#it’s a swell shark egg case

[ace-of-drakes]

be warned i’ve got a shark egg and i’m not afraid to info dump about it

[sowsbelly]

mermaid purse (shark egg case) belonging to a Swell Shark (Cephaloscyllium ventriosum)

[mossfeathers]

Thanks again for responding and sharing. I'm glad these asks make you happy ^^

(You don't have to look further into Harvest Moon but If you do look for a lets play of sorts or something Harvest Moon DS/DS Cute & Harvest Moon Friends of Mineral Town/More Friends of Mineral Town (Gameboy) are the ones that from my knowledge look the most visually similar to Stardew Valley. But Harvest Moon Animal Parade takes place in a coastal/island-like town.)

The dynamics seem like they'll be really fun! It was also nice to hear the reasoning behind it all. You've put a lot of thought into how they interact. I'm excited for future scenarios ^^ I really enjoyed reading all of it. Also thanks for talking about them as siblings. You don't have to apologize for not answering tho, you can always not answer, I'll understand.

Addionally, I think it's really cool how the lionfish worked out ^^

Okay so for BigB's tail, I wanted to give proper ideas, I only came up with three sorta suggestions so I’ll also share my thought process a bit so that maybe that instead will help you further decide what you do or don’t want. So my first thought was a shark. I’m not entirely sure that’s, like, equivalent to Scar being a lionfish but I think that the reason I considered the idea is that sharks can be dangerous but, like, also they’re not as dangerous to humans as they're portrayed? Ya know what I mean, like I think it’s gotten better but like they were more feared than need be. Like I’m struggling with the words but do you get what I’m saying and the correlation? Idk. If not that's okay. I wasn’t really sure about sharks anyway. Next,

I searched for fish that burrowed. And I did this because I was thinking about why canary!BigB and rabbit!BigB exist and if I recall correctly him being in the mines/underground alot were overlapping points. (I woulda considered satyr!BigB but I know nothing about that. And thinking about it now dogs like to dig too and sometimes he’s got dog ears because double life so I think this is an okay hole I went down). I’m too indecisive and picky  and wasn't sure what kind of fish you'd like though so I only have three fish to present to you as options so hopefully if none of these strike a chord with you. This whole thing helps somehow:

1, The Bonnethead Shark. Yea I found a shark that burrows. So even though I wasn’t entirely sure about sharks and I gave up on finding small sharks, I thought I’d share this one. Besides sharks are cool even if many fear them & Jimmy & Grian come to think BigB's cool right? So maybe that lines up?

(Also did you know that sharks used to be called "sea dogs" and that there is a Dogfish Shark, I didn't do much research so I can't give it as a suggestion but I just looked it up while typing this so I thought I'd mention it.)

2, The Yellow Headed Jawfish, this fish was honestly just too pretty for me not to recommend. It’s got a bit of blue in its fins (and that’s really all I can give you on blue fish). Plus on a site that sells fish they were described as “playful and like to people watch” so I thought it might be fitting. Note though, if you look up this fish, you might come across images of it carrying lots of eggs in its mouth. That’s something they do, carry their eggs in their mouth. I did see a term for it but I forgot what it was. But if that’s gonna be too disturbing you might wanna be cautious(wasn't the first few images when I looked it up) or maybe not look it up just in case. But it is really pretty in my opinion if you do.

And lastly there's the Southern Stargazer. I guess it is considered an ugly fish so heads up on that? Personally, I do think looking at a close up of it's face while it's buried can be a bit spooky but also I think otherwise it's a bit fun to look at & its tail is neat. And it turns out they're also venomous, not enough to kill, but it's still painful, can cause swelling and induce shock. ("also" because Scar's a lionfish)

Speaking of, this fish is the closest one I found in terms of size to Lionfish not sure that matters to you but yea

I did attempt looking for, like, actually blue fish but like the Cichlid is a freshwater fish and Idk if it's a funny or cruel irony to suggest a damselfish when they are actually seen as food to lionfish if in a tank together. Especially when I don't know if it's true for all damselfish or just the yellow tailed ones. (Plus they don't do great in solitude which kept being a thing for blue fish but I think I mainly found, like, river fish.) But I guess this difficulty is probably part of the reason you said it didn't have to be a blue fish lol

Thanks for sharing what you do have so far for the side characters :3 Question: For the pub, does it include the arcade area and/or would the stage be in that general area?

Also it seems like a cool idea to include more creatures. Besides the spirits are there any you're thinking of but haven't decided who it could be? Or alternatively, any others you think you'd want to be something supernatural but haven't decided what yet?

And if it's not too much to ask, do you think that on an events timeline the potential Pearl arc would be closer to the beginning or further down the line.

And yea it's totally fine for you to leave it in the ask box, I'm glad you find it's something you'd want to look back at at all ^^ Thank you for your time and thanks again for sharing your thoughts/ideas.

anon i love you so much. genuinely you are the BEST. im so sorry for letting this rot in the inbox for so long, i both forgot about it and just didn't even know how to respond since this is so good (and also wanted to get some more polished drawings of all 3 possible fish, but my motivation just wasn't having it so just a couple doodles im sorry). genuinely so sorry about how long this took, time just got away from me.

I absolutely LOVE your idea for bigb as a shark, when I first read that I think I genuinely yelled out in excitement. You're a GENIUS. That's such a good idea, I really enjoy it and you got your point across well! I love canary/rabbit!bigb (my design for him is a bunny so this is RIGHT up my alley) and I love the idea of a burrowing fish and bonnethead shark is absolutely GENIUS. He was really fun to draw too!! Thank you SO much for the suggestion! I think I want a scaled fish design, though, but I still appreciate this one so much since it was SUCH an interesting idea. Sharks are sea puppies, dogs dig, rabbits also dig, so burrowing. Very logical line of thought from me.

Oh this guy is GORGEOUS!!!!! So pretty and so lovely. I think fish and the ocean is so cool so I thought the egg carrying is actually so fascinating so don't worry, both of the little warnings you gave about weird fish weren't necessary fish are awesome and cool forever. I don't know what to say, just a very pretty fish and fun to draw!!

The stargazer is SO HANDSOME!!! I can't believe its considered ugly :( I love that little connection to Scar's lionfish-ness, this is such a cool fish (the fins are gorgeous)

Thank you SO much for the fish suggestions! I really liked the yellow headed jawfish, the colors were just so gorgeous, so I think i'm gonna go with that one! Genuinely can't thank you enough for this, I was losing my mind over that.

Answering questions time! Here's a little doodle of what the saloon looks like! (names still pending but probably something moon or dogwarts related) Theres a kitchen and backstage area somewhere but that doesnt matter right now :)

Man, I had one draft of this response where I had everything written out for other creatures but my computer restarted and didn't save it but I will try my best to write it out again!

I like the idea of fae or some kind of land-based creature, but I feel like fae are a really complex species and just in general such a large world to also incorporate if I do go for any land-based creatures, so I don't think I will sadly. Trying to think about this in terms of how I would tell the story in an actual piece of writing instead of these posts of loads of exposition, yknow? So, final verdict, no cool land creatures (except maybe werewolf because i am a sucker for some rendog werewolf fun) . I love avian stuff though so a very high likelihood of birds coming into play in at least some form? Birds are just so cool to me. Also, there are probably gonna be a decent variety in sea creature species! Like there are sirens, standard merfolk, and selkies so far but if I can think of another type of sea creature then i'll probably add them in. On the topic of sea creatures, an updated list on all the merfolk! (also if you want to see some other hermit mermaids, or mermits, check out jalo-parker's art from the past few weeks! we thought up some fish designs just for his own use and they're really cute, and if some of the humans were mermaids they would 100% be those) Scar lionfish, Bigb yellowheaded jawfish, Bub whale shark, Cleo sea nettle jellyfish, Etho AND Bdubs selkies, Joe Hills leaf sheep nudibranch, and even though Martyn is a human if he was a mermaid he would be a mimic octopus! These aren't all of the merfolk, they're just the ones i've decided on and assigned a fish (or selkie) to :)

Also don't worry! I actually already have a barebones timeline for what I think is going to happen with the plot points I know so far! Jimmy and Grian move, hang out for like 4 days, then the whole siren plotline starts and ends, since everyone is now happy they have a good few months of just bonding with the merfolk and the townsfolk which I can't wait to think about more, then Pearl's whole arc starts! I think that's the natural progression of the plot as the stakes in Pearl's arc is the actual apocalypse bringing the end of the universe which is just a little bit more intense. I don't know a whole lot of the details about that quite yet though.

Thank you so much for the ask again! I genuinely can't apologize enough for how long this took to answer, and I hope it doesn't discourage you from sending another one in. I absolutely love seeing your opinions and ideas :) Thanks for listening to my rambling about my ideas again :D

[oatslemonade]

MerMay is right around the corner. I decided to participate in my own way. I'll try to use the prompts but I'll probably be way off. I want to draw and write oneshots, about Undertale Mermaids/ LeviathanTale.

I also want to share ocean/animal facts that I think are good world building for Mermaids/LeviathanTale.

-------------------- SHARKS-----------

1) About 60% of the shark species give birth to live young. This is called viviparity. Mako sharks, bull sharks, lemon sharks, and blue sharks are a few examples of sharks that are born live.

Baby sharks are called pups.

2) Shark eggs are sometimes referred to as mermaid's purses, and occasionally as Devil's purses. The egg usually houses one embryo, but in some species there are multiple embryos per egg case.

Shark species, oviparous (egg-laying) include:

Bamboo sharks.

Wobbegong sharks.

Carpet sharks.

Horn (bullhead) sharks.

Swell sharks.

Many catsharks.

3) When you flip a shark upside down they go into a trance-like state called tonic immobility.

4) A group of sharks can be called a few different terms. School, shiver, or frenzy. In some cases, the term “herd” may also be used. A shiver is typically made up of sharks that are the same species, while a school can include different kinds of sharks.

More research and observation needs to be done, but it appears that there is no hierarchy in the Shiver. Both male and female sharks will make up a Shiver. The younger sharks will tend to be in the center, this appears to provide protection for the young.

"A group of baby sharks is referred to as a “wriggle” or a “nursery”. "

5) Fun facts about The Origin of the Shark names

* Sharks used to be called "Sea Dogs." This was for a couple of reasons. Such as their resemblance to dogs, and hunting.

"The earliest example of a shark-like animal being named in such a manner came when English writer Richard Hakluyt referred to a sea dog as a “sharke” in 1599."

Some of the facts I found on this site.

https://www.sharksider.com/what-is-a-group-of-sharks-called/#:~:text=A%20group%20of%20sharks%20is,include%20different%20kinds%20of%20sharks.

