#its not turkey snot

[donde-el-diablo-parquea-la-moto]

Thinking about Foolish becoming a KELP

[mitchbattros]

Meteor Turns Turkey’s Sky Green

A stunning video captured the moment a vibrant green fireball streaked across the skies above Turkey. Taken by Onur Kaçmaz in a playground in the Turkish city of Erzurum on Saturday (Sept. 2), the now-viral video shows the sky and surrounding clouds bathed in a deep-sea snot green as the brilliant object hits the upper atmosphere.

Turkey Fireball Sept. 2, 2023 This event presented an awesome lightshow; however there are times it is far more than a lightshow. Just ten years prior, a larger meteor appeared in the skies over Chelyabinsk Russia, exploding in the lower atmosphere injuring over one thousand people.  The Chelyabinsk Event This is the one which should raise those small hairs on your neck. It was February 15, 2013 when residents of the city of Chelyabinsk, Russia, witnessed something few humans ever have. Simply put; this 'asteroid entering Earth's atmosphere is then classified as a 'meteor'. When the now 'meteor' is large creating a bright fireball, it is referred to as a 'bolide'. So when you do your search, you will find the Chelyabinsk Event will be described as a meteor or meteorite causing over a thousand injuries.

Short Video 0.43 seconds CLICK HERE Long Video 10.11 minutes CLICK HERE The event was well-documented, almost by accident. Dashboard cameras in cars were very popular in Russia at the time, and many of these cameras captured video recordings of the meteor (the streak of light across the sky) and the great flash that came when the asteroid exploded.' Scientists estimated its speed at 41,000 miles per hour, or about 50 times the speed of sound. Its tremendous speed was the main factor in its enormous destructive power.  

Read the full article

[quotesfrommyreading]

Slime in the sea is not inherently unusual. “Mucus is everywhere,” says Michael Stachowitsch, a marine ecologist at the University of Vienna. “There’s no marine organism that doesn’t produce mucus, from the lowly snail to the slimy fish.” But in healthy waters, mucus doesn’t amass to epic proportions. The current sea-snot outbreak can be blamed on phytoplankton, a type of algae that produces the small bits of mucus that turn into flakes of marine snow. When these phytoplankton receive an infusion of imbalanced nutrients from fertilizer runoff or untreated wastewater, they make an overabundance of mucus. Beads of that mucus accumulate into stringers, which accumulate into clouds, which accumulate into the unending sheets now washing up on Turkey’s coast.

But pollution alone doesn’t explain the appearance of so much sea snot—or marine mucilage, to use the scientific term. This much slime buildup also requires specific weather conditions: hot and calm. In spring and summer, the sun heats up the top layer of seawater, leaving a layer of cool, denser water underneath. (Salinity also plays a role in the density gradient: Saltier water will sink beneath fresher water.) Because of this gradient, the mucus will sink until it starts to float; then it lingers. The longer it stays, the more it accumulates. And without strong winds or storms, nothing creates turbulence to churn the water and rip the mucus apart.

Bacteria trapped in the mucus will eventually start to eat and digest it, creating air bubbles that ultimately float the whole sheet of sea snot up to the surface. In the Adriatic Sea, the arm of the Mediterranean just east of the Italian peninsula, the floating mucus can dry and toughen in the sun. Seagulls are known to walk on it.

Mass outbreaks of sea snot have appeared dozens of times in the Adriatic over the past three centuries, probably because its geography and calm winds create the perfect conditions for large sheets to form. Sea snot has had big economic consequences there. “The main problems are fisheries and tourism,” Michele Giani, an oceanographer at the National Institute of Oceanography and Applied Geophysics, in Italy, told me. Boats cannot go to sea at all because mucus clogs up the seawater intake that cools the motor. “A motor can have a meltdown within a minute,” Stachowitsch said. Fishing nets become slimy and heavy. And tourists, of course, want nothing to do with the mess. It doesn’t help that as sea snot degrades on the surface, its smell can turn quite nasty too.

The first description of mare sporco, or “dirty sea,” in Italian dates back to 1729. But in the early 2000s, marine mucilage started breaking out pretty much every year, which scientists, in a 2009 paper, linked to climate change. (Huge swaths of marine mucilage have also turned up near Turkey at least once before, in 2007.) You might think of the snot as a symptom of “ocean flu,” says Antonio Pusceddu, a marine ecologist at the University of Cagliari, in Italy, who co-authored that paper: The snot’s appearance is a sign of deeper sickness in the sea, caused by climate change and pollution.

The link between marine mucilage on the surface and the clouds and stringers underwater became clear during the 1980s, when researchers diving in the Adriatic first observed the unusual masses. Scientists had missed this phenomenon earlier, Stachowitsch said, “because the instruments that were used to bring up water samples from the ocean were quite brutal, so they shook up the water,” destroying the mucus. Humans could see it only if they went down themselves, either with scuba gear or in submersibles. Gerhard Herndl, an oceanographer now at the University of Vienna, told me that while diving in the ’80s, he mistook the first cloud of mucus he ever saw for a shark. Until that moment, he had not known that sea snot could grow to such behemoth proportions.

The mucus floating underwater was fascinating—even beautiful—but what scientists saw on the seafloor was disturbing. They already knew that unsightly layers of the mucus could float to the surface. Now they discovered that they could also sink, covering corals, sponges, brittle stars, mollusks, and any other unlucky creatures on the seafloor, cutting them off from oxygen. “They’re literally smothered,” says Alice Alldredge, an oceanographer at UC Santa Barbara. “Sure, it’s uncomfortable for us as human beings to have all this gunk at the surface. But the bottom-dwelling organisms are going to die.” An ecosystem takes years to fully recover from such a mass mortality.

  —  Why Turkey's Coast Is Covered in Sea Snot

[a-gal-with-taste]

High-Noon Heat (Oneshot)

Warnings: SFW. Chapter 2, pre-relationship, flirting, fluff, humor, romance, domestic-fluff, camp-interactions, mild AU (Micah's dead, because I say so), cook!Reader, John being an annoying little brother

Gift for @sweatandwoe ♡

It was high-noon, and even with the breeze, you could swear Arthur already looked more heated than Hell, with cheeks already reddening as he approached the stewpot you were bent over, fresh from another several-day excursion around the country. 

"Arthur."

"... Miss." 

There it was again - the start of your first name, before habit, courtesy, and just the barest hint of flusteredness entered his gruff tone, and he fell back onto a far-more respectful greeting than just your first name. 

"Been back for a hot minute, I'm sure you're famished," You say, smiling up as you glanced towards him. Noon-high caught the gold in his hair, bright enough that you had to resist the urge to squint. "Hope you've had smooth traveling, sure been gone awhile..." 

"Well, someone's gotta, ever since Micah..." One burly shoulder shrugged, half in nonchalance, and half in the direction of the cliff giving the Outlook its name. "I'd take Lenny, but kid's still shook-up, 'bout losing so many the last few months..." 

"I'm sorry," You say, softly. You didn't know those who came before.

The Callander boys were men of legends, apparently, and Jenny sounded like such a sweet girl - all gone long before you arrived. Perhaps it was the nature of things, but the first death you'd encountered among the camps-ranks was hardly even met with a subdued reaction. Some drank a bit more excessively, but there were a couple more jokes than mournful jeers... Mr. Van der Linde, however, had shut himself in his tent for the night after. 

You didn't quite know why, Mr Bell hadn't exactly been charming - in fact, your skin crawled at the memory of him - but you still kept your tone cautiously respectful, "I don't... I hope it's not a loss that's leaving you to suffer, since you take his job as well as your own?" 

"Suffer? Nah... tempted to thank God, if I'm honest. For ending his suffering, and ours." 

Pearson glanced up from the rabbit as your sudden, inappropriately-timed snort, unable to hold back the stern note in his reminder, "Not in the stew, Miss! Got enough seasoning in there already, don't need snot to go along with it!" 

"I know, Simon, I know!" The friendly-eye roll you gave was met with a scoff, but when you turn back to the main-muscle of the Van der Linde Gang, your cheeks heated under much more than the sun when you caught Arthur staring, watching you smile playfully with a peek of his own grin beneath the rim of his hat. 

A hat that lowered sharply as he ducked his head, suddenly finding the Overlook grass very fascinating, particularly as he scuffed it with his boots. 

"Well... I'm glad you seem to be enjoying the roads, Arthur. Seems like you're gone most the time..." 

"Not by choice, but we all gotta eat, gotta work... speaking of," He glanced back at you, cornflower-blue eyes meeting yours, before he again glanced away, fingers tapping a beat on his belt. "You uh, got any special requests for when I'm out on the trail?" 

You blinked, "Oh, I wouldn't want to take you from your work, Arthur-" 

"Top three-choices, Miss. Sound 'em off, I'll get 'em for you." A pause, before he added, a bit hastily. "Ain't no trouble... never is." 

Tongue prods the inside of your cheek for a moment, as you studied him, while he made his own studies with the outlining shrubbery of the camp. "... Turkey would be nice, good for hearts. If you come across rosemary, Hosea could also use some for his breathing," The old fool was sharp, and smarter than anyone else in the gang, but a fool nonetheless, acting like you couldn't hear him wheezing half-a-tent away... "Oh! Wild carrot too, it's good for the stew... plus Jackie could use the veggies." 

"And the kid was 'bout just begging me for a cocoa-bar... gonna feel lilttle betrayed about this one," Another small grin crossed his features, one you couldn't help but share as, stirring done with all the chopped herbs freshly-submerged, you reached for a tin-bowl. 

"Partners in crime, you and I are, Mister Morgan," You teased, filling up the bowl with a generous, hearty helping before passing it into his hand. The calloused he brushed against your fingers left tingles, but you managed to keep your voice light. "I won't tattle if you won't." 

"I'll be going to my grave in silence, Miss," He vowed, shoveling a dented spoon in to take a large chunk from the bowl - already half-empty by the time he takes his sentence, and you wonder if Arthur even swallows by the time he chugs the final portion of his bowl. 

