#and stuff that flares out is different because at least there’s structure but a loose dress with no belt

[robertsbarbie]

my mother telling me that she wishes i wore more clothes that “fit my body type” and that everything else looks bad on me because i’m fat

[crystal-moon-101]

Ehhhhh, more redesigns/rewrites! The Hong Kong Gang up here. And yes, I added Circe because I see her as part of the squad.

-Cricket-

I tried to make her a little more bug like. Adding a couple more details to the body, adding those palps to her face and changing the white in her eyes to black. Her outfit is slightly different but I changed her hair to a pixie cut, because I thought she'd suit a shorter hair style.

Notes:

16 Years Old

5'5 (When she is half cured, she becomes 5'4)

Real name is ‘Chen Tsui’

Because of her strange bug legs, she had to wear very short shorts. She didn't feel comfortable walking around with them on, however. So she ended up also wearing her skirt.

Before she mutated, she lived with her parents. They weren't the greatest of people, both extremely rich and successful in their businesses, expecting the same with their daughter. They constantly put her down and emotional abused her. The moment she became EVO, they kicked her onto the streets.

Use to have long hair, but Skwydd helped her cut and style it to a much shorter length. It was mostly so it didn't get in the way with the amount of jumping she did, but also a little rebellion against her parents. They would never allow such a look.

Excellent chief, food is often a ten out of ten.

Was the only one in the gang, including Rex, who was already in Hong Kong before going EVO.

When she is incredibly happy, the palps on her face will wiggle.

Emotional sponge of the group.

Because of her up bringing, she sometimes just does insane or stupid stuff out of nowhere because things use to be so uptight and strict for her. It strangely relaxes her.

Took her weeks to figure out how to walk with those legs.

Loves candles, especially scented ones.

Has a thing for street boys with a heart of gold (*Cough* *Cough* Rex *Cough* Tuck *Cough*).

Many don't notice it, but her and Skwydd have a sibling like relationship.

-Tuck-

I changed him the least. His original design is very simple so I couldn't think of much to do. I did rough up his shirt a little more, adjust his build and give him a loose belt.

Notes:

17 Years Old

6'0 (Later grows to be 6'3.)

Full name 'Tuck Byron Craig'

Leader of The Hong Kong Gang since Rex left.

Before he mutated, he lived with his single father, who was a car mechanic. They were happy together, but sadly, they weren't in the best financial situation. They ended up borrowing money from some dangerous people, and when they couldn't came back they came to their place. A fight broke out, Tuck's father was killed and he ran away, living on the streets ever since, eventually mutating.

When Rex vanished, he spent the longest time looking for him. Skwydd assumed the worst quickly and Cricket gave up after a few weeks, while Tuck looked for months.

No.1 Bro to all.

Quarry had made plans to give Tuck Rex's hold spot, but he trash the idea when he saw that he didn't have the same flare as Rex did.

Because of his father, he knows a lot about mechanics with cars or motorcycles.

The one most likely to want to talk things through than fight if there is a chance (Cricket is too quick on defense, Skwydd doesn't trust easily and Circe many issues.)

God awful at trying to speak another language. Cricket tried teaching him Cantonese, but his pronunciations were way off. He tries, he really does.

Would have gotten his ear pierces if he had ears.

He likes crappy high school films, they always just make him laugh.

He's had a thing for Cricket for a long time, but when it became apparent to him she liked Rex, he didn't make any attempt. But now, in the present, he's began trying since it's clear nothing will come between the two.

-Skwydd-

Small squish boy. Honestly my favorite out of the crew. But anyway, I made his tentacles a little longer, gave him little eyebrow things, a gradient on his hands and gave him a new jacket/jumper.

Notes:

15 Years Old

5'6

Real name is ‘Walter Milo Martin’

Emo with a secret soft heart <3.

Before he mutated, he was the child of a young couple who died in an accident, so he was giving to his maternal Grandmother, who was happy to raise him. Bit of an odd child, but he loved his Grandma and had a lovely relationship with her. Even when he turned EVO, she accepted him. However, in her older years she started having heart problems and died one morning. He, of course, called for help, but fled before anyone arrived. He knew very well that being an EVO will get him into trouble. Since then, he's lived on the streets.

He loves art, his favorite form being ink stuff, ironically. Him and Rex like to share drawings, one of the few quiet moments they have with one another.

Has a dorky crush on Circe.

Has a very squishy body and it's honestly nice to hug him, if he allows it.

While his ink spray is his main defense, his does have one nasty bite.

Also, his ink stuff stains, badly.

Has suction cups on his hand/fingers. It's the only way he can hold stuff with them.

Probably listens to My Chemical Romance or piano music.

Knows how the play the flute, a skill learnt from his Grandma.

The one you could vent to for hours without him having to talk too.

Has a really strange bone structure. Like, some parts of him has bones, some don't.

Had to painfully watch the love situation between Rex, Cricket and Tuck on the sidelines.

His real hair is quite long and he learnt early on how to cut, brush and manage hair, even style it. Sadly, he can't really do that anymore, and Cricket hair is too short to style, while Tuck has none. However, sometime after Circe joined and was comfortable enough, she lets him style it for her.

-Circe Kleiss-

You read that right, in this rewrite/reboot/WHATEVER!? Circe is the daughter of Van Kleiss. It was an idea me and my friend came up with, as a way to explain some of her actions and motives, but also for more dramaaaaaa, along with adding onto Van Kleiss's character. Yes, this also means her and Rex knew each other before the Nanite Event. Again, adds more drama. Her outfit changes were to be more practical, especially because of where the Pack lives and sends her on missions. I also made her a little muscular, because this girl has quite the training. Still a bit of a goth girl though.

Notes:

16 Years Old

5'8 (Grows to be around 6'0 in her young adult years.)

Fear this girl, she knows how to fight.

She was young when her mother died, roughly four years old, so she doesn't remember her that well. However, her father has always openly talked about her to Circe, so she knows her mother was a lovely person, with a personality that somehow made the cruelest of people smile. Sadly, she died to an untreatable disease, though this is was resulting in Van Kleiss joining the Nanite Project, after learning that it was suppose to prevent illnesses.

Biowulf was her primary training, so they have some respect for each other, but can get snarky at one another.

Her and Breach however? Not that great of a relationship. Circe does feel a little bad, as she understands Breach is not all there, but that doesn't stop them from bickering.

Skalamander and her have a rather peaceful relationship. She appreciates all that he does, even if it's minimal compared to the other two.

You could imagine her shock when she saw Rex, her childhood friend, alive. Gave quite the yelling at her father when she learns he never told her this.

Her and Cricket like to have little make up session, even if Cricket doesn't keep hers on afterwards.

She's really good a writing, often making little poems or short stories here and there. Horror is a favorite of hers.

In the past, her and Rex were the only kids around the labs during the Nanite Project. You can imagine the trouble they caused.

She has trouble standing up for herself, but lord forbid you say something about her friend.

She likes to watch murder mysterious, often getting really into the story and making predictions all the time.  

Has the least knowledge of online culture.

Has a giant EVO worm thing as a pet (This one is actually in the show).

[jinmukangwrites]

Somebody Different (2/???)

[1]///[2]

Part two of the Somebody Different series.

-o-o-o-o-

Legend blinks his eyes open and groans when the harsh campfire light hits him. His head is spinning and he can feel a small bump forming behind his skull. His throat is aching too, and he can't figure out why. He swallows and blinks his eyes some more to clear them up.

What happened? He tries to think back to what he last remembers and thankfully it doesn't take long. He startles completely awake to see Wild sitting across the fire with his hood pulled above his head, he's curled up on himself and looking at his slate with narrowed eyes. Legend attempts to… do something. Stand up. Move towards him. Run away. He's not sure at this point. Not that it matters, because he's stopped by the rope around his wrists securing him to the tree behind him.

He realizes right then that he's been completely searched and relieved of every weapon and item he has, he's stripped down to just his clothes and nothing more.

He swallows nervously, not sure what this means.

He doesn't know what he should do at this point. It's not like he has a whole lot of options. He could just sit there quietly and wait for Wild to make the first move or he could try to talk to him, figure out more of what's going on and such.

Talk to him, Legend thinks. Talk to him and try to get through to him. Convince him that Legend is not a threat, none of the others are a threat, and that they're all friends. He opens his mouth, but his voice chokes when Wild suddenly looks up from the slate and glares at him.

Legends mouth shuts with a snap as Wild pushes himself up to his feet and walks around the fire. Legend stiffens, ready to lash out in any way he can despite this being Wild, but Wild simply crouches down in front of him and shoves the screen of his Sheikah Slate in Legend's face.

He blinks as his sensitive eyes adjust to the glowing screen, the light flares up his headache but he ignores that as he carefully looks at what Wild wants to show him.

It's a picture and Legend can feel his heart squeeze painfully at the sight of it. The screen is showing the image of Wild and Legend standing next to each other, smiling for the picture, Legend is holding up two fingers in a peace sign while Wind Stuffs his face in the lower left corner. Legend remembers taking this photo, it was a spur of the moment thing. Wild caught him in a good mood and asked if he'd be willing to take a picture with him. Legend was happy to.

He looks at Wild and sees that easy going, unguarded expression. He was so genuinely happy to get a picture with Legend, he must have been as surprised as Legend was when he said he'd go through with it. He glances up and is struck with how different Wild is now, how cold and hard. His eyes are staring emotionless, calculating. Legend swallows and shifts against the tree behind him, trying to work up a bit of courage.

