#The new battery doesn't hold the charge at all it only lasts 20 minutes

[melonthesprigatito]

When I heard that the 3DS E-Shop was closing down for good, the first thing I did, the day before it shut down, I went to redownload Pokémon Rumble World from the e-Shop one last time, before I lost it forever.

I played the absolute crap out of this game back when I first got my 3DS. (Screenshots from 2015, recovered from Miiverse archives)

I also gleefully exploited an out of bounds glitch I discovered from a YouTube tutorial

I had this one online friend I played with who I met from co-writing/ RPing a Pokémon Mystery Dungeon fanfic on the PMD: Gates to Infinity Community on Miiverse (my character in that RP was a Leafeon, hence Leafeon showing up in so many of the screenshots)

Unfortunately I lost contact with this friend once Miiverse shut down and I never heard from them since. I eventually stopped playing Pokémon Rumble World and deleted it from my 3DS. I just didn't have enough space on my SD Card so I deleted it to make room for other games. I kept the save data backed up because I caught nearly every Pokémon and sunk a few £ into microtransactions and I didn't want to lose all that progress.

Back to the day before the E-Shop closed, I downloaded Pokémon Rumble World and played it for the first time in what turned out was half a decade. How did I know this?

One of the first things I saw when I opened the game was a notification that someone had visited my town.

Last visited: 5 years ago.

I admit I shedded a tear. I doubt anyone is going to be visiting my town via Spotpass ever again so it was nice to see that my old friend was the last one.

[raspberryconverse]

So last month the director of marketing decided to try a new thing for the monthly marketing meeting: a fireside chat with someone on the team. I asked my boss if he wanted to do it and he said, "Don't you dare volunteer me!" I mentioned that I wouldn't mind doing it and he said I should. I'm the only one who volunteered, so I'm next.

The first guy (who was kinda voluntold) had a fireplace background on Teams. I do happen to have a fireplace, however, we had it closed off because it was "a danger to society" as my spouse likes to say. I even have the opening covered in plastic (like you do with the windows in the winter) because there's still a cleaning hatch that air gets in and you can hear it rattle when it's really windy. So I had an idea.

At first I was going to put the TV in front of the fireplace and have one of those fireplace YouTube videos playing. Spouse said absolutely not. Then I tried using my personal laptop, but the screen is too small and the only way you could see it was if I had it on a TV tray table right behind me. You could see the tray table, so I wasn't really digging that either because I had to position my pillows just so.

I do have a 23" monitor, but it's so old it doesn't have an HDMI input. I do have a VGA to HDMI adapter, but my spouse is currently using it because their monitor is so poorly designed (the HDMI input is blocked by the mounting plate on their monitor arms- which I bought at cost because my company is an office supply distributor). I don't have a VGA input on either my work or personal laptops, so I wasn't sure what I was going to do except hope my spouse didn't have to do work during the meeting or secretly use the TV like I planned.

Then I remembered my old laptop has a VGA input because it's older than the monitor. I got my new computer in 2018, so I literally haven't booted it up in 6 years. I did have the hard drive files transferred to my new computer when its hard drive died (for the 3rd time 🤬). I tried to boot it up, but for some reason the touch pad was working, but not clicking and the keyboard wasn't working at all. I borrowed my spouse's keyboard (they don't always use it for work) and tried to login.

Well, I got this weird "user profile cannot be loaded" error. I found a fix to it online and after about 20 minutes of the disk error being fixed, it booted up. The track pad was clicking, but the keyboard still wasn't working. Then I remember one of the deciding factors to me getting a new laptop was that only a few of the keys worked and I had already replaced the keyboard twice (the battery also didn't hold a charge, so it had to be plugged in at all times).

Here is the end result:

I originally had it on an Ikea cardboard storage box, but I didn't like how that looked and again, had to reposition pillows just so to block it. I happened to have this 10x10 plexi cube from when I worked at Bath and Body Works (it has a crack, so it was just going to get thrown away), so it works pretty well. And I kinda like that you can see it's a monitor in front of the fireplace.