"... 'M sorry," He said, sheepish under your wide-eye glare at his ravenous appetite, even though you're far from displeased. "Long ride and... good food. Gotta get it when you can." 

"Right... well, I'll be sure to have plenty for you when you get back," You promised him standing up while brushing off your hands on your apron, before holding one out to him with a smile, warm as the noon-high sun above. "Well, happy travels, Arthur. Be safe." 

A beat passes, before, once more, your skin tingles pleasantly with the feel of warm callouses brushing along your skin. The handshake Arthur gives is only one good, hearty pump between you - but while the man had muscles that could no-doubt crush you in an instant, the grip around your hand was so tenderly gentle, that it almost made you melt... 

And then he had to speak - low, and voice husked enough that you very-nearly turned into a puddle, "'course I will, Miss. You keep safe, too... be looking forward to that meal when I get back."

"Hope so. I'll have it hot and ready for you." 

Arthur's hand stilled so much in yours, you feared he became a statue. 

And then he was moving fast, hand pulling away, chin ducking as he turned on a heel to walk away, burly shoulders up high enough to red-tipped ears.

Your own ears were burning as you watched him walk, and you-yourself quickly tried to reverse the blush on your own face by returning to the game table, joining a carefully-oblivious Pearson in preparing the new additions to the stewpot... 

It would've worked, the new distraction to try and push aside the fluttering in your chest, and the warmth on your cheeks. But, as if it was a temptation too sweet to even try to ignore, John succeeded in making your face burn an even hotter-temperature with a mocking-drawl of your words after his fellow retreating gunslinger. 

"Yeah, Arthur, be safe..." 

"You be safe too, John. Don't let the mosquitoes eat ya while you're lounging 'round. Wolves already had their bite, ain't gonna be much left..." 

Hosea, ever the calm mediator from halfway across the camp, "Delinquency should be well behind you both, gentlemen! You're making Sean look more grown...!" 

It was high-noon, and you swore your face was hotter than the sun.

Maybe even hotter than Hell-itself.

[jiminrings]

Lunchbox lovers request:

So I would love to see a sit down talk between yoongi and mc. Just so like mc can sort her feelings out about everything, and like get advice about forgiving Kook. Idk, I just want those two to have a chat between besties.

-🐞

cold senior!y/n x stem major koo masterlist :D

yoongi will be on y/n’s team — always

“what do you want for dinner?”

yoongi had the best afternoon nap anyone could ever possibly have

it was a mid-afternoon nap actually and something about it just hit different this time

there’s days when it’s extremely warm y’know? not hot, but like uncomfortably warm

it was that uncomfortably warm afternoon when everyone’s collectively feeling sleepy?? turn the airconditioning on to its coolest and sleep without a shirt on and be surrounded by a pillow on both sides......?

yeah that afternoon nap awhile ago really put yoongi on a happy mood

he’s not asking what you want for dinner because he slept good :D

excellent afternoon naps aren’t the only things that make him this way!! lol you could also count days when he receives a random gift out of nowhere and the days when you replace the toothpaste instead of him

but really, whether or not he gets these instances, he genuinely just asks you what you want for dinner so he could either cook it or order it

“what do you want for dinner?” yoongi nudges you from your spot on the couch, about to invade your personal space again and lie down on your lap before you get to cooking

you only hum in response, your best attempt at returning his affection coming in the form of tussling his hair

“we already have dinner, yoongs.”

omg that’s nice then

“you already cooked dinner? even while i was still asleep? wow, look at you,” he praises you abundantly, attempting to pinch your nose when you dodge him

.... that’s the thing though

yoongi watches you visibly freeze when you were doing anything in the first place besides watch your show in a still position

“i didn’t.”

oh

if your dorm was already silent, it became even mORE silent now

if you didn’t cook, then that means-

“jungkook brought dinner.”

yoongi finishes for you and it’s the far worse equivalent of two mothers bringing their own turkeys for thanksgiving

the show you’ve been rewatching is white noise at this point that you can’t recognize anything in this room besides yoongi

it’s been two weeks

that’s literally half a month

two weeks ever since jungkook’s been pouring active effort into working for your forgiveness and normalcy with him out of his own volition

alright maybe you’ll just focus on the gray streaks in yoongi’s new hair <3

and maybe he’ll just focus on the blue stain on your pink pajamas because he put them in the same load when they were newly-purchased <3

yeah but no you can’t do this forever

he can’t do this forever

you and yoongi can’t do this forever

the two of you can’t keep dancing around each other whenever the mention of jungkook pops up because the two of you have two dRASTICALLY different perspectives

right now, yoongi’s just awkwardly laying on your lap and he’s can’t even look up ay the ceiling

“do you wanna talk about it now?”

you end up caving by asking him first, a sigh of relief from holding it in which makes him relieved because he didn’t want to initiate that

“yeah, let’s talk,” he pulls himself up and he’s now looking at you with much embarrassment, “can we even have this conversation while completely sober?”

yoongi’s really rEALLY looking for a distraction to help ease this discomfort in his chest

okay you get where he’s coming from

“you mean you wanna share a joint with me while we have a long-overdue conversation?”

you chuckle at the mental image of yoongi seeing literal stars and freaking out about it, probably crying while he chats to you

“mhmmm. would probably calm our nerves. o-or maybe just mine, atleast.”

to be honest, he doesn’t even have quite a clue on wHY he’s nervous!! it’s the two of you and you’ve always been comfy with each other

that’s the whole foundation of your friendship — you’re fully comfortable with each other and the two of you find it difficult to be this comfy with anyone else

if he really delves deeper into it though, yoongi would know that the reason he’s so nervous for this conversation with you is because he doesn’t want to fight with you

you’d only have occasional tiffs and arguments ever once in a while, but never a fight!!

he’s not assuming that your conversation would turn into a fight, but that possibility scares him still because what if he loses you?

:(((

and if the two of you do fight, it would be over a junior named jungkook who broke your heart and probably insulted you to your core

he doesn’t want to romanticize it either, but if the two of you do fight, yoongi would want it to be something entirely else

he’s willing to have a fight about being messy and how it frustrates you so much

he’d pick a fight over his clingy habits and how it sometimes makes you feel insecure

he’d pick a fight over how he wants to be your number one best friend so bad that it’s beyond unhealthy he’s making it a competition

he’d want a fight over him being a lil insecure of seokjin at times because the two of you get along so well and know much mORE things than he ever could and he can’t always be included in the inside jokes

what yoongi doesn’t want is to fight over jungkook.

“that sounds nice,” you agree because maybe you too are feeling a little antsy, “but we could do that after.”

he nods, his hands curled to his lap that he only meets your eyes now

“okay.”

oh my god

what now

everything’s put out of the way and it’s now the part when you actually tALK

“are you mad at me?”

you take the first approach and it’s already heavy right from the start, the question weighing especially hard in your mind the past few weeks

“what? no. i could never be mad at you,” he answers just as quick and precise, “i’m mad at him.”

“and i understand that.”

you really do know where yoongi’s coming from because after all, you’re the receiving end of all of jungkook’s words at the time

but that’s the thing!!!

that’s tHEE thing that bothers yoongi the most

you have this feeling of guilt because you feel like you’re betraying yoongi in a way

“then why are you letting jungkook in again?”

it’s as if it’s a double-edged sword and merely entertaining jungkook would be a stab in the back to yoongi, even if you don’t owe him anything

“because i understand him too.”

yoongi deadpans at that, a tired sigh falling instinctively from his lips but his mind’s more awake now

“god, seriously?” he shakes his head and outstretches his hands to hold your shoulders in place. “y/n you are the most lovable person i know. you believe him when he told you otherwise-“

“i-i know it isn’t true. it’s not true when it comes from jungkook.”

your voice wavers but it’s not the only thing that’s coming in waves, your resolve blurring even more when you see yoongi fighting back his own tears

“but when it comes from me i-“

“it’s not true either.”

all that yoongi does is take you to his chest the moment your body feels limp with the sigh that escapes you, a knowing body of tears coming next

your parents’ divorce is the furthest thing from fresh but the impact it placed on you renews without warning, the thoughts coming in waves

they were sure to reiterate over and over again that it wasn’t your fault, but god the way that they never even bothered afterwards made you think otherwise

“i-i just feel like a placemarker and neither of them came back for me, y’know? don’t get me wrong, i love my aunt to pieces and she’s family and-“

your faint sobs rack your ribs and yoongi can feel them, a relief that your face is buried to his shoulder so that you wouldn’t see him cry

“jin and i are your family too.”

they are but deep down, you know it’s a whole other ball game

“b-but that’s because you’re unrelated to me. i don’t remind any of you of the other. i’m not your daughter.”

it really wasn’t as harsh as how your words cut out, but it just breaks yoongi’s heart to know how difficult is must have been and is for you

you mumble when you calm down enough, playing with a loose thread on the cardigan you’ve gifted him on his birthday this year

“jungkook didn’t know that sore spot. he couldn’t have, but i’m not defending him either, yoongi.”

you mean it with full sincerity and he’s trying to digest your words as best as he could before his bias gets the best of him

“it’s on him for being horrible to me, but it’s on me for relating what he said to what i felt a long time ago.”

yoongi opens and closes his mouth, but before he does, you’re lifting your head up to interrupt him

god he’s aLSO crying

“use the sleeves to wipe your snot, dumbo. it’s not even that expensive!!” you chuckle when you urge him to do so, making him both frustrated and sheepish because his goddamn snot interrupted you

you lean on his shoulder and stay that way, this time being a rare occurrence in which you cling to him like a koala

“and i know that he shouldn’t have said those things to me either way. i do.”

yoongi nods at that, capturing his point fully

he insists on patting you on the forehead, drawing circles and definitely not a penis as he drawls his words

“he can’t take back what he said, y/n.”

“but that doesn’t mean he can’t redeem himself, yoongs.”

you offer him a timid smile, turning into a bigger one when you know just the right approach to satiate him enough

“jungkook taking accountability is the bare minimum, though,” you chuckle when he nods eagerly to the point he gives himself whiplash, “which is why i’m being smart and haven’t fully forgave him yet.”

