#and some i bought 5 different items from that company for myself

[stonesandswords]

.

[scyaxe]

man living on your own is expensive lol

[concerned-dinosaur]

Instacart + UberEats Scams (Customer and Company)

I knew I was taking a risk making this post. But I feel it's something everyone should know. And sure some of you may already know. There's a lot of fraud on courier apps. And it goes way beyond the customer trying to get food for free. It's the courier apps themselves underpaying their drivers and shoppers while mildly overcharging the customer for the same stuff they could just pick up from the store.

It's one thing to add a fee for delivery or even to account for the mileage or workload needed for the job. I'm talking about taking a $12 item and charging you $17 just because they can. Excluding the fact that they already charged enough. And it makes sense why some customers do not tip because the extra money they're being charged is negating any ability to compensate the shopper. Let's say you bought 3 items. Trash bags, Soda, and Diapers.

Trash bags are $11 but Instacart charges $16 Soda is $2 but Instacart charges $5 Diapers are $24 but Instacart charges $31

Of course there's the delivery fee, which let's say is $5 And then you have to tip. So now an order that normally would have been $37 becomes $52. And I didn't even add in the tip. If you can afford to order groceries then obviously it's no object to you. But if you're on a fixed income, potentially have a disability, and rely on courier apps exclusively, it's easier said than done. It gets better though. After Instacart making a $15 profit on the customer. They will also turn around and pay the shopper delivering the order a low batch pay amount.

The order might have only been 3 items. Not a big order right? The problem is the distance. Anything over 10 miles should have gas taken into consideration. Shopper receives $6 payout for the order which isn't even enough to cover the gas to deliver the order. Do you see how this is a problem? And yes you can SELECT which order you want to take. It's simply the fact that the hemorrhaging of money comes from both ends.

This is why they tell us to keep the receipt and make sure it doesn't land in the customer's bag. Which brings me to my next point. Customer scams. Which are very prevalent in this economical climate. I'm talking specifically about Instacart here, since UberEats and DoorDash have different rules. But with Instacart when you order, you have two options for delivery. Meet at door and Drop Off

Those are the only two. And of course they can fluctuate based on what you're ordering or where you are when you order. However this is where it gets tricky. Now I'll explain how people use it to their advantage. On Instacart if you have your order set to "drop off". The driver has to take a picture before they complete the order. This is critical because when it's set as the other option, which is "Meet at Door", there's no photo option. Just a "slide to complete" bar.

So what some customers do is, they'll set it to "drop off" but then physically MEET you at the door. The inexperienced shopper now has to take a photo. But there's no photo to take because the customer took it out of your hand. And they didn't think to snap the food in their hand before leaving. Remember it's a fast paced market. Now the customer has the ability to say the food never got delivered because there's no photographic to prove otherwise. Are receipts enough proof? No because the shopper could be accused of theft. The photo is how we can 100% prove the order was delivered.

This is why as a shopper I always take photos. Even if the app asks for it or not. My anxiety has forced me to protect myself.

Customers will also set their order to "Meet at Door" but then in the comments say "leave at my garage". Once again, the meet at door option only gives you a slide bar to complete. So the shopper could easily follow your instructions and you could say it was never delivered because the app doesn't ask for a photo. Reporting it was never delivered means the customer gets to keep the product, but also get their money back. It also makes shoppers susceptible to having their accounts suspended, which takes money out of their pockets. Instacart investigates scams with customers a lot more than the other courier apps and now it makes sense why.

The reason I am making this post is to say... it's crazy on all ends. The effects of capitalism, instant gratification culture, and greed have definitely made their mark on society. And I am not saying there's anything wrong with ordering food on any app. I am simply opening your mind to be more mindful when interacting with them and how you can save yourself some pennies. This post is for people thinking about signing up for courier apps, customers who may not know how Instacart works, and honestly if you just want to have a better perspective on the matter. The shoppers and drivers are just trying to make a living. Customers are just trying to feed their families. But the real evil are the companies who capitalize on this vulnerability.

[comingfromastatechampionasshole]

Best Cooking Gifts for $20-$60 Dollars

Hi friends, it’s your nearly useful, almost cool Doc Holligay here, fulfilling a really common series of questions I get around Christmas time (I am not going to say the holidays, I am a Jew but I KNOW I have like 6 Jewish followers, and these questions don’t come in around Hanukkah time) that boil down to: What Do I Get Someone Who Likes to Cook?

So I’ve created a series of gift guides, based on things I think are excellent, in different price ranges, (all are on my blog) for people that could be considered moderate to excellent cooks. People who need a few extra things for the kitchen, but have the basics down. Some of these DO make great basic gifts, but that’s not what this gift guide is FOR.

I get no kickback from any of this, unless specifically marked, and then you have to use my referral code. A lot of these places SHOULD give me a kickback for the years I’ve spent referring them, but they don’t. If I can make one request of you, it’s don’t buy this shit from Amazon. Amazon is a horrible company working to break the back of the American worker, and the least you can do for me is not use them for my recommendations. THEY HIRED THE FUCKING PINKERTONS. Galaxy brain is to try and pick this up from your locally owned kitchen store, as I did with most of these! I bet they’d love to hear from you!

IF this was useful to you and YOU’D like to give me a kickback, check out my Ko-fi!

Lodge Cast Iron 10.25 In Skillet--- $21

If the person you love loves to cook but has never gotten into cast iron, please set them up with this amazing skillet, which is usually the first thing I recommend for first-timers. So many things cook better in cast iron, and it can go straight to the oven!

Wiremonkey Bread Lame-- $28.00

If your gift recipient is a bread baker, this is a really nice gift. If you don’t bake, you may not know what this is: It holds the razorblade so you can make scores in your loaves. It’s a very nice one, made in Connecticut and pays fair wages. Definitely a step up over a raw blade. 

Dot Alarm Thermometer ---$43

This is the secret to my success for turkey every year, as well as prime rib at Passover, and it gets a TON of use in my smoker. After this Thanksgiving, my mom declared that she was going to get one too, because it did such a great job of letting you know the SECOND the turkey comes to temp, and also you don’t need to open the oven or smoker! They have a bluetooth version as well--I don’t use it. 

Escali Primo Scale-- $40.00 

This is the kitchen scale I have, and love, after years of trying to find something that fit my parameters of being small, being bright colored (so it’s easy to find in the kitchen) and having a weight limit of at least ten pounds. It’s also really highly rated for accuracy! Kitchen scales are the bantam standard for baking, but I use it for so many things. 

Silpat Liner -- $27.00

I have a tiny one of these that I bought to see how well they work and I kick myself for not buying a full size one, which is what I’ve recommended to you here. Even the stickiest things come off with little trouble. Especially for baking fine things like florentines, this is so useful. 

Thermoworks 600D---$29.00 (as of the literal second I am publishing this, they’re having a sale for it at 18 bucks) 

Doc, stop just recommending Thermoworks stuff. NO. Their warranties are amazing, and the accuracy of their thermometers is exceptional. After years of using a cheap thermometer that was barely helping at all, I bought one of these, and it has more than paid for itself. I would never go back. 5-6 second super accurate reading. 

Spring Loaded Tofu Press-- $50.00

I know what you’re all thinking, and I probably would have thought it too before I used one at a friends’ house. Now I want one more than I can say. Great for vegetarian and vegan cooks, obviously, but also amazing if you need to press water out of anything, so if you’re trying to make eggplant parm, press water out of spinach, etc, this is an amazing go to. It sort of breaks my general feelings on kitchenwares and use, but squeezin those things even with the book method is so onerous that I make exceptions.

 Shun Sora Utility Knife-- $60.00 

I don’t often recommend Japanese style knives to people, despite them being my preferred style, versus German knives. They’re more fragile as a nature of how they are created and maintained. But people who love them, like me, REALLY FUCKING LOVE THEM. This is the cheapest possible version of my absolute favorite knife. (Full disclosure--I don’t own anything from the Sora line, but my general feelings on Shun lead me to believe it’ll be fine quality) It’s a 6 inch utility knife, which is great for smaller people like me who can occasionally find a Chef’s knife unwieldy, and the blade holds an edge, as long as cared for, longer than average (It still needs to be sharpened. All knives do.) A great way to introduce a cook to a better class of knife. (Without getting into the weeds, buying a block of knives is generally a mistake) 

Victorinox Fibrox Chef’s knife-- $48.00

If you prefer or expect you will prefer a German style knife, this is one of the best entry-level choices out there. It’s a great gift for someone with a lot of talent but not a lot of great equipment, as I find, weirdly, knives are one of the last things to be upgraded. I thicker knife that will need more frequent sharpening but is a WORKHORSE you would have to work pretty hard to destroy, I recommend this knife to advancing cooks all the time. I don’t think there’s better for the price point. 

OXO V Blade Mandoline Slicer--- $42.00

If your gift recipient has any love of cooking things that require a lot of slicing, this is a must-have. I bought mine used, but this OXO is at a great price point for value and if they decide they want something heavier duty later, they can always pursue it. It’s the kind of thing people don’t realize they love until they own one. They’re also deeply satisfying to use, which I find wonderful as a kitchen item. 

I hope you enjoyed these recommendations and stay tuned for the next price point up! 

[purplesurveys]

1252

A - Appearance.

What are you wearing? I have a gray turtleneck and brown shorts at the moment.

What are on your feet right now? I never wear anything for my feet when I’m at home.

What color are your fingernails? I say this a lot on surveys but mine are never painted. Nothing against them, I’ve just never felt the need to spend on something like my nails.

What does your hair look like right now? I have apple hair at the moment to temporarily get rid of my bangs, which I am more than sick of at this point.

B - Best Friend

Who is your best friend? Angela and Andi.

What was the last thing you two did together? The last time I saw Angela we went to the BTS pop-up store. I haven’t seen Andi since January, but when we hung out that evening we just had Korean barbecue and we also parked somewhere in UP to just talk about life in my car. My breakup had been fresh at the time and back then I just needed someone to whom I could vent.

What is (s)he doing right now? I’m sure Andi’s doing something with Leigh, maybe having a video call or something since I think they tend to have one every evening. I’m not sure what Angela’s up to but considering her replies have been a bit slow tonight, I guess she’s somewhat busy at home.

Are you talking to her/him online right now? Angela just replied to something I sent her around 15 minutes ago but the exchange wasn’t meant to be a full-blown conversation, if that’s what you mean.

C - Crush.

Who is (s)he? Eh, I don’t have a crush these days; too obsessed with work to figure out what I find attractive lmaooooo. I do have a main celebrity crush and I might just cite them instead so that I can at least fill this section out. 

What does (s)he look like? Curly hair; mismatched eyes; moles underneath his right eye, on his nose, and on his lower lip, and the widest smile I’ve seen on any person.

What was the last thing you two talked about? He’s a celebrity crush...

Does (s)he make you smile? Yes.

D - Dad

What’s your dad’s name? Edgardo.

What does he do for a living? He’s an executive chef for a luxury liner company. He hasn’t worked in a year and a half due to the pandemic and has stayed in the country this whole time, but we’ve *very* recently been informed that he can go back abroad in around two weeks! Of course it will suck letting go of him again after having him back for such a long time, but I’m just glad the family can finally be on track again, financially speaking. It had been something I’ve been worrying silently about.

What was the last thing you two did together? Had dinner last night, but we did that with the whole family too. We don’t really do things that’s just the two of us.

Do you get along better with him than your mother? Yes.

E - Ebay.

Have you ever bought anything from ebay? No. I’m not sure we have eBay here anyway.

Do you just shop around when you’re online? I don’t really shop ‘around.’ I usually have an idea of what I want to get myself, and it’s just a matter of finding the right shop from which to buy.

Do you know anybody who is addicted to it? I know a couple of co-workers who love shopping, like Gabi.

Have you ever sold anything on it? I’ve never tried selling, but I’m actually in the middle of doing something for the very first time – I’ve decided to get into trading! I got my BTS Butter album yesterday but didn’t get to pull the photocard I was vying for – the pull I got, though, was of the most popular member, which means it would be a very easy trade. I put the trade offer up the other day and I finally got a match yesterday.

F - Facebook.

When was the last time you logged on? Like five minutes ago. I constantly check it.

How many friends do you have? Just checked and it says I have 686. I wanna get rid like half of them though.

Do you hate when your facebook chat messes up? Hmm, that doesn’t really happen.

Who was the last person to leave you a wall post? Angela.

G - Google.

Do you Google everything? Yeah, I think I look up a random item or phrase at least once a day. Doesn’t hurt to learn a new thing each day. :)

What was the last thing you Googled? The K-Pop group g.o.d., since my teacher mentioned them in our Korean lessons earlier.

Would you ever trade Google in for Bing? No, I haven’t used Bing in like 12 years.

What do you Google the most? Synonyms, I think, since I’m constantly writing for work.

H - Hair.

Do you like your hair? It’s a love-hate relationship most days because I hate how thick and frizzy it can be...but I recently had mine trimmed all the way up to my neck and for some reason it’s taken on a wavy form, which I didn’t expect to come out at all. And I’ve found that it actually suits me quite a bit, so I’m enjoying my hair for now.

What color is your hair? Black.

What does it look like right now? Slightly damp since I took a shower not too long ago.

What kind of shampoo for you use? Just a normal Dove one.

I - Ibuprofen 

When was the last time you took ibuprofen? I don’t think I’ve ever taken it? I usually take paracetamol...idrk the difference either. Do you rely on it for everything (cramps, headache)? I only ever take medicine for headaches/migraines.

Are you so thankful people made it? I mean sure, I’m glad there are those who have been able to create products that can instantly relieve pain or discomfort, but I’m not obsessively grateful.

Do you have any right now? I don’t think we have any.

J - Jobs.

Do you need a job? Nah, I already have one.

Where do you work? Media/PR industry.

Where would you work? I wouldn’t change jobs/industries. This is where I wanted to end up in, and I’m really really glad and fortunate to have landed here on my first shot, right out of college, and during a pendemic.

How much money would you like to get paid? An additional P5k (~$100) would probably be more satisfying, but considering my parents aren’t the traditional Filipino parents who suck 100% of my earnings right out of me the second payday comes, I’m able to enjoy a substantial chunk of money to myself, give them a portion of my earnings, and still be able to save.

K - Kissing.

Who was the last person you kissed? That would be my ex.

Will you next kiss be a mistake? I have no idea when that would be and with whom it will be shared, so I won’t be able to give you a definite answer.

Do you kiss someone everyday? Other than my dogs, nah.

Who was your first kiss? The aforementioned ex.

L - Love.

Who do you love the most in your life? My best friends. I’m also doing a whole lot better in the self-love department these days, so that too :)

Have you ever been in love before? Yeah.

Does it make you so happy when you feel the feeling of love? Sure. It feels light and comfortable, especially when it’s shared.

Why is this word so hard to describe? Because everyone feels love differently. < There we go.

M - Mom.

What is your mom’s name? Abigail.

What is she doing right now? She was watching The Good Doctor the last time I checked on her like five minutes ago. It’s her latest obsession.

Where does she work? She works in the food and beverage department of a 5-star hotel in the city.

Do you two shop together a lot? I rarely do my shopping with either of my parents.

N - Netflix.

Do you have Netflix? Technically, I guess. My dad pays for it and we have a family account.

If not, what movies would you order? I don’t think I’ve ever ordered a movie before. Before streaming on Netflix, I just used to get illegal torrents lol.

Do you rent a lot of movies? I’ve never rented a movie. Was too young for it, I think.

Do you have the tool where it just downloads to your tv? No.

O - Ohio.

Is this the state in which you live in? I don’t even live in the US. Never been there either. < Same.

Is Ohio State your favorite football team? I don’t like football.

Did you know Ohio Is For Lovers? I’m not familiar.

Have you ever been to Ohio? See first answer in this section.

Q - Quitting.

What was the last thing you quit doing? Practicing on Duolingo. I had an extremely short period of using the app again a couple of months ago, but I lasted all of two days hahaha I had been trying to get back on learning Korean, but I enrolled in official lessons not long after that anyway so it didn’t make sense to continue the stages in the app.

Do you need to quit talking to someone right now? Nope. The people I’m talking to right now in between this survey are all welcome conversations.

Would you ever quit school? That wasn’t an option for me and I never would’ve done it anyway. 

Don’t you think quitting is stupid? No. Sometimes it can be the strongest thing you can do for yourself.

R - Reading.

What was the last book you read? Does my Korean lesson textbook count hahaha...if not, I haven’t really read anything in years.

Do you own a lot of books? I do, but they are all books from my childhood and teenage years. It’s been a while since I last updated my bookshelf.

Do you have a library card? No, haven’t had one since Grade 1.

Have you ever read a book that changed your life? Without Seeing the Dawn was pretty influential to me, but I dunno about ‘life-changing.’ I need to read more to find the book that would have that effect on me.

S - Safety.

Do you always wear your seat belt? I do these days. I didn’t really practice it when I used to drive to school, whoops. Always forgot to do it.

When riding a four-wheeler do you wear a helmet? I rarely get to do that.

Did you ever wear knee pads and a helmet when riding your bike? Nah. I can’t ride a bike either. Do you always think safety first? In COVID terms, yeah. I have a face mask and shield on as soon as I find myself outdoors.

T - Talk

Who was the last person you talked to? Reena. Who are you talking to right now? Nobody. It’s just me, this survey, and some music in the background.

Who did you last talk to before you went to bed last night? Angela and Reena, if I’m not mistaken.

Do you need to talk to anybody right now? No, I’m good.

U - US ARMY

Do you support it? I don’t know enough about it to have a bold opinion, considering I’m not even from the US and it’s been a while since their army has had any strong contact with my country.

