#ProfessorPalmarosa

[professorpalmarosa]

I made Fullmetal Alchemist-inspired bath bombs!

Remember how I said that I have a secret side project in the works for this year? Here’s the big reveal: it’s a Fullmetal Alchemist story focusing on a pair of minor characters who only appeared in a light novel (The Land of Sand) and the 2003 version of the series. This guy in particular...

The Unholy Man of the North will be 2003 anime canon-compliant (rather than Brotherhood-compliant) and takes place 1 year after the original series ended. Russell Tringham (a young alchemist who has stolen Ed’s identity before) falls back on old habits, convinces someone he’s Edward Elric...and ends up getting kidnapped by foreigners. Before long, he’s dragged into a political conspiracy to rid the Drachman tsar of his family’s spiritual advisor: a priest the tsar’s brother-in-law believes may be performing some old, occult variant of what Amestris calls alchemy.

While I won’t be releasing this story to anyone other than beta readers until the first draft is complete (I’m about 50,000 words in), I can share a related creative endeavor with you.

Russell and his brother Fletcher created an artificial Philosopher’s Stone (a “Red Stone”) that, while powerful, didn’t quite measure up to the real thing. That had me thinking: what if I made a luxury blend...then intentionally tried to dupe it with ingredients I often use as substitutes? Here’s how it turned out!

Details are listed below, including the recipe if you want to try making “Cruelty-Free Philosopher’s Stones/Red Stones” at home!

Philosopher’s Stone Bath Bomb

Essential Oils:

Frankincense Carteri (2g)

Elemi (1g)

Finger Root (1g)

Clove (1g)

Mandarin (1g)

Cedarwood (Texan) (1g)

Colorants:

Red 40 Blooming Dye (Activated)

Red 23 Blooming Dye (Activated)

Red Oxide

Red Mica (for sparkle)

Look at this pretty color! The pink tint comes from the Red 23--but don’t overdo it! Add too much pink colorant and you’ll be pink too! This is what the mixture looked like before I added baking soda and citric acid.

Red Stone Bath Bomb

Essential Oils:

Frankincense Serrata (2g)

Myrrh (1g)

Ginger CO2 Supercritical (1g)

Cardamom (1g)

Blood Orange (1g)

Cedarwood (Himalayan) (1g)

Colorants:

Red 40 Blooming Dye (Activated)

Red Oxide

Red Mica (for sparkle)

Additional Additives:

Bath-grade pop-rocks (5g)

The first thing to note about the Red Stone blend is that it doesn’t have the splash of pink that the Philosopher’s Stone blend does. This is because I excluded the Red 23 blooming dye and traded it for more Red Oxide. This is what the mix looked like prior to adding the baking soda and citric acid. In person, it kind of looked like half-congealed blood...

The bath water was gorgeous, though! After the froth and foam died down, the color was the exact same shade as the Red Water in the anime! The scents played nicely together and I found myself dozing off in the water.

However, I’m not sure if it was the oils in this bomb or something else--but my sleep suffered after using the leftovers. I woke up from a very vivid nightmare at 2 AM and had to pee (Myrrh can stimulate your kidneys in higher doses, so my sleeping in the bath probably didn’t do me any favors).

Once I returned to bed, it was near impossible to turn my brain off again. It was going into overdrive with ideas and only let me rest again after I wrote everything down. A small silver lining to the nightmare: it did give me some pretty good ideas for the story I’m writing...so at least there’s that?

Now for a bit of good news, the Red Stone didn’t stain me or my tub! Once it went down the drain, the only thing that lingered was the smell. And even that disappeared by 2 AM.

Procedure

Mix wet ingredients (essential oils and carrier oil. For these blends, I used coconut and have some notes regarding that in the “Tips & Safety Warnings” section)

Mix all dry ingredients (300g Sodium Bicarbonate, 15g Cream of Tartar, 5g Kaolin Clay, 5g Rassoul Clay, 10g SLSA, 3g Titanium Dioxide) except Citric Acid (150g)

Mix dry ingredient blend with wet ingredients until color and texture is consistent.

Add Citric Acid and mix evenly.

Pour into molds and allow to cure for 1-2 days

Tips & Safety Warnings

1. NEVER handle essential oils with your bare hands! These chemicals are VERY potent and your body can absorb them through your skin. You should always wear gloves when handling these sorts of projects.