…

…..

yoongi sighs when the two of you spend the pause in silence, speaking in all honesty

“i don’t know if i can forgive the little shit.”

“you don’t need to.”

you say just as genuine, a reassuring smile on his face to ease the focused knot on his brows

“you don’t owe it to me, yoongs. i know what you’re thinking.”

you really do

he tends to look at you in high regard even when you tell him that he shouldn’t, and it leads to him with the mindset that he really should appease his best friend at all times

“i eventually will,” he admits quietly. “just not now.”

“that’s okay too.”

it was supposed to be another bout of silence but yoongi actually breaks this time, blurting out words once he felt that the coast was clear

he just needs to get this off his chest before this heart-to-heart moment dwindles

“i don’t want to sound weird, but you’re like, my platonic girlfriend, y’know? my soulmate in a very platonic way, but no one says either that your soulmate has to be in a romantic sense and-…”

you exclaim in relief, your eyes rolling to the back of your head when you jolt him by the shoulders

“god, finally. i’ve always wanted to tell you that i feel the same. you’re my soulmate, i’m pretty sure. my very, very platonic boyfriend i live with.”

yoongi sighs, stares, then fiNALLY heartily laughs in relief

everything’s out of the way :)

“we’re good. we always will be.”

you’re about to get up to fulfill yoongi’s suggestion earlier, being cut short when he gently pulls you by your forearm when you stood

“i’ll always be on your team — you know that right?”

yoongi means it with his whole heart, just one more reminder he wants you to reaffirm in your mind for the night

“i’ll always be on yours too, yoongs.”

[cherrycocaineee]

6. Draco Malfoy - Rainy Nights, Warm Drinks

*Warning - smut*

“I want you.”

“Keep your eyes open, look at me, baby.”

Draco’s p.o.v

  Loud chatter filled the jam-packed dining hall as students discussed their Christmas plans while their grubby hands reached for the feast laid out before each house. My gray-blue eyes stared blankly at the turkey and sides that touched my plate, my fork picking at whatever it could reach without me moving too much. I was counting down the moments that led up to Dumbledore clinking his fork against his glass that would dismiss everyone from Hogwarts, sending them home. Each single tick drove me crazy as I shook my leg, desperately pleading for time to move faster. At the end of this feast, everyone would be on the train heading to their families, while I would finally get to see the one person that I couldn’t get off my mind. Even now, the only thing I could think about was seeing her beautiful face and hearing her soothing, angelic voice, tuning out the voices of my friends.

  “Draco? Earth to Draco!”

  Pansy’s voice sliced right through my current thoughts involving my plans after school. Blinking a few times, I turned my head to see Pansy, Blaise, Crabbe, Goyle, Pike, and Nott staring at me. While Pansy stared at me with concern, the guys stared at me skeptically.

  “What?” I muttered, dully.

  “Pansy asked you what you were doing during the break,” Blaise informed, taking a sip from his cup.

  “Yeah,” Pansy agreed, “I was thinking you and I could go on a date since we won’t be in school.”

 A date? I had broken up with Pansy a year ago with the excuse that dating her had become boring, which it had, however, the real reason I left Pansy was because I had fallen in love with another girl. The whole thing had torn me up since day one because I hadn’t believed that I, the Slytherin Prince, could have fallen for a muggle, and yet I did. After a whole week of thinking about it and running everything carefully through my mind, I finally decided that I didn’t love Pansy and needed to end it with her before things got too serious.

  “I won’t be returning home this Christmas,” I stated, “Dumbledore has asked me to stay and help tutor some second years in potions.”

 “That’s ridiculous!” Pansy sneered, “it isn’t your job to teach those brats.”

  “You’re dad’s okay with that?” Nott asked, a smirk playing on his lips.

  “He wasn’t at first but once Dumbledore told him that I was the highest ranking student when it came to potions, he settled down and decided that I’d make a great leader for those snot nose brats,” I spoke, pride dripping from my lying tongue.

  Of course, staying at Hogwarts wasn’t a complete lie, it was just not the full truth. For the first four days of break, I’d be staying with Maggie and her Grandmother then I’d come back to Hogwarts to help out with tutoring, and it’ll keep going like that until school starts again. It was an agreement that I had worked out with Dumbledore after he found out about Maggie, which if I’m being honest, I’m not even sure how he found out.

  “And you’re okay with it?” Blaise asked, amused.

  “Doesn’t matter to me,” I muttered.

  I looked back down at my plate, feeling their eyes still watching me but not paying attention to it. Eventually, Dumbledore stood up from his seat and clinked his silverware against his wine glass. The chatter stopped immediately as everyone turned their impatient attention to the headmaster. Excitement was bursting through my chest, something I never thought I’d ever feel for a girl like Maggie. Dumbledore started by wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and happy holiday, then proceeded in telling everyone what to expect when they got back from break. We were expected to practice and prepare for our O.W.Ls that were coming up, which Umbridge decided to announce after interrupting Dumbledore. I may have pretended to like Umbridge and do as she said to appease my friends, but in all honesty, I hated her more than I hated anyone else.

   After all of Dumbledore and Umbridge’s talking, the feast disappeared from our tables and it was time for everyone to head to the train. I saw my friends on the train. Pansy turned around.

  “Well maybe I can stay here with you, so you aren’t alone,” she offered.

 Annoyance broke out across my face, “I’ll be fine, Pansy. I’m not interested in spending time with you anyway, so you’ll just be alone.”

  She started pouting while the other snickered behind her back. Scoffing, she stormed past everyone onto the train. I waved goodbye to the others and they followed after Pansy to the cart. Those leaving for the Christmas holiday were finally headed towards the platform and those who would be staying at Hogwarts for the vacation headed back towards the school.

As I was approaching the entrance, I saw Dumbledore standing there waiting for me, a smile on his face.

  “Good evening, Mr. Malfoy,” he stated, “have you gotten your belongings together?”

  “My bag is sitting in my room,” I replied.

  “Once you collect it, go to Hagrid’s. He’ll be waiting for you there to help you get to the muggle world. Have a safe trip.”

  With that, Dumbledore walked away allowing me to go fetch my belongings.

I grabbed my trunk out of my dorm room and carried it all the way towards Hagrid’s small hut just a little ways from the school. Hagrid was outside playing fetch with his large hound as I finished walking towards him. Immediately, he looked up after tossing the rather large stick across the field.

  “Malfoy,” Hagrid said, “what brings you here?”

I raised an eyebrow. He was kidding, right?

  The big oaf laughed heartily and patted my shoulder with his gorilla sized hand.

 “I’m messing, is all,” he bellowed, “let’s get a move on it before anyone notices.”

 Hagrid opened the door to his home and gestured me inside. Sitting on the table when he opened the door was a thick, black bag filled with dark, gray powder. Hagrid scooted around me and picked up the black bag before meeting my gaze. This was awkward for me, and I knew he could tell but fortunately he didn’t say anything to make it worse. Instead, he told me that the floo network would take us to Diagon Alley and we’d have to walk through another entrance into the muggle world. From there we’d take a wizard bus, which I found odd, straight to Maggie’s farmhouse just on the outskirts of London. However, I grew bored with being explained the plan and just wanted to get there already.

   I went through the floo network first and waited for Hagrid patiently for a moment. Once he was standing by my side, he took my luggage and walked with me through Diagon Alley. We both walked through the less populated parts of Diagon Alley until the two of us reached a dead end. Hagrid tapped his umbrella against the wall in a pattern and they started pulling apart revealing the empty alley of the muggle world. The smell was different from the one back in the wizarding world. I could definitely smell freshly mown grass, but there was an oil smell mixed in too. As Hagrid and I walked past all of the people and shops that adorn the streets, I could smell pastries, coffees, and other foods that I recognized. I could feel the inside of my mouth water.

We waited on the sidewalk near a coffee shop for what seemed like forever before a bus came to a sudden stop in front of us. No one seemed to notice its incredible speed.

  “Why hello there, Hagrid,” said a frail, stubbled face man wearing a purple suit.

 ��“Hello to you too, Stan Shunpike,” Hagrid laughed, “starting work a bit early, aren’t you?”

  Shunpike gave a crooked smile and nodded his head before gesturing us on. I went to grab my trunk when Shunpike grabbed it instead, pushing me inside. The smell was something to gag at. It smelled worse than anything I could imagine. Hagrid took a seat.

  “Aren’t you going to have a seat, Malfoy?” He questioned.

 “No, I’d rather stand,” I muttered, disgust lacing my voice.

  “Where to?” Shunpike asked.

  Hagrid gave the address and Shunpike looked at us confused.

  “That’s a muggle household.”

   “Not completely,” Hagrid said, “Loral Belle is the homeowner, Dumbledore’s friend.”

  A slow nod bounced off his thin shoulders and sat down.

  “Ernie, you know where to go.”

As soon as the knight bus took off, the speed pushed me back. Not even my grip was strong enough to keep me in place and I ended stumbling backwards until Hagrid’s large hand grabbed ahold of me. I pretty much clung to Hagrid’s large arm as we whirlwind through the busy streets of London. Two trucks stood in the way of the bus and I thought we’d slow down. However, we didn’t. Instead, the bus warfed itself so that it was thinner and we slid right through the small crack separating the two muggle vehicles. It wasn’t long before we reached the dirt road that led to Maggie’s farmhouse. Hagrid paid Shunpike and told him that there was extra in it for him if he waited for him and kept this visit a secret. Shunpike agreed with a large smile on his face.

    Hagrid grabbed my trunk and led the way to Maggie’s. He tried to make small talk with me as we hiked down the dirt road, but neither one of us knew what to say to each other.

 “How did you meet her?” He finally asked, catching my attention.

 “My father had some work to do with an old, retired friend,” I said, all of the memories flooding back to my mind, “I saw her sitting by the fountain reading a book when a group of guys started harassing her. I watched her try to get away from them, failing miserably, so I stepped in despite her being a muggle. A gentleman never lets a woman get pushed around. She already knew I was a wizard when I helped her, she said that her Grandmother had taught her to tell the difference from a young age. The more I talked to her, the more I liked being around her.”