Do you know anybody who is in the army right now? I think one of Angela’s uncles has a high position in our national army.

Don’t you ever wonder why their camo doesn’t match anything? Not really.

Would you ever go to the army? No.

V - Virgin.

Are you a virgin? Nope.

When did you lose your virginity? I was 18.

Do you wish you would’ve waited? Nah, it felt right when I did it the first time; and I maintain that stance now even though I’m no longer with that person.

Do you think you could have stayed a virgin until marriage? I could. Sex isn’t a big deal to me.

W - What.

What are you doing right now besides this survey? I’m also listening to mono. and taking bites from my doughnut every now and then.

What are you craving? Spicy tuna salad, but it can wait. Andi got me my favorite truffle baked macaroni because it’s CM Punk day today :D :D and that’s able to satisfy my savory cravings for now.

What do you need to buy? Shelves.

Why are you taking my survey? I’ve mentioned this before but I like categorized/themed surveys, so alphabetical ones are always fun for me.

X -Xanax 

Do you know anybody who is addicted to Xanax? I don’t think so.

Have you ever taken it before? No.

Do you even know what it is? No, actually.

Have you ever suffered from anxiety or depression? I’m sure I have.

Y - Yourself.

Name. Robyn.

Age. 23.

Do you smile a lot? Sure, I’d say that’s common these days.

Z - Zebra.

Are you addicted to zebra striped? Not really.

Do you own anything zebra striped? Nah. I have some stuff that come in black and white stripes, but not zebra print. Is anything on any of your websites zebra striped? No.

[sevman49]

I promised myself to write about my pilgrimage south to meet the woman I believe I now belong to. The Woman I Believe I Belong To. Sounds like the title of a country song. I'll write it later. I'm inspired. I went to meet her and planned on spending the weekend if we hit it off. That was my hope. I ended up staying two and a half weeks.

I'd like to tell you more about her, how beautiful she is, how well off she is, how she became so well off, describe her elegance and the environment she inhabits. But I'm not allowed to. I can't tell you her name, not that you would recognize it if you aren't a local. She knows I will write about her, and will allow it only if my discretion is absolute. I understand why it's necessary, I just can't tell anyone else why. I'll just refer to her as She and Her. I can't even describe her house or it's location, that would give her identity away. She is known and she is important. And powerful. And secretive.

As I wrote earlier, she wanted a wife, she's not gay, she wanted a male wife. A companion who would handle all the so called wifely duties in the household. Keeping it clean, doing the laundry, do the cooking and serving, be her confidant and company, amuse and entertain her, obey her, be her sexual toy and tool, keep my mouth shut and my opinions to myself, and most importantly, be prepared to be fucked, battered, trampled and physically and mentally womanhandled when she returned home every evening. I had no problem with that. And one last thing, be invisible to the outside world. I would never accompany her in public and when she had visitors, I would be locked away in a very private room built just for that purpose.

So, what's in it for me? In no particular order, these are my benefits. I would be fucked, battered, trampled and physically and mentally womanhandled by this exotically beautiful, lithe, flowery but firm gynarchistic minded female every day and night. I would be her very secret, forcefully confined, oft beaten, heavily disciplined wife who sucked her dick ( or the female version of that) any time she snapped her fingers. I would live well and be well taken care of by her and be monetarily rewarded on a monthly basis. All I had to do was whatever she said and keep it all to myself and her.

I would maintain my own residence back home and live my normal life there whenever she traveled for business purposes, which would intermittently add up to about to about 6 months out of the year. When she departed I would slip out in my new sports car in the morning darkness to drive home and slip back in the same way upon her return. We have it all worked out. It's doable and I'm excited about it. I'm to give her my final assent when she returns home in 3 weeks. I already know yes is my answer. But there are things I need to think about before I sign the contract regarding our nondisclosure agreement and the financial terms I would agree to.

Har! I would do it for nothing! But I won't tell her that. I DO need income of some sort after all! Might as well consider this my dream job. I should ask about insurance benefits also. I could get hurt doing some of the things she has in mind for me. Again, I'm ok with that!

What things, I imagine anyone asking? I shouldn't say, but, fuck it. Let's talk about the last two and a half weeks. During this part, I'm going to reveal how I came to be as submissive as I am. Why it's a part of me I couldn't change if I wanted to. And I don't want to. It's who I am, as long as I remember, and I'm most at home and comfortable in this state.

No one who knows me now knew me when I was growing up. My life before my college years was a thousand miles away from here. My father, before he passed away when I was 7 years old can best be described as a reclusive yet hugely successful financial genius. He saw trends others didn't and invested in what are now universal corporations with well known brands and worldwide recognition. With his blossoming fortune and his disdain for populated areas, he bought the land others considered wilderness and built an estate for his family where our nearest neighbors were 60 miles away. The everyday items people shop including food and substance were delivered to us on a weekly basis. There were people employed to take care of things so we had contact with these people but otherwise we lived by ourselves, like rich pioneers in uninhabited areas. There was him, my mother, then in a 6 year period 3 children. My older sister two years my senior, then me, and two years later my younger sister. We were all born into isolation and it's all we knew. We had all the amenities other kids grew up with except television, we just didn't know the other kids. We were diligently home schooled 3 days a week by Miss Kerr, a young teaching assistant who had a room of her own in our home who stayed with us Monday through Wednesday teaching us about scholarship and society in a variety of subjects.

Now for the facts of life about what made me who I am today. My mother was a beautiful woman even by today's standards, and she was an early day Female Supremist. My earliest memories are of her as the boss of our household, the absolute ruler of my father, who did whatever she told him to do and if he didn't, she was quick to punish him physically and mentally. Not behind closed doors but in the presence of my sisters and I. Father never complained, he just took his punishments and apologized for angering her. Mother was a slapper and a spanker. She never forgave a misstep by him and took no pushback nor excuses. Just instant correction we witnessed a thousand times. Mighty slaps that sent him staggering backwards apologizing while she advanced on him landing WHAP after WHAP like a well trained prize fighter. This was everyday life for us. My sister's and I couldn't even imagine a world where a male was even equal to his partner. We all knew my future role in this family. My sister's sure did and they would strive to be the woman my mother was. They just needed the go ahead from Mom. They got it when Father had a heart attack and was gone in the blink of an eye. After a week of mourning and services Mom called us into the parlor for a family meeting. I knew my life had changed by the seating arrangement she dictated to us. Her and my sisters on the couch on each side of her, and me on the floor sitting at their feet facing them. I wasn't shocked, what else did I expect? My life as a male was about to take shape. But there was, indeed, a surprise I never saw coming. And she led off with that. My sister's were equally caught flatfooted. But, it meant something different to them, and it made them smile when it was spelled out to them.

"Stephen", she began, " You are now the man of the house. You've always been like a son to me (well, of course, thought I) but the time has come to tell you this. You are my adopted son. We love you as if you were born to me but we adopted you at birth and raised you for this very situation, in case your father , your adopted father, passed on. When Kate was born, we decided to adopt a male to serve her and for her to train as she matured. We were certainly glad we did when Cindy was born two years later. She also needs a male to train. You are sitting at our feet for a reason, Stephen, do I have to spell it out any further?"

There I was, a seven year old boy, receiving the news of the world, that my whole existence was a lie, that I was brought into this family to become a servant for my sister's when the time came, and that they really weren't my sister's. Imagine the shock and trauma I should have felt. Here's what I felt instead. I'm sitting on the floor with 3 females sitting over me, each now putting their feet on me and none of them are related to me. I remember that as my first intentional sexual hard on in my life.

"No, maam, I get it" Ex-mom smiled and told me she was proud of me, that she always knew I was a good boy. My older now stepsister had her foot resting on my shoulder and I asked her if I could lick her feet. She nodded, pleased as punch, and covered my face with both feet. I did that to mess with my 5 year old stepsis. She was actually gonna be tougher than her elder sister. In time.

There's a lot to tell about the path my life took for the next 10 years.but, I digress. That's another story and I'm anxious to relive it as I look back on how it shaped me. And led me into the life of servitude with a remarkable very respected socialite that no one, not even you know about yet.

I could keep on and tell you what I expect, but I'm heading back to her tomorrow, so I'll just let the realty dictate from here. I hope I have a good story for you.

.

[doberbutts]

 Okay so this is going to get long and more than a little bit tmi but it’s a post summing up some strides I’ve made regarding my own transgender journey and I wanted a place to talk about it and maybe help some BabyTrans figure themselves out along the way so I’m putting it under the cut but it’ll go here >:V

Anyway long story short my insurance settlement from my car accident finally figured itself out and I found myself suddenly $30k richer and immediately spent about $10k of that digging myself out of a very deep debt hole I’ve been wallowing in for a while so now I have some actual financial stability plus have some money to throw at some things that would probably make my life a bit better.

And since I have the money to throw at some things, I bought myself a few new binders and also a packer. Binders because my old one was literally disintegrating- part of that is my fault, washing binders in an industrial machine on high heat plus throwing it in the dryer means your binder falls apart faster than it should. Remember I’m from the very end of Ye Olden Days of transmasc products, which means previously most binders lasted a year at most. My binder made it 2.5 years before giving up and becoming a sports bra instead. I’ve learned from my mistakes and treat my binder(s) much more gently now, plus I have more than one so I can rotate them out and not wear the same binder 8-12 hours daily for 2.5 years and kill it doing exactly the same shit.

For reference sake, I’m 5′10′’, 180lbs, 36C bust, and fit a XL from gc2b. Which is who I bought both my previous binder and my current set from. They are low cost, lightweight, well made, and LGBT-owned and operated which makes me super into buying from them instead of some of the other companies offering something similar.

Being that I am biracial and finding something my skintone is always somewhat... interesting... I followed the internet’s suggestion and went with PeeCock for the packer. I’d bought a zip binder from them a few years ago and actually found that to be the most comfortable binder I’ve ever used in the history of ever, but I will say the durability of zip binders is low compared to pull-over binders in my experience, as the zipper exploded one day when I bent down to pick up a small dropped item. I’d had the binder and was rotating its use with my pullover gc2b for about 6 months when this happened, and was in public when I went from flat chested to big uncontained tiddies in the span of seconds. Not great. I’ve been told that probably means it was a little too small for me, but PeeCock is a company based in Singapore, and their sizes like most East Asian clothing do run quite a bit small (I was a XXL in PeeCock sizes when I wore a size L gc2b binder) so there’s not really a lot of wiggle room for me to go up in size. Additionally their sizing taps out at XXXL so anyone who’s bigger than me in the chest/torso is a bit out of luck for their binders. A shame, because that zip binder was so comfortable I fell asleep in it forgetting I even had it on more than once.

Anyway. Since I did like that binder even though we had the wardrobe mishap, and the internet had pretty good reviews on the PeeCock packers because they are multifunctional and actually make correct skin tones for black dudes, I got one. Since money wasn’t an issue I did get the most recent model which was not cheap (~$300) and so far I like it a lot. I got so used to wearing it that when I take it off to clean it, it actually really bothers me. The weight of it is... comforting, in a way.

HOWEVER I did see a bunch of reviews about how I would be super likely to pee on myself the first time using it and then used it and went “wow I don’t have any idea what you guys are talking about this is easy” aaaaand... then peed on myself by accident. Gotta control your stream or things are going to overflow and you’re going to be really sad. And wet. And stinky. Thankfully I had the forethought to practice at home before actually doing this at work/public restrooms but be warned. Being that this is my first one I can’t say if this is common with all packers however I told several of my transmasc friends that do pack and use STP about this experience and they all assured me they did the exact same thing on and off for the first couple weeks and most of them do not have the same brand. We’ve yet to have a repeat at least?

Plus there’s a little attachment rod so I can use it for sexy times with the boyf and also feel what I’m doing to him so there’s that too. 10/10 A+ experience would recommend. The packaging warns you to be careful how you pack because of the way the silicone works, and your partner cannot be on top or ride you, so keep that in mind if you’re considering it. Cleaning is pretty straightforward however and packing feels correct and natural as long as you follow a few rules:

I’ve discovered that whatever size you consider a perfect fit? Unless you like really relaxed fit for your pants, you’ll need to go a size up. I wear tighter clothing and usually skinny jeans at that, and my exact perfect size has been 34/32 for some time now. When packing I need to go up to 36/32 because otherwise wow that crotch is way too tight. I can’t sit down in one of my pairs of jeans and I’m legit sad about it. I also can’t have anything in the pockets of a different pair of jeans or else I have the same tight crotch problem. I went up a size in underwear and that was more comfortable, so I ordered new pants from online and I’ll see if that helps as much as I’m expecting it too.

Speaking of underwear, ymmv, but I genuinely did not expect this. Jockstraps? Super comfy, super durable, and super convenient. Additionally unlike boxers or even briefs, I don’t need a special packing-specific design to be comfortable in one. I never wore one before and honestly this doesn’t even feel like wearing underwear. They’re really just a banana hammock anyway so that’s probably a large part of it, but honestly I would definitely recommend trying them if you haven’t yet. I do have a few pairs of packing briefs and boxers, as well as normal briefs and boxers, and I’ve been alternating between the various types of undies to see which ones I prefer, but I already know my decision so I bought several because I can. One word of advice, though... if your pants ride down understand that your entire butt will be out. I don’t wear low rise pants because they draw too much attention to my waistline and make me super dysphoric, but those that do, watch out.

Jockmail is highly rated and multiple transmasc websites recommend them for packing and I can absolutely see why. Usually the waistband of my underwear irritates my skin and so I was dubious because Jockmail stuff- being that it’s for athletic wear- has a minimum waistband of about 2in... but it’s actually more comfortable and less irritating, rather than the other way around. They also have briefs, boxers (more like short shorts), and boxer briefs, which I also have of the same brand, but... not as comfy. Once again Jockmail is a Hong Kong company so like all East Asian clothes, they run small. I’m a M in most men’s clothing sizes... I am XXL in Jockmail. I also had purchased a brief harness from PeeCock (goes by inches for waist) as well. (Also where I discovered you need to go a size up- I bought a 34in waist brief from PeeCock and it’s a tad tight. I bought a 36in waist brief from Jockmail and it’s perfect. I have been buying 34in waist things for the past few years now- I didn’t suddenly gain 2 inches at the waist, I did suddenly gain a need for a deeper crotch)

If you look down your body from above it will be super obvious that there is a dick there and you will go “oh god I look like I have an erection”. I have been reliably informed that it is actually not true and if you pack correctly a bulge will be there but not so obvious that it looks like you have a raging hardon the whole time. Better to look in the mirror, rather than down your tummy.

(Additionally I voiced my doubts to my boyf who immediately reminded me that most people don’t spend their time staring at someone’s crotch and as long as I wasn’t constantly messing with mine, no one was likely to notice even if I did have an obnoxiously obvious bulge. He then gave me some tips on how to let it hang if I wanted a “natural” look, and when we walked around while I had it on he made sure to check in on my mental health. He’s cute y’all.)

Some (cis) guys will have a specific leg they like to let things hang against. Some switch it up. Some are okay with it hanging straight down provided there’s not a lot of squish happening. Find what feel comfortable and needs the least amount of adjustment for you, and then stick with that. For me, I’ve found straight down or off to the left feels better- a friend of mine prefers off to the right, another straight down only, etc. Also can depend on the size- some (cis) guys I know are a bit smaller down below and are more comfortable with straight down than those with larger weiners.

If you pack you probably need to shave. I was very uncomfortable until I shaved. Now I feel much better packing. So trim that jungle or else you might feel a pinch every few minutes when a hair gets pulled.

And there you have me this morning before I got dressed. As you can see, both fit very nicely. I’m not particularly happy with my stomach or feminine hip set but eh, I cover those with layers and no one bats an eye.

At this point it’s figuring out the whole hormones thing, yelling at my insurance to cover certain surgeries, and... fixing some minor details with my wardrobe... and I’m feeling way more confident than I was a few years ago.

Anyway if anyone has questions feel free to hit me up

[pegasus-ghost]

I swear I'm not suffering from a midlife crisis.

But I just got my salary and I just bought myself 3 tamagotchis and 1 digimon.

Specifically, tamagotchi nano pacman anniversary, tamagotchi version 4, tamagotchi On Magic version, and digimon 20th anniversary.

I know I'm a 31 year old man. But I have never been so freaking excited when buying toys!

I have always DREAMED of owning these things when I found out about it when I was a kid. But of course, I didn't have money. My parents refused to buy expensive gifts for us. As I grew older in my 20s, these items are no longer available in stores and has been discontinued in my country. I thought they were gone forever.

I didn't know the Bandai company has actually been producing and improving these toys until today! And back then, online shopping wasn't a thing so I could only rely on going to stores to get stuff I want. When it wasn't sold in stores anymore, that's it. You won't find it anymore.

But recently due to the pandemic in 2020, online shopping is a huge thing and I can't remember when and how I came across tamagotchi again. I looked for them in youtube out of curiosity. And then I looked for them on online shopping places also out of curiousity.

I was so fucking surprised to find out these toys has now been improved so much! And that they're still selling it till now!

But not in my country. I have to buy them online.

And the tamagotchi versions I wanted, version 5 or 5.5, they're not available ANYWHERE. even secondhand online market place. These items are so old and rare I couldn't find them. And even the old tamagotchi I eventually found online, version 4, (second hand of course) is still sold at a high price.

Just shows how valuable these vintage toys are although they're old.

Hence I went ahead and bought everything. I don't care. These are the things that excites me, tech toys. Some are into action figures. I'm into tech toys and digital pets like this.

I almost considered buying an AI robot called vector too recently but after further research, I found out the stupid robot required monthly subscription on top of their already expensive as fuck robot. So I changed my mind.

