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hamliet · 3 years

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I highly doubt Cinder is going to be saved/redeemed. The narrative may be set up this way because, traditionally, that is how these kind of stories operate but CRWBY… Cinder isn’t the type of character I feel either Miles or Kerry thinks can be “saved.” I’ve seen this type of character before in their writing watching Red vs Blue. They go out of their way to make a character despicable, and they stick to the characterization to the very end.

Okay, so let me address why I think the narrative is setting up Cinder’s redemption. However, as is uncommon for me if you’re familiar with my blog (and which also differs from most Cinder-redemption theories) is that I think her having a redemptive death is likely as things currently stand. That said, I’m happy to be proved wrong.

I’ve never seen Red vs. Blue, and while we can certainly pick up similar themes and the like in stories with shared authors, I don’t think it’s the best idea to use that as a blueprint for another story.

1) Cinder’s Framing and Arc

Cinder is essentially framed as the protagonist of her own subplot in volumes 4-8. That has to have significant meaning; she is in a sense a sort of “villain protagonist.” The audience both wants her stopped and wants to root for her, especially when she’s stumbling around after her defeat in Mistral. That’s five volumes of this; that is an awful long time to build audience investment in the character. If you want your audience to sympathize with a character and even root for them to do better, it is cruel to then be like “nvm she was just a bad egg siiiiike!” RWBY’s writing is not flawless, but it certainly is not cruel.

Secondly, there is a difference between the framing of Cinder and several other characters. If we want to consider a character who will get worse and worse and will not change, consider Tyrian, who has absolutely nothing sympathetic about him. Or Adam, who was not very well done. But like Cinder, Adam was a victim who became a villain; the difference was that he was never framed as the protagonist of a separate arc like Cinder has been.

But most important in terms of a framing comparison to Cinder is Salem. At first, it looks like Cinder is the big bad, but after season 3, we realize it is Salem. Cinder is working for her, not as a lackey, but also as a victim. Cinder is deferential to Salem and is not nearly as in control as she appears. Salem cursing Cinder with a Grimm arm--a clear parallel to what Salem did to Summer Rose and wants to do to Ruby--is textbook abuse, and also parallels Cinder with characters we love.

2) Cinder’s Backstory and Tone

Volume 8 finally revealed Cinder’s backstory in one of RWBY’s most brilliant spins on a fairy tale reference, and one of its best episodes ever in “Midnight.” It is cruel and heartbreaking and yes, tragic.

I’ve talked before about how RWBY does, in fact, include tragedy. It has since its beginning and it almost certainly will up to its ending. What RWBY does not do, however, is pessimistic nihilism. Fairy tales and pessimistic grimdark nihilism could not be more opposed. There is always hope.

Showing that Cinder, who was abused her entire life, just ends up "put down” as the worthless person everyone in her childhood thought she was, ends up dead because nobody helped her, ends up dead because she fell out of one abusive relationship into another... that is so not hopeful. That is tonally pessimistic, nihilistic, dark as hell.

Cinder’s breakdown during her “arc” as a villain protagonist shows how lowly she really feels about herself. It does not seem like a fitting narrative choice to affirm that.

3) Themes!

Cinder believes her goal is to become a servant of Salem and a villain. She believes no one will ever show her empathy. People have dehumanized her, so she dehumanizes. Generally, you should prove your villains and their worldviews wrong.

Not only that, but a major theme of RWBY’s is breaking the cycle of abuse. Now, let’s look at this two ways: Cinder as a victim of the cycle of abuse, and a perpetrator. She’s a victim of the madam’s, and of Salem’s. She is drowning in it. But she also abuses Emerald and Mercury by taking vulnerable children and exploiting their trauma to get them to do something to her. The difference is that Emerald has broken away for better and Mercury--well, he’s currently fallen into worser abuse with Tyrian (the subtext of how Tyrian treats Mercury is not subtle and is not good), but Merc also has no respect for the man and is less psychologically trapped than, say, Cinder is with Salem. If Mercury gets a better offer, he’d probably take it. Cinder is both Emerald and Mercury, as @aspoonofsugar has written: she’s psychologically dependent on her abuser (Salem), yet also continuing to spiral by tumbling into worser and worser abusive circumstances.

We know Salem cannot be killed and that thus, the way to defeat Salem is not through violence. Why would it work to have Cinder be put down by either our heroes or her abuser? How will that open Salem’s eyes, considering Salem has constantly put down those loyal to her (like her own children)? How would Cinder not breaking free reinforce the themes? You may cite Ironwood as an example of tragedy wherein a character becomes the worst version of themselves, but there are very different circumstances here: Ironwood’s tragedy is centered on the theme of fear vs. risk, not the cycle of abuse as Cinder’s is. Not only that, but Ironwood starts the series as a hero, and it’s that he is so capable of good that makes his tragedy resonate. Cinder has never been a hero, and her dying as a villain would not have any thematic impact.

So that’s why I think Cinder is set up for some kind of redemption. The reasons I’m skeptical of her survival are as follows:

1) Set-up

There is no “save the cat” moment for Cinder. Mercury and Emerald both have those moments; Cinder does not. Not only this, but Cinder dramatically rejects every opportunity to “save the cat” she’s given. Watts tries to get through to her, Neo teams up with her, and she stabs both in the back and murders (or attempts to murder in Neo’s case) them. That’s not good. She learned the opposite lesson of the one she should learn, and choices can and do matter.

2) Coding/Framing

Cinder is adult-coded, not child-coded like our main cast (and like Emerald and Mercury). She perpetuates abuse on Emerald and Mercury and is older than them, even if she is not that much older. They clearly depend on her, with Emerald clearly looking up to her as an authority figure and Mercury revealing he once did see her as an authority figure when he tells her off.

But wait, you say, you just said she is revealed as a hurting child! Well, yes. As of Volume 8. There is a huuuuge difference between framing villains as victimized kids by season 2 and 3 (Emerald and Mercury) and framing it that way for the first time in season 8. Of course this is also just opinion, but based on the trajectory of the story (and how most adventure/hero journey stories tend to end the second act of three in utter despair, plus alchemy’s emphasis on the number 12) it seems likely to me that we’re at the very least over halfway through the story. That doesn’t give me a optimism re: her chances to overcome her flaws, be a hero, and survive. Of course, I’d love it if it could be done, but I’m skeptical that’s the intent.

3) Themes/Set up

I’ve talked before about how RWBY is alchemical, and a basic tenet of alchemy is that from death comes life. Killing our heroes doesn’t work, because they are kids and the point is that kids are having to save things because adults failed. A kid dying at the end would cast the entire story as a tragedy, and that doesn’t work.

RWBY is also not anti sacrifice. I do not understand where this take (I see it a lot in fandom) comes from, because it has never been anti sacrifice at all. It shows people mourning those who sacrifice their lives, suffering because they’re grieving, but it doesn’t condemn the sacrificers; it upholds what they did as right. There’s nuance there, but the question of what RWBY thinks of heroic sacrifice really should have been answered with Pyrrha’s statue scene in volume 6. Not to mention Penny, Hazel, and Vine in volume 8.

@aspoonofsugar has spoken about this before, but basically, to sum up an alchemy trope: there is often a major death at the end of a specific phase. Black Death, White Death, Red Death. Sometimes yellow, but that’s usually subsumed into another stage (red or white). I think it’s very obvious Pyrrha is the black death, Penny is the white/yellow (the name of Jaune’s sword--Crocea Mors--which kills Penny literally translates to “yellow death”), and that leaves a red one to happen. Who is associated with red, fire, and rubies? Cinder.

Again, this is just speculation, and far-out at that! We will see. But if she does die, I think it would come after Ruby has saved her from her Grimm arm, and that it would be doing something that, while it costs her her life, saves the entire world.

#ask hamliet #rwby meta #rwby theory #cinder fall #cinder redemption

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littleshrimpcat · 3 years

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Alexis and the Art of Starting

Disclaimer: This piece reads like a self-help post. Do not be fooled. I am not qualified to tell anyone how to live their lives. I’m not even sure I’m qualified to tell myself how to do that. I just want you to walk with me as I untangle a thought. So, put on an insanely expensive sweater and take a walk through Schitt’s Creek with me.

I’ve started to write this blog piece, every week for the last 2 months. I’d catch myself writing introduction after introduction in my head. Some great…some terrible. All those words wasted because I’m 32 years old, and I have no idea how to start…anything. It’s true. I start my morning with a sigh, instead of a smile. I sit up with a groan. Before I can fully form a thought, my brain auto corrects. It’s simple. I can’t start to save my life.

And then i ran into Alexis Rose. Much has been written about her growth on the show, into a kind, smart and captivating person. When Alexis was on screen, I had eyes for no one else (except that little button Patrick). I followed her story with interest. On the face of it, Alexis and I have little in common. I have not, dated a Sultan’s nephew (yet). My first kiss was not Jared Leto. But Alexis, like most of us, had the rug yanked out from under her feet. She went from a world, which she navigated with ease:

“Um, I’m sorry, were you picked up by the South Korean police on New Year’s? I had to sweet talk the consulate’s lawyer to get me a passport by midnight”

To a brand new life in a tiny, eccentric town called Schitt’s Creek.

I loved Alexis for her kindness, her adventures, her theme song for her reality show (linked below), and of course “ew, David”. But what always fascinated me about Alexis’ journey, was her willingness to try. An unshakeable confidence that she could work things out, even when she had no idea or experience to back that up. From high school, to college, to being a secretary at Ted’s veterinary clinic to handling PR for her mother, Alexis clicked, swayed and swished through them all.

And that got me thinking about how I handle things. How I need the fear of god put into me before I do anything. Got a deadline looming? Start typing. Got a bladder ready to burst? Start running (and unbuttoning). I don’t enjoy the beginning of anything. It’s hard to remember when I started something with enthusiasm.

