#sell branded bags online

[confidential-couture]

It's a MAJOR THROWBACK FRIDAY | CONFIDENTIAL COUTURE  | Pre-loved Luxury  Celebrating 10 Glorious Years of Confidential Couture | Decade Party in Delhi | #CCDECADE Confidential Couture proudly marked a significant milestone – completing 10 incredible years in the luxury resale industry! To celebrate this momentous occasion, we hosted a grand Decade Party in the vibrant heart of Delhi, surrounded by an enchanting mix of love, laughter, and luxury. ✨ The evening was nothing short of magical, as we welcomed cherished clients, industry pioneers, and our beloved supporters who have been a part of our journey since day one. From exquisite decor to a delectable spread of gourmet food, every detail was crafted to perfection, reflecting the elegance and sophistication that Confidential Couture embodies. As we raised our glasses to a decade of trust, growth, and unparalleled service, we also took a moment to honor the countless stories of preloved treasures finding new homes, the meaningful connections forged, and the unwavering support from our community that brought us here. This milestone is not just a celebration of the past but a toast to the future. We are thrilled to continue redefining luxury resale, setting new benchmarks, and expanding horizons. Here's to many more years of empowering sustainability in style and making luxury accessible to all! A heartfelt thank you to everyone who has been a part of this incredible journey. Join us in celebrating this milestone and relive the special moments from the Decade Party in this video! Don't forget to like, share, and subscribe to stay tuned for more exciting updates as we embark on the next chapter of Confidential Couture.    

[its-avalon-08]

can you write for max or carlos a fic where the reader is a billionaire and max or carlos is just a normal person with a 9-5 except that they don’t know reader is rich until she leaves her bank account open on her laptop or something similar? ❤️

money money money must be funny (cs55)

✦ pairing - carlos sainz x female!reader

✦ genre - carlos!not a driver, romance

Carlos Sainz wasn’t the type to snoop. He respected Y/N’s space—her home, her things, her boundaries. But today, as he casually walked into her apartment after work to wait for her, something caught his eye. Her laptop was on the kitchen counter, lid slightly ajar, and the screen had gone dark, but the faint hum of the device meant it was still on.

He didn’t mean to look. He really didn’t. But as he reached over to close it, a notification pinged, revealing her bank account summary. The number on the screen wasn’t just large—it was staggering. It looked more like a jackpot figure than an average person’s savings account.

Carlos froze. His thoughts swirled like a whirlwind. Was this even real? Had she won the lottery? Was Y/N secretly a crypto genius?

A loud buzz from his phone brought him back to reality—Y/N had texted that she’d be back in an hour. His first instinct was to laugh it off. She was probably just babysitting some wealthy CEO’s account or something. But the more he thought about it, the more the pieces started to fit.

That expensive bag she’d said was “on sale”? The first-edition watch she gave him for his birthday? And the sleek new car she drove, claiming it was a "company lease"?

He shut the laptop and paced around the apartment, fighting the urge to overthink. Why hadn’t she told him? Did she not trust him? Was she afraid of how he’d react?

When Y/N walked in, all smiles and carrying takeout, Carlos decided to play it cool.

“Hey, cariño,” she greeted, setting the bags down on the counter. “Hope you weren’t bored waiting for me.”

“Not at all,” he said, forcing a smile. “How was your day?”

“The usual. Meetings, emails, surviving on coffee. Yours?”

Carlos shrugged. “Not bad. I ran into something interesting, though.”

“Oh?” she asked, unpacking the food.

“Yeah,” he said nonchalantly, leaning against the counter. “I was browsing online earlier. You know, just random stuff. Came across this site that sells luxury bags. That brand you have—you said it was on sale, right?”

Y/N’s hands froze for a millisecond before she quickly recovered. “Uh, yeah. Got lucky, I guess. Why?”

Carlos tilted his head, pretending to think. “Just curious. Even on sale, they’re pretty pricey. Like… really pricey.”

She chuckled nervously. “Well, it was a one-time splurge. A treat-yourself moment.”

“Hmm,” he said, letting it drop—for now.

Later, while they were eating, he casually gestured to his watch. “You know, my coworkers keep asking me where I got this. I mean, it’s not every day you see something like this.”

Her cheeks flushed slightly. “Really? Well, you deserve nice things.”

“True,” he said with a small smirk. “But I don’t think I could ever afford something like this on my own.”

She looked down at her food, her fork hovering mid-air. “Carlos, I—”

“You know,” he interrupted, trying to sound playful, “you never told me how you got it. Or that car. Or… well, a lot of things, actually.”

Y/N’s eyes darted up to meet his. “What are you trying to say?”

Carlos leaned back, giving her a pointed look. “Nothing. Just making conversation.”

She laughed nervously, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Well, I guess I’m just good at finding deals.”

“Right,” he said, dragging out the word. “Must be a talent of yours.”

The rest of the evening passed in a strange tension. Carlos didn’t push further, but the weight of unspoken questions lingered between them. Every now and then, he’d make an offhand comment—about the high-tech gadgets in her apartment or the exclusive restaurants she “managed to snag reservations for.”

By the time Y/N excused herself to shower, Carlos was left alone with his thoughts again. He wasn’t angry, not really. But he was confused. Why hide something like this? Did she think he’d judge her?

As the sound of running water filled the apartment, Carlos sat on the couch, staring at his watch. He traced the edges of it with his thumb, his mind racing.

He loved her—he truly did. But for the first time since they’d been together, he wasn’t sure he fully knew her.

--

Carlos’s birthday started like any other day—quiet, unassuming, and, as far as he was concerned, just another regular weekday. But when he walked into Y/N’s apartment that evening, he realized how wrong he’d been.

The entire living room was transformed. Gold and black balloons floated in clusters, streamers lined the walls, and a massive “Happy Birthday, Carlos” banner stretched across the ceiling. The dining table was set with a feast fit for a Michelin-starred restaurant—complete with candles, a perfectly plated cake, and his favorite wine.

“You did all this?” Carlos asked, his eyes wide as he took it all in.

Y/N emerged from the kitchen, beaming, wearing a sleek dress that looked straight out of a fashion magazine. “Surprise!”

Carlos couldn’t help but smile. “You didn’t have to go this far, cariño.”

“Of course, I did,” she said, walking over to him and planting a kiss on his cheek. “You deserve the best.”

He took a deep breath, overwhelmed by the effort she’d gone to. But the gifts sitting on the table caught his attention—each one wrapped immaculately in expensive-looking paper.

“Are those… all for me?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

She grinned. “Open them and see.”

He started unwrapping them one by one. First, a designer leather jacket. Then, a limited-edition pair of sneakers he’d mentioned in passing months ago. And finally, a watch—sleek, elegant, and undoubtedly expensive.

Carlos held it up, speechless. “Y/N… this is—”

“Do you like it?” she asked, her voice hopeful.

“Like it?” he said, shaking his head. “This must’ve cost a fortune.”

“It’s worth it,” she said softly. “You’re worth it.”

Carlos pulled her into a hug, his mind racing. As they swayed gently, his voice was low but teasing. “You know, between the jacket, the sneakers, and this watch… you’re starting to spoil me. I might get used to it.”

She laughed nervously, her face buried in his chest. “Well, it’s your birthday. You deserve to be spoiled.”

He pulled back just enough to look at her, his hands still resting on her waist. “Y/N,” he said, his tone light but inquisitive, “how do you afford all this? I mean, between the car, the gifts, and—well, everything. It doesn’t exactly scream ‘9-to-5.’”

Her smile faltered for a second. “I… budget well,” she said, avoiding his gaze.

Carlos tilted his head, his eyes narrowing slightly but still kind. “Budget well? You’re buying things most people would save for years to afford. That’s some serious budgeting.”

“I just… know how to find deals,” she said quickly.

“Deals, huh?” he said, raising an eyebrow. “Like the kind that let you buy a car worth more than most people’s houses?”

Her laugh was more forced this time. “Carlos, come on, it’s not like that.”

He didn’t push, not yet. Instead, he wrapped his arms around her again, holding her close. “You know,” he said softly, his chin resting on her head, “I’ve been thinking a lot lately. About how generous you are. How thoughtful. How you somehow always manage to outdo yourself.”

“That’s just because I love you,” she murmured.

“And I love you too,” he said, his voice warm. “But you don’t have to go overboard, you know. I’d still love you if you didn’t get me a watch that probably costs more than my rent.”

She tensed slightly in his arms, and he felt it.

“It’s just…” he continued, his tone deliberately casual, “I can’t help but wonder. You must have some serious savings to pull all this off.”

“Well, I—”

“Or maybe,” he said, a hint of playfulness in his voice, “you’re secretly a illionaire.”

Relaxed she went, “Yeah, exactly.”

The words slipped out before she could stop them. Her body went rigid, and she immediately pulled back, her eyes wide with panic. “I mean—wait—no—”

Carlos’s brows shot up. “Oh.”

“Carlos, I didn’t mean—”

“Y/N,” he said gently, placing his hands on her shoulders. “It’s okay. Just… take a deep breath.”

She did, her hands trembling slightly. “I-I didn’t mean for you to find out like this.”

“So it’s true?” he asked softly. “You’re… rich?”

She hesitated, then nodded, her eyes brimming with uncertainty. “Yes. But it’s not like you think. I didn’t want it to change how you see me.”

Carlos’s expression softened. “Cariño, why would it change how I see you?”

“Because… people treat me differently when they know,” she admitted, her voice barely above a whisper. “I wanted you to love me for me, not for my money.”

He cupped her face, his thumbs brushing her cheeks. “Y/N, I fell in love with the woman who makes me laugh until my stomach hurts. The one who listens to me ramble about football and surprises me with my favorite snacks. Not the size of your bank account.”

Her eyes searched his, still uncertain. “You’re not mad?”

“I’m not mad,” he assured her. “A little surprised, sure. Maybe a bit hurt you didn’t tell me sooner. But I get it.”

“I’m sorry,” she said, her voice cracking. “I should’ve told you.”

He smiled, pulling her back into his arms. “Just promise me one thing.”

“Anything.”

“No more pretending your gifts are ‘on sale.’ You’re a terrible liar.”

She laughed, the tension finally breaking. “Deal.”

