#an introduction to tempt others to get into this thing with me

[centaurianthropology]

Late on the train to 'Midst'

Hello all, and it's time once again for me to try to infect you all with my weird niche interests. In this case, it's a podcast that was recently(ish) picked up by Critical Role, which is how I heard about it. But I can say right now that those folks who still follow me from the Magnus Archives day are probably going to enjoy this one. Hell, I think a lot of my followers might, so let me pitch 'Midst' to you.

The Podcast

'Midst' is a narrative podcast with three narrators. So rather than a strict script, it's three people with great voices telling you a story, narrating actions, slipping into and out of different character voices, all set over a really well-engineered sound-and-musicscape. The episodes are loosely outlined, but the actual scripts are improvised between the narrators, weaving in and out of each other's narrations and 'yes and'ing their way into a greater whole. It may sound a little confusing, but I found it surprisingly easy to follow along with. And each episode ranges from 15 minutes to a half-hour, so it's an easy listen. The second season has just begun to release over at the CR YouTube channel (there were 2 seasons out before CR picked it up and is releasing remasters, so beware spoilers if you go to the tag here).

The Setting

Okay, unless you're a nerd like me, the technicalities of the podcast might not mean quite as much to you. But the setting is where things start to get really interesting. This is a space western. Classic, but definitely also not classic. While the vibe is pure space western, with a feel that's vaguely akin to 'Firefly' or 'Trigun' or 'Cowboy Bebop', the actual setting isn't so much space as it is the Un.

The Un is somewhat liminal, a vast sky filled with light from an undetermined source, filled with clouds and glittering mica shards which defy gravity and can slice through almost anything in their way (though they can be deflected). On the largest of these shards some people have set up homes. And elsewhere in the Un are islets, tiny planets that make up the habitable universe of 'Midst'.

There doesn't seem to be a proper central authority in the Un, but the closest thing they have is the Trust, a cult based around the worship of what seems to be a space western stock market, in which all of its members have their deeds (and themselves) weighed and judged. And those people in the Trust, the Trustees, wear their morality literally on their sleeve. Those deemed 'good' either from good deeds or (far more often) from inherited goodness or goodness based on their position in society, have white Valor beads adorning them. Those deemed immoral, or (again more often) in debt have Caenum, black beads denoting how much they owe the Trust. Those Trustees in debt seem to exist in something close to slavery, constantly having to do more and more work to try to break even. And the entire Trust society is built on their backs.

Below the Un is a velvet black fog so thick it lays like an ocean at the bottom of this universe, its surface an obsidian mirror. This is the Fold, a place where a dark mist can penetrate through anything and bring with it Tearrors, events in which the fabric of reality itself seems to tear itself apart. People and things die or go horribly (or sometimes not horribly) wrong thanks to the Tearrors. These Tearrors can be kept at bay with a weird sort of lightbulb, which is how folks can stay alive in the Fold without completely coming apart at the seams.

And there, at the Meridian, half in the Un and half in the Fold, rolling through both to create perhaps the only place in this universe with both a night and a day, weird as both are, is Midst. A small islet of red dust and weird plants and animals. A place where people live and work and die. A place that feels a lot like a western.

And with that, we have our setting. And within this setting are vast array of characters, but for this particular story, there are three protagonists. Each of them is solely narrated by one of the three narrators, and it is around them that the story and the world of Midst unfolds.

Lark

Lark is perhaps the protagonist we know the least about, but she's also the protagonist who feels the most classically western for this space western. She's a monster hunter living on the outskirts of society on Midst. She sells hides, and she has few friends and fewer words. She's gruff, dangerous, and has lived long enough that she's got a dark past and has seen some shit. She also has a red glove that apparently kills anything it touches, which is cool.

Lark is intelligent, grounded, but is also largely a mystery at this point. She's also got a hound dog named Landlord, who is the best, and is the only character who is apparently guaranteed not to die.

Phineas Thatch

Look at this wet cat of an armored man. Everything about him screams try-hard, wannabe, senpai-notice-me energy. If Lark is the western character, Phineas is the space character, hailing from the Trust. He is in debt, but also the Adsecla (second in command) of an elite group of cop-soldier-celebrities. The media follows them everywhere, which is something of a problem for a guy who is terrible with people and the media in particular. Phineas is a decent guy, fairly good at his job, but nothing he ever does is good enough, and all his best instincts are being systematically squashed by the cult he has fanatically devoted himself to. There is no one who believes in the Trust more than Phineas, even as it's griding him down to nothingness.

If you like a character who is pathetic even when he's doing cool things, who never wins, whose struggles all seem to come to nothing, and you can't quite figure out if the universe just hates him or if he's his own worst enemy (it's probably both), then Phineas is the character for you.

Moc Weepe

Look at him. Just look at this weird, alabaster, spidery guy. I know that I and many of my followers love a bastard man, and Mr. Weepe is a grade A bastard man. He is a co-owner of a cabaret on Midst, and he oozes his way through every scene he's in with some of the best lines and worst actions of the podcast. He has the power to be both alluring and repellant, he's got an absolutely delightfully bizarre voice and and even weirder laugh (and yet is also part of a really cool musical number), and he is both terrifying and pathetic all at the same time. This asshole contains multitudes. And a lot of those multitudes revolve around screwing someone over for his own gain.

He should be the least sympathetic of the protagonists. Lark is a cool and aloof badass. Phineas wants to be a good man. Weepe? He wants to be rich. He wants to be powerful. He is also constantly plagued by a mysterious medical condition that seems to have been brought on by exposure to an extremely severe and almost-lethal Tearror. He is somehow, weirdly, sympathetic, at least up to a point, and not nearly as clever as he thinks he is. What can I say? I am predictable, and Moc Weepe is definitely my favorite of the protagonists, even if he's demonstrably the worst.

I won't spoil the plot, as that's part of the fun. I can at least spoil the first scene, which is also the finale of the first season (they loop back to explain how they got to this event throughout the run of the first season): we are on Midst. All three protagonists are there.

And the moon has just exploded in the sky.

[girlatmirror]

anyone but you | jeon jungkook

one shared bed, a tempting agreement and a wedding halfway across the world - what could possibly go wrong?

fake bf! jungkook x fake gf! reader

warnings: not rlly anything yet, mentions of sex, the next parts will most probably be explicit, heavily inspired by the movie anyone but you, i did not proofread this ( please forgive me if there’s any mistakes), this is just an introduction, the next parts will be much more interesting i promise. love uuu 😘

part two

_

The moment you met Jungkook, you did not like him. Lily was your trusted friend, but to this day, you held a grudge against her for introducing you to Jungkook.

Cocky. Annoying. Infuriating. Those were the words you would use to describe him.

He had just gotten back from a semester abroad in Australia when you first met him at a function organized by Lily. You immediately thought he was handsome, of course.

He had that glowy tan that couldn’t possibly have come from Chicago.

Your fiancé, Tariq, wasn’t free to attend the event with you, so Jungkook assumed you were single and hit you with the single most embarrassing pickup line you had ever heard.

“Do you believe in love at first sight, or should I walk by again?”

You practically shoved your ring finger in his face and told him something like, “And even if I weren’t engaged, do not think for a second that this line would’ve worked on me.”

You had to admit, this mutual dislike—or ‘beef,’ as Lily would call it—was more one-sided than anything; Jungkook didn’t dislike you; he simply enjoyed teasing you.

The more you hung around each other, the more you never knew if he was simply trying to get a reaction out of you or if he was genuinely flirting.

It was always a push and pull with him.

You didn’t give it too much thought, though; you were with Tariq during those times, and you couldn’t have cared less about Jungkook’s opinion of you.

But ever since you called off your engagement, you had been… different. Your whole life had been structured, planned out, leading toward a future that, for the longest time, you thought you wanted: a house, a stable marriage, the predictability of it all. But you realized there were other ways to lead much more fulfilling lives. So you broke it off.

And now you tried being freer, more open to new things, and more inclined to say yes to things you wouldn’t have before.

That’s why, when you locked eyes with Jungkook that night at the club, you didn’t feel like looking away.

So, you hooked up. One minute you were still in the club, playing your usual game of push and pull, and the next, he was playfully tugging at the hem of your dress while trying not to get into a car accident.

Then, you found yourself pressed against the wall of his bathroom, his hands gripping your soft waist with a sense of urgency while he kissed you hard.

“This is a bad idea,” you whispered against his mouth.

“Probably,” he murmured before kissing you again.

He was good, and you hated it, but you hated even more that you shared moments of intimacy beyond sex that night; after the sex, he made you a late-night snack, and there was something about him that made you feel like you could tell him anything and everything.

So, you did. And you felt a connection, you weren’t going to lie, but it scared you.

The next morning, you remembered waking up before him and just fleeing.

No goodbye. No explanation.

But since he had not texted or called you afterward, you assumed he did not care.

It was just a one time thing.

---

Your good friend, Lily, and her long-term fiancée, Sophia, were finally getting married.

Not in good old Chicago or some other easily accessible city, but in Australia.

Australia was never on your travel list. Not because you weren’t convinced it was a beautiful place, but because its beauty couldn’t distract you from the heat, the bugs, and the disgusting, undiscovered creatures they have down there. Not to mention how far away it was.

You understood the sentiment behind their choice; Sophia grew up in Sydney, and her parents owned a beach house there.

But it wasn’t just that.

You could already guess who was invited, given your close friendship with Lily, and while you were okay with most of them, there were a few candidates you would rather not see.

Like Jungkook, for example.

And though you hoped they would leave the topic alone for those two weeks, Lily’s parents, who had known you for a very long time, were entirely too invested in your decision to break it off with Tariq, and that worried you.

But you were just going to accept it and see what awaited you.

---

Tariq was your first everything. Somehow, every memory you had of your childhood included him. It was as if you could not escape him, yet you also did not want to.

He was always going to be a part of who you fundamentally were. He was the man who made you believe that you deserved to be loved fiercely. He was the man who introduced you to new things and pushed you to be your best.

He was the only thing you ever knew.

From when you were both just six years old, your parents would tell you that you were going to get married. Tariq was your neighbor, one of the only ones your age, so naturally, you gravitated toward him; playing outside and sharing secrets in his little treehouse.

You did love him, and your dream since childhood was to marry him, but you never accounted for dreams changing. Nobody ever told you that dreams could suddenly shift. That feeling of change scared and stressed you deeply.

You did not know what to do; the things that you used to love doing with him became exhausting, and the things that used to excite you didn’t anymore. Your entire outlook on life and your relationship completely changed. Your relationship was healthy; he treated you well, and during the time leading up to your decision to end the engagement, you tried to tell yourself you needed nothing more than that—that you were ungrateful for wanting something different.

You were supposed to be married within a couple of months after finishing college, but one day, you interrupted Tariq’s rant about your wedding venue with a sudden, “I don’t want to marry you.”

From then on, it was pure awkwardness and constant justifications; after the breakup, you avoided him and his family as much as you could, but somehow, that wasn’t the hardest part.

It was your own parents who really did it for you, constantly bringing Tariq up and faulting you for not staying with him, barely trying to understand your feelings and reasoning.

It affected you more than they knew.

So perhaps a trip to Australia, far away from home, would do you good.

---

The house was gorgeous.

A sprawling estate with a massive backyard, a view overlooking the ocean, and more rooms than you could count. You had to admit, Sophia’s parents had taste.

“Yn!! Heyyy,” Lily came running up to you, immediately pulling you into her arms as soon as she saw you. “How are you? How was the flight? You must be starving.”

You put your luggage down. “I’m good, the flight was okay, but I really need a shower.”

Lily immediately nodded in understanding but pointed to the other room.

“Just come greet the others, and then I’ll take you to your room,” she said, taking your hand and practically dragging you to the rest of the guests who had already arrived.

You recognized most of the people in the room.

Lily’s parents, her sister, Sophia, and another older couple whom you assumed were Sophia’s parents. You greeted them all charmingly, even though you were dying for that shower.

Lily had mentioned that the house was reserved for the most important guests and the rest of the guests were staying at nearby hotels.

But there was a girl standing there whom you did not recognize. She was beautiful.

“Hey,” you offered her your hand and smiled, which she immediately shook. “I’m Yn.”

The girl smiled sweetly and said, “I’m Chaerin.”

---

When Lily finally showed you to your room, you took it all in first; it was gorgeous, huge, and it had an in-room bathroom. You truly did not need anything more than that.

You immediately hopped into the shower and scrubbed off the 20-hour flight.

Clad only in your underwear, you exited the adjoining bathroom and saw a relaxed Jungkook lying on the huge bed, flipping through channels.

What the heck was he doing there, in your assigned room?!

You knew he was going to be attending the wedding and staying at the house, but not like this.

“What are you doing here?” you asked in a shocked tone, immediately covering yourself with your hands.

Jungkook simply smirked at you, his eyes not leaving your curves. “I guess we’re sharing a room… and you can drop the hands; it’s nothing I haven’t seen before.”

You were just about to respond to his smug comment when you realized what he said before.

“What??” you exclaimed. “What do you mean we’re sharing a room? There’s literally only one bed in here.”

You put on an oversized white shirt and put your hair in a quick ponytail before putting your hands on your hips and looking at Jungkook accusingly.

“Relax,” was his reaction. “It’s really not that big a deal. I don’t have a problem with it; we slept in a bed together before.”

Irritation started rising in your body; you hated his nonchalant attitude. In fact, you hated him. It was annoying how he suddenly showed up out of the blue, how he was able to handle every embarrassing situation by not being embarrassed.

The fact that he didn’t contact you after your night together crept its way back into your mind, leaving a bitter taste.

Yes, you had left before he even woke up, but that was just a fuckboy move, and everybody knew that it was the guy who had to text the girl first.

You didn’t make the rules.

He was just not your type of person. You often felt like you were polar opposites, and that was the reason you disliked him. You envied that carelessness.

You hated that his presence took you back to the night you spent together when his skilled hands were all over your body, refusing to let go.

“It’s amazing and great that you don’t have a problem, but I definitely do,” you countered, huffing slightly. “I’m going to talk to Lily about this.”

As soon as you said those words, you exited the room, Jungkook surprisingly following behind you.

You found Lily in the kitchen, making coffee while happily humming.

“Lily… we need to talk to you,” you approached her. “I think there’s some sort of mistake because he thinks we have to share a room, but I’m sure you just gave him these keys accidentally.”

Lily’s stance suddenly became awkward, and her face told you everything you needed to know.

“I’m sorry, Yn,” she started after taking a sip of her coffee. “There’s not enough room for everybody, and I thought since you two hooked up before, you wouldn’t have a problem sharing a room.”

Her logic irritated you greatly, but what truly aggravated you was the fact that she didn’t care to ask you beforehand.

You scoffed, crossing your arms. “That’s not how it works, Lily. Just because we hooked up once doesn’t mean we’re suddenly comfortable sharing a bed for two whole weeks.”

Lily gave you an apologetic look, but you could tell she wasn’t going to budge. “I know, I know,” she said, setting her mug down on the counter. “But we had to make some compromises. My parents insisted on inviting a few last-minute guests, and there’s just… no other option.”

You opened your mouth to argue, but Jungkook beat you to it. “Wait, last-minute guests?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

Lily hesitated. “Yeah, um…” She glanced between you two, as if she was debating whether to say it.

You narrowed your eyes. “Lily.”

She sighed. “Tariq’s coming.”

Your stomach dropped.

You weren’t sure if it was because of the jet lag or the sheer absurdity of the situation, but for a second, you thought you misheard her. “I’m sorry—what?”

Lily winced. “My parents invited him.”

You blinked, your mind going blank. “Your parents… invited Tariq?”

“As a last-minute guest,” she clarified weakly.

Your ex-fiancé. The man you had nearly married. The man you hadn’t spoken to in months. The man you were definitely not prepared to see here, on the other side of the world, while you were rooming with Jungkook of all people.

“What the actual fuck, Lily?”

“I know, I know,” she groaned, rubbing her temples. “Trust me, I tried to talk them out of it. But you know how they are! They’ve known Tariq forever; they still think of him as part of the family. They just… thought it’d be nice to have him here.”

“Nice?” You let out a humorless laugh. “Nice for who? Certainly not for me.”

Jungkook, who had been silent up until now, let out a low chuckle. “Damn,” he muttered. “This just keeps getting better and better.”

You shot him a glare. “Oh, shut up.”

He smirked but didn’t push it. Instead, he leaned against the counter, arms crossed over his chest. “So, when’s he getting here?”

Lily hesitated.

“Lily.”

“…Tonight.”

You groaned, dragging a hand down your face. Of course. As if the universe wasn’t already hell-bent on ruining your peace, you had less than four hours to mentally prepare for seeing Tariq again.

“Look,” Lily said gently, “if it makes you feel better, I doubt he’ll be weird. I mean, from what I heard, he’s been doing fine.”

Your stomach twisted at that, but you forced yourself to act indifferent. You left him, so you should be glad that he was feeling fine. “Good for him.”

Lily eyed you, unconvinced, but mercifully didn’t press the issue.

Jungkook, however, was watching you with an unreadable expression. You could feel the weight of his gaze, the way he was assessing you. Like he was trying to figure out just how much this actually bothered you.

And the worst part? He probably could.

“Well,” he finally said, clapping his hands together. “Sounds like we’re in for a fun time.”

You shot him another glare, but your stomach was still a mess of nerves, your mind racing with everything that could go wrong.

