#just be the dysfunctional somewhat functional family you had in the past with each other

[volos-wish]

Welp, Noct tried.

[softpascalito]

javier peña x f!dea!reader - we got your back.

Summary: You work as a new DEA agent alongside Peña and Murphy. A not-so-kind colleague reveals more about you than you would like. Protectiveness and fluff ensues.

aka

my friend wrote me some hurt/comfort headcanons and i turned them into a small something :)

Relationships: Javier Peña x FemReader (can be read as romantic or platonic)

WC: ~4200

Tags/Warnings: Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Mention of Canon-Typical Violence, No beta we die like Colonel Carrillo, Family Issues, They arent specified but reader is implied to be from a dysfunctional family, Steve is here too

AO3 LINK // PART 2 // PART 3 (on tumblr)

Notes:

hello!

there is a mention of the readers dysfunctional family in this story. if you relate to that in any way, please always remember that you are worthy of healthy love. it exists. seek help or advice if you need it. toxic environments arent forever. if you need to talk, my inbox is always open.

i havent written anything in a while and english is not my first language so please be kind and leave a comment if you like it <3 _______________________________

Chapter 1

You had been in Bogotá for less than three months and while the past weeks had been filled with too little sleep, too much coffee and the daily fear of being targeted by a sicario , you had developed somewhat of a routine in the new environment. This was in large parts due to work at the Embassy. With Bogotá traffic being, well, Bogotá traffic, there'd been several days where you'd just bunked down on your office floor instead of going home to your bed which eventually had led to both Javier and Steve and now you always keeping a spare pillow and blanket around the office to make it slightly more comfortable. The most homey part about the Embassy however, were the people. Not just the two agents you were assigned to assist, hell, not even just the DEA department. Everyone helped each other out wherever they could. Being a gringo in Colombia with a drug lord promising a nice sum of money for your head was impossible to bear by yourself. And only almost impossible to bear with a bunch of people who were in the same position as you. You got along with almost everyone at the embassy. Almost everyone . The harsh contrast to your other, kind colleagues was a DEA secretary: Raquel Vázquez. She had been throwing obstacles and hateful glances your way as soon as you had arrived. You weren't even sure why she hated you so much. She was the wife of another agent and as spouses were not allowed to work anywhere but the embassy, she was stuck with her desk job, spending the day signing off letters, faxing intel to Washington and her favorite pass-time: taunt you for whatever she could come up with. “Hey, are you even listening?” Steve is crouched down in front of your desk and waving his hand through your line of sight, trying to grab your attention. Almost immediately there is a dramatic, loud sigh from the other side of the room:” How do you expect her to function on a job like this if she can't even manage to function within her own family?” Raquel snaps before rolling her eyes and pretending to look at the documents in front of her. Your head practically whips around as your brain processes what she just said. How the hell does that bitch know about your family situation? “I- I need to get a refill,” you mumble as you get up abruptly and grab your coffee mug, your old chair screeching as it is pushed back. Suddenly you're feeling a lot smaller as you navigate your way through the desks and flee to the small kitchen down the hall. You almost collide with Javier, who is just getting back from a meeting. You squeeze past him, not even giving him a chance to tease you. If one more person gets on your nerves, you are surely going to cry and you do not need that in front of your colleagues. Least of all in front of Raquel.

“Is everything alright with her?” Javier asks as he walks over to Steve, who is still kneeling in front of your desk and staring at the doorway you just left through. He slowly stands up and turns his attention towards the secretary, casually leaning over your now abandoned desk with crossed arms as his angry gaze bores into Raquel's skull. His eyes not leaving her, he turns towards Javi:” Do you know Y/N's family?” He asks bluntly. Javier seems somewhat taken aback by the question. He ponders for a few moments, his furrowed eyebrows forming a deep line on his forehead as he slowly shakes his head:'' I don't think she's ever mentioned them. Didn't come up. Why?” Steve's gaze is still on the secretary, knowing that she is listening in to every and each of their words:” Raquel mentioned them.” He raises his voice slightly:” How did you put it? Dysfunctional ?” Javi clenches his jaw as he turns to the woman as well. With a few quick strides, he approaches her desk and almost slams his hands down on it.

“Señora Vázquez.” His voice is barely more than an angry, deep grumble. The woman jumps slightly as she looks up at him as he towers over her. Before she can even open her mouth, he continues:” Don't you think the higher ups would be interested in the fact that you prioritize the private life of your coworkers over your actual work?” At the implication of his words, a panicked look appears on Raquel's features:” I don't know what you're talking about.” Giving her a warning look, Javier turns on his heels and follows you, muttering a “gonorrea de fea” under his breath.

You are standing in the small kitchen space, your elbows resting on the counter as you hold your head in your hands. The empty cup that had served as your makeshift alibi is standing next to you, forgotten. You hear the footsteps just in time to scramble back up and clutch the empty mug in your hands as you try and put on a nonchalant face. Judging by the way Javier is looking at you, you're not doing a very good job. He has been leaning against the doorframe and is now slowly stepping towards you:” I didn't mean to startle you.” You notice he has activated what Steve and you always call his “puppy face”. There is a softness in his brown eyes that you know is reserved for those closest to him as he leans against the counter next to you. “I- It's fine I just …” You stumble over your own words, too upset to find a quick excuse for your behavior and lie to him. The truth is, you're not entirely sure you want to lie to him. Not when he is standing so close to you, looking at you with that stupid, heart-melting look in his eyes. “I heard about what happened,” Javi interrupts your rather unsuccessful attempt at explaining yourself. So whatever excuse you have ready, I don't need to hear it.

He gently reaches out to tuck a strand of hair behind your ear before stepping closer and taking the empty mug out of your hands. He notices that it's empty. He doesn't mention it. Instead, he reaches around you to place it on the counter before gently pulling you into his embrace. Javier isn't really a hugging person. Hell, you aren't either. But he holds you close, gently stroking your back and you feel whatever resolve you had left about allowing him to comfort you evaporating into thin air.

“You know Steve and I always got your back, right?” He mumbles, his voice low. You can feel his lips on your forehead as he ever so gently places a small kiss on it. You know he is expecting an answer but you feel as if opening your mouth will also open the floodgates so you simply nod your head. He sighs softly:” Good, good. I also want you to know that if you need someone, you can come to me anytime. Day, night, fucking lunchbreak, I dont care.”

Leaning back just enough so he can see you, Javi gently lifts your chin up with his hand, forcing you to lock eyes with him to make sure you can see that he actually means his words.

“I'm here for you, cariño and I'm not going anywhere, okay?”

