#Breaking the Magician's Code

[nevesmose]

Can I be a huge nerd about a piece of writing that has had a very big influence on my own style?

It's from an alternate history timeline called Protect and Survive that was posted between 2010 and 2013 which can be viewed chapter by chapter here. In summary, it deals with the before during and after of nuclear war breaking out in 1984 with a focus on what happens in the UK but some diversions to the US and Europe as well.

It's a very bleak story inspired by Threads which is something I've yapped about many times and, stylistically, by David Peace's novel GB84. But that's not super important really - I hadn't read anything by David Peace before I read Protect and Survive so, to me, it feels emotionally like the origin point of a lot of the tools it uses.

I recommend the whole thing but what I want to focus on is the fifth chapter in which the nuclear attack actually happens. It's not that long so give it a read if you'd like to but then come back because I have lots of things to say about how it tells its story.

Back yet? Good. Depressed yet? Yeah. There's so much worse.

Anyway, to begin at the beginning:

The Fire Brigade may not be able to reach you.

Each main chapter title and opening line comes from the real life Protect and Survive publications that would have been distributed in the lead-up to nuclear war. So they're the framework for the story and almost always used in a way that illustrates how optimistic and/or deliberately deceptive each piece the advice is. For example here we've already been shown in an earlier chapter that all the emergency services have been withdrawn from likely target areas in order to preserve them for the aftermath. The Fire Brigade is not coming, ever. You really think the government would do that, just go out and tell people lies? 🤔

The Constable didn't see the mushroom cloud. He'd made for a shop's cellar the second he heard the siren. He had pushed people out of his way to get there. When it hit, he wet himself.

The Shopkeeper didn't see the mushroom cloud. He'd been down in the shelter since the siren went - his wife had frozen up, the silly bitch, but he'd got her into the shelter.

The County Controller didn't see the mushroom cloud. When the warning came in he thought of his grandchildren and burst into tears. When the bomb shook the very foundations of his basement bunker, he hit his head and passed out.

The Old Man and his Wife didn't see the mushroom cloud. They saw the flash, though. They never saw anything ever again.

I love love love the rhythmic list-like format here that is telling us what the various POV characters we've met so far are doing at the moment the bomb hits. There's a regular beat all beginning with the same phrase and all telling us what the various characters are doing with the use of the most relevant details to give us insight into their character through their thoughts and actions.

The Constable is a very scared young man far out of his depth and behaving accordingly. The Shopkeeper was in the shelter and although he made sure his wife got in too he still thinks of her as a silly bitch for freezing up which is indicative of his ruthlessness. The County Controller who is supposed to be safe in a bunker, exerting control over everyone else, is still just a individual person whose thoughts are of his own family and, in any case, ends up having his "safety" completely subverted when it KOs him at the vital moment.

And then, speaking of subversion, we get to the last paragraph which plays the kind of bait-and-switch I will never ever stop using because it always works to throw off the reader and make them feel, however unconsciously, unsettled by what's being described because the pattern has been broken which is jarring on a very instinctual level.

They saw the flash, though. That itself is further unsettling because it's phrased like a helpful, positive kind of conversational interjection when the descriptions of the others have been much more clinical and functional. And what it's describing is anything but positive.

They never saw anything ever again. And so we have another quick change not just of tone, going from a statement about what they did see to what they won't ever again, but also in terms of scale. In the space between sentences we've zoomed out from a description of one single event that did happen to literally the entirety of time in which something will never happen.

I'll give you a little spoiler here too when I say that this is also foreshadowing that will come back to haunt us later. We aren't being lied to or anything, it's just that the only specific information being given to us here is that they never saw anything ever again. It means exactly what it says, no more and no less, but coming to it for the first time it's easy to read it as just a roundabout way of saying "they died". This is a very effective trick to mess with people.

As it happened, the fears of a 'four-minute warning' were unfounded. From detection to impact, the first missile to hit the UK took just over five and a half minutes. Airbursting near RAF Scampton, this burning cloud marks the start of the Russian attempt to neutralise Britain's bomber fleet through short - range submarine launched missile attacks. Although the EMP arising from such attacks plays havoc with air-traffic control and navigation, it is not enough to stop the V-Bombers. These crews have trained for thirty years so that these few moments are survivable. The Vulcans and Victors are already off the ground. They have their orders. The 'go' order (Britain's submarines are launching, too) was not issued by the Prime Minister - she will be dead within two minutes of the Scampton attack. In fact, two separate 'go' orders are relayed. The Deputy Prime Minister (already deep underground in CHANTICLEER) is a 'Nuclear Deputy' - he gives the order almost before the tearful radio operator finishes his dispatch. The Air Chief Marshall, steaming around an undisclosed location on HMY Britannia, gives the same order some thirty-five seconds later. This is academic however; by this point, flight suits have sprinted across tarmac and are checking their aircraft as if in fast-motion. Beneath the waves, the 'doomsday letter', handwritten by the PM, has already been opened with shaking hands. It consists simply of two words - 'Strike Back.' We do.

Look how much this section is a big, solid wall of text compared to what's come before. It's the kind of detached factual description you'd get in a Tom Clancy novel with lots of acronyms and technical terms being thrown around in long, detailed sentences with lots of different clauses, hopping quickly from idea to idea, person to person, and place to place as a large number of different things happen all at once. The fact that RAF Scampton has actually been hit, with all of the suffering that entails, is kind of lost in the middle of the big flurry of activity happening.

