Ranking the Tootsie Fruit Chew Flavors

The morning after trick-or-treating as a child, after our mother had the opportunity to inspect our candies for malicious poisons, illicit tampering, and to sneak a few from our bags like the fantastic Midwestern mother she is, my sister and I would be handed our neon orange pumpkins filled to the brim. Filled with childish excitement, we would rush to the living room carpet amid urgent orders from our mother to eat only one and spill our bounty all over the floor for sorting and trading. As long as I can remember, the color fruit flavored Tootsie chews had been scattered among the other treats.

Among the trading and sorting of our post-Halloween excursion, there was certainly a not-at-all-subjective grading system for those colorful rolls in my child self’s eyes. That system can also be seen in use today as I leave certain colors in the bag they came in and consume others almost immediately. Below I have ranked the five flavors of the fruit flavored Tootsie chews.

This is only considering the basic five fruit flavored Tootsie chews and not the standard Tootsie roll, other assorted fruit flavors from over the years, nor any other Tootsie products. Please let me know if you agree with my ranking below!

#5 – Vanilla Flavored Chew

Walking through a Yankee candle store, sniffing every available candle on the shelves, I’ve never had the urge to eat a single one of them. However, I’m positive if I had ever given it a go, the vanilla scented one would taste eerily similar to the vanilla flavored Tootsie chew. This ivory roll wrapped in a deceptive blue wrapper even looks a bit like candle wax. Well, wax that’s been soaking in imitation vanilla extract for roughly sixteen years. Eating them is a bit like cooking with vanilla extract, actually. You think at first that you might need a bit more, but it turns out that the first was far more than enough already. Thank you vanilla chew for being the only one that neither my sister nor I really wanted to touch.

Image from Tootsie Roll Industries via tootsie.com

#4 – Lemon Flavored Chew

While I could understand being confused by the blue wrapper on the vanilla chew as a child, but I don’t understand why my child self avoided this one thinking that it was vanilla since the wrapper is lemon and brown. This pale yellow treat tastes a bit more like a lemon animal cracker than a proper lemon, which is perfectly fine in the context of a candied dessert. The lemon taste is a bit muted to me, but after sharing a bite with the sweet young lady I was babysitting the other day (thanks Georgie!), it was enough to make her five-year-old palette pucker. It did leave a strange aftertaste and texture in my mouth for a while after eating that was incredibly unpleasant, so for that reason, it’s further down on this list.

Image from Tootsie Roll Industries via tootsie.com

#3 – Orange Flavored Chew

This chew, and anything else remotely orange flavored, was my resolute favorite when I was young. If ten-year-old me had been handed a bag of these, a bottle of Sunkist, and a bowl of orange Jell-O, I would have done anything you asked. Except, perhaps, my math homework. However, as an adult, I find this once favored orange cylinder of perfection to no longer be so perfect. It actually rings far too sweet and I’m no longer able to taste as much of the orange I remembered so much as I am pure sugar. Come to think of it, I don’t care for Sunkist or orange Jell-O anymore. Is it possible to have too much of a good thing?

Image from Tootsie Roll Industries via tootsie.com

#2 – Cherry Flavored Chew

If there are any die-hard cherry flavored fans out there, a little caution might be in order as this candy probably isn’t for you. I say this as someone who vehemently dislikes anything flavored or even remotely tasting of cherry. On instinct, when I bought a pack of these to try again for this article, I picked out all of the red colored ones assuming that after I tried it, I would be passing it on to my coworkers as I do most other red and pink fruit flavored candies. Imagine my surprise when I tried it and not only didn’t immediately dislike it, but actually enjoyed it enough to stick that pile in my little treat container.

Why do I advise caution for fans of cherry? Cherry flavored candies tend to be incredibly fruity while either being overwhelmingly sour, intensely sweet, or just plain bitter (think cough syrup). This candy had none of the bitterness and the sweet and sour flavor was balanced quite nicely with each other, rather than being one or the other. A side note is this was the only candy to turn my mouth a different color (a washed out red) and left a waxy film on my tongue afterward.

Image from Tootsie Roll Industries via tootsie.com

#1 – Lime Flavored Chew

If you’ve ever had a lime flavored Popsicle, this candy tastes exactly like that melted down into a candy form. Considering that is my preferred Popsicle, it’s no surprise that it tops this list. The taste is sweet enough to be a satisfying sweet treat but sour enough to not leave you feeling too guilty. It also didn’t leave a strange aftertaste, odd feeling, or turn my mouth a different color. All three extra credit points earned. Be assured if you’re ever visiting my home and see these candies in the public sweet container on my coffee table, know that the bright green colored rolls won’t be there no matter how hard you look. They’re hidden away in a cupboard for me to hoard.

Image from Tootsie Roll Industries via tootsie.com

As always, thank you for reading this far and I hope you're all staying safe! If you have any opinions on what was discussed today, as lighthearted as it was, please let me know and have a great weekend.

Wedding Outfits for Main Character of Havenfall is for Lovers ranked from worst to best

At around 1:00 am one morning, I was simultaneously somehow resisting and reaching for sleep by mindlessly playing a word game on my tablet when the between level advertisement showed up. I’d seen this one before, just like all the others, more times than I could count, but this time it caught my eye in a different way. I decided I would download the app and give it a shot. That is how I found the Lovestruck app (Voltage Entertainment).

While perusing for a new story to read, as the series I had been reading had just finished, I decided to tap on this one story I hadn’t looked into yet, as the cover art hadn’t interested me. Instantly captivated by what I saw beyond the cover, I devoured the entire interactive series as quickly as the chapter tickets could regenerate in my off hours. Havenfall is for Lovers became one of my new favorites.

