#Homemade Cleaning Methods

[roserockortho]

Do you remember just a few years back when the only way to get your smile straight was to have your mouth full of metal brackets and wires? But you have to believe us, before the seventies, it was much worse.

Brackets weren’t cemented to teeth as we know them today. Instead, orthodontists used to wrap teeth in a metallic band that worked as brackets to hold the wires. Unfortunately, this wasn’t what you could call painless or comfortable.

Read more Visit Us - How to Keep Your Invisalign Clear Aligners Clean With DIY & Homemade Cleaning Methods

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[kairismess]

Hayoo!! Can I request Sakusa enemies to lovers?? I love the man sm :'))

hearts' day 009.

in which kiyoomi's got a soft spot for his favorite pain in the ass.

"i didn't hear a flush."

his deep, stern voice filled your ears as you exited the restroom, with sakusa about to use it next. his dark, wavy hair did nothing to obscure the total judgement he had written all over his face as he scrunched up his eyebrows and nose, practically glaring down at you as you exited the washroom with... wet hands, much to his disdain.

"...and you didn't even dry your hands?" he asked you with a slight scoff in his tone as his gaze darkened. you sighed and unceremoniously wiped your hands on your shirt, making sakusa part himself away from you even more. "that's even worse." "you're quite chatty today, omi, don't tell me you picked today to be a huge bitch." you retorted with a sly smile on your face, taunting him as he sprayed some sanitizer on his hands before opening the door to the comfort room.

"it appears your hands aren't the only body part you need cleaning today. i have a good mouthwash i could recommend you, i feel like you'll be needing it." he spoke with a condescending tone as he glared at you from underneath his dark bangs.

"and i think you need some bug killing spray. not for the roaches in the locker room, but for the pest i see in front of me right now." you retaliated, smiling widely and innocently as a vein popped up on sakusa's temple.

he wordlessly shut the door to the comfort room to do his business, making you chuckle a little under your breath as you mentally tallied your score against him for the 'greatest comebacks of all time' (in which, he was in the lead by about... 5 points).

you didn't exactly loathe sakusa, it was just so much fun to piss him off and make him walk away. he was always an interesting guy to you, just a little bit of... 'a bitch', as you loved to call him. to sakusa, you annoyed him more than the three thorns by his side: bokuto, hinata, and atsumu–and that was a great feat, because nobody in the history of ever has provoked sakusa to continuously answer back and one-up you more than they have.

you made sakusa feel like there was a little more to life than going to volleyball games, fan meet-ups (which he barely attended anyway), and just... anything else. you gave him some spice in his life, and though he had a preference for the bland, everyday he was so used to, it felt nice to have a little kick in his day when you start it off by giving him a backhanded compliment or a sly middle finger with a cute smile on your face.

when he entered the team's gym one day and didn't see you in your usual spot by the treadmills at the usual time you were there. he found it a little strange, but decided not to question it; he decided to text you after his training.

and true to his word, he had a brown paper bag full of bottled waters, fruits, and vitamin supplements. he handed you your favorite scented spray of his, he only knew it was your favorite when you asked him if he was wearing any perfume or where he got that scent from and presumed you took a liking to it.

you told sakusa weakly, and repeatedly, that you didn't need any help, that you were fine, despite being stuck to your bed and coughing and sneezing up a storm. "just shut up and let me take care of you. i'll help you get back to your snarky little self in a few days." he said with a softer voice than normal, about to spoon-feed you some homemade chicken soup that he made specifically for you.

you felt a little taken aback at his kindness, your eyebrows raising involuntarily at his act of charity. you decided not to fight it and give in to trust him and in his caregiving methods. he was surprisingly gentle with you, for a guy who would constantly chide and judge you to get back at you, he did do a good job of being sweet and caring at times.

maybe you wouldn't mind seeing this gentlemanly side of his more often now...

[ruiniel]

Alucard & sick Reader HCs

*totally not inspired by the devilish respiratory illness I'm contending with these days

He may take after his mother in so many ways, but he's still his father's son in having witnessed the consideration Dracula had shown Lisa during their times as a family

It all brushed off on him from a young age: humans need more tending to during times of illness

If Adrian cares, whether in a platonic friendship capacity or whichever way, he will fuss over you, make no mistake

When you're coughing so much your intercostal and abdominal muscles hurt he'll draw you up, hug you against him so you don't cough on your back; outwardly calm and composed while reeling inside (you won't notice anyway)

He'll scour his mother's papers for any aid to ease your state because he can't stand to see you hurting

He'll carry you everywhere when you're too weakened to walk on your own

He'll never let you out of his sight. Some might find that too much, too overbearing, but he's lost so many people he cares about he's taking 0 chances

You're getting homemade cough syrup and medication as soon as he figures out what the main cause and symptoms are, no buts

After all he was Lisa's most devoted apprentice

He'll rest close by, idling in an armchair or standing by the window of your chamber, quiet and unobtrusive but to be around just in case

He'll lend you all the clean shirts you need, help you change out of the wet ones as your body fights fever spells

If you call his name, the book flies from his lap

He'll gently urge you to rise from time to time, to listen to your heart and lungs; there are no stethoscopes yet in the 1400s but his hearing is sharp enough that he can discern your heartbeats or if there's anything worrisome with your lungs. He'll press his ear to your back, following all points of interest

Once satisfied, he'll lie you back down, listening to your mutterings of gratitude with a blank stare, but his lips do alight on your forehead for a fast fever check

He'll lie beside you in your sickbed and hold you close if you get chills, telling you it'll pass, he's here, he'll take care of you

He believes it, too, of course, he can't even fathom other alternatives

Adrian is nothing if not methodical, so once you're better, an immune system boost 'program' awaits.

[lucerocosplay]

Shohki Mask Cover

construction notes & photos under the cut

This has been a long time coming! I'm glad she's a costume I can work a mask into without it breaking the design of the character. I feel like people would be less inclined to ask that you remove it for photos this way ^^;

I went with a very thin cotton gauze fabric (#9 "coffee" if you're wondering), think a slightly thicker cheese cloth. It's very breathable as a single layer and seemed the best choice for an N95 cover. The shape was really only achievable with this fabric because of the shape of my mask underneath, and some strategically placed 1/2" wide horsehair braid tubing from the dollar tree. I usually stock up around halloween but they stock around christmas too!

Process is very straight forward, just traced my mask on the fold and made some rough adjustments for a card stock mock up. I like 90-110 lbs for this sort of thing but construction paper can work in a pinch too. Cut that out and fit to my face, tweaked the placement on the nose bridge and added a 1/4" allowance for bias tape/facing, and appropriate allowance for flat felled seams.

The ear tab was extended to cover the mask underneath, and included allowance for support fabric (denim scrap in my case) to support two eyelets intended to thread the elastic of my mask through. Then it was just patterning out the rest of the mask elements and making note of seam allowance and how to cut each piece. I trimmed the tape holding together the card stock mask apart and finally got to cutting out the fabric once that was done.

There isn't anything fancy going on, the hardest part was just the inset mesh panel over the weirdly shaped keyhole cut outs on the mouth piece. It's just black nylon mesh typically used for interfacing bras sewn on after making the keyholes.

This fabric is like if toilet paper were a textile, which is great for breatheability and weight but absolutely hell for machine work like this. It's not for a competition so for me, hiding messy stitching with weathering later was ok.

The portion of the mask running from the underside of each ear tab was finished with homemade bias tape. The same method was used for finishing the top portion that runs over the bridge of my nose. The ends were simply folded and sewn down at the ear tabs for a clean finish.

The side "filters" have an extra 1/2" long extension so I can tack in the ends of some horse hair tubing, then double fold the fabric back into itself before hand tacking with tiny stitches from the outside. That helps the light fabric balloon out into that shape, along with another layer of that same mesh interfacing.