“Yeah,” you manage to breathe out, your heart bursting with love and appreciation for the man in front of you. Smiling, satisfied, Javier presses another small kiss to your temple before letting go of you to pour you a new coffee. He adds a large splash of milk, just as you like it and insists on carrying it back to your desk for you. As you make your way through the hallway, just before you walk through the large door that leads into the DEA office, he stops in his tracks, turning to you with a smirk on his face.

“You also know that I'll put everything into getting Raquel fired if she ever bothers you again, don't you?” A laugh escapes you before you can help it and you gently nudge him to go on:” Im counting on it.”

You could swear it's the biggest grin you've ever seen on his face. _________________________________

thank you for reading, you lovely people. and a huge thank you to my friend hannah who wrote me the headcanons that i made into this small story. she is the true genius behind it and an absolutely amazing person, ily <3 comments or feedback are always very appreciated and truly make my day <3

[deathing]

    HEADCANON   :   DISSOCIATION  &  STATE OF MIND .

WARNING FOR :   mentions of mental health, childhood abuse and trauma.

            in short,  tomura’s state of mind and over all mental health / mentality is very damaged and unstable.      he doesn’t quite fit into any one classification and rather seems to have an amalgamation of dissociative disorders with aspects from each of the three major disorders ( dissociative identity disorder,  dissociative amnesia and depersonalization-derealization disorder. )  

              first of all,   dissociation is a coping mechanism that is used to disconnect from stressful or traumatic situations, or to separate traumatic memories from general awareness. by dissociating painful memories from everyday thought processes, a person can maintain a level of functioning, as though the trauma had not occurred.  this all stems from his experiences of abuse as a child from his father and the subsequent deaths of his family when his quirk manifested.  dissociation is actually quite a normal trauma response,  it’s a way to disconnect from external situations when you cannot physically get away from them.  it does,  however,  become an issue when this is someone’s only coping mechanism and shigaraki has been doing this almost continually for over fifteen years.  not to mention, the act of wearing the hands of his family served to effectively re - traumatize him or at least substantially raise his stress levels to keep the dissociation going.

1   :   IDENTITY .

              tomura separates his identity from tenko,  effectively to the point where they are two different entities to him. this is a little similar to dissociative identity disorder  ( previously known as multiple personality disorder ),  but that’s really where the similarities stop.  he doesn’t alternate between himself  ( as tomura ) and ‘tenko’    —   rather just separates them in his mind.  it’s stressful and confusing for him to be reminded that he is both of them,  that they are one and the same person,  because he seeks to distance himself from his trauma and so that he is able to continue to function.

              tomura seeks to have a lot of control over many aspects of his life,  becoming stressed and dysregulated when things don’t go the way he’s planned.  it’s to compensate for the lack of control he experienced as tenko and,  unfortunately,  it’s just as he’s said,  that violence breeds more violence.  violence was perpetrated onto tenko and therefore tomura enacts that violence on others in turn.    (  in keeping within the context that he was coached and manipulated by all for one to be violent and destructive,  not that the abuse itself made him this way.  )

               additionally,  i think it’s worth noting that tomura has never really been allowed to form his own identity.  tenko wanted to be a hero and he was continuously denied this by his father.  he was then taken in by all for one,  given tomura as an identity and then manipulated into how to think and feel,  without really haven ever been given much of a choice.  society as a whole rejected tenko when he needed it,  it continues to do so as tomura,  and so he seeks to destroy what continues to deny him.

2   :   MEMORIES .

             perhaps the most obvious is that tomura was unable to actually recall his childhood memories and therefore experienced dissociative amnesia.  or rather,  until his ‘awakening’,  he saw flashes of his childhood but could never see the whole picture,  describing it as like a broken record.  he also muses on that he had ‘no memories’ but that he could ‘remember the emotions.’  most interestingly is that in this particular panel when tomura is recalling a flash of a memory,  tenko is a black silhouette.  at this point,  he was continuing to separate himself from tenko,  at least on a subconscious level,  with the actual memory of his place in the family continuing to be distorted.  after his ‘awakening’,  the memories have clearly been pieced back together but i think he continues to quietly push them to the back of his mind.  again,  the trauma is readily available to him now so it’s more of a conscious decision to not think about it.

              another small point,  but given he dissociates so often or just generally gets lost in his thoughts,  and not necessarily for extended periods of time,  tomura experiences blank spots in his memory in day to day life.  not particularly in relation to information   —–   more so if you just ‘zone out’ while doing something mundane and lose concentration or awareness of the outside world.

3 . 1   :   PERCEPTION   /   DETACHMENT FROM REALITY .

             tomura’s perception of reality can be quite warped and can occasionally question whether something in real or not  ( including himself. ) it’s usually because he feels very detached or disconnected from the real world,  as he’s been isolated for a large portion of his life.  one of his main coping mechanisms has clearly been video games   —–   leading him to make references to gaming and game terminology in relation to real world situations.  this continues to allow him to be somewhat detached from the situation but can also sometimes struggle with differentiating between fiction and reality.  this doesn’t actually occur that often,  the derealization is more likely to be a sense of him feeling as though his surroundings are foggy / unclear / distanced or that time is moving slower.

              this generally gets worse in collaboration with his chronic sleep issues  / insomnia.  the longer he’s gone without proper rest or sleep,  the more likely it is that his perception will become more and more warped.  to the point where he can experience visual and auditory hallucinations.  in the villain / meta liberation army arc,  he comments in this panel that ‘it always gets like that when i get sleepy; i see things moving that shouldn’t be moving,  i hear sounds that shouldn’t be heard.’

3 . 2   :   DETACHMENT FROM EMOTIONS .

               tomura is also incredibly detached and disconnected from his emotions  (  to a certain extent,  this one is quite complicated.  )    obviously he experiences anger,  rage,  resentment.  he experiences a lot of negatively associated emotions daily,  but generally lives in a state of hollowness or numbness.  it’s like that big empty feeling in your chest or that anything remotely positive has a wet blanket over the top of it.  you’re not fully able to feel it.  that’s what it’s like for him.  however,  this detachment also means he will struggle to develop substantial connections and relationships with others,  or it takes him a long time to learn to trust others.  any close relationship he has had in the past or currently is ( or has been ) largely dysfunctional and this is unlikely to change   —   given the other dysfunctional people he surrounds himself with,  and his own experiences.

              his emotional range is quite restricted and his emotional reaction won’t always necessarily fit the circumstance.  for example,  violence and destruction elicit some kind of manic joy from him when this shouldn’t be the case.  to be even more confusing,  he is both emotionless and too emotional.  he can’t control or regulate his emotions the same way a ‘normal’ person can.  he can go from one to the other in a split second and then back again;  he can be manic,  impulsive and unpredictable.

               the ‘itch’ that tomura experiences is also psychosomatic.  that is,  it is created or caused by his own mental or emotional state,  usually stress.  it was previously linked moreso to his traumatic memories and experiences and seems to have been mostly alleviated after his ‘awakening.’  however,  it can still occur when triggered by substantial emotional stress or when he’s struggling to regulate himself.  scratching at it to relieve the itch is a self - soothing mechanism to help him calm down,  however the pain associated with it also assists in grounding him.