--

The living room was bathed in a warm, golden glow from the lamps as Carlos and Y/N cuddled on the couch. Her head rested against his chest, and his arm was wrapped securely around her shoulders. The cake sat half-eaten on the coffee table, alongside empty plates and glasses.

Carlos pressed a kiss to the top of her head, his voice soft as he broke the comfortable silence. “Can I ask you something?”

“Of course,” Y/N murmured, tracing patterns on his shirt with her fingers.

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” he asked, his tone gentle but curious. “About… everything?”

Y/N stiffened slightly in his arms but relaxed when he gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze. She sighed, her breath warm against his chest.

“It’s not that I didn’t want to,” she began quietly. “I just… I’ve had bad experiences before.”

Carlos frowned, his hand moving in soothing circles on her back. “What kind of experiences?”

She pulled back slightly to look at him, her eyes filled with a mix of vulnerability and sadness. “People have used me for my money, Carlos. Pretended to care about me just because they wanted access to my lifestyle, my connections. It’s happened more times than I’d like to admit.”

Carlos’s expression softened, his heart aching for her. “Y/N…”

“It’s not just romantic relationships,” she continued, her voice trembling slightly. “Friends, too. People I thought I could trust would suddenly start asking for favors, for loans they never intended to repay. Or they’d make comments, subtle digs, like I didn’t deserve what I had because I was born into it.”

Carlos tightened his hold on her, resting his chin on her head. “I’m so sorry you went through that. You didn’t deserve it.”

“I started to feel like no one saw me, you know?” she said, her voice breaking slightly. “It was always about what I could give them, not who I was. So, when I met you, I just… I didn’t want to risk it. I didn’t want you to see me differently.”

Carlos was silent for a moment, his thoughts swirling. Finally, he tilted her chin up so she could meet his eyes. “Y/N, I’m not those people. I don’t care about your money, or what you can buy, or any of that. I care about you. The person who makes me laugh, who’s always there for me, who’s just… you.”

Tears welled up in her eyes, and she gave him a small, shaky smile. “You don’t know how much that means to me.”

He wiped away a stray tear with his thumb, his gaze unwavering. “I know it’s hard, letting someone in. But I want you to know, you don’t have to hide anything from me. Okay?”

She nodded, her smile growing a little stronger. “Okay.”

Carlos leaned down and kissed her gently, pouring all his love and reassurance into the moment. When they pulled apart, he gave her a teasing grin.

“Although, I do have to say, I feel a little cheated. All this time, I’ve been paying for dinner when you could’ve been spoiling me instead.”

Y/N burst out laughing, swatting his chest. “Oh, so now you want to be spoiled?”

He chuckled, pulling her closer. “I mean, I wouldn’t say no to the occasional fancy dinner. But honestly? I’d take ramen with you on the couch over anything else.”

She smiled, her heart swelling with gratitude and love. “You’re too good to be true, Carlos.”

He kissed her forehead, his voice soft. “So are you, cariño. So are you.”

[sweetlady555]

Unlocking the hidden power of Mars 12H:

Hi everyone! I apologize for not having been uploading as much but I’m back and writing about Mars 12H because it's so powerful and I rarely EVER see anyone talking about it. As I’ve decided to step fully into my power starting November 2024, I’ve recently realized something powerful about my energy that completely changed my perspective, I will be using Kim Kardashian as my example as she is a Mars 12H native :$

What Is Mars in the 12H? 🤔

Mars represents drive, action and motivation. The 12H is the house of the subconscious, hidden things, spirituality, behind the scenes, hidden strengths, the spiritual realm. When these two energies combine, they create an energy that works below the surface often in ways we aren't fully conscious of. 👁️

One thing you should know is Mars 12H natives makes moves in silence they don't need outside noise or your projections! You'll see how it's done just watch, you don't know need to know how, why or when they're going to do it, but just know they've been multiple steps ahead of you. Its like this divine calling thats always in your ear telling you which move shall be next and its such a strong force that its like if you don’t take action itll make you feel so……… wrong its like a itch. Usually Mars 12H natives do take the action and it leads to blessings I like to call them. Mars 12H natives do not feel the need to force anything, when the thought and feeling comes you do that shit! Mars 12H natives are always mysteriously led to exactly where they need to be.. this is likely why they get their rep for being so mysterious & secretive! Its imporant as a Mars 12H native to listen to your gut and trust that everything will work out as planned, and this doesn’t go for just Mars 12H natives it goes for everyone!

Let's use Kim Kardashian as a famous example on how Mars 12H manifests for the natives, as a Mars in 12H native I feel like I can relate to her ambition and I can understand her doings.

Kim Kardashain always knew she was going to be a star, if you have seen her videos of her younger self she states, "and you're all going to remember me as this beautiful little girl" For both Kim and people with Mars 12th house, the confidence and determination to become a star or successful often comes from a deep subconscious belief in their destiny. Even if they don't know the "how" or the "when," they just FEEL compelled to take action towards their dreams, sometimes in ways that seem hidden or almost effortless to others. In Kim's case, she didn't just fall into success, she actively pursued it through her work, image crafting, and seizing opportunities. Even before she became widely known, she had an innate sense of how to position herself and build her brand. This is the Mars 12H signature, an internal drive that doesn't always need external validation or explanations to succeed. Many people accuse Kim of "destiny swapping" with Paris Hilton but let's be so fo real right now.. Destiny swapping doesn't exist, and I feel like people just can't believe Kim rose above Paris Hilton which seemed so effortlessly, but not enough people credit her for her hard work and perseverance. People have accused her for being a reptellian too 😭 ? because I guess its that hard to understand hard work, dedication and logic actually does pay off! Kim has a vision and she's still actively working hard for her vision behind the scenes, and if its one thing we all know its that Kim will chase her bag regardless!

My experience with Mars in the 12H :

Growing up, I always knew I was going to be something special, I knew I was gonna be influential (I have 10H placements so this might manifest differently) Last year, I had rose to fame very quickly online through my image and the amount of people who were confused af how I did it was flattering not gonna lie! I would hear people tell me things like “did you sell your soul?” or “whats the method?” or “you only got it because you had this and this” . I was always in my own bubble online posting what I feel destined to do no matter what my ego said. I thought with my soul a lot of times even if it was shocking, so honestly I could see how people would accuse me of “selling my soul” or having a certain method to my influential social media fame. There is a lot of pain & passion behind my doings and I logically plan everything out so it kind of flatters me honestly! To me this just shows how Mars 12H natives are skilled in making something out of themselves coming from being a underdog to becoming someone highly admired.

The Energy Of A 12H Mars Native :

Mars in the 12H natives can have this strong powerful magnetic effect on others without them even realizing it but others will feel this on a subconcious level. They truly have a lot of appeal! Its almost like this hidden power or secret magentism that draws people in which could attract a lot of admirers, monitoring spirits, actual spirits even! 😭 The truth is though, Mars 12H natives do really have this strong inner power within them, they tend to be very confident in themselves and this energy reflects on the outside even through the screen. They have this aura around them that can’t be ignored. Mars 12H natives will often be seen as untouchable or enigmatic, just like Kim she knew how to use this energy to use this subtle allure to captivate her audience.

People with Mars 12H have this sexual energy that is more felt, not seen! This can make their presence intoxicating as others may sense their sexual energy without knowing where it’s coming from. Its almost hypnotic! Its a deeply rooted emotional and spiritual sexual energy often rooted in the subconcious. With Kim, she knew how to use this energy in her brand being percieved as seductive, powerful and confident, but it wasnt just about her body — it was about the way she carried herself and commanded attention without saying much.

Despite being more subtle, Mars in the 12H gives the individual an almost unconcious control over their sexual energy. Theres an innate understanding of how to play on emotions and create attraction often with very little effort. This creates an energy that is simultaneously passive and powerful and you can’t deny or ignore it either. Almost like being in the background but still being the force everyone notices.

There is a lot of fantasy and imagination that takes place with Mars 12H natives and how theyre percieved, natives with this placement tend to make others fantasize about them not just by how they look but how they make people feel! Their energy creates a sense of longing, almost like a dream or a fantasy that others want to live in. Kim Kardashian has been able to tap into this fantasy energy by cultivating an image of perfect beauty and luxury, which keeps her in a fantasy world that fans want to be apart of. This fantasy element is key to her sexual appeal, as it makes her seem unreachable and unattainable.

Mars 12H natives, if they aren’t aware of their power makes them a target for insecure people and spirits in the physical and spiritual realm. People will often notice this energy before you even do and project the most they can and throw as much dirt as they can on you because they’re afraid of your power! Its highly advised you take the precautions and make sure you are being careful in who you’re telling your business to, what things you might be opening in the physical and spiritual realm, who you let into your space, who you’re doing business with all of it! Dont let them take advantage of you!

I also had read that Mars 12H often repress their emotions or their anger and although it is that in some cases, Mars 12H natives just tend to strategically move instead of acting out on anger or resentment in the moment to avoid unnecessary conflict and to stay in power and their own peace. Its a silent strength many Mars 12H natives have where you don’t have to scream or shout to prove yourself, you can strategically wait for the right moment, then act with precision. This ability to stay focused and composed on long term goals is what makes Mars 12H natives have this quiet power behind them. People might not realize that this anger comes from a calculated, startegic place, its not random but it could be percieved as out of nowhere. The 12H is often linked to subconcious energies, hidden feelings and things that are not visible to others, so when Mars 12H natives express their anger it can come off as intense, mysterious or even uncontrollable to those around you. People may not fully understand why you do the things you do or whats going on beneath the surface so this often leads to people labeling your anger more extreme.

The Spirtual Realm

Mars in the 12H natives are often deeply connected to the spiritual realm, but they experience it in a unique way. This placement can give them a natural sensitivity to invisible forces or energies like I mentioned earlier a divine force! Whether that may be intuition, sprits or subconcious currents that influence their actions. Mars in the 12H is often described as “Behind the scenes” or operating in the background, which makes these individuals especially attuned to the unseen world—the spiritual, emotional and psychological realm.

Mars, the planet of action, aggression and energy, in the 12h amplifies the natives ability to tap into intuitive and spiritual currents. This placement suggests that instead of being overly action-oriented in a physical way, Mars energy often works in more subtle and intuitive forms. For these individuals, the battle often happens internally-in the subconscious, in dreams, or in their connection to the spirit world.

