Making this its own post bc it wasn’t getting seen as a reblog
Re: a very niche oddly specific fluffy TMA au
So I’m in a swing dance club and I started thinking about what if the characters of the magnus archives were all in a swing dance club. Absolutely no regard for canon, just all the characters hanging out having a time.
Half the characters do not know how to dance. Some are really good at it. Elias is the club leader who thought having a position of authority would be fun but now he’s stuck managing a room full of chaos gremlins with fear powers.
Half the playlist is mechs songs. Nikola insists on doing live music every few meets.
Jon watches tons of videos on swing moves in order to learn them and is constantly watching his feet to make sure he’s doing the steps right. He’s a follow and almost exclusively dances with Martin. Even though he helped form the club he perpetually has new awkward member energy. Still, once he’s had plenty of time to practice a move, he can do it perfectly nine times out of ten.
Martin is a much more confident dancer than someone who’d just met him would think. He’s a lead and his musicality is on point. He’s really good at songs with tempo changes, and his favorite move is probably swing kicks.
Tim and Sasha are terrifying on the dance floor. Sasha’s the lead and every dance she’s trying to beat her own record for how many times she can spin Tim consecutively. They prefer open position and every other move is a basket turn.
Michael showed up one day and just became part of the club by being there, then later invited Helen along. Both of them like to dance with pretty much everyone, and both of them love sliding doors. Sometimes involving actual distortion doors. Their dance moves are reality bending and they always have the flashiest outfits. Michael is ambidancetrous (comfortable leading or following) and Helen is a lead.
Agnes wears very thick gloves so that she can dance with people without burning their hands. To avoid accidents she’s also very good at no-contact moves. Sometimes she brings Jack over for club meetings. She’s a lead and her favorite move is sugar pushes though she also likes line dances and does the best charleston out of the whole group.
Daisy and Basira are inseparable. But they are both leads. Rather than dancing with other people they just solo jazz and line dance together.
No matter who she’s dancing with or what moves they’re doing Nikola is killing it. Her favorite dances are steal dances where everyone’s rapidly switching partners. She’s always the fastest to find a new partner and get back into step. She does everything with a flourish and is an expert at dips of any kind.
Melanie and Georgie are just vibing. Probably the calmest dancers in the room despite being far from the calmest people. Georgie can dance the entire length of the meeting without taking a break.
Gerry mostly only dances with Michael, Mike, or Tim because they can match his energy the best. He loves fast-paced songs and complicated moves, and can absolutely fuck it UP at the shim sham.
Mike Crew also really likes fast-paced dances and loves spinning his partner until they might as well be in the vast for how dizzy they are. Dancing with him comes with a spin at your own risk disclaimer.
Oliver is more of a slow song enjoyer, and he joins Jon and Nikola in the live music performances. While Agnes is the best at many variations of the charleston, Oliver is the best at the cowboy charleston specifically, and he can do it while playing a fiddle.
Peter Lukas REFUSES to dance except for rarely when Elias convinces him to, in which case they have a vibe that’s somewhere between overly formal ballroom dancing and Morticia and Gomez doing the most.
Jane Prentiss is mostly here for the snacks and the vibes but she joins in for warm-ups and line dances. The only person she’ll dance together with is Agnes cause they both prefer the least amount of physical contact possible.
Annabelle Cane is the main dance instructor and she’s a phenomenal teacher. She knows all the moves by heart and she’s rocking the roaring 20s aesthetic. If she’s leading a line dance, everyone’s in perfect sync.
If I missed anyone lmk, this is all coming directly out of my brain so some characters might’ve gotten lost in the stream of consciousness. I’m open to asks about dance pairs, who leads/follows in that pair, and what songs they would pick if they had the floor 👀
By the way, dance pairs do not equal ships! I do ship a few of these pairs (and it makes sense to me for couples to gravitate towards dancing together), but anyone can dance with anyone!
[ID: an uncolored sketch of Martin Blackwood and Jonathan Sims swing dancing. Martin is a white plus size man, and has his right arm extended out for Jon and he’s drawn mainly from the back, except for his face which is a side profile, looking at Jon. He’s wearing a collared shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, flare pants and dancing shoes. Jon is a thin Indian person, drawn with their body facing the camera, and looking at Martin, so his face is a side profile as well. Their right arm is held out to hold Martin’s and her left hand is carded through her hair, which is curly and shoulder length. She’s wearing a cropped long-sleeve shirt and flare pants. End ID]