My favourite part is "these crews have trained for thirty years so that these few moments are survivable" - once again we have a zoom effect but it's a zoom in this time, collapsing down from thirty years into the very short, busy space of time that this section is conveying to us.

I also find this part really interesting:

The 'go' order (Britain's submarines are launching, too) was not issued by the Prime Minister - she will be dead within two minutes of the Scampton attack.

Like I mentioned before, this section is portraying so many things happening all at once, so much so that the tone starts to get almost breathless as what the submarines are doing has to get compressed into brackets within a larger sentence.

And then we get some more little meaningful word choices, like sometimes it's a lot more effective to describe what isn't happening rather than what is. "The 'go' order was not issued by the Prime Minister" is a really effective way of communicating the idea "something is going wrong here and things are not as they should be" and then in the next bit of the sentence we find out why - "she will be dead within two minutes of the Scampton attack." Not only is it another indicator of how quickly the different events are all piling on each other but saying "she will be dead" brings in a feeling of inevitability, of events being outside anyone's control.

For comparison, you could convey much the same information by saying something like "the 'go' order was given by the Deputy Prime Minister, underground at CHANTICLEER, since the Prime Minister died within two minutes of the Scampton attack." But I feel like it loses so much of the sense of chaos and events blurring together, in flux but coalescing inevitably towards an end point that will happen soon.

No-one is quite sure what's going on with Her Majesty.

Communications across the UK are severely disrupted by the first bomb. And the second. And the third.

The panic, the vomit

The dust and the screaming

The big bombs hit the cities.

London gets ten.

In isolation this part looks almost like a poem doesn't it? Things are suddenly very disjointed and staccato compared to the long sentences we just had. The repetition of "the first bomb, and the second, and the third" is good here, piling one upon the other.

And as it goes on even the word choices reflect how much things are breaking down - "the big bombs hit the cities" and "London gets ten" are both infantile ways of describing it. Like the events have robbed everyone of any control they have, turning them into powerless babies panicking and vomiting and screaming as things happen that they can barely comprehend. There are no more highly trained people rushing around doing well-prepared things like we just had. And I like the almost embarrassed tone of "no-one is quite sure what's going on with Her Majesty" as though this was the comically belated last rational thought someone had before the end. We do find out eventually by the way.

I'm not going to go through the whole thing in this level of detail but the first sections of the chapter are doing a huge amount of work very effectively and I wanted to make sure I talked about all the things I noticed.

Newcastle is 'spared' a direct hit - the megaton with its name on it undershoots, airbursting over a chip shop in Heddon, a few miles to the South-East.

I cannot over-emphasise how important it is that it mentions the bomb hitting a chip shop. I've been to Newcastle once in my entire life and I have never heard of Heddon so as a reader I don't have a very strong mental image of either place.

But I can imagine a chip shop, a mental image that comes ready-made with a long list of related memories and sensory inputs that I, as the reader, am doing all the work of remembering, connecting it to what I'm reading and making it feel real. I can remember the smell of the fryers and the taste of salt and vinegar on hot, fresh chips and I can see the tiny white drifts of spilled salt on the counter. And so when I read about the nuclear apocalypse hitting a chip shop I can form a very strong image of what that's like. And all this just from the choice to say that it happened to "a chip shop in Heddon" which is a really big impact from so few words.

The Central European front is now silent, save for the crackle of flames and the cries of young men - something of a ceasefire occurs, as there is no-one left to fight.

🚨"Something of an X" alert🚨 since I know this phrase and others like it are ones that I use very very often. Saying a thing is "something of a whatever" is a fantastic way to be ironic, funny, sarcastic, sad etc. A very useful tool. Like for example "the clown smooshing a pie into my face during my job interview was something of a surprise" or as in this case where it's not really any kind of ceasefire at all. It's just death.

First to go was his hair - it caught fire. His scalp melted and his teeth burst. His clothes became his skin and his skin became his clothes, and then both slid off his bones.

This is one of the scenes that has stuck with me ever since I first read it. One of the best, most effective ways of getting under people's skin (lol) with gory scenes is to mention specific things that everyone tends to find personal/intimate/vulnerable. Hair is good for this, as we can see here, but I have always been a big fan of mentioning teeth since it can make the reader think about something that unsettles them and more importantly have a kind of physical reaction to it right there as they're still reading. For example:

His teeth burst. Something I don't like makes my teeth itch. I had a dream where someone replaced all my teeth with marshmallows. All of her front teeth were broken during the crash.

I would be willing to bet the 12p of pocket change currently in my possession that at least one of those phrases made you just a little bit more conscious of your own teeth. Maybe you even poked at them with your tongue or something. Everyone can relate to bad things happening to teeth.

"His clothes became his skin and his skin became his clothes" is also a really evocative way of presenting it. The idea being conveyed is just "his skin and his clothes melted together" which is already pretty bad, but framing it as this cyclical exchange of each object transmutationally becoming the other makes it seem so much more drawn-out and torturous.

A screaming skeleton, caught burning in mid-air, the Cadet's last words are unintelligible, for his tongue has burned out. Although all this has occured in a fraction of an instant, relief still registers in the boy's brain as the coup de grace comes - the blastwave bursting his smouldering scarecrow like a locomotive through a snowman. His remains float up to meet the mushroom cloud like a letter up a chimney. No-one will ever speak about, or think about the Cadet from now until the end of time.

One of the first things that strikes me here is that there are quite a lot of hissing "S" sounds in play. It makes me think of something hissing away in a frying pan which is appropriate, considering. We also have another negative description of what isn't happening in the mention of his last words being unintelligible, and another use of a very large scale kind of zoom out when it says no one will ever think of him "from now until the end of time" just to illustrate the magnitude of how much both the Cadet and the world in which he lives are being destroyed, as though not only is he gone but so is everyone else who would ever be able to preserve his memory.