Mars in the 12th house people often experience a sense of being guided by invisible forces, and they can be highly receptive to messages or signs from the spirit realm. This doesn't always mean they consciously hear or see spirits, but rather that they might feel guided by an internal voice or experience moments of divine timing that feel too precise to be mere coincidence. They may also experience heightened sensitivity to energy, such as a feeling of being watched, sudden shifts in mood or vivid dreams. Its not a common occurrence to hear ringing in your ears when you’re picking and feeling up on certain energies with these natives!

Since Mars 12H is a powerful subtle energy this makes spirits from the spiritual realm more attracted to them, Mars 12H natives are very assertive and felt by these spirits hence why certain spirits like to latch onto them. Its not common either to see spirits, see things move suddenly and even a spirit taking control over your body when you’re asleep. It sounds scary but don’t let this make you afraid, I once fell into this when I was around 8 or 9 when I was sleeping and a spirit had woken me up in the middle of the night and made me literally slam my face into my headboard that made the principal think I was getting hurt at home, i was always targeted by this spirit. I was the only one who could speak to it and make them do certain things like move toys and such. I didnt realize at the time I was connecting with aggresive spirits 😅 and not God. Its highly important for Mars 12H natives to strongly protect themselves when they are asleep because when you are asleep the veil between the spiritual realm and physical realm is very thin!

Mars 12H natives embody this spirtual warrior archetype, they can feel a calling to fight or stand up for spiritual causes or to protect others, but they do this in a way that is not outwardly visible to others. Mars 12H natives might actively avoid conflict when it comes to spiritual warfare or protecting their energy and their peace. They may also engage in energy work, spiritual practices, or rituals in private to protect themselves from unwanted spiritual influence. This is often done subtly or privately, as they don't always like to broadcast their spiritual strength. Their Mars energy in the 12th house can make them exceptionally good at clearing negative energy, transmuting it, and defending themselves from energetic or spiritual attacks, but they may prefer to do so behind the scenes, where others don't see it.

Mars in the 12th house natives may also experience periods of isolation or retreat, where they feel the need to withdraw from the physical world to connect with the unseen world. These moments of solitude allow them to recharge spiritually, process subconscious material, and connect with higher realms of consciousness. During these times, they may feel a deep connection with their higher self or with the spiritual beings guiding them.

When it comes to spiritual practices, these individuals are likely to have a natural talent for healing or working with energy, whether it's through prayer, meditation, crystals, or other metaphysical practices. Mars in the 12th house helps them channel life force energy in a quiet, powerful way, almost like a spiritual warrior operating in the background, quietly shifting energy around them.

Its important to watch out as a Mars 12H native what you are putting your energy into as these things will manifest almost immediately. When you decide to shift your attention to other IMPORTANT things you will often notice your energy was literally the foundation for whatever negative thing that was happening. So be Aware! You know how powerful your energy is.

This was a long post but as a Mars 12H native, I rarely see any accurate or in depth posts of Mars 12H individuals, I had to really dig into my experiences to understand this was Mars 12H influence all along.. In my opinion, Mars 12H natives deserve so much more respect for what they do because a lot of it goes unseen and for multiple reasons lol. I havent wrote in a while but I was getting a huge urge calling to post about this. If any mars 12h individuals relate to any of these experiences please let me know because I’d love to hear from you! and please be careful 💟 may god protect your divine energy, space and you ☮️

[justastraymoa]

Unwilling Alpha

Chapter 11

Warnings ⚠️ swears, abo dynamics, mentions of slave trade, mentions of rape, mentions of abuse, mentions of death, fear, manipulation.

Nothing within reflects anyone or anything irl. Pics off pinterest.

●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●

The live lasted just over 2 hours before the boys finally signed off. They had given all their announcements and answered as many questions as they could.

I noticed that no one gave me any more questions to answer. Most likely because STAYs responses upset everyone so much last time I answered a question. Still, I participated in the conversations and even asked questions of my own occasionally.

As soon as the camera was off Chan swept me off Seungmins lap and spun me, hopping little hops in his excitement. “You did so good! Ahhh!” he wiggled a bit, making my body flop side to side slightly.

“Christopher, oh my god!” I laughed loudly. Truth was I was tired and my muscles sore from my panic attack. I was ready to soak in the tub with a good book and my new phone.

“You were amazing. You handled STAY very well.” Hyunjin emphasized.

“I did okay.” I amended. Chan set me on my feet. “I did have a panic attack. Thank you for covering for me, by the way.”

“No need to thank us. Really.” Han said giving me a hug. “And you still did the live in the end, which is impressive.”

“We should celebrate.” Hyunjin declared. “Let’s go shopping!”

I scoffed, picking up my bag of electronics and turning to leave. “Shopping for what?”

“Stuff to decorate your room.”

I paused mid step. “My room?”

“Did you think we would keep that room as a guest room?” Lee Know asked.

I blinked, thrown off. I hadn’t thought about there being a ‘my room’. “Isn’t it taboo for you to be seen shopping or something? Don’t you usually shop online?”

Chan shrugged. “Not really taboo per say. It’s just more private to shop online.” He said.

“You’re talking about like Walmart or Target, right? Do you have Target here?” I really needed to learn my new home a little better. There were probably stores here I had never even heard of.

Hyunjin gave me a over the top disgusted look. “We are not going there! Are you nuts!”

“There is nothing wrong with Walmart and Target! Bougie ass.”

“He likes interior decorating. Knows all the best places.” Changbin informed proudly, slinging an arm around Hyunjins shoulders.

“My HyunBin heart is all aflutter!” I clutched my chest and swooned dramatically.

“Oh, you’re a shipper? Who do you ship? Me and Lino?” Han asked.

“Everyone. I honestly love all the ships and seeing everyone’s relationship with each other.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, everyone ships everyone. Are we shopping? I know this amazing place not too far away.” Hyunjin gushed showing me his phone where he had a very posh looking storefront pulled up. It looked like it had some truly beautiful items, but we were jumping the gun a little. And I truly was tired.

“Slow your roll. I have plenty of stuff at home.” I just had to get it shipped here is all.

His face fell into a pout. He had honestly gotten excited about decorating my room. “Okay, we can shop online for a few things tonight.” I relented. God, these boys had me wrapped around their fingers, but he perked up a bit, so it’s okay.

“Let’s get changed and get a few more hours of practice in.” Chan ushered everyone from the room.

I was happy to get out of the fancy clothes and back into my comfy ones. I stole some makeup removing wipes and threw my hair into a messy bun with a large smile on my face.

“Theres our beautiful girl!” Changbin kissed my freshly cleaned face on his way by.

My face heated. “Shush! The makeup is gone, it’s just me now.”

“Exactly!” Lee Know responded. I just rolled my eyes.

While the Omegas practiced, I worked on setting up a company to pack my stuff, ship it here or sell/donate it. At the very least I would need my clothes. Before they tried to get me to buy overpriced luxury brand clothing. Though I’m sure I would be forced to wear those too. At least when I was in the public eye.

The new tablet was a very nice one. Already loaded with my preferred editing programs and everything. The socials on all the devices were set up differently than I was used to. One, everything was in Korean. Two, I had the official check mark next to my usernames. The coveted check mark everyone seemed to want. And I got it so fast and easy. I no longer followed anyone, had any posts, or any followers. Well, all my followers were brand new I should say. Within minutes of my reveal, they started finding me. Netizens were the best online detectives out there.

I shrugged and uploaded the pictures I took earlier to pick one to post. Might as well, it was odd to have socials that were totally empty. Odder that some people decided to follow anyways.

I was careful with the photo. A group action shot of the Omegas dancing. I inspected it very carefully to make sure there was nothing bad in it. No rude gestures or things in the background or mirror reflections. Then I posted it.

Curiosity got the better of me and I went to the comment section of the recent live to see what STAY had to say about me. I braced myself, already knowing it was bad, but unable to help myself. The comments were exactly as I expected.

I closed the app. Even though I was expecting it and braced myself, it still stung. It hurt to see all the hateful things my fellow STAY said about me. I always felt a bond with other STAYs, but this felt like a betrayal. And they confirmed all my worst fears. I wasn’t good enough for Stray Kids and I was turning STAY against them.

-

It took a week for the company I hired to get my things to me. We came home late from practice to several very large boxes addressed neatly to me.

“Yay, my stuff!” I hopped and clapped in excitement. I had been impatiently waiting. I started shoving the first box towards my room.

“Does this mean we have to go back to our own rooms?” Felix asked pouting slightly as he looked at the boxes.

The Omegas have yet to spend a night in their own rooms since I left. It was something we never really talked about. And I think we all secretly dreaded the day they would be forced to sleep in a different room again. Myself included. I had grown accustomed to their comforting presences while I slept. The feeling of safety they brought.

So, I shrugged. “I’m sure I can manage to have enough room for everyone to stay.” Felix looked a little hopeful. “Hyunnie, you wanna help?”

Hyunjin and I had already bought curtains, rugs, and a couple paintings for my room. I have yet to be able to hand or put them up, but we bought them. And tomorrow they had a day off so I could get one of them to help me if we don’t get it finished tonight.

Hyun started pushing another box. The two of us spent the next several hours setting things up in my room and putting away everything.

He got a good kick out of the boxes of carefully packed Stray Kids merch he found. “Oh my god! You have an entire wardrobe for every Skzoo!” He held up my Jiniret and made it wiggle.

I sucked my teeth and snatched Jiniret back. “Don’t tease! You know I was a fan before all this happened.” I pouted and petted Jinirets head.

“Aww, I’m sorry!” Hyunjin pulled me to his chest and rubbed my back. “Don’t pout. I was only kidding around. I won’t do it again.”

True to his word, he didn’t tease while hanging my numerous Stray Kids shirts. Though I did catch him smirking to himself multiple times.

The others came and went. Helping to hand some shelves and my macrame ceiling swing. By the time it was time for bed, everyone being exhausted, the only things left to do were to hang my curtains and build my desk. And Hyun had fun interior decorating my room with me. Brutally honest but had a good eye.

And though it was a bit more cramped, the boys were still able to make up their beds to stay with me for the night. I was happy about that, truthfully a little scared to sleep alone again.

-

For the first time since bonding with Stray Kids, I was allowed to sleep in and wake up naturally. The boys were already awake and enjoying their day off. I could hear the TV going in the living room through my open door. Hannie was laying on his stomach next to me on the bed, reading quietly. Felix was on one of the makeshift beds nearby playing his game system, Changbin also nearby on his laptop.

