Anon asked:

Can cooked, starting to…melt…pasta be composted in one of those off the ground roller bins?

I don’t have any experience with the composter you’re talking about, but I don’t see why not! The only reason I might not compost it is if it’s got a lot of fat (oil or butter) or a meat sauce on it, and that’s just because it might get stinky and attract pests.

- Mod S

Anon asked: Can I ask a few dumb questions? Why can’t dog or cat poo be used in composting? Is it the same for human poo? Or are pet and human poo usable? What all should I BE composting, other than leaves, twigs, and grass?

There is no such thing as a stupid question!! And these are all great questions, composting can be a super complicated topic and I totally understand your confusion.

So the short answer is, anything that will decompose CAN be composted, poo included.

Long answer is, its complicated. Poop in general can carry diseases and parasites, which, if it’s being used for growing food, means that it needs to be well decomposed before its put anywhere near food plants. Chicken, horse, cow, rabbit, and goat manure are generally fairly safe to use if allowed to decompose for a few months. Of course, this process can be sped up through a method called hot composting, but that’s a bit more involved. My strategy is, when I clean out my chicken coops, I pile it in a specific place and leave it alone for 6-12 months, then spread it out in early spring in areas I’ll be planting later. This is called cold composting, and requires very little effort.

Composting toilets are a great example of how to treat human waste! I believe what comes out of them is safe to use for food plants, though that may only be true of the systems I’ve seen. And I’m not 100% sure of the legality of using it, many places don’t allow it to be used in larger scale agriculture. A lot of people are also really grossed out by the idea of using human waste to grow food, even when it’s entirely safe.

Dog and cat waste seems to be treated similarly to human waste. There seem to be mixed opinions on whether it’s safe or has any benefits in the garden. Rather than putting my dogs’ waste in the trash, I usually toss it out into the forest, away from where anyone will be walking or foraging. It’ll break down fairly quickly, especially if it’s spread out, and there’s no risk of contaminating anything.

As for what you should be composting, kitchen scraps are great! Coffee grounds, tea leaves and vegetable scraps are common things that can be added to your compost. Animal products, such as meat, dairy and eggs, can be stinky whilst decomposing and attract rodents and insects, so most people don’t put them in their compost. Cardboard boxes, toilet paper rolls, napkins and paper towels can all be composted!

I’ll find some resources on composting to share, but feel free to ask more questions!

- Mod S

Anon asked:

Is there a list of plastic ‘cloths’?

I know pleather and nylon are bad, but what else do they call fake-ass-cloths?

Here’s this article on synthetic fabrics:

https://www.loveyourclothes.org.uk/guides/fabric-focus-synthetic-fabrics\

Here’s the list:

• Acetate
• Acrylic
• Lyocell
• Microfiber
• Nylon
• Polyester
• Polypropylene (this is what’s used in tea bags)
• Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC)
• Rayon
• Spandex

While it’s best to avoid these materials, that isn’t necessarily possible or practical for a multitude of reasons. So lets look at how we can care for these materials to make them last as long as possible.

Avoid the sun

Sun is hell on synthetic materials, so drying them on a clothesline during the day isn’t a good idea. They can still be line dried, but try a shady spot or just keep them inside.

Avoid heat

Exposure to heat can cause damage to synthetic fibers, so reduce the temperature of the water when washing. This is recommended in general anyway, as it uses less energy.

Line drying is gonna be best, but if that isn’t gonna work for you, drying on a lower temperature will help.

Wash less often

Most people can wear clothes a couple times at least before they need to be washed, depending on lifestyle and activities. Outerwear, such coats, generally don’t need washing more than once or twice a season, unless they’re visibly dirty.

@cispr-cas9 said:

Yesterday I found a bunch of honeycomb from a torn-apart abandoned hive, and spent the evening extracting wax from it. Now I have about ¾ of a cup of beautiful pure beeswax, but I’m not sure what to do with it. Do you (or followers) have any ideas?

Oh, what an awesome find!! There are so many things you can do with beeswax:

Make waxed food wraps

Use it for waxing thread for sewing

Make candles

Make lip balm

Make your own leather conditioner/waterproofing

I do advise some caution with this beeswax - do you know what happened to it prior to when you got it? Is there a chance it was sprayed or contaminated somehow with pesticides? If you think there’s a chance of that, I’d recommend not using it for food wraps or lip balm.