  A goofy smile appeared on his face, “she sounds like an amazing young woman.”

  “She is.”

  Sitting on the porch when we got there was Grandma Loral rocking back and forth while a red scarf was being knitted next to her in the air. When she saw us, a smile appeared on her face and she climbed to her feet, approaching us at the edge of her porch.

  “Hagrid,” she greeted, “it’s been years.”

  “Nice to see you too, Loral,” Hagrid said, “I wish I could stay long, but I’m only here to drop off Mr. Malfoy. I’ll see you in four day.”

 I looked up at Hagrid, “thank you, Hagrid.”

If I didn’t know any better, which I didn’t, I could have sworn I saw tears in Hagrid’s eyes. He tried to push it away and claimed that dirt had gotten in his eye, but I knew the truth. No one was use to me being so nice, and seeing me do so meant to them that I was finally deciding things on my own and not because my father wanted them. Just like my decision to continue seeing a muggle. Grandma Loral and I waved goodbye to Hagrid, once he was gone, Grandma Loral sat back in her seat.

  “Maggie’s in the garden out back,” she said smiling, “thank you for coming, Draco. I know that the decision couldn’t have been easy.”

  “Actually,” I admitted, rubbing the back of my neck, “it was the easiest choice I’ve ever had to make in my life.”

  Grandma Loral told me to head back there and she’d take care of my trunk. Nodding, I walked down the steps and headed down the cobblestone path to find Maggie sitting underneath a tree reading a book. Dozens of flowers of all shapes and colors surrounded her and blew in the breeze. Her brown, curled locks of hair brushed delicately against her freckled face. She was as beautiful as the day I first saw her. I walked over to her and smiled at how deeply invested she was in her novel.

  “Mind if I sit?” I asked.

 Her body jerked and her head whipped around to see me standing there with a smirk on my face. A large grin stretched against her face from ear to ear before nodding eagerly. As soon as my body was positioned next to her, she threw her arms around me and squeezed tightly.

  “I’m so happy to see you,” she said, releasing me from her tight grip.

  “I’m happy to see you too, Maggie,” I said, “how have you been?”

 “I’ve been fine. Things have been a little difficult lately.”

When I asked her why, a sad expression came to her face. I thought maybe she was being bullied more, but as she explained, I realized that it wasn’t that. Grandma Loral was getting sick and it was getting worse and worse. Maggie was worried that she’d lose her grandmother and have no one once she’s gone. I touched her hand and told her it was going to be okay. She looked up at me.

  “How have you been?” She asked, her smile trying to distract me from her growing tears.

  I told her about Umbridge and my family, she never looked away from me and held on to my hand the way I held on to her’s when she told me about her Grandma. It seemed we were both going through some stuff right now and all we wanted was for someone to talk and relate to.

The remainder of the day moved quicker than I had hoped. Maggie was now in the kitchen cooking up some soup for dinner while I set up the dining table. From the kitchen, the two of us could hear Grandma Loral coughing up a storm. Maggie grabbed a glass, filled it with water, and brought it to her grandma before returning to finish dinner.

   After supper, Maggie helped her grandma to bed before joining me in the living room with two glasses of hoto cocoa. Rain started to drum against the roof of the farmhouse, lightning slashing against the darkened sky and thunder rolling across the heavy clouds. With each passing second, the rain got harder and louder. I sipped on my warm beverage and looked at Maggie. She had whipped cream sitting above her lip and I laughed causing her to look at me.

  “What?” She asked, an innocent smile dancing on her face.

  “You’ve got some whipped cream on your lip,” I chuckled, leaning forward and wiping it away with my thumb.

  A small red tint appeared on her face as she tried to avoid eye contact with me. I could tell she was embarrassed and I found it to be more attractive than ever. I scooted closer to her and she looked at me.

  “Draco, is everything okay?” She asked.

  “I love you,” I blurted out.

 Her bright green orbs widened in shock and I started to regret saying anything to her. I looked away from her, but she grabbed my shoulder, pulling it to face her.

  “I love you too,” she hummed.

Before I could stop myself, I smashed our lips together, saying a silent prayer that neither of us were holding that hot beverage. The kiss deepened and I pulled her into my lap, gripping her waist tightly to keep her in place. When we pulled away, she was panting from the lack of air, her lips red and slightly swollen from the heated kiss. I leaned down and started nibbling on her neck, earning a small whimper from her.

  “D-Draco,” she gasped.

  I unattached my lips from her warm flesh and peppered her jaw with kisses before reaching her ear.

  “I want you, Maggie.”

 Her body shivered at my words and I smirked. Maggie was gripping onto my blazer tightly.

  “But I-”

  “Shh,” I cooed, “I’ll be gentle.”

  I waited for her to give me the signal to continue. When her head nodded, I laid her down on the cushioned couch and began kissing her again. I traced my tongue against her bottom lip and tasted the cherry lip gloss she had coated her plump lips with after dinner. My fingers squeezed her thigh and she gasped, giving me full entrance to the inside of her mouth. I slipped my tongue into her warm, wet mouth and our tongues fought over dominance, however, Maggie’s submissive side kicked in and she let me take control easily. Quiet moans spilled from her muffled mouth. When I pulled away from her, a small string of saliva pulled from both of our lips. A rosy tint illuminated off her face and her green eyes were hazy, her floral shirt was pulled up, revealing her black, laced bra.

  “Fuck,” I hissed, my pants growing tighter at the sight of her coming undone from my touch.

Pulling myself up, I removed my blazer and tie before unbuttoning my white, dress-up shirt. Her glistening eyes watched my every move, widening at the sight of my bare chest. She started nibbling on her bottom lip as I pulled at the hem of her shirt.

  “Let's get this off,” I muttered, my voice husky and dripping with arousal.

  Maggie didn’t argue, she just pulled her shirt above her head revealing more of herself to me. I groaned as I leaned down and started sucking on her exposed skin, leaving wet kisses against her porcelain skin. Her heartbeat was pounding against her chest, her skin was heating up, and her fingers gripped the couch cushion. I reached behind her and unclipped her bra clasp. Immediately, her hands moved to cover herself up. I lifted her chin.

   “Don’t hide yourself, baby girl,” I whispered, “let me see you, please.”

  “Okay,” she whispered.

She allowed me to remove her bra from her small body and I tossed it to the side with the rest of our clothes that littered the living room floor. I pressed my lips against hers once again, my left hand gripped her left breast and I almost melted at the feeling of her perfectly soft, fleshy breast. Her pink, peachy nipples hardened from both the cold air and my calloused hands pinching at them. Her moans were becoming louder, but not too loud since her grandmother was sleeping.

   “Draco, please,” she moaned, her hips moving against my own.

  “What is it?” I moaned back, “what do you need, baby girl? Tell me.”

   “I-I need you. Please.”

Those words turned me on even more. I unbuttoned her shorts and pulled them off, her black matching panties hugged her hips. I hooked my fingers to her lacy panties, pulling them down and revealing her perfect pink cunt. My pants were becoming more and more uncomfortable by the second, so I quickly removed them from my body, discarding them to the floor with the rest of the pile. I started kissing her breast, sucking on her nipples, and tracing open mouth kisses against her body until I reached her lower area. The sweet aroma coming from her was intoxicating and I felt drunk from the scent alone.

   I traced my tongue against her already soaking slit causing her to shiver and moan. My tastebuds were coated with her delicious nectar and I couldn’t help but dive in quickly. Her small fingers tangled themselves into my gelled hair, messing up every strand. A list of moans echoed off the walls as I flicked my tongue hungrily over her clit. Maggie tried to close her legs, but I pinned them back down. My gray-blue eyes flickered up, meeting her lustful orbs. She was covering her mouth because she was becoming too loud. Careful not to hurt her, I slipped a single finger between her folds and she flinched. I stopped.

   “I’m sorry,” I whispered, “do you want me to stop?”

  “N-no, it’s okay,” she panted, “i-it’s all just a n-new experience.”

  Nodding, I went back to lapping up her flowing juices and started entering my finger again. This time it slipped in with ease. A few seconds passed and I added another finger, moving them slowly in and out of her.

 “D-Draco, faster.”

I didn’t waste time and started moving my fingers faster and faster into her sex. Her back arched off the couch, I could feel her clenching around my fingers and I could tell she was getting closer and closer to her release. I started sucking on her swollen clit and she yelped out before cumming all over my fingers. I removed them from her then placed them in my mouth, sucking every last drop off of them. Groaning against my fingers, I pulled them out with a pop.

  “Delicious,” I hummed, watching her chest move rapidly as she caught her breath, “have a taste.”

   I captured her lips with mine and rummaged my tongue around her warm mouth. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head making me smile at how undone she looked for me. I pulled away.

  “Doesn’t that taste amazing, sweetheart?” I whispered in her ear.

  All she could do was nod her head. Sweat was beaded against her forehead and her hair was starting to cling to her face, it was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.

  “Ready?” I asked, “and use your words for me.”

  “I-I am,” she muttered, “I-I’m ready.”

  Climbing on top of her, I aligned my hardened member with her entrance before pushing it, peppering kisses against her face as she cried out in pain. Once I was finally nestled inside of her aching cunt, I stayed there to let her adjust to my size. A minute passed by when she gave me the okay to move, then I started moving my hips at a slow pace. Every time I pulled out and pushed back in, I felt myself get squeezed around.

  “God damnit!” I groaned quietly, “so fucking tight. It feels amazing, Maggie.”

  “D-Draco, you’re s-so…” she couldn’t even finish her sentence.

  I started moving faster and harder with each stroke and both of our moans filled the room along with the sound of our sweaty skin slapping against each other. Despite the noise coming from us, we remained quiet enough so we didn’t wake up Grandma Loral.

   Maggie squeezed her eyes shut as I started snapping my hips harder to meet hers. I grabbed her chin with my right hand and pulled her head to meet mine, my lips feathering over her. Her warm breath fanning over my chapped, slightly parted lips.

