#take everything they claim with a heaping pile of salt

[snickerdoodlles]

people need to stop assigning genAI more credit than it deserves 😭 it's spicy autofill. it cannot do lateral thinking for shit nor give you more than what you put in. it is not anymore dangerous than students using cheat strategies that already exist, like chegg or copying a friend's homework. which aren't great either! you don't want anyone cheating, especially not in those fields! but chatgpt and other genAI is not helping students cheat more effectively than they already did, it very literally cannot hold or understand these concepts nor mimic it well enough to pass exams.

also, while I can't speak to which measures other professions use, part of engineering's safety check systems involve multiple sign-offs from licensed engineers, which is a certification program that requires minimum a bachelor's degree, four years of working under a professional engineer (an already licensed engineer, who's also required to continually maintain said license), two rigorous exams, and earn a license from a state licensure board. people know fuck ups in engineering can lead to a lot of destruction, injury, and death, and they've reacted accordingly to implement new safety measures to try to prevent new disasters from occuring, which also include measures to keep people who take shortcuts or cheat egregiously out of sign-off positions. genAI can't help people skirt around those.

I agree that cheating is bad and we absolutely want to discourage it for all students, but LLMs (and genAI overall) are just not that good at doing anything other than chatting or acting as a scribe; it's not going to suddenly compromise the safety systems we have in place right now.

ur future nurse is using chapgpt to glide thru school u better take care of urself

[silkylious]

“I love you. Truly, deeply, eternally.” (Lucifer x Reader)

fandom: obey me! shall we date?

pairing: lucifer x gn reader

warnings: angst, fluff (mildly lol), suggestive (nothing explicit though!), bittersweet, ambiguous ending (??), unedited 

wc: 2.1k

“Lucifer?” you called out to him on a whim, eyes trailing the seconds ticking away on his grandfather-clock.

“Yes?” he didn’t spare you a glance as he worked methodically through his second hill of paperwork; a heaping stack of duties assigned to him by Diavolo, endless bills–a consequence of Mammon’s latest spending spree, you ought to talk to him about those soon–and the sort piled neatly on his pristine desk, slowly but surely decreasing in size as Lucifer burned through the tedious task with unwavering efficiency. You felt exhausted just watching him work. Lucifer? He hadn’t so much as blinked more than three times in the past five minutes (yes, you counted). Obsidian sleeves rolled up just past his elbows, hair perfectly framing his face with one strand slightly out of place–hot–and a gentle crease between his brows (the only observable hint alluding to the mounting stress on his shoulders). He looked positively delectable, nothing like someone who’s been working diligently for hours without any breaks. But that just served as a testament to the fundamental difference between the two of you, you supposed.

“I’m in love with you,”

That made his meticulous fingers pause in their tracks.

“Pardon?”

As it turned out, his ears hadn’t, in fact, deceived him. You repeated the confession as if it weighed nothing on your tongue. You were strangely calm given the words you’d just blurted out; he almost didn’t recognize you. An unfamiliar shade of desperation painted all over your face, and yet your voice bared to him a serene conviction, one he’d never heard from you before. Lucifer’s heartbeat stumbled in your wake.

Basking in your courageous display just a second longer, he sighed. Too bad he’d have to mutilate such a pretty sight so soon.

That didn’t go exactly as he’d planned. The harsh rejection barely deterred you, leaving only a petulant pout on your lips and a promise that you’d come talk to him later.

Lucifer was anything but stupid. He knew that he let things stray too far between you, knew it was his fault for not pulling away from your kisses and instead indulging you (and himself) to the fullest. His fault for ignoring the guilt that settled deep in his gut like hunks of steel when you looked at him like he’d never experienced before. Lucifer had lived for many millennia, had relished the warmth of countless passionate lovers and faceless hookups, none of which had ever set him alight from the inside out like your adoring gaze had. It terrified him how after all these years, watching humans thrive and collapse over and over again, he thought he’d seen everything there is to see, all that humans had to offer. And then you come along, reinventing what love meant right before his eyes, with a simple look no less.

He never intended for you to fall in love with him, and he never intended to reciprocate. Had he been mortal, maybe things wouldn’t be so complicated. But life dealt a cruel hand, and he wasn’t. A relationship like yours was doomed to crumble in heartache from the start, it was best to stop it before things went too far. That was the plan anyway.

You didn’t share the same sentiment.

With one last exasperated sigh, Lucifer focused his attention back on his duties. He didn’t know how long he could hold up against your persistence, and honestly he preferred not to dwell on it. Whatever outcome lied for the both of you in the near future, itching one step closer with each tick on the clock, he’d face it head on when it was time.

Meanwhile, you laid wide awake, in your bed, rethinking every decision that led you here. You didn’t regret your confession, nor were you keen on giving up, but Lucifer’s ruthless rejection, his vehement claim that a relationship between a human and a demon is destined to end in tragedy festered a bud of doubt in you. You noted pettily that he hadn’t outright denied any feelings for you. How could he? Lucifer was many, ugly things but a liar’s not one of them; you wouldn’t believe him even if he did lie, not with how delicately he holds your hand in his gloved one, not with how heartbreakingly beautiful he was when he lets you in at his lowest, stripped completely of his pride.

You knew though, that as much as Lucifer was a creature of the past, he was a creature of regrets.

Somehow, you’d managed to reach the heart of the Avatar of Pride himself, bestowing a porcelain touch on it and subsequently rocking the monotony of his endless life. Despite the acknowledgment of both your feelings, you weren’t naïve enough to dismiss how his heart drums thousands of years apart from yours and would continue to do so long after yours gave its last valiant pump.

He was a creature of the past you realized; humans intently watch minutes, hours, years approach because there’s only so much of them live out, there’s only so much to do in a lifetime. Naturally it would be counterintuitive to waste scarce time on the past. The immortal have no such concern. When time is limitless, and life is all but a blur of recycled events, its only instinctive to lose interest in what’s to come. And you guessed, maybe there was a strange comfort in the predictability of eternity, maybe that’s why Lucifer was so offput by the notion of something serious yet temporary, especially romance.

You decided. You wouldn’t let him look back and ponder what ifs in that stubborn head of his, not while you were still breathing. With regained determination, you glanced one last time at your countertop alarm and entered a dreamless slumber.

Not even two days later, three consecutive raps on his door made Lucifer rub at his temples for the nth time and begrudgingly called for you to enter. Piled on his desk were several stacks of papers (as was the usual), though, that night he was in a particularly sour mood. Ever since your confession, he’d been feeling uneasy, Diavolo hurling more work at him last minute was only pushing him to his wit’s end.

“Lucifer,” he hummed in response, not bothering to conceal his growing agitation. “we need to talk,”

Ah, there it was. He was wondering when you’d confront him again.

“I believe I made myself quite clear last time,” he sighed, dropping his pen and finally meeting your eyes. “If this is about your feelings again then I’m sorry but I can’t–”

“But why? Can you really say that what we have isn’t special at all?” your lower lip quivered just a bit and Lucifer had to fight the immediate reflex of holding you close and hushing your worries. His impassiveness quickly arose frustration out of you. “God Damnit, Lucifer! All I want is to be with you while I still can! To die with no regrets, knowing you’ll be there with me, but it’s very fucking hard to do that when you’re too scared of the future to do something about–about us!”

It was a low blow to go after his pride, you knew that, but he wasn’t giving you much to work with.. Rubbing salt in a ghastly wound had certainly done the trick, the dimmed crimson that pooled just below his pupil began to shine scarlet. You would have found it gorgeous had it not been imbued with near murderous intent. Lucifer’s poker face was rapidly breaking, a horrid mix of anger and melancholy sat heavy in his throat. He was looking straight at you, but his eyes were somewhere else, some time else. He was staring hundreds of years behind you at an unhealed, poorly bandaged cut. An everlasting guilt he carried with him everywhere.

