#edible posting a paragraph will anyone read this

[paras-atashnak]

t’kor is not only playing a floater game she’s piloting an entire raft. she grouped herself with kimo and started with quinn and the collective, floated over to tucker as he won comps and quinn started losing agency to flip on the collective, picked up rubina, then she was able to maneuver the trio through being almost on the bottom after they got flipped on and tucker left and (with rubina’s help i have to give her credit) seamlessly slid their way into the new cam/mj/chelsie power structure. she may be indecisive and move like a snail to solidify anything but she has been able to balance her relationships perfectly to glide across the power structure as it changes for not only herself but two other people for the most part. while simultaneously going unnominated and also being considered a contender to win by the house. she’s kind of a raw big brother talent if she doesn’t win i feel like she could have a very nicole bb18 return and clean dominant win.

[bluiex]

I’m going to call this my subculture au I think, bc they’re all from different subcultures

Anyway, I was literally thinking the exact same thing!

Grian knows it’s a bad idea, but damn he’s feeling good. I like the idea that while Mumbo is drunk here, Grian was maybe chomping on some edibles or something.

….oh my fucking god what if it’s a Cinderella story. In his rush to leave in the morning, Grian leaves behind one of his favorite kandi.

(If u don’t know, kandi are those chunky, usually handmade bracelets rave goers often wear up to their like elbows. They usually take hours and hours to make, and mean a lot. There a thing called a kandi exchange, where two people hold hands and exchange kandi’s and it’s a fairly important, symbolizing the connected kindness and unity of the community. Look it up for more info, it’s really cool)

Anyway, what if this ends up a Cinderella style story. But instead of it going the typical route, they both return to the club the following week, looking for each other.

After falling into bed again, Grian forgets the kandi again. But he does leave his discord handle on a note. This is how the pair grow to know each other.

And from there on, Grian tells him to keep the kandi. Afterall, everyone needs their first kandi at some point. Eventually, Mumbo even takes Grian to a goth concert.

………. Bluie and anyone else reading this, I just wrote 3 paragraphs and then deleted it as a brilliant idea smacked me in the face. They’re professors. They’re college professors.

And mumbo and scar are married with an open relationship. They look too good, vampiric victorian gothic man with his victorian style steampunk husband.

That’s how convex work into this. Because tbh I was struggling for how they all fit together, how I could consider this without leaving anyone out. But this is how!

Also, slightly amendment then to prev post: Mumbo n scar are the only ones able to recognize each other. But I do firmly believe they met at a party and in the morning after Mumbo stayed to try to make Scar breakfast after blowing his back out, and when Scar saw his British Pancakes (which resemble more crepes) he was so affronted he made normal pancakes instead and made Mumbo try them.

— abridged anon

ABRIDGED ANON YOU'RE SO SMART

I love this. Grian eventually getting close to Mumbo.. It comes to a point they finally see each other outside of their "after work activities"

Ofc mumbo talks alot to Scar about this mysterious raver he met and really wants Scar to meet him.

But oh boy convex too. Them all being professors is amazing

[uzunofu]

I looked through the chapters with the incidents you mentioned in this post, @crossdressingdeath. Brace yourself, it will be a long post.

First, "the one time [JYL] claims WWX as family (something which as far as I recall she does at no point before or after, certainly not where other people might hear) is also the one time where not doing so might negatively affect her".

She says it three times during that scene. The first two are in relation to her demand for Jin Zixun to apologize.

"A-Xian is a disciple of the YunmengJiang Sect. He grew up with my brother and I, and so he’s as close as a brother is to me. Calling him the ‘son of a servant’—I’m sorry, but I won’t accept this."

...

Jiang YanLi’s voice was soft, “Madam, A-Xian is my younger brother. Him being humiliated by others, to me, isn’t just a small matter.”

The third time:

Madam Jin raised her brows, looking Wei WuXian up and down. Her gaze was somewhat cautious, as if she was feeling displeased, “A young man and a young woman—you two can’t stick together all the time if nobody else is present.”

Jiang YanLi, “A-Xian is my younger brother.”

— ch. 70

To me, this last one sounds like a politely incredulous, "I just told you he's my brother and you're still insisting on this?" It's not a "no-no-no, it's not like that!", it's a "are you being serious right now?"

You are right in that she never does it before or after, but in this particular scene it's not about saving face.

You are also right in that she drops her demand for an apology, but JZxun literally stormed away, and then there was the Epic Confession from JZX and things got derailed. Did it seem like sweeping things under the rug at WWX's expense? Well, yes. But also, would it have done him any favors if she kept at it? I really don't know. It could've made things better, it could've made them worse.

Then, "stealing food from a guy who grew up STARVING ON THE STREETS even though JC had almost certainly already eaten".

“Fooling around again! Your sect leader, I, has already poured you a bowl and put it outside. Kneel for me to express your gratitude and go drink your soup outside.”

Wei WuXian skipped outside before he turned around and came back, “What do you mean by this, Jiang Cheng? Where’s the meat?”

Jiang Cheng, “Finished it. There’s only lotus roots left. Don’t eat them if you don’t want to.”

Wei WuXian attacked with his elbow, “Spit out the meat!”

Jiang Cheng, “No objections. I’ll spit them out and let’s see if you’ll eat them!”

