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tundrainafrica · 3 years ago

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Title: Lovebug (5/10)

Summary:

“It might be a bug.”

“A bug?”

“Sometimes the developers of this application make mistakes. This is our first time meeting I’m sure so…Isn’t it a bit weird that we just met for the first time and it rings like this? And for two strangers to coincidentally ring each other’s alarms?“

Levi is the developer of the Love Alarm App and Hange is married to Zeke.

Link to cross-postings: AO3

Other Chapters: 1 2 3 4

The golf course was big, big enough that his Levi’s first instinct was to contemplate the size.

He had attempted quick calculations that got nowhere, only detailed enough for him to realize, golf courses were a total waste of space. They were large green spaces that could have held happy pedestrians, happy families and maybe a few more houses. Yet, they were areas which only housed a few players at a time.

And how many times had he repeated variations of that soft tirade to himself since they arrived there that morning?

Maybe he was being a little too harsh, he thought to himself a few times.

Then he realized, maybe he would have been nicer, if he had managed to shake off the last bouts of sleepiness having woken up at five in the morning. Maybe he would have been nicer if the grass didn’t crunch under him in such an unflattering manner. Maybe he would have been nicer if the only pair of shoes he had brought with him to the country club weren’t a clean shade of white.

And maybe he would have been nicer if golf wasn’t such a deceptively easy sport.

He would have definitely been nice if he had been in a better mood that morning. And maybe he would have been in a better mood if Zeke hadn’t been just a little too amused at his apparent discomforts.

He was sure the only thing he had to do was hit the ball with a golf club and hit it a few more times until he reached the hole. To hell with strokes and strategy, there was no winning against Zeke.

He wasn’t at all dispirited. He wasn’t an idiot either. It was a valid conclusion to stumble upon after realizing that hitting the small white ball balanced on a tee wasn’t as straightforward as they made it look on Youtube.

“Is this your first time playing Ackerman?” Zeke asked. He was definitely more cordial than yesterday. The past two minutes of accidentally hitting air instead of the ball though had Levi a little more perceptive of the minute movements on Zeke’s face, the sliver of a smile and the slight raise of eyebrows.

Next to him was Hange. He had a snuck a glance at her a few times and unfortunately, her expression was unreadable.

“I haven’t played in years,” Levi said. In fact, he had never played at all, let alone set foot on a golf course. After rambling on about tea time for the past few minutes, expressing genuine excitement at the prospect of ‘tea time,’ Levi realized he had two embarrassments to pick from. He could admit to having never played golf in his life and potentially lose brownie points with Hange or he could just subtly imply that maybe he hadn’t played for so long that he had gotten a little rusty.

Very rusty. Levi feigned a look of surprise and a nod of his head as he accidentally hit the air instead of the golf ball for the third time that morning.

The golf club was just a little too thin and the ball was just a little too round, Levi justified. And you never played golf in your life. His conscience reminded him.

“Maybe you should do some practice shots before you move on to the actual course,” Erwin suggested.

Levi had made two lucky yet still very sloppy shots. “It’s fine, I can keep playing,” he said. I just have to get my swing back. He would have added if guilt and shame hadn’t been such a looming emotion.

“Or you could try to do some practice swings before you hit the ball. It can help fix your aim,” Hange added, her tone was evidence enough of her good intentions.

Zeke shrugged. “Or you could just keep trying to hit. If you wanna waste your strokes on that, I see no problem with you swinging.”

“Waste… my strokes?” Levi asked. He had read on strokes that night. To win a golf tournament, the player had to hit the ball into all eighteen holes in the golf course.

It was a very simple sport which turned out to have more nuances than Levi had bothered to check the night before.

“Well, if you try to swing and miss the ball, that counts as one stroke,” Hange explained matter-of-factly.

“Wait… so that means I have other strokes… Aside from those I counted?”

“Ideally yes,” Zeke said. “By that confused look on your face, I’m assuming though that you haven’t been counting them.”

Levi’s eyes had been too wide and maybe he had been blinking just a little too fast. He looked down, pretending to focus on the small white ball in front of him. From his peripherals, he was watching Zeke. When he realized he had no control of his expression, he decided he wasn’t going to look up until Zeke looked away from him. “Should I be counting them?” Levi mustered.

“Ideally yes.” Zeke repeated, in the exact same tone as a second ago. “But you know Levi… if you haven’t played in a long time, then maybe we could allow you to make as many air shots as you want. It makes for some great practice. Think of it as training wheels on a bike or those floaties in a pool.”

“I don’t need a handicap.” I’m not a beginner. Levi would have added if the subtle weight of that white lie wasn’t hampering him at that moment.

“Well, I don’t wanna win against someone who is averaging scores way over par either,” Zeke said. “It’s not fun.”

“Over par?” Levi pulled his scoresheet out of his pocket. Until a moment ago, he had been proud of the fact that he had managed to hit the ball into the hole. The clack of the ball against the walls of the hole before it sank into the bottom had lightened his mood a bit. The woosh of the club, the sound of the bottom hitting the tea had been oddly satisfying.

At first glance, ‘over par’ had sounded like a compliment or something neutral at the least. The wry smile Hange had given him though had him nitpicking his scorecard.

“Well, the last five holes were par-three holes,” Hange said. She wasn’t lying, just below the table on Levi’s score card were a row of numbers next to the word ‘par.’

“Meaning any golfer worth their salt would finish them in three strokes,” Zeke added.

The numbers just above the three were all above tens and Levi had been proud of the eight, strangely proud. His mind had been petty enough to bring with it flashbacks of Erwin and Zeke hitting more than three strokes in some holes. The more logical side of his mind though was arguing two much more reasonable points. Firstly, Zeke and Erwin had never gone above ten strokes, he was sure of that. Secondly, they never completely missed the ball mid swing.

“Well, there’s still progress,” Hange came up from behind him and pointed at the scorecard. “You have a seventeen for the first hole… but the second ones are nearer to ten and look, you have an eight here,” Hange said pointing at the fourth column. She looked at Zeke and Erwin standing just a few feet away. “He’s just getting used to it. He’ll be fine.”

“Well, we still have thirteen more holes,” Erwin said. “You have a lot of time to get your swing back.”

Thirteen holes? Right, a full golf course had eighteen holes. He remembered reading about that. He didn’t expect to be completely exhausted after the first five though.

***

It didn’t get easier. In fact, it only got harder and the scorecard was a good guide. The numbers next to the word ‘par’ only got bigger and bigger the farther they walked and Levi was also starting to fear losing the ball among shrubs or having it just plop aimlessly into one of the bodies of water that were scattered across the greens.

If it falls, does someone have to swim in and get it? It was a ridiculous question to occupy himself with then. The country club was occupied by the richest of the rich, no one would bother to even get a golf ball that falls into a pond. Still, the past few holes had been nothing but surprises. Levi had admitted to himself early on that he was utterly lost. He was even starting to lose trust in his quick ability to deduce and answer such ridiculous questions. He was aware enough to know it was dumb enough to ask anyway.

“You’re making par-fives look easy. It’s definitely your years in the driving range paying off now.” Zeke was definitely not talking to him. His voice was too gentle, too reverent that for a good few moments, Levi almost believed it had been Erwin talking.

“Zeke mentioned that you had a good range,” Erwin said, making the contrast of Zeke and Erwin’s voice all the more distinct.

“It’s the closest thing we can get to golf back in the city,” Hange said. “Besides, it’s a good way to let off some…” She chose that moment to hit the ball with one fell swoosh, one flick of the wrist. “Steam!” For a few seconds after, she was breathing a little harder.

Although Levi tried, he could barely make out the white ball among the greens a good few yards away.

“You always had a lot of steam to let out,” Zeke quipped.

“And that’s why the driving range is my favorite part,” Hange said, a smile playing at her lips, her eyes narrowed and her nose wrinkled. And the object of such a cute and playful expression had been Zeke Jaeger. Still, it was a cute expression Levi had managed to enjoy from a distance.

Hange was smiling more. Her eyes were brighter and she was walking with longer, more confident strides than a while ago. As if she was in her natural habitat.

It had taken a little longer than a few minutes to catch up to the ball she had just thrown yards away. Levi was counting and everything happened a little too quickly. Hange got the hole in three solid strokes.

“An eagle! That’s your fourth bird today." Surprisingly, Zeke had the ability to be a bundle of pride, particularly when it was Hange next to him, and his arm was around her again.

"What can I say? I've been practicing," Hange responded.

Levi turned to the sky above him, searching the blue for some familiar shadow. No birds. Of course it would be a metaphor.

A metaphor which a half hour binge of golf videos did not prepare him for.

Levi was tempted to do a quick Google search then. His phone was safely tucked in his golf bag though and Hange had been too good of a view to miss.

The strides remained confident. Even crouched down dropping the ball on the tee, Hange had been domineering, confident. She continued to hit ball after ball in pounces and swishes.

Like an eagle. A condor. An albatross. All prowling, ready to swoop down at their prey.

The bird metaphors never ended. When Levi listened closely, he started to realize, Erwin and Zeke never actually stopped mentioning terms like eagles, birdies and boogies. When it was Hange’s turn to hit, Zeke was always mentioning a bird.

Birdies. Eagles. Albatrosses. “You think you can manage an ostrich?” Zeke asked. That was the first time Levi heard the word ostrich in the past few hours and such an ungraceful animal mentioned among all other graceful predators had him letting out a cough in surprise.

“You know, no one’s ever managed it. I’ve never done a condor in my life either,” Hange said.

“This is your last chance to get one for this course,” Zeke said.

“I’m not aiming for one,” Hange said.

Levi only had to look at the scorecard to realize that was their last hole for the day. He stared down a little lower to see a six under the empty box.

A par-six hole. So any golfer worth their salt would get the ball to the hole in six strokes. All the numbers next to the par were the numbers he should have been aiming for. Looking up at his own score, he was reminded that his numbers were usually twice or even thrice the numbers in the par row.

He thought back to Erwin, Zeke and Hange who had waited right behind him while he missed swings, missed holes when his balls were only inches away and concluded for himself that the numbers were a very reasonable estimate. He was still very much over par.

A below par golfer. It was a shitty joke. But.when the only thing keeping him following the three seasoned golfers was his self esteem that his been whittled at for hours, his mind was seeking comfort in the smallest yet most ridiculous things.

“Levi, you go first since you’re probably going to take more strokes anyway,” Zeke said.

Levi felt his hairs bristled at that. Zeke’s voice had been too near, too abrupt and Levi had been too busy surveying his surroundings for the flag.

Where is the hole? Levi opened his mouth to ask. The question died into a fake cough though when the red flickered for a second, just beyond the tall greens in front of him. “So, we get it to the other side of that?” He pointed one slightly shaky finger at the overgrowth in front of him.

Zeke shrugged. “Or you can go around it.”

“Going around might be a better idea,” Erwin said. “ He drew a half circle with his hand, tracing the trajectory of whatever ball he would probably be hitting. “Grass and trees might affect your swing.”

“You can hit a curveball.” The tone and the content of the suggestion framed it as almost good-intentioned advice. Zeke had narrowed his eyes at Levi as he said it.

Levi could barely even hit a decent ball. And you think I can do a curveball? He looked away from Zeke and at the more friendly landscape next to the mini forest. He wasn’t aiming for anything under par anyway.

Ending that damn course with remaining dignity would be nice and all he had to do was play it safe.

“You face your club a little to the left and swing to the right. It makes the ball spin.” Hange spoke up in the few second long silence.

Levi jumped at the abrupt yet mellow voice. A sound of the clack of metal and Levi instinctively looked down to find the ball had fallen off the tee. He bent down, ready to pick it up.

“Sorry, did I scare you?” Hange asked. Her movements weren’t helping to calm Levi down either. Whether she had even noticed it or not, when she had crouched down next to Levi. And her presence had come out of nowhere, a phantom in his peripherals, just like the her voice of a while ago that Levi found himself having to keel over, placing one hand on the floor just to avoid tripping over.

The ball started to roll further away. Hange was quick to catch it. “Yeah, you seem pretty jumpy today. It really has been a while since you played huh?” She placed the ball on the tee. “A curveball will save you the hazard of going into the forest or going too far right instead of forward,” she explained.

“Maybe you should teach him how to swing the club first before teaching him to curve the ball,” Zeke chided.

“He had enough holes to practice. Who knows, he might just make it under par for the last one,” Hange said.

“On a par-three hole maybe, not for a par-six one.” Erwin shook his head, a ghost of a playful smile on his face.

“Either way, we’re used to waiting for him to finish anyway,” Zeke said. “We had seventeen holes to get used to it.”

I can at least try. In response, whatever was left of Levi’s dignity echoed Hange’s last few pieces of advice. Club facing left, swing to the right. Words weren’t the best guide though. Levi only realized it for himself when his mind went on overdrive.

Which left? Whose left? Which right? Whose right? He could have sworn Hange had been in front of him for a second. And what is the point of coordinating all these movements? He concluded, there were things he would only ever learn through doing.

And his body hadn’t still even gotten used to the flick of his wrist, the unnatural weight of the golf club and the need to make sure the club actually hit the ball. He had been thinking everything at once in that split second it had taken to hit the ball. At the same time, he had managed to face his club left, swing a little to the right.

Or he could have sworn he did. In that split second, Levi lost sight of the ball. He stared at the sky for a few seconds before deciding, it probably wasn’t there. He turned to the flat land to his right, no white specks either.

He heard the beginnings of a laugh just behind him.

Zeke’s laugh. “You really hit your ball there huh?”

“Is it out of bounds?” Levi asked, stifling whatever emotion was creeping out of him. It turned out much easier to just keep his voice monotone.

“Well, technically it’s not. It’s still playable,” Erwin said. “But if you look at the terrain…”

When Levi squinted he saw it, beyond the greens was a little dirty brown then just beyond it the speck of red.

“You’re years too early for an exhibition, Levi,” Zeke said.

“I think it’s playable.” Hange’s voice probably wasn’t the voice of reason but it was a source of comfort though.

She pulled a club from her golf bag and positioned herself to hit her own ball. She did a few practice swings, biting her lower lip in concentration.

Her motions were coming out, disjointed, so stark of a contrast from a while ago that Levi clearly recalled her own seamless movements until that moment. Her own hit had ended with her swinging position just a little too loose, the ball flying aimlessly a good few feet above him then the soft rustle of trees.

Hange looked back at them, a light shrug of defeat. Or acceptance. Her shrug had been too much of a big ham though to have been anything worth pitying. “I guess I’ll be playing through the forest too,” she said.

***

“You know there’s a time limit to finding your ball,” Hange said.

It was definitely an attempt to make conversation. Since they entered the forest, Hange had been seemingly restless, she was hummed, she tutted. Only when Levi grunted in return did that little exchange even become somewhat more coherent.

“Well, then I lose,” Levi said.

“No, you don’t get disqualified if you don’t find it. You just get a stroke penalty and you can start---”

“Well, I think I’m done for the day anyway.” That admission was enough to pull some of the weight off of his shoulders. When it was just Hange there, somehow it had been easier to hint, he wasn’t at all enjoying his morning.

For a few seconds longer, they were silent, save for the rustle of the crunch of the leaves below, the rustle of branches. Hange could have been making a sound. If the raising of eyebrows, the pursing of lips and the shifting of features into a wide smile could have counted as one.

He didn’t have the leeway to think too much into it though. Before he could stare and contemplate for a while longer, Hange broke the silence. “I’m guessing you actually never played golf.” She was saying it too gleefully like she had just caught him stealing a cookie from a cookie jar.

He had feared Hange seeing right through him until that moment. Such an exchange had come out almost anticlimactic. “You’re right. I never did. I grew up in the city and we don’t get a lot of golf courses in the city and country club memberships are expensive.”

“Why did you say you did? And you seemed so excited…” Hange trailed off. There was a disappointment in her tone, apparent enough to send a dull stab of guilt through him.

Levi sighed. “I thought of tea time not tee time,” he admitted.

“Tea time?” Hange asked.

Levi put his finger to his mouth, putting one pinky up in emphasis. “Tea time.”

Hange put the a cup made of air to her mouth in response. The raised pinky must have done the trick. “Like cups and kettles and shortbread tea time?” She asked.

Levi let out a deep sigh. “That would have been nice.”

“You should have told me! We could have organized one.”

“Really? Under Zeke’s sponsorship?”

“Well we have one more night here so what about after we go to the beach this afternoon. I can call the house have them prepare something---”

“Zeke is paying. I’d rather not…”

“Believe me, he’ll be in a good mood after this.”

Levi raised one eyebrow. “Really? After this?”

“He’s beating Erwin,” Hange said. “And Zeke likes winning if you haven’t noticed.” She stopped on her tracks and leaned back on the tree.

Levi only had to look back at the chess matches and the mahjong matches to see the truth in Hange’s explanation. “How’s your score?”

Hange pulled out her scorecard and handed it to him. His first instinct was to stare once again at the par numbers below before looking up again at the numbers on top. The view was definitely new to him. His own had been filled with two digit numbers at the top, double or even triple the par. Hange’s scorecard was clean, all one digit numbers, rarely above five. “He’s beating Erwin but he’s not beating me,” she admitted.

Levi only realized a second later that his jaw dropped. He moved to close his mouth. Zeke had been loud, his presence glaring. Erwin had been silent but he had given too much unsolicited advice that Levi had watched more closely begrudgingly counting the number of strokes.

Hange though had been silent, she had been focused on hitting the ball and although she had given advice, she had been subtle, she had been soft spoken about it.

Then he remembered the terms. Boogey. Birdy. Eagle. “Zeke told me you got an ‘eagle’”

“Eagle. Two strokes under par. I got one over here,” Hange said, pointing at a three.”And I got some ‘birdies.’” Levi didn’t do his research but the quick deduction that came with staring at the par numbers and Hange’s own numbers just one below par were enough for him to figure it for himself. “So you’ve been playing for a while.”

“I played this course a lot. I’d go alone when Zeke’s busy,” Hange said. “Sometimes when we’re back in the city, I’d go to the driving range to---”

“To let off some steam.”

Hange nodded. “Well Zeke spends a lot of time working, thinking about investments, stocks…. And Married life gets stressful. Sometimes, it gets surprisingly lonely.”

