#it's like my taste buds get reset

[wellthatsclever]

54 hours into a 114 and if you think hunger pangs are the worst thing about fasting you'd be wrong. Hunger pangs happen for maybe 20 minutes a couple times a day. The worst part is actually boredom. You don't realize just how much food is used as amusement and time-passing until you can't.

[physalian]

On Writing a Compelling Fetch Quest, as told by TFP

Save for a single recap episode, season two of Transformers Prime is one long high-octane fetch quest, gunning for weapons and tools and eventually the keys to restoring Cybertron.

See this post where I’ve already gushed about this show but I just rewatched season 2 and it does absolutely everything right when so much of the tension could just come from the macguffin of the week.

Full Spoilers Ahead.

—

Season 2 begins with an amnesiac Optimus convinced he’s still best buds with “Megatronus” and that he’s still Orion Pax, factory reset to before he became a Prime with no knowledge of the war or Autobots or Decepticons. In this version of the lore, he was an archivist, the skills of which come into great use as he can decode ancient encryptions that Megatron’s had sitting locked in a vault and unable to crack for, seemingly, eons—unknowingly helping the enemy murder all his friends.

The information contained in this “Iacon Database” prompts the fetch quest that takes up the entire season. After the three part season debut (6 part if you count the 3 part season 1 finale as one long movie) where Team Prime ventures on their own fetch quest to restore Optimus’s memories, the board is nearly set. But first, a couple other episodes catching up with C-tier villains and bringing in some shiny new characters.

In these episodes, Megatron’s second-in-command, Starscream, who’s been rogue for quite some time, loses his ability to transform after trying to screw over Bumblebee. A “loose cannon” for Team Prime returns not quite as a main character, but more present than his lone episode in season 1, and Starscream’s replacement, Dreadwing, makes his debut. And, the other rogue character, Airachnid, is temporarily disposed of.

The board is now set: Autobots, Decepticons, and Starscream.

We begin at episode 11, where Megatron decides it’s a grand idea to infect his ship with zombie fuel to speed up some repairs, and the ship gains a life of its own, decoding the rest of the Iacon Database that Optimus left sitting behind, a job left to a different ‘Con, Soundwave, who’s no Optimus but doing his best. In that episode, the humans of Team Prime sneak aboard the wayward ship, steal the only four coordinates of the Fetch Quest that are available, and get the heck out of dodge.

Episodes 12-15: Four whole episodes occurring simultaneously, everyone available on both teams, every major player, Starscream included, all racing to these four locations to pick up either mystery weapons or tools of varying mass destruction. Each episode is intercut with dialogue and details from the other units, all coming to a head with the near-death of the Team Prime “Tank,” Bulkhead.

What’s in these four episodes is just a taste of the tension that the rest of the season will take on, kind of like a tournament arc pitting unlikely foes against each other over the MacGuffin of the day. My favorite is Wheeljack (robot cowboy samurai) and Ratchet (grumpy medic) vs Soundwave (aforementioned decrypter replacement who does not speak). The episode is visually gorgeous with a showdown on a cliff at sunset with the most beautiful golden hour for the fight (pictured above).

Every MacGuffin brings a new twist to the fight of their episode, of the four, 1 goes to the Bots, 1 goes to the Cons, 1 goes to Starscream, and 1 gets destroyed.

In the Wheeljack episode, Ratchet comes up with an idea to sneak a virus into Soundwave so they can steal the rest of the Iacon Database from the Cons, which proves a success.

Enter episodes 16-19, where we take a break from the pacing of the fetch quest to bring in another new character, Smokescreen, let Bulkhead heal up, let Wheeljack almost get murdered horrifically by giant bot beetles, and teach a little girl about how revenge does not bring peace. Oh and do away with the C-tier villains, they (almost) all die.

Episodes 20-23 are the last five coordinates for the quest: A fancy new sword to sell toys for Optimus in an absolutely badass episode where he cuts a whole mountain in half, and the 4 literal keys to restoring Cybertron.

The new tension comes from both making sure that Team Prime gets all four keys, and making sure that Megatron does not find out how important they are.

Team Prime gets 1, Megatron gets 1, Team Prime gets another, and then Starscream comes in out of nowhere to steal the 4th, and then sneaks into the base of Team Prime to steal the other 3.

I cannot remember the exact quote but after a yell of absolute anguish and frustration, Optimus collects himself enough to say: “The fate of our world now lies with Starscream, whatever his intention.”

Because, Starscream can’t do shit alone. He just has a very powerful bargaining tool to either buy back the Bots favor, or buy back his place with the Decepticons. Underscoring the importance of who has the keys is this: Whichever side restores Cybertron will have effectively won the war, able to then brand the other side officially as traitors, for a whole new reign of absolute authority. The stakes could not be higher.

Episode 24: The second and far superior flashback episode taking a look exclusively at Starscream’s role throughout the series and all his fabulous shenanigans, as Megatron puts him on trial to decide whether he should just kill his traitorous little SIC.

While these flashbacks are being displayed literally on a screen like they’re connected via HDMI cable, Dreadwing (Starscream’s interim replacement) finds out that not only did Starscream get his twin killed way back in season 1, but then raised his corpse and left the zombie wandering around the fifth dimension, and Megatron knew about it, and lied. (Dreadwing is a fantastic lawful evil character, this post is just ridiculously long already without giving everybody bios)

The episode ends with Dreadwing betraying his whole side to give Team Prime intel, and a magical MacGuffin hammer (that they initially lost in the earlier stages of the Fetch Quest) to level out the playing field, he then goes back to his team and monologues a bit too long before trying to kill Starscream himself (as Megatron still won’t) and gets murdered for his efforts, when he was absolutely right.

At this point, Starscream is back with the Decepticons, they have all they keys (but not yet the knowledge of how they work or where they go to), and they believe that they have a free shot to fly back to Cybertron as the Autobots don’t have any way to get there themselves.

Enter the finale: Episodes 25 and 26. We’re almost there.

The magic MacGuffin hammer Dreadwing gave the Bots can fix or craft almost anything (with limited uses) and they use it to make their wormhole portal into a much beefier version—a space bridge—to portal themselves to Cybertron with every single weapon they’ve collected over the course of the Fetch Quest in their arsenal.

This is a mission they’ll either win, or die trying, they have to steal back the keys and reach the lock before Megatron does, and Megatron just figured out where the lock is.

The Bots manage to do it all, get the keys, take out hoards of faceless minions in their way, they’re a the lock, all they have to do is turn it on.

When out of seemingly nowhere, Megatron executes his backup plan: The whole season, he’s had Soundwave quietly scoping out the Bots’ secret base, and the homes of their human allies. Due to a grave mistake on Ratchet’s part, those humans are not protected at the worst time possible, and they get kidnapped.

Megatron delivers an ultimatum: Cybertron, or three human children?

Rather controversially, Optimus chooses the children, but destroys the lock so Cybertron can’t be revived by either side.

