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askbloatedbellyblog · 4 years ago

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Suneater’s Pants Problem

(Once again I try to write a short drabble and then it is definitely not)

The patrol day at Tamaki’s internship started so well. As he changed clothes from his civilian outfit to his hero uniform, he was pleased at the progress that he had been making with Mirio in the weight room and training. He was always proud of it and took it as a symbol of Mirio’s hard work and being able to be stronger to protect his now powerless friend. His stomach growled loudly in protest from lack of being fed after their hard workout after Tamaki had to leave the gym directly to go to his internship with Fatgum.

He pulled on his black spandex compression shirt over his defined muscles, his athletic and toned muscles, though not as big as others more muscle bound than he (Mirio came to mind), bulged out from the stretched fabric. It brushed over his abs even as his empty stomach behind them groaned in need, the cobbled muscle still concave down to his narrow waist. “Can’t you be quiet for once?” He asked his own body as he rubbed his hand over his abs to try to signal that now was not the time. Kirishima walked into the locker room just as Tamaki was done putting on his shirt and about to put on his hood and vest. “Looking good there Suneater! So manly!” the redhead added, not so subtly checking him out. However, Tamaki’s stomach didn’t want to be left out and let out a mighty roar of hunger like a monster was clawing its way out. Both looked down at Tamaki’s flat stomach. Tamaki lowered his hood in embarrassment. “...Sorry... I didn’t get to eat.” This ended up being Tamaki’s famous last words.

Several hours later, after their shift was done, Tamaki groggily pulled himself into the locker room with a hiccup. It had been a slow day on patrol with Fat Gum and Kirishima had taken the opportunity to spill the beans that Tamaki was hungry. Not only that but Tamaki’s stomach agreed with the statement and let out a growl loud enough to even make Fat Gum worry. “Don’t worry there Suneater! We got you covered! You’re a growing boy, we’ll make sure you get plenty to eat!” Fat Gum said, slapping Tamaki on the back hard enough that he almost went flying. Kirishima was all smiles though there seemed to be a glint in his eyes that the anxiety ridden Tamaki worried meant something else, and he was right.

The pair had apparently made it their mission to feed Tamaki plate after plate of food at the local restaurants on patrol. Tamaki was pretty sure he had lost count as he just tried to keep up with everything that was shoved into his face. He knew there was more to it when he was full and trying to tell Fat Gum he had had enough, but Kirishima kept pushing for Tamaki to eat more. “You should have heard how loud his stomach was! It’s so manly, we got to make sure he eats just as manly an amount!” as he got Fat Gum to pay for another order.

But now the damage was done. Tamaki had had to undo his vest and utility belt to make room for his aching stomach, and was grateful for said vest and his hoodie to hide some of the damage the food had done to him while he was shoving food into his mouth. He just wanted to be done and home and rest off his protesting food baby that stretched the skin on his middle. His stomach was just as noisy as before but instead of growls of hunger, it was giving off sounds of protest. His stomach glorped and gurgled, with shifting food inside as it made its way down his digestive tract painfully obvious as he moved. He sat down with a huff and bent over to try to undo do his clothes in front of his locker. As he bent forward with a grunt, he burped unintentionally as he took off his robe then his tight fitting spandex pants that hugged his butt and legs and looped around the arch of his foot. His protesting and burbling stomach in his lap pressed down on his legs, making it painfully obvious just how round and bloated he really was.

Tamaki rubbed his belly to try to take the edge off or coddle it to let it know he was painfully aware of it’s protests. It wasn’t exactly his fault he ate so much. I mean it partly was because deep down he liked being full, bloated, heavy, and round; letting his inward gluttony come out. But he didn’t want it today! They just kept shoving food at him, especially Kirishima! Well at least that’s what he tried to say softly to his stomach as he worked up the courage to continue to change his clothes. Taking a deep but painful breath, thanks to his overly engorged middle, he took off his spandex shirt that had put in a good fight over his indulgence but had moved past being able to contain his bloated out abs completely and had ridden up to his stretched belly button. It was near hard as a rock before thanks to his training and now his middle was near hard as a rock from his eating. He grunted loudly as he pulled the shirt off over his chest and head and then pulled his arms out of the tight material.

Steeling himself once more, he grabbed his boxers and put them on, grunting again as he had to work around his bulging belly in his middle to slip his feet into the hole and then stand up. He was forced to have them low, under the swell of his belly. “One down…” he said with a huff, his dark bangs moving a bit out of his face from the puff of frustrated air. He tried to bent at his knees a bit to then grab his jeans and tried to balance as best he could to put on the jeans while standing since he was not eager to let his belly get in his way once again. He tried to use the side of the locker as a brace for balance and pull up the jeans and fit his feet through the holes. He let out a sigh that this procedure was substantially easier than putting his boxers on despite his lack of firm balance. He grunted again as he bent down to grab the waistline of the jeans to pull it up to his waist. The jeans always showed off his legs and butt, and had only gotten better at doing so thanks to Mirio’s constant training. He could feel them sliding over his muscular bubble butt. He felt relief like this eating adventure was almost over and he could go home and rest.

That is until he went to try to zip up the fly of his pants. His belly had grown enough aside from the first inch and half of his fly near his crotch and snatched waist that the two sides of the fabric refused to meet or be forced together, let alone their marriage at the button at the waistline. The blood drained from his face. Somehow despite having eaten himself to such a state before, it hadn’t occurred to him it would happen and he had tried so hard to prevent this from happening on his internship days. “Oh no, no, no, no…” he started to whimper to himself as he tried once again to zip up the remainder of his fly. He sucked his stomach in, much to it’s annoyance as he burped loudly at the pressure though it was directed at his muscular chest as he was quite focused on looking down even though he couldn’t see the results over his bloated belly. His stomach sloshed around hard as he sucked in again and then let it out. He sucked it in one more time getting up another inch or so of progress on the zipper but any progress he made was immediately lost and his zipper even conceded territory once he let out his inhaled breath and it almost looked like his stomach was even bigger than before.

He then made an ill-advised attempt to try to force his pants higher on his body by jumping up and down, his gut protesting at every shake. The firm and heavy organ seemed delayed as it moved up and down just a bit slower than the rest of Tamaki, making it slosh around like an overfilled barrel. He jumped and tried to pull the two sides of the zipper together at the same time as it only served to make the jeans ride up higher and hug his muscular ass even more. But as soon as he let go, the zipper would spread open like the parting of the Red Sea with his stretched pale flesh filling the gap almost immediately.

Tamaki gave up and sat down on the bench in a huff, dejected that he’d be forced to go home with his pants so exposed. Shirtless and with his belly in his lap he brought his head to his hands as he tried to think of something to do or at least get up the courage to finish dressing to then go out and face the world with his globe of a gut.

However, he never got prepared for that moment, for it was at that point that Kirishima opened the door to the locker room and found the bellied hero sitting there in anxiety ridden despair. “Dude! Look at that monster belly mound! You really do look like you ate the sun! That’s manly as hell,” he said, going up and rubbing Tamaki’s bloated and rounded abs with his hand and poked it to test that it was real. Tamaki let out a soft belch though was almost too dejected to worry about the intrusion of his personal space. “I...ate too much. Why did you keep having me eat?”

“Because you were hungry and you’re eating is crazy awesome and honestly kind of hot. Tell you what, we can get you some dessert on the way home, and I’ll help provide some cover for your belly by walking in front. Besides with your shirt on, I doubt anyone would even notice!” Kirishima said still more focused on Tamaki’s bloated belly than anything else.

