He was a little surprised, his heart raced as he processed everything. How could someone as gentle, kind and beautiful like you fall for someone as broken as him? “Doll… I…” 

You leaned down to kiss his forehead. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” You giggled, then pulled away to look at him. “You deserve all the good things in this world, Buck. You deserve to be loved, and cared for. And if you’d let me, I’d love to show you that.” 

You carefully pressed your lips to his, kissing him with all the love you had. His metal hand held you at the back of your neck and the other wrapped around your waist. He tilted his head and deepened the kiss; turning your mind into a foggy mess for a little while before he pulled away and stared deep into your eyes. 

You reached out and gently caressed his face, Bucky leaned into your touch. “I’m gonna miss you.” He mumbled. 

“When do you leave?” You asked. 

“Tomorrow, perhaps.” 

You leaned in for a kiss again, accidentally brushing your crotch against his erection; making him smirk through the kiss as he pulled you even closer. You purposely moved against him while you kissed him again deeply. 

Bucky soon flipped the two of you back around and settled in between your legs, kissing down your neck. “I’m gonna miss making love to you almost every night.” He whispered against your skin. His voice alone sent chills down your back, and made you feel all sorts of warm and tingly feelings inside. 

Bucky movements were gentle and slow as he took your clothes off, making sure you were both under the warm covers still; kissing you occasionally as he undressed you, and caressed your body as you squirmed under him. 

He kissed his way down your body, until his face was right in between your legs. You moaned as he parted your legs and placed a kiss on your inner thigh, pulling your underwear down your legs and kissing his way back to your wet folds. You threw your head back, and bit your lip; whining when you felt his tongue teasing you gently. The warmth of his mouth was driving you insane. 

His tongue gently teased your clit while his fingers slipped inside of you; stroking you gently while you arched your back off the surface of your bed as the pleasure became slightly overwhelming. You whimpered and squirmed under him as his tongue moved perfectly against you.

He had you coming undone all over his tongue and his fingers in no time, and he licked you clean when he was done. Kissing his way up your body again. “I’m gonna miss your taste.” He was shameless enough to whisper it in your ear; making you blush. 

His hands roamed around your body, touching you wherever he could, until he finally cupped your core and rubbed the sensitive skin around your swollen clit – making you shudder under him. You whined as he slipped his metal fingers past your entrance yet again. His head dipped into your neck and he licked and bit around your skin until he found your sweet spot. “And I’m gonna miss your warmth.” 

“Buck…” You moaned quietly as he replaced his fingers with his cock. 

He placed his mouth on top of yours again, to swallow your whimpers and moans as he pushed his cock into you. His breathing got shallow again as he pushed himself fully into you. He lifted his head and watched you grimace in pleasure and pain as his cock stretched you to your maximum. He watched you in awe as your lips parted and you moaned his name once he filled you up nicely. 

You whined as he slowly slipped out of you completely, before slamming back into you with a slightly bigger force. 

He groaned at the feel of your walls wrapped around him, squeezing and clenching around him. You heard him swear and felt him bite down on your lip as he sped up into you. He tugged on your lips and he started moving his hips; rocking into you slowly, then gradually increasing his speed. Your back arched off the surface of the bed again and your chest pressed to his.  

“I’m gonna miss watching you squirm under me…” he whispered, “as I pleasure you like no one ever will.” He moaned into your ear. “You’re mine.” 

You were a moaning mess under him in no time. There was something about the way he kissed you, deeply and passionately; as though he was scared you might just get away from him.

He worshipped your body. He mumbled how good you felt in your ear, groaning as you bucked your hips to meet each one of his thrusts as well. He kissed you roughly as he pounded into you; his metal fingers wrapped around your throat. He fucked you raw and relentlessly, watching how your face morphed into frowns of pleasure. 

He pressed his forehead on yours; looking down to where your bodies connected so intimately. Then he pulled away to look into your eyes with that animalistic, primal and fiery look in his eyes. His lips parted as he panted while he fucked you like he owned you.

“You’re gonna miss me too aren’t you, doll?” 