Seeing that they started to argue again, Jiang YanLi quickly interrupted, “Okay, okay. How old are you two, fighting over some meat? I’ll just make another jar…”

— ch. 71

WWX doesn't generally seem food-conscious. This is reiterated later on in this chapter when the narrative mentions that when he first came to Lotus Pier, he was careful not to take too much or draw too much attention because he was afraid to be judged a burden. It's possible to read it as a confirmation: see, the soup incident several paragraphs earlier was serious for WWX even though neither JC nor JYL realized it. But I'm reading this in the opposite way: WWX used to be like that but not anymore. I also can't help but remember Xie Lian eating a steamed bun he picked up from the ground and saying that it's edible, it's still good, why waste food? We never see stuff like that from WWX.

JYL here doesn't take JC's side. In fact, she doesn't take anyone's side, she just wants them to stop bickering. Again, it's possible to say that JC is in the wrong here and WWX is in the right, so her not taking a side means silent agreement with JC. But really, I just don't think it's that serious.

A few chapters later, during LWJ's visit to the Burial Mounds, Wen Qing carelessly sweeps away WWX's things to clear a seat for LWJ. WWX goes, "Hey!", and Wen Qing also doesn't take him seriously. But no one tries to point at her and go, "See, she doesn't respect WWX, and she never apologizes for that." It's banter. Later on, it stops being banter between WWX and JC, but at this point, it's just shenanigans.

Then, the incident with the dogs and the tree:

Seeing how worried he seemed, Wei WuXian took the initiative, “Relax. I won’t tell Uncle Jiang. I only hurt myself because I suddenly wanted to climb a tree last night.”

Hearing this, Jiang Cheng sighed in relief. He swore, “You can relax as well. Anytime I see a dog, I’ll chase it away for you!”

Seeing how the two finally made up with each other, Jiang YanLi cheered, “That’s the spirit.”

— ch. 71

She is happy because they made up and because this exchange seems like a tentative start to a friendship: "I'll cover for you" returned with "I'll protect you from your fears". Yes, JC used that fear against him in the first place — but he apologized and promised to make up for it. WWX falling from a tree wasn't directly JC's fault anyway; he didn't chase him up that tree and then push him down so that he'd get injured, he only told him to stay out of their room. It was a childish tantrum that led to unfortunate consequences. Not many children would willingly admit to a wrongdoing.

I also want to note that we don't actually learn WWX's leg was broken in this chapter. JYL says it isn't broken, it's probably not even fractured, and later on it's mentioned that the doctor cleaned and bandaged their injuries, but her assumption of his leg not being broken isn't refuted. We only get confirmation that it really was broken in chapter 87 when he shares this story with LWJ.

Finally, "JYL gets upset at WWX for breaking [JC's] arm".

Jiang YanLi, however, noticed [Wen Ning's] awkwardness. She asked him a couple of things and began to chat with Wen Ning outside. Wei WuXian and Jiang Cheng stood in the yard.

[...]

After he drank a mouthful, Jiang Cheng spoke, “How’s your wound from last time?”

Wei WuXian, “It healed a long time ago.”

Jiang Cheng, “Mn.” With a pause, he continued, “How many days?”

Wei WuXian, “Less than seven. I told you before. With Wen Qing, it was nothing difficult. But you really did fucking stab me.”

Jiang Cheng ate a piece of lotus root, “You were the one who smashed my arm first. You took seven days, while I had to hang my arm up for an entire month.”

Wei WuXian grinned, “How could it seem realistic if it wasn’t hard enough? It was your left hand anyways. It didn’t hinder you from writing. It takes a hundred days to heal a wound to the bone. It wouldn’t be too much even if you hung it up for three months.”

— ch. 75

So: she wasn't even present during that conversation. After this, they part ways.

JYL doesn't really seem to have much of a role in WWX's life apart from comforting him and being placed on a pedestal. She mostly comes off as lacking because of the obvious comparison to Wen Ning. Even though he is just as gentle, he also stands up for WWX during the golden core reveal and does it spectacularly. JYL wields her social position, Wen Ning wields his physically indestructible nature (JC lashes him with Zidian, but since Wen Ning is a corpse, he can just keep talking). The circumstances, however, are different. Wen Ning has years of resentment built up, both for himself and for WWX, but to JYL Jin Zixun is a non-entity. The golden core reveal takes place in private and whether Wen Ning keeps going or stops, it can't make things any worse, but the Phoenix Mountain scene is a public almost-scandal and had she insisted, it could've gone two ways: either people back down because WWX has someone in his corner (unlikely, because JYL is a woman and JC, his sect leader, isn't in his corner) and admit that he didn't break any hard rules, or they use this as further ammunition against him.

I think WWX was right in the falling-from-a-tree-into-LWJ's-arms scene: JYL wasn't strong enough, so could she have caught him?

[spookyrobbins]

Another round of Tedzona “who’s most likely to” games, because its v v fun to read! :))

Who’s most likely to :

1.) unironically celebrate friendship-anniversary while the other had no idea wtf is that?

2.) unknowingly offered the other edibles, gotten high together therefore got in trouble with their spouses (this one is way easy, but i wanted to know your headcanons lol)

3.) convince the other of wearing matching superhero and sidekick matching costume on Halloween (which are which?)

4.) throws the other disastrous bachelorette party

5.) proposes a bet to prank Mark Sloan to tears (and who won???)

6.) cause the other’s broken bone(s)

7.) propose a joint anniversaries between both couples so they could all celebrate together

8.) win on couples game night

9.) order a stripper for the other as a prank

10.) got the other in trouble with Bailey

1.) unironically celebrate friendship-anniversary while the other had no idea wtf is that?

controversial, but teddy

she planned a whole day and had gifts and everything because she was positive that it was a big deal to arizona

like they went out for breakfast and went to the spa and went shopping and all this stuff that arizona had mentioned in passing she wanted to do

and then when teddy revealed that it was their friendiversary arizona was just like... okay...? should i buy you a card tomorrow?

