#including meditating on if vampirism is a disability

[lovelyfoolish]

Hello! A question for your wonderful detectives Bella and Mina: would they choose to be turned? Why (not)?

No pressure to answer this! Wishing you a lovely weekend 💖

this is such a fascinating question!

i wish my answer was less boring, but neither of my detectives would want to be turned. whether they'd choose to is based on the circumstances!

it’s funny, i’ve never mentioned extinction event before these asks but i have to mention it again.

i started outlining it at a time when i was thinking a lot about immortality and disability because i’d just played a game that touched on the intersection of those conditions for the first time and it took me aback. (the ending of that arc was disappointing as hell lol but it was glorious while it lasted.)

i’d never processed how (primarily physical) disability is excluded and ignored in immortality narratives despite it posing such vital questions — disabled people are not better off dead, obviously, but a lot of us have comfortable relationships with death. knowing there will be an end to your life (and an end to your pain, physical and/or mental) can bring you a lot of peace. i don’t know many disabled people who would choose immortality. i wouldn't.

what i loved about that game was that it touched on this in a way i truly could not remember having ever seen before — a disabled character was left in extreme emotional pain because their extended lifespan meant more exposure to ableism, and they believed a form of death (it's complicated, lol) would be their relief. they were willing to lose everything to be free of their condition, to not be less than those around them.

people love to talk about the emotional and angsty parts of immortality, like losing everyone you’ll ever love over and over again, but the prospect of living eternally with a condition that causes you pain (physically and mentally) doesn’t come up very frequently despite having the same potential.

(i can think of one case off the top of my head, and i think the character’s condition doesn’t register as a disability for most players. but i love when people describe his condition as chronic pain despite its supernatural origins, it's the reason his charm is on my doctor visit bag ;~;) 

perhaps it’s because a lot of immortality stories “heal” the person before turning them immortal, because disability is too messy to account for in immortality narratives, you don't want an idyllic eternity soiled by unhealed injuries.

like, in wayhaven, we know n's tranformation is exceptionally painful, but they come out of it with extreme healing abilities, and i don't think we've ever heard about them having lasting physical pain in canon. (please correct me if i'm wrong, though, i would love to claim them even more than i already have lol.)

quite plainly, physical disability isn’t valued as a characteristic. it’s pretty glaring when you're disabled and nearly every story about hot immortals you read wants to (albeit unintentionally) erase you. it's why unit bravo, or edward cullen if we want to touch on a classic example, are strong and fast and conventionally attractive (read: not fat) and have healing powers. 

vampires are superhumans, right, and simply put disabled people do not have extraordinary abilities. we have lesser abilities. no one wants to transform into something lesser. (despite our understanding of hypersenses originating with people who have lost other senses.)

i do appreciate that unit bravo grapple with mental health conditions/neurodivergence (especially n and m!), but physical disability is a very different thing and honestly mental disabilities like theirs aren’t really coded as unattractive or unsightly the way physical disabilities are. 

this isn’t like. a value judgement. (especially not of you, dear sparkly heart ♡) it’s just a reflection of our society. darwin kicks all our asses.

so. i think about what would happen if bella was turned. her heart would be fixed, probably. and i simply do not want that. if her heart was fixed she wouldn’t be herself. a bella that is not disabled and who doesn’t navigate the world in a disabled body is not bella.  

if for some reason her heart wasn’t fixed when she was turned, she would live with her disease forever. as things are now she has to have surgery every six or seven years, and she’d probably have to do that for decades before technology could maybe extend her wait a little. (ironically, though, my wait is getting shorter instead of longer with technology changes, lol. i got 9 years last time and i’m at 6-7 for my new one.) 

being sick for eternity, navigating both the effects of your illness and of people’s reactions to it, is hell on earth to me.

bella would never turn willingly. she’s probably contemplated it if it means healing her heart but her coming to accept her illness and accept that it is incurable and part of her is so important to me because that is a journey i am still on myself. 

mina is practical. she would not want to resign herself to a life of endless grief, and i think she would reject the prospect of being with her own thoughts until the heat death of the universe. 

she has ptsd, so again it’s a question of disability, and i think n in particular shows that immortality can exacerbate ptsd. she’d observe the two people she loves grappling with their immortality and the pain it causes them and she’d never want to turn.

it’s definitely a paradox because her dying would cause them pain, of course, but i think they’d want her to choose for herself and would agree with that choice. 

i feel like this sounds so harsh and mean but i promise i’m just trying to share some thoughts on disability and vampires because it means a lot to me ;~; 

i’m trying to be more confident about talking about inclusivity and not feel like the mean disabled bitch raining on a parade that’s not that deep but it’s like. i think immortality narratives are richer when they’re inclusive of disability? 

like actually i think n has chronic pain and is occasionally bed-bound because of it and m gets ocular migraines and i think that adds to their characters more than them healing their way out of their pain could. i can imagine an f who has seizures because their body can’t keep up with the mortal world sometimes. an a with limb difference since you simply can’t heal a missing hand. 

i don't think wayhaven love interests will ever represent physical disability in a meaningful way. (i will be truly surprised if that changes, but i will welcome it whole-heartedly! and maybe i've missed something about one of the characters anyway, it's been a long time since i played.)

my thoughts on the vampires will only ever be thoughts.

but i can make disabled love stories with my disabled detectives and i will make one with extinction event, and that starts with acknowledging the flaws in our conceptions of immortality.

thank you for thinking of me and asking this! 

[leebrontide]

Shed Letters: the complete archive so far

For all the people who've followed me recently- at least SOME of whom must be actual people and not clickbait bots- I have a free monthly newsletter that I'm really proud of. If you like what I write here, you can access my once month efforts to present organized, spellchecked, researched thoughts, often with cool links for further reading.

If you wanna read about writing, ableism, queerness, psychology, research deep dives into history, science, and current events that are funneling into my writing, consider looking over some of what I have on offer, and maybe consider subscribing.

Also contains cat pictures!

Reblogs welcome!

You Heard It Here, First! An announcement of a co-authoring project in the works where we use a pulpy vampire romance to explore queer history in MN

What Stories Are You Made Of? A meditation on renegotiating my relationship to the problematic queer media I had access to in the 90s

What Do We Celebrate? Pics and the story of how I ended up throwing a T(ea) party to celebrate starting HRT, and my nonlinear path to hormone therapy

Why I’m Researching a 19th Century Cult This Month What’s a civil war era cult have to do with the scifi YA I’m writing? (Hint- they were literally trying to breed messiahs into existence).

Another Kind of Coziness How can anti-ableist theory make my writing space so damn cozy and effective?

A Unique Character Development Technique  Learn about one of my most ridiculous ways of intuitively developing new characters. 

The Golden Girls, D&D, and The Newest Way I’m Refusing to Make Writing Solitary This is actually all one topic

Tractors, Cybernetics and the Radical at the Radioshack That time I got radicalized by a Radioshack cashier and what it has to do with disability activism

The Cartoons Are Coming for Our Collective Trauma A therapist/YA writer’s thoughts about why kids shows are all about intergenerational trauma these days, and what I think it means for our future

People Who Need People Writing about The Giver, Each of Us a Desert, and what it’s been like having one of those faces that compels people to tell me things I have absolutely no business knowing

The Bananabook Method  What I call “The Bananabook Method” of book planning/pre-writing. Please enjoy my collection of absurd tiny colorful notebooks and this explanation of my *~process~*.

Because Everybody Was Calling for YA Scifi About HIPAA, Right? Why I’m writing about medical data privacy practices in scifi books for teens. Contains a LOT of info about the current systems and their limits.

Tinkering With Cyberpunk I was interviewed about cyberpunk and disabilities by the lovely Zuhura Ismail, whose wonderful cyberpunk art is also included in this edition.

Lies I Tell Myself, Security Blankets and Backstitch Drafting Another writing process post! Features a very nice cat picture, more writing with memory problems, and my proposal that creative project advice is only as useful as it is adaptable.

Of Flesh and Gundams What somatic psychology has to say about the pursuit of perfection and immortality via tech.

Gods and Ink - the new digital era of old school mythmaking and my newest tattoo.

[mystic-for-dummies]

Meet the Witch

(Saw someone else make a post like this and I thought it looked fun.)

September 2023 Name: Caelan Age: 23 Birthday: October 31st (yes, for real) Pronouns: My pronouns change from day to day. Check my pinned post. Astrological Signs: Scorpio Sun, Leo Moon, Virgo Rising, Sagittarius is the most common sign in my chart. Deities: Apollo, Loki, Lucifer, and Nyarlathotep

Witchy Facts About Me:

The element I feel the strongest connection to is fire.

I usually don't give exact, specific ingredients, words, etc when sharing spells. I feel like it's just going to discourage people who don't have access to certain items, can't perform specific acts, or can't memorize words very well.

I'm very interested in divination, especially astrology, tarot, oracle decks, and scrying.

I actually rarely work with my deities in witchcraft. That's more of a religious thing, and I don't always mix my religion and my craft. I'm more interested in working with my pre-Christian Irish ancestors. Nyarlathotep does give me very useful advice for my craft, though.

I'm not going to hesitate to hex a corrupt politician, an abuser, or anyone who unapologetically makes the world a worse place. No, you're not going to convince me that it's going to come back to me. It never has before, and I don't believe it will in the future.

As a heads-up, if you are a "love and light, never do harm ever" type of witch, this is probably not the blog for you. I don't think that you're any less valid or respectable for being that kind of witch; I just want you to know upfront that I am not that kind of witch and that I will most likely never be that kind of witch.

I try to take potential disabilities into consideration when writing spells, rituals, and other magical activities. It often feels like, when I read witchcraft books, the author will say that you have to do something a specific way. Like, "you have to do a bath ritual for this to work," or "you have to meditate first." And that completely fails to consider that some people aren't objecting to these things because they don't want to do them; they're protesting because they literally cannot do the tasks that the author says that they must do.

My Favorite WC Books

The Crooked Path by Kelden

Besom, Stang, and Sword by Christopher Orapello and Tara-Love Maguire

Of Blood and Bones by Kate Freuler

Weave The Liminal by Laura Tempest Zakroff

Fun Facts About Me

I'm autistic and ADHD, and I have dyscalculia.

My hobbies include reading, writing, video games, drawing, painting, makeup, cooking, worldbuilding, and TTRPGs (D&D, Pathfinder, Call of Cthulhu, Tales of Xadia, City of Mist, World of Darkness, Shadowrun).

My interests and things I study besides WC: medical science, biology, zoology, botany, world history, world mythology, literature, cultures both ancient and modern, folklore, psychology, neurodiversity, and LGBTQ+ history, culture, and current issues.

I have Christian religious trauma and now I'm allergic to most things Christian. Also I'm allergic to pollen.

I'm studying Spanish, Italian, Japanese, and Irish.

My favorite genre of anything (movies, books, shows, games, etc) is Fantasy.

I'm currently writing a novel.

I hope to someday make an Indie animated series.

I have a dog.

My Favorite Books (in no particular order)

The Realm of the Elderlings series by Robin Hobb

The Legend of Drizzt series by R.A. Salvatore

Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles

Stephen King's novels

PJO

Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard

Neil Gaiman's novels

Discworld series by Terry Pratchett

The Hobbit

The Lord of the Rings

The Hot Zone

The Outsiders

My Favorite Video Games

The Legend of Zelda

Pokemon

Kingdom Hearts

Final Fantasy

God of War

Skyrim / The Elder Scrolls

Don't Starve

Darksiders

Fran Bow

My Favorite Shows and Movies

The Owl House

Hazbin Hotel

Helluva Boss

Fullmetal Alchemist

The Dragon Prince

Errementari: The Blacksmith and the Devil

Annihilation (2018)

The Nightmare Before Christmas

Most Ghibli movies

The Silence of the Lambs

The Last Voyage of the Demeter

The entire Jurassic Park movie franchise

John Carpenter's The Thing

Soul Eater

Black Clover

[maddie-grove]

The Top Twenty Books I Read in 2020

My main takeaways:

I’m glad that I set certain reading goals this year (i.e., reading an even mix of different genres and writing about each book I read on this tumblr). I feel like it really expanded my horizons.

There are a lot of proper names on my Top 20 list this year, which possibly means something about identity? That, or I just tried to read more Victorian novels. 

Be horny, and be kind.

Now...

20. The White Mountains by John Christopher (1967)

In a world ruled by unseen creatures who roam the countryside in tall metal tripods, all humans are “capped” (surgically fitted with metal plates on their heads) at age fourteen. Thirteen-year-old Will Parker looks forward to becoming a man, but a conversation with a mysterious visitor to his village raises a few doubts. This early YA dystopia has gorgeous world-building (notably a trip to the ruins of Paris) and expert pacing. The choices Will has to make are also more surprising and complicated than I ever anticipated.

19. What Happened at Midnight by Courtney Milan (2013)

John Mason wants revenge on his fiancée Mary after she skips town following her father’s death...apparently with the funds that her father, John’s business partner, embezzled from their company. When he tracks her down, though, she’s working as a lady’s companion to the wife of a controlling gentleman who refuses to pay her wages, and John’s fury turns to sympathy and curiosity. This is a smart, well-plotted Victorian-set novella about a couple who builds a better relationship after a rocky start.

18. Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes (1943)

It’s 1773, and fourteen-year-old Bostonian Johnny Tremain has it all: a promising apprenticeship to a silversmith, the run of his arguably senile master’s household, and...unresolved grief over his widowed mother’s death? When a workplace “accident” ruins his hand and career, though, he must “forge” a new identity. Despite its jingoism and surfeit of historical exposition, I fell in love with this weird early YA novel. It’s a fascinating, heartbreaking portrayal of disability and ableism, and, to be fair, Forbes was just jazzed about fighting the Nazis.