You nodded, whining in pleasure. He smirked. His hand left your neck and slid in between your connected bodies and furiously rubbed your clit, earning a loud moan out of you. “Say it, baby. Tell me how much you’re gonna miss my cock buried deep inside you…” 

You couldn’t talk as the pressure in between your legs became too much to handle, and you craved for release. He noticed and slipped his tongue back into your mouth one last time and took your bottom lip between his teeth again.

“Come on, cum for me… doll,” he swore as he felt you clench around him perfectly. You came hard around him, moaning and whimpering under him as he finished right after you; kissing your swollen lips deeply as he came.

He pushed his face into the crook of your neck as he caught his breath. And you cradled his head; panting as well. Your fingers gently massaged his scalp as he calmed his racing heart. A few moments later, he shifted all his weight right on top of you making you laugh as you tried to scoot out from under him. 

He groaned and pulled you closer. “Come here.” He pressed you against his body and wrapped his arms around. “I love you too, doll. So much.” 

You buried your face into his chest, inhaling his scent. “I’m gonna miss you. All of you.” You lifted your head up to look at him smiling down at you. “Come back fast.” 

He chuckled. “You know I will. No matter where I go, I’ll always come crawling back to you.”

[chokiipng]

Hay fever : Genshin various

a/n : suffering from seasonal allergies isn't fun . so instead of trying to do school work, i'm gonna write hcs to make myself feel better

character(s) : Xiao, Diluc, Kaeya, Albedo, Childe contents : fluff with a bit of crack (my specialty) + : reader has really bad seasonal allergies

Xiao :

he doesn't really understand tbh

he plays it off as a common cold at first and entrusts you with Verr, much to her annoyance. he didn't realize the true severity of the situation until a week had passed.

he's heard of seasonal allergies before, so it's not like he was entirely clueless, he just didn't know how to go about treating it.

because of this, he turned into a big ball of concern for the entirety of spring

he asked everyone he could for help, even that ginger haired harbinger (to which he had no clue since he basically lives on an iceberg)

this also happened to peek Zhongli's interest, who then took him to Bubu pharmacy to learn more. it took Xiao about 5 different interrogations to actually visit Bubu, he cursed himself internally for not checking there in the first place

of course, Baizhu laughed it off and informed the both of them on how allergies work, how they're triggered, and how to prevent/soothe them

if you sneezed/sniffled, he was immediately by your side with a tissue and some water. itchy eyes, he had a small bottle of eyedrops for you courtesy of Dr. Baizhu and Qiqi

it was amusing to say the least, watching a feared Yaksha running around frantically in order to soothe your allergies

of course, he soon picked up that it was because you went outside every goddamn day to complete commissions and to pick flowers for who knows who (Qiqi, you often found yourself picking herbs with her because who could say no to that face?)

he legit locked you in your room at Wangshuu Inn and did your commissions for you. he didn't want you in any pain, so he stayed with you when he finished all of his tasks

he didn't isolate you though, but if he takes you out he makes sure you take your allergy medicine (given by Qiqi, ty bby) and that you have a mask on

Diluc :

he never really experienced hay fever, but he knows the gist of it

he's heard stories of it from customers of the Angel's Share and was immensely grateful to the Archons for blessing him with immunity to seasonal allergies

but he wasn't prepared to catch you practically sneezing your guts out one morning

Diluc drops everything, much to Adelinde's horror, and orders for a box of tissues and water immediately. he whips out the blankets from under the couch that he knew you hid and props you on some pillows he fluffed in a panicked rush

the maids watch with a nervous chuckle as he runs around the mansion, completely forgetting about his shift at the Angel's Share and his nightly heroic duties

as soon as he calms down from the initial shock of how hard allergies hit you, he asks you how your feeling and if he can do anything

the next day he asks Donna (who stutters at his mere presence), who mind you is an employee at the Floral Whisper, since Flora isn't there herself about hay fever. he figured that people who worked at a flower shop would know about allergies caused by the pollen produced by flowers

he brings back medicine that you've been instructed to take daily as to lessen the affects of your allergies

despite his day duties, he offers to take up your daily commissions during the days you are physically unable to do them or just does them of his own volition

he trusts that the maids will take care of you in his stead

in the mean time, you're allowed to roam the city as you wish, but that's about it. he threatened Lawrence and Swan that they would feel the wrath of retribution if you stepped foot outside the city