  “Keep your eyes open. Look at me, baby,” I said strictly.

  Maggie’s eyes opened and our eyes stared at one another as I drilled into her repeatedly. Her nails raked into my back causing me to growl at the stinging pain. I lifted one of her legs over my shoulder for a better position, my cock now going deeper into her sweet sex.

   “Fuck, fuck, fuck,” I moaned, resting my forehead against her, never tearing my eyes away from hers.

  “Oh my God,” she said.

  “Feel good, huh sweetheart,” I praised, “you love being fucked like this.”

I didn’t want to take it too far, afraid that me being rough or even degrading her would cause her to push me away. She was sensitive. But Maggie seemed to love my words and nodded her head furiously as she started meeting my thrust.

  “Yeah you do, fucking slut.”

  Her moans were like music to my ears and I could feel her tightening around my throbbing cock. I wrapped my hand around her throat, not too tightly, her free hand gripping my arm as I practically slammed into her with inhuman speed. I didn’t know what came over me, but everything felt intoxicating and I felt energy rushing through me. 

  “I-I’m going to cum,” she whimpered.

  “Then do it,” I growled against her lips, “cum.”

 Her body started shaking as pure pleasure rushed over her small form. I watched her emerald eyes roll to the back of her head as I continued to slam into her, riding out her high. Our moans got louder, and we didn’t care that we were being loud. If we got caught, we got caught. All that mattered to me was watching her, being with her, loving her.

My thrust started getting sloppy as I felt myself coming to my end. I removed my hand from her throat, letting her lungs collect the well needed air, and buried my head into her sweaty neck. With a few final, strong thrust, I came inside her dripping cunt and moaned in her ear, or more like growled with pleasure. Her body shivered at the sound as she knotted her fingers in my hair. My body collapsed onto her, our chest heaving up and down as we tried to settle down. Once our breathing returned to normal, I pulled myself out of Maggie and laid next to her. I looked at her.

  “Sorry,” I whispered, as I tiredly chuckled, “I didn’t mean to finish inside you.”

She giggled and shook her head, “it’s okay. I’m on birth control, so it’ll be fine.”

  I smiled at her and leaned down to pick up my dress-up shirt. It was cool to the touch and as I cleaned up the mess on Maggie, she closed her eyes enjoying the welcoming, cold cloth. After I cleaned the both of us up with my shirt, I laid back down. Lightning flashed against the sky once again as a loud rumble of thunder hit the clouds. Maggie sat up and cracked the window open, the cool breeze washing over our sweaty bodies. I pulled her into my arms and nuzzled against her.

  “I love you, Maggie,” I whispered.

  “I love you too, Draco,” she said, “now and forever.”

Forever, huh?

  A smile appeared on my face as I closed my eyes and drifted to sleep next to the one girl I would sacrifice everything for. All of the thoughts that once invaded my mind, the unsureness of being with a muggle, how my father would act once he found out, all of it, disappeared. The only thought left was how I would protect her from Voldemort, and if she would still be by my side when she found out I was destined to be a death eater. But all of that could wait. I wanted nothing more than to enjoy the next four days with her.

I’ve never felt so relaxed before.

Forever sounds nice.

[pluviatrix]

Oh my goddesses I just lost my shit at country Twi!

I dont say "god bless your heart" but I say "Oh sweet pea" with the same tone. Funny how it's different words but means the same thing.

The "Quit being ugly!" One Im def going to use to shake things up lol Usually my go to is "Ladies(for boys)/Boys(for women)Yer both ugly, shut fuck up!"

I got a few others for you that Im not sure if they're local or global terms! They're strong in the countryside, but happen in cities too I guess

"You're a special lil turkey(animal varies), aintcha?" (Pig is used when someone eats something they shouldnt <3)

"Someone pissed in your cornflakes, eh?" (Said accusingly when someones a dick)

"My bull can cross the field in 7 seconds, think y'can do 6?" (Stay the fuck off my property OR Drunken dares, depending on context)

"Stop looking with your boy eyes!" (Its right in front of you, dumbass)

"Farmer blow" (plug a nostril with your thumb and snort a boogie out, then repeat with the other side. Ideal for dusty harvest season, dry season, and dirty work. Best snot rockets)

"Yer some kind of stupid!" (Counting it because everyone goes full country when they say it lol)

"He's catching chickens" (we tricked him into fucking off, not as common these days)

"Shit shed" (outhouse) "Shitwipes" (toilet paper) "Snot rags" (Kleenex tissues)

"Go play with the goats" (Fuck off, but for kids. Dumdumb me took it literally. Love goats)

"Gassy as a cow"

I know theres more, and better ones, but my brains excited and whirring too fast.

OH SWEET PEA that one is SO MUCH more hostile to me if said in the bless your heart tone shivers down my spine

the "quit bein ugly" one is one that older women used with me as a child when i was like throwing a tantrum in public or being disagreeable or smth, never heard it used in the way as "ladies you're both pretty," its more of a scold where i'm from?

i have NEVER heard of the other ones except for 'farmer's blow' which brings to mind vivid images of my male cousins being gross. regionalisms my beloved

[spanishskulduggery]

Me averigüe que "tirar la casa por la ventana" significa como "to pull out all the stops" y mientras que me encanta mucho esa expresión creo q es super chistosa. Puedo imaginarme lanzando mis cosas (especialmente la sofá) literalmente por la ventana y me muero de reír. ¿Sabes más frases divertidas?

In no particular order [and also sometimes regional]

estar como una cabra = “to be crazy”, “stark raving mad”, “mad as a hatter”[lit. “to be like a goat”] 

bicho raro = “a rare bird”, “a weirdo”[lit. “a strange bug”; bicho sometimes also means penis in some places]

ahogarse en un vaso de agua = “to make a mountain out of a molehill”, “to blow something out of proportion”[lit. “to drown in a glass of water”]

no tener pelos en la lengua = “to be blunt”, “to call things like they are”, “to not be shy (about speaking one’s mind)”[lit. “to not have hairs on the tongue”]

¡Aguas! = “Watch out!”, “Look out below!” [regional][lit. “waters!”; comes from the time where people emptied chamber pots out the window]

tomar el pelo = “to joke around”, “to pull someone’s leg”[lit. “to take/grab the hair”]

ser pan comido = “to be easy as cake”[lit. “to be eaten bread”; same expression could be ser moco de pavo which is literally “to be turkey snot” although moco here probably means the turkey’s wattle or that red appendage thing on its face]

ser uña y carne = “to be the best of friends”, “to be thick as thieves”[lit. “to be like (finger)nail and flesh”]

de perros = “terrible”, “awful”[lit. “of the dogs”; like día de perros is “a crappy day”, el humor de perros is “a bad mood”]

echar agua al mar = “to do something useless”, “to not get anywhere doing something”[lit. “to throw water into the sea”]

de Guatemala a Guatepeor = “from bad to worse”, “from the frying pan into the fire”[malo/a being “bad”, peor being “worse”, so it’s a play on Guatemala; the more “appropriate” one is salir del fuego para caer en las brasas “to leave from the fire only to fall on the coals” or salir del sartén or salir de la sartén, depending on region, I’m still not okay about the weird gendering of frying pan with sartén but alas]

There are some others. More counting regionalisms. Like for Spain my favorite is flipar en colores which is like “to lose your shit” or “to lose your mind” though it literally means “to flip out in color”. 

My favorite one from Mexico is te crees muy muy which is “you think you’re all that” or “you think you’re so hot” though literally “you believe yourself to be very very”. I dunno I just feel this one you know?

I don’t know my other favorite was from Chile and I don’t know if it’s a chilenismo or what [I also might not spell it right] but it was eri/ere’ puro blabla which I believe means “you’re all talk” and it literally is “you’re all blah blah” and I feel it in my soul.

[letslovefood]

My boyfriend and I have this on-going inside joke that I would suction the snot out of his nose with a turkey baster because one day he was sick and his nose was stuffy, and I was like “babe, you know those things that are made for babies to suction all the snot out of their nose?? I love you so much, I would do that for you if I had to.”  So now its just a joke, “Oh, I would suction the snot out of your nose but you would wipe off my kisses? That’s cool.”

[kevinwastaken]

i had a dream while i was napping that i went to universal and i went on this ride that was fish themed kinda with finding nemo esque cgi and every time you ride it and you splash in the water it genuinely feels like the water is going up your nose and shit and i felt like i was drowning. no matter how much my subconscious tries to taunt me, i will not apologize for my crimes against mckinley. not now not ever

its kinda weird though bc i remember dreaming about the exact same ride a few years ago but anyway

then there was a lady whos hotel room was in a tree in the park and she was like “stay the hell away from me and my son until we’re done eating” so i was like. okay? and then i turn around and some snot nosed guy who looks like a redditor was there and he was like “yeah, its best not to bother her when shes in there. i know a lot about this place” and he asked if i wanted to join him in walking around and i said yes bc im a people pleaser. he grabbed my wrist and it was really moist and cold

and there was a publix in the park? so i decided to look for snacks bc i had a hotel room. and i almost got strawberry shortcake (bc that was the only cake they had) and pillsbury cinnabuns but i decided against it because i didnt remember whether my hotel room had an oven or not. i remember i did think that it was the same hotel room that i had when i went to orlando with my family in february though

and in the publix when we walked in there was a comiccon going on to our left and there was a row of people playing n64s (which i think that stems from all the videos ive been watching about earthbound 64 but anyway) and the kid i was with left to go check it out

and in publix i saw my classmate ryan and my other classmate avi was there too. they didnt say anything i just remember them being there

and on the way out by the deli section with all the hams and turkeys, some guy said “youre telling me universal couldnt get the tinsel town police to monitor this park. in their wristband wearing expensive ass park” and i was thinking yeah. thats odd innit. this is why disney is better

and then i was stuck at the exit like i was during gradbash on friday and i woke up nearly sweating bc of all the peoples body heat

[ammg-old]

This intense warming, along with decades of abuse from pollution and overfishing, sent the Marmara into a state of maritime shock. At the end of 2020, increased concentrations of phosphorus and nitrogen led to a boom in phytoplankton, single-celled organisms whose name means “plant drifter” in Greek. The Marmara’s warming surface temperature also caused its waters to stratify, slowing the currents that would normally help disrupt algae growth.