"That's a picture of us," he says. Wild gives him an unimpressed look before he turns the screen back to him and flicks his finger across it. He shows Legend the screen again, though this time it's a picture of Wild and Hyrule inside a dungeon, both are dirty and roughed up but smiling like idiots as Hyrule holds up a golden key.

Before Legend can even comment on the photo Wild turns back and changes it to one where Sky is snoozing against a tree, Legend is stacking branches on his head. It changes, and it's a close up of that wolf that's always following them around.

Legend remains silent as Wild flicks through each photo one by one; he's not sure what Wild wants. He's always been rather expressive with his feelings, or at the least he'll say something, but he hardly ever remains silent, especially around the other members in the group. Was Wild really this quiet before he met the others?

Finally, Wild pauses on a picture and his eyebrows come together ever so slightly. Nerved, Legend shifts and winces as the coarse rope rubs against his wrists. Wild slowly turns the slate around and Legend is almost at a loss for words at what he sees. It's big, bigger than anything Legend has ever seen, and he's fought some pretty big things. It's red, piggish, and oozes pure evil. He doesn't to ask what it is; he already knows.

"Calamity Ganon," he whispers.

Wild frowns and looks down at the picture, staring at it with troubled eyes, then Legend understands. "That's... the last thing you remember?"

Wild remains silent and continues to look at the slate before his shoulders stiffen up and he puts the slate back in its place on his hip. He get up and Legends heart drops.

Now. Talk to him now. Make him understand.

"You defeated it, Wild," Legend says, "you saved Hyrule, you got Zelda back. Those pictures are proof, you just have to remember."

Wild stills and his eyebrows come together for a second before he shakes his head and shoots a distrustful glare Legends way. He whips his head around and returns to his spot on the other side of the fire. Annoyance flares in Legend's chest and he opens his mouth again but Wild narrows his eyes dangerously. Legend reluctantly sighs and leans back against the tree, attempting to stretch his shoulders that have begun to go stiff. It's going to be a long night.

-o-o-o-o-

Dust and stale air is the first thing Twilight becomes aware of when his eyes blink open. It's silent, not a single sound. When his eyes open, all he sees is darkness. He groans and begins to push himself to his hands an knees. Hard chunks of rock and bits of dust fall from his body and scrape against the cold stone beneath him. He continues to blink his eyes, but no light meets him.

Where is he?

His head hits something hard above him and he stumbles backwards and falls on his rear. A rock digs into his backside and he moans, rubbing his head. This won't do. He allows his body to shift then, he lets his eyes become sharper and his teeth to sharpen. His bones shift and fur bursts from his darkening shin. In a simple heartbeat, the wolf opens its eyes to the world around him.

His heart stops by what he sees.

Wind is first to meet his sight. The kid is so still, laying on the ground with a chunk of boulder laying halfway on top of him. Warrior is next, his head the only thing to be seen beneath a fallen pillar of stone. Hyrule is crumpled next to him out of harm's reach but has blood dripping down his head. Time too is under a chunk of stone, and as Twilight comes forward, he sees Four buried underneath him. Sky is nowhere to be seen.

And neither are Wild and Legend.

The fear Twilight feels at that moment… is indescribable. It makes his heart jump and stop at the same time, it makes his stomach tighten and his muscles spasm. Three missing. Everyone else unconscious and maybe seriously injured. He forces himself to focus, make a list of things to do and then do them. First things first, there are missing members and he must find them.

He lifts his snout up and takes in a deep breath despite how thick the air is beginning to feel. The smell of blood hits his nose first, but he pushes last that. He can smell the sea next, Wind, then the forest, Hyrule, then cologne, Warrior. He can smell Time's scent of acorns and farmland mix in with Four's distinct smell of crass and coal. Then, he finds one out of three scents he's looking for, the one of rain and cotton.

He suggested forward to a lump of dirt near the back of their little cave and digs with his heart pounding in his thought. It takes a moment, just a single moment for him to brush against a hand. He digs deeper and eventually he's pulling Sky out of the loose ground by the back of his shirt. He effortlessly switched back to normal, plunging himself back into the darkness, and checks over Sky with shaking hands.

Sky suddenly coughs, it's wet sounding and definitely painful, but Sky continues breathing after the fit. He isn't moving, but that's as much Twilight can hope for at the moment.

He shifts back into the wolf and sniffs the air again, but he can't find the smell of wildflowers mixed with the bitterness of a campfire. He can't find the ripe apples and morning dew.

Where are Wild and Legend?!

He spins around, his eyes darting, desperately trying to find another mound of dirt or something, he doesn't know, but he can't find them. All he can see is each of his friends, his family, his pack, injured, but no Cub. No Legend.

There's a flashing memory, he's standing in the Resurrection Shrine, and watching Wild turn, fire glistening in his eyes from the explosive arrow he's aiming. The whole world shakes when the arrow flies and pain erupts through his whole body as walls crumble and black falls over them the ear numbing loudness of destruction.

Twilight's heart jumps in terror when he remembers everything that has happened. Wild woke up and he didn't remember. He didn't remember and he attacked, he took Legend hostage. He blew up the ceiling of the Shrine of Resurrection.

He—desperate now to wake everyone up—sprints over to Warrior, who looks to be the most injured and presses his snout against Warrior's hair. Warrior simply groans and does nothing more. His heart is pounding in his throat and he presses his body against the rock above Warrior and pushes with all his might, but the rock doesn't move. He turns and lets out a scared whine before he goes to nudge Time. Four is the one to react, blinking lazily into the dark as a dark liquid falls into his eyes.

Four groans and squeezes his eyes shut. Time doesn't move.

Twilight looks around him to find something, anything, that can help. There's no light and they're down two members. He puffs air out his nose and scrambles his way over to one of the walls of the caved in structure around them. It doesn't look right... It doesn't look like the wall of a shrine, but of a normal cave. Something is wrong.

He shakes his head and dust falls from his fur before he presses his paws against the wall and begins to claw through the dirt. Thankfully it's loose, though he has no idea how long he'll have to dig to get anywhere. His instincts tell him to just dig, and he's not inclined to argue. His pack can be seriously injured and they could quickly run out of air. He has to dig.

He claws through the Earth, hoping and praying that he's heading towards the open world. He's never been this panicked before... Or at least not in a very long time. His head hurts and the feeling of helplessness makes him desperately wish that he can just blink and everything would be fine. That Wild would be normal, alive, smiling, happy, sarcastic, himself.

The dirt is making it hard to breathe as he digs, pushing himself faster out of pure desperation. A few minutes in, he has to remind himself that he is still alive.

Finally, right when he was about to collapse out of anguish and depression, his paw slide through the dirt and the whole wall in front of him collapses, revealing the pale orange light of the sun shining through the leaves of the trees.

He forced his body out from the hole he's made right near the base of a small hill. The sounds of birds and bugs accompany him as he turns tail and makes the hole wider. It's not Wild's world, and he can tell that instantly. They've switched Hyrules, probably mid explosion. Oh it just has to be one thing after another, doesn't it? A growl pushes its way to his throat and he turns to the hole and glares at the darkness within.

Now comes the hard part.

He dives back into the hole and ignores the stinging of his eyes that are trying to adjust from one light setting to another. It takes just a few seconds for him to get back down to the others and he's hit with the thought that every single one of them could be dead right now because of the world switch. The whole land above them could have collapsed and suffocated them before they could have even awoken, buried alive and never to see the sun, the sky, the clouds ever again.

He shakes his head, now is not the time for thoughts like that. He needs to clear his head and think only about helping the others and making sure they're all okay. He's worried about Wild and Legend of course, but there's also Warriors whose completely crushed under the weight of a boulder, there's Sky who had almost suffocated, Time who used his own body as a shield for the smallest in the group, Wind and Hyrule who definitely have head injuries.

Focus on now. Not the past, not a million miles away. Now.

Hope springs in his chest as he sees Hyrule groaning and slowly pushing himself up so he's sitting. He's blinking furiously, trying to see through the dark, but it doesn't remain that way for long because when Twilight exits the hole he's made, pale light creeps in, making it possible for Hylian eyes to see.

Thankfully, Hyrule is temporarily blinded by the light so Twilight can quickly shift back.

"You okay?" He asks and Hyrule startles and blinks. Twilight walks over and cups Hyrule's face in his hands and stares at the various bruises and cuts. It takes a couple moments for Hyrule's eyes to focus on him, which could be good or very bad.

"Twi," Hyrule groans, "what…" he cuts himself off with another groan and brings his hand up to a sizable goose egg at the top of his head. Twilight frowns and squeezes Hyrule's shoulders to get his attention.

"What do you last remember?" Twilight asks.

Hyrule's whole face contorts in concentration before his eyes widen and he spins around way faster than what a person with a concussion should probably do. "Warrior," Hyrule gasps at the same time he lurches to the side and vomits. Twilight rubs his back as he whimpers, he looks around their cave to see everyone passed out, injured, probably dying.

It's hard to believe that Wild did this without blinking an eye.

"We need to wake up the others," Twilight says and Hyrule nods as he lifts a shaking hand to wipe at his mouth. "Think you're up to helping me?"

Hyrule nods again and slowly pushes himself to his feet, using his sword as a crutch. Twilight stares at Hyrule for just a second, the boy is one of the most happy and carefree of the group, but right now his face is set in determination.

And they get to work.

