#when swag and cool both want to do good but this is possibly the worst thing that cool has done and he prob didnt know the scale of it all

[kitteqq]

mmm billyswag angst panel. billy is venting about the guest war... (click for quality lawl)

[nerdyenby]

Blue time :D I’m watching Aimsey

Pregame

Oh my goodness their costume is so swag

“As you can see, I can’t” HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE THE FUNNIEST MAN ALIVE AIMSEYTV???

I’m watching in my university’s library but I burst out laughing when xe took off her glasses, my goodness they’re so silly <333

“Grandpa’s first tweet” HE NEEDS TO STOP IM DYING

“I can’t see, this is gonna be awful, I’m so excited!!” I love them so much

This is way funnier considering I know absolutely nothing about Adventure Time

Skipping to the actual event lol

Shelby <333 I’m so excited for Aimsey and Shelby interactions this event :)))

Elaina jointing the vc at the worst possible moment lmao

“I’m a little bit of a grid runner” fbm is so cool /g

Holy crap I’ve never heard Shelby say fuck before, I wasn’t prepared

Parkour Tag

I love this team’s energy

“And if we win, we can laugh at them”

I love them so much, the hype, the positivity, the humor is everything

YEAAHHHHHH aimsey and shane surviving???? Hype!!!!

Rocket Spleef

Aimsey popping off!!! Can’t believe he only learned how to elytra hop a couple hours before the event, she’s doing great!!

Sands of Time

They were all so upset, stars should’ve called them transphobic, do it

The blue key is under the hourglass Shane ;-;

He figured it out don’t worry

Aimsey’s comms are supreme, I’m so proud of xem <33

Legit, dunking the last place team is such bm

I’m so glad they’re all hyping Aimsey up, she was having such a time but this team has superb synergy <333

Sky Battle

“It is a great day to be on blue bats, we have gotten every game we don’t want” “Ohana means family” HELP??????? SHANE 😭

You’re doing amazing Aimsey, you’re incredible and handling your overload with such grace. If you somehow see this I want you to know that you should never be ashamed to stim on stream, it makes me and so many others feel normal and even watching it is so calming, we love you so much king <333

“Is anyone good at bridging?” “No!!” “Firebreath, are you good at bridging?” “NO, it’s the only thing I’m not good at” peak comedy, honestly (also we love a man who owns both his strengths and his weaknesses <3)

Aimsey killed 3 people?!!!! THATS MY STREAMER

SHANE POPPED OFF HOLY CRAP!!!!

BLUE BATS FIRST PLACE <33333

Wow I can’t believe Aimsey is exploiting best friend privileges, smh /j

The absolute property value of MCC29 Blue Bats’ sky battle round 2 <33

BLUE BATS SKYBATTLE COMEBACK!!!!

Blue bats pvp main, real and true!!

Ace Race

Something about them just talking music makes me happy :)

Aimsey’s vod is muted so I skipped to the end but she did so well!! Xey popped off!!!!!

Shane 3rd!!!

LITERALLY WHY DUNK BLUE

Can’t believe Tubbo’s sexist AND homophobic, smh

Battle Box

“Feminine rage but it’s just me yelling at MCC every ten minutes” so true aimseytv

Them shout-singing All Stars <333

“I’m killing Sniff, lesbian on lesbian crime” *kills Sniff* “LESBIAN!!!!” I love them so much

Aimsey is popping off, holy crap, he’s literally slaying

Elaina and Aimsey tag teaming H was crazy

“I’m going straight despite me loving women” Elaina my beloved!!!

Shane getting exactly 1000 coins is crazy

Grid Runners

That light the lamps was CLEAN

Aimsey running headfirst into the walk was so head empty of them /aff

Golf references???

That final room would stress me out live but it’s so clever and fun to watch

THIRD :D that room feels so long but they killed it!!

They KILLED the mob room!!

8th!!!! :D

TGTTOSAWAF

Second team!!!!!

Aimsey :((

I hate georgenotfound, I don’t even care, he sucks

FIRST FULL TEAM!!!

Them all hating on Reddit culture and then AIMSEY GOT SECOND?!!!!!!!!

THEY GOT FIRST?????? THOSE ARE MY BLUE BATS <333333!!!!!!!!!!!!!

SIXTH!!!!

What is with fbm and getting the same individual rank as the team?? This happened at least twice this event lol

Guqqie protective girlfriend mode <33

Dodgebolt

“You know Reddit, just because majority of a team is afab doesn’t mean they’re bad players, fuck you” SAY IT LOUDER!!!!!

“Of course I’m proud of Aimee. Aimee could’ve come in last and I would’ve been proud of Aimee” I could cry they’re so sweet <3333

Guqqie saying she’s babysitting us lol

“Aimee got 26th overall?! Look at him go!! Aimee is a really good MCC player and it makes me sad when people put them low” real and true <3

There is so much sexism in the MCC community, it’s absolutely disgusting and it needs to get talked about more. People treat afab players like death sentences for teams without even treating them as individuals. I’m so glad Guqqie is talking about it because so many people don’t acknowledge how horrid it is.

As they say, “it’s very cool that people take these competitions so seriously but I don’t think it’s an excuse to be cruel towards people. Take that passion and use it positively, not negatively.”

GOD Guqqie stop spitting so many facts you’re giving me too many quotes /lh

Guqqie talking about how balanced the teams are and how good of a job Scott did <33

[dearestdoe000]

tell me about your ocs??? please??? (when you have time ofc)

Hii!!! I took super long to answer this since I was (and am still) on vacation! And now I’m super sick w a cold so I finally have time to sit and write the lengthy response I wanted to TwT

Ok so ima tell you about two of my fav characters :D ok I’ll start with my bby Magma

So Magma, or 078032 as she is officially known, lives in a dystopia. Now, I’m still working on this world and I’ve done and redone it so many time ToT so I’m not really gonna get in specifics, but basically she has to work in harsh conditions almost all day as a metal worker. Metal gets shipped to her quadrant and her and her coworkers have to mold it into whatever is ordered. Her sister was killed because of defiance but she denies her sisters entire existence because it hurts less that way.

She used to be pretty defiant and bold until her sister died. Now she is overly nervous and never talks. She has the spine of a wet piece of cardboard and will avoid confrontation by all means possible. She does NOT have ur back. I would die for her. She joins two rebels because they lie to her and say that if she does she will be promoted to a noble in the queens office (Magma is a major suckup). She then ends up falling for one of them bc they have so much enby swag. Big plot stuff happens, the rebels end up thinking she’s cool and it’s emotional bc she was planning on turning them in and they were planning on ditching her but now none of them want to do that.

Basically she is my fav girl and all I do is draw her and think abt her. She’s tall af too and I love her.

The next one is Bella. Same story as Magma, but she’s the evil queen! Kinda. She’s the public face of the country, mainly because she’s young and beautiful (40 looking 25, yk) and very easily idealized. Her mom does everything behind the scenes and basically tortures her. Now this is not to say she isn’t to blame for everything being awful. She’s an absolute scum of a person. But I love her.

Her story is very long and convoluted since it has gone under far less reboots than Magma’s, so I’ll simply it. Her family consists of her, her mom, her dad, and her brother (ftm). Her mom is v homophobic and transphobic and very very abusive. Her dad tries to leave with her brother but her mom ends up killing her dad in a fight. Her brother runs away and is presumed dead. She decides to just do what her mom says after that.

Important to the story is her good friend Reeha. They are lesbians. Very secret lesbians but very lesbians. Reeha tries talking bella into realizing how messed up her country is and during one such outburst, Bellas mom catches on and orders Bella to administer this chemical that wipes Reeha’s memory and basically makes her brainless. It’s worn as a crown, think the ice kings crown how it changes him. Anyways, that isn’t enough and so her mom makes her slash Reeha across the face with this sword thing (it’s v symbolic and stuff but I don’t have time to get into it) and Bella does. And then she’s like super depressed and stuff. Like she’s always been, but it’s like. Really bad now.

Magma and Bella meet at the worst points for both of them, and it’s very interesting. I haven’t really decided what to do after this.