They are really fun actually, very floppy with great movement. Though they stick out a tad too much so I did add one small french tack to the center of each to help them point downwards but retain that movement. The "filter" took the most hand finishing out of the whole thing, but that was to be expected.

Once the little side "filters" were sewn in, there was just light weathering to do. I wanted to add some shadows and potential "mold spores" to certain areas to really make the texture pop and hide some messy stitching. Light passes with a dry brush and some acrylic helped a lot, so did referencing photos of mold growth on clothes.

It was a pass of burnt sienna along all seams and large patches where high humidity would accumulate. Then another lighter pass of burnt umber to deepen up areas, and some very sparse areas of white. Finally I wanted to give it the "blue cheese special" and mixed a little viridian green and that same white and hit the white areas first then dry brushed the spaces between mold patches. I'm trying to replicate active mold colonies so reference photos came in handy here. I also used some nail polish to match the grommets to fabric.

Maybe when I am not crunched for time I will get around to digitizing the pattern, but for now I hope the photos help anyone else trying to plan out a mask. Obviously the shape will change a lot depending on the sort of fabric and mask you have on under it, not to mention face shape. I would imagine bifolds would give you more her classic feed bag profile than an origami style mask, however.

[solarpunkbusiness]

10 Dutch solarpunk startups

Alex in Wonderland: The startup offers healthy, environmentally friendly catering via smart fridges around town. The company recently introduced Chef’s Harvest Box, a weekly subscription delivering fresh, seasonal produce and signature homemade dips with Alex in Wonderland recipes straight to customers’ doors.

Circulair Hout Centrum: Wood is a valuable resource that is often discarded by burning or recycling at low value. The startup aims to transform this practice by establishing a wood sorting chain where reuse is the primary goal. The startup believes in creating synergy by working together for a clean, green, sustainable, and socially responsible future.

De Tweede Jeugd: The company was founded to rescue unsold bread in the Netherlands by turning it into delicious new products. De Tweede Jeugd handcrafts toasted sandwiches and crostini working with top bakers and local innovators.

Droppie: Droppie aims to create a trash-free world by adding value to recyclable materials. The startup offers a collection method and mobile app that rewards users for recycling various types of consumer waste effectively.

Food for Skin: Food for Skin aims to transform the beauty industry with honest, natural skin care products that minimise environmental impact. Its 100 per cent natural formulas use ingredients from nature, such as vegetables, fruits, plants, and seeds, to counteract false claims and harmful practices in conventional beauty campaigns, promoting sustainable and effective care.

Grow It Away: Grow It Away is a compost community in Amsterdam that redirects food scraps from incineration or landfills to create healthy compost. For €15 a month, members collect and compost their food scraps according to Dr. Elaine Ingham’s Soil Food Web principles.

MycoFarming: The startup develops biobased water treatment methods using the “power of fungi”. It specialises in producing and utilising mycelium for effective water treatment solutions.

Primal Soles: The startup offers circular footwear designs, crafting slippers and insoles from sustainable cork to prevent traditional footwear waste from harming the planet, all while maintaining a CO2-negative footprint.

Unwaste: Unwaste specialises in circular care products made from coffee grounds and orange peels. The startup believes these materials are too valuable to discard, so they repurpose them into care items that are good for both people and the planet.

VEZA: VEZA is an early-stage startup that leverages financial technology to improve efficiency in the fresh produce chain. By enabling “Buy Now, Pay Later” for wholesalers, particularly for imperfect fruits and vegetables, the startup helps address food waste challenges effectively.

[samwisethewitch]

Mushroom Broth Recipe

There's a pretty simple backstory here: I wanted to make soup, but when I went to buy groceries the store was out of both vegetable broth and bouillon, but had mushrooms on sale. I did some Internet searching and learned that making your own broth is pretty simple and easy, so I decided to try making my own mushroom broth to use as a substitute for vegetable broth in my recipes.

In my Internet searching, I also learned the actual difference between a broth and a stock. Although most people use the words interchangeably, stock is traditionally made from bones, while broth is made with meat and/or vegetables. This is kind of fun, because it means that "bone broth" is actually, by definition, bone stock, and "vegetable stock" doesn't exist.

This recipe is my own creation but it's very, very flexible. You can swap out the vegetables and herbs to suit your own tastes. If you wanted to, you could switch the brown mushrooms for a trendier medicinal mushroom, like reishi or chaga, or for whatever your grocery store has. You could also use the same method to make other homemade broths, like vegetable broth or chicken broth.

Ingredients:

One carton of brown mushrooms (these are sometimes labeled baby bella mushrooms or crimini mushrooms)

One onion, roughly chopped

[optional] One cup of dry white wine (I used chardonnay)

8 cups water

Dried thyme, to taste

Salt and pepper, to taste

Garlic powder, to taste

Olive oil or another cooking oil

Recipe:

Saute the mushrooms in olive oil over medium heat for 10 minutes.

While the mushrooms are cooking, go ahead and chop the onion. I like to leave the skin on when I'm making broth (it adds a really nice color), but you can remove it if you want.

Add the onions to the pan, and saute for another 10 minutes (or 20 minutes if you decide to skip the next step).

Add your white wine, stir everything together and let it simmer for (you guessed it!) another 10 minutes to let the alcohol cook off.

Add 8 cups of water to the pot with your mushrooms. Add the thyme, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Turn the heat up to high.

When the water comes to a boil, turn the heat down to low and cover the pot with a lid. Let simmer for at least 2 hours.

When your broth is done simmering, use a sieve to strain out the mushroom and onion chunks and transfer the liquid to a clean container. Store the container in the fridge and use it in the same ways you would use vegetable, chicken, or beef broth when cooking.

[herbz4spellz]

Prepping for Samhain🎃🧶🍁

hello yes hi!!! me personally this is my favorite sabbath! so i’ll be sharing what i usually do and how i prepare for it!!

Samhain lasts from Oct.31 till Nov.1, but please do not rush yourself to complete such activities, you can do it throughout the month :)

1.) Prep your altar! .•+*

- i clean up my altar with my homemade florida water and smoke cleanse it! then putting up pictures of my passed loved ones. I use white candles and white candles only just to be safe. I make a grocery list to buy ingredients so i can make food they loved. (Also, if ur putting up items of your loved ones, please avoid putting them next to ur candles!! tnx!!)

2.) Prep your Divination tools .•*+

- i used to do Tarot, i still do, but now my preferred method is bone-throwing. Doing divination during Samhain is the best time to do it, the line between the living and the souls of the passed living is thin, so use the time wisely and ask guidance from an ancestor or a spirit guide !!

3.) Have fun! .•*+

- cook some family meals, prank somebody, just genuinely have fun! this is a celebration, and your passed loved ones will be celebrating it with you! bring them food they used to love, converese with them by just talking to their pictures. Just know that you are loved, and they are still loved.

Bonus: Make a besom!

- i haven’t tried making a besom yet😭😭 but i’m planning to make one this year, and i’m so excited !!!!!

p.s pics above are mine, i took them, so if ur gonna use them pls credit me, ty :)

[letsgogardening]

An update from my sister's blog @thestudentfarmer !

I thought they were really good even if it wasn't the same sort of crispy I'm used to from pickles!

A little while ago I made some fridge pickles

These guys.

Well they've sat a little longer than need to so tonight we popped them open to try~

They were a little salty, not super crisp. But firm. Taste wise will make again. Has been like by all, so will use the recipe and time wait again.

The jalapeno was similar texture. Good taste.

