#also dream outfit!!!!!! literally those overalls are on my to-make list i love them so much

[vynegar]

Hi! Have you read all Vyn's cards? How would you rank them?

Hello! I’ve read all of them except for the most recent Vyn SSR (the one for his event that acts as a personal story chapter), although for some of the early cards my memory is quite fuzzy ._. but I’ll rank the ones I’ve read to the best of my ability. Thanks so much for asking, this is a really fun question to answer :3

Going to separate SSRs and SRs, and also I'm not going to do the card fragment SRs or the MRs since obviously vampire!vyn is superior since there's not really a story for those.

In case anyone wanted the super quick version, I’ll just put the lists first and then explain myself on the SSRs below the cut. And here’s a link to the NXX Toolbox (very useful for info on card stats and skills!) as a quick reference for the cards, just select Vyn for the character for convenience.

SSRs

Neon Melody

Food for Thought

Medieval Suspense

A Star in the Night

Secrets of the Tomb SSR

Ancient China SSR

Blazing Colors

Near and Far

Heartfelt Suspense

Second Birthday SSR

Anniversary SSR

Between Good and Evil

Snowfallen Secrets SSR

SRs

False Tears: Lollll this card is so in/famous but that makes it iconic. This card says so much about his character, how can it not be number one.

Mercury in Retrograde: Also very famous and hilarious… I love when Vyn’s at a loss at what to do (literally searching how-to videos as you walk to the hardware store… not knowing how to use a mop… VYN…..)

Lingering Warmth: jealousy jealousy jealousy >:]

Cool Summer: Vyn’s incompetence round 2… (also maybe I’m biased bc I pulled this card on the rerun banner?)

Revisiting Youth SR: This actually has a remarkable amount of backstory for an SR card, but at some moments Vyn felt ooc to me and that impacts the card for me.

Gentleman’s Game: Early instance of getting to see Vyn in a Svart-related situation, and one of the first times we get some insight into his background.

Dreams of Childhood (Theme Park) SR: it’s definitely cute to see them more comfortable and touchy with each other since they’ve been in a relationship for a while now, and it’s interesting to show Vyn having worries about the relationship, but I feel like some of the writing and plot resolution was clumsy.

Mended Heart: I do think there were good intentions, but some of the wording and the way they handled the story with the deaf child were a bit… questionable. But it gets across just how much Vyn thinks “imperfections” are unacceptable.

Snowy Fairy Tale: It’s a cute story, not sure if many things stood out to me though.

Disclaimer: Obviously these are my opinions so it’s based on my own personal preferences; I give an explanation for my card ranking but by no means is it objective. I also tried to focus on the card story here since I assume that’s more interesting to discuss, but the card art is so deeply entwined with my overall impression of the card that I can’t separate them completely.

Also, just so I can be perfectly transparent about my biases: I prefer card stories that are pre-relationship, where the characters are still kind of getting to know each other, and with more drama/tension/desperation/JEALOUSY. And I think of the major factors of the card as: card aesthetics, relationship development, insight into LI backstory, the main on-the-surface storyline of the card, and extras (like illustrations and the phone call).

Neon Melody: We’ve never seen Vyn like this before, and I don’t just mean his outfit and appearance, but also his desperation during the story. PEAK Vyn antics, jealousy galore, also some more initiative from MC, a very relatable and down-to-earth conflict in the card’s main storyline, insight into Vyn’s methods in psychotherapy, gorgeous seductive illustrations, etc. It admittedly has little backstory on Vyn but I think there’s enough going on otherwise that it makes up for it. (And as you may know, I’m biased towards this card lol.)

Food for Thought: Does this need explanation. Just LOOK at the art in the evolved form, and major revelations about Vyn’s background, monologues from Vyn that show how he thinks, as well as significant relationship development where both sides seem to understand the other more. Gorgeous seductive illustrations like in Neon Melody; honestly those two should be tied, and I debated putting this card as first.

Medieval Suspense: Gorgeous card art and illustrations, interesting plot that also HEAVILY ties into Vyn’s backstory (despite not being clear when the card released), and an introduction to what Vyn’s capable of. Honestly it’s kind of mindblowing to me that Vyn got such a high quality card as one of his initial SSRs; it still stands up well against his later SSRs.

A Star in the Night: Gorgeous, and the very first birthday card of the game! It vividly shows his attitude toward upper class society, and how cynical he can be when dealing with it.

SOTT card: It’s an AU so can’t really count as relationship development or backstory, but I think the writers used the AU to reflect and emphasize some of the most important parts of their canon relationship, so this card is still very relevant. The plot of this story is interesting and suspenseful (I think all the desert cards did a good job in that respect), also the illustrations from this card live in my head rent-free lol.

Ancient China card: Also an AU, and I liked how the writers took advantage of that to try a different approach to how Vyn’s relationship with MC could develop (although I wish they… showed it more). The story also felt complete, and the imagery and themes really made it feel like the story was a myth. Tbh when I include card art in the rankings, I prefer this over the SOTT card.

*Side-note: I think AU stories generally score higher for me because they distill the whole relationship down into a single story, so it shows rapid, significant development and dramatic moments in that card story. Canonverse card stories need to stay consistent with the timeline and not have too fast of a pace.

Blazing Colors: It’s a bit far down the list since it doesn’t have much backstory/lore, but the art is beautiful and the main plot truly feels cinematic. Also I love Kara Reese (the NPC) in here!

Near and Far: Intense introduction to Vyn’s character and lets you know what you’re signing up for if you decide to stan him lol. (I’ll be honest, it’s been a while since I read it though.)

Heartfelt Suspense: I love seeing Vyn lose his temper and just be completely dismissive of people who are not MC. Also, his psychology tricks again.

Second Birthday Card: I feel like this should be higher on the list considering I put so much emphasis on the backstory, and that’s the whole purpose of this card, but the card aesthetics just don’t excite me enough and I felt like MC didn’t have as active of a role here.

Anniversary Card: I know this is the confession card, but the moments of the most tension happened in the actual personal storyline, and this was mostly Vyn being a formalist – they both had an idea of their emotions, but he wanted to be the first to say it, and to confess in a perfect setting.

Between Good and Evil: Honestly I read this a long time ago and can barely remember it, but I guess that also indicates to me that there wasn’t too much notable stuff? I remember their conversation at the end was quite interesting, more of the usual Vyn route themes haha.

Snowfallen Secrets: It’s so cool to see Vyn use his archery skills, but I kind of expected more out of the story where they go to Svart for the first time :/ The main plot feels like it could’ve taken place anywhere, and the ending felt a bit rushed, like they needed a scene change to explain the card evolution art.

Thanks so much to anyone who read this far xD Not sure how much explanation people wanted to see, but feel free to ask/reblog with your own thoughts or any questions (bc looking at these lists, even I’m questioning myself lmao).

#tears of themis #vyn richter #TOT liveblog #anon #ty for giving me the chance to talk about this. i'd been meaning to rank the cards a while ago but forgot #also i predict that the new vyn SSR would rank at a 9 or below for me bc i don't like the established relationship cards as much #asks

[justsomefluff]

Hello I was wondering if you could do an ateez reaction to going to a fashion show with their girlfriend 🥺❤

here it is!! sorry it’s so late!! I hope you enjoy! <3

Hongjoong:

Okay so Joong is the type to pretend he doesn’t want to go

But then love every second of it

And after your first one, he’s gonna beg you to go to more shows with him

Like every time a model comes out wearing something new, even if the entire look is hideous, he’s gonna complement something about the look

Because he knows how hard the models and designers work to make all this happen

And if there’s a look he really really loves, he’ll look at you and be like

Im gonna buy that for you

Suddenly showering you in complements

“Babe, you’d look so beautiful in that”

“Babe, you’re the most stunning person in here”

NO FAX, JUST PRINTER

And at the end of the night, you’ve both compiled a list of colors and styles you would like to see on each other

So you decide to make each other outfits for the next date you go on

And its just so cute bc Joongie really does draw inspiration from everything he sees

So he totally writes a song about this experience with you

Seonghwa:

Seonghwa is not shy about his love for fashion

Like he has his own sense of style, and he loves choosing things that he feels will express his personality

So when you guys get the chance to go to a fashion show together

OH BOY GET READY

He’s gonna grade every look under his breath on a scale from 1-10

And then he’ll tell you what he likes most about each style that is presented

He tries not to be too critical though bc he knows that everyone’s tastes are different

Will also ask your opinion on the outfits

Like “ooh what do you think of that one? I really like the textures on it!”

You will both choose your top two outfits 

like you choose them so that you have one you want just for yourself and one that you want for him

And then he does the same

You typically choose similar looks because you know each other’s style super well

And Hwa is totally the type to surprise you by buying you one of the pieces he had seen you eyeing more than the others

“Just as a thank you for coming with me :)”

Yunho:

His crackhead comes out in full force at fashion shows, believe me

I mean seriously

Every time something comes out that he doesn’t like he insults it in a really funny way

And you’re sitting in the front row so your literally biting your lip so hard to not laugh in front of all these cameras

Like a model comes out with a bunch of feathers on her outfit and Yunho’s just like 

“Heads up, everybody, Chicken Little has just hit the stage!”

Or if he sees something particularly revealing he’s like

“Wouldn’t you love to see me in that, baby”

Like would you just hush already lmao

He takes a picture of every single look that he finds funny, just so he can send them to you later with a funny caption

But he also sees one he really loves

Will take a picture of your side profile when you aren’t looking

And the model is coming down the runway in the background

He will save that picture as his background as a reminder that he is going to get you that outfit someday

But he will try not to let you find out that he was so soft about it lmao

So he tries to keep you from seeing his wallpaper

He really wants it to be a surprise, but he also cant stop looking at the picture and imagining the moment you are finally able to put the outfit on

Yeosang:

(he’s so cute I cant breatheeee)

Yeosang will sit pretty silently through most of it

But do not be fooled

NO MODEL IS SAFE

He is judging and critiquing every single look like it is his JOB

The most stone cold poker face you will ever see

Will only crack a smile if you whisper “you’d look so good in that, Sangie”

But when you finally leave he will show you any of the pictures he had taken and start a legitimate conversation about how you liked or disliked each look

Has a grading system lmao

Like you have A-F grading scale, but also categories that each look has to fulfill

Color, texture, fit, overall flow of the patterns and clothing items, etc.

And you can play along for a while before you’re finally like 

“YEOSANG, WE ARENT JUDGES ON NEXT TOP MODEL”

“We could be”

Like boy if you don’t-

But then he gives in and he’s like “just tell me which one you loved the most and I’ll tell you if it was good or not”

So you do and he’s like “THAT WAS THE WORST LOOK OF THE ENTIRE NIGHT WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT”

And then that launches a playful debate about who has better fashion sense

But overall you both had a really good time and plan on making this an annual tradition

San:

(he’s so breathtaking here im sorry I mean cmon his hair matches his sweatshirt)

This fashionista here

Sees the artistry in every look and compliments literally everything

Very genuine in his appreciation for the work that has been done

Spewing compliments the entire time

“Omg look how intricate all the stitching is.”

“That fascinator is so stunning, look at all the colors wow”

And it’s so cute to just watch him

Like he’s assessing all the models with the biggest doe eyes

He really is like a little kid at Disneyland for the first time

Just so excited and appreciative of every little thing

“I wish our next comeback could be so beautiful like this!”

“Sannie, your comebacks are always beautiful”

“BUT LOOK AT ALL THIS ELEGANCE!!”

It’s just so adorable

And when the designer comes out at the end of each parade of models, you can bet San is cheering the loudest

And he’ll be so inspired and as his makeup noonas to try and replicate some of the looks he had seen

Gets hella motivated and literally starts drawing up ideas that he has for costumes and things

He’s just a sweet baby who sees the beauty in everything and wants to make beautiful things too

And he will always ask your opinion on his drawings

“Do you like this one? Do you think it could work?”

And of course you tell him all of them are fantastic bc they are

And you guys work together to make some of his outfit dreams come true

Mingi:

At fashion shows, Mingi thrives bc models tend to be really tall for some reason

As a short person, I am offended by tall people’s clothes

ANYWAY

Mingi is just looking at the pants like “I bet those would actually fit me on the first try”

And then he’s like “baby, I could be a model”

And you’re like “I already knew that, you’ve always been pretty”

He gets blushy aww

“I’m pretty” UWUUUUUU

And now that you’ve got him going you cant just let that blush fade away I mean its too cute

Don’t squander this opportunity to make our baby blush even harder

So literally every other model your whispering “you’d look better in that”

“You’d be the best model here, Minnie”

And eventually he’s smiling so big and blushing so hard that he’s like “stoop my cheeks hurt”

So you settle for giving him a lil smoochie on his cheek

But then he shall take his revenge

Starts complementing you even more than you had complemented him

Thus begins a complement war

By the end, both of you realize that you’ve ignored the last two sets of models and had just been telling each other how much you love each other over and over

Get a room you guys I mean really

Wooyoung:

Wooyoung is a giggly mess

The entire time

Because he thinks every little thing is funny

A model’s makeup is too extreme? He’s laughing

Someone’s hair is too wild? He’s laughing

Someone looks like they rolled straight out of a dumpster? he’s laughing and saying “thats you”

Like SHUT UP lmaoooo

He’s also laughing bc he’s imagining the members in all of the ugly outfits

Like “lmao imagine Hongjoong wearing that big ole hat”

“Imagine Seonghwa wearing those balloon shorts”

Like he’s so annoying lmao

But it does have you both laughing hard enough to get dirty looks from other spectators

Once he eventually calms down and hushes himself, he actually starts getting into it and thoroughly enjoys watching the way the clothes flow when the models walk and stuff

He finds it genuinely interesting to see how each artist has fit the clothes to each specific model’s body type

But he will still fit in some snide comments here and there to make sure you’re fully entertained

Bc if he’s not laughing… is it really Wooyoung

Jongho:

Okay Jongho is definitely into fashion

Whether he is obvious about his affinity for cool clothes or not, he’s into it okay

And he evaluates every look in terms of “would I look good in that? Would bae look good in that? Would any of the hyungs look good in that?”

Very thoughtful baby

Will take pictures to send to people and be like “this reminds me of you”

Will say it directly to you too

He is also kinda cheesy and poetic about it

“The bright pink reminds me of how happy you make me”

“That blue is like the sky when you’re around: cloudless”

Eventually you’re like “oh shut up ya freak” lmao

And then he’s laughing bc he’s embarrassed that he said all that

He’s like “why am I so cheesy”

And you low-key love it so you just smile at him

But then he keeps taking pictures of the models and eventually starts taking pictures of you bc he just loves you and finds you so breathtaking awww

At the end of the night he’s so sweet to you and thanks you for coming with him and hopes you had a good time and-

You just kiss him and tell him you had a lot of fun and you should definitely do it again next time there’s a show in town

He definitely agrees bc he really just loved sharing that experience with you

#ateez #ateez reactions #reactions #ateez scenarios #scenarios #ateez imagines #imagines #fluff #ateez fluff #ateez hongjoong #ateez seonghwa #ateez yunho #ateez yeosang #ateez san #ateez mingi #ateez wooyoung #ateez jongho #ateez crack #ateez blurb #blurb #ateez fanfic #fanfic

[ambitiousskychild]

Ooh how about Mike and Eddie? :)

ahhh i’m so sorry it took me FOREVER to get to this, but thank you for giving me these characters in specific and also i’m apologizing now for how long this is gonna be let’s begin

Why I like Eddie and Mike

They are HANDS DOWN the best characters of the 7 of them hands DOWN. 

Eddie in the book is the BIGGEST badass, not only did he LAUGH IN HENRY BOWERS’ FACE when he broke his arm at 11 years old, he KILLED bowers 27 years later right after bowers broke the same arm in the same place, by smashing his classy glass Perrier against his bedside table and stabbing bowers to death with the remains :) 

Mike Hanlon is the reason the book happens AT ALL. He’s essentially the narrator. And he is the final member of the losers club, they save his life from bowers and co, and he automatically knows he can trust them and they all know, like magic, that their group is complete and that was so fuckin sweet to me. He often puts his body in the way to protect Eddie and Stan and AHHH

Why i don’t like Eddie and Mike

bc i LOVE them next question

Favorite scene

For Eddie there are so many, here’s a bulleted list

“They’re gazebos! They’re BULLSHIT!”

