#cold mold husband and hot metal husband

[crumb-crumblet-s-crumbington]

wintersberg i drew during a stream

[tulsa-trash]

Bob Sheldon Headcanons

WARNING(S): Mentions of alcohol abuse, physical abuse, death; got angsty towards the end there god damn—

Has an older brother named Gordon who moved away to go to law school, they’re a little over 4 years apart. They were never really close, due to their father creating unnecessary competition between them since they were younger. He doesn’t like talking about him much.

Mr. Sheldon would always compare Bob to Gordon, saying that Bob “ought to be more like his big brother instead of screwing around all the time.” Overtime Bob grew to resent his old man a whole lot.

Mrs. Sheldon is a chain smoker, she tried her best to hide it from the family but eventually Bob found out. Most of the time after she gets into a fight with her husband, she locks herself in one of their bathrooms, opens the window, and silently lights a cigarette as she stews by herself. One night she forgot to lock the door and Bob walked in on her. He promised he wouldn’t tell dad.

He tended to favor his momma over his daddy, she spoiled him more and he felt she was always easier to talk to than dad.

His parents have a decent age gap, his mother being eleven years younger than his father. They’d known each other since they were kids, his dad was best friends with one of his mom’s brothers growing up.

Being spoiled rotten with tons of cash throughout life has its pros and cons. Despite always coming off as cocky and entitled, deep down bob hated being a soc. At the age of 18 he already had all the money, nice clothes, popularity, and dr*gs he could ever want, so why even try?

He had no goals for himself, didn’t want to go to college, didn’t want to work, he could really care less about all that. He had a tuff car and he was dating one of the hottest gals in school, that was all that was important to him.

He met his best friend, Randy, in kindergarten. They went to catholic school together, they’re parents even get along well. Both of their childhoods were spent visiting each other’s houses and going to family cookouts often.

His dad forced him to join a baseball league in seventh grade, even though Bob expressed he didn’t like it his dad made him stick with it for a few years. He was eventually kicked off the varsity team his sophomore year in high school for excessive drinking, along with constantly butting heads with his teammates and the coach.

The only good thing he got out of baseball was watching Cherry Valance preform with the cheerleaders at his games, that’s how their relationship started.

He’s secretly blind as a bat, but he refuses to wear glasses. Bob found out he desperately needed glasses in the third grade. once all the kids in his class seen him with those thick-brimmed, magnifying glasses it was all over. he was teased ruthlessly to the point where he just stopped wearing them and never put them on again.

“What happened to those god awful goggles, Sheldon?”

“Psh. They were fake I wore em as a joke.” 😅

^ That forced him to sit in the front of class a lot so he didn’t have to struggle as much to see the board. Even though the poor b*stard was blind the entire time, it made him used to getting called on by the teachers and chatting with his classmates. He was one of the most popular boys in town in no time.

Mr. Sheldon slowly became an alcoholic as his boys grew up. He went from one glass of scotch at night to taking a shot immediately when he wakes up in the morning and being plastered by the afternoon. Usually he’s a sluggish drunk, but god forbid he gets to drinking when he’s mad.

His old man was terrifying when he was both intoxicated and livid. He never put his hands on his wife but there have been multiple drunken episodes where he either destroyed sh*t in the house... or he’d beat Bob.

If you were to ask Bob if he would rather get hit with a belt or his dad’s hands, he would pick the belt. Even the metal part hitting him was no where near as painful as his father’s closed-fist strikes with his gold rings. If Bob had a good buzz on it numbed the pain a bit, so he tried his best to be hammered before he got home most nights.

His mother never stepped in or said anything about it, she’d clean up her husband’s mess and go to bed. The next morning the family would act as if it didn’t happen. They had to maintain their pristine reputation of course, wouldn’t want the neighborhood to know both Mr. Sheldon and his youngest son had drinking problems. Bob eventually couldn’t even stand his mom anymore. He hated them.

Mrs. Sheldon hated herself too, and her husband. She knew her baby boy was f*cked up because of them, the guilt ate away at her every day. Deep down in her heart she knew her son was drinking and causing trouble because of how he was brought up— how he was being treated at home... and she did nothing about it.

The mixture of bullies at school and his own personal bully at home molded him into being the arrogant and angry a*shole we’ve come to know. No one would be able to hurt him if he just beat them to it and hurt them first... right?

One night things got really bad, Bob’s report card came in the mail while he was out on a date with Cherry. His daddy was displeased, to say the least, 3 bold F’s sat on the paper.

“That no good son of a b*tch is lucky he ain’t home.” Mr. Sheldon spat as he slammed the report card on the dining room table, his wife visibly flinched.

When Bob got home that night he was already fired up, some greasers were trying to make a move on Cherry and Randy’s girl, Marcia, at the Nightly Double. The last thing he expected when he got home was to see his mother sweeping up broken glass while nursing a busted lip and a black eye.

They held eye contact for a long moment, neither of them said a word. His mother looked at him with so much pain, so much regret in her eyes, tears silently rolled down her cheeks. Bob turned around and left wordlessly.

He picked up a few of his friends, stopped by the liquor store, then began to look for some trouble. He immediately drove to the east side of town to look for some greasers to mess with, and after only fifteen minutes of cruising his eyes landed two younger boys from the drive-in earlier that night.

“Jackpot.” He slurred to himself as he turned his car onto the grass and pulled up to the park.

Whoever wasn’t helping Bob restrain the greaser he was drowning was beating the second boy in the grass. Every now and then Bob would pull the kid out of the water only to shove him back in almost immediately. He held him under the water, the cold liquid splashed everywhere managing to soak everyone near the fountain but he didn’t care... he couldn’t feel a thing.

The other greaser was shouting, his pals continued to egg him on as he continued swing the greaser’s head back and forth wildly under the water. He didn’t even know what anyone was saying, he wasn’t paying attention, all his focus was directly on hurting the individual in his grasp.

Red. Everything was fine until Bob noticed the water was changing colors. His ears were ringing, all he could hear was the faint sound of footsteps rapidly getting lower and lower, farther away. There was no more yelling, no more voices.

“Did I k.ill him?” He thought to himself, immediate regret and fear flooding over him.

He let go of the kids shirt and fell over with a soft thud, a sharp pain erupted from his torso. His hand lightly touched the left side of his ribs and there it was... warm, red liquid coated his fingertips after he pulled his hand away. It was then he noticed the other greaser, the tan boy frantically pulled his friend out of the water and laid him down on the cold concrete.

“P-Pony? Ponyboy?” He shook violently, his right fist held a switchblade tightly. “Oh god... what did I do... what did I do.”

Bob watched him slowly sink to the ground, his back resting against the side of the fountain as he began to sob. His eyes flickered to the unconscious kid, Ponyboy. He didn’t understand how his body went from hot to cold as fast as it did, the reality of the situation was crashing down on him like a ton of bricks, he knew he was going to die.

He looked up at the sky and took in a strangled breath before wincing in pain. To his left he noticed his flask— his dads old flask, it was his eighteenth birthday gift. The thought of his father’s proud face as he handed it to him that day made Bob sick. He reached for it, the cold metal on his palm soothed him a bit. He weakly unscrewed the cap and went to take a sip, only to realize it was empty. Johnny watched him the entire time with a horrified gaze, but Bob didn’t seem to notice.

“Damn... that’s a shame.” The Soc grumbled to himself.

He tossed it, making it land a few feet away in the grass. His attention returned to the starry sky, a light feeling crept its way in his chest. He couldn’t tell if that was just him dying or if it was something else, but after eighteen years of being in this world his finally took the time to stop and look at how beautiful the sky was for the first and last time. He was scared, he didn’t want to go so soon, yet at the same time... he was relieved.

“Wow...” Bob sighed, “Ain’t this something else.”

His vision began to blur, tears— or was that also death? He felt the salty streams creep past his eyelids and run down the corners of his eyes. He was ready.

With one final breath, he passed away. His eyes never closed, he died looking at the stars.

[little-diable]

I feel it again - Kylo Ren (smut)

Missed posting stuff for Kylo, enjoy my loves. xxx

Summary: Reader needs to remind Kylo of the strength that floods through him. 

Warnings: dom!Kylo, manhandling, choking, mentions blood, passing out, reader is on the dark side 

“I feel it again, the pull to the light”, his voice dripped with confusion and anxiety, shoulders slumped, large hands covering his features.

“Focus on the hate that consumes you late at night, the want to rip that scavenger girl to shreds, the disappointment you feel, trust the force, it always guides you into the predetermined path you have to take. You belong to the dark side, you’re the perfect embodiment of the darkness”, she placed one gloved hand on his shoulder, squeezing the skin of the man she called hers, the man she promised to guide through his highs and lows, reminding him of who he is.

She brushed her lips against his, unspoken words were shared between them as the kiss turned sloppier, more passionate with every passing moment.

Kylo visibly gulped, slowly rising from his kneeling position, eyes turning into an even darker shade, fingers twitching, “do it”, before she even spoke the words he had her pressed against the metal wall of their chamber. She’d let him use her, to awaken the deep needs and desires inside of him, recalling the strength that would flow through him, the hate he’d feel for all those people that were fighting against him, eventually he’d kill them all, with (y/n) by his side.

As he’d lay wide awake at night Kylo would imagine what it would feel like to finally slice his lightsaber through Skywalker’s chest, thirsting for the satisfied feeling that would overtake him as his so called uncle would choke out his last sounds. He’d try to come up with things he’d spat at him, searching for (y/n)s hand as he’d watch the man tumble down to the earth, fading away like the weak jedi Kylo pictured him to be.

His teeth pierced through (y/n)s lips, drawing some blood from the thin skin, urged on by the iron taste. “I’m here commander, I’m yours”, she softly spoke, untying the knot of her dark nightgown, standing completely bare in front of him, skin still branded by the marks and bruises he had left behind, commemorating the experience of her trembling body buried underneath his as he’d work on her with his full lips.

“Tonight I’ll fuck you raw, till you won’t even remeber your own name”, it was more of a promise than a simple statement, a promise to wreck her, to leave marks as dark as ever, bruises to leave her quivering for the following days. She’d be a ruthless fighter, danger radiated off her with every step she took, the perfect empress to follow her husband wherever the force would take them to, but behind closed doors she’d let him gain the upper hand, humiliating her as he’d wreck her.

Kylo gave her a hard shove, sliding across the cold floor, scraping her knees, drawing some more blood. She was kneeling, (y/e/c) eyes following his tall frame with every step he took, slowly shrugging off his clothes, till he was just as naked as (y/n).

A sinister smile tugged on his lips, forcefully Kylo wrapped one hand around her ponytail, “suck, be a good little slut for your husband”. (Y/n) painfully winced, parting her lips, inviting his angry, red tip into her mouth, sliding her tongue up and down his member, “just like that”, he tugged on her roots, scalp burning from his tight grip. Tears spilled from her eyes as he thrusted his hips against her face, length disappearing down the back of her throat, forcing her to swallow around him, manhandling her like she had been begging for.

The words pushed her down the memory lane, mind taking her back to one of the first nights she’d spend with him, a freshly wed couple, still taking time to themselves to properly explore their bodies.

“I want you to be rough with me”, she panted the words, eyes hooked on his, cheeks flushed, praying to the stars that he’d give into her wants. “Rough you say?”, his gloved hand danced along her jaw, teeth biting his lips, wondering what he had ever done to deserve such a beautiful, breathtaking woman by his side. “Manhandle me, Kylo”, just as the words had left her, he had forced her onto her knees, “well then go on, be a good little slut for me”.

The pair of them moaned in unison, his raspy sounds shot shivers up her spine, lips tightly wrapped around his impressive girth, crying salty tears for his dark eyes to watch. “Bet you’re soaked, you like being my fucktoy, don’t you?”, it seemed as if Kylo could switch personalities within a few seconds, turning from the scared and confused man that reminded her of Ben Solo to the ruthless and violent leader he now was.

(Y/n) mumbled a few incoherent words, the vibrations made Kylo groan, ripping himself out of her mouth, finally giving her a few moments to breathe. His dark eyes danced over her tear stained features, hand grasping her forearm, fingertips digging into her skin as he pulled her towards their bed.

He still wasn’t used to feeling her lips around his length, something about the way she’d take care of him, expertly taking as much of him as possible, filled him with emotions he couldn’t even find the perfect words to describe. No other woman had ever managed to make him feel like that, no matter how many girls he’d find to bury his length into, to chase his release as he’d fuck them into the cheap mattresses of the bordells, nobody would ever touch and please him like (y/n).

The room was spinning, (y/n) couldn’t find anything to concentrate on, mind confused by the different sensations he brought upon her, degrading her like he hadn’t done for weeks. “Nothing? No words? You’re awfully silent for an empress like you, maybe we should give you something to scream for.”, he connected his palm to her aching core, hand slapping her folds with as much force as possible.

Stars, he’d take it to another level that night.

With every passing moment he could feel the anger rise in the pit of his stomach, urging him on, giving him another opportunity to remind her who she belongs to, the lord of the darkness, Kylo Ren himself. Like a hurricane he had come upon her, ripping her off her feet, robbing her of anything she valued, wrecking her till nothing was left, besides the dark heart of hers, pumping for revenge and hate.

This was exactly what she needed, her core had been aching for a few days, patiently waiting for Kylo to return from his mission, she wouldn’t touch herself, wouldn’t push herself over the edge, just like she had promised him. Her cries reverberated through the cold bedroom, a sound that filled him with pride, nobody would ever make her feel like this, besides himself.

Her folds were painfully throbbing, her cries spilled out from her, hoarse voice begging him to finally fuck her like he had promised, length pounding into her, pushing her over the edge.

“What was that?”, Kylo clicked his tongue, licking his palm clean, the taste of her arousal heavy on his tongue as he crawled up her body, caging her between his arms and legs, staring her down with those dark eyes of his. “Fuck me, please commander”, (y/n) couldn’t keep her eyes open, her eyelids felt heavy, exhausted from the tears she had cried.

His insides were burning, cock aching to be buried inside her heat, coated by her slick, surrounded by her hot walls, “yes, yes I will”, with one fast movement, he had slipped into her, not giving her any time to adjust, he couldn’t waste any more time.

Kylo pinned her down on the mattress with one hand wrapped around her throat, cutting off her airway, tightly squeezing, till she was about to pass out, he loved to feel her quivering as she was just about to give out, eyes rolling into the back of her head, falling limp in his touch.

“Ky, stars, I-”, she tried to warn him, praying that he’d let loose, giving her enough space to breathe, but the tall man was too far gone, high on the adrenaline that pumped through his veins.

For a moment or two she passed out, not giving any reactions from her, waking as Kylo slapped her cheek, bringing her back to reality. “Stay with me baby”, for a moment an expression of concern crossed his eyes, wondering if he had taken it too far, but the small moan that left her bruised lips was enough to calm his racing thoughts.

Stars, she was a perfect fit for him, it felt like her body was made for him, molding against his broad chest, walls stretched around him, giving into his rough touch and those cruel words he’d speak in the heat of the moment. He pulls out of her and slams back in with as much force as he could muster, maker, both would tumble over  the edge in a few moments.

(Y/n) was used to the ongoing burns of discomfort, Kylo was too big to comfortably take all of him, but somehow her body was thirsting for the pain that got mixed up with the pleasure that flooded through her. “You’re so big”, her whimpers made him smirk, secretly he loved to be praised like that, knowing that no man would ever be able to make her feel like this calmed his rapidly beating heart.

She was too far gone by now, her mind wasn’t properly working, struggling to come up with any words, sentences, nothing, besides a few moans, rolled off her tongue, (y/n) couldn’t even remember her own name, just like he had promised. He looked handsome like that, not that there was any moment where he wouldn’t look absolutely breathtaking, but something about the darkness that swallowed his frame, those burning eyes of his, with sweat pooling on his forehead, made (y/n) adore him even more.

“Cum for me”, he pressed out, jaw clenched, length tearing her apart, riding her through the mindblowing orgasm of hers. Euphoria began to spread through her veins, ripping her out of her hazy state, sobbing Kylo’s name, thrashing around on the big bed, pulling him right down the edge with her. Kylo filled her up with his release, burying himself into her to the hilt, not moving an inch as his orgasm wrecked through him.

Kylo ran his thumb along her lower lip, across the scars his teeth had left behind, “does it hurt?”, his hoarse voice echoed through the darkness, carrying the concerns that began to cloud his mind. She didn’t find the strength to answer him, (y/n) shook her head, yawning into his chest as sleep began to overcome her, cosying her along, engulfing her in its warm and comforting embrace.

[ontheblock]

BABE U WRITE FOR SALLY FACE?? Anything with Travis (male s/o with him obviously) or Sally please :O your writing is amazing!!

YES I DO !! i used to have a bunch of wips i still haven’t finished but i figured i can still add sf to my list since it was such a comfort game when it came out haha. as per usual, this isn’t beta read, i fucked the formatting up twice but just squint when you notice any errors- also thank you love <3 i‘d give you a free bologna sandwich for requesting trav ily. 100% beef obviously /winkwonk

fabric

•warning: abuse, religious guilt, homophobia and f-slur use, bad first kisses, badly written fluff, travis being travis

Travis was meant to live a life molded for him by his father. The pattern was already placed on the fabric when his first cry shook the hospital room at 6:33am. He was supposed to be cut from his father‘s mold but Travis‘ fabric was already old and frayed, the intertwining strings of muted tones that held him together felt lose by the time he could run. Sometimes he thought about the reason why he was incomplete. His fabric wasn‘t strong enough to hold his family name, not stretchy enough to bounce back from his father‘s reactions. Travis‘ mother patched him up every time there was another bruise on his back or face. She would cut parts out of her own fabric to cover the ripped strings her husband‘s belt left on their son. But she had only so much left when the beatings got worse.

Travis was in middle school, attending a christian summer camp a few hours away from Nockfell. He never noticed how different the air was at home but the sky was so murky compared to literally everywhere else. His father thought it was a good idea to let the boy out of town while he took care of the Ministry business which was code for something Travis shouldn‘t stick his nose into. He never asked but someone went missing while he was gone. Tragic.

Not as tragic as the camp counselor calling Travis home on their last day. The boy didn‘t know about that but they told his father about some inappropriate behavior his son showed with a fellow camper - a boy his age, Kenneth didn‘t care for the name or where he was from. All he needed to know was what his son did with that boy. The counselor tried to calm the angry parent on the phone but as soon as the information was exchanged the line went dead. He didn‘t want to hear the washed up excuses. His son was young and it was best to get these urges out of his system before they could even develop - dig for the deepest root you could find and rip it from the still fresh ground before it bloomed into something ugly, even if that meant that the garden would never bloom at all. Kenneth was a man of action after all.

That evening Travis came home clueless while his father already stood in the hallway with his wife behind him, holding onto his hand and uttering whispered quick prayers but his thick fingers already curled around the leather painfully hard. The strain it caused in his hand only fueled the need for a release as he charged for his son who didn‘t even have the chance to slip out of his worn sneakers.

That evening his mother didn‘t stay when Kenneth told her to go to bed early. Travis asked himself if it pained her the same way it pained him when his skin split under the force his father put in his first few strikes.

“You want to hold hands with boys now?“

“My son isn‘t a faggot, is that clear?“

“I gave you a place in this filthy town. You will appreciate it and live a proper life!“

“You will thank me when you don‘t burn for being dirty.“

It wasn‘t meant for Travis to answer because by the end of the night he would not even think about a boy‘s hand to be soft and warm anymore.