[piamii]

Taking a mental health day from work today but was really conflicted about how to word it.

Last year I took a few mental health days but there were 6 of us so maybe it was less conspicuous

It’s only me this year and I for some reason keep feeling this push pull with my supervisor to be close and honest with her

Last night I was feeling ok about work. But after once again not sleeping properly I feel like somethings up with me

I’m feeling all the ways I used to feel about my mental health

Being small is not okay, it’s not okay to let go, I’m responsible for all of my clients progress and safety

Which is true in a way but

I also have beeen thinking about the difference between me and my supervisor

She’s the only person I see on a regular basis. Like I see her 4 times a week

So I don’t know how to be myself, a postdoc

I keep comparing myself to her

I wondered to myself would anyone else take a mental health day in my position?

Who cares, others aren’t me

It’s like I forgot I’m extremely sensitive and have been sobbing every day and not sleeping well at all during the weekdays

My nutrition and hydration and shit has been ok, so I’m not getting sick which is the weird part

Im so incredibly emotionally constipated

There are so many incredibly destructive thoughts in my head right now that haven’t been addressed

Things have just gotten increasingly harder for a long time now and I can’t tell where adjustment starts and my dysfunctional mental state ends

Is it really ok for me to say work is too much?

Does it make me pathetic?

Didn’t I feel this way in all previous years too?

2nd year, it wasn’t like this but at least I was more honest with myself about how anxious and nervous I was about work. I definitely took it easy and complained more often. I slept poorly frequently on clinical days and would feel really angry about it. I don’t think I got sick more than once that year

3rd year i wasn’t sleeping quite as poorly but still had sleep problems, hated my commute. That was the year I kind of had to start blocking people out of my life, like not completely but was so down and exhausted that I couldn’t function socially outside of work and school. I didn’t get sick much tho. Definitely noticed SAD symptoms starting this year but to be honest felt somewhat depressed on and off through early winter until spring which is I guess the colder darker months in OR. I think I had some SI but it was towards the end of winter

4th year was when I had more somatic issues. My sleep was honestly not bad that year comparatively speaking but when m and I broke up during internship application season I had a bunch of health issues that resolved shortly after my interviews ended. Tbh internship interviews were a nice reprieve from the dark slump that probably would have hit me if I had just done school in the winter. I had my first sinus infection in spring and went to see Slushii anyways Hahahha.

Internship year... I had a sinus infection too and got a cold maybe 2 other times. Last year was the most I’ve ever gotten sick. I took a mental health day maybe like 3 times and actually used sick days too. I want to say this was the hardest year for me mental health wise until this year in terms of symptoms but the best in terms of self care. By like April/May I was feeling really good about life. Maybe it’s the weather here too idk

This year feels so much harder than the other years combined. I’ve used one sick day and two mental health days and I’m having a hard time understanding where I’m at mental health wise in conjunction with who I need to be to do well at work. It feels like I’m growing at an unmanageable pace. I’ve had the most frequent SI I’ve ever had in my life which is somewhat alarming to me. I’m safe don’t worry but I’m just saying the thoughts coming into my head. My sleep is getting reallynfucked up over these last 2 weeks. I sleep like a baby on the weekends which makes me feel like it’s stress related. On one hand I’m acclimating to this insane amount of stress and on the other hand it feels like every day I’m being stretched open and carved out.

I’m not even ruminating that much before bed anymore. Like I’m not actively distressed like I used to be when things hit me hard last year. I’m just constantly unhappy and anxious this year which I feel like is my lot in life right now. My self care has gotten much better last year and this year, but this year it’s been harder to find ways to relax. Things went downhill really fast, when the seasons finally changed here and I started seeing 4 of my clients in the field. I am most definitely consistently working over 40 hrs a week now. I tried really hard last year to work less whenever I could and honestly the agency was pretty good about giving us a reasonable workload. But now it feels like I’m meeting the real world, where work just comes at you and never says sorry. You had to do extra and stay longer this week? Sucks for you. You have to completely uproot your already untenable schedule because one of your clients has really a really complex risk presentation? Welp that’s the price of doing this work.

Like when I was told the weeks here typically don’t go past 40 hrs I feel like I was lied to. I feel alone and singled out bc I’m the only postdoc this year. I want to know how C felt 2 years ago. If there were 2 of us I feel like I’d be having an okay time. Can you fucking believe they had a hard time building to full caseload last year? It cannot be just me in this position. I want to give up every day.

I don’t feel protected I don’t feel like I can ever let my guard down. There is no one I talk to regularly that I can be honest with. I don’t have the energy to relay this information to the people I do talk to regularly which at this point is my supervisor and M. And like hell im going to tell my supervisor this stuff.

Is this the real world?

Something tells me it is, but I have to find a way through it somehow

I’m still debating about this one client. She’s on my mind a lot and I’m scared which is probably a parallel experience to what her family is experiencing.

The fuck you mean our ethical duty? What am I supposed to take away from that convo? I know I have my own voice and opinion but that made me feel really bad for not doing exactly as you said. I know I tend towards the anxious paranoid side of things but that really scared me because instilll can’t think straight about this client and I sure as hell cant go to you.

The relationship between e and I has changed too, I think she’s overwhelmed too

Something that keeps popping up over and over again is- how fucking awful it would be for a client to complete suicide

I know it happens and it’s time I face that this could happen

It’s a terrifying thought and I almost don’t want to tell anyone that I’m having it

It feels shameful and dangerous to think about, because if I can’t handle it who could?

Who can contain this for me and tell me it’s okay? I don’t want to fucking hear that I should do more

It’s a complex mess of emotions inside my head. I understand why I would need to do more in this situation but there’s no room for it. I want help in trying to balance but my schedule is already unbalanced and bringing me into a dark place emotionally.

What if because I took today off no one sees my hospital patients all week?

Friday is going to suck ass if that’s the case

I could ask my supervisor directly to see them

But I want to be small today

And that would take a lot from me

How does the psychology service work at the hospital during Xmas break?

Uhhhh....

Shit.

I’m scared for some stupid reason that someone will make me stay during break or I’ll have to work some crazy stupid long hours on Friday

I hate ongoing patients bc they still need to be seen but it’s kind of your choice whether or not to see them

It’s like adding an automatic to do to the list every time I’m there but the task takes 2 hrs at least

I’m always scared I have to stay late at the hospital, luckily the latest has been 6:30 but I’m terrified every time I go in that it’s going to be longer

This is new for me and it’s ok to get freaked out

To not have a clear idea how much I am going to work each day and each week really puts me off

I feel pathetic because aren’t there a lot of jobs that are unpredictable like that? Especially once you become salaried ?

