Yickle Twees

Teal Sea | she/they | 22 multi-fandom | Critical Role | Coral Island | Doctor Who | Castle Audios // I spend more time talking about writing than holding a pen.

[prismatic-bell]

I recently discovered laundry stripping and y’all, no matter how much of a crock of shit you think fast fashion is, you’re underestimating.

[prismatic-bell]

[image ID: a screenshot of the notes on this post, featuring several people indicating they want to know more. End ID.]

OKAY SO. You know how we talk about how one way fast fashion has made itself “necessary” is that the clothing looks like shit and feels horrible after just a few washes?

Let. Me. Tell. You. Something.

Laundry stripping is a process where you load your laundry into a tub or bin (I’ve been using my bathtub) with warm water, half a cup of borax, half a cup of washing soda, and half a cup of laundry soap (not detergent, SOAP, there’s a chemical difference). Leave it there for at least eight hours. I’ve been going for 12-24.

What you will come back to is a tub full of nearly-opaque black-gray-brown water that absolutely REEKS. This is normal. You are looking at (and smelling) hard water buildup, body sweat and oils that were embedded in the fabric, dead skin, and just regular grime.

Wring out your clothes. Throw them in the washer. (I like to do a spin-only cycle before going any further, because I have one of those washers that determines by weight how much water any given load needs.) Wash as usual.

You will notice I didn’t suggest any further pretreatment, and that’s because 1) you don’t want to layer too many chemicals on top of each other but also 2) you may not even need it.

When your clothes come out, check each one as it goes into the dryer, and if anything else s still stained, set it aside to run again with a regular pretreatment. One of the sweaters I did this with apparently did need a second treatment…to deal with what appears to have possibly been a hot chocolate stain that was previously invisible due to “well, it’s old” dinginess. I was planning to throw this sweater out. It looks almost new now. I need to wash it one more time for the probably-a-hot-chocolate stain, and then it needs to have the hem weighted to block it and bring it back to evenness, but dude. I wear my clothes to rags and I thought this thing was unfixable. “I need to reshape it” is nothing.

Remove clothes from dryer when done. Fucking MARVEL at the colors and how good the fabric feels. Give them a smell. Get righteously and royally angry that you can rejuvenate this stuff so easily, with a process that does take awhile but is 90% hands-off, but we’ve been trained to believe it’s all got to be binned once a year because discoloration and gross fabric is “normal wear and tear” and can’t be fixed.

It’s utterly unreal! I just pulled a seven-year-old work undershirt out of the dryer and this thing looks NEW!! It FEELS almost new!!! One of the shirts I hung up from the last load is older than some of the people on this site and it went from “I keep this to wear on laundry day, for sentimental reasons” to “I could actually wear this out of the house, it looks old but respectable”! The pajama bottoms I’m wearing were from Goodwill and they have BRIGHT YELLOW in them! I thought it was goldenrod!!

I do not know how often you’re supposed to do this (doing it every time can strip the dye out of your clothes, not to mention it’s way too much work to do every time), but once or twice per season seems respectable. I don’t wear white, so I can’t test the “it will make whites look almost-new as well” claim, but I’ve seen a lot of people on the cleaning subreddit attest that it works.

Just remember: WASHING soda. Not baking soda. I tried baking soda and a little bit happened, but not a lot.

Go forth. Rejuvenate your clothing. Strip your laundry.

[ankewehner]

I have a question about the "set it aside to run again with a regular pretreatment" bit: What is your regular pretreatment?

[prismatic-bell]

For grease: Dawn dish soap and a toothbrush. For blood: soak in peroxide, rinse, apply more peroxide. For ink: alcohol. Rubbing alcohol is best, vodka is an acceptable substitute. Do not use colored liquor like tequila or whiskey. Aerosol hairspray will work in a pinch. For red wine or grape juice: white wine. For "what the fuck is that, anyway?" stains: OxyClean Max Force Gel Stick. For "oh shit, there was a red shirt in with my whites" stains: I'm very sorry. Try bleach? Spot-apply all of these. In other words don't just toss your period panties into a sink full of peroxide, pour some peroxide over the crotch. Apply alcohol with a cotton facial pad or, failing that, a washcloth or kleenex. Let it sit for five to fifteen minutes, then throw it in the wash. Try to use cold water; hot water will set stains.