To be fair, 2021 (and its terrible sibling, 2020) don’t really inspire energy or enthusiasm. In a year that essentially jammed a giant full stop in many of our lives (lost jobs, death of loved ones, quarantine) “starting right” seemed to be the least of our problems. Most days were considered a victory when I managed to make it to bed with my teeth brushed and my brain tired. I have stayed in that mode for 12 months now. What’s the point? Why try? Nothing good can come out of it.

A few weeks back, I had another setback (a missed job opportunity). I immediately began to sink into a soup of self-pity. What was I going to do? Nothing ever works out for me. Fuck COVID-19 (no, but seriously, FUCK COVID-19). Eventually, I started to choke on the sheer bitterness of my thoughts.

Now, I’m not advocating for positivity and sunshine all the time. But a little bit of hope, a little bit of excitement, a little bit Alexis just feels better. I don’t think I’ll win the Pulitzer, or brush my hair every day…but it does make life a little more tolerable. I may have lost a job opportunity I really liked, but there is still a chance I’ll find something better… isn’t that exciting, too? Just the possibility of that thought, made my head spin. It felt like something new.

Ultimately, Alexis too, doesn’t accomplish anything yet… it’s all waiting for her. Her new story starts at the end of the show. New York, a new apartment, a new job and visits from Twyla await her. Who knows what she’ll make of it? But she’s excited to try.

I, too, have no idea what I’ll accomplish with this little bubble of hope in my brain. All I know, is that for once I didn’t listen to the voice shrieking in my head saying “none of this makes sense”. All I felt was the beat of the keys as my hands moved, the thoughts streaming from my mind down to my fingertips and Alexis tapping my nose, with a little “boop”.

A Little Bit Alexis (Click)

#schitts creek #alexis rose #a little bit alexis #shows #starting

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filippakosta · 5 years

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omg, congrats on 200 followers! I'm a new follower, and your blog is amazing, you deserve so many more!! ✨ 🍂

ahhh welcome to my little pile of trash, thank you for following me and thank you for your kind words! ❤️

P O S I T I V E B L O G R A T E

favourite thing about your theme: I love the clean layout of it and your updates tab is really cool! (also you have so many sideblogs!! how do you manage to keep up with them all? i’m already struggling with my two blogs)favourite thing about your mobile theme: the header like perfectly matches the colour of your description and title?? its so aesthetically pleasing???favourite thing about your content: oof such a variety of fandoms i love, consider me a fan!favourite creation of yours: I haven’t even read asoiaf but this edit is so beautiful???favourite thing about your blog overall: well i only just followed you now but i really like your edits, i’ll definitely stalk you a bit later❤️

A E S T H E T I C B L O G R A T E

season: autumn | winter | spring | summer

element: air | water | fire | earth

time: dawn | noon | dusk | midnight

sky: stars | moon | clouds | sun

join my follower celebration!

#michelle celebrates #padmeskywalkers #answered

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peaches-of-1 · 5 years

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Peachtober | Day 17: Lotus

I didn’t realize this wasn’t in queue, so sorry for this being a few days late!

Hey, guys! Some of you may not know I have a side blog called @iris-idol where I do a sort of self insert kind of thing about my life as an idol. The first part is done at this point and here is a sneak peak of something I haven’t posted it yet.

September 11th, 11:59am

I was so ready for Namjoon’s birthday since he was able to come home from service to celebrate it. I sent him “Happy Birthday, oppa!” at midnight as I planned to do with all of my other members when it was their birthday. We had performed together not too long ago. He had only joined the Army last month. I remember crying so hard when him and the other members of the hyung line left together.

For now, Maknae line had formed a subunit and TXT was having a comeback soon. I was also really excited to finally have an offday just so that we could celebrate with Namjoon for a few hours. Since the show was done, the members that would become Dei5 were in the beginning stages of our trainee lives.

It wasn’t too much right now, just coming up with our concepts to make sure we have clear goals to work towards and stuff like that. Of course we had our deities to research nonstop and there was a ten page essay we had to turn in, written in Korean, to make sure we were making good strides towards understanding what persona we were going to put forward.

For me, that was Iris, goddess of the rainbow and fellow messenger alongside Hermes. A lot of my clothing would be rainbow themed, but also my color was pink. That meant I kept going towards super cute and unicorn imagery. I wanted to do something really aegyo and kawaii but also mix it with hard rock. My Trinket aka symbol was a rainbow rose so there were a lot of duality aspects I could do.

We were going to be a rock-rap group from what BigHit officials told us. I was excited to learn hardcore about rock culture because I had lived it mostly during middle school and high school. It was obvious why I was chosen for the show if they were going for a rock inspired group since I took a lot of vocal inspiration from Adam Lambert and Evanescence.

Alice would be Lyssa, goddess of madness, and her color was black. She had a secondary aka accent color which was silver. She was half Korean and half Aussie, so her blonde hair and blue eyes were completely natural much to people’s surprise. She had been super shocked to be chosen for this group since the final vote was up to the Korean people. Alice was queer. She didn’t put a label on her sexuality and rarely ever specified what she meant other than saying love is love and she wasn’t going to let society get in the way of her heart. Her trinket was a black lace blindfold.

Jun aka Lan Caihe was like our big brother/sister so far. We were pretty sure he was going to be the leader because both Jun and her deity were genderfluid. Jun went by any and all pronouns and liked to dress more closely to a femine aesthetic. Back home, she did drag and made a lot of friends that way. He was the oldest...I think. Anyways, Lan Caihe’s color was green and her symbol was a bamboo flute.

Oppa was Hyojoon, a cutie that was shorter than me and his deity was Igong Hallakgungi and we mostly just called him Halla. By “we” I meant most of the non-Koreans who were on the show because long words are hard. His color was blue. His was the deity of life and death since his deity watched over said garden. Meaning his trinket was also a watering can. Since the show was over, he no longer had to stand out so much. He let his white hair fade and his roots were coming in.

Our youngest was Tristan. He went by Tristan and liked that better than his birth name, so I didn’t think about his actual name. He was a sweet guy and adored me so much. I adored him right back. I called him my little brother, and I meant it. The way he called me Noona was different from how he called Jun or Alice. Like I was his actual big sister. Although we both had other siblings, we treated each other like we had wished our siblings treated us. Basically, I babied him quite a bit. He enjoyed that because he was the oldest of three sisters.

He was kind of like my soul mate. My best friend. My brother.

He then asked me how my training had been and I told it was good. I have honestly just gotten back about a week or so ago. I spent the last month hanging out back home and collecting the rest of my things that I wanted to bring to Korea since I’d be living here from now on.

There was a knock on my door, probably my manager coming to take my phone and tell us lights out. We weren’t allowed to have our phones until after we debuted and after we made a certain amount of revenue.

September 12, 9:21pm

Namjoon oppa had wanted a casual costume party, but I was not a casual person. So I took a shower before showing up to the boys’ dorm in a starry dress. We had planned to make him the center of our galaxy for the night meaning everyone was wearing something with stars or planets or moons on them. Although the trainees from Deify weren’t very close to a lot of the other members of BigHit Entertainment, we had been invited.

Jimin was already redfaced and giggly when I arrived. I bowed and spoke politely to Yoongi who had been a judge on the show as well as everyone else. I wasn’t allowed to drink because we would have meetings and such all day tomorrow. It was mostly just eating and watching videos on the TV.

“It’s nice to see you again, Farai.” Namjoon said my birth name. “You look well.”

“Thank you. You look great too, all healthy. How has your training been, or are you done with that now?”

He handed me a slice of cake, “It’s done with, but I have big news to share with everyone. I guess you can find out first.”

“How come I get to know first?” I asked.

Namjoon shrugged, “You’re good at keeping secrets, and I trust you. Also, you might be able to give me some advice.”

“What do you mean by advice?”

“I’m going to be sent to America for most of my service. They said somewhere in the South, and since you’re from that area, I was hoping you could give me some tips about how to act.” He said, leaning on the counter by the fridge.

“Ah,” I replied. “I see, well. I think you will do a good job because one things I was going to tell you is to be respectful and to call people older than you either ‘Sir’ or ‘Ma’am’. However, you already do that. Hmm,”

I took a moment to think and noticed he was nervously playing with the hem of his new jacket gifted to him by Jungkook.

“Oh, I think this will be a good tip. Two things are really a big deal when it comes to business and older American people. One is eye contact. It shows that you are listening to them and paying attention. Second is a firm handshake. I do not know how you will be treated there, but do your best not to be shy.” I giggled. “Strong but silent is good, though.”

I went on and tried to show him what a firm handshake would be like, his hand lingering in mine as I did my best to explain in English and choppy Korean.

“Iris!” Taehyung turned the corner into the kitchen. “I’m so glad you’re here. I want to show you something.”

So he motioned me over and Namjoon let me join the younger member. Tae had wanted to show me some music and lyrics he wrote for me and was really hoping I could consider adding it to my album. I was taken by surprise. What was I supposed to say?

“Ah, I um. I will try. I will talk to the music producers and see if they will consider it. We are not working on music at this moment, but it sounds really nice. You have grown so much as an artist, Taehyung.” I smiled at him wearing a star spangled beret.

Then we went back to the party for a bit. Trainees couldn’t stay for too long because the grind was just beginning and we were learning Korean. I felt so out of place but also star struck because there were so many idols there. Namjoon was the only one in orangey clothing, so he was easy to find in the crowd.

One of his non idol friends was hitting on me. I was being nice, doing the whole Southern Hospitality thing, but I was not interested in the slightest. He spoke to me in broken English and did his best to hold a conversation with me, so I hung around. Until..

“Will you twerk for me?” He asked.

I bit the inside of my lip and tilted my head, “Um, what?”

“Twerk, you know...with your booty. Like girls in video.” He replied.

“Hahahaha~” Namjoon said, slapping his friend on the back. “Don’t be stupid, Han-hyung. That is really rude.”