THE LOSER/LOVER SCENE ARE YOU KIDDING ME, THE FACT THAT EDDIE HIMSELF TOOK THAT NASTY WORD GRETA BRANDED HIM FOR EVERYONE TO SEE AND DECIDED THAT’S NOT TRUE, AND CORRECTED IT TO THE THING HE LOVES MOST ABOUT HIMSELF IT MAKES ME FUCKING INSANE, EVERY TIME I WATCH THAT SCENE I CRY

when richie set his broken arm back into place and most definitely made it worse lmao

when eddie got puked on by pennywise and literally SHOOK with rage bc there was sooooo much of it in his tiny little body and he decided he was no longer afraid and swung at pennywise with those tiny HANDS

For MIke omg

In the book there’s this scene where he faces Pennywise as a giant bird that’s terrifying and I can’t describe it but Mike is just SO smart and brave

In the book when the losers decide to fuckin hotbox their underground clubhouse hoping to get high enough to see the origins of IT and it fuckin works, but Richie and Mike are the only ones who can stand it anymore in there to actually SEE anything

In the book when they’re fighting IT as kids and pennywise turns into that bird again and swoops down for Eddie, and Mike is so worried the bird will just take him that he rolls his body over Eddie’s

When in Chapter 1 they ran from the Neibolt house after Eddie broke his arm and Mike picked Eddie up all by himself and put him in his bike basket like a little puppy lmao

Favorite movie

Favorite movie for both of them is Chapter 1

Favorite Line

Eddie: “Get my bifocals, they’re in my second fanny pack”

Mike, tragically didn’t get really a lot of good lines butttt probably “I know the difference between what’s real and what’s not” bc that’s like,,, literally the only thing he got that wasn’t just sad lol

Favorite outfit

For Eddie it’s the pink polo shirt and red shorts with the rainbow stripes but ALSO the thundercats shirt with those same shorts both of those were LOOKS lol

And For Mike i love the outfit we first meet him in, his jeans and the grey shirt. i thought at one point he wore overalls, but i think i imagined it lol

OTP

For Eddie, obviously Reddie

For Mike, i like him with Bill AND Stan, but i also think he and eddie together would be adorable

Brotp

For Eddie- him and Bev! They’re so similar anyway i love to think they’re absolute best friends, aside from him and richie. And i especially love the idea of Richie, Eddie, and Bev as a trio. Eddie and Mike could be the cutest best friends, and Eddie and Stan, and Eddie and Bill omg, Everyone should be best friends with Eddie

For Mike, i like the idea of him and Richie being close tbh! Him and Eddie too and him and Ben! Also, everyone should be best friends with Mike

Head Canon

ummm i hc that Eddie develops an almost INSANE need for thrills after they defeat Pennywise for good and he wants to get tattoos and try smoking and he gets a motorcycle to go real FAST, and richie is not only supportive, but stupid, so they have a lot of dumb matching tattoos and a motorcycle they’re trying to get rid of like a year later :)

I hc that Mike always wanted to be a vet or something with animals, but he just never got to :( but when they finally defeat pennywise, Bill supports his dream to care for animals :)

Unpopular opinion

I love soft!Eddie! I know that’s like,,, not cool to say in the fandom these days but that’s literally the coolest most rebellious thing about Eddie is that despite it ALL he still chooses to be soft and kick your ass lovingly

And for Mike, it’s so hard bc he got so little attention or screentime or ANYTHING that actually let him be a character, so my main opinion for him is that he deserved better but that’s not unpopular lol

A wish

I wish that Eddie had been allowed to not be a raging asshole and then a coward for like all of Chapter 2, and I wish that Mike’s character hadn’t been somehow turned into crazy man who steals from Natives and “lies to his friends” lol

An oh-god-pls-don’t-ever-happen

Oh god, i would fuckin HATE it if Eddie died for no fuckin reason and then his friends just moved on 20mins later like he didn’t literally die for them, that would suck, thank god that doesn’t happen

And it would also suck if in the book, Mike, the whole reason they’re all even back in Derry, despite knowing the dangers of Derry during the height of IT being back and knowing he should be watching his back, put himself alone in harm’s way for no reason other than to be taken out of the game so he’s not even down in the sewers for the final showdown with Pennywise, that would suck and be infuriating, glad that didn’t happen either

5 words to best describe them

Eddie: brave, loyal, loving, funny, chaotic

Mike: sweet, kind, strong, brave, wise

My nickname for them

i usually just call them both sweet angel babey lmao but also spaghetti boy and farm boy lol

thank you for the ask and sorry i wrote you an essay

send me a character? if you dare lol i really snapped on this one

#IT #eddie kaspbrak #mike hanlon #eddie and mike #mike #eddie #sweet angel babies #stephen king's it

[parkwendy98]

My favorite Kpop releases in 2020

Girls - Nature

Girls by Nature is my favorite Kpop release of 2020 because of the mystery the song gives. The song makes you anticipated with what the solution is but it never gives it to you and you want more. This isn’t a bad thing especially with the music video. This music video was creepy but it was creepy mostly because of the mystery aspect. Throughout the music video, you keep asking yourself why or what and towards the end none of the questions are answered. This song also gives me a nostalgic feel from old Kpop in a way but it fits so well with 2020. The song itself, just kept bringing me in and the music video as well. When I first listened to this song, I was left in confusion because of how the music video ended. I kept listening to the song and watching the music video to figure it out but nothing. The song itself is just a really interesting song and the music video brings alive the song even more. If you watch the music video there two versions one normal and the other one uncensored. If you watched the uncensored trigger warning, there’s blood, there’s stabbing and mental distress throughout. Nature had a release before this called Oopsie My Bad and that song I liked but it wasn’t enough to bring me in but Girls did that for me. I’ve listened to videos with this song on a hour loop and the sad thing is, I never noticed it being that long because I just enjoy the song so much. This song truly captured my attention and I’m interested to see Nature’s future.

Dazzle Dazzle- Weki Meki

Dazzle Dazzle by Weki Meki was such a cute song and it just makes me smile when I listened to it. Dazzle Dazzle aesthetic in the music video was something that I loved and the outfits as well brought the song more alive to me. Weki Meki had a successful year and all the title songs they had were also some of my favorites of this year. I picked Dazzle Dazzle to be my favorite out of the others because it’s so playful and it was something I was actually craving this year. I love all types of concepts but I couldn’t help myself wanting a cute song and this song gave me that. Not only is the song cute but the dance is also very cute and it matches the song perfectly. It's a song that I play when I clean because it makes it more fun or whatever I'm doing fun. I hope Weki Meki gets more recognition in the years to come because their dances and raps are some of my favorite within girl groups.  

Monster - Irene and Seulgi

Monster by Irene and Seulgi made me feel like a vampire killing men at midnight but looking sexy. The beginning of the song is already eerie and it drives you in with the loudness of the bass. Then Seulgi starts singing and it makes you feel like your captured in a trance. Seulgi’s voice throughout the song is one of her best vocal performance to me because it shows her technique and how well she can use it. The deepness of her voice brings out the sexiness the song has and it’s only the first line. Then Irene’s voice comes in with a deep and again sexy voice but it’s softer then Seulgi’s. Irene’s voice through the song isn’t battling selgui and vice versa. Their voices match perfectly for the song and the concept itself. This song and naughty was my favorite but I picked monster as the winner because of how much I loved the overall themes in the debut. The music video brought out the monster within the girls and throughout the video, it’s a battle of dominance. Monster is literally one of my favorite releases and I listen to it almost everyday, it’s a strange lullaby but I don’t fight it.

Scream- Dreamcatcher

Scream by Dreamcatcher is my second favorite title track by Dreamcatcher and this track rocked the kpop scene gathering more fans and getting more sales. The beginning of the song starts off with a track from Lord of the Rings or any final battle sequence. Dreamcatchers voices are soft and beautiful making the instrumental more demanding, the contrast is what makes every Dreamcatcher song so good in my eyes. The chorus of the song has a devil voice in the background that you hear but don’t truly notice it until later on. The rapping also comes in and it fit so well with the song, it just gives another layer of the song. The devil voice comes back with Gahyeon voice, as if the demon is within her as she sings it. Then towards the end the devil is just part of the song and it makes it known that it’s always been there. I actually had a hard time deciding between Scream and Boca because both were fantastic but Scream won because I enjoyed the demons voice in the song and the beat of the song itself. Boca is also a really good song and I recommend to listen to it but back to scream. The lyrics of scream as well talks about how words can hurt and how it just makes you want to scream because of it. The devil within the song is the people that are sending the hate and towards the end they gain control back even if the demon's voice is still heard. Scream is a good song if you want to pretend your fighting or you just want a song to make you feel empowered.

Not by the Moon - Got7

Not by the Moon by Got7 is my second favorite Got7 song because its beautiful and the music video is one of my favorites that came out this year. Dare I say it, this is my favorite boy group song that came out this year. Let me start off with the melody of the song first, the melody itself just screams royal and elegance to me. Something that I’ve seen in Got7 is the transition into more mature songs and how much I love the transition being so organic. On my favorite album list, Breath of love: Last Piece is there and I talk about how JYP didn’t touch it but within this JYP touched it. Even though JYP touched it, it doesn’t mean I hate it. I wanted Got7 to have the chance having creative outlook for once on a title track. Now back to Not by the Moon. This song made Got7 vocals sound so beautiful and it also gives their vocals a mature sound. As a person that went to a film school, the sets in this music video is so well done. The sets themselves are seen to be extravagant and at the same time simple, the sets don't clash with one another and they fit perfectly with each other. The music video and the outfits sold the theme of royal and it made me like it even more. But now let me thirst over JB in this era. Did you see that man? His outfits and his hair gave me everything. It got so bad that youtube was just showing fancams of him during this era and yes, I watched every one. Not only that, when he was dancing in the background with him being the fine piece of man he is; kept catching my eyes and I couldn’t focus on Young-Jae or Yugyeom. Thirst session over. Not by the Moon is a good sequel to the maturity that You Calling My Name gave and I can't wait to see more by Got7 in 2021.

Wannabe - Itzy

Wannabe by Itzy was the first Itzy song where I didn’t have to listen to it more than once to like it. With DALLA DALLA and ICY, it took awhile for those songs to become my top in my playlist. With the first listen of this song, I knew this was going to become my favorite by Itzy but then Not Shy came out. Wannabe and Not Shy were neck to neck in my book but Wannabe won because of the tune itself. The tune of the song does such a good job on showcasing their voices that there is no battle between them. Wannabe wasn’t something I expected with Itzy after ICY, I expected a song close to ICY but was given the opposite of ICY. Itzy theme is self love and being different, this song is continuation of that theme. This song does what DALLA DALLA does with demanding eyes to be on them but does it in a slightly more mature version of Itzy. The song still is playful but to me it has a sprinkle of mature in it. Now let's talk about the legendary shoulder move. This move changed my life, just watching it being done was so satisfying and I can't explain why it was. The dance break is my favorite dance break within Itzy, it's just so cool to see them move. Wannabe is a good extension if Itzy's themes and I can imagine it becoming a staple in their discography.  

Dream of You - Chung Ha and R3HAB

Dream of you by Chung Ha and R3hab was a song that made me the hoe in me come out and I wanted to dance. It was so hard to pick what Chung Ha song I wanted to put here because all of them are so good and so different from one another. Stay Tonight gave me club kid, Play brought the dancer out but I was wearing a red dress in this one, Bad Boy was a easy song to listen to with two different voices that blend well together and then Dream of You. Dream of You brought out a different reaction, I was shocked because of the dancing that was on my screen and then the lyrics. When I heard Chung Ha say lingerie, my mind combust and I was just stuck replaying that part. The song does a good job to show Chung Ha voice but not only that shows her dancing skills that never fails to impress me. With every release she has, I know I’m going to get the full package no matter what. Somehow, she always raises the bar with her music videos, outfits, dances, and her vocals. I know she has Covid and I hope she has a speedy recovery, I also hope theres no long term effects on her health from this. I think Chung Ha is on her way making herself a legend within Kpop and I can't wait to see that for her.

Yours - Chanyeol, Raiden, Lee Hi, Changmo

Before I get into the song, Chanyeol in a suit with nothing underneath his jacket and the only thing I can see is two necklaces makes me want to become a flight attendant. Not only did he give me that look but he also gave me ripped jeans and a blazer, this man is going to give me a heart attack and I'm going to say thank you. Anyways, Yours by Chanyeol, Raiden, Lee Hi and Changmo was a song that I played the most at night because Chanyeol’s and Lee Hi’s voice was so soft that it could easily put you to sleep. This was my third most played song of 2020 on Spotify for good reason. For starters Chanyeol is my man and I gotta support his hoe ass but another reason is just how peaceful this song is. I had a hard time because I wanted to put Minimal Warm because that was another song I listened to at night and is currently on my 2020 favs on itunes. The hoe in me wanted to give both but I realized that Yours won because Chanyeol rapped in the beginning of Yours and I am a simp for rapper Chanyeol. The song just makes me feel like we're driving to the beach and making a small video when we get there. This song was a light hearted summer song and boy did it make me fall more in love with Chanyeol's hoe ass even more. Lee Hi's voice is a nice addition that makes the song feel even more light and her voice is just nice and smooth. Changmo rap also didn't change the song and it continue the them of light hearted summer song. This song is my lullaby most nights and Chanyeol I miss you on instagram.

Helicopter - CLC

Helicopter by CLC was another long awaited comeback and there was fear because there was a rumor that disbandment was going to be CLC'S next step. I waited for any news and then I saw Yeeun on Good Girl and it made me realize a comeback is coming. When I heard the second teaser of Helicopter, I knew I was going to like the song and I was right. This is one of the best comebacks of 2020 in my opinion because how long we waited for it. Helicopter is as song that I think defines CLC as a whole with the lyrics, the dance, the attitude, and the music video. "I go up in the sky Jumping over the time and space, I changed everything for this moment. A night covered in a veil, passing through a long day. I’m gonna make it big, no doubt. There ain’t no star that cannot shine, let’s hang out at the top." I think these lyrics express everything we want CLC to achieve and what they want to do as well. This song is their driving force to become better and no matter they will reach the top. This song gives you the empowerment to do anything and never give up just like CLC. I'm excited to see more from them and make sure to check their covers, my personal favorite is fly me to the moon.

To be or Not to be - Oneus

To Be or Not to Be by Oneus wasn’t the song I expected after A Song Written Easily because of how different they are. The shock on my face when I saw the teaser for it and the excitement I had because it was new for them. I’ve been a fan of Oneus since they debuted and they’re actually in my top ten boy groups. Their past songs have been dark but To Be or Not to Be was truly one of the darkest songs that they have done. The music video showed off the darkness of the song so well that it didn’t feel like a music video but a movie. This is my favorite music video that came out in 2020 because of the production and the sets that was in it was just so beautiful. The music video is more story telling then other music videos that they have done but it matches at the same time. The rapping in this song was so good, it demanded attention and the deep voices they had just matched so well with the song.  The dance that they had with this song truly blew me away and there parts in the dance where I was shocked, the throwing of the members just matched the song so perfectly. Now lets talk about music video. This music video again was my favorite music video that came out of 2020 because of the story telling it had. In the very first shot, it was light from the sunlight and they were seen wearing white clothing at table with a white table cloth but when the song starts the scene changes into a darker scene. In writing, white is the symbol of purity, innocence and simplicity so when the scene changes to black, you can still see them wearing white but the environment is darker now. As the song moves forward it transitions between the dark and the light. Within the music video, there's flashes of red and red is seen as a overlay in some parts. In film and writing red is the color of anger, passion, love and desire. The useage of red throughout the video makes the song comes more alive. I'm going to stop talking about the music video now because I can just go on for hours on it. The music video and song blend so well with each other that it truly does feel like your watching a movie. I hope they can continue this film work in later videos because it made the song even more special.

Hmph! - WJSN Chocome

Hmph! by WJSN Chocome was the song that I wanted all year and then I was given it, after complaining. See when you complain sometimes you just win and this is my example of that. I can say how playful this song is but I don't even think that word does it justice. This song was so cute and adorable when I first heard it I fell in love with it. In the beginning the song is already bringing you in with the unique beats that I have never heard before. The music video matches the weirdness of this song and it takes the cute to the next level for me. In the music video it shows the dance and the dance is so cute with the song. The whole song, music video, outfits, and dance is the cutest thing I have seen this year. I hope WJSN does a concept like this in the future or maybe another song by WJSN Chocome because I love it and i support the idea of it.

La Di Da - Everglow

La Di Da by Everglow is such a contrast to the last comebacks that they had in past but at the same time it fit with the concept they have established for themselves. When I heard La Di Da teaser I was excited because on my favorite album list, The Weeknd album was my favorite of 2020. This song gave me the vibes of blinding lights and I enjoyed it. Not only that but the part Everglow, forever lets go was the most unexpected break of a song that I have heard but it's my favorite. I hope that becomes their intro when they do interviews because its a cool saying to me. The raps brought more depth to the song and it made love Aisha even more. The outfits of this era was so pretty and I like anything with sequins. The dance had voguing in it and being a huge fan of drag queens, if I see any type of voguing I’m living for it. I know Sihyeon and Yiren tested positive for covid and I hope for a speedy recovery and I also hope this doesn't cost long term damage. 

Honorable mentions:  

Arisong - Cignature

1 billion views (feat. Moon) - EXO-SC

My Day is Full of You - Zico, Wendy

Butterfly - WJSN

Lovesick Girls- Blackpink

Feel Good - Fromis_9  

God’s Menu - Stray Kids

Secret Story of the Swan - Izone

#Girls #Nature #Dazzle Dazzle #Weki Meki #Monster #Irene #seulgi #red velvet #scream #Dreamcatcher #Not by the moon #got7 jb #Wannabe #Itzy #Kpop #kpop favorties 2020 #all credits to owner #all credits to the gif makers #kpop 2020 #Dream of you #Chung ha #chungha #Yours #chanyeol #Lee hi #Helicopter #CLC #To be or not to be #Oneus #Hmph!

[tangledaddict]

Ranking Tangled the Series Season 2 Episodes

Where I rank these are based on my opinion. In this season, it especially has to do with the best of new dream moments...

1. Destinies Collide: Episode 21

This is the only episode where I react the same way I do when I first watched it. I am still shook with everything that happened. The HIATUS after this was the WORST…waiting to know what happens next. Anyway, to know Eugene’s parents now feels so good. I’m glad Eugene now knows his whole story. Of course, I wish he met his mother. Eugene and Rapunzel never gave up on each other and still loved each other every second in that episode even though Eugene almost betrayed Rapunzel. Even Lance and Casssandra knew Eugene wasn’t trying to hurt her. The ending of this episode, yes I am VERY MAD EVERY TIME I WATCH IT. Overall, this episode was REALLY GOOD and the most SHOCKING episode of all time in the series

2. Beyond the Corona Walls: Episode 1

This episode had my heart all over the place. I was crying. All the songs were beautiful. New Dream was at the next level of love. Eugene finally understood that Rapunzel was still not ready yet because she is waiting to reach her destiny. It’s interesting that Stalyn was the one that made Eugene realize proposing was not the right time. I really hate awkward moments, I hate them so much I have to cover my eyes and there were some awkward moments in this episode.  Anyway, I can go on and on about this episode. It was emotionally amazing.

3. Rapunzel and the Great Tree:Episode 14

This was almost a tie for me with my number 1 choice. I enjoyed this episode very much. Waiting in the Wings and Buddy Song is a bop, many cute New Dream moments (especially when they were sleeping together). Eugene and Lance are such a great duo, It was funny to see them act like they were drunk. Also, RAPUNZEL WENT GOTH.

4. Lost and Found: Episode 20

Lots of cute New Dream moments. Rapunzel gave a birthday for Eugene, she tried to make him happy on his day, Eugene saying he has faith because of Rapunzel…yeah. It was great to finally meet Lord Demanitus. The ending of this episode always has me shook.

5. Vigor the Visionary: Episode 6

The fact this episode started with Eugene and Rapunzel looking at each other with heart eyes, Eugene spinning Rapunzel, and they went out on a date is already on the top of my list. Not only that, but they focused on finding Angry’s fortune together.

6. You’re Kidding Me! :Episode 18

Rapunzel and Eugene being parents in this episode was something we totally needed. I never thought about Eugene being the assertive parent. But, it makes sense. I’m not surprised though that Rapunzel was being the sweet one. Of course, I loved the discussion New Dream had at the end talking about how they were going to be parents…I was like OMGGGGGGG.

7. Rapunzeltopia: Episode 19

The episode where Cassandra meet Zhan Tiri and we didn’t know at the time oooohhh. Anyway, I hate the fact that Eugene in Rapunzels dream was a lot like the actual Eugene. I hate that because I wish some of those moments they had in her dream were real. Rapunzel and Rapunzel was something I didn’t know I needed and I am glad it exists.