“You have your own thing going on though right? You have research, investments…”

“Definitely, but I can’t even count the number of times Zeke takes me here, only to ditch for a meeting or another emergency,” Hange said. “So it’s nice to be here with other people. Thanks for coming,” she added, her voice much softer than a while ago.

“Thanks for being patient with a newbie.”

Hange put her hands up in surprise. “No, I’m happy to be playing here,” she said. “You know, the many times Zeke and I played this course together, he never went this route for the final hole.”

“Have you?” Levi asked.

By the way Hange was navigating just a little too confidently, Levi realized he didn’t need a verbal answer.

Hange was still kind enough to supply one. “I told you right? I played this course too many times to count…” She walked ahead. “Our balls went to the same area, past the forest and you’ll see at the end of this why Zeke refuses to play here.”

Levi continued to follow, pushing leaves, branches and undergrowth back when necessary. The way the branches had given way to a glistening blue had been an almost breathtaking site.

“If your ball gets stuck in the forest, then you can’t usually go full swing to get it out. But if you swing too weakly, the ball will fall into the lake,” Hange explained. “And you waste a stroke. And a really good ball.”

“If it falls in?”

“We use a provisional ball and we get a stroke penalty. And of course, we lose the ball.” Hange answered. “I’ve lost enough balls here.”

“And Zeke never tried this path?”

“Zeke likes winning,” Hange said, her tone as deadpan as it was the first time she said it. “But the way he goes about winning is like...He’s always been smart about it, always playing safe. And it’s not just in games. He has always approached life like that. His investments are always blue chip, commodities, healthcare. Things which would never fail. And if you’ve seen how he plays, he’ll never go for something risky, like this.” Hange held her hands wide in front of her in emphasis. “He’ll skirt around the forest, even if it takes him an extra two strokes.”

“A conservative husband. At least you know you’ll never go hungry.” That response had been automatic. He had been a little too playful then, trying to elicit a reaction from the already frustrated looking Hange.

Hange let out a grand sigh, something that could have been a scream if she put more voice into it. “Yeah and you’re just as conservative as he is.”

“Am I?” Levi raised one eyebrow, a challenge at that one comment. On the inside though, maybe he was slightly insulted.

Hange didn’t notice it. She probably hadn’t even heard him. She dropped the golf bag and walked ahead towards the edge of the lake. “I found one of our golf balls!” She waved one hand back at him, too giddily that Levi was tempted to walk on ahead, just stopping where the sand started to soak up the water.

“We’re still in the game, Levi.” Hange said, a toothy grin clambered up her cheeks.

No. Levi thought to himself. Those words never made it to his lips. Or maybe it did, just as something else.“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

Hange had bent down and started unlacing her shoes. “Why?”

“Why are you gonna get yourself dirty? You can just use a provisional ball and you can just go around the lake.”

Hange took a break from unlacing her shoes, and put a hand up in front of him as if to say ‘case in point.’ “Conservative.”

“Why, what’s wrong with conservative?”

In a begrudgingly effective response, Hange wildly kicked off one shoe and it flew just a good few inches from the banks. “I told you yesterday, games teach things right?”

And sometimes they expose parts of ourselves. Levi completed that last part in his head.

If he had ended up muttering it out loud, Hange probably didn’t hear it. “ Games are problems that need to be solved,” she started. “And life is the same way, stocked with problems, or maybe it’s a constant problem that needs to be navigated and solved right?”

Levi didn’t respond. Hange didn’t seem to be looking for a response either and she continued to speak. “People will always master their commonly used thinking processes and problem solving processes and they rely too easily on them. Zeke and his stocks. Zeke and his business ventures. And Levi Ackerman and his programming,” She cocked her head back and looked at him, her expression a big ham. She kicked her other shoe to the other side.

“What about my programming?” Levi asked.

“Oh a user interface problem? It’s a front end issue. Oh it’s a problem with the server data? It’s a back end issue.” For that moment, Hange had changed her tone, her verbal tics, and Levi could only come up with one conclusion: she was mocking him.

He was sure he didn’t sound like that though. “I didn’t know you understood coding.”

“I don’t,” Hange said. “But I did my research because we’re gonna be working together right? Anyway, the point is, sure, you’re an efficient thinker that way. Everyone is an efficient thinker when they’re thinking in shortcuts and clearcut processes. Don't you think people lose a lot of opportunities to learn something a little more life changing, to achieve something more when they stick to all these strict processes?” Hange grabbed one of the more rounded clubs from her bag. “By the way, this is a driver,” she said.

A driver, a golf club used for long distance hits. Levi at least remembered that much from researching. “I knew that.”

“Well, I thought I might as well give you a few lessons. We’re gonna be working together so I thought I’d tell you how I like to work, Levi.” Hange cocked her head back and smiled. “When we look into this application, you might find a bug. But I asked you… what if it’s working as expected? What if it’s a matter of flawed data?”

“That’s what we’ll be investigating right?”

“But I don’t wanna start this investigation with assumptions. We’re creating an extension of your application, we’re gonna be breaking down the application to data, sensations and feelings. I feel like we’ll be able to do a better job at finding the ‘bug’ if we keep an open mind about it. So I want us to ask and answer questions we were scared to even probe,” Hange said. She stepped into the water, driver in hand.

Levi could only watch, starting from the bottom, watching as her pants turned a darker shade of blue, as the water creeped up her hastily and shoddily folded cuffs.

“Questions like?” Levi already had the question, tucked in his mind. He wasn’t the one married. He wasn’t the one with the billionaire husband. That wasn’t his question to ask.

Fortunately, Hange had been eager to probe. “What if we’re just attracted to each other? As simple as that. What if… the love alarm is just telling us, we really could get along?”

It was the easiest answer and somehow, such an admission had Levi admiring everything at once. The sun after the rain was brightest, it reflected the water in various ways, emitting too many colors at once.

And Hange was in the middle of it all. The sun, the gleaming water had done their job to make her just a little too iridescent, a feast for even his eyes.

His eyes still had a conscience though. “Don’t you wanna figure out why it didn’t ring with Zeke?”

Hange shrugged. “I am curious… but really, love is a complex thing. Why would I let an application tell me who I love or don’t love? No matter how the application rings, it wouldn’t change how I feel about Zeke.”

Hange turned her back on him then and Levi was at least grateful he had that one second to let out a hitched breath. “Then I guess, you really know how to love, Hange,” he whispered, mostly for himself and maybe, in the infinitesimally small chance Hange was listening.

She had gone deeper into the water, the water starting to tickle at her shins. She stopped, positioning her club just a little into the water. Wish me luck. She mouthed.

And everything went quickly after that. One flick of the wrist, a splash of water, a lot of mud. Levi didn’t even have time to watch the ball fly. Maybe because he had been watching the bluish drops, the brown drops hovering in the air and Hange in the middle of it all for a few split seconds longer.

Everything suddenly slowed down when he was looking at the minute details, when he was watching how the drops of water flew high enough to smack lightly at her face, how the grime practically slapped at her neck and the way the drops of water and mud hung heavy on her shirt, down to her bottoms.

She wasn’t looking back yet. She put a hand to her forehead as if they were a pair of binoculars only she knew how to use. She let out a cheer, a howl in amazement as if she was the one who didn’t just send a ball flying from the water. “ I think the ball made it to the green,” she said

She turned back at him so excitedly that the water continued to splash.

Levi instinctively stepped back. “You’re a fucking mess. It’s disgusting.” He was sure he had sounded a little abrasive.

Hange’s smile wasn’t falling though. “Then why are you smiling?”

“Am I?” Levi asked. The smile tugged at his lips and he wasn’t compelled at all to resist.

He declared it Hange’s win. Besides, maybe she was right. Maybe they could really get along.

***

There was an albatross pecking by the sand, only a few feet from Levi. It was an ugly bird, the beak too long, too crooked and when it stared at him with its deep black eyes, Levi could have sworn it was peering into his soul.

It was mildly terrifying but still, Levi continued to stare just to make sure the few seconds of googling an albatross, and his own natural instinct were correct. That it was an albatross.

“Why are you staring at the bird?” It was a cold yet seemingly innocent question. It was just like his direct superior though to have him so self conscious over one simple action with just one question.

“It’s an albatross,” Levi answered, only realizing a second later he hadn’t answered the question.

Or maybe that was the answer to the question. “So a small game of golf was enough to have you interested in birds.”

“I just did some research on albatrosses after the game."

"Is this about Hange?"

"Zeke was screaming about an albatross during the game,” Levi said.

“Albatross, three strokes below par. Hange got that par-six hole in three strokes,” Erwin explained.

“Yeah, she did.”

“So it is about Hange.”

Levi didn’t say anything, instead, focusing on the conglomeration of unpleasant sensations bombarding him. He shifted his knees, and his bottom, letting the beach blanket bristle from underneath him. Just a little hyper aware then, he picked out the grains of sand rising as little bumps, digging into him.

When he held his chin high, instead of focusing on the ground underneath, he still couldn’t shift himself into something perfectly agreeable. The sticky air, the sour, flaky scent that lingered there were unshakeable discomforts. Levi could have sworn that although he hadn’t even gone near enough to the ocean to get wet, the humid ocean air would still find a way to leave him wet and sticky.

“What do you think of her?” Erwin asked.

“Think of who?”

“Hange.”

Erwin’s question had been enough to pull Levi from his quick trance of running through all the downsides of the beach trip. Those downsides were quickly replaced by another discomfort. Suddenly, Levi was uncomfortable inside and out. “Why would you ask that?”

“Well, you’re gonna be working close to her so I just wanted to make sure you two were compatible.”

Compatible. That word had Levi coughing out the ocean air. “Well our love alarms rang so maybe that means we could get along, work efficiently together.”

“Just don’t get Zeke angry,” Erwin said.

“Why would I do that?”

“Keep him in a good mood.”

But were Zeke's good moods even predictable? “Well, Hange is his partner and he seems particularly happy when she's around,” Levi said.

“He was in a good mood today, particularly after a match, spent a good few minutes talking about how you lost your ball.”

Levi never did find the ball that flew into the forest. Although he had a provisional and he could have played on, somehow following Hange’s own play had been much more entertaining. “Hange told me he likes winning,” Levi said.

“Particularly against you,” Erwin noted, one eyebrow raised.“You know, when Hange followed you into the woods, he seemed like he was in a bad mood for a while there.”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“Zeke is an important customer, an important opportunity for this application and I want to make sure he’s happy with his investment.”

“Yes, Hange and I will work on a good product.”

“It’s not just that,” Erwin said. “With the amount of money Zeke is putting into this product, try to keep this in mind, if he wants something, he gets it. Don’t make him want to pull out the money.”

Erwin was dancing around definitions for sure. He was emphasizing words, dropping hints and he was staring at Levi like there was something else he had wanted to say but was stopping himself.

If Zeke wants something, he gets it. Erwin had mentioned.

He was a reasonable man though so it didn’t seem too radical of a decision for Levi to amend the statement on his end. If Zeke wants something within reason, he gets it.

All he had to do was keep Zeke happy. A hauntingly difficult task especially when the blonde had proved to be incredibly disagreeable the few times he had known him.

Don't you think people lose a lot of opportunities to learn something a little more life changing, to achieve something more when they stick to all these strict processes?

Then he was reminded, pleasing Zeke didn’t have to be a strict process of sucking up to him. Levi was starting to see it for himself when the conversation deadened into nothing, save for the squawk of the ocean birds and the splash of the waves on the shore.

When there was nothing more to discuss, Erwin fell back on his beach blanket. Within a few minutes, he was silent. Levi wasn’t as tired. He probably would have fallen asleep though if the two figures at the distance hadn’t caught his eye.

One blonde, one brunette. He only needed the height difference, the familiar colored bathing suits from a while ago to figure out for himself who they were.

Hange was much easier to pick out. The enthusiasm, the inquisitiveness he had gotten used to overtime was apparent in the way she managed to scurry across the shores before falling thigh deep into the water. She was pointing at something under.

From next to her, Zeke dove to get it, pulling out a large shell. Then they were talking. Hange held the shell in her hand, raised it up to the sky.

It could have been gleaming, glittering. Levi was too far to tell. By the way, Hange waves her hands up before holding it in front of Zeke, Levi was sure it was beautiful.

A few minutes may have passed of just watching the couple trudge through hip deep water.

The peaceful moment was abruptly interrupted by a man in a beach polo and board shorts, running towards the shore, one hand held high. “Mr. Jaeger! Someone from the board of directors of…” He continued to talk, to shout. He was running as he spoke and Levi never picked up the last few parts of that conversation.

That wasn’t his business anyway. There were more important things though, more fitting of the name “his business.”

Like the way Hange’s mouth dropped, perceptible despite the distance between them. The way she had slowed down to a stop, shell still in hand.

They made it back to the shallower part of the beach together only separating after one kiss to Hange’s forehead. Zeke went ahead in land, seeming particularly restless.

And Hange? She sat down at the edge of the shore, where the water was still deep enough to cover her feet. She pulled her legs to her chest, held them close. The shell lay forgotten on her side.

By the time Levi was close enough to see it, the shell had disappeared, most likely taken back by the ocean. “Hey, was there something you wanted to see?”

Pleasing Zeke didn’t have to be a strict process. It didn’t have to be the strict daunting process of sucking up to a disagreeable man. He concluded that for himself when he allowed the burst of energy to wash through him then, when Hange looked up at him, a wide grin decorating her lips.

Someone was precious to Zeke. It was very much apparent back in the pool, back in the golf course and then and there, on the shores.

And if I make her happy, by extension, I make Zeke happy right?

“Zeke and I were planning on checking out the albatross colony, just over there past that rock,” Hange said. “There are usually seagulls at this time of year too.”

“I can come with you.”

Hange’s eyes widened. “Really? You didn’t seem excited when I mentioned the ocean yesterday.”

Levi had been polite. “Did I seem not excited?”

“Well, you wrinkled your nose like this.” Hange made a ridiculous face, crossing her eyes, raising her nose a little too high, Levi could have sworn he had never made that expression that in his life. Hange continued. "And when we arrived, you stayed as far away as you could and you had that same face.

Levi didn’t have much control of his expressions and maybe he was a little too unsure. The water was deep enough to eat at his feet but still shallow enough that Levi had full control of his movements.

The ocean was dirty, disgusting. It was a confluence of biological waste. But the ocean had Hange. The ocean made Hange happy.

Suddenly, Levi was self conscious of his own expression then. Just in case, he pulled his mouth up to a subtle smile, making a conscious effort to soften his expression. In the end, it hadn’t been too much of a feat.

Hange’s own smile, her wide eyes had made everything all the easier. “You wanna see the albatross colonies?” she asked.

“Sure, We don’t come here often anyway.”

“You’ll definitely not get this back in the city. The magic about this island is… there’s not a lot of beachgoers so we’re able to preserve a lot of nature.” Hange walked ahead, looking back only long enough to grip his hand.

She walked further into the ocean and the wind could have gotten stronger. It whipped at her damp hair, blowing it in all directions at once. The fishy smell of the ocean rode with the wind and Levi found himself blinking hard a few times while willing himself to move forward.

Hange was moving faster than Levi ever had been. She was more than a few feet away already and the distance between them was only getting wider and wider.

He could have been distracted or maybe he had just been convinced that if he walked on, he would eventually catch up to her. He didn’t pay heed to the water that smacked at his chest, until he had to taste it. Not until he had to flail his hands just to keep moving forward, against the current.

“Hange!” By the time, he had thought it necessary to call out, Hange was too far. For sure, she didn’t hear him. Levi was starting to question himself though. How could she hear him when there was a wall of water between them? How could she hear him when water was finding its way into his mouth every single time he had attempted to call out?

He was starting to find it difficult to even open his mouth. He was finding it difficult to kick, to flail his arms. HIs chest was screaming. The few moments he tried to open his eyes, to take stock of the situation, he was met with a stinging pain.

A few times, he tried to kick up ahead to the surface. Once or twice, he had opened his eyes despite the stinging pain, long enough to see the sky above him.

Was he drowning? He was drowning in the world’s bathroom, a conglomeration of shit and piss. It was a horrible way to go out and as much as possible, he would have wanted to go out in other less disgusting ways. So Levi continued to flail towards the top, kicking from underneath. He continued to scream, or at least attempt to scream past the bombardment of seawater that made it past his mouth and to his lungs.

The ocean smelled fear. Maybe it smelled disgust. It continued to advance towards him. Any reprieve Levi managed to find, any attempt to stay a float, back first on the surface was met with waves lapping at him, riptides dragging him from all directions at once.

Levi!

Was it Hange? Or was it the ocean? When everything came accompanied by whooshes, gurgles and bubbling, Levi never could be too sure.

Still, he continued to kick. He continued to wave his arms, until his lungs let out their last cry. Until all sensations whittled to unknowns.

And all he could see was darkness.

***

Hey, can you hear me?

The ocean had been warm, so warm that Levi didn’t even know his insides were cold until air filled his mouth, whizzing down his throat. Awareness came like a flicker then two many lights at once.

And in the middle of it all, it could have been Hange. He liked to think it was Hange. Her damp hair were tendrils that caressed at his neck, her voice drumming yet faint.

Hey, hey, can you see me? Blink twice if you can.

Levi wasn’t in control of his body. He didn’t think too much of it though, he had a good view right in front of him, albeit a little blurry.

Stop moving. Although he couldn’t say it out loud, he was sure he said it loud enough in his mind. Still, something was shaking him, his vision was topsy turvy, the lights continued to move left and right, then up and down in some pattern he couldn’t even comprehend.

The lights were bright, dizzying. Instinctively Levi shut his eyes. In the darkness that followed, maybe he lost track of time, of some sort of rhythm without the lights to guide him. The familiar sensation came as something abrupt. He noticed the contours first, the lines that brushed against his own lips, settling on his upper lip, then just a little bit above his jaw.

Then he tasted them. They were salty and they brought with it more surprises. More air that brushed past the walls of his mouth, to the back of his throat then they washed down to his lungs. More air. And they did their job to aggravate whatever other unwelcome concoctions had settled in his airway

Awareness had come like a flicker. Consciousness came as a slap in his face, then everything at once. There was a pain in his chest, from the shaking.