Thank you for the ask @ham-nah !! It made my day when I received it and writing this has made my day again!! I hope ur having a great day! And you should tell me abt ur ocs if you have any :DDD

[tjkiahgb]

Episode Recap: 3.20, “We Were Here”

Guys, I’m sorry. I know the whole idea is, oh, tjkiahgb does his funny little recap and makes his jokes and all that.

I don’t know what to do about this episode.

I feel like this recap is just going to be a bunch of screencaps and me writing “I’m emotional!” underneath each of them. I’m going to have to do 15 paragraphs on Celia in a dinosaur costume just to have anything to say.

Alright, well, let’s see if I can pull myself together long enough to do this.

OH MY GOD, IT’S THE LAST “PREVIOUSLY ON ANDI MACK” WE’RE EVER GOING TO SEE. I NEED TO LIE DOWN!

Okay. I’m back. Let’s try this again.

For the last time, our episode begins at Celia’s house.

Celia’s all packed and ready for a trip. She gives Bex her orders and lays down the law.

Bex is like, come on, mom, you know we’re going to have a party.

And Celia’s like, yeah.

Consider this my wedding gift.

Celia departs for places unknown and...

OH NO IT’S THE LAST TIME WE’LL EVER SEE THE INTRO! HELP MEEEEE!

At Bex’s, Andi and Bex gather supplies for the party.

Bex is like, oh thank God we still have those. It’s not a party until the cheaply made SWAG sunglasses make an appearance.

They start making a list of the essentials for a party: food, balloons, glow-sticks.

Bex says she’s been meaning to get one of those. So, wait, she doesn’t already have one in the apartment’s emergency preparedness kit? What happens if there’s a natural disaster?

Bowie wanders in and they let him know there’s going to be a party. Bex and Andi start wondering what they’re going to wear to the party. Andi runs off to decide, but Bowie holds Bex back for a second to talk to her.

Bowie goes to retrieve a letter he brought in from the mailbox.

But, more importantly:

THE CAT! An appearance in the finale for The Cat! He’s been here since season one, he deserves it!

Bowie tells Bex there’s a situation. Andi has received a letter from SAVA.

The two wonder about the letter. Acceptance letters usually have a lot of paperwork and such in them and arrive in bigger envelopes. Rejection letters, on the other hand, are usually just a piece of paper that says “Thanks but no thanks.” on it.

They worry about how sad it’ll make Andi if it’s a rejection letter, and don’t want to ruin her night with that possibility, so they decide to keep it quiet for now.

Then Andi appears and Bex sits on the letter. Andi tells her she found something for her to wear, so Bex gets up and Bowie jumps on the letter like it’s a grenade.

Once he thinks the coast is clear, he gets off of it, but then Andi appears again and Bowie crumples up the letter in his hands to hide it and does this completely natural thing...

Oh, don’t mind me, just listening to my hands.

Andi tells him she picked out something for him to wear, too, and runs off.

Bowie examines the state of the letter.

On the bright side, if it is a rejection letter, you can always say this is how it showed up and trash SAVA for lacking the decency to take any care in mailing their letters. I mean, if this is how they mail stuff, imagine how little care they show in other places! Who would want to go to such a school anyway, right?

That night, everything is in place for the party.

Bex comes walking down the stairs in her wedding dress, which looks nice but feels impractical for a night of partying.

Andi tells her how beautiful she looks.

There’s a knock at the door. Andi lets Bowie in. He’s wearing his father’s tux.

Andi starts up some music and invites the bride and groom to the floor for their first dance.

And-- oh GOD it’s the song from the first season.

Well, we’re six minutes in and I guess this is going to mark the point of the episode where I start going under and just never recover.

The party is in full swing now. Cyrus finds Buffy watching Marty from across the room as he chats up another girl. Cyrus asks her if things are still weird between the two of them but she doesn’t know. He asks her what she would like things to be like between them.

Buffy feels that Marty doesn’t like her anymore. Like like. Cyrus doesn’t believe that’s true, but Buffy says Marty said it himself.

He’s like, you’re really going to believe the word of a known liar like Marty? If he’s so honest, what’s his last name? And don’t you dare say Fromdaparty.

Then TJ walks in and Buffy’s like, perfect timing, let’s get off my thing and onto yours, Cyrus.

And TJ’s like...

*waves in goofy*

And Cyrus is like...

*waves in goofy back*

Look, in fairness, there’s no way to wave enthusiastically without looking goofy. That’s why we invented that like, hand up thing, where you just put your palm out and hold it there for a second. But that’s for business scenarios and not parties. You’re at a party and see the boy you’re crushing on, you do a goofy, enthusiastic wave. It’s how it goes.

Then Kira walks in and the atmosphere instantly drops.

If some random kid came running in and shouted that they found a dead opossum on the floor of the bathroom, it could not have made the mood in the room worse. There’s a non-zero chance it could’ve made things better because at least we’re wondering where the opossum came from now.

Buffy assures Cyrus that the reason TJ is hanging out with Kira is not because he likes her, but he doesn’t agree. He thinks that ship has sailed.

So Buffy and Cyrus commiserate, both thinking they’ve lost their opportunity to get their man.

Later, Kira and TJ watch from the sidelines as the others dance.

How did Cyrus take and pass a dance class and get worse at dancing?

Kira asks TJ why he doesn’t want to dance. He says he just doesn’t want to.

Kira notes Cyrus dancing and starts to laugh.

TJ’s like, what’s so funny? Kira says look at Cyrus.

TJ’s like, yeah, he’s great, but Kira’s still laughing at him. TJ tells her she can’t do that -- laugh at someone for their dancing. Kira’s like, you thought it was funny. TJ’s like, no, I thought it was fun. There’s a big difference.

So, Kira’s like, okay, here we go again.

She says that if she made him pick between her and Cyrus, he’d pick Cyrus. TJ’s like, the fact that you’re even going to the place where you’d think of making me pick proves how wrong this all is.

Kira says that answers her question and exits the party.

The party continues on.

Electronic music starts, the lights go down, and the dinosaur descends the staircase.

Nice to get one last sentence in before the end where I can write what’s literally happening on the screen, take a step back and go, what the hell did I just write?

Everyone gathers round to watch the neon dinosaur dance. They chant “Go Andi! Go Andi!”

Then Andi shows up.

Their next guess is Jonah, but then he shows up, too. He couldn’t find the dinosaur costume because it had been stolen by the mystery dancer.

The music ends and the audience cheers for the dancing dinosaur, who finally reveals herself, ripping off her face mask like a Scooby Doo villain.

Everyone gasps. They’re like, uh oh, the party police are here and they showed up in a T-Rex costume for some reason.

But then Celia’s like...

Everyone wants to know what Celia’s doing back. She’s like, well, I got four hours out and realized I’d rather be attending one of these parties than on a vacation somewhere so I turned around and came back and snuck into the house through a second story window so no one would see me and inflated this dinosaur suit and put it on and waited for the right music to start and shut off the lights and came downstairs and performed this dance routine. Was it worth it? I spent the whole four hours on the way back practicing that “No parties, just kidding” thing.

And everyone’s like, yeah, it was alright.

And Celia’s like, okay, cool.

She’s like, I’m glad I tried fun. And then she walks off and that’s the last we ever see of her. From strict mom to dancing grandma in a dinosaur suit. What a ride. I hope she enjoys her vacation.

Later on, TJ has gotten on stage with a piano. He starts playing the intro to “Born This Way”.

TJ, NO! We don’t have the money for the rights to that song! Are you crazy? Can I interest you in some generic production music that can be purchased for a tenth the cost? Maybe something in the public domain? How about we all sing “Row, Row, Row Your Boat”?

But it’s too late. TJ, to celebrate his liberation from Kira, elects to come out to the entire party by showing he knows how to play the gayest song of all time on the piano by heart.

The whole party is like, oh, this is nice. He’s playing some music. And then Cyrus is like...

SURPRISE! I have a microphone and this is a performance now!