8. There’s Something About Hookfoot: Episode 9

I wasn’t expecting hook foot to fall in love with a mermaid. But, the date was cute and it was also cute how they met. Rapunzel and Eugene were adorable together in this episode. Yes, they argued. But, at the end of the day, they agreed with each other and love each other more after setting up this date for hookfoot.

9. Curses! Episode 12

I really loved the encouragement Rapunzel and Eugene shared together in this episode. It was great to hear them talk about conversations they had awhile back. It wasn’t great that Eugene lied to Rapunzel about the tooth. But, he clearly lied to make her happy. So, now we all know that Eugene would literally do anything for Rapunzel, even if it means lying to make her happy.

10. Mirror, Mirror: Episode 17

No surprise Eugene was the first to be trapped in that mirror lol. But, it was funny seeing that other Eugene trying to do the smoulder and Eugene doing the smoulder on the other Rapunzel. Also, how they all reacted to Shorty eating like an actual human being, LOL.

11. The Forest of No Return: Episode 4

Eugene and Rapunzel were so cute in this episode! This was one of those episode where Eugene needs to stop completely relying on only himself and start relying on others. It’s amazing to see how much Rapunzel has changed. I really liked Adira the best in this episode, I feel like this is the only episode we got to really see her personality because in the other episodes she’s in, she seems pretty quiet.

12. Happiness is… Episode 10

This episode was very relatable because I easily get homesick. So, I understand why Rapunzel was fighting for that thing. It was funny when everyone was fighting for it, even Eugene was practicing his smoulder for her and I am the crab that fell lol. I also like how the lanterns ended up on that island and went Rapunzel sent the lantern back, it went back to Corona. So, I’m happy to see that her parents got the lantern.

13. Rapunzel: Day One : Episode 16

So.many.movie.references!!! It was good to see Rapunzel’s past self. She changed so much since she was in that tower. She’s learned so much, explored the outside world, and has become so much stronger. Without this episode, I feel like a lot of us would forget how much she’s changed.

14. King Pascal: Episode 8

The outfits were cute, I love the tree house that Cass and Rapunzel built, and Eugene’s outfit and wet hair is sexy. This felt like a different version of the Pascal Story episode but not as emotional but instead comical. To me, it was cute and funny that Pascal was being treated like a leader, he’s just a chameleon. ;)

15. The Eye of Pincosta: Episode 13

I’m glad they gave more screen time to Stalyn. But, I wish we saw her earlier in the season and Eugene was there. I wanted to hear more about Stalyn and Eugene’s relationship. But, it was barely brought up. Still, it was funny that Eugene got arrested very quickly and amazing that this time Rapunzel sacrificed her life to get the object that would free Eugene and her friends. In the previous episode, Eugene lied to make Rapunzel happy. In this episode, Rapunzel did all she could to free Eugene. I liked how these episodes are right next to each other.

16. Keeper of the Spire: Episode 7

Everyone was so annoyed in this episode and because of that I LOVED it. But, I also felt sorry for them because Calliope was annoying to me.

17. Max and Eugene in Peril on the High Seas: Episode 11

If you are a fan of Eugene, you will love this episode. Since Eugene is my favorite character, this episode made me love him more. I’m really glad he kept that book over his chest because if he didn’t omg what a twist of events this episode could’ve turned into. Also, I loved the graphics in this episode (The book, the knife, the intro title to the episode).

18. The Brother’s Hook: Episode 15

It was great to see they brought back a character from the movie in this episode. The seal wedding was really cute! I shipped these seals and the baby seals are REALLY cute!

19. Freebird: Episode 5

This episode was definitely different. Something I would have never imagined. But, it was interesting to see the characters as birds! I’m not surprised Rapunzel loved flying. Clearly she’ll do anything for flying.

20. Goodbye and Goodwill: Episode 3

Cassandra and Rapunzel’s relationship in this episode was by far the best! Their arguments were hysterical and when they were cuffed together omg, hysterical! Eugene’s drawing of a gopher was so funny and inaccurate! Also, there were some cute New Dream moments.

21. The Return of Quaid: Episode 2

I understand why this episode exists. But, it’s not my favorite. I wish this episode was instead about learning about Eugene and Stalyn’s past. But, they never went into a story about that and I wish they did! Anyway, this episode really showed more of Rapunzel. She really cares about things that really aren’t any of her business. And she saves a town that is a long drive away from Corona! There were a lot of small funny moments between Cass, Eugene, Rapunzel, Lance, and Maximus.  

#tangled #tangled the series #rapunzels tangled adventure #ranking

[lizzybeth1986]

Quick Thoughts on The Royal Heir, Book 1 Chapter 1

• We're back! Hopefully with a better series this time, but I'm not going to keep my hopes too high.

• If my QTs are clogging up your dash, I recommend you block these particular tags: #trh quick thoughts, #trh qts, and optionally #long post.

• Much like my Book 3 QTs, I will be exploring as many playthroughs as I possibly can to see how each LI's route is being written. Last book, this experiment definitely helped me figure out that they were putting more effort into some characters and less into others, and I'd still like to keep an eye out for these things as much as possible.

• I feel this QT might be shorter than my usual (edit: joke's on me - it's not!! 🙈), mostly because the opening chapter itself is...pretty light, and is mostly meant for us to spend time and have fun with our chosen LI. Plus a tiny smidgen of buildup to the premise, which is having a child in Cordonia. But I do have a theory about the overall theme that I'm going to be expanding on towards the end of the chapter.

• Okay that's it for preliminary explanations, it's time for me to start with the chapter! XD

• Ooh. Oooooooh. This loading page now has tidbits about Cordonian society!! Interesting.

• Title: Happily Ever Afterwards

Alternative Title: Be Grateful We're Letting You Have This Much Sex For Free This Week, Because That's The Last Time It's Happening.

• I'm extremely offended they're making me wear that Pepto Bismol outfit again.

•

...thanks so much for reminding me you still don't care about Hana, PB! 🙄 Everyone else remains to be some version of "loyal", but Hana is still considered more for her skills than for her own steadfastness, even though she was the most hardcore-loyal of the four (SHE LEFT HER FREAKING HOME. HER FREAKING FAMILY. FOR YOU. While the other three were certainly loyal and honorable to the MC, they definitely didn't have to completely cut ties with their families to do right by the MC).

• The "fairytale" aesthetics of the frame story were what drew people into TRR in the first place, so it's not too surprising that the LIs and MC give a nod to the flagship series with a "once upon a time". If you're with Liam, it goes straight from "falling in love with the Prince" to what his relationship with her taught him, before the happily ever after. If you're with one of the other three LIs, it specifies that she came there for Liam but fell for someone else. Sounds a lot like Maxwell's book 😄 In Maxwell's playthrough, in fact, there is a reference to it when the MC calls him a "famous author".

•

(Screenshots organized as follows: 1 - Liam, 2 - Drake, 3 - Maxwell, 4 - Hana. Liam's and Hana's are my own. Drake's from @thefirstcourtesan, and Maxwell's from Kaitlyn Walker's YouTube channel).

The other interesting thing to note is that in Liam's playthrough, he leads the narration. While in everyone else's the MC is the one who steers it. One reason I can think of is that the narrative still treats this story as Liam's story as much as it is the MC's (if I'm right about the theme) - which...has honestly always been a sore point with the fanbase in TRR. That would depend on how us and our baby are now further involved with Cordonia in the story. Another factor for why she leads the narration...could be that essentially, the MC took initiative in the other three relationships, while in Liam's case it was he who took a more active role by proposing to her.

• The little story ends with this question from the MC:

Question: But what happens after Happily Ever After?

Answer: Mess. In Cordonia it's always mess.

• Cordonians (specifically the upper classes, since I don't know enough about the common populace to tell, since they're, yknow, practically invisible) are addicted to tea, apples and fucking shit up where they don't even need to.

• ANYWAY. What (literally) happens after 'happily ever after' is a tropical honeymoon on Liam's private island. In the case of the other three, he allows them access to the place and gives the staff instructions on making the stay comfortable for them.

• Now, since Liam owns the island and has probably visited it a could times, he shows more familiarity with it. He tells his wife that on previous trips the island had more rustic accommodations, but the villa they're now staying in was prepared recently. Additionally, the butler welcomes Hana, Maxwell and Drake as newcomers to the island, considering it's their first time. With Liam, there is an air of familiarity - he calls the butler by his name (Javier) and enquires about him and his wife (Mariana) - to show us perhaps how familiar he is with this holiday spot.

• Why the hell does everyone call Liam "Your Highness"? It's been two whole books since he became King, and the proper title for a monarch is "Your Majesty". How is it that Constantine gets to rake the MC over the coals for calling him Your Highness, yet Liam has to hear this from practically everyone. From Javier to freakin' Protocol-Monitor-Madeleine! The disrespect, I tell you!

• Okay so we're having a candlelit dinner by the ocean, and we get our first OOTD. Cute beach dress, has bright flowers and some crochet work on the bodice. I bought it because I couldn't bear to have Esther stay another minute in that Pepto Bismol of a dress.

• LOL @ all the LI responses to "this spot is right where the sharks are!"

• Tuna sashimi and pineapple aioli, huh? I have never had either so idek what that's supposed to taste like (someone on this writing team likes pineapples). I remember having to cut down on tuna during pregnancy, which meant no more Subway sandwiches since the tuna sub was the only one I liked at the time. IIRC most of my family were also cautioning me against pineapples and papaya during my first trimester!

• My gosh this butler doesn't waste much time jumping into assumptions huh?

• Also Javier, why is Cordonia's future so dependent on the well-being of my foetus even if I'm not ruling the country?

• Does Cordonia have sex ed? My money is on no. (esp in the Hana route).

• So there are two parts to the way the premise of wanting to have kids is built up in this sequence. In the first part, the LI impresses upon the MC the need to have children soon after the wedding. The second part addresses the urgency - the "why right now?" factor, and explores the LI's personal emotions towards having children. This bit also feels a bit like a follow-up to the Valtoria balcony scene in Chapter 15.

• The first part is pretty similar for Drake, Hana and Maxwell - all three of whom are now married to a Duchess and are aware that securing the duchy is important. They word it in their own distinctive styles, but the gist is pretty much the same. In Liam's case, since he is the king of the country, he speaks more about Cordonia and its tensions with neighbouring countries.

Take note of this because I'll be returning to this point later. (also who are the writers trying to convince about Cordonia's size. "Small kingdom" my ass).

• I'll be going by the LIs' personal reasons to have a baby now, one by one, along with a summary of their views on children in the Valtoria balcony scene last book (since this scene clearly references that diamond scene if you've bought it last book).

(Screenshots: Liam's and Hana's screenshots are mine, Drake's is from @thefirstcourtesan and Maxwell's is from Kaitlyn Walker's YouTube channel)

- Liam: Liam's love for family and need for children is well-known throughout the series. In Book 1, he's dropped hints about wanting to have a different kind of family dynamic from the one he'd experienced as a child, and in Book 2 there were multiple references to wanting to not be Constantine - both as a King and as a father. In the balcony scene in Book 3, Chapter 15, Liam tells us a number of things - about the value of having more heirs for succession, of him always dreaming of having at least 3 children, about Kenna, Cordonia's most legendary warrior queen which leads to an interesting factoid about how the rules of successions for both the throne and duchies are not gender-specific (he also cites Olivia and Penelope as being in line to inherit their duchies). In this sequence Liam undoubtedly has more to say about the political aspect of having an heir than the personal, but his statement about "someone missing" in their lives is of no surprise when he's been enthusiastic about kids for three books straight.

- Drake: Drake perhaps gets the lengthiest 'personal' bit of all, revolving around his eagerness to be a father and his own family history. This scene has Drake speaking of wanting a child with "your eyes and my hair", but most of all of Savannah and her little family, and wanting the happiness his sister is experiencing now. The writing often manages to tie Drake's thoughts about his future family with his past: in the Valtoria balcony scene, his memories of his father and his desire to bring up his own kids the way Jackson did are dominant in the conversation on children. He speaks at length about the absence of a proper 'home' so far in his life (stating that his room at the palace always felt like "a room in someone else's house") and how high on his priority list the prospect of having children is. The Valtoria scene shows him eager to have kids asap, and this scene builds up the same urgency. You're left in no doubt that he wants those kids now.

• Maxwell: Maxwell's route of this scene soundly pretty sudden, tbh. In his Valtoria scene, Maxwell expressed doubt and nervousness when it came to children, citing the example of Bartie ("I love palling around with little Bartie and everything, but if he bonks his head or something, I can just hand him back to Savannah. When it's your kid, you're the one people hand him to."). While this is referenced in TRH's dialogue when Maxwell jokes about forgetting diapers and baby socks - it's a pretty big jump from the man who didn't exactly feel ready to have children yet, and not enough work was done to justify that shift. This could be somewhat excused in the beginning of Book 3, when the narrative had just begun to treat him like an LI, but they've had an entire damn book and several months after to reflect on how to write him properly. That is...if they actually gave a damn.

- Hana: They don't even have the excuse of "relatively new LI" in Hana's case. Because she is the lone female LI married to a female MC, her scene should have been a lot more extensive and explored her urgency to have children so soon after their wedding, a whole lot more. There are tiny changes, like the one where she hints at the "logistical concerns" that come with two women considering a family, and where she speaks of giving her child the childhood she never had (which, frankly, is an extremely vague statement and could be applicable to more than one character in Cordonia). But there is urgency that, again, isn't properly explained in the scene. Even Hana's Valtoria scene doesn't have much that would explain why she would want a child barely weeks after her wedding. The Valtoria scene does have her outlining her dreams for the duchy (along with a joke about her enacting "Beauty and the Beast") and her happiness at the thought of being a mother (she maintains that out of the things expected of her, motherhood is the one she looked forward to). They could have spent some time thinking up a reason for why Hana would rush this, even before anything has happened, or outlined something personal and not ultra-generic. Both Maxwell and Hana deserved a lot better than this.

• Maxwell speaks about possibly forgetting diapers (PLS NO MAXWELL NO) and baby socks (um okay not as bad but depends on the climate), and one of the MC's dialogue options is to say..."diapers and socks are overrated". Guys your kid won't care how much fun you are when they have a bum rash.

• A-ha! Diamond scene. First-chapter diamond love scenes always come cheap in these series' (12 diamonds) and are usually quite a steal.

• ESTHER HAS NEW LINGERIE OMG I'M SO HAPPY I'D BEEN WAITING FOR THIS MOMENT FOR SO LOOOOONG 😭😭😭😭

• ...and it is also matches Liam's underwear. Maxwell's too 😅

• The scene is nice, there are variations between the ways the LIs work up their appetite before they finally roll in the...well, sand 😅 Maxwell has what they call an "ocean duel", Hana's fulfills her lifelong dream of carrying and spinning around her wife on a secluded beach, Drake chases the MC through the water...and Liam just enjoys being a huuuge tease, okay? 😂

• Oh God, why are they still using the old LoveHacks sexytimes music. That "DHUM-boom-ta-doom-DHUM" beat drives me nuts, and not in a good way. You have better music now, PB! Like the sexytimes tunes from RCD and PM. Use those!

• My gosh this entire group is quite horny for dominant duchesses, aren't they. Every last one of them. Each playthrough has these four gazing at the MC in wonder and telling her some variation of "I think you ordering me around is hot". Olivia could trample over them all with spiked heels and they would thank her!

• As always, when something suspicious happens, my dumbass MC goes ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ and never thinks about it again until shit actually goes down. This woman will never learn, will she.

• Anyway! We now move on to the rest of the honeymoon, summed up in three-four varying scenes per LI:

(Screenshots: Liam's and Hana's screenshots are mine, Drakes is HIMEME's YouTube channel, and Maxwell's is from Kaitlyn Walker's YouTube channel).

- Liam: Focused and dedicated. And insatiable as hell. Sex on a bed (SHOCKING!), sex after his wife points out what could be an apple constellation during stargazing (the MC effectively killed Liam's boner for Cordonia, I see), sex after having chocolate strawberries at a sunlit pond, sex again on a bed (Why is he getting four? 🤔). While the staff is still around somewhere on the island. This is a man with a mission.

- Maxwell: Fun and playful - kind of a "let's live wild and do daredevilry while we can!" vibe. In one Maxwell and the MC cliff dive into the ocean, debating over the wisdom of such risky adventuring when they may possibly be having a baby. In another, the MC watches, concerned, as Maxwell eats a raw squid appetizer. There is a nice callback to Maxwell's House sigil - the kraken - when he tells her that a squid would never hurt a fellow squid. The third shows them playing Strip Monopoly in the comfort of their bedroom.

- Hana: Adorable, caring and looking through every detail. Hana's three scenes involve her showing the MC the sights around the sunlit pond (which Hana and the MC lovingly call the "Hana Lee Honeymoon Itinerary"), watching the sunset under blankets, and this little scene of them choosing sperm donors for their baby:

It's a nice addition, but it still doesn't explain why they couldn't have waited a few more months. Nothing has happened yet in the timeline of the story, the women are (they believe) finally safe and happy, and while Javier seems to believe that babies born to a couple that consists of two women pop out of nowhere, I'm hoping the denizens of their duchy will have at least a little more common sense (this is Cordonia, so "hope" is the operative word).

- Drake: Langorous, relaxed and contented. Stargazing on the beach (I wonder whether this was a nod to the meteor shower scene in Book 1), whiskey on a patio/balcony/whatever in the afternoon, and eating roasted pork by the fire. Plenty of sex but also lots of outdoors, which means lots of the stuff Drake enjoys doing.

• Aaaaaand it's time for sexy scene 2! The couple are now relaxing in bed on the last day of their honeymoon, and the LI proposes a momento in the form of a sensual photoshoot (which comes with artwork of the LI in their underwear, posing for the MC) The male LIs pose with their hands at the back of their heads, smirking at the camera, while Hana strikes a coy pose, leaning against her hand. It's a quick, fun scene that's supposed to squeeze as much alone-time out of the couple as possible, because from here on the focus may shift to other things. Basically this chapter is meant to be one giant (but largely safe for readers) smutfest. I like the artwork - it's different and I guess meant to be a little more realistic than the usual full-page art in the books (like the engagement and wedding photos with your LIs last book), which is why I think it takes a little getting used to. I know it took me some time!

• Maxwell got an underwear upgrade too!