2.) unknowingly offered the other edibles, gotten high together therefore got in trouble with their spouses (this one is way easy, but i wanted to know your headcanons lol)

obviously arizona (who btw was wayyy too chill in 14x20, like she knew what was up)

henry came home to find them hanging upside down on the couch watching like blue clues or something and literally fell over laughing

neither one of them could stop laughing bc as soon as one started giggling the other one started too

arizona got wayyy too detailed about her and callie's sex life, which is when callie walked in

henry offered callie one of the brownies and they all had a good time together and ordered an unholy amount of chicken nuggets

3.) convince the other of wearing matching superhero and sidekick matching costume on Halloween (which are which?)

arizona tried to trick teddy into being her sidekick but teddy was having none of that and so arizona had to go as robin

which teddy thought was the epitome of humour bc robbins? robin? get it? get it? arizona got it and pouted for an hour

callie was a huge fan though bc the robin costume had a very short skirt

4.) throws the other disastrous bachelorette party

i'm not saying they killed a stripper, but teddy's post-insurance fraud divorce, pre-real wedding bachelorette party was a disaster start to finish

it started with jell-o shots, then fireball, then tequila and finished with mysterious blue mixed drinks

teddy remembers about 28 minutes of it; arizona remembers none of it and she was supposed to be in charge

at one point, arizona was so drunk she forgot she was married to callie and bailey had to explain to her that she was and would she please stop crying like a toddler

callie kept getting texts from arizona that were like 7 paragraphs about how much she loved her and she was just like babe i'm right here you can just talk to me??

5.) proposes a bet to prank Mark Sloan to tears (and who won???)

teddy proposed it to try and cheer arizona up

callie won the bet

6.) cause the other’s broken bone(s)

it wasn't entirely teddy's fault, but it also wasn't not teddy's fault

arizona, teddy and sofia were baking cookies and somehow ended up throwing flour around and so they needed to clean up and arizona was standing on the counter and teddy thought it would be funny to spray her with water

arizona freaked out and fell off the counter and broke her ankle

teddy proceeded to put sofia in a baby bjorn and arizona on her back and carry them over to the hospital

7.) propose a joint anniversaries between both couples so they could all celebrate together

arizona, she's practical - they like double dates with teddy and henry and they can split the check

8.) win on couples game night

there are no winner on couples game night, only broken friendships

teddy and callie once nearly got into a fist fight over clue (arizona accidentally cheated but didn't tell anyone which set it into motion)

arizona and teddy actually got into a fist fight over monopoly (they were both stealing money from the bank, as arizona put it "that's just how you play" before teddy lunged at her)

callie and henry are the worst people to play scrabble with because they argue every word

arizona gets way too competitive and starts trash talking to like an alarming extent (same energy as leslie knope in the model un episode)

and so now they just go out to dinner or the movies

9.) order a stripper for the other as a prank

teddy was trying to prank arizona but accidentally sent while the colonel and everyone was there for thanksgiving or something (including teddy - who had spent the whole night trying to ask arizona about it)

it was all very uncomfortable and barbara sent the very nice boy (oh yes teddy sent a male stripper) home with two plates of food

arizona refused to speak to teddy for a whole day because she literally could not look her father in the eye

10.) got the other in trouble with Bailey

they constantly get the other in trouble with bailey

it's like a hobby at this point

they go out of their way to get the other in trouble with bailey

they actually had a bet over it at some point

but bailey found out and ruined it

[johnnyutah]

you’re allowed to like taylor swift if you’re gay... you’re allowed to relate to taylor swift lyrics and overarching themes in her music if you’re gay.... you are allowed to analyze her work from a gay perspective and project as much as you want into it.... in fact you absolutely should and i encourage u to do that and i love this journey that you, a gay taylor swift fan, get to go on... i remember hearing some taylor swift lyrics back in the day and relating them to some specifically gay emotions that i was having... and it worked because she has made some very relatable and well-written love songs... and they might have touched on specific themes that were personally relevant to me as a lesbian or bisexual girl or whatever i was at the time... but that is what love songs are meant to do.... that’s what art and music can help inspire in you... ... ... ... ... .... .... .... ... but i just had to read the sentence “anyway taylor swift (the persona, the brand [...]) is gay even if She isn’t.” and im literally going to go lie face down in the snow and scream. i turn 25 in a month and i just had to restrain myself forom sending someone a tumblr anon . there’s nothing intrinsically gay about taylor swift, taylor swift’s pop music is not gay music per se, calling taylor swift’s brand gay is so uniquely and weirdly wrong that it makes me question every parasocial relationship to a celebrity i’ve ever had. it makes me want to crack my smartphone in half and never get another one . i am literally praying that it’s a joke and that op wasn’t actually like ‘Guys you don’t understand [michelle mallon voice] sometimes when taylor performs it’s like she’s speaking to me through the television and sending me messages 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈’. but i actually trhink they were dead serious and the person who put it on my dash added a whole paragraph of tags, DEAD SERIOUS, and no disrespect to that person but genuinely ..... if someone asks you what kind of gay music/gay musicians you would recommend and TAYLOR SWIFT crosses your mind for even a moment i think u should expand your musical palate??? i am of course referring to how in the original post they had this bullshit: “the insistence that gay people should listen to ‘actual’ gay artists rather than what resonates with them emotionally” BJFHHENEHEBCBBDBXJJCJCJ???????? HELLO? In what universe does this happen? If this is an actual talking point that you think is pushed by anyone, maybe it’s time to stop taking all your social cues from children on tiktok who are just discovering their LGBT identities and instead think about why gay people might be encouraging you to listen to love songs by actual gay musicians?? think about why they might be promoting artists like that,???!!?.?.??.?? and maybe clarify in your long informative posts about taylor swift’s music that you don’t actually think she herself is some kind of secret wlw?????????????? I need to calm down i’m going to go eat fifteen edibles and listen to left at london an actual lesbian with love songs that could actually be called gay music with “queer themes” (A REAL THING that someone said about taylor swift’s music)

