Design
You've probably already figured this out by now, but I am a hopeless romantic ♥ I am in love with love, and OTPs (one true pairing) own me. So I've decided from the start to feature only these dearest otps on hatsukoi.
Version one
Blooming features Sagara Sousuke & Chidori Kaname, from the anime and manga series, Full Metal Panic, created by Shouji Gatou. Launched on July 25, 2006.
When I think of first loves, I think of pastels and innocence, so I wanted to create something dreamy and along those lines. I initially angsted over which pairing would grace hatsukoi's first layout, and this indecision, as well as a lack of inspiration, contributed to the delay of the domain's opening.
Months passed, and then one not-so-special day in June 2006, I was drooling over this yummy scan when I was suddenly filled with motivation to work on the site. I didn't particularly have anything in mind for the design, so a lot of things on the layout was random or accidental ^^u The most painstaking part was cleaning the scan up, and my favorite aspect would probably be the color scheme~ it made me happy working with such soothing and gorgeous colors :D
The lyrics on the layout comes from a line in Ai Araba ~It's All Right~ by Morning Musume, and it was also the inspiration behind the domain name. I've got it both in Japanese and English there: hatsukoi wo shita toki, doushitara ii no ka wakarazu no, which means what are you supposed to do when you fall in love for the first time? I thought it was really sweet, and fit Sousuke and Kaname's situation here perfectly XD
The theme of version one was inspired from the rose that Sousuke is holding out for Kaname. They are not only a symbol of love and beauty, but I thought it was a nice metaphor that just like the rose, their relationship is gradually blooming as well ♥