2. Coconut Oil solidifies at room temperature! This means that you’ll need to heat it up when you’re mixing your wet ingredients. If you’re making multiple batches at the same time, it’s also possible your coconut oil will resolidify. I made a poor man’s double boiler in my lab out of a bowl of hot water and just let the containers where I’d mixed my wet ingredients float on top of the water. It kept them in a liquid state until I was ready for them. Of course, you could always substitute for another (easier) carrier like Rosehip or Argan Oil--but I wanted to include this in case you’re using Coconut.

Take a look at the oils I’ve mixed in this photo. See how it’s getting cloudy? That’s the coconut oil resolidfying:

3. Too much Red 23 may stain you and your bathtub! I haven’t had any problems with Red Oxide or Red 40, but Red 23 (which is what gives the Philosopher’s Stone its pinkish hue) and I have a love/hate relationship. It’s a beautiful colorant and a little goes a long way, but it can stain you like nothing else if you overdo it!

4. If you are using mica colorant in your bath bomb, be sure to include a little Polysorbate 80 to your wet ingredients too! Mica can make your bombs sparkle and glitter, but it will stick to EVERYTHING if you don’t add Polysorbate 80!

5. If you plan to make these for yourself or as gifts, please look up contraindications and potential side effects of overexposure to these oils first. Some oils are not safe for children, people with certain medical conditions, or people taking certain medications. Some people may also be allergic to certain ingredients and the scent of myrrh makes some people nauseous (three guesses why it went in the Red Stone blend). Just be cautious and conscientious!

End Result

Here are the two blends side by side. There’s only one Philosopher’s Stone in the image, but it’s rather obvious which one it is thanks to the Red 23.

I’m mildly creeped out by how similar the scent profiles are to the two blends. Sometimes I’ll substitute one of these oils for another when I’m running low in a popular blend, but this was my first time literally using ALL substitutes to make a dupe. Here are my notes:

The first thing you smell in both stones is a rich, luxurious, resin-like scent. This is because both synergies contain Frankincense (which is a resin oil) and a secondary resin oil (Elemi in the Philosopher’s Stone and Myrrh in the Red Stone).

Although both stones contain a citrus oil; you only smell traces of it in the Red Stone and it’s almost nonexistent in the Philosopher’s Stone. There’s two reasons this may have happened. My Blood Orange essential oil is fresher than my Mandarin oil, so it may be more potent. Also, Blood Orange just has a stronger scent profile in general. Mandarin’s an oil I often substitute for Sweet Orange or Tangerine since it plays nicely with a lot of stuff and doesn’t try to steal the show. Blood Orange does.

The Philosopher’s Stone has a peppery bite to it that the Red Stone does not. I suspect the culprit is the Finger Root, which is a “sister smell” to the Ginger I used for the Red Stone blend. Finger Root is a lesser-known oil that I sometimes interchange with Ginger or Turmeric in my synergies. It’s got a slightly earthier smell than Ginger (which is mildly sweet on top of its spice), and packs a bit more heat. It’s also possible that the eugenol content of the Clove Bud oil I used was super high, but the company I got it from didn’t provide a chemical breakdown of the batch. I have no way of knowing.

The Red Stone gives off a weird “burning” smell that the Philosopher’s Stone does not. My guess is it’s the difference between the two Cedarwood oils. Texan Cedarwood (which I used in the Philosopher’s Stone) has a dry firewood smell to it when paired with Sage, but is much milder than Himalayan Cedarwood (which smells a bit more like the “cedar” most people are familiar with). Also, the Red Stone’s secondary resin oil is Myrrh: which can amplify warm smells like Turmeric, Black Pepper, or Cinnamon when mixed in a blend. I think the Myrrh and Himalayan Cedarwood mixed together to cause that effect.

The scent profile is about an 85% match, but that 15% difference puts it almost in an aromatherapeutic uncanny valley: like it’s “not quite right” but close enough to fool someone if they sniffed these two blind and didn’t know they were different blends.

I highly recommend trying both scents out if you aren’t allergic to any of the ingredients. It’s a fun activity, and one I’m hoping to do a live demo for at a convention in the future!

#Skye makes bath bombs #Fullmetal Alchemist bath bomb #Philosopher's Stone bath bomb #Red Stone bath bomb #Professor Palmarosa #ProfessorPalmarosa #fandom bath bomb

[gutsbutt]

A trainer+pokemon commission for @professorpalmarosa of her characters Titania and her Snorlax Gargantua!

