#how to use protein powder
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sac-bestsupplements · 8 months ago
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Showdown: High Protein Pills vs Protein Powder Shakes - Which one will work best for you? Maximize Your Gains! 🏋️‍♂️🏋️‍♀️
Discover the best Protein Pills supplements + FAQ & Tricks:: https://super-achiever.com/best-protein-pills
#proteinpills #proteinpowder #wheyprotein
Welcome back, Achiever Fam! Today, we're tackling the great debate in the world of fitness and nutrition: High Protein Pills vs. Protein Powder Shakes!
If you've ever found yourself staring at the vast array of protein supplements, wondering which one to pick, this video is crafted just for you! 💪🔍 We'll dive into every aspect, comparing protein pills and protein powders side by side. From the ease of carrying them around to the nitty-gritty of their nutritional content, we've got all the info you'll need to make the most informed decision for your health and workout regimen. What You'll Discover in This Video: - Convenience Comparison: Understand the practical differences between protein pills and shakes. Can the convenience of pills outweigh the traditional shake? 🎒🥤 - Taste Test: We discuss what matters most to our taste buds. Is the blandness of pills better or worse than the flavor variety of powders? 🍫🚫 Nutritional Breakdown: The real meat of the matter – we break down the protein content, assessing which form gives you more bang for your buck. 💰💪
- Volume Versus Value: Discover the truth behind the quantity of protein you're actually getting and whether it's worth the swap from powder to pills. 📊 - Quality and Extras: We take a closer look at additional ingredients in protein powders that pills might lack. Are you missing out, or dodging unnecessary extras? 🌿💊 - And the moment you've all been waiting for: We will crown the champion in the ultimate face-off between protein pills and protein powder shakes. Who will take the throne as the go-to protein source for the fitness-conscious? 👑 Engage With Us: We want to hear from you! Are you a devout pill-taker or a shake-maker? Share your experiences, preferences, and any questions in the comments below!
📢💬 Don't forget: Hit that LIKE button, SHARE this video with your fitness-focused friends, and most importantly, SUBSCRIBE to Super Achievers Club for more in-depth analyses, health tips, and fitness truths that you won't find anywhere else! 🔔🌟 Coming Up Next: Brace yourselves for more enlightening comparisons in the fitness supplement world. What secrets do other popular supplements hold? Stay tuned to find out! 🎬👀
Remember: Your health and fitness journey is unique. Use this information to empower your choices and tailor your supplement intake to what suits YOU best. Stay strong and informed, Achiever Fam! See you in the next video! 💪🌟
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fauvester · 7 months ago
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still losing my nut in the lost tomb akatsuki vers.. they’re even already paired up… itachi and kisame have the most typical necro cav relationship but with added morbid courtly love.. the weird suna/obito threeway…. and the zombie combo where kakuzu is also a necromancer, but the only thing he does is regenerate his body to stay alive for 200+ years only to continue to be kicked around by life and ending up as a cavalier to the prodigy orphan priest of the dying 9th house, who’s brilliant and stupid and violent and physically strong enough to be a cav in his own right.. and INCREDIBLY annoying
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boutique-nouri · 1 month ago
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Powerful Collagen Peptides Type I & III (350g, 12.3oz) - Revitalize Skin, Hair, & Joints
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Get it from here
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asexualjedi · 1 year ago
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Logging into the family prime account and judging my brother for buying Oreo flavored protein powder.
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thecowboykatsuki-anon · 2 years ago
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lexa-griffins · 2 years ago
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Does Clarke secretly like using any of Lexa's stuff like lotion, soaps, and shampoo? Lexa is wondering to herself why her bottles finish much quicker than she's used to
Yes!!! You see, Lexa has tried to buy Clarke lotion and skin care stuff that's appropriate for her not long after they moved in together because Clarke seems to really enjoy the smell and feel they give Lexa's skin and seemed very happy when Lexa uses them on her. But the thing with Clarke is that if you tell her that she has to use this product like this and in this order everyday she will not want to do it, dont fucking tell Clarke what to do!!!!!
So when Lexa starts noticing her products keep, slowly but sure get used up more than they used to, she is indeed a little confused and one day she catches Clarke through the cracked door of the bathroom bringing Lexa's moisturizer (for her oily skin, 100% the opposite of what Clarke's dry skin needs) to her nose, giving it a sniff and making an approving before getting a little bit out and applying it to her face, making sure to put it exactly where Lexa had it before.
Lexa decides not to talk about it, bit she does start buying more of her stuff with the expectation Clarke will use it, and she'll even place some that are the correct type for Clarke's skin in place of hers, knowing Clarke will use them sporadically.
Clarke wont admit it but she does it not only because it makes her skin feel good without needing all the steps Lexa goes through but it also makes her smell like Lexa which she really likes because Lexa always smells divine ☺️
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j-a-nuary · 9 months ago
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How it's going ^^^^^
How it started vvvvv
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His shoulders will eventually put me in a coma but it’s okay
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rsg-energya · 7 months ago
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Protein Powder for Weight Gain
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Here find, how Energya Fortifood is the best Protein Powder for Weight Gain Male. Best Weight Gain Powder for Female. Protein Powder for Weight Gain Under 1,000. Best Protein Powder for Weight Gain in India.
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iubireaiadului · 1 year ago
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:)
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narizaki · 6 months ago
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sticky notes   sakusa kiyoomi x reader
―   tags   fem reader,   fluff,   roommates to something close to lovers,   timeskip kiyoomi
―   notes   wc is 1.8k,   i wrote this on a whim so please forgive ooc kiyoomi, also please forgive any grammar mistakes lmao
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you and sakusa have been communicating through notes for the past three months.
at first, you had mindlessly written down a few groceries you needed to buy on a sticky note, pasting it onto the fridge so you wouldn’t forget. it included some of the basics: eggs, flour, rice, milk, and other necessities for you and your roommate’s fridge. 
then, the next time you came home, you were greeted by a bright yellow sticky note seated next to your pink one. it said:
protein powder
lettuce
masks (the white ones)
between your full-time job and sakusa’s hectic schedule as a professional volleyball player, the two of you hardly saw each other, if at all. especially with sakusa’s new status on the olympic team. it wasn’t bad, per se, as you’d never been the closest to him — he was closed-off and, frankly, intimidating. it was like the man would go to any lengths to avoid interacting with others. regardless, his small addition to your grocery list had made you laugh. 
you checked off the items he wanted, and the sticky note was gone the next day.
from then, the two of you only ever communicated with each other this way. one of you would write the groceries they needed to get that weekend, and the other would make their additions to the list. it was effective, simple, and considering how the only post-it notes the either of you owned were offensively bright colors, hard to miss. 
after a while, you began adding little comments in addition to the list of items you needed to buy. they were short and sweet, like a thanks! written in the corner of your post-it detailing the items you needed sakusa to buy, or there are leftovers in the fridge after you made too much for dinner. you weren’t expecting sakusa to respond to them, given his stand-offish nature. so, when he did, you were surprised. no; scratch that, you were elated. although his replies weren’t anything extraordinary, just a simple you’re welcome or thank you for the food written in his neat handwriting under your own, it felt like a break in your relationship with sakusa. 
despite knowing him for a while now, the two of you stayed as acquaintances and nothing more. but, you couldn’t deny that you wanted to know more about him. and though unconventional, the sticky notes worked perfectly for this.
writing to each other using post-its became such a habit that sakusa bought a magnetic whiteboard. you were only made aware of it when you walked into the kitchen to see it set up. there was a note already written in black marker on the board, stating that the post-it notes were beginning to be a waste of paper. you made sure to write a large thanks, sakusa! with the same marker, adding a few hearts around it.