The onions honestly I feel shone through in texture and taste. I want to amend 2 jars of that for snacking, with jalapeños for hot dog and sandwhich topping, haha.

🌱🥒Happy homesteading and Happy pickling/fermenting! 🥒🌱

12 5 2023

[suraemoon]

It Couldn’t Be Better

Elvis x Reader - snippets of Elvis’ first Christmas with your family

Warnings: None really, just fluff and flirting

WC: 3.8k (was supposed to a blurb idk what happened)

A/N: Look, I’m aware that this isn’t good and is all over the place. I’d spend a few more days on it if I could but today is Christmas (yay!) and it would make no sense to post it any other day. I put in my masterlist that this would hopefully be out by the 25th and here it is. It’s based on the prompts “It could be worse” and something along the lines of “a character’s parent makes them tacky christmas sweaters” Merry Christmas y’all!!!!! I LOVE YOU.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

“It could be worse.” Your voice radiates fake optimism as your manicured nails pick a piece of lint from the homemade, bright red knitted sweater on your upper half.

You look up from your quick maintenance to be met with Elvis’ scrunched nose and concentrated eyes as his hand pulls on his sweater's borderline turtleneck collar, a bright “Christmas tree” green to complement yours festively.

The sweaters were beautifully knit with white stripes going back in forth in turn with the chosen festive color. Glued on the knit were an array of tinseled pompoms and ironed on were different designs of patches. Smiles, hearts, stars, animals, santa’s, snowflakes, etc; they all looked like they’d be better suited on a girl’s poodle skirt. “Eh..I guess.”

Your mama had sent you two up to your bedroom to get ready in time for Christmas dinner with your whole extended family.

From her spot next to the stove in the kitchen, one that seemed permanent for her during the holiday season, Mama was cooking up her signature feast and the scent of food filled the air teasingly. The smell enveloped everyone and only built up anticipation for later in the day.

Earlier in the day, when the cold wind flowed in anticipation and the white snowflakes made themselves home, you and your boyfriend had been tasked with cleaning the whole house from top to bottom.

One of the most famous men in the country having his first Christmas at your house? Mama was quick to put a broom in his hand for she had the elder generational quality to not spend her time focusing on pop culture and society but instead what needed to be done in order to keep her home running smoothly, especially during the holidays.

“You need to wash my windows, clean my counters, sweep and mop the floors…”

You couldn’t stop a huff from leaving your lips at the housekeeping task for this was the first year that you desired to be in the kitchen, observant to her methods and helping when you can.

Your mother was easily the best cook you knew, she knew the kitchen like the back of her hand, and with your growing relationship with Elvis starting to become more and more serious, you started thinking about your own cooking skills…well the lack of.

One day you will be handed the baton of Thanksgiving and Christmas meals and there’s no harm in trying to learn the ins and outs of it now.

“You need to give the dog a bath, make sure every bedroom in the house looks neat…”

The urge to be a housewife never striked upon your young ambitious mind until you met Mr. Elvis Presley. He unknowingly had the ability to cooking, cleaning, and raising children seemed so much more desirable. A life centered around being his subservient, supportive wife seemed delicious when his hand was intertwined in yours. A few years ago, a younger and singler you would’ve called yourself crazy. Nowadays you just call yourself in love.

“You got it, ma’am.”

Elvis met this list of chores as long as Santa Claus’ list with a smile for he was a restless person always looking for something to do, always searching for an excuse to move, and you knew deep down that he missed his own mama telling him to do stuff.

Now, a few hours later, that genuine go-with-the-flow grin was replaced with the tug of his lip genuinely trying its best to exude politeness as his hand tugged on the collar of his christmas sweater again, the top of his pale collarbone teasing you in the process.

The sun was now lower in the sky but the clouds did not tire from dropping snowflakes anywhere they could. The warm light of your lamp illuminated your freshly tidied room.

It fit the comfort of the holiday spirit better than the sunshine of the early day where brightness flowed through every window as you cleaned them with a rag, the circular motion of your hand mirrored the making of a snowball. Now the view out of the window was a grayish storm of flurries, weather in which a warm sweater would come in handy.

To make light of an awkward situation, you decide to embrace it and do a quick spin in front of him, showing off your full festive outfit. The cranberry red of your oversized sweater is paired with a black leather mini skirt and black leather boots to match.

It’s an outfit that you wouldn’t usually ever wear for a family event like this. But your boyfriend's overwhelming presence: fingers that you knew would always intertwine with yours as if meant to be, an arm that would never fail to wrap around your waist, feet that would always gravitate towards being around you, it all filled you with an indescribable sense of confidence.

The pure sex appeal Elvis exuded 24/7, seemingly effortless as if the attraction comes with his nature, always inclined you to put your all into matching it’s magnetic energy. The spin stops and your feet go to tippy toes to reach up and kiss his sugar plum lips. “What do ya think?”

Elvis wets his lips as if your lipstick had a flavor and his eyes look you over your figure fully as he takes your hand to give you a quick little twirl. Instead of a full 360 it was more of two 180’s since he stopped a second to take a quick look at your back side.

A low whistle was the background music to the rest of your orbit and his cheeky little smile seemed to glow when in the presence of your maroon red lipstick. “I think I gotta see what’s under it. Gonna let me do a little inspection? Wanna make sure everything’s sitting right…working the way it’s sposed ta.”

“Elvis! It’s Christmas…gotta be family friendly.”

He chuckles as a response comes too quickly to brain, “I wanna get real friendly with you, honey.”

You hit his shoulder playfully, “Stop that.”

“Hey! It’s Christmas, honey. Thought we had to be family friendly and that hitting ain’t very holly jolly of ya. I’m surprised Santa didn’t give ya coal this year.”

“Oh please. I don’t think Santa would mind me putting ya in line for naughty thoughts.”

“I don’t think Santa would mind me bending ya over my knee for a smart mouth but…” He shrugs, putting his sleeves in his pants pockets.

You stick out your tongue at him and he laughs his beautiful laugh. Gliding as if on ice back to the mirror of your vanity, you apply some more blush to your cheeks. Getting a little too warm and secretly having the cheeky desire to show more skin, you subconsciously fold the ribbed collar of your sweater down a little bit.

When met with the black and purple of a hickey on the side of your neck, immediately the collar is put back in its original place, the fabric willing to revert back to how it was supposed to be worn and mocking you in the process as if saying “told you so”.

A whisper escapes your lip, “Jesus…”

Elvis perks up from the seat he has taken on your bed in response, for he loves an opportunity to talk to (and tease) his favorite girl, “Lord’s name in vain on his birthday?”

Your eyes, framed by black liner and an eyeshadowed lid, meet his through the mirror of the vanity, “Elvis what’d ya do to my neck? It ain’t ever been this much before.”

“Hmm…” His arms are at his sides, stabilizing himself against the plush of the comforter, and he looks simply adorable with his false pout as if thinking of a smart remark to respond with.

“Hm indeed.”

He chuckles, “Today about love ain’t it? You don’t wanna put ya collar down and show everyone how much I love ya?”

“Elvis…”

As if automatic, your eyes roll playfully and he decides to continue, “Not gonna show off that pretty little neck, huh? You always look pretty but you look even prettier when you’re all marked up…all claimed.”

“You’re too much.” You shake your head, trying to cool off the influx of red that has awoken on your cheeks.

“People wanna know which one’s E.P.’s girl? Oh, they’ll know. She got the love marks to prove it. She’s the only girl I wanna love on.”

Your soft hands go up to cover your face but they make sure to keep a safe distance in order to not mess up the canvas of progress you have made at the vanity. “Shoo…you’re too distracting. I gotta finish my makeup.”

“So…?”

“So…they’re staying covered.”