[leebrontide]

So my regular laundry detergent is a home made mix of grated Fels Naptha bar (about 1/6th a bar per gallon), 1/3rd a cup of WASHING soda, and 1/3rd cup of baking soda. I toss all that in a bit under a gallon of water for a gallon of detergent.

And sometimes I load the washer, including the detergent, and then open the lid. The laundry automatically stops itself, and I just let it sit overnight. This is great for stains (I have a 5 year old) and for clothes longevity.

It's also fragrance free (so great for many allergies), CHEAP, and Eco-friendly.

We never have to ditch clothes for being dingy.

[abandoned-as-mustard]

So what if we don't have dawn dish soap or borax?

[prismatic-bell]

Then you're probably in the EU, and I'm sorry, I do not know what alternative is available as I do not live there.

[alexseanchai]

bio says Aussie, but like, that doesn't get closer to answering the question

[smallercommand]

Borax appears to be available at Bunnings. I bought my borax close to two decades ago and have no idea if that's a reasonable price.

Reddit says dish soap is dish soap. Use something with a fragrance you like/can tolerate.

[sizzlingsandwichperfection-blog]

i just want you to love something the way i love the world cup.

[sioltach]

this website lets you listen to the sounds of all different forests around the world 

[riven-wanders]

Reblogging again cause I tried this site last night and if you need background noise to focus this is perfect for that, I was locked the fuck in on a task. And it’s also just gorgeous to listen to

[yickle-twees]

Knee-deep in a hoopla is, in fact, my favourite place to be.

[thebookbutterfly]

A Small Gift — BM.

BLOODY MARY (RYLAND GRACE x SIMON)

Summary: Ryland Grace gives a gift to Simon. He doesn’t know what to do when Simon thanks him with a hug.

Tags: Hurt/Comfort, Angst (just a little), Ryland Grace gets a hug, Simon is trying his best

Warnings: Mentions of drugging. No beta and no ‘ragrets’.

Credits: dividers by @uzmacchiato

AN: Fun fact, the capsule stain in the photo at the beginning of the fic was prepared by me in the microbiology lab! I am secretly a STEM student when I am not on this website. So I was inspired to write this fic instead of doing work hehe. I hope you enjoy it!

If you like this work my requests are currently open! So please give me your ideas;)

Simon was soft. Ridiculously soft, and warm from his long dark hair to Grace’s borrowed cardigan that had now become his own. It was all Ryland’s brain could come up with as he processed their new position.

Simon was hugging him. His one arm wrapped firmly around him and his hand gripping Grace’s opposite shoulder. Wrapping him up entirely.

‘Thank you,’ Simon murmured. The vibration of his voice in his chest hummed pleasantly against his own. Grace tried to say something, anything really, in response but failed. The noise dying somewhere in his throat.

It wasn’t the first time they had touched or even the first time they had hugged. Grace had always been an affectionate person. A fact that was not helped by his extended isolation. That hadn’t changed when he met the man in front of him, floating through space and covered in blood. It was never something that Simon had initiated though. Beyond the occasional nudge, Grace had always been the one to reach out first. Until now.

Finally, Ryland lifted his arms. He circled them around Simon’s waist. Slowly as if not to spook him, but he wasn’t going anywhere. Something invisible had shifted and cracked open between them. Simon tugged him closer as best as he could.

It was just a stupid capsule stain. A bunch of microbes on a glass slide that he had suspended in ink and preserved so it wouldn’t degrade over time. A small, silly gift that Ryland had been able to cobble together while floating through space towards Erid. A way to celebrate. They finally had their hands on Taumoeba-82.5. After multiple near death experiences and not nearly enough sleep. It was done. Rocky had insisted on celebrating, not that Grace or Simon had argued. They had broken out the vodka all too happily. Ryland also decided to try and find them both gifts. Nothing major. A simple thank you for each of them.