My stomach is starting to hurt

It’s weird because I haven’t gotten any somatic symptoms this year but I’ve also been sobbing my eyes out every day so maybe that’s why my body is feeling okay. I haven’t really cried the last few days because I’m just very tired of crying at this point, so maybe that’s why my stomach has been hurting a bit more

Every time m says something nice to me, hell anytime anyone says something nice to me I start to cry and I’m just so fucking done with crying and feeling out of control just to have nothing change and things even get harder at work

Fuck!!!!!

I haven’t properly dealt with this terrified feeling

I have to tell myself this feeling is informative but separate from reality

I’m so fucking scared.

[maryeemeeh]

Wolves of Manhattan

Summary: He is the rich kid from the Upper East Side with a troubled past and a dysfunctional family. She is from Greenwich Village who is pulled into the world of the rich and famous when her parents receive promotions. When their paths cross, a spark is ignited and the tables are turned when they learn they are far more connected than they thought. AU.

Originally posted on fanfiction.net

Tumblr: Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6

A/N: I didn’t realize I haven’t posted Chapter 7 on here. But it has been up on fanfiction.net. And yes, I am currently working on the latest chapter. I know it’s been months, but I had to get a few one-shots out of my system first before I continued with this (lol). CHAPTER SEVEN

Lucas woke up to bright light streaming through his window. He squinted and shielded his eyes, blinking a few times before he reluctantly got up and stretched. He grabbed his phone buried underneath one of the pillows and turned off the alarm before it sounded in a few seconds. He let out a long yawn and walked out of his room towards the connecting bathroom.

When Lucas had fixed himself up wearing casual dark jeans and a simple V-neck white shirt underneath a grey shawl collar cardigan, he made his way to the dining room where cooked breakfast was laid out on the table. There were blueberry waffles, bacon, breads, macaroons, fresh fruits, juice and tea that made his stomach grumble from the smell alone. He briefly looked up and met his father's sharp gaze. He was fashionably dressed in a dark grey suit and black tie. His graying hair was slicked back and his face cleanly shaven, making him appear 10 years younger. But the eyes were still so terrifyingly righteous that Lucas had to avert his gaze to the gentle blue eyes of his mother—warm and inviting in comparison to his father's hardened expression.

"Morning," Lucas greeted as his mom gave him a warm smile and signaled him to sit down and eat beside her. He obliged and took the empty seat across from his father.

Breakfast was silent except for the chewing and the scraping of forks against plates. Lucas had finished before them as he got up and began to walk out the door.

"Hold on, son." His father called out to him as Lucas turned around and sighed. "Where are you going at this hour?"

"Paying my dues, sir. Mom didn't tell you?"

"Not in that bakery you are." He murmured.

Lucas' eyes narrowed. "Excuse me?" His face remained taut, muscles rippling across his frame as he shifted.

"I got off the phone with the Dean a few moments ago, and explained to him our…delicate family situation. He has agreed for you to complete your hours at Friar Enterprises while you continue coaching Little League."

"Are you fuckin' kidding me?!"

"Lucas!" His mother gasped, glancing anxiously between her husband and son. The tension in the room was almost palpable, emotions running on overload as they stared each other down.

"I just want to spend more quality time with you, Lucas." Mr. Friar explained, a nonchalant expression on his face. "Make up for lost time, is that a crime?"

Lucas lightly chuckled at the irony of the last statement. "No, you just want to control every aspect of my life as always." He retorted. His father opened his mouth, about to reply before deflating with a frown.

"I'll see you in my office in an hour." He said curtly, absently picking up his coffee mug and turning his attention over to today's paper.

Lucas' eyes flickered, a look of disbelief on his face. He glanced over at his mother, desperately pleading with his eyes, but she said nothing as she gazed at him calmly. A heavy silence filled the room, wearing down between them before Lucas regarded his father carefully.

"Whatever." His voice was surprisingly steady and collected as he grabbed the house keys from the kitchen counter and stormed out of the apartment.

A few minutes of precious peace was broken the moment another customer walked in, causing the little golden bell at the top of the door to jingle. She scrunched up her face, the smallest of sounds making her ears ring with intensity.

"Ugh." She hissed as she felt small, delicate fingers lift her head up from the table. Her limbs were heavy and her mind sluggish, but she forced herself to sit up on the chair. The morning light from the window blinded her, searing into her pupils like the fires of hell. "So this is what a hangover feels like." She groaned, accepting the water bottle that was placed in front of her. "Remind me to never drink again."

"I'm so sorry, Smackle. I should have never let you out of my sight."

"It's not your fault, Riley. I made the careless and idiotic decision to drink, not you."

"Going to the party was a stupid idea." Riley rambled on in one of her dramatic tirades, getting all worked up as the guilt forced her gaze downwards. "I'm so sorry I made you go with me."

Smackle rolled her eyes. "Would you stop that? Despite how terrible I'm feeling right now, I had fun last night." A hint of a smile graced her features as she thought about Farkle. Riley frowned and watched as Smackle rubbed her hand down her tired face. Just moments later, Evan returned to their table with two coffee mugs in hand.

"I thought this might help." He grinned, cautiously placing the coffee mugs in front of them. "Expresso macchiato for your hangover, and vanilla latte with extra whip for you, Riley."

"Oh thank you!" Smackle's gaze brightened a little at the delightful aroma of coffee. "Just what I need to restore my normal functioning."

Evan smiled, grabbing an empty seat nearby to join them and listened as they talked about the party.

"Sounds like you had a great time, Smackle." He smirked and then glanced over at Riley, whose eyes were wandering aimlessly around the room. Moments later, the bell chimed and echoed throughout the bakery, sounding another customer's arrival. They looked up as Lucas strode inside with his head hung low and one of his hands in his cardigan pocket. He placed the folded black shirt and apron on the counter by the cash register before turning around and hastily exiting through the doors.

"Okay…what's that about?" Smackle asked curiously as they exchange bewildered looks.

"I'll be back." Riley stood up and motioned towards the main entrance. Once she stepped outside, the cool morning breeze embraced her from behind while the warm sunrays hit the corners of her face. Her eyes scanned around the busy crowd, at the many pedestrians and tourists roaming the streets until she spotted him walking along the sidewalk towards the parked black Cadillac Escalade.

"Lucas!"

He stopped in his tracks and glanced over his shoulder. His eyes went a bit wider, and he looked at her in awe as she approached him. "Hey, Riley."