A few minutes later, he speaks again from a spot on your bed as you apply the finishing touches of your makeup. “No offense to your mama, honey, but…I don't think homemade holiday sweaters are really in trend. Not these ones at least.”

His slight frown gives way to a bright laugh, a sound prettier than the jingle bells adorning the sleeves of his sweeter.

“Everyone’s gonna be wearing one so we’re all gonna be weird together.”

“Mm.”

“Last year was polka dots…polka dots. So count yourself lucky you weren’t around for that.”

Your mother’s homemade knitted wool Christmas sweaters have been a longstanding tradition in your family since….forever. When asked, it was your great-great grandmother that started it years ago. Or was it your great-great-great grandma? No one would be surprised if the family’s Christmas sweater fascination started way back in the simple days of the cavemen when your neanderthal ancestors were in need of warmth and for some odd reason in addition to fire and sharpened sticks, they had the supplies to create tacky garments of clothing.

You and Elvis started dating in January, so this year was full of firsts with this cold December wrapping it up lovingly in a snug little bow.

When dinner was served at Elvis’ first Thanksgiving with your family, the unusual but warmly content silence around the large, wooden dinner table was interrupted abruptly by your mother’s sudden thought. A soft gasp called for hungry heads to look up from their plates.

You would think there was a lightbulb above her head or that an epiphany to solve world hunger was in her thoughts. Your mama looked at Elvis with a gleeful smile, “I’ve gotta ‘nother Christmas sweater to make this year!” You remember the way Elvis’ smile was apprehension coating in politeness, wondering what the hell she was talking about. Your mama made clothes? How has that never come up?

His blue eyes widened for a full second about two weeks later when he was sat quickly by your mother on the couch with a gift box practically shoved in his hands. “Sit, sit ,sit!” Your mama said as if a little kid again.

The same eagerness did not translate to when you sat down, as by now you knew the routine by heart. You got practically the same gift two weeks before Christmas every single year. Just different designs, patterns, and decor but in its essence the same gift filled with the same love. This was always around the time when mama gave everyone there sweaters either in person or by mail.

Now that you think about it…this giftbox looks suspiciously similar to the same one you opened last year. Is that why your mama made sure you were careful not to break it?

The ornaments on the tree, a brand new one from last year right next to one you crafted out of popsicle sticks and cardboard in kindergarten. The nostalgia and newness blended seamlessly on the forest green branches.

The opening of boxes takes attention away from the tree, a happy presence willing to blend into the background the best it can. Your perfectly wrapped and ribboned rectangle has not even been touched but you watch intently as Elvis tries to carefully peel the tape off the side of the box. Your mother wouldn’t have minded if he tore it to shreds. She would’ve told you off if you had dared, but with Elvis it would’ve been alright.

“Y-you really didn’t hafta get me anything, ma’am. It’s real kind of you.”

Your mother replies matter of factly, “Are you kidding? It’s Christmas! Of course I had to give my son-in-law something.” You and Elvis weren’t married. Not yet. But the law of the heart doesn’t care about physical papers. In the minds of your welcoming family, new people were accepted with open arms and once their hearts got on Elvis they never want him to go.

Elvis brings his attention to you for the first time in a while, lifting your chin up gently with his hands as he admires your face. “You already blessed me with your beautiful daughter. She’s better than any gift, no doubt.” A shade of pink flushes over your face as Elvis gives you a quick, soft kiss.

“Awww. My two little turtle doves. Well, I’m allowed to give ya more than one gift so go ‘head.”

When the top of the box is lifted off, a tiny sweet sounding gasp escapes Elvis’ lips as his eyes fall on the christmas sweater. “O-oh…wow, ma’am. It’s, it’s really somethin’.”

Mama watches intently, “Do ya like it?”

He could pass for a deer in headlights. “More than like it. I can’t wait to wear it for um..Christmas.”

You couldn’t help but giggle at the false enthusiasm and at this noise mom’s attention turns straight to you and the box on your lap, narrowing her eyes and crossing her arms, “Are you too cool in front of your boyfriend to open yours?”

Shaking your head, the faint sound of Christmas radio sings in your ears as you open your first gift of Christmas. It’s red to go with Elvis’ green. Youthful to contrast with a growing daughter, homey and nostalgic to compete with a fast, changing lifestyle.

Your smile is genuine as you reply, “Thanks mama. It’s really nice.”

All three of you share the most comfortable of silences. It wasn’t silent really, music flowed through the room and firewood crackled; the background ambience that makes any December day anymore special.

The memories of your mother and her cute interactions with your boyfriend (all of which showing she approved of him greatly) was interrupted by the voice of the man himself. All of sudden you were brought back where you were: in your room getting ready with the person you love the most on the 25th of December.

“You ready to go down, honey? I think I heard some people walk in.”

“Oh..yeah! Let’s go.” Taking his hand, you walk over to the door.

“Wait a second…” Your mind immediately goes to the lamp you left on but his mind is somewhere else completely. He leans down to kiss you, long and hard. The unexpected passion takes you back but your heels stay steady on the ground, all of your attention on kissing him back with the same fervidity. His calloused hand is on your soft cheek and your fingers flow through his black hair. You want the moment to never end but like all things in life it inevitably does.

“Now we can go.” His smirk is teasing and playful. He knows the effect he has on you. He knows by your red cheeks and wide eyes how weak he can make you.

“I-” Practically speechless you just nod and take his hand, walking shakily out of the door. He laughs at the sudden urgency, slapping your behind playfully as you walk in front of him.

When your face, your whole body for that matter, started to become less warm and all of the many happy greetings to family and friends were finished, the evening was going splendidly. Laughs and cheer filled the space and joy at being back together radiated off of everyone in the room.

This year, you started to become more aware of not only yourself but your surroundings. What would this look like to a fly on the wall? What would it look like to a man attending his first Christmas with the loved ones that you have grown up being accustomed to? The Christmas tree shined brightly, decorated with a mismatched array of ornaments that went together perfectly. Every seat had a person and the garlands that Elvis hung up on the walls looked down at everyone adoringly.

From your spot standing in the open arched doorway connecting the dining room and living room you are a true wall flower for a moment. You notice how the group of younger teenage cousins brought their friends over for dinner for the first time ever and it just so happened to be the year where Elvis Presley started to attend the gathering. Giggles and whispers came from the corners of the living room, juveniles no longer embarrassed by matching tacky sweaters.

Looking away, your knowing smirk turns into a wide, adoring smile as you turn your attention to Elvis playing with your littlest cousins on the fluffy rug.

Unlike their older counterparts, their innocent smiles are refreshing for they are oblivious to the fact that it is the Elvis Presley playing with them.

To the little ones, he’s just Mr. Elvis, a friend to play with. He’s cradling the youngest baby gently in his arms while sitting criss-cross applesauce on the floor. A toddler in two pigtails and a bright pink knit sweater plays in his gelled hair as if on an oblivious mission to mess it up.

Little Jane managed to get her hand on a brush and was trying to play make-believe hair salon with your boyfriend. “Sit still, Mr. Elvis!”

“Oops.” Elvis winces as the hard brush hits him on the side of the head. “I’m trying, honey, I really am. Hard when you’re trying ta pull my hair out.”

“I’m tryna make ya look pretty! If you wanna look a mess just say it.”

“Maybe sometimes I wanna look a mess.”

She groans, “You hardly got a lotta hair anyway. It’s all shiny and too hard ta make ponies.” And just like that, with an attention span the size of her tiny legs, she abandons both Elvis and the brush to go play with a group of older kids about older elementary age.

Elvis chuckles lightly and focuses on the small baby still in his lap, trying to grab at him with chubby hands. His plush lashes flutter gently as he looks down and gives the little cherub all of his pretty attention and you swear right then and there, your heart was about to escape from your chest.