• We've now come to the end of our honeymoon, our bags packed and ready for our return to Cordonia. The chapter ends with us seeing a "familiar face", who could either be Liam (if you married someone else, and he doesn't show any expression) or an unspecified person (if you married Liam, and he looks ultra happy). Now that could either be related to some paparazzi-related stuff, if the flash of light was paparazzi-related, or it could be a fake-out and he's actually brought along the rest of the gang to surprise you. Idk and I don't want to speculate too much on this, mostly because something more interesting caught my eye.

• So that's it for my thoughts on the scenes themselves! On to the "general thoughts" section.

• General Thoughts and Potential Theories:

- As a first chapter for a new series that is still tied to an older one, it worked. It mirrors the light feel and sensibility of TRR's very first chapter, in that both chapters build an illusion of a fairytale-like place, with hints of the darkness within emerging the next chapter onwards (in this series though - since we're already familiar with Cordonia - the darkness is lightly hinted at this chapter itself). In a lot of ways I think we're going to see a lot of parallels between TRR and this new series.

- Unfortunately, one of those similarities also includes the imbalance in the writing for the LIs. Specifically with Maxwell and Hana. It's the most glaring in the dinner scene, which builds for us the premise on which this entire book stands (the topic of pregnancy). There are ways you could have them make the jump from nervous about having kids to excited, if you tried - there are elements in their storyline that could have helped us understand their urgency.

- I played Liam's route first, and was happy overall with it but I still have my misgivings. The good in terms of Liam's story is that he gets importance because the story is also about him and his country, where we are staying. He gives us some very important details in his route, and personally I like that his role as Guide To The Intricacies And Nuances of Cordonian Society still exists...but you can't deny that there were things in his storyline which should have been addressed and never were. I hope those are addressed this book. If they do the same this time around, it will only be to their detriment.

- Also, I find it highly ironic that Drake is the one to mention Savannah and Bartie when it was MAXWELL who was more involved in helping her with the child. Sure, he was - as he confessed in that Valtoria scene - more the "fun uncle" type, but he was still pretty heavily involved. Still keeping track of what Savannah needed and what Bartie would want. In his own final Book 3 scene, Maxwell is shown having an amazing rapport with little Bartie, playing peekaboo with his nose. I can barely count scenes involving Drake and Bartie with the fingers of one hand. Why couldn't Maxwell reference that last moment in Book 3, drawing up some inspirational moment from it? Like spending more and more time with Bartie changed the way he felt about kids? Or maybe that Savannah or Bertrand said something regarding the joy children bring to him. Anything that gives us some idea of when this shift happened.

Maxwell may have been new last book. It may have been a struggle to know what to do with him last book. But that isn't the case right now. By now they should have settled in their writing of him and figured out ways to make his story make sense? To give him more depth rather than simply reducing the man to the court jester? Maxwell's story was supposed to be about him growing, the scene in Valtoria was supposed to be about wanting to be a good father for his future children but fearing he might fail...yet the writers have the same man say the exact opposite. Maxwell's family history was thrown away for no good reason last book, and was replaced by Savannah drama. There was more space given to Savannah's love story with Bertrand (which didn't NEED the entire book to gain fruition) and Drake (optionally) enjoying humiliating Bertrand. That time, energy and effort could have gone in building up Maxwell, getting an insight into what happened to the Beaumonts that they became so poor...but no. The only Beaumont that mattered seems to be Savannah (and we know exactly why). And going by the fact that they're going to force an entire wedding storyline involving Bertrand and Savannah down our throats, that still seems to be the case.

- Hana's is even more worrying considering that it was poles apart from the rest of the playthroughs and therefore SHOULD have had more thought. Yes Hana loves the idea of being a mother. Yes Hana loves children and has a nurturing nature. But the urgency is still the same as the others' in her playthrough, and it made absolutely no sense. There was a clear dissonance between their current situation and the rush these two were in.

Hana's deserved at least some more time in her dinner scene. Maybe one where she could speak about growing up an only child, with no companions and not even toys. She could explain the loneliness involved in having a small family with parents who gave her more duties than affection, and then speak about giving her kid a better childhood. There isn't even any discussion about which of them should be the person carrying (we know it will be the MC, but why it has to be her in their case is anyone's guess).

What the team have done here is give Hana the bare minimum, after an entire two books of giving her even less than that. I know I'll probably be judged for thinking negatively rather than being cautiously optimistic, but the fact is that the moment this team feels they can get away with tossing scraps or less than that, they can and will do it. It's not stopped them before: not from botching up Hana's storyline, not from giving Hana fans a reception full of goof-ups and shoddy writing, not from pairing her with her bully. Perhaps last year I would have been happy and grateful to see Hana and the MC calling each other "my wife". This time...I refuse to settle for just mere scraps. If you can give thought and care to Liam and Drake's storylines, you'd better be able to do the same for Hana and Maxwell, otherwise what's the point of reviving this book? What's the point of using Hana specifically in two of your ads as bait for your lesbian/bi/wlw fans?? Might as well let the entire series rot in the trash where it belongs in that case.

- I've heard theories about our child becoming heir to the throne, thanks to a possible future arc that may make Liam unable to have children. I personally hate this possible plot line for two reasons:

1. As it is the MC gets more importance than she deserves, whether or not she actually puts in the work. She becomes a front-runner during the social season even if she fails. She becomes a Duchess even if she lacks even the most basic skills, while Hana who has done way more than she ever had for the country gets nothing, not even a needle-point's worth of land. She becomes Champion of the Realm even if she is literal garbage throughout that book, when that title could have easily gone to Olivia or Hana instead if she didn't earn enough to get it. And now to have her kid be made an heir to the throne? For no good reason? Get outta here.

2. Forcing Liam into yet another storyline that is tragic and painful (and I'm pretty sure the writers will find yet another excuse to write a thesis on Drake Walker in the time they could be using to let Liam actually break down, or vent. If they couldn't be bothered to explore the man's feelings when his own father died, do you really think they will bother with him in this??) on top of whatever else he's had to experience so far? At this point I can do with less of that. I'm honestly sick of storylines that put Liam in very uncomfortable, painful situations with very little space for him to air out his grief. Give the man a fucking break. Let him have some breathing space to rule his goddamned kingdom, get him a fantastic therapist and get him better friends while he's at it. Pushing him into yet another messed-up situation when you've barely even scratched the surface with what his experiences have done to him, is really just drama for the sake of drama, nothing else.

- Nonetheless, since this is about a pregnancy and a future heir, I believe there will be plenty talk about succession, and about the importance given to fertility and children in Cordonian society. But as with the social season in Book 1, the engagement tour in Book 2, and the wedding + Unity Tour in Book 3, I believe the pregnancy itself is a frame story. The kind of story that justifies the glitz, the glitter, and the glamorous events...that can serve as a temporary gloss to cover the conflicts within. All while the inner stories reveals those conflicts, layer by layer (again, if it's done right. Book 3 is a good example of a great premise ruined by bad writing. I sincerely hope this book does not go in that direction).

- Remember those screenshots I put up in that dinner scene from Liam's route? About Cordonia's tensions with its neighbouring countries, and how the country may be viewed as vulnerable? I think that's where the actual theme of the story lies.

Books 1 and 2 mostly revolved around the illusion of Cordonia - the fairytale kingdom - before the MC herself is confronted with the tensions brewing within. Book 3 was about strengthening Cordonia through resolution of internal conflict. It was about learning about the intricacies of the country, its most powerful duchies, their histories and identities, Cordonia's messy, complicated history - to tackle the problems that lay within.

I feel like Book 4 would be taking a natural progression from resolving internal conflict to finally standing united as a nation against outside forces. Constantine - in his conversation with the MC in Shanghai - hints not only at groups within Cordonia that wanted to destroy the monarchy, but also foreign powers ("suffice to say there are those who envy Cordonia's prosperity...". Not the royal family's - but "Cordonia's").

Keeping a united front and showcasing strength through pride in the country - ergo 'patriotism', or perhaps 'national integration' since Cordonia is home to many different cultures and geographical locations (I originally wrote 'nationalism here, but now realize there may be negative connotations attached to that word in today's times: thanks @musicallisto!) is often viewed as an asset against alien forces. The MC is now a part of the monarchy/nobility, and will be irrevocably tied to the country's future - so it makes sense that she will now dig into the deepest and most intimate parts of Cordonia's history, and go several steps further in helping to unite the nation.

- Why do I theorize 'patriotism' or 'national integration' as being a theme? There are several reasons for this:

The Unresolved Storylines: We still have a ways to go in understanding Cordonian history. We don't know which other forces were involved in previous assassinations, and we don't have a clue what happened to Liam's mother. All we do know is that other people and groups that we have probably not even seen yet, may have been involved. Francesco (who also knew Liam's mother) and Xinghai, the only foreign delegates/visitors that we got to network with in Book 2, have minimal roles so far but SEEM to have had some influence when they were introduced earlier. Francesco particularly could have some sort of role to play, given what we were told about him in Book 2. Now would be a good time to explore why he needed contacts with these people (other than the fact that Xinghai is Hana's dad). It's possible that nothing will happen and we may not even see these two, or exchange any important information, but I'd still hope that there is some importance to their appearances in Book 2.

The Connections We Made In The Engagement Tour: Meeting Francesco in Capri was related to getting access to EU markets for Cordonian products. The engagement tour itself revolved around grabbing international attention towards Cordonian problems - one of which was the tsunami that hit Portavira, which we learn more about in Book 3. There is a possibility that these threads may be picked up in the future.

Both the above points hint at possible threats, or allies. At this point we can't exactly determine who is friend and who is foe, but it is clear that neighbouring countries - and indeed countries we have associated with in the past - will play a pretty big role in the way we view Cordonia, and in the way we direct the narrative of this country.

The Artwork: I love this part of my theory because it is the most based on actual evidence rather than guesswork. The idea of a nation depends as much on items of familiarity and symbols, as it does on history. It's why countries have national animals, anthems, fruits. Why art depicting national and local legends can often be considered almost sacred. The book has barely even begun yet, and already it is FILLED with all kinds of things symbolic to Cordonia.

Let's first take a peek at the cover art:

Now let's ignore Liam's and Drake's (busted) faces in this cover and focus on what the three are holding.

The MC holds a rattle in her hand, and the jewel within the rattle looks similar to a ruby, which has been associated more than once with apples in the story (Cordonia's most valued variety of apple is the Cordonian Ruby, Liam's wedding gift to the MC is a ruby in the shape of an apple. The same rattle shows up in the second cover [on the left] as well. It's a stretch, I know, but I've got better evidence. Stick with me).

Liam holds a onesie with a crown design on the front - and we know that "for crown and country" is a popular phrase, especially for toasts, in Cordonia. Drake holds out a toy lion: the lion is the national animal, and holds a place of pride in the national Coat-of-Arms. The throne on which the MC herself sits, is blue and gold - both considered national colours. That's at least 4 symbols related to Cordonia vying for our attention on the same cover!

I mean, even Book 3 had just two major symbols - the apple (related to Cordonia) and the phoenix gown (related to Valtoria) - featuring on its cover.

The biggest proof to me, however, is not the cover, but the loading page. To be more precise - what is written above that loading page. A number of Choices books (BB, for instance) write little factoids about the world they are building above the loading bar, which players can read while they're waiting for the chapter to load. This wasn't a common practice with TRR, but they've definitely started it now! Some of the commentary is usual stuff - about gaining advantages through outfits, welcoming you back to Cordonia, etc...but THIS TIME there are tidbits of information given to us as well. And 80% of those involve apples!

Here are a few I managed to catch. One fact on the importance of apples in Cordonian culture, two specifically on the Cordonian Ruby itself including a rare recipe, and two old proverbs (this isn't the only time we've heard apple-related proverbs in the books - in Book 3 for instance, Bertrand refers to their trip to Fydelia as 'slicing two apples with one knife'). Proverbs in general often give us an idea of what people within a region hold up as important, as so connected to their life experiences that they can use those familiar objects as motifs for things that they see in daily life (eg. proverbs in my home state, Kerala, often refer to things/animals we find locally: jasmines, coconuts, jackfruit, dogs, elephants).

The fact that the apple features so often and with such emphasis in the loading page itself - and we have already seen what this simple fruit means to Cordonia - indicates to me that this national symbol - and the idea of the nation itself - will be of great importance. Not only will we be exploring foreign relations, IMO, but we'll also be learning how to build a national narrative that will benefit and strengthen Cordonia.

What's also interesting is that the apple symbolizes fertility to the Cordonian people as well - the apple cutting ceremony during a wedding (as explained by Regina to Leo's fiancée in RoE) is "a symbol of the fruit the tree will bear - you being the tree, of course", and there are chances that the fruit may feature often within the context of pregnancy/having children as well.

• That's all for now, guys. I hope to write more and theorize more as the chapters progress! Until then, I hope you enjoy this one, and I'd love to hear what you have to say.

• I did the Hana screenshots for this chapter, since the first chapter allows me to play repeatedly within losing keys, but I won't be able to do so from Chapter 2 onwards. If there are any Hana fans out there who keep screenshots of scenes in their route and are interested in sharing, I'd love to hear from you and will definitely credit you for the screenshots I put up!

• If you'd like to be tagged in future QTs, please let me know! Tagging @nikkisha16 for now since she asked xD

• Until Saturday, folks!

#long post #trh quick thoughts #the royal heir #trh qts #king liam #liam x mc #hana lee #hana x mc #maxwell beaumont #maxwell x mc #drake walker #drake x mc

[rhimorechill]

1-30 can i just have your opinion on all of them please

KDHSKHFKFB whoever u are anon ur actually my only follower ever

1. are you of the “tom nook is a crook” or “tom nook is an honest businessman” opinion ?

HES AN HONEST BUSINESSMAN !!! ur loans have NO interest and he was handing out 100k interest/month for a good while there !!!!! the only reason it dropped to 10k is b/c i accidentally made a mil while tryna get dreamies ok. the whole "nook inc owns the entire island" thing is KINDA WEIRD but like ! i mean. its still a pretty sweet deal

2. do you play as yourself or a made up character ?

i play as me !! and then everyone tells me my character is cute which ROCKS

3. where is your house located ?

well CURRENTLY. its just at the center of the island. but once i get terraforming (which will be as soon as i get lolly, mitzi, and purrl) it will be on its own little island in the middle of the island

4. who were your first villagers ?

hamlet and renee ! and bea and agent s and broccolo. oh and quillson. theyre all gone now but i moved bea into a friends island so i can visit her later !!

5. preferable method of earning bells ?

turnip runs babey !!! srsly i will pay like 500k tips and make a million in PROFIT (per run !!) its fucking awesome. i never use turnip exchange tho that shit website always stops telling me where i am in the queue

6. what villager personalities do you typically get along best with ?

i love all of them. so much. normal and lazy villagers might take the cake, but ankha was on my island for 2 days and nearly stole my heart, so snooty villagers r up there too. smug villagers ? like i mostly have experience w raymond b/c i fucking HATED quillson and keaton n ed i barely paid attention to (ed gets points tho. he shares my bday) but that goddamn nerd has a war with slugs. we love to see it. peppy villagers rock (i have THREE on my island rn... but ugh i gotta kick out merry sometime..... i love her but i just !! have too many). i CANNOT hate jock villagers those guys just wanna work out !!! and talk abt working out !!!! theyve done nothing wrong in their whole lives. uchi villagers are great too and cranky villagers r trying their best !!! every villager is good is what im saying. even quillson (i guess)

7. who is your current best friend in the game ?

MGHGSHGD felicity or raymond !!! they send me mail all the time and also i really like raymond. b/c hes such a fucking NERD of an accountant. and felicity was the first of my dreamies to move in so im 💚 when it comes to her...... SOMEDAY. lolly will also be my bff. lolly come home

8. is there a villager you want to get rid of ?

MERRY WHITNEY VELMA. PLEASE GO AWAY. U R ALL SWEETIES BUT NONE OF U MADE THE CUT. ONLY ONE OF U IS EVEN A CAT. (if you want whitney or velma pls dm me !!! someone asked for merry already but id love for them to be on islands where ppl love em)

9. do you hoard a lot of items ?

YES. i did a purge the other day and laid a fuckton of items out to give away. it did not fit and i had to shove some on the cliffs. i still have a big pile waiting to be taken. meanwhile my storage gets new items added

10. take medicine or save & restart ?

medicine is for chumps.

11. where is your favorite spot in your village ?

HMMMM i rlly like my entrance !!!! its rlly neat and has green AND pink mums + trees..... and fencing and a path. IDK i worked hard on it and think it turned out rlly well !!!! other than that maybe my shopping area ? i dont have terraforming yet so theres a lot i Havent Gotten To wrt my island (like my cliffs are almost entirely undeveloped b/c i havent placed any inclines. so theres no pathing)

12. what achievement do you want to hit the most ? (ex: golden equipment, all fish / bugs, etc)

its not REALLY an achievement but i want all my dreamies real bad. after that i want a 5 star island !! i would like a lily of the valley. or 20.

13. do you know any secret tips ?

HMMM i dont think so ?? i dont really know any secrets. ive been trying out campsite cycling and it has Not been going well tho. if u need tips on tting to move villagers out or smthn i can help w that !! this is such a vague q that im like DO i know smthn ??? that is a secret ?????? i also vaguely know abt *m**b* sp**f*ng but im not allowed to do that soooo. thats a pipe dream. fun fact: its not a secret but gardening is SO fucking complicated theres genetics n shit. its wild. thank god someone straight up gave me blue roses so i dont have to go thru that shit. also do not tt backwards when dealing with turnips. not even 30 mins to save ur 600+ prices frm closing time. They Will Change

14. who are your dreamies ?

THESE CATS (i know major shocker from tumblr user pumakittycat. app is acnh life)

15. favorite furniture item ?

HMMMM THIS IS A TOUGH ONE. maybe mum cushions ? those r cute as fuck. i love every flower item, honestly, frm garden wagons to flower stands to pansy tables to hycanith lamps to. idk the bonsai shelf ? i have one of those. i also love my sea globe. its great. WAIT DO RUGS AND WALLS/FLOORS COUNT THERES NO QUESTIONS ABT THOSE i love so many FUCKING items. also autumn woods wall, if ur out there,

16. favorite clothing item / outfit ?

my green clover dress !!!! its the best thing EVER. my full outfit also consists of a silver tiara, a cherry blossom pouchette, white fishnets, and green rubbertoed sneakers. and, ofc, clover facepaint. ALSO FOR CONTEXT. my island is named clover bay thats why im like Clover Time. Theyre Important To The Aesthetic. im also an aro bitch who loves overall dresses. b/c they slap

17. favorite museum room ?