"Hi…" She smiled, a genuine concern pulling at her lips. "Is everything okay? I just saw you walk in and out of there so fast." Riley stared at him for a moment and noticed his face had crumpled with emotion.

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that. It's my Dad…" he sighed, rubbing the back of his neck as he looked her over with gentle, emerald eyes. "He's back."

"Oh…"

"I won't be staying at the bakery. I'll be completing my hours at my Dad's company." A disappointed tone entered his voice. Riley slowly nodded, unsure of what to say. She could see the uncertainty clouding his features, the frustration and anger he was trying to desperately hide from her. So she gave him a reassuring smile—hoping it would ease some of his worries.

"No matter how you feel about him, Lucas…he is still your father who loves you and just wants what's best for you even if you don't agree with him."

He sighed as her words broke through him for a fraction of a second and completely crippled his defenses. "I know…"

A blanket of silence fell upon them; their eyes still set on one another. Lucas was sort of at a loss as he felt his heart slammed against his ribcage at the softness of her gaze. It amazed him that even though he wasn't in the best of moods when it came to his father, somehow...someway she had an effect on him that nobody ever had before. And as scary as it was, Lucas was absolutely sure she was the only one in the world who managed to make him feel the way she did.

Made him feel that everything was going to be okay.

"Anyway, I should go. My Dad is expecting me." He muttered as he took a few steps back and reluctantly began distancing himself from her. "I'll see you around."

Riley nodded, smiling lightly as she watched him get in the back of the car and leave.

The rest of the weekend went by without much incident, and that was mostly due to the fact that Riley didn't leave her apartment once—other than going to Topanga's to help out for a couple of hours. When school rolled around, she found herself being summoned to the Dean's office at the end of first period. As she made her way towards the administration building, she spotted Missy Bradford just stepping out of the Dean's office, a mischievous smirk plastered on her face. Riley didn't think much of it as she approached Missy and greeted her with a giddy smile. "Hi, Missy."

"Oh hey, Reina."

"It's, Riley."

"Oh…right." Missy flipped her hair over her shoulder and shrugged. "Well, bye now."

"Bye!" Riley waved cheerfully and proceeded towards the office, knocking on the familiar oak door.

"Come in." The cool, composed voice belonging to her father sounded through. Pushing the door slowly with one hand, he did not look the slightest bit happy.

"Dad? You wanted to see me?" Riley asked somewhat tentatively as she cautiously entered the room.

"Yes, please sit down." He gestured as she perched on the edge of the nearest chair, not knowing what she was supposed to be guilty of or why she was even there in the first place.

"Does this belong to you?" He asked, placing a dark blue jean jacket on the desk.

"That's not mine." Riley answered truthfully.

"Missy Bradford told me she invited a few friends over for a party, and thought maybe you left it behind." He said, wearily sitting back in his chair. "But I was thinking it couldn't possibly be yours because if you had attended the party, I would have known about it." Riley swallowed thickly, unable to hide the guilt clearly etched on her face. "So why would Miss Bradford think this was your jacket?"

She drew in a nervous breath, bracing herself. "Please don't get angry, Dad."

"I'm not angry, Riley. I'm disappointed that you would lie to me."

"I didn't lie…I just left that part out." She shrugged innocently in an attempt to play it off as something unimportant.

Mr. Matthews regarded her for a moment and sighed. "You're still keeping things from me, Riley and that's being dishonest."

"I'm sorry, Dad." She lowered her gaze shamefully and scuffed her foot on the ground. "I just…I wanted to meet new people and make some friends, and I didn't tell you because I was afraid you'll say no." Mr. Matthews looked her over with a mixture of empathy and concern in his eyes. "Are you going to tell Mom?"

"No, because you are."

She sighed. "I'm so sorry, Dad."

"Just promise me it won't happen again."

"I promise..." There was a brief pause as Riley rubbed her hands together nervously. "So am I grounded?" She asked as Mr. Matthew released a light chuckle and found that he couldn't stay disappointed at her for long.

"Well...it all depends on whether or not you'll accept my proposition."

Her brows knitted together curiously. "What do you have in mind?"

"Finals are coming up and they are going to need some tutors to help out for a few hours after school. This would be a great opportunity for you to meet people and for them to see how amazing you are." Riley beamed at the thought. "That…or be grounded on your mother's terms."

"I'll take it!" She exclaimed, a bright smile suddenly radiating from her lips. "So when do I start?"

"How does right after school sound?"

Her last two period classes went by quickly as she looked forward to the end of the day when she would help someone become a better student. While waiting in the tutor center located inside the library, Riley grabbed the nearest empty table and made herself comfortable in a chair. She took out her pencil and notebook and began flipping through her science book aimlessly, unaware of the doors opening behind her.

"Uh…Riley Matthews?"

A masculine voice sounded, pulling her from her thoughts. Her brown eyes met his warily as surprise registered in her mind when she recognized him.

"Yes?"

"Hi, I'm Thor. It looks like you're my tutor." He smiled, taking a seat across from her at the table as he handed her an official tutor assignment slip with their names printed on them. "Not exactly my favorite subject, but I have a history quiz by the end of the week, and I need to turn my C- into a B+ if I have any chance of getting into Columbia."

She narrowed her eyes, studying him carefully. He looked handsome with his built physique and soft brown hair that fell just above his light brown eyes. "You're the guy that had a bit of a scuffle with Lucas in the hallway the other day."

He cocked a brow at her mockingly, amused. "And you must be the pretty new girl who is also the Dean's daughter." Her lips parted in disbelief as a light chuckle escaped his lips. "Oh come on, two new people at the school who arrived at the same time with the same last name." He smirked. "Even I don't need a tutor to figure that one out."

"Are you making fun of me?" She huffed.

He blinked and flashed her a puzzled look. "I wasn't trying to be funny. I was simply stating the obvious."

Riley closed her science book and released a sigh. "Okay, if I'm going to help you…I need to know the kind of person I'm dealing with because if you're gonna be the jerk I saw in the hallway the other day, then you can just forget about it. Because guess what? We all have problems, and we shouldn't have to put it out on other people."

His eyebrows shot up in surprise. He felt a strange sense of weariness settle over him as he gazed at Riley. "Is that was Lucas is telling you?" His shoulders relaxed as the barest hint of a smile tugged at his lips. "You care about him." It sounded more like a statement than a question as Riley felt his eyes studying her.

"So do you."

"You don't even know me, Princess."

Riley frowned and chose her next words carefully. "I know you guys used to be close friends, and despite your big ego, you miss him." Thor opened his mouth to quickly reply, only to find that no words would leave him. He remained silent, and she can see from the way his face darkened that she has hit a nerve.