“Morning. Coffees in the kitchen.” Felix greeted half distracted.

I hummed in thanks and reached out to ruffle his hair. He leaned into my touch, eyes never leaving the screen his game was on.

With a stretch, I got started with the day. There were things that needed to be done today, while I had the time. My desk and curtains needed to be built and hung, and I needed to go through my clothes with the others to find suitable stuff to pack for the tour. My day off was full of things that needed to get done.

My stacking the makeshift beds out of the way chased the 3 Omegas from the room, who didn’t want to get roped into helping clean and were sick of being told to move so I could continue my task.

Hyun, Chan, Lee Know, and Seungmin were watching TV in the living room while multitasking. Hyun was drawing on his nails with Chan. Lee Know was on his phone, absorbed in whatever it was he was doing. And Seungmin was plucking at his guitar and writing in a notebook laying on the cushion beside him occasionally.

Han had gone to his room to continue to read, Felix had started a game with I.N, and Changbin now sat at the table, still working on his laptop.

“Can any of you take a moment to help me with my curtains?” I asked the apartment in general.

“My nails are still wet. Later?” Hyun replied wagging his fingers at me. Chan did the same to demonstrate that his were also wet.

“Let me just finish this. I’m onto something.” Seungmin mumbled while writing.

Changbin reached out and squeezed my hand. “I really need to catch up on this, sweetie. Maybe in a little bit when I finish.”

“After this round!” I.N called for both him and Felix.

Han and Lee Know didn’t even answer me. Too absorbed in what they were doing to even hear me.

I shrugged and sighed. This was their day off; they should spend it how they wanted. It was unfair of me to ask at all. They have been working extremely hard and deserved a break. I could do this on my own. It wasn’t rocket science.

That being said, the directions to build my desk might as well be in hieroglyphics. I sat surrounded by desk pieces. No idea where to even begin. This might be harder than rocket science. This might be impossible.

For my own sanity and to soothe my Omegas I took breaks often to check in with them. Running a hand along their back or fingers through their hair to reestablish and reinforce our connection.

It took 3 hours, but eventually I stood facing a built desk proudly, hands on my hips. I took the next half hour to set up my desk. Using decorating as a reward for a job well done. I loved setting up my cute, cozy workspaces with my favorite things. Making this little space a place I wanted to work at.

When I went out to see everyone again, I noticed they were still busy enjoying their day. The gaming had migrated to the living room where Hyunjin and Seungmin had joined in, playing multiplayer. Han had finished his book and joined Changbin on his laptop, discussing quietly amongst themselves. The others were spread around watching the game or on their phones. I wasn’t going to interrupt them to ask for help again. It was just hanging curtains; I could do it myself.

I stole a dinning chair to stand on. If I placed the chair in the middle of the window, I should be able to reach both ends without needing to climb on and off the chair a dozen times. And I should be able to tell if they were straight from there too. I put together an entire desk, surely, I can hang some curtains.

The window was wider than I originally thought, and I really had to stretch to reach the top edges in order to put up the curtain rod. It was tricky getting the nails in at the odd angle and the chair wobbled under my feet, but I was cautious.

One side complete I marked the other and leaned back to check if it was even. Last thing I needed was uneven curtains to bother the hell out of me every time I saw them.

It was good I checked too because the second side was a good 2 inches lower than the first side. I adjusted my markings and shifted back to check them again, more confident in this placement.

There was a moment of pure fear as my calves hit the back of the chair unexpectedly, and I windmilled my arms to try and keep my balance with no luck. I gasped and braced as I flipped over the back of the chair and landed on my upper back and hit my head. Landing right on my box fan. I heard the telltale snaps of plastic before everything went black and peaceful. (A/N: safety first! When using a chair to stand on, make sure the back is facing the wall/in front of you, so this does not happen!)

○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●

General Taglist @stellasays45

Unwilling Alpha Taglist: @xxeiraxx @hanniemylovelyquokka @breadedloafs @songleepark @f1ln4dr3cl16mv33 @hyunjinhoexxx @kayleefriedchicken @vietjeb @hityoulikebahng @juju-227592 @ionlyeverwantedtobeyourequal @royal-shinigami @bangchansfavoritenoona @straykidslvr @bookswillfindyouaway @h0rnyp0t @Svmmerstime @jennibahng @kpopandmusicpassion @jasmin-loves-k-pop @cookey-lock @possum-playground @demigoddreamon-blog @rei-reia @dreamerwasfound @jasmin-loves-k-pop @ms-flowergirl @princess-sunshyn @technicallyimportantsweets

[ms-demeanor]

I've been going through the stuff my cousin left here (almost an entire bedroom's worth of stuff when she initially moved but we've managed to sell the crib and changing table and she gave a stroller and a playpen to friends) when she moved out a year ago; I'm posting a bunch of it online to sell and she says I can keep whatever I want from the pile. We are tremendously differently sized people but I don't think I'm going to need to buy a dress or a shirt or a cardigan for like ten years.

However I'm also going slightly insane. I think that I had intellectually understood that a huge part of fast fashion is people buying a ton of clothes that they don't wear more than a couple times but I didn't emotionally grok it until I filled five huge trash bags with all the stuff that wouldn't even be worth it to list but is still brand new (stuff like leggings and tee shirts that nobody is looking for on craigslist but that I would totally buy at a thrift store and that still has the original tags).

I haven't even started working on the toys left behind yet but I have no idea what to do with some of this stuff. It's just trash. Is there anything to do with stuff like happy meal toys and bouncy balls or should this all just go to the landfill? I feel horribly guilty for thinking about throwing away stuff that wasn't even mine. Does anyone have any advice about what to do with used crappy toys? (There are things like racetracks and those little toddler push cars and other stuff that we're either listing online or having a yard sale for, but I'm going nuts what do I do with a plastic knotts berry farm lunchbox full of coin machine toys?)

[i can't say anything about the clothes but in my cousin's defense about the toys she has asked all of the family to literally never give her children toys or clothes as gifts, only books, but their grandmother brings them over brand new toys every time she sees them, which is like four times a week so this isn't 100% my cousin's fault]

[newtonsheffield]

“this is not his real number not his real number”

“hello is this my number one fan?”

“omg”

Kate would die when she realizes it’s his real number and will have to answer yes to all of her dad’s questions

Kate genuinely expected to be contacting his people when she finally got up the courage to call him the next day.

“Is this my number one fan?”

His voice was rich and deep and prickled down her spine and her lips parted in surprise before she cleared her throat. “Is that how you always answer the phone?”

“Obviously.” He laughed, “And usually it’s my mum so I’m dead on.”

Why was he so charming? Why?

“You um… took a pretty big swing putting your phone number on a bat. I could sell this on eBay or post it online and you’d be bombarded.”

“Sometimes you have to take a swing. The question is: Did I miss?”

“You didn’t miss.”

“And if I asked you to come and watch again tonight?”

Kate’s stomach lurched, “I would tell you that I need to start paying you for the tickets. And I’d have to bring my sister because she’s seen us all over social media and won’t leave me alone.”

“You can pay me by having a drink with me after.”

Kate’s stomach twisted, “Okay but your ego will have to survive the fact that I won’t be wearing your jersey. It’s in the wash.”

“Ah, deal’s off then.” Anthony tutted before he laughed, “The tickets are already waiting for you. I’ll see you tonight!”

She arrives a little later that night, still a little sure nothing would be waiting for her and Edwina trailing behind, already with a snack in her hand.

“God, I forgot how much I loved baseball food”

“We aren’t even inside yet. It’s… semi baseball food at best.” Kate rolled her eyes as she approached the desk smiling awkwardly at the same woman. “I might have some tickets again? Kate Sharma.”

The woman didn’t look through the system this time, but she smiled curiously, sliding an envelope across the counter. “Mr Bridgerton would also like you to have this.”

The woman passed Kate a bag, branded with the team logo. Kate peered inside even though she already knew what it would be, Anthony’s number and signature staring back at her against the blue pinstripes. She plucked the note out of the top of the bag.

Something else for you to sell on eBay.

Wave to me if you recognise me.

Anthony

“Jesus he’s fucking smooth.”

[starrysharks]

these questions are pretty similar so i'll answer both at once.

to buy from a chinese indie brand, you need two things: the brand's taobao link and a proxy site account. taobao is a chinese storefront (?) that most of these stores are hosted on. there are plenty of western stores online that also carry taobao brand clothing - like arcana archive, glitch cupids, and pixie rebels - but i would recommend just getting your stuff from a proxy as those stores often up the prices of the clothes.

note that it can be a bit of a struggle to get the taobao link of a store, especially if you don't have an account (which is notoriously difficult to get these days), but i did find some link lists! (mostly lolita stuff as that's what taobao is most popular for among alt fashionistas ^_^)

some other brands that i recommend -

eyeelike - y2k inspired, though their stock is usually very limited. sizes up to UK 10-12 (L) i believe

link (lemme know if it's broken):

frufru - bright, colorful, sorta harajuku-esque! i heavily recommend their star messenger bags, been wanting to get one of my own for a while ^_^

link

and hbreaker - a more visual kei sort of thing! more edgy than the other two stores, but i'm yet to check it out properly

link

so, now that you have the link, you need a proxy site. this is so that you can send the clothes over from china to your own country. in the past, i would've recommended pandabuy, but it died a few months ago due to illegal replica selling. for that, i'd recommend avoiding proxies that allow replicas, because they might go under while you're trying to get clothes shipped. (that happened to me T_T)

some that are reliable are:

sugargoo

superbuy

spreenow

now all you do is use the search bar (make sure it's on the "shop" mode rather than "product"), and plug in the link to the shop you want to buy from, and it should be the first result. get all your clothes, and now all you have to do is have them shipped out! shipping usually costs a lot (£20+ from my experience) and if you're buying a haul, it can be over £200 for just 4-6 items, so i'd recommend only buying stuff you KNOW you're going to wear often and enjoy. shipping should only take 2-3 weeks (at least in my experience - i live in the UK, it might take more time in the US.) and boom! now you can dress like those cool girls on xiaohongshu!

there are also two western stores i'd like to go over that have similar clothes - sixth dimension and minga london.

sixth dimension has many good qualities - they have more inclusive sizing (up to UK XL), reasonable prices based on their quality, and they restock and do sales often. i heavily recommend them if you can't afford the high shipping prices or if the sizing is too limited for you!

unfortunately, i have less nice things to say about minga london. they're highly extortionate in terms of pricing - i've seen shein quality cardigans sold for upwards of £70, for example. they do drops often, and have been accused of fast fashion but i'm not sure if that's legit or not. they've also stolen designs in the past. however, they do have inclusive sizing, up to XXXL. i'd recommend only buying from them if they're doing a sale, or if you literally have no other choice.

now regarding fruits mag - unfortunately, you can't buy from them. fruits mag is a japanese magazine that went over a variety of different street styles, so if you want to buy from fruits, you'd have to buy from the brands that the people in the magazines are wearing. as fruits was most popular in the 2000s, most of those brands are defunct...however, i do have some recommendations for japanese alternative brands!

alice and the pirates - popular lolita fashion. pretty good sizing i think, and they do worldwide shipping too iirc.

baby the stars shine bright - same as aatp, but more "cutesy".

acdc rag - yami kawaii type clothes with inclusive sizing.

dearmylove - jirai kei/dark girly clothing and beautiful shoes. inclusive sizing, i'm pretty sure they have a full plus size range! also collabed with needy streamer overdose lol

liz lisa - lolita/mori kei/girly styles and pretty coats. quite expensive tho...

moi-meme-moitie - the brand of malice mizer's guitarist mana-sama! gothic lolita. i'm not sure about sizing or prices.