And the similes! Sometimes a very brutal, alien event needs a very brutal, alien comparison to fulfil the purpose of illustrating what is going on without offering any comfort to the reader. It's like if you say "the roasted xargbulox meat tasted like chicken" that gives familiarity to something strange and also brings in a little bit of the "chip shop" trick where you're using whatever real-life impressions and memories people have of what chicken tastes like to support the fictional thing being described.

Whereas I feel like "a locomotive through a snowman" gives illustration without comfort, instead of falling back on the reader's existing ideas it makes them put in the effort of getting out the metaphorical Lego set and combining locomotive + snowman to arrive at the desired mental image.

That's about all I've got so thanks for sticking with it if you did! There are lots more nifty stylistic bits as the story goes on. Bleak, though. Very bleak.

[issela-santina]

Breaking the Magician's Code sparked so much joy for me actually

[simply-a-void]

Down bad is such a quentin song and ill stand by this opinion. Like specifically q's relationships to brakebills and eliot separately.

[thezombiegeekinthehawaiianshirt]

[the-good-luck-anomaly]

[childrenofcain-if]

Hiya author, hope ur health has gotten better! You've already written quite a lot and I'm sure nobody will blame u for taking a break while ur literally bedridden.

Sending u the very best wishes, rest well ❤️‍🩹

aw bonnie, thank you for very much for this sweet message. i swear y’all are gonna give me diabetes from such sweetness, but i’m not complaining.

luckily tho, i did get chapter three done by crawling to the chair again because if the creative juices are flowing, i am powerless to stop them 😔 so i have a pretty solid draft of the final product ready. imma get working on the music part to include in the update as well 😋

also, another piece of good news is that chapter two has been coded! alby is a magician and they’re way too proficient at sorting out my messed up google docs 💀 the chances of the next update being on/before halloween has been doubled, although i wouldn’t make any promises yet since chapter three is a fucking mammoth of different branchings as per the ROs you go with.

i hope everyone is resting well too and taking care of their health 🫶🏻

[betraumatizebaby]

I saw your post and have some incorrect quotes!

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*Eurylochus and Elpenor are planning to crash Ody and Poseidon's "wedding"*

Eurylochus: We need to distract the guards.

Elpenor: Right.

Eurylochus: What are we gonna do?

Elpenor: I'm gonna break their elbows while you poke their eyes.

Eurylochus:

Elpenor:

Eurylochus: Deal.

(Spoiler: They did NOT save Odysseus and ended up married too)

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Persephone: You don't need my blessing to go kiss Polites. In fact, I was pretty sure you were already kissing Polites!

Hades: Nope.

Persephone: In that case, as the archbishop of Hades's fully awakened Bidom, I give you my blessing to immediately leave and rectify that as soon as possible! Go now, my love, and kiss Polites right on the lips!!!

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Hades, holding a rock: Polites just gave this to me and said "I feel like you deserve the moon but all I can give you is a rock".

Persephone: If you don't marry him, I will.

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Odysseus, to Poseidon: I'll be under the mistletoe when I start feeling desperate!

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(During the honeymoon)

The gods: I regret nothing!!!

The crew: I regret everything!!!

I Signed Up for a Quest Not a Wedding Registry! AU part two

Previous = Next

Let me continue this.

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Eurylochus: This man is crazy, y'all. I've had him blocked on everything for weeks, yet he still manages to find ways to contact me—

(Hears something and turns around to look at a microwave. Yes, I know microwaves don't exist yet, but whatever.)

Eurylochus: Bro, this is what I'm talking about! Look, he's calling me on my microwave—how is that even… I didn't know microwaves could do—How is he doing that?

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Poseidon: …. --- ..- --. …. / .. - .----. … / -. --- - / -- -.-- / ..-. .- ..- .-.. - --..-- / .. / .- .--. --- .-.. --- --. .. --.. . / ..-. --- .-. / -- -.-- / .- -.-. - .. --- -. …

Odysseus: What's that?

Poseidon: Remorse code.

Odysseus: …I'm even more angry now.

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Dionysus: I had a dream where you were cheating on me last night. Explain yourself.

Elpenor: ?

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Poseidon: Odysseus, let me in! I need to save you.

Odysseus: Save me from what?

Poseidon: From what I’m going to do to you if you don’t let me in.

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Polites, walking into the underworld: Hello, people who do not live here.

Eurylochus: Hi.

Odysseus: Hello.

Elpenor: Hey!

Polites: I gave you the key to my house for emergencies only!

Odysseus: …We were hiding away from them.

Elpenor: Yeah, I need a break from Dionysus—for at least four days.

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(Dionysus hands Elpenor a marriage certificate signed by him.)

Elpenor: What is…? How did you do this?

Dionysus: Come now, Elpenor. A magician never reveals his secrets.

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Other Demigod: Seriously, what do you see in that guy? (referring to Polites)

Hades and Persephone: He makes us laugh.

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Poseidon, after Hades judges him and the others for kidnapping a mortal and forcing them into a marriage: Why do you act like you didn't kidnap your lover and have two lovers?

Hades: Well, first of all, Zeus gave me permission to marry Persephone, and second, not only did Polites actually consent to the marriage, but Persephone allowed it to happen! Did your other wife agree to this?

Thank you for this incorrect quote, this made my days! Anyway please give me more ideas. I would love to hear your ideas and opinions for this AU!

