#things that now cause Great Pain: typing! just in time for nano!

[asterdeer]

i know the phrase "i let the intrusive thought win" is a terribly misused one but tonight i accidentally broke a glass and then got mesmerized by the idea of shattering it with my bare hands and having blood everywhere, so i gave in. i tried very hard and it didn't shatter but my muscles/tendons are now pitching a fit over the stress and honestly i think shattering it would have hurt less

[skellebonez]

Hear me out: Spider Macaque in the Spider Monkie AU with prompts 14 and 35?

I hear you and oh this was way too much fun... I took a great deal of liberty with exactly how Mac transforms into his Spider Monkie form and who says what and the TIMELINE because I... re-wrote this into a ship fic because of you. I call it ShadowCodingShipping because someone had to name MacaqueSyntax eventually! I guess you could say this is definitely a what-if story more than anything.

Warning for body horror because Mac is slowly turning half spider and that's kinda gross and painful. Also this is hurt/comfort but heavy on the HURT. This does not have a happy ending.

Am I scaring you?/I believe I can be of some help here.

"Am I scaring you?" Macaque asked with a smirk, pain clearly barely held at bay behind it. The monkey demon was a mess, fur tussled and miscolored splotches that hadn't yet grown in properly littered his torso. His torso that had gained a good inch in the last failed attempt at... what they were trying to accomplish. "... are you going to answer me, scientist?"

Syntax did not answer. Whether it was out of fear or knowing that regardless his answer would not make the demon leave him be even he didn't know.

"Queenie calls you Syntax," Macaque continued, moving around the computer to watch him over the screen. "That can't be your name, can it? I didn't give enough of a shit to ask before now. Hey. Hey. Hey. H-"

"No, it is not my birth name," the scientist snapped eventually, watching as Macaque smirked in victory. "Only a complete fool would agree to work with someone as infamous as the Spider Queen and use their legal name as if they were sending an unencrypted message containing confidential information across basic messaging applications without a VPN. What in the world are you trying to accomplish?"

"Ooooo, wordy," Macaque chuckled out as he leaned against the monitor and made it tilt at an awkward angle. "I'm. Bored. Entertain me, scientist, you're the most interesting person in this place. believe it or not."

Syntax raised a brow at the demon, sighing as he continued to type into the computer. "Do you want this to be finished any time soon? Because the more you bother me the longer it will take. I may be able to multitask but humans have limits."

Macaque scowled for a moment before shrugging, failing at hiding a grimace of pain. It must have made the new bones in his spine ache horribly. But he moved easily past Syntax without a word, only whipping his tail against his shoulder as he left.

It didn't hurt at all... he wondered what the point of the gesture even was.

~

The screaming rang through the entire hideout, Syntax's ears ringing even as he covered them. They'd tried twice more in their attempts at Macaque's twisted idea, Spider Queen slowly seeming to become less and less comfortable with not only their methods but with what they were even doing. It was working, sort of, but not correctly.

The changes were supposed to be immediate, so fast that the pain receptors wouldn't register properly. Not for the comfort of the converted, but so that it would happen so quickly they wouldn't be able to fight it. Less pain, less of a change for your body to try to fight off the transformation. Syntax had insisted on mechanical changes, nano-bots or something of the sort instead of organic growth. Macaque himself had vetoed this, saying something about how it wouldn't make him feel whole again.

This made the changes slow. Too slow, so much so that the mixture was fought off by his immortal monkey biology too quickly for it to take hold the way it was supposed to, requiring Syntax to make it stronger and stronger each time in the hopes it would finally kick in.

Now Macaque laid on the ground, holding his face and screaming so much Syntax feared his vocal cords would give out. The last two treatments had lengthened his torso even more and changed his fur consistency entirely. Once soft and thick black fur was a mixture of that and the coarse purple hair of a spider, not meshing together at all and instead forming an odd pattern on his body. At some points silver had begun to peak through, though if that was supposed to happen or if it was a reaction to the sheer stress of his body undergoing a change that should not be happening he was not sure. Syntax could see the red mark on his face warping, changing into the same purple on his torso around his eyes and moving up on his face as two more eyes grew above the ones he already had. It was fascinating to be sure, and he would have said that it was almost pretty had it not seen the build up of them forming in a fashion he wished to never see in slow build up ever again.

He was a scientist. He was supposed to be impartial to his work above all else, and he had agreed to help of... mostly his own volition. But this... This made him more uncomfortable than he was ready to admit.

"Help him up," Spider Queen said after Macaque collapsed onto the floor, screaming ceased as his body fought off the mixture for the fourth time. She looked... perturbed. Discomforted. "After his last treatment... move on to your idea. We are not doing this again."

She moved out of the room quickly, to fast to even tell her if he would or not, covering the side of her face with her hand to shield her from the sight of the collapse man on the floor. Yes... discomforted indeed.

Syntax didn't have that luxury. And he would not leave Macaque to lay on the floor regardless of orders. But the way he shook and covered his new eyes and the small amount of tears leaking from his normal eyes made a pang of pity shoot through him. He was a scientist... but he was still human.

"I believe I can be of some help here," he said softly, taking off his lab coat and folding it part way before shoving it under Macaque's head and laying the unfolded part over his face. The demon let out a half whimper, clearly bit back as he didn't want to show weakness, but eased ever so slightly as he realized the coat blocked out the light of the lab just as well as his hands had. "It's not a perfect solution, but it gets the job done.

"Th-thought Queenie s-said to help me u-up," Macaque stuttered out, moving his hands to grip the coat instead of his eyes.

"Yes, but that would be a bad idea," Syntax explained, sitting on the floor next to him with a sigh. He pulled his tablet down from a nearby table, there was no point in not getting at least some work done, and began scribbling away with the attached pen. "Your eyes are far too sensitive and with the other changes you have gone through your body will likely collapse again before we could get you to a cot. It's best you remain stationary for the time being until I am able to assess your pain tolerance properly, then I will move you to your quarters."

Macaque didn't say anything, just huffed in reply and seemed to relax. Syntax wondered if he was thankful he wouldn't have to move immediately this time, and he could have sworn he heard something... rumbling.

Maybe it was the machinery behind them.

He felt Macaque's tail hit his side after a while, thumping softly against him... but he didn't push it away.

He wondered if this would change anything at all.

~

Syntax saw more of Macaque than usual after that. Sometimes he would wander into his lab and just... stay there. Silent as the shadows he liked to hide in. Sometimes he would just watch him work, other times he would bring him plums or mangoes. Syntax never had much of a taste for fruit, not really enjoying any form of sweets, but he would not pass up free food when his stomach rumbled in protest from his long hours. One time Macaque had brought in a book, sat on his desk, and just read it.

That was bizarre, even for him. But Syntax found he didn't exactly mind the company. It was quite... lonely in the lab. He was the only human in the Spider Queen's entourage and her other two companions weren't exactly the best company. Oh, the big guy was nice and all and Syntax even enjoyed his presence well enough. But he would grow bored of the scientist's techno babble and science talk eventually and leave with a nod and a wave goodbye. He was grateful that he seemed to listen, however, even if he wasn't interested in the specifics.

The other one, however, was a pain in his ass. Constantly one upping him, trying to belittle him for being a human, just being an all around annoyance. He tried to act cool and suave but Syntax just found him obnoxious.

Macaque... Macaque stayed, listened even if Syntax ran out of things to talk about. And it was oddly nice. He felt himself growing excited for when the part-spider part-monkey would make his presence known.

He wondered, distantly... if Macaque was starting to mean something to him. To matter, in a way.

~

The day of the final treatment eventually arrived and Syntax actually dreaded what might happen. This was their last shot to make this work completely, there was a greater than 0% chance that this would cause irreparable damage to the monkey demon if they had to continue farther. But it seemed his worries were unfounded. He was smart, a genius even. He had done his job properly, even if it had taken far too long and was the least beneficial way to accomplish the goal.

Macaque screamed worse than with every other treatment, and understandably do. It would have shocked him if Macaque hadn't since he was growing two new arms.

The Spider Queen had taken her leave shortly after, disgusted by the sight before her. It was Syntax's job to watch as Macaque slowly changed before him, bones and muscle and sinew growing slowly and bit by until finally... finally it was finished.

They had learned from last time, placing a cot on the ground for him to sit on while this happened, and he collapsed onto his back. Two new arms limp against the floor as he shook and twitched and cried cold tears in agony. But it was finished.

Syntax couldn't stop himself. He rushed forward, kneeling beside Macaque's head, watching his eyes and expression for recognition and any sign that he was alright. It had only been two weeks since the last treatment, the time needed for him to recuperate, but in that short time... he had grown oddly fond of the man on the cot. He did not know what he felt for him, not yet, but he knew that he did not dislike him in the slightest.

"Ma-Macaque?" He asked softly after no response for nearly 15 minutes, waiting and watching and finally Macaque's eyes turned to him. "How do you feel?"

Macaque didn't say anything to him at first. Just blinked before a weak chuckle resounded from his throat.

"Whole."

~

The transformation was a mistake. Syntax had never felt guilt for any of his scientific achievement before, and he did not feel guilt for helping the Spider Queen in her endeavor, bit this? This he felt guilt for.

Macaque was in pain. Constantly. Sometimes it was just a dull ache, other times he almost collapsed as something moved the way it shouldn't and he had to bite back a scream. But there was no taking it back now and Macaque reveled in "feeling whole" again.

Syntax felt a mix of awe and wonder whenever he looked at the demon. He was... handsome, the purples and blacks and silvers of his fur blending together properly now. His eyes brilliant gold and green. And when he wasn't in pain his smile was nice, soft even if he could call it that. He was unsure of how much of it was true, he knew the Six-Eared Macaque to be a trickster. But he hoped some of it was, at least when directed at him.

But when he was in pain his face twisted in a way that made Syntax sick to his stomach to see it each time the agony rang true on his face. But Macaque brushed it off, not seeming to pay it much mind. Not when he had his eyes and arms "back".

The Spider Queen agreed with him, he could tell, but probably not for the same reasons. She seemed frightened of him. Goliath and Huntsman were just scared of him too. They avoided him like he would kill them on sight.

Syntax, despite his guilt, welcomes his presence still. He was not frightened of Macaque in the least. No, he just felt guilt that he was in pain. And he would never not want to help him through that now. The spider monkie had grown attached to him, almost a constant companion at his side. And he had grown fond of him as well.

