#I get more crumbs on the floor using a wet paper towel because I have less control over where they go but if that's what people want...

[marzipanandminutiae]

me, posting on a forum: hey guys, I'm kind of annoyed that my (usually very nice) housemates told me they want me to wipe down the counter entirely if I get breadcrumbs on it, instead of just brushing them off into my hand and throwing them away. I clean up spills and residues immediately with soap and water- especially if it's something that might cause salmonella, like raw egg or meat juice -but that just seems a bit excessive for simple dry crumbs when there's no other mess on the counter. I'm going to do it, but I need to vent about it

everyone else: OH MY GOD YOU COOK A THREE-COURSE MEAL AND THEN JUST SWIPE THE COUNTER ONCE WITH YOUR HAND TO CLEAN IT? THAT'S DISGUSTING!!! YOU'RE SO GROSS!!!

like. where. where is the reading comprehension

[2021fuckitup]

“ WE GET HIGH WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM OUR FRIENDS”

Helpful hints for newborn to old fuckers...

Why A Torch Lighter Is Ideal:-Your product liquifies, then smokes, almost instantly

-It is MUCH easier to control the direction the meth flows, as well as what is receiving heat

-You can get MUCH bigger hits

-You can avoid burning it so much easier than with other flames

-No flickering flame

-Butane refills are cheap as fucking shit (I got a hairspray-sized bottle of Zippo butane for the price of 2 disposable lighters)

-Don’t burn your thumb as much

-Sessions can be initiated and/or finished faster

Downsides-If you don’t pay attention, you can burn the shit out of your product, or yourself. BE CAREFUL, PAY ATTENTION, AND BE PATIENT

-Smoke through your stash quicker

-Possibly worse burns because its hotter than a bic

How to smoke meth with torch lighter for beginners:

1)First ensure that your pipe is clean.

Why?

For the ice to smoke properly. DO NOT load fresh product in a pipe with product that has been smoked, burned, or otherwise heated. If you load fresh on top of a still smokable bowl, the new and old will melt/smoke at different speeds/temperatures (can’t remember which is which right now, but I think old smokes faster), ensuing that it is very difficult to evenly heat the product. Then you get spots where part of the crystalized mass liquifies and will move with the flame, but some of it needs more heat, and for me at least, some always gets burned or darkened, and has a bad taste. If you load fresh product in a pipe with burnt shit in there, IT WILL TASTE LIKE SHIT. It will often also not melt/smoke right, AND your new stuff will taste like burnt stuff, which is THE WORST taste in the world (IM0). (FYI-I’ve heard that blowing cigarette smoke through a oil pipe (like you were going to hit it, but exhaling smoke through it instead) removes the taste. I have tried with pot smoke and it didn’t work, but have read many people say that cigarettes work.

How to Clean the Inside of A Pipe-If it is not clean, a very easy method is to fill a microwavable container (like a coffee mug) with 50% water, 50% bleach, and put the pipe (bowl facing downwards) in the water.

-Put it in the microwave for 4 minutes (yes, seriously that long-I tried after 1, 2, and 3 minutes and it didn’t work. May even take 5.)

-Let cool. Once cooled, remove from mug and drain all water.

-Using Q-tips, insert through carb hole and “mop up” the stuff left in the bowl. This may take several qtips depending on the bowl. If there is still black/brown stuff in the bowl, apply more pressure

(be careful not to break the bowl by pressing the q tip too hard on the sphere, OR accidentally pressing on the side of the carb when trying to reach around inside with q tip.) If there is still stuff in there, I have read that small bits of Magic Eraser stuffed in, and manipulated with a pole (like a q tip) work wonders, but also have not tried.

How to Clean the Outside of a PiPE

-Using a wet rag, or balled-up wet paper towels/toilet paper/napkins/etc, rub the outside of the bowl. This should cause the stuff on the outside to transfer onto the paper.

-If this doesn’t work, steel wool may work.

Handling/Prepping Product

-Dont handle meth by hand. It’s bad for your skin, and little amounts will dissolve. Instead, use:

Ideally: a 7/11 straw (this is a straw whose last inch or so is a scoop, sometimes used for slurpees or w/e those frozen drinks are; these straws I have found to be ideal for handling all sorts of drugs).

Realistically: Normal Straw: Straw been sealed on one end (tape, seal it with flame), and on the other has a 45 degree angle (45 degree is diagonal; if you cut a square in half diagonally, the diagonal line is 45). This allows you to scoop small fragments out of a bag, tin, or other carrying device easily, as the angled mouth scoops up crumbs, especially in corners of bags; while the sealed back prevents any from accidentally spilling.

Size/Shape

-Make sure your product is all of the same consistency. I find it best to use one crystal, preferably large (but not to large). I find the size of a tic tac, or slightly larger, to be ideal. Also, cubic or rectangular is best possible shape IME. I will often break long, skinny crystals because they dont burn as well as more square ones, and broken into small squares, they will smoke more evenly.

-While you can load bigger crystals with smaller bits/shake, I generally find it is best to load similar sized rocks. That is, load all shake, load two or three crystals of equal size, or put one crystal in there (usually a big one).

-If you need to break a crystal into smaller bits to make equal sized crystals (or to make odd shaped crystal more square), place a sanitary, nonabsorbent material on top of/around the crystal (no dollars bills here, printer paper works great.) and either snap it in two, or push against a surface. If pressing, you can use a finger, debit card, whatever, just slowly apply more pressure so you can crush to consistency of your liking. If you crush it all the way, you have shake(aka powder).

Differences Between Methods

Single Crystal (often large): Crystal will slowly lose mass as it melts, evenly becoming a pool (as long as you thoroughly spread it around the bowl).

Multiple Little Ones: If you evenly heat them: Will slowly melt into each other. Will be left with a very spread-out puddle, possibly multiple spread out ones.

If unevenly heated: There will be areas meth of varying thickness, accompanied by uneven melting and probable darkening/burning,.

Shake: Will liquify very quickly; little bits that haven’t yet been heated may go to weird parts of the bowl when you begin twisting, so you end up with tiny blotches and a single large or a few smaller puddles.

Loading Product

-Using straw, scoop your product into the chamber. Keeping upright, grab oil pipe and tilt at an angle so that the carb is pointing sideways, or angled down slightly. This will allow you to insert straw opening into carb before tipping the straw, ensuring you don’t miss the hole and lose any.

-Once inserted, twist pipe (while holding onto straw of course) until carb is once again pointing up. Tap straw to get all the little bits into the pipe (if meth is still sticking, use a scraper of some kind).

-Remove straw, and put pipe on level surface, BETWEEN TWO OBJECTS. THE PIPE WILL ROLL PEOPLE, AND WILL SPILL ALL YOUR GODDAMN PRODUCT AND/OR FALL ON THE FLOOR AND BREAK. UGH!

Now that you have a loaded pipe, ensure that you are ready to begin. Suggestions include

-Water

(lots of it!!) Both meth and smoking dehydrate you, and the more dehydrated you are, the more you will suffer from dental damage and brain damage (neurotoxicity). A large amount of methamphetamine neurotoxicity (and most dopamine toxicity) is temperature-dependent, as it often induces hyperthermia (This is similar to MDMA, aka XTC, Molly, rolls, etc). Water cools your body.

You should be urinating with irritating frequency, and should be voiding clear urine, otherwise you are already dehydrated (unless taking assloads of vitamins or something).

-Music

I can’t even describe how much music enhances the experience of smoking meth. It synergizes well-the meth makes the music sound insane, and in turn the music intensifies the high, making me feel even more intelligent/strong/attractive/cool/special. This is the part of the high I crave, and it rarely occurs (at least with the intensity I like) without music.

-Spare lighter/butane refill

When smoking meth, you are always running out of fuel. The spare lighter is also useful because lighters get really hot when ignited for long periods of time (like when smoking meth) and you can swap them out.

-Wet (but not sopping) rag or bundled tissues/paper towels/toilet paper/etc

This is to set the pipe on when not using it (a hot pipe will burn fabrics, fucking up whatever its on as well as the pipe), and to cool down the pipe after a hit. The pipe stays hot for a while, and if you don’t hit it, drugs are being lost/wasted. If you cool the pipe, it will stop heating the drugs faster (duh). Do not do this immediately after getting the pipe really hot-heat and cold on glass can break it. Wait for it to cool slightly, then use it.

When you use the rag to cool underneath liquified dope, it will emit a lot of smoke while crystalizing I read somewhere that the meth actually vaporizes/produces smoke when it hits cooler surface, but I don’t know the validity of that. I do know that cold makes it smoke more though.

-Salt Water

Swishing and gargling salt water while smoking meth (ie after a hit, and definitely after a session) will help prevent canker sores, help kill bacteria (which will inhibit meth mouth) clear mucus in back of throat (which will build up from smoking ice, and may possibly absorb some of it), and prevent sore throat. Its really easy-just add table salt to water (not too much). Some people say to use hot water, but there is more bacteria in hot water pipes, so I use cold.

-Biotene Products

These are oral healthcare products designed to combat dry mouth. There is an oral gel that you kind of spread in your mouth and coats it to act like a artificial saliva. It tastes kinda bad (not awful) and feels weird, but it beats dry/cracking skin, and is good for oral health. They also make alcohol-free (alcohol makes dry mouth worse) mouthwash that I find makes me produce a bnch of saliva for like 10-30 minutes, which can be helpful. They have toothpaste, but that is only to not irritate dry mouth. Finally, they have oral mouthspray, which is apparently the best, but I have not tried yet.

-Weed

Weed makes meth smoking more fun I find. Its hard to describe. Go slow as you may have negative anxiety reaction

Positioning:

The pipe will need to be twisted back and forth, so for me, I hold it in the middle of the stem between my middle finger and thumb. This allows me to easily roll the pipe back and forth. The carb is facing the sky/ceiling, and I have the pipe slanted, so the bowl is slightly closer to the floor than the mouthpiece. This allows me to put my index finger over the mouthpiece. so that when I first heat up the bowl all the initial smoke (that you will not yet inhale because it is not super thick and you want to build up a good hit) goes up the stem and is trapped by my finger rather than out through the little carb hole (which it will do when the stem is filled with smoke). Finally, it also allows me to use my pinky to cover the carb (I rarely do this because often the carb is hot).

Lighter

[Torch] Lighter is held in the other hand, underneath the dope in the bowl. Adjust your flame to lowest setting (if you can). While initially hitting the bowl, since your mouth is not on the mouthpiece, you can hold the pipe in front of you while you heat to gaug distance between flame and bowl, and make sure the flame is under the drugs. However, once you begin inhaling, you have a much worse view (through the bowl), and it is easy to hold the lighter too close (or far, but usually close), or to have it not even under the bowl. Due to poor depth perception (which I assume is from the drugs), or some visual warping from the curvature of the glass, its really easy to do this, and happens a lot. A mirror is helpful so you can see yourself. Another option is attaching flexible tubing (like aquarium tubing) to the mouthpiece so you can inhale through that while holding the pipe in front of you. This will also enable you to make meth bongs (search it).

Philosophy of Smoking Meth

Meth becomes a clear liquid when heated, then vaporizes into a white smoke. The idea is to heat whatever you placei n the pipe evenly so that it all melts down to liquid, then, by twisting the pipe, spread the liquid all around the bowl, so that it doesn’t stay in a hot place for too long and burn. Once liquified, the pipe can be twisted. This allows you to put your flame ahead of the liquid (think of the liquid chasing the flame), so that once the glass is heated, it will fall/roll down the curve towards your lighter and smoke. As you get close carb, you begin to twist the other way, keeping the liquid following your flame. However, with a torch lighter, you can soon twist the pipe without the flame and the liquid will still run for a while, and when it doesn’t is when you reapply the flame.

Quick Info On Torch Lighters

Torch lighters are very hot, much hotter than bics. Their flame is much more intense, and the heat above is much hotter than a bic. Therefore, you must keep much more distance between your lighter and pipe than with a bic. It will vary according to lighter type, pipe thickness, and especially flame size; but my flame is maybe between 1/3 and ½ of an inch, and my lighter stays 1-3 inches away from the pipe; with me increasing distance the longer its lit.

-Also, you do not heat the bowl with a torch lighter for long periods of time like you do a bic. Once it begins to smoke, quit using the lighter, and only reapply once the liquid quits moving when you twist the pipe. Also, be sure to twist pipe while lighting the whole time with a torch lighter, even if it is slowly. You cannot really get away with heating in one spot for a short period of time like you can with a bic.

Smoking

Premelt:

-Keeping your flame 1-2 inches below the bowl, roll flame in a circle around the perimeter of your product, so the outermost portion begins to liquify. Remember to continue moving the flame.

-As it begins to liquify, begin twisting the pipe back and forth. You want to heat the edges of the product and then the glass adjacent to the edges to make it flow there. However, when reversing the direction of the twist, make sure to heat the inside/middle for a moment as well so that it will melt once the dope bordering it has melted.

-Eventually you will have a puddle of liquid that is mobile-stop heating! COntinue to twist the pipe to spread the stuff around and wait for it to recrystalize (turn back into a liquid). You can speed this up by touching pipe with damp rag/paper towels/etc, but I like to let it cool by itself the first time. Wait for the pipe to cool down-its worth it.

Smoking

(this is assuming you are covering the mouthpiece and have the pipe angled like I mentioned in positioning)

-Now you should have a thin puddle of clear crystals stuff. Once again, heat with flame around the perimeter (much bigger this time, but it will also melt faster now because its thinner). Once melted, it should soon begin to smoke. Cease lighting once it begins smoking a fair bit and continue to twist.

-Because you have your finger over the mouthpiece and the pipe angled, the hot vapor will travel up the stem, and be trapped. Once vapor begins to emerge out of the carb hole, quickly take your finger off the stem and begin inhaling (do this quick because the stem is filled with vapor).

To Inhale:

You do not need to actually suck most of the time. With the pipe angled, simply forming a seal on the mouthpiece is usually enough, and if you have to inhale, do not suck like smoking. Instead, inhale like you are breathing but VERY slowly/softly. It takes very little pressure and the bigger hit you get, the better IMO.

Reheating

Use the torch for very brief periods of time. Once the liquid is moving and smoking agian, stop. You can also use more, but never use less once its burned.

Finishing your hit:

If your lungs are full and it is still smoking, cover the carb and mouthpiece and continue twisting. I like to hold my hits for 4-8 seconds, some say blow out right away, but I dont like that. You can also use a damp rag or damp paper towels/toilet paper/napkins/etc and wipe the bowl, to cool it down and make the liquid recrystalize faster (dont do this when the bowl is still super hot because it can break it). This will make it smoke a lot for a second so I like to do it while inhaling.

For Experienced Users:I have found the torch lighter to be far superior to the bic. With the bic, I would experience uneven and slow heating/melting. Now, I have almost instantaneous liquification, followed by thick smoke, and as long as I use the torch sparingly, no darkening of product. The trick is to be patient and methodical:

-Use the torch 1-3 inches away from the bowl

-Move it quickly

-“Encourage” the liquid to trael all over the bowl by leading it with the flame

-Use inward swirling movements, especially during the melting phase

-I recommend using single, squareish crystals for this.

[brinesystem]

How To: Deep Clean

This is going to be pretty long, so it’s going to be under a read more.

Deep Cleaning

First, get a meal. Something easy to eat, a drink, etc. Cleaning takes a ton of energy, and even if you're not hungry now, it's good to have food readily available. Also, choose a playlist if you want! If you don't know what, we recommend spotify and just letting it play.

Start with dirty dishes. You don't need to clean them all right now, just gather them up and bring them to the kitchen. You can put them next to the sink and get them later. If you're cleaning multiple rooms, do this in every room, and Then decide which room you'll be cleaning first and go there. I recommend the bedroom. Grab an empty, full sized trash bag as well, and bring it with you. It's surprisingly helpful.

Next, laundry! Gather all of your dirty laundry into a single pile. If you own a washing machine, bring it all near there, and sort it into 2-4 piles. (Lights, Brights, Whites, and Darks. if you don't have enough, you can merge brights and darks, and whites and lights together. Our family personally has lights, brights, and black clothes) If you own a washer, put a load of wash in, and then go back to the room you're doing.

Now, look around your room, and try to collect trash into the trash bag! If you find something out of place during this, put it in a pile on the floor and leave it there. You can sort that out afterwards. If the trash bag is full after this step, go throw it out and get a new empty one. If it isn't, leave it in your room for the next step!

Look at your room again and choose an area to start with. Your desk, for example, or your table, etc. Choose somewhere that's a bit stressful to look at, just is very cluttered, or that you've been putting off.

If anything is on there that doesn't go there, remove it and put it into your floor pile. Then, figure out if it looks okay or not. If it still seems crowded, or you see items you don't want, this is a great time to start removing things!

Look at each item and decide three things.

1. Do you need this item? This is for things like official documents, schoolwork, tablets, etc.

2. Do you want this item? This could be anything from fidget toys to old artwork.

3. If you answered yes to both, is this the best location for this item?

If you said no to the first two, put it into either a donate/sell pile, or the trash. It's alright to throw away things that you don't want!