I bought a fake tamagotchi that costs only a dollar as a test to my interest in tamagotchi before I bought the real one. I was afraid it might be an impulse buy I would regret later after I got bored of it. But it turns out I find the fake one extremely fun and it took my addiction off YouTube and phones.

After that, I went and bought them all. Did like TONS of research on YouTube and learned the whole tamagotchi and digimon and how it works, and the differences between each versions before I bought it. And once I understood everything, I bought them all.

Yes. I'm a 31 year old man being excited with tamagotchis and digimons.

This is what happens when you are an adult. You can buy whatever you want without relying on your parents.

No regrets.

[the-bjd-community-confess]

Why did you start your entire counter-argument as a strawman to the things I said? Basically nothing you ranted about in the first paragraph was anything I said. I’ve paid 100 for an outfit, I gotten pants, and shirt, and a vest for about 100, which was my base line for this. Mind everyone, these were pretty basic, so no special pockets, extra requested adjustments, or whatever  These were also just bought as in stock items, for a 65cm doll. That’s a basic outfit for me. Socks, is something I make myself, and shoes are a separate expense. “100 or more” actually means that I’d pay 200, or 300 if it is elaborate enough, or if I personally commissioned something the artist would have to adjust their patterns for, or buy special fabric for. I’d probably pay more, but I also got a personal cut-off point for how much money I’d spend on some doll clothes. So I wouldn’t go over my own price to begin with, and make that clear also. (I’d honestly even buy my own fabric, and send it to them, if I wanted something specific.) I’m just not gonna throw the shirt/pants/vest set for 100usd, into the same category as a 300usd ballgown. That’s not how good marketing functions. And most people will not immediately go out of their way to buy the most expensive item/commission, and might be more inclined to go for a lower price range when buying stuff.

Mod: The rest is under the cut ❤️

“so maybe you’d toss me an extra $20 if you were really impressed” Did I say that? No. Did I say how much more I’d pay? No. Did I say I’d pay extra “after” I got the item/once it’s done? No. (Being able to be “Impressed” implies to me that the garment is in a state where it’s at a later stage.) Have I ever given a tip for a commissioned item/added some extra money as a bonus gift? Yeah. But that was outside the purchase, and was a nicety. It’s in the same sense, as when I send someone something they bought from me, I like to add in some candies, or small gifts, as a surprise. Yes, that’s different. In  your assumption I’d underpay, and then throw in “20usd” for being “impressed”. While I’d give a small bonus, no matter what. No need to impress me. I also wouldn’t commission you, tbh. “but that means that to you, my labor at a base rate isn’t even worth a third of what the state says is ok to pay entry level workers,” Where did you even get that from? Seriously. You were the one who claimed that the “more” from “100bucks or more” means only just 20bucks “if you were impressed”. That’s 100% you assuming something, and not even giving me the benefit of the doubt. I know some people undersell their work, but I in commissions, normally ask multiple times to give me the right numbers, after the 5th time I’ve asked, or more, I can’t exactly force them. If I ask for the right numbers, I mean it. If I did want something super specific commissioned, I’d immediately tell the maker to give me the right numbers, to avoid any kind of monetary grief. If I later noticed that I feel like I underpaid, or if I noticed that the entire project became more expensive, I’d ask them for a new value, or to not go as elaborate if it’s gonna cost them more time/money. And ask them to inform me when the cost of making becomes too much. Also, if it’s a finished item, or something they make on order, but isn’t specially commissioned, so I don’t speak to them, I’ll pay what their shop says. If you wanna blame me for not “paying what they deserve” you also have to demonise everyone who buys from these people, and I guess, also blame them for not putting up the “right” prices. You should, from the beginning, state what your prices are, if someone isn’t willing to pay the full price, is it even worth working for them? If their only complaint is that “It’s too expensive” then that’s a customer you should seriously skip, because you’ll probably waste more on them, than earn, in the end. “And you expect the work of a master tailor for that?” Damn, that must have been a parallel universe confession of mine you found, because I’m pretty sure I never said that, nor was there anything which could have implied that. Correct me if I’m wrong though. If I wanted a Master tailor, I probably wouldn’t start on instagram, since if I wanna commission a master tailor, I’d prefer to be able to go to them Irl. I also wouldn’t go to a master tailor for doll clothes, but that’s a different topic.   What I want is, simply, what was advertised, and what I paid for. I also literally specified that there are people who DON’T have the skills, and have prices which don’t match the final product. Or are you putting yourself, and Master tailors in the category, where I specifically mentioned: “where the person can’t sew straight, or symmetrical.” And noted the difference as: “You wouldn’t pay the same for a cake from a 5 star baker, and a store cake ” I doubt anyone would do that. “but the sellers who can come close to the company’s low prices—the ones you’re complaining about selling low quality clothes—are deliberately selling far under the value of what their labor would be worth if they were more experienced so they can make back some of the expense of learning the trade” So, this one, after reading it several times, because it genuinely confuses me, I don’t really get what it’s saying. What I got from this is:

It either sounds like some people are skilled enough, but just choose to create bad quality items. Since they won’t be compensated for their work anyway. (Which really isn’t a good way to advertise ones work. If that’s the case. Idk)

nd option, (and in context of what I said.) People who got little skill, since they just started learning, are undervaluing items, which are beginner level quality, but which, if we factor in stuff they had to buy to start in the hobby/trade to begin with, should either be in a similar price-point, or the same/more than what a doll company asks for their clothing, because the company is only able to ask for such a low price because of several different factors to begin with.  Even though their quality is very notably below what the company sell their clothes for.

Neither of these options, (which I got out of that, I could be wrong), sound good to me. I think the latter is more accurate, with the former interpretation, I pulled in what I got from the first parts of the rant. If someone is a beginner, they will obviously have more expenses in the beginning, because they will have to buy basic tools, and materials. But the bulk buying to begin, is often a one time bulk-investment. What I mean is that one doesn’t need to buy a sewing machine, new needles, chalk, or even bigger amounts of fabrics/thread, each time, but just the necessities missing at that point. And yeah, they’ll also use a lot of those materials, trial and error, and learning. But even if they have these expenses, they’re expenses for being beginners, that’s not something the customer should compensate for. The customer should compensate for the material, and time used, and for the actual skill the artist has used on the item they purchased. And should of course pay fairly for that. I’ll pay for what was made, and the time/skill used, and the materials, I’m not gonna pay for any side projects, or anything that isn’t directly related to my order. (Again, that’s what I get from the 2nd option. That they gain experience from making their own projects, while working on something for a customer) That’d be like going to the hairdresser, asking for a trim, and having to pay extra because my hairdresser decided to dye their own hair blue. I mean, all in all it’s a pretty weird argument. (If someone got something different, or could explain what was actually meant, if I got it seriously wrong, please do, because I’m honestly, seriously not sure I understood the argument.) I actually meant the people who overvalue the skills they don’t really have. You can literally find people who ask for the same prices as some of the more known, and skilled artists, but their products don’t hold up. If I can pay 50usd for a wig from a well known artist, who’s got a reputation for good wigs, and has done them for 5 years, I’m not gonna pay 50usd for a wig from someone who started making wigs 2 weeks ago. You aren’t even just paying for materials, time, skill, you’re also paying for the name of the artist. Which is why more popular artist might have higher prices, than unknown ones. It’s like how Guxxi could sell the same white t-shirt you get at a H'n’M, for a 1000% price inflation, bc people just care about the little label saying “Guxxi”.   (Yes, I censored the names) Even if companies can buy in bulk, most the clothes they make are also still handmade, and I’d be 100% willing to pay that for a handmade outfit, and to wait the weeks, and even months some companies take. Just like how I do with the dolls they make. Also, in that same vein, if you’re saying they’re underpaid, and undervalued. Most of them work for the respective doll-manufacturing companies, does that mean people should stop buying dolls also? Because if they’re not treating their tailors right, does that extend to their doll-makers? Are we supporting undervaluing/underpaying workers? That’s just what it sounds like. Did you mean something different? Seriously, this just came across as a little weird. Like, I can’t really think of many actual companies who make doll-clothes, who aren’t also directly tied to the doll making companies. And independent creators, and artists aren’t really companies to me. Also, in many of the doll manufacturing countries, the prices for raw materials is often below what we have to pay to begin with. Even if bulk buying cuts of a significant amount, a even bigger amount is just cut off by virtue of the materials being generally cheaper, or because they might get is straight from the producer, instead of going to a fabric/sewing supply shop, like most of us would have to. Plus, and I think this is important to note, if it’s their business, and taxes work the same way in these countries, as they do in some European countries, or the US (I assume), they can just write up material cost as business expense, which removes some of the taxes on the materials, which makes it even cheaper, something most small time commissioners might not do/can’t do, for whatever reason. So a regular artist would have to pay: full price for materials + markup from fabric stores + taxes for material + the time spent getting themselves noticed/improving, (which is a personal expense). Which might make it more expensive at large, comparatively. Finally, you used the price of 40usd for the materials, but I feel like this is pretty barebones, in terms of “what is the money used for”. What size is the doll? 30cm? 40-50? 60-70? What materials are you using? Cotton, polyester, wool, silk??? Does this focus on fabrics you own? New fabrics, specially bought for that outfit? If I was being pedantic: What counts into your price of 40usd raw materials? Did you add laces, and special fabrics? Does that factor in having to buy/make new patterns? If yes, how much would NOT making/getting a new pattern remove from the price? (I know free patterns exist, I like those) What length does the dress have? The petticoat? Are they floor length? Knee? One option will use different amounts of material. That’s just the basic material, not time, or effort invested. Just the materials. And I’m just gonna guess you’re gonna think “Why should I have given that detail, I was just making a quick point.” Since you already bothered to make a “submit long confession”, adding a quick note of how big the doll, and maybe what materials you’re even counting in, to make your point more understandable, would have been useful. Especially since you did spend the time creating a strawman, using those to argue with my points from the original confession, instead of taking the exact words I said. Just saying. So yeah, would be nice to have a base point to know what those 40usd are used for, because I don’t own any fabrics that’d reach a 40usd price point in raw materials for doll clothes, and I got some pretty expensive ones in my stash. Unless you’re seriously counting the price of buying a metre of fabric and using that as a price point, even if you don’t need to use all of it. In your case, as you said: A dress and petticoat and socks. (I assume the socks aren’t the same material?) So would you ask the price of 1m of fabric you bought, even if only 50cm were to be used? You buy 1x1.5m, and only use half of that 1m, so 0.5x1.5m. ????? I did some math based on fabric stores in my country, where I went with 1.5m of fabric each, with prices for normal mono-colour cotton being around 8usd pr metre, and a patterned red-white-polka dot fabric at 10 pr m. This is on the cheaper side, while the more expensive fabrics run from 15usd for mono-colours, to maybe 25usdh for pattern fabrics. But like I said, or asked, how much would you actually need of that 1m of mono and/or pattern fabric? Do you need a full metre of each to make a dress for a 30cm doll? Or even a 65cm? I actually did an entire run down of the prices, based on my country’s prices from the stores, but kinda realised that unless I put in the shop name, and link, it would seem like I’m just pulling random numbers, and I don’t want to put anything out that could identify me to people who know me. : P Final words. Yeah, I did take offence to your accusations, an strawmanning of what I said. While I did lack some context, I didn’t wanna make a long confession just to add “Oh btw, my price point of an outfit, was a set of in-stock items I paid 100usd for (excluding shipping).” and “Oh btw, when I said ”or more“ I mean I’d pay up to 300usd, since that’s my personal expense cut-off line for clothes. And I don’t wanna put items for 100usd in the same category as something for 300usd, and most in-stock stuff I buy is in that lower range to begin with, at least when it comes to single items.” Meanwhile you basically just tried to give yourself the biggest area to “call me out” on, and pretended my words were much worse for some reason. Also, as you can see, I also didn’t really get some of your points, but I did specifically state at those points, that I didn’t get what you meant, and that I set up my interpretation of what you said, in order to talk about it. Just so it doesn’t appear like I’m ignoring them. Difference is I made sure that it’s obvious that I’m not sure what you said, vs you just making it sound like your interpretation is what I meant. I personally have experienced a lot of this bullshit, of having my words twisted in order for people to justify treating me badly irl, so this is why I’m writing this half baked essay. Also, before someone wonders why I have sewing supplies, but still buy stuff, which is normal I know, but if someone wonders. I can’t focus for long times, and my hands are bad at holding still. I’m also not allowed to use the sewing machine, so I’m trying to get my own. For anyone annoyed at the length. It’s also pretty annoying to be accused based on strawmen where I  “rip off” beginner tailors, and demand “the works of master tailors” for the “4.5”. For the Mod, sorry for the length.

~Anonymous

[moonlit-seren]

Reasons To Stay || Jung Yunho x Gender Neutral Reader

Summary: Y/n’s been working for one of the biggest news companies in Seoul for five years now, and like many others she/he wants a change in scenery. However, there are a handful of things keeping her/him from leaving, and one of them came in the form of an accidental blind date.

Genre: Fluff

Warnings: SOFTNESS OVERDOSE- None

Word Count: 7.7k

A/N: I’m posting my very first Ateez imagine on my two week anniversary as a new Atiny. I’m so psyched to be a part of this growing family and I’d like to thank @every1studio for welcoming me into it UwU. The main character’s best friend was inspired by this ray of sunshine right here @rubyyong, I wanted to show her a little appreciation for being one of the many writers who influence me to become better and let her know that I’m here supporting her from afar. So yeah, happy reading. <3

꧁Masterlist꧂

~

~

I sighed, glancing through one of the floor length windows adjacent to my desk. It was a particularly nice day outside, the fluffy clouds casting dark shadows on the world while the sun lit it up with a brilliant glow. The contrast was nearly eerie, like yin and yang, both the sun and the clouds out of our reach yet seemingly tangible if you lay on your back and reach your hands for the sky.

The streets below seemed busier than usual, the already terrible traffic appeared far more congested than normal. Due to the lack of movement in the streets, the multitude of car horns blared in a messy diarray with one another, the loud sounds varying in pitch but all sharing one thing in common. They wouldn’t stop.

Looking down at the vehicles made me glad that the office’s walls were soundproof, otherwise everyone in the building would have gone deaf by now. However, there were a few unlucky people on the street who had to endure cacophony of car horns as their speed quickened while walking to whatever destination they had in mind.

“It’s terrible isn’t it?” asked one of my coworkers, the newly promoted intern seeming to appear out of the blue. Her name was Chloe and she was one of the few reasons why I hadn’t quit my job yet in this suffocating office building. We worked for one of Seoul’s biggest news companies, her in the creative department and me in the editorial department.

Our departments were located on different floors, so it surprised me to see her standing here, one hand fiddling with her ID badge and the other resting on her hip. Her eyes were trained on the streets below like mine were, before fluttering up to meet mine while waiting for my response.

I simply nodded as my eyebrows furrowed, hoping that the traffic wouldn’t be this bad when I had to drive back to my apartment in the evening. It already took a solid half an hour to drive back home without any traffic jams, and just imagining trying to get back while moving at a snail’s pace… Well, I honestly didn’t even want to imagine that.

“I heard someone in the elevator say that the city closed a few roads to repair them, so that must be the reason why there’s so much traffic,” I stated, eyebrows arched and lips pursed in an expression that read ‘I don’t really know’ while I shrugged to emphasize my lack of knowledge over the situation.

Chloe nodded as if to show that she’d agreed with my thoughts, her sleek high ponytail bouncing with the movement. She was wearing a knee length, peach colored sundress today, with soft magenta roses littering the garment like powdered sugar on freshly baked cupcakes. Her excellent sense of fashion always brought a bright burst of liveliness into the office, regardless of whether she was in a black, leather jacket or a pastel blue sweater top.

The comparison I always made, much to her distaste, was a small, yet thriving plant amidst a world of manmade objects and other inanimate items. I thought it was fitting. She just found it cliché.

It was a little off how we ended up as friends. Originally I thought that it’d be best to keep my distance, as bubbly people tend to get annoying after a while. Although, when I was asked to show her around the building, I realized that her perkiness was a breath of fresh air compared to the droopy gazes of the sleepy workers mulling about on my floor.

She was a ray of sunshine that lit my dim world and inspired me to let loose and remember what it’s like seeing things from an optimistic point of view. To put it simply, she helped me learn to live again, something I had forgotten when I reached adulthood.

Suddenly seeming to remember why she was up here, Chloe let out a small “Oh, right” while snapping her fingers before turning her body away from the window to face me instead. “I just wanted to inform you that it was lunch break, since you tend to forget while you’re immersed in the fancy world of grammar and punctuation.”

Her wild hand gestures accompanying the last three words of her sentence had me rolling my eyes. It was a known fact that no one on my floor, except for me, actually enjoyed correcting the numerous grammatical errors of others.

I couldn’t blame them though, since most of us were just here to make a living. Which brings me to my second reason for tolerating my job. I used to love the idea of doing something in this field for a living, words always had a way to entrance me in them which explains why I practically lived in libraries growing up.

I practically jumped at the opportunity when I was offered this job, but after five years of being stuck here, the magic of it all faded away into oblivion. Originally I was only working part time, since I was in my second year of college, but when I graduated I was given a full time job.

Of course, when I entered the company, I started at the very bottom of the corporate ladder. My main job was to be an errand girl like Chloe was before her promotion. I won’t even lie, it was absolutely horrible, and I know the girl in front of me would agree.

I can’t even recall how many cups of coffee just a single worker needed, as they would all fall asleep otherwise. In the first few hours of the morning, the demand for coffee was so great that I had petitioned for there to be five coffee machines rather than the two that we had.