The man blinked, “Is it? Really? Is that not just what black girls do?”

“Hahahahahaha~~no. No it’s not. I am so sorry, Farai.”

“I am going to play with Yeontan.” I replied and left them to that.

Tristan hugged me, “Noona~ You look sad.”

“It’s nothing. Just an idiot.” I responded.

“I love you, Noona. You are amazing and strong. Whatever happened, you just add it to reasons why you have to change Korea’s ideas of what someone like you does.” He said, rubbing my back.

“Thanks, my lovely deongsaeng”

Yoongi also wanted to talk to me about my future and songwriting and stuff. He had been a judge on the show, so things were still kind of tense between us. Yoongi had been nice, but I didn’t feel right calling him Oppa just yet. He reminded me that I was going to make the biggest splash as a BigHit artist but also to just focus on being a trainee for now. I would have all my life to deal with the stress of being a foreigner, of being plus size, of having my natural hair, of being dark skinned in Korea. For now, I just had to show that I was an idol first and foremost.

“I promise I will not let you or BigHit down.” I said.

He smiled, “Good.”

Jungkook’s voice called my name next and he said that he wanted me to help with his gift for Namjoon. Right now, it was hard to say no to anyone older than me, especially someone I looked up to. Still, if it made me too uncomfortable, I would have to reject his offer.

“I want to give him birthday kisses. It’s become a tradition now, and I know you have to go soon. I was thinking that we could each kiss one of his cheeks, if that’s ok with you.” The BTS maknae spoke to me in English since he was fluent in it and I was not that fluent in Korean just yet.

“Wouldn’t that be too easy to turn into a scandal of some sort?” I asked.

He waved away my concern, “Don’t worry about what the fans will do. You already have had several dating scandals. Anyways, this is for fun, and I know Namjoon will like it. Don’t you want to see him all blushy and shy?”

I bit my lip and put on a playfully stubborn face, “Maybe…”

Jungkook smiled and we went over to to behind where the birthday boy was sitting. The star eyed maknae counted to three and then both of us leaned down to place a small peck on either of his cheeks.

“Happy birthday, hyung!” Jungkook said.

Namjoon hid his face in his hands, but I could tell he was smiling. Then he looked up at me.

“Et tu, Farai?”

I pointed to his own member, “It was Kookie’s idea.” and giggled, only the color of my skin hiding how I was blushing too.

Alice traced her fingers through mine, “Come on lovebird, we have to go. Work starts early tomorrow.”

I nodded and we told everyone goodnight and farewell.

October 21, 10:33am

I was so ready for Halloween. It was fun trying to come up with ideas of what to do and of course it got turned into a sort of mini promo. When it came down to it, we were basically going to disappear for two years while we trained for Dei5 and wanted to make one final noise before we poofed.

So, we released a short Halloween song and were going to be doing busking in order to promote it. It was a remixed version of “Spooky Scary Skeletons” and all twelve of us who had been on the show were learning a dance for it. We had been working on it for two weeks now, just the dance part. The song was done in about a week. Halloween was in 10 days! Ah, I was living for this.

I knew that what we were doing was simply the tip of the k-pop idol iceberg, but I was just so happy to be busy and doing what I loved. It was frustrating at times since this was all short notice, but I liked it. Today, we worked on gathering costumes for our busking performances. We tried to choose stuff from the same show or franchise, but Imani now understood my distaste towards morph suits. So superheroes were out of the question.

Then we got the idea while playing video games with Sooja and Matthew just a few days ago. Mario characters. Everyone said I had to be Princess Peach, but I wanted to be Peachette. So that’s how we all evolved into all the “-ette” versions of the characters we had chosen. Well, most of us.

I was Peachette, Tristan was Bullet Billette, Alice was Bowsette, Hyojoon was just a regular Boo, and Jun was Yoshette. James was Piranha Plantette, Sooja was Boosette, Matthew had decided to go for Walette while Dongmin decided to be Wariette. Nawoo would be Toad, Gina went for Daisy, and Imani was Rosalina.

We were mostly looking for skirts and dresses. For Dongmin and I who were the two bigger members of the group, literally, we did some online shopping from our phones while everyone else did their things. I was able to get a really long blonde wig to fit my head from a place that Jun told me her drag queen friends always went to.

Jun said he would help me style it to fit Peachette’s hair. I was so thankful for him because I’d be struggling without her.

As my little group of Alice, James, and Nawoo went to the party section to see if the fabric pens were there, my eye caught the cutest arrangement of Halloween gift bags. I looked back at my manager and gave Kyung the best puppy dog eyes I could manage aven pouting a bit. I had talked about doing a project like this before, but he said he didn’t want to spend money on it.

He rolled his eyes and grabbed three packs of 20. He then left us to grab some of the huge bags of candy. I wanted to do something for the people who would be watching us perform. And for Halloween, that’d be candy. The only rule was that I had to make the bags myself. Yeah, that was extra work for myself, but I would always do it for Halloween and Valentine’s Day. The only reason I wouldn’t do it for Christmas is because that was festival season, the most stressful and busy time of the year. I didn’t want to get in the way.

October 31, 3:03am

I had finally finished all of the bags and tied them up. It went faster because of Tristan and Alice helping me, but still. They had extra practice to do to help their dancing skills. Alice was a fantastic dancer, but she didn’t have a great sense of rhythm. I put the last dozen in a wagon that Hyojoon oppa had let me borrow for this since it looked haunted.

Now, I had to go to bed for about seven hours before having to wake up and get ready so that we could be shoved off to perform in Hongdae and Itaewon. They were closer to our dorms than Busan and Ilsan and Daegu.

October 31, 12:30pm

Dei5 had a short meeting where we found out that our official logo would be a lotus, a symbol of rebirth and renewal. It would have five petals for each of us. We would go for a regular sort of symbol, smooth and simple, the lines were not too thick or too thin. It gave us the chance to alter it and remodel it for each comeback. Honestly, it would just be five gold petal outlines with a white center.

It was all that we could talk about with our other members.

I was getting a call from Taehyung during a quick lunch break before we continued dancing. We were at some traditional Korean place and eating bimibap, kimbap, and cold noodles.

“Hello?” I said after swallowing.

“You can’t call her. She can’t know about this.” It sounded like Jimin’s voice in the background.

Taehyung responded, “It’s not like we have many options.”

“If she was invited, you’ll see her there. Do you want to get in trouble with the Mentors?” Jungkook asked, worry and fear in his voice along with concern.

“No, Noona would get mad.” the current middle child said.

“So put down the phone.” Jimin said.

And the line went dead. I stared at my phone confused. What was that all about? Gina asked what the phone call was about and who it was from. I told her it was from Tae but it must have been a butt dial. Whatever, I had noodles to slurp up.

October 31, 7:22pm

Now in full costume, I was ready to dance with the others. I can’t believe it’s been over a month since since Namjon went back to serve. He had a lot of American fans, so he was seen through fan cams. Same went for Hobi, Jin, and Yoongi who mostly did office work. Well, Jin was part of Army Band and Hobi was in another performance Army thing.

“Hey, is it just me, or are there less people out on Halloween than during the day?” Imani asked.

I admitted, “I’ve noticed that too.”

“Do you guys not know?” Sooja asked, extremely puzzled. “Ah, I guess since you’re not usually in Korea during this time of year, and you haven’t been out much because of training, but um. There is a yearly masquerade party that idols go to. Some normies or trainees get invited too, but that is the only way you can go. By invite.”

Tristan added, “Yeah. I honestly thought we would have gotten invited, but I guess they want to train us first.”

Then they went into talking about what kind of rumors surrounded it. How people could go missing if they talked about it or how the person they talked to would disappear. It was very hush hush, like the bedazzled elephant in the room. Everyone who was anyone knew about it and got invited, but no one could really talk about it. Overall, it was a masquerade ball. Oh, I’ve always wanted to go to one of those!

There had been a livestream earlier when we were performing, made people who watched guess who each idol was. It was like a very intense but also fun fandom test. How well did you really know what your faves looked like?

We finally got into Itaewon for the third time today and there were people waiting for us. Like it had been happening all day, but it was still strange to see so many people who wanted to see us. Kyung had surprised me by setting up a total of 200 other goodie bags for fans who came out to watch. Him and the others were dressed in capes.

Our last stop was at N Seoul Tower. My skirt was actually shorter than the original dress just because I didn’t want to have to carry it around and lift it up as I danced. It was a pink lolita dress and Sooja actually had the Toadette/Bowsette crown. She helped make more for all of us.

We would do a Six song set and finish with our Halloween song. I was in three of them with the other members who would make up Dei5. Alice and I did our “No” by CLC cover and we did our easier group choreo afterwards.

Then it was time for “Spooky Scary Skeletons”. The twelve of us got into formation.

“Mortals, Deities, and everything in between~” I spoke.

Matthew added, “We only have one thing to say.”

“Happy Halloween!”

We had cut up the lyrics and such to the famed Halloween song and added two different rap sections for it to help showcase the rappers. I was having such a good time when the first dance break came in and we marched in sync and then posed. It was mostly dance heavy, so it was mostly just remembering what order to do them in. Muscle memory was my best friend in this case.

From the corner of my eyes, I saw the cape wearing staff handing out my little baggies. They were filled with chocolate, non chocolate, and a few trinkets like Vampire Teeth and the like. Also, 100 of the ones that I did not make had special codes in them to get a preorder when our CDs came out. They would have to use them wisely and try not to lose them.

Everyone was given glowsticks too, so we lit up the area more than the tower behind us. Then we all went to the front.

“Boo!”

Stay still for 10 second and then we all held hands and bowed, “Thank you! Happy Halloween! Thank you for all of your support!” and then it was done.