Want to learn more about these two? Then be sure to go check out the fic Pokémon Hammer & Sickle >> Here

#commission #completed commission #trainer+pokemon commission #professorpalmarosa #snorlax #this pic was fun bc I love purple lmao #just a reminder to go love your pokepets today lol

[light-of-judgment]

I was finally able to get around to testing my new Kefkaesque bath bombs, made by the fabulous @professorpalmarosa.

I once said that they made me smell like a fancy expensive hooker. Well these new ones make me smell like a murderous expensive hooker and I'm not sure I could ask for a higher honor.

#Ooc #Professorpalmarosa #Bath bombs

[mita-rashi]

13, 14, 16

honest meme

Have you ever thought about leaving rp? What caused it? What changed your mind?

I think you know the answer to this question. I have an old friend who ‘falling out’ with really upset me and I felt like I lost my ability to write. Or, I didn’t know how to create and enjoy myself without that person around when I tied so much of my growth as a writer to them. I admittedly did not handle it very well. 

Unfortunately, some amazing partners, like @sunagakurenosato suffered because of that. There was a lot of negativity on my end and I wasn’t a good writing buddy or friend when all I did was bitch about the thing she really enjoyed. But, good news, her and @leafmedic in particular helped me get the fuck over that whole ordeal. Even if Nikki doesn’t write Naruto anymore, her and Amaya both get a lot of credit for pushing me to take my writing back as something that was mine.

As for what changed it and made me actually want to return: new faces. People who enjoyed creating with me and gave me that excitement again. @lvyeshou in particular was wonderful and having her show back up again was a blessing. 

Do you think rp has had a positive or negative affect on your life or you as a person?

Mix of both. 

Definitely let things upset me that shouldn’t. Definitely wasn’t good at managing my mental health when it came to things that I didn’t need to see or humor. But that was more a community thing than a RP thing. And I’ve learned a lot from what happened, so there’s a bonus there.

I’ve grown a lot as a writer and as a person because of RP. I’ve learned so much about what it is I enjoy and why I enjoy it. I’ve become both more critical and more open of things I never thought I would. So overall, I’d say it’s been largely positive.

If you could change one thing about rp on tumblr, what would it be? Why?

Bitch I’d bring you back, but like, with the fanfare you deserve for the content you create. I’D USE A TIME MACHINE. BRING BACK THE SQUAD. GET THE BAND BACK TOGETHER. 

Nostalgia is a liar, but I do miss a lot of you, and because I am selfish I would definitely ‘change’ how many people left. Come back to me, you assholes. Let me enjoy your content. 

#ooc #ask meme response #professorpalmarosa

[barbwalken]

🎁

a nintendo 64 me and my brother got for christmas with ocarina of time, it started our career as a game addicts XD

#professorpalmarosa

[nikkxb]

13! Because of course I'd ask about an 80s song!

Music Asks

13: One of your favorite 80’s songs

I was surprised to find that there are a lot more 80s songs that I really like. I didn’t listen to much of it when growing up and it was only in high school and beyond that I had friends who forced opened the decade up to me.

That said, How Will I Know from Whitney Houston is absolutely up there. 

Holy cow that video is so 80s her purple eyeshadow!!

#people talking #professorpalmarosa #tunes

[shadowkage]

@professorpalmarosa replied to your post

I’m writing a Pokemon fanfiction behemoth at present! What’s the title of this one??

It’s called Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Silver Resistance.

I don’t know if you ever took an interest in this particular side of the Pokemon franchise, but if so, the fanfiction should be right up your alley!

#professorpalmarosa

[tropical-gothic]

9 PEOPLE YOU’D LIKE TO KNOW BETTER

rules: tag 9 people you’d like to get to know better

tagged by: @professorpalmarosa​. Hiya! It’s been a while and I hope you’re doing okay <3

tagging: @thatshipcat, @spycaptain, @scorpion-hime, @justanotherblonde, @jacarandabanyan, @jashinist-feminist, @awintersrose, @anon-omatopoeia, @zombie-honeymoon, @swisscheesemoose, @kadongdong

Favorite Color: Blue!

Top 3 (lol) Favorite Ships: YashaAnko, SasoKaru, RasaKuri, RasaCharis, RasaSasoKaru, TenzoKaru, HidaKaru, AkiraAnko, RyoAnko, RyoSaso. (I have too many but top of mind these guys appear)

Lipstick or Chapstick: Chapstick!

Last Song: Schubert's Der Erlkönig, Op. 26

Last Movie: ...Does Kinky Boots count? If it was over youtube?