[agallimaufryofoddments]

It’s 9:46 AM here so it’s nighttime in America...always the best time to pop out a personal post. Maybe I should use a more, ah, ‘personal’ tag than ‘personal’ so it would be easier (read: actually viable) for people to blacklist.

Putting it under the cut not because it’s particularly alarming, but because there’s no reason to subject a couple paragraphs of it to anyone’s dash. Just some recapping...journaling...reflecting... (??) on last couple days and also my present lack of plumbing, haha.

Got my paper in on time, so that’s good. Classes have started up as of yesterday, and as of today my water’s been shut off so a construction company can replace/upgrade/deal with the bad sewage system/bad piping of my my flat and others. I got an email about it in advance last week as I assume the others affected did--but the residence caretakers/managers didn’t feel it was necessary to notify the rest of the building, so just about everyone (I’d say) who wasn’t already awake were definitely roused by the sound of drilling (or that pipe chain-thing, whatever it might be) at around 7:30/40 AM today!

Cue several confused and/or put out messages in the building group chat, aha. I’ve explained what’s going on; at any rate, I’m probably going to abscond in 5-10 minutes and hunker down in the library until evening, since I can’t use any plumbing in my flat the rest of today. They haven’t reached my flat yet; hopefully they’ll be able to complete their work by the time I return home, but there’s a chance they might have to return tomorrow morning if they don’t. 

Also cleaned out my half-fridge last night, and by ‘clean’ I mean deep-clean: finally threw out bad food; scrubbed clean all of the shelves and the drawer; rubbed down fridge floor with vinegar/soap/water for good measure; and then stocked it with the remaining good food and the replacement new groceries I bought on the way home.

I do feel guilty for how much food I’ve wasted over the years like this--for letting veg/fruit/cheese etc go bad instead of using it--and I also tossed some food that may have still been edible, which is disheartening in and of itself. On the other hand, I reached a point where it was, I think, more important for my own well-being and more helpful in the long run to purge fridge and have a ‘fresh start’. 

The fridge is the cleanest it’s been since I moved in, if not cleaner, and it’s decluttered and organized. I honestly like cooking, despite what it sounds like, but dirty dishes + an increasingly cluttered, borderline noxious fridge + fatigue + exec dysfunction etc. haven’t been conducive toward cooking at all. This, I hope, is a definitely positive step in the cooking direction. Of course, food will still go bad if I don’t...actually cook it...so I do need to actually commit to steadily using these ingredients up over the next week.

...not that I’m sure I’ll be able to do so today, at least, what with the construction and all. I managed to wash some of the dishes last night but a pot is still dirty among other things... I could wash dishes in the common room sink and/or use water from that sink for boiling pasta or grains, I suppose, but that’d be a bit awkward and I’ll probably be back late as it is. Guess I’ll have to buy a couple wraps for lunch/dinner on way to library. 

Speaking of, what am I doing writing this at home? Should’ve left for the library already; could’ve written this there. Right--time to go.

[wizardhq]

EVENT #27 { VALENTINE’S DAY } – MANDATORY

“Valentine’s Day or Saint Valentine’s Day is an occasion celebrated on 14 February in both the Muggle world and the wizarding world. It is the traditional day on which people express their love for each other, particularly romantic love, by sending Valentine’s cards, presenting flowers, or offering sweets.”

Valentine’s Day is known to either bring joy or sorrow to every soul, young and old, witch or muggle-- a trend that transcends both worlds known to mankind. However, this year at Hogwarts, the Event Planning Committee is hoping to make it just the former in the aged halls. This year, Hogwarts will be hosting a Candy Themed Semi-Formal on the holiday, called the Sweethearts Dance, and plenty of treats are in store. There’ll be pictures, prizes, candy eating contests, and much more-- an invite has even been extended to the neighboring wizarding school, The Irish Academy of Magic, in the hopes that lonely souls will find their kin rather than be alone on the love themed holiday. 

The dance itself will be hosted in the Great Hall, where it’s said that the walls will even be decorated with edible candy, every surface said to be sweet and decadent. It’ll start at 7PM, and will end at midnight. All Students will be expected to back in their dorms by 1AM, with the help of the Head Girl and Boy, as well as all of the prefects. Since this is a semi-formal, dresses have to be at minimum at the knees, and boys are expected to at least wear dress pants and buttoned long sleeved shirts. The faculty fully expects students to not take advantage of this and show up in something inappropriate. Anyone showing up in anything inappropriate or not under the dress code will end up having points revoked from their house, or possible detentions. 

It is also preferred that you don’t go alone, even if it’s with friends. 