Episode 26 then ends with the reveal that Megatron discovered the location of their base, and as they all scramble to different corners of the earth, Megatron nukes it, and Optimus with it.

—

What I think TFP does really well with the MacGuffins is that, by and large, they themselves are never the point of their episodes. The writers knew audiences wouldn’t be sated with just the objects themselves carrying the story, which is what every fetch quest story should be:

The MacGuffin itself does not mean shit to the audience, 9 times out of 10. It could be swapped out for something else and largely not impact its purpose in the story. What matters is what it means to everyone who wants it, and what they’re willing to do to get it.

In TFP's case, these MacGuffins cannot be replaced. Several show up more than once to give unique advantages to different fights or become incredibly useful 11th hour tools—the setup and payoff with them is fantastic.

Yes, some of these “relics” are dangerous weapons, but in the background of the whole season there is so much subtext. Optimus’s guilt and Megatron’s manipulations over what he did while he had no memory. Various rivalries between sides coming to a head. The Starscream wild card that continued to take everyone by surprise again and again. Optimus’s increasing impatience to finally end this war and set aside the rivalry to try and kill Megatron for real this time, several times.

Regardless of who had what item, the balance of power between both sides was shifting constantly. The Bots would get a slight advantage, and the Cons would match it immediately. The Cons would win a battle, but then infighting would cost them the next one. Optimus’s fancy sword was shattered the very next episode when Megatron made his own using a stolen hand of a dead Prime to power the magic creation hammer—a nice bit of commentary on mutually assured destruction. Megatron never would have gone that far if Optimus didn’t get his own uber powerful weapon first.

Nor was every battle over the MacGuffin-of-the-day the same. Different players, different environments, different rules at play depending on the power of the MacGuffin itself, or the ulterior motives of either side.

And there were consequences, too, as this series is pretty mature. Dreadwing dies pretty graphically, a different dead Bot gets turned into a ghoul and his (totally canon) husband loses his shit over seeing a filthy human wearing his metal skin around.

If you won’t watch this show because you think the franchise is lame, I can’t change your mind, but if ever there was an entry into the franchise that proved how good it could be—and there is a time and a place for the camp of G1—TFP would be it.

[anistarrose]

liches get stitches

slightly belated for @blupjeansweek may 28th: strings!

“Lup, you’re getting kinda frayed over there,” Barry points out, as Lup breezes past the sofa — with the worn, indeed-fraying hem of her red robe fluttering behind her, loose threads on full display. “You should, uh — you should let me sew it.”

Lup stops in her tracks — raising an eyebrow as her hand falls to the hem, giving it a pat against the side of her thigh. “This old thing? I was just gonna wear it on reset day, bud. I’d fix it myself, if I was gonna keep it and really thought it was an eyesore —”

“Yeah, but —” Barry gestures to his leg, propped up under the table — with his knee all wrapped up good in a cast, still aching in spite of the ice pack. “But I’m boooored, Lup. I’m just so bored, I’m fresh outta sudokus, and all the science I wanna do requires… standing…”

“Mmm.” Lup rubs her chin. “You know what. Okay. But on one condition — you’re not allowed to make it less ripped. Think you can turn it into a cool fringe, Bluejeans? The more obnoxious, the better.”

“Um… okay? I mean, way outside of my wheelhouse, but if you’re — if you’re gonna throw it away anyway, I could try?” Barry pauses, because he usually doesn’t expect ideas this impulsive to work. “I’ll, uh… I’ll need some help getting the ol’ sewing kit, uh, obviously —”

“Oh, natch. I’ll get right on that.” Lup winks, undoing her robe’s buttons and shaking her arms out of her sleeves. “‘Cause that’s the Barry Bluejeans I know! Unable to resist the siren song of a tasteful fashion crime —”

“Hey!” Barry blushes. “Lup, I’m — I’m hurt, I’m literally a day out of the sickbay and you’re — you’re bullying me —”

“I said tasteful!” Lup protests, and chucks her robe at him. He throws up his arms, catching it awkwardly but thankfully before it can knock askew his glasses — and Lup makes her escape while giggling to herself like a schoolgirl, no doubt off to locate the sewing kit.

(keep reading on ao3!)

[dailyhelldorm]

2024 Valentine Voice Lines

Home Screen Voice Lines

Aira: I am wondering if I should also give my favorite idol my chocolate~ ♪ Although, I don’t know how much chocolate I need to prepare is enough.

Eichi: Black tea and chocolate go well together. The fatness inside the cacao bean can reset your taste buds from the bitterness of black tea ♪

Rei: The world is dyed in the color of Valentine. Kukuku, everyone in the office is also bustling around too… ♪

Valentine Making Chocolate Voice Lines

Aira: I am so happy that Producer-san is helping me in my chocolate-making attempt! Ehehe, shall we make a lot of chocolate filled with love together?

Eichi: I feel rest assured when I know Producer-chan is helping me make my Valentine’s chocolate. If it is you, then we can make any delicious chocolate.

Rei: For me, I don't really make a lot of sweets in my time… Oh, is the young lady going to teach me her special recipe? If that's the case then I'm looking forward to it, I will try my best too.

Valentine’s Day Cards

Aira: Thank you for sending your message ♪ I am super happy right now! I will keep on trying my best in the future, and I will be more happy if I can have your support ♪

Eichi: Thank you for your wonderful message. Please let me see your endeavors for more things that will exceed my expectations in the future. And this time too, If I can have your support, it will make me overjoyed… ♪

Rei: Thank you for sending your message to me... ♪ This time without betraying your expectations, I will send you my performance as well. And for certain, let it burn into your memory ♪

Bonus: ! 's mode Praise

Eichi

This only covers Praise-5 to Praise-8 because 1 to 4 (minus Praise-2) and sweet words are already on the wiki.

Original:　すばらしいよ……期待通りだっ Praise-2: Wonderful... Just as I expected.

Original:　素晴らしいよ。『プロデューサー』として、君も日々成長しているんだね Praise-5: Wonderful. You are growing every day as a producer.

Original:　僕からも賞賛の言葉を贈らせてほしいな。君のがんばりに、最大の感謝を…… Praise-6: I might have to send my words of praise to you. To your working effort, with all my gratitude...

Original:　よしよし........ 頭を撫でるのはあまりお気に召さないかな？　とはいえ、たまにはひとに甘えるということも覚えるようね？ Praise-7: There, there... You don't like getting patted on the head? Even so, remember to let yourself be pampered sometimes by others, okay?

Original:　お疲れさま、よくがんばったね。賞賛に値するよ。ゆっくり休んでまた次のために準備しよう…… ♪ Praise-8: Thank you for your hard work, you have done well. Your work deserves a lot of praise. Now let the body rest well and prepare yourself for your next work... ♪

Rei

This only covers Praise-5 to Praise-8 because 1 to 4 and sweet words are already on the wiki.

