The Princess's Garden:My Little Pony Project 2012

A collage of just a few of the featured ponies on display in the gallery

Having grown up in the 80's, My Little Pony was an obsession for me. I remember clipping my Pony Points from the cardboard toy cartons to scrounge and save up for the exclusive Ember. Every year for Christmas, my Wish List was filled with different ponies and their homes. You couldn't get across my room with getting a unicorn or pegasi underfoot. Though to be honest, not much has changed (you can ask the warlock) and while I am still a fan of the original series I grew up with, I am also a big fan of the new series as well.

So as you can imagine, when my dear friends Victoria and Dalin told me about the the My Little Pony Project, I jumped at the chance to join them.

The project is an art gallery featuring large pony sculptures which have been decorated by various artists. In addition to the gallery, there was an adorable salon where you could get your hair braided and decorated with sparkly clips and colorful extensions, as well as a pop-up shop where you could buy merchandise such as trading cards, posters and t-shirts. I ended up walking away with a Fluttershy hoodie since she's my favorite pony.

Me with my personal favorite, the Hime+You Pony

For the big day, my friends and I decided to go all out in fabulous fairy kei-lolita style. We went over the top with glitter, ribbons and frills. I even got to don my new unicorn horn which I recently purchased at the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire.It was a fun ride on the subway and I ended up with a fan section of a bunch of fellow Capricorns who I took pictures with. Hey, it's not every day a pink-haired unicorn girl rides the train with you, right? It was one of those memorable New York City moments, for sure.

Victoria, Dalin and I with the 6%DokiDoki Pony

When we finally arrived, I was blown away by how unique each artist had made their pony. There was so much color and imagination in each and every one. We were welcomed with open arms by the staff who all enjoyed our equally vibrant attire.A bunch of the kids and staff came over and got pictures with us and we even got to talk to a representative from Hasbro named Elizabeth who we chatted with about our love for the series and our desire to have it released on DVD (please, please, please!).

But the best part of the day for me was just being able to hang out with my friends and indulge in a sparkly day full of pure joy. Because after all, friendship is magic.

Gaming by Gaslight: Misogyny in Geek Culture

I realize that this blog has been dead for quite some time, and both the Warlock and I apologize for that. With our hectic schedules, our posts are few and far between. I was not planning on writing an article any time soon, to be honest. However, after a recent discussion on a fan site got my hackles up, I have been inspired to write this article.

It started with a simple wish I verbalized. On a favorite fan site of mine, a video game preview was posted. It was a game I was looking forward. One which was based on one of my fandoms. After seeing that neither of the two PCs were female, I made a comment lamenting about this and how the video game industry often glazes over the female population of gamers. In the source material from which the video game is drawn from, there are an abundance of interesting, multi-faceted female leads that play huge roles in the story. As such I was surprised and saddened that they game designers choose to have their two male PCs both be male. What came next was an even greater shock.

My comment was responded to by another poster saying I was “very unreasonable” for having that reaction. That I “can’t demand that all games with more than [one] protagonist has an equal amount of male and female characters” and that surely I “must see how unreasonable this is”. This was perhaps one of the biggest and most overt sexist comments I have ever been targeted by in my geek community. I was caught completely off-guard by it. Here I am, a geek trying to reach out and bond with my fellow fans (in a community that surely has similarly felt bullied and ostracized from the rest of the population) only to be told that my opinion was irrelevant, invalid and “unreasonable”.  Talk about a slap in the face! I half expected to be told to go back to the kitchen.

At first, I felt stupid. I began to question myself - Was my opinion really that unreasonable? Then I paused and sat back, looking over my request in context to the game and the source material. No. I wasn’t being unreasonable. The fandom has a large portion of female fans and the canon has a large portion of lead female characters. My request was not without reason. It was rational and valid. And here someone was in my own community trying to make me invalidate my own opinion. My own perception. My own reality. I had just been gaslighted.

The term gaslighting was coined from the play Gas Light by Patrick Hamilton in which the husband of the main character starts to subtly alter his wife’s environment in order to make her go crazy. Included in these tactics, he dims the gas lights in their home and when she mentions it, denies her perception to make her question herself and her reality. The term is now used as a psychological abuse tactic that the aggressor uses against another to make them question themselves. It makes the victim question themselves and their beliefs. To quote an article found here, “Those who engage in gaslighting create a reaction—whether it’s anger, frustration, sadness—in the person they are dealing with. Then, when that person reacts, the gaslighter makes them feel uncomfortable and insecure by behaving as if their feelings aren’t rational or normal.” This tactic, while it can be found in any relationship, is frequently used by misogynists against women. It is something I never expected to encounter in my own community; a community that I had once thought to be liberal, forward thinking and embracing of people with all backgrounds.

