#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 For example here we've already been shown in an earlier chapter that all the emergency services have been withdrawn from likely target areas in order to preserve them for the aftermath.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.

[the-good-luck-anomaly]

[thezombiegeekinthehawaiianshirt]

[abigailthedreamer]

I cant say i even remember what i ate last week but you know what i do remember watching as a kid after school on YouTube?

I watched bro in a mask with his harem of girls (Who i’d bet Routinely pegged him every week) perform Magic tricks and show how they’re done and i ate that UP.

Also fun fact: Masked magician there was a childhood crush of mine, i think it was the mystique of the mask, the fact he sometimes did really dangerous tricks.

,,,,OR maybe sometimes he’d get caught up in the trick itself. I recall a switch-a-roo trick where one of the girls ended up swapping places with him and he was chained up and kid me was like:

Edit Since I’m watching an episode now: I get it was normal for the time, But damn the narrator is so pervy with the girls! Always on about their ‘Sex-Appeal’ as if they’re not the one’s carrying these tricks.

If anything, the Masked magician is the Sex-Appeal here/j

[venuslarkspur]

Could we get one explanation on how batsis charmed her Flings and how long they lasted or is she like Bruce. Like she can look at them and they fold

Okay I love this question and I’m here to explain 🫶

How Batsis charms her flings and how long her situationship lasted with some of them 💗

Warning: Paparazzi are low-key kind of crazy in this, mild nsfw, panic attacks, some insecurity for some characters, mentions of addiction.

Characters (paired with Batsis): Wally West, Roy Harper, Zatanna Zatara, John Constantine, Diana Prince, Hal Jordan, John Stewart.

Note: MY EXAMS ARE OVER I CAN FINALLY POST AGAIN <3 NOT PROOF READ

The Batsis Charm

- Okay so I always pictured Batsis as taking after Bruce, she turns on the Wayne family charm and deadly assassins fold. She adds some flirting and keeps up appearance, she isn’t afraid to dress alternatively either her style is ever changing.

- When Bruce first introduced her to the Justice League she was fresh out of university (pretty and clever!), she immediately enchants most of them in more ways than one.

Wally West

- These two together are a bit different, I think they both dated when they very young; teenagers. Very much puppy love.

- very healthy relationship despite how random it was, you only met through Dick. He had trouble accepting you both but did accept it.

- Very typical teenage dates like: the movies, the park, bowling etc.

- Batsis had faceless pics of them posted all over her socials.

- More Batsis coming round his for dinner then him coming to her.

- The relationship neves goes past kissing, had lots good times together though.

- The only way I see this ending is Wally struggles to be in the public eye so much with his gf, he wonders how Batsis has handled it.

- Everyone and their grandma know about this breakup when it happened, but overall ended on a good note.

Roy Harper

- These two are “she fell first but he fell harder” coded, they meet when they are both teenagers. Roy is a tiny bit older (1-2 years), starts off as unrequited love but also not really?! Batsis always loved him, these two faced the most challenges out of any of her relationships. 

- These two get more romantic as they get older (roy realising he’s got something good with this girl), Roy gets plenty threats from Jason on the daily.

- When it comes to Lian, Batsis went from dad’s friend to babysitter to stepmom to just mom. Roy remembers when Lian was very young and you just left after babysitting and he just tucked her in; he’s ready to leave for bed before Lian asks “is mommy coming again tomorrow?” His heart breaks when he realises she sees you as her mom.

- right people wrong time coded.

- Talks of giving Lian a sibling one day 💕🫶

Zatanna Zatara

- these two are the besties and or gfs forever!!

- Batsis attends all her magic shows, sometimes even becomes her assistant.

- Lots of pda, you smother her and she smothers you a lot as well.

- The media know all about you two, it’s a challenge to get away from them for a day.

- Slightly jealous type but won’t admit it, especially if one of your exes message you while you’re having one of your dates with her.

- Everyone at the JL knows they are together, whether they knew batsis liked girls or not they are surprised when you guys go public.

- Lots of Halloween couple costumes together, like magician + bunny, matching witch costumes, princess + genie, etc..