Original:　くくく。不安そうな顔をしておるが、心配せんでも大丈夫じゃぞい。上出来じゃよ、嬢ちゃん…… ♪ Praise-5: Kukuku. You are making such a worried face, but do not be afraid. You have done excellent, young lady... ♪

Original:　我輩に褒めてもらいにきたのかえ？嬢ちゃんは甘えん坊さんじゃのう。よしよし、たくさん頭を撫でてやろう ♪ Praise-6: Have you come for my praise? Young lady here is such a spoiled child. There, there, I will give you a lot of head pat ♪

Original:　よし、よし…… ♪　よくがんばったのう、嬢ちゃん。我輩がたっぷり労ってやろうぞ ♪ Praise-7: There, there... ♪ You have been working hard, young lady. I will give you a lot of rewards for that ♪

Original:　『最後まで諦めない』。その姿勢が、きっとアイドルたちにも良い影響を与えてくれるはずじゃよ ♪ Praise-8: "I won't give up until the end". Such attitude of yours, it certainly has a good influence on a lot of us idols ♪

[hxhhasmysoul]

Thoughts on ChainsawMan?

People tend to compare that to Jujutsu Kaisen.

I actually wrote down my thoughts about CSM, after I read it. And they stand because after the hard reset of the story and of Denji with the end of part 1 (is that what's it's called in the fandom? idk) I just went "really?" and stopped reading.

So I won't repeat what I said there I will just write a bit about what I think about people comparing CSM and JJK. And about how I don't really find them very similar at all.

I think the comparing started with Fujimoto himself? Idk if people compared them before he said it. And generally I wish he hadn't said that and that people didn't compare the two. There's a lot of this attitude "I like this thing more so it must be better in every way and the other thing needs to be shit, and I'm intellectually superior for liking it" coming form the CSM fandom. Idk if JJK fans are also such dipshits, but it took me a lot of blocking not to see posts from CSM fans who showed love for their fav by coming into the juju tags and shitting on it while saying nothing about why they think CSM is good. It reeks of high school mentality that many fail to shake until their 30s or even later.

The problem with comparing these two is that any similarities are extremely superficial. Fujimoto and Gege have completely different attitudes towards their characters, storytelling, world building, themes. They are clearly trying to achieve very different things with their stories and that's okay.

As I say in that post I linked above, I don't think CSM is bad but there's just nothing in it that matches my subjective tastes. JJK isn't perfect but the great things about it really hit the sweet spots for me.

(highlighting this so hopefully the CSM fans leave me the fuck alone)

CSM and JJK spoilers ahead, if you're an anime only. Also my opinion of CSM is based on part 1 and like a few chapters of part 2 that I read before I completely lost interest in it. I don't see myself picking it again, though.

_________________

Characters:

Fujimoto's gag character is Denji. Gege's are Toudou and Takaba. It is a valid writing choice to make your main character into a joke but not one I like. So like the moment I realised Denji's budding sexuality is a joke not a theme CSM really lost in my eyes. And since Fujimoto had (has?) just one joke for Denji to be the butt of over and over again it just got boring.

After the first two chapters I was ready to love Denji, to adopt him. Like 25 chapters in I was completely cold on him because it became clear that Fujimoto isn't going to do anything with him. If you compare that to Yuuji who's consistently getting juicy character development - it's easy for me to care about him, and when he gets traumatised, I get traumatised with him and now we have this bond where I mentally adopted him.

Aki is less meh then Megumi but in the end he's there just to die meaninglessly because Denji gets reset. I prefer Nobara to Power but I still think Power is okay, but in the end she's there just to die meaninglessly because Denji gets reset.

Makima barely wins at being more interesting with Sukuna. And that's mostly because Gege is very against developing Sukuna. Compared with Kenjaku or even Mahito? She's so dull, her plot is simplistic, and her manipulation is kinda one note.

Storytelling:

My blog's name references HxH. Part of why I obsess over HxH is the idea of characters having very different and separate goals. Story lines that run concurrently and kinda bump into each other, feed into each other and then separate. I hate the contemporary hot take that everything in writing has to be meat, has to further the plot.

CSM part 1 is very focused around the Control Devil's ploy to control the Chainsaw Devil using the Gun Devil as a ruse and other factions trying to interfere with that. There's really only this one plot line going on, there are some character arcs on the side, there are some factions nuances but they really just all prop up the main one.

JJK isn't HxH in this respect but the way in which characters have their own goals that don't necessarily further the plot is still really well done. And there isn't even one main plot. Kenjaku is the driver of it all and they have their huge scheme but Sukuna has his own plans, Gojou had his own power play with the elders and was trying to put that in motion. Other characters have/had their own schemes or goals too. People love to complain that the Zenin arc has nothing to do with the plot. I guess. It has everything to do with the themes though. I'm so sad that when Gege decided to speed run juju they cut Nobara, because her story had all the hallmarks of being about the themes but also her powers would really lend themselves to the main villain fights.

Shock Value vs Anticlimax:

HxH uses anticlimax very efficiently making the story feel fresher and much more interesting than for instance stories that rely on plot twists and reveals. The way most HxH arcs end is unexpected and kinda anticlimactic but extremely satisfying. There's build up and it gets resolved in a very fun way but not the most obvious one.

I don't remember CSM using anticlimax at all, but I have read it once and only part 1 and didn't watch the anime. So maybe it does but not in a way that was memorable to me. But it uses shock value and twists and reveals a lot, and mostly relies on killing off characters. Which for me resulted in not even trying to remember their names or faces and sometimes skipping through their dialogue if the exchanges got boring.

Gege isn't Togashi but the HxH and YYH influences are visible. Gege can suddenly kill off a character and doesn't stray away from graphic violence and body horror for shock. But the killing off isn't constant. It makes sense to get invested in the characters. Anyone can die but it's not a given, it's a threat not a promise. And the anticlimactic moments are meaningful and satisfying - sometimes in a cruel way. Yuuji's breakdown in the detention centre; then his death soon after; Junpei's death; the end of the exchange event; the whole fucking Shibuya arc which gives the reader no catharsis just drags them deeper into despair with every little moment that doesn't result in a clear win - it's excruciating; the conversation between Yuuji and Higuruma.

There's shock value in JJK too, as is in HxH. It's just used more like spice, it's not all there is to the flavour.

World building:

I just like complex magic systems where the results of the fights are not a given and fights can go interesting ways with how the characters utilise their powers in creative ways. In CSM it's just Chainsaw Devil hack and slash, Chainsaw Devil win, Denji is anemic - and for me that's very whatever.

Themes:

I've read some meta and saw some video essays about CSM and some people actually talked about the themes. I don't really remember much of it... I think it was mostly about the found family thing and life being kinda hopeless so carving these little moments for oneself? There might be more I just never was invested enough and the stuff i read/heard didn't fully convince me. Like I felt, yeah there might be some of it but it all felt like kinda gliding on the surface.