6%dokidoki - yume kawaii and decora style. very colorful! i'm not sure about sizing.

angel blue - japanese kids clothing, usually worn in general kawaii and jojifuku styles. as it's for kids, the sizing is NOT inclusive at all, UK size S-M at the most from what i've seen. usually you can only find resellers on depop, but the pricing usually isn't horrible.

other than brands, i'd recommend looking for clothes thrifting on and offline (hit big city thrift stores for better chances of alt clothing), buying accessories from verified etsy sellers, and just looking around the house for anything you can turn into an accessory or part of an outfit! i hope this post helps you though!

[cyborg-franky]

Shopping Trip With One Piece Characters

Part of a trade with the awesome @softcenteregg

Doffy - The very definition of “Get in loser, we’re going shopping!”

Has money but you will have to pay for him all day when it comes to lunch and drinks.

Will be sitting at a restaurant at 11 am with a cocktail as he tells you about his week, regardless of if you asked or not.

Checks out the mall hotties.

Laughs when people open push/pull doors wrong.

Always has a cocktail or a Starbucks clutched in one hand, waving his credit card around in the other hand.

Rude to salespeople.

You will be dragged through the mall for hours because he needs to go into every designer shop he can and try on at least seventeen pairs of $400 sunglasses or he’ll die.

Will be the most overdressed person in the area,

When your having lunch with him and he sees someone he doesn’t like, he will be like “Oh hey! Been so long since we hung out, should do it again soon!” then soon as they're gone he’s dishing the dirt.

Also, you will carry his bags, thx.

Roger

Makes you wish you could get those reigns for kids but in adult sizes.

In fact, the entire trip is like taking a child out for his birthday.

Ever seen a huge bearded man grinning in pure glee at the new limited edition Build a Bear products? Ever seen one make like 12?

Do yourself a favor and limit his booze and sugar intake.

Is confused he can’t do a pub crawl in a mall.

Buys alot of those ‘alcoholic chocolates’ by the box load in an attempt to get a nice buzz going.

Thrift shopping but he will try on everything he can.

Does not know how to dress but does it with style, oddly enough.

You won’t get a chance to sit down or rest unless it’s dinner time.

At least he’ll sleep well tonight.

Kid

Hit’s all the stores that sell music and band merch.

Will snort at people who buy things he doesn’t like.

Throws around words like ‘poser’ and judges everyone.

The kinda metal kid who hangs out at the mall with all the wallet chains looking like their parents grounded them, but in their late 20s.

Will spend hours looking for CDs and just say he’s too broke and he’ll download it online anyway.

Walks around the mall trying to find the right shade of lipstick with Killer, both their arms and hands are covered in testers before they both just get more black nail varnish and the same shade they always buy.

Has a reusable plastic cup that's full of jack and coke. 

Taunts mall cops.

Killer

Imagine all of the above but he also spends alot of time looking at fancy new cook wear.

Will spend nothing on food all day but will drop $90 on a brand new crockpot or air fryer for the kitchen.

Very metal of him.

Thatch

Thatch is fun to go with.

Treats you, buys the coffee and lunch.

Is happy to do whatever you want as long as he gets to check out homeware sections while you look at your things.

You will never lose him behind shelves because you can always see his hair.

Like Jaws but with hair and ozone layer murdering levels of hairspray.

Will flirt with staff, will get talking to them for far too long, and hold up the line.

The type of person who has alot of change and makes it a personal challenge to count out change exactly.

Will carry your bags though, he’s a good boy.

Bit judgey on eatery places pastries.

Shanks

I hope you enjoy getting nowhere because when you're at a mall with Shanks or out and about in town you will be stopping every ten steps because someone recognises him and comes over and chats.

Has no concept of how long he’s been talking.

Is the type to have a pint with breakfast or brunch when you guys hang out.

Sale on ugly pants? He’d push you down to get there first.

Always texting the gang when he’s out.

Lol Benn guess what, I saw Buggy and he was with that guy, you know, the one with the hook, lol lol

Will drop Uta off at the mall kids' soft play area even though she’s 18 and still forget to pick her up before leaving.

Ace

Low key baits mall cops by loitering around and looking like an issue but has no intention of being an issue.

Might skateboard inside the mall.

Poses with ‘no skateboard’ signs.

Hopefully, there isn't an arcade in the mall because if you had any intention of getting things done today, that won’t happen now.

Hungry every 20 minutes and has to grab snacks.

100% the kinda friend/boyfriend who sits on the seats outside the changing rooms holding all the bags and groaning, acting like it’s the worst thing in the world.

Is one of those people who opens push/pull doors wrong.

Marco

After taking five minutes to park correctly he’s happy to go with the flow. 

Likes to have a coffee and a people watch with you, chatty and social.

But he will drag you to shoe stores and you will be sat there for ages as he tries on every strappy sandal in the place, walking up and down and asking you what you think.

“I like this one but I don’t know if it makes me too tall yoi.” while you can’t for the life of you tell the difference between that pair and the last 40.

If you meet him at the mall he might be late, very much the shows up 20 minutes late with Starbucks.

Has a tendency to wander off in shops and you spend half your time looking for him.

Doesn’t give a warning when entering a shop if something shiny caught his bird brain.

Benn

He hates the mall.

Imagine a dad who has to take his teenage daughter clothes shopping and that’d basically be him with Shanks.

Benn is a very ‘I know what I am here for’ in and out kind of person but he doesn’t mind going to other places with you.

Ignores staff-only signs when he knows there is a smoking area on the other side of that door.

Is the person to remind you of the ‘insert thing here we have at home’ and is a shop sensible person, though he won't say anything if you do buy another T-shirt that looks exactly like the one you already have.

Pretends to be annoyed at carrying the shopping, but he offered and he likes to help you out.

If you complain about your feet hurting he’ll helpfully tell you he told you to wear your other shoes.

Sabo and Luffy

Banned

Both have their pictures up in the security office.

Sabo for giving the mall cops the finger, graffiti, and shoplifting.

Luffy peed in the fountain and kept stealing pick-n-mix.

[white-cat-of-doom]

Another White Cat Giveaway!

In honour of me hitting 500 followers here earlier this month and opening night in Shizuoka today, and after a bit of organization of my merchandise ‘archives’ once more, I have some 'Secret' Charms to give away, along with my signature extra, a sealed highlights CD from the 2019 movie!

The winner will get three (3) charms picked at random from a blind bag of my extras, which include:

Carbucketty

Cassandra

Gilbert

Growltiger

Jellylorum (you know you want her)

Mungojerrie

Old Deuteronomy

Victoria

All of them are brand new with the folding card-backed display, and were only opened to determine which character they were. See photos of them below, along with what a typical full presentation looks like in the form of Victoria.

RULES (Please read these carefully and follow them):

1. Entries will open today and will close end of day (EST) July 24th - in one week. You can enter at any time between now and then, but anything after than date will not be counted.

2. Please only ONE entry per person. When you reblog THIS post, you will be assigned a random number, and the receiver will be picked by a random generator to make it fair for everyone. Likes do not count as entries. Multiple reblogs will result in disqualification. I want everything to be as fair as possible!

3. It will be free shipping within North America to receive your prize. This giveaway is open to individuals overseas as well, but I may ask for half of any shipping charges, as they can get expensive. This is especially true if you want to ensure delivery! Tracking is not cheap unfortunately and worldwide mail delivery can be very slow if not sent by air. Any import fees are not controlled by me, so please keep that in mind, even if marked as a gift.

4. You must be comfortable with providing me with shipping information. Rest assured you will be providing me this information in confidence and I will not share it with anyone. If you are not comfortable sharing this information, please do not enter as I will not be able to send it to you.

A winner will be selected on the morning of July 25th, and they will receive a message indicating that The Everlasting Cat blessed them with a prize. It will be publicly announced as well. I will ship them out to you within one or two days and will give an update once that happens.

I have been selling items online for more than nine years now, and I do my absolute best to have my packages arrive safely. While I would feel terrible if the package becomes lost, without tracking I cannot do anything except say sorry.

Good luck to everyone who enters!

[aspec-mafia-official]

"If it's normal, then why do you need to celebrate it?"

The above quote is something I've seen many times as a "gotcha" for queer folk trying to celebrate pride month, and also as a genuine question from uninformed allocishets. I have personally received this question multiple times both as an act of aphobia and genuine confusion. So, why is pride necessary (aspec edition!)?

As an asexual and aromantic person, I very rarely see people like me in the real world and in media. In fact, just now I can think of maybe five canonically asexual characters, and two canonically aromantic ones (both of them, by the way, are also asexual. We need aroallo rep as well!!!) When it comes to real life, I know 2 other asexuals, with myself being the only aromantic. (Of course this is excluding people I've only interacted with online, if I included them the numbers would be much higher.)