[champ-wiggle]

Sharks in an Italian aquarium keep having 'virgin birth' after years without males

By Reham Atya, published August 6, 2024

Two endangered female sharks found to be reproducing asexually in the absence of males in what appears to be a vital survival mechanism amid declining male populations.

The pups born at the Cala Gonone Aquarium in Italy represent the first documented case of facultative parthenogenesis in the common smooth hound shark (Mustelus mustelus). (Image credit: Esposito et al/Scientific Reports 2024)

Captive female sharks at an aquarium in Italy keep reproducing on their own with no males involved, indicating that it could be a vital survival mechanism, according to a new study.

In the study published July 26 in the journal Scientific Reports, the scientists documented repeated asexual reproduction in two common smooth hound sharks (Mustelus mustelus), which are classified as an endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The sharks are usually found in the Mediterranean Sea and other warm waters but are threatened by illegal fishing.

The two female sharks are in captivity at Cala Gonone Aquarium in Italy and have spent the last 14 years away from males. Since 2020, both females have reproduced asexually, which indicates facultative parthenogenesis.

Parthenogenesis means "virgin birth," in Greek and describes when an egg develops into an offspring without fertilization. While uncommon in vertebrates, this phenomenon has been observed in reptiles such as crocodiles and water snakes, amphibians and some fish.

Two smoothhound sharks (Mustelus mustelus) in an Italian aquarium have had 'virgin births' since 2020. (Image credit: Shutterstock)

However, this is the first documented case of facultative parthenogenesis — the ability to reproduce both sexually and asexually — in this shark species. The researchers found that the two females could reproduce parthenogenetically roughly once a year. That rules out the possibility of sexual reproduction because of stored sperm, according to the researchers.

"Remarkably, this finding reveals that parthenogenesis can occur annually in these sharks, alternating between two females, and conclusively excludes long-term sperm storage as a cause," the authors wrote in the study.

In total, the pair has produced four offspring. The first pup was born in 2016, but it died and the remains were not studied. Three more pups have been born since — one in 2020, another in 2021 and a third in 2023. Only one (born in 2021) is still alive. All displayed bite marks on their bodies, which was likely the cause of death for the pups born in 2020 and 2023, according to the researchers.

To confirm the genetic origins of the offspring, the researchers took DNA samples from each of the three pups and compared them to the adult sharks. Their findings showed that in the set of markers tested, the offspring had identical genes to their mothers.

A smooth-hound shark in an aquarium in France. (Image credit: AFP / Stringer/iStock)

This discovery highlights the importance of parthenogenesis as a survival mechanism in wild populations with declining male numbers, the researchers said.

"These findings greatly enhance our understanding of reproductive strategies in sharks and could inform conservation efforts for endangered species," the authors said in the study.

While the study focused on common smooth-hound sharks, parthenogenesis has been reported in other species, including whitespotted bamboo sharks (Chiloscyllium plagiosum), zebra sharks (Stegostoma tigrinum), and swell sharks (C. ventriosum).

[montereybayaquarium]

Behold: A swell shark’s eggscellent “mermaid’s purse,” fincrafted in the finest elasmobranchian collagen leather!

Attached to the kelp via twisty tendrils so they don’t sail away, incubation for these beautiful bundles is over in an easy 9-12 months. Swell sharks lay eggs even when they’re unfertilized, so it’s tough to tell if an egg will continue on with its shark tale—in any case, this fresh purse is a neat accessory in the kelpy fashocean show!

[saturnsorbits]

Congrats on the year anniversary Saturn! If there's still space in your anniversary event, I'd love to know how me and Dabi's anniversary is going - been together for years now and spending the anniversary at the ocean. As for tone, dealer's choice!

-bakugotrashpanda

Hey, Hey! Thank you! 🥰💕

Here's some Dabi... I hope you like it, even if it is a little strange admittedly.

Mermaids Purse

-> Dabi; At the Ocean; 0.8k.

TW: Fluff, Dabi is Healing, Sharks, Bad Jokes.

Dabi stands at the edge of the shore, his feet just under cover of the water so that each wave licks at his ankles when it comes in. He's rolled his pants up, his shirt loose and flowing around his chest as he stares out into the ocean beyond.

It's beautiful out here and kind of makes him feel as though he's standing on the edge of the world. He could walk for miles and not come across another person. It suits him, the quiet isolation of a small beach in a place no-one knows well enough to come. It suits him even more now he brings you here.

'Touya...'

You voice floats on the sea breeze and makes his heart swell. It's his favourite noise, he thinks, you saying his name. There's a solidness to it, a certainty he'd not been afford in his childhood. Then again, there's a lot he wasn't used to before you.

'Touya, come look at this!'

He turns and holds his breath. He always looses it when he looks at you, so he's learned to store it up, to keep it safe in his cheeks until the wave of admiration has drown him and he's able to float back to the surface of his love. 'What've you found?'

'Come over here and you'll find out, won't you.' From your place a little further down the beach, you see him begin to make the trek further onto the sandbar. It always makes you feel lucky to have been the one Dabi finally let in, it hadn't always been easy – a lot of the time, it still wasn't – but now as you watch him brave the shallow river of water to reach you, you're reminded that you wouldn't trade the years you've spent together for anything.

You're crouched when he finally gets to you, hovering over something embedded in the sand. The sun catches your cheeks, making your skin glow and the clothes you're wearing ruffle, carried away from your body slightly in the wind. He places a hand on the back of your neck and squeezes gently, just to remind himself that you're real...

That you're his. 'What is it?'

You point. 'Mermaids purse, I think.'

Crouching beside you, Dabi takes a closer look. Sure enough, there in the sand is a small algae coloured sack. It shines slightly, it's colour darkening at the corners and still attached to some thin strands of seaweed. 'Holy shit, I think...' He pokes the case, finger hovering just over the middle where the skin of the egg thins showing a little of what is hidden inside. Under Dabi's touch, the pure squirms. '… It's alive.'

Tilting your head, you gasp, eyes widening. 'No. It's hatching.'

'Shit.' Immediately, Dabi jumps into action. He slips a palm under the egg, digging into the sand slightly to lift it clean into the air as the thing inside wriggles again, trying desperately to be born. 'Hold on little guy...'

'Where are you going to -.'

'Over here...' Lacing his hand with yours, he drags you along further down the beach until you reach the ocean. Out here, there are no sandbars to potentially trap the thing in Dabi's palm, nothing to prevent it from swimming away, from being free. He stoops once he's found a suitable spot and brings your hands down with his as he submerges the purse back into the water and waits.

You can feel Dabi's hands shaking under yours as both of you cradle the egg, but it's the look in his eyes as the small shark wrestles itself free that makes your heart stop in your chest. His jaw has dropped slack, his eyebrows high and arced as wonder creeps onto his cheekbones. You love seeing him like this, feel lucky to share in his peace as he learns that world can be kinder than he'd known.

'You've got it bud... Go on.'

The shark makes one final twist, yanking its tail free and then, it's gone. Slicing through the water, it zips away and through the waves, hopefully somewhere safer.

It's your hand on Dabi's shoulder that finally makes him stand again. He still has the purse clutched between his fingers, but he uses the other hand to reach for yours. Blinking, he speaks with a smile you know he only uses in sanctuary of your company. 'We just helped a shark be born...'

You're smiling too. You can't help it. The absurdity of the moment mixes with the fluttering in your stomach and forces a giggle out of your mouth. 'We did.'

His eyebrows dance on his forehead. 'We're technically parents now.'

Shaking your head, you roll your eyes, but let him wrap an arm around you when you begin the long trek back to the sandbars and solid beach beyond. 'I'm not sure that's how it works.'

None of your anniversaries are particularly conventional, you'd known what you where signing up for the moment you started dating an yet, there isn't a single inch of you that would change a thing. He ignores you, flashing a grin that almost stops your heart. 'Can't wait to tell Natsuo that we had a kid this anniversary.'

[spleen9000]

work today was interesting, I got my all-khaki uniform and did a lot of paperwork and then met the creatures which include fluffy the gopher snake, pumpkin the box turtle, and harriet the tarantula who was on her back totally still with her legs up and we thought she was dead. but when my supervisor picked her up she moved so I guess not. but something seems off or maybe she's molting?? her abdomen was like... dark and sticky instead of tan and hairy

lots of families came through and I set up a case of taxidermied shorebirds with some info in an unused room and answered a lot of kids' questions about the swell shark and her egg cases. and did a lot more sitting around because I don't know what to do yet than I was comfortable with

[stusbunker]

Known: Two Halves, Three Hearts

A Supernatural Dark Fan-fiction

Featuring: MOC!Dean x Female OC, x Demon!Reader, Claire Novak, Sam Winchester, Castiel, Crowley

Summary: CC learns to navigate more of the Winchesters’ associates. Meanwhile, Dean crosses the line to end Cain’s reign of terror. He finds her vulnerable, will she let him sate himself in every way imaginable? Can he run from what he is becoming? Is she enough to keep the evil at bay? Crowley finds our Reader and offers a path to redemption, if she can trust what he’s selling.

Warnings: Post murder haze, torture, period sex, blood, blood play, stabbing, dub!con smut, subtle mention of past sexual assault, disassociation, humiliation, and loss of sense of self.

Series Masterlist

*^*^*^*

December 11, 2014

The Bunker

           It was nearly dawn when Chloe felt the air tighten against the Impala’s entry into the garage. Something was wrong; Sam was driving. Dean sat in the passenger seat and in the back, Castiel beside a blonde who had cried out a week’s worth of mascara and eyeliner. Dean was bleeding, but that wasn’t what was wrong. He stared ahead, lost and empty, covered in others’ blood. It was human, every last drop, CC could tell just by the smell. An ability she would have appreciated if it didn’t lead to the implications on Dean’s clothing.

           Other than the upset teenager, no one else seemed to have been touched by the fray. Sam rapped on the hood, giving CC his best ‘I can’t explain this away’ eyes. He was worried mute. CC finally moved toward the car, both Sam and she eventually earning swats as Dean came to, silently protesting their help.

           “How many?” CC whispered against his retreating form.

           “Look, they were loan sharks and they were going to use Claire-,” Sam started.

           “How many people did he kill?”

           “Four.” Castiel cut in, glimpsing back to the girl in the backseat.

           CC’s stomach pitched, a phantom whiff of manure and dust drifted past her nose and into her thoughts. She didn’t allow herself to focus on the reality of Dean’s crimes, instead she moved the conversation along. “What are you going to do with the kid?”

           “She won’t stay here. I was going to take her to a motel in town. Chloe, I’m sorry, CC, would you be willing to accompany me?”

           Sam huffed. “Is that really a good idea, Cas?”