[thoughtfulchaos773]

3x09-Apologies

A message to the audience? Meta part 1

"I dont know what but something else is happening."

It begins with Martin Scorsese discussing the art of filmmaking, and Marcus watches what looks to be a documentary about cinematic sleight of hand.

Martin Scorsese: The fantasy is what we’re doing now, right here in this room, with these lights and cameras and mirrors. Something else is existing there. I don’t know what, but there’s something happening. It’s not part of our normal day… literal nature of how we live… but we’re trying to create something different...

I'll consider this one of the many moments of breaking the fourth wall in the season and telling of the relationship between viewer and filmmakers. we also get another quote from magician Ricky Jay:

People frequently talk about how much more difficult it is to cheat in a card game than to perform good sleight of hand. But if you think about it, what makes magic different is that it’s inherently honest. You tell someone you’re gonna deceive them before you deceive them. In some way, that makes it more difficult.

I think this is speaking to the viewers. They're showing us one thing but meaning another- literally throughout the episode was like a magic code to crack (we'll talk code cracking part 2).

And before we get back to the story for episode 9 (which is annoyingly claire heavy with syd carmy moments) the creators tell us this:

Magic at its best for it truly to be a magical moment. It has to be spontoneous. It has to be something that just happens.

More later.

[00belle00lovely00]

*+_ MEET MY SHOWTIME (caine x pomni)SHIPCHILD! _+*

GLAZ DOCH! (she's called Glaz) (her hat is called Doch, and yes. It is a sentient hat, although can only speak through binary codes)

Pronouns: (Glaz) she/her (Doch) they/them

Age: 12 years old

Human/AI: AI! Although, perhaps a bit too advanced...

Role: Not only does she serve as Caine's POOR excuse for the 'need for assistants that resemble human nature' for his sudden baby fever. But ALSO works as a break time-in-doors entertainer! An acrobat, a magician, a gymnastics, a stand-up comedy, a clown, you name it! Any kind of wacky requests you have, she will be more than happy to oblige! That being without Doch around since they get a bit anxious about certain rather dangerous activities.

Personality (Glaz): Cheerful, dumb-smart, whimsical, a big doofus from time to time, INCREDIBLY FLEXIBLE AND AGILE, spontaneous, bold, can come off a blunt, surprisingly quiet from time to time but can get REALLY obnoxiously loud if she wants to.

Personality (Doch): Works as Glaz's consciousness and 'helper'. A much more serious, stern yet concerned fellow that oftentimes makes sure nothing could possibly harm the little silly!

01010100 01101000 01100101 01111001 00100000 01100001 01110010 01100101 00100000 01100001 01101100 01110011 01101111 00100000 01100001 00100000 01110000 01101111 01101111 01110010 00100000 01100001 01110100 01110100 01100101 01101101 01110000 01110100 00100000 01100010 01111001 00100000 01000011 01100001 01101001 01101110 01100101 00100000 01110100 01101111 00100000 01100111 01101001 01110110 01100101 00100000 01000111 01101100 01100001 01111010 00100000 01110100 01101000 01100101 00100000 01110011 01100001 01101101 01100101 00100000 01100001 01101101 01101111 01110101 01101110 01110100 00100000 01101111 01100110 00100000 01101000 01110101 01101101 01100001 01101110 01101001 01110100 01111001 00100000 01100001 01110011 00100000 01101000 01100101 01110010 00100000 01101101 01101111 01110100 01101000 01100101 01110010 00101110 00100000 01010111 01101000 01101001 01100011 01101000 00100000 01101001 01110100 00100000 01100100 01101001 01100100 00100000 01110111 01101111 01110010 01101011 00101110 00100000 01000010 01110101 01110100 00100000 01101111 01101110 01101100 01111001 00100000 01100010 01111001 00100000 01100001 00100000 01100110 01110010 01100001 01100011 01110100 01101001 01101111 01101110 00100000 01101111 01100110 00100000 01101000 01100101 01110010 00100000 01100011 01101111 01100100 01100101 00101110

AND I KNOW WHAT YOU MAY BE ASKING! What is her relationship with her parents? WELL GLAD YOU ASK!

Around Pomni, she is constantly checking up on her, making poor attempts to cheer her up whenever she's nervous or clinging onto her by being instantly remembering that Pomni was her coded mother figure. This... kind of both confused and overwhelmed Pomni, but boneless. She wouldn't complain. It's nice to feel like a parental figure once in a while, helps her get her mind off the terrible things going on in here...

And as for Caine?

OH, THEY GET ALONG PRETTY WELL. LET'S JUST SAY THEY TAKE ON EACH OTHER'S PERSONALITIES RATHER COMPATIBLY

They're both equally as clueless and brainless but smart and advanced as one another.

[rubydubydoo122]

time loop scenario but make it alfred who is trapped in it and at the end of every round, one of the bats dies. he can't change it no matter what he does. he can never die himself. drugging them doesn't work, they either notice or die anyway. what happens to his psyche and how does he break free? how would the bats die? a little morid, yeah, but the ANGST POTENTIAL (this isn't a fic request. just curious about headcanons and theories)

OH ShIT THIS IS A REALLY COOL CONCEPT ANON In most stories, Alfred is rarely treated like a character of his own and is more of a tool to prop up any of the characters around him. So... idk what Alfred would do.