That lack of representation means that many aspecs feel outcast growing up, knowing there's something "wrong" or "broken" about them (there is NOT, for the record) but being unable to pinpoint why. I was one of the lucky ones who had chronically online and queer friends from an early age who introduced me to the terms many years before I ended up discovering myself, but that is far from the norm.

We also very rarely see aspec flags in pride merch! Even during pride month, I find myself having to scour the stalls for anything asexual, let alone aromantic or even aroace (and if you're somewhere more nuanced on either spectrum, just forget it. Demis might get lucky occasionally (and of course demisexual is more common than demiromantic in my experience), but everything else is nothing.) In fact, there have been times where I saw very niche microlabel flags I didn't even know the name of, but not one aspec flag!

I will never forget the year I went to a pride parade and there was a stall selling flag jewelry. They had a bunch of flags, including asexual and aromantic (the latter of which I bought). I was naturally extremely excited, and the person working the register gave me a business card and a paper with an etsy discount code (unfortunately I lost it so I can't tell you the brand, sorry!!) Later I was passing a group and overheard someone lamenting to their friends about the lack of asexual related anything. I instantly stopped them, directed them to the stall, and gave them the etsy code paper (not really on purpose it was just the closest one in my bag but I figured they would get more use out of it anyways). The look of pure joy on that person's face will never leave my brain. I thought they might cry in front of me at the idea of someone representing their identity at a massive event.

This is why pride is so important. Seeing yourself represented and being told in no uncertain terms that you aren't alone means more than could ever be described, though I hope I managed to do it some form of justice <2

Happy pride, everyone!

[wooahaeruby]

Chapter 22: Crazy In Love

Chapter Word Count: 4,358

Anything in Bold Italics are Korean/Another language.

Master List | Prev | Next

Did Jihoon lie to Ruby when he said he was going to hang out with Seungcheol? No. Not exactly.

He was going to hang out with Seungcheol, they were going to go to the gym together then get some food since Ruby would be caught up in online meetings all day since their grandparents were being picked up from the airport the following morning. He walked into the office-guest room and said he was going out with Cheol for the day to work out and eat. They gave him a kiss and asked that he just texted them if he’d be home for dinner. 

What he didn’t tell them was that he was going to sit down with Seungcheol and have a very serious conversation that has been eating at his brain for the last couple weeks since Christmas. They stayed up until midnight. Ruby was buzzing with excitement, saying it was a tradition in her family to open gifts at midnight, which he was gladly ready to indulge them with. 

Thinking back had his heart fluttering. 

When the clock struck the first seconds of Christmas, Ruby ran to the second bedroom and returned to the living room with a few wrapped gifts and a gift bag. He had taken the liberty to take the gifts he had all wrapped up in his duffle bag and pulled the bag over beside the couch. Jihoon wasn’t…the best at wrapping gifts so a few days prior he managed to get to Joshua’s room and begged him to help wrap everything. The latter was glad to help, showing him how to wrap and tape things up before sending Jihoon on his way. 

Ruby pushed him to open his gifts first, wrapping themselves up in a blanket and hugging their knees, watching with bright, child-like wonder. He swore there were stars in their eyes. 

Jihoon went for the smallest of the gifts first, wrapped in shiny silver paper with a red bow stuck to the side of it. He was careful to peel the paper apart but Ruby made a sound of annoyance and he rolled his eyes, smiling as he tore the paper off. It took him a moment to process what he was looking at, but when he did, he let out a sound of amazement. Jihoon knew he had mentioned to them once prior that he was looking for a specific box set for an older anime he really liked. All the websites he found were selling it for an outrageous amount so he wasn’t interested but… 

“ Where did you find this?” He was quick to flip around in his hands, eyes wide as he read over the Japanese characters. 

“ When a few of us went to Harajuku and you stayed back since you were tired. It saw it on display and I knew you wanted it so I had Hannie hide it for me.” 

“ How much was it, it was so expensive-” 

“ Don’t worry about it.” Ruby waved him off, motioning towards the other gifts. 

With him starting from the smallest, Jihoon grabbed the next up in size gift, quite large in reality, wrapped in red paper with a black bow. Much like the first, he wanted to unwrap it carefully, but to make them happy, he tore it off, stopping dead in his tracks at the label that stared back at him. It was a recording mic, another item he had been looking at for a while but decided not to get since his current one was still working just fine and was of similar quality. 

The mic before him was the same brand, just the newer, more expensive model. It had been sitting in his wishlist for so long because he wanted to justify the purchase with his old one breaking, a sale, or something. He slowly finished removing all the wrapping paper and looked between the gift and Ruby who was grinning at him from ear to ear and the bond swelled with happiness. 

“ Do you like it?” They whispered so quiet he could barely hear it. 

He gave a gentle nod. “ I- Yeah.” He nodded once more, laying his hands flat on the box and looking over the pictures on the box. “ How the hell did you hide this?” 

“Shua’s room.” Ruby snickered. “ It wasn’t too hard to convince him.”

“I love it.” Jihoon let a smile spread on his lips, “ Thank you.” 

They pushed the much larger wrapped box towards him and the gift bag. It left a decent dip in the cushion which had him cocking his eyebrow before reaching for it. 

When he went to lift it, he was surprised at the weight that he was met with. For someone who didn’t work out regularly, it would be heavy, at least nine kilograms if he had to guess when he lifted it into his lap. 

“ Why is it so heavy-” He chuckled, starting to pull off the black wrapping paper, laughing even louder at the gift. “ Really? A weighted blanket?” 

“You said you wanted one for the studio! Plus it helps with my anxiety and I know you get anxious even when you lie about it!” Ruby pointed to the weight of it. “ Nine kilograms. Think you can handle that, beef cake?” 

“ I think I can handle it perfectly.” 

“Good because I got one for myself so now you can use one at the studio on the couch and one here when you are with me.” 

Jihoon placed the blanket aside, eyeing Ruby. “ Did you take Mingyu with you to carry it?” 

“Oh god no, he can’t keep a secret to save his life.” 

“Yeah… He has never been able to.” 

Ruby reached over and pushed the gift bag closer towards him, “ This one was more of a joke but it turned out too good.” 

“ A joke?” He started to pull the tissue paper out and tossed them down to the floor. Reaching in his grabbed a handful of the fabric and pulled it out, “ It’s a sweatshirt-”

As the black garment unfolded and he was met with the embroidered pattern, he sighed but was failing to hold back the smile. From beside the sweatshirt he held up, he saw Ruby grinning wide, eyes scanning over his face. 

“ A red panda.” 

Jihoon didn’t know what else to say as he took in the visuals. It was a red panda, sitting in a computer chair that looks a lot like his in his studio with a computer set up that looks almost exactly like his… Even the clutter on his desk. There were empty red cans on the ‘floor’ surrounding the creature and the lyrics from his song, ‘This is Red Too’ embroidered in red above it all. When he looked over the lettering, the ‘I’ was dotted with a red diamond and fourteen little stars littered above it all. 

“ Hyeji helped me get one of the GoSe visual artists to draw it all out then I had it commissioned by someone Jamie knows.” 

“Are the stars-” 

“Twelve for the guys, one for you, and one for me.” 

He laid the sweatshirt flat on his lap, letting his fingers run over the colorful threads, taking in all the details. Each star zigzagged up and down, colors seeming to be in age order if he had to guess. The first star was a light blue color, the new two white, which he assumed was 95 line due to their microphone colors. The next four were silver, an army green, another silver, then sparkly red, representing 96 line. For 97 line, he saw another white star, a glittery black threaded one, then another red star, followed behind by a silver star. For the last three, there was a white, black, then silver star. All fourteen accounted for. 

“ I know it’s silly, but I thought it would be cute-” 

“I love it, Ruby-ah.” He cut them off, not realizing there were tears welling in his eyes until one rolled down his cheek. “ Shit- Why am I crying- This is dumb.” 

Jihoon wiped his tears away, laughing to himself as Ruby reached out and pulled his hands away from his face. He felt so stupid for crying, he didn’t even know what exactly he was crying at. The bond fluttered and buzzed with worry but he held tightly on their hands, giving a wobbly smile to Ruby. 

“ Ruby-ah,” Jihoon cleared his throat and shook his head. “ My love, thank you. All of this…Thank you.” 

“Anything for you,” Ruby ran their thumbs over his knuckles, bringing both of his hands up to kiss them. “ You are my soulmate after all.” 

“ You need to open your presents.” He cleared his throat again, not bothering to move as they laced their fingers together, feeling the bond's warmth spread through his limbs, easing his soul. “ They won’t be as good as yours but…” 

“I’m sure they will be perfect, Jihoonie.” 

Slipping his hands out from theirs and reaching into the bag, Jihoon looked over the differently wrapped presents and pulled the first one out. He placed it before them, knowing he had an order in which he wanted to give them. 

Ruby reached out quickly and tore the paper off the box, the bond humming with excitement. He watched their expression change from excited to surprise, gripping the box with both hands. It was a pair of highly rated noise canceling headphones. Ruby’s old pair were from their time in college and one side didn’t work anymore. With work and traveling, they haven’t been able to get a new pair so he took it upon himself. 

“ Wah, this is great.” They flipped the box over, brushing all the wrapping paper to the floor and smiling ear to ear. “ Thank you.” 

Jihoon gave a hum, pulling the next present from the bag. It was a decent bit larger, and he handled it with care as he placed it in their lap. “ Careful with this one.” 

“Careful? So if I shake it-” Ruby grabbed it with both hands but he panicked and grabbed their wrists. 

“ Do not-” 

“I’m kidding~” They laughed, he glared, but they were slow to wrap it and pulled the unmarked box out. 

Curious eyes met his but he nodded towards it for them to continue. Gently, Ruby opened the box and lifted the lid, gasping quietly at the contents. The gift was a suggestion from Minghao when he was making a list of ideas, a porcelain tea set. Ruby had loved when the two had tea and said something about normal tea not tasting the same since. He had a few options of color, but the warm, terracotta color of the twelve piece set seemed the best choice for Ruby. 

Reaching into the box, Ruby lifted the kettle to run the tips of their fingers over the glazed clay. They placed it back in its designated space before closing the lid.

“ Did Minghao-ah help?” 

Jihoon cringed, “ Is it that obvious?” 

“It’s a traditional tea set, it’s easy to guess.” Ruby gently placed the box on the couch behind them, shimmying back and forth in their seat. “ Now I can make tea for both of us and Minghao-ah and it will taste even better.”

