#personally aerin is and always will be in my top 5

[maedhrosdefender]

thank you for your service.

Tolkien girl blorbos obscurity iceberg

[junquisite]

C’est La Vie - Finale

WORD COUNT : 1.4K

GENRE : Fluff. SIngle Parent! OC AU

WARNING : None. yearning if it’s considered one

PARTS : 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  F

NOTE : Please enjoy the last chapter of my favourite fic i have personally ever written. Thank you for all the love and support for C’est La Vie, Please keep supporting Victon~

*3 years later*

"Mom how do I look?" Jiah asked and Jinae turned around to look at her.

"The prettiest baby." Jinae said and Jiah made a sad face.

"I gotta go change quickly." She mumbled and turned around but Seungyoun stopped her.

"What do you mean change? Why?" He asked.

Jiah turned around to look at an equally confused Jinae.

"I can't look prettier than Mom today. It's her day. It's her wedding day." Jiah said and Seungyoun and Jinae burst out laughing.

"Wedding day.." Jinae mumbled happily.

 That day when Sejun entered the diner and saw the lady startled and heard a hiccup and saw Jinae, he rushed to her, to comfort her since she was crying. Instead of telling him what was wrong, she kissed him which he pulled back from. Looking at her from that close, teary eyed but red face and trembling lips, he couldn't pull back again when she kissed him. When they pulled back for air, with their foreheads still touching, she couldn't stop saying how much she missed him, how much she hated seeing him with someone else and how sorry she was to turn him down when he asked her. They talked like that, pecking in between conversations and giggling until a loud thud made them look at the table where the diner lady had put their usual order - both pancakes and waffles and they laughed, slightly embarrassed acting like teenagers in love.

After that, they talked and talked almost as if compensating for the 10 years that they missed. Until Seungyoun called her to ask where she got stuck. He sounded really mad and then they looked at the time and she cursed because it was 4am and time really passed away too quickly and they stood up to leave and apologised profusely to the lady because she kept her diner open for them when she closed around 2am. They insisted on helping her close up but she shooed them away and when they left, she shouted,"Get married already!" And they only giggled looking at each other.

 The door opened and Seungsik peeked in, "Can I come in?" 

She waved him happily inside and he looked at her giving her the biggest smile,"You look absolutely gorgeous! Sejun is going to cry at the altar." And she laughed.

"So he should. If he doesn't, I'm not giving her away to him." Seungyoun said, coming behind Jinae and squeezing her shoulder.

"Like you did?" Jinae asked and Seungsik and she laughed at Seungyoun's pout.

"I still can't believe you said Yes to him when he asked you like that." Seungsik mumbled and they all laughed.

 3 months ago, It was a regular night when they all- the boys and Jimin and Seungyoun decided to crash at her house and it was a 'huge sleepover' as Jiah called it.

The reality behind the plan was that Sejun wanted to propose to her and Subin and Seungsik had planned it all out for him. They were all to wake up and have breakfast together. Then Sejun would ask Jinae to go out for a movie and when they'll leave, the rest of them would decorate the house and set up a candlelight dinner for them. They would come to that, enjoy the dinner and then Sejun would ask her to marry him.

But did it go that way?

They all woke up and Jinae and Jimin came out from the room they slept in. All the boys crashed in the living room and they were all in different stages of waking up. She walked out in her cute pyjamas and slept in hair and bare face and he felt something tug at his heart. He looked at her walking to the open kitchen but she came back from half way and gave him a kiss and asked him what he wanted for breakfast.

Instead of answering what he wanted he asked her to marry him.

Everyone froze and turned to stare at him and she said huh.

He said loudly, "Marry me!"

Before she could respond, Subin and Seungsik were shouting at him for ruining their preparations, Jimin was congratulating her and Jiah was asking him if she can call him dad now.

But he had her eyes locked with her's and slowly she smiled and nodded and mouthed 'Yes' to him and he felt like the happiest man on earth.

 "How could I have said no to him?" She said and Seungyoun gagged.

"How is he?" She asked Seungsik and he shrugged.

"He's excited and nervous. And dying to see you ofcourse." Seungsik said and she chuckled. 

Soon Subin peeked in to tell her that everything was ready and they'll start any moment now. She nodded and Seungsik left after giving her a hug, Jiah with him who was supposed to be the flower girl and the ring bearer.

When seungyoun and Jinae were alone, he hugged her tightly.

"I'm so happy for you Jinae. You deserve this and so much more." He whispered and she heard a sniffle.

"Don't you cry on me now youn or I'll cry too and I don't think the makeup is waterproof." She said and they both shared a laugh, slightly teared up.

They heard a knock on the door and the music for the bride started and he gave her his hand which she took, smiling widely. She had her best man with him and was going to marry the love of her life and nothing could top that feeling.

 They exited the small cottage rented and walked down to the beach. They had booked a private beach house for the wedding and only the closest people were to be there - the boys and their Significant others, Seungyoun and his wife, Aerin, and Jimin. Jinae and Sejun had personally invited the dining lady to the wedding but she had some private business to attend to and couldn't make it. 

They reached the small way between the seats and everyone was standing and looking at her but her eyes were only for Sejun, her Sejun who was smiling at her with so much love in his eyes and his dimples on display, who was also slightly teary eyed.

"Glad he's crying or else I would have just turned around and dragged you with me." Seungyoun Whispered beside her and she couldn't help but chuckle.

Then there was her excited baby, Jiah, happily waving at her from beside Sejun. She had declared that before the ceremony she'll be from her mother's side but during the ceremony she'll be with Sejun. Jinae was slightly offended but seeing how happy Sejun was and how he almost cried after hearing the news, she might have accepted it. Jiah had been dying to call Sejun dad since the day he proposed to her and she would always get this giddy smile whenever she'd talk about it to Jinae and she couldn't have been happier.

Before reaching Sejun, she thanked her late husband in her heart, he was the reason she had Jiah and she hoped he would be as happy for her as she was feeling in the moment.

And then they had reached the Altar and Seungyoun was passing her hand to an ecstatic but close to crying Sejun who would not stop smiling at her.

The ceremony went too quickly and she felt like it didn't even register to her and then they were saying "I do" and then the priest said, "You may now kiss the bride." And Sejun Lifted the veil and then his hands were on her waist and he bent her down and kissed her and she could feel him smiling in the kiss, couldn't help herself from doing the same and they heard Whooping from among their friends and then he was pulling back, smiling and red faced and whispered to her, "Ready for the future Mrs. Lim?" 

All she could do was nod before she felt tiny hands hugging her waist and she looked down to see Jiah and heard her say, "Congratulations Mom and finally, Dad!" And the smile Sejun had when he bent down to hug Jiah made Jinae think that she made the best decision ever.

She looked around at her small group of friends, and how much she adored them all and how happy she was at that exact moment, looking at the love of her life hugging her child with so much love, looking at her best friend standing hand in hand with his wife and all the other friends who have always been there for her whenever she needed.

And she had never thought she could feel so much love and happiness at one moment but here she was, looking forward to more of them with all these people in her life.

[retvenkos]

“are you always this chaotic?”