“What would you know about regret?” he breathed out the words like they’re bullets, whatever restraint he’d managed to scarp together deteriorating. He stepped closer, each stride bigger than the last as he closed the distance between you, a perfect diamond manifesting on his forehead and you could see the beginnings of black feathers sprouting from his back. “Do you have the slightest clue what a blessing mortality is? Do you have any idea how agonizing it is to live with your regrets and not be able to die with them?”

“You’re right. I don’t,” you stood your ground. “But, do you really want to live with one more regret to bear?”

He kissed you. He kissed you like he hated you, animosity and anger and pain and, most prominently, pining spilling from his lips. Lucifer parted from you just as quickly as he’d initiated the kiss, taking the time to let his irritation bleed out of him, until he was left grappling with (frankly terrifying) longing and adoration. Just this once, he’d take a leap of faith, he’d break his own rigorous code and take the risk of undying heartache in the future to be with you in the now.

One kiss turned into many, and soon you found yourselves stumbling your way from his office to his bedroom. He couldn’t get enough of you, the thought that some day he would be deprived of you broke him and made him yearn to cherish you just as much. Precious things aren’t meant for longevity, he learned. All the more reason to treasure them when given the chance. You were pushed onto his bed and not once did his hands and mouth and breath leave your skin; he couldn’t bear sever that connection.

Before long, your hands were pined to the mattress, fingers tightly laced with his as if he was petrified the moment will break and a thousand years would pass you by the instant he let go.

“I love you. Truly and deeply.”

Neither of you heard the clock strike midnight.

Lucifer was well-acquainted with sleepless nights. He was no stranger to the prick at the corner of his eye, excruciatingly familiar with midnight’s cold, lonely touch. But this one was different. Where usually lied a cool emptiness in his sheets, your warm, inviting body was just in reach. Where the corners of his mind were usually plagued by past mistakes and sorrowful repentance, you were all he could think about. He reflected on your words now that the high of emotions had worn off. He still disagreed with you on many things and, if he was being true to himself, it would take more than one night to abandon his reluctance, much more. But he was willing to put in his fair share of effort. He was willing to do many things for you, he mused. You were right about one thing though, regardless of whether or not he acted on his feelings, your parting would hurt all the same. Part of him was still resentful that he let himself fall so deeply in love with you, and a part of him knew it couldn’t be helped. You’d carved a home for yourself out of his heart, invited yourself in and declared pompously you’d be there to stay, and he’d be damned to hell all over again if he said he didn’t like that.

Pulling you closer to leech off your warmth, for the first time in forever, he dreamt of the future, a future with you.

Snapping out his reverie, Lucifer refocused his vision on the framed picture before him. It’s been a couple dozen years, the pain dulled into a hollow longing, and yet not a single regret weighed on his back. He was astonished, how you, who had lived but a fraction of his own lifetime, had such impeccable foresight. He lays in bed every night and morning thanking you for not giving up, knowing that if you had, he’d be spending the rest of his infinite days in self-loathing regret.

All Lucifer could ask for now is a little guidance. What was he to do now? Was he even capable of falling in love again after you? Would he allow it? All questions that began frequenting his head since you’re no longer there to occupy it. He only knew is that he’d love you, and love you, and love you until this world fell apart. He toyed with the idea of reincarnation. It certainly wasn’t out of the realm of possibility; he saw you in everything he did. Strange how you’d taught him more about appreciating every day’s mundanities than he had in the many eons he’s been alive. Lucifer wonders about the possibility of you donning the same white wings he once had back in the Celestial Realm. If you ever did, he wonders about the complications that would arise from that, he wonders if you’d even remember him. All Lucifer was left with was a simple truth. If you ever came back, whichever form you may take, he’d welcome you back into the adobe of his heart without a second thought.

He ran his thumb over your smile, a bittersweet acceptance in his own.

“I love you. Truly, deeply, eternally.”

Obey me! taglist: @katsucookie @strwbry-m1lk​ (you wanted to be tagged in this one lol) join my taglist here! <3

[sneakywitch-thief]

Let The Rest of the World Go By - WIP

Saw @hey-writers / @heywriters post about posting a WIP, and since I haven't posted any of my writing in a while, I thought I'd share the first chapter of my Nick Valentine noir fic I've been working on since the game came out. It's a few years in the making and was written long before my other FO4 fanfic, It Had To Be You.

I'm trying to write the entirety of this one before I post it, so think of this as a preview! Enjoy!

Chapter 1: A New Case

It was a quiet night in Diamond City.  

In the first time in, well, forever -- the people in Diamond City didn’t have to sleep with one eye open anymore.  The earth-shattering explosion of the Institute had shaken the city to its core. In addition to leveling a good portion of Boston, the quake did a good job of addling the brains of her people as well.  The subsequent celebrations had undoubtedly been louder than the explosion itself, and after days of wild and raucous rejoicing, the Green Jewel of the Commonwealth finally laid down her head to rest. It was a new feeling, to live without fear, and the people of Diamond City relished in it.

All slept soundly -- that is, except for Nick Valentine.  

He sat silent and alone in his office, slowing drawing the smoke from a stale cigarette more ash than tobacco.  It had become something of a ritual for the detective, to sit in the tranquil solitude of night and think. Perhaps to stew over a case, perhaps to simply indulge the bad habits of a man long dead.  After so many nights of nothing but the same, even he didn’t know anymore. The quiet, interrupted only by Ellie’s quiet snoring in the next room, usually gave his mind free rein to wander.

But tonight was different.  The quiet was... different.

Nick exhaled deeply, letting the fleeting warmth of the smoke envelop him before vanishing into nothing.  A fleeting pleasure, gone as quickly as it had come. Nick couldn’t help but wonder if the destruction of the Institute had been the same.  A rapturous victory one moment, a Pandora’s Box the next. The detective gazed longingly at what little remained of his last cigarette. Nothing would feel better than even the tiniest bit of nicotine, some small calm to ease his nerves and circuits, but as a synth he could feel no more than a memory.  All that he had gotten from that precious stick of cancer was a pile of ash and a bad taste in his mouth.

He should be celebrating like everyone else was.  The Institute was gone forever, after all. But here he was, doing what he always did.  Sitting alone with only dreary thoughts and cigarette smoke to keep him company. But he knew that no matter how many cigarettes he blew through this night, the stifling silence of the sleeping city still filled him with dread.  Something was wrong.

But for the life of him, he couldn’t tell what it was.

Whether it was through exasperation or despair he wasn’t sure, but his body felt heavy and stiff, as if the silence had filled him with its enormity.  He began to slump, to collapse under the weight of... something. He laid his head in his hands and let out another sigh. What was it, exactly, that was wrong?

Then, a knock.

Nick looked to the door, confused.  It was... what, three in the morning?  No one would come to him at this hour. A prankster, perhaps, or maybe a lost drunk.  But, then again, it wasn’t like he had anything better to do. Might as well answer. He flicked his cigarette butt to the ground, grinding it under his heel as he strode to the door -- only to have his late night guest let himself in as soon as it was opened.  

The remarkably familiar man looked around frantically, going as far as to even lower his signature sunglasses to see in the dim light of the agency.  His eyes narrowed, scanning the room meticulously for... whatever it was Railroad agents looked for.

“Nick... are we alone?”