I LOVE THE LITTLE BUTTERFLY ROOM do not even TALK to me unless ur the butterfly room in the museum THERES SO MANY AT ALL TIMES ITS SO NICE

18. cedar, fruit, or palm tree ?

FRUIT. i literally chopped down every single hardwood tree on my island and replaced them w orange trees

19. favorite fruit ?

.......Oranges

20. favorite fish ?

HM. bitterling has a special place in my heart for being my Only fish model. whale sharks also rock tho. and thats only of the ones ive caught !!! i also love frogs, turtles, and obligatorily catfish. oh and seahorses and bettas

21. favorite bug ?

HM. ladybugs maybe. and both birdwings ! maybe also emperors butterflies. possibly others as well

22. favorite flower breed ?

MUMS !!!!!

23. favorite crossbred rare flower breed + color ?

GREEN MUMS.

24. favorite villager personality ?

havent we been over this ? im a dumb bitch who likes all of them way too much

25. favorite time of day to play ?

i uh. play. all the time. i tt a Lot tho so i like setting my time to 1pm ? idk it Feels like a good time

26. favorite special visitor event or reward ? (ex: selecting an art piece from redd, aiding guliver and getting a special item, etc)

SAHARAH. im obsessed w the fucking rugs and the tickets and the lottery. i also love celeste, and gulliver has a spot on the faves list for providing lucky cats sometimes (also a fave item) and for having been to space

27. favorite kk song ?

call me basic, but bubblegum kk plays at all times in my living room

28. favorite animal crossing game ?

ACNH lmao. i never really sat down and got Dedicated to city folk, which is the only other game ive played

29. if you’ve played animal crossing before, are there any animals you’re nostalgic for ? if this is your first game, has any animal in particular left some effect on you ?

ROVERRRRR come home :( also harriet.... i Miss Her. and resetti (i REFUSE to use rescue services dont @ me). and also the bus driver guy who took u to the city. If You Were An NPC In City Folk I Miss You Now

30. share a story from your gameplay

SO. i love the little alien easter egg. i set up a photoshoot and made like a little storyline abt the aliens and stuff. i even got a flying saucer and put that down and used it. and every fucking time !!!! i do shit with aliens !!!!!!! gulliver shows up on my beach. i know he went to space in cf n stuff (I GOT FLAVOR TEXT ONE TIME-- DURING NH-- ABT HIM NOT WANTING TO GO BACK EVEN) so i think its fucking hilarious that the aliens show up.... so does he

#rhi's asks #anon #acnh #LMAOOOOO thank u for asking so much....... heres a brick wall of text

[emeraldbabygirl]

My Favorite Concepts

I decided I wanted to make a list of my favorite concept idols and groups have done:

Safety shorts: very important

Oversized sweaters: sweater paws are too die for

Chokers: everyone looks amazing in them

Idols and cute outfits in general like overalls uwu

Retro concepts: I’m an absolute hoe for retro concepts, Spica’s I’ll Be There, April’s Oh My Mistake, Ladies’ Code’s Feedback

Idols wearing flowers crowns

Idols wearing specks

Idols with beautiful tan skin: Hakyeon, Jessi, Hyorin, Seungyeon

Idols in pastel colors: they look so cute and soft uwu

Idols eating delicious food

Foot stomping and shoe squeaking dance practices

Idols having fun outside or at amusement parks as well as filming cute videos in different countries

Tattoos: tbh it’s my kink but damn some idols just pull it off so well

Sometimes idols have really cute piercings, like different places on their ears or belly button piercings like LE and Mint

Specific sections of their hair dyed: Lisa, Dahyun, Jinjin and that member of Itzy (forgive me I don’t know her name)

Idols and karaoke rooms: always iconic

Idols with braces: there’s nothing cuter than when Vernon, I.N, Sanha and Donghyun had braces uwu

Idols being thicc or muscular and not twigs: Hwasa, Wonho, Kyla, Eunha, Luna, St.Van

The girl crush/tomboy concept: Amber, Jeongyeon, Miya

Idols with stuffed animals: San & Shiber, Bobby & Pooh, Youngguk and Tigger

Low rapping voices or voices that you wouldn’t expect them to have: Youngguk, Wooseok, Wyatt, Zuho, Hwiyoung & Song Mingi uwu etc.

Tbh I love the rappers that sounds like Hyuna, Yeeun and Miso. At first I thought it was annoying but I really like it now

That one year that like every idol dressed as Harley Quinn from Suicide Squad

Idols “getting thicc on us” Hongki, K.Will, Kyla, half the members of Boyfriend, CNU etc.

Female idols not caring when female fans pull the mirror trick

Idols sticking up for themselves and each other

Female idols really doing the best despite how difficult it is being a female in the music industry: this is mostly because I honestly have so much respect for female idols, they have to deal with periods and creepy perverts, dancing and running in heels, they’re just really amazing

Male idols not being afraid to show their soft sides

Male idols showing love to male fans

Idols being adorable with fans

Idols of mixed races and/or other races, Hanbyul, Felix, Samuel, Somi, Monika, Wendy, Mark, Sorn, Nickhun, Momo, etc.

Really tall and really short idols: Rowon, Zelo, Soobin, the whole of Tiny-G, Jinhwan, Woozi etc.

Idols and onesies and idols with onesie dance practices

Idols genuinely having fun on stage

Idols in suits and really gorgeous dresses that are classy and elegant

Groups with unique introductions: D-Crunch, Alphabat, 24K

Groups celebrating 7th, 8th and further on anniversaries, like Apink: because seeing a group together after so long is really cool and I love that

Groups leaving a company together and resigning with another one or filing lawsuits and winning: B2ST/Highlight and B.A.P

Younger idols being children for as long as they can :(

Idols being safe and happy

The “every member is a visual” group: Imfact, VAV, Bigstar, N.Tic

Big groups, 9+ members: WJSN, Seventeen, UP10TION (Super Junior, Exo, and Alphabat used to be big)

Idols being bf/gf material af

Idols getting married to their gf/bf of 8 mothafuckin years: shoutout to U-Kwon and his beautiful relationship with his gf

Idols getting married before having children

Idols being cute with kids

Idols being cute with their parents and siblings

Idols and beach fun time episodes; everyone is so cute and they are having fun

Unique concepts that lots of underrated groups are amazing at like horror concepts: stan Dreamcatcher

Unique and fun choreos like Speed’s Don’t Tease Me, NCT Dream’s Chewing Gum, fromis_9’s Fun

Tiny female rappers spittin fire: Dasom from 2EYES, Seoyeon from fromis_9

Idols wearing comfortable clothes for dance practices

Idols that are actually bands: Royal Pirates, LedApple, Say Yes, OneWe, Tweety, Barbie D (Kiwi Band)

Older idol groups that are either still around making music or came back after a long hiatus to continue making music: Shinhwa, Sechkies, S.E.S

Newer idols covering older idols songs like H.O.T, BoA, DBSK etc.

Collab stages between groups, Fx and Shinee, Boys Generation, WJSN, Red Velvet, Twice, Gfriend. BUT NOT THAT COLLAB STAGE WITH GOT7, SEVENTEEN, GFRIEND AND TWICE, THAT WAS CRINGEY AS HELL AND I HAVE NIGHTMARES OF IT AT LEAST ONCE A MONTH

Idols in haunted houses, unless they cry like Tao :(

Performing on stage with hand mics and being able to do the choreo one-handed: I think the newer mics are cool but there’s something about the hand helds that I’m in love with especially when the rappers get the mics, it’s really hot tbh

Idols under JYP in hoodies: tbh all idols under JYP look so smol and cute in hoodies I uwu

I love aesthetically pleasing mvs that a lot of newer groups are doing but I absolutely love the dark, boxy, old 2008/2009/2010 aesthetic tbh; anything by MBLAQ especially Cry and Oh Yeah, Girls Generation’s Run Devil Run, Shinee’s Ring Ding Dong, NU’EST’s Face, B.E.G’s Abracadabra, that dark stuff. And it’s not even for a specific reason really, it just reminds me of the golden days of kpop and tbh I miss that. I love all these new groups but there’s something almost nostalgic to me about those older mvs and every kpop fan should watch those older mvs definitely. The older groups are really legends. I miss them, like Infinite and KARA uwu

Groups covering and/or dancing to literally any Sistar song, but ‘Touch My Body’ will forever remain THE iconic Sistar song: NewKidd, Boyfriend, fromis_9

Idols wearing suit jackets and slacks with just plain t-shirts. They look so nice but also casual and comfortable and I like that. EXID’s Night Rather than Day outfits I really like and then recently OneUs’s dance practice for Twilight, Keonhee wore it really well

Idols wearing suit jackets and a nice button up on top and just jeans and plain sneakers on the bottom: again it’s a casual look but also nice and comfy

Idols with bright hair colors; Yugyeom and GD with yellow hair, Miso and hot pink hair, Yeonkuk with a pretty neon and cyan color

I’m gonna brag rn; literally N.Tic’s Fiction mv is a whole concept within itself. Yeah it’s retro but it’s also the way it was filmed, the lights & effects, the choreo, their outfits and just the way the song flows is absolutely fantastic. It’s like, my favorite song of 2019. Facts sis. Tbh N.Tic themselves are a concept. I’ve made so many posts about them but they deserve it, they are improving with each comeback and all their songs are bops and I am so fucking glad I decided to check them out. I’m glad that, despite how I felt about Jion’s appearance at first, I saw past that, realized how amazing his voice is and decided to stan the group. They’ve done so much for me already and I’m so grateful to them and hope they continue to improve and gain more fans.

Idols and dogs

Idols and plushies uwu

Honestly idols at fansigns are so precious

Hyuna killin it on her way out of Cube we stan

Idol Radio: BLESS YOU ILLHOON

Male idols with long hair; rip Ren, Jungshin, CNU, Kangnam, Jeonghan and Hwiyoung’s long hair :(

Idols stepping on me

Relay dances; Saturday, Weki Meki, 9Muses and A.C.E take it to a whole new level

Reblog with some of your favorite concepts. It can be actual concepts like cute or vampire or something. I just did non music concepts

#kpop #underrated #n.tic #vav #mblaq #sistar #spica #april #kara #ladies code #block b #brown eyed girls #shinee #girls generation #tiny g #clc #astro #itzy #blackpink #fx #pristin #gfriend #boyfriend #ikon #onf #bap #somi #badkiz #alphabat #idol radio

[rycewrites]

lookism rant #1

so... it’s spring break. and i’ve spent the entire break doing what any smart ap student would do: ignoring my five looming ap tests and draining my phone battery by looking at webtoons and instagram. since most of my favorite webtoons are on hiatus, i have resolved to rereading my favorites, and one that i’ve reread the most so far is lookism. as spring break comes to a finish in two days, i decided to get my life back on track and instead of simply rereading the comic, i will rant about my most and least favorite characters starting with the fandom’s all-time favorite character (yes, if you check the wiki for lookism there is a poll and it is fact that he is the majority’s favorite), jay hong/hong jae yeol. (also, note that these are my opinions so if you disagree with them don’t be offended but i would be happy to hear other people’s opinions on the webtoon! please comment who would be on your list because i need to talk to more people who read lookism!)

top favorite characters~

1. jay hong/hong jae yeol:

let’s just list off reasons why everyone loves him: he is well-dressed (even plans out other people’s outfits), generous (gives daniel literally everything he wants), selfless (he fricking took in enu’s pups even though he is scared of dogs), RICH (main reason for kouji’s admiration), strong (manz uses his systema well), and CAN RIDE A MOTORCYCLE (yes, i love a man who can ride a bike). he may not be the most dynamic character, but his static puppy status makes it impossible for me to put him lower on this list. we honestly don’t know that much about his backstory and i am super curious about why his family relationships are so strained (except with his sister, joy). for now, he remains a mystery, but like an attractive mystery. overall, me -> ( ･_･)♡

2. zach lee/lee jin sung:

honestly hated this boi in the beginning because he was a big bully to daniel, but  he has been through some SERIOUS character development. mira was a big part in this but i feel like overall his morals have changed so much even when mira isn’t around. he does still fight often, but now it’s not meaningless violence as he uses his boxing skills to defend his friends (ex: defending johan during the god dogs arc).

i also hated his eyebrows and hair in the beginning of the comic but like that’s personal preference. however, in the last few episodes, his hair looks SO GOOD (reference image above).

he is second on my list of favorite characters because i feel that his development throughout the story has been the most dynamic. he not only changed mentally as he overlooks lookism more (ex: he is not only friends with big daniel but also little daniel) but also physically as he doesn’t simply depend on his inherent talent for boxing but actually goes back and trains again in order to get better (to defend mira >.<)

in the future, i hope to see more development with his relationship with mira and his friends because i hold a lot of high hopes for this boi! ♥‿♥

3. vasco/lee eun tae/tabasco:

BIG CUTIE ENERGY ♥╣[-_-]╠♥! first off, he may not have as much long-term development over the course of the story like zach, but we do see a lot of his development with his own arc and bullying story. he was always a pure boi and his inherent innocence creates a discrepancy with his appearance which makes him more endearing in my opinion. the idea of lookism is very apparent in his character because most people look at him and see him as a gangster or someone very intimidating, but in reality his personality and mindset are very innocent (showing another way that you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover). i honestly LOVED the scene in the god dogs arc in which he defended zach and daniel joins in because that friendship is GOLDEN. i love how he always strives to be stronger and more powerful to defeat the evil in the world because it shows that he truly cares about the weaker people and those impacted by lookism. in my opinion, i think that vasco and zach will end up being the most powerful in the story (but that’s my opinion)

4. mira kim/kim mi jin:

pure! cute! sweet! moral! (✿ ♥‿♥)! mira is just an all-around great gal that makes it impossible for me to find flaws with. although she isn’t super major in terms of daniel’s story, she does impact zach significantly and makes him a better person. like she is the sole reason that zach has become a character that i truly admire and like. (although she did think that daniel was the r-word when he tried hitting on her in the beginning of the story. but throughout the story we see that she isn’t really a person to judge people on looks and stuff as we see that she gives jasmine the benefit of the doubt even after the vasco fiasco)

5. yena/eli jang’s (jang hyun’s) daughter:

honestly too cute for words. like the episodes where zach and mira find her are my favorites so i just wanted to include her in my favorite character list. also, she seems to be a character that really impacts other characters (zach and eli really changed for her ಥ_ಥ)

least favorite characters~

park ji ho:

always doing dumb things and making it harder for the people around him. he tries too hard to be a part of the popular group and as zach said, he doesn’t really think of them as friends because he just thinks about what the benefits are for hanging out with daniel and co. i think we all went from being tolerant of jiho in the beginning and then hating him at the end. i especially hated how he kept blaming other people and yet not accepting when people were being friendly. especially during the fake bank account arc, he just brushed off daniel when he asked jiho if he wanted to go to the convenience store then jiho goes running back to daniel and his friends when he realizes his mistake. overall, -123912830/10.

2. james gong:

don’t even know where to start with this punk. very violent for very little reason! i know i stated before that i hate jiho but i still felt kinda bad for him when he realized that james had sold the bank account he made for him. just overall a very intimidating character that hurt zach (ﾉಥ益ಥ）ﾉ ┻━┻

3. jasmine huh:

needs to get her shit(ake) together. first off, she almost got vasco expelled from the school because of her lies. like big! red! flag! it seems that she really doesn’t care about other people (except james) and is willing to put so many other people at risk to save her own behind. also, i hate how she uses other people. like how she uses mira to make money when mira didn’t do anything wrong ヾ(ﾟдﾟ)ﾉ. i hope she one day realizes that her lies are gonna hurt so many other people and then herself.

4. heemin kim/zeus/creepy dude from the boot camp arc:

sexual assault is a big no in this household. i hate how he thinks that being handsome can defend him of his crimes! also, he broke zach’s arms which made me FLIP OUT. LIKE HOW DO YOU DARE TO HARM MY BOXER BOI. he also attacked mira, an actual angel ლ(ﾟдﾟლ). words can’t describe how much i hate this man but numbers can -> 0/10

5. logan lee/lee tae sung:

big bully energy. he needs to lay his hands off of everyone (especially zoe!). blackmail? big no go in this household. he also dumped his plate of food on mira? BIG NO GO! he needs to get his life together and realize that people don’t hate him because he’s “ugly,” it’s because he has THE WORST PERSONALITY!

6. strong contenders for least favorite: stalker girl, animal cruelty cat mom/hoarder, zoe’s stalker

characters that i need more information about to form stronger opinions about~

vin jin/jin ho bin:

dislike him because he abused enu but also want to know more about him. big bully energy but i feel like he has a deep backstory behind him so i want to know more. why did he quite judo? why does he wear sunglasses? hope he gets over his superiority complex and changes because i feel like he has a lot of potential.

2. eli jang/jang hyun:

so far, very cute and strong is all i have to say about him. also, he is a good dad like that scene where he put out that god dog’s cigarette? MAJOR PROPS TO YOU ELI. i’m very curious about his backstory as well because it seems that he was a contender for gun’s successor but he changed drastically to take care of yena. i also just love a man with good hair sooo…

3. jong gun + joon goo:

i want to know more about these two! like what’s their backstory? why did gun create the 4 big crews? why was goo sent to the juvenile detention center before? (look at vasco’s bullying arc for reference) why did gun leave goo alone with the money collection? overall very mysterious and i want to learn more.

random characters that just deserve appreciation~

crystal choi/choi soo jung:

we stan a strong female character. however, i don’t like how she is immediately prejudiced against handsome men in the beginning of her appearance. i think over time she’ll realize that her prejudice isn’t right and her experience as someone who has to deal with lookism doesn’t justify her immediate judgements. however, we need more female fighters in this story so she is a big yes.

2. duke pyeon:

WE STAN A MAN WHO FOLLOWS HIS DREAMS DESPITE BEING BULLIED AND JUDGED. yes, we stan.

3. daniel park/park hyung suk:

honestly, he’s a great character and all, but i don’t know if he could ever reach favorite character status. i just have a mindset that makes me unable to pick the protagonist as a favorite character because i feel like they are sometimes created specifically to just bring the story together. don’t get me wrong, he’s a great person, defends his friends, and doesn’t fight for no reason, but i feel like there isn’t anything super special about his personality (other than the fact that he has two bodies but like so does crystal). he also looks like kim seokjin in his new body which is a big plus.

4. inu/enu + inu/enu’s pups:

i love dogs

5. mary kim/idk her korean name someone help me:

strong female character? i think yes. honestly such a fav. she doesn’t take sh*t from vin jin and i honestly want to know more about her character and background. *spoiler alert* i read ahead in the korean version and saw that she can beat people up too so like… she’s a bada**.