“You’d do that for me?” Tamaki asked hopefully. “Sure!” Kirishima said, tossing Tamaki his shirt. “Though I got to say, you’re also looking pumped as hell. Those workouts are really paying off for you.” He commented while Tamaki put on his shirt and sweater and tried to cover most of his belly. It covered his opened pants but it was still very obvious that Tamaki was bloated as hell. Kirishima patted Tamaki hard on the back in a show of friendship but all that did was make Tamaki let out a belch that rattled them metal of all the lockers in the locker room. “Excuse me…” Tamaki croaked out as he wiped away some of the spittle that had come shooting out of his mouth thanks to the extra powerful belch.

“No worries dude! Now let’s think about what to get you for some dessert. By the way, just how much do you think you can fit in that thing? Something extra big?” Kirishima asked, trailing off as they left the agency locker rooms for their dorms, but still no doubt making some additional eating pit stops for them both along the way.

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morethanalittleconfused · 4 years ago

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I accidentally wrote a 5k fanfic about incidents caused aboard the ghost by differences between species

I've been reading a lot of those old tumblr posts that are like “what if humans are actually just really, really hardy and alien species would be just completely blown away with the shit we put up with without a second thought” and it's got me thinking about the crew of the Ghost trying to get used to each other at first with three humans that are all just absolutely fucking insane, even more so than even your average human.

Rebels spoilers ahead, as well as a trigger warning for blood, vomit and general injuries

It starts with Hera and Kanan. It’s just the two of them, aboard the Ghost, and it takes some getting used to.

At first Hera is shocked by the way Kanan's body seemingly has no limits. He has never once complained about the temperature of the ghost, even when they were running low on power and Hera could feel her limbs start to get sluggish from the cold. Two weeks later he somehow managed to find his way back to the ghost after being in -2 degree Celsius weather for a half an hour with no coat on. When he walked back through the hatch with snow blowing in his loose hair and a red nose and said “it's cold as shit out there” after Hera had been panicking about losing him for the literal entire time, she had to practically scrape her jaw off of the floor. She would have been dead after a few minutes, and yet here he was, now steaming from a shower and shirtless, bitching about how the caf maker was broken.

As time went on, she learned his body did have some limits to the heat. At about 35 degrees he got irritable and short, but that was about when she started getting uncomfortably warm, too. But he would tolerate it. And more. He kept impressing her with the things he somehow managed to pull off, in conditions she would have thought would kill him. He could get knocked around far more than she thought he should be able to, and would haul himself back to the ship with a grin every time.

The way his body worked constantly surprised her. She noticed it first in how quickly he healed, and in how much he ate.

He could eat literally anything. Things she thought were poisonous for most species. He loved chocolate, and would easily eat ten times the amount that would send her to the hospital to get her stomach pumped. He could withstand a ridiculous amount of alcohol, and could drink unprocessed coffee with no problem by the cup. Caf didn't seem to really affect him because his body processed it so fast. And he ate so. Much. it was ridiculous. The good thing was it didn't really seem to matter what.

Hera didn't need much food, but it had to be good. It had to count. Too much filler and she would lose strength. Her body couldn't process a lot, and if what she got wasn't exactly what she needed, her health went downhill, quick.

Kanan was not the same. He could, and would, eat anything. He didn't have any noticeable preference for plants or meat, or the quality of the food. If he could get his hands on it, he would eat it. He would eat food out of the refrigerator she would have considered to be dangerous. He put appalling amounts of random, unrelated food in a pan, cooked it, and acted like that was an acceptable thing to do. Omelets? She hated the very idea but he seemed to think they were wonderful.

And yet, for all that, they had once been stranded for over a week with only enough rations for one, and Kanan had insisted that she take the vast majority of the ration bars. She pushed back, and he then presented her with the absolutely shocking fact that humans can survive for over a month with no food. She was absolutely flabbergasted, and he took advantage of her stunned silence to press another ration into her hand, smirk at her and say, “I can take it. Trust me.”

Another thing she noticed very quickly was how fast he healed.

He could be bleeding openly one minute, and the wound seemed to close itself the next. She knew human blood had clotting factors far beyond that of nearly any other being, but it was ridiculous how fast he sealed himself up. Further into their relationship she got to see this close up when she accidentally touched some of his congealed blood on the floor of the refresher after cleaning him up. She had had to turn away and take a few deep breaths at the slimy, gelatinous texture. He had gently huffed out a laugh.

“Kinda gross huh?”

“Yeah... it's… unique.”

“I've always been kind of fascinated by the way it congeals so quickly. Handy I guess.”

Out of sheer curiosity she had run the end of a pen through the small puddle and been horrified to see that it mostly stuck together.

“It just… does that? Inside you? And that doesn't cause problems?”

“It can. If it clots when it's not supposed to. But mostly it keeps me alive.”

And it did. And though she wouldn't say it to his face, his ability to pull through seemingly anything took just one more worry off her plate. His wounds would be almost completely closed in often under a week, where she would have been dealing with bandages and salves for a month. He almost never got infections, and could keep going with seemingly incapacitating injuries.

They had once narrowly escaped a fight with a gang of imps and made it back to the ghost with almost no problems. She had a sprained ankle, so he had supported her most of the way there, and they had patched up each other's scrapes. He had needed a bit of training so he didn't just slap a bandaid on what could have been a potentially life threatening injury for her, but he did alright. It was only later, when they were sitting in the cockpit, well into hyperspace, and he had coughed suddenly, when things went sideways. She turned to see blood seeping out of the corner of his mouth, and more on his hand when he pulled it away. They both looked at it for a moment, then Hera almost blacked out as a sudden wave of adrenaline washed over her.

“Kanan you're- are you- let me make the calc- are you dying?”

“What? Oh- no I had thought I just cracked a few of my ribs but it would appear I must have broken at least one of them.”

“BROKEN? Your bone? Like in half?”

“I- yeah?”

“Chopper we need to get to the nearest med center right now. Tell them were coming. I dont care if its a fucking imperial light cruiser”

“Wait no lets not be hasty-”

“HASTY? YOU BROKE YOUR BONES KANAN”

“Okay i know it looks bad but really i'm not going to keel over and die right now. Make sure it's a safe med center and cheap too. I can wait.”

“Kanan your bones are literally broken.”

“Yeah. It's happened before and it will happen again. I've broken my arm twice. I've broken one of the bones in my lower leg. A couple toes. At least one finger. And don't even get me started on my nose. It didn't always look like this.” At that he had huffed out a small laugh, but then winced and brought a hand to his lower chest. Almost as an afterthought, he reached down and pulled up the hem of his shirt. She had started to avert her eyes at the sliver of hip he showed, but as he pulled the shirt up higher and revealed more, she felt the breath taken out of her. His skin was mottled a whole host of awful colors, angry and puffy. He coughed that wet cough again and said, “Maybe I do need a med center after all”

She was incredibly relieved when they dropped out of hyperspace and into the welcoming arms of medicine. She was less happy when Kanan was returned to her, that night no less, with only bandages around his chest and a note to “take it easy for a while” she was appalled to say the least.

His ridiculously resilient body sometimes created just as many problems as it solved, though. He got into bar fights after downing enough alcohol to kill a bantha, and got the piss kicked out of him. He ran headfirst into danger with little consideration for life or limb. He was reckless, and incredibly hotheaded, and overall behaved like a clown. She had no idea how the Jedi accepted humans into their ranks, if Jedi he was. Restraint, my ass.