Nick rolled his eyes at his typical melodramatic act.  “Nice to see you too, Deacon.”

“Nick.  Are we alone.”

Ah, something was off.  Nick quietly locked the door behind him.  “Yeah. That snoring in the next room’s Ellie -- she ain’t waking anytime soon.  Drank a bit too much today and knocked herself out cold. This ugly mug’s the only one you’ll be seeing tonight, I’m afraid.”

Deacon smiled a bit at that.  “Good. Only one I want to see tonight anyway.”

“Skip the wine and dine and cut straight to the chase?  I always liked that about you, Deacon.”

“Ha!  You know it, you old dog.  ... but, all joking aside, I’ve got a case for you.”  A pause. “You might want to sit down for this.”

The inexplicable heaviness got a bit worse at that. Nick quickly obliged, returning to the seat behind his desk.  If Deacon had come all the way to Diamond City in the dead of night, undisguised and vulnerable, it couldn’t be anything good.  He absently reached for another cigarette, only to find the pack empty. All that was left of forty caps worth of cigs was a heap of butts upended in what had become more ash than tray.  The cravings of a dead man gnawed at him, the need for a quick, calming smoke ever growing. A metal finger tapped the desk impatiently. Something was wrong, and he wanted to get to the bottom of it.

“... so.  A case? Must be important.  What is it?”

Deacon looked up from the overflowing ashtray slowly, his brow furrowed.  “Yeah... important is a word for it. Well... you know what happened a week or so ago, right?  Then again, hard not to, I guess -- what with a good chunk of the city blown to bits. Anyway. The Institute’s gone, Nick.  Gone for good. Our biggest enemy is now a pile of irradiated dust.” He laughed weakly, straining a smile. “Awesome, right?”

“Yeah, but you don’t seem too happy about it.”

“No, don’t get me wrong, I definitely am.  It’s just that--” He pulled his lips into a thin line and took a moment to hide himself behind those sunglasses of his.  “Well, I’ll cut to the chase, since you like that about me so much. Has the Professor told you anything? Come to you at all?”

Ah, Professor.  Nick had never understood why Deacon continued to use her Railroad codename to refer to her.  After all, she and Deacon were as thick as thieves and nigh inseparable. Their infamy as deadly do-gooders of the wasteland was perhaps outmatched only by their legendary, unshakeable friendship.   He had heard the outrageous stories about them, the most believable of them being blasting their way through downtown Boston to lead two young men to safety. The least, tearing down Trinity to rescue a two-bit actor from an army of Super Mutants.   The Commonwealth, as big as it was, was a fishbowl. Rumors spread faster than radroaches, and tales of valiant heroics soon were quickly spun into a scandalous romance between the two, each more wild and passionate than the last.

From what he had heard, neither had denied the claims.

Nick coughed abruptly, mentally kicking himself back on topic.  “No.” He adjusted himself in his seat, impatiently attempting to shake that damn discomfort.  “Why would she? She hasn’t been here since that mess with Kellogg a while back.”

“Have... you seen her at all?”

Damn, did Nick ever need a cigarette.  He silently cursed himself for smoking the whole pack, and he cursed Deacon for, albeit unwittingly, rubbing salt into an old wound.  Ah, was that ever a wound. He leaned back in his chair and found his gaze wandering to the empty desk in his office.

Ellie had been so excited at the thought of Nick getting a partner, especially with her being the woman in shining power armor who saved him from the clutches of Skinny Malone.  Not only had she tidied up the place, but she had bought a full detective’s getup for Nick’s new partner. The trenchcoat and fedora still sat atop that desk, collecting a thick layer of dust as they awaited an owner that would never come.  Neither Nick nor Ellie had had the heart to move them, perhaps in some small hope that she might return.

“I’ll take that as a no, then.  Well... she’s gone, Nick.”

“What?”

“Gone.  She up and vanished a few days ago.  We haven’t been able to find her.”

That... that would explain things.  That inexplicable feeling. The drinking, the cigarettes, the dread.

Pandora’s Box.  

Nick nodded slowly, dumbly, his thoughts racing as his artificial mind attempted to find words, any words, to that.

“Look.  Shit went down at the Institute, Nick.  Real, grade-A, top-of-the-line bullshit.  The Professor... she went through hell and back to take it down.  To be perfectly honest, I don’t blame her for cutting all her shit loose and running.  She deserves a vacation more than anyone, really.”

“But you went through all the trouble to come here... something’s wrong.”

“Yeah.  You got that right.” Deacon was quiet then, vigilant for anyone listening in.  He spoke softly, cautiously. “Look, Nick, buddy. I’d tell you more... but, it just ain’t safe.  For me, for her, or for you.”

“Yet you want me to find her.”

“... well, yeah.”

“Look, Deacon.  As much as I hate to say it, it sounds like your Professor just needs some time to herself.  You said so yourself, she’s had a lot of weight on her shoulders. And,” Nick chuckled under his breath,  “you’ve got some pretty good sleuthing skills of your own, Deacon. Not to mention a hell of a lot more connections.  What makes you think I can find her when even her better half can’t?”

Immediately the sunglasses were back on, but shades couldn't mask the pain in Deacon's voice.  “Nick, me and everyone else in the family -- we’re probably the last people she wants to see right now.  Besides, we have too many enemies turning over too many rocks looking for what’s left of us right now. As much as I hate to say it, we’re not exactly equipped right now to drop everything and go look for her.  I want to more than anything, believe me I do, but I can’t without jeopardizing everything. But she really needs someone there for her before she... well, before she does something bad.  Real bad.”

“... you really think it’ll come to that?”

“Would I be here if I didn’t?”

Nick leaned back in his chair and took a moment to think.  Time wouldn’t be on his side in this one, and he was working with... just about next to nothing.  But he couldn’t just say no, this was about her. The woman who had saved his life. A woman stripped of everything and left at the mercy of the Commonwealth, only to turn right back around and kick its ass.  She was just about the toughest woman he had ever met, but she was still human. She could still break, and according to Deacon, she had. Bad.

“I’ve gotta warn you, my friend,” said Nick carefully, deliberately, “This is going to be far from easy.  I’m probably going to need all the help I can get. At the very least, give me something to work with. Do you have any leads whatsoever?  Where she might’ve gone? What she took with her? Anything?”

“I’d tell you, but I���d have to kill you.  No, really. I probably would.”

“Well, that’s helpful.”

Deacon let out an exasperated sigh. “Look.  I’m sticking our collective necks far enough as it is just by coming here.  We’ve got everyone and their mother looking for us right now -- God only knows who’s after the Professor’s head.”  He leaned forward, peering over the lens of his sunglasses to reveal exhausted, bloodshot eyes. “Look, she’s in a rough spot right now.  Real rough. If she doesn’t do herself in, someone else is going to. I came to you because the walls have fucking ears and you’re one of the few people who I think I can trust with this.  Not to mention you’re probably the only person in the whole damn Commonwealth who can figure out where she is in the first place.”

“I didn’t realize you thought so highly of me, Deacon.”  Had the situation not been so dire, his words might not have sounded so forced, so hollow.  Hearing those words come out of his mouth, Nick half wondered if, perhaps, Deacon thought too highly of him.  Hell, Nick wasn’t sure if he was even sure of himself.

“Maybe I do, maybe I don’t.  Maybe I’m just desperate, maybe I’m just asking my friend a favor.  Albeit the favor of a lifetime, but... please. If not for me, do it for her.”  Deacon stood then, adjusting back to his old, unreadable self behind those dark sunglasses of his.  He deftly undid the lock on the door and was gone just as quickly as he had come.

Well.