His view was a dark yet glistening blue. The ocean? But how long had he been staring at the ocean. He could have sworn that he was watching Hange just a while ago.

“Just let it out Levi.” Her voice was grating. And Levi wondered why he was even looked at her. Everything hurt at once, and when Levi stared at the water, the notable puddle just next to him, comprehension washed over him, first as a flicker, a slap in the face then a large wall of water, a monster in the sea.

He could have been drowning again.

What the fuck. It would have been nice to be able let out a taut swear. After all, when he was barely moving, the aches and pains bunched up inside him. Everything came out as a gurgle, then more salt water.

“You almost drowned out there,” Hange said, an attempt at comforting for sure. Levi wasn’t at all comforted though.

Not by her voice at least. Something was caressing at his neck, pushing his hair behind his ear. It took him a few seconds longer, and a soft motion guiding his head back up, back to looking straight up at the sky, for Levi to put two and two together.

The sky was the background. Hange was the centerpiece. A centerpiece of relief and exhaustion, framed by hair much damper. Those were enough hints.

You saved me? He had tried to mouth it.

Whether Hange had heard it or not, he couldn’t do much to assume but he focused on the way she licked her lips, the way she bit them before settling for a weak smile. He focused on the way the lines on her lips stuck out a little more when dry.

And it just had been a little easier to recall them right on top of his.

So you did save me. He couldn’t spare much words but he did manage to spare a smile.

Hange didn’t return it. By the time Levi was confident enough to have sworn he was smiling, Hange had already looked away. “He’s responsive,” she said, her voice more distant than a second ago.

“Hange, let a professional take over.” Zeke’s voice penetrated into that tiny world that had been just the both of them.

“You have to be careful, I might have bruised a few ribs.” Suddenly, Hange’s voice was getting softer and softer.

As if Zeke had intruded just to pull her out. He sought solace in the fact that she was Zeke’s after all. That was only the expected outcome.

For a while all he saw was blue sky. Then unfamiliar faces. Then others were asking questions. Way too many questions. It was just a little too overwhelming that Levi could only force his eyelids shut.

He let the darkness take over, then his other four senses. Then soon, he could have been dreaming again. The contours, the dry scabby lines at his upper lip, at his lower lip, brushing just a little lower. He was certain, in those split second long moments, her lips were on his.

Soft but chapped. Salty but sweet. Maybe he spared a few seconds, a few glimmers of scarce energy to lick at his lips just to taste it again.

Reason bared its fangs. She did it to save your life. She’s married. He scolded himself.

Soon, he was barely aware of anything but blackness. And the salty and sweet, the soft and dry danced for a little longer in his dreams.

Still, a part of him continued to whisper. Not in your wildest dreams.

“Not in your wildest dreams, Levi.” A soft mutter only he could have heard. It was only for him anyway since he needed to hear it himself to believe it.

#levihan #levihan fanfiction #fanfic

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artificialqueens · 4 years ago

Text

Taste Your Beating Heart (Taywhora) - Holtzmanns

word count: 3142 | read on ao3

What do you get when a vampire wrestling with a morality crisis or two bumps into a student protecting herself with a pocketknife in one hand and a Percy Pig bag in the other? Quite the late night encounter, that’s what.

AN: Thank you all so much for the love on my first two taywhora fics! This one is slightly insane and popped into my head fully formed somehow. Thank you Writ for betaing and always helping me bounce ideas around and thank you Pop for taking out anything too North American sounding. Enjoy! Title from Howl by Florence + the Machine.

Tayce deserves a little treat.

It’s been a few months, anyway, since her last one. A girl’s got cravings.

The vegan selection just doesn’t do it for her after a while. She doesn’t get how Bimini sustains themselves on only ethically sourced blood.

Being a vampire in the twenty-first century brings its own unique set of challenges, that’s for sure.

It had been easier in the 1800s, before fingerprinting and DNA evidence existed and Tayce could get her blood and dispose of the bodies without a care in the world. Now, though? She has to be careful. Murder is apparently now much more trackable in today’s society.

The audacity of it all, really.

But Tayce is careful. She’s adapted with the times, perfected her strategies of getting rid of bodies that she’s fed from without leaving nary a trace. She hasn’t had any fingers pointed in her direction yet, and it’s probably for the best, to stay under the radar.

Plus, she does feel a little bad once she’s done with a body and effectively offed someone. Just a little.

So really, every few months is perfectly reasonable.

She’ll look for someone pretty today. Someone who she can enjoy. No one too old for a human, not when the blood gets a little stale by the time they’re in their eighties. Someone who’s hopefully better than her last human snack, when she had to go for a bloke that was trying to catcall her. Then again, bearing her fangs had never felt so satisfying as it did right then.

Tonight, she’ll go for someone a bit more delicate. There’s a head of white blond curls farther down the street, ducking towards an alleyway a block or so down, and Tayce can feel the excitement run through her veins because she’s perfect. An easy, discrete target.

Tayce speeds up her pace until she can practically smell the girl’s blood as she gets closer, and the girl is still in the alleyway and Tayce can’t sense anyone else near her and really, she can’t ask for an easier catch. She flips her hair over her shoulder before turning the corner, her steps light enough not to make a sound before-

“Oh, hello! Didn’t see you there!”

Tayce freezes in her tracks when the girl’s suddenly turned around, a curious look on her face, and shit, Tayce usually gets close enough to bite their neck before being noticed just a second too late.

“Just trying to look for a snack for my walk. I’ve got half a bag of percies left somewhere in my bag. Food for the road, y’know?”

The girl’s rummaging around in her bag again and this is it, the perfect timing and Tayce can finally have a good meal for the first time in months, none of that vegan shit, but-

The girl looks up again, a triumphant grin on her face with an empty looking bag of Percy Pigs in hand.

“Success. There’s only one left in here, though. Sad. I’d give you one if I had more. You want half of this one? Not too fun to be out walking so late,” the girl shrugs as she opens the package.

Tayce manages to shake her head through her own disbelief, mostly at herself because this really is the perfect time to just strike , but the girl’s trying to pull the gummy in half and it really is a sight to see.

“I’m vegan,” Tayce mutters, because really, watching the girl try to break the gummy in two is a little ridiculous, when Tayce can’t even eat it.

She wants her own snack, which, for some godforsaken reason, she hasn’t even tried to go for yet.

“Suit yourself,” the girl shrugs before tossing the gummy candy into her mouth. “What did you say your name was again?”

Tayce pauses. “I didn’t.”

It’s starting to get truly silly at this point. On Tayce’s other hunts the human would be long departed, and Tayce’s cravings satisfied. But here she is now, standing in an alley with her human target munching on a bloody Percy Pig and looking adorable while doing it.

Unbelievable.

The girl, for her part, looks completely unfazed. “I’m Aurora. Not the princess. Though I would be in a jacket like yours, though, it’s absolutely beautiful. Where’d you get that from?”

“Huh?” Tayce blinks, before realizing Aurora (she never learns her targets’ names, Christ) is looking at her with an expectant look on her face. “Oh. A friend made it back in the day.”

Back in 1865. Not that the human needs to know that.

“The lace trim. My god. Stunning,” The girl is gushing, getting closer to her and reaching for the jacket, and really, Tayce should just go for it, have her snack with a bite to the neck but it’s strangely fascinating, the way the girl’s fingers graze against the jacket.

Maybe the girl can live for five more minutes or so. Tayce isn’t that hungry. But only because Tayce likes to watch humans in their natural habitats.

“She’s a good designer,” Tayce gets out, and there’s a voice in her brain yelling at her for wasting her time, conversing with a human, but really, as much as she hates to admit it, it’s a little fun.

In a strange, morbid sort of manner.

“She really is,” Aurora murmurs. “She got an insta or anything? She take any commissions? I’d love something like this.”

“Not sure. I’d look but my phone is dead, sorry.”

Christ. Tayce is really out here entertaining this woman’s interest. Coming up with a cover story for the fact that Ellie made this centuries ago.

But who knows, maybe Ellie does take requests. Not that she would from a human.

“Shame. I’ll definitely have to look around for something similar, because it’s to die for.”

“To die for, indeed,” Tayce murmurs, and she can almost hear the girl’s heart pumping and pumping and finally, she can have a worthy midnight snack, one who tastes as good as she looks.

She takes a step closer, but then the girl’s brushing past her out of the alleyway and waving at her cheerily with her bag slung over her shoulder. “I better get going. Lovely to meet you, though! Toodles!”

“Toodles?” Tayce mutters under her breath, because honestly, it sounds like something she’d say herself.

The girl’s walking away and Tayce is too caught up in the shine of her hair under the streetlights to go after her.

Besides, the girl says words like toodles. She deserves to live another night just for that.

Tayce sighs as she watches the girl walk away. It’s like catching and releasing a perfectly good fish, really. Rather stupid. But hey, she can find another target, it’s not an impossible task.

She doesn’t have to look very far, because there’s a man by the closest corner, and he’s watching Aurora on the other side of the street, and Tayce has to wrinkle her nose when she notices the look on the man’s face.

Leering. Hungry.

Yeah, it’s fine when Tayce does it, but for a man like this? Who certainly doesn’t have good intentions?

Well, Tayce will just have to take care of it.

His blood is tangy, not at all satisfying in the way that Tayce had hoped for when starting her hunt earlier tonight. But he will have to do.

Tayce will wait a few more months before another good snack, like she’s used to. In the meantime, it’s back to sipping through a straw from blood bank bags. Not her favourite type of beverage.

Tayce makes it to two months before she starts to get the itch for another hunt. It’s not that the bagged blood isn’t satisfying, because it is. It keeps her from being hungry. But bloody hell, does she need a drink that’s a little more fresh.

Cara snorts from her spot on the couch when Tayce ties her hair back, slips a jacket over her shoulders. “You always make it such an event, and for what? You could just do it every day like the rest of us.”

“Excuse me for trying to be a good person,” Tayce grumbles, bending down to tie the laces of her trainers. “I don’t want to hurt humans that much.”

“Only every couple months. How nice of you.”

“The bagged blood isn’t so bad, y’know,” Tayce starts, picking up her keys. “Perfectly reasonable for any vampire to sustain themselves on.”

Cara makes a face. “Yeah. Any depressed vampire who hates everything and everything.”

“Bimini does it all the time. We both could be more like them. Do some good in the world.”

“Some good in the world? Honey, I’m here for both a good time and a long time. Seeing the humans suffer provides some entertainment, at least,” Cara grins, and Tayce can’t help but snort.

“You’re an absolute beast. Both figuratively and literally.”

Cara waves when Tayce reaches for the door. “Get home safe! Don’t let the humans hit you with a morality crisis on your way home.”

Tayce wonders, as she heads out onto the street, how easy it would be to have Cara’s mentality. To not care about the chaos she creates, to eat however she wants.

A tiny, tiny little part in her brain does care, though. About how the families of her meals react to their loved one going missing. How they search and search for answers.

Can’t be very nice.

But then again, Tayce does have cravings. Indulging every few months can’t be that bad, can it? Not when it cancels out.

The city is really nice, late at night. Tayce doesn’t have much to fear, not when she can decimate any men that saunter her way with rather insidious agendas. She can enjoy the crisp air and focus, really focus, on the scents around her, perhaps something human that’ll lead to a nice meal that she can enjoy, and-

Oh, no. Tayce knows that smell.

“Hey, you! I know you!”

That voice. Tayce certainly knows that voice.

Aurora’s hair is dark brown now, but Tayce would recognize that grin anywhere, when it lights up her face like that. She’s got a messenger bag on her shoulder, and, oh, of course. A Percy Pig bag in hand.

Naturally.

“What you doing out, so late at night? There are monsters lurking out yer in the dark, you know,” Tayce purrs, and wants to kick herself for it when the girl’s eyes light up at her voice.

She needs to stop egging this on. Interacting with the girl the first time and letting her go was already dangerous enough as it is.

But still, it’s interesting to see her again. Someone who was almost prey.

“Oh, no. I’m prepared,” Aurora says while reaching into her pocket, her voice incredibly self assured for someone so scrawny. “See?”

The pocket knife between Aurora’s fingers is tiny, and one that Tayce would easily be able to bend in half in her palm. It’s cute in a way, if she’s being honest.

Tayce plasters on the best poker face that she can, never mind that Cara’s made fun of her lack of acting skills in the past. “Very fierce and intimidating. I’m terrified.”

Aurora shrugs. “Since pepper spray and tasers are banned, this is the best I’ve got. I did Google, just in case.”

“What you out so late for, anyway, missy?” Tayce can’t help the question slipping from her mouth, ignoring the voice in her head that’s shouting at her to stop talking, to not dig herself into a deeper hole with this girl.

But Tayce can’t help it, she’s curious. This is the second time she’s seen this girl out so late, entirely too cheery for one, two, in the morning. It does beg the question.

“I’m a fashion student, and I intern at Vivienne Westwood. With all the deadlines? Late nights at the studio are my best friend.” Aurora grins, and Tayce can see from the excitement on her features just how proud she is of herself.

Tayce should have known, really, from Aurora’s obsession with her jacket the last time they met.

“Well, well, well, baby, look at you. A girl on the job,” Tayce murmurs, and she’s not sure if she’s imagining the girl absolutely basking in the phrase.

Aurora does seem easily pleased.

“What about you? What you out so late for?” Aurora asks, genuine curiosity on her face.

Tayce pauses, pursing her lips together to keep her smile from spreading. “You could say I fancied a late night snack.”

She can almost hear her own stomach rumbling. She’s practically starving at this hour of the night.

“Yeah? I get you there girl, honestly. My favourite spot’s this kebab shop down the road from-” Aurora pauses, her eyes squinting as her head tilts slightly. “Huh.”

“What?” Tayce raises an eyebrow, because Aurora’s eyebrows are already high on her forehead and she looks a little too interested in examining Tayce’s face.

“You…nevermind,” Aurora mumbles, and Tayce can sense the way her heart is beating just a little bit faster in her chest.

She’s nervous. A first. But why?

“You notice something?”

The air feels just a little bit more charged once Tayce asks the question, because Aurora’s eyes are widening and her eyes keep flicking down towards Tayce’s mouth and oh, maybe it’s because Tayce has gone and smiled.

Fully smiled.

Fangs out.

Oops.

“Where’d you get those from?” Aurora breathes out the question, the heave in her chest visible, and fuck it.

Tayce has come out to roam the streets tonight for a singular purpose, anyway.

She takes a step towards Aurora, getting in her space and crowding her until the backs of her shoulders are up against the wall, and the blood pumping in her veins is almost tantalizing.

Getting to know her snacks before indulging seems to have been a great idea.

“Where do you think?”

The question hangs in the air, almost pausing time around them for a millisecond before Tayce reaches down, circling Aurora’s wrists with her grip before pulling them up overhead, against the wall. Keeping her in place. Not that Aurora would be able to outrun her, anyway.

“Oh,” Aurora gasps, and her pupils are blown and her lips slightly parted and she’s not scared, she’s…

For a lack of better wording, the girl looks rather turned on.

“Do you like that, baby?” Tayce shifts her position so that she’s holding Aurora’s wrists with one hand, bringing her other so that she can run her fingers through Aurora’s hair, before tilting her face up by her chin.

Aurora’s pliant, leaning into her touch, and it’s almost intoxicating, in a way. The way she’s got Aurora trapped, but also how Aurora’s letting her.

As if she has a choice.

Not that Aurora looks particularly worried, for her situation. “Are we about to kiss? Are you going to lean in, or is this more of a thing where we both initiate it, or…”

Bold. But it’s an invitation for Tayce to play with her food just a little more.

“You do know that I could kill you any second now? You’re on a very slippery slope, girl.”

“Kinky,” Aurora squeaks out, and Tayce can’t help but raise an eyebrow.

“Drain your blood, and all that. Suck you dry.”

“Hot. Take me out first though, yeah? Treat a girl nice before draining her life force?”

Aurora’s batting her eyes, a contrast from the bead of sweat at her temple, the speeding up of her heart. She’s a fight or flight response wrapped up in a false sense of bravado, making the game just a little more intoxicating.

So Tayce grins, stepping in just a little bit closer to Aurora, her lips near her ear so that she can whisper in a way that’ll make the hair on Aurora’s skin stand on end. “Oh, she’s negotiating. She has demands.”

“What, afraid you won’t be able to satisfy them?” Aurora’s response is immediate despite the way she’s squirming in Tayce’s grip, and Tayce doesn’t miss the way her thighs press together.

Tayce has experimented in a multitude of ways during her immortal lifespan, but this? A human pressed up against a wall, inches away from her fangs while pretending to be completely unfazed? Tayce is enjoying it more than she wants to admit.

The girl’s face takes on a simper, the corners of her lips curling upwards, despite remaining trapped in Tayce’s grip. “Y’know what? I think you’re scared to do it. You’ve been hesitating this entire time for a reason, haven’t you? You can’t bear to kill me. I’m too pretty, aren’t I?”

“Don’t play with fire, baby.”

“Prove it, then. Do it, yeah? If you’re going to. Don’t keep a girl waiting,” Aurora breathes out, her breath hitching in her throat and Tayce pauses, her eyes flicking from the girl’s eyes to her lips to her neck and-

She decides. Albeit a second too late.

Because Aurora’s leaning forward and kissing her before she can strike.

There’s no way in hell she can tell Cara about this, the fact that she’s kissing a fucking human while she can still smell her blood pumping, and Tayce is hungry, damn it, she can feel her stomach rumbling as she weaves a hand into Aurora’s hair.

Aurora licks into her mouth, her wrists straining against Tayce’s grip as she whines and Christ, it’s been too long since Tayce has done this. Any self respecting person would not feel as affected as she is, or find it as dizzying or want more. Because Tayce needs more, wants more, from this human whose hips are pushing forward to grind against hers.

Aurora bites at her bottom lip and Tayce can’t help but smirk as she pulls back from the kiss, because Aurora’s breaths are coming out in pants and she looks as dazed as Tayce feels. “Looks like I’m not the only one who likes to bite.”

“Enough incentive to keep me around, yeah?” Aurora murmurs, her bottom lip caught between her teeth and Tayce hates how much the sight of it is absolutely doing it for her. “You going to whisk me back to your Dracula castle, or not?”