Rocky’s gift was rather easy solve. He had known the Eridian longer and he knew that he wanted to give him something as a reminder of Earth. Simon on the other hand…

Grace knew how much the man loved the stars. He spent hours on the viewing deck staring out into the glittering dark. Ryland found him sleeping there occasionally. Too consumed by the sight to tear himself away from the window and go to bed. They comforted him. Grace had learned to cover him with a blanket and let him be. Comforts were few and far between for the both of them.

Simon loved the stars and while Ryland couldn’t exactly give him one as a gift he figured he could try the next best thing. Beneath the microscope the capsule stain looked like a night sky. Countless glowing flecks suspended in the inky dark. A tiny cluster of stars that could be preserved on a piece of glass.

He had given it to Simon casually, hoping for one of his small smiles— and now he was here. Pressed up against the man’s broad chest. Being held.

His throat ached and Grace swallowed uselessly. He was going to cry. Violently it registered to him that the last time anyone had touched him intentionally was to pin him down in the grass and drug him. The memory was fresh. It had only resurfaced recently and it had threatened to wreck him. Grace had wrestled with it as best as he could, but more than one world was at stake.

There was no time for him to dwell on it. The fact that he wasn’t the brave and willing sacrifice he had believed he was. That Stratt had betrayed him and trussed him up like a lamb for slaughter. That Stratt did the right thing. That he would have made the same decision if he were in her position— even if he would have gone about it entirely differently. He tried so hard to hate her. It was easy to be angry with her. Furious didn’t even begin to cover it. She was ruthless and cruel. But, despite his best efforts, Grace couldn’t hate her. He simply felt hurt. Deeply, annoyingly and terribly hurt.

The sob fought its way out of him suddenly. Simon froze like a deer in headlights. ‘Shit. Did I do something wrong? I should have asked…’

Grace shook his head immediately. The last thing he wanted to do was scare Simon off. He heaved a breath and gave a shaky response, ‘No. No, you didn’t. It’s just…’ Another laboured breath, ‘It’s been a while.’

Simon relaxed at the confirmation that he hadn’t just made some grievous error. His hand moved and for a split second Grace thought he was going to pull away but he didn’t. Simon smoothed a palm over his back. Rubbing small clumsy circles between his shoulder blades. The way Grace had done for him on occasion. ‘I get that,’ he said.

Of course he did. It only made Grace cry harder. From the other side of the Hail Mary Grace heard Rocky begin to clatter towards him. ‘Why Grace leaking? Question.’ He wanted to answer him but he couldn’t. The floor shook and Rocky rumbled into view. ‘Grace leaking. Bad. Bad. Bad.’ Rocky bumped Grace’s shin. ‘Grace Simon Rocky stop astrophage. Save Earth. Save Erid. Statement. Celebration. No sad.’ Rocky leaned into their legs. His way of joining the hug, Ryland supposed. He made a non-specific, musical noise of comfort.

‘I’m okay, buddy. I just need a minute,’ he exhaled shakily. Grace rested a hand on Rocky’s xenonite ball. There was a thunk as the Eridian lifted his carapace up to his palm. Simon had warmed up fairly quickly to the Eridian— once he had gotten over his initial shock of being spoken to, by what had seemed to be, a sentient rock. Now he huffed a laugh at Rocky’s enthusiasm.

‘I’m sorry I’m crying all over your shirt.’ Grace ran a hand across his face. Between his sobbing and his nose running from his sudden tears, it was the understatement of the year.

‘Believe me, I’ve had a lot worse on my shirt than this,’ Simon said with a lopsided smile.

Ryland laughed thickly, ‘That’s true.’ His clothes had been so saturated with blood when he had first met him that Ryland hadn’t even attempted to wash them. Grace had chucked them into the airlock and ejected them into space to be dealt with by the void. No amount of laundry detergent in existence could have fixed them.

Simon tugged Grace closer by his nape. Tucking his face into the crook of his neck. It was very clearly an unpracticed movement but it was nice. ‘I’ve got you, Ryland,’ he said, ‘We did it.’