           “I just thought that, maybe an older female might be able to get through to her.” Cas looked wrecked, his vessel wearing his worry like a neon sign. He felt more human to CC than he ever had.

           “I’m not babysitting.” CC stared between Sam and Cas and back again. Her annoyance and concern reciprocated in one form or another. She should be checking on Dean, not playing Big Brother Big Sister to Castiel’s ward. Dean didn’t want to see her; he had made that painfully clear. CC fiddled with her knife as the girl’s ghostly eyes challenged them from the backseat. “I’m not ready to leave the wards, not yet. But, if you guys need a minute, I can get some food in her? Keep her out of your hair for a—”

           “Thank you,” Sam mouthed to CC as he and Cas nearly ran out of the garage and the blast radius all she could do was reply with a single finger. CC walked around the hood of the Impala, hands tucked in her back pockets as she watched the girl glare and roll her eyes.

           “What do you want?”

           “I want to go back to bed, but since that’s not happening. Coffee?” CC gave Claire five seconds before walking away, nodding over her shoulder in the direction of the kitchen. Claire followed CC dejectedly, hunger trumped petulance apparently, if barely.

           “So, who are you anyway?”

           “You can call me CC.” She almost smiled over her shoulder, dropping down into the sunken kitchen.

           “Which one of them is your–?”

“My what?” CC pushed the automatic drip setting from delayed brew to ON and started rifling through the pantry for English muffins once Claire made up her mind to join her.

           “Dean, huh? Figures. Well, your man’s a murderer, if you didn’t know.”

           CC didn’t really look up at the girl while she started preparing their hasty meal, but it was evident that her bitterness was far from fading. CC slammed the toaster lever in place and leered down at Claire, who was sitting on the kitchen table with her feet on the seat of a chair. “Alright, Miss Teen Bitch. First off, you are in their home, so I’d watch who you call what. Secondly, yeah, I did know. Pretty much every hunter has the bad kind of blood on their hands, that includes me.”

           The creak of the muffins’ release broke the silence. There was more eye rolling and tongue tisking, but eventually Claire began to listen for the answer to her more pointed questions.

           “What are you even doing with him?”

           CC shrugged, “I could ask the same about you and the angel.”

           “Gross.” Claire recoiled. “Besides, they came after me! I just swiped his wallet for some spare cash. They should have just let me go! If they had—- Fuck! You know what? Screw you lady. You’re on their side. You’re not gonna listen to me.”

           “Hey, cool it, alright?” Claire threw her fists down at her sides and folded them over her stomach. CC could see she needed to keep prodding because Claire was so close to the next hurdle. “Let’s get things straight. This isn’t a black white, us vs. you scenario. They thought you were in danger and did what they thought was best for you; to keep you safe. Sucks not being able to make the call on your own life, don’t it?” CC waited for Claire to acknowledge the helplessness they shared.

“Yeah, well, I might be Dean’s whatever. But I know all too well about Winchester intentions. For the record, me and Castiel? Not friends.”

           “He’s wearing my dad’s face. Do you have any idea how fucked up that is?”

           CC dropped onto the bench below Claire, handing her a plate. “Just a little weirder than living in an underground bunker with the guys that sent your closest friend to Hell?”

           Claire nibbled on the toasted olive branch, tearing it to pieces before finally relaxing. She was scared and desperate, it came off in every gesture of her defensive attitude. CC started to wonder just what was going to happen with the kid now that she had been brought in.

           “I hate them, all of them. I hate them for what they did.”

           CC’s mouth twisted in sad empathy at the girl, knowing that the grief she wasn’t processing was much more palatable as rage. It was like looking into a fun house mirror of her past: overdone make up and culturally rebellious hair style. All just more things to help in the lie to herself about how empty she felt.

“What?! I do.”

“I know.” CC rolled back up to her feet, nodding toward the fridge. “Let’s see what else there is to eat. There’s one thing that’ll piss Dean off more than messing with his car and that’s eating the last of his pie.”

“Okay?” Claire huffed out an unamused agreement, a reluctant warmth shone from her eyes.

*^*^*^*

February 2015

Dean had gone cold turkey. He stopped drinking, stopping lurking outside CC’s room at night, and started eating egg white omelets, apparently. Fat lot of good it did. The Oz Case with Charlie gave him whiplash, seeing his friend spilt into parts as if she was just the sum of her emotions rubbed him the wrong way. Breaking her arm was something he was never going to be able to forgive himself for; his knuckles still scabbed over from decimating her porcelain face. Her dogged determination and forgiveness still got him in the throat. Ever present, CC had stood, unflinching as the boys and Charlie had their goodbyes.

Now as Sam casually mentioned Tina from the Hansel and Gretel run in, something akin to jealousy flashed in her steely eyes. Something he had no desire to press her on nor any hope that it could lead to getting her back. She had helped out with Claire, had researched the hell out of the Bunker’s stacks alongside them through it all, and she had all but admitted the demon was the one moaning his name, the one that used her body to make his every nerve sing. If that wasn’t enough to drive him to drink again, nothing was.

*^*^*^*

February 16, 2015

A festering cavern, Hell

           Blinding daylight burst from an unseen door to your left. Once your eyes adjusted a figure appeared, breaking through the shafts of light, like a key in a lock. His footfalls were leisurely, the clipping beat of his obscenely expensive shoes barely gaining ground. Crowley walked into your isolated prison like a birder on a Sunday stroll.

           “Oh good, you’re conscious.” His big eyes teetered on compassion as his words fell in a nice noncommittal little heap. You wanted to reply; the empty air loomed as your mouth tried to form words. You couldn’t remember how long it had been since you had used your voice. Your tongue thick and coarse in your throat as it strove to remember language. Crowley squinted, but waited as you grew frustrated with yourself. You sighed, nodding in exasperation before he could mock you for it. You weren’t certain he was real, but the thought of a visitor, even one seeking twisted entertainment, was better than another decade alone. Eventually you decided that you couldn’t have made him up; you had better imagination than that.

           “I wasn’t aware we still used places like these. These rubbish heaps were from the initial days of Hell. The time when the fallen Angels fought for control and some unseen judicial system weighed the disloyal and usurpers’ crimes. You got off lightly, by the old standards. It takes a lot of energy to maintain this kind of torment; it simply isn’t worth the output for a single demon here or there. Then again, we all must answer for our crimes; no matter how seemingly noble the reasoning. Rebels against an outdated hierarchy—”

           He continued to drone on, though your exhausted mind could hardly keep up and when it did; you found yourself unaffected by his rallying attempts. You were too downtrodden to feel any comradery with the man who held the keys to your cage. To all the cages. Hate was a delicious main course that followed the apathetic appetizer. You began to wade out to the swells of emotion. Things that hadn’t reached you in years carving through you until you were ready to swim in the rage as he spoke, eyes beetle black and bulging as he spat his points.

           Finally, you fissured as the sound erupted from your mouth, a frustrated wail that shut the King up well and good.

“What do you want?!” you demanded between staccato breaths. You glared down at him, his human form was nearly a head shorter than you, but the inches of debris locking your ankles in place nearly evened the field of vision. You hoped the words you used made sense; because he was taking his time answering.

           “I need someone to do a little digging on a certain individual. Someone who owes me and who won’t go gossiping to the demon next door.” Crowley tongue worked his cheek. “In short, I am offering you a one-way ticket back, what do you say?”

           “Who?” The confusion began to clear as the delirious hum of hope rang in your ears.

           “Can’t tell you here. Now–” Crowley looked over his shoulder and raised his fist in the air. “Let’s get you somewhere a little more accommodating, shall we?”

           Before you could even nod, he snapped his fingers, freeing you from the slop and stench.

*^*^*^

Tale End of Executioner’s Song

Dean has killed Cain

Dean comes up from the dark with rasping breaths. His tendons are locked into place and his wrist is screaming from strain, a frequency he has yet to process. He doesn’t remember telling his feet to move, but his legs have carried him this far: away from the evidence and back down to those waiting on him. All pretense shrivels as he hears Sammy’s voice close by, persistent but muddled. Then Crowley’s, asking for his arm, no, the blade. Right, it isn’t a part of him after all. He should really let go, he isn’t sure what part of him is making these decisions, but grateful it doesn’t seem to be as hard as it feels.

Dean turns the weapon handle out and passes it to Cas. His eyes have focused enough to see the disbelief on the demon’s face at the gesture. Dean isn’t here to suffer fools; however helpful they had become. He reveals his deceits, unblinking as Crowley disappears. Sam catches him then, before his legs finally catch up to the path that got them there and Dean wonders what God sees in man.

The fog of battle clung to his mind, the Mark dulled, but never silenced. His blood flowed hot and vibrant, pumping through his veins in and out of his heart, that very human organ thumping in his gnawing chest. Dean moved as if he was tailing himself, looking down on his movements from some unimaginable higher ground until he slid into the Impala and drove away. Everything was reflex, instinct, autopilot. The moment the driver’s side door creaked open, he smelled it. Blood, faint and intoxicating. That hot beat inside of him pounded deeper.

He threw his duffel to the foot of his bed and shrugged out of his jacket. The Mark peered beneath the rolled cuff of his flannel, a garish pink against the dark fabric. Somehow, Dean found himself in the kitchen and despite the caffeine and the cheerleading from Sam, he felt hollowed out. Dean’s vision tunneled as he dodged out of further conversation to march down the hall. Finally, he could seek what had been calling to him.

CC froze over the washing machine as he loomed in the doorway. Her eyes closed as she felt him scent her, she didn’t turn an inch in his direction. Her bare legs, plump and smooth, beneath her tiny pajama shorts were just enough exposed skin to do some real damage. She fell back, heavy on to her heels. “How was it?”

“Final,” Dean said after stopping to consider an appropriate description for an assassination.

Chloe finally saw him, torn between shadow and shame. “I was scared you’d—"

“Yeah, well. I did.” Dean crossed his arms over his chest, shoulders hulking as he considered her concern.

“Is there something you wanted to ask me?” CC swallowed more air, the fear and electricity making her lightheaded. She moved to rest her hand on her knife handle, but it slid over the missing weapon. Her oversized sweatshirt sleeve covering her hand as it dangled in unfulfilled habit.

“How you doin’ Cease?”

“What?”

“How are you?” Dean said each word with a step forward, head bowing as he watched her straighten to face him.

“Uh, pretty crabby, but okay, I guess.”

Dean hummed, eyes squinting as she nervously looked to the door and back to space between their feet. “Anything I can help you out with?”

She blushed, a warmth twisting around her eyes and an awkward smile pulled at her cheeks as she centered her ponytail, giving her itching hands something to hold on to. “Dean?”

“Chloe?” Dean’s eyes darkened, the dangerous smirk pulling far enough back to let the overhead lights glint on his impossible teeth. He was gaunt and sallow; yet power continued to radiate from all over him.