"Are you my tutor or my shrink?" He addressed her with a warning tone that she was crossing the line. But at this point, Riley couldn't stop herself. She couldn't help herself when an opportunity arose—the need to help people, to fix those who were broken. If she couldn't fix what was happening between Lucas and his father, then maybe she can mend a friendship.

"Whatever you need me to be." She answered as Thor blinked, looking as surprise as she did. It felt so utterly strange being cared for by someone he barely knew, and yet there was something about it that was almost soothing. There was a short silence as her eyes fell from Thor's inquiring gaze to the open history book on the desk. She swallowed weakly, propping her chin on her hands as she felt her cheeks flush. "Alright then. World War II."

To be continued…

Tumblr: Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6

Fanfiction: Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7

[jessadilla]

Ryder Ask Meme: 4 & 8?

Hooray! 

4. What’s their personality like? How do they feel about being Pathfinder? How do they change, if at all, over the course of the story?

Nova’s personality changes vastly over the course of the game, mostly by force, because going in she hadn’t seen any battle or suffered pretty much any trauma aside from losing her mom, which was expected at least.

Her set personality is that she’s extremely introverted, positive, idealist, curious and inquisitive (she has a fascination with the unknown) to the point of being irritating about it. She attempts to make everyone she meets her new friend, she’s quick to smile, loves to laugh, wears her heart on her sleeve, is a huge romantic. In her personal life she tends to go with her gut often as it is tied in with emotions, but is more interested in taking orders than giving them in a professional setting. She tries to curb her impulses and tendency toward emotional decisions when becoming Pathfinder, but it doesn’t really work out for her because relying on emotion is the only way she has really functioned the past 22 years. Solitude causes anxiety in her and the hardest part of her decision for her to join the Initiative was the idea of being isolated in a pod for hundreds of years.

As soon as the game starts she’s stressed all the time and uses her humor as a way to diffuse her own feelings of tension, sometimes regardless of how it makes others feel, or how unprofessional it makes her seem. She was handed a job she was not at all prepared for and she’s somewhat resentful about it (read: VERY resentful about it) and she actually hates that she’s been put in this position when Cora is like..right there. Up until Andromeda, she hadn’t even killed anyone/anything before and had to stop and breathe/puke at least once on Habitat 7 after facing the Kett.

She accepts the position as best she can, and tries to do what she thinks is best, but every decision she makes is wrought with doubt because she can’t always see the big picture and worries about how it is going to affect the fate of the Milky Way races….and the Angara tbh. Honestly, the only trait in herself she sees as a pro in regards to being Pathfinder is her willingness to build bridges and her ease at making friends, and at least knowing how to read the emotional situation most of the time. Eventually, some aspects of the job become easier (battles, negotiations, etc) but she still never really feels like she’s the right one for the job. She..hates being Pathfinder.

8. It’s all in the family. Explain their relationship with Alec, Ellen, and their sibling. If you changed anyone’s names or added a different sibling in your canon, explain why.

I’m not sure if I’ll change her mom’s name, but her brother’s name is Callisto and not Scott. No thanx.  

The twins relationship with their dad is strained through no fault of their own. He was a workaholic and had that emotional distance from them, but they loved him and Nova always felt he did the best he knew how to do. He was obviously more pragmatic than emotional and she and Callisto were very much..not that! But he did instill them their interests in science and engineering and their thirst for the unknown and eagerness to learn new things.

The twins’ relationship with Ellen was much more emotionally charged and loving and connected. Ellen (in my HC) is Mexican and originally came from a big family on Earth and family was super important to her and she tried to instill that sense of closeness into her children. When she passed away, they both got matching tattoos (idk the design yet, I’m still mulling it over) as a way of honoring her memory. They just wanted a connection to her that they could have with them at all times.

The twins relationship with each other is just..super close; Mind-reading, empathic, intuitive twin type of close that kind of weirds ppl out. But rather than let that bother her, Nova always kind of showed it off. Their connection was super important to her and being shut off from him in Andromeda is one the hardest thing she’s had to go through in her life. She eventually develops a strong bond with SAM as sort of a crutch to replace the absence Callisto leaves. Nova has a strong sense of protection towards Callisto but also they stir up a competitive nature in each other as well.

Where Nova did, Callisto didn’t. He was introverted, kind of anxious in crowds, and very unsure of himself in general. But they shared their sense of humor and honor and morals, as well as their sense of ideals and fascination with adapting and learning. Howver, he was often seen as quiet and different a lot when they were younger (whereas Nova was Miss Popular), and was picked on a bit before Nova made it clear he wasn’t to be messed with.

-There was a time when the bullying of Callisto got particularly bad and he had gotten knocked down by some kids in the Presidium for being awkward and nervous, and what started with name calling became more physical until Nova stepped in and started shouting at the other kids until a biotic bubble surrounded them and pushed out until it knocked the other kids over. That was when Nova showed signs of having biotics. However, they never developed because she couldn’t really call on them when she wanted, until she became the Pathfinder. 

The Ryders were a tad dysfunctional, but still had a closeness and love that Nova is aching for in Heleus.

[kerra-and-company]

10, 13, 17 for Rel and/or Kerra 👀

Oooh okay, sounds like a plan @i-mybrunettelady! :D

10. Do they keep in contact with any childhood friends or relatives?

Rel absolutely stays in contact with Nisha, his only surviving (immediate and blood-related) family member. With regards to his childhood friends, though, he wasn't able to stay in contact with them for a decent while. After he and Nisha left Maguuma, they didn't want to publicize where they were from because they knew it wouldn't be safe. Additionally, there weren't really mail routes or waypoints to Verdant Brink at that point, and communicators weren't a thing yet, either. After HoT, he tried to properly reconnect with some of the Itzel that he'd been particularly close to. It was only partially successful. He'd changed a lot since he'd left, and so had they. He's only still in contact with two of them, and they try to chat via communicator at least once a week and visit each other whenever possible.

Kerra is in contact with Trahearne (who she considers her older brother) and Caithe (who she still considers her sister, though their relationship remains slightly strained). She talks to her Mother more frequently now than she has in the past, but that's still only once a month or so. As for childhood friends, Rel and Caithe both fit in that category, and she most definitely talks to both of them on a regular basis. Outside of them, there was Tiachren (that friendship did not end well), Malyck (she would have stayed in touch if she could, but she has no idea if he's even still alive), and Cai--the sylvari representative from the Order of Whispers. Cai made it her business to keep tabs on Kerra after she joined the Order, and they became pretty good friends. They don't talk a lot, but they're able to pick up where they left off pretty easily whenever they meet, and Cai makes sure to drag Kerra out for dinner and/or drinks every time she ends up in the same city as the Commander.

