#How to Remove Bacteria from Water

[safechlor]

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[biscuitdolly]

easy hygiene tips ♡

to improve physical appearance , health and hygiene are a must.

water ♡

water. please , for the love of god , drink water. get up rn and go drink some water. water does so much , want clear skin? water. want to lose weight? water. want to feel more refreshed? water. ITS SO HELPFUL!! you really don't want to be dehydrated, it has so many negative effects.

i would aim for around 2 liters (8 full glasses) a day , but you can slowly increase your water intake over the span of a few weeks if you're not ready for that. if you like me and forget to drink , set alarms or reminders for when you need to.

apple cider vinegar ♡

okay , yes, it tastes gross, but it's so good for your PH!! just drink 2 teaspoons everyday (dilute with water first) , trust me it will make your body sweat and kitty smell (and taste) soo much better!! it can also help u lose weight , decrease waist size and is so good for your skin!!

easy oral hygiene ♡

brush your teeth at least 3 times a day. i normally opt for brushing my teeth twice in a row morning and night , and once during the day (yes , even if i'm at school). also , don't forget to floss!! most importantly u wanna b scraping/brushing your tongue, along with brushing your gums and the roof of your mouth!! If you're not brushing regularly and not brushing your tongue, your breath is gonna stink.

another tip - mints > gum. no matter how minty your gum is , if you're chewing it all day it's gonna make your breath smell bad. a sugar-free mint that specialises in good breath every morning helps so much for me.

shower/bath care ♡

please wash behind your ears and your belly button. every part of your body should be clean!!! you don't want build-up.

exfoliate before and after u shave. this will leave u feeling SO smooth and helps avoid razor bumps , if you have sensitive skin (like me) it can help avoid irritation (i get SO itchy and my skin gets covered in red bumps if i don't exfoliate when shaving). personally, i don't suffer from oily skin , but if u do, exfoliating afterwards helps remove any dirt from clogged pores and any residue build-up!

use different clothes depending on what part of your body you're cleaning!! use a softer cloth for your face and kitty , and use regular clothes for the main part of your body and bum. NEVER wash your face in the shower! you want your face to have its own personal time for you to clean it so you can really focus on it. also , hot water from the shower can damage your skin and make it dry. your shower head also probably has a lot of bacteria hiding in it, so please wash your face separately after your shower.

[globalnewscollective]

Poison in the Water: How the EPA's Latest Move Puts Us All at Risk

Imagine turning on your tap, filling a glass with water, and unknowingly drinking sewage. It sounds like a dystopian nightmare, but thanks to a new ruling from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the Trump administration, this nightmare could become reality.

The EPA has quietly rolled back regulations that once protected public waterways from sewage contamination. With this change, industries and local governments have more leeway to discharge wastewater—including untreated sewage—into rivers, lakes, and streams. If you think this doesn’t affect you, think again. These are the same water sources that supply drinking water to millions of Americans.

What’s Happening?

The new EPA ruling effectively weakens oversight on sewage treatment and pollution controls. Previously, strict regulations required facilities to treat wastewater to remove harmful bacteria, chemicals, and pathogens before it could re-enter the environment. Now, under the guise of ‘cutting red tape’ and ‘easing industry burdens,’ those safeguards are gone.

The result? Cities and towns will face increased risk of contaminated water supplies. Vulnerable communities, particularly those in low-income and rural areas, will be hit hardest, as they often lack the resources to combat these changes. Expect more outbreaks of waterborne illnesses, beach closures, and environmental devastation.

How Does This Affect You?

Drinking Water Contamination: If your city relies on rivers or lakes for drinking water, your tap could soon deliver a mix of sewage, bacteria, and industrial waste.

Public Health Risks: Waterborne diseases such as E. coli, giardia, and hepatitis A thrive in untreated sewage, leading to serious health crises.

Economic Consequences: Property values drop, tourism suffers, and businesses dependent on clean water—like fishing and farming—could face disaster.

Environmental Devastation: Aquatic ecosystems are highly sensitive to pollution. Fish and wildlife populations will decline, affecting biodiversity and food chains.

The Bigger Picture

This decision isn’t just about dirty water—it’s about the systematic dismantling of environmental protections for corporate gain. The Trump administration has made it clear: if regulations stand in the way of industry profits, they will be gutted, no matter the human cost.

Historically, environmental rollbacks like this have led to catastrophic consequences. The infamous Flint water crisis showed the devastation that occurs when regulatory safeguards are ignored. Are we about to see similar disasters play out across the country?

What Can You Do?

Stay informed and demand accountability from local and state officials.

Support organizations fighting for clean water protections, such as the NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) and the Waterkeeper Alliance.

Pressure lawmakers to reinstate strong water protections and hold the EPA accountable.

Use your vote to elect officials who prioritize public health over corporate interests.

This is not just an environmental issue—it’s a human rights crisis. Safe, clean water is a fundamental necessity, not a privilege reserved for the wealthy. We must act now before our water becomes a toxic legacy of greed and negligence.

[mxjackparker]

For people who want to have sex on their periods without seeing blood, I present: The Menstrual Sponge!

By inserting these soft tampons before sex and positioning them correctly, you can trust them to safely absorb any blood that flows whilst you're having sex without leaking or causing pain during sex. They're soft and convenient - here's how to use them:

First, you'll want to remove your menstrual sponge/soft tampon from the package. There are lots of different brands to choose from, but you want to make sure that you pick a brand that does not use sea sponges. They are not body safe. Safe menstrual sponges/soft tampons look a lot like beauty blenders and will have a few small cuts in them to help with removal.

This is how a menstrual sponge should look, though the shape might differ a bit depending on the brand! What it should not look like is something with large holes in a yellow or brownish colour and with an irregular shape. There is no way to fully disinfect a sea sponge which means you'd be introducing bacteria to your vagina.

To insert the menstrual sponge, you can squeeze it to make it compact and easier to insert and then push it inside with one or two fingers. You want to have the end without the hole in it going in first. Push it until you reach the end of the vaginal canal and it should naturally slide into place to cover the cervix. Depending on how comfortable you are with it, you can feel around with your fingers to familiarize yourself with how it feels when placed correctly.

When you're ready to remove it, insert your fingers and feel for the hole in the sponge to hook your finger in and pull it out. If you've just had sex, the sponge will have been pressed up against the cervix and the hole might be in a slightly different placement to when you inserted so take a moment to feel for it.

If you are towards the end of your period without much blood flow and had sex for a long time without a lot of lube, the sponge might get a little bit dry and feel uncomfortable to remove or feel a bit stuck. Not to worry, because this is where it being a sponge is very convenient! If you can squirt a little water inside, or take a bath if you don't want to do that, the sponge will soak up water and become soft and easy to remove.

Menstrual sponges/soft tampons are not reusable and they can get expensive, so I wouldn't recommend them for daily use in place of a typical tampon or pad. If you're using them occasionally for sex during your period to avoid the appearance of any blood, they're much more convenient.

Additional note: There are some sexual health charities and projects who give these out for free, especially to sex workers, so if this sounds like it would work for you but they're too expensive then I highly recommend looking into the resources from groups near you!

[cameronsbabydoll]

hitler is kinda iconic ngl like we need to bring him back fr

i’m sure your some pathetic fucking loser but i feel the need to educate some of you guys.

here are some stories / stuff from the concentration camps i think you should read before saying shit like this

“Prisoners worked 10 hours a day in inhumane conditions, and it was usually heavy work. In the Husum Aussenkommando, for instance, they dug anti-tank ditches in heavy, sodden marshland. Others worked in weapon factories, mines, shipyards, building sites or on the railways. Numerous statements describe their ‘almost complet”

“Thygesen recalled: ‘once, I found a dog’s tooth in a sausage’. He said the soup was made of water and waste meat (‘udder, lungs, horse muzzle’) and turnips”

“Looked after by French doctors Prof Gabriel Florence and Dr René Quenouille and Dutch orderlies Dirk Deutekom and Anton Hölzel, the children were subjected to abject experiments in a barrack called ‘Sonderabteilung Heißmeyer’ (Heissmeyer Special Unit). Heissmeyer cut small incisions under their arms and rubbed TB in. He also used lung probes to inject the disease more deeply. Florence tried to kill off the TB bacilli by boiling them before the children were injected, but they all fell ill”

“Heissmeyer had regular X-rays performed to monitor the progress of the disease, and had their armpit lymph nodes surgically removed for examination”

“Hitler planned to collect thousands of Jewish artifacts and build a "museum of an extinct race" when the war was over”

“Nazi doctor Josef Mengele (known as the Angel of Death) did numerous "operations" on these children. In one of them, he tried to create siamese twins by sewing two children together”

“Mengele injected adrenaline into children's eyes in an attempt to change eye color and to study environmental influences”

“A third group, primarily twin children, who would serve as involuntary guinea pigs for his spurious and ghastly human experiments, were delivered to well-supplied barracks where Mengele conducted grisly and often fatal surgical experiments in a pseudoscientific quest to uncover the secrets of genetics”

“One witness described how Josef Mengele ripped an infant from its mother`s womb, then hurled it into an oven because it wasn`t a twin as he had hoped. A third witness recounted how Mengele kept hundreds of human eyes pinned to his lab wall ''like a collection of butterflies”.

“He performed experiments such as unnecessary amputation of limbs. He intentionally infected a twin with typhus or another disease and transfused the blood of the infected twin into the other. Many of his subjects died while undergoing these procedures. After an experiment was complete, the twins were sometimes killed and their bodies dissected. Miklós Nyiszli, a prisoner doctor at Auschwitz, recalled one occasion where Mengele personally killed fourteen twins in one night through a chloroform injection to the heart. If one twin died of disease, Mengele killed the other so that comparative reports could be prepared after death.”

“Although gynecology was not his specialty, Mengele conducted experiments on pregnant women. He had them infected with typhoid in order to determine whether their children would be born with the infection too.”

2. Freezing Experiments (Dachau)

Aimed at helping German pilots survive crashes into cold water.

Victims (mostly political prisoners) were immersed in ice water for hours or left naked outdoors in sub-zero temperatures.

Some were revived by hot water, boiling baths, or even body heat from women, others died slowly from hypothermia.