Nick now sat alone, once again trapped in the horrible, stifling quiet of early morning.  At least he had something to think about now. He had been right to worry, as this was one hell of a something.  This would probably be his most difficult case yet, and this time, he was doing it alone. Alone, always alone. His eyes wandered once more to the spare fedora and trench atop the empty desk.  Her’s.

His partner’s.

He abruptly slapped his hands on his desk and stood.  He had to move, think.

As he paced furiously back and forth across his office, burgeoning thoughts and theories raced through his metal head like a swarm of angry stingwings.  Now. Where could she be? Was she at Sanctuary? No, she wouldn’t want to be reminded of her family. Was she...? No. No, not that one either. Nick scowled as he poured over each and every possibility, trying to find some semblance of a starting point for the case.  Then, suddenly, an idea. Maybe she--

“Nick... what are you doing?”

Nick nearly jumped out of his boots at the sound of Ellie’s voice.  He hadn’t realized he had, again, been thinking out loud. Quite loudly, at that.  She stood in the doorway in her usual pink tatters, her hair still in rollers. She was thoroughly annoyed, and judging by the dark circles under her eyes and the wet rag pressed to her brow, still thoroughly hung over.  Under normal circumstances, she was as understanding as a saint. But now, she might as well be a deathclaw. At Nick’s continued silence, she raised a brow impatiently.

“I, ah.” Nick cleared his throat rather conspicuously as he attempted to find the right words to say.  “Just, ah... new case. It’s a favor for a friend.”

“At four in the morning?  Ah... nevermind. You never sleep anyway.”  Ellie shook her head and let out a huge yawn.  “So, detective. What’s the case?”

“Missing person.”

Ellie visibly winced.  “Man, even with the Institute gone we’re still going to have our hands full, aren’t we?  I was hoping for at least a few days vacation.”

Nick let out a chuckle.  Poor thing had been partying harder than anyone, thinking that with no Institute there might be a bit of a lull in the missing persons cases.  Even tried some of that Bobrov bleach over at the Dugout Inn. The regret of that decision was plain on her face, and judging from the dark bags beneath her eyes, still had quite a bit to sleep off.

“You can rest easy, Ellie.  I’ll be on my own for this one. So--” He holstered his faithful pipe pistol and a screwdriver, preparing what little he would need for the long journey ahead.  “-- I’ll be out of your hair soon enough.”

“Wait, what?  On your own? And you’re taking your gun?”  The look she gave him pulled at his ghost of a heart.  He bit his lip and reminded himself he did not have one to give, to hurt, or to break.   His face was hardened as she stepped forward, eyes wide with fear. “You’re leaving now?”

“Yup.  It ain’t going to be easy, but hey,” he flashed her a winning, reassuring smile, “I’ve worked with less.  Think you can hold down the fort here, doll?”

Instead of letting out that sigh of relief Nick had anticipated, Ellie’s frown deeped.  She stepped out of the doorway and approached him, still hugging her patchwork blanket around her like a frightened child.  She opened her blanket cocoon and before Nick could protest wrapped it around the both of them in a tight embrace. She buried her face in his chest and simply stood there, holding him.  A baffled Nick was slow to regain his bearing, but once he did he smiled somberly and held her back. Whether it was from the moonshine, the early morning chill or from her newfound fear he did not know, but poor Ellie shook like a leaf in a radstorm.  When she finally spoke her voice was quiet, pleading.

“Don’t go.”

He supposed that was to be expected.  An urgent case given the middle of the night couldn’t look good, especially not to the girl who saw him as the closest thing to family she had.  While Ellie could certainly take care of herself, he knew all too well the loneliness and worry that would plague her in his absence. His heart pulled again, or rather, one of his many old pieces acting up.  Faulty, malfunctioning. Mechanical.

“... I’m afraid it ain’t a question of taking the case or not, Ellie -- someone’s life is on the line in this one.”

Ellie immediately pulled away and gave him those sad, pleading eyes of hers.  “I don’t give a damn whether or not you take this case, Nick. Just... don’t go out on your own again.  Last time you were gone for weeks. Skinny Malone’s crew was about to turn you into scrap! Do you know how scared I was?  If Rosetta hadn’t been there-- wait. Rosetta. She’s your partner.”

“... That she is.”

“We could find her, bring her back so she can help you!  I’m sure if I ask the right people, they can find out where she is.  Please, just wait until she comes back. Wait until it’s safe. I... I can’t lose you again, Nick.”  After a moment, she cracked a strained smile. “I mean, there’s not a lot of other work out there for a detective’s secretary.  I’d rather not have an agency without a detective. So... wait? Please?”

“That’d probably be a bit too much of a wait, even for me.”

She let out a weak laugh and cocked an inquisitive brow.  “That impatient to get on the case, huh?”

“Well, Ellie, you see... she is the case.  A mutual friend of ours just let me know she’s missing.”

Ellie blinked once.  Twice. Three times.

“Yeah, exactly.  Thing is, I don’t think she wants to be found, and my source wasn’t too forthcoming with information.  Confidential, he said. So it’s probably for the best that I’m on my own, keep it under wraps and whatnot.”

“W-wait.  So you have no leads, no information... you only know that she’s missing.  The woman who blew up the Institute, you say her life is danger. And you’re going to scour the Commonwealth for her... with nothing but an old pipe pistol and a screwdriver?”

“... that about sums it up, yeah.”  Even to Nick, the notion was ridiculous.  If he couldn’t even save himself from Skinny Malone, how on earth could he save Rosetta?  But it wasn’t like he could just turn it down, no. That would mean letting the Commonwealth lose its one last beacon of hope in a hell of a long time.  At the very least, he had to try. He gave Ellie one last smile. “I’ll be back before you know it. Promise.”

“You better.”  Ellie stepped forward and gave Nick one last, long hug, and much to the detective’s surprise, a quick peck on the cheek.  “Go get her, Nick.”

[nicpotyedki]

Celestial Waterfall

English is not my native language, sorry for all mistakes! Please, be forgiving! I do my best! It’s my first fanfic in the fandom and probably last one (I think comic are better for me but I wanted to try fanfic anyway). The story is short, uncomplicated and the plot is simple. Look at it with a pinch of salt and try to have fun! Feel free to write your opinion if you want! And thanks for reading!

Thank you for request, @eene-fangirl! ~~ ^^

It was the middle of summer. A very hot summer. Usually at this time of year Peach Greek was vibrant. But not today. Anyone who was outside the house could swear that the temperature exceeded 200 degrees Celsius. Even the water in the pools was so hot that it resembled a Jacuzzi. Kevin wandered around the garbage dump to find entertainment. Among the used old and nothing worth of trash, you can sometimes find real treasures here. He knew it well. He once found a broken bike pump, which, thanks to the help of his father, worked today as new or at least medium-used. Kevin saw in the heap of old boxes a metal pipe that looked like a bicycle's steering wheel. He immediately extracted the metal part from under the rubbish heap. However, it turned out that it wasn’t steering, or any other part of the bicycle. Kevin paused for a moment, turning a strange metal object in his hands. It looked very familiar. He was sure that he already saw it already. Sure! It's a garden tool for watering the lawn. Through small openings, water flowed under great pressure like in a fountain. The perfect thing for today's weather. It looks like the garden hose is broken, but it's not a big problem. Kevin contentedly cleared his find. Suddenly, he heard someone shout behind his back.

-          Don't dare to touch it! It belongs to me!

It was Eddy's voice. Kevin looked at the pile of broken furniture, at the top of which stood Eddy with rage in his eyes.

-          “To me”? - Kevin mocked. – Get lost, Dork! I found it first!