I'm kinda hoping the director of marketing asks about it because boy, do I have a story about getting this to work. If anything, it'll be funny when it's my turn to talk.

[raggaraddy]

Sauna

Summary: Taehyung always makes you wait on him, but he is going to make sure you learn that he should never have to wait on you.

Trigger Warnings: Smut, Smut, Smut, abuse, Dom/sub-themes, examples of a bad D/s dynamic, ambiguous torture.

Taehyung

Yandere!Taehyung

Dom!Taehyung

You've been waiting for Taehyung for hours now. Once again work claims his time and focus. Luckily his luxurious house has plenty to keep you entertained. Knowing Tae, it could be anywhere from 30 minutes to 8 hours that he's locked away. So while you patiently wait for him to be available you decide to make use of the sauna. You know you'll be able to quickly shower and be ready for him within a few minutes when he calls. And he won't mind wet hair or a lack of makeup. He isn't interested in anything like that. He just wants you in position ready for him.

Spending lots of 20 minutes, you cycle through small sessions in the heat and steam with rests in between. It gets to near 90 minutes and on your fourth time heading into the sauna you can feel you are just about at your limit, your head starting to become a bit light.

After only 5 minutes more you decide to cut it short. You remember you haven't really drunk enough water throughout the day and you don't want to risk overdoing it and becoming dazed with Taehyung.

Standing up, you bundle your towel wiping at the sweat dripping from your forehead. You jump as you bring it down, startled by Taehyung standing in the doorway suddenly, looking displeased.

"Ignoring my calls are you?" He opens the sauna door questioning sternly. Your smile changes into a frown of confusion. He called? He never called. Or at least your phone never rang.

"No," you shake your head feeling flustered at suddenly being put on the spot. Passing him diffidently he backs out of the doorway and allows you to exit into the cooldown room.

"Then why did I have to come searching for you?" he berates.

You know you checked the volume. You purposefully made it as loud as you could because you wanted to make sure you would hear it over the music in the sauna. You pick up your phone only to find it dead. You checked the volume but not the battery, and you didn't think to look at it in the past hour, not wanting to touch it while you were sweaty.

Putting the phone face down, sheepishly you turn around. Taehyung hates to be kept waiting. It's something he never tolerates. And you know what he'll say. That being careless is not a sufficient excuse.

"I'm sorry, Sir. It won't happen again." You apologize contritely, nervously fiddling with your fingers.

"That's not what I asked girl." He demands an answer to his question. The laid back manner with which he stands does not match the harshness of his tone or wording. Usually, he calls you with some variation of little girl or baby girl or good girl. But when it's just girl, you know you've upset him.

"I- my phone died." You pick it up to prove it to him. "I'm sorry" you mumble.

“So what your saying is your lack of attention has caused me to wait on you.”  He scolds, his stare hardening.

While you feel bad, you’re starting to get frustrated. He's being hypocritical. It’s not like you did it on purpose. It was an accident and he’s being too harsh. “Well, I had to wait for you too. Like, nearly 3 hours.” You argue back, instantly regretting your stupid lack of impulse control.

"Excuse me," He challenges with a tight jaw. You know it's rhetorical and not meant to be answered. The best thing is to stay silent and continue to look down at your fingers.

For a moment too long he is quiet and motionless. Your eyes flick up to see what kind of response he is having, only to see him standing stiffly, his features tight as he assesses you unblinkingly. You're feeling dumb, knowing you've just put yourself in a bad position at the start of your weekend session with Tae.

You audibly whimper from nerves, wanting to undo some of the damage. "I'm sor-"

“Come here Y/n”. He interrupts, holding his hand out for you. From his demeanour, you know you're in trouble, but your not sure how yet. However, slightly apprehensively, you accept his outreached hand.

He opens the sauna door, holding it wide and gesturing for you to enter. You pause hesitantly unsure of where he is going with this.