Tariq was coming.

And you had no idea how you were supposed to handle it.

---

Despite your irritation, the house and the wedding atmosphere were undeniably beautiful. The warm sun, the sound of waves in the distance, and the way everyone lounged around in swimsuits made it feel like a dream vacation.

Two weeks without work and the busy streets of Chicago were simply what dreams were made of.

Which is why you were now in a tiny bikini that barely concealed anything, sprawled out on a sunbed, trying to relax and ignore the fact that Jungkook was shirtless only a few feet away.

You weren’t going to let him take up space in your mind. You had enough to deal with—your ex-fiancé would be arriving very soon, and you weren’t ready for that confrontation.

But then, Jungkook had to ruin your peace.

“So,” he began, speaking in a way that let you know he was about to say something irritating, “you talk about me?”

You cracked an eye open, frowning at him. “What are you talking about?”

“Lily,” he said, lazily dragging his gaze over your curvy body. “You told her we hooked up.”

You scoffed, your face heating up involuntarily. “I do not talk about you. For your information, it is very normal to tell your girlfriends about these types of things. You wouldn’t get it, XY chromosome.”

His smirk deepened as he let out a loud laugh. “Still. Just admit you talk about me a lot.”

You huffed sassily. “You’re insufferable.”

“And you’re fun to tease,” he replied easily, tilting his head back to enjoy the sun.

You tried to ignore him.

Tried to focus on the warmth against your skin and not on the fact that he looked fine as hell shirtless.

---

To Jungkook, Chaerin was the sun.

She introduced him to feelings he never knew, made him look at the world through rose-colored glasses. She was his motivation and his dream girl.

Chaerin was always the life of the party; she knew exactly what to do to cheer him up and make him forget all his troubles. She was so sweet, so pretty, so perfect—something he always wanted to protect, someone he could never get tired of, even if he tried, which he never would.

If comparing her to another girl came in question, Jungkook would laugh. There was truly no girl that could compare to his Chaerin.

They met through Lily when he was studying abroad in Australia. Chaerin was Lily’s roommate at the time, but she moved back to Chicago with her now fiancée, Sophia, which led to Jungkook taking her place as Chaerin’s roommate.

After that, they became closer and closer.

Chaerin immediately knew about Jungkook’s infatuation with her. She loved that he had a soft spot for her. She loved that his eyes lit up when he would see her. She loved the way he treated her as if she were the only person in the entire world. She loved the fact that he loved her.

Jungkook loved so very deeply. He put all his energy and effort into making sure she felt safe and loved. He was never caught lacking.

They became a couple, but that was short-lived. At one point, Chaerin went back to Korea for a while, leaving Jungkook alone with his thoughts in Australia for the last few months of his semester abroad.

He loved Chaerin when she was in his arms, and he loved her when she was gone. He loved her when she was distant, when she was unsure, and when she gave him nothing to work with. Nothing Chaerin could do would change the way Jungkook viewed her.

She was an angel.

She never called back after. He would see her posts on social media; she was happy, glowing, and living her best life. He was happy for her, but it hurt him to be so trivial in her life that she so easily forgot him.

A long line of unopened text messages was Jungkook’s last straw; he would not text or call her again.

Over time, his feelings for her weakened, and his attempts to forget how she made him feel were semi-successful.

But somehow, seeing her in front of him again, any leftover anger dissolved into thin air; he was just happy to see his Chaerin again.

“Hi,” the simple word left his lips, but his eyes spoke a thousand words more.

Chaerin softly smiled at him before unexpectedly throwing her small body into his. He immediately wrapped his strong arms around her and inhaled her peony scent.

“Hey,” she whispered against him. “I missed you, Jungkook.”

Those words meant more than the world to him.

As they broke off the hug, his hands were still on her shoulders.

“I missed you too,” he admitted sheepishly. “So… what have you been up to?”

“I’ve been good…” Chaerin spoke, her usual sweetness evident. “I got bored of Seoul, so I thought I’d come back to Sydney for a while.”

Jungkook was not surprised by that; he knew Chaerin was an indecisive person.

“Well… it’s really good to see you again,” he stated before removing his hands from her shoulders.

Chaerin simply smiled, but that was enough to make Jungkook melt.

---

You were all ready for dinner; you had put on an elegant blue dress that beautifully pronounced your body and stepped out of the room with newfound confidence.

Lily and her dad were setting the table while her mom watched over them, making sure everything was perfect for Tariq.

“Yn, you must feel weird attending a wedding after everything,” Lily’s mom spoke, not particularly taunting, just very audaciously.

Lily’s parents had always felt like you were their own daughter, which came with immense love and warmth that you always appreciated, but it unfortunately also included their entitlement to your privacy. You loved them regardless, but it did annoy you.

The tension was thick; Tariq could enter at any moment, Lily’s parents couldn’t stop mentioning how “Tariq is the perfect guy for any girl,” and you sat silently, not allowing yourself to say something that you might regret later.

“Yn was actually the one to break it off, so… I don’t see how she’d feel weird,” Jungkook suddenly defended you, irritation evident in his voice.

You froze at his words. They didn’t shock you, per se; it was simply a little unexpected. The rest of the people in the room exchanged looks of something unexplainable.

Chaerin looked between you and Jungkook with questioning eyes before reverting her gaze back to what she was doing.

Lily’s mom wore a puzzled expression on her face, confused as to why Jungkook felt the need to defend you so harshly. “It’s not about who broke up with whom; it’s about the principle. I know yn has always dreamt of being a bride.”

You knew she didn’t mean any harm, but your cheeks warmed in embarrassment at her statement. Jungkook looked at you from the side with slightly furrowed brows, while Chaerin awkwardly coughed.

“People change,” you pointed out, brushing a few strands of hair behind your ear. “And I’m truly okay; I promise. I do not regret my decision, but I kind of don’t want this topic to come up again, especially when Tariq gets here.”

Before Lily’s mom could respond, the doorbell rang, and Sophia quickly got up to open it.

“Perfect timing,” Sophia mumbled as she brushed her hands on her linen pants and walked toward the front door.

You sat up straighter in your chair, pushing a loose strand behind your ear again just to do something. Your stomach tightened as you heard the familiar, polite tone of Sophia greeting him: “Tariq! So good to see you.”

Then the front door closed, footsteps echoed down the hall, and suddenly, there he was.

Tariq stepped into the dining area with the same composed, polished energy he always carried. Tall, clean-cut, his curls a little longer than you remembered, with that annoyingly perfect posture. He smiled when his eyes landed on you; somehow, that made you feel worse.

“Yn,” he said, warm and casual, like no time had passed, exactly like he used to say it. “You look beautiful.”

You stood up halfway, lips curving into a polite smile that didn’t reach your eyes. “Hey. You look good too.”

Your eyes darted toward Lily, who was nervously fiddling with the edge of a placemat, and then to her parents, who were beaming as if their own son had returned.

Jungkook muttered something under his breath that you didn’t catch, but you felt the heat of his eyes grazing over your chest again. You didn’t even need to look. You could feel it: slow, deliberate, amused.

You subtly turned toward him. “Eyes up,” you murmured.

He just smirked, leaned in slightly, and whispered, “Can’t help it when you wear that.”

You rolled your eyes and sat back down, but your face betrayed you with a small smile. You hated that he always managed to get a reaction out of you; you hated it even more that part of you didn’t hate the attention.

Tariq took the seat across the table from you, and for a moment, the room fell into a stiff, formal kind of silence. Lily’s dad tried to break it by pouring wine; Sophia made herself busy adjusting place cards that didn’t need adjusting. Chaerin kept sneaking glances at Jungkook, her expression unreadable.

“So,” Lily’s mom said, trying to brighten the mood. “Tariq, how was the flight?”

“Yes, ma’am,” he replied. “Everything went smoothly. This house is beautiful, by the way.”

“Oh, stop,” she blushed, clearly delighted. “We’re just glad you could make it, you’ll be sleeping in the room facing ours. And yn—” she turned back to you, and your stomach braced again, “You and Jungkook are sharing a room, yes?”

You hesitated, then nodded slowly. “Yeah. Apparently, there weren’t enough rooms.”

Tariq raised his brows at that but didn’t comment. You knew he was itching to say something.

Chaerin, though, lifted her gaze. “Wait, you two are… sharing a room?”

There it was. That slight tilt of her head, the flicker of something you couldn’t place in her tone.

Jungkook leaned forward lazily, resting his elbows on the table, the corner of his mouth tugging upward. “Yeah. One bed. Cozy setup.”

You shot him a glare beneath your lashes, but he looked entirely unbothered—smug, even.

“That’s.. interesting,” Chaerin said, her voice tight but controlled.

“It wasn’t our idea,” you replied quickly. “It’s just logistics.”

“Really efficient logistics,” Jungkook added, taking a sip of his wine.

Sophia raised an eyebrow but didn’t comment. She was the only one at the table who seemed to genuinely enjoy the mess, as she wasn’t involved in it.

You rubbed your temple and murmured, “You are not making this easier.”

“Didn’t realize I was supposed to.”

The next ten minutes dragged; small talk, wine refills. Lily’s mom kept trying to get you and Tariq closer together. It made you think that maybe you should have stayed back home.

Chaerin smiled too tightly at things Jungkook said. Tariq was polite, maybe too polite, and you couldn’t tell if it was his usual charm or calculated calm.

You were certain there must at least be a little bit of anger toward you brewing inside him.

And Jungkook? He kept leaning toward you, knees brushing under the table, glancing over whenever you spoke. It was as if he wanted to send a signal.

You just couldn’t identify what exactly.

---

Later that night, when things had calmed down and most of the house was either asleep or winding down in their rooms, you stepped out onto the back patio to get some air.

The noise and forced small talk from dinner had given you a slight headache, and you needed to breathe somewhere quiet.

You heard the sliding glass door open behind you, followed by footsteps.

Jungkook.

He walked up beside you, holding two glasses of water. He offered you one. You took it.

“You okay?” he asked, voice low.

You sipped your water and gave him a side glance. “Peachy.”

He smirked a little. “Dinner was awkward.”

“Yeah…”

A brief silence stretched between you two. It wasn’t awkward.

And then you just asked, casually yet obviously curious: “So… you and Chaerin?”

Jungkook went still beside you—not in a dramatic way, just quiet. Then he let out a short breath. “Yeah.”

You nodded slowly, processing it.

It made sense; they could look good together.

“We met when I was here for that semester abroad. Lily introduced us,” he added, voice careful, almost like he was making sure not to dwell too much or share too much information.

Not because he didn’t want you to know, but because he didn’t want to look pathetic in front of you.

You didn’t say anything, just took another sip.

“She broke up with me before I left for Korea. Said she didn’t want to do long distance, but she came back here once I went back to Chicago.”

His tone wasn’t bitter by any means, but it wasn’t quite neutral either.

You turned toward him slightly. “Are you still into her?”

He didn’t answer right away. Just looked out at the dark water, jaw tense. Then, “It’s not that simple.”

Which, to you, meant yes.

You nodded again. “Hm.”

Something about that revelation planted a seed.

Because now it made sense why he stood up for you and flirted with you right in front of her. Why he didn’t seem to care about you two sharing a room—about the proximity. Why he kept looking at you like you were some sort of useful distraction. It was all a ploy to make her jealous.

Or at least you thought so.

And you weren’t offended; you were cooking up a brilliantly ridiculous idea in your head.

He wanted to get her back—or at the very least, get to her.

You needed Tariq and his fan club to back off.

You looked over at Jungkook again. “Thanks for sticking up for me at dinner.”

He tilted his head, squinting slightly. “Didn’t like how she was talking to you.”

You let the silence hang for a moment, then turned to walk back inside.

This could actually work.

You didn’t say anything yet, but the idea was there, ready to be implemented.

---

You couldn’t sleep. To be fair, you weren’t trying to; you were lying on your side, trying to gather the courage to tell Jungkook about your idea.

He wasn’t sleeping either; his breathing wasn’t even, and he wasn’t snoring, and you knew for a fact he snored when he slept.

The only light that was on was the moonlight shining through the window.

“Jungkook,” you simply said, which warranted a “hm?” from him. “Are you awake?”

He turned to you, now facing you. You could tell he was a little sleepy. “Yeah… everything all right?”

You nodded, your lips slightly pouty. Jungkook’s eyes were studying your face, like they often did, but this time you felt a little smaller than usual; it was more intense for some reason.

Your legs were touching a little, his hands very subtly brushing against your waist before he removed them.

Jungkook suddenly sat up straight, prompting you to do so as well. He looked over at you.

“What are you thinking about?” he broke the silence, his head resting against the headboard and glancing down at you.

You sighed, mimicking his movement.

“Nothing,” you replied softly, your eyes now focused on your hands that were resting in your lap. “…Actually, there is something.”

Jungkook nodded, encouraging you to continue with a look in his eyes.

“So…” you hesitantly continued. “I was thinking… Tariq is here, and… Lily’s parents are just… ugh, and Chaerin… and I-”

He chuckled lightly at your confusing sentence. “Are you going somewhere with this?”

You sent him a pointed look. “Yes, ugh, just let me finish.”

Jungkook held his hands up in surrender, that lazy smile tugging at his lips.

You took a breath before spitting it out, “I think we should fake date.”

There was a semi-long beat of silence.

He blinked. “I’m sorry, what?”

Rolling your eyes, you said, “You heard me.”

He stared at you for another couple of seconds, his facial expression a mixture of confusion and amusement. “Did I fall asleep and miss the part where we turned thirteen again?”

You groaned, shoving his shoulder. “Please don’t be annoying.”

“I’m not! I’m just surprised,” he said, laughing softly now. “You hate me.”

“I don’t hate you,” you muttered, crossing your arms. “You just… annoy me sometimes.”

His grin widened. “Right. And now you want to date me.”

“Fake date you. Besides, I could tolerate you. I’m a great actress.”

Jungkook tilted his head, something unreadable flickering behind his eyes. “Why?”

You glanced down at your lap again, picking at your fingers. “Because Lily’s parents won’t stop talking about Tariq, and Tariq is here now, and Chaerin is here, and everyone is either watching me or watching you. I just thought maybe we could make it easier on each other.”

You paused. Then, a little quieter, you added, “You want Chaerin to regret dumping you, right?”

That caught his attention. His playful expression faltered, if only slightly. You continued.

“She’ll see you moving on. With someone else. Someone you know from back home,” you added, flicking your eyes toward him meaningfully. “Believe me, it’ll drive her crazy.”

Little by little, he slowly looked like he was considering the offer.

“And,” you added, “you’ll be allowed to kiss me and touch me. Whenever you want. Wherever you want.”

He didn’t say anything for a long second.

Then he blew out a soft breath and shook his head, laughing under his breath. “You’re dangerous, you know that?”

You smiled sweetly and unbothered, batting your eyelashes at him. “Is that a yes?”

Jungkook’s eyes dropped to your lips. Then lower. The shirt you were wearing had shifted slightly when you leaned forward, exposing a bit more of your chest. His gaze lingered for a moment longer than it probably should have. Then he looked back at your face.

“Yeah,” he said finally. “Okay. I’m in.”

You both sat in silence for a moment.

“We need rules,” you said firmly, shifting into a more business-like tone.

He groaned dramatically. “Oof… alright.”

“Rules are what will make this believable, you idiot.”

He smirked. “Fine. Hit me.”

You raised a finger. “Number one: no unnecessary touching.”

Jungkook gave you a look. “Define unnecessary.”

“You know what I mean.”

“See, I feel like what you define as unnecessary, I define as method acting,” he said with a shit-eating grin on his face. “Gotta stay in character.”

You narrowed your eyes. “You just want an excuse to get handsy.”

“Not true. I’d get handsy regardless.”

You huffed. “Fine, but no touching when we’re alone.”

Jungkook raised an eyebrow. “Why not?”

“Because that’s where people catch feelings,” you deadpanned. “and it defeats the purpose of the act.”

He raised both hands again. “Alright, alright.”

“That’s rule number two,” you said. “No catching real feelings.”

“That won’t be a problem for me,” he confidently spoke. “For you, on the other hand…”

You hit him on the shoulder, which immediately shut him up, but not without a chuckle.

You continued, “We don’t tell anyone it’s fake. Not even Lily.”

Jungkook simply nodded. “Okay, my turn.”

You raised an eyebrow. “You have rules?”

“Just one,” he said, shifting a little closer, voice lower. “You don’t get to flinch when I touch you.”

You blinked. “What?”

“You act like my hand is made of fire every time I go near you. Doesn’t exactly sell the whole ‘crazy about each other’ thing.”

You bit the inside of your cheek. “Fine. But don’t be weird about it.”

“I’m never weird,” he said with a wink.

You looked at him pointedly.

“Okay, rarely weird.”

There was another moment of silence, your knees brushing as you sat facing each other, before you both lay back down.

“Goodnight, baby.”

You didn’t say anything to that, at least not right away.

“Don’t call me that,” you finally muttered, turning onto your side to face the other way.

“Get used to it,” Jungkook said, his voice already muffled by the pillow. “We’re in love now, remember?”

You could hear the smile in his voice.

And then, silence again. A comfortable one, strangely.

You fell asleep smiling.