17. Something Happened to Ali Greenleaf by Hayley Krischer (2020)

After universally beloved jock Sean Nessel rapes starry-eyed junior Ali Greenleaf at a party, his queen-bee friend Blythe Jensen agrees to smooth things over by befriending his victim. Ali knows Blythe’s motives are weird and sketchy, but being friends with a popular, exciting girl is preferable to dealing with the fallout of the rape. This YA novel is a complex, astute exploration of trauma and moral responsibility.

16. The Color of Law by Richard Rothstein (2017)

Rothstein details how the federal U.S. government allowed, encouraged, and sometimes even forcibly brought about segregation of black and white Americans during the early and mid-twentieth century, with no regard for the unconstitutionality of its actions. He brings home the staggering harm to black Americans who were kept from living in decent housing, shut out of home ownership for generations, and denied the opportunity to accumulate wealth for generations. It’s an impactful read, and I was honestly shocked to learn Rothstein isn’t a lawyer, because the whole thing reads like an expansion of an excellent closing statement.

15. My Friend Dahmer by Derf Backderf (2012)

In this graphic memoir, Backderf looks back on his casual, fleeting friendship with future serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, a high school classmate who amused Backderf and his geeky friends with bizarre, chaotic antics. Backderf brings their huge, impersonal high school to life, illustrating how the callousness and cruelty of such an environment allowed an isolated, troubled teen to morph into something much more disturbing without anyone really noticing. It’s a work of baffled, tentative empathy and regret that stayed with me long after I finished it.

14. Daniel Deronda by George Eliot (1876)

Gwendolyn Harleth, beautiful and ambitious but with no real outlet, finds herself compelled to marry a heartless gentleman with a shady past. Daniel Deronda, adopted son of her husband’s uncle, finds himself drawn into her orbit due to his helpful nature, but he’s also dealing with a lot of other stuff, like helping a Jewish opera singer and figuring out his parentage. I love George Eliot and, although this bifurcated novel isn’t her most accessible work, it’s highly rewarding. The psychological twists and turns of Gwendolyn’s story are a wonder to experience, and Daniel’s discovery of his past and a new community is moving.

13. The Plot Against America by Philip Roth (2004)

The Roths, an ordinary working-class Jewish family in 1940 Newark, find their quiet lives descending into fear, uncertainty, and strife after Charles Lindbergh, celebrity pilot and Nazi sympathizer, becomes president of the United States. This alternate history/faux-memoir perfectly captures the slow creep of fascism and the high-handed cruelty of state-sanctioned discrimination, as well as the weirdness of living a semi-normal life while all of that is going on. Also: fuck Herman and Alvin for messing up Bess’s coffee table! She is a queen, and she deserves to read Pearl S. Buck in a pleasant setting!

12. David Copperfield by Charles Dickens (1850)

Young David Copperfield has an idyllic life with his sweet widowed mom and devoted nursemaid Peggotty, until his cruel stepfather ruins everything. David eventually manages to find safe harbor with his eccentric aunt, but his troubles have only begun. Although the quality of the novel falls off a little once David becomes an adult, I don’t even care; the first half is one of the most beautiful, funny, brilliantly observed portrayals of the joys and sorrows of childhood that I’ve ever read.

11. The Rise and Fall of Adam and Eve by Stephen Greenblatt (2017)

Greenblatt examines the evolution and cultural significance of the story of Adam and Eve from the Bible to the modern day (but mostly it’s about Milton). I can’t speak to the scholarship of this book--I’m not an expert on the Bible or Milton or bonobos--but I do know that it’s a gorgeously written meditation on love, mortality, and free will. Greenblatt brought me a lot of joy as an unhappy teenager, and he came through for me again during the summer of 2020.

10. The Music of What Happens by Bill Konigsberg (2019)

Self-conscious seventeen-year-old Jordan is mortified when his widowed mother hires Max, an outgoing jock from his school, to help out with their struggling food truck. As they get to know each other, though, they realize that they have more in common than they thought, and they end up helping each other through a particularly challenging summer. This is an endearing, exceedingly well-balanced YA romance that tackles serious issues with a light touch and a naturalness that’s rare in the genre.

9. Red as Blood by Tanith Lee (1983)

In nine wonderfully lurid stories, Tanith Lee retells fairy tales with a dark, historically grounded, and lady-centered twist. Highlights include a medieval vampiric Snow White, a vengeful early modern Venetian Cinderella, and a Scandinavian werewolf Little Red Riding Hood. Fairy tale retellings are right up my alley, and Lee’s collection is impressively varied and creative.

8. A Room with a View by E.M. Forster (1908)

Unnerved by an impulsive make-out session with egalitarian George Emerson on a trip to Florence, young Edwardian woman Lucy Honeychurch goes way too far the other way and gets engaged to snobbish Cecil Vyse. How can she get out of this emotional and social pickle? This is an absolutely delightful romance that gave a timeless template for romantic comedies and dramas for 100-plus years.

7. My Ántonia by Willa Cather (1918)

Jim Burden, a New York City lawyer, tells the story of his friendship with slightly older Bohemian immigrant girl��Ántonia when they were kids together on the late-nineteenth-century Nebraska prairie. It was a pretty pleasant time, give or take a few murders, suicides, and attempted rapes. This is one of the sweetest stories about unrequited love I’ve ever read, and it has some really enjoyable queer subtext.

6. Mister Death’s Blue-Eyed Girls by Mary Downing Hahn (2012)

In 1956 Maryland, gawky teen Nora’s peaceful existence is shattered by the unsolved murder of her friends Cheryl and Bobbi Jo right before summer vacation. Essentially left to deal with her trauma alone, she begins to question everything, from her faith in God to the killer’s real identity. Hahn delivers a beautiful coming-of-age story along with a thoughtful portrait of how a small community responds to tragedy.

5. The Lais of Marie de France by Marie de France, with translation and introduction/notes by Robert Herring and Joan Ferrante (original late 12th century, edition 1995) 

In twelve narrative poems, anonymous French-English noblewoman Marie de France spins fantastically weird tales of love, lust, and treachery. Highlights include self-driving ships, gay (?) werewolves, and more plot-significant birds than you can shake a stick at. Marie de France brings so much tenderness, delicacy, and startling humor to her stories, offering a wonderful window to the distant past.

4. Maus by Art Spiegelman (1980-1991)

In this hugely influential graphic novel/memoir, Art Spiegelman tells the story of how his Polish Jewish parents survived the Holocaust. He portrays all the characters as anthropomorphic animals; notably, the Jewish characters are mice and the Nazi Germans are cats. I read the first volume of Maus back in 2014 and, while I appreciated and enjoyed it, I didn’t get the full impact until I read both volumes together early in 2020. Spiegelman takes an intensely personal approach to his staggering subject matter, telling the story through the lens of his fraught relationship with his charismatic and affectionate, yet truly difficult father. 

3. At the Dark End of the Street by Danielle L. McGuire (2010)

McGuire looks at a seldom-explored aspect of racism in the Jim Crow South (the widespread rape and sexual harassment of black women by white men) and the essential role of anti-rape activism led by black women during the Civil Rights movement. This is a harrowing yet tastefully executed history, and it’s also a truly inspirational story of collective activism.

2. In for a Penny by Rose Lerner (2010)

Callow Lord Nevinstoke has to mature fast when his father dies, leaving him an estate hampered by debts and extremely legitimate grievances from angry tenant farmers. To obtain the necessary funds, he marries (usually!) sensible brewing heiress Penelope Brown, but they face problems that not even a sizable cash infusion can fix. This is a refreshingly political romance with a deliciously tense atmosphere and fascinating themes, as well as an almost painfully engaging central relationship.

1. Mansfield Park by Jane Austen (1814)

Fanny Price, the shy and sickly poor relation of the wealthy Bertram family, is subtly mistreated by most of her insecure and/or self-absorbed relatives, with the exception of her kind cousin Edmund. When the scandalous Crawford siblings visit the neighborhood, though, it shakes up her life for good and ill. I put off reading Mansfield Park for years--it’s practically the last bit of Austen writing that I consumed, including most of her juvenilia--and yet I think it’s my favorite. Fanny is an eminently lovable and interesting heroine, self-doubting and flawed yet possessed of a strong moral core, and the rest of the characters are equally realistic and compelling. Austen really made me think about the point of being a good person, both on a personal and a global scale.

[toreadorkable]

yo so i was looking forward to talking to a vtmb fan but you subscribe to all the same terrible and inaccurate memes and headcanons passed off as canon as the fandom at large and i feel so sad i wanted to share that sadness with you. you won't change but now you know. i won't elaborate bc i know how people do, they just dig in harder, so meditate on how a total internet stranger is super sad generally about your fan choices instead.

I…feel like this is the closest thing I’ve gotten to hate mail, and I’m not sure how I feel about it, lol. 

I honestly don’t know what you think you know about my headcanons or memes (pretty much all I reblog these days is art, anyway) but I think I’ve got a pretty good handle on Vampire: the Masquerade lore and canon as I have an embarrassing amount of the source books and have been roleplaying VtM-based vampires for quite some time now. But yes, I quite enjoy reblogging silly memes and jokes about a game that I enjoy very much.

The only thing that I really think I subscribe to that could possibly be considered controversial in this fandom is a complete and wholehearted embrace of diversity within it, including respectful representation of people with different gender identities, sexualities, different races, religions, and cultures, people with physical or mental disabilities, etc. And if that’s the case…well, I’m sorry you’re sad, but I kind of feel like I dodged a bullet. 

Other than that, my only main VtMB opinions that are Totally Right And No One Should Argue With Me About are that Ash Rivers is Bae and that Toreador is the best clan. :P Sooooooooooooo…

[neitherlandslibrary]

If You’re Not Watching “The Magicians” At This Point, You’re Missing Out On Something Great

Source

When it comes to the shows that hog all the attention in our era of peak TV, The Magicians is nowhere near the top of the list. Mainstream conversations about fantasy TV are often limited to the wild success of Game of Thrones, and The Magicians is nestled into an underrated corner of TV on the Syfy network. It’s easy for any series to get a little buried when there are 500+ shows and the Stark family around. But if we’re judging on ambition and inventiveness, The Magicians is one of the most notable shows on television — and its third season, which wraps up this week, proved that point over and over again. It’s a show that plays with story convention so consistently it blows up any boundaries that might hold it back.

Technically, The Magicians is built on the familiar. Based on Lev Grossman’s book series of the same name, the show began in 2015 as a sort of advanced-age Harry Potter meets Chronicles of Narnia. Unlike Hogwarts, the Magicians’ magic school — Brakebills — serves grad school students instead of children. When the characters discover and eventually become kings and queens of Fillory, their own version of Narnia, the escapist world operates as a Technicolor meditation on what it means to embrace adult responsibility. The series is also a direct descendant of Buffy the Vampire Slayer: It follows a group of ragtag young people as they repeatedly try to save the world. The characters fight through depression, sexual assault, addiction, and the general sense that things may never get easier. That’s all classic, well-trod territory. Which makes it all the more impressive that The Magicians inspires the feeling that it’s doing it all for the first time.

Here are just a few of the elements that make it stand out.

It’s one of the best ensemble shows about a group of twentysomethings.

From left: Stella Maeve as Julia, Olivia Taylor Dudley as Alice, Appleman as Eliot, Bishil as Margo, Jason Ralph as Quentin, and Arjun Gupta as Penny in a promotional shot for The Magicians.

The Magicians has always had a stellar cast of characters on its side — a group of friends brought together via Brakebills and overlapping heroes’ journeys. They’ve fought moth-faced villains and conquered gods, each character an integral part of a larger and pretty magnificent whole. Eliot (Hale Appleman) has a palpable regality in both his look and his soul; Margo (Summer Bishil) has blossomed as a brazen queen; Quentin (Jason Ralph) is steadfast and earnest, buoyed by Ralph’s deep pleasantness, an energy that’s completely transformed the character from what he was in the books. And that’s only the tip of the iceberg — Julia (Stella Maeve), Penny (Arjun Gupta), Alice (Olivia Taylor Dudley), Kady (Jade Tailor), and Josh (Trevor Einhorn) are all worthy of their own odes. In a strange way, through them, The Magicians sits right alongside Insecure, New Girl, and Girls — it’s a sexy ensemble show about a twentysomething friend group. They muse on responsibility and the big life decisions you’re forced to make as you become a true grownup. They just do so while having hoversex, battling literal manifestations of their depression, and trying to run a kingdom or two.

And it has the kind of diversity that so many of the shows it riffs on lacked.

Beloved as Buffy may have been, it was also notoriously white. The Magicians, on the other hand, very much lives in a socially conscious 2018. A significant portion of its main cast is made up of people of color. Not only that, but every single one of them — from Maeve’s Julia, to Gupta’s Penny, to Bishil’s Margo — is the kind of complex, specific character you won’t find anywhere else on television.

A sizable portion of the characters also appears to be sexually fluid. Quentin, who on most shows would be the straightest white man on the planet, has a threesome with a man and a woman. He hooks up again with that same man in a later episode. There are no coming-out storylines, no hemming and hawing about labels — intimacies just happen to manifest in all types of ways on this show. On the one hand, there are always downsides to a lack of labels, including perpetuating the erasure of orientations like bisexuality. On the other, it’s kind of freeing to watch a show where it’s genuinely possible that anyone could sleep with anyone else and everyone treats that pretty casually. It goes well with part of what makes The Magicians so fun to watch: It actually does feel like anything could happen. The story options are wide open when everyone’s at least a little bit queer.