The themes in JJK match my interests far better. Oppressive systems and how hard they are to overcome even if you try. Bodily autonomy. Anti traditionalism and anti patriarchy. Deconstruction of the narrative of the hyper individualism of "the strongest" ideology and the idea of meritocracy. Reconciling guilt and your own values.

[disgraceofhumanity]

I think me getting high two days ago reset my taste buds,

my tabacco tastes like shit again.

Also I ate the entirety of our cereal and a can of beans...

I wanted to eat those today

I miss my beans

[thunderthighsandspite]

Binges and senna tea.

I'm trying to give up junk food because I can't eat it without binging.

I've been dumb and drinking tea that makes me poop at least once a week.

It's frustrating because I know I'm killing myself with my bad eating habits.

I'm going to try fasting until Monday afternoon.

My Mom said that it helps reset your taste buds and if I'm giving up processed foods that means I need all the help I can get.

I kinda want to fast two days a week and live on tea and liquids on those days and only eat like a fairy on my eating days.

I'm just sick of having high cholesterol and I need to restart my whole body.

[hellokyupid]

when i'm dieting, most days i'm successful in following my diet (which is nothing fancy, just a soft caloric limit and overall trying to be nutritionally balanced) but if i do have a day where i overindulge, i find it can easily snowball into days or weeks of unhealthy eating. not only does that make me feel like crap, i also end up spending alarming amounts of money on snacks and/or restaurant food.

these are some strategies i use to try to combat that:

- my "reset plan": after a day of overeating, i often wake up the next morning still feeling full. instead of eating breakfast i focus on hydrating, waiting until my body tells me it's hungry again, and then i choose something that's enjoyable but not too calorically dense, like sushi or a veggie + hummus sandwich. i try to keep it light throughout the rest of the day, but if i start to feel hungry again in the evening, i'll have a more substantial meal.

- when i overindulge, i find that my tongue gets "bored" of healthy foods and only craves super salty, sweet, or greasy things. whereas if i've been following my diet, i really truly enjoy healthy foods. so following the reset plan above also helps restore my taste buds. that's one of the potential joys of dieting that i don't think people talk about enough - it doesn't have to be a joyless exercise in deprivation, solely aimed at weight loss. it can be a way to learn to appreciate all kinds of food more (especially fruit and vegetables)!

- i weigh myself daily, which i definitely don't recommend for everyone, especially if it could trigger you or make you obsess over weight loss. but for me, observing the way my weight changes daily helps me keep things in perspective. a large meal might make it spike the next day, but i've seen that happen enough times to know that it'll go back down once my eating goes back to normal. and seeing that spike is a good reminder to use the reset plan.

- certain types of beverages like diet soda, green tea, kombucha etc. help take away that bloated feeling after a large meal or too many snacks, and that helps restore my motivation.

🍵

i've gotten a few follows and likes recently - thank you so much! if you're reading this and you're pursuing weight loss, please feel free to leave a reply and let me know what you do to get yourself back on track with healthy eating. i'd love to create a space where we can talk about our experiences without fatphobia or mainstream diet culture BS.

[microdosingwithjoe]

For the Lazy:

HOW TO START MICRODOSING IN LESS THAN 48 HOURS

This post is for the “IDGAF” of how or why microdosing works. I’m hoping someone will try it because the basic process is so easy.

First, you have to reset your endocannabinoid system (ECS). This sensitizes your body to THC again. For those of you who are overdosing A LOT, your habitual use makes this the hardest part, because you have to go cold turkey for 36 whole hours. Honestly, the cessation of weed is as physically arduous as not drinking morning coffee. Studies show that after 36 hours, your body has expelled the THC you’ve consumed, regardless of how much.

The first time you get high after those 36 hours off THC is the most important because you are going to explore what your body wants to get the effects that you desire, whether it’s the perfect high or the perfect pain relief. You’re learning a new way to get high; what you’ve been doing with weed is the equivalent of chugging beers.

To do this, you should set aside some serious “me time” for several days in a row. That’s because observing the effects of weed is very important.

Most of us were conditioned to “smoking a joint” or “smoking a bowl,” but we’re overdosing ourselves by doing that because we aren’t appreciating the way the first hit is affecting us because we’re already taking another 4 or 5 hits off that joint before the first hit has fully taken effect.

Here’s how your first microdosing session for smokers should go (edibles listed below.) Turn off the TV and put away your phone. Find a comfortable spot. Get your selected weed and look at it and smell it. Whether you like the strain or not, keeping track of as many of its properties as you can; it will enhance your future experiences.

Preferably use a pipe or a bong. Break off a piece from the bottom of a bud, about the size of a pea. Crush it up into the pipe bowl and light it from the edge (this allows the weed to burn across the bowl, releasing flavors as it burns,) and try not to just roast the whole surface. Make sure you get a good, solid hit, but not so much you cough and ruin the experience. Beginners? Coughing is hard to avoid. There’s no substitute for experience in this case.

Don’t hold the hit in more than 2 seconds, but instead slowly exhale about half the smoke through your mouth and nose, then inhale a quick but small breath to stir the remaining smoke, then slowly exhale the remainder of the smoke immediately, again through both mouth and nose.

Take a mental note, or better yet, keep a journal of what you taste and smell, and eventually what you feel. Use terms that mean something to you, so you know what you mean, not what you think an expert would say: this is all about you.

Now for the hard part: wait. Over the next 15 (minimum) to 30 minutes.

During these essential moments, you’re observing the high, which should peak between 15 to 30 minutes, and its vital that you don’t take a second hit until the first one has peaked.

Most people are amazed at how high they get, but if you’re not high enough, you can clean out your pipe and repeat the same process for your second hit, and so on.

Here’s another tough part: “realistically, am I high enough, or not?” This is when honesty battles with our tendencies for gluttony and hedonism. It’s not easy; you’re changing the way you’ve always smoked pot, hopefully forever.

Seriously, if you feel a need to get blasted out of your gourd every time you get high, you probably have an untreated underlying issues or conditions that may require professional attention.

Weed is great for normal stress and needed pain relief, but it’s not (for example) treating severe PTST by itself. I know personally that cannabis can really help many PTSD cases. My dog was run over by a car in front of me, and I had flashbacks of that that would repeat over and over, like a 3-second TikTok horror video. Weed fixed that for me, but I knew exactly what to do and what strains would be effective. If you’re constantly trying to escape, please consider counseling.

Microdosing does wonders for normal stress, but it doesn’t fix real issues you need to talk about with your therapist or doctor.

On a clean ECS, most people will stop at 1-3 hits. I highly recommend using this process every time. I’ve been microdosing for about seven years now, and I still start with just one hit, like I did just a couple of hours ago. I’m still noticeably high, and I’m really glad that’s all it takes. It has allowed me to create an incredible stash for pennies a day, a fraction of what a single can of beer costs. I have around 30 strains and 5-6 concentrates, and most of them are more than 3 months old. Pot lasts around a year without significant degradation.

Each strain I buy enhances my experience possibilities because the more I acquire, the more tailored the high I get. This process of observing your high is what microdosing is all about: getting the right weed for the right moment, in JUST the right amount. I hope you come to enjoy the process as much as I do.