---

hey babes, college is beating my ass rn sigh 🙃 i have like legit no idea what to do with my already existing imagines (if you have ideas or suggestions for any of them, send them my way), so here’s a new one (a thousand years of absence) 😛 hope you enjoy this 😇💗

[authortelevision]

george, the hockey player: chapter one ₊˚⊹♡

words: 2,747 ✦ .ᐟ

♯┆ george clarke slow burn, university au, hockey george

you start university in bristol as a film student and meet a hockey player who will change your life completely

. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁౨ৎ. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁

The train ride to Bristol had been a mix of nervous excitement and mild existential dread. The city, with its hilly streets and graffiti-covered underpasses, felt like a place where something big could happen. But right now, all that mattered was getting through move-in day without looking like a complete disaster.

You haul your suitcase up the stairs of your new flat, already regretting bringing so many decorations. The shared kitchen is a mess of half-opened suitcases, stacked IKEA crockery, and the awkward small talk of strangers who will, apparently, be your new best friends.

A girl with pink-streaked hair and round glasses glances up from where she’s struggling to assemble a drying rack. “Oh, thank God. Someone else who looks just as lost as I feel.”

You laugh, setting your bags down. “Completely lost. Do you need help with that?”

“Please. It’s like IKEA’s playing a cruel joke on me.” She grins. “I’m Lily, by the way. I do history, unfortunately.”

You introduce yourself just as the front door swings open and two more people walk in, dragging boxes. One of them, a guy with messy brown hair, lets out an exaggerated sigh. “This is it. Our prison for the next year.”

“I hope not.” says a voice from behind him.

The four of you quickly exchange introductions, and you learn that the negative voice is Matt who is studying Economics, and the other is Sam, taking Biology. Within ten minutes, you’re all gathered in the kitchen, swapping stories about where you’re from and who packed the weirdest thing (Matt wins with his five-kilo bag of protein powder). It’s surprisingly easy, the awkwardness fading fast.

Then, Lily claps her hands together. “Okay, so Freshers’ Fair is happening today. We need to go.”

Sam frowns. “That’s the one where all the societies try to recruit you, right?”

“Exactly. It’s essential. Free stuff, maybe a few weird clubs, and we can all pretend we’re super well-rounded people.”

You weren’t sure if you had the energy after lugging all your stuff around, but the idea of seeing what Bristol Uni had to offer was tempting. Plus, it beat sitting in your empty room.

“Alright,” you say, standing up. “Let’s go get bombarded by enthusiastic second-years.”

————

The Student Union building is packed, a sea of students weaving between booths with banners ranging from “Join the Debate Society” to “Quidditch Team Tryouts This Weekend!” Every few steps, someone shoves a flyer into your hands, promising everything from cheap cocktails to life-changing friendships.

Lily gets dragged away almost immediately by a group advertising a Feminist Reading Club. Sam disappears in the direction of the Rugby stall, while Matt, despite his initial complaints, is deep in conversation with a Chess Society rep.

That leaves you wandering alone for a bit, taking it all in. The Hockey Society booth catches your eye, but only cause there’s a crowd gathered around it, and a bunch of sporty-looking guys are chatting with possible members. You consider stopping, but hockey isn’t really your thing.

Instead, you find yourself drawn to a quieter stall tucked between the Art Society and the Drama Club. A banner reads “Photography Society – Capture the Moment”, and a student with a camera slung around their neck waves at you.

“Hey! You interested in photography?”

“I mean… kinda?” You glance at the sign-up sheet. “I do film, so I guess I already mess around with cameras.”

The student grins. “That’s basically half of it. We do sports photography, exhibitions, and the occasional trip. No pressure, though.”

It sounds like exactly the kind of thing to make friends you need. Before you can overthink it, you pick up a pen and sign your name.

By the time you regroup with your flatmates, your bag is full of leaflets and your group decides to escape the chaos and grab something to eat. The campus cafés are packed, so you settle for the Student Union bar, where the tables are sticky, the nachos are cheap, and the music is just a little too loud for a casual conversation.

Matt dumps his bag of free society merch onto the table with a dramatic sigh. “Alright, let’s see what we’ve got.”

He pulls out a ridiculous amount of random freebies like stress balls, lanyards, a frisbee, and even a reusable coffee cup with Bristol Uni Quidditch Team printed on the side. Sam snorts. “Did you even sign up for Quidditch?”

“No, but they were giving out free stuff, and I’m not an idiot.”

Lily rolls her eyes, but she’s smiling. She turns to you, seeing your tote bag. “So, what made you go for Photography Society?”

You take a sip of your drink, considering. “I think I just wanted something creative that wasn’t coursework, you know? Something fun, no pressure.”

She nods. “Good call. I was considering the Creative Writing Society, but then I overheard a guy saying they only discuss ‘serious literary work,’ and I feel like I’d get kicked out for writing fanfiction.”

“That sounds insufferable,” you say with a laugh.

“What about you, Sam?” Matt asks. “You looked way too invested in that rugby stall for someone who claimed they definitely weren’t joining a sports team.

Sam shrugs, looking vaguely guilty. “Okay, maybe I’ll go to tryouts. I haven’t played since school, but it might be fun.”

“You just want an excuse to go to the sports socials,” Lily teases.

He smirks. “And what if I do?”

The conversation drifts into plans for the rest of Freshers’ Week—pub crawls, club nights, and the dreaded 9am introductory lectures no one is ready for. It’s strange how quickly everything is falling into place, like the awkwardness of earlier has already faded into something more natural.

Eventually, you all decide to head back to the flat, the evening air crisp as you make your way across campus. Bristol feels alive at night, students spilling out of bars, the hum of conversation echoing down cobbled streets. The streetlights cast long shadows, and for a brief moment, you pause to take it all in.

Lily nudges you. “You alright?”

You nod, smiling. “Yeah. I think I am.”

————

The next morning, you wake to the sound of footsteps in the hallway and the faint clatter of someone making something in the kitchen. For a few seconds, you forget where you are, then the unfamiliar ceiling and the plain white walls bring you back to reality. Your new life at university has officially begun.

After forcing yourself out of bed, you shuffle into the kitchen, where Lily is perched on the counter, eating a bowl of cereal. She’s wearing an oversized hoodie, her pink-streaked hair all over the place. “Morning,” she says between bites.

“Morning,” you mumble, grabbing a mug and searching for the kettle.

Matt wanders in next, still in his pajamas. He blinks at you both. “We should’ve made a pact never to speak before noon.”

Lily laughs. “Good luck with that. We’ve all got a welcome meeting at ten, I’m not sure where yours is but mine is in the Oliver building.”

Right. The dreaded introductory stuff. You groan internally but force yourself to stay optimistic. First years always say it’s useless, but there could always be something important about the university you wouldn’t know about.

After breakfast, you grab your bag and head out with Lily, who insists on walking with you even though the history department is in a completely different building. “Moral support,” she says dramatically as you weave through the crowds of students trying to find their way around.

The film department is tucked inside a modern glass building that looks sleek and intimidating. Inside, the lecture hall is already filling up, the hum of conversation blending with the sound of chairs scraping against the floor. You slide into a seat near the middle and pull out your laptop, trying not to look as awkward as you feel.

A few minutes later, a girl with short curly hair and a nose ring drops into the seat next to you. “Hey, do you mind if I sit here?”

“Not at all.”

“I’m Ava,” she says, setting her laptop down. “Film Studies?”

You nod. “Yeah, first year.”

“Same! What kind of films are you into?”

That kicks off an easy conversation, by the time the lecturer finally arrives and starts their speech about “the power of storytelling in visual media,” you and Ava have already bonded over your mutual love of indie films and your shared distaste for pretentious film bros who only talk about Pulp Fiction.

The lecture itself is mostly introductions—professors explaining what to expect, a few awkward icebreakers with the people sitting nearby, and a long-winded speech about academic integrity. By the time it’s over, your brain is buzzing, and you’re more than ready to escape.

“Wanna grab coffee?” Ava asks as you head out of the building.

“Definitely.”

The two of you make your way to the campus café, where you spot Sam and Matt sitting by the window, deep in conversation. When they see you, Sam waves you over.

“How was your lecture?” Matt asks as you slide into the seat across from him.

“Long.” You take a sip of your coffee. “What about you?”

“Boring. I already regret choosing Economics.”

Ava laughs. “Wow, you’re all so motivated.”

“Oh! This is Ava, by the way, we both do film studies.”

As the conversation continues, it starts to hit you, this is your new life. New friends, new routines, new experiences waiting just around the corner.

————

By the time the sun sets, the nerves of the first day have been replaced with something else entirely: anticipation, excitement, and the lingering feeling from the vodka shots you definitely shouldn’t have taken so quickly.

Your flat has changed into pre-drinks. The tiny kitchen table is covered in half-empty bottles, discarded mixers, and the remnants of an intense game of Ring of Fire. Someone’s put on a ridiculous throwback playlist, and now everyone is shouting the words to Mr. Brightside like it’s a national anthem.

You’re sat on the counter, legs swinging, cradling a drink you don’t need but don’t want to put down. “Okay,” you announce to no one in particular, “I think I might be a tiny bit drunk.”

Lily cackles from where she’s trying to apply eyeliner on a very uncooperative Matt. “No shit. You’ve been swaying for, like, ten minutes.”

You blink, realizing that the floor does seem to be moving slightly. “That’s just because I’m—” You wave your hand in the air, trying to find a reason. “—graceful.”

Sam laughs, throwing an arm around you dramatically. “You’re gone.”

But the night is young, and there’s only one destination in mind—Lola Lo’s. Everyone has been hyping it up since you arrived, promising neon lights, questionable cocktails, and the kind of night you’ll only half remember.

After one final shot (a terrible idea in hindsight), you all spill onto the street, voices loud and laughter echoing down the road. The walk to the club is only fifteen minutes, but your brain seems to have abandoned all sense of coordination.

Somewhere along the way, you trip over nothing and stumble into Lily. “Okay,” she says, catching you, “I think we need a pause.”

You find yourself plopping down onto the curb, the cold pavement grounding you slightly. Sam sits next to you, amused. “You know they’re not gonna let you in like this, right?”

You groan, resting your head on his shoulder dramatically. “I know.”

Matt crouches in front of you, squinting like a concerned doctor. “Alright, what’s the game plan? We can’t have you getting turned away at the door.”

Lily laughs. “We could walk in first and pretend we don’t know them.”

You gasp, offended. “Betrayal.”

Ava, who has been quiet up until now, holds up a bottle of water she somehow smuggled out of the flat. “Here, drink this. Try to look less… like this.” She gestures vaguely at you, which is fair.

You take a sip then make a face. “This isn’t gonna work in time.”

Matt nudges your shoulder. “Alright, let’s problem-solve. How do we make you look sober?”

“Serious face,” you declare, straightening up and attempting your most responsible expression. It lasts about three seconds before Sam bursts out laughing.

Lily wipes away fake tears. “Oh yeah, that’s gonna fool the bouncers.”

You groan, dramatically falling back onto the pavement. “Okay, new plan. I’ll just live here now. The curb is my home.”

Ava rolls her eyes but helps you up anyway. “Nope. We’re getting in that club. You’re gonna drink water, act normal, and stop being a liability.”

You let them half-drag, half-walk you down the street, still giggling. Maybe you won’t get into the club. Maybe you’ll wake up tomorrow with no recollection of this conversation.

Somehow—somehow—you make it past the bouncers.

Lily had given you a very serious pep talk before you reached the front of the queue: “No swaying. No giggling. And for God’s sake, don’t say anything stupid.” You had nodded along, doing your absolute best to channel the energy of someone who had only had one sensible drink and definitely wasn’t clinging to Sam for balance.

Miraculously, the bouncers barely look at you before waving you inside, and suddenly, you’re in.

Lola Lo’s is everything people hyped it up to be, neon lights glow under bamboo decor, the music vibrates in your chest, and the air smells like a mix of fruity cocktails, sweat, and regret. Your flatmates disappear into the crowd, leaving you standing in the middle of the dance floor, still slightly overwhelmed.

But there’s one thing you do know, you need another drink.

Stumbling your way to the bar, you lean against the counter, blinking up at the bartender like focusing really hard will make you seem more sober. “Can I get a—” You pause. What did you want? A cocktail? A vodka and coke? You squint at the menu, as if the words will rearrange themselves into the perfect choice.

Eventually, you just blurt out, “A rum and coke, please,” and slap some cash onto the bar, feeling very responsible.

The bartender hands you your drink, and you turn around. Too fast.

Because the next thing you know, your arm collides with someone, and suddenly, your entire very full drink sloshes forward, spilling straight onto them.

“Oh shit—”

The guy flinches, looking down at his now-soaked shirt. “Oh, for fu—” He cuts himself off, exhaling sharply before looking up at you.

And that’s when you see him properly.

Tall, messy brown hair, sharp features softened by the kind of face that probably gets away with way too much just by smiling. But right now, he’s not smiling, he’s staring at you, stunned, as cold rum and coke drips down his front.

“Oh my God,” you gasp, hands flying to your mouth. “I am so sorry.”

“It’s fine—”

“No, no, it’s not fine!” You grab a handful of napkins from the bar and start patting at his chest, which is definitely not helping, because now you’re basically rubbing the mess into his already ruined shirt. “I didn’t mean to—oh my God, I’m such an idiot—”

He lets out a breathy laugh, finally grabbing your wrist gently to stop your attempts at fixing the situation. “Hey—hey, it’s fine. Seriously.”

You look up at him, wide-eyed, and suddenly, your brain catches up with what’s happening. You just spilled an entire drink on a very attractive guy and are now borderline manhandling him in a drunken panic.

This is not how the night was supposed to go.

“I’ll buy you a new drink,” you blurt out.

He smirks. “What, for me or for you?”

You open your mouth, then shut it. That was a fair question.

Before you can respond, Lily appears out of nowhere, looking between the two of you with sharp amusement. “What the hell did I miss?”

The guy chuckles, shaking his head. “Your friend just redecorated my shirt.”

Lily glances at you, then at the napkins still clutched in your hand. Then she grins. “Oh, this is fantastic.”

You groan, burying your face in your hands. “Kill me now.”

But when you peek up, the guy is still looking at you, not annoyed, not pissed off, but amused. Like this is the most entertaining thing that’s happened to him all night.

“I’m George” he says, still smiling.

George. You’ll keep that in mind.

. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁౨ৎ. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁

author notes:

hello everyone !! sorry i’ve been gone for so long !! i’ve been very busy with uni life and have kind of abandoned this account !! but i’m back and i’ve decided to bring my uni life into this new slow burn i have !!

I KNOW THAT GEORGE DIDNT GO TO BRISTOL BUT I DIDNT KNOW ENOUGH ABOUT HIS UNI TO WRITE ABOUT THAT ONE !!

much love x

[majokkid]

An Introduction to Creating and Enchanting Magical Tools

Most, if not all, magical paradigms refer to the use of tools for certain tasks and the world of magical heroes is no different! Whether it’s a pen or brooch for a transformation sequence or a key to unlocking arcane magics, we can find many examples of magical items in mahō shōjo media that can be utilized in your own practice.

Please note that this is a non-exhaustive and non-canonical discussion of the creation and use of magical tools. If you’d like a deeper dive into a particular canon, feel free to send me a message and I’ll see what I can do!

It may seem obvious but the first step in creating a magical tool is determining what its use is. This not only contextualizes the tool within your practice but it can also help determine what is necessary for your needs. Ask yourself questions like:

What is this tool’s function?

Is this tool physical or purely aetheric?

What materials should it be made of?

Should this tool remain on my person at all times? If so, how do I carry it? If not, how should it be stored?

When working with mahō shōjo influences it is especially tempting to purchase detailed, manufactured replicas of your favorite characters’ items and while you can certainly go out and find something along those lines, I always recommend taking the time and energy to make your own tools. I find items that I have created myself are more powerful and reliable. (I’ve noticed this particularly so for objects that can be used for divination, such as cards and pendulums.)

And you do not need to be an experienced prop maker to create a potent magical object! While I do stress the importance of doing the creating yourself, don’t ever be ashamed to ask for help or assistance! As long as you have given it careful consideration and genuine energy, you’ll find that something that may look simple to others can carry immense power when you wield it.

Note: I would say the only caveats to creating your own magical tools outright would be if you were gifted a magical item or if you divined characteristics of an item and are yet to piece together all of its properties. If you were gifted a magical tool, or you are repurposing something that you already own, try to get as much information as you can about its creation and what energies it is imbued with (including any emotional or psychic attachments); if there are things about it that you do not deem necessary or appropriate for your work, I highly recommend cleansing it magically before use and find ways to reroot it to your practice or avoid using it all together.

After you have finished your creation, I recommend enchanting it to further connect it to you and your practice. This can be done in any number of ways but I think it is always best to do something that makes sense in context; for example:

Consecrate the item with water, oils, incense, etc. that is imbued with the energies you want it to carry. Consider associations such as celestial or elemental correspondences, if they apply. Just make sure it makes sense to you!

Is your work in dedication to a certain entity? Consider opening communication with it and get its input on how you should store and charge your new tool. They might also have opinions on how you should use it and if there are any voces magicae, or magic words, you might invoke.

If this is an item you associate with dreams or the astral, sleep with the tool placed under your pillow, under your bed, or somewhere close at hand like a nightstand. You can also consider charging it under moonlight after each use.

If you have an altar dedicated to this part of your practice, place your new tool on it and consecrate it as you see fit. By enchanting and/or storing it the proximity of other items that you have already associated with your work, you can easily establish it as part of your canon.