"After making you wait so long for me, I would hate to interrupt you. Go back in. I'll even join you." Now it's his eerily pleasant tone that doesn't match his observable frustration and the slowly tightening grip on your wrist.

Lightly you shake your head, not wanting to say any variation of the word no. "I-it's okay, Sir. I was done."

"Go in." And now to your dismay, the chill of his voice and his body language match. He orders you into the sauna pointedly, his expression daring you to debate it further.

Swallowing heavily, you can't help the way his domineering tone is filling your stomach with butterflies. Even when he gets scary- especially when he gets scary- you find him so attractive. But you know you need to take this moment seriously, or risk getting yourself further into strife.

You nod, going back into the sauna, the warm wet heat swarming around you again quickly making your breath feel smothered. Sitting on one of the wooden benches, you get lower trying to get out of the rising heat. Sweat right away returning to your brow and neck.

After a few minutes, Taehyung comes in, having removed his clothes. He puts down a towel and sits alongside you, resting back with his arms up on either side, his eyes closed as he enjoys the warmth. You try to do the same. But even after a little while more, you're becoming more and more uncomfortable. You try to bear it as long as you can, but as another 10 minutes pass your head begins to thump, your eyes becoming unfocused.

"Okay." You say standing up with a wobble. "This was really nice. But I'm getting a little dizzy. I think I should go out."

"Sit down." He says without opening his eyes. You're looking through the glass door to the cool of the outside longingly. It's starting to hurt being in here, but you're sure Tae knows that.

"Please, Sir. I don't feel well." You try again to plead your point. Despite your discomfort, you still don't want to act on your own. Outrightly disobeying him would disregard everything that your relationship is built on.

"Do you really want to test me right now, little girl?" He says, his head rested back with a smirk.

"You're being unfair." You pout, lightly stomping your foot.

He chuckles, rolling his head forward. "The answer's yes apparently." He stands and your gaze drops to eye height looking at his collar bone. He steps towards you and you step back. And again. Pushing you to the other side of the room. Your legs come into contact with the bench and as he steps at you again, with nowhere left to go, you fall down onto the seat, coming face height with his lower stomach and crotch.

An embarrassed glow fans over your cheeks as you realize what your first impulse is. You stifle a giggle, biting your lip.

"Little Y/n, who's in charge here?"

Those words said in that deep tone have you momentarily forgetting how dehydrated and sick you feel. His voice sending a wave of shivers down your spine and up your neck.

"You are." You purr back, having to push your thighs together with a new kind of heat rushing through your stomach.

"And when I tell you to do something, you do it. Isn't that right?" His salacious words are accompanied by his hand curling around your jaw, his thumb resting on your lips pressing for entrance into your mouth. Instinctually, you open for him and suck his thumb, looking up at him with wide eyes. There's a small lustful smile on his face and in his eyes. But it's the way he licks and bites his lip that has another bolt of heat shooting through your core.

You nod to his question, sucking firmer, taking it deeper and rubbing your tongue along it. Emboldened by the ravenous look in his eye.

Taehyung removes his hand, it shoving your shoulder, making you crash back into the wall. He grabs your legs and roughly throws them onto the double-tiered bench, having you lay along it. Climbing on top of it, he pushes himself between your legs making you spread them wider to accommodate him. Right away you nearly melt feeling his hardening member.

"When I tell you to sit, you don't argue. Do you?" He leans over the top of you, his hand rested next to your head.

"No, Sir." You whisper back breathlessly, shaking your head.

He presses his hips down, rubbing himself between your legs, slipping effortlessly with how wet you already are. You buck upwards trying to encourage him to go further, trying to meet him that last little bit to get what your craving.

"And when I tell you to wait for my call, you make sure to wait patiently and be a good girl for me, don't you?"

"Yes," you pant.

He smirks, approving of your answers. His lips come to yours, licking over your bottom lip before his tongue enters your mouth. Slowly he sinks deep inside you, making you moan and whine.