(and if sakusa flushed red at the sight of his name with hearts surrounding it, only he would know.) 
whenever your friends came over, they would question the purpose of the whiteboard. you couldn't blame them; it did take up the better half of your fridge's surface. they had a good laugh when you explained the story behind it, but some asked why couldn’t you just text each other?
and, honestly? you didn’t know either.
you knew it would be more efficient if you were to text sakusa instead of patiently waiting for his replies on the dry-erase board every day. but, if you wanted to, you knew you would’ve done it a while ago; before he even had the idea of buying the whiteboard, back when the two of you were conversing through neon sticky notes and wasting an unnecessary amount of paper. 
you surmise it’s because you didn't want to ruin your and sakusa’s relationship — if you could even call it that. texting him would forcefully pull him into your orbit. though you’ve been regularly interacting with him for the past few months, you were aware that you hardly knew anything about the man; small notes and lists only gave you so much information about a person. the whiteboard was a safe in-between — you learn a little more about him and his habits, while not forcing him to interact with you. 
well, you think, he’s not obligated to answer my texts, either. you have his number, and it’s not like you haven’t texted him before. there was only so much you could do when you weren’t home to pick up packages or forget to inform him of a repairman coming over. 
you mull over the decision, a short text already typed into your conversation with sakusa. your finger hovers over the send button, before you furiously spam the delete key and put your phone down. no, nevermind. 
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your plan of staying content with your relationship fails miserably.
it’s been a hard few weeks at work, with seemingly endless deadlines you have to meet and an equally endless amount of meetings you’ve had to attend. you feel as if you haven’t had a moment to yourself in forever.
so, when you submit your most recent project to your boss and shut your laptop closed, the first thing on your mind is to go home and rest. your mind is on auto-pilot as you pack your belongings, spitting out no’s to your co-workers' offers to go out drinking. when you’re this tired, the last thing you want to do is wake up with a splitting headache and an awful hangover the next day.
you stumble into your apartment, hastily toeing your heels off. a sigh leaves you, the harsh pressure of the shoe finally being relieved. they’re thrown somewhere in the corner, probably not anywhere close to where they should be, but you’ll deal with that tomorrow. all you want is some sleep. you consider just crashing on the couch and dealing with the consequences tomorrow.
“rough day?” a flat voice asks. you jump at the noise, not expecting anyone to be in your apartment. when you look up, you’re greeted by a tall figure standing in front of you. your eyes take a moment to rack over them, not completely registering that the only other person who has access to your apartment is…
sakusa.
“huh…?” you mutter, blinking a few times to will the tiredness from your eyes. it doesn’t work. sakusa only sighs, stepping from the doorway and further into your home. there’s a look on his face that’s telling you to follow, but when you don’t out of pure shock because he’s here? like, actually here? at home? he rolls his eyes.
“come on,” he says, “there’s food on the stove already.” 
you continue to stay silent, causing sakusa to raise an eyebrow. your face is scrunched up, a hand on the wall next to you to support your weight.
“are you…am i hallucinating…?” you mumble, internally debating if you wanted to pinch yourself to make sure that you’re not dreaming in any way. “i thought you weren’t going to be back for a while?” 
in response to your delirious rambling, sakusa laughs. it’s rather quiet, but you know he does. you hear the rapid exhalation of air accompanied by a deep rumble coming from his chest, and you can see his shoulders shaking. 
he steps closer to you, forcing your bag from your shoulder and practically pulling you with him into your shared living room. you’re tripping over your feet, mind still fuzzy from your tiring day. 
“leave it up to you to not be able to think properly after a long day,” he murmurs, setting your bag down on the couch. in your half-awake daze, you’re unable to form a proper response. “i guess you’re not hungry then.”
“well…” you stammer, still trying to get your bearings. “you’re like, never home, sakusa…so how am i supposed to react when you practically teleport in front of me?” you finish, a yawn escaping you. that makes sakusa laugh again. 
“for your information, i didn’t teleport in front of you,” he replies, “i heard the door open, so i went to greet my roommate. now, go get ready for bed.”
you disregard what he says, opting to groan when he orders you to get ready for bed. it just seems like so much work. you have to take off your makeup, change, brush your teeth, do your skincare…you think you’d rather crash face-first on your couch, like you were planning on doing earlier. you tell him that much.
sakusa rolls his eyes again. he pushes you towardsthe bathroom, telling you to take off your makeup, while he goes to rummage in your room for sleepwear. what? 
you don't have much of a choice, so you follow his directions. beginning with your meticulous skincare routine, you cleanse off your makeup. while you’re drying your face, sakusa knocks on the bathroom door with a fresh pair of pajamas for you to change into. 
once you’ve completed your nightly routine, you wander out of the bathroom to find sakusa sitting on the couch. he seems preoccupied with something on his phone, and you have to admit that the sight of him concentrating is rather charming. 
thankfully, the cold water you’d splashed onto your face woke you up, so you’re more awake than you were when you’d entered. you’re still horribly tired, and you want nothing but to sleep in the comfort of your bed, but you feel bad going straight to bed without even thanking sakusa for taking care of you. the only way the two of you talked for the last few months  was over post-it notes, for god's sake! 
“hey, sakusa?” you call, and his attention snaps from his phone to you. “thanks for uh…taking care of me. sorry about all that, i was really tired. or, er, am really tired.” you awkwardly stutter out. 
he hums in response, standing up from the couch and taking long strides towards you. thanks to his height, he’s face-to-face with you in no time. he’s close — maybe a little too close for someone you think probably doesn't even consider you a friend. that leads you to another realization: for someone that you knew disliked social interaction, he’s also talked to you an awful lot today.
“if you were really thankful, you’d go to bed right now and eat what i made tomorrow. you’re exhausted.” he bluntly replies. you gape at him for a moment, about to reply, but he cuts you off. “i’ll be home more often. volleyball is in the off-season now.” 
you know you should just nod and turn on your heel to go to bed, but there’s a question on the tip of your tongue that slips before you’re able to catch it. 
“so… no more whiteboard notes?” you question. sakusa laughs for a third time that night, and you think you’ve hit the jackpot in your slightly delirious state. 
he shakes his head. “no more whiteboard notes for now.”
you wake up the next morning, and when you enter the kitchen, you see a yellow sticky note pasted onto the whiteboard. on it, it reads: 
we can make these lists together now, so there's no need for either of these.
and, yeah, you think you can get used to that. 
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hallowxiu · 1 year ago
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How the Brothers Would Deal with MC's Mortality
Mammon:
You casually brought it up as a joke
Probably something like “i’m here for a good time, not a long time” or “why should i care what happens in 100 years? It’s not like i’ll be around to care”
Would probably confuse Mammon at first as to why you wouldn’t be around, but he would put the pieces together in the middle of the night when trying to sleep.