The Magicians’ third season has also heavily featured Candis Cayne, a trans actor who previously broke ground with her role on Dirty Sexy Money — the first time a trans actor had a recurring role playing a trans character on primetime television. Here, she plays the Fairy Queen, an intimidating force and a standout of the season. Another standout: Marlee Matlin’s Harriet — a deaf actor playing a deaf character who gets a beautiful moment in the spotlight with Season 3’s “Six Short Stories About Magic.”

What’s more, most of the show’s inclusivity goes unremarked upon on the show itself. Race, gender, and disability aren’t invisible to any of the core characters, but neither are they the focus. Characters will call out white supremacy and sexism without the show bragging about having a queen (and king!) of a magical realm be played by an actor of Mexican, Indian, and European heritage. Or a black man as the king of their neighboring kingdom. Or a mixed Native American woman on the path to becoming a goddess. And so on. Which is not to say The Magicians shouldn’t brag — if they want to spend all of Season 4 bragging about their magnificent ensemble, that would work too.

The show has a true sense of playfulness.

When Buffy aired its iconic musical episode in 2001, it had a ripple effect. Scrubs, Grey’s Anatomy, Psych, That ’70s Show, and even 7th Heaven all turned themselves into musicals for an episode. The Magicians, for its part, has been following in those same footsteps since its first season. Only instead of just one designated episode, they’ve peppered musical numbers into every season so far. In Season 1, Quentin sang Taylor Swift’s “Shake It Off” while trying to break out of a spell that had him trapped in a psychiatric hospital. “One Day More” from Les Misérables made a magnificent appearance in Season 2, as Eliot prepared for a duel to save his kingdom. (That one resembled what Game of Thrones might look like if Game of Thrones liked to party.) And this season, The Magicians did finally designate a full episode to several numbers. It culminated in the show’s main ensemble joining together in a rousing rendition of “Under Pressure.”

Integrated throughout the show, these moments stand as a declaration: This is just what The Magicians is, at its core. These scenes aren’t just an aside, a whim to break through the mundanity for a single episode — though The Magicians is also very good at that. With this show, narrative is twisted like a rubber band and then flung across the room. This is a series where talking sloths serve as top political advisers, party gods get banned from Instagram for posting too many shots of nipples, and messenger rabbits say things like “eat my ass.” It’s a blast.

And the fun they have with the story will also punch you in the heart (in a good way).

Wrapped up in all of its magical elements, The Magicians also happens to be wildly convoluted. Here, though, it’s at least in a way the show seems to truly delight in. As things grew more complex in Season 3, every week felt like the writers were taking the series’ classic fantasy tropes and conducting science experiments on them. Sometimes the effect is that aforementioned playfulness. But their characters are still on a variety of heroes’ journeys — which means this show is also willing to rip your heart out and tap dance all over it. Honestly? It feels great.

If there was one shining highlight of the season — and the show overall — it was the Feb. 7 episode, “A Life in the Day.” In it, Quentin and Eliot are tasked with completing a mosaic puzzle as part of a season-long quest to bring magic back to their world. To do so, they have to travel to a past version of Fillory. But unable to leave until they complete their mission, they wind up staying in the immediate vicinity of that puzzle for…well, the entire rest of their lives. The show plays this out in an extended montage. The two grow restless. They fight, they bond. They hook up. Quentin meets a local girl, settles down, has a son. When she’s gone, Quentin and Eliot spend the rest of their lives raising the kid and growing old together. Like the opening montage of Up, it’s the kind of sequence that really hits you with everything that it means to be human. It stays with you.

By the end of the episode, Quentin and Eliot had completed the puzzle and found their way back to their youths and their usual timeline. But the show made sure the impact of their time together was felt. These two characters had lived out an entire life as loving partners, side by side. It was an emotional beat that packed a hell of a wallop, and payoff has been sprinkled through the episodes that have followed. Sometimes it’s in small asides between the two characters; sometimes it’s just in knowing the way they look at each other. It’s hardly the first time characters in a genre show have lived out their entire lives in a separate timeline. But “A Life in the Day” was indicative of what The Magicians does best: It uses its magical setting and all-star cast to mold itself into different forms. Sometimes, like in that episode, it knocks you off your feet in the process.

In another episode, called “Six Short Stories About Magic,” the narrative is split into six vignettes sorted by character. The final one is centered on Harriet, a freedom of information activist and magician who runs a BuzzFeed spoof called FuzzBeat (hi, guys!). As Harriet is deaf, 10 minutes of the episode take place in silence. The segment includes some long-awaited exposition into Harriet’s backstory, which we get through her perspective before the series explodes back into sound in its final moments. The effect is stirring.

In “Be the Penny,” we get another play on perspective as Penny finds himself separated from his body with his friends believing him dead. We spend the episode with his astral self, watching people react to his death as he tries desperately to contact them. In both of these, the show plays with form to reveal depth. Penny doesn’t get a normal death, so it follows that the episode focusing on that would be just as off-kilter as the story itself — and just as sad. Penny watches his friends grieve, though not always to his satisfaction, and he can’t reach them to tell them that he’s still there.

This kind of experimentation is not new to fantasy. Supernatural, in its seemingly 500th year on television, has employed practically every genre and meta twist there is. Most recently, the characters crossed over with Scooby Doo and literally became animated. And Buffy was groundbreaking in this field before that, not only for the aforementioned musical episode but also for forays into silent filmmaking with “Hush” and character experiments like “Tabula Rasa.” One of the joys of sci-fi and fantasy is that it gives you a built-in excuse to fuck with convention. The Magicians has reveled in that from day one — and from the ground up. And with this third season, it took itself to a whole new and thrilling level.

[xdevilinthechurch-blog]

memes for extremes

+headcanons

Bold what applies Italicize what applies sometimes or in some verses Regular text what rarely applies or only in few verses Strikethrough what never applies

under cut for length

BELIEFS:

agrees completely with the beliefs of a single philosopher/person believes all religions are cults believes animals do not have souls believes being homosexual is a choice believes conspiracy theories about politics, historical events, etc. believes everyone goes to heaven when they die believes in aliens believes in an afterlife believes in demonic possession believes in ghosts/spirits believes in karma believes in reincarnation believes in superheroes believes in supernatural/mythical creatures (werewolves, vampires, mermaids, etc.) believes in the Illuminati believes one gender is better than the other believes one race or culture is better than another believes the moon gives him special powers believes that watching/not watching a sporting event profoundly affects the outcome believes the world will end soon carries a “lucky” item with them everywhere doesn’t believe in mental illness fights for animal rights fights for gender equality fights for human rights fights for the legalisation of marijuana/other drugs fights for marriage equlity hates conflict is a Mormon is Amish is an Atheist is always trying to recruit people to their religion/philosophical beliefs is apathetic about politics is extremely passionate about a certain political issue is extremely politically conservative is extremely politically liberal is extremely superstitious meditates practices voodoo refuses to hurt any animal including insects

CLOTHING:

always has change in their pockets always has untied shoelaces always wears a cap or hat always wears a jacket, even in summer always wears shorts, even in winter always wears sunglasses, even indoors cannot resist the urge to steal clothing whenever they go to a clothing store cannot wear a certain colour doesn’t use a wallet doesn’t wear a watch only owns one or two pairs of shoes only wears a certain colour only wears t-shirts and jeans owns an outrageous amount of shoes refuses to get rid of old clothing refuses to wear shoes wears colorful socks wears lots of bracelets wears mismatched socks wears multiple watches set to different time zones wears only clothing of the opposite sex wears only new socks

COUNTING:

counts ceiling tiles counts cracks in the sidewalk counts money in pockets once a day counts own teeth counts stairs counts steps taken while walking

DIAGNOSED DISORDERS/SYMPTOMS:

experiences anxiety when alone experiences social anxiety experiences episodes of depression experiences episodes of mania experiences panic attacks has a compulsive disorder has a learning disability has an eating disorder not otherwise specified (EDNOS) has anorexia has Asperger’s Syndrome has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has bipolar disporder has borderline personality disorder (BPD) has bulimia has delusions of grandeur has depression has epilepsy has generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) has insomnia has narcolepsy has obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) has post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has schizophrenia has seizures has selective mutism has senesthesia hears voices is a pathological liar uses braces/crutches uses a wheelchair self-diagnoses self-harms by bruising self-harms by burning self-harms by cutting

ENTERTAINMENT/HOBBIES:

attends over 50 concerts per year belongs to a book club belongs to a fan club blogs boxes brings camera everywhere busks (performs in public for money) can’t sleep after watching horror movies collects boxes collects business cards collects buttons collects celebrity trash collects flyers collects insects collects packs of playing cards collects postcards collects stamps collects stuffed animals collects ticket stubs to everything creates cartoons creates comics creates inventions creates short films crochets dances competitively designs cars designs clothing doodles on everything embroiders enjoys hiking enjoys plays on words enjoys jigsaw puzzles enjoys jokes with puns enjoys word puzzles fire-breathes freestyle raps gardens gets headaches while listening to a certain type/genre of music has a black belt in karate has an obsession with a particular TV show, series, film, or franchise has seen a particular musical artist live over 50 times hates the outdoors hunts animals is a hacker is always reading is in a band juggles keeps a Rubik’s cube with them at all times keeps up with the weather obsessively knits lip-synchs loves board games loves camping loves memorising lists loves playing practical jokes loves the outdoors loves to hide and scare people makes dioramas/models makes greeting cards makes podcasts makes robots mixes music only listens to a certain genre of music only listens to a certain musical artist only watches court TV only watches reality shows paints plays a musical instrument plays a team sport plays with fire practices archery practices calligraphy practices magic practices metal working practices miming practices mixed martial arts (MMA) practices taxidermy practices water sports practices wood working practices yoga plays “geeky” games that require a paid subscription such as World of Warcraft plays poker plays video games randomly wanders around/gets lost when bored reads books chapter by chapter backwards rides BMX rides horses rock climbs runs scrapbooks secretly makes graffiti on public property self-publishes a magazine sings well skateboards sketches skiis swims swordfights takes pictures of everything teaches aerobics classes teaches art classes teaches dance classes vlogs volunteers wrestles writes academic articles writes essays writes fan fiction writes novels writes to a penpal

FEARS:

is afraid of or hates a certain colour is afraid of animals is afraid of dogs is afraid of heights is afraid of house cats is afraid of insects is afraid of snakes is agoraphobic is claustrophobic is constantly paranoid

FOOD/DRINK:

always chews gum always has to be snacking on something cannot drink anything with ice in it cannot mix food cannot pour anything without spilling doesn’t drink alcohol doesn’t drink non-“diet” soft drinks doesn’t drink soft drinks doesn’t eat green things dumpster-dives eats counter-clockwise/clockwise around plate eats only cold food eats only hot food has tea in the afternoon is allergic to nuts is allergic to strawberries is lactose intolerant is vegan is vegetarian is unable to digest proteins correctly keeps kosher must be holding a cup to feel comfortable talking to strangers must chew food a certain number of times must clean plate must drink coffee or tea to “wake up” must leave some food left over obsessively loves a certain food or flavour only eats free food only drinks from paper, plastic, or styrofoam cups only drinks water saves fluid to drink after the meal

HEALTH:

brushes teeth more than 10 times a day drinks alcohol excessively when alone drinks alcohol excessively when around others drinks alcohol excessively when in public drinks lots of water doesn’t brush teeth doesn’t sweat habitually coughs/clears throat even when healthy habitually sniffles even when healthy has a large visible scar has allergies is colourblind is gassy is hearing-impaired is vision-impaired must hum while brushing teeth uses drugs recreationally smokes cigarettes smokes marijuana sneezes loudly sneezes many times in a row sweats profusely wears a retainer wears braces wears contact lenses wears glasses wears headgear works out/goes to the gym excessively

HOME:

has only white furniture has many pets is “organised chaos” lives with only required furniture (no lounge chairs or extra lamps)

MOVEMENT/PHYSICAL QUIRKS:

always feels dirty always knows what direction they are going always stands with feet apart always stands with hands behind their back always shreds random pieces of paper/napkins avoids eye contact blinks repeatedly bites lip bites nails cannot keep still cannot walk straight chews straws chews toenails constantly adjusts clothing constantly adjusts glasses constantly bumps into or knocks over things constantly checks phone constantly squints cracks neck/back cracks knuckles easily sunburned has a beard has a bouncy walk has a moustache has a noticeable birthmark has a spitting image doppleganger has a terrible sense of direction has an eye twitch has body piercings has brightly coloured hair has extremely hairy arms has facial piercings has tattoos has terrible handwriting hates being touched hates to hug is always touching their face is an extremely slow walker is bald is double-jointed is extremely clumsy is extremely flexible is extremely ticklish is late to everything picks nose picks skin plays with hair pulls on earrings regularly looks up at the sky, sun, or moon skips tiles while walking taps foot when bored or nervous taps pen on surface tends to drag feet walks in the middle of the aisle or sidewalk so others can’t get around them walks with a limp whistles winks without realizing

SLEEP:

goes to bed after 4 am goes to bed at sunrise goes to bed at sunset sleeps during the day sleeps less than 3 hours sleeps without blankets sleeps without sheets sleep-cooks sleep-talks sleep-walks takes sleeping pills wakes up at 3 am wakes up after noon