In fact, the Committee is so hellbent on inclusiveness and unity that they’ve planned a Secret Cupid sort of event, which will be taking place the week before the dance itself. Participating students will be paired with someone anonymously, and send each other a short description of the other, limited to a paragraph. They’ll then receive a gift in response and an additional clue to who it is. If you figure out who it is before the dance, that’s great, but it’s alright if you don’t-- there’ll be a meeting station at the dance itself. The staff at Hogwarts think it’s a great idea, and are hoping it’ll promote unity within the four houses. 

SECRET CUPID:

Event Start Date: March 1st. 

Short Description: Students will be anonymous paired (ic) with another student. They’ll then send ( submit ) a short description of themselves, limited to a paragraph ( four sentences. ) The students will use the description they receive to pick out the perfect gift. When they send ( submit ) the gift, they’ll send one more clue along with it to help the other student figure out who they are. If they don’t figure out who the other student is before the dance, they’ll find out at the “Meeting Station.” 

Directions: If you would like your character to participate in the “secret cupid” festivities, all you have to do is send an ask to the main. You’ll then be paired randomly with another character. While the characters will have no idea who it is, the roleplayers will ooc to avoid confusion. You’ll then plot everything out together! A list will be posted below and updated each time a new pair is made. 

Participants: Lora Scamander x Daniel Eansworth, Demetrius Macdougal x Daphne Hoang, Paisley Fawley x Aidan Volkov-Lin, Marnie Byrd x Kellan Avery, Aurora Clearwater x Baldric Nguyen, Nadia Yaxley x Arin Mendoza, Elenora Castillo x Name,  etc.  

“SWEETHEARTS DANCE” ACTIVITIES:

Entertainment– DJing services will be from WWN, Wizarding Wireless Network, and will be blasting both Muggle and Wizarding tunes when not playing ball appropriate music. The host will be Glenda Chittock of the Witching Hour. The Orchestra will be playing the first Waltz of the night. Members of the Frog Choir are encouraged to sign up to sing “slow jams.” 

Food- There will be three course meals available to be served, as well as the expected desserts and magically refilling drinks to keep the students happy and well. On top of that, since the dance itself is candy themed, it’ll be everywhere. Literally. Even the furniture and decorations will be edible. Rumor has it there’ll also be a chocolate fountain big enough to swim in. As usual, the legal age for alcoholic beverages is sixteen, and third years and up can have butter beer. 

Contests- There’s going to be several candy eating contests of different kinds occurring during the dance, such as Bertie Botts, Chocolate Frogs, Chocolate Wands, Sugar Quills, Sherbert Lemons, etc. They’ll have to eat five pounds of it within fifteen minutes, and whoever eats the most will win a year supply. 

Pictures- Get pictures taken with your date and friends! Leave your names with the photographer, and they will be developed with the special picture potion and delivered via. owl at a latter date.

IRISH ACADEMY OF MAGIC STUDENTS:

There will be an option the day before the dance to create a temporary character from the Irish Academy of Magic. I just think it’d be fun to have these characters interacting as it’s very obvious that there’s a lot more to the Wizarding World than just Hogwarts. You’ll be allowed to make them sideblog characters as well, as you won’t be able to interact with them after the event unless I ever decide to do something similar with the same school again ( Combined School Tournament, anyone?? ) HOWEVER, transfer students are allowed to be applied for in the roleplay, so it’ll be up to you if you’d like to make them into an official muse after the fact. If you think this may possibly happen, I would suggest not making them a side blog.

Directions: The day before the dance, message the main with the character’s name, faceclaim, age, and year. They’ll be added below plus temporarily added in a section on the faceclaim list so that they’re not taken. 

IMPORTANT OOC DETAILS:

The Sweethearts Dance will start on MARCH 8TH AT 12 AM EST and end on on MARCH 12 AT 12 AM EST, though it’ll take place IC on February 14th. Secret Cupid will start on March 1st and end on the 8th. You’re allowed to message the main about the Iris Academy students on the 7th. This will all purely be a dash event. Please put all dance posts (including any private thread starters, pictures of outfits, anything related at all) under the tag wizard:sweetheartsdance, and all secret cupid posts under wizard:secretcupid.

I understand if you can’t get online, but if you’re online I expect your character to participate at one point or another. I will message you if you’re online and not participating in the event at all. Mandatory does mean something in this world.

Please try and make your character bring a date! It’s not mandatory, but whether they ask their best friend, their ex, or some random person, it’s still more fun with someone else.

This is NOT a canon event.

Please like this post after reading it.

If you have any questions, please feel free to message the main!

[cutshawsnidowoa]

Why Do Cats Go Crazy for Holiday Décor?

The post Why Do Cats Go Crazy for Holiday Décor? by Susan Logan McCracken appeared first on Catster. Copying over entire articles infringes on copyright laws. You may not be aware of it, but all of these articles were assigned, contracted and paid for, so they aren't considered public domain. However, we appreciate that you like the article and would love it if you continued sharing just the first paragraph of an article, then linking out to the rest of the piece on Catster.com.

Cats are inquisitive and curious for good reason. As prey animals and predators in nature, their survival depends on knowing everything and everyone in their territory. They explore and test everything that is new to them. They specifically need to know: What is this? Is this edible? Will this eat me? Understanding our cats’ need to know the answers to these questions will help us prepare to meet their needs during times of change, like the holidays when our homes and routines are rearranged.

What is this?

During the holidays, so much is new: the tree, the decorations, the lights, the ornaments, the presents, not to mention all the new holiday smells of pine, pumpkin spice and holiday-scented candles. The smells must be overwhelming for a cat, who has a much stronger sense of smell than we do. Your cats, who identify people and objects by smell, will have to sniff everything.