His recklessness applied to food as well. He didn't really seem to mind what he ate, content with the knowledge that if it didn’t work out, he could always regurgitate it back up. Twi’leks could not vomit, like many other species. It was yet another bizarre human trait. The ability to purge substances from your body without them having to pass through your entire digestive tract and cause more issues had always seemed like a neat trick to Hera. That is, of course, until she saw it in action.

She was roused one night by a strange noise coming from the refresher, and she had padded to the door, only to find it open. Blinking in the harsh light, she saw Kanan curled on the floor, wearing no shirt. His hair was loose and hanging around his face, and he was panting heavily. She only had time to say “Kanan, what-” before he coughed and vomited into the bowl.

Her immediate reaction ricocheted from “Oh my god he's dying” to “I’m actually going to die just having to witness this” to “Oh stars he is actually dying” so fast she could barely process it. She was immediately horrified but had no idea how to help him.

“Kanan are you- do you need a medic? How- chop- CHOPPER! How do I help you? Are you hurt?”

He had turned and peered up at her with puffy eyes and a runny nose. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. He tried to talk but his voice came out too rough and he had to try again. Even then it was strangely thick.

“Hera? Are you okay?”

“Am I okay? Am I okay Kanan? You're in here dying for stars sake and I have no idea how to help you and where the hell is chopper-”

“Hey. hey.” He turned away for a moment and took a long breath in through his nose. “Calm down for a sec. I feel like shit so you're going to have to talk slower. Are you hurt or something?”

“Hurt? No I'm not hurt i’m just- you- you're in here- I don’t even know-”

He closed his eyes and took another long breath in through his nose.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah i’m just… trying really hard not to throw up again.”

“Oh.”

He opened his eyes again and looked up at her again.

She shifted against the door frame. “But you're… okay? This isn't life threatening?”

He huffed out a soft laugh, then seemed to immediately regret it as he dropped his head between his knees for a moment. Then he cleared his throat and tipped his head back up.

“No. I'm good, I just ate something bad at that pub. And I also probably drank a bit too much as well. But I think it was definitely the squids fault.”

“Oh. So this is… normal?”

“More so than I would like. Yes.”

“Okay so…” she took a deep breath to calm her nerves now that it was apparent he wasn't in any imminent danger. “Do you need anything? How can I help you?”

“Some tea maybe. Some crackers. Anything ginger you have. It'll work itself out with time.”

She stood in the door, unsure of what to do, wanting to help him, and watched as he drew a quick breath in and closed his eyes again.

“Hera. Tea. Now”

“Right.”

As she dashed to the kitchen she heard the sounds of retching from behind her.

There were some strange things about humans that became interesting as their relationship developed beyond mere captain and crew. His hair, for example. At first she had thought it was appalling, the sheer volume of it. It was everywhere. But all it took was threading her hands through it a few times, and hearing the wonderful noises he made, before she quickly changed her opinion.

Related to his hair was the fact that humans seemed to enjoy a certain level of pain, which she could not understand. He would moan audibly when she tugged at his hair, which startled her the first time, in the best way. Once, when she was feeling particularly adventurous, she had dragged her sharp canines across the delicate skin of his throat, and had been surprised to find the taste of metal filling her mouth, sharp and bright. She was even more surprised at the way he had shuddered and come apart beneath her, just like that.

Then, later, when Zeb and Sabine joined the crew, there was yet another learning curve as Hera adjusted to another human as well as a Lasat, and Zeb adjusted to Kanan and Sabine at the same time.

Sabine was just as reckless. She was a fighter too, but she didn't have the force to help her out. Hera had more than a few small heart attacks in the early days of Sabine's presence before she fully appreciated that she could take almost as much of a beating as Kanan. Sabine had once walked over a half a mile back to the ship with a broken leg, and when Hera pressed her on just how she managed to do that, Sabine had gotten quickly tired of the argument, ending it with a, “I don't know what to tell you, Hera! I didn't have any other options! I had to do it, so I did.”

Hera was used to most of Kanan's strange human quirks, but Sabine presented a new and entirely alarming one, which Hera first came in contact with on a supply run. Sabine needed a monthly supply of medical supplies. Hera knew very little about menstruation, as that was a trait entirely unique to human females. Why their biology decided that it was necessary was completely beyond Hera, it seemed incredibly inefficient. Sabine made as little fuss about it as possible, but Hera had embarrassed everyone about three months in when Sabine asked hera to go get her data pad from her room. Hera had burst back into the common room, and only then was able to identify the smell Sabine was carrying with her that had been tugging at the edges of Hera’s mind all day. Blood. She turned on Sabine with a very distressed, “Sabine are you injured? Are you sick?”

To which Sabine had responded, with a distinct note of confusion, “No? Why?”

And Hera, without thinking, had said, “There's blood all over your bed? Did you hurt yourself?”

Sabine had gaped at her for a moment, then blushed ever so slightly. “I uh- I forgot to wash my sheets after... Sorry. I forgot about that before I told you to go into my room.”

Hera still had not connected the dots and was opening her mouth to further interrogate Sabine as to why her bedsheets were covered in blood when Kanan had jumped up and said, “Hera! Let's go for a walk, yes?” and pulled her gently out of the room, but not before she heard Zeb turn to Sabine and say, “So, why were you bleeding?”

Zeb apparently hadn't had much contact with the more alarming of the humans' quirks, as he had his own room, until Ezra showed up. Then Zeb had to learn for himself just how absolutely wild human biology was for himself. He arguably had a rougher go of it, because while he had the rest of the crew to help him out, he was literally sharing a room with a teenage human.

The first time Ezra got food poisoning was just about as rough for Zeb as it was for Kanan and Hera, except it happened in Zebs room. Ezra was mostly self-sufficient, but Zeb had come hollering down the hall. He had broken the “do not open my door without knocking” rule Hera kept firmly in place, but she couldn't even be mad at him. Hera was just glad Kanan had been in his own bed that night. She had woken to see Zeb standing in her door, his fur standing up like a spine down his back, one ear folded inside out, panting hard.

“Hera the kid- he’s- I don’t know what the fuck happened but he- I think he’s hurt- or- or something but I don’t know how to help him- it’s Ezra-”

At which point Kanan, who had been woken by Zebs racket, slid open his door wearing only his sleep pants. He took one moment to assess the situation, looked down the hall and said, “Oh, Ezra’s throwing up. Do you want me to take care of him, Hera?”

Hera sighed and got up from her bed.

“No, you get Zeb some tea or something. I've learned well enough how to hold hair back at this point.”

Zeb, still looking entirely horrified by the situation, allowed himself to be led into the galley by Kanan. Sabine poked her head out of her door, decided this crisis did not involve her, and went back to sleep.

The same situation had happened the first time Ezra had gotten a bloody nose in the middle of the night. It was the kind Hera had witnessed with Kanan, and knew firsthand how horrifying it was if one didn't know humans noses just Did That sometimes. It was a middle of the night kind of bloody nose, where Ezra had presumably woken up with blood all over his face and in his mouth and in his hair and on his sheets, and had tried to catch the blood in his hands, which was all well and good until he somehow had to get down from the top bunk and open two doors to get to the refresher. That left Zeb to wake up to a room smelling of blood, with blood on the floor, on the door panel, and a trail leading to the refresher where he found Ezra leaning over the sink which was also, conveniently, covered in blood. All it had taken was for Ezra to turn his face toward the creature standing in the door and say “Zeb?” before Zeb was hurtling down the hall in a panic, calling for Kanan to come help him because the kid was dying.