If you aren't sure, or it's an item belonging to someone else, put it into a new pile and leave it for later. You can always revisit items later, or when the item’s owner is around. DO NOT throw away or donate/sell items that aren't yours!

If you said yes to either of the first two but no to the last, or are unsure about the last, take a minute to try and figure out a good place for the item! If that place is cluttered or something similar, move it near there and leave it. You can clean out that spot later.

If you said yes to one of the first two And the last one, leave it where it is, and move on to the next item!

Repeat that step as many times as necessary to finish that area off. If you find hidden trash, throw that out, and try to keep things in your piles!

No need to clean it all perfectly in one go, either. Take breaks.

Once that area is finished, look at the pile you have of things that didn't belong where they were, and see if any go in the area you just cleaned. If so, repeat the process on them.

Clothes

First, make sure all your clothes are clean. Washed and dried, at least. You don't need to fold them yet!

Then, choose a drawer or category. We usually go drawer by drawer, and then move onto unfolded clothing. Take all the items in that category out, and figure out a few things.

1. Do you like this piece of clothing when you wear it? (sometimes, clothes are pretty, but you don't actually enjoy wearing them)

2. Do you need this piece of clothing? (uniforms, clothes that you borrowed, event clothing, etc)

3. Is it fit and functional? (does it fit comfortably enough to wear normally, does it have holes, can you do the things you want to while wearing it, etc)

If you said no to those, decide whether it can be donated or sold. If neither, put it in the trash bag. If it's neither but you like the fabric, decide if you want to keep it to do something with! Old band T's are a good example of shirts we don't throw out even if they stop fitting, because they're either being saved for nostalgia, or we plan on cutting out the interesting parts and using it as patches or other fabric material.

If the item has holes, you can mend it! But, if you aren't realistically going to, just throw it away. If you will mend it, either put it into it's own pile to be mended, or write down what it is and put it away.

If it has stains, doesn't fit, or you just don't like / wear it anymore, donate it! You can also sell clothes if you'd like, but donating usually ends up being a better option for clothing.

If it has holes and you will mend it but not wear it, mend it later, but for now, add it to your donate pile

Repeat those steps for every category of clothing.

As a note, things are stained, but usable, or you can't afford to replace them. I recommend looking into thrift stores, or overstocked clothing! They're usually cheaper, and can be a good way to replace things that you need.

Post Organization

So, things are in their right place! Or maybe you are just sick of organizing, and things are 'good enough' for now. Either one is alright! Try to make sure the floor is cleared at least, and you have a surface to work on though. You may have even gone through several trash bags by now. (We usually go through three, oops)

Now, it's time to do the cleaning part of this all! Get another snack if you're hungry, get something hydrating, and start with dusting. If you don't have a duster, you can use a clean rag, an air canister, or skip this step. You can also go out and buy a duster, but it's up to you. Dust everything you can. Knick-knacks, fans, cobwebs in the corner, tops of doors, etc.

After you've done that, it's time for flat surfaces! For these, wipe all of the actual "bits" off first, preferably into the trash, but onto the floor is fine for now. You'll clean that in a second. This means stuff like crumbs, confetti, glitter, etc. Try to wipe anything loose off, if it doesn't belong there.

Then, wipe it down! If it's wood, marble, or glass, you might have a particular spray to use with it. You may also have a general cleaner you can use! If not, a clean, damp (not wet), mildly soapy washcloth will do fine! I recommend dishsoap rather than a body soap, as a note.

Try to wipe it clean of anything sticky, stained areas, etc. Once that's done, if you're worried about it being damp, dry it off with a clean cloth or paper towel, and move onto the next surface!

You can and should also do any non-fabric chairs at this point.

Now, fabric seating! Couches, chairs, etc. If you have a carpet, you can get this done now as well! All you're going to do is vacuum. Vacuum the tops of the seats, in between cushions, under cushions if possible, the pillows, everything! -

Floor

The reason you do the floor now is because that way, if you drop anything gross in the previous steps, it's fine, because you're cleaning it now. If you have a vacuum and that works for your floor, do that now! If you don't, or need/want to sweep, do that instead. I recommend bringing the trash can into the room you're in first, so it's easy to access.

Get under the furniture here too! If something that belongs off of the floor comes out, you can clean that off lightly and set that aside for afterwards, or deal with that now. Up to you, but definitely don't forget under the furniture! Move things around if you need to and are able to.

Afterwards, move onto the next room. You want to try and get them all done at once, if possible! Now, check all fabrics for stains or odors. There are stain removers and enzyme cleaning supplies meant specifically for cleaning carpets, rugs, and cloth furniture! If you don't have any, you can usually google how to remove it with homemade cleaners, but I would recommend just writing down the location and that you need to buy cleaner for it later.

If you have hardwood or other non-carpeted floors, you may also need to mop. I recommend doing that now!

If you own a steamer or need to add wood polish, etc, you can do that now, but it's not actually necessary, and mostly up to your preference.

Take out the trash if you've filled it with vacuum bags or floor dirt, and replace the bag.

Specifics

If you're able, clean stains from your walls. This might be mud from boots / paws, or random ones that popped up.

Have you checked your laundry? If not, swap out a load and put a new one in. (Yes, the cleaning step was written earlier than this. You can finish it up tomorrow if you still have dirty laundry. It piles up, it's okay to take a few days on it.)

Dirty dishes! If you have a dishwasher, first check that it's empty (if not, run it, or put away clean dishes). Then, rinse off all the things in the sink. You don't need to clean them necessarily, but rinse them off so they're ready to be put in the dishwasher, and if anything has food crusted on, set it to soak in hot soapy water.

(Cast Iron should NOT be left wet. Please put all cast iron aside and google their care if you're uncertain)

If possible, clean what you can and put it away. If not possible, at least you rinsed things off and are ready for when the dishwasher is done again!

Check your fridge. If there's many cans / bottles / etc, check all of them for expiration dates, and throw out anything unusable or empty. If there's food, check that it's still good, and clean out anything that's gone bad. If there are stains, spills, etc, wash them with a soapy, damp washcloth (warm water works great for this), and clean off anything that was sitting in that before putting it back in the fridge.

Repeat this step with the freezer, but also check for freezer burn.

Repeat this step again with any cabinet / shelf foods!

If you have room trash cans that you haven't cleaned out yet, do that now! Bathroom trash, bedroom trash, office, etc. Sometimes you forget, or they end up getting filled again in the cleaning process. Try to get any and all full trash / recycling bins cleaned out and put new bags into each.

If you see anything else out of place or that feels unclean, do that now.

Final Bits

Check your written notes for things you need to buy / get, and write down if you need any organizational tools, like more shelves, a new dresser, etc.

If you have piles of donation clothes / stuffed animals / etc, put those in a clean trash bag and write Donate on them, if you don't have time to donate those right now. If you have items you want to put into a garage sale, try to keep those all in the same area in a single room. It'll be easier to access later when you're ready to do so. If you can't do that now though, try to put them all into the same area in storage.

If any rooms smells bad, now's the time to add air freshener (make sure to not spray that on your animals though!), and double check that there's nothing causing that smell.

If possible, I recommend dealing with any pet cleaning things now, and picking up any mess made in this process immediately. Or, you can do that at the same time as flat surfaces, if that's easier for you!

Throwing out destroyed toys, walking, brushing, nail trims, cleaning cages, etc.

We usually do these things last if the place is dirty because there's more room to maneuver, but that may not work for you!

If your pet needs anything, write down their needs as well in your written notes.

 And check your plants! Water them all now, if you haven’t recently, and make sure they’re all near windows, or at least where they should be.

And now, you should be done!

Even if you can't do this all in one day, or it looks impossible, doing bits and pieces of this can still help a lot!

Music, food, open windows, etc. tend to make this whole process a bit easier, but it still usually ends up being a lot of work.

It's okay do take as many breaks as needed, or to only do one portion of it a day / week. Even if you spend a whole week doing each step, it'll still get done eventually, and doing any of this is always better than doing none at all!

Notes:

Marie Kondo is a great person to watch tbh? If you don’t believe me, watch her show. Really. Tumblr seems to dislike her a lot, but she doesn’t ever shame people for keeping items, and she recommends easier methods for people with ADHD, depression, etc.

If you have ADHD!!! THIS IS FOR YOU!!! Do visual organization! Your brain is good at picking up things and remembering them visually, use that to your advantage! If you use something a lot, don’t put it in a cabinet, keep it out, because you’ll Probably never Consistently put it back. If it looks ugly, try to make it look nicer, because your brain will be more willing to remember shit and actually use it. This has been a PSA from one ADHD brained bitch to another.

If you need help or advice, PLEASE, feel free to dm us! I’m more than willing to give out advice or specifics on cleaning shit, because it’s a hobby / hyperfixation of mine. I really don’t mind helping out if it’s hard, or you need an alternative method, as long as you’re willing to put in the work and such!

[welcometophu]

Not Your Guardian Angel: Chapter 7

Marked Book 3: Not Your Guardian Angel

Chapter 7

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Nate leaves early in the morning, waking Pels enough to let her know that the leftover scones would make a good breakfast, and telling her to feel free to make tea before she goes. When she wakes again two hours later, there’s a note on her pillow with the combination for the garage door so she can close it after she leaves, along with Nate’s phone number scribbled below.

It’s weird being in this house alone. She stays curled on the air mattress on Nate’s floor for a long while, listening, just in case his father came home and is upstairs, but there’s no noise. She wonders if Nate even told him she was here. Probably not. Pels wouldn’t have, if she were in his shoes.

She finally convinces herself to get out of bed and go shower, spotting the lavender bubble bath next to Nate’s shampoo. It smells good, and it’s almost tempting, but she decides to just borrow Nate’s toiletries and shower quickly instead. She leaves her hair wet after toweling off, knowing that no matter what she does, it’s going to curl around her face chaotically because that’s what it does.

Once she’s dressed and shoving her clothes from yesterday into the dirty laundry in her bag, she realizes Dad is sitting on Nate’s bed.

“You should clean up before you go.” He nods at where her phone is half-shoved under her backpack. “Someone’s been trying to get hold of you.”

“Be useful,” she says. “Fold the blankets. Put the rest in the laundry.” She crawls over to her phone and tugs the charger from the plug in the wall, shoving it into her pack so she doesn’t forget it, then unlocks the phone to see the group chat with Shane and Jess.

When do you want me to pick you up? Nate sent me the address but he said you were sleeping still. I was still sleeping when he sent it. Maybe you’re awake now too?

Jess had added a picture of herself with bedhead and Shane in the background spread-eagled across her bed still asleep. The time stamp is an hour ago for that first message, and there have been several since, mostly pictures.

We’re spending the day in the Quad because it’s nice and the cats really like being outdoors, whether they are actually cats at the moment or not. Ángel and Hayley put up with it because they love them. We put up with it because well, we’re hanging out with them.

Pels checks the time. I’m just cleaning up here. Lie, since Dad’s the one leaving a neatly folded pile of blankets on the bed, and taking the pillowcase off the pillow she used. You could probably come get me any time. I’ll go outside when I’m done and wait in the driveway.

Great! We’ll see you then! Can you text Nate and let him know we want a box of pastries and I can swing by Teas Please to pick it up? I think he already likes you better than me. He literally thanked me for letting him have you stay over.

Pels’s fingers go still against the keyboard.

“You’re smiling.” Dad kneels at the end of the air mattress. He pulls the plug and pushes on it, the air whooshing out.

“I have literally never had anyone say that someone likes me better than them.” Pels shakes her head, trying to let it go, even though the thought is spreading through her warmly. Sure, she types back.

She helps Dad get the air out of the mattress, and together they fold it up and put it back in the box where it lives under Nate’s bed. She sends the text off to Nate, and gets back an affirmative. Once she’s outside in the driveway, the garage door securely closed behind her, she sits with the phone cradled in her hand, staring at it and trying to formulate words.

Hey. I just wanted to say thank you for yesterday. I really appreciated having a place to stay, and I had fun watching movies.

She should send thank you notes when people do nice things, right?

That’s what friends are for! Nate sends back. And Mallory is giving me the evil eye for hiding in the kitchen to text, so I’d better get back to work. The box for Jess is at the hostess station. Please tell me you ate something for breakfast. I cannot possibly eat all that on my own.

Pels looks down at the crumbs on the driveway. I stole the last cranberry scone and the little tub of clotted cream and I took a cookie for later, she admits. I hope that’s okay.

Totally fine! Have fun today. Let me know if you need crash space again tonight, or if you’re going to sleep at Jess’s, okay?

Right, there’s a question Pels isn’t sure she’s ready to answer. Okay, she sends back.

Logically, it’d be easier to stay in Jess’s room. She lives on campus. Pels could just walk over to the dorm any time when her access will be active again. Emotionally it’d be easier to stay at Nate’s. He made everything seem so effortless. It was kind of nice.

“Is last night what normal people feel like?” she asks, and Dad laughs. It’s such a strange sound that she looks at him, her brow furrowed.

“Last night is what you deserve to have normally,” he replies. “By the way, Jess is almost here.”

Pels shoulders her backpack and brushes crumbs from her shirt. By the time the car comes into view, she’s at the end of the driveway, bag in hand. The trunk pops open as Jess pulls up in her small sedan, all of her windows rolled down.

“Go ahead and toss your stuff in the trunk,” Jess directs, so Pels does so before climbing into the passenger seat.

It’s a newer car than Nate’s, and she’s able to adjust the seatbelt so it’s less likely to choke her, although it sticks and takes a few tries to get it properly buckled. Jess reaches over to help, and Pels draws back so abruptly that Jess stops dead.

“I’ve got it,” Pels says. There’s a sharp note in her voice, and Jess visibly deflates, leaving Pels wincing on the inside. “I mean. I just don’t want—”

“I get it.” Jess focuses on getting the car moving. “Boundaries. This is still weird.”

“I still don’t know why you have a crush on me,” Pels tries to explain. “It doesn’t make any sense.”

“And you don’t actually like me at all,” Jess counters. “I get it, Pels.”

“It’s not—I don’t—” This is more like her usual life, floundering for words and wondering why Dad doesn’t pipe up now to try to help. He’s more than happy to push her into things, but less likely to provide words when she can’t find them. Pels crosses her arm, trying to make herself even smaller than she already is. “I don’t not like you,” she mutters. “I just don’t want to be forced to like you. There’s a difference.”

Jess’s grip on the steering wheel eases, and this time when she says, “I get it,” it sounds less resentful, and more understanding. “I can’t really understand why I have a crush on you either, if that helps. There’s just something about—I saw you and I wanted to get to know you. I wanted to get inside that wall you’ve got up all the time, and now it feels like you’ve built that wall even higher, but you’re peeking over it at the same time.”

“Sounds about right,” Pels admits. “I’m not good at this. Some people make it seem easy, but it’s not for me.”

“It’s okay.” Jess lifts one hand from the steering wheel, reaching towards Pels like she might pat her before Pels pulls away and Jess is left hovering there for a long moment. Jess carefully puts her hand back on the wheel and doesn’t say anything while she navigates to Teas Please.

There’s a short discussion while Pels gets out her wallet and insists on paying for the box Jess ordered. In the end Pels wins, because Jess stays in the car while Pels runs in to give Jess’s name to the girl standing at the hostess station.

It’s a tiny victory, but it feels like she did the right thing.

Jess takes Pels up to Ángel’s room instead of her own, so she can leave her things someplace safe before they head out to the big lawn between several dorms that makes up the Quad. There are several groups out there already, and a pickup game of frisbee at one end of the Quad. Jess heads to where Hayley is reclining on a blanket, leaning up one elbow talking to a tall boy who seems even more lanky in person. Hayley waves and the boy rolls over, coming to his feet before Pels gets there.

He takes the box from her, opening it up and grinning. “This looks great.” His smile is charming, and Pels feels like people must swoon when they see it. “Hi, Pels. I’m Luca.” He pokes through the box, his smile falling away. “No cannoli?”

“Cannoli tonight,” Hayley says. She lies back on the blanket now, her head pillowed on bent arms. “We’re going to order in from Minnisale’s and you can see how good our Italian is up here.”

Luca huffs. “Won’t be anything like the real thing we’ve got back home.”

“Don’t be so sure,” Jess tells him. “There’s a huge Italian community here, and Minnisale’s is one of the best. Third generation is running it now.”

Luca’s expression eases, like he might be appeased. “I suppose.”

“Where’s Shane?” Her voice sounds too loud, and Pels isn’t sure how to interpret the look Jess gives her when she speaks. “I mean—” Pels could try to explain, but that’ll probably just dig whatever hole she’s in deeper. “I just thought there were going to be more people.”

“For you to avoid,” Dad finishes the thought in an all too on-the-nose way.

“Shane and Ángel went to grab lunch to go with the breakfast you brought, and Tanner and Tony are picking up some drinks from the coffee place Ángel took Tony to earlier this week, because Tony really liked it.” Hayley pats the blanket next to her, on the side where Luca wasn’t lying just a few minutes ago. “C’mere, Pels. I don’t bite. I mean, neither do they, and I do spark a little bit, but it’s okay. We’ve been seeing you around for a while. It’s cool that you’re hanging out with us.”