Amber starts singing, too. TJ calls up Jonah and/or Bowie to get on stage and provide some guitar, but then Bex is like...

SURPRISE! I have a guitar and I know how to play it!

Jonah and Andi get on stage and get thrown mics.

Buffy grabs a mic and joins in. The entire cast can sing! It’s a musical miracle.

Cyrus joins TJ on the stage and they sing together.

Bowie at some point also wandered up with his own guitar and joined Bex.

Everyone performs in the song, except for Marty, who just kinda sings from the sidelines like, “Eh, this is nice but pop’s not my genre.”

The song comes to a finish.

Everyone celebrates how good that was despite it never having been rehearsed.

A gosh-dang musical miracle, I tell ya.

Later on outside, Jonah finds Andi and tells her he has something for her. Andi immediately panics. Jonah reassures her it is not one of his famous terrible gifts, like the piece of rice with Andi’s misspelled name on it. He asks if that was the worst present ever.

Jonah says this isn’t a present anyway.

He found their bracelet. The one thought lost for so long. Well, he didn’t find it.

Oh, Judy Bartholomew, you never cease to impress!

Jonah offers it back to Andi, who promises to make it disappear forever. But Jonah says, he actually wanted to know if he could keep it. It’s a great bracelet and he’s always liked it.

Andi puts the bracelet on him. She wonders what things would’ve been like if they’d met when they were older and more mature.

Well, older, at least.

Back inside the party, Buffy finds Marty at his usual party position, hanging around the food table. She starts reenacting the conversation from their first meeting. They get to the “eat a live frog” bit and Marty can’t continue.

Buffy tells him that she didn’t think that. She found him funny. Marty warns her that she is dangerously close to complimenting him. She tells him it was a compliment.

Buffy wants to try having a conversation to see if they can. So they ask each other how their day was and both agree they had fine days. Marty asks her what the next step is and Buffy decides the next step is to leave.

Buffy heads outside, but Marty chases after her. He says he thinks he messed it up and wants to try the straightforward thing again. He tells her to go first.

Yep, that’s straightforward. Marty compliments her on how straightforward it was. Buffy tells him that’s all she wanted him to know, in case he ever changes his mind about liking her, but Marty’s like...

He goes in for a kiss.

They smile at each other and head back into the party.

Cyrus, meanwhile, heads to the backyard where he finds TJ sitting on...

T H E   B E N C H.

Cyrus asks what happened to Kira. TJ says he poured water on her and she melted. Boy’s dropping Judy Garland movie references now. Really laying it on thick.

TJ says Kira’s not a nice person, but Cyrus reminds him people used to say that about him, almost verbatim.

Cyrus says he knows that, but there are things he didn’t know, like that TJ played piano. TJ tells him his mom is a piano teacher. Cyrus didn’t know that either. TJ promises he’s not that mysterious, just ask him anything.

TJ panics. He’s like, oh, you went right for the kill shot. He doesn’t want to say what his name is. He says there are only like five living souls on this planet who know what TJ stands for, and they are all of Kippen blood.

TJ’s really digging himself a hole here with Cyrus. The more you sell the mystery of this, the more a kid like Cyrus will want to know.

“My name’s only ever been said out loud once before, by the doctor who filled out the birth certificate, and then he disappeared, never to be seen again! Mythology says that my name used to be sung by the Sirens, who’d use it to lure unsuspecting sailors to their dooms! Legend says there’s a secret cave in the Gobi Desert, and that if you shout my name into it, a trap door will open revealing billions of dollars in hidden treasure! So surely you must understand, I can’t possibly tell you what it is.”

Cyrus says if he doesn’t learn what TJ’s full name is, he will literally die of curiosity. Now faced with the impending death of his crush, TJ realizes he must make the ultimate sacrifice to save his life and tell him what his name is. First, he swears him to secrecy. Cyrus swears.

TJ tells him his parents were way into music, so they named him after their favorite artists:

This is where I’d make a joke like, “It could’ve been worse, they could’ve named him...” but I don’t have a way to finish that sentence. I guess like, Beethoven Mozart, so then he couldn’t even use his initials or they’d be B.M.?

You know, though, it’s such an odd name, it becomes immediately endearing.

To Cyrus as well. They didn’t come all this way, accepting each other through everything, to be stopped in the finale by bad dancing or weird names.

TJ says his grandparents stepped in to intervene. They were like, this is preposterous and we’re not going to spend what short time remains of our lives on so many syllables! He’s TJ!

TJ asks if there’s anything else Cyrus wants to know and then he makes just the ever-so-slightest of hand movements toward him and I’m telling you right now, I don’t know if I will ever be okay watching this.

I’m serious. I don’t know when I’ll be able to watch this scene and see that hand movement and not get emotional. Definitely not now, and I can’t imagine anytime soon.

Cyrus sees his hand. He asks TJ is there’s anything else he wants to tell him.

TJ asks Cyrus if there’s anything he wants to tell him.

They grab each other’s hand.

And both let out this nervous exhale.

And they hold each other’s hand and smile at each other as the screen fades to black.

Just the two of them, together, in their own little world.

I get that people might have wanted more, more words, more actions, and I don’t necessarily disagree. I don’t think there’s a hypothetical version of this scene that has more and is bad or anything.

But, in my opinion, I think this is brilliant. In its subtlety and in its simplicity, this is one of the sweetest, most graceful, most touching ways I’ve ever seen two people express their affection for one another. That they’ve been through so much, and that they know each other so well that they can just look at each other and only need to say yes to tell the other one all they need to know, to tell each other everything? I’m not going to label two middle schoolers as “in love” because, look, they’re kids and it’s middle school. But what I will say is this: that’s what love is. When someone knows you so intensely and so intimately that you don’t have to say it. When all you have to do is look at someone to know. It’s a connection that goes beyond words. It’s beautiful.

Or, in other words, I’m emotional!

Later, after the party has ended, the GHC, Jonah, and Bex and Bowie hang out in the backyard, reminiscing.

Andi shares a picture of the GHC starting second grade.

From the day they met.

Buffy remarks how they’re still together after all these years. And Cyrus says they always will be. And Andi says...

They’re like, uh oh. Andi says she wants to show them something and leads them to Andi Shack, which has been stripped clean.

They ask why, and Andi tells them she doesn’t need the Shack anymore. She needs a studio because she got into SAVA, which makes her parents very happy, but bums out Cyrus and Buffy. They’re happy for her, but...

This is going to change things.

Bex remarks how a lot of life has happened in Andi Shack. We see some nice clips from over the years, and, if you liked those, you can see more clips by purchasing previous seasons of Andi Mack on your preferred streaming platform. (And coming to Disney+ this Fall!)

Bex tells Andi how proud she is of her and they hug.

Bowie hugs her, too, and tells her she’s going to do great things.

And then, like responsible adults, they decide to go clean up the house. We’ve all really grown so much, haven’t we?

Andi regroups with Cyrus, Buffy, and Jonah. Cyrus says they should be mindful of the moment because after this, we’re all going our separate ways. They all yell at Cyrus for this.

Andi reassures them all that no matter where they go or what they do, they’ll always be a part of each other’s lives.

And then they do this weird sort of group imagine thing where they actually manifest images of the future.

Where they’re all like, doing adult things, but also, still look like children? It’s, um... it’s a little odd.

But I’m going to retain my positivity and head for the finish line.

Andi asks Jonah to take a picture of the GHC standing together as they did on that first day of second grade. Then, Cyrus drops a Winnie the Pooh quote: “You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.”

The four share one last group hug.

Andi asks if they’re all going to meet tomorrow at The Spoon, and they agree.

Each one hugs Andi one last time before exiting.

Andi watches them leave, then heads inside Andi Shack to put up the pictures. She smiles and walks out.

And that, my friends, is a wrap on Andi Mack.

This isn’t goodbye -- I’ve got a little more stuff planned -- but I think this is probably the thing that will be read by the most amount of people familiar with my blog, so let me just say this here: if you’ve read any or all of my recaps, or even if you’re just reading this one, thank you. I have loved writing them and I have loved being a part of this fandom, and I appreciate all of you who took the time to be a part of it with me.