He learned that Macaque had a flair for the theater. He made shadow puppets when the Spider Queen wasn't watching, though for what purpose and what audience Syntax had not asked. He liked to watch Syntax work, and eventually as he started to rest his head on the human's shoulder he learned the rumbling from the second to last treatment was a purr. He didn't know demons could purr, let alone to speed up recovery from injuries.

But the day of the Lunar New Year was coming and Syntax could tell he had something else... someone else on his mind.

~

The next day was to be the day. Syntax's last chance to get the new formula and tech right. It almost felt like a repeat of the past treatments but with less screaming. He was worried.

Macaque wasn't, however. He had never been worried, assuring the Spider Queen (sometimes through growls and bared teeth) that it would be done in time. He'd been a success after all. (Syntax said nothing each time.)

They'd never been this close before, but Macaque had eventually dragged the scientist away from his computer for rest. Taken him to his room, sat on the bed with him, and just. Held him. Purring loud and deep and eventually Syntax was lulled into slumber sitting up against the soft-coarse fur of Macaque.

He realized that Macaque mattered to him more than he cared to admit.

~

Syntax had failed. His formula and tech hadn't worked. They only had one shot left, and there was no time for him to fix his mistakes before the end of the celebration. Macaque had been in too much pain, on the other side of the room, to tell Spider Queen off this time. It was all over...

Until she came. The young woman in white and blue. She'd done something, added an ingredient he had not been able to calculate for, and then...

"Let's give it a spin," Spider Queen had said with a smirk as she turned toward her human scientist... her human guinea pig.

"Wait, no!" Syntax backed up, knowing that it was almost pointless to attempt escape. There was nowhere to run. "I helped you! You need me! Maca-AGH!"

Before the spider monkie could rush to his side the little spider drone had jumped on Syntax, adhering itself to his face before he fell backward over some machinery. It crawled around him, situating itself on his back and digging in it's injectors and

pain agony pain pain something came out of his back pain another painpainhescreamedandscreamed ANOTHER AGONYISTHISWHATMACAQUEFELTPAIN one more

And then it was over. Syntax felt... nothing. No pain. No agony.

No... guilt.

He stood straight, facing forward before kneeling. He knew what he had to do.

"My queen."

Yes. His queen. The Spider Queen.

She was the only one who mattered to him.

He heard his name spoken from the other side of the room but paid it no mind. That voice didn't matter to him.

That wasn't the voice of his queen.

~

"Syntax?" Macaque called, unable to stand from his spot as his arms throbbed in ghost pain. He had tried to stand before, when the drone had lunged at him, but the pain shot through him for a split second and send him to his knees too quickly.

His screams... his screams made his ears pull back not from the pain of the volume but from fear and something else.

Then Syntax stopped screaming and stood and knelt before the Queen.

"Syntax!"

... he never responded.

Macaque wondered if this is what guilt felt like.

[blackmissfrizzle]

A Tale of Two Soldiers Part 6

Title: A Tale of Two Soldiers Part 6

Characters: Erik x reader, Bucky x reader

Summary: Erik and Bucky come to save you.

Word Count: 5703

Warnings: Sexual assault and sex trafficking (Plesse don’t read if they’re triggers for you even though it does not go into depth.) Violence and a little torture

A/N: no keep reading link since I’m on mobile.

You awoke with a pounding headache, it was worst than the time you were matching drink for drink with Steve. Whatever room you were in the air was freezing and it didn’t help that Marcus or whoever he was working with left you in your lingerie set.

As you were coming to, you heard a murmur of voices. You got up to investigate where the voices were coming from. With each closer step you heard a bunch of:

‘She’s up’

‘She’s coming’

‘Is that Y/N’

‘Isn’t she an avenger’

When you found the voices, they belong to a group of women, scratch that not all of them were women. The youngest seemed to be about 11. All of them were in skimpy shorts and crop tops. Judging from their outfits, your new environment, and your abduction you just got caught in a fucking sex trafficking ring. Great, Bucky and Erik weren’t going to let you out your sight after this.

A young girl with big doe eyes tentatively walked to you.”Are you here to save us? You’re Y/N, the avenger, right?” Her eyes were filled with hope and you didn’t want to tell her the truth and break her heart but you also didn’t want to lie to her and give her false hope.

You didn’t know if it was luck or not but a girl who looked like life hardened her answered for you. “Does she look like she’s here to save us? She’s for sell just like us!”

To make yourself smaller you kneeled down to the other girl’s level. “She’s right. I’m here against my will. But, I got some powerful friends and they’ll find us sooner than later.”

Suddenly, you heard a loud slam of a door and the clicking of heels against the tile floor. A man in a full Armani suit was surrounded by his bodyguards appeared. He seem like the type of man to brag about his accomplishments and flaunt his wealth, especially with women. And if they didn’t do as he asked, he’ll call them anything but a child of God.

“I see that you met your new roommates,” the man stated smugly.

Already tired of the bullshit you punched ole dude in his smug face. In return you received a kick in the gut that caused you to fall to the ground.

Armani suit bent down and jerked your chin so you could look into his emotionless eyes. “They were already ordered not to hit you in the face. We don’t want to damage our money maker.”

“You’re really selling me and these girls? Oh, you don’t know what trouble you just got yourself into asshole.”

“Trouble? I don't think so. You’re gonna be worth more than all of them combined. Someone as beautiful and strong as you. You’re gonna make me a rich man.”

“Let’s say if you get the chance to sell me, you’re not gonna live long enough to spend it. My dad’s a senator, my uncles are War Machine and Ironman, my best friends are Captain America and Black Widow, and my boyfriends are the two most ruthless killers ever. I’m starting to feel bad for you bro.” You shrugged at the man and smirked.

“I knew you were a little slut.” He gripped your face harder to the point you thought he would break some of your teeth and then he gave you a bruising kiss. In return you head butted him, which he seemed to enjoy from his evil chuckle. “I wish I could keep you for myself. Do you know what’s the most satisfying thing about my job?”

“I don’t know. You get your tiny dick sucked? You must be overcompensating for something,” you sneered.

The big bad grabbed your hand and put it on his rather unimpressive hard on.”I assure you I’m not overcompensating for anything.” Great, not only were you kidnapped by an asshole but he was delusional as well.

“Anyway, my favorite thing about my job is dousing out fires. Now, your average sex trafficker wants to get easy girls. Girls who won’t put up fight. But me personally, I like it when my girls got fight in em, because I enjoy putting them out. I love when a break down a girl and make her submit. The more fight she had the better. And you, Ms. Y/L/N are one of the strongest women I ever had and to bend you to my will until I submit,” he took a deep inhale and palmed himself. “I would pay good money for that, but you’re the product and I can’t make money if I use my own product. But no worries, there are buyers out there with similar viewpoints as mines and they’ll pay a pretty penny for you. So, I’m not scared because I’ll have enough money in the world not to worry about your friends and family.”

As Armani suit gave his bad guy monologue, you found a random pipe on the floor behind you. Despite your better judgement you grabbed the pipe and whacked the smug smirk off your captors face. “I’m glad you like your girls with fight because I gotta whole lotta fight in me.”

When he faced you, you finally saw the anger in him instead of that giddiness he had earlier. “Make sure you don’t hit her in the face. Remember that’s our money maker, but everything else is fair game.” While he ordered his men to do their worst his eyes never left yours until he exited the room.

Soon as their boss left, the goons started pounding at you. Some used their fists, some used their feet, some used the butt of a gun, and some used a pipe. No matter what they were using, pain reverberated throughout your body. Although, you were in immense pain you refused to give these monsters the satisfaction of your screams in pain, so you suffered in silence. The only thing that could be heard were their grunts and vile words towards you. It wasn’t until you blacked out with thoughts of Bucky and Erik saving you were you able to escape the pain.

——

Charles automatically noticed something was wrong when you didn’t show for the family photo shoot. Even though you hated doing things like these you were always 30 minutes early, just in case someone needed help with something. So when his baby girl wasn’t there when he got there, he ordered his crazy daughter, Casey to track you down.

That was two days ago and there was still no word from you. HPD inform your parents that they couldn’t find Marcus, who you were last seen with and now he was officially a person of interest.

The whole family was gathered in the living room with the Wakandans, James Warren, Tony, Rhodey, and Detective Johnson from HPD.

“We have an update on your daughter’s case,” the detective informed the Y/L/N family as he handed a folder to your father.

His knees buckled once he saw what was inside. It was photos of you in your lingerie, posed for sell. The pictures got worse as he saw all the bruises on your body.

Your mother got a look as well and she instantly wailed. “Who would do this to my baby?”

Tired of being in the dark, Erik took the photos from your dad. When he saw them he was fuming and he knew just who to blame.

Throwing the photos at Bucky, Erik stormed towards Bucky and sucker punched him.”Its your fault! I was stupid enough to listen to you and let her go to that damn auction! Now look, Barnes she’s caught in a sex trafficking ring!”

Everyone except the Wakandans perked up at the mention of Barnes. “Bucky Barnes?” Tony and your mom questioned.

Bucky was outed now, so he took the nano mask off. “I’m just as pissed as you, Stevens and I blame myself more than you ever could.” Then Bucky turned his gaze towards Tony and your mom, “But all of you have a choice. You either can turn me in over duty or some personal vendetta or you let me be Winter Soldier and bring our girl home and kill those sons of bitches.”

Regrettably, Tony conceded to Bucky. He was far too worried about you to get back at Bucky and he knew how much those bastards needed to pay and the Winter Soldier was what they needed.

“Who took those photos,” Rhodey asked gravelly.

“We believe it’s Richard Dominguez. He just took over the Dominguez crime family and expanded into sex trafficking, which his recently deceased father was against.” Detective Johnson informed the room.

“What about this Marcus nigga?” Erik asked. He was ready to kill someone and if he couldn’t get to Dominguez then Marcus would have to do.

The detective felt uncomfortable under Erik’s murderous gaze. “Umm...we can’t find him.”

“Then what the fuck you niggas good for? Oh wait never mind y’all good for killing innocent black people.”

“Cousin!” T’Challa admonished his younger cousin.

Erik just shrugged his shoulders because he believed he told no lie. He looked at Shuri and nodded his head at her. “Lil cuz, can you find this Marcus dude if we give you his picture?”