“Your survival instincts are incredibly slutty,” Tayce snorts as she lets Aurora’s wrists go.

Aurora wastes no time, her fingers grabbing Tayce’s belt loops to pull her closer. “Not difficult when the creatures of the night turn out to be hot as you are.”

Tayce can’t help but ghost her lips over Aurora’s, grinning when Aurora lets out a small gasp. “Y'know, you’re the only human to successfully whore their way out of being killed. I’m impressed.”

“Now, you know they don’t call me A’whora for nothing.”

“Pardon? They call you what?”

#rpdr fanfiction #rpdr uk #a'whora #tayce #taywhora #uk2 #lesbian au #vampire au #holtzmanns #taste your beating heart

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encyclopika · 4 years ago

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Animal Crossing Fish - Explained #61

Brought to you by a marine biologist figuring out species today...

CLICK HERE FOR THE AC FISH EXPLAINED MASTERPOST!

We’ve touched on the topic of species as a definition before when we covered the Bitterling. This goes beyond the trouble with common names we’ve covered, in that the exact definition of what a “species” is, is not a one-size-fits-all kinda definition. And that’s not good, because when we discover an organism or want to conserve an organism, or must make the call that an organism is extinct, it’s really important that we know the boundary of where that species ends and where it’s closest cousins begins. Otherwise, we can’t really say the species is new, needs to be protected, or is extinct already. Suspecting that one species may be two or more is an issue with today’s fish, the Arowana:

Another tropical fish us here in the Northern Hemisphere islands got access to in June, the Arowanas are a strictly freshwater group irl, of Genus Scleropages, native to rivers in Asia and Australia. This isn’t to be confused with the Arawanas of South America that look extremely similar, except that the back end is much more eel-like and they belong in a totally different Genus, Osteoglossum. Nevertheless, they all belong to the Order Osteoglossiformes, the bony tongues, making their closest relative in ACNH the Arapaima. Like the Arapaima, these fish can breath air, using their swim bladders that have the physostome connection between throat and swim bladder to gulp air at the surface to survive low-oxygen conditions in their habitats. You can read more about this in the Arapaima post.

Going down to species, this is definitely the Asian Arowana, (Scleropages formosus), of which there are a number of different varieties, and that’s where we get into today’s topic of speciation. The variety that shows up in ACNH is the Super Red variety of Asian Arowana:

This variety is native to the upper Kapuas River of Borneo. The rest of the varieties of this species come in different colors (like green, silver, gold, and blue) and they are native to different rivers throughout Southeast Asia, some separated by ocean, which means the groups will never meet, as the species cannot survive in saltwater for any amount of time. A study in 2003 suggested that it may actually be 4 different species, but it’s been heavily disputed for lack of any major evidence that would justify such a split. At first glance, though, having four groups of fish that look different and cannot intermingle is a sign that they may be different species, because we define species as:

groups of actually or potentially interbreeding natural populations, which are reproductively isolated from other such groups.

That’s Mayr’s Biological Species Concept. Of course, you can probably already think of instances where this breaks down, like in Bacteria that reproduce asexually and when two species that are obviously separate species (through their looks, where they live in nature, and genetics, among other things) hybridize and still produce offspring that can go have offspring of their own. It’s hard to have a definition when shit like that happens. Knowing whether two organisms can breed for the purpose of defining species is hard, expensive work that we can’t really do with every couple of species that would need it (and even still, it may not even mean much when hybridization is a thing). And you have to think that organisms will continue to evolve and change into the future. Defining a species today doesn’t mean it will be the same in a hundred years. Of course, nature really doesn’t care about our issues, because, at the end of the day, classifying things into neat little boxes is something humans do so we can understand the world.

So, to be honest, when you get down to the nitty-gritty of it, there is no good definition of species. Yet, we still do our best to disentangle these relationships. So, for now at least, the Asian Arowana is still considered all one species, despite its differently colored members having 0 contact to reproduce together. It appears that color is really the only major thing separating them besides seawater.

And there you have it. Fascinating stuff, no?

#arowana #asian arowana #fish #animal crossing #animal crossing new horizons #science in video games #animal crossing fish explained

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skylarmoon71 · 4 years ago

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Rafael Barba Imagine (Extra)

Disclaimer: I don’t own Law and Order SVU.

“Sometimes I wonder how he’s still alive.” Carisi jokes. He and Rollins just got back from court after watching Rafael in his natural habitat. From what you heard he was going at the criminal with all he had. He walked in too, with Olivia on his trail. “The case is strong, and we have enough to put him at the scene. We’ll nail this son of a bitch. He won’t hurt another woman again. “

His assurance was all Olivia really needed. She knew where Barba’s priorities were and he always fought for justice for the victim. That was probably one of the main reasons that you liked him. His undying sense of justice. One thing instilled in you was not to trust anyone. At least in your eyes, anyone could do bad things. A mother, close friend, even a sibling. Most of the time when you caught the perp you were shocked at who the suspect turned out to be. That’s why with Barba, you were thankful for him. No matter what the situation, you knew Barba was someone you would never have to worry about doing something like that.

Your gaze moved back to your desk, relieved that another psycho was getting what he deserved. “Why don’t we go out tonight. This case is pretty much wrapped up. “ Rollins pitched in. Carisi jumped up almost immediately. “I’m in.” he basically shouted. You giggled.

“Me too, got nothing better to do.” Fin added.

“What about you (Y/N)?” you blinked. Your eyes moved in Barba’s direction before pitching back.

“I-I’m fine. Think I’ll just call it a night. Catch up on some sleep. “ Rollins snorted, seeing right through you. She walked closer leaning in.

“Don’t think I haven’t noticed. You got a little boyfriend don’t you?” her statement made you tense. You and Barba just started dating, and you didn’t want anyone to know about it. That’s why you were always cautious in your interactions.

“I-I have no idea what you mean.” you denied. She just smiled. You were grateful she didn’t voice her thoughts out loud, because you didn’t want the entire team discussing your love life. Olivia came running out with her phone clutched to the side of her face. “Carisi, Rollins get to the school, Fin, (Y/N) come with me!” you didn’t even need an explanation. You grabbed your coat, swerving around your chair as you paced out the door with her.

~~~

When you got back to the precinct you were exhausted. The suspect had taken the witness hostage, with intention to kill. Liv was fortunate she’d gotten a call from the school when she did, otherwise the outcome would have been far worse. He was now successfully in police custody, another charge added to his already high list. He was looking at 25 to life in prison.

“Another full day.” you sighed dropping into your chair. Rollins and the others already left to the bar. If you were being honest, now you really weren’t in the mood to drink. The sight of that boy almost being shot never left your mind.

“Rough day.” a voice said next to you. Your eyes opened, looking over at lime green ones. “You have no idea.” Barba chuckled, taking a seat at your desk.

“I know this job can get to you sometimes. I forget sometimes that you’re still pretty new to this. You should find someone to talk to about your day. It’s not good to keep it bottled up.” you nodded.

“I have been chatting with someone. Liv gave me a number last time. When that guy took me hostage. It’s just something about being held at gunpoint that never really leaves you. “ Barba didn’t say much after that, just leaned over placing a hand on your knee. You smiled at the gesture, sitting up.

“If you ever need to talk, I’m right here. I think you of all people should know how good I am with words. “ that made you laugh. “Rafael Barba, the king of communication.” he smirked. “At your service.” His presence really did help though. Despite his sharp tongue, his heart was always in the right place. There was just something about him. No matter how many times he said things to make you want to punch him sometimes, he was just so dang charming. Not to mention caring. You could see the genuine worry reflected in his eyes. He knew what this job did to people.

“I know it gets hard, I just hope that no matter how much scumbags we take down, that you’ll never lose that light in you. “ You raised an eyebrow.

“Really I have a light in me?” It sounded kind of cheesy, you were about to point that out to him but he stopped you.

“Yes, and I am aware how cheesy that sounds. Before you tear me down hear me out. “ you closed your mouth with a smile. “Very well, proceed counselor. “ He grinned.

“You’re the youngest, so I believe it's natural for you to be naive. But you’re actually the most realistic one on this team. When you first joined I thought you’d be making rookie mistakes. Similar to what Carisi did. He always assumed that certain circumstances would make a case solid. He’s studying law so I guess it’s understandable for him to have so much faith in the law. But that’s not how these cases usually turn out.” you sat there listening as he continued.

“You don’t see the world that way though. Your eyes reflect hope, but also a tinge of maturity in ways that I’ve seen before. Your life growing up must have been hard, the level of knowledge and growth in your eyes is close to what I’ve seen from Liv. You have a general understanding of how the world is, something very uncommon for women your age. “ You were alarmed at how well he was reading you. For a second you swore maybe he was just moon lancing as an ADA and was secretly a profiler.

“How do you..”

“I’m good at my job (Y/N).” Yep, there it was, that tongue.

“That being said, there is also an innocence that does reflect your age. Maybe it’s the way your eyes sparkle when Carisi brings in your favorite pizza, or the adorable way your cheeks flush whenever I give you a compliment, or kiss your deliciously soft lips..”

That statement was said a little lower. You blushed, as if proving his statement. He was right though. No matter how many times he kissed you, you’d always get a little bashful. You couldn’t help it. At heart you were still very much the shy rookie of NYPD’s Special Victims Unit. He leaned closer, face barely inches apart. You actively swallowed, wanting nothing more than him to lean in and claim your lips. From the look in his eyes, he was thinking the same. Your breathing got a little shallow at the lack of space between you.

“I have faith that this job will not affect you in the ways you think. Trust me (Y/N).” he gave your knee another little pat before standing.

“Well, get some rest, we’ll probably have a busy day tomorrow. “ And just like that he was padding over to his office. You just watched him strut off all confident. You pressed a hand to your face to try and calm your insistent heart beat. Once again Barba had won another case. You were sure he was smirking to himself in his office.

~~~

Rollins walked in the next morning laughing at something Carisi whispered to her. You looked up at their voices. “Hey rookie, how was your quiet night. “ you grumbled at the nickname.

“Come on Amanda I’ve been here for at least five months. I think the rookie thing is getting old. “

“Please, I’m still the new guy around here.” Carisi chipped in.

“It has to be the accent.” you spoke. He just gave you a look.

“Very funny (Y/N).” you shrugged.

“Just saying, that Staten Island drawl does get to you.” you teased. You turned not really paying attention to what was in front of you. You ran right into someone. Said person grabbed you by the shoulder to prevent a very ungraceful fall. You looked up to thank the person and also apologize.

The words got stuck in your throat when you realized it was Barba. His hands were still on you. “Uhhh I-I uhhh..” you couldn’t form words. This was the closest the two of you ever were at work. You knew you should have maybe pulled away. You didn’t want your colleagues catching wind of anything. You finally willed yourself to pull back, straightening your clothes.

“S-Sorry counselor.” Your cheeks were darker than they’ve ever been. When you collected yourself you noticed a cup of coffee spilled on the ground. Carisi and Rollins were in the background trying to keep it together, especially at the look on your face.

“Oh my gosh I dropped your coffee. I’ll get you another one immediately sir.” you just took off, completely mortified. Barba stared at your retreating form. A smile threatened to show but he held it back, settling for what he hoped was a stare of annoyance. “Rookies. “ he spoke and Carisi agreed with a nod.

“Tell me about it.” he chuckled.

You stepped into Barba’s office with his coffee. After that very embarrassing situation, you felt like this was the only way to redeem yourself. When he saw you his eyes twinkled.

“Oh, came to replace my poor drink. Frapa did not deserve such a death.” you glared.

“Can it, it was bad enough basically the entire precinct saw me crash into you, after almost faceplanting. Don’t you think my ego has taken enough hits today.”

You placed the caffeinated drink on his desk, turning to leave. Barba stood, grabbing your hand before you could go. You looked back at him in confusion and alarm.

“W-What are you doing, someone could see u-” that particular statement didn’t have a chance to properly form. Barba pulled you forward. His lips meeting yours in a heated desperation. You tensed at the beginning, until he started nibbling on your lower lip. You submitted, body enjoying the way his tongue mapped every inch of your mouth on entry. Of course he wasn’t just good at law. This guy was just a walking ball of masculinity and frigging dominance. It drove you crazy. You were gripping at the back of his shirt as he ravished your mouth. When his lips left your own you were panting. Chest still actively pressed to him. The both of you were breathing erratically.

“Sabes bien..” Sometimes you forgot he spoke Spanish. You didn’t even know what he said, but damn it was sexy. A pleasant shiver ran up your spine.

“I should knock your coffee over more often.” he laughed, and so did you.

“Definitely.” Barba agreed.

Translation: Sabes bien- you taste good. (Sorry if this is incorrect, I got it from google translate lol)

#rafaelbarba #barbaxreader #love #reader insert #amandarollins #carisi #fin #oliviabenson #law and order: special victims unit #crime #shy reader #cute #hotbarba #witness

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ciestessde · 5 years ago

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Phantasma Magica Ch. 12

STORY SUMMARY

Clockwork and the Observants send Danny to Hogwarts on a special mission. But, cryptic as ever, that Old Stopwatch never actually told him what would happen on it!!! “All you need to do right now, Daniel, is stay focused on your mission. And remember, the-” “‘The Lions with the time-turner, lightning-bolt scar, and hair like fire are friends; watch out for the rat; and the black dog is not a threat.’ Yeah, you’ve only repeated that a few dozen times today.”

← Previous (First)

Dumbledore and the other adult wizards -- along with much of the staff, who, of course, had noticed the commotion -- drove the dementors back to their posts. Ron, Hermione, and Sirius were ordered to go to the Hospital Wing to recover. Then, with everyone else distracted by their own tasks, Danny followed Dumbledore and the Minister of Magic up to Dumbledore’s office.

Danny couldn’t remember what the Headmaster had said to convince him to come. But as long as the old wizard didn’t attack him again, Danny didn’t care. ‘Harry…’

The door closed behind them with a soft thud. The Minister was pacing. “Dumbledore, what do we do? What do we DO?! When the Prophet hears about this-” “Please, Minister. We must remain calm.” “Yes, yes. You’re right. But the Boy-!” For the first time since heading toward the school, the Minister looked at Danny. He was a frightening sight -- Danny didn’t need to look in a mirror to know that: slitted pupils, claws that were dripping with whatever replaced blood in a dementor, glowing, and holding a human soul… The Minister didn’t dare meet his eyes.

But Dumbledore did. Standing in the middle of the strange room he called an office, his voice was impossibly calm. “Mr. Phantasm.” Danny broke out of his daze, but his voice was… listless. ‘Harry…’ “... Yes?” “This might be far-fetched, but -- well. Seeing as I have no way of…” His gaze moved to Harry’s soul. “Storing? A human soul -- I thought it best… to ask if you have any ideas on the matter?”

Hope returned to Danny’s eyes -- “The bottles…!” -- and he took off like a bullet through the walls and floors.

He couldn’t waste time.

Making it to his Pipe-Room, he held Harry against his body so he could grab an empty test-tube-like bottle. ‘But how do I…?’ He had never had to put anything into one of these containers before -- and although souls were naturally malleable, if Harry slipped out of his grasp… Danny didn’t know what would happen to him! Would he die? Disappear? … Become a ghost?

He didn’t even know if he could get Harry back into his own body, let alone-! ‘Calm down! … It doesn’t matter. There’s no other choice!’ Praying, Danny maneuvered the bottle to below his other hand -- and pushed down. Gently… Carefully…

At first, he thought it wouldn’t work, but slowly, Harry’s soul morphed, extended, and finally slipped into the container. Danny capped it -- And collapsed. Just for a moment…

… ‘No… Not yet.’ Mind clear of emotions -- just for the moment -- he flew back up to the office.

Everything was a blur after that: Lots of terms, names, and legal jargon tossed around; planning for how to keep panic to a minimum; what should be done with Harry’s soul, with Danny, with Black, with “The media, Dumbledore…!”

Finally, the Minister was somewhere between satisfied -- and panicking over how behind on his schedule he was, and he left. Dumbledore sighed, sat down at his desk, and there were a few moments of blessed silence.

Danny was staring at the glowing bottle in his hand. “... I fear I must apologize.”

Danny looked up. The Headmaster had always looked old, but Danny’d never seen him… frail.

“I assumed you were dangerous because of your species. Given my experiences with such things, I really ought to--” “Don’t apologize.” Dumbledore smiled. “You really are a caring--” “-- I’m an outlier. What you did -- the way you treated me… You did the right thing. If I had been any other phantasm…” His voice failed him.

‘No. Not yet.’ He focused on a table in the corner. It had some weird, silvery machine on it.

Dumbledore frowned, but didn’t comment.

“The soul,” he said instead. “It will need to be protected. I believe it would be safest if it was left with me.” Danny looked back at the elder wizard. He tried -- desperately tried -- to come up with some form of protest. But… No. He was right. The man had done nothing but protect his students the entire time Danny had known him. Meanwhile, how many times had he failed his friends?

Once was enough.

Danny handed Harry’s soul over.

Dumbledore started asking many questions after that -- about him personally and phantasms in general. Danny just told him to “Ask Lupin” and phased out of the office. He was so tired. Just… Just TIRED.

But when he got back to his Pipe-Room -- and saw the still-open bag of substitute-souls…

Danny’s eyes glowed a menacing, poisonous green. “C l o c k w o r k . . . ”

Snatching up the bag, Danny flew through the network of tunnels -- until he got to the Chamber of Secrets.

“CLOCKWORK!!!” His energy-infused voice echoed deafeningly, “I KNOW YOU’RE LISTENING! So ANSWER me!” He threw the bag at the wall.

Several of the bottles shattered, glowing-green liquid dripping down the wall like blood.

Tears were streaking down Danny’s face now, “Why?! WHY DID YOU SEND ME HERE!?!?” He punched a hole in one of the already-scarred-and-burned pillars. “You could’ve done this yourself! And NOTHING bad would’ve happened to ANYBODY! So WHY?! For ‘experience’?!!!” This time, the pillar shattered.

“. . .” Danny floated down to the ground -- and sat with his back resting against the pillar’s remains. “... Why would you send a damn predator… “-- a spirit-eater -- “… to save people…?”