Many suffered permanent injury or death, and survivors were often re-experimented on.

3. Mustard Gas and Chemical Burns (Auschwitz, Ravensbrück)

Victims were deliberately burned with mustard gas or other chemicals to test treatments.

Wounds were deliberately infected with bacteria, dirt, or glass shards to simulate battlefield injuries.

Survivors often suffered from chronic pain, disfigurement, and lifelong disability.

4. Sterilization and Reproductive Experiments

Nazis wanted to eliminate those they deemed “unfit” from the gene pool.

Forced sterilizations were conducted through radiation, surgery, and chemical injections — often without anesthesia.

Gypsy women were especially targeted. Many were mutilated or killed.

5. High-Altitude Experiments

Victims were placed in low-pressure chambers to simulate high altitudes.

They suffered convulsions, brain damage, and death from lack of oxygen.

The Nazis claimed these were to help Luftwaffe pilots — but they were entirely unethical and deadly.

6. Pharmaceutical Testing

Drugs and poisons were tested on unwilling subjects.

Victims were deliberately infected with typhus, malaria, tuberculosis, etc.

Some were injected with poison and then dissected while alive to study effects.

I have the papers of my great grandfather stories:

[reasonsforhope]

"Namibia is the driest country in Sub-Saharan Africa, and home to two of the world’s most ancient deserts, the Kalahari and the Namib. The capital, Windhoek, is sandwiched between them, 400 miles away from the nearest perennial river and more than 300 miles away from the coast. Water is in short supply.

It’s hard to imagine life thriving in Windhoek, yet 477,000 people call it home, and 99 per cent of them have access to drinking water thanks to technology pioneered 55 years ago on the outskirts of the city. Now, some of the world’s biggest cities are embracing this technology as they adapt to the harshest impacts of climate change. But Namibia leads the way.

How did this come about? In the 1950s, Windhoek’s natural resources struggled to cope with a rapidly growing population, and severe water shortages gripped the city. But disaster forced innovation, and in 1968 the Goreangab Water Reclamation Plant in Windhoek became the first place in the world to produce drinking water directly from sewage, a process known as direct potable reuse (DPR). 

That may sound revolting, but it’s completely safe. Dr Lucas van Vuuren, who was among those who pioneered Windhoek’s reclamation system, once said that “water should not be judged by its history, but by its quality”. And DPR ensures quality. 

This is done using a continuous multi-barrier treatment devised in Windhoek during eight years of pilot studies in the 1960s. This process – which has been upgraded four times since 1968 – eliminates pollutants and safeguards against pathogens by harnessing bacteria to digest the human waste and remove it from the water. This partly mimics what happens when water is recycled in nature, but Windhoek does it all in under 24 hours...

Pictured: These ultrafiltration membranes help to remove bacteria, viruses and pathogens. Image: Margaret Courtney-Clarke

“We know that we have antibiotics in the water, preservatives from cosmetics, anti-corrosion prevention chemicals from the dishwasher,” Honer explains. “We find them and we remove them.”

Honer adds that online instruments monitor the water continuously, and staff ensure that only drinking water that meets World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines is sent to homes. If any inconsistencies are detected, the plant goes into recycle mode and distribution is halted until correct values are restored. 

“The most important rule is, and was, and always will be ‘safety first’,” says Honer.  The facility has never been linked to an outbreak of waterborne disease, and now produces up to 5.5m gallons of drinking water every day – up to 35 per cent of the city’s consumption.

Namibians couldn’t survive without it, and as water shortages grip the planet, Windhoek’s insights and experience are more important than ever.

Interest from superpowers across the globe

In recent years, delegations from the US, France, Germany, India, Australia, Singapore, and the United Arab Emirates have visited Windhoek seeking solutions to water shortages in their own countries. 

Megadrought conditions have gripped the US since 2001, and the Colorado River – which provides 40 million people with drinking water – has been running at just 50 per cent of its traditional flow. As a result, several states including Texas, California, Arizona and Colorado are beginning to embrace DPR.

Troy Walker is a water reuse practice leader at Hazen and Sawyer, an environmental engineering firm helping Arizona to develop its DPR regulations. He visited Windhoek last year. “It was about being able to see the success of their system, and then looking at some of the technical details and how that might look in a US facility or an Australian facility,” he said. “[Windhoek] has helped drive a lot of discussion in industry. [Innovation] doesn’t all have to come out of California or Texas.”

Pictured: The internal pipes and workings of Namibia's DPR plant. As water becomes scarcer in some parts, countries are looking to DPR for solutions. Image: Margaret Courtney-Clarke

Namibia has also helped overcome the biggest obstacle to DPR – public acceptance. Disgust is a powerful emotion, and sensationalist ‘toilet to tap’ headlines have dismantled support for water reuse projects in the past. Unfortunately, DPR’s biggest strength is also its biggest weakness, as the speed at which water can re-enter the system makes it especially vulnerable to prejudice, causing regulators to hesitate. “Technology has never been the reason why these projects don’t get built – it’s always public or political opposition,” says Patsy Tennyson, vice president of Katz and Associates, an American firm that specialises in public outreach and communications.

That’s why just a handful of facilities worldwide are currently doing DPR, with Windhoek standing alongside smaller schemes in the Philippines, South Africa and a hybrid facility in Big Spring, Texas. But that’s all changing. Drought and increased water scarcity worldwide are forcing us to change the way we think about water. 

Now, the US is ready to take the plunge, and in 2025, El Paso Water will begin operating the first ‘direct to distribution’ DPR facility in North America, turning up to 10m gallons of wasterwater per day into purified drinking water – twice as much as Windhoek. San Diego, Los Angeles, California, as well as Phoenix, Arizona are also exploring the technology."

Of course, DPR is not a silver bullet in the fight against climate change. It cannot create water out of thin air, and it will not facilitate endless growth. But it does help cities become more climate resilient by reducing their reliance on natural sources, such as the Colorado River. 

As other nations follow in Namibia’s footsteps, Windhoek may no longer take the lead after almost six decades in front.

“But Windhoek was the first,” Honer reminds me. “No one can take that away.”"

-via Positive.News, August 30, 2023

[reiderwriter]

Satisfaction Feels Like a Distant Memory

Chapter Three of I Can't Help Myself

Summary: Your mounting attraction to Spencer Reid pushes you to the edge, turning begrudging friendship to deep hatred when he finally shows up on your doorstep. He's the only thing that can out you out of your misery even as you sink further into it.

Warnings: 18+ MINORS DNI, hate sex, rough sex, argument as foreplay, oral (f recieving) and face fucking, fingering, multiple orgasms, overstimulation, forced orgasms, "forced" submission, creampie, p in v penetrative sex, etc.

A/N: I've had about as much sleep as the reader in this fic has for the last week, but HERE IT IS! Chapter Three 🥰 You may need a bottle of water on standby, or at least a hand fan, because this one gets a bit heated....

Masterlist || Add yourself to the taglist!

You hesitated in front of your office door, which you supposed was going to become a bad habit of yours now. You tried lying to yourself, that nothing was different now, that you weren't attracted to him in a completely stupid way, but you still stood frozen in front of your own office door. 

Frozen and horny. 

Shit. 

You mentally went through a list of the worst things that could happen if you went in. 

1. He was there. 

2. He wasn't there. 

3. He was there, and he touched you again, and you moaned. 

4. He was there, and he didn't touch you again, but you still moaned. 

5. He was there, and you threw yourself at him immediately because why wouldn't you when you'd seen what you could be working with the night before? Fuck moaning once, moaning multiple times as he pushed you against the bookshelf would- 

“Are you gonna go in, or are you just going to fondle the door handle?” He asked from behind you. From too close behind you. 

You turned, keeping the doorknob in your grin, and immediately flattened yourself against the door as he took a step closer. 

So close. He was so fucking close and it was suddenly all you could think of. 

“W-What?”

“You know, the CDC warns that door handles should be washed every 20 to 40 hours To prevent bacteria like Escherchia coli and Staphylococcus aureus from-” You ignored his words, drowning everything else out as you tried to dampen the fire burning under your skin.

“Cock?” You said, all attempts obviously not working. 

“Staphylococcus, yes. It can cause Adenovirus, Rhinovirus, not to mention-” 

“Okay! Okay, Spencer. Taking my hand off the handle now.” 

Finally, you twisted it and walked backwards into your room, walking backwards a few steps before your foot caught on a stray pile of books. 

“What the-” you cried, waiting for the impact of your landing as you swung out your arms frantically for purchase, screwing your eyes shut as you found none. 

Instead, you found an arm snaked around your waist, another wrapping your hip tight as Spencer Reid cradled your body to his own. 

“Thanks,” you breathed out, not even hearing the words yourself for how much air was in them. How was it possible to expel air and hold your breath at the same time? Because that was how it felt being in his arms: at once a sigh and a stopping of all bodily functions barring want. 

“I thought this was your office, Y/N. Surely you should know the layout by now.”

Moment over. You pushed at his chest to stand upright, and he stepped backwards, removing his hands from your person. 

“Very funny. We both know these are your books. Setting traps for me now, Spencer?” 

You moved around the piles of books again as he flicked the light switch, moving the opposite way around your desks, before meeting you again next to yours. 

“You're usually more observant than this. Is there something wrong today?” 

“What, like Adenovirus or Rhinovirus?” 

“No, like something…” he searched for the right words, pace slowing as he tried not to scare you away by talking with you like this.

“Like something on your mind.” 

You snorted, leaning down to switch on your computer, and also to avoid his eye contact. Unfortunately, academic curiosity had gotten to you in the last few weeks, and you'd read some of his psychological papers. You knew exactly what it was the BAU was apparently so good at, and you didn't want him to know that you'd imagined him balls deep in you hours before. 

“Not friends, Spencer. If there's something I need to talk about, I'll talk to a friend,” you said, standing straight again and turning to him again. You still avoided eye contact, but it didn't matter. His eyes weren't on your face but angled further down, like he'd been checking out your ass as you bent over or something. 

No. No, you weren't going down that train of thought. 

“Or even better, my therapist.” You were planning on the words being a bit more playful, but your voice came out deeper than you expected it, more gravely somehow. 