I'd like to think that each of the bats die protecting each other or Alfred because they all have martyr complexes, lets be so fr.

but how does he break freeeee??? hmmmmm. I wanna say he breaks free because he's Alfred, but also, there has to be a code groundhogs day where they have some sort of magician on standby. Maybe Alfred, being the immortal man he is, knows runecrafts and creates a rune to stop the loop. But lets say that code doesn't work and every single thing Alfred tries to break free he keeps getting trapped back in the loop.

I think he would become completely desensitized and carry on his butler mask. All the kids would be confused as to why he seems more butler than grandfather, and then they start dying, and Alfred keeps a stoic face through all of it, and maybe even asks everyone if they want tea while they're dying or something (where do you think Bruce got his stoicism from?)

so ya. this is actually really interresting to think about actually.

[iliveforyouilongforyouvesuvia]

I haven't seen it yet but full hc for the m6 with an MC on the ADHD spectrum

The Arcana HCs: M6 with an MC who has ADHD

~ @themushroomgoesyeet hope you like these! I'm writing half from personal experience, half from what I've read and heard. Please let me know if there's anything that need correcting! ~

Julian

ADHD is a less familiar subject for him, if only because his areas of specialty so far have been contagious diseases and battle wounds

He's also not really one to judge you for difficulty keeping a sleep schedule, self-medicating with caffeine, or spending days on end obsessively learning everything you can about a specific subject

What's abundantly clear to him, though, is that you do not deserve to live with the guilt that comes from your own brain hijacking every commitment and interest that it doesn't prioritize

He knows what it's like to feel guilty for something that wasn't your fault, and he doesn't like seeing you live with it

The way he sees it, he's even more to blame for his shortcomings than you are, because you're actively working against your own brain and he's just ... sad (you'll have to tell him that this is not true)

This is going to become one of those shared challenges you tackle together as a couple

He'll write down all the bad effects of too much caffeine to motivate him to reduce your combined intake

You remind him to go to bed with you at a decent hour and call it "poetry time" instead of "bedtime" to trick both of your brains into not thinking of it as the end of the day

Asra

They love you. They love you so much. They never, ever want to get in the way of your preferences and vision

He enables you maaaybe a little more than he should

Staying up late is a great idea! Spending the entire day on your current fixation with no break to go outside or talk to people? Hey, don't let them ruin your fun ~

Thankfully, he cares about you far too much to leave you to engage in anything genuinely self destructive

Once the amount of caffeine you've consumed goes from "inadvisable" to "concerning," once your sleep schedule goes from "not ideal" to "dysfunctional", they'll step in in the gentlest way

Another cup of coffee? Let him get you some soothing tea. Another all-nighter? Snuggle him first, let him help you meditate a bit and see if you don't get drowsy

Nobody can combat executive dysfunction like this magician

All it takes is them feeling the slowly building dread through your bond, and they're lovingly poofing you off of the couch/floor/counter and into a very ticklish hug

His lifestyle is heavily ADHD coded as it is. He remains completely unfazed by the roller coaster that your brain can be

Nadia

To her, you are the best possible version of her opposite

She has a hard time changing between trains of thought. You reboot yours every time you walk through a door!

She sometimes forgets to slow down and appreciate the small things in favor of the bigger picture. You, on the other hand, are constantly pausing to notice them

And don't get her started on how much she admires your capacity to learn so much specialized knowledge in such a short period of time. It's truly astonishing and she adores it

However, she can tell that leaving it unchecked and untreated will make it difficult for you to function in the Palace's normal setup, much less follow regular routines

Quick to find a specialist in your condition and set up a few sessions with them, coming up with ways to work with your diagnoses and exploring medication options that you like

Insanely good at helping you keep your mind on track and regulate your attention and focus levels, even when it means pulling you away from a task that's about to eat up half your day

Likes to idly study the chaotic way you manage your personal spaces and try to figure out what the method to the madness is

Muriel

What, you think he's not used to living with a chaotic being that'll start three projects in a row before randomly walking out and not reappearing for several hours? Please.

Truthfully, there are some small things that annoy him. He likes predictability, and your base state of functioning is taking the next random tangent. That's not easy to not worry about

However, he knows that living with him takes plenty of patience as well. As long as you two can be patient with each other's quirks, and respectful when you lovingly intervene, that's what matters

He still loves hearing you ramble

He likes watching your eyes light up, listening to the excited lilt of your voice as you infodump all the new specialized knowledge you've gobbled up

That aside, he does love learning. Each of your new fixations is a new field of education for him by proxy

He's also someone who thrives on habit and routine and isn't afraid to put his foot down when your wellbeing is involved

He will scoop you up in his arms and lovingly carry you to bed when the bags under your eyes get too prominent and you start to nod off mid-sentence

Portia

Portia looks at you like you hung the moon. Portia thinks that every magical thing you do is mind-blowingly amazing. Portia assumes that all of your little quirks and non-habits are just you being you

Hey, if finding one specific food and eating it and only it for days on end is something you want to do, cool! Maybe it's secretly satisfying some magician's craving!

You're going to think about one thing and one thing only and learn everything there is to know about that thing? That's some badass scholarly behavior right there.

Well - except for the part where you forget something exists as soon as it's not in your hand anymore, or where time really does seem like a social construct, or where you somehow get physically and mentally stuck in one spot without being able to move

That looks ... miserable

Nobody can manage chaos like she can. She'll help you snap out of it, she'll remind you to eat and sleep and take your meds, she'll regularly ask when last you went outside or took a bath

And when you mess up - when you miss an event, or fall behind schedule, or leave things to pile up until they're too much - she'll be right next to you with an encouraging smile and plenty of grace

Lucio

This works either really well or really poorly, depending on the day, how he's doing, how you're doing, what you're both supposed to be doing, what the weather's like ...