Sabine, who had been up working on a project, was the first to respond to this particular “The human is dying!” call. She took one look at Ezra, standing in his pajamas with blood on his hands and said, “That sucks,” and turned back to her room.

Hera, who was making her way down the hall to check on if Ezra really was dying this time, had the pleasure of seeing Sabine turn back and say, “If you want a tampon to stop up the bleeding, they're in the bottom left drawer.” This worked surprisingly well at stopping Ezras bloody nose, because he was blushing so hard there was no blood left for his nose. Hera turned back to comfort Zeb, telling him she had reacted the exact same way the first time Kanan had woken up with a bloody nose. She saw him come out of his panic in time to realize she had effectively confessed to sleeping with Kanan, but wisely decided not to say anything. Nothing he didn't already know.

The humans were absolutely bizarre to spend time around. They ended up installing a wall in the galley that had live plants in it, not because they needed fresh plants to eat, but because their brain chemicals got thrown off if they weren't around plants for too long.

They had empathy for everything. Hera had once witnessed Ezra cry in a market when they passed a fruit stand with a deformed Meiloorun. When Hera asked why he was crying, he had looked up at her with these huge eyes, sniffed, and said, “I just feel so bad for it! No one will buy it!” They had, of course, bought it. Kanan tried not to get attached to anything, but he apologized for bumping into inanimate objects, and Sabine got visibly sad when they had to throw out a good piece of gear because it was broken or old.

They all three loved swimming. They were awful at it, just barely flopping around on the surface, but any time they were near even relatively safe water, they were in it, having the time of their lives. Kanan had once explained to Hera that humans have an extra fun little bit of evolution called the mammalian dive reflex, which slows their heart rate and lowers their blood pressure when they are in water, making it calming and enjoyable. Hera was skeptical until she watched Ezra calmly floating down a river on his back and wished she had that, instead of feeling nothing but panic anytime she had to float in water.

They were mimics. They could replicate a stunning array of sounds, from animals to tech. Ezra's favorite way of annoying her was to make the noises her ship made when something went wrong, just to see how much she would panic before she realized it was him. They would sing along to anything, even if it was just instruments, and Hera would never admit it, but she loved Kanan's voice.

They could sleep anywhere. One of her favorite memories was walking around Chopper Base after a particularly exhausting mission and finding the three of them, Kanan in the middle, with one kid leaning on either shoulder, asleep, leaning against a crate. They had looked so peaceful, and yet she was again surprised at them. It was far too cold for her to even consider sleeping, there were fighters landing only a few hundred meters away, people running all over, and they were snoozing with smiles on their faces, just glad to be home.

And humans would pack bond with literally anything. She had thought Kanan was bad until she met Ezra. It was ridiculous. Her father had said that she was improper for developing a fondness for a droid, but the kid formed a relationship with everything that moved. It got them out of a few tight spots, sure, but she would never get used to having to sit still as some enormous predator loomed in their faces. The sight of Ezra staring down a cat the size of the ghost on some jungle planet, the cat's fangs mere inches from his face as it huffed at him, was something she would never forget.

They were wild and hard headed and strong and made her life so much more interesting.

Early on, Kanan’s strange human ability to adapt to seemingly anything had been a momentary point of contention between the two of them, and was still something she struggled with. It took time for her to be okay with the fact that humans and Twi’leks were just built differently. But it frustrated Hera how weak she felt compared to him. It infuriated her the way he could just walk off something that would have killed her. She had always striven to be adaptable and up for anything. She was strong, and she knew it. But she felt her inadequacies sharply next to Kanan. Early in their partnership they had been in the galley repairing themselves from yet another fight, when Hera had turned to see Kanan casually sewing his own skin up with a needle. The way he could just puncture his own skin like that, with nothing more than a wince and a hiss of breath, had made her see red for a moment and she had to excuse herself to the cockpit to take a breath. They had talked about it, and he had helped her to realize that she was, of course, strong. Humans were adapted differently, so it was entirely unfair for her to be comparing them. But they could compare emotionally, and she was one of the strongest people he had ever had the pleasure of knowing. The two of them were forged in war, and had been through incredible things. She had fought prejudice and overcome so many obstacles to get to where she was, the best pilot in the resistance, without question. As he had said the last part, she heard him smirk a bit, and looked over at him, bathed in the blue light of hyperspace, to find him with a little crooked grin on his face and his hair falling down around his ears. She had felt her guarded heart open a little bit more at that, and had to turn and gaze back out at the stars before her heart opened completely to this rogue of a man.

Later, pressed against his chest in a supply closet, hiding from some stormtroopers, she would marvel at just how fast humans' hearts beat. She knew they were supposed to beat about two times faster than a twi’lek, but his seemed like it was fit to fly out of his ribcage. She found herself thinking, “Is it supposed to be doing that? Is this why he's such a hot headed idiot?” Later she would discover it did not always beat that incredibly fast, usually just a bit faster than hers. It made him ridiculously warm, and also may have contributed to why he was so quick to anything. Not rushed. Not hasty. Just quick. Quick to anger. Quick to smile. Quick to fight. Quick to laugh. Quick to love.

Maybe that was why it was such a shock when he finally reached his limit. She had gotten used to him pulling through impossible situations. She had forgotten that they had limits, just like her.

And then, years later, a glimmer of hope. Ahsoka and Sabine, travelling the galaxy over, searching for Ezra. While Kanan was gone forever, she still had a chance to get one of her boys back.

And of course, there was always Jacen. Her beautiful little boy, who was soft and sweet and yet surprisingly strong, just like his father. And Hera was comforted to know that wherever this wild galaxy would take him, he had Kanan Jarrus’ blood coursing through his veins to keep him safe.

#kanan jarrus #kanan x hera #caleb dume #star wars rebels #ezra bridger #hera syndulla #sabine wren #garazeb orrelios #star wars #i accidentally wrote a fanfic #enjoy #tw #blood #angst #blood tw #rebels spoilers #rebels fanfic #fanfic #kanan x hera fanfic

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heartlesslywhumping · 5 years ago

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do you have any recs for poisons to use in a whump? like not to instantly kill the whumpee/victim, but to make them hurt for a long and copious amount of time before they die? there would be a window in which someone could try and save them (and potentially succeed) as well. I'm writing a whump right now and am in some desperate need of help because I can't find any suitable... thanks! I know it's a lot to ask, but if you have any sources to go to or any ideas that'd be great!

I have many! Here are the top 5 that come to mind and are potentially recognizable to your audience.

Remember that anything I say here can be affected by magic, sci-fi, or really anything you want :)

Ricin is a great one! It’s often been sent to government officials so there’s some fairly easy to find info on it, people got curious as to what exactly it was and how it worked. What I know about it is as follows

It can be inhaled, eaten, or injected but is most potent when inhaled or injected.

It takes a deliberate act to be exposed to ricin. There is no natural way to expose someone to it or be exposed to it. Exposure is a deliberate action.

It is a protein in a castor oil plant.

If heated, it is no longer toxic

It can take up to a day for symptoms to show up but it can kill you within three days. If the victim survives more than five days, survival is likely

There is no known antidote to ricin

Victims who ingest the protein get severe nausea and diarrhea. If it is inhaled, the patient will also have difficulty breathing and fluid will build up in the lungs. They end up with an irregular heartbeat, low blood pressure, and seizures. This can last for up to a week. The patient can die of shock and multiple organ failure.If you ingest the protein, treatment can usually reverse the symptoms and patients will survive, though they may suffer long-term organ damage. A man was poisoned with ricin in Las Vegas in February of 2008 and fell in to a coma for more than a month. The Bulgarian writer Markov first showed a fever, was admitted to the hospital, and died three days later.