Needless to say, I went home everyday with at least one new burn from the boiling hot liquid I had to carry around, and my hands really weren’t a pretty sight due to them. Thankfully I learned my lesson after the first week, opting to buy gloves that would help protect my hands and a bright red stop sign I attached to my tray so that people would stop running into me.

It was quite the sight, and really just a mortifying memory I have ingrained in the back of my head. Though Chloe didn’t have it as bad, shortly after I was promoted the company bought three more coffee machines as requested and hired more people so that there were more sets of hands dealing everyone their daily doses of caffeine.

Which brings me back to present day, as a 22 year old who seemed to age mentally far beyond my actual years living on this earth.

“Yeah, I didn’t notice the time. Do you want to go get a drink with me? I heard a new cafe opened up a few blocks down and so far there have only been positive reviews from the people I’ve asked about it,” I asked, kind of hoping that Chloe would agree to go, because who wouldn’t want some company?

However, I could see her response before she verbalized it in the way that she furrowed her eyebrows with a slight pout. “I can’t, there’s a new batch of interns that came in just yesterday, and for some reason none of them know how to work a coffee machine.”

I laughed at her predicament, imagining Chloe surrounded by a small group of college students too used to buying an overpriced coffee at a local cafe than to make their own brews with a machine.

“Okay, have fun,” I teased, standing up to stretch my back and roll a few cricks out of my neck. Chloe cringed at the little pops and cracks, reaching behind me to help pick up my bag that strewn across the back of my chair. It was pretty warm outside still, being in the early months of fall, which is why I didn’t have a coat with me.

I thanked her as I slipped the bag over my shoulder, before walking away with a slight wave. Since Chloe wouldn’t be going with me today, I decided to get her something at the cafe since I knew her taste in pastries and drinks quite well.

The elevator ride was pretty quick, albeit rather crowded as large groups of people were also on their way out to enjoy their break somewhere else.

The company was rather generous with its workers, allowing them a full hour long break before returning back to their 9-5 schedule. Maybe that was my third reason for staying at the company despite being sick of the mountain of words I had to go through daily.

The elevator reached the lobby floor with a small ding, the door nearly closing on me as everyone shuffled out of the metal box. I had allowed myself to get trapped near the back of the elevator as people piled in, which was why I had been the last to leave.

The front lobby was rather big, with a fancy granite front desk with gold accenting, and several marble columns spread around the floor to support the high ceiling.

To the right of the front desk was a small sitting area marked by a sprawling beige rug, dark leather couches, and a bamboo table resting in the middle. To the left of the front desk was a small water fountain with a family of koi fish lazily swimming about the bed of pennies and nickels thrown in.

I never really understood the point of throwing coins into fountains. People were basically wasting change, poisoning the fish, and drowning their elusive dreams in a supposed wishing well.

Still, I never voiced my thoughts out loud. After all, I didn’t want to crush the pure wishes of the children begging for coins from their parents in order to perform the simple act of hoping.

Not to mention that I had also fit into that crowd as a young girl, making desperate wishes to get the boy I liked to like me back. Of course, they were all left unheard, or maybe even ignored, which only served to fuel my distaste for making wishes on copper coins.

I’d much rather save my change to tip baristas, as I finally understood their struggle after having made hundreds of cups of coffee myself. It was a grueling task and I couldn’t help but sympathize with anyone who had to do what I did as an intern for a living.

Speaking of which, I made my way out of the front door of the office building, immediately cringing at the racket of noise that met my ears. Much to my bittersweet relief, the cars seemed to be moving a tad bit faster than earlier.

Albeit, the new set of cars didn’t sound any different from the last set, with their loud beeping at the mini traffic jams that hadn’t quite thinned out yet.

I reached into my purse and pulled out my earbuds, skilled fingers working quickly to untangle the messy knots the cord had fallen into. There had never been a day where I found them neatly folded like I had left them, so untangling them had become a regular part of my daily routine.

It didn’t take very long, and soon enough I had them plugged into my phone and placed in my ears. Going to my usual playlist, a slow smile spread across my face at the song that had arisen first by chance.

The noise of the car horns completely drowned out with the melody playing in my ears, and I happily mouthed along to the lyrics when the sidewalk before me cleared of any prying eyes as I walked down it.

The only people who could see me making a slight fool out of myself was the people in the cars adjacent to me, nevertheless, they all seemed far too preoccupied with their own lives to notice. Some were on their madly typing away at their phones, others messing with toys they had received with their fast food, and in the driver’s case: vigorously slamming their fists on their horns as if it would help resolve the situation.

“Snapping, snapping,” I whispered softly, eyes taking on a playful lilt as I fell into step with the beat of the song. Despite wanting to burst out dancing, I restrained myself as my mouth snapped closed with an audible click when a figure appeared several feet in front of me.

I wasn’t quite ready to let go of my dignity to the extent of having a little dance break in the middle of the sidewalk of a bustling city. I could practically see steam coming out of the nose of the young woman in front of me, so I popped out an earbud wondering what she could be fuming about.

“Stupid date left me waiting there… Screw men… If I ever get my hands on him… He’ll be dead meat…”

The rest of her words faded with the growing distance between us, having already passed by her as she was walking off in the opposite direction.

“She must’ve been stood up,” I thought, almost pitying her if not for her horrid attitude and snobby scowl. Her date might of had a reason for not showing up, who knows?

Realizing that I had reached my destination, I looked up to check the name of the cafe to be sure. The sign was done in a beautiful gradient with a faint blush pink fading into a vibrant fuchsia. Looking out front, there were bright posters taped to the windows advertising popular drinks and desserts.

Just from the prices on the posters, I could this was a higher class joint, as there was even a small seating area outside with large, turquoise blue umbrellas shielding the tables from the sun. Not to mention that the place also offered breakfast and lunch despite just being a cafe.

In spite of the high prices, I stepped through the door, taking notice of the white daisies growing in the pastel green window boxes. The golden bells above the door chimed, notifying my entrance.

Like always, I was instantly hit with the heavenly scent of freshly ground cinnamon and coffee beans that most cafes seemed to boost.

After becoming employed, I never really had to worry about spending a little extra on a higher quality drink everyday. The high paycheck was the fourth reason why I found the idea of leaving my job so difficult. Besides, It never hurt to have a little extra cash in my bank account in case of a financial emergency.

Slowly making my way to a booth, I took in the interior of the cafe. The walls of the joint were painted the same color as the window boxes, with accenting lining the corners of the spacy room matched the color of the umbrellas outside. The round tables had a translucent glass top with black metal legs, and the chairs sitting around them were made of the same black metal twisted into an intricate design.

I highly doubted the large jewels in the back of the chairs were made of real glass, though they shone the same way a real gem would in the soft lighting coming from the beautiful light fixtures dangling from the ceiling.

There was a marble front desk where the cashier was incase someone just wanted to grab a takeout coffee and/or pastry. Speaking of which, there were numerous display cases lining the marble counters filled with various treats ranging from rainbow colored macarons to cream filled mochi.

Although, there were waiters and waitresses that came to you if you get their attention, in case you have the time to sit about, which is what I choose to do. Standing in line in front of the cashier just seemed like far too much work today, so I decided to just skip the wait.

I sat down in one of the empty booths lining the wall of the cafe. They also had glass table tops, however they were rectangular and the seats were made of artificial black leather the same shade as the chairs in the center of the room.

Suddenly a tall figure burst through the front door, the bells in front of the door crashing together rather harshly unlike the gentle tingle they let out when I walked through.

The male seemed to be around my age, though it was rather hard to tell if he was older or younger considering how his youthful face was paired with a ridiculously tall stature.

The straps of his beige jacket fluttered behind him in the small gust of his abrupt entrance, nearly getting caught in the closing door. His almost puppy like features were framed was light blue hair that looked softer than the clouds I had been admiring in the morning.

I was suddenly struck with the creeping urge to run my hands through the strands, causing an immediate flush to race up my neck as I averted my gaze.

“What am I thinking?” I thought, embarrassment and guilt coursing through my veins. This was precisely why I avoided attractive men like my life depended on it, because I knew as a matter of fact that my dignity did.

The moment my eyes settled on someone who was remotely handsome, my heart raced so quickly that I felt a love struck school girl all over again. Nonetheless, I could never keep my eyes off beautiful specimen for long, hence why my gaze subconsciously traveled back to the male standing at the doorway.

His eyes had been roaming the room, his shoulders sinking dejectedly as he didn’t seem to see who or what he was looking for. However, when he continued to look around his eyes met mine, much to my horror.

His eyes lit up, his mouth forming a little ‘o’ shape, as my eyes snapped back to my lap. A string of curses flew across the forefront of my mind at getting caught staring, as I desperately hoped with all of my being that he wouldn’t walk over.

Of course the heavens ignored my plead.

The cute male slid into the seat across from mine with an apologetic smile. Which struck me as odd as I should have been the apologetic one. Yet the words that slipped out of his lips were far odder, in my opinion.

“I’m so sorry for being late, the traffic today truly was horrible and I ended up stuck in this one traffic jam for…” he started, trailing off as he lifted his wrist to check his watch for the time. “An hour.”

“Huh?” I asked, completely confused. An extremely attractive stranger suddenly appeared out of nowhere, approached me out of all the pretty girls sitting alone in this cafe, and started apologizing when we had never met each other before?

I was about as lost as the person across from me was hot. Like dang, his visuals really attracted the curious gaze of all the aforementioned ladies sitting around the room.

Suddenly something nagged at the back of my mind, the vivid image of the woman from early resurfacing from my memories.

Oh.

He must have thought that I was his blind date.

I opened my mouth to explain the situation, but before I had the chance to collect my thoughts, the guy started talking once again. He had been taking off his coat so he didn’t see the way I had been gaping while pondering how to tell him he had mistaken me for someone else.

He looked up at me, eyes widening when he realized that he never introduced himself. A spellbinding smile spreading across his soft features as he held his hand across the table for a handshake. “Right, my name is Yunho, it’s nice to meet you.”

I hesitantly took his hand, introducing myself with a shaky smile. One look into his warm eyes and I knew that I couldn’t break it to him that his real date had left like a fiery hurricane while spitting out curses like a tasteless rapper.

Yunho repeated my name slowly, as if the savor each and every syllable with a thoughtful smile. It was clear that he was about to drop a cliché pickup line from the way his eyes sparkled mischievously, however, that didn’t soften the impact as my cheeks flushed red. “What a beautiful name.”

What he did next completely caught me off guard as he started mumbling to himself with a sly smile. “I wonder what our ship name would be…”

Deciding that my heart wouldn’t be able to take anymore of his cheesiness, I waved one of the waiters over.

“Ready to order?” Asked the waiter, his ears tinting red when I directed my gaze at him. His grip tightened a little on his mini clipboard and pen, eyes averting to Yunho instead.

“How cute,” I thought, slightly flattered over his actions. Although I never really dated before, I could recognize that smitten expression anywhere. It was then that I recalled that I never actually looked at the small menu, however, that didn’t turn out to be a problem as Yunho ordered for the both of us.

“Have you been here before?” I asked, surprised because I never saw him look at the menu either before the waiter walked away. The cafe opened a few days ago, so it wasn’t entirely unbelievable that he had gone before, though I didn’t think that was the case.

“No, I just ordered the special today if that’s okay with you,” he admitted, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. His shy smile was a stark contrast to the confident front he had thrown up while flirting with me.

I smiled, nodding to assure that I didn’t mind as I would’ve done the same thing. From his timid gaze, I could tell that he never really went out on dates, which greatly relieved me as I hadn’t either.

The waiter came back around again in a few minutes with two plates of omelets with hot cheese oozing out of the seams and juicy, cubed tomatoes peeking through pale yellow egg. On the side of both plates were small bowls of freshly cut fruit topped with little mint sprigs.

It gave off a very insta worthy aesthetic, so I fished out my phone before taking a bite, raising the camera. A smile unknowingly spread across my face at how at peace Yunho looked with the warm afternoon sun perfectly catching the soft curves of his full cheeks while simultaneously dusting golden flakes into his umber eyes.

I lifted my camera a little further, so that it still captured the plate before me but also included Yunho’s adorably focused face. His eyes snapped up at the sound of the camera clicking, fork dangling an inch away from his mouth as I had caught him midbite.

I put my phone away, bashfully mumbling that he looked like an angel glowing in the sunlight like that and I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to capture the moment. He blinked a few times in surprise, before laughing softly.

“You should’ve told me beforehand, I could’ve posed,” he teased, cheekily wiggling two peace signs in front of his eyes before drawing up two finger hearts.

I blushed, internally cooing at how cute he looked with such an innocent sparkle in his eye that I thought only existed in children. He was everything he looked like at that moment. A complete and utter angel who radiated purity under the glimmering sun.

Deciding to get something to drink, we called the waiter over once more, who whipped out his mini notepad habitually. And like earlier, he refused to meet my gaze for long, something both Yunho and I noticed.

Yunho flashed me a wink, nudging his head subtly at the waiter as if we weren’t on a date ourselves. I hid a giggle behind my hand at his goofy antics, quickly returning my arm back to the table when the waiter glanced up at me for a second.

“I’ll take two bubble teas with normal tapioca,” I requested, biting back a smile at the bewildered look Yunho shot me. He asked for an iced latte, eyes never leaving mine as the waiter walked away.

“Do you really like bubble tea that much?” He asked, a little awestruck. It wouldn’t have been all that surprising if I did, since everyone on Earth had one big craving they could never get enough of. So, I nodded firmly, looking him dead in the eye with a stoic “yes”.

He looked scared for a moment as if worried he said something wrong and at that I couldn’t hide my snicker.

“I do, but the second cup isn’t for me. I promised a friend that I’d bring her back something since she couldn’t go out for her break,” I explained, smiling cordially as his expression melted back into its usual peaceful bliss.

“How thoughtful,” he whispered, but I heard his sweet words as my disappearing blush suddenly bloomed all over again. I chose to ignore his comment, eyes flashing up to the waiter who reappeared once more with our drinks and a plate of bite size sugar cookies.

He placed all three cups down before putting down the plate with a quiet clinking sound. “Here’s a complimentary plate of sugar cookies for all customers who come during our opening week. Enjoy.”

And with that, he was gone again, almost tripping over himself in his haste to get away.

“Does he think I have the bubonic plague?” I wondered aloud, despite knowing why he was in such a rush. It was written all over the back of his neck and the tips of his ears in various hues of red.

“Maybe you should ask for his number,” mused Yunho, still very clearly amused over the waiter’s crush on me. I narorred my eyes at him, normally if a date encouraged you to pick up someone else then that’s a telltale sign that they’re obviously not interested in a relationship with you.

However, I could tell that Yunho meant everything that he was saying lightheartedly, so I decided to tease him back. “No thanks, I’d rather have yours.”

I could tell the unexpected flirt stunned Yunho, as his jaw dropped. I winked at him the same way he winked at me when the waiter came over, enjoying his flustered reaction. Despite the fact that Yunho would tower over me if we both stood up, he looked no bigger than a child at the moment shrinking into himself with a fiery blush. “Oh.”

I loved how table had turned, with how many times he caused my cheeks to tint pink. It was a small stroke of success, but I didn’t have the heart to continue. Taking the initiative, I asked him about himself, wanting to spend the time we had together developing a close friendship since he seemed to be a fun person to have around.

It wasn’t long before we fell into a deep conversation about ourselves. I learned that he was indeed younger than me by two years, and managed to convince him to call me noona but drop all other honorifics.

Honestly if anyone had told me that I’d end up on a date with someone younger than me, I wouldn’t have believed them. It was always a condition on my ideal type list that the male had to be older. Yet the ridiculous list completely faded away into nothingness in the back of my mind the longer I talked to Yunho.

Instead a new list wrote itself with only two conditions on it: His eyes had to sparkle like a galaxy of stars being reflected on a still lake and his smile had to hold the same warmth as a steaming cup of hot chocolate on a cold winter night.

In other words it was describing the person sitting right in front of me, as he threw his head back, laughing at one of the many comical stories I told him about my fanatical college days.

He was currently in college right now, majoring in the same subject that I majored in. It was nice having someone relate so hard to my past struggles, as he was going through the same things I had gone through with crazy strict teachers and boisterous students marching down the halls like they owned the school.

In return I told him about how I worked as an editor, along with a few facts about me that few people knew or cared to ask about, such as my lowkey love for the artist Chungha.

Yunho said that he had heard a few of her songs before too, leading us down another conversation about our tastes in music and other pop culture.

Sometime during the conversation, Yunho’s phone started to ring as he excused himself from the table. I called the waiter over again during that time, asking for a small takeout bag.

I stuffed the rest of the cookies into it, deciding to take them back to Chloe along with the drink. Pausing for a bit, I pulled out one cookie and placed it back onto the plate incase Yunho wanted one more.

It wasn’t long before he came back, brushing off the topic when I asked him if the call was important. I didn’t want to invade his privacy, hence why I didn’t push the topic. In fact, I only asked because I didn’t want to keep him if there was some sort of emergency.

We picked up on the tail of our last conversation, reengaging in a passionate debate over which Harry Potter book was the best and other things of the sort.

Before I knew it, half an hour past and my break was about to end in twenty minutes. As much as I enjoyed learning about Yunho’s love for sports, fascination over the Harry Potter, and sweet but wild group of friends, I didn’t even want to think about how my manager would breath down my back if I came back late.

Looking down to see my empty cup, I realized with a start that my hand had somehow ended up in Yunho’s. During our conversation his hand had gotten closer and closer to mine, as I had left it lying on the table. I didn’t remember when that had changed, from the tips of his fingers brushing mine to slipping his hand on top of my own.