“How are you looking at me like that,” she whispered in disbelief, pulling her top lower over her wide hips. “I am disgusting right now.”

“Yeah, well, compared to my butchered mug; you’re as tantalizing as ever, Cease. Besides, I could use a distraction or two, however dirty they might be.” Dean’s voice dropped another octave, an invisible fist clenched inside her. She groaned, letting her head fall in indecision. Dean closed the distance between them, big hands taking her shoulders firmly as he leaned down, earning a grin as she found his eyes suddenly playful beneath lush lashes.

“Seriously, I’m gross.”

“Not to me you’re not,” Dean purred, wide thumb stroking her strong cheek bone. “Let me make you less crabby.” CC’s head rolled to the side; her nose nuzzled into his comforting stubble.

At long last, she caved, her spiced skin slipping beneath his cracked lips as they danced over her collar bone. Dean’s entire body hummed with a need nearly as wide as the void inside him. They collided, grabbing and shoving until Dean started to wonder who was truly strongest. Then CC nipped below his ear and he tossed her on top of the washing machine she had set to HOT. She pinched her knees together, twisting side saddle on the hissing appliance, lips parting as Dean’s tongue took its time riling her up from the inside out.

Dean’s hands widened, tips and palms digging into her fleshy thighs, begging access until he demanded it. She groaned into his mouth before pulling back, her uncertainty crumbled beneath his singular focus. She tasted the iron from his split lip, a bit of coffee and something unimaginable. Even bad decisions need to be made to prove their consequence. Chloe grabbed Dean’s forearms and pushed him back, his gaze slow to move up from his target.

“Shower room?” she asked hopping back down on her bare feet.

Dean barely shook his head, nose buried in her hair. Her arms threaded around his waist as his thumb cocked up her face, his fingers threading into the loose strands at the nape of her neck.

“My room? It’s farthest from Sam’s?” Dean answered with clashing teeth and a fistful of Chloe’s ass.

There was a threatening rhythm to their efforts, hefty pauses ending only after the other started to teeter; to break. They had gotten to CC’s room, clothes shoved and forgotten along the way to the bed. Dean grasped the nape of her neck, his arm locked as he stared through her, eyes unfocused and mouth open against a horror she couldn’t see. She tried to pull him closer, to sit back and take him with her, but he was frozen. She slid her palm under his elbow and pushed up, her other arm braced across his chest to keep him back, in case his reaction was less than friendly.

His jaw worked over all the words that wouldn’t form, eyes dropping closed as he came back from the brink, grip softening as his forehead fell to her shoulder. CC couldn’t stop from shaking as the moment passed, Dean’s mouth finding her pulse point more than conversational again. All that hovered over them: fear, power, destiny and damnation, fueled them until they were desperate and starving, knowing that the other was just as empty. Just as wanton. Dean’s hands pulled her thighs apart and his teeth ran the edge of the faded cotton. The iron sang through his nose as it mixed with her arousal; a signature cocktail he couldn’t refuse.

CC swallowed as his fingers dragged down the last barrier between his mouth and her coated folds. No sound could reach her as she battled the disgust and desire, Dean’s tongue threaded through her lips, nipping and sucking them swollen. He moved in to circle her clit; the heat of her shame began to burn away as yearning eclipsed all custom and ceremony. CC’s head fell back, and when she closed her eyes knots of wood looked back.

Suddenly she was suspended from her every nerve, tucked away from feeling Dean shove three fingers inside her mess. In a bubble of warmth and muffled sound, CC drifted. It was calm and quiet there, a place without resistance or time. She began to wonder if this is what Death felt like, if the veil could manifest itself to tease her. To coax her immortality from her by sheer tranquility. There was something pulling at the back of her thoughts, something she was forgetting, something that demanded her opposition even, but CC couldn’t be bothered to think on that. Not quite yet.

Dean doesn’t realize he’s lost her, he just keeps finger fucking her until the thinning blood is snaking down his arm. His lips pull at her, thirst crazed and blind. The beat inside his head overtakes her pulse, heavy and languid, building. Her breath catches and he feels the gentle trickle, a silent compliment for his efforts. Her body pulls while he pushes, deeper, solid, unmoving as the shuttering of her walls loosen outward in waves.

Dean pulls his hand back and admires it in the light, rust rimmed nails and ruddied knuckles as the skin cools beneath the liquid as it dries and cracks. It’s not enough. His eyes search the desk and dresser, knowing it must be here, somewhere. He isn’t thinking, he is only moving. The battered leather sheath lays across her boots, handle smooth and solid as he grips it in his right hand. It’s smaller than he thought, but the spellworked blade dazzles as Dean pulls it from its case.

She hasn’t moved safe for her chest rising and eyes scrunched against the ceiling. Dean should know that isn’t a good sign, but either he doesn’t register it, or he doesn’t care. He moves to her side, where he can feel her curves against him, her lungs expand as he lets his weight fall against her. Her head lulls to the side and a soft whimper passes her lips as he slides home, blood thick and gritty along every inch of him. Dean almost cums at the sight of the gore he pulls out of CC’s channel. He pushes back in, shoving her knees obscenely against the comforter, letting every ripple of her thighs and ass urge him on.

CC feels the first slice between her breasts. Like a tuft of hair caught in a necklace she is pulled from her weightlessness and placed back in reality. The sweat stings her skin as it opens, her granddad’s knife dangles above her as Dean catches her eye. He thrusts into her with clenched teeth, eyes dark and muscles constricting as he shifts lower. Her legs lock around his waist as he stands, still buried inside her. She tries to sit, but his free hand pushes her back down, rough palm burning against the mangled flesh.

He grunts and gasps, and CC finally sees it, the terror in his eyes. He’s frozen once more. The knife is shaking in his hand, a not so invisible force extending over his forearm. CC needs to do something; Dean’s panicking as his body moves without him. She rolls her hips and threads her fingers around his wrist. Dean’s eyes go wide as she sinks the metal beneath her ribs. She shushes him, nodding and rocking into his body. Dean looks away and moves again, entering her doubly as the Mark takes her offering to free him. She tries to keep breathing, to stay conscious and keep watch on Dean.

Her hand slips up from his wrist and over the cursed brand in his white skin. She focuses on it, stomping on the tendrils of control with her mind; it remains immobile and unnerving. She feels the darkness pulling at her, trying to put her under, to stow her away. Dean’s face falls to her neck, he pulls the knife from her side, leaving jarring pain shooting through her as the wound registers. Dean cries out, clutching her head to his, arms tight and knife falling.

CC thrashes against him, breaking through with a fist through his near headlock; they roll back, clinging to each other like a life raft. His scruff prickles her throat and CC coughs, breaking the stalemate. They pull apart, limbs and groins untangling in guilt riddled silence. Dean clears his throat and sits up, hand hovering over her wounds. He’s mesmerized and apologetic, biting back any sorry when CC inhales against the pain. She waves him off and pops up onto her elbows. Her eyes take in the damage and she frowns in consideration before closing her eyes.

“Cease?” Dean whines a worry as her skin starts to glow.

“It’s okay. I’m gonna be fine, just, uh, just gimme a sec.” CC wills the walls of her organs to fuse, her muscles knit together, and the skin zips closed and clean before Dean’s eyes. She pants from effort and falls back to the bed, a gentle smile twisting on her face before she opens her eyes. Dean’s are like saucers, his slack jawed expression made worse by the patches of blood and slick crusted in his scruff. All CC can think is how his mix of scary and stoned is causing her heart to catch in her throat.

“Hey?” CC whispers, slipping her hand over his, despite the nausea that was creeping back up. “You good?”

Dean lets her question sit unanswered, floating in the space between his guilty hands and her enabling eyes. The world seemed to tilt before he falls into the damp darkness of unconsciousness.

^*^*^*^

Dean woke to the sound of his own screams, his fist jutting up into some unseen enemy. He swung against her as CC tried to pull him back, her hand cool on his left bicep. He smelled soap and felt damp pillows; he couldn’t remember showering. Finally, the room righted itself and he could piece together what little furniture she had accumulated since they’d been brought back to the Bunker. Since the demon inside her had helped Sam cure him. He spotted her empty boots and the images of her knife in his grip flashed in his mind’s eye; his stomach twisted against the memories he forced himself to swallow.

           CC let him work through it, she was sore and exhausted and couldn’t find the words that would bring him back from the brick wall he kept running himself into. His recoil from her every touch set up her haunches as it was, maybe she should have dragged him to his own bed after all. Having him here felt like they were hiding, but the only person she felt any guilt for was no longer in this phase of existence.

He whispered a desperate ‘fuck’ into the early morning quiet. Finding his undershirt; he ducked into the neck before turning to face CC. Whatever he was hoping to find in her face, it wasn’t there. Her tired eyes were set deep atop her full cheeks, her uncertainty and caution bordering on annoyance.

“What?” Her voice warbled.

“Forget it.” Dean closed his eyes as her hand snaked over the sheets to cage his in. “I’m sorry I woke you up, I’ma head back to my room, let you get some rest.”

“Dean? You don’t have to—” She didn’t even try to sell it.

“I know, but, I just keep going through the thing with Cain and, you need to recuperate now, so.” Dean shrugged, left a peck on her forehead and threw on the rest of his clothes before either said another word. Once he was free to the safety of the empty hallway Dean shivered, his bare feet and wet head oddly comforting in the confines of his body and bones.

CC watched him leave, quick and painlessly. There was so much lacking between them that it didn’t even register as a rejection; they were simply saying what they thought the other wanted to hear. They were quite the lop-sided pair: the cursed hunter and Heaven’s bastard’s mistake. Both broken, in very different directions.

*^*^*^*

Next Chapter: The Mark

[grandthorkiday]

Mob AU! "Playthings" Part 12

(Note: This was written by an anonymous user. I had to log in on my account to copy/paste and re-submit it because tumblr was being dumb.)

[Link to mob!au anon’s “Playthings" fic tag]

[Start at Part 1]*

(*Note: Link is editable for other parts, just change the number. For mobile users, tag is “playthings part1”)

“Loki?”

“Up here.”

Val walked up the large staircase followed closely by Tony and Strange. They were fairly certain they were close to having enough evidence to arrest and charge Gast. The DA was chomping at the bit for the case to move forward and so was the State Attorney. There was a reluctance on the Federal level, but no one was sure whether that was politically corruption or simply because the entire case rested on Loki. And Loki wasn’t exactly a star witness.

Over the past weeks, he had admitted that he and his brother had ran drug operations for Sakaar, helped pay off and intimidate witnesses, and had been involved in a few murders. Naturally, while this all could be explained with the two being forced, everyone knew that the Defense in whatever trial came to pass would have a field day. That was, if Loki testified.