Pels gives Luca a wary look as she slowly sits next to Hayley. Jess sits nearby, but with the box between them, which gives Pels a buffer zone. Pels isn’t really hungry for more sugar, so she ignores the box and lets the others find their own treats.

“Here.” Jess holds out a paper-wrapped something with “Pels” written on it in bold marker. “I think this one is for you.”

Pels takes it carefully, avoiding Jess’s fingers. “Thank you,” she mutters, half to Jess and half to Dad for not pushing her and forcing things she wasn’t ready for. As she unwraps it, she smells the bacon first, peanut butter second, and the sharp scent of cranberries third. Her mouth waters and she takes a huge bite, making a small pleased noise around it.

Hayley sits up to peer closely at the sandwich. “Is that—?”

Pels nods. “Peanut butter, bacon, and cranberries. And it’s so good. Mallory gave it to Nate last night and I wished I’d eaten the whole thing and we hadn’t shared it. He must’ve had her make one for me today.” Which is possibly one of the kindest things she can think of. “Jesus, he is so nice.”

“Nate’s a good guy, that’s why we figured he’d help out last night.” Jess is staring down at the muffin in her hands, and Pels has a small twist of guilt in her stomach. She must have done something wrong for Jess to look so down.

Who is she kidding? Of course she did something wrong. She has no idea what she’s even doing in the first place.

“Jess, I—”

“Make room!” Ángel’s calls out.

They must have met up, because all four of them are returning at the same time. Tony carries a large cardboard box, while Shane has a thermos swinging from one hand, while he leans on his cane with the other. Ángel leads with a covered platter, and Tanner brings up the rear with two paper bags.

Pels isn’t sure where she’s supposed to go, so she simply pulls her knees up, hunching over to see how small she can become in the corner while still protecting her sandwich. She’s half done eating it by the time everyone sorts themselves out in a circle around the edges of the blankets, with food laid out in the middle.

It’s a lot of food.

Luca, Tanner, and Tony tuck in and make a lot of it disappear frighteningly fast.

Somehow Pels ends up between Tony and Hayley, while Jess settles on the other side of the blanket, next to Shane. Pels is incredibly aware of the distance between them, and the way it feels deliberate. She can’t tell if Jess is giving her space or avoiding her, or a little of each.

Shane reaches for a scone, and stops halfway there with a wince. “Fuck,” he mutters. “I think I overdid it.”

“Can I help?” Jess pats his shoulder, then gives him a small shove until he lies down. She immediately reaches for his hip, digging her fingers into the top of his thigh, just below his hip. Shane closes his eyes with a groan, and Jess pauses to pat him reassuringly before continuing.

“That’s friendship,” Dad murmurs.

Pels ignores him, licking the remains of the cranberry and peanut butter off her fingers.

“Is it permanent?” Tanner asks. He waves a hand at Shane. “You said you broke it in January. Shouldn’t it be better?”

“It was a bad break to start,” Shane says, still lying on his side with one hand over his face. “Chances are I’m stuck with a limp this time around. It’s not the first time.”

“Not your first limp?” Tanner asks, confused when Hayley thwacks him across the chest.

“Not my first lingering injury.”

“If it weren’t for bad luck, Shane wouldn’t have any,” Jess says quietly, her fingers pressing with sure motions into his muscles. “Rory figured out it’s his innate Talent—it’s all about Chaos. But he’s been injured before.”

“I don’t heal fast. And I’m accident prone.” Shane bats at her hand as he rolls to sit up. “I’m good. Thanks. My parents are both Talented, so I was raised in the community. We’ve always seen Healers when we’ve had to, and one was involved this time, even though I needed surgery in the end, too. It’s just something else to get used to. And maybe I’ll get a cool cane eventually.”

“You could probably convince one of the martial arts clubs to teach you how to fight with it,” Ángel suggests.

“And that would be cool.” Shane uses his cane to poke at Ángel from across the circle. “I could defend myself.”

“Am I the only person here who isn’t Talented?” Jess asks.

Tanner raises his hand. “I’ve only been Talented since last weekend, so—I can relate.”

“Besides, you’re a farm girl, which is an entirely different kind of superhero,” Shane points out. “I’m pretty sure you could bench press me if you wanted.”

“Not you.” Jess shakes her head. “Pels, definitely. Hayley maybe.”

“Anyone could bench press Pels, she’s tiny,” Tanner says quickly. “I could probably do it.”

Pels’s eyes go wide, because she has a horrible feeling someone might try. She goes to scoot backwards, but Dad’s there, keeping her firmly within the circle. “Please don’t,” she says.

Tony makes a low noise, almost like a growl under his breath; everyone else goes silent. “No one’s going to do anything you don’t want,” he assures her. “They’re all extroverts. Just ignore them.”

For some reason that makes her snicker, and Tony looks surprised, then pleased by her smile. He leans over to speak quietly, while the rest of the conversation wanders off into something else involving Tanner and Luca shouting, while Shane laughs.

“I didn’t want it,” he says quietly. He’s speaking to her, she’s sure of it the way he leans close and keeps his voice low, but his gaze is fixed on Ángel. “I couldn’t trust magic. I couldn’t even trust my own nose. Then he barged into my life, and this happened.” Tony holds out his hand, wrist exposed.

There is so much ink there. The phases of the moon dance in a line down the inside of his arm, and at the wrist are two vivid angel’s wings, wrapping around him.

“Is that all…?”

“Just the wings.” Tony pulls his arm back from her view. “I heard you’ve got one.”

Pels offers her own arm cautiously, wincing slightly when he takes it and touches the mark with his thumb. “It’s kind of a mess,” she says.

��Mm.” Tony’s gaze remains on Ángel. “I haven’t met Rory or Kit, but I’ve heard about them. They seem happy. I know Hayley’s happy with Tanner, and well, Luca—he’s called Tanner’s cat. I thought I had what I was supposed to have before this, even if I wasn’t happy with it. I couldn’t figure out how to change my life, and when I was offered something good, I almost didn’t take it, because I didn’t trust it. I’m glad I did.”

Across the way, Ángel smiles, and Pels wonders if he overheard their quiet conversation. Then Tanner tackles Ángel, knocking him into Shane, and they all go down in a pile before Tanner and Luca emerge as large cats instead.

“How did you know?” Pels makes a face. “I just mean—it’s all so complicated. I’m not good at this. I don’t even know you and talking to you about this feels weird, and then there they are and I don’t know them either. And I’m not ready to cement this whatever it is and get locked into some kind of life that I’m not ready for.”

“I didn’t know Ángel, either. My family adopted him, and I got to know him, despite myself. Give it a chance.” Tony’s gaze flicks at Jess and Shane. “Give them a chance.”

“Everyone keeps saying that,” Pels grumbles.

“Maybe because it’s true,” Dad says. “He has a point.”

“I’m not saying you should start planning a wedding, but give yourself time to figure it out,” Tony suggests. “Don’t hold back because you’re afraid. You deserve good things just as much as they do.”

“I’m not a good thing for them,” Pels says quietly.

Tony just looks at her, and when she blinks, there’s a cat there instead. The cat—Tony—head butts her knee, then meows loudly before jumping into the fray where Tanner and Luca are playing with Ángel and Shane.

He’s so serious when talking, but she can feel the joy in his actions now.

Dad gets up and moves quickly, sitting next to her and somehow taking up space before Jess sits down, even though Jess can’t see him. Pels exhales, even if Dad makes it harder to look Jess in the eye.

“If the afternoon goes anything like the rest of the week, we have now devolved into kitty play time,” Jess says with a soft laugh. “How are you at frisbee?”

Pels touches her finger to her own chest.

“Yes, you.” Jess pushes to her feet, momentarily holding out a hand before withdrawing it quickly and wiping it against her jeans. “It’s frisbee. There’s no accidental touching involved.” Jess waves the frisbee, and Pels follows, Dad trailing after her.

“You can help,” she mutters. “Make them think I’m some kind of miracle worker. They already think I’m Telekinetic. I think.”

Dad claps his hands together, rubbing them quickly. “I never thought I’d hear you actually ask for for help.”

As Jess starts to pull away, leaving Pels so she can move far enough away to throw a frisbee, Pels calls out, “Wait.”

Jess turns back, the frisbee held in one hand. “What?”

“I’m sorry.” Pels doesn’t know how to do this, or what to say to make it right. “I’m sorry I’m such a mess about this. I’m sorry if I don’t seem grateful for your help. And I’m really sorry that I’m terrified of touching you right now. It’s not—it’s not you. It’s just everything. To be honest, I’m not so sure about touching Shane, either, and I’ve already landed in his lap. I’m just not good at this. Any of it. And it kind of freaks me out completely just how okay with it everyone else is.”

Jess is silent for so long that Pels is sure she’s made a mess of things. She’s said the wrong thing. She always says the wrong thing.

She almost misses it when Jess tosses the frisbee at her fast, and the frisbee dips before it reaches Pels. She starts to reach for it, but Dad gets under it, popping it up so Pels can grab at it awkwardly. Her fingers close over the plastic rim, her foot sliding on the grass as she regains her balance.

“It’s okay to be nervous,” Jess says quietly. “I’d be surprised if you’re not. I mean, I’m the only one getting my wish here, right? Shane’s used to chaos because that’s what his entire life has been. I’m used to things working out, because I’m the mathematician—I figure out how to make things balance. And you, you’re not used to people, I guess, so you’re nervous. But I really hope you’ll give us a chance. Just get to know us. It’s okay if it doesn’t get romantic. I mean, I don’t even know if you like girls. But maybe that mark means we can be friends, and I’d be happy to be your friend if that’s how it works out. Are you okay with that?”

Jess makes it sound easy, but she also sounds like she’s giving Pels a way out.

“You could give her a chance.”

Pels stares at Dad, stares at him hard and wills for him to hear her inside voice, so she doesn’t have to go as far as making it an outside voice.

He just stares back, which means she has to choose her words carefully.

“As long as no one pushes me into anything,” she says, her gaze still resting on Dad. She finally looks up to see Jess sprinting as far as the nearest tree.

Jess waves. “No one’s going to push you into anything,” she calls out. “Just throw me the frisbee.”

Dad is suspiciously silent, but Pels can’t afford to say anything again, not with everyone listening. She exhales and tries to relax, loosening her grip on the plastic. It’s just frisbee.

She turns her body, swings her arm before she releases the disk. It goes high in the air, wobbling before it drops straight down. Jess dives for it, sliding across the grass and laughing as she misses it, despite the fresh stains on her jeans.

When Jess sends it flying back to her, Dad pushes her so she crosses paths with the frisbee, stumbling when it thunks her hard in the chest. Pels drops to her knees, rubbing at the ache.

It’s just frisbee, but she really hopes it isn’t also a metaphor for anything else right now.

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[carolemasciotra-blog]

Kitchen Cleaning – A Complete Guide

The kitchen is probably the most intensively used space in every apartment – you cook, eat, and live there. Accordingly, you should clean it often and thoroughly. In this article, we are going to provide you with a kitchen cleaning guide.

Kitchen Cleaning Guide

Once or twice a year, every kitchen needs a thorough deep cleaning. Nowhere else, be it from cooking, baking, or eating, is so much fat and dirt deposited on the surfaces. But because you work with food there, the kitchen should be the cleanest and most hygienic place in the apartment. Splashes on the tiles, encrusted ovens, calcified fittings – with these tips and home remedies, you can bring the kitchen back to shine and make it a clean place of wellbeing.

Clean The Oven

If you don’t have an oven that cleans itself at a high temperature, you have to do it yourself. A self-made paste of baking powder and water is suitable if you do not want to use an aggressive oven cleaner. Before you apply them to the heavily soiled areas, you should fill all the openings in the oven with foil or kitchen paper. Now use the paste to the oven and leave it on overnight. The next day, the dirt can be easily scraped off with a plastic scraper and wiped off with a rag. That also works with heavily soiled baking trays.

Remove Overcooked Food From The Hob

There is no cooker protected from food boiling over, whether ceramic, gas or electric. If you do not remove the traces immediately after cooking, it can be a tedious drudgery later. It is better to let the stove cool down a little after cooking and clean it when it is still lukewarm. In addition to chemicals, the power of the lemon is also suitable for lighter stains on the hob. Soak the affected areas with citric acid, leave for about ten minutes, and wipe with a damp cloth. Stubborn stains can be removed more efficiently with a paste of baking soda and water. Spread the mixture on the hob with a cloth, leave to work for several hours, remove with a damp cloth and polish dry.

Kitchen Cleaning – A Hygienic Sink

The sink is a real issue, where germs of all kinds gather – even more than in a toilet. Therefore, it is imperative to remember it when cleaning the kitchen. To keep the sink hygienically clean, you should wash it out regularly with warm water and detergent (this dissolves grease and has an antibacterial effect). To keep a stainless steel sink optically clean, we recommend scrubbing it with baking soda and a brush. With a bowl made of ceramic or plastic, you should exercise a little more care when cleaning, and it is best to clean it with a soft cloth or sponge and some detergent or all-purpose cleaner. Citric acid helps against limescale deposits – to avoid new deposits, the basin can be rubbed dry every day with a microfiber cloth (ideally after each use).

Don’t Forget The Drain

You should also not forget the rinsing outflow, where, in addition to fluff, there is also food residue – which can give off an unpleasant smell in the long run. Therefore, you should flush the drain regularly with drain cleaner. Vinegar and lemon help to clean and deodorize the drain. Stock up on ice cubes made from pieces of lemon and vinegar and pour a handful of them into the drain every few days.

Clean The Refrigerator

Bacteria and mold like to develop in moist areas of the fridge. However, they then spread to all the food that is in there. You should, therefore, carry out thorough fridge cleaning whenever you are cleaning the kitchen – but surface cleaning is sufficient in between. Here is how it works:

First, clear the entire refrigerator out. Dispose of expired or spoiled food in the trash. Remove all shelves and drawers and wash them in the tub with warm water and a disinfectant all-purpose cleaner or vinegar. While everything is drying, you can clean the interior of the refrigerator. A mix of baking soda, water, and soap is suitable for this, which disinfects and deodorizes. Use it to wipe the entire interior walls and doors. If this does not remove all stains, put a little vinegar on a cloth and dab the stain with it. After 15 minutes of exposure, it should be easy to remove.

Dirt and mold quickly settle in the seals around the door. When you have removed all splashes, stains, and crumbs, you can rub everything dry with a soft cloth, and the shelves can be put back in place.

Clean Natural Wood

Work surfaces and boards made of natural wood require a particular cleaning method. All you need is lemons, salt, and paper towels. Squeeze the lemon juice onto the wood and spread the salt generously. With another half of lemon and rub everything on the wooden surface. That removes all stains and smells from the wood. Finally, remove the excess salt with a tea towel and let the surface dry. To protect the wood in the long term, you should rub it with oil every few weeks; for example, pure rapeseed oil is suitable.

Kitchen Cleaning – Don’t Forget The Dishwasher

Cleaning the kitchen also requires you to clean the dishwasher. Just because it cleans things, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t give it a bit of love. You should clean the dishwasher once a month using special dishwasher detergent. These are small bottles that you put upside down in the cutlery basket or the plate rack of the empty dishwasher and then run through them once at the highest heat.

Why clean the dishwasher when water and detergent are continually flowing through the machine? A special cleaner removes all stubborn residues.

You should also clean the seals and door joints with this cleaning agent or a self-made paste made of baking soda or vinegar cleaner. Also, check the drain for foreign objects and clean the drain filter with a dish brush and a mild detergent. If the filter is not too bad, I often take them out and put them upside down in the dishwasher while I am running the cleaning agent through.

Treat The Microwave With lemon

To remove stubborn splashes in the microwave, heat a suitable container with water and lemon juice for three minutes – and let it stand in the microwave for another five minutes. That will loosen sticky dirt on the inside walls. You can then wipe them off with a damp sponge and dishwashing detergent.

Organize Kitchen Cabinets Sensibly

Over time, a hopeless mess of pasta, cornflakes, spices, and the like develops in many kitchen cupboards. Remove all of this from the cupboards and clean them with water and vinegar. Then reorganize everything according to food and place everything that is frequently used right at the front – this saves time and creates order. Small baskets and labels can help you organize them.

Grease On Surfaces

All kitchen utensils not stowed in a cupboard, like the cupboards themselves and the extractor hood, build up a layer of fat and dust over time. You should remember them when you are cleaning the kitchen. If the items are small enough and dishwasher-safe, remove them regularly and wash everything through (also works with most hood filters). To clean larger areas such as cupboards, doors, tiles, use water, and degreasing detergent. Do not forget to brush the closet; they are often very sticky and dirt deposited. You can prevent this by covering the surfaces with a newspaper, which you should replace regularly.