“...”

“... Heh. Why did I think you’d answer me…? … You never do…”

He was… Just so tired. His eyes started drifting shut. But… ‘?’ ‘Why is there a nest--? Oh.’ Buckbeak. In all of the confusion, he’d almost forgotten the hippogriff.

It was a remarkably quick, uneventful trip.

He’d find out much of what happened later from Ron and Hermione. The rest of the student body -- of the entire magic society -- was under the impression that Harry Potter had been the victim of a “close-call” and would be taking a few months off with his newly-declared-innocent godfather to recover. While there was a manhunt going on for Peter Pettigrew, the true criminal.

Just about everyone else was happy: exams were over, there was another Hogsmeade Weekend coming up, and the dementors were being sent back to Azkaban where they belonged! And if Hermione and Ron were dispirited -- well, of course they were. Their friend had gotten hurt!

Buckbeak was assumed (in the official story, anyway) to have flown off on his own. (Lupin and Hagrid worked together to find a way to set the creature free in his natural habitat.) Malfoy was furious that the phantasm had “probably eaten” the hippogriff -- that he and his father had been “outwitted by a creature!”

If there was anything that was bringing the other students down, it was that Lupin was resigning as the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Snape, the Potions teacher, evidently disliked Lupin and had revealed his status as a werewolf. Apparently, students’ parents were not comfortable with that.

But if they were unnerved by a werewolf teacher, they were at least equally unhappy about the presence of a phantasm inside the school. Danny couldn’t stay there. But Dumbledore didn’t want him far away, as Danny was the only one they knew of who could even potentially return Harry’s soul to his body. Sirius, saying he owed him, agreed to take Danny in. And as Harry’s newly closest relative, Sirius was given Harry’s belongings.

But before he could leave the school, Danny needed, desperately needed, to complete at least one part of his mission successfully. And now that the school-year was over, he could do it.

Without hurting his friend!

McGonagall briefly greeted the Ministry official outside the school entrance. Then simply handed them an envelope, and they went their separate ways. Invisible, Danny flew down to them. Thankfully, they had put the envelope in their pocket, and weren’t still holding it -- where they would’ve felt the loss of weight. Reaching intangibly inside their robe, Danny snatched one of the items.

That he was sent here to steal. By order of the Observants. A mission “FAR more important than some silly horcruxes!”

One time-turner down. An entire cabinet-full to go.

Ghost Zone - Observants’ Council - One week before Danny’s mission began

The room was large, and every seat was filled by a member of the Council. Most were Observants. Their appearance -- just a giant, green eyeball for a head -- continued to weird Danny out.

Odin, the Guarder of Knowledge -- and Clockwork’s brother -- shuffled the papers on his podium. “I believe that covers just about everything. Only one item remains. Clockwork?”

Standing, Clockwork spoke, “Yes, Brother?” “We have a mission for you and your…” He gave a hesitant glance at Danny, “apprentice.”

Looking up, Danny thought Clockwork might be glaring slightly -- but it quickly disappeared. He bowed, “Of course. It is my duty and pleasure to serve the Council.”

“You are aware of the anomalies that have occurred because of the Magic Society you have an… agreement with?” There was outbreak of nervous and angry murmurs from the Observants. Clockwork remained stoic, “Yes, I am.”

Odin was openly glaring now. “They have broken their contract. You are to inform them of as much and to retrieve the time manipulating devices you supplied them with.”