SPEECH/CONVERSING:

accidentally makes innuendos without realizing it always answers a question with a question always gives the vaguest possible answer to questions always laughs at own jokes always lets out a nervous laugh before speaking always quotes things incorrectly brings up/uses Internet memes/lingo constantly quotes favorite movies corrects others’ grammar curses constantly doesn’t talk much doesn’t understand sarcasm easily distracted in conversation ends declarative sentences with interrogative inflection flirts with everyone gets angry when someone mispronounces a word or pronounces it differently than them gossips constantly has a catchphrase they use whenever possible has a distinct accent has a lisp has a stutter has an unusually high-pitched laugh has an unusually low-pitched laugh has an unusually high-pitched voice has an unusually low-pitched voice has to touch whoever they are speaking to hates quiet pauses in conversation hates slang hesitates before speaking interrupts is a terrible listener is easily impressed is extremely gullible and falls for even the most obvious sarcasm is extremely sarcastic knows a foreign language laughs at everything laughs to self randomly or for no reason makes conversations always turn to a peculiar topic mutters things under their breath narrates their life aloud never speaks unless spoken to never uses contractions pauses a lot while speaking plays dumb puts others down constantly randomly bursts into song reacts exaggeratedly to everything regularly mispronounces words refuses to curse says “like” a lot says “right?” a lot SAYS “UM” OR “UH” A LOT says “you know” a lot sees a dirty/sexual reference in everything spaces out and stares when someone is talking for a while speaks in third person speaks out of the corner of their mouth speaks with poetic flair talks to animals tells “stories” with no point or conclusion tells the truth/is brutally honest no matter what uses abbreviations whenever possible uses bad puns whenever possible uses big words to impress others uses lots of metaphors uses pet names for everyone uses poor grammar uses slang whenever possible yawns a lot

SURROUNDINGS:

claustrophobic easily cold easily overheated gets uncomfortable in a place with little to no places to sit down gets uncomfortable in a place with no windows must sit next to a wall prefers to sit on the arm of chairs or couches rather than the seat

TALENTS:

can identify any plant can quote nearly any movie or TV show can solve a difficult sudoku in under 5 minutes can solve a Rubik’s cube in under a minute can speak in a cartoon voice that sounds nothing like their real voice can talk with their mouth closed dances well generally lucky good at card games good at card tricks good at hair-braiding is an expert with a certain type of film is an expert with a certain type of music knows how to code websites knows how to shoot a gun accurately knows how to sew knows lots of useless trivia sings well

TRAVELING:

does not drive must sit in a window seat on cars/trains/airplanes won’t fly won’t take public transportation

[therapardalis]

Tagged by: @lucxsnorth Tagging: Do the thing - but warning it is really, really long!

+HEADCANONS

Bold what applies Italicize what applies sometimes or in some verses Regular text what rarely applies or only in few verses Strikethrough what never applies

BELIEFS:

agrees completely with the beliefs of a single philosopher/person believes all religions are cults believes animals do not have souls believes being homosexual is a choice believes conspiracy theories about politics, historical events, etc. (in which ‘believes’ sometimes translates to ‘knows full well and was part of’.) believes everyone goes to heaven when they die believes in aliens (hi guys!) believes in an afterlife believes in demonic possession believes in ghosts/spirits believes in karma believes in reincarnation believes in superheroes (hi you other guys!) believes in supernatural/mythical creatures (werewolves, vampires, mermaids, etc.) (And you guys too!) believes in the Illuminati believes one gender is better than the other believes one race or culture is better than another believes the moon gives him/her special powers believes that watching/not watching a sporting event profoundly affects the outcome believes the world will end soon carries a “lucky” item with them everywhere doesn’t believe in mental illness fights for animal rights fights for gender equality fights for human rights fights for the legalisation of marijuana/other drugs fights for marriage equlity JUST PLAIN FIGHTS hates conflict is a Mormon is Amish is an Atheist Is Catholic Is Jewish is always trying to recruit people to their religion/philosophical beliefs is apathetic about politics is extremely passionate about a certain political issue is extremely politically conservative is extremely politically liberal Is Independant or third party is extremely superstitious meditates practices voodoo refuses to hurt any animal including insects

CLOTHING:

always has change in their pockets always has untied shoelaces always wears a cap or hat always wears a jacket, even in summer always wears shorts, even in winter always wears sunglasses, even indoors cannot resist the urge to steal clothing whenever they go to a clothing store cannot wear a certain colour doesn’t use a wallet doesn’t wear a watch only owns one or two pairs of shoes only wears a certain colour only wears t-shirts and jeans owns an outrageous amount of shoes refuses to get rid of old clothing refuses to wear shoes wears colorful socks wears lots of bracelets wears mismatched socks wears multiple watches set to different time zones wears only clothing of the opposite sex wears only new socks

COUNTING:

counts ceiling tiles [when he gets bored enough…] counts cracks in the sidewalk counts money in pockets once a day counts own teeth counts stairs counts steps taken while walking

DIAGNOSED DISORDERS/SYMPTOMS:

experiences anxiety when alone (Has experienced) experiences social anxiety experiences episodes of depression experiences episodes of mania (Has experienced) experiences panic attacks has a compulsive disorder has a learning disability has an eating disorder not otherwise specified (EDNOS) has anorexia has Asperger’s Syndrome has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has bipolar disporder has borderline personality disorder (BPD) has bulimia has delusions of grandeur has depression has epilepsy has generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) has insomnia has narcolepsy has obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) has post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has schizophrenia has seizures has selective mutism has senesthesia hears voices is a pathological liar uses braces/crutches uses a wheelchair self-diagnoses self-harms by bruising self-harms by burning self-harms by cutting

ENTERTAINMENT/HOBBIES:

attends over 50 concerts per year belongs to a book club belongs to a fan club blogs boxes brings camera everywhere (phone) busks (performs in public for money) can’t sleep after watching horror movies collects boxes collects business cards collects buttons collects celebrity trash collects flyers collects insects collects packs of playing cards collects postcards collects stamps collects stuffed animals collects ticket stubs to everything creates cartoons creates comics creates inventions creates short films crochets dances competitively designs cars designs clothing doodles on everything [when he gets bored, usually] embroiders enjoys hiking enjoys plays on words enjoys jigsaw puzzles enjoys jokes with puns enjoys word puzzles fire-breathes freestyle raps gardens gets headaches while listening to a certain type/genre of music has a black belt in karate has an obsession with a particular TV show, series, film, or franchise has seen a particular musical artist live over 50 times hates the outdoors hunts animals is a hacker is always reading is in a band (occasionally) juggles keeps a Rubik’s cube with them at all times keeps up with the weather obsessively knits lip-synchs loves board games (but does not play) loves camping loves memorising lists loves playing practical jokes loves the outdoors loves to hide and scare people makes dioramas/models makes greeting cards makes podcasts makes robots mixes music only listens to a certain genre of music only listens to a certain musical artist only watches court TV only watches reality shows paints plays a musical instrument plays a team sport plays with fire practices archery practices calligraphy practices magic practices metal working practices miming practices mixed martial arts (MMA) practices taxidermy practices water sports practices wood working practices yoga plays a team sport plays “geeky” games that require a paid subscription such as World of Warcraft plays poker plays video games randomly wanders around/gets lost when bored reads books chapter by chapter backwards rides BMX rides horses rock climbs runs scrapbooks secretly makes graffiti on public property self-publishes a magazine sings well skateboards sketches skiis swims surfs swordfights takes pictures of everything teaches aerobics classes teaches art classes teaches dance classes vlogs volunteers wrestles writes academic articles writes essays writes fan fiction writes novels writes to a penpal

FEARS:

is afraid of or hates a certain colour is afraid of animals is afraid of dogs is afraid of flying is afraid of heights is afraid of house cats is afraid of insects is afraid of snakes is agoraphobic is claustrophobic is constantly paranoid

FOOD/DRINK:

always chews gum always has to be snacking on something cannot drink anything with ice in it cannot mix food cannot pour anything without spilling doesn’t drink alcohol doesn’t drink non-“diet” soft drinks doesn’t drink soft drinks doesn’t eat green things dumpster-dives eats counter-clockwise/clockwise around plate eats only cold food eats only hot food has tea in the afternoon is allergic to nuts is allergic to strawberries is lactose intolerant is vegan is vegetarian is unable to digest proteins correctly keeps kosher must be holding a cup to feel comfortable talking to strangers must chew food a certain number of times must clean plate must drink coffee or tea to “wake up” must leave some food left over obsessively loves a certain food or flavour only eats free food only drinks from paper, plastic, or styrofoam cups only drinks water saves fluid to drink after the meal

HEALTH:

brushes teeth more than 10 times a day drinks alcohol excessively when alone drinks alcohol excessively when around others drinks alcohol excessively when in public drinks lots of water doesn’t brush teeth doesn’t sweat habitually coughs/clears throat even when healthy habitually sniffles even when healthy has a large visible scar has allergies is colourblind is gassy is hearing-impaired is vision-impaired must hum while brushing teeth uses drugs recreationally smokes cigarettes smokes marijuana sneezes loudly sneezes many times in a row sweats profusely wears a retainer wears braces wears contact lenses wears glasses wears headgear works out/goes to the gym excessively

HOME:

has only white furniture has many pets is “organised chaos” lives with only required furniture (no lounge chairs or extra lamps)

MOVEMENT/PHYSICAL QUIRKS:

always feels dirty always knows what direction they are going always stands with feet apart always stands with hands behind their back always shreds random pieces of paper/napkins avoids eye contact [depends on the day…] blinks repeatedly bites lip bites nails cannot keep still cannot walk straight chews straws chews toenails constantly adjusts clothing constantly adjusts glasses constantly bumps into or knocks over things constantly checks phone constantly squints cracks neck/back cracks knuckles easily sunburned has a beard has a bouncy walk has a moustache has a noticeable birthmark has a spitting image doppleganger (Hi Cory XD!) has a terrible sense of direction has an eye twitch has body piercings has brightly coloured hair has extremely hairy arms has facial piercings has tattoos has terrible handwriting hates being touched (by people she doesn’t know) hates to hug is always touching their face is an extremely slow walker is bald is double-jointed is extremely clumsy is extremely flexible is extremely ticklish [tickle at your own risk…] is late to everything picks nose picks skin plays with hair pulls on earrings regularly looks up at the sky, sun, or moon skips tiles while walking taps foot when bored or nervous taps pen on surface tends to drag feet walks in the middle of the aisle or sidewalk so others can’t get around them walks with a limp whistles winks without realizing

SLEEP:

goes to bed after 4 am goes to bed at sunrise goes to bed at sunset sleeps during the day sleeps less than 3 hours sleeps without blankets sleeps without sheets sleep-cooks sleep-talks sleep-walks takes sleeping pills wakes up at 3 am wakes up after noon is prone to sleep paralysis is prone to nightmares

SPEECH/CONVERSING:

accidentally makes innuendos without realizing it (usually knows full fucking well!) always answers a question with a question always gives the vaguest possible answer to questions always laughs at own jokes always lets out a nervous laugh before speaking always quotes things incorrectly brings up/uses Internet memes/lingo constantly quotes favorite movies corrects others’ grammar curses constantly doesn’t talk much doesn’t understand sarcasm easily distracted in conversation ends declarative sentences with interrogative inflection flirts with everyone gets angry when someone mispronounces a word or pronounces it differently than them gossips constantly has a catchphrase they use whenever possible has a distinct accent has a lisp has a stutter has an unusually high-pitched laugh has an unusually low-pitched laugh has an unusually high-pitched voice has an unusually low-pitched voice has to touch whoever they are speaking to hates quiet pauses in conversation hates slang hesitates before speaking interrupts is a terrible listener is easily impressed is extremely gullible and falls for even the most obvious sarcasm is extremely sarcastic knows a foreign language laughs at everything laughs to self randomly or for no reason makes conversations always turn to a peculiar topic mutters things under their breath narrates their life aloud never speaks unless spoken to never uses contractions pauses a lot while speaking plays dumb puts others down constantly randomly bursts into song reacts exaggeratedly to everything regularly mispronounces words refuses to curse says “like” a lot says “right?” a lot SAYS “UM” OR “UH” A LOT says “you know” a lot sees a dirty/sexual reference in everything spaces out and stares when someone is talking for a while speaks in third person speaks out of the corner of their mouth speaks with poetic flair talks to animals tells “stories” with no point or conclusion tells the truth/is brutally honest no matter what uses abbreviations whenever possible uses bad puns whenever possible uses big words to impress others uses lots of metaphors uses pet names for everyone uses poor grammar uses slang whenever possible yawns a lot

SURROUNDINGS:

claustrophobic easily cold easily overheated gets uncomfortable in a place with little to no places to sit down gets uncomfortable in a place with no windows must sit next to a wall prefers to sit on the arm of chairs or couches rather than the seat prefers to sit on other people

TALENTS:

can identify any plant can quote nearly any movie or TV show can solve a difficult sudoku in under 5 minutes can solve a Rubik’s cube in under a minute can speak in a cartoon voice that sounds nothing like their real voice can talk with their mouth closed dances well generally lucky good at card games good at card tricks good at hair-braiding is an expert with a certain type of film is an expert with a certain type of music knows how to code websites knows how to shoot a gun accurately knows how to sew (more or less) knows lots of useless trivia sings well

TRAVELING:

does not drive must sit in a window seat on cars/trains/airplanes won’t fly won’t take public transportation

[starkdissembled-arc]

+headcanons

Bold what applies Italicize what applies sometimes or in some verses Regular text what rarely applies or only in few verses Strikethrough what never applies

under cut for length

BELIEFS:

agrees completely with the beliefs of a single philosopher/person believes all religions are cults believes animals do not have souls believes being homosexual is a choice believes conspiracy theories about politics, historical events, etc. believes everyone goes to heaven when they die believes in aliens believes in an afterlife believes in demonic possession believes in ghosts/spirits believes in karma believes in reincarnation believes in superheroes believes in supernatural/mythical creatures (werewolves, vampires, mermaids, etc.) believes in the Illuminati believes one gender is better than the other believes one race or culture is better than another believes the moon gives him special powers believes that watching/not watching a sporting event profoundly affects the outcome believes the world will end soon carries a “lucky” item with them everywhere doesn’t believe in mental illness fights for animal rights fights for gender equality fights for human rights fights for the legalisation of marijuana/other drugs fights for marriage equlity hates conflict is a Mormon is Amish is an Atheist is always trying to recruit people to their religion/philosophical beliefs is apathetic about politics is extremely passionate about a certain political issue is extremely politically conservative is extremely politically liberal is extremely superstitious meditates practices voodoo refuses to hurt any animal including insects