"You don't need to ask Y/n. Cum as much as you want. But you don't move till I'm done."

A small excited smile fills your face, and you nod back. As far as punishments go, this one seems great. He's not denying you, and he said you can cum as much as you want, so he's not going to overstimulate you. At the moment, you can't see the downside.

Gradually he starts to move, and you bring your hips up to his to match his rhythm, groaning and moaning the whole time. It isn't long until Taehyungs skilled strokes have you exploding around him, giving you the ecstasy you sought after.

But as your high starts to fade, you again gain clarity and realization of your surroundings. You're no longer desperately working towards release and you can again feel the hot air going down your throat. The excess heat of Taehyungs skin on yours. The way your bodies slip along one another due to sweat, or the sweat dripping from Tae's body all over you. You're wet and sore and the longer he continues, even as he brings you to another orgasm, it feels tainted with the suffocation of the sweltering heat.

Taehyung can see it. The look of excitement you had, turning swiftly into one of worry and distress as your distraction faded. And he is revelling once again in how transparent your emotions are to him. Enjoying being able to see how you're suffering but still obeying him.

As he makes you cum for a third time, your body throbs in pleasure but your head thumps in pain. Your chest hurting and your breath short. Your eyes getting glassy. A sick feeling nudging at the back of your throat.

He keeps going, unrelenting for far too long. Keeping himself slow and steady, breaking to kiss and paw at you every now and then to draw it out even longer.

With a stolen glance at the clock on the wall, you can only estimate that he has been fucking you for at least 30 minutes. It's too much. You're so past your limit you can barely keep your eyes open or move. You want to ask him to stop, but you know his order not to move including asking if you could. And you are aware it wasn't a suggestion.

By the time Taehyung finally cums, you're completely spent, nearly unconscious. So much so that after taking a second to catch his own breath, he has to carry you out of the sauna.

As he lays you on the bench in the cool-down room, your body is shivering with dehydration. Any second now, you fear you're going to throw up. Or completely pass out.

But Taehyung doesn't care. He hates to wait on you and he knows he certainly made his point. His only care is that he makes sure you're not confused as to why your suffering right now. "The next time I tell you to wait for me, Y/n," He clarifies with a stern tone, tapping your face lightly to make sure your eyes are open, "I expect you to be actively waiting, and to come running the second I call. Am I understood?"

[ep-review]

WEARABLE PUMP COMPARISON

If you're looking for a comparison of these, you are in luck because I have tried all three. I started off with the Willow, went to the Momcozy next, then ended up with the Elvie. Let's get started.

*************

WILLOW

Best point: they are leak proof.

Caveat: only leak proof if you are using bags, which will run you 50 cents each at retail price. Expensive.

Reusable milk containers?

These are sold separately, and will cost $50 for a pair. They are a little finicky and hard to clean and dry. The valve at the top must be completely clear of debris, or you'll get an orange pump light error.

Pros?

Can process milk quickly (great for fast or heavy letdowns), suction is very strong. Some people may find that it is too strong.

Cons?

Bigger, heavier, and louder than the Elvies. You can't change suction power in the app, you must use the buttons on the unit. You also cannot adjust milk volume afterwards if it marked volume incorrectly. All in all the app is very non-functional.

Most encountered errors and problems?

I get the feeling that the most common error is encountered right before you want to start the pump. An orange light will turn on at the top of the pump, and it will refuse to start. You'll have to figure out if there is something blocking the valve, or if your magnets are not lined up correctly, or whatever before you can get the session started. Once you start, it's golden. But it can sometimes take a while to get started as you take the pump apart and put it back together to try to get it to begin. I've also seen some people have issues with the hub cracking, which may or may not affect function. The good news is that Willow will replace your hubs if they are under warranty.

*************

ELVIE

Best point: they are the most discreet.

Smaller, lighter, and quieter than the Willow.

Storage bottles?