This show and this fandom have been such an amazing experience for me, and it has brought me so much joy this past year and a half. So, once again, from the bottom of my heart, thank you.

I will truly never forget it.

[booksbeyondimagining]

Hey everyone!

Sorry I’ve not been very active on here lately (glances at personal goals for the year guiltily), but I spent the last couple of months working on shows and prepping for BookCon.  This year was a success, I think, in terms of achieving my goal to meet as many of my favorite authors – and potential favorites – as possible.

Saturday I started the day trying to get a ticket for a Leigh Bardugo signing at the TopatoCo booth, however their organization skills were downright awful and the line quickly became a messy blob and so of course this shorty in the back didn’t get one.  I told myself to get over it (and for the most part I did.  I was bitter still, but I was over it.  Gotta focus on the authors I did get to meet right?  The only annoyance was having to carry around my hardcover of SoC all day cause it costs $ to get back into coat check (wtf)).

So after that disaster I went to the signing for Brigid Kemmerer, who was lovely to talk to, followed by Susan Dennard (who got so excited about the poster I brought of the cover for The Executioner’s Three, her story on Wattpad).  I then went to the Jordandene booth to get an As Travars shirt – sadly they were out, but I got a Geekerella one instead – and while I was there I turned around and effing V. E. Schwab was right behind me.  This was the second time in 2 years that I’ve seen her on the floor, and this time I finally got a picture with her, lol.  I swear she is my lucky charm there – I wasn’t even actively seeking her out this year since I’ve already met her twice and yet there she was anyway.

I then went a stood for two hours(!) in a line for the Coco Ma/Jill Criswell signing for their ARCs of Shadow Frost/Beasts of the Frozen Sun (respectively).  I went to the booth to ask when the line was going to start forming and the guy was like “this is the line” indicating the one I thought was for the event prior to theirs.  So yeah, got to wait for a while there.  The line moved slowly because they were both talking with people, which was nice, but I was also mildly panicking because Amanda Foody had a signing I wanted to get to as well.  But I had a nice conversation with both (Coco was wearing Gryffindor robes so we had a fun HP conversation) and I got to the HarperCollins booth just in time to see Amanda and have her sign my copy of Ace of Shades.  

I think after that I wandered the floor for a bit, before making my way over to the Eoin Colfer signing.  I loved the Artemis Fowl series growing up, so I was ecstatic when I got the ticket to his signing.  The best part was we ended up talking theatre while he signed my books because he asked me what I did and I told him I do lighting design for theatre and he started talking about preferring the backstage atmosphere whenever someone puts on a play he’s written (I had no idea he wrote plays omg I’m such a fake fan lol).  And like the idiot I was I forgot to give him my business card.

After that I kinda stalked Katy Rose Pool.  She’s the author of There Will Come a Darkness which comes out in the fall and which I am currently reading (thank you Edelweiss).  It’s.  So.  Good.  And my friend had already met her during the day and told her about me and she remembered and was so nice and sweet and signed a blank bookmark I brought.  I also saw Amanda Foody there (I love how they have this group of writer friends it’s the cutest thing ever) and got the picture with her that I forgot to get earlier lol.  I then did some more shopping (got a Stardust candle that smells like stormy woods and blackberry and had little stars on top) and walked the floor until it closed.

And omg I went to the FierceReads booth to ask about the TWCAD ARC giveaway they were doing on Sunday (because yeah okay I am reading the egalley but I want it physically too of course) and while they were explaining it KATY ROSE POOL showed up again and I got so worried she thought I was an asshole for wanting the physical ARC as well instead of letting someone else get a chance to read it.  I’M SORRY I JUST WANTED ALL THE VERSIONS.  (Actually I’m over it now.  I got the ticket for the ARC game on Sunday and it was a chance-to-win game.  Basically you had your Tarot Cards read (the tarot cards are based on the characters in TWCAD) in a past-present-future spread and the present card determined which ARC you got.  I ended up getting The Last Word by Samantha Hastings oh well, but man the girl who did my reading was really good and it was scarily accurate.  But hey that gives me hope for my future cause it sounded just like what I needed.  Anyway, while I was there I watched two people who I knew had been first in both the ticket drop and the actual event line get the TWCAD ARC and I got really happy for them cause damn they deserved that.  PLUS I ended up getting an ARC of The Tenth Girl by Sara Faring for being tenth in line how cool was that!!)

Anyway, that was Saturday.

On Sunday, after getting the tickets at FierceReads (you got two for their giveaways, and beside the Tarot Card game I got a Grisha passport one which I gave to my friend cause I wasn’t interested in it), I wandered the floor for a bit before heading over to QuirkBooks to get ready for the Ashley Poston signing.  We were told we could buy the books before the signing even started so we did, and then they had a game where you turn one of those candy/prize machines you see outside of supermarkets and you got a piece of paper that indicated a prize.  My friend got a Charmed pin which she gave to me since I love the show, and I got a coupon for a free book so I got to return the copy of The Princess and the Fangirl I had just bought there and get it for free instead.  How cool is that?  And while we were in line for the game my friend saw Ashley Poston and she came over and talked with us and again while we were waiting for the signing to start.  She was so sweet and nice to talk with.

I then made the stupid attempt to try to get a ticket for the Melissa de la Cruz signing but since Penguin refuses to start lines before a certain time and just lets people stand in a blob, I again didn’t get one.  I wasn’t too angry though because I haven’t actually read any of her books, but the one she was signing for – The Queen’s Assassin – sounded interesting.  I was just more annoyed that all my other just-in-case-I-don’t-get-that-one events were already capped as well so I wandered the floor.  I finally found an event at the FaeCrate line for a die toss game but only got a chapstick lol.  Then I went to Simon & Schuster for their lollipop wall and ended up with a contemporary YA called She’s the Worst by Lauren Spieller.

I then went to the Meg Cabot signing where she signed my copy of Shadowland, because I love love love The Mediator series by her.  After that was the Tarot Card game as described above, and then the signing for Holly Black.  She seemed really nice from the line, but sadly by the time I got to her it was 4:30 and the publishers were making her speed things up to move the line along so I only got a candid picture and didn’t get much time to talk to her.  Oh well.

After that I went and got a shirt at Out of Print because they were putting them on sale by then – I got an Elephant & Piggie shirt and I LOVE it.  And then Hoopla was doing a wheel spin still but the woman said it was closed.  I waited around though because they had sunglasses and from what I could see, plenty of them (I don’t know what it is about my sunglasses but they will last like a year and then will just randomly break when I like take them off or something.  I don’t get it.)  They reopened it and when I spun and got a popsocket I asked and they just switched it for the sunglasses.  Lol score.

And that was the end of BookCon 2019!!

Here are all the books I received/bought/brought to get signed:

And here is all the swag I got (well the Susan Dennard poster I brought with me for her to sign, and the V. E. Schwab poster my friend actually got for me lol)

Also my friend and I stayed in this hotel that looked so old fashioned we kept calling it the Tower of Terror and saying we were gonna get visited by a ghost or something.  It was awesome.

Overall I was happy because I got to most of what I wanted, saw most of the authors I wanted to see, and bought some really fun merch too.  Can’t wait for next year and to see who I might get to meet then!

BookCon 2019 |A Review Hey everyone! Sorry I've not been very active on here lately (glances at personal goals for the year guiltily), but I spent the last couple of months working on shows and prepping for BookCon. 

[cloud9consultive]

How Women TEST You & How To Handle It…

Why and how women test you…

A Congruency Test (or Shit Test) is when a woman gives a guy a hard time, usually for the purpose of seeing how he will react.

Upon first meeting, she may test to make sure you’re not a weirdo. Then she may test to see if you’re really as cool as you seem. She may also test to see if you are a good provider or lover.

If you have a positive response to her test, attraction will skyrocket.

If, however, you get offended or seem affected by her actions, attraction will plummet.

The test itself isn’t important.

What’s important is how you react to the test.

How to handle her test…

To pass the test, all you have to do is remain unmoved.