October 31, 10:00pm

I couldn’t help but fall asleep the moment I got home. Yes, it was bad to sleep in makeup and yes I would probably get in trouble for it when I woke up tomorrow because trainees had certain things to follow and wiping off our makeup and doing skincare was one of them. So I’d pay for it later. Right now, it was time to sleep.

I couldn’t help but dream about what it would be like if Namjoon and I danced together at the masquerade ball. The theme would be fire and ice, no jewel tones, no, space. Definitely space and so I could wear a more dramatic version of the outfit I wore to his birthday. However, I would need to be more careful. I was a girl. I was a foreigner and Gods Dammit, I will be an idol.

#BTS #Bangtan #Character: Iris #Iris-idol #@iris-idol #Idol!AU #bwam #ambw #slow burn #extra chapter #Peachtober #Day 17

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growingnovelsnet · 7 years

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by growingnovelsnet (credit to admin aimi)

there are several steps to creating a good writing blog for yourself & your readers. some steps may be obvious but we’re hoping to help out anyone that wants to maximize their potential as a writer on this site. (more under the cut)

have a clean & easily navigable theme. many tumblr writers choose minimalistic and clean themes with sidebars/header bars to display their writing since it’s the words doing the talking. some of these themes have header displays if you want a little more color to your blog. (there are many more good themes but these are the ones i’ve tested personally and found that they’re aesthetically very pleasing.) some recommendations:

@felinum: bakovia, el psy ko, chamomile

@odeysseus: dawn, clear, primrose, winter, nebula, lyra, poetry, silhouette

@lauraholliis: first love (part iii), lonely, lifeboat

@1204px: chateau, vaporean, hopeless, watchtower, kali ma, green light, wild boys, diamond

@leopardraws: sino, melodia, vista

@sorrism: thyme, adeline, honey, attention, breezeblocks 2.0, taro, sleepless

@ciralism: aerial, thunderstorm, magazine, toujours deux

@acuite: hygea, styx, thalia, hebe, pheme, hera

@pohroro: vainglory, intelligentsia, chelsea smile, alekhine’s gun, absolution

@magnusthemes: aeronautic

@nemurou: skyfall, soft, miyamura, nameless

@shythemes: gardenia,

@yoongity: begin

@karmaplus: dermot, gaetano

@pelidcs: godspeed/dorian, indigo, rebirth/flourish, suburbia/too good, fools/ease/bite, glory/cataclysm/sehnsucht, naked as we came, you

@kurtcobangs: fever, monodrama, grey, devil, paradise

@peachthms: atlas, rosewater, lightning

@southcodes: witness, airplane, hello venus

@neonbikethemes: theme thirty, blue, brackets, theme 26, theme 19, theme 10

if you have a little more experience with coding, you might want a little more to your theme. i personally prefer to display updates, extra links, quotes, projects i’m working on for my followers. most of these are fansites as they offer the most variety. some recommendations:

@odeysseus: winter, melody

@ladmilk: oceanus

@sorrism: helium

@pohroro: square one, edelweiss

@magnusthemes: midnight sun

@1204px: can’t kick up the roots, nancy mulligan, wild, tokyo drive, try me, 4ever, crybaby

have an about page so people can get to know you. this is pretty important because two of the most important things is that your readers like your writing and that they like you. so make sure to be personable, let your readers discover who you are. (as stated before, these are the ones i’ve tested. there are many more out on tumblr.) some recommendations:

odeysseus: raspberry, dream, shadow

ciralism: satin, here’s my card, coups et blessures, introducing me

enchantedthemes: nepenthe, about iii, about ii

nemurou: daylight

karmaplus: alicio

navigation page for your readers. this is recommended especially if you write both poetry & prose. you can link poetry series, your general poetry tag, your novels, and all your pages. (as stated before, these are the ones i’ve tested. there are many more out on tumblr.) some recommendations:

odeysseus: mist, divide,

ciralism: compass rose

enchantedthemes: tags ii, tags iii

southcodes: somewhere

have pages for your characters and novels. this is especially important if you want a chance for your readers to engage with you and have fun on your blog. a lot of people love going through novel pages and character pages just to get a feel for the story. (as stated before, these are the ones i’ve tested. there are many more out on tumblr.) character pages:

aeducans: archetype

odeysseus: cynical, blueberry, ease,

ciralism: beaux rêves, the crew

nemurou: 4AM

peachthms: soul

macfustythemes: unnamed

ofmanyworlds: network page two

southcodes: tess

novel pages:

odeysseus: peppermint

ciralism: the circus,

enchantedthemes: media i

southcodes: alice, rain drops, garage kids

link all your non-tumblr sites. preferably right on your theme! it’s one of the main reasons why many tumblr writers choose themes with a lot of extra links. if you have a fictionpress, wattpad, archiveofourown, anything, you need to link it for exposure! join networks to get your name out there. our network is currently no longer considering members but there are others! if you search around writers who are very social within the writers on tumblr community, you’ll find they are all at least on one network. make sure to search some of your favourite tumblr writers & check to see if they’ve joined any networks or have any starting up. there is always at least one writing network open or beginning. keep an eye out on your dashboard for those network posts. tag bigger writers in writing that you’re sharing. there are many bigger writers that reblog poems & prose from smaller time writers. make sure to send in an ask to see if they’re tracking any tags and if they’re okay with you tagging them to your heart’s content! keep your writing well tagged and organized. make sure your poetry is marked as #poetry or #words, anything that will keep it under a certain tag when you link it on the navigations page. maybe you have a series or several excerpts of your novel, make sure you tag it consecutively without missing one. talk to other writers! even if you don’t plan on joining a network, try talking to other writers or following writing advice blogs. reblog other writer’s works to your other blogs, give little comments within the tags, this will guarantee that people will check out your blog. (make sure to link your writing blog in your description or somewhere on your main blog’s theme if you’re not reblogging other people’s content onto there.)

#writing advice #writers on tumblr #nanowrimo #nanowrimo 2017 #writing resources #blog resources #ibuzoo #illuminosity #archistratego #admin aimi #inkflowsnet #inkstay #nano 2017 #ocnet #spilled ink #writerscreed #writing blogs #blog advice

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kingfindekano · 6 years

Text

tagged by the lovely @jeffreycombs!

last

1. drink - iced tea

2. phone call - my dad i think

3. text message - claire in the dnd gt

4. song you listened to - make your own kind of music - mama cass elliot

5. time you cried - yesterday when one of the main show themes played in Lost

ever

6. dated someone twice? - nooooooo

7. kissed someone and regretted it - no

8. been cheated on - not physically no

9. lost someone special - yep & two of them to the same type of cancer. lung cancer can fuck all the way off

10. been depressed - yes

11. gotten drunk and thrown up - nope

fave colours

12. forest green

13. sky grey

14. stormy blue

in the last year have you…

15. made new friends - yes

16. fallen out of love - never been in love in the last year

17. laughed until you cried - nearly every day rip

18. found out someone was talking about you - not in a negative way

19. met someone who changed you - does that bus tour guide in scotland who made me realize what an absolutely MASSIVE thing i have for scottish accents count

20. found out who your friends are - i’ve never had a “now i know who my real friends are” moment; i’ve been very fortunate in the friend department lol

21. kissed someone on your facebook friends list - nope

general

22. how many of your facebook friends do you know irl - like 93%

23. do you have any pets - not anymore alas. my dad has 3 labs tho & i get to see them when i visit his house

24. do you want to change your name - frequently but it’s too much of a HASSLE

25. what did you do for your last birthday - i don’t remember

26. what time did you wake up today - 8:16

27. what were you doing at midnight last night - reading newmann fics & bouncing around various social media apps. cackling about this one dog picture i saw on peyton’s blog

28. what is something you cant wait for - the next episode of rpdr allstars 3!!!

30. what are you listening to right now - Welcome to the Rock (from Come From Away)

31. have you ever talked to a person named tom - not that i recall

32. something thats getting on your nerves - popcorn chewing noises

33. most visited website - the tungle probably but i go on reddit a fair bit

34. hair colour - dark dark dark brown

35. long or short hair - long

36. do you have a crush on someone - an all-encompassing crush on ben linus from Lost and elizabeth olsen. also jeff goldblum

37. what do you like about yourself - intelligence, music/writing ability, good listener, thick hair that’s useful for keeping my head/neck toasty even tho the house is freezing. also that one freckle on my lip

38. want any piercings? - a second set of ear piercings would be rad

39. blood type - A positive

40. nicknames - rose/hannah rose

41. relationship status - single

42. zodiac - taurus sun, libra rising

43. pronouns - she/her

44. fave tv shows - LOST, TURN AMC, star trek, rpdr, merlin, torchwood, spn, stranger things, parks and rec, the office

45. tattoos - none

46. right or left handed - right

47. ever had surgery - for wisdom teeth

48. piercings - just ears

49. sport - volleyball & the 50m dash away from my responsibilities

50. vacation - my last vacation was a graduation present we’d saved up for for a while–a trip to London & Scotland that was SO GOOD. prob going to zion national park for a few days next!

51. trainers - what

more general

52. eating - just had some carrots & half a loaf of trader joe’s pretzel bread

53. drinking - iced tea, immediately followed by beet/apple/carrot juice from central market, which was a MISTAKE. those aftertastes do. not go well together.

54. i’m about to watch - Lost

55. waiting for - writer’s block to vanish

56. want - the cloudy, cold weather to stay

57. get married - yes

58. career - who knooooowwwwsssssssssssss

which is better

59. hugs or kisses - kisses

60. lips or eyes - eyes

61. shorter or taller - taller

62. older or younger - older

63. nice arms or stomach - stomach

64. hookup or relationship - relationship

65. troublemaker or hesitant - hesitant

have you ever

66. kissed a stranger - nope

67. drank hard liquor - nope

68. lost glasses - no

69. turned someone down - yes

70. sex on first date - no

71. broken someones heart - not that i’m aware

72. had your heart broken - i guEss

73. been arrested - nope

74. cried when someone died - yep

75. fallen for a friend - in love? no. had a passing crush? yes

do you believe in

76. yourself - yes

77. miracles - yes

78. love at first sight - nope but i do believe in a Very Strong Connection at first sight

79. santa clause - omg

80. kiss on a first date - sure

81. angels - yeah

other

82. best friend’s name - adjfjfd i couldn’t say one bc i’ve got around 5 people i consider Best Friends

83. eye colour - blueish. sorta grey or green depending on the day

84. fave movie - either chocolat or mad max fury road

85. fave actor - michael emerson. he’s so COMPELLING

tagging: anyone who see this and wants to do it!