- Watch each other do your makeup, sometimes she does yours and you do hers. You brush her hair after all her magic shows.

- I love these two <3

John Constantine

- These two met by mistake, it started off as a random hookup; John didn’t even know you were the Batman’s daughter.

- When it gets revealed he makes so many comments, like “don’t want me to be your future son in law Batsy?” Shit like that.

- If you do start dating everyone would be shocked, let’s be honest these two were the most random couple ever.

- He just enjoys his time with you because he knows the day will come when you two break up so he’s just making the most of it.

- Rlly insecure no matter how serious you two get, you could be moved in together with a pet and he’d still ask “so you like me?”

- you cook him breakfast tbh, sometimes he cooks for you but you prefer to do it.

- These two are freaky asf. No more words necessary.

- You try and compare hand sizes and take pictures of you together.

- Not my favourite pairing but I still love them.

Diana Prince

- You’ve always admired her since Bruce first introduced you.

- She was the most radiant woman you’d ever seen, you fell HARD.

- Definitely Batsis’s bi/pan awakening, you’ve been chasing after her since your first day at the JL headquarters, everyone knows it.

- You’ve been on a few dates and you two regularly flirt.

- Lots of jokes (or not) about her whisking you away to Themyscira and staying there <3

- Media loves you both as well, despite the debate on whether or not you’re dating.

- The definition of “what are we?” You wonder if she’s just playing with you sometimes.

- You still respond to all her calls even if you’re on a date with someone else, she was literally all you ever wanted in your early days.

- The batfam approves of you two together 🫶

Hal Jordan

- Oh boy..these two are one of my faves.

- This relationship starts off sort of toxic?? You only hooked up with him the first time because you were mad at Bruce, AND YOUR FATHER WAS MAD.

- After he does his slut walk out of Wayne manor (in front of your brothers, sister, dad, and grandfather figure mind you) he asks when you two can meet again.

- You don’t keep things professional at headquarters so why should he? So there’s plenty of instances where his eyes wander too long over you, or when you undress him with your eyes at a meeting.

- Bruce doesn’t like it one bit, it’s actually a pregnancy scare that brings you and him together. Even though you found out your period was just late you could still be was slightly disappointed in you not being pregnant. You notice this and don’t bring it up, just invite him out for dinner sometime.

- Batsis the type of woman to pay the bill after he insists “he’s got this.”, yeah he left his wallet at home.

- If you’re moody at headquarters, he would definitely ask you if you’ve “had your period yet?” And he’s met with a firm slap on the head, from you and Dinah.

- These two are such sillies, Bruce isn’t happy, your brothers aren’t happy, but you’re happy. So who even really cares?

John Stewart

- This is the ex bf Batsis still cries over, I don’t wanna spoil anything for my newest fic but these two nearly got married definitely. And Batsis left him at the altar.

- You two end because he decided he can’t be with someone who doesn’t know what they want. Yeah he is the one who made you realise you need to take some to reflect. You just wanted him.

- Hal Jordan literally cried when he found out you two were now a thing.

- Nobody made you feel loved, if you had a spending addiction, HE got you through it.

- Bruce trusts him, his “no dating my colleagues” rule, doesn’t apply to this man because he’s witnessed how much happier you were.

- The only mildly concerning thing was the fact you could NOT shut up about him, it’s always “John” this and “John!” That, your family are genuinely sick of hearing about your amazing love life.

- Keeps you out the media’s eye if you’re not feeling up to any paparazzi that day. He just holds your hand and keeps you next to him.

- If you ever have a panic attack because of any of the paparazzi, he will take you into a secluded spot and just place kisses on top of your head and keep you firmly pressed against him, whilst reminding you “you’re safe.”

- You had no idea what you lost. And that’s why you still cry over him.

[betraumatizebaby]

I saw your post and have some incorrect quotes!

------------------------------------------------------

*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)

------------------------------------------------------

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!!!

------------------------------------------------------

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.

------------------------------------------------------

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

------------------------------------------------------

(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.

------------------------------------------------------

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?

------------------------------------------------------

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

Odysseus: What's that?

Poseidon: Remorse code.

Odysseus: …I'm even more angry now.