I wasn’t sure if he noticed this, but when I tried to remove my hand back from his grip, his hold only tightened as his thumb brushed the back of my hand. It became clear that it had been quite intentional.

“Hey, Yunho?” I asked, eyes lifting from our hands up to his face.

“Yeah?” He asked, sweet smile never leaving his lips before the corner of his lips quirked up into a small smirk. It was clear that he was only teasing me by not letting go, as I uncomfortably shifted in my chair.

Deciding not to mention it to save a little bit of my pride, I glanced over at the antique clock on the opposite wall. “My lunch break is nearly over, I have to go.”

He nodded in acknowledgement of my statement, reaching over with his free hand to sling his coat over his arm. “Is it close to here?”

“Yeah, just a ten minute walk away.”

He got up, pulling me up with my hand in his. Before I could comprehend what he was doing, he intertwined our fingers, taking the last sugar cookie off the plate and stuffing it in my mouth to muffle my protests.

My ears were burning scarlet as he led me out of the cafe, pouting slightly as I chewed. This guy seriously… A question floated up, bubbling through my mouth as I looked up at Yunho with furrowed eyebrows. “Did we just dine and dash?”

Yunho shook his head with a little laugh, eyes shifting down to meet mine before looking forward again. “No, I covered the bill earlier.”

That had me pause in my step, causing Yunho to come to a stop too since our hands were intertwined. I don’t recall ever receiving the bill at our table, nor did I hear Yunho say that he was going up front to pay, otherwise I would’ve forced him to split the bill. Although, there was that one time he left to take a call…

That was when the realization of what had happened dawned on me and from Yunho’s knowing smile he could tell that I had figured it out. “You didn’t.”

“But, I did.” he chuckled once more, pulling me forward as he began to walk again. It was clear that he didn’t actually know where we were going, so I widened my stride a little so that we would be walking side by side. It was rather sweet how he intended to walk me back to my office, the same way a guy would take a date home.

Before we got far, my phone went off, the familiar tune of Chungha’s debut song filling the silence between us. My cheeks flushed pink at Yunho’s teasing gaze, deepening as he teased, “Didn’t you say you were just a minor fan?”

“Yeah, yeah,” I brushed him off, excusing myself to take the call. The caller ID read ‘Chlo~’ with a couple of red hearts after it.

“Where are you? You’re usually back by now!” Exclaimed Chloe from the other side of the line, the faint bubbling in the background signifying that she was currently in the lobby near the fountain.

“Sorry, I lost track of time,” I apologized, smiling sheepishly despite the fact that she couldn’t see me. I heard Chloe sigh, telling me to hurry up and get back because ‘she missed me’ before hanging up.

I slipped my phone back into my pocket, before swiftly making my way back to Yunho. “Sorry about that, my coworker was fretting over the fact that I wasn’t back yet.”

Yunho shook his head to dismiss my apology, saying not to worry about it since he was the one taking up my time.

Suddenly, a familiar voice could be heard from the distance coming closer and closer. “Stupid day… No, stupid date… Ditched by a guy now ditched by my clutch… I must have left if in that stupid cafe.”

The girl from earlier appeared in front of us as she rounded the corner, with her head down as she appeared to be typing away angrily on her phone. Pure and sheer panic coursed through my veins at the sight of her. If she was indeed who I thought she was, then the moment she opened her mouth, I’d be exposed.

However, before I could do anything, she slammed in Yunho’s chest due to not watching where she was going. Yunho’s hands flew to her shoulders to steady her, wincing at how he hadn’t seen her coming either since he had been looking at me.

“Watch where you’re- Oh,” she trailed off, eyes widening when she lifted her head up and saw Yunho’s face for the first time. It was almost comical how Yunho could attract the interest of everyone around him without even trying, me being included.

Her hands slowly slipped up to his arms, squeezing lightly while a flirtatious smile replaced her scowl. Since she was so close to Yunho, her back was to me and couldn’t see what I was doing.

Despite being wary of the situation, I couldn’t help but let out an over exaggerated, but silent, gagging noise. I muffled my own laughter at the act with the palm of my hand, however, Yunho didn’t have the liberty to, which was why he couldn’t hide his chuckle.

The girl clinging onto him was confused, but somehow took that as a positive sign as she started to bat her freakishly long eyelashes at him. “Hey, aren’t you Yunho? My name is Hayoung, I’m pretty sure a guy from my class set us up on a date. What was his name again… Junhao?”

I felt like my heart had stopped at her words, hands becoming cold and clammy as I looked at Yunho. Would he get mad at me? Maybe even leave and go on the date that he missed with Hayoung? In my defense I had tried to tell him that I wasn’t his date, though to be fair I really could have tried harder.

Still, Yunho didn’t notice my terrified gaze, instead looking at Hayoung’s hands which were shamelessly feeling up his biceps. He reached up to pry her hands off of him, stepping back to put some distance between the two of them.

“Yeah, that’s me, though I don’t think it’s appropriate to hang off a guy in front of his date,” he commented, shocking me to my core. Yunho finally looked at me with a soft smile, taking one of my hands in his once more.

Hayoung’s wide eyes weren’t nearly as large as mine as we were both baffled over what had just happened. My eyes kept scanning over Yunho’s face to see if I could get a read over his thoughts, yet all I could see in his eyes was the same warmth they always held.

He squeezed my hand in response, assuring me that he didn’t regret his actions as he turned back to look at a gaping Hayoung.

“Now if you’ll excuse us, we really need to go,” Yunho stated, quickly leading us away from the fuming girl.

Once we reached my office building, I stopped in front of it, saying that this was me. I gently pulled my hand out of his, shyly brushing a stray strand of hair out of my eyes.

Yunho, tucked both of his hands into his pockets as he stood in front of me, not quite wanting to leave, yet not having a valid reason to stay.

I took that as my que to ask the question burning in the back of my mind. “You didn’t seem very surprised at Hayoung’s appearance, did you know I wasn’t your date?”

Yunho nodded with a guilty smile, reaching up to rub the back of his neck in embarrassment. “Yeah, the call I took earlier was from my friend Jongho, saying that Hayoung called chewing his ear off. I also may or may not have known what she looked like beforehand…”

My jaw dropped at his confession, and to think that I had worried over nothing. “You knew and yet you approached me out of the blue? Why in the world would you do something like that? Not saying that I didn’t enjoy your company, but that’s kinda creepy you know…”

“Sorry, you were just the most attractive person I’ve ever seen in my life. Not to mention the fact that you seemed to be alone in the cafe,” Yunho apologized, eyes dropping to the floor as he was unable to meet my gaze in fear of being scolded. I was stunned into silence. That was the sweetest thing anyone had ever said to me, especially from someone so good looking.

Shoving down the reprimand I had in mind, I jokingly nudged Yunho in the ribs to get him to look at me again. “Well she didn’t really seem to be your type anyways.”

Yunho laughed at this, wholeheartedly agreeing with me. “It seems you know my type better than my own friends. Though to be honest, I’m pretty sure Jongho knew that I would never approach a girl like Hayoung and was only trying to get me back for finishing the last bottle of Sprite from his secret collection. We’re housemates.”

I laughed at his in depth explanation, relating to his struggles. Chloe moved in with me in the summer, a few months after we met. The air conditioning unit in her run down apartment kept breaking down and was twice the distance from the company than mine.

It was far more convenient with her as a housemate as we had more spare change to spend on the money we saved on rent with a split bill. However, with every housemate comes the temptation of stealing their things.

Just recalling that one time I finished the last slice of the cake Chloe bought… She deemed it fair play to sprinkle a few pinches of flour in our shared hairdryer while I was in the shower. Though I couldn’t get mad at her for it though, because she apologized immediately after, while laughing her head off. It was extremely fortunate for her that I loved her, otherwise she would have been in for it.

“Hey, you said you were an editor, but you never mentioned the fact that you worked for this particular company,” mused Yunho, drawing me back from the mini memory lane my mind had skipped down.

“Oh I must’ve forgotten to mention it,” I said, arching an eyebrow at Yunho who’s smile spread impossibly wider. I was curious as to why me working at this company sparked his interest so much.

“You know, I just passed my interview here a few months ago?” asked Yunho casually, eyes gleaming playfully at the way my eyes widened at his words.

“Holy spades, though why weren’t you with the other interns today?” I asked, recalling the reason why Chloe couldn’t join me today.

“Well we were toured around the company earlier this morning but when my group was handed off to this other woman I turned out to be the only person who knew how to work the coffee machine. I used to work part time as a barista,” he explained with a mirthful tone of voice.

“That’s explains it,” I thought, nodding at his words. As much as I loved talking to Yunho today, I knew my break was drawing to a close and that I needed to leave soon.

“Well, I guess we’ll be seeing each other more often then,” I smiled at him bashfully, already visualizing what it would be like seeing him around at the office in the future.

“Yeah,” he agreed, hesitating a little with his next actions before stepping forward and placing a chaste kiss on my cheek.

He pulled away with a burning red blush crawling up his neck as he waved goodbye and walked off, back in the direction of the cafe and what I assumed was his car.

I shoved down my own blush, trying to recollect myself as I stepped back into the front lobby of my apartment building.

Chloe was sitting on the rim of the fountain, seemingly preoccupied with her phone. It was clear that she hadn’t seen what went down outside, otherwise she would’ve pounced on me right then and there with a mountain of questions.

Sneaking up beside her, I dangled the paper bag of sugar cookies in front of her face with a small “tada”. Chloe looked up from her phone, smiling at the bag. “Ah, you’re back. Thanks.”

I also handed her the sealed takeout cup of bubble tea and a plastic straw that I had kept hidden inside of my bag. Miraculously there was still a few ice cubes left, as the cafe had its air conditioner turned pretty high to combat the early fall heat. Or maybe it was just that my bag had some sort of secret insulation tech embedded into the interior pouch. Who knows?

She accepted it with yet another “thanks” and popped the straw through the plastic covering. Taking a small sip, she hummed in content with the sweet drink. I grinned at her as she looked down at the sweet drink as if she was trying to see a visible difference between this mixture and every other milk tea she’s tried.

The cafe really did the name of bubble tea justice, with chewy tapioca pearls of a perfect consistency and a tea base with just the right amount of sugar and flavouring. It was a little pricier as expected, however the extra dollar was definitely worth it.

“It’s good isn’t it?” I asked, as she nodded without an ounce of hesitation much like I did at Yunho when he inquired about my love for bubble tea.

We made our way to the elevator arm in arm, with Chloe asking me why I had been gone for so long.

“Were you with a guy?” Chloe asked teasingly, expecting my usual mundane response of “no”. After all, dates were never my thing and she knew that quite well. I glanced at the bright red numbers flashing in the elevator’s screen, noticing that it had reached my floor.

“Actually, yes I was,” I stated mischievously, stepping out of the elevator when the door opened. I spun around, watching as Chloe’s eyes widened.

“What?!” she exclaimed, watching in horror as the door started closing before she could ask anymore questions. I knew that she wouldn’t risk angering her manager by going back late as she certainly would if she ran out of the elevator after me.

I waved at her as the door shut, laughing a little. I knew that I wouldn’t be able to get away from her later when we got home, however, I was too giddy to really think about how I’d suffer her wrath for dropping a bomb like that and just leaving.

Making my way back to my own desk, I plopped down in the spinning chair with a soft smile at everything that had occurred today. Sure, the traffic I’d have to deal with later might put a damper on my mood, and sure, I’d have to deal with Chloe’s inevitable interrogation but the carefree giddiness I felt at that moment felt like it would last forever.

When tomorrow comes, the internships will officially start and with them will come the one blue haired male that captured my attention today and heck, maybe he’ll be my fifth and final reason to stay.

[thirsty-pixie]

Richie x Reader. Part 6

Part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5

23 years later

I walked out of my office and to my secretary's desk, "hey Laura I'm gonna need to to switch all my meeting to conference calls I'm going out of town for a while." I said smiling she nodded and got to work as I headed out of the building. I drove home to pack my bags, I had forgotten why I needed to go home but something was telling me I had to go back. I bought a plane ticket and walked through the busy airport looking for my terminal, I smiled handing the attendant my Id. "42? How you dont look a day over 35. Tell me your secret" I smiled laughing a little "well one I dont date and two I take regular vacations" the attendant smiled and handed me back my id. I sat in the first class seating area waiting for the plane to take off, I fell asleep after a few minutes.

I awoke to the plane violently shaking as it landed, we cruised to the terminal and the seatbelt light turned off meaning we could get up and exit the plane. I grabbed my bag and walked to the baggage claim to gather the rest of my things. "Miss Y/l/n we brought the rental you requested around front." A man in a blue airport uniform walked up to me handing me the keys to the dodge charger I requested.

I loaded my bags and drove the rest of the way to Derry, the closer I got the stronger the fire inside that pushed me to come home burned. I passed the familiar welcome to Derry sign and something inside me snapped. I pulled over trying calm my mind, I looked in the rearview mirror and my eyes were glowing yellow. "Dad" my voice cam out as a whisper when I spoke, I got out of my car and locked it. I kicked off my heels and began running towards the bridge the was near the barrens.

I made my was down the hill to the creek, I made my way to the drain pipe and walked through the maze of pipes and tunnels. Mentally I had no idea where I was going but my body knew exactly where it was going. I came to a large opening and gasped seeing a pile of toys and other items, I walked around the pile to the corner where there was a hole leading deeper below Derry. I place my hands on the low sloped concrete wall that surrounded the hole and looked inside.

I jumped hearing a voice behind me "I was wondering when you would come home" I turned around and everything memory came back to me. The good time, the bad times. It was like a tidal wave of pain and happiness hit me and I felt a tear slide down my face. Standing in front of me was my father smiling at me with his arms out waiting for a hug. I ran to him and cried quietly as I hugged him, I felt like a little girl again standing there with him.

"You've gotten so big....you're all grown up" he hugged me tightly running his hand over my hair "I've miss you daddy" he hummed and pulled back with his hands on my shoulders looking at me "you're dressed so fancy?" I smiled and looked at my white button up blouse tucked into my black knee length pencil skirt. "Yeah I'm the CEO of a big magazine company that I inherited from moms parents" I looked back at him and he smiled. "Dad my eyes...." I looked at him and he furrowed his brows "what about them?" I bit my lip and shrugged "they were yellow when I got into Derry and i felt a burning in my chest like a fire until I seen you" I put my hand on my chest realizing the burning was gone. "It was your promise of returning to me. Your mind didnt remember but your heart did." I nodded and said I had to go.

I made my way back to my car and picked up my heels throwing them on the seat next to me. I drove to the hotel and walked up to the front desk, "reservation for Y/n Y/l/n" the lady behind the desk nodded and grabbed my id and credit card then turn away typing something one the computer. She ran my card and handed me my stuff back then the key to my room. I walked up the stairs throwing my bags on the bed, suddenly my phone rang.

I grabbed phone pitting it to my ear "Hello?"

"Hi is this Y/n?"

"Uh yeah may I ask whose calling"

"Its Mike from Derry"

"Hey Mike! What's up?!" I held the phone with my shoulder as I kicked off my heels and opened my bag up.

"I called the rest of the gang and I wasn't sure if you would come but its back." He sounded nervous as he spoke.

"I know he's back I just seen him"

"You're in Derry"

"Yeah just got in why?" I pulled out my pajamas and layed them on the bed.

"Well everyone is gonna meet at the Jade of the Orient tonight for dinner you're welcome to come"

"Ok yeah I'll be there!"

I went through my bag and pulled out a black floral lace dress and place it on the bed. I took a shower then did my hair and makeup, I put on the dress and looked in the mirror. (Dress will be posted at the end)

Once I was satisfied with how I looked I slipped on some black heels and walked out of the hotel, I go into my car and drove to the restaurant. When I got there I seen that they were all already at the table talking, "you guys start the party without me" I looked at the faces of all me friends and smiled.

Ben stood up and hugged me first, then Beverly, then Bill and Mike. "Wow you guys look so different." I laughed smiling. "Says the woman who doesn't freaking age" I smiled at Beverly and shrugged. I looked at Richie the sat next to Bill, I ordered 2 shots and a beer from the waitress and sighed. It was gonna be a tough night, I took the shots and took a drink of beer to wash down the taste. "So how is life in cali?" Ben asked smiling. "It's ok all I do is work" I said looking at Richie then back down at my beer.

I walked to the bathroom after finishing my beer, and when I came back they were smashing chairs on the table. The waitress walked in and gasped "can we get the check please" I laughed at Richie and shook my head. He looked at me and smiled a little before setting the chair down. We all walked out to our cars and headed back to the hotel, when I was unlocking my door I felt someone tap on my shoulder. I turned around and seen Richie standing there with his hands in his pockets, "hey..." I looked at him with a 'seriously' look. "Hey? Is that all you're gonna say?" He bit his cheek and looked down "look I don't remember what I did exactly but I know I fucked up.... bad. And when I seen you at the restaurant my heart ached...." he looked back at me and couldn't help myself I placed my hand on his cheek pulling him to me and kissing him. He kissed back almost immediately, he pull his hands out of his pockets and grabbed my hips pulling me to him so our bodies were pressed against eachother. When we pulled away we were both breathing heavily, I smiled at him as his cheeks became pink. "You wanna come in?" He nodded and we both went into my room.

Part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5

[ciathyzareposts]

Game 38: Super Dungeon (1979)

Believe it or not, this is the title screen for Super Dungeon, not the exciting new game PROGRAMMA SOFTWARE

Today’s game is Super Dungeon, a CRPG released only for the Apple II. Like most of the CRPGs released commercially around this time, it has no particular goal beyond venturing into a dungeon and escaping with as much loot as possible. (Of those I’ve played so far, I think only Wilderness Campaign and Beneath Apple Manor have a non-monetary quest.)  What it also has in common with the other games of this time is that it’s implementing Dungeons & Dragons-style gameplay in its own way; we’re still in the era before there have been any widely influential CRPGs, so everyone has their own ideas about how it should be done.