Polish Stainless Steel With Baking soda

Stainless steel surfaces – such as toasters or extractor hoods – are best cleaned regularly with a damp microfiber cloth. Coarse dirt and rust stains can be removed wonderfully with baking soda. Mix some water with baking soda to get a milky substance. Now put the paste on the stainless steel surface and scrub lightly with a soft sponge – finally wipe and polish everything with a damp cloth, done! By the way, you can also use baking powder can also to remove these unsightly gray scratches on light porcelain dishes.

Kitchen Cleaning – Final Sprint On The Floor

Only when everything shines again in the kitchen, all cupboards cleaned, newly arranged and sorted, should you dedicate yourself to the floor. A microfiber mop is suitable for wiping a tile or linoleum floor, and hot soapy water. Clean coarse stains or discolorations with a mixture of salt and turpentine. You should always use a wood care product to clean wooden floors. That is because they should not get too wet. Also, do not use detergent; this takes the oil from the wood. Now let everything dry, stand back, and enjoy the radiant shine in the kitchen.

Conclusion

Try to keep in mind working from top to bottom of any room. However, if you can, you should try to incorporate this strategy into your schedule.

If you would like some assistance in home cleaning in the New York area, please contact cleaning services queens .

[thinking-outside-the-giftbox18]

A Pill In Time: Chapter 0 - Introduction

Ao3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25747456/chapters/62524747

Wattpad link: https://www.wattpad.com/932662757-a-pill-in-time-ahit-psych-ward-au-chapter-0

Summary: An alternate universe where A Hat In Time [by Gears For Breakfast] is set in a psychic ward and anyone non-human in the game are human now.

Notes: The writer has done research on the mental disorders yet has trouble understanding and memorizing them, please don’t harass or insult them as they have tried to be empathetic and avoid spreading misinformation.

The perspective of the main character changes to the next character to show what the main character is really doing. 

TW: Mental disorders [Autism/Autism Spectrum, PTSD, OCD, Anxiety, Schizophrenia, etc.], the perspective of a child can be dark too, self-loathing, mentions of physical abuse [not kids fighting each other, we were kids who fought our own siblings before, unless it was physical abuse on your perspective…nevermind…], mild swearing, might be boring depending on how I write this story.

It’s a lovely morning, the sky was blue with puffy white clouds, or atleast, that’s what my switch was showing me as I play my favorite video game. My grandpa, Tim wanted to show us- me and my cousin Timmy, where he works; he is a doctor but not like any doctors I’ve met. Today looked like it was going to rain anytime soon by taking glimpses through the car window, in the reflection I saw Timmy was also bored of watching the window as he snaked a hand to the zipper of my big bagpack!

“Hey!” I yelled out, making both Timmy and grandpa Tim jump a bit. Timmy regained his position and looked away with his arms crossed, “I saw your hand on my bagpack!” I declared. He, being the older cousin, sticks his tongue out in protest “Did not!” he replies while keeping the “good guy” attitude. Grandpa just sighed and looks at both of us from the rear view mirror, me and Grandpa have the same eye color, “Timothy Jr. and Hana, stop fighting. And don’t touch her bagpack, Timmy.” He nonchalantly stated while Timmy’s eyes narrowed in annoyance as he looked at Grandpa and then at me, I was busy playing my game but listened in on them-

Timmy: “That’s not fair! I didn’t bring anything with me, besides the switch, and she gets to bring all FORTY OF HER TOYS!!”

Grandpa Tim: “She has to bring them for her own safety as all of those toys help her.”

Timmy: (mumbles) “Sometimes I think she’s pretending to have Autis-!”

Grandpa Tim: (exclaims) “Timothy Junior!! You do not say that in front of your cousin sister!”

Timmy: (quiet) “…”

…It sucks to have Autism, if I’m being honest here. You see, I was raised by my Grandpa only, and he makes sure that I have a good life, but when you’re surrounded by “normal” kids who are quick to point out a flaw you can’t control or those who are just close to you to get what you have, as far as stealing it, it gets harder as you grow up. Grandpa says that I am special in my own way, and he has met and helped those who are almost like me, so I take his word for it. Whenever me and Timmy fight, Grandpa always tells me that what makes me different from Timmy is that I have a different way of seeing the world, his way of saying that Timmy is raised differently and has trouble understanding how I feel. Those “toys” I brought along, all help to make me feel… safe, each of them are a part of my memories and it’s hard to not leave them.

“We’re here!” Grandpa tells us after a long silence, he had just parked the car next to a hedge close to a grey-white stone building, I unbuckled my seatbelt and carry my bagpack which is heavy, but I can keep it in Grandpa’s office. I held onto Grandpa’s hand as we all walked to the entrance of the building, the inside was like a quiet hospital with dimmed lights, there were nurses, security guards and janitors roaming the corridors to attend to any room in need of their services. Timmy and I looked at each other and we had the same thought: This looks like a good horror movie setting, Grandpa walks up to the first door, unlocks it and lets us in, the room looked almost identical to Grandpa’s bedroom, without the bed and a closet, there was a big wooden desk with a lot of small framed photos, a pen-holder and a goldfish bowl with a blue-red betta fish in there, “Stitch!!!” I exclaimed, I put down my bagpack on a purple beanbag and ran to the fishbowl, waving at the blue fish, I remember Grandpa buying him in a pet store when I saw him, I was so happy to see Stitch again.

Then an almost plump lady in a nurse uniform and a sweet smile peeps into the office, holding a paper bag filled with something, Grandpa greets her warmly, “Head Nurse Clara! Good to see you here, these are my grandchildren: Timothy Jr. and Hana.” Both me and Timmy waved at Clara, who smiles more, “Oh my! It’s really nice to finally meet you two! Good thing I baked a fresh batch for both of you!” She gets a paper plate from Grandpa’s office cabinet and out of her bag was a pile of cookies, the smell danced around the room and I was jumping on my tippy toes, wanting to hop on top of the desk and snatch all of the cookies for myself. Grandpa and Clara laugh softly at my reaction while Timmy rolls his eyes, Clara gives the plate to both of us and the next 5 minutes were a blur as me and Timmy eat the cookies and watch me play the game in his switch. Grandpa and Clara had left the room previously for work, leaving us in the office; as I finished the game, I noticed that there was one more cookie, so of course, I take it and took a bite of the scrumptious treat, Timmy looked at me with what I can guess was betrayal. “I wanted that last cookie!!! How could you?!!” I jolted, looking at Timmy with surprise, he storms off to the office door and slams the door shut, making my ears ring from the loud bang. I really didn’t mean to eat the last cookie, I can’t help it…

Timmy didn’t come back, so I went outside to see him leaning against the wall, with his hat brim covering his eyes, he got that grey hat from his dad, my uncle; he and Timmy’s mom are always busy, leaving Timmy with me and Grandpa. I walked towards him cautiously, this wasn’t the first time he gets mad, the last time ended with me getting an arm-brace and bandages while he got bruises and was grounded for 2 weeks. “T-Timmy…? I’m really sorry for eating the last cookie…I didn’t know you wanted it first…” I shakily said, hoping for him to yell at me and cause a scene, so that Grandpa could rush to us and calm everything down, Timmy raises his head to reveal his eyes, they also match Grandpa’s eyes…”That’s okay, it’s just one cookie! You really like cookies, that’s all.” He replies, shrugging everything off, leaving me surprised. He patted me in the back reassuringly with an off-putting smile, he notices my hands that have chocolate smudges and cookie crumbs, “You should wash your hands, Hana! Wouldn’t want to get the switch dirty, or ruin your fun with the treasure hunt!” He had this unusual tone when he mentioned a treasure hunt, yet he saw how my eyes widened more, he smiles more and chuckled. “A treasure hunt?? You were planning a treasure hunt??” I asked with excitement, I hopped on my toes again with delight, Timmy nodded and again asked me to wash my hands again, “After you wash your hands, count to one hundred, okay?” I looked at him confused, I asked why, “To find the perfect spot to hide the treasure, duh!” I naively giggled at his answer and rushed to the restroom, beginning to wash my hands, just the thought of something exciting finally happening while in Grandpa’s hospital.

Timmy’s P. O. V.

As I watch Hana rush to the restroom, I set my plan in motion, ‘I’ll show that dummy that she shouldn’t get nice things…! She’ll pay for making my switch dirty with her grubby hands and eating my cookie.’ I thought with a smirk as I open her bagpack she carried so dearly on her back. I looked at all of her toys, which were in fact just really weird looking gadgets, especially a really heavy blanket and a top-hat shaped toy with a turnkey on the band, I didn’t waste time to look through all of them as I carried the bag, ignored my breaking back and ran everywhere to hide all the toys, even the other 2 floors above the ground floor. Good thing this ward has elevators, or Hana will punch me more badly if I get caught, like the last time we fought…I shudder at the thought of being grounded for more than 2 weeks. Luckily, I knew this ward, inside and out to know where to put these toys in.

Hana’s P. O. V.

I washed my hands but in the process, got my sleeves wet, so I used many paper towels and a hand dryer for a long time, then I start the countdown from 1 to 100, but I messed it up twice, till I finally get to one hundred. With adrenaline pumping into my veins, I rush outside but saw Timmy nowhere, he might be in the office, I thought, and I entered the office and found to what I can describe as a soul-fleeting moment, my bagpack…it’s empty!!!! All my comfort toys are gone!!!! All forty of them!!!

Timmy’s P. O. V.

I hid in another restroom close to the one Hana went in, and felt a small tinge of regret when I hear her scream of horror…Nah, she’ll be fine…right? …I’m so gonna get grounded…A cold sweat fell from my covered forehead when I hear Hana’s stomping footsteps exit the office.

“YOU’RE DEAD, TIMOTHY!!!!!!” a loud Valkyrie shout boomed across the corridors.

…Yep, I’m grounded. So I stayed in the bathroom.

Hana’s P. O. V.

I was beyond mad at Timmy for not just opening my bagpack but for also touching AND HIDING MY TOYS THAT HAD SERVED COMFORT TO ME FOR A LONG TIME, ALL BECAUSE OF A COOKIE!!! I’ll kick his butt when I see him, but I kept my main objective: Find all 40 of my comfort toys before we leave, I can’t let Grandpa know because I want to hunt Timmy myself. I marched through the corridors, searching for atleast one of my toys.

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Notes: End of Chapter 0 of A Pill In Time. This is a testing chapter to see if I can continue on writing this fanfiction. I hope you enjoyed as much as I enjoyed typing it; if you have any thoughts or suggestions, please let me know as I would want to make this chapter friendly and well-researched with no misinformation. Terms and Conditions apply.

[currebunz]

Commission: Attack on Titan AU Parks and Recs

AO3 Link

A thick air hung in the office, crushing everyone's motivation for the day. The source of this bad energy came in the form of the ex-husband of the health advisor who worked in the same office area. The employee themselves were very nice and actually very apologetic for the situation. But the ex-husband was more than happy to be in the office. That was because he was here for an IRS tax audit. The Department of Trost had never had such a cold day before, even with the air conditions on high. whenever the man walked by, it was like a cold breeze went by. The younger and new hires were on high alert, flinching whenever the man was within sight. Sasha dived under her desk on her break as he walked by to look over Connie's shoulder. It was like watching a horror movie with a monster that didn't kill anyone. "I haven't had single thought with that guy walking around," Reiner said quietly while he was in the break room. Bertholdt had an open lunchbox in front of him but wasn't eating. "You think he can hear me chew? He told me chewing violated public health guidelines" he muttered quietly. "He's even gotten to Bert!" Reiner told Jean. "I can see that! Keep your voice down. That man has the ears of a hawk" Jean said as he covered Reiner's mouth with his hand. Everyone was quiet as they heard approaching feet. They let out a sigh at Marco entered the breakroom. "Hey....never mind" he turned around and walked back out. "That's cold Marco" Jean said quietly. "I don't blame him, I don't even want to mess around with that guy on patrol" Reiner groaned. He sat down next to Bertholdt, making the man eat his lunch before his break ended. "I just don't get it, how can someone be that evil?" Jean asked. "Easy, he's an ex," Annie said as she walked to the microwave. She stuck her hot pocket in and turned it on for a few minutes. "What's that supposed to mean?" Reiner asked.

 Annie cleared her throat, turning to them with a cold stare. "An ex is filled with nothing but disdain for their previous partner. Imagine, after breaking up you go to work and now hold the fate of your previous partner's job in your hands? You would be swallowed up by the immense power and go mad" she explained. All of the men stared at her in an eerie shock. The microwave beeped and she opened the door. "Or, at least that's what I would do," she said as she blew on her meal. Annie walked back out without any further comments. "My God, she is right" Jean groaned as he leaned against the counter. The ex-husband was obviously making their lives hell just to get back at their partner! "What a bastard! Why is he making us suffer too?" Reiner complained. "It's probably just to spite everyone," Bertholdt said as he finished his lunch. "Thanks, Reiner" he grinned to his partner. "Don't sweat it, but you need to eat. Forget what that guy says" Reiner frowned as he saw Connie dash by. "He's coming!" he hissed briefly before continuing on his way. Reiner, Bertholdt, and Jean gathered their stuff and quickly left the break room. Back on the floor, Eren was typing slowly. His eyes were glued to the keyboard as he hit one button at a time. His shoulders were stiff and his brow sweaty. "Erin, are you done yet? I need those papers soon" Armin called over the desk to him. "I'm trying but Brian said I type too loud" Eren explained. He tried to type a bit faster, but his keys began to click with each movement. "Jaeger! I thought I told you to keep it down!" a loud voice cut across the office. Eren jumped up from his table and stood at attention. "Sorry, sir! I'll be quieter sir!" he shouted before sitting back down. His head fell forward onto his keyboard and he groaned loudly. "Sorry, Eren..." Armin whispered sadly. "It's not your fault he has the ears that could hear a mouse fart" Eren sighed as he sat back up. The space bar was indented on his face, making his delete the extra spaces on his work. "It's like I don't even know how to type anymore" he groaned as he looked at the single sentence, he had worked on for the past 30 minutes. Brian would come over to his desk if he so much as yawned, telling him to hurry up but be quiet about it. "How are you holding up Armin?" Eren asked. "Oh, you know. Brian thought I worked too fast, so he gave me Sasha's work and has her cleaning the carpets. I've only just started the work for next quarter, but Brian insists it's better to be ahead" Armin prattled off as his vision began to tunnel. He reached for an energy drink to his right and tilted the can upward until the last drop fell into his mouth. "I can smell colors" he sighed as his eyes focused on the screen. Eren looked on in horror, the usually calm and collected Armin was now a nervous wreck. Eren would always get help from him as he finished his work early each day, but now Eren wanted to help Armin. "I'll take some of it off your hands, I can...uh.... write it out for you" Eren grabbed a stack of papers and began writing down the report rather than typing it. Armin could type it out later since he wasn't a loud.

 "Thanks, Eren. I don't want to stay late and have to wake you up to let me in again" Armin said in a shaky voice. He had only managed to sleep for five hours this morning before Eren woke him up to go to work. The two of them had staggered to the office and were immediately given a pile of work to deal with. That hadn't even been the worst of it, Mikasa who usually greeted them had been affected too. The woman usually was cool and stoic as nothing seemed to bother her. But that morning, she wore a cheerful smile and brought everyone coffee. "Hey guys, working hard or hardly working?" she laughed as she grabbed Eren's shoulders. Neither of her friends was able to respond right away. It was like she was a whole different person. "Uhh, working hard?" Eren said as he passed glances to Armin. "Mikasa, do you feel okay?" Armin asked. "Oh, Armin! You're so funny! I feel as good as the sun is bright. Brian was telling me that a cheerful mood brightens the workplace so I just thought a smile would help everyone better" Mikasa explained. As she said this, she took Eren's pen and wrote in his notebook. He read "HELP ME" written along the top of it. "R-Right...cheerful," he said quietly. "Well, I'm off to reorganize the permits. Brian said it was a real pigsty in there!" Mikasa gave the guys a thumbs up before speed walking off. As she passed Annie, she gave the woman finger guns. Annie simply stared at her in disbelief. She walked over to Eren and pinched the man's neck. "Annie! What the hell?!" he shouted. "Yeah, this isn't a dream. I need this Brian guy to hit the road so I can have my wife back" she said angrily. Annie took a long sip from her coffee as she glared at the office Brian was using. Currently, Levi had been busy with a national meeting and would only be in his office a few days out the week. While he was gone, Brian made himself comfortable in the office. Rearranging the desk and even bringing food in there as Levi had forbidden. Erwin had tried to stop him but as with everyone else, Brian had whipped him into place and did as he liked. He had even turned Ymir into a gopher, running her back and forth from other departments.