This, of course, spurred an intense discussion among the online community and my friends about sexism in geek culture, specifically related to the video game and comic book industries. Something which was pointed out by a few people, was that females are much more willing to play male characters without complaint while it is not true of the flip side. As such, the industry choses to cater to male audience over female audiences and develops and markets games accordingly. The same can be found in literature. In a writer conference I attended, it was discussed that children’s writers tended to choose male protagonists because females are more willing to read stories with both male and female leads while males tend to read more stories with male protagonists. As a result, we frequently find fewer female characters represented.

In the video game and comic book industry, when we do see female characters we often see them portrayed as objectified and hyper-sexualized as love interests or trophies. Is it any wonder that a number of women don’t want to join in? Can you see how uncomfortable that makes ladies out there?

Granted we are seeing more and more examples of stronger and more developed female characters in the market. And that’s great, but I see potential for more.

A friend of mine countered me by asking if I felt that these industries are the cause of sexism in the population, and if so, isn’t that essentially the same as saying that violent video games cause violent behavior? No, it is not the industry’s responsibility. The industry is one that caters to fantasy, sure. However, I think we as individuals should strive to each act in a socially responsible manner. That starts with how we treat one another and continues with what we choose to support. For example, I do not buy video games which portray women in such ways. I vote with my wallet. I do not believe in censorship, but I will not support misogyny.

And so my fellow fanboys and fangirls, geeks and gamers, all I ask is to please be mindful. Please be aware of your behavior. Of what you say and do to others. Of what you are supporting. This goes both ways – males and females alike. Let’s not isolate one another by attempting to invalidate each other’s opinions and perceptions in such abusive an abusive manner. Many of us are considered outcasts and deviants enough already. Do we really need further segregation? Is sexism something we, as a community, want to continue to support?  I urge each of you out there to be aware and behave in a socially conscious manner.

As one poster followed up, the ESA reports that 42% of the gamer population is made up of females. While the majority of gamers are still male, 42% is a rather large chunk. We are almost half of the population! Shouldn’t we deserve equal representation? I think so and I fail to see how asking for it is unreasonable.

The Princess's Garden: Cosplay vs. Lolita

Costume or Fashion - Some can't tell the difference

A friend recently sent me a flyer for a cosplay event featuring a lolita theme, because she knows of my interest in lolita fashion and also my previous history of cosplay. A month ago, another friend pointed out a group of maid cosplayers dancing on stage at a local event saying, “Oh hey look at the lolitas”. I’ve heard other stories about lolitas at events in which cosplayers swarmed them and tried to start discussing anime with them. It struck me how people outside of these two subcultures often lump these subcultures together. What’s more amazing to me is how people within these communities sometimes try to group them together when they are two totally different geekdoms.

For reference, cosplay stands for “costume play”. It is a subculture revolving around making and wearing costume replicas of various fandoms, popularly associated with anime and manga.  Lolita on the other hand is, to quote LolitaFashion.org, “a Japanese street fashion inspired primarily by the clothing and general aesthetics of the Rococo and Victorian periods”.

The key words here are “costume” and “fashion”. While both subcultures revolve around clothing and originated in Japan, cosplay deals with costumes and lolita fashion about actual day-to-day wearable clothing. For cosplayers, the interest is focused on the fandom they are portraying and for lolitas, the interest is in a specific style of fashion. The dynamic divide which exists between these two groups has generated two emerging stereotypes – the annoying cosplayer and the bitchy lolita.

On the cosplayers side, they look to the lolitas and see girls (and boys, mind you) dressed in Japanese street fashion. They can relate to them – they both have a love of something originating from the same place and they aren’t afraid to go out in public dressed differently. And hey, even some of their favorite anime characters dress like that too!  It’s easy for the cosplayer to assume that they must share similar interests, hobbies, and fandoms (usually anime). However, sometimes the response is a rude rejection – a few terse words and a verbal slap to the face for daring to group the two together.

On the other side, here the lolita is dressing up day to day in her fashion of choice. Lolita fashion is her wardrobe. She endures society’s constant critical eye watching her with people taking her fashion as a joke. Society tries to tell her that what she is wearing is a costume and not a true fashion, a misconnection she continuously tries to clear up. And then she has to watch as all the hard work she’s done to get her fashion taken seriously be thrown out the window by a costume based subculture trying to bring them under the same banner.