Are you ready for the best highs of your life? Isn’t 36 measly hours worth it? Go for it!

Microdosing with edibles is a pain in the ass to start, but well worth it.

Eating to get high means every time is different because what you’ve eaten and how much you’ve eaten can affect when the THC will take effect.

Microdosing edibles is a less Zen-like experience because taste and smell are wholly eliminated from the process because all you’ll taste and smell are flavorings.

It’s harder and takes longer to find your dose on edibles, because you can only increase doses in 6-hour increments, so the process can take days to finish.

I recommend getting 5mg gummy bears for this process. Start with just 1. If you didn’t reach your goal after 6 hours, take 2, and so on. Eventually you’ll find your spot, usually between 5 and 30mg.

Since each try takes 6 hours, establishing your dose can take from 1 to 3 days, more, if you’re THC resistant. Hopefully, you can do it on 5-10mg, and you’ll enjoy substantial economic benefits, being a ‘cheap drunk,’ only with weed.

I wish you luck and hope you commit yourself to follow through no matter what path you use. Microdosing is the way we are all supposed to get high.

#HowToGetHigh

[super-oc-creator]

heyyyyyy, this totally isn't Synth....gimme some Arial lore pls and thank you

-Sincerely, 💾 Anon

Ok, here goes a lore dump lol:

Arial is about 18, she likes to cook with Papyrus despite not liking to taste his food (She often gets food from Grillby’s cause she’s the only 1 with taste buds). She likes to go to Alphys’ lab tp hang out with her crush Val (Another half monster half human oc), in the Pacifist route if you befriend her (only pacifist routes in the past) she will appear and help you rescue sans and papyrus (blocking some attacks etc), if you’ve done a nonpacifist route in the past u will have to save her too (genocide mechanics do not apply to this battle tho), she does the following attacks during the pacifist fight; bones, knifes (regular knifes) , and blue soul magic like her brothers. During the genocide battle she does the following attack; Bones, knifes, soul magic etc. (type of magic is shown in gem on her sword | blue magic = normal blue magic stuff, orange magic + pale blue magic = normal magic stuff, yellow swords = similar to blaster attack, red knives = determination knives, which deal 1.5 more damage then the regular knives, kindness knife heals arial and shields her from the next attack if it hits you, it doesn’t damage you though it just helps arial, unless you hit the middle of the attack bar to which it will hurt her), Purple magic= strings like muffits but there are knives on the strings and you have to avoid them (Regular knives will cut the strings and give you less room to move as it gets smaller and smaller). During the genocide route, she will dodge like sans, but since she is less experienced your attacks will graze her, but not enough to kill her, she dies like sans when you hit her head on while she is exhausted, however she doesn’t fall asleep, more like knows you are going to kill her so she kneels down and cries apologizing to everyone she couldn’t avenge, and you have one last change to reset and spare her before you kill her and complete the genocide route (her fight takes place after you kill Asgore and Flowey). She also has this mechanic where if she kills you 15 times, on the fifteenth death she resets, and if you decide to start a genocide again, she will come into the ruins and kill you (Think of it as still part of the same run, kind of like in pacifist it divides into two sections, like that) and you won’t be able to befriend her again, as she will always glare at you, and fight you before you get to the lab, even though it isn’t to the extent of the genocide route fight. Her favorite food is chocolate and her favorite flower is buttercups (even though she never really knows why). She likes to bake and watch anime with Val, Alphys, and Undyne even though something deep inside her tells her it isn't human history. She hates puns, however she doesn’t let Sans know that as she will ask him to tell her some jokes whenever she sees he is feeling down. She has ADHD, PTSD, and Depression (although those last two are because of you and the resets, and the trauma they cause). She can teleport like sans, however she isn’t the best at it, so she always teleports under Sans supervision. She loves dogs and even brought one into the house. She named it Toby but eventually had to get rid of him when he chewed up Sans’ slippers and stole Sans’ leg. Ok now for a question I get asked a lot whenever I show this character and explain some of the lore why doesn’t she just reset whenever she knows Frisk is doing a genocide route, and why is she able to kill Frisk. The answer to the second question came from a random thought I had in my head which was, if other humans have a determination soul, then how can humans kill them? And the solution I came up with was that if a human kills another human, then their soul ability doesn’t function, and since Ariel is half human that counts. The answer to the first question is similar to why Flowey can’t reset when you join the underground, it’s because your determination is greater than his. Human determination beats Flowey’s determination, and since Flowey is pure determination, it beats Ariel's since she only has half determination.

[im-fairly-whitty]

Oh, you've piqued my curiosity; If you're still taking these inquiries, how does my username taste? My given name is Amelia, how about that one?

inksandpensblog: since this is more of a sentence rather than a single word it have the overall flavor feel of good quality wood (like if you licked a fancy table leg) rather than more specific flavors like single words have.

Amelia: fusilli noodles with grated parmesan and a mix of an orange and apricot aftertaste

Maryloohoo: strawberry milk with dollops of cookie dough in it followed by a drink of water

Mary: shortbread with dried cranberries in them and licking a handful of carrot greens (the leafy part on top you usually throw away)

Doodleimprovement: subtle dry milk chocolate and unflavored pasta followed by an earthy carrot cake flavor (if it was somehow savory instead of sweet) with a crack of mint on the very end

Marina: very (but not unpleasantly) salty buttercream frosting dyed a delicate turquoise 

Shai: black licorice spice tea (which tastes nothing like black licorice candy I promise, it’s my favorite tea) and the taste of vanilla birthday cake that’s been left out overnight (also my favorite, you have a very tasty name my friend)

Logan: grilled hotdogs cut into slices as long as they are tall with the inhaled taste-scent of motor oil on a hot evening

[rakurairagnarok]

Batting for the other Team

It’s finally done!! This was a request from @bigbren1979 . I hope you like it my dude!! Please enjoy. I also have some interesting news coming up later today!!! Stay tuned!!

Brett Lawrie was a massive success on the baseball field. People loved seeing this very attractive man swing away, both men and women. Unfortunately for both of them, he was already taken, having a wife and kid. Even worse, Lawrie was a massive homophobe, making fun of and harassing all the gay guys that worked out at the gym. He didn't make it very obvious so he would not get into trouble, but everyone knew he really hated them all. 

Sadly for Lawrie, he messed with the wrong guy today. 

Andrew was having a beer with his friends in the local bar, when he saw Brett entering, clearly drunk. He sat down with his buds in a booth and immediately shouted for a waitress. When a guy approached the table, Lawrie and his friends immediately started calling him names. “Get us some beers, faggot” he said while spewing in his face. Andrew watched the scene unfold with his fists clenched. That bastard, always pestering the queer folk around town. He was about to get up to say something to the sportsman, when a thought entered his mind. A sly grin spread along his face as he sat back down and enjoyed the rest of his evening.