Travis was older now but he never found enough of anything to mend the damage his father did that night. Travis didn‘t try to explain that he held onto the boy because they figured that they wouldn’t slip on the wet mud that way. Instead he kept quiet about it ever happening and his father was content with this as long as he pulled his son from the devil‘s path to sodomy.

And Travis thought so too until a thread of blue fabric pulled together a gaping hole in his fabric. It stuck out like a sore thumb - too vibrant but warmer than any patch his mother gave to him and when he sat on the grimy bathroom floor in school after Sal Fisher of all people gave him a fucking pep talk, it felt nice. The warmth let his tears evaporate so he could pull himself together for the rest of the day.

But it was short lived. The warmth spread through him so fast he felt like burning up whenever he sat in class with Sal. He tried everything to get that blue thread out of his life but pulling on it only felt like strangling himself and he regretted ever letting his bully persona slip in that bathroom just because Sal fucking Fisher found the note he threw away - the note that was about him but Travis never had it in himself to tell him that. He regretted his promise to be less of an asshole because he knew he couldn‘t. Not even three days later the heat in his belly was so hot that he boiled over when he saw Fisher talking to that ginger nerd by the lockers. He ended up calling him a faggot because how dare he be openly gay in the same town Kenneth Phelps lived? How dare he be happy like this?

Sal tensed at the insult. Did he actually think Travis could be better? And why was his freakshow friend not hurt at the insult when it still burned in his throat to say it? Why did it feel like the slur wasn‘t meant for Todd at all? Travis swallowed hard as he fled the hallway in such a hurry that the three folded up pamphlets in his barely zipped up backpack fell on the muddy vinyl flooring.

“Fuck, Phleps. Just wait. Travis!“ The boy in question tucked at his collar as he turned a corner just to slip into another empty corridor. They had a free period right after gym class and Sal Fisher was determined to finally talk to the boy who relentlessly bullied him to now avoid him like it was the other way around. “Jesus, I‘m not gonna pry but if your dad-“ Sally harshly bumped into Travis as he whipped around, finally coming to a stop. Shame crawled up the taller teen‘s neck when he didn‘t find the prosthetic nose digging into his sweater uncomfortable.

“Shut up! God, just stop!“ Sal was surprised that he would use his Lord‘s name in vain like that and if the situation was anything but this he would‘ve laughed. “Travis, I don‘t know how you feel but-“, Sal tried again but Travis was at his limits this time. “You don‘t and you never will, Fisher. Your dad would accept you being a dirty faggot but mine doesn’t!“ He tried to fill his words with venom but it all bounced back on the guy‘s mask anyway with how much his voice actually trembled.

There was a moment of silence that made Travis want to literally get struck by his God‘s angry lightning. He couldn‘t even leave. It was like all the root his father dug out slowly crawled back to feed on his shame and ground him in front of Sal who still had to react and maybe Travis should just tell him to fuck off so he wouldn‘t have to find out what he wanted to say next.

“Travis...“ Sal lowered his voice in a fake moment of privacy. “Are you-?“ Travis already shut his eyes as he clenched his fists. He didn‘t like where this was going but there was no more fight in him. “Nevermind. You don‘t owe me shit but I saw your back.“ Travis exhaled through his mouth until there was nothing left in his lungs. He knew where that question was headed. Are you gay, Travis? Are you the faggot and that‘s why you‘re so angry? He was glad that Sal changed his approach because even Travis himself was too scared to find the answer.

“So what, Sally Face? You‘re sticking your nose somewhere it doesn’t belong. If you even have one under that stupid mask.“ Travis harshly pushed his index finger into the boys chest and the sharp inhale he made almost made him freeze up and apologize. But he couldn‘t. He was too deep to go soft now. The look in Sal‘s eyes was enough to make Travis finally stumble backwards and push past him.

He didn‘t follow him this time.

His verbal fights with Sal Fisher were like a damn wake up call for the teen. The rush of warmth it spread in his chest and the cold shiver in sent down his spine were shaking his body every time. He started noticing that Nockfell wasn‘t that murky. Travis used to really like yellow as a child because it reminded him of his mother’s favorite sunflower dress. She was a different woman now. The vibrant yellow was fading just like her hair. Maybe it was just Nockfell, maybe it was because of her suffocating husband draining her of her life and slowly unraveling her fabric. It didn‘t matter now but to make a depressing story short, Travis didn‘t have a favorite color anymore.

But the sky looked like a pretty shade of blue on some days. He never noticed but his bathroom tiles had blue specks in them. He always thought they were just a weird grey. There were tiny flowers blooming in the most vibrant blue behind the school and he wished that they were behind the church too but nothing ever grew around that building. But he would pluck them sometimes when he was skipping gym class. His last fight in the empty hallway was weeks ago and he hoped that Sal finally gave up on his savior complex. But why did his chest sting at that thought? His fingers slowly clutched his sweater as he stared at a withering flower by his foot. Travis jumped out of his thoughts when the metal door creaked open.

“Yo.“ Sal pushed the door closed with his shoe as he held up a hand to casually greet him. His face scrunched up. “What do you want?“ Travis lowered his head again. The boy obviously noticed the fresh shiner on his face already but facing him still felt like he exposed himself. “Just wanted to confirm that the church boy was skipping class.“ Uninvited, the teen sat beside Travis on the grass, with a healthy distance of course. “Shut up. My faith has fuck all to do with school“, Travis spoke lowly but his voice was tired. Sal just hummed in agreement before silence draped over them. Not uncomfortably like the usual strained void of reactions when one of them dropped something they weren‘t prepared for. It felt ok like this and it felt like a blanket. To Travis that blanket was soft and blue but before he could shake it off and stand up there were strings of the obnoxious fabric already weaving themself into his personal space.

“We don‘t have to fight all the time.“ Sal didn‘t look at him and neither did Travis. He really didn‘t have a reason to disagree. Not one that wouldn’t blow his cover at least.

“Maybe I could come to your little church and-“ Travis head snapped up. “Don‘t“, he blurted out a little louder than he meant. “It‘s a joke. I‘m not religious.“ Sal snorted, plucking a few pieces of grass. “Yeah, because you‘re a sinner in the eyes of the Lord. You f-“ Travis had to physically stop himself by biting his lip. Sal looked over at him and Travis wished he didn‘t. “Sorry“, Travis mumbled, refusing to meet his eyes, or eye since he was pretty sure his other eye never moved before. “I‘m trying to not call people that anymore.“ because all I hear is my father saying it.

“It‘s cool.“ It wasn‘t. “Why are you skipping?“ Travis huffed. It was weird to not let the conversation derail into verbal abuse. “I don‘t know. I fell. Hit my head on the door pretty bad. As you can see.“ Sal just hummed. “That‘s why you‘re limping, too?“ Travis blurted out a “yes“ a little too fast. Why was he nervous? His whole school life already revolved around cover up stories about the strange aches and bruises he got out of nowhere.

“Right.“ Sal let it slide, again. “You‘re acing algebra, Fisher.“ It wasn‘t a question so Sal didn‘t say anything. “Hmm.“ Travis cursed himself for never learning proper social skills but his father didn‘t like him bringing strangers into the house and his teen years were a constant feeling of push and pull of picking fights with boys that sparked an ugly tingle in his belly.

“You need a tutor?“ The silence seemed to be enough for Sal. Fuck him and his open fucking hand. “Maybe.“ Travis flicked a flower with his finger, dismissing the clear offer because his stomach ignited at the fact that Sal didn‘t hate him enough yet. “Maybe there is a tutor in Addisons Appartement, Room 402, who‘s free on the weekend.“ Sal couldn‘t help but smile under his mask as Travis huffed. “Fuck you, Fisher.“

Sal already forgot about his offer when lunch passed and his dad stood in the kitchen, washing their dishes, enjoying the background noise of his son watching TV with his cat. They were so engrossed in the VHS tape Sal put on that he didn‘t hear the door until his dad whistled from the kitchen. “Sally, door.“

“Huh? Oh. Yes, dad.“ He jumped to his feet, leaving Gizmo to the slasher movie he seemed to like. “Weird, Larry said he‘s busy“, Sal mumbled, opening the front door. “Oh.“ It was a knee jerk reaction from Sal because he expected everyone but Travis Phelps to knock at his door and truth be told, he looked like he‘d rather be anywhere else with the way his awkward greeting caught in his throat and died on his tongue as a huff. His eyes followed the way the blue strands hung over Sal‘s shoulders, the mask straps upsetting the smooth texture as a few chunks hung over the elastics. Travis hasn’t seen him with his hair down. He looked smaller in big sweatpants and a band shirt too.

“Travis?“ The boy‘s eyes snapped back to the mask in front of him. “So, algebra?“ Sal tilted his head a smidge. A small habit he picked up to better communicate what would otherwise be shown in his facial features. But it made Travis want to scream for a multitude of reasons as heat crept up his neck. “Obviously.“

Anyone else would‘ve told him to fix his tone or fuck off but Sal held open the door for him. It felt wrong but Travis took the invitation, rubbing his clammy hands on his pants. “Who is it?“, a deeper voice called and Travis almost jumped. He had to remind him this wasn‘t Kenneth. Mr Fisher wasn’t anything like his dad and he didn’t have to be on edge around the boy. “A friend“, Sal replied shortly, only getting an approving hum.

A friend. Did Sal see him as a friend? He couldn‘t dwell on it since he was pulled into the boy‘s bedroom that looked nothing like his. “Just sit anywhere.“ Sal wildly gestured into the room and Travis sat on the barely made bed as Sall dropped his books next to him.

Travis felt like there was something breathing down his neck the entire time they sat on Sal‘s bed. His shirt collar felt like it was about to cinch his neck closed, the dangling cross necklace he kept under his shirt felt hot to the touch like it burned the shape of Jesus into his chest with every sinful thought that crossed his mind as Sal explained the most bland and unerotic subject.

“Travis?“ The boy almost choked on his own spit.

“Romans 1:26-27.“ Travis stumbled over his own words but the verse was engraved into his head after writing and reciting it for a month straight under the stern eye of his father. There was a briefe silence for a moment.

“What?“ Sal looked up from the book in his lap.

“What?“ Travis felt breathless as he stared back at Sal. “Nothing“, he quickly added before Sal could even say anything else. “Explain that again?“ But he didn‘t. Instead, Sal pushed the book off his thigh, still staring the boy down. “Did you really come here for algebra, dude?“ No. “Yes.“ Travis fiddled with the hem of his shirt, not knowing if it was anxiety, anger or just bile scratching against his stomach lining to crawl out of him.

When Sal didn‘t say anything else Travis just reached over the boys lap to take the book himself but there was already a hand pressing against his shoulder. Travis hissed as he pulled his arm back, making Sal pull back just as fast. They stared at each other for a moment before Sal‘s gaze darted to his shoulder. “You fell pretty hard on that door.“ Travis clenched his jaw. “Shut up, Fisher, and back the fuck up.“

The boy shook his head, scooting away an inch. “Listen, you can say no because I would too but I can at least get you ointment for that.“ Sal gestured to his back and shoulder and something in Travis just crumbles as he lets his hands drop into his lap, staring them down to not look at Sal. “Ok. If it gets you off my back you parasite.“

Travis didn‘t plan this when he knocked on the apartment door. He expected to maybe stay 20 minutes before something would make him see red but all he saw was blue. Maybe he was cursed. All these years of plucking out the roots his father couldn’t reach were rendered worthless now that he sat on the rough carpet, holding his shirt up as Sal dug out the ointment.

How did he even get here? His heart beat in his throat when he felt a presence behind him. He felt the need to say something. He wanted to make it clear that this meant nothing to not make it weird but wouldn‘t that make it weirder? Wasn‘t this the same as his mother putting a bandaid on his cuts and whatever herbal mixture on his wounds? It wasn’t because he never felt the sick urge to kiss his mother.

“Ready?“, Sal asked, kneeling behind him with a glob of cool ointment on his index and middle finger. Fucking hell, why did he have to make it weird? He definitely had to say something now.

“It was my dad.“ Travis spoke fast enough to mutter his words but the long pause probably meant that Sal heard him anyway. He wanted to melt into the carpet, leave behind a stain on the boy‘s floor to annoy him just one last time. He didn‘t know what he expected him to say to that and he also didn‘t know why that was the thing he had to say. But Sal made it easy on him by just not answering at all. Instead, he dabbed the cream on the first bruise, making Travis inhale sharply but otherwise biting his tongue. Sal figured that Travis wanted to act tough by not showing that it hurt but actually, Travis didn‘t trust his voice under Sal‘s soft fingertips.

“Travis“, Sal spoke again. Travis wasn‘t sure if he hated the heavy silence more of the fact that Sal was the first to say something while he was rubbing little circles into his back. He didn‘t answer but that never held Sal back.

“Are you gay?“ His voice was so quiet that Travis wouldn‘t have heard it if they sat a little further apart but it had the same effect as screaming it for all of Nockfell to hear. Sal felt him tense up under his touch, already expecting him to jump up or at least yell at him. But neither of them did anything. Sal‘s fingers rested against the heating skin, feeling it rise with every ragged breath he managed to take. “Travis-“

“Fuck, Sal. What? Do you want me to tell you about the times my dad beat the gay out of me or do you prefer that time I wanted to kiss you in that gross fucking bathroom?“, the teen finally barked, letting his words sink in first before he hissed a quiet “shit“. The fingers on his back pulled away as Sal sat on his heels. “You wanted to kiss me?“, Sal repeated, slower than Travis but he just pressed the balls of his hands into his eyes until he saw shapes and felt like the pressure would crush his face. He heard Sal shuffle around the room, probably getting ready to throw him out like he should‘ve done a while ago. But the shuffling stopped in front of him and something told him not to look but cold hands were already on his wrists to peel his cramping hands from his face. Travis opened his eyes just in time to see that mask uncomfortably close but before he could say anything, there was an odd sensation on his lips with minimal pressure. Sal was kissing him and it snuffed the flame in his stomach for just a moment, allowing the torched butterflies to unfold their wings and fly high enough to even make his heart pump overtime. But the feeling was lost just as soon when Sal inched backwards, pulling his prosthetic back in place before Travis could even take any of this in.

“Sorry.“ Sal threw it into the room for Travis to interpret. But the gears in his head threatened to jump out of place already so he reached out to Sal who already flinched backwards, holding onto his mask. “You don‘t want that.“ Sal pushed his hand back a little. “How would you know?“ Travis furrowed his brows at him but he was thankful. He wasn‘t sure if he could take seeing the boy bare like that but he was craving that feeling his father tried to snuff so desperately.

Sal just shook his head as Travis inched closer. “I‘ll close my eyes.“ Now it was Sal‘s turn to hole up in silence, knowing that neither of them could handle the mask coming off. Something made him trust Travis‘ words as he opened the bottom clasp which was the cue for Travis to shut his eyes. He did and seconds later he felt Sal on him again. One hand clamping over his eyes just to make sure and the other fisting the front of his shirt.

This time Travis felt the cleft in Sal‘s lip and the scar tissue ripping up the soft skin. He leaned into the kiss. Where were his hands supposed to go? When Travis didn‘t find the answer his body moved on autopilot. One hand threaded through the surprisingly smooth strands as the other clung to the small of his back.

Travis should‘ve been grossed out by the drool pooling out of Sal‘s torn lip but he wasn‘t. He should be grossed out by Sal being a boy but he wasn‘t. When Sal pulled back he kept his hand over Travis‘ eyes while the other wiped the spit off his chin. The kiss alone was enough to patch up his murky fabric with bright blue strings that dominated the colors his father painted him in. Travis didn‘t know what would happen after high school. Hell, he didn‘t even know what would be tomorrow. But he didn‘t want the bright fibers to unravel him again.

A knock on the door startled both of them, making Sal pull his arm away and Travis rapidly blinking. He didn‘t notice the mangled face first as the unruly blue caught his eye. His hand did that. His heart beat in his throat again as he overheard Sal‘s father say something and Sal shooting a hum of agreement back. His prosthetic was already on his face again before Travis could catch anything besides the scar tissue crawling up his jaw and chin before splitting his lips and exposing teeth and gum.

Maybe blue was his favorite color.

[hargrove-mayfields]

I haven’t been able to write a whole lot recently so to make up for the little drought here’s a few kegboys hcs!

-Tommy has a big thing for 70s country music, it’s like, all he’ll listen to. Steve’s kind of overexposed to country having grown up in IN so he’s pretty neutral on it even though he prefers pop, but Billy, resident metal head and city boy through and through, tries to poke fun at him for it because like, country music is for uncool hicks, right? But, and this is very much to his dismay, Billy cannot get enough of Dolly. Like he really couldn’t care less about Toms other picks but he is beyond hooked on Dolly to the point that he’s the one buying all her new records when they come out.

-Tommy is absolutely the house husband because the other two are honest to god domestically useless. Billy tries really, really hard to help because Steve goes to work and he feels like he’s lazy for not being able to do much while he’s recovering, so Tommy sticks him with the little jobs because he knows he’s never going to get him to agree to actually resting. It’ll just be little tasks, things like cleaning the lint trap when Tom switches the laundry, but it’s enough to make him feel less useless.

-But! As good as he is at keeping up with the bills and doing chores, Tommy CANNOT cook. Steve will never ever forget the time he came over to his house and caught popcorn on fire in his microwave or when Billy had to swoop in and unplug the toaster like seconds before Tee electrocuted himself trying to use a fork to fish out a piece poptart that broke off in there, so he is very much not allowed anywhere near a stove. Billy is the best cook and even then he’s a little iffy because Neil never let him do it, so to compensate for how collectively awful they are in the kitchen they have like a thousand scribbled in cookbooks in every drawer and pantry.

-They all three have very different sleeping habits. Billy’s the early bird, always gets up at the same time as the sun well-rested no matter what time they went to bed. Steve is a deep sleeper through and through, he’ll pass out at like, 11:00 every night and won’t move again until morning. If nobody were to wake him up he could probably sleep all through an entire day. Tommy’s something of a rough sleeper though, can’t usually get to sleep until at least two in the morning, usually later than that even, and once he gets to sleep it’s very light and he tends to wake up every hour, on the hour. One time when Steve’s at the pharmacy picking up Billy's meds he grabs a little thing of melatonin for Tom because like, it says it boosts sleep and anything’s worth a shot if it means Tommy won’t be so exhausted and sick and frustrated all the time, and it does help! He sort of ends up on about the same sleep schedule as Billy once his rhythm gets a little more regulated.

-When they first started dating, Billy thought Steve was bad when it came to clothes stealing, he lost a few jackets and old t-shirts that way, but when they all three move in together he discovers that Tommy is the true culprit. Neither he nor Steve can keep track of literally any single piece of clothing. Everything, from their hoodies to their jeans to their pjs to their socks, all belong in some part to Tom until eventually they just have one community wardrobe they pick and choose from instead of like, individual clothes.

-They all three overuse the heck out of pet names like baby and babe, which results in Steve calling Tommy babe one and Billy babe two because he was tired of saying like “hey babe” and getting two simultaneous answers.