Eventually, the phytoplankton began to run out of nutrients, causing the cells of some species to exude a sticky substance. As these cells died, they collided and stuck together, aggregating into globs that hovered in the warmest layer of the stratified water. With time and exposure, the globs turned into a submerged mat of mucus that trapped nearly everything around it—bacteria, fish larvae, dead cells, debris. Bacteria thrived on the dead phytoplankton, adding to the mat’s mass. “At that point, it takes on a life of its own,” Mustafa Yucel, a marine-science professor at Middle East Technical University’s Institute of Marine Science, told me. With increasing water temperatures, he said, we should prepare to see more extreme reactions in our seas—including invasive-species outbreaks and massive algal and seaweed blooms.

[...]

As the mucilage drifted below the surface, it started to rot, beginning a nasty metamorphosis. The decay was spurred by viruses and bacteria that multiplied in the mucus and ruptured the dead phytoplankton cells, causing them to release more mucus and gas. As the gas inflated the mucilage, it began to rise. In May, it broke the surface of the Marmara, making its grand entrance into the public eye. It pooled in the shallow bays near Gebze, haunted the harbors around Erdek, and flourished on the shores of Istanbul’s tony Princes’ Islands. Kadıköy smelled like rotten eggs. Headlines about the sea-snot outbreak went viral, and the world recoiled in disgust.

[...]

Meanwhile, the bacteria in the mucilage degraded, releasing enough gas to inflate small surface bubbles, ballooning the mucilage into conglomerates that scientists call “clouds.” With the clouds acting as sails, Turkey’s fierce westerly lodos pushed the mucilage around the Marmara. Some flocs—as loosely clumped masses of mucilage are called—sailed all the way to Greece....

– Climate Change Is Going to Be Gross

[timomaraus]

June 21, 2021

CNN What to expect when Harry heads back to London (Editor’s Note: For one thing, the Dursley’s home at No. 4 Privet Drive is sure to overwhelmed with curious onlookers and the press.)

The Atlantic Photos: Turkey’s Sea Snot Disaster (Editor’s Note: This is not what we all need to see, pictures of sea snot.)

CNN New York City’s slow-motion primary election will force the press to show some patience (Editor’s Note: Well, you know, the press is good at that. Should be no problem.)

CNN Texas authorities threaten SpaceX with legal action (Editor’s Note: Maybe Texas can crowd-fund a ceiling to slow down SpaceX. Plus it would go along with its wall.)

Two consecutive stories from the Washington Post 1. Colombians have thronged to anti-government protests. Hundreds have gone missing. 2. Spanish prime minister says Catalan separatists convicted of sedition will be pardoned (Editor’s Note: Needless to say, if you want to take down the government, Spain is the place to be.)

Washington Post Court ruling could be first step toward pay for NCAA athletes (Editor’s Note: As a parent of 3 who paid for, earned scholarships for, and borrowed for their college educations, I have some trouble with the notion that a $200,000 education, room and board for four years does not constitute ‘pay’.)

Washington Post An effort to save Tasmanian devils decimated a penguin population (Editor’s Note: This tragedy could have all been avoided if they’d just turned the problem over to the team at Looney Tunes.)

Washington Post Thieves have been stealing truckloads of nuts, police say. The latest heist was 42,000 pounds of pistachios. (Editor’s Note: Apparently, these are the guys that always feel like a nut. Surely the Mounds truck is next.)

Washington Post Why the Arizona election review is not simply an exercise in 'transparency’ (Editor’s Note: Transparency kinda fell out the window when they took all the ballots to Montana.)

Washington Post Where cicadas are celebrated (Editor’s Note: It’s a small village inhabited entirely by deaf people.)

[newsmanmdgn]

Another Mass Shooting in America

Gunman kills 9 then himself in mass shooting in San Jose

Shooter Kills 9 at San Jose Rail Yard (another mass shooting)

An employee who gunned down nine people at a California rail yard and then killed himself as law enforcement rushed in had talked about killing people at work more than a decade ago, his ex-wife said.

“I never believed him, and it never happened. Until now,“ a tearful Cecilia Nelms told the Associated Press on Wednesday following the 6:30am attack at a light rail facility for the Valley Transportation Authority.

“When our deputies went through the door, initially he was still firing rounds. When our deputy saw him, he took his life,” Santa Clara county sheriff Laurie Smith told reporters.

The sheriff’s office is next door to the rail yard, which serves the county of more than 1 million people in the heart of the Silicon Valley.

Guardian

Military couple shot and killed outside their Virginia home (another mass shooting)

Police are searching for a Nissan and its driver after a military couple were shot and killed outside their home in Virginia, authorities said Wednesday.

Edward McDaniel, 55, and Brenda McDaniel, 63, were fatally shot in the 8000 block of Flint Street in Springfield, an area just southwest of Washington, D.C., according to Fairfax County Police. Both were military veterans. The husband was an active-duty colonel in the U.S. Army, NBC Washington reported.

“They were tragically and horribly murdered in their neighborhood,” Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin David said during a news conference on Wednesday.

NBC News

How many mass shootings will it take?

My guess: Infinity.

Is Jeff Bezos About to Own Trump’s Scandalous Apprentice Tapes? Colbert Makes the Case

Amazon officially signed an agreement to acquire film studio Metro Goldwyn Mayer (MGM), and Stephen Colbert has some guesses as to why Jeff Bezos agreed to pay the hefty $8.45 billion sum.

“The latest Bezos news-os is that Amazon is nearing a deal to buy the Hollywood studio MGM,” Colbert said on Tuesday’s Late Show. “That is such a billionaire move.”

The deal was made official on Wednesday morning, with Mike Hopkins, Senior Vice President of Prime Video and Amazon Studios, confirming that the acquisition gives Amazon ownership of more than 4,000 films and 17,000 TV shows.

“The real financial value behind this deal is the treasure trove of IP in the deep catalog that we plan to reimagine and develop together with MGM’s talented team,” he added in a statement. “It’s very exciting and provides so many opportunities for high-quality storytelling.”

Mediaite

But that's not the real story. Yes, as I reported here yesterday, Amazon did agree to buy MGM, the company.

Now, Amazon owns all of MGM's assets, which–hilariously–includes The Apprentice archives! Guess what that means?

Old Jeff Bezos pulled another fast one on the Donald and will now have all the footage of #TFG saying stupid racist and misogynistic stuff.

Hilarity ensues as we watch Fat Boy's head explode on live TV!

Big Oil Suffers Setbacks, Forced To Deal With Climate Change

Rachel Maddow had a fascinating piece last night about how big oil suffered three major setbacks yesterday (all in one day).

Bill McKibben, a founder of the grassroots climate campaign 350.org, talks with Rachel Maddow about three huge oil companies, Exxon Mobil, Royal Dutch Shell, and Chevron Corp losing major climate change court cases or being forced by shareholders to address climate concerns.

YouTube / MSNBC

Watch this. Thanks again to Mike for sharing this one with me. I watched it several times last night. There is hope that we can save the planet after all.

How's this for a segue?

A thick blanket of ‘sea snot’ is wreaking havoc on Turkey’s coast

For months, Turkish fishermen in the Sea of Marmara have been running into a problem: They can’t catch fish.

That’s because a thick, viscous substance known colloquially as “sea snot” is floating on the water’s surface, clogging up their nets and raising doubts about whether fish found in the inland sea would actually be safe to eat.

Scientists say that the unpleasant-looking mucus is not a new phenomenon, but rising water temperatures caused by global warming may be making it worse. Pollution — including agricultural and raw sewage runoff — is also to blame.

WaPo

Sharing mainly for the headline, but it's important to note that the sea snot is a result of rising ocean temps, much of which is attributable to our global reliance on fossil fuel. See above.

US jobless claims fall to 406,000, a new pandemic low

The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits dropped last week to 406,000, a new pandemic low and more evidence that the job market is strengthening as the virus wanes and economy further reopens.

Thursday’s report from the Labor Department showed that applications declined 38,000 from 444,000 a week earlier. The number of weekly applications for jobless aid — a rough measure of the pace of layoffs — has fallen by more than half since January.

The decline in applications reflects a swift rebound in economic growth. The government separately estimated Thursday that the economy expanded at a strong annual pace of 6.4% in the first three months of this year, unchanged from its initial estimate. More Americans are venturing out to shop, travel, dine out and congregate at entertainment venues. All that renewed spending has led companies to seek new workers, which helps explain why a record number of jobs is now being advertised.

AP

Unfortunately, most of the jobs referred to in that last line will never be filled.

Have you looked for a job in the past few months? Hell, in the last decade?

Typical:

Master's degree, preferably a PhD, 10 years of experience leading a team of twenty in nuclear physics division, reporting directly to the Department of Energy Secretary.

Pay: $12 an hour. Part-time, 50+ hours per week. No health insurance. Must have reliable transportation and be able to speak fluently in three languages, one of which is Russian.

The article was originally published here! Another Mass Shooting in America

[newstfionline]

Thursday, May 27, 2021

2020 vote controversy continues (The Hill, American Association for Public Opinion Research) A new Reuters-Ipsos poll released Tuesday reveals that 53% of Republicans think that Trump remains the “true president” of the United States, despite losing to President Biden last year by roughly seven million votes nationally. Even more—61%—believe either strongly or somewhat strongly that the 2020 election was “stolen” from the former president. 56% of Republican respondents said that the election had been marred by illegal voting or “election rigging,” a claim that Trump has made repeatedly for almost seven months since Election Day.