Never let her change your frame.

No matter what, ALWAYS respond with positivity and compassion… Or don’t respond at all.

This sounds good but…

How do you remain non-reactive when she says or does something to piss you off?

That’s easy… just drop your backpack.

Let me explain…

We all have what I call a “Backpack”.

It’s the place we store every negative, hurtful experience we have ever had in our entire life.

From being bullied in elementary school – to being rejected by women as an adult – and everything in between.

24 hours a day, 7 days a week, you carry a Backpack filled with everything that bothers you, irritates you, scares you, intimidates you, makes you angry, and pushes your buttons.

The stuff in your Backpack is the root cause of every negative emotion you experience… Including fear, anxiety, worry, hate, anger, jealousy, and sadness.

About Your Backpack…

Some people have a small Backpack.

I had one of those super huge “I’m going into the wilderness for a month like a crazy person” Backpacks.

My parents were physically and verbally abusive.

It really messed me up. So my backpack was huge.

There’s no excuse for abusing another person.  Especially a child.

But you should know my mother had me when she was 14. My dad was 17.

They both came from broken homes and suffered unimaginable abuse as children.

They had no idea how to raise a child.

I share this with you because I want you to know that even if you have a GIGANTIC Backpack, you can still let go of all that hurt and be free.

In the words of Siddhartha Gautama (The Buddha)…

“Holding on to negative emotions is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else. You are the one who gets burned.”

There are, in fact, several ways to drop your Backpack (i.e. release negative emotions).

Buddhist monks sat in the middle of the jungle all night surrounded by wild animals to release fear.

Fortunately, there are easier ways to rid yourself of negative emotions….

Here’s what Oprah had to say…

Oprah interviewed Michael Singer, author of, “The Untethered Soul.”

During the interview, Mr. Singer shared this release technique with Opera:

Step 1: Schedule some alone time when you can shut off your phone and be completely uninterrupted.

Step 2: Think of an annoying person or situation that bothers you and dwell on it.

Allow yourself to be completely consumed by the way it makes you feel.

(Start with something minor – not the worst thing in your life. You can work up to that.)

Step 3: Notice the emotion you are feeling.  Notice where the feeling is located in your body.

Step 4: Continue to feel the emotion as much as you possibly can.

Negative feelings can’t stand the clear light of awareness.

So give the feeling your undivided attention.

While you are feeling one emotion it may transform into another emotion before going away completely.

That’s ok.

Just keep feeling whatever emotion comes up until you don’t feel it any longer.

Step 5: Continue to feel it until the emotion completely goes away on its own.

Let the feeling rise up, expand, and dissipate.

Step 6: Repeat steps 1-5 for every negative emotion you experience (fear, anxiety, worry, hate, anger, jealousy, and sadness).

Also, repeat steps 1-5 for anything and everything that irritates you or pushes your buttons.

Going forward, the second you feel a negative emotion, instead of ignoring or suppressing the feeling, allow yourself to feel the emotion completely until it goes away on its own.

Doing this for every negative emotion will allow you to drop your Backpack and make you peaceful, loving, compassionate, non-judgmental, tolerant, and wise.

You will no longer feel negativity, making you the hardest person in the world to offend.

When you don’t get offended, you will easily be able to pass any test that comes your way.

As an added benefit, this exercise is also one of the first steps to creating a vibe of swag and confidence woman can’t resist.

Which is the foundation for attracting women without saying a word.

That’s a wrap… I hope you find the information in this article to be as life-changing as it has proven to be for myself and countless others. Goodbye for now and God Bless!

[shannrussell-blog1]

The first and second parts of this three-part series looked at issues relating to the vehicle, how to get to the Simpson Desert, possible itineraries, what to take and how to avoid any problems.

Barry and his convoy have now completed their adventure and are here to talk about everything else you need to know such as how much fuel you’ll need, what kind of animals you need to be wary of, and some suggested camping spots along the way!

A retrospective of our trip

We did it! Eight vehicles, sixteen adults and six kids. No tyre problems, minimal mechanical issues and apart from minor cuts and scratches, everyone safe and sound. Just like it should be and just like it can be for you with the right planning and preparation.

For almost two weeks in mid-June, the sun shone, winds were light, the days were pleasant and the evenings, although cold, were not freezing.

For me, this was crossing number three and from a driver’s point of view, the slowest but easiest. Slow because there were many undulations along the tracks that restricted speed, even in some of the flatter areas. Add to this a lot of bush dodging, the result of a number of years of good rainfall producing amazing growth that you might consider most “un-desert” like.

The easiest crossing because, again as a result of recent rains, the sand dunes were quite firm and compact. This, together with the right tyre pressure, made dune crossing much easier with most vehicles not requiring low-range, even at Big Red. Another positive side effect of this was a far better than anticipated fuel consumption – but more of that later. So, let’s look at the highlights.

Outback hospitality

As mentioned in part 2 of this series, our group decided to eat out for dinner when the opportunity arose.

So we had the pleasure of dining at Mt Dare Hotel, Birdsville Hotel, Mungerannie Hotel and the Copley Pub. In each of these places, the food was delicious, copious and very reasonably priced.

Other good meal experiences had by our group were lunch/snack at the Pink Roadhouse at Oodnadatta and breakfast and lunch at the Birdsville Bakery.

An absolute highlight was our evening at Mungerannie. The staff were entertaining and couldn’t do enough to make our stay fun. The kitchen coped with our large group exceptionally well and some of our team partied well into the night.

Simpson camping

It takes a while to get there, so make the best of it. Our plan included two full days where we stayed put and just enjoyed the desert, and what a great decision that was. On one of these occasions, we did not see another person for about 44 hours – ah, the peace, serenity and solitude. The kids could play, people went for walks around the dunes amazed at the growth and the incredible number of animal tracks and there was time for a sit-down, a read and even an afternoon back-bash.

Sometimes it is a challenge to find a good flat, clear campsite, especially with the amount of growth around, so here are three that were excellent, especially with a larger group:

On Rig Road about 15km east of Mokari airstrip – 26 19′ 14.9S 136 36′ 02.4E

Rig Road – 26 25′ 42.0S 137 24′ 09.0E

On QAA line – 25 57′ 22.5S 138 00′ 12.4E

Desert Creatures

Dingoes were quite common and kept a good eye on us, coming quite close to camp and wandering through during the night. Keep an eye on the kids, especially the littlies, and don’t leave anything outside the tent or vehicle at night.

Other unwelcome evening visitors were rats. These came right up to tents and swags and were prone to nibbling – on almost anything. Our two swag dwellers found some well placed small LED lights around the swags acted as a deterrent as they do not like the light.

The other precaution we took was to lift vehicle bonnets when arriving at camp to cool down the engine before nightfall. Rats can be attracted to warm places and nibble on vehicle wiring. A small LED light in the engine bay may also be a good idea. I had never encountered the rat problem in previous trips, doubtless another by-product of the excellent conditions.

Driving

For those who love driving, and 4WDing in particular, this is a great trip. In the main, all of the outback roads leading to and from the desert were in great condition – a credit to the road crews that constantly maintain them.

Lowered tyre pressures on these roads ensured a comfortable ride and a reduced risk of tyre damage. Not one tyre issue on our entire trip! That’s 32 tyres covering a combined 26500 km – we were very happy travellers.

The desert driving was excellent with the first steep dune crossing always being a bit of a “heart-in-mouth” moment. “Will I make it??” The exhilaration of going over the top is worth any initial angst and you soon learn to gauge speed and gear choice. Sometimes you might misjudge and not quite make the top. The key here is not to sit there spinning wheels and digging holes but stop and carefully back down the dune and try again.

I’ve mentioned it a lot, but tyre pressures are critical to success. 20psi proved to be a pretty good pressure in these conditions and although there were a few “second go’s”, everyone managed very comfortably.

Big Red

If you’re travelling east, this is the last and largest sand dune of the Simpson. Everyone has to have a go at trying to climb it. There is an alternative easier crossing available if this is not your thing, but for our group, the challenge was out.