-Tommy does Billy’s hair for him when he still can’t do too much with his hands, and after that too when it’s convenient because it becomes routine, combing out his curls and putting mousse in it when he wants it done nice, because he wants to be a hairdresser anyways! He’d practiced plenty on Steve ever since they were in middle school, given him tons of hair cuts and even his highlights! It’s for that reason that when Tommy starts doing Billy’s hair, Steve gets the teensiest bit jealous because that used to be him. So everytime they go anywhere and they aren’t crunched for time he has to do both Billy and Steve’s hair and he starts not having time to straighten his own! But! That’s okay because his boys are very fond of his natural curls!

-Steve runs very, very cold always. He’s a type one diabetic so he’s pretty much always anemic and he freezes like 24/7. Even in the summer when Billy and Tommy are like melting into the furniture, he can get away with long sleeves and be just fine. When they’re in bed they keep Steve in the middle because they both run super warm like a heat register and it’d get too hot without having Steve as their ice pack between them.

-More about Steve’s diabetes bc it’s like one of my fav hcs and I wish I could write about it more! It’s really hard to find things for him to eat because he’s gotta worry about his sugar, but also because he has so many food allergies and sensitivities on top of that. Before he had anyone around he just kind of didn’t care about watching himself like, if he wanted to eat something, he would just do it, but he ultimately faced the consequences of that a few times too many, aka being hospitalized twice with DKA and three times with anaphylactic shock. he gets banned from grocery shopping on his own, because he will absolutely buy so much stuff he isn’t supposed to have and ‘lose’ the receipt and just hide the stuff because his boys will not let him eat whatever he wants anymore. Billy is also not allowed to go shopping because he never remembers what brands they use or reads any labels, he just grabs the first of everything he sees and calls it a day. Tommy officially gave up on them and started doing it himself after confiscating a half empty bag of gummy bears off of Steve and having to use the wrong toothpaste for months because Billy refused to pay attention.

-Tommy attracts strays! Cats, dogs, an actual escaped budgie from the neighbors house once, it doesn’t matter, somehow they always find him. If he’s out on the porch there’s like, a ninety percent chance there’s a critter that doesn’t belong to them in his lap. He lets Billy name them all even though they can’t keep them. Tommy personally can’t pick a favorite out of the 20 some odd cats that come and go because they’re all his babies, but Billy and Steve have theirs. B’s favorite is a black and white little fella named Mr. Shrimp and Steve’s is a sweet tabby girl named Meowzers! The rule doesn't only apply to domesticated animals either, raccoons and wild bunnies also tend to lurk around their porch. Billy picks up a raccoon once (he named her Poubelle, but calls her Bella) and Steve yelled at him for hours about how dangerous and irresponsible and gross it was. Him and Tommy get boyfriend grounded for like, weeks after that.

-Steve is like everyone’s Midwestern grandma! He keeps pockets full of butterscotch candies and tissues, he’s got a collection of blow molds and Tiffany lamps, he wears sweatshirts and jackets with weird quotes on them and like, he believes the cure to every ailment is tomato soup, vicks, a wash rag, and a kiss or any combination thereof. It drives Billy completely up the wall, because he’ll cough like once and Steve is like do you need soup? do you need a doctor? please let me help you. But Tommy likes it, being fussed over, cause he grew up with younger siblings and two working parents, so he was always the one doing the fussing.

[cutiepasta-thewriter]

Son of Gods

A small prompt based on mythology. Gods au

Relationships-father/son(Peter and Tony)

Today we will discuss the the rise of the first demigod. Peter god of youth and story. Yes, I know I said demigod but listen. This story is better told from the beginning. It was during the age of war when the gods where locked in battle.

There was a seamstress who traveled the plains who wondered towards the mountains. It was near the summit that she found a temple. It belonged to Tony, god of wealth, generosity, and smithing.

The woman payed her respects to the god and asked for a help in finding a husband. He prayers where answer as a path open down the mountain leading to a nearby town. There she found a man who would love her forever more.

Years later the woman returned to the temple and asked for a child. This wasn't a task the god could simply fulfill, he couldn't make a barren woman fruitful and perhaps she knew that.

Still the god took sympathy on the woman who devoted her life to him in thanks for her happiness.

Tony took a pot of clay and molded a body from it. Then he baked in in the fire of his forge.

He took to one of his many mines where he found two flawless emeralds and used them as the baby's eyes.

He took cords of copper and spun them into hair. Wire, silk and steel was used to make vocal cords. And bits of coral to color their lips.

He looked apon his creation and saw they were perfect. Lastly he needed to poured nectar on the baby to breath life into him.

When he awoke he cried so loudly that the mounted brass on the walls vibrated. Quickly Tony wrapped the baby in a silk blanket and soothed him.

An interesting fact about this divine birth is that Peter was not born of a woman so he had no bellybutton. That's why in his depictions he is never shown to have one.

Tony placed the newborn into a basket with gold lining. With it he placed a token made from steel and on it was the baby's name, Peter.

A mountain lion was sent for by its master and Tony instructed it to bring the baby down the less traveled slopes of the hills.

As the lion carried the basket down the path a hawk spotted it. Swiftly it returned to its master, Clint god of the hunt. The god tracked the lion knowing it was a follower of the smithing god, he hoped it was holding a message on his whereabouts.

Clint arched an arrow as the beast spotted him and gave chase. The lion ran across a rushing river as the hunt shot him. In pain the lion dropped the basket and the baby was washed down river.

The little one thankfully survived and floated to a bank down river where he was found by a group of travelers.

They realized that the child was likely abandoned by a rich family from the gold of his basket. But instead of being honorable they barely looked at the baby before stealing the golden basket.

So there our hero was. Cold, wet, probably hungry with only a blanket to shield him from the elements.

(... No Emily, he wasn't abandoned.)

Tony knew nothing of the fate of his creation until the band of travelers sought refuge at his temple and revealed the basket. Immediately they were cursed by the god to wonder endlessly and know no rest, if they did, lions would come apon them.

When the god found the spot where his child should be there was nothing.

Peter had been found by a goddess of all things. Natasha goddess of women and queen of the Widows (a group of warrior women).

She intended to keep the child until she found a family for him and so she had bundled the baby up in her shawl and took him to her camp.

There Clint was already preparing to skin the mountain lion he had shot earlier.

Natasha placed Peter in a nest of pillows on her bed and called to the other gods to come see the babe.

However, when she returned the baby was gone. Frantically she searched for Peter but he was long gone.

You see, a snake had reached into the pillow nest and stole the baby. It was Loki who has taken the form of a python who had done it.

This was the first of the many meetings between the demigod and the trickster. It seems that whenever Peter goes on a adventure the god turns up.

This time Loki intended to take the child to his home in order to gain something from Tony.

The metal god was still tearing up the mountain to find Peter but the child was in Loki's home hidden from the world.

This is where Peter performs his first feat. As Peter was a creation of a god he was unlike humans in many ways.

He unwrapped himself from his swaddleing and crawled his way to a bowl of fruit Loki had kept nearby. The baby took three raspberries and crushed them, then he spread the juice over his lips and chin.

When Loki returned to the room he found the stolen spawn covered in red sticky fluid, it was alot like blood. Immediately the god knew he had to get rid of the child. If Peter was really dying he wouldn't have done in his care. It must of been those hunters who did this.

Loki could point the finger later what he needed to do was find someone else to deal with this.

When his brother arrived Loki claimed that this baby had been dropped nearby and needed help finding someone to take care of the poor thing. Thor took pity on the unfortunate child and agreed to take him to a healer.

He wanted to bring the child to his friend Bruce the god of knowledge and patron of science. But a scientist would be of little use to help the boy

There had been rumors of a new god had appeared in their realm. A god of magic and healing.

This god lived in isolation far from any other. Thor had heard you must leave your sick on the edge of a cliff and he will transport them to his palace.

Before leaving the baby Thor gave him three strands of golden string and tied them to the boy's wrist in three bands. If Peter broke one it would summon thunder and cut down any enemy and should be used wisely.

The god left the boy on the edge and waked away. In time he would be taken.

Not long after a white sheet floated down to the earth and wrapped around the baby like food in a bindle.

This is where we get the myth of the stork delivering a baby. The stork was added later and actually represents the god Stephen Strange. The stork was his animal symbol and we'll get into that story later.

Anyways the baby was delivered by the living blanket to it's master.

Stephen took hold of the red stained child and checked for injuries. Finding none he took the baby to the hot spring located within the temple. There washed Peter in the warm, healing waters of the spring of revival.

(Yes, Jasper that's why the mural shows the naked hot guy holding a baby in the water. Yes, it was normal back then.)

He washed the baby but doing so change him. Peter was formed from clay so he lacked the ability to fully emote. His face was too stiff to really smile but the spring caused something amazing.

Peter's pale white skin turned a pink rose tone like a normal child. Gently the god lifted the now smiling and laughing baby and dried him off.

The wizard checked Peter over again and found nothing wrong. He put the child to sleep, wrapped in a sling the white floating blanket that was charged with monitoring him had made.

Stephen called for his cloak as he flew down to the earth in search of the origins of the baby in his care. He knew that the baby was not normal as he saw no proof of birth (bellybutton).

On the road he met Bruce, The god of knowledge and patron of science. He asked him if he had heard of the strange baby.

Bruce shook his head but said Thor had mentioned one resembling them.

Stephen went to Thor and asked him about the baby and was pointed to Loki.

Loki said he stole the baby from the warrior queen.

Natasha said she found the baby by the river.

Stephen followed the trail to the mountains in the west that shook violently. Earthquakes had split the earth as Tony raged. The god's anger caused magma to raised from the cracked earth and created the first volcano.

Stephen reached Tony and asked about the child. Tony claimed the child was his but they had been stolen from him.

The wizard called back to the white blanket that was still cradling the sleeping child to bring the child to his father.

(Once again this is where the stork delivery originates from)

Some Peter had ended up right where he began.

Tony's rage subsided as he saw the mortal child again. He thanked Stephen for his help.

The wizard nodded in return but before he left placed three small spots under each eye of the baby. One for health, two for knowledge, and three for luck. These blessings became the identifying mark of the first demigod.

(This is one of the reasons why Peter is called the spider-eyed)

Tony breathed a sigh of relief as he waited for his most faithful followered to return and he can present her with her child.

It wasn't easy to watch him go but it was for the best. It won't be long before they met again.

Though as his godly father Tony would never be too far broom his child.

(Alright kids that's all for today. Tomorrow's lesson is on Peter's boyhood adventures. Like when he defeated a entire army without lifting a sword, or when he weaved gold to save a village or when he trick Loki himself.)

See you in part 2

[hey-hey-chan]

Supernatural!Minho

Ok but like are these too long or what? Someone needs to tell me cuz idk man :( Also I feel like I don’t add enough romance but also I get caught up in this mythical world XD

“Here is the hydra, a 9-headed beast. Very powerful with poisonous venom, also one of it’s head is immortal.. To kill this beast, Hercules went and...” I furiously took notes as the professor went on and on about more evil enemies we had. 

I raised my hand as a question popped into my head.

“Professor Min, if we were to encounter a hydra, or any of the creatures you’ve mentioned, what are we supposed to do to defend ourselves?” The woman chuckled, though I didn’t find my question funny.

“y/n, if you are ever to encounter these creatures alone, you better run. But in a group, you are to find their weaknesses, which I digress...” 

The lecture soon ended and I packed up my stuff to head to the hidden library as everyone calls it, but I felt myself being shoved to the side by other students. 

“Watch it, witch.” I passing fae said. I frowned at their comment, but didn’t say anything about it. I knew the repercussions of lashing out, just last week a girl got suspended for turning into a wolf and running through the halls. 

Though, I couldn’t help but by curious on what it would be like to use my spells in battle. 

I sighed, pushing the thought to the back of my head. Before I could leave, I heard someone say my name.

“y/n?” I whipped my head to Professor Min, a young lady who wanted us to call her by her first name, but only I call her professor. 

“Yes, Professor Min?” I questioned politely. She smiled.

“As you know, you’re doing fantastic in my class, I thank you for that, considering how terribly most of the students are doing.” I laughed. 

“No problem, I love learning about new things about this world, it’s quite fascinating and much more interesting than my old life.” Contrary to most people here, I had moved to this school about a month ago, but I adjusted very well. I always knew something just didn’t click for me at my old life, and I loved it here. Plus, I’m a witch, not something scary like a vampire. I shivered at the thought. 

“I’m glad. But I do have a favor to ask.” I grew nervous. 

“What is it?” I questioned. She smiled. 

“Oh silly, don’t be scared.” I let myself breath. “I just wanted to ask you to tutor one of my students.” I felt a big sigh of relief. Phew.

“Oh of course, who would that be?” I asked. 

“His name is Lee Minho, a very strong warlock he is, just not very good at street smarts...” She trailed off. Minho? I blushed and my anxiety came back. He was known as one of the hottest guys in the school, along with his gentlemanely self, all the girls swooned over him. He was kind, but also goofy, which made him also popular with the guys. Even if he joked around in class, teachers couldn’t help but love him. He was similar to the fae, Chan, in the sense of no one could hate him. Good thing they’re friends. 

“Oh cool.” I said lamely. She smiled.

“Good, I asked him to meet you in the hidden library at 4pm, as I know you’d rather talk in peace... And I know you have no problems with the library...” I grew uneasy. Who didn’t know I talked to ghosts? It was a gift, not a curse. I hadn’t much experience with ghosts, I only saw one before, and that was in the library of the school. The ghost only asked for me to tell her husband that she left the stove on when she collapsed, she was harmless. 

“Yup, you’re right. I’ll be there at 4pm.” I left, not in the mood to hear people whine about the ghosts. 

“Hey Jihyo, I’ll be heading out now. Don’t wait up for me, alright?” I told my roommate, who was a vampire. Really freaked me out the first day, but now she’s more scared of me.

“Ok thanks for telling me.” I shut the door and made my way to the library. I breathed in the strong smell of books and mold, but mostly I could sense spirit. 

“Minho?” I called out once I got to the tables. I looked around the library and saw no one. “Guess I’m early.” I sat down and made myself comfortable with all my notes and diagrams around me until I heard a small “Hi.” I jumped.

“Oh shoot, I didn’t mean to scare you.” I looked up and saw his freaking pretty face just gazing at me like I was the most important thing. This was gonna be rough. 

“N-no, it’s fine. I’m fine. I just, got a little jumpy. I’m sorry.” I apologized. He laughed.

“No need to apologize, I’m the scary one obviously.” He held out his hand. “Lee Minho.” I shook it.

“Y/n. Nice to meet you.” I added. He nodded. His hands were so soft and I would almost imagine them just holding me and ugh! 

“Anyways, so monsters.” I took out my notes pertaining to the creatures we learned in class today. 

“Yeah, well, I just can’t wrap my head around what how just knowing the creature is supposed to help me in battle. Like I just wanna practice fighting and using spells.” He confessed. I gave him a reassuring smile. 

“I completely understand, my roomie, a vampire, says the same thing. I’ll probably be her tutor next.” He laughed. “But, as someone who lacks in the fighting field, I try to make the best of school.” I noted. He nodded.

“Yeah but thanks for tutoring me. Despite my charming appearance and dazzling personality, I’m a pretty sucky learner.” We both laughed at that, his laugh was even precious omg. 

“No you’re fine. I mean it’s fine. I mean you’re not not fine, but that’s just not what I meant and...” 

I didn’t know what to say next, except that I felt the air turn cold as ice and goosebumps ran down my arms. Turns out, Minho felt the same thing and immediately grabbed me and threw me behind him. “What the hell?” He mumbled. In any other circumstance, I would’ve loved being touched and protected by the Lee Minho, but I knew he couldn’t do anything about this.

“Don’t freak out, but there’s a ghost in here.” He turned at me with big eyes. 

“What!?” He exclaimed, a jump in his voice. I rolled my eyes. 

“It’s ok, they can’t hurt you.” I promised. He didn’t look convinced. 

At that moment, I saw it appear. It was a girl, maybe my age, a bit older. She had bright blonde hair and she looked like she could’ve been the most popular girl in school. Strangely enough, she didn’t say anything, just stared in one direction to the left and at the ground. I grew uneasy.

“What are you looking at?” I asked it. I felt Minho grab my arm. 

“What is she saying?” He asked. I felt his anxiety roll off in waves, and his hand touching my arm which made it hard to focus. 

“Nothing, she’s just staring at this spot over there.” I pointed to it. I gulped. “Minho, I think I have to go to it.” He grabbed my arm. 

“No, y/n, we should just leave.” He tried tugging me, but I gently took his grip off my arm. 

“I can’t, or else it’ll follow me back.” He gulped. 

“That’s messed up.” He mumbled. I gathered up all my courage and walked to the spot slowly and carefully. I felt Minho follow me. Suddenly, the ghost kept moving. I think I was supposed to follow her, so I kept going and going until she stopped behind the furthest bookshelf in the library, hidden in the corners of the darkness. 

“Fuck, I don’t like this at all.” I ignored him. 

The ghost suddenly whipped her head towards me. 

“In here.” She called. She didn’t point, or look, or anything, but I felt myself being drawn to a certain place in the ground. “Jump.” She said. “And bring the boy.” I looked at him, trying to act tough but I knew he was unsure of what to do. 

“I can’t.” I said. 

“You can’t what?” He asked. I shook my head, but he looked persistent. I sighed.

“She said bring the boy.” I answered. I felt him hold in a breath, but chuckled.

“Well she’s insane if she ever thought I wasn’t going to follow you.” I smiled. 

“Thanks. But don’t worry, she wouldn’t make us do anything to get us killed.” I pointed at the ground. “I have to jump on this. Hold my hand.” I asked bravely. He took my hand and I closed my eyes. 

And jumped.

“AH!” We yelled in unison. Soon we hit the ground. “What the hell?” Minho exclaimed. I took in our surroundings. A dark basement it looked like, with empty cages and covered in dust. 

“Look at this place, doesn’t look like anyone’s been down here in years.” I said, standing. Quickly, I looked around. I growled. 

“What?”

“That stupid ghost left us alone here. Where did she go?” I cried out. Minho put his hand on my shoulder.

“Don’t worry I know a spell to bring us back up.” He spoke words, but unfortunately, the way we got up was gone. I closed my eyes, blaming myself for following the ghost. 

“I’m so sorry Minho, I didn’t know this would happen. I just-” Before I could go on sobbing, I heard a rustle. We got in fighting position and scanned our surroundings. Silence. 

“Get ready.” 

Suddenly, I felt the large room shake and I felt the temperature rise. And soon enough, I was looking in the eyes of a large hydra. 

“SHIT!” We both yelled. Minho quickly said a spell, a killing spell and shot it at him. Didn’t work, just made him angry. I whispered a spell to choke him, it worked, but he quickly wrestled out of it. 

“Dammit, I really wished I paid attention in Min’s class.” I felt my heart heating out of my chest, scared for my life, til I realized what he said. 

“Min’s class. Oh my God Minho, I know what to do.” He looked at me. 

“What?!?” He yelled. 

“We have to slice off it’s immortal head and then seal it with hot metal to prevent it from growing back.” He scoffed.

“And how are we going to do that? We don’t have a sword.” At that moment, I heard metal clank against the ground. 

“Oh that’s handy.” I exclaimed. 

“Ok here’s the plan, you distract while I try and cut off it’s immortal head. And btw, what does that happen to look like?” I felt the temperature drop again. 

“The fourth one, to the right.”