-          This zone belongs to us! - Eddy jumped and stood opposite Kevin.

-          There are no zones here, Dork. And I won’t give it to you because I need it. Air conditioning broke down in my house. - Kevin tried to settle the dispute peacefully, but eventually waved his hand. – No matter. I have to go. Bye.

He grabbed the equipment carefully so as not to stain his blouse and he turned towards the exit. But Eddy grabbed the garden tool and yanked it.

-          I don’t care, Kevin! You will have to pay me to use it!

They both pulled with all their strength, and none of them had any intention of resigning. Finally Kevin shouted:

-          Enough! Stop it, Dork!! Let's deal with it like men! - Eddy blinked a bit confused.

-          …What? What do you mean? No negotiations. This… this “Celestial Waterfall” belongs to me!

Kevin pushed Eddy away and proudly tensed his chest.

-          Let's play a small beach ball game. The winner takes this miracle. - Kevin rested the trophy on his shoulder.

-          It's a provocation, right? - Eddy smirked.

-          It’s a challenge! - Kevin gave him a lofty look. - Tomorrow. In the afternoon. You and your team. On the beach. And if you really want your Niagara, don’t forget to bring luck with you, Dork.

-          I happen to be in a generous mood and I will grant your boon. You will need more luck, anyway.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next day, they both appeared on the beach with their teams.  Kevin’s team consisted of all kids of Cul-De-Sac.  The promise of winning a waterfall on this hot day was enough to motivate everyone to take part in the game. Kankers joined Eds’s team. It wasn’t difficult to encourage them, because Eds's visit made them very happy, and the opportunity to compete was something they could not give up apsolutely. The sun was still high in the sky when Kevin appeared on the beach with a large sports bag on his shoulder and a volleyball ball. Everyone was already there, and the atmosphere of competition was strongly felt in both teams.

-          Your presence here is proof that you want to compromise yourself. - Eddy took off his sunglasses when he saw Kevin. - Where's the trophy, cheat?

-          Word has been said! - Kevin threw his bag on the sand. - The winner takes the bag along with its contents!

-          And there's a fountain inside, right? - Jimmy beamed at the thought of it.

-          “Waterfall” - Sara corrected him. - That's what Kevin claims in any case. - She added with some doubt.

-          How did you manage to put a See cascade in such a small Tasche? - Rolf lifted the black bag gently in disbelief.

-          Hey! - Kevin shouted and snatched the trophy from him. – Not now! We will enjoy it when we win!

-          Kevin, is the water in this waterfall pleasantly cool? - Nazz asked, whose forelock was already stuck to her forehead because of the sweat.

-          And is it enough for all of us? – Jimmy asked.

-          I've already told you! All in good time! We’ll win the match first! - Kevin replied impatiently, irritated a bit by the constant questions.

-          I’m afraid that you’ll have to pour money to enjoy our miracle of nature. - Eddy put his arm around Jimmy with a sly smile. - Although only winners have the right to use the “Celestial Waterfall” but we’ll give you the opportunity to take advantage of our prize for the appropriate payment.

-          Eddy… - Edd began with some anxiety. - According to my superficial calculations, this bag can accommodate 6 liters of water, so it’s impossible to have a waterfall inside.

-          Wait for the win, Sockhead! - Eddy rubbed his hands. - It will be a hit of the summer season and a good profit.

 Everyone took their part of the pitch, and after a while the game began. Kevin and Eddy stood under the net, exchanging rival looks. However, the atmosphere of competition could be felt not only between team leaders. Nazz felt like at home. Fiercely and with a certain dedication she bounces every ball. It didn’t matter to her that she had fallen on the hot sand that was sticking to her sweaty body and getting caught in her hair. Kevin honored every bounced ball with a triumphant exclamation. Sarah constantly reprimanded Rolf, who couldn't quite understand the rules of the game, and his throws were so strong that each time the ball was out of the pitch. Due to not very nice comments directed towards Rolf, Sarah usually missed her balls, which additionally brought the nervous atmosphere in her team and the atmosphere of joy in the opponent's team. The situation was saved by Jonny, who to everyone's surprise knew the many tricks that Plank told him. However, the weak Jimmy felt pain at every stroke of the ball, and his well-groomed and delicate hands suffered so much. At one point Nazz, wanting to hit the ball, fell into Jimmy with impetus and drove him into the sand. Jimmy's mouth was full of sand and his orthodontic appliance contorted. For this reason, he was forced to leave the playing field, which resulted in one player missing from the Kevin team. It seemed, however, that only now the odds in both teams were equal, because despite the fact that the composition of Eddy's team consisted of six people, in fact Edd was a ghost player. Traumatic fear of balls made Double D avoid every ball that flew in his direction. He usually turned away or covered himself with his hands to protect his face and head. In addition, the persistent sun stung Ed's skin like a pins, which made both teams nervous with his groans. It seemed that Ed didn’t quite understand what was going on around him because he was only standing in the spot letting the ball bounce off his head. However, it gave great results so nobody in his team really didn't mind it. Kankers absolutely did not care about the rules of the game and often bend the rules, laughing aloud at the same time. Only Eddy tried to protect the team's honor by proving that a small man can cast a big shadow. Despite his short height, he jumped very high, and that allowed him to defend almost every ball. However, the most joy was given him by points scored by his team in a dishonest way.

The match was fierce, but the teams went head-to-head. It was a tie. Everyone was sweaty, tired and burnt by the sun when the leaders finally ordered a break. Sarah and Jimmy immediately ran to cool off in the lake. Edd rubbed all sunscreen into his skin. Kevin and Eddy were breathing hard and rubbing sweat from their faces, but they were still giving each other a hostile look.

-          What shameful fouls! - Eddy labored for a lofty look, but the sun was blinding him.

-          It's not art to be good when it's cheated. - Kevin gasped with difficulty.

-          Do yourself a favor and give back what belongs to us. - Lee interjected. Fatigue was barely visible on her.

-          We also want to collect our payment. – May gracefully arched and blinked toward Ed who, if not the fact that he was already wet, would sweat immediately.

-          It was me who found the waterfall and regardless of everything it belongs to me. - Kevin was clearly nervous. – And I proposed this match just to bring you down a peg, Dork! – Kevin shouted.

-          Hey, guys, stop it immediately. It’s just fun. - Nazz tried to calm down the situation, but there was no doubt that she also wanted to win.

-          You should choose words better, Kev! – Eddy said with satisfaction. - Because it looks like you're making a fool of yourself by your rashness.

-          The break is over!! - Kevin turned red on his face. – Team, get out of the water and return to the playing field!! In a jiffy!!

Everyone was lumbering and not willingly returned to their playgrounds.

-          Sarah, I am tired already. I can’t wait to chill in our waterfall. - Jimmy has sunk in dreams.

-          There is no problem, Jimmy! - Proudly shouted Eddy. - Just don’t forget the wallet!

-          Eddy! - Edd was clearly annoyed with the whole situation. – Don’t you think that charging for such basic and necessary raw material as water is at least a lack of tact, in fact I would say ...?

-          GUYS! - Kevin could not stand it. – It’s a tie! This is the decisive ball! Rolf! Where are you?! - Kevin was furious to see an empty seat on the pitch.

-          So, I found this waterfall… suposlly. -  Rolf held the garden tool that was previously in Kevin's bag.

-          Rolf, you silly! - Nazz snorted with sincere laughter. – It’s not a waterfall! It's a piece of scrap metal!

-          Rolf,  what are you doing? – Kevin didn’t have the strength for it all anymore. – Not yet! We need to get one more point, but this is a pure formality.