#me? too lazy to tag 20 people? it's more likely than you think #personal #thanks for the tag!! <3

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kuyarexdelsdiaries · 5 years

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CONTESSA: ONE YEAR OF WOMEN EMPOWERMENT

In the United Kingdom, it will air on Weeknights at 8:30 PM before Family Guy. The UK Version will be dubbed in English by British actors. It will also adopt the GMA version for their title card. If aired on CBS, It will air on Weeknights at 9:00 PM.

March is Women's Month but on GMA Network, Something is coming to empower to your screens

Following the successful year-long run of ‘Ika-6 na Utos’, GMA looked to fill in the big shoes that the former left. They decided to replace ‘Ika-6 na Utos’ with a series that reminded viewers of another successful teleserye from a rival network.

From the moment ‘Contessa”s teaser was aired, netizens immediately compared the series to ABS-CBN’s ‘Wildflower’ due to their similar storylines of revenge. But ‘Contessa’ lead star Glaiza de Castro (from Ikaw Lang Ang Mamahalin, Berks, Spirits, Amaya, Temptation of Wife, The Rich Man's Daughter, Encantadia 2016, Mulawin vs. Ravena) had a different take, saying that her upcoming show focuses more on a woman’s constant quest for justice. In ‘Contessa’, Glaiza is initially known as Bea, a woman who is accused and imprisoned for a crime she never committed. Determined to seek revenge and reclaim those who were taken away from her, she assumes a new identity, that of Contessa.

Throughout the series, ‘Contessa’ will feature some important characters who will be crucial to the story of Bea/Contessa. Marco (Mark Herras, from Click, Love to Love, original Encantadia, I Luv NY, Party Pilipinas, Time of my Life, Hiram na Puso, Sunday All Stars, Rhodora X, Pari'Koy, Little Nanay, Wish I May, Sa Piling ni Nanay) is a writer and Bea’s long-time boyfriend whose gruesome murder will be central to the evolution of Bea into Contessa. Marco’s brother Gabriel (Geoff Eigenmann, from Ang TV, Kiara, Ano ang Hukay ng Pag-Ibig, Kahit Kailan, Love to Love, Hiram, Ikaw ang Lahat sa Akin, Rounin, Lobo, SOP Rules, Rosalinda, Party Pilipinas, Show Me Da Manny, Grazilda, Dangwa, La Luna Sangre) is a successful OFW who returns to the country following his murder. Meanwhile, Bea’s best friend Jong (Jak Roberto, from The Half Sisters, Pari'Koy, A1 Ko Sa'Yo, Meant to Be) is a secret admirer of hers who hopes to love him back.

The Imperial family, led by the matriarch Charito (Chanda Romero, from original Villa Quintana, Vietnam Rose, Kidlat, My Husband's Lover, Ismol Family, Pari 'Koy, The Half Sisters, Once Again, Legally Blind) and her children Vito (Gabby Eigenmann, from Palibhasa Lalake, Love to Love, Sugo, I Luv NY, Marimar, Darna, All About Eve, Mundo Mo'y Akin, Pari 'Koy, InstaDad, Sa Piling ni Nanay, My Love from the Star) and Daniella (Lauren Young, from Lobo, Dahil May Isang Ikaw, Tanging Yaman, Midnight DJ, Mula Sa Puso 2011, Oka2Kat, Mundo Mo'y Akin, Dormitoryo, Genesis, Hiram na Alaala, MariMar, Poor Señorita, Legally Blind), will serve as a major obstacle to Bea/Contessa’s plans for justice. In typical villainous fashion, the Imperials are considered manipulative, influential, sophisticated and powerful individuals who will do whatever is necessary to destroy the protagonist.

Completing the rest of the cast are Tetchie Agbayani (from Basta't Kasama Kita, Got to Believe, Flordeliza, Dolce Amore, The Greatest Love), Leandro Baldemor (from Encantadia 2016), Dominic Roco (from Qpids, Super Inggo, Zorro, Darna, Grazilda, Indio, Destined to be Yours), Bernadette Allyson, Melissa Mendez (from Esperanza, Anna Luna, P.S. I Love You, original Pangako Sa'Yo, Indio), Tanya Gomez (from Kokey, Oka2Kat, Alyas Robin Hood), Karel Marquez (from Magandang Tanghali Bayan, Berks, Pidol's Wonderland, My Husband's Lover, Rhodora X, La Luna Sangre), Phytos Ramirez (from the both versions of Encantadia, Gulong ng Palad, Mara Clara, Mula Sa Puso 2011, Oh, My Mama!, Alyas Robin Hood), Denise Barbacena (from Little Nanay, A1 Ko Sa'Yo, Legally Blind, Bubble Gang) and Will Ashley (from Villa Quintana 2013, Alyas Robin Hood, Destined to be Yours). ‘Contessa’ was directed by Albert Langitan who came from his previous work Impostora 2017.

Replacing a top-rating series in ‘Ika-6 na Utos’ will be a daunting one for ‘Contessa’. In order for viewers to commit to this new series in the long term, some interesting bits and pieces are needed to make ‘Contessa’ worth watching, a task that is difficult to fill considering it will go head-to-head with ‘It’s Showtime”s ‘Tawag ng Tanghalan’ segment and "Ipaglaban Mo".

With all things considered, GMA should only hope for the best with ‘Contessa’. It may never be able to replicate the ratings of ‘Ika-6 na Utos’, but if it all goes well, who knows what will happen next.

Through its first nine episodes, GMA’s ‘Contessa’ was only able to average 10% in the ratings according to Kantar. In contrast, ABS-CBN’s ‘It’s Showtime’ raked in around 17%, and while its numbers declined by around 2% during the Holy Week, it was still enough to dispatch ‘Contessa’.

Even the first Saturday episode of ‘Contessa’ on March 24 was a flop, as it earned only 9.9% compared to ‘It’s Showtime”s 17.4%. By comparison, the finale of ‘Ika-6 na Utos’ which aired the previous Saturday finished with a 20.6% rating, 10.7% better than its successor.

The slow start of ‘Contessa’ should cause plenty of concern within GMA Network. Following up a successful afternoon drama in ‘Ika-6 na Utos’ was no easy task, but no one expected ‘Contessa’ to fall way below expectations. However on the AGB Nielsen, Contessa registered high ratings compared to It's Showtime and Ipaglaban Mo, both from ABS-CBN.

In the days leading up to its premiere there were some doubts on whether or not ‘Contessa’ will have a Saturday episode. Initially, GMA considered having ‘Contessa’ air only from Monday to Friday, but when the network realized that they lack suitable replacements for the 2:30 p.m. slot, they reluctantly added a Saturday episode on ‘Contessa’.

In doing so GMA gave ‘Contessa’ enormously high expectations to succeed. Unfortunately, ‘Contessa’ didn’t come close to sustaining ‘Ika-6 na Utos” high viewership, and it also didn’t help that its first foray into Saturdays failed to produce the desired result. Perhaps it is those bandwagon viewers that only showed up during ‘Ika-6 na Utos’ and then switched to ‘It’s Showtime’ and other programs once it ended. Or perhaps GMA dramas have had a history of starting slow and then occasionally picking up ratings midway through. Whatever the reason, it was clear that ‘Contessa’ underachieved from the get-go. Adding a Saturday episode was a huge mistake and the possibility of viewer burnout became more apparent. But as far as GMA is concerned, ‘Contessa’ has had only one Saturday episode so far (there was no episode during Black Saturday) so it is too early to tell. Still, it remains to be seen whether or not succeeding episodes will increase viewership and give ‘Contessa’ some much-needed respectability. The series concluded on September 8, 2018 after 147 Episodes the was replaced by "Ika-5 Utos" then "Asawa Ko, Karibal Ko" on October of that year after Ika-5 Utos took over the 3:25 PM timeslot from "The Stepdaughters". The theme song of the series was "Dito Sa Aking Mundo" by Glaiza de Castro. That song was originally sung by Richard Reynoso.

Aftermath Glaiza de Castro, who played a double role as Bea and Contessa would appear in Victor Magtanggol as Pirena reuniting with fellow Encantadia casts, Kylie Padilla, Sanya Lopez and Gabbi Garcia before resuming her music career.

Chanda Romero would later appear in a Telebabad series "Cain At Abel" together with Leandro Baldemor two months later. However, the show would be replaced by Roberto's next series "Kara Mia".

Lauren Young would appear in a late morning series "Hiram na Anak". Gabby Eigenmann would appear in another Afternoon Prime series "Inagaw na Bituin" alongside Patricia Tumulak.

Jak Roberto would appear with his girlfriend Barbie Forteza in a Telebabad series "Kara Mia" which replaced Romero's and Baldemor's last show "Cain at Abel".

International Broadcasts In Kazakhstan, The series premiered on January 15, 2019 as "Kohtecca" on Channel 7 Kazakhstan. The series was dubbed in Kazakh instead of Tagalog. But it wasn't aired in Latin America similar to Legalmente Ciega (Legally Blind).

However, If Contessa brings to the United States, It will air on either Networks: ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC. This series will be dubbed in full English by American actors. The title card will adopt the GMA Version.

If aired on ABC, It wil air on Weekdays 10:30 - 11:00 AM before The View on ABC Daytime

If aired on CBS, It will air on Wednesdays at 9:00 PM.