‘Yes. Yes we did,’ Grace breathed. Relief settled somewhere deep within him.

For the first time in a very long time Ryland Grace was at peace.

[yickle-twees]

RAHHHHHHHH !

Just imagining the bass of Simon’s voice- i would cry too, tbh.

This is precious to me

[vhen-harel]

I'm going on a rant, bear with me. I may delete it later, who knows but I've been in a highly emotional mood today - up and down up and down.

Somehow, over the last week, a bunch of passive-aggressive posts have crossed my dash. Complaints about Solavellan. Complaints about Solavellan fans. Complaints about Lavellans. Complaints that people act like the only Inquisitor that exists is Lavellan.

You know what? My Inquisitor IS ONLY Lavellan because that's the world state I played. That's my canon. That's the character I spent hundreds of hours with, years with. That's the story I connected to.

And that's true for a lot of other people, too. Just like anyone else who has a different Inquisitor - that's THEIR Inquisitor, their canon.

We're not under some contractual obligation to create content for or even talk about every possible version of the Inquisitor or every possible version of a Solas ship. People create art, fic, meta, gifs, vp and videos about the things that inspire THEM.

I had someone send me an anonymous ask a couple weeks ago telling me I should be sharing more Solas ships that aren't Solavellan. I'm pretty clear on my pinned post on MY blog what my content is all about. There's a thing called a block button if you don't like it. Needless to say I just deleted that ask.

And while we're here, can we stop pretending Solavellan fans are somehow doing something wrong by existing?

The amount of complaining, snide comments, and sometimes outright hostility directed at Solavellan fans is exhausting. Every few weeks there's another round of people acting as though we're ruining the fandom by being visible.

Sorry we're active.

Sorry we're writing.

Sorry we're drawing.

Sorry we're making meta.

Sorry we're running events.

Sorry we're still enthusiastic about a ship we enjoy that has been around for almost 12 years.

Actually, no. I'm not sorry.

I joined a creative DA server recently and was super nervous about how Solavellan fans would be received because of how often I see people taking shots. And honestly? I'm done feeling like I should be embarrassed about any of it.

I'm not ashamed of my ship.

I'm not ashamed of the creativity it's inspired in me.

I'm not ashamed of the friends I've met through it.

I'm not ashamed of the events, exchanges, prompts, collaborations, and projects it's encouraged me and challenged me to participate in.

I'm certainly not ashamed of being excited about Dragon Age and MY Lavellan's story in it.

If you don't like Solavellan, block.

If you don't want to see Lavellans on your dash, block.

And if you're seeing an overwhelming amount of Solavellan content it means that there's still a lot of us around who are active and still having fun.

[nigelgraz]

Delicate

[bigender2]

trying to find more songs for the playlist like a hunter and gatherer

[yickle-twees]

real!!! my darling friend and I are making a shared playlist for our characters in a pf2e campaign as we plan backstory, and it feels like i’m scouring the muddled heap of our music libraries, finding something shiny and bringing it back like

“shiny!!!do you like???”

“ooooo yes yes yes!!!!”

[enter-the-phantom]

I would also like to make the very important and seldom repeated point that even if you remove Israel’s actions as a country from the equation, they still shouldn’t be in the competition because their behavior as a competitor has been outside the lines of stated rules and regulations. They have broken multiple rules as a competitor. Their conduct as a Eurovision competitor should be enough to get them banned, even if you don’t agree they should be removed for “political” reasons.

[bestnipplesforever]

[funstyle]

Im always like "i will not add my two cents. i will not add my two cents" but i cant lie the pennies are getting sweaty in my hand

[kokoanii]

✨️Time-lapse ✨️

🎶 Wounded - Kevin MacLeod

[thebookbutterfly]

one of my best friends is finally playing DAI so I have to avoid reblogging spoilers for a while

[sometiktoksarevalid]

[cricketcat9]

This is how it's done in Eastern Europe. Very many years ago I've seen an old lady in my grandparents' village doing it with a very similar tool and beeswax. You need a REALLY good eye-hand coordination...and ability not to mess your design with your own fingers (which I definitely don't possess).