Another awesome one is Fugu Poison (Tetrodotoxin) This one is most commonly found in marine animals and fish! It is found in the Japanese delicacy Fugu. People still die from improperly prepared or sold fugu. Here is what I know

You only need a little bit to die. I believe roughly 25 milligrams can kill a 75kg human.

Most commonly it’s been ingested, I don’t know if there is another way to take it or be exposed to it.

There is no known antidote save for stomach pumping and forced vomiting, although some people have made a lucky recovery

It is believe to be 1,200 more potent than cyanide

It can take anywhere from 20 minutes to twenty-four hours to kill you

Symptoms begin approximately 3-45 minutes after ingestion.

Symptoms include: lightheadedness, vomiting, dizziness and weakness, muscle twitching, aphonia, pleuretic chest pain and convulsions, hypotension, depressed corneal reflexes and fixated diagonal pupils, headaches, difficulty breathing, paralysis, respiratory paralysis and asphyxiation.

A dramatic poison is strychnine. This one isn’t as toxic but I enjoy the style of it. It’s actually fairly common and is found in many pesticides, all those google searches for “Strychnine for sale” aren’t by psychopaths by probably by people needing pest control. Probably.

You can ingest it, inhale it, or have it injected.

It is a white, odorless, colorless powder. (Some say it tastes bitter)

It kills through dramatic and excruciating muscle spasms that continue until your body dies from exhaustion and you also can’t breathe anymore

Initially, a victim might just seem excitable (though they would also be in pain)

Symptoms occur after 15-60 minutes

Symptoms include: Agitation, apprehension or fear, ability to be easily startled, restlessness, painful muscle spasms possibly leading to fever and to kidney and liver injury, uncontrollable arching of the neck and back, rigid arms and legs, jaw tightness, muscle pain and soreness, difficulty breathing, dark urine, initial consciousness and awareness of symptoms, respiratory failure (inability to breathe), possibly leading to death, brain death, shortness of breath, unbearable feelings of anxiety, restlessness, twitching and spasms gradually develop and lead to violent tetanic seizures in which the head is bent right back to the buttocks, so that the spine may be broken. Breathing may cease for intervals of one to two minutes at a time; in this event the seizures may also stop, only to recommence at the least excitation - a loud noise or a gentle touch - until death from exhaustion finally supervenes.

There is no known antidote

If a victim survives past 24 hours, recovery is likely

Want to poison by making them eat it? Feed them amatoxin. It is found most commonly in Death Cap Mushrooms, which look like other mushrooms so cook up something tasty and kill a whole dinner party.

Apparently it tastes very good

I believe it must be ingested

It remains toxic whether raw or cooked

After 6-12 hours nausea, abdominal cramps, profuse watery diarrhea, and signs of dehydration show up

After that, the victim seems to recover but their liver will continue fail

Death occurs after 3-7 days although death may occur within the first 24 hours from massive fluid loss.

Symptoms include: espiratory tract, headache, dizziness, nausea, shortness of breath, coughing, insomnia, diarrhea, gastrointestinal disturbances, back pain, urinary frequency, liver and kidney damage, or death if ingested or inhaled

Symptoms potentially include: irritation, burns, redness, severe pain, and could be absorbed through the skin, irritation, corneal burns, and eye damage if absorbed via eyes.

Besides liver transplants and some penicillins, there are little treatments or antidotes.

I read somewhere that victims often slip into a coma and die, but I can’t find the source so that’s debatable. This is the internet after all.

You could go for some significance, foreshadowing, or easter eggs by using Hemlock. It was famously used by Socrates as his death penalty.

Drinking it’s tea can make you feel initially drunk

Ingestion is the most common and effective way to suffer but prolonged contact can also lead to poisoning.

Some mythology says that the plant didn’t turn toxic until after the blood of Jesus fell on it after his crucifixion

Poisons last on the plant even up to three years after death

Goats seem unaffected

Symptoms show up as quickly as 30 minutes after exposure

Symptoms include:trembling, burning in the digestive tract, increased salivation, dilated pupils, muscle pain, muscle weakness or muscle paralysis, rapid heart rate followed by a decreased heart rate, loss of speech, convulsions, unconsciousness or coma, central nervous system depression, respiratory failure, acute rhabdomyolysis, or breakdown of damaged skeletal muscle, acute renal failure, death, seizures, rapid heart rate, frothing at the mouth, and respiratory distress, nervous trembling, salivation, lack of coordination, rapid, weak pulse, respiratory paralysis, occasionally bloody feces and gastrointestinal irritation

Death occurs 48-72 after 48-72

There is no antidote although doctors will likely try to assist in breathing, secure your airway, and remove the hemlock from your digestion track,

I hope that was helpful! I would recommend doing further research on your poison of choice to really get the details right but make sure not to bog down your writing with too much explanation, most people far prefer angst to hyper-accuracy.

If you would like, I would love to be tagged when you finish your work! I’m always on the lookout for new fan fiction and whump 👀

Good luck with your writing!

#whump prompts #writing prompts #writing reference #writing resources #friendly-neighborhood-ash #poison #brief religion mention #heartless answers

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baddestteeks · 6 years ago

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ABOUT ME:

Sickle cell is a disease I haven’t been very aware of or even merely interested about till about two years ago, it sounds very ignorant of me I agree but my mentality a few years ago was “why am I worrying about something that doesn’t affect me in the slightest” I’m really eating my words now because last year my mother literally forced me to go to a doctors appointment,all the consistent nagging was really aggravating me so I booked a blood test as my mother thought I had sickle cell anaemia as I used to nap about 5/6 times a day, excessive amounts I know! First things first I had my blood test and got told I got the sickle cell trait, when my doctor was explaining to me about it I wasn’t even awake barely to listen so I went home to research, I found out a fair bit of information from online, I really wanted to know about my sleeping and why it was awfully bad one of the side effects was fatigue so it was explained. The sickle cell disease or even trait can come from one parent or both, I did some digging and as far as my mother was concerned it didn’t come from her side, I asked my father it was a straight up NO!

“When I gave birth I had O recess negative ‘rare blood’ group and antibody D injection so the blood wouldn’t clot, doctors would’ve said at birth if I had the trait or disease” – My mother

“I believe that the greatest gift you can give your family & the world is a healthy you”

What is sickle cell?

SICKLE CELL: Sickle cell is a disorder of the haemoglobin in the red blood cells.

Normal blood cell (A) Sickle Cell blood cell (B)

The difference between the two is clearly the shape, however, people with SCD have abnormal haemoglobin called haemoglobin S or sickle haemoglobin in their red blood cells.

Haemoglobin: A red protein responsible for carrying oxygen in the blood vertebrates.

Haemoglobin S: An abnormal type of haemoglobin that can be inherited from your parents, haemoglobin S causes red blood cells to become very stiff and oddly shaped, instead of having normal circular blood cells like exhibit (A) the red blood cells become sickle cell shaped in an exhibit (B)

People with SICKLE CELL CONDITION are born with the condition, it’s not contagious. Sickle cell genes come in pairs, you inherit one set from your father and the other from your mother, a child has to inherit a faulty gene from each parent.

However, a person who receives one sickle cell gene from one parent and a normal gene from the other has a condition called the SICKLE CELL TRAIT.