To make this less overwhelming for your cat, start decorating early and only bring out a few decorations at a time. Let the cat sniff them, and give her time to explore and adjust to them. Give your cats treats and special rewards to positively reinforce that all is calm and all is bright in their territory.

Is this edible?

Traditional Christmas ornaments are about the size of cats’ prey, so you can’t blame them when they bat them around and give them a taste test. This can be annoying if they break an heirloom ornament that has been in your family for generations. This also can be extremely dangerous for your cats if they eat something that punctures an internal organ or causes an intestinal blockage. Cats may also attempt to drink water from a live holiday tree.

Atlanta-based feline behaviorist and owner of Fundamentally Feline, Ingrid Johnson, doesn’t worry as much about cats eating human foods as she does foreign objects over the holidays.

“Foods are more of a dog concern,” she says. You still wouldn’t want your cats eating things like onions and gravies, but with cats, you have to watch out for them playing with and ingesting holiday decorations, she says.

Ingrid warns about curling ribbon on presents under the tree, the tinsel and anything else that can be gnawed off and chewed. “That nylon curling ribbon is some dangerous stuff for cats,” she says. Ingrid has witnessed the dangers holiday decorations like ribbon and tinsel pose to cats for more than 20 years as a veterinary technician.

You can use fishing line or a thin, undetectable cord to secure the Christmas tree to the wall, so if the cats climb the tree, they won’t pull it over, Ingrid says. And keep ornaments and tinsel out of your cat’s reach.

“I use soft and non-sentimental ornaments toward the bottom,” Ingrid says. “The more fragile, sentimental ornaments go up high,” adding that some people make ornaments out of felt. “Of course, cat-safe ornaments are best for the whole tree, if your cat is one to climb the holiday tree.”

You can also use chew deterrents like bitter apple on the bottom of the tree and on other objects to discourage cats from going near them.

Ingrid decided to forgo the holiday tree altogether in her home, which she shares with seven cats, a Great Pyrenees dog and a husband. “I put festive bowls filled with garland beads, small Christmas balls in different parts of the house with no plants, leaves, ribbons and nothing ingestible but still festive,” she says.

Will this eat me?

My husband and I use a fiber optic tree that lights up and turns, which in itself deters my cats from jumping on it. Cats’ survival instinct compels them to learn whether anything or anyone in their territory is safe. You might see them paw at anything new, then jump away. Cats tend to be afraid of or at least have a healthy respect for anything that is the size of their natural predators and moves, like a vacuum cleaner or a revolving Christmas tree.

Humans are also the size of cats’ predators. When new people show up at your home, some cats will not stick around to find out if they’re facing a predator and may run and hide. When they do venture out of their safe space, they approach everything new in their territory at first with caution, because they need to know if it’s safe. Once they have established that something or someone is safe, they mark the person or object with their facial pheromones. It’s the highest compliment!

Holidays are a time when people your cats do not know are visiting from out of town. Provide your cats with a safe room filled with their favorite things, litter box, food and water, so they feel secure and don’t dart out the front door when guests are coming and going.

The break in routine

For cats, who like routine and consistency, holidays can be stressful. “The holiday parties, houseguests, moving furniture around to accommodate the tree,” Ingrid says. All of these can stress out your cat, and stress can lead to pancreatitis, which she sees in cats around holiday time.

“It’s important to maintain consistency in routine in the change and day-to-day disruption with the holidays,” Ingrid says. Consistent mealtimes, playtimes and enrichment are all vital to continue throughout the holiday season.

One enrichment tip Ingrid suggests is bringing in snow from outside on a cookie sheet so they can lick at it and smack at it with their paws and experience the season. “In times of stress, you can ramp up the indoor fun,” she says.

It’s likely that your cats have their favorite toys. Bring them out even if it’s only for a few minutes each day to maintain some of the familiarity they crave in their world.

Read Next: Tips for Reducing Your Cat’s Holiday Stress

The post Why Do Cats Go Crazy for Holiday Décor? by Susan Logan McCracken appeared first on Catster. Copying over entire articles infringes on copyright laws. You may not be aware of it, but all of these articles were assigned, contracted and paid for, so they aren't considered public domain. However, we appreciate that you like the article and would love it if you continued sharing just the first paragraph of an article, then linking out to the rest of the piece on Catster.com.

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[char27martin]

Fearless Querying: Learning to Love the Query Letter

I fell in love with The Beatles when I was a boy. I loved every song on every album, except one song—Paperback Writer. Mind you, it was driven by a great guitar riff and was toe-tappingly catchy, but the lyrics were too painful for my eight-year-old heart to bear. If you’re unfamiliar, the entire song is a letter to a publishing house asking—no begging—a “Sir or Madame” to read this aspiring author’s book. Though I did not yet know I would pursue a book-writing career as an adult, I could already feel my loathing for the strange form of communication that is the query letter.

This guest post by William Kenower . Kenower is the editor in chief of Author magazine, a sought-after speaker and teacher, and the author of FEARLESS WRITING. He’s been published in The New York Times and Edible Seattle, and was a featured blogger on the Huffington Post. His video interviews with hundreds of writers, from Nora Ephron to Amy Tan to William Gibson, are widely considered the best of their kind on the Internet. He also hosts the online radio program Author2Author, where every week he and a different guest discuss the books we write and the lives we lead.

Twenty years later, after finishing my first novel and realizing I needed a literary agent, I discovered my feelings about the query letter hadn’t changed one bit. I didn’t like anything about the experience of writing one. I didn’t like not knowing the person to whom I was writing, I didn’t like summarizing my big, delicious novel in two paragraphs, and I especially didn’t like needing this person to like my book. This is selling, and I am not a salesperson; I am a writer. So I held my nose and wrote the query, and the results were predictably disappointing.