 - Mod S

Anon asked:

I feel so useless in a solarpunk way because I hate hate hate gardening so much. So much of my childhood was spent gardening, and I hate 90% of what can grow in my area. Maybe it’s the equivalent of having a tantrum, but I just refuse to do it anymore. Then with the craft thing I’m so slow at knitting and not that great at it to begin with… Is there anything I can realistically do that will matter?

Hey, thanks for reaching out! It sounds like you’re having a hard time, which is totally understandable. It’s hard to feel like we’re making a difference in the face of everything going on right now.

Good on you for knitting! I (mod S) also knit! Mainly because it is a great way to fight those feelings if uselessness, because look! I made a scarf for my friend! They’re gonna be so warm this winter! If you’re feeling frustrated because you feel like it isn’t going fast enough, try small projects like hats for preemies - hospitals usually take them, but if your local one doesn’t, there’s organizations that help with distribution.

I know there’s a major focus on gardening in the solarpunk community, but there is so much more that must be done. In my opinion, the single biggest focus of solarpunk is community building. Because yeah, on our own, we are pretty limited in what we can do, but we are capable of so much more when we work together.

Some things to do that are absolutely solarpunk:

Mending and repairing

If you haven’t already, learning how to mend your own clothes is an awesome way to extend their usefulness. @wastelesscrafts is an absolutely fantastic resources for mending, and youtube has many tutorials on just about everything.

Learning how to repair and maintain other stuff you have is also great! Sometimes a piece of furniture just needs a little sanding and a fresh finish to look fantastic. Learning how to take apart, clean, and reassemble small appliances is good too, it can really help extend their lifetime. I promise most of that kind of stuff is easier than it may seem. Again, youtube has so many videos on just about anything you can think of. (If you’re doing anything like that to something that uses electricity - make sure it’s unplugged first!!)

Once you know how to do some of these things, you can also reach out and offer to trade skills or to teach others. Community building!

Volunteering

There is likely an organization or five somewhere near you, that have a cause you agree with. Go find them. Email, call, show up where you know they are, whatever is easiest. Tell them you want to help, tell them what you are able to do, and have at it. Most libraries, at least in my area, accept volunteers, but if that isn’t something you want to do, they may have info on other places you could check out - libraries are often a gathering place for the whole community, and have connections with groups in the area.

Don’t want to get involved in an organization or there isn’t one you’re interested in nearby? Look around. Maybe there’s a stream nearby, or a street, or a little patch of land, where you can pick up trash. Pick an area and adopt it. Visit regularly, get to know it, care for it as best you can.

The Seven R’s - Rethink, refuse, reduce, reuse, repair, re-gift, recycle

This a chance to take a step back and examine your life. What do you need and want in your life? Are there different choices you could make that would lead to a more sustainable lifestyle? Rethink what you need. Refuse what you don’t. Reduce what you do need. Reuse what you have as much as possible. Repair what you have. Re-giftwhat you don’t want. Recycle only what cannot be dealt with another way.

Buying local

Buying locally sourced foods is great, but it applies to other things as well. Finding local craftspeople and supporting them is a great way to get really cool stuff, while also being more environmentally responsible.

Get second hand things

The most responsible option is the thing that is already made. This can mean shopping at thrift stores and yard sales but it can also mean asking around in your community.

I’ve gotten huge amounts of cardboard for my garden by asking my neighbors to save it for me, same with egg cartons to hold eggs from my chickens. A friend of mine had a whole bunch of extra sheets and was asking around to see if anyone wanted any. Again, this helps build community.

Remove graffiti

Alcohol based cleaners (like hand sanitizer) and a little elbow grease will remove sharpie. A metal scraper can do wonders with paint and stickers. Covering it up also works, but that can be a bit riskier, so do what you feel is best.Don’t let them spread their hate.