Confronted with several options, the consensus was “straight up”. Everyone made it and the view from the top, which usually is a large flat expanse and the road into Birdsville, was instead an enormous lake. This is the result of the incredible rains in the area in recent times. A number of our vehicles repeated the feat with others at the wheel just to be able to say “I climbed Big Red”.

Fuel Consumption

As covered in the previous two articles, there are a number of logistical issues to be addressed for a successful crossing, a key one being fuel.

Keeping in mind that every crossing will be different and that ours was probably on the easier end of the scale, due to the moisture in the sand, the amount of fuel used

was less than anticipated. Our entire group had considerable reserves when arriving in Birdsville, but we were prepared for the worst and as you will know, those prepared are those who won’t get caught out.

Between Mt Dare and Birdsville our group covered 640km. Fuel usage was:

Hilux 3l turbo diesel auto – 106 litres

Landcruiser 100 4.7l V8 petrol auto – 154 litres

Jackeroo 3.5l V6 petrol auto – 143 litres

Landcruiser 100 4.2l turbo diesel manual – 101 litres

Pajero 3.8l V6 petrol auto – 141 litres

Landcruiser 200 4.5l V8 turbo diesel auto – 103 litres

Prado 4.0l V6 petrol auto – 120 litres

Landcruiser 100 4.2l turbo diesel manual – 112 litres

Toileting

Our group used a variety of options, most involving a hole in the ground with a variety of seat options that are available. A pop-up shelter provides the privacy. Ensure holes are dug at least 30cm deep and that toilet paper is burnt (supervise the children).

While travelling, a dash into the bush does the job.Ladies, take a zip-lock bag with you for used toilet paper and dispose of later. For the first time ever, I took a Porta Potti and it proved to be another effective and simple toileting option.

Water

On a trip like this, water is at a premium. One way to save is to use baby wipes to clean the nether regions and provide a good level of personal freshness and hygiene. When it comes to dishes, use paper plates and bowls which can also be used to light the fire after.

  Other useful information

Fly nets: Make sure you have them.

Fires: Bring your own wood, heat beads, briquettes, etc. There are still many old railway sleepers along the Oodnadatta Track so pick some up if you have space. Enjoy this luxury while you can as there is a proposed complete fire ban in some areas of the Simpson starting from 2013.

Trailers: I made my feelings clear about trailers in the first article – don’t bring them. However, there are still plenty out there, including some large and substantial camper trailers. Hauling these up fragile dunes is massively wearing on both the dunes and the vehicle. It’s also responsible for many of the scallops or potholes that impede progress when nearing a dune crest. I have little doubt that they will also appear on the banned list in due course.

Tarps: Great for providing shade, if you are spending some time camped in one spot, for giving a clean place for the kids to sit on to play games, and to put your clean gear on when setting up and dismantling camp.

Now, I got this idea from Graham Cahill, Editor of 4WD Action magazine, and he is one tough 4wding dude – so don’t laugh. The good old-fashioned stable table is great for eating a meal sitting around the campfire. Also great for the kids to use while travelling.

Well, there you have it, a brilliant trip with everything going to plan. The Simpson is accessible to anyone with a sense of adventure, a well-prepared vehicle and a couple of weeks to spare.

With all the rain in recent years the desert is at its best, so get out there and have a look.

Have you crossed the Simpson? Let us know, we want to hear about your adventure.

The post Crossing the Simpson Desert for Beginners (Part 3) appeared first on Snowys Blog.

[32flavasshoetique]

On Bridesmaid Hair, Makeup, Footwear and General Organization

On Bridesmaid Hair, Makeup, Footwear and General Organization

Don’t require a hairstyle you’ve never tried before. Don’t require makeup products you’ve never tried. Constantly ask for organic, normal makeup products (unless the bride has hyper-specific demands) and do your own hair in a fashion that feels comfortable. If you’re combining a mediocre gown with brand new locks and brand new makeup products all as well, you’re likely to look into a mirror and stay like, “Oh my God, who am I? ”

Most brides are versatile with regards to the method that you decide to do the hair on your head and makeup products, but whether they have a certain vision you don’t love, that’s merely another example by which it is best to draw it and choose the flow.

Wear comfortable footwear. Ask if any percentage of the night occurs on lawn, if so, don’t wear high, spiky heels. Some brides will request you to wear a particular footwear color, but often the dresses are for enough time so it doesn’t matter and it’s your decision. You’re likely to be a bridesmaid in many weddings, it may be well worth spending in go-to “bridesmaid shoes. Once you know”

A single day of, whenever everyone’s getting prepared in a single space, there’s just therefore much shit every-where. You can easily therefore effortlessly misplace your material. I might advise choosing a large part, making all of your things here, being deliberate about any of it. I’m sure therefore lots of people who’ve destroyed things amidst the chaos.

Additionally, despite the fact that the majority of the focus will be in the bride, don’t forget to deal with your self, mentally and actually. I became in a party that is bridal where another bridesmaid ended up being puking the whole time we had been preparing because she had a belly bug. (She wound up rallying for the ceremony, but she had been like, I can’t stand up there“ I was this close to going up to the wedding planner and being like. I’m sorry. ”) It’s ok to touch away if you want to, if not simply take a peaceful minute on your own an additional space.

On Financial Planning

Being a bridesmaid can be very costly. You need to obtain a dress, seats, a accommodation, a present (frequently numerous), as well as the price of taking place a bachelorette journey if you have one. If you’re able to start mentally (or literally) setting aside money for all of these things well in advance since you usually have some sense of which friends might ask you to be a bridesmaid and when they’re planning to get married, it can help ease the financial burden. Glance at your routine an out with weddings in mind and think about it logistically from both a financial and travel perspective year. I might additionally state if your bride is with in a situation to cover the dresses, that’s such something special into the bridesmaids. Exact exact Same for locks and makeup products. It’s a much nicer gesture than offering your bridesmaids a tote case or other forms of swag, which can be typical.

In the event that you can’t someone’s afford to be bridesmaid, you need to be truthful about any of it. canadian brides real If you’re concerned about any expense, communicate that. Don’t forget to provide her a $20 present. It’s fine, she’s perhaps perhaps not planning to fault you for that. She’s not being a good friend if she does.

On Her most remarkable Bridesmaid Disasters

Most memorably, at one wedding I became in, the bride got her dress with this boutique that is random along side it of the highway, also it didn’t arrive until six days prior to the wedding. She needed to do most of the fixtures within that time frame, that will be doable but tight. We decided to go to select the dress up and try it on 2 days prior to the wedding, and I was being taught by the woman how exactly to zip it and bustle it and all sorts of that. We heard a sound and the whole back of the dress sort of ripped open and basically fell apart as it was being zipped up. The bride’s mother had been like, “Okay, we must keep now. ” They took the gown to a regional tailor whom fundamentally stayed up for 36 hours and fixed it.

As a whole, probably the most challenging or possibly disastrous benefit of being truly a bridesmaid is being forced to manage your friend’s family relations. During certainly one of my friend’s weddings, I happened to be sitting along with her cousin ahead of the ceremony, and she looked to me while consuming champagne and told me she’d taken a Klonopin. I’d a moment that is brief of, but fortunately it ended up fine!

In the Worst benefit of Being fully a regular Bridesmaid

It may be actually exhausting. A marriage is an event that is long start with, but as being a bridesmaid you must make it happen early, you must just simply take times away from work, you will be up eight until midnight, etc. Then you will find frequently other activities that get along along with it, like rehearsal dinners and receptions and brunches, and also as a bridesmaid you form of need to be at complete convenience of every one with a grin in your face. Also if you’re thrilled to be there the theory is that, it nevertheless adds up.

Regarding the most sensible thing About Being fully a frequent Bridesmaid

You get lots of more time aided by the bride that no body else does. Contemplate it: at most of the weddings, no body really extends to go out using the bride. I recently decided to go to wedding being a visitor this previous week, and I also offered the bride a hug during the reception and saw her for an additional regarding the party flooring. That has been it!