 Historia was putting a wet towel on Ymir's forehead while she downed a bottle of water. "That guy is like the if someone mixed raw concentrated evil with salt and limes" Ymir sighed as she fell into a chair. "The devil's margarita" Connie gasped. Ymir shot him a dirty look before turning to Historia. "Thanks, babe" she smiled tiredly. "Anytime honey" Historia kissed Ymir's cheek as she ran off to finish her work. Below them, Sasha was on her knees holding a pair of tweezers. "How am I supposed to clean the carpet with these?" she sighed as she picked out another crumb of granola. She dropped it into the small bag on her hip. "Why don't you use the vacuum?" Connie asked her. "Brian said it is a waste of power and since I am always behind, I can at least do this" Sasha sobbed. Even Levi never made her clean like this. "This is crazy man, how are we gonna get rid of this guy?" he groaned as he held his head in despair. "Good luck with that Connie, I'll make sure to redistribute your stuff to charity," Ymir said lazily. "H-Hey! I'm not gonna do it!" he argued. Sasha hugged his legs, crying loudly. "Please Connie! I don't wanna see another dust bunny again!" she bellowed. "I know, I know. But he is too scary!" Connie hugged Sasha as the two comforted one another. Just then, Marco dashed into the office. "Guys! Levi is coming!" he said in a panic. The entire office stopped, not a single person typed. Marco dashed to his desk and everyone held their breath as they tried to look normal. Their eyes darted between Levi's office and the front door.

 Hinge entered the office first, laughing loudly about something. She stopped as she spotted Sasha on the floor and Mikasa happily arranging a corkboard. "Good lord," she said quietly as she looked around. Levi walked up behind her, pushing her in the middle of her back. "Hange, what have I said about blocking the entryway?" he said in an annoyed voice. "Safety regulations, blah, blah. Just look" she said as Levi stepped around her. His eyes scanned the office without any emotion on his face. right away, he ran his finger along a file cabinet, noting the amount of dust that had accumulated. He walked over to Sasha, staring down at her. "Get up" he ordered her. Without even a breath, Sasha stood up and began shaking. "Get the vacuum and clean the floor properly," Levi said with a pointed glare. "Yes, sir!" Sasha took off running to the utility closet without looking back. Levi turned his gave to Eren and Armin, glaring at the large stack of papers on their desks. "Eren, stop playing with your keyboard and take half of Armin's work" he continued. Eren quickly scooped up the mess of papers and began typing loudly. Levi glanced at Ymir and Historia, not saying anything as he went to his office. He opened the door without knocking, earning a glare from Brian. "Where is Erwin?" Levi asked calmly. "He is out getting donuts, why?" Brian said back just as calmly. Everyone was still "working" while holding their breath. With Levi's absence, they had forgotten how much of an unstoppable force. It was like watching to lions facing off. "He should be here completing the month's summary, we have front desk employees that can get deliveries" Levi lectured the auditor as he walked slowly into the office. His eyes scanned every corner, noting each change Brian had made. "I see you have made a mess of my office" he continued. "A mess? I think I made it look better than before" Brian argued. Levi's eye twitched, obviously angered by the man's idea of "better".

 "It's still my office and since I am back, you can leave now," Levi said as he pointed to the door. "I don't think so, I still have plenty of work to do. As you may remember, I'm handling your office's audit" Brian stood up and held Levi's stare. No one said anything for a while, battling with just their eyes. Erwin came rushing through the door wearing a sweater tied over his shoulders like some golf club dad. "They ran out of chocolate dipped so I got chocolate glaze..." he trailed off as he saw Levi standing in the office. "Oh..." he began to back away, but Levi caught him by the sweater. "What the hell are you wearing?" he said in a low voice. Erwin wasn't sure how to respond, shrinking in his husband's presence. "He is wearing Royal Polo, it's fashion. You could learn a thing or two" Brian announced proudly. Levi turned back to Brian with a look of pure death. "That's it, you're coming with me" Levi dragged Erwin out and shut the door. He led everyone into the break room for a powwow. "Why the hell all are you all acting like whipped puppies?" Levi asked. "Brian is terrifying! We can't take it anymore!" Sasha cried loudly. "He made Sasha clean the carpet with tweezers for a whole week. A week!" Connie explained. "He took all of Jean and my bobbleheads. Even the limited editioned ones" Marco explained. "And he calls me bobblehead! I don't look like a bobblehead!" Jean said angrily. Mikasa's persona broke for a moment, allowing her to glare weakly. "He made me say 'totes', I can't even sleep at night without reciting Gossip Girl scenes," she said tiredly. "Levi, he broke my wife!" Annie said angrily. "Yeah, and he makes me run back and forth to relay info that he could just say over a call" Ymir joined in angrily. "He made me his secretary, I told him I was the head of archives, but he said I looked like a secretary" Historia reported. “Brian told me I was too big for the office and makes me work in the hall” Reiner growled. “Me too, he put me in the storage closet because I bloke his view of the office” Bertholdt added in.

 "It's worse than I thought, scratch that. Erwin's outfit is worse than I thought" Hange said. The man coughed, removing the sweater over his dress shirt. "I'm afraid even I can't stand up to him. He made me shave my beard since it was unsanitary" he explained. Levi's face was calm but everyone could sense the rage in him. They knew that Brian had crossed the line by altering how his husband looked. "This has gone on long enough. I'm calling in a favor" Levi said as he pulled out his phone. He dismissed everyone to go back to work as he talked on the phone. No one knew what he was planning as he cleared a table in the center of the office. Brian had walked out and looked around in mild confusion. "What is this?" he asked. Hange stood behind Levi, wearing a wild grin. "Welcome to the battle royale. Right here, right now. Operation soaring falcon is in its final stages" she announced. Levi sat down in one of the chairs as a large man entered the office. He was carrying a large gallon jug full of clear liquid. The man placed the jug on the table and shook hands with Levi. "Corporal" the man greeted him. "Swanson," Levi said back just as curtly. Everyone watched as Swanson pulled the cork off the bottle. "Ugh, what is that? It smells like Jet fuel" Sasha groaned as she covered her nose. "That's Swanson Family Mash liquor. Made from the finest corn ever grown on American soil. Its only legal use is to strip the varnish off of speedboats" Swanson explained. "It's time to settle this" Levi said as Swanson poured him a glass of the drink. "An old-fashioned prairie drink-off" Brian sighed as he removed his blazer. He took his own glass, holding Levi's stare. "If you win, the Trost Parks Department is yours. And if I win, you finish your audit with a perfect score and leave" Levi began. "Pour it, I'm thirsty" Brian challenged him. Levi and Brian took a shot of the liquor, closing their eyes as it burned down their throats. Everyone flinched despite not drinking it themselves. Another round down and neither batted a single eye. "Had enough?" Levi asked. "Of this watered-down baby formula? Not even close" Brian shot back with venom. By now, the entire office was watching things unfold. Neither party showed signs of getting even tipsy. Brian took another shot, burping after swallowing his glass. He began sweating, wiping it off and trying to pretend the alcohol wasn't hitting him quite yet. Levi held eye contact with him as he lifted the jug and chugged what was left of the liquor. "Oh my god" Connie gaped as Levi finished it with a loud sigh. "Game set!" Hange announced with a wild laugh. Levi rolled his eyes and looked down at Brian. "Now get out of my fucking department" he ordered him. Brian clumsily scrambled to his feet, gathering his stuff and stumbling out the door. Everyone began cheering and hugging each other. Levi closed his eyes, holding the bridge of his nose. "Everyone be quiet! Clean this place up and someone get me a cup of coffee" he shouted. Everyone was instantly quiet, shuffling around to fix the adjustments Brian had made them make in Levi's absence. Historia brought Levi a cup of coffee and he went back to his office with Erwin and Hange. Peace was restored in the Trost Parks Department and no one ever heard of Brian ever again.

[theunfinishedsong-nct]

Chapter 2

Friday, 9:16 PM

Ten minutes have already passed since we finished the last docket of orders, which means the next and hopefully final wave of dine-in guests will begin shortly. I have just finished cleaning up my station – I have removed the scattered bread crumbs and lettuce trimmings from the counter tops; I have washed my two chopping boards (white for breads, green for fruits and veggies), three different knives, and the insert tray for our toaster, among others. I have also washed my kitchen towels with laundry detergent. It’s a good thing I was able to finish my tasks quickly, since there are four other cooks who need to share the two kitchen sinks among them. We could also ask our dishwasher, Taemin hyung, to let us use the dishwashing machine. But when he’s too busy and loaded, we could just easily wash our stuff manually.

I took a moment to shake the stuck bread crumbs off my all-black chef’s uniform and apron, until I realized I haven’t drunk any amount of water in almost an hour, so I hurriedly grabbed my half-liter, violet water bottle from a shelf near the kitchen door as I went straight outside.

The relaxing aroma of freshly ground coffee beans being brewed by the barista-on-duty grew prevalent as I stepped closer to the bar area, which is also part of the main dining area. Only a wide, L-shaped counter serves as its “barricade” or “divider”. From here, I can see that most of the guests are still busy finishing their meals, while about ten people were still seated at the waiting area near the café entrance.

I took the aluminum ice scooper from a small, transparent plastic bucket beside the coffee machine, and then I bent over to the ice bin below. I poured a scoopful of ice into my wide-rimmed bottle, then I grabbed a pitcher of water to fill it almost up to the rim.

I could no longer wait to refresh my tired self, so I stood right on the spot, leaned my head backwards, closed my eyes, and gulped down a satisfying amount of my cold thirst quencher.

And as I opened my eyes, I was taken aback by what I just saw right before me.

I’ve never seen this one before, but he was definitely a sight to behold.

Damn, he is so good-looking.

My whole head was practically empty except for those few words. I found myself running out of better words to describe him as I felt my feet become frozen on the floor. For a moment, the whole environment basically became a grayish blur.

He stood about a meter away from me as he swiftly grabbed a couple of menus from the menu basket on the countertop. It took a while before it finally dawned on me that he is, in fact, an employee here. He then went towards the entrance and handed the menus over to the waiting guests.

His rich, dark hair was sleekly styled – it was brushed away from his forehead, save for a single lock hanging perfectly still right above his left eyebrow; his eyebrows looked rich as well. The apples of his cheeks were rosy pink even if he wasn’t wearing any hint of makeup… Except maybe for his glistening lips, which seemed like they had a very subtle tint of peachy-pink; I figured he must have used lip balm on them,  since they looked so… Juicy and delightful.

Who knows what flavor he used? Cherry? Strawberry? Of course, I am interested.

I noticed he was wearing a white button-down shirt with the sleeves folded up to his forearms near the elbows – the color white being an indication that he is only a trainee. Regular dining employees wear light blue.

He had a name tag on, but he left too quickly before I got to even have a glimpse of what’s on it.

And now there’s my excuse to “ask” the others about him.

I held a sneaky smirk on my face as I walked away from the bar area. I headed back to the kitchen until I suddenly got stopped –

“Taeyong-ah! Can you grab a bunch of teaspoons for me, please?” Kyungsoo hyung called directly from the dispatch window. He needed to use the teaspoons as tasting spoons.

“Noted, hyung.”

This area right outside the kitchen – where Kyungsoo hyung can directly look out into – is the dining dispatch area. It connects the kitchen to the main dining area and bar area, but the guests do not get to have a peek into this area, since it is hidden by a wall. However, there are no doors here, just an opening, because it was made to be easily accessed by the dining staff – the bussing area, cutlery drawers, and condiment shelves are all here, and the office is in here as well.

I checked the cutlery drawers below the dispatch window – they are almost empty, save for some bread knives and appetizer spreaders.

The dining staff can also use this area to wipe cutleries that come fresh and hot from the dishwashing machine. They have to be wiped one by one with a clean towel to make sure they’re all free from any possible remaining food particles. When they do this, they use this gray, multi-compartment cutlery tray to organize the cutleries per type. Since it is portable, it does not have a permanent placement, so it could be here; it could also be in the bar area.

I turned around as I scanned the area to look for that cutlery tray.

It was not on top of the ice chest freezer.

It was nowhere to be found near the bussing area.

It was not even there on the counter top by the dispatch window.

So maybe it’s in the bar area. I’ll just go there, no problem.

Just when I was about to approach the opening going to the bar area, the guy from a while ago suddenly walked straight towards the chest freezer, just right past me. He didn’t notice me at all. He seemed so busy… Well, of course he is.

He was carrying the cutlery tray.

He placed it on top of the chest freezer, and then he turned towards the bussing area.

“Excuse me, hyung… Do you still have more cutleries there?” He shyly asked Taemin hyung.

I peeked into the cutlery tray – there are several teaspoons in there… Just what I needed.

I started debating with myself – should I sneakily grab the teaspoons then run back into the kitchen?

I’m too scared and nervous to interact with him for now. What if he notices me?

Or should I stand with pride, walk with my chin up, and just confidently take the teaspoons? I am a senior employee here, after all.

Taemin hyung took out a large stainless mixing bowl and placed it onto the surface of the bussing window.

The guy raised both his arms to take the bowl – they seemed heavy because it was full of cutleries. He then bowed towards Taemin hyung and thanked him softly.

I instantly noticed how a few veins suddenly appeared on his forearms as he flexed them to carry the large bowl… And that’s not it.

Even his biceps peeked a bit through the sleeves of his white shirt.

I snapped out as I finally decided to run towards the cutlery tray to grab the teaspoons like they were some kind of a hidden treasure.

Of course, he was already on his way to this spot. But it will take him about ten steps, and I thought the weight of the bowl would slow him down just a bit.

And maybe it did.

I did not just run back – I sprinted back into the kitchen. The teaspoons are still complete in my clenched left hand, while some droplets of water from my cold bottle seeped through the fingers on my right hand.

I peeked into the small window of the kitchen door - he has already placed the large bowl beside the cutlery tray. I hope he didn’t notice me.

With a heavy sigh, I felt relieved that no one noticed what I just did. I’m almost breathless right now. It was such a simple task, yet I made it unnecessarily complicated.

I returned my water bottle back to its respective spot on the shelf. I proceeded to walk towards Kyungsoo hyung, and I dropped the handful of teaspoons into the clean 1/9 insert pan in front of him. I then took a deep breath…

"The new guy, hyung... Who is he?" I asked Kyungsoo hyung.

He made some kind of an evil smirk on his face. He gave me a quick glare, then he leaned his head towards the dispatch window.

"Jaehyun-ah! Come here!”

The guy didn’t even hesitate to pause his task for this moment – he immediately went to the front of the dispatch window.

“You haven't been introduced to each other, right? You haven't met him, right?”

I wanted to grab Kyungsoo hyung by the arm, and drag him away from here. Now.

“Jeong Jaehyun, meet one of our senior chefs, Lee Taeyong!"

Wait.

What?

Whoa.

That was too fast.

Fast yet smooth.

The guy bowed down, then he stretched his right hand out to me while leaning close to the dispatch window.

"Ugh, wait. This is embarrassing. My hand is still wet." I hurriedly pulled a sheet of paper towel from the nearby dispenser. Both of my hands are now shaking subtly as I wiped my right hand. I must have certainly looked stupid.

I then bowed back, grabbed his hand and gave him an awkward handshake.

"Hi, I'm Taeyong. Nice to meet you... Jaehyun?" I said to him as I flashed an even more awkward smile.

"Nice one, hyung..." I thought.

"Hey, someone's got really soft hands," he looked at Kyungsoo hyung and my other co-workers with his sparkly eyes. I almost didn’t notice that we’re being watched by my colleagues, almost like a K-drama scene unfolding before their eyes.

This dude has the audacity to show off his annoyingly adorable smile on his face. He even has not one, but TWO dimples, streaming down on both his cheeks. And he’s totally flexing them at me right now. He's just really cool about our meeting, and I’ve never felt this dumb before.

And it’s been eight seconds – we still haven’t let go of each other. Eight. Freaking. Long. Seconds.

He’s not letting go of my hand, and I’m not letting go of his. Who is gonna be the one?

I was left frozen, staring blankly at Kyungsoo hyung.

Then I finally thought it was time to let go before my face turns into a tomato.

"Well, I guess I'll see you around," I said, as if I was too busy. Well, I was not too busy, but I know he definitely is. We haven’t received any new orders in the kitchen, so I’m still good for a while.

“Alright, see you later,” he replied; he was still showing off his dimples. He then turned towards Kyungsoo hyung – “please excuse me, sunbaenim. I have to go back outside,” and bowed yet again.

Kyungsoo hyung fixed his eyes on me, and gave me that evil look again. I pouted at him as I showed my sad puppy eyes.

"Hyung, I feel so embarrassed," I whispered, but he just deliberately ignored me.

Jaehyun was not yet out of our sight when my mischievous hyung loudly blurted out something that made me want to completely disappear from this planet right now.

"Ah, Taeyong likes Jaehyun!"  

[crykeepgoing]

Depression cleaning tips

1. Do it a bit at a time. if you picked up some trash and then ran out of energy for the day, it’s OK to be done for the day, next time do something other than trash though so nothing gets too out of hand.

If you you cleaned anything even part way then you cleaned and can be proud of yourself for cleaning. Taking the hair out of your hairbrush counts as cleaning.