CLOTHING:

always has change in their pockets always has untied shoelaces always wears a cap or hat always wears a jacket, even in summer always wears shorts, even in winter always wears sunglasses, even indoors cannot resist the urge to steal clothing whenever they go to a clothing store cannot wear a certain colour doesn’t use a wallet doesn’t wear a watch only owns one or two pairs of shoes only wears a certain colour only wears t-shirts and jeans owns an outrageous amount of shoes refuses to get rid of old clothing refuses to wear shoes wears colorful socks wears lots of bracelets wears mismatched socks wears multiple watches set to different time zones wears only clothing of the opposite sex wears only new socks

COUNTING:

counts ceiling tiles counts cracks in the sidewalk counts money in pockets once a day counts own teeth counts stairs counts steps taken while walking

DIAGNOSED DISORDERS/SYMPTOMS:

experiences anxiety when alone experiences social anxiety experiences episodes of depression experiences episodes of mania experiences panic attacks has a compulsive disorder has a learning disability has an eating disorder not otherwise specified (EDNOS) has anorexia has Asperger’s Syndrome has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has bipolar disporder has borderline personality disorder (BPD) has bulimia has delusions of grandeur has depression has epilepsy has generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) has insomnia has narcolepsy has obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) has post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has schizophrenia has seizures has selective mutism has senesthesia hears voices is a pathological liar uses braces/crutches uses a wheelchair self-diagnoses self-harms by bruising self-harms by burning self-harms by cutting

ENTERTAINMENT/HOBBIES:

attends over 50 concerts per year belongs to a book club belongs to a fan club blogs boxes brings camera everywhere (phone) busks (performs in public for money) can’t sleep after watching horror movies collects boxes collects business cards collects buttons collects celebrity trash collects flyers collects insects collects packs of playing cards collects postcards collects stamps collects stuffed animals collects ticket stubs to everything creates cartoons creates comics creates inventions creates short films crochets dances competitively designs cars designs clothing doodles on everything embroiders enjoys hiking enjoys plays on words enjoys jigsaw puzzles enjoys jokes with puns enjoys word puzzles fire-breathes freestyle raps gardens gets headaches while listening to a certain type/genre of music has a black belt in karate has an obsession with a particular TV show, series, film, or franchise has seen a particular musical artist live over 50 times hates the outdoors hunts animals is a hacker is always reading is in a band juggles keeps a Rubik’s cube with them at all times keeps up with the weather obsessively knits lip-synchs loves board games loves camping loves memorising lists loves playing practical jokes loves the outdoors loves to hide and scare people makes dioramas/models makes greeting cards makes podcasts makes robots mixes music only listens to a certain genre of music only listens to a certain musical artist only watches court TV only watches reality shows paints plays a musical instrument plays a team sport plays with fire practices archery practices calligraphy practices magic practices metal working practices miming practices mixed martial arts (MMA) practices taxidermy practices water sports practices wood working practices yoga plays a team sport plays “geeky” games that require a paid subscription such as World of Warcraft plays poker plays video games randomly wanders around/gets lost when bored reads books chapter by chapter backwards rides BMX rides horses rock climbs runs scrapbooks secretly makes graffiti on public property self-publishes a magazine sings well skateboards sketches skiis swims swordfights takes pictures of everything teaches aerobics classes teaches art classes teaches dance classes vlogs volunteers wrestles writes academic articles writes essays writes fan fiction writes novels writes to a penpal

FEARS:

is afraid of or hates a certain colour is afraid of animals is afraid of dogs is afraid of heights is afraid of house cats is afraid of insects is afraid of snakes is agoraphobic is claustrophobic is constantly paranoid

FOOD/DRINK:

always chews gum always has to be snacking on something cannot drink anything with ice in it cannot mix food cannot pour anything without spilling doesn’t drink alcohol doesn’t drink non-“diet” soft drinks doesn’t drink soft drinks doesn’t eat green things dumpster-dives eats counter-clockwise/clockwise around plate eats only cold food eats only hot food has tea in the afternoon is allergic to nuts is allergic to strawberries is lactose intolerant is vegan is vegetarian is unable to digest proteins correctly keeps kosher must be holding a cup to feel comfortable talking to strangers must chew food a certain number of times must clean plate must drink coffee or tea to “wake up” must leave some food left over obsessively loves a certain food or flavour only eats free food only drinks from paper, plastic, or styrofoam cups only drinks water saves fluid to drink after the meal

HEALTH:

brushes teeth more than 10 times a day drinks alcohol excessively when alone drinks alcohol excessively when around others drinks alcohol excessively when in public drinks lots of water doesn’t brush teeth doesn’t sweat habitually coughs/clears throat even when healthy habitually sniffles even when healthy has a large visible scar has allergies is colourblind is gassy is hearing-impaired is vision-impaired must hum while brushing teeth uses drugs recreationally smokes cigarettes smokes marijuana sneezes loudly sneezes many times in a row sweats profusely wears a retainer wears braces wears contact lenses wears glasses wears headgear works out/goes to the gym excessively

HOME:

has only white furniture has many pets is “organised chaos” lives with only required furniture (no lounge chairs or extra lamps)

MOVEMENT/PHYSICAL QUIRKS:

always feels dirty always knows what direction they are going always stands with feet apart always stands with hands behind their back always shreds random pieces of paper/napkins avoids eye contact blinks repeatedly bites lip bites nails cannot keep still cannot walk straight chews straws chews toenails constantly adjusts clothing constantly adjusts glasses constantly bumps into or knocks over things constantly checks phone constantly squints cracks neck/back cracks knuckles easily sunburned has a beard has a bouncy walk has a moustache has a noticeable birthmark has a spitting image doppleganger has a terrible sense of direction has an eye twitch has body piercings has brightly coloured hair has extremely hairy arms has facial piercings has tattoos has terrible handwriting hates being touched hates to hug is always touching their face is an extremely slow walker is bald is double-jointed is extremely clumsy is extremely flexible is extremely ticklish is late to everything picks nose picks skin plays with hair pulls on earrings regularly looks up at the sky, sun, or moon skips tiles while walking taps foot when bored or nervous taps pen on surface tends to drag feet walks in the middle of the aisle or sidewalk so others can’t get around them walks with a limp whistles winks without realizing

SLEEP:

goes to bed after 4 am goes to bed at sunrise goes to bed at sunset sleeps during the day sleeps less than 3 hours sleeps without blankets sleeps without sheets sleep-cooks sleep-talks sleep-walks takes sleeping pills wakes up at 3 am wakes up after noon

SPEECH/CONVERSING:

accidentally makes innuendos without realizing it always answers a question with a question always gives the vaguest possible answer to questions always laughs at own jokes always lets out a nervous laugh before speaking always quotes things incorrectly brings up/uses Internet memes/lingo constantly quotes favorite movies corrects others’ grammar curses constantly doesn’t talk much doesn’t understand sarcasm easily distracted in conversation ends declarative sentences with interrogative inflection flirts with everyone gets angry when someone mispronounces a word or pronounces it differently than them gossips constantly has a catchphrase they use whenever possible has a distinct accent has a lisp has a stutter has an unusually high-pitched laugh has an unusually low-pitched laugh has an unusually high-pitched voice has an unusually low-pitched voice has to touch whoever they are speaking to hates quiet pauses in conversation hates slang hesitates before speaking interrupts is a terrible listener is easily impressed is extremely gullible and falls for even the most obvious sarcasm is extremely sarcastic knows a foreign language laughs at everything laughs to self randomly or for no reason makes conversations always turn to a peculiar topic mutters things under their breath narrates their life aloud never speaks unless spoken to never uses contractions pauses a lot while speaking plays dumb puts others down constantly randomly bursts into song reacts exaggeratedly to everything regularly mispronounces words refuses to curse says “like” a lot says “right?” a lot SAYS “UM” OR “UH” A LOT says “you know” a lot sees a dirty/sexual reference in everything spaces out and stares when someone is talking for a while speaks in third person speaks out of the corner of their mouth speaks with poetic flair talks to animals tells “stories” with no point or conclusion tells the truth/is brutally honest no matter what uses abbreviations whenever possible uses bad puns whenever possible uses big words to impress others uses lots of metaphors uses pet names for everyone uses poor grammar uses slang whenever possible yawns a lot

SURROUNDINGS:

claustrophobic easily cold easily overheated gets uncomfortable in a place with little to no places to sit down gets uncomfortable in a place with no windows must sit next to a wall prefers to sit on the arm of chairs or couches rather than the seat

TALENTS:

can identify any plant can quote nearly any movie or TV show can solve a difficult sudoku in under 5 minutes can solve a Rubik’s cube in under a minute can speak in a cartoon voice that sounds nothing like their real voice can talk with their mouth closed dances well generally lucky good at card games good at card tricks good at hair-braiding is an expert with a certain type of film is an expert with a certain type of music knows how to code websites knows how to shoot a gun accurately knows how to sew knows lots of useless trivia sings well

TRAVELING:

does not drive must sit in a window seat on cars/trains/airplanes won’t fly won’t take public transportation

[njawaidofficial]

If You’re Not Watching “The Magicians” At This Point, You’re Missing Out On Something Great

https://styleveryday.com/2018/04/03/if-youre-not-watching-the-magicians-at-this-point-youre-missing-out-on-something-great/

If You’re Not Watching “The Magicians” At This Point, You’re Missing Out On Something Great

Hale Appleman as Eliot, embracing Summer Bishil as Margo in The Magicians.

Syfy

When it comes to the shows that hog all the attention in our era of peak TV, The Magicians is nowhere near the top of the list. Mainstream conversations about fantasy TV are often limited to the wild success of Game of Thrones, and The Magicians is nestled into an underrated corner of TV on the Syfy network. It’s easy for any series to get a little buried when there are 500+ shows and the Stark family around. But if we’re judging on ambition and inventiveness, The Magicians is one of the most notable shows on television — and its third season, which wraps up this week, proved that point over and over again. It’s a show that plays with story convention so consistently it blows up any boundaries that might hold it back.

Technically, The Magicians is built on the familiar. Based on Lev Grossman’s book series of the same name, the show began in 2015 as a sort of advanced-age Harry Potter meets Chronicles of Narnia. Unlike Hogwarts, the Magicians’ magic school — Brakebills — serves grad school students instead of children. When the characters discover and eventually become kings and queens of Fillory, their own version of Narnia, the escapist world operates as a Technicolor meditation on what it means to embrace adult responsibility. The series is also a direct descendant of Buffy the Vampire Slayer: It follows a group of ragtag young people as they repeatedly try to save the world. The characters fight through depression, sexual assault, addiction, and the general sense that things may never get easier. That’s all classic, well-trod territory. Which makes it all the more impressive that The Magicians inspires the feeling that it’s doing it all for the first time.

Here are just a few of the elements that make it stand out.

It’s one of the best ensemble shows about a group of twentysomethings.

From left: Stella Maeve as Julia, Olivia Taylor Dudley as Alice, Appleman as Eliot, Bishil as Margo, Jason Ralph as Quentin, and Arjun Gupta as Penny in a promotional shot for The Magicians.

Syfy

The Magicians has always had a stellar cast of characters on its side — a group of friends brought together via Brakebills and overlapping heroes’ journeys. They’ve fought moth-faced villains and conquered gods, each character an integral part of a larger and pretty magnificent whole. Eliot (Hale Appleman) has a palpable regality in both his look and his soul; Margo (Summer Bishil) has blossomed as a brazen queen; Quentin (Jason Ralph) is steadfast and earnest, buoyed by Ralph’s deep pleasantness, an energy that’s completely transformed the character from what he was in the books. And that’s only the tip of the iceberg — Julia (Stella Maeve), Penny (Arjun Gupta), Alice (Olivia Taylor Dudley), Kady (Jade Tailor), and Josh (Trevor Einhorn) are all worthy of their own odes. In a strange way, through them, The Magicians sits right alongside Insecure, New Girl, and Girls — it’s a sexy ensemble show about a twentysomething friend group. They muse on responsibility and the big life decisions you’re forced to make as you become a true grownup. They just do so while having hoversex, battling literal manifestations of their depression, and trying to run a kingdom or two.

And it has the kind of diversity that so many of the shows it riffs on lacked.

Candis Cayne as the Fairy Queen and Bishil as Margo in The Magicians.

Syfy

Beloved as Buffy may have been, it was also notoriously white. The Magicians, on the other hand, very much lives in a socially conscious 2018. A significant portion of its main cast is made up of people of color. Not only that, but every single one of them — from Maeve’s Julia, to Gupta’s Penny, to Bishil’s Margo — is the kind of complex, specific character you won’t find anywhere else on television.

Bishil as Margo in The Magicians.

Syfy

A sizable portion of the characters also appears to be sexually fluid. Quentin, who on most shows would be the straightest white man on the planet, has a threesome with a man and a woman. He hooks up again with that same man in a later episode. There are no coming-out storylines, no hemming and hawing about labels — intimacies just happen to manifest in all types of ways on this show. On the one hand, there are always downsides to a lack of labels, including perpetuating the erasure of orientations like bisexuality. On the other, it’s kind of freeing to watch a show where it’s genuinely possible that anyone could sleep with anyone else and everyone treats that pretty casually. It goes well with part of what makes The Magicians so fun to watch: It actually does feel like anything could happen. The story options are wide open when everyone’s at least a little bit queer.