Celebrate every achievement, no matter how small

It’s hard to feel like we’re doing enough, I get that. The world is literally on fire and not nearly enough people care. But hey, guess what? Something is better than nothing. Every single baby step taken is just that - a step. Did you switch to a reusable water bottle, instead of buying plastic? Good for you! That’s a step! Did you walk or take public transportation rather than drive somewhere? Fantastic! Did you talk to a neighbor and arrange a skills trade? Absolutely amazing!!! You are making changes and those changes are having a real impact, no matter how small. The world is better today because of every single one of those steps. Be proud of what you have accomplished. Look forward to everything you will accomplish.

In the face of a world that feels increasingly hostile - be kind. Everyday we face choices where we can keep doing what we’re doing, or we can stop and help. We can help a neighbor carry groceries. We can help that kid up who fell off their bike. We can help a lost pet get home. We can move a trash can that has been blown into a street by the wind. We can hold doors. Even a smile and a kind word, a compliment, can change someones day. We can slow down, look around, and choose to be kind. And that is radical and punk as hell.

 - Mod S

Anon asked:

Can paperback books be composted? I’m asking because they have a kind of glue-like substance in them, so I’m not really sure. I really think it could be a good way to dispose of my old h*arry p*otter books, as I’m too afraid to burn them.

Yeah, the majority of a book can be composted! Generally, if the cover or any pages have that kind of glossy, plastic-y look, that part will need to be removed, as well as any other synthetic bits. If you’re worried about the glue, you can just cut the pages off the binding, but a quick search doesn’t raise any major red flags about it.

A whole book will take a long time to break down, so tearing or cutting it up into to smaller pieces is a good idea.

 - Mod S

Korean Grammar Lesson: have you ever~

Not a dumb question at all! The sentence it’s referring to is “애완동물 키워본 적이 있나요?”

This is a grammar principle meaning “have you ever.” The general concept is ~아/어본 적(이) 있다/없다.

• The아/어본istried to do something. Like 먹어봐 try to eat this. The past tense noun modifier conjugation is ㄴ/은, so with 보다, we use 본
• 적 here means something like a time/experience. The 이 is an optional subject marker. It’s usually pretty obvious what’s coming next so you could leave it out, but out of pure habit, I say 적이
• 있다 would mean you have had something,없다 would mean you have not. Of course you would conjugate it to fit the formality (있어/있어요/있습니다/etc)

So the sentence I used was “Have you ever had a pet?” But directly translated it would be something like “Have you ever tried to have the experience of raising a pet?”

Should we look at some more examples?

• 김치를 먹어본 적이 있어요? Have you ever tried kimchi?
• 한국에가본 적이 없어요. I’ve never been to Korea.
• 어벤져스본 적이 있어요?* Have you ever seen The Avengers?

*since the verb “to see” (보다) is the same as “to try to do” (보다), so it’s easier to just say 본 for the whole phrase as it’s completely understood.

Hope this helps! DMs and asks are always open if you have anymore questions ❤

poppetawoppet replied to your post “Okay, @poppetawoppet asked for 2, 13, 19, and 40. Since I already did…”

Lol oops. Let’s say Right Round then

Hahaha remember the time I totally forgot to do this one?

Okay, so. Remember, folks, this one was “ Write an alternative ending to [insert fic title] (or just the summary of one).”

And see, the thing about Right Round is that I am a terrible person and considered leaving it at Day 42. That’s, uh, the suicide one. In case you forgot. You know, just leave it with Eliot dead and Parker and Hardison horrified/confused//traumatized/etc. Maybe, oh man, maybe it would’ve done an ABRUPT GENRE CHANGE (because I fucking love those) and segued into my Orpheus & Eurydice fic. Because you fucking know that if any one of them died for any reason, the other two would stop at literally nothing to bring them back.

But no, I am not that cruel. So here, let me figure out how to do a Read More and tell you a story.

This starts from Day 100, and I will give you a little refresher of what happened then (aka: the entire scene up until where the changes start):

One Hundred

It’s Thursday 100, he thinks, and Parker’s pulling him gently off a guy. He doesn’t look down to see what he’s done to him. Just dully lets Parker buckle him into the truck, watches as she slides in and Hardison slides in the other side. They leave plenty of space around him in the middle, and it feels like an ocean. It doesn’t matter that they’ve seen what he’s really capable of, because tomorrow will be another Thursday and they won’t remember.

“I love you guys,” he says suddenly, the words catching in his throat and tearing out, rough. His eyes are burning, and he scrubs at them with bloody hands.