A/N: i have an inquisitive anon in my ask box that deserves the whole world, and i decided their amazing (sometime hilarious) ask deserved better formatting, so here we are. sweet anon, this is for you.

tw: language

@bladesappreciationweek​​ A COLLECTION OF RANDOM HEADCANONS AND MEMES FOR THE INCOMPARABLE BLADES COMPANY...

who reserves the right to say “fuck”?

mal does not deserve the right. 10/10 he would use it every other word just for the effect of it all (scandalizing tyril who is upper class and thinks there are “better, more intellectual insults” and upsetting nia who tries to play it off like it doesn’t bother her, but she doesn’t like it). no rights, we’re censoring mal.

nia deserves the right, but she would never use it. not even in her dreadlord state did she utter it (the dreadlord is also an upper class elitist, fight me) but she argues with mal that she can say it and she would, but scholar vash is watching over her right now and she can’t disgrace him (scholar vash would be vvv proud if she said it, though, don’t even lie). olinda egged her on one night and she whispered it, dissolving into a fit of giggles afterward, but neither of them speak of it afterward.

tyril does not deserve the right. he believes himself too good™ for such a word, so he doesn’t get rights. he says he’s better than banal vernacular, thank you very much, but that’s awfully presumptuous of him and fails to take into account that, at all times he’s 5 seconds away from saying it, now that mal has entered his life. 100%, mal is trying to get tyril to say it by startling him at unnecessary times or just being generally irritating, and he never gets tyril to crack. i imagine tyril does end up saying it, though. aerin turns out to be the bad guy and nia falls into the portal or whatever and tyril is just like “...... fuck.” mal is bitter he wasn’t the one to make it happen, but he doesn’t whine about it until after the dreadlord has been defeated. nia is slightly upset that she was the reason tyril broke his solemn vow, but she also laughed thoroughly at mal’s rendition of the moment and regrets that she wasn’t there to see it.

imtura deserves the right and uses it. imtura curses like a sailor. .....get it? because she’s a— alright, you get it. but yes, imtura gets to the right to say fuck and she says it enough for everyone. if mal ever wants to express himself using the expletive, imtura will gladly say it for him. solidarity. but she’s also sweet, deep down, and she keeps her swearing to a minimum when nia is around. 

olinda deserves the right, 100%. she doesn’t say it often, but when she does, it has such power. mal wishes he had the commanding presence. olinda is generally too intent on finding a solution to the problem to ever dwell on failure, but when she goes into battle and realizes her group is terrible outnumbered? oop, there it is.

kade. oh, my sweet summer child, who swears often enough to rival imtura. 100%, he deserves the say “fuck” because every bard deserves free access to every word they can get their hands on. it’s rather funny that kade has a terrible mouth, since he’s like the golden retriever of the group (barring nia, ofc), but it’s also rather fitting. imtura was taken aback and mal had mad respect after hearing one of his tirades (directed at threep, ofc) and tyril is just like,,,,,, will i ever rEsT? anyway, let kade say fuck.

threep does not, under any circumstance deserve the right. threep will go off if given the right to swear, and it’s terribly annoying. everyone is trying to travel through a small town and then, out of the priestess of light’s travel bag you hear the worst string of curses you’ve ever heard - so many outdated and upper class curses picked up through the millennia and then you hear the most country, farmer swears (thanks, kade). it scandalizes everyone and nia is the poor girl who has to carry threep around. don’t let threep swear, whatever you do. it’s a power far too strong for this world.

what they get a tattoo of...

mal tries desperately to have the ~aesthetic~ so you know he gets something like a compass or a dagger or something equally as wanderlust and vague. it’s hella intricate and it’s probably on his forearm or something. i feel like mal is 100% that guy who has a tattoo for his mom on his chest but is also deeply terrified of commitment so the mere idea of getting a tattoo for someone else paralyzes him with intense fear. i don’t feel like mal is the guy to have writing for tattoos - he’s much more open to drawings than words. he’s all about the imagery. mal probably has a couple of tattoos though - he might be starting a sleeve or something, idk.

nia would deliberate long and hard before getting a tattoo - it’s permanent, after all, so she wants it to be something special. she 100% puts it on her lower back, which she grows to regret because she can’t actually see it? it is probably a flower a drawing of the temple of light, or a light crystal or something. i have a feeling there’s a prayer written in cursive that kind of wraps around the image she has tattooed. mal took her to get her tattoo and he was a proud brother™.

tyril was 100% that emo kid who wrote angsty song lyrics in a notebook, and that has not changed. i 100% guarantee that his first tattoo is a poem or something that he either wrote himself or desperately wishes he had written. he probably has it tattooed on his side or something equally as dramatic. mal wishes he had the flair that tyril just naturally carries. he’s iconic™ without even trying. he probably only has a few tattoos and most of them are small. he was one big tattoo on his back - it’s elaborate and kind of works like a family tree. it’s unique to him - he likes the idea that he carries his ancestors with him, no matter where he goes. nia notices one night that the company is on it, too, and she never says anything, but she’s touched.

imtura gets all the NAUTICAL IMAGERY. she 100% has one of those bands wrapping around her bicep, made of waves. i also imagine that imtura has a lot of ink? it’s what she deserves, and i feel like orcs are really artistic with their tattoos - their tattoos are culturally relevant and she has a story for every single one. mal knows every single story - they get sentimental on night watches. i imagine that imtura also knows how to give tattoos, so i headcanon that she gave olinda one that represents the company. imtura thought it was very sappy, but deep down, she was honored to do it.

olinda. similar to imtura, olinda has a lot of ink. the only difference is that she gets hers later on. there is one (1) person who knows how to tattoo in riverbend, and olinda got a few from them, but once she goes out to see the world? she’s going to the good™ tattoo artists and she’s fulfilling her dreams. i feel like olinda get’s her tattoos in very pointed spots - she definitely has a sleeve and you can “read” it from top to bottom - the story of her life. kade jokes that olinda’s memory is shot and so she has to get tattoos to remember her story, but he also really admires them. olinda has a lot of constellation tattoos, including some of the ones that kade made up. she’s very sappy, tbh.

kade got one (1) tattoo when he and olinda were piss drunk. it’s a matching tattoo with olinda that’s very weird and makes no sense at all. you had to be there, and tbh, even if you were there, it doesn’t make sense. to top it all off, it’s on his bicep so that when he flexes, it wiggles. at the time, olinda and kade thought it was the funniest thing and they died of laughter. does he regret it? kade maintains that he doesn’t. does he know the story behind it? he likes to say he does, but he actually doesn’t. olinda knows, and sometimes she’ll drop vague hints to see if it jogs his memory. kade maintains that he’ll never get another tattoo. once was enough.

modern! au ethnicities

disclaimer that there are a lot of great headcanons out there, and i’m here for most of them, these are just my ideas..

i imagine that mal is indian or pakistani, nia is brazilian or dominican, tyril is japanese or mongolian, imtura is maori or samoan, olinda is latina, and kade is half hispanic, half filipino.

when texting.... (and some handwriting thoughts)...

a modern! au? idk, maybe just an au where they somehow have modern technology? anyway...

mal grossly overuses emojis. his favorites are these: 🤑🔪😎😏. he also never uses proper capitalization and punctuation, and he uses abbreviations far too often. you need a key to figure out some of his texts, but imtura and olinda just know what he means. his philosophy is style and speed over substance. when he writes handwritten notes, though, his handwriting is a very fancy cursive and the care he puts into each letter is amazing. he only ever handwrites love letters to olinda and “i hate you <3″ letters to tyril, though. he did write a heartfelt birthday letter to nia, once. she framed it.