A whole, eyes snapping wide opening and flinging out of his bed kind of moment.
Mammon would worry himself sick
Yes, he knows humans can die, hell, he used to mock you for being so frail when you first came to the Devildom, but now? 
Well, now things are different. How he feels about you is different
He's spending all his money on ways to keep you kicking longer. 
Anything he can think of that’ll help, he’s buying it. Vegetables, fruits, protein powder, comfortable clothes, a nice pillow, vitamins, shampoos- anything. He has no idea where to start, so he just starts grabbing everything. 
I mean, something will have to help, right? 
If you notice he looks panicked, don’t point it out, it’ll only make it worse. Unless you want to be smothered to death from his affection and worry, then by all means. ;)
Leviathan:
Look, he can barely handle his favorite anime characters dying, so you? Yeah, no, that’s way too much. 
Nothing actually popped up to remind Leviathan of your mortality, it was because of Satan throwing his books all around the house that did it. 
Suddenly, it was all he could think about. How did he not think of this before? 
Leviathan is no Satan though, and he’s certainly not Lucifer. Researching medical documents and trying to think of things to keep you alive longer are a little over his head. That being said, there were some things he could do.
Leviathan dove into his own research that would be within his realm of understanding, studying that humans who have more positive mindsets and who are less exposed to depressing forms of media, may live longer than the average person. This- this was something he could work with. 
Suddenly, you were constantly being invited to his room, Leviathan having a variety of slice-of-life anime for you to watch with him, all of which had happy endings to boot. If an anime was even remotely depressing, he made sure to keep that out of reach. 
Video games? He’s keeping it safe; he’s not risking anything here. If it’s not similar to Stardew Valley, Animal Crossing, Dreamlight Valley, or The Sims (which must be on a good day), you’re just not playing it. Kingdom Hearts if you’re lucky. 
Satan:
Would do an insane amount of research 
Likely overheard the topic on a news segment about the tragically short lifespans of humans before it all clicked together.
Satan, unlike the other brothers, has never experienced death before, so while it sounds silly, he never had reason to think of you dying.
Looks up humans who had long lifespans to see how he can implement those things into your lifestyle.
Books will be littered everywhere (although that’s not really unusual, but what is would be the topic of said books- The Long Lives of Humans, Human Lifestyle for Dummies 101, The Road to Human Immortality, etc. etc.)
This is when Satan learns just how easy it is for a human to kick the bucket.
Heart attacks, brain aneurysms, strokes, seizures, cancer, the list goes on and on and it’s starting to scare him. He didn’t know humans could just drop dead. 
He’s going to start researching curses to increase your lifespan, or at the very least he’s going to make sure you’re careful as hell. 
You won’t even get as much as a cut without him being aware of it; he’s going to hover around and mother hen the absolute shit out of you. 
Try not to get too annoyed with him though, it all stems from good intentions. 
Asmodeus:
He’ll be damned if his shopping partner for life is going to die on him.
Asmo isn’t stupid; if anything he’s pretty emotionally aware. He's known for a long time just how short the lifespan of humans is.
But still, it came in the form of a nightmare. One where he couldn’t save you, despite giving his best efforts. The way you died was tragic, long before your life should have ended. 
This sent Asmo somewhat into a frenzied state trying to find things to keep you alive once he woke up. 
Vitamins, vitamins, vitamins
Humans benefit from vitamins, right? Surely you’d benefit from Devildom vitamins then. If it’ll increase the lifespan of a demon, he sees no reason why it wouldn’t increase your lifespan. 
Of course, it really only gives you nicer nails and shinier hair. 
He’s 10x more intense with your morning and night routines. 
He will be unloading all his facial creams on you, and telling you the benefits of each one and how it might add a few years to your lifespan. 
You want to stay up late at night to finish homework? Maybe watch a movie? Yeah, no, not on Asmo’s watch. 
Your ass is going to bed every night at 10pm, right along with him. You do realize you’ll be getting exactly 8 hours of sleep each night, too, right? 
Beelzebub:
Regarding his trauma with Lilith, it came as no surprise when he started to fret over your well-being. 
Poor Beel saw an article that discussed how tragically easy it is for a human to die. The cherry on top? How they could die from simply overeating. 
Overeating isn’t a concept Beel is overly familiar with (because to him, it’s never overeating), and while he knew most people couldn’t keep up with his eating habits, he didn’t think it could actually cause harm to a human, let alone kill them. 
Grocery trips are now a more anxiety-inducing event. 
He’s suddenly paranoid that any of the Devildom food could and will kill you. Are you allergic to anything? How would you even know? 
What if one day he serves you his favorite boiled dragonhead and you just drop dead at the dinner table?? No, that will never do. 
There’s a list of Devildom foods that he knows for sure you can have without dying, but then comes the issue of portion control. How much is too much for a human? 
Beelzebub swore he would never lose another loved one again, and it’s a promise he intends to keep. From now on, you will only eat what he deems safe. 
You want to try a new food in the Devildom that you’ve never had before? You better get some seriously good convincing skills if you want him to cave in. For someone who only ever thinks with his stomach, he’s surprisingly stubborn. 
Belphegor:
He’s still plagued with nightmares about Lilith, especially since he still thinks it’s his fault. Tack that on to the way he blamed you and the rest of the human race for it? The man is walking trauma. 
 Like Asmodeus, this was brought on by nightmares about you dying. Different from Asmo’s, however, you usually died by his hand. Naturally, considering your tumultuous history. 
Belphegor, unlike his brothers, takes a different approach. He just doesn’t approach you at all. 
What better way to keep your lifespan long than by staying away from you altogether? 
Is it something that he wants? Of course not! But how can he trust himself to never hurt you again? To never kill you again. 
He can’t. 
So, he locks himself away in his room, sleeping most of the day or just avoiding the areas you normally like to lounge. 
On a normal day, almost everyone in the household, including yourself, would notice this behavior change. However, since you’re now being cornered by all the brothers and their concerns about your lifespan, it’s easy for Belphegor’s absence to slip your mind. 
This hurts Belphegor, but at the end of the day, he believes this is for the best.
Lucifer: 
Lucifer didn’t need a reminder of your short lifespan; if anything, it’s something he’s thought plenty about. 
Lucifer has trauma, we all know that much. After Lilith, he’s absolutely terrified of losing another loved one to something outside of his control.
And your lifespan is not something that’s out of his control. At least not how he sees it, anyway. 
If you thought he was overbearing or overprotective before, brace yourself. He’s going to step it up several notches. 
No excess of junk food, no more pulling all-nighters, no more sitting around the house gaming all day, and definitely no more overexerting your use of magic. He’s no fool, he knows the toll your magic could eventually take on your body. 
Honestly? He wasn’t this bad until his brothers started to panic about your mortality, and though Lucifer told himself he was above such nonsense, he quickly found himself taking all the precautions they were taking (and then some). 
Fortunately, if you find yourself becoming overwhelmed, they’ll be more than willing to listen to you (granted you take some of their concerns into account).
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girlietips · 7 months ago
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My fav healthy meals/snacks for cravings🥗🥦🥥
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These aren’t necessarily the healthiest meals but you can’t just eat chicken and broccoli your whole life so here are some of my favorite things to eat when I have a cravings.🥗🥥🤍🫶🏻
Drinks. I am the kinda girl that I need a beverage in my hand I do drink a lot of water but I also like fun drinks.