“I’d do anything to keep you safe,” he says. “Anything.”

He flinches when Hardison’s hand comes up, forces himself to still against his automatic reflex.

Hardison’s thumb rubs gently at a spot on Eliot’s face, and crusted dried blood flakes into Eliot’s lap. “We know,” Hardison murmurs.

Parker keeps glancing over at him, but is silent as she drives.

After a while, she pulls up to a cheap motor lodge, goes into the main office and returns with a key, which she pushes into Hardison’s hand. That’s okay, Eliot thinks. That’s okay, he can sleep in the truck.

But they pull him out after them and he lands on unsteady legs. He feels dazed, and everything is fuzzy.

They hustle him inside and into the bathroom, take his bloody clothes and push him into the shower before leaving him alone. It takes a long time for the water to run clear.

Long after his fingers have pruned, when he can’t stand the way the water sliding down his body starts to feel like blood, he gets out and dries off. They left him his go bag. He pulls on clothes and opens the door.

They’re already asleep, together on the bed, Parker curled up and Hardison curled around her, not quite touching. Eliot stands and watches, for a long moment. He doesn’t know what they want.

Instead of trying to guess, instead of waiting for them to wake up, or waking them up to ask, he readjusts the go bag over his shoulder. He doesn’t let the door slam on his way out.

If he were a good man, if he were a man deserving of the trust they put in him, he would wait in the truck, make sure they were safe for the rest of this Thursday and start again in the Thursday morning. But he’s not. They’re safe, and it’s night, and while it doesn’t matter what he does because tomorrow is still Thursday, he can’t stay here.

There’s a highway running along the motor lodge, and it’s easy enough to hitchhike up the road in the dark alone. Everything is still fuzzy, he’s still numb, and it’s enough to let him fall asleep against the window of a semi.

He wakes up at 2am and stares blearily at the clock for a moment before it registers. He asks the driver what day it is. When it finally sinks in that it’s Friday, he knows he should feel relief. Knows he should feel something, anything.

He’s just so tired.

At the next truck stop, he gets out and goes into the tiny, 24-hour restaurant attached. He sits down, gets a plate of sausage and eggs. He doesn’t know why he’s running from them, he just has a vague sense that he should be gone. That they would want him gone, after watching him-

And yet, he’s not surprised when two bodies slide into the seat across from him. Somewhere, he’d known they would come after him. Somewhere he’d known that it wouldn’t be this easy to slip away.

“Hey,” Hardison says, quiet. “What’s going on, man?”

When Eliot looks up, Parker is looking scared – of him? He doesn’t know – and Hardison is looking worried. Eliot wants to smooth out the crease between his brows, to tell him it doesn’t matter, but instead, he says, “It’s Friday.”

“Yeah,” Hardison agrees. “What’s special about Friday?”

“It hasn’t been Friday in a long time,” Eliot says. He feels like a glass figurine that’s been glued back together. Like moving wrong is going to shatter the perfect stillness inside of him.

Hardison nods, like that makes any sense. He reaches across the table, and carefully pries the fork out of Eliot’s hand, carefully slides his fingers through Eliot’s, to stop him from digging his fingernails into his hand.

“Okay,” Hardison says. “Okay, but it’s Friday now, and that’s… good?”

Parker gets up, slides into the booth next to him. They’re boxing him in, and that’s- He should feel threatened, obvious escape routes cut off by people who could be planning to- But he doesn’t. His knuckles are white where he’s gripping Hardison’s hand.

“I don’t know if tomorrow’s gonna be Saturday,” he says into the silence. “Or if this’ll-”

“If what will?” Parker asks when he drifts off. She takes his other hand, slow and careful like she’s afraid he might break.

He shudders once, twice, and takes his first deep breath since he beat the man in charge of the whole operation to death. He explains the whole thing to them. Explains how he knew what was going to happen yesterday morning, how he knew how to get them safe, how it didn’t always work.

How he’d watched them die over, and over, and over again.

When he’s done, Hardison’s knuckles are white, and Parker’s clutching his hand so tight he can feel the bones grind together.