The Magicians’ third season has also heavily featured Candis Cayne, a trans actor who previously broke ground with her role on Dirty Sexy Money — the first time a trans actor had a recurring role playing a trans character on primetime television. Here, she plays the Fairy Queen, an intimidating force and a standout of the season. Another standout: Marlee Matlin’s Harriet — a deaf actor playing a deaf character who gets a beautiful moment in the spotlight with Season 3’s “Six Short Stories About Magic.”

What’s more, most of the show’s inclusivity goes unremarked upon on the show itself. Race, gender, and disability aren’t invisible to any of the core characters, but neither are they the focus. Characters will call out white supremacy and sexism without the show bragging about having a queen (and king!) of a magical realm be played by an actor of Mexican, Indian, and European heritage. Or a black man as the king of their neighboring kingdom. Or a mixed Native American woman on the path to becoming a goddess. And so on. Which is not to say The Magicians shouldn’t brag — if they want to spend all of Season 4 bragging about their magnificent ensemble, that would work too.

The show has a true sense of playfulness.

Appleman as Eliot and Bishil as Margo singing “One Day More” in The Magicians.

Syfy

When Buffy aired its iconic musical episode in 2001, it had a ripple effect. Scrubs, Grey’s Anatomy, Psych, That ’70s Show, and even 7th Heaven all turned themselves into musicals for an episode. The Magicians, for its part, has been following in those same footsteps since its first season. Only instead of just one designated episode, they’ve peppered musical numbers into every season so far. In Season 1, Quentin sang Taylor Swift’s “Shake It Off” while trying to break out of a spell that had him trapped in a psychiatric hospital. “One Day More” from Les Misérables made a magnificent appearance in Season 2, as Eliot prepared for a duel to save his kingdom. (That one resembled what Game of Thrones might look like if Game of Thrones liked to party.) And this season, The Magicians did finally designate a full episode to several numbers. It culminated in the show’s main ensemble joining together in a rousing rendition of “Under Pressure.”

Integrated throughout the show, these moments stand as a declaration: This is just what The Magicians is, at its core. These scenes aren’t just an aside, a whim to break through the mundanity for a single episode — though The Magicians is also very good at that. With this show, narrative is twisted like a rubber band and then flung across the room. This is a series where talking sloths serve as top political advisers, party gods get banned from Instagram for posting too many shots of nipples, and messenger rabbits say things like “eat my ass.” It’s a blast.

And the fun they have with the story will also punch you in the heart (in a good way).

Sebastian Billingsley-Rodriguez as Rupert, Kylee Bush as Arielle, Ralph as Quentin, and Appleman as Eliot in the episode “A Life in the Day.”

Syfy

Wrapped up in all of its magical elements, The Magicians also happens to be wildly convoluted. Here, though, it’s at least in a way the show seems to truly delight in. As things grew more complex in Season 3, every week felt like the writers were taking the series’ classic fantasy tropes and conducting science experiments on them. Sometimes the effect is that aforementioned playfulness. But their characters are still on a variety of heroes’ journeys — which means this show is also willing to rip your heart out and tap dance all over it. Honestly? It feels great.

Eliot comforting Quentin and Rupert in “A Life in the Day.”

Syfy / Via whitefluffyyeti.tumblr.com

If there was one shining highlight of the season — and the show overall — it was the Feb. 7 episode, “A Life in the Day.” In it, Quentin and Eliot are tasked with completing a mosaic puzzle as part of a season-long quest to bring magic back to their world. To do so, they have to travel to a past version of Fillory. But unable to leave until they complete their mission, they wind up staying in the immediate vicinity of that puzzle for…well, the entire rest of their lives. The show plays this out in an extended montage. The two grow restless. They fight, they bond. They hook up. Quentin meets a local girl, settles down, has a son. When she’s gone, Quentin and Eliot spend the rest of their lives raising the kid and growing old together. Like the opening montage of Up, it’s the kind of sequence that really hits you with everything that it means to be human. It stays with you.

By the end of the episode, Quentin and Eliot had completed the puzzle and found their way back to their youths and their usual timeline. But the show made sure the impact of their time together was felt. These two characters had lived out an entire life as loving partners, side by side. It was an emotional beat that packed a hell of a wallop, and payoff has been sprinkled through the episodes that have followed. Sometimes it’s in small asides between the two characters; sometimes it’s just in knowing the way they look at each other. It’s hardly the first time characters in a genre show have lived out their entire lives in a separate timeline. But “A Life in the Day” was indicative of what The Magicians does best: It uses its magical setting and all-star cast to mold itself into different forms. Sometimes, like in that episode, it knocks you off your feet in the process.

In another episode, called “Six Short Stories About Magic,” the narrative is split into six vignettes sorted by character. The final one is centered on Harriet, a freedom of information activist and magician who runs a BuzzFeed spoof called FuzzBeat (hi, guys!). As Harriet is deaf, 10 minutes of the episode take place in silence. The segment includes some long-awaited exposition into Harriet’s backstory, which we get through her perspective before the series explodes back into sound in its final moments. The effect is stirring.

Gupta as an ailing Penny in The Magicians.

Syfy

In “Be the Penny,” we get another play on perspective as Penny finds himself separated from his body with his friends believing him dead. We spend the episode with his astral self, watching people react to his death as he tries desperately to contact them. In both of these, the show plays with form to reveal depth. Penny doesn’t get a normal death, so it follows that the episode focusing on that would be just as off-kilter as the story itself — and just as sad. Penny watches his friends grieve, though not always to his satisfaction, and he can’t reach them to tell them that he’s still there.

This kind of experimentation is not new to fantasy. Supernatural, in its seemingly 500th year on television, has employed practically every genre and meta twist there is. Most recently, the characters crossed over with Scooby Doo and literally became animated. And Buffy was groundbreaking in this field before that, not only for the aforementioned musical episode but also for forays into silent filmmaking with “Hush” and character experiments like “Tabula Rasa.” One of the joys of sci-fi and fantasy is that it gives you a built-in excuse to fuck with convention. The Magicians has reveled in that from day one — and from the ground up. And with this third season, it took itself to a whole new and thrilling level.

Appleman and Ralph behind the scenes on the episode “A Life in the Day.”

Hale Appleman / Via instagram.com

[indyflanery]

personality quirks

BELIEFS:

agrees completely with the beliefs of a single philosopher/person

believes all religions are cults

believes animals do not have souls

believes being homosexual is a choice

believes conspiracy theories about politics, historical events, etc.

believes everyone goes to heaven when they die

believes in aliens

believes in an afterlife

believes in demonic possession

believes in ghosts/spirits

believes in karma

believes in reincarnation

believes in superheroes

believes in supernatural/mythical creatures (werewolves, vampires, mermaids, etc.)

believes in the Illuminati

believes one gender is better than the other

believes one race or culture is better than another

believes the moon gives him special powers

believes that watching/not watching a sporting event profoundly affects the outcome

believes the world will end soon

carries a “lucky” item with them everywhere

doesn’t believe in mental illness

fights for animal rights

fights for gender equality

fights for human rights

fights for the legalisation of marijuana/other drugs

fights for marriage equality

hates conflict

is a Mormon

is Amish

is an atheist/agnostic

is always trying to recruit people to their religion/philosophical beliefs

is apathetic about politics

is extremely passionate about a certain political issue

is extremely politically conservative

is extremely politically liberal

is extremely superstitious

meditates

practices voodoo

refuses to hurt any animal, including insects

CLOTHING:

always has change in their pockets

always has untied shoelaces

always wears a cap or hat

always wears a jacket, even in summer

always wears shorts, even in winter

always wears sunglasses, even indoors

cannot resist the urge to steal clothing whenever they go to a clothing store

cannot wear a certain colour

doesn’t use a wallet

doesn’t wear a watch

only owns one or two pairs of shoes

only wears a certain colour

only wears t-shirts and jeans

owns an outrageous amount of shoes

refuses to get rid of old clothing

refuses to wear shoes

wears colorful socks

wears lots of bracelets

wears mismatched socks

wears multiple watches set to different time zones

wears only clothing of the opposite sex

wears only new socks

COUNTING:

counts ceiling tiles

counts cracks in the sidewalk

counts money in pockets once a day

counts own teeth

counts stairs

counts steps taken while walking

DIAGNOSED DISORDERS/SYMPTOMS:

experiences anxiety when alone

experiences anxiety when in social situations

experiences episodes of depression

experiences episodes of mania

experiences panic attacks

has a compulsive disorder

has a learning disability

has an eating disorder not otherwise specified (EDNOS)

has anorexia

has Asperger’s Syndrome

has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

has bipolar disporder

has borderline personality disorder (BPD)

has bulimia

has delusions of grandeur

has depression

has epilepsy

has generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)

has insomnia

has narcolepsy

has obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)

has post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

has schizophrenia

has seizures

has selective mutism

has senesthesia

hears voices

is a pathological liar

uses braces/crutches

uses a wheelchair

self-diagnoses

self-harms by bruising

self-harms by burning

self-harms by cutting

ENTERTAINMENT/HOBBIES:

attends over 50 concerts per year

belongs to a book club

belongs to a fan club

blogs

boxes

brings camera everywhere

busks (performs in public for money)

can’t sleep after watching horror movies

collects boxes

collects business cards

collects buttons

collects celebrity trash

collects flyers

collects insects

collects packs of playing cards

collects postcards

collects stamps

collects stuffed animals

collects ticket stubs to everything

creates cartoons

creates comics

creates inventions

creates short films

crochets

dances competitively

designs cars

designs clothing

doodles on everything

embroiders

enjoys hiking

enjoys plays on words

enjoys jigsaw puzzles

enjoys jokes with puns

enjoys word puzzles

fire-breathes

freestyle raps

gardens

gets headaches while listening to a certain type/genre of music

has a black belt in karate

has an obsession with a particular TV show, series, film, or franchise

has seen a particular musical artist live over 50 times

hates the outdoors

hunts animals

is a hacker

is always reading

is in a band

juggles

keeps a Rubik’s cube with them at all times

keeps up with the weather obsessively

knits

lip-synchs

loves board games

loves camping

loves memorising lists

loves playing practical jokes

loves the outdoors

loves to hide and scare people

makes dioramas/models

makes greeting cards

makes podcasts

makes robots

mixes music

only listens to a certain genre of music

only listens to a certain musical artist

only watches court TV

only watches reality shows

paints

plays a musical instrument

plays a team sport

plays with fire

practices archery

practices calligraphy

practices magic

practices metal working

practices miming

practices mixed martial arts (MMA)

practices taxidermy

practices water sports

practices wood working

practices yoga

plays a team sport

plays “geeky” games that require a paid subscription such as World of Warcraft

plays poker

plays video games

randomly wanders around/gets lost when bored

reads books chapter by chapter backwards

rides BMX

rides horses

rock climbs

runs

scrapbooks

secretly makes graffiti on public property

self-publishes a magazine

sings well

skateboards

sketches

skiis

swims

swordfights

takes pictures of everything

teaches aerobics classes

teaches art classes

teaches dance classes

vlogs

volunteers

wrestles

writes academic articles

writes essays

writes fan fiction

writes novels

writes to a penpal

FEARS:

has a miscellaneous phobia

is afraid of or hates a certain colour

is afraid of animals

is afraid of dogs

is afraid of heights

is afraid of house cats

is afraid of insects

is afraid of snakes

is agoraphobic

is claustrophobic

is constantly paranoid

FOOD/DRINK:

always chews gum

always has to be snacking on something

cannot drink anything with ice in it

cannot mix food

cannot pour anything without spilling

doesn’t drink alcohol

doesn’t drink non-“diet” soft drinks

doesn’t drink soft drinks

doesn’t eat green things

dumpster-dives

eats counter-clockwise/clockwise around plate

eats only cold food

eats only hot food

has tea in the afternoon

is allergic to nuts

is allergic to strawberries

is lactose intolerant

is strongly susceptible to ‘brain freeze’

is vegan

is vegetarian

is unable to digest proteins correctly

keeps kosher

must be holding a cup to feel comfortable talking to strangers

must chew food a certain number of times

must clean plate

must drink coffee or tea to “wake up”

must leave some food left over

obsessively loves a certain food or flavour

only eats free food

only drinks from paper, plastic, or styrofoam cups

only drinks water

saves fluid to drink after the meal

then dining out, always tidies up the table, lines up the silverware, and resets the condiments

HEALTH:

brushes teeth more than 10 times a day

drinks alcohol excessively when alone

drinks alcohol excessively when around others

drinks alcohol excessively when in public

drinks a lot of water

doesn’t brush teeth

doesn’t sweat

habitually coughs/clears throat even when healthy

habitually sniffles even when healthy

has a large visible scar

has allergies

is colourblind

is gassy

is hearing-impaired

is vision-impaired

must hum while brushing teeth

uses drugs recreationally

smokes cigarettes

smokes marijuana

sneezes loudly

sneezes many times in a row

sweats profusely

wears a retainer

wears braces

wears contact lenses

wears glasses (will soon)

wears headgear

works out/goes to the gym excessively

HOME:

has only white furniture

has many pets

is “organised chaos”

lives with only required furniture (no lounge chairs or extra lamps)