If aired on Fox, It will air on Weeknights at 11:00 PM

If aired on NBC, It will air on Weeknights at 9:00 PM

In the United Kingdom, it will air on Weeknights at 8:30 PM before Family Guy. The UK Version will be dubbed in English by British actors. It will also adopt the GMA version for their title card.

In Australia, it will air on Mondays to Sundays at 8:30 PM on 10 Bold. This version will be dubbed in English by Australian actors. It will also adopt the GMA version for their title card.

(DISCLAIMER: This post is for factual basis and is to be veirified at the soonest possible time by some sources. Don’t be assured yet, but it is just for the contributor’s point of view.)

(NOTE: The contributor of this post is Carl Veluz, a good friend of the EIC/Publisher of KRD.)

KRD Welcomes everyone who can contribute to ‘The Blog that tells Stories and More’. Send in via email: [email protected] with the subject ‘KRD Contributor’ with your draft as attachment, and your details of your work. You may include your personal details, but we respect your privacy if we opt to include some other details or not depending on the individual’s request. You can also send in as private message via Kuya Rexdel’s Diaries Facebook page (fb.com/KRDOfficialPH).

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daniellethamasa · 4 years

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Hey all, Dani here.

Hello everyone, and welcome to a very early post for me. Clearly as this post goes live I’m in bed, but I wanted to make sure this post was up for all of my fellow Calendar Girls, so here we are. It’s been a pretty decent January so far on the reading front. Actually I spent most of my weekend reading, so stay tuned for a nice wrap-up on Wednesday. It should be fun, and I have a bunch of other stuff to talk about as well. Plus, I’m looking forward to this weekend, seeing as Damian and I will be teaming up with Colorworld Books to work at Ohayocon. So if you’re in the Columbus, Ohio, area and going to the con, stop by and say hello.

Anyway, it is the first Monday of the Month and that means it is once again time for a Calendar Girls post.

Calendar Girls is a monthly blog event that was started by Flavia and Melanie, but is now being hosted by Katie and Adrienne. They are all wonderful ladies, and you should check out their lovely blogs. Oh, and if you go to either Katie or Adrienne‘s Calendar Girls post each month, they will have links to all the other wonderful book bloggers participating in this event. Okay, so Katie and Adrienne needed to take a brief hiatus for a few months, so for right now Flavia and myself are temporarily hosting Calendar Girls until our fearless leaders are ready to step back in.

Honestly Calendar Girls is a group effort and I feel like we have become a pretty good group of friends, so it makes sense that we can share in the responsibilities and pick up any slack should it happen. I’m happy to do my part to help keep this tradition going. So if you link back to Flavia and me, we can keep track of all the book picks and posts each month. Thanks, everyone!

First, more about the Calendar Girls. It is designed to ignite bookish discussions among readers, and was inspired by the 1961 Neil Sedaka song, Calendar Girl.

Just like the song, each month has a different theme. Each blogger picks their favorite book from the theme, and on the first Monday of the month reveals their pick in a Calendar Girls post. Make sure to post back to the hostess’s post, and both Katie and Adrienne will make a master list for the month. The master lists allow everyone to see the other Calendar Girls’ picks and to pop on over to their blogs. Thus, we all get to chat about books and even make some new friends!

Oh, and you don’t have to identify as female to join the Calendar Girls. We welcome readers of all types. So if this sounds like fun for you, join us in all of the fun bookish conversations.

Finally, the January theme is…

New Beginnings

Favorite First Book in a New Series (No Sequels Published Yet)

Oh boy…well, this is a difficult decision. Honestly for the most part that means we’re all looking for either a first book that came out last year, or one coming out in the very near future that we lucked into getting an early copy of. But hey, I’m excited to talk about some of my favorite books with sequels I’m super excited about.

But before I get into my pick for this month, I need to talk about a couple honorable mentions. I’m pretty sure I’ve talked about both Wicked Saints by Emily A Duncan, and The Merciful Crow by Margaret Owen quite a bit on this blog. The reason why I can’t pick Wicked Saints for this prompt is probably silly…I’ve been granted the galley for the sequel, so to me it feels like it’s out already, even though the release date is in April. Plus, you know, I’ve read it already. I know it isn’t cheating, but it feels that way to me. And I believe I had The Merciful Crow as my choice for another theme in a previous Calendar Girls post, so I feel like perhaps I should spread the love for a different book today. Just know that both of these first in a series books are two of my new absolute favorites, and if you haven’t read them yet, then I definitely recommend them.

So many options. These are all great first books that I’ve read in the last year, and that I’m super excited to read the sequels of in the coming year or so. Obviously you can see by all of my honorable mentions and most of my contenders, I read a whole lot of fantasy books, though there are a couple sci-fi and contemporary.

Here, I’ll include all my reviews to my honorable mentions and contenders, because they are all worth a read: Wicked Saints by Emily A Duncan, The Merciful Crow by Margaret Owen, Waiting for Tom Hanks by Kerry Winfrey, Seven Blades in Black by Sam Sykes, Dread Nation by Justina Ireland, The Library of the Unwritten by A.J. Hackwith, The Bromance Book Club by Lyssa Kay Adams, There Will Come a Darkness by Katy Rose Pool, Once & Future by Amy Rose Capetta and Cori McCarthy, A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer, Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett, Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir, The Beautiful by Renee Ahdieh, Wicked Fox by Kat Cho, The Tiger at Midnight by Swati Teerdhala, Well Met by Jen DeLuca, Dragon Pearl by Yoon Ha Lee, The Rise of Kyoshi by F.C. Yee, and I still need to write reviews for We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal and Steel Crow Saga by Paul Krueger.

Are you ready to see which book I’ve selected for my winner this time around? I completely admit that it was a really difficult decision for me, because I really want the sequels to all of these books (and hey, the Brigid Kemmerer sequel is out tomorrow so yay!).

Okay here we go.

My winner for Favorite First Book in a New Series is…

Well Met by Jen DeLuca

Like I said this was a really difficult decision, but ultimately I ended up picking a contemporary romance over my preferred genre of fantasy. Why? Well, maybe it’s because I love going to Ren Faires. Maybe it’s because Damian and I are having a Ren Faire themed wedding this fall. Perhaps it’s because I can’t stop thinking about this book (though that’s true of many of the books on my contenders list).

Honestly I think it’s because I’m starting to see this surge of great romance books with characters who are geeky and nerdy and they don’t hide what they love. So whether it’s Waiting for Tom Hanks, where the main character is very passionate about rom-com movies while her uncle is very into D&D, or Well Met where several characters are very passionate about holding this Renaissance Festival, or having characters who love comic books, or cosplay, or going to conventions, or playing board games or video games, I just am so happy to see so many characters who I can see myself in.

Finding out that Well Met was the start in a series of Ren Faire romance stories made me so happy. The main couple is going to change with each book, but I’m sure considering they’re all set in the same place we’ll still see plenty of the rest of the characters we’ve come to care about.

Plus, I found out about this YA Renaissance Faire book coming out in 2020 (The Life and (Medieval) Times of Kit Sweetly, and a couple years ago I read a MG Renaissance Faire graphic novel (All’s Faire in Middle School), so it’s a setting or theme that works for all ages.

Basically I’m really excited to read Well Played later this year, and then Well Matched in 2021. Honestly I’m okay if more books end up being announced for this series, because I will gladly fangirl over all the cute and geeky romance books.

Okay, well that is all from me for now. I have another post coming later today, and after that I’ll be back soon with more bookish content. I’ll add the other Calendar Girls participant picks here as they come in. If you’d like to join us in this monthly book chat, then feel free to write up your own post. While we try and all get our posts up on the first Monday of the month, late posts are still accepted. We just like talking about books together.

Calendar Girls Picks

Flavia @ Flavia the Bibliophile –

Dani (that’s me) @ MousaiBooks – Well Met by Jen DeLuca

More added soon.

Calendar Girls: January 2020 Hey all, Dani here. Hello everyone, and welcome to a very early post for me. Clearly as this post goes live I'm in bed, but I wanted to make sure this post was up for all of my fellow Calendar Girls, so here we are.

#Books!#Calendar Girls #Discussion #Reading #Recommendations

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daily-music-recs · 5 years

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A Year (kind of) in Review: 2017

Before I get into daily music recs (the entire purpose of this blog), I thought I would share some of the songs that left an impact on me in 2017, starting from the week of May 28th. (A Year in Review: 2018 can be found here.)

I started this project almost halfway through 2017 as a method of personal record-keeping, so to speak - I wanted to remember which songs I could not stop listening to for hours and hours on end, as well as the context in which I listened to them. These songs are not necessarily my favorite songs. Regardless, I see these songs as having heavily influenced how I thought and felt in the following weeks of 2017. I hope that you, too, will be able remember the music that shaped your life in 2017.

Most of the following songs are in Korean and would fall under the genre of pop, but you will occasionally see songs of other languages and genres (perhaps not so much in this particular post, but in others, certainly). Without further ado...

Week of May 28th - Week of June 18th:

It’s (Produce 101) - Showtime

Slate (Produce 101) - Oh Little Girl

Nation’s Sons (Produce 101) - Never

Produce 101 - Always

I was highly, highly invested in the show Produce 101 Season 2 in the months of May and June. (I’ve always been a sucker for survival shows, especially those focused on music.) While I found all four songs to be quite catchy, Never and Always left a particularly deep impression because of the emotional investment I had in the people who sang the song and the impact of the performance (Never) and because it was meant to make me cry and cry I did (Always). Never is actually my most played song to date across any music platform, although I no longer consider it to be my favorite song. I always tear up whenever I hear Always, especially if it’s the piano version of the song.