Clockwork nodded. Danny could’ve sworn he was smirking. “Of course. We’ll get right on that.”

~~~~~

If you liked this story, please REBLOG!

That does it for Arc 1. Tell me what you think!

Arc 2 should be coming out some time in the Spring or Summer of 2020, but fanart might make me write faster. ;) If you just can’t wait that long for more, you can always send me a request for my One-Shot Wednesdays! I won’t give you big spoilers, but you can get some extra scenes that way, lol. (Look here for info on how requests work and check out my collection of one-shots here)

Finally, I have a few announcements:

First, I just started selling original content! I have three Original OSWs for sale (you can still read them for free, but you can now get an ebook copy for yourself) as well as a Poem Book.

Second, the poll to vote for the next OSWs is up! You can vote here until August 7th, or (if you find this fic too late to do so) you can find the current poll on my Tumblr, Twitter, or Website.

Finally, I’ll be on vacation for the next couple of weeks. Getting all these chapters out AND working on setting up everything for my original content has… REALLY worn me out. I’m glad you all have enjoyed this fic so far, and I hope I can continue making stuff you like for a long time! ^^

Happy Reading! <3

Other places you can find this fic: Fanfiction.net/~ciestess ArchiveOfOurOwn.org/users/Ciestess/profile Deviantart.com/Ciestess

← Previous (First)

#Voldy!Harry #Harry Potter #Danny Phantom #phantasma magica #phicc #atrieisan

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montemoutdoorgear1 · 6 years ago

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5 Little Known Places That Every Traveler Should Visit

Description: Discover unknown travel destinations and how to travel for free. Delve into this article which presents you with amazing locations from all around the world and chooses your favorite destinations. Read everything you need to know!

Traveling is an activity that will provide every person with a huge amount of confidence, knowledge, and experience. It can also be an excellent deviation from the day-to-day mundane life, which can only serve to increase the stress levels. If the person is a seasoned explorer or they are traveling just for the sake of fun, it is ideal to plan out the travel in such a way that it manages to cover some of the incredible and stunning places in the world. Every traveler will be going to see the commonly explored regions, which usually attract a huge number of tourists throughout the year, of the world.

However, traveling can become even more fun when the individual knows about the best places to visit which are not thronged by tourists. After identifying such a destination, it is important to pack the travel bag and head out exploring the world. Here are some of the six places that do not get a lot of attention but is still a must-visit for every wanderlust.

Turkmenistan’s Door to Hell

Turkmenistan may not be everyone’s cup of tea when it comes to thinking about a travel destination. However, it has one element that makes it a must visit for the traveler. The Darvaza gas crater – or ‘Door to Hell’ as it is popularly known – is a large crater located in the Ahal Province of Turkmenistan. It is a natural gas field but it collapsed into a crater a few decades ago. In order to prevent the escape of methane gas, geologists intentionally set fire to the place but it has not stopped burning since 1971. It is quite a popular destination amongst the serious travelers and more than 50,000 have visited the site in the last five years.

It is extremely dangerous to go near the crater due to the intense heat and 2014 was the first time a human set foot at the bottom. Explorer George Kourounis was able to place his feet on the bottom after being well protected with thermal insulation. He ended up collecting samples of microorganisms from the bottom.

The fact that the crater has been burning non-stop for more than 40 years has made it a must-visit tourist destination in the world.

Spitsbergen’s Pyramiden

Spitsbergen happens to be an archipelago that is located in Norway high up in the Arctic Circle and it is difficult to spot on a travel map. It is one of the closest destinations to the North Pole. Unsurprisingly, it is a very remote destination and visitors are likely to encounter more polar bears than people. However, Russians used to live in this place not too long ago when it was a mining town. However, it has been deserted since the early 1990s. Today, only a few scientists and Russian guides are capable of living there and continuing their research. Few tourists do make it up to this place in order to witness the reminiscent of a proper Arctic town.

Unlike many of the travel destinations that can be visited throughout the year, it should be remembered that Pyramiden is accessible only during high season. Once the peak season goes away, it is almost impossible to access Pyramiden through a boat. Now, the likes of a snowmobile become the only source of travel. It is certainly not one of the places to travel alone.

A strong reason to visit Pyramiden is to experience the Arctic ghost town in its full glory. It is possible to explore all the abandoned buildings but one needs to just keep an eye out for the polar bears.

Pacific’s Vanuatu Island

The Pacific is the home to numerous islands, which offers spectacular tourist destinations. There are a lot of archipelagos that attracts thousands of tourists every year, but this in itself spoils the beauty of the same. This destination, however, has the potential to offer more than just any tourist resorts or cruise destination, according to travel blogs. An ideal archipelago should come with a deep blue ocean, excellent weather, and deserted beaches. Even though Vanuatu island happens to possess all these features in great abundance, it is not thronging with a lot of tourists. Since it is listed as an endangered country due to natural hazards like volcanoes, earthquakes, and tropical storms, it is least frequented by travelers.

Even though there is a risk of natural hazards, it also results in a paradise that tourists can enjoy as if it was one of their own. Any tourist who wants to have that feeling of excitement at the back of their mind must visit Vanuatu Island. There are few places in the world where one can stare at a potential volcano eruption whilst still basking in the deep blue ocean. It is also possible to stare into a crater filled with magma or snorkel in deep blue oceans.

Bhutan’s Tiger’s Nest Monastery

Bhutan is famous for a load of monasteries that are dotted around this country. However, there is one monastery that is iconic than the rest – Tiger’s Nest. It is one of the best places to travel when young due to its location. This structure is situated on a cliff near the Paro Valley. There is a huge deal of tradition and history that is associated with the country and the various monasteries, but there is not much to come out of Tiger’s Nest – due to its difficult location. It is possible to get some amazing views of the mountains and forests around. Every visitor is allowed inside the monastery but reaching it is actually one of the most difficult tasks. One needs to hike for around five hours through extremely dense forests and also climb over a waterfall in order to reach the monastery.

Bhutan is located high in the Himalayas and it is widely perceived that the people in this country are among the happiest. The Kingdom of Bhutan has a philosophy index that is used to measure the happiness of its citizens. Bhutan is also famous for never having been colonized in history and this makes it very authentic in terms of culture and tradition. It is not surprising that Bhutan is not one of the unknown travel destinations but not many people know about the Tiger’s Nest. The trek and the hardship required in order to reach the monastery may be immense, but it will be well worth the journey. Since it is not meant for every individual, it also happens to be quite an expensive trek.

Tuvalu

Tuvalu is certainly not one of the destinations that will come to the mind when thinking of how to travel for free. It is because this remote island in the Pacific Ocean can be a haven for nature lovers with its pristine waters and uncluttered beauty. However, it is slowly disappearing off the radar due to global warming, which is having a major impact on such beautiful nations. The warming climate has led to a significant decline in the ability to habitat this island. Sea levels have risen a lot in recent years and this has affected the inhabitants of Tuvalu, who are forced to undergo drastic measures in order to save their livelihood and homes.

Unknown Travel Destinations Are Amazing

There are a number of places that have been marked in danger due to global warming. Even Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is not immune to the warming of our planet. The low-lying countries like Bangladesh still have the ability to tide over a few decades before they get trapped in the system of rising sea levels, but the same cannot be said about Tuvalu, which is already facing a major fight just to keep away the sea waters. It may well become the first country in the world to drown. As a result, it happens to be a must-have in the grand circle travel plans before the island is gone for good. Even though it may be just like every other Pacific island with white sand and deep blue waters, the history associated with the island along with the likelihood of not witnessing the same in the next few years certainly makes it a valuable addition in the small travel trailers.

All the six places are must visit for a traveler who is looking to get in the off-beaten path and visit some of the lesser-known destinations in the world.

Author`s bio:

Charles is a freelance writer and webmaster of essaywritersite.com. His main hobby is to visit little-known places in different parts of the world and share his impressions with others.

The post 5 Little Known Places That Every Traveler Should Visit appeared first on Montem Outdoor Gear.

from Montem Outdoor Gear https://montemlife.com/5-little-known-places-that-every-traveler-should-visit/

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eartimages51 · 4 years ago

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Let’s Try Again So, today I am seeing what blog provider Tumbler, is like as far as photography related blog posts are concerned. Eventually I will hit on something that works for me. A place dedicated to free speech, but is also handy for publishing photos. I am (0bviously) struggling to mate images with text. I will get it eventually. This particular post is meant to be one of those “this and that” type of illustrated articles that I enjoy doing. Photographers can get as caught up in being singular in the style and themes they use as is the case with any visual artist. Shoot the same subject the same way day in day out. That way we are sure of ourselves. When I taught photography, I was always worried that I would not have the time with a student, to express the joy of looking at any given type of subject in many different ways. Plural intent so to speak. Absorb ourselves in one style or type of imagery with a given subject, until we have a few “in the bank” so to speak, and then find another way of “seeing” the subject. Dramatic light on the land, is a popular and obvious way to envision and then capture a landscape photo. While planning and then waiting for that light to appear can take time and patience, the results are usually worth it. This image of the Guadalupe Mountains of West Texas was created in the afternoon when the light was rich and warm. The color and the contrasts of shadows which are born of the low angles of the sun which creates shadows, are more powerful (my opinion) than even ten minutes earlier. This image of Monument Valley Arizona/Utah was created when the sun was even lower than in the Texas image. Those rock forms jut into the sky just high enough capture the final rays of the day. Drama personified. Most photographers seem to view wildlife photography quite differently. That’s understandable but never over look the idea that what makes the land powerful can do the same for wildlife. Below, the warm light of sunrise bathes this baby wild Sandhill Crane by creating an inspiring, mood provoking appearance. What about the very edges of light and dark. That light is not made only for rock forms. This Snowy Egret was dancing in and out of the shadows as it went about the chore of searching for breakfast. This image has been highly successful in creative photography groups. Usually a wildlife image of a wading bird fishing, would only be admired in traditional wildlife groups. Light matters!!! When it comes to wildlife, how close you are means a lot. As photographers we spend a lot of time, energy, patience and money (long lenses) on making wildlife images up close and personal. An image that takes up a high percent of the picture frame, will always be a winner with future viewers of that photo. This Common Loon is a desirable subject and the image is enough of a close-up for viewers to immerse themselves in the world of the loon. True full body shots of a colorful bird like this American Kestrel are always popular and powerful in their presentation. The closer the better? Often times yes. This even closer image of a wild adult Sandhill Crane not only shows in detail what the face and head of this species looks like, it is personal. We feel like we know this bird personally. While close-ups are personal, they lack a “sense of place” and habitat belonging to our subject. This female Elk with her half grown baby tells us a story of the animal in its habitat. The trick was to wait for a moment when together, they struck a pose that “flattered the image“. It’s even more likely that I made a lot of pictures of these two and this is one that I like best. Sometimes a sense of habitat is more important than other times. I felt that was the case with these Bighorn Sheep grazing in a area that was just outside of the rock forms in The Badlands National Park, South Dakota. You know exactly where these wild sheep live. Close-up images of flowers is popular with a minority segment of nature photography. Not a small minority, but a minority. It was one of my personal favorites. If you look at a flower compositionally, just like any other subject, you will find that macros of such lend themselves to the same sort of compositional decisions as those other subjects. Normally I favored photographing the type of flower you see below, using the same kind of rules (there are no absolute rules) as I would a landscape or even architecture. The rule of thirds, power points etc. I used those rules below but this image has never been more than “so-so” for me. I never fully warmed up to it. Light, color, detail and contrast. That’s what I’m talking about! Bringing several elements together in one image, can be done with a close-up of a flower, just as it can with the land in the high desert of Utah. The dramatic side light in the image below, creates definition for the dew drops. It gives them a sort of texture. The composition is about giving credence to what is the closest to us, and slowly diminishing the rest into the darkness. I hope you enjoyed today’s post. It feels soooooooo good to write about and illustrate photography again. For the time being, I will attempt to improve on what I am doing here, and keep Wordpress as a text only site. At least until they “show me the door” for good. God Bless, Wayne

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belporama · 7 years ago

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My plot for a Sci-Fi Film

This Mars stuff is all pure Nonsense. I prefer building a station mid-air in the Venus atmosphere where there is 1G and sauna temperature so one could take a walk outside on a platform or big balcony with something like todays diving suits on earth and thats it. You could watch lovely yellowish cloud formations at least while possibly having a drink...

Right, forgot to mention it smells bad over there.

This is a non-american solar system exploration dream since a long time. Its originally russian. The US obsession with mars is based on american frontierism and "surfacism", the idea that we have to "stand on" a planet (so you can wave a flag, duh). But actually, Venus offers much more human-like conditions, its well known. Basically Venus has equatorial jet streams that surround the planet steadily like geo-stationary satellites on earth. So at around 50miles high, a Venus station would "stick" to one place and slowly surround the planet, similar to our ISS now, just *within* Venus' atmosphere. Remember that Venus has this way huge atmosphere much higher than anything else which means geo-stationary orbit is still *in* the atmosphere not outside like with earth. All this is well known, just not popular with US sci-fi authors. And its actually rather cheap to get there instead of Mars.

The story line: life on earth ends abruptly (aliens) but then we run out of options, in today’s world, so refugees fly to the ISS, hi-jack it (lotsa drama), and steer it into the Venus atmosphere, to do just that. That actually *might* even work, today...

One could add the twist that those aliens landing on earth being the reason why we had to hide away or flee to the Venus atmosphere then themselves end up “not getting” surfacism, completely ignore the land masses, and are just obsessed with colonizing the deepest deep sea grounds on earth, ‘cos that’s the closest to *their* natural habitat & ignoring the land masses & humans altogether. But we shot lots of nukes at them ‘cos we were so sure they would land “on earth”.

So basically I’m trying to get at is making fun of, or questioning, what species think of what “landing on another planet” actually is and we constantly see that from our own perspective only, which means “walking on some soil”.

With Venus, you have to think of the ground level being like deep sea levels on earth, very hostile to us and somewhere mid-air its actually pretty nice. We would “feel” like humans there (the only place in our solar system), same gravity, just quite hot, but not so hot that you die immediately, you’d be ok with a simple aircon, and I haven’t mentioned yet there is also no radiation from space.

On Mars, BTW, things just *look* like on earth, but you will feel very unhuman, uncomfortable, all the time, so while your eyes show you this image of something like a desert your body will feel like being on a bad LSD trip all the time, while Venus is the other way around, it looks nuts, living in yellow clouds with no horizon, but you’ll sleep well and feel really good - its just that we can’t imagine that from a pop culture perspective and therefore keep pushing for Mars just because it *looks* a bit like earth & ignoring that everything else basically sucks over there.

#sci-fi & fantasy #space #venus #mars

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utopiainspiration · 7 years ago

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World Building June Day 3: Geography

I know absolutely nothing of city planning, so I will leave that for the future. But I wanted to at least have some kind of basic map of the area surrounding Konlateus City.

To the south we can see the massive platform housing Konlateus city. Notable locations include:

-Konlateu Starport:

A state of the art starport large enough to handle all traffic coming in and out of the city. Complete with shopping malls and coffin apartments for its staff. Nearby hotels give visiting entrepeneurs a wonderful view of the wast fields of crops outside the city.

-UCBX Tower:

The heart of Konlateus City, a massive spire owned by the UCBX. All kinds of business take place here and they rent out office space minor companies to help them get an upstart. The tower is to date the highest building on the main platform of Konlateus City, and its top floor houses among other things the Mayoral office and suite.

-Geopower CO.

As the citys industries grew so did the demand for power. Geopower CO presented their plans for utilizing the planets natural volcanic activity to power turbines and generate power. The actual power plant lies at the bottom of the ocean further out the bay, but from there the power is processed at the sizeable Geopower CO. dome. The dome also houses a lot of research and manufacturing facilities for Geopowers various projects in the sector, and has become something of their headquarters in the recent years.

-Old fishery.

Even if the fishing industry has grown to an enormous scale over the years, and the companies engaging it it has their own fisheries along the coast and around the rim of Konlateus Citys platform, the old Fishery where it started still sees some activity. A not entirely negligible part of Konlateus population lives here and works in and around the fish processing industry. Some of the workers who’s employers doesn’t offer housing on the platform also live down here.

-Konlateus University.

A very newly opened university, mostly built with donations from the UCBX member Gaias Bounty and Xarph Enterprises. The university teaches mostly natural sciences, economics, and engineering. They have a strong moral philosophy and work hard to instill their students with the ethics and virtues of neo-capitalism.

-Old Colony.

The initial colony of Konlateus is these days something of a slum. As more and more people have moved onto the platform to support their livelihoods only those who cant or wont adapt to life in the steel spires remain here. The majority of the locals are Bizacouer who have a hard time fitting in with the anthro-centric architecture of the modern Konlateus City, not to mention are often discriminated against when it comes to employment opportunities. You see a lot of them with cut tentacles these days, and Bizachew® have several depots where one can sell their tentacles.

Lets move on to the solar system of Konlateus

While the system have several celestial bodies and more planets than shown, these are just some of the few that are worthy of mention. The system circles a sun-like star. It is even refered to colloquially as “the sun”, while the sun as we on Earth today know it would be refered to as “Sol”.

Djinn-

Closest to the star, Djinn is a irradiated sphere rushing around its orbit. It is laden with many valuable minerals and there where plans to set up a mining facility there long before UCBX came around even if it wasn’t until now that they made it happen. The facility is mostly run by robots with a handful of well paid experts keeping an eye on operations.

Konlateus-

A blue orb sitting comfortable right in the stars Goldilocks range. Konlateus has four major continents, where only one, Carapa, is widely inhabited. The other continents have some minor colonies, some still loyal to Utopian ideals, but their lack of space ports makes it hard to stay in contanct with the Core Worlds. Carapa houses Konlateus City is heavily affected by the adaptions made for the expansion of the agricultural industry. In recent years, UCBX tourists have came to Konlateus to admire the wildlife and a number of tourist attractions have popped up around the planet to cater to them.

Bounty-

The massive gas giant of the system and the source of all its noble gasses, which builds the backbone of the solar economy. It is rich in Hydrogen while many of its moons have generous deposits of Helium-3, making it a one-stop shop for fusion power. The planet ha several habitat modules in orbit and some of them has even gotten big enough that they are cities themselves.

Karo-

The outermost planet of the system was once an outpost for the Utopian scout service. The station has been recalled since Utopia considered UCBXs mercenaries a threat to the safety of the scouts. The facilities are still here but are fallen to neglect and unused. Entrepeneurs in the system are considering prospecting the planet for iron and other ores.

#geography #wbj #wbj 2017 #wbj2017 #own writing #Legends from konlateus

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oselatra · 6 years ago

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Exploring the White River Refuge with biologist Matt Moran

Where you'll find the largest bottomland hardwood forest in the lower Mississippi River Valley.

Deep in the Delta, just a few miles north of where the White and the Arkansas rivers merge and pour into the Mississippi, you'll find the largest tree in the state. Arkansas's champion bald cypress stands 120 feet high with a circumference of 514 inches, big enough for seven tree huggers to wrap themselves around it. That's not accounting for the retinue of "knees" that crowd the cypress' base, some of them taller than a person.

Mighty though it is, the cypress is just the most prominent citizen in a vast woodland community hugging the lower White as it winds a course between Monroe, Arkansas and Phillips counties. This is the Dale Bumpers White River National Wildlife Refuge, a sinuous island of bottomland hardwood forest rising from a sea of cotton, soybeans, rice and other row crops. At 160,000 acres, it's the largest such forest to be found anywhere in the lower Mississippi River Valley and one of the last remaining pieces of a world almost entirely lost to agriculture.

Hunters and fishermen know the refuge is one of the great natural jewels of the state, as do birdwatchers. But somehow, it's been neglected by most of the thousands of hikers and casual nature lovers who flock to the Ozarks and the Ouachita Mountains. Dr. Matt Moran, a biology professor at Hendrix College in Conway, has written a field guide that aims to change that.

Moran's "Exploring the Big Woods: A Guide to the Last Great Forest of the Arkansas Delta" (University of Arkansas Press) is an invaluable, first-of-its-kind resource for those seeking to explore the White River refuge and its smaller sister to the north, the Cache River National Wildlife Refuge. He carefully documents 27 hiking and canoe trails in this Big Woods region and provides extensive context on its ecology, hydrology and natural history. Gleaned from countless hours of firsthand exploration and research over a decade, the book conveys a scientist's eye for detail and a conservationist's passion for the land in clear, accessible prose. It's available on Amazon or directly from the publisher.

One gray morning in late September, Moran, 49, took me to visit a few spots in the refuge. The 1.2-mile path to the champion cypress tree begins at a trailhead near the tiny unincorporated community of Ethel, about an hour's drive from Stuttgart.

"For natural areas, mountains get all the press," Moran said as we hustled into the forest. "The Buffalo River is beautiful — everyone knows that. This is a place to go for the biology, because there's so much going on down here. There's such abundance of life, such rapid growth. In terms of the number of animals, it's incredible. I think it's been overlooked by a lot of people."

Photography doesn't do this landscape justice; everything tends to blur together in a monochromatic jumble of chlorophyll. In person, the bottomlands just feel fundamentally different than other forests in Arkansas. I had expected a swampy tangle of brambles and brush spreading in all directions, but there's only sparse undergrowth beneath the overarching canopy of mature trees. That's because the White floods the land most years, Moran explained.

"If the water level rises above saplings' height, it'll kill them, because they can't respire," he said. "So, trees only get to reproduce during a series of dry years in a row. They have to grow tall enough to escape the flooding." That means the refuge is more traversable than one might expect. "I've walked cross-country across miles of this, and it's pretty easy."

Another perk of flooding: Ticks and chiggers are "almost nonexistent" in the bottomlands of the refuge because the annual deluge suppresses their populations. "If the mosquitoes aren't out, you're almost free of pest species," Moran said. That's a big "if," though — depending on the day and the month, mosquitos can be a severe hassle, so bring along bug spray.

Be warned also that snakes are common in the refuge, including water moccasins and sometimes timber rattlesnakes. (Wear boots. Even if you never see a snake, you will most definitely encounter mud.) So are cold-blooded creatures of all kinds: innumerable small frogs and toads, legions of turtles, the occasional alligator. Bass, crappie, catfish, gar and other fish crowd the hundreds of small lakes, ponds and rivers that speckle the region.