Sickle cell is a serious inherited condition affecting the blood and a various amount of organs in the body, it affects the red blood cells which cause sickling which produces episodes of pain and other symptoms, in-between episodes of sickling, people with sickle cell disease are normally well, however, long-term complications can occur, finding out if you have sickle cell from early can help with treatment process.

These painful episodes are referred to as the sickle cell crisis, it’s treated with strong painkillers such as morphine.

The main symptoms of the sickle cell disease are anaemia.

Whats sickle cell anaemia?

Sickle cell anaemia is the name of a specific form of sickle cell disease which is a form of two sickle cell genes.

Blood loss is the most common cause of anaemia, especially iron deficiency. Heavy menstrual periods or bleeding in the digestive or urinary tract can cause a serious amount of blood loss.

Can you die from anaemia?

When you’re anaemic your heart must pump more blood around to compensate for the lack of oxygen in the blood cells, this can lead to an enlarged heart, however, inherited anaemia like sickle cell anaemia can cause life-threatening complications.

Can you cure anaemia?

Anaemia can be cured by a blood transfusion or if you change your diet will allow the body to naturally build red blood cells back up.

Blood Transfusion: A blood transfusion is when you’re given blood from a donor, very safe procedure and can save lives. A blood transfusion can replace the blood you’ve lost or just replace the liquid or cells found in blood.

SYMPTOMS OF SICKLE CELL/ANAEMIA

Fatigue

Pain Crisis

Dactylitis

Arthritis

Splenic sequestration

Bacterial infections

Liver Congestion

Lung Injury

Leg Ulcers

Eye Damage

Aseptic Necrosis

Meanings:

Fatigue: When tiredness is overwhelming and isn’t relieved by sleep or rest.

Sickle cell crisis: Sickle cell crisis can cause pain as blood vessels can become blocked or the defective blood cells can damage organs in the body.

Dactylitis: Inflammation of your digits (Finger or toe) The word (Dactyl) comes from the Greek word “Daktylos” meaning finger in Greek but can refer to both.

Arthritis: A common condition that causes pain and inflammation in a joint, in the UK around 10 million people have this condition.

Splenic sequestration: A problem with the spleen that can occur a lot in people who have sickle cell, when a lot of red blood cells gets trapped, the spleen can get damaged and not work how it should.

Liver congestion: Represents the increase of blood in a territory, due to dilatation of small vessels.

Lung Injury: Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a life-threatening condition where the lungs can’t provide the body’s vital organs with enough oxygen.

Leg Ulcers: leg ulcer is a long-lasting (chronic) sore that takes more than four to six weeks to heal.

Eye Damage: The most common type of eye complications due to the sickle cell is “Sea fan-shaped frond” of new retinal blood vessel growth.

Aseptic Necrosis: A bone condition that results from poor blood supply to an area of bone, causing localized bone death. This is a serious condition because the dead areas of bone do not function normally, are weakened, and can collapse.

Hopefully, this diagram can you give a better understanding of how the sickle cell works.

The only possible cure for sickle cell is bone marrow transplant as known as a stem cell, but this transplant is only possible for the limited amount of affected individuals who have the suitable blood donor.

Bone Marrow Transplant: A bone marrow transplant replaces damaged blood cells with healthy ones.

Stem cell transplants are complicated procedures with significant risks involved.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Did you know?

Sickle cell is the most hereditary hematologic disorder in the world. It primarily affects Black Africans and Americans, as well as some persons of Mediterranean, East Indian or Latin American heritage. About 8% of the African-American population carries the sickle cell trait.

SCD is inherited from both parents, sickle cell trait is inherited by one parent.

SCD can affect anyone, but mainly people from African & Caribbean backgrounds.

1 in 76 babies born in the UK carries the sickle cell trait.

Approximately 15,000 people in the UK have sickle cell disorder.

Approximately 350 babies with sickle cell disorder are born in the UK every year.

A simple blood test can show whether you have sickle cell disorder or the trait.

Children with SCD are at an increased risk for strokes, the risk is highest between the ages of 2 and 16.

Episodes of pain may occur in sickle cell disorder and are referred to as a sickle crisis.

Twenty-five years ago, a person with sickle cell disease was not expected to live to adulthood, and the average lifespan was 21 years. Today, the outlook is much more optimistic, and many people are living beyond age 50.

Sickle cell disease is thought to have developed in areas of the world where malaria is present because sickle cell trait provides some protection from malaria.

Summary:

This blog is short, sweet and hopefully full of enough information, health is important to me and it should be important to you too.

No one has got you like you have yourself, no one will care about your health as much as you either, to find out if you have sickle cell or even the trait is the quickest procedure a five minute blood test can determine whether you have the trait or disease, finding out could benefit you, you could have treatments put in place to help yourself deal with it, or if you have unexplainable sickness this could be part of the problem.

Think about it five years maybe even ten years, you want a family, would you rather find out now? Or later? That you have a trait or disease that you can limit, or find out later with very little options, the only thing keeping us alive is our health, if you can’t sustain that, then death can be a very quick process.

Any illness whether small or big can kill you, not everything has a cure, but you can carry out procedures that can limit it.

Before I started writing this I hardly knew anything about sickle cell or anaemia, if it wasn’t for my mum constantly pushing to get my blood test done, I would’ve never known anything about this I wouldn’t have written this blog, but I’m really thankful that she pushed me to get out of bed and go to the doctors, I’ve been ill with symptoms that lead back to the sickle trait, and they’ve also been confirmed by my doctor as I don’t want to misdiagnose myself, finding out information on this has been easy but understanding it and literally pushing it through my brain has been hard, when I first found out about sickle cell I literally thought it was an illness for just black and Asians which turned out to be untrue, anyone can get it, but it’s mostly are races that get it, don’t believe everything you hear or see, it can be incorrect (but I’ve done my research nothing here is incorrect)

I fully believe the cure for every disease known to mankind is out there somewhere, whether it’s being hidden, yet to be discovered or even trapped in someone’s mind, its somewhere.

“Push yourself because, no one else is going to do it for you”

I don’t expect everyone reading this to go and get a blood test but even if ten people do, I’m helping ten people help themselves, at the end of the day I’m fine I’ve found out what I have, I can do exercise, buy tablets, see doctors etc… but you can’t if you don’t do a test.

~June 19th Is Sickle Cell Day~

Furthermore I do have an announcement before I fully wrap this up, I won’t be releasing a blog till October, I really want to lift a few projects off of the ground this year that I have been working on, I also fully need to rebrand my blog properly, life has got on top of me and I haven’t had a chance to start it, so I’m taking a few months off and when I come back I’ll be better.

I want my blog/name to be known in the next two years, I’m getting there slowly but surely!

Thank you for taking time out to read, hopefully, you’ve learnt something new today.

Teeks X

SICKLE CELL AWARENESS ABOUT ME: Sickle cell

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votehealth · 7 years ago

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If you have ever experienced swelling in your legs (or your hands or feet for that matter) you know how painful it can become.

There are many reasons this swelling, known as edema, or the retention of fluids in the body, can occur:

A sedentary lifestyle—sitting or staying in one position for too long

Eating too much processed foods and foods high in salt

Poor circulation

PMS

Side effects of some medications

Pregnancy

Often, a bit of swelling in your legs can be normal after standing or sitting for the day or during pregnancy for example, but chronic leg and ankle swelling—peripheral edema—can also signal a more serious underlying issue such as kidney disease, heart failure or liver disease, so it is always best to consult a physician if this swelling persists.

