Hello people.

As some of you may already be aware (I don’t know how many of you are new readers), I’m a man of transsexual status. I’m not fond of calling myself “a FTM” for a LOT of reasons I’m not going to bore you with right now. Point, regardless, I’m a man and what my junk looks like is unimportant when assessing whether or not I am.

As some of you may also know, I’m allergic to everything. OK, that’s a bit of an exaggeration, as I’m not literally allergic to everything, but the list so far includes (but should not be assumed limited to):

* dust (both common mites)
* 2/3 common grasses to this region
* tree pollens of nearly all common “late season” and “early season” trees to this region
* lithium carbonate
* ragweed
* mould
* mildew
* soya
and now add to that:
* naproxen sodium (the generic name of the over-the-counter pain killer Aleve)
* latex

I suspected latex for a while, but I also know that there are other things that can cause a reaction. I’ve also only had reactions to rubber bracelets in the past –dildoes, condoms, and other things did not seem to give me a reaction, so I assumed it must have been something else.

Now, I’m getting to the important part here:

Unbeknowest to me for years, apparently Cyberkin is NOT latex-free, as I’ve seen some people claim, and as even Wikipedia states. Apparently, you can tell latex and latex hybrid materials by their smell alone —which never really occurred to me, since it’s just such a common odour to cheaper soft plastics, and I never really thought about why.

So, as should be obvious by this point, I’d been using a cyberskin soft dildo for years. I use it to stuff my pants and outside the house, I generally need to to function with minimal anxiety. Because I was unaware of the latex content, and only vaguely acknowledging a potential allergy, I’m sure some of the more scientific-minded can figure out that this has not done me well. My doctor suspects that the primary reasons my reaction didn’t get this bad sooner is because a) I don’t shave my junk due to sensitive skin, which probably helped create a bit of a barrier, b) it’s a latex-hybrid, potentially reducing initial reaction, and c) I go pantsless a lot, in the house, just because I can (yes, I have a house-mate, but he and I used to date, and so I have no sense of shame around him — and more importantly, he’s not bothered by it).

Now, some dildoes are made of latex-free medical grade (“premium”) silicone. Unfortunately, pure silicone can be expensive, so these jobbies come with a price that reflects this, but with the added benefit that, even if you’re taking care of your dildoes the way you’re supposed to, you *should* replace solid latex a maximum of every three or four years, cyberskin every 1½-3years, and “jellee” (pvc-latex hybrid) every five to seven years. Well cared for, medical grade silisone has a minimum life of ten years, so ultimately, it’s the better buy for people without allergies —but unfortunately, I don’t have an option here anymore (I never really did to begin with); I have to get a new set of penises.

I have a temporary solution of wrapping the cyberskin in a thin sock; it’s not a permanent solution for a lot of reasons, and since there’s now an additional barrier between my skin and my junk, even though it’s the minimum, I’m a little less comfortable than I was before. Fortunately, I have a daily wear option of 100% silicone from a company called Vixen Creations, which I can find from one site for about $60, after shipping. I’ve also found a seller of a medical-grade silicone phallos (suitable for taking men home from the gay bar) for around $90, after shipping.

To help raise money, I’m offering very short stories, up to three-thousand words (this post is just around 1100 words, to give you a gauge for how long that is), for $10; this is considerably below my commission rate when I was writing for magazines (3¢/word), so I reserve the right to compile and re-publish these stories into a book later, should I choose to. My characters or gods and mortals (please keep it to Greco-Roman pantheon, as I lack any decent familiarity of other deities to be comfortable with their fan-fic), just let me know when you send the money.

If that’s not your thing, or you’re fresh out of ideas (don’t let me leave the theme and/or characters to my own devices, or you’re best off assuming I will procrastinate) I have an Etsy shop and I update with a new listing every Tuesday. I’m currently posting my inventory of Mod Revival badges that I take to the annual weekender in Chicago, and I have my entire inventory of old goth/deathrock and SubGenius badges already up. I plan on making some with Greco-Roman deities, to be posted after I finish posting other things, but I’ll make those pretty much as my carpal tunnel syndrome allows me to.

I’m also willing to give tea or coffee readings on Skype (via webcam) for $5. My Skype handle is youngsoulrebel81. (I’m not very comfortable with my previous set-up of e-mailing readings and I’m not very comfortable with passing out my home phone number to strangers. I’m much more comfortable doing readings with direct contact, so I can feel your energy and thus make for a better read. I’m an extrovert, it’s just how I am.)

I’m posting this here because I absolutely believe that it is my reverence for Eros, Apollon, Narkissos, Psykhe, Adonis, and Hermaphroditos that gave me not only the courage to transition at the time I finally did, but also the luck that I’ve had with transitioning up to this point. If I collect above and beyond what I need for new prosthetics (that’s basically their function, that’s how my doctor refers to them), it will go directly to my on-going garden project.

My PayPal address is ruadhan@NOSPAMpeacockfairy.com (as always, remove the “NOSPAM” from the address); depending on how many requests for stories I get, expect 1-6 weeks to complete a story (I’ll let you know if it looks like I’ll need more time, and I’ll refund you if it looks like I simply cannot get inspired). Badges ordered on Etsy are usually mailed out within 72hours of receiving the order, though typically sooner (but we’ve had a lot of snow, recently). Any other donations are of course welcomed, just please mark it as a “gift” to cover my butt on PayPal’s end.