6. kouji:

as a person interested in computer science, I STAN. i also love a man with good hair. his cocky personality is sometimes off-putting but honestly his confidence is endearing at times. also we both love money!

7. jace park/park bum jae:

during vasco’s bullying story, i was so sad when he left vasco, but i love how he realized that he should’ve been a better friend and has stuck with vasco after all of this time. also love how he listens to vasco and tries to make him happy even when he knows that vasco does some silly things (like planting durian seeds in korea)

8. zoe park/park ha neul:

i love her development! she still fights with herself over whether she should like big daniel or small daniel, which displays her internal conflict with lookism. over time she has stopped judging people solely on their appearance and she is even able to distinguish between daniel and his cousin! (in my opinion, if daniel doesn’t end up with jay he better end up with zoe instead)

9. daniel’s (hyung suk’s) mother:

ICON! WE NEED TO APPRECIATE OUR PARENTS MORE! I AM A BIG STAN! SHE WORKS HARD FOR DANIEL AND IT BREAKS MY HEART WHEN DANIEL DOESN’T REALIZE!

10. song johan:

deserved better. he was just trying to help his mom which makes him so pure! but i feel like he should realize that he has friends (zach and mira) that could help him get through his problems! overall, want to see more of him and i hope he develops even more.

#lookism #daniel park #crystal choi #zach lee #vasco #jay hong #kouji #johan #webtoon #zoe park #logan lee #jace park #mary kim #vin jin #eli jang #james gong #mira kim

[lunawings]

Aqours 5th Live Next SPARKLING, June 8-9th 2019

This past weekend I saw my very first Aqours Love Live actually LIVE, and it was an experience. This post is mostly about what it’s like to see them live, and less about the show itself.

I have seen live viewings in theaters before, and in particular I went to the Saitama viewings for both Happy Party Train and Wonderful Stories. As I watched, I couldn’t help but think someday... SOMEDAY I’d make it there. I didn’t know how literal that would turn out to be. As in, I never dreamed I would be ACTUALLY heading to the Met Life Dome a year later. 

Even though I had never been here before in my life before this past weekend, it really felt like I had. This experience was made even more powerful by how throughout the shows the girls kept talking about how unbelievable it was that it was their third time here at the Met Life Dome in Saitama. It was like. I MADE IT. WE MADE IT!

My tickets for both days were very different. On Saturday the ticket I got in the second to last Japanese lottery landed me up near the top, left part of the stands. 

But despite the stage being very far, and me being very short, since the stands were elevated I had no problem seeing every stage at all times if I just tilted my head. Of course, the girls were so tiny I kinda had to check the monitors every so often to see who was where when their outfits were similar. But still, the key thing was I could see all of them at all times. AND sometimes for a brief time, they came by a good deal closer in those carts which was nice! 

When you’re at the live viewing/watching the DVD, you can’t really tell how the carts move. But they actually just kinda loop around halfway or do one loop of the whole arena and that’s it. The smaller carts are pulled by people. The larger carts... are possibly driven, still not sure ahah. I could also see the girls going on and off the stage for the first time. It gets dark but you can still see them running to where they need to go haha. 

Also it sounded A-MA-ZING up there. The best I’ve ever heard them. 

My Day 2 ticket was a bit closer....

AS IN NINE ROWS FROM THE RIGHT STAGE 

(T... thank you foreigner hotel plan......) 

This was a very different experience. But I gotta say. It was not all good. 

Up in the stands the girls were far away, but at least I could see them. Up here, the few times they came to the right stage they were RIGHT THERE AND IT WAS AMAZING. When they were on the main stage I could see them just kinda OK if I got on my tip-toes. When they were in the center of the arena it was like looking through a keyhole at their backs. When they were on the left stage I couldn’t see them at all, and when they were going around in the carts they might as well have been on the moon. It made me realize they really try and accommodate the people in the stands and do not much for the people in the front. Because, well, we’re in the front. So it’s a pretty big trade-off. 

We were so close that when they actually had FIRE coming up doing Thrilling One Way we could FEEL IT. FIRE HOT. I can’t imagine what it was like for them actually on the stage....

Besides being near the stage, one neat advantage of being in the arena is that the arena is basically the only area that gets filmed for the sections where they film the crowd for before the start and encore of the performance. I don’t know if they filmed my face (they tend not to focus on faces) I am 90% sure the whole country saw my Ruby neso on their theater screen and how amazing is that.

BUT, remember how I said it sounded amazing the first day? Haha well... and this was of course no fault of the girls, but from so close to the stage every time we heard them sing or talk their voices were followed by a huge reverberation around the stadium. I got used to it, but when they first started singing it was kinda like.... “so this is what it’s gonna be like huh....” Not to mention I could only hear the right side of the audio. You’d think it would be impossible not to hear things with the music so loud, but it’s true. It was the most obvious in Believe Again. Listen to that song and pull out your left headphone. That’s what it sounded like from the front, right side of the arena. 

So like I said, huge trade-off. 

If I ever go to one of these again, I kinda hope I don’t get the arena. Especially the outer-ish part. Those honestly seem like the worst seats in the house. 

But from this experience I realized that there is actually nowhere “good” to sit in a stadium like this. But if I actually got to pick my seat, I would pick the lower part of the stands I think. 

But at least my worst fear about the arena didn’t come true. From the viewings/DVDs I thought it would be crazy and I’d get pushed or kicked or squashed or something. Not at all. People were really nice. It might have been scary if this was my first event EVER, but having already been familiar with what the Love Liver crowd is like I fit right in and had a blast. 

But yeah, I always thought it looked just INSANE and I couldn’t imagine what it would be like to on the arena floor. BUT I WAS IN THAT. And I’m glad I was. But probably never again? 

So as for the actual show, there wasn’t much variety for the set list during the different days. On Saturday they did Koi ni Naritai Aquarium and on Sunday they did Happy Party Train. On Saturday they did Hop Step Wai, and on Sunday they actually did the new Aqours Club song Jump up HIGH!! and that was a big surprise. 

The rest of the show was heavily based on the movie. They sang ALL the songs and had (almost) ALL the outfits and THEY LOOKED AMAZING!!! In particular my favorite outfits were Bokura no Hishittekita Michi wa... In the anime they look really cute but simple. On stage they were SO SHIIINY. Maybe my favorite Aqours outfits of all time now. Aqours outfits always look BETTER in real life and I am continuously amazed. They didn’t have casual clothes for Hop Stop Nonstop (they wore theme colored dresses), but they did have the stairs!

Overall I got to admit though, I was just a little bit disappointed by the visuals. My favorite Aqours live overall is still Wonderful Stories I think. Or maybe Sailing to the Sunshine when/if to see that one. I just remember Wonderful Stories had that amazing screen on the center stage, and Sailing to the Sunshine had that giant ship. Next Sparkling had... stairs. And also the third years got a car for their driving song, but that was basically it. Maybe it looked more impressive on the live viewing. 

The most impressive visual ended up being created by the fans. On Saturday there was a guy going around talking to the stands about making a rainbow (like we’ve seen in LA and South Korea), something I never thought would work in Japan. Especially with the way he phrased it like “you can join if you want to”. It’s really hard to convince Japanese fans to abandon the color of their favorite, not to mention we’re talking about Met Life Dome here. So I tried to be optimistic but I just wasn’t sure it could work. 

And during the encore that seemed to be the case until the very last minute when somehow, it all came together. First just the stands as the arena still did whatever they wanted when the girls initially came out to do unit songs for the encore. 

But then when Next Sparking started, this happened....

(Pic from the official Twitter.)

This was Saturday when I was in the stands. So I was to the left, somewhere in the line where Riko’s sakura pink met Hanamaru’s yellow.

On Sunday I was sitting in the arena seats before the show when that same guy came in to tell us about the rainbow, and I realized oh my lord... was it just mostly this ONE GUY going around the entire arena? But this time, instead of mostly ignoring him, everybody clapped. And when it came time for the encore there was NO HESITATION. Standing in that sea of mikan orange and seeing all that around me was something I’ll never forget. It really made me feel like I was a part of something big. 

AQOURS AQOURS AQOURS

I also learned about another Love Liver tradition you don’t see on the DVD. To prevent chaos they let each section go one-by-one, and whenever a section is called everyone claps, cheers, and waves as they leave. It’s really nice. I’ve really warmed up to this fandom a lot more than I ever thought I would. 

#llss #love live! sunshine!! #love live sunshine #aqours #aqours 5th live

[nurkhamis-fcnu-blog]

The Met Gala: My favourite looks

Every year, on the first Monday of May, everyone’s eyes are on the Met Gala. What is it, you may wonder? (You probably know already) Well, it is a prestigious event which every person passionate about fashion dreams of going to, where you are able to express your style and be as creative and dramatic as you desire. Unfortunately, the guest list is very exclusive, chose by the host, the one and only Anna Wintour, editor-in-chief of Vogue Magazine. (You can buy a ticket for 30,000$ though)

Every year there is another theme, left to be recreated by the fashion designers creating the looks and the celebrities wearing them. This year’s theme was “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination”, and the exhibition can be visited at the Met Museum in New York City.

I really appreciate the celebrities that follow the theme, while also looking amazing. That is the most important part after all. I noticed most celebrities focused on the “Heavenly Bodies” or “Sunday Best” part, without really including the religious aspect of it all. Some did really good though. Here are the looks that slayed my life, in no particular order.

1. Rihanna

Honestly, I had very high expectations from Rihanna. She is basically the queen of the Met Gala, always following the theme and taking it to the extreme, but also making it her own style. She did not disappoint. Giving me Pope vibes in Maison Margiela by John Galliano. Look at that detail! So beautiful, so divine. She is everything. A goddess. 

2. Blake Lively

Blake Lively was my favourite. She stole my heart with this Versace gown. Looked so beautiful and elegant, while also respecting the theme. Again, the detail is incredible, and overall, she is divine. Makeup, hair, accessories, everything is on point. One of the queens of the Met Gala this year. 

3. Solange

Initially I didn’t know what to think about her look. I wasn’t immediately convinced, because I didn’t see the relevance to the theme, but after seeing her Vogue interview, I understood that her inspiration was Black Madonna and all of the African Saints, which really made sense. The halo was beautiful and it brought some colour to the all-black Iris van Herpen look, and I loved the durag.  

4. Kate Bosworth 

So angelic, so pure, so beautiful. Loved this Oscar de la Renta look, including the make-up and the veil. Subtle, simple, something you would associate with religion and the church.

5. Sarah Jessica Parker

SJP brought drama to the gala, and that's what I love. This event is there for creativeness and boldness. and she really did that, in Dolce and Gabbana.

6. Emilia Clarke

The Mother of Dragons was there and she was 🔥 (pun intended). Loved the blush, the crown, and of course, the Dolce and Gabbana gown. She is basically the statue of the Virgin Mary in Sicily, as she said in her Vogue interview.

7. Cardi B

Cardi B did not disappoint me and I am so glad. She took the theme and made it for herself. She looked gorgeous in Moschino, and she really was glowing. Her first time and still looked better then most people that have been attending for years.  

8. Zendaya

I gagged. Wow. Zendaya. As usual, perfection. Everything: hair, outfit, makeup. In a Versace dress slash armour, inspired by Joan of Arc. She pulled it off so effortlessly and I am in love.

9. Priyanka Chopra

Another queen of the Met Gala, Priyanka was so incredibly beautiful. No words to describe her, honestly. Loved how the lip matched the Ralph Lauren dress. The embroidered hood was perfection. Good job!

8. Jared Leto

Jared Leto gave me serious Jesus vibes in Gucci. He was already giving me Jesus vibes since he grew his hair and beard, so I love how he took advantage of that. It's well-known how big of a fan of Gucci he is, so no wonder that's what he wore. One of the best dressed man at the gala. 

9. Ariana Grande

So divine. Ariana Grande wore a Vera Wang gown inspired by the Sistine Chapel Ceiling. I love how the bow represented her usual high ponytail. Rocking her own signature look while still respecting the theme. That’s how you do it!

10. SZA

SZA looked like an angel. The baby pink Versace dress looked so beautiful on her, and the halo was so pretty. 

11. Taylor Hill

I feel like this look was so underrated. Nobody really talked about it. I don’t get why, though. She is literally wearing a cardinal’s robe. The Diane von Furstenberg dress looks amazing on her, the makeup is beautiful, the hair, and those shoes... I need. 

12. Lily Collins

Queen. Yes, yes, yes. Another dress inspired by a cardinal’s robe, very solemn, catholic. The makeup is one of my favourites, it’s dark but yet so edgy, and the silver glitter and the little red tear were so intricate. 

13. Chadwick Boseman

I died. The Black Panther, king T’challa, Chadwick Boseman, did THAT. The best dressed man at the Met Gala this year, 💯. Not only did he go with the theme, but he pulled off that suit effortlessly and looked so cool. Usually, men at the Met Gala play it safe, wearing simple tuxedos and suits, but Chadwick didn’t come to play. I am in love. Look at those gold glittery shoes!

14. Natalia Vodianova

I like how she wore pants instead of a dress, and introduced the religious element through the embellished cross on her top. The length and flared style of the Balmain pants looks great on her long legs. Don’t love the hair, would’ve liked it up, but overall, a really good look, I believe. 

15. Darren Criss

Last but not least, another well-dressed man. Darren Criss was so underrated, I could barely find his picture. Not many have talked about his look and I cannot understand why. Look at him, look at that jacket, the colour coordination, the crosses on his shoes. So handsome, and really taking into consideration the theme in quite a bold way, which I really admire. 

BONUS: Donald Glover

The only good picture I could find, but look at Donald Glover’s Gucci suit. The back is so so cool!

#Met Gala #met #2018 #met gala 2018 #rihanna #zendaya #Blake lively #solange #jared leto #darren criss #Chadwick boseman #lily collins #Taylor hill #sza #ariana grande #priyanka chopra #cardi b #Emilia clarke #Sarah jessica parker #fashion #style #heavenly bodies #fashionblog #Donald glover

[recentanimenews]

I Wanted to Write a Tourism Article, But I Touched a Mysterious Glowing Portal and Somehow Ended Up in Another World?!

So, cards on the table, this wasn't the article I was originally going to write.

  The plan in my to-do list—and the plan in newsroom chat—had been for me to head out to Japan, meet up with a friend there, and review a bunch of the collab cafés currently running. (Astute readers may have gathered that, since I cover the news pieces for like 90% of them, I'm kind of infatuated with them.) I had the reservations all set for all of them, I had my round trip ticket, got my passport renewed, the whole nine yards.

  Then on the layover in San Francisco, I killed some time looking at the modern art pieces scattered around my gate, and... long story short, things happened, I touched what I thought was an interactive NASA display but oh silly me it was an interdimensional portal.

  No lectures, please. Lessons were learned.

  At the moment, I have two issues. One, I have ended up getting so turned around in my efforts to get home that I've actually ended up going through a total of seven worlds, none of which are the one I'm trying to get back to. Two, I have a feature due, like, now. So I figure while I'm waiting to meet up with this mysterious guy who looks and sounds eerily like my childhood friend, I might as well knock out two birds with one stone.

  So, in lieu of what was going to be an adorable romp through anime-themed parfaits and soda, here's a travelogue of other worlds you may find yourself visiting someday.

  Yggdrasil

  If I'm going to get thrown to the four winds, this isn't the worst place to start. Yggdrasil actually seems to have the same view of the stars as Earth, which means technically I was pretty close to home? Also, things aligned pretty well with Bronze Age technology and society, so it wasn't 100% culture shock. Well, you know, except for all the magic and stuff flying around.

  Hospitality was pretty decent: all the local tribes were set up as "families," with a Patriarch at the head of each (male or female) and their followers referred to as children or siblings. Apparently loyalty within that system is a big deal around here, to the point that the success of peace negotiations can rest on that.

  Then there are the Einherjar: straight-up magic using warriors. You don't want to mess with them, but as long as you're not on the receiving end of their attacks, they're amazing to watch in battle.

  Best thing about Yggdrasil? Amazing reception. Data comes through like you're just sitting next to your router no matter where you go. Phone calls are a little tougher, though... you have to be near some kind of magic mirror to make it work. Which is fine if you've got nowhere to go. But, if someone had a loved one back home and had to keep leaving their base and knowing they couldn't call, I imagine that'd make them crazy after a while.

  Worth the Trip?: The good news is that with a few web searches and some skilled friends, you can survive the primitive nature of Yggdrasil with some familiar creature comforts. (And then they get a new skill set!) Downside is, no matter how nice people are, if you're living anywhere with anything like society, you're probably about to be in a war zone.

  Cross Reverie

  Okay, this one was a little weird. I swear I've seen this game around online (I'm more a Fate/GO girl myself), and pretty much everything I saw when I came through here matched up with the game. Same landscape, same types of people, and basically enough going on where if you know the game you can get around like nobody's business.

  Here's the thing: everyone is super low-level.

  Like, initially I was completely ready to believe I'd ended up inside a game. It wouldn't be the weirdest thing that happened to me on this trip. But everyone's "levels," even the really capable fighters were down in the teens. Then again, I guess when you're talking real-world adventuring, you're not going to spend several hours a day beating up monsters just to ding a higher level.

  Interestingly, a lot of the ladies around here don't... wear a lot of clothes? I felt weirdly overdressed a lot of the time. That's not a fast rule, but it was not uncommon to see lower- and higher-cut outfits in fashion. (Take note and... I guess don't visit when it's cold?)

  Worth the Trip?: If you're a gamer, you'll feel right at home. Things tend to function on game logic, but at a more "human" level. Just don't expect in-game creature comforts like teleportation. Though, if you're looking for actual straight-up game stuff...

  Sword Art Online

  There we go. No fuss, no messing, no wondering what translates to what. This is a game. You're in a game. Welcome to an RPG that you actually, like, do.

I'm pretty down with that. I like swords, I like adventure, and being able to do raids and quests without having to worry about spinning the camera around. Extra bonus? Your fellow adventurers are from the same world as you. So less culture shock, less having to explain your bad references in conversation. Overall a lot more welcoming. Plus, it's gorgeous there—exactly what you'd imagine a fantasy world to be, with all the cool clothes and critters included.

  There is one major down side, though... transportation out of there is not. Easy. And I don't mean like "flights are expensive" or "there's only one bus route." I mean like "you have to fight your way up a giant tower and not die and that might not even work." So not (and I speak from experience here) the best stop for a multi-stop trip where time is of the essence.