nia is my favorite because she texts like a grandparent, where they format texts like a letter and have perfect punctuation and capitalization. when she got a text from mal, she was very confused by what he was trying to express, but she wanted to know how he got the “cute faces” and mal immediately dropped everything to teach her how to use emojis. she loves them and probably uses a string of emojis at the end of her text as a part of her signature, like: [ the body of the text ] Best, Nia 😇🥰👑💖🌸 but her handwriting! it’s very nice. the temple of light had penmanship classes and nia excelled. ngl, she probably does caligraphy.

tyril uses no capitalization. punctuation only. you can hear the sarcasm through his text. he also hates emojis and memes with a burning passion. he has used this, though: -.-  he did it for nia. she loved it and now every time they text, he ends his texts with his “emoji”. mal teases him because it’s dumb and now it’s a running gag that everyone send the weird emoji to each other. it’s the tyril face! tyril wants to jump off a bridge, but also finds it very sweet? he has people giving him emoji’s? is that like.... friendship? anyway, his handwriting is terrible. glorified chicken scratch. it’s efficient and nearly illegible. perfect.

imtura, on the other hand texts the most “traditionally”. she doesn’t really adhere to capitalization, and she never has the ending period, but you know what she’s saying. it’s decent. she doesn’t like to complicate things, but kade introduced her to memes and now she and him communicate together solely using low resolution memes that no one else likes. it’s very annoying but very endearing. her handwriting is nice - simple and easy to understand. she uses a lot of shorthand and a lot of sailor jargon that goes over some people’s (read: tyril’s) heads, but is smart and to the point.

olinda, actually, is the one to have proper punctuation and capitalization, with little flavor to her texts. occasionally she’ll send an emoji or two, but mostly it’s just... communication. she much prefers calling, and will call you 20 times in a row until you answer. she forces tyril to facetime her and he rolls his eyes but secretly loves it. communication is much more efficient when you can see each others facial expressions, and boy, does context go a long way when talking with tyril. oH! I FORGOT TO MENTION - olinda grew up on a rural farm. olinda chronically says “y’all” and has all of those weird, farm related sayings. kade doesn’t have this problem because he “trained himself in verse” and said that he had to be “worldly” not “farm chic.” anyway, her handwriting is kind of careless in nature - not especially nice, but not especially terrible, either. it’s a hybrid between cursive and print (whatever is fastest is best).

kade texts solely in dank memes and lengthy prose. he is the most chaotic person in the group chat, either bidding the company to draw near by sending them four stanzas of incredibly vague meaning (only tyril and olinda understand) or he’s sending “vroom vroom bitch” memes that mal and imtura adore. the blades book may not have given kade flavor, but on GOD i will give it to him because a bard requires chaotic vibes, even if he has a tragic backstory. you know what? especially because he has a tragic backstory, kade deserves some chaos. give me chaotic kade or give me death. as for handwriting, i like to think that kade has two modes: “drafting” handwriting (chicken scratch to rival tyril) and “final product” handwriting that is purposefully and beautifully penned. he had a lot of time to perfect his writing, being sick, and boy did it pay off.

threep deserves to be in this line up, despite not being able to write. in this chaotic technology au, nia has created an instagram page for threep, and because he’s one of the last living nespers, it goes viral. when olinda and mal stumble upon it they have to laugh because it’s full of really expertly done ~aesthetic~ photos with really sweet captions - things threep wouldn’t say in a million years. the account is only up for a few months and at first the posting is really consistent, and then it suddenly falls apart and the account is deleted soon after. apparently, threep didn’t know the instagram account existed and when he found out, he and nia had legendary fights and wouldn’t speak for like, 2 weeks after. nia made a very shady and slightly vague call out post and it was the first time the company really saw her get petty. the instagram page was the perfect fuel for kade’s scathing and petty remarks at threep, and threep came out hard, making a dig at kade’s writing and his stupid tattoo. threep nearly died at the hands of the two sweetest - kade and nia. it was certainly one for the books.

high school! au

(you are right, anon, a high school au would be iconic™)

mal is 100% a band kid. he has the “i play the guitar to be cool” vibes. and besides, the guitar player in the band is always a little more ~rebellious~ than the other band kids (superseded only by the standing bass kids in orchestra, who had unrivaled chaotic evil energy). plus, mal has a flair for the dramatic, which the band kids have in spades. mal is a little too much of a rule breaker to have been on any teams or anything super structured like that, and while we all know that he’s a heartbreaker, he’s not a popular kid™ because (at least in my school) the popular kids are always rich kids who run in the “right” circles. mal is too cool for that.

nia on the other hand is the smart prep that’s really sweet. like, the girl who’s friends with the cheerleaders and could have been one, too, if she wasn’t so shy™. she’s mostly overlooked in favor of the more glamorous, but everyone knows nia and they’re all like, “yeah! she’s cute! and smart, and nice.” she’s probably in like, robotics club or something equally as estranged but smart. 100%, nia is the gabriella montez archetype. she’s in a few clubs, including choir, where her angelic voice earns her a few solos. people are always trying to give her positions of power in their clubs, but she graciously declines because she’s stretched too thin and stress is a thing.

tyril. i know you all want him to be like, the smart one who’s in debate club and is really charming, but tyril’s social skills are not cut out for that. tyril is like that smart kid who sits at the back of history class and knows all the answers but never raises his hand. he has one (1) popular friend who has been close with him since they were both in diapers, but he doesn’t feel comfortable with their friends so he just kinda sits alone for the most part. he was picked up once by the emo artsy kids, but it didn’t really stick. he likes poetry class and does a metal working class because he can be alone with his headphones and thoughts™. in high school he’s just brooding without the mystery. tyril cringes at his youth. he’s too strong and iconic in his current age, so he had to be cringeworthy in his teen years. perfectly balanced, as all things should be.

imtura was 100% that cool, slightly edgy girl on the volleyball team. she was popular with the students and the teachers - like, this is the student that the school mentions is going places, and yet are also like,,,, “let’s try to guide you over here, imtura. you have such potential! don’t squander it!” and imtura hates nothing more than their incessant pleas for her to be the model student. she just wants to travel the world, maybe join a punk band, and get lost at sea. that’s not too much to ask, right? she’s also on the football team, and she’s team captain. she lives in sweatpants and workout clothes, and they actually really suit her? definitely crush material, this one. she’s probably also throws some killer weekend parties with mal’s input.

olinda was harder to place, but i imagine that she’s one of those hands on kids, taking woodworking, metal working, and auto mechanics classes. maybe she was on the soccer team, one year, but that didn’t really work out. she’s a team player and all, but she likes something with a little more purpose. she met tyril in metalworking, she met mal when helping with sets for the school play (he was annoying the theatre kids, as per usual), she met imtura in gym class because imtura picked her to be on her flag football team (which was a great choice, really), and she met nia when she went to the choir room, looking for kade. she’s not popular, per se, but people know her face and they think she’s pretty cool.

kade on the other hand, is 100% an artsy theatre kid. he’s not the super obnoxious theatre kid, and he’s not the snobby theatre kid either, he’s kind of like the older sibling theatre kid who’s infinitely cooler than you, incredibly talented, but also really down to earth and ready to create an elaborate inside joke with you over the course of the year. he has it all: the tragic backstory that adds flavor and depth to his writing, the kind personality that gets him friends wherever he goes, the amazing vocals that make him a shoe in for every performance..... but he often gets overlooked. why? it’s one of those injustices that just don’t make sense. he’s decently popular among the art nerds, and everyone wonders why he doesn’t get lead roles. a real ryan evans, if we want to go with a hsm reference.