Smoothies (wide variety of flavors and with the right protein powder they can taste like a milkshake.
Matcha (I drink this when I want caffeine but know too much won’t help)
Kombucha (acquired taste but very good if you have a stomachache)
Sparkling water (gives that soda feel)
Water flavorers ( I like the crystallite ones they are low calorie and very good)
Snacks and meals
Dark chocolate covered fruit
Greek yogurt fruit and maple syrup (depending on how much fruit and yogurt this can be a meal or a snack it also is high in protein)
Chia seed pudding (I do 2tbsp of chia seed to a half cup of milk then I add a splash of vanilla and maple syrup tastes amazing)
Sweet potato fries in an air fryer (I prefer sweet potato but you can use regular potatoes too)
Toast with avocado and eggs
Frozen fruit with honey for a cold summer treat.
Pickles ( I am a pickle girl I love them so much)
Hummus on veggies
Really dark chocolate ( like 80% and up eat a piece when you have a craving it takes that craving away immediately great for pms)
Those are my go to craving snacks hope you try and like a few!! 🫶🏻🤍🥦🥗🥥🧘🏼‍♀️
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ryanguzmanscowlick · 2 months ago
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The thing is, Tommy’s worried about Evan coming over to his house for the first time. He’s seen Evan’s loft. It’s all clean lines, modern appliances and details. What little sentimental odds and ends he owns are tucked away or so subtle than Tommy didn’t spot them the first couple of times he came over.
Tommy’s house, by contrast, is filled with the detritus one accumulates when they’ve gone no contact with everyone related to them and they’re trying to create a homey, family atmosphere out of thrift stores and the Pottery Barn catalogue instead of friends and family.
He’s a knick-knacker, an antique furniture collector, a throw pillow and afghan fanatic.
He doesn’t have much in the way of books, but he has shelves and shelves of notebooks, some full, some half-used, some untouched. It’s a habit he picked up when his first ever therapist (after he left the 118) coaxed him into writing everything down to make a little sense of the mess of contradictions, phobias, old prejudices, prejudices still clinging on and traumas that made it feel impossible to figure out what to talk about first when he sat down in that office.
There’s a small, awkward section of wall in his kitchen created when a previous owner of the house decided to add a laundry room (embarrassingly, his favorite room in the house for it’s sheer utility) and that’s where Tommy hangs his collection of coffee mugs. Some of them are Goodwill finds, some souvenirs, some band merch or creations by local artists he picked up at some market or other.
There’s five different varieties of protein powder constantly cluttering his kitchen counter because he ran out of room in the small pantry. His pots and pans hang over the tiny, rolling kitchen island, which is itself nearly taken over by a serving tray that holds his water filter, a candle, a decorative planter filled with his cooking utensils, a plastic case of toothpicks.
He still has a dvd collection, for heaven’s sake, and it takes up most of his sagging entertainment center. He should replace it, but it’s the first piece of furniture he ever restored and he’s having trouble letting go. Speaking of letting go, there’s a dog bed in the corner for a dog that passed away nearly ten months ago. He probably will at least hide that in a closet before Evan gets here.
Because he is coming over. No matter how nervous Tommy is, he’s not gonna come up with another excuse for why they have to postpone or meet at Evan’s instead. He gets the feeling he’s already made Evan a little wary, and with Evan’s relationship history and his fear of being too much, not enough, just left, Tommy will eat his own foot before he purposely exacerbates Evan’s fears.
If Evan looks around and decides Tommy is a hoarder or a slob or a million other nasty epithets Tommy’s brain is offering up like some cruel, self-sabotaging buffet- Well, they’ll talk about it. They’ll learn and adjust. Evan has never, ever been cruel to Tommy and it’s quite frankly laughable that he would start now.
That’s what Tommy tells the rogue half of his brain trying to rain on their parade. Another thing he picked up from his therapist - name the part of you that spews negative self-talk and talk back to it. Predictably, Tommy named his Vince. Shut the fuck up, Vince.
Evan’s shift ended twenty minutes ago and Tommy has chili on the stove keeping warm. Between showering and the drive over, Evan should be due at his door in another twenty-five or so. Tommy hides the dog bed, lights the kitchen candle, tries to find things to do with his hands so he doesn't watch the time like a hawk. They’ve had conflicting shifts for almost two weeks with only stolen moments and half-asleep kisses in between. Tommy misses his boyfriend. But a watched clock never ticks, or whatever.
His strategy works, because Evan’s knock on the front door actually startles him a little from the stack of unopened mail he’s sorting through. So many flyers for what feels like every home decor and craft store in the state.
Evan’s eyes are gentle and joyful when Tommy answers the door. “Hey.” He leans in to squeeze Tommy’s bicep and press a kiss to the wing of his cheek. Tommy can feel Evan’s mouth stretch into a smile against his skin.
“Hey, sweetheart.” Tommy wiggles his fingers under the strap of Evan’s duffel to take it from him and steps aside to let him into the house. His heart thuds in his chest.
Evan surrenders his bag and steps into Tommy’s home for the first time. If he notices Tommy holding his breath, he doesn’t comment yet.
He takes a look around while Tommy tries to look anywhere but his face. He doesn’t want to let on that he’s being a complete lunatic about this, that he let his anxiety take over for the better part of the day.
When Evan turns around to face Tommy again and slides his hands over Tommy’s waist, presses his fingers into Tommy’s back, nudging them closer together, his smile has split into a full grin. Tommy can’t help reflexively smiling in return. He can feel his cheeks flooding with warmth. It should be embarrassing that Evan still makes Tommy blush at the drop of a hat even all these months later, but if it helps Evan know deep in his bones that Tommy is gone for him, Tommy wouldn’t trade it for anything.
“It looks like you.” Evan draws his hands up and down Tommy’s torso in gentle strokes. “Cozy. Warm. Like…” He trails off and bites his lip, drops his eyes to Tommy’s chest.
Tommy hooks his fingers under Buck’s chin and lifts his gaze back up until their eyes meet in a move that’s become so routine it’s pretty much an inside joke between them. “Like what? Don’t leave me hanging.”
It’s Evan turn to flush a deep pink. He takes an unsteady breath in. ���L-like home.”
An immense weight lifts off Tommy’s chest so quickly it almost steals his breath, but Evan has tensed up just a fraction, so Tommy hums softly, spreads his big hands over Buck’s wide shoulders and digs his fingers in to massage the tension back out. He slides deeper into Evan’s space to take his mouth in a chaste, lingering kiss, and he murmurs against his lips. “Glad to hear it.”
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nadvs · 9 months ago
Text
watch and learn (part six)
pairing fratboy! rafe cameron x female reader
rating explicit 18+
content warning drug and alcohol use
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summary it takes one conversation with your college dorm neighbor to know you won’t get along. rafe is loud, rude, and short-tempered. after he overhears you talking about a disappointing fling, he loses his confidence in his sexual abilities and suggests you start hooking up to both improve your skills in the bedroom. you can’t stand him, but it’s too good of an offer to turn down.