[venus-says]

Futari wa Precure Episodes 01-26

Am I rewatching precure? I can't believe this!

Yes, this is not a fever dream, I'm really rewatching precure, and not just Futari wa but THE WHOLE FRANCHISE. Am I crazy? Yes, because I'm already watching too much stuff at the same time and I barely have time for that as of right now, but I love screwing myself over so here we are!

I can't really remember the exact thing that sprung this desire of rewatching precure on me, but I've been thinking about it for quite some time now, at least since I wrapped up on the Aikatsu marathon before On Parade started, in fact, one of the reasons I started doing the old Kamen Rider reviews was because of this. I just didn't start it earlier because I'm the kind of crazy that picked a calendar, looked at the dates, and made the calcs, and realized I could watch pretty much everything in one year so I decided to keep this "project" for 2020 and start the new decade with a bang.

So this is how it'll go: I'll be dividing each season into quarters and pretty much covering one season per month with posts coming out weekly every Wednesday, the only exceptions for this rule are Futari wa and Yes! since these are the only seasons with sequels so instead of dividing into quarters I'll divide them in half and watch two seasons in a month rather than just one. Also, different from Kamen Rider's case, since I'm more familiar with the franchise and I know how the movies go I'll also be watching the movies and posting about them as I go along (All stars movies will come out usually in between the first and the second week, while solo movies will be in between the third and the forth). I really hope I don't go nuts and that this can go as smoothly as possible. XD In any case, it's precure time!

I promised myself I'd keep nostalgia out of these rewatches and do them like if it was my first time watching the series so that I can be less biased on certain aspects, but when it comes to the OGs is really difficult to not have my thoughts clouded by it. I may not have been around since Precure first aired, but Futari wa was effectively my first precure season too, I joined this bandwagon when Heartcatch was airing and I was so in love that I wanted to watch the past seasons and Futari was was my first choice and it holds a very special place in my heart because of that. I tried my best to keep those feelings out of this review and in some cases I was able to it effectively while on others not so much so, I apologize for that. XD

I usually try to separate these reviews on blocks of Plot, Characters, Designs, and commentary on specific episodes and I'm gonna try to apply this structure here more or less.

Talking about the plot... there's not a lot of it. XD

Like yeah, there's the whole Dark Kingdom attacking the Garden of Light thing, and the sort of scavenger hunt for the Prism Stones (not the Pretty Rhythm ones, just to be clear) and all of that, but there's not a whole lot going on beside it, is just Nagisa and Honoka goofing around while their friendship solidifies, they sometimes bump heads but that's pretty much it. And honestly, that's not bad, as while isn't a story about Nagisa and Fujipi the more slice-of-life portions are amazing.

The cure portion that is the problem, to start the action in these 26 episodes isn't the greatest, most of the time is just the cures being thrown away until they get fed up, say "I'll never forgive you!", hold hands, and they throw either a Marble Screw or, in rare occasions, a Rainbow Therapy. Of course, special fights with generals sometimes get a little more flare, but in general, they're pretty lackluster. Also, it feels like things weren't paced properly with the beginning and the end happening very fast and the middle being overly long in comparison. And of course, there's the element of defeating a villain or a set villains while there's still half a season ahead which means change of villains for people who we never knew existed before and apparently were a big deal, and if you read my Kamen Rider review you know how I feel about huge changes affecting the antagonists...

But oh well, I have lots of things to get through so I won't hammer on this for too long. MOVING ON.

Futari wa's biggest strength, at least for this first half, is CHARACTERS. The side cast has many hits or misses, but the protagonists Nagisa and Honoka more than compensate for it. One fun thing of this whole experience was kinda re-discovering them? Because I never watched the OG precure and Max Heart again after my first time watching like 10 years ago and I also don't have the best memory so I forgot a lot of minor things, like how Nagisa is such a downer in regards to their mission, and how positive and bright Honoka is and these are traits that are kinda opposites to their personalities with Nagisa being more outgoing and energetic and Honoka being more calm and polite, and this is so perfect and so much fun, I love it to that. Speaking of surprises I forgot how much of a savage Honoka was, like, the girl put a group of thieves on the line by just yelling at them. THAT'S THE DEFINITION OF POWER.

Unfortunately, they don't come alone. Their fairy partners, Mepple and Mipple, are... annoying. Mipple not so much, she has moments where I go "Really queen?" but for the most part she doesn't bother me, in fact, I'm sympathetic towards her who has to be partnered romantically with such a piece of crap of a male that Mepple is. I don't know why but I completely forgot the jerk that Mepple actually is and let me tell you, it wasn't fun seeing him being misogynist, selfish, and just plain rude, not just to Nagisa regularly but also with Mepple, it's actually very sad. I don't remember if he gets any better in the future, but for now, I'm hating him.

The side characters aren't very special, the girls in the Lacrosse Team and the Science Club are more or less just extensions and supporters or Nagisa and Honoka but I overall like them. The major highlights in terms of side characters are Akane and Fujipi. Akane is a huge positive because she has great energy, she's very fun, and he not only provides a meeting point for the girls but also has a mentor role, though its a very little one, that is great to see. Fujimura on the other hand... I admit, the dude is okay, he never really did anything relevant so there's nothing to hate on him per se, but he's a love interest and his situation with Nagisa never develops on any sort of way is just a very flat experience which makes his relevance even smaller so I can't help but think "what is he still doing here, just disappear with him already" every time he's up on the screen.

There's no other way to put this, the villains are plane as hell. Some of them have good designs but overall, they're very band. Pissard seems like it could've been a cool dude but we spent only 5 episodes with him, that's not enough time with him to make him interesting. Gekidrago is the boring and stereotypical "dumb villain", I think I don't need to write anything else after that. Irukubo is the stoic powerful villain, but much like in Pissard's case, we barely see him in action so it's not enough to make me care for him, and the Dark King is just a horrible CGI blob of darkness. The best villains of this first half are the siblings Poisony and Kiriya, Poisony is actually the best one of the generals seeing that she's a strategist and most of her plans were all pretty good so she was always able to get the cures corned in some way, she may have flunked her cover in that episode where she disguises as Honoka for not doing her research well before assuming the role, but overall she's amazing. Kiriya is the villain that never attacked the cures directly, as far as I remember he never summoned a Zakkenna, and putting it like this may sound like a bad thing, but trust me, it's not. He's the first precure villain to get a "redemption" and as rushed as it was his presence in the story and his arc as a character was also pretty well done so he deserves to share the podium with his sister as best villains.

Since we're talking about villains let's talk about the cures now. Black and White have a very simple design and that's not a bad thing, they're simple but they're still pretty different from each other and it's not a difference that screams to the eyes like id there was something wrong, they complement each other perfectly which only helps in making them this iconic duo that they are. The transformation items, as well as the Prism Hopeish and that notepad thingy, are very 2000's but they have their charm. I think the thing that didn't age very well were the effects for the transformations and the attacks, don't get me wrong I love their original transformation, there's a frame on it that is just marvelous, but watching with 2020's eyes there are parts that feel very wonky. Following the theme, the attacks have a very simple animation but in this case, it works because they can make some very interesting stuff with it, like launching a Marble Screw through Poisony's Umbra Witch hair.

Going into more detail on the episodes, these 26 ones feel like a normal seasonal anime, despite the pacing problems if these 26 episodes were a single season it would've worked well because there was no loose end lost in the mix, maybe the Fujipi stuff would be the only thing that would end with no proper closure, but then again that's not important so it would be a satisfying end. There were four major arcs inside this mini-season so I'll comment on them separately.

The first and shortest arc is the introductory arc that goes from Episodes 1 to 5. And there's not a lot to say here, they introduce the characters, the mission, and the character relations on a good way, there was nothing stellar but it's a good introduction to the series, the only let down is the fighting portion that is very lackluster, in special the final fight against Pissard that was supposed to be a big important moment but that in the end was just very not impressive at all.

The second arc goes from Episode 6 to 11. This is probably the most boring arc of all despite some interesting happening here, we have the introduction to the Prism Stones and the Prism Hopeish, they first use the Rainbow Therapy here, and we also have the famous arc where Nagisa and Honoka fight for the first time and tighten their bonds. These are all interesting points but the set-up for these things to happen weren't the best, like for example Nagisa and Honoka's fight, I always remembered this as a very important moment, AND IT IS, the lesson learned at the end is pretty good and it results on them calling each other for their first name which is a key moment, but all of that happened because of Nagisa's feelings for Fujipi and all that misunderstanding and ughhh that's such a boring reason to make them fight, it was really a letdown. I think after everything the thing that stroke me the most was Honoka's birthday episode and how badass she was for putting some sense into the head of three adult men, which was really magnificent. Also, the first proper fight happened in this arc in the final battle against Gekidrago, it was short but it was good nonetheless.

The biggest arc is the third one that goes from Episodes 12 to 21. This is my favorite arc and a big part of it is because Poisony and Kiriya start to get active here. I don't know how to explain but their addition to the cast made things more dynamic and interesting to watch. Poisony's plans always led to interesting situations like when she hypnotized their classmates that were playing dress-up as the cures, or when she trapped them inside that mirror dimension, or even her last moments in the show where she used that old trick of impersonating someone and making the protagonist having to choose who's the real and who's the fake one, you know even if the precure portions weren't the best, they were put in the most interesting situations in this arc. Together with that, we have Kiriya that goes through a very interesting arc, until now I don't really know why he infiltrated in the school since, as I mentioned, he never acted directly as a villain against the precure (not as far as I can remember) but his interactions with the crew and especially his relationship with Honoka was quite interesting to see it develop. My high points from this arc were episode 18, the one where a girl confesses her feelings for Kiriya - there's a lot of interesting stuff happening here, and episode 20, Poisony's defeat and one of the best fights of this portion of the season. My low point would be episode 19 more because Mepple is being a jerk here than anything else, but I didn't enjoy this episode as much as I did to the other in this arc.