AND FLUFF ENSUES.

-- taglist: @musicallisto​, @missameliep​ // message me if you want to be added!

[sawthefaeriequeen]

Top Ten Books Read In 2018

1) The Last Summer of the Death Warriors by Francisco X. Stork

I picked this up at a book fair, read the summary, and figured I'd surprise myself with this author I'd never heard of before. It's about the friendship between DQ, a guy with terminal cancer dealing with his complicated feelings for his estranged-but-conciliatory family, and Pancho, a guy who's biding his time until he can get revenge on the person who's killed one of his family members. I like that both boys are raw and real and people—Pancho obviously has messed up emotions, but DQ can be plenty bitter and angry too: he's not an Inspirational Cancer Patient stereotype.

2) The Sherwood Ring by Elizabeth Marie Pope

Girl moves into her uncle's old ancestral house sometime during the 18th century and gets immersed into the past lives and loves of the ghosts that thrived there during the days of the Revolutionary War, their paths often crossing each other's. I swear I have never seen more delightful ghost characters in my entire life.

3) The Unbound by V.E. Schwab

So by the time I'd picked this up, I was having mixed feelings about V.E. Schwab – on one hand, she'd always written worlds that engage me almost instantly with their creativity. On the other hand, I'd just recently been horribly disappointed by the ending to what's been her most popular series so far: I thought her final Shades of Magic book did a most spectacular job on dropping the balls on everything good about it. Up to reading it, I'd thought the author's hype was deserved. But after, well…

So when I picked this up, it was with much trepidation. I'd loved the previous book, The Archived: the big old house setting, the grim closed-off girl/sweet sunny boy dynamic the lonesome warrior setup, all were like catnip to my id. I didn't want it ruined by a bad sequel. Fortunately, this book took everything I loved about the book and turned it up to eleven. It upped the stakes, it intensified the relationships, and it also added a mental illness angle that I personally found very meaningful.

The author is still kiiinda on notice so I'm not sure I want a third book. If there is one, dear God, please be good. *crosses fingers*

4) Turtles All The Way Down by John Green

I remember thinking, as I was reading this: this is really, really working for me but will it work for someone neurotypical? 2018 was hell and I was just so desperate for the people in my life to get it, and so I kept hopping on trains of thought like this.

Anyway, this book was spot on in what goes on in the wirings of my anxious brain. Green's usual turns of phrase took an incredibly frenetic turn at times, which, I know, is exactly what it's like to have a mental illness. This is not a book about "this is what to do" it's about how it IS or how it can GET.

I'm still really grateful for that quote about the spiral – how it tightens, but also how it eternally widens. When I first saw the cover, I thought it was kind of blah; now I look at that spiral and see something different. I see the hope of creating a new 'normal'.

5) The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

This was so readable it surprised me. I thought I'd go slow on it because: war story where it's a foregone conclusion that it ends tragically for the leads? Yeah, I'm not in a rush to reach the end of that. But I blazed right through this book. There's something really addictive about Madeline Miller's storytelling and how she brings her characters together and follows their blossomings and downfalls through the years. And then, the course of the Iliad and the inevitable sadness for Achilles, Patroclus, and Briseis was more like the slow turning of the tide rather than getting hit with a tidal wave. Anyway, not only was it readable but I'm finding myself eager to re-read it.

6 ) The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley

Part of my Read Everything Robin McKinley Writes mission that began last year. I'd liked the sheer escapism and the desert setting in The Blue Sword, but that whole white savior thing kinda put me off from enjoying Harry and the book more fully than I would've liked.

It was not so for this book, thankfully! Who knew that reading about the nitty-gritty of slaying big scaly beasts could be so satisfying? That's classic Robin McKinley, as I'm learning – you love what the protag loves. And then I really dug how the dead dragon's ghost haunting Aerin acts as a metaphor for mental illness.

(As I continue to wrestle with my diagnosis, I continually appreciate all the depression/anxiety metaphors I encounter in media. Maybe one day I'll make a post about it) AND ALSO: a love triangle that's actually well done and that serves our heroine's identity and character rather than taking away from it? Yes. Yes, thank you.

7) A Certain Slant of Light by Laura Whitcomb

Yeah so, this book killed me. It's about two twenty-something ghosts with unfinished business who find themselves in the bodies of two teenagers whose souls appear to have completely vacated theirs. They find themselves falling for each other and trying to find out what happened to their 'hosts' and what went on in their past lives. They also find themselves battling to survive the hostile home lives that their 'hosts' left behind. It's all very beautiful and kind of twisted and also a love letter to words and probably my most unexpected book of the year. And I have NO idea to rec it to people. "Read this, it's kind of fucked up but gorgeous but also can get triggery so step warily?" Uh.

8) Deerskin by Robin McKinley

See warnings above. Oh God. But really, I totally respect Robin McKinley for going full-out faithful to how utterly fucked up fairy tales can be while still creating a survival story. I'm not just talking about Lissar surviving spoilers incestual rape and miscarriage (indeed, I'm not qualified to talk about it) but how hers is a story of healing: by surviving the elements, by nursing living things back into life, by building herself up into a legend without even knowing it.

9) Muse of Nightmares by Laini Taylor

Just an incredibly satisfying ending to a duology that at the same time echoes that quote from Michael Ende's The Neverending Story: "but that is another story and shall be told another time." I love when something ends with that sense of: "there are even more stories and adventures for our beloved characters out there than you can possibly fathom, and you are now free to make up them yourself."

10) Autoboyography by Christina Lauren

I was intrigued by the premise: a half-Jewish guy and a Mormon guy fall for each other over the course of a writing class. And upon starting it, I could tell straight (heh, straight) away that it was going to be a favorite. It's an unabashedly kilig romance about falling for the wonderfulness in each other,and both mains are fucking adorable, and made me want to give them both a ton of hugs. Oh, and this book further reinforced my belief that the key to first-person writing is having a good voice.

Another thing is, I basically never see YA books that deal with growing up in a religion and actually-loving it and having it be an inextricable part of your identity… and then having to deal with the darker, prejudiced sides that you really wish would be excised from it altogether especially if they are opposed to who you are. To deal with it sensitively and touchingly, not only in a YA book but in an m/m romance? Well done.

honorable mention!

-The Secret History by Donna Tartt

I was reading this on the bus on the way home to the province for Christmas and I could not stop laughing and I had no idea to explain to my very curious sister that it was because half the protagonists were high as a kite at the funeral of the friend that they all killed and one of them had just very noisily killed a bee in the church vestibule and it made the loudest sound on the planet and they're all gonna have to ~aesthetically grieve and pallbear now even though THEY killed their friend and w o w it's like Nuwanda from Dead Poets Society was cloned five times.

Sometimes "pretentious people murder someone and somehow it is hilarious" is just exactly my cup of tea.

and a couple of series binges!