On making use of exactly just What She’s discovered to Arrange Her Own Wedding

After being truly a bridesmaid 10 times and going to eight other weddings as being a visitor, We have a fairly clear sense of the things I want my very own wedding to check and feel just like. I’m very centered on making the brief minute that everyone else walks to the reception because energetic as you are able to. I do believe sometimes once the wedding couple head into the reception, it is type of anti-climactic. They have established, then they just take a seat. I do want to keep things experiencing positive.

I might also recommend maintaining the supper and speeches fast. When you yourself have an amazing presenter, provide them with free rein, but that is demonstrably rare. The tradition within the U.S. Is for the daddy associated with the bride, best man and maid of honor to offer speeches in the reception that is actual after which a short “thank you” message through the groom. I believe that tends to function pretty much, but needless to say every wedding, family members situation, you identify it really is a little various!

I’m going to complete a look that is first simply take the almost all pictures utilizing the marriage ceremony inside my moms and dads’ household before. Then afterward, we’ll do yet another shot with everyone during the reception it’s cool because it’s a different venue and. But that’ll take literally 5 minutes. Then every person can get obtain a cheese puff.

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[russellthornton]

Oneitis: The Unhealthy Effects of Falling Madly in Obsessive Love

We all know where the line “O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?” ended up. A oneitis obessesion can become that tragic.

Oneitis is used to describe someone who—like Juliet—is head over heels in obsession with someone else. It’s life or death. A hypnosis of the mind. There’s absolutely no one who could possibly be more ideal than this one person in the WHOLE WIDE WORLD.

When you’re in it, that person is your everything—god forbid if you lost them… You’ve won the lottery. What the two of you have is unlike anything seen in the cosmos. Or they’re your dream partner. You just know you’re meant to be together. If only they also felt the same…

Sorry to rain on your parade of Disney emotions, but Doctor Dex is here to diagnose whether you have the oneitis disease. And to prognosticate on your chances of surviving it if you do.

Definition of oneitis

Oneitis is a term that became popular in the seduction community and the manosphere in particular. ‘Itis’ is actually a medical suffix used to let you know a word describes an inflammatory disease. So ONEitis therefore means a disease of the only-one-person-out-there-for-me type of thinking.

When you contract a belief in ‘one person for me and I hope I find them’ you exclude the gazillions of other possible love options available to you. You also potentially become over-fussy, never able to settle with one person. [Read: How to stop obsessing over someone: The 12 things you must do]

Furthermore, if you get with your dream fantasy partner, you’ll have a crippling sense that if they ever left you’d be helpless. They have all the power because it’s a win-lose scenario. If they leave you lose. If they stay you win.

It’s quite similar to the infatuation phase of a new romance. Think Bella and Edward in the Twilight movie/book series. Your relationship becomes this thing that is more important than everything and anything IN THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD.

Signs and symptoms

Oneitis means different things depending on whether you’re feminine or masculine and whether you’re a guy or a girl. I’ll explain this in the prognosis section. With that said, let’s diagnose whether you have the disease and give you an idea of your outlook…

#1 You’re a forlorn poet. It’s hard for me to remember what it was like to be in oneitis because nowadays I see it as so lame. But when I was deep in the disease, like Romeo, I had this urge to capture the unique incomparable beauty of my partner. They were a ray of light and everything they did or didn’t do had a unique significance. I also felt a sense of somberness. [Read: Romantic attraction – How to know when you feel the real thing]

#2 You’re obsessed and unproductive. Everything reminded me of my partner when I had oneitis: foods they enjoyed, words with a syllable the same as their name. I’d find myself daydreaming about being with them. I let go of seizing other important areas of my life—they didn’t seem to matter.

#3 You exclusively listen to love songs. When you’re deep in oneitis you get tunnel-vision, lose your swag, and so no longer understand the language of ‘game.’

You’ve thrown out music that aggressively talks about money, success, and fame. Now you’ve got a whole playlist dedicated to how it feels to be in love. You hum ‘I think about you everyday’ to yourself.

#4 You’re needy. You’re on a drug. When you’re away from your partner you spiral downwards into a low mood. But being in their company is like being on a high. As long as you get your fix you’re good—though you sense it’s unhealthy. Your relationship feels less like enjoying a lovely meal and more like craving a sugar hit. [Read: 13 needy signs you’re too available for your partner]

#5 You’re not sure where you begin and they end. When you’re really bought-in to a person they heavily influence you. You start adopting their way of speaking, thinking, their opinions, interests–the list goes on. It may also seem like a cool thing to do.

#6 Your partner’s always right. You’re unable to think for yourself. So, in an argument or discussion you feel morally inferior and are more likely to bend.

#7 You’re frustrated and weak. I think anyone who knows the source of their personal ‘joy’ depends on something pretty much outside of their control *another person* feels inner frustration. You feel trapped.

#8 You feel powerless. First rule of any relationship: ‘the person who needs the other person least holds the most power in the relationship.’ When you have oneitis, you tend to give most of your power away like free candy. Until you’re a sniveling Mr. Smithers from The Simpsons telling Mr. Burns ‘I love you, arghhh, stop hitting me!’

#9 You’ll do anything #crazy. I once had 70+ missed calls by a girl that had oneitis for me. I was an unwitting asshole back then so I put it down to her being a crazy person. Truth is she was just crazy about us. [Read: 15 instant hacks to the put the crazy away]

#10 #desperate. Not good. Not good at all. Again, we want to be with winners—that’s a healthy way to approach life I think. Having other options, but selecting someone as your best option, is way more flattering than just choosing a partner out of desperation.

#11 You get easily bent out of shape. You need your partner to respond positively to you. Or to give you validation constantly. Your moods depend on how well your relationship is going. How you feel always comes down to how your partner is behaving in some way or another.

Prognosis

In a way, oneitis is a useful phenomenon. It makes you value one person enough to reduce your chances of being wooed by other third parties. This gives the two of you the chance to:

#1 Develop strong bonds that could last a lifetime.

#2 Focus on each other long enough to raise a family.

#3 Mature, so that you act in a way that benefits both you and your partner.

But here’s the WARNING…

Oneitis is probably more dangerous for guys. This is because women generally have far more romantic options than men do. And they’re innately better at being selective. So, they are far less likely to develop oneitis prematurely *unless they’re still in the Twilight Bella and Ed tween years of their life*.

It can still happen. Particularly when a woman seeks a man who is in say the top 10% compared to other men. But even the average woman automatically has several male suitors at any one time. More pickings for the kissing. [Read: Should you settle for less when you can have much more?]

By comparison, the average guy may have very few options. Scaaarce. So for the guy, developing oneitis most likely just makes him seem lame and unattractive. Not recommended!

Last point, feminine women are naturally more concerned with the flow of love. Partly because they have a more limited amount of time to raise children. Therefore, it might be paramount for them to develop oneitis—to select one best option from the many. Perhaps this is more important the more attractive she is.

There are roughly four stages of the disease:

#1 You lose your ‘game.’ Game, swag, sex appeal. Call it what you will. Losing your mojo is super dangerous. The masculine needs to worry about this far more than the feminine does.

For the feminine, they usually get hunted even when they’re married. Either way, it’s important to stay fresh. Think of Romeo and Juliet resorting to fake suicide because they did not have the skill-sets to create new options in their life.

When you feel boxed in, life gets real dark. Stay attractive, smooth, confident, self-assured, masculine/feminine. Keep that blade sharp. Keep that glow about you. [Read: Stop being socially awkward: 13 steps that’ll change you for good]

#2 You become the AFC. Becoming the Average Frustrated Chump in my opinion is a living tragedy. The second stage of losing your game—a near complete loss. It’s a state of quiet desperation, accepted helplessness. Being in oneitis makes you firmly hedge your chips on one person. When you’re not with them you feel torn up. But also you may accept being under-appreciated, under-sexed, or under-desired out of desperation.