For the cosplayer, she has only extended an olive branch of friendship as a way of banning together as fellow geeks and doesn’t understand the rejection. For the lolita, she is upset that assumptions are being made about her based solely on her clothes. And like the cosplayers who may make the assumptions that lolitas must like anime too, there are lolitas who make the assumption that cosplayers don’t understand the distinct differences between their two subcultures.  Obviously not all cosplayers and lolitas are the same. In fact, there are plenty who engage in both subcultures. But as a person who dresses in lolita fashion and who has once been involved in the cosplay community, I personally wish people would distinguish between the two subcultures. However, I think this can be done without getting flustered and rude about making the distinction. I think this needs to be something both subcultures work on – the cosplayers shouldn’t leap to assumptions that all lolitas share the same interests as them and the lolitas need not react in such a negative way if and when those assumptions are made.

Speaking from a lolitas point of view, I think it’s in the best interest of my fellow rufflebutts to keep calm and be polite when they are faced with this sort of assumption whether it’s from a cosplayer or someone outside of both subcultures. Yes, we do want our street style to be recognized as a legitimate fashion and not a costume. But snapping at others and making rude comments doesn’t help us look any better. We do not need our reputation to be one of elitism or rudeness. The best way to handle this situation is to calmly explain the differences between the two groups, educating them without chastising them for not being able to tell the difference. Because you know what? For many people not familiar with these groups, they look the same – they see a bunch of girls dressed in colorful and unusual clothing that looks reminiscent of something they might see in a cartoon. A girl dressed as Sakura Kinomoto might look the same as a girl wearing an Angelic Pretty dress. Don’t beret them for it. Simply educate them as politely as possible. And if a hyperactive cosplayer comes over and wants to discuss anime with you and anime isn’t your thing, again – be polite. It’s not hard just to smile and explain that you aren’t familiar with their interests. Either they will go away or you will find a common ground and maybe make a new friend. There’s no need to be condescending. We’re all geeks. We’re all different. No one hobby or interest is better than another. And at the end of the day, we all deserve to be accepted, by our fellow geeks more than anyone else.

Princess's Garden: Etsy for the Gamer Girl

One of my favorite places to shop is Etsy.
It is my guilty pleasure for indulging in homemade, crafty goodness.
I can easily spend hours scouring through all the different shops.
I've had alot of luck at finding some very wonderful artisans who create fine products at very reasonable prices, especially for gamer type products. So I thought I would make a fun little treasury with a "gamer princess" theme, for all my fellow princesses out there. Enjoy!




I don't know about you, but I have my eyes on those hair sticks!

You can also view the full treasury listing here.
Of course, Etsy is not just for the ladies. There are plenty of awesome stuff for guys too.
It's definately worth checking out for unique gifts.

Etsy works through PayPal and they have great customer service.
If you plan on shopping though, make sure to look over the sellers feedback.
While the majority of the artisans are great and easy to work with, sometimes things happen and you want to make sure you are purchasing from a reputable seller, so always check before committing to buy.

Jones Soda Spellcasting Soda

Mmm, tasty, tasty material components

If you don't already know about Jones Soda's line of D&D of sodapop, then you should definately check it out!

They come in a 6-pack variety pack for $10.99 and a 12-pack variety pack for $18.99.

The Warlock got the 6-pack for his birthday last year. The are pretty much standard sodas with fancy themed labels. They make for good gifts (bribes >.>) for GMs or for breaking out during special climactic games (what better way to celebrate the death of that dracolich than with an ice cold Dwarven Draught in your hand?).

And for you crafty gamers out there, you can always use the empty bottles to decorate... Perhaps as a vase to hold flowers for that special someone who puts up with you talking about all those epic adventures of your 14th level ranger... just sayin'.

BPAL Launches RPG Based Scent Series



Ah, I love the smell of critical hits in the morning!

A while back, we featured a Gamer's Grimoire article on incorporating scent into your gaming experience as an added sensory effect. In said article we also mentioned Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab's wonderful assortment of scents available on their site.

Well now, it appears that they have launched new series with an RPG theme!
The Princess is most certainly eyeing the "Elf" oil blend, while The Warlock's affection seems torn between "Mage" and "Evil". 

Which one do you fancy?

The Princess’s Garden: An Open Letter to Ginia Bellafante of the New York Times

I'll have my sword AND my tiara, thank you very much!