This post is part of my Magi Praxis series. If you have any suggestions for future topics, or you have attempted anything I have shared and want you share your experiences, please send me a message! I am always happy to go back and provide further explanation as well. ☆

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - The Heat is Rising

Sorry this late, blah blah real life actual job blah blah.

Organized, in each category, with ones I'm enjoying most at the top.

June 2024 Week 3

Ongoing Series - Thai

Wandee Goodday (Sat YT) ep 8 of 12 - Why is it so good?! It’s unfair. Cause I know pain must be incoming. Also... Yak moved to the "rao" pronoun for his confession! SO ADORABLE!!!!! Can you see me kicking my feet and squealing with joy on this side of the screen? Well I am. 

Sunset X Vibes (Sat iQIYI) ep 2 of 12 - I think I'm finding this show a lot funnier than the show is trying to be. The pose in the doorway. The sparkle pants. The creaking of the leather. It’s all hilarious. The foot massage. So silly. Simultaniously, full of thirst. Yay! I like thirst. Not entirely sure why he’s dicking him around and not dicking him out but hey the tension is fun. Also the shot staging is very good. Very yaoi. Lin going to have so much power in this relationship once he starts trying on seduction for size. All just to say, it’s good and I’m enjoying it.

My Stand-In (Fri iQIYI) ep 9 of 12 - you know I'm enjoying it a lot, so a surprise to see a Star Hunter beat it out? It's just MosBank are SERVING classic BL and I am a sucker for that kinda smut. Back to Stand-In...

It’s sad and a little complicated and interesting. And I’m still enjoying it very much. But this episode was mostly a rehash of information we already had been given, it was slow. Although since the acting is so good in this particular show, I didn’t mind it as much as I might have in a pulp piece, for example. 

My Love Mix-Up Th (Fri YT) ep 3 of 12 - I’m very much enjoying this. Not quite as much as I initially enjoyed the JBL version. But I’m liking a lot. There’s something particularly high school teen YA angst about this IP. Even more so than something like Make it Right or Love Sick. It’s just the cringe reactions and the constant embarrassments and the roller coaster of emotions that each character goes through in every scene. I forgot how exhausting it is to be a teen.

We Are Cute (Weds iQIYI) ep 12 of 16 - We Are Cute continues to be very cute indeed. Honestly Phum doesn’t need to flirt with Peem, Peem is already in love. The learning about each other is fun, but the fact that Phum still constantly communicates via kissing is great. I love that we have a couple whose love language is smooches. TanFang endgame is my favorite, I fucking LOVE them. But... NO SINGING. Worst fake band ever? Place docked in BL standing this week for that alone.

Love Sea (Sun iQIYI) ep 2 of 10 - It's fine I guess? Trash watch here.

Knock Knock Boys (Thurs Gaga) ep 5 of 12 - It’s ridiculous and they're very cute and I kind of don’t know what’s going on. But the young one getting his first dildo and skipping with excitement was utterly adorable. And it is the first rep we’ve got for such a thing in this genre. So good on you little pulp!

Only Boo! (Sun YT) ep 11 of 12 - Everything felt a little rushed and oddly paced in this episode. Not entirely sure why K came back to him. Anyway, I hope it’s all explained in the finale.

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

At 25:00 in Akasaka AKA 25 Ji Akasaka de (Japan Thurs Gaga) ep 10fin - I’ve made no secret about the fact that I haven’t been wild about this show.

Here’s a few things I enjoyed about the final episode: Uke initiated the sex scene!! Lots of tenderness. Long takes plus the absence of (and then very gentle introduction of) music. Unexpectedly high heat. Condom rep! The gayest bedroom layout ever. What I didn’t like: The absolute pinnacle of frustration for P'ABL on the other side of the screen wanting to grab the leads and shake them until their teeth rattled and scream "FOR THE LOVE, just TALK to each other!"  Oh but they are so cute and SO POLITE when the finally do reconcile! 

In conclusion:

A BL about the making of a BL where the famous one has a crush on the obscure one. It’s already been done.  Recently. By Japan. I would be tempted to say "better" but I didn’t like the first version either. At least this was less stalkery? Look, this show was fine. Just, in a word: cool, unengaging, and frustrating. OK that was 3 words. But they’re apt. A lackluster offering with a great ending. How to rate that? I despaired but ended up on 7/10 - do better Japan, I know you can.

Blue Boys (Korea YouTube) - it got its part 2, thank the BL gods, rounding this one into an 8 ep series. Still short (those eps barely scrape 10 min at most) but a solid little offering.

Charming reunion romance full of class + coming out struggles and great chemistry all of which was let down by a curtailed length. Had it just been given some legs, it could have grown wings and taken flight, but in the end it is simply too short. Still enjoyable and certainly worth your time. Cause ya don't need much of it. 8/10 RECOMMENDED

It's airing but...

The Last Time (Thai Fri YT?) - Convoluted story of loss and possible reincarnation or something. Can't find it.

OMG Vampire (Thai Sun ???) 10 eps - I've put the search on hold for a bit and y'all can let me know if it's worth tracking down.

In case you missed it

I mean you were under a rock on Tues Jan 18th Thailand's senate passed the Marriage Equality Bill. As of typing this, the King still has to sign it into law, but he's unlikely to veto. So it's a matter of time before everything is official. Thailand follows Nepal (2024) and Taiwan (2019). Both of those were judicial, Thailand's is legislative.

Let's Eat Together Aki and Haru 2 AKA Aki wa Haru to Gohan wo Tabetai 2 Haime! (Japan movie) - Continued the (frankly) lackadaisical story from part 1 and was meant to drop yesterday. We thought maybe Gaga, but nothing so far.

The Time of Fever AKA Unintentional Love Story 2 (Korea movie) trailer released to Korean theaters 5/25. HoTae & DongHee, side couple from Unintentional Love Story are back! Same actors, same character names. I love them. Devastated this hasn't had international distribution.

Next Week Looks Like This:

Upcoming BLs for 2024 are listed here. This list is not kept updated, so please leave a comment if you know something new or RP with additions.

Last of the June Releases

6/26 The Rebound (Thai Weds Gaga) - MeenPing are back in their 3rd BL together, a basketball based romance (Meen was a national basketball player, so yay for that). I like this pair better than most (I still do miss Meen with Est but Est has a fantastic looking new BL coming from GMMTV so yeah...) Anyway I'm up for a sports romance starring a man who, yah know, actually played that sport so... I'm game (pun intended).

6/26 I Hear the Sunspot AKA Hidamari ga Kikoeru (Japan Weds Gaga) 10 eps - A new series adaptation of beloved yaoi I Hear the Sunspot (first adaptation was feature film Silhouette of Your Voice 2017).

6/30 The Trainee (Thailand Sun YouTube) 12 eps- office romance between a boss/employee featuring OffGun. Taking over Boo's spot for GMMTV.

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

Lip touch! So sexy. So rare from Korea. Blue Boys.

I do love a meta call out moment.

Tiny idiots (affectionate)

Love their kisses. Such a great side couple.

All Wandee.

(Last week)

QUICK NOTE: I'm flying international back next weekend and the damn thing is gonna take like 72 hours or whatever insanity. Needless to say, I may not get to this round-up for ages. So don't panic, I'm not dead just sleeping.

Streaming services are listed by how I (usually) watch, which is with a USA based IP, and often offset by a day because time zones are a pain.

The tag BLigade: @doorajar @solitaryandwandering @my-rose-tinted-glasses @babymbbatinygirl @babymbbatinygirl @isisanna-blog @mmastertheone @pickletrip @aliceisathome @urikawa-miyuki @tokillamonger @sunflower-positiiivity @rocketturtle4 @blglplus @anythinggoesintheshire @everlightly @renafire @mestizashinrin @bl-bam-beyond @small-dark-and-delicious @saezurumurmurs

Sigh, Tumblr in it's infinite wisdom doesn't like too many tags.

There's these tricks, remember.

[wackulart]

Wrote a lil thing based on @bonefries's franco reagent post!! bc the design inspired me a lot, it does feature a reagent coyle but he's not based on any design, just some speculation and hcs i talked abt with friends!

FRANCO REAGENT AU FICLET

Franco’s leg bounces under the table, eyes burning into the side of a reagent’s face. This dark haired prick has been making quite the stink as of late. It’s been quite the toss up, a good amount of people can’t stand the guy, but he’s found his group. Enough that they tend to stick together and make it hell for everyone else. Franco’s heard rumours that the guy used to be some sorta cop. It would make sense, the guy’s a total blowhard. 

Part of him is jealous. 

Okay, all of him is jealous but that’s only because the guy’s got people flocking to him like sheep. 

In here, Franco’s got no power, no gun, no nothing. The occasional reagent’s tried to chat with him, but it’s always with that look of pity and desperation.

He’d rather be alone than team up with some pussy.

He waits, watching one of the reagent’s goons exit the room and head over to the cafeteria. Franco keeps his head down as they pass by and he makes his move. He gets up and walks down the hall, spotting the asshole’s name written above his room.

Leland Coyle. 

If he had any doubt the guy was a cop, it’s gone now. The room is full of propaganda and police paraphernalia. He wants to roll his eyes at the sight. Those pigs always get a bit jittery if they can’t get a taste of that leather boot.

Franco steps over to the door, sniffling and clearing his throat. There aren’t any locks on the rooms so he pushes the door open. Coyle’s back is turned to him, fiddling with some shit under his bed. Franco’s tempted to try and attack him while he’s distracted, but he decides to wait. His work before this had a lot to do with violence, but there was also time for talking. Sometimes words held more power than spilling blood did. Though, it’s still pretty fun to shoot someone in the face.

God, he misses Lupara.

“Hey, you the cop?” He folds his arm, hoping to exude confidence despite his stature and pounding heart.

The man pauses, looking back over his shoulder. His eyes are cold before he pulls his sunglasses down over his face. He stands, kicking some box under the bed. Even behind the glasses, Franco can tell the other’s sizing him up. Then Coyle laughs, the sound making a pit in Franco’s stomach and his eyes grow hot. He blinks, fighting the already short temper he has.

“I asked you a fuckin’ question!” Franco spits back.

Coyle’s smile begins to fade as he walks up to him. He looks down and while the man himself isn’t particularly tall, he’s just a bit taller than Franco. Which seems to be enough to establish some form of dominance. 

“Who d’you think yer talkin’ to like that, you little tumor?”

Franco’s mouth barely opens before he’s grabbed by the collar. He can barely breathe while all the blood in his body drains. 

His eyes scramble around as he claws at the man’s grip. “Let go a’ me, pig!”

Coyle tosses him into the wall and he feels old bruises ache. Franco already feels his eyes watering, but he’s quick to action. Being further in the room, he jumps to his feet and grabs the nearest object he could find. A megaphone finds its way into his hands and he swings it as hard as he can when the reagent rushes him. It breaks over the man’s head. Franco charges back, wrapping his arms around his chest and pushing him over the stairs.

Unfortunately with all the adrenaline flowing through him, he doesn’t think ahead and the both of them fall over the railing. They hit the ground with a loud thump and Franco feels his head ache before he blacks out.

He comes to his senses in a hospital bed, looking around the room, it seems familiar. It’s likely the same one’s across from where he got his introduction surgery. Franco rubs his forehead, his head snapping to the side when he hears a groan. Coyle wakes up in another bed a few feet from his own. He blinks and looks around before his gaze lands on Franco.

The look of his storm blue eyes darkening in a sickening fury sends a shot of fear down Franco’s spine. Then, Coyle lunges at him and Franco’s hands go to cover his face from any further damage. All he hears is the clanking of metal yet no pain comes to him. He opens his eyes and lowers his hands to see Coyle’s been cuffed to his bed. He grins and laughs, now having the freedom to do so. He sits up on his bed, about to start more shit before they’re interrupted by a doctor arriving.

Franco lays against the wall while Coyle struggles on his chains, yelling random shit at the doctor. He might get his ass beat when they head back to the sleep room, but if felt pretty damn good knocking the cop over the stairs.

That’ll keep Franco smiling for a while.

[therainscene]

Since The First Shadow has folks talking about Henry’s queerness (or lack thereof), I wanted to share my take on it as someone who tends to interpret him as gay.

I’m not going to be talking about his relationship with Patty, though -- I can’t afford to see the play and don’t want to rely on secondary sources for this, so I simply can’t comment on it. (I’m sure they’re lovely together, though.)

To me, Henry’s queer-coding isn’t a question of whether he’s literally gay -- it’s a question of what role his villainy plays in the story.

The biggest non-Patty-related criticism against queer interpretations of Henry is that it would carry an uncomfortably homophobic implication: that queers are dangerous predators.

This was a common belief in the 80s, and the show references it by having Troy chuckle at the idea of Will getting "killed by some other queer" -- a prediction that comes symbolically and unpleasantly true when Joyce finds him with one of Vecna’s vines literally shoved down his throat.

It's tempting to try and solve this problem by interpreting Henry as straight -- the homophobic implications of his child-assaulting villainy will disappear if he's not queer, right?

Well... in my opinion, no.

A key aspect of Henry's character is that he's different. Whether you interpret that difference as queerness, neurodivergence, or simply that he has powers -- the fact remains that he is fundamentally the sort of person whom society looks down upon with fear and suspicion.

If he’s not a predatory queer, then he's a remorseless psychopath. If he's not a remorseless psychopath, then he's a vessel for an evil alien. There's no way to escape the implication that he’s dangerous because he’s different.

Eddie’s character resonates with this principle too. Indeed, our introduction to him is a monologue in which he complains about being treated with suspicion just because he’s different.

Given their similarities in this regard, I think it’s interesting that the show endears us to Eddie in the same breath it makes us fear Vecna. It almost feels like a test--

We know you’ll sympathize with a weirdo who sells drugs to troubled minors when you get to see things from his perspective, but can you sympathize with a weirdo who hurts troubled minors when you don’t get to see things from his perspective? Will you jump to unfair conclusions about Henry in the same way the town jumps to unfair conclusions about Eddie?

My point here isn’t that Henry did nothing wrong or that his villainy is justified -- I’m pretty sure he did commit the murders Eddie was scapegoated for and I’m pretty sure that’s a bad thing -- but he’s always held at arm’s length from the audience. The show plays the role of Jason, encouraging us to blindly hate him on gut instinct instead of giving him a fair trial.

It’s an easy test to fail, because it does seem like we get to see Henry’s perspective -- he has a whole villain speech, after all.

But the trouble is, this speech takes place within NINA. What we’re watching is footage that has been curated by his abuser and shown through the eyes of a traumatized girl who barely understands what happened -- secondary sources who are invested in viewing him as a threat.

Consider that Henry’s hairstyle mysteriously changes during the massacre. It’s one of those subtle costuming choices that isn’t meant to be consciously picked up on, but which registers at the back of our minds and leaves us feeling unsettled -- this Henry isn’t like the Henry we were looking at before.

The obvious way of interpreting this is that the mask has finally slipped -- the “nice” Henry was fake, and now we see him for who he “really” is. But I’m not inclined to interpret it that way, because of all the hairstyles they could have chosen... they just so happened to opt for one that resembles Brenner. (Pun intended.)

This isn’t Henry with his mask off -- this is Henry as Brenner wants him to be.

Fear-mongering over the existence of queer people has long been a useful tool for those in power -- in the 80s, fear of AIDS did the job nicely -- and so too has Brenner forged Henry into a tool to further his own goals, no regard given to the harm he causes in the process.

Like the “predatory queer”, Henry is defined on his oppressor’s terms, and like Eddie, it makes him a useful scapegoat. He only became what he did because of an unethical institution, and treating him as the problem is just as short-sighted as blaming gay men for the AIDS crisis.

That isn’t to say Vecna hasn’t become a genuine threat, though. Will makes a prediction as to how S5 is going to end--

--and while I’m not expecting things to end as violently as Will implies here -- that’s not Will’s thing -- I do believe that Vecna is going to be defeated by his hand. As tragic as Vecna’s origin was, he still made his own choices once he was free from Brenner, and he’s likely too far gone at this point to be capable of earning his happy ending.

But that’s what makes it so important that Will gets his happy ending.

Queer characters have been exclusively cast as villains or tragic sadbois for so long that I can completely sympathize with people’s hesitance to embrace Henry as a tragic queer villain.

But villains only exist within the context of the heroes who challenge them... and in a show about a queer-coded villain who personifies the anger and despair of being abused for what you are, a loving gay boy who breaks the cycle of abuse by learning that he has the right to be the hero of his own story is the perfect foil for him.

[skyrim-forever]

WIP Wednesday

Hello everyone and welcome to another wip wednesday ❤️ I was tagged by @thequeenofthewinter and I am tagging:

@bougainvillea-and-saltwater @dirty-bosmer @captain-of-silvenar @lucien-lachance @pocket-vvardvark @theoneandonlysemla

@firefly-factory @ladytanithia @sulphuricgrin @changelingsandothernonsense @umbracirrus @moriche

@hircines-hunter @scholarlyhermit

So I have been encouraged by some lovely friends (you know who you are ❤️) to explore a Modern AU Theomar as spies. Have no idea if this will end up on ao3 as life is in a strange place right now but I've been playing around with how to incorporate events of Skyrim into a modern context. But this snippet is mostly them flirting at the bar 😛 Under the cut because suggestive a button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up whore ass behaviour

“Can I get a between the sheets, with Colovian brandy if you have it?” 