Week of June 25th - Week of July 9th:

Blackpink - As If It’s Your Last

Red Velvet - Red Flavor

Both of these songs were an abrupt departure from the rollercoaster of emotions induced by Produce 101 songs. These two songs are quite upbeat and cheerful, and so were perfect summer releases. I was actually studying abroad in Spain when these songs were released, and I remember blasting them through my earphones as I rode the metro to school every day. As someone who is naturally not a very happy person, and whose social anxiety was drastically heightened by being in a foreign country, these songs definitely made me feel more excited and optimistic during these weeks.

Week of August 6th:

Girls’ Generation/SNSD - One Last Time

The Rose - Sorry

For both of these songs, the vocals cut cleanly through the instrumental for a fuller impact. In particular, the rawness of the vocals in the choruses leads to an emotion-packed delivery. One Last Time hits close to home especially because SNSD was group that got me into K-pop back in 2009, as well as the first group I was a fan of. I knew that the members’ contracts were coming to an end soon after the release of their album Holiday Night, so to me this song signified one last ode to their long run as one of Korea’s most successful girl groups (if not the most successful). Sorry was an amazingly strong debut for The Rose, and they’ve definitely stayed on my radar since then.

Week of August 27th:

Piso 21 ft. Maluma - Me Llamas (remix)

I like both the original and the remix, but I like the remix a tad bit more. I’ve definitely jammed to this song more times than I can count - any song with Maluma is bound to be a hit.

Week of September 3rd:

Pentagon - Like This

I liked prior Pentagon’s title tracks, but Like This is solidly my favorite. At first, I didn’t like it because the pace of the song is broken up during the rap verses, but the chorus is epic enough that I was drawn right back in. Hui and Jinho, among the rest of Pentagon’s vocalists, really know how to deliver hard-hitting and impactful choruses.

Week of September 24th:

Sebastián Yatra - Traicionera

The chorus is quite catchy, and I like the darker tone of the song.

Week of October 8th - Week of October 29th:

Stray Kids - Hellevator

3RACHA (Stray Kids) - Broken Compass

BTOB - Finale: Our Concert

EXO - White Noise

Hellevator is, in my opinion, a God-tier song. I clicked on it randomly when it came out and didn’t have any expectations - I didn’t even know about JYP’s new survival show or the impending boy group debut - but Stray Kids blew me away immediately. Seungmin starts off the song with his lovely baritone voice and then Changbin’s rap basically punches you in the face with how aggressive it is (and how talented he is). The pre-chorus is beautiful and then the chorus hits you, and it hits HARD. I’m usually not a fan of rap-heavy songs but Hellevator is so amazing that I wouldn’t have it any other way. It definitely piqued my interest in Stray Kids, and I became a fan through watching their survival show and listening to their other (self-composed!) music. I also checked out the 3RACHA releases, from which I fell in love with Broken Compass. One of my favorite things to do is to rap to the English parts of Bang Chan’s verse. You should try it, it’s actually really fun lol.

Finale: Our Concert is one of those deep and uplifting songs that never fails to evoke an emotional reaction. BTOB are known for being vocally talented, but in addition, they all sing with such genuine earnesty that it’s hard for tears to not spring up in my eyes when I hear this song. It’s the perfect song to end a concert on; it’s so, so bittersweet.

Finally, the falsetto in the chorus of White Noise is piercingly haunting. It’s the majority of the reason why I found this song to be so catchy.

Week of November 19th:

Playback - Want You To Say

A bop. I usually don’t like when songs have outros, but the one in Want You To Say (right after the last chorus) works perfectly. In fact, I think it should be longer!

Week of November 26th:

Shawn Mendes - There’s Nothing Holding Me Back

This song was released much earlier, but I fell in love with it (and the rest of Shawn Mendes’ music) much later. He has a very earnest and heartfelt way of singing; I always look forward to his releases.

Week of December 17th - Week of December 24th:

A.C.E - Cactus

I - My Melody

Nell and GroovyRoom - Today

Cactus piqued my interest in A.C.E and lead to me later becoming a fan, while My Melody was a welcome change of pace from the less rock-heavy songs in my playlist at the time.

Of these songs, Today left the deepest impression; when the clock struck midnight on January 1, 2018, it was the first song I listened to. It’s a song that never fails to make me feel both melancholic and nostalgic, as if I’m reaching, straining, for something I can no longer have.

Honorable Mentions:

MIXNINE - Just Dance

MIXNINE - Just Dance (Girl ver.)

MIXNINE - Just Dance (Boy ver.)

DAY6 - Sunrise (album)

DAY6 - Moonrise (album)

Just Dance is the theme song to the survival show MIXNINE. It has three versions and I love all of them, although I like the Boy ver. slightly more just because it’s in my range and I can actually sing it. Sujin and Hyojin (the female and male leads in the bridge of the song) both give off a really fresh feeling and I love that they were paired up for the song.

Also, special shoutout to DAY6 for busting their asses off for the entirety of 2017 to compose songs for two full-length albums. Two songs per month, complete with an MV for the title track and a concert; that’s a lot for anyone, let alone a band that has a heavy hand in the composition, production, and lyric writing of many of their songs. DAY6 is actually my all-time favorite band, and so 2017 was definitely a great year full of quality music. I could spend all day talking about DAY6 but I’ll spare you the whole spiel; you should definitely check out their discography!

To end this Year (kind of) in Review: I have always believed that music transcends languages. It is the beauty of the singer’s careful phrasing of every note and the balance between raw power and emotional vulnerability that evokes a genuine emotional response, not necessarily the ability to understand the lyrics. As such, if you have any song recs, please please please send them to me regardless of language or genre or anything else - I am always looking to be exposed to more diverse music, and I try my best to approach every song with an open mind.

#music #daily music recs #kpop #produce 101 #pd101 #blackpink #red velvet #snsd #girls' generation #the rose #pentagon #stray kids #3racha #btob #exo #playback #a.c.e #nell #groovyroom #mixnine #day6

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suzyturnerbooks · 6 years

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I’m absolutely delighted to have been invited to be this month’s guest blogger with the Fab 40’s. And the theme today is one of my absolute favourite fabrics: velvet. Honestly, if I could have a third of my wardrobe in velvet, I would. The other two would be denim and lace 😉 Sadly, I don’t seem to own that much of it, which is weird considering my love for it. I think I’ve had lots of velvet over the years but I’ve probably worn it all to death and therefore had to sling it. Hopefully that won’t happen to this dress though. But before I tell you about that, read on to find out about the Fab 40’s…

The Fab 40’s is a group of seven stylish fashion bloggers from around the globe. Each month they choose a different theme and invite a guest blogger who is also in their forties to join them. This group’s goal is to take on style trends and show how they each interpret and incorporate them into their own lives. With eight widely varied views, you are certain to find something that speaks to you each month and encourages you to continue to have fun with fashion after 40. And today’s guest YAY!!

So, back to my beautiful dress. Not only is it in such luxurious soft velvet, it’s also in my favourite colour in the whole world: emerald green. I mean, seriously, I think I should have been the Wicked Witch of the West’s daughter or something! That colour is just D.I.V.I.N.E. Let me just add here though, I’m not wicked…not really. Not today anyway he he he 😉

I discovered this cute little strapless dress whilst shopping in the States a few weeks ago (it seems so much longer ago than that though, sigh). Forever 21 was the shop. I’d heard of it via my fellow bloggers but never had the chance to step into the store and when I did I was like a kid in a chocolate factory. And I’ve just looked online and it seems they do have a European store online YAY!

But there was just one thing I had to have. And that was this dress. I spotted it almost immediately and grabbed it. I didn’t even try it on, because I was wearing so many layers due to the extreme cold in Boston at that time. Luckily it fit, although I do need a bit of a padded strapless bra to hold it up because I’m a bit lacking in that department. (If you’re the opposite of me however, I recommend you pop on over to read Shelbee’s post on dealing with big boobs!)

The added bonus was the price. I’m not sure what the original was but I think I paid six dollars for it! OMG is that a bargain or what? Especially considering I felt a million dollars when I put it on. Although, that might also have something to do with my new hairdo. Oh and my new gold Converse All Stars, which were also a bargain in the January sales. How I love American outlets stores!

The stunning gold necklace belonged to my late stepmother-in-law and the white shirt and clutch are both from my other favourite store, Massimo Dutti. Did you know there’s a Massimo Dutti store in New York? On Fifth Avenue of all places too! Needless to say, we popped in to have a look but it was more expensive than its European counterparts. Probably because it’s a European store. Makes sense. I also wore a pair of flesh coloured tights with a pair of flesh coloured fishnets over the top. After all, it IS winter 😉

But that’s enough about me. Let’s have a look and see how these other fabulous bloggers have included velvet into their outfits. I can’t wait…

Sheela Goh always looks gorgeous on her blog but today, she is utterly ravishing in her purple velvet boots. After emerald green, that shade of purple is my next favourite colour (as well as midnight blue) so I am coveting them lol. That kimono is just beautiful too, I love the detailing on the sleeve. Embellished Velvet Duster – c/o Forever21 Purple Corset Velvet Boots – c/o ShoeDazzle Velvet Drawstring Bag – Zara Red Sunnies – Poshmark Taylor Swift Reputation Snake Ring – gifted

The fabulous Annie from Kremb de la Kremb also just happens to be wearing a delicious blush velvet dress from Forever 21 – a store she adores and wonders if it ought to be called Forever 41? Doesn’t she look freaking incredible? Dress – Forever 21 Beaded Clutch – Tory Burch sample Sandals – Targé Rose Necklace – Christmas present from Hunter X Hunter

The uber stylish Jennie from A Pocketful of Polka Dots is wearing the suit of all suits! It’s a velvet outfit to die for, right? Just look at that colour, not to mention those shoes! Velvet Suit and Lace Cami – Loft Necklace & Earrings – NY&Co. Shoes – Y-Not?

The gorgeous Mary from Curly Birdie Chirps, is wearing the cutest pair of blue velvet sock boots and a dress to die for. I’m in love with this bright pink frock. Isn’t it divine?