“Thanks, the fourth one to the right.” He nodded, not questioning. 

“Let’s go.” I quickly jumped out and grabbed the attention of the hydra. 

“Over here buckoo!” The hydra snarled at me. I dodged the venom it lashed at me with protection spells and ducked to the ground. Minho made his way and I quickly held the beast down with chains for a split second for Minho to slice off the head. Minho swiftly took the sword and cut the head off. 

It’s blood spilled onto the floor, drenching us in blood. I yelled out a fire spell and quickly sprayed the sword with fire. 

“Seal it Minho!” I yelled. He quickly pressed the blade to its neck and the beast wailed out of pain. Sooner than expected, the best dropped to the floor.

“Run!” Minho yelled. I did as told and got the hell out of the way. I heard the thud of the hydra and I calmed down, knowing I didn’t get crushed by it. 

Minho and I sat, staring the the bloody beast and the gruesome sight. The only sounds that were heard was our heavy breathing. He turned to me.

“I got the head.” He lifted a huge bloody hydra head. I smiled. 

“Yay, we have to dispose of that now. How are we gonna tell the teachers?” He shrugged. 

“I don’t know, let’s just lay here for a while.” We both laid down, uncomfortably might I add since the blood sloshed against the ground.

“Gross.” I whispered. We laid in silence until Minho spoke.

“Well, I guess now I know to pay more attention in Defense classes.” I smiled. 

Is this the longest one??? What even am I doing???

[shankss-magnificent-ass]

Smithing While Smitten

Chapter Two: The Long Overdue Dinner Party and the Reluctant Move

Pairing: Thorin Oakenshield x Reader

Word Count: 1,292

warnings: social awkwardness, slight mentions of homelessness, coddling

A/N: Sorry this chapter is a little shorter than normal

— Part 1 — Part 2 — Part 3 — Part 4 — Part 5 — Part 6 —

   You attempted to bolt for the door to make an escape before Thorin’s little sister, Dis, could see you, but Thorin seemed to know about it before you did. He wrapped an arm around your waist, and pulled you away from the door and called back, “Yes to all of the above,” hauling you deeper into the house. You clung to the door jam in an attempt to prevent him from doing so, but he just gave a sharp tug, and your grip slipped. You stood awkwardly next to him as he herded you into the kitchen. There stood his sister who unlike Thorin had brilliant blond hair, and cornflower blue eyes. You attempted to avoid eye contact, but ended up looking at another Dwarf already sitting at the table, Vili, Dis’s husband. He gave you a brilliant smile as his wife looked you over and sweetly asked, “Who’s this young lady?”

    You briefly introduced yourself, “Hello I’m (Y/n), nice to meet you?”

     Thorin guided you over to the table and sat you down in one the study chairs that sat around it. He pointed at you and ordered, “Stay here and no escaping, ” before exiting the room, and leaving you alone with his family. Vili leaned his elbows on the table and said, “Well how do you and Thorin know each other? He’s never mentioned friends in from the villages he works in." 

   "We just met officially today, I’ve seen him around that last couple of months, but we were never formally introduced.” You replied, folding your hands in your lap while internally panicking trying to remember dwarvish table manners.

    Dis noted, “You look nervous, dear are you alright?" 

   You nodded your head and admitted, "just nervous, it’s been so long since I’ve sat down at a table with other people for a meal, I don’t even remember the last time I was in a house actually.”

    Thorin walked into the room pulling the hem of a clean tunic straight and said, “speaking of houses, in the entryway I asked you where you lived before we were interrupted.”

    "Oh I-I uh live in a cave it’s a few minutes walk west of your town.“ You answered.

    Dis looked at you rather uncertain as she inquired, "A cave? How big of a cave?”

     “It’s about the size of your entryway, I think, I’ve never been good at sight measuring.” you sighed.

    Vili asked, “that’s not very big, is it at least furnished?”

    You shook your head, “I have a hair brush, clothes, a mirror, a blanket and a pillow and that’s all, it’s cozy, although I sometimes have to share it with a bear during the winter, but bears make excellent mattresses as long as you don’t toss and turn too much.”

    The three dwarrow looked at each other, probably doing that weird silent communication thing they do. Dis eventually looked at you, and said, “how would you like to stay here from now on.”

        "I wouldn’t want to impose or anything, my little cave is just fine for me and my needs.“ you replied politely. 

    Thorin grumbled, "you’re staying and that’s the end of it, now eat.” ladling you a bowl of stew and setting it in front of you.

    The four of you sat silently ate the meal, you were reluctant at first since you don’t need to eat, but you knew it was impolite to refuse food, so you ate it anyway. Once dinner was finished, Thorin stood up, got his coat, and said, “Come on lets go get your things, we have a spare room you can use for now.”

    You found it odd, you didn’t want to move out of your cave, and you didn’t want to impose on Thorin’s family, but you didn’t see much use fighting them on it, nor did you feel the need to. So you led Thorin back to your cave, when he saw it he silently looked at the things you had. He put your belonging in the sheet folded it up, and threw it over his shoulder, it didn’t even take five minutes to do, the walk over took longer.

        When you returned to the house, he set your things on the bed, and told you to make yourself comfortable while he went to go talk to his sister. You sat on the bed for a moment, before heading to the door to see if you could hear them talking. You heard them, Dis said, “how bad was it?”

    "It wasn’t even a cave it was more like a crevasse in the mountain side, it was smaller than the entry, it was damp and had mold, and a drippy ceiling. Her belongings were pathetic, a moldy pillow that looks at least fifty years old, a brown top sheet, a small hand mirror that you can barely see a reflection in, two spare moth eaten outfits that are obviously from four hundred years ago, and one single comb with half of the bristles missing and is covered in teeth marks.“

    Vili sighed, "so what’s the plan, we can’t afford to clothe her, and we obviously can’t send her out into town for a job, we need to feed her, but can’t afford to.”

    "Trust me she feeds us more than we feed her, she’s the one that’s been leaving us those bucks, boars, elks, and deer, and turkeys and pheasants for the last decade. Not to mention she’s the one who created that mammoth pile of Orc and warg corpses ten miles north of here.“ Thorin hissed, "She’s not human, but she’s not a threat, she saved me today from that jerk of a boss in the town south of here. She grabbed red hot metal and didn’t flinch, so I don’t think she feels the cold.”

    Dis asked, “Would it be wise to let someone so dangerous into our house?”

    "She’s a little naive, but ultimately harmless to us, she seems to like and trust us. She even showed me her true form under the magic, she’s a member of the valar, so I think her needs are different than ours.“ Thorin answered. You had heard enough, you turned around and went to bed.

   At breakfast the next morning, you sat down at the table with Thorin and Vili as Dis stood at the stove. Dis looked over at you and said, "Can you do me a favor and cook some eggs, dearie?”

     You looked up at her and replied, “I unfortunately don’t know how to cook, I’ve never had any need of that skill, seeing as I don’t really need to eat.”

    "You don’t need to eat? Then why did you eat the stew last night?“ Vili huffed annoyed.

    "I didn’t know how to politely refuse it.” you admitted, “It’s been so long since I’ve held a proper conversation I have have nearly forgotten how to do it, and when it comes to manners I’m at a total loss.”

     “Being a valar you have lived a long time, how long have you lived alone?” Dis murmured.

    You grimaced, “You can’t tell anyone about that, it might put them in danger. I’m technically not supposed to be in middle Earth, the other Valar are looking for me, they want me back in Valinor, but I do not wish to go back just yet. I fear what they might do to get me to come back home, I don’t want anyone to get hurt because of me.”

    "Except orcs apparently" Thorin mused.

    "What?“ you inquired.

    Thorin grunted, "we found your orc graveyard ten miles north of here.”

    "That one is the smallest out of the ones I’ve made, the biggest one it probably fifty miles north of here.“ You replied.

  — Part 1 — Part 2 — Part 3 — Part 4 — Part 5 — Part 6 —

TAG LIST: @fictionalquintessence @life-is-righteous@wowjustwow002 @17baldwinn@jumpingmanatee@savvythedork@savvym0use@imaginesreblogged  @lady-of-fandoms @jotink78 @enkelin@arabellaelliana @a-midwinter-night-dream-86 @nelswp@imagines-for-multiple-fandoms @fentah@evyiione​ @thegreyberet​ @whatthehellisacastiel​ @cd1242​ @dracsgirl​ @tschrist1​  @me-shipper-trash @aspiringtranslator​

[strawnarrries]

Ovulating

Summary: You’re ovulating while Harry’s family is over.

Requested: nope

POV: 2nd

Warning(s): baby making time ;)

You laid in bed next to your husband, scrolling through your phone. The tv was on in the background when all of the sudden you got a notification from your ovulation bracelet app telling you that you were fertile. 

"Harry, I'm ovulating." you told your husband immediately. 

"You are?" you saw his face light up.

"Yeah, I just got the notification." you showed him your phone.

"Well, c'mere!" 

"What about your family?" you asked him, not completely comfortable with having sex with them here. What if you’re too loud and they hear you?

Harry's family was here for the weekend because you all hadn't seemed them in a while and you wanted to see them.

"We just have t' be quiet." he replied.

You thought about it for a second; you've been trying to get pregnant for awhile now. There are only about 6 days a month that you have a big chance to get pregnant and any chance you have, you should take advantage of that.

"Okay." you grinned at him.

Attaching your lips together, he hovered over you. He pushed the covers down his body, letting them bundle up at his feet.

"Let's do it under the covers." you smirked at him.

"Okay." he smiled softly, adjusting the covers on his back again.

"Let's get undressed first." you chuckled softly. 

He rolled onto his back and you both began to quickly get undressed. Your clothes went flying onto the floor before you were both completely naked. 

He hovered back over you and readjusted the covers so you were completely covered. He leaned down and attached his soft lips to your neck. 

"Kiss me." you hummed softly.

He lifted his head and covered his lips with yours. Your lips molded together and began to move in sync. His tongue slipped past his lips and skimmed across your bottom lip. You granted him access and he felt around your mouth. 

Youur hands began to roam. He cupped your bare breast in his big hand, massaging it softly and running his thumb over your nipple. You felt it harden under his touch. Your fingers threaded through his soft, messy curls. 

Moving his hand south, he immediately placed his fingers onto your clit, rubbing it how he knows makes you feel good. You felt your tummy twist and yourself slowly get wetter. 

Deciding it was his turn, you used your dominant hand and reached down under the covers, finding his member and wrapping your palm around his semi-hard shaft. You began to pump it and felt him slowly harden under your touch. You felt his veins against your palm as your lips moved in sync again. 

You continued your foreplay on each other until you were ready.

"I need you." you mumbled against his lips, almost inaudibly. 

"Quick and quiet, okay babe?" he mumbled, looking down at you through his long lashes. 

You grinned at him, "I love you." 

He grinned back, "I love you, too." 

Leaning down he pressed his lips to yours before resting his forehead on yours, looking down between your bodies. 

"You're gonna have t' help me 'cause I can't see anything." he told you, referring to positioning himself because of the darkness the covers caused. 

You chuckled softly and reached down, positioning him at your wet entrance. Luckily, over many, many years you’ve learned your body and where everything was so, you could position him without seeing much. 

"Alright, you ready?" he asked sweetly. 

You nodded. 

Pressing his forehead against yours again, he slowly pushed in his length and his lips parted. 

You adjusted to his size before he slowly began to thrust himself in and out of you. You closed your eyes and enjoyed the feeling of him. His face was buried into your neck, pressing soft kisses to the places he could reach.

You wrapped your hands around his neck, threading your fingers through his soft, messy hair.

"Feels so good, babe. You're so tight." Harry hummed into your ear, kissing just below it. 

You laid there quietly, your eyes shut as you enjoyed the pleasurable feeling of your husband. You ran your hands up and down his back, the soft fabric of the covers running against the back of your hands. 

You let your hand run up to his soft hair, threading it between your fingers. His left hand began to run up and down the side of your torso, his dominant hand push against the mattress next to your head to keep himself supported above you. You felt his cold, metal wedding ring against your warm skin and it sent shivers through your body.

He sped up his thrusts and the bed started to squeak.

"Harry, careful." you whispered and he slowed his thrusts down again, the squeaking noise stopping. 

He let out a soft whimper and squeezed his eyes shut. 

"Baby, it feels better when it's faster." he whined. 

"I know, but I don't wanna get caught." you explained to him.

He let his head fall to your neck again, pressing kisses to your skin while you closed your eyes and took in his embrace. 

"Kiss me, babe." he whispered softly. 

You opened your eyes and looked up at him. His plump, pink lips were parted with soft breaths escaping, his eyebrows were furrowed together in pleasure, his brown hair messy from you running your fingers through it, and a thin layer of sweat coated his forehead.

He leaned in and crashed his lips onto yours. Your lips moved in sync and his thrusts slowed down, your attention focusing mostly on your kisses.

His lips were so soft and so plump. You could kiss him for hours on end. Your tongues played as you explored each other's mouths. Your fingers threaded through his loose curls, tugging gently at them. His kisses got more rough as he trailed them down to your neck again. He nipped at your skin, his tongue soothing the red surface as his thrusts sped up again.

His hand slammed against the headboard, making a loud sound against the wall.

"Fuck-" he hummed to himself, letting his hand fall back down on the sheets again.

"Shit, Harry, be careful." you whined. 

"Sorry." he breathed out, almost inaudibly. 

You pursed your lips together, keeping any noise wanting to come out, stay in. You dug your nails into his shoulder blades and scratched down his back, leaving marks that will definitely show up the next morning. 

As the pleasure increased, so did your body temperatures. And the covers didn't help. It felt like a sauna. "Harry, it's too hot." you whined, pushed the covers off of his back.

"It really is. I'm sweating." he replied, pushing the covers completely off his body. 

The cool air hit your heated bodies and it felt amazing. 

"Okay, keep goin'." you breathed out. 

"I am." he replied, thrusting his whole length back into you again.

The feeling of him was blissful. His veins ran against your tight, wet walls and his leaky tip hitting your special spot with every soft smack of your hips. You clenched around him and another loud groan fell from his plump lips. 

"Harry, I swear, if they fucking hear us, it's not my fault." you scolded.

"Baby, 'm sorry. You just feel so good." he whined.

"C'mere." you breathed out, cupping his face with your hands. 

You pulled him down to your face, attaching your lips. His unshaved upper lip tickling your skin. His tongue immediately slipped past his lips and into your mouth. His thrusts slowed down a bit as he focused his attention on kissing you. 

He trailed his kisses to your neck, speeding up his thrusts again as you felt his lips leave your skin and his breath take over the area. He hit your spot with every thrust, sending you in euphoria. You knew you couldn't moan, so you dug your fingernails into his shoulders, scratching down his back. 

"I'm close." you hummed softly.

"I am too, babe." Harry replied.

Moving your hands from his back to the sheets, you gripped onto them tightly. You squeezed your eyes shut and tried to control your breathing. Bucking your hips up into his, the pleasure increased immensely.

All of the sudden, you heard Harry's mom quietly clear her throat and her footprints against the floor as she walked to the bathroom.

Looking up at Harry, you pursed your lips together, your eyebrows furrowed together. Seeing that you pursed yours together, he pursed his together as you made eye contact. The veins on his neck stuck out and little pieces of hair were matted to his forehead due to sweat. 

He didn't stop his thrusting, being that you were both so close to your orgasms. You dug your fingernails into his shoulders, closing your eyes. Your lips fell into an 'o' position. 

You heard the water running through the pipes of your house, signaling Anne was done in the bathroom. You heard the door open and another one closing seconds after. You mentally sighed in relief, hoping she didn't hear anything; not that you were making that much noise.

A low growl left his throat behind his closed lips and he let his forehead fall to your shoulder again. He continued to thrust in and out of you and you knew you would release in seconds.

"Gonna cum." you managed to mumble out through uneven breaths. 

"Me too."

He used his dominant hand and slithered it between your bodies, placing his soft fingertips on your throbbing clit. Rubbing it how he knows you like it, your back arching in pleasure. He added pressure, trying his best to get you to cum with him.

"Harry, Harry, Harry-" you moaned softly, almost inaudibly, into his ear. 

You let your walls clench around him just before your intense orgasm began to take over. Your eyes squeezed shut and you tried your hardest not to scream out. Your grip on the sheets tightened and you tugged roughly on them. Your face was scrunched up in pleasure.

Seconds after you released, he did as well. A soft whimper left his throat before he pursed his lips together, holding his breath. His eyes squeezed shut and his body shook above you. 

You both came down from your highs, trying not to breathe too loudly. You slowly opened your eyes and saw his staring down at you. His hand snaked back up your bodies and placed it by the side of your head. He gently rested his body on top of you. Both of your lips parted and your eyebrows furrowed together, a thin layer of sweat coating both of your bodies.

He grinned and ran his nose back and forth against yours, mumbling, "Oh yeah, you're definitely pregnant." 

[kzbrandt]

On an eve of catastrophe, Darkness remains.

On an eve of catastrophe, Darkness remains.

     Be brave, the words started to fade on my palm, even though the ink rubbed off, my brain still burned, I couldn’t forget these two possibly insignificant conjugations of letters. I still couldn’t believe this was the world I was living in, this was the new reality.

    Looking at the abandoned house, I imagined its life before. Who lived here, how did the floor look freshly swept, how did the paint smell with a fresh coat? Underneath the trash was a blue loveseat and a matching recliner, stained and used, they were comfortably worn in. Across a faded white mantlepiece were several dusty pictures of what looked like a happy family. The men were brawny and serious, while the women were thin and leggy, quite a striking lineage. Even the children looked flawless and calm. I envied their happiness, it was untouched and free of carnage.

    It was 1935, my family was torn apart, dismembered and discarded. The worst  part was we weren’t strangers and our own friends turned us out to the wolves. These wolves wore the faces of men but inside they were anything but human.

    After Hitler rose to power in 1933, everything changed so fast. First they omitted us from public life, our faces were no longer desired, especially now that his Arian race had been perfected. Everyone else was being pushed out. My whole life I had been a German, until the day I wasn’t. My true identity was now reflected back and I was Amira Naghrela and my family had been wandering homeless for thousands of years. After the Spanish Expulsion just before the 1500’s, my ancestors were ousted, turned from their homes. Destitute and starving we were barely surviving. Finally in 1910, down to only my father as the sole heir to our legacy, he met my mother in Munich, Germany. On a cold winter’s eve in January, 1921, my father, son of Abram Naghrela would have a daughter.

    There were no secrets kept from husband and wife, each knew the other wholly, in every way. For 23 years my name was Ella Lenssen, at the stroke of midnight, suddenly my brown hair turned light yellow and my eyes burned cerulean blue. I was hidden in a sea of likeness, no one would know I bore the mark of the falsely accused, the one who was hated. I still heard her words so clearly. November 9th. It never stopped playing in my head, it blazed too bright and too horrible. As moths flocked to my window, an omen of Darkness began to swell. Fumbling with the six pointed star of David, I grew more nervous by the second. How long until they found me? Those poor people… I couldn’t just sit back and watch when my people were being slaughtered, raped and cleaved apart. I had been silent for long enough.