“I-” he says. “I didn’t know if-”

Parker leans across him, grabs his go bag from the seat next to him, and gets up, but doesn’t let go of his hand, pulling him out of the booth after her. She drops a couple crisp bills on the table as Hardison comes round so Eliot’s sandwiched between them, a hand in each of theirs.

They walk him out to the truck, bundle him in like they had less than twelve hours ago. He can feel new cracks spreading through the cold that’s been surrounding him as Hardison pulls him tight against his body, as Parker slides in and presses against his side. Like they know he needs this to be grounded, like it doesn’t matter that Hardison hates having people touch him while he drives, and Parker doesn’t like being this close to people, period, most the time.

They pull into an econolodge an exit down the highway. Parker goes into the main office to get them a room, and Hardison stares out the windshield while he says, “I don’t know if you’re having a psychotic break or what, but- You gotta know we wouldn’t leave you behind. No matter what.”

Eliot nods a little, because yeah, he does know that usually. He thinks.

Up in the room, they push him toward one of the double beds. When they both get in after, cuddled up to him on both sides and holding on tight, he feels something crack inside of himself and he starts shivering, hard.

“You’re okay,” Hardison murmurs. “You’re gonna be okay. We’ve got you.”

He keeps up a steady stream of meaningless words and sentences while Parker just tightens her grip on him until he knows her fingers will be leaving bruises. And still, he can’t stop shivering.

He’s not sure if he falls asleep or passes out.

When he wakes up, he’s on his side with Hardison curled around him, still fast asleep, and Parker sitting up against the headboard, on the edge of the bed.

“Sorry,” he croaks out. He’s sorry for making them watch him kill someone, for making them worry, for not being okay, for making them take care of him, for making them uncomfortable. He’s sorry for so many things, but not that it’s finally Friday.

Parker just shakes her head and grins. “As long as you’re here, it’s okay,” she says.

“We love you, too,” Hardison says from behind him, his arm tightening. “So whatever this is, we’ll deal with it. If it’s- it’s- if you’re going crazy or it’s magic or whatever. We’ll be okay.”

Eliot lets himself relax back into Hardison’s grip. He wasn’t sure he believed that, but as long as the days kept moving forward, he could hope.

THE END

Epilogue

And then they done had sex.

THE END FOR REAL

Where to buy packing underwear online

Here is a list I compiled of online stores that sell packing underwear, as well as prices (mostly in CDN due to my location, also occasionally USD and AU). I made this list for my own personal use, but figured it may be helpful to share with others? It’s a long post, but hopefully it’ll get even longer with some input from other community members!  

Please feel free to add any stores I missed, include reviews, etc. via reblog and/or comment!

*Please be advised that many of these stores are 18+ due to their selling s*x toy harnesses etc.* 

GenderGear.ca:

Spareparts brand “Pete Underwear” commando ($34 CDN), trunks ($44 CDN)

Early2bedshop.com:

Spareparts brand “Pete Underwear” freestyle ($33.95 CDN) and trunks ($39.95)

Rodeoh brand “Truhk” boxer $50.00 CDN

ToolShedToys.com:

Rodeoh brand boxer ($19 USD), STP boxer ($29 USD), STP long boxer ($25 USD)

Packer Gear brand boxer ($27 USD), briefs ($25 USD)

In-store altered PS Briefs ($17.50 USD), trunks ($19 USD), boxers ($19.50)

Spareparts brand “Pete Underwear” jock ($28.95), briefs ($34.95 USD), trunks ($35.95)

PeecockProducts.com:

Store brand briefs ($43.79), boxers ($46.36), and button fly boxer (48.94)

Transthetics.com:

Store brand “Budgie Briefs” ($39.36 CAD)

FtmEssentials.com:

Rodeoh brand no-fly boxers ($20-22 USD), packing brief ($20 USD), STP packing boxer ($30.00), button fly boxer ($25.00 USD)

Packer Gear brand brief ($28.00 USD)

Spareparts brand “Pete Underwear” trunks ($40 USD), freestyle ($34 USD)

Rodeoh.com:

Store brand classic boxer ($19.99 USD) in black white grey green

Store brand boxers w graphics ($19.99-25 USD)

Store brand sport jock ($29.99 USD)

Store brand briefs ($19.99 USD) in white grey black green

Button fly boxer ($25 USD) teal, marble, dark grey

Boxer w graphics ($19.99-25 USD)

Boxer w extended leg ($15-25 USD)

STP boxer ($29.99 USD) black and grey

FTM Gear section includes a variety of packers, stps, and toys

Ftmdownunder.com:

Store brand trunks ($12 AU) and briefs ($6 AU)

I have also heard of tranzwear.net, but I haven’t the time to research the store rn.