For cases of occasional swelling however, there are herbal remedies that can be helpful for reducing the swelling and helping your body eliminate any excess fluids. One such herb is parsley.

It Used To Be Recommended by Hippocrates

The word parsley is actually derived from two Greek words: “petrose,” meaning rock, as it often pops through rocky terrain and stone walls; and “selenium,” the ancient name for celery. When put together, it literally means “rock celery.”

There are essentially two types of parsley—curly parsley and Italian parsley (flat leaves) which tends to be the hardier of the two.

While parsley is used as a garnish in almost every restaurant and home in North America, more often than not, we tend to pick it off the dish and leave it to the side.

But studies show that eating that parsley garnish can help protect you from a variety of diseases and ailments including, digestive disorders, urinary tract problems, menstrual pain, asthma, allergies, as well as help to lower blood pressure, improve your bone health, your breath and even help in cases of bronchitis.

In ancient times, Hippocrates recommended parsley as a general tonic for kidney stones and rheumatism as well as an antidote for poison. And according to “The Green Pharmacy Herbal Handbook,” parsley is a wonderful diuretic that helps the kidneys remove excess fluids from the body (edema).

Parsley Is a Natural Diuretic

A study published in 2002 in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology, showed that “parsley acts as a diuretic by inhibiting the sodium and potassium ion pumps, influencing the process of osmosis and increasing the flow of urine.”

Parsley is also rich in potassium and because most chemically produced diuretics actually lower potassium levels in the body, parsley also assures you do not experience this common side effect of these pharmaceutical drugs.

Another 2009 Brazilian study titled, “Diuretic and hypotensive activity of aqueous extract of parsley seeds” showed similar results for parsley and suggests that parsley can not only increase urinary flow, but also decrease blood pressure as well.

Parsley Tea Recipe for Edema

According to Dr. John R. Christopher, renowned author and America’s foremost herbalist, you should drink at least two quarts (64 oz.) of strong parsley tea per day to achieve maximum results.

You can increase the amount of parsley tea to a cup every hour if you feel the need. When making your tea, however, he also suggests that you use the “fresh light-green leaves,” along with the roots and seeds, if available.

Instructions:

Chop the leaves and roots into small pieces (you can also pre-chop the parsley and store them in an airtight glass container in the fridge for up to a week.)

Place approximately ¼ cup of parsley into an infusion basket.

Pour over a cup of boiled water or submerge into a tea pot.

Let the mixture steep for 5 to 7 minutes.

Remove the basket or strain the tea.

Add honey, lemon or ginger for flavor if desired.

Always drink parsley tea warm for the best effects.

As well as drinking tea, don’t forget to use other techniques to reduce swelling such as raising your legs by putting your legs on pillows to raise them above your heart when lying down.

Also exercise your legs as this helps pump fluid from your legs back to your heart.

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The post This Powerful Tea Is The Best Remedy For Swollen Legs appeared first on Daily Health Post.

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emmagreen1220-blog · 7 years ago

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New Post has been published on Biology Dictionary

New Post has been published on https://biologydictionary.net/muscle/

Muscle

Muscle Definition

A muscle is a group of muscle tissues which contract together to produce a force. A muscle consists of fibers of muscle cells surrounded by protective tissue, bundled together many more fibers, all surrounded in a thick protective tissue. A muscle uses ATP to contract and shorten, producing a force on the objects it is connected to. There are several types of muscle, which act on various parts of the body.

Structure of Muscle

A muscle consists of many muscle tissues bundled together and surrounded by epimysium, a tough connective tissue similar to cartilage. The epimysium surrounds bundles of nerve cells that run in long fibers, called fascicles. These fascicles are surrounded by their own protective layer, the perimysium. This layer allows nerves and blood to flow to the individual fibers. Each fiber is then wrapped in an endomysium, another protective layer. As seen in the image below, a muscle is arranged in a basic pattern of bundled fibers separated by protective layers.

These layers and bundles allow different parts of a muscle to contract differently. The protective layer surrounding each bundle allows the different bundles to slide past one another as they contract. The epimysium connects to tendons, which attach to the periosteum connective tissue that surrounds bones. Being anchored to two bones allows movement of the skeleton when the muscle contracts. A different type of muscle surrounds many organs, and the epimysium connects to other connective tissues to produces forces on the organs, controlling everything from circulation to food processing.

Function of Muscle

Whether it is the largest muscle in your body or the tiny muscle controlling the movement of your eye, every muscle functions in a similar manner. A signal is sent from the brain along a bundle of nerves. The electronic and chemical message is passed quickly from nerve cell to nerve cell and finally arrives at the motor end plate. This interface between the muscle and nerve cells releases a chemical signal, acetylcholine, which tells the muscle fiber to contract. This message is distributed to all the cells in the fiber connected to the nerve.

This signal causes the myosin proteins to grab onto the actin filaments around them. These are the purple proteins in the image below. Myosin uses ATP as an energy source to crawl along the green filament, actin. As you can see, the many small heads of the myosin fibers crawling along the actin filaments effectively shortens the length of each muscle cell. The cells, which are connected end-to-end in a long fibers, contract at the same time and shorten the whole fiber. When a signal is sent to an entire muscle or group of muscles, the resulting contraction results in movement or force being applied.

A muscle can be used in many different ways throughout the body. A certain muscle might contract rarely with a lot of force, whereas a different muscle will contract continually with minimal force. Animals have developed a plethora of uses for the forces a muscle can create. Muscles have evolved for flying, swimming, and running. They have also evolved to be pumps used in the circulatory and digestive systems. The heart is a specialized muscle, which is uses exclusively for pumping blood throughout the body. These different types of muscle will be discussed below.

Types of Muscle

Skeletal Muscle

When you think of a muscle, most people generally think of a skeletal muscle. The biceps, triceps, and quadriceps are all common names for muscles that body builders tend to focus on. In fact, these general muscles are often composed of many small muscles that attach to different places to give a joint its full range of motion. Skeletal muscle is a striated muscle. This means that each muscle fiber has striations, or linear marks, which can be seen when this muscle is put under a microscope. The striations correspond to the sarcomeres present in striated muscles, which are highly organized bundles of muscle cells which can contract quickly in concert.

Skeletal muscle is controlled via the somatic nervous system, also known as the voluntary nervous system. Point your finger to the ceiling. This is your somatic nervous system in action, controlling your skeletal muscles.

Cardiac Muscle

Cardiac muscle, while similar to skeletal muscle in some ways, is connected to the autonomous nervous system. This system controls vital organs such as the heart and lungs and allows us to not have to focus on pumping our heart each time it needs to beat. While there is a certain amount of conscience control we have over the autonomous nervous system, it will always kick in when we are unconscious. For instance, you can hold your breath if you like but you do not have to remember to breathe all the time. Cardiac muscle surround the chambers of the heart and is used to pump blood through the body.

Cardiac muscle is similar to skeletal muscle in that it is striated. Unlike skeletal muscle, cardiac muscle fibers are arranged in a branching pattern instead of a linear pattern. Both skeletal muscle and cardiac muscle need to contract quickly and often, which is why the striations can be seen.

Smooth Muscle

Unlike skeletal and cardiac muscle, smooth muscle is not striated. This is because the individual muscle cells are not perfectly aligned into sarcomeres. Instead, they are displaced throughout the fibers. This gives smooth muscle the ability to contract for longer, although the contraction happens more slowly. Consider the muscle that contracts the sphincter on your bladder. This muscle may need to stay clamped shut for hours at a time and only gets a minute of relief when you go to the bathroom. Many other smooth muscles operate in the same manner.