The following morning

Andrew walked into the gym, looking for his target. He found Brett on  the leg extension machine. Andrew moved over to the baseball player and smiled. 

“Hey man, You’re Brett Lawrie right? I’m a huge fan, dude! That last game was fantastic! Your swings were top tier!” Lawrie smiled. 

“Thanks bro! It was such a great game. I’m glad there are still some actual baseball fans around here, and not just fags.” Andrew bit his tongue and smiled. 

“Yeah man, been a fan for ages!” Lawrie beamed as his ego was stroked to high heaven. Andrew rummaged through his bag and took out a workout shaker.

“Hey man, so I wanted to give you this, it's a protein shake I developed myself. Gives you this hugeeee boost. Best workout you've ever had, trust me. And unlike  pre-workout, you don't even have to wait!!” Lawrie took the bottle with big eyes and took a swig. 

“Bro… this tastes divine!!” he took another sip and, kind of reluctantly, gave back the bottle to Andrew. Andrew saw the remorse in his eyes and smiled. 

“You know what man, you can keep that one, I got another one in my locker.” Brett looked up. “Are you sure… you don’t-” 

“I insist dude.” Andrew retorted and handed him the bottle.

Brett gazed at it and quickly took another mouthful. He stared up at Andrew and then immediately downed the whole bottle after which he  let out a massive belch. “Jezus that was fucking great man. Thanks a lot” 

Andrew grinned “No probz bro. Be sure to see me after your workout though. I can hook you up with some more” 

Lawrie nodded. “Yeah sure thing bro!” Andrew turned and started to walk towards the weights, starting his own workout.

In the meantime, Lawrie continued with renewed vigor. He had actually been almost done but the shake had given him an energy reset. He was ready to keep going. He continued to workout his legs and ass. His girlfriend loved his massive ass. When Lawrie was headed towards the Squat rack, he felt his stomach rumble. He chuckled. “Oh dear, there come the preworkout gasses. Oh well, people should know I've been here, they'd better be honored to smell me.” He said with a smug look on his face. But the farts and burps never came. Even when squatting down with 50 pounds on each side of the bar, not a single puff of air came out of him.

Instead, his body slowly started to swell up a bit. His lean body started to fill out with some fat and muscle. His rough slender arms started to fill out his shirt. His stomach roared again, this time enlarging his pecs into soft, warm cushions of flesh. Another rumble and he shrank down a few inches, but as he was squatting down at the same time, he didn't even notice. The former 6 foot athlete, was now an adorable 5 '7. With another rumble came another set of changes. His 30 year old face started to lose some years. Patches of aged skin started to smooth out, the few wrinkles he had pulled away, and his beard receded into a soft stubble. His stern face melted away into a soft and cute face with boyish charm. His short hair started to grow out and turned wavy. Lawrie bit his lips as they slowly plumped up, making him look very cute, but also very, very gay. He squatted down once more and the ink on his body started to wash away with all the sweat that ran down his frame. He now had smooth and youthful looking skin. His final squat and his body hair all but disappeared leaving behind a slight dusting of hair along his new juicy pecs. Having some energy left, Lawrie decided to put on some weights and continue the squats. With every squat his ass felt like it was on fire. Each rep made his ass bigger, and more jiggly. His below average rod also started to grow. Not just hard, but longer, and thicker too. His balls grew too, with every rep making them bigger and faster. Lawrie’s ass was getting bigger by the second, almost ripping his shorts. He was also getting smoother, all the hair sucking into his balls and shaft, leaving a perfect smooth member. 

He finally put down the bar and stood there, panting and sweating. “Fuck… that was amazing” he thought to himself. He grabbed his towel and headed to the locker room, ready to get some more of that delicious drink. As he opened the door he was met with an alluring smell that he could immediately place; it was the drink. He looked around and saw Andrew sitting on a bench, legs spread apart, with a towel around his waist, covering his manhood. 

“Hey bro… I “ Lawrie fell silent. His usual rough voice was gone. Instead, when he talked a youthful, squeaky voice rang through the room. 

“Hey man, you're finally done. Took you long enough. But damn you look good!” Lawrie looked down, and saw his clothes didn't fit him the same as they did when he put them on this morning. They were hanging lower on his body, but he filled them out much more.

He looked up in the mirror and screamed. Instead of the handsome, rugged face he knew, a new young, cute, and very queer looking face looked back at him.

“What did you do to me” He asked, in that annoyingly gay sounding voice. 

“You just love to make fun of all the gays around here, so I thought, why not make you experience it for a change” he spread apart his legs a bit more, and Lawrie got attacked by a fresh, warm wave of the smell. 

“Y-you …. Put something in the drink” Lawrie stammered, feeling a thread of drool run down his chin. 

“You look adorable like that, but yeah you're right. You want more right, that’s why you came? Want it from the source?” Andrew threw off the towel and Lawries knees buckled. The smell spread around the locker room, and more drool came spilling out of Lawries mouth. Andrew slowly walked over, his thick dick standing at attention. As he came closer there were no questions needed about what the source was; Lawrie only had eyes for Andrews dick. Andrew stopped just in front of Lawrie, his dick on eye level with the former star player. 

“Fuck you’re cute now.” Andrew cooed. He ran his thumb along Lawries soft jaw. “You want a taste, baby?” Lawrie gulped and bit his lip. 

“N-no I’m.. “ 

“Lick it boy” Andrew commanded, and Lawrie immediately complied. He opened his mouth and swallowed the rod. The bear groaned as the boy started to expertly suck him off. Lawries eyes opened wide as the familiar flavor of his drink started to fill his mouth. 

“That’s a good boy” these words filled Lawrie with a weird warm and fuzzy feeling. “You wanna make daddy cum, don't you?” Lawrie wanted to spit out the dick and curse out the man in front of him but instead he looked up into the bear's eyes and nodded. 

“Very good boy, you're such a cutie. I’m gonna take such good care of you” As Andrew said that he shot a load down Brett Lawries throat. This in turn made the boy cream his own pants, shooting out all the old negative parts of the married baseball player. What was left was Barry, Andrew’s soft boyfriend pup, who was such a massive slut for his Daddy's cock. 

“That was amazing daddy… did I do good?”

“You sure did pup… but I’ve got a question… What is your sexuality?”

“Im very gay Drewie. I’m so very gay for your cock… And those of your hot friends…”

Andrew laughed and he pulled his boyfriend up, giving him a warm embrace. “That's my boy. Lets get you cleaned up and home’

Later

It's been a few months since Brett Lawrie has been missing. The gay community of the town didnt really mind though. In his place, they got a new slut with a very cute face. Andrew’s new boyfriend made a very cheap onlyfans, and had plenty of time for visitors. His instagram is full of his dumb, cute face.  

Brett doesn’t remember much from his old life, only that it got substantially better when he and Andrew met. He now gets endless attention, money, and dick from him so he doesn't have much to complain about. 