Dear Ms. Bellafante,

After reading your recent article, "A Fantasy World of Strange Feuding Kingdoms", which reviews the upcoming HBO series, A Game of Thrones, I felt compelled to comment.

I found this review to be offensive to fantasy lovers, particularly female fantasy lovers. Now, I will state for the record that yes, I am a fan of fantasy, I am a fan of George R.R. Martin's "A Song of Ice and Fire" series, and yes I regularly play D&D and LARP. However, the way you come off in your article you seem to attack the idea that females cannot enjoy these things and if they do that somehow makes them not feminine. Fantasy, this one or otherwise, is not gender specific. It is an interest just as RPGs are a hobby. It may not be something you are interested in, fine. But please do not presume all because you personally don't consort with women interested in the fantasy genre, that we aren't out there and those that are, are somehow flawed in some way. In fact, most of the fantasy lovers I happen to know (male and female alike) are very well-read, intelligent, creative and poised people. You may wish to consider having more of an open mind if you are to make judgment calls and critiques about things you are not familiar with. You are a writer. Do your research. It's part of your job.

Furthermore, from your jumbled piece I fail to understand exactly what it is that you do not enjoy or appreciate about the show. The message you sent with your review comes off as "I don't like fantasy, no woman out there could possibly like fantasy over any other genre, and this is just a fanboy service show to watch naked wenches." That is not a constructive nor professional review. What exactly didn't you like? What the quality of the writing poor? Were the performances stilted? Was the story too confusing and/or too contrived?

Now you may be under the impression that as a fan of the series, I am just giving you are hard time. But I assure you that is not the case. I am very interested in hearing about reviews (both positive and negative) from critics who are new to the story. I like hearing about what aspects of the production work or don't work for you and why they do or do not.

All I ask is that next time you write a review please refrain from making such sweeping generalities and attacks on a fan base and on my gender. That is not what you are supposed to be writing about - you are supposed to be reviewing the product and telling us specifically what merits and/or flaws the product has. End of story.

The Princess Comments:

Yes, I did send that email to Ms. Bellafante after reading her poorly written article in the New York Times. Here are a few quotes from the “review” (if you can even call it that based on what little journalistic merit it actual has):

“The true perversion, though, is the sense you get that all of this illicitness has been tossed in as a little something for the ladies, out of a justifiable fear, perhaps, that no woman alive would watch otherwise. While I do not doubt that there are women in the world who read books like Mr. Martin’s, I can honestly say that I have never met a single woman who has stood up in indignation at her book club and refused to read the latest from Lorrie Moore unless everyone agreed to “The Hobbit” first. “Game of Thrones” is boy fiction patronizingly turned out to reach the population’s other half.”

Excuse me? So because I am female, I can’t like fantasy? And if I do, does that make me somehow strange, flawed or defective in some way? Or unfeminine? Articles like this and people like Ms. Bellafante are part of the reason why the Warlock and I have this blog. To show the perspectives of two fantasy lovers – one male, one female.  

Ms. Bellafante you have offended me as a geek and but what’s more, as a woman.

What is it to you that makes someone feminine? Do I have to watch “Sex in the City”, have only girlfriends, shop at the Gap, carry a Prada bag, only watch rom-coms, drink cosmopolitans and spend my free time reading Nicholas Spark novels? Because while that great for some women, that is not who I am. And while I will not make judgments on those ladies, I want the same respect and not have you judge me on my own merit as a woman.

Because some days this princess gets dolled up in lolita fashion, while other days she runs around in a Slytherin t-shirt, hoodie and jeans. She drinks both mint flavored bubble tea and beer (not together, mind you).  She has a collection of graphic novels, RPG manuals and children’s books. She gives to charity and does volunteer work. She spends her time running through forests pretending to be an Elven warrior, while sometimes she has tea with her friends. She is a fabulous, happy and intelligent and I wouldn’t have it any other way. If by your definition enjoying fantasy makes me less of a woman in your eyes, then maybe it is you who are flawed and not me and not all the other women out there like me.

(note: pic from weheartit)

How to Hook a Princess

The Warlock's notes on how he caught his Princess.

So you want a princess of your very own, huh? Well if kidnapping or coercion isn’t your style, here are a few tips on how to go about courting a scene girl especially if she’s in a subculture you are not very familiar with.

The Gamer

The Princess says:

Maybe you saw her at a convention, or maybe she’s a new girl in your gaming community. Whatever the case may be, her hobby makes her very accessible since gaming is a social hobbythat anyone can participate in.    If she’s in your local gaming scene, then you’ll probably have a good chance to get to know her. If she’s at a convention, try to get involved in a game she’s playing in.