» masterlist
*+:★:+*━━━*+:★:+*━━━*+:★:+*
The thick, heavy feeling of humiliation floods Rafe’s body when he hears rapid knocks at his door. Someone must have heard his father’s shouting.
He avoids eye contact with Ward as he stalks past him to open the door. And of course, you of all people, are standing there.
Your eyes are deep with something he hasn’t seen in them before. Concern?
Rafe flits his gaze away from you, clenching his jaw, sure you can tell he just wiped a tear away before you knocked.
“What?” he says stiffly.
“Everyone can hear you,” you say. Rafe is ready to snap at you for daring to scold him when he’s so obviously in the middle of something tense.
But you’re gazing past him, staring right at his father, who’s clearly embarrassed. Your mouth is set into a hard line. Rafe has seen you irritated, but he realizes he’s never seen you angry.
“I don’t know what the issue is, but I doubt you need to scream about it,” you say. You don’t know what’s gotten into you. The last time you and Rafe spoke face to face, he was a jerk. But here you are, defending him.
“This doesn’t concern you,” his father says.
“It does when the whole building can hear you,” you snap. “Calm down.”
You glance at Rafe, whose eyes are red and glossy. He looks away from you again.
You can only scoff at this point, too worked up to go back to your room. You turn and rush down the hallway to take a walk.
Hearing Rafe’s father mock him for crying has tied a painful knot in your chest. Rafe’s not the warmest person, but he definitely doesn’t deserve that.
Rafe shuts the door, shoulders a little less tight than they were before you knocked. A moment passes before he looks back at his father, who shakes his head at him.
Ward seems a bit rattled. The fact that you did this to him would be funny to Rafe if he wasn’t so hurt right now.
“Get yourself together, alright?” Ward mutters, collecting his jacket and storming out of the room.
As you walk around campus, you can’t stop thinking about how broken Rafe looked after the verbal lashing. You hate to make excuses for the guy, but maybe this is a common occurrence for him and that’s why he’s so mad at the world.
An idea strikes you to try to cheer him up. Or at least make him laugh.
As you make your way back to your dorm, you text Rafe: you alone? can i come over for a sec?
Rafe wants you over for much longer than that. He replies a minute later: ya.
When he opens the door moments later, he’s embarrassed all over again. Knowing you saw him in that state makes his heart drum with anxiety. He was so vulnerable, so exposed.
“Hey. You okay?” you ask. You hold out a plastic bag from the on-campus drugstore.
“I’m fine,” he says, apprehensively taking the bag out of your hand. “What’s this?”
“Was that your dad?” you ask. He only nods.
“I know I shouldn’t say this, but he’s kind of a jerk,” you say. “I got you something.” You point to the bag. “You can use it when you run out of the one you already have. In like a year.”
Rafe can’t help but laugh when he opens the bag and sees a small plastic jar of protein powder. He thinks back to you teasing him for the massive tub sitting on his desk.
“Why…?” He doesn’t know what to say. He’s not used to getting presents.
“We’re… kind of friends now, right?”
“I guess,” he replies. Now that he thinks about it, it’s true. He has fun with you, and not just when you’re hooking up.
“Hearing what he said just… it pissed me off,” you continue. “And I have no idea how to cheer you up, but I do know you like this stuff.”
It’s such a silly gesture. But it’s so sweet, too. It makes Rafe’s heart twist in a confusing way. You care about him. As a friend.
“I just wanted to tell you that whatever you did… it didn’t warrant that,” you tell him. He watches you with an indistinguishable look.
He almost opens up about how painful it is when his father lays into him like that. Almost. But it’s awkward. Completely uncharted territory. He’d prefer to brush away the tension between you.
“You know what would really, really cheer me up?” Rafe slides his hand up the door frame, eyeing your chest, leaning closer to you. You laugh.
“Why don’t you tell the girl from last night?” you say. He wishes you’d seem jealous, but you don’t.
“Come on,” he whines, tilting his head back to silently beckon you into his room. Arousal and excitement bubble inside you, but you want to make him work for it.
“My back hurts from… what we did on the boat,” you admit. You’ve had a dull ache in your lower back since yesterday morning.
Guilt rocks him. You’re in pain? And he’s the reason? Shit.
It’s an uncomfortable feeling and yet again, he doesn’t know how to navigate it. Rafe has to pull the conversation back in the easy territory he knows.
“Why are you still so shy?” he says with a smirk.
“What?”
“Say it. What we did on the boat,” he teases, eyes hungrily trailing down your body.
You step back and roll your eyes, feeling your body flush all over again. While he has helped you gain some confidence, you’re not exactly as bold as he is just yet. Even saying you had sex in casual, sober conversation still feels a little weird.
“You’re annoying,” you sigh.
“You’re annoying,” he echoes. At this point, the exchange has become an inside joke. “And I think you need more practice if you’re still so nervous.”
Rafe tenses as he waits for your response. What if you say you’ve had enough of him? Or that you’re focused on Blake now?
You love the anticipatory look on Rafe’s face. You love that this arrangement between you two isn’t over.
“Did you not hear me say my back hurts?” you tease.
“I’ll make it better,” he flirts.
“How?” you ask.
“I’ll show you,” he promises. He puts the bag on his desk then pulls you in by the hips and leans down to kiss you.
The door slams behind you. His fingers slip beneath your shirt as he slowly paces backwards, taking you with him.
He settles onto his bed and you straddle him, resting your arms on his shoulders as you share slow, deep kisses. You feel his cock hardening at your groin.
“Where’s it hurt, baby?” he rasps, his nose nudging yours, his hand dragging up your spine. “You need a massage?”
He’s so tender during these heated moments. If he was like this all the time, you’d probably like him as more than a friend. But you know letting yourself develop a crush will bring nothing but bad.
“Everywhere,” you reply with a smile.
“I thought you said your back-”
“Nope, I said everywhere.” Rafe smiles against your lips and kisses your neck, slowly pulling your shirt off. He continues to pepper kisses over your skin as he unhooks your bra.
He gently squeezes your breasts, palms kneading you carefully.
“Even here?” Rafe asks.
“Especially there,” you say. He smirks, playing along, massaging your breasts. You start to writhe on top of him, head swimming in pleasure.
His hot mouth finds your nipple and you gasp at the sensation. With your cheek pressed against his temple, you rake your hand through his hair, feeling how damp your panties are.
You apprehensively part your lips to speak, telling yourself to say what you’re feeling like he always encourages you to.
“I’m already so wet,” you whisper. Rafe’s grasp on you tightens once he hears the words spill out of your mouth.
“I’ll massage you and then I’ll fuck that cunt nice and slow,” he says, meeting your eyes again, voice thick with longing. “You want that?”
“Mhm,” you nod breathlessly. His hands drag down to your ass, squeezing. His breath is shallow and ragged as he digs his fingers into your asscheeks, pushing you forward.
You bunch up the fabric of his shirt at his shoulders, tugging it off.
“Lie down,” he tells you. “On your stomach.”
You sink onto his bed, head on his pillow. Rafe takes your pants and panties down in one languid pull, his stomach numbing at the sight of your bare ass propped up just for him.
He starts at your calves, running his palms up and down. You sigh in contentment as he massages your legs, inching up to the backs of your thighs.