The flood cycle is one of the things that make the White River refuge an exceptional place. Once upon a time, most major rivers regularly overflowed their banks during heavy rainy seasons — century after century of floods in the Mississippi River Valley yielded the rich soil that makes the Delta such valuable farmland — but that natural pattern has been suppressed by means of locks, dams, levees and various other man-made interventions. Most rivers have been tamed, at least most of the time. This lower section of the White, though, still runs free and undomesticated, going where it wishes. (The closest dam on the White is the one that creates Bull Shoals Lake, in North Arkansas.)

"Obviously, all rivers flood at some point in time, but to have yearly flooding that's roughly what it was before humans came along? That's pretty unusual," Moran said.

Not every tree likes being regularly drowned, so the bottomlands are home to a distinctive set of species: overcup oak and Nutall oak, sweetgum, water hickory, sweet pecan. In the swamps, water tupelo and bald cypress dominate. I could have been convinced this forest had stood here undisturbed for millennia, but Moran said that's not the case. This land, like almost every other acre in the Arkansas Delta, was harvested for timber within the century.

"None of this is old growth forest. ... Most of it was cut in the '20s. Most of it was clear cut, and some of it was cut two or three times," he said. "What's remarkable is how big these trees are already. Because the soil here is rich, and because it's wet here all the time, they grow extraordinarily fast. Probably all these trees are 50 to 80 years old."

There are a few exceptions. The champion cypress at the end of the trail is one such survivor of pre-European times, though Moran said it couldn't be dated with any certainty because it's hollow inside and the growth rings can't be examined. The tree could be anywhere from 600 to 800 years old.

Bald cypress — which is in the same family as sequoias and redwoods — can live up to 1,500 years, Moran said. (None in Arkansas are quite that ancient, though University of Arkansas researchers have found some individuals in an old-growth stand at Bayou De View, in the Cache River refuge, that are around 1,200 years old.)

The fact the champion tree is hollow may have saved its life. "Cypress was really valuable wood because it doesn't rot," Moran explained. "Before we had chemicals for termite protection and that kind of thing, it was really valued for building material. So, most of the big cypress trees in Arkansas were cut for their timber." Loggers likely didn't spare the champion tree out of pity; they probably just thought it wasn't worth their time, because it's a little malformed. "I think this tree may have been damaged when it was young — it resprouted and the trunks fused together. Maybe that's why it has this weird shape to it and maybe that's why the loggers decided to leave it."

The hollow interior of the tree serves another purpose: a maternity ward for mother bears.

Bears, Moran said, have an "interesting problem" in the Big Woods. "In the wintertime, female bears give birth, and they do it in hibernation. ... But there's no obvious place to den. You can't den here in the ground. Why is that? Because it's going to flood, most likely. So, they find a large tree that's hollow, they climb inside of it, and that's where they give birth. And when it floods, they'll be safely up the tree, above the flood zone." (Claw marks on the big cypress indicate it's almost certainly wintertime bear territory: "I'm not going to put my head in there and find out, but I'm sure they use it," Moran said.)

Bears were once so numerous in Arkansas that it was known as the Bear State, but overhunting almost eliminated the animals. "By the middle of the 20th century, there were only about 50 bears in the entire state — right here, in the Big Woods. [This is the] last place they survived," Moran said.

Then, in the '60s, the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission made the decision to repopulate the Ozarks and the Ouachitas with black bears brought from Minnesota. "There's roughly three or four or five thousand bears today in the state total, most of them in the mountains. And those are all Minnesota bears. They had to adapt to the climate, but they seem to do all right. Down here [in the Big Woods], these are native Arkansas bears."

Both populations are members of the same species, he explained, but "the ones here are much more closely related to the Louisiana subspecies of black bear. They're smaller and they're adapted to these really swampy habitats." It's unlikely they've interbred with the Minnesota transplants, because the Big Woods is cut off from Arkansas's mountains by miles and miles of farmland.

Today, there are thought to be roughly 500 black bears roaming the Big Woods, Moran said — a fairly large number for a relatively small area. But don't worry about running across one on a casual visit. Though Moran has often seen scat or scratch marks on trees in the refuge, they're so skittish that he's never encountered a bear.

Other animals are more likely to be seen. White-tailed deer are abundant throughout the woods and attract hunters every fall (there are tight quotas on the number of permits distributed). Beavers, squirrels and other rodents are common, as are small carnivores like raccoons, foxes, coyotes, river otters and mink.

And, of course, the bird life of the region is legendary. Millions of migrating waterfowl overwinter each year in farmlands adjacent to the forest, and raptors such as hawks, eagles and owls crowd the woods, along with smaller birds. Woodpeckers fill the refuge in "extraordinary densities," Moran said.

Before heading home, we stopped at the visitor center near St. Charles. Though the day had turned sunny and bright, the parking lot was almost empty — a reminder of the remoteness and relative obscurity of this place. A 1.5-mile trail behind the visitor center led us on an easy loop that includes a boardwalk traversing a swamp and a beautiful overlook of the White River itself, running broad and wild and muddy.

The loop also bisects a small stand of old-growth bottomland forest — a few trees that somehow escaped the loggers a century ago. "It's hard to emphasize how rare this is," Moran said. "I'd say there are maybe 2,000 acres in the entire Delta that were not harvested." About 1,500 acres of that is swamp forest, leaving just 500 acres of bottomland old growth. The largest such patch is found in the wildest southern reaches of the refuge, in a spot called the Sugarberry Natural Area. (It's accessible by canoe or kayak; Moran's field guide tells you how to get there.)

The ancient trees aren't the only casualties. Several species that were once cornerstones of the bottomland ecosystem have long since been exterminated locally, including elk, bison and red wolves. Others, like the Carolina parakeet and the passenger pigeon, are extinct.

Still, the efforts of the local conservationists and government agencies that created the White River refuge have yielded monumental results. The forest has reclaimed tens of thousands of acres of clear-cut land, a testament to its resilience. Many species once facing annihilation have rebounded as well, from bears to bald eagles.

Work continues to expand the refuge. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service hopes to buy another 125,000 acres from private landowners. But whether the refuge grows or whether its successes are one day retrenched depends in large part on whether Arkansans are invested in the survival of this remarkable landscape. To that end: Grab a copy of "Exploring the Big Woods" and go do what the title tells you.

* * *

Other things to do while you're in the area: Count birds

The Dale Bumpers White River National Wildlife Refuge hosts a Christmas Bird Count, an event in which experienced and amateur birders spend a day recording the birds they see and their number. Twelve-thousand ring-necked ducks? You betcha. This is a great way to really explore the bird life on the refuge, which in winter includes all manner of waterfowl, hawks and perching birds. It's set for Dec. 20 this year.

You don't have to wait until Christmas, however. Birders flock to the Cache River and Lower White year-round to see species that conservation efforts on the refuges are helping survive the Anthropocene onslaught. These include the swallow-tailed kite — a large black and white raptor with a distinct forked tail from the coast — that visits in spring and which biologists hope will begin to nest there. Spring also brings migrating warblers in their jewel-toned feathers, like the egg-yellow prothonotary and the increasingly rare cerulean, to raise their young. Owls, woodpeckers, flycatchers, swallows — there are all sorts of birds you've got to leave the house to enjoy in the rivers, swamps and sloughs of East Arkansas. The bird life is so significant that Audubon has declared the Cache and White River refuges as Global Important Bird Areas.

Buy waders

Mack's Prairie Wings at 2335 U.S. Highway 63 in Stuttgart — close to the flyway that brings ducks to Arkansas — is famous statewide for its hunting gear, from decoys, blinds and duck calls for the hunters to camo vests for their best friends to wear as they brave the cold waters to retrieve mallards. Nonhunters — like the birders headed over to the refuge — will find things they like, too, like rugged shirts, pants and fleecy sweaters suitable for the outdoors. Neither hunter nor birder but along for the ride? Lingerie and UGG moccasins are to be had at Mack's, right there in Stuttgart.

Eat Mexican at a food truck

The Los Locos food truck at 106 E. 17th St. in Stuttgart comes recommended for its American-style desserts by pie maven and author Kat Robinson (in "Another Slice of Arkansas Pie"), but the fajita plates, stuffed avocados, nachos and grilled shrimp will feed you up good. Have dessert, too; you'll work it off stomping in the swamp. It's open 10 a.m.-1:30 p.m. weekdays.

Après slough burger, beer and live music

Kelly's On Main Street, 313 S. Main in Stuttgart, serves ample pub grub — burgers, po' boys, meatball soup, toasted ravioli — at lunch and dinner, hosts live music on some Friday nights and serves cold beer and alcohol.

Exploring the White River Refuge with biologist Matt Moran

#Exploring the White River Refuge with biologist Matt Moran

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asexualcoded-blog · 7 years ago

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Early in January 1999 my husband learned he needed to have his right shoulder replaced. He was 45 years old, and arthritis meant he'd already undergone two hip replacements. The bad news was there was no surgeon in Zimbabwe qualified to tackle this procedure, so we had to travel outside the country for the operation. The good news was that one of the world's top shoulder specialists lived in Cape Town, a city we'd heard so much about from people who'd been there. At that time Zimbabwe was still six months away from it's descent into the tragedy it is today, so it was easy to make the appointment with the surgeon, arrange the expenses with our medical aid company, book the air tickets and contact a friend who'd been transferred there a few years earlier to request accommodation. It took six weeks to get everything arranged, and early in March we boarded the flight from Harare to Johannesburg, and then on to Cape Town.

Our friend Pete was waiting for us at the airport. After we'd collected our luggage we drove to his house. The drive along the highway from the Airport to Cape Town was our introduction to the city we'd be calling home for the next ten days. The highway was in excellent condition, and ran through areas of scrub that flowed away the verges of the road towards distant mountains. However ten minutes later we came across shanty towns that had been erected next to the highway.

They were a shabby reminder than ten years after gaining independence the contrast between the rich and poor has perhaps worsened. The shacks making up the shanty towns were made of every kind of material known to man - corrugated iron sheets and rusty metal sheets combined with wood, cardboard and wire to form an extremely uncomfortable shelter than a family called home. Even more appalling was the fact that many of the shanty houses had run wires to the overhead power lines. This dangerous link was apparently sanctioned by the electricity board - Pete told us that the municipality and the government were failing to keep pace with the demand for houses for the poorer members of society, and preferred to leave the shanty towns intact! A refuse collection service run by the local authority was operating to help keep the shanty towns habitable. We saw a number of shanty towns along the main highways during our stay in Cape Town.

Pete lives in a suburb called Somerset West, and his home was a practical and extremely modern cluster home in a compound of about 30 residences. This style of living is very popular in South Africa, because of security and reduced overheads. The complexes are very well maintained because each owner contributes towards the upkeep and maintenance of the complex. Some complexes offer communal playgrounds for all the resident children, tennis courts and swimming pools. Owners are usually able to keep pets too, because each house has its own private garden. It's also a perfect way to live in Africa if one needs to travel or go on holiday - neighbours will keep an eye on the house while you are away. My husband and I were so impressed with this way of living that the following year we bought into a cluster complex my then employers were marketing in Harare. When we sold our house in 2003 we reinvested the money in a second cluster home. If one wants to live in Africa security is very important, and a cluster home complex offers the best level of security for residences.

Pete's a bachelor, so that night he prepared a barbecue in his Weber braai unit. His girlfriend Pat came round to help with the cooking, and we had a wonderful evening. The view from Pete's house was superb. Somerset West is built on a hill overlooking the city, and the view from his verandah offered the classic Cape Town view - the sprawling city at the foot of majestic Table Mountain, the lighthouse and the Atlantic Ocean. His house had three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a large living room, state of the art kitchen and outside laundry/storeroom. He told us he spends most of his time on his verandah or in his garden.

The next morning we had our appointment with the surgeon, who was a Greek Zimbabwean - Basil Vrettos. After his examination and x-rays he booked us into a private clinic, scheduling the operation for 8.00 the following morning. When we asked husband should go to hospital that evening, Mr Vrettos told us to rather book in at 6.00 the following morning, urging us to spend the day relaxing and walking around Cape Town. He told the operation would take four hours, and that the hospital stay would be just three days! We were delighted. Pete had taken leave to be with us during our stay, so the three of us headed into the city.

Although Cape Town is a city, it's more organized and environmentally friendly than Johannesburg, and as a result doesn't sprawl in all directions. Driving into town Table Mountain was clearly visible, and to welcome us that morning it was wearing what locals call The Tablecloth. Although this is simply the white cloud blown over the mountain when a south easterly wind blows, it's very impressive, and there's a wonderful tale that has evolved around this phenomenon. A less famous mountain near Table Mountain is called Devil's Peak, and it's claimed that a pirate called Van Hunks was living out his days on the slopes of this mountain. One day he met a stranger, who challenged him to a smoking contest. Van Hunks, who was extremely partial to his pipe accepted the challenge, and the tow men spent several days puffing away on their pipes. As the smoke clouds gathered a wind blew them down over Cape Town. Van Hunks won the contest, and the defeated stranger revealed himself to be the Devil. This is how Devil's Peak got its name, and the cloud of smoke became known as the tablecloth.

Back to our itinerary. We drove to the Victoria and Albert Waterfront, one of Cape Town's most popular tourist attractions. We walked towards the restaurant area, and saw some cape fur seals frolicking around one of the piers. They were so interesting to watch, and seemed to have no fear of the boats and the noise in this very developed section of the harbour. We found a wonderful restaurant right next to the sea, and ate an excellent lunch of calamari, prawns and French friends all washed down with beer and wine. We then walked off our lunch, window shopping in some of the 400 stores that make up the waterfront. We also walked around the craft market and visited the museum before venturing into the Two Oceans Oceanarium, so named because two oceans meet at Cape Town - the icy cold Atlantic Ocean and the warm, tropical Indian Ocean. Later we drove along the coast and stopped at the point where the oceans meet. One would expect to see a distinct change or some indication that designates this meeting point, but there was nothing apart from a wonderful view across the blue ocean waves.

The oceanarium offers a unique display of all marine life. We stood in awe, watching the endangered African Penguins mingling with Rockhopper Penguins and Oystercatchers in a room designed to perfectly mimic their natural habitat - even their water is piped in directly from the sea. There's also a massive room where visitors look down upon a colony of seas. This room is actually part of the sea, and contains massive barnacle crusted rocks and sandy beaches complete with sea shells. The most exciting moment for me was walking through a clear Perspex tunnel, while sharks and other massive sea species glide silently and stealthily around you. You can watch the sharks being fed while standing in this tunnel, giving you the rather alarming impression that you're in the sea with them as they eat. We were also able to handle starfish and sea urchins - the oceanarium is renowned for educating children about their natural world, so they have a lot of conducted tours for school parties. I will never forget being told that an octopus is actually an incredibly intelligent creature, and many of the octopi in the oceanarium recognize staff members! Hasn't stopped me from eating them!

The following morning I dropped my husband off at the hospital, and spent the next couple of days driving between Somerset West and the hospital. The operation went very well, and the nursing care was excellent. My husband had his shoulder capped rather than replaced, because Mr Vrettos said the damage from the arthritis didn't warrant removal of the shoulder bone. Three days later he was discharged from hospital, the only evidence of his ordeal being the sling on his left arm. To celebrate we decided to visit Table Mountain.

Towering one kilometre above the city, Table Mountain is accessed via cable car, and the journey to the top is spectacular. The car rotates 360 degrees all the way up, affording occupants a unique view of Cape Town. More than 600,000 people travel to the top of Table Mountain every year. Several hikes are available for those fit and energetic enough to climb the mountain - but it takes at least six hours. The top of the mountain is three kilometres long with a lot of clearly signposted natural pathways for visitors to follow. The vegetation is incredible; there are more than 250 different kinds of daisies as well as several plant species that survive and thrive in the unique ecosystem of Table Mountain. There's a rare wild orchid and the silver tree, which produces the silver protea. The animal life on Table Mountain is varied, including baboons, porcupines and the Table Mountain Ghost Frog. We didn't see any of these animals, but I did loose my heart to a creature called a rock dassie. It looks like a rabbit-sized guinea pig, and amazingly its closest relative is the elephant. They're incredibly tame, and have no fear of people. I really wanted to take one home, but husband ignored my rather pathetic pleas! Table Mountain may be one of Africa's most popular tourist destinations, but it's still a relatively natural site. There one restaurant on the summit as well as a post office where mail is sent bearing the Table Mountain postmark. At the foot of the mountain is a souvenir shop, and I bought a little fridge magnet in the shape of a wine bottle filled with tiny stones from Table Mountain. Today that magnet sits on my fridge door here in Greece.

I should mention a couple of other mountains here. Signal Hill is a relatively flat topped hill with a complete view of the city and the ocean. There's a cannon on this hill that is a legacy of the British control over the Cape at the end of the 19th century. Originally the cannons were fired to announce the sighting of a ship. Ship sailing to India from Britain would stop over in Cape Town to restock their supplies before continuing their voyage. Today the cannons are fired at noon every day - except Sundays and public holidays. Another name for Signal Hill is the Lion's Rump. This is because it's actually a natural extension of a mountain called Leeukop, an Afrikaans name meaning Lion's Head. From a certain viewpoint this mountain does indeed resemble a lion's head.

We visited the largest bird sanctuary in Africa, the World of Birds. Home to more than 3000 species of birds visitors walk through the enormous aviaries and experience what it would be like to see these birds in the wild. I recall an enormous hornbill with an affinity for visitors - he would sit on his thick perch calling people to scratch his head. He was at least the height of my torso, and very brightly feathered with an alarmingly large curved beak. The birdlife included eagles, swans, herons, guinea fowl, flamingos and a variety of rare birds from all over the world. World of Birds cares for injured birds, and is a breeding centre for endangered species. The centre is also home to a number of different mammals, and we watched meerkats, squirrels, mongooses, foxes, genet cats and a huge tortoise relaxing in large, very comfortable enclosures. I cannot bear the sight of caged animals, so for me walking through the aviaries and animal enclosures was like being in the wild bush.

No trip to Cape Town is complete without a visit to one of the region's wineries. South African wine is world famous, and the Cape's vineyards are well wroth seeing. A number of wine routes are available, but we don't really being part of a crowd, and because we had an excellent guide in the shape of Pete we took our own route through the Paarl and Constantia districts. We stopped at two excellent wineries. The first one we sat on the verandah of a gracious, old Dutch Gable-style house complimenting glasses of wine with an assortment of delicious cheeses. The second vineyard was called Meerlust, and the reason I remember the name is because of the setting for our wine tasting. They seated us at a gnarled Rhodesian teak table in the wine cellar. Surrounded by hundred of massive kegs of wine we tasted some truly superb merlots, cabernet sauvignon, pinotage and chardonnay. There was also an excellent rose and some fine port. Pete, husband and I bought several bottles to take home with us. On our way back down the winding leafy roads we stopped at a restaurant that was originally a station master's office. The old building, complete with railway track, was a real piece of vintage memorabilia to the Cape's rich and varied history.

That evening we went to watch the first international cricket match at Paarl. Sri Lanka was beaten by South Africa in front of 9,000 spectators. A number of players in both teams are still active in today's cricketing world - Muralitharan, Kallis, Gibbs and Boje are names I remember. It was a day night game, meaning the second innings was played under floodlights and started at about 8.30 pm. There was a lunar eclipse that night - I'd never seen one before, and it was quite impressive, even when viewed without binoculars. Sitting on the grass, drinking wine and eating sausages and syrupy sweet koeksisters (a plaited pastry that is fried and then dipped in syrup) while watching an international cricket game under the stars... even if one isn't a cricket fan it's a special experience.

My one regret is that we didn't get a chance to visit Robben Island. Once used as a leper colony the island is 12 kilometres off the cost, and clearly visible from Table Mountain. During the 19th century Robben Island claimed many ships laden with treasures, and coins have been washed ashore from the shipwrecks. In the latter part of the 20th century Robben Island was notorious as a prison, and one of its most famous inmates was Nelson Mandela, who spent 27 years in a cell on the island.

We left Cape Town a couple of days later after husband had got the all clear from Dr Vrettos. Having been born and brought up in Zimbabwe I've visited several cities in South Africa. Cape Town is absolutely unique, and it's a city that I would dearly love to call home one day. The combination of the sea and the mountains with the wonderful history make Cape Town a varied and interesting place to visit. Cape Town is completely different to other South African cities like Durban, Johannesburg and Pretoria because it's a truly international city. People from all over the world have chosen to make their homes there. The original settlers of the Cape include the Dutch, the French and the British, all of whom have left their own mark on this wonderful city. We have friends who live in Johannesburg, and they tell us they're there for the money (Johannesburg is the financial hub of South Africa). Johannesburg residents complain that the people from Cape Town are very laid back because their lives are less stressful. I would agree with that supposition, and I'd go so far as to say I'd choose quality of life over quantity any day. Cape Town is a magnificent vibrant city. For all your window cleaning requirments in cape town visit window washing.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/172413

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dentalinfotoday · 7 years ago

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You’ve already heard the adage “breast is best.” Breastfeeding has been shown to be immunologically, emotionally and nutritionally advantageous.

But did you know there’s another rarely reported benefit of breastfeeding? Dental health.

The primal ways of providing for our children to ensure that they develop to their full genetic potential have, in many cases, long been forgotten. Breastfeeding being a good example.

Breastfed babies have a better chance of oral health thanks to breastfeeding’s effects on the development of the oral cavity and airway. Children with a properly developed, wide dental arch are more commonly breastfed, and may have fewer problems with snoring and sleep apnea later in life.

With fewer malocclusions (technical term for crooked teeth) children who were breastfed may have a reduced need for orthodontics as well. Breastfeeding also helps the lower face and airway develop correctly minimizing the chance that your child will have sleep issues.

However, many think breastfeeding will come naturally, and that’s simply not the case, according to breastfeeding experts. When discussing the importance of breastfeeding to oral health with my patients and my readers, I continually hear the following laments:

“If breastfeeding is natural, why is it so freakin’ hard?”

“I just don’t produce enough milk.”

“Breastfeeding is just too hard on my body—I’m giving up.”

That’s why I’m thrilled to invite board certified lactation consultant, Farrell Topham, IBCLC from Breastfeeding SF to the blog today to share her secrets for breastfeeding success. Farrell is one of the best in the field, and her article should help make breastfeeding less frustrating, less mysterious, and most of all, a pain-free success!

Dr. Mark Burhenne

Many moms desire to breastfeed because it is the “natural” thing to do. Dreamy pictures of mothers nursing in frilly nightgowns can be found in almost every OB/Midwife office, giving the impression that breastfeeding is a perfect and magical activity.