Play it cool with a gamer girl. She’s likely just as much of a fan as you are and probably just as eager to discuss the pros and cons of 3.5 vs Pathfinder. Treat her like an equal. Just because she’s a girl doesn’t mean she doesn’t know what she’s doing. I’ve seen plenty of guys make the mistake of assuming I don’t know anything about a given game based purely on the fact of being female. It can be very frustrating. If you happen to be involved in a game with her, an easy opener is using the game or her character as a conversation opener. Try to avoid instantly going into your character and all your war stories. Give her the chance to speak. Get her going enough and you may score a phone number.

The Warlock says:

Ok, so you found the girl that does want to hear about your 20^th level paladin, or at least will listen, so don’t over react!  The worst thing to do is overwhelm her, you want her to be able to open up .  Ask about her gamming experiences, ask about what games she likes, what her favorite characters are.  Give her plenty of time to tell you about what she likes.  Then once you have some footing  try to find ways to compare your experiences with hers.  You already have a lot of similarities if your both gamming, so try to find ways to cement that.  You want her to look at your similarities not differences.  Gamming can create some intense emotional experiences, find out what some of hers are, and then try to link it to one of your.  Now you have a linked strong emotional experience in both your minds, try to find a few more common grounds, and she’ll start to think you were made for each other.  Make sure she knows how to get into your other games, but don’t insist, just leave the comparison from her old game to this new one so entice her.  

The Lolita

The Princess says:

Tread carefully when pursuing a lolita. As someone who in actively involved in this scene, I can say to you with confidence that lolitas are very wary about being approached by strangers. And with good reason – we’re constantly the target of creepers and random people shouting insults at us on the streets because of our unique fashion sense. Please understand that this causes us to be more on the defensive when we’re out and about.

The first thing is not to assume that just because she is a scene girl does not necessarily also mean that she’s also into anime or gaming. Some are, yes. But not all. Lolitas appreciate sincerity and genuine displays of interest. Try starting off by complimenting her and follow up with a remark about how refreshing it is to meet someone who is willing to be themselves contrary to what popular media dictates. This will win you major brownie points. Saying something along those lines shows her that you are accepting her for who she is. Acceptance and validation are something many lolitas sadly lack in both society and their personal lives, so hearing this will certainly warm her up to you. From there feel to ask questions, just make sure to keep them respectful and be aware that she may be a bit guarded at first.

The Warlock says:

This one requires a bit of leg work, but if you put the time in at the beginning this one should a bit easier in execution.  Learn fashion.  Watch Project Runway, read a fashion magazine, or if you corner cutter (not a good plan here) at least watch The Devil Wears Prada.  Lolita’s know their fashion so faking it just won’t work.  Once you know a bit work on complementing the clothes.  Ask “Is that Innocent World?” or “Did you see Angelic Pretty’s last fashion show?  They had a dress very similar to that….”.  You don’t need to be an expert they’ll forgive you if you can’t tell Baby The Stars Shine Bright from Victorian Maiden, but the fact that you’re not ignorant of their life style is a great foot in the door (In fact if your clever enough to actually know the difference, you may want to make the mistake anyway, her correcting you should take longer than her just saying yes, giving you more face time to make yourself memorable)  Once you establish that you are 1) not making fun of them, and 2) know what they are about it should be easy to get them to talk to you.  For extra brownie points brush up on Victorian etiquette and use it whenever you can. 

  

The Cosplayer

The Princess says:

For the most part, you’re likely to meet a cosplay girl at a convention. Luckily, she’s displaying her fandom out in the open, so that gives you the opportunity to discuss a potential mutual interest right there. If she’s dressed out as a character from a video game series, you can ask her what she thinks of the newest game. It’s nice to be approached by someone who is interested in your thoughts and not the skin tight body suit you’re wearing.

Which brings me to the next point – her eyes are located on her head not her chest. Keep your sight above shoulder level. She’s likely been stalked around by shady characters with cameras all day. The last thing she wants is to have to deal with more lewd stares. Also remember that the more physically attractive and more revealing her attire is, the more frequently she has to deal with this behavior. 