MOVEMENT/PHYSICAL QUIRKS:

always feels dirty

always knows what direction they are going

always stands with feet apart

always stands with hands behind their back

always shreds random pieces of paper/napkins

avoids eye contact

blinks repeatedly

bites lip

bites nails

cannot keep still

cannot walk straight

chews straws

chews toenails

constantly adjusts clothing

constantly adjusts glasses

constantly bumps into or knocks over things

constantly checks phone

constantly squints

cracks neck/back

cracks knuckles

easily sunburned

fidgets constantly

has a beard

has a bouncy walk

has a moustache

has a noticeable birthmark

has a spitting image doppleganger

has a terrible sense of direction

has an eye twitch

has body piercings

has brightly coloured hair

has extremely hairy arms

has facial piercings

has tatoos

has terrible handwriting

hates being touched

hates to hug

is always touching their face

is an extremely fast walked

is an extremely slow walker

is bald

is double-jointed

is early to everything

is left-handed

is extremely clumsy

is extremely flexible

is extremely ticklish

is late to everything

loves to hug

must avoid all cracks in the sidewalk

must step on all cracks in the sidewalk

picks nose

picks skin

plays with hair

pulls on earrings

regularly looks up at the sky, sun, or moon

shifts weight from foot to foot

skips tiles while walking

taps foot when bored or nervous

taps pen on surface

tends to drag feet

tips head when listening/thinking

walks in the middle of the aisle or sidewalk so others can’t get around them

walks with a limp

whistles

winks without realising

SLEEP:

goes to bed after 4 am

goes to bed at sunrise

goes to bed at sunset

sleeps during the day

sleeps less than 3 hours

sleeps without blankets

sleeps without sheets

sleep-cooks

sleep-talks

sleep-walks

takes sleeping pills

wakes up at 3 am

wakes up after noon

SPEECH/CONVERSING:

accidentally makes innuendoes without realising it

always answers a question with a question

always gives the vaguest possible answer to questions

always laughs at own jokes

always lets out a nervous laugh before speaking

always quotes things incorrectly

brings up/uses Internet memes/lingo

constantly quotes favourite movies

corrects others’ grammar

curses constantly

doesn’t talk much

doesn’t understand sarcasm

easily distracted in conversation

ends declarative sentences with interrogative inflection

flirts with everyone

gets angry when someone mispronounces a word or pronounces it differently than them

goes off on tangents

gossips constantly

has a catchphrase they use whenever possible

has a distinct accent

has a lisp

has a stutter

has an unusually high-pitched laugh

has an unusually low-pitched laugh

has an unusually high-pitched voice

has an unusually low-pitched voice

has to touch whoever they are speaking to

hates quiet pauses in conversation

hates slang

hesitates before speaking

interrupts

is a terrible listener

is easily impressed

is extremely gullible and falls for even the most obvious sarcasm

is extremely sarcastic

knows a foreign language

laughs at everything

laughs to self randomly or for no reason

makes conversations always turn to a peculiar topic

mutters things under their breath

narrates their life aloud

never speaks unless spoken to

never uses contractions

pauses a lot while speaking

plays dumb

puts others down constantly

randomly bursts into song

reacts exaggeratedly to everything

regularly mispronounces words

refuses to curse

says “like” a lot

says “right?” a lot

says ‘um’ or ‘uh’ a lot

says “you know” a lot

sees a dirty/sexual reference in everything

spaces out and stares when someone is talking for a while

speaks in third person

speaks out of the corner of their mouth

speaks with poetic flair

talks to animals

talks to inanimate objects

talks to self

talks very loudly

talks very quietly

tells “stories” with no point or conclusion

tells the truth/is brutally honest no matter what

uses abbreviations whenever possible

uses bad puns whenever possible

uses big words to impress others

uses lots of metaphors

uses pet names for everyone

uses poor grammar

uses slang whenever possible

yawns a lot

SURROUNDINGS:

claustrophobic

easily cold

easily overheated

gets uncomfortable in a place with little to no places to sit down

gets uncomfortable in a place with no windows

must sit next to a wall

prefers to sit on the arm of chairs or couches rather than the seat

TALENTS:

can identify any plant

can quote nearly any movie or TV show

can solve a difficult sudoku in under 5 minutes

can solve a Rubik’s cube in under a minute

can speak in a cartoon voice that sounds nothing like their real voice

can talk with their mouth closed

dances well

draws well

generally lucky

good at card games

good at card tricks

good at hair-braiding

is an expert with a certain type of film

is an expert with a certain type of music

knows how to code websites

knows how to shoot a gun accurately

knows how to sew

knows lots of useless trivia

sings well

TRAVELING:

does not drive

must sit in a window seat on cars/trains/airplanes

won’t fly

won’t take public transportation

[scvietassassin]

memes for extremes

+headcanons

Bold what applies Italicize what applies sometimes or in some verses Regular text what rarely applies or only in few verses Strikethrough what never applies

under cut for length

BELIEFS:

agrees completely with the beliefs of a single philosopher/person believes all religions are cults believes animals do not have souls believes being homosexual is a choice believes conspiracy theories about politics, historical events, etc. believes everyone goes to heaven when they die believes in aliens believes in an afterlife believes in demonic possession believes in ghosts/spirits believes in karma believes in reincarnation believes in superheroes believes in supernatural/mythical creatures (werewolves, vampires, mermaids, etc.) believes in the Illuminati believes one gender is better than the other believes one race or culture is better than another believes the moon gives him special powers believes that watching/not watching a sporting event profoundly affects the outcome believes the world will end soon carries a “lucky” item with them everywhere doesn’t believe in mental illness fights for animal rights fights for gender equality fights for human rights fights for the legalisation of marijuana/other drugs fights for marriage equality hates conflict is a Mormon is Amish is an Atheist is always trying to recruit people to their religion/philosophical beliefs is apathetic about politics is extremely passionate about a certain political issue is extremely politically conservative is extremely politically liberal is extremely superstitious meditates practices voodoo refuses to hurt any animal including insects

CLOTHING:

always has change in their pockets always has untied shoelaces always wears a cap or hat always wears a jacket, even in summer always wears shorts, even in winter always wears sunglasses, even indoors cannot resist the urge to steal clothing whenever they go to a clothing store cannot wear a certain colour doesn’t use a wallet doesn’t wear a watch only owns one or two pairs of shoes only wears a certain colour only wears t-shirts and jeans owns an outrageous amount of shoes refuses to get rid of old clothing refuses to wear shoes wears colorful socks wears lots of bracelets wears mismatched socks wears multiple watches set to different time zones wears only clothing of the opposite sex wears only new socks

COUNTING:

counts ceiling tiles counts cracks in the sidewalk counts money in pockets once a day counts own teeth counts stairs counts steps taken while walking

DIAGNOSED DISORDERS/SYMPTOMS:

experiences anxiety when alone experiences social anxiety experiences episodes of depression experiences episodes of mania experiences panic attacks has a compulsive disorder has a learning disability has an eating disorder not otherwise specified (EDNOS) has anorexia has Asperger’s Syndrome has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has bipolar disporder has borderline personality disorder (BPD) has bulimia has delusions of grandeur has depression has epilepsy has generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) has insomnia has narcolepsy has obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) has post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has schizophrenia has seizures has selective mutism has senesthesia hears voices is a pathological liar uses braces/crutches uses a wheelchair self-diagnoses self-harms by bruising self-harms by burning self-harms by cutting

ENTERTAINMENT/HOBBIES:

attends over 50 concerts per year belongs to a book club belongs to a fan club blogs boxes brings camera everywhere busks (performs in public for money) can’t sleep after watching horror movies collects boxes collects business cards collects buttons collects celebrity trash collects flyers collects insects collects packs of playing cards collects postcards collects stamps collects stuffed animals collects ticket stubs to everything creates cartoons creates comics creates inventions creates short films crochets dances competitively designs cars designs clothing doodles on everything embroiders enjoys hiking enjoys plays on words enjoys jigsaw puzzles enjoys jokes with puns enjoys word puzzles fire-breathes freestyle raps gardens gets headaches while listening to a certain type/genre of music has a black belt in karate has an obsession with a particular TV show, series, film, or franchise has seen a particular musical artist live over 50 times hates the outdoors hunts animals is a hacker is always reading is in a band juggles keeps a Rubik’s cube with them at all times keeps up with the weather obsessively knits lip-syncs loves board games loves camping loves memorising lists loves playing practical jokes loves the outdoors loves to hide and scare people makes dioramas/models makes greeting cards makes podcasts makes robots mixes music only listens to a certain genre of music only listens to a certain musical artist only watches court TV only watches reality shows paints plays a musical instrument plays a team sport plays with fire practices archery practices calligraphy practices magic practices metal working practices miming practices mixed martial arts (MMA) practices taxidermy practices water sports practices wood working practices yoga plays “geeky” games that require a paid subscription such as World of Warcraft plays poker plays video games randomly wanders around/gets lost when bored reads books chapter by chapter backwards rides BMX rides horses rock climbs runs scrapbooks secretly makes graffiti on public property self-publishes a magazine sings well skateboards sketches skiis swims swordfights takes pictures of everything teaches aerobics classes teaches art classes teaches dance classes vlogs volunteers wrestles writes academic articles writes essays writes fan fiction writes novels writes to a penpal

FEARS:

is afraid of or hates a certain colour is afraid of animals is afraid of dogs is afraid of heights is afraid of house cats is afraid of insects is afraid of snakes is agoraphobic is claustrophobic is constantly paranoid

FOOD/DRINK:

always chews gum always has to be snacking on something cannot drink anything with ice in it cannot mix food cannot pour anything without spilling doesn’t drink alcohol doesn’t drink non-“diet” soft drinks doesn’t drink soft drinks doesn’t eat green things dumpster-dives eats counter-clockwise/clockwise around plate eats only cold food eats only hot food has tea in the afternoon is allergic to nuts is allergic to strawberries is lactose intolerant is vegan is vegetarian is unable to digest proteins correctly keeps kosher must be holding a cup to feel comfortable talking to strangers must chew food a certain number of times must clean plate must drink coffee or tea to “wake up” must leave some food left over obsessively loves a certain food or flavour only eats free food only drinks from paper, plastic, or styrofoam cups only drinks water saves fluid to drink after the meal

HEALTH:

brushes teeth more than 10 times a day drinks alcohol excessively when alone drinks alcohol excessively when around others drinks alcohol excessively when in public drinks lots of water doesn’t brush teeth doesn’t sweat habitually coughs/clears throat even when healthy habitually sniffles even when healthy has a large visible scar has allergies is colourblind is gassy is hearing-impaired is vision-impaired must hum while brushing teeth uses drugs recreationally smokes cigarettes smokes marijuana sneezes loudly sneezes many times in a row sweats profusely wears a retainer wears braces wears contact lenses wears glasses wears headgear works out/goes to the gym excessively

HOME:

has only white furniture has many pets is “organised chaos” lives with only required furniture (no lounge chairs or extra lamps)

MOVEMENT/PHYSICAL QUIRKS:

always feels dirty always knows what direction they are going always stands with feet apart always stands with hands behind their back always shreds random pieces of paper/napkins avoids eye contact blinks repeatedly bites lip bites nails cannot keep still cannot walk straight chews straws chews toenails constantly adjusts clothing constantly adjusts glasses constantly bumps into or knocks over things constantly checks phone constantly squints cracks neck/back cracks knuckles easily sunburned has a beard has a bouncy walk has a moustache has a noticeable birthmark has a spitting image doppleganger has a terrible sense of direction has an eye twitch has body piercings has brightly coloured hair has extremely hairy arms has facial piercings has tattoos has terrible handwriting hates being touched hates to hug is always touching their face is an extremely slow walker is bald is double-jointed is extremely clumsy is extremely flexible is extremely ticklish is late to everything picks nose picks skin plays with hair pulls on earrings regularly looks up at the sky, sun, or moon skips tiles while walking taps foot when bored or nervous taps pen on surface tends to drag feet walks in the middle of the aisle or sidewalk so others can’t get around them walks with a limp whistles winks without realizing

SLEEP:

goes to bed after 4 am goes to bed at sunrise goes to bed at sunset sleeps during the day sleeps less than 3 hours sleeps without blankets sleeps without sheets sleep-cooks sleep-talks sleep-walks takes sleeping pills wakes up at 3 am wakes up after noon

SPEECH/CONVERSING:

accidentally makes innuendos without realizing it always answers a question with a question always gives the vaguest possible answer to questions always laughs at own jokes always lets out a nervous laugh before speaking always quotes things incorrectly brings up/uses Internet memes/lingo constantly quotes favorite movies corrects others’ grammar curses constantly doesn’t talk much doesn’t understand sarcasm easily distracted in conversation ends declarative sentences with interrogative inflection flirts with everyone gets angry when someone mispronounces a word or pronounces it differently than them gossips constantly has a catchphrase they use whenever possible has a distinct accent has a lisp has a stutter has an unusually high-pitched laugh has an unusually low-pitched laugh has an unusually high-pitched voice has an unusually low-pitched voice has to touch whoever they are speaking to hates quiet pauses in conversation hates slang hesitates before speaking interrupts is a terrible listener is easily impressed is extremely gullible and falls for even the most obvious sarcasm is extremely sarcastic knows a foreign language laughs at everything laughs to self randomly or for no reason makes conversations always turn to a peculiar topic mutters things under their breath narrates their life aloud never speaks unless spoken to never uses contractions pauses a lot while speaking plays dumb puts others down constantly randomly bursts into song reacts exaggeratedly to everything regularly mispronounces words refuses to curse says “like” a lot says “right?” a lot SAYS “UM” OR “UH” A LOT says “you know” a lot sees a dirty/sexual reference in everything spaces out and stares when someone is talking for a while speaks in third person speaks out of the corner of their mouth speaks with poetic flair talks to animals tells “stories” with no point or conclusion tells the truth/is brutally honest no matter what uses abbreviations whenever possible uses bad puns whenever possible uses big words to impress others uses lots of metaphors uses pet names for everyone uses poor grammar uses slang whenever possible yawns a lot