“I’m afraid we’ve only got Cyrodiliic brandy and Geef.” They have Geef but not Colovian? Puzzled as to how the brandy from Morrowind is more common here, she orders the closest of the two.

“I’ll take the Cyrodilic.” As her suspicions were correct, the bar is almost empty save for a figure on the other end, it takes no time for her drink to appear. “Thank you.” 

The citrus of the orange liquor is delicious and burn from the brandy is familiar, thoughts of having five or six more tempt her; nursing a hangover at work was not the worst. That too was familiar, once she had even given a briefing to the Director after an attempt to empty the city’s sujamma supply. Wretched headache but she was good at her job. If not for the fact there was a meeting scheduled for first thing in the morning tomorrow, a meeting to establish the collaboration with those Altmeri Dominion diplomats, Theodora would have thrown her uncharacteristic caution to the wind. But tomorrow required everyone to be at their most professional to be thrown into the den of vipers, as her colleague Dram put it. Dramatic as always. Yet, she harboured a few concerns of her own. An odd way to describe them as even she knew they were not here in the spirit of diplomacy, that was evident based on her prior interactions with the Thalmor in Cyrodiil. Sarce they were, but it was obvious they had a need to put their golden hands over everything. The war hadn’t stopped, it just became hidden. 

As she finishes the drink, the last of the liquid is not yet swallowed when another is brought to her. 

“From the elf over there.” Too focused on drinking and thoughts of work, the agent forgot such a basic skill in her line of work: observation. Bringing the figure from her periphery to the centre of her vision, her concerns about the Altmer she’ll meet tomorrow are exchanged with intrigue at the one looking at her. Looking at his strong jawline and thinking about how satisfying it would be to grip his black tie, it doesn’t matter that he has a buzzcut. Different in very many ways he was. Offering him a smile and downing the drink, she approaches the stool beside him, sitting as she starts the conversation. 

“What are you drinking?” It’s almost unfortunate how handsome he is, now close enough to see the details on his face. Only somewhat knowledgeable on guessing a mer’s age, she can tell his over one hundred but beyond that she’s uncertain. Not that it matters. The slight chuckle he does is attractive, as is his voice. 

“Supposedly a Fine Elven Wine.” Very fitting she thinks. “Yet it is neither fine nor a wine, certainly not Elven.” Taking the glass from his hands, swirling it for a moment before she sips. Gagging at the taste. The mer laughs harder now. 

“Gods, that is disgusting. Here, let me get you something better.” Once again flagging down the bartender, she orders him a Collequiva, a fancy imperial wine. Watching as he has a taste, it seems it is satisfactory. 

“Hmm, better than I expected. Thank you…” Ah names, might be good to do that now.

“Theodora” she says. 

“Ondolemar.” 

Introductions out of the way, names all that needed to be exchanged; personal details kept under wraps due both to the secrecy of her work and her desire for privacy. Any other information he would need could be figured out after. In the event she found herself in his lap she could let him know what treatment she expects; deciding to start leading them there, she asks him a question. 

“Do you often buy human women drinks from across the bar?” His people in particular frowned upon such relations, would be good to gauge where his thoughts on the matter lied. 

“Would you believe I do not?”

“I would actually.” Why did he then… 

“You look too exquisite to sit alone at the bar, I have a feeling that this was not part of your original evening plans.” A bit taken aback but such a compliment as she was used to very different words from men, but the rest of his response is curious. It was a leap in logic to assume that off of what she is wearing alone, but it was correct. How did he know that?

“And what would you know of my plans? Maybe I wanted to get dressed up just to sit at the Winking Skeevar?” He dryly chuckles, drinking more of her recommendation. 

“Well then. I would say there are better bars to do that at. This one leaves much to be desired.” 

“Then why are you here?” She says. 

“My residence is nearby, it is convenient.” A reasonable enough answer, she had done many things because it was convenient at the time, many men fell into this category. Not the best but around. Good enough for the job that was pleasing her. Perhaps her eyes should not have lingered on his forearms, the neatly rolled fabric that was tight around the middle of them. Not lingering now, they trail up and over his torso as she imagines ripping the white button up off, let the buttons scatter and litter the floor. 

Returning to his initial comment on her appearance, she questions the word he used. 

“So I look exquisite?” A straightforward start, she’s curious where he’ll go with it. 

“You do, that is a lovely dress.” A straightforward answer, safe. It’s too safe so she amps things up a bit with a little test to figure out what kind of guy he is. 

“Hmm, well I’ve been told before by men that it does not leave much to the imagination.” 

“Then they do not have a very good imagination, now do they?” Another sip, more than a sip, a full mouthful and then he continues. “A simple man imagines merely the body, they neglect to think all which you can do with it.” Her widened eyes have him mistaken that he overstepped in his words, something which could not be further from the truth as she is imagining all the things she’d like to do with him. “I may have already had too much to drink.” 

“Oh I wouldn’t say that, Ondolemar.” Her hand reaches for his tie, tracing her hands along the complex knot securing it and enjoying the fact that although he is smirking, how he tenses does not go unnoticed. “I like a man who is forward.” 

[umathurwin]

i feel like they ruined jjs character with jjiara idk

during john bs introduction for everyone in episode one, jj is made out to be lowkey a fuckboy (literally on top of a girl the first (?) time we see him) and i think that would’ve been the better path to take for him. i think involving kiara with even one of the pogues was pushing it but all three?!? it not only looks bad for kiara but also just makes it plain boring😭 if they had kept jj as her friend or even if he was fucking many many girls and slowly realised he (and only him not also every single other character) was inlove with kiara, but they ruined it almost instantly after the start having all of them pining for her and it all revolving around her for all of them, it completely ruined what the original vibes were going for (not in a bad way love my girl) back to jj himself! but not really cos the main issue is just that they were all for her from the start… can’t em but come the fuck on its actually a terrible dynamic. but for jj specifically he was just reserved for her by his own choice like 3 episodes in, it’s not that he didn’t have individuality but it was just boring asf and very plain for him.pope and john b all ended up with different people in different journeys (not really most of the obx canon ships were shit!!) but it made their characters more interesting, i feel like this is also part of the reason i could not stand jj😭😭 i know everyone loves him and i get it but i watched the show and could not get behind him after i realised what they were setting him up for and what he could’ve been💔

basically please give us fuckboy jj (maybe im being dramatic i just really wanted that so bad)

also this is so off topic but people calling cleope or john barah ‘enemies to lovers’ is frying me… WHERE. john b and sarah had flirty banter for like 10 minutes and cleo was just trying to stay alive she had no actual opinions on that man. people just say u like strangers to lovers no shame i promise (kinda shame)

anyways that was unrelated anyways everyday i mourn what obx could’ve been

just john b and sarah without the kiara bit and the start but also simultaneously not ruining sarah’s life yes ik it was actually ward but blah blah blah

jj fuckboy giving kiara love advice (with a strong friendship dynamic) between them cos she’s secretly in love with rafe💔💔

jj realising that he’s going thru girls with speed cos he’s secretly pining for his nerdy brunette friend named pope 

actually scratch that sarah lesbian arc for kiara and kiara sarah rafe love triangle no incest tho please

even tho the love triangle things getting a bit tiring but honestly i’m ok with it this once pate brother❤️ delete it all and restart

now❤️

get me in the writers room

LMAOOOO delete ❤️ jj giving advice to kiara about rafe… actual michelin star chef in front of me huh…

kiarah lesbian arc, weird jealousy from rafe [no incest], sarah and kiara work it out, kiarafe, john b/sarah without the cheating problem (which is so funny like it literally never got fixed. she just hasn’t been tempted since late s3), jjpope slow burn romance, cleo does whatever she wants whenever she wants. A1 character development!

[wickmitz]

SEDGEWICK SABLE & MITZI MAY : an overall study, part one .

discussing their individual characters, their relationship, their respective scenes, and a plethora of details found in-between.

this question is a good one! though i’m going to prematurely apologize for the length of my response to it, since this requires some extensive analysis. mostly because i feel like fans are prone to misreading and misinterpreting mitzi’s and wick’s relationship a lot in general, but also due to the fact there’s a lot of outside elements that are currently affecting their relationship as we see it in the comic. so to even begin to understand their mindset on the date, we have to rehash previous events and actually understand what’s happening within those moments. after all, like most good character writing, there’s a lot being said without actively telling the reader every little thing! it’s also important to note that this romantic relationship is very complex, with both parties involved being extremely human in nature ; prone to messing up and feeding impulses that, while understandable, aren’t exactly wise or good natured. for example, you will see some rather heavy miscommunication in this dynamic! but to start off with this beast of an analysis, let me discuss some statements i’ve seen made in regards to wick and mitzi, which are not only extremely biased in wick’s favor, but are factually untrue. these topics will come into play later! and will help establish some key elements i’ll mention again when recounting the events of the comic.

some opinions i’ve seen thrown around that are treated as canonical fact are a combination of ‘mitzi’s been setting out to use wick from the start / she isn’t actually interested in him / is merciless when taking advantage of him, and etc etc.’ -- and in order to properly begin this analysis and what’s really going on, you have to cast these ideas aside! i, personally, don’t think any of these views are true and serve as an extremely simplistic explanation for mitzi’s behavior, while also robbing wick of any actual agency he may have. he is not some helpless victim led astray by mitzi’s tempting offers and curves, and has even been stated to not be as morally righteous as he claims by tracy on occasion. he, like mitzi and everyone else in lackadaisy, is a heavily flawed individual! and that’s important to keep in mind as i go through and a.) debunk these misconceptions and b.) actually discuss the events of the comic, including the in-between we weren’t privy to as readers. i also don’t think i need to clarify this, but just in case someone out there is thinking it in passing : i cannot make it clear enough that mitzi is just as flawed as wick, if not more so! she is not an innocent party in the events, and i won’t shy away from discussing the morally ambiguous things she does either. however, it’s undeniable that she gets more hate than wick, or any other man in lackadaisy, thus i find it prominent to disprove the cartoonishly villainous reads of her character. i might defend her more than wick here, or approach her with more sympathy, but this doesn’t ever negate her wrongs and i know this. but with all these disclaimers, preamble, and topic starters out of the way, i’m going to go through these points one by one ( alongside their scenes together ) and discuss them as i see fit.

the first time we see mitzi and wick together is in the comic page introduction three : where they’re photographed together with some other noticeable faces, with a date of ‘5-21-1927’ dated in the corner. the two are beside one another and are leaning into each other’s space, an action that seems commonplace for them given how they’re depicted in the phantom bootlegger as well. it’s also worth noting that despite the rather tragic circumstances surrounding them, the two still appear to be in high spirits -- both donning a smile while flashing an almost coy look at the camera. they look as though nothing is amiss about the situation at all, honestly, and given their proximity, it appears they’re close. i’ve offhandedly mentioned to others that i wouldn’t be surprised if wick were standing in atlas’s ‘spot’, so to speak ; since he’s always shown standing to her left. it gives couple vibes! something that’s rather unremarkable since we know from wick’s own mouth that he’s been interested in mitzi since her days as atlas’s wife, as well as the implied affection at first sight in the side comic limestone. but i’ll note it nonetheless, because if this photo was taken before the proceeding events ( a likely story, since freckle is absent in the photo ), then this implies a closeness between wick and mitzi. they are comfortable around each other and are rather pleased to be in each other’s presence well before acting upon any feelings in a romantic light, unabashedly friendly before the other lackadaisy crew as well as not minding being posed so closely while being photographed together. they are on good terms and have likely stayed that way since they’ve known one another -- i feel like people act as though wick and mitzi had no genuine bond prior to the events of the comic, when it seems rather implied they were at least friends before. this also very weakly discredits claims of planned manipulation from the start as well as mitzi not liking wick outside of his money. the only thing up for debate, in my eyes, is how close they were, not if they were close at all … though now we reach actual canon events, most notably pages such as : formaldehyde, overtime, hallelujah, overture, caveat, and rendezvous respectively. these are pages that i’ll be talking about in length, since i see them as necessary reading ( and rereading ) for these two before volume two’s events.

formaldehyde, overtime, and overture are sort of bundled together for what they reveal where it concerns mitzi’s plans with wick as a person in her life. i think it’s easy to view her joy upon seeing sedgewick in the paper as an opportunistic lightbulb ; ‘good news’ that she can exploit and a balm applied to her financial troubles that had her looking at the obituaries for some levity. but i’d argue she is genuinely happy for wick too, with both selfless and selfish intent. while actually celebrating his success isn’t her main concern, i see some part of her proud of him nonetheless -- even if it’s an unspoken congratulations. though what’s more pressing is that it’s here that we see her intentions as clear as day, which is that she plans to schmooze wick’s investor friends in order to keep the lackadaisy afloat. emphasis on the investors here! her letter to wick shows her priorities clear as day, sending extra club pins and drawing attention to the desire for extra company, and not just wick’s own. when wick swindles the rather bored crowd the lackadaisy’s way, we see how mitzi leaps into action ; giving the men her full attention and chatting them up, making her motives clear as day to them while maintaining some business coyness. the real apple of her eye here is edmund church, who is poised to appear as the leading man where the investors are concerned, and even her body language is attentive towards the man. facing him directly, leaning the full weight of her body towards him …

but while doing so, she is visually turning herself away from wick. back practically turned to him and his presence all but ignored. it’s clear he’s not her schmoozing target, which implies she’s not searching for an investment from wick himself ; as though this is a line she doesn’t wish to cross, and would rather find her money elsewhere despite her mounting desperation. we also know that before these events that mitzi has sold everything she could in order to make things work, including rather sentimental items like wedding china and not limited to whatever mansion her and atlas previously lived in. to me, this shows that mitzi was never planning to use wick at all, really, and in fact was so against the notion that she’d rather manipulate his friends than the very easy target beside her. while she’s arguably a selfish character, people seem to not grasp how hard she tried to keep wick from becoming more than a loyal patron to the lackadaisy. it’s only when all other avenues have been exhausted that she attempts to use him -- and we’ll talk in depth about this decision later, since it wasn’t an easy choice, much less something she decided to do without some inner turmoil in her heart. and while yes, her exploiting wick’s investors is her using him to a degree, it’s worth noting that ( and i cannot stress this enough ) wick was more than well aware of her intentions and brought the men along anyway. he feeds these men to this lady he fancies, something church will call him out for in caveat and something borderline confirmed in overture itself. wick is hardly the idiot people make him out to be! he may be prone to obliviousness, but he’s no toddler who fails to understand even the most obvious social cues. at this point in the comic he trusts mitzi completely ; unfazed by the rumors she killed atlas and believing her incapable of violence due to how long he’s known her. he thinks her kind, he thinks her graceful, and his fondness for the widow is palpable in most of their early scenes … and even somewhat during the time in which their bond is strained.

in fact, the first time mitzi acknowledges wick’s presence beside her is when wick pipes up to offer her advice on how to win church over. not only is he aware of what she’s doing, he is now actively encouraging it by offering up tips and tidbits he probably learned himself when securing church’s investment, all while he smiles and leans towards her, a flirtatious and admiring nature about him.

sedgewick sable may be one of the kindest men in lackadaisy, but he’s still a capitalist at his core, someone who knows how important money is and is used to the give and take society he’s a part of. and while he’s still helping mitzi here, there’s also little denying the fact that he’s doing this to garner brownie points with her … there is some self interest he’s serving here, even if he’s rather sweet about it. as church so eloquently puts it, wick essentially tried to “charge in with ( his ) group of shareholders in a great display of concern for the lady.” and while wick vaguely denies this claim, i think it’s more than obvious that’s exactly what he tried to do here, especially given how quickly he admits it’s “difficult to resist a damsel in distress,” while adorning a rather sly look. what happened here is wick was bluntly called out for his readiness to use the investors so he could get in good with mitzi, appease her and impress her in some way, and he seems rather shameless about this intent thus far. many fans misinterpret this scene, due to being fiercely protective of wick and quick to sense church’s antagonistic role. and just to be clear, when i say antagonistic, i mean that he is the voice of opposition against something that wick’s arc is all about ( i.e. being in a relationship with mitzi ). because of this, fans are inclined to dismiss everything that church says as patently untrue. however, i find it pertinent to reassess church’s specific wording. when he speaks to mitzi in overture, he calls her business ‘criminal reputations’, and though mitzi is able to win him over enough that he stops complaining, he goes right back to his original opinion come caveat, where he states that ‘there’s no reason any of us should have an interest in illegitimate business’. what church says next, however, is curious ; he brings up both mitzi’s reputation and wick’s, pointing out just how incongruous they are, and spells out for him that if he’d like to associate with criminals, then he is in the wrong career. at no point does church tell wick not to have feelings for mitzi nor to pursue them -- what i believe church is essentially reminding wick of is that people will notice his associations with the lackadaisy if he decides to mix business and pleasure like he did tonight. after all, what wick has done, in the simplest of terms, is try to goad his investors into making an objectively harmful business decision so that he could get in good with a woman he fancies. the problem is hardly that wick goes to the lackadaisy ( after all, church and the other investors do go to speakeasies! ), or even that he has a clear interest in mitzi may. rather, church is warning wick against letting his personal feelings guide him into making poor decisions in his business.