Shuri looked at Erik as if he grew a second head. Did he know who he was talking to?”

“My bad, cuz,” Erik quickly apologized once he saw the look on Shuri’s face. “Can you find him quickly is what I meant to ask.”

“Give me the picture and I’ll tell you his last location within 30 minutes, cousin,” the Wakandan princess stated.

Detective Johnson handed a photo of Marcus to Shuri and she promptly went to work.

---

Everything hurt. You were sure that you had a couple of broken ribs. The girls took turns looking after you and in that time they told you who held the group captive. It was some dude named Richard Dominguez and he was fairly new to the game.

The door squealed open and the girls hid in their respective corners. You thought it was Dominguez coming to gloat about the offers he got for you, but it was a woman instead. She reminded you of a Kim Kardashian wannabe. Nothing on the woman was real. Her ass was disproportionate to her thighs, her lips looked as if they were stung by bees, and her tan was so dark that she was nearly the same color as you.

“So, you’re the one my husband can’t shut up about. He keeps on talking about your beauty, but from where I’m standing, darling, you ain’t that beautiful.” The woman sneered at you as she inspected you.

If her physical appearance didn’t put you off, her attitude did the job for you. Annoyed with the woman you sighed, “Don’t tell me your ok with this? And please don’t tell me you’re jealous.”

“Ok? Sweetie, I’m ecstatic with anything that allows me to afford my lifestyle. I would sell my own grandmother if it meant I could live like this. Honey, why would I ever be jealous of you?”

What a delusional one this chick was. You laughed at her and proceeded to read her. “Listen, sweetie, ummm, everything on your body is predominantly features of a black woman and under all that tanning lotion, you’re clearly not a black woman. You literally just came in here and called me ugly for having the same features you have that your plastic surgeon did a botch job on.”

You stood up face to face with Dominguez’s wife and even in your diminished shape she was frightened by you. “I bet your bitchass husband is fantsizing about me while he’s fucking you,” a look of embrassement from the woman confirmed your hunch and you contined. “I’m gonna go as far and say he called out my name on accident. Man, it must suck to be you.”

The wannabe was in tears by now and she ran out the room. Usually, you wouldn’t revel in the fact that a husband was mentally cheating on his wife, but since she was compliant, you didn’t feel an ounce of guilt.

Once again the door creaked open and this time it was Dominguez and he was pissed. He stormed towards you and punched you in the gut. “You made my wife upset, you little cunt! Be glad that you are of value to me or you be dead.”

You knew Dominguez didn’t care about his wife, but she must’ve gave him an earful and that set him off. Holding yourself back, you smirked at the man. “I don’t know what’s worse for you. Me getting to you and killing you or the Winter Soldier and Killmonger killing you. Either way you end up dead and you better pray that nothing happens to me, because those two I mentioned are nothing nice to play with.”

All the blood drained from Dominguez’s face when you mentioned the Winter Soldier. He didn’t know about Killmonger, but he didn’t sound fun and now suddenly he was fearing for his life.

His silence stuck with you and you knew you had him. You decided to taunt Dominiguez some more. “Remember when I said boyfriends? I was talking about them. So, even if I end up getting sold, you won’t be spending any of the money.”

Richard continued to keep his mouth shut as he tried to calmly exit the room. When he was outside the door, he ordered his head of security to hire more guards in case the Winter Soldier came looking for him. Now he had to get rid of you much quicker than he would like to, because he refused to be a victim of the infamous Winter Soldier.

---

Shuri came through and she was able to locate Marcus in 15 minutes instead of 30, and the team had him in their custody no less than 45 minutes.

Bucky was sharpening his knife trying to calm himself before interrogating Marcus when Tony approached him. “I know you hate me, Stark, but I love Y/N, so don’t be mad at her when we get her back. She was just doing what she believed what was right by protecting me.”

Tony held back his disdain for Bucky. He had to admit that he admired how fiercely Bucky wanted to fight for you. “Barnes, I’m not here to fight you. Y/N would whoop my ass if I did right now. I just wanted to say I appreciate how you’re fighting to get her back and that none of this is your fault.” Bucky drew his brows in confusion at Tony’s statement. Did Stark really compliment him?

“I know. I know. It doesn’t sound like me. But you can’t fight at your best if you keep thinking its your fault that Y/N is captured. You were ok with Y/N going to the auction, because you knew she was going to do it anyway. Don’t beat yourself up over that,” Tony advised the soldier.

“Thanks.”

“I still hate you by the way. I’ll just hate you less once we get her back.” Tony effectively killed the chance of any reconciliation between the two and left the room

As Tony and Bucky were having a moment, Rhodey was talking to Erik trying to calm him down. “You can’t just go in there and start beating on the dude.”

Erik looked at Rhodey in disbelief, “Oh, I can’t? Watch me.” Erik was walking to the door that Marcus was behind and Rhodey pulled him back before he turned the handle.

“You need to calm down and do it quickly! I’m not letting you blow the only lead we have on finding my niece. Do you understand me?” This was the first time Erik seen the older man lose his cool. He heard from you how your Uncle James was always the chill one despite how crazy our mom or Uncle Tony could be. So, he knew he needed to calm down for the sake of your uncle.

“A’ight. I’m sorry, man. I just need to find her asap.”

Rhodey understood the young man’s urgency. He clapped his shoulder and warned Erik. “We need Marcus alive. The cops need someone to arrest.”

Erik caught Rhodey’s drift. He wouldn’t he able to kill Marcus but whoever was the real culprit was fair game.

When Erik finally gathered himself together he went to the door where Bucky was at and entered the room. The two killers had to school their faces as they entered the room. It smelled of bodily fluids and the heat in the room made it no better.

Marcus was sitting in the middle of the room in his own mess. He was a nervous mess because he didn’t know who kidnapped him and then the crazies had a jaguar and wolf snapping in his face.

“They miss their mom and they know you have something to do with her being missing.” Marcus instantly recognized the man talking. He was the Winter Soldier and he was casually flipping a knife around.

Soon as he recognized Bucky Barnes, Marcus soiled himself once again. Erik scrunched up his face in disgust and pinched his nose. “Really, nigga? You already pissed now you gotta shit! I bet you didn’t have that same energy when you let Y/N go.”

“Look man, I didn’t have a choice,” Marcus yelled in desperation.

Pissed off, Bucky echoed Marcus. “No choice!” Bucky kicked Marcus’s chair, causing him to fall and have Apollo and Artemis growl in his face.

“Are you really gonna let em eat him?” Erik pointed to the predators.

“They haven’t ate all day and he’s obviously no help. Is that a problem?”

“Nah, it’s chow time.” Erik broke out into a smile while Apollo and Artemis widen their jaws for their new meal.

“She’s in Huntsville! Dominguez has a bunch of land out there, but he has a small army. He’ll know you’re coming.”

“We don’t care!” Bucky yelled already texting T’Challa with the information.

Erik bent down to Marcus. “Before I rock yo shit, why did you betray her?”

Marcus was a sobbing mess by now, he feared for his life. “I had a gambling debt at one of Dominguez’s underground casinos. He said it’ll clear my debt and I could get a little extra if I help him get her. Y/N’s an Avenger, I thought she would be out by now.”

As Bucky heard Marcus’s explanation, he crushed the door knob in frustration. What kind of man traded his friend for money? He took his knife out and aimed it at Marcus and cut off the top of his ear.

Annoyed that Bucky threw the knife so close to his face, Erik reprimanded him. “You had to throw it next to my face?” Bucky nonchalantly shrugged his shoulders and exited the room. Erik quickly followed Bucky after he punched Marcus to silence his wails.

Thanks to Bucky texting the intel while they were still with Marcus, Shuri had the location of Dominguez. Everyone suited up as soon as a plan was formed, even though Bucky and Erik just wanted to go in guns blazing.

“You know we don’t plan on bringing Dominguez alive.” Bucky warned your parents.

Your mother left her husband’s side and for the first time looked Bucky in the eye. “I don’t give a damn. If he’s begging for mercy, you better let him bleed out. Just bring back my baby girl.” Now Erik and Bucky understood where you got a fierceness from.

Both men gave a head nod and a yes ma’am to her and left to go save their girl.

—-

You were getting anxious. If it was just you held captive, you would’ve already escaped and killed Dominguez, but you weren’t. The other girls were your responsibility and you promised them all that you would get them out safely and alive.

“Miss. Y/N, are your friends going to save us?” Lexie, the 10 year old asked you with hope in her eyes.

“Of course, honey. They’ll be here soon. If we get lucky, we might get to see the Scarlet Witch.”

Santana being the pessimist she was told the child not to get her hopes up. You were on the verge to cuss Santana out, but you heard gunshots and the screams of Dominguez’s guards.

A smile broke out on your face, help had came. You ordered the girls to grab the shivs they made in the past days.

All of you gathered together and were approaching the door when you heard footsteps by the door. You pushed the girls behind you and got in your fighting stance.

You abandoned your stance and fell to the floor in relief when you saw Steve, Nat, Sam, and Wanda at the door.

“It’s okay. I got you,” Steve hugged you being mindful of your injuries. You hugged everyone else and asked Wanda where Vision was. She told you he joined Tony and should be here soon.

“This family reunion is great, but we got people shooting at us and we need to get these girls to safety,” Nat reminded everyone.

“Nat’s right. You guys get the girls out and I’ll handle Dominguez.” You offered to your former teammates.

Steve was heavily against the idea. He claimed that you would be outnumber and your injuries would be a clear disadvantage. But you weren’t hearing none of it. You needed to kill Dominguez and your friends couldn’t get caught since they were still fugitives.

In the middle of your argument with Steve, your sword Shuri made for your birthday was suddenly in your hand. Then you heard the roar of Artemis and the howl of Apollo.

You smiled at your friends. “Game time, bitches.” This time Steve didn’t argue with you when you ordered them to get the girls to safety. He knew Bucky was there to save you and nothing would get in his way.

Thanks to your sword being made out of vibranium you easily dodge bullets and sliced through Dominguez’s henchmen. Your goal was to kill your captor and everyone who helped him, and you weren’t leaving the base til you did.

Taking two stairs at a time, you ran into the master bedroom and found Dominguez’s wife frantically throwing clothes, shoes, and jewelry into a duffel bag.