-          Rolf wanted to find only a Flasche of Wasser in the Tasche, but he found something that he remembers ding to his Nana’s Tracker. – He tried to justify himself.

-          One moment! What's that supposed to mean? - Sara became nervous.

-          Where’s “Waterfall”? - Nazz was clearly worried.

-          Plank says it’s a trash! - Jonny shouted.

-          Not exactly. - Edd noticed. - It seems to be an old sprinkler.

-          I feel cheated! - Jimmy was in despair.

-          Rolf sacrificed all Tag to play your comic Spiel while he should cut the sheep. - Rolf dropped the sprinkler into the sand.

-          We all played in this murderous heat to win a waterfall! Kevin, how could you?! – Nazz couldn’t believe it.

-          What a misery! Play it yourself! - Sarah shouted furiously.

-          Why is fate so perverse? - Jimmy whined.

-          Eddy! - Edd crossed his arms over his chest. He intended to give a sermon, but for lack of strength he gave up. He just sighed. - What did I expect?

-          Not nice, my dear! - Ed waved reproachfully his finger, but he didn’t really look angry.

-          Hey, sweety! - Kankers stood in front of him.

-          It's time for our payment. - Lee gently smiled.

Eddy  was confused, not only by directness of Lee, but also by the reactions of Double D and Ed.

-          Wait! The payment is only valid for the won match. We haven’t won anything yet. - Eddy tried to get out of this situation somehow.

-          Rolf’s got enough of your muddle. - Rolf got angry. - Rolf returns to the farm! It's time to drink Ruebe juice and feed Huehner!

-          Chickens!! Ed goes with Rolf! – Ed was immediately happy.

-          At least DU are useful, gross Ed! – Rolf smiled.

Ed eagerly ran after Rolf, without turning to his team.

-          Kevin, it was really mean! - Sweaty and furious Nazz shouted. She grabbed her beach bag, then without turning back to him she called. – You are so childish!

When she went away her sunglasses fell out. May noticed it. She grabbed it and ran after Nazz.

-          Hey, Blonde! You lost something!

-          Oh, thank you! - Nazz turned and took her property. - I'm so silly. - She tried to calm down.

-          Wow! - May screamed when she saw Nazz’s hand. - You have so beautiful nails! They have such a lovely color!

-          It's the color from the new collection! – Nazz was pleased to hear such a compliment. – My own mix! I have it with me if you want to try it. If you love nail polishes then come with me. At home I mix and test new colors. - Conversation with May clearly calmed her emotions.

Meanwhile, the rest of Kankers  didn’t bother with Eds anymore  too. Marie was charmed by Jonny's tactics and tricks that’s why Plank agreed to show her some tricks. Lee said that the guys are liars and pigs with which Sarah immediately agreed. That's why they left the beach in their company. They also found many common features and themes. It turned out that both of them aren’t very well liked in their environment due to their temperament and determined nature.

Jimmy, at the sight of sunburned back of Edd, immediately offered him his sunscreen cream and a cold drink at his home. Edd was really grateful to him, but Jimmy understood him well because he also had a delicate skin that would give him a lot of trouble on sunny days.

Soon only Kevin and Eddy were left on the beach. Both were confused and embarrassed by the situation. Eddy tried to keep a stony face, and Kevin just sighed.

-          Maybe… - Kevin finally began. – Nazz was right?

-          Yeah. - Eddy nodded without looking at him. – Where’s your team? - he asked with a mockery in his voice.

-          There where is yours, Dork. -  Kevin replied with no idea how to react to the existing state of affairs.

There was a moment of silence that no one had the courage to break. Eventually, Kevin broke through.

-          It's late. I promised my father that I would help him clean up the garage. I have to go. – Kevin said still feeling stupid. – Take “Waterfall”, I mean…  sprinkler. I won’t  have time to use it anyway and…

-          No, YOU take it! - Eddy suddenly interrupted him, and he was ashamed that he care so much for such stupidity like an old sprinkler. - Your air conditioning is broken and I… I have a lot of other ideas. - He smiled trying to look proud and confident. - Why do I need an old sprinkler?

-          Right! - Kevin smiled uncertainly. - If you want, you can borrow it at any time. - he laid his hand gently on his shoulder, fearing he would be pushed away and he smiled honestly.

-          You can count on it, Kev! - Eddy carelessly put his arm around him. – Listen! Let's make a party in my garden! You’ll take a “Waterfall” and we’ll invite everyone to the Waterparty!

-          Hey, that’s sound like a great idea, D-.. Eddy! - Kevin returned the embrace. – I feel that it’ll be great fun!

THE END <3

[johnthewriter-blog]

Flashbang

Flashbang

 The front doors of apartment condos of Lani’s building overlooking Square One are painted a stark, pristine white that glow under the harsh glare of the halogen lights.

Lani’s door is a cherry red.

I stand at the end of the hallway and look back at the closing elevator, shrug, and knock on the door.

The cushy material of the dark carpet pokes through the hole in the bottom of my sneaker.

There is a sharp mark on the door where Lani has probably been kicking the door open with her heels.

I knock again.

Lani sings through the door, “Come in, John!”

I turn the lock, and step inside.

The apartment is open concept; decorative Japanese wall screens the color of eggshells separate the kitchen from the bedroom and living room, which are blended into one. A projector screen above Lani’s mattress projects a surfing competition on a blank stretch of wall, and speakers secreted throughout the apartment blast commentary on some Australian woman’s technique. Next to the mattress, a low table with a glass top holds Lani’s phone and the remote for the projector and a bottle Tylenol.

Wrapped in her sheets, Lani’s leg bobs up and down as she listens.

Her eyes are covered in thick gauze and bandages.

I let the door swing shut behind me, lock it, and take a deep breath.

Lani’s head turns toward me, unseeing.

I smell breakfast drifting from the kitchen.

Pancakes and eggs.

I squat down, and study the bandages obscuring her searching face. When the wooden planks under my feet creak, Lani turns again.

Her foot freezes and her voice wavers, questioning.

“John?”

I let my name echo through the apartment a moment and stand properly.

“Your door’s unlocked.”

“I knew you were coming.”

I shake my head and she says nothing.

“Where’s your sister?” I ask her.

Lani smiles, and turns back to the projector.

“This woman down the hall is looking after her.  A’alona likes her cats.”

I remember Lani’s little sister loves animals. The smaller and cuter, the better for A’alona.

I open my mouth, and Lani continues.

“…besides, I had a date.”

I step forward and sit beside her, and she shifts to make more room, still staring at the screen.

I realize she’s brushed her hair and the long black tresses have been arranged into rough braids.

It looks nice, but I won’t give in yet.

I won’t tell her.

I wave a hand in front of her face.

Nothing.

“Why am I here?”

Lani looks after my voice and a sheepish grin creeps across her lips.

“I’ve got this psych assignment in my backpack.”

“I’m not a Psych Major. Why don’t you do it?”

She doesn’t bite.

Her voice, deadpan cool and her face is smooth stone.

“You’re better with words than I am, John. Besides, I’ll pay you this time.”

I snort.

I consider her hair and the driftwood hairbrush poking out from under her pillow.

“You were going on a date? You’re blind! Doesn’t Laurel know?”

Lani shrugs, and winces as she tries to roll her eyes.

I see her hands tremble on her pillow.

“Laurel came here. Hence breakfast. We made it together.”

She rolls over again, and stretches, and points toward the bathroom.

The Bob Marley t-shirt I’d given her has shrunk, and as usual, she hasn’t bothered with pants.

“Have some, Ku`u Lei.”

Loved One.