it’s not shown how wick reacts to church’s advice, but seems to initially dismiss it, as he spends the rest of his time ushering them away and paying for viktor’s medical bills, an action he does partly due to wanting to look good in front of mitzi once again. while i believe wick would’ve paid them anyway ( he couldn’t ever just let viktor die ) i still find it interesting how the comic highlights ivy using mitzi against him and this working effortlessly. he stops asking questions and stops debating about the ethics of taking viktor to the hospital and merely pays the doctor when quackenbush gets there … before scrambling off to make himself useful at the little daisy.

all of this is to say that wick is hardly some helpless victim who was being used against his will here. he had something to gain from this too and helped these events unfold, completely aware of mitzi’s desire to win over his investors for her own needs. wick’s knowledge of this will come back into play soon enough, although we’re going to talk about mitzi real quick, as well as the comic page rendezvous.

after the events of killjoy, mitzi’s already dire situation takes a turn for the worse due to unseen circumstances, with many things falling at her feet at once. the last vestiges of their reputation has been tarnished alongside what was a golden opportunity, the lackadaisy is trashed and destroyed, she finds out that mordecai has taken all their arsenal, viktor is shot to hell, and had it not been for the presence of a stranger, the likelihood of her, rocky, and zib kicking the bucket was too likely to be comfortable. naturally, mitzi seems composed during these stressful events, keeping her cool as best she can and acting unfazed by what was imminent danger ; to a degree, this show of apathy is genuine, in the sense that mitzi is unafraid of death and physical harm. she made the choice to stay in the lackadaisy despite knowing she’d be safer on the other side of those doors, and in loggerhead she even implies she’d rather take the risks and die because allowing the lackadaisy to fade out of existence is a ‘sadder fate’ in her eyes. i don’t think i need to talk in length about how unhealthy this mindset is or how much this demonstrates mitzi’s obsession -- her selfishness to cling onto her husband’s ruinous legacy is so severe that she would even be happier perishing in its place, an almost passive suicidality mindset that i don’t see touched upon often. but for all her nonchalance about shootouts, there’s this worsening tiredness and despair that clings to her eyes and gestures when the pig farmers are slain. forced to do nothing else but accept the grim reality of such a brutal aftermath and see viktor’s awful state for herself, another blow she gets to see up close. they could’ve lost everything here, and they almost did! it’s a devastating end to a once hopeful evening, one that has her aimless and with no real plans for a future. i don’t think mitzi even thought to use wick even upon hearing about his offered charity, yet i believe we see the exact moment when such a thought crosses her mind ; maybe not for the first time, but here is when the idea becomes too tantalizing to ignore. she’s out of options and wick is there, like always, and mitzi’s desperation ( her grief ) eclipses any care she has for wick in a singular moment that changes their dynamic completely.

we’re finally at rendezvous, which is probably the most important page ( or at least one of the most integral pages ) to wick and mitzi’s relationship. a lot happens here between these two characters despite the simplicity of their actions, after all, chatting for a little and then kissing isn’t much to sneeze at plot wise. but what’s pressing here is the visuals and the dialogue rather than their actions. we start off with mitzi entering the little daisy cafe and catching wick tidying up the mess rocky and freckle created when they ran through the building ; he’s obviously waiting around to hear of viktor’s condition and doing something useful with his hands in the meantime, having been interrupted from where he’d been staring at atlas’ picture on the wall. miss may makes light of his ‘raiding’ and says she could’ve just made him something to eat if he really wants and wick responds in kind, sarcasm and banter exchanged briefly before they touch upon the events unfolding around them. mitzi expresses her gratitude and ensures she’ll pay wick back ( something she says without being prompted to ) before telling a curious wick about viktor’s condition. unable to help himself further, he asks mitzi what happened tonight, to which she remains silent -- wick realizes he’s better off not knowing and relents with a smile, to which we get this line from mitzi.

there’s a properness to this, where she goes as far as to stop using his nickname to address him as sedgewick instead. her paw reaches up to begin fiddling with her necklace ( something she does whenever thinking or reminded of atlas ) and before she can finish her thought, her attention is forced from wick onto the very picture he’d been staring at previously. my opinion on this scene is that, for all intents and purposes, this reads like some sort of formal rejection ; flavoring in ‘you’re so kind’s and ‘such a swell man, you are!’s before ending with your resounding no, so to speak. i think in this moment, mitzi was going to be honest with wick instinctively, especially after he saved her some trouble despite not having to. ”and i would hate to …” use him? lead him on? seemingly promise something she’s incapable of delivering upon? maybe she suspects he paid for viktor’s bills to win her over ( a semi correct assumption ) and wants to clear the air on that. say that while she’s thankful and while wick is an amazing person, he won’t be ‘getting’ anything out of this from her … not right now. i’ll talk more about how i believe mitzi views wick in a moment, but all in all i struggle to see what else she would’ve been trying to say here if not some kind of soft rejection. values his loyalty and kindness too much to lead him on in that way, or take advantage of him -- until she isn’t, which just happens to be obvious in this next scene. i need it on record that visually this is one of the most compelling scenes in all of lackadaisy to me! there is something so disturbing about it, somber, an eerie feeling that something is amiss and that mitzi’s state of mind is undeniably poor. that her view of things is clouded and warped, and this will overshadow any of her true thoughts or feelings due to this skewing of priorities.

and here we have this brief moment, a single panel of silence that doesn’t last more than a second perhaps, before mitzi ultimately kisses wick. what we see visually is wide, doll eyes staring at atlas -- her husband framed in time and sat at the little daisy cafe, surrounded by men who admired and feared him in equal measure, successful, and ‘looking’ down at her. seeing him renders her speechless, only roused from this heavy stare down when wick replaces atlas with his own face ; confused and worried, not at all similar to the emotionless expression she was taken by, but it’s interesting nonetheless. it’s only then that mitzi pushes into wick and kisses him! and i think this very scene is when mitzi not only thought to use wick, but was far gone enough to actually do so as well. there’s a lot of things to be potentially dissected from this scene! mitzi’s obsession with atlas, how she’s far gone enough to ruin a friendship just for his sake ( and for her own as well ) … or the fact wick seems to be her new direction, shallowly filling what space atlas has left behind, perhaps easing her loneliness and money woes all the while. this scene is never discussed and it’s criminal it isn’t, when there’s so much being said here in the silence of it all. she is haunted and tormented and all she can see is atlas, and after everything that’s happened to her and the lackadaisy, wick becomes an avenue and a tool for the sake of it. it’s not a kiss she seems to even enjoy and it looks as though it’s entirely impulsive and forced on her end.

with comics, it’s finicky to decipher what happens between panels, but what’s obvious here is that wick doesn’t respond to her advance immediately, which causes mitzi to pull back. she apologizes vaguely, giving a dismissive ‘i do that sometimes,’ something that’s probably not even true given how valiantly mitzi loathes feeling like a ‘harlot’, so to speak. she’s obviously trying to brush this incident aside ; either having come to her senses and being rightfully embarrassed or taking his unresponsive nature as her having read him wrong. feigns aloofness when wick asks what she does so often exactly, still distant by all means, and had it not been for the olives and their forced proximity, she might’ve made her leave. as quickly as the impulse came, it had left, and i don’t think it’s out of the realm of possibility to think mitzi quickly regretted her actions here due to how emotionally driven they were. but instead she lingers and stays, and then ( in my eyes, given the composition of the pose ) wick yanks her into another kiss now that the surprise has worn off. after all, he did want this! she had caught him off guard is all. it’s worth noting she looks more at ease with this kiss, knowing it’s reciprocated and enjoying it as a passionate thing led by wick rather than herself. maybe she can excuse it now, her attempt to use him, since he’s ‘leading’ so to speak. regardless, this is where rendezvous ends … however, i want to address one more thing before i move on completely.

there’s no true way of telling what happened after this comic page due to the morning timeskip we experience. all we know is that wick eventually went home, after being out ‘later than usual’, which could imply he stayed for a lengthy period of time after or could simply be referring to the fact he didn’t leave with bix at first. i’d argue the earlier assumption based on the fact wick technically ‘left early’ anyway due to the raid, but that’s besides the point. people seem to believe that mitzi selfishly dropped this investment deal onto wick, that it was solely her idea, yet we see multiple times in volume two that this isn’t the case at all -- and that wick not only agreed to meet with her, but seemingly for the purpose of talking about his potential investment. here we have wick acknowledging he made last minute plans in grindstone, as well as mitzi heavily implying wick was very much into the idea of investing in her business last night in doublet :

wick never refutes these claims and the narrative does nothing to disprove this either. so it’s safe to assume that either during their necking or thereafter, one of them brought up the idea of wick investing and they both seemed eager about the prospect, enough so to agree upon meeting later in order to discuss the actual details. once again, wick is well aware of mitzi’s intention during the events of her date, an intention she barely bothers hiding because they’ve agreed to talk about it, and we’ll put a pin in that for later. now that we’ve actually concluded the canon events leading up to volume two ( as well as some moments in between ) i’ll briefly talk about mitzi’s and wick’s feelings during this time.

one of the biggest problems they’re facing currently, and one that will worsen over time, is that neither of them are on the same wavelength here. there is undoubtedly mutual attraction between them as well as affection, but how they view and understand these emotions is where they stay divided. we have sedgewick sable who’s well aware of his feelings ( or, in time, thought he was anyway ), has been since meeting mitzi for the first time, and is so bold in his fondness that he lingered inside her circle despite her marital status. he knows he wants mitzi romantically or at the very least casually … everyone around him can tell this too. it’s not some secret or taboo sin wick is prone to shying away from! he doesn’t even care about the rumors or her widow status -- or how bad it would look to be public with her given the mysterious and illegal circumstances she’s surrounded in. he desires to impress and woo her on top of being helplessly smitten.

where they seem to differ is that while wick is keenly aware of his attraction, mitzi is not. or, more accurately, has no clarity to which she can view it and understand it for what it is. during the events of the comic, she’s long since rewritten her memories of atlas and has painted them in this golden picture of pure happiness and true love and joy … she’s romanticized her past with him, purposefully forgetting things in order to maintain this ‘i had a fairytale life when i was married to atlas’ viewpoint. we see how this perspective affects even the most major of things, like the way mitzi casually spits in the face of her old life with the band, now adamant about the fact she was miserable then and felt just oh so disgusting while performing. while i believe some of those feelings are true, i also believe that mitzi is inherently devaluing things that aren’t related to atlas due to a mixture of obsession and grief she’s not looking in the eye. when you lose someone you love or loved, the sudden hit of loss makes it very easy to morph the person in your mind into someone perfect and godly. mordecai has likely done the same thing. it’s simple to deal with heartbreak in that way, to better love someone when they’re dead and gone with only memories and photos and feelings left behind as evidence they were ever there at all. in many ways, mitzi can’t comprehend atlas anymore, and has channeled her wounds into this constant conflicting fixation instead of something to heal. so, naturally, she is not thinking about herself -- her desires, her wants, her thoughts, or her feelings ; it's a chorus of atlas and the lackadaisy instead. mitzi isn’t in the space of mind to inspect her feelings towards wick and figure out whether she likes him or not … not when all she cares about is her priority. it also doesn’t help that zib, the person who arguably knew her best ( but doesn’t know her anymore despite how they both pretend otherwise ), immediately accuses her of using wick at the very beginning of volume one.

again, zib isn’t wrong and it turns out his fears are more than valid! but it’s worth saying that mitzi’s clouded mind is already having the notion of ‘you don’t care for wick like that, you’re just using him’ shoved into her brain as evident fact from someone who’s important to her. while she fancies him and would, in another world, be more than eager to engage in frivolous courting and romantic inclinations, i don’t think she herself knows that. but if she did take a moment and examine what she’s doing and how she feels now, she’d probably dismiss all that and be more than convinced that she’s manipulating wick, utilizing his attraction to her while having none of her own in order to steal some much needed money from his pockets. like i mentioned in this post, mitzi likely believes atlas was her one true love and that she’d never love again, furthering this notion of her accidentally puppeting her own emotions to be more understandable in her eyes. this ( coupled with guilt for using wick so brutally ) is also why she appears to almost avoid romance entirely during their ‘date,’ only ever resorting to such overt flirtation when desperately trying to get wick to talk to her about what she needs to talk to him about. her methods and actions during those events are more calculated, as was her initial kiss in rendezvous. it’s also worth noting the next time we see mitzi is while she’s getting ready, sat at her vanity and looking particularly small and numb. it’s giving some levels of dissociation! this is not the expression of someone who’s remembering the events of last night fondly, which sadly includes the kiss between her and wick.

but still, we as the audience know she likes him subconsciously. we cannot always trust her perspective and instead need to analyze and look at the little things to infer if her views and genuine feelings align. her constant fondness for wick shows itself even during moments where mitzi believes she is uncaring. she is usually smiling at the mention of wick or from being around him, will casually touch him affectionately, and is visibly enjoying the act of posing with him in photomajig. everything i’ve previously said more than proves she cares for him to a rather utmost degree too. like most of their relationship and respective characters, these two extremes can coexist in their own unique way, and i wholeheartedly believe they do. i’ll also acknowledge that i haven’t talked about wick much, but don’t worry! we will get there in volume two soon enough, which i will now be covering and analyzing in detail as well.

as mentioned previously, the next time we see mitzi is after the events of last night, likely sometime in the afternoon given later events. she is putting in her earrings while sat at her vanity, surrounded by a seemingly endless supply of photos ( another metaphor for the past and how it never really leaves her alone ) as she looks on with an apathetic sort of misery. she gets up and totes around a tommy gun which she then shows off to the portrait of atlas in her ( still his ) office ; giving him a rather generous debriefing that leaves out some integral details, like viktor being shot, before harping more on mordecai and how she needs to deal with him so things won’t get worse. the only mention of wick here is her telling atlas that it ‘wasn’t a total loss,’ though her rather kicked expression, as well as how quickly she brushes past the details of that, implies she isn’t satisfied with the state of things. i also find it interesting how little she admits to the deterioration of things here, before the portrait of her dead husband, because while this can be seen as tracy not wanting to recount all the events we’ve just seen, i think there’s a level of avoidance here too. mitzi isn’t keen on vocally admitting to how bad things are, how much was lost last night -- perhaps due to the fact she’ll be forced to confront the actual helplessness of her situation, and realize that things aren’t exactly fixable as it stands. there’s actually very few instances where she willingly shares her feelings or talks about the state of the lackadaisy to anyone, and the few times she actually does so, it’s either a.) a weapon to utilize against someone else, like some kind of guilt trip, or b.) it bursts out of her like a dam. she is extremely private and reserved where it concerns her emotions, always wishing to appear competent and above things, and in my opinion, it’s something worth noting. after this, she decides to call the maribel hotel and confront asa about his and mordecai’s involvement in last night’s tragedy.

the phone call itself plays out, in the most simplistic of terms, with mitzi’s desire to discuss things being disregarded as asa avoids her through various means. he questions why she’s bothering with such low quality hooch, and upon mitzi trying to bring the conversation back to the original topic ( aka why asa would do this ), he then pries about the lackadaisy’s desolate state before telling her to quit before things worsen. mitzi expresses confusion, but once again isn’t able to form an entire sentence due to asa abruptly ending the call after deciding for her that they’ll just discuss this over lunch. all in all, it’s an extremely rude and frustrating exchange. and sadly this won’t be the only time today where mitzi tries to talk to someone about a rather pressing topic, one very important to her and the wellbeing of her establishment, only to be dismissed at almost every turn until the very end of things.

in the next page, mitzi is depicted silently stewing in a chair much too big for her, glaring daggers at nothing in particular, more than angry at her failure of a phone call. she is unresponsive to rocky’s rambling, including the potential hiring of freckle, and only rouses herself out of her irritation when realizing she can bring the two boys along in some sort of display of power. it’s a rather weak and grasping attempt at maintaining some level of control, especially when she outright tells asa why rocky and freckle are there : “you see, my circumstance isn’t quite as hopeless as you -- ” it’s a very obvious posturing, a weak show with nothing really backing it. neither asa or mordecai are impressed or swayed by this at all, with mordecai even calling out that rocky is some band member rather than some gun for hire. his insults rub salt into mitzi’s wounds ( which is why she believes asa brought mordecai at all ) and only then does she discuss viktor’s awful state, a hasty guilt trip that quickly loses its shine the longer she drags it along. while i may view mitzi through a more sympathetic lens than most and hardly believe her major flaw to be manipulation, she is still capable of it and will stoop so low when it may benefit her, or perhaps whenever it makes her feel a bit better. and this brief interaction with mordecai is one such case.

the overall contents of the lunch and the car scene thereafter proves rather irrelevant to my topic, so instead of summarizing how it goes ( poorly, it goes poorly! ) i’ll be talking about certain events that will matter later, or will help us understand where mitzi is at mentally by the time she actually meets wick for their planned visit. the major components being how asa treats mitzi during this impromptu meeting and the state mordecai leaves her in after they discuss atlas.