It's unpredictable, but that's the fun of it!

Much of the time, your strong points support each other. There are few feelings Lucio hates more than boredom, but with a brain like yours around, there's always something new to try or think about

Few things cause the kind of bone-deep discouragement and guilt that constantly missing things does, but nobody values the importance of trying again like he does

On the other hand, sometimes you accidentally enable each other

Lucio's still learning the self-regulation involved with choosing to do something unpleasant and important over doing something enjoyable and completely useless

And if your brain decides that said pleasant thing is the only thing it's going to function for, well, not getting sidetracked is almost impossible. Good luck to you both

Thankfully, you both have a lifestyle that allows for unusual schedules and working styles. As long as you have each other to keep trying growing, you'll never get stuck for long

[burning-academia-if]

lars + concert? <3

Lars + Concert!

The concert ticket had been as vexing as it was a welcome surprise. Lars had always stated he was more a composer than he was a musician. You’d only ever heard him play in short bursts, or when he was repeating bars, adjusting notes and tempos as he went. After all this time, you couldn’t think of a single point in time where you’d heard him play a song all the way through. You hadn’t even heard him play one of his finished compositions for you.

            “I thought you didn’t do concerts.” You’d stared at the QR code on your phone that doubled as your digital ticker.

            “I’m covering.” Had been Lars’ response. He hadn’t elaborated. You didn’t even know which instrument he was going to be playing, or if he was going to be switching between multiple since he was filling in.

            The theater at Vales Grove was far more packed than you’d expected it to be as you walk through the crowds. There’s a variety of people, from other students to older adults who were dressed far above than what you’d expected for a college recital. Lars had said to wear whatever, but now you felt just a little underdressed.

            Your ticket placed you close to the front, meaning you wouldn’t be able to miss him.

            Though, it seems your worry was misplaced.

            The host introduced the solo performances first, and there, as the second soloist, was Lars. You blink as Lars steps up to the center of stage. There’s an ease to him, his body swinging into position with a violin. Although Lars tends to dress on the nicer side most days, you’ve never seen him in a suit, or with spotlights on him.

            His eyes flicker up and finds you immediately. You miss the announcer saying the name of the song he’s going to play. No one else but you could notice the ghost of a smile on his face, almost smug from how caught off guard you look.

            Then his eyes slip closed, and his fingers start to dance along the neck of the violin. It’s slow, mournful. A ballad that wraps around you. Perhaps there’s a bit of magic to his music, creating a haze in the whole atmosphere. This feels like it’s him playing for no one besides you.

            There are three songs. They flow into each other seamlessly, swelling from dreary long standing notes to quicker staccatos, as though in celebration. His body sways to the movement, one with the performance. This isn’t the Lars you know. This is the first time you’ve understood how he could be a Heart Magician.

            As the last note fades, his eyes open and finds yours again. He’s searching your expression, immune to the applause around him, and you can’t breathe when he’s looking at you like he wants to see your whole soul.

            When the announcer returns, and Lars gives his bow, it’s like the dream breaks. You’re back in the theater, and the band is filling in for the main concert, but Lars image refuses to leave your mind. You don’t think it will.

[imagining-in-the-margins]

Spencer Reid SFW | Fluff

To return to the S.R. SFW Masterlist, please click here. If you’re looking for my S.R. NSFW Masterlist, look here. If you're looking for my CM PolyAm Masterlist, look here. If you’re looking for Other MGG Characters, look here. If you’re looking for my Works in Progress, look here.

Works are separated by genre and gender of the Reader. Gender Neutral means that no gender identifiers are used.

Bedtime Stories on the Jet: Spencer and you share the jet couch.

Drunk Dial: It’s been years since Reader talked to Spencer, but after a bunch of drinks it seems like a really good idea.

Appalachian: Reader is tired of Spencer purposefully pushing their buttons and demands an explanation.

Play Dates: Reader finds out Spencer hasn’t had enough dates to play Best/Worst Date with the team and offers several Play Dates, but quickly realizes it’s hard to have a bad date with Spencer Reid.

It’s Personal: Reader reminds Spencer’s team that it’s never appropriate to ask someone for their age, even if they’re dating their coworker.

Style Theory: Fashion student Reader meets their favorite scholar and teaches him a lesson in self-love.

Quid Pro Quo: Spencer is entranced by the law student in his class.

Pipsqueak: The only thing shorter than Reader is their patience.

Fragile: Disabled!Reader. Spencer has to stay behind on a case and gets to know the new technical analyst.

The Perfect Plan: Reader has a question for Spencer, but things don’t go according to plan.

Kitten Love: Spencer’s vet begrudgingly agrees to an emergency house call.

Pair of Aces: This Pride month, Reader decides to share something with the team.

Battle of the Houses: Reid accidentally gets trapped in a Hogwarts House War with Reader, Jack, and Henry.

Like Father, Like You: Child!Reader. Platonic. In which Spencer’s child comes out as not-straight.

More fics below!

Astraphobia: SSA Reader and Spencer share their most embarrassing fears.

What Goes Up: Spencer breaks the Magician’s code for a very adorable exception.

Different Dialects: Autistic!Reader. Spencer is trying to tell Reader he likes her, but it feels like they speak entirely different languages.

Impromptu: Reader learns some shocking news when a case lands her in the hospital.

Soulmates: Spencer comes to a conclusion during a late night with Reader.

Intentions: Spencer’s teenage daughter wants to have a conversation with you about your intentions with her father.