Dress and earrings – H&M Booties velvet – Target Belt – The Limited Purse – Jcpenney

Now back to some of my more ‘comedic’ photos. I was trying out different poses for a laugh (and it was!). But the best photo is the one where the cat decided to take part. Scroll down and you’ll see what I mean 🙂

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I’m today’s guest blogger with the Fab 40s: Velvet I'm absolutely delighted to have been invited to be this month's guest blogger with the Fab 40's.

#Emerald green velvet #Fab 40&039;s #Gold All Stars #Massimo Dutti #Strapless dress #Velvet

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ladylaffnsun-blog · 7 years

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Today has been a pretty awesome day after a pretty awesome weekend! I don’t know where to start with all the awesome stuff that we did and how things keep getting better each day. I truly do believe it’s not just a state of mind, it’s the attitude, it’s the heart, the spirit as well. I made the decision to really focus on being positive & not allowing the negative into my entire life, in fact, I avoid all negativity and all drama. It’s not wanted here in my life by any means. I really enjoy the peace that I found in my life.

My weekend began on Friday and so I got to spend it alone, until Ron got off work. I paid for my blog upgrade on WordPress & worked on my blog a bit, I did some upgrades to it as far as colors and such, I even wrote a blog entry to kick this off. I was pretty motivated on Friday, so I was able to write with a clear head as well as relax. I think I may have even done a YouTube video.

Saturday, Ron and I got up and made the decision to go to the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, if you have never been, it’s an experience you need to make, it’s worth it. For Arizona and Mexican residents you get a $5.00 discount off the entrance fee, it’s open at different times throughout the year, just check the link above and you can see rates and times. Ron and I will be getting a membership this year, that we get in free and can have three guests come in with us, as well as many other perks of membership. Now, the desert is where I find peace and true solace, I love being in the desert, it’s the majesty of the land that gets me. As you can well see from the photos below, I am truly in love with the desert landscape, it’s peaceful, it’s quiet and it’s calm. This is where I can ground and center myself, it’s where my spirit not only soars, it also starts to rest peacefully, I go into a totally and complete state of zen.

Ron and I were taken a different route than we are used to going, instead of going down Speedway, my Google Maps took us around the traffic and around the city, which was nice and peaceful for driving. The U of A had Spring Fling which apparently is the biggest and one of the oldest (43 years) fairs run by students in the United States, that will something we do next year. We had so many choices of things to do this weekend, Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum won out though, due the fact that both Ron and I needed to be grounded, we need peace and solace in our lives, this is the place to be for that. We made our way to the museum, parked and walked to the entrance, which by the way is a long walk considering where we parked, I have a Fit Bit so I am trying to get back to walking. Once we paid, we headed off on paths, where it seemed no one else was, you can see our first video we here on my YouTube channel. What is truly amazing is that this is an outside adventure, with very little indoor things to do, so be sure to bring sunscreen, lots of water, good walking shoes (not flip flops, you are walking in the desert), a hat and comfortable clothes.

We had to joy of seeing so many animals, a few that we wanted to see didn’t come out as it was getting too hot (92) and the time of day is the time they rest. The other animals though were just exciting for us to see.

We have a grey fox, road runner, chuckwalla, prairie dog, burrowing owl and a Mexican wolf, just to show a few of the great animals and critters we got to see, the best part is coming up here though!!

We pet STINGRAYS!!! Yes, we pet them & loved every minute of it. Did you know Stingrays offer good healing medicine? Don’t believe me? Well, they do, they offer each of us a message in this healing that they give us.

“Stingrays may be telling you to not overreact to your emotions, to calm down and wait before reacting. Stingrays maneuver themselves quite well despite their size and shape and they tell us to also carefully maneuver the complex emotional waters of our inner world.

Balance and restraint are strong themes of this totem animal. When it appears to you; consider your actions carefully and allow your intuition to guide you rather than raw emotion.

Perhaps now it would be wise to stay under the radar a bit and not make a scene as you figure out your next move.” Courtesy of Totem Wisdom.

You have to remember too that our desert offers some beautiful as well as interesting plant life. We are one of the few places that saguaro cacti grow, we have prickly pear cacti, cholla, mesquite, creosote, palo verde, agave and many other plants and trees.

We were at the museum about 4 1/2 hours, we saw all we could see, I put in almost all of the 10,000 steps for the day, yet we were both sunburned (forgot the sunscreen oops) and very hungry. As we drove home, Ron looks at me and says “Call New York Pizza, order a small pizza, extra cheese with mushrooms, lightly cooked, we will eat there.” So, I call our favorite pizza place and off we go to eat our late lunch, early dinner, that was all we ate all day. I don’t eat when we go off into the desert much, the heat makes me get sick, I just drink water like crazy. After eating, we came home, walked Chloe our red heeler (you will meet her later) and just sit for a few minutes, Ron turns to me to say “How many steps do you need now?” I say “Um, 2,400 more.” Off we go to Park Place Mall to do our final walking around, now if you have never had a Fit Bit charge, let me warn you when you hit the goal, your arm buzzes.

In the process of walking the mall, I got stopped at Bella Pierre kiosk, I let the young guy show me the cool colors of eye shadow as I had no makeup on at all. He ended up selling me a new eye shadow which I love love love!! We went into all the stores and I made mental notes of where I am going to be shopping when I get paid again or each pay week (I get paid weekly). After the mall, we went home, I showered to get the dust of the desert off of me, I had to work the next day and be up at 5 a.m., by the time I went to bed it was 10:30 p.m.. It was a great day!!

Yesterday I worked, well trained, I work from home so it’s nice, however I still get up like I go into a brick and mortar office. After all, I am in essence still in brick and mortar (winks). I got up at 5:30 a.m. instead of 5 a.m. like I am used to, I raced around getting ready for work. I work from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. at this time, my schedule will change next week, I also get one week day off and one weekend day. It’s pretty nice. I have to work this way due to the fact that my immune system is not 100%. That story will be for another time.

After work, Ron colored my hair from blonde to PINK!! Yes PINK!!! I love it, we used Clairol Flare Me hair color in Rose to the occasion on the bottom and Make me Blush pink on top with a few wisps of blonde. I think he did a great job of it, this is Ron’s first time doing two colors like this. This is my first time having PINK hair! This is a huge bold statement for me! One I honestly love. In the pictures below, I have on Rodial smokey eye pen in black lining my eyes, Urban Decay Midnight Cowboy as a base on my eyes, followed by Bella Pierre Sunset on the lid, Douccc freematic eye shadow Marisa in the crease and Tarte Tarteist Black with The Balm Mad lash Black on my lashes. My blush is Pacifica Wildrose. I don’t have foundation at this time, I will looking for BB cream instead, as it’s almost summer here and foundation is not good in summertime, then again I will be tan soon. Most of my makeup, I get through Ipsy, which only costs $10 a month and you get great makeup to use!! I love it!! As Ron and I put it, the sexy diva witch is back in the cottage!!

Now to get working on the wardrobe and we are all set. That will come with time, as I am learning to be fine with my body and stop body shaming myself. I have come to the conclusion that I am no longer 20 something and I may never be a size 2 again, I am happy being a size 14 right now. I really do feel good in my skin and I do not look like a “typical” 46-year-old woman.

Now we are up to today, the pictures to the right are me today! Makeup on, dressed, hair done a bit different, I curled it with a curling iron after blowing it out. I went to training and showed off my hair, everyone was loving as much as I was. Now, here is my exciting news for today!! I went to my morning break like I usually do, started to make a cup of coffee in the Keurig, I looked outside and there was my 23-year-old step daughter Samantha, long story short we had a bad falling out years ago and don’t speak, yet we live in the same apartment community 10 apartments from each other, something told me to go speak to her. I hesitated at first, then I went down the stairs of our apartment barefoot mind you, walked to the parking lot where she was and told her I want to make amends. Well, the response I got was NOT at all what I expected, let’s just our short 10-minute talk ended in tears, hugs and an agreement that neither want drama or negativity and we both want to make amends and heal. I came up the stairs on all time high, I have carried a huge burden, a huge weight on my shoulders and on my heart for too many years (5 years), it was lifted.

The rest of day just went so smoothly, in fact, on my latest knowledge check, a quiz we take before the big exam, I scored 100%. My day has been incredible today and I had to share this awesome, power and positive news!!

I am telling you it’s all in the attitude and mindset that you carry. What you put out there you get back.

One last thing I want to share:

I am that woman who has always cared what others thought, I was raised in a family where appearances were everything! That has changed for me! I don’t give a monkey’s butt what others think now as this is MY life and no one has to live it but ME! I love who I have become! I am strong, brave, intelligent, beautiful and passionate, not no one, not anything will ever take that from me! I am that woman who has walked away from those people, who really showed her true unconditional love, because I never really knew unconditional love from the people who should have given it to me. I always felt I didn’t deserve it or that the love I was receiving wasn’t real, there had to be strings attached to it. This has changed!! I accept love from those who love me. I am the woman who doesn’t believe in herself as I have always been told how unwanted, unloved and worthless I am. That has changed too, I am know I am worth of love, deserve love and am deeply loved by the right people. I know that I am wanted too. I know I am worth so much and deserve to be happy.

I am also that woman who would always give of myself without asking for anything in return, I would allow others to drain me and take from me. That has also changed. Now I put myself first, I take care of me. I know how to say NO now! I have my boundaries and if you cannot respect those boundaries, well have a nice life! This year I am realizing what and who I need to stop holding onto. It’s funny how going through a life threatening, near death experience can change someone. I think that this was meant to change me, to teach me a valuable lesson about life.

Attitude Is Truly Everything Today has been a pretty awesome day after a pretty awesome weekend! I don't know where to start with all the awesome stuff that we did and how things keep getting better each day.

#Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum #Finding My Zen #Grounding #New Attitude #PINK hair #Positive

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