  Worth the Trip?: Really depends how into it you are. If this is somewhere you specifically want to go, yes. If you have other plans in the next, like... rest of your life? Plan with care.

  Disboard

  I mean... I'm sure it's just a coincidence that so many of the places I ended up in seem to have gaming themes to them. Maybe our world is the odd one out?

  The world of Disboard is a dream come true if you're one of two things: an adept gamer or a flawless cheater. If you are neither of those things, though, you might have a bad time. Disboard functions on games in pretty much any way you can think of. Disputes on anything from rulership of a country to whether you're about to get robbed are handled via bets and competitions. And it could be anything, from a hand of poker to God-tier shiritori.

  If you're crazy lucky or crazy smart, you'll probably rock Disboard within hours. But if you've got my kind of luck?

  It might be best to leave the gaming to the pros.

  Worth the Trip?: Even if you're a garbage-tier gamer, Disboard is really beautiful. So you can at least take in the sights and do your best to stay out of trouble.

  The Hidden Realm

  The first thing you're told about traveling in other dimensions is not to eat the food. But you know what? I'm already in too deep. Might as well enjoy myself.

  The Hidden Realm is that mysterious place where gods and demons live—and when you have a realm of gods and demons, what do you need? Come on, you've watched enough anime to know this... that's right. An inn. And inns need food. Sadly, the Tenjin'ya has some pretty boring food in its main restaurant.

  But turn a few corners and go around the back of the property, and you will find the best little Japanese/spirit fusion restaurant. Seriously, it's crazy good. And it's run by a human girl who learned how to cook for spirits, so you know you're getting quality.

  Worth the Trip?: Completely. I mean, okay. Whether or not the spirits will be nice to you really depends on their personalities, so you might meet a few jerks. But that food.

The Kingdom of Belfast

  Belfast is part of a larger world that's accessible in one of two ways: you can either cross dimensions, or you can, uh... die. I highly recommend the first one if you have any sort of choice in the matter.

  That said, dying and being reborn in this world does apparently net you some profits. There's been a case where the person reborn here was actually able to use all seven facets of the world's magic. (For reference, you're usually going to run into people who can use one or two at best.) That's going to make you popular... especially with the ladies, apparently.

  Added bonus? Finally got reception again! This is another place where, if you've got any smart devices, you can make use of them once again. I'm not entirely sure what roaming charges are here and elsewhere... frankly, I've been too afraid to look.

  Worth the Trip?: With good reception, plenty of magic to go around, and some frankly adorable fashions going on? I'll give it a thumbs up.

  El-Hazard

  And so we come (maybe?) to the end of my journey. I hope. I think. With a stop in El-Hazard, a world that's equal parts ancient tech and Arabian Nights culture. And, you know, I kind of dig it. Beautiful scenery, really cool magic and machines, and...

  Bugs? Oh. Yeah. I forgot. There's literally an entire nation of giant bug people. Called Bugrom. They also might be a little at war with the humans here, and their might be some doomsday items scattered around.

  But I mean besides that, it's actually pretty fun. Lots of room to wander and explore, a variety of landscapes, interesting people... and bugs.

Worth the Trip?: Depends how you feel about giant insects and ancient biomechanical creatures — conditional yes.

  If you find yourself in another world (whether on purpose or through a completely honest and understandable accident Nate), stay smart. Bring a solar-powered charger. Be prepared to rule at least one kingdom or tribe while you're there. Look for sad girls with glowing necklaces, because they tend to know what's going on—and whatever you do... try not to touch anything. [EDITOR'S NOTE: I'm only okay with Kara missing the cafe coverage because she brought souvenir snacks. We good.]

-----

Kara Dennison is responsible for multiple webcomics, and is half the creative team behind the OEL light novel series Owl's Flower. She blogs at karadennison.com and tweets @RubyCosmos. Her latest book, Black Archive #21 – Heaven Sent, is currently available from Obverse Books.

By: [email protected]

#Anime #News #Latest in Anime News by Crunchyroll!

[denu-rising]

1!! 2, 8, 9, 13, 14, 16, 20, 22, 30, 31, 36, 39, 41, 42, 43, 47, 49 (im so sorry whenever i send these i always send a billion numbers)

Oh my gosh,so many questions! Don’t apologise, this is awesome! Thank you so much!! =D

1:Who is your clan leader(s)? What are they like?

Myclan leader is Nana. ^^ She’s an absolute sweetheart, soft spoken andshy, who just wants to see the whole world smile. She doesn’t run theClan by herself, but with her trusted council and closest friends,Hobo and Cookie. Hobo’s more of an honorary clan leader, sincepersonality and behaviour-wise he very much resembles an excitedpupper. He has a pure heart and would follow Nana through anything.Cookie’s a lot more help thanks to her empathic ability, which allowsher to pick up on any troubles that may arise in the Clan.

2:Who’s in charge of food? Do you have dragons in charge of thedifferent factions (hunting/fishing/insect catching/harvesting)?

Idefinitely plan to have dragons assigned to these roles, yes! So far,Scarlet is the only one who does any of these, and she always comeshome with her bags full of food and her clothes full of mud (much tothe annoyance of her stylist boyfriend). Guava and Lychee sometimesbring back food from their many adventures. Sunflower is my gardener,and the main dragon in charge of the gardens and crops. She’sassisted by her husband, Watermelon, who functions as a walkingencyclopedia for all things Plant, as well as a pack mule. =P

8:Does your clan have any occultists?

Wehave magic users galore, but when it comes to finding new forms andmethods of magic, right now there’s only Fantasia (plus whoever endsup being her permamate). She’s my dream sorceress, practicing the‘dream magic’ that she discovered and continues to experiment with.You can read a bit about it in her bio, but I should really write somemore about it! To put it vaguely, dream magic is about bringing outsubconscious or hidden knowledge and making it visible.

9:Storytellers or librarians?

Doscribes counts? Because I do have those! Planned, at least. At themoment, Galaxia is my only scribe. She records Dom efforts andcollects badges. I haven’t really kept this up to date, though, andhave been considering dropping this, but she’ll still be a badgecollector with awesome stories to tell about her badges. Just not allbadges. The two other scribes I want will record (previous) clanmembers and notable events that happened, like clan renovations orMarva visiting each year.  And I need a fiction writer too. Thescribes also function as librarians and storytellers. ^^

13:What about musicians?

Alsoonly one so far! I have this nameless lady who’s quite the excellenttrumpet player. Can’t believe I forgot to add musicians to my list ofneeded clan roles, so thank you for the reminder, hehe. =P

14:Dragons involved in other arts? (Theatre, fine art, ect.)

Fiesta!This bright baby is my dancer. He looooves dancing! He teaches aweekly dance class at the familiar spa, and loves performing for themany celebrations my clan throws. When there’s no party planned ordance routine to learn, Fiesta’s often out visiting other Clans tomeet other dancers and dance with them. And Cassius will get upset ifI don’t mention him here, but he’s my pretty stylist and he’s supervain.

16:Who’s in charge of maintaining law and order? Any dragons that takeup the mantle of policing?

Toa degree, everyone is. If they witness something illegal or immoral,they’ll be sure to inform Nana, Hobo and Cookie. Any actual issuesare handled by those three, though they’ll call a clan meeting if thesituation calls for it. Overall, though, this Utopian little bunchdoesn’t have much need for actual police dragons. (They do have asort of prison hidden away in the garden, just in case, though.)There are at all times a couple dragons ‘policing’ the borders of thefloating islands, but that’s just to make sure no one and nothingfalls off and visitors are properly welcomed.

20:Which dragon has the oddest job in your lair?

Ina sense, I’d say Hobo, but that’s because he’s such an oddballhimself that being on the council is a very odd position for him. Imean, he very rarely speaks in full (short) sentences, struggles toget out words at all, and the others can have a hard timeunderstanding him. Fantasia has the oddest job in the sense that herdream magic involves a lot of tinctures and potions made from specialmushrooms and hallucinations. She’s high as a kite most of the time,because that’s her job. She loves her job.

22:Who, in your lore, is the oldest dragon in your lair? What about theyoungest?

It’sa toss-up between Cookie and Luna. Cookie is the actual oldestdragon, both date-of-birth and lore-wise. I tend to mostly followactual dragon birthdays to determine who’s oldest. Luna, however, isa ghost, and who knows how long she’s been dead before Fantasia foundher. She might be older than Cookie, she might even be ancient. Lunadied at a young age, though, so I don’t know. Is she old? Is sheyoung? Youngest would have to be the last hatchie to pop out of anegg, but since I don’t keep those, I suppose this lady’s the youngestaddition to the Clan right now, and I still have no clue as to whather personality or clan role will be. ^^;

30:Do you have siblings that live together in your lair?

YES!I love siblings so much. I had more at one point, but right now, Istill have Guava and Lychee (the first sibling pair I got). They doEVERYTHING together. They even share their boyfriends, taking turnsnesting with them. It’s a bit weird, but whatever floats their boat.^^ Then there’s Skittle and Jellybean. I don’t have any lore for themyet, but I love them. Lamia and her unnamed brother. Might actuallynot keep the brother, but Lamia’s my Shadow ambassador. Sprinkle andSmiley, from my very first dream dragon breeding project. (I got twogirls, because more genes came out and now I’m stuck deciding, so whynot both? Still waiting for the second male, who’ll be the brother ofthe first, to complete the two pairs.)

31:Any physically disabled or mentally ill dragons?

… Doesbeing dead count? 'Cause Luna’s dead, and it’s definitely a physicalstruggle when you can only materialise with a special, hard to makeelixer from Fantasia. But then, there’s also plenty of advantages tobeing dead, like never stubbing your toe or having to sleep, so Iguess it evens out. Guava and Lychee most definitely have ADHD, andwho even knows what the heck is wrong with Hobo… Overall, mentalillness, if present, isn’t something that’ll be clearly stated, like'this dragon has autism’. I struggle enough with my own mentalillnesses that I don’t want to explicitly mention it, though I candraw characteristics and personality traits from them. Also, I’d beway too anxious about accidentally upsetting or offending people. ^^;I have no objections to people giving any labels to my dragons,though! =P

36:Flight reps?

Yes,please! I have Lamia, my Shadow ambassador, and Spring is my Windpriest. I have Rose put down as a potential Ice ambassador andSunflare for Earth, but that’s it, really. I want Flight reps foreach Flight, but it’s super hard to think of what they should looklike if they have to match my lair theme. What would a Flightrepresentative look like if they needed to be XYZ with all colours in adifferent range?

39:Do you still have the first dragon you’ve ever bought?

Idon’t have the first dragon I ever bought anymore, but I do stillhave the first dragon I ever got. I got Cookie as a gift from mybrother. The week leading up to the reg window, he’d been showing meall sorts of dragons and I really loved Cookie, so I got her as agift. In a way, I’ve had her longer than my progens, even. =P

41:Who has the most tragic backstory?

Luna!I mean, she literally died and spent who knows how long all alonewandering Sornieth, unable to find any sort of peace or happiness.That said, backstories are the only real place I can add tragedy, sothere might be more tragic backstories popping up in the future. Likethe story of how Hobo became Hobo, which I’m still eternally mullingover.

42:Who is your edgiest dragon?

Idon’t have one, I think, but I want one! It’ll either be Lamia or myfuture Plague ambassador, because enforcing stereotypes, yeah! =P Ilove Shadow and Plague, but I don’t have much room in my lore foractual Shadow/Plague themes, so whatever edgy little runt thoseFlights can produce, they can just punt on over this way. That’llprobably be the backstory, anyway. =P

43:Do you have any dragons that broke the clan’s rules? What was thepunishment for that?

Well,hatchies can be quite a handful and they don’t always listen yet,but… No, not really, nothing major. Well, Cassius, greedy and vainas he can be, will sometimes steal pretty fabrics or shiny jewels,but that’s just because he’s too impatient to wait to sign anythingfor taking them. He’s had a slap on the wrist a couple times, but nowthey just let him, because he needs that stuff anyway for hisoutfits. Cassius gets a visit once a week to take stock of the stuffhe’s taken.

47:Professor/teacher dragons?

Alsostill unassigned. Yeah, I know, I need to work on my lore more. =PFiesta teaches a weekly dance class, and anyone can learn from anyoneduring the many arts-and-crafts sessions. I still need an officialhatchling caretaker/teacher. Bunnyfly supervises hatchling trips tothe familiar spa and teaches the young ones about familiars and howto maintain positive relations with familiars and beastclans.

49:Orphan dragons?

Nana,my progen. She just sort of came into being, no family or anything.Also my precious little Bunnyfly. He was found as an egg and taken inby a clan of buttersnakes, before his buttersnake mentor/fatherfigure/best friend decided to take him to Denutena’s Candyclan,because the other buttersnakes were getting increasingly anxiousabout living with a dragon, even one that looks like a bigger versionof them, and the buttersnake (he still needs a name) thought it wouldbe better for Bunnyfly to be around his own kind. They now run thefamiliar spa together. ^^

[accordingtonics]

To all my ladies – listen up.

I’ve been struggling putting into words what I’ve been feeling lately, so I’m going to throw it right out there. After careful consideration, I’ve decided that we women are failing each other. That’s right ladies, I said listen up.

Let me explain.  

Yes, there are millions of women around the world who do a wonderful job of motivating the female kind and for those boss-ladies, I’m eternally grateful. Your mom is probably a woman who acts as a great source of support, guidance and after whom you’ve likely modeled much of your life. I’m sure you can provide me with a list of coworkers who inspire you on the daily with the way they kick ass in the boardroom and in life. Yes, your best friends are likely the ladies who encourage you to continue chasing your dreams despite the setbacks that leave you feeling like the only answer is to put on your yoga pants and drink a liter of wine to yourself. (Let’s be real, if she was your best friend she would toss on her best lulus, stick two straws in the bottle and chalk it up to emotional support. But maybe that’s just how my best friends roll.) I want to be clear – these aforementioned examples of female solidarity are not the scenarios against which I have a particularly sharp axe to grind.  

The bone I have to pick is with EVERYTHING else.  

I’m talking about the countless moments in our daily lives when we have the opportunity to leave a positive mark on the life of another woman and we miss it. Instead we’re caught up in a tornado of our own making - mentally comparing ourselves to one another, feeding into a false sense a competition, and judging every life, career, wardrobe and makeup decision made. Leaning too quickly towards criticism instead of towards love, encouragement and acceptance.

Older and wiser so the saying goes. I turned 30 this year. I’m not sure whether it’s cliché to say that I’ve had some life changing revelations in the past few months, or whether it’s fitting that after years of searching for something I feel as though my vision is clearer. Either way, my eyes, my mind, my heart and most notably my mouth are wide open. All of which I have no intention of shutting anytime soon. This moment of enlightenment did not occur on a remote hillside somewhere while I sat on my yoga mat basking in the warm afternoon sun and peacefully coming to the conclusion that the female kind was in need of a gentle helping hand. Not even close. The moment my perspective shifted was alternatively filled with an all-consuming fiery rage.

Let me paint the picture for you.

I recently attended a social engagement at which I felt the strong urge to result to physical violence. It started off as any “word that rhymes with hour” would – a group of well dressed women, lively chatter filling the room, perfectly concocted signature drinks being held in one hand while ladies used the other to point out certain cute, funny, and adorable photos of the guest of honour and then take a stab in the dark at how old she was in the each of the snap shots. I’m a seasoned professional at these shindigs; I play the games, I eat the cookies, I listen to the speeches and for the most part I enjoy taking the time to celebrate what is an important milestone in the lives of my closest friends. I was happy to be a part of this moment, to see my friend surrounded by her loved ones, looking forward to what the future held for her life and most importantly being able to see how truly happy she was. Overall, it was a lovely afternoon. That was until the “word that rhymes with hour” took a drastic turn for me.

Amongst the chatter a woman seated across the table from me leaned over, and in what I can only assume was an attempt to get to know me better, decided to open her line of questioning with, “So are you married as well?”  Now to be fair, I was sitting among a group of married or engaged women (which is my reality 99.9% of the time), so I can understand why one may ask that particular question. Being one of the only remaining single girls in my group of friends, trust me when I say that I’m extremely familiar with this territory. So just as I have millions of times before, I let the married/relationship question quickly slide off my back.

So when does the rage filled hammer drop you wonder? We’re about to get there.

It wasn’t her opener that got me all hot under the collar, but her follow up question that flipped my switch from happily sipping on my cocktail to annoyed as fuck. Apologies - I should have started this piece with a warning that explicit language would likely be heavily used throughout my commentary. For all those with an aversion to swearing, I suggest you step away from the screen.

Needless to say, I answered the nice lady’s question by explaining to her that no, I was in fact single and not married. What happened next can only be described as the atomic bomb of responses; it was merciless and destroyed everything in its path in a matter of mere seconds. After hearing of my singleness, the woman tilted her head to the side ever so slightly, crinkled up her nose a wee bit, shot me a “poor single girl” smile and said, “Ohhhhhhh, well that’s okay too.”

She side head tilted me into a heaping pile of single shame.

What. The. Actual. Fuck.

What followed were the toughest 30 seconds of my life, because instead of flashing her a fake smile and responding with, “Thanks, it’s been working out pretty well for me so far,” what I really wanted to do was jump across the table and throat punch her.

As the afternoon continued and I replayed the incident that will from this moment forward be referred to as the side head tilt heard round the world, my rage grew. Here I was, an intelligent, strong, creative and successful woman who has built a life for myself that I’m rather proud of and the only piece of intel that this lady was interested in was my marital status.  

She didn’t ask me if I lived in the city, whether I had travelled anywhere recently, if I had any hobbies, and God forbid she even think about asking me what I did for a living. All she wanted to know was whether she could place me into a tiny box labeled “figured out” that society dictates women of a certain age are supposed to be in. Married, with a house and 2.5 children.

Now, I understand that this is my story and it’s told through the unmistakable lens of a young single woman, but the fact is that EVERY woman has their own struggles, their own daily battles and their own set of circumstances that can sometimes feel overwhelming. No one is perfect. The lenses might be different, but with some effort we can make an attempt to TRY and see through them a little more clearly. How do we do that? I believe it begins with empathy.

Recognizing, appreciating and celebrating one another from exactly where we are.  

While I’m a single woman, my world is filled with couples and babies and families. It would be the understatement of the century to say that my friends who are married with children amaze me. These are women who work, who make time for their friends, who hit the gym everyday, who accomplish the millions of items on their to-do lists, all the while taking care of and shaping the lives of tiny little humans. While I can’t personally understand the amount of energy, dedication, and sheer will that it takes for them to do what they do on a daily basis, what I can do is empathize.