Almost 10 years ago (god, what the hell), I had a "YA Paranormal Romances I Might Actually Like" list, and the two trilogies below were on it. There's something gratifying about finally crossing off books on your TBR that have been there for ages:

-The Shade Trilogy by Jeri Smith-Ready (Shade, Shift, Shine) This series came out on the tail of the Great YA Paranormal Romance boom and I really wish I'd picked it up then (I also really wish some of the covers it got weren't so damn off-putting. It's like Animorphs all over again) because it's such cut above so many of the books that were being churned out in those days.

The premise is: what if there was a global paranormal event that left the portion of the population born after a certain year with the ability to see ghosts? I really like that the author thought this out thoroughly – it's not just a oooh spooky ghosties gimmick. Everything is affected: the educational system, the police force, politics, technology, travel, you name it.

The heroine was smart and truth-seeking and had nuancedrelationships with lots of female characters (bff, mentor, aunt who raised her, mom who died… ), the Betty love interest was a total sweetheart who also didn't seem too good to be true and who was capable of making major teenage fuck-ups, and the Veronica love interest was a rock-and-roll ghost who had the post-life character arc that I sadly wish Maggie Stiefvater had given Noah Czerny. I kind of loved them all a lot and one of the reasons I wish I'd read these books as they came out was so I could've been un-jaded just a little bit about Those Pesky Love Triangles.

(Someday I…really ought to make an analysis about why I dislike love triangles in general and what exactly was up with the ones that DID work for me.)

-Wolves of Mercy Falls trilogy by Maggie Stiefvater

I read the whole series toward the year's end. It was precisely the cold-weather binge I was craving. I may have my quarrels with some of her writing decision, but really few people can do atmospheric, poetic writing the way Maggie Stiefvater does. The romances were a bit too YA for me in this one, but I ended up really sympathizing with every single POV character anyway. And I mean, cold and poetry and family and books and wolves-as-family*.

(*One day, I'll have the emotional armor to watch Wolf's Rain again. )

[soholdmetightao3]

#1-100?

Oh wow #1-100 😂 you guys are going to know me really well!Get to Know Me Uncomfortably Well1. What is you middle name? Aerin2. How old are you? 19 3. What is your birthday? May 6th4. What is your zodiac sign? Taurus5. What is your favorite color? Dark green6. What's your lucky number? 11 or 97. Do you have any pets? I have two cats, a bunny, a mouse, and a puppy I miss but hopefully I will find another puppy to love!8. Where are you from? Michigan9. How tall are you? 5’6 1/210. What shoe size are you? 9 1/211. How many pairs of shoes do you own? 512. What was your last dream about? Hm, the last one I remember was Jensen Ackles salsa dancing in my room before my older sister showed him the right way to dance because she’s actually a dance teacher and I was really confused because Jensen is my little sister’s (“he’s mine”) and I didn’t want to take him from her so I was just wondering ‘Where is Misha?’ And then my sister and I gave my dog a dog with sparkling soap 13. What talents do you have? I like to sing, write, and play the piano.14. Are you psychic in any way? Some times parts of my dreams come true but I don’t think I’m psychic at all haha. 15. Favorite song? Sorry it’s too hard to choose!16. Favorite movie? Titanic & Lord of the Rings17. Who would be your ideal partner? Kind, funny, dorky, tall18. Do you want children? Yes.19. Do you want a church wedding? I’m not sure because I don’t really want to be married in a church because it’s s church it’d just be really pretty. I don’t think I’ll have a church wedding, no.20. Are you religious? Not really, I think there’s something out there but I don���t live my life according to whatever that is.21. Have you ever been to the hospital? Yes.22. Have you ever got in trouble with the law? Im pretty badass, I cried my way out of a speeding ticket once. 23. Have you ever met any celebrities? I met Barack Obama and fell deeper in love! Yes, I’ve met Jensen, Misha, and Osric specifically at a comic con. I’d love to meet Jared.24. Baths or showers? Showers, baths are just for relaxing.25. What color socks are you wearing? White.26. Have you ever been famous? I was an extra in a movie and the paper a few times but not famous, no.27. Would you like to be a big celebrity? I won’t lie I’d have fun as a celebrity. I’d love to sing or act in a fantasy world, or writing would be great. 28. What type of music do you like? Oh jeez, all kinds. I love alternative rock, some rap, classical, jazz ;), certain pop music. 29. Have you ever been skinny dipping? No30. How many pillows do you sleep with? One or two, usually one.31. What position do you usually sleep in? On my back.32. How big is your house? Two story.33. What do you typically have for breakfast? Toast or some fruit.34. Have you ever fired a gun? No.35. Have you ever tried archery? Briefly, yes. 36. Favorite clean word? 37. Favorite swear word? 38. What's the longest you've ever gone without sleep? 28 hours, maybe more?39. Do you have any scars? Yes.40. Have you ever had a secret admirer? Not that I know of, no. 41. Are you a good liar? Yes but I usually don’t admit to that 😂42. Are you a good judge of character? I’d like to think so, especially as I’ve grown older.43. Can you do any other accents other than your own? Yes, Irish, English, and a little bit of Scottish and Russian (for Russian its best when I’m speaking the language).44. Do you have a strong accent? I’ve been told by others it’s not that strong.45. What is your favorite accent? Irish or Russian.46. What is your personality type? INFP, 47. What is your most expensive piece of clothing?48. Can you curl your tongue? Yes.49. Are you an innie or an outie?50. Left or right handed? Right handed.51. Are you scared of spiders? Not the small ones.52. Favorite food? Lasagna or pizza.53. Favorite foreign food? 54. Are you a clean or messy person? I try to be clean but I’m rather disorganized.55. Most used phrased? ‘Dear lord’ 😂 ‘and such’ 56. Most used word?57. How long does it take for you to get ready? It depends. To have clothes on and could leave the house? 15-20 minutes. To slay? At least two hours.58. Do you have much of an ego? Not really.59. Do you suck or bite lollipops? I always tell myself to be patient but usually end up biting lollipops after a while.60. Do you talk to yourself? Yes.61. Do you sing to yourself? The less people the more I sing.62. Are you a good singer? I think so?63. Biggest Fear? 64. Are you a gossip? I think I dislike gossip too much to be a person identified as someone who gossips.65. Best dramatic movie you've seen?66. Do you like long or short hair? It depends, I admire short hair but I love having long hair to style or just pull into a messy bun.67. Can you name all 50 states of America? Not off the top off my head.68. Favorite school subject? English.69. Extrovert or Introvert? Apparently I’m an “outgoing introvert.”70. Have you ever been scuba diving? No.71. What makes you nervous? Singing 72. Are you scared of the dark? No, I quite like the dark actually.73. Do you correct people when they make mistakes? I try not to but sometimes I correct grammatical mistakes but only if they’re quite apparent. 74. Are you ticklish? I used to be but am somehow no longer ticklish?75. Have you ever started a rumor? No.76. Have you ever been in a position of authority? I’m an older sister if that counts lol.77. Have you ever drank underage? A little yeah.78. Have you ever done drugs? Just “the devil’s lettuce” as my friend said 😂 I proceeded to make fun of her for calling it that.79. Who was your first real crush? I think I was in third grade. I look back now and have no idea why he was my crush but I was a kid lol.80. How many piercings do you have? Two.81. Can you roll your Rs?" With effort yes.82. How fast can you type? Quite fast, actually. I had a lot of type to learn sessions 😂83. How fast can you run? I can run a 9 1/2 minute mile but nothing brag worthy.84. What color is your hair? Dark brown.85. What color is your eyes? Hazel.86. What are you allergic to? Nothing.87. Do you keep a journal? I keep two journals, actually.88. What do your parents do? My mom’s a nurse my dad’s a crew member.89. Do you like your age? Not really, there’s a lot of uncertainty with college and feeling a need to have accomplished more than is possible or likely at 19.90. What makes you angry? When people are treated cruelly. 91. Do you like your own name? Yes, sometimes I think it’d be cool if it were longer but I quite like it.92. Have you already thought of baby names, and if so what are they? Oh I’ve thought of them several times. I have a list actually 😂Names for The KidsCadenDmitriDamien/DamonWyattJasperAndersonCaspianNathanielEphraim SeamusSalvatore Nicholas Grayson LawrenceEvelynEmersonArabellaAdeline/AdelynDelilahImogen (Emogene)IngridCharlotteAdelaideMagdeline (Mage)SalvatriceVirginia(Ginny)Genevieve (Jane)AdiraGreyEleanorAspenGwendolynReeseVivian VeraLincoln 93. Do you want a boy a girl for a child? I think I’d do best with girls but I’d like to have at least one boy as well.94. What are you strengths? I can be quite set in things so I try my best to make things work. I want to make sure everyone is comfortable so I have a lot of experience in socializing with different people and can usually make most people feel comfortable. 95. What are your weaknesses? I can get quite nervous and sometimes I let people have their way to avoid arguing.96. How did you get your name? My mom wanted something classic and she and my dad went to see Titanic and she really liked the name.97. Were your ancestors royalty? No.98. Do you have any scars? Yes.99. Color of your bedspread? White and gray.100. Color of your room? Apple green.