[blumineck]

Huge credit to Perry_trees over on instagram- the man is incredible with a rope!

For more of my nonsense, check out my Patreon

[abogwitchnamedsage]

I don't know who might need to hear this, but I wanted to share something beautiful I had the opportunity to witness.

In the chaos and uncertainty around us, there is still so much love and hope.

A few weeks ago, a local international student nervously approached me and asked if I could photograph his wedding reception. We barely know each other — so much so that the only real thing he knew about me was that a) I was a graphic designer and b) he had seen me hold a camera. And the only thing I knew about him was that he came from overseas to study engineering in the U.S.

He explained that his friend (and expected photographer) couldn't make the trip. I sympathized and told him I had a similar situation with my wedding, but then he said something that made my stomach churn.

Almost all his family and friends overseas can't make it. So can't the bride's, as she's studying abroad as well. With the warmest smile, he says while he wishes his family could be there to celebrate, he's so lucky to have great friends who are helping them put on a small reception.

I told him I had it covered and I wouldn't accept payment. Photos like this will be invaluable over time, and I wanted to pay it forward as the volunteer photographer at my own wedding did.

The wedding was this weekend. I cried during it.

His fellow engineering students became wedding planners. A church opened its doors free of charge. Families of local students caught wind of the event and handled the food, learning cultural dishes from the bride and groom's home countries. A mom group banded together to make table centerpieces. A recently married couple donated their leftover decorations. There were almost one hundred guests. Most of us didn't know each other.

It was the most beautiful wedding I've ever seen. Not just because the bride and groom were so deeply in love with one another, but because strangers saw an opportunity to be kind. In a community where hate of anything 'foreign' seems to fester, a bunch of people saw two lovebirds separated from their families, stepped in, and said, "how can we celebrate love today?"

All I saw was love. Maybe we're not as doomed as we think we are.

[inbabylontheywept]

there is a stripper pole in my attic. i saw it in a dumpster one day, and i went, shit, this is exactly the kind of thing my wife would want. and i didnt really want it in the house, what with it being a used stripper pole lightly seasoned with dumpster juice, but i mentally decided that if she were to see it and ask for it, i would say she could have it, and then sure enough, later that evening, she went soooo baaaaaaaabs there's this thing by the dumpster and i want it but i get it if you don't want it in the house but i have to show it to you- and i went, no you dont, you can have the pole, and that was the most surprised i have ever made her look. even compared to the day when i proposed to her, which she was prepared enough that we both knew she would say yes, and she could also get her hair done up and have a cute outfit, but not so prepared that she was not fucking flabbergasted by the 12 empty decoy ringboxes i sprung on her. i handed her so many decoy ring boxes that day. still one of the funniest things i've ever done to her.

anyway we like pacing around together and ranting in the attic but sometimes instead of pacing one of us will just hang on the pole and spin, and the other person will watch on the beanbag, which makes for these really goofy conversations where the person on the bag will say something that gets the other persons goat, such as, hypothetically, that xylophones do not belong in rock music, and then the other person will go on a tirade about this, but they'll actually only be facing the Hot Take Speaker half of the time, what because of the pole, so the response will sound something like

I can't believe

you would even suggest such

a stupid opinion. You've

been to a Danny Elfman

concert! How can you

have heard Oingo Boingo

live and say with a straight face

that they alone do not justify

rock and roll xylophones

and then that person will continue until they get too dizzy, then they'll get off the pole, and by unspoken agreement, the person on the bag will get up and trade places with them to deliver their rebuttal while also spinning and it just creates this sort of crazy strip-court lawyers debating absolute nonsense for no reason kind of vibe that frankly just really does it for us.

i don't really have any marriage advice for this i guess its just a look at what being married can look like. i thought that being married would involve a lot more stuff like carving the turkey, or barbecuing, or watching the sunset, and if id known how much time it would involve arguing for xylphones in rock music while spinning upside down i might have prepared for it a little differently.