I used to think I was more or less the only one who felt the way I did about the query letter, but I have since learned that I was far, far from alone. I also used to think the problem with query letters was their form: It seemed inherently dishonest and manipulative. I was taking this thing I loved and turning it into an advertisement—and I didn’t like advertisement. I ignored them if I could. However, I have since learned that my distaste for queries had nothing to do with the form or the intent of the letter, but the actual, butt-in-the-seat experience of writing one.

You see, it doesn’t matter whether I’m writing a poem, an essay, a novel, or a query letter, the moment I begin trying to get into my reader’s head I feel lost and confused. I have absolutely no idea what other people like. For instance, I am still a little surprised every time I learn that someone else loves The Beatles, even though for a time about half the planet seemed to love The Beatles. Other people’s likes and dislikes remain that mysterious to me, and can certainly provide no guidance for the unmarked path along the blank page. Regardless of the form, I must trust my own curiosity and imagination to guide me through anything I write, even a query letter.

[Want to land an agent? Here are 4 things to consider when researching literary agents.]

So the only way to enjoy writing a query letter, and indeed to write the best query letter possible, is to forget completely about the agents to whom I am writing. I must forget about selling my book, forget about the market and what I have or haven’t published prior. Instead, I must remember the book I wrote. I must remember how much I love it.

And while I may not know you, and I may not know what you like to read or write, I know that if you wrote a book, you love it. You may be shy about admitting it, but it’s still true. You love it because you spent six months or six years writing it, and you never would have finished that book if you hadn’t thought it was cool, funny, sexy, profound, or exciting. To write a query letter, we must all first remember why we wanted to finish our book, why we first thought the world needed a book like this.

Most importantly, I must go back to that place from which the book came. It’s the same place your book came from. It’s a place you can’t describe to anyone else, a place you can’t name and are perhaps embarrassed to talk about; but you know this place well, this trustworthy, creative garden. It has been a friend to you as long as you have known it, and it is meant to serve you in anything you create. Go back there, and as you sit down to write a query letter, remember why you loved your book and why you wrote it, and let the query letter be another opportunity to share what you shared in the book.

The discomfort I used to feel crafting a query was just insecurity. But insecurity is not weakness; it is not a personal flaw. Rather, it is the very instructive experience of looking for my confidence where it isn’t. It is instructive because it is uncomfortable. If it were comfortable, I might keep doing it. Fortunately, the moment I look to anyone to tell me the value of me work, I feel miserable. It’s as if I wouldn’t allow myself to love The Beatles if my friend didn’t love them just as much as I did. The moment I decide my love for what I’ve written is enough, that I need not read other people’s mind to share my work with them, I am resting in my inherent confidence.

That’s all creative confidence is: deciding your curiosity and imagination are enough. Query letters can seem like an invitation to believe otherwise, but they aren’t. After all, agents want to represent cool, funny, sexy, profound, exciting books. They want to love your book. But they won’t love it unless you remember why you love it while you write you query. That’s your job. That’s always your job. Find something you love, and share it, share it, share it. You know how to do that. You’ve always known how to do that, and once you believe that’s enough, you’ll be able to write absolutely anything, even query letters.

(Note: Query letters do follow a bit of a formula. If you’re not sure what that formula is, I recommend this article.) 

The biggest literary agent database anywhere is the Guide to Literary Agents. Pick up the most recent updated edition online at a discount.

If you’re an agent looking to update your information or an author interested in contributing to the GLA blog or the next edition of the book, contact Writer’s Digest Books Managing Editor Cris Freese at cris.freese@fwmedia.com.

    The post Fearless Querying: Learning to Love the Query Letter appeared first on WritersDigest.com.

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[consulting-celiac-in-the-tardis]

Why My Diet is More Diverse As a Gluten Free Celiac

New blog post! Even though it's been four years since my celiac diagnosis, one question always seems to pop up when I meet someone new. Something like: "You can't eat gluten? What do you even eat!?!"

Whether it's celiac disease, a food allergy or a lifestyle choice like going paleo or vegan, "limitation" seems to be the common denominator. If you can't eat something, you diet just must be insanely restrictive. And in certain aspects, that's true. 

However, I have a different side of the story to tell. In fact, my diet has more variety than ever since I went gluten free. How can less ingredients mean more dietary diversity? And how can you add some spice to your life, even if you have food restrictions?

Here's four reasons why I'm eating more types of food than ever...after celiac forced me to go gluten free. 

1. You're forced to get creative in the kitchen.

How many times have you reached for the same ingredients or followed the same recipe just because "that's what you've always done"? Maybe it's the enchilada recipe that's been passed down in your family for centuries...or maybe it's just an American classic like grilled cheese that you've never bothered to make your own. 

When an entire food group gets kicked to the (dietary) curb, being creative in the kitchen isn't a privilege; it's a necessity. You have to find new tortillas - taste testing everything from potato-based Potapas to your own paleo Cassava creations to simple rice tortillas from

Food for Life - to replace the flour ones you've used for years. You may even have to try entire new recipes, experimenting with foreign names like buckwheat groats, chia seeds and coconut oil. 

The truth is, before I was diagnosed, I could cook approximately three meals: a baked potato, boxed mac n' cheese and any baked good that came with instructions. Being forced to go gluten free also forced me to leave my comfort zone of meat-potatoes-and-the-odd veggie. I wouldn't call myself a chef...but I do know how to pronounce quinoa correctly! 