[rachelmorris305]

French Perfume

I’ve heard that your olfactory system, which is just fancy for your “sense of smell,” is the part of your sensory system most closely tied to vivid emotions and memories. And that is completely true for me! Enter perfume: A bottled essence so strong, I have a million and one memories, emotions, even sicknesses tied to MY past perfumes. But also, internal reactions and memories attached to the scents of friends, coworkers, family members, and even ex-boyfriends (anyone else’s high school fling wear Aqua Di Gio?)

My first (remembered) experience with perfume was when I was nine years old. My older sister had adopted the famed ’90s fragrance “Tommy Girl,” by Tommy Hilfiger, as her signature scent— and since she was the coolest person I knew (and still is) I thought it should be mine as well. I did this by sneaking into her drawer after she’d left for the day and spritzing WAY TOO MUCH Tommy Girl all over the “perfume spots” I’d seen people use in real life and in movies (neck, wrists, behind hair, chest, etc.) Then I’d do a second pass, making sure I REALLY got that aroma attached. And I’d casually leave to my elementary school smelling like one of those over-perfumed public nuisances, very likely giving everyone in my path a smell-induced migraine.

As what happens to most good things in life, it became too much of a good thing, and I got sick (the vomit kind) when wearing my sister’s perfume. One spell of nausea can ruin a scent forever, so I’ve never touched Tommy Girl again— Additionally, I can pick it out of a crowd blindfolded, because the scent still induces nausea. Bummer, Tommy.

My adolescence brought with it new smells borrowed from junior high and high school friends. These smells were usually excessively fruity, or sugary—or both sugary and fruity, at the same time. I remember a distinct period when I clung to any perfume that smelled (sickeningly) of cotton candy. There were a, surprising, lot of these cotton candy perfumes in my teenage perfume reserve— they usually had glitter in them or were packaged in a bottle with a faux fur topped lid. I’m now offering up a public apology to anyone who had to smell me at this time. I’m sorry for the headaches you got. I’m sorry if you never want to eat cotton candy again. She didn’t know any better— Bless her heart.

But I’d like to say that now, being well into my twenties, I do know better. Or at least a little better— because perfume choosing/wearing skills can always be finessed. Part of my perfume education came when I read the book How to Be Parisian Wherever You Are: Love, Style and Bad Habits. It’s an enchanting and charismatic read (an EASY page turner), written by a foursome — some of the chicest women in Paris — Anne Berest, Audrey Diwan, Caroline de Maigret, and Sophie Mas. And it’s essentially a Cool Girl Guide for all of us who are still trying to nail down what makes Parisian women so darn captivating. This book maps out an explanation for the French “je ne sais quai.” Giving bits of advice on everything from what you will NOT find in a Parisian’s closet, “Three inch heels—why live life halfway. Blingy jeans with embroidery and holes in them. They belong to Bollywood. UGG boots. Enough said. Logos. You are not a billboard…” To advice on being trendy, “Don’t follow trends (they follow you).” And coaching on how to carry yourself throughout life, “Always look as if you are gazing at the sunset. Even during rush hour in the Metro. Even when picking up frozen pizza from the supermarket.” Genius, this book. Genius.

But as aforementioned, one of my favorite lessons contained in the book is on the art of perfume. Parisians believe in high quality perfumes. Always high quality. They trust the classics — because CLASSICS are classic for a reason (Chanel No. 5, Yves Saint Laurent Opium, Guerlain Shalimar). But they also venture into more modern scent-muses (Kenzo Flower, Le Labo Ambrette 9 Eau de Parfum, Aerin Beauty Rose De Grasse).

They never leave the home without perfume—it’s akin to leaving the house stark naked. They put perfume “Wherever you want to be kissed,” which was famously said by Coco Chanel. The book suggests you put your scent behind your ear and at the nape of your neck. But wherever you put it, apply in a place that makes you feel confident—spritz in places that both you and those around you will notice. Perfume is a luxury for both you and those coming in contact with you!

My last favorite rule of perfume, is to “Find your perfume before you turn thirty. Wear it for the next thirty years.” Only cheating on your signature scent “on cold days.” Parisians have a signature scent, and they stay faithful to it for large spans of their lives — 30 years! This Parisian rule seems to encapsulate the enigma of the Cool French Girl. They know what works for them, and they stay faithful to it confidently— never doubting themselves.

I have a few good years of perfume exploration before I pick my 30th birthday scent—that is, if I strive to be a wannabe Parisian, which I do. Because I love the idea of owning a scent— of people recognizing my perfume and associating it with me. I love the idea of my (very future) children knowing my smell and remembering me after I’m dead and gone, by my specific smell— Because, you know, we already talked about smells being so closely attached to memories. You get it.

So how do you pick your signature smell? I think for the most part, a scent will pick YOU. Different notes and undertones in perfumes will speak to you. You know which scents you absolutely adore, once you smell them. So take the time to explore perfumes. Try a wide range—and I mean TRY. Try them on. Because what smells amazing on your coworker won’t smell quite the same on you. Perfumes mix with you own body’s chemistry, which can alter the scent. So instead of buying large bottles of perfumes you’re still undecided on— opt for going to high end stores and getting a small sample bottles. Wear it for as long as it takes for you to make up your mind. How to you feel wearing the smell? Confident and pretty? Sick and stifled? How do others around you treat you when wearing the perfume. I often know I’ve found a winner perfume, when I love it AND everyone around me loves it and asks me about it, as well.