2. For the kitchen or bathroom counters. Use a wet paper towel or wash cloth to wipe around and/or under everything on the counter. Just push all the dirt and crumbs onto the floor. This works for tables and dressers too

3. vacuum or sweep along the counter where you have been pushing stuff onto the floor. Maybe go out a few feet into the big areas but don’t bother getting under and around things unless you want too

4. Make your clothes into no more than three piles. Clean, wearable, and must be washed. Sort out your underwear and socks if you want since they are the most frustrating to look for in a pile

5. Bathrooms should be cleaned in parts. If you washed the toilet then you have cleaned the bathroom and can be done.

If you cleaned the sink then you have cleaned the bathroom and can be done

if you cleaned the shower then you have cleaned the bathroom and can be done.

Cleaning means got most of the gunk off not sterilization

6. Empty the trash. Doesn’t matter if it’s half full and there’s trash laying around that needs throwing away. Gather what you feel like and take it out. A new trash bag in the can will cut down on smell and make everything feel cleaner

7. Put the big things away.

I have a bean bag, a giant blanket, and three couch pillows that always end up on the living room floor, when I put the bean bag by the wall where it goes and sorta fold the blanket and put the pillows on the couch then the whole room is more cheerful.

8. Dishes. If you start on dishes because you ran out of something then do as many of those as you can handle. (Spoons, cups etc.)

rinse the food off every thing you can so they don’t start stinking before you get around to washing them.

Always leave the sink with a stable pile, if things will fall when you add the next dish then restack things. Nothing is more disheartening than adding to a sink full of dishes and them all falling on you

Its an ongoing project that you have your whole life to do, it doesn’t all need done today.

Feel good for everything you did to keep things clean. Even just not making additional mess can count as cleaning.

[splendidlyimperfect]

Written for @fyeahstingsu Stingsu Week 2019; prompt: flowers

-----

Natsu only buys flowers for Sting when he's done something silly, but this time, they're for a completely different reason.

Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Natsu Dragneel/Sting Eucliffe Characters: Natsu Dragneel, Sting Eucliffe Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Flowers, Fluff, Domestic Fluff, Dorks in Love, Short & Sweet, they're adorable and i love them, Natsu is awkward as hell, and Sting loves him for it, Tumblr: FTLGBTales

-----

When Sting comes home from work and sees a bouquet of flowers on the counter, he immediately scans the rest of the apartment to make sure nothing is broken or damaged. It all looks in order, which is somewhat suspicious. The last time Natsu brought home flowers – pink rhododendrons that are still sitting on the side table in the bedroom – it was because he’d used all the nice dish towels Sting’s dad had given them to clean up a coffee spill and ruined them.

“Natsu?”

Sting sets his bag down on the floor, then inspects the flowers. They’re roses – soft pink and sweet-smelling. They’re still wrapped in brown paper and are sitting on the sill above the kitchen sink, next to the bowl of succulents that had appeared the night after Natsu had lost his phone for the third week in a row.  

Sting turns around, calling Natsu’s name again, but there’s no response. He frowns, heading down the hallway and peeking into the bedroom. It’s empty, but he can hear the shower running, and when he gets closer to the bathroom, he can hear Natsu humming.

“Hey, you,” Sting says, knocking on the shower wall. Natsu jumps and peeks his head out, eyes widening when he sees Sting.

“Shit,” he says. Sting frowns and Natsu quickly waves away his words. “Sorry, you—I thought you worked until six.”

“I did,” Sting says, raising an eyebrow. “Lucy sent me home early ‘cause it wasn’t super busy.”

“Oh.”

There’s an awkward moment where Natsu stares at Sting as shampoo drips down his forehead. It gets in his eyes and he grumbles, ducking his head back under the water to rinse it out.

“You’re being weird,” Sting says, crossing his arms and leaning back against the sink.

“Am not,” Natsu insists. He sounds petulant even through the water. “Just surprised.”

“Uhuh.” Sting gestures to the kitchen. “I saw the flowers. What did you do?”

Natsu pouts, shaking his head and spraying water at Sting, who sputters and wipes the drops from his face. “Nothing,” Natsu insists, laughing at Sting’s indignance. “Can’t a man buy flowers for his boyfriend just because he feels like it?”

Sting rolls his eyes. “Every single plant and flower in this place is an apology,” he says. He points to the bouquet of lilacs on the dresser. “Those were for putting my dress shirts in the dryer and shrinking them,” he says. “And the sunflowers were for the time you used Shake’N Bake instead of graham crumbs in my birthday pie.”

“Look, I—”

“You got me daisies after you blew up the microwave trying to dry your underwear faster.” Sting’s grinning now. “And then there was the time you used dish soap in the dishwasher and filled the kitchen with foam. I think you got me lilies that time.”

“Okay, I get it,” Natsu grumbles, towelling off his hair and glaring at Sting. “I promise these ones are for a different reason, though. I’m not always an idiot.”

Sting leans in, grabbing Natsu by the back of the neck and pulling him in for a kiss. “You’re not an idiot,” he says, rubbing Natsu’s nose with his. “You’re a dork.”

“You’re a dork,” Natsu says, catching Sting by the waist and pulling him close. Sting squeaks, trying to push Natsu away.

“You’re all wet!” he protests, squirming to get out of the damp embrace. Natsu raises his eyebrows and Sting quickly slaps a hand over his mouth. “I swear to god if you make a joke about getting me wet in other ways…”

Natsu mumbles something through Sting’s fingers that sounds like, “wasn’t gonna,” then licks Sting’s palm.

“Oh my god, you’re disgusting,” Sting says, giving up and relaxing into the embrace. “It’s a good thing you’re pretty.”

“You’re prettier,” Natsu says. He kisses Sting’s nose again, then grabs his hands and drags him out into the bedroom, letting go to grab clothes from the end of the bed. Sting frowns when he realizes that Natsu is pulling on slacks and a dress shirt – and that he’s laid out a similar outfit for Sting.

“What’s—”

“Just put them on,” Natsu says, nudging Sting toward the clothes. “It’s a surprise.”

Sting looks between Natsu and the clothing suspiciously, then shrugs and tugs off his work shirt, swapping it out for the soft pink button-up that Natsu loves. He always says it makes Sting’s eyes look even bluer.

“Where are we going?” Sting asks as he runs his fingers through his hair.

Natsu doesn’t answer right away, and when Sting looks over at him, he realizes that Natsu’s playing with his sleeves and looking at the floor. The playful cockiness in his expression is gone, replaced by hesitation.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Sting asks, reaching out and grabbing his hands. Natsu takes a deep breath, peeking up at Sting and taking a deep breath.

“Um,” he says, chewing on his lip and tapping his thumbs nervously against the back of Sting’s hands. “I, um… gods, I thought I was gonna have a couple more hours to work myself up to this.” He takes a deep breath, then nudges Sting toward the door. “Go back in the living room and gimme a sec, okay?”

“What’s going—”

“Go,” Natsu insists, reaching around to pinch Sting’s ass and grinning when Sting smacks his hand away. “Just trust me, okay?”

Sting eyes Natsu warily, but does what he says, heading back into the living room and sitting down on the couch. He looks back over at the roses and realizes they match the color of his shirt.

A few minutes passes and eventually Natsu appears from the bedroom. He doesn’t look at Sting, just grabs the roses from the kitchen and brings them over, then stands awkwardly in front of the couch. His cheeks are almost as pink as the petals.

“C’mere,” he mumbles, grabbing Sting’s hand and pulling him to his feet. He pushes the bouquet into Sting’s hand, then reaches into his pocket, and Sting’s stomach does a little flip.

“Oh,” he says softly.

Natsu exhales sharply, then pulls out a little black box and peeks up at Sting. “Fuck, I’m worse at this than I expected,” he says, laughing nervously. “Sorry, I wanted—I was gonna surprise you, with the flowers and try to be romantic.”

“Babe,” Sting says softly, reaching up and touching Natsu’s cheek. “I’m not dating you ‘cause you’re romantic. I’m dating you ‘cause you’re sweet and I love you.”  

Natsu nods, and a small smile crosses his face. “Well,” he says, fiddling with the box. “You, uh… I mean, you’re sweet. Too. And I, uh… like you—love you—a lot. The most. Y’know, out of all the people I know, which is—I know a lot of people. But you’re my favorite.” He groans, tipping his head back and looking up at the ceiling. “Gods, I’m awful at this. I had a speech!”

“I like this better than a speech,” Sting says, running his fingers through Natsu’s hair. “That’s not you. This is.”

“What is?”

“Being an adorable, awkward dork.”

“Hey!” Natsu looks indignant, but Sting shakes his head, leaning in and pressing their foreheads together.

“I love you because you’re an awkward dork,” he teases, kissing Natsu’s nose. Natsu sighs as Sting a “I think you were gonna ask me something.”

“Yes.” Natsu looks up at him again, then opens the box with one hand, holding it up so Sting can see. When Sting sees the simple, soft gold band inside, he can’t quite breathe. “I love you. Do you wanna, um… marry me?”  

Sting grins, setting the roses down on the coffee table and pulling Natsu in for another kiss. “Yeah,” he says softly as Natsu takes the ring from the box with shaking hands and slips it onto Sting’s finger. “Yeah, I do.”

[love-dreams-unless-delusional]

HG keyboard cleaner

HG keyboard cleaner Then dry the keyboard carefully with a kitchen or paper towel. With a tooth space brush you can not only clean the keyboard spaces perfectly, but also get underneath. You can now remove coarse dirt from the gaps in the keyboard by vacuuming the dust crumbs from above with a conventional vacuum cleaner at the lowest power setting. To thoroughly clean your desktop PC keyboard it is necessary to remove all keys. Of course that's annoying - but it doesn't have to be permanent. A woman revealed her trick. Vacuum the keyboard with a conventional vacuum cleaner. Use a brush attachment and only operate the vacuum cleaner at the smallest level. The key gaps can be cleaned well with small interdental brushes, which not only get you well into every corner, but also under the keys.

How do I move the cursor without a mouse?

Use the keyboard mouse to move the mouse pointer Open the Ease of Access Center by clicking first click the Start button. Click Ease of Mouse Use. Under Control the mouse with the keyboard, select the Activate mouse check box.

The cloth (cloth nose cloth) has to be thrown away afterwards, make sure that the alcohol / detached rubber does not spread on the rest of keyboards. Keyboards on the laptop are more difficult to clean because the components are more compact. A cleaning request is therefore limited to the surfaces. Before you start cleaning, you should examine the keyboard. You don't need frills glass cleaners and Co. One or the other is definitely tempted to order disinfectants, wet wipes and cleaners in the office. But this is unnecessary, since we are surrounded by bacteria and pathogens every day, which we have survived so far. If you tidy up your desk once a week and wipe everything with a damp cloth, you don't have to worry. You will find accessibility features on the on-screen keyboard.

The monitor magically attracts dust, the keyboard swallows crumbs, the mouse bathes in hand perspiration and the PC sucks up dust particles from the floor.

Disconnect the keyboard cable if you have a wired keyboard, or the power adapter if you have a laptop.

It is worth cleaning the computer keyboard.

The takum is used up somehow. So I find wiping the soft varnish with alcohol the better solution. If the keyboard is still not clean enough for you, according to "Chip.de" you can completely disassemble the keys and housing and wash the individual plastic parts in the dishwasher at up to 40 degrees. Ideally, the coarsest dirt will fall out or make itself noticeable by a quiet clatter. Tilt the keyboard in different directions and type a little harder to remove any residue. Then spray the HG keyboard cleaner onto a clean, lint-free cloth and use it to clean the keyboard. Do not spray the keyboard cleaner directly onto the keyboard. HG Keyboard Cleaner is a quick-drying and degreasing keyboard cleaner that has been specially developed for the quick, effective and hygienic removal of deposits caused by (skin) fats and other dirt and dust. It also contributes to a neat look and prevents the tip quality from deteriorating due to crumbs or other contaminants. Even though we tried to describe as best as possible how to clean a keyboard in this article, we as the manufacturer cannot guarantee it. The cleaning is done at your own risk. Then the case from the outside and if you want the pads. Then rinse everything properly, dry (quickest dust cleaning mud reviews it works with air pressure, there are also fewer water stains) and it is like new again.

[lifesizehysteria]

Cleaning tips for anyone like me - for whom cleaning doesn’t come naturally and you just want to get through it and not think too much about it

Dust your shit before you actually clean it. Any surface that doesn’t get wiped down every couple of days is gonna be dusty af. The more animals and people living in your space, the dustier it’ll be. If you use a wet cleaner on a dusty surface you’re just going to turn all that dust into dirt clumps that are hard to get up and fucking annoying. Always dust first.

Clean higher surfaces before lower ones. Whether that’s the mirror in the bathroom before the sink or a set of shelves - always start from the top down. You will knock dust onto lower surfaces as you go and any cleaning products in spray bottles will leave a spray on lower surfaces as well. It’s really fucking annoying to clean something only to end up cleaning it again. Always go top down to avoid multiple cleanings of lower surfaces.

Once a month, dust all the corners of your rooms, around door frames, and your baseboards. Get you one of those swiffer extending dusters that will reach most ceilings unless they’re vaulted. Use that sucker to get all the goddamn cobwebs out of the corners of your house and to dust the floorboards. These are areas that are really easy to overlook because they’re not in your line of sight. But it will make your room feel 5000% more tidy and clean once you’ve cleaned them.

A small hand-vac is far superior for cleaning dirt piles after sweeping than a broom & dustpan. Full-sized vacuums will just kick the dirt back around your floor because of the spinning brush so get yourself a little rechargable hand-vac that just has suction and no brush and it’ll clean up those annoying piles way faster than even a hand broom and dustpan will. (It’s also super nice to use to just go around the corners of your kitchen real quick where crumbs tend to collect the most.)

Microwave a bowl of water for 30 seconds before cleaning your microwave. Microwaves heat using water molecules so this will help loosen up any food particles that have been nuked multiple times and are now extra-stuck in there. Depending on how dirty it is, you may be able to just wipe it down after microwaving the water. (Though you should, of course, actually clean it every so often. But for a quick clean up, this will at least get the gross stuff out.)

Clean the shit out of the window sills every once in a while. Like the dusting of the corners/floorboards, this is something that won’t take too long but will make your space feel a million times cleaner. To do this, vacuum out any big cobwebs/bug remnants, then loosen up all the dirt with a dry rag or paper towel. Now vacuum all of that out and then go back in with some cleaner and a damp rag/paper towel to get the dirt that’s really stuck in there.

Use swiffer floor duster sheets to dust before cleaning. This is my far my favorite method for actual dusting. They pick up dust better than any other duster I’ve used. Then you can go back over any stubborn or actually dirty surfaces with a cleaner and rag/paper towel. I actually like them better for dusting than the swiffer dusters and use them for all surfaces I can reach without the extra length of the duster.

Feel free to add onto this. This is especially for people who struggle to see messes, who aren’t naturally tidy, or who struggle to focus on one task for very long. When you have to work to see the mess, it’s easy to overlook things that aren’t right in front of your face. I put a lot of effort last year into being cleaner and more tidy and even though I still have a long way to go, these are some of the things I had to teach myself or that really came in handy. It also really helped me to write out a cleaning schedule of things I wanted to do once a month, twice a month, and once a week. Even if I didn’t always accomplish every single one of those things every week/month, it helped me prioritize my time and helped keep me on track. The biggest thing for me was forgiving myself when I didn’t finish (you other perfectionists will understand) and just letting each new month be a fresh start. Prioritize the things you didn’t do last month/week but don’t worry about “catching up.” 

[wearesungreenmylove]

Snowbaz Prom 2k18

Thank you to @its-okay-that-ur-not and @alliaskofyou for letting me ask you questions about prom! also I quote cj in there so look forward to that ;) (the line was pure gold, how could I not use it)

Word Count: 944

Normal AU

The water is gone within an hour.

And there’s this giant crowd of horny teenagers surrounding the speakers, all grinding on each other like their fucking lives depend on it and trying their best to dance.

I turn away in disgust, nose turned up, and head towards the snack table. Everyone’s been avoiding it, besides Snow that is. Honestly, I’m surprised he and Agatha aren’t in the weird dancing circle.

But there he is, standing awkwardly by the snack table, stuffing his face full of cream puffs. You know, the kind they have for dessert at a barbecue(I’ve only ever been to one, with Dev’s family in 4th year, but I got enough of a sense of what they're like to know that they're really not all they're hyped up to be).

He, Snow that is, is currently wearing a dark blue suit with black lapels with a white undershirt and a purple tie, and it looks like he actually tried to tame his hair tonight (or maybe that was Penny)(honestly I think it was Penny), because it looks somewhat contained, but in a really messy way that's just so Snow it's hard to explain.

I wander over. If nothing more than to tease Snow about his wolfing down all the food on the table. At least, that's what I try and tell myself. There's no one else for me to talk to here besides Dev and Niall, but they're both..um, a little..preoccupied at the moment.

Not together, no, they're like the straightest people I know. Almost immediately after we arrived Dev and Niall joined their girlfriends, Sara and Emily, out on the dance floor, and haven't come back since. Too busy grinding on their girlfriends to bother talking to their best friend I suppose.

  I wander over to Snow.

  "Snow," I say.