------------------------------------------------------

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

Elpenor: ?

------------------------------------------------------

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.

------------------------------------------------------

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.

------------------------------------------------------

(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.

------------------------------------------------------

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

Hades and Persephone: He makes us laugh.

------------------------------------------------------

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!

[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 🫶🏻

[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.

[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.

[basedkikuenjoyer]

As Above, So Below

Kinda surprised I haven't used that as a title before. It's an idiom we've referenced before here, even with this ongoing story between Loki & Shamrock as Luffy literally learns sides of it up above. But we talked a lot about how Wano used the structure and how it ties in with the Magician tarot card. The cliche actually traces its origin to The Emerald Tablet. An Arabic (maybe Greek) text that is seen as sorta the philosophical foundation for alchemy back when that was a serious academic discipline. Worth a read, especially after this chapter. It's pretty short and has similar vibes to another text we'll decipher today.

Still, we have to get there. Remember these chapters are showing us these scenes together for a reason. And with Shamrock we do confirm what most suspected. He and Shanks are brothers raised apart. But we get some interesting flourishes. Shanks has gone to Mariejois. Was it actually him at Reverie or was this a different point? We see Shamrock's Cerberus sword which maybe breaks an old theory about Blackbeard. But also the pair of God's Knights are moving on and calling in reinforcement to do whatever they plan to with Elbaf. Starting with the kids. Jerks. Meanwhile...

This is honestly pretty cute from Luffy given everything else going on. Refusing to believe Shanks would rough up these giants. Did not have a Bellemere nickname on my bingo card and while I know Mori-mere is probably Mori as in Japanese for forest I can't help but think of Mori as in Latin for dead. "Oh yeah Nami? How'd you feel if someone was talking shit about Dead-Mom?" Even this little unnecessary jab at Buggy.

And oh my...our mystery man who was drinking with Crocus at the cape is drawing near as we're talking about the Roger Pirates? Of course the old theory is that he's Scopper Gaban. Looks like we'll get our answer soon. Since the figure is so Wano coded though and because I saw a fair few people independently talking about this notion though, we do need to note something. For one, if Shanks knows he has a long lost brother like we imply it makes all that potential with split siblings he may have met more resonant. But also just, what if Luffy ran across Shamrock in the wrong context? Would he freeze up, have an unfortunate moment of hesitation like a certain samurai with her liege lord? Given how much some old cover serial elements are finally paying off here I'm definitely watching the current one closely.

That said, what's a single thread stretching across a few New World arcs to an "as above, so below" element encompassing the entire series? I assume you've read the chapter before a post like this, so you probably know what I'm building to. But think about it all together. We have Franky seeing a mural from the Void Century on the Treasure Tree. Meanwhile Robin reads the titular sacred texts we know inspired the Giants to have clashing views on the Sun God. A concept we've seen play out in action with Road and others.

This line from Ripley though...I don't think this huge lore dump is just facts about the world in this story. I think of it as a commentary on the story, the journey to get to this point over 25+ years and 1100+ chapters. Same logic as how I see Wano, a Kabuki show that summarized where we've been and where we're going. From that perspective, is Harley wrong here? Anyways, enough framing...

...Where do you even begin with something like this? I guess there's the basic level. It isn't hard to see where at least part of the overarching plot of One Piece has headed all along. Poneglyphs tend to pop up with oppressed races. Their arcs tend to give us the nuggets of deep lore. The banded together against the emerging World Government in the Void Century and will again under Nika's Luffy's banner. You see it here. Giants, Merfolk, a robot like Emeth, Minks, samurai all allying against the spooky demon. Crazy how this one chapter had such big other shoes dropping for two of our big cover serial whammies. Obviously this is so reminiscent of the murals Enel saw on the Moon.

For the story, I feel like the texts are pretty open to interpretation. I'm sure they'll matter more as we unfold the proper forgotten history and probably will make some amount more sense in the near future with the mysterious figure from the cape. But for now, just on a first pass I do feel one thing. The Ark at the start, the imagery of the serpent kinda makes me think of Skypiea and the early stages of the story. Though the lines of the Second World remind me a lot more of the stretch from the end of Wano into Egghead. A Forest God unleashing demons while the Sun God stands by and spreads embers of war. The people of the moon and both Lunarians & the Kozuki. The part about humanity killing the sun and ascending to divinity as a metaphor for scientific progress and especially Vegapunk's reckless kind of that. Even the Sea God's wrath as oceans rise.