Empathy is key.

Empathize with the young girl who decides to wear only a sports bra to the gym instead of a shirt. What we might be quick to judge as a shallow attempt to garner attention from the opposite sex, could simply be a young girl living out the image what of society has told her a woman should look like in order to be viewed as attractive. She might just be in need of a better role model. That role model could be you.

Empathize with the single girl who is constantly bombarded with questions about her relationship status. What you might perceive as a polite answer to a harmless question, is really an attempt to hide her rage, because in her mind you’ve insinuated that her accomplishments to date are not valid unless accompanied by a man. She might just be in need of someone to tell her “fuck what society thinks and keep being your badass self.” That someone could be you.

Empathize with the mother who spends all day taking care of and reasoning with tiny humans who have the capability of exploding into outbursts of epic proportions simply because you gave them the wrong colour sippy cup. What you might view as a daily life that is filled with cute baby smiles and adorable outfits that never get dirty, most definitely also includes moments of frustration and utter exhaustion. She might just need someone to let her vent OR even better, to watch her children for an hour while she takes a minute for herself. That babysitter could be you.

Whatever the case may be, I beg of you ladies, let’s save the judgment, the analysis and the scrutiny for someone else and instead celebrate each other. For as far as we have come, these are still not easy times for women. We have glass ceilings, pressures to conform to unrealistic body image standards, and wage gaps to deal with; not to mention leaders of the free world thinking it’s okay to run around grabbing us by our lady parts. Need I say more? Women have serious issues to battle against in modern society, “other women” should not be an action item on that list.

I don’t have all of the answers, but I know that we need to start somewhere. Take the time to inspire the women around you. Help to build their self-confidence instead of tearing them down to boost your own. Whether it’s surviving the day with a newborn child, making it through yet another stressful workday, or deciding not to settle for anything less than they deserve.

Recognize, appreciate and celebrate one another from exactly where we are.

Do it fiercely and without question, because only a woman knows what it’s like to walk in a woman’s shoes. I believe that I speak for more than just myself in saying that I for one would love to know that I have a tribe of sisters in my corner as I step out the front door each morning in my pursuit of taking over the world.

Empathy ladies, let’s try it on for size.

According to Nics…

[dandelliongirl]

It’s April tomorrow

and spring has sprung!

The season is changing slowly but surely... Too slowly for my current liking though.

Ha - I did manage a March blog post (it’s the 31st today). Overall the entire month of March dragged on for a needlessly long time with nothing too exciting going on so I didn’t particularly feel like blogging. My guy and I have been to two dance rehearsals for my graduation ball in May so far and it has been a lot of fun. I’ve loved being silly and goofing around with him. He did the dances a total of 3 times in high school (his friends’, his own and mine) and mine was only 7-ish years ago so both of us know the steps pretty well from memory. I don’t know if dance rehearsal is as much fun for him as it is for me but I’ve been loving spending time with him. My outfit for the ball is almost finished. My top for the evening needs to be sewn together and the hemline of the skirt cut and finished to be the right length. I just got shoes last week and ordered my graduation ring so everything should be in order.

I did my gig judging the dance competition in February and it was an interesting experience. I liked seeing all the choreographies but the juding process was needlessly complicated with a long form that all of us 3 judges had to fill in for each competing group. In addition we only had from 30 seconds to a couple of minutes between each performance so I felt like I couldn’t really give any actual constructive criticism. Also we had to decide on the winners in less than 10 minutes, which was pretty stressful. In the end we all agreed but it was really difficult and my hand hurt for many days after from writing so much and so fast.

My guy’s friend from Japan visited us for a week at the end of February. The boys spent a lot of time together and I spent time with mum. We went and got facials together, and I celebrated a friend’s birthday making brownies with her. Mum had her second big surgery on the 27th but it went better this time around and dad was on his spring break so he could pick her up and bring her home early.

March was a very busy month at work. The good kind of busy though. The kind that makes me feel important and doesn’t give me time to question being hired to do nothing. We’ve been training faculty coordinators and helping them create timetables for the upcoming academic year. I’ve been in charge of these trainings and I really love it. I love helping people and coming up with solutions to their problems. Whenever the coordinators apologise for the inconvenience of their stupid questions and their constant complaining regarding the new data systems I like to tell them that as long as they have questions and complaints I have a job. Their bitching is paying my mortgage and I know it’s directed at the system not at me, so I really don’t mind. It’s completely understandable and most issues these people have are issues I’ve discovered myself and agree with completely. So all in all I’m really grateful to be in the job I’m in for two more years. I’m still looking forward to summer break though and all the exciting springtime events like Easter break, dance recitals and the big official conferment of degrees. I have felt like everything’s at a standstill so I’m hoping spring will pick up it’s pace.

My friend is currently on her first 3 week trip to Japan. I’m super happy for her but it does make me miss Japan terribly. Last year at this time I was over there enjoying the warmth and the beauty of the cherry blossoms. I’m already planning to go back, hopefully next spring. I’m obsessively updating my friend’s instagram feed to see when she’ll be posting pictures from her trip. I gave her a list (and a reference picture) of some Sanrio products I want her to try and get me from there and I’m really hoping she can find at least some of it.

Ballet is still a struggle. Now that my friend (the one who’s in Japan right now) only goes once a week and I have no other real friends there I have no motivation and literally have to force myself to go. Not that I don’t enjoy ballet itself but it’s frustrating because I feel like we’re not making any progress and we’re stuck repeating the same things over and over. Also we’re still stuck in the stupid regular gym hall with those few crappy portable mirrors and either the wall bars/ladders or portable bars. I want to see what I’m doing, I want friends and I want new challenges. I’m glad we only have two months until summer.

I’ve started working on a bit of a book project. It’s more like a collection of essays regarding various topics that are relevant to me and my life than a book but I’ve wanted to collect my thoughts for a while now and since I’ll be turning 25 in a few weeks I thought it’d be cool to write down a collection of thoughts to celebrate a quarter of a century. I’ve been loving reading and writing now that I don’t have to do it for school/uni. I’ve already planned a somewhat of a structure for it and written down some ideas and topics. Today I’m planning to start with the first essay, which will be about me and who I am as a 25 year old. The project will span my entire 25th year so I’m definitely not trying to finish by my birthday.

My guy has spent this weekend visiting his parents. His dad is working hard on his electoral campaign for the parliament so my guy wanted to go see how it’s going. My guy is going to be working as an election officer on the actual election day.

With my guy being gone I’ve also spent the weekend with my parents. Yesterday we went to the grocery store and visited the cottage for a campfire and roasted sausages. Dad and I went  on a 40-ish minute snowshoe walk and it was a lot of fun. I got to explore parts of the forest I would otherwise never go to because during the summer it’s filled with mosquitoes, snakes and scratchy shrubbery. This was a whole new realm for me and I haven’t been on snowshoes since I was probably like 9 years old or younger. Nature really has a calming effect and I could feel the stress I didn’t even know I was holding onto melt away as I navigated between the branches and fallen trees. My new sleeping cottage is supposed to be finished by Easter and I absolutely can’t wait to get to take in the furniture, start decorating the place and plant flowers. It seems like such a far away future in which it’ll be summer and I’ll be reading books, playing Animal Crossing and taking naps in my new cottage.. It’s been over a year now since the project started and I cannot wait to have it finished...

Dad bought me my 6th Maileg bunny from the flea market this Saturday. His name is Basil and he’s my birthday present. Dad got all 5 of my Mailegs from Sweden whenever he went on his annual fishing trip but it’s been more than ten years since my collection grew. I brought my old clothes that grandmum made my original bunny (the one called Rose whom my little sleeping cottage was named after) and I can’t wait to get them in some fresh outfits.

Today dad and I went for what was probably our last ski trip this season. It was a nice and warm day and we spent almost an hour out on skis but it was really messy from all the pine needles and twigs and the snow was much more like slush with occasional ice fields than snow. In any case I got some fresh air and exercise and that felt nice. I woke up really early today to vacuum the house and put up Easter decorations before going skiing with dad and so today feels really productive. I love weekends like this that feel both relaxing and productive. And I’m proud for getting up early despite daylight savings!

We still have no news on Animal Crossing Switch.. The fandom seems to be holding out hopes for an April direct before Reggie retires as president of Nintendo of America, and because Nintendo doesn’t usually go without a direct before E3, but I’m not holding my breath. The only thing I’m hoping for regarding the new game, is that local multiplayer, visiting dream towns and having at least one person visit you over the internet would be possible without the switch online service bullshit. I’m sure local wireless will be possible. As for the rest I’m not too hopeful.. I’d be fine with having to pay to access 8 people online multiplayer as long as I could keep trading turnips with one person and not pay 40€ a year for it... I also don’t want Animal Crossing to change too drastically. I just want a better New Leaf with more customisation, new items, bigger towns and better villager interactions... I also want to be rewarded for my ACPC grind in some way.. Anyway, in the meantime I’ve been enjoying some Sims 4. For the first time since I was a child I’ve been playing through an actual story. It’s the story of a young adult called Theodore (Theo), who moved away from home to start working as a bartender and gain money to win custody of her teenage sister Journey. She adopted Journey and they lived together in a very crappy starter home for a while, but I just moved them into a two bedroom house in Willow Creek, and renovated Journey’s bedroom into the cute teenager room she deserves. Journey works hard as an A student and a fast food employee. She just got a boyfriend and she’s a hopeless romantic (and loves cats). Theo also got a boyfriend and I think he’s going to be moving in as soon as we get some more money to renovate the house a bit and build Theo a greenhouse. Eventually the girls are also going to adopt a cat for Journey and Theo is going to have a child. I’m thinking I might buy City Living next summer so that Journey and her boyfriend can move out and start their own life in San Myshuno. I’m excited to have a rags-to-riches type story that I’m playing without cheats and with characters I’m invested in. I’ve been so bad at coming up with actual storylines and have stuck with build/buy for years this feels like a whole new game for me.

Wow that was a long bit about Sims there. I’ve been writing for almost an hour now. It’s time to go meal prep and make myself a pasta salad for next week. Then I’ll start my essay collection and then I’ll play some more Sims. My guy isn’t coming back until late this evening so I get some more time off. Happy April! ♥

#personal #diary #March2019

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30 Intricately Woven Side Braid Hairstyles

New Post has been published on http://healingawerness.com/getting-healthy/getting-healthy-women/30-intricately-woven-side-braid-hairstyles/

30 Intricately Woven Side Braid Hairstyles

Anjali Sayee November 28, 2018

Romantic, messy, or boho – the side braid is not only timeless and beautiful but also very versatile.

And, when I say versatile, I mean you can try a new side braid hairstyle literally every day of the week. Imagine adding elegant side fishtail braids to a romantic curly updo! It ups your hair game to a hundred. Side braids are all the rage right now. They can be stunning hairstyles on their own, or you can use side braids to add an intricately woven touch to your updo or half updo.

Weaved in? Good! So, let’s check out how to do a basic side braid. Swipe up!

How To Do A Side Braid

Side braids are easy to accomplish. Here is how you can do a messy fishtail side braid.

Youtube

What You Need

Brush

Elastic band

Curling iron

How To Do

Brush all your hair to one side after removing all knots and tangles.

Divide your hair into two sections.

Take some hair from the bottom of one section and merge it with the top of the other section.

Do the same with the second section of hair.

Continue weaving the braid by doing steps 3 and 4 alternately.

Since we’re going for a messy side braid, braid your hair loosely and let some strands fall freely.

Use an elastic band to secure the end of the braid.

Pancake the braid to add to its overall appeal.

You can curl the loose strands of hair and the ends of the braid to add a romantic vibe to this hairstyle.

Now that you know how to braid your hair in a regular side braid, check out my list of the top 30 side braids to find your dream weave.

30 Intricately Woven Side Braid Hairstyles

1. The Intricate Side Braid

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Beautifully intricate side braids can be worn to weddings and formal events.

Imagine sporting this gorgeous braid with a long gown and some elegant jewelry. It’s the perfect red carpet hairstyle!

2. The Slanted Side Braid

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Looking for gym hairdo? Try this side braid. Not only does it keep hair off your face, but it also looks so on point. I bet this braid will steal people’s attention while you work out.

3. The Fishtail Side Braid

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A fishtail braid is all you need to get beach-ready. Sweep your hair to one side and brush it down to detangle it. Divide it into two sections to fishtail braid it. Don’t forget to pancake your braid to give it oodles of volume and dimension.

4. The Side Accent Braid

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Side braids don’t always have to be intricate works of art. A simple side braid placed like a half crown can work wonders as an accent braid to make you look spectacular.

5. The Side Braided Updo

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So you have a formal event to go to, and none of your regular updos are nailing it? Try adding a side Dutch braid to an updo. It’s sure to spice up your hairstyle and give a grand finishing touch to your outfit.

6. The Young Dutch Side Braid

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If you love playful hairstyles, you have to try this one! Braid your hair in a side Dutch braid and pancake it to make it look voluptuous.

7. The 5-Strand Side Braid

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If you’re like me, you sport a braid way too often. Add a nice twist to it with this 5-strand side braid. Divide your hair into five sections and pass the left corner section over and under the other sections alternately. Then, pick up the new left corner section and weave it the same way. Keep braiding this way until you reach the end. This is a great hairstyle that you can sport to work or the gym.

8. The Wedding Side Braid

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Side braids are a flawless hairstyle choice for a wedding. A lovely loose intricate braid styled with fresh flowers is all you need to make your day even more special.

9. The Simple Side Braid

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Being young means experimenting with your hair. Try this simple side braid with just your hair in the front. It’s super easy to achieve and shows off your hair texture beautifully.

10. Side Braided Ponytail

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Weave a Dutch braid on one side until you reach the back hairline. Secure the braid with a thin elastic band. Gather all your hair in a low ponytail. Wrap an elastic band around the base of the ponytail. Take some hair from the ponytail and wrap it around the elastic band to hide it from view. A simple but effective hairstyle for the gym!

11. The Bouffant Side Braid

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Side braids are the talk of the town right now, so I know that a lot of girls are sporting it. Add some oomph to it with a subtle bouffant and long bangs. It will make your face appear longer.

12. Loose To Tight Side Braid

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I have wide cheeks that stick out when I braid my hair tightly. This makes my face appear even rounder. The simplest solution to this problem is to start off loose and make your braid tighter as you go down. Add some loose strands of hair to the hairdo to raise its appeal.

13. Low Bun Side Braid

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It’s amazing what a small addition like a side braid can do. It raises the overall appeal of the low bun. Imagine decorating this updo with some beads and a fancy clip. Perfect!

14. Side Braids With Bubbles

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Don’t deny it. When you go to the gym, you want your hair to stay out of your face but still look cute. There’s nothing wrong with it. It’s good motivation! These side bubble braids do just that with perfection.

15. Curled Fishtail Braid

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If you have an event to get to, a regular braid might not make the cut. Style your hair in soft big curls and braid a side section in a lovely fishtail braid. This hairstyle looks even better on dark to light ombre hair. Truly stunning!

16. Fluffy Side Braid

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If you struggle with adding volume to your hair, you need to try out this hairstyle. Apply mousse to your hair right after blow drying it. Then, weave it in a loose side fishtail braid. Finish off by pancaking it as much as you can. This romantic hairstyle is perfect for a first date.

17. The Undercut Side Braid

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One easy way to create a faux undercut hairstyle is with a tight French braid on one side. This is one of those hairstyles that suits all face shapes and personas.

18. The Complete Under Side Braid

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The complete undercut braid is one of the trendiest hairstyles of our time. It looks great with just about any attire and makes you look like a total slayer!

19. Color Flaunt Side Braid

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If you always have your hair tied up in a side braid, try this little twist. Do a French side braid. It looks especially stunning if you have highlights or dual-toned hair.

20. Flawless Side Braid

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I’ll be honest. I love loose braids way more than tight ones. There’s something so elegant and royal about a loose side braid. Curl your hair and style it in a mermaid braid. Remember to spritz on a good amount of hairspray, so the curls stay intact even when you pancake the braid.

21. Accessorized Side Braid

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Hair accessories are a great way to jazz up a side braid. Instead of over the top hair clips, opt for simple flowers and beads. These tend to accentuate the braid more and add glamor to your look.

22. Braided Updo

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A side braid can make for an ethereal updo by itself. Weave a lace side braid in which the top section is always an addition of new hair. Start at one side and reach the back hairline on the opposite side. Curl the ends and pin them up, so they hang loose. If you have long hair, wrap your hair in a bun and let the ends hang loose.

23. Cascading Side Braid

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I don’t know about you, but my Insta feed has been filled with this cascading Dutch braid. Yes, it looks a tad bit complicated, but it’s really simple. Make sure the top section of your braid is always a new addition of hair, while you keep merging the prior top section into the rest of the braid.

24. Highlighted Side Braid

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If you got your hair highlighted, you want to flaunt it every opportunity you get. The best way to showcase your highlights is with a side braid. It displays your new highlights and your natural hair color in a perfect balance.

25. Edgy Side Braids

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Every girl wants to achieve the edgy badass look. This hairstyle will certainly accomplish it! Weave multiple small side cornrow braids to create a faux undercut look. This hairstyle also accentuates your hair volume.

26. Betty Cooper Braid

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Want to look edgy without losing that girl-next-door vibe? Say hello to the braided Betty Cooper hair look! I’m going to try this look out soon. It looks stunning.

27. Twisted Side Braids

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I love how creative we’ve gotten with our hair. I mean, look at this incredible hairdo. Begin with French twisting two sections of hair on both sides. Stop at the back hairline and secure the twists with thin elastic bands. Wrap a small section of hair around the elastic bands to cover them up. Then, braid the tails of these ponytails for about an inch in tight fishtail braids and secure them with elastic bands. Wrap some hair around the elastic bands to cover them up again.

28. Scarfed Side Braid

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This has to be THE vintage twist to the side braid. Place the scarf on your head like a headband and sweep your hair to one side. Weave a side braid, merging the scarf ends with the two corner sections.

29. Dutch Side Braided Ponytail

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This is a nice little twist to add to a braid. I love how the Dutch braid stands out. It looks perfect with that tight and neat high ponytail. It’s a great way to welcome fall!

30. Side Braid Crown

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Who doesn’t want to feel like a Khaleesi? Merge two side braids at the crown to let out your inner queen. You’ll surely rule the world with this eye-catching hairstyle.

There you have it, ladies! Those were my top 30 picks of side braid hairstyles. Which side braid style do you prefer? I love the fishtail braid. If there’s a side braid style that is close to your heart and I haven’t mentioned above, comment below to let me know.

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