The final arc of this portion is another small one, it covers episodes 22 to 26, and this one is very odd. We start with a filler centered around Honoka's dog of all things that are followed by two two-parters that wrap-up this first half. I'm gonna be honest I don't like this arc, one because it introduces Pollun and two because the "final" fight is very unimpressive, yeah Shining Star debuts here and is a big moment but overall isn't the best, which is understandable after all are two girls launching a beam at a giant dark blob of CGI and there's not a whole lot there, but its fun to see a preview of what will become the Extreme Luminario in the next season. I also don't like how they didn't let the episode finish on a downer note with both of the girls missing their partners and such. But oh well, at least we had Episodes 23 and 24 here there were very interesting, they had this mystery/horror film vibe to it and I loved it.

And that's pretty much all I had to say! Thank you for reading all of this mess, I really appreciate it, I'm very excited to be doing this and I hope I can count with your support through this year. What are your thoughts on Futari wa? Let me know in the comments. I'll see you, folks, on a next time, and don't forget, if you ever see a shooting star be careful with what you wish for, a cellphone thing may fall from the sky right on your head and unless if you're an anime girl you will be in risk of having a concussion. XD In any case, see you around. o/

[edmund-valks]

What Lies Beneath... the Barn

“Wait, if you can think of that, why do you need me?”

Ilandreline brushed dark hair back from her sweat-slicked brow, carefully pouring molten metal into gear molds.  “Because I can only do the calculations, not the actual magic.  Also I would prefer to be able to validate it before I get my friends sucked into terrifying cosmic voids.”

She was really glad for this setup, even more glad that nobody seemed to notice she’d built a basement into the barn using a disintegrating arcanodrill while they’d been off engaging in weird things like “commerce”, whatever that meant.  Not that she didn’t know what the word meant, but.  Is my internal dialogue supposed to be this bad?  No, it’s not.  Maybe you’re not as smart as you hoped.  Fair.

“Anyway,” she said aloud, setting the fresh gears to quench, “you’re the only one I know who even cares about my planar work, much less understands how to use it in this fashion.  You already made it better, remember?  That second letter of yours?”  She spared a glance for the other elf, trying to gauge her reaction.

Perched on a corner of her workbench, the diminutive ren’dorei was… blushing?  Either that or suffocating; her cheeks were flushed a soft violet rather than her whole face, so presumably it wasn’t asphyxiation.  “Well, I mean, anyone could have if they-”

“If you finish that sentence I’m going to hit you with a wrench.”

She stopped so fast her teeth clacked.

The Fence Macabre’s resident -- whether they knew it or liked it -- engineer continued.  “If anyone could do it, then I’m a fool for not having done it myself, and I’m pretty sure you didn’t just call me a fool.  And second of all, no, they couldn’t have, so stop trying to downplay your work.  You’re smart about this stuff and you’ve got a unique perspective.  You’re a valuable colleague and I’d love for you to be a co-author when I publish this theory.”

More colour rushed to her cheeks, making Sentua look something like a blueberry.  Poor thing!  Whatever the ren’dorei had done to themselves, it had really screwed them out of any fashion choices they may have liked beforehand.  Red and gold just… didn’t… with that complexion.

“I… would like to be published with you, thank you.  Are you sure- Wait, of course you are, otherwise you wouldn’t have said it, right?”  She took several deep breaths.  “Sorry.”

Ila shook her head.  “Don’t worry about it.  You about studied up, ready to try out the first one?”

“Um.  Let me take one more look at the diagram and re-check the math.  Then I’ll go over the runes again.”

“Sure thing, take your time.  I got a bunch of these brass bastards to make anyway.”  Anyone from the Fence who wasn’t her was unlikely to have any idea why she was making multiple copies of something that was already built.  That was probably for the best.  Nobody else really seemed to appreciate the old grandfather clock the way she did.

While she worked, her visitor did exactly as she’d said she would, tracing the structure they’d slowly developed using extraplanar theoretics combined with several known nexus points.  If they’d had access to a superior medium (who wasn’t also wholeheartedly opposed to their purpose), maybe they would have been able to determine if it was going to work without having to craft a prototype.  But what would be the fun in that?

Well, it would certainly involve less child endangerment.

Hey!  That’s not fair, she’s an adult!

...In human years, yes.  How old is she?  Twenty?

Twenty-three?  Give or take a year.

This is wildly irresponsible parenting!

I’m not her parent!

Good point.  It’s really irresponsible of them to let her hang out with someone like us.

No kidding!  What are they thinking!

“Okay, I’m getting started now.  Try to keep quiet and stay over there.  I’m… not sure what this is going to look like when I get it going.”

That made two of them.  Ilandreline very casually moved behind a thickly armoured panel she used in case one of her iron molds exploded.  “Righto, let ‘er rip, Senny!”

Despite her youth, she sure looked like she knew what she was doing.  Having grown up around an assortment of arcane manipulators (as well as normal manipulators), Ila could usually follow spellwork as it happened.  She was utter rubbish at it herself, but that was why she’d done theoretical work.  That way she never had to prove anything except on paper.

The interweaving runic designs began flaring to life, unexpectedly nightblue with pinpricks of starlight within them.  A brief peek without her goggles in place confirmed that wasn’t a trick of the lenses, it was the Real Deal.  Since she had no idea what it meant, if anything, the sin’dorei kept waiting and watching.

A subaural thrum filled the air, slowly building intensity.  Sentua seemed unbothered, continuing to do… whatever a wizard did during a lengthy ritual.  Concentrate or something.  The vibration became more sensible until it started to feel like her teeth were going to rattle from her skull.  Then it stopped and things got weird.

When your family was exiled due to a misunderstanding involving the regular sacrifice over centuries of sentient beings to dark powers, you grew up with a different baseline for weirdness from others.  As a result, this wasn’t the weirdest thing Ila had ever seen, but it was certainly up there.  She pulled her goggles off to see with the tainted vision that same “misunderstanding” had gifted her.

Portals were opening and clothing, like mouths made of eyes, evaporating as soon as they formed.  A loop made of itself (what?) turned outside-in until they disappeared inside it.  Eyes of darkness flared against the backdrop of interminable void within one of the gaping portal-maws and she felt uncomfortably seen.  Maybe I messed up the math after all.

A crackle of power flared through the starlight rune-circles, drawing constellations like the antipodal counterpart of what she’d seen in drawings from Ulduar.  This was a place she recognized, but not in a way she’d experienced it before.  There was the old, familiar whisperings, comforting as ever, slipping over and through her being with their gentle rubberiness.  The sensation of being watched, as always, and knowing what was heard wasn’t her own thoughts; just another day looking at what the authorities of Silvermoon had called “the wrong side of things” when they’d been exiled a couple hundred years back.

The ache in her jaw was new, though.  And… getting worse.  Something was affecting the pressure in the room.  Maybe I should open the door up to the barn, help equalize it?  Ilandreline tried to move but her body wouldn’t respond right.  She tried to talk but nothing came out.  The air felt like molasses, though, and it started to… ooze… into her open mouth in one of the more unpleasant sensations she’d ever encountered.

This is definitely bad, this is going to keep increasing until we pop like overfed ticks.  It wasn’t a comforting thought.  She’d die like she’d lived, though: making bad decisions with dangerously undertested experiments.  Her jaw was being forced wider and wider, until it felt like it was going to pop out of its socket.  Then something did pop and there was a roar like an entire storm’s worth of thunder if it was packed into a giant’s sneeze.

Wetness -- blood?  Probably! -- trickled from her ears, but she could close her mouth again.  She did so, gingerly, rubbing at it.  “Faoh,” she mumbled, unable to make real words quite yet.  Her brain didn’t want to form them, her mouth couldn’t.  She blinked far too often for several minutes before recovering enough to replace the tinted lenses through which she typically viewed the world.

Sentua was still standing, looking… mostly normal.  Maybe slightly dazed; half catatonic?  No more than that, maybe only a quarter.  But she was also grinning like the cat who’d eaten a smaller, weaker cat to gain its feline prowess.

“Ah wubna!” she said in triumph.

“Fwah?” was Ila’s response as she stuck her little finger into an ear, trying to pry loose the inability to understand.  It came back covered in what was definitely blood, possibly with a little extra something she didn’t want to think about too closely.

The ren’dorei worked her jaw a bit, then tried again.  “I did it!”  The words formed right that time, managing to get through the sticky haze in Ila’s ears.  “I don’t know if it worked, but it went off just like we expected it to.”

“Hleva nuhs!”  Frowning, she slapped herself once, then a second time, harder.  Wiggling her jaw from side to side, she formed the words very deliberately.  “Ve...ry… nice.”  Moving over to where the first pocket watch -- more staggered, really, as if she was quite drunk -- Ilandreline examined it.  It looked right.

She turned it just so, opened a back panel to look into the mirrored surface there, checking behind her.  And sure enough, just as she’d hoped, there was the leering grin of a lurking specter, axe poised and with a hungry look in its eyes.  “Hey, fella!  Good to see you again.  We made you portable.”  She laughed, gave a wink that the cursed entity could never see.  “Look out, world!  The Fence Macabre has portable curse detectors now!”