While nursing can be a tremendously beautiful human experience that forms a deep bond between parent and child, this ideal connection doesn’t often happen immediately after birth because breastfeeding is a learned skill.

Hearing that breastfeeding is “natural” is a bit misleading. It is the biologically normal way for mammal mothers to feed their young, but it rarely comes naturally to moms because each mother-baby pair has to learn how to do it and figure out how their puzzle pieces fit together.

Just like any other learned skill–like riding a bike or walking a tightrope–breastfeeding involves stumbling at first, perfecting with practice and absolutely requires coaching and support. Once you understand this reality and set up accurate expectations, it is time to get prepared!

Learning how breastfeeding works through prenatal education and preparation greatly increases the chance of meeting your breastfeeding goals and generally makes the postpartum experience more relaxed and joyful.

My 5 Best Tips for Breastfeeding Success:

1. Build a Strong Milk Supply

As a lactation consultant one of the most common phrases I hear is “I’m worried I don’t have enough milk!” The most important thing one can do to avoid concerns about supply is to ensure you lay a really strong foundation early on.

Here’s what most people don’t realize: The first few days postpartum are your body’s calibration period. Your breasts want to know how much milk to make and it is essential that you and your baby reply with a resounding “lots and lots please!” So how can you tell your body to build a strong supply in the calibration stage?

Frequent Breastfeeding

Lots and lots of breastfeeding is a fabulous way to not only lay the foundation for copious milk supply but to perfect the art of fitting together with your baby. Aim for at least 10 times in 24 hrs, the more the better!

Skin to Skin

When you keep your baby on your body (their natural habitat after all) you allow them the best opportunity to help you establish supply. When placed skin to skin, a newborn’s primal breastfeeding reflexes switch on – rooting, bobbing, wiggling and seeking towards the breast. Allowing baby lots of time to exercise these reflexes at breast increases the strength of milk supply and the speed at which your baby learns to breastfeed.

Breast Massage & Hand Expression

Gentle – keyword gentle– breast massage and hand expression are very effective for stimulating the breast and establishing supply. Make up your own technique or watch this excellent video.

It is important for every mother and baby to establish supply in the early days, and it is especially crucial to do so if the mom has any medical risk factors for low milk supply such as infertility, diabetes, PCOS, thyroid issues, major breast surgeries, preterm birth, or history of low milk supply with a previous baby. If you have a risk factor for low milk supply, I recommend reaching out to an IBCLC Lactation Consultant before or as soon as possible after birth to ensure supply is well established.

2. No, Nipple Pain Is NOT Normal!

Perhaps the biggest breastfeeding myth of all time is “breastfeeding just hurts!” Any lactation consultant will tell you that this is incredibly false. Breastfeeding should not be painful. It should feel like a gentle tugging or massaging sensation, it should NOT make your toes curl.

Because breastfeeding and specifically latching are learned skills, it is somewhat common to have some discomfort with latching in the very, very beginning when mom and baby are quite literally learning how to fit together, but comfort should rapidly improve with the normal repetition and learning experience. If you can’t get your latching to be more comfortable by day three postpartum, call for help!

Pain is an acute problem and should be addressed by seeking help from an expert.

Search here to find an IBCLC lactation consultant in your town.

After you’ve called for help, prevent damage such as scabs and cracks on your nipples by keeping them moist with a nipple cream and covered with a breast pad at all times! My favorite natural preparations are:

MotherLove Organic Nipple Cream

Bamboobies Disposable Nursing Pads

3. Equipment is Key

One of the things I love about breastfeeding is how low-tech and simple it can be. You don’t need a lot of paraphernalia to breastfeed. However, in the early days when you are deep in the learning curve, it can be helpful to have a few choice tools. Aside from a good natural nipple cream and soft nursing pads, here are a few of my must-haves:

My Brest Friend Nursing Pillow

Having excellent positioning with your body is the first step towards a comfortable latch. A firm breastfeeding pillow like this one provides good grounding for mom and baby and prevents gravity from pulling baby away from the breast which in turn prevents nipple pain.

Did you know gravity is the most underrated breastfeeding equipment there is? Google search “laidback breastfeeding” or watch this video on laid back breastfeeding.

4. Get Excited About Baby Poop

Before you really learn your baby’s cues and habits, many moms wonder if their baby is getting enough milk from breastfeeding. After all, there aren’t any ounce markers on our breasts!

Checking baby’s weight every few weeks at the pediatrician is a quick and easy way of knowing that baby is nursing well enough to grow. It’s also a great idea to find out if there is a drop-in weigh station anywhere in your town where baby can be weighed such as a baby boutique or parent education center.

Outside of weight gain, parents can feel confident that their baby is feeding well by paying close attention to baby’s diaper output. Making lots of wet and dirty diapers indicates good hydration and nourishment.

By day six of life, newborns should have at least six wet and at least three dirty diapers per 24 hours. The more the better!

A simple tally sheet or app such as Glow can help you to keep track of baby’s ins and outs. For techier parents who want to go hands free, check out the app Google Assistant, available on both Android and iPhone, which will log a recording when you say “Hey Google, add poop and pee.” There’s even an Alexa skill for those of you with an Alexa in your home!

5. Line Up Help In Advance

Breastfeeding and parenting are challenging. Every single mother needs support and coaching, it just cannot be done alone. It is important to line these things up ahead of time to expedite the process of getting help and support when needed.

Before your baby is born, make a list of your breastfeeding cheerleaders within your friend and family circle. Who can you turn to who will understand your concerns and offer encouragement? In our primal days it took a cave of experienced women to ensure the survival of each (and each other’s) child!

Outside of your closest folks, research your local breastfeeding and parent groups. Attending a group during the postpartum period is incredibly helpful for keeping perspective and maintaining good emotional and mental wellness.

A wonderful place to start is La Leche League, a longstanding and rich support network offered for free in almost every country worldwide and online!

Don’t forget to research ahead of time for a good lactation consultant. If you have an acute breastfeeding problem such as breast or nipple pain, concerns about your milk supply or baby’s weight, you will need a one-on-one clinical assessment from an IBCLC (International Board Certified Lactation Consultant) the top credential in the field of breastfeeding and lactation.

Trust your instincts, if something doesn’t feel right or you think you need help, you probably do!

Farrell Topham

The post 5 Secrets for Breastfeeding Success Straight from a Board Certified Lactation Consultant appeared first on Ask the Dentist.

from Ask the Dentist https://askthedentist.com/breastfeeding-success/

#Dentistry #Blog

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yahooin-travel-inspirations · 7 years ago

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Close encounters of the furry kind: animal sanctuaries around the world you should visit at least once

Animal sanctuaries around the world provide safe havens to injured animals, or animals rescued from cruel, unethical, or unsafe environments, and are run by people who genuinely care about the furry (or not so furry) wards under their care. And if you’re an animal lover just like us, the highlight of your trip to a cool new country is when you get to make some cool new animal friends! A great way to do this is by visiting animal sanctuaries in and around the cities you’re travelling to — especially since whatever money you spend on tickets, souvenirs, or experiences in sanctuaries typically goes towards the upkeep for existing animals there, or towards rescuing more animals that need help.

Ready for some close encounters with some of the most adorable creatures known to Man? Start pinning these animal sanctuaries to your wanderlust Pinterest board now!

Wolf Conservation Center

Photo: Wolf Conservation Center

Channel your inner wolf at the Wolf Conservation Center in South Salem, New York! Home to up to thirty wolves, the center’s focus is on captive breeding and pre-release of endangered wolf species in the eastern United States. Their efforts have brought about a revival in population numbers for the Mexican gray wolf and the red wolf, both of which were once completely extinct in the wild. Most of the wolves at the center are off exhibit, as the ultimate goal is to release them back to their natural habitat one day. A handful of wolves, however, act as “ambassadors”, and you can meet them through a guided tour of the facility. The Wolf Conservation Center aims to educate the public (especially young children) on the importance of sustaining wild wolf populations, and their crucial impact on the overall ecosystem. If you’d like a more intimate experience, you can also sign up for the Wild Nocturnal Adventure — this is where you can literally sleep in tents just a few feet away from these majestic creatures.

Bat World Sanctuary

Photo: Green World DFW

There are two types of people: those who are terrified of bats, and those who think these winged mammals are nothing but adorable. If you identify as the latter, then mark this place on your bucket list. It all started in the ‘80s, when founder Amanda Lollar found a tiny injured bat on a sidewalk and nursed it back to health. Her love for this creature of the night began that day, and in 1994, she founded the Bat World Sanctuary in Parker County, Texas, U.S. Today, the sanctuary is home to more than 100,000 bats, and even has a ‘bat castle’ where these critters roam free. This non-profit conservation organisation also runs education programs, which aim to spread the message that bats aren’t as scary as they’re often made out to be.

Phuket Elephant Sanctuary

Photo: CNN

This is a relatively new sanctuary on Thailand’s popular beach destination, Phuket. Not to be confused with other elephant parks of similar name, the Phuket Elephant Sanctuary is the sister to Chiangmai’s Elephant Nature Park (founded by the original elephant whisperer Lek Chailert). Sitting on a wide expanse of jungle on the outskirts of Phuket, the sanctuary is now home to six lovely elephants (and counting). Some are here living out their golden years after decades of cruel servitude, while others were brought here after being found sick, injured, or malnourished. Their tagline is ‘Where elephants are elephants’, and aptly so — the elephants here roam wherever they like, completely free from shackles, whips, and human instruction. A half-day tour will take you on a trek around the reserve, where you can observe the elephants just doing their own thing. You will get to feed the elephants, and will have a chance to be close to them, but riding or bathing them are strictly not allowed here. Do note though that you can only visit the sanctuary if you’ve made a booking — no walk-ins are accepted.

Hetta Huskies, Finland

Photo: Hetta Huskies

Visiting Scandinavia and want to experience an authentic dogsled safari? Look out for a dogsled operator that promises ethical care of their sled dogs. A prime example of a homestead that places their puppers’ well-being as a priority, the homestead has won multiple awards for responsible tourism standards and excellent animal welfare. Hetta prides themselves on their adorable huskies, who are all well-trained, well-rested, and basically very good doggos. At the right time of year, you can also hop on a sled tour chasing down the Northern Lights! And if you’re interested, you can also sign up for professional development courses at their in-house school, and train to be a husky guide —perfect if you’re planning a gap year!

Sepilok Orangutan Sanctuary, Borneo

Photo: Sabah Tourism

With ever-increasing deforestation and destruction to natural habitats, our primate cousins are literally staring extinction in the eye. The orangutan in particular, one of mankind’s closest relatives, is currently critically endangered. Poachers are also a big threat to these thinking, feeling apes; infants are snatched away and sold to the exotic pets trade, and their mothers are sometimes killed in the process. The Sepilok Orangutan Sanctuary in Borneo, Malaysia aims to rehabilitate these primates in need. The sanctuary cares for around 60-80 orphaned and injured orangutans, nursing them back to health in a protected rainforest spanning 43 square kilometres. If you’d like to catch a glimpse of these primates, and get a taste of the Bornean rainforest, join a guided trek through the lush lowland reserve. You’ll get a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to observe these beautiful animals up close, and in the wild — where they belong.

About the author:

Cherylene Renee is an adrenaline junkie, with a thirst for travel and adventure. She bungee jumps, scuba dives, and hunts for the world’s most insane rollercoasters. Check out her adventures and travel tips on Wandersugar.com, and follow her on Facebook and Instagram.

#1197772589 #Travel Ideas #animals #sanctuary #wanderlust #animal sanctuaries #travel

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kanlaon · 8 years ago

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Disclaimer: “The contents of this website are mine personally and do not reflect any position of the U.S. government or the Peace Corps.”

Renuncia: “El contenido de este sitio web es mío personalmente y no refleja ninguna posición del gobierno de los Estados Unidos o del Cuerpo de Paz.”

By | Por: Scott Elliott

<ESPAÑOL ABAJO>

Happy Earth Day,

As I write this, I am catching my breath from what I would call a perfect morning of gardening. It started as a clear and beautiful sunny morning and finished mid day just as the rains began to water all of the seeds I had just planted in my gardens up in Washington State.

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The progress on such a special day reminded me of the beautiful photos people submitted for our first ever Photo Contest that has shown how far Finca Sylvatica has come over the years. This blog will announce the winners of the contest as well as share news about when I will be back on site.

Many beautiful pictures were taken. I had a great time looking at what people were able to capture with their cameras. There are two winners to the photo contest. Our on-site property manager, Rio, wins the first runner-up prize of 5 mil colones for his photo selection. The following four are now featured in our gallery:

Morning View of Coopa Buena & Baru Volcano from RCL

Passion Fruit Flower @ RCL

Cicada on tree @ Finca Sylvatica

Caterpillar @ RCL

The first prize winner of 10 mil goes to Inês for taking the following pictures:

Feeling the freshness of Nature

Harvesting Man

Listenning the heart beats of the trees

The Wisdom Owl

I am sure that we will have another photo contest at some point, so “follow” this blog if you are interested in participating in the future. Thank you to those who participated. It has inspired me to take much more photographs when I am on site next, which may be sooner than I thought.

In a rather unexpected turn of events over the past month since my last blog entry, the Earth, in the spirit of Earth Day, at Finca Sylvatica has begun to pull me back with stronger force. It appears that I will be returning much sooner than I expected. I cannot say when exactly that will happen, but I predict it will happen no later than August. If you read my previous blog entry titled “Remember Your Dreams,” you would know that Peace Corps invited me to The Philippines. Soon after that entry, I presented the following poster at the First Washington Botanical Symposium, nearly certain that I would be going to The Philippines in June of 2017. Here is a link to a high-resolution pdf.

However, a couple weeks ago, Peace Corps contacted me and told me that I would have to be removed from my training class due to safety and security concerns because of the current domestic situation in The Philippines. I was absolutely devastated when I heard the news. My fourth attempt applying to the CRMV position was turned down. The following conceptual conversation between myself and The Philippine Eagle has pervaded my imagination and consciousness:

Scotino: It is so sad to see such majestic and innocent creature locked up for so long in such a rusty old cage.

Philippine Eagle: Things could be worse. My family was shot down and murdered for sport by your people, including my offspring. At least I am still alive.

S: I will free you one day.

PE: You have been saying that for over a decade. Has anything changed?

S: The world outside your cage has become more hostile. People are being shot over petty crimes. Climate change, environmental issues, and science literacy is being neglected internationally, but particularly in the countries that have the biggest impact on your home right outside of your prison cell.

PE: Well perhaps I’m better off stuck in this cage. Its probably safer here.

S: That may be true for now, but I remain optimistic that one day the environment outside your cage will reach a threshold when people begin to think differently about the way people manage forests. After that happens, I hope that your habitat will welcome you back.

PE: When I am welcome back, I hope to come back in whatever form is necessary.

This dialogue haunted me for a couple weeks after receiving the news from Peace Corps. Then I was offered alternative invitations to Ghana, Guinea, and Jamaica. All three of these countries have agroforestry programs, which I have much more experience with than the Coastal Resource Management program of The Philippines. Life at Finca Sylvatica is excellent preparation for all three of these agroforestry programs. My adviser at the UW and I agreed that Jamaica would be a suitable alternative. Unlike The Philippines, I probably wouldn’t have to worry about getting shot in the streets or even have to cut off my dreadlocks. I would only be a short boat ride away from Costa Rica and I could remain in PCMI and just transfer all of my paperwork over without having to reapply to Peace Corps. As the closest major island to Costa Rica, I can remain close to home while tending to my Filipino cravings for island life. For these reasons, I have accepted the invitation to Jamaica, which does not depart for an additional 9 months. This means that I will not only be the very last PCMI students at the UW, but perhaps even the very last PCMI worldwide after nearly 30 years of operation.

With this extra time, I will have the opportunity to return to Finca Sylvatica and begin utilizing all of the skills I have been gaining at the School of Environmental and Forest Sciences (SEFS), such as Continuous Cover Forestry management, GIS Spatial Analysis, Economics in the Third World, Statistical Inference, Integrated Resource Management, Plant Propagation, Interviewing Methods, Herbarium Vouchering, Rare plant monitoring, and Seed Vault management. Just today, the Program Manager of the Washington Rare Plant Care and Conservation Program expressed her support in opening up an arboretum, botanical research center, herbarium, and seed vault on site at Finca Sylvatica.

“You will want to start categorizing what you have. That may involve just doing a lot of collections and herbarium vouchering and getting them ID’d and confirmed. Figuring out, “Is any of this really rare?” Get in touch with any experts that you could start working with or an herbarium.”

Here is a picture of one experiment I just started to test different seeds growing under different soil mediums at the Douglas Research Conservatory:

I know that the Wilson Botanical Center nearby should be a great resource. I envision Finca Sylvatica can help expand on their ornamental selection with more functional species, such as edibles, medicinals, pollinators, and other rare species that diversify habitats. She also connected me with Ursula Valdez, a faculty member at the UW who has been doing a lot of conservation work with the Harpy Eagle in Ecuador. The parallels it shares with the Philippine Eagle are renewing my faith that one day I truly will circle back around to make a significant positive impact on Earth, even if it is not today.

Feliz día de la Tierra,

Al escribir esto, estoy recuperando mi aliento de lo que yo llamaría una mañana perfecta de la jardinería. Comenzó como una clara y hermosa mañana de sol y terminó a mediodía justo cuando las lluvias comenzaron a regar todas las semillas que acababa de plantar en mis jardines en el estado de Washington.

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El progreso en un día tan especial me recordó las hermosas fotos que la gente envió para nuestro primer Concurso Fotográfico que ha demostrado hasta qué punto la Finca Sylvatica ha venido a través de los años. Este blog anunciará a los ganadores del concurso, así como compartirá noticias sobre cuándo volveré al sitio.

Muchas bellas imágenes fueron tomadas. Me lo pasé muy bien mirando lo que la gente podía capturar con sus cámaras. Hay dos ganadores en el concurso fotográfico. Nuestro gerente de propiedad in situ, Rio, gana el primer premio de 5 mil colones por su foto selección. Los cuatro siguientes se presentan ahora en nuestra galería:

Cicada on tree @ Finca Sylvatica

Morning View of Coopa Buena & Baru Volcano from RCL

Passion Fruit Flower @ RCL

Caterpillar @ RCL

El ganador del primer premio de 10 mil le va a Inês por tomar las siguientes fotos:

Feeling the freshness of Nature

Harvesting Man

Listenning the heart beats of the trees

The Wisdom Owl

Estoy seguro de que tendremos otro concurso de fotos en algún momento, así que “siga” este blog si usted está interesado en participar en el futuro. Gracias a todos los que participaron. Me ha inspirado a tomar muchas más fotografías cuando estoy en el sitio siguiente, que puede ser más pronto de lo que pensaba.

En un cambio bastante inesperado de los acontecimientos del mes pasado desde mi última entrada en el blog, la Tierra, en el espíritu del Día de la Tierra, en la Finca Sylvatica ha comenzado a retroceder con más fuerza. Parece que volveré mucho antes de lo que esperaba. No puedo decir exactamente cuándo ocurrirá, pero preveo que ocurrirá a más tardar en agosto. Si usted leyera mi entrada anterior del blog titulada “Recuerde sus sueños,” usted sabría que el cuerpo de paz me invitó a Filipinas. Poco después de esa entrada, presenté el siguiente póster en el Primer Simposio Botánico de Washington, casi seguro de que iría a Filipinas en junio de 2017. Aquí hay un enlace a un pdf de alta resolución.

Sin embargo, hace un par de semanas, el Cuerpo de Paz me contactó y me dijo que tendría que ser retirado de mi clase de entrenamiento debido a las preocupaciones de seguridad y seguridad debido a la actual situación doméstica en Filipinas. Estaba absolutamente devastada cuando oí las noticias. Mi cuarto intento de aplicar a la posición CRMV fue rechazado. La siguiente conversación conceptual entre yo y el águila filipina ha impregnado mi imaginación y conciencia:

Scotino: Es tan triste ver tan majestuosa e inocente criatura encerrada durante tanto tiempo en una jaula tan oxidada y vieja.

Águila Filipina: Las cosas podrían ser peores. Mi familia fue derribada y asesinada por el deporte por su gente, incluyendo a mi descendencia. Por lo menos todavía estoy vivo.

S: Lo liberaré un día.

AF: Lo has estado diciendo desde hace más de una década. ¿Ha cambiado algo?

S: El mundo fuera de su jaula se ha vuelto más hostil. La gente está siendo fusilada por delitos menores. El cambio climático, las cuestiones ambientales y la alfabetización científica se están descuidando internacionalmente, pero particularmente en los países que tienen el mayor impacto en su hogar justo fuera de su celda.

AF: Bueno, tal vez me sienta mejor atrapado en esta jaula. Es probablemente más seguro aquí.

S: Eso puede ser cierto por ahora, pero sigo siendo optimista de que un día el ambiente fuera de su jaula llegará a un umbral cuando la gente comience a pensar de manera diferente sobre la forma en que la gente maneja los bosques. Después de que eso suceda, espero que su hábitat le dará la bienvenida de nuevo.

AF: Cuando sea bienvenida de nuevo, espero volver en cualquier forma que sea necesario.

Este diálogo me persiguió un par de semanas después de recibir las noticias de Peace Corps. Luego me ofrecieron invitaciones alternativas a Ghana, Guinea y Jamaica. Los tres de estos países tienen programas agroforestales, con los que tengo mucha más experiencia que el programa de manejo de recursos costeros de Filipinas. La vida en Finca Sylvatica es una excelente preparación para los tres programas agroforestales. Mi asesor en la UW y yo estuvimos de acuerdo en que Jamaica sería una alternativa adecuada. A diferencia de Filipinas, probablemente no tendría que preocuparse de recibir un disparo en las calles o incluso tener que cortar mis dreadlocks. Yo sólo estaría a un corto trayecto en barco desde Costa Rica y podría permanecer en PCMI y simplemente transferir todo mi papeleo sin tener que volver a presentarme al Cuerpo de Paz. Como la isla principal más cercana a Costa Rica, puedo permanecer cerca de casa mientras que tiende a mis anhelos filipinos para la vida de la isla. Por estas razones, he aceptado la invitación a Jamaica, que no se aparta por otros nueve meses. Esto significa que no sólo seré los últimos estudiantes de PCMI en la UW, sino quizás hasta el último PCMI de todo el mundo después de casi 30 años de operación.

Con este tiempo extra tendremos la oportunidad de regresar a la Finca Sylvatica y comenzar a utilizar todas las habilidades que he ido ganando en la Escuela de Ciencias Forestales y Ambientales (SEFS), como la gestión forestal de Capa Continua, el Análisis Espacial GIS, la Economía En el Tercer Mundo, Inferencia Estadística, Manejo Integrado de Recursos, Propagación de Plantas, Métodos de Entrevistas, Certificación de Herbario, Monitoreo de Plantas Raras y Gestión de Bóvedas de Semillas. Justo hoy, la Directora del Programa de Conservación y Conservación de Plantas Rara de Washington expresó su apoyo en la apertura de un arboreto, un centro de investigación botánica, un herbario y una bóveda de semillas en la finca Sylvatica.

“Usted querrá empezar a categorizar lo que tiene.Que puede implicar sólo hacer un montón de colecciones y bonos de herbario y conseguir que ID’d y confirmado.Debecir,” ¿Es algo de esto realmente raro? “Póngase en contacto con cualquier experto Que podría comenzar a trabajar con o un herbario. ”

Aquí está una imagen de un experimento que acabo de empezar a probar diferentes semillas que crecen bajo diferentes medios de suelo en el Conservatorio de Investigación Douglas:

Sé que el Wilson Botanical Center cercano debería ser un gran recurso. Yo imagino que la Finca Sylvatica puede ayudar a expandir su selección ornamental con especies más funcionales, como comestibles, medicinales, polinizadores y otras especies raras que diversifican los hábitats. También me conectó con Ursula Valdez, un miembro de la facultad de la UW que ha estado haciendo un gran trabajo de conservación con el águila arpía en Ecuador. Los paralelos que comparte con el Águila Filipina están renovando mi fe de que un día realmente haré un círculo alrededor para hacer un impacto positivo significativo en la Tierra, aunque no sea hoy.

Earth Day | Día de la Tierra Disclaimer: “The contents of this website are mine personally and do not reflect any position of the U.S.

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