Havenfall is for Lovers follows the main character (referred to as MC from here on out), a young woman living in the small town of Havenfall, Indiana, USA with her younger sister. Unbeknownst to the MC, and most of the town, Havenfall is also the home of several supernatural creatures whose lives tend to draw even more, usually putting the MC and her sister in mortal danger. In the spirit of Lovestruck’s format, there are several love interests to choose from, each coming with their own unique story. However, one of the common grounds for each of these stories is that the MC will eventually marry each of the love interests later in their routes. This leads to the creation of this list.

Today I will be ranking the wedding outfits for the MC from Havenfall Is For Lovers. I will not be including the spouse’s outfit or the wedding venue on this list as those each deserve lists of their own. This list is purely based on my opinion and is meant for entertainment purposes only. All images featured are property of Voltage Entertainment used for critical purposes only. The images used provide one angle or view of the outfits in question. In the game, there is also a front view character facing shot available as well, used to provide more detail from the waist up.

Please also be warned that SPOILERS!! may be below. Proceed at your own risk.

#6 – MC’s Purple Outfit with Feathered Cape (JD’s Route)

The only thing I struggle with these lists more than picking a number one is deciding who has to occupy the bottom slot. There is nothing inherently wrong with MC’s outfit here. It just doesn’t scream wedding outfit to me. I love the detail on the lacy top and the purple sneakers MC is wearing in full view shots. Her hair is in a loose bun in classic MC style, keeping that formal-but-not-too-formal look throughout. The only thing I could have done without is the feathered cape. It felt too on the nose for our angel and looked out of place on what is otherwise a pretty casual outfit.

That said, I really do like this outfit. I can pick several other outfits from other stories that it would have beaten handily, but Havenfall has the distinction of having really good wedding gowns for the MC in every route. It was just slightly outclassed by the rest.

Image from Lovestruck app via Voltage Entertainment

#5 – MC’s White Tank and Skirt Two Piece (Razi’s Route)

I love the golden detailing on the tank and think MC’s hair looks divine here with her coordinated hairpiece. The high-waisted skirt is a beautiful length in the front though with the sea breeze blowing the skirt back, the length of the fabric behind her makes me wonder if it’s set up more like a high-low skirt, a fashion trend I’m not a huge fan of. I do really appreciate how MC’s djinn-like tattoos on her shoulders and chest are on full display at this family event, subtly pushing the message that she’s one of them now. Overall, a cute look, but not my favorite.

Image from Lovestruck app via Voltage Entertainment

#4 – MC’s White Pantsuit (Vanessa’s Route)

I love this MC in white. I wish we could have seen more. The white pants in the full view fit her like a dream. I wish the sleeves of the blazer would have been as clean and fitted as the rest of the ensemble, but I like the way the blazer fits everywhere else and the lacy shirt beneath adds a hint of texture detail so desperately needed. The lack of accessories works beautifully to emphasize the outfit, but that hair…I don’t like it. There’s something about the awkward rose-shaped/knot spiral above the forehead that I just can’t get behind. Otherwise I think this MC is just gorgeous, and her crossbow wins her bonus points of badass.

Image from Lovestruck app via Voltage Entertainment

#3 – MC’s White and Black Embroidered Gown (Diego’s Route)

When I was first making this list, I thought this look was going to be my number one for sure. I love the amount of detail on the dress and her red shoes add the perfect amount of color to an otherwise black and white affair. Her hair is smoothed into a clean chignon and those elbow length gloves are to die for. I just don’t like the way the skirt is cut, again with the high-low. Everything else about it is just stunning, but in a list where we’re splitting hairs all from last position to first, a minor detail like skirt cut becomes important.

Image from Lovestruck app via Voltage Entertainment

#2 – MC’s Light Pink Wedding Gown (Mackenzie’s Route)

This color is just stunning on MC. I adore how they didn’t go with classic white or even black for her wedding to Mackenzie and instead used an unusual color for a couple that was pretty low key and standard in a lot of ways. Her flower crown of pink and white flowers help keep the look formal without making it something out of place for Havenfall. Her sparkly looking combat boots are what pushed this over the edge for me into second position. The entirety of Mackenzie and MC’s relationship summed up in one outfit and I couldn’t be happier for it.

Image from Lovestruck app via Voltage Entertainment

No matter how beautiful MC looked in any of these outfits, there’s still one that I liked better than the others.

#1 – MC’s Off the Shoulder White Gown (Antonio’s Route)

This looks really caught my attention at first with the MC’s make-up, which is significantly darker than any the MC had worn with the other love interests or on her own, all of which tend to stay pretty natural. Her dark red lip and thick eyeliner help bring attention rather than detract from the MC’s vampire and Lady of Blood status by enhancing her red eyes and pale skin. Her hair is done up into a loose low bun, allowing her a few strands to artfully frame her face with but not be so unkempt that it takes away from her otherwise sophisticated appearance. Her white floor length gown is embellished on the bodice with ivory detail, keeping the dress itself from being too plain. MC is also wearing large diamond earrings to match her huge wedding ring, fitting with Antonio’s penchant of extravagant wealth. Her white shoes work perfectly with this outfit that really doesn’t need a colored shoe.

Image from Lovestruck app via Voltage Entertainment

Did my rankings match your own? Is there anything you disagree on? Are there any other Lovestruck ideas you would like to see? Let me know all of this and more in the comments below!