Your bedroom voice, you were using your stupid fucking bedroom voice on Spencer Reid. 

You cut yourself off again before you said anything else. Before he touched you or didn't touch you, and you got to test your earlier theory about which would be the more demeaning reaction. 

“I have class in ten. Clean up before I get back,” you ordered, and you felt the hairs on the back of your neck stand up when he replied. 

“I don't take direction well, Y/N.” 

No, you didn't think he would. Neither did you though.

For a week, you tiptoed around the man, your words sharp, but your body weak to him. 

By day, you were hurling insults back and forth, messing up his papers and screwing with him via bookshelf again. 

“YOUR…FLY…IS….OPEN.” 

“VERY….MATURE.”

“MADE…YOU…LOOK…THOUGH.”

“BUSY….LOOKING…AT…OTHER….THINGS.”

“LIKE…THE…UNDERGRADS…THROWING…THEMSELVES…AT…YOU…?”

“LIKE…THE…PROFESSOR…I'M APPARENTLY…DATING” 

“Very fucking funny, Spencer,” you sighed at the last message, throwing the books off the shelf and pilling them up on the floor. 

“Don't even for a second entertain the idea of making that gossip a reality.” 

He grinned at you from behind his desk. 

“Okay.”

“Don't even - don't even think about it,” you said, stepping over his desk and poking at his chest as his smile deepened.

“Heard.” 

“I'm serious, Spencer, don't-” 

“You've thought about it.” You froze in shock at his words, as if your blood wasn't sure whether to run cold or burn hot and fast. 

“What?” You spat the words at him, unable to stop them coming out any other way. 

“You've thought about entertaining the gossip. You've thought about it a lot.” 

You needed to deny him, but he was right. By day, you tried to torment him, but by night, he did torment you. A week of wet dreams, of imagining him taking you over every inch of your office, of sleepless rest and failed orgams, and you could not escape. 

“No,” you said with a whisper, shaking your head and trying again even as your voice cracked from the lie and your body's cry for pleasure, for this man. 

“No, I haven’t- I don't-” You took a deep breath, but you knew it was no good, as his hand grabbed yours and flattened it against his chest. 

“Your pupils are dilated, your pulse is heightened, and your legs are practically clamped shut. Your mouth is dry, and I'm not sure if you've noticed yet, Y/N, but you're shaking.” 

“All signs of anger, Spencer, as you're well aware.” 

He let go of your wrist and sat back in his seat, just out of reach of you again. 

“Shame,” he whispered under his breath, nearly low enough that you didn't catch it, as he flipped open his book and continued whatever the fuck it was he even did in this office. 

You ignored it, anger really flooding you now, warring the heat of arousal that was firmly settled in your body for dominance. 

The anger won out. 

You grabbed books from your desk, files, and papers from the side table by the couch and your laptop from your desk and left the room quickly. 

You slammed the door, and you didn't look back, knowing that if you did, you'd see his winning smirk staring right back at you.

You marched yourself right to the staff administration office and put in for a week of leave. Spencer had one more week of work at the university, and then he would go back to being a regular FBI agent. 

Your paths wouldn't cross because you wouldn't let them cross, not when it meant for certain that you would give in.

You spent the week working to distract yourself from work. You finished books for your next semester courses, highlighting the better articles and essays to use, going through each bibliography to find better sources if they weren't good enough. You wrote more of a research paper you didn't have time to think about with so much going on. You corresponded with students, with TAs, with the other professors who wanted to know where you were. 

Okay, that was a lie. You aired the professors, but you did look out for any inboxes from him. Surprisingly, there were none. 

You spent a week throwing yourself head first into your work, and still, each night, you felt his phantom touch on you. No matter how exhausted, your brain still co jured images of his hands grasping your wrists, pushing them above your head and forcing his cock into you, his lips biting against your skin, the fire of his kisses leaving scars where they trailed down. 

You were running on three hours of sleep per night, sure, but at least you were as far as you could possibly get from the man ruining your life. 

You poured yourself a glass of wine the next Sunday, knowing that when you went back to work the next day, he'd be gone.

You wrapped yourself in blankets and put everything else off for the day, ordering food and eating it and not moving as you worked your way through boxes of pizza. 

It was when you finished your first glass and went to pour yourself another that there was a furious pounding at your door. 

“Y/N, I know you're in there, open the door.” His hand sounded again, and you nearly dropped the glass at the sound of Apencer Reid's voice. 

Your body acted alone, immediately following his directions as you damn near tripped over your own feet to open the door for him. 

Throughout all of your arguments, all of the quips you'd thrown at him, every stupid little thing you'd done to get under his skin, you had not once seen Spencer Reid looking this angry. 

His brow was furrowed uncomfortably, as if it were frozen in place. Gone was his perpetual smirk. 

“Spencer, what the fuck a-” 

“Thoughtless. Careless. Do you even know what you've done?” He snapped at you, stepping into your apartment and closing the door behind himself as he immediately walked into your space and began touching things.

“Stop! Fucking stop it, Spencer!” You said grabbing his arm and pulling him around to face you. He brushed you off quickly and worked his way through papers you'd left on your coffee table. 

“No. You stormed out over a week ago, you blocked my number, you did not answer any of my emails-” 

“I didn't get any emails,” you spit back, pushing yourself between him and your things now, bodies so close they were touching. 

“Then you blocked my email, too. You don't even know what I'm looking for or the damage you could have done, do you?” His hands were on you then, not threateningly, as you'd expect, his anger still burning through him if his shaking voice had anything to say for it. 

His hands stroked up your sides and back down again, smoothing away your need to think. 

“My files. My team sent me a file. It was on the coffee table, and you took it with you when you left. The case is ongoing, and I'm flying out tomorrow, and without some of the classified information in that file, we will be at a disadvantage. Our odds of catching our unsub fall from 83% to 47% without all of the pertinent information.” 

Your breath hitched as he leaned in closer. 

“So yes, I'm going to go through your things, and if you're a good girl, you'll root through with me and help me find it.” 

He stepped away then, and you held your tongue. As much as you hated him, he was right. You knew what he did, you knew who he was and to trust him not to lie to you about his chances without this information. 

“The files on the coffee table are research notes, everything I took from the office is in that case over there,” you said pointing at a bag still where you'd dropped it by the door a week earlier. 

He walked to it and rooted through it quickly before finding the file he obviously needed and letting some of the tension out of his shoulders. 

“You're probably glad to see the back of me, right?” He said, laughing bitterly as he turned back around to you. 

“Obviously not as happy as you are,” you spat back, stepping back over to him. 

“If you ever speak to me that way again,” you started, spitting at him in the most threatening voice you could muster. “It won't be a fucking unsub that ruins your life.” 

“And how are you going to manage that, Y/N?” He said, stepping closer to you until he had you backed up against the wall, trapped in by his bigger frame, using it to his advantage to intimidate. 

“How will you manage to ruin my life,” he said, his voice softer as he finished his sentence, but not by much. “When you shake with just every time I get close?” 

“This is not lust,” you growled the words out, but try as you damn might, you were shaking, vibrating even. 

“Then what is it?” 

“Hatred, dislike, loathing, detestation, abhorrence, fuck Spencer, you can pick up a thesaurus yourself and find out.”

“Yeah. Okay. I'll believe your lies for a second.” He walked away, he was walking away but the fire was ringing in your ears and you needed him to stay fucking put so he could take it all. 

“You're a jackass.”

“Original.” 

“You slammed into my life, expecting me to bend to your will and be at the mercy of your needs, your wants. Your office space, your fucking case files, your job-” 

“None of that was my choice.” 

“And it wasn't mine either, but at least I fucking left you alone. I spent the week in this apartment and left you the fuck alone, and you couldn't even allow me the same.”

His focus was back on you again, but you refused to be backed against a wall this time. 

“What did you say?” 

“You will not let me know peace. I have lost my security, my patience, my fucking sanity with each word you have said, my peace of mind, my sleep, my fucking sanity, Spencer.” Your chest was heaving, touching his with each exhale as he too held his place in front of you. He was so close, you'd practically spat the words directly into his mouth. 

“How is that my fault?” He whispered, voice still dripping with disdain even as his hands again wrapped themselves in your hair, and he tugged your head back, baring your neck to him as he leaned down into you. 

“How do you know that you're not doing the same to me?” 

You refused to answer, though, meeting his eyes for one last second before you grabbed his hair in your hands and yanked him down to your mouth. 

It wasn't so much a kiss as a battle for dominance, each trying to torture a surrender from the other with clashing tongues and teeth. 

You made the first move, but he was obviously expecting it, and he didn't even pause before launching his own attack, finally pushing past your strong defence to walk you back to the sofa you'd abandoned earlier. 

His tongue still lashed against yours as you retreated, refusing to give up your upper hand even as you moaned into his touch. The couch hit the back of your knees, buckling, and you silently cursed your lack of sleep for leaving you so unstable right now. 

No, that wasn't true. It was him. He had left you so unstable, moving between happy and playful to angry and wrathful in the space of a week without you, and you'd been denying yourself the ability to even entertain any of this happening. Now that it was, your body was unprepared, totally at his mercy, as he pushed you to your back and pushed up your skirt. 

“You're already so fucking wet,” he groaned slipping two fingers inside you as you moaned around him, no longer capable of thought. This was the moment, this was when he was going to make you submit to him finally. 

Instead, he dropped to his knees and you gasped as his to guess found your sweet cunt and he began sucking to your clit. 

You were on fire, skin scorched from the inside out, spreading in waves from your pussy to the furthest regions of your body. 

With one hand, he spread your thighs further apart and pushed his entire face further into your cunt, tongue pushing inside right by his fingers, nose pushed right up against your clit as he didn't relent. Every movement was another curse falling from your mouth. 

“Shit, Spencer, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck,” you whimpered, hips rocking back and forth as you tried to fuck his face, begging for more. 

To your surprise, he didn't keep your hips still but let you keep riding his face, riding his fingers as you chased your first orgasm.  

It came quickly, overwhelming you with the impact, jolting through your body like a lightning bolt as he let your hips shake and crash across his tongue. 