“I can tell you’ve done this before,” you say, your smile apparent in your tone. “You’re so good at it.”
Rafe breathes a chuckle. He hasn’t. He’s never touched a girl like this, never wanted to cherish and worship someone else’s body before. But he lets you believe he has.
When he reaches your ass, you tremble with the way he rubs you. Rafe watches his fingers digging into your flesh, squeezing, his cock aching at this point.
He moves up to the small of your back, his grip gentler now, thumbs rubbing into your hips.
“Here?” he asks.
“Yeah.”
Rafe thinks back to the view of you on the boat in the moonlight as he thrusted in and out of you. You looked and sounded like you were enjoying yourself. He hates to think you were in pain.
“Did it hurt when we were doing it?” he asks.
“What?”
“On the boat,” he says. “Did your back hurt then?”
“No,” you laugh. “Or maybe it did and I didn’t notice.”
Rafe wants you to know how sorry he is. But mushy words have never come easy to him, so he leans over and decides to show you, instead of tell you, how guilty he feels.
His lips press between your shoulder blades in a warm, sweet kiss. You giggle at the sensation. He lowers and kisses you again, then again, then again, trailing down your spine, thumbs still rolling over your hips.
You’re reeling. The feeling is unbelievable. And romantic. This is like last weekend, when your time together felt less like fucking and more like… well, something deeper.
You realize you must be teaching him well. Because the sex doesn’t just physically feel good anymore. It’s emotional now, too.
You feel the mattress shift beneath you as Rafe settles on his knees over you, his legs boxing in yours.
He watches his hands run up your back, massaging deep into your muscles. You let out sighs of contentment and he fucking loves knowing he’s making you feel this good.
You feel Rafe put more of his weight on you as he kneels over, rubbing you tenderly. The change in position allows him some relief on his erection, rubbing up against your ass.
He hates that he’s still in his jeans, but at least his cock is getting some attention.
“Not too rough?” he asks.
“No,” you say, your eyes closed, your pretty lips parted. “Keep going.”
He continues to massage you, denim grinding against your ass.
“You gonna take your pants off?” you ask brazenly. Rafe smiles. He loves when you share what you’re thinking, especially when you’re telling him how much you want him.
He sits up to unbutton and unzip his pants, pulling them off and dropping them to the floor. He throws his boxers on top of his jeans and settles back over you.
The feeling of his smooth cock against your ass makes your blood feel like it’s burning through you. He shifts and leans over so that his length is between your asscheeks, his hands continuing to soothe the muscles in your back.
It’s overwhelming, how badly he wants you. And how he realizes that every time he fucks you, he’ll be wondering if it’s the last time.
Rafe continues to caress you, slowly rocking against your ass.
He can’t take it anymore. He sits up to grab a condom out of his nightstand. You exhale in relief when you hear the wrapper crinkling.
Before he enters you, he slides his hand down past your ass and presses two fingers against your hot, wet entrance.
“You ready for me?” he asks.
“Please,” you whisper, tilting your hips so he can ease himself in.
When Rafe kneels over again, he guides his cock into you slowly. You moan at the sensation of him stretching you out with every inch.
The way your pussy wraps around him is perfection. He looks down to watch his cock bury into you, his arms hardly keeping him up.
He shifts to rest his forearms on the bed. His hard torso presses up against your back, his breath hot on your cheek.
“This pussy feels so fucking nice,” he groans into your ear.
He bottoms out and you can feel his thick cock fully immersed in you.
“I love feeling how deep you go,” you say. Rafe might just lose his damn mind. You have such a mouth on you.
He rocks his hips back, then plunges into you again. His teeth graze against your cheek and when he nips at your earlobe, you huff a laugh of pleasure.
“You take it so well,” he praises through heavy breaths, plunging in and out of you. “You’re perfect. Say it. Say you’re perfect.”
“I’m perfect,” you echo, and in the wild heat of the moment, you believe it for a second.
The sound of how wet you are is like a drug to him. He fills you over and over again, loving how you’re squirming beneath him, your hips circling.
“On your knees,” he whispers, propping himself up again.
You obey, back arched, giving him full access to you. His hand slips down your stomach and between your legs, finding your clit immediately.
He knows your body now. He knows it so fucking well.
He rubs in circles, his other arm locked and keeping him perched up, while he melts into you. His thrusts start to get harder and your moans get louder.
“Oh…” you whisper. “I’m gonna cum.”
“Yeah?” he rasps. “Be a good girl and let me hear how nice it feels.”
Your walls are clenching around him now, your moans loud as you reach your peak, and he couldn’t stop his orgasm if he tried.
“Fuck,” he draws out, trembling as he cums. You flutter around him, climaxing at the same time, your sounds tangling together and your bodies shaking in harmony.
You’re twitching with aftershocks when he pulls out of you. Rafe runs a hand down your back, dazed as hell, appreciating how good you make him feel. Nobody’s ever had this effect on him.
He throws out the condom as you remain in his bed, coming down from the high. You turn to your side, watching him as he cleans up, your eyes taking in the sight of his taut, naked body.
This time, Rafe didn’t say anything about him, a man he wouldn’t name, not being able to fuck you as good as he can. But he called you perfect.
“Rafe?” you breathe.
“Yeah?”
“Did you notice that we didn’t have pointers for each other this time?”
If Rafe knew he’d be hearing that a couple of weeks ago when all this started, he’d assume he’d be elated. But his whole body feels heavy. Does that mean you’ve got what you wanted out of each other? It’s over?
“I guess we’re experts now,” he says with a laugh.
“I guess so.” You sigh deeply. “I’ll get up soon. I’m just so cozy.”
Rafe is glad you know you shouldn’t stay. A part of him wants you to, and it’s kind of jarring that he wants that. But it’s too intimate and meaningful if you sleep over after sex. He can’t handle it.
He typically puts his boxers on after cumming almost immediately, even when he’s still hard and coming down. No girl’s ever seen him soft before. It feels so vulnerable for some reason.
But he lies down next to you, facing you with his head propped up in his hand, both of you naked and panting and sweaty.
“A-plus?” Rafe asks, remembering you saying the same thing in his car.
“Without a doubt,” you say. Your smile is weak and sexy.
Holy shit. He realizes this is the definition of pillow talk.
No. This is aftercare. You taught him that it’s important.
Rafe gazes into your eyes, thinking about the look in them when you interrupted him being berated earlier.
You give him a small smile before standing to get dressed.
He turns onto his back to watch you and the gift in the plastic bag sitting on his desk catches his eye. He sits up in his bed, seeing you pull your underwear on as he covers his groin with his comforter.
“Thanks,” he says, with difficulty. “For, uh… the present.” And for caring enough, he thinks. For defending him in front of a man you’ve never met. For refusing to embarrass him with the fact that you saw him crying.
“Oh, sure,” you laugh. You enjoy the view of him sitting up in bed, muscles flexed and skin sheened with sweat. But mostly, you enjoy the way his hair is all tousled and messy, the way his eyes are half-lidded and content.
“Did… the whole building really hear?” he asks. You freeze for a moment, remembering how you snapped at his father.
“No,” you respond, hooking your bra. “I was just trying to make him feel bad. Sorry if I was out of line.”
Rafe chuckles. You have nothing to be sorry for.