I nod, but wave my hand in front of her face again.

“John?”

I pull back the offending fingers as if I’ve been burned.

“Yeah, Lani?”

“I said you can have some.”

“Right, right.”

I stand, and she turns again, looking back at the screen.

The Japanese panels are real or at least she claims.

A glorious, blood red sun, as tall as I am, has been printed onto the folded screen.

I reach out to touch the silk, and kiss my teeth.

Lani flinches, but continues to stare at the screen.

If she won’t say anything I won’t.

I walk past the screens that close off Lani’s most prized possessions; her clothes, shoes and her surfboards. The shoes, heels, boots and other footwear I can’t begin to name nor describe have been tossed into a small pile opposite her clothes. Dresses, jeans and underwear in all colors are piled with t-shirts, hats and shorts. A vacuum-wrapped carton of bubble-gum occupies the corner.

The surf boards, about a dozen in all, with bright colors and vibrant designs, hang from a black steel frame, arranged one over the other to hang perfectly straight. Without even trying, I can still smell the pineapple surfboard wax I had seen Lani spend hours working into her more prized models.

Turning away from Lani’s treasures I enter the kitchen.

The pancakes are staying warm in the oven, and the eggs, covered in a frying pan, rest atop the stove.

I grab a mostly clean plate off the granite counter and heap on as much as it can hold.

Then I freeze.

My eyes flick to the bathroom.

Then the ‘spare room’ where Lani’s friends in ‘sauga would crash.

I raise my voice, “Lani, Laurel isn’t here, is she?”

Her voice is a sing-song, mocking sound.

“No, mea aloha, I booted her out.”

I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding, grab a bottle of syrup, and toss a fork onto the plate.

I’ve been a third wheel before and have no wish to repeat the experience.

As I balance the plate and bottle in one hand, I turn the heat down on the oven and the bottle’s brightly designed label catches my eye. I stare at the pineapple emblazoned across the label and scowl.

But I bring it the bottle with me, drizzling as I return and take a seat on the floor next to the glass table.

The pancakes are good.

I munch for a moment and think, watching her ‘watch’ surfer after surfer risking life and limb scaling rising mountains of water.

Her ‘gaze’ never wavers.

I sniff, and point with the fork, a syrup-soaked pancake chunk hanging from the tines.

“So, you kicked her out? How come?”

“Yeah. She started annoying me with all these questions, and I’m pretty sure she was poking through my phone, so I told her to ‘bounce’.”

Chewing, I consider this, and try to form the words, and wince as I trip over them.

“Maopopo iaʻu ʻole.”

It means “I don’t understand’, and Lani laughs.

“That was terrible, John. You’re trying to take shortcuts with the syllables…”

Her leg goes up and down again and again.

“…it’s a language of love and sun. You have to love and bask in each sound.”

She looks above my head, and smiles.

I wave my fork in front of her face like a wand.

“Lani, I’m down here.”

She muffles her face into her pillow and screams.

I continue eating.

When she raises her head, her smile is lopsided.

“It itches. And the doctor says I can’t scratch.”

She holds up her hands, and I see her prized nails had been cut down to the quick and the polish is a chipped and faded red.

Swallowing egg, I wish for I’d remembered salt.

She turns over, and stares at the ceiling, her stomach rising and falling with each breath.

“Lani,” I mumble around bland egg, “Did you know magnesium is used in flash grenades?”

She nods.

“The doctor mentioned as he was prescribing stuff for the pain.”

“How long until the bandages come off?”

She doesn’t say anything.

“Lani?”           

Still nothing.

I put down the plate and reach for the Tylenol, and read the label.

OxyContin.

Bold letters blazed along the bottle, warning, “OxyContin contains oxycodone which is an opioid agonist and a Schedule II controlled substance with an abuse liability similar to morphine.”

Lani hears the pills shift in the bottle and turns her back toward me, staring at the screens across from her.

The surfers continue hurling themselves out into the ocean.

Her voice is quiet.

“It has been four weeks.”

I’m confused.

Maybe it’s the warm food in my stomach.

“I know I haven’t seen you in a while…”

I flinch at the word, but continue.

“…but I was busy, and I’m here now!”

She shakes her head.

“It has been four weeks since they should have come back, and I can’t see anything.”

I look at the bottle, and open it.

The pills are untouched.

I rattle them at Lani’s back.

“If you took your medic-“

Exasperated, she turns back toward me, reaching out for the table, and knocks her phone to the floor.

“John, they’re painkillers. They only push back the ache.”

I stare at the bottle.

Her hand dangles off the edge of the mattress and she stares, dejected and thoughtful, at the glass table, unable to see it with her green eyes covered in layers of gauze.

“The doctor says I need to wait. And not scratch.”

“Are you?”

“No. I don’t need the painkillers. They’re the reason my mom died and I had to bring my sister here, away from my dad.”

Her hands become fists.

I shuffle over my plate of food and try to meet her eyes, leaving the bottle on the floor. The phone is warm and smooth in my palm as I take it up from the smooth whorls in the wood grain. I take one of her fists in my hand and force it open, pressing the phone into her hand. Her other hand, a seashell bracelet hanging from her wrist, reaches out, searching for me.

She finds the dog tag around my neck, frowns, and mouths something I choose to ignore.

I bring my forehead to hers and push her face away from mine.

She smiles.

“Lani, everything will be okay. You’ll see.”

I glance up at the projector, where a woman with long dreadlocks flips her board off a wave, and crashes into the water. After a moment, the camera shows her face, grinning from the water, waving wildly and offering a thumbs-up to the screen.

I whisper again, holding her hand and my head to hers.

“You’ll see.”

[dietpillswatchdog]

10 Ways To Speed Up Your Weight Loss

Let’s start with some simple maths: if you want to lose just one pound, that’s 3,500 calories you’ve got to cut out from your diet.

And in this era of seriously surplus calories in pretty much everything we eat, you could drop a pound a month just by losing 100 calories a day, and you wouldn’t notice a thing.

Most people want to lose weight faster than that though, and if you’re one of those people you’re in luck: here are ten weight-loss accelerators to help you safely reach your ideal weight as fast as possible.

They don’t include anything bad for you like skipping meals, living on nothing but juice, cutting fats completely and gimmick diets, and they certainly don’t include anything really harmful, like overdosing on laxatives, or anything downright dangerous, like surgery.

And there’s nothing here about dropping too many calories a day, because that would just put your body into starvation mode. That’s where your physical and mental energy start going downhill fast, and rather than burning off fat cells your body would start nourishing itself with your muscle tissue.

So with all that in mind, let’s begin.

Weight-loss accelerator #1: Exercise

You may have believed certain TV “authorities” before, when they claimed you could lose weight by taking a certain supplement and still stay sprawled practically motionless on your couch.

But if you’d kept your eye on the news you might just have seen stories about those “authorities” receiving a slap on the wrist (or a nine-million-dollar lawsuit) for promoting a miracle supplement that wasn’t as miraculous as they’d made it out to be.

So you need to keep those muscle cells and grow some more, because they’re the ones that burn up more calories than fat cells.

Cardio burns the most calories, while weight training develops the most muscle mass.

One study says successful weight loss needs a sensible diet and about an hour of moderate exercise each day.

That might not be possible, time-wise, or it may just be too much of a shock to a previously sedentary system. So to start with, parking further away from the office and taking the stairs instead of the elevator is a nice gentle way of getting used to physical activity, before joining your local gym.

Before we get on to the food and drink side of things, let’s take a look at something too many people don’t realize has an important role to play in speedy but safe weight loss.