Today, they found him in a bedroom in Odin’s large estate home. He was sitting on the beige carpet, holding a book in his hands. He didn’t look up when they entered, his eyes fixed on the book.

“He lost this,” he said simply before they could speak. “He left it here a few weeks before we…left. He searched the entire apartment and couldn’t find it. It was a library book and…” Loki shook his head.

[read more cut]

“So uhm, this is Thor’s room,” Strange asked gently. Val had to hide a snort. The room was filled with old sport trophies and medals. Photos of the older brother smiling with former classmates and presumably old girlfriends and boyfriends were pinned to a corkboard behind a metal desk. The closet was slightly ajar and one could see gym shoes and several plaid shirts poking out. From all they had learned about Loki, this room most certainly did not fit him.

The brunette shrugged. “They kept it just like he left it. They even put out his laundry he had left behind.”

“Why aren’t you in your room?”

“After M-mom passed, I guess Dad felt…he needed the space.”

“Shit,” Tony hissed under his breath.

“It’s fine, really,” Loki tossed the book to the side. “Whether or not I got kidnapped, Dad would have changed out my room for a new office or trophy room or parlor or even a pool room. He was already planning it when I packed my things for college, but Mom told him to wait a year or so. Guess I got a few years reprieve.”

“We all process grief differently,” Strange began before being cut off.

“I WASN’T DEAD! I WAS JUST AS ALIVE AS THOR!” He glared at them, his eyes red and shining with tears. “HE NEVER… no one ever…only Mom and Thor…” He hugged himself, still defiantly staring at them. “You don’t even really care about me, do you?”

“Of course we do, kid,” Stark leaned in from where he was sitting on the warn out leather computer kid. “We’re trying to make this as painless as possible.”

“You’re trying to build a case. Once the trial is over, I’m just an old witness. You won’t care anymore. Hell, once I stop giving evidence, I’ll probably stop seeing you altogether won’t I?” He turned to Strange. “I’m a client to you. A patient. You’re paid to care about me. But you’re expensive. Dad won’t like that. You’ll be gone soon. Probably once he,” pointed at Tony, “tries to bill him. Oh, if it was Thor, you’d probably be so well paid that you wouldn’t need to take on a new client. But not for me. Not the fucked up adopted kid.”

“What about me, Loki?” Val asked.

He met the challenge head on. “You said it yourself! You did ‘wrong’ by me and now you’re trying to make it right! Well, guess what?! You can’t! What’s done is done! It worked out for the best for you. You rose through the ranks! I don’t know what else you want or need besides a clear conscience, but you don’t need me!”

“Is that why you left this morning? And yesterday? Because you feel no one cares?”

He shrugged. “I went for a walk.”

“Walks usually don’t involve cabs into the city.”

“Mine do.”

“Kid-”

“He loved me, you know? He cared.” Loki laid back onto the floor, stretching and running his fingers through his hair. It was almost a seduction gesture the way, as he dreamily stared past them. “He always said I was the prettiest. He liked when we slept in his bed to have me sleep in between him and Thor. We could make him happy. He used to come home in the foulest moods, and we’d cheer him up. He was so funny, he could make us laugh. I remember,” he giggled, “I remember one time Thor asked if we could have a puppy. Thor always wanted a puppy. And Grandmaster said, ‘Sparkles, why do you want a puppy when you have an old hound dog like me?’ And he got down on his hands and knees and crawled around barking and sniffing and growling at us. And then two days later, we got a puppy! One time, I got really really sick. I had a fever and I could barely stay awake. He held me on his lap and spoon fed me soup for two days. He and Thor would help me bathe and change my clothes. When my fever broke he nearly cried. ”

“Loki, he-”

“LOVED ME!” He sat up eyes focused and furious.

“He kidnapped and raped you!”

“Valkyrie!”

“What are the four of you doing in here?!” Odin was at the doorway, not daring to enter. Behind him was the security he had hired, a gruff man with a scarlet mohawk. The man had a permanent smirk and seemed to enjoy a cop, an ADA, and a psychiatrist being yelled at.

“We were gathering-” Tony began but was cut off.

“Not in this room! Never in this room. You may use my office or the guest room. As we discussed, didn’t we Loki.”

Loki stood, slowly. He pulled out his cellphone, a simple smart phone that he had managed to find a neon blue and yellow cover for, and checked something. He barely looked any of them in the eye. “Yes, Father.”

Odin nodded and glared at them as they filed out. He slammed the door to the room and watched as they paraded downstairs before turning and leaving, the security guard left behind to watch them with a smug smirk on his face.

“Uhm,” Tony nervously shifted foot to foot. “As much as I love feeling like a naughty middle schooler again, you think you up to talking today or are we going to have more emotional outbursts.”

“I have to talk,” Loki finally looked up from his phone, putting it away. “It’s either that or get kicked out.”

“Two steps forward, one massive fucking step back,” Strange whispered to Val. She nodded her agreement. Her eyes went up to the security guard who grinned broadly at her, showing a row of crooked teeth that reminded her vaguely of a shark’s mouth.

~2016~

“Happy Birthday, Sweetheart!”

Loki rubbed his eye as he entered the kitchen area of the penthouse. “I’m old!”

Grandmaster dramatically gasped. “Old?! My Lo Lo?! Never!”

“I am. I’m twenty five. Quarter of a century.”

“Fuck, the hell am I than? Ancient?” Thor asked as he threw a towel over his shoulder. “How do you want your eggs?”

“Fried or poached,” Grandmaster quipped only to be swatted by another towel.

“Doc says egg whites for you. I was asking Loki.”

“Poached please.”

“I swear to god if you give him one of your eggs-”

Loki stuck out his tongue. “It’s my birthday!”

Thor threw up his hands and turned back to the stove, loudly grumbling.

Gast chuckled, winking at the younger, leaning over the island he was sitting at to kiss him. He accepted it gladly, throwing his arms around the other. “So, you get a choice. Open your gifts now or wait until this evening at Pimpernel.”

“We’re going to Pimpernel?! For my birthday?!”

“Of course!”

“You act like he doesn’t take us anywhere!” Thor called over his shoulder. “If you recall we went to Scarcella’s for my birthday.”

“Quit bragging, Sparkles and finish breakfast.”

“I want my present now!” Loki bounced on the tips of his toes.

“Alright, alright sweetheart. One moment.” Grandmaster slowly stood. He adjusted his tan bed robe and leisurely walked back to his bedroom, humming and singing all the way.

Once he was gone, Loki raced to Thor’s side. “Do you know what it is?”

The older shrugged as he cracked several eggs into a pot of boiling water.

“Come on! There’s no way he didn’t run it by you!”

“I have been sworn to secrecy.”

“Asshole! Tell me!”

“Hey, what’s all this!?” Grandmaster had returned, holding a packet of papers.

“He’s grilling me for information!”

“Lo Lo!” It was said in a mock scandalised voice.

He stamped his foot and pouted. They always said he was cute when he pouted. Thor seemed now to agree because he leaned over and kissed him.

“Just go see. You’ll like it.” He whispered, rubbing their noses together.

“What about your present?” the younger brother whispered into the other’s lips.

“In a minute. Go see.”

He walked back to the Grandmaster who smiled as he presented the packet of papers to him. He had barely opened them when the older man proclaimed, “A trip to London! Three weeks, with all the museums and tourist traps you can imagine. And, yes, a trip to the Harry Potter Studio Tour!”

Loki’s eyes swelled with tears. “Really?! We’re going? When?”

“In two weeks. You two will need to pick out a new wardrobe. So prep for a trip to the shops!”

He squealed and nearly knocked over Thor plating the food. “Thank you! Thank you so much!”

Before he could reply, the Grandmaster’s cell rang. He kissed both his boys and left the room again, this time with no singing or frivolity. Business call, then.

“Y'know we’re only going because he has business there, right?”

“I know, but think of all the places we can see! And no one knows us there!” Loki curled into Thor’s side. “We can be…us there. We can actually wear them!” He rubbed Thor’s shoulder where the sun and moon tattoo was just visible where his shirt slipped down. “And he might be too busy to notice!”

He could feel Thor grinning as he hugged him close, kissing the matching tattoo on his body. “Yeah. That would be nice.”

“What about your present?”

“I sketched it two nights ago. I may have been drunk so it could look like shit…”

“Show me!”

The blonde shook his head but took out his phone and showed the sketch of the rose tattoo he had been working on. “Still want it for your hip, right? And you wanted to look like Tyrell sigil?”

“Or my other thigh.”

“Well this is only part one of it. Still need to sketch out the other sigils too.”

“I know.”

“You may have to wait for-”

“I know.”

“Alright, back!” Gast re-entered the kitchen. “Doesn’t that look fantastic.”

“Your doctor is going to kill me for letting you have yolk and bacon.”

“Oh don’t worry, Sparkles. I won’t let anything happen to my boys.”

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 The ketogenic health improvement plan is a higher-fat, low-carb diet plan that is tolerably protein affluent and in fat. It by and large incorporates food sources for instance eggs, meats and nuts, spreads. cheeses. seeds. oils. Some low-carb veggies will likewise be consolidated. It doesn't permit vegetables or organic products, desserts, potatoes, desserts, or other carb-well off food. Normal disseminations incorporate eating 5% of complete starches, 20% protein, and 75% fat. This empowers for 25 to 50 grams every day of carb.

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 Summary of Optimal Max Keto

 People include many difficulties inside their lives. In any case, they can conquer them with the guide of their body and psyche. A solid body is significant in light of the fact that it assists individuals with conquering a wide range of issues and keep their best body.

 So many individuals are currently defenseless against losing their own wellbeing due to becoming greasy or potentially getting an appearance that is as of now weighed down with fat. Many variables can bring about fat aggregation in your body. In light of some wellbeing experts, this can be a significant issue.

 Lots of individuals live today in manners where they are doing a considerable lot of their work on a work area. Which implies that their metabolic interaction is debilitating just as their seat turns into warm.

 Today's eating routine is loaded up with swelling food sources. Individuals additionally relish them since they're easy to plan and appealing. This assumes a part in our muscle versus fat's substance and ought to be eliminated.

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 The ketogenic diet's essential thought is make ketone physical make-ups. These fundamental unsaturated fat metabolites are used to supplant glucose in your body to power devices. Inside the 1920s, epilepsy patients were first encouraged to test the ketogenic diet. It had been found that it diminished seizure movement and it was great at treating their condition. Many individuals today go for seizure prescription (since abstaining from excessive food intake can be testing), notwithstanding, many actually follow the dietary intend to deal with their condition.