    All through history my people have been persecuted, and that didn’t change on the night of broken glass, we should’ve known the horror Kristallnacht would bring. The Nazi’s have always despised us, just as God loves, the Devil hates. So Lucataerius Diablos invited in a dark stallion to stomp out the chosen ones, and unleash Anti-Semitic propaganda that would flood the earth and her people by storm. Films, pamphlets, and brainwashing scum burrowed effortlessly. Hatred, racism, violence, all of it was a part of Covid-black, a fabricated virus that would disappear until it was time for her final attack, and the second time she refused to be defeated by mere mortals, the dirt under her fingernails.  

    I had to watch as they ripped off my mother's breasts and shoved them down my fathers throat. On my knees covered in my family's blood, I was convulsing overcome with violent tremors of fear. Locked in abhorrence, I suddenly was very thankful for the well orchestrated lie of my adoption, how my name was slightly skewed from reality. If it was any other way then I wouldn’t have survived this encounter. It was strange how they knew I was adopted, maybe it wasn’t random. Could we have been targeted? Unfortunately, even though I survived the barrel of their guns, I still wasn’t free from the tyranny of men.

    Germany’s citizens were disappearing and replaced by perfected soldiers, humans with unnatural abilities. A once great and diverse country now wore the same face, no variation, almost clone-like. Light, yellow hair and sky-blue eyes, although I may look the same it was only a supernatural mask, a key to open the future and rearrange the files.

    In 1938, I met the creatures who painted the stars and lived in their castles cloaked in white light hidden in the Andromedan nebula. Their leader came to me in the midst of the mass pillaging and capture of my Jewish kin, and showed me how this would all play out. I could still see all of their deaths, six million Jews and so many others who didn’t fit the bill, German sympathizer or not, no one was safe from the will of Darkness. If she got her way, the realms would be altered in a terrible and irreparable way.

    The Andromedan queen was beautiful, she seemed to embody space and its spectacular wonders while retaining a strange physical form. Her wings are what stick to my mind the most. Shimmering in watermelon colors, pink and green were splattered across in intricate blotches. They moved so fast, faster than a hummingbird buzzing in a flock of wildflowers, all of the colors blurred, taking on a singular illusion.

   As she spoke her lips moved in the same fashion as her insect like wings, “Amira Naghrela, my name is Pazit, Ascender from the Golden Realms, I’ve chosen you for a great purpose, our cousins the Mothmen see a great torrent that will come swiftly and become one of the deepest crimes that humankind will do unto themselves. You cannot stop what is going to happen, but in the future you may be able to avoid history repeating itself. Will you help us ascend your soul and gift you with my essence?”

    I never spoke, but Pazit had my answer. How could I turn down this ethereal angel? The apparition filled me with an intangible contentment. I was going to be recycled, floating around the cosmos of the afterlife, until my vessel was reborn.

    I was given the face of the enemy so I might affect the coming days. Now all I had to do was die, and speaking of death I could feel his hot unwelcome breath warming my neck. The time had come, Hitler’s secret group of assassins would be here by now, knowing what I had done and would strike me down for good this time. When I was flung from my body, only then would I be free. I guess all I could hope for was a quick death, but these men were not men of honor, they didn’t know the meaning of the word.  

    Sinking into a damp, mold infected corner, footsteps vibrated across the floor, echoing like a tribal drum beating my heart. Tears fell down my cheeks as I dreaded what would transpire. I wasn’t at all surprised at the smug grin that appeared above me.

    “Well, well, well now I have found you… Amira.” He snared my name like it was a curse passing out of his lips. So they knew, the ruse was up, but after what I did, I knew this charade would cease. I knew my expiration date had come, now at least it wouldn’t be for nothing, I’ll have a second chance. Maybe in my next life I'll find more than enslavement and mass decimation.

    “Ready to play our game some more?”

    “No, just kill me, I have no desire for your sick fantasies!” Thwack. Hot, searing pain slapped my right cheek, forcing me to look away.

    “You little bitch, did you think no one would see you? Mein master is very displeased with you, setting fire to her laboratories, good thing the original specimen is still intact…” Wrestling with my crouched body, he pulled me up and called out to his shadowy goddess, the one whom he served.

    Darkness animated through the rotting wood floor, seeping upward like an impenetrable smog, smelling of thick demoniac (crux of demons). The mother of evil had arrived. Rising out of a cesspool of umbra, red irises tore into my temples, knocking me down onto my knees once more. So this was the true hand behind the madness, the one who haunted my dreams.

    Vile, stinging talons reached out from the malevolent cloud and what I assumed to be her mouth opened unnaturally wide and she attempted to suck out my soul. During this unpleasant encounter, I saw brief flashes of her mind, and a shrouded veil from within was revealed to me.

    Deep inside the chasm of Darkness, I could see two young girls, one was like sunshine and the other was cloaked in ravens and starlight. A multitude of memories were joined together making it nearly impossible to understand anything.

    Taking a breath and trying to focus the images, I could see someone else among the children, a long slinky man, who’s flesh looked inhuman, stretched too tightly like a costume. As if I cut a nerve too closely, The Darkness threw me across the room as a banshee scream pierced the empty house shattering all the windows, and the soldier all at once. Blood and guts exploded everywhere coloring each surface in chunky crimson.

    “It is not possible to resist me, what are you? Your gifts shall be mine, one way or another.”

    Quickly looking down I glanced at a reflective dagger lying not two feet from me. Adrenaline dilating, I thought about two words that I now realized were anything but meaningless. BE BRAVE. Grasping the cool metal, I readied my mind, body and soul. Closing my eyes, my short life flitted by, seeing only the ones most precious to me.

    Only 15 years old, too young to get the chance to fall in love or travel the seven seas. There were so many places I still hoped, I might see one day, whenever that might be. Without wasting a second more, I took the blade and ripped open my neck exposing my clavicle, and draining my life force. Most blood was a bright, cherry red, but my own poured out in a gleaming golden frenzy. I wasn’t the only one taken aback either.

    Who knew I could be so alert during my own death, I could still feel everything around me. I figured when the lights went out it was only darkness, but it was so much more. As the sounds of everyday life faded I heard the faintest cry of infuriation, a howl mixed with pain and vengeance. I didn’t know how I felt about this enfant terrible, was it calamity that drove it, what was her story?

    It would be 120 years before my body would be birthed once more. But time was so different in The Vale, there are no words in creation that can quite describe it.  And just like that, risen from the ashes I became small and tumescent, breathing underwater. What was this strange sensation? I was light as a feather while bobbing along like a booey in the middle of the ocean. The walls started to shrink, contracting more and more.

    Of course, it all made sense now. A big push forced me down the birthing canal and I felt squished and kind of claustrophobic. With each propulsion my destiny was schlepped closer. Just as I was about to breach the world, I could hear the doctor say excitedly,

    “Oh look Persephone, your little Krista is just about here! Just one more push! Mrs. Star, what beautiful eyes she has, none like I’ve ever seen…

So it began.  

[agilenano]