“Materialistic to the end, huh?” Your chuckle halted her packing. Immediately she was begging for her life and in that moment you truly didn’t know if you would leave her alive. You asked yourself WWCAD (what would Captain America do?) and regrettably you only knocked her out with a vase.

As you were tying up Richard’s wife, he came running into the room seeking refuge. Once he spotted you, he pointed his gun at you. “Damn, I thought you would’ve killed her. She knows too much about the operation.”

Dang, this man really didn’t care about anyone except himself. “You know I would say I feel bad for her, but she’s as guilty as you are.”

“Then maybe you should give me the same punishment as her,” he tried to bargain with you.

“Too late,” you stated and then you charged the man.

Your fight ended up in the hallway and near the railing. Dominguez and you were dodging each other’s hits. You lunged to stab him, but he fell over the railing but he grabbed you to bring you with him. You were expecting to feel the coolness of the marble floor, but instead you felt the familiar warmth of strong arms.

“I got you, princess.” Tears threatened to spill out when you saw Bucky and Erik. You kissed Erik and murmur a bunch of I love you. Then you jumped out of his arms and limped towards Bucky to do the same.

Unfortunately, your reunion got cut short by the groans of Dominguez. Erik and Bucky instantly got in defense mode but you had to pull them back. As much as you understood their anger, this was your kill.

You slammed your foot into Dominguez’s chest to stop him from getting up. “Remember when I told you I didn’t know if it was worse for you if I got to you if they got to you,” you pointed towards the two soldiers. He gave no answer, but looked at you in pure hatred.

“Well, I forgot about a third option and I’m gonna go with them, cuz they’ll kill you slower than I ever could.” Confusion and then fear crossed Dominguez’s face as he saw the jaguar and wolf prowling towards him out of the shadows.

While Apollo and Artemis were snarling in his face, you bent down to his ear and whispered, “You know my favorite thing about you douchebag dudes is the fear on your face once you know you lost and how you’re gonna die soon. It’s the best feeling.” You patted his chest as you smugly mocked his first conversation he had with you.

Once you started walking away you heard the crunching and breaking of his bones and his cries of pain as Apollo and Artemis ripped into him.

The adrenaline must’ve stopped pumping through you, because you fell to the ground before either Bucky or Erik could get to you. Blood was seeping out of your stomach when the boys reached you. Each of them were yelling it wasn’t your time yet as you repeatedly told them you were sorry. Luckily, Erik managed to insert a Kimoyo bead into your wound to stop the bleeding. And once again you blacked out as you have done so many times this week.

—-

“You’re very lucky Mr. and Mrs. Y/L/N based on all your daughter’s injuries she should be dead,” you heard the doctor inform your parents.

“Thank God!” Your mother praised as she sat in the chair next to your bed.

“Ummm, but is it necessary for them being here?” You could only assume that the doctor was referring to Apollo and Artemis, since you could sense their presence.

“They stay,” Erik ordered leaving no room for negotiations.

A few moments later and you felt your eyes flutter open. No one noticed that you were awake until they heard you groan in pain.

Your first words were where was Bucky and Erik.

Erik left his corner in the room and ran up to you. “Hey, princess. I’m right here and Barnes not here right now. We have too many eyes on us right now.”

Usually you would be understanding, but you didn’t feel complete until you had both men by your side. So, you pleaded with Erik to get him and he was about to comply when Secretary Ross entered your hospital room.

Automatically, you were on the defense and tried to sit up despite the pain you were in. Last time you saw Ross, you cussed him out so you doubted he would be happy to see you again.

“Y/L/N, it’s good to see you’re doing well.”

“What do you want,” you croaked out.

Ross widen his stance in an attempt to intimidate you. “We have reports from the other girls you saved and they said that Steve Rogers and the others were there helping them. Do you know where they have could’ve gone? And please don’t lie, the girls did say you did talk to Rogers.”

Your monitor was beeping quickly indicating the spike in your blood pressure. At this point, Ross was more than a thorn in your side and he was getting dangerously close to be on your kill list.

It also must’ve been your mother’s breaking point, because she jumped out of her seat and was in Ross’s face. “Are you fucking kidding me!!!” Your mama had to be furious to be cussing. You only heard her cuss a handful of times in her lifetime. “My daughter is in the damn hospital barely escaping death and you’re worried about capturing damn Captain America??? My baby girl is right, that heart attack must’ve fucked with your head more than you thought. Now I suggest you get out of this room or that wolf and jaguar are gonna have a new chew toy.”

Ross made the smart decision of leaving the room with no protests. You knew your mom could be scary, but for her to successfully threaten the Secretary of State, she earned a new level of respect from you.

“Damn, Mrs. Y/L/N remind me not to piss you off.” Erik laughed in admiration.

While looking at you and giving you a motherly caress, your mama replied to Erik. “I don’t play about my kids, even the ones who give me the most headaches. So, it’s best you and Barnes remember that.”

You almost couldn’t contain your excitement. That warning your mama gave Erik was also a seal of approval for both of them to date you. Who would’ve thought your mama would be open to you dating an assassin.

For a while you talked with your family. Shannon tried to apologize for unknowingly helping you get kidnapped, but you threatened to burn all her wigs if she tried apologizing again. That quickly got her to shut up.

The nurse came by and told everyone that visiting hours were over. Everyone left except Erik and when she tried to get him to leave, he gave her a deadly stare until she scurried off.

Running your fingers through Erik’s dreads calmed you and him. It was very possible that you wouldn’t have survived and never had the chance to see each other again.

Tears were forming in Erik’s eyes and this was the second time you saw him cry. Between sniffles Erik spoke for the first time since you two been left alone. “I almost lost you, Y/N. That scared the shit out of me. I’m about to ask T’Challa to assign a Dora to follow you when me or Barnes are not around.”

Half of you was grateful that you had a man that cared that much about you, but the other half was annoyed that you were about to get a 24 hour detail after this whole debacle. “I’m safe, E. But don’t you think it may be a little extreme to have someone watching me all the time?”

“Hell no.” Welp, there’s goes any negotiation. You didn’t have the energy to fight Erik on the topic, so you let it go for now.

Erik jokes with you for a bit to lift your spirits, but he knew eventually you would ask for Bucky again. He told you what you already suspected which was that Bucky felt guilty about your abduction and was avoiding you. You told Erik to get Bucky and tell him if he refused to come you would never speak to him again.

Within 10 minutes, Bucky was sulking in your room. Erik excused himself, knowing that you two needed this intimate moment and appreciative that he spent time with you already.

“You two seem really close now,” you pointed out to Bucky after Erik clapped his shoulder.

Seemingly nervous, his metal hand scratched the back of his neck. “Yeah, when the girl you both love gets kidnapped it brings enemies closer.”

Bucky made no attempt to get near you and it broke your heart. In the time you needed him the most he refused to be there for you, but you understood it, he was still blaming himself.

“Doll, I really shouldn’t be here.”

“Why?”

“It’s not safe. I heard that Ross came by looking for intel. Someone can come by and turn me in.”

Although, it was a valid concern, you knew that wasn’t the real reason Bucky thought he shouldn’t be there. “I have my own hospital floor and Tony made sure everyone signed a NDA, so try again, Barnes.”

This time Bucky moved towards you and you could see the pain in his eyes. Hell, you practically felt the pain rolling off of him onto you.

Bucky was crying by the time he sat next to you. He laid his head on your stomach and you could feel his tears seeping through your hospital gown.

When he finally composed himself, Bucky spoke.”Fuck doll, if I hadn’t encouraged you to go to that damn auction you wouldn’t be in this damn hospital bed.”

You lifted his chin to get his attention. “I’m only gonna say this once. It’s not your fault. I was gonna go with or without your permission.”

Bucky opened his mouth to apologize, but you held up your hand to stop him. “James Buchanan Barnes if you are fixing those gifted lips of yours to apologize, I promise you I will cut off your dick and you know how much I love it, baby. You wouldn’t want to do that to me, would you, babe?”

Laughter filled the air and it was music to your ears. Bucky’s laugh was low like his voice but it held a certain lightness that Bucky must’ve retained before joining the army.

“Ok no more apologies. But you’re gonna have someone with you at all times just to make me feel better.”

“I basically told her the same thing and she didn’t argue with me,” Erik added while he was standing in the doorway eating some jello-o.

You rolled your eyes in annoyance at the two men. They really thought you were gonna comply with them. “I didn’t argue with you because I’m too mentally tired to do so. But watch, once I’m feeling better I’m cussing both of you out for trying to tell me what to do.”

Both muttered a ‘we’ll see’ and laughed at you. Throughout the entire night the boys kept you entertained and not once did they argue. It was a rare occurrence for Bucky and Erik get along and you hoped for more of it in the future.

Sleep eventually claimed you and you were glad that you had your two favorite men by your side as it always should be

Tags: @blackreaders-assemble @destinio1 @lildashofmelanin @nickidub718 @dumbchick @chaneajoyyy @wakanda-inspired @blackpinup22 @pastelastronomy24 @cyrioussoul @valkyriesnymph @bitchacho25 @yoyolovesbucky @toniilaney @euphoric05 @marvelmaree @dessianna1

[game-plague-inc-blog]

Plague Inc Evoled Review

Plague Inc. Evolved may be a game wherever you are taking over a doubtless deadly illness to extinguish humanity. the sport relies on a series of games referred to as Pandemic that became widespread during a flash game from 2008. but Plague Iraqi National Congress. Evolved took the novel plan from there and developed a rather attention-grabbing and deeper game.

 When you begin a game of Plague Iraqi National Congress. Evolved you initially need to opt for a illness sort, these vary from bacterium, viruses, all the high to nano-viruses and bio-weapons. every one has slightly totally different rules and talents. every form of illness is given a novel special ability, and a few (four out of the eleven, that I’ll decision the special types) act radically totally different.

 You then name your virus. I found a number of clever selections, my personal favorite was “Twilight Fan Fictions.” however something is used, it’s simply a reputation for the sport to use to consult with it. From there the sport really starts transferral you to the most map.