The bottles at the bottom of the hubs come with lids, and can be used for storage. Make sure you clean the lids well, there have been instances of mold growing underneath the silicone ring. I take them apart completely at least once a week for a good deep clean (use a toothpick to take the rings out, and put them back in by putting them in place then screwing it onto a bottle).

Pros?

Like I mentioned before they have a smaller profile, are lighter, and quieter than the Willow pump. The suction is quite gentle, and is said to mimic a baby's suckling. You can buy a single or a double pump, which is nice. The app is pretty good. You can change from stimulation to expression and increase suction power all in the app.

Cons?

They cannot process a fast letdown - it might leak or lose suction. Elastic nipples may have issues using the flanges as is, since the flange tunnel is shorter and suction holes are located halfway in.

Most encountered problems?

Leaking. If you have a fast flow or aren't standing/sitting upright, milk might leak between the bottle and the hub. This is the most frustrating problem. Other problems include loss of suction caused by milk backing up behind the green disk or elastic nipples blocking the suction holes. Many users purchase cushions or inserts to mitigate these issues, but find that these items need to be trimmed before they will work with these pumps.

*************

MOMCOZY

Best point: they are inexpensive when compared to the other two!

The Momcozy pumps will run you around $110 for a pair of two (be sure to look for discount codes!). This is significantly cheaper than the Elvie or the Willow which retail at $500.

Pros?

Simple, no-nonsense, they just work. No finicky parts. They basically are handsfree cups attached to their own motor. Easy to use and basically no learning curve - just pop them on and go. You can also just buy one. The freemie and maymom inserts work with the flanges without cutting. The flange is entirely made of silicone. I consider that a pro because it's so comfortable!

Cons?

I think the biggest con is that they are not discreet. The motor is a large block at the top of each unit and sticks up. The shape doesn't look boob like at all. There's also no app, if you care about that at all (I didn't). But if you're strictly interested in using these at home, why would you need to be discreet? You'll probably have to charge these every 2-3 pump sessions or so.

Most encountered problems?

I didn't have any problems with this personally. Not sure what problems it could really have, it's a very basic, functional unit.

*************

SUMMARY

Price: Momcozy

Momcozy is cheapest, running about $110 for a pair (with coupons), or you can buy them separately at around $60. Elvie and Willow will cost you $499 at retail.

Weight: Elvie

The Elvie is the lightest, followed closely by the Momcozy. The Willow is by far the heaviest unit. However, the Momcozy is a bit top heavy due to the location of the motor. Wear a bra with greater coverage if you need more support.

Suction

It's hard to judge a winner in this category because they are different. Willow is known for having extremely strong suction, and the Elvie is known for being quite gentle. The Momcozy doesn't get as gentle as the Elvie, but also doesn't get as strong as the Willow. But not everyone needs the same suction level so this is quite a personal thing.

Flange sizes

The Willow pump comes in 21mm, 24mm, and 27mm standard flanges, with only one size in the box. If you think you may need 21mm and buy from their website, you will also get the 24mm included in your purchase. (Technically the pump kits come only in 24mm and 27mm, so if you tell them you want 21mm they just throw it in for free.) The Elvie comes with 24mm and 28mm standard flanges, and both of these are included in the box. If you need 21mm, these will need to be purchased separately. The Momcozy comes only in 24mm flanges, but you can buy 27mm flanges separately on their website.

Inserts

To resize the flanges for a better fit, there are freemie and maymom inserts which will work with the 24mm flanges. In the case of the Willow and the Momcozy, most users find that they work without issue. With the Elvie pump, the suction hole comes halfway up the flange tunnel so the inserts usually need to be trimmed before they will work correctly with the pump. Some people find that they work as-is, however, so I'd advise that you try them without trimming first to see if you need to.

Volume: Elvie

The Elvie is the quietest, followed by the Willow and then the Momcozy.

Discreet: Elvie

The profile of the Elvie is smaller - the Willow is larger. Obviously the Momcozy, with the huge motor, is not really discreet as all.