Agilenano - News: In this episode…

If there’s one room you’d like to be bright and cheery, it’s the kitchen!  We’ll have tips on lighting to keep that space looking bright – even when it’s dark outside. Plus… If winter storms and the power outages, they bring have you considering a generator, we’ve got tips to help you pick the best type of generator for your home.   Ready to take on some home improvement projects, but don’t feel you have the time?  Not possible!  We’ll highlight several projects you can get done in 30 minutes or less! Did you know that some storm doors can make your exterior door so hot that the molding will melt and the door handle could even burn you? Plus, answers to your home improvement questions about fixing an in-floor heating system, best way to discharge a sump pump, ways to lower energy costs, best lighting for a garage door, safest way to install a wood burning stove and more. Do you have a home improvement or decor question? Call the show 24/7 at 888-MONEY-PIT (888-666-3974) or post your question here. !doctype> Read Transcript TOM: Coast to coast and floorboards to shingles, this is The Money Pit Home Improvement Show. I’m Tom Kraeutler. LESLIE: And I’m Leslie Segrete. TOM: And we are here to help you take on your home improvement and décor projects. Whatever is on your to-do list, you can slide it on over to ours by reaching out to us, which you can do by calling us at 1-888-MONEY-PIT, 888-666-3974 or posting your questions on MoneyPit.com. Coming up on today’s program, if there’s one room you’d like to be bright and cheery, it’s the kitchen, which is why we’re going to have some tips on lighting to keep that space looking very bright even when it’s dark outside. LESLIE: And also ahead, if winter storms and the power outages that they bring have you considering a generator, we’ve got some tips to help you pick the best type for your home. TOM: And look, guys, are you ready to take on some home improvement projects but you always feel that you don’t have enough time? Well, we’ve got news for you: not possible. We put together a list of a whole bunch of projects that you can get done in 30 minutes or less. Then we’re going to jump into that. LESLIE: But first, we want to hear what you are working on this winter season. What project is on your to-do list? Maybe you started something and you need a hand getting it finished or perhaps you’re looking for some inspiration. Whatever it is, give us a call at 888-MONEY-PIT for the answer to your question, plus a chance at winning an amazing product. We’ve got, up for grabs, a Greenworks 60-Volt Cordless Mower. Now, you’re not going to use it right now in most parts of the country but you will be dreaming about those beautiful, green lawns come springtime. And this is a prize that can totally help. It’s battery-operated and it’s got a backup battery, as well. So once one runs out, the other one will kick on. TOM: You can check out Greenworks products and tips on your favorite social site, @GreenworksTools. That mower is worth 400 bucks. It’s going out to one listener drawn at random. Now, you can call us at 888-MONEY-PIT. You can also post your question on MoneyPit.com. And if we are not in the studio when you call, we will take your name and number and call you back the next time we are and throw your name in the hard hat for that week’s prize. So what are you waiting for? Give us a call, right now, at 1-888-MONEY-PIT. Let’s get to it. Leslie, who’s first? LESLIE: Katie in Minnesota is on the line with a question about a door. What is going on? KATIE: I’m having some issues with the front door. My husband bought a storm door. And it’s a self – or it’s energy-efficient. TOM: OK. KATIE: And we have a door behind there: our front door. And there’s getting to be so much heat between the two doors that it’s melting the trim that’s on the other door. TOM: Yeah. Yep. Mm-hmm. Yep. Very common. So, here’s the thing. You don’t really need a storm door anymore with today’s modern doors. Or usually, if they’re installed properly and they have the right kind of weather-stripping and the sills are adjusted so that they seal well, you generally don’t need a storm door. Now, of course, all of us enjoy screen doors so that we can leave our interior door open in the warmer weather. But when you put a storm door on top of a door like that, you do get sort of a greenhouse effect, where the light comes through that storm door and the heat just builds up between that metal door and the glass. And it will melt, as you saw, the plastic trim around the window pane. So that is very, very common, Katie. You are in good company with that. KATIE: OK. TOM: So, I would tell you that in the summer, you don’t want to have that storm panel on there. You’ve got to get that storm panel off and just put the screen panel in. Otherwise, this will continue to happen. KATIE: Yeah, that’s what we do in the summer. But during the winter – so then I had called the company and they had said that there’s a plate on the bottom where you can raise it. So we raised it but then it’s – the whole door is – has frost. Really thick frost. Is that bad for the door? TOM: Well, it shouldn’t be happening in the wintertime. It’s only – it really is a summertime condition, because it doesn’t get hot enough in the cold months to cause that melting. KATIE: Oh, we have it now and it’s winter. TOM: It’s not possible. I think it’s probably melted in the summer, because it doesn’t get hot enough now, not with this kind of temperature, to melt that trim. The trim melts in the warmer weather. KATIE: Right. Well, the thing is is we cut the tree down. The door’s black. And so we just put it in maybe two, three months ago. TOM: OK. Yeah. Yeah, that’s not helping you either. That’s not helping you either, yeah. Is it a steel door? KATIE: Yes. TOM: Yeah. Yeah, you might want to rethink that door color. But I’m just telling you that you don’t need to have that storm door on it whenever it starts to get warm. KATIE: So, I know. TOM: And if you decide – if you are going to have it, you’re going to get this problem. KATIE: Right. My husband said maybe we should just paint it white and see what it does, if it still … TOM: Well, it will be better but I’m just telling you, this is really common and it happens consistently in warmer weather. And it will just only get worse. KATIE: Mm-hmm. Great. OK. TOM: Alright. Well, listen, at least you know that you’re not alone. KATIE: Right. TOM: And it’s – when people see this, they think, “Oh, my gosh. This has never happened before.” No, it happens all the time, believe me. Alright. Good luck with that project. Thanks for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT. If you’ve got a home improvement question, now is a great time to pick up the phone and call us at 1-888-MONEY-PIT, because you’ll get the answer to that question. Plus, this hour, we’re giving away a fantastic prize. Our friends at Greenworks have given us a mower – a Greenworks 60-Volt Mower – to give away. Now, I love this product. It’s got a push-button start so there’s no cords to pull. No gas, no oil to mess with. It’s got a very powerful, brushless motor that’s going to cut through the toughest grass. And because this is a cordless mower, a battery-powered mower, think about it: you can store it vertically and that really makes a big difference in your garage or your shed. If you did that with a gas-powered machine, the oil and gas and everything would be leaking all over the place. LESLIE: You wouldn’t do it. TOM: Nah, you wouldn’t. It would just be a heck of a mess. LESLIE: You couldn’t. It’d be a mess. TOM: And then it wouldn’t start. So, this is kind of cool. It’s part of a full suite of Greenworks Pro 60-Volt Lithium-Powered Outdoor Equipment. They’ve also got a string trimmer, a hedge trimmer, a chainsaw, a handheld leaf blower and more. All the tools include a battery and charger and they’re available exclusively at Lowe’s and Lowes.com. LESLIE: And you know what? You can also get great tips, ideas and solutions for your lawn-and-garden projects when you follow @GreenworksTools on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and YouTube. TOM: That great prize is going out to one caller drawn at random. Give us a call, right now, with your home improvement question at 1-888-MONEY-PIT, 888-666-3974. LESLIE: Alright. Now we’ve got Clyde in Illinois on the line who’s dealing with a chilly floor. I bet your feet are freezing. What is going on? CLYDE: About a year ago, we bought a house. And I went to a one-level slab home. And OK, as you’re coming in, you buy a house and it’s all pretty and everything and then you find out problems. Well, the house originally had water pipes in the concrete. Somebody was – graded the house and they walked off in the middle of winter and the pipes busted. So, when they, say, flipped the house, they didn’t put the concrete or the water-heat system or any kind of tape or anything else in the concrete. TOM: Right. CLYDE: They just covered it up with a vinyl flooring. TOM: OK. CLYDE: So, the house is brick veneer with a block inside. And it’s structurally as sound as a fortress but it’s like a freezer or refrigerator in here. TOM: Right. CLYDE: And so I did … TOM: So, do you think you have active leaks right now in that slab? CLYDE: No. The heating system is no longer. TOM: OK. CLYDE: They went to a forced-air gas and then a heat pump on – down one end and out the other. TOM: Right. Mm-hmm. OK. CLYDE: So, there’s no water. There’s no issues there. TOM: OK. CLYDE: It’s gone. TOM: Right. CLYDE: It’s just the cold, uninsulated slab that just conveys the heat – or the cold, rather. TOM: Right. All the time, yeah. CLYDE: Yeah. TOM: Yeah, that’s unfortunate. CLYDE: I thought about this film – or not film but foil. I’ve used it in a roofing situation and it really worked very well in stopping the heat and cold movement. But I didn’t know how it would be under carpet or under a vinyl flooring. TOM: Yeah, I don’t – you’re talking about radiant barrier. That’s not designed to be under a floor. I don’t think it’ll make any difference, frankly. So, let’s just talk about the problem in general. So, I’ve seen this before. You basically had a home that was once heated by a sub-slab hydronic system, meaning that the water pipes were basically cast into the floor. And the idea was that a hot-water system would warm up that water, run it through the floor and the floor would get nice and warm. And those systems are fantastic until they break. And they’re impossible to fix. And back then, you know, they used copper plumbing pipe for that. Now, today it’s done with a material called PEX, which is pretty much indestructible. So the good news is if you did it again, you wouldn’t basically do – you could have that sub-slab system and it wouldn’t be nearly as prone to breakage as what you have now. But now, once that happens, then people scramble to find some other system that will work. And generally, I’ve seen them take the air-conditioning ducts and try and turn it into a heating system and like you say, run forced air through that. Usually, that’s pretty darn inefficient because a lot of times, that heat’s coming out at the ceiling and certainly not where it should be coming out. So the heat never quite gets down to floor level. So, as you can tell from my description, I’ve seen it before many times. Now, for your house, with the cement slab I think what I would be doing is I would be putting an insulation under anything that I put down. So, for example, if I was going to carpet something, I would probably put 1-inch – even though you have to raise the floor a bit. It becomes challenging around doors and that sort of thing. I’d probably put a 1-inch foam insulation piece under that. But then you have to put a plywood subfloor over it, because you can’t just carpet on top of the foam, obviously. But I think in the rooms where it’s possible, you’re going to have to put some sort of insulation sheet underneath that floor, in order to get past this frigid feeling that you’re getting every time you get up in the winter and walk across it. CLYDE: Right. Exactly. Yeah. Oh, I was afraid – and the house has got – luckily, the vinyl – it’s got vinyl flooring and snap-in. It wasn’t glued down. So that’s a positive. And there’s only three rooms that – three smaller bedrooms that have carpet in them. So, that in itself is just peel it back, take the molding off around the outside and your kickboard or floor molding and then just – and do like you were saying. I never thought about actual foam or that kind of insulation board. TOM: Yeah, I would those furring strips in. And you can secure those down with Tapcon screws, which will drill right into the concrete. And then you can attach the subfloor to that furring strip. You can make the furring strips the same exact thickness as the foam. So if you use the 1-inch foam, you just cut yourself 1-inch furring strips. CLYDE: Alright. Would that then – would the furring strip help eliminate any condensation or – that happens when you have a temperature inversion from one surface to another. That concrete, you think about sweating. TOM: Yeah. What I would do is I’d put plastic down on the slab first and then I’d put the furring strips on top of that. And then you would insert the foam in between that. CLYDE: On the – oh, yes, yes. Understood. Alright. TOM: I think it’s going to make a huge difference for you. CLYDE: Oh, it – yeah, would be greatly. Alright. Well, I do appreciate your callback. This is awesome. I listen to your show and – quite a bit. There’s some of the things that doesn’t apply down south or some other area but I really appreciate your service. TOM: Yeah, we try to mix it up, you know? We’re talking to the entire nation. So, we’re going – when we say – we mean it when we say coast to coast and floorboards to shingles. Because, really, there are folks that are listening in every climate out there. And if you’ve got a question, no matter where you live, we’re going to try to answer it for you. CLYDE: Awesome. Thank you. You have enlightened me in several different areas I hadn’t thought about. So, thank you very much. TOM: Alright. You’re welcome, sir. LESLIE: There’s really a lot there that’s difficult to work with. TOM: Yeah. In the years I spent as a home inspector, I saw that all the time. And it was just such a ridiculous fix to see builders and contractors sell these folks systems where they’re delivering heat at the ceiling level. I mean who in their right mind ever thought that was going to make that house comfortable? Usually, if they get enough heat, they’re paying 50 percent more than they should, because they have to keep pumping it into the house just to feel that comfort. But once that slab starts to leak and those pipes fail, there’s nothing you can do about that. You could put an electric grid down but then you’re paying electricity costs. And that is very expensive, as well. So, well, I think we got him straightened out there and Clyde is on his way to a warmer floor, which is important when you live in Illinois. LESLIE: Well, if your kitchen feels dark and dreary, it might be that you don’t have the right kind or perhaps the right type of lighting. Now, for kitchens, you need three types of lighting: you’ve got to have ambient, task and accent lighting. Now, ambient lighting is the overall light you have in the room. And that’s generally provided by the larger fixtures and natural light from the windows. TOM: Now, task lighting is more focused. It’s calibrated to specific work areas, like counters. And accent lighting does just that. It accents and highlights the architectural details or the objects within that redesigned space, like kitchen lighting that points up from the top of your cabinets or rope lighting underneath the cabinets which, incidentally, is a very easy do-it-yourself project. LESLIE: Yeah. And you know what? There’s no shortage of fixture styles and sizes out there to choose from for all of these lighting types. And it’s definitely OK to mix and match fixture styles. You can put a chandelier over the dining area and install interesting pendants for task lighting. Think about looking at things in the same finish or the same type of design style or period style to sort of blend those pieces together. But go for it. Mix and match. TOM: And speaking of lighting styles, I just today, Leslie, did some work on our task lighting. We had some track lighting that was above some areas of our kitchen, where it was a bit dark. And I took it all apart, put it all back together. Cleaned it up because it was picking up some dirt and grease from the cooking and stuff. Cleaned it all up, put it back together. So, now, not only is the light brighter but the fixtures are brighter, as well. LESLIE: Oh, that’s fantastic. TOM: So, lots of things that you can do in the kitchen to really add some more light there. And it does make a big difference. We love, for example, those little halogen puck lights. Those go under the cabinet so easy. Again, very do-it-yourself. Whether you want to take on a bigger project that requires, perhaps, using an electrician to wire some of the lighting or just doing a DIY project like rope lighting or puck lighting, you can’t go wrong by adding more light to that space. LESLIE: Good point. Alright. Now we’ve got Derwin in Texas who’s dealing with a fascia-board situation. Tell us what’s going on. DERWIN: I have a fascia board that is rotten. The way it’s put on there is I have a 1×4 fascia board that’s nailed up on there and then a 1×2 is nailed on the top portion of the fascia board. TOM: Yep. DERWIN: Which kind of – and the gutter is nailed to the 1×2, so I guess the 1×2 keeps the gutter from resting up against the fascia board, to keep it from rotting. TOM: Got it. Mm-hmm. DERWIN: But the drip edge – there’s a drip edge that’s nailed to the top, so like a 2×2 drip edge. And the top part of the drip edge is nailed to the roof deck and then it lays – the other half is – lays into the gutter. TOM: So what you want to know is how can you get the rotted fascia board out without taking apart your gutter and your drip edge and your spacer and all that stuff, right? DERWIN: Right. TOM: There’s no way to surgically remove the fascia; it’s like one part of the assembly. DERWIN: Right. TOM: So you’d have to take the whole thing apart. Now, it’s not a – it sounds like a lot of work. It’s not a tremendous project to get a gutter off. It’s not something you can do yourself because you don’t want to bend it, so you have to do it with some help to take the gutter off in one piece. But there is an opportunity here and that is that when you replace the fascia, I would not put wood fascia back. What I would do is I would use a product called AZEK – A-Z-E-K. This looks like wood, so it could look like that old 1×4 that you had, except it’s made of cellular PVC. So, it cuts like wood and it looks like wood but it never rots. So I would definitely suggest that this is an opportunity to improve the material that you’re using there. DERWIN: OK. TOM: Now, whether or not you put back the spacer and the gutter the way it was before is up to you. You really don’t need to have a spacer. You could put the gutter right up against the AZEK and then have the roof just lay into the top of the gutter. That would be the most normal assembly for that kind of thing. But if you want the spacer and it just works out better because that’s the way it was before, then what you could do is buy 1×6 AZEK, cut a 1½-inch strip off of it, use that as a spacer and use the rest as – you’ll have a 1×4 left and you use that for the fascia and you’ll have the strip just in one piece. DERWIN: So it cuts just like wood. TOM: Looks like wood, cuts like wood, doesn’t rot like wood. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT. LESLIE: Louis, you’ve got The Money Pit. How can we help you today? LOUIS: I have a question regarding a sump pump – drainage water. The previous owner has it routed to the sewer line going to the bathroom in the basement. That’s where the sump pump is, also. And I was wondering, should I reroute that to the outside of the house or should it – is it OK where it is? TOM: Well, you’re technically not supposed to connect a sump pump to a sewer line. You’re correct in that it’s supposed to go outside the house. Part of the issue is that if you don’t have a check valve, for sure, if you have any backup in the sewer, it can come right straight back up into the sump pump and that’s not going to be a pleasant situation. So, it would be preferable that it drain outside and at least 4 to 6 feet away from your foundation of your home so it doesn’t drop water back against the foundation wall. LOUIS: OK, then. Well, I did put a check valve in the – I put a heavy-duty sump pump in it and it requires you to put a check valve in it, which I did. But they put a flex hose from there to the sewer line into the wall and I’m not comfortable with that. And I didn’t think it should go there but thanks for that. I’ll take care of that. TOM: Yeah. And you are correct. So make sure you repair the sewer line when you pull that hose out, OK? LOUIS: I will do that. Thank you very much. TOM: Good luck with that project. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT. LESLIE: Well, with an aging electrical grid and severe weather seemingly more prevalent than ever, getting caught without power is becoming a lot more common. Now, generators are an option but the type all depends on your budget and your needs. So, there are two basic types. We’re talking about portable and whole-house. And each serves a very specific purpose. TOM: That’s right. So let’s start first by talking about portable generators. They really have come a long way. They are usually gasoline-powered but they can also be propane-powered. There’s a range of power that they provide. The small units can power just a couple of essential items, like perhaps a refrigerator and lights. They can also be taken sort of to-go: places like campsites and tailgates, so you can get a little more use out of them. The pro side is that they’re very affordable. They’re small. You can take it with you. But on the downside, you need fuel to operate them safely. And if you have a power outage in your community, chances are you may not be able to buy fuel at the local gas station, which will also have a power outage and not be able to pump it. So, it’s something to keep in mind, because you can’t store fuel for a very long time. You could also opt for a portable transfer switch to plug them into, which means you could have a couple of circuits permanently wired to that generator. It makes it a little bit easier just to run those circuits. For example, the circuit for your heating system might be one that you would want to wire with it. But again, it’s a lot more hassle than you think, because you’ve got to have that fuel to run it. LESLIE: Alright. Now, there’s also a whole-house option. Now, a whole-house generator, these guys are installed directly into your home’s electrical system. And they can run on natural gas or propane. And they’re tied directly into your home’s fuel source. And they can power the entire house in seconds when the power goes out. Now, these guys use an automatic transfer switch, which monitors your utility power. And when it goes out, that automatic transfer switch turns on the generator automatically, whether you are home or not. And then it will automatically turn off the generator when the power is restored. I mean the other day – actually, a few weeks ago when we had, really, the first snowstorm on the East Coast for us, I’m telling you hours before the snowstorm was even coming my power went off and on, off and on, off and on probably four times that morning. And I’m like, “It’s not even snowing yet.” But we never missed a beat and that’s the benefit of having the whole-house generator. You don’t need to think about it. It’s safer. You’re not storing any fuel. You don’t have to run extension cords. And it’s good for outages even when you’re not home and you’re not able to hook up a portable unit. Now, the downsides with the whole-home generators are they can be expensive. You might not be able to recoup your investment if you sell your home. Although, personally, I think it’s an excellent selling feature. TOM: Oh, absolutely. I definitely think it is. We’re seeing more and more homes that have them. And it’s interesting. You know, when you go to, say, sport games – like when my kids were playing high-school sports and all the parents that were hanging out watching the games, watching practice – the conversations that people have right after a storm, I cannot tell you how many times – and I wasn’t bringing this up but I’m just listening how many people were talking about buying a whole-house generator. It’s like they didn’t think about it until they were out of power for a few days. Then all of a sudden, it becomes a priority. So, don’t let that happen to you. It’s a really good investment. The prices have come down and it’s just a smart thing to do. LESLIE: We’ve got Cindy in Michigan on the line who wants to talk about reducing energy costs. How can we help you? CINDY: Is there a way to lower your electric bills by generating your own electricity? I’ve heard of solar panels and windmills and seems like they cost a lot of money to get them going. And I’m wondering, is it actually feasible, financially, to do something like that? TOM: Yeah. Well, first of all, the most effective way to cut those energy costs – and especially if we’re talking about heating and cooling energy – is to improve the energy efficiency of your home. And the single most important way or easiest way to do that is by improving insulation. It’s amazing how many people simply don’t have enough insulation. And in a state like Michigan, you’re certainly going to want to have 15 to 20 inches of insulation in your attic. Now, as to your question about generating your own power, there are some programs that are run by state governments and by utility suppliers that include different sorts of rebates and different sorts of purchase – I don’t want to say schemes but sort of plans for getting that equipment to your house. So, for example, in my part of the country, they have offers where you don’t actually pay for the initial installation there. You partner with an energy company that does the installation of solar panels. And then, as it generates energy, you get to keep some of that and some of that goes back to the utility company and eventually, it pays off the cost of that installation. So I would investigate solar programs in your area and rebates that might be available. Start with the utility companies and go from there. Because if there’s a favorable program, that’s the only way it makes them cost-effective. You are correct in that a lot of these things are very expensive and don’t make a lot of economic sense. But if there’s rebate money available – either locally, at the state level or federally – it does make sense. CINDY: OK. So you would just call your energy company then? TOM: I would start there, with your utility company, or simply do some research online for rebates that are available in your area. OK, Cindy? CINDY: Alright. Thank you. TOM: You’re very welcome. Good luck with that project. If you’re thinking about taking on a home improvement or a décor project or maybe you need some remodeling advice, whether it’s a project you’re doing now or you’re thinking about for the warmer months ahead, now would be an excellent time to reach out to us with that question at 1-888-MONEY-PIT. Because we are also giving away, to one listener drawn at random, a great product this hour. It’s the Greenworks 60-Volt Cordless Mower. No gas, no oil required. Push-button start. No cords to pull. It’s got a brushless motor that’s really powerful and it will cut through the toughest grass. You’ll get about 60 minutes of run time on the battery. And what’s cool about the battery, the technology includes a battery that will automatically change over to a second battery when the power is getting low. That is an industry first. There is no other mower on the market that does that. But Greenworks, they figured out how to make it happen. So, great time to pick up the phone and call us at 1-888-MONEY-PIT. LESLIE: Yeah. And you can also get great tips, ideas and solutions to your lawn-and-garden projects when you follow @GreenworksTools on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and YouTube. TOM: That mower is worth 400 bucks. Going out to one caller drawn at random. Make that you. The number, again: 888-666-3974. LESLIE: Alright. We’ve got Alex from Illinois on the line with a plumbing question. What can we do for you? ALEX: I’ve got a septic issue. From the house to the tank, I think the line may be cracked in the middle of it. But the problem is my house is on a slab. And as far as I know, the pipes are in the slab. TOM: What I would do is two things. First of all, you need to have a drain-camera inspection done to confirm what you’re dealing with. So, there is a drain camera that looks kind of like a snake. And it can go 50, 100, 200 feet in the line and can actually give you a pretty decent picture of what’s going on there. And so, let’s assume that you confirm that somewhere under that slab, there’s a crack in the pipe. There’s a way to insert a liner into that pipe. It’s kind of like a fiberglass sock, if that makes sense, that gets inserted into the pipe and then filled up with water to kind of press it against the side and the water is released. And it basically kind of creates a pipe inside of a pipe and uses the old pipe as sort of the structure. But it will stop things from kind of permanently getting in there. Sometimes when you have a crack in a pipe, you get roots that form in there that will clog things up and that kind of stuff. Or you get a rough edge where waste gets trapped. So with this sort of fiberglass sock in there, that solves that. So that’s the way you repair a pipe that goes under something critical, like your house or your driveway or around your pool or something of that nature. But those are the two things you need. Now you’re going to have to do some work here to figure out where – what the company is best to work with on that. But I know that some of the big plumbing companies that do drain-cleaning will have this technology. But the first thing is figure out what you’re dealing with, determine if you’ve got a crack or not or maybe it’s something simpler to fix, OK? ALEX: I appreciate it very much. LESLIE: Well, if you keep telling your spouse or your significant other that you don’t have time to do anything around the house, we are calling your bluff. If you’ve got 30 minutes or sometimes even less, there are lots of improvements that you can make to your home. TOM: That’s right. For example, if you’ve got a window that hasn’t opened since maybe Seinfeld was on primetime, it’s probably because it’s painted shut. So here’s how you free it up. You grab a putty knife and you break the paint seal. Now, if it still won’t budge, I’m going to give you a little trick of the trade. You can take a block of wood on top of the lower window sash. That’s at the corner of the sash, where it’s right over the vertical piece. And then tap that wood with a hammer. You’re actually going to be sort of shutting the window. And the force is going to be pushing that window down. But that little bit of action, that rap with the hammer – one on one side of the sash and one on the other – actually breaks the paint free. And then the window will operate once again. LESLIE: Now, here’s another one: exercise. You know it’s good for you but it turns out exercise is also good for your circuit breakers. About every six months, you want to turn each breaker off and then turn them back on. Then, every month you want to push the test button on the GFCI to make sure that it stays flexible and strong, just like you after a good workout. TOM: You can also check for water leaks in less than 30. Here’s what you need to know. You turn off all running water and then check your water meter. If it’s moving, you’ve got a leak somewhere. You can also check your fixtures and your faucets for leaks. In fact, if you want to check to see if you have a leak in your toilet, just put some food coloring in the toilet tank. If the bowl turns the same color as the food coloring, then you’ve got a leak in the flush valve. And that’s something you want to fix quickly, because it can actually run up quite a water bill over the course of a year. So, you see, look, it doesn’t take a long time to do these little home improvement projects or maintenance tasks. You’ve just got to be motivated to get it done. LESLIE: Alright. And remember, always post your questions at MoneyPit.com or on The Money Pit’s Facebook page. Post your questions. We’ll jump into some of those now. And I’ve got one from Terry who writes: “Our bedroom carpet has had some cat accidents. I’m about to replace the carpeting but is there a stain or odor sealant that I can put over the underfloor to eliminate many old odors? Or do I have to replace that complete underflooring?” I guess she’s talking about the subfloor here. TOM: Yeah, I think so. And Terry, you do not have to remove that flooring, fortunately. What I would do is get rid of the carpet and the padding, of course, and then I would vacuum that subfloor. And make sure you get into the seams of the plywood subfloor, because you get a little dust and dirt that gets down there and that can hold some of the odor, as well. Now, once you’ve got it really clean and dry, what I would do is I would use a primer. Let’s think. Zinsser makes one that actually is an odor-killing primer, specifically made for situations like this. And if you paint that subfloor a couple of coats with this odor-killing primer, you will seal in any stains that have gotten into that floor and you will deal – you will kill those odors. And you’ll be able to carpet right back over that without having to do any further work on that floor. So just look for the Zinsser Odor-Killing Primer. LESLIE: Alright. Next, we’ve got a question here from Blake in Colorado. Now, Blake writes: “I found a nest of baby squirrels living just inside my attic. I hear them when I’m inside the house. Do you have any advice on getting rid of them? I don’t want to hurt them.” TOM: They’re so cute when they’re babies. LESLIE: They are so cute. TOM: But when they grow up, they can do plenty of damage to your home. LESLIE: And they’re not so friendly. TOM: And they’re not so friendly. LESLIE: No. TOM: So you do want to remove those unwanted squirrels. And of course, we do want to do so as humane as possible. So what I would do is I would use a live trap, like a Havahart trap. That’s a cage with a trap door and they go in. Usually, you bait it with some food, then the trap door shuts. And then, of course, you need to pick up that whole trap and you need to take it out to the wilderness somewhere and let that squirrel go free out there. You will find that when you are moving that trap, the squirrels do get pretty freaked out. So I would cover it with a blanket so it’s nice and dark. Keep them calm until you let them go. And when you open that trap, they will just bolt away as quickly as possible. They have no interest in doing a U-turn and hassling you. The key, though, is to make sure that you bait it properly. You need to be careful about the bait because, otherwise, they can – they won’t get far enough to actually trip the pedal that actually closes the door. So, what you want to do is maybe cover that bait area with some peanut butter so they really have to go back in there to get to it. Or you know what else works good is peanuts, in the shell. That works well, too. But again, you have to put them in something where they have to basically get into the back of the cage – the far corner of the cage – so that we’re sure that they trap – that they hit that pedal and actually force that door to close. But that’s a great way to do it. I think Havahart traps are fantastic. I’ve used them for many, many years. LESLIE: Yeah, good point. And this way, you know, you get them, you bring them to another location. You hope they don’t remember that you have really awesome things in your attic and want to come back and hang out with you again. But you’re on the right track to getting those little guys out. TOM: You are listening to The Money Pit Home Improvement Show on air and online at MoneyPit.com. Thank you so much for spending this part of your day with us. Remember, you can grab The Money Pit podcast on all the major podcast platforms, as well as listen on radio. And if you have questions, we’d love to get back to you with an answer. So call us, 24/7, at 1-888-MONEY-PIT or post your questions to MoneyPit.com. I’m Tom Kraeutler. LESLIE: And I’m Leslie Segrete. TOM: Remember, you can do it yourself … LESLIE: But you don’t have to do it alone.   (Copyright 2020 Squeaky Door Productions, Inc. No portion of this transcript or audio file may be reproduced in any format without the express written permission of Squeaky Door Productions, Inc.) The post Episode #1970: Kitchen Lighting Tips | Best Generators | 30 Minute Home Improvements appeared first on The Money Pit. #HomePage

Agilenano - News from Agilenano from shopsnetwork (4 sites) https://agilenano.com/blogs/news/in-this-episode

[metalarmblues]

THE MAN WITH THE METAL ARM | Part Four

Warnings: None, though I am sure there will be eventual curse words and violence.

Plot: See previous installments for the original plot. The plot henceforth will have some ideas from Civil War, so SPOILERS, however there will be some tweaks of my own device happening. Captain America: Civil War by itself was a masterpiece and beyond awesome, so credit goes to all who worked on it, this fic is based around the happenings of the movie along with ideas that were born within my own twisted mind.

You will see that in this post, how basically I am just throwing my own ideas here and there, and bringing in certain ‘similar’ scenarios from Civil War up. I don’t want to go in line with what happened in the film, because that’s just unoriginal and probably borderline plagiarism.

————Bucky’s POV

This was by far the most nervous I have ever been, sitting here in this apartment with a woman that was in her undergarments, and yet she was offering me to stay for some food. Here I had been fearful that she would have called the police, or at the very least thrown a few carving knives at me. I knew that from my appearance, I probably looked as if I lived on the streets. So, it was understandable that she might have also been offering out of sympathy. I found it rather difficult to look her in the eye, considering the fact that she was unclothed, and that I was still in fact a gentleman. At least the Bucky part of me was. Thankfully she took notice of my discomfort and went and put on a robe and came back. Now finally able to look at her without guilt, I smirked.

“I’m not the homeless man you think I am. I have a place, it’s not the best, nothing like this..”

I said as I gestured to her apartment, which I must admit was rather nice. It was spacious with plenty of natural lighting, as well as rather nice looking light fixtures hanging from the ceiling. It even had crown molding and dark hard wood floors. No, this was nothing like my cracker jack box of an apartment, that was for sure.