to touch upon asa’s treatment of mitzi, even from as early as the phone call we see that mitzi is forced to have a conversation with asa on his terms rather than her own terms. mitzi sets out with a clear goal in mind -- learning why asa sweet would attack the lackadaisy in the way that he did -- and she's repeatedly talked over and threatened, with her questions remaining unanswered. it’s very clear very quickly that asa doesn’t respect mitzi nor view her as someone worthy of his time like atlas was, and almost appears to approach her in a misogynistic manner. he demeans something as simple as her ukulele as a ‘teeny little guitar’ and acts as though mitzi’s tears would be bothersome to him, some sort of burden he’d be forced to deal with rather than a valid emotional response to threats, degradation, and the likes. while asa is by no means wrong with some of his observations, he’s certainly rude and uncaring with how he goes about it. when he tells mitzi that he’s here to suggest that she step down, because he so generously has her interests in mind, she doesn’t buy it ; once again bringing up last nights events, where asa willingly armed the pig farmers with the lackadaisy’s arsenal and sent them over her way without so much as a warning. asa dismisses this coldly, once again dodging any fault and claiming it was ‘happenstance’ and entirely mitzi’s own doing. even now, when he’s actively threatening her and making it clear they won’t stay friendly if she keeps trying to make it in this business, he still won’t fully admit to any sort of responsibility for the disastrous night he helped put her through. while this seems rather typical of asa given his disrespectful streak ( something even mordecai, as valued and as useful as he is, suffers because of ) it’s worth noting that this side of him is new to mitzi and not one she was at all expecting. she even says as much here, in heartstrings :

we also know that mitzi only met atlas due to her performing at the marigold speakeasy first, and it’s likely asa was rather present in her life due to his bond with her now husband. asa even admits that mitzi may be confused because they’ve ’managed a friendly coexistence for so long,’ once again hammering home this idea that up until this point, asa was indeed kind to mitzi, or at the very least cordial. but with atlas out of the picture and mitzi trying to take his position, suddenly asa is more than okay with getting her killed or taking all she has left -- even his plan is nothing short of apathetic and cold, an afterthought, expecting her to give up something important to her and only offering a one time offer to play at the marigold room ‘sometime’ with that ‘old band of hers.’ i’ve actually seen some people claim this was a valid out for mitzi to take, which i can’t disagree more with, since a.) her band days are not something mitzi is interested in anymore and b.) she’s sold basically everything to keep the lackadaisy afloat, meaning she’d be more than poor if she gave that up. playing once or maybe twice at the marigold room wouldn’t save her financially! it wouldn’t do anything for her at all, besides giving mitzi some sort of last hurrah in her mata hari dress, something that doesn’t even fit her anymore. while it’s clear to anyone that she needs to let go of the past in order to be happy, accepting this poor excuse of a deal from asa is just her trading one past in for another one. this is also why zib’s out, while certainly better, isn’t something good for mitzi either. but that’s another post on its own, so i’ll leave it alone for the time being. what’s important here is that mitzi is ruthlessly betrayed by a man who used to like her and is treated as a lesser thing due to his view that she’s too incompetent to run a rumrunning business. he also brings up atlas to, in mitzi’s eyes, ‘intimidate ( her ) into agreeing with him,’ and towards the end of the lunch, she looks particularly kicked and undoubtedly hurt. she leaves this meeting that could’ve stayed a phone call with a potential enemy made and with the world on her shoulders, now more determined than ever to be someone people like asa would be forced to respect. instead of being dissuaded, she’s been encouraged, and it’s not hard to realize why.

her scene with mordecai leaves her in a similar predicament after their very brief truce is broken, with him perpetuating asa’s threats as well as saying, “as though you could bring the remains of atlas’ estate to anything but further disgrace,” before promptly leaving. these words, plus the subject matter and who said them, leaves mitzi staring out the car window and actually brings her to literal tears. her eyes are suddenly watery, and when rocky tries to make her feel better, we see one paw hastily wipe at one eye in particular -- already having spilled a tear or two by the time her hires have made their way back into the car. i cannot stress enough that throughout the entirety of this brief arc, mitzi has been constantly ridiculed and told she is not good enough at this job to be doing it, on top of the extremely sensitive subject of her husband being brought up twice over, which only served as one more jab to be made at mitzi’s expense. she desperately wanted the lackadaisy to work before, some sort of memento to atlas that she could keep going, and being told to let go of it in such a harsh way isn’t going to have the intended outcome. most people become vindictive and determined when told something is ‘impossible’ or that they won’t ever be able to accomplish what they want because they’re too incompetent to do it, they see this as a challenge, they get angry, and they start fighting harder for the goal in question. it’s rather human : to be fueled by wounded pride and to want so badly to prove others wrong, to taste the victory of accomplishing something deemed impossible, to warrant the respect of your peers … mitzi is all that and then some, since she’s gripped by an obsessive grief that refuses to let her go.

she wants to do this for atlas, she needs to do it for atlas, and there is no life or goal outside of the one in front of her. again, as mentioned paragraphs before, she’s made it clear she’d rather die than see the lackadaisy wither away into nothing. asa’s and mordecai’s threats, their insults, were never going to do anything except push mitzi further down the path she’s already on. and with the added bonus of mitzi now being in an extremely fragile emotional state ( one she hasn’t had a single break from since last night ), this then causes her decision making skills to be finicky ; more likely to make rash calls and to act desperately, rather than thinking clearly and with her head. mitzi does her best to sweep her fraying mental state under the rug for the sake of business, with the comic page haggersnash providing the visual of her reapplying her makeup near the traitorous eye and she even goes as far as to change her clothes, though there’s no denying the perpetual state of misery clinging to her character moving forward. and like we’ll see in wick later, mitzi probably also didn’t get much sleep last night herself. that paired with the nonstop events that refuse to work in her favor, and the occasional mental breakdown, is more than enough to reiterate for a final time that she is not well, despite how good she is at appearing so.

shutting the door on mitzi and her no good very bad day, we then shift back into wick in the second and final part of this essay.

[aziraphales-library]

Hey! Thank you so much for all the amazing you do…!

I just wondered if you had any good recommendations for fics with audio options?

Thanks!!

Hello! I assume by audio options you mean podfics? We have a #podfic tag with a few. I don't listen to them myself, but here are some fics I've read and loved that have podfics available...

[Podfic] Petrichor & Parchment by Literarion (E)

“Mr. Crowley, I presume?” Aziraphale asked in lieu of an introduction, which was not forthcoming. The guy hadn’t even removed his sunglasses. Oh God, he had a tattoo on his face. Aziraphale wasn’t one to judge, but… what kind of gardener had a snake tattoo on his face?

[Podfic] Summer's End by Literarion (E)

2095. Britain is a post-apocalyptic wasteland ravaged by droughts, the collapse of civilisation, and hordes of the undead. Despite that, Aziraphale’s life is actually pretty good. He has his caravan, his books, and his work, offering his services to the men who stop by Tadfield on their arduous journey north. One day, a mysterious stranger knocks on his door. Crowley is charming and handsome and he appears to know his way around a vegetable garden. He comes with the tempting offer of a mutually beneficial arrangement. But it’s in Aziraphale’s best interest not to get too attached. A dystopian cottagecore sex worker AU.

[Multivoice Podfic] Choose Your Princes Wisely by Multiple (T)

“There’s an enchanted castle West in the Hellian slopes, and apparently it comes with a prince looking for a bride or bridegroom to free him from a dark fae’s curse.” “I see,” Aziraphale says finally, when he realizes both Gabriel and Uriel are staring at him expectantly. “You want me to marry a beast?” Gabriel's mouth flattens. “I want you to take this gods’ blessed opportunity to secure your family’s future for good." OR Aziraphale is a professional quest hero who just wants to sit by the fire and read a book, if his overbearing family will ever let him; Crowley is a serpent demon who needs a gullible hero he can con into gathering some critical ingredients for a human corporation spell. Hijinks and a lot of terribly inconvenient feelings ensue.

[Podfic] Something to do with these sacred words by nantook (T)

Crowley confesses early, and Crowley confesses often. Aziraphale never knows quite what to say.

[Podfic] Right Here by Im_Not_Occult (E)

Although Aziraphale has sensed Crowley's love for millennia, after their trials he decides to be honest about his own feelings. So desperate to finally be close, Aziraphale doesn't anticipate that physical intimacy might be rather overwhelming for an ethereal being in a human body. He has wonderfully transcendent celestial experiences that take him away from the moment with Crowley. Together, he and Crowley discover a new level of intimacy as they try to work out this issue--and the shape of their new Arrangement. Featuring: 16k words of unrepentant softness, open conversations about sex, ethereal and human intimacy, a certain promised picnic, and a little bit of bickering between hereditary enemies.

[Fic & Podfic] Press L in the Chat (for Love) by Multiple (E)

Bickering fan-content creators Aziraphale and Crowley only have three things in common — they are both avid fans of a new revolutionary TV series about pirates, they are popular for their fantastic fanfiction and fanart… and they are members of the same discord server. Neither of them likes the other, but across the chaotic virtual world of a discord chatroom, who knows what can happen when these two unlikely fans are paired up for an exciting collaboration? Us. We know ;) Discord Server AU — a collaboration between Phoenix_Soar (fic) and Djapchan (multivoice podfic organization & editing) for Pod-Together 2022

- Mod D

[gay-on-the-moon]

SSGA Expanded Author's Notes ch. 5

ao3 link

Woohoo! author's notes. This will also be a great place for me to dump all the terrible jokes that don't make it into the final cut. This is the struggle of being a fandom of 1 but SOMEBODY has to do it. (literally nobody has to do it.)

Do I intend to go back and complete one of these for all my previous chapters? Yes. Will I? The mystery remains.

I warned y'all there were rocky waters on the way, that slow burn tag isn't a lie. Part of the reason I find Viktor and Jayce's relationship so interesting is what I see as all the near misses, "in all realities only you" and all that. They're also VERY alike in a lot of ways, they support each others strengths buuut that leaves an awful lot of exposed weaknesses for me to jab at.

Viktor, Sevika, Mel and Noxia, I picture all of the different schemes like a multiplayer game of chess. Viktor is doing his best with the pieces he has, Jayce thinks he's living in a rom-com and doesn't realize there's a board.

~*~and they don't talk about it~*~

I could write forever on my obsession with Viktor's mind, just call me Jayce. One of the aspects of this AU that originally drew my attention was the opportunity to explore the ways in which his coping mechanisms go from being necessary for survival to actively hindering him.

They WILL talk absolutely everything out eventually, their fights hurt me to write lol.

My fave way to world build is to just let the characters naturally share details without necessarily always giving a wall of explanatory text. My brain is full of useless historical information, the index would be a mile long, none of it would actually be relevant to the plot. I always disliked the "treat a reader like an idiot" advice because my least favorite parts of media tend to be when a so-far well explained story pauses to have a character sit down and tell me things I'd already basically figured out.

Is it too little instead? I'm also always tempted to write a chapter from Jayce's POV, hasn't happened yet. I think there's one more major piece of information (ooo apprenticeship drama) I'm waiting to reveal before we get a look inside Jayce's head. "(yay, toxic waste settlement)" has to be in my top 5 favorite lines so far.

I've also been eagerly awaiting the introduction of Ambessa, would y'all believe it's only starting to get complicated? The action is rising whether our little team of heroes are ready for it or not.

[archduchessgortash]

Fun fact: Gortash can't see through a Disguise Self spell.

If you're playing as Durge and, like me, wanted to get screenshots of Gortash from other angles in a Durge game and thought, 'I'll just be taller!' You'll be as disappointed as I was. However, my disappointment allowed me to learn more things about Gortash, so it counts as a win.

If you would like to see a comparison of the difference between meeting Gortash as Durge and meeting Gortash as Tav, you can get the Tav scene on a Durge game if you use Disguise Self before talking to him at his coronation.

You can also see Karlach's and Wyll's scenes with him as though playing as their Origins if you leave Durge downstairs and talk to Gortash while controlling one of them instead. It works with everyone else as well, but only Wyll and Karlach get different lines from Gortash. Karlach gets some great one-liners out of him.

Of note: Gale's facial expressions when talking to Gortash are priceless and so completely him. He's dismayed and disgusted throughout the whole interaction.

Also, disguised Durge rolls their eyes when Gortash does his little introduction bow, with a look on their face that I can only describe as smug. No one else does that.

There's definitely an element of failing to explore all possibilities in the coronation scene, as you can trot up there as Halsin or Jaheira, who lack tadpoles, but the Emperor still adds in his two cents, and Gortash can use his Steel Watcher to cause them pain if they call the ceremony a sham. I'm not sure how that's explainable other than as an oversight in development.

I wouldn't recommend using Disguise Self for this scene on a Durge in honor mode, though. If you do, Durge's personal quest doesn't get the associated journal updates because Gortash acts like he doesn't know them, and the scene can't be repeated without reloading a save. You still get most of the main plot-relevant information if you're disguised, just nothing Durge-specific. In fact, the trade-off for knowing less of Durge's past gets you a couple of extra sentences about the next steps of Gortash's plan. You can get the same info from notes you find in his office, but you don't get two lines that give a bit of insight into how messed up this guy truly is mentally. If you've played the scene as Durge already, seeing the Tav scene gives you the knowledge (as the player) that Gortash lies by omission to all origins except Durge.

If you snuck upstairs and read everything in his office, you also know that he's blatantly lying when, regarding Ketheric and Orin's intention to betray, to everyone except Durge, he says: 'I don't suffer the same affliction. In short--you can trust me.' His journals indicate his own intention to rule alone, and that even though he mentions his plans to use 'the vagabonds' against Orin, he writes that he will 'find suitable positions for them in the new order to follow,' which does not exactly lend itself to the assumption that our party will possess any actual power in the 'Golden Reign of Gortash.'

If you pass the Insight Check, the narrator says that 'he fully intends to share his kingdom with you.' If you use Detect Thoughts, he considers you a better option than Orin and thinks, 'We rule as one.' We might be tempted to believe this means he's sincere, but he tries to take our Netherstones at the brain. Thus, we know that ultimately, even if he meant what he said in that moment, it's no more than a surface reading of him. All it takes is a sliver of doubt for him to betray. I know he's scared in that scene, and it's tragic, but it's also proof that in spite of his attempts to elevate himself above Orin and Ketheric, he, too is controlled by his emotions. He thinks that only he knows best and clearly doesn't actually trust anyone but himself, in spite of his assurances that our characters can trust him.

Gortash has definitions of words that are his very own and rather tangled interpretations that are often quite far from the spirit of the word itself and its usual definition. Share could easily be modified into sharing with you only what he believes you deserve, and one isn't hard to interpret as his voice being parroted from your lips. Case in point: he will tell all origins except Durge that enslaving the Sword Coast is 'entirely their fault' (the people's) and that it is 'just.' No explanation whatsoever, as if this is a fact you should simply accept. Yeah. This man has so much emotional damage to unpack.

I am reminded of a far less good-intentioned version of Viktor in Arcane, attempting to control everyone via a hivemind, but in the end, it became no more than an echo-chamber for a single voice. Gortash's so-called 'Ultimate State' would never lead to the progress mentioned in his manifesto of the same name; its inevitable outcome is the exact opposite: stagnation.

Gortash's inability to detect your deception could be another instance of things in Act 3 being less fleshed-out than other acts, or it could be intended. We know that the brain knows who you are, but she's not sharing, apparently.

I need to try using Disguise Self right before confronting the Netherbrain on this save... It would be funny if she didn't give you the Durge-specific lines.

Gortash is only interested in talking to the leader of your group, which is a game mechanic thing, but also addressed slightly when he is approached with non-Origin Karlach after the initial dialogue with Durge or another character. He has no time for lackeys.

One could infer that if Durge isn't leading the group, Gortash has no reason to acknowledge them. If they aren't the leader, they clearly lost too much of themself in Orin's attack to be worth talking to. We know this man does not tolerate submissive behavior in a partner. Only he's allowed to do that. 😏

[My interpretation/headcanon of a more submissive Gortash is me seeing what I think he needs and deciding, since we don't get to explore that aspect of him in-game, that it is also what he secretly wants.]