Her new partner came to look over her shoulder and practically jumped out of her skin.  Sentua glanced hurriedly back to the real world then into the gleaming silvered expanse.  “This… this is what you were trying to do?”

“Absolutely!”

“But… why?”

Ilandreline just stared for a moment.  She didn’t understand why people kept asking that.  It was clearly a great idea.  “Because why wouldn’t you want to be able to see what kind of horrific spirits are lurking in an area?  This is a much more portable form of the curse, one that can be replicated multiple times using the demiplanar transpositionalities we derived, augmented through a series of linking and magnifying matrices.  So long as I keep at least half of the original gears in the grandfather clock, I can use the rest to create portable horror viewers!”

Sentua stared at her for rather a long time.  It got awkward.  Eventually she shrugged, though, which was probably for the best.  “Well, as long as you’re happy and it works, I guess that’s good enough for me!  I think I’m gonna go home and sleep, though, if that’s okay.”

“Yeah, absolutely.  Get your rest, that was probably pretty draining.”  She grinned, squeezed the young elf in a one-armed hug.  “And be proud!  You did great.”

“Thanks!  I… don’t know if replicating a curse into multiple other objects was what I thought I’d be doing, but at least it confirmed our theories.”  She grinned weakly, then stumbled off to the designated teleportation corner, keying one of her completion-tokens to zap her back home.

Ilandreline kept turning the pocket watch over, chuckling.  It didn’t tell time worth a damn, but she didn’t care about that.  It had worked.  And she was going to be published again for that work, damn it, preferably somewhere that would absolutely irritate her parents to no end.

Truly, she was living her best life, and it was all thanks to the Fence.

[dragon-moms]

Entry 150 - Gloria

Today I helped make a big discovery, I guess.

During breakfast, Flare told us about this place he had found with Merry, Myrmidon and Philly.

“It is super cool! A lot like the castle in Forward! But sized for dragons!” he said. “And there’s lot of art and stuff… it’s really official!”

I glanced over at Merry, Myrmidon, and Philly, who were being quiet. Merry looked especially uncomfortable.

“So you think we should check this out, terror?” I asked.

“Yeah! We should look around some more, probably,” he said.

“Yeah, we should,” Ivana said.

“You want to come with?” I asked.

“A castle is where the leader should live, right? The Queen? It’s got to have more concrete information than just going to random buildings,” she said. “It’d be a fucking waste of time for me to look elsewhere, now that we know it’s there.”

“We’ll head there, then,” I said, before taking another sip from my bowl.

“I shall continue my research,” Baroness said. “I have had some... complications to my approach I must consider.” She didn’t really need to be at breakfast, as she didn’t eat, but she always sat in the corner anyway while we planned.

“That sounds fine,” I said. “Merry? Myrmidon? Philly?”

“Ah, I am not sure,” Myrmidon said. “Merry and I have some things to discuss, but we will figure things out and likely continue our search locally.”

There was something going on that I didn’t know about.

“Well, let me know if you need any help,” I said. In a different situation, I’d pry. But we had limited resources. If we were going to figure this thing out, we didn’t have time to waste, and Ivana was right: this castle thing could have something.

I’ll have to keep an eye on them, though.

Soon, Flare was leading the way to the castle, with Ivana and I flying behind.

“Is this place dangerous, terror?” I asked.

“Oh, probably!” he said. “I set off a couple traps yesterday, I think? I broke them, though.”

“You should have gotten me,” Ivana said, annoyed.

“I did, today!” Flare said.

“I meant before you set off those traps. Oftentimes anything protecting something really valuable destroys it unless you deactivate it.”

“Oh,” Flare said. “Well, I’m sure it’s fine!”

Ivana made a frustrated noise.

Soon, we landed in front of the castle structure. It was impressive, I had to admit. Sort of an attempt to construct something that felt like the Peak, I suppose.

“Okay, well, have fun looking around!” Flare said.

“What?” I said, frowning. “What are you up to, terror?”

“Oh, I have to meet Merry, and then I’ll come back!” he said.

“When did you set that up?” I asked.

“I didn’t?” Flare said.

His ridiculous god again. I took a breath. “Fine. Be careful.”

“Of course!” he said, and took to the air.

“Just letting him go?” Ivana asked. I wondered why. Was she reading my face and saw my concern?

“What else am I supposed to do?”

“I don’t fucking know, control your son?”

“He’s all grown,” I said. “He can make his own decisions. And anyway, I figured you’d appreciate him out of the way while we look around.”

Ivana nodded. “Who fucking knows what he’s already destroyed…”

We walked inside to find ourselves in a big entrance chamber. I looked up at the huge image that covered the wall, of many different lineages living together, and the depiction of what must have been the White Queen.

“Amazing we had no idea about any of this,” I said as I looked it over.

“Don’t sit there being wowed, we have information to find,” Ivana said, already heading up a set of stairs to other chambers.

We were soon walking down a passage filled with side chambers, each of them filled with corpses. They were mostly regular-looking spaces. Offices. Bedding chambers. We were slow going because Ivana insisted on checking for traps. But there were none.

Eventually, we found what looked like a library, and even with the mask on, I could tell Ivana was excited.

“Fucking finally,” she said, and headed in, perusing the shelves, stepping carefully over the corpse of what looked like a Green. “It is going to be super difficult to pull these and read them without damaging them, though.”

“Moreso than those ledgers you were looking at?” I asked.

“Those had partitions between most of them. Separated by time period. These are cover to cover and shelved fairly tight,” Ivana said, clearly thinking. “I’d rip the covers off and damage pages pulling them.”

“So all these books are just lost?” I looked over the shelves. Who even knew what these were about? There had to be lost knowledge here, about this territory if nothing else.

“I mean, a team of professionals instead of a fucking thief pretending to be an historian could probably get them down safely,” Ivana said, and sighed. “Give me a bit, I’m going to see if there are any particularly loose I can confidently pull.”

I waited around a bit as she slowly combed over the shelves. There wasn’t a lot I felt I could do here.

“I’m going to keep looking around,” I said.

“Hm? Sure,” Ivana said, engrossed in her search.

I walked back out, looking down the rest of the passage, into the chambers. There was lots of look at that I’m sure would have thrilled a researcher, but I saw nothing that caught my eye.

Until I walked up another staircase into a large chamber. A large glass panel illuminated seating that had a dead White on it. It looked a lot like the chamber the Queen used at the Peak for very official meetings where she needed to look in charge. But there’d clearly been a fight in here.

Before me was the corpse of a Blue. It had a hood on over it’s head, that looked like it would disintegrate if I touched it. It took me a second, but I remembered where I’d seen a hood like that before. Men who had claim to the pre-Unification Blue royal line wore them for some old tradition I didn’t really know anything about. I’d met an older guy at a Council function that dressed like that back when I first joined.

This would have happened after the Unification, if I’m keeping everything we’d learned in my head. But the Blue royals would have still existed back then, if people were still tracking them today. One of the Harvest Knights was a Blue royal, too, at least in the children’s stories.

I kept staring, thinking, but as I did I noticed something. Through this Blue skeleton, the floor was odd. The flooring in this room was fancy and smooth. There was a big spot under the Blue that was marred, like unfinished stone. And next to it was a key.

I hesitated for a moment, but reached my claw carefully around bones and grabbed it.

It was a perfectly normal key. But this Blue had in theory died hiding it. Maybe it opened something important.

I headed back to the library and Ivana.

She had apparently gotten a book, and was looking through it carefully.

“Anything good?” I asked.

“It’s about building these kinds of structures,” Ivana said. “Probably interesting to someone, but pretty fucking useless to us right now. Did you see anything on your sightseeing tour?”

I held up the key. “I found this.”

Ivana looked at it. “What’s it to?”

“No idea. A door, probably. Looks like that kind of key. But I found the first chamber I’ve been in so far that looked like there was a fight in it, instead of dragons just falling over, and one of the bodies was concealing this, so maybe it’s important.”

Ivana took the key from me and looked at it a bit more. “Not bad,” she said.

“Was that supposed to be a compliment?” I asked.

“Not if you’re going to make it fucking weird,” she said. “Let’s go find this door. I could almost certainly get in without this key, but maybe you’re right, and it’s a clue something important is in there.”

It didn’t take us long to find one of the few doors on the upper floors that were locked. Ivana tried the key, and the door opened.

Inside was a chamber that seemed to have been adapted. There were plenty of normal, dragon-sized things, but on top of them was bits and pieces of furniture designed for someone smaller. There didn’t seem to be anything particularly special about the chamber, besides it’s mismatched nature.

Ivana walked over to a desk and looked at a book sitting open on it.

“A diary,” she said. She carefully closed it, and pulled a piece of cloth out of a pouch, wrapping the book in it. “A diary could be very useful.”

We poked around the chamber a while longer, but found nothing particularly out of the ordinary.

“Nothing in here that seems worth dying for,” I said. “Maybe it was just their chamber key.”

“This room is for one of those little White dragons with how it’s furnished,” Ivana said. “You said you found this on the body of a Blue. So something was up.”

“Good point,” I said.

“And we won’t know if there’s something in here worth dying for until I read the diary.”

“Another good point.”

“Mommy! Nobody!” Flare was yelling from somewhere. Ivana and I exchanged a glance. “Where are you? I’m back!”