When he finally pulled his face away, it was glistening, and he wasted no time shoving his tongue back in your mouth. His message was clear - he may have let you take whatever pleasure you'd wanted with him, but he was still the one in control. 

You trailed kisses along his cheeks, neck, shoulders as he divested himself of clothing, shirt, belt, pants, ripping at yours to free your body as well, until the two of you were only left with underwear and you'd picked up every last drop of your cum left on his skin.

“On your back, now,” he said, and you complied. You spread your legs, and rubbed at your still wet cunt, jolting as he finally lined himself up with your cunt. 

But he didn't push in yet. Instead he wrapped two arms under your knees and pulled you closer, so his cock rested over the top of your stomach, and leaned down, his face hovering inches over your own, holding himself up with a forearm rested just above your head. 

“You see that?” He said, glancing down. “That is how much I am going to fill you. That is how deep I am going to ease into you. That is how far I am going to go to claim you. You can take it like a good girl, right?” 

“Just shut up and put your cock inside me, Spencer.” 

“You're so fucking pushy for a submissive little slut,” he said, smiling finally. 

“I am not a-” you started to protest, but he slid inside of your hot cunt and you lost the ability to focus. 

“Not a what, Y/N? Speak up,” thrusting shallowly as your cunt grabbed him and held tight. 

“I'm not a- SPENCER!” You screamed his name as he pulled out quickly, thrusting into you again with a speed and strength that had you wrapping your arms and legs around him tightly, fighting for him to stay right there deep inside. 

“Not a sub? Y/N, you're whimpering and drooling right now. You're three seconds away from begging for my cock, why the fuck can you not be honest with yourself?” 

“Fuck…you,” you said between moans as he rutted into you like a beast. He wasn't man anymore, bit monster, and he was claiming you inch by disgustingly perfect inch. 

“Let go. Let me take care of you, let me control you. Come on, baby, you know how good it would feel,” he said, before ducking his head and wrapping his tongue around a nipple. 

You screamed his name again, but you still tried to resist. 

“Come on, Y/N. Show me. Cum on my cock.” 

For a brief moment, you'd thought you'd resisted the demand. But then your brain faded, and your nails cut into his back like daggers as your body followed his commands and you came on his cock for a second time that night. 

“Perfect. One more, you can do one more,” he said, kissing your lips and lifting himself back up so he was sitting on his knees as he again picked up the pace. 

You mumbled his name over and over again as he fucked out all of the frustration in your body. Every thing either of you had said or done melted away in the glow of pleasure, your body buzzing from the feeling of him taking ownership of you. 

“One more, Y/N. One more, you need to cum one more time.”

“I can't, I can't I can't I can't, Spencer I can't I really can't,” you said, voice growing pathetically whiny as the tears sprang to your eyes and you choked back a sob. 

“Yes you can, one more. Together, we can do it together,” he said, groaning as you clenched around him.” 

He claimed your mouth again, his hand wrapping around your throat as he cut off your air supply for a second, then two, then three, as your ears buzzed and you finally slipped over the edge again. 

But this time, as promised, you weren't the only one caught in the pain of pleasure. Spencer collapsed on top of you as his dick spurted inside you, holding you close as he unloaded everything he had into you. 

He sat there, warming his cock as he lazily kissed open mouth kisses into every inch of your shoulders, collar bone and chest. Everywhere he could reach without pulling out of you and leaving you there. 

After weeks of no sleep because of him, it was his soft lips that finally enticed you into the hands of the sandman, his weight a comfort as you closed your eyes. 

When you woke in your bed, clean and clothed, he was gone, and so was every sign that he'd ever been there in the first place. 

🔖 @stillhere197 @understandingsunrise @mindfullycriminal @aliteralsemicolon @r-3dlips @alexafromamazon15 @jasf444 @subunitless @thebloomingeagle @lackingoriginalthoughts @empressgraytea @nox-sprite @alondralolll @allspicestones @chiyozai @i_heart_mgg @2hiigh2cry @tiyuel @jiuseoks @readinglatenights @placidus @dreamsarebig @pisceslovrr @waywardgoddess66 @tampon_racecar @kbaby-024 @luvdella @feyresqueen @a1dyn @pleasantwitchgarden @kolasbombaf @lovehadlovelost @kissesforspence @moonchildooh @bubbleebubz @theoraekenslover @melagem02 @calypso-read @ari-aurelia

(Note: There are multiple broken tags above. Please check your account settings and make sure you can be tagged when signing up for the tag list. I'll remove all dead tags after two chapters of broken tags!)

[milkoomi]

any skin care (face) advice?

hi darling!! thank you so much sending in an ask! i’m so excited to answer this omg i LOVE skincare!! 🤍

faustina’s skincare tips. ᥫ᭡

just as a friendly reminder: everyone is different. no one has the exact same skin type/concerns, but i’ll try to keep my list of tips more generalized so that anyone with any kind of skin type can take them into consideration!

— tip #1 : stop touching your face!

i used to be a chronic face toucher/picker and it’s a habit that’s kind of hard to break! but think about it: your hands touch soooooo many different things throughout the day and that means there’s soooooo much bacteria, dirt, & grime probably sticking to your hands and when you go to touch your face, your just transferring all that bacteria onto your face! gross, right? stop touching your face!

picking at your pimples is also a huge no! picking at your acne can cause acne scarring, so leave your pimple alone! don’t pick at it, don’t try and pop it, just let it be and let your acne treatments do all the work!

pro tip — wash your hands before doing any kind of skin care! make sure you’re washing your hands for at least 20 seconds and make sure to scrub any and all surfaces of your hands!

— tip #2 : change your pillowcase weekly!

this should be a given, but if you aren’t already changing your pillowcases regularly then it’s no wonder you’re breaking out babe! there’s so much sweat, dirt, and bacteria that can build up in your pillowcase and, like with touching your face, can lead to all that ickiness transferring onto your face!

pro tip — invest in a silk/satin pillowcase! not only will it benefit your hair, but it’ll also benefit your skin!

— tip #3 : start simple!

i know we all see these different viral skincare products that we’re all dying to try, but do not try them all in one go! the more new products you try out at once, the harder it’ll be to figure out which product is breaking you out if you have a bad reaction to something!

keep your skincare routine simple: face wash, toner, & moisturizer at night and toner, moisturizer, & spf in the morning! once you get a feel for the basics, then you can slowly start adding in new products!

pro tip — an easy way of finding out your skin type is by washing your face with your usual cleanser and waiting 30 minutes afterwards to see how your skin feels! don’t worry about using any other products!

if your skin looks extra shiny & feels kind of greasy, then you have oily skin

if your skin feels tight and looks patchy/flaky, then you have dry skin

if your forehead & nose feel greasy and look shiny, but your cheeks/chin area feel tight & look patchy/flaky, then you have combo skin

if your skin feels normal as in there’s no tightness, no dryness, no signs of oiliness, then you have normal skin

— tip #4 : double cleanse!

double cleansing has been a non-negotiable for me! i used to remove my makeup with makeup wipes, but they never fully removed my makeup leaving me with a lot of residue & new breakouts. i also used micellar water, but it was about the same results as when i was using makeup wipes. i still use micellar water when i have a full beat on, but i’ll only use it just to ensure that i got every last bit of makeup off!

i personally use the Anua Heartleaf Pore Control Cleansing Oil (the mild one!) as my first cleanse! i love that it doesn’t clog my pores, leaves my skin feeling clean, & really helps to remove all the makeup, spf (yes, double cleansing also helps to remover sunscreen!), and any dirt & grime from the day! i then go in with the Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser for normal to dry skin as my second cleanse!

double cleansing just helps to make sure your skin is clean and free from anything that can cause new breakouts!

pro tip — if you use an oil cleanser, be sure to emulsify it with water! always apply the oil cleanser onto dry skin, but before you completely rinse it off, splash your face with water and get your hands wet to start rubbing your face gently. you’ll see the oil turn into a milky, white texture! that’ll be how you know you’re emulsifying it! it just helps to make sure you’re getting that oil cleanser off!

— tip #5 : do your research!

there’s so many skincare products out there that people rave over, but before you go buy something that’s going viral, do your research! read product reviews, find people who have the same or similar skin type as you who are using the product, read the ingredients & make sure there isn’t anything in the product that you’ll have a bad reaction to!

make sure you’re looking for and researching products for your skin type! just because a product may say “best for all skin types” doesn’t mean it will actually be the best for you! so don’t be afraid to do deep dives on different skincare products!

final notes —

skincare is a lot of trial and error. you’re going to try different products and some may be a god-send for you while some may send you ten steps backwards! there may even be some products you try that just don’t do anything for you! and that’s okay! you have to figure out what works best for you and your skin, but let your skincare journey be something fun! after all, it is a form of self care!

with lots of love, faustina 🌷

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Trey Clover: Eyes Up Here

Wow, glasses off Trey? He’s still making the same one brow lifted smirk though 😂 HE KINDA LOOKS LIKE SEBEK WITHOUT THE GLASSES... I don’t know how to describe this artwork + this voice other than saying “Trey fans all want one thing and it’s disgusting”/j; he just seems to attract people that are really into the beefy dad types.

Trey’s Campwear jacket also had Painted on it. I wonder if that’s a brand in the Twst world? And his cardigan is the color of dentist scrubs—

Rise and Shine!

Mornings were a blur. Not that they went by fast, but they were literally a blur.

When Trey woke, his surroundings were smears of color. Slapped together indiscriminately, no clear form or boundaries between the hues. It’s not until he slipped his spectacles on that everything cleared up, sharpening into proper shapes and recognizable objects.

Running a hand through his short hair, he gave a yawn as he wandered into the washroom. The ceiling was curved and patterned like the sky. Paired with grass-like tiles and flowery sinks and lamps, the space created the illusion of stepping outside.

The washroom was shared among all of the dorm's residents. A few of them had been so bold as to leave their toiletries around: deodorant sticks, labelled bottles of shampoo and conditioner. But there was never any mistaking of Trey’s things for another’s.

He was the only one with an entire case to carry his dental hygiene routine. There was: a main toothbrush (changed to a new one every 3-4 months, or whenever he noticed significant bristle damage), several specialized toothbrushes (one for the back, one for scraping the tongue...), two spares, a selection of flavored toothpastes (fluoride added), and three containers of floss.