The American parole system is an endless trap (Washington Post) When William Palmer was 17, he put on a ski mask and tried to rob a man—a crime that landed him in prison for three decades. Now 49, he’s out and on parole. He had barely been out of prison a year, and already he’d been back to jail three times for a total of 20 days. That’s because, though Palmer was out of prison, he was now on parole. As such, he had to comply with a state-mandated list of supervisory conditions, along with 31 “special conditions” that had been imposed on him specifically—or risk getting sent to prison again. The conditions affected where he could go, the activities he could join, with whom he could socialize and the amount of privacy he had. In 2018, 1 out of every 58 American adults—roughly 4.4 million people—was under community supervision, the catchall term for probation and parole. The average supervisee must follow 17 standard conditions. If they break any of these, they could be reincarcerated. As Jake Horowitz, director of the Public Safety Performance Project at the Pew Charitable Trusts, explains, “The system is feeding on itself.” Or look to Hamlet, who famously quipped, “There’s the rub”: A supervision system meant to encourage rehabilitation outside of prison often stands in the way of its own goal. And so, people like Palmer end up living in limbo, no longer incarcerated but trapped by a government that doesn’t trust them to be free. “I’m not breaking laws,” Palmer told me. “I’m not hurting people. I’m doing life the best way I can. ... You begin to wonder, ‘Is this what I got out for?’ I thought parole was supposed to help me, and all it’s doing is preventing me from doing the things I was prepared to do.”

George Floyd’s killing sparked a global reckoning (Washington Post) The murder of George Floyd sparked moments of reckoning that reverberated far beyond the United States. The graphic video that captured the Black man’s final moments under the knee of a White police officer on a street in Minneapolis found broad resonance, sparking demonstrations that forced countries to grapple with their own histories of police brutality, racism, inequality and colonial transgressions. The global movement raised expectations for change. Protests in Australia, Brazil, Britain, France, Germany, Italy and elsewhere turned Floyd’s name and some of his final words, “I can’t breathe,” into a rallying cry heard around the world. In the rubble of a ruined building in Syria, artist Aziz Asmar painted Floyd’s face, telling Time that the scene of police brutality thousands of miles away struck a chord with civilians who faced gas attacks. Other murals in tribute to Floyd sprang up in England, Italy, Kenya, Pakistan and the West Bank.

The Central California Town That Keeps Sinking (NYT) In California’s San Joaquin Valley, the farming town of Corcoran has a multimillion-dollar problem. Over the past 14 years, the town has sunk as much as 11.5 feet in some places—enough to swallow the entire first floor of a two-story house and to at times make Corcoran one of the fastest-sinking areas in the country, according to experts with the United States Geological Survey. Subsidence is the technical term for the phenomenon—the slow-motion deflation of land that occurs when large amounts of water are withdrawn from deep underground, causing underlying sediments to fall in on themselves. Each year, Corcoran’s entire 7.47 square miles and its 21,960 residents sink just a little bit, as the soil dips anywhere from a few inches to nearly two feet. The casings of drinking-water wells have been crushed. Flood zones have shifted. The town levee had to be rebuilt at a cost of $10 million—residents’ property tax bills increased roughly $200 a year for three years, a steep price in a place where the median income is $40,000. In Corcoran and other parts of the San Joaquin Valley, the land has gradually but steadily dropped primarily because agricultural companies have for decades pumped underground water to irrigate their crops, according to the U.S.G.S. California Water Science Center.

Countries eager to reopen to travel as pandemic recedes (AP) Countries reliant on tourism are racing to reopen borders and revive economies decimated by the pandemic. The World Travel & Tourism Council estimates that the sector lost nearly $4.5 trillion and 62 million jobs last year. Airlines alone lost $126 billion last year and are on track to lose another $48 billion this year, according to their largest trade group. The rollout of vaccines against COVID-19 is giving government officials in many countries new confidence to welcome visitors. But time is critical. “Summer is a strong season for most markets, particularly Europe and the U.K. We really hope to see restrictions ease,” said Virginia Messina, interim leader of the World Travel & Tourism Council.

Pentagon Accelerates Withdrawal From Afghanistan (NYT) United States troops and their NATO allies intend to be out of Afghanistan by early to mid-July, well ahead of President Biden’s Sept. 11 withdrawal deadline, military officials said, in what has turned into an accelerated ending to America’s longest war. But the race to the exits, which has picked up steam as planeloads of equipment and troops are flown out of the country, leaves the United States grappling with huge unresolved issues that officials had thought they would have more time to figure out. The Pentagon still has not determined how it will combat terrorist threats like Al Qaeda from afar after American troops leave. Nor have top Defense Department officials secured agreement from allies about repositioning American troops in other nearby countries. And administration officials are still grappling with the thorny question of whether American warplanes—most likely armed Reaper drones—will provide air support to Afghan forces to help prevent the country’s cities from falling to the Taliban.

AP Investigation: Myanmar’s junta using bodies to terrorize (AP) Two black pickups speed down an empty city street in Myanmar before coming to a sudden stop. Security forces standing in the back of the trucks begin firing at an oncoming motorbike carrying three young men. The bike swerves, crashing into a gate. More shots are fired as two of the passengers run away, while the third, Kyaw Min Latt, remains on the ground. Moans are heard as officers grab the wounded 17-year-old from the pavement, throwing his limp body into a truck bed before driving off. The incident lasted just over a minute and was captured on a CCTV camera. It is part of a growing trove of photos and videos shared on social media that’s helping expose a brutal crackdown carried out by the junta since the military’s Feb. 1 takeover. An analysis by The Associated Press and the Human Rights Center Investigations Lab at the University of California, Berkeley, identified more than 130 instances where security forces appeared to be using corpses and the bodies of the wounded to create anxiety, uncertainty, and strike fear in the civilian population. Some people have been disappeared or arrested one day and returned dead the next, their corpses mutilated with signs of torture, witnesses confirmed to AP. Though the incidents may seem random and unprovoked—including kids being shot while playing outside their homes—they are actually deliberate and systematic with the goal of demobilizing people and wearing them down, said Nick Cheesman, a researcher at Australian National University, who specializes in the politics of law and policing in Myanmar. “That,” he said, “is exactly the characteristic of state terror.”

In France, Lebanese army chief pleads for help as economic crisis worsens—sources (Reuters) Lebanon’s army chief Joseph Aoun warned France on Wednesday that an economic crisis had put the military on the verge of collapse and Paris offered emergency food and medical aid for troops in hopes of preserving law and order, sources said. France, which has led aid efforts to its former colony, has sought to pressure Lebanon’s squabbling politicians who have failed to agree on a new government and launch reforms to unlock foreign cash. Discontent is brewing among Lebanon’s security forces over a currency crash wiping out most of the value of their salaries. According to three people with knowledge of his visit to Paris, Aoun told senior French officials that the situation was untenable. Two sources said France would provide food and medical supplies for military personnel, whose salaries had fallen five or six fold in value recently, forcing many to take extra jobs. Lebanon’s pound has crashed 90% since late 2019 in a financial meltdown that poses the biggest threat to stability since the 1975-1990 civil war.

A thick blanket of ‘sea snot’ is wreaking havoc on Turkey’s coast (Washington Post) For months, Turkish fishermen in the Sea of Marmara have been running into a problem: They can’t catch fish. That’s because a thick, viscous substance known colloquially as “sea snot” is floating on the water’s surface, clogging up their nets and raising doubts about whether fish found in the inland sea would actually be safe to eat. Scientists say that the unpleasant-looking mucus is not a new phenomenon, but rising water temperatures caused by global warming may be making it worse. Pollution—including agricultural and raw sewage runoff—is also to blame. As the Guardian and numerous Turkish news outlets have reported, high levels of nitrogen and phosphorus in the Sea of Marmara, situated between the Black and Aegean Seas, are leading to an explosion of the phytoplankton populations that discharge “sea snot.” Though the mucus itself is not necessarily harmful, it can become a host to toxic microorganisms and dangerous bacteria such as E. coli. And when it forms a layer that covers the water’s surface, it can set off a harmful chain of events, preventing fish from being able to breathe, causing mass die-offs, which in turn leads to plummeting oxygen levels that choke other forms of marine life.

Assad Heads for Fourth Term (Foreign Policy) Syria’s presidential election takes place today across government-controlled areas of the country as President Bashar Al-Assad is all but assured of a fourth term. Western countries have already denounced the election. Regardless of its credibility, the vote underscores Assad’s resilience, ten years after the Syrian conflict began with the Arab Spring protests of 2011, and 21 years after he took over from his father Hafez. Today, he presides over a broken country, with much of the land east of the Euphrates controlled by Kurdish fighters, with smaller pockets elsewhere in both Turkish and rebel hands. Assad, along with the two nominal challengers in today’s vote, Abdullah Salloum Abdullah and Mahmoud Ahmad Marie, has vowed to turn around Syria’s economy. The country’s currency has collapsed in recent years. Syria’s pound traded at 47 to one U.S. dollar before the conflict, the ratio is now 4,000 to one. The toll taken on Syria’s population has been severe; 13.4 million Syrians are in need of humanitarian aid, a 20 percent increase on the previous year. Ninety percent of Syrian children are in need of humanitarian assistance, according to UNICEF.

As Gaza fighting ebbs, Israel’s communities eye each other warily (Reuters) Two days after Hamas and Israel began launching rockets and air strikes, Israel’s president called a TV station to plead with his fellow Jews and the country’s Arab minority not to turn on each other over the conflict. “Please stop this madness,” he said on May 12. The communal violence continued. At the end of it two people were killed—an Arab who died after being shot by Jews and a Jewish man who died after Arabs threw rocks at him. The manifestation of tensions that have existed in Israeli society since the country’s birth in 1948 left some questioning whether, even after Gaza-Israel hostilities subsided, inter-communal suspicion could poison relations for years to come. In mixed Jewish-Arab cities like Haifa, Acre, Lod and Jaffa, memories of far-right Israelis shouting “Death to Arabs!” and Arab youths dragging people from cars may take time to fade. For members of Israel’s Arab minority—who account for 21% of the population and are Israeli by citizenship but Palestinian by heritage and culture—it did not come out of the blue. Muslim, Druze or Christian, most are bilingual in Arabic and Hebrew, and many feel a sense of kinship with Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza.