“You can’t get mad at me for this one, okay?” Jihoon reached into his bag and pulled out a thin box wrapped in dark blue and silver striped paper. “ Promise me.”

Raising an eyebrow, Ruby nodded, pursing their lips. “ I don’t trust that but…I promise.”

He handed them the box, only two more left in his bag. “ I’m serious.” 

“I know, it’s kinda cute.” They ripped the wrapping paper off and froze. “ Jihoonie…” 

“You promised you wouldn’t be mad!” He exclaimed, feeling the annoyance budding in the bond. 

“ This is a brand new laptop, Jihoonie.” 

“You. Promised. You. Wouldn’t. Be. Mad.” He punctuated every word with a gentle slap to his leg. 

“ I promised before I saw what it was.” 

“You already promised, can’t take it back.” 

Ruby drummed their fingers over the box, their eyes narrowing into a glare. 

“ Your laptop has been having issues since it’s getting old, you were complaining so I got you a new one, as a present, so you can’t get mad at me.” 

They scoffed and continued to glare at him. “ Is that your argument?” 

“Yes.” He gave a firm nod, crossing his arms over his chest and squared his shoulders. 

Both of them held eye contact before Ruby deflated and pouted. “ Thank you, Jihoonie.. I’m still mad at you.” 

“No you aren’t.” Jihoon reached down and pulled out the last two gifts. One was a thin, small box that could be held easily in one hand while the other was quite thick and rectangular which he kept in his lap for the time being. He handed the small box first. 

With speed, Ruby shredded the simple snowflake patterned paper off, only to giggle and hold the small package with both hands. “ I’m going to use this every day!” 

He laughed, shoulders shaking and a stupid smile on his face. “ That’s why I got it. It will keep your coffee, tea, or whatever warm since you always complain about it being cold.” 

They were already opening the box and their expression went from smiles to a heavy eye roll. “ I’m not even surprised you got the mug warmer in red.” 

He was trying to hide the smirk threatening to spread on his lips. “ To remember me.” 

“ Ew, vomit, stop.” They fake gagged and fell into the back cushions of the couch. “Cheesy.” 

“ Then you’ll hate this.” Taking the gift from his lap, he let them take the gift, looking it over. “ This is a two part gift, and a team effort.”

“Team effort?” 

“Open it and you will see.” 

The last gift was one that really was a team effort and one of the hardest to put together without Ruby finding out or someone else spilling the beans on accident. Mingyu and Soonyoung were the biggest offenders of that so both had to stay on a strict, limited information diet. Since the break the month prior before The Dome Tour, he gathered the guys when Ruby wasn’t around and they were gladly willing to help put the gift together. 

Ruby successfully unwrapped the gift and stared down at it with curiosity, taking in the cream colored bound binder with a picture cut out of the first team picture Ruby was featured on the front. They snickered before opening the first page and the bond bursted with amazement. 

On the first page was the candid photo from the airplane tarmac back in September. Jihoon had their suitcase in his hand, standing like a ‘gremlin’ (Soonyoung called him that when he sent the picture over) and smiling like an idiot while Ruby looked so done with him. He remembered the day fondly, loving how Ruby was slowly becoming a part of his proper family and starting the unknown chapter in the newly shared life they now had. 

The second page was pictures from the time in New York with Maknae line, a rag-tag collage of the pictures and little notes Seungkwan, Dino, and Vernon wrote. They were buzzing with delight and they continued to flip the pages. Selfies with the guys, shots that photography staff captured between them but couldn’t be posted, and plenty of candid shots from him. He even…wrote out some little notes and lyrics he thought of that couldn’t make it into a song but he wanted Ruby to hear. Page after page was something that made the contentment in their soul grow until they got to the end of the first book and pulled out the second one below it. 

“ The second one is empty.” He stated, watching them open to the first blank page. “ I thought…With all the changes going on, the ungodly amount of pictures everyone takes, and other little things… We could fill the second book with pictures, notes, whatever it will be of our life…together.”

“That sounds…” Their voice sounded a little choked up, lifting their eyes from the scrapbooks to tearfully meet his own. They were smiling, albeit wobbly, and hugged the first book to their chest. “ Amazing. Absolutely amazing. We can fill it together, every step of the way.” 

“ Come here.” Jihoon opened his arms, watching them quickly place the books aside and practically dove into his arms until his back let the arm rest and he let out an ‘oomph-’. “ We can document all our memories. All the pictures we take. Everything.” 

Ruby pushed back his hair, placing a gentle kiss to his lips, and he melted into the little message to his scalp. “ Merry Christmas, Jihoonie.” 

“Merry Christmas, my love.”

“ You work out too hard when something is on your mind, don’t hurt yourself.” Seungcheol grabbed the bar Jihoon was bench pressing, racking it back up on its stand. 

Jihoon let out a huff, sitting up and running a hand through his hair. “ Ah- I’m fine, I’m just a little distracted.” 

With a shake of his head, Seungcheol patted him on the shoulder and went to grab his bag. “Distracted gets you hurt, let’s call it a day.” 

“ Hyung- We’ve barely started.” 

“ And you can take one day off with your seven day workout schedule. Plus I’m hungry and you promised me food.” 

“Can we eat in the studio?” Jihoon asked almost nervously and Cheol nodded. 

“ Totally, but I’m picking the food.” 

A shower in the changing room and the trek to his studio not an hour later had them sitting on the couch with boxes of Thai takeout. Conversation over food was mainly about the new BooSeokSoon song and the video recording, some ideas for the very new Album being released in April, and Caratland. Meetings for the infamous concerts/fan meetings would be starting soon to get the ball rolling for the weekend-long event. 2023 only just started and things were going to be long and tiring coming in the next couple weeks. 

“ Mmmm, alright.” Seungcheol dropped his empty take out container on the small coffee table, kicking his slides off and curling his legs up under the weighted blanket Jihoon got for Christmas. “ Tell me what’s on your mind. I know you too well to not see the cogs turning inside your head.” 

Jihoon rubbed his hands together nervously, letting his eyes gaze around the room as he mulled over his words. “ I-” He started, swallowing down the lump in his throat. “ I got something- I want to do something but I want your opinion on it.” 

Quickly he stood and went over to his desk, reached behind the monitors and pulled out a jewelry pouch and a small ring box before shuffling back. Seungcheol had an inquisitive look in his eye but kept his face neutral. Each of the members had a ring box like this, it held their group rings that were given every new full length album. 

“ It’s been on my mind for a while. I bit the bullet after the new year’s event and got a necklace but then I internally panicked because I didn’t know if it was a good idea so I asked you if we could hang out-” 

“Wah, Jihoon-ah.” Seungcheol chuckled quietly, “ I’ve never heard you ramble this much before. Start from the beginning.” 

Jihoon swallowed that lump again, looking down at the pouch and pulling out the simple silver chain he had bought. “ I…Love Ruby-ah. I feel like I haven’t shown that enough but they are always caring for me and supporting me. Everyone knows how much the group rings mean to us, it’s our connection, and I wanted to…give some to them to wear on a necklace. As a symbol that I love and trust them enough to have them in their possession.” 

Seungcheol let out a dramatic gasp, bringing both hands to his chest and throwing his head back. “ Oh my heart- I’m a sensitive man, please.” 

“Hyung! Be serious.” 

“I am! I’m seriously thinking you are one of the cutest people in this group even if you hate being called cute!” 

“Hyung-” Jihoon scoffed and made a sound of complaint. “ Please.” 

Seungcheol tugged the blanket higher up on his legs, putting his hands up in surrender. “ Go on, go on.” 

It took a few moments before Jihoon continued, taking second and third rings from the Teen, Age and An Ode albums out of the ring case. He unclasped the necklace and slid the chain through the rings before re-clasping it. “ I want these to be a promise to them. A promise of how I feel about them…A promise of the life I want us to have in the future…together. I want to spend the rest of my life with them before I want to, not because fate tells me too…” 

The older man looked over at him, the hair on the back of Jihoon’s neck standing up as he was being perceived. “ Jihoon-ah…Are you thinking what I think you are thinking?” 

Silence blanketed the two of them as Jihoon spun his rings between his fingers, lost in his own thoughts. 

There was a joke that he made many times between the members that he has never been in love yet he has written about it so many times. He’s written countless songs, poems, compositions all about the one feeling that everyone says feels so light and rejuvenating, and feeling it was almost exactly what people said and more. 

Love was overwhelming. It was an ever evolving feeling that takes many forms between friends, family, and partners. To him, love was a confusing feeling at first when he and Ruby got closer. It was different from the love he felt for his friends or his family. It sparked and ignited a flame within his heart that warmed him when he was cold and pushed him to be wholly himself. It was euphoric and breathtaking, making his heart beat faster and his thoughts scramble. It was no longer the scary, unknown feeling that he couldn’t put a word to, but a blossoming feeling that he could always have within his reach. 

He gnawed on the inside of his cheek, placing the necklace now adorning the rings back in the pouch, closing it securely. 

“ Do you…believe I’m crazy for thinking about it?” Raising his eyes, he met his friend’s soft gaze, a smile spread on Seungcheol’s lips.

“ I don’t think you are crazy, Jihoon-ah. I think you are in love.” 

“Do you see them?! ” Ruby was bouncing on their toes, head whipping around the airport arrival area. 

He fixed the hood on their head, making sure their mask was on properly. “ They just landed, it will take them a moment to get through with their things.” 

They felt anxious and excited, they barely slept the previous night until he pulled them to bed and held them down to sleep. It only took twenty minutes of them rambling before sleep took hold much to his delight. Their grandparent’s flight wouldn’t land until mid-afternoon so he needed to find some way to get them to rest. 

Jisung had picked them up with another security guard, the latter sitting with the van at the pick up line while Jisung stood beside them. 

“I’m excited.” 

Jihoon simply nodded, sliding his hands into the front of his sweatshirt, gazing around. At his own insistence, he had Ruby speak to him in English more since it was probably easier to communicate, but Ruby promised to be there if he needed a hand. 

He…didn’t give them the necklace yet. Every time he wanted to, it didn't feel right and between moving, organizing, and their grandparents coming, he wanted to wait. He wanted it to be right. 

Ruby linked arms with him, leaning their body weight against him. “They are gonna love you.” 

Slowly the time ticked on until Ruby tensed and was rushing away from him and Jisung. 