No mouthwash though--"It washes away too much," Trey would tell anyone who was willing to listen, "the bad bacteria and the good. All the saliva and mucous. We need those things to have a healthy, thriving oral microbiome."

“There are 810 rules by the Queen of Hearts,” the Heartslabyul students often joked, “and just as many steps in the vice dorm leader’s teeth cleaning routine.”

"Come on, guys. It's not that long," he'd say. "The dentist recommends two minutes, twice a day. I only take a little more than that to make sure I get in all the crevices..."

Trey counted the seconds as he ran his toothbrushes along his teeth, his gums, his hard palate, his tongue and under it. Five minutes, including flossing and rinsing.

See? Not that long. He’d have to tell his dorm mates when he could.

He held out a hand in front of his mouth and exhaled. A puff of air was trapped for just long enough for him to catch a whiff of minty freshness.

Alright.

Satisfied, he left with his bag and books.

Students peeled down Main Street, on their way to class. He was one of hundreds, living his ordinary life.

And he liked it that way.

Trey squinted. A circle in his vision was out of focus.

He removed his glasses to check for imperfections. And, sure enough, there was a bead of water in the middle of his lenses—likely a stray fleck from when he had been diligently cleaning his mouth. In a blink of that blurred world, he wiped the glasses up and placed them back on his nose.

Everything returned to full clarity.

“Good morning, Trey-senpai!” a voice called out to him.

He slowed his walk, allowing you to match his pace. His mouth cocked to one side as you pulled into view. “Morning.”

There’s a faint cloud hanging around him. Something sweet, yet also bright. Minty sugar, you think, leaning into it. Mmmmm.

“Did you eat breakfast?” Trey asked, and you laughed.

“That’s so dad of you to say.”

“Breakfast is an important meal of the day.” Trey adjusted his frames. A flash of white-his teeth. “So? Did you?”

“Wellllll…” You let your voice trail off.

The white had vanished behind his lips, but your gaze still lingered there. You knew you were staring, but you couldn’t tear yourself away.

“Hey now.” He tapped the rim of his glasses. “My eyes are up here.”

“Oh, sorry!” you startled, face warming. “It’s just… you have a really nice smile. It’s hard not to notice it.”

“Is that right?” He chuckled, easily laughing—not at you, never at you, but with you. “I’m flattered. Most people don’t seem to appreciate one.”

“No one in your dorm?”

“No. I’m pretty sure most of the guys in Heartslabyul think what I do’s a little excessive. Even Riddle doesn’t totally get it.”

“They must be jealous. The results speak for themselves.”

“That’s kind of you. Hey, you know what?" Trey leaned down, cupping a hand to his mouth. His voice was amplified in your ear.

Your heart leapt, thudding like the feet of a rabbit scampering down a dirt path. Your flesh was on fire, though Trey laid not a single finger on you.

"Y-Yes?!"

"I think you have a really nice smile too."

He smirked—and fireworks went off in your head. One, two, three. Colorful flowers blooming in the sky.

Your hands flew to your cheeks, as if that would somehow help to cool you off.

“Haha, are you embarrassed?” Trey’s eyes crinkled, as they always did, when he was amused. “I’m glad I got to see it up close and personal for myself. It was worth it.”

“M-My eyes are up here,” you managed to shoot back. Scathingly, you hoped.

His responding grin was crooked. For a second, you saw the him that hid behind humility, the not-so-kind Trey. His kind, toothy smile laced with a trace of poison.

“My bad. I see now I should’ve been nicer to you.”

“Was that a dad joke?!”

“Maybe. Who’s to know?”

[disgustinggf]

easy mushroom suggestion to get you to like mushrooms:

1. buy some dried shiitake from the Asian grocery store. they are super cheap, like a couple bucks for a whole package.

2. rehydrate them in warm broth. whatever kind is your favorite. just let them soak in it for a couple minutes until they absorb it and get soft. you can use water but broth is tastier.

3. stir fry them with vegetables and teriyaki sauce or like. literally whatever you want. just make sure the mushrooms are fully cooked (undercooked shiitake can rarely cause skin reactions in some people). you'll know they're done when they're tender and fragrant and they turn dark brown.

I promise you with all my heart that they will be better than 99% of mushrooms you have probably ever had. I agree that poorly cooked mushrooms are actually vile but as a mushroom enjoyer it is my sacred duty to spread the good word of How To Eat Good Mushrooms and it starts with having basically any kind except cremini/portobello/button mushrooms unless you're really good at cooking them correctly + happen to enjoy their flavor. try king trumpets. try oysters. try enoki. try wine caps if you can get them. go to your nearest farmer's market and see if anyone is selling fresh wild mushrooms - most of them can't be cultivated in captivity and many have amazing flavors and textures. all of those options are much better than cremini imo. and there are so many varieties you can buy dried online if you can't get them fresh! most wild mushrooms are actually better dried and then rehydrated anyway - it intensifies and improves the flavor.

advice for cooking fresh cremini/portobello mushrooms, because they cook COMPLETELY DIFFERENTLY than vegetables do:

1. try not to get them wet if at all possible since they absorb water like a sponge. use a dry brush to clean off dirt. don't worry about bacteria since you're gonna be cooking them thoroughly anyway, you just need to get the actual visible dirt off.

2. slice them up thin instead of just halving or quartering them. this will help them expel moisture. also consider removing the gills since they don't have a great texture and tend to taste really strongly earthy; the rest of the mushroom is firmer with a milder taste which you may find more agreeable.

3. IMPORTANT. heavily salt them with coarse salt (e.g. kosher salt) before cooking and then set them aside to dry-brine for at least 15-20 minutes or as long as possible! put them on a wire rack or paper towels because they will start to weep fluid as the salt draws it out. then just wipe all that shit off before cooking.

4. cook them on medium heat in a skillet, alone, before adding other ingredients. they will visibly expel lots of water and steam during this process and will massively reduce in volume over time. think of it a little like caramelizing onions, you want to be patient and not cook them too fast. they will not get soggy or bitter if you cook them too long like vegetables will, in fact, the opposite is true - they will become more dense and flavorful.

5. pair them with other strong flavors if you find them too earthy. garlic and butter always go well on mushrooms imo. red wine is good too. anything you would put on a really good steak probably also tastes good on cremini mushrooms to balance out the mineral flavors.

I love you I hope one day you meet a mushroom you love too

i do appreciate this and ur passion for mushrooms but consider this: theyre scary so id rather stay away 😭😭😭😭

[creed-of-cats]

Hello anybody who goes outside, especially in less urban areas where large mammals are present, remember to CHECK!! FOR!! TICKS!! EVERYWHERE!! AT LEAST ONCE A DAY!! EVEN BETTER IF YOU HAVE A FRIEND TO CHECK WITH!!

Tick borne diseases are really fucking scary!! Many are debilitating, understudied, and difficult to get treated for even in the best of circumstances, and ticks can carry multiple at once. Lyme disease is the most well known one in the United States, but there are many diseases ticks carry, including ones from the same bacterial genus as typhus.

Ticks are present on every continent (INCLUDING ANTARTICA!!??). They are most prevalent in warm, humid environments, which also means they are becoming more common in areas that didn't have problems with them before! (thank you climate change 🫥) Wear long sleeved clothes, tuck them in when possible, wear bug spray/bug repellant of some kind, and be wary of forest edges and tall grass. Take a shower soon after if possible as ticks don't like running water, and it is a good time to check your private areas for ticks (dont forget under your boobs).

If you do find a tick on you that has bitten you, carefully remove it with tweezers, as leaving the mouth parts in there can cause infection. Squeezing them can cause them to spit the blood they just sucked, now with the bacteria they harbor, into you. If you don't have tweezers, you should still try to remove it as carefully as possible.

The longer it sucks blood, the longer there is a chance of contracting a disease. (Most medical authorities say up to 24-36 hours but people with tick bourne disease sometimes claim otherwise). Moniter the site for any signs of rash or infection. What diseases are prevelant in your region will depend, but many tickborne diseases include a visible rash, fever, fatigue, and headaches. The longer they goes untreated, the more chronic tickbourne disease tend to become, even when treatment is finally received.

If you're able to get medical attention and you think the tick has been on you for longer then 24 hours, please do so. If you have an urgent care, they usually give a prescription for the needed antibiotic very easily. If you can't, I'm unfortunately not too aware of ways to get the antibiotic (doxycycline) used for many cases without a prescription. I've heard it is relatively easy to find on online pharmacies. Keep monitoring for up to 30 days after a tick bite for signs of disease.

Not all ticks will carry disease. Some regions have ticks but they don't tend to be carriers, or a low percentage of ticks will be. Some regions are very saturated with tick bourne disease, and you should research, especially if you will be doing activities or jobs that put you at a higher risk of exposure. Different tick species will also carry different diseases, so learn how to identify them best you can.

THIS HAS BEEN A PSA!! I LOVE YOU!! CHECK FOR TICKS!!!

[allieslittlewritings]

hii! would you write a spencer reid x daughter! or sister! reader where she just graduated high school and has a lot of mixed emotions, like, she’s relieved that it’s over but sad that she may not see her friends anymore or as much as she did?

thank you sm 💗

Graduation Blues

Spencer Reid x daughter!reader

Word Count: ~1.2k

Warnings: None :)

A/n: this was my first time writing a request. I hope I did okay and I hope you like it <3

The front door creaked open as you stepped inside. The familiar warmth your home held was comforting against the slight chill you felt from the cold weather outside. From a distance you could hear the sound of your best friend's car as she drove away after dropping off. Though you enjoyed spending an eventful day with your friends, there was also a hint of relief that came with being home.

Your removed graduation cap and gown hung over your arm. You looked down at it and felt that same feeling you had felt on-and-off all day. If there existed a fitting word to describe it, you didn't know what it was. It felt almost like anxiety and confusion, but that wasn't quite it. In racking your brain to try and reach an actual conclusion, you failed to notice Spencer exiting the kitchen and warmly greeting you.

"Hi, sweetheart. Did you have fun?" He pulled the sleeves of his shirt down, his hands slightly damp from washing dishes.