 Optimal Max Keto is a brilliant choice and can create a distinction inside your body. The item works on metabolic interaction and may assist individuals with accomplishing their best health.

 Your body will show up better and begin to dispose of fat. This product exploit the uncommon ketosis process, which thusly makes abundance fat become consumed and used as fuel.

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 What's Optimal Max Keto Shark Tank prone to do?

 Optimal Max Keto Shark Tank is the most straightforward strategy to thin down. You'll have the option to track with your keto diet. Since your body won't be devouring loads of sugars, this truly is the most straightforward strategy to lose overabundance fat.

 The body by and by burns-through starches to make energy for pretty much any work. Notwithstanding, on the off chance that your body needs more carbs it'll begin devouring fats.

 Optimal Max Keto Shark Tank likewise incorporates 100 % normal fixings which will improve your intestinal system which assist you with taking out perilous poisons. The body can ingest and process what food you're eating in the best way.

 What's the problem?

This is really the issue. People should deal with the distress of the physical make-ups becoming twisted each and every day. Because of deficient some time and gear, they're not ready to seem to determine this issue.

 The issue is straightforward: people are becoming fatter and are more disposed to are distressed by medical problems like heart failure, diabetes, thus forth.

 All this ought to be tended to in light of the fact that the normal individual's wellbeing is declining from one side of the planet to the other. It is fundamental that we as a whole do our absolute best to ensure the endurance of humanity. Fat tissue might be the essential justification for significant medical problems. It ought to be disposed of in the physiques.

 It isn't not difficult to get the ideal opportunity for you to begin an eating routine or exercise program. There must be something which works even without extra effort.

 Optimal Max Keto might be the arrangement that people might utilize when they shouldn't do anything at all after which feel relieved. Such countless individuals are by utilizing this item and say they've seen a considerable variation in themselves in an incredibly limited quantity of time.

 This can be a simple and compelling wellbeing item which changes fat into fuel. This gives you bounty more energy and invigorates your body's strong development. Ideal Max Keto is an eminent item for weight loss.

 Optimal Max Keto Shark Tank has various benefits

 The item is elite for the explanation that it gives a great deal of advantages. By eating it each and every day and do as taught, every single one of these advantages will be clear. We've recorded the most critical benefits of the product.

 The item is secured for you since it contains normal ingredients.

 The item is significant for developing your metabolic cycle and stamina.

 You'll watch an emotional reduction in hunger, and it will be less difficult to stay full for expanded measures of time.

 Optimal Max Keto Shark Tank is a brand-regular item which contains no counterfeit fillers or ingredients.

 It may likewise assist with further developing your muscles mass, which will help you have a more slender body.

 You can diminish overabundance fat in the most ideal manner. The body parts very much like your sides, thighs, and gut will not acquire in.

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 ALSO READ : Next Step Keto : A Ketogenic Diet to Lose Weight and Fight Metabolic Disease

 ALSO READ : Keto Trim Plus : #1 Keto Weight Loss – 100% Keto + BHB Diet Pills

 Let's take specific notification in the stomach related framework. A carb is actually a food accessible in from tomato plants to soft drinks, and cereal. It breaks lower into glucose at whatever point you burn-through it. The fundamental reason for glucose is give energy to those substantial processes.

 Our builds aren't as discriminative concerning the inventory of glucose than we might suspect. It utilizes the carb from the tomato or treat in a similar way to make energy. There are bunches of benefits to eating a tomato in excess of a treat or jam bean, yet that is another subject. Glycogen (extended chain glucose) is kept in the liver, muscle tissues, and fat inside our fat cells.

 Glucose is our essential fuel source. Glucose might be the favored fuel for the mind, sensory system and creating red circulatory system cells. The body will quickly devour its glycogen saves for energy on the off chance that you're dynamic or haven't eaten shortly.

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 What goes on would it be advisable for you to debilitate glycogen? Central issue! The huge inquiry! What's the issue? They aren't used by intellectual capacities. Here's the place where ketones are useful. Your body will deliver ketones when there's not any more any energy-providing carb left. This can be to supply energy for a wide range of cells. Our body's collection of ketones is known as ketosis.

 Do you realize the ingredients?

 Optimal Max Keto was made after broad exploration in accordance with the human body's capacities. These parts are consolidated to give people a vastly improved physique.

 BHB Ketones would be the regular ketones used by your body to utilize fat for fuel rather of carbs.

 Zinc: Fundamental basics normally obtained metallic calculates that help circulation system stream and muscle strength.

 Proteins: They're fundamental for muscle development just on the grounds that they fix and furthermore be muscles, allowing them to recuperate and shape better.

 How would i be able to buy it?

 To settle on your choice, you will basically be keen on the state site. All structures will be easy to finish. You can accomplish the producer straightforwardly while utilizing data on the site for the people who have any inquiries. Inside 427 days subsequent to setting the exchange, the product will be shipped off your house.

 What's the justification behind it?

 Optimal Max Keto might be utilized to join something that will help the body consume off fat and get solid. The item is actually a fat consuming enhancement notwithstanding a muscle stimulator.

 It's easy to observe it.

 The association makes Optimal Max Keto presented at its authority shop and it is presented at an extremely select cost.

 How does it do this?

 Optimal Max Keto functions likewise with each and every other pill item. For the best outcomes, the individual should just take two pills subsequent to burning-through breakfast and dinner.

 Could it be dependable?

 Optimal Max Keto keeps on being tried by many individuals clinical affiliations. Can breezed through the test for the best use.

 Do as taught on ways of utilizing the pills. You can purchase little or medium-sized keto pills. These Optimal Max Keto Pills could be taken like a feast. Each container is fixed inside a plastic sack and has 60 pills for any one-month supply. You really want to take two keto pills each day.

 Take 1 glass water along with your pills. You might pick a keto-accommodating eating regimen. You need to ensure that you are familiar any allergens around the item mark before you choose to burn-through it.

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[medi356]

BASIC CARE DURING PREGNANCY

Taking basic care during pregnancy has been more important than anything. You’re more likely to have a healthy birth if you manage a healthy pregnancy. You can experience this only by living a healthy lifestyle and following the doctor’s appointments. This is called prenatal care.

Schedule an appointment with your Gynecologist as soon as you find out you’re pregnant. Though, Many health care providers won’t schedule the first visit before 8 weeks of pregnancy, unless there is a difficulty. The doctor will start only after reviewing medical history. The doctor will want to know about your symptoms. During this first appointment, urine and blood samples will be taken. (These will also be taken again on later visits.) Urine tests check for bacteria, high sugar levels (which can be a sign of diabetes), and high protein levels (which can be a sign of preeclampsia, a type of high blood pressure during pregnancy). Blood tests check for blood cell count, blood type, low iron levels (anemia), and infectious diseases (such as HIV, HPV, HSV).

A doctor can ask you to do ultrasound for fetal gestational age and to see cardiac activity.

If you are healthy without any complications and risk factors, most health care providers will want to see you:

·         Every 4 weeks until the 28th week of pregnancy

·         Every 2 weeks until 36 weeks after 28th week

·         Once a week until delivery after 36th week

You must discuss any problem or concern you have with the doctor:

Weight gain during pregnancy

Talk to your doctor about this. It’s different for everyone. In most cases, women should gain about 11 to 13 kg. If a woman is underweight when she gets pregnant, she may need to gain more. If she is overweight, she may need to gain less.

Eating habits

Eating a balanced diet is one of the best things you can do for yourself and your baby. Once you started eating for two (or more!), that time is not to cut calories or go on a diet. In fact, you need about 300 extra calories a day. If you are underweight, very active and carrying multiple babies, you’ll need even more. But in the case of overweight, you will get advised by the health care provider.

Eating healthy food is always important. One must eat nutritious food for calories that will help baby’s growth and development. Try to maintain a well-balanced diet that incorporates the dietary guidelines including:

·         Raw meat, eggs, and fish: Food that isn’t fully cooked can put you at risk for food poisoning. Don’t eat more than 2 or 3 servings of fish per week (including canned fish). Don’t eat shark, swordfish, king mackerel, or tilefish.

·         Fruit and vegetables: Wash all fruits and veggies before eating. Keep cutting boards and dishes clean.

·         Low-fat dairy products: Eat 4 or more servings of dairy each day to consume a good amount of calcium for you and your baby. Don’t drink unpasteurized milk or eat unpasteurized milk products. These may have bacteria that can cause infections.

·         Sugar substitutes: Some artificial sweeteners are okay in moderation.

·         Less caffeine: Don’t drink more than 1 or 2 cups of coffee or other drinks with caffeine each day.

Can one take medicine?

Check with your doctor before taking any medicine. It covers prescriptions, pain relievers and overdose of medicines. Some medicines can cause birth defects, particularly if taken during the first 3 months of pregnancy.

Can one take vitamins?

Pregnant women should take at least 400 micrograms (mcg) of folic acid each day. It can help to get rid of problems with your baby’s brain and spine. Ask a doctor if you need more than 400 mcg.

It’s best to start taking folic acid before you get pregnant. You can get folic acid from taking a prenatal vitamin. You should take this every day. Don’t take other vitamins or supplements without your doctor’s approval.

How long can one keep working?

How late you work in pregnancy varies for each person. Your job and work environment play a big role. For instance, jobs that involve radiation, lead and other materials—such as copper and mercury—can be harmful to your baby. If your job is active, you may not be able to work as long. Desk jobs aren’t thought to cause harm to your baby. However, you should not rest a computer on your stomach or uterus.

Exercise during pregnancy?

Unless you have issues during pregnancy, you should get regular exercise. Exercise promotes a healthy lifestyle and can help ease discomfort. Try to get at least 30 minutes of exercise each day. Talk to your doctor about any conditions that may prevent exercise.

Regular exercise can help:

prevent excess weight gain

reduce pregnancy-related problems, like back pain, swelling, and constipation

improve sleep

increase energy

boost your mood

prepare your body for labor

lessen recovery time after the birth

Some women say exercising while pregnant makes labor and delivery easier. Walking and swimming are great choices. If you were active before pregnancy, it is probably safe to continue. If you weren’t active before pregnancy, start slowly. Listen to your body and don’t overdo it. Drink plenty of water to prevent overheating or dehydration, especially in the second trimester. It’s best to avoid exercises that may cause you to fall. This includes skiing and rock climbing. You also should avoid contact sports, such as soccer or basketball. Ask your doctor if you have any concerns.

Sleep during pregnancy?

It’s important to get enough sleep during your pregnancy. You’ll probably feel more tired than usual. And as your baby gets bigger, it will be harder to find a comfortable position when you’re trying to sleep.