“Guess I better see what he wants,” I said.

“I guess I’ll come with to the entrance,” she said. “It’s getting late and I want to start reading this.”

We headed back down to the entrance chamber. Flare waved at us when he saw us on the stairs. “Hi!” He said.

“Everything okay, terror?” I asked.

“I need to think about some things,” he said. “I’m not by myself anymore and stuff. Not that I ever was before, but like, all the humans just kind of went along with whatever? Maybe because they were so small? Or maybe I just never noticed what I was doing to them? I feel like maybe I’ve misjudged this quest in some ways. I need to look out for you all more and try to learn. I have to be better.”

That was not the response I was expecting. “Uh, well, that’s good. I’m glad you’re thinking about all that,” I said.

“She meant with your screaming for us to get down here,” Ivana said.

“Oh!” Flare said. “Well, I just thought I’d show you the door!”

“The door?” I asked.

“Yeah, the one I found yesterday, with the traps? I guess you were in the upper levels and didn’t look at it?”

“Show me the door,” Ivana said.

We headed down this time, way down, following Flare. Occasionally Ivana would yell for us to stop and disarm something.

And then we reached it.

The door was huge and made of stone. It was covered in magical lines and things. Above it was an image of the White Queen, resting a claw on an egg nearly as big as her.

“There we fucking go, that’s more like it,” Ivana said, moving to the door to examine it.

“It’s got a magical whatever on it,” Flare said. “So I can’t get it open or anything.”

Ivana had pulled a tool I didn’t recognize out of a pouch and was poking at the edge of the door. “I’ve seen a lot of door seals, but this one is really strange. Give me a bit.”

So we did. Ivana got visibly more and more frustrated. Finally, she stepped back, and jammed a piece of gum into her mouth, blowing an angry bubble. “I don’t know how to break this open,” she said. “I’ve never hit a fucking door I couldn’t open.” She blew another angry bubble. “We’ll have to ask the skeleton. This magic is complex.”

“Let’s gather everyone here tomorrow, then,” I suggested. “We’re all in agreement that this place is important. We could use more eyes on it to make sure we don’t miss anything.”

“Sure!” Flare said.

“I just need Baroness,” Ivana said. “But whatever, you’ll fucking bring everyone anyway.”

We flew back to try to get some rest.

As I laid down to sleep, I could hear Ivana muttering loud curse words under her breath. Eventually, I couldn’t take it and got up to stick my head into the other chamber.

“What’s so frustrating?” I asked.

Ivana jumped a little in surprise. Which was odd. I never caught her by surprise. “Fuck, you scared me,” she said.

“So you’re not invincible after all,” I said.

“Fuck off.”

“Just try to keep it quieter? You’re keeping me up muttering at that book.”

“Yeah, sure. Sorry,” she said. “I just…” She took a breath. “Going to have to confirm some things before I say anything. So give me some time here.”

“Is it worth dying for?” I asked.

“...possibly,” she said. “Now leave me alone so I can read.”

I did my best to get to sleep.

I could tell, tomorrow was going to be quite a clawful.

[vandykecarolpdrf7]

Kristina Lost over 100 pounds on Keto Without Exercising

Kristina, who recently shared her journey with losing 100 over pounds with POPSUGAR, adopted the ketogenic diet.

She is proof that it all starts with a choice and a plan, her circumstances were not ideal to start, she dealt with the following life challanges:

A friend’s unexpected death

Quitting her job

And moving to a new graduate school program across the country

How it Started

A choice! And a Plan!

She points out “Don’t feel like you have to know EVERYTHING when you start. I’m still learning new things about keto now, three years in! Get the basics, and figure it out as you go.”

In March 2014 she researched Keto on  Reddit. After doing a few hours of research, she made the switch.

She made a plan and tracked her Keto Macros and said “Not everyone on keto tracks all their food, but it works for me”

Starting in at around 250 pounds, she hit 100 pounds weight loss on her 25th birthday (Nov. 4, 2016)

  When she met her initial goal

Not everything always goes to plan and you may hover around a weight, and have a few set backs at times, I know this well, Kristina says “A few stumbles are bound to happen on any weight-loss journey, “but I’m back at it and super close to a new low weight.”

  What Advice Does Kristina Offer

“Making it a habit. Eating low-carb just became . . . what I did. A habit. Same with going to the gym five times a week. It was hard to adjust at first, and there were lots of days that I just wanted to go home and be lazy, but I pushed myself to make it a habit. Now it feels weird NOT to go to the gym! I love the saying that’s something like, ‘People say motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing. That’s why we recommend it daily.’ You have to make the choice to commit to it every day.”

For loosing weight found Tracking Food in Keto Helpful.

For my first year I just focused on diet,  I knew that if I changed too much, too fast, I’d burn out and quit.

I drink at least a gallon of water a day, but don’t snack.

I’ve tried to cut out snacks since the beginning, because I much prefer having a full meal.

I shared my journey on Instagram and found it a huge motivator, for when i was ready for the gym.

  Whats Next for Kristina

She is now focusing on her building muscle aspect of her journey and says:

“Right now I’m trying out new macros and going for high-protein, moderate-fat — I want to build muscles! But it’s still very low-carb.”

Her Final piece of advice is “Don’t feel like you have to make a huge lifestyle change all at once. You don’t need to eat totally clean AND live in the gym AND get a Fitbit AND start juicing AND do a detox, or whatever. Start where you start. That’s better than nothing.”

  2019 Update

Sadly due to life circumstances, Kristina is no longer doing Keto, the way I personally have structured my diet is much more flexible than stand Keto and have been doing it for over 6 years, I hope one day to share this structure with others as I personally feel that the limited published version is too restrictive. Here is a blog post from her blog:

Wow, I sure stopped writing on here, didn’t I?

It’s been almost a year since my last blog post — woops. The last year has been hard. Really hard. My chronic hives flared up in late January and didn’t get resolved until May. That was months of pain, discomfort, and hopelessness. A chronic illness really takes it out of you. Not to mention, other things in my home life were…not going so great, let’s say that. I dealt with it by eating…. a lot. A lot a lot. It all came to a head in mid-March and I decided I needed to change my life. In May, I finally called it quits with keto after months of carb bingeing, getting back into keto for 4 -5 days, carb bingeing, getting back into keto….etc. It wasn’t healthy, physically or mentally. In August, I left my job and moved to Texas to live with my boyfriend, Justin, whom I’ve been with since 2015. And it was scary! And hard! And a lot of adulting stuff. Since then, I’ve been settling in and looking for work (ahhhhhhhh, the most soul-sucking of activities) and gettin used to life here. For a while, I didn’t notice the difference between normal stress and depression-stress. I figured it was supposed to be this hard — moving, changing your life, all that stuff. But eventually I figured it out: my meds weren’t working the way they needed to anymore. I’ve been on antidepressants for many years. I don’t like to talk about it because of course, the dumb stigma surrounding it, and having had ‘friends’ throw it in my face in the past (they are not friends. Anyone who uses your mental health against you is not a friend and you need to cut them out of your life). But that’s the truth. I need medication to make my brain work like a normal brain. Anyway. As other people on psychoactive medication know, the process of finding a new medication is long and hard. I’ve been tapering off my main antidepressant (viibryd, for those who have asked) since December. Today is the first day of trying a new one (effexor) and I’m hopeful but cautious. Side effects can be rough. It can take weeks to months to know if it’s working. But I’m trying. While tapering, my anxiety went through the roof. I’d somehow taken viibryd for nearly 4 years without knowing it was also an anti-anxiety   I really just thought I’d *gotten over* being anxious. L M A O O O O O O GIRL. I did not. And then came the apathy. Just…. a flat, gray, uncaring about anything. Eating too much? I don’t care. Skipping the gym? Don’t care. Staying in bed all day? Don’t care. Neglecting instagram, isolating from my friends? Don’t care. It may be a hard slog for the….well, the foreseeable future, to be honest. I don’t know if this med will work for me. I don’t know when I’ll know. But I am so. tired. of my own crap at this point that I’m gritting my teeth and doing things again. I turned my step notifications back on on my fitbit. I’m going to actually try to hit my step goal more than never. I’m going to eat in a deficit, even if it’s just a small one. I’m going to go to the gym. So that’s that! That’s my life right now! Mental health is hard and bad mental health makes lots of things very hard, and that’s just reality! It’s 1:30 PM and I’m still in my pajamas but I *have* left the apartment today, and I *will* go to the gym later. I’m trying. And I’ll try to write on here…………. again…….. ?? with much less of a gap in between posts.

Wow, I sure stopped writing on here, didn’t I?

SOURCE

The post Kristina Lost over 100 pounds on Keto Without Exercising appeared first on Keto Island.

https://ift.tt/2Fe8Xlj

[gethealthy18-blog]

The Subtle Art Of Nailing The Classy Dressing Style

New Post has been published on http://healingawerness.com/getting-healthy/getting-healthy-women/the-subtle-art-of-nailing-the-classy-dressing-style/

The Subtle Art Of Nailing The Classy Dressing Style

Pratima Ati April 17, 2019

Classy is a state of mind. You see classy, you can tell classy. From the way you conduct yourself to your lifestyle choices, and the biggest giveaway – your dressing style. After all, your outfit is (usually) a visual representation of your state of mind. Just think about how some people always manage to look classy and put together.