“Ain’t you the cutest? You’re the cutest, ain’t ya?” The baby giggles an infectious giggle and Elvis’ smirk is just as adorable.

“I gotta get myself one of ya. A cute little baby. A littlun just like you.”

“I gotta get myself one of ya.” He’s talking to a baby, and you’re his girlfriend, the only one who can help him with that wish. Stuck in place, your legs feel weak as you lean on the wall next to you for support and your stomach can be easily compared to a snow globe filled with a flurry of snowflakes. If hearts can do somersaults, yours has many times since you’ve met Elvis.

His hand envelops one of the baby’s white socks gently. “Tiny little sooties too.”

The baby’s gummy grin gets wider as he kicks his feet, fascinated with Elvis’ hand like a new toy. Your boyfriend moves up from the itty bitty feet to tickle the tiny belly lying in front of him, then his palm relaxes, moving up and down in a soothing motion over the little one’s soft sweater. By the way Elvis’ pink lips move you can tell he has started to sing a song. It’s a quiet melody just between him and the baby he's holding. The most beautiful, adorable secrets.

When you remember that you are an actual person in the room and your legs feel less like jello, in your head you decide to walk over to the spot on the rug where Elvis is sitting but before your heels could move a second step, the ringing of a bell fills the room.

“Dinner everyone!” The voice of your mother is a saving grace to every hungry soul in the house.

Elvis stands up, holding the baby securely as if he has been a professional at holding infants his whole life. The mother, your eldest cousin, walks over shyly with a blush on her face as she carefully takes the baby from Elvis’ arms so he could go eat.

“You’ve got a really cute daughter, honey…well her mama’s cute so I know where she got it from.”

Flustered, her mouth parts a little as she adjusts the smiley baby on her hip. “O-oh. Um..thank you. Thank you very much.”

He had a way of speaking, a beautiful charm, that could make any woman he comes across blush. No matter how long the sparkly wedding ring has been on their ring finger. By the way she looked at Elvis, you wouldn’t know that the young mother has been married to her actual husband for two years. You’d think the baby in her hands was Elvis’.

Elvis smirked his “I know what I’m doing” cheeky grin and kissed the baby’s cheek before walking away.

Suddenly, You and Elvis start to walk to each other simultaneously as if all that time apart wore you out and you needed another dose, attracting like the opposite sides of the strongest magnet, the two of you meet in the middle of the room.

You’re the next to get your cheek kissed and he whispers to you, “Remember when ya said earlier that things could be worse when I was grumbling ‘bout the sweater.”

“Oh, I remember.”

He holds your hand and begins to lead you to the kitchen as he finishes his thought. “I’ll tell ya. Today couldn’t get better, honey. It really couldn’t.”

As you walk, the voices of tiny children ring out suddenly, “Mistletoe! Mistletoe!” It took Elvis tapping your shoulder and pointing up to notice that the audience was addressing you and him. Through long lashes you look up and indeed a piece of green hangs above in the archway that you and Elvis stand in. To any on-looker the image of you two could’ve been a painting. You indeed felt frozen in time.

“It’s the mistletoe! That’s your boyfriend, you gotta kiss!” The tiny voices continued their protesting.

Elvis smiles at you, “Well, I guess it could get a little better. It’s bad luck to ignore the mistletoe. Need to feel ya on me…been too long.”

“Merry Christmas, Elvis.” Just like that, you reach up and kiss him, your thumb moving back and forth on his cheek as you tilt your head to the side. He starts kissing you back immediately and an eruption of tiny cheers fills the room.

[corvuscorona]

The best thing about birthdays, all the time but ESPECIALLY in adulthood, is the opportunity they give you to really commit to a Themed Celebration of some kind.

I'm in adulthood + it was my birthday recently, and also, about 6 months before that birthday, @2000sanimeop & I were driven permanently insane by Stranger of Paradise, so obviously the only reasonable course of action was to invent an Astos-themed cocktail, learn to make edible crystals (for cake decorations), make burgers with squid-ink brioche buns, accidentally find a real recipe for a joke "what if tater tots were cube-shaped" idea we had at like 11:00 at night one time, and completely, fully go to town, all weekend, on manifesting The Jackstos Meal physically in our home.

(Art by @2000sanimeop)

Please allow me to sell you on the KING OF THE DARK ELVES.

First & most importantly, it tastes fucking amazing. Having chosen ingredients based mostly on wishes + vibes, I wasn't sure what to expect, exactly, but between the berry flavor of the cassis, the orange in the curaçao, & whatever arcane bullshit is going on with the indigo gin, the final product tastes impressively like bubbly sangria.

Secondly: one (1) of these things is enough, which feels appropriate, somehow. An Astos cocktail should be powerous, I think, & this POTION of a drink fits the bill.

It's elegant. It's over-the-top. There is so much alcohol in it. I cannot recommend the KING OF THE DARK ELVES enough.

If you can't find Astos-themed cocktail picks, homemade is fine.

[ Gold North Star Charm ] ☆ [ gold jump rings, any ] ☆ [ Circle Top Cocktail Picks ]

Now, about the crystals.

They're strawberry-flavored! We used this recipe for kohakutō, which uses just sugar, water, agar agar [1], food coloring, and flavor extract (plus citric acid, if you feel like it).

[1] Ignore what it says about having to use the one specific brand of agar agar. What they mean is that this recipe is written for agar agar with no included sugar; if there's sugar in the brand that's most available to you, just do math about it! (Sorry. It will work, though.)

It took a couple of hours to cut the crystal shapes, but it was enjoyable, meditative work, and the candy itself doesn't take long to make at all. We got strawberry flavoring specifically for candy-making, which came in very very cute small tiny bottles, at Michael's.

(The Birthday Soul Burst Cheesecake was orange-flavored, and also purple. This gave it an effect not unlike those skittles where the colors don't "match" the flavors, or a mystery flavor airhead, or some other Trick Food. It was awesome. Look at this thing!!)

But, hey, now that we know everything about the crystals...

Are those cubes?

(Yes.) There is a real, existing recipe, on our real internet, for cubes made out of grated russet potatoes. I made them. It was pretty easy, but if I had to do it again, I'd start earlier in the day (the "freeze the slab of cooked potato shreds before cutting it into cube shapes" step, while not strictly necessary, would have made it easier to get clean lines), and I'd probably try replacing the potato starch with a slurry of potato starch and water. I've used the slurry method for sweet potato fries in the past, and it gives them a really nice, crispy coating.

( I would, however, stick to my guns as far as "refusing to deep-fry them" goes. Nobody should have to deep-fry anything on their birthday. Also, I was correct to add some dried thyme and parsley while I was initially cooking the shreds. )

(Art by @2000sanimeop)

Overall, the Cubes were a good first attempt, and made an appropriate side to eat with the Burger of Darkness [2]. The little glass cauldron of terrifying red slop, to the left of the plate in the photo above, is of course Jack's Chaos Sauce [3].

[2] A normal burger, except that the bun was made with squid ink. My household is split 50/50 on whether this made it taste weird or not, but it LOOKED fantastic. Incidentally, if you're like me 1 calendar year ago & think burgers might be kind of a pain in the ass to cook indoors, check out this method from smittenkitchen. (The Burger of Darkness is topped with Colby-Jack (lol) cheese, dijon mustard, and the pickled red onions on this page, also smittenkitchen.) [3] I know what you're thinking. "What could that possibly fucking mean?" Well, it means that I combined mayonnaise, white vinegar, and S&B crunchy garlic topping, which are all 3 of the ingredients for a dipping sauce I have made in the past for also sweet potato fries, and then I added red food coloring until it looked scary and bad. It tasted perfectly acceptable, but dealt psychic damage to everyone present. I recommend trying this. For fun.