Studious Shadow: Reader’s crush won’t stop avoiding her at work and she thinks he might hate her.

Painting by Numbers: Spencer is still a little worried about his pregnant wife painting the house.

The Prodigy Path: At a parent teacher conference, Spencer and Reader explain their seemingly unorthodox parenting style.

Fairytales: Spencer comes home to his very tired wife and even more tired child who refused to go to bed without a bedtime story from their dad.

Stranger Danger: Reader is a single mother having a very bad day.

Fever Dream: Reader makes an accidental confession, which starts the most intense game of hide and seek.

Defining Family: Spencer finds out he’s a dad… to a twelve year old girl. Your twelve year old girl, who just broke into the FBI.

Devil’s Advocate: Spencer’s been hooking up with the defense attorney in secret. At some point what was purely physical turned into something else.

Honeysuckle Hair: Spencer has some words to say about Reader’s curly hair.

Four in Hand: Spencer needs help with his tie.

Funny Thing Fate: Autistic!Reader is tipsy and lost in D.C. when she spots a man she thinks might be able to help.

Java Jive: Spencer and Emily take a break at the local coffee shop and she makes an understandable mistake about barista Reader and Spencer’s relationship.

Mister Spencer: Reader has a crush on her child’s teacher.

Comme des Garçons: Reader chooses an interesting way to finally confess to dating Spencer.

Pumpkin: Spencer can’t handle how cute Reader’s southern accent is.

Practice Run: Spencer and Reader take on Derek’s challenge to babysit.

Dead Air: Professor Reid is hesitant to be a guest on his old student’s true crime video series, but is surprised to find it’s not so bad.

Serendipitous: Spencer’s pretty sure Penelope mixed up his blind date.

Maddening One, My Goddess: Spencer has a one night stand… on February 13th. The next day, he is confronted with a familiar face on his pre-planned double date.

Growing Pains: Spencer finds unfamiliar lingerie in the laundry. When he confronts his wife, he learns it belongs to their teenage daughter.

Bi the Way: Morgan learns something very interesting about Reid after he leaves his bag at his significant other’s house.

Pretty Boy: Spencer thinks you’re just the bully who likes to pull his pigtails.

Happy Hydrangea: TransMan!Reader. JJ is corrected in finding out Spencer has had a boyfriend for a while now.

Off the Top: TransMan!Reader.Spencer is driving his boyfriend crazy after his top surgery.

[what-the-actual-wizardry]

Wizards: A Controversy

I acknowledge, full well, that I am going to step on some toes with this one. Some of what I'm about to say will definitely rub people the wrong way. Before I begin, I want to say that I agree wholeheartedly that my stance is uncommon, morally questionable, and faithless. I am not here to question your faith, nor your validity, however- only to express how I have coped with my own. I've said before that I self-identify as a wizard. Not a magician/magickian- ceremony isn't my tallest teacup. Not a witch- the line that determines what makes a witch can get shaky when you examine the claims of influential witchcraft figures. Not a sorcerer- my magic isn't inherently malfeasant. Not a druid- I love nature, but I fear the wild. I am a wizard, which to me, means two things: I am really good at knowing things that other people don't bother to learn; and I live in a world where idea and analogy are inherently tied to matter and action. I have a saying: "Wizards are not good con men- con men are just bad wizards." The reason I say this is because I don't believe in magick. I use the Crowleyan spelling here because for as much as I believe that I can affect the world tangentially, through symbolic words, art, and rituals- I know that's a result of interpretation. I am only using magic because that is what I have decided to acknowledge this practice as. And if I can get consistent results in that mindset, I don't need to look at it any deeper than that- most people will see the results and accept, at least, that "The Wizard Did It Somehow". And that's that. The public doesn't care how Granny Fitz makes her famous apple pie, it's still the best damn pie they've ever tasted. We magic-users all talk in a kind of advanced, unspoken-of code, I've found. Aphorism, analogy, and fable all blend to create this rich landscape of phrases that are all too easy to take literally. Running around the forest with friends to restore dopamine becomes 'a moonlit coven ritual.' An anxiety episode or a deep depression that we cannot explain becomes a 'spiritual attack.' Problem solving or brainstorming with a visual aid becomes 'divination.' Therapy is shadow work. Cleaning and airing out our homes is consecration. Doing arts and crafts to deal with a break up is cord-cutting. Stopping to acknowledge our needs for rest and a warm drink is meditation. Our hopes, ambitions, fears, and loves are gods. (Deity work primer post) It never stops. And just in case you're frothing at the mouth with rage that I would dare reduce your spirituality to this- I don't ever want it to. I don't ever think it should. We live through analogies and ideas, and they have re-enchanted our lives, uplifted our mental and physical health, and improved us as people- all because we give enough to ourselves and spaces that we are able to take back from them when we need to, in the form of comfort, and reminders, and something to do with ourselves when we have nothing else. Please know that I am making this post for the little magi, the reluctant wizards, the beautiful curious enchanters- it is so easy to fall prey to pseudoscience and cult behaviors, and equally easy to dismiss this entire thing as a LARP or a farce because "that's not how the world works." Be reasonable, with yourselves and others, I beg you. Let the magical live alongside the mundane, because the 'us and them' is exhausting for everyone involved. It is magic. It is amazing. It is real, valid, useful, moving, empowering, and beautiful. It is not a substitute for the world around you.

Blessings, with love from this long-winded madman.

[cyberdragoninfinity]

giving you dennis for the ask meme if you havent gotten him already. gotta get that daily dose of poodle

:) thank you tam i would love to talk about him.