But, you know what? Sorry to burst your bubble. It is not always through splurging, wearing couture, or being over the top. It’s anything but that. Classy is about being subtle, minimal, and effortless. There a few elements to nailing this style. So, here are some tips on how to go about it.

Let’s dive deep!

1. Know Your Body Type

Shutterstock

Let’s take it from the top. Any ‘Styling 101’ list starts with figuring out your body type. Don’t listen to anyone who tells you otherwise. Do you often imagine looking a certain way and end up looking the opposite? Chances are you are investing in clothes that don’t match your figure. Be realistic about your choices. Start by figuring out your body type and what looks good on it. It’s failproof!

2. Understand Your Personal Style

Shutterstock

Let’s go back to where we started. Has an outfit ever looked different on you from how you imagined it would while buying it? For all you know, it was an impulsive purchase and not something you would naturally select for yourself. It is essential to understand your personal style and wear clothes that define your personality. Imagine yourself in the first 15 minutes of getting ready for work or a party. Are you constantly putting away a few pieces of clothing without ever wearing them? Then, it looks like you bought them on a whim. They need to go right out of the window, and this exercise will help to steer you in the right direction every time you go shopping.

3. Invest In Classic And Timeless Pieces

Shutterstock

Invest in classic and timeless pieces. Go for evergreen fabrics and quality clothing. Map your personal style and body type while making a purchase. Leather jackets. A little black dress. A trench coat. White shirts. A few pairs (at least) of well-fitted jeans. Denim jackets. Cashmere sweaters, stoles, cardigans, or pullovers. Crewneck T-shirts. Plain T-shirts. One-piece dresses. We are not even talking expensive or luxury brands here, just good quality stuff that does not go out of style. You can match them with current trends by keeping the classic vibe intact. After all, classic is classy.

4. Minimal. Subtle. Mellow

You can wear a pair of jeans, a black T-shirt, a pair of Converse shoes, a messy bun, and still look classy. You can wear an LBD, pumps, red lipstick, a bun, a clutch, and – you guessed it – still look classy. You can wear a white linen dress, dainty jewelry, flats, a high pony, nude makeup, and go with the textbook definition of classy.

Remember – the idea and the easiest way of nailing it is to always, always be minimal, subtle, and mellow. It is endearing and suave and can never go wrong.

5. Neutral Color Palette – Ride On It

Experts suggest a holistic approach to building a closet. Go for muted pastels, neutral shades, and earthy tones. Take a good look at your wardrobe. If you see too many loud prints, unnecessary cuts, or overarching layers, know that they might be getting in the way of classy dressing.

6. Bank On Black

Shutterstock

Black is everyone’s favorite for more reasons than we want to admit. All-black outfits or as-much-black-as-possible outfits are free passes to classy dressing. Play with layers, spruce up with exquisite jewelry or bold accessories, or amp up with shoes and a handbag. You can wear a simple black T-shirt and trousers, an LBD (we will keep coming back to this a lot), or a long gown and dress up or dress down to pull off the classy look.

7. Meaningful Monochromes

Shutterstock

Monochrome is more than just its literal meaning, i.e., dressing up in one color from head to toe. The idea is to create a silhouette. You can combine shades of the same color – light with dark tints, different tones, and the ombre effect are a few ways to go about it. Gray, navy, black, pastels, and powdered colors make exciting choices for perfect monochrome outfits. It is a classy signature style.

8. Fit Says Forget Me Not

Shutterstock

Your clothes need to fit you well. They cannot be too tight or too loose. Wearing oversized clothes is classy, but it’s not an invitation for looking sloppy. Figure-fitting clothes look great, but say no to revealing or choking body fits. There is nothing flattering about them. Stick to structures and play with patterns. Sway with silhouettes and flow with the flare. A great fit is the sum total of it all. A classy outfit is the result.

9. Clean Up, Be Brutal

Clean up your wardrobe. Brutally. Ruthlessly.

Do not hold on to pieces that don’t see the light of the day or don’t match your personality or style, especially when you are moving towards a classy dressing style. Know your wardrobe, take a good look at it, and declutter anything you haven’t worn in the last three months. This way, you will steer away from impulsive purchases. A capsule wardrobe can be way more functional, classy, and chic than an unnecessarily overflowing closet.

10. Hair And Makeup Matter

A slick bun or a ponytail with a full suit. A messy bun with a gown. A chignon updo in summers. “No makeup” makeup look for work. Smokey eyes for special occasions. A dewy base for the minimalist in you. Red lipstick for everything else. However, just like everything else, there is a ‘but’ to this story.

Hair and makeup are a double-edged sword. They finish off classy dressing perfectly, but can also ruin it just as powerfully. Too much color, shine, or shimmer and no balance can derail it all. Watch out.

11. Ace The Accessories Game

unsplash.com

Accessorizing is an art. Wearing the right things at the right time is not as simple as it looks. The knack for adding just enough to your outfit needs prowess. It needs to be neither too much nor too little. Classy dressing is a lot like minimalistic dressing, but without being too bland. When you deck up your ears, leave your neck bare, or the other way around. A statement finger ring with a classic tote is another great way to go. Sandals, boots, pumps, or Oxfords – wear whatever rocks your “classy” boat.

12. Amp Up The Good Parts

unsplash.com

Choose one part of the outfit and let it shine. A checkered trouser with a muted top. A sequined top with a cute skirt. A silk blouse with a pencil skirt. Tapered jeans with a white shirt. An encompassing gown with pumps. The idea is to amp up one good part of the outfit.

13. Nails On Point

We are not telling you to spend hundreds of dollars every month to get a mani/pedi done, but clean nails make a world of difference. Keep your nails clean, cut, and preferably manicured. It is an investment we all need.

14. The Devil Is In The Details

Think through the details of your outfit ahead of time. Always. Every little detail matters because classy dressing is pretty minimalistic, and you can’t let any details slip up.

15. Nothing OTT, Please!

Wearing high-end brands is okay. Owning them is great. Wanting to buy more is fine too. But none of this truly defines classy dressing. Also, avoid over-the-top brand logos, in-your-face bling, and more than one loud print in the entire outfit. Instead, invest in signature or classy pieces from your favorite luxury brands. Underplaying is the way to go.

What is your personal style? Do you have a role model for classy dressing? Have any questions for us? Leave them in the comments section below, and we’ll get back to you.

The following two tabs change content below.

Latest posts by Pratima Ati (see all)

Pratima Ati

RELATED ARTICLES

Source: https://www.stylecraze.com/articles/how-to-dress-classy/

[candy-corps]

Down Where It’s Wetter

Minion belongs to dark-blue-mondays

Minion hadn’t really known what to expect when he arrived at the beach at dawn.  Yes, Nica had agreed to the swim, but it had been so long since he’d swam with another fish.  Unless you counted the ones he hunted in his tank….  But there she was, nervously swimming in circles in the shallows waiting for him.  His face lit up with a toothy grin.  

He’d left the suit on the beach and enthusiastically jumped into the lake. It too a minute to get used to real lake water in his gills instead of the filtered stuff.  He didn’t have tastebuds or a nose but the sense of real complex flavorful water across his gills was like a human taking a deep breath of fresh mountain air. Immediately he had the urge to chase Nica, to nibble on her scales.  But he was a polite fish above all, and so he simply swam lazily to where she waited.

She looked nervous and said something about the beach being dirty, but he assured her that he was fine.  And he followed her out into deeper waters, curious to see where his prospective mate spent her time.  

“And this is the … boulder” Nica explained, pointing at a random rock as she showed him around. “I use it for navigation” she went straight ahead, swimming to it and turning around. “Like - … Like - here is the … - Um, Azlariel’s place. He will not eat you“ she assured him right away, her fin moving up and then down in a calming motion. “And there’s my … “ Well … Home.

Minion swam behind her, careful to let her lead the way in the expanse of open water.  It felt good to swim like this, away from tank walls and

“It is a lovely nest Miss Nica,” Minion said earnestly.  “Well protected under the boat.  I bet it keeps away predators”  He looked up and saw the chandelier hanging from the bottom of the boat and flashed a toothy smile.  He’d already seen the fish table in her heap of treasure and he assumed the diamond encrusted coin was nearby.  It made him feel good that she had accepted his gifts.  All morning he had been wanting to chase her through the water, perhaps nip a few of her flaking scales from her back….. but he was trying not to be too forward.  

“Ahem, are there good hunting grounds nearby?” he asked, trying to cover his lustful thoughts.  

Lovely. Oh thank, thank goodness. Nica sank in a pile of coins nearby, too relieved to stay upright.

“It’s open sea, silly - everything is hunting grounds. Well maybe not from that point … till over there” she admit, her eyes moving to one end of the pile to the other. She hated dead bits on her coins. “The rest’s off.”

Minion swam up and started doing lazy loop-de-loop circles in the water.  He was showing off a little, but he thought it was better than just staring at her.  “Well we could hunt anywhere, but I bet you know where all the best schools are,” Minion said, trying once more to flatter her.  

She did know, Nica thought, glowing brighter. He was trusting her judgement. And swimming not bad for a landlubber fish -

“Weeeell … “ she admit, lifting off the ground again. They could try at a place she had in mind.

This turned out so much different from how she’d thought of. Minion wasn’t overly disappointed at her - at least he didn’t look like it … and it was so nice to swim with someone talkative. Sure there was Azlariel, but with him she was the one to do most talking, too.

“We could try over there” she guessed, again taking the lead and swimming away.