Weight-loss accelerator #2: Sleep

Some people don’t manage to get six to eight hours of sleep each and every night. But they might go to bed a little earlier when they realize that lack of sleep has been linked to diabetes and obesity.

And it’s not just because of those late-night refrigerator raids: there’s a chemical in the body called leptin, and when leptin levels are high, appetite levels are low. And when leptin levels are low, that’s when those hunger pangs can kick in.

So leptin affects food choices in general, and also snack sizes, as in the bigger the better.

And guess what lowers leptin levels? You got it: lack of sleep.

Lots of sleep can keep that appetite curbed. Now let’s look at what happens right after eight hours in dreamland.

Weight-loss accelerator #3: Breakfast

Skipping breakfast isn’t a great idea. Yes, there’s all sorts of other stuff that needs to get done in the morning, but surely you can find a way to take ten minutes to set yourself up for the day.

It’s not like you’ve got to prepare a weekend-style brunch for yourself on a Monday morning, but if nothing more, a bowl of cereal or oatmeal will give your body enough fuel to see you through to lunchtime.

If you’re more into protein than carbs, you might agree with the school of thought which tells us we should have “ten before ten”. That’s ten grams of protein before ten every morning. Ten grams of protein are conveniently packed into just two eggs, any style you like, and no matter how you cook them it’ll take a lot less than ten minutes.

Now let’s move on to something that might take a lot longer than ten minutes to prepare, but well worth the wait.

Weight-loss accelerator #4: Real unprocessed food

Obviously you’ll need to cut down on processed food because of all its empty calories, but another reason is that it takes your body a certain number of calories just to digest whatever you’ve eaten. That should be 10% of what you’ve consumed.

When it comes to processed food, things are a little different. When you’ve eaten processed food, your body uses up 5% of the calories you’ve just consumed.

So that means not only are you getting empty calories (for example, added sugar), you’re leaving existing calories unused and leaving them to pile up around the waistline.

And so many processed foods contain much more sugar than your body really needs at any time. The manufacturers disguise the fact on labels by using fancy terminology like corn sugar, dextrose, fructose, glucose, high-fructose, glucose syrup, honey, invert sugar, isoglucose, levulose, maltose, molasses, sucrose, and probably more we haven’t come across yet.

The American Heart Association recommends men consume less than 36 grams (that’s just over a single ounce) of sugar a day, while women should have 24 grams, which is just under an ounce.

That’s 9 teaspoons of sugar each day for men, and 6 for women.

Weight-loss accelerator #5: Speeding up your metabolism

Even when you think you’re doing nothing, your body’s still using up calories. And the faster your metabolism, the more calories you’re going to use up while you think you’re doing nothing.

And how to speed up your metabolism?

Foods containing Omega-3 fatty acids: they balance blood sugar, reduce inflammation and help to regulate the body’s metabolism.

Strength training: it’s said that the average woman in her thirties who does 30-40 minutes strength training twice a week for four months will speed up her metabolism enough to burn off an extra 100 calories a day – whether she’s training on that day or not.

Small meals – and often: instead of sending your blood sugar levels skyrocketing with three big meals a day, six smaller meals a day prevent the kind of spikes in insulin levels that have a lot to do with promoting weight gain.

Safe produce: pesticide-laden fruits, vegetables and grains interfere with your thyroid, and can slow down your metabolism. If you can’t go organic, at least give non-organic foods a good wash before cooking or eating them.

OK so we’ve been looking briefly at what to eat, it’s now time to move on to…

Weight-loss accelerator #6: How to eat

Smaller portions! Need we say more?

Once you’ve got that smaller portion in front of you, eat it slowly for a couple of reasons: first, it takes about 20 minutes for your stomach to register that it’s full. So if you eat fast throughout those twenty minutes, you’ve overfilled your stomach, which can lead to all sorts of problems more than just some extra weight.

The second reason is that the slower you eat, the more you tend to chew, and that’s a good thing: chewing releases enzymes into your saliva. That’s a sort of pre-digestion process before your stomach gets to work. A glass of water just before mealtimes stretches the stomach, fooling your system into thinking you won’t need so much food when it’s time to sit down to eat.

We all need protein, but if we get too much of it at once it’s going to raise our insulin levels, which eventually ends up as excess fat around our waist. So it’s best to spread protein intake throughout the day, as in half of it during your main three daily meals, and the other half in three small seriously-protein snacks in between.

Speaking of snacks…

Weight-loss accelerator #7: Snacks

We’re not saying snacking is wrong, but you do need to make a change or two when you start off on your weight-loss journey. If you’ve got a whole heap of temptation in the form of sugary, processed and fatty snacks in your kitchen, best to find them a new home. Someone will love them, that’s for sure. Just make sure that someone isn’t you.

Now it’s time to replace those pre-packaged snacks with well-washed fruits and vegetables in a bowl on the counter, ready to be picked up and nibbled on whenever the urge strikes. Instant foods like raw vegetables and fruits contain plenty of fiber and water which keep hunger pangs at bay while keeping your body hydrated.

Weight-loss accelerator #8: Hydration

If you’re following a diet that cuts down on salt and starches, you’re going to reduce fluids and fluid retention, meaning a dramatic loss of weight right at the beginning of your diet. But that would only be losing water, not fat cells.

And because your body’s made up of so much water, if you lose too much of it you run the risk of dehydration, which can affect you physically, mentally and emotionally. It can even, if severe enough, cause your internal organs to start shutting down and even be fatal.

So keep drinking – but leave those sports and energy drinks alone: they can be crammed full of more sugar than soft drinks, and contain more caffeine than your average cup of coffee. That might work for athletes who’ll take a single workout to burn off all that sugar and caffeine and anything else written into the small print on the can, but not for everybody else.

If you’re bored with plain water, there’s always a bit of flavoring in green tea (no milk and sugar, though), plus antioxidants, nutrients and metabolism boosters.

Weight-loss accelerator #9: Accountability

SMART is an acronym describing business goals. You can apply it to losing weight, since in this case it would stand for: Specific, Measurable, Agreed Upon, Realistic and Time-Based.

And thanks to fitness trackers and regular checking of the bathroom scales, your weightloss journey is definitely “Measurable”.

But let’s look at “Agreed Upon”. Who’s doing the agreeing here? You and friends? Family? Social network? Fellow dieters? Anybody? If you can hold yourself accountable to someone for specific, measurable, realistic and time-based weight-loss results, then you’ve got a much better chance of dieting success than if you keep them a deep, dark secret from everybody.

Weight-loss accelerator #10: Cheat meals

It may feel wrong to enjoy a calorie-laden meal once every now and then but there are a couple of good reasons, especially if that meal involves revisiting your favourite fast-food joint.

Good reason number one is that any cravings you may have for that particular kind of meal get dealt with without a bad case of dieter’s guilt.

And good reason number two is that after not having eaten like that for a while, you’ll definitely notice the difference in the way you feel after your scheduled cheat meal.

And finally

It’s said that the key to weight-loss is never to feel like you’re dieting. If you feel like you’re going out of your way to deprive yourself of the foods you’ve enjoyed up to now, then if not slowing your weight-loss process right down you’re definitely reducing your chances of success.

But if you do find yourself slipping back into bad eating habits, don’t give in to the temptation to beat yourself up: remember, you’re not the only one who’s strayed from the straight and narrow path.

It may feel like the end of the world, but it’s only a hiccup and it’s your choice when to get back onto that path again. And the sooner you do, the faster you’ll reach your ideal weight.

Good luck!

The post 10 Ways To Speed Up Your Weight Loss appeared first on Diet Pills Watchdog.

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