So what do you think of this Parisian rule? Do you believe in one signature scent? Or do you have a large perfume arsenal atop your bathroom vanity? If you do have a signature scent, as always, I’d love to hear what yours is! If you love to change up your scent, tell me why!

As for now, I alternate between Trish McEvoy’s No.9 Blackberry & Vanilla Musk and Chloé Eau de Parfum.

Until next time, XOXO

Amy

Awesome post by Barefoot Blonde

[theperfectorpage]

French Perfume

I’ve heard that your olfactory system, which is just fancy for your “sense of smell,” is the part of your sensory system most closely tied to vivid emotions and memories. And that is completely true for me! Enter perfume: A bottled essence so strong, I have a million and one memories, emotions, even sicknesses tied to MY past perfumes. But also, internal reactions and memories attached to the scents of friends, coworkers, family members, and even ex-boyfriends (anyone else’s high school fling wear Aqua Di Gio?)

My first (remembered) experience with perfume was when I was nine years old. My older sister had adopted the famed ’90s fragrance “Tommy Girl,” by Tommy Hilfiger, as her signature scent— and since she was the coolest person I knew (and still is) I thought it should be mine as well. I did this by sneaking into her drawer after she’d left for the day and spritzing WAY TOO MUCH Tommy Girl all over the “perfume spots” I’d seen people use in real life and in movies (neck, wrists, behind hair, chest, etc.) Then I’d do a second pass, making sure I REALLY got that aroma attached. And I’d casually leave to my elementary school smelling like one of those over-perfumed public nuisances, very likely giving everyone in my path a smell-induced migraine.

As what happens to most good things in life, it became too much of a good thing, and I got sick (the vomit kind) when wearing my sister’s perfume. One spell of nausea can ruin a scent forever, so I’ve never touched Tommy Girl again— Additionally, I can pick it out of a crowd blindfolded, because the scent still induces nausea. Bummer, Tommy.

My adolescence brought with it new smells borrowed from junior high and high school friends. These smells were usually excessively fruity, or sugary—or both sugary and fruity, at the same time. I remember a distinct period when I clung to any perfume that smelled (sickeningly) of cotton candy. There were a, surprising, lot of these cotton candy perfumes in my teenage perfume reserve— they usually had glitter in them or were packaged in a bottle with a faux fur topped lid. I’m now offering up a public apology to anyone who had to smell me at this time. I’m sorry for the headaches you got. I’m sorry if you never want to eat cotton candy again. She didn’t know any better— Bless her heart.

But I’d like to say that now, being well into my twenties, I do know better. Or at least a little better— because perfume choosing/wearing skills can always be finessed. Part of my perfume education came when I read the book How to Be Parisian Wherever You Are: Love, Style and Bad Habits. It’s an enchanting and charismatic read (an EASY page turner), written by a foursome — some of the chicest women in Paris — Anne Berest, Audrey Diwan, Caroline de Maigret, and Sophie Mas. And it’s essentially a Cool Girl Guide for all of us who are still trying to nail down what makes Parisian women so darn captivating. This book maps out an explanation for the French “je ne sais quai.” Giving bits of advice on everything from what you will NOT find in a Parisian’s closet, “Three inch heels—why live life hallway. Blingy jeans with embroidery and holes in them. They belong to Bollywood. UGG boots. Enough said. Logos. You are not a billboard…” To advice on being trendy, “Don’t follow trends (they follow you).” And coaching on how to carry yourself throughout life, “Always look as if you are gazing at the sunset. Even during rush hour in the Metro. Even when picking up frozen pizza from the supermarket.” Genius, this book. Genius.

But as aforementioned, one of my favorite lessons contained in the book is on the art of perfume. Parisians believe in high quality perfumes. Always high quality. They trust the classics — because CLASSICS are classic for a reason (Chanel No. 5, Yves Saint Laurent Opium, Guerlain Shalimar). But they also venture into more modern scent-muses (Kenzo Flower, Le Labo Ambrette 9 Eau de Parfum, Aerin Beauty Rose De Grasse).

They never leave the home without perfume—it’s akin to leaving the house stark naked. They put perfume “Wherever you want to be kissed,” which was famously said by Coco Chanel. The book suggests you put your scent behind your ear and at the nape of your neck. But wherever you put it, apply in a place that makes you feel confident—spritz in places that both you and those around you will notice. Perfume is a luxury for both you and those coming in contact with you!

My last favorite rule of perfume, is to “Find your perfume before you turn thirty. Wear it for the next thirty years.” Only cheating on your signature scent “on cold days.” Parisians have a signature scent, and they stay faithful to it for large spans of their lives — 30 years! This Parisian rule seems to encapsulate the enigma of the Cool French Girl. They know what works for them, and they stay faithful to it confidently— never doubting themselves.

I have a few good years of perfume exploration before I pick my 30th birthday scent—that is, if I strive to be a wannabe Parisian, which I do. Because I love the idea of owning a scent— of people recognizing my perfume and associating it with me. I love the idea of my (very future) children knowing my smell and remembering me after I’m dead and gone, by my specific smell— Because, you know, we already talked about smells being so closely attached to memories. You get it.

So how do you pick your signature smell? I think for the most part, a scent will pick YOU. Different notes and undertones in perfumes will speak to you. You know which scents you absolutely adore, once you smell them. So take the time to explore perfumes. Try a wide range—and I mean TRY. Try them on. Because what smells amazing on your coworker won’t smell quite the same on you. Perfumes mix with you own body’s chemistry, which can alter the scent. So instead of buying large bottles of perfumes you’re still undecided on— opt for going to high end stores and getting a small sample bottles. Wear it for as long as it takes for you to make up your mind. How to you feel wearing the smell? Confident and pretty? Sick and stifled? How do others around you treat you when wearing the perfume. I often know I’ve found a winner perfume, when I love it AND everyone around me loves it and asks me about it, as well.

So what do you think of this Parisian rule? Do you believe in one signature scent? Or do you have a large perfume arsenal atop your bathroom vanity? If you do have a signature scent, as always, I’d love to hear what yours is! If you love to change up your scent, tell me why!

As for now, I alternate between Trish McEvoy’s No.9 Blackberry & Vanilla Musk and Chloé Eau de Parfum.

Until next time, XOXO

Amy

  French Perfume posted first on http://ift.tt/2u0M9RP

[the-dot]

Rules: Answer the 20 questions and tag 20 amazing followers you’d like to get to know better

Tagged by @jostxnneil​ (<33 thank)

Name: Dot/a rly weird and unpronounceable thing that my mother thought was cool but just makes my life hell

Nicknames: Dotty?/nothing you’ll be able to call me twice

Zodiac Sign: Virgo

Height: 5′3

Orientation: pan/demi

Ethnicity: half-white, half-Japanese

Favorite Fruit: *sweats nervously* uuuuhhh WATERMELON. or grapes. or mandarin oranges

Favorite Season: fall (sweater weather!!!!!! no bugs!!!!!! beanies!!!!! cuddles!!!!)

Favorite Book: The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley. (or Shadows, or The Blue Sword.....robin mckinley is amazing okay)

Favorite Flower: ummm.......probably like tea roses. or anything with longish bendy stems that i can braid.