My second-to-last non-GF birthday!

2. You have the best motivator ever to try new (naturally gluten free) foods. 

Maybe you've been gluten free for years, or maybe it's only been a few days since your edible world was thrown upside down. Either way, it's the perfect time to take a field trip to your local grocery store's produce aisle. 

I have another confession to make. Pre diagnosis, I had never tried avocado, kale, zucchini, squash, chickpeas and countless other foods. I turned up my nose at sweet potato and ate a smoothie once a year, if not less (how times have changed!). I ate a lot of food in terms of volume...but most of it fell within the realm of processed foods, canned vegetables and "stick-to-your-ribs" meat and potatoes. 

But, when so many of my old go-to's were made off limits, I discovered something: there was a rainbow of naturally gluten free options just waiting to be tasted. Sure, maybe your diet was more well-rounded than mine before you went gluten free. However, there's probably still one or two unique pieces of produce - ranging from dragonfruit to purple sweet potatoes to jicama to beets - that you haven't regarding including in your diet. 

Some of my favorite new finds...

It's impossible to not grieve for the foods - and, perhaps even more so, the ease of eating - that you've lost. Heck, sometimes I still smell my dad or sister's gluten-stuffed meal and and wish I could sneak a bite. But the more adventurous you get with safe foods, the less restrictive your diet will feel. 

I can now say that I eat zucchini, spaghetti squash, radishes, buckwheat, rice flakes, figs, avocado and countless other foods I'd never even heard of on a daily basis. And I have celiac - and the limited diet it gave me - to thank. 

3. You're in charge of your own food safety...

I've talked before about how much trust it takes to thrive with celiac disease. You have to trust restaurant chefs to avoid cross contamination and trust your significant other to brush their teeth before kissing you. However, the safety of your food really lies mostly within you - and the more you know about food, the safer you'll be. 

For instance, I know that couscous and seitan are made of straight wheat...and when I've been offered samples or have seen them at the Whole Foods bar, it's easy to quickly turn them down or walk away. I know that gluten can hide in anything from soup to BBQ sauce to dressings. And, because of that knowledge, I don't eat something thinking it "should be" or "probably is" gluten free. 

When I was first diagnosed, food transformed from tasty, enjoyable fuel to something scary - and even dangerous. Food could literally kill me, and I didn't feel ready to accept that responsibility. Ironically enough, though, celiac has taught me more about nutrition, food labels and dietary health than my high school or college nutrition classes ever did. And the more I learned, the more confident I became in exploring new foods and cuisines. 

Yes, food can be frightening when you have celiac, a food allergy or intense intolerance. But once you've educated yourself on what you can or can't eat, you're closer to feeling empowered enough to expand your diet as much as possible. 

4. ...and you're in control of how restrictive you really want your diet to be. 

On that same note, you're also in charge of how restrictive you want your diet to be. This idea has especially been on my mind in the last few weeks, thanks to the Whole30 movement. Every time Whole30 comes up, I can't stop myself from wondering, "Is that what I need to do? I'm eating more processed foods and sugar lately...maybe going full turkey is what my stomach really needs."

At the same time, though, I know I don't need to jump on the Whole30 train. I'm healthy, my stomach has more good days than bad, and, to be honest, my diet is already freakin' restrictive enough. I never have gluten, rarely have dairy and often steer away from soy. Some of those choices are medically necessary; others just help me feel my best. I would never say everyone should eat like I do, but it works for me.

Some of my favorite eats...

The point of that two-paragraph rant? Basically, when you realize you are in control of your own diet, you may feel like you have more dietary options than ever. Despite my limitations, I have enough recipes bookmarked to last my whole life (though, to be honest, I'll probably never make them all). And, despite whatever limitations you have, your diet only has as much variety as you work for. 

That may mean putting extra time and energy into finding the perfect nut butter replacement for peanut butter, a breakfast that tastes like oatmeal but is free of oats or old family comfort food (mac n' cheese anyone?) that fits your new restrictions. But, at the end of the day, this time and energy is worth it when it makes your everyday life feel that much more free. 

When you're determined and excited about adding some new foods to your life, celiac ain't nothing more than a small speed bump. 

Even though I am constantly asked about what I really eat, I've yet to perfect my answer. Sometimes it's, "Everything - as long as it doesn't have gluten or dairy." Other times, I simply laugh and say, "You'd be surprised." 

Because, if these past four years have taught me anything, it's that my weekly meal plan can still boast plenty of gluten free surprises. Heck, I still have a long range of foods or recipes I need to try, from a cashew cheese sauce to pistachios (one of my favorite hobbies sophomore year was shocking my foodie roommate with the foods I'd never tasted. I'd you're reading this, Bri, I can feel your disapproving glance from here!).

An honest portrayal of my two true loves: Sunflower butter and homemade granola!

In a lot of ways, I'm even thankful for the diet celiac has given me. I'm eating healthier than ever before (at least in terms of getting more veggies and less red meat, sugar and un-pronounceable ingredients). I'm also eating a bigger variety of foods than I ever imagined. 

So, if you're feeling like your diet is dwindling after a medical diagnosis, I understand your pain. But I also have come to understand that we're the masters of our (foodie) fates in a lot of ways. 

And the first time you try a new, delicious food that also fits within your new diet? Let's just say that there's nothing sweeter than that. 

Have you ever found your diet expanding after it become more limited? What's your favorite trick to add more variety to a medically restricted diet? I'm always looking for new inspiration! 

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