Absent-mindedly you hummed in agreement and started taking off your shoes. Spencer wasn't big on wearing "outside shoes" inside, citing how much bacteria you could unknowingly step into your home.

You missed the analytical look on his face. "You okay?"

Being both a profiler and an attentive parent, he could always tell immediately when something about you seemed even remotely off or wrong. Something as small as sighing in smaller intervals than usual was always noticed by him.

"Do I not seem okay?" you tried your best to make it sound like a joke. As if you were so obviously okay there would be no reason to doubt it.

Spencer smiled a little sadly, "Uh, no, not really." He hesitated for a second. "It took you about two seconds longer than usual to answer me. And even then you didn't actually say anything. I'd expect you to be so excited you wouldn't even bother taking off your shoes or pausing by the door. You haven't really looked at me since you got here." He tilted his head as he observed your body language.

You didn't say anything in return and instead just focused on hanging up your coat, turning your face away from your dad.

With a gentler voice Spencer spoke again. "I made mac and cheese if you're hungry, I wasn't sure if you'd eat while you were out so, I figured it was better to just make it."

Still not a word left your mouth. Luckily for you, Spencer was practically just as good at interpreting silence as speech.

"Okay, why don't I go get us some food? We can eat, and then, only if you want, you can talk to me about whatever is going on. Does that sound good?"

"Yeah," you said softly.

Spencer looked at you for a moment longer and then went to the kitchen to get you two food.

You followed him to the kitchen and got plates and forks for the two of you, setting them by your usual seats around the dining table.

Spencer did most of the talking while you ate. He told you about the plot of his latest read, what he liked about it and the miniscule inaccuracies that didn't sit right with him.

His rambling was a comforting distraction from your thoughts for a while.

Spencer swallowed his last bite of food and took a sip of water. "Can you tell me what's wrong now?"

Silence filled the apartment for a minute while you gathered your thoughts.

"When you graduated high school, did you miss it afterwards?" you asked.

Spencer laughed awkwardly, "No, not at all. I was very glad it was over, but I didn't have the type of high school experience you did. My graduation day was mostly spent trying to convince your grandmother the shadow outside her bedroom window wasn't a human being."

He paused and changed his tone to a softer one before continuing. "But if that's what's bothering you, I think I understand. You've spent years going to that same building, with more or less the same people. The same teachers and classmates. Now that that's ending, it's maybe a little harder to deal with than you thought."

"I was so focused on studying and finally being done with all my exams that I didn't even really think about it until today." Your voice got more choked up as you continued. "Only one of my friends is going to college in the same state I am. We're all going to be busy and every year we'll see each other less and less."

Spencer nodded as he listened to you.

"You've gotten so used to seeing them almost every day and going from that to seeing them a few times a year is a big change," he thought out loud. "Sweetheart, I know how much you care about your friends, how much you've nurtured your relationships with them, and that won't change."

The look of hesitation on your face remained.

"Regardless of where all of you go, or how frequently you hang out, you'll still have all of the memories you've made. The experiences you've had together over the years aren't going anywhere."

"Only about 5% of people remain friends after high school," you said quietly.

"That's still approximately four hundred million people, sweetheart." He reached an arm forward to wipe one of the stray tears rolling down your cheek and then gently tilted your face up. "You know, the odds of you existing are almost four hundred million times less than that. The odds of you and your friends existing at the same time? Even less. A statistic you found on Google doesn't define your personal relationships."

"That doesn't help very much," you whispered honestly.

"Unfortunately, I don't think anything I tell you right now will truly help. I can't promise you that you'll still be as close with your friends in twenty years as you are now, but I can promise you that it'll all work out exactly how it's supposed to." He stood up and walked around the table to where you sat.

"Now, why don't we go make hot chocolate and eat your graduation cake?" He held a hand out for you to take.

"You made me a cake?" you frowned, taking his hand.

"I was going to, Aunt Penelope beat me to it," Spencer sheepishly admitted, pulling you up from your chair.

He tucked a piece of hair behind your ear and slowly pulled you into a hug. "I'm sorry I don't always have a very helpful answer or solution to your problems, but please don't ever think just because you grow up you have to stop coming to me when you don't feel well."

"I won't," you mumbled into his chest.

You went to the kitchen with your dad. While he made your hot chocolate, you started to tell him about the happy aspects of your day. As you thought about your day—hearing your friends and family cheer when you accepted your diploma on stage, laughing with your friends while you all reflected on the last few years, the new inside jokes that transpired—a warmth spread in your chest. Whatever happened in the future, you'd keep all your memories safely tucked away in your heart, and think of them fondly.

[prettieinpink]

Hi I really love ur blog and I was wondering if you have any tips about nails, bc my nails grow long but are so flimsy that they keep breaking off and bending easily, no pressure or anything

♡♡♡

GUIDE TO TAKING CARE OF NAILS

DAILY CARE

Avoid nail polishes that contain formaldehyde and dibutyl phthalate as they can cause your nails to weaken over time. Highly pigmented polishes can also cause weak nails. To avoid this, take breaks from nail polish and go natural from time to time. 

Use cuticle oils frequently, which varies from the condition of your nails. If you don’t have cuticle oil, vaseline or a lip balm is a good alternative.

Keep your nails away from dirty or wet environments. Dirt can nurture the growth of bacteria and wet nails are weak nails. If you have to be doing things that include excessive moisture or dirt, try to wear gloves of any kind.

Stop biting your nails and picking at them. While both are difficult habits to break, both can destroy the health of your nails. Be very mindful of how you treat your nails.

Wash your hands thoroughly when needed. Before and after you eat, you go to the loo, you handle food etc. When we wash our hands, The grime under our nails is also being washed away.

Nails are not tools. Don’t use them to open cans, remove stickers or open boxes. This will weaken them in the long run and increase the chances of them being chipped or broken. Use the provided tools you have instead.

Avoid prolonged exposure to harsh chemicals like cleaning products or acetone-based products. They can strip your nails of moisture which causes breakage

WEEKLY (AT-HOME) MANICURE

If you have nail polish on, don’t peel or pick at it but use a nail-friendly nail polish remover gently with a cotton pad/ball.

After that, if needed, file or trim your nails to your desired length. For smooth cutting, wipe down your nails with a wet cotton ball or wipe. 

Get a bowl of warm water and soap to soak your cuticles in. Then use a soft brush or a clean toothbrush to gently exfoliate your nails. You can usually use a little bit of your body scrub or a tad bit of sugar. Then, dry your hands & nails with a small microfiber towel.

Apply cuticle oil or any cream to moisturise your nails, then massage that it for a few minutes to stimulate nail growth.

Apply your polishes in the correct order. Base coat, nail polish then top coat. 

Moisturise with a nice hand cream! 

[galacticgraffiti]

A Borrowing of Bones (8)

This work is a collaboration with my most beloved artist and friend of all time Blumi: Story by me, art by Blumi ♡

Simon "Ghost" Riley x John "Soap" MacTavish Rating: Mature (for heavy themes) Chapter Wordcount: 3.3k

MCD, Dead Dove: Do Not Eat// Heed also the Masterlist for general warnings. CW: maceration, canon-typical violence, military inaccuracies, hallucinations, descriptions of gore/rot.

A/N: Blumi's artworks are added at the end of each chapter, please leave them some love!

Read on AO3 ✧ Taglist Signup for this fic ✧ Fic Masterlist

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

Eight. Hateful to Me as the Gates of Hades

Ghost presses his thumbs into his eyes, grunting from when black dots dance behind his lids, but greedy for the relief it brings from the burning vapours of the chemicals he’s been tinkering with.

Water splashes when it hits the bucket, sloshing around uselessly against white plastic walls. Ghost felt like a serial killer when he bought the supplies he needed. Which- well, it isn’t inaccurate. He has killed a lot of people, after all. Good at his job and all that shite.

The supplies he needs now, though, are not meant for violence but for love. They are not meant to destroy and inflict pain, but to preserve and keep for an eternity.

This is all for Johnny.

Ghost squints and closes the chemical concoctions he prepped to put away. For now, the water will do just fine. Might smell. Of rot and decay and death. But nothing cleans bones better than their own bacteria and a bit of warm water for them to propagate in. Close the bucket with a tight lid, leave it out in the sun… and most of the work will be done for him, without any risk of damaging the bone. He’s done enough research to be sure of it.

The thought of the smell makes him grateful that he keeps a place outside of their home base, glad for the childless great-great uncle who forgot to write a will and unwittingly left his small cottage to Ghost as his closest ‘living’ relative. Rileys aren’t exactly known to have long lives. Runs in the family, it seems, all that violence, all that drinking.

He’s glad for Price who had decided that familial connection was loose enough to let Simon keep it even after his official death. Glad the cottage is situated in bumfuck nowhere, with no nosey neighbours to come sniffing around. Not even tourists or hikers come by this place. Quietest cabin in all of England. Loneliest house at the edge of the world.

That uncle was a fucking weirdo, and Ghost is better off for it.

It’s isolated, sure. But Ghost has never minded that. Not until Johnny. Being alone had always been the way. Johnny changed that, changed him.

Ghost had always enjoyed the peace and quiet of this place before Johnny. Had liked it; how tranquil it was, how much it eased the pain of his sensitive ears, how far removed it seemed from the reality of the job. Barely even birds singing out here. But after Johnny, he’d realised he had started to miss the noise. The very specific noise made by Johnny: the clattering of his various stupid themed mugs, the sounds of his steps, his snorting laugh, his voice (god, fuck, his voice, with that stupid fucking rasp and that stupid fucking accent)...

So, after Johnny joined them, Ghost simply… didn't come here. Why would he leave base when Johnny remained there, spilling over with energy and light? 

Ye goin’ home fer christmas, LT? he’d asked that first year.

And where would I go to find that? had been Ghost’s mumbled answer, barely loud enough for Soap to hear. Johnny had never asked again after that, and he’d stayed on base with him from then on. Had become the home Ghost had so desperately, silently longed for. It had been him. Ghost had never needed anyone else, neither before him… nor now after.

Nothing could ever fill that void.