Lying on your side with your knees bent is likely to be the most comfortable position as your pregnancy progresses. It also makes your heart’s job easier because it keeps the baby’s weight from putting pressure on the large blood vessels that carry blood to and from your heart and your feet and legs. Lying on your side can also help prevent or reduce varicose veins, hemorrhoids, and swelling in your legs.

Some doctors specifically recommend that pregnant women sleep on the left side. Because one of those big blood vessels is on the right side of your abdomen, lying on your left side helps keep the uterus off of it. Lying on your left side helps blood flow to the placenta and, therefore, your baby.

Ask what your health care provider recommends. In most cases, lying on either side should do the trick and help take some pressure off your back. For a more comfortable resting position, either way, prop pillows between your legs, behind your back, and underneath your belly.

Morning sickness during pregnancy?

Nausea or vomiting may strike anytime during the day (or night). Try eating frequent, small meals. Avoid foods that are greasy, spicy, or acidic. Some women are more nauseous when their stomach is empty. Keep crackers nearby to prevent an empty stomach. Talk to your doctor if morning sickness causes you to lose weight or lasts past the first 3 months of pregnancy.

Tiredness during pregnancy?

Fatigue is common when you’re pregnant. Try to get enough rest or take naps if possible. Talk to your doctor if you have symptoms of fatigue. You may have anemia.

Leg cramps during pregnancy?

Being active can help reduce leg cramps. Stretch the calf of your leg by flexing your foot toward your knee. Also, stay hydrated by drinking lots of water.

Constipation during pregnancy?

Drink plenty of fluids. Eat foods with lots of fiber, such as fruits, vegetables, and bran cereal. Don’t take laxatives without talking to your doctor first. Stool softeners may be safer than laxatives.

Hemorrhoids during pregnancy?

Try to avoid becoming constipated. Don’t strain during bowel movements. Clean yourself well after a bowel movement. Wet wipes may feel better than toilet paper. Take warm soaks (sitz baths) if necessary.

Urinating more often during pregnancy?

You may need to urinate more often when you are pregnant. Changing hormones can be a factor. Also, as your baby grows, he or she will put pressure on your bladder.

Varicose veins during pregnancy?

Avoid clothing that fits tightly around your waist or legs. Rest and put your feet up as much as you can. Avoid sitting or standing still for long periods. Ask your doctor about support or compression hose. These can help prevent or ease varicose veins.

Moodiness during pregnancy?

Your hormones are on a roller coaster ride during pregnancy. Your whole life is changing. Don’t be too hard on yourself. Get help right away if you feel sad or think about suicide.

Heartburn during pregnancy?

Eat frequent, small meals. Avoid spicy, greasy, or acidic foods. Don’t lie down right after eating. Ask your doctor about taking antacids.

Yeast infections during pregnancy?

The amount of discharge from your vagina can increase during pregnancy. Yeast infections, which can cause discharge, are common as well. Talk to your doctor if you see any unusual discharge or if it has an odor.

Bleeding gums during pregnancy?

Brush and floss regularly. See your dentist for cleanings. Don’t avoid dental visits because you’re pregnant. Just be sure to tell your dentist you’re pregnant.

Stuffy nose during pregnancy?

Changes in the levels of the female hormone estrogen can cause a stuffy nose. You may also have nosebleeds.

Edema (retaining fluid) during pregnancy?

Rest with your legs up as much as you can. Lie on your left side while sleeping. This position helps blood flow from your legs back to your heart better. Don’t use diuretics (water pills).

Skin changes during pregnancy?

Stretch marks appear as red marks on your skin. Lotion with shea butter can help keep your skin moist and reduce itchy, dry skin. Stretch marks can’t be avoided. They do often fade after pregnancy.

You may have other skin changes. These can include darkening of the skin on your face or around your nipples. Some women get a dark line below their belly button. Try to stay out of the sun or use sunscreen to help lessen these marks. Most marks will fade after pregnancy.

Things to consider during pregnancy:

There are several things you should avoid while you’re pregnant. Take notice to follow this list of warnings. Talk to your doctor if you need help.

Don’t smoke or be around people who do smoke. Smoking raises your risk for miscarriage, preterm birth, low birth weight, and other health problems.

Don’t use drugs. Cocaine, heroin, marijuana, and other drugs increase your risk of miscarriage, preterm birth, and birth defects. Your baby could be born addicted to the drug you’ve been abusing. This is called neonatal abstinence syndrome. It can cause severe health problems for your baby.

Don’t drink alcohol. Drinking alcohol is the major cause of preventable birth defects, including fetal alcohol disorder.

Don’t clean your cat’s litter box or eat raw or undercooked red meat. You could get toxoplasmosis, a disease that can cause birth defects.

Don’t douche. Your vagina doesn’t require cleansing in addition to normal bathing. Douching disrupts the helpful bacteria that keep your vagina clean.

When to see a Gynaecologists?

Call your doctor if you have:

Blood or fluid coming from your vagina.

Sudden or extreme swelling of your face or fingers.

Headaches that are severe or won’t go away.

Nausea and vomiting that won’t go away.

Dim or blurry vision.

Dizziness.

Severe pain or cramps in your lower abdomen.

Chills or fever.

A change in your baby’s movements.

Less urine or burning when you urinate.

An illness or infection.

Any other symptoms that bother you.

[smpieraquarium]

1/19/19 👶🦈A baby Swell shark is born! Just hours out of its egg casing, it got out by using its rough tooth-like scales called derma denticles. As a shark grows, it will shed the scales and replace them. Not just yet, little one! #babyshark #swellsharks # baby #smpieraquarium #healthebay #santamonicapier #marinelife (at Santa Monica Pier Aquarium) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bs1jRMRhh_5/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=i7t56xezw8hp

[florahecate]

Read More 15 Foods That Are Banned in the U.S.

The following post 15 Foods That Are Banned in the U.S. is republished from Eat This Not That by Cheyenne Buckingham

The FDA and USDA both enforce laws and regulations on foods so that consumers remain safe. Several foods that are legal in other countries are banned in the U.S. for this reason alone—they are believed to pose a threat against one’s health. However, there are other reasons why foods are banned specifically in the U.S., most notably to protect endangered species or to stop acts of animal cruelty.

Find out which 15 foods are banned in the U.S., or at the very least, banned in some states.

1

Kinder Surprise Eggs

Shutterstock

The FDA banned the sale of all food products containing embedded, non-nutritive objects some 80 years ago, and the European Kinder Surprise chocolate eggs, which contain a non-edible toy inside, falls under that category. The hollow candy egg is a hit overseas, and there have been multiple petitions and campaigns advocating to legalize it in the U.S. for several years.

For now, the product remains banned for sale because it’s deemed a choking hazard. However, that doesn’t mean there haven’t been attempts to import it. According to an article from the Wall Street Journal, as of 2018 the U.S. Customs and Border Protection had seized over 160,000 Kinder Surprise eggs from travelers’ baggage and from international mail shipments since 2011. As of 2018 though, a different version of the chocolate treat called Kinder Joy is available in the U.S., as the packaging keeps the toy separate from the candy, with each side of the egg covered in plastic wrap.

2

Horse Meat

Shutterstock

To be clear, it’s not illegal to eat horse meat in the U.S. It is, however, illegal to slaughter horses, and by default prohibits the consumption of it, or—at least—makes it extremely challenging. President Trump renewed the ban on slaughtering horses for meat in March 2018. As is the case with other animals, it’s not illegal (or taboo) to eat horse in other countries such as China, which has one the largest markets for horse meat.

3

Shark Fins

Shutterstock

Believe it or not, shark fins are not entirely banned in the United States. Currently, only 12 states uphold an official ban on the sale of shark fins. However, the act of shark finning itself has been illegal in U.S. waters since 2000. Shark finning is banned, as it is considered an act of animal cruelty because it involves the slicing of fins off live sharks just to toss them overboard and endure a horrific demise. Still, 10 of the 12 states that banned the sale of shark fin still allow restaurants to serve the meat. Shark fin soup is actually considered to be a luxury dish in several Asian countries, especially China.

4

Japanese Puffer Fish

Shutterstock

This whimsical looking fish actually houses an extremely poisonous toxin called tetrodotoxin in its skin and even in certain organs. This toxin is known to cause paralysis and even death. With this in mind, you may wonder, why would anyone want to consume this dish? Apparently, it’s regarded as a delicacy in the sushi world where it’s more widely known as fugu. Consumption of the fish is almost entirely banned in the United States, with the exception of a few sellers who are permitted to have a license.

RELATED: Your guide to the anti-inflammatory diet that heals your gut, slows the signs of aging, and helps you lose weight.

5

Haggis

Shutterstock

Haggis is a savory pudding that consists of a mixture of sheep’s heart, lung, and liver, among other ingredients such as oatmeal, minced onion, suet, and stock. The pudding is typically presented and served to guests within the stomach of the sheep. Traditionally, it’s consumed on Burns Night in Scotland, a countrywide event that honors Scottish poet, Robert Burns. However, those of Scottish heritage living in the U.S. cannot dine on haggis due to the ban that USDA placed on the sale of sheep’s lung 47 years ago. The ban was set in place in light of the emergence of the degenerative disease, scrapie, which affects the central nervous system in sheep.

6

Ackee Fruit

Shutterstock

Ackee is the national fruit of Jamaica. However, when it’s unripe, the fruit contains high levels of the toxin hypoglycin A, which inhibits the body’s ability to release blood glucose (blood sugar). This can cause people to fall into a state of hypoglycemia, a condition where glucose levels are too low, which can induce vomiting, ultimately cause dehydration, and even result in death. Importation of the raw fruit was banned by the FDA in 1973, but you can still purchase canned or froze ackee fruit in the U.S. that have been cleared to have a low enough concentration of the toxin.

7

Beluga Caviar

Shutterstock

As of 2005, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services banned the importation of beluga caviar, as well as other beluga products, which according to a New York Times article, formerly had a price tag of $200 an ounce. The caviar comes from the wild Beluga sturgeon fish and is the primary reason why the fish has since become endangered. The ban was set in place in hopes of thwarting the species’ extinction.

8

Sassafras Oil

Shutterstock

While the root bark of the sassafras plant has historically been used by Native Americans to treat illness including fever and rheumatism, the oil from sassafras lends a different result. There is a compound in sassafras oil called safrole, which is a known carcinogen. The FDA set a ban on sassafrass oil back in the 1960s. However, extracts from the roots of the plant are still legal as long as they do not contain safrole.

9

Casu Marzu

Shutterstock

Casu marzu is often referred to as the rotten cheese because it’s infested with live maggots. The Pecorino cheese, which is made from unpasteurized sheep’s milk, contains the larvae of a particular fly. These maggots evidently facilitate the fermentation of the cheese. Once the larvae hatch, they begin to eat through the cheese, which effectively makes it softer. The cheese is then served with the maggots still lodged in it. Casu marzu has been a tradition in Sardinia, Itay, for many years. However, the EU and the United States have banned the cheese for health reasons.