Why I like them/why I don’t: god. Guy Who Burrowed Into My Brain So Fucking Bad. Help Me. i love this jackass. he's a fucking LOSER!!! HE SUCKS!!! i LOVE that dennis is a spineless pathetic liar and massive coward and an unhinged asshole more times than once!! type of guy who's just masks all the way down and i KNOW his identity issues are fucking lethal back there. his dub voice is an absolutely top 10 favorite for me!! he is one of the BIGGEST war criminals in yugioh to the point that he had to spend his duel links event apologizing to the rest of the cast!!! HE KILLED HIMSELF IN FRONT OF A CRUISE SHIP FULL OF PEOPLE. AND HE TALKS LIKE THAT. AND ACTS LIKE THAT. HIS GUILT IS GOING TO EAT HIM ALIVE. REBLOG TO MAKE IT EAT HIM FASTER.

also if we're always talkin about like. jesse and yugi and joey's dock duel as yugioh's gayest moments and characters we need dennis on that list right fucking now. borderline canon gay character to me he is so deliberately gay coded to like. 1930s Hayes Code Movie Degrees. fucking insane. slash pos.

What I like about their appearance: it is so fucking stupid. <3 the like??!?! jacket + vest combo in polymerization colors??!? his little purple bow that's matchies with yuri for some reason???? HIS STUPIDASS HAIR THAT LOOKS LIKE EASTER FAKE CRINKLE GRASS?? RIDICULOUS CHARACTER DESIGN. SLASH POS. CARROT BIT ME.... AGAIN.

Do I prefer their dub names or original names? cannot believe he came like that (named dennis.) i think i like 'macfield' a smidge more than mcfield though. dawg why you got two always sunny characters in your name.

OTP: siiiiiiiighssss through my teeth. i will not. be beating the Losing the Yaoi War allegations. dennis/yuri truthism blowing my entire brain up this summer and fall and Now. as if it's my fault dennis's duel links lines for yuri Sound Like That. i know they had a little gay thing only the way toxic codependent middle schoolers can have. yuri's convo with dennis in DL might make me insane. sorry in advance.

NOTP: obviously i cant make people Not ship something but whenever i see dennis shipped with a girl im just a little bit like. are you sure about that. are we sure. 🌈

OT3: i actually dont think i really have a 3+ ship for dennis. born 2 be monogamous i guess. i dont think he could handle having multiple partners i feel like he'd date them separately and be too skittish to break up with one of them and then it blows up in his face. lol

Favourite card they use: ive grown very fond of Performage Trapeze Magician after using it in DL for months now.... Flame Eater is also Really sillycute

i also. do like chaos ancient gear giant and its big fucked up dog pauldrons. dennis and his hunting hounds…okaaaayyyy

Favourite moment they were in: GODDDD IT'S SO FUCKING HARD TO PICK JUST ONE. I NEED TO MAKE A DENNIS DUB COMPILATION SO BAD. EVERY TIME HE'S ON SCREEN IS A TREAT FOR ME i think i have to go with his duel with gong in synchro. i love his dynamic with gong i wish we got more of it.

Least favourite moment: i Like the dennis/yuya duel (it's like. one of the few things i actually like about that 8 episode final stretch from hell) but i gotta say i dont know how great i feel about having dennis become the dueltaining teacher to all these kids who got war displaced effectively due to. uh. his actions. yugioh i dont know about that one.

Something I associate with them:

i dont want to talk about it.

[falllpoutboy]

OG Tarot reading here again…..

I asked is if🐍 knows about 🦈’s feelings for 🍀 and the answer I received is no. (9 of cups, 6 of wands, 10 of pentacles, 3 of cups, and page of swords). I can’t remember if this was discussed by tarot reader 2, but 🐍 doesn’t know. With 9 of cups and 6 of wands she’s enjoying the fruits of her labor. Throwing her hands up in victory. “I got the guy” is what the energy is telling me. It’s sort of like being blissfully unaware, but With the 3 of cups there, she’s aware that there is a third person. But 🦈 did not tell her the true tea. Honestly, she is telling herself it is 🌹 who hurt🦈 and he is letting her believe that. (This is why🐍 is throwing her hands up in victory.) He told her that. (9 of wands, eight of cups, 7 of cups, THE MAGICIAN, and 2 of swords) yikessssssss.  🦈is being an illusionist. He also doesn’t want drama, and is also protecting 🍀from the drama.

🐍 does suspect it’s 🍀 though. She’s curious about this with the page of swords there. She’s suspicious of this because of her mistrust and suspicious nature toward 🦈. She’s seen how close 🍀and🦈 are. How they interact. I asked if she is suspecting of this and yes. (five of wands, the world, strength, king of pentacles, and six of pentacles) 🐍’s very curious about it and it makes her low key see 🍀 as competition. But she’s not worried about it. What the energy tells me is she’s just like eh—I can overcome this obstacle. I have enough inner strength to deal with it if it’s true. I deserve this relationship. This reward.

So there you have it. I’ll be taking a break before focusing my energy on the election results. I wanted to also tell ya’ll to hold tight (not to give false hopes or anything) but that bitch cheated and will be exposed big time. Shit is gonna go down heavy in the next few months. (Biden may use presidential power scotus granted him. Courts involved etc) The inauguration might even be postponed. It’s not done yet. We’ll see what happens.  Until next time.

But 🦈 did not tell her the true tea. Honestly, she is telling herself it is 🌹 who hurt🦈 and he is letting her believe that.

not he lying to me and i’m lying to him 😭 and i said before they so BAS coded 😭