 Unsurprisingly, the most map is that the customary form of the globe. you have got six out of the seven continents (no Antarctica) and varied countries. Some countries ar obvious, like North America that is Canada, us, and Mexico. However, alternative countries ar mixed in or forgotten regarding altogether. Central Europe may be a single place, Portugal is a component of Espana and continent that is fifty four countries within the world is regarding ten within the game. These ar clearly selections to feature to the gameplay (imagine Risk with all 195 countries), however it’s a shame that such a large amount of countries ar forgotten here.

 However, every country’s borders ar thus sharp that there’s a transparent border wherever the countries ar. It’s odd to examine the us fully overrun by a illness next to Canada that features a few spots on that. the rationale is that the countries ar delineated on the map however the placement of “sick people” isn't on a grid thus spreading of the illness is additional supported hidden arithmetic instead of a logical progression. The sharpness of the borders feels rather awkward now and then, particularly once a country’s borders ar open and no infected individuals appear to be going into fully healthy countries.

 Once the player reaches the most map, they're allowed to pick a beginning country, and also the illness starts to unfold there. The gameplay invariably starts slowly, typically taking a number of days to urge going, tho' the sport permits 3 speeds for progression, I found myself selecting the quickest speed and pausing after I wished to try to to one thing, as there’s a great deal of time period in between events that need action.

 One piece the sport will modification from the initial construct is whereas watching for the infection to unfold, bubbles can seem which will be popped for deoxyribonucleic acid points. These occur once a replacement country is appropriated or once enough time has passed, the player is given one thing to try to to whereas they wait and honestly, it unbroken Pine Tree State engaged within the game rather than pondering alternative games I might be enjoying.

 These deoxyribonucleic acid points additionally are available in overtime because the world gets infected (or killed) and that they ar a part of the core of the sport. There’s not Associate in Nursing infinite range of them, and there ar very little items which will increase the amount that are available in, however the sport isn’t terribly clear the way to boost them. It looks the additional severe a illness is that the additional points you may gain.

 DNA points is used for one in all 3 things. you'll be able to pay them on transmission enhancements, that makes the illness unfold higher, faster, or in several ways that. you'll be able to use them to urge new symptoms for your illness, which might facilitate unfold however will increase the severity of the illness, that causes it to urge noticed . Finally, you'll be able to additionally purchase resistances, that is crucial as a result of the cold or medicine in made countries can stop the illness.

 The upgrades ar the key to the sport, however sadly the upgrades are one in all the constraints of the sport. A bacterium and {a virus|an epidemic|a plague|an outbreak|an endemic|a scourge|a pandemic|a deadly illness|a virulent disease|a pestilence} ar differing kinds of disease. rather than being distinctive dieseases, they need a similar upgrades. a similar ways that of spreading, and also the same resistance. they are doing have one distinctive ability, the bacterium will gain a far better resistance and also the virus will change quicker, however, this doesn’t transform the sport. virtually each virus has a similar sorts of transmissions, same symptoms and same resistances with one special ability. i discussed four special sorts of illness on top of, and 2 of the four operate in similar ways that with a special list of symptoms, and 2 of the four ar distinctive experiences that I’ll bit on later.

There are genes you'll be able to opt for once you discovered your illness. These genes ar unfastened by beating the most game multiple times. they permit you to realize bonuses, like additional deoxyribonucleic acid once sound specific bubbles, or ability to unfold higher in wet countries, or additional ship based mostly transmissions. {you will|you'll|you'll be able to} grind these genes out otherwise you can collect them as you play the sport.

 There’s a great deal of those genes, and that i was solely able to collect thirty % of them in fifteen hours of gameplay, however overall they appear to alter the sport a touch.

 That is one in all the large problems I even have with the sport. Genes appear to alter the sport a touch however I don’t acumen abundant as expected. the very fact is that whereas the upgrades and genes tend to be a similar, there are not any stats. I’m unable to understand specifically what proportion of a gain the cold resistance or the bacteria’s special resistance can provide. the sport solely provides alittle bar chart of Infectiousness, Severity, and morbidity every of those ar valuable stats, however there ar such a large amount of alternative stats that ar hinted at. “Difficulty to cure”, “Resistances”, even “Infectiousness level to the precise form of countries” ar all vital stats and also the game doesn’t provides a stat screen or any info on what proportion more durable it'll be to cure a illness, for example.

 Maybe this was done to avoid the concept of “Min-Maxing” the sport, however this is often a technique game. Players ought to apprehend specifically however each bit can have an effect on the top result. If they wished to avoid metagaming, they selected the incorrect genre, in my opinion, to try to to that in.

 The other chance is that the developers were afraid the numbers would mean nothing that may be a valid concern. Associate in Nursing eight in cold resistance is just getting to confuse individuals, but obtaining Associate in Nursing eight in cold resistance versus a nine in cold resistance is a very important distinction and it might facilitate to differentiate items, still as get a far better understanding what every alternative will.

 I’m unsure why the stats aren’t clearly expressed for the kind of individuals WHO would use them, however it’s one thing that bothers Pine Tree State. It can also build the sport more durable to win as you don’t apprehend what you’re shopping for or the way to quantify 2 selections. The community appear to suppose creating the illness “hard to cure” isn’t an honest alternative, however it’s a guess, not a measurement of that upgrade.

 Ultimately there ar extremely 2 sorts of winning the sport. There’s the hiding form of winning, wherever the illness stays hidden till it infects everybody then at that time becomes super devastating typically killing the globe before the cure will extremely be started. there's additionally a quicker burn, wherever the illness can gain symptoms to extend its infectiousness however avoids major analysis and outpaces the cure.

 There’s another issue here, and it’s that the tutorial teaches you the second path. However, the primary illness you get extremely has to use a hiding vogue. the sport doesn’t appear to show you hiding, and a replacement player WHO doesn’t search something can doubtless fail variety of times till he’s forced to seem it up.

 The hiding plan is absolutely attention-grabbing for the diseases, however the very fact that the sport doesn’t provide the player the tools to essentially perceive what’s happening, and offers the player such a tough form of illness 1st makes it a frustrating learning method.

 Once the player has learned these tools the sport is best, however it’s a painful method that the sport ought to have tried to avoid, or a minimum of hinted at the way to properly play the sport, instead of dropping the player within the deep finish and creating the belief that he’ll swim.

 However learning hiding on the primary illness, the player is forced to be told the incorrect vogue. hiding is simpler to win for a few diseases, however it’s slow and dangerous, particularly if you overspend in transmission. hiding loses effectiveness as you go up the difficulties, each in getting to additional advanced sorts and actual issue levels within the game. therefore the lessons that the player should learn ultimately additionally should be unlearned shortly subsequently.

 The game itself is additionally annoyingly tough. The goal is to eradicate all the humans. the difficulty is there ar a number of moves that the humans will use to win. the primary is there’s a cure being engineered and if it’s completed, the sport is over. this is often Associate in Nursing annoying loss and also the solely actual thanks to lose, the others solely build it not possible to win till the cure is finished. The minute the cure reaches 100%, it starts being distributed, and you have got a number of moments left within the game. the difficulty is that the distribution is quick and also the person to urge cured has created you lose the sport as a result of if somehow the cure doesn’t get distributed on the far side him, one living person causes you to unable to kill all the humans on the world.

 Another issue is that you simply additionally won't be able to reach Kalaallit Nunaat, or New island, if they closed down the port. If this happens you’re out of luck. There’s a renowned acculturation regarding the initial game Pandemic and Madagascar closing down the ports. In Plague Iraqi National Congress. Evolved, it’s Kalaallit Nunaat. The acculturation isn’t as guaranteed (as it’s easier to hiding round the globe) but you continue to ar forced to use the boats to succeed in Kalaallit Nunaat, and make sure you reach there before you get too dangerous, otherwise you have got lost.

 You also may break a population. If you don’t have enough infected individuals otherwise you kill them too quick, or if the country discovered them, they could be killed before they infect enough people, and once more you’ve lost. the sport doesn’t finish directly however unless you're enjoying a state of affairs which will counter that (There could be only 1 or 2 and they’re special cases) the sport is over at that time, you only need to play it bent are aware of it unless you’ve seen it before.

 Now, I’ve lost a number of games wherever I killed over fifty % of the population. I lost one wherever I killed ninety nine % of the globe. The remaining individuals wouldn’t be able to repair the harm I did, nevertheless I got a “Loss”.

 The additional I vie, the additional i spotted that there extremely ought to be a wage scale of ending. something over 65-75 % death ought to be a “win’ whereas the ninety nine and 100% wins might be the next worth (an A versus a D). you'll even limit the unlocking of stuff to 100% if you need to, however winning as a result of you’ve done wonderful against the humans would are welcome.

 Instead, you have got a primary or worst state of affairs. If you kill everybody, you win, congratulations. If you permit even one person alive, you didn’t and you suck. It’s a shame as a result of i favor the construct of the kill everybody plan, I simply hate being told I didn’t kill everybody. that hate isn’t as a result of I unloved losing, I’ve vie enough Dark Souls and alternative games to understand I’m lacking some talent.

 The issue with Plague Iraqi National Congress. Evolved is that i might fail and it doesn’t invariably want my fault. I’m certain it's my fault however extremely it’s a foul feeling of failure while not a sense of what went wrong.

[jarna-kat]

Medbay (Pt. 2 of Bittersweet)

Pt. 1 here

Her optics rebooted, code scrolling by as she came into the world again. Looking around, (Y/N) remembered where she was and why she was there. She felt sadness for everything that happened and cursed herself, knowing that her squad died because of her not being prepared.

A Decepticon nurse stood next to her berth, observing her sparkrate and energon levels making sure that everything was stable. The nurse turned to her and was shocked that the femme was already awake. "Oh primus you're online." the mech said as he panically started looking for medical grade energon to give her.

Once the nurse found it he handed her a cube. "Here, drink this." He said.

The nurse handed her the cube and (Y/N) grabbed it with a groan and downed the energon, making a face of disgust, medgrade was not meant to taste good. She could feel the energon pump through her veins and immediately felt her frame relax a small bit.

"You had taken quite a bit of damage." The nurse said while taking the empty cube away from her. "What's your designation?"

"(Y/N)." She said blatantly. Her voice was raspy, almost more electronic, and it startled her a bit. "Why is my voice strange?"

"It's normal, your systems aren't fully repaired. Usually it'll take a few mega-cycles to go away." The nurse continued. "Alright (Y/N), I'm gonna go ahead and let the doctor know you're back online and he will come have a look at you before you can be sent off."