Tunnel Length: Willow/Momcozy

If you have elastic nipples, the Willow and Momcozy have longer flange tunnels than the Elvie and will accommodate longer nipple stretching. The flange tunnel of the Elvie is quite short, and some people with elastic nipples find that they lose suction because their nipple blocks the suction holes. Using inserts/cushions can help mitigate this issue.

Parts: Willow

The Willow pump, if you use bags, has the least amount of parts to clean. The Willow container on the other hand, is difficult to clean and I'll tell you why - if you're handwashing most of the time, like me, the nooks and crannies at the top of the container are small and I can barely fit a finger in there to scrub it. I found the Flextubes to be annoying to clean as well because I could not fit a finger in. On the other side, the Elvie and Momcozy pumps do have way more parts, but I found that the parts are much easier to clean. The only part you need to break out a nipple brush for is really the duckbill.

Ability to handle milk flow: Willow/Momcozy

The Elvie is notoriously bad for a quick letdown or fast milk flow. If your milk comes out too fast, the Elvies will either leak or lose suction because excess milk gets sucked behind the disk. The Willow and Momcozy pumps can take much higher speeds.

Cup Volume: Momcozy

The Momcozy cups each holds 180mL/6oz of milk. The Willow and Elvie say that they each hold 4oz in their cups, but from experience - the Willow bags can hold much more (if you pump with the bags outside). I've heard of someone pumping 8oz into a bag once. On the other hand the Elvie probably holds a bit less than 4oz because it tends to think there is more milk than there actually is in the bottle which leads to the pump pausing itself. If you fill any of these cups you'll have to pretty much take off the pump and empty it to keep pumping again. The Willow and Elvie shut off automatically. The Momcozy does not.

App: Elvie

You can go from stimulation to expression as well as adjust suction levels directly in the app. And after the session is over, you can edit the milk volumes if the ones recorded are incorrect. Elvies app also has its own performance metrics which is fun to look at that describes your milk flow and total pumped volumes. On the other hand, the Willow app is very basic and just functions as a record of your pump times and volumes (which is frequently off) and you cannot edit them afterwards. Obviously Momcozy loses in this because there is no app at all.

Battery

It's hard to compare the pumps because the higher your suction, the faster the battery life runs out. From their respective websites, the Willow pump says a full battery lasts "about 5 pump sessions" and the Elvie says it lasts "about 2 and a half hours". Just comparing the two from my own experience subjectively, the Willow pump has a slightly longer battery life than the Elvie, but obviously it totally depends on how strong you set the pumps to work. The Momcozy has the poorest battery life by far. At the lowest suction and 20 minute sessions, I found it only lasted about 3 sessions.

Chargers

The Elvie hubs come with 1 charging cord each, so if you buy the double you'll get two. Same thing with the Momcozy. Both of these are USB chargers so you'll need a block to go with (they don't come with that). Unfortunately the Willow only comes with one charging cord (which plugs into a standard 2 prong outlet) when you buy two hubs which is such a weird decision in my mind. But I found I could just alternate which one I charged and it was fine.

Warranty: Elvie

I feel like this is an important topic that doesn't get compared too often. The Elvie pump hubs have the most generous warranty of 2 years from the date of purchase. On the other hand, the Willow comes with a warranty of 12 months from date of purchase. Because these are intended to be single user products, the warranty doesn't transfer from one person to the next if you purchase second hand. Therefore, this should be something you consider if you are doing so. Both companies - Willow and Elvie - cover the washable pump parts for 90 days. The Momcozy on the other hand - their website says that all items are covered by a 30 day warranty which I assume applies to the pumps as well.

BOTTOM LINE:

There is no perfect pump. Each of these three have their own issues. However, if the pump can't extract your milk, then it is useless to you. You need to know what to prioritize before making the commitment and I suggest prioritizing things that affect milk extraction, like suction power, tunnel length, and the ability for the pump to handle your milk flow speed.

If you have any other questions please let me know! :)