Currently Reading: Julius Ceasar by Philip Freeman

#[hay buhay]

[professorpalmarosa]

What to Expect in Chapter 4 (An Abrupt Rendezvous)

Just before the kids can leave the hotel, a friend spots Cynthia and invites her to have tea with him in the hotel restaurant. Not wanting his friend to be perceived as rude, Cyrus graciously offers to check on Campanella alone…leaving Cynthia to not only have tea with Professor Sycamore, but meet an old rival of his in the process.

Note: This is also the first appearance for Professor Lind: the regional professor for the Doxa (Austria) region I’ve been co-designing with the super-talented and creative @cara-tine!

What to Expect in Chapter 5 (Staravia’s Nest Castle)

While Cynthia’s busy being a social Butterfree, Cyrus leaves the hotel and makes his way to the Hydrargyrum City Trainers Lodge: a mysterious sandstone castle perched perilously at the top of a steep oceanside cliff.

What is this next Lodge Owner like? Are they anything like Zed was in Kalium City, or will this be a completely new experience?

Moreover...how is Campanella?

Chapter 5 will be coming out March 15, 2020.

I have a side project (a Fullmetal Alchemist novel) I’d like to complete a rough draft for without worrying about other deadlines for a bit. Once it’s up, I’ll be posting it as well and the Hammer & Sickle schedule should go back to normal!

#Pokemon Hammer & Sickle #Professor Palmarosa #ProfessorPalmarosa #Skye writes fanfiction #my writing projects #Kinzo region #Pokemon Fanfiction

[yangssunglasses]

Thank you @olliya for the tag XD

Nickname: just call me Nile

Zodiac: Capricorn

Height: 158 cm

Hogwarts House: never really checked it, but probably Ravenclaw because I’m such a bookworm lol

Last thing I googled: “tower of god wallpaper team”

Song that is stuck in my head: Explosion by Kalwi & Remi lol

Number of followers: let’s see, 527. But I’ve had this blog for years so I wonder how many of my followers are still active on tumblr.

Amount of sleep: 7-8 hours, which is within norm for adult humans. What a stupid question, is tumblr checking if anyone’s an alien or a robot that doesn’t sleep?

Lucky number: 13

Dream job: Jedi Knight librarian. What do you mean this job doesn’t exist? Alright, I’ll settle for a full-time writer.

Wearing: white T-shirt with flower design and red shorts because it’s summer.

Favourite song: I can’t say I have just one, but I am very very fond of Schism by Tool.

Favourite instrument: electric guitar

Aesthetic: it’s hard to describe, I guess casual and comfortable, strong colours, blue, red, purple, navy, black, white, simple lines, no clutter or pointless decorations. I guess it’s minimalistic?

Favourite Author: just one??? I’ve been reading Stephen King for years, so he’s the favourite overall, but recently I enjoyed reading James S. A. Corey and Robert Heinlein. And on the fanfic side of things, a big shoutout to @olliya for always writing great Madara XD

Favourite animal noise: when my dog oinks like a pig, it’s super funny :)

I tag: @theredconversegirl @professorpalmarosa @nibbler747 @darushi-chan and anyone else who wants to do this :)

#reply

[drdiabolical]

Fanfics From Reddit - Politics

I made an enquiry on r/narutofanfiction asking for political fics. These were the recommendations.

u/liristorm

Compass of thy Soul by Umei no Mai

Direct thee to Peace by Umei no Mai

The Medic-Nin’s Guide to Casual Revolution by spideywhiteys

These are all SIs so far which I do not read but I will give them a look.

u/radical-dreamer-57

Kazua Densetu by ProfessorPalmarosa

Appears to be Post-Hashirama’s death which isn’t precisely what I wanted (I’m gathering recommendations so that I can look into other people’s takes on shinobi politics before I write my own Minato-Centric political fic) but I did say I wouldn’t mind them. 

u/Jatnight

The Scorned Son by Calanor

The first user to give me their own thoughts: “It's on hiatus, though, but I found the inner work of the village's politics very interesting. It's not focused on Naruto, but it's on that timeline, dealing with what having a spy so ingrained in their midst that they would be an academy teacher(Mizuki) really implies and goes from there.(Also interesting to see the elders being portrayed like real people.)”