“You weren’t,” he replies. He thinks about what you said when you came by again. Whatever you did didn’t warrant that. He needs to be sure.
“I racked up my credit card bill,” he admits. You meet his eyes as you pull up your pants, placing your phone on his desk.
“That’s it?” you scoff. “What bullshit.” It’s such a simple reaction, but it grants Rafe a sense of validation he’s not sure he has ever felt before.
He wonders how he can possibly tell you that he’s never had someone defend him against his father without sounding like a pathetic crybaby. If he even should. Why the hell does he have the impulse to share that with you?
A few seconds of silence settle between you. Before he can speak, your phone vibrates loudly on his desk. You peer at the screen and chuckle at the notification before putting on your top.
“What’s funny?” he asks.
“Blake just told me what an ABC party is,” you say, rereading the text. It stands for anything but clothes lol. People get really creative. “You guys are hosting one on Saturday?”
“Yeah,” Rafe replies coldly. He bets you don’t smile or laugh at his texts like that.
“What?” you ask.
“Nothing,” he snaps.
You meet his gaze and feel your brows furrow.
“No, seriously. What?” you ask.
“Just go,” he responds. You huff, anger brewing inside you.
“Rafe,” you say, annoyed. Why’s he so angry? Does he not want you at the party? Or is this jealousy?
He’s silent. Expressionless.
“God,” you snip. “Your temper is… I never know when you’re gonna fucking snap at me. Like the other day at the lakehouse. Before I left. I don’t know why you were such a dick out of nowhere.”
He completely forgot about that exchange. He didn’t know it affected you. That it stayed with you. All he could remember was how mad he felt seeing you with Blake.
Goddamn it. Why is he so jealous? What the hell does he want? Exclusivity? No fucking chance. The pressure of a relationship is the last thing he needs in his life.
“So?” you demand. Rafe just stares at you. “You can’t even apologize?”
He’s confused and bitter and frustrated. He simply shrugs carelessly, face blank.
You shake your head in anger, leaving his room without another word. You told yourself you would only expect coldness from Rafe from now on. You hate that you broke your own promise.
Rafe needs to stay away from you. This effect you have on him has him so damn disoriented, like he just got off a rollercoaster and doesn’t know which way is up.
He doesn’t want to be a boyfriend. And at the same time, he doesn’t want you to be a girlfriend. To anyone.
On Wednesday morning, Blake texts you asking if you want to study at the frat house in the afternoon.
You’ve looking forward to continuing to see if your chemistry is as good in-person as it is over text. You haven’t had much time with him, but you enjoy his company.
When you make it to the house, Blake opens the door with a bright smile on his face. He leads you upstairs to his bedroom, where he has blankets laid out on the floor and draped over the foot of his bed frame and desk chair.
“Did you make a fort?” you say with a chuckle.
“A study fort,” he replies. “There’s not a lot of space to study around here. I had to get creative.“ You laugh and settle on the floor.
Over the next hour, you talk more than you study. Conversation doesn’t always flow very easily, but Blake’s a sweetheart, through and through.
Rafe’s heart drops when he hears your voice. He’s sitting on the couch playing video games with Sam, craning his neck to look back at the staircase.
You’re smiling, your hand skimming the bannister as you make your way down the stairs. And of course, Blake’s beside you, the one making you smile.
This is hell. And he’s the reason you two even fucking know each other.
Rafe catches your gaze. You look so relaxed. As if it’s normal, the way you’re walking around looking beautiful and breaking his heart.
“Thought you hated frat boys,” Rafe says, eyes floating down your body, like if inspects your clothes hard enough, he can tell if you took them off upstairs.
You catch his harsh tone immediately. Of course he’s being mean. Again.
“They’re not all bad,” you respond.
Rafe might just break the controller in his hands. He looks back to the screen, stomach turning. He hears you say goodbye to Blake and shut the front door behind you.
As you step out of the house, you think that if you’re right, if Rafe really is jealous of Blake, why he doesn’t just do something about it. Why he doesn’t just ask you to be with him. Because even though he pisses you off so much, maybe you’d accept.
But if there’s anything you know for sure about Rafe, it’s that he is not boyfriend material. He said it himself. No couple shit.
“What’d you do up there?” Sam calls out. Blake laughs and settles on the couch. Rafe keeps his eyes on the screen.
“Studied,” Blake replies.
“Sure,” Sam replies.
“Seriously,” Blake says. “I’m not trying to jump into that with her.”
“Why not? Rafe did,” Sam chides. Rafe smirks at this. He’s glad the reminder’s there that he had you first.
“You two still messing around?” Blake asks. Rafe can finally make eye contact with him.
“Yeah,” he says firmly. “She didn’t tell you?”
“I didn’t ask,” Blake says. He seems unbothered. This pisses Rafe off even more. As if Rafe isn’t a threat at all.
“You’re whipped,” Sam says. Rafe’s stomach drops, eyes darting to Sam. But he’s not talking to Rafe. He’s talking to Blake. “You haven’t even gotten any yet and you’re whipped.”
“Shut the fuck up,” Blake laughs.
“He didn’t deny it,” Sam tells Rafe, who wishes he did. “You making it official?”
“Gonna try,” Blake says. At least you’re not exclusive yet, Rafe thinks. He probably has a few more nights with you as long as you’re not eternally pissed off at him.
Blake taps Rafe’s shoulder.
“She’d be off limits if you actually liked her, man,” Blake says. “We don’t let girls get in between us.”
Rafe has to stop himself from scoffing. He doesn’t feel like Blake is his brother anymore. He doesn’t know the exact moment it happened, when he went from looking up to him to disliking him.
But if he wants a future at this frat, he needs to get along with everyone. Especially an upperclassman. And besides, what’s he gonna say? That he doesn’t want him to date you because the sex is too good?
“Right,” Rafe says, turning back to focus on the game.
That Friday night, another fraternity is hosting a mixer at their house. While it’s mainly for frat boys and sorority girls, Blake shoots you an invite. You accept, arriving at the house with Liv around 10 p.m.
Rap music is blaring through Rafe’s ears at the party. He realizes he’s checking the door to see when you’ll arrive. Blake said you’re coming.
He hates hearing your name come out of Blake’s mouth, but at least he hasn’t seen you together since Wednesday.
When you finally arrive, Rafe takes another swig of his beer and makes his way to you. He was supposed to stay away but you’re like a magnet and he’s fucking hopeless at this point. He actually misses you.
Rafe approaches you, blue eyes trailing down your body.
“Pretty sure you’re not in a sorority,” he says in your ear, ducking so you can hear him over the music. You smell his cologne, realizing just how much you’ve missed it.
Your last exchange was after your study date with Blake a couple of days ago. You’re still pissed off at how he snapped at you then. And on Monday, after you hooked up.
“Oh, are those the rules?” you say, an edge to your voice. “Since when did you care about rules?”
Rafe’s pulse quickens. You have this ridiculous effect on him, making him feel like he’s being pulled out of water he didn’t know he was drowning in every time he sees you.
“Since always,” he responds.
“Sure,” you say, squinting. You don’t return his smile. Rafe nervously scratches the back of his neck.
“What’s up your ass?” he mutters. You cross your arms.