10

Absinthe

Shutterstock

If you’ve seen the show New Girl, you probably already know the kind of forbidden powers Absinthe holds. As long as the alcoholic beverage contains less than 100 parts per million of thujone—the toxic chemical found in the wormwood herb that’s used to make the alcohol—it’s legal in the U.S. Anymore than that makes the drink illegal because of its supposed reputation as an addictive hallucinogen.

11

Ortolan

Shutterstock

This tiny rare songbird was a former French delicacy, having been exclusively served to royalty and wealthy gourmands. Selling of Ortolan became illegal in France in 1999, 20 years after the EU deemed it a protected species. The U.S. also banned the selling and importation of bird, which measures out to be the size of a thumb, weighing less than an ounce.

12

Queen Conch

Shutterstock

The Queen Conch is described as a large marine mollusk that typically ranges from six to nine inches in length. According to NOAA Fisheries, “Commercial and recreational harvest is generally banned in U.S. federal waters.” The species is often eaten in Turks & Caicos, even though it’s an endangered species.

13

Foie Gras

Shutterstock

Foie gras may be a celebrated delicacy of French cuisine, but, the way it’s made is unethical, which is why the City Council in Chicago placed a ban on the production and sale of the dish from 2006-2008. More recently, the state of California officially banned the sale of the delicacy after former attempts had been challenged in previous years. Foie gras is the fatty liver that comes from either ducks or geese. The liver is fattened by force-feeding the animal with grain and fat until the liver swells. As one could imagine, this is so uncomfortable for the bird that they begin to tear out their feathers or even injure one another out of distress. A nationwide ban has yet to be enforced. However, it may be on the horizon with California’s successful ban this year.

14

Chilean Sea Bass

Shutterstock

As of now, the U.S. only allows certified Chilean sea bass fishing boats to harvest and sell the fish. In addition, the FDA regulates the number of fish each boat is allowed to catch. It’s illegal to fish for Chilean sea bass without certification in the U.S. because it’s overfished and as a result, the species is on the decline.

15

Sea Turtles

Shutterstock

Sea turtles are caught and killed for their meat. In 2007, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service reported that conservationists estimated that 35,000 sea turtles are consumed annually in Calfornia alone. Now, according to Sea Turtle Conservancy, “Sea turtles are given legal protection in the United States and its waters under the Endangered Species Act, which lists the hawksbill, leatherback, Kemp’s ridley, and green turtle as endangered; the loggerhead is listed as threatened.”

The post 15 Foods That Are Banned in the U.S. appeared first on Eat This Not That.

[ecotone99]

[TH] Black Box

1. where do we begin... i guess, if i had to say, it would start in my home. if home is what they say, if home is a place of comfort, then home is what it was. so i hesitate to bring it up. i am unclear as to what it means to be alive in that place. if part of me is here, i survived, while part of me will always be left behind, broken glass on torn bed frames, still it lives in there. in those crevices in my mind i don’t care to visit. that i won’t visit. if that is home, then it’s the perfect place to lay down my heart.

2. it’s a school day. i remember because mom woke me up. i am five, or four, and there is that smell of morning. i don’t smell the morning anymore. i went into the kitchen. breakfast was served: eggs with cut up hotdogs.

we get ready to leave. there in the closing of the car door, i hear it. softly, at first, a hummingbird wasn’t this quite. then, at once, an eruption of sound came from behind my seat. i covered my ears as mom opened the door. “what’s wrong?” i don’t answer. i wouldn’t even know what to say.

3. i am eighteen again. eighteen and drinking shit beer with shit friends that i’ve partnered for a lifetime. these are girls. these are guys. these are the people i would kill for and lose with. we are out of town. the city limit miles behind. the sky is growing dark. i turn, stumbling over to piss. my eye sight is foggy, i can hear Mike shouting “don’t go too far!” with my dick in my zipper and my hand on a beer i start to pee into some bushes.

how does it always know, when i am alone or afraid? i hear it... a soft humming of wind and voices. it’s as if all these people crammed into a room, speaking in whispers. then it shouts. one voice among them louder than hell. always in that same place. in that place right behind your peripheral vision. i turn around as fast as i can and trip with my dick still out, spilling beer and embarrassment all over my jeans. it was Mike this time. he laughed, high as a kite “you alright man, you look pale” i put myself away as he helps me up. i spook around trying to see clearly. looking all around as if nothing had just happened.

4. it was my eight grade graduation. my mom is looking proud in the audience. for a while there, i wasn’t sure i would make it. i wasn’t sure i would walk with my class. this was two years after the accident. i had developed behavioral issues and was removed from my classes due to anger management. they wrote me up this plan. this plan that would get me back on the road to success, they said. as i sat there waiting for my name to be called. a man stood in the back of the cafeteria where they hosted our event. he didn’t look like a parent. he didn’t look like a person, really, as i blinked twice before looking at him again. my name was called. i stood up to walk over to the principle to receive my certificate... the humming began. the sounds of those people faded. my mom looked so proud of me. so proud. as i screamed, he handed me my certificate. his hand was made of leathery black skin. his face was featureless. and his eyes. those empty shark gazes as we touched. my skin turned cold. i blinked twice. and he was gone. the principle stood there “good job” i looked around, the crowd of parents and teachers clapping for the next kid who stood up after me. and my mom. so proud. so pleased.

5. it was raining outside. i always loved the rain. i would get up early and chase the dog through the mud. we had a big backyard. as big could be for me, age seven or eight. i ran around barking. i loved the rain in those days. i loved the mud and the wet earth smell that crept up from the ground. the rain began to pour harder. my dog stopped and stared. “what’s wrong boy?” “why did you stop?” he began to cower. his tail coiled up under his butt as i bent down to grab him. he was whimpering. i couldn’t tell what was wrong. the rain pouring down. and even in that whitewall of water, the humming began. i looked up. and there he was. only a few feet in front of me. he didn’t look wet at all. the rain didn’t touch him. and his eyes were fixed upon me. “what do you want?” he raised his skeletal hand. black as night. black as the color of the void must feel. lifting only four or five fingers. i blinked twice. my dog found it’s voice and barked. i blinked twice before falling over into the mud and ground. i sat there and cried as the rain came to a sudden halt.

6. it was summer once again. twenty-one and in the back of a mustang with the top down. the song playing was eighties rock. for whom the bell tolls, time marches on... for whom the bell tolls. Mike was driving and Hector was in the front seat. i was waving my hands in the air. all of us singing along to the song. Hector turned to me, handing me a shooter of Jameson, before handing one to Mike. we were coming up on the big drop. the little dipper, we coined it. it was this patch of road that went up and instantly fell down. Mike was going thirty-five as he approached it. we blew past the speed marker: 25. he pressed his foot down on the gas. we jumped up to sixty in half a second. the little dipper ahead. i closed my eyes. threw my hands up after we all slammed our shots. we came up the slope and flew over the drop. time stood still. time wasn’t constant in this state of being. the music died. the car disappeared. and thats when i saw him. waiting at the bottom of the road. as if he’d been there all night. he was always there. Mike swerved. Hector flew out of the car. his body a rag doll. i grabbed on to the seat belt around my waist. we slammed into a ditch and the car made this awful noise. crunching up like a wad of tin foil. “did you see that?” “where’s Hector?” we got out of the car. shouting for Hector. “Mike, do you see it?” “see what?” i pointed. we both froze. he was standing over Hectors body on the asphalt. he leaned down and touched him. he visibly touched him with the red tint of tail lights lighting his hand. Mike ran over as i froze. “help me!” i couldn’t move.

7. i was snorting blow with these two girls i met at the bar. they were both laughing and taking bong rips as i emptied out my bag on a movie case. i cut up some lines and rolled up a twenty dollar bill. “i want next” one of the girls said before coming over to sit next to me. i snorted my line. the lions share of a line. and my nose began to burn. “who wants shots?” the other girl stood up and walked into the kitchen of this shotgun style apartment. the girl next to me took my rolled up twenty and snorted loudly over the movie case. “do you always do your blow on a weird movie case?” i looked back at the movie. and there he was. a shadow covered in white. i panicked. “we have to leave” my arms turned pale. my legs began shaking. she reached over and grabbed my leg. i blinked twice as i met her face... it wasn’t her sitting next to me anymore.

8. Hector didn’t die from the impact to the road. Hector was hurt, covered in blood that wasn’t his own. the report said he died from acute organ failure. he was still alive when we got to him that night. he looked at Mike and started to tear up. he reached over to me as i slowly walked over “it’s you...” he croaked. “it’s always been you...”

9. i shut my eyes before remembering that home. that house where time floated by and you floated along. if there was life there, it surely swam alone. i began to see it, unwillingly. i didn’t want to see. i blinked twice and there i was: twenty-six. successful. in a career. in a house under my name. with a car out front. i sat in that house alone. even though i knew, deep down, that i was never, truly, alone.

it began with a frenzy. i smashed the walls with an axe and then began on the decor. i walked over to the stove. began to light everything that was remotely flammable. i entered my room. chopping the bed frame, ripping the curtains as the fire in the kitchen began to spread. with the smoke filling up behind me. i walked into the bathroom and slammed into the mirror. and as i fell to my knees, there he was on the floor...

10. the day of the accident was a mistake. i didn’t fall from the quad, no, something pushed me. i was going twenty before it swept me off. the last memory of my youth escaped me. my final moment was full of fear and regret. i was eleven or twelve. i was there and then i wasn’t. he looked at me, as my brain began to swell. internal bleeding. he looked at me and i looked at him. a creature without a face with a sharks gaze. it was hungry. and i knew it was time. i reached out and it took my hand. i fell through the world as the earth escaped from underneath. left behind. who was the man in the mask...

11. we left Hector at the front doors of St. Mary’s hospital. we left him there and ran. Mike’s uncle picked us up a block or so away. we were covered in blood and he didn’t ask why. Mike cried. he looked at me “why did you tell me to leave him there?” i couldn’t respond. i had no words. i began to cry harder. the alcohol fueling a bursted rage. a fury locked up in my throat. my eyes stinging. my nose backed up with snot.

we left him there on that concrete slab just outside the automatic doors. i forced Mike to listen. Hector was gone and the faceless man took him. Mike didn’t believe me. even after the funeral. that was the last time we ever stood in the same place. Hector was gone. only his tombstone remained.

12. you can run from it all your life. you can run away and graduate and have a family and kids. but his surviving words still read: a beloved son.

and the days taste stale.

the food is always dry.

and the faceless man is there... watching. waiting. i need only look in a mirror.

13. end.

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