And so, Johnny had always been there with him, barely ever left if not on missions, and even those, they did together most of the time. Stupidly, Ghost had assumed that Soap’s family must be dead as well, or at the very least so dysfunctional he would not visit them even for holidays. Now he knows that isn't true. Saw Johnny’s mother crying at his funeral until her eyes, blue just like his, were red-rimmed and her lids puffy and her face blotchy.

Johnny never went home to her. Stayed on base with Ghost instead, even though he had a family, one that loved him enough to mourn his death.

Did you stay for me, Johnny?

The thought crackles through Ghost with the force of lightning. He looks up from the floor, finds Johnny right there. Of course he is. Hasn't left his side for long since Glasgow. Clings to him so close it’s like his presence is wrapped around Ghost.

Bit cocksure of yerself, aren't ye, Ghostie?

Shut up.

Johnny snorts, his feet dangling from the metal workbench. Tan skin, flushed and lifelike, covers his hand that’s hovering right next to Ghost’s face. No more rot. No more bone or muscle shining through decaying flesh. He seems almost… whole again. When he bends forward to stare down at Ghost and inspect the bucket he has prepared, Soap’s eyes are shining blue and curious.

What are ye plannin’ tae do tae me, love?

“Whatever I bloody well need to to shut you up,” Ghost grunts, heaving the bucket up to carry it outside.

Och, don’t be like that.

“Like what? Goin’ fuckin’ insane, aren’t I? Talking to you like you can hear me, fuckin’ hell. If Price ever makes me go through psych eval again that’ll be my career done for.”

Ye were fucked in the heid long before this, aye? Don’t tell me ye wouldae passed even a single psych eval withoot a bit o’ help from Price. Ye’ve always been fuckin’ gyte. ‘s what I loved aboot ye.

Ghost just hums to himself. Takes in the carefully placed bones that lay before him. Soap’s skull shines beautifully, gilded by the warm light of the afternoon. Barely any flesh remains; a week in the water should be enough to get the last bits off cleanly. 

He is beautiful.

Ever since Ghost took his bones, the Johnny that keeps him company has started to look less and less rotten: Flesh restoring itself, colour returning to dead eyes. The only wound that won’t seem to heal is the goddamn hole in his temple, just as red and deep in his head as it is ingrained in his skull.

Whether that’s a good sign is up for debate, but Ghost chooses not to think about it too much.

He takes a deep breath and tries to ignore that Soap’s hand on his shoulder has no weight to it at all when he hops down from the bench to stand behind Ghost and watch him work.

His fingers trace the pale, cool bone before him in something akin to reverence. In worship, perhaps, though his heart aches at the sight of it.

I’ll make you whole again, Johnny. His thumb presses into bone, imagining the flesh there and what it might have been like to stroke Soap’s cheek. What it might have been like to wipe tears and sweat and blood off his skin like Ghost had wanted to so many times.

"You were the most beautiful thing I had ever seen," Simon says quietly, eyes fixed on the empty sockets of the skull in front of him. “First time I saw you, I knew. Knew I’d never have you, and I’d always want you. Knew you were it for me. Just… fuckin’ knew. Couldn't have you because I would never deserve it. Just thought it’d be me who’d die first. Never even entertained… the- the fuckin’ possibility of being the one left behind, did you know that? On missions, always worried for you. Never about me.”

Soap blinks up at him, all long lashes and sad eyes.

And look where we are now, huh? Finally got me, LT. Even if it is from beyond the grave. Should be yer job to haunt me, really. Ye go’ the right name fer it an’ all.

His voice is too sad to make the joke work, and a bitter laugh drips from Ghost’s lips. Simon’s been talking so much lately. Maybe more than he has in the decade before this.

“Like I don’t know that. Should always have been me goin’ first. I’m already dead, aren't I? More so without you, Johnny.” His scarred fingers curl around the bone of Soap’s skull, carefully avoiding the bullet hole that forms the only imperfection, but his eyes are fixed on Soap’s hand that remains weightless on his shoulder, always almost touching him and never quite managing. Just like it was when he was alive. “Yeah, look where we are now. Me taking the skull from your grave shouldn’t be less bloody insane than the fact that I’m talkin’ to you like you’re actually here.”

Mhhm. Do nae worry too much aboot it. Ye said it yerself- 

“-it’ll all be fine once this is done. Has to be.” Ghost sighs deeply, rubs a hand over his face and is still somehow always surprised that there is no eyeblack on it afterwards. Civilian clothes, civilian mask, civilian face. No grease paint, no balaclava. His bike helmet is the utmost protection this world will afford him without raising too many eyebrows. He can't get used to it. Thinks that somehow it might have been easier if he could have held Johnny’s hand. Reckons he won't find out now. Not ever.

Soap taps his shoulder, and this time, Ghost swears he can feel it. Has been touched by Johnny so often the weight of his hand is familiar like the slash of a knife sinking into skin. It’s so easy to imagine that it's real. So natural. Hard to remember that Ghost is just insane.

Ye’ll have tae leave me here while you go back tae base. Ye alright with tha’?

“Gotta be, I guess.” Ghost shrugs, but feels his stomach drop. He knows Soap is right. Knows he can’t have weeks off to watch Johnny’s skull macerate. Knows he can't take it with him, either. He might be insane but he's not fucking stupid. Wouldn't make any sense to, either. Nothing he can do but wait. The real work starts after this. Shouldn’t even take that long – Ghost has done his research and done it well.

But the thought of leaving Johnny alone – again – makes his fucking hands shake, makes him place the skull in his hands back on the workbench so he won't drop it. 

Ghost drops to his knees, wills his bloody hands to calm down. Presses bruises into his thighs until he remembers he is a real person again. He can't even see Johnny like this, but it's alright. Simon knows he’s there. Can feel the weight of his gaze in the back of his neck, just the way he used to feel.

The empty sockets of the skull stare dully at Ghost. He strokes the sharp cheekbone with his thumb, calms himself with the touch, but his heart aches and there is blood in his lungs, viscous and heavy.

“I don’t want to leave you, Johnny.”

Be alright, LT. 

“You can’t promise that.”

Could never promise that, could I? But I can promise I’ll still be here when ye get back.

He’ll be here. He’s not going anywhere. It’s a mantra, the best he’s gonna get. He’ll be here. He��s not going anywhere.

“Gotta look in on you every few days anyways, change the water. Helps the maceration if I do.” Ghost is mumbling to himself more than anything. Hopes that the one week might be enough. Maybe two, just to be safe. He prays to all gods that never existed that Price won’t send him away on long missions. Maybe he’ll get lucky, just this time around. Just this once.

With careful hands, Simon carries Johnny’s skull outside. Places it in the water bucket and seals the lid.

“See you when I see you, Johnny.”

Not if I see ye first.

________________

The mission is fucked from the start.

Always is, when it comes down to it. Bad intel, bad conditions, traitors- everything that can go wrong piled into a shitheap of fucked missions. It’s not the first mission gone wrong since Soap’s death, but it’s the worst one yet.

Gaz ends up in the shitty field hospital, almost dies on the table. Price’s fingers get crushed in a wreck – Lucky they’re my left ones, eh? he jokes and cocks his gun in defiance of death. Ghost’s ears are still ringing from an explosion going off way too close to him when he gets off the helo and steps onto the plane back to British soil. 

If he had to guess why they all made it out alive, in spite of everything, in spite of almost everybody else dying there… his first answer would be Soap. And people might look at him like he’s lost the plot, and maybe he has – he probably has – most definitely has – but it wouldn’t change his answer: It was Soap.

Like Soap’s voice nagging in the back of his head that there's enemies ahead. Soap’s fingers pulling him in a different direction than he had planned on going, and there, Ghost sees the reflection of a sniper in a dirty window and shoots the guy before he has a shot at Price. 

Soap, always Soap. Never more present, never more alive than on missions. Always vibrating with it. Let’s get ourselves a win, aye, LT? Ghost never loved him more than bathed in the blood of their enemies.

He doesn't show up like a ghost in the warzone, though. No, that’s reserved for the privacy of Ghost’s time on base, at home, off-duty. First time his spectre has left Ghost’s side in days. First time he has felt truly gone since Glasgow, save for those little glimpses that feel like he is tugging at the edge of Ghost’s consciousness.

And Ghost knows that it’s just instinct, is just training and honed reflexes. He knows it. And still he can’t help but ascribe his survival – all of theirs – to that feeling of Soap that lingers in the back of his mind the whole mission. He wishes he could see him. Swears he sees Johnny’s reflection in a window, but it’s just another enemy for him to shoot, brownish mohawk stained red with blood after Ghost’s perfect shot rips through his head. 

Ghost swears he can hear the clicks of Soap reloading, hear him mumble the maths when he does his complicated shit to do with explosives. Used to drive Ghost mad, all the noise Johnny made. He was quiet on ops – of course he was, he was good – but never as quiet as Ghost could be. Always had to voice his thoughts to keep them in order. Said there was too much in his brain all the time when Ghost asked why he was always talking to himself.

Over time, it shifted. Went from Soap mumbling to himself, to Ghost overhearing. From overhearing to listening, and to Soap no longer talking to himself but listing things to Ghost as if it meant anything to him. And Ghost nodding along, playing the game, willingly becoming the blank slate that Johnny could place his thoughts upon.

Good teamwork, Price used to call it. If Ghost had to call it anything now, he would call it love.

Irrationally, Ghost misses Soap’s battlefield noises and memorised chemical reactions now. Misses all the little sounds that meant Soap at his six. Misses him even more than he did before he went insane and started talking to him like he was alive. He feels Soap’s absence so much heavier now. Hopes it’ll ease once he completes the process, can take Soap with him again, the way it was always supposed to be. The two of them together. Against all odds, against the world.

The mission is way too long. Usually, Ghost relishes the time in action, hates nothing more than idly sitting around on base, waiting for something to pop up. Needs the thrill of the kill, needs to be bathed in blood and fury; needs distraction so he won’t lose it.

Now, all he wants to do is go home. Check on Soap. Make sure he’s safe, he’s alright. Make sure he’ll come back to him, that he’ll still show up when Ghost calls, that they’ll do their call and response like they always did, until that one time when-

Ghost interrupts himself. Focuses on his reflection in the broken window and barely even notices that familiar blue eyes are staring back at him, framed by long, dark lashes.