Hopefully I will be able to update this post w more info soon! (updates may include links, descriptions of the stores esp. which ones are available to minors, etc.)

Where to get preloved binders - for free

Canadians: GenderGear https://www.gendergear.ca/products/preloved-binders-1?variant=12230980501584 unfortunately, as of Oct 8 2018 they are out of stock and requiring donations. Gender Gear is a great company that I have interacted with in the past

USA: FTM Essentials https://www.ftmessentials.com/pages/ftme-free-youth-binder-program they are taking applications now for persons under the age 24, not sure about their response time, but I have bought items from their parent company Early2Bed, and they are great

International: Point of Pride https://pointofpride.org/chest-binder-donations/ I only recently heard about the organization, but they seem Awesome. They are taking requests now, once again, I don’t know about their response rate 

NSFW Ask

Please only keep reading if you’re 18+

[Also: how many people would be interested in a NSFW/ 18+ side-blog? I want to keep this one rated G, but sex-positivity and body image problems can be especially difficult for trans people to navigate. Let me know in the replies?]

Hi anon!

(Sorry I didn’t answer the ask directly, I want to keep this blog safe for minors to combat the stigma that being trans is an 18+ subject! So I’m trying this method for replies- lol - hopefully I’ll figure out a better system soon. 

Anyway, the censored words are strap-on and fucked, sorry if it feels like I’m making this weird, I’m all for sex-positivity, but like I said I’m trying to keep the main blog rated G.)

Anon, enjoying “bottoming” does not make you a gay man! What defines your sexuality is your sex partners, not the sexual acts. 

For example: plenty of lesbians like to be on the receiving end and that doesn’t make them straight. Straight men that like being fingered/pegged by their gf aren’t gay. Straight women who don’t like penetration aren’t automatically gay. Gay men who don’t like bottoming/anal aren’t straight. People like what they like in bed, that defines their kinks/fetishes, not their sexuality. 

Also: being attracted to dominant women is a super common straight dude thing? You might enjoy bottoming, you might be enjoying your gf topping, ideally both, but either or might be enough to get off. Honestly, if you don’t have bottom dysphoria, or can manage your bottom dysphoria to the extent that you feel comfortable having penetrative sex, good for you! The human body is capable of amazing things, and if you can take advantage of those G-spot orgasms, then you’re a lucky guy! 

@jupiter-squid Hi! sorry I’m making this a seperate post, I initially wrote the answer to your ask, but tumblr ate both the ask and the answer for some reason, and i couldn’t find it in my drafts. thankfully, I’d remembered the topic and most of your url so here it is!

okay so, I have an assumption of sorts about how this works; you know how some artists are like “oh I’ll draw nature all day long but don’t ever make me draw a face” “I’m fine with drawing any one as long as they’re holding their hands somehwere that can’t be seen”? I think Jayce is definitely like that.

technical illustrations and charts? sure, draws them all day long. literally anything else? big oof.

so then I decided to take off my shipping goggles and actually check to see how it was in the show (and the complimentary ‘Jayce’s journals’)

from episode 1, some science-y stuff:

and then from episode 7, this;

to be fair jayce was probably a child when he drew this - very fun - drawing.

from his journals, the technical illustrations: (I stitched them in a single file to not hit picture limit)

very good, mostly concise and clear

normal drawing:

still very good!

and then his people:

…. that is a nice cowboy, but I would steer clear of the two other guys.

and then there are the viktor drawings that you have seen.

so yeah i definitely think it’s very endearing that he tried to draw viktor; the first time he did it was a private thing in his own journal - with the same pencil he uses for most of his charts - and the second being the painting on the mug, with materials I presume he is unfamiliar with. (now that I’m thinking of it, do you think he borrowed them from Mel? awkward.)

(can you tell I have put the shipping goggles back on? :-) )

anyway, that’s all my thoughts about it. I hope this was useful in any way!