And with that the mech walked away, leaving (Y/N) by herself. She looked around her surroundings and realized there was not much privacy here. The only thing that blocked her from the next bot down was a thin curtain. The sounds in the building were awful too, femmes and mechs moaning in pain, there were even distant screams. War was nothing pretty.

(Y/N) shut her optics while she waited for the doctor to arrive, which she hoped would be soon so she could leave this wretched place. She could feel her systems start to power down when she heard a fairly loud voice not too far down.

"Hook!" The mech shouted. "Status report."

"Well Starscream, as you can see, it's not great." Hook said in a slightly sarcastic tone.

Starscream. (Y/N) knew she had heard that voice before. He was second in command of the Decepticons, side by side with Megatron. He was notorious for many things and most of them were not good.

"Don't be sarcastic with me, Hook."

Hook groaned. "I don't have exact numbers Starscream, all I can tell you is that there is a large number of bots here and I don't have time to get exact numbers. Now if you'll excuse me I have Decepticon's that need repairing."

(Y/N) heard Hook's peds come closer and closer until he appeared around the curtain. "(Y/N) is it?" He asked her as he went up to the monitor next to her berth. "You were a piece of work I might say. My name is Hook and I'm just gonna run a few tests to make sure you're fit to leave." Hook scrolled through his datapad until he set it down and started his examination by grabbing a small light from his pile of tools.

"I'm just gonna shine this in your optics real quick so go ahead and keep them wide open for me." (Y/N) did exactly that The light was bright and caused her to blink harshly. "Optics sensitive but work nonetheless." He said as he typed more on the pad. "Okay, I'm just going to test your audials real quick, let me know if you can hear these sounds."

Hook pressed play and waited for the femmes reaction. (Y/N) nodded as her answer. The doctor continued to play many different sounds and frequencies, inputting which ones the femme could hear and which ones she couldn't. "Alright, let's go ahead and move to the wings." (Y/N) winced when Hook slightly moved her wings. "How did that feel?" He asked her, grabbing the datapad and ready to input her answer.

She looked up at him. "It hurt like a glitch." She growled.

Hook typed something less profound into the pad before looked back to her and said "Go ahead and stand up for me." (Y/N) started getting up. Her frame was so sore and heavy, she felt so stiff like she had begun to rust. Her joints still creaked with every movement and she made a face of pain as she finally stood tall and as straight as she possibly could in her condition. Hook typed something else in his datapad before saying "Okay, can you move your wings on your own?"

(Y/N) tried to do what Hook had asked her to do, but cried out in pain as she gripped the small table next to the medical berth for support. She shook her helm as fluid started to flood her optics. "No..." she said shakily.

Hook sighed. "Well, I'm afraid to tell you that I can't let you go if you can't move your wings, you can't even transform right now. In fact, I might have to send you to therapy."

"Absolutely not!" Both (Y/N) and Hook turned to where the voice came from. Starscream stood with his arms crossed and trudged over to where she stood. "You and I both know that those fragging idiots know nothing about seekers!"

He was tall and slim, wings high up on his backstruts. (Y/N) looked over his lithe frame and freshly buffed paint and realized how beautiful he was. She had heard bots who had seen him before in person describe how gorgeous he was but never did (Y/N) listen to them, she thought that those stories were over exaggerated by bot's that were just desperate from being abstinent for so long. Turns out they were right and she was wrong.

"Well Starscream," Hook hissed "those 'idiots' are all we have! They are the highest trained bots that we have for physical therapy. They know what they're doing."

"I'm sure they do know what they're doing, for grounders." Starscream observed (Y/N) up and down and turned back to Hook. "But none of them are seekers and are not specially trained in the field. For all I know they would probably work her wings too hard and ruin this femmes chances of ever flying again."

"Well this femme won't be able to fly again if she doesn't get help!" (Y/N) could tell that Hook was getting angry. "What would you suggest Starscream? Oh and by the way you can sit back down." That last part was directed to (Y/N).

There was no hesitation in the motion, (Y/N) was relieved to take the weight off her peds. The grim realization of the fact that there was a chance that she would never be able to fly again hit her. Flying was something a seeker needed to do, it was in their nature, like fueling and recharging. The thought of not being able to fly ever again was an overwhelming thought.

Starscream watched as (Y/N) sat on the berth, observing her clear discomfort. "I'll do it." Starscream said bluntly.

Hook stared at his commander for a nano-klik before shaking his helm and chuckled. "You're really funny Starscream," he started "you are really great at coming up with terrible ideas. For one, you don't have the time, you have an army to command. Two, I'm sure you're not particularly trained either. Three, knowing you, you don't have the patience."

Starscream growled. "One," he hissed, mocking Hook, "you don't know how much time I have and how much I don't have. Two, do you know how many times I've nursed my own wings back to health after-never mind that, point is I probably know more than your fools do. Three, I have a lot more patience than you think, Hook. Besides, I wasn't asking for your permission."

The seeker was now in the doctors face. (Y/N) didn't know why he was so intent on helping her, he was second in command for primus sake! Hook was right, Starscream had an army to command and was probably more busy than she could ever imagine.

Hook backed up in submission, clearly realizing that Starscream was not messing around. "I will leave it up to the patient." Hook said as he turned to (Y/N).

She looked up at the doctor in shock, not wanting to be in this position. Her choices were rough; on one servo she could go to 'professionals' to help her, but there was a chance they would do more harm than good. On the other servo she could go with Starscream, even though he was highly intimidating, but he was a seeker like herself and probably knew better than the latter.

(Y/N) turned her optics to the commander, who looked like he was getting impatient. "I...I think I'll go with you, commander Starscream." She said, making sure to be respectful.

Starscream smirked in triumph as Hook sighed. "Very well, then it's settled." Starscream said to her. "Hook, please pack this femme some medgrade to take with her, then have her transported to the command outpost within the next mega-cycle."

The command outpost. (Y/N) should've realized that that's where she'd be going. The command post was where all the most famous and highest ranking Decepticons stayed, including Megatron himself. (Y/N) was starting to regret her decision, she would much rather be around mechs that were her rank, but no, now she was going to be mechs that were double that.

Hook groaned. "Whatever you say, Starscream." he said in a sarcastic tone.

"What was that Hook?" Starscream replied, clearly annoyed and displeased by Hook's tone.

Hook realized that Starscream was not in the mood to be played with. (Y/N) could see the clear submission that Hook displayed when the seeker fanned his wings out in dominance. "Um, nothing. I will get on that right away commander." And with that Hook went to work.

Starscream huffed and turned to the femme sat on the berth. "I will see you soon." The seeker stomped out of the room with a much more irritated aura than he did when he walked in.

(Y/N) was now starting to rethink her decision, but it was too late to go back now. Now, the commander was expecting her, and if she weren't to show up he would most likely blame the doctor, and she didn't want him to be anymore angry at the poor mech than he already was. The sight that had unfolded before her just cycles ago scared her. Hook was not a small mech, and the fact that Starscream just had to look at him for Hook to submit was quite a sight.

As mentioned before, Starscream was a notorious mech who was known for being ruthless to anyone who displeased him. (Y/N) had heard many stories about him, a couple of her squadmates had met the seeker before and from what they had told her was not a pleasant experience. One had told her about a time where they saw Starscream tear a mech's arm off for calling him out on his unnecessary anger towards the troops.

Hook handed her a few cubes of medgrade to store in her subspace. "I really hope you realize what you've gotten yourself into." He said. "The command outpost is not a glorious place if that's what you were thinking, there are a lot of bad mechs that reside there."

(Y/N) stored the cubes and started thinking about her decision. To be completely honest she was scared, Hook was right she didn't think this through. Hook reached out his servo and helped her up off of the berth, then proceeding to lead her through the building. As they walked through the exit she saw the transport trailer, this one much different from the one she came in with.

A wave of panic reached her and her intakes started speeding up and she looked over to Hook. "What do I do?" She asked frantically.

"Just whatever you do," He said as he helped her up into the trailer "don't try to act tough, be submissive. The mechs at command could easily kill you. Be respectful and act small. As far as Starscream goes...just do as he says and do it without question, and never bring up Megatron to him."

(Y/N)'s frame was shaking, Hook's words did not encourage her. "Sir I don't think I wanna do this anymore! I-I'm fine with physical therapy I-I can't go to command!" She was hysterical now.

"I'm sorry but if I don't send you now, Starscream will think I disobeyed orders, I hope you understand that this was your decision. Good luck." And with that Hook stepped out and closed the hatch, leaving (Y/N) to her thoughts.

The trailer started moving and the real panic hit her. Deciding nothing else would help her at this point she pulled out two cubes of medgrade and chugged them down as fast as she could. It wasn't the way medgrade was supposed to be used but it worked as she could feel her frame go numb. Within the next couple cycles she felt herself go into recharge.

[delicatefury]

TDPL snippet - The Padawan Discussion, round 2.

I got 2 likes and a hell yes, so here’s the next NaNo snippet. I wrote it on it’s own because it was one of the scenes that begged to be written. It’s the second of three conversations regarding Luke and Leia’s potential as padawans and who will be teaching them.

These conversations are necessary because Obi-Wan, self-sacrificing, self-deprecating man that he is, long ago came to the conclusion that if Anakin had had any other choice, Obi-Wan probably wouldn’t have been his master (comparisons to Qui-Gon were distinctively effective in planting this idea). As such, he is determined to ensure the twins know that they can have any available master and refuses to claim them for himself. He doesn’t want them staying with him out of any sense of obligation or thought that they have no other options.

Stupid, yes, but he’s Obi-Wan Kenobi, and his master and student did wonders in building up his self worth.

So the Padawan discussion, Round 1 is between Luke and Leia. Round 3 is between Obi-Wan and the Council. Round 2, though, is Luke and Obi-Wan.

Also, slight, very slight Anakin bashing and less slight Jedi-defending ahead. 

Anyway, enjoy.

“I know… I know I made a big deal about being a Jedi like my Father,” Luke beings. “And I’m not taking it back,” he hastens to add. “I wanted to be a Jedi at first because he was. I guess I just wanted to know him in someway. But I didn’t wanna be a Jedi like my Father, y’know?”