Reload, shrug it all off, and get it done.

He gets them out of there, saves who he can save. Because the one person he wants to get back to, wants to come home to, isn’t here anyways. No need to draw it out. And if the fates won't let him die and the thread of his life will not be cut, then he won't let anybody else die either. He is already unravelling. Needs the others to intertwine with him so he won't curl into a fucking ball of yarn drenched in blood.

Price lets him leave base without question after Ghost’s medical checkup comes back clear. Well. As clear as it ever is. Nobody asks too many questions. The Captain himself and Gaz are out of commission for a few days at the very least, and no intel means no solo missions either, so there is no point for Ghost to hang around. He used to. Used to stay for Soap; stay with Johnny. But now the base feels so much less like home than the cottage where Johnny’s skull rests.

After a little more than a week away, relief brightens Ghost’s heart when he steps through his creaky front door and into his empty living room to find the shadow of Soap perched on the couch, slowly soaking the fabric with thick, imaginary blood.

“There you are. Have you been waiting long?” Ghost’s voice is soft and quiet. He can allow it to be, in the silence out here. Nobody here but two ghosts, staring back at each other: One real, one not. Ghost isn’t sure which is which anymore.

His heart aches, longs to touch. Longs to beat in unison with Soap’s again as it did when they worked together, as it did even when they were just sitting close.

Was always right there, wasn't I?

“Mhh. Haven’t seen you for too long, though.”

Aww, startin’ to miss my mug already? Yer goin’ soft, LT.

Ghost grumbles out a curse when he stubs his toe in his haste to get to the work space out back. To look at Soap, properly, and to know if it worked.

His steady, reliable sniper hands tremble when he pulls the lid off the bucket. The smell makes his eyes water: even after mere days, the bacteria has done more gentle work than even Ghost’s reverent hands ever could.

He looks perfect.

Ghost has to say it out loud, has to let him know.

“You look perfect, sweet’eart.”

Johnny’s eyes are wide and dark when he looks back at him; stares at his own skull and at Ghost’s face, covered in his balaclava still, too anxious to bother taking it off.

For you. This was all you.

The shake in Simon’s fingers subsides as he lifts the perfectly cleaned skull out of the nasty water, not caring what he touches. He has to know what this bone feels like against his skin.

Warmed by the sun. Smoothed by the water. Brittle, too brittle to leave it, to work with it. 

Carefully, Ghost examines the skull, determines he wants to bleach it first.

What are ye thinkin’ aboot, LT?

And all Ghost can answer with is the truth:

“How to finally make you mine.”

------------------------

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───── Previous Chapter ← ⋆ → Next Chapter [coming] ───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

Oh Johnny.

@ulchabhangorm @purgetrooperfox @captav @gibsalotdoodles @staygoldnimoy @blinca @therestroubletakinplace-blog

[gaiasgrimoire]

Herb Spotlight: Thyme

History & Origins

Thyme (Thymus vulgaris) is a perennial herb that has been cherished for its culinary, medicinal, and spiritual properties for thousands of years. Originating from the Mediterranean region, thyme was used by the ancient Egyptians for embalming, while the Greeks and Romans valued it for its antiseptic properties and burned it as incense in temples to purify spaces.

The name "thyme" is believed to come from the Greek word "thymos," meaning courage or strength. Roman soldiers would bathe in thyme-infused water to gain bravery before battles. In the Middle Ages, it was also tucked under pillows to ward off nightmares and given to knights and warriors as a symbol of courage.

Where & How to Grow Thyme

Thyme is a resilient, sun-loving herb that thrives in well-drained soil and can be grown both indoors and outdoors.

Climate: Thyme prefers warm, sunny climates with at least 6 hours of sunlight daily. It's drought-tolerant and does well in zones 5-9.

Soil: Grows best in well-drained, sandy soil with a slightly alkaline pH. Avoid overwatering, as thyme doesn't tolerate soggy soil.

Growing from seeds: Start thyme seeds indoors 6-8 weeks before the last frost, or plant cuttings directly in the garden in spring or early summer. Thyme can also be propagated easily by root division.

Spacing: Plant thyme about 12 inches apart in a sunny location. It can also be grown in pots or as a ground cover, as it only grows to about 6-12 inches tall.

Harvesting: Harvest thyme when the plants are dry, preferably in the morning, by cutting sprigs just before the flowers bloom. The leaves can be used fresh or dried for later use.

Health Benefits

Thyme offers numerous medicinal benefits when used orally or topically.

Oral Uses:

Respiratory support: Thyme is a natural expectorant, helping to clear mucus and ease symptoms of coughs, colds, bronchitis, and sore throats. Drinking thyme tea or using thyme honey is particularly effective.

Antimicrobial properties: Thyme contains thymol, an essential oil with antibacterial, antifungal, and antiviral properties. It helps fight infections and boost the immune system.

Digestive aid: Thyme is excellent for relieving indigestion, bloating, and gas. It can also help regulate gut bacteria and support digestive health.

Antioxidant support: Rich in vitamin C and other antioxidants, thyme helps reduce oxidative stress, supporting overall wellness and aging.

Topical Uses:

Skin health: Thyme can be used as a natural antiseptic for treating wounds, cuts, and infections. It also helps soothe skin conditions such as acne, eczema, and fungal infections due to its antimicrobial properties.

Anti-inflammatory: When applied topically, thyme can reduce inflammation and swelling, making it useful for treating skin irritations or minor burns.

Hair growth: Thyme oil is often used in natural hair care products for stimulating hair growth and treating dandruff due to its antimicrobial properties.

Magical Properties

Thyme has long been associated with purification, protection, and courage in magical practices.

Purification: Thyme is used in cleansing rituals, either burned as incense or added to baths to cleanse one's aura or energy field. It is believed to purify spaces, removing negative energies or spirits.

Protection: Thyme is often carried or placed in doorways for protection from harm or ill intentions. It can also be worn as a charm to ward off negative energies and bad dreams.

Courage & Strength: Thyme is associated with bravery. In magical workings, it’s used to summon strength and courage, especially when facing difficult situations or challenges. It can be carried as a talisman or burned before spell work to empower the caster.

Healing: Thyme is often used in spells related to healing, vitality, and renewal. It's added to healing potions, incense, and sachets to promote physical and emotional recovery.

Love & Attraction: In love magic, thyme is believed to attract love and affection. It’s often included in love sachets, charms, or baths to draw positive relationships and strengthen existing ones.

Using Thyme in Your Practice

Thyme tea: Brewed as tea, thyme can be sipped to promote healing, clear the mind, and fortify the spirit before rituals.

Burning thyme: Burn dried thyme as an offering to deities, or use the smoke to cleanse and purify spaces, objects, or yourself.

Thyme oil: Dilute thyme essential oil in a carrier oil and use it in healing rituals or anointing candles to promote health and protection.

Thyme is a versatile herb with deep roots in history, known for its medicinal, culinary, and magical uses. Whether you're growing it in your garden or using it in your magical practice, thyme offers powerful healing, protective, and purifying qualities that make it a must-have in any herbalist's or witch’s collection.

[thewonyoungeffect]

how to achieve the “wonyoung” aesthetic !!

people make it seem like you have to wake up super early, eat entirely healthy, have a really long workout routine to have the wonyoung aesthetic, but i’m here to tell you that is not the case at all !! wonyoungism is basically just being your best self like wonyoung, not being wonyoung.

PART 1: MENTALLY

to really get into the wonyoung effect, you have to work on your mental state!! i’ll show you some ways to start thinking positive and such !!

• DECLUTTER: go through your phone and just delete anybody who you don’t talk to anymore, if they don’t benefit you, are toxic, something like that, delete them

• YOU FIRST: start putting yourself first, learn how to say no, set boundaries, don’t let anyone take advantage of you or treat you how they wanna treat you.

• JOURNALING: try journaling, you can experiment with journaling in an attempt to get to know yourself better like your strengths, weaknesses, values, etc !! if you don’t like journaling, you can try different hobbies to see what you like and don’t like to do !!

• CONFIDENCE: work on your confidence, you can do this by experimenting with different styles (if you wear things you like, it can help you gain confidence), have friends that are confident and positive, and try stepping out of your comfort zone (this one isn’t easy so take your time with it)

• YOU TIME: start making days to just hang out with yourself !! you can do anything (movies, food, books) anything that makes you happy !! hanging out with yourself can help you understand who you are inside :)

(if you need anymore advice about this topic, feel free to ask me in my inbox or my comments💗)

PART 2: PHYSICALLY

if you wanna glow up physically, this is the section for you !!

•DRINK WATER: i cannot stress this enough, please drink water !! not only is it good for you but it has MANY benefits .. (eg: clearer skin, flushes out bad bacteria in your body and bladder, regulates your body temperature, and more) if you don’t like drinking water, you can try getting a cirkul water bottle or something like that, it’s water but it taste like juice and they have many different flavors!! my favorite is fruit punch !!!

if you cant afford that, you can just try adding fruit to your water (i suggest lemon)

• SKINCARE: skincare is important, no you don’t need a twenty step routine!! all you need is cleanser, moisturizer, and some sunscreen !!

DISCLAIMER: dont just go buying any skincare because the label is pretty, it might not suit your skin, figure out your skin type and buy items that suit your skin type.

make sure you do your skincare both day and night, it’s okay if you forget, we aren’t robots, we don’t need to be perfect everyday !!

first you cleanse (at least sixty seconds, helps remove dirt in your skin), rinse and then put your moisturizer (helps keep your skin soft and hydrated), then you put your sunscreen (helps protect your skin from skin cancer, sunburn, aging, etc)

• HYGIENE: along with skincare, it is important to shower regularly!! make sure you get all the important spots , and this is optional, but you can get some body scrubs to exfoliate your skin!!

(i made a similar post about this next section titled “how to look your best at school” it basically just covers all of this, but i’m gonna go over it again!!)

• HAIR: try a new hairstyle!! it can really enhance your look, you can try and find some that fit your face shape better or just try any !! it’s your life :)

STYLE: find your style, find out what clothes suit you, what clothes you like, your aesthetic !! don’t forget accessories :)

that’s all i have for now, i can make in depth blogs about any of these topics, feel free to ask‼️