The skull-shaped cocktail picks, I bought on a whim well before I knew what I was ever going to do with them. I like to think that this was fate, speaking to me via deeply mysterious channels, as usual.

They now live with the Astos picks, in my cupboard, where I can easily reach them anytime I feel like it, which I hope will be often & for every possible reason.

🥳 💀 ✨

[alumirp]

White Blood, Red Teeth

a story where Luffy is constantly found by his friends having overdoses. It's a terrible behavior that started after Ace's death and everyone thinks it's a horrible coping method and finally gets together to admit him to a rehabilitation clinic. It's against his will, of course, so he resists and has withdrawal attacks and it's so bad that he goes on a hunger strike and loses a huge amount of weight and subsequently ends up with deteriorating health. A year and a half later, finally, after all this, the clinic considers him rehabilitated, although he is still underweight and doesn't eat as much as he should, but everyone is sure that Luffy will never look for drugs again. They are wrong and less than forty-eight hours after being released from the clinic, Zoro and Sanji find Luffy having another overdose in the bathroom of the apartment the three share. This time, the two decide to take a more aggressive approach and go after Luffy's drug dealer. Luffy is always talking about the guy, whom he calls Torao, who supposedly helped him cope with Ace's death. Whenever asked what he's on, Luffy responds "Torao's white blood", which Zoro and Sanji assume is the name of some homemade drug or something. Whatever it is, this Torao guy, is clearly taking advantage of Luffy's grief. to make a profit, so they stop at the drug dealer's address, almost knocking down the door, ready to give this guy 'Torao' a good beating and deliver him directly into the hands of Luffy's grandfather, a half-crazy police officer. They are surprised when the person who answers the door is a guy who goes by the name Penguin, who, strangely enough, lets them in easily after discovering that they are Luffy's friends. The house is nice, clean, airy, comfortable and cozy, everything you don't expect from a drug dealer's house. The place looks practically sterile in a hospital kind of way, which makes sense when they are finally introduced to the infamous Torao, a tall, malnourished guy who walks around on an IV. They confront 'Torao', who introduces himself as actually being Trafalgar Law, about the drugs he has been giving Luffy and the effects it has on their friend and, strangely, are surprised when: Law says he has never given drugs a Luffy and b: Law is surprised and then irritated when he is told about the "Toraos white blood" thing. Law then sighs and surprisingly takes off his shirt and displays his torso, covered in deep, fresh-looking bites, and proceeds to explain the craziest story of all time: Vampires are real and Luffy was turned into one the day Ace died. Law found him, injured and starving, and saved his life. He then explains that he is sick, his blood was infected from a young age with amber lead and he was living on borrowed time, so he had no qualms about feeding Luffy his blood. But they were both taken by surprise by the fact that, every time Luffy fed on him, his condition unexpectedly improved. But Law had no idea that his blood caused Luffy to overdose. He knew that there seemed to be a factor that made him somewhat dependent and Luffy was always lethargic in the first few minutes after feeding, but he never thought that his blood was acting as a drug for Luffy's undead organism. That's why in the year and a half that Luffy simply disappeared, Law, and his friends, simply thought that the vampire had gotten tired of helping Law and had left. They had been surprised when, last night, Luffy appeared out of nowhere on their doorstep and promptly attacked Law, feeding on him until Law was barely able to stay awake. Furthermore, in the time that Luffy was gone, Law's condition simply deteriorated terribly and he was practically convinced that he wouldn't make it until the end of the year. And now, they have to find a way to balance Luffy's feeding so that Law can survive, but in such a way that Luffy doesn't suffer side effects either. Everything becomes a mess when Robin, a mysterious friend of Zoro, gets involved, announcing that in fact, Law has been cursed by a witch.

[supernaturalfreewill]

You heard heavy boot steps coming up the hall and stepped out from the kitchen with a mixing spoon still in hand. “You’re back so soon,” you said, though you had to admit that you weren’t disappointed to see Sam and Dean home already and completely unharmed.

Dean, however, looked annoyed. “Case wasn’t a case,” he growled. “Not our kind of thing.”

“Oh—well, I’m glad you’re back safe,” you said, watching him retreat down the hall. He acknowledged that with a weak wave and continued toward his room, but Sam stopped beside you, dropping his duffel bag heavily on the floor. He gave you a smile. “He seems upset,” you said hesitantly.

Sam nodded and laughed. “Yeah... It wasn’t a wendigo, just a bunch of stoners who got so high they couldn’t find their way back to the campsite after ‘communing with nature’. Rangers had them outta there before we even pulled up. They were stuffing their faces with pancakes about the time we pulled in.”

“Oh,” you nodded. “Everyone is okay?” Sam nodded. “Then why is Dean so upset?”

“He wanted to use the flame thrower,” Sam explained, laughing and shaking his head a little. 

You laughed. “Ahh. Makes sense. Oops,” you said, stepping back when a dark crimson blob of something dripped off the spoon and landed on the floor. You and Sam both looked down at it.

Sam smiled at you again. “You were anxious?” he ventured, catching your eyes again.

You nodded. “Well... yeah...”

He swiped a finger on the remainder of the residue on the spoon. “Strawberry?” he asked.

“Strawberry rhubarb!” you grinned. 

“Even better,” he nodded. He wrapped you in a hug, his arms going all the way around you and squeezing just tight enough. “I’m sorry it’s so hard for you when we go out on cases. I know what it’s like to sit around and worry.”

“Yeah,” you said, pulling back, careful not to get jam on his shirt. “I suppose you do.”

“Alright,” he said, a hand light on your back, nudging you toward the kitchen and carefully stepping over the glob on the floor. “You better show me what you’ve been up to in here.” He followed you in and you smiled a little sheepishly as he took in the mess of dirty bowls and pots, leftover discarded fruit, and the sticky counter that was absolutely blanketed with freshly canned homemade jams and jellies. He shook his head fondly and smiled at you. “You’re my favorite person in the whole world,” he laughed. 

“Wait until you taste the blueberry,” you said proudly. “It’s maybe my best batch yet. A little lemon for brightness. Perfection!”

He rolled up his shirt sleeves, getting ready to help you clean up the aftermath of your coping method, and gave you a warm look. “Can’t wait.”

Prompt: “You’re my favorite person in the whole world.”

[comfortabletextiles]

I thought, that I should probably look at how much weight the fleece lost, after cleaning. And also give a soft of report about the amount of water and energy used, and his clean it got.

Under the cut, because looooooong

Roughly 100g raw fleece, cleaned with unicorn power scour made 75,29g of fiber

Very clean, zero amount of oil or lanolin can be feeled, smells like wool and a but like the power scour. Doesn't feel felted. The ends are a tad yellow

Recourses: Used 2 liters if the hottest available tabwater (47°C), 3,8g of unicorn power scour and roughly 8 liter of hot water to rinse (around 38°C-40°C).

Work: let it soak and rinse it out. Very easy, not much Equipment or brain power needed

Roughly 100g raw fleece, cleaned with homemade chestnut detergent made 77,50g of fiber

Still dirt left, we'll see how it cleans out while combing and caring, there seems to be a minimal amount of lanolin left, but it's so little I am not Shure. Ends are almost brown. Also smells kind of bad

Recourses: 5 chestnuts peeled and cut, simmered with 300ml for 15 minutes, 2l of my hottest tab water, around 8 liters for rinsing.

Work: collecting, Peeling and cutten the chestnuts, then soaking and rinsing the wool.