Super Dungeon was created by Rodney Nelsen, who we’ll see on the blog again at some point, as he has at least one more more RPG to his name (Dragon Fire, released in 1981). He also worked on some Carmen Sandiego games in the 90s, so he had a decently lengthy career in the games industry. It was published by Programma International, who must be among the earliest video game companies.  They went out of business in 1983 but in that time they published loads of games, almost exclusively for the Apple II. None of these appear to be of particular significance, although Dragon Maze was influential on a number of early CRPGs, including Super Dungeon.

I was immediately impressed after booting up the game by the extensive in-game instructions. The space limitations of the time usually prevent this sort of thing, but Super Dungeon does a very good job of explaining itself up front. It might be a tad too lengthy for someone who just wants to start the game, but you can skip it with no trouble.

It starts with the story, if you can call it that, which I’ll reproduce here: “There have been numerous rumors of huge deposits of gold, hidden in a maze of caves, deep beneath the Earth. It is said that this gold is guarded by thousands of demons, monsters and other sorts of evil beings. Well, these rumors are true, and you are about to descend into the depths of these caves that we call the D U N G E O N S ! ! !” I don’t know if it’s worth those three exclamation points, but it is the classic D&D set-up.

Character creation is fairly simple. You type a name, and then the game gives you two stats: Constitution and Strength. Constitution, which appears to range from around 10 to 30, is this game’s equivalent of hit points.  Strength ranges from about 10 to 25, and is part of what determines whether you score a hit in combat. Creating a character right now, I got a Constitution of 28 and a Strength of 12.

There are then five character classes to choose from: Warrior, Wizard, Elf, Dwarf, and Hobbit. Each of these, of course, has their own strengths and weaknesses, but what differentiates this game from others is that each class has certain doors it can pass through.  Seriously, doors are way important in Super Dungeon.  Your stats don’t limit your choice of character class, but they may have an effect on how many experience points you earn. For example, a Warrior or a Dwarf will earn more experience if their Strength is over 15, and a Wizard earns more with a Constitution over 30. Hobbits are penalised if their Constitution is over 30, and Elves likewise if their Strength is greater than 15. With my scores of 12 and 28, I don’t want to choose a Warrior, a Dwarf or a Wizard, so I go with an Elf.

After that you get more stats: Life Points and Armor Class. Armor Class ranges from 0 to 10, and wearing armour improves it. Unlike old-school D&D, a higher number is better.  Even wearing no armour my Elf begins with 3.  Life Points are like stamina, and may be the most important stat in the game. Every move you make drains a Life Point, and going through certain doors will drain from 5 to 10.  If your Life Points hit 0 you drop from exhaustion, and the last monster you encountered gets the honour of killing you.  Each class begins with its own range of hit points; Hobbits are the lowest with 50-60, while Warriors get 90-100. The main reason I chose the Elf over the Hobbit as my class above is that Elves get more Life Points (74, in this case).

Nathan the Elf, I feel like I’m insulting myself

The last part of character creation is buying equipment. You begin with a number of copper pieces determined by your class, and from that you can buy weapons, armour, a horse, and food. Weapons add to your Strength in combat, while armour adds to your Armor Class as I mentioned above. Food grants you more Life Points. A horse increases your Speed, which begins at 1 but can be raised to 2 with a draft horse or 3 with a light horse. It’s pretty weird to imagine an adventurer galloping around the dungeon on horseback, but having a good speed is essential for getting the first strike in combat.

You have to buy two weapons for some reason. Most classes can use whatever weapon they want, but Wizards are restricted to non-magical daggers. They get a +3 Strength bonus to offset this due to their magic, and to be honest I never noticed them performing particularly worse than the other classes. There are no restrictions on the other items. With 106 copper, I bought my Elf a sword, a dagger, chainmail armour, a light horse, some iron rations and a quart of wine. This increased my Armor Class to 5, and my Life to 109. I don’t know if you get the Strength bonus from both weapons, but the sword is worth 5 and the dagger is worth 2. There’s no point saving any copper at this point, because you can’t do any more shopping once the game begins.

Super Dungeon looks visually quite similar to Robert Clardy’s Dungeon Campaign, which makes sense because both games were influenced by Dragon Maze.  Each level of the dungeon is created at random. Your character begins near an exit on the right of the screen, and the entrance to the next dungeon level will be found on the left. (It never occurred to me while playing, but progress being right-to-left is slightly odd from a Western perspective.)  Your character is represented by a brown rectangle, and you move around using the U, D, L and R keys to represent Up, Down, Left and Right. (I’m pretty sure this is done because the Apple keyboard didn’t have all four Arrow keys.)

Scattered throughout the maze are various kinds of doors: red, blue, and white. The red doors are normal, the blue ones are secret doors, and the white ones are bolted.  You can get through the red doors for free, but depending on your class the blue and white doors will drain your Life Points: Wizards and Elves can get through the blue (secret) doors for free, while Dwarves and Hobbits suffer no penalty for going through a white (bolted) door.  Warriors are drained by both blue and white doors, but they get a bonus 25 Life Points at the start of every dungeon level. (In my opinion, it’s not enough.)  You don’t always succeed at opening doors, and more than once I lost loads of Life Points trying to batter down a white door that was blocking my way forward.

Randomly creating the next level of the dungeon.

Beyond every door is a room where you will find some treasure and/or a monster, so you want to explore as many of those doors as possible.  On the other hand, you don’t want to lose too much Constitution or Life before you reach the exit, or you’ll be starting the next level at a major disadvantage, unless you’ve earned a lot of experience points along the way. Balancing your Life and Constitution against the experience you earn is probably the most important factor in surviving the game.

The rooms beyond the doors aren’t shown on the map, but when you enter one you get a crude graphical depiction of what treasure lies within. This can include coins (gold pieces, naturally) as well as various kinds of magic items. If there’s no monster in the room you can claim the treasure, but if there is a monster you’ll have to fight it first. You can only loot the treasure from a room once, though; if you try to go through that door again the game will inform you that it’s illegal, and erase any doors you’ve already been through from the map.

The game has treasures as follows:

Gold pieces, either loose or in a bag

Magical swords and daggers, which increase your chance to hit (and give you the ability to fight certain monsters)

Magical armour, which increases your Armor Class. You can keep finding magic armour, and it keeps raising your AC, which is welcome even though it makes no sense.

Magic rings, which increase your stats

Magic potions, which give you a Life or Constitution bonus

Maps, which give you the ability to get through any door of your choice for free. The class description for the Wizard mentions that they can always read maps, but I never found a map that I was unable to read with the other classes.

Keys, which allows you free access through the white doors.

Chests, which might be trapped. I think they only contain gold, but don’t quote me on that.

Coffins, which might contain gold, magic gas that increase or decrease your stats, or skeletons that you have to fight.

This room contains a pile of gold and a magic ring fit only for thin, rectangular fingers.

Combat is extremely simple.  There are lots of different types of monsters, all drawn from D&D, but they don’t have any special abilities.  Monsters have scores in Speed, Strength and Armor Class. These function in much the same way as they do for the player, although the monster’s Strength also doubles as its hit points.  The combatant with the highest Speed goes first, and then you simply trade blows until one or the other dies. This can take a while at first, because your maximum damage is equal to the dungeon level you’re on. When you’re fighting a monster with a Strength of 20 and doing 1 point of damage with each hit, it can get a little tedious. Thankfully you can blast through it quickly by holding down Enter, but there’s always the risk of a surprise death when you do that.

Pretty much your only option other than attacking is to run away, which you get the opportunity to do at the end of every round (or at the beginning of combat if your Speed is higher). When you flee the monster gets a chance to hit you in the back. You shouldn’t need to run unless your Constitution is very low, the monster has loads of Strength, or it has a Speed of more than 1. High Speed monsters are the ones you really want to watch out for, because they get multiple attacks per round. A monster with a Speed of 3 gets three attacks to your one, so they’re best avoided; some monsters have Speed as high as 5.  You might beat them, but sometimes it’s better to leave the room than lose too much Constitution. If possible, your best bet might be to circle around and enter the door from the other side, because doing that will give you a different room altogether.

This room has a bag, two coffins, and a Dragon that I would probably run away from.

Oh, there’s one more reason you might want to run away: some monsters can only be damaged by magic weapons. This isn’t a problem for the Wizard, who gets to kill them with spells, but every other class is outta luck. Even the Elf (who is described as being both a Warrior and a Wizard) needs a magical weapon in these circumstances. The game gives you the option to fight, but it’s a suicidal one.

Defeating monsters gives you half of their Strength score in experience. When you reach the entrance to the next level you also get a bonus equal to the level you just defeated, modified by whatever bonus or penalty you get for your stats and character class. You can then spend this experience to raise your stats, with 1 point buying 1 Constitution or 3 Life points.  Getting the balance right here can be difficult, but for the most part I found it better to prioritise Life over Constitution.  Unfortunately, all this balance went out the window once I figured out that the process could be cheated.  You can return to the level you just beat, and then pop back to the next level and get more bonus points. Keep going back and forth between levels and you can get your stats as high as you like. It’s time-consuming, but that’s what upping the cycles on emulators is for. (I did cheat a little bit using this method, but the character I finally beat the game with was 100% cheat-free.)

Spending experience between dungeon levels. This is pretty deep into the game.

There are dangers outside of the rooms as well, that pop up at random. You can’t see them on the map, you just have to deal with the consequences of the encounter as it happens.

Wandering monsters: These don’t appear on the first dungeon level, but after that there’s a chance that a monster will attack you while you’re exploring the tunnels. You can’t flee from them either, so it’s just pure luck as to whether you’re strong enough to win. It would be terribly unfair if a monster that can only be affected by magic weapons popped up in this way, but I never encountered one.

Tremors: Occasionally a tremor hits, which causes some tunnels to be blocked and others to open up. Fairness isn’t a consideration here: sometimes the path to the next level is completely blocked, sometimes the way back is blocked, and sometimes (rarely) both ways are blocked. If this happens, you’re probably dead unless you can find a teleporter.

Teleportation: Some squares will teleport you to a random location on the same level. If you’re low on Life Points, this can be a death sentence; more than once I lost a character by being teleported away just as I was about to reach the exit and restore my Life with experience points.

The Witch: There’s a witch who pops up at random and zaps away some of your Constitution. Usually it’s a small percentage, like 1/10, and not too troubling.

The Thief: This thief occasionally appears to steal your gold. This isn’t a big deal, unless you’re playing for points: gold has no effect on the game aside from measuring your success at the end.

Pits: Sometimes you will stumble in the dark into a pit, and climbing out will drain a certain percentage of your Life. I’ve had it drain as much as half, and when your on the deeper levels that can mean hundreds or thousands of points. Along with being teleported this is the deadliest random occurrence.

Magic Wand: The only good thing that happens at random is that you can find a magic wand you can use to obliterate any one enemy. Handy to have in emergencies, or when you find a Speed 5 monster with a Strength score in the triple digits.

Getting zapped by a Witch.

As I mentioned above, there’s no goal to this game beyond amassing as many gold pieces as possible. You win by escaping the dungeon with your treasure, which can be done in two ways. The first is by retracing your steps all the way back to Level 1 and leaving via the exit.  The other is by finding a secret passage, which looks like a black square on the map. (Well, the instructions call it a secret passage and the game calls it a transportation chamber.)  Entering a secret passage takes you all the way back to the surface, but they appear at random so you can’t always rely on having one around.

In general I found that the Wizard was the most effective class: they get a decent amount of Life Points, they don’t need magic weapons, and they can get through blue doors for free. At the beginning the ability to get through the blue doors is about as useful as the ability to get through the white ones, but eventually you’re going to find a key that opens all of the white ones anyway. The Warrior is the weakest class: they can only go through regular doors, and their 25 point Life bonus isn’t enough to offset that limitation. If you pick the Warrior, you’re playing on hard mode.

I lost a dozen or so characters before I figured out the balance of the game (and also how to cheat). The first character I “won” with got down to Level 10 before I found a secret passage and left the dungeon with around 13,000 gold pieces.  I was ready to declare the game beaten at that point, but I thought that just for fun I’d make a mad dash and see how deep I could get.  I had an expectation that the game might be infinite, but I hadn’t taken into consideration the fact that it remembers the levels you’ve previously explored; there’s a limit to the number of levels a PC of this era could remember. When I got to Level 20 I noticed that there was a secret passage right next to the exit.  I cleared out the level, and when I stepped on that secret passage I got the following victory message:

This was followed by a summary of my character’s status, including how much gold I had amassed:

Having reached the bottom of the dungeon, there’s really nothing left to do but try to do it again with more gold.  I’m not particularly into achieving high scores, so for me Super Dungeon is done and it’s time to give it a Final Rating.

FINAL RATING:

Story & Setting: I mean, let’s be real, this game doesn’t have a story, and it does nothing to flesh that non-story out with some setting flavour. The dungeon doesn’t even have a name!  Random doors and walls do not an intriguing setting make.  Rating: 1 out of 7.

Characters & Monsters: The variety in the monsters is pretty high: there might be as many as a few dozen.  They’re all from D&D or mythology, which is a hackneyed thing to do but works when you don’t have graphics. It’s not original, but at least I have some idea what a Rust Monster looks like.  There are some deep cuts as well: I don’t think I’ve ever encountered a Su-Monster before (in video games or tabletop, to be honest). There’s not much done with that variety, though. None of them have special abilities, beyond the few that are only damaged by magical weapons. In many ways, the variety is in name only, because there are no tactical options in combat.  Rating: 2 out of 7.

Aesthetics: The graphics are functional, but not exactly easy on the eyes. The only sound comes from the internal speaker, with different variations of beeps and bloops that are occasionally amusing but otherwise don’t do much for me. As for atmosphere, there ain’t none.  Rating: 1 out of 7.

Mechanics: Exploration is rudimentary, while combat is a rote affair at best.  The strongest aspect of this game is the balance between Constitution, Life and experience, which can be tricky to master when you’re starting out.  It’s an adequate game that’s a little too repetitive.  Rating: 3 out of 7.

Challenge: This game was a challenge at the beginning, before I learned how to best conserve my Life and Constitution (and before I learned that you can earn free experience by going back and forth between levels like a cheating cheater). This took me a couple of hours.  After that, it became far too easy.  I had thousands of Life points, my Constitution became too high for any damage done by monsters to trouble me, and eventually I found enough suits of magic armour that monsters could barely hit me at all.  The only challenge that remained was from random factors such as pits, teleportation, and the dreaded game-ending tremor, but these aren’t the good kind of challenge. Rating: 2 out of 7.

Innovation & Influence: Like most of the CRPGs of this vintage, this game is trying to recreate D&D. It’s not really doing anything that previous games haven’t done, but it’s doing the same things in different ways. I’d say it’s moderately innovative, mostly because it came out early enough in video game history that it’s not drawing from anything that came before. As for influence, there aren’t any significant CRPGs that take inspiration from it (only its sequel/remake Dragon Fire), and it doesn’t appear to have made much of a historical mark.  Rating: 3 out of 7.

Fun: This kept my interest for a couple of hours, and to be honest most of the fun I got from it was after I became super-powerful: there’s something to be said for being able to stomp around the dungeon killing everything in your path.  Even so, that fun was mild at best, and it didn’t hold my interest beyond those initial hours.  Rating: 2 out of 7.

Bonus Points: I probably won’t ever play Super Dungeon again, so it doesn’t get any bonus points.

The above scores total 14, which doubled gives a Final Rating of 28.  That puts it 30th overall, and 14th out of 15 CRPGs.  It’s only above Devil’s Dungeon, which is perhaps unfair; it’s better than a number of games above it, but that’s a consequence of me rating a bunch of stuff way higher than it deserved in the blog’s early days.  In the end, the exact ratings and positions are a little meaningless, as long as it’s in the right ballpark.

NEXT: The Priority List kicks in, as I get to the beginning of what is probably my all time favourite CRPG series: Akalabeth!

source http://reposts.ciathyza.com/game-38-super-dungeon-1979/

[vapormaison]

2019 Best Press 3/4:  カタカナ・タイトル + Kanji Title by TANUKI

While for many vaporwave vinyl is doubtless equal parts collector’s item and audio source, I don’t want to lose sight of the goal of this blog here: developing a canon of the genre for high fidelity enjoyment. That said, when I come across something remarkable or noteworthy about a particular piece of wax, even if it is not a “purely audiophile” object, I want to make mention of it.

And TANUKI’s カタカナ・タイトル + Kanji Title wax release is not only noteworthy, but contends for hi-fi consideration despite it’s status as a picture disc.

But let’s back up slightly.

Going back to the previous thesis on why we buy records, sometimes you just want to own a vinyl just because. Just because you’re a collector trying to compile a discography on wax — or, better yet, just because you truly love the album art. For me, カタカナ・タイトル + Kanji Title (Double EP) was undoubtedly all of the three “just be-causes”.

A while back, I noticed that the LP was going into its 3rd press, and decided to snap up a copy because I like Tanuki, I like Lum, and because of those other just becauses. Unfortunately the only format available was not the pink vinyl, but the picture disc. As I’m sure is well-known (because audiophiles are very loud about things they dislike), picture-discs are a big no-no in the audiophile community. This is because while a beautiful objet d’art, a serious listening session of a picture disc release will usually produce greater amounts of surface noise than any other type of vinyl. You can, of course, with the right system, neutralize and mitigate this process slightly, but true-blue hi-fi heads pursuing that elusive muse of “pure sound” would never give a picture disc a second look.