  He turns around, cream puff halfway between his mouth and plate. He's got some cream and crumbs on the left side of his face, and I wonder if I could just lick it off and go. Maybe kiss him somewhere in between there. Yes, I'd lick it off the corner of his mouth, the area bordering on cheek, then I'd kiss the living daylights out of him, and then I'd go. I'd just go. And maybe never come back. Aleister Crowley, Snow'd have a field day with that.

  He smiles.

  He fucking smiles at me.

  Did someone spike the punch? Something must be wrong, Simon bloody Snow just fucking smiled at me.

   I look down at the table still stock-piled with snacks, and then my eyes drift to the empty plate where the cream puffs were, and now only a few crumbs are left. Oh no..

 I look back up and he’s still smiling this ginormous goofy grin that’s honestly so sweet I melt a little.

 “Simon..” I say hesitantly, “How many cream puffs did you have?”

 “Oh, not that many, just a fe-” he stops when he sees the empty plate. “Um,” he brings his hand up to rub the back of his neck sheepishly, “All of them.” He looks up at me. Crowley his eyes are so ordinary. Maybe that’s why I love them so much; they’re the one thing about him that seem real, everything else is just a fantasy I’ve dreamt up.

 “Okay, so we’re gonna go get you cleaned up, okay?” I whisper. Best to keep it out of everyone’s attention that I’m trying to help him. I mean, Snow probably won’t remember this after tonight, so  why not indulge myself for a moment by actually being nice to him for a change.

 “What? Why?!” He says somewhat loudly, enough for a couple people to look over at us suspiciously. Crowley. Snow’s always been one for making a scene.

 I turn his shoulder towards me, so he’s not facing the rest of the world. I don’t think this would be a good thing for the chaperones to know about, considering it was probably one of the seniors who did it, and I don’t wanna be that one kid who ruined prom for everyone. “Simon, those all had weed in them.”

 “Nobody told me,” he grumbles.

 “Bloody hell, Snow, that’s kind-of the point, so that the adults don’t find out.” I start to drag him out towards the hall leading to the guy’s bathroom.

 “You called me Simon before.”

 “No I didn’t,” I turn back to face him and he’s fucking smirking at me. “Shut up,” I mumble, and go back to leading him out of the cafeteria.

 Ms. Rowell’s been standing guard at the door for the last hour, something about how they don’t want any babies being made on school grounds or whatever. Haha, no need to worry about me ma'am, I’m fucking gay as hell. But she let’s us through after I mumble something about “bathroom” and “emergency”.

 Once we get into the bathroom I let go of Simon’s wrist and google ‘how to take care of someone who just had weed’ while wetting a paper towel. The top three sites are all telling me what to do if someone’s addicted, which is not helpful in this case.

 I turn around and he’s right there. “M’sleepy,” he says before letting his head fall on my shoulder.

 “Oh,” is all I manage to say, even though it’s more of the ghost of a word, a breath, if that. Then Simon is pushing his forehead against my neck, and holy fuck his nose is moving across my collarbones in the most amazing way, and his arms are draped around me. I just want to melt into him and let the world disappear. And so I do.

Okay, so yes Ms. Rowell from Rainbow(not an actual depiction of her, I just needed a name) but apparently at my school we have a Ms. Rowell, and that makes me happy(I wish it was Rainbow, but sorry, I’m not moving to Omaha(I think my mom would actually disown me))

[kaspbrak-eddie]

I Only Call You When It’s Half Past Five

So this is what I’ve been working on since I finished PTA, I’m really excited to start this new fic! It’ll be a fwb-to-lovers style college au, but I’m gonna try to make it a slow burn (for as long as I can stand). Enjoy! 

Pairing: Reddie

Read on AO3

Words: 1568

Chapter 1

It was a Saturday night, and Eddie Kaspbrak had, for some reason, found himself at a bar he’d never been to. He normally just kept to the few gay bars there were in the bar district of his small college town, but tonight had been different. The group of girls he normally went out with, who loved the fruity drinks and the crawling dance floors of the gay bars had made a change of plans halfway through the night. One of them had made the executive–drunk–decision that they all needed to get laid, and that the needs of many were more important than the needs of the few. So here Eddie was, in the middle of a sea of drunk college kids, almost sober, not wanting to be there.

He pulled out his phone to check the time and noticed it was almost last call. He went to text one of the guys on his roster, needing to get the fuck out and hook up with someone, when some guy walked into him, spilling his drink and also knocking Eddie’s out of his hand. They both watched as the sticky liquid splashed all over the front of Eddie’s polo. 

Eddie looked up at him slowly, seething with rage and trying to make that clear in his eyes. He felt he had conveyed his feelings well when the guy took a step back, fumbling to adjust the oversized glasses he wore and putting his hands up on either side of his head. “Oh my god, dude. I am so sorry, that was an accident I’m pretty drunk.”

“Fuck you!” Eddie yelled instinctively, before noticing the fear and hurt in this guy’s eyes, he was actually being sincere and Eddie could tell he was nervous. “Sorry. It’s fine. I was about to go home anyway.” He said, making his way to the door. A few steps later he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned around, angling his face to look up at the guy who’d spilled his drink on him only thirty seconds ago. “What do you want?” He asked, furrowing his brows.

“I just… I..” He stammered out, fixing his glasses again. “Um. I live like a block away from here… you could just clean off at my house? It’s cold outside I don’t want you to have to walk to yours if it’s far… I mean I don’t know where you live but I just thought I’d offer because you’re really wet now and–” 

Eddie grabbed his hand. “Let’s go, idiot.” 

He dropped Eddie’s hand but moved to catch up with him so they could walk side by side as they exited the bar. “So I just live in that apartment building right over there.” He pointed at a large building that really was very close; Eddie’s was at least a ten minute walk from the bars. 

A couple of minutes into their walk, the guy looked over at Eddie and noticed him shivering, his arms crossed over his chest. When his teeth started chattering audibly, he offered Eddie the jean jacket he had on.

“No.” Eddie kept walking, crossing his arms tighter around himself.

“Are you sure? You look really cold.”

“That thing smells like cigarette smoke. Besides, I don’t even know you. When’s the last time you washed that thing? It looks disgusting.” 

The guy shrugged and put his jacket on, smiling. “My name’s Richie. Now you know me. What’s yours?”

“Eddie.” He said, not looking up. They arrived at Richie’s apartment, where Eddie followed him up a flight of stairs and watched him unlock the front door. Richie pushed the door open with his hip and leaned against it to hold it open, motioning for Eddie to go first. 

“Sorry, it’s a little messy.” That it was. The living room had plates and food trash scattered everywhere, and Eddie was sure the kitchen was just as bad. “My roommate and her boyfriend are out of town right now, he’s usually the one to pick up.” Richie said sheepishly, bringing a hand up to rub the back of his neck. “Bathroom is over there. Dryer’s in there if you want to dry your shirt. I’m really sorry again I feel bad.” He pointed to a little door off the living room, looking at Eddie through thick, dark eyelashes, still rubbing at his neck with the other hand. 

“Thanks.” Eddie made his way into the bathroom. He stripped off his shirt and rinsed it in the sink, before turning around to throw it in the dryer behind him. He spun back around and put his hands on the counter in front of the mirror, looking at himself closely. He quickly splashed some water on his face and patted it dry with a towel he was sure hadn’t been washed in at least a month. He reached to his side, pulled the door open, and returned to the living room. 

He walked out with arms crossed over his bare chest, suddenly feeling self-conscious, although he wasn’t sure why. He knew he had a great body, he worked out frequently to get out all of his pent up energy, and he had been told how hot he was by the numerous guys he was currently talking to or hooking up with.

Once in the living room, he found Richie sitting on the sofa and snacking on a piece of pizza he’d pulled from a box sitting on the coffee table. He stood up immediately when he heard Eddie walk in and looked him up and down, noticing his uncomfortable demeanor.

“Be right back.” He said around a mouthful of pizza, clapping his hands together to get the crumbs off as he ran through a door by the bathroom. He returned a few moments later with a t-shirt in his hands. “This is clean I promise, I just did laundry yesterday.” 

Eddie begrudgingly grabbed the t-shirt and put it on. It smelled vaguely like cigarettes, same as the jacket, but it also smelled like laundry detergent. It was a nice smell. After pulling it over his head, he made for the door. “I guess I’ll go home now, thanks for letting me dry off.” 

He noticed Richie’s face fall at his words. “Wait!” He said quickly. “Um… just stay until your shirt is dry at least! Want a drink?” 

Eddie debated his options. He could brave the ten minute walk back to his place in the twenty degree weather and spend the night with his cat in his own apartment, or he could stay with this rather cute stranger. Eddie shrugged. “What do you have?”

Richie’s face broke out into a smile, turning to walk into the kitchen, intending for Eddie to follow. “We don’t have many mixers for hard alcohol, but we have vodka, gin, whiskey…” Richie trailed off, turning to look at him and pushing his glasses up. 

“Beer?” Eddie asked. Richie nodded and grabbed two beers out of the fridge, handing one to Eddie. They made their way back into the living room and sat down on the sofa facing each other; Eddie pulled his legs up in front of him to sit criss-cross. 

“I know you right? We’ve had classes together.” Richie said once they were seated.

Eddie nodded. “Probably. All my classes are lectures, I’ve had classes with everyone. What’s your major?” 

“Engineering.” Richie said, sipping casually on his beer.

“Ah. I’m premed. So we had all those prereqs and math classes and stuff the last two years. That’s why I haven’t seen you much this year.”

“Junior year is a bitch.” Richie laughed softly. 

They talked back and forth about their classes and the different professors they’d had together, mostly complaining about how much they all sucked. Once Eddie’s shirt was dry, Richie jumped up and grabbed it, bringing it back for him to put on.

“So you’re gay, right?” he asked as Eddie changed out of Richie’s shirt and back into his own.

“I mean yeah? I guess everyone here pretty much knows, I don’t try to hide it. Why? Are you not? I thought you’d invited me over because… Oh god.” 

“No… I just… I don’t know.” Richie said nervously. “I’ve always thought I was straight… until I saw you tonight. I’d never really looked at you until tonight.” Eddie watched Richie’s eyes rake up and down his body, subtlety impossible behind his thick lenses.  

Eddie rolled his eyes, moving to stand up. “I’m not here for you to fucking make fun of me and then beat the shit out of me.”

Richie rose with him, putting a hand on his shoulder to stop him from walking away. “I’m serious.” Eddie turned around, looking into Richie’s huge eyes, seeing that he was pleading. “I have no idea what I’m doing but I think I like you, Eddie. And I know I’m a little drunk but when you’re drunk you tell the truth? Right?” 

Eddie sighed. “Okay. But I’m not closeted. I’m happily out and I’m not here to be some straight guy’s ‘I’ve experimented before’ story. Sorry.” Eddie dipped his shoulder down to get out of Richie’s hold before turning toward the door. 

“Wait! Please! Maybe we can at least be friends?”

“Fine. Friends.” Eddie agreed. He left that night holding a piece of paper with a phone number written on it that he never intended on using.

chapter 2

tag list: @fucking-reddie, @richie-trashmouthtozier, @waypunsarelife, @richietoaster

(let me know if you want to be added!)

[arplis]

Arplis - News: You’re cleaning your kitchen wrong

— Recommendations are independently chosen by Reviewed’s editors. Purchases you make through our links may earn us a commission. I hate to break it to you, but your kitchen is likely the dirtiest, germiest room in your home. Sure, you can bleach your countertops and wash the floors—but what about your appliances? They're probably gross, and you need to work on that. I always dread cleaning my appliances, but I also really hate the idea that they’re filthy. You probably feel the same way. So, it’s time to clean them. Here's a step-by-step guide. Grab your rubber gloves, and always check your user manual and follow whatever it says about cleaning. Clean your toaster Credit: Getty Images I kind of feel bad for my toaster, because I rarely think about cleaning it. But the other day, I accidentally moved the toaster, and I was shocked to see the trail of crumbs that followed. I knew I had to clean it, and I figured it would be simple. Here’s are the steps. Unplug the toaster. Slide out the crumb tray, and dump the crumbs. Turn the toaster upside down over the sink and shake out the rest of the crumbs. Put a little detergent on a wet rag and wipe the plastic parts on the outside. Wipe the top with a little bit of white vinegar on a wet rag. Clean your microwave Credit: Amazon Cleaning up spatter from the leftovers I reheat would be easy, if I did it every day. But when lunch is hot, I want to eat it right away. Then, I go back to what I was doing before. So, by the time I get around to cleaning the microwave, it really needs it. There are a couple of ways to clean the microwave. The first one is the one I use. The second one is for you if you have an Angry Mama, a steaming plastic microwave cleaner that loosens the grime. DIY method—Using water and lemon Pour a half cup of water into a microwaveable bowl. (I use a glass measuring cup.) Add the juice of one lemon, and toss the lemon halves in, too. Microwave the container of lemon water for 3 minutes. Let it stand for about 5 minutes. Remove the bowl carefully, because it’s still pretty warm. Wipe off the inside of the microwave with a paper towel. Take out the glass plate. Wash it, dry it, and return it. (Optional) Toss the lemon halves in the disposal, to get it smelling fresh. Shortcut—Using an Angry Mama Fill the device’s body with vinegar and water. Microwave it for 7 minutes so it can throw off steam. Remove Angry Mama from the microwave carefully (it’s hot!) by its arms. Wipe out the inside of the microwave with paper towels. Take out the glass plate. Wash it, dry it, and return it. Clean your dishwasher Credit: Getty Images Another case of something I thought was already clean, but it wasn’t. If your dishwasher has a sanitize cycle, follow the directions and use it. Otherwise, use one of these methods. Lots of bloggers will tell you to use white vinegar to clean a dishwasher, but knowing that vinegar can deteriorate rubber parts, I just don’t go there. This leaves using a dishwasher cleaning tablet or (the Tang trick. DIY method—Using Tang Hint: It’s the citric acid in the beverage that does the cleaning. And it does a good job! Take out the filter and wash it in the sink with warm sudsy water. (You probably need to slide out the bottom rack to reach it.) Take out the spray arm and poke the gunk out of the holes with a toothpick or skewer. Wipe the seal with a wet rag and liquid dish detergent. (Not automatic dishwasher detergent!) Run the water in your sink until it gets hot. Start the dishwasher and let it run for six minutes. Pour 12 ounces of Tang into the standing water. Close the door and let the cycle finish. Shortcut—Dishwasher cleaning product (like Finish dishwasher cleaner) If the Tang method doesn’t appeal, you can buy a product to clean the dishwasher. Take out the filter and wash it in the sink with warm sudsy water. (You probably need to slide out the bottom rack to reach it.) Take out the spray arm and poke the gunk out of the holes with a toothpick or skewer. Wipe the seal with a wet rag and liquid dish detergent. (Not automatic dishwasher detergent!) Run the water in your sink until it gets hot. Place the container of cleaner in the cutlery basket. Start the cycle. Clean your oven Credit: Getty Images Oven cleaning is a task I’m so averse to, I always put it off way too long. There’s no easy, low effort way to do it (unless you have a steam-cleaning oven), so just pick a method that you can deal with. Oh, and if you have an oven thermometer. a broiler pan, or a pizza stone in there, take it out before you start. DIY method—Using baking soda Remove the oven racks and soak them in warm water and dish detergent, in the bathtub if you have to. Make a paste of baking soda and water, and spread it around the oven, even on the window. Let it sit overnight. Wipe out the oven with a damp cloth. Spray a little vinegar on any residual baking soda. (It’ll foam up a bit. That’s a good thing.) Wipe out the oven again. Rinse the racks off and slide them back in. Shortcut—Using the Heated (pyrolytic) self-clean cycle It takes a thousand degrees of heat, several hours, and a nice day, because you’ll have to open the windows to let out the stench of burning grease. Remove the racks and soak them in warm water and dish detergent. Follow the instructions in your user manual to start the cycle. When it’s done and you can open the locked door, wipe out the ash. Rinse the racks and slide them back in. Shortcut—Using the Steam cycle If your oven has this feature, you’re very fortunate. It gets the oven clean fast, doesn’t smell bad, and doesn’t use much heat. It may not get all the grime, especially in the back of the oven, but you’re not meant to use the steam cycle on a really dirty oven. You should use it regularly for light cleaning. Remove the racks from the oven, and wash them. Pour the amount of water your user guide specifies into the bottom of the oven. Press the Steam Clean button. Press Start. Shortcut—Using oven cleaner If you don't mind using chemicals, this method will get your oven clean. Try to find a brand without fumes. Take the racks out, and soak them in the tub. Spray the cleaner in a cold oven, starting at the top and moving down. Close the oven door. Wait 2 hours. Wipe the oven down with a wet sponge or cloth, rinsing often. Rinse and replace the racks in the oven. Read more about cleaning your oven No matter how you clean your oven, the glass door may still look filthy, if food is caught in between the glass windows. You can take care of that with a coat hanger and a cleaning wipe, though. Clean your glass stovetop Credit: Getty Images No matter what they tell you, these are not so easy to keep clean. But you can't delay, because that makes it much harder. I've enjoyed using the little scraper that came with the stove, especially when there's a burned-on spot. If you use it very carefully, it quickly becomes your best stovetop spot cleaning buddy. But you need more than that to get the stovetop clean. DIY method—Baking soda Let the stovetop cool completely. Sprinkle on some baking soda. Use a damp scrubbie to spread the baking soda paste around, and keep scrubbing gently. Wipe with a clean, soft cloth. Shortcut—Using a cleaning product Spray or spread the cleaner over the stovetop. Wipe it off with a clean, damp cloth. Clean your refrigerator Do this before you go grocery shopping, or even before you go on vacation—anytime the fridge is relatively empty. You can unplug the fridge, if you’re ambitious. I just work fast, closing the door when I can. DIY method—The only choice Take all the food out and put it on the kitchen table. I guarantee there will be some surprises. Get rid of anything that has expired, or that you know your family or roommates will never eat. Remove the shelves and drawers, and wash them well in warm, soapy water. (Some of the baskets on the door may fit in your dishwasher.) Dry them and put them aside. Clean the inside of the refrigerator with a baking soda and water solution. There’s something that feels icky about spraying an all-purpose cleaner in a fridge. Maybe it’s that the smell doesn’t complement food. But use one if you like. Take a soft scrubbie to any spots. Wipe the sides of the fridge with paper towels. Wipe the gasket. Some people like to put on a thin coat of Vaseline, to get it to close tightly. You’re on your own for that, though because I haven’t tried it. Rinse off glass and plastic jars and bottles before you put them back. Put all the shelves and baskets back in the fridge. Don't forget underneath and behind! Trapped dirt and dust can keep your fridge from running efficiently. Read more about how to keep your refrigerator clean Clean your washing machine The laundry room is probably not as clean as it needs to be, considering that I wash clothes, towels, and bedsheets there. I always clean the lint filter in my dryer, but that is not nearly enough. I have to clean our washing machine, too. DIY method—Front loader Until I got a front-loader, I never thought of cleaning a washing machine. (My bad!) But if you’re not super careful with a front-loading washer, constantly wiping the gasket, and using HE detergent every cycle, the gasket gets moldy, leaving your laundry with a sour, mildew smell. If that happens, believe me, you’ll want to clean the washer right away. Add hot water to the washer. It may help you to put in a few old towels when you run this cycle, to convince the internal sensor to add enough water. Add 2 cups of bleach to the dispenser. Run the Normal cycle. Run the cycle again with hot water to wash out the bleach. Wipe the rubber gasket carefully on both sides, using a bleach and water solution. Wipe out the dispensers. Leave the door ajar every time you finish washing a load of laundry, so the moisture can evaporate. DIY method—Top-loader with agitator You’re not off the hook if you have a top-loading washer. But it’s a little easier to clean, I think, because it’s not as hands on. Start a Normal cycle, using hot water. Pour 2 cups of bleach into the bleach dispenser. Agitate it for a few seconds. Pause the cycle and let the washer sit for an hour. Finish the wash cycle. Wipe out the dispensers. Read more about how to clean your washing machine Shortcut—Using a washer cleaner like Affresh You may need to use a product like this if you run your washer's Sanitize cycle. Your washing machine may not heat water internally. If it doesn't, it will tell you what to use with Sanitize, right on the machine's control panel. Place a tablet in the tub. Run a normal cycle with hot water. When the cycle is complete, wipe off any visible residue with a paper towel. Clean stainless steel Don't you despise the fingerprints and smudges that show up daily on the outside of your stainless appliances? I could buy special wipes to clean them, but I just rub on a tiny amount of coconut oil, and rub it off with an old towel. It works surprisingly well. Chill: Your appliances are clean Don’t plan to clean all of your appliances in one day, even if you have help. But when it's done, you’ll still feel a sense of accomplishment when you've completed the dreaded appliance cleaning chores. Maybe it will feel so good, you’ll clean them more often. What You Need: The title should not be changed from a strong, or styles will break This can be either an ordered or unordered list and it should work correctly You can remove this whole section - from float_left to /float-left braai tags - and the 2nd section should display correctly by itself Trash can Time Needed 25 minutes Difficulty Easy