SURROUNDINGS:

claustrophobic easily cold easily overheated gets uncomfortable in a place with little to no places to sit down gets uncomfortable in a place with no windows must sit next to a wall prefers to sit on the arm of chairs or couches rather than the seat

TALENTS:

can identify any plant can quote nearly any movie or TV show can solve a difficult sudoku in under 5 minutes can solve a Rubik’s cube in under a minute can speak in a cartoon voice that sounds nothing like their real voice can talk with their mouth closed dances well generally lucky good at card games good at card tricks good at hair-braiding is an expert with a certain type of film is an expert with a certain type of music knows how to code websites knows how to shoot a gun accurately knows how to sew knows lots of useless trivia sings well

TRAVELING:

does not drive must sit in a window seat on cars/trains/airplanes won’t fly won’t take public transportation

[leftinternetprincess-blog]

Globe Experiences (COMPUTER) FAQ/Walkthrough By ExtremePhobia

You won't be considering your gadget for a long period of time while dipping into all. Or dead. During the night time the old made gas lights begin to light up, fog coming in as well as the ambient noises tackle a creepy tone. Vampires included a variety of greyish complexion for your vampire to look extra dead with. Next up is Forgotten Hollow, the brand-new Globe which comes with The Sims 4 Vampires. Mommies are introduced worldwide Adventures development. Our plants come supplied in a well- sprinkled dirt bolus, as well as are packed with a deluxe stoneware vase and also cherrywood stand. Faucet on their portraits to see them or tap on the whistle button to earn them come to your present on-screen area! You could disable them in your gadget settings. From the creators of The Sims ™ series of very popular mobile video games comes a COMPLETE Sims experience that you could bet FREE on your smart phone! All this is feasible in The Sims ™ Mobile APK. Consuming food from the food preparation pastime also leaves filthy plates that require to be washed. There is an approach and also some thought behind selecting a task. They such as to toss lots of events, as well as wish to have a task in government. Besides that, additionally can participate in events, unlock Occasions and treasures. They could combine to develop increasingly complicated individualities. The Sims Freeplay cheats hack tool is easily available right here you could download this tool with absolutely no initiative. The Sims Freeplay hack guarantees you can generate as much money as called for to buy brand-new things, homes, residential or commercial property as well as various other attire for your sims. http://simsfreeplayguide.com/ The new enchanting variation of The Sims FreePlay additionally lets you arrange an overwater candlelight supper as well as even a beachside wedding celebration between Sims crazy. Position them anywhere - on turf, sidewalks or even inside - simply bear in mind to flex your knees when lifting. However considering that The Sims 2 is the sequel to exactly what is reportedly one of the most effective computer game ever before (which's not also counting its lots of expansion packs), the brand-new game practically appears like a sufferer of its own success. Players will also be able to teach their pet dogs brand-new techniques, take them for a skip in the park, outfit them with brand-new family pet accessories as well as offer them works! The video game will most likely be readily available on first June 2010 as well as the inpatient game lunatics have actually currently scheduled it. A higher Health capacity will certainly open brand-new yoga poses, far better massage therapy skills-- constant, not like that-- and also a "unique surprise" for top-level meditation. If its not you better train for it. The player can click on any external door on the lot as well as set it to come to be the brand-new front door. Improvements to Sims consist of more modification choices, a quality system that produces one-of-a-kind individualities, Sims that care for themselves, and wants that allow the gamer to set brief- and long-lasting goals. Full goals - each objective you amount to deals you a benefit, whether it's cash money, Lps or xps and also when you finish a choice of the once a week goals you get more cash and also LPs. Obtain the best-selling PC video game of perpetuity and also all seven of its expansion packs! Create as well as control your Sims on the GameCube with brand-new level-based game play and 3D graphics. Utilize the control pad to directly manage your sim. You start in The Sims FreePlay by choosing a Sim or customizing your own from the ground up. The Sims FreePlay is the live video game and also take action in genuine time. LP and also loan is the largest resources in the game. Click Patch Game. As if we really did not currently have 9000 needs to gaze down as we stroll and also drain pipes the battery right into oblivion, EA Gamings and Maxis have actually produced a brand new Sims ready iOS and also Android. We have actually put together a checklist of top 10 finest games like The Sims for you to stop the effort of going through heaps of data. On standard, customers play The Sims Social for 4.95 minutes a session. If you are asking yourself whether there is any kind of requirement to use any type of rooting or jailbreaking devices to rip off on The Sims Freeplay, that's simply not the case.

[fangirlmomentsandmytwocents]

Cozzi Cove by Joe Cosentino Blitz

Title:  Cozzi Cove: New Beginnings

Series: Cozzi Cove, book 4

Author: Joe Cosentino

Publisher: NineStar Press

Release Date: March 27

Heat Level: 3 - Some Sex

Pairing: Male/Male

Length: 55600

Genre: Romance, LGBT, gay, romance, contemporary, humor, disability, vacation resort, New Jersey, beach/shore, religion, children

Add to Goodreads

Synopsis

Cozzi Cove, Book 4 Welcome back to the romantic and magical place called Cozzi Cove, seven guest bungalows on the New Jersey Shore. This summer, Cal and his new husband, Michael, along with sister, Taylor, and her wife, Carla, prepare for the first in the next generation of Cozzis. To add to the action: Cal finds his great-grandfather’s diary, exposing a shocking surprise; Michael and Taylor weigh new job opportunities that could take them far away from Cozzi Cove; red-letter Christian and new houseboy, Billy Dean, gets his wish when meeting Jesus and John at the cove; summer guest, Nijad, can’t decide which sibling he prefers—Annabel or Andrew; and Jonathan, an occult enthusiast, encounters a sexy vampire. As usual, nothing is as it seems when romance blossoms once again at Cozzi Cove. What secrets, mysteries, and passions lie waiting to unfold? Find out in Book Four of the Cozzi Cove series.

Excerpt

Cozzi Cove: New Beginnings Joe Cosentino © 2017 All Rights Reserved The sun rose like an erupting volcano filling the sky with shafts of violet, magenta, and gold, which ultimately turned to clear blue. Cal Cozzi stood on the white sand and gazed at the old lighthouse in the distance. At thirty-three, he was in the prime of his life, with thick auburn hair, clear green eyes, and a trim athletic build. Life was good, and as he smiled at the foamy waves teasing the craggy shore, Cal basked in the morning sun and in the beauty of his home. Cal’s great-grandfather, Calvin Cozzi I, had built the resort at Cozzi Cove and had had a big hand in the development of the town of Cozzi. It had always been home for Cal, and proved to be a solid oasis when as a young man his football and later restaurant careers failed, and nine years ago when his parents died in a car accident. He’d especially felt its comfort when he later lost his husband of five years to cancer. Like the bay water rejuvenated by the golden rays of each sunrise, Cal had put his life back together by managing Cozzi Cove and marrying Michael Rodgers. Michael, clad in a T-shirt and shorts like Cal, appeared at the front doorway of the main bungalow. His stocky build, caramel-colored skin, exotic eyes, and warm smile still caused Cal’s heart to beat faster. “I’m hungry.” “Then you’d better make breakfast.” Cal enjoyed playing with Michael. Michael liked it too. “If you make blueberry buckwheat pancakes, I’ll give you a massage.” “You massaged something pretty well last night.” They shared a knowing smile. Michael said, “I know how to get you inside.” “How?” “The guests will be arriving soon.” At these words, Cal hurried inside the glass-enclosed porch, scooped the twenty-two-year-old into his arms, squeezed Michael’s bubble butt, and gave him a good morning kiss. Then Cal went through the living room, passing the doorway to their front bedroom, and into the kitchen, glancing through the entrances to the rear bedroom and bathroom on the way. Cal was glad his brother’s renovations of the bungalows had kept his great-grandfather’s layout while expanding the rooms, including cathedral ceilings lined with white pine beams. As he gazed at the white wicker and oak furniture laden with flower-print cushions, Cal was thankful his great-grandfather’s heavy nautical-themed furniture had found a home in a local museum. He smiled proudly at his own additions: the prints on the walls depicting lighthouses, seashells, and rocky beaches. As usual, Michael leaned on the granite-topped island while Cal made breakfast. “Aren’t you going to put more blueberries in the batter?” Cal raised the mixing spoon. “Do you want to make these yourself?” “I prefer to critique.” Cal mixed the buckwheat flour, buttermilk, egg, honey, coconut oil, and blueberries in a large bowl. “Your college degree is in photojournalism, not the culinary arts.” “A lot of good it did me.” “Your degree?” Michael nodded and his soft chestnut bedhead fell into place. “Four years of college to be a bartender.” “You’re only a bartender while Tommy is in New York City.” “Yeah, and when Tommy comes back from visiting Blue, it’s bartender’s assistant time again for me.” Cal poured the batter in circular mounds on the warm oiled skillet. “What about that gay magazine?” “It was one freelance job!” “Something else will turn up.” “Tell that to my resume on the web. It’s beginning to feel like a wallflower at a party.” “It takes time. Photojournalism is a specialty field.” Michael pouted. That turned Cal on every time. He wrapped his arms around Michael and squeezed him into his chest. After a few wet kisses, Cal said, “You can always help me around Cozzi Cove.” “I thought you hired a new houseboy when Connor and his husband opened their bed and breakfast in town.” “I’m interviewing him this morning.” Cal smelled the pancakes starting to burn. He grabbed the spatula and quickly flipped them. Michael licked his lips. “You flipped me over like that last night.” “And you loved it.” They kissed again. Cal felt Michael’s erection pressing against his own. “I’d better concentrate on these pancakes.” He slapped Michael’s backside. “Instead of these cakes.” “That’s not what you said last night.” Cal giggled and served the pancakes. They sat at the white oak kitchen table, feeding each other and intermittently licking maple syrup off each other’s chins. Just as they were finishing breakfast, Carla Mangione lumbered through the back kitchen door and announced, “If this watermelon doesn’t come out of the patch soon, I’m going to kill someone.” “Hey, you’re talking about our watermelon!” Cal replied as he got up to help her to the table. He put pancakes on a plate as Michael went to pour juice and milk for her. “It won’t be soon enough for me.” Carla rubbed her enormous stomach; she was only thirty-five, but these days looked more like fifty-five. “I never knew you could get varicose veins on your stomach.” “And I’m sure yours are beautiful.” Cal served Carla breakfast, kissed the top of her dark hair, and took a seat across from her at the table. Carla leaned forward to massage her lower back. “I must be the biggest pregnant woman ever.” “That’s because you’re carrying our big, beautiful baby,” Michael said, joining them. After taking a sip of juice, Carla gagged. “Why does everything taste like fish or liverwurst?” “Maybe our baby is the antichrist,” Cal offered. Carla took a bite of the pancakes. “What kind of huge genes do you two guys have?” “Don’t blame us.” Cal put his arm around Michael. “It must have been the egg-donor.” “She must have donated ostrich eggs.” Carla pushed her plate away. Michael pushed it back in front of her. “Eat up, honey. You’re having breakfast for two.” She looked down at her enormous stomach. “Really? Do you think?” Cal finished his juice. “Whatever happened to, ‘As your dear old friend and sister-in-law, it would be my honor to help you and Michael bring a child into this world. I can’t think of anyone who’d make better parents’?” “That was before I gained forty pounds and my back started aching constantly—before my breasts swelled up like helium balloons and my ankles expanded faster than a conservative politician’s pocket after meeting with a Super PAC.” Cal fed her another piece of pancake. “But isn’t it all worth it to bring a new life into the world?” Carla groaned. “I used to get offended when people said God was a man. Now I’m sure of it. No woman would put another woman through this.” “Did you do your exercises this morning?” Michael asked. Carla laughed. “I stopped being able to see my toes weeks ago.” “Have you been meditating with your crystals?” Michael sounded like a teacher with a lazy student. “I think I threw them at your pictures when the baby kicked me like a Radio City Rockette. Meanwhile, you two were no doubt going at it last night like a running back and a wide receiver.” “A tight end, please,” Michael said as he handed Carla her glass of milk.

Purchase

NineStar Press | Amazon | Kobo | Smashwords

Meet the Author

Joe Cosentino was voted 2nd Place Favorite MM Author of the Year in Divine Magazine’s Readers’ Choice Awards. He is the author of the Cozzi Cove series: Cozzi Cove: Bouncing Back (Rainbow Award Honorable Mention/TBR Pile Favorite Book of the Month), Cozzi Cove: Moving Forward, Cozzi Cove: Stepping Out, Cozzi Cove: New Beginnings (NineStar Press); the Nicky and Noah mysteries: Drama Queen (Divine Magazine Readers’ Favorite LGBT Mystery Novel, Humorous Novel, and Contemporary Novel), Drama Muscle (Rainbow Award Honorable Mention), Drama Cruise, Drama Luau, Drama Detective (Lethe Press); the Dreamspinner Press novellas: In My Heart/An Infatuation & A Shooting Star (Rainbow Award Honorable Mention), The Naked Prince and Other Tales from Fairyland (Open Skye Book Reviews Favorite Audiobook of the Month), A Home for the Holidays; and the Jana Lane mysteries: Paper Doll, Porcelain Doll, Satin Doll, China Doll, Rag Doll (The Wild Rose Press). He has appeared in principal acting roles in film, television, and theatre, opposite stars such as Bruce Willis, Rosie O’Donnell, Nathan Lane, Holland Taylor, and Jason Robards. Joe is currently Head of the Department/Professor at a college in upstate New York, and is happily married.

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