“Papa!” They yelled, rushing through people until they crashed into a man’s arms. 

“There is my little bear!” 

Both Jihoon and Jisung were hurrying to catch up, Jisung more panicked at Ruby’s jetting off than anything. 

“My baby-” Mimi pulled Ruby from her husband’s arms, pulling them into a hug. “Oh my baby, I have missed you so much. Look at you.” 

Mimi held Ruby’s face in her hands, smiling lovingly at her grandchild. 

“Mimi, Papa,” Ruby stepped back, quickly wiping their eyes and reaching for Jihoon’s hand, pulling him up towards where the three of them stood. “This is Jihoon. My soulmate.” 

Mimi gave him a once over, still smiling, tears making her eyes look glassy. “It’s very nice to meet you, Jihoon. We’ve heard so much about you.” 

Papa…Papa looked at him more critically, his expression stern as he held out a hand. Jihoon took it, feeling the firm grip the other man had which he matched easily, straightening his shoulders. “You better be taking care of my grandbaby. It’s nice to meet you, Jihoon.” 

“It’s nice to meet both of you too.” His words came out a little stuttered but Jihoon held firm. “Welcome to South Korea.” 

Ruby’s bond fluttered with happiness. “Let’s get you to the hotel to rest, it was a long flight.” 

“Oh please, I slept almost the entire time!” Mimi grabbed her suitcase handle and motioned towards Jisung. “Who is this young man?” 

“Security, ma’am, just in case.” Jisung answered flatly, offering to take both of their suitcases. Mimi was happy to hand hers over while Papa held onto his. 

“So Jihoon, where can someone get some good food around here?” Papa asked as the group exited the airport. 

[urbancripple]

I Find Disability Drama Annoying

I can find "Did you hear X disabled person with a large online following did Y?" or some stupid shit all day but can't find real disabled people show photos of their EDC, or strap setup, bag recommendations. I can't find wheelchair reviews, recommendations for spare parts, or brands that sell reasonable prices.

Everyone is so fucking focused on chasing clout and being a "influencer" or "promotional speaker" or whatever instead of giving actual, tangible, meaningful advice about living with a disability (especially one that requires a complex mobility aid).

I fucking hate it. Google is worthless (though for different reasons), and Reddit is just people asking for vague advice displayed in an incomprehensible format.

Tumblr is a lot of the same shit just with a better API policy.

I wish more people just ran their own sites and posted meaningful, practical shit. Because when I need advice or a recommendation, I can't find it.

And yeah, I'm old. And I remember when the internet was more than 5 websites that steal everyone's content for ad clicks.

[adamsvanrhijn]

I did discover that the best way to shop for secondhand bags online is to slightly misspell the brand you want so that you get people who don't know what they're selling

[ketsubankoya]

This was the first season for the PWHL - the Professional Women's Hockey League.

Of course, as soon as I learned it was being formed I bought season tickets. Not only because I'm Minnesotan, although I was thrilled we got one of the league's first six teams. I wanted to show support, because I want the league to succeed. And hockey is pretty much the only sport I genuinely enjoy watching, if it's live.

Attendance at Minnesota's home games has been a mixed bag. Our team just won their first home games in the playoffs, so they've been getting some more media attention, and of course there are a lot of disparaging comments about the rows of empty seats. It's easy to look at the pictures and assume the league is a failure. It may even be easy for the team itself to look into the stands and feel they themselves are a failure, although I certainly hope not. There are a lot of factors that aren't obvious at a glance.

The Xcel Energy Center is huge. Minnesota is the only team that plays its home games in an NHL arena. It's a great show of support by the venue, but that's a ton of seats to fill. Many of the other teams' home games have been selling out, because their venues are smaller - in some cases too small. Playing at the X was perhaps a bit too optimistic, but we believe in the future of the league. And there have been games when we needed the extra seats.

To start with, the X groups all the sold tickets together on one side of the arena. It keeps the energy and the excitement up rather than having everyone spread out. If enough tickets are sold, they open up more sections. There have been games where we filled the entire lower bowl of the arena and some of the seats above. In particular, weekend games have been very well attended, with loads of families and youth teams in the stands. There are plenty of men, too, in pricey branded gear that keeps selling out. I dare anyone to say our crowd's energy isn't just as high as any other event's. There are signs and props and people in purple wigs and voices as loud as anywhere. And I will never tire of seeing all the young girls in their youth team's jerseys, from kindergarten kids to high schoolers, with PWHL temporary tattoos on their faces and the possibility of a pro career to aspire to.

The attendance at the playoff games has been disappointing, with the games being on weeknights and in conflict with other local sporting events. The ticket prices are higher and not part of the standard season ticket package. And honestly, Minnesota wasn't expected to get this far with the way they've been playing in the latter half of the season. (Their comeback in the playoffs has been amazing!) But the core crowd was still there, still as enthusiastic as ever, just grouped together on one side of the arena where they can't always be seen in photos or video clips. Still loud, still proud, still there to cheer on our ladies in purple, but out of view of the casual eye. It's been frustrating to try to take pictures that truly capture the spirit of the game when you're on the crowded side, in the thick of all the energy, but facing the empty side. It's been sad to see people online judging the team (and the league) based only on photos that happen to be facing the wrong way.

As in many things, it's all a matter of perspective.

If you ever feel like you're failing, maybe you're currently in a place not best suited to you. And if you feel like no one supports you, maybe you're looking in the wrong direction.

[taavisplushies]

some of my childhood stuffed animals!!!

let’s go!!! nostalgia time!!!

first up we will look at all the webkinz (except for my frogs bc those ones are on a shelf)

there was this lil store in town that would sell webkinz for cheaper than meijers, so if i got good grades or something my mom would take me there and let me choose 2! but meijers always had a better selection so sometimes we would go there, but they were more expensive so i could only get 1.

lil kinz grey n white cat my beloved… i got her from my aunt for christmas one year :’) first ever webkinz, i was so excited!!

my mom hated the mohawk puppy because she thought mohawks were a sin

the signature clouded leopard introduced me to the animal and i was obsessed with them for a while!

the clydesdale horse is kinda special! my dad got it for me from ebay :) he normally never got me stuffed animals because he thinks they’re a waste of money. i also thought it was cool, because the internet was new to me, and i didn’t know you could buy stuff online!

not going into details about the traumatic event obviously but it’s kinda funny, because basically i had to pack a bag super quick and i spent forever deciding which plush to take with me lol (i think i was in shock or something, because i was not thinking clearly)

okay that was a lot of plushies… now i am tired… oof.

claw machine prize time!

i love claw machines, i would play them all the time! my favorite was this little one at little caesar’s in the next town over. the machine was really easy to win! i also remember walmart used to have a bunch of claw machines!

not going through the whole box, because most of them aren’t very interesting.

my first ever claw machine win is the little angry tiger! i was probably 4?? and it was at walmart. my dad moved the claw into position and i pressed the button :) i was so excited!!!!

the black and white bunny was a win from the little caesar’s i mentioned earlier. i loved it! the plush is super soft and good quality. normally claw machines have cheap toys so i was impressed!

the carrot farmer bunny is super cool! she originally had a straw hat, but the claw ripped it off :( i was never able to get it…. but that’s okay! also one of her legs is sewn on backwards. weird. but i still think she’s super cute!

next is miscellaneous plushies

i am even more tired now, so i’m not going through the entire box… sorry

these are mostly from garage sales! some of them were bought brand new though (and those ones were always so cool to me)!

i loved that chipmunk so much. i carried him with me around the house and i would sleep with him every night. i got him from the zoo on a field trip! i remember there was so many plushies, it was hard to choose just 1! unfortunately i did puke on him once, so my dad put him in the washer then dryer. when i saw him after he came out of the dryer i was so upset. he’s different! i hate change. i cried. he’s not soft anymore. i still loved him though, because it’s not his fault that his fur got messed up.

i don’t remember where the white dragon is from, but she’s so cool! i’ve heard it could be worth money but idk.

okay i’m done. super tired now. gonna sleep on the floor. goodnight <3

[trivialbob]

TVs get larger and have more features as their prices drop. Cars today are substantially more reliable and safe than those from when I was a teenager. People live longer due to advances in medicine.

I'm an optimist. Life gets better.

When Amazon first arrived I was excited. I bundled my orders to avoid a shipping charge. Amazon didn't collect sales tax in those days. Then I got Prime. It's has a hefty annual fee, but it comes with the TV streaming and free shipping.

My adult kids have credit cards on file on my Prime account so they can take advantage of the free shipping and not pay the annual Prime fee. I can also treat myself to some free stuff by using their cards (kidding). Now that Netflix has stopped us from sharing accounts, I figure it's just a matter of time before Prime does that too.

Lately when I open Prime streaming there are commercials. Mostly they are for shows but this morning saw one for Maybelline eye makeup. I have to hit the Back button to get on to the main screen. It's easy to move along. But that extra new step annoys me.

This week I got an email from Amazon telling me there will be limited commercials on Prime streaming starting January 29.

This will allow us to continue investing in compelling content and keep increasing that investment over a long period of time.

It made me think of the surcharges some restaurants now add to the bill. 6% for healthcare. 18% for fair wages. 2% for clean silverware! Any place with the tablet that swivels asks me to tip 20, 22, or 25% to the teenager who put two doughnuts into a wax bag. Recently I purchased something with a lifetime warranty. The salesman offered to sell me an extended warranty. None of these things make my shopping or dining experiences more enjoyable.

Amazon politely notes that I will have the option to pay a $2.99 monthly premium to avoid commercials. I'll probably put up with commercials. Paying more to Amazon doesn't sit well with me.

So it will be like the old days. Instead of using the pause button when I want to get a drink or snack I'll do that during the commercials like it's 1988, when I still had hair and a 75 pound television set.

Another thing about Amazon Prime: It is starting to feel like Temu. If I'm looking for some product that isn't necessarily under a particular name brand I see multiple items with the same picture but different company names. Gogoku, Calicob, Miaozuhn.

I can take my chance on lower priced things that might be crap, like some USB charging cables I bought that added hours to the time it took to charge my phone. There was probably a single strand of thin wire inside the rubber coating, that's my guess. Oh why did I trust you, AAguuds?

As much as I use online sellers I do like to shop local and support nearby stores. Amazon has begun to make that choice even easier.