Step-by-Step:

The list should be the first thing in this section, but it is not currently required. The section name should not be changed - that will actually break the styles as it depends on the section link name it generates. This section has a special 'name' that will not show (just like 'content' or 'untitled section'). Therefore, it should be the first section in the article or it will look weird (since it will have no header). In fact, it only takes about a week

Arplis - News source https://arplis.com/blogs/news/you-re-cleaning-your-kitchen-wrong-1

[lexfritterwrites]

Let Lips Do What Hands Do - Ten

A/N: It’s finally an update! I hope you enjoy it and thanks for sticking around! The last half of this is pure smut so be warned. ;-) Thanks as always to @treefingers for being my beta!

previous

Taron sighs when Addie's ringtone springs from his pocket and he quickly connects the call. "Hey cariad, what's up?"

It's true he's not expecting a call from her as she should be teaching, but he's happy to hear from her.

"I am on my way to the fucking drug store to get a fucking pregnancy test."

"Addie!"

"Oh, it'll be negative, I can assure you," she sneers. "I can't fucking believe this."

"What?"

"Well, I threw up four times this morning, so I had to go visit the school nurse before I could get dismissed. She grins at me as I tell her what had happened, only having thrown up three times at this point, and she just gets this fucking smug smile across her unpleasant face. And she says, 'Are you having sex regularly with that handsome boyfriend of yours?' To which I said, 'I don't really see how that's your business.' And she cackles. She literally cackles, Taron! And she says, 'Well, Miss Lee, I think it's time you consider you might be pregnant.' I threw up again then so she signed my release, never mind a third of the school is out with a bug, so now I'm on my way to the fucking drug store to get a pee stick."

Taron's mind is finally catching up to everything she's just said — pregnancy test, throwing up, negative, pee stick. His heart hammers in his chest... Addie could be pregnant with his child. He could be a father.

"Addie, are you all right?"

She sniffles on the other end of the line and he imagines her wiping her nose with the back of her hand. "I don't know. I feel like shit, my face is all puffy and I'm going to the store to buy a pregnancy test. It's freezing outside, too."

"Are you coming home after you get it? Can I meet you somewhere? You don't have to do this alone."

Addie freezes on the sidewalk, tripping over the word 'home.' She still has her apartment and he of course still frequents his own house, but home is an entirely different idea. Home is Taron.

"Yeah, I'll come to you."

At the drugstore, Addie drops a pregnancy test and two jugs of Pedialite into her basket, taking a quick break to throw up in the rubbish bin out on the sidewalk. The man behind the counter eyes her warily and gives her a half smile, making her feel like both already know the results of the test. She groans as she flags a taxi to take her to Taron's house, ripping into the packaging to read the instructions.

They sit together on the bathroom floor, the plastic test resting on the tile beside Addie's leg.

"Please let it be negative." She mutters, dropping her head to her knees.

"Addie," Taron says softly, rubbing her back. "You keep acting like being pregnant with our child is the worst thing in the world. Is it me or—"

"Or what, Taron? It's not you, it's the situation. Now is the worst possible time for me to be pregnant. I'm supposed to move back to America in a few months and I couldn't do that with a baby bump. I couldn't take the child away from you unless you gave me reason to."

"I'm pretty sure you could if you wanted."

"I wouldn't want to," Addie says. "I was raised by a single parent most of my life and my dad did an outstanding job but it was hard for both of us. I'd have to find a school looking for a second-semester hire because no school would employ the pregnant woman who would be having her baby early in the year. I have to work, otherwise what is this all for?"

“Plans can change, Addie."

“I know that, Taron,” Addie says sharply. “I’ve worked really hard and I’ve been on the pill for what? A decade? Like, it’s not that I don’t want to be a mother, I just don’t want to be one right now. I thought I was in control of this."

"I'm sure it's negative," he says softly, resigning to let her have this moment.

His phone vibrates across the floor, the signal that the time has come. Addie picks up the test and hands it to Taron. "I can't look." She huffs out a breath and leans forward so her forehead is touching her knees.

Taron looks and the small screen, his hand shaking as he holds it, and sighs. "Not pregnant."

Addie's silent for a few moments before releasing the breath she'd been holding. "You sound disappointed."

"Well, to be perfectly honest, I've been imagining what it would be like to have a baby with you in half hour since you called. What she would look like, how he would act, how we would act — it all was very lovely. I guess I got a bit excited. I totally understand where you're coming from, and contractually I wouldn’t even be here if you were to deliver in the fall. So, I get that. It just sounds nice, doesn't it? Our child. He or she would be adorable, and we could read the baby books and take the little one on adventures. I got ahead of myself."

"It does sound nice," Addie says, leaning into his shoulder. "I would like to be established with my career and, you know, not have this question of whether or not the father and I will still be together."

Addie's departure hangs over them like a dark and heavy cloud, casting shadows over every happy moment. How can Taron let the love of his life move around the world? How can he ask her to stay when he'll be absent for large chunks of time? How could he ask her to give up her dreams for him and deny that which she has worked so hard to obtain?

He's can't, so Taron pulls her against his shoulder and kisses the top of her head.

"It's just a bug then. Let's get you tucked in and I'll make you some soup."

Addie pulls the covers all the way up to her chin, realizing how cold and achy her entire body is.

"D'you need anything else?" Taron asks, running his fingers over her hair.

"No," she says. "Thank you."

"Of course," he says. He switches off the lamp by her side of the bed and walks around the room to hopefully let her sleep.

"T?"

"Yeah, cariad?"

"I would want you to father my children when I'm ready to be a mother."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"That would make me really happy." He sinks onto the bed and brushes her hot face, smiling before leaning in for a kiss.

"Don't," she says, whipping away from him. "You could get this awful bug."

"I won't," he says. "I've been exposed to it already, but I also have the immune system of an elephant so I won't get sick."

"Do elephants have good immune systems?"

"No idea," Taron says, kissing her quickly, "but I won't get sick."

He is wrong, of course. Taron throws up twice by the time the sun sets, and he finds himself curled on his side next to his girlfriend, both of them aching and unmoving.

It is a weekend of soup, naps and Netflix, and Taron sighs as he stares at the ceiling. "This is it, innit?"

Addie rolls over so she's facing him, feeling much better now than she had in days. "What?"

"Love."

"What?"

"Spending all weekend in bed with each other in between throwing up and feeling awful. I mean, this is really it."

"I think so, yes. Those other times you told me you loved me — were you lying?"

"Of course not," Taron says. "I meant it then and I mean it now. It feels different, I guess. Long haul and all that."

Addie laughs which turns into a horrendous bout of coughing, her throat raw and aching from throwing up so much. "If we ever get married or make some kind of verbal commitment to each other, that is what I want your vow to be. 'Long haul and all that.' "

Taron chuckles and finds her hand somewhere in the sheets. "I love you, Adelaide Lee."

"Love you, too."

A week later, Addie's requested the morning to herself for grading papers and studying for an exam, and the clock has now ticked its way into the afternoon. Taron brought her a sandwich and soup and hour ago which now is an empty bowl and a plate of crumbs along with the crusts, and she feels like she's no closer to making it through the pile of papers.

She's vaguely aware the sounds of the stationary bike stop in Taron's gym, and the she glances at him wiping his neck with a towel. He's simply gorgeous as stretches, his white T-shirt rising revealing the dimples and the base of his spine.

"Concentrate," Addie murmurs to herself as she shifts her eyes back to a comparison of Boewulf and Iron Man. She reads and edits a few more paragraphs before there's Taron.

He saunters by her, smelling like sweat with his athletic pants low on his hips. He shouldn't be such a distraction.

She can put him out of her mind when he disappears around the corner without a word, but then he's back.

Taron's hand is warm on her arm and then his lips land right beneath her ear. She sighs when he nips that place where her neck meets her shoulder, his fingers sliding her sweatshirt down her skin.

It's such a good distraction. He’s firmly grasping her shoulder and pulling her hair, licking her skin and nibbling and her neck. Addie gasps as his hand slides to her breast, squeezing it as firmly as he had her shoulder. She's on fire, his every twist of her hair stoking the flames. His cheek is wet beneath her palm and she laughs when his lips finally move to hers. She could have an orgasm right now — still fully dressed and not even touched below the waist.

Twisting her hair between her fingers, he pulls out the elastic band and flips her ponytail in his palm. Addie can still feel the places his lips and teeth have been, and he sweeps over her one more time.

Just as quickly as he came, he leaves. Addie sinks on the bench as her eyes follow him up the stairs. The whole exchange couldn't have lasted more than three minutes but it was enough.

She shoves the lid on her pen and pops up, chasing after him. "Taron, you can't just leave me like that!"

He's in the bedroom without a shirt, sweat glistening on his chest.

"I thought you said no distractions," he answers, sliding his trousers down his legs.

"So you think getting me all hot and bothered and then leaving isn't a distraction?"

"Just wanted to kiss you, cariad," he says nonchalantly, slipping out of his pants. If he wants to play this game, Addie's gathered enough of her wits about her to play, too. She kisses the corner of his lips because she knows she'll lose her composure if she were to kiss him full on, and she moves her lips to his jaw. She can do the things he did, licking his shoulder and squeezing his bicep. Addie has the advantage though — her boyfriend is naked.

His skin is salty beneath her tongue as she runs a finger tip over one pec and her mouth over the other. She earns a grunt as she wraps her hands around his half-hard cock, pumping it gently. He drops his hands in her hair, twisting it around as she likes.

Addie almost gives in but keeps going, her tongue tracing the line between his abs. Sinking to her knees, she nibbles the cut of his left hip. It's not a competition but she's winning.

"Adelaide," he hums as she wraps her lips around his cock, maneuvering his foreskin to her advantage. She looks up at him — eyes closed, jaw open and head leaning backwards. Hell yes, she is winning.

Addie's done this enough to times have a pretty good idea of his body; she only hopes he follows his usual pattern of grunts, thrusts and muscle strain to give her warning.

He’s leaking already, but Addie's prepared for that with a swallow. Palming his testicles and sucking just at the right time do it: he's shaking on the edge of an orgasm.

Addie rolls back on her heels, lets his cock pop from her mouth and straightens up. She wipes her lips with her finger as she raises her eyebrows at the man standing before her, all red cheeked and panting.

He grins at her as he leans on the dresser behind him, a fresh bead of sweat rolling down his cheek. Addie smirks as she turns away from him, pulls her sweatshirt over her head and walks into the bathroom.

She's barely switched on the water when he's there, his lips on her neck, one hand cradling her breasts and the other down her leggings. Addie gives in and turns her neck to his so their lips and tongues can merge. Her leggings are pushed down and she kicks out of them, neither lover parting from the other.

She pulls him into the shower, hot water turning her skin pink on contact. He wraps his hands in her hair, both of them unable to stifle moans. She pumps his erection again, and he has to drop his head to her shoulder to breathe. It doesn't take long before he's grasping at her hips, and Addie finds her abdomen and thigh coated with his ejaculate which is quickly carried down the drain.

Not one to leave the beautiful woman he's in love with hanging, Taron pushes her up against the glass, gives each nipple a kiss for good measure and drops to his knees. He lifts her leg over his shoulder and looks at her.

"Have you got a good footing?" He asks, slapping the foot in question. Addie nods, rather wishing he'd get on with it. She has a mighty need for him, however he's will to provide.

He's there with fingers and tongue, his other hand wrapped around her calf to keep her from sliding. She thinks he quite possibly is spelling his and her names together with his tongue, but there's a grand possibility she's imagining it. She could be imagining anything really, like riding a rocket ship out of the galaxy or swimming amongst sea unicorns. That's exactly the kind of thought she can manage when Taron's face is between her thighs with his mouth centered on her clitoris and his fingers curling inside her.

"Taron!"

He knows his work is done but his shift isn't over, and he continues to suck, lick and curl until her body shakes. Kissing her ankle as it passes by his head, he places her foot on the ground before rising to swallow her gasps. Sloppily kissing for several long moments, Addie feels a rather persistent poking at her hip and she doesn't argue when her boyfriend turns her around. Her breasts press into the cool glass as her steaming love wraps his hand around her hip and captures her lips between his. She spreads her legs because she knows she needs to if she wants this to continue and because she can feel his hips at her ass. Her exhale echoes around them as he slides inside her, nails scraping against his scalp. His fingers play at her clit again, and she's whining within seconds. Taron admits this has gone much further than he had intended when he pulled his stunt downstairs, but this is a joyous turn of events.

Addie's nails dig into his scalp and hip as another orgasm rolls through her, and she regains her composure by anchoring herself with Taron's lips. He's coming again shortly after, and they have to very gently extricate themselves from each other.

"I need to finish my work," she says, sometime later as steam blankets them from the outside world, Taron's back a bright red from the water pounding against it. She presses her lips to his chest, both of them completely clean and sated. "I'd rather have a nap with you, though."

"I would like that," he says, reaching behind him to turn off the water. She quickly grabs a towel and pulls around them both, and Taron grabs another for her hair. "It's a great Saturday."

"The very best."