Obi-Wan does not know. Luke has been adamant on preserving Knight Anakin Skywalker’s legacy. He’d made that very clear. To Master Yoda, to himself, to Vader, and especially to the Emperor. As a result, Obi-Wan finds himself puzzled trying to find the meaning behind Luke’s words.

“Why ever not? If any Jedi proved that attachments are not necessarily a bad thing, that they can save lost souls and bring them back to the light, I would think it would be your father. He certainly taught me quite a bit about it.”

“Yeah, but… I looked him up, y’know. Anakin. His Jedi career, I mean,” Luke says. He’s looking at his boots, at the desert wrappings he’s managed to keep despite otherwise acquiescing to the initiate uniform. “And you were right. I mean, I’ve met him, now.” The boy gives him a wry smile. “He is an amazing pilot, a great warrior, a brilliant tactician, and a good friend.”

Obi-Wan returns the smile, hearing his own words echoed back to him, twenty-odd years before they were said.

“But…” the boy trails off.

“But?”

“I don’t think he’s a very good Jedi.”

Obi-Wan’s eyebrow rises at that. While he would not exactly argue, hindsight and all that, it was surprising hearing such a proclamation from Luke, the one person able to see the Light in Darth Vader.

“When Master Yoda died, I was alone. I still had you and Father around to advise me, but I was the only one who could rebuild the Jedi. So I had to decide what the Jedi were going to be.” The boy takes a deep breath. “I didn’t want us, well, me. I never had time to find anyone but Leia to be an ‘us’.” His smile turns rueful, and Obi-Wan thinks a look of such intense loneliness should not be on the face of a child so young. Obi-Wan remembers seeing that look on a young Anakin at a funeral pyre a decade and lifetime ago, and ignore the memory of seeing it on his own during a trip to a certain agricultural planet.

It won’t do to dwell.

“And what did you decide?” he prompts.

“I didn’t want to be pacifists, never lifting our weapons, and I didn’t want us to be isolationists, hiding from the galaxy so we could stay pure. The Republic would need us. Me. They would need me to undo a lot of the damage Sidious had done. To find the pockets of darkness that he left everywhere. And there was so much hurt and pain. Once I knew how to sense it, I could feel it everywhere. I finally understood what you felt with Alderaan. And… and I know how pain affected Father. It lingered in him. It never went away or got better. Instead, he dwelled on it, he feared it. But, I didn’t want to ignore it either, like some of the old books I found said. I didn’t want to pretend it wasn’t there. You can’t release a feeling into the Force if you don’t acknowledge it’s there.”

And, oh, the wisdom of children, Obi-Wan muses, to see that which so many of the Order misinterpreted, whether deliberately or not.

“I wanted the Jedi to be better. I wanted us to turn sorrow to sympathy and pain to compassion. I wanted the new Jedi to be strong enough to be kind, even if the galaxy took everything from them. To… to remember how easy it is to be hurt and to try not to inflict that on others. Maybe even find a way to take it on themselves, relieve other’s suffering, y’know?”

“You wanted your Jedi to be the opposite of the Sith.”

Luke nods. “I didn’t want to be the type of Jedi Father was,” the boy says. He takes a deep breath, bracing himself for his next words. The Force is whispering in Obi-Wan’s ear, telling him to pay attention. That what comes next is important, a fulcrum upon which the future might rotate.

“Ben,” the boy whispers, heart in every word, “I don’t want to be a Jedi like my Father was. Is. I want to be a Jedi like you.”

And once more a Skywalker has shattered his heart. He’s beginning to forget what it feels like whole. It takes him time to respond. He opens his mouth to speak, and finds a large lump blocking his words. He swallows, and realizes his eyes are over-wet as well. He’s forced to blink a few times as he struggles to get his breathing back under control.

“You wanted to be like… me? Whether for the good of the galaxy or not, I lied and manipulated you, Luke. I’m very good at it.”

The boy shrugs. “You were hurt and in pain. It’s kinda obvious how much you love Anakin.” Obi-Wan was tempted to point out it was obvious to everyone but the man in question. “I’d be telling myself the same things if Han or Leia did even half of any of what he did. And I was really mad at you when I found out. You still should’ve told me yourself but… I tried to lie to myself about Vader, too.”

“Luke…” The boy really is far too forgiving.

Said boy suddenly looks up and meets his eyes. There is a defiance, a spark challenging Obi-Wan to deny him.

“I read your journals. Not all of them.” It’s a bit of a non-sequitur, Obi-Wan thinks, but Luke evidently has a point he wants to make. “I didn’t… didn’t get the chance to complete them, y’know. But I read about what happened during the drought. Uncle Owen hated you, tried to hurt you, but you were always nice to him. The Tuskens tried to kill you, but you just disarmed them cause they were weaker. Everyone back home can barely stand Jawas, but you helped them. The only way you could stop yourself from helping was to never interact with people, ever.” Obi-Wan wants to cringe. He had hated, well, resented at times, that he’d been put in a position where he was forced to choose between others and Luke. He’d chosen Luke, like always. It makes him a terrible role model, he thinks. The boy in question, however, seems to disagree.

“You saved everyone that day when you stopped the slugthrowers, y’know? Jabba’s men would’ve just murdered them all because they were dying of thirst and angry, and you helped them without even thinking. That’s the kinda Jedi I wanted to be. The kind of Jedi I want to be.”

Obi-Wan finds that words have failed him. Perhaps it was for the best that Owen had kept Luke far away from Obi-Wan. With his ability to render the great Negotiator speechless, the boy probably would have convinced him to hijack a freighter off the planet and join the rebellion before he was six years old.

The mood shifts suddenly. Luke has his feet planted in a stance that reminds him of Anakin. But the way his jaw is set is pure Padme.

“I know Father betrayed you. I know I’ve got a lot of his faults and problems. But I promise, I won’t fail you. I’m not afraid!” There are tears in the boy’s eyes as Luke repeats to Obi-Wan the same words he said to Yoda on Dagobah. “I won’t fall to the Dark Side. I won’t.”

Obi-Wan doesn’t even have to check to Force to know which action to take next. But he gladly obeys it’s commands to gather the tear-stained boy into his arms and hold him close. Luke responds instantly to the comfort, collapsing into near silent sobs of frustration, weakened by the intensity of his emotions.

“Shh… Luke, shhhh.” Obi-Wan murmurs in the boy’s ear, hand reaching up to rub wide circles on his back. “You have it wrong, my boy. So, so wrong,” he confesses into blond hair.

Calmed, Luke sniffles and pulls back. He stares back at Obi-Wan through watery blue eyes. He’s confused, but determined to make sense of the emotional wreck he has made of Old Ben.

Obi-Wan answers him with a wan smile of his own. “I am not afraid of you falling to the Dark Side, Luke. I do not believe that there’s a fundamental flaw in the Skywalkers. Large hearts that care oh so much, but that carry the capacity to bring so much Light into the world, like you’ve proved yourself several times over.” The smile sharpens into a smirk before fading away.

“I’m worried that I will fail you. I don’t exactly have the greatest track record for padawans. The one who was solely my responsibility destroyed the Order. The one who I helped train left it and apparently spent the next decade or so of her life proudly proclaiming the fact that she was not a Jedi.”

“You taught me.”

“For all of two weeks. Master Yoda did far more for you than I did.”

The boy shakes his head vehemently, pure denial flowing in the Force around him. “Master Yoda was great, but I only trained with him for six months. Everything else, I learned from you. From the books and stuff you left for me. Even though you weren’t there, you were my teacher.” The boy gets a frightfully concerned look on his face. “Wait… do you… do you not want us around?”

Truly, there should be a law or a provision in the code that prevents younglings from tugging on heartstrings this effectively.

“Luke… I want to teach you, and Leia, far more than you can possibly imagine. But don’t think you that you are obligated to stay with me out of some sense of loyalty. The finest knights and masters of the Jedi Order’s entire history are available to teach you now.” Obi-Wan does not want to push Luke and Leia on another master. He wants to hold them close and keep them safe, as he has wanted since the moment they were born. But it has never been about what he wants. He could never forgive himself for binding Luke and Leia to him out of selfish need. So he continues to try and reason with the boy. “Master Windu knows how to channel anger and the Dark Side without letting it cling to him, a wonderful gift for those who must constantly face the darkness in the galaxy. Master Yoda, I know, would agree to teach you once more if you wanted him. I convinced him to do so when you were twenty-two, I think I can do so again now that you are twelve. Master Fisto recently knighted his padawan, and is certainly one of the greatest Jedi you’ll meet. The only reason he is not on the council yet is because of his humility. He will be raised within the year. And those three are only a handful of the top masters in the Order. Other members of the council would take both of you as padawans in a heartbeat, and if they refuse you, I will advocate for you until they do. I am not your only option.”

Luke has that stubborn set to his chin again, but Obi-Wan can see his lip is trembling. “I don’t want the top masters, or the best, or… or… or whatever you’ll call everyone else. Leia and I already agreed. We want you. That is… if… if you want us.”

And suddenly it is not Padme or Anakin’s reflection that Obi-Wan sees before him. It is ginger hair, saber bruises, and eyes defiant even as their owner cannot comprehend what’s so wrong with him that he isn’t wanted.

And Obi-Wan wishes it were possible to kick his own ass for being such a Force-blind fool.

While the Force is great, his ally, and in agreement that he is an idiot, that is a feat it cannot grant him. So, he follows it’s guidance, makes his choice, and swallows until he can find his voice again. “Go get your sister.”

Luke hesitates, not sure if he has won or not.

“Now, Luke.”

The boy dashes off, and Obi-Wan takes the time to recover.

Of all the ways to take after Qui-Gon. The Force is more comforting than he deserves, but he lets himself be assured. He caught himself. He listened. Yes, he acted out of fear, but it was fear born of love for the children, of wanting the best for them, not a fear of the pain a betrayal might cause. Of all his master’s mistakes and flaws, this is one he won’t repeat.

But there is something else there. Something small and trembling in his heart, overwhelming him. A hurt he’d stopped acknowledging long ago beginning to heal. Luke and Leia had already discussed this, had agreed long before he asked. All the available masters in the Jedi order available to teach them, and they had chosen him.

By the time Luke returns with Leia in tow, Obi-Wan has centered himself is standing in front of the couch once more. The twins are confused, rightfully so, but when he motions them to sit, they comply.