Roughly 100g raw fleece, cleaned with potash made 79,95g of fiber

Very clean, no traces of oil or lanolin. Smells like clean wool, ends very compacted still, also the most felted from all the projects (not badly felted though)

Recourses: 60g potash (had to order it online, not even the alternative apothecary had it), 3 liter of cold water to rinse it beforehand, 2 liter of hot water to simmer it, something to simmer the wool in and 6 liter to rinse

Work: the most workintens process, aquire the potash, rinse the wool, simmer it (but not to hot, so you need something to monitor the temperature) rinse it again... but you can reuse the potash water lots. So good if you want to clean lots of wool, but I think it's also the one where you can make the most mistakes...

Roughly 50g raw fleece, cleaned with dish soap made 39,67g of fiber

No lanolin left, smells clean, not too yellow, but some dirt was left. Not felted

Recourses: around a table spoon of dish soap, 2 liter of hot tabwater, 4 liter of tabwater to rinse

Work: soak and rinse very easy

Roughly 50g raw fleece, cleaned with wool fiber detergent made 38,85g of fiber

Very clean, almost now yellowijg, smells like wool and hint of the detergent we use, not felted

Recourses: 60ml (one serving?) Of wool laundry detergent, 2 liter of hot tab water and 6 liter to rinse

Work: soak and rinse again

Now to the most Interesting method imo!

The suint fermentation

Roughly 50g raw fleece, cleaned with fermentating it in destilled water made 40,31g of fiber

Very clean, despite some lanolin left, the whitest of them all, not felted very soft, smells the most like wool (it's a bit dirty because I dropped it on the balcony floor)

Recourses: well I bouth a black bucket with a lid So I can do it without smell attacking my neighbors, 2 liter of destilled water (or rain water, but I can't really collect that) 4 liter to rinse (same temperature as the suint bath

Work: fill the bucket with water and wool. Then wait, rinse and let it dry in the sun (so it goes faster) I didn't mind the smell to much. You mostly smell it when you open the bucket and while rinsing, after that it vanished very fast. Needed the least amount of energy.

Roughly 50g raw fleece, cleaned with fermentating it in hard tab water made 40,66g of fiber

A bit more lanolin that the destilled water. Not Shure if that is due to the harder water or that the weather got colder and I had to stop. Very soft to the touch. A bit more yellow in the tips than the destilled water and smells like wool but in an unpleasant way (not really bad, but also nothing I want to shove my nose into)

Recourses: same as destilled water but ran water

Work: also same as destilled water

All in all, I loved the fermentation the most, also I heard that you can store the bath over a year, so you can make it in time warm season and just store it for the next?? Very cool. Feels raw in the same way that spinning the locks without combing or carding. 10/10 also very recourses friendly, doesn't take lots of energy (body, brain and electric) and the least amount of work (the most work I had with it was setting up my very safe totally not dangerous way of drying it)

My least favorite was the potash, it's lots of extra steps like: getting everything out of storage to simmer it, get some potash (that you'll need lots of) let it simmer for 8 minutes, let it rest for 8 and then rinse! If you have a dedicated space for it, it could be very easy, but I don't have that space 😬

Unicorn power scour is also good. Got it very clean, was very easy and no unpleasant smells, also very fast.

[sarcasticbambi]

Spiders

HMB Bingo Board "Stab It!" + Crack

“AHHHHHHHHHH!!”

SMACK!

“There she goes again.” ��rings in the heads of the residents of the Wayne Manor.

At this point, everyone is used to Marinette’s fear of spiders and, regardless of Alfred’s countless efforts, the Wayne Manor is an old building with a big magnet for the little hairy creatures.

At first, they used to get startled and think that perhaps they were being attacked, no matter how low the chances were, only an attacker could cause such fear induced screams!

Only to arrive at the room she was in, ready to attack, to find her curled into a corner mumbling curses of all kinds and looking on the verge of tears.

Usually someone removes the spider from the room while Damian helps calm down his girlfriend.

Now, after that fateful incident no one is allowed to talk about, that resulted in a broken chandelier from the Eighteenth Century and a painting of one of the founding fathers of Gotham having dinner with a Wayne, Marinette can proudly say she can safely protect herself from the hairy eight leg devils.

And with that, also came a new source of entertainment for the Waynes: Marinette’s Spider killing skills. She had gathered an arsenal of skills and weapons just to get rid of spiders. Some of which not even World’s Best Detective Family could think of.

Some instances include:

She bought a hand shaped fly swatter to smack them with since she refused to touch them herself.

She bought spider insecticide for each and every room in the Manor so that she was never unprepared. (Made sure to use Damian’s card since it was his house, and he should keep it clean of “bugs”)

One time, she was so startled by the spider falling on the lounge room table she jumped and stole the vacuum from Alfred’s hands and vacuumed the spider.

Another time, when she noticed the insecticides weren’t being very effective, she called her mum who told her that in China, a popular way to remove bugs and insects from the house was to use peppermint essential oil and spray it around. Needless to say, the Manor smelled of peppermint for a good couple of weeks until she found a new method.

Alya also told her that when she was younger, her mum used to make a homemade insect repellent consisting of water, vinegar, pepper, oil and liquid soap and of course, our dearest Maribug decided it was a great idea to spray the house down with it - just like she did with all other methods.

She also recommended they plant Eucalyptus trees to help in keeping them away.

She only didn’t use the “spray/pour alcohol on spiders to kill them” because it had to be done directly to them and she considered it torture and she refused to use underhanded methods.

By now, everyone just rolls with it if Marinette comes into a room, flushed and huffing and asking if they have a weapon Manor never had that many spiders but, somehow, Marinette was always being “attacked” by them, as if they were attracted to her like Moths to Flame.

What was surprising was that Marinette was always very gentle with any insects and/or bugs. Especially Ladybugs, she even kept her habit of growing marigolds, sweet alyssums, calendulas and some more on a terrace garden, both at her apartment and at the Manor, which was usually cared for by Damian when she was not there.

Because of this, it was weird that she was afraid of the arachnids, especially considering how useful and harmless they actually were for the house.

This was all even more suspicious when one day, for Justice League business, Ladybug was given the “honour” of visiting the Batcave.

They first found it fun that Ladybug was afraid of the little spiders that also resided in the Batcave alongside the hanging bats (which by the way, what the heck Batman, really keeping up with the theme no?”), joking around if it was a Parisian thing since they knew a Parisian girl that was also terrified of them.

Then, she started using random objects to smack them if they got too close. Which was weird since the spiders never really came close to them, preferring to stick around the small corners and crevices. But they guessed it had something to do with her creation abilities and agreed to not host another meeting in the cave if it could be influenced by it.

Then, she started using methods that Marinette was often using around the house but improvised in a Ladybug way. Like vacuuming the spiders with the yoyo or presenting a peppermint spray from the endless pocket of space that was the little toy-like weapon.

She even grabbed Agent A’s offered teacup, threw the tea at someone - if the “Hey!” was anything to go by - and used it to cover a spider that decided to crawl across the table towards her. It was almost like she did it unconsciously at this point, because she immediately turned to him and apologised for wasting his tea in such a manner.

The highlight of the meeting was when a spider, hanging from the web, was right in front of her face falling right on her nose, causing the loudest shriek to come from The Guardian of The Miraculous. She jumped nearly five feet, attaching herself to the closest victim - who happened to be Robin - shaking him and screaming Bloody Mary.

“DO SOMETHING!!”

“DO SOMETHING I’M TELLING YOU!!

“What do you mean “do something”? What am I supposed to do, Stab It?” 

“I meant something more along the lines of smacking or trapping it, but I guess that’d also work.”

“I-”

“You know what, I honestly don’t care what you do with it, JUST GET IT OUT OF MY SIGHT”

Insert the loudest and longest sigh ever from both Robin and Batman.