13. What is their fondest memory of the past?

Rel's fondest memory of the past, as in very far past, would be a quiet moment when he was about a year or so old. He was playing the lute quietly around a fire in the Itzel village, and his friends had fallen asleep. Nisha was actually there for once, sitting off to the side with xyr head leaning on xyr hand and smiling just a little. In terms of recent past, the only memory that's quite on the same level is a similar memory of a get-together with him, Nisha, Kerra, Trahearne, Canach, and a very small Rhi, who finally tired themself out after running around for a solid few hours. Also quiet, also a fire, also music, but this time he had people to accompany him.

Kerra's fondest memories of the past all occur post-HoT and are mostly quiet moments too, various memory snapshots of her kids and her partners and her extended found family. Exceptions to that rule include her siblings making jokes that just...don't work (definitely happened during the personal story), and Rel teaching her the flute* (started around the level 50 personal story).

(*I just realized that this sounds like a euphemism for something and I promise it is not; I mean that he literally taught her how to play the musical instrument called the flute asldjf;adsf.)

17. What do they regret the most about their past?

Rel regrets that his childhood wasn't better and more "functional" as opposed to "dysfunctional", but he's aware that this isn't really something he could have changed and has thus kind of accepted this. He also regrets every person he wasn't able to save, and though he's somewhat accepted that he can't save everyone, thinking about it still hurts.

Kerra regrets pretty similar things as Rel, honestly! She wishes she'd had a childhood (time to just be a sapling, not a Valiant or a Lightbringer or Commander), and she beats herself up for every life lost because of an order she gave. She also regrets the pain that she puts her loved ones through by constantly being in danger. Realizing you have value also means realizing that your loss would hurt those who love you. She fights and lives for herself, but she also fights and lives for them.

[thomasyirawala9-blog]

What You Must Learn about Pay out As You Own.

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Our team were therefore honored to become capable to deliver a rest to A.G. and also her other half in January to celebrate their wedding ceremony anniversary.

[sherristockman]