“At least once in my life I am going to do this the correct way.” He takes their right hands, Luke’s in his own right, Leia’s in his left, and kneels so he is closer to eye level.

“Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa,” he meets their eyes, uses their old names, their true names. The names with which they best know themselves. It may be the last time he can say them out loud for a long while. “Will you do me the great honor of agreeing to be my Padawan learners?”

Leia is the first to respond, silently nodding, starting slow, but gaining speed. “Yes.”

“Yes!” Luke’s agreement is instantaneous. And, like so many times since they’ve reunited on Jakku, Luke launches himself into a hug. This time, though, he drags Leia with him. “Yes, yes, yes yes yes! I told you, Leia!”

“Thank you, General Kenobi, for taking us both,” the girl whispers into his shoulder, and Obi-Wan realizes that, for all her strength and fire, that trembling he’d felt in the silk-thread of their bond had been fear. Fear that, regardless of his attempted assurances otherwise, he would abandon them, or worse. Far wrose, she’d been afraid he’d separate them, take Luke but leave her in some other master’s care.

He clutches the children, his children, his padawans, though making it official will have to wait, even closer. Never, he swears, never again will I allow them to fear I will leave them.

Though parting is inevitable, never would he do so willingly, and always would he come back. After all, he thinks ruefully, even death has failed to part me from the Skywalkers before.

[aurorachelo]

Nano Intensive Whitening Strips Review

Nano Intensive Whitening Strips Review

Though we love our daily cup of java or tea, it wreaks havoc on our teeth. Sooner or later, those drinks show on our teeth with unsightly discoloration. There are numerous whitening kits on the market, but a UK company has caught our eye with their unique approach and promising product. In this Nano Intensive Whitening Strips review, we’ll be examining how they work and how they can help!

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Content

Quick NavigationAbout the ProductPros & ConsHow is it helpful?The Two-Fold ProblemOxidationEnamelSensitivityDamage-FreeUK ManufacturedWhat do customers say?Summing Up

About the Product

The Nano strips are focused not only on great whitening results but also helping to remineralize teeth, which reduces sensitivity. If you shy away from whitening due to sensitive teeth, this may be a great solution.

The strips are applied 60 minutes per day for 14 days. This is double the daily time of some other brands, however, that’s possibly due to the Nano pain-free approach. To avoid sensitivity, these strips are free of common chemicals which help other brands work faster. Not only that, but the packaging claims to visibly whiten your teeth about three shades in one use.

Nano’s whitening strips appear to be similar to shineUP’s “Brightly White Teeth Whitening Strips.” They both contain the same number of strips, however, per the labels, shineUP’s formula has a few more chemicals than the Nano whitening strips. The box comes with twenty-eight whitening strips for a two-week treatment. The fact that this is not a quick treatment bodes well for me regarding how long-lasting it may be. Due to the two-week timeframe, these strips may not be for you if you need something last-minute.

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Pros & Cons

checkPossibly long-lasting

checkPeroxide-Free equaling little or no sensitivity issues

checkFewer chemicals

Need to be worn for 60 minutes daily

Cannot expect immediate results

Slightly pricey

How is it helpful?

The Two-Fold Problem

The core principle behind the Nano product line is to provide dental care that whitens while promoting the continued health of your teeth. They recognize we have all been taught the importance of caring for our skin and hair, but comparatively little is taught about quality dental care. Resulting sensitivity from whitening products is a real issue. Many popular brands available are not only painful during application, but leave customers with days of sensitivity, if not more. The Nano whitening strips aim to provide a whitening option free from the fear or pain of sensitivity.This could revolutionize the idea of whitening treatments for people who shy away due to extremely sensitive teeth or previous bad experiences. I personally struggle with extremely sensitive teeth from numerous dental procedures, so I’m very excited to know there’s a pain-free whitening product on the market now.

Oxidation

Though the specific ingredients are rather vague with the Nano strips, they are labeled as having a specific “oxidizing ingredient” for efficient whitening. Oxygenated products are helpful for your teeth because they bring in fresh oxygen, killing the problem-causing anaerobic bacteria in your mouth. These bacteria have been known for causing bad breath, compromising your gums, and discoloring your teeth. Not only do the Nano strips contain these molecules for fresher breath, but it’s an extra boost for whitening. While we don’t know exactly what ingredient is present in these strips, molecular compounds such as Oxyd-8, CoQ10, xylitol, tea tree oil, and aloe vera are all great for oxidizing. This knowledge of oxidation and active ingredients certainly would have come in handy recently when I was shopping for toothpaste to lift the tea stains from my teeth.

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Enamel

One unique aspect of the Nano strips is how they may help repair enamel and keep it strong. One of the reasons why whitening can hurt is because it typically uses intense chemicals to penetrate the pores of your teeth’s dentin layer, which is near the pulp with your nerves. While this doesn’t damage your enamel, it doesn’t necessarily help it either. Standard bleaching products leave the inner channels of your teeth open and exposed, causing tooth dehydration and the typical pain associated with whitening.

Most whitening products are solely concerned about stripping stains off your teeth without much care for the enamel. I like how the Nano product line cares for the whole tooth in the whitening process, to gently but effectively lift stains without dehydrating your enamel. When using the Nano whitening strips, you may feel more confident in the general health of your teeth, knowing that they most likely aren’t being stripped of minerals or exposed to harsh chemicals.

Sensitivity

It’s common knowledge that teeth whitening and teeth sensitivity go hand in hand. There are numerous reviews, articles, and videos gracing the internet with stories of resulting sensitivity from whitening treatments. The Nano whitening strips are a huge step up in this aspect alone. Sensitivity from standard bleaching products is caused by hydrogen peroxide, which is what invades beyond the enamel to remove the deepest stains. Nano whitening strips are peroxide-free, which gives us a gentle and non-invasive whitening option.I love that this company specifically made sure these don’t further irritate sensitive teeth or cause sensitivity, which makes them unique on the market. This may be fantastic for you if you have sensitive teeth and you’ve always felt apprehensive about trying a whitening product!

Damage-Free

These whitening strips are labeled as being free of several common damaging chemicals. If you are looking for a healthier, though still effective product, this may be a great option for you. I feel like it’s easy to forget that chemicals in dental care still get absorbed into our bodies, so I like that these strips account for that. For those of us who are conscious of what we put into our bodies, it’s good to know these have fewer chemicals. We often hear of harmful chemicals leading to cancer, so it never hurts to choose a product without a few of these synthetic compounds! The Nano whitening strips don’t contain sodium lauryl sulfate, parabens, or triclosan.

Sodium lauryl sulfate helps toothpaste foam, thicken, and acts similarly to soap. While that doesn’t sound bad, there are downsides to SLS as well. First, it defeats the purpose of fluoride by greatly reducing the amount that is deposited on enamel. Second, it can be a cause or aggravation of mouth ulcers, commonly known as canker sores. These sores can be extremely painful and recurring. Knowing these whitening strips doesn’t contain SLS may help you feel more confident that your fluoride is actually helping your teeth. Fluoride can greatly help reduce sensitivity in teeth, so choosing a product that doesn’t undermine fluoride’s effect may indeed help with sensitivity overall. 

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Further, it may be a good idea for people prone to canker sores to avoid products with SLS due to its triggering nature. This would have been quite useful when I was struggling with lots of canker sores, and my dental products were probably making it worse. Now that I know what ingredient to look for, I can avoid making breakouts worse in the future.Parabens have been circulating the web and health groups for a while now due to their possible association with cancer. Though direct links haven’t been made between parabens and carcinogens, they have been found in breast cancer tumors. Parabens imitate estrogen in our systems, of which is always something to be wary. 

The knowledge that these whitening strips are labeled as specifically paraben-free may help you feel better about how you’re caring for your body in more than one way when you use them. Not only may your teeth show the evidence of a good product, but you would be avoiding potentially harmful additives.Triclosan is a big problem with dental care. Nearly every major brand has removed it from their products by now due to the issues associated with it. Triclosan works similarly to an antibiotic in that it doesn’t just kill off bad bacteria--it completely eliminates all traces of good and bad bacteria. When all bacteria is removed, the natural flora in your mouth is imbalanced, which is basically the ecosystem keeping everything normal. When Triclosan is used, more often than not, bad breath and problems with dry mouth result. 

Though it’s fairly common that this ingredient no longer appears in most dental care products, it’s still good to know Nano whitening strips don’t contain it either. This would probably be great for people who have had bad experiences with harsh prescription mouthwashes. When you’re already struggling to recover from prescriptions eliminating your good bacteria, the last thing you need is yet another product disrupting it again.

UK Manufactured

An interesting fact about Nano whitening strips is that they are entirely manufactured, tested, and distributed in the UK. I have read Britain has slowly been manufacturing fewer products among themselves, so knowing the strips are entirely produced within the UK is neat. What does it mean for this product line to solely operate in the UK? These products have more than likely been produced with high standards, high-quality materials, and passed the UK’s testing protocol. I’m sure this may give those of you in the UK a peace of mind since the assurance of the product has been thoroughly tested by standards you know and uphold.

What do customers say?

Praises abound for Nano whitening products, especially the whitening strips. The reviews for these strips are solidly positive with only a small percentage of negative reviews. The existing negativity typically stems from customers who ended their treatment before completion. However, customers who have used the product properly rave about the bright, pain-free results.

Positive Aspects Coming From Customers:

Whitens teeth multiple shades brighter

Pain-free during treatment

Zero post-treatment sensitivity

Negative Aspects Coming From Customers:

Not immediate results

Strips leave extra gel on teeth

Tastes strange during treatment

Summing Up

It is a challenge to find whitening products that don’t leave behind sensitive teeth. It’s even harder to find products that can be tolerated by those of us with pre-existing sensitivity. Likewise, if you find a painless product, it rarely makes a difference. Finally, whether a whitening product is pain-free or not, choosing a trustworthy brand without added chemicals can be difficult.The Nano Intensive Whitening Strips could potentially eliminate these issues by providing a peroxide-free option. It avoids penetrating your dentin, which often results in sensitivity both during treatment and after. Their formula utilizes oxidizing ingredients which may ensure effective whitening by removing the anaerobic bacteria. Further, the company recognizes the dangers of SLS, parabens, and Triclosan, and consequently keeps their products free of such chemicals. 

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Nano Intensive Whitening Strips Review Read more on: Pearlywhytes blog