[blackbatcass]

hii linden! i kinda needed some help

so, i wanna read some comics based on:

donna troy, cass cain and wally west

but i have literally noo idea where to start 😭 ofc ik the basics but i was hoping you could suggest something?? thank you so much if you do and have a wonderful day!

yeah i gotchu!! those are literally my besties lol i can definitely give you some recs. i'm not sure what you'd consider to be the basics so i'll just include all the big stuff to be thorough

donna troy:

first rec is always new teen titans as you probably would have guessed lol. it is a very long and arduous undertaking though so some more specific recs would be vol. 1 #38, #50, vol. 2 #18-21, #50-55.

i've gone into more detail on her appearances in darkstars, green lantern etc but honestly though they are important to understand the status quo & what was going on with her, i don't think they're very good comics to just read for donna. my next rec would probably be wonder woman (1987) #126-136, which is a VERY important arc for her. it goes into more detail on her origin, reconnects her to the amazons & diana, and i believe is where she officially passes on the wonder girl mantle to cassie. and she appears frequently throughout the rest of that wonder woman run after the arc if you want to continue on!

titans (1999) is another big one, beloved beloved comic. lots of good donna content.

titans/young justice: graduation day #1-3 YIKES! unfortunately pivotal to her story lol

dc special: the return of donna troy look. i know I gush about this comic like it's my full time job. but honest to god i adore it to pieces, it's a love letter to donna and her history and it's one of my favorite comics of all time despite only being 4 issues. begging everyone on the planet to read it rn

cass cain:

cass was famously introduced in batman: no man's land! now that event is very very long so it might seem tempting to skip straight to bg 2000 but i'm here to tell you to not do that. if nothing else it is PIVOTAL that you read her introduction issues (mark of cain pts 1 & 2), batman #567 and detective comics #734. probably the coolest most metal introduction of any comics character in history, it's that good. if you're interested in cass's role in nml but not the whole thing, here's a list of her appearances:

Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #120

Azrael: Agent of the Bat #56

Azrael: Agent of the Bat #57

Batman Chronicles #18

Batman #569

Detective Comics #738

Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #124

Batman: Shadow of the Bat #92

Detective Comics #739

Batman: Shadow of the Bat #93

Azrael: Agent of the Bat #60-61

Detective Comics #741

i think nml is essential reading for cass and it makes me sad that a lot of people skip it.

next is, of course, batgirl (2000). it's her character bible it's god's (kelley puckett's) gift to mankind it's maybe the best comic ever written. what more can i say

she's also a fixture in gotham knights! cass was a part of most batfamily events in the early 2000s, ex. officer down, joker's last laugh, war games, bruce wayne: murderer? and bruce wayne: fugitive. it's pretty easy to find them since they mostly cross over with her batgirl run.

detective comics #790 is only one issue but it's. ough.

aaaaand then we get into the evil cass arc stuff which just sucks and isn't worth it. she's pretty much written out of the story for a while, other than red robin #17 & #25.

she does show up as black bat in gates of gotham! i really enjoy that story, and it's only 5 issues.

that gets us to new52. i would completely disregard her rebirth and batgirls appearances honestly. she is a part of the current birds of prey ongoing! and while i am not kelly thompson's biggest fan i do think she gets a lot of cool moments and for the most part she's done right.

she is also featured sporadically throughout ram v's gotham nocturne storyline (it started way back in detective comics #1062 if you want to read the whole arc, it's VERY good). i have to give a special shoutout to #1084, which has a backup story that's focused on cass and it legitamately blew my mind. like i couldn't believe my eyes when i was reading it, maybe it's because cass has been done so dirty over the years that anything makes me happy but to get a cass-centric story featuring shiva that cares about her as a character in 2024 was crazy 2 me i will rave about it forever. thank you alex paknadel.

wally west:

the good news is my wally reclist is WAY less complicated. as is predictable for me, pretty much the only wally rec I have is flash volume 2 (1987). it is for all intents and purposes The Story of Wally West tm. it's his character bible it follows him throughout nearly a decade of his life. because it's so long my specific rec would be to read waid's run on it, from #62-142. if you want more context to his life at the time you can start earlier in the comic, i think #31 is a good jumping on point if you want to experience some messner-loebs but not too much messner-loebs lmfao.

he's featured in titans (1999) until about issue #20, iirc. wally is just fated to quit titans teams lol. there is some good stuff with him up until that point though!

that is honestly about all i got until you get to more modern flash comics. after rebirth he's reintroduced in flash vol. 5, and #768-800 is the jeremy adams run.

he's also the main focus in si spurrier's flash vol. 6! aka the current flash ongoing. which... as i have often said, i am a big fan of.

AND THAT’S MY LIST!!! i hope it helped you out at least a little lol!

[applysome]

I was tagged by the lovely @glorious-blackout 💜 to share the first lines of some of my recent WIPs. Unfortunately naming things tends to be the last thing I do (I'm terrible with names) and I always feel like the introductions are the weakest part of what I write, so bear with me!

Untitled comfort fic - Maxie is unwell and Alex is the only person available to take them to the vets...:

Twenty four hours on the dot. That’s how long it had been since Maxie had eaten anything. Miles had been pushed to his wits end, trying to tempt him with everything from his favourite wet food, four different types of dog biscuits, peanut butter. Even the most expensive sausage from that new deli on the posh street, where the staffs’ eyebrows had hitched at Miles’s Scouse twang before falling in love with him and insisting he come back in a few days to try their new honey roasted ham hock. Miles couldn’t help the effect he had on people, after all. Well, most people anyway. But Maxie had shuffled away from his bowl, or Miles’s outstretched palm every time, with a soft yip and a tilt of the head.

Untitled gym fic - Alex joins the gym and Miles is a hot personal trainer:

It had definitely seemed like a good idea at the time. I should get back in shape, put some muscle back on. Show Rob what he’s missing. That, and not having any space left on his favourite leather belt to bodge a new hole, meant Alex found himself stood at the entrance to his local gym, waiting for one of the trainers to let him in for his induction. He passed the time by studying the posters of the personal trainers; each one comprised of a motivational epithet, a smiling photo and a brief summary of why you should choose them to make your fitness dreams come true. As Alex’s gaze roved over the posters, he noted the majority of the male trainers were huge, beefy military types, and indeed their bios confirmed that, with a former paratrooper, two former soldiers, and an ex naval officer all now resident trainers. Not that Alex had an issue with a tough love approach, far from it in fact, having a propensity to enjoy being told what to do, though that was mostly in the bedroom. Alex closed that wandering train of thought down in an instant. Look where shitting where you eat has got you in the past. 

Untitled piano fic - Alex teaches Miles to play the piano (cheating slightly as the start doesn't exist yet!):

Alex stood up from the piano to stretch, rubbing his neck and raising his arms above his head. “Gettin’ a bit stiff now.”

“Hunched over the piano, that’s why, it’s not good for your back Al. If only I could play, you could have a break and maybe you’d hit on the missing piece we need.”

“I could teach you. If you wanted I mean. Think you’d pick it up pretty quickly already playin’ the guitar.”

“That’d be great Al, my own one on one accomplished rock star teacher. Don’t go takin’ after your parents now bein’ all strict with me. I need extra special attention and nurturin’.” Miles fluttered his eyelashes and winked.

“Slap on the wrist’s what you need more like,” Alex said. “Come on then, sit here and we’ll make a start.”

Untitled original work - after Matt's relationship with his girlfriend breaks down, he moves in with his estranged best friend Dylan, and Dylan's feelings start to resurface:

Dylan was making a decision with huge consequences. He’d already lost his nerve three times, and had to make a couple of about-turns on preceding days, when someone other than him had been sat behind the reception desk. Dylan peered through the glass of the door. A dark haired man was engaged in an animated discussion with a lady holding a pot of what was presumably a bodily fluid of some kind. Yep, that was definitely him. Matthew. Matt. 

Untitled original work - Amy ends up working as the personal assistant for a now famous actor that she met ten years prior on a day that changed her life:

“Tell me your hopes, your dreams, everything you’ve ever wanted. Speak them all into existence, here, with me.” Amy should have been back in the office over an hour ago, but she’d been enraptured by this handsome stranger.

From anyone else, and in any other circumstance, Amy surely would have found his words pretentious; a cacophony of wank designed to cause a woman to swoon head first into bed, but actually earning an eye roll and a swift departure, likely accompanied by a suppressed gagging sound. But something about him, an elusive combination of everything Amy had noticed about the man sat opposite her, and probably twenty other things she hadn’t, held her under his spell. Amy had found herself desperate to pour her heart out to this man she knew nothing about, as if he alone could make the deepest desires of her heart come true through the sheer determination in his tone.   

Untitled original work - Kat's best friend of twenty years, Joe, splits with his girlfriend and expects her to pick up the pieces, not knowing she's been in love with him since their school days. Oh, and Joe happens to be one of the world's biggest rockstars, just to make things so much easier...:

Not the day I wanted. Whatsoever. Not only are they making us compete in some sort of weird, office Hunger Games to become deputy, David is somehow ahead. David who has been here for about six months. I mean, come on, I might not be the best but after three years working here I think I’m more equipped to run the project than David. But when Gary was stood in front of us asking for volunteers, I just froze. I know my performance is reasonable but if I make it through an interview without some kind of coughing fit where each panellist asks me if I want to 'take five' or looking like I’m about to burst into tears (it was allergies, I swear) it’s a miracle. I only got this job as I managed to string a few reasonably coherent sentences together and they were desperate. But now I’m here I’m okay. Next will be the annual fundraiser; I bet they’ll make us do some ridiculous task, Apprentice style where the one who raises the most money for the charity gets to be deputy dog, and the rest of us get torn a new one. I was busy relaying all this to Lizzy via furious text under the table when my phone buzzed in my hand. It was Joe.

That was probably overboard, kudos if anyone actually read all of these! Tagging @uhbasicallyjustmilex @ladyfauxhawk @anitabrassi @futuristicanoe @blacktrickle (who also provided the gym fic prompt!) @danishphoner and any other writing friends who'd like to take part to share any parts of WIPs / fics / anything they're working on (no pressure as always!) 💜🌈

[epicbuddieficrecs]

Weekly Recap | November 13th-19th 2023 (Part One)

For the first time ever, I have a podcast and podfic recommendations! 😃 The podcast is Dispatch: a 9-1-1 Podcast @dispatchpodcast and specifically the episode with @mistmarauder that inspired me to try podfics!

Complete

🔥 eddie diaz vs the pta agenda by mmtion/ @mmtions (Season 5, Jealous Eddie | 19K | Mature): Really, Eddie doesn’t care that the PTA aren’t his biggest fan. He knows he misses too many meetings, and it’s not like he’s best friends with any of the other parents. But then Buck picks Christopher up from a class trip and it all goes to hell. Like, of course Buck is everyone’s dream guy. He’s responsible with kids, and kind, and funny and interesting and hot to touch. That’s obvious. But now Eddie’s fighting to keep the PTA moms, teachers, and dads, all off an unsuspecting and tempting Buck. Because Eddie is a good friend. Right?

The 118's Secret Book Club by Asplenium, QuietLittleVoices/ @hawkeyefrommash (Post-Season 5 | 15K | Teen): Eddie dropped the book on the counter. “Taylor Kelly wrote a book. I haven’t started it yet. But I was thinking –” “Book club?” Karen asked. Eddie nodded eagerly. “I know I can’t complain about this to Buck, but –” “Say no more,” Hen said, flipping open the book to the introduction. “We’ll get some copies from the library.”

daylight (i can never look away) by evcndiaz/ @evcndiaz (S4, Quarantine | 3K | Teen): or; a single moment between two almost lovers who don't know where to go next (otherwise known as the buddie quarantine fic nobody asked for)

101 Ways to Say 'What the F#%&' by evcndiaz/ @evcndiaz (Humor | 5K | Teen): The point is, Eddie knows Buck. Or at least he thought he did. Now, Eddie's starting to think the whole relationship has been built on LIES. Because somehow, in some way, it has completely escaped Eddie's vast amounts of knowledge, that Buck is a fucking polyglot.

wait for me to come home by evcndiaz/ @evcndiaz (Season 5, Pining | 3K | Teen): Chris doesn’t take the lego. He keeps staring at Buck with those big, doleful eyes, and says, “Why can’t you be with my dad instead?” His voice is soft and sad, naive and hopeful all at the same time. It’s positively heartbreaking is what it is, especially compounded with the fact that Buck has been asking himself the same question for months now. Buck offers him another smile, softer and tinged with a little of his own sadness, and says, “It’s complicated, buddy.”

spilled milk by evcndiaz/ @evcndiaz (Post-Coma | 4K | Teen): or; In the aftermath of Buck's coma, Eddie can't look at him. (Part 1 of longing tastes like grief and desire)

something familiar by evcndiaz/ @evcndiaz (Post-S6E15 | 1K | Teen): or; Buck and Eddie get burgers after visiting Marie's grave, and Eddie feels too many things. (Part 2 of longing tastes like grief and desire)

standing on the edge (of great) by evcndiaz/ @evcndiaz (Ediie/Ana Break-Up | 5K | Mature): or; eddie says buck's name during sex with ana. it goes about as well as you would expect. and then somehow, it gets a little better

🔥 Love in the Time of TikTok by evcndiaz/ @evcndiaz (Post-S4 | 5K | Teen): It seems kind of dystopian to let millions of people know he’s in love with his best friend before telling said best friend first, doesn’t it? Whatever. Fuck it. It’s not like anyone he knows in real life watches his Tik Toks anyway, so he can be a little freer with the truth even if doesn’t tell his followers everything. He already keeps a tight cinch around his emotions when he’s at work, he can let his guard down a little on here, right?

this life that we've created (or: how silvia rodriguez learned to believe in fairytales again) by evcndiaz/ @evcndiaz (Post-S4E5: Eddie Begins, Outsider POV | 2K | Teen): or; eddie makes buck christopher's legal guardian told from his lawyer's perspective. because why not

hear me now by evcndiaz/ @evcndiaz (Post-S4E5: Eddie Begins | 5K | Teen): or; eddie finds the footage of buck trying to dig to him in Eddie Begins. conversations and feelings ensue

When My Eyes Are Closed (Til Right When They Open) by mintedwitcher (Season 5, Getting Together | 2K | Teen): When Chris has a tantrum, Eddie slips and refers to Buck as Chris's dad. A lot of feelings are revealed and Eddie has a few realisations at his kitchen table. Buck, as always, is right there. 

The First Place I Go (When I'm Trying to Hide) by mintedwitcher (Season 5, Getting Together | 2K | Teen): A companion piece to When My Eyes are Closed, wherein Buck realises he's in love with Eddie because Chris talks with his mouth full.

hungry for your love by evcndiaz/ @evcndiaz (Getting Together | 1,8K | General): prompt: "who’s gonna write a fanfic where chris is not cooperating with buck and eddie accidentally says “listen to your dad”?"

I wanna spend my forever like that by wikiangela/ @wikiangela (Sick Eddie, Getting Together | 8K | General): Eddie catches a cold and stubbornly denies he's sick, while a fondly exasperated Buck is trying to take care of him.

nicknames, supernova similes and the family we make by thewolvesof1998/ @thewolvesof1998 (Established Buddie | <1K | General): Bobby and Athena meet Buck and Eddie's new baby girl.

Nobody Can Do Everything by browney3dgirl6/ @hoodie-buck (Canon Divergence, Teacher Buck | 4K | General): It's parent/teacher night, Eddie having brought Carla along to help him navigate through the vast school. Most of the teachers are unmemorable, save for the pretty English teacher, though she isn't the one that keeps his attention. No, that would be the one with blue eyes, the one his son is always talking about.

if I could see you (once more, to see you) by colonoscopys/ @colonoscopys (Canon Divergent, Coma | 21K | Teen): Or, in the aftermath of a building collapse, Eddie mourns. Buck dreams.

Kiss Me Drunk When You're Sober by giselleslash/ @gigi-gigi��(Getting Together | 5K | General): Buck makes a drunken confession and Eddie makes a decision.

Podfics

🔥 [Podfic] Curl Up in My Heart and Let Me Keep You by liketherestofla, MistMarauder / @mistmarauder (Animal Transformation | 1-1.5h | Teen): When an orange tabby cat starts hanging around the Diaz house, Eddie doesn't think anything of it. The little guy's cute and cuddly, and seems to always know when Eddie's having a bad time. Weird how the cat's never around when Buck is, though.

🔥 [Podfic] Love in the Time of TikTok by MistMarauder/ @mistmarauder (Post-S4 | 30-45 min | Teen): It seems kind of dystopian to let millions of people know he’s in love with his best friend before telling said best friend first, doesn’t it? Whatever. Fuck it. It’s not like anyone he knows in real life watches his Tik Toks anyway, so he can be a little freer with the truth even if doesn’t tell his followers everything. He already keeps a tight cinch around his emotions when he’s at work, he can let his guard down a little on here, right?

WIP

🔥 Things We're All Too Young to Know by Daisies_and_Briars/ @cal-daisies-and-briars (Canon, S1 through S6 | 99/? | 261K | Mature): This is a love story. Even if it doesn’t always look like it. Even if it doesn’t always feel like it. A look back on Eddie and Buck's lives up to now, and what led them to each other, interpreted from the current 9-1-1 canon.

🔥 Both Blade and Branch by Daisies_and_Briars/ @cal-daisies-and-briars (Post-S6 | 4/13 | 16K | Mature): The chances of being struck by lightning twice are incredibly minute, but Buck still manages to pull it off. During a double date with Marisol and Natalia, nonetheless. Eddie manages to resuscitate him, but as Buck recovers from yet another trauma, Eddie can’t help but notice there’s something very different about him. He’s not quite sure what version of Buck he got back.

🔥 and here, too, am i by Daisies_and_Briars/ @cal-daisies-and-briars (Future fic, Married Buddie | 3/4 | 31K | Teen): Six months into their marriage, Eddie is still struggling to decide whether or not he wants more kids, when he knows Buck does. The universe may not scream, but it certainly talks.

Innocence died screaming, honey, ask me I should know by JJK/ @trenchcoatsandtimetravel (Demon Buck, Canon Divergent | 7/? | 12K | Teen): Buck is a demon with the power to help with pregnancy, childbirth, and infant health. When the Buckleys make a deal asking for someone to help 'save their baby', Buck leaps at the chance as it will give him what he's always wanted: a life on earth. But demon deals are tricky and neither of them gets quite what they're after. This is Buck's journey as he navigates growing up on earth and remembering how to help those in need.

Fractals from the Lightning Bolt by letmetellyouaboutmyfeels/ @letmetellyouaboutmyfeels (One Shots Collection | 38/54 | 73K | Not Rated)

I Haven't Found A Better Title For This Than "Read This In The Six Months Before I Made This Blog And It Somehow Made Its Way To My History Now So I'm Reccing It Post-Facto"

🔥 tomorrow will always and forever now be today (tomorrow is our always and forever) by withmeornotatall (Post-S6, Time Loop | 43K | Mature): eddie gets trapped in a time loop on the day buck marries natalia