Of course that motif. "They could never meet again." "They could never meet again." & "They will surely meet again." is so ominous. Not to mention something that ties to both Luffy's long-awaited reunion with Shanks and this growing trend of separated siblings. Something that also echoes one of the other most prophetic aspects of this series in Bink's Sake. "Beneath the moon we'll meet again the wind's our lullaby." I absolutely adore this chapter top to bottom, so much to turn over and ponder. So much we'll likely keep coming back to this one as we get closer and closer to the end. We're really getting there aren't we? After all this time?

[rambling-red-wizard]

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.

[ocrpsearch]

all oc, mostly mxm fantasy plots

Howdy! River, 21+ yrs, just use all the pronouns. Lit writer with looots of experience. PST. LF 21+.

My requests are finite:

1. Be confident in your willingness/ability to communicate. You don't have to be perfect, just Make an Effort.

2. Here's a doc linked with random (sfw) examples of my writing yoinked from my actual rps. GO READ IT!!! Look at my writing style, pacing, world building, ect. Get your own writing examples handy.

3. Be ok with multi-musing and doing complex-ish stories. I rp because I LOVE writing & collaborating in the writing process, not for the smut or wish fulfillment. Please love writing too!

4. I consider the first day/week of a rp with Strangers on the Internet to be a blind date. Sometimes you strike gold, but mostly it doesn't work out and interest is lost. If we dont wanna write after exchanging rp examples or a few replies, no hard feelings!

5. If you're inconsiderate, lazy, pushy about your opinions, or otherwise make me regret not having a longer list of rules, I reserve the right to drop your ass on the curb w/o warning.

I write on docs, ellipsus, or discord. I mostly make my blorbos from scratch. I don't mind any reply times/lengths. I don't do AI bullshit.

If interested, contact me @flosadonis and introduce yerself!

A few plots:

1. A fated prince/knight situationship in which the knight is magicked to be *immortal (some restrictions apply*) and spends most of his time in a vault sleeping, awakening only when the current monarchs are in gravest need of his protection. He's roused too late this time, however, and the kingdom is almost utterly razed to the ground- only the crown prince is left alive, and needs to be rescued. No preference who I write.

2. A cocky, second-rate magician summons a cocky, second-rate demon and binds them together (accidentally, or by making a deal) and now they're stuck with each other until they can absolve the bond. Urban modern fantasy, I don't have a preference who I play, but bonus points for a 'brat with self worth issues x annoyed dom who'll bully him into loving himself' type dynamic and for that I'd love to write a dom wizard.

3. A prince who's country was seized by an enemy has had to grow up with a false identity to avoid being killed. When said enemy captures him, they don't know who he is and turn him into a slave to fight gladiator style for their amusement. He's plucked out of this life by the only person who recognizes him for who he really is: the cruel prince of the enemy nation. Enemies to lovers. This is a blatantly Captive Prince inspired plot but it's not required reading. No preference who I write.

4. A kidnapped prince is being smuggled over the mountains to an unknown fate. He finds an unlikely rescuer in a ranger and his pack of dogs, and manages to break free with their help, and the discovery of his own latent magic. However, getting back home is another story; as it turns out, wild men of the mountains don't care much for princeling waifs ordering them around. Enemies to lovers, dog & cat coded, low fantasy wilderness. No preference who I write.

5. FxF. In a world where vampires used to be considered vile animals to be exterminated, and has just begun trying to integrate them into human society as equals, a newly appointed vamp watchguard meets a former vampire hunter who now works at a senior home that houses elderly vampires. The two struggle to see eye to eye, yet inexplicably begin to fall for each other as they learn the other's history. No preference who I write.

Or come at me with your own plots if you have them! I'm down for just about anything as long as it's compelling and fun to write. Okay now stop being insecure about whether or not ur writing is good and go dm me bitch byeee mwah <3