I think I’m looking forward to reading this one the most.

u/ertzer

Great Lakes & Expectations (previously pull down your dreams) by Electrasev5n

Vapors by Electrasev5n

Clarity by Electrasev5n

More SI and OC. This user also gave a comment: “This has a bit of a slow start with the OC not knowing japanese. It might be a bit off-putting to some but once she's established in Konoha it really takes a hella interesting spin on the political climate in Konoha with an intricate exploration of shinobi and civilian life. And, I mean, it's Electrasev5n. They know how to spin an intricate plot and the devil is in the detail.Also the sequel to Vapors that they have is also pretty politically geared but more in the focus of village politics vs the rest of the world.”

u/bibliomaniac15

Mythos of a Shepherd by Swiss Army Knife

Vainglory by kzusu

Uneasy Lies the Head by Hiiraeth

Five (or, a lot can change in a year) by Karaii

The Girl From Whirlpool by SilverShine

These are more what I was after, I think. Five is a web comic as well which is interesting.  

u/Lightbringer34

Redemption in a Worthy World by Lightbringer34

It’s a self recc and the user was a little self deprecating but it’s a time travel I haven’t read yet, looking forward to reading it

#reading list #reddit reccomendations

[mita-rashi]

6

roleplaying habits meme / @professorpalmarosa

do you have ideal writing circumstances when you can do a lot of drafts or tackle really long ones very easily?

I keep telling people that I am petty and everyone is like “LOL you’re not that bad” but they’re all fucking wrong. My productivity increases in direct correlation to how fucking ticked off I am. I mean eventually it hits a point where it has a negative influence, but honestly, if I want to be productive I need to be angry at something. Anger makes me focus.

How was I able to grind out all those smut replies in a day? Rage at people shitting on the muse I liked. Seriously. How was I able to ping pong back and forth between like 3 different threads with people and stay on top of them?

Rage. And I didn’t have Final Fantasy open. But mostly rage.

#don't tell me that it isnt healthy you arent my real mom #ooc #rp habits meme #<333 #professorpalmarosa

[barbwalken]

Top 5 vacation destinations?

that i want to go

1- Egypt

2- Peru 

3- Thailand

4- Greece

5- all the north zone of Mexico

#professorpalmarosa

[nikkxb]

@professorpalmarosa replied to your post.

I AM SO PROUD OF YOU!!!

THANK YOU!!

Part of me feels almost ridiculous to be so proud over this because it seems like such a detrimental part of writing? And it’s not like I’ve had a problem world-building. In fact, I’m pretty certain my world-building is what’s saved my plot-less ass a few too many times.

But for the rest of me (the louder, stronger parts), this is NOT ridiculous at all! I actually have one! Something I’ve struggled at for years and I finally have one. I’ve figured out how to do it. It’s not easy and it takes me a bit of writing to get there, but it’s doable and it works and I can’t even tell you how many things I was able to nail down during this plotting session that I’ve been struggling to come up with on my own.

Skye, I’m so freaking happy and I’m so happy to share it with you and I’m even happier that you’re able to experience it with me! And thank you for your support! It’s seriously helped. :)

#professorpalmarosa

[ubimelibiapes]

Thank you so very much for tagging me sweety <3

indoor plants or gardens // cloud-watching or star-gazing // water or fire // paperback or hardcover // running or hiking // sleeping with socks or without socks // fruit or and vegetables // hanging plants or succulents // dark wood or light wood // handwritten or typed // instagram or pinterest // braids or pigtails // dc or marvel // books or movies // oceans or meadows // forests or fields // sweet or and salty // ice cream or chocolate // hoodies or sweaters // long hair or short hair // piercings or tattoos // summer or winter // boots or sneakers // cars or motorcycles // curls or straight hair // castles or cottages // sunny days or storms // reptiles or birds // disney or nickelodeon // strawberries or watermelon // essays or posters // phones or laptops // glass or stone // dark or light // photos or paintings // circuses or theatres // reading or and writing // dogs or cats // poetry or novels // monsters or ghosts // thrift shops or libraries // fiction or non-fiction

Pls do this for me: @sommer-in-lesmona​ @professorpalmarosa @romanticrequiem @historicalromance @free-piza

#personal

[shadowkage]

8?

rp habits meme  /  @professorpalmarosa

how does tiredness affect your writing?

I’d say it affects it in both a negative and in a positive way. 

When I’m tired, I make more grammar mistakes. My first language bleeds into my English, which often renders particular sentences or expressions difficult to understand. I don’t make these mistakes as much when I am focused and will catch them when they occur. When I’m tired, I also turn blind.

However, I also tend to care less about whether what I produce is of good quality or not. My insecurities don’t hinder me as much, and that’s big since I used to have a lot of them.

#professorpalmarosa #can you tell I'm tired right now? #thanks for the ask Skye!