If your partner flirts with others or seems dismissive with you and no longer excited to be in the relationship, you feel powerless and weak. Not a good place to be! [Read: How to reassure and win over a super-jealous lover]

#3 You become the unwise fool. Getting played for the fool can’t always be avoided. And it’s true for both men and women. But it’s especially true if you overlook warning signs. Are your friends and family telling you something negative about the person? Are they all saying the same thing? Maybe you just don’t want to hear.

Like the Montague and Capulet family beef in Romeo and Juliet, sometimes others are the ones with the issues. Maybe a friend is simply jealous of your relationship. But often, your single desire for one person blinds you to the realities of how that person behaves.

You also play yourself. Just think of the teacher-student affairs you read about in papers. Or huge divorce settlements after wild sudden romances. When you only see the positives in someone, it can be dangerous because you’re taking a gamble. This can lead to a broken heart, bitterness, and time-wasted. [Read: Fool me once shame on you – Don’t get fooled again]

#4 You never settle down. This one is dangerous for both men and women and particularly for women. In some ways, it’s the worst outcome. If you have this fantasy of the perfect one person you may never come across someone who measures up. You have unrealistic expectations of what it means to be in a relationship. You ignore the work and compromise and tolerance necessary for any healthy relationship.

[Read: Obsessive love: 15 ways to tell if it’s real or just unhealthy]

Obsession brings about amazing things. But it’s unhealthy to have unrealistic expectations of any oneitis person. You’re sure to be left disappointed and push partners away.

The post Oneitis: The Unhealthy Effects of Falling Madly in Obsessive Love is the original content of LovePanky - Your Guide to Better Love and Relationships.

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Appearing before the Dramacourt: Man to Man Eps 11 and 12.

***If this is your first time browsing The Drama Files, please read The Rules section first for our reviewing and rating system***

Issues:

Whether the Lovers Tactic was pretty cute.

Whether the Obvious Spy NIS Agent has the worst job ever.

Whether getting shot is what you need to move away from “fake” romance to “real” romance.

Whether slush funds are usually massive mountains of cash hidden in secret underground lairs with priceless art.

The Rule(s):

Yea it was pretty cute. *cue Park Hae Jin in a cute monkey suit*

Absolutely. This guy is asking to be a “I Hate My Job” meme.

Possibly. At least in the case of Sul Woo and Do Ha, it totally makes sense.

Not really. Aren’t they usually in the form of some secret code to a Swiss Bank account?

Analysis:

RedRosette J: I’ve decided to switch to the combo episodes format going forward because a) real life is catching up to me and I don’t have the time to write two posts and b) nothing really happens in one episode to warrant a single post. The things that really stood out to me in episode 11 was how Sul Woo and Do Ha were using the Lovers Tactic as a excuse to “date” and I’m not going to lie, even though I am not the biggest fan of their romance, it was pretty cute. There were also some revelations and escalations in episode 11 that moved the plot forward. There was the Father who shed some light on Agent Y’s situation and it comes to light the Spy Boss Jang is perhaps not the most honest and perfectly upstanding NIS agent. Donghyun becomes the subject of suspicion as the story progresses, although I find that hard to believe. In episode 11, the Russian mogul makes a comeback making a deal for Sul Woo’s head. While I believe that Spy Boss Jang is not the perfect individual we thought him to be, there is a bigger agenda at play and him shooting Sul Woo had something to do with that.

Making deals with the Devil like…

When your friend continues to do stupid stuff

When you know stuff is going your way

Retired Ghost Agents be like…

Dun dun dun

When your boss literally shoots you…

Tryna be casual like…

Episode 12 brings us more of Sul Woo and Do Ha being all lovey dovey (nothing like an illness/getting shot to bring lovers together). My favourite part was Sul Woo scrambling to explain to Donghyun why Do Ha was at his secret spy lair and Donghyun’s priceless “you ain’t selling this story brah” expression. These two are absolutely hilarious. There was also a lot of the political stuff happening in episode 12. They found the slush fund, which then in a weird turn of events, got “donated” to society. There were also incriminating tapes of public officials accepting bribes from the former Songsan CEO that Donghyun and Spy Boss Jang were busy discovering and arresting people over. It also turns out that Spy Boss Jang wasn’t a total evil meanie and that he was merely making a deal with the devil as Plan B because they were all caught in a tight spot. What was really surprising was Mi Eun stepping up to get Seung Jae out of his pickle and quickly proving to everyone that she is easily the smartest person in the room. Prosecutors included. I really really want to know what her agenda is!

The enemy of my enemy is my friend

When you can’t believe your friend betrays you

Spying on your friend like…

“I’m arresting you!”

Seriously cool aesthetics

When you’re in trouble but you know you’re going to get out of it…

The real brains of the outfit

Wtf man?

Oh shit….

Guys you’re being so obvious….

Riiiighhtt……

Congratulating yourself on the perfect plan!

Do bad shit and then hold a press conference. It’s all good.

Tbh, I found it really hard to get through these episodes and it took me the whole weekend to watch them. It might have had to do with the fact that the plot is predictable and extremely draggy. Is it just me, or does anyone else feel like most of the episode is the same stuff repeating over and over again?

Shmexy shmexy

Chilling on the throne like…

Issue 1: Whether the Lovers Tactic was pretty cute.

RedRosette J: Okay so I have to admit, the Lovers Tactic was pretty cute. Sure it may have been “fake” half the time but they were super cringey and adorable like most couples in the honeymoon phase. I did enjoy how they were both so happy to partake in this Tactic and even though they were desperately trying to convince everyone and themselves that it was just part of the mission, it was so so obvious that they were doing it because they just wanted to be with each other. It was kinda cute. I could even look past Do Ha’s cringey lines and attitude. Here’s a bunch of screenshots of them being cute:

Going on a “non-date” like…

When your crush does cute stuff like…

Getting the wrong idea like…

Being cringey like…

Those late night phone calls like…

Working an undercover mission like…

*swag*

When he gives you a ring like…

Issue 2: Whether the Obvious Spy NIS Agent has the worst job ever.

RedRosette J: Okay how great was this guy? Honestly this was the best part of the episode for me. He was absolutely hilarious as the guy being forced to tail Sul Woo and having to deal with their cringey PDA and having to stand outside in the cold. His “I Hate My Job” face is the best thing ever. He made me laugh so much. He definitely had the worst job ever. Check out his worst job ever faces:

Issue 3: Whether getting shot is what you need to move away from “fake” romance to “real” romance. 

RedRosette J: For Sul Woo and Do Ha, this was the best situation to really force them to accept their “real romance”. After having been faking it, a real life or death situation puts a lot of things into context and makes it easier for them to accept that they’re in love and that there’s no point in kidding anyone anymore. Plus, I think everyone knows except them! So for these two, getting shot is definitely what they needed!

“It’s all good, I just got shot honey”

When you can’t believe the shit that’s been happening lately…

When you’ve been shot and everyone is fussing

Ooohh la la

This actually seemed like a real kiss

Watching dramas together like…

Angling for a kiss like…

Issue 4: Whether slush funds are usually massive mountains of cash hidden in secret underground lairs with priceless art.

RedRosette J: This is not usually how slush funds work. At least not in most spy movies I’ve seen. Slush funds are usually in random Swiss Bank accounts with complicated passwords and such and are not generally huge mountains of cash sitting in temperature controlled underground rooms. I feel like that’s more of a convenience issue rather than anything else. Just imagine, its so much harder to move your slush fund if it is actually taking up physical space! You’d need people to move it and that’s a bad idea. I guess it totally makes sense why slush funds would not be so concrete so to speak. It was interesting however, to see what a trillion won looked like and its about the size of a giant shipping pallet. Interesting.

This just seems pointlessly costly

A Swiss Bank account probably would have been cheaper

RedRosette J Aside: And today I give you….Donghyun the Janitor!

Dopest janitor ever!

Conclusion: Appeal Allowed.

Rating: 3 = MM. Okay. Fine (Mostly because I tolerated the cute stuff in episode 10)

File No: Man-to-Man-EPs-11-and-12 Appearing before the Dramacourt: Man to Man Eps 11 and 12. ***If this is your first time browsing The Drama Files, please read The Rules section first for our reviewing and rating system***