[foreverfamilyforevervongola]

🎃 Varia?

Newspapers were strewn over the majority of the kitchen floor, coveredin clumps of pumpkin seeds. Fran and Belphegor sat at the table, each withtheir own pumpkin. Belphegor carved out his jack o’lantern with expertprecision, his knife cutting smoothly through the hard exterior. Fran was alittle clumsier with his execution, his knife jerking in an uneven rhythm.Lussuria was at the marble island, idly drawing a face on his own pumpkin,silently musing when his Sun Flames would be needed.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"The answer is obvious, dear," answered Lussuria.

Levi stared in bafflement at the scene before turning to the pile ofuntouched pumpkins stacked in the corner of the kitchen. "Boss is going tokill you. He hates Halloween."

"He hates Christmas too, yet we still get a tree."

"Carve one," ordered Belphegor, pausing in his work to pointhis dirty knife threateningly at Levi. "You're going to suck at it and Iwant to laugh."

"Shut up brat," growled Levi.

He was half-tempted to just walk away, but Belphegor had issued a silentchallenge and Levi was going to prove him wrong. Scowling, Levi stalked over tograb a medium-sized pumpkin and ignored Lussuria's amused gaze.

"Get your elbow out of my space," snapped Fran, pausing hispumpkin carving to glower at Belphegor, who was encroaching on his side of thetable.

"The prince is creating perfection and I can use as much as thedamn table as I want, commoner."

"I'm afraid to break this to you, but what you consider to be perfectionothers consider to be complete crap."

There was a thump as Belphegor shoved Fran off his chair and tothe floor. Fran was about to retaliate when Lussuria cleared his throat inwarning. Rolling his eyes, the boy remained on the floor, moving his pumpkin torest in front of him.

Mammon entered the kitchen a few minutes later, stilling at the sight offar too many pumpkins. Lifting his hood down, he glared at Lussuria. "Youbetter have grown those pumpkins yourself."

"Don't be silly. We don't have pumpkins in our garden."

"You're wasting money," hissed Mammon. "What compelledyou to buy a dozen pumpkins?"

"Fran wanted to carve a pumpkin and I couldn't find a reason to sayno."

"You don't need a reason to say no," said Mammonflatly.

"It's Halloween, Mammon-chan. Get into the spirit!"

"You know there's no talking to him, especially around this time ofyear," spoke up Levi.

"You're not exactly helping by encouraging him," returnedMammon.

"I've got a point to prove to the royal pain. I'll show him who cancarve a proper jack o’lantern."

"You can barely carve a turkey, so I'm not sure where thisconfidence is coming from," snickered Belphegor.

Levi responded by taking a handful of pumpkin goop and chucking it atBelphegor, who dodged the projectile. Lussuria swung his knife out of his ownpumpkin and aimed it at Levi. "Try it again," he threatened,"and you'll be cleaning this kitchen from top to bottom with a toothbrush."

"I'm cutting you off," grumbled Mammon.

"Just carve a stupid pumpkin," said Fran, levitating the fallvegetable over to the senior illusionist.

The pumpkins were probably going to end up smashed or thrown out by theend of Halloween, and the money was already spent. Figuring he might as wellmake some use of what he considered to be a wasteful purchase, Mammon merelyshook his head in resignation and went to grab a knife from the drawer.

Squalo strode into the kitchen ten minutes later, going straight to thefridge to retrieve a can of soda. He had just taken a sip when he turned,finally noticing the abundance of pumpkins around him. He nearly choked on his drinkin surprise.

"What the hell?"

"Why is that everyone's reaction?" wondered Fran, starting toscrape loose pieces of pumpkin away from his carefully carved design."It's Halloween. People carve pumpkins on Halloween."

"Yeah, one or two, not a damn dozen," returned Squalo."And since when does anyone other than Lussuria do anything festive aroundthe holidays?"

"I wanted to carve a pumpkin," replied Fran. "A guy can'tcarve a pumpkin in this house?"

"Not if those pumpkins cost over five dollars each," saidMammon moodily.

"Why couldn't you do this crap outside?"

"Are you crazy?" asked Belphegor. "It's cold out."

"What exactly are you going to do with these things?"

"Use some of them for target practice," said Fran. "Lusswants to put the jack o’lanterns outside the gate."

Squalo shot Lussuria a withering glare, and the Sun Varia smiledinnocently. "Just a few decorations, Squ-chan."

"That's what you always say, and somehow every year we get onesnot-nosed brat rattling the gates in search of candy," said Squalo withan annoyed scowl.

"Take a pumpkin and pretend it's Luss' head," said Mammon,giving his own pumpkin a harsh stab with his knife. "It's making me feelbetter."

After a moment of thought, Squalo shrugged and went to grab a pumpkin.It was probably a bad idea to encourage Lussuria by engaging in this Halloweenactivity, but there was something satisfying about plunging a knife through thepumpkin's tough exterior.

Up in his office, Xanxus awoke from his nap, sensing that something wasnot quite right. Crimson eyes narrowing, he listened intently, and realizedthat it was silent. No shouting, no swearing, no screaming, and no fighting.There was complete silence, a rare occurrence in his house.

He stood and went to investigate. He went downstairs and roamed thefirst-floor landing, growing suspicious when he couldn't find any of his menwith each room he checked. He came upon the kitchen and paused in the doorway,eyebrows flying upwards.

"What the eff?"

Wiping excess pumpkin goop from his pumpkin, Mammon replied, "It'sLussuria's fault."

"Fran-chan wanted to carve a pumpkin," explained Lussuria."And of course that meant Bel-chan wanted one as well."

Xanxus swept his gaze over the pumpkins. "You bought a dozenpumpkins for two brats?"

"I bought more in case anyone else wanted to join, and it's a goodthing I did."

"What are you going to do with them?" asked Xanxussuspiciously.

"He's going to put them outside," said Squalo with a smirk.

Xanxus removed his gun and fired one Flame-infused bullet into Lussuria'spumpkin, causing it to explode in hard chunks. Lussuria stared at his mangledpumpkin and gave a sigh. "It's a shame no one has any appreciation for theholidays."

"I appreciate when they happen away from me," drawled Xanxus."You are not soiling my lawn with this crap."

Fran set down his knife and spun his pumpkin around, revealing a jaggedoutline of an ugly goblin with a lumpy head and a large nose. "It's theexact likeness of Bel-senpai, don't you think?"

"You stupid frog—"

Fran shifted to the other side of the kitchen, sitting against theisland and away from Belphegor's immediate vicinity. "I know it’s a hardtruth but it's best to accept it."

Belphegor sneered and showed his own design, a zombie's face with severegashes dripping with pumpkin goop. "This is going to be you when I'mfinished. Oi, Old Man, let's see yours."

Levi held up his pumpkin, which depicted a saggy face with a gaped-toothgrin and a broken crown. "It's you. But I think Fran's is moreaccurate."

"I hate you."

Squalo's pumpkin was covered in slashes. When Lussuria sent him aquestioning look, he said, "I pretended this pumpkin was all of yourheads. It was therapeutic."

Rolling his eyes, Xanxus glanced at Fran and said, "This is yourfault."

"I apologize for my fleeting desire for a smidgen of normalcy. Itwon't happen again. Carve a pumpkin. Apparently its therapeutic and you couldseriously use some therapy."

"You know what that pumpkin of yours and you have in common?"

"Stop."

Xanxus knocked off his frog hood and stuck the pumpkin over Fran's head."You both have no brains," he said, and smirked at the kid's indignantsquawk.

[bbcbreakingnews]

Social media users share VERY unpleasant designs sure to make you cringe

Some things are better when they remain as quirky ideas rather than becoming a reality. 

But Instagram account Ugly Designs has proven that plenty of abominations have made it beyond the drawing board. 

Curated by Swedish pair Jonas Nyffenegger and Sébastien Mathys, the account shares images of the monstrosities with its 570,000 followers.

The designs include oyster finger nails, cigarette wigs and a revolting face-shaped jug in which the liquid is poured out of its porcelain nostrils.

Take a look below and try to decide which is your least favourite…   

Snot very nice! This image, submitted by an unknown user, shows a teapot shaped like a sick man dispensing egg whites 

Frankly, it’s not a good look! Instagram user @daspalermo submitted a picture of some ht dog themed sunglasses 

Foot in mouth!  This image submitte shows a toothbrush holder shaped like a bare foot, which might be a bit much first thing in the morning

Not nailing it! Instagram user @colors_ai submitted a picture of an oyster-themed manicure sure to leave a bad taste 

What a rip off! This image showed a woman flaunting a pair of ripped jeans with bizarre patches of ham 

Smoking hot! This image, submitted by an unknown user, showed an unfortunate design on a pair of living room curtains 

Sole of my shoe! Instagram user @davrilsupply submitted this image of a school of fish swimming around in his trainers 

I think I’ve lost my appetite! Instagram user @shalvanikvashvili submitted a picture of some underwear made from pasta  

Prickly customer! This image, submitted by an unknown user, showed cutlery made from twigs which still had thorns on 

Bricking it! This image showed an outdoors arm chair made entirely of bricks that certainly won’t be very comfortable to sit on 

That’s the pits! Instagram user @Sally_hewett submitted an image of a t-shirt design which featured yellow gemstones on the garment’s armpit 

Put your feet up! This imagenshared a picture of a giant chair shaped like a stiletto heel  

If you can’t stand the heat! A restaurant in Turkey which framed the till in a large pot on a stove with a ladle sticking out at the side 

Making an ass out of yourself! This image showed an unfortunate bar stool shaped like the bottom half of a donkey 

Toe-tally unacceptable! This image, submitted by an unknown user, shows a double bed designed to look like a foot 

The post Social media users share VERY unpleasant designs sure to make you cringe appeared first on BBC BREAKING NEWS.

from WordPress https://bbcbreakingnews.com/social-media-users-share-very-unpleasant-designs-sure-to-make-you-cringe/