Like cardiac muscle, smooth muscle is mostly controlled by the autonomous nervous system. The many muscles that line your digestive tract work together to move food through the digestive system. Muscles attach to your hair follicles that all your hairs to stand up when it’s cold. Smooth muscle is almost everywhere in your body and aids in everything from circulation to digestion.

Quiz

1. A big, strong bear goes in a cave to hibernate for winter. In the spring a skinny, weak bear emerges. What happened to the bear’s muscles? A. They stayed the same size, they were just hidden under fat B. The bear used them as energy during hibernation C. The bear’s fur is thinner, making him look weaker

Answer to Question #1

B is correct. Muscles that aren’t being used are wasted energy. The bear will use the protein and nutrients available in its muscle and fat cells to survive through the winter. Some muscles, like the diaphragm used to control breathing, will not see a loss in mass. Other muscles, like the leg muscles, are not needed during hibernation and will be allowed to atrophy, or decrease in size.

2. Growing muscles is known as hypertrophy. Body builders do this when they work out to increase the size of their muscle. Often, days after a good workout, the muscle that got worked will hurt slightly. What causes this? A. Lactic Acid buildup B. Not enough Protein! C. Microscopic tears in the muscle fibers

Answer to Question #2

C is correct. When you really push your muscles to the limits, they begin to tear. If you try to lift too much weight, you will tear you muscles in half. By doing repetitive sets of a heavy weight, a muscle will obtain tiny tears in various muscle fibers. When these tears heal, more muscle cells are used and the overall mass and size of the muscle increase.XX

3. Endurance runners are told to eat pasta the night before a big run. Why is this helpful? A. Pasta doesn’t slosh around while you are running B. Carbohydrates help you soak up more water, which helps you run C. Carbohydrates break down easily and load your cells with ATP

Answer to Question #3

C is correct. The carbs found in pasta can easily be broken down into glucose, which muscle cells convert to ATP to store energy. This ATP is then used to activate the myosin heads and help them walk along the actin filament. In reality, any balanced meal will load your cells up with glucose and prepare you for exercise.

References

Lodish, H., Berk, A., Kaiser, C. A., Krieger, M., Scott, M. P., Bretscher, A., . . . Matsudaira, P. (2008). Molecular Cell Biology 6th. ed. New York: W.H. Freeman and Company.

Nelson, D. L., & Cox, M. M. (2008). Principles of Biochemistry. New York: W.H. Freeman and Company.

#5k #term

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eeejay-blog1 · 7 years ago

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My biggest surgery-related fears

1. Paralysis

Obviously this one takes the cake. I ran varsity cross-country all four years of high school. My whole education and career choice centers around me preferring to walk around the woods, rather than sit at a desk or stand in a lab. If my ability to walk independently takes a hit, my whole life plan is absolutely fucked. I’m cool with not playing full-contact hockey, or whatever other limits the doc puts on me, but I need these legs in top shape ASAP.

2. Catheters

If you’ve never had a catheter or a urodynamics study, CONSIDER YOURSELF GRATEFUL. I’ve endured it twice (possibly more as a kid in the follow-up to my first surgery, but I was too young and too doped up to remember) and it is a nightmare. The burning, the sensation of having something snake up there, the blood in your piss the next day...clearly the urethra is designed as a one-way street, and I greatly prefer it to stay that way. When I wake up tomorrow, there’ll be a Foley catheter in me, that much is unavoidable. For the unenlightened, that means there’ll be a balloon literally inflated in my bladder, and a hose sticking out my Johnson. I just pray that I’m knocked out when they put it in, knocked out when they take it out, and that it’s covered by a sheet so I won’t have to see it until it’s gone.

2A: Urine Retention

So currently I have the opposite of this problem: I can hold about 400-500ml before my bladder gives me a 2-minute warning and lets everything loose. Some folks with the same condition as me can’t piss even when they want to, which essentially means they have to use a catheter every 3-4 hours FOR THE REST OF THEIR LIFE. That shit will not fly with me, I hate it enough even when someone else puts it in for me. And it’s so much responsibility...let’s say I get a bit drunk, forget to cath, pass out and sleep for 10 hours straight (not unheard of on my average weekend). Oops, either my bladder has literally exploded inside my body and killed me, or my kidneys are flooded and about to fail! Nothing quite like the idea of one of your own organs becoming a ticking time bomb, waiting to ruin your body.

3. Medication

I’ve discussed this with my doctor at length, and he says the absolute minimum of what I’ll be taking post-surgery is oxycodone, pregabalin, and baclofen. All of those are sedatives. Now, my brain’s already pretty sedated at baseline; I take a caffeine pill every day to get out of bed, and chief high-nicotine e-juice literally all day. Having taken opiates after my wisdom tooth surgery, and having tried Valium before (which is normally part of the post-surgical cocktail) I can safely say my brain will NOT function enough for me to go to work or class so long as I’m on even one of those. Combining them...well, isn’t that how Jimi Hendrix died? Not to mention the antibiotics (which fuck my digestive tract up without fail) and steroids (prednisone made my acne unbearable) they’ll have me on, which are honestly the least of my worries right now.

4. Infection

I saw a picture in a support group of a lady whose stitches had popped out early, and her incision was wide open and brimming with pus. It took all my composure to not vomit all over my keyboard. I want my back closed up, locked tight, welded shut, whatever it takes to stay closed and heal before I can look in the mirror and see how nasty it looks.

5. More Surgery

I’ve always hated the doctor’s office. I hate medication, I hate feeling frail and fragile, I hate not being able to get out and do stuff like everyone else. If everything goes according to plan, this is the last surgery I’ll need for a long while. Of course, this is my second detethering, which already increases the chances I’ll need a third or fourth down the road. Furthermore, to deal with complications or symptoms that don’t recover, a lot of people need additional work done: stomas (no thanks I don’t want bags hanging off my belly), MACE or Mitrofanoff (other holes in your belly, equally gross) Botox injections (FYI Botox is literally poison, I know it’s also medicine but I still can’t get over that) nerve stimulators and pain pumps (please don’t turn me into a robot, most of my organic parts are doing fine) and the list goes on. Plus, I’m on my family’s A1 Cadillac health insurance right now, and I doubt I’ll have coverage like that come age 25, so this had better be a one-and-done deal.

6. Sexuality

So, this may be TMI, but one of the symptoms I’ve been dealing with is decreased sensation “below the belt”. Right now it’s manageable; takes me a bit longer to finish than it used to, but everything’s in working order. For now. It better stay that way, because if I can’t get my rocks off in a reasonable amount of time at least a couple times a week, I will literally set fire to something. Testosterone isn’t meant to be bottled up!

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emmagreen1220-blog · 7 years ago

Text

New Post has been published on Biology Dictionary

New Post has been published on https://biologydictionary.net/muscle/

Muscle

Muscle Definition

Structure of Muscle

Function of Muscle

Types of Muscle

Skeletal Muscle

Cardiac Muscle

Smooth Muscle

Quiz

Answer to Question #1

Answer to Question #2

Answer to Question #3

References

Lodish, H., Berk, A., Kaiser, C. A., Krieger, M., Scott, M. P., Bretscher, A., . . . Matsudaira, P. (2008). Molecular Cell Biology 6th. ed. New York: W.H. Freeman and Company.

Nelson, D. L., & Cox, M. M. (2008). Principles of Biochemistry. New York: W.H. Freeman and Company.

#5k #term

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