Can Ethanol Kill Tumors? Dr. Mercola By Dr. Mercola The lifetime risk for developing or dying from cancer in the U.S. is nearly 50 percent in men and 40 percent in women.1 According to the American Cancer Society, nearly 600,000 people die every year with a diagnosis of cancer. But, many people don't actually die from the disease itself, but rather from the side effects of the treatment or from another opportunistic infection that happens when your immune system is too weak to protect you. In the "war against cancer" the standard of care is to cut it out using a surgical procedure, poison it with chemotherapy or burn it with radiation. In each of these cases your surrounding healthy tissues are affected. As a result, the recurrence of cancer a decade or two later is not unexpected.2,3 As for most health conditions, prevention is the best medicine. Over the past years I've been studying the metabolic theory of cancer and believe it holds great promise to both prevent the disease and possibly treat the condition in a natural, and potentially drug-free, way. In combination with other natural options, you may already have an arsenal of weapons against cancer in your own kitchen. Interestingly, researchers have demonstrated a 100 percent cure rate in an animal model using a relatively low-risk treatment with ethanol to eradicate cancer cells.4 Researchers Demonstrate 100 Percent Cure Rate in Small Sample Size Prompted by a desire to find a lower cost alternative to surgical procedures for tumors, often not available in poor countries, researchers attempted the use of an intratumor injection using ethanol. This procedure has been successfully used in the past on encapsulated liver cancers.5 In these cases, the tumor had a relatively hard outer shell that retained the ethanol within the tumor so there was no leakage into the surrounding tissue. While this procedure has been relatively successful, it has limitations as it may not be used on tumors that are not encapsulated. The scientists also note that large amounts of ethanol, or pure alcohol, must be used to keep the alcohol in contact with the tumor cells and the treatment protocol requires multiple injections. To enhance the contact of ethanol with tumor cells and retain the ethanol in tumors that do not have a hard exterior, researchers used the same procedure with the addition of ethyl cellulose. This addition forms a gel with exposure to the liquid interior of the tumor.6 The researchers first practiced their injection techniques before using the formulation on chemically-induced squamous cell epithelial tumors in the cheeks of hamsters. The control hamsters were injected with pure ethanol, in the same manner liver cancer tumors are injected.7 The experimental hamsters received the new ethanol-gel product. In the control animals, none of the tumors regressed completely. The tumors that were injected with four times the volume of the original tumor exhibited better results. However, the experimental group had the best results, with 100 percent of the tumors eliminated eight days after treatment was initiated using fluid one-fourth the volume of the tumor, as compared to four times the amount used in the animals who received pure ethanol.8 With such a small sample size, the authors proved the concept, but further research is necessary. That said, these early results appear quite promising. Mechanical, Not Metabolic Ethanol ablation procedures are not new. The most commonly reported adverse effects when used on hepatocellular tumors are hemorrhage in the liver or peritoneal space, or liver insufficiency or infarction.9 Thermal ablation of liver tumors has replaced many percutaneous ethanol injections. Since ethanol procedures can be used anywhere in the liver, they are used when the tumor is located near intestinal loops or other positions where thermal ablation may carry a greater risk.10 Ethanol destroys cancer cells using a purely mechanical mechanism without a metabolic interaction with surrounding cells or the rest of your body. Where chemotherapy may have an effect on most of the cells in your body, ethanol works by killing the proteins directly in the tumor and dehydrating the cancer cells.11 After analysis of the results, the research team believes a single injection of the ethanol gel may be enough to cure specific tumors, including cervical precancerous lesions and breast cancers.12 An additional benefit of the treatment is that it is very inexpensive, costing only $5 per treatment. The process is also nontoxic to the body, where chemotherapy is not. For instance, in some cases oncologists may prescribe chemotherapy to reduce the size of a breast cancer tumor in the hopes of being able to perform a lumpectomy instead of a total mastectomy. However, this may backfire as there are a higher number of metastases after presurgical treatment than if chemotherapy was not administered before surgery.13 Many chemotherapy drugs are by their very nature cytotoxic.14 This means they are toxic to living cells. This characteristic may be somewhat helpful in the goal of killing cancer cells, but most of the drugs are not specific and attack many of the rapidly replicating cells in your body, triggering challenging and sometimes painful side effects. Your bodily systems that are most vulnerable are your hair follicles, digestive tract, bone marrow, mouth and reproductive system. Many of the side effects are short term and resolve over time once chemotherapy has been discontinued. However, there are some long-term permanent effects that may damage your liver, kidneys, brain, heart and lungs. Side effects from chemotherapy may include:15 Fatigue Headaches Muscle pain Stomach ache Peripheral neuropathy Mouth and throat sores Diarrhea Nausea and vomiting Constipation Trouble thinking clearly Sexual dysfunction Hair loss Blood disorders, including anemia and low platelet count Poor absorption of nutrients from your digestive tract Loss of appetite and weight loss Vitamin C Therapy Cost Effective and an Efficient Anticancer Therapy Despite exorbitant prices, many of the chemotherapy treatments offered will not cure you of cancer, and in some cases may actually help spread tumors throughout your body.16 While science struggles alongside pharmaceutical companies to find treatments that might extend the life of sufferers by days or weeks, there are existing options, without dangerous side effects, that may possibly offer more. However, many of these are available without patents, prescriptions or a high price tag, so they’re are not attractive options for drug companies to explore. One is vitamin C. The most effective form of oral vitamin C supplementation is liposomal, which bypasses many of the absorption complications of ascorbic acid, such as gastrointestinal distress, and allows higher intracellular concentrations. Vitamin C is a potent antioxidant, protecting your body against oxidative stress and reducing your risk of death.17 To be of use against cancer, however, you need intravenous (IV) administration of high doses. With the discovery that most people with cancer are also deficient in vitamin C, Dr. Ronald Hunninghake experimented with high doses and wrote about the results, saying: "Intravenous vitamin C also does more than just kill cancer cells. It boosts immunity. It can stimulate collagen formation to help the body wall off the tumor. It inhibits hyaluronidase, an enzyme that tumors use to metastasize and invade other organs throughout the body. It induces apoptosis to help program cancer cells into dying early. It corrects the almost universal scurvy in cancer patients. Cancer patients are tired, listless, bruise easily, and have a poor appetite. They don't sleep well and have a low threshold for pain. This adds up to a very classic picture of scurvy that generally goes unrecognized by their conventional physicians." Recent research also demonstrates patients with a highly malignant and aggressive type of brain tumor, glioblastoma, treated with both vitamin C and radiation had double the survival rate compared to those who received radiation only.18 Vitamin C also helps lower inflammation levels in your body, boosting your own immune system's ability to fight cancer cells.19 Other studies have demonstrated the adjunct therapeutic use of vitamin C could help slow the growth rate of liver, pancreatic, prostate and colon cancers.20 Although these studies use IV vitamin C, there is compelling evidence to suggest liposomal vitamin C may have similar or better absorption rates in your cells, which is why I recommend liposomal vitamin C for home use. Although many mammals can produce vitamin C, several cannot. Humans, guinea pigs, primates, fruit-eating bats, some birds and fish21 need to get vitamin C from their diet. Your body uses vitamin C in a number of biological processes including wound healing, maintaining your bones and teeth and assisting your body to absorb iron.22 Underlying Metabolic Disease May Trigger Cancer Growth After years of trying to associate the development of cancer with familial genetic mutations, studies demonstrate that although cancer is associated with genetic changes, these changes are primarily acquired through lifestyle choices and not mutations you are born with.23 At the foundation is damage resulting in mitochondrial dysfunction, or impairment to little powerhouses located within the cells of your body. Thomas Seyfried, Ph.D., is a pioneer in the application of metabolic therapy that stems from original work by Nobel Prize winner, Dr. Otto Warburg, who believed the root cause of many diseases have metabolic origins.24 When your mitochondria are healthy and functional, your potential risk of cancer is low. With greater understanding of how your mitochondria work, the approach to treatment should also change. Until now, the focus of pharmaceutical treatments and research has been on the downstream effect of DNA damage after mitochondrial dysfunction and has triggered genetic changes. This may explain why we have not won the war on cancer, and likely will not if treatment options continue along the same path. Becoming an efficient fat burner is an important strategy to reduce excessive reactive oxygen species (ROS), a potent free radical that can cause DNA and RNA damage and may cause cell death.25 ROS also target and damage your mitochondria. Having the metabolic flexibility to burn fat for fuel reduces the amount of ROS produced in your mitochondria, thus reducing DNA mutation and your risk of health conditions such as cancer. Switching to a diet high in fats, low in net carbs and moderate in protein may be a primary way to effectively prevent the development of cancer and other deadly health conditions. Interestingly, an oncology center in Turkey has combined the use of vitamin C, nutritional ketosis, hyperbaric oxygen therapy and nutritional support to dramatically improve their treatment of cancer.26 The program builds on metabolic supported chemotherapy, allowing patients to use half of the dose of toxic chemotherapy normally given.27 Nutritional Ketosis Gets to the Heart of the Matter Download Interview Transcript Nutritional ketosis may not only help prevent deadly diseases, but also help your body work through the application of chemotherapy and improve the rate of successful treatment. In this interview, Dr. Abdul Kadir Slocum from the ChemoThermia Oncology Center in Turkey discusses this truly groundbreaking metabolically supported treatment protocol, which offers hope to people who previously had none. All patients at their center are placed on a ketogenic diet that metabolically stresses cancer cells.28 Prior to the administration of chemotherapeutic agents, patients undergo a minimum 14-hour fast to stress cancer cells even further, increasing the potential for cell death with cytotoxic drugs. By bringing the patient's glucose level down to 50 or 60 mg/dL, which weakens the cancer cells by starving them, the treatment team can use significantly lower doses of chemotherapy without sacrificing efficacy. As a result, patients also experience fewer side effects. The team recently published two papers sharing treatment protocol results. In the first, they outlined outcomes achieved with patients suffering from rectal cancer. The standard of care in the U.S. is surgical resection and chemotherapy with radiation treatment.29 Using Slocum’s protocols, the team reported complete remission of stage 3 advanced rectal cancer without surgery or radiation therapy. In the second paper, the team describes treatment of a group of 33 patients suffering from stage 3 and 4 pancreatic cancer.30 This was a retrospective analysis of patients treated at the clinic between 2011 and 2015. The majority of the patients had metastasis at the time of treatment. Pancreatic cancer has the highest mortality rate of all cancers in the U.S., with 91 percent of people dying within the first five years.31 Surgery, radiation and chemotherapy are options that may extend life but rarely offer a cure. Typically, someone diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer may only live six to 10 months. When chemotherapy was given in combination with metabolic support and other strategies used in the clinic, the mean survival in this group of patients rose to nearly 20 months, with 54 percent of the patients remaining free of disease progression at the time of publication in 2016 — one to five years’ post-treatment.32 Aside from lowering your risk for cancer and improving the success rate of cancer treatment, eating a ketogenic diet can also help reduce your risk for many other chronic diseases, including the following. To learn more about nutritional ketosis, and the importance of cyclical ketosis (opposed to continuous), please see “Burning Fat for Fuel Increases Quality and Quantity of Life.” Seizures Alzheimer’s disease Autism Migraine headaches Insulin resistance and Type 2 diabetes Traumatic brain injury Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease Glycogen storage disease Metabolic syndrome Multiple sclerosis Polycystic ovary disease Cancer prevention