Minion swam excitedly after her.  Soon they found a large school of perch and the pair occupied most of the rest of the hour hunting both alone and as a pair.  He even got that chance to nip her a few times, though mostly under the guise of lunging for a fish that scampered away at just the right moment.  

He couldn’t help but marvel at her.  Clearly she spent much more time out in the wild than he did.  Most of the fish he hunted lived in his relatively small tank so it took him a while to adjust to hunting in open water where he couldn’t corner them into a glass tank wall.  But she was magnificent, her sharp teeth flashing as she bit and raced with savage grace.  Soon his belly was fully and he was watching her chase down her last bites with half-lidded lovesick eyes.

So that was enough, huh? At least she was full. Nica grinned wide, very happy with their combo attack. They were being like sharks! Just … slower … and more chubby, too. “Better than the fishflakes home?” she couldn’t help but tease him, knowing well that both knew better. Minion could have any fish he wanted … when he wanted. Nica swam down to him and turned once around, her mood a little lighter. Hunting always cheered her up.

And made Minion … sleepy? She blinked once in slight confusion, his eyelids pretty low.

“Absolutely!” Minion replied, perhaps a bit too enthusiastically.  He was just having such a wonderful time and she was such a wonderful fish.  They made a wonderful hunting pair.  Just wonderful.  

“Miss Nica?” he asked, high off the fish equivalent of endorphins, “Could I… I mean… if it’s not to forward…. I would like to make you a nest.  In the sand.”  And he started swimming in circles, forming the intricate layers and lines in the sand.  It was a formal gesture; he didn’t actually expect her to lay eggs in it right then and now.  But his instincts were driving him to show her that he would be a good mate that would make a suitable place for their young.

He what - ! Like … Was he really sure that was the time? Nica swam after Minion, panicking a little while he was drawing patterns in the sand. Oooooooh. What to say.

Did she feel flattered? Yes. Did she feel stressed? Maybe. Was she ready for any of that …

Probably not.

The pink fish sank down and watched from a sand dune while Minion was working. He was so enthusiastic that she didn’t have the heart to tell him to stop, though it was most certainly wrong of her not to. Where was the line here?

Minion took his time, making a careful and quite good-looking nest.  When he was done he swam over to Nica, the pride apparent on his face.  He was silent but his expression was eager to know what she thought.  

Nica had looked carefully, smirking a bit as she saw the patterns emerge. Pretty. Not sparkly, but …

“Is anything you do not fantastic?” she had to wonder, swimming up to him to see the structure better from above.  “Wow.”

Minion fluttered his fins bashfully.  “I…. I don’t do everything fantastic,” he says humbly.  “You should see me try to do our 10Q filings with the SEC….”  He makes a face.  He likes to help with keeping all the financials for Megamind Inc neat and tidy, but he’s not a fan of dealing with government bureaucracy.  “Anyway, I’m glad you like it,” he adds sheepishly, unsure what to say next.  

Well she didn’t even know what it was, and so it hardly counted. “I like it” she affirmed. Wasn’t that an equivalent of getting flowers - she could look at it and get to bite every creature that got close enough to harm it. Yeah …

Nica swam further towards it, keeping the height, and turned to face Minion. ”And I think you’re pretty great.” Her esca flared up, but then dimmed right after. She had to think about how disappointed he’d be in her when he’d know at what she was all bad at.

The tips of Minion’s bothra began to glow in soft warm pulses and he fluttered his fins with dizzy excitement.  “T-thank you Miss Nica,” he sputtered.  “I think you’re pretty great too.  You’re an excellent hunter,” he added. “Much better than me.”

“ … That may be true” she admit after a while, keeping her body askance as she still peeked to the side. Her own body glowed brighter, but she still wasn’t convinced.

Because at the end of the day, wasn’t Minion a worse hunter because he spend so much time taking care of his companion. She did not. She wasn’t hip enough to be with Bruce because she wasn’t half seagull or something. Nica began to swim off, her fins moving slowly.

Minion’s heart sank when she started to swim away, but he mustered up his courage and quickly swam to catch up with her.  She was glowing so he was pretty sure she wasn’t mad.  “You have lovely scales Miss Nica,” Minion blurted out, unsure what else to say.  And Harrison had told him that flattery was the key to wooing mammalian women….

Yes, that too, Nica thought, swimming askance again and then turning around herself one time - still swimming. Now that Minion followed though she raised the tempo She didn’t mean to swim away at all - just swim. She actually did a circle around the nest Minion’s been making.

“You and Harrison are real gret pals, eh” she wondered, peeking back at him.

Minion relaxed considerably when he realized she was just circling the nest, not trying to get away from him.  “Oh yes, Harrison and I are bonded.  We’re family,” he says proudly as he catches up.  

“We came to this planet together and someone has to look after him.  Sometimes he tries to survive on nothing but donuts and alcohol and he’s not very good with the financial details of the company.  I make sure everything runs in ship shop shape,” he boasts, doing loop de loops to show off as he swims alongside her.  “Have you found family here on this planet Miss Nica?”

“Well … ” First of all it always let her loose her trail of thought when he was calling her ‘Miss’ Nica. But it made her feel like a lady, which she liked, admittedly.

“There’s Azlariel… and Bruce .. Makkazzar … and Pandora” she listed. All the people close to her she really cared about. Next to the puppies, of course.

“Makkazzar is teaching my Harrison Sir self-defense,” Minion said proudly, now swimming around her in excited circles.  He loves talking about the people he loves and assumes she will want to do the same.  “My Sir says he might dress like he’s still a hobo, but he has a good heart.  I don’t know the others however.  Is Bruce a bat?  I believe Wayne Sir once mentioned a Bruce that was a bat….”

“Eh - Uh, yeah of … sorts! We call him, uh … super bat” she remembered, chuckling. He liked that. It was just hard now to keep looking at Minion when he swam around her, but it didn’t stop Nica to try and swim against the swirl Minion was creating.

“You know, because …. there’s micro bats. And mega bats and … Well it fit” she finished, just talking when she could see him.

Minion couldn’t help but grin.  Nica seemed to want to look at him and he figured that was a good sign.  His fins fluttered with excitement.  “Of course!” he says, eager to agree with her.  “Family is very important.  I have my Sir – Harrison – and his mate Wayne Sir and their spawn once he’s born.”  There is no mistaking the pride in his voice.  “And the cats, Helen and Bella.  Have you ever met a cat Miss Nica?”

“Ehhh sure” she replied. She didn’t, like, land on Earth just yesterday. “The captain - eh, Makkazzar - he has a nice one. Maurice.” Yeah, this was the one cat she got along with. All else would get eaten for looking at her for a second too long.

It was kinda strange, swimming like that and facing another - she’s never met a fish in the wild who’d done for so long. She floated closer to him and pulled her right fin flat to her side - the one closer towards him.

Minion was also relishing the experience of swimming alongside another fish. He’d swum among other fish of course, but none with which he could have a conversation.   “I’m not entirely fond of them myself,” Minion confessed, “but one of the cats, Bella, is some kind of magical cat.  And she’s considerably more intelligent.  She never looks at me as though I might be fun to bat out of a bowl.”

His little ichthyoid heart began to race as she came closer, almost as though she wanted to touch.  He tucked his corresponding fin against his own body and let their sides bump.  His sharp-toothed grin grew even wider.  “H-how are you enjoying your swim?” he asked nervously, hoping she was having as much fun as him.  

Was she enjoying it? It was safe to say that coming here was his best present he got her. Nica passed with what little impulse she got and a swam in a circle back around to meet Minion.

“Is great” she replied, just as if her smile and glow wasn’t telling him that yet.

“Oh,” Minion replied bashfully, suddenly unsure of what to say.  “Well, we, uhhh, we can do this again sometime.  Not just swimming but I could show you some places around the city…” he babbled, fidgeting his fins.  Things were going so well and he had no idea what to do without Harrison to advise him.  

“We could do that” Nica affirmed, swimming around Minion for once. “Though … it’s kinda nice to swim along.” When they were ashore, they’d be in their own suits again. Which yes, made her feel safe, but also detached … somehow.

“Well, um, actually, I was thinking we could go see a movie?” Minion asked, fins fluttering nervously.  “There’s one coming out soon about a fish you see, Finding Dori.  It’s actually a sequel to Finding Nemo which is about another fish and it always makes me blubber like a guppy.  So…. perhaps you could accompany me to see it?”

Nica laughed. “Yeah, I‘d wanna see that.” More Minion crying than the movie, really, but that too may be nice. “I don’t think I saw it.” Naaah … didn’t ring a bell. She leaned to her side as she kept thinking about it. But … no.

“P-perhaps you could come over and we could have a movie night?” Minion asked shyly.  Harrison and Wayne often watched movies together as part of their mammalian mate bonding.  “We could watch it up in my Sirs penthouse or you could visit my tank.  I have all sorts of waterproof screens in the water,” he says with a certain amount of pride.  “I usually use them for work not movies but then we could swim together. And I have some delightful dried prawns that make excellent movie snacks.”

Free food. How could she say no. And why should she, really.

“Uuuuuuuuum okay. Should I bring something? I tried to do a movie night with Azlariel before. He didn’t like Pandoras human food too much but it was fun. And traumatizing.” They were watching some shark movie. The sharks didn’t win.

Minion quickly swims in front of her, facing her and blocking her from swimming forward.  “I promise it won’t be traumatic Miss Nica,” he says solemnly.  “And you can bring whatever you’d like.”