Mondstadt was a land of eternal springtime, there was no way in hell he was letting you out of the city without his supervision

while all of this may be a bit much, he makes sure to let you know that this is just him caring for you. he doesn't want to seem overbearing and trusts that you know what's happening to your body and how to treat it

Kaeya :

he laughs at your demise

what did you expect ?

but he really is worrying on the inside

he makes sure to check in with Barbara just to make sure that you're not suffering from a lethal disease

once he knows that they're just seasonal allergies, (almost) all his worries subside and he sighs of relief

he notifies Jean beforehand (but sometimes forgets), he works considerably less during the time of your allergies since he doesn't really trust anyone else to take care of you

he also doesn't drink as much, surprising, he knows

he refrains from bringing you flowers as he usually does and instead spoils you with unnecessary affection

Kaeya doesn't worry as much since he puts faith in you that you know what's going on in your body. since they're seasonal allergies, he realizes that you must've gone through this before and know how to treat it

since you can't really cure it, you just act more cautious in the outdoors

he often accompanies you on your daily commissions and such, just to be sure that your okay. he takes over the moment you pause to sneeze or itch your nose even once

aside from this, he's the other reason why your allergies are unbearable

once they're all done and over, he teases you relentlessly about how reliant you were on him when in reality it was him doing your tasks of his own volition rather than you asking him. you told him several times that you could handle it, but he persisted nonetheless

he's more reasonable during your hay fever, and despite his unnecessary comments, you find it endearing

Albedo :

he is among the few men who are actually calm during the situation, but since when is he not?

he probably already has a remedy for you that greatly lessens the affect of your allergies

but even without it, he trusts that you know how to handle it

the only factor in here that would cause chaos-

is Klee

once Klee hears you sneeze all hell breaks loose in Albedo's workspace

she runs around everywhere looking for tissues and then ends up bringing Mondstadt's entire supply, which you and Albedo laugh nervously at

once Klee calms down, you explain the bare minimum of hay fever, which she manages to understand

while he has faith that you can treat it yourself, Albedo still recommends that you stay inside more rather than going out exploring and looking for chests, to which you sheepishly comply

Jean cannot thank you enough when it comes to Klee's behavior during this season, as Klee tends to spend more time at home with you and Albedo once you finish your commissions so that "you don't feel lonely!"

she even drew you a picture to show how much she cared!

if you can't sleep at night because of your allergies, Albedo (who is probably still up working) will gladly allow you to indulge in his studies or to just simply read with you until you fall asleep

he too is also happy that you managed to tame Klee

Childe :

this man has no idea what the fuck hay fever is

need I remind you that he grew up in the land of perpetual winter, hay fever doesn't even exist to him. unlike everyone else, he hasn't even heard of the concept

so when you hold a finger up during your weekly sparring, he pauses with a curious tilt of his head

he screams in horror as you sneeze out all of your bodily fluids not once, not twice, but three times

Childe calls off the spar and cradles you in your arms as if you're about to die

it's until he rushes you to Baizhu in a panicked frenzy that he realizes that its...a fever?

now Baizhu is a patient man, he had to raise a zombie child who basically loses her memory each time she wakes up and wields a sword/cryo abilities

but he was getting tired of Childe's endless questions quick.

Childe shrieks as the normally passive pharmacist slams his hands down on the counter with a sickeningly sweet smile

he ceases in his questions, apologizes for bothering him, and races back to the Northland Bank in a cold sweat

it takes you explaining it in a calm voice for him to finally understand it

and he takes this very seriously

while he knows that it's seasonal and that you've gone through it before, he can't help but worry for you

he coddles you, and he doesn't relent even if you tell him

he slaps a mask on you, takes away your fighting privileges, and even order his subordinates to keep an eye on you at all times

that is if he's not already

he clings

he's attached to you

he just wants you to feel better, and you appreciate it, but it can get a little too much sometimes

and while you do tell him this, the same situation happens every year when spring comes around and there's nothing you can do to stop it. Baizhu can't catch a break from the rowdy harbinger