The Warlock says:

Cosplayers are a bit eclectic so you’ll have to be a bit careful on your approach.  Fortunately if you around them, there is probably a group so you should have a few chances.  We’ll start with average/not revealing everything cosplayer.  Most of them are out going, expressive, and excitable.  Be very excited about their costume.  They did a GREAT job on it, IT’S AMAZING!!!!!  Working  in a little physical contact, such a feel of the sleeve, or closer look at a head piece is a great way to get in close and intimate fast.  Physical contact is a tricky situation but, they are usually used to being glomped so you should be good as long as you don’t just start caressing them or something.  After that try to find out what their other interests are besides the show.  Do they only like anime, do they love video games, are they any other category listed in this article.  Once you know what else they are like try to use that to build conversations on.  You want to stand out, and everyone is talking about their costume already so you need to talk about something else they like.  

Now onto the Poison Ivy/ Darth Talon/Is-that-just-a-pasty? cosplayer.  Boy are you not the first guy to hit on her, and yes she is sick of it by now.  So you have to make her come to you.  If she’s in the costume she knows who it is, and is probably as knowledgeable as you.  Use that.  Make a comment about the costume, but DON’T complement it.  “Really the costume from issue 18….bit overdone don’t you think?”  “Is that a wig?” (If it looks real NOT if it’s obviously a wig)  “Did you think about using liquid Latex for those scars?”  Make her defend the costume.  Make her interested in the fact that you’re not going out of your way please her like everyone else.  If you can open it to other critiques of the costume.  You don’t want to insult her but try to find neutral comments that make her fish for meaning, and therefore talk to you. 

The Rennie 

The Princess says:

Check out any local Renn Faire and you’re sure to find a flock of ladies with their bosoms half spilling from their tightened corsets. It’s an immediate allure for sure, and pair that with their fondness for bawdy songs and beer and you have yourself the chance for a potential vivacious and fun loving partner.

Like the Cosplayer, Rennie ladies (or wenches, as some refer to themselves as), are used to being gawked at by passersby. They’ve also probably heard every come on there is in the book. Futhermore, Rennies tend to keep to themselves when it goes to relationships. Faire workers and faire regulars are infamous for having a rather incestuous social scene. To get her attention you’ll need to stand out from the crowd without coming off as a total creeper. Rennies tend to appreciate witty humor, devilish charm and intelligence, so cleverness is the way to go for a first move. Try pulling aside a roaming rose seller and asking him/her to deliver a rose to her for you.

The Warlock says:

The fastest way to catch one is to be one, or at least seem to be one.  Like the Lolita this requires a bit of leg work.  You don’t have to have everything memorized, but learn a drinking song or two, review “medieval”  English vernacular (you don’t have to use it, but be able to follow it, and laugh at jokes) , and build up your tolerance for drinking.  You don’t necessarily need to be in costume or “garb” but it helps.  Don’t go half way though.  If it’s going to be a ruffled shirt with jeans and a Yankee cap don’t bother.  Just dress normal and be yourself.  If you’re going to wear garb then go and get a whole set and show your really invested.  The last thing you need is some gimmick, to help separate you from the rest of the pageantry.   If you can juggle, or ride a unicycle or do card tricks then great.  Lug that stuff around and make an impression.  If not try to find some obscure historical facts, memorize them and then drop them when you can.  This should be enough to get you started, but you’ll probably need to really learn stuff if you want things to continue.     

Closing thoughts

The Princess says:

There are a few universal tips when it comes to pursuing any lady. First, we can smell  desperation from a mile away. Women respond to confidence. That’s why you see so many of them with jerks. Don’t be a jerk, but do try to carry yourself with pride.

Second, give her space. Emotionally and physically. If you’ve made your move, chances are she’s picked up on it. If she’s interested, she will respond, if she doesn’t, let her go. Additionally, when approaching any girl, please don’t invade her personal space and do not make physical contact. Most women find that very invasive and may be freaked out. So please respect herpersonal space.

The Warlock says:

Be memorable.  Find ways to have a conversation, and make her think.  The more face time you can get the better.  Don’t be embarrassed by any of your likes and show interest in all of hers.  You need to be confident and show you are compatible.  Spend the extra money on good “garb” or clothes (at least 3 of the 4 Princess here are dressing up regularly) If you don’t look like you care about your clothes, then way would you care about theirs?  Don’t walk around in a ripped T-Shirt even if it does show how old school you are.  And last practice.  You don’t have to hit on every girl you see, and you don’t need to be hitting on someone to practice.  Just use the tips above to talk to girls about your hobby without wanting or needing it to go anywhere.  You’ll both get a fun conversation and you can get over any jitters you have about talking to girls.  Then when the time comes that you’re looking for that special someone’s number you can be more relaxed about it.  

(Or just make your own princess here!)