“But it’s do able. And as for hot meals, the closest I have come to eating one lately is a tv dinner.”

It took me forever to figure out the microwave, and yet my meal still was slightly cold. I watched as she grabbed a broom and dustpan and began to sweep up the shards of glass from the cup she had dropped earlier, which I had all but forgotten. Once she was finished with that, she told me to stay put while she showered, and then she would get to making the meal. I opened my mouth to protest this, thinking that I had vastly overstayed my welcome, but she shushed me and didn’t really give me much of an option over the matter. She went down the hall and disappeared and my eyes moved to the door. Something told me that I shouldn’t linger here, but there was also something compelling me to stay. Maybe it was the kindness of a stranger, or the temptation of a good meal. I sat there awkwardly in silence until I glanced over at her bookshelf and happened to see that she had a collection of books on Captain America. She must have been a fan, considering where she worked as well. I hesitated at first, before finally getting up and taking one of the books off the shelf. I skimmed through it, finding quite a few pictures that included myself.

I looked up when I heard footsteps, my body tensing slightly from having been absorbed in this book. It had been as if I were back in the 1940’s again, memories were flashing passed my eyes as I looked through these pictures. Howard Stark’s almost flying car, the two lovely ladies I ended up taking dancing that night, the next morning when I said goodbye to my family before being shipped out. My body calmed once I remembered where I was and then my eyes drifted over to her as she went about the kitchen gathering pots and pans. She asked me my name and this lead me to believe that she did not recognize me, despite my face being in a lot of pictures in these books of hers.

“Uh, yeah. James Barnes, but you can call me Bucky, if you like.”

The skillet that had been in her hand clattered against the stove. Aha, so she <i>did</i> know who I was. After her eyes met mine, there was a knock on the door and I suddenly felt that tense feeling overcome me again. I furrowed my brows at her slightly when she mentioned 'him’ being dropped off early and stared at the door as she hurried to it and unlocked it. My grip on the side of the table began to tighten, thankfully it was with my right hand, so there was no damage done to the table like what would have been done with the left. The sound of a high pitched voice caused my body to lax, and I listened as the voice began to babble and then stared as the small child, who couldn’t have been more than two years old, began running down the hall. I hadn’t been around children in…well…decades, and honestly I could not remember how to act around one, so naturally, I just sat there staring off into the distance not to attract his attention. This did not work. The sudden 'Ooo!’ caused my eyes to snap in his direction as he stood just before me and stared at me in awe. I thought for sure he would be terrified of me, with me being a stranger and looking rather intimidating with my long unkempt hair and metal arm.

I looked down at him as he then moved forward and slapped my knee, knitting his brows together in a rather judgemental look. Okay? Another slap. What do I do? After his third slap, he then lifted his arms into the air above him and bounced on the balls of his feet. I had no idea what he wanted, so I glanced elsewhere. He then had apparently had it with my ignoring him, so he began to climb up my leg, rather well I might add. He began to slip and out of instinct, I caught hold of him and pulled him the rest of the way up onto my leg. He sat there for a few seconds, before making a noise that almost had a questioning tone to it. As if here were saying “Who the hell are you?”. He then began to stand up on my lap, which caused me to close my legs together so he would not step between them and fall. He studied my face silently and then his eyes caught sight of my metal arm. He made a noise and then sat down on my lap, running his hands along the metal forearm and slapping it a couple times. Then he took my metal hand in both of his and held them up in front of his face, examining it carefully. Bending my fingers and then looking at my other hand and comparing them. When his mother came back into the room, I felt suddenly awkward holding her child without permission.

I told her how he was rather persistent with me holding him, and she went on to say that this was normal for him. Apparently he was an extremely social child. I looked over at her when she said that she ought to tell me her name, though she assumed I already knew it. This was true, but still, introductions were always a good thing. She told me her name was Y/N and then I looked at the child as he suddenly stood up on my thighs, looking me straight in the face, for his height made it so we were eye to eye. His name was Oliver, and his face was inches from mine, so I had to sort of move it backwards to keep from my eyes crossing.

“Nice to meet you, Oliver.”

Then something strange happened. He put his small hands on the sides of my face and then slowly, almost hilariously slowly, began to bring his open mouth toward my face and then pressed it against my cheek rather awkwardly. Huh. What was happening? Y/N said that this was his way of giving people kisses and I felt a small smile form on my lips. How ironic that the first kiss I have had in decades, came from a toddler. I then took him gently under the arms and set him back down upon the floor. Oliver then suddenly gave a shrill scream and began stomping his feet angrily. Oh shit, what did I do? I quickly reached up and took the hat off my head and then placed it upon his, which swallowed it almost completely, to where all you could see were his lips and chin. He stopped his tantrum and then stood there a moment before taking it off and then looking at my head. He attempted to climb my leg once again, no doubt to put the hat on my head now, when the television turned on and a cartoon began to chime. I knew this character, though he had come a long way in animation since my day. Oliver ran over to watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse show, and he then began to squat and stand up repeatedly. I glanced at Y/N but she said this was how he danced and I nodded. Interesting.

Y/N began working on the food, all the while I sat there in silence, occasionally glancing from dancing Oliver, to the door, expecting at any moment for someone to unlock the door and come in to find me there. Someone like a husband. She gave a whistle and Oliver stopped dancing and ran over to where she was, holding his arms up. He was placed in his chair and then he quickly set to work on eating the hot dog before him. When she went back to cooking, I simply had to ask.

“Will your husband be alright with a stranger staying for lunch?”

She began to refer to him in the passed tense, which made me fidget in my seat. From they way she was talking about how he would have been thankful I had saved her from such harm, I made the assumption that she was a widow. Now I felt guilty of prying too far. He had been killed in action overseas, that he will be seen as a hero in their son’s eyes and I nodded. I asked what branch of military he was with and when she said Army, I couldn’t help but give a small smile. I had always been an army man, myself. Well…up until my brain was cleansed of all those memories. I looked at her when she asked how I was still alive and I smirked, explaining that it would be a long story. This wasn’t good enough for Y/N, she wanted me to spill it. Well…alright.

As I made my way down an alley, on the road to my apartment, I couldn’t help but beat myself up over the fact I had just told everything to a woman I had only met the other day. Literally everything. From falling from the train to my supposed death, to waking up on a table being experimented on by Hydra. I even brought up the fact that I was shipped off to Siberia and there was trained to be a brainwashed assassin. She took it surprisingly well, especially the assassin part. I answered a few more of her questions and then that was when I decided that it was time for me to leave. Which proved to be difficult, when Oliver persuaded me to pick him up once more, and gave me what I assumed to be smacks of affection upon my face. As I had looked at them over my shoulder while heading down the hall, I could only help but feel that I would not be seeing them again.

As I finally got to my apartment, I looked around it for a moment, feeling a sudden pang of loneliness. It had been nice to have a meal with an attractive woman and a child, it were almost as if I had a family of my own. I shook that thought from my mind, since I knew too well that having such connections was not safe when it came to the lifestyle I lead. While I was doing my best to live a normal life, I knew that my past could always come back to haunt me…

***GIF not mine.

[athreadofscarlet]

[Fanfic] Distinctions- Chapter 11: Mourning

Tenten awakens in the early hours of the morning to the soft pitter-patter of rain. She shifts onto her side and draws back the curtains. In the pre-dawn darkness, the outline of the smithy is concealed against the pitch-black form of the forest. Smoke curls languidly above the treetops from the village in the distance. Frowning, she closes the curtains and lies down on her back, pulling her blankets above her head as anxiety settles like a heavy stone on her chest.

Tomorrow she will be wed.

She cannot help her cynicism when she notes that at least fate has given her the perfect weather for a day of grieving- one last day to dream of the futures she could have had, futures that have been thwarted by the injustices of war and patriarchy. She slowly exhales, trying to abate the anger that ignites in her veins whenever she thinks of the absolute unfairness of her predicament.

When she can no longer stave off her growing feelings of restlessness, she rises from the bed and pulls on her robe. With practiced ease, she quietly opens the back door and slips out into the rain.

The smithy is cold and dark, and she does not have the energy to work, but she instantly feels more at peace among the soot and metal than in the warmth of her bed. This is where she belongs; Neji’s words echo in her mind as she curls into the chair he had occupied the last time he had visited her. What had his family done to anger him? She is too tired and anxious to think.

Tomorrow she can worry about Neji, she decides, but today she needs to worry about herself. A strange feeling of guilt perturbs her. She feels as if she has failed herself, despite knowing that the circumstances of her marriage were beyond her control. At least Neji will not be a terrible husband, she tries to comfort herself, but even this does little to quell the resentment she feels towards his clan.

She thinks of Hiashi Hyuga and the predatory manner in which he must have persuaded her father to agree to this arrangement. She realizes that even her father, upon whom she had initially placed the blame, probably had, in actuality, little choice himself in the matter. They have both been cheated, and the thought fills her with so much rage she does not bother to wipe away the hot, angry tears that trail down her cheeks in quick succession.

With sudden energy, she springs from her seat and lights the forge. She will not allow herself to be reduced to a blubbering mess by the likes of Hiashi Hyuga. She is not soft like her father. She works quickly, urged on by her temper. When the metal is hot and ready to be molded, her tools are a heavy, comforting weight in her hands as she raises them to strike what she imagines is Hiashi Hyuga’s head on the table.

She works and works until her clothes are covered in enough soot that they are as black as funeral robes.

Tomorrow she will be wed, but today, she asserts, in that stubborn way her mother hates, she will mourn in the only way she sees fit.

[harrystupelo-blog]

Warm Enough

Harry’s son and his first day of kindergarten. Harry might be more nervous than he is.

.

.

.

He’d been pacing so much his spouse was afraid he’d tear a hole right through their brand new kitchen tile. He’d drank so much coffee and his hands shook so much they were afraid his fingers would break right off and spill across the floor and knock into the walls and ruin the crown molding they were so proud of. He’d barely touched his breakfast, instead jiggling his legs up and down as he sat at the kitchen table, a plain white longsleeved shirt and tight skinny jeans over his lanky frame, a flat stomach and broad shoulders underneath the wrinkled fabric. The bags under his eyes were large, and he was pouting even bigger, sulking around his cereal bowl that morning like a child who had been chastised.

The first day of kindergarten for his first son was no joke.

Harry’s partner had tried everything to make Harry relax the night before, however they found that task to be harder than clawing out of a tar pit on a hot summer's day.

“What if the kids are mean to him?” Harry whispered from where he was perched on their bed in nothing but his boxers, his spouse wrapped around his broad shoulders. They kissed his cheek, stroking the sides of his neck in an effort to get him to calm down, but it was no luck. Harry had gone through every scenario in his head, from Adam getting bullied and crying himself sick to falling and scraping his knee and being too shy to ask his teacher for a bandage. Harry knew, at least in the back of his mind he knew, that his son would be safe and eventually make friends, but first-day-of-school jitters were killing him. There was nothing he should even be nervous about. Adam was bright, excitable, and had lots of energy and hugs to give everyone he met. Maybe he was biased, but his kid was pretty great, and it wasn't just himself and his spouse that thought so. He would be fine, he knew it in the back of his mind. He would be fine.

But still....

He wished he could just wrap up his four year old in his favorite soft blanket and never let him leave the comfort of Harry’s chest, but he knew he had to. School was important. He needed to go to school. He needed to get out of the house and go to school, whether his father wanted him to or not. It was part of growing up - for Adam and for himself, Harry supposed. Every parent went through this. This was normal. This was normal.

He’d packed his son’s lunch that morning, after waking up at five on the dot. School didn’t start until nine, but he’d already been on his second cup of coffee and it was half past six and he figured he’d start on Adam’s lunch sooner than later. And packed his backpack, making sure his pencils and notebook and crayons were neatly placed in lines.

He’d done nothing but roll around in bed all night, his eyes up at the ceiling. Nothing, not his spouse coaxing and kissing him or rubbing his back, nothing could get him to calm down. So he got up, tired of to-ing and fro-ing and huffing, pulling at his newly-short hair and scratching at the stubble on his cheeks. He sat up without thinking, his feet hitting the floor carefully so as to not wake his family, sliding a pair of sweatpants on over his boxers and heading down to the couch for his first round of the pattern of sleep/wake up and walk around the house/sleep that would affect him for the next three hours.

His spouse had found him there, passed out and drooling slightly. They’d woken up at eight after noticing the bed next to them was empty, the sheets cold. They tsked slightly, figuring out for themselves what had happened. They themselves went downstairs, following the ghost of Harry’s tired footprints from hours ago. “Petal,” they’d whispered, mostly to themselves in fond amazement, carding their hands through a sleeping Harry’s hair, “hey, go up to bed, H. You’re tired.”

“No, m’up,” Harry slurred, batting their hand away gently before taking it in his own and squeezing it lightly before sitting up. He was fully clothed, one sock on and the other lost underneath one of the couch cushions. His spouse bit back a laugh at the sight of him. He was all long legs and tan skin and rumpled clothes, his mouth in a confused, sleepy pout with his bottom lip sticking out just a bit too far. He hadn’t shaven in a few days, a little bit of stubble poking out of above his lip and under his chin. He had marks from sleeping on his high cheekbones and his forehead, and his hair was a complete mess, needing to be washed and combed or maybe just cut all over again. His body was that of a sleepy puppy, slow and languid.

“Hey,” Harry said, his voice even slower and deeper than usual with the sleep he had just been roused from. “C’mere.”

He pulled his spouse onto his lap, the smaller body fitting easily into his chest. Harry hummed, placing his head on their shoulder with arms around their waist, their arms wrapped around his neck. Kissing his chin, they asked, “Are you ready?”

And Harry nodded with a sigh, however his body stayed very much slumped against his spouse. “Let’s get him up.”

“Maybe we should wait another year. Is he ready? I don’t think he’s ready. Another year at home, and then-”

“Harry. Baby. He’s almost five. This is the perfect age for starting school. He’s ready, you know he’s ready. You’re anxious, pet. You drank a lot of coffee this morning, angel. Relax, please. Deep breaths.”

Harry’s partner had decided they’d drive; as Harry looked much too distracted and worked up to get behind the wheel. They were sat in the parking lot of Adam’s school, Harry’s left hand clasped in his spouses as they placed kisses to his knuckles, rubbing their lips and nose softly at his fingers in order to keep skin-to-skin contact to keep their husband calm. It wasn’t like they themselves weren’t anxious; they were. But they knew their child would be fine, and they had to be strong for Harry, because he was usually strong for them.

“Deep breaths, petal. You’re doing good. There you go,” they instructed softly, turning down the AC in the car after noticing the goosebumps raised on Harry’s skin, or maybe it was just the nerves. They placed a hand on Harry’s inner thigh, stroking the tense muscle there, too, trying to keep him calm from all angles. “You’re doing so well. He’s going to be fine, my darling. You love him so much; that’s why you’re so nervous. You want to protect him, right? Keep him safe?” They leaned over the console, stroking underneath Harry’s jaw with their fingers. Harry unclenched his jaw after not realizing he was holding it, swallowing sharply and nodding, his breaths evening out. His son in the backseat was playing with one of his toys, completely unaware of his parents in front of him, one of which was panicking from the inside out.

“I know, baby. But you know what? You know how safe you keep him every day? Whether you’re helping him in the bath or cross the road, or just loving him? You keep him safe. You keep him safe, sweetheart. We would never send him anywhere that would make him unsafe. And we’re gonna kiss him goodbye, and then we’ll be right back here in less than seven hours to come get him and take him home. Okay? He’s going to have such a fun day; his Daddy packed his bag for him and his lunch, and he’s got a note from me in there too, so he won’t miss us for a second. It’s like we’re there with him. He’s going to be safe, Harry. I promise you.”

Harry nodded slowly, staring at the school building that seemed so far away but so close at the same time. He breathed and blinked for a few beats, turning around to his son. His forced smile turned into a real one as Adam gave him a toothless grin, reaching out for Harry’s hand.

“You’ll pick me up at three, Dadda?”

“Three o’clock, baby. I’ll be right here waiting for you. Your day will fly by, I promise you. We’re gonna be right here waiting for you to come home.”

“And we can get ice cream after school? You promised!”

“Ice cream after school, sweetheart,” Harry’s spouse confirmed, giving their son a wink. “If Daddy is good today, that is. We have lots of chores to do while you’re gone.” They helped Adam out of his seat and onto the pavement, Harry handing him his backpack. Thankful for his spouse’s hand on his lower back (he probably would have toppled to the ground without the support, both physical and emotional), Harry leaned down to pull his boy into a hug.

“Don’t be nervous, Daddy,” Adam whispered, his tiny body wrapped around Harry’s. Harry chuckled out a breathless laugh, kissing the side of Adam’s little head.

“I won’t be nervous if you won’t be,” Harry said, holding out his pinky to promise. Adam grinned, returning the pinky promise and kissing Harry on the cheek, doing the same to his other parent.

“Three o’clock, right Dad?” Adam whispered before pulling away. It was the first time Harry had seen his son anxious about school. His little mouth was pouting, his hands still holding onto Harry’s arm. Harry smiled, tilting his head closer to his son. Other children and cars were starting to arrive, children voicing similar concerns to their own families about nerves. Harry wondered if any other parents were quite as anxious as he was.

“I’ll be here at two-thirty,” Harry promised with another whisper, squeezing Adam’s little hand. “Right in this very spot.”

“There might be traffic,” Harry voiced for the fifth time that day since he and his spouse had gotten home. “We should leave now. I’ll go. Let’s go. I don’t want him to wait.” He grabbed the keys that he’d been staring at for an hour now, feeling the hard metal cutting into his skin. Draining his tea in one gulp, he stood up, placing the book he hadn’t even been reading on the coffee table. The couple had a quiet, childless lunch together and then decided to cuddle up on the sofa and do some quiet reading and crossword puzzles, but Harry got antsy quickly.

“Harry, sit down. I mean it. It’s one o’clock. School doesn’t end til three. We have plenty of time.” They sighed when Harry looked at them helplessly, and then pried the keys out of his hands.

“C’mere, babe. Let me rub your shoulders, you’re too tense. Let me get behind you, move over a little. Make some room.”

But Harry wouldn’t listen, his teeth chewing on his lower lip like a starved man. “What if he’s upset?” Harry asked, his voice heightening in pitch. “Or, the kids aren’t playing with him or...oh, oh,” he sighed, hands finding the crick in his upper back that he could never manage to massage himself. He closed his eyes and hummed, feeling expert hands smoothing up and down, working out his loose ends and tight ends and everything in between. He needed a good massage.

“Shh, love. Don’t speak. No more talking,” a voice whispered, the warm body of his partner behind him, lips at his ear. And then a hand slid in between his legs, and there was not much more he could think about then.

“Where is he?”

“He’s right there, petal. Walking with his teacher, see? He’s waving, oh, hi baby! C’mere - oh, he’s got a picture, pet, look. I bet he missed you so much.” They smiled, squeezing Harry around the hip.

Harry breathed and blinked for a few beats, his eyes trailing amongst dozens of children, parents as anxious as himself, and flurries of activity. The air smelled like autumn and paint and dry leaves, safe and colorful and warmth warmth warmth. The sun exploded, then, when a loud “Daddy!” sounded, Adam running toward his family, making a beeline for his father, a picture of his family that he finger painted clasped in his hands. The world carried on, and kindergarten suddenly wasn’t the most scary thing in the world - for father or for son.