I’m not one of those people.

Tangentially, I’ve heard whispers of ghosts of rumors from when I was living in Shenzen, China — that various record suppliers (small batch Makers) are working out manufacturing and material processes that minimize these issues on pic discs to create appealing records that cover all the bases: hi-fi suitability, collector oriented visual esoterica, and price. I should also admit I have no idea where those companies are in terms of R&D and/or producing these. I end up catching a lot of very fast talk from extremely motivated enthusiasts, but Chinese is still as elusive a language to me at times as “pure sound” can be. With that in mind, however, it’s logical to surmise that advances in technology will eventually render the differences between picture discs and traditional black wax undistinguishable. So long as the world isn’t destroyed in some cataclysmic climate disaster (very real possibility), or -- as we are watching evolve now: World War 3. My view is that it’d be pointless to dismiss the format out of hand when there are active attempts to innovate it as we speak.

That all said, I know what to expect when a contemporary, big-label picture disc plays. During my college days, I used to spin wax at the university radio station. One of the previous catalog managers had a fetish for this “collectible” format, and was convinced he was doing the station a favor by purchasing all these vinyls, noting a pre-supposed resale value later. I remember throwing these on the well-worn Technics SP-10 we had as our main turntable, and listening to the occasional scratch, frequent popping, and constant surface noise, that for the uninitiated (bless you), sounds like a sustained “cracking” in your Rice Krispies — or for those born in the analog age, CRTV static.

So when I sat down with the Tanuki picture disc, I had this laundry list of preconceptions and prejudices about the format. I thought that I could listen to a moderately scratchy record once or twice, keep it as more a visual boutique item and then eventually include in an article where I bemoan the poor quality of the genre’s releases.

But then, I actually listened.

And it sounded… well, I won’t get ahead of myself. Here’s the full review:

THE MUSIC

BABYBABYの夢 — is doubtless the reason why many of us have bought the EP from a sonic perspective —especially if the band-camp reviews are indicative of trends. I still maintain that this is the Mariya Takeuchi sample/remix work par excellence. Tanuki hits all the essential notes here, a genuine respect and love for the sound-staging of its original source, Yume No Tsuzuki. I still get echoes of the original arrangement in my system, (ever so slightly) with a bright and dance-infused collection of unique sounds — particularly in that delicious, wide mid-range — that flesh out the track into its own sort of masterpiece.

何がGoin' On — the curatorial and conspiratorial side of my brain tells me that Goin’ On will probably go down as one the under-appreciated vintage bangers of this era of future funk. I can envision hipsters two or three decades from now sussing out a neophyte with pretentious questions about this track’s pitch-shifted sample draws from. It has that sort of vibe that you know hits with a certain subset of electronica fans — rich & vibrant, making the tweeters on your system work out in all the best ways — it’s just great.

がんばれ — Tanuki is at his best when he gets playful with brass samples. I firmly believe that the titans in this genre each have their go-to piece in their best arrangement — like Dan Mason’s creative vocal array, or greyL’s manipulation of micro-samples. For Tanuki, it’s whenever her gets a horn — synthesized or otherwise, into his production workflow.

ファンクOFF — continues Tanuki’s magic act, taking another city pop track more iconic for its soulful electric guitar riff and turning it into the most slap-worthy single on this EP. I prefer it when Japanese pop samples are fundamentally re-imagined, although I can see how the perfectionist tweaking of someone like Yung Bae is more appealing for some. Tanuki is undoubtedly one of the innovators of this genre, and there’s no more solid evidence of that talent than this track.

腕の中でDancin’ — if I ended up hosting a sort of mythical vaporwave grammies or something like that, (I’m available, folks!) I would probably go off on a Ricky Gervais style rant on how artists aren’t in touch with “the people” (read: me) because all we really want are more remixes of Meiko Nakahara songs — who given her impact on City Pop should have way more play in this genre than she does. This one, like most of the Meiko mixes I’ve heard, is a banger with an absolute fire bass riff punctuated throughout.

Radiant Memories — this might be my first certified “hot take” in the publication (they’ll be many more, I imagine) — but as far as I’m concerned this is the superior Plastic Love edit. I’ll just leave my thoughts there, so they can soak in with a portion of the fanbase who split my reddit account on an open fire of downvotes for suggesting that other artists than Macross 82-99 (Praise be upon him!) are allowed to touch this song as well. While Macross’s mix is definitely the more up-temo of the two, and that for some is the very essence of the genre, this slightly down-mixed version is both the perfect conclusion for the EP and ideal antithesis.

THE LISTENING EXPERIENCE

Signal to Raise ratio on the following albums:

カタカナ・タイトル + Kanji Title:  ~61.9db (1 db MoE)

Tron Legacy, Daft Punk:  58.4db

Love Trip, Takako Mamiya, Kitty Records Press: 65.8db

(ratings based on averages 5 minutes of sustained play on the testing unit, the machine actually complied this data on its preset, which is another fascinating part about this sort of vintage press-testing tech). The margin of error is because the machine, according to my mentor Dr. Juuso Ottala formerly of Harman International, informs me it was never meant to give accurate readings of picture discs, and to add about a dB of error margin.

One of the benefits of growing up in New England and, subsequently, New York, is that there are no shortage of heritage professional audio brand HQs in operation around a 200 mile radius from Manhattan to Boston. Off the top of my head, there’s Harman/Kardon, Boston Acoustics, Bose, NuMark, Marantz, and Rane headquarters within an hour’s drive from my two hometowns. Early on in my audiophile quest, I got my hands on some cool vintage gear — vinyl lathe testing equipment that has collected dust in both an old Harman technician’s storage unit, and now my parent’s basement. Over the holiday, I recently brought it out to do some surface noise testing on it to get a rough confirmation of what I was explaining in yesterday’s hi-fi guide. The innards of the machine looks eerily like a plinth-less linear tonearm and plate pair attached to a monitor. After making sure I’m not violating some kind of Harman International trade secret, I’ll post it on instagram.

Wanting to also get a firm idea on just how good my ear-test sounded, I grabbed another picture disc vinyl I had received as a gift a few years ago from my brother — the Tron Legacy OST. While I found the film passably enjoyable, my own preconceptions about pic discs, and a general exhaustion with french house — left me with no discernible desire to spin the thing. I hadn’t even broken the seal on the plastic wrap, so it seemed like as good as a blind test as any. I also grabbed what my ears tell me is a “good”, “heavy” press, a 1982 original dead-stock copy of Takako Mamiya’s Love Trip LP pressed by Kitty Records Japan. I’ve played it maybe a half dozen times since I bought it, so it’s as close to “new” 80s audiophile pop record as you can get. The Japanese are infamously anal about low SNR on their vinyl.

And, well, the results speak for themselves. The sweet spot for most black vinyl records is between 60-70db depending on age, weight, and a host of other frankly uncontrollable factors that aren’t worth getting into detail here, as I’d go on forever. The main takeaway here is that Neoncity’s and Tanuki’s record sat at the low end of the audiophile vinyl reference spectrum. Which in itself is a remarkable achievement for a pic disc. It’s worth taking a look at Tron Legacy, which just barely scratches 8db above a cassette tape, and 7db a Japanese vinyl from 1982.

This is all in an effort to say: damn, this is pretty good.

This also somewhat counters the usual “picture discs sound like shit” narrative that’s prevailed pretty consistently in the audiophile community. Tron Legacy? Yeah, that probably sounds like shit if I could bother to suffer through a listen. But whoever Hong-Kong based Neoncity is using actually makes “good” — if such a qualifier needs to be attached — image-pressed records. And that devotion to audio fidelity should be rewarded.

It might be time for me to re-asses picture discs on the whole, and that mind-expanding moment is something I owe to the fine folks at Neoncity.

[shoppinglistuniverse-blog]

5 methods For Shopping In Budget

It can be necessary that you simply choose the most appropriate set of shoes for work so that it can match with all your outfits. Hence, you would be ensure that the shoes you've got bought are matching with most of your attires. Opt for a neutral colour buying men's designer footwear can beneficial for you since perfect team upward with any outfit excess. If you select colour, black then gonna be best for you considering that it matches with almost your complete outfits. Brown and white are other colours which go well with almost any kind of company. Bottle Cap Earrings Step One: Back in the days when I found myself making bottle cap earrings for resale, there was not such thing as Best Online Shopping Websites Sri Lanka . My bottle cap suppliers were found through work. Today finding caps is easy; go to eBay and kind in 'bottle cap lots' and associated with money never-used old piles of caps are available for sale. There are many different safety standards possess been set by the national institutes. Luckily, the Light Industrial shoe making companies easily meet these requirements and genuine effort . no compromise on extremely good for most of these footwear. These footwear is available at reasonable prices and possess a specific way by way of construction among the shoes is. The biggest phase for the Light industrial shoes will be the designing stride. People tend get a new designs that could match the colour of their personality. So, new designs are created by companies making the light industrial shoes always holiday in the apparel. Save on Socks. Buying socks multi functional color conserve you you profit in the in the future too because when one sock gets a hole in it, will be able to still use it's mate with another pair. Plus, if you have kids, choose the same colored socks just in some other style. Later . not only save you money, Online Shopping Sri Lanka within the will be easy to sort them on laundry operating day. 1- Initially all is actually not important that you to be certain that where are you get greatest and most fun products whilst offering so that you just end up in purchasing a great electronic product for your needs. You can look through internet search and get idea of the online too as offline stores where these units are made effortlessly you at exciting a price. You can also search with the local markets on internet that provides you the info your locals. Vintage bottle cap earrings have been real money makers for me personally over your lifetime. They work for small item sales at shows, in stores, and around other functions because effectively old, inexpensive, colorful, memory provoking, and unique. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Online_shopping do not sell as well as those possess never-used original copies. These Automatic watches don't require winding. They wind themselves with the movement of the individual wearing components. Just by the days activities of walking and moving around, your arms motions can sometimes the watch ticking. A Swiss watch manufacturer has brought this method of watch making to your next level, these people series of the company's own devoted to Automatic Views. These Watches are a little on soybeans and their benefits end, nonetheless definitely add some style and sophistication to the watch wearer. These little beauties will go anywhere from 100-5000 currency.

[prettythoughtful]

Yes, it’s Veganuary! I’ve been a vegan for around 5 years now (I have a terrible memory which I’m sure non-vegans would attest to my diet but really it’s a desire to never live in the past), and whilst veganism is very much focused on diet… it’s also not!

Veganism isn’t just not eating animals, it’s living in a way that does as little harm as possible which encompasses diet AND lifestyle! I love that Veganuary is getting bigger and bigger each year but I didn’t want to add to the already-covered FOOD elements of eating a vegan diet. In my opinion it’s the easiest part! FOOD IS GOOD. You can get it everywhere, it’s always in your face and in the year of our lord Keanu Reeves, 2020 has already started with a bunch of big companies launching new vegan ranges. It’s great! No more side salad’s and fries no matter where you go to eat!

So, instead of adding to the noise of food (which is very difficult for me. I’m an eater), I wanted to talk about skincare.

(Some of these links are affiliate links which just means, if you happen to click and purchase, I get a tiiiinny kickback from it 😉 )

If you want to adopt a vegan lifestyle this month or, hey, maybe go vegan full time or at least veganise your life in a REALLY easy way, you can start with your skin care products. Quick caveat: I’m not going to be talking about plastic reduction today but that’s something I can hit up on another day. 

Did you know that SO many big brand skin care ranges out there STILL test on animals? Either directly or indirectly, it’s still going on and a great way to implement veganism into your life is by going CRUELTY FREE*.

Want to know a list of some well known brands who still test?

Aussie Hair care, Avon, Benefit, Biore, Bobbi Brown, Chanel, Clairol, Clarins, Clearasil, Clinque, Estee Lauder, Garnier, Johnson & Johnson, L’Oreal, Lancome, Mac, Maybelline, Neutrogena, Origins, YSL. See full list here.

It’s shocking, isn’t it? And these are the people who openly test on animals**.

If you’ve read this far – thank you! I promise, it will be worth it, because I’m going to tell you about a few of my favourite skincare items (cleansers, toners, masks, moisturisers) so you can take a look and maybe even make a switch!

Cleansers 

When it comes to cleansers I’m a bit of a newbie. I used to always use face washes growing up but when I went vegan I just starting using (avocado) oil to take my makeup off because it’s obviously not tested on animals, it’s organic and comes in a glass bottle so no worry about plastic. I generally don’t have an issue with my skin but I do get blackheads on my chin -always have- and it wasn’t really until I was bought a soapy cleanser as a gift that I realised how lazy and silly I was being! These are the cleansers I use at the moment and what I think of them (please note; this post isn’t in any way affiliated – these are my honest opinions!!).

my CLARINS Re-move 

You might have noticed I said that Clarins wasn’t cruelty free and so I’ll quickly let you know that the my CLARINS range is their first CF range. The rest of their products aren’t suitable for vegans. I was bought this as a gift but I am the type of vegan who supports vegan ranges from non-vegan companies because I believe that buying them will let the company know that there is a market!

Now for the actual info; this cleaner is a gel formula which I’m not particularly fond of in general but I do feel like it does a good job! Clarins is a brand that likes to add overpowering scents to their products, this is no different. The smell is very perfume-y and reminds me of Clearasil. I wouldn’t say it was good for overly sensitive skin but if you like to feel really clean, this will do the job!

e.l.f Superclarify 

I love e.l.f products so if I wanted to cut this blog post short I’d say just buy their entire range because they do great makeup too but I want to give you options! I was bought this as a gift for Christmas so I’ve not been using it for a long time but I have used it every single night since I got it because I love it so much! There’s a sort of pearlescent look to it, for some reason, which I think is unnecessary and it’s also a gel formula like the Clarins cleanser but this one gets a good foam going with only a little bit of product. It smells a little bit floral but like essential oils instead of chemicals. After using it your skin feels really refreshed. Totally recommend it!

Toners

I have always used witch hazel as a toner, which I recommend because it smells lovely and doesn’t strip moisture from your skin, but I also go a new toner for Christmas and, again, I’ve been using it every night and loving it.

e.l.f Supertone 

There’s a bit of a misconception that toner ‘resets’ your skin, but that’s a myth. Toner shouldn’t remove makeup, your cleansing should do this, but it should remove dead skin cells and help your pores and, thus, the overall tone of your skin – go figure!

This e.l.f toner is citrus-scented and you can feel it has an acidic reaction with your skin, so instead of just removing dead skin cells I feel like you can really feel it going a bit deeper and helping clear out deeper set dirt in the pores. I swear since I started using this my skin feels more even and my blackheads feel like they’re clearing up.

Moisturisers

I’m a big fan of moisturiser! I feel like more people need to get into them so I really hope this post sways you if you don’t use them already. I’m not even just talking about reducing wrinkles or looking younger because I couldn’t care less about that, I just think they make you feel better by either helping with dryness (which can make you feel horrible) or helping you look more awake or else just making you feel a little bit decadent because you’ve smooshed your face a little bit. Facial massage is just the best and this really encourages it!

I’m going to run through my moisturisers in order of when I use them in the day so…

Morning moisturisers:

Body Shop Vitamin C Skin Reviver, Instant Smoother

I use this as my first step moisturiser every single morning, before I put makeup on etc. It’s very light like a serum and smells so good with it’s orange/grapefruit-y scent. It adds a little bit of luminescence to your skin and adds an instant boost of moisture to your skin, making it look super smooth and even.

Body Shop Vitamin E 48h Moisture Cream 

I always do a double moisturise in the morning because I’m fancy like that! Once my vitamin C soaks in I pop a dollop of vitamin E on top. This formula is thick and delicious. It’s scent is a little bit like Nivea – I don’t know what it is but it’s so good and just reminds me of being a kid and smothering myself in Nivea all day every day but sadly they aren’t CF so this is the closest I can get to that wonderfulness! Standing on it’s own legs, though, this is a fabulous moisturiser which makes your skin feel like its best self and you don’t need a lot of it to get results.

Evening moisturisers:

e.l.f Superhydrate 

After I’ve cleansed and toned my face I’ve started using this moisturiser and rolling it in with my rose quartz face roller – are you noticing how much I love massaging my face yet? Again, I got this for Christmas in an e.l.f set and it’s really a lovely product. It’s the strangest moisturiser I’ve ever used because it’s like jelly – totally wibbly-wobbly and when you scoop a little bit out the next time you look at the pot its just back to it’s jelly-like self. Hard to explain but I like it! Once on your skin it melts in easily. You can use your hands to rub this in but I really like the way it rolls on so I do that every night! Afterwards your skin feels bouncy and a little bit sticky for a few minutes but I really think I look, dare I say, like a kid just out of the bath afterwards. You know, that totally clean totally refreshed look? Adore!

LJ Natural Overnight Organic Skin Drink

I like to support small and local businesses and was so excited to stumble upon LJ Natural. If you’re local to me in Wilmslow, Cheshire you can nip in to grab home-made, organic and natural skin care products but you can also shop via the website no matter where you are! I use this moisturiser if I’ve had the heating on a lot during the day which really saps the moisture out of my whole body, let alone my skin. Adding a little bit of this before beds resets all of that and I love the texture of it; a little bit gritty, if that’s a good way to put it. The grains dissolve as you rub it in and you’re left with a covering of oil but in a good way – it slowly sinks in overnight and helps to overcome dryness. The product is for dry, mature or sensitive skin which I don’t really have but over the winter months it’s been a lifesaver!