“Ladybug, you are aware of just how unprofessional your beha-”

“Father, it’s alright. It is understandable that some people are frightened of such simple life forms, but if we can do it for Habibti, I don’t see why we can’t do the same for Ladybug tonight, you did say we’d change the meeting location for next time so such incidents could be prevented so I don’t see any issue with enduring it for tonight since it’d only be a hassle to change locations at the point.”

And it was thanks to Robin’s words that Batman shut up. With the argument shut down before it could even be started, Nightwing helped collect this round’s spider, and the meeting continued, with a high alert Ladybug and her trusted peppermint spray in one hand and the yoyo on the other. And every Batfam secretly disposed of any spiders attempting to get closer, none of them showing signs of inconvenience at doing such as to not get noticed by Ladybug. 

Needless to say, that no one paid attention to anything Batman was saying and yet, all proving true the “they all share one brain cell” theory when they busied their minds with thoughts on how cute she looked being so concentrated on getting the spiders - which had reduced significantly since there were very few that managed to get past them.

After the meeting had ended with agreements to rerun the points at the next meeting since no one grasped a single speck of information that night, Ladybug summoned the Horse Miraculous and opened herself a portal to leave.

She had told Damian she was going out for the night for a dinner with Chloe since she was in town, so to not wait for her - the excuse she usually went with whenever she had to go on Ladybug business and didn’t want him to know about it. Chloe was the only one of her friends to live nearby when she moved to Gotham, afterall Metropolis was just a town over so any excuse related to Chloe made sense to the little bug.

She was surprised however, to find the lights on when she got to their apartment’s door and saw Damian up and reading a book on the couch when she got inside.

“I told you not to wait up Damian!”

“I know. But what kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn’t stay up to make sure my precious Angel got home safe?”

“I guess you do have a point… Thank you for waiting up then” she said and went in for a hug, which he readily accepted.

“So, did you have fun? You look a bit tired?”

“Oh, uhhh yeah, it was fun! Ahah, but you know Chloe, it’s always unpredictable with her ahahah”

“Hmmm, that’s true. I guess an entire evening with Chloe would be a bit of a headache.”

“Yeah hahaha”

“Hopefully there were no spiders, right?” “wHAT? NO! I mean no! There were no spiders tonight!” 

Damian smiled softly.   She’s so cute when  flustered.

“Great! I’m sure it’s because of all the ladybugs that come to visit!”

“Wha- what dO yOU mEaN hic-?!” Marinette’s brain was going over a mile a minute trying to process what he was talking about. Afterall, He couldn’t have figured out her identity, right? How would he even find out if she was never around him as Ladybug?!

“Oh, you know, the marigold garden in the balcony attracts lots of ladybugs. And like their name says, they are known to bring lots of luck! So, I’m sure you had no encounter with spiders because of it! We should plant some more!

“Oh, yeah, haha, the balcony marigolds, hahaha.”

“Come on, let’s get ready for bed. I already watered the balcony garden, so you don’t need to worry your little head over it. Tomorrow we can go and get some Bachelor’s Buttons, I read that Ladybugs also like them quite a bit.”

Marinette was too dazed to keep up any coherent thought with him at the moment, settling for just a little nod.

Poor thing, she’s probably stressing so much over it. Well, I’ll keep it up for a bit longer, it’s not every day you find your girlfriend’s secret identity afterall.

Pressing a little kiss to her forehead, Damian guided the poor bug to their room to get some rest for the night.

[path-of-grass-and-leaves]

Your original spells won't work for everyone and that's okay.

So I have this rusty cast iron cat statue that I received for free. I considered having it cleaned to use as a garden decoration but later decided that it would be great for a specialized ward.

With the warm weather approaching, I've been shifting my magical focus towards the outdoors. I care for the stray cats and am slowly involving myself in rescue work, which inspired me to design a ward for protecting strays who happen to pass through my yard.

I was very excited to share this with the general public and got to work drafting an instructional post. That's when it dawned on me: Not everyone has a cast iron cat statue just lying around. Most people would need to make a substitution.

In addition to this, I realized that the spell was too specific to my practice. It required a homemade herbal infusion, an offering schedule, and a working relationship with certain spirits. It was too inconvenient for the general practitioner to replicate.

While considering potential substitutes I concluded that my most crucial spell components were iron, rust, and a physical symbol of cats. Why would someone who follows an entirely different paradigm bother with all of my extra steps when they could just as easily ward with some catnip plants and railroad spikes?

Does this mean that I crafted a useless and needlessly complicated ward? That depends on who you ask. The spell was created to suit my personal practice and specific needs, so for me it will have greater potency than if it were designed for the use of a wider demographic. Even so, another practitioner might read over my notes and think "Why in the world would you do it this way?".

Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of original spells that are well-suited for widespread use. Others are tailor-made for specific people and prefer to be treated that way. I believe that this distinction is important because when you question whether your methods will work for others you're also forced to examine why they do seem to work for you and what changes you should make in order to produce more effective results.

[ilovespec]

" Clumsy but stubborn."

| Spec × you | short story

short description : you go to work, and Spec, because he wanted to please you, decided to cook you something to eat...

WARNING !!!!! : nope lol

this is one of the ideas that was suggested to me by such a gorgeous artist as @soup-pp , thank u ma'am 🛐🛐🛐🛐🛐💋💋💋

You got ready for work lazily and a little nervously . And your babygirl boyfriend named Spec was sitting quietly on the couch... Slept... You didn't know. It's just that last night he came in covered in blood, scared you, and you took offense at him and chased him to the couch. So that his life does not seem like a raspberry (again, the local in my country is not a very new joke XD) . You left the room, and when you passed by the living room, your stomach rumbled... You forgot about breakfast. Okay... Maybe you had a snack at work. But , a MILLISECOND later, Spec was already standing in front of you and spoke with a caring tone ,

"Sweet cheeks , have you eaten? If you want, I can bring you lunch at work later!!<3"

and you replied :

"Speckle (SORRY, I really like to call him that), when you came to my office last time, you scared everyone so much that a couple fainted... It's better not to..And..While I'm gone... PLEASE. Don't blow up, burn, drown or break my apartment in any other way. "

And Spec just nodded, and then went to "sleep" on the couch when you left.

In fact, we all know that he went to watch My little pony. This is already a well-known fact.

While you were at work, Spec got bored.. And he decided to cook for you and bring you to work! There's nothing better than homemade food, right????? For this reason, Spec entered something like this query into Google:

"Easy recipes so as not to burn down the kitchen to hell to cook for your girlfriend at work and so that she forgives you."

He looked through several options and chose a simple pasta with chicken... Nothing's going to go wrong, right?? Everything went wrong. HE SOMEHOW SET FIRE TO THE PASTA THAT WAS IN THE PAN AND WAS COOKING !!!! Somehow Spec put out a small "fire", cleaned up so that you wouldn't attack him with a pillow for the next week, and through many trial and error methods of EXPLOSIONS AND FIRES, he finally cooked for you... Cookies. But it was already late in the evening. And Spec was a little upset because

" maybe my dear went hungry all day... "

And he heard the sound of a key turning in the keyhole !!! Spec immediately ran out into the hallway to meet you. You stumbled wearily into the apartment , took off your shoes and ... She fell on Spec, croaking softly,

"Speecccc....Please carry me to the couch and give me something that I can eat and not get poisoned... "

And Spec smiled happily , and after a couple of seconds you were already sitting on the couch and eating cookies from Spec. And our babygirl (Spec, of course) was sitting next to you and was touched and glad that you were eating his cooking, and not dying from poisoning, plague and something else a couple of seconds after eating his cooking :D

keep a couple of my not so bad drawings / arts of Spec for last >3