[sakuraoora]

Hii I was wondering if I could get a crack fic where it’s Wanderer (blue scara if you still didn’t know) x fem!reader but the reader can eat a lot of spicy food but he can’t bc he pulled a factory reset on himself so he’s rlly shocked when reader eats spicy food bc he can’t even get past normal spice

OKAY THIS SOUNDS HILLARIOUS HERE'S MY TAKE ON IT

Scaramouche // Wanderer with an S/O that can eat a lot of spicy food

----

You were visiting Inazuma with Scaramouche/Wanderer, and decided to visit a ramen store. Because why not? It was practically an Inazuma specialty, and since you were visiting, there was no reason not to try it.

As you were looking at the options, Scaramouche stared at you in shock as you asked for one of the spiciest foods on the menu. You noticed his disbelief, and looked at him with raised eyebrows.

“What is it?” you asked as you watched him take the least spiciest food on the menu. Heck, it was literally kiddie meal amounts of spice.

“How in the actual hell do you eat that much spice without short circuiting? It’s not a normal amount of spice tolerance. What the heck are your taste buds doing? Do you even have taste buds?”

You snorted as he looked at you incredulously. “I just have spice tolerance because I grew up eating a lot of spicy food. Aren’t you like. 500 years old? The real question is how you don’t have spice tolerance.”

“It’s NOT MY FAULT MY TASTE BUDS RESET WHEN I FACTORY RESET?” he replied with a frown. The waiter arrived with the food, and Scaramouche had to admit, your dish looked delicious, the noodles beautifully cooked with the broth a pretty red tinged color, along with several add-ons. In comparison, his noodles were also beautifully cooked, but the broth didn’t have the red tinge of spice in it. Instead, he had gotten some pork with string beans on the side-- which also looked delicious.

You two got to eating your food, idle chatter surrounding you as you talked about mediocre things.

Until you offered Scaramouche some of your noodles.

He raised his eyebrows. “You’re paying for my hospital bills,” he said as he took a bite.

It was delicious.

And absolutely horrendously spicy.

Scaramouche downed all of his water, and you stifled your laughter. You called a waiter over and asked for some milk, and while he was getting it, Scaramouche frowned at you with a glare, a few tears from how spicy it was prickling his eyes.

“Remind me to never try whatever spicy food you get or make from now on…”

[cyberneticlagomorph]

You aren't sure if the sun is rising or setting by the time you come stumbling back into the house and halfway collapse into the nearest chair.

A little pale face with big red eyes peers around a corner, only to vanish before you can get a good look at it, but judging by the sounds of scampering feet and Egg's shrill cry of "NONNA!! NONNA!!" you can guess who it is.

Your Ma, Harley, comes in shortly after with a hesitant relief plain on her face, Egg at her heels with your phone in her mouth. 

You weren't even aware that you'd dropped it.

Ma tells Egg to call off the metaphorical search for you while she checks Bibi (you) over.

 … you didn't even know Egg could read, let alone type. New child locks will be put into place the moment you don't feel like someone beat you with a spiral ham.

Gentle fingers ghost over a darkening bruise and you hiss like a cat in a trap, Ma winces sympathetically. 

You're mostly just bruised up.

The worst injury you've got is a split lip and a broken nose that you've managed to reset by yourself, the bleeding from that has mostly stopped anyway but you feel like you're gonna hork up a clot at any minute probably.

Ma looks you in the eyes, retrieving a first aid kit from nowhere in particular, "Why do you look like me after the first time that bitch Waller recruited me…" she gestures at your face, tube of biofreeze in hand, "not the injuries, but the vibes."

You just smile wryly in a 'you must be fucking psychic' kind of way and watch her eyes narrow as she reads your face like a book.

"Was it fucking Waller? i'll skin her alive." She wipes the gross snot-blood crust from around your mouth and nose, and you suddenly feel like a kid again as you try very hard not to squirm.

"God I wish, her I could at least eat y'know?" Your stomach yells at the concept of food and Ma gives you a smile of her own.

"Oh I think I FELT that. Come, mama's been cookin her tight lil tush off."

She helps you up, just like she used to when you were little and stupid and kept getting in fights with the little clown kids back in Gotham. 

It felt just like this. 

Like biofreeze and concern, and love.

Your legs are wobbly from lack of sleep and maybe a mild concussion but the promise of Food urges you on, with Egg close behind you. 

Ma watches you like a hawk as she guides you into the kitchen and whistles for the Babies, her twin hyenas Bud and Lou.

They appear out of nowhere, spectral beasts of pure emotional energy.

Each the size of a fully grown bull moose before they remember their manners and 'fold up' into mostly regular hyenas.

Bud shoves his muzzle into your face, sniffing and nuzzling as if he hasn't seen you in a thousand years. The markings on his face make him look like he's smiling, even though you can nearly taste his concern. 

By contrast, Lou perpetually looks like he's about to cry at any moment. 

They're the closest things to brothers you've ever had, and they certainly act like it. 

Right now they're doing their best to keep you awake and conscious so you can eat

… and also trying to steal treats when Ma isn't looking. 

But mostly the keeping you awake thing!

You talk while you eat, shoveling bread and soup into your face as fast as possible, trying desperately to explain the situation as best you can but you don't have all the details yet so it's harder to form coherent sentences than you initially anticipated. 

Ma knows the importance of keeping you talking-- and asks about who worked you over, before talking a lot of shit about them, their bedroom preferences and their mothers. 

Your brothers cackle in response. 

You smile, all sharp teeth and black gums, "I did manage to take a couple fingers with me before I left," you nudge Lou away from your plate a second too late and watch him inhale your bread roll, "I dunno what they expected, putting their hands in my face like that."

Ma snorts, taking your bowl and refilling it for the third or fourth time, "Idiots! just like arkham."

She goes on a small tirade about cops and the justice system and exactly how many pigs she could demolish with one hammer swing while you continue to eat.

The quantity of food and hydration you consume would be surprising, if you'd eaten anything except fingers since yesterday. 

By the time you're finished, the exhaustion is back and tugging at your limbs. 

Dragging you down into the depths of sleep.

Making it hard to chew, let alone string a sentence together. 

Ma won't let you pass out at the table, bless her, and manages to get you safely in bed before your body can really give up.

You're asleep before your head can hit the pillow, with Lou sprawled across your legs and Bud's big head tucked under one arm like when you were little. 

Ma stays to keep an eye on the three of you, and make sure you're not concussed.

And as the dreams prepare to drown you, you realize that this the safest you've felt in a very long time.

[ask-cupcakesans]

Nylo how are you not tired of eating dreamers it seems like they would all taste the same?

"I do take breaks and eat other things. But my taste buds don't get tired of dreamers."

Actually, it's something in a bookkeeper's mouth that resets every 2 hours. And yes he takes breaks if he doesn't feel like eating a dreamer.

[fresh-static-snow]

Hi?

I don’t consider myself very good at writing but I’ve found that I enjoy journaling lately so I suppose I’ll just write something here instead for once.