Feeling Fancy moisturiser: 

my CLARINS Re-Boost

Unlike the way I don’t really like the strong scent of the Clarins cleanser, I can honestly say the moisturiser is totally different! If I have a bath I use this afterwards to add to that feeling of ahhhh. The formula is light but incredibly powerful. It sinks in immediately leaving your skin really soft and smelling a bit fruity which lulls me right to sleep!

Masks

I love a face mask and will do one every few weeks. I wish I could do them every week but I forget. That being said I do like to save them for when I’m going to have a really long shower or hot bath which I only do every few weeks! (Relax, I do wash! I just usually have short showers!)

e.l.f Supermask

Made like a moisturiser this mask is a bit confusing and you have to really remember you put it on! It’s very light and doesn’t sit on top of your skin, like every other mask I’ve used, but sinks in immediately so the only way to remember to rinse your face is to set a reminder! Well, I suppose that’s not the only way, but it is for me! I got this one recently and have only used it once but it was a nice experience and my skin felt refreshed and unprovoked. You know what I mean? It washed off easily might be the best way to put it!

Body Shop Matcha Tea Pollution Clearing Mask

One of my fave masks every this green concoction is light and smells like matcha so you feel like you’re doing something really good for your skin! I really love the glass jars that Body Shop use for their masks and it kind of adds to the experience of doing something a bit decadent but also something good. It really leaves you feeling clean and calm.

Body Shop British Rose Fresh Plumping Mask

Another beautiful glass pot with another beautiful mask inside. I LOVE rose scented stuff; give me all the rose flavours. I could wear this whilst eating Turkish Delight and be in heaven. Oh that gave me an idea for tonight… anywho, the formula is like jelly and it’s flecked with rose and aloe vera (hence the consistency) and it’s so cool on your skin you feel instantly relieved. Once washed off – which can take a few attempts – your skin is glossy and smells so good you want to do it again. The pot does say to use daily or a few times a week but you don’t get that much in the pot. I like to treat myself but I also like to save money so…

I really hope you liked this, it’s a bit of a different post from me but I’m trying to lean towards easy ways to add veganism into your life – in my opinion, after food, skin care is the next easy way because all you have to do is Google cruelty free brands and away you go! Enjoy and maybe the next time you go to buy something for your skin you think about making a cruelty free choice!

Sam

  *I could rant a little about CF here… maybe I will.

Ok, so if you see a product that says VEGAN on it, it might not actually be vegan. A lot of companies are using the term as a sneaky sales pitch but what they mean is that the product in question is made from plants with no animal derivatives. In order for a product to be vegan it needs to be labelled cruelty free. This means that it’s not made of animals and it also hasn’t been tested on them either! Cruelty free is what a product is, vegan is what we are – I hope that makes sense!

** There’s a grey area out there as well, though. Some companies will state they don’t test on animals but if they sell their products in China the company isn’t technically vegan. China test all incoming products on animals so whilst the parent brand might not do the testing, by selling in China they sign a contract to say they’re happy for it to be done! There’s an ongoing argument regarding whether or not vegan’s can still use the items that are sold in the UK, knowing that the parent brand tests elsewhere, as well as an argument regarding whether or not vegans should buy from companies that sell both cruelty free AND non-cruelty free products but honestly, the choice is yours. There’s no such thing as a perfect vegan, all we can do is our best!

It's here! My first #Veganuary blog post all about S K I N C A R E. Check it out if you're thinking of going cruelty free this year! Yes, it's Veganuary! I've been a vegan for around 5 years now (I have a terrible memory which I'm sure non-vegans would attest to my diet but really it's a desire to never live in the past), and whilst veganism is very much focused on diet...

[bluegrassbubblessoapandsund-blog]

I’m a LOUSY Blogger!

But Let’s Get To Improving That!

Well, obviously, I forgot for a while that I even had a Blog!  Shame on Me!  That being said, let’s start by Re-Introducing who I am, what I do and what we’re all doing here in the first place!

I am Melisa.  I’m 51 years of age and I have been married to my high school sweetie since 1988 and his name is David.  We’ve been together for 33 years in 2020.  David and I share three beautiful grown daughters, Brittany, Kymberly and Krystina.  We have six grandchildren:  Jessica is 11, Rebecca is 10, Katherine is 7, Joshua is 7, Annalyna is almost 3 and our newest is Zanora, born October 18th of this year.  We also have four “Fur-Babies”.  A Chihuahua/Pomeranian mix named Peanut (She’s almost 9 years old), a Papillon named Popcorn (She’s almost 5 I think!), her full blooded sister Caramel (If Popcorn is 5, Caramel is 4!) and our most recent addition is Bella (she’s about 5 too, I think)  Bella was my Mom’s baby.  My Mom passed away a few months after she got Bella.  At the time of my Mom’s passing, we didn’t want to give Bella away, and Krystina adopted her and loves her to death.  However, with the recent new addition of Zanora to the household and Annalyna being a normal 2 year old, Bella inevitably “nipped” at Annalyna.  So, we took Bella….for now.  Who knows, she might go back to Krystina’s house, only time will tell.

What do I do?  Well, I’m actually a trained Medical Assistant and Phlebotomist.  I worked for a handful of doctor’s in my native state of California after graduating from school.  One of my favorites was working at an Urgent Care facility where I got to see all kinds of illness and injury.  But the job I enjoyed the most, was working for the Chief FAA Medical Examiner of Los Angeles County.  I was in charge of the lab, ran all kinds of tests, took X-Rays as well as a myriad of other things.  I loved the patient interaction and helping people get and maintain the ability to fly, through their Federally Mandated Physicals.  However, David works in the Aircraft Industry, which at times, can have a high turn over rate, so you go where the jobs are (The main reason we’ve lived in 6 states throughout our marriage!) and we ended up moving to the state of Arizona from our home state of California.  After graduating school and working in my field in those offices, I eventually found work with the local school district my daughter attended as a substitute Health Office Technician.  After a couple more moves, and a couple health issues on my part, as well as the death of my Dad from throat cancer, we moved back to California to be closer to my Mom and Sister, Annette. Because of my love of cooking, during this time in California, I also attended Culinary Arts School.  However, my husband David was working in the aircraft industry and after 9/11 happened, unfortunately the jobs in that industry dried up and he had to find “side hustles” to make ends meet as he looked for other employment within the industry.  Then one day, one of the job applications he put in, panned out!  The Federal Aviation Administration called and offered a job, and he took it, which facilitated our move to the state of Kentucky where we had lived before when David was serving in the U.S. Army during Operation Desert Shield/Storm.  We had always said we loved Kentucky and had talked about retiring there, so THAT worked out well!

After moving to Kentucky, our two youngest daughters finished high school and our oldest daughter’s then husband, had joined the military and she came to live with us while he was doing some training.  She brought with her our Granddaughter Jessi and her pregnant tummy!  As my birthday approached, so did her due date, and on my Birthday (November 19), I took her to the doctor and they announced she was going to have a baby that day!  So, Rebecca (Nicknamed Reba!) was my Birthday Present that year!

During Brittany’s stay I ultimately had my first back surgery where I had a titanium cage installed and a fusion done.  At this point, I was no longer physically able to stand for 8 to 10 hours a day meeting the physical demands of the job I enjoyed.  So, I threw myself into my hobbies of counted cross-stitch, crocheting, reading, cooking and scrapbooking.

After living in the suburbs of Louisville for a couple years, we bought a house 30 miles away in the little town of Shelbyville.  By this time, Kymberly had moved back to California after graduating high school, and Krystina had just graduated.  Brittany had moved back with her then husband, out of state again. (😥)

Krystina moved out eventually and it was just David and I our dogs Rotunda (another Chihuahua/Pomeranian mix who was 12 years old), and our puppy, Peanut.  Kids and grandkids grew, families grew and, as most “empty nesters” David and I began to enjoy our time together as “just us”.  

Then, at a family get together (I actually don’t remember the date.  One of those “health issues” I experienced was a mini stroke when I was 30 years old caused by birth control pills and my morbid obesity at the time, they concluded.  Thus, the stroke obliterated my able to remember things as well as it use to!) I noticed that Reba was having, what I thought at the time was, dry skin issues.  I began to take notice and pay attention to the things with other family members and their skin.  ( I guess that was Medical Assistant in me!)  I was trying to figure out what was causing the problem for her because she complained that the patches itched and sometimes hurt.  Around the same time, David had to have major surgery.  He was diagnosed with an Acoustic Neuroma.  It had attached itself to the working parts of his ear, his facial nerves and his brain stem.  Ultimately, they removed all but a very tiny piece of the Neuroma as well as all of the workings of his ear, so he became completely deaf in that ear, and had a second surgery to install a Cochlear Implant.  As he was healing from that, he neglected to shave and I noticed that he, too, was getting these dry, flaky, itchy patches where his mustache would grow.  And the research began in earnest!

Because I am a redhead (As is Kym, Reba, Annalyna and we haven’t figured out if Zanora is or not!), I have struggled with sensitive skin issues since I was a kid.  I never got a “tan”, I got “pink”, “lobster red” or obtained more freckles.  As I got/get older, I develop(ed) more and more sensitivities to things like laundry detergent and shampoos/conditioners.  So, using my own experiences the first thing I looked at was laundry detergents.  From there I looked at the shampoo/conditioner, and from there it lead me to the “soap” we used in the shower/tub.

The information I was gathering was quite interesting and little shocking, to say the least.  Since I was a kid, I remember seeing commercials on TV about how actual “soap” was bad for the skin, that using XYZ Brand of this or that was more “moisturizing” and better for your skin.  These commercials through my youth, told me that using “soap” was drying, contributed to wrinkles as you age, leaves a “film” on your skin, makes your tub/shower have excessive “soap scum”, etc., but as I was researching, what I found astonished me.  Especially since the TV told me how bad actual SOAP was!  

My first thought after going down this rabbit hole of research was, “Wow, maybe I need to change the stuff we’re washing with”.  Why?  Well, I learned that what I was using at the time, a liquid body wash distributed by a company who’s named after a small white bird (😉) could not legally be called “soap” even though that’s what we all call it.  The process used to make this body wash literally removes the glycerin (something called a “surfactant” that does actually help to moisturize to an extent, but is defined as a compound that lowers the surface tension between two liquids, between a gas and a liquid, or between a liquid and a solid. Surfactants may act as detergents, wetting agents, emulsifiers, foaming agents, and dispersants.), only to add it back in, and the additional additives they actually added to make it “better” for your skin, as was their “claim”, were actually not necessary and were detergents as well.

“DETERGENTS?!”, I thought to myself….”like, I’m actually washing my body with laundry detergent?”  Um… yeah-you are (🤨)!  So, I grabbed my bottle of body wash and started to actually read what I was putting on the biggest organ my body has.  The organ that absorbs everything from environmental pollutants, to what you put on it, to what you ingest.  (Medical training kicking in here again.)

The ingredient list was LONG, containing words I couldn’t even pronounce. (Can you?) Then I thought to look at the “soap” and “body wash” that Reba was using, and read the same ingredients; detergents, etc.  The only difference was they added extra stuff to balance the pH to the eyes (making it “tear free”), rather than the body. What does the pH actually do?  Let’s look at that…

pH stands for potential hydrogen with the “p” meaning potential and the “H” standing for hydrogen. The pH scale is a scale that is used to rank the relative basicity or acidity of substances to other substances, based on the amount of hydrogen ion activity in a substance. (sciencetrends.com)

Now, I could go into and define and describe all the ingredients I’m talking about, but that would be a science lesson in and of itself.  Suffice to say, I didn’t like what I read and learned and thought there had to be something better that would help the dry, itchy skin my loved ones were experiencing.  So, I looked into actual “soap”.  As I was reading about soap I came upon the different FDA laws regarding the making of “soap” both in solid and liquid forms that we were all using.  The FDA has a law that states that the items used to actually wash your body, that you buy at places like the grocery store, or big box stores, cannot legally be called a “soap”.  Because of the additives and processes used to create what we were using, the law states that they have to be called something else.  So, corporate America gave these items names like “Facial Cleansing Bar”, “Moisturizing Body Wash”, etc.  Wait!  What?  You’re telling me that almost 99% of the stuff at the store I buy my family to wash with on a daily basis couldn’t legally be called soap because they’re “detergents” and corporate America is conning the populous at large?  That would be a hard yes.  Well, then…  (Go look at the wrapper or container your current stuff comes in the from the store and see what it’s called… I’ll wait.)

What did washing with detergents do to the skin?  It makes it dry, flaky, itchy and it can exacerbate skin issues that may be underlying such as eczema, psoriasis, allergic dermatitis, the weather, etc.  Well darn!  How do you fix THAT issue?  Back to actual “soap”…

I started to google “soap” and all the sudden a new world opened up to me.  I found all kinds of places that were selling the ingredients to make your own soap at home, videos that showed you from start to finish.  The different ways to make it.  The different ingredients and their benefits… the lists went on and on.  I actually got quite overwhelmed.  So, I just started making notes, and doing more research and watching more videos.  I learned that you can’t make actual SOAP without Sodium Hydroxide (Lye).  Even the “Body Washes” and “Beauty Bars” have Sodium Hydroxide in them.  (Or it’s sibling Potassium Hydroxide, which is used to make a liquid “soap” or “wash”.)  HOWEVER…..

While watching and reading about making SOAP, there were CONSTANT warnings about Lye Safety and how dangerous it is to work with Lye.  The kinds of safety equipment that would be necessary to work with it, and honestly, I got intimidated and scared.  But then I saw something called “Melt and Pour”.  This is a Glycerin based soap that is already “made”, having gone through the processes necessary to make it SOAP.  All you had to do, was melt it in a microwave, color it, add any fragrance or essential oils to it, and pour it in a mold.  You simply let that cool and harden and BOOM, a handmade bar of soap that you’ve made at home.

It was a fun learning experience for sure.  To this day, I still make some of the Melt and Pour soaps and add them to my other soaps and I let the grandkids work with it to make their own for gifts for family members.  But I really wanted to be able to use those fantastic oils and butters that really benefit the skin!  So, I took my Culinary Arts training, and bit the bullet.  Because you’re following a recipe and a technique, it was quite similar to actual cooking!  I watched a thousand more videos, including the ones about Lye Safety, over and over and over again, just to be sure I KNEW what I was doing and felt comfortable enough to work with it.  In the Culinary world we have something called “Mise en Place”, which basically means “everything in it’s place”.  You should get everything out that you plan to use, weigh, measure, the tools, etc.  Everything should be ready before you start.  So, I did that.  Then, I set to work making my first bars of soap made with Sodium Hydroxide, in a design called a “Tiger Stripe”.  I honestly can’t tell you what the scent was, or the colors that I used.  But I remember it was fun!  I was so very proud, looking at that wet soap in the mold…  Now for the Saponification Process.

What is the Saponification Process?   Saponification is a process by which triglycerides (fats) are reacted with sodium or potassium hydroxide (lye) to produce glycerol (emollient) and a fatty acid salt, called “soap.” The triglycerides are most often animal fats or vegetable oils. When sodium hydroxide is used, a hard soap is produced. (thoughtco.com)  This process renders the Sodium Hydroxide (or Potassium Hydroxide) completely inert.  It’s done it’s job of turning the oils, butters and water into a bar of soap.  So, the Sodium/Potassium Hydroxide will in no way negatively affect your skin at all, whereas when soap hundreds of years ago was made, it was hard on the skin.  In fact, my Grandma’s generation still viewed “lye soap” as something quite harsh.  Basically because the lye that was used was made from wood ashes, wasn’t as pure and the science that we use today (computer programs that help to determine the proper amount of Lye, water, oils and butters that will make the best bar of soap, with proper hardness, moisturizing properties, cleansing abilities, bubbles and no harsh or adverse effects from the lye.) hadn’t been invented yet.  They also didn’t have any of the additives that we use today like colloidal oatmeal, milk powders, etc.

So, 24 hours after I made that first loaf of soap, I cut it.  It was the best bar of soap I’d ever seen!    I cut it with a knife I bought specifically for soap.  I cut it unevenly, and I didn’t care.  Then I had to figure out where to let it “cure”.  Curing is where you set the newly made soap aside for 4 to 6 weeks and allow all the excess water left in the soap, after the saponification process, to evaporate, leaving the bar as hard and as long lasting as possible.  I found the perfect place, in my foyer.  Then I immediately wanted to make more…and more…  Pretty soon, my foyer was filled with newly made, curing soap!  Anyone that came to the front door, or entered the house, always asked what smelled so good!

I tested the soap 5 weeks later, as did David, in the shower.  It was bubbly and it was a different feeling on my skin than what I was use to, in a good way.  I felt… cleaner?  Was that the word I’d use?  Yes, it was!  I felt like there was just clean skin there, not something else.  I don’t quite know how to explain it, other than I didn’t feel like I had a thin film of “slime” on my skin that the aforementioned body wash I had been using, left on me that was meant to make my mind think this was a “conditioning, moisturization” of my skin.  It was “slime” to me, now that I had used my brand new bar of soap!  Well, now I was hooked!  David’s skin, after about a week, showed improvement as well!  Holy Heck, what did I just find!?

For the next solid year, I played with different recipes, different oils and butters, different molds, different colors, different additives….  I found a recipe I seriously loved.  I shared the bars with family and friends and finally was told so many times..”This stuff is great!  You should sell it because I’d buy it”.  So, I did.  And Bluegrass Bubbles was born…  We got a business license and became official, then started our website, bluegrassbubbles.com  

In the next installment of the blog, I’ll continue some of the story!  Please remember to share and invite your friends to the blog!  Feel free to ask questions and interact!  

If you’ve not already, please follow us on all our social media and visit our website and sign up for our newsletter!  I share behind the scenes pictures, videos and every now then, a Giveaway where you can win Free Products, including the Candles and other things I make!