“You’re kidding, right?” you ask. You try to give him some leniency, knowing what you know about how his father treats him. But it’s infuriating how rude he was to you. You know you don’t deserve it.
Rafe’s eyes dart away. He wishes you’d just forget about how he left things a few days ago. He grits his teeth and leans forward again.
“Sorry,” he says.
“For?” you ask. “Use your words.” He scoffs and sucks his teeth.
“I was a dick,” he finally mutters.
“Again.”
“Again,” he echoes.
“Be nice to me. I’m not friends with dicks,” you say. There’s that word again. Friends. Rafe swallows down his frustration.
“You seem to like mine,” he responds. You roll your eyes and shove his shoulder, but the smile on your face gives you away.
The moment is quick and small, but it makes his heart pound with a feeling only you give him.
“I need a drink,” you say. “Try not to piss anyone else off.”
Rafe hates that you leave his side so quickly. He realizes he’d prefer to spend the rest of this party talking to you instead of mixing.
As the night goes on, he forces conversation with his frat brothers, his eyes searching for you.
When a sorority girl strikes up a conversation with him, Rafe tries not to focus on how he’s comparing her to you and how you win in every category.
He’s standing by the staircase when he sees you again. You’re with Blake, standing inches away from him, laughing with him.
It’s a countdown at this point, Rafe realizes. Every day, he gets closer to losing the best no-strings-attached sex he’s ever had.
Fuck. It’s more than that. He knows it’s more than that when he sees you playfully push Blake’s shoulder the same way you do to him.
He’s drunk and annoyed and pissed off and wants to make you feel how you make him feel even though you’ve friendzoned him, so he cuts off the sorority girl in the middle of her sentence with a kiss.
She seems taken aback, but then she returns the kiss, her arms quickly wrapping around his neck.
Rafe keeps his eyes locked on you, and when you meet his gaze, seeing his mouth on another girl’s, your stomach swirls with uneasiness.
You turn your attention back to Blake and take his hand, leading him away so you don’t have to look at Rafe any longer.
(part seven)
author’s note: love you @rafesgiirl for the suggestion!
if you want notifications on when i post my fics, follow @xorafe-library and turn on notifications 💘
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allthebrazilianpolitics · 2 years ago
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Collagen craze drives deforestation and rights abuses
For the first time an investigation has linked collagen powder to violence against Indigenous peoples in Brazilian forests
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The stench arrives before the lorries do. They are carrying skins that were stripped from cattle carcasses days ago. Flies are everywhere.
The lorries’ destination is Amparo, a small industrial town in São Paulo state, southeastern Brazil. Here, Rousselot, a company owned by the Texan business Darling Ingredients, extracts collagen – the active ingredient in health supplements at the centre of a global wellness craze.
But while collagen’s most evangelical users claim the protein can improve hair, skin, nails and joints, slowing the ageing process, it has a dubious effect on the health of the planet. Collagen can be extracted from fish, pig and cattle skin, but behind the wildly popular “bovine” variety in particular lies an opaque industry driving the destruction of tropical forests and fuelling violence and human rights abuses in the Brazilian Amazon.
An investigation by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, the Guardian, ITV and O Joio e O Trigo has found that tens of thousands of cattle raised on farms damaging tropical forests were processed at abattoirs connected to international collagen supply chains.
Some of this collagen can be traced all the way to Nestlé-owned Vital Proteins, a major producer of collagen supplements championed by the actress Jennifer Aniston. Vital Proteins is sold globally – including online on Amazon, in Walmart stores in the US, in Holland & Barrett and Boots in the UK and in Costco in both countries.
The investigation – the first to connect bovine collagen with tropical forest loss and violence against Indigenous peoples – found at least 2,600 sq km of deforestation linked to the supply chains of two Brazil-based collagen operations with connections to Darling: Rousselot and Gelnex, which is in the process of being acquired by Darling for $1.2bn. It is unclear how much of this deforestation, which was calculated by the Center for Climate Crime Analysis, is linked to Vital Proteins.
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ontologicalmoki · 4 months ago
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easy pan chicken! (soft, edible, tasty, not at all rubbery or chewy, you’ll wow your guests but also just like. Have some chicken, which is a cheap and easy and delicious protein)
this works best with about as much raw chicken as you can fit in the bottom of the pan you’re using. I really do cram it in there. If you’re only cooking for yourself, you can use a small pan, or just have leftovers, or just only put one piece of chicken in there, but I find it’s easier to burn it or make it too dry that way.
Also I like using boneless skinless thighs best, but it does work with any cut of chicken, bones or no bones. You can dice it before you start, stirring instead of flipping when you get there, but I find it easier to dice afterwards.
(your pan should be cast iron or enamelled or non stick. If you’re using one that isn’t, you will basically need to turn the chicken into a soup base to keep your pan from being a nightmare to wash.)
once you have obtained suitable chicken and a pan to put it in!:
Heat the pan over medium heat and put in enough butter to cover the bottom of the pan. Wait till the butter melts.
over the melted butter, put a layer of salt. You’re unlikely to do too much, meat needs a lot of salt.
add the chicken. You want it to sizzle when you put it in, but it’ll turn out fine if it doesn’t.
to each piece of chicken add a splash of vinegar. I like rice wine vinegar, but literally any works. So does vodka.
layer of seasoning. My favorite is a bottle of pre mixed “garlic butter and white wine” seasoning, but anything works. Chicken is not picky. Options include:
Paprika and garlic powder
Italian seasoning and garlic powder
tarragon, coriander, and garlic powder (noticing a theme here?)
curry powder
just garlic powder
garlic powder and parsley
whatever you feel like today
then put a lid on it. If you don’t have any lids that approximate your pan, a sheet of tinfoil works. Heck a plate works. Just cover the chickies loosely. then forget about them until they start to brown on the bottom. This takes like 5-10 min depending on how much chicken is in there and how thick your pan is. You’ll be able to smell it before it burns irreparably (it’s artistically blackened, thank you very much) and it’s fine if it fails to actually brown, so don’t worry too much about this step. Just leave the lid on for a little while while you do other stuff (boil noodles, make veggies, stuff like that.)
Flip the chickens over. Add butter or vinegar if the pan is for some reason completely dry, but this should not happen. Turn the heat down if it does. Cover it back up.
when you come back to it, again 5-10 minutes later, check if it’s done. Do this by cutting into the two biggest pieces and making sure the inside is white like cooked chicken and not at all pink like raw chicken. No pink is allowed. This is not burgers. Put the lid back on if there’s any thing that looks raw. If you’re paranoid about this and unsure, you can just like. Dice the chicken up in the pan. Or use a thermometer I guess.
your chicken is edible! If there’s seasoning stuck to the pan add a tablespoon of water or lemon juice or wine if you’re feeling fancy (do not use rice wine it caramelises. Which actually tastes ok) while it’s still hot and scrape the seasoning up. You can then mix it back into the chicken. This chicken can be served like this, or you can dice it up, or you can turn the heat down a little, cook it a little longer, and then shred it with a fork for shredded chicken.
tldr!:
medium heat
In order:
butter
salt
chicken
Splash vinegar
seasoning (whatever)
cover it
cool till brown, flip, cook till done.
voila, you can pan fry chicken! I have never yet made it inedible doing it this way, you really won’t mess it up.
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