Favorite Scent: okay so this is gonna sound weird but i have a really vivid memory of being inland for a while and then going back to monterey and standing on a porch like half a mile from the coast and just. breathing the air. it was so cleansing and amazing and i almost cried. (fun fact no one asked for! i went to the oregon coast a little while ago and really did cry because it smelled like home but also not at all like home.) but my point is that it was ocean air, but not like. briny. it was just clean. that’s my favorite smell.

Favorite Colour: this is always the most stressful question omg uh. all?

Favorite Animal: *sobs*

Coffee, tea, or hot cocoa?: i’ve never had coffee or a tea that i like, and hot cocoa usually has (or has to have) some form of dairy in it, which makes me nauseous :(

Average Sleep Hours: lol no

Cat or dog person?: both

Favorite Fictional Character: (gonna do top ten in no particular order l o l) Harry Crewe and Corlath from The Blue Sword; Luthe and Aerin from The Hero And The Crown; Maggie from Shadows; Blue Sargent and Henry Cheng from The Raven Cycle; Elizabeth Schuyler, Lafayette, and John Laurens from Hamilton.

Number of blankets you sleep with: one, usually

Dream Trip: idc!! just let me do it with people i care about and let me not dread it

Blog Created: on my birthday, so like.....five and a half months ago?

Number of Followers:  it is the quality of one’s convictions that determines success, not the number of followers (s o r r y  i’ve just always wanted to do that)

eeeehhhh i’m tired so just. do this if you wanna. (ily guys!! <333)

[rachelmorris305]

French Perfume

I’ve heard that your olfactory system, which is just fancy for your “sense of smell,” is the part of your sensory system most closely tied to vivid emotions and memories. And that is completely true for me! Enter perfume: A bottled essence so strong, I have a million and one memories, emotions, even sicknesses tied to MY past perfumes. But also, internal reactions and memories attached to the scents of friends, coworkers, family members, and even ex-boyfriends (anyone else’s high school fling wear Aqua Di Gio?)

My first (remembered) experience with perfume was when I was nine years old. My older sister had adopted the famed ’90s fragrance “Tommy Girl,” by Tommy Hilfiger, as her signature scent— and since she was the coolest person I knew (and still is) I thought it should be mine as well. I did this by sneaking into her drawer after she’d left for the day and spritzing WAY TOO MUCH Tommy Girl all over the “perfume spots” I’d seen people use in real life and in movies (neck, wrists, behind hair, chest, etc.) Then I’d do a second pass, making sure I REALLY got that aroma attached. And I’d casually leave to my elementary school smelling like one of those over-perfumed public nuisances, very likely giving everyone in my path a smell-induced migraine.

As what happens to most good things in life, it became too much of a good thing, and I got sick (the vomit kind) when wearing my sister’s perfume. One spell of nausea can ruin a scent forever, so I’ve never touched Tommy Girl again— Additionally, I can pick it out of a crowd blindfolded, because the scent still induces nausea. Bummer, Tommy.

My adolescence brought with it new smells borrowed from junior high and high school friends. These smells were usually excessively fruity, or sugary—or both sugary and fruity, at the same time. I remember a distinct period when I clung to any perfume that smelled (sickeningly) of cotton candy. There were a, surprising, lot of these cotton candy perfumes in my teenage perfume reserve— they usually had glitter in them or were packaged in a bottle with a faux fur topped lid. I’m now offering up a public apology to anyone who had to smell me at this time. I’m sorry for the headaches you got. I’m sorry if you never want to eat cotton candy again. She didn’t know any better— Bless her heart.

But I’d like to say that now, being well into my twenties, I do know better. Or at least a little better— because perfume choosing/wearing skills can always be finessed. Part of my perfume education came when I read the book How to Be Parisian Wherever You Are: Love, Style and Bad Habits. It’s an enchanting and charismatic read (an EASY page turner), written by a foursome — some of the chicest women in Paris — Anne Berest, Audrey Diwan, Caroline de Maigret, and Sophie Mas. And it’s essentially a Cool Girl Guide for all of us who are still trying to nail down what makes Parisian women so darn captivating. This book maps out an explanation for the French “je ne sais quai.” Giving bits of advice on everything from what you will NOT find in a Parisian’s closet, “Three inch heels—why live life hallway. Blingy jeans with embroidery and holes in them. They belong to Bollywood. UGG boots. Enough said. Logos. You are not a billboard…” To advice on being trendy, “Don’t follow trends (they follow you).” And coaching on how to carry yourself throughout life, “Always look as if you are gazing at the sunset. Even during rush hour in the Metro. Even when picking up frozen pizza from the supermarket.” Genius, this book. Genius.

But as aforementioned, one of my favorite lessons contained in the book is on the art of perfume. Parisians believe in high quality perfumes. Always high quality. They trust the classics — because CLASSICS are classic for a reason (Chanel No. 5, Yves Saint Laurent Opium, Guerlain Shalimar). But they also venture into more modern scent-muses (Kenzo Flower, Le Labo Ambrette 9 Eau de Parfum, Aerin Beauty Rose De Grasse).

They never leave the home without perfume—it’s akin to leaving the house stark naked. They put perfume “Wherever you want to be kissed,” which was famously said by Coco Chanel. The book suggests you put your scent behind your ear and at the nape of your neck. But wherever you put it, apply in a place that makes you feel confident—spritz in places that both you and those around you will notice. Perfume is a luxury for both you and those coming in contact with you!

My last favorite rule of perfume, is to “Find your perfume before you turn thirty. Wear it for the next thirty years.” Only cheating on your signature scent “on cold days.” Parisians have a signature scent, and they stay faithful to it for large spans of their lives — 30 years! This Parisian rule seems to encapsulate the enigma of the Cool French Girl. They know what works for them, and they stay faithful to it confidently— never doubting themselves.

I have a few good years of perfume exploration before I pick my 30th birthday scent—that is, if I strive to be a wannabe Parisian, which I do. Because I love the idea of owning a scent— of people recognizing my perfume and associating it with me. I love the idea of my (very future) children knowing my smell and remembering me after I’m dead and gone, by my specific smell— Because, you know, we already talked about smells being so closely attached to memories. You get it.

So how do you pick your signature smell? I think for the most part, a scent will pick YOU. Different notes and undertones in perfumes will speak to you. You know which scents you absolutely adore, once you smell them. So take the time to explore perfumes. Try a wide range—and I mean TRY. Try them on. Because what smells amazing on your coworker won’t smell quite the same on you. Perfumes mix with you own body’s chemistry, which can alter the scent. So instead of buying large bottles of perfumes you’re still undecided on— opt for going to high end stores and getting a small sample bottles. Wear it for as long as it takes for you to make up your mind. How to you feel wearing the smell? Confident and pretty? Sick and stifled? How do others around you treat you when wearing the perfume. I often know I’ve found a winner perfume, when I love it AND everyone around me loves it and asks me about it, as well.

So what do you think of this Parisian rule? Do you believe in one signature scent? Or do you have a large perfume arsenal atop your bathroom vanity? If you do have a signature scent, as always, I’d love to hear what yours is! If you love to change up your scent, tell me why!

As for now, I alternate between Trish McEvoy’s No.9 Blackberry & Vanilla Musk and Chloé Eau de Parfum.

Until next time, XOXO

Amy

Awesome post by Barefoot Blonde