I'm sitting here slouched in my chair listening to "A State of Trance 2014" through my Audeze LCD-2C's while sipping on Trader Joe's 2021 Vintage Spiced Ale. I don't even remember the last time I logged onto this site, and I don't know when I'll log on again after tonight. I only logged on today to reset my password as I was auditing all my current passwords and resetting them for more secure items. I used to spend hours on this site, but it hasn't even crossed my mind in years now.

I'm 28 now, still listening to electronic music (rave to the grave baybeeeee), got married, bought a house, got a dog, bought a new car, work full-time in IT, got super into coffee, and have gone off the deep end of headphones and in-ear monitors (IEMS if mentioned again after this). I proposed to my now-wife at Disneyland under the fireworks on New Year's 2020. Little did we know what was to come in regard to COVID. But before COVID could shut the world down here, we found a cute little condo and made an offer on it. Amazingly (especially if you know anything about the housing market in the state I live in), our offer was accepted. We closed on our condo the day before the lockdown order went into effect. We almost didn't get to close due to my wife being laid off the day before but the employment verification came through somehow. I vividly remember our realtor saying "they won't shut us down" too.

We didn't have a wedding, instead we eloped and got married on the beach in California. We did have a photographer and we got some amazing pictures from the time we were there. We also had my best friend play dual role and be the best man/maid of honor. Shoutout to him for being great for that. My wife wrote her vows on the order forms from the restaurant where we met 10 years ago now. She looked so incredibly beautiful; I'll never forget it.

The next thing that came was a tiny dog, and I mean tiny. Pumpkin was a whole two pounds (0.9kg) when we got her. She had no personality and was like a blank slate. Looking back, we probably should've waited the extra month to pick her up, but we were too excited to wait. That bit us in the butt as she proceeded to scream-cry all through the night. She got not one, but two ear infections in that first few months too. Now, she is a great dog, if a bit ornery. She likes to *grunt* at you when she wants something and will do so louder and louder until she either gets her way or we have to get up and tell her to "place" in her bed.

I won't go to in-depth on how I got into coffee, but in addition to a Ninja coffee maker, I now have a burr grinder, a Fellow Stagg Pourover X kit and an AeroPress. I did have a hand grinder, but returned it as it was just a bit too pricey to justify in the end. It's amazing how much better coffee tastes out of the Stagg or the AeroPress versus the standard coffee maker. There's so much more flavor nuance to them and there's huge differences between them in their own! I don't yet have a favorite bean that I consistently return to (probably because I love getting new flavors everytime), but I have noticed I tend to gravitate towards darker roasts. I love lighter roasts due to their fruity notes, but I also love the smooth notes of a dark roast.

This next section is a long one.

Headphones. Or head-poe-hon-ees as good ole DankPods would say. I've always loved music. The daily prompt for my journal app, DayOne, last night was even "What would your life be like without music?", so my entry was basically a tale of "I would rather die". Previous to 2020, I had a set of over-ear Sony CH-700N (so catchy) that had noise cancelling, Apple AirPods Pros, Beats Powerbeats Pro, and a pair of crappy Skullcandy buds in my desk. Some might ask "why have two pairs of wireless?" Well I used the Powerbeats for working out due to the over-the-ear hooks, and the AirPods Pro at the office with the transparency mode so I could hear my surroundings while still jamming. In late 2020, I bought a pair of Apple Airpods Max to replace my Sony's. While they were very pricey, I loved the noise cancelling as they were way better than the Sony's, and the transparency, as well as the sound of them. In fact, I still love them and use them whenever I travel. Dat sub-bass tho mmmmmm.

But in late 2021, I was getting more and more into wired audio again. I had purchased a pair of KZ ZSN Pro X IEMs for $20 (on the recommendation of everyone's favorite Aussie audio YouTuber), and a pair of Moondrop Aria's for $80. The Moondrop Aria's are highly praised in the IEM/audio community and with good reason. They sound incredibly good, especially for $80. Now, you might think "oh wow $80 is a bit pricey for wired headphones. I used to get Skullcandy's at the store for $20 and they sound good!" and if so, that's great! I'm happy you think so! But for me, I needed more. So I went down the rabbit hole of "over-ear headphones". Both open-backed and closed back. For those who don't know, most consumer headphones (think Bose, Beats, Sony, etc.) are closed-back. This means the "cups" are closed on the outside. Sound doesn't pass through them and they provide a layer of passive noise cancellation. Open-back are what they say on the tin. Noise passes right through the cups. This goes both ways though; people can hear what you're listening to and you can hear the outside world. Now the benefits of open-back are the "Soundstage". or how wide the music feels and the ability to "place" instruments in the audio stage that you can hear. It's a bit hard to explain. I ended up getting six pairs of headphones from Amazon to test out and choose from. The pairs I got were the Hifiman Sundara, Hifiman Ananda, Audeze LCD-2C, Audeze LCD-X, Audeze LCD-2C Closed, and Audeze LCD-XC (X closed). If you look these up on Amazon, you'll see they range in price from $300 (Sundara) up to $1299 (LCD-XC). After a long time listening, I slowly eliminated the Sundara, 2C, and Ananda. I honestly had a hard time choosing between the X, XC, and 2C Closed. In the end, I chose the LCD-2C Closed as I prefer the closed-back nature of these cans. I loved the XC as a 2nd choice, but the price jump between the 2C and XC was just too great to justify the difference in quality. I also ended up with a Qudelix 5k amp/dac/bt receiver after much testing there.

But the headphone journey doesn't end there...I mentioned IEMs earlier and now we're coming back to that. After getting the Aria's and LCD-2C Closed headphones, I noticed that the left bud of the Aria never seemed to feel secure unless I was sitting still at my desk. So I looked into eartips and other options, but ended up ordering a pair of FiiO FH3's. These come with what's called an MMCX (micro miniature coaxial) connector to the IEMs, which can swivel. These felt much more secure in my ear, though I did not 100% enjoy the sound signature and clarity of these buds. So I returned them and picked up a pair of the then hype-train-riding 7hz Timeless. God they are amazing. I love them for the sub-bass, tonality, resolution and clarity they bring to the music. But they still feel a bit insecure! So my most recent purchase was a pair of Moondrop Blessing 2's. These have been on my list for a "long" while now, but the price always held me back. After getting the pair in, I'm almost mad I didn't get them sooner. I quickly then ordered a pair of Moondrop Blessing 2: Dusk's. "Buy Dusk" as the popular IEM reviewer Crinacle says. The Dusk just adds a bit to the bass and that's really all the Blessing 2 needs. I'm hoping to have those in soon, but in the meantime, I'm greatly enjoying the B2.

I did mention I got super into headphones above, right?

Anyways, I've finished my beer and I've been writing this for over an hour. If you read this all the way to this point, you're awesome. If you skipped here to the end for a TLDR: hi :)

Til next time.

Daniel (Fresh-Static-Snow)

P.S. I covered my PR tattoo lol