[centralparkpawsblog]

How to Insulate a Plastic or Wooden Dog house

https://www.centralparkpaws.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/51D3rRgoe2L.jpg Good friends of mine just adopted a dog, Leo, and he loves to be outside.

Leo is believed to be half husky and half lab, so he will likely enjoy the winters as much as the summers.

Though Leo enjoys spending time with his family, he much prefers to be outdoors, especially when they’re at work.

My friends recently purchased a new wooden dog house for him, but they have to figure out a way to insulate it for both the summer and winter.

Since my husband is skilled at doing home repairs and woodworking, they reached out to see if he would be free to help modify the dog house.

This is where I come in. Since my husband hasn’t worked on dog houses before, he asked if I would help with researching the best methods to insulate the dog house.

Of course, I said, “Yes!”

Not only does it help out a friend, but I always enjoy learning new things. I’ve never had an outside dog, so haven’t ever needed a dog house, so this was all new stuff for me!

When and Why to Insulate a Dog House

As soon as you buy a dog house, you should contemplate your dog’s needs based upon the weather in your area.

Since we’re in Minnesota, we have temperatures as hot as 100°F in the summer or as cold as -55°F in the winter, plus everything in between. Though, in the extreme temperatures, it is best to bring your beloved canine inside.

If you live in an area like Minnesota, you will want to insulate your dog house right away.

Dogs need shelter from all types of weather:

They need shade in the summer, a dry place to rest in the rain, and a warm cozy house in the winter.

So, for our friend’s dog house, it needed to be set up to withstand some pretty warm and cold days. Thankfully, insulating a dog house is the same as insulating any home.

Insulation protects against both the hot and cold temperatures.

Insulating Material Options for Dog Houses

There are several insulation materials options on the market like fiberglass, spray foam, and reflective insulation.

The type of insulation material will depend on things like climate, the type of dog house, and cost.

One thing to keep in mind with plastic dog houses is that most of them are already insulated, but many could still use a little boost in climates with extreme temperature changes.

Below is a list of common insulation types recommended for dog houses.

Fiberglass Insulation for Dog Houses

Fiberglass insulation is made up of mostly glass and usually comes in rolls at varying thicknesses, lengths, and widths.

If you choose to use fiberglass insulation for the dog house, you will need to make sure that your dog does not come in direct contact with the material.

The fiberglass needs to be fully contained either within the walls of the dog house or covered in strong plastic sheets.

It is essential to check for leaks before installing the insulation. If the fiberglass insulation becomes saturated from rain, it will no longer be effective, and if left unattended while wet it may cause damage to the dog house.

Pros

Retards moisture[1]

Various sizes and R values

Easy to install

Works well for both warm and cold temperatures

Economical

Lightweight

Holds up well

Cons

Hazardous when breathed in

Causes skin irritation

Fiberglass Insulation Installation for Wood Dog Houses

Walls and Ceiling

Fiberglass insulation is best for dog houses that have a gap between the inner and outer walls.

The insulation can fill this gap, providing protection against extreme temperatures.

If there isn’t a gap between the walls or in the roof of the doghouse, you can staple the fiberglass directly to the interior wall or ceiling.

Then you cover the insulation to keep your dog from coming into direct contact with it.

Floor

You can secure the fiberglass to the underside of the dog house then cover it with either a sheet of wood or durable plastic to keep it safe from moisture and critters.

Fiberglass Insulation Installation for Plastic Dog Houses

You will first want to attach a protective plastic sheet to the insulation; you can use epoxy to do this[2].  The plastic sheet will keep your dog from coming into direct contact with the insulation.

All surfaces that come directly in contact with the epoxy should be cleaned of debris and dust prior to the application of the epoxy. Cleaning the surfaces will better help the epoxy adhere[3].

Walls and Ceiling

After the epoxy has fully dried and the plastic is securely attached to the insulation, you can use the same epoxy to attach the fiberglass to the inside walls and ceiling of the doghouse.

It is easiest if you work in sections, using multiple sheets of insulation instead of a single sheet for large space.

After all of the dog house has been fully insulated, it is vital to make sure you cover the edges where the sheets meet to ensure the insulation doesn’t seep through the seams.

You can use heavy duty tape to seal these areas.

Floor

It is the same technique used on the wood dog house.

NOTE

Fiberglass insulation comes with or without facing, which is a type of paper that acts as a barrier to control moisture.

If you purchase fiberglass with facing, you will still want to provide a protective barrier between your dog and the insulation.

Reflective Insulation for Dog Houses

Reflective insulation is a thermal style insulation[4].

It is a metallic reflective foil that is attached to a variety of insulation materials like foam, cardboard, or plastic film.

Pros

Works well to reduce heat transfer

Lightweight

Multiple forms

Non-toxic[5]

Vapor barrier

It doesn’t deteriorate over time from moisture or compression

Cons

Isn’t suitable for cold climates

Cost

Electrical hazard

Reflective Insulation Installation for Wood Dog Houses

Walls and Ceilings

Reflective insulation works well for walls that are in direct sunlight and ceilings.

To receive the maximum cooling effect from the reflective insulation, an air pocket needs to be maintained between the walls or ceiling and the insulation. This will ensure the natural airflow in the dog house[6].

The method on how you install the insulation varies depending on the material the reflective foil is attached to; however, staples or epoxy will often work.

Reflective Insulation Installation for Plastic Dog Houses

Reflective insulation is not the best option for plastic dog houses as it would be difficult to install and still allow proper air flow.

Expanding Foam Spray for Dog Houses

Expanding foam spray is an excellent insulator, but it isn’t the most cost-effective choice.

Also, if the area you intend to use the spray foam is a more substantial space, proper safety and spray equipment are required.

However, spray foam is perfect for small areas, especially holes and gaps in the dog house.

Pros

It expands to fill most gaps

It is easy to use in small spaces

Is good for both warm and cold climates

Fills spaces eliminating drafts or leaks

Doesn’t absorb water[7]

Deters mold growth

Cons

Possibility of the foam shrinking over time

Requires experience to apply properly to large areas

Cost

If installed incorrectly, the foam can be hazardous[8]

Spray Foam Insulation Installation for Wood Dog Houses

Walls/Ceiling/Floor

If you are in the process of building a wood dog house, spray foam can be applied in between the interior and exterior walls of the walls, ceiling, and floor.

If you have an existing dog house, foam insulation can be used to repair holes and gaps.

The foam should be appropriately covered to eliminate direct exposure to your dog if the foam crumbles or deteriorates.

Spray Foam Insulation for Plastic Dog Houses

Foam insulation is best if used for repair purposes only.

After making the proper repairs, it is vital to cover the foam with a protective material, such as plastic sheets, to reduce contact with the foam insulation in the event it cracks or breaks.

Insulation Kit for Dog Houses

Dog house insulation kits protect from both the heat and cold, but unfortunately are limited to specific brands of dog houses.

Pros

Easy to install

Machine washable

Is good for both warm and cold climates

Provides a comfortable bed-like floor

Cons

Does not fit all dog houses

Lacks durability

Best Ways to Insulate the Dog House Door

Installing a dog door kit is the best way to keep your dog’s house warm on cold winter days.

PetSafe makes a great dog door in a variety of sizes and styles.

We use a two-panel wall mounted version on our porch, and it has held up for over ten years.

However, it is best to take the door out in the summer to allow greater airflow.

One great feature on the PetSafe door is that the flaps are removable for the summer.

Additional Techniques to Insulate the Floor

In addition to the fiberglass insulation method, rigid insulation board can also be useful for insulating the floors.

Affix insulation boards to the exterior side of the dog house, then cover it with plastic or a wood panel.

Installing insulation boards on the interior of the dog house is possible, but it is more expensive and more complicated to install.

Outdoor dog beds, blankets, and carpet can also provide warmth and comfort.

However, it is essential to check the bedding regularly to ensure it isn’t retaining moisture, getting moldy, or attracting unwanted pests like fleas, spiders, or even snakes.

Additional Tips

In addition to using insulation to help keep your pup comfortable in their dog house, you will also want to do routine checks for leaks, gaps, or holes.

Even if you have the best insulated dog house, a hole in the roof can cause severe damage and negate the usefulness of the insulation you installed.

Another tip to keep your dog comfortable in their new digs is picking an optimal location for their new house.

Look for a place that has either a wind barrier or shade. Either will aid tremendously in regulating the temperature in the dog house; if you can find a location with both that’s all the better!

Proper ventilation is important for airflow in the dog house.

Airflow can help keep the dog house cooler, reduce the risk of mold, and keep odors from building up.

Final Thoughts

If your pup loves the outdoors, and it is safe to leave them outside, providing them with a well-insulated dog house is key to their wellbeing and comfort.

Dog houses will protect your fur baby from rain, heat, and cold.

Without proper insulation, dog houses can easily reach below freezing or in the summer will heat up to unhospitable temperatures.

In extreme weather conditions, the ASPCA recommends that your dog be brought inside, even if they have a dog house[9].

FAQs

Do Dog Houses Need Insulation?

It depends on the climate you live in, but in most areas insulation would be beneficial against hot and cold weather.

What temperature should dog houses be in the winter?

45°F is the lowest a dog house should be in the winter[10].

However, 45°F may be too low for smaller dogs or dogs lacking thicker coats.

How hot can dog houses get in the summer?

That depends on the dog house, but temperatures above 70° F are not safe for your dog, and dog houses without proper insulation or ventilation can easily reach temperatures much higher than 70° F[11].

Resources

https://www.nachi.org/fiberglass-insulation-history-hazards-alternatives.htm

https://www.ehow.com/how_10058677_make-fiberglass-stick-plastic.html

https://www.hunker.com/13402543/how-to-glue-to-fiberglass

https://makinghouseswork.cchrc.org/2012/what-is-reflective-insulation-and-does-it-work-in-a-cold-climate/

https://dengarden.com/home-improvement/Advantages-and-disadvantages-to-reflective-insulation

https://warehousefoil.com/index.php/diy-guide/barn-and-shed-installation/

https://greengarageblog.org/18-spray-foam-insulation-pros-and-cons

https://www.cbc.ca/marketplace/blog/is-spray-foam-safe

https://www.aspca.org/news/winter-weather-upon-us-are-you-and-your-pets-prepared

https://www.pedigreefoundation.org/cold-cold-dog/

https://www.gopetplan.com/blogpost/hot-weather-and-dogs

The post How to Insulate a Plastic or Wooden Dog house appeared first on Central Park Paws.

from https://www.centralparkpaws.net/dog-houses/insulate-plastic-wooden-dog-house/

[ethelbertpaul444-blog]

37 Brilliant Inventions You Can Get on Amazon For Under $30

You don’t have to deplete a lot of fund to transform their own lives!

We hope you find these handy makes as formidable as we do. Just an FYI: 22 Paroles is a participant in the Amazon affiliate program, and may receive a share of sales from joins on this sheet . i > strong>

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These Collapsible Pet Bowls

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You get two collapsible pet bowls for menu and ocean for under$ 6! How do you beat that? They’re perfect for epoches at the dog common or for when you pass with your feline or bird-dog. They entirely flatten for easy transport.

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This Pancake Batter Mixer

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It comes with a metal whisking ball that combinations your pancake smash privilege in the tube. All you were supposed to do is shake and squirt!

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This Greek Yogurt Maker

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Sure, you could continue to buy expensive plastic receptacles of Greek yogurt from the collect, or you could start forming your own! This guy offsets up to two quarts of yogurt at a time! All you need is some milk and little bit of store-bought yogurt to get rolling.

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This Triangular Power Adapter

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Have you ever seen such a compact influence adapter? This plugs right into your wall and has nine USB ports and three channels that will safely bill any manoeuvre you might have!

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These Deodorizing Body Wipes

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Sure, you are able splash yourself with water from the sink in the gym after your workout. But these GoodWipes are a much better solution! These biodegradable mops are individually wrapped and afford an all-natural mingle of tea tree oil, peppermint, and ginseng to purge your skin of grunge, sweat, petroleum, and odors that build up during the day. Whether you’re hiking before brunch or only making up a sweat on a particularly red-hot date, these are great to have with you.

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This Essential Oil Blend

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This essential oil blend with lavender, ylang-ylang, and basil should certainly pacifying and loosening calibers, spawning it the perfect blend to use freedom before bottom whether it wishes to get a good night’s sleep. Use it in a diffuser, add a few drops to your bathroom liquid, or even employed a few drops on your pillow. You’ll definitely notice a difference.

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This Inflatable Lounger

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This giant inflatable couch inflates by you moving it through the air! It comes in a knot of emblazons and it’s perfect for tenting or hanging out in the yard.

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This Productive Energy Tea

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Did you know tea could help with your mental clarity and exertion? This perfect merge doesn’t give you the caffeine jitters. Instead, it’s made with L-Theanine and other organic parts that promote alertness, accumulation, and sharpen. Lots best available than coffee or those five-hour power fires!

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This Flexible Flashlight

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This is a absolutely clever invention! You can bend, fold, and wrap this flashlight around objects to stance the glowing exactly where you need it. Plus it’s super sunlight and slim so it’s easy to travel with.

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This Convenient Clip

via: Amazon

The Qliplet is a seriously cute mention for a seriously beneficial little objective. It’s a carabiner with a hooking that folds into itself and rotates, so you can hang anything pretty much anywhere. Perfect for the camper who wants to hang food or belongings in a plaza where characters won’t steal them.

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These Stainless Steel Canisters

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Your kitchen will search so adult and put-together with this set of stainless steel canisters. Four different sized canisters come in a pack. They’re perfect for snacks and dehydrated nutrients like pasta, rice, or beans.

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These Dry Bags

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This three-pack of cool sacks will be the last waterproof bags you buy for those tenting and kayaking errands you go on. The roll-top shutdowns ensure that your belongings are so far away from spray it isn’t even funny.

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This Water Filtration System

via: Amazon

If you’re an enthusiastic backpacker or camper, you probably involve a compact, easy-to-use irrigate filtration organization just like this one. If you’re not an avid backpacker, it probably wouldn’t hurt to have one of these around, you are familiar, for the apocalypse. You can use the straw to drink water right from the source, or they are able to fasten it to the included imbibe container, water bottles, or hydration packs.

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This All-Natural Deodorant

via: Amazon

You have to take care of your craters, and there’s a lot of artificial stuff in mainstream disinfectant symbols that probably isn’t good for you. This lavender-scented deodorant is all natural and non-toxic. That’s the good stuff.

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This Collapsible Water Bottle

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This collapsible water bottle isn’t just super enjoyable to usage, it’s also really useful for people who like to hike or tent! This one is safe for both cold and hot beverages!

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This Smart Home Camera

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This camera is wireless, compact, and it live-streams directly to your smartphone, so you can keep tabs on what’s going on at home from literally anywhere. It comes with a magnetized basi and an adhesive metal slab, so they are able to mount it anywhere without instructing holes in your room!

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This Omelette Maker

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Honestly, we’re all just living life in pursuit of the excellent omelette. Now, your search is over. This baby is versatile extremely! it works for paninis, calzones, going the excellent crispy skin on your part of fish, and more!

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This Slim Storage Cart

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Whoever developed this slim storage go-cart, which wheels right into any cranny or cranny “youve got in” your house, should be awarded a award. It’s so beautiful.

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This Soap Dispensing Sink Brush

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This soap-dispensing sink brush will change the road you do bowls. In that, you might actually do them in a timely fashion because this thing isn’t just amusing to help, it’s effective.

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This Funky Pen Holder

via: Amazon

Elevate your office with this cool-as-heck pen incumbent. It’s like something out of an art gallery, and it will reassure your coworkers that you’re super cool( not that you’re not cool already ).

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This Fancy Wine Carafe

via: Amazon

The serious wine-colored boozer or aspiring serious wine-colored alcoholic need to see a fancy carafe with an oak stopper. It’s practically the law.

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This Moon Night Light

via: Amazon

This night light consider this to be the moon, which is perfect for the dreamer in your household! The soft daybreak is excellent for the little boy who doesn’t quite like the pitch blackness of nighttime.

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This Handwarming Mug

via: Amazon

This mug has a built-in handwarmer and it so beautiful and homemade. They’re made by a husband and wife duo in the Pacific Northwest, and they’re awesome.

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This Chic Towel Storage Ladder

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This cool ladder reclines right up against the wall and works for towels, newspapers, works, blankets, and anything else they are able to hang. It looks really cool and will add to the decoration of your breathtaking home.

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This Set of Kitchen Utensils

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This set comes with a slotted spatula, a scoop, a slotted spoonful, a solid spoon, a spatula, a pasta server, and the clear utensil holder. It’s the excellent ended set.

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This Inflatable Family Pool

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This inflatable pool is perfect for the whole family! Specify it up on the lawn for some cool time fun.

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This Inflatable Cooler

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While the kids are sprinkling in the kiddie pond, you and the rest of the adults are moving in the grown-up consortium with this inflatable cool. Sodas and beers will precisely mosey on up to you while you’re napping on a move, and isn’t that really the life?

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This Microwave Popcorn Maker

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This is the health acces to realise microwave popcorn. Forget that pre-packaged chemical-laden idiocy. This popper stimulates the perfect quantity of popcorn in minutes.

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This Set of Nesting Kitchen Bowls

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This eight-piece set of nesting bowls will make your cooking so much easier and more accessible. It comes with a large mixing container, a colander, a pan strainer, a small mixing bowl, and four calibrating cups.

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These Silicone Bottle Caps

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Sometimes we need to save our beers! That’s where these cheaps, handy silicone beer caps come in. They keep your drink safe while you’re busy manning the grill or shooting the adolescents around the backyard.

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This Moldable Glue

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This stuff is so cool. All you have to get it on molding this silicone rubber essence over the thing you want to amend, be it a sneaker sole or a phone charger, and then it adheres and ligaments permanently to that thing overnight. It’s waterproof, hot and cold resistant, and adaptable, which represents it works for both indoor and outdoor objects.

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This Drinking Fountain That Fits in Your Pocket

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Take this insignificant goblet, attach it to a faucet, pinch the bottom, and you’ve got yourself an automated drinking fountain!

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This Miracle Drain Stopper

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Stick the TubShroom in your bathtub duct and it will easily collect all the fuzz that used to find its road down the drain. The TubShroom compiles the breath in an easy-to-clean situate instead of enabling it to increase and clog your shower.

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These Sheet-Saving Bed Bands

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If you have trouble restraining your expanses in place, these elastic bed bandings are what you need. Just clip them onto the regions of your fitted sheet once it’s on the bottom and draw the Cordlock button to keep them snug in place.

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This Little Outlet Shelf

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This outlet shelf is a total gap saver. You won’t have to worry about observing counter infinite for your Google home or Alexa. It’s also super convenient when you’re blaming your phone!

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This Magnetic Key Holder

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This little gentleman is going to do the heavy lifting and change your life! His arm is actually a super strong magnet that holds your key ring with ease. Just append him to your fridge or another magnetized surface, and cause him do his thing!

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These Clip-On Lenses for Your Phone

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These lenses for your smartphone are so easy because they just clip onto your phone! The three-pack comes with a fisheye lens, a macro lens, and a super wide-ranging inclination lens.

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